“You little idiot! What were you thinking?” Matthew raged. They were gathered in the library, the setting sun blazing through the upper windows. Much of the mansion was still under repair, with staff sweeping up glass and boarding windows. They worked quickly and quietly, trying to keep their heads down as Maine’s brother expressed his joy at her return.
“First you run off without telling anyone where you’re going, worry us all half to death, then you drag Dandy out to the other side of Old Coney on some wild goose chase and get attacked!” He paced back and forth, waving his hands in the air. He was still dressed in the same clothes from this morning, his hair wild and still smelling of smoke.
“How were we to know if something had happened to you?” he asked her. “What if someone hadn’t been there to save you both?”
Maine sat on one of the tables, swinging her feet off the ground. “But nothing did happen,” she protested.
“You were ATTACKED!”
“And we got out of it fine!” She shrugged, hefting Ifri in her arms. “What’s the problem?”
Matthew sputtered, making several strangled noises. Miss Imi, who was dabbing one of Dandy’s bruises with a bit of ointment, cleared her throat gently.
“I think what your brother is trying to say, child, is that we were all very worried about you,” she said with some care. She nodded to the pair of Marshals. “He even insisted that these gentlemen leave immediately to find you.”
“Aw, that was no trouble at all, ma’am,” the younger Marshal said, smiling wide and tipping an old, Union cap, almost bleached white by the weather. “Comin’ to the rescue of a helpless little damsel is just part of the job.”
“Helpless?!” Maine exclaimed, but he carried on as if he didn’t hear her.
“I’m just glad that we were able to stop those thugs before they could harm anyone, or use that kerosene they were luggin’ around.” He had an Appalachian twang to his voice that was as smooth as syrup. “I’m not from these parts, of course, but my momma was, and she spoke very fondly of it, and I’d hate to see it burnt up by a bunch of ignorant jackasses.”
“Hear hear!” Kelphin said, breaking into applause.
He bowed fluidly, basking in the adulation. “The pleasure was all mine.”
The other Marshel gave a loud snore, his stetson hat pulled down low over his eyes. He was leaned back in a chair, his big, stained boots up on the table, despite Miss Imi’s frowning stare.
The first Marshal coughed, a little embarrassed. “Both of our pleasures…”
Matthew stepped forward. “Yes, thank you again, Marshall…”
“James Ray Dakota, Deputy US Marshal Special Division” he smiled at him warmly and winking. “Dakota’s just fine though, or Dak if you want to get friendly.”
“Uh, thank you, Dakota, sir,” her brother said, looking a bit flustered.
Seward stood behind Matthew, arms folded behind his back. “‘Special Division’?” he asked, raising a scaly eyebrow. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of that branch?”
“Yeah, we don’t get advertised much,” Dakota laughed. “Let’s just say that the Marshal’s service decided that agents of an extra special nature would be better served focusin’ their attentions on crimes of a similar type.”
The Naga’s eyes narrowed as he looked between the two men. “I see. Elders chasing Elder crimes…”
“That’s basically it.”
Maine looked with renewed interest at the two men. Were they really Elders? And what type? They didn’t seem particularly special from what she had seen. Then she remembered the sleeping Marshal’s incredible strength, and her questions only increased.
Her brother than cleared his throat, stepping forwards. “Ah, did you happen to see… That is, was Henna there? Is all right?” he asked, stammering. Kelphin sucked in his breath sharply and Seward passed a hand over his eyes.
“That would be Miss Alleaf, right?” Dakota asked. “Madlyn Maierson’s former apprentice?”
“The traitor,” Maine corrected. Her brother turned on her quickly.
“You don’t know that for certain.”
“I saw her handwriting on the note! We both did,” she reminded her brother. “She was working with the Firstborn. Told them exactly how to get into the Vault.”
Matthew continued to shake his head. “We don’t know that! She could’ve been forced to do it!”
“You just don’t want to believe it because she was your girlfriend!”
Her brother went red. “No! That’s not it!” he sputtered. “I mean- we weren’t- she wasn’t! Oh, what do you even know about it?! They could be holding her hostage for all we know.” He looked around the room for support, but no one seemed to meet his eyes. “She might need to be rescued!”
“She might need to be arrested,” Maine remarked.
“That’s it!” her brother snapped. “Go back up to your room! You’re done!”
“You can’t order me around like that!”
“I can and I will!”
Her brother took a step towards her and Maine hopped off the table, fists raised. Ifri and Kelphin both ran for cover as Miss Imi scrambled forwards, trying to get between the two of them. As quick as she was though, Dakota was quicker, popping up between the two siblings and holding his hands out wide.
“Whoa! Whoa there!” he called, trying to keep the two apart. He caught hold of Matthew and held him back, his arms reaching hungrily for his sister. Maine jumped around behind Dakota, aiming punches at her brother’s face as the Marshal kept himself between them. “Ow! Ow!” he yelled, as a few of those blows inevitably hit him in the back.
“You’re going straight back to school!” Matthew shouted. “Even if we have to tie you up and mail you there!”
“I’d like to see you try!” she called back.
There was suddenly an ear-splitting whistle and everyone winced. The three of them separated, Dakota going to his knees in pain. He held his hands to his ears, his eyes screwed tightly shut.
The other Marshal had pushed up his hat and was now glaring at both Maiersons. “Ya’ll don’t pipe down, I’ll hog tie you both,” he warned them. His voice was deep and gravely, with just the barest hint of a growl.
Dakota climbed back to his feet and coughed. “Allow me to introduce my partner, Deputy US Marshal Fengmi.” He threw a quick look at Matthew and added, “He’s the senior officer out here, so I’d advise you to listen.”
Fengmi grunted, folding his slab-like arms in front of him. They were criss-crossed with old, white scars, looking like the work of multiple sets of claws and teeth. “Now I realize this might be difficult for the both of you,” he told them, “but I need you to act like adults, at least while I’m still in the room.” He glared between the two siblings. “Unlike my partner, I don’t particularly like Old Coney; it’s too loud and too crowded by half, so the sooner we can get done, the better. Now, can you handle that?”
Matthew was looking at the floor in embarrassment. “Yes sir.” He kicked at Maine swiftly.
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“Not sure why it’s my fault,” she mumbled. “I am acting my age after all…” She sucked in her breath as the large man growled at her, a shockingly animal sound.
When he was satisfied that she was going to be quiet, Fengmi nodded to Dakota. “Now, what my partner was about to tell you is that we do have some information about Miss Alleaf.”
Both of them looked up. “You do?”
“The Firstborn, they’re a problem all across the country, not just here in the city,” Dakota informed them. “Our boss, Special Agent Trubull, he’s got a lot of informants with the group, dropping us bits and pieces of what their plans are. That’s how we knew about their attack this mornin’.”
Kelphin’s head snapped up, looking stunned. “You knew about the attack beforehand? Why on earth didn’t you warn us?”
Dakota winced. “We tried to.” He gave Matthew a pitying expression. Maine’s brother, blinked, looking confused.
“We sent a letter and two telegraphs,” Fengmi explained bluntly. He shook his head at Matthew. “You need to check your mail more often, Maierson.”
Matthew stood silently, eyebrows raised. Seward gave a great sigh behind him. “I warned you about it,” he said. “The mail’s been piling up on your desk for weeks...”
He started to stammer. “The Auction… I haven’t- God, I haven’t had time to even think about anything but the Auction for so long! How was I supposed to know-”
Kelphin grabbed Matthew by the vest and started to shake him. Tears were actually pouring from his eyes. “Do you mean, we could’ve been warned all this time… Matthew… how could you…” Miss Imi hurried over and started to comfort the man, gently pulling him away from Matthew.
Her brother threw up his hands. “I’ve been getting more than fifty letters a day! RSVP’s, requests for invitations, interviews, people trying to bid on things beforehand… How was I supposed to know there was something actually important in all that?” He looked desperately around the room, but no one seemed to meet his eyes.
“Be that as it may,” Dakota said, trying to get back on track, “one of our informants also pointed the finger at Miss Alleaf as their inside man, so to speak.” He looked with some sympathy at her brother. “I’m afraid she was workin’ with them. Or at least, we’re pretty sure she was.”
Maine stuck her nose in the air. “Ha!” she said, turning to Matthew, “I told you so-”
He was already shaking his head stubbornly, however. “No. No, I won’t buy that, not until I get some proof.”
“What more do you want?” she demanded. “You saw the note she wrote them.”
“They could’ve forced her,” he insisted. Behind him, Seward rolled his eyes.
Kelphin meanwhile sniffed. “I never liked her,” he remarked to the room. “Bad stock. I said it a million times.” Miss Imi just sighed, looking nearly as upset as Matthew.
The old Elf turned to the two officers. “Well? Any idea of when we might get our property back?”
Both men looked at each other quickly. “I’m sorry?” Dakota asked.
“I mean, when are you going to arrest the Firstborn? You do have a plan right?”
Fengmi remained silent. “That’s… ah, that’s gonna be difficult…” Dakota said slowly.
Seward’s eyes narrowed. “Why? You can track them, can’t you? You were able to follow Maine all the way out to the dunes, after all.”
Maine’s head perked up. “Hey, that’s right! How did you find us?”
Dakota tapped the side of his nose slyly. “Oh, I could track a snowflake through a blizzard,” he explained to her. “You were hardly a challenge, darlin’.”
Miss Imi snorted and Matthew had to hide his laughter. Maine looked around the room suspiciously. “What’s so funny?” she asked.
Miss Imi walked over to her and sniffed the air delicately. “When’s the last time you bathed, child?”
Maine shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably the night before I left school, a couple days ago, why?”
“We can tell,” the old Hob told her.
“Anyway,” Dakota said, “so trackin’ them ain’t the problem. We can follow them wherever they go.”
“So what is the problem?” Matthew asked.
“The problem is where they’re going,” Fengmi grunted. “Last we heard from our informants, the plan was to take everything to a hideout in Gravesend.” Kelphin blanched and tugged at his cravat nervously. Even Seward went a bit pale. “I see you know its reputation,” the large Marshal noted sardonically.
Dakota pushed his cap back up on his head. “Plus, we don’t know exactly where the new hideout is. It’s gonna be a bit of a search, I’m afraid.” He looked more than a little daunted by the prospect.
“We’ll start first thing in the morning,” Fengmi promised them.
“The morning?” Kelphin asked, sounding disappointed.
“Well, we’re not going to be nosing around Gravesend in the dark,” the big man said bluntly. “We’ll leave as soon as there’s daylight. Hopefully we can find them without too much trouble.”
Kelphin stamped his feet. “Well, you’ll have our support,” he said fiercely. “I’ll speak to Albert, we’ll have a full platoon, no- an army of our best workers accompany you! Oh, I’m sure Albert will want to come as well. Believe me, you couldn’t wish for better protection!”
Seward frowned and cleared his throat, but it was Matthew that spoke up first.
“No.”
Kelphin blinked, caught off guard. “I’m sorry, what?”
“No,” her brother said again. “I won’t have an army of Maierson workers marching into Gravesend.”
“Matthew? But it’s the only way-”
“I don’t care,” her brother said. He looked queasy, almost sick to his stomach, as he spoke the words, but there was a note of authority in his voice that Maine was unaccustomed to hearing. “Marching our people into Gravesend is just asking for another fight. I’m not going to repeat what happened at the Auction. That was a mistake.”
Miss Imi smiled slightly, looking at her brother. Seward’s face was unreadable, as always. But Kelphin looked stunned.
“Matthew!” he pleaded. “They’re thieves! Don’t tell me you feel bad for them?” When Matthew didn’t immediately answer, he began to grow more heated. “Let me remind you that they started this! Breaking into our house, holding us all at gunpoint! They probably arranged that little demonstration outside as well!”
“It doesn’t matter who started what,” her brother said stubbornly. “They’re people, Elders, just like us. I won’t have Elders fighting Elders again. I just won’t.”
Kelphin floundered, looking at Seward and the Marshals for support. Seward remained silent, while Dakota rubbed at the back of his neck and Fengmi just shrugged.
“I’d rather not have a bunch of amateurs with us,” Fengmi said, “if it’s all the same. Dakota and I can stay out of sight, track them down our way, with no one the wiser. We march into Gravesend with an army, the Firstborn will know before we even get close.”
“But when you do catch them,” Kelphin asked eagerly, “what then? Will you call up the rest of your, oh what’s the word, posse?”
The two Marshals looked at each other and blinked. “Sorry?”
“Your agents? The rest of your division?” He looked at them. “Surely there’s more than just the two of you?”
Dakota started to whistle, looking idly at the ceiling. Fengmi tugged his hat lower, covering his eyes.
Kelphin stared for a long moment. “You’re kidding me!”
“We can handle anything they can throw at us,” Fengmi growled a bit touchily, but the old Elf refused to listen.
“Matthew! You must send the workers! You can’t expect them to do it all themselves! They’ll be killed for sure!”
Matthew leaned back, shaking his head. “I can’t.”
“Matthew!”
“Maybe there’s another way,” her brother mumbled, pursing his lips. “Maybe we can talk to someone, find a neutral third party. Maybe they can intercede.” Kelphin stared at him, looking confused.
“Hey, don’t trouble yourself on our account,” Dakota said. “We’ve faced worse odds before and come out alright. You’ll see.” He looked around the room, smiling, but no one seemed to share his enthusiasm.
Maine started to circle Dakota and Fengmi, her curiosity getting the better of her. “So what makes you both so special?” she asked. “Are you stronger than a normal person? What about ten people, a hundred? Run faster than a train? Can you shoot a fly out between its wings?”
Dakota wrestled his cane back from her. “I’m not really the ‘muscle’,” he explained. “But I can beat a horse in a footrace though.”
“As long as it’s not a long race,” Fengmi muttered. He glared at Maine as she poked at his arms, finally baring his teeth at her to get her to back away.
Maine stared at the two of them, finally realizing what was missing from their outfits. “Hey! Where are your guns? Aren’t Marshal’s supposed to be armed?” she pointed out. Eyebrows raised around the room as everyone looked at them.
Dakota spread his hands helplessly. “Bureau policy, at least when it comes to us, I’m afraid.”
“Who says we need them?” Fengmi grunted. “Real policing is about more than just gunfights and being quicker on the draw. Being smarter than the other guy goes a long way.”
“I don’t know if I would call walking into Gravesend alone and unarmed smart,” Seward noted dryly.
“Look,” Fengmi said, his face growing testier, “none of us would be in this situation if you all had answered your damn mail in the first place. We could’ve gotten the weapon, stopped the Firstborn, and you could’ve gone ahead with your Auction right on schedule.”
Matthew and Seward both looked sharply at him. Kelphin blinked. “The weapon? What are you talking about?”
Fengmi took his boots off the table and sat up with a thud. Leaning forwards, he rested his elbows on the surface and started to idly massage his hands, cracking each enormous knuckle as he gathered his thoughts. “How much do you know about your Grandmother’s relationship with Strabos?” he asked finally.