Spell Robbers by Matthew J. Kirby Page A

the man got to his feet first. Ben felt him actuating as he came into view for the first time, but Ben was too dazed to do anything. He braced himself, hoping Peter had gotten clear.
    But there was no actuation.
    “You’re just a kid,” the man said.
    Ben looked up. The man had close-cropped hair and a face that looked like someone had left it outside for too long. Ben felt the actuation fading as the man shook his head.
    “So this is what they’ve come to,” he said.
    “Hold it right there, Morrow!” Agent Taggart shouted.
    She, Spear, and three other agents entered the alley.
    The man smiled at Ben. He put up his hands. “It’s Ronin, if you don’t mind. I haven’t been Morrow for a long, long time.”
    “Call it in.” Agent Spear was panting. “Tell Mr. Weathersky the target is acquired. We got him.”
    “Sasha!” Ben took off deeper into the alley, but before he’d gone more than a few steps, he saw her walking toward him, one arm around Peter’s shoulders. “You’re okay?” he asked her.
    She nodded. “I might not have any eyebrows, but the suit did its job.”
    Police sirens howled in the distance.
    “Ennays,” Agent Spear said. “Let’s clear out.”
    They all loaded into the two working vans. Five agents rode with Ronin in one of them, while Ben, Peter, and Sasha rode with Agents Spear, Taggart, and McNeil. McNeil had taken a lightning bolt that had fried his suit and knocked him out for a bit, but he was alive and relatively unharmed.
    “Well done, all of you,” Agent Spear said after they’d gotten on the road. “Agent Lambert, consider your first Trial passed. With a commendation.”
    Sasha sighed. “Thank you, sir.”
    “I think what she did should count for two Trials,” Peter said. “At least.”
    Agent Taggart chuckled, and it was the first time Ben had heard the woman laugh. “Perhaps you’re right.”
    Agent Spear turned to Ben. “What you did was remarkable, son. You stood your ground against two hardened criminals. One of them a former Quantum Agent.”
    “Peter was right beside me,” Ben said.
    “Then that goes for Peter, too,” Agent Spear said.
    But the truth was that neither Ben nor Peter had decided the outcome that night. Ronin had stopped. He was about to finish Ben, could have done so easily, but he stopped himself. Because Ben was just a kid.
    “What’s to stop Ronin from actuating right now?” Peter asked. “What if he tries to escape?”
    “I’d like to see him try,” Agent Taggart said. “Each of the five agents in that van has an actuation ready to let loose on him if he moves a muscle.”
    But in sparing Ben, Ronin had basically turned himself in. “Agent Spear.” Ben leaned forward. “I don’t think Ronin —”
    “Let it settle, son,” Agent Spear said. “When we get back to headquarters, Mr. Weathersky will want a full report. For now, just let it settle. We’ll get Ronin into a cell, and then we can all breathe easy.”
    “A cell?” Peter asked.
    “A prison cell,” Agent Taggart said. “A room that neutralizes actuating thoughts. The opposite of augmentation.”
    Ben sat back. He was confused, unsure of what to think about Ronin now. Maybe it was best to do like Agent Spear suggested, and let it settle.

    They met Mr. Weathersky in the library. He debriefed the other agents first about what had gone down in the bank.
    Apparently, the raid had been smooth, right up until the moment the agents were set to ambush Ronin and his men. That was when they realized Ronin had brought an additional member onto the Paracelsus crew, a man the League hadn’t known about. Which meant there was an extra lookout.
    The agents had lost the advantage of surprise, and that was all the edge Ronin had needed to make an escape.
    “We immobilized his transport,” Agent Taggart said. “So Ronin went looking for ours. Agent Spear radioed a warning to Agent Lambert.”
    Mr. Weathersky turned to Sasha. “Who I understand has just passed her first