me.
“Cultists don’t just go away because their public funding does, kid. The Department will be chasing down Sectarians long after you and I are both gone; that’s for sure.”
I stood at my desk, feeling somewhat defeated.
“So any victory we gain will always be undermined by a second, third, or even fourth wave of evil washing over this city. It never ends.”
“Pretty much,” Connor said. “We’d be out of a day job if it did.”
What it really meant was that the piles of paperwork sitting on my desk would just keep growing with each and every encounter.
I decided to get out of there. If I went down to Supply, got the forms, and then headed over to Tome, Sweet Tome for Jane’s signature, I could at least start the requisitioning process for my new phone. With a day as shit-filled as this one, I’d take the small victories wherever I could get them.
And then, of course, there were the vampires to find …
6
The guys down in Supply were thrilled for once I was only coming for a phone requisition and not for the usual assortment of odd equipment requests I had made over the past several months. Once I had the form in hand, I headed to the Upper West Side to Tome, Sweet Tome. After the day I’d had—almost dying in the Oubliette, working the convention show floor, confronting a shipful of bodies, everything back at the office—seeing Jane would be a welcome relief.
Or so I thought. The front section of the store was unattended except for a few kids checking out the child-friendly section. Happy painted wizards and witches on the wall seemed to follow me with their eyes as I looked around the front of the store. I knew Jane had been doing a lot of exploratory work back in the Black Stacks, so I weaved my way through the shelves and teetering piles of books until I found the Stacks. As I approached the copper caged area, I could hear Jane’s voice. She was laughing. It was good to hear a little happiness for a change, and my mood brightened.
Until I actually saw her.
I had learned to be cautious when entering the Stacks, so I pushed the gate open all the way and entered slowly. Many of the books here had a mind all their own, but luckily none of them came flying off the shelves to attack me like they had when we chased Cyrus through here months ago. I found Jane two rows in—with Wesker. She was poring over a book with a smile on her face while Wesker looked over her shoulder, leaning too close for my liking and touching the small of her back. My heart always leapt when I saw her long blond hair, her beautiful features, and, of course, the low riders she was wearing, but not this time. I cleared my throat and the two of them turned in unison. Wesker, I noticed, dropped his hand from her back in a heartbeat. Jane’s eyes lit up and she snapped the book shut before running over to me. Her ponytail bobbed as she ran, and she barreled into me with such force that her hair flipped up on top of my head when she hugged me. I hugged her back, relishing the affection despite my discomfort.
“Simon,” she said. “You’re okay!”
“I told you he was alive,” Wesker said, sounding disappointed. He looked at me. “Could you please not hug the help?”
“I’m here on official business,” I said. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the form. “Jane has to sign off on whatever she did that melted my phone earlier today. They can’t replace it until I have all the signatures.”
“Oh, by all means,” Wesker said, losing all traces of the good humor he had been in before I had interrupted his alone time with Jane. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Jane grabbed the form and smoothed it out. She pulled a pen out from behind her ear and leaned up against the nearest bookcase.
“Oh!” she said. “I hear congratulations are in order on passing the Oubliette.”
“Only on a technicality,” Wesker added.
I looked at him and said, “If the damn thing hadn’t been tampered with
“Cultists don’t just go away because their public funding does, kid. The Department will be chasing down Sectarians long after you and I are both gone; that’s for sure.”
I stood at my desk, feeling somewhat defeated.
“So any victory we gain will always be undermined by a second, third, or even fourth wave of evil washing over this city. It never ends.”
“Pretty much,” Connor said. “We’d be out of a day job if it did.”
What it really meant was that the piles of paperwork sitting on my desk would just keep growing with each and every encounter.
I decided to get out of there. If I went down to Supply, got the forms, and then headed over to Tome, Sweet Tome for Jane’s signature, I could at least start the requisitioning process for my new phone. With a day as shit-filled as this one, I’d take the small victories wherever I could get them.
And then, of course, there were the vampires to find …
6
The guys down in Supply were thrilled for once I was only coming for a phone requisition and not for the usual assortment of odd equipment requests I had made over the past several months. Once I had the form in hand, I headed to the Upper West Side to Tome, Sweet Tome. After the day I’d had—almost dying in the Oubliette, working the convention show floor, confronting a shipful of bodies, everything back at the office—seeing Jane would be a welcome relief.
Or so I thought. The front section of the store was unattended except for a few kids checking out the child-friendly section. Happy painted wizards and witches on the wall seemed to follow me with their eyes as I looked around the front of the store. I knew Jane had been doing a lot of exploratory work back in the Black Stacks, so I weaved my way through the shelves and teetering piles of books until I found the Stacks. As I approached the copper caged area, I could hear Jane’s voice. She was laughing. It was good to hear a little happiness for a change, and my mood brightened.
Until I actually saw her.
I had learned to be cautious when entering the Stacks, so I pushed the gate open all the way and entered slowly. Many of the books here had a mind all their own, but luckily none of them came flying off the shelves to attack me like they had when we chased Cyrus through here months ago. I found Jane two rows in—with Wesker. She was poring over a book with a smile on her face while Wesker looked over her shoulder, leaning too close for my liking and touching the small of her back. My heart always leapt when I saw her long blond hair, her beautiful features, and, of course, the low riders she was wearing, but not this time. I cleared my throat and the two of them turned in unison. Wesker, I noticed, dropped his hand from her back in a heartbeat. Jane’s eyes lit up and she snapped the book shut before running over to me. Her ponytail bobbed as she ran, and she barreled into me with such force that her hair flipped up on top of my head when she hugged me. I hugged her back, relishing the affection despite my discomfort.
“Simon,” she said. “You’re okay!”
“I told you he was alive,” Wesker said, sounding disappointed. He looked at me. “Could you please not hug the help?”
“I’m here on official business,” I said. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the form. “Jane has to sign off on whatever she did that melted my phone earlier today. They can’t replace it until I have all the signatures.”
“Oh, by all means,” Wesker said, losing all traces of the good humor he had been in before I had interrupted his alone time with Jane. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Jane grabbed the form and smoothed it out. She pulled a pen out from behind her ear and leaned up against the nearest bookcase.
“Oh!” she said. “I hear congratulations are in order on passing the Oubliette.”
“Only on a technicality,” Wesker added.
I looked at him and said, “If the damn thing hadn’t been tampered with
Similar Books
