Chapter Fourteen

Tuesday afternoon, after a late wake-up owing to a half-shift at work, and then getting a number of college assignments completed, Leif parked his car outside of DOMA headquarters. He waved an exuberant greeting to Jamie at the front desk, then proceeded down to the main office where Julia and a number of other operatives were busy putting finishing touches on their day"s tasks.

"Hello, Julia!" Leif said, sitting down at the chair next to her desk, sliding over a cold tea he"d bought on his way in. "How"s today"s been?"

"Busy and tiring." Julia gave him a wan smile as she took the tea, giving it a swirl before taking a sip. "The weekend mission pushed back a couple of service appointments I"d had scheduled yesterday, so I busted my ass to get them done today."

"Anything interesting?"

"Maybe the minor curse breaking. Over the weekend, a six year old girl was shopping with her parents at an outside mall and saw a child Faerie doing the same. She saw that the Faerie didn"t have any gloves on, assumed that she must be cold, so tore off her own gloves and ran over to give them to her because she"d been learning about sharing in school."

Leif frowned. "How would that… oh! They were inside out, weren"t they?"

Julia nodded. "Yes. Being young, the Faerie couldn"t control herself and ran away screaming from the gift. The Faerie mother responded automatically with a Scholar"s Curse before realizing that the assailant was a child."

"Oh no!"

"She apologized profusely, but the damage was already done. Normally I"d leave this to the physicians, but they were booked a couple of weeks out, and it"s bad press besides."

"Is the little girl okay?"

"Oh, yes. The curse just prevents the victim from reading or writing legibly, that"s all. And once the Faerie child overcame her own fear, she apologized herself, and they became fast friends. The two are going to be penpals from now on, is what I hear."

"A happy ending!" Leif said, then looked at Julia slyly. "But I"m betting you frontloaded the appointment because you didn"t want the girl to fall behind in school, right?"

Julia set her tea down, turning back to her computer. "This is a textbook case that falls under DOMA purview. It was a simple accident on both sides, both parties were serious about making amends, and it took scant minutes to perform. Little cost, great return."

"Only several minutes to cast, maybe, but how long to recover, especially after all the weekend stuff?Haven"t you been telling meall about setting hard boundaries involving work-life balance?"

Julia closed a few files on her computer, then began gathering her things. "The reason I did it was because if I didn"t, and the girl went to school, there"s be yet another idiotic myth versus human fearmongering story spreading online. This nips it in the bud, and it only cost me my morning break, which I will compensate myself for another time."

Leif waggled his head at her, and she eventually relented.

"Fine, Leif.Yes. The fact that a little girl isn"t losing out on two weeks of school was a nice bonus."

"Horray for the truth!"

Grabbing her tea, Julia stood up from her desk and led Leif down to Director Wu"s office, though the director wasn"t yet in attendance. Julia left the door open, then had Leif take a seat in one of the chairs, taking the other for herself.

"Even good deeds can have consequences, though" Julia told him. "You"re right that I gave in to temptation and went out of my way to help the girl. But part of the consequence is that now there isn"t time for you and I to have our weekly training. Are you following me so far?"

Leif nodded, taking the time to really look at the director"s office. It was largely functional with few personal effects—no pictures of Alyssa, for example, and Leif wasn"t sure if it was because of security reasons or because of the director"s reluctance for public displays of endearment—but the room did boast several snow globes from different parts of the world, at least one of which Leif knew was a gift from her girlfriend.

"You"re a very busy person, though, I understand."

"Yes. But us missing out on our session means that you are that much less prepared for your exam next month. What if those few hours would have made a difference? What happens if you fail, and have to wait another few months to get certified? Would you have been able to help more people if you"d been certified sooner?"

"Julia, no!" Leif laughed, holding his hands up as if fending her off. "I already took college ethics, I didn"t come in today to suffer through more utilitarianism hypotheticals."

That got a quirk of a smile out of her. "It"s part and parcel of the work we do in DOMA. There"s only so many resources to go around."

"My argument"s the same as it was in the class, then. People can"t see or even predict all outcomes, so settling on a net "good enough" is perfectly ethical. And by the way, I"m glad you chose the little girl over us. It was the right thing to do."

"I appreciate you saying so."

Leif fiddled with his phone, but they were still a couple of minutes early for their meeting with the director. He looked at Julia out of the corner of his eye, remembering the tired look from earlier.

"So, hey, I was thinking about suggesting to the guys about going somewhere after work today. Do you want to join in? Just chill?"

Julia didn"t answer immediately, and then the door opened the rest of the way as Director Wu entered her office.

"Thank you both for coming," she said, setting a couple of folders on her desk and taking a seat behind it. "Mr. Becken, I"m sure you have some idea of why I called you in, since Detective Johnson has surely told you more than he really ought to."

Hints and rough ideas about an operation taking place later during the week. "No, ma"am. Based on your question, though, I"m guessing it has something to do with that geomancer guy?"

"Yes," she said, looking at him skeptically. "There"s an upcoming mission that we could use your assistance with. I was all for just requesting specific potions from you, but Winters suggested that we invite you in completely."

"An informed mage is an efficient mage," Julia recited.

"So you"ve told me before," Wu said, tapping her fingers on her desk. "I suppose it"s true enough for any mage with a versatile talent like you both possess. I warn you, Becken. There is a massive non-disclosure involved in this case, and if you do break it, you could potentially face judicial punishment."

"Yes, ma"am. Um. Are either Rahul or Tucker part of it? I"m not so good at keeping secrets from them. Tucker"s basically an empath, and Rahul"s job literally has "investigator" in the title."

"You do have a more open personality," Wu said diplomatically. "But that"s a fair question. Sometimes, Mr. Becken, you might be asked to help with a mission where you can"t tell your significant others, even if they also work here. Back when both Basu and Johnson worked together, one or the other would be assigned a rare case that was strictly need-to-know, and they kept the information confidential from each other. I think if I asked you to help with a case like that, both of them would understand, and both are more than professional enough not to pry."

Leif nodded slowly. "You"re right. They wouldn"t ask, and if they figured it out, they wouldn"t say anything."

"Exactly. In this case, though, the answer is yes. Both of them are involved, but they"ve handled confidential cases like these before. You haven"t."

Leif looked over at Julia, thinking it over. He absolutely wanted to. It would also let him be more useful, and maybe help keep his boyfriends safe, right?

"Can I call Tucker, first? I for sure want to, just, um, he"s smart with his advice."

Wu gestured, nodding, and Leif pulled out his phone and found one of his top two favorite contacts. It rang twice before being picked up by a breathless Tucker.

"Hey darlin", everything okay?"

"Yup! I"m downstairs with Director Wu. She"s asking me to help with the thing you"re working on. I want to. Should I?"

"You should do what you"re comfortable with," he said, and Leif heard the rhythmic sounds of a weight machine and Rickert counting out loud in the background. "But I would love to have you with us, if you want my personal opinion. Is that all?"

"Yup! Tell Rickert hi, and enjoy your workout!"

"Will do. Love you, see you soon."

"Love you, too." Leif hung up his phone, then scooted forward in his chair and reached for the papers that the director was laying out. "Okay, I"m in! Pen and paper, please!"

After impatiently reading and signing several forms, he slid them across back to the director while Julia closed the office door.

"Thank you, Mr. Becken," Wu said. "We have a delicate operation taking place in two days. We"ll give you the exact details on the day of, but I want your mind to be working on plans before then."

"Like, what time that day…"

Julia returned to her seat next to him. "You should call your job and tell them you can"t make it that night. I"m sorry to put you in this position, but I believe this is important enough to need you available the entire day."

Leif made a face, but nodded. "Alright. It"s short notice, but at least it"s not last second like when I sliced open my hand. So I should start making some potions now, then, right? I can do a batch today and tomorrow, but also not wear myself out so I can be fresh for any final ones the day of, when I get all the details."

"You see, ma"am?" Julia said. "He"s clever. That"s exactly why I wanted him in sooner."

Wu nodded. "Excellent. Mr. Becken, on Sunday evening, DOMA failed to apprehend Germaine, but we did get his associate, a Mx. Sinclair. Sinclair has tentatively agreed to work with us. They have a prearranged rendezvous with Germaine on Thursday evening, and we"re going to use them to try to convince Germaine to surrender himself willingly to DOMA. There will be DOMA, police, and FBI operatives on scene. Ideally this will be a peaceful operation, but Germaine is a complication."

"Gotcha! So I should see what I can do about someone who has all that geomancy, right?"

Wu seemed to hesitate, then continued. "It could be possible that Germaine has… other friends."

Leif took a moment to digest that, and compared it to what Rahul and Tucker had already hinted at. "I think I"m getting a better picture. Alright. I might just do a whole batch of Bullet Barrierpotions today, then. Wait, no. I"ll do a suped up standard supply today, then do the barriers tomorrow so that they"re fresher, and leave the fancy stuff for Thursday after I"ve thought on it. What do you think, Julia?"

"It"s a sound strategy."

"Wonderful," Wu said. "Mr. Becken, for this operation you should consider Agent Winters to be your direct supervisor, as she"ll be managing our more magical assets. Winters, go ahead and give him the full information on Germaine"s abilities, whatever he doesn"t already know. I trust you to use his skills appropriately."

"Yes, ma"am." Julia stood up from her chair, gesturing for Leif to do the same. "Come on, Leif, let"s talk it over and see what you"ve got."

◆◆◆

"Is that all you got?" Julia taunted, bending low over the air hockey table.

"Not a chance!" Rahul returned. "This is just the start of my comeback!"

Despite Rahul"s enthusiasm, after a few more quick flicks of her wrist, Julia sank the puck into the goal opposite her. There was an electronic buzzer, and then the machine quieted sharply as it stopped pumping air, with the display showing a score of seven to three.

"It appears not," Julia said. "Good game, though. Leif, do you want to try again?"

"And lose another seven to nil? No thank you! But if you want to go on the dance machine again…"

She flashed a tight smile, which she quickly hid by sipping at her drink.

"Maybe in a bit. Tucker"s probably up for it, though."

"I like the music," he agreed, leading the way as they found a couple of too-small tables to sit at. "I should"ve worn different shoes, though. These boots ain"t cut out for the faster beats."

"You could always go big ol" weredog! You"ve got padded paws."

Tucker seemed to consider it, then shook his head. "Nah, I reckon it"d be a mess. Ignoring any local prudes if I got naked since I"m not wearing my shifter gear, there"s just too many blinking lights. I"d get distracted and wouldn"t be able to keep up with the rhythm."

"Ope, yeah, I can see that."

The four of them took a moment to reconvene, and then decided it was time to take advantage of their hour of bowling that came with their event package at Ceaser"s Lazerplay. They had greasy pizza, sopping nachos, and sugary drinks while they bowled. Julia might have had the edge on most of the arcade games, but Rahul was a wizard in the alley. While Leif sent his straight down the lane, ending the tenth frame with an adequate ninety-nine, and Tucker a few points above him, both Julia and Rahul breached two hundred.

"Another?" Rahul asked, clearly pleased with his final series of three strikes that had edged him ahead of Julia.

"Not tonight," Julia said, using a napkin to wipe cold nacho cheese off of her fingers. "I need to head home and do a bit more research for my weekend podcast."

"Which movie is it this time?"

"Oh, I doubt you"ve heard of it," she said, pushing imaginary glasses up her face. She waited for his laughter to stop, then continued. "It"s an Icelandic film that follows a young college student as she deliberates on the meaning of her existence. It has a narrative feel and is chock-full of ennui and existential despair."

"Reminds me of that Oni one you showed me a ways back." After returning their bowling balls and cleaning up their trash, the four of them headed out to the parking lot where their vehicles were grouped up beneath a far lamp.

"Wappa"s Journey was about an older man seeking the meaning of existence after a life well-lived. Completely different."

They shared a laugh. "I"ll take your word for it," Rahul said.

"Mmm. Thank you, I had a nice time. It"s been a while since we"ve been here, hasn"t it?"

Rahul nodded, while Leif leaned back against Tucker, getting in some last physical contact before they had to make the individual drives back home, which would take thirty whole minutes.

"I think the last time was when Tucker and I were originally together. Right, pup?"

"That long ago, yeah." Tucker held Leif close, warming him. "It was a ritual with us all, darlin". It started with Rahul and Julia ten years ago, and they included me in it after a while. Once a month, we"d come out here after work and spend a few hours. Sometimes we"d invite the others, like Rickert or Angie, but the point was for Rahul and Julia to have their fun, and if others tagged along, then so be it."

"Yes, and it"s taken you far too long to invite me back here." Julia turned to look at the facility, then nodded and turned back to Rahul. She didn"t sigh audibly, but Leif could see the cloud of her breath in the evening chill. "Rahul. Go ahead and ask. I can tell it"s been eating at you all night."

"The fake bomb report," he said immediately. "Clairmont"s secret. How long had you known?"

"A few hours before you did. While Rickert and I were headed to Germaine"s motel after the alert, the executive director called and explained things to me so that I wouldn"t be leading a mission with incomplete data. He then asked me to give him a chance to explain himself to you first. I agreed, and then told him that if he didn"t tell you both by the end of the night, I was going to levitate him upside-down over the Stone Arch Bridge until either he confessed, or my runes tired out."

Rahul stared up at the sky, then nodded. He lurched forward to give Julia a tight hug.

"I would never have kept that kind of important secret from you," she said into his shoulder. "Either of you. Now, if you please?"

"Right, sorry." Rahul stepped back. "Well, thank you for joining us on a lovely night. Leif was insistent that we all hang out."

"He"s a smart young man, and you"re lucky to have him. Don"t screw it up, Basu."

"As if!"

Julia waved a farewell, then quickly strode to her car. Leif did the same in order to get out of the cold, as each of them made their own way back home.

Rahul and Tucker both arrived home before he did, and he found them doffing coats and garments when he entered their house through the garage.

"C"mere, cub, let"s warm you up," Rahul said.

Leif obliged, taking off his outerwear before coming in to be sandwiched between his two underwear-clad boyfriends.They hugged him tightly, running warm hands up and down his arms, before Tucker started taking off the rest of Leif"s clothes.

"Rahul," Leif asked, raising his arms up so Tucker could pull his shirt over his head."Did you really not hang out with Julia for an entire year?"

Rahul paused briefly while in the process of unbuttoning Leif"s pants, then continued taking them off."No, no.We did see each other, cub, just not at the arcade.She accepted a couple of one-on-one dinners together, I think mainly to keep tabs on me, but she declined all the home invitations."

"She did the same with me," Tucker added, picking a giggling Leif up off of the ground instead of letting him simply kick off his pants and underwear."I reckon it was her way of showing us both her disapproval.And she was very displeased, babe.I got a nose-full of it most weeks, and I could always tell when she"d just seen you because it was super-strong the next day."

"But not any more, right?" Leif asked, kneeling down and taking his sweet time in removing his boyfriends" final garments.Distracted, he started just rubbing their bulges through their jockstrap and silk boxers, testing the waters to see if either were up for a blowjob.

"No, not anymore," Tucker said, putting a light hand on the back of his head.

Success!

"Obviously it"s thanks to Leif," Rahul said.

"She"s definitely proud of you, darlin".Even when she jokes about your habit of breaking and entering."

"That was only two times!And both times because I was trying to save my boyfriends."

"A valid excuse," Rahul said matter-of-factly, and Leif noticed his hand on Tucker"s rear."And we"ll always be grateful for that.Now, pup, why don"t we think about ways to show our cub our continued appreciation?"

Impatient now, Leif hurried to strip off the two pieces of underwear, and it was distinctly satisfying when he turned Rahul"s chuckle into a low groan a second later.