They took a break. Jeremy checked in with Stebbins, who'd become something of an agent for him ever since Lakewood. Stebbins was currently keeping an eye on Jonathan Hudson, but Jeremy figured the kid was probably fine for now. Brian had promised he was safe, and the man seemed to hold to his word for better or worse.

  Jeremy retasked Stebbins—build up a force of trustworthy, reliable allies. They'd need manpower if they were going to go after Hendricks personally. Through Felix, through assistance from Will Carbonell, and with his own growing stable of allies in the awakened, Jeremy was confident he could track the man down. The real question was whether they could actually take him into custody once they did.

  Odds were, Jeremy was heading back to the Pacific Northwest that night, if he was reading the signs right. He dashed off a message to Alden, too—if the kid wanted to go home and help, Jeremy was happy to get anyone who he could absolutely trust not to be a follower of Hendricks. Alden might have frozen up once, but Jeremy could see the kid had changed, and he'd heard a few stories from Hailey about him. There was something about Bensen, and Jeremy wanted the good luck charm around if he could get it.

  If nothing else, Jeremy could at least get him home, and pay Meg Bensen back while he did. Jeremy didn't know why he felt competitive with a damn high schooler, but he was definitely going to figure out a way to one-up her.

  "We're back on," said Maddie, sticking her head around the corner. Jeremy had just finished sending a message to Hailey—via her lawyer, but still, anything to encourage her. Alden had let him know she wasn't doing well, and she could use the support.

  Jeremy trudged back into the huge room once more along with the rest of the crowd. Courtney wasn't joining them, nor was the National Security Advisor. They'd split off into another meeting, more focused on the state and federal response to the general threats. This next session was purely legal and geopolitical, and sure enough, the British Ambassador had arrived to fill Kimberley's seat.

  "Well, the good news for you lot first," said the British ambassador, a chipper older man with a cane he seemed not to need in the slightest. "Cornelius Malton's estate was examined and found to hold several pieces of magical paraphernalia, corroborating some parts of Miss Winscombe and Miss Cinza's story. We've also been in contact with Sir Laushire, who provided us with evidence that Malton directed a massive cyberattack against his company. Criminal proceedings are an inevitability."

  "And for the charge of murder?" asked Cinza.

  "Well, about that…" The ambassador touched his collar nervously. "With all respect, marm—"

  "Your titles and formalities are entirely unwanted," said Cinza. "A name is enough to address me."

  "Well, Cinza, as I'm sure has been explained, your word is not enough. We're investigating, but Cornelius' lawyers are delaying discovery in every form, and our government simply isn't certain the case holds enough weight." Cinza looked just as frustrated as before, but did not respond. The ambassador nodded. "Rest assured, we believe you, but we simply don't have enough corroborating evidence to convict the man at this time."

  "What about the mercenary company?" asked President Stafford, to Jeremy' shock. He didn't think the President was even aware of Rook's offer. Nor apparently was Cinza, equally surprised by the President jumping to her aid. "I'm told one of Malton's direct lieutenants has evidence of his ordered killings, among other equally damning statements, and is willing to testify."

  "We… err, haven't been able to locate her," said the ambassador. "Her offer stands, and if she comes in to sit in Her Majesty's Court, then I can assure you we are willing to pursue the fullest extent of justice against Cornelius Malton."

  Cinza nodded. "We will find her."

  The ambassador smiled. "If it is any consolation, Cinza, I'm told that the Culver-Malton Group has voted to strip Cornelius of all his privileges and powers. He can't be forced to sell his shares, so he holds considerable personal wealth, but he no longer has any influence in his own company. Wendell Culver has broken his retirement to take over the company once more."

  "A start to the punishment he deserves," said Cinza, though she did look considerably more satisfied than before.

  "Of course, this also leaves the matter of Miss Winscombe," said the ambassador. He turned to the other newcomer in the room, the Attorney General. "My government requires assurances that Miss Winscombe will not be let off lightly for her own crimes."

  "For pursuit of justice?" said Cinza sharply.

  "For entering the country illegally, assaulting quite a few innocent servants, reckless endangerment of a significant portion of London, and significant destruction of property in multiple locations." The ambassador shook his head. "The Crown remains one of the very few states not pressing the United States for access to magic, but our show of support must be met with mutual cooperation. I sympathize with Miss Winscombe's motivations, but this cannot put her above the law."

  Feel like I've heard this damn conversation before… Jeremy leaned back in his chair, wishing he could close his eyes and just ignore the whole meeting, but the group was too important, the people involved too powerful and influential. Any missteps were amplified a thousandfold, any words spoken carried ten times the weight.

  "Hailey Winscombe's trial is still in the early stages," said the Attorney General, whose name Jeremy couldn't be bothered to remember. "Our focus today is on the trial of Rika Nishimura."

  "Twenty nine murders by magical ability, two with conventional weapons," said the Ambassador with a slight nod.

  "Voluntary manslaughter," amended the Attorney General. "There is no evidence that Nishimura had any premeditation or malice aforethought."

  But she does have a damn alibi, apparently… Is this the place to bring it up? Jeremy wished he could talk to the girl and decide for himself if she was innocent. He was a second-hand source, so it wouldn't hold much legal weight—hearsay, really. Jeremy trusted his own judgment above all others, and he just didn't know Alden well enough. He believed the kid meant well, but at the same time, Alden had thrown himself under arrest for the sake of this girl. Biased as hell.

  Of course, Jeremy had tried to visit her. His new authority should have granted him access. A series of bureaucratic blockades kept him away, and only by the last few did he get their source—Aderholt, using the last vestiges of authority he held over Jeremy purely out of spite. Asshole.

  "The evidence against her is still circumstantial," said Wesley Gatiss, opening his packet to the pages on Rika's case. "We've never come up with motive or intent beyond self-defense, also just a guess. The primary reason she's even a suspect is based entirely in coincidence and conjecture."

  "She decided Rika was guilty," said the deputy Chief of Staff, nodding at Cinza.

  Cinza shook her head. "I agreed there was enough to bring Rika in and ask her some questions. I have consistently stated my own belief of her innocence."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "There's new evidence," the deputy shot back. "This isn't the first time she's been accused of murder."

  The fuck? "What are you talking about?" Jeremy cut in, when Cinza didn't reply.

  The Attorney General glanced over at an aide near the wall. "Can you hook up the recording?"

  A faint hiss and crackle through the speakers set into the table with the phones. Jeremy had no idea what to expect. In the back of his mind, he was racing through the implications—new evidence that hurts Rika. Related to the Seattle deaths? Or the Rallsburg massacre? Probably the latter, everything looked pretty thorough in Seattle and we never got everything we wanted in Rallsburg. If they're revealing it now though, they're way ahead of discovery in the case, aren't they? Did this go by Nishimura's lawyers?

  The aide finally got the system hooked up, and the speakers sprung into life. Everyone leaned forward slightly. The air seemed sharper in the room, the taste of adrenaline thick in Jeremy's mouth.

  "I heard they burned alive. You're trying to hide a nutjob among us."

  "Is that true, Mayor? The victims were set on fire?"

  Voices echoed through the room, some long dead, some simply missing—and several of which Jeremy knew very well. Jesus… that's Jackie.

  "If you want to get into it, Bob, yeah, they burned. Now who told your gossipy ass about it?"

  "Friend of a friend."

  "That's crap, Robert. If you've got a source that knew about the murders before this meeting, you've got a responsibility to the town to own up."

  The recording paused. President Stafford had raised a hand, looking to his cabinet. "This is from Rallsburg?" he asked quietly. The room was silent as the grave.

  The Attorney General nodded. "The voices you're hearing are Sheriff Jackie Nossinger, the town journalist Gordon Merrill who made this recording, Robert Harrison—" Cinza spat on her sleeve at the name. "—and the other notable members of the town. A transcript with names attached is on page 47 of your packet."

  "And when was this recording made?"

  "Saturday, May 12th. Three days before the town was destroyed." He nodded to the aide, and the recording resumed.

  How the fuck did we never find this? Jeremy was racking his brain, trying to figure out how neither he nor Lani, nor anyone in the FBI, had ever come across this recording.

  "So what if I have? We all oughta known sooner than this. From how he tells it, they died nearly a week ago. That's right, folks. Our sheriff and our mayor knew we had a psycho in town, and didn't say a goddamn word for a week! What if he'd come after you in your diner, Dan? Or your shop, Hector? What if he went for your sister, Preston?"

  "He'd get what's coming to him." Both the recording in the past and the room in the present gave an appreciative chuckle. Out of the corner of Jeremy's eye, Cinza had mouthed the words right along with Preston Bowman.

  "There's something going on in this town, and we all know it. It's been happening for months and we've all been plopped on our hands waiting for the next tree to keel over."

  "Please," said Cinza, "this part is not relevant. What you wish for us to hear is the end of the recording."

  "Hiding something?" asked Aderholt.

  "A false accusation," said Cinza, "and the identities of those who are deceased and deserve their dignified rest."

  The Attorney General agreed, to their surprise. The recording skipped ahead a few minutes.

  "Enough of this," said the long-dead voice of Rowan Rhistler, perfectly timed to agree with Cinza in the present. "Robert, Julian, you two will hold your tongues if you mean to accuse further, unless you can present solid, factual evidence about the group and not wild speculation."

  "Actually," and even in the past in this old recording, Jeremy could hear the trustworthy, everyman voice of Dan Rhodes. It was the sort of voice you wanted to believe. "They are witches."

  "Dan? You have something to add?"

  "I've seen it. People making fire from thin air, people with impossible things. Casting spells. You know, witchery."

  "Explain," said Jackie, and Jeremy knew that voice. Jackie believed him, and so Jeremy believed him too.

  "That girl who comes around every once and a while. She shoots lightning from her fingertips. And a few guys that came in, they threw fire at her. Just thought everyone should know."

  "That sounds ridiculous," and a collective gasp went up at the recognizable voice of Hailey Winscombe. They didn't pause the recording again, but Jeremy saw more than a few eager questions quickly bit back. "People throwing fire and lightning? Are you on something?"

  "The girl, what's her name?"

  "She goes by Rika, but I dunno if—"

  "Hector, cut it."

  The recording fizzed and abruptly stopped. Jeremy glanced around, confused. Was that it? Rachel did something at the end there…

  "What happened?" asked President Stafford, glancing at the Attorney General.

  "The connection to Gordon Merrill's phone abruptly ends at that moment. We can't determine why."

  "The phone was disabled," said Cinza. "We were protecting our privacy."

  "So you verify this recording is accurate?" asked the Attorney General.

  Cinza nodded. "Without the proper context, but yes, it sounds accurate to what I remember."

  "As I said." He turned to the President. "Rika has been accused of murder before. We have a police record from Rallsburg one day later, in which Mayor Rhistler names her as a possible suspect in the murders of Alexander Nelson, Jaysmith Miller, and Jennifer Wilson. Nishimura has not given any alibi for the time period a week before their death through to her arrival in Rallsburg on Friday, May 11th."

  "She was not accused of murder," said Cinza sharply, before the President could respond.

  "I'm sorry?"

  "Rika was wanted for questioning, yes. This is not the same as an accusation. This was a plot formed by Robert Harrison and Julian Black to throw suspicion on Rika, and by extension, her friend and Councilor Rachel DuValle. They were trying to destabilize the town." Cinza shook her head. "Julian's motivations, I cannot say, but Robert Harrison's were clear. He was working with Brian Hendricks and Jackson Smith. They were responsible for the deaths of everyone in Rallsburg."

  "As you've outlined before," said Wesley Gatiss.

  Cinza nodded. "This is prejudice. Nothing more."

  "Prejudice of what, exactly?" asked the Attorney General. "She's awakened, therefore she's guilty?"

  "Precisely."

  "That's a bit of a stretch," said the deputy Chief of Staff skeptically.

  Like you would know. Jeremy shot him a pointed look. "Less of a stretch than you think."

  "She's here now, she can defend herself," said the Attorney General. "Heaven knows she's affluent enough to afford strong representation."

  "And you can afford to tie her to the stake for her abilities," said Cinza coldly.

  "I think that's lunch, everyone," said the President, cutting off any countering remarks in their tracks. "We've been talking for hours and we've got a lot more to get through. We'll meet back here at… what?" He glanced over to his bodyman. "One thirty."

  The President stood, and everyone hurried to match him. He exited from the room with dignity, even as Cinza continued to glare at his side. Slowly, the rest of the room filtered out, awash with indistinct murmuring, until only Jeremy, Maddie, Cinza and Makoto remained.

  "I feel like we didn't do anything," said Makoto quietly.

  Maddie burst out laughing. "Shit, that's every day in this damn building." She patted Makoto on the back, who flinched a little. "You get used to it."

  "Fuck that," said Jeremy. "Gettin' used to it is my nightmare. I'm out of here tonight for sure."

  "Back home?"

  "Signed myself up for the most dangerous case of my life."

  "I hope you accomplish your goal," said Cinza. She turned to Jeremy. "I'd like to apologize."

  Didn't see that comin'... "What?"

  "I told you I could not get along with you, and that we would not become allies." She shook her head. "I'm pleased to say I was wrong. Even if we do not agree, you've proven more than once your integrity and dedication to duty."

  "Thanks," said Jeremy, not sure how insulted he should feel. Is this more political bullshit or is this genuine?

  "It's genuine," said Maddie, reading his mind while she smirked out of Cinza's sight. "She thinks you're good at your job. So now I'm losin' respect for her."

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Maddie."

  "Love you too, Jere-bear."

  "I trust you're in communication with Rachel, as your sister is?"

  Jeremy didn't bother trying to deny it. "Yeah."

  "You might pass on the information about the recording we just heard. She won't need the file itself. Her memory is perfect—"

  "Yeah, we know," said Maddie with a groan.

  Cinza smiled. "She will want to know that she's being entered into the evidence for this case, and therefore public record. Given how the recording ends, it will be obvious she is both awakened and in a position of authority."

  He nodded. "I'll let her know."

  "Come on, let's go eat," said Maddie.

  "You go," said Jeremy, as the other three rose to head to the cafeteria. "I gotta go meet someone." And fuck Aderholt, I'll break into the damn place if I have to. I gotta get both sides of this fuckin' story.

  "Who?"

  "Rika Nishimura."