I fired up the Hellcat and started the long drive back to the office. I passed several fire trucks headed the other direction. My thoughts drifted to things that Adler had said. About my father. He had somehow used the scissors that he always carried to sever Adler’s connection to magical energy. And then let him go. My mind churned on that and I had a thousand questions. It was clear to me that Adler considered losing his powers a fate worse than death. He had devoted his life to undoing the damage. How did my father see it? Did he consider it a mercy, with death being the alternative? It was a mistake in this case, as Adler had then killed him, my mother, my wife, and my daughter by way of revenge. Then he continued his experiments, possibly going to new heights of depravity. Were the scissors a way for dad to justify his vigilantism? How often had he used them? I thought of plunging the dagger into Adler, killing him. It was what he deserved, but I felt hollow. I had so many questions and had cut off one of my only sources of information. I thought about that. If Adler was still around, there had to be others. Others that knew him.

Despite the Director’s warning, I did make a stop. I pulled the Charger through the wrought iron gates of the Sandhill Memorial Cemetery. It was a place I came often, but maybe not as often as I should. I parked in the empty lot and walked out to the plots where my wife and daughter were buried. Only I knew that their coffins were empty when they were lowered into the ground. Adler’s magic had not even left enough to bury. But I figured the sentimentality was the same. I knelt and placed my hand on Sarah’s headstone just as the last rays of light disappeared below the horizon.

“I did it, Sarah. I made things right. At least I tried. I killed the man that needed killing.”

The smooth curved stone was silent. It only told me that Sarah Renshaw has been a devoted wife and mother. A tear fell from my eye.

“It didn’t make me feel any better though, but you would have told me it wouldn't. If you were still here.”

A chill wind blew through the oaks, rattling what leaves were left. With the sun down the temperature was really dropping.

“Anyway, I thought you’d want to know.” I kissed Sarah and Emma’s marker in turn and stood. I was turned to leave when the Weird Feeling ran through my hands and feet. I glanced around but didn’t see anything. I was alone in the small memorial park. Something on the headstone caught my eye. There was an additional line of text now. I wiped my eyes, clearing the tears that had built, and looked again. Now under “Devoted Wife and Mother”, was a new word. The bottom of the marker now read, “Avenged” and as I watched, a small heart appeared next to the word, like it had always been there. I smiled. Now, that was about as much closure as a man in my position was ever likely to get.

I hurried back to my car and raced to the agency office. Come what may, I was ready to face it, knowing I had my wife's approval. Her’s was the only opinion on the matter that held water for me. The rest of the drive flew by. Soon, I pulled into the parking garage where I was met by two serious looking guys in suits.

“Director Barnam wants to see you immediately,” the larger of the two said. He eyed my empty holsters. “Where are your sidearms?”

The smaller of the two began to pat me down. He quickly found my bowie knife and took it from me.

“An evil sorcerer bent the barrels and then they were destroyed in a magical fire. Hey, is this really necessary?” I pulled away from the frisking hands.

If either of the men were impressed or doubtful of my story, they didn’t show it.

“There have been some security irregularities, recently. Director Barnum is operating on an abundance of caution. Come with us.”

The two suits walked me to the elevator. As the doors closed, I got a look at myself in the shiny metal. I had a bit of blood and dirt on me, but otherwise, I looked no worse for the wear. My hat looked perfect. I wish I could say the same for Teddy.

“How is Agent Ruthersford and Tina Goodwin? They were injured during the incident.”

The larger man looked at me via our reflections. “I don’t know the status of Agent Ruthersford.” His tone suggested that this was all he had to say on the matter.

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The elevator opened out onto the Executive suite. The suited men escorted me to the Director’s office, the same place I had been sworn in just a few days ago. Dorothy Barnum sat behind her desk like a caged animal. Her suit jacket had been discarded and the sleeves of her white dress shirt were rolled up to the elbow. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back from her face with a clip and to my great surprise, she was smoking a cigarette. As we entered the office, she hastily stubbed out the cancer stick and waved her hand in the air, dismissing the smoke. She didn’t stand.

“Renshaw, have a seat. Jackson, grab a pitcher of water and some glasses and you can head home. Johnson, stand post outside.”

My escorts snapped to attention and hustled out of the room. Johnson left my knife on Barnum’s desk. Out of my reach.

I sat and waited for the yelling to start. Instead, she offered me a tired smile. “You’ve had quite a week, Cash. You know, there was time I would have portaled through as soon as I knew you were in trouble. Now they’ve got me chained to this fucking desk.” Now she stood and walked to the window, looking out at the dark night. “Well, let’s have it. Start with the Reliquary. I think I am caught up through there.”

“Certainly, ma’am. If I may ask, how is Agent Ruthersford?”

Barnum looked over her shoulder at me with a dismissive wave. “Oh, he’ll be fine. I’ve read his file. This is hardly the first time the med boys dragged him back here in pieces. Normal man would have been dead ten times over. Something about his Archetypal powers.”

“Stiff upper lip,” I provided.

“What’s that?” She looked confused.

“Teddy. He calls it his ‘stiff upper lip’.” I specified.

“Ah,” she nodded. “That’s cute.”

“And Tina?”

“She’s fine Cash. Mild concussion, separated shoulder, twisted ankle. She won’t even miss a day of work.”

“Oh good.” Relief flooded through me. The numbness that had been protecting my sanity began to recede. I let go of something I didn’t know I had been holding on to. And I had been holding on tight.

“She’s also suffering from an extreme case of magical fatigue, which, well you have some explaining to do.” Director Barnum raised an eyebrow.

Jackson returned with a glass pitcher of water and several glasses. He set the tray down in front of me and left the room without a word. I grabbed a glass and tried to pour water into it. My hand was shaking so badly, I had to set it on the table and use both hands to steady the pitcher. I eventually filled the glass and drained it in one long, gulping draught. And then I told the story. I started with Billy in the alley.

Barnum returned to her desk while she listened. She didn’t interrupt, but she was taking notes. It was hard to gauge her reaction, but she only seemed genuinely mad when I talked about Chief Northcutt. When I was finished, she made me go over some points again. The tattoos. The Tree. The Dagger. What happened to Tina. And she made me describe Northcutt’s death in enough detail that she must have been taking some kind of sick pleasure in it. She lit another cigarette.

“Ma’am, if I may ask? What was the deal with Director Northcutt? What can you tell me?”

Barnum took a long drag nodding her head before stubbing out the half-smoked cigarette. “He’s a piece of shit. Was a piece of shit. He got drummed out of New York, probably over that Dagger. The file is sealed, even for me. My directive and part of the reason I was assigned here was to get rid of him. I knew he was taking things from evidence. I was taking my time to make sure he ended up in prison instead of the unemployment line.”

I must have looked shocked because she laughed. “You’ve done such a good job, I forget this is your first week. You probably think there is discipline coming at the end of this.”

“The thought had crossed my mind, ma’am.” I took off my hat, just realizing I had been wearing it the whole time, sitting there. The Stetson looked like it had just come out of the box, and I caught my reflection in the window. No hat head. Truly magic.

“Cash. This is the job. This is what we do. Our agents are expected to take certain liberties with their investigations. As a result, situations like Chief Northcutt are not exactly rare. I would have liked a little more notice before you storm a warehouse with a cripple, but I certainly understand your reasoning.”

Barnum stood up and walked from behind her desk. “You did a great job Cash. You closed the case. Several cases.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “There won’t be any firings or discipline. Just a shitload of paperwork.” She placed my Bowie knife in my hand and leaned back up against her desk. Wrinkles I hadn’t noticed before creased her eyes and mouth.

“We got a prelim report from FD. The building was a total loss. The fire didn’t respond to any water and they had to secure the area while it burned itself out. There was nothing left but melted metal and scorched foundation. The lab boys are going to be pissed they didn’t get to look at that tree.”

“It was evil.” I spit.

She frowned. “It was being used for evil. You’ll find that things are never so black and white.” She sighed and picked up a form from her desk, handing it to me. “You are being placed on Administrative Leave for one week. Standard procedure for shootings, or in your case, stabbings such as this. It’s not a punishment. Just time for you to get your shit together and decide if you still want to work here.”

“I do ma’am. I feel like I was made for this place.” I spoke without thinking.

She looked at me appraisingly. “You might be right. I missed it before, but I see it now. Go home. Get some sleep. Take a walk.” She sniffed and wrinkled her nose. “Take a shower. Drink some beer. Someone will call you for a reinstatement interview. But until then.” She looked at me seriously. “Try and live in the real world for a while. It’s the only way any of this,” she gestured around her, “makes sense.”

I stood and put my hat on, making my way to the door. I had just opened it when Director Barnum called my name again. She was sitting behind her desk now, and a bottle of bourbon had appeared.

“And Cash,” she smiled winningly. “Welcome to the Agency for Metanatural Investigations.”