Gameboard of the Gods

Leo laughed, but Dominic said in a very flat voice, “We already have some.”

“Justin won’t say it, but he’s appalled by our living conditions,” Leo explained. “He’d never dream of living any place so ‘primitive.’” Beside him, Justin heard Tessa clear her throat.

“Oh, I’ll say it,” Justin told them. Dominic situated himself on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed in a standoffish way that oddly mirrored Mae. “Getting married doesn’t mean you have to pack up and move to a farm, though. If it does, then I’m even more against it than I already was.”

“Dominic’s trying to start his own wine business. All the vineyards outside? That’s his handiwork.” Leo looked up at his husband with unabashed pride and adoration.

“And what do you do?” asked Justin. “Design the labels?” It was impossible to imagine fastidious Leo digging around in the dirt.

Leo shook his head. “Nah, I commute to the city. Well, sometimes. They let me do a lot of telecommuting too. I work for Estocorp’s Portland branch now.”

“That’s a long trip if you do have to go in.” “Estocorp” sounded familiar, but it took Justin a few moments to place it. “You’re working on contraceptive implants?”

“Pays better than my old job. Maybe even better than yours.”

“Not likely,” said Justin. “Leo, you could probably hack an identity chip. Why would you waste your time with birth control?”

Leo was still amazingly casual about all of this, but then, he’d had a lot more time to adapt to his change in fortunes. “Hey, it’s noble work keeping our population stable. Besides, the Ministry of Health and Social Services is considering switching from their current provider. Do you know what kind of money we’d make with a government contract?”

“I can get you a government contract,” protested Justin. “I’ve been back barely a week and already have a case for you to look at.”

“Don’t you have other people in your department who can look?” asked Dominic. His voice was gravelly and gruff, matching his exterior.

“None of them are as good as Leo.” Justin leaned forward, needing to get through to his old friend. “I know you miss Vancouver. Give this up, and come back. You could get your old job again, no problem. You’ll get a better deal and more action and adventure than you can handle. My charming companion over there’s a prætorian. That’s movie-quality stuff.”

Justin spoke jokingly, thinking mentioning Mae would appeal to Leo’s love of novelty. Instead, it seemed to startle the other two men. Leo even paled. Their alarmed reactions made Mae tense in return.

“Whoa, sorry,” said Justin, glancing between Leo and Dominic. “Don’t freak out. She’s perfectly tame.”

Not in bed, said Magnus.

“No one who’s pumped full of neurotransmitters on a regular basis is tame,” Dominic said, his face growing dark. “And we aren’t leaving.”

Mae frowned but didn’t otherwise acknowledge the slight, aside from a shift in her posture. Justin looked pleadingly to Leo, hoping he’d talk sense.

Instead, Leo said, “This is where Dominic’s work is. And I like what I’m doing. Like I told you when you called, it’s contract or nothing—and only if it’s interesting.”

Justin was having trouble maintaining his characteristically amiable attitude. When he’d imagined the reasons Leo might refuse to come back, Justin had never even dreamed that an attachment to some cozy country setting would be the hang-up. If anything, he’d thought Leo might be upset about Justin’s disappearing without warning.

Not everything’s about you, said Horatio.

But this is absurd, Justin said. Why would he stay? He once switched apartment buildings because a couple of families moved in and he thought the place was becoming too mainstream.

He’s in love, said Magnus. That’s all the reason he needs. Find another tactic, because if you keep mocking that, you won’t get anywhere.

“Oh, it’s interesting,” Tessa said unexpectedly. Justin had nearly forgotten she was there. “Justin’s working on something that’ll blow your mind. No one can figure it out.” Justin knew she didn’t actually know any of the details of the murders or the shadowy assassin video, but she’d overheard enough of Justin and Mae’s offhand comments to figure out something major was going on.

This seemed to amuse Leo more than anything else he’d heard today. “I thought the prætorian was your backup.”

Justin realized then that he’d been an idiot. Tessa had jumped onto what he’d missed. He was always so proud of being able to get to the heart of people. He’d tried wooing Leo with money and glamour, but people like Leo didn’t become experts in their fields just because of those things. Justin had seen Leo stay up all night trying to solve the unsolvable. He had a passion for what he did, and despite Leo’s idyllic claims, even Justin knew contraception was boring work.

Justin suddenly felt back in control. “She’s right. No one can figure it out, and we’ve had every agency looking at it.” A gleam of interest showed in Leo’s eyes. “You don’t even have to leave your love nest, unless you need some Internal Security resources. Then, hey, you guys can have a romantic getaway in the big city.”

“I don’t like going to the city,” interjected Dominic. His eyes narrowed. “Any city.”

“Fine,” said Justin, trying hard not to show his exasperation. He couldn’t imagine what had brought this match about. Dominic’s wine probably tasted like shit. “You just come, Leo. We’ll close out the Silver Spike like we did in the old days.”

Leo didn’t answer, but Justin could tell he’d finally gotten through. Leo still had an easy smile on his face, but his interest had been piqued. No one can figure it out. Leo couldn’t resist that. There was nothing to do now but wait. Justin had played all his cards, and it was time to see if he’d won the jackpot.

“Okay,” Leo said at last. Dominic groaned. Or maybe it was a growl. It was hard to say. “I’m in. I’ll help you out. When can I see this mind-blowing case?”

Justin stood up and patted the briefcase. “Right now. I’ve got it all here.”

Leo shot Dominic one last hesitant look and then rose as well. “Let’s get some lunch first since you’ve come all this way. Then we’ll get down to business. I can’t wait for you to try Dom’s Pinot Noir.”

Happy that he’d gotten his way, Justin gladly put back on his sunny, sociable persona. “I’m sure I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

Afterward, Justin had to admit the wine wasn’t that bad, but it also wasn’t good. It wouldn’t win any awards unless Dominic figured out a way to export it to the provinces.

After lunch, Justin and Mae went with Leo to his workshop to go over the video away from Tessa and Dominic. Justin was relieved that Leo actually had a workshop, one filled with all sorts of half-completed projects. It meant the old Leo hadn’t entirely disappeared.

He didn’t look thrilled to have Mae with them, but he forgot all about her when the video ran. As soon as it ended, he had the same reaction as Justin. “It’s fake.”

“That’s what I said. But they say they can’t prove it.”

“What else could it be?” asked Leo. If he’d had any doubts about taking this on, they’d vanished. He was hooked.

“That’s for your brilliant mind to uncover. Mine’s going to work on the rest of this mess.”

He left Leo all the other information on the case, as well as a warning to protect the camera and original footage. “It’s my ass if something happens to it. You’re lucky I trust you, or I’d never leave it with someone unauthorized.”

Leo grinned. “That’s the nice thing about living in the wilderness. No one’s going to come snooping around.”

On the train ride back, Tessa surprised Justin by telling him how she and Dominic had apparently become best friends while everyone else was in the lab.

“He’s not bad at all once you talk to him,” she said. “He’s a Gemman citizen but was raised in one of the provinces, so he kind of understood what I’m going through.”

Dominic was partially provincial? That explained a lot. “I’m just glad he doesn’t seem to ever leave that house,” Justin noted. “He’d probably hunt me down otherwise, and who knows if my gallant protection would come through.”

Mae, who’d been gazing out the window, glanced back. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you didn’t do anything when my sister tried to knock me out.”

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” She returned to the window.

Tessa had tried a glass of the wine, and it had made her sleepy. She opened her eyes and turned toward Justin. “Dominic wasn’t unfriendly when we first got there. He was just shy. Or, well, socially awkward, I guess. He didn’t get unfriendly until you told him Mae was a prætorian.”

Justin thought back on the afternoon. “No, Dominic had it in for me from the moment I walked in the door. You heard what Leo said—he’d told him all about me.”

Tessa shook her head. “You’re wrong.” Yes, Tessa was definitely getting more defiant.

Because she contradicts you? scoffed Horatio. Such audacity!

“Hey, I’m the master here,” Justin told her. “You’re the apprentice.”

“The master was too appalled to be out in the ‘wilderness’ to notice,” Tessa retorted. “I’m telling you, I’m right.”

“Next time I’m leaving you home,” he said, wondering if he really was slipping.

CHAPTER 11

LICENSE TO WORSHIP

Although meeting Justin’s alleged technical genius had been interesting, Mae was eager to get to the heart of this mission they’d been assigned. She craved action, and even if this wasn’t a typical prætorian assignment, there was still justice to be served for the greater good of her country. She didn’t entirely know what Justin’s methods were, save that they would eventually be investigating suspect and possibly dangerous groups. That sounded promising.