Satyr Play

"This... payload. How can you know it will work?" Mab asked.

"The means for our deliverance was introduced to me just the other day. You've met him too, I understand. A creature from long ago. Last of his kind."

"The Satyr!"

"Yes. What you may not be aware of is his origin. A certain Slavic witch saved him as an infant from death during the ancient purge and raised him in the present day as a Human. How she pulled him from that time to the present is still unknown. However, she used a very special method of disguising him. It worked so well, even he was unaware of his true nature."

Fae glamor spells worked outwards, so the subject remained aware of their true shape and dimensions. To be unaware of yourself was something the Fae had difficulty conceiving. Queen Mab included, it seemed, as she frowned at him.

"I will not explain how it works. The witch obtained the ability to disguise him at the cost of one of my kind. This is a debt I will see her repay."

"Now I know you are boasting. She is too powerful for you to kill," the Queen smiled.

"I won't harm a hair on her head... but I'll still have revenge for the life she took." He waved his hands and frowned dismissively. "But that is secondary to the main goal of ridding ourselves of the Humans. The witch made a fatal error when she took the ability from my kin to hide her pet Satyr. Because of her hubris, she's given me the means to destroy Humanity. With your help, of course."

"You still haven't offered any proof that you can deliver what you say you can," the Queen said with a frown, but he saw she was intrigued.

"You are aware of Sympathetic magic?" he said to her.

She tilted her head at him with a frown, indicating she wasn't impressed with his stupid question.

He nodded in apology. "I'm a master of its use. I'm also the only one who can link a spell to the means the young Satyr uses to disguise himself. He is the perfect weapon to use against the Humans."

Queen Mab was leaping ahead with her understanding of what he was suggesting. "You intend to kill the Satyr when he uses his method of disguising himself as a Human? How could this possibly be used in Sympathetic Magic? He's a Satyr."

"He isn't disguised as a Human. He becomes one."

Queen Mab stared at the old man smiling back at her.

"It's not a disguise," she muttered in shock.

"No, it's not."

"If you design the spell to kill him as a symbol of Humanity, you expect this to target every other Human within the focus area of the spell," she said, working it out in her mind.

"A focus area defined by your existing globe-spanning spell. That's the critical element. My payload spell must have access to your spell. It must be integrated sufficiently to use its range. Otherwise, we just kill a unique creature for no value at all."

"That is a concern of mine as well. He is one of my subjects. He is unique, and I want him. Giving him up is only conceivable if what you promise is actually possible and you can truly make it happen. Only under that singular circumstance would the loss of this precious specimen be regrettable but acceptable. Rebuilding our world to a state before Humans poisoned it... is far more desirable," she said.

"It is possible, and I can make it happen. I'm the only one who can," Walter said.

"You'll understand my concern considering the fact that you are currently betraying your client. The being you are legally obligated to protect. Oaths were taken to that effect, were they not?" Mab said with another raised eyebrow.

Walter scowled. "Stanley Garin has no legal standing in the current society of the Hidden Races. When disguised, he is fully Human and would fall under the legal protection of the Human court system. When in his true state, he is not from this time, as Satyrs are not mentioned in the accords. He is, as you say, yours... based on ancient precedent. My legal responsibility is transferred to his representative... you."

"Spoken like a true lawyer," Mab said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, but Walter nodded as if accepting praise just the same.

Queen Mab considered the old man before her and then made a decision. "I will speak to my people to determine if we can provide access to only the focus component of the overlay spell. If they say this is possible, I will grant you access to it. When will you be ready?"

"Our best and maybe only opportunity will be during today's meeting. I can produce the payload in time. Could your people be ready?" he asked.

Her eyes flared with anger. "You set too tight a deadline!"

"I will contact all parties and state I need more time to review the precedents in the ancient laws. I will ask to postpone until the evening. That is the best I can do," Walter offered.

Queen Mab nodded, still frowning.

"I will send the request for rescheduling momentarily. To avoid suspicion, do not respond until an hour before the scheduled time," he suggested.

She nodded stiffly. "Agreed. Until this evening." The disc of light flashed to darkness.

Ikehorn retrieved his cell. "What will happen to the Humans? Are we going to be left with billions of rotting corpses?" His partner, Kelshard, grimaced at the concept.

"Not at all. They will simply flash out of existence," Walter said with a smile.

"All of them? At once?" Kelshard asked, failing to hide the awe in his voice.

Walter nodded. "Now, I have important work to do, so if you don't mind." He shoved the journal and tablet PC across the desk towards the Fae.

The Fae scowled but got to their feet, picked up Leaharin's items, and left the house.

Walter locked up behind them and set his wards. The home hummed quietly as the protection spells activated. Nothing was getting in now.

He made his way down to the cavern in the basement and willed his body to expand back to his Dragon form in relief. Space unfolded, and he stretched open his wings. The tips brushed the walls. He allowed himself a moment of excited anticipation at the thought of being able to fly in the open skies again. Stealing his freedom to fly as he pleased was the cruelest crime Humanity was guilty of, in his opinion.

He went to his office, narrated a note requesting the postponement, and sent it to all parties in the scheduled meeting. That sent away, he moved to the center of the cavern to begin his preparations for building his spell. He had to be precise as this one would be his best work ever.

He smiled as he thought of thanking Stanley for making this possible. His delivery of the reliquary would give Walter the strength to create such a powerful spell.

He plucked the ancient device from the silver tray and touched the runes on it in sequence. There was a click, and the tiny apertures on the side of the device opened. Resting these against his skin, he felt a prickly sensation as the matter within almost touched him. The reliquary didn't allow for actual contact as that would destroy the contents. Just being this close to the physical manifestation of the other side was enough to focus his connection to the realm. He could feel it like a cool spring breeze whispering across his wings, and his eyes glowed brightly as the energy seeped into his bones.

He remembered when he always felt like this when he was much younger. Before the Humans began to outstrip the resources of their habitat and befoul the air, land, and sea. It was time they were stopped.

With the newfound clarity and strength, he focused his mind on the task at hand. He had a spell to craft to set things right.

Thanks to Stanley.

Chapter 30

Monday morning found Stanley standing in the new server room listening to the happy hum of the servers and switches. The new firewall was protecting them from the baddies out in the world. The new backup system was protecting their investment in their data. The network served this data to the workstations at speeds never before seen in this company's history. The users were happy and productive... well, their computers weren't holding them back. Stanley could attest to that, at least.

He'd done what he promised to do. VRL's technical debt was a thing of the past.

Maintenance of the hardware and systems he'd installed would take some of his time as he needed to keep on top of the latest threats and advancements.

Now, he was focusing on the custom software VRL used for trend analysis and asset account management. While code spelunking in the software for Mr. Constantin, he found areas that needed improvement, so he would approach Camila about spending time on that.

He left the server room and walked back to his office. Marisa looked up from her desk as he entered, and she gave him a smile.

"Finished admiring your handiwork?" she said with a grin.

He answered her smile with one of his own. "Yes. It's a good system. I'm happy with it." An unwelcome thought came to his mind and dimmed his smile. She picked up on his mood change immediately.

"What's wrong?"

He sighed as the thought wouldn't leave his head. "If... if I have to go with them—" He held up a hand to stop her protest. "I've written instructions for maintaining the backups and the other systems. The firewall is custom, so I don't have docs for that. Safer that way. It can be replaced with any standard firewall hardware if necessary." He rubbed his hands together nervously.

Marisa got up from her chair and walked around her desk to give Stanley a hug. "It won't come to that. Mr. Zhou said he has a line on protecting you from them."

They heard a knock on the doorjamb and looked over to see Siobhan standing there with a little smile on her lips.

"Any chance I could get in on that hug?" she said.

Stanley smiled at her, and she rushed over to wrap her arms around him and squeeze.

"I just came by to do this and to say good luck this afternoon," she said after she pulled back from him.

"It's been moved to tonight," Marisa said with a pout.

"Oh! How are you feeling about that?" she asked Stanley with concern.

"Mixed feelings. It feels like a reprieve, but it also prolongs the anxiety," he said quietly.

They froze in surprise when Mr. Duncan walked past the door with Detectives Harmon and Morris on their way to Camila's office.

Stanley and Marisa shared a worried look.

"Who were those two?" Siobhan asked.

"Detectives investigating my abduction last Friday," Stanley said absentmindedly.

Siobhan shared a wide-eyed look with Marisa, who shook her head to discourage further questioning at this time. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed Stanley's cheek, surprising him.

"That's for luck!" Siobhan said and headed out with a smile at the two.

"Thanks, Siobhan!" Stanley said as she slipped out the door.

He went back to worrying, and Marisa did as well. She hoped her conversation with her mother last night would help her mother deal with the two detectives.

-=-

Camila rose from her desk to walk around it to shake the hands of the two men. Stepping out into the waiting room, Mr. Duncan closed the door behind himself after giving her a quick look.

From their scent, touch, and looking deeply into their eyes, she determined Detective Harmon was intelligent, stable, and healthy. At the same time, his partner was a borderline psychopath with liver disease and a bad cocaine addiction. She gestured to the chairs before her desk and walked back to hers. She felt their eyes on her ass, but Harmon looked away while Morris struggled not to act on his impulse.

Once seated, she leaned forward slightly to trap their eyes in her cleavage and launched her first question.

"Gentlemen, how may VRL be of assistance to you today?"

Harmon cleared his throat and began. "We're investigating the abduction attempt on one of your employees, Stanley Garin." He watched her reaction closely, and all the physical cues he'd been expecting were present. She was worried about her employee, frightened that the abduction had even happened, and relieved that he'd gotten away safe and sound.

"During our investigation, we discovered the scene of the crime had been cleaned professionally and was being repaired. These repairs were paid for nominally by a company you are acquainted with, according to your niece. Ulysses Global Investments."

Camila frowned. "They went out of business weeks ago. I find it unlikely that they could be involved in this."

"You were aware of the company's dissolution?" Harmon asked.

Camila was aware that Morris was staring at her tits rather blatantly. As this kept him occupied, she ignored him, aside from pulling her shoulders back slightly to expose a little more of her chest. "Yes, and it came as no surprise. Ulysses is a terrible businessman."

"Why-why would he try to abduct Stanley?" Morris blurted, shifting on the chair to give his erection room in his pants.

Camila looked at the Detective in surprise. "You have evidence of Ulysses' involvement in the actual kidnapping?"

From the scowl on Morris' face Camila knew the answer was no.

"I didn't think so. There probably isn't any. He's not that bright. Of course, the kidnapping failed, so that's very much his style," she said, shaking her head.

"That seems like a rather personal observation," Harmon noted.

"Yes, well... I had a brief relationship with the man before I realized how useless he was. It was a long time ago. The only reason he started his little investment firm was to try to show me how wrong I was to dump him. Once more, he failed."

She could tell Detective Morris was becoming agitated by her ball-busting. So, he was likely a misogynist, too. Wasn't he a delight! She ran a finger down the side of her neck and saw Detective Morris watching the fingertip descend. She could tell he was ripe for cracking at any moment.

After speaking with Marisa, Camila and Mr. Duncan met at Sigrid's last night to discuss why the Fae had chosen to implicate Ulysses in the crime. The only reason they could come up with was to focus attention back on VRL. They were breaking another Hidden Races rule. When dealing with the Human legal process, never implicate another member of the Hidden Races. She would have to bring this to the Council's attention.

"Do you have an address for Ulysses? Does he have a last name?" Harmon asked.

"Sorry, no. I've completely distanced myself from him, so I have no knowledge of his whereabouts at all. And he always went by the one name," Camila answered.

"Could he have grabbed Mr. Garin to force him to steal your company's digital assets or to hack in to simply destroy your company?" Harmon asked after glancing at his partner, who seemed fixated on the woman's chest.

"I could speculate, but I honestly don't have any real insight into what thoughts go through that man's little brain. I can tell you that Stanley designed our new network to eliminate that kind of risk. All external access is vetted by a rather ingenious firewall of his own design that immediately notifies our Security personnel should the behavior of incoming requests fall outside of expected parameters."

"Shit, this is a new level of bullshit! Every software developer adds in a backdoor for themselves!" Morris barked, venting his intense frustration.

"Not Stanley," she said with a satisfied smile. She could see the Detective was well beyond his endurance.

"Fuck this!"

"Morris!" Harmon barked as his partner suddenly stood up.

"Nah, I'm done. This case is going nowhere because none of these people want to cooperate. They don't want to know who kidnapped the little shit. Fuck, they could all be in on it for all we know. I'm done wasting my time. We haven't even proven a crime actually happened! All we have is that damn amateur video, which could have been faked, and the weak testimony from a few witnesses, but none of it proves anything. There are cases out there that need our attention more than this one." The big man headed for the door.

Harmon looked at Camila in embarrassment and stood as well. "Thank you for your time."

Camila stood and shook his hand across the desk. She scented him once more and smiled. He smelled very good.

With a final nod, Harmon rushed out after his partner. He stopped and handed her assistant his business card.

He caught up with Morris at the elevator. He took in the flushed expression and the almost manic look in his eye. Their escort, the large red-bearded brute in a black suit, stood behind them in silence. The elevator arrived, and they all got in.

Harmon wanted to ask his partner what the fuck was wrong with him, but he'd have to wait until they were alone. It was an awkward ride to the lobby. The Security officer finally spoke as they approached the front door.

"Have a good afternoon, detectives."

Morris looked back at the smiling man. "Fuck you."

Harmon saw the redhead chuckle as Morris pushed his way outside.

Once they were on the street heading back to the car, it was Harmon's turn. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Morris stopped and took a deep breath. He turned to glare at his partner. "Why are we wasting time on this case?"

"It's our job! Crimes were committed, and we solve them! It's what we do, detective!" Harmon growled.

"What crime? There is nothing to this case! The shrimp gets grabbed but gets away! The scene is a demo zone, but it's been professionally cleaned. Dead end. The name on the work order leads to an empty office building that's also been cleaned. Dead end. None of the people involved have anything to say. Even the so-called victim told us to fuck off! It's time to drop the case because THERE. IS. NO. CASE!" he finished with a shout.

"Tell me your gut doesn't tell you that people died at the crime scene! Even that office building gave off the vibe!" Harmon exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter because there's no proof! And nobody cares! What the fuck is wrong with you that you can't see that!" Morris bellowed back. He glared at his partner but could see he wasn't getting through to the Boy Scout. "Fuck it! I need a drink. Maybe two." He raised his hand and flagged down a passing taxi.

Harmon stared at Morris in surprise and frustration. He didn't stop him, though. As the taxi pulled away, he actually felt a little relieved. He still had a job to do. When he'd stopped after leaving Ms. Villamor's office, he spotted a calendar entry on the executive assistant's screen while he distracted the man with the card. He hadn't been able to read much, but he saw a seven PM meeting that said forty-five Rockefeller and Stanley.

Detective Harmon intended to be there, too.

Chapter 31

Stanley was doing his best to keep his breathing under control. He admitted to himself that he was riding the edge of panic and had been all the way uptown to Rockefeller Center. Apparently, there was a large meeting room in a sub-sub-basement that was magically shielded from surveillance and set aside exclusively for Hidden Races Council business. There, he would be presented to the Council and representatives of the Fae Council. His secret would be out in the open... well, not completely.

Their SUV stopped before the huge building, and everyone but their driver exited out on the sidewalk. Stanley felt his feet carrying him away from the others, and only the firm grip of Mr. Duncan's hand on his shoulder kept him from bursting into a sprint. He stopped, looked back at Roy, and saw the man smiling at him. He forced himself to turn and follow Camila and Sigrid, who all gave him sympathetic smiles. Marisa wasn't looking his way but followed her mother, eyes on the ground.

Roy's arm rested lightly over his shoulder, his big hand on Stanley's right. He took strength from that gentle support.

Walter was waiting for them at the entrance to the building with a wide smile. Stanley couldn't help but see the Dragon's wide maw, full of razor-sharp teeth. He took no comfort from the lawyer's smile.