Industrial Magic
Page 18
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Come in, Lucas said.
I needIve got some calls to make. Itsits Griffin. His oldest boy. Jacob. I should
You should come in. Please. Lucas closed the door behind Troy. Are you saying Griffins son has been attacked?
Iwe dont know. He called the emergency line and now hes missing. Theyve sent out a search team.
Why dont you go with them? I said. Well be fine.
He cant, Lucas said. Hed be severely reprimanded for leaving me behind. A problem easily solved if I go along. Care to join us?
You need to ask? I said, getting to my feet.
No way, Troy said. Dragging the bosss son and girlfriend along on a search-and-rescue wouldnt get me reprimanded, itd get me fired. Or worse.
You arent dragging me anywhere, Lucas said. Im going to help, therefore youre obligated to follow. Ill phone in for details on the way.
Welcome to Miami
I SAT IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE SUV, GIVING LUCAS PRIVACY in the back as he called the security department for an update.
A drizzling rain pattered on the roof, just enough to make the road slick and shimmery in the darkness. Our windshield, though, was dry, improving Troys visibility tenfold. Seeing that, I understood how Troy knew Robert Vasic. Like Robert, Troy was a Tempestras, a storm demon. The name, like many half-demon cognomens, tipped into melodrama and bordered on false advertising. A Tempestras couldnt summon storms. He could, however, control the weather within his immediate vicinity, calling up wind, rain or, if he was really good, lightning. He could also, like Troy, do something as small but practical as keeping rain off his windshield. I thought of commenting, but one glance at Troys taut face told me he was in no mood for a discourse on his powers. He was so intent on his driving, he probably didnt even realize he was shunting the rain from the windshield.
Can I ask something? I said quietly. About Griffins son?
Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure.
Is he a runaway?
Jacob? Shit, no. Theyre tight. Griffin and his kids, I mean. Hes got three. His wife passed away a couple years ago. Breast cancer.
Oh.
Yeah, Griffs great with his kids. Real close. Troy eased back in his seat, as if grateful for the chance to fill the silence with something other than the patter of rain. Griffin comes off like an ass**le, but hes a good guy. Just takes the job too serious. He used to work for the St. Clouds, and they run things different. Like the f**king militarypardon my French.
The St. Clouds are the smallest Cabal, right?
Second smallest. About half the size of the Cortezes. WhenGriffins wife was sick, the St. Clouds made him use vacation time for every minute he took off driving her to chemo and stuff. After she died, he gave two weeks notice and took an offer from Mr. Cortez.
At a click from the backseat, Troy glanced in the rearview mirror.
Any news? he asked.
They have two search teams out. Dennis Lucas looked my way. Dennis Malone. You met him at the meeting today. Hes been called in to coordinate the operation from headquarters. He advises that we begin several blocks from where Jacob phoned. The teams are currently searching the blocks on either side of that point.
I twisted to face Lucas. Do we have any idea what happened to Jacob?
Dennis replayed his phone call for me
Nine-one-one?
Lucas shook his head. Our personal emergency line. All Cabal employee children are given the number and told to call it instead. The Cabals prefer to avoid police involvement in any matter that may be supernatural in nature. An employees family is told that phoning this number ensures faster response times than calling nine-one-one, which it does. The larger Cabals have security and paramedic teams ready to respond twenty-four hours a day.
So thats who Jacob called.
At eleven twenty-seven P.M. The call itself is indistinct, owing to both the rain and poor cellular reception. He appears to say hes being followed, after leaving a movie and becoming separated from his friends. The next part is unclear. He says something about telling his father hes sorry. The operator tells him to stay calm. Then the call ends.
Shit, Troy said.
Not necessarily, Lucas said. The cellular signal may have been disrupted. Or he may simply have decided he was making too big a deal out of the matter, become embarrassed, and hung up.
Would Griffin let him go to a late movie with his friends? I asked Troy.
On a school night? Never. Griffs real strict about stuff like that.
Well, then, thats probably it. Jacob realized hed be in trouble for sneaking out and hung up. Hell probably crash at a friends place, and call his dad once he works up the nerve.
Troy nodded, but didnt look any more convinced than I felt.
Jesus, Troy said as he pulled into the area where Dennis had advised us to park.
Hed squeezed the SUV between two buildings and come out in a tiny parking lot only a few feet wider than the alley itself. Every building in sight was rife with boarded-up windows, the boards themselves rife with bullet holes. Any security lights had long since been shot out. The rain swallowed the glow of the new moon overhead. As Troy swung into a parking spot, the headlights illuminated a brick wall covered in graffiti. My gaze swept across the symbols and names.
I needIve got some calls to make. Itsits Griffin. His oldest boy. Jacob. I should
You should come in. Please. Lucas closed the door behind Troy. Are you saying Griffins son has been attacked?
Iwe dont know. He called the emergency line and now hes missing. Theyve sent out a search team.
Why dont you go with them? I said. Well be fine.
He cant, Lucas said. Hed be severely reprimanded for leaving me behind. A problem easily solved if I go along. Care to join us?
You need to ask? I said, getting to my feet.
No way, Troy said. Dragging the bosss son and girlfriend along on a search-and-rescue wouldnt get me reprimanded, itd get me fired. Or worse.
You arent dragging me anywhere, Lucas said. Im going to help, therefore youre obligated to follow. Ill phone in for details on the way.
Welcome to Miami
I SAT IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE SUV, GIVING LUCAS PRIVACY in the back as he called the security department for an update.
A drizzling rain pattered on the roof, just enough to make the road slick and shimmery in the darkness. Our windshield, though, was dry, improving Troys visibility tenfold. Seeing that, I understood how Troy knew Robert Vasic. Like Robert, Troy was a Tempestras, a storm demon. The name, like many half-demon cognomens, tipped into melodrama and bordered on false advertising. A Tempestras couldnt summon storms. He could, however, control the weather within his immediate vicinity, calling up wind, rain or, if he was really good, lightning. He could also, like Troy, do something as small but practical as keeping rain off his windshield. I thought of commenting, but one glance at Troys taut face told me he was in no mood for a discourse on his powers. He was so intent on his driving, he probably didnt even realize he was shunting the rain from the windshield.
Can I ask something? I said quietly. About Griffins son?
Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure.
Is he a runaway?
Jacob? Shit, no. Theyre tight. Griffin and his kids, I mean. Hes got three. His wife passed away a couple years ago. Breast cancer.
Oh.
Yeah, Griffs great with his kids. Real close. Troy eased back in his seat, as if grateful for the chance to fill the silence with something other than the patter of rain. Griffin comes off like an ass**le, but hes a good guy. Just takes the job too serious. He used to work for the St. Clouds, and they run things different. Like the f**king militarypardon my French.
The St. Clouds are the smallest Cabal, right?
Second smallest. About half the size of the Cortezes. WhenGriffins wife was sick, the St. Clouds made him use vacation time for every minute he took off driving her to chemo and stuff. After she died, he gave two weeks notice and took an offer from Mr. Cortez.
At a click from the backseat, Troy glanced in the rearview mirror.
Any news? he asked.
They have two search teams out. Dennis Lucas looked my way. Dennis Malone. You met him at the meeting today. Hes been called in to coordinate the operation from headquarters. He advises that we begin several blocks from where Jacob phoned. The teams are currently searching the blocks on either side of that point.
I twisted to face Lucas. Do we have any idea what happened to Jacob?
Dennis replayed his phone call for me
Nine-one-one?
Lucas shook his head. Our personal emergency line. All Cabal employee children are given the number and told to call it instead. The Cabals prefer to avoid police involvement in any matter that may be supernatural in nature. An employees family is told that phoning this number ensures faster response times than calling nine-one-one, which it does. The larger Cabals have security and paramedic teams ready to respond twenty-four hours a day.
So thats who Jacob called.
At eleven twenty-seven P.M. The call itself is indistinct, owing to both the rain and poor cellular reception. He appears to say hes being followed, after leaving a movie and becoming separated from his friends. The next part is unclear. He says something about telling his father hes sorry. The operator tells him to stay calm. Then the call ends.
Shit, Troy said.
Not necessarily, Lucas said. The cellular signal may have been disrupted. Or he may simply have decided he was making too big a deal out of the matter, become embarrassed, and hung up.
Would Griffin let him go to a late movie with his friends? I asked Troy.
On a school night? Never. Griffs real strict about stuff like that.
Well, then, thats probably it. Jacob realized hed be in trouble for sneaking out and hung up. Hell probably crash at a friends place, and call his dad once he works up the nerve.
Troy nodded, but didnt look any more convinced than I felt.
Jesus, Troy said as he pulled into the area where Dennis had advised us to park.
Hed squeezed the SUV between two buildings and come out in a tiny parking lot only a few feet wider than the alley itself. Every building in sight was rife with boarded-up windows, the boards themselves rife with bullet holes. Any security lights had long since been shot out. The rain swallowed the glow of the new moon overhead. As Troy swung into a parking spot, the headlights illuminated a brick wall covered in graffiti. My gaze swept across the symbols and names.
