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The agents’ eyebrows arched when Mom exited the car and let Rocket out. There was a mixture of golden and silver fur all over the back seat. I hoped Lieutenant Sudo had to cleanit.
“Hello, gents,” I said once I got out. “If you’re here for the car, I’m going to assume you brought another one that I can use. Did Lieutenant Sudo tell you about how my Jeep was wrecked in the line ofduty?”
The two men, both clean-shaven except for bland mustaches, exchanged long looks with eachother.
“Ms. Thorvald,” one agent said, stepping forward. “We’re taking you into custody under suspicion of colluding with Colonel Willard to embezzle tens of thousands of dollars from the U.S. Army Occult Research Department in Seattle. There’s an additional charge for stealing a governmentcar.”
“It’s not stolen. It’s right there. You can have it.” I buckled on my weapons, hiding the movement behind the open car door, while debating my options. I needed to get back to Seattle and find an alchemist to heal Willard. And it looked like I needed to clear her name—and mine, too, damn it. I couldn’t get stuck injail.
But if I beat the crap out of these guys and ran off, I might be labeled a criminal forever, never getting a chance to clear anybody’s names. Worse, I’d end up with every cop in Seattle chasing me while I tried to figure out how to save Willard. I needed the government to work with me, or at least not opposeme.
“Will you come along without resisting arrest?” One agent eyed mewarily.
He shouldn’t have been able to see the magically camouflaged Chopper and Fezzik, but he looked like he suspected they were there. Too bad. I would rather have been eyed dismissively. If they knew all about me, it would be difficult to slip away from them. Maybe I would get an opportunity on the way back. So long as they didn’t take my charms and I could still accessSindari…
Did they know about them? I had no idea how much Willard had recorded in myfile.
“Yes,” I replied. “I’m tired of driving. Do I get to ride in the back? Wearegoing to Seattle, right?” If they meant to take me somewhere else, my willingness to cooperate would godownhill.
“Fort Lewis, for now. You’re not in the military anymore, so you won’t receive a military judgment, but it was deemed a safe place to holdyou.”
Safe. Meaning the army knew what they were dealing with and could handle me more effectively than a traditional civilianjail?
Well, at least Fort Lewis was in the right direction. The drive up there would give me five hours to contemplate my nextsteps.
“Remove your weapons.” The man shifted his jacket aside to rest a hand on a handgun in his holster. “We know you havethem.”
I was tempted to rest my hand on the muchbiggerfirearm in my thigh holster, but it was time to play nice and cooperate. Sighing, I removed Chopper and Fezzik and laid them on the gravel. The men stirred as I stepped back, and to them, the weapons appeared out of thinair.
One agent picked them up, and the other opened the door to the back seat of his car, gesturing for me to get in. There were two more men in the car in front of thatone.
“Val,” Mom said uncertainly. “Will you be allright?”
“I hope so. Will you keep taking care of the cat fornow?”
“Ofcourse.”
“Thanks.”
She headed for the front door, tugging Rocket along with her. The agents didn’t try to stopher.
As I turned to get in the car, the man holding my weapons lifted his hand. “Give me your necklacetoo.”
My gut dropped into my boots as he pointed straight at the Sindaricharm.
“Pardon?” I plastered the most innocent expression on my face that I could manage. It probably came out as the most panickedexpression.
“Removeit.”
“Why? It’s justjewelry.”
“We know it’snot.”
I rethought my decision to cooperate. But there were four of them, and my mom hadn’t made it inside yet. My mom and her dog. I couldn’t risk a shootouthere.
“Your necklace.” He gestured firmly with hishand.
I reached for the tie in the back, as if meaning to comply, but my mind was scrambling. I spotted a wide-eyed Dimitri staring out from behind one of the curtained windows in the back of his van. So that’s where he was. Had he been hiding in there because he thought the agents were here forhim?
