Free The Blood Eagle in the Big Easy by K. A. Lange Page B

for the lovely Kylie Minogue. She barely glanced up to see my ID as a formality before waving me on. Cameras outside were used to gain facial recognition before I ever entered the door. Scanners embedded in the columns out front scanned my electronic ID tag verifying the facial recognition. And as a last line of defense the scanners in conjunction with a live feed from the cameras created some sort of biometric imprint of me as well as all of my employees. Everything from my carriage to my heart rate were calculated to make it nearly impossible to impersonate anyone working here. After you encounter a shapeshifter once or twice you get a little particular. The one place more advanced than the council chambers of the courts was this building. Where do you think they got all the cool gadgets from? Did you seriously think they came up with that stuff on their own?
    Thinking about it for a moment I stopped and turned back to Justine. “Could you put the word out that we are looking for any information about the murder in City Park this morning.” This is New Orleans after all and the only thing more motivating than free food and booze is money. “Offer a reward if you think it will help. Take it out of the discretionary fund.” Security would need to be tightened until things calmed down with the case and the courts. “Also, could you please place a call to security and ask them to step up the patrols until things settle down?”
    “Will there be anything else sir?” She flashed a bright smile at me.
    “Not at the moment.” Her smile was infectious as I smiled back. Suddenly the thought of my second, Kira, waiting for me flickered through my mind and the smile faded. “Is she waiting for me?”
    “Of course sir” Justine smirked as she glanced up at the second floor balcony. “And she’s in a mood, even for her!” I saw pity in her eyes as she looked at me. “She came flying out of the conference room about thirty minutes ago in a huff.” She mentioned as she pulled an expense voucher from under the counter and handed it to me. “Could you sign this now, just in case you don’t make it back down...ever”
    I quickly signed the voucher approving her use of the discretionary fund. “You inspire me with such confidence Justine.” Sighing heavily, I returned the paperwork. “Thanks for the heads up.”
                  As I turned to leave I remembered that the Queen of the Nine Muses might stop by. “Oh hell I nearly forgot. Katherine and perhaps a few others from the court may pass by.” I looked up at the balcony and shook my head. “It might be safer to show them to the conference room and call me right away.”
    “Safer? For who, you or them?” She laughed. “More likely you want a way out of whatever trouble you have landed in!”
    “I am glad I can amuse you.” I grumbled.
    “I should thank you for it more often than I do.” She quipped.
    “You would think you would want to thank me for keeping you employed.” I joked.
    “Oh, please.” She looked at me without a hint of amusement. “No one else would take this job, so you’re stuck with my smiling face.” She gave me one of those sultry smiles that made men stop thinking with their brains. “You’re welcome for that by the way.”
    Biting my tongue I resisted the urge to say things I shouldn’t before waving and moving across the room to the polished hardwood double wide stairwell on the north wall. About three quarters of the way up I saw the gleaming cherry hardwood floors spill across the second floor and the thankfully empty oversized desk belonging to Kira, my second. Her highly ornate antique mahogany desk sat just outside my office on the furthest side of my office door, which currently stood ajar. On the opposite side of the room was an empty waiting area with six empty heavy wooden chairs. I started scanning the room looking for Kira. I know that she was lurking somewhere and would be upon me without warning if I