“If only that had been enough.” Carr just smiled. “Recent events have forced me to expand my ambitions. It seems that this deadly Grimnoir terrorist group is not happy that they failed in their last attack. I have warned the cabinet that we believe they are plotting another attack sometime very soon. I’m sure it will end tragically.”
“You bastard!”
“Would you like a preview of the newspapers a few days from now? I find I’m rather good at predicting these sorts of things.” Carr cleared his throat. “Many innocents were murdered by mad Actives last night. Luckily, during the aftermath of the attack, two leaders of the foul Grimnoir organization were intercepted and killed by brave OCI operatives. One of them had a manifesto on his person detailing how they would continue to kill Normals until the Active race rises up, throws off the shackles of oppression, and takes their rightful place as world leaders, since they are the superior evolution of man. Everyone will be shocked and saddened to discover that this cabal is being led by a well known industrialist, Francis Cornelius Stuyvesant.”
Francis was so angry he couldn’t form coherent words and instead emitted a growling noise.
“The rich make such convenient villains, don’t you think? Half of society already hates you for the station you were born into. Your peers will be embarrassed that you’ve endangered the status quo. Your name will become a symbol synonymous with tyranny. It is already in the papers how some of your underlings tried to enlist Smedly Butler’s help in overthrowing the government.”
“Who?”
“That’s priceless,” Carr chuckled. “A political opponent of mine, a retired general with far too much integrity to ever fall in with such a plot. Oh, but questions will remain. How deep do the roots of your cancerous organization grow? Everyone knows when you pull weeds, if you only take the top, they grow back. You must dig up the roots. Drastic measures must be taken to find all of the Grimnoir sympathizers amongst the Active race. Controls will need to be put into place, for the greater good. Once it begins, it will not end.”
Francis threw himself against the chains. They didn’t budge. “You’ll not get away with this! Someone will find out the truth.”
“Who? If your allies come here they will be walking directly into a trap that Mr. Crow has very capably set, and I’ll have more Grimnoir bodies to deposit at the scene. None of my men will talk. The majority of OCI’s staff are simple recruits who know nothing of my plans. They are pawns that I will use to round up those that trouble me. The men I have stationed here are absolutely loyal, hand-picked because of their personal hatred for your kind, and they are as committed as I am. No one will talk. None of my colleagues know my plans, and even my political enemies would never guess how far I am willing to go… That’s because they don’t get the big picture.”
“You’re going to pay.”
“You are in no position to make threats. I tire of this.” Carr walked over and rapped his cane on the door. It was opened for him. “Goodbye, Mr. Stuyvesant. We will not meet again. You will be dead in a few days.” He strolled out of view and the door slammed shut behind. The heavy latch fell into place.
Francis waited to make sure Carr was gone. “Heinrich?”
“We are in far more trouble than I thought, my friend.”
Crow waited for his superior in the hall. He knew he was in trouble. The boss had seen him losing his cool. This was only a minor Summoned, but it was a mean one. The alien thoughts were pushed back to the rear of their shared mind, but they were all about stalking and killing prey. Back when this particular Summoned had its own form, it must have been quite the vicious little predator. That was completely unacceptable. If he got in any more trouble, the boss would yank the spell he’d been given. Crow was not ready to go back to being a nobody.
Fuming, the fat man hobbled down the hall on his cane, flanked by his two personal bodyguards, Sharps and Deych. They were Normals, but they were both bruisers and handy with gun or blade. Like the rest of the men stationed at headquarters, they were magic haters, recruited personally by the Coordinator from various militant anti-Active groups, like Humans Only or the League for a Magic-Free America. They hated Crow as much as they hated all Actives, but as long as he was seen as the Coordinator’s tool, they left him alone. These men were scum, but they were reliable scum. They’d caught the Coordinator’s vision for the future.
Crow didn’t give a shit about anybody’s grand dreams. He played a part, and in exchange got something that benefited him. Right now he was going to have to play the part of eating some humble pie.
“Sir, I’m-”
The Coordinator raised one bushy eyebrow suspiciously. “It’s quite all right, Mr. Crow. I assume you were just putting the proper amount of fear into the boy-correct?”
That was a surprisingly opportune way out. Doctor Carr had to know the truth, he was way too smart not to, but for whatever reason he was letting it go. “Yes, sir.” He looked over at the bodyguards. Even wearing the body of a lesser Summoned, he would have easily been able to whip them and get away. However, the Coordinator knew where his real body lived, and knowing the old man, he’d probably hedged his bets. This was his lucky day after all. “Just scaring him a little to get him ready for you.”
“Excellent work. However, the Stuyvesant predilection for self-preservation must have skipped a generation. His forbears would have leapt at any out I offered to save their own skins. The boy is an obstinate fool. We’ll use him as we discussed. Have you had any luck capturing any of the others?”
“Not yet, but I’ve baited the trap.”
“Walk with me.” The bodyguards fell in behind them. “You used the Justice?”
“I gave her just enough rope to hang herself. She plays like she’s hard, but she’s too much of a goody-two- shoes at heart. She knows about the German and she knows we’ve got exonerating evidence. She went off the reservation a little while ago, which means now they know too. The Grimnoir will try something. I guarantee it.”
“Do we have enough nullifiers?”
“Four on site and the big one upstairs. The EGE packages were delivered this morning, and everything seems to be working fine”
“Excellent. When the time comes, send the men first. Those robots were expensive.”
They paused at the stairs. The old man needed a breather before tackling them. Crow could smell the bodyguards’ fear as they watched him. They were pathetic. Sure, they thought they were tough, but they were nothing. The Coordinator’s inner circle were all true believers, thinking they could control Actives. Sharps had been a prizefighter until a tiny Active had whipped him. Some of them, like Deych, had been Carr’s students back when he was a professor, going on and on about how someday they would see his idealized world. It was tempting to just reach out and pluck their eyes out; then they wouldn’t see shit, but Crow refrained.
“I want this expedited, Mr. Crow. I want to proceed with the next attack as scheduled. I have to keep up the pressure. If we do not strike while the iron is hot, then my political allies will lose their will and all this work will have been for nothing.”
“I’ll spread the word that we’re going to start executing prisoners tomorrow. That ought to get their attention.”
“Excellent idea as usual… Make it two days.”
“If it feels too rushed, they might just chicken out.”
“Exactly. Let them plan, but not for too long. Let them bring in reinforcements. I want all of these meddlers dead. The nail that sticks up must be hammered down. Remember, the only one I care about capturing alive is the Traveler girl. She is a valuable anomaly. If she truly inherited Warlock’s magic, I can only imagine what I could learn from studying her.”
Dissecting her, you mean, but Crow held his tongue. “My pleasure.”
Hartwood, Virginia
It was a small town, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t being watched. Hammer drove around the country store once before coming back and parking near the telephone booth. She was still driving a stolen car, and the last thing she needed was to be picked up by the law for something stupid. Since the coast was clear, she got out and walked quickly to the payphone. If she was gone too long, Sullivan would get suspicious. The Grimnoir were extra jumpy since another one of their own had gone missing.
Her argument had made sense. If she kept checking in periodically with the OCI like she was supposed to, then they wouldn’t get suspicious. If she went silent, then they’d assume she’d been killed or compromised. Surprisingly enough, Sullivan had agreed with her, and not even had anyone ride with her to make sure she wasn’t selling them out. For someone in a rough line of work, he seemed remarkably trusting, but she wouldn’t have been
