Page 28 of Iron Unicorn

My queen must have informed the Texan RPS about my overworking tendencies. “Please put a portable chessboard in my kit and a deck of cards, Quincy.”

“You got it.” Quincy shot me a salute, retrieved his jacket, and fled the room.

Eddie snickered, put his phone away, and hopped to his feet. “And now that my mission has been accomplished, I’ll leave you two to relax. Make use of the channel if he relapses, Olivia. He should be fine, but if you could reassure the worrywarts, everyone will be happier.”

“Do they need hourly reassurance?” she asked in an exasperated tone.

“Probably. We’re Texans, and we start getting fidgety if something hasn’t gone wrong within the past ten minutes. Dad holds primary responsibility for our tendencies. He’s like a toddler. If it’s quiet, he’s causing trouble. As a child, I didn’t understand this. As an adult? Well, I’m the last to worry about the trouble because I see it coming from ten miles off.”

I almost pitied the Texan RPS, as Eddie would surely walk in his father’s footsteps. “Well, with luck, his new herd of miniature horses will keep him busy.”

“We can dream,” Eddie replied on his way to the door. “Give a shout if you need me. I’ll be trying to convince my co-workers that the world isn’t going to end if I step outside tomorrow.”

“I wish you the best of luck with that.”

SEVEN

“Oh, that was definitely one of your better moments.”

In an effort tocontain Princess Olivia of Montana, the Texan RPS decided it would be a good idea to start the show with camping. Had they decided this during daylight hours, I might have even liked the haphazard plan. However, nothing about pitching a tent in the dark pleased me, especially when Olivia had assigned herself as the campfire operator, leaving me to deal with hammering in tent pegs and vanquishing scorpions.

I loathed scorpions.

Every time I found a new one, after dispatching it, I left it in a pile where the observing RPS agents could get a good view of what I thought about their native wildlife. After ten, well aware somebody had night vision goggles and observed me, I took a sizable rock, held it over the pile of wretched little bugs, and dropped it. I found a few more stones, repeated the process, and muttered curses the entire time.

Olivia insisted on laughing at me. When I finally joined her at the fire, she held out a cup filled with coffee. “It is as black as your soul upon realizing you must battle scorpions.”

I accepted the mug, lifted it in a salute, and took a sip. “Not one of my better moments.”

“Oh, that was definitely one of your better moments. You showed those scorpions who the true ruler of Texas is. If they’re wise, they will go elsewhere for the night. At least our horses will be living the high life. When they aren’t being ridden, they will get to stay at a stable free of scorpions. In bad news, I think they intend to start you off with a three mile hike before we get to the riding portion of our adventure.”

“That is not physical therapy. That is torture.”

Once again, the princess laughed at me. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t like the hiking portion. That’s legitimate physical therapy at the order of the royal physicians. How hard we ride tomorrow is based on how well you handle three miles in the morning. In good news, there’ll only be one scenario. I have been given orders to brief you on the scenario to prevent accidental injuries.”

With a talent like mine, scenario briefing mattered. “People are going to be jumping at us from behind rocks.” I gestured at the landscape, which was rocky Texan terrain perfect for such ambushes. “I might want my suppressor for this.”

“I have one of yours. I brought it with me from Montana just in case you needed it. I believe Rachel gave the Texas RPS one as well. If so, they’ll give it to you in the morning. They also have your bulletproof glasses. I’ve been told that you don’t get to have your contacts.”

Oh, well. At least someone had gotten me a pair of bulletproof glasses.

I felt better when I wore them, even during scenarios. My previous pairs hadn’t been prescription, but if they wanted me blind if my glasses got knocked off, so be it. I’d manage one way or another. “Did they give a reason?”

“Your prescription needs to be updated. The royal physicians noticed they weren’t quite right. We don’t have time to get you a new prescription and let you adapt to them, so they want you off the contacts until you’re using a corrected prescription.”

Ah. For the most part, my prescription had stabilized, but every now and then, something changed. I blamed age.

Age had a way of screwing around with my plans. Tomorrow, my age would issue a rather hefty check in pain and soreness, but I would deal with it. I’d even do my best to smile through the discomfort.

“I’ll handle it as soon as the Texans give me a chance.”

“I’m sure they have plans. We just have to figure out how to ruin their plans. Have you been infected with New York stubbornness yet? I feel we may require such things to give them a taste of true hell.”

I read between the lines: Olivia was quite done with the Texan RPS controlling her ability to create chaos wherever she went. In Montana, she got away with far more than most other RPS agencies permitted.

She could take care of herself.

The Texan RPS would learn she could take care of them, too.

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