Page 72 of Whiskey, Thieves, and Bastards
Capitol police jumped into action and there was a full brawl on the steps. Pepper dodged a fist and came to stand with us. She was just so tiny and pocket-sized. Dionysus, Hades, and Hephaestus stepped in front of us just in case. They were bullet proof.
“What in actual hell is going on right now?” Pepper yelled.
“So, we’re furies, right?”
“Yes. I took Greek Mythology freshman year of college. Why are you inciting these men?”
I had to explain that we weren’t, and those men were actually the FBI here to arrest Saul and Hannibal for breaking the law. They’d just kind of done a shit job at identifying themselves because they were working out some rage on these two men.
Man, Pepper Crane was my hero. She was barely five feet tall, but she calmly walked through the FBI trying to arrest Saul and Hannibal and the Capitol Police who somehow didn’t realize they were being arrested not kidnapped, and grabbed the microphone.
“Everyone, freeze!”
Ever heard ‘grandma’ voice? Like when you were being a total shit and Grandma was just sick of it? It was a step above ‘mom’ voice because grandma had decades more experience and had seen some shit. Some people had never pushed their grandmothers to that point, but it was straight up terrifying if you did.
Everyone literally just stopped what they were doing and froze, even the supernaturals who could have been older than Pepper by a few centuries.
“I just got some intel, so basically all of you need to show Capitol Police your badges since you aren’t wearing anything to identify you and then whoever is in charge needs to get up here and tell everyone why you just made a high-profile arrest in the middle of my press conference.”
My other mates were still watching from Pepper’s office and I could hear them laughing through the bond.
“Lucky is in charge. He’s from our village and we watched him grow up. He grew up in a matriarchal pack and his grandmother is the alpha. She’s a fierce she-wolf and I’m damned sure Pepper Crane just channeled her,”Cas chuckled.
“Pretty sure Lucky was channeling a hellhound when he was a teenager. He heard that voice pretty often.”
The FBI finally pulled their badges out and Capitol Police stopped playing tug of war with Saul and Hannibal and dropped them at their feet. I don’t think anyone wanted to touch Hannibal at this point. He was still drinking the super laxative Benji tricked him into drinking, but refused to take basic precautions in case things got explosive and they had, twice now.
Lucky was apparently the massive werewolf with enough bravado to hit on a fury. He wasn’t disrespectful and Megaera seemed into it, so none of us were going to get offended on her behalf.
I was trying not to laugh when he sheepishly came forward and joined Pepper at the podium.
“Sorry, ma’am. You don’t know what we found at their houses.”
“I was briefed by the people who tipped you off. Don’t tell me. Tell all the people who were forced to watch this mess when they wanted commentary of this frankly revolutionary law we just passed.”
Humans couldn’t tell the difference between us and them, but we could. Pepper wouldn’t have known Lucky was a wolf, but Lucky would have known she was human. Pepperwouldhave known Lucky was massive and gave off a dangerous air. She also knew he was a trained FBI agent, and she was about to box his ears in front of the entire country.
He was adorably chastised and when I looked over, it seemed like Megaera was having a bit of a panty-melting moment about it. Lucky was a professional, though, and quickly composed himself.
He explained the furies for the folks who weren’t that familiar with us and then he went into mates a little and how one of us was able to send a warning out without a phone or leaving the chamber.
“That was when one of them called me with a tip. Some of you might think a supernatural hunch shouldn’t be enough to search someone’s house, but it’s more than just a hunch for supernaturals. It’s not a gut feeling, it’s literal magic.
“The furies who were in the room with Saul and Hannibal could see their past, present, and future. They are justice personified. The furies used to be who came for you if the law never did or didn’t do what it was supposed to.
“They were within their right to render judgement as soon as they got a read on Hannibal and Saul, but they opted not tobecause supernaturals aren’t mindless creatures. They knew this is bigger than the two of them and innocents would suffer.
“Because the Coalition is selling a certain species of supernaturals to perverts and based on the records we found at Hannibal’s house, the Coalition has been doing this a long time. The Coalition is using angel tears to disable their victims. They are selling this to the people they’ve sold victims to so they can’t fight back.
“We know where you are and we’re coming, but I’ve been told black salt will disable the angel tears. Use that to protect yourself and get out if it’s not safe for you. But we are coming.”
Lucky let the bad guys know they were coming, but he didn’t give any spoilers about black salt. Every baby supernatural should know how to make it. There was the gold standard of black salt, but if you were in a pinch, table salt and fireplace ashes would work. Some supernaturals knew that better than others. The women mostly.
“Thank you,” Pepper said. “I want to talk about this law we just passed and introduce the people that helped make it happen. They’ve agreed to answer all your questions. If someone commits a crime, they should absolutely face justice. That means a courtroom and a jury of their peers, not being disappeared and experimented on. Most of you were watching the televised proceedings. If you’re just tuning in, this is Dionysus, Hades, Persephone, Hephaestus, and Athena, gods from the Greek Pantheon. They’ve brought the furies with them.”
The reporters exploded, and they were all asking questions at once. I couldn’t make them out, but getting the fury upgrade didn’t do a damned thing for my hearing. Cas and Benji had super hearing and so did gods.
“I hear a lot of you asking what we mean for your religion,” Dionysus said. “Not a damned thing. There’s always been multiple pantheons. None have it totally right and there are a lotof embellishments, but none are wrong, either. It’s always been about intention and belief. It’s what youdowith it.”
