As everyone started clearing out of the meeting room Phoebe made her way around the table towards me, and once again I found myself staring. This time it was her stature that caught me off guard, rather than her age. I'd almost forgotten how short she'd become after our run-in with that yang-eating monster.
When I first met her she'd been a stockily-built forty-year-old man who stood about a half dozen centimetres taller than myself. Now she didn't look a day over twenty, and couldn't have been more than a hundred and fifty centimetres tall. And that was including the boots, which accounted for at least five centimetres. Finally there was her figure. She'd described herself as a short-stack just after her transformation, and seeing her today I had to admit that was a hundred percent accurate.
"So do folks just call you Trillium?" the redhead asked as she looked up at me. "What's the short version of that? Got a nickname you like?"
I realized I was staring again when I spotted the pink in her cheeks. I grimaced slightly as I replied, "So far most people either call me Trillium or Sharpe."
"Hmph," she frowned. "You already know I'm going by Phoebe now. I'll also answer to Feebs."
Then she asked, "Do you drive, Trillium?"
I shook my head, "I came on the train, sorry. I have my license if that's what you're asking, but I don't own a car."
Phoebe nodded once, "Good enough. We'll take my Grandland, it's a hell of a lot more comfortable than the train. More private too, so we can talk shop on the trip without worrying about being overheard."
As she started for the front door she added, "We'll need to swing by my place so I can grab my overnight bag, then I guess we're off to London. We can get to know each other on the way."
I'd barely started after her when Owen caught us, "Trillium, Phoebe, can I have a moment before you go?"
The three of us ended up in his office, although the redhead and I stayed on our feet while our boss settled into the chair behind his desk. He slid open one of his desk drawers and pulled out two tiny manilla envelopes, then held them out for Phoebe and I. Each was no more than a half dozen centimetres long, and the way they bulged slightly indicated their contents was something other than paper.
Inside the envelope I found what I could only describe as some sort of amulet or talisman. It consisted of a copper disk about four centimetres across, with some sort of pattern engraved on one side. There were faint runes running around the outer edge that looked positively witchy. And finally a leather cord was tied to the disk through a small hole at the top, so the whole thing could be worn as a necklace. A quick glance to my left confirmed that Phoebe's envelope contained an identical item.
"These come from our benefactor," Owen explained while Phoebe and I were examining the necklaces. "According to her they've been enchanted to provide protection against physical harm. I want you both to put those on and keep them on while you're on this case. Whether this turns out to be wild animals or something supernatural, it's attacked at least three people and killed two of them. I don't want either of you to be its next victim."
The Scots girl slipped the leather cord over her head without hesitation. Then as she checked that her hair hadn't been disturbed she pouted, "Would have been nice to have something like this before we went to Yorkshire."
Our boss grimaced, "I know. Our benefactor expressed her regret at not having thought to provide this sort of thing from the start."
"Your situation might have garnered a little more sympathy from her Phoebe, if not for the other matter," Owen added with a frown. "But let's not dwell on that."
He continued, "Trillium I'd like you to take the lead on this, at least in terms of how you want to handle the investigation. Phoebe, I expect you to help the detective wherever you can. And to bring her up to speed on what LIES is, what we do and how we do it. And answer whatever other questions she might have."
"Good luck you two," he concluded, "And stay in touch."
Once again I was surprised and filled with questions, but didn't have the opportunity to ask any of them. Considering I'd only been on the job less than an hour I certainly wasn't expecting to be put in charge of a case. If anything I figured I'd be considered the trainee. And I hadn't even fully processed the fact that I was apparently holding a real live 'amulet of protection' in my hand.
Meanwhile my new partner gave our boss a frustrated look, before pouting as she turned and headed for the exit. I thanked Owen and bid him good luck as well, before hurrying off after Phoebe while I pulled the leather cord over my head. I didn't feel anything though, magical or otherwise. Except perhaps a touch of embarrassment at wearing something that looked like it belonged on a LARPer's costume.
I carefully tucked the amulet away under my top as I followed Phoebe out through the reception area. Alys and Emma both smiled and bid us a good day and safe trip, and I responded with a quick thank you and good afternoon for them too. Then I hurried out the door after my new partner, where I was happy to find the rain had finally stopped.
Phoebe led me around to the back of the building, where we found her big luxury Vauxhall Grandland. Then to my surprise the young Scotswoman headed for the passenger side as she mumbled, "You're driving."
"Alright," I replied as I chalked that up to just one of a hundred different things I had questions about, then made my way around to the right side of the vehicle.
The door was unlocked, and as I got settled in the plush leather drivers seat I noted the keys were already waiting in the ignition. For just a moment I wondered why anyone would leave such an expensive vehicle in that state, before reminding myself that these people had access to magic. For all I knew they had some sort of supernatural anti-theft system in place.
It took me a minute or so to get the power seat properly adjusted, along with all the mirrors. And while I was doing that I commented, "I have to ask, why do you want me to drive your expensive luxury SUV? I'd have expected you'd want to do the driving yourself."
Phoebe's cheeks flushed again and she pouted, "It's not that I don't want to. Believe me, I'm not sitting in this seat by choice."
"I'm sure Owen already told you about the whole reprimand thing?" she continued in a quiet embarrassed voice. She was still pouting as she stared down at her feet in embarrassment, "It's bloody ridiculous really. Almost feels like I've been grounded. Anyways amongst other things, my 'driving privileges' have been temporarily suspended."
I wasn't sure what to make of that so I replied, "Ah. He did say you'd been disciplined for violating company policy."
"Sorry if this is too personal or awkward," I added, "But I don't suppose your er, apparent age has anything to do with all that?"
If anything the redhead's cheeks got even brighter at that question. She was still staring at the floor as she nodded slightly. Then she quietly whined, "Twenty-two years with the Brotherhood, now I'm back to being on probation again like some new hire off the street. Not to mention looking so young, and with a body like this? I'll be lucky if people don't assume I'm just some ditz."
"Nobody's going to take me seriously anymore," she added with another pout. "Everyone's going to think I'm just your assistant or something."
I glanced at her again, and while a lot of her situation left me feeling uncomfortable I hadn't forgotten that she'd been reprimanded for using magic to mess with my mind and memories. Along with those of Inspector Carter, and an innocent security guard.
At the same time, I couldn't help noting that the way Phoebe was pouting and whining and generally acting like a petulant teen did indeed make it hard to take her too seriously.
So as I put the SUV in gear I allowed myself a little smile and pointed out, "You pretty much are, right? My assistant, I mean. I'm the lead agent after all. Owen told you to help me wherever you can, and to bring me up to speed on things. So let's get started. Feebs."
I honestly expected some pushback from that. I even wondered for a moment if I'd gone a little too far, acting like her superior and addressing her by that diminutive name. Then again she'd volunteered the nickname herself, which suggested she might actually want me to use it.
"Fine," Phoebe mumbled as her shoulders slumped.
Suddenly I found myself literally biting the inside of my lip to keep from smiling. Despite all the bluster and bravado I'd seen from her in Yorkshire my 'sub-radar' had just gone off with a very loud ping. At the same time I mentally reclassified the sarcasm and teasing and attitude she'd displayed in the meeting, from 'potential bully' to 'obvious brat'.
For just a moment I was tempted to instruct her to address me as 'Miss Sharpe', but I decided to save that for later. After all we still had to work together, and I didn't want to make her too uncomfortable right off the bat. I figured there'd be plenty of time to learn how to get her flustered. Maybe even make her squirm a bit.
From the LIES office it took less than ten minutes to reach her place. Phoebe was living in a town a few kilometres outside Cardiff, where she had a flat in a fairly modern building. I didn't bother going in with her, since she said it would just take her a minute to grab her things. Instead I waited in the Grandland, and familiarized myself with the fancy entertainment system and the satnav interface.
True to her word the busty redhead was back in under two minutes. She stuffed a bright red backpack into the back seat of the SUV, then climbed up into the passenger seat next to me. I made a point of reminding her to put on her seatbelt, and sure enough rather than responding with an angry or sarcastic comeback Phoebe just quietly blushed as she buckled up. And I found myself fighting to hold back another smile.
"So we've got about three hours of driving ahead of us," I announced as we got on the road again. "Maybe you can start filling me in on some details? About the job, the team, and who we work for. And what can you tell me about this brotherhood thing? You and Owen both mentioned it."
Phoebe sighed as she settled back into her seat, "Right, so I'll start with the Brotherhood since that's basically where LIES began. It was a secret organization founded some time in the last few hundred years, dedicated to keeping the Earth safe from the meddling of petty gods and goddesses, or other supernatural entities. We also worked to keep the public from finding out about magic and the supernatural."
"Over the past century we've dealt with the occasional fae or demon," she continued, "But most of our operations were more about some loner stumbling onto an ancient scroll or tome then using it to stir up trouble. Until we stepped in and put an end to the mischief."
After a pause she elaborated, "The brotherhood was secretive, but it wasn't subtle and we didn't operate with a delicate hand. We were trained to be efficient, and most of the time that meant being brutal, if not deadly."
I glanced at her for a moment before focusing on the road again. I was frowning though as I asked, "That's what you meant back in Yorkshire, when you said something about the old ways?"
The redhead blushed again but nodded. Her voice was a lot softer as she admitted, "Yeah. Using magic to leave someone stunned and wiping a few hours of memory would have been considered overly merciful. That sort of thing could get you reprimanded for being too soft-hearted. Much quicker and more effective to just kill anyone who tried to interfere with an operation."
My frown only grew deeper hearing that. "So what happened? To the brotherhood, I mean. How'd you go from that to LIES? I'm assuming there used to be more than just a half dozen people involved."
Phoebe nodded slowly, "I don't know how many there were at its peak. Well over a hundred I'd guess? There were a few dozen at the London headquarters alone. About twenty in Paris, that was the next-largest office. We had a half dozen up at my old location in Edinburgh. Eight or nine here in Cardiff. Another half dozen in Belfast."
"As for what happened," she grimaced, "Last year they went after the wrong people. Tried to wipe out a group of cultists in Canada, only to find they'd finally run into someone stronger than we were. It was last November... Actually a year ago today, come to think of it? Someone walked up to our headquarters in London and slaughtered everyone inside then burned the place to the ground."
I gave her a surprised look before quickly focusing on the road, "Your headquarters, was that in Westminster? A private gentleman's club?"
The redhead nodded, "That's right. Not surprised you heard of it, the whole thing was all over the news for a while. The media thought it was some sort of terrorist attack."
"I briefly worked that case," I responded. "Before Special Branch took it over. So that's when this brotherhood ended. How'd all that turn into LIES?"
Phoebe shrugged, "Like Martin and I said up in Yorkshire, LIES was only founded two months ago. We're supposed to deal with any supernatural entities that came through the Anomaly. Our 'benefactor' as Owen calls her figured ex-Brotherhood agents were the best bet, since we've already got the training and experience dealing with that sort of thing. The main difference is she wants us to be a lot nicer. The number one mandate now is public safety."
I nodded slowly as I thought about that for a few moments. Then I asked, "So who is this benefactor? Why all the secrecy about her? I haven't heard anyone mention a name, nobody seems to want to talk about her at all."
"Not surprised," my busty partner responded with another grimace. Her voice was even quieter when she added, "I'm pretty sure we're all a little scared of her. Except maybe Alys."
That left me frowning again. "You're scared of your own boss? That doesn't seem healthy. What's she done that's so scary?"
After a deep breath the redhead stated, "Well for starters she's the one who walked into our headquarters last year and single-handedly wiped out sixty-three of our best most highly-trained men."
"I was brought in back in September," she continued, "As a replacement for some bloke named Gareth? Turns out he was a little too loyal to the Brotherhood, and when our new boss first showed her face he put a bullet in the back of her head. Apparently all that did was tick her off. She got right back up and tossed him kicking and screaming straight into Hell."
"Emma was working with Gareth on that," Phoebe added with a grimace. "If you want to know what happened to her you'll have to ask her yourself. As for me..."
Her voice trailed off a moment then she shuddered slightly, "I almost feel like I got off lucky, with what she did for my 'misuse of magic' up in Yorkshire."
By the time she'd finished talking I was left with another frown on my face, and I couldn't help wondering what sort of person I was working for and what I'd gotten myself into. Although I decided I'd try and talk to Alys when we got back to Cardiff, since there had to be a reason she wasn't scared of our mysterious benefactor. I wanted to speak with Emma too for that matter. From what I'd seen the gothy teen didn't act the least bit treacherous, let alone murderous. And that made it hard to believe Phoebe's story, or that part of it at least.
We ended up driving in silence for the next little while, as I thought about everything I'd just learned. And my new partner busied herself by staring at the view as we crossed over the Severn Estuary on the Prince of Wales Bridge.
Eventually I decided to break the silence and perhaps lighten the mood a little, with a much less serious topic of conversation. "Is there any office gossip I should know about? Is it just my imagination or is there something going on between Alys and Emma?"
The redhead scoffed, "You don't need to be a bloody detective to figure that out, even a blind man could see those two are an item."
"Good for them," I smiled. "They're cute together. When I visited on Friday Emma hinted there might be something between Owen and Grace, what's your take on that?"
Phoebe shrugged, "I've not heard either Owen or Grace admit it, but they've not denied it either. If they're a couple at least they're being subtle about it."
"Same with Martin and Terry," she added. "They're even quieter, but I'm positive there's been a thing going on between those two since long before I got here."
I smiled, "So what I'm hearing is there's no rule against office romances. Seems like everyone else is already paired up though."
After a beat I added in a casual tone, "I wonder if that's why Owen set you and I up together?"
Sure enough the implication was enough to get her flustered. The cute redhead blushed as she asked indignantly, "What makes you so sure I'm not already spoken for?"
"When Owen assigned you to this case there was no indication you had to let someone know you'd be heading out of town for a while," I calmly pointed out.
"You didn't even bat an eye at the prospect of rushing off at a moment's notice on a case that could take days or weeks," I continued. "And that's just two weeks after you got back from the last out of town assignment. That makes me think there's no significant other to miss you while you're away, no personal plans that had to be cancelled or rescheduled."
My young partner didn't bother trying to argue, she just pouted grumpily and looked out the window. I was just getting ready to tease her some more, but before I got the chance our phones both buzzed with incoming messages. I ignored mine since I was driving, but Phoebe pulled hers out and had a look at it.
"It's from Alys," the redhead announced. She sounded almost happy for the distraction as she added, "She's just sent us the full dossier on the New Forest case."
She opened the file and started scrolling through it, but I had a better idea.
"Why don't you read it to me Feebs?" I suggested. "That way we'll both know what's going on, and it's a good use of our time on the road."
"Plus it means I get to listen to your cute voice some more," I added with an innocent smile.
That got her blushing again as she mumbled, "Fine..."