Free Embracing the Shadows by Gavin Green

for how I'm getting pinned for this,
that's a damn good question. I need to see that tape, Gwen."
    "Don't expect me to be able to get my cute
little hands on it. That footage is a hot commodity right now. No
one I know could get near it, and wouldn't take the chance of
making a copy if they could. Sorry, Leo, you're going to have to
see what our patron can do. Until then, what are your options?"
    "Shit, I don't have any options, Gwen. I'm in
a safe place. I can't go out for anything, not anymore - my face is
all over the news. The only thing I can do is wait until tonight
and talk to the boss."
    "I'm sorry, Leo, I really am. You know I'd
help if I could. Don't go getting any wild ideas about how to fix
this and get yourself in trouble. Well, more trouble."
    "No way. I'm staying put."
    "I expect the police will call or come by the
office today, digging up what they can about you."
    "Do not defend me with them, Gwen. Don't
incriminate yourself, stay neutral."
    "I'm a professional, dummy. They won't get a
twitch out of me."
    I spent the rest of the day trying to keep
myself busy. I cooked Phillip a quick breakfast, and made a few
half-assed attempts to get into a staring contest with Thunder. I'd
read that cats view that as a challenge or a threat, but he didn't
seem to mind. I also left a message for Viggo when he woke,
explaining the fun new turn of events. A good hour was spent with
the punching bag, which I beat the shit out of. The rest of my time
was spent trying not to get hammered, and failing miserably.

    VIDEO
    A wet sensation on my nostrils woke me later
that evening; I'd passed out in a recliner around dinner time. My
eyes opened and saw Thunder sitting on my chest, and Viggo standing
in front of me. My whole body jerked in surprise. Thunder didn't
budge. Sobering up quick, I set the cat aside and stood. Okay, make
that only fairly quick on the sobering - the room wobbled when I
hopped out of the chair.
    "I recant an earlier statement," Viggo
grumbled. "You are the most troublesome of your entire
lineage."
    "Sorry, sir. I don't mean to be." I swallowed
down a hint of bile and steadied my feet.
    Viggo's posture slightly relaxed. "Intent was
never your undoing, Leo. You simply continue to be placed in
precarious situations, and by the local members of my race. Perhaps
now your level of distaste for many of them rivals my own . . . But
that is a discussion for another time."
    "Yes sir, I look forward to it." I was
relieved that my commander felt the contempt for hemos that I'd
learned to feel. Hell, that opinion was inevitable with all the
shit they'd given me. I would have never wanted Viggo to know how I
felt if his opinion opposed mine. But with his words, I no longer
had to worry about being diplomatic when the topic came up.
    "Because of the message you left," Viggo
continued, "I began my own investigation of sorts. I may not be
able to thwart the mortal authorities by clandestine means, but I
am quite able to determine some of the true facts of the case."
    "Sire," a gruff, accented voice said from the
doorway of the lounge, "I am capable of completing the task on my
own." Aldo Skala leaned against the doorframe. His jeans, blue
turtleneck and wavy blonde hair reminded me of a smug catalogue
model, but his crumbling-plaster face ruined the effect.
    I hadn't even noticed Skala was there; I was
focused on Viggo and trying to stop my vision from swimming. I
couldn't get my booze-soaked brain to figure out why Viggo's moody
European scion was there, or what he was talking about.
    "If you knew exactly where to go," Viggo said
to him, "then I would agree with you, Aldo. As I told you earlier,
you have a greater grasp of modern technology, while only I know
the precise location. We go together." He turned back to me. "Leo,
Mr. Skala and I must go, but we will return for you very shortly.
At that time, you will come with us. You have ten minutes to
prepare. As a cautionary note, I do not believe that void-walking
and