and nuzzled her stomach as he whimpered. She tried to pry him off, but he might as well have been welded on. At least the jumpsuit protected from direct skin contact for the time being.
“Uh, Ben? What do we do with him?”
Ben sighed, still watching where his old boss had vanished. “I guess we take him back to HQ and pray for some common sense and mercy.”
Dani snorted. “Yeah. No bet.”
“C’mon. Let’s see who’s still alive.”
O O O
They went to Francis first. The scrub-team leader lay frozen in a contorted position, his face a rictus of pain with one eyelid puckered shut. When Ben looked to her in question, Dani ducked her head.
“A little Carl got in his eye.”
Ben whistled. “Ooch, princess. Smart move, I gotta admit … but ooch.” He bent over and tapped the Ascendant’s temple. “Hey, buddy, hustle on out.”
Francis wept. The tears streamed down his face and congealed into a puddle, which Ben scooped up in his remaining hand.
With the hybrid latched onto her, Dani watched Ben from the side. She detected something off about him still. Despite his restored youth—something she would’ve rejoiced over—melancholy shaded his expression. Perhaps it was just the lost arm, but she sensed it went deeper than that.
The janitor helped Francis stand, and they exchanged silent looks, forearms clasped.
Ben waved at the hybrid. “You heard.”
“All of it,” Francis said. “Despite the agony inflicted on me, I believe I’m capable of filling out a detailed report for the Board. It should resolve matters well enough, though they’ll still want a full debriefing.”
“That’s it?” Dani said, scowling at the Ascendant. “No apology? No ‘Sorry for almost getting you guys killed’?”
Francis’ lips thinned. “I was—”
“Just doin’ your job,” Ben said. “Followin’ orders. I woulda done the same if our roles was reversed. Probably. We all make mistakes, ain’t that right, Francis? It’s only human.”
The Ascendant leveled an icy look at Ben, but then he sighed. His expression thawed, if slightly. “I suppose.”
Ben clapped the man’s shoulder. “Righto. Now all we gotta do is learn from ’em. So, whaddya think we oughta do with the kid?”
“Not for me to decide.”
Ben didn’t look satisfied with that answer, but let it lie while they rounded up the surviving Ascendants. As they dug out the three half-buried in the quicksand, Dani realized they still missed one of their number.
“Where’s Sydney?” she asked.
Ben and Francis looked around with her. After several minutes of searching, they uncovered no sign of the entropy mage except for scuff marks and a few footprints near where he’d been bound. Francis frowned at the tracks.
“While incapacitated, I glimpsed someone bolting through the portal you opened, but thought it an illusion caused by the water squeezing my eyeballs. If it was Sydney escaping, my guess is he didn’t wish to stick around for the aftermath. Wise, since I’d now be forced to take him back into custody.”
“He’ll be back,” Dani said.
“What makes you so sure?” Ben asked.
“I owe him a date.” Ben and Francis’ brows rose, and she sighed. “Don’t give me that. You’re just jealous. Oh,” she turned to Francis, “I’m going to probably need a night off whenever he gets in touch. Want to run the paperwork on that for me?”
He coughed. “I sincerely doubt taking a comp day to fraternize with an entropy mage will be approved. A bit of conflict with the company’s interests, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Francis …” Ben shook his head wearily. “Just process it for her, a’ight?”
They finished rousing and retrieving the Ascendants. Dani at first feared some of them might try to finish what they started, but they were too well-trained. A bark from Francis, and they regrouped until further commands were issued. One or two glared at Dani and the hybrid attached at her hip, but none so much as cleared their throats aggressively.
Once the scene had been cleaned up as much as possible, Francis went to the portal. A swipe of his hands, and it blinked out of existence. His aura knifed into the space where the first portal had stood. A new hole appeared, revealing the stark interiors of HQ.
The Ascendants marched through first, Francis on their heels. Dani chewed her bottom lip, wondering at the wisdom of returning to the Cleaners’ center of operations. They had no assurances of safety. Whatever authorities took over in Destin’s absence could decide to imprison her and Ben all over again, take the hybrid captive, or try to kill them all outright.
Ben put his hand on her shoulder.