Page 85 of Iron Unicorn

“I think I prefer the idea of you taking Eddie out on an adventure. Get your earpiece set up, and during the scenario, keep wired. Tell Eddie to keep his tracking on; with a bunch of kingdoms coming in for this adoption event, we’re on high alert. I won’t make him be wired in, but I want the tracker on his phone active.”

“Did you install the RPS tracker on Olivia’s phone?”

“We did.”

“I’ll activate it,” I promised, saluted the man, and returned to the SUV and got behind the wheel, buckling in. “Eddie, turn your tracker on. They’re on higher alert due to the number of foreign dignitaries incoming due to the adoption event. You do not have to be wired for this scenario, but you’re paying for that with active tracking on your phone. We need to wait for them to get some clearances from law enforcement before I strut my stuff for you.” I twisted and held my hand out to Olivia. “Unlock and hand me your phone, please.”

She handed it over. “It’s not much of a kidnapping if the recovery team is tracking us.”

I smiled at the complaint in her tone. “It’s the price we’re paying for true escape. I’ll be wired, but beyond that, we’re free to give the RPS the slip and go do what we want, where we want, and when we want. They’re going to transport our horses to a royal ranch near Austin. Today, I’m to give you both a demonstration of my driving skills. We’re waiting for law enforcement to confirm they understand we’re doing a scenario; if someone calls the emergency line, the dispatchers will know what to do.”

I activated the tracking on her phone and gave it back to her. “Your phone is being tracked, and your only requirement is to keep it with you, charged, and on. Other than that, once Carl gives me the go ahead, we’re good to leave. Eddie, I don’t care where it is in this kingdom, but point us at the best taco place you can.”

“On it,” he reported, and he went to work on his phone.

I put on the earpiece, paired it with my phone, and opened the app and browsed channels, chuckling when I found one named New Yorker vs Texans. I tuned the earpiece to the frequency, raised my hand to activate the mic, and said, “You may as well name this Terry Terrorizing Texans.”

Carl replied, “While accurate, we have another named Montana Terrorizing Texans, and that one is dedicated to His Royal Majesty. They’re currently arguing on over if they’re adopting two, three, or four. Two have been finalized, but they’re bickering over additional children. We have suggested that they give other adopting parents a chance to take home some children.”

I chuckled at that. “How are we doing with law enforcement?”

“They need ten minutes to contact the dispatchers and distribute our plates. Please notify us when it’s lunch time. We’ll pause the scenario for an hour to give everyone a breather.”

“Roger.” I eyed the clock. “Do you want to start the scenario in the vehicles or should I manhandle my victims a little first?”

“Start in the vehicle, however much I’m sure your princess would love you manhandling her. We can do some grab scenarios with you and her in Dallas.”

“That sounds like a plan.” I turned and regarded Olivia with a grin. “No manhandling today, but you’ve been booked in for some manhandling in Dallas.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Only if you don’t want me manhandling you.” I promised myself a click with my secret counter before adding, “I’m sure the Texans will try their best to rescue you from my clutches.”

Eddie snickered and shook his head before plugging his phone into the SUV. “It’s mandatory. We must rescue the princess from her captor. But we can also play the villains, where you must rescue her from our clutches. These scenarios are fun, especially once Mom and Dad get involved. Dad hams it up. He rough houses with the agents, and then he acts like his back is hurtingsomuch so Mom will storm in and rescue him. He has Randy jab him just enough to get a pain response to catch Mom’s attention. Mom still has not figured out that Dad’s not actually being hurt. Last time, they brought in a chiropractor to give Dad an adjustment. Dad gothyperbecause his back wasn’t bothering him after it was done, but he was pretzeled, which does hurt like hell initially.”

I snickered at the thought of the Texan king tricking his wife. “She must have been so confused to find him having a blast.”

“Yep. They save that for the last scenario of the day, and they always give them the rest of the day off to relax.”

“I need to adopt that for my queen. That would definitely encourage her to participate in the scenarios with a little less apprehension. She’s scared of hurting somebody.”

“That’s why we use suppressors unless it’s talent training. Royals get touchy.” Eddie snickered and said, “Especially when in the presence of man-eating crabs.”

“When I come for you, Eddie, just know that the entirety of the RPS will discuss my revenge in awe and wonder.”

“But will you, Terry? Will you really?”

“Yep.”

“You’re doomed,” Olivia announced. “When you least expect it, Terry will be there, smiling his smug smile as he closes his trap around you. And because it’s Terry doing it, you’ll be forced to like it. But if it makes you feel better, he won’t gloat much.”

Eddie shook his head while still laughing and replied, “If he takes me out, he’ll have earned his gloating. I’m man enough to handle it.”

I knew he was, which was why I’d make his downfall at my hands a thing of legend in the RPS. And one day, when the weight of a crown fell upon his head, he would remember he had someone he could turn to when the going got tough. Rather than answer, I investigated the navigation panel to get a better feel for the area, where he wanted to get tacos, and strategized the downfall of the Texan RPS.

TWENTY

“Well played, Eddie.”

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