The Returned (20 page)

“Then you two are out of this,” Wraith said.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“Don't argue,” Wraith said. “It's not your fight. The rest is between me and Four, which means me and the Legion.”

“I'm not going to argue,” Caitlin said.

Wraith nodded.

Edward looked shocked.

“Not right now,” she added. “But this conversation isn't over. Like you said, we have other things to take care of first.”

Wraith sighed. “I appreciate—”

“I said later,” Caitlin said.

Something in Caitlin's tone made Wraith sit up straight and shut up instantly. It took her off guard, and she needed more than a moment to recover. “Freaking mom magic.”

Caitlin gave a soft smile, then she turned to Edward. “You want to tell her or should I?”

“Tell me what?”

“We think we know who's behind all this,” Edward said, then nodded at Caitlin. “She figured it out.”

“Who?”

“I think it's someone related to one of the innocent victims,” Caitlin said. “From the original shoot-out six months ago.”

“Why do you think that?” Wraith asked.

“It's what I'd do,” Caitlin said. “If someone I loved was killed, I'd go to a dark place I'm not sure I'd come back from. I'd want to kill those responsible, all of them.”

Wraith felt a little chill, not least of which because she knew her own feelings were in that same vein. It gave her pause about her thoughts of revenge.

“There were three people killed,” Caitlin said. “We need to find out who they were and if they left any family behind.”

“Or close friends,” Wraith said.

Caitlin nodded.

“We could call Henry,” Edward said. “He'd probably have a list, be able to find next of kin.”

“No way,” Wraith and Caitlin said at the same time.

“Or, we could do something else,” Edward said, leaning back and looking from one of them to the other. “We could just ask him for the flash drive.”

Wraith nodded. “Call him and tell him I'm coming over to pick it up.”

“Um, okay,” Edward said and picked up his phone. “When should I tell him you'll be there?”

“What's his address?” Wraith asked.

Edward gave it to her.

She looked around and remembered the restroom door. “About two minutes.”

Edward dialed as Wraith headed to the bathroom.

She stepped through the restroom door at the hotel and out of the closet door at Henry's house. It was actually kind of tricky making the connection, but she'd figured out a way to make it work.

“I'm not sure I understand,” Henry said into his phone. “She's going—”

Wraith tapped his shoulder. “What's up, Doc?”

He jumped, nearly dropping the phone. “Well, thanks for the warning,” he said and ended his call.

Wraith smiled.

“Be sure to talk to Edward sometime soon about boundaries,” he said and headed down the hall.

“Sorry, but this was the easiest way to do it,” Wraith said, following him. That's when a thought occurred to her. “Is your wife home?”

“No,” Henry said as he stepped into a home office. “She went to the store.” He went to a safe and opened it. “I'd appreciate if you weren't here when she got back. Nothing personal, just—”

“Might be an awkward conversation to explain the teenage girl in your house?”

“A bit,” Henry said, then retrieved the flash drive and closed the safe. “You're sure you don't need any help with this?”

“No, but it's really better for you to be out of this. Trust me.” Wraith took the drive from him.

“Let me give you the encryption key.”

“Won't need it,” Wraith said. “Thanks anyway though.”

Henry opened his mouth, but he froze when a door opened then closed.

“You wouldn't believe how busy it was,” a woman said from another room in the house.

Henry went pale and looked at Wraith with panicked eyes.

Wraith smiled, gave Henry a wink, and then wrapped herself in the cloaking equation, vanishing from sight. She took a brief moment to appreciate Henry's look, then she crept back to the closet door and returned to the hotel.

“A
re we sure this is a good idea?” Edward asked.

He glanced back to the door of the hotel's business center as Wraith, goggles down, plugged in the flash drive and moved her hands over the keyboard but didn't touch it. Caitlin had the odd sense she was in a science-fiction movie.

“Relax,” Wraith said and turned off the monitor. “Is that better? If anyone comes in they won't know what I'm doing.”

“Yes, because someone sitting at a black monitor, not typing on the keyboard, and wearing strange goggles doesn't raise any questions,” Caitlin said.

Wraith nodded. “Good point.” She turned the monitor back on.

Caitlin watched in stunned amazement as Wraith operated the computer without touching the mouse or the keyboard. A window with several PDF files opened, then it vanished and was replaced with a tourist website listing sights to see in New Orleans.

“How's that?” Wraith asked.

“How are you doing that?” Edward asked.

“Doing what?” Wraith asked as she obviously read something neither Caitlin nor Edward could see.

“Operating the computer without, well, operating the computer,” Caitlin said.

“You want the long answer or the short one?”

“Short one,” Edward said.

“Long one,” Caitlin said.

The two looked at each other as Wraith snickered.

“I can see the flow of data,” Wraith said. “I can see it at a level both more complex and simpler than I could if it was compiled and displayed on the monitor.” She moved her fingers like she was flipping through screens on a smartphone. “Rather than using the keyboard and mouse, which send commands to the computer that must be translated into code, and then translated again to interact with the program in question, I just go directly to the program.” She bounced her head side to side. “Or rather the data that makes up the program.” She shrugged. “Pretend we're in the Matrix and I'm just jacking in via magic instead of a plugin the back of my head.”

“I'm not sure that helps,” Edward said. “Seeing as we're dealing with real agents.”

“Whoa,” Wraith said in a poor Keanu Reeves impersonation. “I am The One.”

Caitlin shook her head and tried not to laugh.

Edward gave her a look that only made it harder not to laugh.

“Like this is any stranger than some of the other aspects of our lives,” Caitlin said.

Edward opened his mouth, obviously to protest, but nothing came out. After a minute, he closed his mouth and turned to Wraith. “Any chance someone could track what you're doing here?”

“You think it's likely they're monitoring the computers in the business center of your hotel?” Wraith asked. “What kind of idiot would use a public computer in a hotel to view sensitive information?”

“Brilliantly stupid?” Caitlin asked.

“That's me!” Wraith said and smiled. “But don't worry, the website is legit. Everything I'm doing is in a quarantined section of the drive, and I'll wipe any evidence when I'm done. Even if someone was watching it intently, they wouldn't be able to see what I'm doing.”

“And if there are any keystroke or click tracker programs, they won't have any record either,” Caitlin said.

“Hey, I hadn't thought of that,” Wraith said.

“So you're accidently brilliantly stupid?” Edward asked.

“Okay, I've found a list of the victims,” Wraith said and mimed pulling things apart and scrolling in the air. “And I really am being careful. I was just messing with you, Eddy.”

“Edward, please,” he said.

“Jot down these addresses, E Man,” Wraith said.

“I don't need to write them down. I'll remember them.”

Wraith rattled off the addresses.

He repeated them back to make sure he had them, which he did.

“What do you want me to do with the drive?” Wraith asked. “Should I wipe it?”

“No,” Edward said. “We might need the data later, though we should probably keep it hidden for now.”

Wraith did some more techno-magicy finger waving, then she pulled the drive out, pushed up her goggles, and turned the chair to face Edward and Caitlin. “I can handle that,” she said and opened her messenger bag. She stuck the drive inside and closed the bag.

“That's not quite what I had in mind,” Edward said. “I meant someplace safe.”

Wraith handed him the bag. “Find it.”

Edward gave Caitlin a questioning look.

She just shrugged.

He opened it, and they both started looking through the bag. It held some earbuds—three pairs, actually. There were also several empty bags of candy, a couple of paperback books, and the sort of miscellany you'd expect to find in a teenager's bag.

“Is there some kind of secret pocket?” Caitlin asked.

“If there is,” Edward said, “it's a good one.”

Wraith smiled. “Close it.”

They did.

She made some subtle gestures over the flap. “Okay, open it.”

Caitlin and Edward exchanged another look and opened the bag again.

“What the hell?” Caitlin asked. It was like they'd opened an entirely different bag. There were two hardbound books (some kind of journal from the looks of them), a few battered and worn composition books, some crumpled bills, pens, markers, a multitool, and, at the bottom of the bag, the flash drive.

“How did you do that?” Edward asked.

Wraith shrugged. “I call it hammerspace.”

“You mean that place where Bugs Bunny pulls his mallet out of?” Caitlin asked.

“Same idea,” Wraith said. “It's just an extradimensional link. I can choose which bag you're opening—there are three by the way, and each is about six times the size of the bag itself.”

“Sounds like the magic your grandfather used to build the house,” Caitlin said to Edward.

“You really need to teach me how you do that,” Edward said.

“Sure,” Wraith said and nodded. “Now or after we stop the zombie apocalypse?”

“You're not as witty as you think you are,” Edward said.

Wraith stuck her tongue out at him.

Caitlin rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “When this is over, you're grounded,” she said to Wraith. “Let's go.” She turned and walked out of the business center.

“He started it,” Wraith said as they left.

W
raith followed Caitlin and Edward through the lobby.

“So try the fecking number again,” a woman said loudly, her voice heavy with an Irish brogue.

Something about the voice was familiar, but Wraith's brain was having trouble remembering it through the haze of sugar, caffeine, and sleep deprivation.

“I've already tried three times, ma'am,” the desk clerk said. “If you'd like to leave a message, I'd be happy to take one.”

“Siobhan?” Wraith asked.

A tall woman with long black hair pulled into a ponytail stood in front of the reception desk. There were Celtic-knot tattoos on her neck that twisted and vanished under the collar of her black shirt, only to reappear on her bare arms. She shifted from one heavy-booted foot to the other and sighed in exasperation as some hotel guests behind her kept their distance.

Siobhan had been one of the people who'd helped Wraith find Geek, and the man whom she'd thought was Ovation back in Seattle. She was a member of a group of legendary Irish warriors who served as a sort of policing group, enforcing the ancient laws between the fae and mortals.

“What'd you say?” Caitlin asked as she and Edward stopped and looked over.

“What's she doing here?” Edward asked.

Siobhan turned and looked at Wraith with blue eyes so bright they might've been battery-powered and smiled, though it was weary. “Aye, there you are,” she said and turned back to the desk clerk. “Thanks anyway, love, but it seems they found me.” She grabbed a black tote bag at her feet and walked over.

“Have you got great timing,” Caitlin said, giving Siobhan a hug when she got close enough.

“Not like I just stumbled upon ya now, is it?” Siobhan said. “Brigid asked me to get here as soon as I could. Fecking woke me up and sent me running, she did.”

“Brigid?” Wraith said. “Wait, you're the backup?”

“Aye,” Siobhan said, then yawned. “Who'd have thought you could get bleeding jet lag stepping through trees?”

A couple of guests gave the group an odd look as they walked by.

“Help you with something?” Siobhan asked.

The guests turned and quickly walked away.

“You took the trails?” Edward asked.

“No other way to get here quick enough,” Siobhan said, then nodded to Wraith. “Unless she set me up with one of her special doors.” She chuckled and patted the bag. “And not like I could fly with this carry-on.”

Wraith saw Edward give the bag a nervous look.

“Don't worry none,” Siobhan said to him. “Had to travel light, so it's just the bare necessities. You know, a few pistols, shotgun, smoke grenades, ammo—”

“Maybe the middle of the lobby isn't the best place for an inventory,” Caitlin said.

Siobhan nodded. “Aye, fair play, that. So, what's the deal? Brigid was light on details.”

“Let's talk somewhere more private,” Edward said.

They all walked out of the hotel and waited for the valet to bring the rental car around. As they waited, Wraith looked over Siobhan and felt a surge of envy. She was so beautiful, so strong; a real warrior woman. There was no sign of the fear, depression, or self-doubt Wraith so often felt. Wraith's eyes went to the gleaming silver belt buckle Siobhan wore, and she stared. It was a triskelion—three interlocking spirals—beneath a circular Celtic knot. Wraith's hand went into a coat pocket, and she fingered the silver pin she'd found not long after she started visiting Brendan. Her fingers traced over its lines and curves as her eyes did the same to Siobhan's belt buckle. They were the same, though the pin was more battered.

“What is that?” Wraith asked.

Siobhan looked over then down. “That's the clan mark of the Fianna,” she said. “You're given one when you pass the trials and become a true Fian.”

Wraith thought back to her last visit with Brendan and the stories he told her about the Fianna and all they did. She wanted to kick herself for not putting it together sooner.

“Are they always belt buckles?” Wraith asked, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

Siobhan laughed. “Hardly,” she said. “I had this made. Tradition says it's a pin. The lads wear theirs on their kilts, them that still wear kilts anyway.”

Wraith thought of Brendan's tattoos, not unlike Siobhan's, and his dirty, worn kilt, once probably a mustardy yellow color, now stained with dirt, sweat, and blood. She'd thought about getting it cleaned for him, but seeing how it was probably the only thing he had to wear, she'd decided it wasn't a good idea.

“Them that don't,” Siobhan continued, “and the few of us lasses in the ranks usually just wear them over our hearts. Mine's on me jacket, but it's too bleeding hot here to wear it.”

Wraith opened her mouth to ask if Siobhan knew Brendan, but before the words could get out, Caitlin was taking the keys from the valet and getting into the driver's seat of the car.

“You want to ride up front?” Edward asked Wraith and Siobhan.

“One's as good as the other,” Siobhan said.

Wraith shook her head and went to get in behind Caitlin. Was it right for her to ask about Brendan? What if Siobhan did know him? He'd never really talked about his personal history, and it didn't take a genius to figure out he was hiding. Did she have a right to let others know? She didn't think so, but she could ask him about Siobhan, and she reminded herself to do just that next time she went to see him.

“You want to fill her in?” Edward asked Wraith as they pulled away from the hotel.

“What?” Wraith asked, snapping out of her reverie.

“Are you okay?” Edward asked.

“Fine,” Wraith said and shook her head. “Just tired and buzzed.”

“Where to?” Caitlin asked.

“It's still early,” Edward said. “And we really need a plan.”

“You don't think people would respond well to complete strangers knocking on their door and asking about anyone in the household raising people from the dead?” Wraith asked.

“Not so much,” Edward said.

“Did you say raising the fecking dead?” Siobhan asked and pulled her bag up into her lap.

“That's just one part of the fun,” Wraith said.

Caitlin drove around aimlessly while Wraith filled Siobhan in on everything. All things considered, she seemed to take it remarkably well.

“The fecking US military?” she asked.

“I'm pretty sure there's one from the Royal Marines too,” Wraith said.

“Jesus, you don't do by half, do you?” Siobhan asked Wraith.

“It's their honeymoon,” Wraith said. “Didn't seem right.”

“I think we'd all understand if you want to leave,” Edward said.

Siobhan laughed. “No way. This'll be loads more fun than keeping things quiet in Seattle.” She shook her head. “Elaine is a fine sort, but bloody hell, it's terrible boring there now.”

Wraith glanced up and saw Caitlin's face in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were narrowed, and she kept glancing up into the mirror.

“What is it?” Wraith asked her.

“Don't everyone turn and look,” she said, “but I think we're being followed.”

Everyone turned and looked.

“Really?” Caitlin asked.

“I don't see anyone,” Edward said.

“Well, I've noticed the same three cars keep showing up behind me, alternating out,” Caitlin said. “At first I thought I was paranoid, so I made a note of the license plates.”

“Same cars then, yeah?” Siobhan asked, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a couple of pistols, checked them, and put them back.

“I didn't memorize the whole plates,” Caitlin said. “But the first few numbers all match. That would be a hell of a coincidence.”

Wraith pulled out her phone and opened the tracking app. “Yeah, they're tailing us,” she said. “Must have put a tracker on us, or more likely the car.”

“How do you know that?” Edward asked.

“Because I put a tracker on him,” Wraith said. “One, I mean. When he walked past me back at the hotel, I dropped a little tag.”

“Well done,” Siobhan said and pulled on a shoulder rig with two holsters on it. She put the two pistols in it and secured it in place before pulling on a lightweight black jacket.

“Seriously?” Wraith asked in a whisper.

Siobhan just winked.

“I bet One figured out we know something,” Edward said.

“And why spend time and money investigating when they can just follow us and swoop in?” Caitlin said.

Wraith looked around. They were in a nicer area. The road was divided with the trolley tracks between the two flows of traffic. She thought this might be the Garden District. There were red brick buildings on their right, some kind of university from the looks of it.

“Turn in here,” Wraith said and pulled down her goggles.

“Snazzy,” Siobhan said to the eyewear.

“Why?” Caitlin asked but turned in.

It was just a little turnoff to park at the college, but it bought a little time. Wraith looked over the car and all the occupants. She didn't find a tracker—she found four: one on the car, two on Edward, and one on Caitlin. Wraith felt a little insulted, but she realized there probably wasn't a chance for One to tag her. Sneaky bastard must've set them on a delay so Wraith wouldn't spot them. The spells were simplistic, but then they didn't need to be complicated. She pulled them apart and pushed her goggles back up.

“Park there,” Wraith said, and Caitlin did.

“What are we doing?” Edward asked.

Wraith drew together an illusionary equation and wrapped it around the car. The color shifted silver to blue, slowly so it didn't draw attention, and the lines of the vehicle adjusted until it was a completely different make. It wouldn't last long without her there to hold it together, but it didn't have to.

“Wraith?” Edward asked.

“Give me a second,” she said and wove a second equation and draped it around the car next to them. It slowly shifted until it looked like the rental car had moments before. She nodded at Siobhan. “We're getting out.”

“Wait, what?” Caitlin asked.

“Get to the first address and find someplace to wait,” Wraith said. “We'll get there once we take care of the tail.”

“What are you going to do?” Caitlin asked, and Wraith could see the concern in her eyes.

“Nothing bad,” Wraith said. She opened her door and got out. “I hope.”

“No promises from me,” Siobhan said as she got out. “But I won't let nothing happen to her.”

Wraith made her way down a sidewalk between the gray stone buildings, Siobhan right behind her. The few students who meandered or sat at concrete tables gave them curious looks but nothing more. She ducked behind a tree and looked back. The masked car backed out and drove off.

“What's your plan, then?” Siobhan said as she stepped behind another tree and tried to look casual.

“No idea,” Wraith said. “I'm making this up as I go.”

“Brilliant,” Siobhan said without a trace of sarcasm.

Wraith watched and waited.

“Nice tatts,” a guy said to Siobhan.

Wraith glanced over and saw someone who was pretty much the mental image she'd draw if someone said “frat guy.”

Siobhan laughed. “Thanks, love, but there's nothing for you here.”

The guy walked off and muttered something Wraith didn't catch, but she could probably guess. She also guessed that if they were in any other circumstance, Siobhan would've knocked him on his ass.

That's when a car pulled into the empty spot Caitlin had left. Wraith had to give Caitlin credit. It was just another car. She probably never would've noticed it herself. Nothing about it said “cop” or “Fed,” and neither did the two guys who got out, neither of whom she recognized. For a moment Wraith thought she was wrong and it was just some random couple of guys. Save for their crew cuts, muscular builds, and dark glasses, there was nothing out of the ordinary about them. Then she saw one talk into his hand, and she caught sight of the wire that ran up his neck to the earpiece.

Wraith stepped into view and looked distressed, which wasn't hard to fake. She turned her back to the legionnaires and shouted, “Go!”

“Fight or run?” Siobhan asked.

“Run for now,” Wraith said and glanced back. Her plan worked. The two were heading toward her. She pushed her goggles down, and her suspicions were confirmed. It was Three and Five, but they were cloaked in a glamour that changed their appearance. Through her enchanted lenses, she could see them as they were and instantly recognized them from their personnel files.

She turned and, not quite running, made her way deeper into the school. Siobhan was right on her heels, careful to keep her jacket from opening and flashing her guns to anyone who looked her way.

They came into what looked like a park, surrounded on all sides by various campus buildings. Was this a quad? There were trees but not nearly enough to hide behind.

She headed for the center of the quad. It was late morning on a weekday, and there were dozens of people everywhere. She started to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

“There,” Siobhan said and motioned to a parking garage off to the right. “We can get away from the crowds there.”

Wraith's stomach twisted into a knot as she thought back to the garage in Seattle where she'd been chased down. It had only been thanks to some enchanted sneakers that she'd managed to escape by jumping from the top level. She didn't have any enchanted sneakers now, and though she could probably figure something out, it was better to avoid places with limited exits.

“No, this way,” she said and started walking, quickly, across the quad.

Siobhan followed without comment, for which Wraith was grateful. She had no idea where “this way” led, but it was better than a parking garage.