Larry Correia - Warbound

“So that went better than expected,” Francis said.

“You must not have been in the same meeting as I was,” Dan muttered. “That Donovan fellow played you for a fool.”

Francis grinned. “At this point, any time I have a meeting with the government and come out of it without having somebody like Crow working me over with brass knuckles, I consider that a home run.”

“Thankfully, Donovan shut you up before you said anything really stupid. It wasn’t like he didn’t use something everybody already knew anyway.” The Washington Mall was still under heavy construction. Many of the buildings were still being repaired, and a few had needed to be torn down, leaving gaping fenced-in holes where there had once been landmarks. “And to think, last time I was here, I was about to get stepped on,” Dan said.

“How’s that different than this time around?” The great claw marks were still visible on the Washington Monument, as nobody had really come up with a satisfactory method to fix that damage yet. No wonder everyone is so scared now.

Dan sighed. “I suppose it’s a different behemoth doing the stepping, but we’re still getting squished.”

“That’s not very optimistic.” But who could blame him? Soon it was going to be the law of the land that every person in America with magic was going to have to wear an armband identifying them as an Active and what type of magic they were capable of, all in the name of public safety . “You’re starting to sound like Sullivan… Or worse, Heinrich. Come on, let’s get a drink. I’ve had enough nonsense for one day.”

There was a car waiting for them on the street, only it wasn’t Francis’ regular car, and it certainly wasn’t his regular driver. This driver was far too pretty. The lady was tall, statuesque, and doing her best to hide her good looks behind big dark glasses and a floppy hat. “Hello, gentlemen,” she said, gesturing toward the open rear door of a plain government Chevrolet. “Someone important would like to have a word with you.”

“Why, Pemberly Hammer.” If Dan was surprised to see her here, he played it cool enough you’d never be able to tell. “How nice to run into you.”

She tipped her big hat at Dan. Between it, the silver-blonde wig, and the fake glasses, nobody from the press would recognize the now-infamous corporate-espionage expert turned BI agent. “Why, Mr. Garrett,”—She sounded sweet, with just a hint of east Texas—“Why, bless your heart, you know you can’t lie to me.” Hammer was, after all, a Justice, and since Justices could always recognize the truth, lying to one was simply a waste of time.

“Got me there. It’s not nice to see you. It’s frankly a bit suspicious… Nice car. Not as nice as that fancy Ford you used to have though.” It was a dig, and not a very subtle one, since Dan had been partially to blame for her last one getting wrecked by an Iron Guard.

“Actually, before he up and disappeared off the map, Sullivan wired me some money to replace my car that he stole.”

“He promised he would.”

“Well, it was his fault the last one wound up on its roof.” Hammer smiled. “Imagine that, a man who keeps his word.”

“Jake always keeps his word. He’s old fashioned like that, reliable as gravity.”

“Yep. Good old Jake. Though I do wonder, where did he get off to with that fancy new warship of his?”

“You should ask your boss. I’m fairly sure Jake asked for his help and got turned down.”

“He didn’t ask me for my help,” she sniffed.

“Okay, enough. Agent Hammer…” Francis didn’t know her very well, other than that Sullivan had vouched for her character, and she’d helped rescue him from Mason Island, but she worked for J. Edgar Hoover now, and it would be a cold day in Hell before Francis trusted Hoover or anybody on his payroll. “Where’s Sidney?”

“Your driver was sent away, Mr. Stuyvesant. He tried to argue, but I did that whole flash-the-badge thing and he moved right along. I ever tell you how much I enjoy that? Don’t worry, I’ll have you back to your hotel in time for your dinner reservations. In the meantime, you need to come with me. Important top secret government business, that sort of thing. You know how it is.”

“Oh, I know how that is.” Francis looked to the street and lifted an arm. “Taxi!”

“All right, all right,” Hammer lowered her voice. “Look. I know you’ve had some bad blood in the past with my new boss, but this is legitimate.”

“I’m not in the mood, lady. I’m way past trusting your people.”

“It was the OCI that kidnapped you, not the BI.”

“All a bunch of letters from the same damn alphabet.”

“And to think, they sent me to pick you up because of my positive relationship with the Grimnoir.” Hammer sighed. “I wish you could just read minds, Dan, so we could just get this over with, and you’d know I’m telling the truth. You Mouths can do that a little bit, can’t you?”

“Sort of. I can get a sense of things, a handle on someone’s emotions, how to move them better, sort of an instinct about where they’re swayable, maybe little bits of images of thoughts that are right at the top, if I’m burning a lot of Power…” Dan said. “Not that I’d do that to you, of course. That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly.”

“Of course it helps that you know I’d plug you in the knee for poking around in my head.” Hammer patted the revolver-shaped bulge beneath her floral-pattern blouse. “But we’re wasting time, so go ahead. You need to know I’m being earnest here. We need to get away from those reporters before one of them decides to take my picture. I need you to come with me now. It’s important.”

“Very well. Just keep that Colt holstered because I like my kneecaps the way they are.” Dan closed his eyes to concentrate. He was about the best Mouth in the business, and usually he could play it so cool you would never know when he was using his magic on someone, but now Dan was obviously pushing hard, not even bothering to be subtle. Dan’s eyes popped open. “Seriously, Hammer?”

“Serious as can be.”

“I wish you would’ve just come out and said so. Hell… Get in the car, Francis.”

“She’s legit?”

“She’s legit.” Dan seemed upset. “Get in the car now.”

Their destination was only minutes away, but Hammer insisted on driving around for a little bit to make sure they weren’t being followed before circling back and taking them to the White House.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Francis muttered.

“Nope. Afraid not,” Hammer answered as they stopped at the gate. They were keeping it low-key now, but the Army had been handling security in the Capitol ever since the demon rampage. The soldiers at the perimeter looked at Hammer and checked her ID while other soldiers gave Francis and Dan the once-over, then they were waved right through. They were definitely expected.

Francis had been to the White House before for social events. His father had been an ambassador and a man of considerable authority, he had uncles who’d been senators and governors, and of course, grandfather Cornelius had bought politicians like a farmer would buy pigs at auction. That said, attending a secret meeting with the president was still a little intimidating.

“Let me do the talking,” Dan warned.

“I won’t screw this up,” Francis answered.

“No, you won’t, because I’m going to knock you over the head, tie you up, and hide you in the trunk,” Dan warned. “Oh, you think I’m kidding? Wipe that smile off your face. This isn’t some congressman from Podunk, North Dakota you can shout at.”

Hammer chuckled. “Dan, I never get tired of seeing you sweat.”