“It is if you don’t want to look like a complete idiot when the person who handled it can’t back up your story.”
Sir sniffed and wrinkled his nose, his mustache brushing the top of his lip. “We’re calling it an earthquake.”
“Oh, wow. How inventive.”
“Yeah, we’ll figure out how to work around the kinks. For all intents and purposes, my guys over there are studying some other phenomena with isolated earthquakes. If any more of those damn portals pop up, people are gonna get suspicious about the ground shaking for no scientifically plausible reason. I put a media person on this to stick a lid on it before it gets screwed up any worse.”
“I hope that’s good enough.”
“Of course it’s good enough.” Sir pointed at her. “As long as you don’t try to step into the middle of it after this.”
“Hey, I’m leaving it in your hands. The rest is up to you, ‘cause it’s your job to keep these things under control.”
The man blustered, his face turning an alarming shade of red as his dark, beady eyes blazed. “You tryin’ to come down on me about how I do my job, halfling?”
Cheyenne stared blankly at him. “Anybody ever say you have serious anger issues?”
“I don’t give a damn about my anger or your feelings. Twenty-one years I’ve been doing this, and not once did any of it blow up on me like this until you wiggled your way into my organization and started fucking shit up like a goddamn tapeworm. And you still won’t give me all the pieces.”
She gestured at the closed ridge and his men squatting around it and poking at the grass. “I gave you another portal, and I kept it from opening in one of the worst places to have an active portal.”
“And I’m this close to making you rip it the hell back open so I can push you through it.”
“Good luck.” Cheyenne turned and headed back toward the side of the Computer Sciences building. Well, I tried.
“Uh-uh. You don’t get to just walk away from me like that, halfling. We’re not done here.”
She kept walking and didn’t say a thing.
Sir stormed after her. “You think you run the show, huh? Let me tell you something, halfling. The only reason you’re still on this side of the Border is that I let you stay. I could snap my fingers and have you sent right back to that magical fucking fairyland, and then you’d be in deep shit. Hey, I’m talking to you.”
The second he brought a hand down on Cheyenne’s shoulder, she spun away and clamped her hand around his wrist. Sir’s eyes widened at the strength of her grip before she tossed his hand away. “Is that a threat?”
“Not if I’m goddamn serious about it. I’ve done it before when I had to, halfling, and I’ve had it up to here with your bullshit, tossing us what you think we should know and saving the rest for yourself. I know you’re not telling us everything.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“And I don’t have to keep putting up with this. You know how many halflings make it back across the Border once they get tossed over? Zero. It doesn’t happen.”
“Then I guess I must be the first, so good fucking luck trying to hold that one over my head, Sir. I’ve already made the crossing. Twice. You don’t have a single thing to dangle in front of me anymore.”
The man blinked at her, rage and surprise numbing him into silence.
Cheyenne glanced across the lawn. “Look, we both know I don’t owe you anything anymore. I’ve more than covered that debt for your guys not killing me the first time we met, and I could walk away at any second. But I’m not, because you people have the resources to handle this kind of problem, and new Border portals aren’t good for anyone on this side, especially if they’re unregulated. That’s open season for a way bigger mess. And maybe I’m the asshole for assuming this, but I’m fairly sure you don’t want this to boil over and blow the lid on your operations and your entire organization. Right?”
Sir growled at her and finally took a step back. “I don’t need to answer that stupid question.”
“Yeah, because we both know the answer. Maybe try some meditation or something, huh? Your decision-making isn’t all that great when you get this pissed off.”
He snorted. “Says the halfling who storms into secret ops without a goddamn clue about what’s going on.”
Cheyenne shrugged and stuck her hands in her pockets. “Hasn’t happened again, has it? Something I’m workin’ on too.”
She turned away from him and headed back behind the buildings.
Sir scratched his head and spun to watch his guys taking stock of the closed crack in the earth and the giant holes. “Meditating,” he muttered. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. Wonder if that’d do anything for my shit blood pressure?”
Cheyenne shook her head as she left the high-ranking FRoE officer to do what he was there to do.
When she rounded the corner of the Computer Sciences building, Maleshi and Corian turned away from each other and nodded at her in greeting. The general clasped her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. Corian stared at the sky, then looked down at his shoes in the grass.
“Okay, obviously I interrupted something.”
“It can wait.” Maleshi gave her a thin, unconvincing smile.
“Yeah, I know.” Cheyenne glanced from one nightstalker to the other. Barged in on their private moment. Not weird at all. “So, I’m doing this your way now and telling you that I need to go have another chat with Matthew Thomas.”
“Who?” Corian finally met her gaze.
“The owner of Combined Reality, Inc.” The halfling shrugged. “Sure, the name he gave me was good, but obviously it wasn’t good enough. Syno or someone like him is still sending those machines after me. To the school.”
“Well, they do know exactly where to find you now, don’t they?”
Maleshi shot Corian
