Rurik nodded to Auberi. “He came with a mission. You came to annoy me. Hell yes, I am tossing in a reminder.”
Auberi waggled his brows. “Your own men like me better than you, Viking.”
Garth made a dramatic showing of glancing around the room.
Ms. Perky noticed. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for something to stake him with,” said Garth.
She giggled and a certain level of glee filled her eyes. “I have a pen on my clipboard. Use that.”
Rurik groaned. Was everything funny to her?
“About the mission,” said Auberi, unconcerned with the possibility of death by ballpoint pen. “There is a minor catch, or should I say catches.”
“I do not care,” said Rurik, standing as he did. “I’m in.”
“Bad idea,” said Garth. “Auberi isn’t exactly known for doing anything out of the goodness of his heart.”
“It would be a shame to make my daughter a widow so soon in the relationship,” said Auberi, grinning at Garth. “To clarify, she would be sad. I would be fine, and strongly encourage her to move on right away.”
Garth flipped him off again.
“Use your words,” said Auberi.
A scathing line of words fell from Garth’s mouth, all of which were in his native language.
Laughing, Auberi focused on Rurik. “Up for a road trip?”
“I am up for anything that gets me away from her,” he said, thumbing in the direction of his therapist.
Ms. Perky picked then to wink at him.
He grunted.
Auberi raised his chin as he looked at Rurik. “There is a situation we’d like to keep a closer eye on. Details are slow to come in because the Durham Paranormal Regulator office has been hit as hard with rogues and moles as we have.”
“Durham?” asked Garth. “As in North Carolina?”
“One and the same,” responded Auberi. “Chatter has increased in that area over The Corporation channels we monitor. Something is stirring in Durham. We need more information. Rurik’s name was thrown into the mix as how to get that information.”
Garth let out a long, annoyed breath. “Was Duke the one tossing his name in?”
“How did you guess?” asked Auberi, grinning more.
“Hunch,” said Garth. “Getting rid of Rurik is one of the man’s favorite hobbies.”
“Details are somewhat limited, and plans are last minute, but everything should be in order by the time you arrive there—assuming you’re up for a mission,” said Auberi.
“Sounds like the perfect mission for you,” said the therapist, as if she had skin in the game.
A gnawing started in Rurik’s gut, bringing with it the compulsion to stop what he was doing and get to Durham as quickly as he could.
Fuck having a mission or not.
He’d never been to the city before and hadn’t ever given it much thought one way or another, but now he got the sense he was supposed to be there, not here. The sooner he left, the better. “I’ll go.”
Auberi’s lips slid up more. “That is good to hear, because the catches are just about here. I can smell one of them. I’m unsure if he’s bathed recently, or ever.”
Just then, two men entered the rehab room, walking side by side. Both looked out of place. If Rurik wouldn’t have been there, witnessing the event, he wouldn’t have believed it.
One of the men, the shorter, older one of the two, was dressed in an ill-fitting costume that consisted of a blue jacket with gold edges, a matching blue vest with white stars on it that looked as if it were about to pop a button, a red bowtie, a red and white striped top hat, and matching pants. The man had on a fake white beard that had food stuck in it, all while holding a half-eaten apple pie.
The man next to him stood nearly a head taller and was dressed in a costume that reminded Rurik of something from the late 1800s. It was black from head to toe, complete with a broadcloth coat, and matching vest and pants. He had a fake beard as well but his was black. He wore a top hat that added to his height.
The sight of them made Rurik think of the little girl from years ago once more. It was as if the universe was doing its best to be sure he remembered Little Paw. He nearly cracked a smile.
The short, plump man picked then to lift the pie toward Rurik. “Happy birthday, Commie! Duke sends his regards. He’s stuck in some briefing they got going on for something happening here or somewhere. I can’t remember. You folks step in more shit than pigs in a pen.”
It was true. PSI did step in a fair amount of shit.
The man raised the pie higher. “Also, Duke said you like apple pie. I got hungry waiting for Frenchie here to get to the goddamn point.”
Bill—or Wild Bill, as he liked to be called—had become something of a permanent fixture around PSI and its offshoots. Rurik couldn’t figure out why anyone let the small hairy man within a hundred feet of anything to do with something important, let alone clandestine military facilities, but they did. Oddly, Bill had proven useful in several situations, again baffling Rurik.
“Bill,” said Auberi, licking a fang.
Bill grinned in a way that said he was up to no good. “I ain’t scared of you. A little daylight and you’re extra crispy. And I’d like to remind you that without my people, you’d be speaking German right about now. Call those twins who look like they belong in a Bond movie. Hans-Not-Solo and Jan-Nickelback? They’ll tell you.”
“Hans and Jannick?” asked Garth.
Shrugging, Bill stared at the Viking. “I don’t know. You all have girlie hair and stupid names. Are they the Germans?”
Garth appeared tired as he glanced at Rurik. “They’re German, yes.”
“Great. They’ll tell Frenchie how without us—the Americans—he’d be speaking German,” said Bill.
Gus rocked back and forth in place, staring at an overhead light, as if he wasn’t even in the room let alone part of the conversation.
“That is a misconception,”
