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"A Wisdom Beyond Weapons"
"A Wisdom Beyond Weapons"
3/11-3/12/2001
I.
Ashley Whitaker trotted blithely down the staircase to the front hall, immaculate in crisp white slacks and long-sleeved ribbed indigo pullover. She wore a short blue windbreaker with white collar and cuffs, and had brushed out her platinum blonde hair until it was perfect. Almost twenty-one, just over five feet tall and just under one hundred pounds, she would have been gorgeous even if she hadn't taken great pains with her appearance. "Sorry, sorry," she sang out. "I know I was supposed to be ready at six and it's a quarter after, but my green blouse had a spot on it and I can't wear these shoes without a matching top.." Her voice trailed off as she saw Sable Reilly and Jeremy Bane looking up at her. "And why are you guys smiling like that?"
A few inches taller and a few years older, Lauren Sable Reilly was a contrast to Unicorn in many ways. She had jet black hair combed back from her forehead, smooth olive skin and dark brown eyes that now were crinkled with amusement. Sable wore Navy blue slacks, a powder blue blouse and a black blazer with brass buttons. "Well, there's a story here," she said. "I told you we were leaving at six, but we really don't have to leave until six-thirty."
Next to Sable, the Dire Wolf allowed himself a rare smile that barely raised the corners of his mouth. He was more at ease with these members of the new KDF team than he had been in a decade. Bane still wore all black as a habit, slacks and turtleneck and sport jacket, almost his uniform in the Midnight War. Six feet tall and lean to the point of looking gaunt, he had pale grey eyes that stood out vividly in a narrow face under short black hair. "Sable, you're sharp."
"Being deputy leader means knowing your teammates," she said easily. "You always look great anyway, Ashley. Ready to go listen to the Peacemonger and his Doves of Peace?"
"I guess," she said. "His speech has been on the news all day. I guess he's a big deal, a sort of charismatic figure the world has been looking for."
Bane headed for the front door, and they stepped out onto East 38th Street and a crisp March day with a stiff breeze. There was just enough chill in the air to be stimulating. As Sable closed the front door to the headquarters building, they heard the buzz and click of alarms arming themselves.
"Let's hike," Unicorn announced and led the way west towards Times Square. "So you guys fill me in, how is this Peacemonger our business?"
"I'm not sure he is," Bane told her. "His appearance tonight has been sold-out for weeks. The Mandate got us three tickets for ringside seats. That bunch is always trouble, you can't trust them for a second but our missions do overlap. Colonel Tom Shackle is supposed to meet us tonight to fill us in."
"And then we decide if we buy what they're selling?" asked Ashley.
"Yes. I'm not convinced myself, but the team will vote." Bane glanced down at Sable, walking at his right side. "I'm sure you've done some research."
"Absolutely," she said. "Two months ago, the Doves of Peace turned up in Mosgovina. The civil war has been going on there for years. The Peacemonger asked for prayers of goodwill from his followers around the world, and darned if the fighting didn't simmer down. In a day or so, there was an unofficial cease-fire. The opposing sides met and worked out a truce that would hold until elections could be set up. And the world cheered."
"But then?"
"Ah, there's the catch. After the Peacemonger left Central Europe, fighting started up again. Each side claimed the other started it. Things are back to normal, sad to say."
Unicorn had been marching in front of her teammates. Now, she slowed and turned around to look at them. "That's weird. It sounds like a scam."
"A lot of people think so," Sable told her as they started walking toward Madison Square Garden again. "But mostly, around the world, millions believe in the Doves of Peace. Donations pour in. Thousands sign up to do community service in the group's name. How can you blame them? Who isn't sick of war?"
"Look at that crowd," Bane interrupted. Two blocks from the Garden, the sidewalks were packed with excited people chatting and moving around. It looked like the mobs of New Year's Eve. Many held up signs A WISDOM BEYOND WEAPONS and IT'S TIME FOR PEACE. T-shirts with a white dove on the front were everywhere. Cutting through the closely-packed crowd without seeming to use force, the Dire Wolf kept moving steadily onward with Sable and Unicorn behind him. They went in the main entrance and eventually found their seats, only five rows back from the ring itself.
The rows of seats were filled and the buzz of conversation was a steady background noise. Colorful balloons floated overhead. Hanging from the ceiling was a papier-mache dove with a ten-foot wingspread and an olive branch in its beak. Despite his natural suspicion and gloomy disposition, even Jeremy Bane started to feel placid and cheerful. He glanced over and saw blissful smiles on his two partners. The Dire Wolf vaguely thought something was wrong but he could not put his finger on it.
The house lights dimmed and a rose-tinted spotlight followed a dozen white robed figures striding solemnly down an aisle. At their head was a tall man with a long white beard, carrying a shepherd's crook. The applause and cheers was thunderous. The Peacemonger had arrived.
II.
On their way back to 38th Street an hour later, the three KDF members were walking slowly. They felt oddly exhausted instead of exhilarated. It was Sable who broke the weary silence, "Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me? The further we get from Madison Square Garden, the less excited I am about the Peacemonger. When he was talking, I felt thrilled. He kept promising a "wisdom beyond weapons" and a new era when the guns will be silent and the weeping will cease. It all sounded great, but looking back, it was just slogans."
"He was talking through his hat," Unicorn put in unexpectedly.
Both Bane and Sable stopped in their tracks to stare at the little blonde. Not noticing, Ashley went on, "Blah blah blah. He's like a politician, they make these speeches which sound great but are as empty as cotton candy. As soon as he stopped talking and started asking for donations, I pegged him for a phony."
Bane raised an eyebrow. "You're more hard-headed than I realized."
"Hey, I'm not STUPID. You guys consistently underestimate me. My mom took me around the world training me to replace her as the new Unicorn." Ashley sniffed with disdain. "I'm nobody's fool."
"I'm impressed," Sable told her. "I was falling for the Peacemonger's agenda. Maybe because I wanted to." They were in front of the old ten-story building at 28 East 38th Street and she went up the five stone steps to the front door to unlock it. "But now that I think about, he didn't have anything definite to propose. Just platitudes."
Behind his two teammates, Bane was silent. He remained on the sidewalk, watching warily as a black Lincoln turned the corner at Lexington and headed toward them. The Dire Wolf always expected attacks and ambushes. The two women were inside the tiny vestibule, pausing to look back at him as he reached behind his left hip for the grip of his Smith & Wesson.
The car eased up to the curb and the driver stood up. Recognizing the man, Bane relaxed slightly. Colonel Tom Shackle was a big bruiser who was built more like a wrestler than an intelligence officer. He was wearing a tan suit and white dress shirt but with no tie and the top shirt button open. Shackle slammed the car door and spat out a foul cigar butt to the curb. His face had a weatherbeaten appearance, with sharp blue eyes under heavy brows and a pugnacious jaw. Shackle's dark brown hair was close-cropped, almost shaven.
"There you are! I been circling the block like a nut and when a parking space finally opens, you come waltzing up the street. About time."
"Hello, Shackle. We just returned from the Peacemonger's appearance. Come on in." Bane ushered the Mandate officer into the vestibule. In the front hall, Sable and Unicorn were watching through the open inner door.
"Boy!" snorted Ashley. "When I broke protocol and let someone in without scanning, I got suspended for a month!"
"Not now," Sable whispered. "We'll check his results."
Closing the door to the street, Bane stopped. "You know our policy, Shackle. That gun has to go into the bench here."
"Yeah, and I know Mandate policy too. An officer does not surrender his sidearm."
"Then we'll have to talk here. No outsider enters KDF headquarters with a firearm, that's final." Bane's tone was polite but there was no uncertainty in it. After a long pause, Shackle reached under his tan jacket and drew a Ruger from an underarm holster. He extended it grip first, and Bane took it. Lifting the lid of the bench behind them, the Dire Wolf placed the gun in a padded compartment. When he closed the lid, a lock clicked audibly.
"I guess you got your reasons," Shackle grumbled. "But I don't gotta like them."
Bane glanced over and got a confirming nod from Sable inside the inner door. She was closing a wooden panel set at eye level as the two men entered the front hall. Bane escorted Shackle to the reception to their left. Waiting behind for a second, Unicorn whispered, "You scanned him while Jeremy took his gun?"
"Down to his toenails. He's Thomas Julian Shackle all right, no other weapons, no traces of unusual chemicals, brainwaves nominal. We got all that in ten seconds." Sable followed the two men in the conference room with Ashley grumbling, "I still don't think I should have been suspended the way I was."
Bane was seated behind the huge oak desk which stood beneath a handpainted map of the world as it had been in 1937. Taking a comfortable chair more to the right than directly in front of the desk, Shackle unbuttoned his jacket and settled back. As Sable and Unicorn pulled chairs over for themselves, the Mandate officer fixed them with a sour look. "Hey, Bane, these are your new KDF members? They look like kids."
"No younger than I was when I founded the original team," the Dire Wolf. "Let's get right to it. What's your interest in the Peacemonger?"
Shackle grinned. He had not shaven for a few days and he looked more like a saloon bouncer than a wordclass spy, but that was part of his carefully cultivated image. "We've been following his activities. Our Mandate is to investigate people with unusual abilities or artifacts, see if they pose a threat to the public, and if necessary neutralize them."
"Neutralize," snorted Unicorn. "Nice way to put it."
As if he hadn't heard, Shackle continued. "Right after tonight's fundraiser, Peacemonger left on a private jet he had waiting at Newark Airport. Our sources tell us he's heading for San Esteban tonight. We figure he's gonna stir things up there like he did in Europe."
Bane nodded. "I know San Esteban has had trouble with rebel forces in the mountains for years. They clash with the Army but so far neither side has a clear advantage."
"There's more to it than that. Our government has poured billions into San Esteban to make it a showplace for democracy. We want other countries in the area to see how being allied with Uncle Sam is a good deal. If Peacemonger helps the rebels and Dominguez is ousted, that's all for nothing." He gave the Dire Wolf a stern look. "The Mandate is an agency of the US Department of Justice. We support American interests."
"American corporations making a fortune off sweatshops," Unicorn put in.
"Look, little girl, you don't know what you're talking about! This is between me and Dire Wolf here. Keep your trap shut," Shackle barked.
Before Unicorn could explode, Bane raised a hand to warn her. "We'll hear what you have to say, Shackle."
"All right. Our agents report that the Peacemonger has some sort of strange power over crowds. He can rile them up or calm them down. Not just with speeches or anything, it's magic of some kind. That makes it Midnight War, which means it's our business... and yours."
"Yes. I think so. I felt something tonight, some strong influence that faded as we got away from the immediate area." Bane frowned at his visitor. "I have to say right now that the KDF is not a political force. We don't take sides in what other countries have going on. I personally don't know if the San Esteban government is decent or full of corruption, I don't know if the rebels would change things for the better or just throw the country into chaos. We're not taking sides. We're not world police."
"But you do fight the Midnight War," Shackle persisted. "I tell you, this Peacemonger is a warlock or something and that's what you're pledged to fight."
"True enough. All right, I think we will investigate this guy and his organization. I'll promise that much. But we are not going to be working for the Mandate, we follow our own agenda." Bane locked eyes with the abrasive Shackle. "That's always been clear."
"Fair enough. We'll be in touch." Both men stood up and shook hands firmly. As Shackle started to leave, Bane said, "Unicorn, escort the Colonel out, will you?"
"That's not necessary," Shackle began but the little blonde was already at the door waiting for him. As they headed out in the hall, she started, "I lived in Nicaragua for six months, I saw what goes on in those countries..."
"Oh bother," chuckled Sable as she got to her feet as well. "I'd love to hear that conversation."
"Unicorn has done a lot of traveling," he said. "Josef is due in New York around ten. It's too bad the others aren't available but Argent and Levon are in California on the Roar Devils case and Megan is conferring with her Trom superiors. We'll have a council of war and probably leave in the morning."
Sable was listening to the heated argument in the front hall. Then the door slammed and Unicorn strutted back in with a pleased expression.
"Did his face turn red! I handed him his gun back and he almost hurt himself shoving it in the holster. He's a little worked up. All I did was list the governments the US has overthrown in Central America and he acted like I tore the flag in half in front of him."
Sable shook with silent laughter. Finally, she said, "If we have to work with him, we'll need a Peacemonger ourselves."
III.
At eight-thirty the next morning, the team assembled in the hangar on the tenth floor. This had originally been the roof, but Bane had installed walls and a sliding panel to allow the CORBY exit and access. The sleek black stealthcopter took up most of the floor space as it was. Sable had done the standard rundown for the past twenty minutes and declared the CORBY flight worthy and ready to lift off.
During the night, the remaining KDF member Blind Archer had arrived and gotten a quick briefing. They had all slept in their quarters, had a substantial breakfast and were now ready for duty in their field suits. Bane had also ordered each member to bring a travel bag with two sets of civilian clothes, formal and informal. These bags were stowed in the compartment behind the stubby horizontal vanes halfway down the fuselage. Josef Jubilec, the Blind Archer, also packed away two longbows he had crafted himself, a Y-shaped leather quiver and a crate holding fifty arrows with assorted heads. As he made sure everything was secure, Josef was watched by Sable curiously.
She asked, "Are you going to switch to modern bows sometime?"
"Hah! No my friend, I don't think so. My art is traditional and old ways work best for my powers." The Blind Archer fastened the compartment hatch and turned to face his partner. Despite his war name, Josef was not blind. He belonged to a sect of assassins and mercenaries who enhanced their gralic perception by covering their eyes while launching arrows. "I suppose in an emergency I could, but the results would not be as good."
Sable grinned. She had a slight overbite and an appealing smile. "Whatever works for you. I saw modern archers on TV, that's why I asked."
Coming over to the join them, Sable and Unicorn were in the black field suits as well. Heavy boots, snug pants, a waist-length jacket and a visored helmet that they each were carrying in one arm. The suits had a layer of the flexible Trom armor underneath and concealed a dozen small gadgets and weapons in various slits and pouches. Each of the members also had an anesthetic dart gun holstered at the belt.
"Black is so not my color," Ashley was complaining. "It makes my complexion look washed-out!" Strapped across her back was a three foot leather sheath which held the mystic talisman, the ensorcelled Unicorn horn which gave her both her power and her name.
Stepping away from the two vertical tail vanes which replaced a rear rotor, Sable completed her external inspection, "The CORBY is warmed up and ready. We can leave any time."
Coming into the hangar, Jeremy Bane was wearing the same field suit but on his wiry frame it looked sinister. He watched his team thoughtfully. They were really ready to start operating on his own. He had to announce it soon... it was time for him to step down and for Sable to take over. The Dire Wolf realized he had been putting it off too long. As they turned to face him, he said, "Everyone aboard. Sable, you take the stick. I'll ride co-pilot. Let's go."
The team climbed through the hatches, four of them crowding into the compartment behind the cabin. A short padded bench had enough room for three to sit comfortably, and Unicorn claimed the area closest to the cabin so she could see out the windscreen. She had unbuckled the straps holding her Unicorn horn and held it in both hands. A few feet to her right were the backs of the pilot and co-pilot seats; a clear plastic divider could slide across to separate the compartments but it was not drawn at the moment.
Placing her helmet on and fastening a cable to a socket at its rear, Sable connected to the ship's read-out. She began flipping switches and her eyes roved over a dozen gauges and dials. A row of six small monitor screens displayed exterior views from different angles, schematics of the craft, maps or analyses. "Impulse engines on," she said, "Rotors turning at minimum. Landing gear retracting, we have wheels up.. now." Sable reached up and placed her palm against an incongruous pale blue gem set in the ceiling above her. "Care to give me some assistance, captain?"
"Sure," Bane answered. "Moving something this size is no joke." He placed his own fingertips on the crystal and said, "One. Two. Three!"
Gorgeous pale blue light flared to fill their vision. As it faded, they were no longer in a hangar on the top floor of a building in Manhattan. Through the front windscreen of the copter, they could see lush dark green vegetation far below them, with a river sparkling in the brilliant sun. The CORBY hovered in the air, steady as if on solid ground, with its rotors slowly turning.
"Successful," Sable announced to her team. "Four thousand feet above ground level. We are now in central San Esteban, thirty miles from the capital city of Lucia. We should request clearance soon."
"Shackle said he'd arrange for us to be allowed in San Esteban airspace," Bane agreed. "But we should be as polite as possible. You contact the authorities, give them our location and advise them we are heading to Lucia." He stared down through the windscreen at the mountains below them. The trees only made it partly up those brutal slopes, mostly it was bare rock with sharp edges below them. "Rough terrain," he observed.
Josef nodded, peering between the two cabin seats at the view. "You can see how the rebels have been able to avoid pursuit. The Army has to travel on foot. Those mountains are perfect for ambushes."
"We have clearance," Sable announced as she swung the CORBY around to accelerate south. After Trom Girl, she was the best pilot in the new team. "They're expecting us to arrive at Government House shortly."
"Good." Bane swung around in his seat to address the team in the compartment behind him. "Here's the plan. Sable and Unicorn will disembark and meet with the government officials. They will try to get to see President Dominguez. Sable, use your enhanced senses to watch for deceit and cut through the lies you'll feed you. Unicorn, you speak fair Spanish but don't let them know that. They may drop information if they think you can't understand them. Everyone clear so far?"
They all agreed, and Bane went on, "I'm going to take the CORBY up to the hills with Blind Archer. I want to get a sense of the terrain, spot the rebel forces and locate where the Peacemonger is hiding. If we can, I intend to meet with the rebel leaders and get some parley going. But it's going to be played by ear."
From the back, Unicorn said, "Sounds like some exciting moments coming up, eh?"
"We're over Lucia now, I'm cutting airspeed to one hundred." Sable slowed the craft from its cruising speed as they passed over the city. It was an odd study in contrasts. The main wide center street was lined with impressive monumental buildings. But behind them were narrow crooked lanes lined with small houses and behind that were huts and hovels in a haphazard pattern. On the main streets were shiny new cars but junkers and horsecarts were seen on the outskirts, even a donkey pulling a load.
"There!" Unicorn snapped. "You see what I'm saying! One per cent have all the wealth and live like kings, everyone else struggles to survive. You wonder why there are rebels trying to overthrow this system?"
"That's not why we're here," Bane reminded her. "Our mission is to stop the Peacemonger." After a second, he added, "Maybe when you're done with KDF tenure, you can assemble your own team and come back here."
"Maybe I will," grumbled the little blonde. Behind her, the smile faded from Sable's face. She had never seen Ashley so passionate about something before and she was impressed.
Ahead, at the end of the broad avenue, was a complex of ten-story brown stone buildings, all connected with walkways. The red and white flag of San Esteban flew on poles in front of the complex. Atop one roof was a blue circle with a big letter H in its center, and Sable headed down at it. A few men in suits stood on that roof, staring in fascination as an unmarked black helicopter descended silently toward them. Sable made a perfect landing, so smooth the occupants wouldn't have known they had touched down if she hadn't announced it. She brought the rotors to a halt for safety but left the engine functioning for immediate takeoff.
Sable opened her pressurized hatch and hopped down onto the roof of Government House. Behind her, Unicorn also emerged and stood close. A tall man in formal attire, with his hair parted in the middle and a pencil mustache, bowed and took her hand for a moment. "Ah, the famous Sable of the Kenneth Dred Foundation. Welcome to Lucia. My name is Raul Perez, I am with the President's office as a public liaison. President Dominguez will be available tonight to meet with you, but in the meantime allow me to assist with anything you might need."
"Very glad to meet you," said Sable. Her enhanced senses took in microscopic details of how Perez' pupils contracted as he saw her, how the muscles in his neck tightened, miniscule variations in his voice, even the faint tang of adrenaline in his perspiration. Her powers were not related to combat but they were invaluable. She tentatively trusted this man so far, her perception told her that he had told the truth as far as he knew it. He was genuinely interested in his visitors. He had experienced a testosterone surge when he had seen Ashley, most men did, but he was also intimidated by the cool, steady gaze which the Unicorn fixed on him. So far he seemed normal.
"Shall we move inside?" she asked. "My team will be going about their business now." She swung around to wave at the CORBY, where Bane had moved into the pilot seat. With a slight salute, the Dire Wolf started the rotors accelerating. Perez and the other officials hurried their American visitors to a shed-like structure which held the stairs leading down into the building.
Looking back over one shoulder, Sable saw the CORBY rise rapidly and swing in a circle to head inland, toward the mountains. She felt a faint unexpected twinge and thought, good luck. Then she was marching down metal stairs into the elegant furnishings of a government facility that might as well have been a palace. Unicorn was already chatting with one of the diplomats as if they had grown up together.
IV.
From an altitude of two thousand feet, cruising at three hundred and fifty, the CORBY rushed through the sky with a silence that was almost disturbing. To someone on the ground, there might be a sound like a breeze passing but no more than that. Behind the stick, Jeremy Bane stared down at the rough terrain below. Jagged ountains and steep valleys, with forests between them and only an occasional creek winding round. He spotted a few villages alongside the Rio Marron, maybe twenty huts to each one. The Dire Wolf glanced over at Josef in the co-pilot seat. "Anything yet?"
The Blind Archer shook his head. In his mid-twenties, Josef looked considerably older because exposure and tension had lined his face. His sandy hair was cut short and he had dark blue eyes under shaggy brows. Those eyes moved restlessly, probing with the gralic perception he had been taught as one of the Blind Archers of Chujir. He could pick up on lifeforce at a distance greater than vision could reach, through darkness or rain or fog. It was this ability that made the Blind Archers such feared assassins.
A few minutes later, he raised a hand. "Swing left, captain. There. In that pass."
Bane brought the CORBY around and saw what the Archer had sensed. In a deep rocky pass, more than a hundred men were walking, mostly in single file. They were not wearing uniforms, just regular peasant garb of loose trousers, baggy shirts and sandals or sneakers. A huge variety of hats was present, from actual somberos to baseball caps to military caps. Everyone was armed, mostly submachine guns and rifles with pistols and machetes jammed into belts.
"Not what we're looking for, though," Bane commented. He accelerated sharply as the men below saw the silent black helicopter. Even as they started pointing and staring, the CORBY had sped up and was out of their sight. The Dire Wolf brought the craft deeper into the mountains. "I want to meet with some leaders. Those looked like reinforcements from the villages heading to join up. Wait. There's something we need to check out." With startling quickness, the CORBY swung sharply and descended so fast it felt like freefall. Bane brought the helicopter down at the edge of a clearing that extended a hundred yards and slowed the rotors. "This is not going to be pleasant."
From the co-pilot seat, Josef Jubilic grunted. "Government troops. Massacred."
It was a grisly sight. Dead bodies were sprawled all over the clearing, piled on top of each other, lying where they had fallen when they had been cut down. Stiffened hands still clawed the air. The KDF members disembarked and began to inspect the scene, but first Josef strapped on his quiver and strung his bow. Both of them kept surveying their surroundings for any sign of rebels while investigating.
Nearly all of the corpses had been stripped of their clothing, the heavy boots and trousers in particular. Their guns and equipment such as canteens were also missing. But enough of them were still in the khaki uniforms of the San Esteban Army to mark them as soldiers. They had been killed by gunshot wounds. Flies buzzed in black clouds around the bodies and a few crows were circling.
"This only happened a short time ago," Josef said. "The blood is still wet on some of them."
Staring at the array of two hundred freshly dead men, Jeremy Bane scowled. "Very strange. No rebel corpses anywhere. The ones we saw marching away weren't carrying any of their fallen. Was there time to even dig shallow graves? I don't think so. And something else is strange about this massacre..."
"I see it, too," the Blind Archer muttered. "Odd. Only one or two wounds on each body. It's as if these men just stood there and let themselves be slaughtered. Why?"
The Dire Wolf turned to his partner. "The Peacemonger. I'm sure of it. He's the wild card in this game. Wait, what is it?"
"Men in those trees. You can't see them but I feel their presence. Five of them, watching us."
Bane straightened and lowered the visor on his helmet. "Well, let's see what they want." With Josef beside him, an arrow notched to the bowstring, they began striding quickly in the general direction of the watchers but not exactly at them. Before they reached the trees, figures in long white hooded robes emerged with their open hands held up to show they were unarmed. At their rear was a tall old man with a white beard extending to his chest, leaning on a white shepherd's crook.
"The Doves of Peace," snarled Josef, putting some tension on the string. "Funny we find them here."
Stepping to the front, the Peacemonger threw back his hood to reveal a bony, almost skeletal face with straight white hair to match the beard. He called out in a deep bass with a theatrical flair, "The age of war must end. We need a wisdom beyond weapons."
"Don't give me that," Bane scoffed as he kept advancing. "You're behind this. You affected those soldiers somehow, didn't you? You took away their will to fight."
"You tamed them for the slaughter," added the Blind Archer as he drew his bowstring fully back, the arrow still pointed down. "This is all on your head."
Surprisingly, the Peacemonger laughed gleefully. "An end to their abuse of the citizenry. An end to the iron boot stamping on the farmer's neck."
"An end to the lives of two hundred men, leaving widows and orphans." Bane drew his sidearm and raised it to point directly at the old man. "I think you're coming with us to explain things."
The Peacemonger still seemed gently amused. He had been leaning on the crook, but now he straightened and held it horizontally overhead. "Let go of anger, I say. Calm your spirit. Reach the wisdom beyond weapons."
To Bane's amazement, he saw Josef let the bowstring go slack and the three-foot arrow dropped to the grass. But then, what was wrong with that? The Dire Wolf slowly holstered his gun and let his hands drop to his side. Everything seemed vague and far away, his head felt stuffed with cotton and noises were muffled. For one second, he fought back and the old survival instinct flared up in him but it faded. His shoulders sagged with a meek acquiescence he had never felt before.
The Peacemonger smiled and waved to his followers. "The age of warmongers has passed. A new way has been found. Come, let us bring them to the jeeps. We must bring these American imperialists to the palaces of the proud for their fate."
"Oh Master," ventured one of the Doves, a young man with a tentative blond mustache. "Should we not use their own helicopter?"
The Peacemonger frowned. "Are you trying to kill us all? Do any of us know how to fly such a craft? Of course not. Leave that devil bird where it stands. Brother Fernando, go and bring a jeep here. We will take our... guests to Government House. There they will atone for their crimes against this land."
V.
Most of the day had been wasted waiting in a suite so luxurious that it launched Unicorn on a tirade about inequality. Lounging on a plush overstuffed couch with her feet up on one arm, she said, "And our own country is heading the same way, the middle class is disappearing and the you're either really rich or you're struggling to put food on the table. Now if you asked me..."
Sable interrupted. "Hold on a second, Ashley." She walked out on the wrought iron balcony and stared down at the elaborate paved courtyard below with its marble fountain of fish spouting water from their mouths. "Where are all those soldiers going?"
Ashley Whitaker hopped off the couch and hurried over. "What soldiers? Oh, they're marching in formation. Isn't the airport that way?"
"I saw the airport as we came in," Sable said. "Fairly large and up-to-date. Are those troops moving out?"
Suddenly, the Unicorn grabbed her partner by one shoulder and turned her half around. "Sable, we haven't found out anything useful. They stuck us here to keep us out of the way."
"When our captain comes back, we will have nothing to report," Sable agreed. "Unless... we show some initiative."
"Now you're talking," the little blonde raced over to fetch the Unicorn horn and sling it across her back. They both were still wearing the black suits. "I vote we go for a walk."
Sable brushed her thick black hair with her fingers and straightened her shoulders. She was annoyed at herself for not taking charge earlier. With Unicorn beside her, he opened the ornate seven-foot-high double doors to their suite and faced two big men in black suits who were standing just outside. They turned wide sullen faces on the two women.
"Excuse us," said Sable, walking boldly between them but stopping as one of the guards swung around to stand in her way. Her enhanced senses read his adrenalin surge, the tension in his shoulder muscles. He was tense and ready to stop her with whatever force was needed.
"Are we prisoners?" she asked, reading that both men had their full attention on her. From the corner of her eye, Sable saw Unicorn had a slim hand resting on the butt of her anesthetic dart gun. But before it came to that, Perez showed up further down the hall and called out, "Ah, so sorry to leave you hanging, ladies. Rodrigues, Lopez, stand down."
The aide came to them, still immaculate in formal dress without a speck of dirt on it, without a hair out of place. He flashed brilliant white teeth. "Perhaps we should have a drink and talk while waiting for El Presidente to return?"
"That would be fine," Sable said. She gave Unicorn a quizzical look and they went with Perez down a wide marble staircase that had life-size statues on pillars at each landing. He led them to a dining room with tables that would seat sixty people easily. The silver utensils and lace mats and cut crystal all sparkled in the light from the tall thin windows.
"And children go hungry not a mile away," grumbled Unicorn under her breath.
Perez ushered them to seat themselves on a long silk-covered sofa along one wall. As he pulled up a hand-carved wooden chair for himself, a white-jacketed waiter who had to be seventy years old approached. "Ah, Jesus. What do you say, ladies? Perhaps white wine and some cheese while we wait?"
"Chablis would be fine," Sable answered, and Unicorn nodded surly agreement. As the servant returned with a gleaming tray holding glasses, a bottle of French wine, various cheeses and crackers, they thanked him and started to indulge. Sable smiled slightly and said, "Ashley here has some questions about your country. Ashley?"
That unleashed the deluge. For the next twenty minutes, Unicorn launched into her grievances about the way San Esteban was run, from the gap between the lower classes and their masters, to the way the Indians were almost extinct now, to the way public education was discouraged for girls, to the huge influence American corporations had over the economy. Politely, Perez did not argue or even try to defend his government. He mildly agreed with most of what she said but admitted he did not see any way things would change in the near future.
As the one-sided debate continued, Sable observed and learned much. Her enhanced hearing was more accurate than a polygraph. She could hear variations in his heartbeat and pick up subvocal tremors in his voice. Beneath the smooth unruffled demeanour, Raul Perez was in the grip of deadly fear. Finally, she interrupted, "The reason we are here, sir, is to find information about an old man with a white beard and a shepherd staff."
That did it. Perez's heartbeat shot up and sweat broke out on his face and neck. His breathing was tight and fast. All of this would not have been detectable to a normal person. "Ah, I'm... sorry?"
"The Peacemonger and his Doves of Peace. He is playing a dangerous game, Mr Perez. What control does he have over you?"
The man started to rise. "I really must be leaving, I fear."
"Sit down!" she snapped in an icy tone that stopped him short. For a young woman in her mid-twenties, Lauren Sable Reilly had a tone of unforced authority in her voice. "You can't hide anything from me. The Peacemonger terrifies you. Why do you obey him?"
"You don't understand. He's not a natural man but a Brujo.. a witchman, a sorcerer. Where he appears, he brings terror with him."
"We're here to put an end to that," she said and her voice softened. "You know we are knights of Tel Shai. Before we leave, the Peacemonger will be history. Now, what is his relationship with President Dominguez?"
"His relation..? Say, a cruel master and a whipped dog. I thought El Presidente was a proud man but he grovels before the bearded old warlock. It breaks my heart to see him debased so." Perez seemed almost on the verge of tears as long-supressed stress had brought him near the breaking point.
"I can tell you this, my friend," said Sable. "This warlock does have black magick. We have beaten more powerful witchmen than him. That is why we are here."
As Perez was about to speak, three soldiers in khaki uniforms marched into the room. One had golden braid on his shoulder and he glanced expectantly at the diplomatic aide. "Excuse me," Perez mumbled as he went over to speak with them.
Unicorn grinned at Sable. "That was great. You're a real take-charge gal, Reilly."
Perez returned with a pale, tense face. "You must excuse me now."
"I heard the conversation," Sable told him. "You have received news of a massacre. Two hundred and eleven troops shot down in the mountains not an hour's drive from here."
"How could you possibly have heard what we.....?"
"I have my talents," she answered. "Not a single survivor and not a single casualty among the rebels. They submitted to be executed. We both know who is behind this!"
Looking about nervously, wetting his lips, Perez came close and whispered, "The old Brujo has been playing both sides against each other. What he wants, I can't imagine. But he has gone too far. When the moment is right, I will help you Tel Shai knights against him."
Sable had been studying him. "I believe you. You are being brave, sir, and you are doing the right thing."
Standing by the high windows, Unicorn had glanced down in the courtyard and she gasped audibly. "Sable.. I, uh I think you need to see this."
With Perez beside her, the KDF sensor came over to gaze down at the scene below. Two olive-drab open jeeps had pulled up in front of the main building. As armed sentries watched passively, four people in concealing white robes disembarked. A white-bearded old man in the same robe climbed gingerly out and gestured for the two men in the back seat to get out. Heads bowed, Jeremy Bane and Josef Jubilec meekly obeyed.
VI.
In only a few minutes, the newcomers entered the dining room where Sable and Unicorn stood. Soldiers escorted them in, then stood motionless in the doorway. Four Doves of Peace lined up, almost entirely hidden in their robes with the hoods drawn over their faces. One was a short woman with generous curves, two were rather scrawny men of average height and the one on the end was noticeably broad and beefy although he slumped as if to conceal this.
Standing with lowered heads like schoolchildren called in the principal's office for reprimands, Bane and Josef seemed unaware of their teammates staring at them with horror. To see such fierce spirits broken... Sable felt dazed herself at the sight.
Regarding the two women, the Peacemonger threw back his head and beamed at them. "Two more Tel Shai knights! Excellent. You shall serve us as well as your friends here."
"That's your gralic power," Unicorn blurted out. "You can affect people mentally. You make them submissive, docile. It's horrible."
"It is glorious," answered the old warlock. "Too long has war burned half the world into blackened ruins. That era is passing. We have learned a wisdom beyond weapons."
Sable met his stare and flinched. She saw a lack of focus there, a disoriented glitter that meant the man was living out inner fantasies. He could not be reasoned with. Pointing to the soldiers in the doorway, she called loudly, "You men have heard about the massacre of your fellows. You know that this Brujo was responsible?"
They did not react. The Peacemonger looked back at them, then turned back to her. "They know. If they were not subdued by my wisdom, they would shoot me down here and now. But they won't. They have been made lambs of my flock."
"It looks as if we can't defy your magick, either." Sable raised an eyebrow at her partner. "Can we, Ashley?"
The little blonde sighed and unfastened the straps across her chest, taking the sheath from her back. "I guess not. No sense in fighting the inevitable." She opened the stiff leather sheath and slid out the slim ivory spiral that reached two feet from its silver-capped base to its needle-sharp tip.
"Is that..? It can't be." The Peacemonger leaned closer. "I never thought one still existed in the world." He raised his shepherd's staff as if he was going to strike the little blonde, but without warning a powerful hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around to receive a thundering left jab squarely in the center of the face. The old man gasped and fell heavily, not even trying to break his fall but still keeping his grip on the white staff. The Doves of Peace in that room cried out as if they were hurt.
The beefy man in the white robes angrily yanked them off. Colonel Shackle had been wearing his dress shirt and Navy blue slacks beneath. "Personally, I think this has gone far enough, geezer."
Struggling to rise, the Peacemonger sputtered, "You... you are not one of us?"
"No kidding, genius. I waylaid one of your stooges in the hall out there and swiped his get-up. He's snoring in a closet. Okay, pal. Get up so I can knock you down again." Tom Shackle raised meaty fists with scarred lumpy knuckles. "Let's get this over with."
Rising with the help of his crook, the Peacemonger spat a few drops of blood. "Fool. I claim you as well. Let go of your will and surrender to submission. You are mine now."
Even as Shackle's eyes glazed over and his face slackened, Ashley Whitaker raised the Unicorn horn overhead with both hands and shouted, "With this horn I remove thy power!"
The Peacemonger convulsed and dropped the crook from his hand. In the next few seconds, both Bane and Josef shuddered and glared about in confusion. But the guards showed no hesitation. They both raised their Uzis and let off short bursts which ripped the Peacemonger nearly in half. Blood sprayed all over. The old man leaped off his feet, turned around and fell face down with a thud as his face hit the polished floor.
As both soldiers lowered their weapons, the diplomatic aide spoke for the first time. "Good work, men," said Perez. "I'll see that you're not reprimanded. He was responsible for the deaths of that whole company. You just saved the State the price of an execution. You three outsiders in the robes, you are under arrest. Go with these men. Take them to a holding cell for now."
"Yes, Mr Perez," answered a soldier as they escorted the stunned Doves of Peace from the dining room. When they had left, Raul Perez faced the KDF members. "That was for the best. He brought that death upon himself and you can't say he didn't earn it."
Colonel Tom Shackle stretched and clapped his hands together. "Finally. I busted my ass getting back down here and concealing myself in the building before you KDF amateurs showed up. I woulda knocked this geezer harmless myself in another minute."
"Yeah, right," Ashley scoffed as she slid the horn back into its sheath. "Once again, it's the Unicorn to the rescue." Sable laughed out loud hearing this.
Somberly, Jeremy Bane removed his helmet. His face looked tired. "Tom, you're going to take the body, I guess?"
"Yeah, sure. Proper ID to close the case. Why?"
"We claim the staff. If it has gralic attributes, as I think it does, it belongs safely locked away in our vault." Taking a handcloth from the table, the Dire Wolf picked up the staff without letting his skin come in touch with it. "Oh, and we'll need a lift back to our transport. We left the CORBY in the clearing where the slaughter was."
"Hell, not a problem. I'll get on it." Shackle dug a thick brown cigar from a pocket and clamped it unlit in his teeth as he went out in the hall. They watched him strut out before gathering in a huddle.
"That didn't work out any way I expected," Bane told them. "Great going, you two. I think Josef and I would end up Doves of Peace if not for you."
"It was a nightmare," the Blind Archer growled. "I felt hypnotized or something. Maybe in time I would have broken loose but I can't guarantee it."
"Me neither." Bane let out a deep shuddering breath. "Talk about a humbling experience. I was no help at the big showdown."
"Aw, captain, you've pulled our butts out of trouble a hundred times!" Unicorn said. She gave him a playful punch on the bicep. "Let us save the day once in a while."
"More than that," the Dire Wolf told them. "This has helped me decide something. I'm going to step down as captain soon. I'll open my PI business again. Sable, you and your team have proven themselves more than enough. You're ready to operate on your own." A rare wistful smile appeared on the drawn, narrow face, making him look years younger. "Congratulations."
1/1/2015
3/11-3/12/2001
I.
Ashley Whitaker trotted blithely down the staircase to the front hall, immaculate in crisp white slacks and long-sleeved ribbed indigo pullover. She wore a short blue windbreaker with white collar and cuffs, and had brushed out her platinum blonde hair until it was perfect. Almost twenty-one, just over five feet tall and just under one hundred pounds, she would have been gorgeous even if she hadn't taken great pains with her appearance. "Sorry, sorry," she sang out. "I know I was supposed to be ready at six and it's a quarter after, but my green blouse had a spot on it and I can't wear these shoes without a matching top.." Her voice trailed off as she saw Sable Reilly and Jeremy Bane looking up at her. "And why are you guys smiling like that?"
A few inches taller and a few years older, Lauren Sable Reilly was a contrast to Unicorn in many ways. She had jet black hair combed back from her forehead, smooth olive skin and dark brown eyes that now were crinkled with amusement. Sable wore Navy blue slacks, a powder blue blouse and a black blazer with brass buttons. "Well, there's a story here," she said. "I told you we were leaving at six, but we really don't have to leave until six-thirty."
Next to Sable, the Dire Wolf allowed himself a rare smile that barely raised the corners of his mouth. He was more at ease with these members of the new KDF team than he had been in a decade. Bane still wore all black as a habit, slacks and turtleneck and sport jacket, almost his uniform in the Midnight War. Six feet tall and lean to the point of looking gaunt, he had pale grey eyes that stood out vividly in a narrow face under short black hair. "Sable, you're sharp."
"Being deputy leader means knowing your teammates," she said easily. "You always look great anyway, Ashley. Ready to go listen to the Peacemonger and his Doves of Peace?"
"I guess," she said. "His speech has been on the news all day. I guess he's a big deal, a sort of charismatic figure the world has been looking for."
Bane headed for the front door, and they stepped out onto East 38th Street and a crisp March day with a stiff breeze. There was just enough chill in the air to be stimulating. As Sable closed the front door to the headquarters building, they heard the buzz and click of alarms arming themselves.
"Let's hike," Unicorn announced and led the way west towards Times Square. "So you guys fill me in, how is this Peacemonger our business?"
"I'm not sure he is," Bane told her. "His appearance tonight has been sold-out for weeks. The Mandate got us three tickets for ringside seats. That bunch is always trouble, you can't trust them for a second but our missions do overlap. Colonel Tom Shackle is supposed to meet us tonight to fill us in."
"And then we decide if we buy what they're selling?" asked Ashley.
"Yes. I'm not convinced myself, but the team will vote." Bane glanced down at Sable, walking at his right side. "I'm sure you've done some research."
"Absolutely," she said. "Two months ago, the Doves of Peace turned up in Mosgovina. The civil war has been going on there for years. The Peacemonger asked for prayers of goodwill from his followers around the world, and darned if the fighting didn't simmer down. In a day or so, there was an unofficial cease-fire. The opposing sides met and worked out a truce that would hold until elections could be set up. And the world cheered."
"But then?"
"Ah, there's the catch. After the Peacemonger left Central Europe, fighting started up again. Each side claimed the other started it. Things are back to normal, sad to say."
Unicorn had been marching in front of her teammates. Now, she slowed and turned around to look at them. "That's weird. It sounds like a scam."
"A lot of people think so," Sable told her as they started walking toward Madison Square Garden again. "But mostly, around the world, millions believe in the Doves of Peace. Donations pour in. Thousands sign up to do community service in the group's name. How can you blame them? Who isn't sick of war?"
"Look at that crowd," Bane interrupted. Two blocks from the Garden, the sidewalks were packed with excited people chatting and moving around. It looked like the mobs of New Year's Eve. Many held up signs A WISDOM BEYOND WEAPONS and IT'S TIME FOR PEACE. T-shirts with a white dove on the front were everywhere. Cutting through the closely-packed crowd without seeming to use force, the Dire Wolf kept moving steadily onward with Sable and Unicorn behind him. They went in the main entrance and eventually found their seats, only five rows back from the ring itself.
The rows of seats were filled and the buzz of conversation was a steady background noise. Colorful balloons floated overhead. Hanging from the ceiling was a papier-mache dove with a ten-foot wingspread and an olive branch in its beak. Despite his natural suspicion and gloomy disposition, even Jeremy Bane started to feel placid and cheerful. He glanced over and saw blissful smiles on his two partners. The Dire Wolf vaguely thought something was wrong but he could not put his finger on it.
The house lights dimmed and a rose-tinted spotlight followed a dozen white robed figures striding solemnly down an aisle. At their head was a tall man with a long white beard, carrying a shepherd's crook. The applause and cheers was thunderous. The Peacemonger had arrived.
II.
On their way back to 38th Street an hour later, the three KDF members were walking slowly. They felt oddly exhausted instead of exhilarated. It was Sable who broke the weary silence, "Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me? The further we get from Madison Square Garden, the less excited I am about the Peacemonger. When he was talking, I felt thrilled. He kept promising a "wisdom beyond weapons" and a new era when the guns will be silent and the weeping will cease. It all sounded great, but looking back, it was just slogans."
"He was talking through his hat," Unicorn put in unexpectedly.
Both Bane and Sable stopped in their tracks to stare at the little blonde. Not noticing, Ashley went on, "Blah blah blah. He's like a politician, they make these speeches which sound great but are as empty as cotton candy. As soon as he stopped talking and started asking for donations, I pegged him for a phony."
Bane raised an eyebrow. "You're more hard-headed than I realized."
"Hey, I'm not STUPID. You guys consistently underestimate me. My mom took me around the world training me to replace her as the new Unicorn." Ashley sniffed with disdain. "I'm nobody's fool."
"I'm impressed," Sable told her. "I was falling for the Peacemonger's agenda. Maybe because I wanted to." They were in front of the old ten-story building at 28 East 38th Street and she went up the five stone steps to the front door to unlock it. "But now that I think about, he didn't have anything definite to propose. Just platitudes."
Behind his two teammates, Bane was silent. He remained on the sidewalk, watching warily as a black Lincoln turned the corner at Lexington and headed toward them. The Dire Wolf always expected attacks and ambushes. The two women were inside the tiny vestibule, pausing to look back at him as he reached behind his left hip for the grip of his Smith & Wesson.
The car eased up to the curb and the driver stood up. Recognizing the man, Bane relaxed slightly. Colonel Tom Shackle was a big bruiser who was built more like a wrestler than an intelligence officer. He was wearing a tan suit and white dress shirt but with no tie and the top shirt button open. Shackle slammed the car door and spat out a foul cigar butt to the curb. His face had a weatherbeaten appearance, with sharp blue eyes under heavy brows and a pugnacious jaw. Shackle's dark brown hair was close-cropped, almost shaven.
"There you are! I been circling the block like a nut and when a parking space finally opens, you come waltzing up the street. About time."
"Hello, Shackle. We just returned from the Peacemonger's appearance. Come on in." Bane ushered the Mandate officer into the vestibule. In the front hall, Sable and Unicorn were watching through the open inner door.
"Boy!" snorted Ashley. "When I broke protocol and let someone in without scanning, I got suspended for a month!"
"Not now," Sable whispered. "We'll check his results."
Closing the door to the street, Bane stopped. "You know our policy, Shackle. That gun has to go into the bench here."
"Yeah, and I know Mandate policy too. An officer does not surrender his sidearm."
"Then we'll have to talk here. No outsider enters KDF headquarters with a firearm, that's final." Bane's tone was polite but there was no uncertainty in it. After a long pause, Shackle reached under his tan jacket and drew a Ruger from an underarm holster. He extended it grip first, and Bane took it. Lifting the lid of the bench behind them, the Dire Wolf placed the gun in a padded compartment. When he closed the lid, a lock clicked audibly.
"I guess you got your reasons," Shackle grumbled. "But I don't gotta like them."
Bane glanced over and got a confirming nod from Sable inside the inner door. She was closing a wooden panel set at eye level as the two men entered the front hall. Bane escorted Shackle to the reception to their left. Waiting behind for a second, Unicorn whispered, "You scanned him while Jeremy took his gun?"
"Down to his toenails. He's Thomas Julian Shackle all right, no other weapons, no traces of unusual chemicals, brainwaves nominal. We got all that in ten seconds." Sable followed the two men in the conference room with Ashley grumbling, "I still don't think I should have been suspended the way I was."
Bane was seated behind the huge oak desk which stood beneath a handpainted map of the world as it had been in 1937. Taking a comfortable chair more to the right than directly in front of the desk, Shackle unbuttoned his jacket and settled back. As Sable and Unicorn pulled chairs over for themselves, the Mandate officer fixed them with a sour look. "Hey, Bane, these are your new KDF members? They look like kids."
"No younger than I was when I founded the original team," the Dire Wolf. "Let's get right to it. What's your interest in the Peacemonger?"
Shackle grinned. He had not shaven for a few days and he looked more like a saloon bouncer than a wordclass spy, but that was part of his carefully cultivated image. "We've been following his activities. Our Mandate is to investigate people with unusual abilities or artifacts, see if they pose a threat to the public, and if necessary neutralize them."
"Neutralize," snorted Unicorn. "Nice way to put it."
As if he hadn't heard, Shackle continued. "Right after tonight's fundraiser, Peacemonger left on a private jet he had waiting at Newark Airport. Our sources tell us he's heading for San Esteban tonight. We figure he's gonna stir things up there like he did in Europe."
Bane nodded. "I know San Esteban has had trouble with rebel forces in the mountains for years. They clash with the Army but so far neither side has a clear advantage."
"There's more to it than that. Our government has poured billions into San Esteban to make it a showplace for democracy. We want other countries in the area to see how being allied with Uncle Sam is a good deal. If Peacemonger helps the rebels and Dominguez is ousted, that's all for nothing." He gave the Dire Wolf a stern look. "The Mandate is an agency of the US Department of Justice. We support American interests."
"American corporations making a fortune off sweatshops," Unicorn put in.
"Look, little girl, you don't know what you're talking about! This is between me and Dire Wolf here. Keep your trap shut," Shackle barked.
Before Unicorn could explode, Bane raised a hand to warn her. "We'll hear what you have to say, Shackle."
"All right. Our agents report that the Peacemonger has some sort of strange power over crowds. He can rile them up or calm them down. Not just with speeches or anything, it's magic of some kind. That makes it Midnight War, which means it's our business... and yours."
"Yes. I think so. I felt something tonight, some strong influence that faded as we got away from the immediate area." Bane frowned at his visitor. "I have to say right now that the KDF is not a political force. We don't take sides in what other countries have going on. I personally don't know if the San Esteban government is decent or full of corruption, I don't know if the rebels would change things for the better or just throw the country into chaos. We're not taking sides. We're not world police."
"But you do fight the Midnight War," Shackle persisted. "I tell you, this Peacemonger is a warlock or something and that's what you're pledged to fight."
"True enough. All right, I think we will investigate this guy and his organization. I'll promise that much. But we are not going to be working for the Mandate, we follow our own agenda." Bane locked eyes with the abrasive Shackle. "That's always been clear."
"Fair enough. We'll be in touch." Both men stood up and shook hands firmly. As Shackle started to leave, Bane said, "Unicorn, escort the Colonel out, will you?"
"That's not necessary," Shackle began but the little blonde was already at the door waiting for him. As they headed out in the hall, she started, "I lived in Nicaragua for six months, I saw what goes on in those countries..."
"Oh bother," chuckled Sable as she got to her feet as well. "I'd love to hear that conversation."
"Unicorn has done a lot of traveling," he said. "Josef is due in New York around ten. It's too bad the others aren't available but Argent and Levon are in California on the Roar Devils case and Megan is conferring with her Trom superiors. We'll have a council of war and probably leave in the morning."
Sable was listening to the heated argument in the front hall. Then the door slammed and Unicorn strutted back in with a pleased expression.
"Did his face turn red! I handed him his gun back and he almost hurt himself shoving it in the holster. He's a little worked up. All I did was list the governments the US has overthrown in Central America and he acted like I tore the flag in half in front of him."
Sable shook with silent laughter. Finally, she said, "If we have to work with him, we'll need a Peacemonger ourselves."
III.
At eight-thirty the next morning, the team assembled in the hangar on the tenth floor. This had originally been the roof, but Bane had installed walls and a sliding panel to allow the CORBY exit and access. The sleek black stealthcopter took up most of the floor space as it was. Sable had done the standard rundown for the past twenty minutes and declared the CORBY flight worthy and ready to lift off.
During the night, the remaining KDF member Blind Archer had arrived and gotten a quick briefing. They had all slept in their quarters, had a substantial breakfast and were now ready for duty in their field suits. Bane had also ordered each member to bring a travel bag with two sets of civilian clothes, formal and informal. These bags were stowed in the compartment behind the stubby horizontal vanes halfway down the fuselage. Josef Jubilec, the Blind Archer, also packed away two longbows he had crafted himself, a Y-shaped leather quiver and a crate holding fifty arrows with assorted heads. As he made sure everything was secure, Josef was watched by Sable curiously.
She asked, "Are you going to switch to modern bows sometime?"
"Hah! No my friend, I don't think so. My art is traditional and old ways work best for my powers." The Blind Archer fastened the compartment hatch and turned to face his partner. Despite his war name, Josef was not blind. He belonged to a sect of assassins and mercenaries who enhanced their gralic perception by covering their eyes while launching arrows. "I suppose in an emergency I could, but the results would not be as good."
Sable grinned. She had a slight overbite and an appealing smile. "Whatever works for you. I saw modern archers on TV, that's why I asked."
Coming over to the join them, Sable and Unicorn were in the black field suits as well. Heavy boots, snug pants, a waist-length jacket and a visored helmet that they each were carrying in one arm. The suits had a layer of the flexible Trom armor underneath and concealed a dozen small gadgets and weapons in various slits and pouches. Each of the members also had an anesthetic dart gun holstered at the belt.
"Black is so not my color," Ashley was complaining. "It makes my complexion look washed-out!" Strapped across her back was a three foot leather sheath which held the mystic talisman, the ensorcelled Unicorn horn which gave her both her power and her name.
Stepping away from the two vertical tail vanes which replaced a rear rotor, Sable completed her external inspection, "The CORBY is warmed up and ready. We can leave any time."
Coming into the hangar, Jeremy Bane was wearing the same field suit but on his wiry frame it looked sinister. He watched his team thoughtfully. They were really ready to start operating on his own. He had to announce it soon... it was time for him to step down and for Sable to take over. The Dire Wolf realized he had been putting it off too long. As they turned to face him, he said, "Everyone aboard. Sable, you take the stick. I'll ride co-pilot. Let's go."
The team climbed through the hatches, four of them crowding into the compartment behind the cabin. A short padded bench had enough room for three to sit comfortably, and Unicorn claimed the area closest to the cabin so she could see out the windscreen. She had unbuckled the straps holding her Unicorn horn and held it in both hands. A few feet to her right were the backs of the pilot and co-pilot seats; a clear plastic divider could slide across to separate the compartments but it was not drawn at the moment.
Placing her helmet on and fastening a cable to a socket at its rear, Sable connected to the ship's read-out. She began flipping switches and her eyes roved over a dozen gauges and dials. A row of six small monitor screens displayed exterior views from different angles, schematics of the craft, maps or analyses. "Impulse engines on," she said, "Rotors turning at minimum. Landing gear retracting, we have wheels up.. now." Sable reached up and placed her palm against an incongruous pale blue gem set in the ceiling above her. "Care to give me some assistance, captain?"
"Sure," Bane answered. "Moving something this size is no joke." He placed his own fingertips on the crystal and said, "One. Two. Three!"
Gorgeous pale blue light flared to fill their vision. As it faded, they were no longer in a hangar on the top floor of a building in Manhattan. Through the front windscreen of the copter, they could see lush dark green vegetation far below them, with a river sparkling in the brilliant sun. The CORBY hovered in the air, steady as if on solid ground, with its rotors slowly turning.
"Successful," Sable announced to her team. "Four thousand feet above ground level. We are now in central San Esteban, thirty miles from the capital city of Lucia. We should request clearance soon."
"Shackle said he'd arrange for us to be allowed in San Esteban airspace," Bane agreed. "But we should be as polite as possible. You contact the authorities, give them our location and advise them we are heading to Lucia." He stared down through the windscreen at the mountains below them. The trees only made it partly up those brutal slopes, mostly it was bare rock with sharp edges below them. "Rough terrain," he observed.
Josef nodded, peering between the two cabin seats at the view. "You can see how the rebels have been able to avoid pursuit. The Army has to travel on foot. Those mountains are perfect for ambushes."
"We have clearance," Sable announced as she swung the CORBY around to accelerate south. After Trom Girl, she was the best pilot in the new team. "They're expecting us to arrive at Government House shortly."
"Good." Bane swung around in his seat to address the team in the compartment behind him. "Here's the plan. Sable and Unicorn will disembark and meet with the government officials. They will try to get to see President Dominguez. Sable, use your enhanced senses to watch for deceit and cut through the lies you'll feed you. Unicorn, you speak fair Spanish but don't let them know that. They may drop information if they think you can't understand them. Everyone clear so far?"
They all agreed, and Bane went on, "I'm going to take the CORBY up to the hills with Blind Archer. I want to get a sense of the terrain, spot the rebel forces and locate where the Peacemonger is hiding. If we can, I intend to meet with the rebel leaders and get some parley going. But it's going to be played by ear."
From the back, Unicorn said, "Sounds like some exciting moments coming up, eh?"
"We're over Lucia now, I'm cutting airspeed to one hundred." Sable slowed the craft from its cruising speed as they passed over the city. It was an odd study in contrasts. The main wide center street was lined with impressive monumental buildings. But behind them were narrow crooked lanes lined with small houses and behind that were huts and hovels in a haphazard pattern. On the main streets were shiny new cars but junkers and horsecarts were seen on the outskirts, even a donkey pulling a load.
"There!" Unicorn snapped. "You see what I'm saying! One per cent have all the wealth and live like kings, everyone else struggles to survive. You wonder why there are rebels trying to overthrow this system?"
"That's not why we're here," Bane reminded her. "Our mission is to stop the Peacemonger." After a second, he added, "Maybe when you're done with KDF tenure, you can assemble your own team and come back here."
"Maybe I will," grumbled the little blonde. Behind her, the smile faded from Sable's face. She had never seen Ashley so passionate about something before and she was impressed.
Ahead, at the end of the broad avenue, was a complex of ten-story brown stone buildings, all connected with walkways. The red and white flag of San Esteban flew on poles in front of the complex. Atop one roof was a blue circle with a big letter H in its center, and Sable headed down at it. A few men in suits stood on that roof, staring in fascination as an unmarked black helicopter descended silently toward them. Sable made a perfect landing, so smooth the occupants wouldn't have known they had touched down if she hadn't announced it. She brought the rotors to a halt for safety but left the engine functioning for immediate takeoff.
Sable opened her pressurized hatch and hopped down onto the roof of Government House. Behind her, Unicorn also emerged and stood close. A tall man in formal attire, with his hair parted in the middle and a pencil mustache, bowed and took her hand for a moment. "Ah, the famous Sable of the Kenneth Dred Foundation. Welcome to Lucia. My name is Raul Perez, I am with the President's office as a public liaison. President Dominguez will be available tonight to meet with you, but in the meantime allow me to assist with anything you might need."
"Very glad to meet you," said Sable. Her enhanced senses took in microscopic details of how Perez' pupils contracted as he saw her, how the muscles in his neck tightened, miniscule variations in his voice, even the faint tang of adrenaline in his perspiration. Her powers were not related to combat but they were invaluable. She tentatively trusted this man so far, her perception told her that he had told the truth as far as he knew it. He was genuinely interested in his visitors. He had experienced a testosterone surge when he had seen Ashley, most men did, but he was also intimidated by the cool, steady gaze which the Unicorn fixed on him. So far he seemed normal.
"Shall we move inside?" she asked. "My team will be going about their business now." She swung around to wave at the CORBY, where Bane had moved into the pilot seat. With a slight salute, the Dire Wolf started the rotors accelerating. Perez and the other officials hurried their American visitors to a shed-like structure which held the stairs leading down into the building.
Looking back over one shoulder, Sable saw the CORBY rise rapidly and swing in a circle to head inland, toward the mountains. She felt a faint unexpected twinge and thought, good luck. Then she was marching down metal stairs into the elegant furnishings of a government facility that might as well have been a palace. Unicorn was already chatting with one of the diplomats as if they had grown up together.
IV.
From an altitude of two thousand feet, cruising at three hundred and fifty, the CORBY rushed through the sky with a silence that was almost disturbing. To someone on the ground, there might be a sound like a breeze passing but no more than that. Behind the stick, Jeremy Bane stared down at the rough terrain below. Jagged ountains and steep valleys, with forests between them and only an occasional creek winding round. He spotted a few villages alongside the Rio Marron, maybe twenty huts to each one. The Dire Wolf glanced over at Josef in the co-pilot seat. "Anything yet?"
The Blind Archer shook his head. In his mid-twenties, Josef looked considerably older because exposure and tension had lined his face. His sandy hair was cut short and he had dark blue eyes under shaggy brows. Those eyes moved restlessly, probing with the gralic perception he had been taught as one of the Blind Archers of Chujir. He could pick up on lifeforce at a distance greater than vision could reach, through darkness or rain or fog. It was this ability that made the Blind Archers such feared assassins.
A few minutes later, he raised a hand. "Swing left, captain. There. In that pass."
Bane brought the CORBY around and saw what the Archer had sensed. In a deep rocky pass, more than a hundred men were walking, mostly in single file. They were not wearing uniforms, just regular peasant garb of loose trousers, baggy shirts and sandals or sneakers. A huge variety of hats was present, from actual somberos to baseball caps to military caps. Everyone was armed, mostly submachine guns and rifles with pistols and machetes jammed into belts.
"Not what we're looking for, though," Bane commented. He accelerated sharply as the men below saw the silent black helicopter. Even as they started pointing and staring, the CORBY had sped up and was out of their sight. The Dire Wolf brought the craft deeper into the mountains. "I want to meet with some leaders. Those looked like reinforcements from the villages heading to join up. Wait. There's something we need to check out." With startling quickness, the CORBY swung sharply and descended so fast it felt like freefall. Bane brought the helicopter down at the edge of a clearing that extended a hundred yards and slowed the rotors. "This is not going to be pleasant."
From the co-pilot seat, Josef Jubilic grunted. "Government troops. Massacred."
It was a grisly sight. Dead bodies were sprawled all over the clearing, piled on top of each other, lying where they had fallen when they had been cut down. Stiffened hands still clawed the air. The KDF members disembarked and began to inspect the scene, but first Josef strapped on his quiver and strung his bow. Both of them kept surveying their surroundings for any sign of rebels while investigating.
Nearly all of the corpses had been stripped of their clothing, the heavy boots and trousers in particular. Their guns and equipment such as canteens were also missing. But enough of them were still in the khaki uniforms of the San Esteban Army to mark them as soldiers. They had been killed by gunshot wounds. Flies buzzed in black clouds around the bodies and a few crows were circling.
"This only happened a short time ago," Josef said. "The blood is still wet on some of them."
Staring at the array of two hundred freshly dead men, Jeremy Bane scowled. "Very strange. No rebel corpses anywhere. The ones we saw marching away weren't carrying any of their fallen. Was there time to even dig shallow graves? I don't think so. And something else is strange about this massacre..."
"I see it, too," the Blind Archer muttered. "Odd. Only one or two wounds on each body. It's as if these men just stood there and let themselves be slaughtered. Why?"
The Dire Wolf turned to his partner. "The Peacemonger. I'm sure of it. He's the wild card in this game. Wait, what is it?"
"Men in those trees. You can't see them but I feel their presence. Five of them, watching us."
Bane straightened and lowered the visor on his helmet. "Well, let's see what they want." With Josef beside him, an arrow notched to the bowstring, they began striding quickly in the general direction of the watchers but not exactly at them. Before they reached the trees, figures in long white hooded robes emerged with their open hands held up to show they were unarmed. At their rear was a tall old man with a white beard extending to his chest, leaning on a white shepherd's crook.
"The Doves of Peace," snarled Josef, putting some tension on the string. "Funny we find them here."
Stepping to the front, the Peacemonger threw back his hood to reveal a bony, almost skeletal face with straight white hair to match the beard. He called out in a deep bass with a theatrical flair, "The age of war must end. We need a wisdom beyond weapons."
"Don't give me that," Bane scoffed as he kept advancing. "You're behind this. You affected those soldiers somehow, didn't you? You took away their will to fight."
"You tamed them for the slaughter," added the Blind Archer as he drew his bowstring fully back, the arrow still pointed down. "This is all on your head."
Surprisingly, the Peacemonger laughed gleefully. "An end to their abuse of the citizenry. An end to the iron boot stamping on the farmer's neck."
"An end to the lives of two hundred men, leaving widows and orphans." Bane drew his sidearm and raised it to point directly at the old man. "I think you're coming with us to explain things."
The Peacemonger still seemed gently amused. He had been leaning on the crook, but now he straightened and held it horizontally overhead. "Let go of anger, I say. Calm your spirit. Reach the wisdom beyond weapons."
To Bane's amazement, he saw Josef let the bowstring go slack and the three-foot arrow dropped to the grass. But then, what was wrong with that? The Dire Wolf slowly holstered his gun and let his hands drop to his side. Everything seemed vague and far away, his head felt stuffed with cotton and noises were muffled. For one second, he fought back and the old survival instinct flared up in him but it faded. His shoulders sagged with a meek acquiescence he had never felt before.
The Peacemonger smiled and waved to his followers. "The age of warmongers has passed. A new way has been found. Come, let us bring them to the jeeps. We must bring these American imperialists to the palaces of the proud for their fate."
"Oh Master," ventured one of the Doves, a young man with a tentative blond mustache. "Should we not use their own helicopter?"
The Peacemonger frowned. "Are you trying to kill us all? Do any of us know how to fly such a craft? Of course not. Leave that devil bird where it stands. Brother Fernando, go and bring a jeep here. We will take our... guests to Government House. There they will atone for their crimes against this land."
V.
Most of the day had been wasted waiting in a suite so luxurious that it launched Unicorn on a tirade about inequality. Lounging on a plush overstuffed couch with her feet up on one arm, she said, "And our own country is heading the same way, the middle class is disappearing and the you're either really rich or you're struggling to put food on the table. Now if you asked me..."
Sable interrupted. "Hold on a second, Ashley." She walked out on the wrought iron balcony and stared down at the elaborate paved courtyard below with its marble fountain of fish spouting water from their mouths. "Where are all those soldiers going?"
Ashley Whitaker hopped off the couch and hurried over. "What soldiers? Oh, they're marching in formation. Isn't the airport that way?"
"I saw the airport as we came in," Sable said. "Fairly large and up-to-date. Are those troops moving out?"
Suddenly, the Unicorn grabbed her partner by one shoulder and turned her half around. "Sable, we haven't found out anything useful. They stuck us here to keep us out of the way."
"When our captain comes back, we will have nothing to report," Sable agreed. "Unless... we show some initiative."
"Now you're talking," the little blonde raced over to fetch the Unicorn horn and sling it across her back. They both were still wearing the black suits. "I vote we go for a walk."
Sable brushed her thick black hair with her fingers and straightened her shoulders. She was annoyed at herself for not taking charge earlier. With Unicorn beside her, he opened the ornate seven-foot-high double doors to their suite and faced two big men in black suits who were standing just outside. They turned wide sullen faces on the two women.
"Excuse us," said Sable, walking boldly between them but stopping as one of the guards swung around to stand in her way. Her enhanced senses read his adrenalin surge, the tension in his shoulder muscles. He was tense and ready to stop her with whatever force was needed.
"Are we prisoners?" she asked, reading that both men had their full attention on her. From the corner of her eye, Sable saw Unicorn had a slim hand resting on the butt of her anesthetic dart gun. But before it came to that, Perez showed up further down the hall and called out, "Ah, so sorry to leave you hanging, ladies. Rodrigues, Lopez, stand down."
The aide came to them, still immaculate in formal dress without a speck of dirt on it, without a hair out of place. He flashed brilliant white teeth. "Perhaps we should have a drink and talk while waiting for El Presidente to return?"
"That would be fine," Sable said. She gave Unicorn a quizzical look and they went with Perez down a wide marble staircase that had life-size statues on pillars at each landing. He led them to a dining room with tables that would seat sixty people easily. The silver utensils and lace mats and cut crystal all sparkled in the light from the tall thin windows.
"And children go hungry not a mile away," grumbled Unicorn under her breath.
Perez ushered them to seat themselves on a long silk-covered sofa along one wall. As he pulled up a hand-carved wooden chair for himself, a white-jacketed waiter who had to be seventy years old approached. "Ah, Jesus. What do you say, ladies? Perhaps white wine and some cheese while we wait?"
"Chablis would be fine," Sable answered, and Unicorn nodded surly agreement. As the servant returned with a gleaming tray holding glasses, a bottle of French wine, various cheeses and crackers, they thanked him and started to indulge. Sable smiled slightly and said, "Ashley here has some questions about your country. Ashley?"
That unleashed the deluge. For the next twenty minutes, Unicorn launched into her grievances about the way San Esteban was run, from the gap between the lower classes and their masters, to the way the Indians were almost extinct now, to the way public education was discouraged for girls, to the huge influence American corporations had over the economy. Politely, Perez did not argue or even try to defend his government. He mildly agreed with most of what she said but admitted he did not see any way things would change in the near future.
As the one-sided debate continued, Sable observed and learned much. Her enhanced hearing was more accurate than a polygraph. She could hear variations in his heartbeat and pick up subvocal tremors in his voice. Beneath the smooth unruffled demeanour, Raul Perez was in the grip of deadly fear. Finally, she interrupted, "The reason we are here, sir, is to find information about an old man with a white beard and a shepherd staff."
That did it. Perez's heartbeat shot up and sweat broke out on his face and neck. His breathing was tight and fast. All of this would not have been detectable to a normal person. "Ah, I'm... sorry?"
"The Peacemonger and his Doves of Peace. He is playing a dangerous game, Mr Perez. What control does he have over you?"
The man started to rise. "I really must be leaving, I fear."
"Sit down!" she snapped in an icy tone that stopped him short. For a young woman in her mid-twenties, Lauren Sable Reilly had a tone of unforced authority in her voice. "You can't hide anything from me. The Peacemonger terrifies you. Why do you obey him?"
"You don't understand. He's not a natural man but a Brujo.. a witchman, a sorcerer. Where he appears, he brings terror with him."
"We're here to put an end to that," she said and her voice softened. "You know we are knights of Tel Shai. Before we leave, the Peacemonger will be history. Now, what is his relationship with President Dominguez?"
"His relation..? Say, a cruel master and a whipped dog. I thought El Presidente was a proud man but he grovels before the bearded old warlock. It breaks my heart to see him debased so." Perez seemed almost on the verge of tears as long-supressed stress had brought him near the breaking point.
"I can tell you this, my friend," said Sable. "This warlock does have black magick. We have beaten more powerful witchmen than him. That is why we are here."
As Perez was about to speak, three soldiers in khaki uniforms marched into the room. One had golden braid on his shoulder and he glanced expectantly at the diplomatic aide. "Excuse me," Perez mumbled as he went over to speak with them.
Unicorn grinned at Sable. "That was great. You're a real take-charge gal, Reilly."
Perez returned with a pale, tense face. "You must excuse me now."
"I heard the conversation," Sable told him. "You have received news of a massacre. Two hundred and eleven troops shot down in the mountains not an hour's drive from here."
"How could you possibly have heard what we.....?"
"I have my talents," she answered. "Not a single survivor and not a single casualty among the rebels. They submitted to be executed. We both know who is behind this!"
Looking about nervously, wetting his lips, Perez came close and whispered, "The old Brujo has been playing both sides against each other. What he wants, I can't imagine. But he has gone too far. When the moment is right, I will help you Tel Shai knights against him."
Sable had been studying him. "I believe you. You are being brave, sir, and you are doing the right thing."
Standing by the high windows, Unicorn had glanced down in the courtyard and she gasped audibly. "Sable.. I, uh I think you need to see this."
With Perez beside her, the KDF sensor came over to gaze down at the scene below. Two olive-drab open jeeps had pulled up in front of the main building. As armed sentries watched passively, four people in concealing white robes disembarked. A white-bearded old man in the same robe climbed gingerly out and gestured for the two men in the back seat to get out. Heads bowed, Jeremy Bane and Josef Jubilec meekly obeyed.
VI.
In only a few minutes, the newcomers entered the dining room where Sable and Unicorn stood. Soldiers escorted them in, then stood motionless in the doorway. Four Doves of Peace lined up, almost entirely hidden in their robes with the hoods drawn over their faces. One was a short woman with generous curves, two were rather scrawny men of average height and the one on the end was noticeably broad and beefy although he slumped as if to conceal this.
Standing with lowered heads like schoolchildren called in the principal's office for reprimands, Bane and Josef seemed unaware of their teammates staring at them with horror. To see such fierce spirits broken... Sable felt dazed herself at the sight.
Regarding the two women, the Peacemonger threw back his head and beamed at them. "Two more Tel Shai knights! Excellent. You shall serve us as well as your friends here."
"That's your gralic power," Unicorn blurted out. "You can affect people mentally. You make them submissive, docile. It's horrible."
"It is glorious," answered the old warlock. "Too long has war burned half the world into blackened ruins. That era is passing. We have learned a wisdom beyond weapons."
Sable met his stare and flinched. She saw a lack of focus there, a disoriented glitter that meant the man was living out inner fantasies. He could not be reasoned with. Pointing to the soldiers in the doorway, she called loudly, "You men have heard about the massacre of your fellows. You know that this Brujo was responsible?"
They did not react. The Peacemonger looked back at them, then turned back to her. "They know. If they were not subdued by my wisdom, they would shoot me down here and now. But they won't. They have been made lambs of my flock."
"It looks as if we can't defy your magick, either." Sable raised an eyebrow at her partner. "Can we, Ashley?"
The little blonde sighed and unfastened the straps across her chest, taking the sheath from her back. "I guess not. No sense in fighting the inevitable." She opened the stiff leather sheath and slid out the slim ivory spiral that reached two feet from its silver-capped base to its needle-sharp tip.
"Is that..? It can't be." The Peacemonger leaned closer. "I never thought one still existed in the world." He raised his shepherd's staff as if he was going to strike the little blonde, but without warning a powerful hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around to receive a thundering left jab squarely in the center of the face. The old man gasped and fell heavily, not even trying to break his fall but still keeping his grip on the white staff. The Doves of Peace in that room cried out as if they were hurt.
The beefy man in the white robes angrily yanked them off. Colonel Shackle had been wearing his dress shirt and Navy blue slacks beneath. "Personally, I think this has gone far enough, geezer."
Struggling to rise, the Peacemonger sputtered, "You... you are not one of us?"
"No kidding, genius. I waylaid one of your stooges in the hall out there and swiped his get-up. He's snoring in a closet. Okay, pal. Get up so I can knock you down again." Tom Shackle raised meaty fists with scarred lumpy knuckles. "Let's get this over with."
Rising with the help of his crook, the Peacemonger spat a few drops of blood. "Fool. I claim you as well. Let go of your will and surrender to submission. You are mine now."
Even as Shackle's eyes glazed over and his face slackened, Ashley Whitaker raised the Unicorn horn overhead with both hands and shouted, "With this horn I remove thy power!"
The Peacemonger convulsed and dropped the crook from his hand. In the next few seconds, both Bane and Josef shuddered and glared about in confusion. But the guards showed no hesitation. They both raised their Uzis and let off short bursts which ripped the Peacemonger nearly in half. Blood sprayed all over. The old man leaped off his feet, turned around and fell face down with a thud as his face hit the polished floor.
As both soldiers lowered their weapons, the diplomatic aide spoke for the first time. "Good work, men," said Perez. "I'll see that you're not reprimanded. He was responsible for the deaths of that whole company. You just saved the State the price of an execution. You three outsiders in the robes, you are under arrest. Go with these men. Take them to a holding cell for now."
"Yes, Mr Perez," answered a soldier as they escorted the stunned Doves of Peace from the dining room. When they had left, Raul Perez faced the KDF members. "That was for the best. He brought that death upon himself and you can't say he didn't earn it."
Colonel Tom Shackle stretched and clapped his hands together. "Finally. I busted my ass getting back down here and concealing myself in the building before you KDF amateurs showed up. I woulda knocked this geezer harmless myself in another minute."
"Yeah, right," Ashley scoffed as she slid the horn back into its sheath. "Once again, it's the Unicorn to the rescue." Sable laughed out loud hearing this.
Somberly, Jeremy Bane removed his helmet. His face looked tired. "Tom, you're going to take the body, I guess?"
"Yeah, sure. Proper ID to close the case. Why?"
"We claim the staff. If it has gralic attributes, as I think it does, it belongs safely locked away in our vault." Taking a handcloth from the table, the Dire Wolf picked up the staff without letting his skin come in touch with it. "Oh, and we'll need a lift back to our transport. We left the CORBY in the clearing where the slaughter was."
"Hell, not a problem. I'll get on it." Shackle dug a thick brown cigar from a pocket and clamped it unlit in his teeth as he went out in the hall. They watched him strut out before gathering in a huddle.
"That didn't work out any way I expected," Bane told them. "Great going, you two. I think Josef and I would end up Doves of Peace if not for you."
"It was a nightmare," the Blind Archer growled. "I felt hypnotized or something. Maybe in time I would have broken loose but I can't guarantee it."
"Me neither." Bane let out a deep shuddering breath. "Talk about a humbling experience. I was no help at the big showdown."
"Aw, captain, you've pulled our butts out of trouble a hundred times!" Unicorn said. She gave him a playful punch on the bicep. "Let us save the day once in a while."
"More than that," the Dire Wolf told them. "This has helped me decide something. I'm going to step down as captain soon. I'll open my PI business again. Sable, you and your team have proven themselves more than enough. You're ready to operate on your own." A rare wistful smile appeared on the drawn, narrow face, making him look years younger. "Congratulations."
1/1/2015