Reality Hack (13 page)

‘Odd, but shadowy figures are not exactly an unusual feature of nightmares. Aside from a shared dream, did you notice anything else odd about Mrs May?’

‘Um…’ Nisa searched her memory, trying to come up with whatever it was Kellog had noticed which she had not. Lisa May had seemed like a nice, friendly woman. The house had been tidy, but there had been enough clutter to suggest that it was lived in. There had been family photographs on the mantelpiece. ‘No,’ she said.

‘Neither did I,’ Kellog mused. ‘So why would they be watching her?’

‘They? The file mentioned several sightings of these shadowy men around London, but it didn’t say anything about what they might be.’

‘System agents tend to conform to an archetype appropriate for the age. Angels, wise old men… and these days it’s usually men in dark suits and shades.’

‘Men in Black.’

Kellog sighed. ‘Precisely. People don’t tend to question sinister government agents. We don’t
know
that these shadows are from The System, but it’s a working theory. If they are then something major is happening. They’ve been sighted in five different locations since the beginning of June. I haven’t been able to find anything strange at any of them. When we get back, run a background check on the Mays. Norbery can help you this time, show you the procedures.’

‘And then it’s ear protectors and bullets again?’

‘Practise for at least two hours a day. There is a test.’

‘Of course there is,’ Nisa muttered.

Westminster.

The Mays were about as ordinary as it got. Ben was a lawyer, primarily handling conveyancing. He had met Lisa at university where he had been studying law and she was taking English Literature. They had been married for three years, which meant they were about to get divorced or they were doing better than average. Lisa had not looked that stressed. Their bank account was not exactly overflowing, but it was in the black and they paid their credit cards off every month.

Lisa had, indeed, written an article on hormone replacement therapy, along with a number of others on various topics. She seemed to be a capable researcher as well as a writer. Nisa found a couple of short stories as well. There was a romance piece written for a monthly women’s magazine and a fantasy in a slightly more esoteric periodical. Both seemed well written, if not especially imaginative. There was no hint in any of her writing that she knew anything about real magic.

Norbery suggested checking the husband’s work. The esoteric language of demonic contracts was a lucrative sort of business for those who could get their heads around it. But there was plenty of evidence that Ben May was far too busy moving houses to have the time for moving souls.

‘Seriously?’ Nisa asked. ‘People sell their souls to demons?’

‘Very seriously,’ Norbery replied. ‘For money, power, revenge… any foolish thing they can dream up that the demon can arrange. And it’s easy to get carried away. If you owe your soul to a demon when you die, it can take everything. That person leaves the pool for some period of time and they usually come back… twisted.’

‘Bugs.’

‘It’s one way to create them. Some, like your cat, have existed since The System began. Others turn up new at times. We suspect Skinwalkers fall into that category.’

‘Norbery… You believe that The System is real, right?’

‘Having doubts?’

‘Well… questions.’

‘Good. Never take anything on face value. Yes, I believe it. But it’s not like people haven’t believed in things which were wrong before. They used to think the Earth was flat. People still believe in God, and that’s certainly a myth if The System is real.’

‘Someone had to make it.’

‘Yes, but I think a supercomputer or a very large team of programmers is more likely.’

‘Huh. Kellog seems pretty sure about The System. Hanson too.’

Norbery gave a slow nod. ‘They are, but they don’t
know
, not really. That’s what faith is, of course. Belief without proof. We have evidence, but
proof
is something else. Perhaps, just perhaps, we’re all wrong.’

Tower Hamlets.

Nisa stopped at the door of the tower and frowned. Something felt wrong. She was not entirely sure what it was, but she knew it was there, a weird, tense sensation somewhere in her head, like a headache waiting to happen.

She turned, looking around at the car park, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Thinking about it, she got the same feeling sometimes when she worked magic, or when she watched Kellog doing it. Was she sensing something magical now?

Her gaze shifted to the medical centre off to her right, and that was when she saw the man. He was tall, slim, and very pale, dressed in a black suit and tie, and a white shirt. He was wearing sunglasses, but then it was quite bright… But…

Turning again, she quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside. The tension left her body almost immediately, but she went for the lift at a fast walk and only felt comfortable when the door of her flat was closed behind her.

Faline looked up from the couch and gave a worried-sounding meow, but without casting the spell, the cat was going to be no use. Well, she could tell her anyway…

‘There was a man outside,’ Nisa said. ‘Dressed in a black suit. Just… standing there outside the medical centre. I think he was watching me. I can’t concentrate to work the spell…’

Sitting up, Faline patted the cushion in a most un-cat-like manner. The suggestion was obvious and Nisa sat down so that Faline could settle into her lap. The purring started and Nisa found herself relaxing whether her brain felt like it or not. The tense sensation was there again, which seemed to prove both that Nisa was sensing magic and that Faline’s purrs were magical, but now the feeling of mild euphoria overwhelmed it.

‘You believe that the man was a “System Agent,”’ Faline said ten minutes later when her purring had done its job and Nisa had cast the telepathy spell.

‘He fits the description, but I guess so would any guy in a black suit wearing sunglasses. It’s just… I seem to get this odd feeling sometimes when I’m around magic. Like a tension in my head. And I got that outside and there he was.’

‘Sensing magic is not entirely unheard of. It is not that common either. A useful talent which you should attempt to develop.’

‘Huh. You’ll pardon me if “an agent of The System was watching me” is taking higher priority at the moment.’

‘Of course, but he could have been a simple magician or another form of supernatural.’

‘That’s better?’

‘Well, obviously that depends. Did he do anything threatening?’

‘Aside from watching me, no.’

‘He watched you in a threatening manner?’

‘That sounds silly.’ The cat tilted her head to one side. ‘I…’ Nisa stopped. ‘I guess I didn’t feel threatened, exactly. It just felt… weird. And he was just standing there… watching.’

‘You are an attractive woman and I doubt there was anything else to look at.’

‘You’re just trying to make me feel better.’

‘Is it working?’

‘Yes,’ Nisa grumbled.

‘What is in the bags?’ Faline asked, humour carrying over the link to her mind.

Nisa looked at the two bags she had brought in and dropped almost immediately.

‘Oh… I stopped off for some clothes on the way home. I needed something… smart to wear.’

‘Well…? Come on, get changed. I want to see you smart.’

Westminster, August 7
^th
.

Nisa walked through to Kellog’s office with a file in her hand. He was sitting behind his desk peering at his computer with a frown on his face, so she waited.

‘Yes?’ he said, apparently unwilling to take his eyes off the screen.

‘This case, the poltergeist? I think you missed something,’ Nisa said, which got his attention. He turned from the screen… and looked at her. After a second she said, ‘What?’

‘You’re looking… very smart,’ he said.

She had decided to wear the new outfit, just in case. It consisted of a pencil skirt, black with a pink pinstripe. Over that was a strapless bodice, black lace over a pink satin under-layer, turning to solid black over her hips, and ending in asymmetric, pink satin borders. There was a black, sleeveless bolero jacket, a pink leather cincher-style belt, and high-heeled sandals with an ankle strap. And suddenly she felt self-conscious.

‘Well… it’s dry-clean only so don’t expect it every day. I’ll get some more stuff when I get my next pay cheque. And don’t expect me to chase vampires in these heels.’

He
almost
cracked a smile. ‘Generally you should be running
away
from vampires. What have I missed?’

‘Well, you’ve got a house with broken pots and a couple of small fires. The family suspects the local youths are getting at their kids. You suspected one of the boys has telekinesis…’

‘It’s the usual reason for unfocussed events such as this.’

‘Yeah, I gathered that, but the tests came back negative. I was wondering why the family thought someone would be after the kids.’

‘They claimed that bullying was quite rampant at the local school.’

‘Uh-huh, they would. I did some checking. Those two have been kept behind for fighting on three different occasions. There’s a letter of complaint lodged by their parents for unfair treatment. “Our little angels are
not
bullies,” sort of thing.’

Kellog frowned. ‘You’re saying this may not be supernatural at all? The regular force is investigating the mundane angle…’

‘Yeah… Could be just regular kids, except for one thing. One of the boys at their school committed suicide last year. He didn’t leave a note, but his parents thought he might have been bullied. He never said anything, but they know he skipped school when he could and he was getting more and more withdrawn before he died.’

Kellog gave a grunt of displeasure and pushed himself up from his desk.

‘Not a good idea?’ Nisa asked.

‘No, it’s a good working theory which we can test, and I should have seen it. Hanson’s right. I’ve got too much on my plate.’

‘Well… fresh eyes on the problem, and I was a teenager more recently than you.’

He looked at her. ‘Are you suggesting I’m getting old, Sergeant?’

‘I don’t know. How old are you?’

‘He’s thirty,’ Sandra said from the corridor outside, ‘going on fifty.’

Nisa managed to stifle the giggle just in time: she was fairly sure Kellog would not have appreciated it.

‘Damn, girl,’ Sandra added as she started past, ‘you brush up well. You could have a girl batting for the other side. Don’t let Norbery see you like that. He’s married. He could have a seizure or something.’

‘I’ll go see Hanson,’ Kellog said, definitely trying to change the subject. ‘Assuming she authorises it, you go home this afternoon. Try to take a nap.’

‘Uh…’

‘We’ll stake the place out. If we are dealing with an unquiet spirit, it’s likely to show up after dark.’

Pinner.

‘So… how did you end up working for Hanson?’ Nisa asked.

They were sitting in Kellog’s car about a hundred yards from the house where the Wentworth family lived. It was a fairly large place, four bedrooms, a large garden, all of it well maintained. John Wentworth ran a small building business which did pretty well for itself. His wife, Donna, stayed at home and looked after her two sons, John Junior and Simon. Of the two, Simon got into more trouble, but Nisa suspected that was because his elder brother was smarter.

‘Long story,’ Kellog replied.

‘We’ve got all night.’

‘Hopefully not.’

‘Huh. It’s just… I’m supposed to be your partner and I know next to nothing about you.’

There was silence for a few seconds. Nisa waited, unsure whether he would answer but sure she should not press him. She was about to say something about not worrying about it when he spoke.

‘I said I didn’t like the Order. I don’t, but I used to be a member. Several of us got into some things… We did something stupid and someone had to pay the price. The others were protected, and I was the outsider. An American, twenty-one years old. I was hung out to dry, but Hanson saw that and offered me a deal. I work for Exceptional Circumstances, and they don’t press charges.’

‘You were twenty-one?’

‘Yes. I’d been in the country for three years, two of those with the Order. I scraped my degree.’

‘Then… your contract must be almost up.’

He looked across at her. ‘No.’

‘But…’

‘I said we did something stupid. You’ve done nothing aside from being an unknown, potentially powerful, magician. My contract is longer.’

‘What… what did you do?’

Any answer he might have given was stopped by a chime from a small box sitting in the open glove compartment. Nisa looked at it, and Kellog reached for the door.

‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Something triggered one of the sensors. Don’t forget the goggles.’

Nisa grabbed a pair of ugly-looking goggles from the glovebox and then pushed it shut. Her new eyewear looked like something the bomb-aiming officer on an old bomber might wear, except that the lenses had a green tint. They did not help you see in the dark; in fact, they made that more difficult, but they would, supposedly, let her see a ghost.

‘Do we know which one?’ she asked as they ran up the street, thankful she had changed into sneakers and jeans.

‘It’s not that sophisticated a system.’

‘Do we know what we’re going to do if we see him?’

‘If you see him… try talking to him. Keep him occupied until I get to you.’

‘Right…’ She pulled on her goggles and darted down the small alley at the side of the house. There was a six-foot, wooden fence on this side and nothing visible along the alley, but toward the rear of the property there was a crate and Nisa climbed onto that, giving her just enough height to peer over into the garden.

Not that she could see that much between the bushes and the trees, but there was a feeling. It was less than she had had when the man in the suit had been watching her, but she could feel it, something magical nearby. She pulled herself up, scrabbled over the fence, and dropped down onto the grass on the other side.