Bound Together (7 page)

I could feel a bit of uneasiness from Misaki, but neither of us had much choice but to move forward. There was no way we could run away from what happened. Fuck my life for always feeling the need to complicate itself further.

I took a deep breath, reached out and opened the door.

mercenary

“Karin Ashley, I presume?”

“You presume correctly.” I gave the unfamiliar man a quick once-over. Every single part of him screamed “federal agent,” from the cheap black suit, the white shirt and the plain black tie to the wire-rimmed sunglasses, expressionless mien and neat, short haircut.

He was definitely a good-looking man. Swarthy, very tall and well-built but slender, a sort of basketball player's build. He probably had to have his suits custom-tailored with arms that long, though. I just barely cleared 170 centimeters, maybe a bit over average height for a Japanese-Korean-English mutt, but this guy towered over me.

“I'm Special Agent Daniel Williams, FBI. May I come in, Miss Ashley?”

I didn't believe for a second this guy was just a run-of-the-mill fed. The timing was too perfect for Agent Williams to be anything but a member of AEGIS. What he and his organization intended to do with me remained to be seen. That didn't mean I was going to make it easy on him.

“Got a warrant?” I quipped.

The man made a face. “Very funny. I'm not here to arrest you, Miss Ashley. I am only here to speak with you about the incident last night at the Records & Licensing Agency. You were instrumental in foiling the break-in attempt and data theft.”

“Considering how that's my job, it shouldn't be all that remarkable.” I wasn't stupid; I knew the man probably knew all about the weird shit that went on last night, the eye-guy and everything, but I wasn't going to give anything up for free.

“Even so, Miss Ashley, we would still like to debrief you about the, ah, 'special circumstances' regarding last night's incident. You will oblige me, I hope?”

“Fine.” I turned around and walked across my apartment and sat down at the kitchen table. “Come on in. Close the door behind you.”

“Thank you, ma'am.”

“Anything to drink?”

“No, ma'am, this shouldn't take long.” Williams sat down at the kitchen table and folded his hands on the table's surface. No notepad, smartphone or other type of recording or transcription device. Interesting.

“Well, I'm going to get something to drink.” I opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, glancing at the clock on the stove before opening it. It was already 5:27 PM. Fuck my life, today was my day off and it was already almost half over. I shrugged and opened the beer, returning to the table with my beverage and my cigarettes. I moved the ashtray to my side and lit up.

Agent Williams seemed unfazed by my extremely informal manner, not even raising an objection to the smoke that I didn't bother to apologize for. Definitely not a regular fed. Not nearly uptight enough for that.

“I'll get right to the point, Miss Ashley. We know you've come into possession of a unique and priceless item. Don't bother denying it; our investigation has turned up a wealth of evidence in the aftermath of this morning's incident.”

Well, hello. Williams was the no-nonsense type who went right for the kill. I tried my best to look casual and fired off a return salvo. “So you must be with AEGIS.”

“I'm not surprised the spirit already told you that much. How much do you know about our organization?”

“Not much.” I took a swig of my beer and a drag off my smoke. At this point I wasn't really trying to annoy him anymore. He'd already dispensed with the niceties and the song-and-dance routine and gotten right down to business. I could respect that.

“Just tell me what you
do
know.”

I sighed and took another sip of beer to wet my throat. “Officially, AEGIS is a paramilitary unit attached to the FBI, like a really well-funded SWAT unit. Obviously this is bullshit and even garden-variety internet conspiracy theorists know it.”

“Knowing what we aren't isn't the same thing as knowing what we
are
,” Williams pointed out.

“Too true. Get to the point, Agent Williams. AEGIS is approaching me because the lot of you want something from me. I have a pretty good idea what that something is, so please do us both a favor and don't try to bullshit me.”

Williams nodded. “We want the Relic.”

“Well, you see, that's kind of impossible,” I explained. “That thing is stuck to me and there's only one way of making it come loose.”

“We know. Even if we were in the business of murdering law-abiding citizens, it would be a pointless gesture. The Relic you possess will only bind itself to a new wielder voluntarily.”

That was interesting information. Misaki hadn't mentioned that. Through the bond to the Relic I felt a stirring that could only be described as uneasiness. I returned my attention to Agent Williams. “So why
are
you here?”

“I'm sure you've guessed already.”

“You want me to join AEGIS.” It was sensible and unsurprising. If the Relic would only bind to a wielder with the consent of the spirit that inhabited it, threats and coercion would be ineffective. The next best thing, of course, would be money.

“Yes. Miss Ashley, I believe you will be very interested in our offer, should you wish to hear it. We understand that your position at the Records & Licensing Agency is not one you favor. Your compensation package is also mediocre at best. You can do
far
better.”

I puffed away at my cigarette for a moment and took a sip from my beer. I usually get more than a little suspicious when people start casually hinting at large dollar amounts, but he was right. My job sucked, the pay sucked and while he was nice enough not to mention it, I was probably fired. He had me dead to rights and he knew it.

“Please, take a look at the contract on offer. I understand this is sudden, so feel free to ask me any questions you might have.”

Williams reached into his coat and drew out a folded sheet of paper. This he passed across the table to me. I unfolded the sheet and started to read. I tried to cover my shock at what they offered with a glug of beer, but I felt hopelessly transparent. The AEGIS man had the advantage here for sure.

“This looks pretty good to me, but there are a few things I'd like to add.”

“Certainly. We're very willing to negotiate, Miss Ashley.”

I tapped my chest. “Her former Master's family isn't likely to just
let
me keep this thing, Agent Williams. I want assurance that AEGIS will be able to protect me from any unfortunate incidents, if you catch my meaning.”

“That goes without saying,” Williams replied, sounding somewhat miffed that I'd call into question his organization's ability to look out for its own. “We take care of our people, Miss Ashley. You can count on that.”

“Fair enough.”

Williams shifted in his chair. “What else?”

“I can't make this decision alone, Agent Williams. There's someone else I have to talk to about this since it involves the both of us.”

“Our dossier on you indicated that you were single and have only intermittent contact with your family.” Williams arched an eyebrow. “Please understand that everything we have discussed should be held under strict confidence. This information is classified at the very highest levels, for the sake of national security.”

“That's not what I mean, Agent.” I finished off my beer and lit another cigarette. My throat wasn't going to like me tomorrow morning, but whatever. I wasn't in the best place and I'd take just about anything I could to calm my nerves.

“Then you'd best elaborate.”

“Oh, come off it. You know damn well what I'm talking about. She's part of this, too, maybe even more than I am. Isn't that
why
you want me, Mister AEGIS?”

I was bullshitting more than a little here, but it seemed to be working. Williams perfect facade of calm, bland civility slipped and the man looked uncomfortable for the first time since he'd arrived.

“I was under the impression that the Relic's governing intelligence would have little choice but to acquiesce to its wielder's wishes.”

“That may have been true before, but the situation has changed. I don't have the knowledge or ability to impose my will on her and I wouldn't do it even if I could.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the man a defiant stare. He didn't look happy, but he clearly wasn't going to argue. Good.

“We're willing to work with you in whichever way we can.” Williams stood up and pushed the chair back underneath the table. “Thank you for your time, Miss Ashley. My contact information is listed on the offer. I know this is a big decision, but time is of the essence. If you could have an answer for me within the next forty-eight hours...”

“I'll talk to her,” I reiterated.

Williams shrugged. “That's all we can ask. Have a pleasant day, Miss Ashley. I'll be looking forward to your answer.”

The towering agent walked out my front door and shut it behind him. The auto-lock was already engaged but I turned the manual deadbolt just to be sure. I walked back to the kitchen table where Williams sat and felt around underneath. The chance that he'd actually left a listening device behind was pretty low, but it never hurt to be careful.

The search came up clean. That didn't mean there was nothing; AEGIS likely had access to all sorts of crazy spy gadgets that I'd never find in a million years without specialized equipment.

“Did you really mean it?”

I almost jumped out of my skin. “Shit, Misaki, can you give me some kind of warning before you just pop up out of nowhere?”

“I'm sorry,” she murmured. Her ears drooped, but didn't lay completely flat. I took that as a sign she was getting more accustomed to the way I talked. A good sign, to be sure, especially if the both of us were going to end up fighting creepy fucks for AEGIS.

“It's okay.” I reached out and took her right hand, squeezing it gently. Her ears perked up and she smiled. “Yes, I really meant it. You heard everything that went on, right?”

“Yes, even when I draw into the Relic, I can still detect sound and astral energy. I am not surprised that AEGIS wants us to fight for them.”

“So I gathered.” I dropped down onto the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to me. This time Misaki sat down without protest. Her tail curled around, seemingly of its own accord, and swished gently to and fro across the mattress.

She gazed at me with those huge green eyes. “You want to accept the offer, yes?”

“I do, I mean, it's a
lot
of money... but even more importantly than that, it offers us some defense against your ex-family. I don't think they would hesitate to murder me in order to take you back.”

“I don't want that to happen!” Misaki blurted, her usual musical lilt cracking. I certainly didn't disagree, as I was quite fond of living, and I suspected that Misaki enjoyed being treated like a person instead of an object.

“That makes two of us. Do you think we should do it, then?”

Misaki didn't hesitate. “Yes. If AEGIS can protect us from the Tsukimura clan, I will gladly lend my spells to their cause.”

“It's not really different than what you were doing before, is it?”

“No, though AEGIS doesn't discriminate. They destroy all specters, regardless of who has summoned or established pacts with them. My former Master and I were sent to slay specters of rival families and to keep servant Houses from growing too bold.”

I suppose I should have seen that coming. Mundane politics were a clusterfuck mess, and adding corrupted supernatural beings only made it a million times worse. What surprised me more was Misaki's implication that AEGIS was at least maintaining the appearance of honesty. I wasn't completely convinced. I'd been with the government long enough to know it was never that simple.

“Agent Williams oh-so-graciously gave us some time to consider the offer,” I mused, returning to the issue at hand. “I think I'll wait to the last minute just to fuck with him.”

Misaki's head tilted curiously. “Oh.”

“I don't know about you, but I'd like to actually enjoy my time off. Williams will keep; he gave us two days to give him an answer.”

“Um, I've never had a 'day off' before.” Misaki's ears twitched slightly and the cadence of her tail's swishing changed subtly. “When my former Master and I were not hunting specters, I would spend my time maintaining the Tsukimura manor with the maidservant staff, or sleeping within the Relic..”

I grimaced. “All of your time? You had no time to yourself at all?”

“No,” Misaki replied, her voice growing distant. “The Tsukimura house is very large, and the family has many servants to maintain and operate the manor. Missions are relatively infrequent, so my former Masters would command me to assist the maidservants. Due to my... unique traits, I was often selected for, um, attendant duty.”

Her evasive tone was starting to worry me. “What sort of duty is that?”

Misaki's ears fell almost totally flat against her head and she would not look at me. I could see the shame she felt in her expression. It was clear she didn't really
want
to talk about this, but the cat was already out of the bag. The touch of concern I felt only a moment before was amplified significantly as I put two and two together.

“W-well, men generally find me to be attractive,” Misaki managed, her voice shaking just a little bit, “and since I am an immortal spirit, no child would come of it. B-because of that...”