Deader Still by Anton Strout Page B

asked.
    “The thought had struck me.”
    “I’ll let you do the mental legwork on this, son,” he said. He folded his hands on top of his desk. “Why do you think I reacted the way I did?”
    Away from the crowd, I hoped a cooler head would prevail, so I set my mind to putting myself in the Inspectre’s shoes. How would I have reacted if one of my agents had just made a bold and possibly terrifying accusation that would affect every other division in the Department?
    “Because … of the mixed company we were in?” I asked, piecing my thoughts together as they came.
    The Inspectre grinned. “Continue …”
    “Well,” I said after a slight hesitation, “there were members of every division on hand down there, including the Enchancellors. If you had blown your cool in front of all them … Well, I’m sure there was a lot at stake politically, all dependent on your handling of the situation.”
    He nodded in agreement. “I meant what I said in front of all them, Simon. The wheels of change and progress are indeed slow around here. We will be investigating this matter, but most likely it won’t be at the pace that either of us want.”
    “So we’re just supposed to sit here and wait it out while the Enchancellors send out interoffice memos and get all the right signatures lined up?”
    “I didn’t say that, either,” the Inspectre said, raising a finger. He gave me a wry smile mixed with a look of what I hoped was infinite patience. “If we’re dealing with vampires, it’s a big thing to mobilize troops and equipment for dealing with them. The Enchancellors answer to the city of New York and err on the side of being obsessively careful in these matters. You forget, though—you’re part of the Fraternal Order of Goodness. We have been around much longer than the Department and we answer only to ourselves. The Department rose up around us only because there was a need for us to interface with modern government, but F.O.G. allows you to work above and beyond the constraints of the Department in some capacities. In some cases, while the governmental red tape of the Department will take forever, the secret nature of F.O.G. will allow us to start moving forward more quickly. I believe that something of this caliber would be such a case. If vampires don’t count, frankly, I shudder to think what would.”
    “So is there something I can do to get the ball rolling on this?” I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect.
    The Inspectre nodded. “Until the Enchancellors say the rest of the i’s are dotted, yes. I want you and Connor to continue looking into this on the sly, but do not , under any circumstances, put yourself in serious harm’s way.”
    I wanted to ask if it was okay to put myself in minor harm’s way, but stopped myself. I wasn’t about to get into what constituted the fine line between the two. Frankly, coming in to work at Other Division every day was, by definition, putting myself in harm’s way.
    “Now,” the Inspectre continued, “since this is technically Fraternal Order business, I’m putting you in charge of this.”
    “Over Connor?” I said, not wanting to outrank my mentor. It didn’t feel right.
    “He’s not part of the Order, son. He can assist you on this, but you have to be careful to keep Order business out of his ears. It’s a fine line between the D.E.A. and F.O.G., I know, but it’s up to you to walk it.”
    “Wait,” I said, raising my hands like I was waving back the idea. “Inspectre, please, you can’t. My partnership with him is already strained …”
    The Inspectre dropped his fatherly tone, dead serious.
    “Dammit, boy. When I first told you that you’d face severe challenges by being part of the Order, I wasn’t merely talking about the Things That Go Bump in the Night variety. Part of your responsibility is learning to handle others.”
    I sat silently, not wanting to say anything to exacerbate the situation.
    “Is this going to be an