Gathering Storm (17 page)

Elora smiled. “Darling, we
must be patient with your Uncle Rammel. He doesn’t know any
better.” Rosie grinned and nodded like it was a conspiracy. “I need
to go talk to the others. Do you want to stay here or go to
Elsbeth’s?”

“Stay.”

“Do you want some books to
read?” Rosie shook her head. “Okay, then. Down you go on three.
One. Two. Three.” On three, Rosie jumped and Elora eased her safely
to the ground. It was one of their games.

“That would be rash,” Glen said. “This could
be a gods’ sent solution to one of our problems and I think we
should work with it.”

“What do you mean?” Ram looked up in the
middle of the question when Elora came back into the room.

“We were all thinking, and
when I say all, I mean everybody who works for The Order was
thinking that this whole interdimensional interface - made possible
with assistance by Elementals…” He nodded toward the demon. “…was
the most important thing that’s ever happened in the The Order’s
history. Next to the vampire cure that is.

“So we’re all revved up,
ready to solve a thousand cold cases, and redefine our
understanding of… everything. If somebody leaks that it’s possible
to get lost in the passes, no one in their right mind will ever
venture a ride again. We don’t want to upend the possibilities
before we have a chance to work out the kinks. The potential is too
big.”

“What has that to do with the phony?” Ram
asked.

“Well, if we could train
him to impersonate Storm until the real Storm can be found…” In
sync Ram, Elora, and Litha looked at Angel. “No one would ever be
the wiser.” He looked over at Elora’s dog. “No one except
Blackie.”

CHAPTER 15

It was two minutes to closing and Storm was
finishing the mop up when three customers came in.

“Sorry. We’re closed.”

The one with the goatee in
the hat and the overcoat came closer until Storm could see that his
pupils were shaped wrong, vertical slits. The guy pulled up a chair
and took off his hat like he was going to stay a while. The fact
that he had horns underneath that hat did nothing to alleviate the
creep factor.

“Very funny, Angel.” The
newcomer looked around the bar before his eyes came to rest on the
mop still in Storm’s big hands. “Oh how the mighty have fallen.” He
gestured toward the door with his chin and one of his human
associates dropped the security bar, locking them in.

Storm was calm. “Name’s
not Angel. You’ve got the wrong guy and, like I said, we’re closed.
So if you would just…”

The guy who had locked the door had circled
around behind Storm.

“So that’s how you want to
play it. The old it-ain’t-me.”

Storm didn’t know what sort of creature it
was, but there was something about it that was vaguely familiar,
like he’d seen a painting or drawing.

“Look, clearly you have
mistaken me for someone else. Since I’m not that someone, say
goodnight and leave before one or all of you end up hurt. I’ll even
throw in some peanuts for the road. Who doesn’t love late night
snacks?”

There was no reaction from
the creature as silence drug on for some time. “You know I never
realized you were entertaining.” He looked at his associates.
“Peanuts!” When he chuckled, they laughed with appreciation. “I
appreciate your concern for my well-being, Angel.”

“I don’t know if you’re
hard of hearing or just low, but either way it looks like I’m not
getting rid of you until you state your business. So, say what you
have to say then get out.”

“Disrespectful, Angel.
Call me by my name.”

Storm’s eyebrows rose. “Last time, I’m not
who you’re looking for and… I. Do. Not. Know. Your. Name.”

“So,” the guy steepled his
fingers the way Sol always did, “it’s like amnesia. Is that it?”
When Storm said nothing, the creature said, “Richard Shade, but you
can call me Mr. Shade.”

“Mr. Shade?” Storm didn’t
even try to hide his incredulity. “Sorry. Just not a comics fan,
but I’ll agree to call you Dick if you’ll just get to
it.”

“It’s a little too late for talk.”

“Has this Angel caused you harm?”

“Alright, gorgeous, I’ll
play.
This
Angel
owes me a lot of money.”

“For what?”

“Gambling debts.”

“Somebody who looks like me.”

Shade leaned closer and
pinned Storm with a level look. “
Exactly
like you.”

“How much?”

“
Exactly
like you.”

Storm rolled his eyes. “How much does he owe
you?”

“Seventy-five
thousand.”

Storm whistled. “What did
he do with it?”

“Horses.”

“He bought horses?”

Shade smiled and spoke
with mock patience. “Bet. The. Track.”

“Oh.” Storm was thinking
about his circumstances and about what it meant to have a
counterpart in another dimension, one who, perhaps, hadn’t gotten
the opportunities he had, hadn’t met the same people. “Let’s say I
was willing to talk about settling this guy’s debt. Would you be
willing to negotiate?”

Shade looked at his thugs
and nodded. The men closed in on Storm with hostile vibes and
aggressive postures. One of them was punched in the solar plexus
with the mop handle and collapsed like a paper tiger, a blue one
who couldn’t breathe. The other took a chop to the neck and fell
unconscious. Neither of Shade’s professionals ever laid a finger on
Storm. Even more impressive, Storm had not moved from where he
stood flat footed nor had he taken his eyes away from Richard
Shade, who was then studying him with much greater
interest.

Bringing street thugs to a
hand-to-hand showdown with Storm wasn’t really sportsmanlike. After
all, his Black Swan training had been topped off with Elora’s
special sauce, an elegant and superior style of weaponless martial
art that was indigenous to her home world and flawless in its
execution, easily repudiating any defense against it.

“You want to talk now?”

“I’ve got to admit that
you are intriguing. You don’t talk like the man who borrowed from
me. Repeatedly. And gamblers don’t usually come with the sort of
self-discipline required to develop those moves.”

“Again, and let me say I’m
getting tired of repeating, I’m not your guy. I don’t owe you
money, but I might be willing to negotiate a compromise on
repayment.”

“If you’re not the guy, why would you do
that?”

Storm smirked. “You’re not interested in
motive. You’re interested in money.”

“Can’t a businessman be curious?”

Storm tapped his watch. The thugs were
groaning and starting to get up. “You want them to go for Round Two
with me?”

Shade looked them over and shook his head.
“Seems like a waste of time. What’s your offer?”

“Twenty cents on the
dollar. Get me in an honest poker game on a Monday night and stake
me.”

The creature made an
unidentifiable sound, but Storm thought he may have cleared his
throat. “If I’ve heard you right, and I believe I have, you have
offered to settle a gambling debt by procuring an extended line of
credit. For gambling.”

Storm’s expression didn’t
change. He continued to look Shade directly in the eyes blatantly
and unashamedly. “In your world I’m sure that’s unorthodox, but if
you put me in an honest game, I’ll win.”

It wasn’t a boast. Storm
couldn’t lose at poker unless he wanted to. He’d played the
Thursday night game at J.U. for years and could have won every
hand. But the truth of it was that he found the inexplicable
ability freakish and disturbing and didn't want anyone to
know.

So he considered it a
social pastime. He won just enough to seem average, never enough to
raise the slightest suspicion. If anyone at Jefferson had been
considered a shark, it was Ram.

“Well, Mr.
I’m-Not-Angel-I-Just-Look-Exactly-Like-Him, I’m sure that offer
would be thought unorthodox in any world. Call me crazy, but I
think I like you. At least I like this version of you better than
the one who’s been taking out loans for the past two
years.

“I’ll get you into
an
honest
game,
but I’ll only front you the money if you put that fancy car up as
collateral.”

“I don’t have a car.”
Storm blinked as he rethought that. “That I know of.”

Shade spoke slowly, like Storm was retarded.
“Would you like me to show you where it is?”

“Okay, let’s put it this
way. Whatever car you think is mine, wherever you think it is,
consider it pledged as collateral.”

“Well said.” Shade put out his hand to
shake. Inside Storm recoiled at the nasty look of pointed yellow
fingernails, but made himself shake hands without changing
expression.

“Only on a Monday night.
It’s my night off.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

CHAPTER 16

Deliverance left the little
gathering, to continue his search for the right Storm, while the
others continued to mull over the logistics needed to pull off
a
Prisoner of Zenda
sting operation. With everybody Storm knew as targets of an
incredible con game.

The first step, convincing
Angel Storm that he was in another dimension, proved to be a bigger
challenge than any one of them would have guessed. Having been on
his own since age fourteen, he was skeptical of stories that
weren’t readily verifiable by his own senses or those that didn’t
fall within his personal experience of the world.

After an hour of taking
turns trying to convince him, Litha, who had been silent throughout
the discussion and glaring at Angel, probably because he wasn’t her
Storm, stood up and walked over to where the handcuffs had been
left on the kitchen bar.

“Oh for gods’ sake. Come here.”

Angel looked suspicious. “Why?”

“I’m going to prove it to you the only way I
know how.”

“And how’s that?”

“I’m going to give you a
quick tour through the passes. We’re going to look in on some other
experiences of reality that will leave no doubt in your mind. Then
we’re going to come back here and get on with the serious business
of trying to turn you into a passable copy of my
husband.”

He thought about it for a
few seconds, then stood up and held out his wrist. When he stood
up, Blackie came to all four feet in one motion. He didn’t growl.
He didn’t bark. But his ruff was standing up and he did manage to
communicate that one wrong move would result in a throat torn
out.

Litha snapped the cuff on
while Angel stared at the dog. Then they were gone.

Elora turned to Rosie. “You hungry?”

Rosie nodded enthusiastically. “I can get
dinner.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know where the Hub
is.”

Elora chuckled. “I’ll bet
you do, but…”

Rosie smiled and vanished. Elora gasped and
leaped up from the sofa. “Rosie! Rosie! Shit!”

“It’s okay,” Glen said
with complete aplomb. “She does this sometimes.”

“What do you mean she does
this sometimes and it’s okay? This is NOT okay, Glen!”

Glen shrugged. “No need to
get hysterical. She’ll be back in a minute.”

“Don’t you dare tell me
not to get hysterical. WHERE IS SHE?”

“She said she could get
dinner. My guess is that she’s downstairs in the Hub having them
make up some club sandwiches. Probably with fruit cups and Twinkies
if they have them. She might have gone to the Mess kitchen, but
probably not. She likes the peeps at the Hub and they treat her
like a mascot.”

Elora looked panic-stricken.

“Would you like me to go down and find her?”
Ram asked.

Elora stormed toward the door. “I’ll find
her myself.”

“Take your phone,” Ram
said. “I’ll call if she turns up here first.”

She found Rosie sitting on
a stool at the Hub, talking to a girl named Brendle, who was
setting two sacks in front of Rosie. Brendle looked up. “Oh, hey.
We were just trying to figure out how she was going to carry both
these bags. Now you can take them.”

Rosie smiled at Brendle angelically.

Elora grabbed the sacks.
“Thank you.” She leaned close to Rosie. “You’re in
big
trouble, young
lady.” She froze. She could not believe that she was so shaken
she’d actually uttered the phrase ‘young lady’. She wanted to cut
her own tongue out.

“Are you mad at me, Auntie?”

Elora looked down into
those big eyes and her heart melted. That precious baby was missing
her father. That was enough negative emotion for a child to
handle.

“No, Rosie. Your auntie
was just scared. I love you so much and, when you disappeared, it
almost made my heart stop. Please don’t do that anymore until
you’re all grown up.”

Rosie cocked her head at Elora. “I’m grown
up. I’m just in a little body.”

“Just the same, will you
ride the elevator back with me?”

“Sure.” Rosie jumped down from the stool and
began skipping toward the elevators.

When Litha returned with
Angel, he looked even more discombobulated than Elora had felt when
Rosie had popped out.