CHAPTER 35
WITHIN HOURS OF sending
law-enforcement agencies the names and pictures of the missing
guards, a tip call came in on Rory Dawson, one of the missing
Inverni guards who hadn’t shown up for Laura’s staff interviews. A
hotel desk attendant thought he recognized the Inverni as the same
man who had checked in two days earlier and hadn’t left. If there
was an upside to human suspicion of the fey, it was that they paid
attention when the fey were around.
Laura welcomed the interruption. Sitting in her
office crafting press releases and talking points for Rhys made her
angry. She had become so accustomed to generating whatever spin he
wanted on a given topic, she realized she had stopped thinking
about the people involved, the real people who would be affected by
the things the Guildmaster said and did. Now, with its happening to
Cress and Terryn, she remembered, remembered and felt guilty that
she had become so indifferent. Bringing in an AWOL fairy was the
perfect antidote to her mood.
She parked her SUV amid a sea of Guild and InterSec
vehicles in the fire lane in front of the hotel in the southeast
section of the city. The location was convenient, convenient being
a matter of perspective. The stadium was not far for those who
liked sports and an easy walk. The Washington Navy Yard sat to the
south, a warren of naval support offices and a museum. The views
left a few things to be desired. A view, for one. Parking lots and
nondescript office buildings surrounded the hotel.
Inside the lobby, Aran macCullen worked behind the
registration desk with a group of Inverni Guardians. They huddled
around computer monitors while the hotel staff stood aside, their
faces interested or apprehensive. Laura rested her hands on the
counter. “That hardly looks subtle out front, Lord Guardian.”
He flashed her a smile. “He’s in a room in the
back, Mariel. Hasn’t left since he checked in.”
“Is he alone?” she asked.
Aran shook his head. “We think he has a woman in
the room. Human. We’re clearing the floor of other guests.”
“Has he been ordering room service?” she
asked.
Aran looked over at one of the hotel staff. “Three,
four times a day,” said one of the women.
Laura considered the situation as she surveyed the
staff Aran had brought with him. The Inverni had a traitor among
them. Sean Carr might have fired the gun at Draigen, but another
Inverni had killed him, probably to silence him. Even though Rory
Dawson was a suspect, any of the Inverni Guardian staff in the
lobby could be allied with him or part of a larger conspiracy to
assassinate Draigen. After running through all the macCullens’
personnel, she recognized people from subclans who reported to each
of the macCullen siblings. Not the best way to isolate the problem,
but the missing Guardian was being treated as an internal matter
for Draigen. Too much conflict of interest for Laura’s taste. “I’m
going in. I’d like a hotel staff uniform, please,” she said.
Aran arched an eyebrow at her. “He’s one of my
people, Agent Tate. There’s no need for you to take an active
role.”
She leaned in so that no one else could hear her.
“Your people are trained primarily to engage other fairies, Lord
Guardian. He won’t expect me.”
Subtle body movements among the men around Aran
indicated he was conferring with them via sendings. Eyes shifted
toward Laura and away, not all of them pleased. She decided to make
her next comment private. If he escapes, it
will not look good, she sent.
Brinen is setting me and my
people up, Agent Tate. I will not let that happen, he
sent.
Your men are on edge and
resentful. I’m concerned they might overreact, she sent.
Aran drew down his eyebrows, not happy at her
implication. “Fine. You can take the point.”
A Guardian gestured to the same woman from the
hotel staff to precede him. Laura skirted the counter and joined
them in a back room. The woman glanced at her with an appraising
look as she sorted through uniforms on a rack. She handed over a
maroon tunic. Laura removed the tight black zippered jacket she
wore as part of her InterSec uniform. She slipped on the tunic,
smoothing it down over her hips. The woman held out a pair of
matching pants, but Laura shook her head. “This is as much
polyester as I’m going to wear today.”
A nervous smile trembled on the woman’s lips as she
returned the pants. She rummaged in a drawer in a nearby desk and
gave Laura a badge that read ROOM SERVICE. Laura pinned it to her
chest and met Aran at the elevator.
On the seventh floor, Guardians filled the elevator
alcove, out of sight of the main corridor. “We’ve got troops
outside the windows in case he tries to fly out. I want you to go
in with two men as backup,” Aran said.
“They take orders from me. The civilian’s safety
gets top priority,” she said.
“They’ll do their best,” Aran said.
She checked the staff position out on the floor.
Guardians lined the corridor, giving Dawson’s room a wide berth.
“Best isn’t what I want to hear, Aran. Unless this guy has skills
you haven’t mentioned, he’s not getting out of here with all this
security.”
Aran set his jaw. “Securing a threat to Draigen
must remain our top priority.”
Essence sparked in her eyes. “Then we are in
agreement. If a human gets injured in this, you’ll have a bigger
problem than you have right now. Understood?”
Aran narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you speak this
way to my brother?”
“Terryn? If necessary, absolutely,” she said.
His face became a mask. “Interesting.”
She tugged at the ill-fitting tunic. “Let’s get
this going.”
Two Guardians followed her as she pushed a
room-service cart down the hall. She stopped in clear view of the
fish-eye lens in Dawson’s door while the guards hid to either side.
When they charged their hands with essence, pale indigo light
welling up from their palms, she knocked on the door. “Room
service.”
Something fell inside the room. A woman laughed,
followed by the sound of a deeper voice speaking, obviously
annoyed. Laura tensed when the door shifted in its frame as someone
leaned against it from inside the room.
“Did you order?” she heard him say. The woman
spoke, but her reply was too muffled to hear.
“You freakin’ liar. There’s a damned cart out
there. Don’t tell me you didn’t order anything. I’m not made of
money.”
Louder, he spoke through the door. “Must be a
mistake. We didn’t order.”
Laura made a show of checking an order ticket in
case he was watching. “No mistake, sir. The orders are logged off
the phone system. Room 734. I took the order myself, sir. It was a
woman that called.”
Dawson yanked open the door. Wrapped in a towel, he
reeked of alcohol. He swayed on his feet, eyes bloodshot, hair
disheveled. Pinpoints of deep blue light flickering in his indigo
wings. “I said we didn’t call.”
Laura swept her hands up, charging them with
essence. “InterSec, stand down.”
Confused, Dawson stumbled back toward the
frightened woman huddled on the bed. In the room windows beyond
her, Guardian agents descended into view. Dawson hurried toward the
bed as the windows shattered. Bolts of essence flashed through the
room.
Laura rushed in, shouting, “Hold fire! Hold
fire!”
Dawson jumped onto the bed and crouched over the
woman. A Guardian raised an essence-charged hand. Dawson flung his
hand out, feeble sparks of essence flickering blue around his
fingers. Laura leaped forward, jabbing her shoulder into the middle
of the Guardian’s back. His shot went wild as he lurched forward
and fell against the foot of the bed. Still in motion, Laura rolled
over him and activated her body shields as she landed on the
disheveled bedding.
Dawson struggled to his feet, trying to stabilize
his essence charge. “Thanks,” he said.
Laura grabbed him by the neck and thrust him
facedown on the bed. “I’m not your friend, idiot.”
She put her foot on his neck as the Guardians
jostled for space. The one who had fallen stood, his face angry as
he raised his hands, charging up essence. Laura thrust her fist
under his chin, bright gold essence light illuminating his skin. “I
said hold your fire.”
He set his jaw but didn’t extinguish his essence.
Laura pressed her fist harder, tilting his head back. “Go ahead.
Try me.”
He glared, dousing his charge. Laura stared down
the half dozen guards beyond her extended body shield. Behind her,
the woman’s sobbing filled the sudden silence.
Aran entered. “Guardians, attend!”
They fell back to the perimeter of the room. Aran
flicked his hand, and they exited. Laura lowered her fist and shot
a small burst of essence against Dawson’s back. The man shuddered
once and passed out. His essence didn’t match what she’d found in
the morgue. He hadn’t killed Sean Carr.
Turning her back on Aran, she stepped off the bed
and leaned over the sobbing woman. “Are you okay?” She didn’t
answer. Laura pulled her to her feet. “Come with me. You’re
safe.”
Wrapping her arm around the woman’s shoulder, she
guided her around the end of the bed. She would turn the woman over
to Guild security for protection. The operation had been a waste of
time. Dawson was nothing more than a party boy who skipped out on
his job. As she passed Aran, she glared at him. “He’s not our guy.
I’ll be talking to Terryn about what happened here.”
She left him in the room to clean up the
mess.