Zero Sight (44 page)

“
Anyway,” Masterson said, “Carrera employed his own Parisot cloud on August 31st. At the time, he and his disciples were in charge of maintaining DOMA Mexico’s leynodes. Under the guise of a grand beautification project for Mexico’s cathedrals, the group prepared multiple spell nexi in secret. They unleashed the cloud two days prior to the election of the new Councilor General. Carrera’s two rivals were contesting the Mexican CG post evenly. Carrera was a distant third. Two days later, Carrera won handily.”

“
How?” asked Lambda in unison.

Agent Masterson went red, but Spinoza was there to help him out: “For there are two men who shared the same bed, and their names are Councilors Rojas and Sanchez.” He shrugged. “Perfectly legal, mind you. A Parisot cloud can only change an established belief. In this case, the established belief was that Councilors Rojas and Sanchez of Mexico’s Department of Mana Affairs were happily married, upstanding members of the Conscious community. No one outside the Conscious community had ever even heard of Councilors Rojas or Sanchez. Thus, the Imperiti of Mexico remained unaffected. Since no innocent minds were harmed, none of the Tenets were broken.”

“
Oh, snap,” Roster said. “That dude plays a slick game.”

“
That was just the start,” said Masterson clicking to the next slide. “Using his new found power, Councilor General Carrera moved quickly. He and his associates established a corporation called Talmax. The objective of this entity was to consolidate the lucrative drug trade, and establish a base of wealth with which to solidify their power. Dissenters were eliminated. Government officials were glam—”

“
Unproven,” Spinoza interjected. “It is the duty of the regional DOMA to investigate and report such incidents to the ICE. DOMA Mexico has reported no such incidents.”

“
Or he had them killed,” Masterson added.

“
Base murder is the jurisdiction of the Imperiti courts,” Spinoza retorted. “It is not punishable under the Tenets.”

“
We did nothing?” Monique asked, outraged.

Collins, who had remained quiet up till now, slammed his fist down on the table.

“
You know the rules, Ms. Rice. The DEA could only watch from the other side of the border. The pacts clearly stipulate that the DOMA of one region cannot interfere in the affairs of another region without the express permission of said entity.”

No one else raised an objection. We all knew this mess had nearly gotten Susan Collins killed.

“
Right then,” Masterson said, readjusting his tie. He looked a little red in the face himself. “After Talmax solidified its hold on the drug trade, all was quiet for nearly two years. We continued to monitor the situation from across the border, but remained unable to intervene. Rumors swirled that Talmax was reinvesting its profits into an intensive R&D program—a program that was in direct violation of the Tenets—but since DOMA Mexico was under the same management, they were happy to turn a blind eye.”

“
Again, not proven,” Spinoza said with a shrug.

Masterson ignored him. “The fruits of this R&D project became apparent last spring.” He flashed through a series of images. Brutal gangland killings: Men and women found dead in cars, homes, and offices. One showed the bodies of four DEA agents in singed yellow windbreakers…another of a man sweating blood.

I was standing before I realized it, my hands had clenched tightly at my sides. “ACT,” I whispered. “You mean they were developing artificial conduits. Those burns…I know those burns.”

“
Que bueno, Mr. Resnick,” Spinoza said in his heavy Spanish accent. He turned to Collins. “This is the one, yes? He and the sucia managed it?”

Collins nodded.

“
Excuse me. The
what
?”

Spinoza shrugged.

“
Dieter,” Jules whispered. “Sit do—”

“
Take it back,” I boomed.

“
Cajones too. You found a good one, Ralph.” Spinoza bowed slightly. “I apologize, Mr. Resnick. I was unaware you cared for it.”

That did it. I kicked away my chair. “Alright fucknuts, how about I give your scar a mate?”

“
Enough, Dieter,” Monique ordered. “Sit. Now.”

I scowled at her, but Monique’s interruption had given me a moment’s pause. What the heck was I doing? Wasn’t this exactly what Rei asked me
not
to do? I bit into my cheek and retrieved my chair. Stupid empowered females. Things must have been so much simpler back in the day. Get a nice big tree trunk and clobber your foes. I tried to lock my eyes on the projector screen, but I couldn’t help but see Jules miming deep, relaxing breaths.

“
ACT,” Masterson continued. “Artificial Conduit Technology. Constructed of an unknown material, ACT functions as the magical equivalent of steroids, enhancing a user’s casting speed, accuracy, and potency. The devices we’ve encountered so far have shown numerous enchantments…including a frustrating tendency to self-destruct when removed from a user’s neck. To date, not a single device has been captured intact. As a result, we cannot prove to the International Council on Evocation that a frame breach has occurred.”

Surprised, Sadie said, “Hold the telephono, you mean a breach can actually occur?”

“
Yes, breaches of the frame are theoretically possible. However, that question is
well
above your pay grade, apprentice. Such matters lie strictly within the purview of the Council.”

I frowned. The ICE was a black box to me. To evoke meant to summon or draw out. In fairy tales, an evoker was a type of mage who could call forth spirits or beings from beyond the normal plane of existence. Was that even possible? I thought back to Chancellor Eikhorn’s speech and a brand new ulcer got its wings.

“
Let’s get back on topic,” Masterson requested. “Using ACT devices, Talmax has been able to secure a foothold across the West Coast of the United States. Their agents have infiltrated Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The initial engagements have gone badly. DEA forces are outnumbered, and more importantly, outgunned.”

Roster raised his hand. “Mr. Masterson, how can that be possible? DOMA Mexico is dinky compared to us.”

“
That’s a fair question, apprentice. Let’s take a step back. As you all know, only mages rated Tier 3 or above can obtain admission to the other three DOMA academies. The bar for Elliot is set higher. Only Tier 4’s and above may gain admission here. Yet despite the Tier 4 cutoff, only a small proportion of Elliot students will ever be capable of combat activities. Most mages are talented in fields such as scrying, evoking, enchanting, or alchemy. This is nothing to be upset about. We all love potions. But what’s an alchemist going to do in the middle of a castout? Throw a beaker?”

Albright cleared his throat.

“
Pardon me, Joe, but you’re a bit of an exception. The point is, we don’t hand out the title of battlemage lightly. You need to get special training in an IKΛM squad and pass all the skills tests before we even think of letting you walk around with a badge. That gives us about ten to fifteen new DEA recruits each year. We don’t do this out of some sort of snobbery. If we accepted lower ranked mages into the service, we’d just be signing their death warrants. Most supernatural entities would just overpower them outright. But these ACT devices Talmax has developed; they’re game changers. Now, even the lowliest practitioner can pose a serious threat to a fully trained DEA agent. For instance, based on Ms. Bathory’s report, the individual that she and Mr. Resnick encountered was a mere Tier 2 mage.”

Dante sat up in his seat. His face was cut up, and his arm was in a sling, but he looked pretty good for a guy who had just jumped out of a second story window. “Pardon me, sir, but if I recall my magic theory correctly, a pureblooded Nostophoros is supposed to be able to fight a Tier 6 mage evenly.”

Spinoza chuckled. “Is that the number the textbooks are spouting?”

“
Please, Dante,” Sadie chimed in. “Everyone knows the Pures are the same as the rest of the born vampires. They’ve just got bigger egos.”

Spinoza’s expression darkened. “I’ve got a few dead mates that would beg you different, little one.”

Dean Albright leaned forward and eyed him.

The alguacil threw up his hands in surrender.

Agent Masterson cleared his throat (he seemed to do that a lot). “Mr. Dante, Tier 6 is our best estimate. But it’s only that, an estimate. It’s not like the leadership goes around picking fights, now do they? But the Nostophoros menace is not our concern today. Talmax has quite of few Tier 4-plus mages. Try to imagine what an ACT device looks like in the hands of a true professional.”

I scratched my head. To me, everyone seemed sufficiently deadly. What was the difference if they were holding one stick of dynamite or ten? I’d get splattered either way.

“
Ralph, shall we switch to strategic now?”

“
Thank you, John.” Agent Collins stood up and straightened his tie. “Talmax has done an extraordinary job of exploiting the existing drug infrastructure to further their goals. The cartels always had an impressive array of weaponry and gunmen, but their problem was always loyalty. Now, thanks to their extensive use of wipes, Talmax has created a small army that is both loyal and fearless. If the gunmen don’t simply overwhelm our agents, the barrage of offensive magic does. And since Talmax doesn’t care if their Imperiti foot soldiers are killed, they can employ mass effect spells from a distance. In the first months of the conflict, before we fully understood the threat, we lost over one hundred agents in the fights to control Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.”

“
Awen’s Ghost,” Jules muttered.

“
Talmax attempted to capture Salt Lake City and Sante Fe as well. Fortunately, the Mormon Guard was more prepared than most. The Salt Lake Leynode was well fortified, and the Guard’s crackdown on drugs meant the usual narco infrastructure was nonexistent. The element of surprise lost, Talmax were forced into a face-to-face confrontation with a well-defended node. That freed up some of our forces. A second group of DEA mages then countered Talmax in Santa Fe. We managed to push them out of the city and set up a decent perimeter. After those two victories, we expected to be able to draw a line in the sand. We hoped to hold Talmax off until we could present evidence to the ICE that these ACT devices were illegal…then Talmax started playing dirty.

“
You are all painfully aware that over this last summer numerous initiates were captured or killed during transit to Elliot College. In response to those attacks, we firmed up our defenses. You could say that our personnel went to the mattresses. The Department ended all travel without DEA escorts. Our academy in California was evacuated because its supply lines were at risk, but we were extremely confident of the fortifications at our remaining academies. Their defenses were designed by the best minds at the Department and Cerberus, and after their failures in Salt Lake and Santa Fe, we didn’t believe that Talmax would dare take a swipe at our infrastructure. Throughout their campaign, they had been at pains to avoid face-to-face fights.”

Agent Collins took a moment to look at each one of us.

“
Trainees, we underestimated the enemy. Yesterday, Talmax launched a combined assault on all our remaining educational facilities.”

Sadie gasped.

“
From what we can tell, Talmax employed a new form of translocation to insert forces past our defenses. The attack against Boulder College ended before it started. The members of the assault team, twenty-four strong, ceased to exist on arrival.”

Collins flipped slides to an image of a school cafeteria. A torrent of guts was strewn across the floor. I recognized the sight. I had created one just like it last night.

“
They materialized half above and half below the cafeteria’s floor. Our best guess is that their mage miscalculated the altitude. What you see here was waiting for the janitor this morning.”

Collins adjusted his glasses and stared down at the table.

“
Unfortunately, our luck ended there. Reports are still arriving, but we believe the entire Portland United campus was overrun. Talmax has taken control of both the college and the city.”

“
My parents?” Sadie asked weakly.

Collins shook his head. “I’m sorry Ms. Thompson, but we just don’t know. Your mother and father were one of only two weft-pairs on scene. Their last transmission stated they were attempting to divert the incoming force and buy enough time for the survivors of the first wave to escape.”

Daggers of pain jabbed into my sides. Sadie was a powerful mage. Those sharp stabs were her aura’s response to the news. I wasn’t the only one who felt them. Jules and Monique, nearest her, nearly jumped out of their chairs. Sadie broke down into wave after wave of gasping sobs. I couldn’t bear to look. I stared down at the table instead. Sadie was a bundle of lighthearted energy. Even after I’d nearly got her killed, she only managed to see the positives. Now she’d been reduced to a shaking heap. It was infuriating.

To my surprise, Sheila was the one to take charge. She scooped Sadie up like she was a baby, carried her to the waiting room, and laid her down on the couch. Meanwhile, back in my head, on the back burner, simmering under low heat, a nasty stew was brewing. These people…murdering kids on their way to school…blowing up dormitories…killing faculty in their sleep…kicking Rei’s face in. I felt hot. I felt angry. I pictured my turn. What I would do to them. How fun it would be to—a steel-toed boot collided with my shin. I sucked in air as the pain rose to epic.