Page 20 of Helsing: Demon Slayer
“Really? Wow.” Dianne sounded stunned. “How did you get him to leave his burgeoning career as a tech-finance bro? He keeps insisting AI’s going to change the world in five years.” Her tone sharpened. “This from the guy who once tried to mine crypto from a Nest thermostat.”
Olivia mentally rolled her eyes but only said, “I offered to fly him in for an extensive look at our business analytics. Maybe we’re not a high-profile client like he normally handles at Fortress Financial, but there he’s a low-level data analyst. I’ll get him on some higher-level financial strategy.” She paused. “Plus, Mihàil has a chef who makespašticadawith gnocchi and a well-stocked wine cellar.”
Dianne huffed.
And then Ryan’s voice broke in over the harmonic communication network.
“Incoming,” he said, urgency sharpening his voice as a monstrousdaemonicpresence spiked his proximity sensors.
“Stay with me,” said Olivia, going back to the workstation that she’d been using and sitting in front of it, her body aches forgotten. “I’ll give you tactical support. ”
“Copy that,” said Ryan, his voice in battle mode now. His tracker moved closer to Dianne’s.
“Hey! What the hell, Ryan!” shouted Dianne. Then she yelled, “Holy shit! What’s wrong with those people?”
Olivia winced. Her baby sister was caught in an oncoming rush ofdaemoniacs.…
She acknowledged that and then checked it. She couldn’t be a big sister right now. She had to be operations control for her security chief, alone and facing a horde of the possessed in a city where they had few assets.
With a defense system already drained from an overnight Dark attack of unheralded proportions.
“Go with Helsing,” she said, slipping into her command voice again.
“Copy that!” said Dianne, echoing Ryan. She sounded breathless already. And scared.
Olivia noted that both Ryan and Dianne moved away from the ship at a clip that meant they ran. Almost at the same time, she opened a desktop window using a program that Miró had developed specifically for theElioudto access their assets.
“Head north toward the Old Town,” said Olivia as she connected to their safehouse in Split. She’d be able to mobilize a local team to aid Ryan but not before he engaged thedaemoniacs. “Almost a klick to Diocletian’s Palace. You should have a visual of it.” She paused, then added, “Weapons hot on your judgment.”
Please, St. Michael, Commander of all that’s holy, let Miró’s harmonic rounds be effective.
She hated to think what would happen if the possessed couldn’t be stopped. But they’d never deployed this particular ammo outside of live testing at their development site. There might be permanent harmonic disruption of the individuals thedaemonshad coopted.
They might even die.
“Roger wilco.”
Olivia fitted an earbud into her ear and tapped it. Speaking into the mic, she ordered the voice system to call the Split housekeeper.
For the next few tense moments—probably no more than thirty seconds but it felt like hours—Olivia had no idea what was happening on the ground in Split.
“Germaine!” screamed Dianne, breaking the suspense.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at the harmonics-tracking application running in an open window on her workstation monitor. There was an odd clump in the dissonance closing on Ryan and Dianne. “Demon Slayer, do you have eyes on Germaine Grimes?”
“She followed us off the ship, Harlequin.” Ryan sounded grim. “She’s being swarmed by three large males.”
“Help her!” cried her sister, her panic setting Olivia’s nerves into overdrive. “They’re going to tear her apart!”
Olivia watched the screen, her eyes wide with horror. Every instinct screamed at her to order Ryan to bug out with her sister and leave the other woman behind.
Instead, she leaned forward and said, “Engage enemy, Demon Slayer.”
Dianne thought she’d lost her mind.
One moment she’d been standing on the dock whining like a teenager about leaving all of her friends behind and the next Ryan had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the ship.
“What the hell, Ryan!” she said.
