need to know about?'
'No. That's pretty much it,' she answered, looking a little sheepish. 'Can you deal with that?'
I pulled her close. 'Julie, at this point you could tell me that you sprout butterfly wings and a third eye on every second Tuesday, and I would still be in love with you.'
'Good,' she said with a grin. 'Well, there's still my Uncle Leroy, but that's complicated… so that story is going to have to wait.' She pointed at the horizon. There were several black shapes approaching. Helicopters. The Feds had finally arrived.
The Blackhawks set down in the blasted valley. The Apaches circled over the area. The Feds did not speak as they fanned out into the forest to stake out the fallen blocks of ivory debris. There were only a handful of MHI staff left at the scene, as almost everybody else had packed up and left. We found the Boss arguing with Agent Myers near the original National Guard position. The Guardsmen were mostly still there, though their lieutenant had locked himself inside the APC and refused to come out. Agent Franks stood off to the side, listening intently to the radio traffic as his men scoured the forest for anything of interest.
'It's over, Myers. We done killed the damn thing. Biggest PUFF bounty ever!' the senior Shackleford shouted. 'See, we didn't need no stinking government help.'
'Whatever, you old coot,' Myers retorted. 'This is our scene now. Turn in your paperwork to the PUFF office for approval. I don't care.' He saw me approaching. 'Mr. Pitt. What happened to your face?' Agent Franks looked up and scowled at me. Once again he was the ugliest man in our line of work. Haha sucker.
I ignored the comment. 'It's over, Myers. The Cursed One is dead. His body's out there with the rubble. Along with that artifact.' I pointed in the direction I thought most of the pocket dimension had landed in. 'If you find it, I suggest you don't play with it. Just put it some safe place, and leave it the hell alone.'
'That's our business now. Don't you worry. It'll be in good hands. Now get out,' he ordered. 'This scene is our jurisdiction.'
'Fine, but I'm warning you. That box is a lot more than you can handle.' I nodded at Franks. 'A bunch of your men were killed in that cavern. Turned into wights. You had best see to them.'
Franks nodded in understanding. I think that we had come to terms.
'Earl!' Julie shouted. She pointed toward the trees. 'He's alive.'
Sure enough, Harbinger came walking through the trees. Dirty, caked in mud, grass and leaves, dried blood matted over most of his body-he was totally naked, but did not seem to care. He walked past the Feds, most of whom stepped away from him, slightly fearful. He strode directly up to us, stopping only a few feet from Myers.
'Hey, Myers.'
'Earl.'
'Got a smoke?'
Myers nodded nervously, took out a pack, and handed over a cigarette. The senior agent handed over his lighter as well. Harbinger took a drag, and sighed contentedly. He looked like a nightmare wild man of the forest, but he did not care in the slightest.
'It's good to have lungs that regenerate,' he said. 'So, Myers, we've done your job. The threat's dead. The vampires are dead. I suppose right about now MHI is on your bosses' good side. I'm guessing we're square.'
The Fed hesitated, not really wanting to answer. 'I suppose so.'
'Full access to fulfill our contracts?'
'Agreed.'
'My teams can move freely?'
'Fine.'
'Call off OSHA, the EPA? Fish and Game? ATF?'
'I'll see what I can do.'
'IRS?' Harbinger removed the cigarette and blew smoke out his nose. He absently scratched himself. 'I bet some certain committee heads are loving us right about now. Probably even the senators who need to approve the appointment of the next head of the Monster Control Bureau.'
Myers looked like he had a foul taste in his mouth. 'Fine. I'll call off the heat. You're golden for now. But when your people screw up again, your asses are mine.'
'Buddy, you should never tell a naked man that his ass is yours,' Harbinger said, totally deadpan. Franks snorted. I think it was almost a human laugh. Myers whirled around and glared at his subordinate. 'I've just got one question for you.'
'What?' Myers snapped, visibly agitated.
'Once the battle started, and everything went down here, how come you guys didn't just nuke the place to be sure?'
'Who says we didn't try?' Myers answered cryptically. He turned his back on Harbinger and stomped away.
'Hey, Franks,' Julie called out to the silent Fed.
'Yeah?' he grunted.
'I heard that you guys didn't cut my dad's head off. I heard that you let him turn, and that he escaped.' Julie asked. There was a current of anger in her voice. 'Because if that was true, I would be… disappointed. So, is he still alive?'
Franks took his time composing an answer. His cold eyes studied us.
'No.' He nodded grimly, and then followed after his boss.
We watched him go.
'Think he's lying?' I asked.
'I don't know,' Julie answered. 'I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.'
'I know one thing for sure,' I said slowly. The others waited. 'I know we need to get Earl some pants.' The king of the werewolves laughed.
We stopped by the National Guard soldiers to thank them for their help in the battle. Sergeant Gregorius was offered a business card and invited to come see us if he was interested in a lucrative career in beating down evil. Turns out that Boone had already done the sales pitch, and the big soldier had already volunteered for the next Newbie class. I was not surprised. For people like us, Monster Hunting was a calling.
The compound was somber that day as we held fifteen funerals. The fallen were decapitated, cremated, and their remains sent back to their families along with whatever the made-up excuse was for that particular Hunter. Sometimes having a job that had to be kept secret from most of the world was a real bummer. The team leads had to make the phone calls, and I did not envy them at all. The next few days were quiet ones. There were far too many new plaques on the wall.
We watched the news anxiously, just like everybody else in the world. Gradually the panic over the missing five minutes died down, and people, being people, moved past it. Cults were formed, wars were started, nut cases blew stuff up, books were written, theories published, and everyone came away with their own interpretation of the events. As for MHI, we just kept our big mouths shut.
Milo's wedding reception had mutated into one heck of a party. The compound had been decorated and looked pretty festive for a paramilitary fortress hidden in the backwoods. It was good to have many of the MHI staff united again, this time under much happier circumstances.
The Amazing Newbie Squad sat around a table off to one side in the boisterous cafeteria. Holly was in the process of getting wasted. Trip was frowning in disapproval. Lee was tapping his cane on the floor in time with the music. The dance floor was crowded, and Milo and his new bride appeared to be dancing a cross between the hokey pokey and the funky chicken.
'So are you going to take Earl's offer?' I asked Lee, shouting over the noise.
He sighed, distracted from the spectacle. 'I suppose. I've been on exactly three missions and been injured on all of them. Doctor Nelson says my leg is going to have permanent nerve damage.' He held up his cane and shook it. 'I can't be out there beating monster ass with you guys anymore, so I would be a sucker not to take it.'
'Good. You're the best man for the job. The archives will be in good hands,' Trip stated. He looked strange with the shaved head, but the dreads had to go to make room for bandages after the battle at DeSoya Caverns. Personally I thought Trip looked better. Apparently Holly thought so as well.
'Trip, you sexy geek. Damn it, let's dance.' She stood up and grabbed his hand. He began to protest weakly,
