The President confirmed a few other things going on around the world. Some were stories I’d already read about online. After that, the conversation tapered off, and by just after 8 p.m., we shifted gears to what would happen tonight.

  Betty cleared space on my dining table and emptied the President’s suitcase onto it.

  Everything inside was black.

  Carol already had on her boots and pants. The heavy shirt waiting on the table had stiffer sleeves than the torso, like standard fatigue shirts, only this one was all black, not tan with camo sleeves. It had elbow pads and fuzzy Velcro patches on both shoulders. A black American flag patch was already on the right shoulder. Her name tag just read “46.”

  A tactical plate carrier vest lay nearby. There were plates in the front and back, plus a triangular groin plate hanging down a few extra inches. A black web belt held several pouches and a sidearm. She confirmed it was a Glock 19, the current military sidearm, when I asked. The vest had more pouches, though not as many as full combat loadouts I’d seen pictures of.

  One pouch held a radio mounted high on her left side. I’d already noticed she was right-handed.

  The last item out of the case was a flanged metal mace painted matte black. A wrist loop was attached, which was good. Someone had planned for her to keep hold of it.

  “Can you use that pistol?” I asked.

  “I can, up to a point,” she replied. “My father taught me to shoot a long time ago, but we didn’t do much hunting or target practice. I was on the range yesterday and again early this morning. If it’s close or big, I’ll hit it. Otherwise…” She shrugged.

  Message received.

  “Who can you contact with your radio?”

  “My Secret Service detail and an Army unit. They didn’t say which.”

  “I see why. Old habits die hard. Still, for unknowns, it’ll do fine.”

  “I tested it. There’s a mic in the cap.”

  I picked it up. A black balaclava and gloves fell out. The cap had padding inside and overlapping, scale-like plates, not rigid or metal. Not quite a helmet, but it would still offer some protection. It also had a mic and an NVG mount. No goggles in sight, though.

  The whole setup felt like a prototype. If it was, it was solid work…especially on short notice.

  The gloves had hard pads on the backs of the fingers, knuckles, and thumbs. Another pad fit over the back of her hand. Punching with them would hurt the other person far more than her.

  “OK. Let’s get this stuff enchanted. Do you want to start at the top or the bottom?”

  “Does it matter?” she asked.

  “No ma’am, it doesn’t.” I replied.

  “Start at the top. I want to see how you do it.”

  “Roger that,” I said with a quick glance at Blaze. Her hand over her mouth stifling a laugh.

  First up was the cap. It looked like a tactical baby bonnet that buckled under the chin. I cast +2 WISDOM on it.

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  “There’s a +2 boost to your WISDOM on this thing. WISDOM is your primary Healer stat. It increases your healing ability and your MANA POOL. More MANA means more spells, and more WISDOM means it recharges faster. INTELLIGENCE does something similar for MANA regen too.”

  Next came her vest. I gave it +2 DEFENSE.

  “That’s two points of DEFENSE on your vest. That’s the max I can put on anything right now, and just one enchantment per item. Think of it like armor, not extra health. You’ll still feel it when something hits. I don’t have an enchantment that blocks that. Don’t know if there is one.”

  I moved on to her belt. It got +2 INTELLIGENCE.

  “Two points of INTELLIGENCE. It’s your secondary Healer stat, and it boosts your MANA POOL. Might help with decision-making too. The jury hasn’t been empaneled on that question yet.”

  Then came the pistol. I debated between DEXTERITY? HIT? DAMAGE? I settled on +2 DEXTERITY. It’d help her land shots, but I didn’t want to encourage her to rely on it.

  “She might hit the wrong target, like me!”

  “Your gun now has +2 DEXTERITY. That improves targeting, movement, and even melee swings, like with your mace.”

  I picked up the mace next. Not as heavy as I expected, but solid…maybe two to three pounds of solid steel and about a foot and a half long. It was all matte black, eight, eighth inch triangular flanges, not sharpened. The head covered the last six inches. It looked like it could end a fight in one hit.

  “Hit someone hard with that and you’ll ruin their day.”

  “Nice mace,” I muttered, tapping it against my hand. “I wouldn’t want to take a shot from this, not even in full plate. Designed to crush armor…maybe pierce it too. I gave it +2 ATTACK. That means a better chance to hit and do damage.”

  “Next are your pants. I have to touch them to enchant. Same with your boots. What’s your preference?”

  She paused, then glanced at Betty. “Side of my knee. Doesn’t matter which. Boots are the same, I guess.”

  “Yes ma’am.” I knelt and touched her left leg just below the knee pad, giving her pants +2 DEFENSE. Then I touched both boots and gave them +2 DEXTERITY.

  “That’s two more points of DEFENSE on your pants, and DEXTERITY on your boots. Stat buffs are global and stack. But they won’t guarantee you dodge everything or hit every target.”

  Carol nodded. Betty just stared, probably mentally cataloging the process. “Hope she is. Too bad Bhaarrt doesn’t wear enough clothes to stack this much on him.”

  “You can move and dodge a bit better now,” I said. “You’ll be more accurate too. Plus twos don’t sound like much, but they add up. Right now, your gear’s better than anyone else’s, including mine. I haven’t upgraded in a couple of days.”

  Carol blinked, overwhelmed. “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Thank you very much. I didn’t know you could enchant that many things. Does everyone get this much?”

  “Not usually. I still need to finish enchanting gear for Blaze and some others. Enchanting eats up a lot of MANA. Higher bonuses cost even more. You still have a pair of gloves left, but I’m tapped out.”

  “Can you be ready before ten?” Betty asked.

  “If this works, way before. Haven’t tried it yet.” Grinning, I stretched my left arm toward the wall separating the house from the garage. I visualized the space beyond it…avoiding my workbench…and cast Area Effect TRANSFER MANA.

  The Ley Line in my garage provided what I needed. MANA surged into me.

  I turned and smiled. “Yup. It works. I’m back to full.”

  “How did you do that?” Betty demanded. “Can everyone do that?”

  Grinning wider, I explained, “Any Mana Mage can. Or any Mage who takes MANA TRANSFER and upgrades it with range and area. Mage-only spells. There’s a Ley Line running from across the street through my garage. All spawn points sit on Ley Line intersections.”

  Betty didn’t look thrilled. Thieves barely used MANA. They didn’t store much of it either…and their key Stats weren’t tied to it.

  Blaze added, “Geologic Survey mapped the Ley Lines, thanks to Will seeing them.”

  Carol chimed in, “They sent me a digital Ley Line map of Washington yesterday. The White House isn’t on one. Neither is the Capitol. Honestly, that might be for the best. If anyone attacks, they can’t recharge. But neither can we. Back to using guns.”

  “Let me get your gloves,” I said, already reaching. “I’ve got INTELLIGENCE on mine. I’ll give you WISDOM.” I cast +2 WISDOM.

  “It’ll help you heal and keep healing,” I added.

  While I worked, I sent Ingrid a message.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Ingrid] [You’re probably driving, so let me know when you can chat with the VIP.]

  [Ingrid:] [William of Brinsford] [Roger that. Be there in 5.]

  Yes, if you're the President of the United States, you get top level protection. Besides, she's a nice person and Will likes her now that he's met her. There's more action and fun stuff coming tomorrow. I promise.

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