I felt very uncomfortable. I had just finished an interview with a local newscast, and had basically lied through my teeth about Mathew Spath. The lies had been designed to draw him out, though.
I was still unsure of how dangerous a group could be, that preached purity of magic. I mean, come on! A terrorist group dedicated to keeping magic and technology separate? Still, there had been acts of terrorism over some of the stupidest things in the past, or at least criminal acts.
As I was driven back to the embassy, I considered my role in this. I was basically being used as bait to draw someone out of hiding. I considered the spells I had at the ready and was glad I had been practicing holding magical power.
Some of the spells would require quite a bit of power as I cast them. I had a defensive/offensive spell that I had tested back in the US and it was very strong. It took a good bit of power to cast it though, as did my other offensive spells.
Just three of the spells I had at the ready would exhaust the power I had stored within myself, that's how strong they were. Still, dealing with terrorists or criminals, however you labeled them, was going to be dangerous.
I clutched my staff tightly and looked at it. Colonel Frank Barnes had gotten embassy security to let me retain my staff. It did represent a lot of power, and to trust someone not vetted or with embassy security with something as powerful as a staff was remarkable, apparently.
After we got back to the embassy, I was requested to go to Frank Barnes office. I made my way through the corridors with only two false turns and found myself waved in almost at once.
"Ah, Carl! Good. You have a busy day tomorrow, followed by a dinner with the Egyptian ambassador. Do you know him by chance?" The Col. asked me.
"No. Why?" I asked curiously.
"I ask because you were specifically requested. I thought perhaps you knew him or a member of his family. You have never met him or know any of his family?" I was asked again.
"Not to my knowledge," I answered slowly.
"Well, you have been requested to present yourself at the Egyptian embassy no later than eight PM tomorrow evening, for a private dinner and conversations with the Egyptian ambassador," Col. Barnes responded while watching me closely.
"Like I said, I don't know why he wants to see me. I will be sure to let you know what he wants," I assured him.
He nodded and then changed the subject.
"They played your segment on the news, already. They added it to the end of the local news, while you were traveling back here," Col. Barnes told me.
"I thought they weren't supposed to play that until this evening," I said in confusion.
"Apparently they either decided to change their minds, or they needed a filler for the midday news. Either way, it has played already," he told me.
Did I really care that it had played already? Not really. The whole interview had left me a little unsettled to begin with. I was still having trouble considering Mathew Spath as a terrorist. I mean... he had been someone I had worked with for almost a year.
The Egyptian ambassador, Aamin Malik, was an interesting man. He was an intelligent and purpose filled person, who seemed to radiate sincerity. I had presented myself to the Egyptian Embassy in complete wizard dress, including my full cloak and wizard's staff, and been shown in.
I was greeted by a secretary to the ambassador who took me to a small study-like room, and asked if I would like tea, coffee, or a liquor. I asked for a coffee, and was presented with something would probably grow hair on a billiard ball! Damn but that was strong!
A short time later the ambassador himself came in, walked over to me as I rose, and shook my hand.
"I had to take this opportunity to meet you, Mr. Richmond. May I call you that, or do you prefer Wizard Richmond?" He asked me.
"Either will do, Mr. Ambassador," I replied.
"Please, call me Aamin. You are already a friend of the family," he told me.
I was confused, but answered then by all means, he could use my name, Carl.
"I can see you are confused. Does it help if I tell you that you were instrumental in helping to save my cousin, Rashid Malik's life? He was with two other religious people in a park, I believe," Aamin explained.
"Rashid is your cousin? What a coincidence!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, Rashid is a close relative. We of the familiar are proud of him. He is a great scholar and has become friends with some very powerful religious figures," Aamin stated.
"I saw him not too long ago. He was doing well, as far as I could see," I answered.
"Yes, he mentioned that and talks about you whenever he sees you on the telly. You yourself have made a great impression on my younger cousin," Aamin said, while looking like he was remembering.
Soon a servant came in and announced that dinner was served. The ambassador led the way to a small dining room, and I was gestured to a chair. The meal, when it was brought in, was amazing and peculiar. Lobster? I was expecting anything but that!
An hour later I pushed myself back from the table with a groan. Aamin laughed. Between the lobster, the giant shrimp, the dips and other foods, I was stuffed like the proverbial turkey. We had also talked during the entire meal.
"That was an excellent dinner, Aamin, and I thank you for it. I feel like if I eat another bite, I will explode!" I groaned again, dramatically.
"I am pleased that you were satisfied with the meal. It is not often I get a chance for a quiet meal and good conversation. Usually I am fencing with other diplomats. Definitely not good for the digestion," Aamin said with a chuckle.
My visit with Aamin had gone well, and I promised to keep in touch. Why he wanted to maintain contact with me was a bit unclear, but who was I to say no? As far as I was concerned, you could never have enough friends, and Aamin wanted to be friends.
After I got back to the embassy, Col. Barnes corralled me and grilled me intensely about my visit. After I had explained that I had in fact met the ambassadors younger cousin in a park just a little over three months ago, and the circumstances surrounding that meeting, he understood.
"I thought you said you didn't know the family," he asked me.
"I hadn't realized that I did. You have to admit I had met him under strange circumstances, and he never mentioned he had a cousin who was an ambassador," I replied, just a bit irritated.
"Well, on to other matters. Both American and British intelligence have their ear to the ground over this Mathew Spath thing, and have had no nibbles as of yet. Spells of location have been cast, but are being actively blocked, so we know that at least he is still in England," the Col. remarked.
Blocking location spells, while not a truly great feat of magic, still required a proficiency in magic that was respectable. I was continually having to re-evaluate my thoughts about the ability of my old work mate.
Days passed and still nothing more was unearthed on the group. We didn't get a break until the Egyptian Embassy sent a couriered letter to us. It gave us our first break. Apparently the group we were after was asking certain individuals for help leaving England, and someone in the Egyptian embassy had been contacted for help.
I was kept out of the action and it pissed me off! While the American, British, and Egyptian intelligence services, the Egyptian providing contact information, the trap was set and sprung.
It took four days to get everything set up, and I was allowed to watch the video afterwards. They did not surrender peacefully, but tried to fight their way out of the trap. I watched as spells and guns were used in the fight.
All the terrorists were magic users, yet some of them used both mundane weapons such as guns along with their magic. Wasn't that a break with their philosophy? While I could not see exactly what spells had been cast, I could name most, if not all by the results.
Several of our men were killed or injured by, 'Fredrick's spell of combustion', which had hit our line, had cleared a section easily. Fire had burst explosively into being and killed four and injured another seven men.
It wasn't till someone on our side cast, 'Blythe's cancellation', which canceled protective spells at the enemy that the more mundane bullets started taking effect. Our men killed nine of them and injured another seven after that.
The remaining four surrendered when they saw that their position was not winnable. While it had been an intense battle, it had been short and fast. I was stunned at the violence I had witnessed.
I knew, having military experience, that this could happen. But to see it, even second hand through video, was awe inspiring and disturbing. The after action report was written up and sent back to the US.
Mathew did not survive the confrontation. He had been shot at least four times and did not survive his wounds. Strange that the purity they were so strong on was what had ultimately brought them down.
When our side had cast the magical cancellation spell on them, that had spelled the end of their bid for freedom. If they had relied a bit more heavily on science and the equipment that it could provide, they might have had a chance, they were that good.
Once again I was at an airport, this one was Heathrow, and I was again in a private waiting room. My part of the operation complete, I had been ordered home, which was fine with me.
I had another seven-hour flight to look forward too and sighed in frustration. I knew that some wizards, and most of the mages around could do teleportation spells. I started thinking about what it would take to teleport from England to the US.
By the time my flight landed in the US, I was excited about the teleportation spell I had come up with. Sure, it was going to take a lot of power, after all it would have to carry a person at least three thousand miles.
Also, you needed a dedicated clear space for your departure and arrival. Using the same place repeatedly would be better. The better you knew the two places, the easier the spell would work for you.
Damn, but this was exciting! I had thought myself years away from casting this type of spell, but during the flight, everything clicked into place.
A basic rule of magic was you could not figure out a spell, unless you were capable of casting it.
This was going to put me into a very rare league of magic users! I could already see how I could teleport people with me, but that would cut down on the distance I could teleport. Now, what about if I charged myself, my staff, my wand...
Edited by TeNderLoin