Sunset: Pact Arcanum: Book One (33 page)

Michelle took a deep, shuddering breath as the rush of memories faded. Opening her eyes, she let her hand fall into her lap and stared at Nick for a moment before smiling slightly. “Thank you.”

Nick blinked. “For what?”

She reached out and clasped her husband’s hand. “For letting me see how much my happiness cost you and for letting me show you what you gave us in return. I wanted you to know that your sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”

“I—” Nick rocked back in his seat. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything,” she said. “I think we finally understand each other.”

Nick met her gaze. “Maybe we do,” he whispered. “Thank you, Michelle.” He took a long look at Scott. “Take good care of him.”

“I will,” she said as she rose and gently pulled her husband to his feet. “I’m done here,” she said. “Please take me home.”

Jeremy turned to Nick, lost in thought as he watched Scott and Michelle teleport away. “Do you think we’ll ever have that kind of happiness to defend?”

Pushing Scott to the back of his mind and masking the link, Nick replied, “I can’t promise I will ever love you like that, Jer.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” He grinned. “At least not yet.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Ambitious, aren’t you?”

Jeremy’s expression grew serious as he reached out to entwine his fingers with Nick’s. “I love you, Nicholas,” he said quietly. “All I want is a chance to earn your love in return.”

Bringing their clasped hands to his lips, Nick kissed Jeremy’s knuckles. “Jeremy Harkness, you’ve become one of my closest friends, and I didn’t want to mess with that. Even before I realized you wanted more than sex, I decided to let you make the first move. Honestly, if you had asked me to sleep with you at any time in the last six months, I would have agreed without even thinking about it.” He looked up to meet Jeremy’s eyes. “I never wanted more than that from anyone, except Scott. I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations.”

Jeremy leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips. “Try.”

A
RMISTICE
S
ECURITY
S
EAL

C
HAPTER 25

February 2041; Armistice Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico; Thirteen months after public exposure

“Sentinel Garcia, do you acknowledge your sponsor’s authority over you until such time as the Triumvirate ratifies your application for full citizenship?”

“Yes.” The Sentinel nodded.

“The sponsorship agreement is duly registered and recorded. Under the terms of the Armistice Declaration of 2021, you are hereby granted provisional citizenship, subject to ratification by the Triumvirate. Citizen, on behalf of the Triumvirate Council of North America, I welcome you among the Free People. This judicial proceeding is now closed. Set and done this date over my seal and signature, Jeremy Kenneth Harkness Leshir Luscian, called the Seer, Armistice Security.”

“Forensic recording terminated.”

Jeremy stood from the desk and held out his hand. “Congratulations.”

Briefly shaking the proffered hand, the Sentinel candidate murmured, “Thanks.”

The Nightwalker who had sponsored him got up and left without a word, the Sentinel following moments later.

Jeremy sat at the desk again and frowned. Calling up the forensic record of the interview he’d just completed, he watched it again on the virtual screen above the desk, paying closer attention to the behavior of the candidate and his sponsor. Lost in thought, he reviewed their detailed security profiles again, as well as the background checks assembled for Triumvirate ratification.

He was still at it when Anaba stuck her head inside the cubicle. “Quitting time, Jer,” she said. “I’m sure you have better things to do on Valentine’s Day than overtime.”

“Of course,” Jeremy said, still preoccupied. “Hey, Ana, can you take a look at something for me?”

“Sure.” Ana walked into the cubicle and pulled one of the chairs toward the desk. “What am I looking for?”

“This citizenship hearing I just finished.” He gestured toward the screen. “Tell me if you notice anything odd.” He played the recording.

Ana shook her head. “Seems by the book to me.”

“Look at how the sponsor and the candidate were acting, their body language,” Jeremy insisted. “Almost like they can’t stand to be in the same room together.” He ran the recording again.

This time, Ana frowned as she watched. “Hmm. That is kind of odd, I’ll admit. Most candidates only approach a sponsor they trust to speak on their behalf. They’re certainly more aloof than the average pair we get coming through here.”

Jeremy tapped a couple of keys, and the sponsor’s security records appeared. “And look at this. That Nightwalker has sponsored two other candidates in the past year. Kind of a lot, don’t you think?”

She shrugged dismissively. “A little unusual, but not unheard of. Your boyfriend stood for two candidates, himself: you and Scott,” she said with a grin.

Jeremy glared at her. “Ana, stop ribbing me about Nick. So he’s my boyfriend. Get over it.”

“Come on, Jer,” Ana laughed. “You’re practically drooling all over him whenever he passes through here.”

Jeremy rubbed his temples in frustration. “Ana, give me a break, will you? I wasn’t ready to tell him how I felt. I’m still getting used to the idea.”

She smirked. “And you’re loving every minute of it, aren’t you?” Ana shook her head. “Seriously, the way you worship that guy is really over the top. I mean, I know he saved your life, but come on. He was just a singer in a rock band, for God’s sake.”

Jeremy growled at her. “So were you.”

Anaba stopped smiling. “Touché.”

Jeremy turned back to the documents on the screen. “I can’t shake the feeling there’s something going on here that I’m missing.”

“Why didn’t you just read their minds?”

“I don’t do that anymore.” He frowned as he continued to examine the documents. “I’m trying to be a decent, ethical person these days.”

“It’s your Gift. What good is it if you don’t use it?” Switching back to professional mode, Ana glanced over the records again. “Anyway, do you think it’s actionable? We can always set up a surveillance detail on them if you’re worried they’re up to something.”

Jeremy chewed his lip thoughtfully. “No, I’m probably just being paranoid.” He cleared the documents from the screen and shut down his workstation. “All right, I’m out of here. See you tomorrow.”

Ana grinned. “Going home to play some of your boy’s albums?”

Jeremy froze.

Her eyes widened. “Jeremy, you’ve been a spy, a terrorist, a diplomat, and now you’re a cop. You have more life experience in twenty-five years than most people get in a lifetime. Don’t tell me you actually listen to a poser band like the Journeymen just because your boyfriend is in it.”

“Fuck you, Ana,” he growled, grabbing his briefcase from beside the desk.

Her high-pitched laughter followed him all the way back to the teleport gateway.

Armistice Embassy, Washington, D.C.; One hour later

“How are we coming along with the preparations for the Armistice Day celebration?” asked Nick, leaning back in his chair.

Scott tapped a few controls on the conference table to bring up the relevant files. “We’re still knocking out walls on the upper level here and at the embassy in Mexico City so they can serve as banquet halls. The embassy in Ottawa already has a reasonably sized ballroom that will do, so we don’t need to do too much there other than wire up the hologrid. All renovations should be complete in a couple of months. Our fixed defenses here have been upgraded with a quantum dispersion field to meet level IV security protocols, although I don’t know why we bother; Armistice Security has the only access to gravity pulse weaponry on the planet, and we’re certainly not going to drop a black hole on the city.”

Nick shrugged. “We’ve had gravity manipulation for more than a decade. It’s not unreasonable to think the Court may have stolen that information from us or reverse engineered the technology after we proved it could be done. From there, it’s only a short hop to weapons of mass destruction. Also, this will be the first time the Triumvirate will all be together publicly in a location away from the defenses of the Hidden Cities since the Burning. I don’t want to risk their lives on the presumption that our technology is unique.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Scott sighed. “In any case, the fixed defenses are more than adequate to repel any conventional attack while the Triumvirate is present. Other than that, it’s just a matter of putting the guest list together.”

“Yeah, that’s all.” Nick rolled his eyes. “It’s just the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Declaration—everyone is going to want an invitation,” he said. “Winnowing it down to a manageable number will be a nightmare.”

Scott smiled. “Pity that’s a civilian task, not a security matter, so it’s not my problem.”

“This will be the only one of the regional celebrations the Triumvirate will be attending. I’ve already been swamped with requests, even from outside the Armistice Zone.” Nick put his head down on the table and sighed. “The AIs and Armistice Security can handle the background checks, but I’m still going to have to make the final decisions. Anyone I say no to is going to be royally pissed. How did I get stuck with this job again?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” Scott grinned widely. “I feel your pain.”

“Right.” Nick snorted.

“Have you decided yet whether you’re going to invite a human delegation?”

“No, I haven’t.” Nick wandered to the window. “It would be a risk letting them come,” he admitted, looking down over the streets of Georgetown. “They might see things we’d rather they didn’t. But it’s the best chance we have to show them we’re real people. Our monthly press briefings have only been answering the questions they can think of. We haven’t shown them a window into who we really are since the day I killed Brion.”

“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” said Scott. “We’re a scary bunch. They might not like what they see.”

“They have to learn sometime. We’re not going away. If we’re going to coexist, we have to find a balance.”

“I suppose. If you truly want to let them see, maybe we should invite the press to the party as well.”

Nick turned around and folded his arms. “Hmm. That might be a good idea. We could pick a reporter to accompany the human delegation and answer questions as they arise, just to head off any misinterpretation. Do you think you can make up a short list of candidates you would trust to give a reasoned portrayal?”

“Sure. I can put together a set of parameters for the AIs to do a search. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Thanks.”

A soft tone interrupted them. “Agent Jeremy Harkness is requesting entry.”

“Let him in,” said Nick, his face lighting up as the door opened. Jeremy stepped inside, wearing the gray uniform of Armistice Security.

“Hey, Jer. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Jeremy laughed, walking over to Nick and kissing him. “Will you be my Valentine?”

“Damn straight.” Nick grinned, draping his arm around his lover. “But you’re not usually this sappy.”

“Valentine’s has never been one of my favorite days. This’ll be the first time I won’t be spending the day alone and bitter.”

“Well, tonight’s going to be special.” Nick leaned back, inhaling the Sentinel’s familiar scent before giving him a more thorough kiss. “You better get used to it.”

Scott’s mock gagging interrupted them. “If the two of you start tearing each other’s clothes off, I’m out of here.”

Nick flipped him off without diverting his attention from Jeremy. “Seriously, Jer. What brings you to Washington today? I thought we were going to meet at the Citadel once I got off work.”

Jeremy’s face fell slightly. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” He turned to the other Sentinel. “Scott, I’m sorry to barge in on your meeting, but could you excuse us for a couple of minutes? It’s kind of private.”

“I can do that.” Gathering the papers they had been going over, Scott said, “Just let me know when you’re done.” Then he stepped outside and locked the door behind him.

* * *

“What’s going on?” Nick’s forehead wrinkled in concern.

Pulling out a chair, Jeremy took a deep breath as he sat down at the table. “Nick, I love every second of being with you. The past two months have been the best Christmas present I’ve ever had. I’ve never been happier. I know what this day means to most people, so I don’t want to spoil it for you, but there’s something I think we need to settle before I can enjoy it the way you want me to, something we need to talk about.”

“What is it, Jer?” Nick took a seat next to him and gave his knee a reassuring squeeze.

“When you brought me to Anchorpoint that first day, I asked you what the price would be. You said you wanted me to force you to confront the things you needed to see.”

“And you have. You’ve kept me honest when all I wanted to do was lie to myself.”