Chapter Seventeen

Morag regarded her team with a benign expression.

“So far so good,” she said, and paused, her expression changing as she eyeballed the Greyman, “except the Fireman escaped.”

“Sorry boss,” the Greyman said with a shrug that caused his grey cloud to swirl. Leanan coughed and waved it away.

“Let me introduce a new associate,” Morag continued.

Deirdre was at the bottom of the long table slightly apart from the group and although they had seen her none had acknowledged her presence at the table.

Deirdre gave a nervous grin and could not repress a cackle.

“Deirdre, meet Dearg Due, The Greyman and Leanan Sidhe.”

Deirdre bowed her head in respect to each in turn as Morag gave their names. As a mere witch she knew of these creatures and their superior magical origins.

“Deirdre is in charge of spell placement,” Morag continued.

The group understood immediately. Deirdre was the fall guy should things go wrong.

“Welcome,” they all said more or less simultaneously.

“Deirdre is not on the direct payroll but is subcontracted.”

This confirmed the group’s suspicions.

“And is holding the captured magic persons on her premises in the Bronx.”

“Excellent, I hope you blindfolded the witch,” Dearg Due said.

Deirdre made a face as if to say what do you think, am I a fool? But she replied with a meek “yes.”

“And the boy,” Dearg Due inquired.

“He’s fine, both are held in silver chains in a dark cellar.”

“Hope the rats don’t get them,” the Greyman joked.

“Rat proof sealing,” Deirdre replied seriously. “I am aware that New York has a rat problem at the moment.”

They all laughed at this and the twinkle in Deirdre’s eye.

Morag was pleased, it seemed to her Deirdre would fit in.

“I’d like to have a closer look at that boy,” Dearg Due added.

“We need to capture the Fireman,” Morag said sharply. “Then we need to find out what is going on.”

“The witch is only an apprentice,” Deirdre offered.

Morag frowned, thinking Deirdre would need to know her place and not throw in extraneous remarks.

“That should make her easier to handle,” Leanan said.

“But,” Deirdre persisted, “an apprentice must have a master. So we may have more to do?”

This gave them pause.

“Deirdre is correct,” Morag said showing new respect for Deirdre’s insight.

“Suggest question the witch and find the location of her principle,” the Greyman offered.

“And we need to find out what sort of creature the boy is,” Dearg Due added.

Morag held up her hands to call silence.

“The main focus of this meeting has to be on the Live Corp plan to crash property prices in New York,” she reminded them.

“I’d imagine this is already happening?” Leanan said.

“Lived Dutronc believes we need a big event to tip things over the edge,” Morag explained.

They absorbed this in silence.

“And he wants us to come up with something?” the Greyman offered.

“Ideas?” Morag said.

“We are not financial people,” Leanan protested. “If you need an evil act or a person made suicidal we are the team, but...”

“Poison the drinking water and not the sewers?” Dearg Due threw out.

Morag shook her head. “We need to keep low profile. If we poison thousands it will cause a long-term detailed investigation. Too risky.”

“We are lucky New York has several water systems,” the Greyman added. “But surely it just needs patience to let the infestation run its course?”

“Yes,” Deirdre agreed. “We are just in the first phase. The spell will spread. But the water will remain drinkable unless we change the mix of the contaminant spell.”

“Dutronc is concerned at the resilience of New Yorkers. They have started banding together and wiping out the rats and other sewer dwellers,” Morag explained.

“Lucky it’s spring and not winter,” Deirdre said.

Morag frowned, worried Deirdre was not following the conversation.

“How so,” Leanan asked.

Deirdre tried not to meet Leanan’s eyes. She could feel it already, the deep depression that emanated from Leanan Sidhe.

“Well,” Deirdre explained. “We have driven the various denizens of the sewers out into the streets and thereby to their destruction or will have once Manhattan folk get organized to wipe them out but they don’t realize that actions have consequences.”

“Consequences Deirdre?” Morag prompted.

Deirdre smiled. It was a revolting smile but nobody minded. It was after all the smile of an evil witch.

“When the creatures that eat other smaller creatures are no more then the smaller creatures will prosper.”

“Such as?” the Greyman asked.

“Well, fleas, frogs that are frog spawn at present, cockroaches, you name it. Add lice, flies, crawling larvae etc. They will all infest Manhattan because they will have no predators.”

Good thinking Deirdre,” Morag said. The others nodded in approval and respect.

“Just tell Dutronc that the plague of rats will be followed by a plague of frogs and insects?” Deirdre suggested.

“Just like Egypt in the bible,” Leanan added.

“Most likely, but when winter comes and freezes everything it will kill masses of insects and then when the rat and sewer populations recover things will get back to normal,” Deirdre explained.

“Deirdre, you are a marvel,” Morag said, sounding very pleased.

“During that time the perception will be that New York is becoming uninhabitable,” the Greyman said approvingly.

“Yes and it will be so unless we can reverse the plagues,” Dearg Due said cautiously.

“This summer should be unbearable,” Deirdre offered, “but once the winter freeze comes the lower orders will be restricted and after we lift the spell out of the water reservoir the sewers will recover. It may take a year or two to get into balance again but nature is very powerful in the long run,” Deirdre added.

“I’ll put the scenario to Dutronc,” Morag decided.

“Well done team,” she added.

***

“Don’t let me see you here again,” Nina said as she handed the cat cage to Puca.

“Thank you,” he said.

“I don’t know what’s happened to Oengus or his friend Maedbh the witch,” Nina added.

“I do,” Puca said.

Nina stared. It was unnerving that Puca could resemble Hugo down to the belt on his pants.

“Me and Hugo did what we were paid for. We are out. We don’t want to be involved,” Nina said.

“I’ll just let the cat out,” Puca said.

“No!” Venus mewed fiercely.

“What?” Puca said in surprise.

“There are too many rats about. I might get eaten. Keep me in the cage. Stay in human form and get us to a safe pace,” Venus insisted.

“Have to go,” Puca said and walked down the stoop with Venus under his arm still in her cage.

Nina watched them go. Magic, maybe black magic, she thought with a shiver. But she had liked Oengus and she hoped no real harm would befall him.

“What’s the plan?” Puca asked as he walked along.

“Back to Maedbh’s apartment. Nobody will look for us there. There is a spare key Maedbh hides for emergencies. We can get back in have a saucer of milk and think about it.”

***

“Anything else?” Morag asked her team.

“Next steps?” Leanan asked.

“I think Dearg Due might pay a visit to the witch Maedbh’s apartment. We need to see if we can get a lead on who might be her principle witch and her possible location.”

“OK,” Dearg Due agreed.

“I have her keys and effects,” Deirdre offered and took a plastic bag from under the table. “We stripped them both.”

“Great,” Dearg Due said. “I’ll take them when I go.”

“Leanan you take charge of interrogation. We need to know what they know,” Morag continued.

“OK,” Leanan agreed with a sad smile.

“Greyman you find the fireman,” Morag instructed.

“OK,” the Greyman said doubtfully.

“Deirdre you continue to maintain the water spell,”

Morag added.

“No problem, it’s located in the ...”

“Stop!” Morag said. “Need to know only.”

“OK,” Deirdre said, realizing she had become too relaxed in her desire to impress the company present.

“OK, meeting over. Report back directly to me.”

They tidied up their places and left together. Deirdre took Leanan in charge to show her the way to her place in the Bronx.

“There’s trouble with rats in the subway, we’ll take a cab,” she suggested.

“Dearg Due would you mind if I come with you?” the Greyman asked.

Dearg Due raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“I don’t know where to start with the fireman,” the Greyman confessed.

“You think you’ll find a clue in Maedbh’s apartment.”

“Worth a look.”

“OK, but I’m in charge,” Dearg Due insisted.

“We’ll take a cab.”

Dearg Due knew Maedbh’s apartment from her previous attempt to visit. Now that she had the key she would need no invitation to enter.

On route she went through Maedbh’s purse. Aside from a few dollars and a credit card there was little of interest. The absence of lipstick and makeup surprised Dearg Due. She concluded that Maedbh must be a very modern young woman. And young of course. You could get away without makeup when young. She took the keys and handed the purse to the Greyman.

“Enough for the fare,” he said with a wry grin as he palmed the cash.

Puca had decided to relax as a poodle so he could sleep in Venus’s basket. Venus drank her milk and looked out at the sky and started to think out a strategy on what to do next.

They were startled when they heard the keys in the lock. Puca decided to run about and bark in doglike manner and Venus arched her back.

“Nobody mentioned a dog and a cat,” the Greyman said as they entered.

“Witches have cats,” Dearg Due pointed out.

“True. Just let me check something,” the Greyman added.

“Can you speak to me?” the Greyman asked putting his face up to Venus.

Venus backed away and mewed a meow and then hissed and showed her claws.

“OK, enough playacting. Let’s do a thorough search,” Dearg Due said.

“I have heard it said that sometimes witches cats are magic.”

“Cats are cats, start with the desk.”

Puca continued to bark until Dearg Due threw him a bag of biscuits.

“She has a computer,” the Greyman said.

“We’ll take that with us.”

“There’s also an iPad. Maybe some emails?”

“Let’s look at the paperwork first.”

Puca and Venus watched as they systematically searched the apartment.

“Should we kill the pets?” the Greyman asked as an aside.