Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #14)(67)

Reginald Peabody was using a flashlight to examine the small train designed to take people through the winding corridor of mirrors. He straightened when he noticed the group standing at the entrance.

Otis chortled a greeting and waved the toy dust bunny.

Peabody grimaced. “Oh, dear. Not again.”

“Don’t worry, Dr. Peabody,” Lucy said. “I’ve got a good grip on Otis.”

“I certainly hope so,” Peabody said. He turned to Gabriel. “What can I do for you, Mr. Jones?”

“We need to borrow a few artifacts,” Gabriel said, “and a couple of your security staff.”

Peabody stared, appalled, but he managed to pull himself together. “Of course, Mr. Jones. Anything for the Guild.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO





Lucy stood in the deeply shadowed entrance of a long-closed nightclub. She was not alone. Otis was on her shoulder. Gabriel, Aiden, and Chief Hopton were there, too. They all watched the old casino at the end of the narrow street. A few architectural features remained from its semiglorious heyday. The faded sign on the marquee announced loose slots, complimentary drinks, and an Elvis impersonator.

“I remember this place,” Chief Hopton said. “When I was a rookie we busted it regularly. The management was always running off-the-books, high-stakes poker games in the basement. Every time we raided the joint, the gamblers escaped through that hole-in-the-wall you found. We always lost ’em in the tunnels.”

“Not this time,” Gabriel said. “Ready?”

Hopton looked at the half dozen officers in heavy SWAT gear who were waiting in another doorway directly across the street. He raised one hand in a signal.

The woman in charge of the team acknowledged the signal and led the other officers toward the casino. Under the cover of the heavy fog, they took up positions. One of the team primed a small explosive and hurled it at the boarded-up front door of the casino.

There was a loud whoomph. Glass and wood shattered. When the smoke began to clear, mag-rezes roared from inside the casino, spraying the area around the entrance.

A guard poked his head around the doorway. He saw Hopton and Gabriel, fired two quick shots, and ducked back inside.

“It’s the cops and the new Guild boss,” he yelled. “We’re gonna need the suppressor.”

“Get out of the way,” Dillon Westover shouted from somewhere inside.

He appeared at the entrance. His face was twisted into a wild, frantic mask. He used both hands to grip a strange-looking machine. He swung the barrel of the device in wide arcs, evidently searching for a target.

The machine began to glow with an ominous silver energy. The lights inside the casino dimmed and winked out.

Gabriel checked his amber. “Flatlined.”

Hopton took out his mag-rez. “Dead. That damned machine really works.”

Gabriel signaled Aiden and the two museum security guards.

“Go,” he said.

They raised the control devices and pressed the keys.

Westover did not see Mrs. Bridewell’s clockwork curiosities advancing toward the entrance of the casino until it was too late. The queen, a soldier dressed in the uniform of an Old World military regiment, and a miniature carriage drawn by two four-footed animals moved relentlessly toward Westover.

Belatedly, he heard the clanking of the killer toys and looked down.

“What the fuck?” he yelled.

He aimed his suppressor at the row of marching machines. From where she stood, Lucy could see him desperately trying to rez a trigger-like device. The weapon glowed hotter. A beam of paranormal radiation struck the clockwork weapons, one after another, but it had no effect. The queen, the soldier, and the carriage reached the entrance. The queen’s head moved from side to side, seeking a target. She found Westover.

He tried to retreat, but the queen had locked onto his vibe. He realized he was in danger and tried to scramble out of range, but he went unnaturally still. He dropped the machine and fell to his knees and stared at the lethal toy in disbelief.

“I know the feeling,” Lucy whispered. The memory of the cold sensation that had swept through her when the queen had fixed her gaze on her in the Ghost City was going to haunt her for a very long time.

The machine that Westover had dropped was still glowing, albeit more faintly. Unfazed, the soldier and the miniature carriage continued past Westover and went into the casino, searching for other targets. There were shouts and yells of panic.

“The tunnels,” a man screamed. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Gabriel signaled the two Arcane guards. They de-rezzed their control boxes. There was an ominous silence inside the casino. The machine finally stopped glowing.

Gabriel checked his mag-rez. “We’ve got power again. We need to move fast. Their weapons will be working, too.”

Chief Hopton signaled the assault team. They emerged from the fog at the side of the casino and went through the doorway.

There was another moment of silence before the team leader appeared.

“Under control, Chief,” she called.

Gabriel, Hopton, Aiden, and the Arcane security guards sprinted for the doorway. Otis leaped off Lucy’s shoulder and raced after the others. He was sleeked out and showing a lot of teeth.

Lucy hurried toward the entrance. The scene inside the casino was reassuring. Officers were collecting weapons and handcuffing people. Aiden was busy stripping amber off the ex-Guild men and snapping photos of the cops in action.