Jack switched back and forth as the Falcon to follow their patsy across the city. The


    watch constantly recharged as he moved as himself across the roofs. He used the


    Falcon to cross gaps he couldn’t jump across but only long enough to land and


    change back. He didn’t want to get ahead of Dudley in case he was lying about whom


    was his boss.


    The small stab wound and the threat of a horrible death might have been enough to


    wring the truth out of the man, but torture was unreliable and people will say anything


    to get out of trouble.


    Jack would have said anything to get away from Josie when she was wearing the


    fangs and hair himself.


    But Dudley was heading towards the Adventurers’ Hall according to his inner


    compass.


    That much had been the truth. So which of the buildings around the Hall contained


    the slavers? And what did he want to do when he found it? What happened if he


    didn’t wait on Josie?


    She would be mad as a wet hen, but he could live with that rather than tell her mom


    that she had got killed raiding some guy’s house in an extradimensional scavenger


    hunt thrown by mysterious backers. He was not doing that at all. Josie would have


    to talk to her own mother.


    Jack paused to watch Dudley skirt around the Hall and head for a set of walled houses


    on the other side. He nodded as that part checked out. He wondered what the


    transporter would say to explain how he had lost his cargo.


    He doubted the man would say he had been attacked by a vampire and an assortment


    of cutlery. That would be too outlandish to be believed. He would probably say that


    a gang of bandits had attacked the wagon and stole everything.


    Jack would do the same thing if he was in the same position.


    Jack flew across the large cleared gap around the Hall to land on the roof. He changed


    back and watched the wagoneer move through the neighborhood toward a house at


    the end of the row. Was that the Lord’s house? He could probably check with


    someone on the street, but he watched to make sure Dudley was allowed inside the


    house.


    Dudley was allowed inside the gate by two more men with the Jack Makeover. He


    walked down the driveway, and headed for the back of the place. It looked like he


    could enter as a servant, or as some kind of salesperson.


    Did Lord Endwright know what was going on suddenly became a relevant question.


    He checked the power on his watch. He had enough to watch from a distance as the


    Vision. Then he could worry about what he planned to do. He was tempted to try out


    Nitro on the house and see what happened.


    And he was also tempted to go ahead without Josie. He didn’t need her to take part


    in something she shouldn’t be doing. The Army had already given him enough skills


    to blow into the house without her. The watch just made that easier.


    He dialed the Vision and watched Dudley make his way to a waiting room set up like


    a living room off the kitchens. A woman appeared with the Montrose markings. She


    and Dudley exchanged words about what had happened at the hole in the wall. The


    woman seemed placid on the surface to the watcher. She apparently told her servant


    to wait in the parlor until she decided what to do.


    Jack regretted the Vision didn’t allow him to hear what was going on.


    He looked through the rest of the house. He noted that two men were bedridden


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.in separate rooms on the top floor. He wondered what that was about. Obviously the


    lady seemed to be running things. Why keep the men around?


    He decided that wasn’t his problem until he broke in.


    He noted the staff moving around. He frowned at the amount of unmarked servants


    mixed in with the marked guards wandering the house. He thought maybe ten


    noncombatants in the house.


    That meant taking care not to cut people up that didn’t deserve it.


    He had personas on his watch that he could use as workarounds. The main problem


    was chasing people down as someone else and not being able to wall them with


    the Vision at the same time.


    The two sick guys interested him in the questions they posed. Why keep them around


    when you were a despicable human trafficker? He doubted for love. Maybe keeping


    them alive kept the money flowing somehow.


    He stepped back and returned to normal. He could get in through the roof. Gravity


    could help him sort through the people he was going to get rid of from the people


    who didn’t seem to know what was going on. Then he could think about fixing the


    two sick guys with Doctor Strange, his medician.


    Did he want to do the raid right now before Josie could get in the way? He didn’t see


    why not. She could handle trying to get the kidnaped victims back to where they


    belonged.


    He could put up with a little anger over a done deal. His four sisters had taught him


    that much.


    He decided to let Josie know he was going in so she wouldn’t use that against him.


    He just wouldn’t tell her directly.


    “Elaine?,” Jack said into his new phone watch. “Can you hear me?”


    “Yes, milord,” said Elaine. “These watches are something new. I don’t know if I


    like it, or not.”


    “Tell Josie that Lady Endwright seems to be running the show, and I am going in,”


    said Jack.


    “I don’t like the watches,” said Elaine.


    “I have to change up,” said Jack. “I’ll let you guys know when it’s over.”


    He changed to the Falcon and flew across to the roof of the house. He dropped down


    to a window ledge as Blade and cut his way inside. He walked across the bedroom,


    noting how luxuriously appointed it was compared to the two sick guys. He sliced


    through the door.


    The next few minutes were bloody as Jack carved his way down through the house.


    The regular staff had the sense to run from him. The soldiers tried to fight back at


    first. Then they started to run as Blade’s floating swords hacked through anything


    that got in his way. The only one he wanted to question was Lady Endwright. The rest


    were cannon fodder.


    He wondered how the city authorities were going to take this usurpation of their role


    after he was done. He certainly wasn’t going to be covering it up.


    Jack ran out of power halfway through his search. He frowned as he backed up to an


    empty office. He had to wait for the watch to recharge now. Had anyone gone upstairs


    to deal with the sick men? He should have thought they would need a guard from the


    rats in the house.


    He might have to fight without the watch if it didn’t charge up fast enough.


    He thought he heard an explosion below him. He wondered if Josie had decided


    to show up instead of getting the others settled. He grinned. He shouldn’t have called.


    Now she would be mad and looking around to do things to people.


    A serious of snaps echoed below. They sounded like gunshots to him. What was she


    using? He didn’t remember the Arrow making noise when she shot up that


    warehouse.


    Someone slammed open the door. He punched the face before realizing he had


    punched one of the maids. He directed her to a chair as she clutched her face. He


    noted she didn’t have the Montrose Makeover. That was enough to let her live for the


    moment.


    “Stay in here and you might be alive when this is over,” said Jack. “Don’t step out of


    here until I get done.”


    “Lord Endwright needs protection,” said the maid.


    “How’s he going to get that if you’re dead?,” asked Jack. He switched back to Blade.


    “Stay out of the way, and I’ll see what I can do about him.”


    He stepped out in the hall. His swords rotated around him as he looked for targets.


    He spotted something made of marbles coming up the stairs. He doubted anyone


    else could do what he and Josie were doing.


    “Hey, Josie,” he called.


    “Don’t hey Josie me, buddy,” said Josie. “How many are supposed to be here?”


    “Dudley, ten guards, and the Lady Endwright,” said Jack.


    “That’s twelve,” said Josie. “I only got notifications for eleven.”


    “There’s a maid in the office here,” said Jack. “She wants to check on the lord of the


    manor. Apparently he is sick.”


    “Not a Montrose?,” asked Josie.


    “Nope,” said Jack.


    “We still have to find the last one,” said Josie. “We need the Vision for that.”


    Jack nodded as he switched bodies. He looked over the house. He frowned. He


    dropped the persona.


    “She’s with the Lord,” said Jack. “Let’s go up and see what kind of deal she wants


    to make.”