Zero Sight Part 28

"Thank you, John." Agent Collins stood up and straightened his tie. "Talmax has done an extraordinary job of exploiting the existing drug infrastructure to further their goals. The cartels always had an impressive array of weaponry and gunmen, but their problem was always loyalty. Now, thanks to their extensive use of wipes, Talmax has created a small army that is both loyal and fearless. If the gunmen don't simply overwhelm our agents, the barrage of offensive magic does. And since Talmax doesn't care if their Imperiti foot soldiers are killed, they can employ ma.s.s effect spells from a distance. In the first months of the conflict, before we fully understood the threat, we lost over one hundred agents in the fights to control Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco."

"Awen's Ghost," Jules muttered.

"Talmax attempted to capture Salt Lake City and Sante Fe as well. Fortunately, the Mormon Guard was more prepared than most. The Salt Lake Leynode was well fortified, and the Guard's crackdown on drugs meant the usual narco infrastructure was nonexistent. The element of surprise lost, Talmax were forced into a face-to-face confrontation with a well-defended node. That freed up some of our forces. A second group of DEA mages then countered Talmax in Santa Fe. We managed to push them out of the city and set up a decent perimeter. After those two victories, we expected to be able to draw a line in the sand. We hoped to hold Talmax off until we could present evidence to the ICE that these ACT devices were illegal...then Talmax started playing dirty.

"You are all painfully aware that over this last summer numerous initiates were captured or killed during transit to Elliot College. In response to those attacks, we firmed up our defenses. You could say that our personnel went to the mattresses. The Department ended all travel without DEA escorts. Our academy in California was evacuated because its supply lines were at risk, but we were extremely confident of the fortifications at our remaining academies. Their defenses were designed by the best minds at the Department and Cerberus, and after their failures in Salt Lake and Santa Fe, we didn't believe that Talmax would dare take a swipe at our infrastructure. Throughout their campaign, they had been at pains to avoid face-to-face fights."

Agent Collins took a moment to look at each one of us.

"Trainees, we underestimated the enemy. Yesterday, Talmax launched a combined a.s.sault on all our remaining educational facilities."

Sadie gasped.

"From what we can tell, Talmax employed a new form of translocation to insert forces past our defenses. The attack against Boulder College ended before it started. The members of the a.s.sault team, twenty-four strong, ceased to exist on arrival."

Collins flipped slides to an image of a school cafeteria. A torrent of guts was strewn across the floor. I recognized the sight. I had created one just like it last night.

"They materialized half above and half below the cafeteria's floor. Our best guess is that their mage miscalculated the alt.i.tude. What you see here was waiting for the janitor this morning."

Collins adjusted his gla.s.ses and stared down at the table.

"Unfortunately, our luck ended there. Reports are still arriving, but we believe the entire Portland United campus was overrun. Talmax has taken control of both the college and the city."

"My parents?" Sadie asked weakly.

Collins shook his head. "I'm sorry Ms. Thompson, but we just don't know. Your mother and father were one of only two weft-pairs on scene. Their last transmission stated they were attempting to divert the incoming force and buy enough time for the survivors of the first wave to escape."

Daggers of pain jabbed into my sides. Sadie was a powerful mage. Those sharp stabs were her aura's response to the news. I wasn't the only one who felt them. Jules and Monique, nearest her, nearly jumped out of their chairs. Sadie broke down into wave after wave of gasping sobs. I couldn't bear to look. I stared down at the table instead. Sadie was a bundle of lighthearted energy. Even after I'd nearly got her killed, she only managed to see the positives. Now she'd been reduced to a shaking heap. It was infuriating.

To my surprise, Sheila was the one to take charge. She scooped Sadie up like she was a baby, carried her to the waiting room, and laid her down on the couch. Meanwhile, back in my head, on the back burner, simmering under low heat, a nasty stew was brewing. These people...murdering kids on their way to school...blowing up dormitories...killing faculty in their sleep...kicking Rei's face in. I felt hot. I felt angry. I pictured my turn. What I would do to them. How fun it would be to-a steel-toed boot collided with my s.h.i.+n. I sucked in air as the pain rose to epic.

Across the table Spinoza was staring at me evenly. "Easy, diablillo." His voice came unaccompanied by the movement of his lips. "You'll have your chance. But if you storm into this brawl, your first and last victim will be the same."

I looked down at the table. The glossy sheen had blistered around my hands.

Stars above, the a.s.sa.s.sin on the mind walkie-talkie was right. What was I doing? Would getting in a huff make anybody whole again? We had to be calm and cool about this. We had to be professional. We could do way more damage that way.

I looked up at Alguacil Spinoza and nodded. Then I turned to Collins. "Sir, I don't know much, and this situation looks like a real cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k, but I'm a.s.suming you didn't drag us in here to tell us a sad story. How do we deliver a nutter?"

Roster motioned his fingers back and forth between us. "I love it when you speak my language. Yo, Mr. C, lets get to the part where we show these Talmacks what hurtin' is."

f.u.kimura creaked forward in his chair. My face twisted up in confusion. I hadn't even noticed he was in the freakin' room. "The path is clear. They breached the realm. They have endangered us all. They must be killed."

"Aku soku zan, baby," Roster said. "I love that s.h.i.+t."

Collins shook his head. "We are so quick to draw the blade; we forget how hard it is to sheath." He turned to us. "But that is-I'm afraid-the exact reason we have brought you here today. We need new blades, and you are the only ones that will do."

"It's all because of a coincidence really," Masterson explained. "Everyone in Lambda squad has something in common. You're all resistant to glamour."

"Well we all knew Roster was," Monique said with a laugh. "The fool's way to bullheaded to be convinced of anything."

"d.a.m.n straight," Roster agreed.

"But that can't be a coincidence," Jules objected. "Only one-in-ten mages are resistant to glamour. The probability of that happening by chance is...um..." Jules was more of a facts girl; her eyes were rolling up into the back of her head.

"About one in ten billion," I offered.

"Oh." Jules swallowed. "I get it."

So did I.

"That's cold, Albright," Roster said, shaking his head.

"Well, it makes perfect sense to me," Maria said, daring a glance in my direction. "Why anyone would trust one of those things is beyond me."

My jaw tensed. That b.i.t.c.h. She looked so...vindicated. I thought about how Rei acted when she spoke to Dean Albright. It was always 'yes, sir' this and 'yes, sir' that. I thought back to how Rei could never meet Albright's eyes. How she kept bowing her head. I bit down on my lip. Rei had a crush on him, didn't she?

I felt deflated. Roster was right. It was just cold.

"Well, dean, I hate to disappoint you, but Rei glamoured me last night."

"On the contrary, initiate. Apprentice Dante, would you repeat what you told me."

Dante eyes darted about the room. He liked talking in front of people about as much as I did.

"Right...um, Rei and Dieter were arguing over something, which seems to be the norm...oh, uh sorry, Dieter."

He wiped his brow and took a deep breath.

"So, Dieter was like, 'You're gonna go out there on your own, are you nuts?'

"And then the prin-I mean, Rei was like, 'Don't underestimate my power, puny mortal,' and she hit us with the whammy. It was amazing, really. She wasn't even looking at me, and my shroud melted.

"And then Dieter was like, 'Over my dead body!'

"And I was thinking my roomie was about to get his wish.

"And then Rei got super vampy and was like, 'Yield to my power!'

"And then Dieter started grunting and looked super uncomfortable.

"And then Rei took a step forward.

"And then Dieter dropped to his knees, but a moment later he started going 'Reeee!'

"And I was like, 'Oh, for the love of G.o.d, please don't kill me.'

"And then Rei walked over and elbowed him in the head...

"That's about it. Oh, and there were grenades."

With a sigh, Dante sank deep into his chair.

"Thank you, Apprentice Dante," Albright said, turning to me. "You see, initiate, you did resist her glamour. Ms. Bathory had fed recently, and she hit you twice, full on. There was also the time you laughed at her for demanding of you a coffee. She spoke to me about that. It irritated her. In both instances, you resisted her will and continued to think cogently."

"The cogent part is debatable," Jules chimed in. "Dieter, as my apprentice, I won't have ya pickin' fights with no drainers. If she wants a coffee, give her a fockin' coffee. I've invested far too much time and capital to have ya turned into a fang-cus.h.i.+on."

Collins nodded. "That's resistant enough for government work. John, if you would."

Masterson threw up a new slide. It had 'cla.s.sified' written on it like 10,000 times.

"We called you in today because we have a job for you. Normally, only 3rd and 4th years engage in any sort of fieldwork, but an exception must be made. We've lost far too many agents. Mages resistant to glamour are in short supply, and as I am about to show you, resistance to glamour is critical for this job. Observe, if you would, Las Vegas, NV."

"Las Vegas?" Maria asked. "But Las Vegas is a dead city."

"Pardon me?" I'd had enough of Maria's snark.

"Not infested like the Midwest, Dieter. Las Vegas just doesn't have any leyflow. You can't draw mana from the ground."

"Oh. Wait. What do you mean the Midwest is infested? Infested with what?"

Maria facepalmed. "You hang out with one and you don't even know their territories?"

"Territories? You mean the black parts of the map are-"

Masterson cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, initiate, but we have to depart within the hour. Let's leave a discussion of the Fiefs for another day, shall we? And yes, Ms. Spino-"

"Espinoza," Maria corrected.

"Apologies. Las Vegas is indeed a dead city. We believe that is the very reason Talmax has established it's headquarters there. A dead city erases our advantages and enhances their own."

Monique nodded. "With no leyflow, we would have to rely on our mana reserves for casts. You said these ACT devices enhance mana reserves. The Talmax mages would be able to cast a lot more, right?"

"Very good, Ms. Rice. Compound that with the number of hired guns Talmax employs, and you can understand why DEA Command sc.r.a.pped any a.s.sault attempts using mages. We conducted a standard drug raid on their interests, but we came up empty handed. Carrera wasn't stupid enough to get caught with white powder on his hands." He clicked to a slide of the Las Vegas Strip. "And it get's even better. A few months back, a Talmax subsidiary purchased a bankrupted casino resort called the Over the Top."

"Why that piece of junk?" The Over the Top housed the tallest observation deck in the world, but it was old, run down, and reeked of cigarette smoke-a real cla.s.sy joint.

"Junk is past tense, Mr. Resnick. Carrera has poured millions into a renovation project. The resort is slated to reopen on December, 15th."

"Yo, enough background," Roster pleaded. "When do we come in?"

"We have good intelligence that Carrera himself intends to operate out of this facility, and where Carrera goes, so goes Talmax's supply of ACT. We want you to steal us some."

I raised my hand. "Um, how?"

"Command believes we can hold out against Talmax in Salt Lake City and Santa Fe for a few more months. Our Intelligence indicates that they won't be ready for a direct a.s.sault on the Mormons' temple until Christmas at the earliest. We are going to send your squad in under the radar. You are going to obtain samples of ACT to prove they are illegal goods from beyond the frame. That should be enough to get the ICE to intervene. Correct, Mr. Spinoza?"

"If Talmax has indeed breached the frame, their punishment will be severe." Carrera smiled on that last word; I very much wished he hadn't.

"f.u.c.k yea. We get a trip to Vegas, do some Bond s.h.i.+t, and save the day Armageddon style?" Roster said, thumping the table.

"Bud," Dante said leaning over, "Bruce Willis dies at the end of that one."

"I ain't Bruce Willis!" Roster said laughing. "It was Dieter sayin' 'Now I got a machine gun' last night. That boy's the one who's cooked."

Jules slumped forward and cradled her head. "I'm surrounded by a bunch a nutto Yanks."

Dean Albright stood up, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, look sharp. We'll go over a more detailed plan later. Central's bas.e.m.e.nt is your new home. Bring whatever you can salvage from the dorms, and the Department will provide the rest. We begin your accelerated combat training at 1200 tomorrow. You're all off until then. Dismissed."

End of Book 1.

Acknowledgments.

This book was an accident. I'd learned I'd been accepted to medical school, but I found it hard to celebrate. I was up at UC Davis researching burn care, and the love of my life was way down in Los Angeles. For the first time since we started dating, we were living far apart. Work at UC Davis was great, but I had no roommates, no television, and I was fresh out of Jim Butcher novels. The bar scene wasn't for me, so I decided to start writing the novel I wished I could read. Zero Sight was the result.

My thanks go out to Dr. Kiho Cho and Dr. Tina Palmieri for teaching me how to think like a doctor; to Karen Lenkis, Mary Beth Lawless, Katrina Falwell, and Grace Chan for teaching me how to think like a nurse; and to UC Irvine School of Medicine's cla.s.s of 2013 for reminding me that the cure for great misery is great company.

I am forever indebted to my dear friend, Jon Steller, for editing this book's ma.n.u.script during the middle of our second year of medical school. I am told by an authoritative source that he took it into bed with him every single night. Jon, sorry for stealing your sleep. Nicole, sorry for stealing your husband.

Thanks to Sarah Pedersen and Jordan Kimura for their hard work on the cover. You two were born with the eye for art that I was born without. And my deepest apologies to all my beta readers: Jai and Renzo Ma.s.sari, Sheela Damle, Karen and Barry s.h.i.+er, Jayant and Rohinee Damle, Stacy Brock-McLellan, Nicole Steller, Rombod Rahimian, Stefan Block, and Stefanie Mooney. I'll try to spell better next time.

Lastly, I'd like to thank my biggest fan. When she said that this book was good enough, I was happy; when she said that I was good enough, I was overjoyed.

About the Author.

The guy who wrote this finds it really weird to be writing about himself.

Brian Justin s.h.i.+er was born in the great state of New Jersey, he was raised in the great state of Nevada, and he went to college in the great state of Missouri. When he realized he needed to make something of his life, he moved to the great state of California to seek his fortune. He did medical research for a few years before deciding he loved working with patients. He is currently pursuing an MD somewhere in Southern California.

For news about the author or The Zero Sight Series, check out (www.bjustins.h.i.+er.com). There may or may not be cookies.

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