“That sounds like him. Maybe he was looking for somebody easy to manipulate.”

  “I’m not sure we did that good of a job of keeping a low profile when Larry survived,” Clary added. “We were so damn happy that he was still with us, and so we assumed that everyone would be equally happy.”

  “Oh, I’m sure for the most part they were,” Blair pointed out, “but I don’t know that everybody had Larry’s well-being at heart.”

  “No, of course not, and now it’ll be even harder.”

  At that, Brody continued. “Terkel is searching for any information he can find on this guy. We have multiple addresses that he owns but, so far, not any he resides at.”

  “He was slimy,” Blair stated. “He really kept to the shadows and didn’t trust anybody.”

  “Well, that sounds very much like what we’ve got here now. We need to figure out whether he’ll lay off or continue to hunt for Larry. Still, it would take the accountant and the lawyers to actually transfer most of this stuff anyway.”

  At that, Legend’s phone rang. He got up and stepped away to answer it. Blair watched as he talked back and forth on the call. When he returned a few minutes later, he filled them in. “Documents are coming my way for transferring the properties out of Larry’s name—or at least to add mine as guardian to them. So, once that is done, anybody trying to kill Larry still wouldn’t get their hands on the assets, so hopefully that will help.”

  “Now all we need to do after that,” Blair noted, looking at him, “is let the world know somehow. And you’ll have to set up another beneficiary, in the case of your death, so that it’s one more step away from Larry.”

  “Right.” Legend nodded. “In that case I should set up a charity or something, so, no matter how many people they kill, the assets are still out of reach.”

  “Good point,” Brody agreed. “You get that started, which will give us another degree of separation from anybody who’s after Larry, and then we need to send a message to this Richard, though I’m not sure how to get that number.”

  They pondered the problem. “There should be some information at the house. At least within the known associates, somebody should know how to reach Rip, especially if Mr. Kartal is unavailable.” Blair frowned. Then she pointed to the area where the dead guy had been. “Did you guys search the prisoner we had here?”

  “We did,” Legend said, “which reminds me.” Hopping up, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I took pictures of the guy’s Contacts, and, sure enough, there’s one called Bull’s-Eye.”

  “Yeah, I take that as a good guess for our go-to guy,” Brody replied.

  Legend looked around at everybody. “We’re in agreement to alert him then?” All nodded. “So, we set up this additional paperwork, transfer all the assets, then we let Rip know there is no hope of him getting at the money.”

  “But that’ll still take a couple days,” Brody noted. “Until the paperwork is done, we need to keep an extra eye out, until this is really something we can put out there.”

  Blair interrupted, “I don’t want to put a damper on what is a good plan, but we also have to ensure he won’t just kill Larry for the fun of it because he’s pissed off.” At that, everybody turned to look at her. She shrugged. “I don’t think Rip’s a very good loser.”

  “Great,” Legend muttered, glancing at Brody. “So we go on the offensive and hunt him down?”

  Brody nodded.

  “Yes,” Blair agreed, her voice serious. “That would be best. It’s not an ideal answer, no matter which way we look at it. I’m coming with you though.”

  Legend shook his head. “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am, and don’t go telling me what I can and cannot do. Besides, can you even identify Rip? Well, … can you?” she asked curiously.

  Legend glared at her, and Brody laughed. “She’s got a point.”

  “What will we do with Larry in the meantime?” Clary asked.

  “We have Brody and Clary stay here with him, with extra protection,” Legend muttered.

  “Or we can take Larry back with us to headquarters,” Clary suggested cheerfully. “I think he’ll fit right in.”

  “What’s that about?” Legend asked. “More pressure for me to join up so that my kid brother can stay?”

  “Larry might get a spot even without you,” Clary teased, sending a cheeky grin in his direction.

  Legend groaned. “Look. First off, we have paperwork to deal with, and then we have to send the message. After that, we’ll decide about where Larry should be, based on what kind of response we get from Rip.”

  “Sounds good,” Brody said.

  With a sigh, Legend stretched, then headed for the bedroom.

  “Have a good sleep,” Blair called out.

  “Yeah, right,” he muttered, then slammed the door shut, … a bit harder than necessary.

  Blair chuckled. “He doesn’t take suggestions well, does he?”

  “None of us do,” Brody admitted, “particularly when it comes to this kind of stuff.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not just you anymore,” Blair muttered, as she stared at him. “Some of us can do things too.”

  At that, he stiffened, then turned and looked at her. “Are you an energy worker?” he demanded.

  Blair looked over at Clary.

  Clary shrugged, then added, “I haven’t said anything.”

  “Yeah,” Blair declared, looking at Brody defiantly. “Why?”

  “I just want to know what I’m dealing with,” he said, “because you’re poking a tiger when you talk to Legend like that, and it can go wrong sometimes.”

  “Sometimes it can go wrong, but sometimes it can also go right. It all depends on which way he’s leaning at any given time. I’d say that, right now, it’s probably good to poke him.”

  “What is it you’re trying to do when you poke at him?” Brody asked.

  “Wake him up a bit and make him see me.” She shrugged. “I’ve seen him off and on for years, but he never looks at me.”

  At that, Brody studied her, and he started to smile. “So, I was right,” he exclaimed, then turned to his wife.

  Clary smiled at him. “They still have quite a long way to go, dear.”

  “Maybe, but I was right.”

  “If it’s important to you to be right,” Clary noted, with that serene smile of hers, “then fine.” He glared at her, and she chuckled.

  “Glad to see that you guys sorted it out,” Blair muttered, looking at them curiously. “It must be a challenge with the energy work.”

  “You would think it would be a challenge,” Clary shared, “but seriously it should make things easier. While it wasn’t easy to begin with, once we got there, it got better immediately.”

  Then suddenly a weird hum filled the air, and Blair turned back to see the two of them looking at each other. “You can talk that way too, can’t you?” she asked, clearly fascinated.

  “Yes, so can Terkel,” Brody said, with a wry look. “So, be warned. Just when you least expect it, you’ll have Terk and anyone else on the team in your head too.”

  At that, Blair stared at him. “That’s something I’ve never had experience with.”

  “None of us had because the bottom line is that Terkel is something special all on his own,” Brody admitted. “We have yet to see anybody who can equal him.”

  “It’s not about equaling him,” Blair clarified. “It’s about finding the best way to complement each other.”

  Brody chuckled. “Yeah, you’ll fit right in,” he said, yet with a headshake. “I don’t know if the rest of the place is ready for it though.” Brody looked back at Clary.

  “Probably not,” Clary agreed quietly, “but it is one of the things that we wanted to do.”

  “You’ve lost me,” Blair said, looking back at her. “What does that mean?”

  “We were looking for more team members, which is why we’re trying to convince Legend to join us,” she explained. “There’s always a need for good men.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Blair muttered, “but he’s difficult, and you know that already.”

  “We have more than a few difficult people in our group,” Brody noted, with a laugh. “Plus there’s Riff, another potential team member, who kind of comes in and out of our world, not necessarily on our time frame.”

  “Not sure any of them would come in on your time frame,” Blair admitted, with a smile. “Sounds to me as if they’re all just as stubborn and as cantankerous as you are.”

  He stared at her in shock and asked, “How do you know I’m any of those things?” he protested.

  She shrugged. “You’re male, and this is the kind of work you do. I think it goes along as a package deal.” She looked over at Clary. “Am I right or what?”

  “Oh, you’re right,” she stated, chuckling at the look on Brody’s face. “But, as I said, we’ve come a long way together.”

  “I’m glad for you,” Blair replied sincerely.

  Clary nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything better than realizing you have a second half of yourself who’s equally adept at energy. That’s so very important when it’s the same work you do.”

  “There’s more than a few of us out there,” Blair muttered, glaring at the door where Legend had disappeared.

  “You’ll get there,” Clary added. “Just give it time.”

  She looked over at her, smiled a sad smile, and shared, “Well, he’s been in and around in the background for years now and has never shown any interest. … So, as far as I’m concerned, he’s had all the time he’ll get. It’s either a sledgehammer over the head or a whack.”

  At that, Brody grinned broadly. “Given that it’s Legend, I would say the sledgehammer would be more like it.”

  *

  Legend had slept long and hard. One of his abilities was to recharge relatively quickly, though he didn’t even really know what other abilities he had because he’d never been in a position of having to identify them. Like who did that? Did you sit down and say, Go invisible. Check. No. He just went through life one day at a time, dealing with all these corrupt nations and people, working for a couple of good bosses and a couple who were not so good.

  Terkel would be a good boss. Legend was just undecided about it because of his energy thing. It was very invasive, and the one thing Legend did like was his privacy. But, as he stumbled out of the bedroom to join the others, everybody sat around their laptops, sipping coffee.

  Blair gave him a glare.

  He glared right back. “I slept.”

  “You were only down for an hour.”

  “But, for me, that’s as good as four.”

  She faced him, assessed something about him, and then nodded. “There’s still coffee.”

  “Glad to hear that. Otherwise I would put on fresh. Did you guys come to any decision?” he asked, pouring a cup of coffee and now coming toward them.

  “All kinds of decisions,” Brody declared, with a level of cheerfulness that made Legend suspicious. “Not sure any of them involved your cooperation though.”

  “Well, all of them will involve your cooperation to put them into play,” Blair clarified, with a cheeky grin, “but we won’t discuss them with you.”

  He frowned at her and at Brody, then turned to Clary. “Clary, you want to make any sense of this?”

  She chuckled. “It’s all good.”

  Just then from behind Legend, Larry came out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

  Blair got up and walked over to him. “Hey, sleepyhead. How are you doing?”

  He looked up at her, blinking. “I’m hungry.”

  “Yeah, that’s about normal,” she muttered. “What will you have?”

  “Food, lots of it.”

  “Yeah, but your version of food and lots may not be the same as mine,” she noted, “so can you be a little more specific?”

  “I would like three scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, and toast, I guess.”

  “Well, you can have the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, but we don’t have any ham.”

  He stopped, as if suddenly realizing where he was. “Oh, right.” Then he turned, caught sight of his brother, and grinned. “Hey, you’re still here,” he said enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, I’m still here. Did you expect me to run and hide or something?”

  “No, not run and hide, but you generally don’t stick around very long.”

  A note of … not quite sadness but something in Larry’s tone made Legend realize that maybe his little brother had missed him more than Legend had realized. “Sorry, big guy. Sometimes life gets a little crazy.”

  “Yeah, it sure does.” Larry nodded. “Do we have any updates?”

  “Lots,” Blair replied, “and you slept through all the action.”

  “Yeah, there was definitely an odd feeling to the room,” he noted, with a shiver. “Maybe that’s why I’m extra hungry.”

  “Do shivers make your appetite build?” Legend asked curiously. Larry looked over at him, then turned to Clary.

  She nodded and said, “It’s fine to tell him.”

  “Is it though?”

  “Yes,” she declared, with a clarity that seemed to reassure him.

  Larry turned to Legend. “So, whenever there’s bad energy around, I burn through a lot of my own energy. I just don’t know why yet.”

  Legend studied him carefully and suggested, “Maybe you’re looking for the enemy. Maybe you’re trying to protect the place, without even thinking about it. You care so much that you’re stretching yourself, and it’s burning through your energy faster.”

  Larry considered him and his words, then said, “It could be either of those, but I fall asleep every time I’m trying to sort it out. Clary and Blair keep telling me to ease up on it, and I will figure it out, but it’s really erratic still.”

  At that, Blair headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.

  “It’s probably a part of your age as much as anything,” Legend suggested.

  Larry shot him a disgusted look. “Yeah, I’ve heard that a few times too. They seem to think it’s got something to do with hormones.”

  Such disgust filled Larry’s tone that Legend burst out laughing. “Yeah, sorry about that, bud, but it’s all part and parcel of growing up.”

  “Well, it sucks,” Larry stated. “I personally think we should grow up when and how we want to, without any of that nonsense part of it.”

  “Well, if that works out for you, let me know because, so far, I can’t say I’ve seen it happen too many times.”

  “Yeah, it won’t happen,” Larry muttered, as he walked over and plunked himself down on a chair next to his brother, “but, in the meantime, I’ll eat anything that’s coming my way.”

  “Well, that’ll be nice for a change,” Blair noted from the kitchen. “Usually you’re on the picky side.”

  “Too hungry to be picky now,” he mumbled. Then he yawned and looked around, bleary-eyed. “Why am I still tired?”

  Clary smiled. “Hey, sometimes you just need some recharging time.”

  “Maybe.” Then Larry looked at her suspiciously. “Did you knock me out again?”

  “Nope, I sure didn’t,” she replied. “Do you want me to?”

  Such an overstated mock threat filled her voice that he looked at her and giggled. “You know that is actually pretty cool that you can do that.”

  “Yeah, it is pretty cool.” Then in a mock whisper, she added, “It also helps keep Brody in line.”

  “Hey, hey, hey,” Brody protested. Then, hopping to his feet, he barged into the kitchen, sniffing around. “Are you making enough for everyone or just for the hungry kid? I could use some breakfast too.”

  And, with that, a raucous breakfast began.

  Chapter 11

  Several hours later, after everybody had eaten, after the kitchen had been cleaned up, they were mostly packed. “I still don’t know what the plan is,” Larry said almost petulantly, speaking from the kitchen counter, where he’d parked his butt. “Why can’t we just stay here until it’s all settled?”

  “Well, so far, four armed people have found us, plus the clueless driver, so that’s hardly a good solution, and we can’t afford to have this Richard guy come back with somebody else.”

  “But he will,” Larry stated, “as long as he thinks there’s money in it.”

  “Which is why I’ll go off and pay him a visit,” Legend shared.

  “Yeah, you and what army?” Larry muttered. “You know Dad’s got a whole army, right?”

  “Yeah, I do know that,” Legend confirmed. “He wanted me to join it at one time.”

  “But you didn’t want to?” Larry asked, cautiously looking at his older brother.

  “No, I sure didn’t. That’s not my style.”

  Larry studied his face. Then came a weird buzz of energy, as if he were searching to see if his brother was lying. Then he relaxed. “Well, that’s good.” Larry looked over at Clary. “I don’t think I should go back to your place. That’ll just bring trouble your way.”

  “Yeah, it might,” she admitted, “but I’ve talked to the others, and they’re totally okay with it.”

  “Are they really okay with it, or are they just hoping it will force my brother into working for you?” Larry asked, with an adult perception that made Blair stop and look at him closely.

  “Even if they are,” Clary explained, “your brother is perfectly capable of telling them Thanks, but no thanks and taking you off to another place.”

  “Why should I have to go with him anyway?” Larry questioned, his belligerence mounting.

  “Because your father appointed Legend as your guardian,” Blair added, knowing that she had just dropped a bomb.

  Larry stared at her in horror, then turned to look at Legend, who was off on the other side of the room, listening but staying out of the conversation as much as he could. At that, Larry lowered his voice to a hushed whisper, “Why would he do that?”