Kleiner was practically jumping up and down as Malton finally rejoined them after a grueling demonstration of magic, dancing about like an excited puppy. "All right, Napowsky, your turn. Get in there."

  Napowsky finally strapped on the last couple sensors and made his way into the center, trading places with the boss. Malton had just finished going through a series of different spells, as called out by Viper from outside the ring of instruments. He had to explain a few of them in great detail before Malton could pull them off, and he didn't quite master everything on the first try, but it was still intimidating to say the least. Next, Napowsky was going to perform the same series, while Malton and Kleiner compared the data.

  "See, look at this! It's amazing," Kleiner gushed, while Malton and Viper leaned over the monitor. A readout of Napowsky's brain showed parts lighting up as he cast the first spell, the same fireball that Malton had summoned — though considerably weaker and dimmer. "Precisely the same areas of the brain."

  "That's not really surprising," said Viper.

  "No, but look! The exact same area. And now—" he looked over to Napowsky. "Next, please!"

  The man let go of the fireball and started levitating a clipboard they'd left nearby. As he did, the monitor shifted in color, and a different portion of the brain lit up.

  "Again, exactly the same!"

  "So?"

  "So it means," said Malton, nodding along in that irritating knowing tone, "that magic is consistent between individuals. It means we can target it."

  "Do what now?"

  "Enhance it," said Kleiner, rubbing his hands together. "Next, please!" he shouted at Napowsky. The clipboard clattered to the ground, and Napowsky started pushing it across the floor. Kleiner had a document open on another monitor and was furiously typing in notes while they spoke.

  "There are seven affinities, correct?" asked Malton.

  "Far as I know," said Viper uneasily. "Movement, Elemental, Nature, and Creation, then there's Self, Mental, and Knowledge. Mental's useless as fuck though. That trick I just taught you is the only spell I know in that whole branch." Which, gettin' rid of a headache ain't the worst thing in the world, but it's not that impressive compared to most of this shit.

  "And we've measured seven rough areas of the brain where these activities align," Malton continued. "And within them, even further specification based on what kind of spell is being used. For example, see Napowsky's data with levitating the object as opposed to pushing it. Both fall into the septant we'd label Movement, but still in different, overlapping regions."

  "The seven don't cover the whole brain though," said Kleiner. "Nor are they equal. I wonder if there are other affinities yet to be discovered?"

  "Fuck if I know," said Viper. "The Council seemed pretty damn certain though, and they had both the Knowledge affinity players in their pocket."

  "Regardless if there are more, we have them isolated now," said Malton. "Kleiner, how are you with neuroscience?"

  "I've dabbled," he said, looking up from his notes. "I wouldn't presume to call myself an expert."

  "Do you think a medical treatment could potentially enhance performance in these areas?"

  "Perhaps." Kleiner started pulling up information on one of the screens, though they were limited to what the local network had available. Viper wasn't about to let this place get hooked up to the wider internet. "Stimulants are an obvious first step. Mr. Gearhardt, you've said that you felt your abilities grow stronger linked to releases of adrenaline, correct?"

  "Yeah," said Viper. Fuckin' saved my life once, too.

  "So naturally, we can assume any similar effect to increase brain processing and cognitive function may have similar effects." Kleiner glanced over at Napowsky, still pushing the clipboard around. "Next, please!"

  "Start looking into those tonight," said Malton.

  "Absolutely. Nootropics could also be a good source," said Kleiner, trailing off into his own tangent. "Any over-the-counter cognitive enhancer might be too weak though…"

  Viper took Malton a few steps away, while they continued to watch Napowsky work through the list of spells. He was getting concerned about his friend. Malton looked exhausted, for one, but more importantly, his eyes were lit up with an unsettling sense of glee. Viper didn't like it one bit.

  "Look, we've been down here for two days now. You gotta get back up into the real world for a bit."

  "We have beds and living quarters down here," said Malton dismissively. "There's so much to explore we haven't even touched on yet."

  "You're dead on your feet, man." Viper pushed him gently, and he nearly toppled over.

  Malton put his hand on the desk, steadying himself. "There's more to do. Think about everything we could accomplish."

  "...Like what?"

  "We're talking about pure energy in its raw form." Malton frowned. "If you'd managed to learn any spells manipulating electricity, this would be so much simpler. We know how to store that in a usable form. But even so—" he added quickly, as Viper opened his mouth in an angry retort, "—even so, this is all excellent. We can generate real power, and by our measurement we've exceeded one hundred percent efficiency. This is breaking the known laws of physics, Stefen."

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  "Fuck physics," he growled. "If you die tryin', it's not worth a damn."

  Malton sighed. His eyes suddenly focused up again. It was rare Viper ever raised his voice around Malton. He saved it for the rare occasions when he knew his friend was about to do something incredibly stupid and reckless. "...You're right. Of course you're right."

  "Sometimes I'm the smart one. Don't you forget it."

  "How could I?" Malton said with a smile. "You saved my life."

  "You saved my fuckin' life. Those snakes were goin' for me."

  "Because you leapt in front of me and distracted them."

  Viper shook his head. "Remember it however you want, man."

  "Kleiner?" Malton called out. Kleiner looked up, glasses slightly askew. Though Viper and Napowsky had both taken a break and gone up for food more than once, the other two hadn't left the room since Sunday, when they'd first entered. "We're done for today. I'm taking you out for dinner, and then we're resuming tomorrow morning."

  "But sir—"

  "Was I unclear?"

  Kleiner gulped. "No, sir."

  Malton turned back to Viper. "Join us? I think I owe you dinner from the last mission."

  "Damn right you do."

----------------------------------------

  All through dinner, as Malton's personal chef brought out dish after dish, Viper kept a close eye on the two newly awakened. Napowsky seemed to be taking it seriously, at least. He didn't do anything frivolously, and his magical aura — for lack of a better term — was reluctant and withdrawn. Viper didn't need to worry about him.

  The aura was something he'd begun to sense back in Rallsburg. As he spent more time around other awakened, particularly in the Council meetings, Viper noticed that every awakened generated a sort of aura. It was unconscious, and he couldn't sense his own, though he had no doubt it must be there. He likened it to the smell of a person — he was so used to his own scent, he could never notice it until it changed significantly. For his aura, that meant when he started casting particularly difficult spells. In the same vein, he started to become very aware of other auras, particularly the most powerful ones.

  It was a technique that could be taught, too, as he'd done for Piller. His second had gone down with the other two, as the only other awakened in the group. He'd gotten ahold of one of the so-called "second-gen" copies which were starting to filter out into the community. They only worked once, but Piller hadn't seemed any weaker than usual.

  Now, he was the only one still missing from the strike force. Syke and Mauer both came back with shattered skulls—one by a .357 round, and the other through sheer blunt-force trauma. Viper assumed one of the golems had gotten him. Piller was nowhere to be found though, not even a body. Viper had no idea where he might be. He had to assume, after four days now, that the man had been captured. By whom, he hadn't a clue.

  Back in the present, Kleiner and Malton were excitedly discussing the potential applications of magic on the energy market. Viper could follow along with the basics, but they were delving right into the math before too long, as Malton started getting into the business end of things — how he could drop operating costs dramatically and undercut competitors while still serving up the cheapest electricity Britain had ever seen.

  It sounded all well and good, but when Viper felt Malton's aura, his bones chilled. Malton had an impossibly strong aura for someone so young in magic. It wasn't anywhere near the level of the true giants, like Hector Peraza or Kendra Laushire, but it sure as hell felt stronger than the average Joe. Viper didn't have a whole lot to compare to anymore, of course, but this felt way beyond the likes of the Council, or any of the other morons in the group.

  His phone buzzed. Viper welcomed the opportunity to get away from the table for a bit. Something about Malton was seriously unsettling him. They'd been friends for so long, Viper always felt like he knew exactly what the man was thinking — but today, though the words sounded the same, something had changed in the intent. Like Rook said, it wasn't about the greater good anymore.

  It was about power, and Malton had found a real source, of pure unbridled power unlike anything money could ever offer him.

  Speak of the fuckin' devil… Viper hurried out to the hallway and lifted the phone to his ear. "Kaikki kunnossa."

  "Kiittämättömyys on maailman palkka."

  "...The fuck does that mean?"

  "Something I remind myself daily to keep myself strong." Rook's voice crackled. She had a bad connection, no doubt, wherever the hell she was.

  "Where the hell are you?"

  "Working."

  "No shit." Viper glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one had followed him into the hall. As expected, the rest of the group were still inside. Napowsky had gotten drunk and was regaling Kleiner and Malton with a story, to uproarious laughter. Viper hadn't taken a single sip, wanting to keep his mind sharp. "How long?"

  "As long as necessary."

  "I already picked up a target, with a bonus." Viper paused, lowering his voice again even with the reassurance that no one could hear him. "You don't need to stay out there."

  "I have not yet succeeded."

  "Look—" Viper took another few steps away. "Remember what we talked about, right before we left?"

  "Myöntävä." She paused. Viper could hear her breath on the microphone. Wherever she was, Rook was trying to be as quiet as him, with her secure sat-phone pressed right up to her mouth. "Is it too far?"

  "I don't know yet." Despite triple-checking their network, and paying for the whole thing using his own funds, Viper didn't trust their phones. "Puolitiessä."

  Rook didn't respond for a full minute. The breathing went away, too. Viper wasn't sure if she were gone or not, and didn't dare make a sound for fear of alerting anyone nearby to her presence. He didn't hang up, either. They'd done this before, more than once, and he'd keep the line on and muted as long as it took. She'd give him an all-clear, or she'd send an alert. They had a protocol.

  To his relief, she spoke again. "I will hurry."

  "Are you good?" he asked.

  "Yes." She paused again. "I will contact you again soon."

  "Okay."

  She hung up without another word. Viper wasn't exactly reassured, but at least he knew she was still operating. He pocketed his phone again and headed back into the room, but stopped before they saw him. He wanted to listen in for a while, see if Malton was drunk enough to give anything away without Viper sitting across the table.

  "...so we need to control the process," said Kleiner, suppressing a hiccup.

  "Exactly!" said Malton, and Viper heard the sound of a chair scraping. Malton had probably stood up in his enthusiasm. "If we get a real level of control, we'll be able to direct magic itself. Push it wherever we need to."

  "It's all about control," added Kleiner, now audibly slurring his words. "Control it and you control the real source of power. Of all the energy."

  "Yes. We control the energy and we can put it to whatever use we deem fit."

  Viper shook his head and rejoined the group, to a raucous greeting from Napowsky and Kleiner. They were drunk and spouting off the same theories they'd been shouting while sober. Nothing new to be learned. He'd enjoy the night, and when the two big heads in the room had finally gotten some sleep, they might actually start getting back to the point, and doing some actual good in the world. Viper had visited far too many shithole places in the world, and Malton was aiming to turn them all into paradises, one by one. That was a man he could get behind.