Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 40
“For the record, reporting Craig is what earned you Davis’s approval.” Boyd chuckled. “So, in a way, it did affect your career… as a big green flag for you. I’ll send a message to the Director shortly. I would expect there will be a contract and an indoc briefing in your inbox sometime tomorrow morning.”
His face grew serious. “Read it through carefully before signing. There are conditions I don’t want to spoil tonight by discussing.”
“Haha, okay,” Kayla said with a delighted laugh. “As if the threat of a memory wipe would prevent me from grabbing onto this chance with both hands. Fully embedded for a month with the team that just killed the Last Dragon and Omega Ray? That will make my career.”
Like Boyd, she too grew serious. “I’ve put together that there is something big going on with this team—something that isn’t public knowledge. Just tell me what not to cover or ask about, and I won’t.”
Boyd shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s settled then, welcome aboard.” A round of welcomes and ‘make yourself at home!’ went through the group, which Kayla graciously accepted.
“With that settled,” Boyd declared, “what’s next for the evening? No one seems ready for bed.”
Well, with the kit-eyes she kept sending his way, Raev was certainly ready to drag him to bed, but he planned on letting her marinate a bit longer.
“We discussed watching a movie,” Silvie offered. “Daisy suggested a comedy that is supposed to be pretty good.”
“Sounds good to me,” Boyd agreed, a little surprised that Daisy had made a recommendation. “I’ll do get some snacks and some drinks.”
“Those two need water,” he nodded at Raev and Laura. “Would you mind letting me up?” he asked softly near Tinker’s ear.
“I can get them,” Daisy started to shift forward in her seat.
“Nope.” Boyd shook his head as he helped Tinker get down. “I forgot to make it official, but you are just as off duty as the rest of us. Sit and relax. You worked hard on that amazing dinner. I can grab some stuff. Any requests?” he added to the group as he rose.
“I’m stuffed but wouldn’t say no to a cherry-vanilla cola,” Daisy responded as she settled back into her seat. Her chin dipped down, which made some of her colorful iridescent hair fall around her face—though it failed to hide the shy smile or faint blush on her cheeks.
“Kuh-he!” Mindy laughed again and averted her eyes from Boyd’s when they snapped to her. “Ignore me… just a random thought. I’ll take one of those bottles of iced tea, please.” In Boyd’s experience, Mindy only ever responded in such a way when explaining her laugh would break the Principle of Privacy or embarrass the hell out of someone.
‘Don’t be a little shit and drop it, please… for me,’ she asked privately.
So he did. Instead, he listened to and memorized the other’s requests, mentally adding snacks to the munchy-lacking list to account for when some of them had a craving for something either crunchy, salty, or sweet towards the end of the movie, as they undoubtedly would.
Once he had a list firmly in mind, he said, “Alright, I’ll be right back. Go ahead and pull up the movie.”
While he was walking past the couch Raev, Laura, and Daisy shared, the trauma nurse announced, “Gotta pee!” stood, and then promptly tripped over her own feet, falling forward.
Instinct drove movement as Boyd smoothly caught her, which seemed to hold true for her as well, as she plastered herself against his front. The firm muscles that clearly showed through the tight gray tank top she wore felt as nice as they looked, although Boyd promptly pulled away from the nurse—which his Gestalt grumbled about.
He held her upright with one hand on her shoulder and the other on her hip, blinking down at her as she smiled up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked with some concern. Somehow, and he couldn’t quite figure out how, she didn’t seem to be as fall-over drunk as she had been a moment ago.
Rewinding the last few moments in his head, Boyd realized she hadn’t slurred at all when she’d requested lemon-water and ‘just a few’ cheese-baked crackers.
“Mhmm…” The hands that she had planted on his chest began kneading his pecs. “Thanks for catching me… your shirt is really soft, by the way, even if what’s under it is anything but.” Laura had a hungry glow in her light green eyes and wore a smile that could only be described as predatory.
“Psha ha ha, she actually did it!” Raev laughed gleefully, curling her legs up to her chest in an attempt to control her laughter.
Boyd sighed. “The old anime swan-fall trick was the dare?”
“Yup!” Laura grinned, running her hands over his chest in little circles as she continued thoughtfully, “This shirt is seriously soft, though.”
Turning her head, Laura said over her shoulder, “Daisy, you have to feel this.”
“I’m good, thanks,” Daisy replied dryly with an eye roll.
“You’re missing out,” Laura replied on a rising note, still rubbing his chest.
His Gestalt wasn’t letting Boyd stop her, either. Which, if Mindy was correct—and he did trust his telepath—meant that Boyd didn’t want her to stop.
“How about you, Kayla? Tinker made it for him, I think it might be the softest shirt I’ve ever felt.”
“Really? Tinker made it?” Kayla asked and nearly jumped from her seat. “Definitely, then…” She crossed the intervening space in no time to lightly run her hand over the part of his bicep the shirt covered. “Oh, that is nice.”
“What is that made of?” the reporter turned to the tiny inventor, who had temporarily taken Boyd’s seat. “Can it be mass-produced? I would love to do a story on…”
“Tinker is off limits,” Boyd growled in response to Tinker’s rising anxiety. “You will run questions for her through me first, and she will only appear publicly or on camera at my discretion. It is one of the conditions of your continued presence here as an embedded member of the press.”
“Understood,” Kayla responded promptly and dropped her hand from his arm. “I would say it makes it seem like you’re hiding something, but she clearly doesn’t enjoy the attention… so I’m guessing you are protecting her. Sorry if I set you off, Tinker.”
“Got it in one!” Silvie giggled.
“It’s okay,” Tinker replied from where Mindy had pulled her into the bigger woman’s side.
His Bond with the petite woman revealed that she found only comfort in the touch, and it wasn’t only the result of Mindy’s Power. “Today was just a bit much, so I’m a little sensitive. I’m sorry Boyd got all rumbly with you because of it.”
“No, it’s fine. I should have been more aware after the press conference.” Kayla patted the air towards Tinker as she returned to her seat.
Boyd didn’t get that rumbly with her, so he didn’t feel the need to apologize. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at Laura who still had her hands on his chest and asked, “Do you need help getting to the bathroom?”
“Oh, no.” Her light green eyes sparkled as she removed her hands and stepped back, perfectly stable on her own two feet. “I didn’t actually need to use the bathroom.”
She shrugged. “But could you dump this down the sink for me?” She picked up a glass of what looked like water to Boyd from the same table that held her shots, though it smelled much stronger when he took it from her.
His nose crinkled in response to the strong alcohol smell when he sniffed it. “You cheated… and lost anyway?” he asked, his brows climbing a bit higher.
“Nope,” Laura shook her head. “I honestly thought I could beat her. She wouldn’t be the first animal featured Changed I drank under the table. I just pulled most of the alcohol from my system when the fun part was over. I’ve got a nice little buzz going, now.”
“So, you are Powered,” Boyd stated flatly.
“Of course I’m powered. How did you think I dosed you without a needle?” Laura arched a dark eyebrow.
“I just thought I suffered memory loss from the SomnaVita.” Boyd sighed.
“Darling, you don’t get memory loss from SomnaVita.” Silvie giggled. “You really didn’t know Laura was Powered?”
“No, but I’m wondering why Mindy… right… she’ll just use the Principle of Privacy as an excuse, and I can’t argue because it applies.” Boyd sighed again. “I’m going to go get the snacks.”
The sighs were mostly the result of his Gestalt having a field day in his psyche at Boyd’s expense. He argued with himself. Boyd insisted that they not make any decisions until their current lovers were settled and had all found their place—with him and in the harem—including Hope. His Gestalt asserted that the decision had already been made and that now it was only a matter of timing.
* Chapter 41
Kayla Bailey’s drone drifted in a precise circle overhead. The glassy lens tracked Boyd across the simulated turf, auto-focusing every half-second. It whirred and clicked, hungry for content. Tinker had said she’d built the servo motors that controlled the lens independent of the chassis for maximum performance. Even so, the lens lagged a split-second behind Devil’s movements.
That was the problem, really. There was always a gap between the real thing and the story you could bottle and feed to the world. At least her subject looked… amazing. The big demon wasn’t wearing a shirt this morning.
Of course he wasn’t.
They had the lights of the training room set to mimic midday. It painted his bare chest and dark wings in a palette of pale pinks and harsh blue-violets. Every muscle in his massive form tensed, flexed, or bulged as he darted, pivoted, and launched himself through the air. He was nearly eight feet of raw demonic hunk, and he made gravity look like it was more of a rumor than a law.
Kayla had learned, in her time embedded with the up-and-coming Hero team, that Dashing Devil’s choreography of violence was never an accident. Even here in training, every move was measured, rehearsed, and catalogued. Today’s script was Dashing Devil vs. the porting menace.
Archangel’s Power, as every media market already knew, was short distance teleportation. That, and his golden swords. Kitsune had the task of simulating the… what was the term the others used? Oh, yes, the blonde buffoon! The foxy woman’s illusions simulated the blonde buffoon, flashing in and out of existence around the field.
To keep up, Kayla needed the stationary cameras set up around the edge of the room, her fancy new drone, and a handheld equipped with a wide-angle lens held steady against her sternum. She kept her heels firmly planted where she’d been told to stay. The first time she’d tried to move with the action, she’d lost her balance and toppled over.
Kayla let her eyes drift to where Kitsune stood off in the corner of the room, her sharp canines bared in a wide, predatory smile. Her tails waved back and forth as a vague featured version of Archangel appeared behind the big, handsome demon. The illusion slashed at Dashing Devil with a glowing, golden blade.
The big demon dropped flat to the ground, rolled across the simulated turf, then used only his tail to push himself to his feet. He took off in a dead sprint. Another illusion appeared in his path, but a wing adjustment abruptly shifted his trajectory and he spun out of the path of the golden blade the not-Archangel swung at him.
Kayla’s drone struggled to keep its gimbal centered as it jerked and refocused to keep its eye on the action. At the north end of the field, Silver—fresh from her own workout—applauded the sequence. The floating bombshell’s laughter, bright and effervescent, was audible over the hum of the drone.
Kayla muttered into her microphone, “Devil displays his skill by evading multi-vector pursuit, smoothly dodging attacks launched by rapidly teleporting illusionary threats Kitsune is producing to mimic Archangel’s short-range rapid-teleportation. He’s prioritizing staying low to the ground, minimizing his silhouette, and maximizing his evasive maneuverability. Devil’s wings are folded tight to his back to minimize the illusory Archangel’s targets, except when used in sharp movements to aid in maneuvers.”
The drone’s feed streamed directly to a tablet Kayla had set up to one side. It caught the moment Boyd hit a full stop, crouched, and then blasted backward—literally using his wings for reverse thrust. A not-Archangel appeared ahead of him, swinging a sword through where Devil would have been. Another threat appeared behind him, but the big demon snapped a burning tail out to bisect the last phantom, blowing it into chunks of green fire that rapidly dissipated.
Dashing Devil stopped and stood, holding up a hand to call a pause. “That was a solid run,” the demonic Hero rumbled. His voice carried throughout the large training room. “But I don’t think he is smart enough to set up something like that last ambush.”
Kitsune flicked her ears and rolled her emerald eyes. “I can only do so much to mimic a dullard, Big Guy. I’m going to outdo him at least a little… don’t want you getting complacent.”
“Fair enough.” The demonic Hero chuckled as he reset to midfield, chest rising and falling slowly. He wasn’t winded, but the pale gleam of a slight sheen of sweat made all those muscles just a little extra eye-catching. Forty-five minutes of relentless, controlled violence, and he hadn’t lost a step.
Even the drones needed to recharge every half hour; Devil was a machine… a machine that ran on something else.
Kayla had spent years profiling the Authority’s best, but she had never seen a hero train like this. This was not a choreographed performance for the press, but a brute calculation of what might actually kill him. He was working hard to ensure he was ready.
There were no vanity reps, no macho posturing—just a surgical drive to correct the slightest imperfection.
Kayla watched as the relentless training continued, occasionally leaning down to check the view through her wide-angle camera and muttering some notes into her tablet. She didn’t have the experience to be a Hero analyst, but as a field reporter, she was probably the next best thing.
“Devil’s body language is relaxed, but his eyes never stop… always moving. His mind is at least two steps ahead, then his body smoothly moves to catch up with it. There’s no wasted motion, no wasted effort. Huh…” She flicked a glance at the digital timer on her wrist. “He’s been going hard for fifty-seven minutes straight before this first break.”
Boyd ambled her way, wings flexing behind him before settling loosely on his back. She noted how his slitted amber eyes narrowed as his gaze honed in on her as he approached. His intense focus was decidedly inhuman—though certainly not unwelcome.
Devil stopped six feet from her, and turned to reach for a towel draped over a nearby rack. He dragged it across his brow, then along the line of his jaw. She tracked every motion, hoping Tinker’s fancy camera drone was doing the same thing.
It would make for one hell of a close-up.
Ever the professional, she got a question out almost immediately. “How would you rate that… last simulation?”
Despite being a professional, Kayla found herself limited to a vague generalization because much of her brain was dedicated to still processing those recent close-up visuals.
Boyd didn’t waste a beat. “Kitsune’s illusions are better than Archangel’s teleports because she can coordinate simultaneous attacks. He’s limited to his own line of sight, but her illusions can appear wherever Kitsune wants them to be. She can also chain their appearance faster than Archangel can port, which means having to dodge consecutive attacks a lot quicker. In short, if I can handle this, the real thing will be…” He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. “What’s a polite way to say easy?”
The big demonic Hero gave her a smile that blended charm and confidence in a way the reporter knew every new-money playboy tried to emulate. Except they all failed miserably in comparison to this man. That smile was one the redheaded fox-Changed had accurately described as ‘panty saturating’.
The pointed canines and slitted eyes should probably take away from it. But like most women, Kayla found they added just the right touch of danger to hint at the bad boy under his shining armor.
“S-simple?” Kayla stammered.
She wanted to fan her face to calm the heat she felt rushing to her cheeks in response to that panty saturating grin. To recover, she gave him one of her best smiles. “Uncomplicated? Lacking in substance or challenge?”
“You know, I think those sound more insulting than ‘easy’… if being arguably more polite.” The demonic Hero smirked. “But something along those lines, yeah. What I just showed you is the style of combat I would engage in to fight a better teleporter than Archangel. What I’ll show you next is what I’m working on to counter both the limitations of his teleportation and his propensity to play to the audience.”
Devil’s expression remained friendly, but an element of steel entered his tone. “You can record it and use anything you like… but only after the duel. It will remain unreleasable until after the duel is over.”
Kayla nodded. “I rather expected that. Only a fool would broadcast their real strategy ahead of such a confrontation.”
The multi-tailed vixen called from her corner on the far side of the training room, “What’s up next, Big Guy?”
Devil’s answer was all business. “Stationary defense. Silver’s going to try to punch holes in me from as many angles as possible to simulate Archangel’s ultimate capability. I’ll hold my ground. You’ll be on standby.”
Kitsune’s ears twitched with concern, her tails giving a nervous twitch. “Uh… is that a good idea? The walls here are damn impressive, but they can only take so much.”
“Silver will be very careful and only hit me, won’t you, Silver?” Devil called over to the gorgeous woman who had been pretending to review something on a tablet.
Kayla knew Silver had been watching her man train over its rim the whole time. The reporter had glanced her way often enough to form the mental image of a rather attentive cat content to watch its favored subject going about its business.
At Devil’s question, she jumped in place.
“Of course, Darling!” She tossed her tablet to the side and blurred up to float in front of the big demon, snapping out a rather cutesy salute. “I still refuse to aim for center of mass. Or your face… never your handsome face.”
