Agent Dark- Vegas Read online

  “What will happen next?”

  “Sentencing. Along with some jurisdictional wrangling. The Unreha Council will want to have any of their people serve their sentences in Unreha.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Kat knew little of the criminal justice system in the magical realm.

  Thomas stretched as he spoke. “It depends on your point of view. The jails in Unreha aren’t like ours. It is a more severe punishment.”

  “I have little sympathy for human traffickers. Sending them to Unreha doesn’t sound that bad.”

  “If they’re found guilty, I’m sure some of them will. But others will end up in an American supermax. There is politics involved with a trial this big, and everyone involved wants to make a statement that they’re tough on crime.”

  Kat’s face puckered up. “Politicians. We should be putting them on trial as well. Biggest bunch of crooks out there.”

  Thomas laughed. “That might be true, but someone has to run things, and I certainly don’t want the hassle. Now let’s see what you’ve learned since the last time we sparred.” He then started circling towards Kat.

  Taking a defensive position, Kat grinned. She was stronger and faster than when they’d first started training together, and they’d been evenly matched then. She expected she would have the advantage now. “Bring it on.”

  Thomas feinted a jab and then attacked with a front leg kick. When she blocked the kick, he turned into a sweeping leg kick with his opposite foot.

  Kat jumped over the leg sweep. She hesitated at attacking Thomas, as this was a new tactic for him. He usually only used kicks after setting up with jabs or if the opportunity presented itself. Leading with kicks wasn’t his normal style.

  Thomas pressed forward again, this time aiming another kick at her lower leg. Kat frowned. This was not the way he normally fought.

  When he came with another leg sweep, Kat was ready. She jumped forward, hoping to catch Thomas with a knee to the chest, but to her surprise, Thomas pivoted and launched himself into her. He avoided her knee and his shoulder collided into her rib cage. He then slammed her down onto the mat. He positioned himself into full mount before she was able to counter and then maintained his position until she tapped the mat, signaling she’d been beaten.

  Thomas grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

  “Where did that come from?” Kat asked.

  “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve,” Thomas said with a grin. “I’ve been doing that a few years longer than you.”

  “A few hundred years,” Kat replied.

  Thomas shrugged. “A gentleman doesn’t discuss his age, and neither do I. Now, why don’t you show me these new blades of yours?”

  “These bad boys are so cool. Check this out.” Kat walked over to where she’d placed her holsters. She showed him the knife handles and how well they fit into the small holster. She then pulled the blades out to reveal how significantly bigger they were than the holster should’ve been able to hold.

  “Intriguing. Where did you find them?”

  “A friend of Vesper’s uncle. Sofia De Luna. Have you heard of her?”

  “I’ve heard rumors of certain individuals having incredible collections of magical weapons collected over the centuries. I had no idea one of those collections was here in Vegas,” Thomas said as he accepted one of the knives from Kat.

  “I can channel my magic into the blades.” Kat focused on the blade she was holding and the magical flame surrounded the blade. She quickly turned it off again. She didn’t want to test the quality of the MBI’s fire-detection system.

  “I haven’t seen weapons like this in a long time. The metal is from Unreha, I recognize that, but the markings and magic are strange to me.”

  “They’re draia blades,” Kat said.

  “That explains it. I don’t know the draia fighting style, but I’m familiar with using butterfly swords. Your Wushu technique will work fine.”

  Kat nodded. “That was my thinking. I just need to knock the rust off.”

  “You’ll have to invest in some practice blades.”

  “That’s a good id—”

  A loud explosion interrupted them.

  Kat looked around and at Thomas. “What the hell was that? A gas-line explosion?”

  “I don’t know, but we better go investigate. Grab your guns.”

  While Thomas ran into the change room to grab his gear, Kat threw her holster on, slid her blades in, and started heading back towards the front entrance. When she entered the main hallway, there were flashing emergency lights and the sounds of gunfire in the distance. So much for her gas-line theory.

  Running down the hallway, Kat caught up to a nervous-looking security guard manning the MBI section desk. “What’s going on?”

  The guard pointed to his computer monitor. “An attack on the building. They’re trying to get into the holding cells.”

  “Where are the holding cells?”

  “Far end of the building.”

  Kat frowned. “Where is Karsova now?”

  “Karsova and all the other defendants in the trial are in the courtroom. The jury is about to come back with a verdict.”

  Kat watched the security screens. All of the action was happening at the far end of the building, and from the looks of it, every available security officer or MBI agent was headed that way. It smelled like a diversion to Kat. The prisoners in the holding cells were from different trials or were the witnesses who testified against Karsova and his associates. If they were trying to get to anyone, it would be the boss. “Which courtroom is the Karsova trial in?”

  The security guard pointed down the main hallway. “Room one hundred six. The second corridor on the left. It’s the biggest courtroom in the building. But that area is on lockdown. As soon as the attack started, the whole building went on lockdown. Nobody in or out.”

  Kat shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. They’re probably already in the audience. The attack is a diversion to get everyone away from the courtroom. How many officers are in the courtroom now?”

  The guard looked nervously at his screen. “Only a couple. All available guards have been diverted to the holding cells.”

  Thomas ran up and Kat gave him an update. “There’s an attack on the holding cells. But I’m worried it’s just a diversion to get everyone away from Karsova.”

  Thomas nodded. “Well, every agent and security guard in the building is headed towards the fight. Why don’t you and I just make sure Karsova is secure?”

  “Where’s Dexter?”

  “He and April are upstairs. They were dealing with the paperwork for prisoner transfers. Trying to get ahead of the paperwork in case the jury decision went the way he expected. They’re on their way towards the holding cells. You want me to call them back?”

  Kat shook her head. “No. Right now all I have is a hunch. Text him and let him know we’re going to check on Karsova and the others in the courtroom.”

  The guard handed Kat a keycard. “This will get you past the court security checkpoint. I’m calling them now to let them know you are coming.”

  Kat grabbed the card and started running down the hall. When she reached the second corridor, she almost ran into the security glass. The checkpoint was right at the beginning of the corridor. She waved her security pass at the guard behind the glass.

  The guard pointed to the card reader beside the locked door.

  Kat swiped the card and the thick glass doors slid open. She looked at the guard. “Any problems?”

  The guard shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything here. All the action is taking place outside.”

  Kat could see the guard was antsy and wanted to get in on the action. She understood the feeling, but the last place a normal human should want to be right now was outside. “Just maintain your post.”

  “Sure thing,” the guard said, but he didn’t sound convinced.

  Kat and Thomas left the guard and continued until they found the courtroom. There was o
ne guard at the doors.

  “Sorry, can’t let you in. Courtroom is on lockdown,” said the guard at the door.

  Thomas smiled. “We’re both MBI agents and we are going in that room.”

  Kat watched as the guard’s eyes went wide. He just stepped aside and let them pass. She glanced back at Thomas in time to see his incisors retreating. He’d given the guard a vampire smile. She’d never seen Thomas do that before, but it had gotten the desired result.

  Opening the courtroom door, Kat immediately knew something was wrong. The smell of demons was strong, and as soon as she looked at the people, she knew she’d been right. Everyone who’d been in the court audience was tied and gagged, sitting on the floor. Kat moved forward towards the front. She saw no sign of Karsova or any other prisoners. She removed the gag from one of the district attorneys. “What happened?”

  “When the explosion went off, the guards all left except those two.” The attorney nodded towards two guards slumped over on the ground. “Right after the doors closed, a couple of men in the audience started speaking in tongues and the room went totally dark and silent. I tried to yell for help but my voice didn’t work. Before I knew what happened, I was being gagged and tied. By the time the lights came back on, Karsova and the rest of the prisoners were gone.”

  “Is there another way out of here?” Kat asked.

  “Don’t worry about it, Kat,” Thomas said from across the room. “I found where they left.” He was above a hole in the floor. “They went through the basement.”

  Kat cut the straps off the attorney. “Make sure to get everyone free. We’re going after Karsova.”

  Kat followed Thomas as he jumped down to the basement. The room below the courthouse was some sort of storage room. Kat picked up the demon scent again. She’d be able to track them as long as the demon smell stayed with the prisoners. Leaving the storage room, they came to another corridor. The basement was similar to the floors above, an endless number of corridors. Kat swore she’d kick whoever designed this building right in the nuts.

  The scent went down the right. Kat turned to follow.

  “How far ahead of us do you think they are?” Thomas asked.

  Kat shrugged. Even with using magic, it would’ve taken a few minutes to tie and gag everyone in the courtroom. But even accounting for that, they probably had a five-minute head start. “A couple of minutes. The scent is strong.”

  “They must’ve had this planned for a while. The timing is too perfect.”

  Kat was just about to reply when she turned around the next corner to run smack into the demon she’d been tracking. The demon growled and grabbed her by the throat. It slammed her into the wall.

  Behind her, Kat could hear Thomas curse. She knew he was trying to get a shot at the demon, but the chances of hitting her would keep him from firing. Kat raised her arms and tried to break the beast’s hold on her throat, but he was too strong. Reaching down, Kat grabbed one of her new blades and managed to pull it from the holster.

  As Kat let her magic flow into the blade, it started to glow with magical flames. The demon looked down and saw the flaming blade. Its eyes went wide with fear and it tried to release her to get away. But Kat was already shoving the flaming blade into the demon’s stomach.

  The demon howled in pain before bursting into flames and disappearing.

  “You OK?” Thomas asked as he came closer.

  Kat was leaning over, trying to regain her breath. After a few seconds she nodded. “My mistake. I should’ve smelled that we were that close to him.”

  “Well, at least we learned your new blades are incredibly efficient against demons.”

  “Lower-level demons, anyway,” Kat agreed. She didn’t think all demons would die that easily, but the thought was pleasant. “Come on, we’re losing ground.”

  “Can you track them without the demon?”

  Kat had a scent. The sorcerer who’d conjured the demon was in the group ahead of them. “Yes. It is fainter, but I can track it.”

  “Good. Eventually we’ll get out of this maze, but if they have a vehicle waiting for them, we’ll need your nose.”

  “Did you tell Dexter what is going on?”

  Thomas pulled out his phone. “Yes, and he replied while we were running. He has Dante flying above the building watching for them, and is coordinating the defense against initial attack. As soon as they have that under control, he’ll divert men to helping catch Karsova.”

  Kat nodded. “Let’s go catch them before Dante does. Can’t let the gargoyle have all the fun.”

  As they followed the scent down the maze of corridors, Thomas started to see a pattern. “They’re headed for the gym. There’s an outside exit from the gym that will take them to the north parking lot.”

  The news didn’t surprise Kat. The north parking lot was the exact opposite end of the building from where the attack had happened. It had been a diversion not only to draw agents away from the courtrooms, but also from their getaway plan. There was a certain irony to the situation that she found mildly amusing, but mostly annoying. If they’d stayed in the gym, they would’ve been in the perfect location to stop the breakout.

  As they ran, the scent was getting stronger again. They were closing in on the fugitives. The maze of corridors in the basement had slowed down the escapees as well.

  By the time they got to the gym, Kat expected to see it empty. But to her surprise, the fleeing criminals were standing at the far end of the gym at the doors. They weren’t going outside. Something had them pinned in.

  “Where you all going?” Kat asked as she slowed down to a walk. “Don’t you know it isn’t polite to leave a party without saying goodbye?”

  Karsova, who Kat only recognized from his mugshot, turned and pointed. “Someone deal with those two.”

  It was then that Kat actually noticed the boxes on the gym floor. As part of the escape plan, someone had brought the escapees guns, lots of guns.

  Scanning the crowd of criminals, Kat remembered that Karsova and his top lieutenant from Unreha were fae. There were two human sorcerers and another paranormal from Unreha. The two remaining convicts were vampires. The two men who were leading the rescue were also sorcerers, or at least one was, but she wasn’t going to bet against it being both of them. That made the odds awfully bad, but all they had to do was hold them in until reinforcements came. Depending on how many men were part of the diversion, it could be seconds or far, far longer.

  “Try not to kill them all, Kat,” Thomas said as he came up beside her.

  “Suggestions?”

  Thomas pulled his gun and fired into the arm of one of the men who was lifting a sub-machine gun towards them. “How about using your web-slinging abilities?”

  Kat narrowed her eyes. She really didn’t like that connotation. Was there a wimpier superhero? Why couldn’t she have the powers of a more interesting character? However, if they were going to try to stop the escape without killing everyone, using her silver-thread magic was the logical choice.

  Running towards the group of men, Kat expanded her magical ward so that it would protect both her and Thomas. As long as he ran behind her, he’d be safe from any bullets the felons could fire their way. Bullets started bouncing off her ward as the men fired repeatedly at them.

  Seeing that her magical ward was protecting both her and Thomas, the felons started to spread out. The sorcerers started throwing magical balls of fire which forced Kat to focus her wards on them. Once the guys with guns spread out enough, Thomas would have to fend for himself.

  Trying to slow down that threat, Kat fired her silver threads at the gunmen as they tried to flank them. She hit the one on her right, and he was quickly tied up in the sticky threads, but her shot to the left missed as the gunman jumped behind a piece of gym equipment.

  Kat fired another round of silver threads and captured another of the gunmen. One of the sorcerers tried using his magic to cut the thread, but Kat managed to hit him in the hands with a thread
that closed his hands together.

  Behind her, Thomas suddenly sprinted to the left, did a barrel roll across the gym floor and then leapt over a piece of equipment to tackle the gunman who’d flanked them. The odds were starting to look much better as they picked off more of the felons. If she could get the other sorcerer, and any other magic users before they could undo her silver thread, they’d have the whole gang captured in no time.

  Suddenly the doors that they’d been trying to open blew apart, sending Karsova and the men trying to pull them open flying back.

  A hooded man strolled through the doors and fired a blast of magic that hammered into Kat’s ward, sending her sprawling to the ground, sliding on her backside.

  Kat’s eyes went wide as she recognized the stranger as the man who’d attacked her with demons at the car dealership. She jumped to her feet and took a defensive position, waiting to see what kind of demons he had hiding behind the doors.

  She fired a shot of silver thread at him, but to her shock, he fired one back that blocked hers.

  The man pulled down his hood and grinned at her. “Sorry, sis. That won’t work on me.” He then fired a thread at one of the convicts. It wrapped around him like an octopus. “You can have the rest of this rabble, but this one I’m taking with me. He has answers I need.”

  Kat was too shocked to even reply as the man turned and left the gym with his prisoner. He’d called her sis, and the resemblance was there. That he was royal draia was for certain. His ability to use silver-thread magic surpassed her own. But it wasn’t that detail that solidified it for her. It was the way he smiled at her. His face was so similar to her own, even his damn hair color was similar to hers.

  Realizing that the gym doors were no longer being blocked, Karsova and his men started trying to sneak out.

  “A little help, Kat,” Thomas said as he fought with one of the criminals who’d taken advantage of the distraction caused by the mysterious draia’s arrival to gain an advantage on Thomas. The criminal was on top of the vampire, pummeling him with shots to the head.