I looked down at my laptop. I didn’t like it stated quite so baldly, but it was the truth.
“Ah. As we are several days out from the full moon,” FireWind said, “I’d like Occam to go with her.”
“I can do that,” Occam said.
FireWind met T. Laine’s eyes. “If this meets with your approval.”
T. Laine flushed faintly but nodded.
“A few final, unrelated particulars before we dismiss,” he said. “Jones. Originally, the third floor was intended to be set up for a PsyCSI lab, but the engineers say the equipment needs to be on a concrete slab on a ground floor to protect it from magical energy interference and to provide weight bearing for heavy equipment, so the lab will be elsewhere, though close by HQ. Within a few months, we will no longer have to transport in crime scene techs and transport out all testing. HQ’s third floor will eventually become the expanded regional administration offices of PsyLED under my direction, and my office will be moved upstairs as soon as construction is complete. Unit Eighteen will continue to be run by Rick LaFleur and Jones, with Jones also responsible for setting up IT for the regional office and meshing the system with the national office systems. Jones, congratulations. You have been moved up a pay grade, but without the onus of moving to another state. You will have your choice of two IT people to work with, and reasonable funds to set up the computer systems.”
On the screen, JoJo’s mouth was pursed in shock. Carefully, as if he was holding out chocolate and might jerk it back, she said, “I can take Tandy? And train my IT people myself?”
“Yes. I had assumed that you would take Dyson with you upstairs.”
I was pretty sure that everyone was as surprised as I was. Maybe more. They all looked... stricken was a good word.
FireWind was dour and distant as he looked around at us, including the screen with Tandy’s and JoJo’s faces. That totally disarming smile flashed before disappearing back into that solemn expression. “Regarding our relationship discussions this previous week, I wish to consider the emotional and practical needs of this unit. In fully human units, fraternization results in transfers and can be means for reprimand. Because Unit Eighteen is composed primarily of paranormals, I am granting leeway where personal relationships are concerned, so long as no personnel problems arise, as long as you are discreet and you continue working well as a team. Should problems develop, offenders will be sent to other units and possibly demoted as required.”
It was a gift and a threat.
FireWind went on. “I’m thankful to all of you for the excellent work and hard hours you put in today. Especially Kent, who has done an outstanding job taking lead on this investigation, and who has been the principal individual bringing this region of PsyLED into the twenty-first century. Despite a hasty tongue and hot temper, over the last year, she has developed what I hope will be ongoing relationships with other paranormals, including the unit’s weres and Knoxville’s Mithran vampires, and has found ways to utilize and work with multiple witch covens over the course of every case.
“Kent.” He addressed her. “The paperwork went in yesterday, and at your next evaluation, you also will move up a pay grade, and you will be offered the responsibility I outlined earlier, to travel to each of the other units to train their humans and to negotiate with the local covens for contract work on a consultation basis.” He sent her a quick look of chagrin, which was totally unexpected. “That is,ifyou can keep your mouth shut and not annoy your up-line SAC for his cultural oversights and accessional gaffes.
“That is all for tonight.”
We were dismissed.
***
“Did T. Laine know FireWind had put her in for a pay raise?” I asked.
“No way,” Occam said as he maneuvered his fancy car through the streets of Cookeville, driving us back toward Stella’s Melody Horse Farm. “He probably wasn’t supposed to announce that for weeks.”
“So why did he? Announce tonight, I mean. And what’s going on between Lainie and him? She was practically beating him with words. And what’s up with the threat he made about separating us?”
“Two days ago, FireWind made the mistake of suggesting that Lainie might want to steer clear of Captain Gonzales.”
“Ohhh.” T. Laine was currently dating the leader of Knoxville SWAT, Captain Joaquin H. Gonzales, a cop she had met at our last big case. Gonzales once had the rep of a para hater, but since he and his entire team had been almost wiped out by a blood-magic user and the Blood Tarot, and since T. Laine and a bunch of paras had saved his butt, things had changed and romance had blossomed. “Why would he do that? In the church, the surest way to drive a girl into a suitor’s arms is to say no to a courtship.”
“Don’t know, except Gonzales and FireWind are having issues. Don’t know what sparked it either. JoJo tried to find a record of what happened, but nada.”
“What did—How did—” I stopped.
“He walked in on Lainie talking on the phone at her cubicle and told her Gonzales was bad news and that she could do better.”
“Oh. My.”
“Yeah. She used some pretty colorful language telling him off. Said he had no right to dictate who she slept with.”
“Ohmy,” I repeated. I had been off two days ago. I had missed the fireworks.
“And in case you might be wondering, he then dropped by my cubicle and warned me thatourdating was against regs. I told him he could—well, he could do something anatomically impossible.”
“What got into him?” I asked.
“We don’t think it has anything to do with current events. Jo did some digging.” Which meant hacking into governmental files, not something we would ever say aloud. “She found out FireWind was married in the late 1800s, to a witch. She was injured in a fire in 1937—the Blackwater fire in Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. He got her out, but she was badly burned. She lived for several weeks before she died.” He slanted a look my way. “Want to take a guess which date matched two days ago?”
