Free Mercury Shrugs by Robert Kroese Page A

a shot.”
    “Got it,” said Eddie. “So... should we come back tomorrow? Or, like, next week?”
    “What?” asked Mercury, furrowing his brow. “No. It shouldn’t take that long. It’s not that big of a house.” He took a deep breath and bellowed, “Balderhaz!”
    “Hang on,” said Eddie. “You’re saying that he’s—”
    “Shh!” Mercury hissed, cocking his head as if to listen.
    There was no sound for some time. Mercury sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. He doesn’t want to be found. You take the upstairs, and I’ll take this floor. And if you find him, don’t make any sudden movements. He spooks easily.”
    Eddie nodded, getting up from his chair. Before they reached the door, it opened and Rhonda came in. “Did you say something, Mr. Curry?” she asked.
    “Yes,” said Mercury. “We need to find Balder—I mean, Mr. Baldwin. You check the basement.”
    Rhonda nodded and turned to leave.
    “Oh, and Rhonda?” said Mercury. She stopped and turned to face him.
    “If we don’t find him in the next twenty minutes...” Mercury said, and then made the house-blowing-up motion.
    Panic came over Rhonda’s face and she turned and fled from the room.
    Mercury gave Eddie a puzzled glance. “What is it with people and banana bread?” he asked.

Chapter Nine
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; October 12, 2016
     
    Tiamat’s smile faded, and was replaced with a look of exasperation. “How are you doing that?” she asked.
    “Doing what?” asked Burton.
    “Interfering with my ability to harness interplanar energy! You shouldn’t be able to do that!” She paused. “Unless...”
    “Unless what?” asked Burton.
    “Unless you have a Balderhaz Cube.”
    “Is that what it’s called?” asked Burton. He reached into a backpack that lay against the crate he was sitting on and pulled out a metal box about the size of grapefruit. As Tiamat watched in dismay, he set the box on the spool, flipped a catch, and opened it. He pulled out fist-sized obsidian cube and set it on the spool next to the box.
    “Where did you get that?” Tiamat growled.
    “I got it from my boss. He said it would render you harmless. Frankly, though, you look pretty harmless anyway.”
    “Do I?” said Tiamat with a smile. She almost tried to lean back in her chair again, but caught herself in time. “In that case, perhaps we can agree on a friendly wager. Do you work out, Special Agent Burton?”
    Burton shrugged again. “I try to stay in shape.”
    “It shows,” said Tiamat. “How would you like to arm wrestle me?”
    Burton frowned. “I’m not going to arm wrestle a middle-aged woman.”
    “Why not? Afraid you’re going to lose? Tell you what, if you win, I’ll come with you willingly and tell you everything I know. If I win, you let me go.”
    “And what do you know that’s so valuable?” asked Burton.
    Tiamat smiled. “Nice try, Special Agent Burton. You find that out after you beat me. Obviously your boss thinks I know something or he wouldn’t have sent you after me.”
    “My boss thinks you had something to do with the Myrmidon plot. Says you spearheaded the whole mind control chip thing. But then, my boss didn’t just hear you pitch us the plots from three different Superman movies.”
    “I’m in a regrouping phase,” Tiamat said, trying not to sound defensive.
    “Clearly,” replied Burton. “As you’ve been reduced to posting ‘minions wanted’ ads on Craigslist.”
    Tiamat chuckled. “Oh, you are precious, Special Agent Burton. Do you really think I posted that ad in an attempt to attract demonic henchmen to my cause? This was merely a ruse to gauge the FBI’s response. The fact that you are here tells me that you have no clue about the actual plot that is unfolding even as we speak.”
    “You’re bluffing,” said Burton.
    “Am I?” asked Tiamat. “Only one way to find out. Beat me at arm wrestling and I’ll tell you everything I know.” She pulled up her right sleeve and leaned