Chapter 43 – Travel Team.

  “You can teach anyone to clear a room, but it takes a special brand of psycho to actually do it after they learn what happens in room clearing.” – Infantry Drill Sergeant.

  “The colors are amazing.” Kristi said while staring out the window. “They do this every year?”

  The trio was currently road tripping their way up into the upper peninsu of the state, in route to hit a target for the order. Kurt was driving, currently passing a semi-truck in one of the few passing areas. Val was in the back fidgeting with her tablet while Kristi was riding shotgun. Penny had come along and was sleeping, using Val’s p as a pillow.

  “Yup, it will hit our area pretty soon.” Kurt answered. “It has been a while since I have been this far north.”

  Val piped up from the back. “We should do some sightseeing then. Maybe we can go out to the big ke?”

  Val had been very attached to him ever since they came back from their girl’s night and found him asleep at his workbench. He had managed to enchant all the barrels for the machineguns, make a focus for Kristi in the form of a bracelet and even carve the second set of runes for the seven point six-two version of the guns. He hadn’t enchanted it yet, instead taking a minute to close his eyes before being woken up by Val a few hours ter.

  “Good ole Lake Superior.” Kurt ughed a little to himself. He had some fond memories of his first visit to the ke and his attempt to swim while jumping off a dock.

  “Think it will be warm enough for a swim?” Kristi asked. She sounded hopeful about it and Kurt was going to let her hold onto that hope as long as possible.

  “Ahh… we can see.” Kurt replied in that tone parents used when their kids ask for something, but they didn’t want to commit to an answer. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to share the ke’s reputation of being so cold a body wouldn’t float in it. On the other hand, it would likely be funny to see.

  The car returned to its former quiet and Kurt gnced over to see Kristi fidgeting with her bracelet. Like the neckce, she hadn’t taken it off since he gave it to her. She was currently spinning the gold band, rotating it around slowly while staring out the window.

  After returning from girls’ night, they had been naturally curious when they realized Kurt was ok, only tired. When they had gotten up the next morning, Kurt was bombarded by questions about his projects. He of course showed off the ammo box but made sure one of the first things he did was give Kristi the magical focus. He handed it to her so casually that it took a few minutes for her to realize what it was.

  He thought it was rather cute how she spluttered and mumbled at the creation. He had used a thick gold band that he engraved with the enchantment. He used the new metal that he discovered as the iny, super charging the effect and making it amplify her force magic by a terrifying amount.

  They had gone outside to test the bracelet and Kristi idly cast what amounted to a reaching ssh spell using the edge of her hand. The resulting fissure in the ground was proof that Kurt might have gone a little overboard. She then tested it horizontally and focused it to a narrow point that neatly cut down a tree over a hundred yards away.

  The next test was her barrier spell, that had grown to the point of catching one of the armor piercing rounds that Kurt had gotten from Renee. A massive improvement from what she had said about the barrier before.

  “So how many rounds does that box hold?” Kristi asked after turning her attention away from the rolling terrain and colorful trees.

  “No idea. I put all the belted ammo I had in it. So, at least five thousand.” Kurt had just kept feeding the thing and was startled by how much he put into it. He remained shocked by how it weighted barely a pound even after he had put so much in.

  “Well, I doubt I will need all of what we have but I am still curious about it.” Kristi said and went back to fidgeting with her new bracelet.

  “If you need to put down five K, something had gone very wrong.” Kurt agreed.

  After a moment of silence, Kristi gnced over at him. “Hey, I just wanted to say thanks again.”

  Kurt thought she meant the focus he made. “Oh, no problem. Other than the materials, it’s just like Val’s.” Kurt said and waived it off while fishing for his water bottle in the center console.

  “No not that.” Kristi said with a shake of her head. She was looking at him in the reflection of her window. “I mean for taking me in like you did. I know you probably did it for Val, but I am still grateful.”

  “Hey, it’s ok. I am gd I did too.” Kurt said, abandoning his search for his water. He instead reached over and patted her arm where it rested between them. “Really, I wish I had known sooner so you didn’t have to go through another team.”

  Kristi smiled, reaching up to put her other hand over his and they sat there in silence for a few moments. That companionable silence was broken a moment ter by a squawk of arm and a thump. Val’s head appearing between them immediately after.

  “Awe, you guys are so sweet.” Val said. “I am so happy that you get along.”

  “Quit teasing.” Kristi said and stuck her tongue out. “Wait, where is Penny?”

  “Down here!” Came a voice from the floorboards in the back.

  Val’s eyes went wide. “Oh, shit.” She then leaned back. “Sorry, Penny. Let me help you.”

  There was some grunting and swearing. Kurt was pretty sure he saw feet in his rear-view mirror at one point before a panting, red-faced and disheveled Penny popped up on her side of the back seat.

  “You OK back there?” He asked.

  “Yeah, I just didn’t expect my head rest to become an ejector seat.” She said. “Probably best I woke up though.” She was rubbing at her forehead while trying to straighten her hair.

  They chatted for a while longer before they could make out the city of Houghton in the distance. The tallest buildings being only a few stories at most but looking much bigger due to the hill that the city was built on. Everywhere they looked were signs for the local tech school and ‘Huskies’ merch could be seen in many of the buildings and cars.

  “Oh, I forgot about the college being here.” Kurt said.

  “Is it famous or something?” Val asked.

  Kurt shook his head. “Not really but being an engineering school, it doesn’t have to be. They have a good reputation and get plenty of traffic for being in such a remote area.”

  Penny turned on her GPS and they found their way to the hotel. They checked in to their rooms before going out to find a pce for an early dinner. They casually drove by their target building on the way, Val and Penny looking out the window to survey the area.

  The building was older and made primarily of brick with three stories on the south side and four on the north due to the slope of the hill. It ran for a hundred yards east and west while only being half that to its north side. The ground floor was divided into several shops that all looked to be various consulting or tech companies. While the upper floors appeared to be apartments or offices based on the window décor.

  They circled the block one time to get a view of the back of the building and the alley that serviced it. While the street parking was oddly empty at that time on a Monday, the back alley had a few cars in it, notably a seven series BMW along with a couple range rovers.

  “That’s them.” Penny said. “Intel pulled some info on the owner of the building, and he drives a seven-sixty. It is also believed he is the leader of the coven.”

  “Ok, let’s stop for food and talk.” Kurt said, driving off to the sandwich shop he spotted. “I say we hit tonight. Any other opinions?”

  “Now, we need to hit now.” Val said. “We don’t know how te they will be there.”

  Kristi shook her head. “No, we need to go after dark at the earliest.” Her voice made it clear she was set on that one facet of the raid. “The alley is still only one way in and out, so we can block them in there.”

  “Yeah, your right.” Val said after a minute of chewing on her knuckle. “Let’s eat then gear up.”

  Kurt couldn’t agree more and proposed they actually get their food to go. The girls thought that was a good idea since Penny had to make some preparations before they went in. He was also nervous, this being his first raid in a cndestine manner with absolutely no margin for error.

  *****

  Jahamet reviewed the tome in front of him for what seemed like the hundredth time. He had ‘acquired’ it retively recently after stumbling on a reference in another ledger he uncovered in the archives under the Vatican. That ledger and this book are what had opened his eyes to the truth that was buried all those centuries ago.

  He turned a page and once more copied the information from its ancient Greek to a modern English. A slow and tedious process because he had to take each stanza as a reference to the others in the book. There were some transtion issues when converting such nguages. It was always interesting how the little references jogged his memory of ancient events and cultures that he had lived through.

  A knock sounded and he looked up to the clock on his desk. If this was what he was waiting for, it was early. “Enter.”

  The door to his office opened and his new assistant walked in, stopping to close the door in the process. “Jay, the team from the Michigan field office is getting ready to hit the target tonight.”

  “Thank you, Kevin. Have the recovery teams been notified?” Jahamet or ‘Jay’, as he was better known, asked as he closed his books and pretended to put them in his desk drawer but actually stored them in the ring Kurt had sold him. The peace of mind was honestly worth more than he paid when it came to his little project.

  “Yes, sir.” Kevin gnced at his notepad. “Looks like Krasnic is on duty tonight and has signaled his ready status.”

  “Very good, I shall walk with you to the command post.” He said and stood to follow the human out the door.

  “So, good book?” Kevin asked after they took a few steps.

  Jay shrugged. “Eh, old book. You know how it goes with ancient cultures, more focused on writing in prose than listing facts.”

  Kevin gave him some side eye. “Sir, I barely speak two nguages let alone can read any of the dead ones besides some Latin.”

  “Sorry, I forget how it is with you kids.” Jay said with a sad shake of his head. “Haven’t even been taught the cssics like Aramaic or Proto-Germanic.”

  The aid snorted. “If I ever get the chance, I will try to pick it up.” He wrote a note on his paper pad. An action that Jay found humorous since all his previous help had insisted on using tablets and smart phones.

  They walked into the command post and found seats at a desk off to one side of the room. There were few people actually needed for an operation like this one. They had a communications specialist, a seer, a tech specialist to remotely work infrastructure and finally one person with satellite or UAV coverage. Jay was just there as an approving authority.

  “Feeds are online, sir.” The tech specialist, Michael said. “We have sat image and body cams up on screen.”

  Jay turned to the main dispy, a projected image that was also mirrored to the screen in front of him. “Thank you, Michael. What is weather looking like for them?”

  “I think they should be clear until midnight before some fog will roll in.”

  “Divination? Surath is that you?”

  “It is.” Came the curt reply from the goblin. “Well met, Jay.” The smirk on her face was more than enough evidence as to what she thought about the moniker.

  “Comms and Grids. How’s it looking?”

  “Green on our end sir.” Came the reply from the two fairies.

  “Great, let’s take a look and open audio and video.” Jay said and turned to the screen as four cameras flickered to life and chatter instantly came over the speakers.

  “… reverse in and park dead center.” Kurt said from the back of the SUV. He wasn’t in the back seat but actually in the trunk space, ying on his back and looking out the rear window.

  “Got it. Two turns left before I reverse.” Came Penny’s response. “I need a solid thirty seconds before the ritual is active.”

  “We will do what we can, but no promises.” Kurt said. “Val you are on the two slot and left side push. Kristi, at rear and right-side push with me.”

  “Roger.” Came the short response.

  “Penny, I want you out of sight at the back door after we hit it. Remember PID before you hose anyone down.” Kurt said.

  “Got it, st turn. Reverse in fifteen.”

  “Val, get the tch. Then brace.” Kurt said and ripped the charging handle on his rifle. The sound of two simir actions followed and brake lights fshed before back up lights clicked on.

  “Are they seriously hitting this pce with only three people?” Asked one of the two fairies.

  “I don’t think they will have any trouble.” Came the reply from the now white eyed Surath. “We might not see much action but that is because…”

  “Surath, not a word more.” Jay said and used a little of his demonic influence to make it a command.

  Jay then turned back to the screen to watch the back hatch be pushed open and three cameras slide outward feet first into the night. “Here we go.”

  *****

  “I got door.” Kurt whispered as they ran.

  “Alley.” Came the reply from Val.

  Kristi kicked in a moment ter. “Rear. Still have all the cars.”

  They heard the trunk lid close, and the engine shut off as Penny bolted for the opposite side of the alley. All of them were under an illusion cast by Val as they closed with the rear door. Kurt got to it first and found it was locked but not tched, a doorstop was keeping it open just a crack.

  “No breach. Penny, Status?”

  “Set, waiting.” She said.

  “Val, Kristi?” Kurt asked as he stacked on the wall.

  “Good.” Came their whispered reply.

  “Entering.” Kurt said into the radio, making the mental switch to that form of communication as he pulled open the door and took his first step into the basement of the building.

  The lights were out except the one dim emergency light over the doorway. Looking down the hall after the bend, there was only darkness. He tapped his gsses and activated the night vision setting then tapped the other side and activated the thermal. He could faintly see light from under a door to his left and nowhere else in the long hallway. He didn’t expect much since this was storage space for the tenants in the shops and apartments above them.

  Kurt signaled to Val and Kristi with a soft finger snap. They nodded and began to form up behind him as they progressed down the hall. Reaching the door, he stopped and listened while the girls pushed past, Val taking up position on the other side while Kristi covered the hall.

  He couldn’t hear anything, but according to the building blueprints and permits, there was another basement level. The door they stopped at should lead to the staircase that went down to that level. It was supposed to be a wide double door, but it had been repced with an exterior security door.

  Reaching out, Kurt tested the handle and found it was locked, a small inconvenience but not impassible. He then cast a spell that would detect magic commonly used on locks, there was nothing. Whispering that it was mundane locks, he pulled the entry tools he needed out of his ring.

  First was a small camera probe that he slid under and twisted around to see nothing but empty stairwell. The other device was a slim spring steel rod with a ninety-degree bend and a loop of string attached to the far end. He was betting the door had the same handle on the other side that it had on the exterior.

  He fished around after sliding the bar under the door and felt it stop as he twisted it. He then pulled his end of the string and felt it hook on the handle. With a long hard pull, he turned the handle and heard the lock click as it was overridden. Security doors that had an auto lock feature still had to be up to fire code and couldn’t lock from the inside.

  Pulling gently, he peeked through the gap and saw a rather wide stairwell with a strip of LED lights at the top corner that ran all the way down. It was still empty other than a fire extinguisher sitting in the corner.

  “Val, illusion.” Kurt said and felt a brief tingle as the spell settled over them once again. A tap on his shoulder, signaled for him to move.

  They shuffled down the stairs and closed the door behind them after Kurt wedged a wood shim in the tch so it couldn’t lock. The stairs were blessedly clean and rather wide, likely being a little over standard since there wasn’t an elevator in this part of the building.

  At the corner, Kurt stopped and peeked around, exposing as little as possible to prevent someone or something from breaking Val’s illusion. The hall split in two directions, one going only a couple feet before ending in a double door leading to a dark room while the other continued along the length of the building for a dozen yards but had three doors off of it. The darkened room looked to be filled with rows of chairs and tables but nothing else.

  There were two doorways with lights on halfway down the hall and another security door at the far end. The two doors would be a bit of a problem to navigate but they were taking things slow and likely would have the drop on anyone inside.

  “Hall, short side right, long side left. Two doors opposite each other halfway. Security door at the end.” Kurt said to the girls and gave them a minute to process. “Let’s all go long. Short is dark and looks like conference room. Any idea what that smell is?”

  He had gotten a whiff of something as they came downstairs but couldn’t tell what it was, other than it smelled bad. He thought he remembered the odor but couldn’t pce where he had smelled it before.

  “No but its familiar.” Val said.

  “Ok, Let’s go.” Kurt said and began creeping down the hallway after finishing their whispered conversation.

  They ended up splitting, with Val taking the left side and Kurt on the right. Kristi stayed behind him but slightly more in the middle to cover the door at the end. They slowly crept up to the two open doors and had to turn off their night vision from the bright light coming out.

  Kurt looked across the hall as they approached the doors. The one on Val’s side looked like a break room with a small kitchen and a couple couches. He stopped and signaled to his partner that it looked empty, and she nodded.

  She crossed over the middle of the hall and came up behind him. “Mine looks like an office but I can’t see far inside because of a cubicle.”

  “We take this one. Kristi takes the break room.”

  “Got it.” Kristi said and moved to the other side of the hall.

  They entered at the same time. Kurt went straight across, and Val hooked around the opposite way. Kurt’s progress was halted quickly as he turned the cubicle corner and found a printer and some cabinets. He rapidly reversed course, gncing out the door to see Kristi already done with her room and posted up across the hall, gun pointed at the security door.

  His progress into the room was interrupted by Val whispering all clear over the radio. They then returned to the hallway and reformed to work toward the security door. They stopped just outside with Val covering the handle side while Kurt cast the detect magic spell. Kristi had her back to them and was covering the hall.

  Finding no spells, he tested the handle and found it unlocked. Then he pulled out the camera probe again and poked it under the door. He could faintly hear talking and the camera confirmed the presence of several people. He began describing the scene to the girls, whispering under the cover of the illusion.

  After having each of them taking a look at the camera, they quickly amended their pn. “I see eight at a table. There are thirteen chairs at the table however.”

  “Problem solved.” Kristi said and pointed to the camera. “Looks like the other five just came in from a side door.”

  Kurt and Val gnced at the camera to see them taking seats at the table. “Got it. Val, can you cover our initial breach?”

  “I can maybe buy us three seconds.” She said. “Without knowing what the other side looks like the safest bet is to cast a deyed sight spell that will hold its current image for a moment before it fades.”

  “Good enough.” Kurt said. “You two go right and I will go left. Make sure to cover that door those guys came from.” Getting nods from both girls, Kurt pushed forward. “Last remarks? Ok, try for alive if possible but don’t take any risks.”

  Getting nods once more, they split and stacked on the door. Val and Kristi on one side with Kurt on the other. Val pressed her hand to the metal door and looked at Kurt. He took a deep breath, reset his stock in the pocket of his shoulder and nodded. In almost complete silence, they breached the room.

  Kay_Ship