“Moss, Amy, you guys stick close, but far enough away that he can't hit you with any spells,” Kaye commanded with one hand on her hip and one hand pointing toward us. “Everyone else, you know what to do.”
Amy closed the door to the living room and peered out through the crack. “Can you see?” she asked me.
I moved closer and peered through. “Yep.”
Kaye took her position behind the front door, while Brewer hung out in the opposite hallway.
Johnson was our greeter, since we were reasonably certain our mark hadn’t laid eyes on him before.
“Welcome,” he said when Bill Garrison approached. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
The old man smiled and shook his head. “Not really, but I’d love to see some old toys, if you have them,” he said in a kind, grandfatherly voice.
We knew better, though. This sicko planned to curse a toy. What kind of lowlife cursed something meant for children? I couldn’t wait to take him down once and for all.
Neither could the others, it seemed.
Kaye and Brewer sprang from their hiding places, wands at the ready. Garrison made some sort of weird movement with his hand, and Johnson grinned that big toothy grin of his.
“We’ve already nullified the room,” he said with raised brows. “Can't do any magic in here.”
Garrison scoffed. “Do you think that will stop me?” He reached into his pocket and ducked at the same time. Kaye and Brewer both shot a spell off with their wands, but in the crossfire, the jolts of magic smashed into each other rather than their intended target.
“Look out!” I shouted. But it was too late.
Garrison threw a glass orb onto the hardwood floor. The door protected Amy and me, but everyone else took the unanticipated magical blast straight on. The blinding flash of light disoriented them for a moment in a spectacular flash-bang.
With the others temporarily dazed, Amy pushed the door open and grabbed onto Garrison like she was wrestling an octopus.
I looked on from a few paces back, trying to come up with a way I could be of help. There had to be something I could…
Yes! The bookshelves!
I never got to use my escape plan at the animal control building, but I could use it now to attack.
I scaled the shelves while Amy continued to grapple with the surprisingly strong old man.
Higher and higher, I went until… Bingo, bingo!
A line of heavy, antique trophies dotted the upper most shelf. Oh, yeah. This would do the trick nicely.
“Amy!” I shouted. “Roll out of the way!”
Of course, old man Garrison couldn't understand me, which suited us well now.
As soon as Amy was out of harm's way, I ran behind the trophies, hitting each of them fast and hard with the full thrust of my butt muscles. They fell in rapid succession, crashing to the ground and denting the hardwood floor.
C’mon. C’mon…
Yes!
The very last trophy I knocked off hit our exposer smack-dab in the forehead.
Down he went, still conscious but startled and off-balance.
It was enough.
No longer under his stun spell, Kaye, Brewer, and Johnson rushed forward and grabbed him. Kaye produced some magical rope, and we were in business.
While our exposer was now officially out of business.
The guys tied our con up, while Kaye and Amy high-fived each other. But it was too soon to celebrate.
Garrison whistled, and a massive black dog charged through the doorway, teeth bared and ready to defend his master.
“Oh no, how do we subdue a dog?” I asked. Turns out it was a bad idea for me to speak. Because Carson was still a bit sore about yesterday’s run-in at the dog park. And he was ready for round two.
“No!” I yelled. “Bad dog!”
Kaye jumped in front of me and held out both hands. Using the most mom of all mom voices, she bellowed, “Sit! Now!”
It was so powerful, Amy and I both sat down, too.
But Carson sat as well.
Garrison opened his mouth to say something, but Brewer slapped tape on him before he could say anything else.
“Good boy.” Kaye glanced at the rest of us nervously. “Moss,” she said quietly. “You just stay up there out of sight and don’t make a peep.”
I nodded once without replying, even though “yes, ma’am” had been on the tip of my tongue. She was all right, this one—and despite what Mason claimed, she was also really good at her job.
The guys muscled Garrison into the same room where Amy and I had sat getting to know each other.
Kaye, in the meantime, kept the dog busy, eventually leading him outside into the fenced backyard and leaving him there.
“There's something weird about that dog,” she said when she returned. “I think we should have him magically examined.”
“Do you think the old man cursed him somehow?” Amy asked with a look of horror.
Oh, no. A human cursed into animal form. It was almost too terrible to imagine…
Kaye shrugged. “No idea. But something is definitely weird about him.”
She got on the phone to her superiors, and what followed was quite like when we’d rescued Brewer and Johnson.
A portal opened, spitting out several uniformed men. They took off with Garrison and the dog, leaving our team to look after ourselves.
It was too early to stop for fried chicken, so we headed back to the warehouse to await Mason’s call. He ordered us back to Caraway Island in Maine for a debrief, and even arranged for a flight.
Coach, but still.
Yes, we’d be heading back to base as heroes. I couldn’t wait for the big boss man to eat crow.