"Fuck!" Agent Nunez said, punching the steering wheel. "Fuck! What the hell were they thinking?"

"We don't know the details yet, ma'am," the agent in the car next to her pointed out. "Maybe they git attacked again."

"Oh I'm sure they got attacked again," the caramel skinned agent hissed. It was a very catlike gesture. A lot of what she did had a feeling twist to it, from her features to her mannerisms. It had caused more than one agent to wonder what, exactly, their boss actually was....

"I'm sure they got attacked," Nunez said again, forcing herself to be calmer. "And now we've got to clean it up. And you know what? It's crap. This should be easy. We should be able to just arrest them for assault. But we can't, can we? No, because the Uzbedis wrote all the rules about magic. So now instead of just sending a team to arrest whatever maniac wizard did this, I've gotta drag myself out of bed and handle it. AND make sure nobody finds out about it."

"With respect ma'am...you're starting to sound like Taliesin Cromlaire."

"Cromlaire and his goons are a bunch of lunatic terrorists," Nunez waved a hand dismissively. "But just because I'm dedicated to stopping the, doesn't mean I can't hate the Uzbedis too. Oh look, a demolished strip mall parking lot! Hooray!"

The car pulled up and Nunez jumped out of the car. Around her, she ts poured out of the black vans they came in. Nunez walked up to Kyle and Jenny, green fire sparking out from behind her sunglasses.

"What the hell is it now?" She demanded.

"The Uzbedi government sent an assassin to kill me," Kyle said.

Nunez stared at him.

"No they didn't," she said.

"They really did!" Jenny said. "Also Kyle and I have a new friend that nobody can see!"

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Nunez stared at them.

"You know magically speaking I'm pretty powerful," Nunez sighed. "I bet I could dig a hole so deep nobody could find me in it. I bet it wouldn't be that hard."

"I'm afraid it's true, agent Nunez," Tanya said. "She admitted as much when Kyle defeated her in a duel."

"A duel?" Nunez said. "This was an official duel? You mean we can't even arrest her?"

"Uhm ma'am?" One of the agents called out. "What's the word here?"

Several agents had surrounded Hanna, guns raised. The Uzbedi assassin stood with a hand on her sword, her hair twitching like snakes.

"Let her go boys!" Nunez threw her hands into the air. "Apparently she didn't break any laws! Not ones we get to enforce anyway!"

The agents stepped back, and Hanna relaxed.

"Thank you. I must correct one misconception. I was not sent by the Uzbedi government."

"But you said..." Kyle started, but Hanna cut him off.

"I was sent by Archmage Ushbak Mulgantor, third minister of the high chamber of the grand and ancient kingdom of Uzbedi. Not the government as a whole. This was the Archmage's personal initiative."

"Why should some random archmage want to kill me?" Kyle asked.

"Several archmages want to kill you," Hanna said. "You are the main topic of discussion in the High Chamber of Uzbedi, Kyle Anderman. You are the master of the last genie. There are three factions debating what to do you with you. One faction believes you have followed the law, and should therefore be left alone. The other two believe you are too dangerous. One believes you should be recruited immediately. The third believes you should be killed, and the genie locked away in the vaults."

"And Mulgantor wants Kyle dead, so he sent you," Tanya nodded thoughtfully.

"Just you?" Nunez demanded. "How many Uzbedi agents are in this town right now?"

"At least one from each faction," Hanna said. "If other assassins have been sent, I was not told about it."

Kyle grabbed Jenny protectively around the waist, pulling her close to him.

"I swear I won't let them lock you away," Kyle promised.

"Oh Kyle," Jenny sighed, melting into his arms.

"Yes yes yes very romantic!" Nunez said. "But when we're done being mushy what you're really saying is that there's an unknown number of foreign agents with competing agendas all operating in a civilian area with powerful and dangerous magic at their disposal and we don't know who they are."

"I mean it sounds bad when you put it like that," Jenny said. Nunez ignored her.

"I'm assigning you an agent," Nunez said. "Somebody to keep an eye on you. The one thing we know is that you're being targeted, Kyle."

"How are you going to do that?" Kyle demanded. "Your guys in suits don't blend in..... anywhere, really."

"I have somebody who can. I was actually thinking about this already. Hey new kid! New kid get out here! Where...oh there you are. Everyone, I think you're familiar with Benny Gold?"