Going down the elevator to the lobby, defeated was the best word I could think of to describe how I felt. It wasn’t something I’d felt often in the last few days. Only the World Boss’s attack that drained my MANA had felt worse.

  It was only thanks to others…SandB, the Irregulars, and the army…that any of us survived. The people at the quarry too. And then there were the others, the ones not in our guilds or groups, who had just shown up…alone or in small parties…to help. We all survived. We beat the damn thing.

  “OK. Maybe it was the artillery that killed the real boss. But the rest drew it out so they could finish it. In the end. They all got credit for it.

  Thinking back over it now, I didn’t feel like I’d done enough. “Maybe that’s why I tried to help Wild Bill. Tried and failed.”

  [Sheriff Harper:] [William of Brinsford] [Wait for me. We need to talk.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Sheriff Harper] [I’ll wait.]

  “Now what?” I muttered, stopping halfway across the lobby. I looked over my shoulder back toward the elevator doors. My body followed to face them.

  The lobby felt cool compared to the heavy, humid warmth outside. Fluorescent lights gave everything that flat, pale glow that hospitals seemed to prefer. The faint hum of the HVAC mixed with the occasional squeak of shoes on the polished tile.

  Harper came down a minute later. We nodded to each other, and he motioned for me to follow him toward an empty corner of the lobby. He held the bag with the book…and probably the knife…in his left hand. Wondering what was so secret, I followed without saying anything.

  He led us farther from the main desk before stopping next to a couple of chairs around a small, round table. I waited.

  “We’re going to send Hitchcock back to Washington,” he finally said. “They can take care of him better there. He’s of no use to anyone the way he is. They pick him up today or tomorrow at the latest.”

  “You said he was here for some secret reason. As a U.S. Marshal, I’m guessing something criminal. But you haven’t seemed in any hurry to act on it…that I’ve seen.”

  “That’s true. There were…reasons. Then this whole Game mess hit and threw everything to hell and gone.”

  He paused, looking out the window toward the parking lot where afternoon light cast shadows across the pavement. Then he looked back at me.

  “Will. When this thing started, Jack and I both deputized you and your group. We never canceled it. I logged it, and I think he did too. It’s still on the books.”

  He fell quiet again, like he was weighing how much more to say. After half a minute or so, he decided.

  “Will you keep what I’m about to tell you between yourself and Agent Pozarkova for now? She’ll have to be read in if we need you help us.”

  “Of course. I’ll do my best,” I said. “Sounds like something bad.”

  “Yeah. It was. And we didn’t know who we could trust. That’s why we brought in someone from outside.”

  “Someone who couldn’t be part of anything around here because they’d never been here before,” I said. “Got it. But I’ve lived here for more than thirty years.”

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  “Yes, and outside your medieval stuff, you’ve got nothing to do with our office.”

  “Got it. But now everyone knows who I am. That makes me stand out to everyone in the area. Hell, everyone in the state and then some.”

  “Exactly. Now you’re too big to be involved in anything covert,” Harper said.

  I thought about it for a moment, then understood where he was heading. “So anywhere I go, people notice me. I can’t hide what I’m doing. So…I can do something sneaky because I can’t get away with doing anything sneaky? Is that it?”

  He grinned. “Yeah. Exactly.”

  “If we’re going to talk awhile, those chairs look comfortable enough. How about we sit and talk? If anyone asks, we’re talking about Hitchcock.”

  Harper gave the lobby another quick glance, nodded, and took one of the chairs. He set the bag on the little table between us. I sat opposite him.

  “Now,” I said, “what’s your problem, Sheriff?”

  “It’s one that’s been going on for years, but most people never had a clue. The interstate down the middle of the state gets a lot of traffic. Not all of it is legal.”

  “Sure, everyone knows that. But there are illegal shipments on every major highway. Too much normal stuff moving to make another truck suspicious.”

  “True. And we catch some because we stop someone for another reason.”

  “So, what’s so secret about that? The interstate doesn’t even go through Chandler County. They’ve been talking about upgrading the state highway between Eddington and the interstate for, what, twenty years now?”

  “Something like that.” He smiled faintly. “Bill was here because we aren’t on it. And we aren’t in Taylor County either.”

  “It goes through there. So why was he here and not there?” I asked, turning to face him more directly. “Hhhmmm…so something’s going on there, but you can’t base there because you think people are compromised? Sounds like a movie plot,” I said, chuckling. “An overdone one at that.”

  Harper grinned. “It does, doesn’t it?”

  “We had good intel that a big trucking company based in Taylor County was involved in a major way. But no one could prove it. The few times something was found on their trucks, the paperwork all said they were just transshipping it for someone else. They didn’t know something else was hidden on the pallets.”

  “Got it. If it goes through enough hands, all the middlemen look innocent. I think I know the company you’re talking about. They’re big over there. I’ve seen plenty of their trucks.”

  “I can’t confirm that,” he said carefully, “but yes, that kind of operation.”

  “They’re into more than trucking, aren’t they? Freight’s just one of their businesses. I remember reading about them expanding a few years back.”

  Harper nodded. “The people you read about started about thirty-five years ago. The current owner’s dad changed the business model. They were farmers before they started hauling other people’s grain.”

  “So, what happened? Why isn’t Hitchcock needed anymore?”

  “The Game happened. A lot of people got powers…including some who were in the country illegally. They’d been held against their will to pay off the coyotes who brought them here…and the ones who took them from the border.”

  “Shit,” I said. “Magic against guns again? Only this time, they outnumbered the guys with guns? I’d guess by a lot?”

  Harper nodded grimly. “I can’t say more, but it wasn’t pretty. Certain people in Taylor County couldn’t ignore it anymore.”

  “The problem people aren’t a problem anymore?”

  “Exactly. Other federal and state agencies are handling it. They’ve suppressed most of the news, but the rest is about to be released. Hitchcock would’ve headed home anyway in a few days.”

  Thinking about it and remembering stories of trafficked immigrants, I sighed. “Got the message. I won’t talk about it until it’s released.”

  Harper nodded. “Didn’t think you would. Maybe it’ll take the attention off you for a few days,” he added with a grin.

  “I hope so. Thanks for telling me. I’m still sorry about Hitchcock. I can’t say I liked him, but he did his job…and then some.”

  The Sheriff stood and offered his hand. “Thank you for what you’ve done. I’ll put this package in the evidence room for now. If you feel it again, tell me immediately. I’ll get it to you to bury again. This time, we won’t dig it up. I promise.”

  Standing, I shook his hand. “Thank you. For everything…and for keeping an eye on those things. When I get to a high enough level, I’ll remove any remaining magic from them. That doesn’t mean something else like them won’t show up…but at least it’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

  We said our goodbyes, left the building, and walked off in different directions. Mine was home again.

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