Delilah was stunned. 'You don't give up, do you?'
'Nope. What was the lesson that time?'
Delilah shrugged. 'Don't mess with a Brute.'
'Okay,' Faye answered as she Traveled. Delilah tensed but Faye didn't land anywhere near her. Instead she landed next to the practice dummy and grabbed one of the heavy hickory boards. She reappeared directly in Delilah's face and clubbed her like she was swinging at a baseball. Delilah rocked back, and Faye appeared behind her, and hit her in the back of the head so hard that the wood stung her palms.
Faye reappeared twenty feet away, still holding the board and panting. 'Grandpa liked baseball. Said it was the best American sport. He taught me how to bat,' she shouted.
'You little snot!' Delilah said, striding forward, rubbing the back of her head. She charged, leaping across the space, and landed in the empty spot Faye had just left. 'Where-'
Faye clocked her with the club again, this time in the back of the leg. She was gone by the time Delilah kicked through the air. She spun, searching, and didn't see the fist-size rock launched from the other end of the pool. Faye shouted with glee as the rock hit her straight in the nose. 'He taught me to pitch overhand too!'
Delilah cursed and raised her hands, serious now. Faye ran up onto the diving board, screaming, as she leapt into the pool, except there was no splash. Delilah spun expecting her to appear from behind, but instead Faye came out of the air over her head. The impact was so loud that everyone in the yard cringed. Faye Traveled before she hit the ground and was gone.
Delilah went to her knees, cringing at the indentation in her shoulder. 'Oh, I'm turning it up now.'
Faye came around from behind Francis. He jumped in surprise. 'Remember, don't tear my head off, 'cause that would be cheating,' Faye taunted. She could tell that Delilah was angry and burning her Power hard now. Her body seemed different, hard and dangerous. Just like Lance had said, she was using it up too fast. Faye was only using hers in tiny pops, and she'd never actually run out of Power before in her life, but she figured she would know when she got close. She just had to outlast her opponent. 'You're right, Delilah, this is fun!' Then she Traveled.
Delilah spun, lashing out randomly as Faye disappeared. She hesitated, but the Traveler didn't arrive anywhere near her. 'Where are you?'
'Up here!' Faye waved from the roof of the estate. 'Come and get me!'
Delilah was mad. She ran across the yard, took two big strides, and landed in a crouch on the roof of the porch, two more bounds and she was on top of the shingles with Faye. Brutes could climb fast. 'Oh, you're dead meat, you hick.'
Faye waited until Delilah was almost on top of her before Traveling. She landed in the yard back where it all started. 'What're you doing up there, silly?' she called, waited for Delilah's frustrated scream, then focused hard, appeared in the air directly behind the Brute, and swung the hickory stick with all of her strength. Faye was a skinny girl, but she'd been doing manual labor and bucking hay for three years, and had busted more than a few bulls in the snout with a shovel handle, and she laid into Delilah like she was a particularly nasty Holstein. The stick broke in half, but Delilah rocked forward, off balance, and tumbled from the tall roof.
She landed flat on her back on the tiles next to the pool with a terrible thump.
Faye appeared next to her a second later and squatted down. Delilah grunted as she tried to sit up, her Power momentarily exhausted from hardening her body for the impact. 'What was the lesson that time?' Faye asked innocently.
Delilah closed her eyes and sank back to the tiles. She held out her hand in truce, and Faye slowly took it. 'The lesson that time is that you aren't as stupid a hick as you pretend to be.' She actually smiled. Faye could tell that it was a real one this time. She'd made a new friend.
Sullivan was impressed, and he didn't impress easily. The mansion was epic, probably the single biggest house he'd ever seen excluding pictures of palaces and castles from books. He actually recognized the European architectural styles, but since he'd only read the words and had never heard them pronounced, he didn't even bother trying to say them out loud. He whistled. 'Nice digs you boys got here.'
'It belongs to one of our operatives. His family burns money during the winter to keep warm. You might remember him. You shot him in the knee,' Heinrich said.
'Well, I broke your jaw, and we're best buddies now,' Sullivan responded. 'How many of you Grimnoir are there anyway?'
'Not near enough,' Garrett said. 'That's not my place to say. You've not taken the oath, so there's only so much I can tell you. That's between you and the General.' Sullivan could respect keeping mum for security's sake. He had no doubt that anyone who showed up on the Chairman's doorstep with a roster of Grimnoir would be rolling in the green.
Garrett sounded the Ford's squeaky air horn as they pulled up to the front porch. From the funny markings he'd seen on the way in, he figured that the people inside already knew they were coming.
He unfolded himself from the car. A fountain bubbled nearby. It was a giant gold fish spitting water straight into the air at a golden UBF-style passenger blimp. The illusion created was that the water spout was holding up the dirigible, but Sullivan found the whole thing gaudy. Heinrich began to unload the luggage from the trunk. Sullivan had no bags at all, just the clothes on his back. He didn't need much, though he did miss his Lewis gun. It had sentimental value.
A group of people came out onto the front porch. An absolutely gorgeous blonde in a white bathing suit came running off the porch. He recognized her as the Healer from the stolen blimp. Dan Garrett broke into a huge grin, opened his arms, and the blonde jumped on him, showering the pudgy little man with kisses. He looked over at Heinrich. The German just shrugged. Go Dan, Sullivan thought.
'I'm so glad you're home!' she said, squeezing Dan tight.
'It's good to be back,' Dan answered as she broke free. He had to adjust his glasses. 'Jake Sullivan, this is my fiancee.'
The blonde turned to him. Sullivan tried not to stare impolitely, but he hadn't seen a woman that attractive in a bathing suit, even a very modest one, for a long time, as in ever. 'Jane,' she said, holding out one hand. Her nails were painted bright red. 'What have you done to yourself this time? Every time I've seen you, you have more holes in you! Hang on.'
Sullivan's hand suddenly felt very warm. The heat rolled across his body, and seemed to collect in his injuries. His lungs filled with fire, and he jerked his hand away. 'What're you doing?'
Jane looked offended. 'Well, I was trying to help you, but I suppose I should save what Power I've got left for today in case the General has any more attacks. I'll fix you right up tomorrow.' She studied his chest. 'And stop smoking, or you'll develop miserable emphysema in three years, and be dead in six.'
The heat seemed to dissipate except in the spots where he'd recently been hurt. Those bits were so hot that he started sweating profusely. 'Well, thanks…' He'd never actually met a real live Healer before. 'But if I schedule a regular checkup with you, can I keep smoking?' Jane just sniffed indignantly.
Two men came off the porch, shaking hands with Dan and Heinrich. The first was a squat, but powerfully built man. Sullivan recognized the beard from the salt circle on the train. The second was tall, extremely thin, and completely bald. He would have made a convincing undertaker. He looked familiar, and Sullivan could almost swear that he'd seen his picture in a book.
'John Moses Browning?' he asked.
'Indeed. Hello, Mr. Sullivan.' The tall man came over and shook his hand. His grip was firm and callused.
'But you're dead.'
'Greatly exaggerated,' he said with a smile.
Sullivan was not an emotional man, but he couldn't help himself. 'Sir… I just have to tell you that the M1911 is the finest fighting handgun in the history of the world. It's an honor. I killed a mess of Germans with one of those. It was very dear to me.'
'Thank you, sir.' Browning looked a little embarrassed. 'Hmm… I'll have to show you my workshop then. I have some new prototypes that I think you would like.'
