A surprisingly long line led to the appointment desk. The elf receptionist had managed to personalize her security uniform by adding a bright yellow scarf. She probably wouldn’t get away with it for long. While I didn’t care for the style, I had to give her points for simultaneously matching her eye shadow and sticking it to the Man.
A motley group going to the hearing waited at the elevators. A surprising number of solitary fey mixed in with fairies and elves. Solitaries usually avoided the Guild. Even though a bunch of them had tried to kill me, I felt bad about the number of bruises and bandages I saw. Like everyone else, they had been provoked by a spell to do what they did. Most people aren’t at their best when they’re on a murderous rampage.
When the elevator arrived, a brownie security guard waited inside again. Before anyone else could board, four brownie security guards hustled me into the elevator and the doors closed. One of the guards grabbed my arm. “Connor Grey, you are ordered held for questioning.”
Despite my inclination to clock the guy, I simply pulled my arm away. I hate being manhandled. The four brownies positioned themselves around me.
“Ceridwen can’t just grab anyone she pleases,” I said.
The lead brownie glanced at me and away.
“What am I being held for?” I asked.
They stared straight ahead. Even the lead guy didn’t bother looking at me. “You are on Guild property and are being detained for questioning.”
I glared at him. “That’s not what I asked.”
The elevator doors opened. The lead brownie waved off someone trying to board.
“I’m not putting up with this.” I pushed forward. The two brownies behind me grabbed my arms. The doors closed.
“Fine. You’re just making this worse. I’m going to sue Ceridwen for unlawful detention, and I’m going to name all of you.” They did a good job of being unimpressed. Whatever Ceridwen was up to, she wasn’t going to get any cooperation from me if she thought this was the way to get what she wanted. Especially after her little game in the hotel.
The elevator opened on a quiet lower floor. The brownies escorted me down an empty corridor. The Guildhouse had entire unused sections. The lead brownie opened a door and stuck his head inside. He motioned for me to enter. I pushed open the door. The small, spartan conference room held a table with four chairs around it. Two of them were occupied. On one sat the brownie I had left in the basement storeroom. On another, Meryl sat with her face in a cool, neutral pose. She folded her hands on the tabletop. “Have a seat, Mr. Grey.”
I dropped in the seat and crossed my arms. “Very funny,” I said.
Meryl looked at the brownie. “Did I say something funny? I don’t think I said something funny.” The brownie had a hangdog expression.
Meryl turned back to me. “Let me introduce you, Grey. This is Tobbin Korrel. Tobbin has been a security guard at the Guildhouse for three years. He has an excellent employment record and is well liked by his coworkers. Not two weeks ago he managed to prevent a mentally ill selkie from drowning a receptionist in the lobby without anyone getting hurt. He has a wife and three kids. He gets up every day, comes to work, goes home, pays his bills, and maybe occasionally takes the family out for ice cream. When he is asked to do something at work, despite whatever utter stupidity it may involve from his superiors, he complies as long as he isn’t asked to do something illegal. In short, Grey, he’s a nice guy who does his job. What do you have to say to that?”
I frowned at her. “Hi, Tobbin.”
She arched an eyebrow at me. “Is that really all you have to say to Mr. Korrel?”
I sighed impatiently. “Look, I’m sorry, Korrel. I have a problem with rules that make no sense, in this place in particular. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” I glared at Meryl. “Satisfied?”
She pursed her lips. “That covers your behavior in the elevator. There’s the little matter of the storeroom.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to be angry. “I’m sorry I trapped you in the storeroom.”
“And?” said Meryl.
I couldn’t think of anything else I had done. “And what?”
“And if there’s anything you can do for Mr. Korrel to make up for it, you will be glad to, right?”
I gave in. “Yes. I really am sorry, Mr. Korrel. I was a jerk. Call me anytime.”
Meryl slid paper and pen toward me. “Now give him your number.”
My face felt hot as I wrote it down. Meryl intercepted the paper as I handed it to Korrel. “It’s the right phone number, Meryl.”
She smiled as she passed it to the brownie. “Just checking. Is that satisfactory, Tobs?”
He nodded. “Really, this wasn’t necessary.”
Meryl tapped his arm. “You have no idea how necessary this was. I apologize for wasting your break time.”
“Thank you.” He nodded with a nervous smile and left.
Meryl and I stared at each other. I counted to ten before I trusted myself to speak. “That was a nasty thing to do.”
Her blank expression vanished behind an angry frown. “How’s it feel?”
I stood, the chair skittering back a little more dramatically than I intended. “I got your point. I’m not a child, Meryl.”
She shrugged, indifferent to my anger. “You think? Then don’t act like one. Here’s the thing, Grey. You knew I wouldn’t leave you in that storeroom. You knew I’d be right back. He didn’t. He also knew those rooms are warded, and no one would hear him. He had to take a sick day to recover from the boggart mania. I have no sympathy for you right now.”
I bit back what I was going to snap at her. I hadn’t considered that. I sat again. “Okay, now I really feel like crap.”
She compressed her lips. “Good. Karma’s a bitch.”
I rubbed my fingertips across my scalp. “Okay, okay, I hear you.”
She lifted a huge black pocketbook onto her shoulder. “Good.”
As she came around the table, I took her arm as gently as possible. “Will you have drinks with me later?”
She checked her watch. “We both have meetings. Call me, and I’ll let you know if I’m free.”
I smiled. “It’s a date.”
She rolled her eyes. “Here we go with that again. I’ll call you.”
She outpaced me down the hall. When I reached the elevator lobby, the stairwell door was closing. I didn’t know what to think. First we have sex. Then we have a disciplinary meeting. If that was Meryl’s idea of hot, I sure as hell was baffled.
I took the elevator without further incident to the Community Liaison Department. The user-friendly name implied it was some kind of fey boosterism group. In reality, it’s a crime unit, pure and simple. It used to be the center of my world, but not anymore. I could probably get a research position with the unit. In fact, Keeva macNeve had even offered me one. I turned it down. I didn’t want to define myself by my job anymore. Not after I realized that it could all be taken away without any say from me. Besides, with Keeva in charge, I’d go insane answering to her.
The department buzzed with activity. A few people acknowledged me, but no one made the step of engaging in conversation. When I worked there, I tended to socialize only with other high-level agents, the ones who had the option of not being nailed to their desks. It was an elitist division that I had no problem with. Of course, the payback is that people I considered underlings no longer have to give me the time of day.
The Guildhouse had dampening wards everywhere to keep the ambient essence levels down. The side effect was that you couldn’t always sense who was coming your way. Dylan didn’t realize I was standing at the door, watching him work. He had been moved into an office that last I knew was being used as a storeroom. The storage boxes were cleared out, and the original office furniture was rearranged so the desk angled in the corner, facing both the window and the door. I knocked.