Rook

either end of the street were massive trucks blocking traffic access. There was an intensely irritating sound reverberating down the street and into Myfanwy’s frontal lobes.
    The chanting droned loudly and was not constant, shifting from an almost Gregorian invocation to a twisted yodel, as if someone were driving a steamroller over a crowd of Swiss musicians.
If that’s been going on all night, I’m surprised more neighbors didn’t complain,
thought Myfanwy.
    “So, what’s the situation?” she asked as Poppat led them toward an enormous armored truck. It seemed to consist of two large trailers conjoined by one of those accordion connectors. They entered at the end and walked through a narrow aisle. On either side, the Barghests sat on low benches, and Myfanwy snuck curious peeks at them. The soldiers were dressed in gray armor made of what looked like dull, hard plastic. They were solemn and had that deadly air of poised stillness that one finds in cocked bear traps. Some were carrying large weapons, and others were carrying nothing at all. As Myfanwy and her companions passed through, the troops nodded their heads respectfully.
    They passed into a short section lined with locked cage doors. Behind some of the doors were racks of guns; other cages were empty and would presumably act as temporary restraining cells. Then they went through a medical area, where a Pawn in scrubs was sterilizing her scalpel-like fingernails. Beyond that was the accordion joint, and then finally Poppat opened a door labeled COMMAND SUITE. Myfanwy observed glowing monitors everywhere, ergonomically padded chairs, and nerdy Pawns staring at the screens, tapping away on keyboards, and, in one case, industriously licking a monitor.
    Poppat fluttered around Myfanwy and Shantay like a mother hen, ensuring that they were settled comfortably and out of the way of the nerd Pawns. They thanked him and accepted the offer of coffee, which was delivered from the galley (through yet another door).Myfanwy couldn’t help noticing that the nerd Pawns were shooting them—especially her—anxious sidelong looks. It was as if they expected her to zap them if they tried to use the backspace button.
    “All right, Pawn Poppat,” said Myfanwy, prompting a muffled guffaw from Shantay. “Please fill us in on the situation.” He nodded, looking a little perturbed, and gestured toward the many monitors.
    “Well, we can be quite certain that everyone on the first two teams is dead,” he said with a little wobble in his voice. Myfanwy remembered that those would have been his people—the workmates he saw every day. “As per standard operating procedure”—
There we go again,
thought Myfanwy—“we evacuated the street and coordinated with local police to keep it discreet.”
    “What explanation did you give?” asked Shantay curiously.
    “We told the police it was a religious cult that had been messing with the gas mains, and that it needed to be kept quiet,” said Poppat calmly. “We told the neighbors it was a gas leak in a house with asbestos.”
    “Standard operating procedure,” contributed Myfanwy.
    “Absolutely,” said Poppat, seeming to relax after hearing the magical incantation. “All members of the first team were affixed with vital-sign monitors and were in full environmental gear. They proceeded in through the front door, and Cassie—she’s the team leader—reported that the entire inside appeared to be covered in a lumpy coating of purple fungus. They confirmed that the air was breathable and free of toxins. Then we lost contact.”
    “The transmission just cut out?” asked Myfanwy.
    “Like someone shut a door on the radio waves,” piped up one of the nerds at the computers, a plump girl with little tufts of leaves instead of hair and eyebrows. “That won’t happen this time,” she said with satisfaction.
    “Oh?” said Myfanwy, a little coolly. She was still trying to construct a credible Rook persona and figured that a Rook was not accustomed to being interrupted.
    “Yup,” the girl replied. “This team is being sent in with cameras, and they’ll be spooling out comm wires as well as being in contactvia wireless means. And we’re stationing someone at the door to prevent it from shutting.”
    “Ingenious,” remarked Myfanwy dryly.
Thank heavens we’re utilizing the very highest of tech. I could check if the budget will stretch to a couple of bricks for propping the door.
    “We should be ready to send