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Dante’s favorite place to go in DC was the Kennedy Center. He had a subscription to the National Symphony Orchestra, and enjoyed dressing up to hear both familiar classics and new modern concerts. Music seemed to be one of the only things that was truly timeless. A visit to the Symphony made him feel the curse of immortality less than anything else.
Except for tonight. Tonight instead of a tux and a concert, he was standing in the JFK Gallery reliving his worst failure. He stared at a portrait of the young president, one of the few who had seemed to see him as a person rather than an oddity, a weapon, or a slave. Perhaps it was because of their shared Catholic faith, one that had brought both of them unpopularity and persecution. Perhaps it was because they were both dismissed because of their youthful appearance. Perhaps it was simply a shared passion for the fine things in life. Whatever it was, Dante had taken the President’s assassination personally. If Ruby hadn’t taken out Oswald before Dante arrived in Dallas, he might have done it himself.
Failing to protect Rick felt very much the same. Though he hadn’t known his new partner for long, he had already come to like him. He took all his partners’ safety very seriously, and the thought that another one had been wounded because of him made him feel very, very reckless. Reckless enough to march straight to Vikas and demand the mythic guilds cooperate in hunting Rick’s attacker.
RICK’S OUT OF SURGERY. WHERE RU? A text from Charles caught Dante halfway to the door. It was followed quickly with, DON’T GO MAKING TROUBLE. I DON’T WANT TO BE FISHING YOU FROM THE POTOMAC, OR BAILING YOU OUT OF JAIL.
Considering that Dante’s plan was to burn down the guild house if they didn’t give him the assassins, he glared at the phone. The mythics wouldn’t turn him over to the police, but the worst case scenario did end with Charles dragging the Potomac for him.
DON’T YOU DARE GO SILENT ON ME. I SWEAR, DANTE, IF YOU MAKE ME LOSE TWO AGENTS TODAY, I WILL MURDER YOU MYSELF.
Dante squeezed his eyes closed and took a deep breath as he made the sign of the cross. Merciful God, grant that Rick’s life be spared. He dialed Charles' number immediately.
“Charles. What do the doctors say?” Emotion trembled in his voice. His boss’s “lose two agents” comment frightened him almost as much as finding Rick lying in his own blood had.
“That you probably saved his life. That he has a chipped rib and a punctured lung. That he needed a blood transfusion.” Charles sighed. “That he’ll make a full recovery.”
“Thank God.” Dante felt his knees weaken and steadied himself with a hand against the side of the building.
“Do you have any idea who attacked him or why?” Charles asked.
“Not yet. The mythics seem to think it was to get to me.”
“Wow. That wasn’t obvious already.”
“Elayna swears it wasn’t the elves.” Dante scoffed softly. She hadn’t seemed terribly concerned about who it had been either.
“She claims they were framed? I guess I should have known she was smarter than to mess with you.”
“Someone was not smarter than that, and I mean to find out who.” Dante was standing outside the guild center now. “Vikas may know, or will be able to pressure the others to find out.”
“I don't like the idea of you being out there without backup, Dante.” Charles protested. “The people who tried to kill Rick, might try to kill you next.”
“They attacked Rick precisely because they did not dare attack me, no?” Dante wasn’t trying to be arrogant, it was just simply an obvious fact. One did not attack a harmless human if they could take out the mythic directly. “I will not provoke an attack, but I will not lie – I will not avoid a confrontation with the ones who did this either. Every mythic in the city must know that my partner is off limits or it will happen again.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong, just...” Charles swore. “Don’t forget there are limits to your immortality, Chaud. Vikas knows that. Please don’t give him a reason to exploit it.”
“Vikas and I may not see eye to eye, Glace, but he is a valuable ally. He is not a threat. The worst he would do is kill me once or twice to make a point.”
“With friends like these...” Charles trailed off. “I’ll keep you updated on Rick’s condition, but I’d rather you were here when he woke up. Try to keep it quick.”
Dante hung up and pocketed his phone, then knocked at the door. He preened carefully while he awaited an answer. Vikas was the closest thing to a leader the guilds had. The guilds respected Vikas, hopefully enough to help find Rick’s attackers if he asked. Plus, he seemed to have grown attached to Pietro, his own human ally, and would understand the need for attacks on their human allies to not be left unpunished.
Arges opened the door. “Master Vikas has already retired for the night.”
“I understand, and I would not visit at this hour if it was not an emergency.” Dante wedged the toe of his Florsheims into the open door. “Someone stabbed my partner with an elvish blade earlier today, and I need Vikas’s help.”
Arges glared at him with his one eye, kicked Dante’s foot out of the door, and closed the door in his face. Dante frowned and fingered the hem of his glove, trying to decide if he was desperate enough to burn down Vikas’s door. Charles’s warning cooled his fury and he nearly turned to return in the morning when the door swung open again.
“You got ten minutes.” Arges opened the door to usher Dante in. He led him to the council chamber, a huge room with a massive antique table and high backed chairs, empty except for an auburn haired man with a narrow face and silk house robe sitting at the head of the table.
“Dante. Arges told me about your partner. You have my condolences.” Vikas templed his fingers and frowned.
“I need more than condolences.” Dante waved a gloved hand dismissively. “My partner will survive the attack, but I want the people responsible.”
“Then you should be beating down Elayna’s door, not mine.”
“Elayna swears it was not one of hers.” Dante placed his hands on the edge of the table and looked across it at Vikas. “I want the mythics to know my partner is off limits.”
“Why would any mythic want to make you angry, Dante, seriously?” Vikas scoffed. “You’re certain it wasn’t an enemy of your partner? Someone who didn’t realize who they were dealing with?”
Dante hesitated. He’d been sure, especially after his confrontation with Wharton. But what if it had been a personal vendetta against Rick? It would explain the utter foolishness of provoking him if the perpetrators didn’t realize who Rick’s new partner was. It didn’t explain the elvish dagger, or how Rick had enemies in DC after only being there a few weeks.
“It is possible, but that explanation has its own problems and the Service is investigating the human angle.” Dante shrugged. “I am concerned that someone of our kind has become cowardly enough to hurt our humans in our place. I am certain you can see the devastating consequences this would have if mystics began targeting humans.”
“Hmmm.” A troubled look crossed Vikas’s face. “I still think you’re understandably upset and overreacting, but I can’t say I wouldn’t feel the same if someone hurt Pietro. I will make some inquiries and reassert to the guilds that this won’t be tolerated. Where can I find you if I hear anything?”
“Walter Reed Hospital.” Dante took the hint and turned to go. He was used to people telling him he was overreacting, but this time Vikas was wrong. If anything, Dante was the very picture of restraint. Nothing was on fire yet, after all. “Regardless of who or why, I will not leave my partner unprotected again.”
Rick lay in the hospital bed when Dante arrived. He was pale and still, with his eyes closed and a cannula delivering oxygen to him still. IV fluids and antibiotics trailed to a line in his left hand, which rested on top of the blankets beside him. Charles had said he’d awoken after the surgery, gave a statement, and asked for Dante. While Dante still wished he could be out investigating, both he and Charles had eventually agreed that he was more useful at Rick’s side, making sure he was there when Rick awoke again, and that no one tried to finish what they started.
A pretty blonde sat in a chair beside the bed. Her clothes were fine, but mussed and her makeup was smeared from crying. Rick’s girlfriend? Dante wasn’t sure. Rick had mentioned leaving a girl in New York, but had said that long distance relationships were hard. Finding your boyfriend had nearly been killed changed priorities pretty quickly.
He cleared his throat as he entered the room. “Mademoiselle, I am Agent Dante Brand.”
“Gracie George.” She turned and looked at him and understanding dawned on her face. “Oh. You’re Rick’s new partner.”
“I am, and I am deeply sorry for what happened.” He took a deep breath and stepped closer to the bed, watching Rick’s chest rise and fall reassuringly. “Has he awoken yet?”
“Not since I got here.” She looked back at Rick and laid her hand on his free one. “What exactly did happen? I mean, he was stabbed, I get it, and Director Leon did say you saved his life, but that’s all I know.”
“Sadly, we ourselves know very little more than that either.” Dante pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat beside her. “I went to go get dinner from a nearby food truck, and he returned to his hotel. He tried to call me, but did not answer when I took the call, so I went back to check on him. That was when I found him.”
“Was it related to your case? Nevermind, you probably can’t tell me that. Rick can never talk about his cases.” She smoothed some hair from Rick’s face as she continued without looking at Dante. “Did you know his dream is to protect the President? I always knew he’d end up in DC. I just wasn’t ready for it to come now. I certainly didn’t expect to meet him here this way. We’d planned for me to visit over Spring break. He would have an apartment by then and be able to show me the town. I sort of suspected he would propose on the Lawn. Seeing him like this–” Her voice cracked and trembled when she continued, “I don’t know that I can do this for the rest of my life.”
“Can you imagine not spending the rest of your life with him?” Dante sighed and placed a hand over the one she was using to hold Rick’s. “I have sat beside my partner’s hospital bed before. It is indescribably hard. But not having a partner to have my back as I investigate difficult cases would be impossible. I do my best to keep them safe, but I am only human, and humans fail. He is in the hands of God, as he will be if you take him as your husband, no? That is all one can ask for.”
Gracie finally turned to look at him. “Wow, that was... Thank you. You’re right of course.” She gave him a narrow look. “You’re really wise for a guy your age, no offense. I have a little brother your age, and my parents can barely keep him from livestreaming himself eating his lunch with his feet. I can’t imagine him saying something like that.”
Dante tried to hide a look of consternation. “I am quite older than I look.”
A snort from the bed drew both their attention. Rick’s laugh turned into a cough and he tried to press his hand to his side. Gracie buzzed for the nurse, while Dante tried to help his friend sit up. Rick finally took a long ragged breath. He looked at Dante with haunted memories behind his eyes. “Man, Dante, I thought I was done. Did you fly there?”
“No. I was barely in time. As I was telling Mademoiselle George, you were in the hands of God.” Dante stepped back to allow the nurse to check Rick over.
“Gracie, good to see you.” Rick gave her a weak grin.” This is one of the finest hospitals in DC, I’m sure, but not exactly the first place I wanted to introduce you to when you came to visit.”
“There will be plenty of time when you get better.” She patted his hand while the nurse finished checking his vitals. “Director Leon is putting me up in the hotel you were in, at least until you get better, and Annette found a sub to take my class at least until the end of the week.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “By the time I leave, you’ll be sick of me.”
“That will never happen, though Dante may get sick of the both of us before that happens.” Rick settled back as the nurse left the room.
“I spent a large portion of my life in France, I assure you the flirtations of a couple in love do not bother me.” Dante forced a soft laugh. The attack on Rick and the lingering threat surrounding him had nearly destroyed a beautiful couple. And while he meant every word he’d said to Mms. George – he had absolutely no intention of abandoning his partner just because there was danger – he did find the desperation to avenge the attack return more strongly. It was not only he himself the attacker dared to mess with, but a good man and a gracious woman as well. “There are many things we will need to discuss once you are well, but for the time being, is there anything you can tell me about the attack?”
“Two ugly trolls attacked me with cosplay swords in the back of the hotel.” Rick spoke slowly as if choosing his words carefully. “I tried to shoot them, but one got me under the arm. I woke up here.”
“You are certain they were ugly and not as beautiful as women?” Dante asked seriously. Describing mythics to a non-believing human was always an interesting task, and they didn’t need to frighten Mms. George further.
“Like a pair of goblins playing dress up. Does PNI have sketch artists, because I can do one if it helps.” He yawned widely and grunted in pain.
“I will send one later today.” Dante squeezed Rick’s leg. “Now you must rest. Charles is anxious that I am working without a partner, and I am eager to clear this case as soon as possible.” He squeezed tighter and lowered his voice. “This is unacceptable, Rick, and I mean to make it quite clear I will not tolerate it.”
“Don’t be an idiot. I will not tolerate it if you end up here or buried in a slab of concrete somewhere.” Rick frowned. “You’re not invincible, Dante, even if you all like to pretend you are.”
Dante only hummed. He was very aware of his weaknesses, and thankful that most of his enemies were too intimidated by his reputation to think too hard about finding them, but his most obvious weakness lay in the hospital bed in front of him. Clearly whoever did this was either not brave enough or not smart enough to take him out directly. He needed to assert the futility of harming his partners as well.
“Rest well, my friend. With your girlfriend to care for you and me to protect you, you will be out of here in no time at all.”