“They know what our Levels are. People at our Level don’t normally have small and mundane worries. Tribal folks live with psi and magic as part of their everyday lives, and spirits are as real to them as we are. And if you think your superiors who throw vampires and werewolves at them haven’t used magic, too, you aren’t thinking straight. Do you think the Cabalist Company is a myth, too? They’ve been trying to pursue a shadow war against the Tribes for decades at the instruction of the government.

“You probably know them by their informal name, the Men in Black.”

Mr. Castle looked at me, then away, obviously thinking hard about such things. “I was in the Special Forces in Sinochan. I didn’t see any Men in Black... or vampires or werewolves.”

“The influence of the Ten Rings and the Yellow Claw kept the Men in Black out of Sinochan,” a solemn voice broke in. We both looked at the extremely fit, average-sized Tribesman, with the coppery skin and straight black hair of his people. He could have been anywhere from twenty-five to eighty, since he was a Ten. “As for the vampires and werewolves, if you want to see them, being assigned to Detroit is your best bet, as Chicago is the place they like to hit the most, along with the northern forests in general. The weretiger clans of the Orient didn’t much care for werewolves coming in there, and they’ve their own vampire clans, too.

“Basically, any time they tried to infiltrate, they ran into those who didn’t want them there, and unlike the natives who didn’t have the tech, the traditions on the mystic side of things in the Orient are quite advanced. Not many made it out alive.”

“Master Spears-in-Storms?” I asked politely, extending a hand. He took it readily enough, without fear, and offered one to Mr. Castle, who took it firmly as well.

“Just call me Spear. My office is right over there. Come on in and talk. This sounds much more interesting than some States guy trying to get land for beads again.”

I smirked, Mr. Castle grunted, and we followed him over into the office nearby, which gave him quick access to the main chamber. BIG CHIEF SECURITY BRAVE was written blatantly on his door in Human.

A very functional Spear was leaning against the wall, and the walls were all nicely done in handcarved wood, with feathers, teeth, and claws hanging from a couple fetishes, carved totems of spirits native to his homeland sitting here and there, and very comfortable wooden chairs with thick blankets for cushioning thrown over them.

“So, a Seven,” he looked at Mr. Castle, “and an Eleven walk into the Consulate.” He eyed me somewhat warily as we sat down. “I feel this is like some bad joke I’m not privy to. What is the punchline?”

“Well, let’s start with this. Mr. Castle is probably directly responsible for more enemy deaths in Sinochan than any other individual in that war.”

Spear’s eyebrows rose, giving Mr. Castle a second look. “An impressive claim,” he acknowledged.

“It’s because a Grigori from Hell chose him as its reaper of souls there, giving him a Pact he wasn’t aware of that helped him stay alive while he was sent repeatedly into hellholes to harvest warrior souls.”

“Who validated this information?” Spears asked, eyes narrowed.

“Dr. Stephen Strange.”

“The Vishanti traditionalist in Greenwich?” Not the Sorcerer Supreme?, I mused at his words, keeping my face straight. “Okay, that’s pretty good, and I can check it with a phone call, so it’s not guesswork. Why did you come here?”

“Mr. Castle is a Seven. He can take his Human/3 and become Forsaken, but he needs someone to Awaken him. Then he can be about Leveling up against the Supernatural, go down into Hell, and break this damn Pact by butchering the creature that inflicted it upon him.”

Spears considered that for a moment, eyes flickering between us, obviously deep in thought. “Mr. Castle, were you ever offered a promotion into the Twilight or Lunar Companies?” he asked.

“No.” Castle made the inferred leap easily. “I had something of a reputation in the Corps. Wasn’t liked by the brass too well, probably why I never broke captain, and kept getting sent out for field work.”

“Hmm...” Spears steepled his hands. “Where do you presume to get experience against the creatures of the mystic realm?”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“He’s not well-informed on that, but there’s plenty of vampires and werewolves here in New York to start,” I answered for him.

“You have no problem dealing with vampires and werewolves in the service of your own government?” Spears went on.

Mr. Castle stiffened. “The stories about them... how many are true?”

“I don’t know what stories you hear here in the States, Mr. Castle. But my little sister was torn apart and half-eaten by a werewolf, and I’ve seen a whole village drained dry by a vampire raid, and have to be put to the torch. That munitions warehouse in Detroit that exploded twelve years ago was us killing forty-two vampires asleep in their coffins there.

“Your government covers up any vamps that do some casual blood-sucking on citizens of the States, and the Men in Black go after any that go off their reservation.” His dark eyes glittered at the word.

“While the Master Vampires hold their balls in a vice and slowly grow their power regardless.” I rolled my eyes. “Are there only two in New York?”

Spears glanced at me knowingly. “Technically, there’s one for each of the Burroughs, and across in New Jersey, too, but they keep strictly to their own territories, or there is blood in the shadows. They also have problems with the Hand and SHIELD, and the werewolves and vampires don’t get along well, either.

“None of them like us being here, either, and we’ve been known to take action if they move on Tribal people or interests.”

“So, basically you’re just waiting for a Blood Harvest or a Hunting Moon disaster to happen?” I conjectured.

He spread his hands helplessly. “The States have already allowed the foundation to take root here. There is a disaster waiting to happen in every single city, and dozens of rural communities, and they are still unwilling to do anything about it, because their lords still allow some disposable underlings to be sent off to raid and ambush against the Tribes.”

He didn’t sound unconfident of the outcome, or afraid, just regretful as to what was going on.

Castle looked extremely perturbed, however. “So... they are converting normal people to vampires and werewolves?” he asked in a low voice.

“Worse, they are being allowed to. Especially elite soldiers. It might not surprise you that a vampire soldier with Special Forces experience is quite a bit more dangerous than some handsome or lovely high-born ideal lover.” Spear shrugged. “They don’t have psions or enough Tens to really fight, so they grab for strength wherever they can.”

Mr. Castle looked pissed, so much so I could see a vein ticking on his temple. “Corrupting soldiers of the United States with this...” He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “Someone needs to punish them.”

“The only person with the nerve to trigger what might be World War III would be The Golden Hag, and she hasn’t made a move yet. If and when she does, everyone expects nukes to start flying, or something.” Spear didn’t seem worried about the possibility.

“Well, Mr. Castle?” I asked him.

“Well, what?” he asked, face grimmer than ever.

“What he’s probably waiting for is for you to acknowledge your responsibility to the human race, not just the United States; promise not to go rampaging across the Tribal lands; and go hunt Supernatural Evils that transcend our idea of nationhood. At which point he’ll happily help you become Forsaken, give you tons of information to help you hunt things as an independent native citizen, and might even give you some weapons and funding help.”

Spears’ face was a mask, but he didn’t say no.

“Can they protect my family?” Castle asked shortly.

Spears turned to look at me.

I explained the circumstances behind the Pact and the quasi-Curse pushing him to start killing. Spears’ dark eyes narrowed as he listened.

“Cruel. Very, very cruel...” he breathed out. “As expected of Hell. Let me make a call.”

He picked up his phone, punched in a number, and was answered almost immediately. The language he spoke wasn’t Human, no surprise there, and how many non-Tribals would know a Tribal language? She said to the mirror.

He hung up after only a few minutes. “Once you start fighting, the Pact’s threat to your family should fade markedly, but it will always be lurking. The greater threat will be the forces you start fighting moving against your family. You need to get them to a safer place.”

Mr. Castle nodded shortly. “What are you thinking?”

“We can move them to San Francisco. There is a fairly large Caucasian population there, and the Champions are in the area, along with numerous adjutants. A home can be prepared, and watchers already in place alerted. They will be safer there than anyplace else in the world, save perhaps Moscow itself.”

Wow, that was a big admission. Moscow was the magically safest place on Earth?

“I’ll take any terms if it means my family,” Mr. Castle stated with iron determination.

“Do not ever say that to me again,” Spears stated calmly, and even Mr. Castle flinched. “There are far too many forces that would use that statement against you. You know that I will not, but never say those words again.”

Frank Castle paused, and then nodded slowly. “I understand.”

“We shall see. Do you have a means to get them to San Francisco?” Spears asked, clearly expecting a negative answer.

“We can have them there inside an hour,” I told him, and he clearly paused in his thoughts. “Sans most of their belongings, of course.”

“How, if I may ask?”

“Mr. Hill owes me a few favors.” He shook his head. “You might know him as The Mountain.”

Even Castle twitched as I said that. The Mountain was very well known. THAT was the guy who had saved his family? Yep...

“The Mountain can get them to San Francisco that quickly?” I nodded once, and Spears put his hand to his head. “Oh, my superiors are not going to be happy about him being able to do that.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a rotten world.” I understood, the smuggling implications were pretty bad.

“Well, now they will know, and figure out what to do about it.” Probably coming down to a personal talk with a certain someone about who and what he would not move around, or he might be terminated with extreme prejudice.