Chapter 29

  “Is he there?” Sam asked Ayasse as he popped out of the shadows next to her. It was early evening, and the moon wasn’t out yet. Sam missed having two moons. They always shone more brightly and made the night less scary.

  “Yes,” Ayasse said, taking a deep breath and putting his hand against the wall to steady himself. “He’s yelling into a machine, telling someone to find you.” Ayasse let out a cough and stood straighter. “He also said something about your blood, but I didn’t understand his meaning.”

  “That’s okay. You’ve done enough.” Sam put her hand on his back and turned to the men with her. “Please watch him, Chief Sheer. He needs to rest.”

  The London chief of police was quiet and nodded. He directed Ayasse back to one of his officers and scowled at Sam. She scoffed. Like most men in London, he probably hated seeing women in pants.

  Sam hid her chuckle as she watched the police avoid any contact with Ayasse. When the government officials with her first saw him move out of the shadows, they all made the sign of the cross. One had a panic attack. She’d been with Ayasse for so long now that his magic seemed natural. He was getting worse. In the two weeks they’d been in London, his face was growing hollower. She needed to finish this tonight.

  “We are ready to proceed. Lord Timothy has asked that you take the lead. How are you going in, ma’am?” the government man in the black suit to her right asked. He and his partner were the linchpins in this plan. Sam wished she could remember their names, but Timothy said they would do their jobs.

  “I was thinking of using the front door,” Sam said, stepping up to the gate and breaking the lock. She marched down the path to Bob’s front door, kicking it open. The crash reverberated through the house. That hurt her ankle.

  The two men in black suits held onto their hats. The one to the left said, “This would have been easier if you knocked. He will notice your presence.”

  “That’s the plan. Stay behind me until I call you,” Sam said to the three men and stomped forward. She was enjoying this. In the ten years she lived here, this place never truly felt like home. Coming in without warning, dominating the place felt right. She was the one in control here now, not him.

  “Halt!”

  One of Bob’s security guards came out of a side room. He was holding a new stun baton, sparkling with power.

  “I have a warrant for the arrest of Lord Robert Allen,” Sam said, pointing to one of the small, black-suited men. He was holding a piece of paper with a government seal on it. “Please stand out of the way.”

  The man took the paper and glanced around Sam at the officials with her. He sighed, gave the paper back, let the sparkle go from the stun baton, and stood aside to let her pass. “He doesn’t pay me enough for this.”

  “Thank you.” Sam strode to Bob’s office with a slight limp. Her injuries were no longer bothering her, but kicking doors open didn’t help much.

  At the door to his study, she could hear someone moving behind it.

  Sam raised her palm to the government men and waved them back. She wanted to enjoy this. “They already know I’m here, so…” Sam reached back with both arms and shoved the heavy doors.

  They burst off the hinges, pieces of wood bouncing off Bob’s desk. The impact knocked Albert away from the desk, forcing the phone from his grasp. He dropped to the floor and scrambled to the bookshelf on all fours. Papers flew everywhere. Bob stayed in his chair and glared at Sam over his steepled fingers.

  “You could have simply knocked. This is quite unmannerly of you.” He looked her up and down and scowled. “You’ve been on your own for three years, and you’ve learned to dress like a slut. Congratulations, I knew you had it in you to disappoint me further.” Bob shook his head. “What makes you think you can come into my house and show that much flesh?”

  Sam stopped and opened her mouth in shock. “I can’t believe it. You haven’t changed. I’m breaking into your house, and you want to start a fight? Over my choice of clothing?” She wore a pair of men’s pants and a vest that hugged her body. The white shirt underneath barely fit and had three buttons open, showing her neck. It was still hard to find clothing that could go around her shoulders, and tailored outfits took too long to make. Men’s clothing was more comfortable.

  “You like to push my buttons, don’t you? Trying to control everything I do,” Sam said, stepping over the remains of the door. “I’m here to tell you that’s over. I’m calling the shots.”

  Bob shook his head. “This is not right. I am your uncle and guardian. What you do reflects on me. Besides, you just got out of surgery for the gunshot. Shouldn’t you be resting?” Bob said, placing his hands on the desk.

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  “It’s over, Bob. Can I call you Bob?” She chuckled at her little jest and walked up to his desk. She put her hands on both sides and picked it up, grunting. It was too heavy to lift it higher than her foot. “Let’s get this out of the way.” She slid it against the wall behind him, reducing the plaster to dust and lodging it in the wall. “Oops. Silly me,” she giggled and held her hand to her mouth. The smile disappeared.

  Bob’s scowl darkened. “That was a valuable desk, given to me by the Kaiser himself.”

  “I don’t think you quite understand, Bob,” Sam said, smiling again. She placed a foot on his chair between his legs and leaned forward into his face. “It’s over. You’ve lost.”

  “I don’t think so. Albert has informed the police, and they’ll be here in a few minutes. They’ll arrest you and save me from your rampage.” He smiled, glaring into her eyes. “Then we can continue from where we left off, in the hospital.”

  “You don’t sweat easily, do you?” Sam twisted around and toppled the chair, knocking Bob onto his back. He picked himself up from the floor, but Sam swept her foot under him, knocking him back down.

  “Oops. Clumsy me,” Sam giggled again, frowning.

  Bob jumped to his feet, his face turning a crimson red. He’d always been so in control of his temper. The only time he’d ever exploded at her was when she had sicked the regulators on his factory. She had seen his true face that day.

  “How dare you break into my home! Threaten me! You’re just a silly twit whose daddy turned into a monster! I’m glad I had him killed. I only wish I had gotten you as well. Especially after what you did to my daughter.” Bob released all his anger, spittle pelting Sam. He was as tall as her, and their shouting matches had been legendary.

  Sam used her sleeve to wipe her face. “I could rip your head off for that. Nobody insults my father like that.”

  “Do your worst. You can do nothing to me that you haven’t done before.” Bob turned away from Sam and stepped back. He tugged down his vest. “I’m not afraid of your strength.”

  Sam was quiet, turned and glanced out the room, then back to Bob. Her hands were clenched into fists, and his jaw was right there.

  One punch, and he would look the same as Akira. She let out a sigh.

  If she did that, she’d be no better than Akira, either.

  Sam opened her fists and shrugged. “You should be afraid, but I’ve brought some different weapons this time.” She grinned. She couldn’t go down the same road she always chose, and he didn’t deserve the easy way. “You expected me to attack like this, didn’t you?”

  “What are you going on about?” Bob demanded. He stood ramrod straight, fists clenched at his side, shaking from the tirade he’d just released.

  Sam shook her head. “This indignation is all an act. You want me to get angry and try to fight you. That way, you have a reason to arrest me. Over in the other world, they used swords and arrows. Here, those things have gone out of style.” She took a deep breath. “I have someone with me, and he’s eager to talk to you. With all that you’ve been importing from the other world, I’m sure you have been paying the right taxes, right?”

  “What’s that got to do with it?” he said.

  She raised an eyebrow. “You thought you could win, didn’t you? Even so, with your confession, I had more than enough evidence to open an investigation.”

  Lord Robert’s face froze. The anger drained from his body, and he stared at Sam. “No. You didn’t?”

  “Yes, I did. Come in, gentlemen.” Sam stepped away from the doorway and let in two short men wearing black suits. They were followed by police chief Shear and two of his officers. Sam had never met Shear before Timothy introduced him, but she didn’t trust the man. He gave off a greasy, unpleasant feeling.

  Shear stood in front of Bob and took his hat off. “I’m terribly sorry, Lord Robert, but I have a writ for your arrest. If you would be so kind as to follow me.”

  Sam raised a lip. He was too passive. “Don’t apologize to this scum. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  Shear grunted and put his hat back on his head.

  Sam glanced at Albert. He was moving into the corner, towards the bookshelf and away from the blowout between Sam and Bob. She hadn’t forgotten about him, but as a servant, it was harder to find evidence implicating him. She would worry about him later. The show was starting.

  The shorter of the two men in black suits raised a document and started reading. “Lord Robert Allen. We have some questions for you on the charge of tax evasion. You are commanded to submit all your ledgers to these men and stand back. We have also dispatched some officers to your warehouse and your office in the financial district. They are being raided as we speak. It would be greatly appreciated if you willingly comply.” He lowered the document and stood back.

  Bob stared at the two men and turned his gaze back to Sam. His face turned a different shade of red when he saw her smirk.

  “You humiliate me again like this. I thought you had your fill when you got the police to raid my factories. How did you do this? Why?”

  She snorted. “When you mentioned my father before, I remembered his partner. He was shy, so you probably missed him. I was able to contact him. It’d been years, but he remembered me, Relancia, and he had all my father’s notes on the chemicals he used.” Sam bent her knee, stepped on the remains of the desk, and leaned forward. A few twinges in her foot were worth it to look in control like this, though.

  She propped her arm on her leg and set her head on her fist. “He was scared to come forward before, but when I offered him the rest of the notes, he stepped up and helped me get in touch with the police. You took everything, and he wants them back. From there, the police helped me contact the tax office.” She smiled and pointed to the two men. “They’ve been interested in you for a while. You weren’t as circumspect as you thought. It didn’t take much convincing for them to believe you were hiding something.”

  “I see. It was difficult hiding that much money from Relancia. I suppose it was only a matter of time,” said Bob, shrugging.

  “What are you trying to do?” Sam asked, crossing her arms and trying to take back the initiative. “You’ve lost. This is no time to take the high road. I’m also glad you confessed to killing my parents. That was a bonus.” She smiled. “You heard that right, officer?”

  “Yes, we did,” Chief Shear said. “We’ll have some discussions downtown about that.”

  Bob took a deep breath and stopped. He faced the policemen standing at the door. “Shear, you took my money, and this is how you repay me.” He shook his head. Chief Shear snarled and reached for his baton.

  “I was wondering when I would get the chance to try this out. Now is as good a time as any.” Bob turned to Albert. “You know what to do when I’m gone, correct?”

  “Yes, sir. As we discussed.” Albert nodded.

  Bob turned and raised his hand at Chief Shear. “I despise traitors,” he said, curling his fingers into a claw. “Fireball.”