That’s all, folks!
For 2011, anyway.
Yep, this marks the last storyline update for the year. Given the holidays, I'm taking a two-week break in order to focus on some things, and Patchwork Magisters will resume fully on January 9th with our next crazy story, "Kryptonite".
But that doesn't mean the site will be quiet! There will still be two updates a week for the next two weeks, they're just going to be a little bit different. Instead of regular updates, I will be providing teasers from the stories found in my ebook editions of Patchwork Magisters, following a suggestion from a reader:
* On December 26th, you can tune in for the opening of "Don't Worry, Be Happy", the exclusive story contained in Patchwork Magisters: Volume I. Some of you have already read this story, but hopefully the rest of you will enjoy the tease.
* On December 30th, we move on to the first of the three bonus stories that will be contained in Volume II when it comes out in January, "Happy Birthday", featuring Blossom's first birthday party.
* On January 2nd, we'll ring in the new year with a taste of "The Statue Got Me High", in which Alice, Meredith, and Yousef have to handle a case without the support of the Magisters' front line.
* Finally, on January 6th, we'll get our first glimpse at the histories of everyone's favorite murderers, the Mythica, with the beginning of Volume II's final bonus story, "Bad To The Bone".
That's it for the year, folks! Happy holidays, and a happy new year. I'll see you all in a couple of weeks!
The Perfect Crime, Part Ten
“The hell of it is, she’s right,” Oliver said with a sigh. He was currently sitting in the team’s briefing room, his suit rumpled and his expression haggard. Across from him, Catherine, Blossom, and Roland were in their own chairs, with the team’s support staff filling in the extra places. “Our case against Brenner is almost entirely based on the fact that he ordered Tarah to commit various illegal acts. If he can prove that he did not have control of the ring at the time, the evidence becomes circumstantial.”
The Perfect Crime, Part Nine
Jack sat in the small cafe in Washington, looking out the window at the traffic going by, his coat folded on the chair next to him, a cup of tea sitting untouched on his table. His suit was pressed and carefully cleaned, jet black against the beige of his seat, and his cross gleamed on his chest.
“Our first date. Which ended in a storage locker, now that I think about it. Funny how things work out.” The soft voice came from behind him, and he smiled sadly, looking up.
“Things do come full circle,” Jack agreed with a nod. Robyn sat down across from him, folding her hands on her lap. Her hair had been cut short and spiky, and she was wearing a simple green blouse and pants, under a sports jacket. For a moment, the two simply sat across from each other.
The Perfect Crime, Part Eight
Paul Brenner was returning from his private kitchen, a glass of water in one hand and an apple in the other, when he saw the brief gust of wind push his door open. Stepping through, he closed it softly behind him, engaging his anti-spying safeguards, and then smiled. “Hello, Tarah,” he said, crossing over to his desk. “Is it done?”
“Yes, Master,” Tarah said softly, taking on a vaguely human shape sitting on the ground next to the desk. “It is done.”
“Good. Were there any hitches?”
“No, Master. Everything went according to plan,” Tarah said just as softly.
The Perfect Crime, Part Seven
Catherine slipped through the apartment lobby, flashing her badge to the surprised security guard as she strode upwards. 'Blossom,' she sent, 'are you in position?'
'Absolutely,' Blossom said. 'But Catherine, I don't think there's anyone here.'
Catherine stepped into the building's elevator, watching a thousand reflections of herself vanish into the distance. 'The biometric feed narrowed in to here,' she pointed out.
'Yes, but the technician did tell us it could be a historical trace,' Blossom sent. 'I'm inside now, and taking a quick look around. I think this might be Robyn's apartment.'
The Perfect Crime, Part Six
Catherine paced back and forth in the small computer room, glaring at the frazzled-looking technician. Beside her, Blossom was sitting as still as a statue, lost in thought. “Well?” she snapped.
“I'm trying!” the technician snapped back, rubbing her forehead. “Do you know how hard it is to reconstitute biometric data from fractional feeds?” She shook her head. “No, of course you don't, because you don't work with pseudotech! Stop bothering me!”
“Yousef could have had it all together by now,” Catherine growled.
“Yousef is in Boston with Alice, pretending to be us so that Brenner wouldn't get ready for our arrival,” Blossom reminded her. “Working on that idol-busting case.”
The Perfect Crime, Part Five
Robyn shook her head, glancing around as she stepped into the small storage locker. “Like old times,” she muttered under her breath. “How many of these do we maintain?”
“Enough for our purposes,” Brenner said through the small earpiece she'd been given. “Don't worry, there's absolutely nothing to connect it to my corporation, or to our society. The Magisters can't find you here.”
“Lovely,” Robyn sighed, sitting down on a wooden crate and considering her benefactor. “You were holding out on me, Mr. Brenner,” she said admiringly. “I had no idea we had an agent within the Magisters.”
The Perfect Crime, Part Four
“No luck?” Roland asked as Jack returned to the room with the others.
Jack shook his head. “Not that we really expected it to be that easy.” He glanced over to Blossom. “How do the offices look?”
“Oh, they're super-warded,” Blossom said brightly. “I checked every angle. The windows are spelled so that you can't see anything clearly through the glass, there's all sorts of countermeasures on the phone lines, Yousef says the computers are encrypted past his ability to plant anything, and every possible entrance is warded. I haven't seen this much security since I lived with Father.” She paused, considering, and then added, “Maybe even SEA headquarters.”
“There we go,” Roland said. “There's no way that a normal business would need those kind of defenses, right?”
Catherine sighed. “Did you read our files on Brenner Enterprises at all, Roland?”
Heading Out West
So, I'm going on a trip. This shouldn't affect updates or anything - heck, they may even be more reliable since I'm going to be doing a lot of them in advance, so there won't be any of that updating hours late that I do from time to time. But I won't be my usual quick-replying self, most likely.
Incidentally, if you live in Toronto, you really need to go and see Ride the Cyclone. I have heard whispers that they're already sold out on normal tickets, but the Pay-What-You-Can Saturday should still be available for those willing to line up.
Seriously, be willing to line up. The show is as phenomenal as ever.