Bound Together (12 page)

terminus

The AEGIS outpost was not all that far from my apartment, but getting there took over an hour, thanks to the weather and the traffic. It turned out to be a good thing that we left with two hours to spare. He hadn't been exacting about the time, so I wasn't worried about showing up a little early.

The outpost was in the downtown area, on the edge of the financial district, an unassuming three-story office building that advertised itself as a small firm that specialized in medical scanning technology. About as far away as could be from a secret government agency that fought supernatural monsters.

I stepped out of the car and shut the door. Misaki followed a moment later and I engaged the security system. The building had a small parking lot, but it was almost empty, likely due to the heavy snow. I glanced over at Misaki and gave her an encouraging look.

She didn't look cold—I wasn't sure if an immortal spirit
could
get cold—but she wore warm clothing just the same. I think she wanted to keep from attracting too much attention, but I convinced her not to use the invisibility charm to hide her ears and tail.

Those ears flicked a bit as snow built up on them. I was a little worried that she'd be too nervous for something like this, but she looked confident and at ease. I hoped I looked the same because I really didn't feel that way. Starting a new job was always a little nerve-wracking.

We walked together, around the building and to an unmarked side entrance. The front lobby was part of the outpost's cover and was closed ostensibly due to the weather, but the outpost itself was active.

The side door was single-wide and had no windows. A small keypad was protected by a flip cover; this I opened and entered in the eight-digit code that Agent Williams provided me after we spoke the night before. The green LED lit and the door lock disengaged.

Misaki's ears swiveled toward the far side of the narrow alleyway between the buildings. “I can hear the sound of a heavy electric motor operating.”

“Can you tell what it is?” I asked as I opened the door. She glanced down the alley and narrowed her eyes. Her fingertips formed a complex runic pattern and mystic power woke within her, enhancing her vision tremendously.

“It's an automated gun turret. It moved into a dormant position.”

No surprise there. Obviously AEGIS had the place set up to deal with any unwanted visitors. I hoped they didn't have the thing programmed to open fire on anyone who entered the code incorrectly.

“Come on,” I said, walking through the open door. Misaki followed me and the door shut behind us, leaving us alone in a darkened corridor. The door lock engaged and the lights brightened, illuminating a door at the far end of the corridor. The walls of the corridor had a mirror finish that reflected light in a weird way.

“One-way glass,” I noted. There were probably more defenses behind the glass, but we were authorized and expected. I motioned for Misaki to follow and we headed down the corridor and opened the door at the end.

On the other side of the door was a small central lobby. A reception desk sat at the other end, in front of another corridor that led deeper into the facility. Inside the lobby was a few comfortable couches with matching coffee tables and a small refreshments area with a coffee maker, electric hot water dispenser and several wrapped pastries. I didn't bother to study the room any further, but instead approached the desk.

The receptionist, a slender middle-aged man with thinning hair, smiled as I approached the desk. “Miss Ashley, is it?”

“Correct.”

“Thank you for coming to present yourself on such short notice,” the receptionist continued. I noticed a suspicious, vaguely pistol-sized bulge beneath his coat and mentally added “security guard” to his job title.

“Agent Williams told me that I'd be meeting with a handler here to discuss the particulars of my contract with AEGIS.”

“That's correct.” The receptionist/guard pressed a button on his console and started speaking into his headset. “Yes, sir, Miss Ashley and her companion are both here. Yes, I'll give them a pass. Thank you, sir.”

I waited while the receptionist/guard reached into a drawer beneath his desk and drew out two small black squares made of plastic. He tapped them both against a small metal square built into his console and entered a long string of commands into the system.

“Hold onto that. It's a temporary pass that will allow you passage through the automated security system. Once your paperwork has been processed, your biometrics will be added to the database and you needn't worry about carrying a pass.”

“Security is tight here,” I observed.

“Unfortunately true, but I'm sure you understand the necessity. Your handler is in conference room eight. Head down the corridor behind me; you can't miss it, it's the only one with the lights on.”

I nodded my thanks. Misaki accepted her black square and placed it securely inside the pocket of her skirt. I nodded my approval, both of her actions and her choice of clothing for the day.

Misaki chose to wear a short black skirt over a pair of heavy winter tights dyed a light purple. She'd spent a half an hour last night before bed altering her new outfits in order to accommodate her tail, but she only managed to get the one done before becoming too sleepy to continue. Up top she wore a pink long-sleeve fitted tee with a plunging V-neck underneath a heavy black hoodie decorated with a cute pattern of cartoon cats. Her feet were encased in a pair of black leather lace-up ankle boots.

She certainly looked more stylish than I did. I tended to be lazy about my clothes when it was this cold. During the warmer months it was hard to keep me out of a skirt or dress on my days off, but work generally mandated pants for practicality's sake. My previous job's dress code absolutely prohibited anything I actually
wanted
to wear.

No problem; AEGIS didn't care how I dressed. I ended up going with skinny jeans and high leather boots. I had a few pair of stonewashed stretch winter jeans lined with fleece that felt great on my legs and kept the cold at bay. The rest of my outfit was rounded out with a mint-colored top and my usual battered jacket. My automatic, definitely
not
the cutest accessory in the world, was safely stored in a padded shoulder holster rig beneath the jacket, a pair of spare magazines on the other side.

I pushed the door to conference room eight open and walked inside, Misaki following right behind me. A woman was seated at the head of the conference table. She was clearly at least part Asian, probably mixed Chinese-American, not much older than me and was dressed neatly in a navy blue skirt suit and jacket.

“Miss Ashley, I presume? And this is... oh, I see. The spirit of the Relic.”

“Yes, I'm Karin Ashley and this is Misaki.” I was a little put off by her tone, but I didn't let any of my annoyance show. Perhaps she was like this to everyone she met. It didn't necessarily mean she was negatively predisposed to Misaki.

“A pleasure. Please, take your seats.”

I did as she bade and Misaki followed suit. I watched her ears swivel toward the handler. The woman displayed no reaction at all to Misaki's fox-like features. I placed my hands atop each other on the table and listened as our handler began to speak.

“My code name is Star. Unfortunately, due to your status, there are a great deal of things you won't be privy to. Operational security is
extremely
important for AEGIS, you must understand.”

“Yes, ma'am.” See, I can be polite when I want to. I'm not
always
spewing out profanity like a dog sheds in the summer.

“As an independent spirit hunter on indefinite retainer with AEGIS, you will have some restrictions placed upon your person. Violation of these regulations will lead to disciplinary action, up to and including loss of retainer fees, mission bonuses and possible revocation of your contract.”

And, if you fuck up
really really
bad, potentially becoming one of AEGIS's targets yourself, I added silently. Star didn't mention that, but it was pretty obvious that when she said “revocation of contract,” such a disciplinary action included revocation of
existence
.

Star tapped a few keys into the console built into the conference table. The huge flat panel display behind her came to life and displayed a fairly succinct and to-the-point list of things that could get me into trouble.

“Contract spirit hunters are given considerably more freedom and less supervision than our own agents,” Star continued. “For example, you do not have an office and will not be required to come in to work five days a week. If I need to speak to you in person regarding a case, I will arrange for a meeting in advance.”

I tapped my phone against the table. “How will contact be handled regularly?”

“We'll provide you with a secure access system that will allow you to accept encrypted messages from me.” Star pressed another button and several images of what appeared to be a secure messaging application. “We will communicate through encrypted instant messaging unless face-to-face contact is required.”

“What kind of warning will I have for assignments abroad?”

“Under normal circumstances, ample warning. AEGIS front-line operatives will handle rapid-deployment situations. You and Misaki, as independent spirit hunters, will be deployed for jobs we consider appropriate for your skill set. If we decide that your skills are needed abroad, we will give you at least a week's notice in order to close out any open cases you may have.”

“So what do I have to do to maintain my retainer fee?”

Star tapped another key, changing the display to a sample list of contracts for specific missions. “Regularly take on cases and investigate incidents. So long as you complete your tasks successfully, AEGIS considers you to be a good investment.”

I pointed to a mark next to the list of sample contracts. “What does this addendum signify?”

“When a specter's core is destroyed, the remnants of the condensed miasma can be purified into a raw substance known as 'quintessence.' This material is highly valued by AEGIS and the addendum lists requirements for the collection of quintessence.”

“Does this have something to do with why you're paying us so much to do so little?” I wondered, my eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Star actually laughed. I took it as a good sign. “Of course. The spirit of your Relic has the ability to convert the impure miasmic ash of the specter's core into quintessence. This substance is extremely useful for many applications.” Star tapped another command into the console and the screen changed again.

This time the screen displayed diagrams of a bladed weapon and a strange gauntlet-like device. The sword—actually it was more like a very long dagger—was clearly designed in an all-business tactical sort of way. The double-edged blade was perhaps forty centimeters in length, about four centimeters across. The blade's shape and cross-section was designed both for slashing and thrusting attacks. It resembled any number of military fighting knives I'd seen throughout my career, only scaled up.

The gauntlet appeared to be a nylon fingerless glove studded with what appeared to be random bits of metal. The blade's function was a lot more obvious to me than whatever this thing was supposed to be. The only thing I noticed that was interesting about the two objects on screen were that they both possessed what appeared to be some sort of receptacle that would accept a small cartridge.

“These devices are emulation systems created by AEGIS that allow our front-line operatives to permanently destroy specters. Our hunters are typically equipped with these systems, allowing them to fight specters on equal footing.”

I saw where she was going, despite how sparse her explanation was. “And these things are powered by quintessence, correct?”

“Yes. Without it, we would be easily outmatched. While practitioners of magecraft do still exist, they are very small in number, reclusive and do their best to keep their abilities a closely-held secret. Few would have any interest in working with AEGIS. I suspect Miss Misaki has more knowledge on this subject than I.”

I glanced at Misaki. She looked only slightly mortified by the fact that Star had essentially placed the spotlight on her. My lips curved into an encouraging smile.

“Y-yes.” Misaki straightened up in her chair and tried her best to look confident. “In the past, powerful clans of spirit hunters would possess tremendous power both arcane and political. They were capable of communicating instantly over long distances with their magic, something the rest of humanity wouldn't be capable of until the technology was developed hundreds of years later.”

“The spirit hunter clans suppressed and hoarded this knowledge to increase their own power,” Star continued. “For this reason, the number of modern practitioners are small and limited exclusively to a handful of elite dynasties.”

“The same ones who summon the specters in the first place,” I reasoned.

“Many of them, yes. Some knowledge of magecraft is required to call forth a specter and temporarily bind it to the physical world, but the amount of power necessary to summon a specter is considerably less than what is necessary to
destroy
one.”