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I jerk back. “You can’t. We need you here.” I hesitate, but I don’t like the empty look in his eyes. “Persephone needs you here.”
“Don’t tell me what my wife needs. Two days.” He turns and walks back through the door, closing it softly behind him. The click sounds unnaturally loud in the silence he leaves in his wake.
We are so fucked.
I turn to Thanatos to see the exact same realization dawning on his handsome face. He drops his head against the back of the couch and whistles. “This is bad.”
“Really bad,” I agree. “Where is your sibling?”
“Guarding the door.”
I head across the club to the front doors, pausing to look again at how they’ve been blown off the hinges. How the fuck did they manage that? Worse, the hinges themselves are warped, which means we won’t be able to close the doors until we replace them. Considering they were custom made, I don’t think that’s going to happen quickly.
Hades’s club is out of business.
The number of people who would’ve noticed the attack on the greenhouse is minuscule. We were able to get the glass doors replaced pretty quickly, so Matthew’s customers might have recognized the upgrade, but not the reason for it. They won’t know what happened upstairs. No one except Matthew and Hades go up to the greenhouse itself. It’s not open to the public. Plenty of people know Hades spends time there, but they’re all very good at respecting the fact that it’s a private place.
The club isn’t like that. Hades holds court here, the same way that Zeus holds court in Dodona Tower. They might not be official rulers, but these are their courts all the same. People come to this club from both sides of the River Styx to beg for favors, or just for the chance to see him in person. To watch the boogeyman of Olympus dote on his pretty sunshine wife. Tonight, they will come here to find the doors barred.
And then the whispers will start.
I’m head of security. I know the ways in which we fight our enemies. Some of our most important battles are fought through public perception. This is bad. It will weaken him in a way that the greenhouse didn’t, at least as far as the upper city is concerned. Our people won’t see it as a failing that he wasn’t able to protect this club. Our people aren’t the ones we need to worry about.
If those fools in the upper city who are so intent on murdering their way into becoming members of the Thirteen start to turn greedy eyes on this side of the river…
It will be a bloodbath.
I find Hypnos leaning against the wall just outside the doors. Technically, zir’s a club manager, but everyone who works directly for Hades is required to go through very specific kinds of training. Hypnos is more than capable of using the shotgun in zir hands.
Ze doesn’t take zir gaze off the street. “How’s Thanatos?”
I don’t demand a report first. I appreciate the fact that ze had the forethought to act as guard, even though ze is obviously worried about zir brother. “He’s going to have a wicked headache, but I think he’ll be fine. We’re having the doctor look him over regardless.”
“Okay.” Zir shoulders slump. “They came in too fast. I barelyrealized we were under attack before they slammed the office door shut and barricaded me in. By the time I loaded the shotgun and blasted my way out, they were gone.”
It’s nothing more than what Thanatos said, but I appreciate the confirmation all the same. “What can you tell me about them?” I lean closer. “And don’t think I missed the fact that your shotgun was unloaded in the office. We’ve talked about this.”
“It’s a safety issue.”
“I agree wholeheartedly, which is why it should be loaded.” I see the resistance on zir face but keep going. “I’m not asking you to hand it to a toddler. The office is locked when you’re not in there, and the gun should be secured regardless, but in a situation like this, seconds count.”
Hypnos sighs. “If you think I could’ve fought off three professionals, then you’re out of your damn mind.”
Understanding dawns, and I curse myself for not realizing exactly what zir being locked in the office means. “We have security footage.”
“I already uploaded it to a file and sent it to you. It’s still on the computer in the office though, if you want to look at it now.”
“Well done.” I start to turn for the door but pause. “Reinforcements are on their way. We’ll get this sorted.”
I head to the office and close the door softly behind me. Or I try. Hypnos blasted through the door and took out a good chunk of the doorframe in the process. Another thing we’ll have to replace. I sink into the chair and turn to the computer to find that Hypnos anticipated my needs. The security footage is pulled up and ready to play. I brace myself and push the button.
It happened so fucking fast.
Our patrons think we don’t have sound recording in place, but Hades doesn’t trust them that much. I listen to an explosion that’s strangely muted. There’s a soft popping sound and a faint billow of smoke, and then they’re in the room tearing it up. I suspected they were professionals, but seeing their well-coordinated movements only confirms it. They don’t speak. They merely charge into the room, open fire, and then disappear a minute later.
I play the recording through three more times, my unease growing with each time through. I finally pause it on the few seconds where all three of them are in the frame. They wear black masks, black tactical gear, black gloves and boots. They’ve even blacked out the skin around their eyes and mouth that was left exposed by the masks so there isn’t a single identifying feature to latch on to. The tactical gear is bulky enough that is impossible to tell gender too. They could be literally anyone.
Fuck.
