“No. You may not. I don’t know you from Adam’s navel. My job is to protect my students, and Mindy is a fourteen-year-old girl. And you most assuredly are not on her list of contacts.”
“Ah. Then I do count your discretion. One moment. Alex, are you adding Nell to the call?”
“Attempting to,” Alex said. “Gimme a sec.”
The line went silent. Officer Benson considered Mud with an expression that told her he had seen more than she expected. He was an older guy, a little fluffy around the middle, but still mostly fit. Canny. Smart. Her limited experience suggested that most resource officers were in their fifties which was ancient for humans, but she probably needed the officer’s experience, because this was probably gonna be a kerfuffle.
“How do you know the queen of the vampires?” he asked,Mud. “And why did you call her?”
“I didn’t. I called the residence. And I’ve met her but we’re not besties or anything.”
“Fine. Now answer the ‘why’ question.”
“Because the queen’s personal dragon, Longfellow, flew by the classroom window.”
Officer Benson actually blinked, as if having trouble processing that. Not a lot of people knew about Longfellow, except the queen’s personal people, but Mud had gone to her sister’s official federal law enforcement office so Mud knew a lot.
Into the silence of the connection there was a soft but distinctclickand Nell said, “Special Agent Nell Occam, of PsyLED, unit eighteen speaking. Who is this? I’m in the field and I don’t have time for nonsense.”
“Eli, Alex, an Officer Benson at the school, and your sister, Mindy,” Eli said.
“Mud?”
“I’m okay,” Mud said fast. Nell was a cop. Cops always went to worst case scenario first.
Officer Benson asked, “Is this Mindy’s sister and guardian?”
“Yes. I’m getting in the car.” A door slammed. “What’s happening. Mud are you okay?”
“I’m in trouble but we can handle that later. Longfellow flew by my classroom window.”
“The queen’s dragon? Why?” Nell asked. The last word was distinct and hard—Nell’s cop voice.
“I don’t know. Yet,” Mud said.
“Now may I count on your discretion, Officer?” Eli asked.
The officer was staring at Mud weird. Probably because she knew people. People who, in his world, would be important. “Yes,” he said. “You may.”
“Good,” Alex said. “Turn off all recording devices now, please. We know there are two in your office and you have initiated a call for record to the main office.”
“I can’t do that,” Benson said.
“Not a problem,” Alex said. “I’ve disconnected your access to the internet and both devices are now dead. Sorry about the expense of replacement.” But he didn’t sound sorry.
Eli said, “The queen is missing. If Longfellow was with her when she took off, it may have come to the one person it thought might help, though why Mud, we can only speculate at this time. The queen’s personal helicopter will be setting down at the front entrance of the school, ETA nearly four minutes. With her sister’s permission, you, Officer Benson, will escort Mud to the helo.”
“I have independently verified the issue at hand,” Nell said. “Permission given. I am signing her out of school, effective immediately.”
“This is irregular to the point of dangerous,” Officer Benson said.
“Noted. ETA three minutes, twenty-four seconds,” Eli said. “Go.”
We went. Officer Benson signed me out, promising Ms. Jenson and staff, who were all agog, details later. Mud loved the word agog. Someday she’d find a way to use it in conversation.
Officer Benson escorted her to the front of the building just as the bell rang and hundreds of kids moved through the halls. Several stopped and stared at Mud. There would be gossip tomorrow. She would have to deal with that.
The officer took her by the shoulder and hauled her outside, where they were joined by the principal and two others of the staff, who made sure the students didn’t follow and get their heads chopped off by the rotors.
