Page 89 of The Prince of New York

“I’m allowing it because you’re in the RPS, Eddie. You’re supposed to have a hobby of killing terrorists while on duty. Ian is not part of the RPS, so he does not get that excuse.”

“Maybe I should register to be part of the RPS,” I mused, eyeing the ramp, which we’d have to skirt around to get into the belly of the beast.

“No,” Terry and Eddie snapped.

I grinned at having nettled both. “Do you want your terrorists identifiable or extra crispy, Terry?”

“Normally, I would answer extra crispy, but I want to know who these bastards are so we can start breaking their cells down.”

“Alive or dead?” I fiddled with my watch, as which setting I used would determine if I went all out or limited the enhancer to be a little safer for everyone involved, myself included. “Because if you want them alive, I can just take out this entire airport and we can apologize to the RPS agents later.”

Both stared at me, and judging from the way Terry paled, he had done his math, realized I was, in actuality, Royal, and rather willing to give a terrifying demonstration of what a New Yorker could do when pissed.

“I have never been so afraid to answer a question in my life, and I’m counting when my wife asked me if I was all right with having twins. For the record, I answered that I was delighted we would be having twins. I did not at all imply she might be insane for wanting us to have twins right out of the gate. I would have been beyond thrilled with just one, Ian.”

Poor Terry. “And then my sister decided shehadto join the twin brigade. I’m blaming you. You’re the one who has the buried mending talent and wants her healthy so she can have all the children she wants. Your talent clearly believes that means the hopeful moms want twins.”

If Terry paled much more, I worried he might faint. “Please don’t tell Olivia that. Please. She might tell my queen, and I won’t survive.”

I chuckled. “Alive or dead, Terry?”

“Dead terrorists can’t do anything to us, and Daphne might forgive me for not leaving her any. I’d like one alive, but I’m not sure we can realistically get one without putting anyone else at risk.”

“Terry, I can take out this entire airstrip and not kill anybody. But I don’t know that the RPS would at all like me afterwards, and it would be at least an hour for the agents to realistically recover.”

“Let’s not disable the RPS agents. There might be a second wave.”

“Dead it is.” As I would need to go big before going to the California palace for a nap, I set the enhancer to its maximum setting. “Please do not be surprised if I find a nice, quiet corner to sleep after I do this, because this fucking watch does not play around. I’ve only used it for testing in the manufacturer’s facility, and I got a discount on it because they don’t usually have access to a royal with a monster talent like mine. This was done so under wraps that Zach didn’t even know I had this or went to the factory for the testing. I had to sneak off. He was mad at me for three weeks over that.”

“I did see that in your record, and we never did find out what you were doing. That was the same trip you got your personal suppressor, which was noted.”

I reached up, unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt, loosened my tie, and opened my jacket to make sure I wouldn’t suffocate when I got to work. The jacket’s design would keep Pink Lady secure enough, and I’d take care with how I moved so she wouldn’t be dislodged. I checked on the squirrel to discover she’d curled up for another nap.

I loved his squirrel, and I would make a point of visiting her whenever possible.

“Let’s just say this enhancer, while legal, is something that people like my parents should never get their hands on, and if they knew I had it, they would be campaigning to take it from me. My parents believe I am redundant and scarred from Dennis’s death, keeping two watches.” I retrieved my suppressing watch and gave it to Terry. “This is the suppressor.”

I showed him the enhancer I wore.

“The only difference between them is that this one is silver and the face on that one is blue.”

“It’s a slice of a sapphire. Something about sapphires work well for enhancers, and that was part of the test. They were seeing what a high quality sapphire slice could do in conjunction with their tech. Let’s just say it works, but it works at a price.” I would not appreciate the price, which would drive every RPS agent to the brink of their sanity by the time I recovered.

Terry sighed. “What is it going to do to you?”

“You know that fever I tend to get with concussions?”

The man groaned and bowed his head. “You’re going to get a fever?”

“I don’t technically exert following usage, but I rock a fever for at least a day or two, and I’m definitely fatigued. There is actually a suppressor built into this, and if the watch detects talent exertion, it will activate the suppressor. We tried to induce exertion during the tests. Works like a charm. The last thing the manufacturer wants is their target audience killing themselves with their merchandise.”

Eddie eyed my watch with interest. “And it’s attuned to you?”

“It is, just like the high grade suppressors the royal physicians order for their principals when they need the specialty models.”

“Mom and Dad have both. Dad’s are all specialty; Mom throws hers at us kids whenever we look like we may need it and misplaced ours. Dad wants to throw his at us, but his empathy is ridiculous, so he doesn’t get any generics anymore.” Eddie reached into his pocket and pulled out a silvery band. “Mine is the prison style because my talent is apparently a new class and they haven’t figured out how to contain it yet. But the prison ones work on it, and that’s all Mom cares about at this stage. And she keeps threatening to lock it if I don’t behave. Dad just complains because how dare they try to suppress me. Dad is just as ridiculous as Mom is.”

She would, if she thought that it would protect her precious little boy. More gunfire rang out, and I muttered curses over the whole situation. “Let me see if I understand this plan correctly. We’re going to sneak up the ramp. You’re following me, Eddie, and Terry is shooting anyone who doesn’t look like airport staff or an RPS agent? And we’re going right over there to press some buttons.”

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