*****
As we headed back to the apartment, the inky night now set in firmly around us, the image of Selena’s demon mauling the Enforcer returned to me.
“I knew it was ridiculous hoping she would disappear,” Benny said with a sigh, breaking the silence.
“What can she do with those files? Are they forged?”
“Forged?” He shook his head. ‘No, don’t be ridiculous. We couldn’t falsely convict her with forged documents. But what those documents can do is take her to where the magic was done.”
“Where did she get them?”
“The heart of the D.O.M where she was convicted, I suppose. Your guess is as good as mine as to how she managed that. I’ll have a sniff around and see what I can find out.”
I hesitated, but knew the answer before asking. “Could she overturn the case? Bring us down?”
“Selena? What do you think?’
He did not seem concerned.
“So why aren’t we worried?”
“We are,” he responded calmly, “But based on what I just saw I’m more worried she snaps and goes on a rampage. Her blowing our case seems less likely at this point. And the only benefit of one over the other is us staying out of a Magical Detention Centre.”
My heart jumped. “You don’t think she might attack us?”
“I don’t know, maybe? Did you see that back there? The guy doesn’t have a face anymore. Besides, why are you asking me? You might know better then I do at this point, Romeo.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed what we just saw.”
“Well then, yes, she could bring us down, and yes, we are worried, but we’re not exactly just going to sit back and let it happen. I’ll put out my tentacles and see if I can track her down.”
“Your tentacles couldn’t find my mother.”
“Your mother is a ghost, as far as my tentacles are concerned. But that’s a different kettle of fish. You mother isn’t smashing up the city in blind rage.”
“Maybe Selena can regain control.”
He glanced at me, brow furrowing. “Jet, any Enforcers running into her now won’t be trying to help her.”
“What do you mean?”
“The moment that guy’s face got turned into hamburger the protocol switched from asking her politely, to telling her by any means necessary. That’s under ‘arrest protocol’ in Enforcer Etiquette, by the way. And, I’m sorry Jet, in these cases the suspects are generally brought in dead. It’s not difficult to understand why.”
My head spun. “You’re telling me the Department of Magic is going to kill her?”
“Not strictly as a first option but… yes. She seriously injured an Enforcer, what do you expect?”
“We can’t let that happen.”
He turned in his seat to gawk at me, passing street lamps tracing shadows across his face. “We can’t let that happen? Forgive me for saying, but you are seriously starting to lose sight of the situation. She has to be stopped, Jet. And not just for our sake but because she is clearly slipping her bracket. It is what it is. She’s losing her damn mind.”
“It is what it is?!” My voice jumped up a notch.
“What the hell do you want me to do?”
I struggled with words. “We have to help her.”
“Help her? Help her how? Do what, exactly?”
My eyes dropped to my lap. Somehow my hands had started shaking.
“Let’s just try to make sure she’s brought in alive,” I said at last.
“How, Jet?”
“I don’t know. Can we be there when she’s brought in?”
“And then what? Guide her into a prison cell with a carrot on a stick?”
“We have to try!” I snapped.
Silence closed in. Benny shifted awkwardly.
“I’m in control,” I muttered.
“I know you are,” he replied curtly, “You realise that even if she is brought in alive, most of the remaining years of her life will be lived out in a bed in one of those God forsaken Rehabilitation halls. And after that, one of those hideously depressing Retirement homes.”
“I understand that.” Thoughts jostled for position, lining themselves up in my head, “But that’s something. Better then the alternative. At least there’s hope. Let’s just try, okay? We owe her that. I know it’s stupid, trust me I do…”
He opened his mouth, sighed, and closed it again. “It’s not stupid, Jet. I’m not thrilled about the situation either. The dispatcher owes me. If Selena is spotted and it’s called in I’ll be notified. We can try to be there. But you know I can’t guarantee anything. If I track her down first we can likewise be there when the Enforcers roll in. But you’re crazy if you think…”
“Thank you,” I cut him off, “I appreciate it.”
He nodded. We drove on in silence.
“You wanna stop for a recharge?” he said brightly, mood swinging like a pendulum back to cheerful.
“Sure.”
We turned into the entrance of a small café and slipped into a parking space. The exterior of the establishment looked inviting, boasting ‘bottomless coffee and live music on Thursdays’, but inside was populated by a fog of cigarette smoke and dim light. The ‘brooding arty’ ambience created by the decorator seemed to be falling flat in a ‘drunken teenager’ neighbourhood. The place was almost empty.
We took a corner booth and a middle aged woman drifted over, jaw working endlessly on a piece of gum.
“You again, huh?” she said to Benny, unimpressed, “And I see you brought a friend. Someone dangerous out on the streets tonight, that two Enforcers need be lurking around?”
“We never lurk where it can be helped, ma’am,” Benny replied, “Is Julian here?”
She snorted. “Is he ever not? You better quit messing around in that boy’s head. One of these days I oughta report you.”
Benny glanced around. “Of course you should, ma’am. But if you get rid of us, who will keep you in business?” He smiled. “Two coffees, if you please. Send Julian over.”
She gave a glare of disapproval and stalked off.
“Who the hell is Julian?” I asked.
“He’s a friend. You’ll love him.”
We waited. The buzz of exterior traffic clashed with muttered interior conversations. My mind went back to the hotel.
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“As a student.”
“Proceed, Cadet Clarence.”
“How did you do that? With the old man? Make him forget such specific memories like that?”
“Practice. It’s a very tricky business. A lot more complicated then a little tweak with short term memory. I recommend most not mess with it.”
“Most shouldn’t, but you do?”
“I’m not most people, Jet. I happen to be particularly good at it.” He tapped a medal on his breast. “Specialist.”
“So how do you do it?”
He paused, eyeing me. “I suppose you’re not most people either, is that right?”
“They haven’t covered it in class.”
“They never will unless you specialise. Rehabilitation is done in a similar way, that’s the practical application. If I were Senior Enforcer I’d be spending most of my time tooling around in those halls.”
“I know. It’s why I’m asking.”
His eyes narrowed. “I see. Tell me.”
“Linda,” I said with a sigh, “Remember her?”
“Refresh my memory.”
“Blonde girl in the Sushi Palace. Bubbly. Clawed her own face after I broke my mother’s domination spell.”
“Ah. I recall.”
“She turned up in the Manipulation and Influence hall.”
“Oh. Don’t even think about trying, Jet. All you’ll land up doing is making it worse. The Specialists will get to her.”
“Yes I realise. I’m just curious about the process.”
He hesitated at length. “If you can imagine finding the mo
ment in that old man’s life where he decided to install a network of spy cameras, and suggest that he instead take up antique collecting, the rest kind of sorts itself out.”
I thought about this. “Won’t he be… confused?”
“For a while. But he’ll sort it out in time. The mind is a versatile thing.”
“Sort it out?”
“Yes. Like dominoes. One memory will tip over and influence the next. Click, click, click, till it’s finished.”
I stared, grasping the implications. “Shit, Benny. That’s pretty severe.”
“You’re concerned I’ve cleaned up the mind of a perverted old voyeur? Would you like to instead hand him over to Selena and let her know he was having a little hand party over her sleeping form? Oh he’s still an old pervert, Jet. Just not one that decided to make a hobby out of it. I certainly wouldn’t try making him believe he’s not a pervert. That would indeed probably be disastrous. Too many clicks, you see, drive him bonkers.”
“Too many clicks. Got it.”
“It’s best not to mess with the core. Keep the clicks to a minimum.” His face hardened. “Don’t mess around with that kind of thing, Jet, seriously. It’s dangerous.”
We trailed off into silence. The waitress brought our coffees.
“Your coffee, gentlemen.” She pronounced the word ‘gentlemen’ like it tasted of lemons. “Julian is on his way”
She melted away and a moment later a tall gangly teenager appeared, emerging through the cigarette fog. He seemed to have attempted to hide his awkward frame beneath a collection of clothing two sizes too big for him.
“Enforcer Kingston,” he scoffed, trying and failing to sound defiant.
“Hello, Julian. Take a seat.”
I shifted up and the young man slipped into the booth beside me.
“Who is this?” he muttered, glancing at me.
“This is Cadet Clarence, a promising addition to the D.O.M and my student.”
“Your student? Great. Two corrupt sons of bitches are better then one, I suppose.”
“Yes, I was just teaching Jet how to recognise reprobates who manipulate and take advantage of high school girls and you came along. So perfect timing, thank you.”
“Hey, keep your voice down man…”
“Shut your mouth, Julian.”
The young man sank into his seat, trembling with frustration.
“We’re looking for a woman,” Benny began, “Black hair, Hispanic, sexy as hell, scary as hell, goes by the name Selena Stephania. She escaped custody about six months ago, recently attacked an Enforcer at a hotel nearby. I think she will be looking for a place to hide. You listening, Julian?”
“I’m listening. Haven’t heard of her.”
“Spread the word. Get everyone’s eyes open, specifically in the runaway shelters. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Buy new clothes, those are too big for you.”
He scowled, threw me a stare of disgust, and stood.
“And Julian?”
“What?”
“Tell your boys to keep away from her. She’ll tear them to pieces.”
“Sure.”
He stalked off.
“That guy was manipulating school girls?” I asked.
“Yes,” Benny replied, shrugging, “But I couldn’t convict him even if I wanted. None of the girls will testify against him.”
“Why not?”
“They enjoyed it,” he said with a sigh, “some even sought him out and begged.”
I frowned. “What…?”
“Don’t think too hard about it, trust me. Guy is a damn good pair of eyes though. If Selena is trying to hide with magical fugitives in this city we’ll know.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll trust your judgement. But I don’t like it.” I sipped my coffee. “Something else about Linda…”
He looked up. His pouch of tobacco had been extracted and a little pile tipped on the table. “Yes?”
“She might know something,” I ventured, “About my mother. Something useful.”
The cigarette took form and he lit it. “You want to root around in her head, is that it?”
“Yes.”
“I see.” He took a drag, downed his coffee, and dropped the butt into the mug. It sizzled. “So you want help?”
“Yes. If you could help me get into Manipulation and Influence Hall 2.”
“Respect the clicks, Jet.”
“Observation only, I know the rules.”
“Fine. But one of these days I’m going to call in all these favours, buddy. No offence.”
“None taken.”