I didn't even try to push past Agent Winston. Sue could probably pull it off, but not without revealing herself to everyone as a Shifter. Winston was an Ursa, one of the few the Agency trusted enough to let out of his cage. He was a little dim and worked at the Agency for room and board. After the last few days with Sue, I realized how unfair that was. I also realized how unlikely it was that anyone was dim enough that they never realized that they were being exploited.

I didn't need to get past him to hear Agnes' snotty response from the other room. "Like hell, little brother. She destroyed government property, broke into a secure installation, and tried to steal state secrets. She's not going anywhere!"

I used to be terrified of Agnes' anger. Something had changed. Maybe it was knowing I had Sue with me, maybe it was knowing that a little girl was depending on me, but I wasn't about to take her crap this time.

"Oh, really? So, you've arrested her then? If so, where's her lawyer?"

Scorn filled Agnes' voice, "She's a Shifter, dipshit. She’s not going to get one!"

"Oh, really? So, she's attacked somebody, and you've cornered her in the interrogation room? 'Cause if neither of those is true, and you've laid a hand on her, I'm going to press charges."

Agnes' muttered cursing was audible even to my human ears; by Sue's smirk I could tell she was really going to town about me. That meant she knew she didn't have a leg to stand on.

"Dammit, Winston, why the hell did you let him in here?"

Winston tensed, and in that instant, I knew he was smarter than he let on, at least smart enough to tell when he was about to get bitched at because Agnes was mad at me. "I didn't, Special Agent. I was just coming to bring this report on what was on her computer. He was about to come in, and I asked him not to."

I heard Agnes take the file from Winston and start paging through it. That pissed me off, that she thought she could ignore me. That's the only reason I can think that, for the first time in my life, I was trying to upset her.

"Yeah, sis. Don't blame Winston because you're so damn predictable. I figured you'd stash my cat in interrogation, and you always use room seven because it's big and gives you room to sashay around."

"How the hell did you even get into the building?"

"I've still got my clearance, Sis. Unlike some people, I follow the rules."

"Yeah, like you reported fucking a foreign agent."

For once in my life my wits were working when it counted. "Why do you think they let me in, dumbass? I'm here to talk to security about it, and she's applying for asylum." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sue lift an eyebrow, and I leaned over to her and whispered, "You have a problem with that?"

Her answer was just as quiet as mine. I'm sure Winston heard it, but my sister wouldn't. "Nope. Just trying to figure out if I like you being so forceful."

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I shot her a cocky grin, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

"So, what's it going to be? Is Kittul coming out here right now, or am I going to come in there and get her? Unless you've arrested her, we're going to a waiting room while we wait for a lawyer. If you did arrest her, she's a minor, and I'm waiting with her until her lawyer gets here."

"You're coming in here? Don't make me kick your scrawny ass, little brother."

A lifetime of being bullied by a sister who was bigger, tougher, and faster than me, who had magic to boot, boiled up out of my chest. "I don't think so sis. You know what will happen if you lay a hand on me?"

"What?"

"I'm going to report it. Just like I should have every time it happened when we were kids. You know what happens to mages who attack humans? They get put in a cage if they're lucky. I don't even have to lift a finger to make it happen; Melissa will bring a whole team along to lock you up."

Agnes couldn't do anything but splutter. For a moment, I was smiling, on top of the world. Then life decided to put me back in my place.

"Actually, assuming she used no magic, she would be unlikely to receive more than a fine or a short time in jail. Given her long term government service and previously clean record, she is likely to receive probation rather than jail time. On the other hand, if she killed you, magic or not, I would almost certainly be required to apprehend her. All that aside, at the moment we have more important things to deal with than your incessant sibling spats."

Melissa. It had to be Melissa. Things had been going so well. "I don't believe it. You're in the same room without mom and dad to referee, and neither of you is dead yet?"

"Agent Winston, please let him in."

"What about the other two?"

"Who is with you, Zedekiah?"

I was still whipsawing between dread at annoying both of my sisters at once and long suppressed fury at how Agnes had bullied me since we were little. My response was a little curt. "Sue and Allie."

From the other room I heard the voice I'd been hoping to hear for years, the one I'd last heard singing wordless tunes outside a convenience store. "You brought Allie here? Are you fucking insane?"

"Kittul? Is that you?"

"If it's not, you've barged into the wrong government agency."

"Zed, please bring your friends in here. Close the door behind you." A slight note of impatience had entered Melissa's voice; not something to be taken lightly. Winston led us all into the room, and there, in the middle of the room, sat a little black Neko. When she saw me, she smiled, and even with the delicate carnivore fangs of a Neko, it was a smile of pure joy, just from seeing me walk into the room.

"Zed! You really came for me!"

"That's right, little kitten. One way or another, I'm not leaving here without you."

When I said that, her smile got even wider, her eyes slid closed, and a purr sounded through the room. Agnes glared at me, disgust plain on her face. Melissa just looked at Kittul, then glanced at Sue and Allie, and finally settled her gaze on me.

"I need your expertise, Dr. Silver. Is the many worlds theory mathematically possible?"

"Sis, I based most of my career here on math that says it is. I even..." Sue nudged me in the ribs. "Yeah, it's possible. Why?"

"This Neko is possessed. This should not be possible given the wards on this building, but those were damaged during her break-in. She is not possessed by any form of spirit native to our world."

I blinked at that. Melissa’s statement implied that Sue wasn't the only dimensional traveler in the room. "What do you mean?"

"She means you're all going to die." At Agnes' deadpan pronouncement, everyone in the room focused on her. Allie and Sue tensed, and Kittul scrambled backward, her eyes wide, until she hit the wall. Agnes had her gun out and aimed straight at me. Her other hand held a glowing ball of energy. I glanced toward Melissa, but she had gone still, her eyes staring into space, her lips moving slightly as if arguing with herself.

"What the hell, sis?"

Three things happened in such rapid succession that I had no time to respond to any of them.

Sue whispered, "That's not your sister."

Kittul shouted, "Kent, you sick bastard!"

And Allie launched herself at the Agency's most dangerous killer.