Chapter 3

"Myka Bering," Pete repeated to the Roman police officer. He showed him a picture. "She is missing, presumably kidnapped. I need to find her."

"But you said she's only been missing for a few hours."

"Yes, she has, but we were chasing a thief when she went missing. I'm afraid something has happened to her. Please, you have to help me. Please."

"If your own consulate wouldn't do anything, why should we? Tourists! You're all the same."

"We are not tourists!" Pete bellowed.

Most of the station stopped and stared at him. Pete closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead.

"You know what, forget it. This tourist thinks you're all completely useless. I'll find her myself since you can't seem to be bothered!" He stormed out of the building and headed up the street.

The Farnsworth began buzzing. Pete stopped, answering it. He glared at Artie.

"Any luck?"

"No. The consulate doesn't acknowledge we're here, Artie, and the police won't do anything."

"They won't acknowledge you're there?"

"Yeah. I went to the consulate just like you said. I found that Mister Ramey – who apparently has no first name. He told me he couldn't help, that the American consulate doesn't acknowledge any American agents in Rome."

"What?" Artie asked.

"Which part do I need to repeat?"

"He is a Regent, Pete!"

"Oh. Well. That makes it all better then, doesn't it?"

"He shouldn't have said that. He should have used contacts to help you… You know… I… I'll make calls."

"You'll make…" Pete scoffed and laughed. "You'll make calls. Great. Meanwhile, whoever has that cross may have used it to kill my partner."

"No. No. Pete. She's alive. You have to have faith."

Pete looked away. His faith was in short supply.

"Pete look at me."

He didn't.

"Pete, look at me."

He finally did.

"We will find Claudia, I promise."

"Claudia?"

"I mean Myka."

"You said Claudia."

Artie made a face.

"Oh damn!" Pete gasped. "She's missing too?"

"She was kidnapped also."

Pete leaned against a wall, staring at the people around him. He felt so helpless right now.

"Pete."

He looked back down at Artie. "I will call in a favor with the Church, and I will find someone to help you look for her. Go back to the hotel and wait for my call."

"Okay."

"We'll bring our girls home, I promise."

Pete nodded. He shut the Farnsworth and headed down the street. He spotted a taxi and flagged it down. Pete stammered the name of his hotel and then sat back.

#

Steve went over their trail on a map again, trying to figure out where to search for Claudia next. Reactively he snatched up the Farnsworth when it began ringing and opened it.

"Anything new?" Artie asked.

"No. You haven't found any clues?"

"No."

"Did Pete find Myka?"

"No. For some reason we can't get anyone in Rome to help him. It's like all of my contacts are scared to help us."

Steve stopped walking, thinking for a moment. "What if they are?"

"Are what?"

"What if your contacts are scared of helping? What if this Circle got to them?"

Artie frowned. "They wouldn't tell me one way or the other."

"You asked them?"

Artie nodded. "No one would admit to being scared of them, but they all had reasons not to help. And the Church had their cross returned, so they aren't very interested in helping."

"Maybe this group is a lot larger than you thought, Artie."

"I'm beginning to suspect that myself. Keep me posted, and I'm still trying to find help for you too."

"Thanks."

Artie disappeared. Steve put the Farnsworth away and pulled out a map. He was looking it over when he felt someone lying. Steve looked up, staring at the hooded person standing twenty feet from him.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

The person pulled out a Taser and shot it at him. Steve tried to get up when the current stopped. Someone jabbed another Taser into his back and tased him unconscious.

#

Pete climbed out of the taxi and climbed the three wide stairs to the hotel entrance. He passed the front desk that was busy as it had been the night they arrived. Pete tapped the button of the elevator, staring at it. He tapped it again, then again, and his anger began to build. He punched the wall, putting a dent in it. Pete stared at the dent, even when the elevator door opened and then shut. He lightly tapped the button again. The door opened and he stepped inside. Pete turned, finding a couple with two children had been standing behind him. The woman looked terrified, the man was in shock, and the children stared wide-eyed at him. Pete tapped the button for his floor – he didn't have the patience to apologize right now.

He pulled the key out of his pocket as he came to his hotel room door. There was a note from the front desk taped to his door. He pulled it off, reading: A package came and housekeeping left it on your bed.

Pete's other hand immediately went to his gun. He slid the key into the keyhole and slowly turned it. Cautiously Pete opened the door. The shades had been pulled and the room had the smell of flowers from being cleaned. His bed was made and sitting on the corner of it was a plain wooden box that had been nailed shut. Pete walked to the box and pried the lid off. A card sat on top of packing straw. Pete picked it up and opened it.

In handwriting he hadn't yet seen was scrawled: We warned you there would be consequences. This is your first consequence.

Pete tossed the note and pawed through the packing. He expected to find something horrible, like Myka's finger, hand, foot, or worse, her head. Instead he uncovered a silver wine decanter. But it may as well have been her head because he knew what it meant.

"No," Pete whispered.

He pulled a glove from his coat pocket and grabbed the handle with it He stared at his reflection in the metal. Pete gently brushed his hand over the metal.

From the decanter smoke poured, taking up most of the room and hovering near the ceiling.

In an all too familiar feminine voice the genie asked, "What is your wish master?"

Pete dropped the decanter. "Myka."

There was no recognition from the genie.

"Myka, it's Pete."

"What is your wish, master?" she asked.

"Myka, you need to remember me and you. You have to remember who you were before you were changed into a genie. You know how this works, somewhere in…" Pete motioned at the swirl of cloud. "There."

She didn't act like she knew what he was talking about.

"Oh God!" Pete put his hand against his forehead, trying to think. "Ah. I got it." Pete dug his cell phone out and pulled up the pictures on it. He pulled up one of Myka and showed it to the genie. "This is you, Myka. This is Myka Bering, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You became a Secret Service Agent, on the president detail, before you came to the Warehouse. You lost your last partner, Sam, and you loved him. He, uh, he called you Bunny. Your dad's name is Warren, your mom is Jeanie. You have a sister. Her name is Tracy, and—"

"Pete!" she whispered.

The smoke suddenly compressed until it turned into Myka. She gasped, staggering forward, when the last of it disappeared behind her eyes. She stood for a moment, staring at the wall. Her wide eyes slowly turned to Pete. The two stared at each other.

"I'm a genie," Myka told him in a small voice. "How… How did… What the hell is going on, Pete?"

Pete didn't answer. Instead he threw his arms around her in a tight hug and almost started crying.

"I thought you were dead. I thought they'd…" Pete closed his eyes, hugging her tighter.

She began shaking. "I'm a genie, Pete."

He opened his eyes when he heard something hit the wall. Pete slowly looked up. The pictures and light fixtures were rattling.

"Myka, you have to calm down," Pete said.

"They turned me into a genie, Pete! I'm a… What the hell!?"

The shaking intensified. Pete stepped back, keeping his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes.

"Myka, I know you're mad and scared, but you have to calm down."

"The hell I'm calming down! I—"

"Honey, you have the power to level this hotel, hell, Rome, to the ground right now. I need you to calm down. Take some deep breaths. Do some of those yoga moves. Whatever it takes, you have to calm down. Look. Around. The room, Mykes."

Myka looked around the room, seeing what he meant. She closed her eyes. When it didn't stop right away she leaned into Pete. He rested his forehead against her forehead and held her face in his hands

"Breathe. All you have to do is breath, Mykes," Pete quietly told her.

She laid her hands on his and did just that. The rattling in the room slowly came to a stop. Pete waited for her to stand up. She pulled away and slowly sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed. He sat down next to her. Myka took his hand in both of hers, holding on tight to it.

"I'm a genie," she repeated.

"Yeah. Kinda noticed." Pete pulled at string in the rug. "Do you remember who took you or how they turned you into a genie?"

"Not really." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I was drugged, I think. I remember there was a room of people chanting. I can almost remember the smell of candles burning and then things just fade away. But when I first woke up I was in this place that was gray. There was nothing there. Nothing. And there was light above me but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. All around that light was pitch black. I decided to try walking through it, to see if I could get somewhere."

Pete looked up when the picture on the wall began to tremble. As she continued everything loose in the room began to rattle.

"There was something out there, Pete. Something evil. And it laughed and grabbed a hold of me. It tried to strangle me. I got away and ran back to the light. I just got into the light and it grabbed my ankle. It was a hand, Pete. It was white with black veins. I kicked it off and I didn't leave that light. I didn't go anywhere until you summoned me and that's when I forgot who I was."

Pete sighed, shaking his head.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head, looking up. "I thought what I was doing was right. I was sure that releasing those humans that didn't belong trapped was right, Myka. Now it looks like I put everyone in danger. I'm sorry."

"Pete, you were not wrong. Whoever is doing this is, they're… They're being bullies!"

Pete didn't comment. Myka laid her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want to go back in there."

"You have to. I can't get you through airport security as a genie."

That made her cry. Pete put his arm around her, holding her close. He watched the objects around the room tremble with the emotional power Myka the genie was releasing.

"It's okay, Mykes. I won't put you back in there until it's time to leave."

She closed her eyes, curling up at his side and holding onto him with both hands. "Please don't."

The objects slowly stop shaking. He now firmly believed that who or whatever decided genies should have the power of the gods should have been hung before they had the chance to make it happen.

#

Artie grabbed his Farnsworth and flicked it open. Pete was on the screen, leaning in close. He was somewhere dark.

"I don't know anything yet," Artie told him. "The police are still look—"

"Call off the search but you can't tell them why," Pete almost whispered.

"Myka's missing, Pete. We need—"

"She's asleep in the other room. Artie, whoever has been sending those threats turned her into a genie. I booked the next flight home so I can release her."

Artie suddenly found himself whispering. "She's safe otherwise? She isn't hurt?"

"No. She doesn't remember much of what happened. They were wearing black robes and hoods. The put her in a silver wine thingy. She told me what it was, I forgot."

"Okay. Get back fast."

"Any word on Claudia?"

"No. She's still missing. I'll send Steve back to the hotel. Maybe they sent something back to his room."

"Good idea."

Artie heard Myka call out, "Pete? Where are you?"

He noticed that things around Pete began to lift.

"What's going on, Pete?"

"She's scared and keeps forgetting she has the power of God in her veins right now. I'll see you in a twelve hours." And Pete was gone.