Chapter Fifteen

Thursday evening, and almost time for the mission.Tucker leaned up against his work desk, watching Leif as he checked over the contents of his alchemist"s kit. His boyfriend had made sure that all the liquors had been topped off at home, then done a quality check on the perishable mixers, but now he had his thirty or so different bottles of spirits laid out and was shuffling the bottles around.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I"m just practicing." Leif pushed a few more bottles around, grabbing two and then reading the label. "See, first I pick two to three different random spirits or mixers, like this time I"ve grabbed whiskey and vodka. And then I try to think what I can make with them.Um... oh, Glitter Armor!Geez, that takes me back.I figure it"s kind of like flash cards, right?If I can keep at it, then maybe there"s less chance I"ll freeze up or anything, hopefully?"

"Rehearsing does help, yes. When adrenaline is pumping, people tend to fall back on muscle memory." Tucker came up behind Leif, rubbing both of his shoulders. "Hopefully tonight won"t prove exciting enough for you to have to deal with any of that."

Leif tilted his head back, looking up, and Tucker used the opportunity to lean over and give him a quick kiss. "I"m sure it"ll be fine! I"m going with the backup unit, right?"

"Yes. Ah, hang on, looks like it"s kicking off. Better tidy up."

As Leif began storing his labeled spirits back to their assigned areas in his backpack, Tucker saw both directors approach. Director Wu clapped her hands twice, drawing attention and silencing the small hubbub.

"Word just arrived that the FBI is finally in transit with our VIP. Those assigned to the mission are to be outside in ten minutes for final checks, we roll-out in twenty. Detective Deimos is in charge of the reserves." She paused. "Does everyone have wax in their ears? Move!"

Amid the unpleasant scratch of a dozen chairs scraping the floor, Tucker dipped his head respectfully as Wu approached them. "Ma"am."

"Good luck to you, detective," she said, her expression even but smelling of fierce determination. "And Mr. Becken, you"ll be with me. You can join me in the motorpool as soon as you"re ready."

"Yes, ma"am! This is so exciting, isn"t it?" Leif took a moment to hoist his backpack, took a step towards where she and the other operatives were heading, then spun back around to get himself another hug, which Tucker was more than happy to oblige.

"Nervous?" he asked with a grin, despite his nose telling him otherwise.

"Nope! Feels about the same as the wrestling tournaments I went to. And also, this time there"s no scary situation where you or Rahul are like, knocked out in someone"s basement or possessed or anything. Are you nervous?"

Tucker laughed, then turned Leif around and gave him a light push to set him on his way. "This is my job, darlin".I"m used to it. Now don"t keep the director waiting."

Tucker watched Leif head out, then shook his head to himself.

"I noticed you didn"t answer his question, pup," Rahul said, approaching his side.

Tucker grunted. "Even with him positioned in the rear—"

"I love it when he"s positioned in the rear."

"Oh, same, absolutely. But even then, this case can quickly go all kinds of wrong. Between Germaine, the feds, and the police, it raises my hackles." Tucker growled, rubbing his arms briskly, then turned to face his boyfriend. Reaching out, he ran a hand lightly across Rahul"s borrowed DOMA windbreaker that he wore over his usual investigator clothes of a dress shirt, slacks, and steel-toed boots.

"Makes me look dashing, right?"

"Actually… I reckon it maybe doesn"t suit you the way it used to."

Rahul stopped his preening, then sighed. "I suppose I"m out of practice with the whole commanding presence."

"It"s not that.I"m saying it makes you blend in." Tucker gently touched Rahul"s ears and nose where his piercings would normally be when not confronting a geomancer, then at his short mohawk. "You, Private Investigator Basu, are too much of a character to have your personality be subsumed like this. Yes, I loved you when you were one of a dozen agents, but I love you even more now that you"re a brilliant star all on your own."

For answer, Rahul pulled him in for a quick kiss, ignoring Deimos" snort and the presence of the few other remaining operatives.

It ended far too quickly for Tucker"s taste, but they did have a place to be. Tucker gathered a duffel that held a change of clothes and several of Leif"s potions, then led the way out behind DOMA headquarters.

The falling snow could be seen as it crossed beneath the bright lights that illuminated the lot where a dozen different official vehicles were parked. Director Wu was managing the equipment lists of her operatives beside one of the armored transport vans, and Tucker saw Leif standing there beside Jamie and Lilithian, bouncing on his toes.

Tucker headed to their second van, where Clairmont was discussing plans with Fontaine and Julia. Nearby, Rickert was doing back and wing stretches.

"Johnson," the director greeted. "Basu."

After a last vehicle check, the forward team loaded up into the van, with Fontaine driving, and soon both teams were underway.

"Any final thoughts?" Clairmont asked. "We have a half hour to kill."

"I have overall misgivings," Rahul said, crossing his arms. "We know Major Anderson is going to try something, but we"re still going along with it?"

"I"ll be honest, I don"t like it either," Clairmont said with a wry expression. "But telling the FBI to forbid police involvement would mean tipping our hand to Anderson, and he"d probably invite himself along anyways. I"m sorry, but I think this is our best chance to get some added evidence."

Tucker"s feelings sided more with Rahul, but he reluctantly nodded along anyways.

Several hours ago, Robin Sinclair had finally disclosed the site of the pre-planned rendezvous with Germaine.They"d been given permission to deliver a message, which apparently involved liking a specific post on social media. It was surely coded in some way, but hopefully they were still playing ball. The meet-up was scheduled for 10 p.m. at a certain business north of Minneapolis.

Robin was being safeguarded by a few members of the FBI art squad, and they and a small police escort were going to meet with DOMA near the location.

What the FBI and police believed was that Robin was going to try to get Germaine to turn himself in, in exchange for a lightening of his sentence. Custody would first be given to DOMA in order to safeguard Germaine for mundane prison, but that"s where the plans diverged. Clairmont instead intended for Germaine to turn in state"s evidence and walk away a free, or at least relatively free man.

They fell into silence after that, and even the boisterous Rickert seemed subdued.

When they finally pulled up to their destination, Tucker wrapped a blanket around his shoulders from his duffel,giving himself a quickly-doffed garment in case he needed to shift.

Four vehicles total were at the front lines, parked across the street from a landscaping business: one FBI van, two police cruisers, and then their own armored van. Additional FBI reinforcements were stationed a quarter-mile away, next to the rear DOMA team.

Clairmont immediately went to greet the lead FBI operative, next to where Robin was standing on their tiptoes, looking at the warehouse.

"This place favors Germaine"s abilities," Rahul said, making a few subtle gestures that immediately warmed the air around him, which a shorts and t-shirt clad Tucker was grateful for. "There are stone mounds, and plenty of metal tools inside the building itself. And you see all of those metal poles? Be careful, pup."

"Hopefully everything goes according to plan, then."

Tucker followed as Rahul went over to the police officers.

"So how"s the blue team doing tonight?" he asked cheerfully. "Little chilly out, right? Let me see if I can"t fix that a little bit."

"It"s good to see you again, Investigator," a female officer said, moving inside the heated ring that Rahul was gradually expanding, dusting the snow off of her gloves and winter uniform. "I think last time I saw you, we were responding to a call-in about a ghost, right?"

"Exactly right!" Rahul beamed at her. "You"re looking well, Sergeant Brown, how"s—"

"Keep your magic to yourself, myth," one of the other officers said, backing up towards the positioned patrol cars, soon joined by his two compatriots. "It"s turning the snow into rain, and that"s way fucking worse."

"My apologies, officers," Rahul said, laughing. He tightened a fist, and the heated ring ceased growing, its ten foot radius delineated by a few dancing sparks of light. "Hmm, curious.What"s Minneapolis PD doing this far north? A little outside your normal jurisdiction, isn"t it?"

"Our captain said he wanted some top men on this case," Brown mentioned, shrugging. "He hand-picked us."

"Impressive!" Rahul grinned over at the other three. "This is a sensitive and potentially dangerous operation, it"s good to know that we"ve got the best with us tonight. Is it just the four of you?"

"No, we have one more squad car thataway." Brown gestured in the opposite direction of where the reserve teams were stationed, at a cluster of local businesses.

"Can the chatter, Sergeant," the other officer said. Tucker took a closer look at him, seeing the lieutenant"s insignia on his collar. His smell, like his tone, was irritated and surprisingly tense. "And get over here. You can save the chit-chat for your personal time."

"Yes, sir," she said. Tucker heard her mutter a few near-silent profanities as she left the heated area and stood near the patrol cars, studying the facility.

Rahul sidled over to him. "Well, pup?"

"General hostility from two of them," Tucker whispered back. "The third man, the rounder one that"s talking with Brown, not so much, but still smelling a little off. Brown seems genuine, with some underlying irritation at this point. What do you think the third car is for?"

"Officially, probably to block any exit and to seal off the road if Germaine tries to run. The real reason? No idea. Maybe they plan on luring Germaine out and shepherding him that way and into a trap."

Tucker shrugged, then turned his head as he heard Julia and Fontaine approach.

"Give a little warning next time, Basu," Fontaine said jokingly, tapping her goggles. "Infrared sights and your magic don"t mix."

"Shit, I forgot. I didn"t blind you, did I?"

"Nah, you were slow enough with your heat build-up. Just maybe no sudden bursts of flame?"

"I"ll try, but if things go bad, I can"t make that promise. Do we have confirmation?"

"Don"t know if it"s Germaine, but there"s a heated area suggestive of a person, and a wireless signal that might be a cell-phone. Could also just be an overclocked computer and a fancy appliance." She indicated her ear, lowering her voice."The director says she has the shivers, though, so my answer is probably."

"Let"s do final preparations, then," Tucker said, watching as Clairmont finished talking with the FBI personnel and began leading Robin in their direction.

The others agreed. Julia started unfurling one of several runic spells that she had prepared floating at her shoulder, a shielding ward to protect their position, while the rest of them pulled out the potions that Clairmont and Leif had assigned to each of them.

Tucker himself had three, since his shifter metabolism better allowed him to handle alcohol, and he made sure to turn his back to the officers. Bullet Barrier for any thrown rocks or "accidental" friendly fire, Whisper so he could make do without a comms unit but still receive communications, and then, after discussing his worry about being buried alive, Leif had done a few experiments with his Cardio Up potion until he succeeded in creating a cocktail that allowed Tucker to hold his breath for more than an hour.

Robin veered away from Clairmont as he stopped to talk to the police lieutenant, and headed inside Rahul"s ring.

"Oh, that"s nice, this is," they said, wiggling their shoulders and using their cuffed hands to awkwardly try to get some heat flowing beneath their sweater. "It"s cold as a windigo"s tits out here."

"You"ll have to go back out into it in just a moment, I"m afraid," Rahul said. "But do try to warm up while you can."

"Thank you, I will!" Robin looked between them, studied Tucker for a moment, then eventually settled on Julia. "This had better work."

Julia briefly passed a finger up in front of her lips as she reached up to tap at her comms, saying a few words to Director Wu, then bent over to retrieve a bottle of "water" from a crate. Twisting off the cap, she put it in Robin"s hands. The wardbreaker took a sip, made a face, then worked at chugging the rest.

"Final checks," Clairmont said loudly. "Lieutenant Wilson, is the MPD ready?"

"Been ready."

"Agent Marks?"

One of the FBI personnel spoke into a mike, then gave Clairmont the thumbs up.

"Agent Julia?"

"Forward team is ready. Rear team is on stand-by and ready. Mx. Sinclair?"

They crushed the plastic bottle in their hands, tossing it at Julia"s feet, then held their arms out. Julia waved her hands across them, shutting down the runes, then used a key to unlock the cuffs. After rubbing their wrists, Robin nodded.

"Mx. Sinclair is ready. DOMA is set, sir."

"Perfect. Mx. Sinclair, whenever you"re ready, go ahead and walk across into the structure. You say that you can convince Germaine to surrender willingly, so we"re affording you the opportunity to do so. If he agrees, both of you simply come out with your hands in the air and proceed back here."

"And what"s to stop us both from running, Director Fuck-My-Face?"

Clairmont tilted his head. "You upgraded my name?"

Robin jerked a thumb at two of the FBI agents, then flipped a middle-finger at the police. "After spending a few days with these other twats, let"s just say I"ve revised my opinion."

Clairmond nodded. "Thank you, I suppose. In any case, we have safeguards in place if you attempt to flee, which I"m sure you understand if I don"t go into detail. On top of which, if you both attempt to run, then all arranged deals are off, and I"m confident we could catch you again. If Germaine chooses to run and leave you behind—"

Robin shook their head. "Don"t make me go back to calling you Fuckface."

"I apologize. Let"s just say that for everyone"s sake, I hope he"s feeling reasonable tonight. Whenever you"re ready, then."

Robin nodded, then walked up to the edge of Rahul"s warming zone. Tucker quickly doffed the emergency blanket and made to hand it over, but they demurred, so he stowed it in his bag.

As soon as Robin began their trek, purposefully barging through the four officers who were taking positions behind their vehicles, Rickert took to the skies as planned. Rahul, Julia, and Fontaine pulled back a short distance away and behind one of the wards, while Clairmont and Tucker remained at the fore, ready and watching not just Robin, but their own supposed allies.

Robin paused a short distance away from the business"s front, raising an arm in the air to wave it widely. "Hey, sweetheart! Your little bird"s coming in!"

"Caution!" came Director Wu"s voice, heard through Clairmont"s comm set.

The director and Tucker exchanged a quick glance, then each began sniffing the air.

"Be ready," the Lieutenant whispered to one of his fellow officers, then a second time as he moved down the line, skipping Sergeant Brown.

The smells were wrong. Too calm and too tense at the same time. What could—

-crack-

Tucker was so focused on smells—alarm, fear, triumph, horror—that it took a couple of seconds before his brain registered the sight of Robin falling limply to the ground.

"Shots fired, shots fired!" the lieutenant called out."Germaine is attacking, return fire!"

"No," Tucker heard someone whisper through Leif"s potion. The next cry didn"t need either potion or shifter hearing to make out. "No!"

A wall of earth lifted up out of the ground immediately in front of the building, absorbing the first volley of rounds from the officers, as well as the suppressive fire from the FBI agents. Rickert dropped out of the sky beside Robin, crouched down and with his wing extended, shielding her body. There was too much immediate chatter over comms and between individuals for Tucker to make out, but he started shifting into his weredog form.

Before he could bound forward, he heard Clairmont"s forceful whisper.

"Johnson, go after the sniper that took out Robin. That"s our evidence! I"ll send you Rickert shortly."

Tucker hesitated just a moment longer, looking on as Rickert lifted Robin"s motionless form into his arms and took to the skies amid rapidly approaching columns of stone, then began charging east.

His paws kicked up the snow as he ran. He didn"t have a comms unit, but after a few seconds he heard Rahul"s whispers, giving him a play-by-play.

Julia, holding the front line with her wards and reinforced by an airborne Lilithian, together buying enough time for the police to back away from the scene. Robin being secured with the forward FBI van, whose members stayed long enough to saturate the battlefield with tear gas before driving off, trusting the outcome to DOMA. Lilithian using her winds to keep the gas away from friendlies or from dissipating, which would hopefully serve as a deterrent to Germaine.

Tucker tore past the third patrol car, its lights off but its engine idling. The officer sitting in the car emerged, yelling at him to stop, which obviously wasn"t important right now.

The one officer in the car.

The cold and the snow made it easy to scent the trail. One other human, fresh. That building there! Three stories,which would be super easy to scale.

Tucker crouched down on all fours, leapt up, then shifted into his weredog form to grab the edges of the roof and hoist himself the rest of the way over.

He stood up tall, growling menacingly at the man holding a rifle case and flashlight, and who was nearing the fire escape.

The officer straightened up. "Back off, mutt. You"re interfering with police business."

Tucker leapt forward, grabbing the man around the middle and throwing him to the ground. From the grunt and the smell, it had probably hurt.

"You have the right to remain silent," Tucker said, pinning the man"s arms behind his back and sitting on him with his full weight. "And all that other stuff you"re supposed to say."

Reaching out, Tucker grabbed the dropped flashlight, then started waving it in the air. Less than a minute later, he saw Rickert gliding in.

"Bro, you got him! Wait, is he a cop?"

The man he was sitting on tried to speak, but Tucker did a little bounce on his back, turning it into a grunt.

"Impossible!" Tucker said. "Real cops don"t shoot innocent bystanders. He must have stolen a uniform or something!"

"Oh, damn!" Rickert said, playing along. "What do we do with him?"

"The FBI can take care of him for sure! You fly him back to Wu, I"ll—"

"Things are quieting down, pup. I think Germaine might have fled."

"—Rahul says things are quiet. So you fly, I run. Um…"

Tucker did a quick sniff of the area, then of the person beneath him. The scent of gunpowder led him to the officer"s pants pocket, and a quick feel confirmed it.

"The spent brass, yes! He saved us the effort of searching. But you go now, in case Germaine is doing a sneaky thing, okay?"

"Absolutely, bro! C"mon, evildoer. Don"t struggle mid-flight or I might accidentally drop you."

Tucker got off of the officer, ignoring his litany of profanities, letting Rickert take over. The man struggled, but against stone muscles, it was entirely fruitless. Within seconds, Rickert was flying off, the rifle carried in his hands, the man held aloft only by the gargoyle"s legs that were wrapped around his waist.

Tucker did a quick check of the roof anyways, but neither his keen sight nor sense of smell found any other potential evidence.

Tucker returned back to the others, stopping only briefly to interrupt a panicked phone conversation between the remaining officer and what sounded like the lieutenant with an apparently terrifying, "Whatcha doing?"

Tucker would have wanted to listen to the explanation, but no, he remembered that he had places to be. Shrugging, Tucker took his paws off of the cruiser and loped the remaining distance back, with Rahul repeating that there still wasn"t any further sign of Germaine.

Tucker caught up with the forward team just as they rejoined the reserve group. Rahul waved to him in greeting as he shifted back into his human form, his shirt and shorts scarcely keeping the cold out.

"Germaine tried repeatedly to pierce through Julia"s barrier to get to us," Rahul explained as he conjured a few flames for Tucker, "but between frequent repositioning and Lilithian"s counter-earth, he didn"t make any headway. A hail of rocks might have proved an issue, but Leif"s Bullet Barrier potions saved the day there. After a couple of minutes, the assault stopped, and we presume he fled. Overall, nothing worse than some scrapes and bruises, pup!"

"I"m glad. So now we try to track him?"

"Clairmont is organizing a team, starting with the landscaping grounds. Germaine might still be around, so stay on guard."

Tucker nodded, then looked around, frowning.

Sniffing, he wandered past the two armored DOMA vans and the remaining FBI vehicle, then stopped and turned around, checking everyone"s position.

Clairmont was talking with Julia and Lilithian, his good friend looking fatigued, the sylph looking similarly tired, but exultant.

Rahul was walking over to join them, probably to help with planning.

Fontaine was sitting in the driver"s seat of one of the vans, keeping an eye on the area.

Jamie was with the second van. She waved at him.

Director Wu was speaking in deceptively silky tones to the police officer, now handcuffed and sitting in the back of the FBI van, while the two federal agents stood nearby and looking like they"d just been served up a giant plate of titan shit.

Tucker made a circle around DOMA"s rear vehicle, then threw open the back doors.

Empty.

He strode over to Wu, slamming a hand against the back of the van. The officer jumped, and she looked over at him sharply.

"Where"s Leif?" he growled.