Chapter Thirty

“Good try,” Dutronc said, trying to sound encouraging.

“I brought the horsewhip,” Morag confessed.

“Later. I’m just pleased you got clear,” Dutronc said warmly.

“Plan B was your suggestion sir. I have you to thank. I would never have planned a pre-dug escape route through the Central Park Reservoir.”

“You did well to get the hostages out.”

“Yes, I expected one or two drowning’s but they survived.”

“And Deirdre was arrested.”

“Deirdre takes the rap as planned. In a few years we can see about getting her out, but at least she gets to stay in the USA,” Morag said.

“I’ve decided to review the future of the magic group. It fails to meet corporate targets for generating adequate financial return.”

“But last year we started a currency crisis in Europe,” Morag protested.

“Yesterdays news. We must look to the future,” Dutronc said.

“We have other proposals,” Morag said confidently.

“Risk versus reward,” Dutronc explained with a raised eyebrow.

“The water scheme was low risk but for the unexpected,” Morag defended.

“The unforeseen unforeseen,” Dutronc said in a tone that conveyed he’d seen it all before.

“Unexpected arrival of a young man from Ireland which acted as a catalyst and produced this counter-contaminant,” Morag gave her summary. Adding, “We are still on top of this.”

“You hold the young man prisoner?” Dutronc said.

“Yes sir, together with the young witch apprentice Maedbh, Peter a human and Jane a human.”

“And this sword, ‘the Great Fury?”’

“We sent it to the Laboratory.”

“And tell me what was that cat and that horse all about?” Dutronc asked.

“Witches cat. Also she had a shape shifting Puca. I tied them by their collars. When we finished with the cauldron we tied them to it and threw them into the water to drown.”

“Dead then?”

“Definitely.”

“And just back to the sword, what did the laboratory make of it?”

“They can’t get a fix on it.”

“Morag what do you mean. Is it metal or plastic or what?”

“It pulsates and destroys the measuring instrumentation. They sent it back with a bill for damages.”

“Don’t pay.”

“I won’t, their machinery is their responsibility.”

“Morag, where is the sword now?”

“On the wall in my apartment. It seems to calm down when it is near the boy Oengus. Longer term we will have to find storage.”

“Connection to the boy?”

“We don’t know. I suspect it has a magic provenance and this gives it an energy.”

“Morag why don’t you just kill them and we can move on. We don’t want any of them popping up as witnesses,” Dutronc advised firmly.

“Sir, I have given the woman Jane to Dearg Due for lunch. It appears she is a microbiologist with the Fire Department. Under questioning she has related all in relation to her experience with the sword. I think she can be disposed of now.”

“Good, good.”

“Her assistant is doing a post-doc assignment and seems naive. However he has evidenced a fondness for the junior witch Maedbh that she reciprocates. We have kept him alive to keep Maedbh on edge.”

“And the boy?”

“Oengus?”

“Yes.”

“Well sir, he is an enigma. He says he was sent by his mother to retrieve the sword from his uncle John. He said it was a family treasure and John had stolen it. This may explain why it calms in his presence.”

“The young man is disposable?”

“I think so. Funny thing, he says his mother told him he was the God of Inconsequential Things.”

“Sound inconsequential?” Dutronc said with a grin.

“He seems to have some minor mental powers. By way of demonstration he asked us to agree that unscrewing the top off a bottle of soda was an inconsequential thing. We agreed and then he unscrewed the top off a bottle of soda without seeming to touch it. Impressive.”

“Yes, and what of the effect he had on Leanan?”

“Unexplained.”

“Morag if you can’t get to the bottom of this get rid of him. We don’t need complicated.”

“Ok sir, will do.”

“That leaves Maedbh and her friend Peter?”

Morag spread her hands expressively, searching for words.

“I had to promise the heart of the young witch Maedbh to Deirdre. Part of the deal for her cooperation.”

“What?”

“If a witch eats another witches heart it is very good for her complexion and it extends her life expectancy.”

“Why not eat her heart yourself?” Dutronc asked mildly.

“In time I may eat Deirdre’s heart,” Morag said with a grin.

“Ha!” Dutronc laughed.

“But I want to question Maedbh further. So the situation is she will be kept alive until Deirdre comes through and takes the rap in full.”

“Including shooting those shot?” Dutronc checked.

“Yes, indeed.”

“Good.”

“During the trial period I will begin to torture Maedbh.”

“OK,” Dutronc agreed, but in a tone that wanted more information.

“Leanan will do her thing and slowly undermine her friend Peter. This will maximize mental anguish. In time we can get to physical torture.”

“To what purpose Morag. Why question her further?”

“We need to find out about her master. That is assuming she is an apprentice witch. This is in case we need to take defensive action. That or capture her master whoever she is.”

“I’d recommend that you leave the blame for her death at Deirdre’s door. Let the master come after Deirdre. Get yourself in the clear Morag. We have to get on with other things.”

“Yes boss,” Morag agreed.

“Evidence at Deirdre’s residence. I assume you or your team left nothing incriminating there?” Dutronc checked.

“Dearg Due flew over there as fast as she could before Deirdre took them for the de-contaminant. Dearg Due took Oengus’s and Maedbh’s belongings back to my apartment. The FBI will puzzle over the house and the cellar but I don’t think they will get any leads.”

“Good, good,” Dutronc said.

There was a silence while he considered any other angles but he seemed satisfied.

“How are our commitments doing?” Morag asked anxiously.

“Morag, the consequences of your failure were offset by our quick action in the markets. In fact we managed to end up a couple of million above breakeven on the venture,” Dutronc said.

“I’m pleased to hear it,” Morag said.

“You should be. It will help to mitigate your punishment.”

“Yes sir,” Morag said meekly.

“But that is for another day. First you must get clear of this project. Come back when you have it done please,”

“Yes sir,” Morag said. She stood and made to leave.

“I was worried about you,” Dutronc said.

Morag left the room on a high. He’d never expressed concern in the past.

Morag took a cab back to her apartment overlooking Central Park. It amused her that she was hidden in plain sight.

The FBI still had a presence in the park near the reservoir as they continued their investigations and search for what they called the perpetrators. But the fact that they were getting nowhere and the fact that they had Deirdre to take the rap was slowly taking the heat out of the search.

The panic room in her apartment, although designed as a bolthole for the rich in the event of a burglary, was also ideal as a prison cell. Some time back electrical contractors had transformed the electronics to her satisfaction and a hidden console in her bedroom made it possible to monitor the panic room from outside although it remained capable of monitoring the house from inside also.

While she changed from her outdoor clothes Morag switched on the screens. In one corner Oengus sat bound in chains to hooks on the wall. In a small separate room Maedbh and Peter were bound together in an intimate position. It appeared they had gotten over their initial embarrassment and were coping well.

Leanan was sat inside the door to the panic room area, on guard duty.

Satisfied that all was well Morag went to meet the Greyman and Dearg Due in her lounge.

“How did it go?” Dear due asked.

“Very well,” Morag said with a smile. “Dutronc was sweet and kind.”

“Unusual?” the Greyman asked suspiciously.

“However he wants to disband the magic group,” Morag admitted. She sat and Dearg Due poured her coffee.

“Do we do anything about that?” the Greyman asked.

“I think we go solo,” Morag said.

“Good thinking,” Dearg Due agreed.

Morag drank her coffee. The Greyman preferred tea and Dearg Due had a sip of blood with sliced liver.

“And that lady called Jane. She seemed a nice person. How did she die?” Morag asked.

“She took it well. It was a bit surreal for her because she did not believe in vampires. However I didn’t drag it out. I thought she deserved respect. She was unlucky to have had the wrong job at the wrong time because this meant she crossed our path. But she was old enough to have had a good life,” Dearg Due explained.

“Amen.” the Greyman said, sipping his tea.

“I think you can take the boy Oengus,” Morag added.

“Leanan wants vengeance,” the Greyman reminded them.

“Yes, she can have him first,” Dearg Due agreed.

“What about the sword. We don’t know the purpose of the sword?” the Greyman asked.

“I think we just put it away in a vault. We don’t mess with magic we don’t understand?” Dearg Due suggested.

“Maybe we’ll bury it with the boy,” Morag said.

“By the way what did you do with Jane’s body?” the Greyman checked.

“Don’t worry there are no loose ends. I dropped her into the crocodiles in the zoo. They have a few new mouths to feed since they came out of the sewers and were captured. When her clothes and purse are found with the crocodiles her name will come off the FBI missing persons list.”

“Good,” Morag said.

“So I’ll tell Leanan that we have carte blanche on the boy Oengus?” Dearg Due asked, standing and ready to go to the panic room.

“You still hungry?” the Greyman asked with a grin.

“By the time Leanan gets finished with him I will be.”

As she spoke Dearg Due took her leave.

“There is a loose end,” Morag continued when Dearg Due was gone.

“Loose end?” the Greyman asked.

“Yes that girl Nina. She was close to Hugo. There is a possibility that she could make connections to us and to Live corp. I’m afraid she has to go.”

“I’m on it,” the Greyman said. He threw back his tea and left Morag on her own.

Morag sat back and considered the ceiling. Things were going in the right direction, she thought. She sipped her coffee and relaxed.

***

“Hi,” Leanan said.

“Hi,” Dearg Due said from over her shoulder.

Oengus rattled his chains as he turned to face the two women.

“Hi,” he said weakly, wondering what would come next.

“Time for vengeance,” Leanan said.