CHAPTER 1
“Shit’s about to go down.”
Beside me, Vincent Park nodded in terse agreement. It’d been a while since we’d shared a cubicle, but he’d borrowed Lienna’s empty chair without even asking first. I hadn’t complained. My cubicle offered a better angle for spying on the rest of the bullpen than his did.
“She’s not actually going to do it, is she?” Vinny whispered. “No one is that stupid.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t call it stupid. Desperate, maybe. Angry, definitely. But she isn’t stupid.”
At the front of the bullpen, Agent Clarice Vigneault stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot against the floor like an electrocuted Michael Flatley. Her tightly curled black hair vibrated in harmony with her spastic foot, and her eyes, normally soft and welcoming, were fixated on one of the bullpen’s three entrances with an air of furious expectation.
Everyone else surreptitiously watched her with the same doomsday outlook as me. The atmosphere in the precinct had been toxically tense since Söze had shown his extra ugly usurper side, and in the wake of recent events, the levels of paranoia, defensiveness, and I-don’t-get-paid-enough-for-this-bullshit had climbed so high they were out of orbit.
“I should stop her,” I mumbled, sliding away from my hiding spot behind the cubicle wall. “Distract her or something.”
Vinny caught my sleeve and tugged me back. “You want to tell a senior agent what to do?”
“I want to make sure a good agent doesn’t make a career-ending decision because she’s rightfully pissed off.”
“Don’t exaggerate. It won’t be career ending,” Vinny said with his usual smug confidence, but he couldn’t hide the worried crease between his brows. He was concerned for Agent Vigneault too.
Honestly, Vinny wasn’t that bad. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that. Plus, Vincent Park had proven himself beyond my ability to doubt him—a highly acute ability, I might add. When it had really counted, he’d fought on the side of justice, and that made his know-it-all, ass-kissing swagger a little more bearable.
I still didn’t like him. That was impossible. Like liver-flavored ice cream. Who could ever like that? But I could tolerate him.
Caught between the urge to divert Agent Vigneault and Vinny’s insistent pull on my sleeve, I hesitated for a minute too long. The bullpen door swung open, and the bane of the precinct’s existence walked through.
Agent Söze, Internal Affairs. I didn’t know his first name. I didn’t care to learn it. All I needed to know was that he was the slimiest blend of evil and insidious, he was totally cool with all means of villainy as long as he could disguise it as MPD-approved justice, and he had totalitarian control of the precinct and all its agents.
If it seems like I’m exaggerating his winning qualities, may I present Case Study A: Around one week ago, he resurrected an ancient MPD provision to sanction the annihilation of an entire guild. He failed—barely—but the fact that he was fine with the mass murder of innocents is indisputable. That, and he has it out for the Crow and Hammer for reasons unknown.
Following him into the bullpen was one of his interchangeable cronies that he’d called in to support his hostile takeover of our precinct. Today’s IA goon was Agent Kade, a strong-and-silent type in his early forties with a linebacker’s shoulders, perpetual stubble, and Bruce Willis’s haircut. He’d been introduced to us as a sorcerer, but he looked like he relied on his fists as much as his magic.
Agent Vigneault swooped toward Söze the moment he appeared. “Agent Söze! I demand an explanation!”
I winced at her aggressive tone. This definitely wouldn’t go well for her.
“What is the problem, Agent?” Söze asked neutrally. He didn’t lower his voice for the same reason he’d shown up in the bullpen instead of meeting with Agent Vigneault in private: he intended to make this a public display.
Did Agent Vigneault realize that, or was she too angry to care?
“You destroyed a six-month-long investigation!” she half shouted. “My team and I were weeks away from bringing down an entire chain of criminal activity!”
The usual ruckus of the bullpen dropped dramatically as every agent pretended not to watch the blooming spectacle. We all knew about the underground network of criminals running illegal bounties in Vancouver that she’d been slowly but surely unraveling—until Söze had pulled the plug earlier this morning.
“The whole illegal bounty system has a single lynchpin—one individual acting as bank and broker,” Agent Vigneault seethed. “We know from our informant that the lynchpin keeps records on every single user, both clients and assassins. Taking him down will net us evidence for dozens, or even hundreds, of crimes.”
Söze gazed at her like she was a particularly dumb-looking dog drooling on his carpet. “Your aspirations are quite grand for a case based entirely on the baseless claims of an untrustworthy informant. You’ve not only wasted six months of your own time but also monopolized an entire team on this wild goose chase.”
“Wild goose—” She broke off into furious splutters. It was strange to see Agent Vigneault, who generally had the temperament of a kindergarten teacher on Xanax, lose her head like this. Söze did that to people.
“I took control of this precinct with one clear mandate,” he said, a sneer creeping into his dead voice. “To root out inefficiency, incompetence, and corruption among the agents here. My subordinates are in the process of determining which of those sins applies to your investigation, Agent Vigneault.”
“Are—are you kidding me?” Vigneault’s hands clenched into fists. “This is crazy! You’re deliberately blocking my investigation, aren’t you? Why?”
Söze’s dark eyes narrowed. “Are you questioning my integrity, Agent Vigneault?”
“You’re damn right I am,” she shot back, stepping within inches of his face, her voice dropping into a growl. “I’m questioning your integrity, I’m questioning your ethics, and I’m questioning your sanity!”
“Oh, shit,” Vinny muttered.
“That sounds an awful lot like insubordination,” Söze observed. He looked over his shoulder at his bald-headed goon. “Agent Kade, take Agent Vigneault into custody.”
Vigneault recoiled, anger instantly replaced by shock. “Are you arresting me?”
Söze’s lips curled into a faint, slimy smile. “Are you resisting arrest?”
Agent Kade produced a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on Vigneault’s wrists. She didn’t resist, too stunned to do anything about it. The bullpen was so quiet that the metal clicks of the cuffs ratcheting shut rang through the space.
Ever since Söze had taken control of our precinct, every agent had been a wee bit high-strung. Even the agents who supported Söze—not that anyone talked openly about that kind of thing—hadn’t been particularly chill. But at this moment, everyone’s blood pressure was hitting a new level of intensity. Which, I suspected, had been Söze’s plan.
“I’ll give you time in holding to reconsider your stance on your terminated investigation.” Though ostensibly speaking to Vigneault, Söze was addressing all of us. “If we can’t reach an understanding, I will personally dissect every case you have ever touched. I will dismantle your job history, your personal history, and your family’s history, until every mistake, every defect, and every sin are laid bare. Do you understand me?”
Holy.
Totalitarian.
Shit.
Vigneault didn’t respond, her jaw clenched tight.
Söze nodded curtly to Kade, who guided the cuffed agent toward the door leading to the elevator—and from there, the holding cells. As they left, I spotted Captain Blythe leaning against the wall beside the lobby doors, her arms crossed in all her sterntastic glory.
She’d witnessed the whole spectacle, but like us, she was helpless to do anything about it.
Söze surveyed the bullpen like a ruling lord observing his cowering, subservient vassals, nodded in a satisfied way, and disappeared as ominously as he’d arrived. A low, wary buzz of conversation spread through the bullpen in his absence.
I slumped back in my chair, exhausted by yet another moral defeat.
Vinny puffed out an unsteady breath. Though the ordeal was over, he didn’t vacate my partner’s chair.
“What’s going to happen?” he asked in an undertone.
I shook my head. I didn’t know any better than he did. The future of our precinct was about as clear as muddy waters churned up by a piranha feeding frenzy.
“I suppose we should get to work before Söze decides that slacking is a capital crime.” Reluctantly sitting up again, I glanced at Vinny. “What are you working on these days?”
He shrugged, avoiding my gaze. “Odds and ends, mostly.”
Not a very Vinny-ish response. Normally, he’d have bragged about the high-profile cases he was tackling alongside experienced senior agent, Brennan Harris. Vinny had started at the MPD around the same time as me, and at that point, he’d worn cargo shorts to work every single day. However, ever since he’d partnered up with his idol, his wardrobe had taken a hard shift toward the formal black-and-whites that senior agents like Harris favored.
Some would say going from cargo shorts to a suit is an upgrade. I consider it a lateral move.
Fashion evolution aside, Vinny should’ve been following Harris around like a mohawked Labrador puppy. But Agent Vigneault wasn’t the only one who’d run afoul of Söze. The IA asshole had paired Harris with one of his own lackeys to punish Vinny, leaving the rookie agent high, dry, and partnerless.
I actually felt bad for him. Shocking, I know, but the anti-Söze team needed to stick together.
Vincent tapped a finger restlessly on Lienna’s desk, then leaned toward me. “I talked to Agent Harris earlier this morning. Söze assigned him to investigate the death of a GM.”
My eyebrows shot up. Guild Masters were hotshots in the mythic community, and a sudden death among their ranks was something the MPD always took seriously.
“Did Harris say which GM?” I asked.
“Georgia Johannsen of Arcana Historia.”
I swore under my breath. I’d visited that guild a few times, though I’d never met the GM.
“The librarian found her dead inside the guild this morning,” Vinny said. “The thing is, while Agent Harris was talking to me, Agent Söze passed by. When he realized what we were discussing, he snapped at Agent Harris to keep confidential case details to himself.”
“Confidential?” I repeated with a frown. “A case involving a GM’s death isn’t automatically classified.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
I thought for a moment, then shoved my chair back. “Come on.”
Captain Blythe was still loitering around the perimeter of the bullpen—unsurprising since Söze had stripped away most of her duties—and her eyebrows arched questioningly as Vincent and I approached.
“Hey, Cap. Vinny just told me something interesting.”
I waved at him to speak. He shifted uncomfortably, puffed out his cheeks, then repeated what he’d told me. Blythe’s expression went stonier with each word.
“I hadn’t heard a word about this,” she said flatly. “Söze must’ve suppressed the information.”
“Definitely,” I agreed. “The whole bullpen would know by now otherwise.”
The captain’s lips thinned as she thought. “Agent Morris, I want you and Agent Shen at Arcana Historia immediately.”
“I don’t think Söze will appreciate us inviting ourselves to a possible crime scene.”
“I don’t give a shit what Agent Söze appreciates. He’s keeping this quiet for a reason, and I want to know why. Do you understand what I’m saying, Agent Morris?”
I gave a small nod. “Loud and clear.”
“What about me?” asked Vinny, staring expectantly at our boss.
Blythe considered his question. “I need you to keep your head down and your lines of communication with Agent Harris open.”
Vinny absorbed that with a defeated slump to his shoulders. He didn’t like the idea of tapping his idol for information on the enemy, but to my surprise, he responded with a firm, “Yes, ma’am.”
The captain scanned the bullpen. “Where is Agent Shen? She’s supposed to be on duty.”
“I’ll find her,” I answered, “and whisk her away to the magical land of suspicious GM deaths and douchebag IA agents.”
“See that you do.”
Vinny and I split as we returned to our respective cubicles. I locked my computer, grabbed my black denim jacket off the back of my chair, and headed straight for the elevator. I didn’t need to find Agent Lienna Shen; I knew exactly where she was.
She was hiding.
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