This is a work of gay-themed Romantic Fantasy: if reading something of this nature offends you or is illegal in your area (for whatever reason your local Pols can fabricate) then please do us both a favor and back out now. Otherwise--enjoy (unless you've made other plans...)
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
Thanks again to Tripp Savidge who's work "The Lab" greatly influenced this section. Make of that what you will.
If you would like to be notified when new Doververse content or other stories (which I will eventually publish) become available drop me a note to HonableRonable@gmail.com or Ronvenable@hotmail.com and I'll see you are notified as soon as content is published. You can use either of those e-Mails if you have questions, comments, suggestions or constructive criticism. I ALWAYS write back (since, if you've taken time out of your busy schedule to write me it's the least I can do in return). And speaking of "character suggestions" shout-out to "Marko the Magnificent"! I am DEFINITELY looking for a way to introduce "Princess Skye" to the Doververse!!! Additional shout-outs to Carl and Mike who allowed me to make characters based on them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: A Whiz of a Wiz
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, age 49 -- our dauntless Hero
Kevin McMasters. Age ??? -- owner of Wonderworks and Artificer Extraordinaire
Lt. Benjamin Brazos "BB" Wolfe, age 39 - Special Crimes Police
Cliff Dover, age 39 -- Archdruid and Ben's younger brother
John-Thomas Bilodeau, age 41 -- Druid, Mind Mage and Cliff's lover
Carl Cipriano. Age 57 -- Foreman, Golden Gables Construction
Mike Meyer, age 55 -- Guard at Barnsdall Pharmaceuticals Silverton
Ethan Gray, age 45 - Ben's live-in lover and former CIA Agent
Ben had convened a War Council at Seacliff Manor: Cliff's new Brownie Servant had quietly arranged food and drink for everyone attending. The Texan was a bit surprised when he came back in: "Mr. Kevin McMasters, gentlemen..." he said before exiting the room as quickly and quietly as he entered.
"Howdy Kev!" the big man said. "Thanks f'r commin'!"
The Mad Toymaker gave the room a broad smile. "You're my friend Ben," he said. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help when I could have! Besides, I've been looking for an excuse to take Barnsdall down a few pegs so I'm getting two birds with one stone!"
The Texan turned his attention to Special Crimes Police Lieutenant BB Wolfe. "Ya don't hafta be here," he said to the darkly-handsome man. "What I'm proposin' is completely illegal an' c'd cost ya y'r job if this goes South..."
"If this goes South, we'll probably end up dead!" the Wolfe replied. "If we're lucky enough to find your Son and bring him home Barnsdall won't want to talk about what happened!"
"Let's make sure we don't end up dead' then!" Carl said. "Besides--if this asshole is kidnappin' Werefolk it's only a matter of time til they take one of us or someone we know!"
"Mike, you work there, right?" Cliff said. "What can you tell us about the `Secret' Wing?"
"Not as much as I'd like," admitted the beefy Werebear. "There are some stories' that circulate about the Top Secret Wing' but nothing I can confirm with my own eyes!"
"Tell us what you've heard," John-Thomas said. "Legends are often based on a grain of truth: there might be something we can use..."
Mike took a moment to organize his thoughts. "The Top Secret Wing' is patrolled by the Black Guard," he finally said. "They don't mix with us regular' types! Rumor has it they are either magical' or some sort of super'; I know they are stronger and faster than they have any right to be but none of em smell like Weres' to me."
"Can you smell Magic on `em?" Ben asked.
"Wouldn't know," the brown-haired werebear admitted. "I've never smelled Magic--leastways not that I know of!"
"There are a bunch of Psychics up there," John-Thomas told the group. "We passed the place on one of our Livewire' rides and I relled' them then. Most of them are just kick-ass Redactors but there is a Coercer and someone with the most impressive Psychic Armamentarium I've ever seen!"
"Hang on a Sec'!" Carl said. "What's `rell' and what are Redactors?"
"Was wonderin' that m'self," Ben confessed.
"'Relling' is a word we use for psychic sensing," the tall Mind Mage told them. "It's kind of a combination of reading' and smelling'--hence relling'! Psychic abilities are divided into six major classes--seven if you count the oddball dark' talents."
"Don't get TOO technical!" Cliff cautioned his lover. "Just stick to the `regular' talents, OK?"
"Alrighty then!" John-Thomas said. "Coercers are mental manipulators; they are the ones who can control others thoughts and actions by their power. Creators make something from nothing, be it energy manifestations, illusion or something solid. Farsensors are mental communicators and perceptors; their powers cover Telepathy, the various forms of psychic cognition and prediction. Redactors are masters of the body; they are healers and their talents can be reversed. Telekinetics can move things with their minds. Travelers are the teleporters and Gate Masters: that's the rarest of the six major talents. And of course, you have the combo talents like psychocreation which is telekinetic energy given form and color by Creation, hence the name--but there are too many of those to go into here!"
"Good!" Mike said. "I think my head hurts already!"
"So--what `r' we dealin' with up there?" Ben asked.
"The ones I wasn't afraid to read were all Autoredactors," the Mind Mage said. "They are a lot stronger and faster than normal humans and they might even be able to heal wounds we inflict!" This was followed by several exclamations of dismay.
"Luckily I brought TOYS!" Kevin exclaimed with childlike glee.
"Toys?" Mike looked at the cackling artificer. "Who da fuck IS that kid?"
"Kevin McMasters--the guy behind Wonderworks!" Ben told him. "If th' man says he brought `toys' I'm sure they'll be useful! What have y' got ol' Son?"
The Mad Toymaker reached into the backpack he had just removed and brought out a round metallic "something" which he tossed into the air where it floated. "Full-spectrum Sensor," he told the group. "If there are security beams or anything hidden this baby will find them and light it up! Would you like a demonstration?"
"Sure!" Cliff said. "This room contains a secret door to the basement. Can your device find it?"
"WORKING!" the device piped, sounding remarkably similar to the original "Star Trek" computer. It didn't take long for the floating device to scan the large room then light up a bookcase and send a strong red beam at a marble bust of Caesar on a high shelf.
"Is that it?" Kevin asked.
"It is!" Cliff replied. "I concealed that door with the strongest Magic I could conjure and your device found it!"
"RADAR, SONAR and LIDAR combo," the Toymaker told him. "Your magic can mess with the human mind but the spells you used can't change the basic Laws of Science!"
"I'm duly impressed!" Cliff said. "So, we've got `detection' covered--do you have anything we can use against the guards?"
Next the Toymaker brought out a simple wire circlet which he placed on Ben's head. "Hit `im with the strongest mental zorch you've got!" he told John-Thomas.
The Mind Mage tried several tricks but nothing worked. "If I didn't see Ben standing right over there I wouldn't be able to read anything on his mind!" he finally said. "Is that some sort of Psionic Shield?"
"Got it in one!" Kevin replied. "As long as you keep those on your heads we should be safe from psychic attack!"
"What if we hafta change?" Carl wanted to know.
"They'll Shift with you!" the Toymaker replied. "Just don't take the thing off or let one of baddies do it because you're fucked then--and not in the fun way!"
"Can we wear em round our necks?" Mike wanted to know. "That'd be better for us if we have to Shift!"
"I don't see why not!" Kevin replied. "In fact--it might be better if we all did! We can conceal them under these!" Next, out of the shockingly small bag, came something that looked like a wet suit only made of softer, more supple fabric. "Put these on and activate them you'll be hard to spot! These also act as body armor slightly stronger than Kevlar!"
"Too bad ya don't have somethin' ta dampen power in that Bag of Holdin' of yours," Mike observed.
"Oh, I do!" Kevin told him. "I won't say I've thought of EVERYTHING but pretty close... I even have `night vision' lenses and communicators built into the hoods!"
"Those won't help," Mike offered. "Barnsdall always keeps the lights on."
"Which is why I have a Power Dampener in my `Uru' Purse!" the Toymaker said as he lifted his backpack.
"Um-- `Uru' Purse...?" Carl said.
"Like Thor's Hammer Mjolnir!" Kevin told him. "My bag doesn't throw lightning bolts but it packs quite a wallop! AND it comes back!"
"Alrighty then!" the wereboar said. "That's actually kinda awesome!"
"Have ya got anythin' else t' show us?" Ben asked.
"Yeppers!" the Mad Toymaker said as he dove back into the bag, this time pulling out something that looked like a small Gate Remote. "This is a Neural Disruptor!" he told them. "I'd show you how it works but I don't want to put you out for a few hours. This should be enough to deal with most of those Autoredactors at the Lab!"
"Are you SURE it'll work?" Mike asked.
"Want me to demonstrate on you?" Kevin replied with an impish grin. "I will--but you'll be in the Land of Nod for the rest of the meeting!" At this point the werebear decided he'd just trust the strange little man on this one.
"Ya got anything else in your `Uru" Purse?" Carl asked.
"Lots of stuff!" the Mad Toymaker said. "Hopefully we won't need to use anything like my Portable Hole but I have it just in case! THIS, on the other hand..." Kevin reached into the bag one more time and brought out something that looked like a thick Fountain Pen with a large red-glowing ball at the tip. "This is a Monomolecular Blade!" he announced. "Whatever you do--DON'T get your fingers or your friends anywhere between the tip of the apparatus and the red ball because anything that crosses that line WILL be severed!"
"Fuck--ME!" the Werebear exclaimed.
"I'm more of a bottom," Kevin teased, "but if that's what you're into then I'm adaptable!"
"What's a Monomolecular Blade?" Ben said. "I'm askin' f'r us dummies!"
"You're not a Dummy!" the little blond man replied with a teasing grin, "just uneducated in the ways of Super Science! A Monomolecular Blade is a knife made from a single Adamantium Molecule. Because that molecule is stretched so far it becomes super-sharp and can cut through literally ANYTHING solid with a single stroke! Needless to say, these things aren't for casual usage because they can seriously fuck up you or someone close to you if you aren't careful! If you take one of these babies, I think we need to spend some time practicing with their use!"
"I begin to see why the Feds were so hot to get their hands on you back in the day," Ethan Gray said. The former CIA Agent had been sitting quietly, listening and observing until now. His lover Ben seemed to have the planning well in hand so he'd felt no need to offer any suggestions. Seeing the Artificer's amazing array of gadgets though caused him to remember old stories he'd heard back in Langley about the "Mad Toymaker" and the ultratech weapons he was amassing. When the Feds had made their bungled try to snatch McMasters it seemed he was just interested in making amazing toys but now it was clear the Artificer was much more than merely a Toymaker!
"Everything I pass out is on a self-destruct clock!" Kevin told the group. "It's not that I don't trust you--it's just I don't trust you!"
"Hey!" Carl and Mike exclaimed together.
"Sorry guys," the Artificer said, "I've been burned too many times by people I thought were my friends to be really trusting!"
"So, why are you even here then?" Carl asked accusingly.
"Do you hate Barnsdall that much?" Mike added.
"Was kinda wonderin' that m'self..." Ben admitted.
Kevin glanced at the Texan. "I'm pretty sure I can trust you," he said bluntly. "But him," he said looking at Ethan, "I know he's ex-CIA and them I definitely DON'T trust! As for the rest of you..." the Toymaker's gaze fell on each one, "I don't know you and until I do, I won't trust you with my toys!"
"I can accept that," Ethan told the Toymaker. "I had just started at the CIA when I heard what they did to get you. Even if the mildest versions are true, I'm sure the experience wasn't pleasant for you. That being said, I heard you took some pretty creative revenge on the people who hurt you! Just know Kevin, I'm not stupid enough to repeat the mistakes my former employers did! I'm pretty sure Ben trusts me and I hope you will too one day..."
"I trust ALL of you!" the big man said, "otherwise I wouldn't have asked ya t' help rescue m' Son!" Ben's single blue eye fixed each man in the room for a long moment. "If ANYONE can't trust the' rest o' th' men in this room I suggest ya leave now! I won't think less o' any of ya who do--but if y'all ain't fully committed t' this mission an' th' men runnin' it, y' shouldn't be part of it!"
Nobody moved.
"That bein' said I think it's reasonable f'r Kev t' put a self-destruct clock on his ultratech," the man continued. "We don't NEED stuff like this once we're don with th' mission an', Lord knows, we don't WANT this stuff getting' in the hands o' the bad guys if we fail!"
"Since we've settled THAT," Cliff said, "what's the plan?"
"We should go in at Shift Change," Mike offered. "Midnight is the best time ta hit the place--the Evening Shift is anxious ta get home ta bed and the Night Shift guys aren't revved up on coffee. Of course, that's when they let the `Nasties' out ta play..."
"Nasties?" Cliff asked.
"I think they're gene-engineered Pit Bulls trained ta kill," the Werebear said. "Course that shouldn't be a big problem with this bunch..."
"I can make `em my best friends or just put the poor things to sleep!" Cliff said.
"What about alarms?" Ben asked.
"It's alarmed six-ways ta Sunday!" Mike said.
"Don't worry," Kevin said. "By the time we're ready to hit the facility I'll have hacked Barnsdall Security System and the Control Room will see and hear ONLY what I want them to!"
"Do you have some sort of psychic screen?" John-Thomas asked. "I can cover us but it might be better if we have something that can do the job!"
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot..." Kevin said, bringing out something that looked like a small featureless box. "This will generate enough psychic static to cover our thoughts. A really observant Telepath might realize something is wrong but as long as we're hidden, we should be fine!"
He really IS a Whiz of a Wiz!" Carl said. "So--should we go practice with the toys Kevin made?"
END CHAPTER EIGHTEEN