“It’s just right there.” I said, pointing to the chair to the side. “It wasn’t really heavy or anything either. But I didn’t get a chance to open it before room service got here with the food. I figured that we’d be too hungry to go through it first and we’d look after we ate.”
We hurried and ate our food, then took the plates and put them on the little table in the hallway across from the door. Then sat on the couches in the common area with the box in between us on the coffee table. I pulled the tabs up and opened the box, pulling out a few different stacks of papers, photos and news articles. Then a small leather-bound book.
“That’s it?” Az asked, “Just a bunch of papers and a book? What’s so bad about these that whoever dropped them off couldn’t actually hand them to us and tell us what they’re even for?”
We each grabbed a bundle of papers, removing the rubber band and looking at what it was.
“These are news articles about some pretty messed up people killing each other.” Az said. “And they’re dated from over fifty years ago.”
“I have more of the same, but these are almost a hundred years old.” I said. “And with some grainy pictures of what I think are the scenes of the crimes.”
“Why would anyone give us pictures and news stories of old crimes that happened a long time ago?” Az asked. “What do they even want us to do about it?”
“Maybe these were actually meant for Pappy.” I set down the stack of papers after bundling them back up, “He is the head of the council, maybe they thought he would like the information or that maybe he could figure things out if they’re cold cases.”
“Maybe…” Az said slowly. “But why these cases? And they’re all from different locations. I don’t see any from around here.”
“They could have been people that lived here and were murdered in those locations. Maybe they were connected in some way.” I said as I picked up the small leather book. “Maybe this is a journal that explains their reasons for having all the articles and pictures.”
I unwrapped the leather cord holding the book closed and opened it to the first page, then flipped through a few other pages. My face grew skeptical before I finally held it out to Az.
“It’s just a bunch of gibberish. None of it makes sense at all. Even the drawings are just crude symbols.”
Az took the book and opened it to the first page, scanning what was on the page before flipping through a few more pages like I had.
“Cory, is your brain addled, or are you just really tired?” He looked up at me with a look of confusion. “These are potions. And the drawings are of different ingredients. They all make perfect sense. I mean, the first one is just a simple health potion, but we have a better version in the family book.”
“What?” I asked, moving to sit beside him. “Az, it clearly is a complete mess in that book. Nothing makes sense. All of the words are just gibberish nonsense. And the pictures just look like a child's drawing of some barnyard animals. This book was just a journal of some kid from a long time ago.”
“Cory, how can you not see it? This one is a health potion, the drawing is of some bees collecting pollen for honey, a lemon, and I think that plant is a eucalyptus branch. This page is a potion for energy. With drawings of coffee beans, sugar plants, and another plant that I’m not sure of what it is.” Az said pointing out the different things.
“Az, I’m too tired for your practical jokes. I’m going to bed. Enjoy your new gibberish kid journal.” I said, exasperated as I got up and walked to the stairs to go to bed. “Don’t forget to set your alarm. I don’t want to have to wake you up in the morning. We have a lot of ground to cover and I’d like to get this search done with soon so I can do some shopping.”
Pappy
“Sir, we have her cornered in an alley. She keeps trying to Shift, but I guess gets afraid when she realizes that there are more MICAW agents on the roofs above her to keep her from flying away.” A young MICAW agent said as he stopped in front of me. “We can’t get close enough to her. Permission to use a tranq dart on her?”
“Not quite yet, Jory. I want to try to talk to her first. Take me to her.”
We walk a couple streets down and turn right, then walk a little further until we come up on a group of MICAW agents standing in a semicircle with their guns pointed into an alleyway.
“Guys, I have the Council member here. He wants to talk to her before we try anything.” Jory said to the group, then once they moved to leave a small opening, he turned back to me. “She’s all yours, sir.”
Walking forward, I looked into the alleyway and towards the young woman. Then stepping passed the line of agents, I put on a smile.
“Hello ma’am. I am Council Member Jimmer Stone. I want to ask you a few questions if you will allow?” I said in a soft, placating voice. When she didn’t respond and just stared at me warily, I continued. “I realize that we may be scaring you, and I apologize. But we really need your help with something, since you are the only person we have found alive from any gang in the area.”
The MICAW agents behind him started murmuring, letting their whispered voices carry to the woman.
“Of course she’s the only one alive, they all kill each other before anyone can come near a straggler.”
“Not like they deserve anything else, really.”
“… Bloody freaks if you ask me.”
“Don’t pay them any attention, miss. They’re just trying to get under your skin.” I said. “Now, if you don’t mind. All of your friends are turning up dead. Even a lot of people from other gangs are turning up dead as well.”
The woman's fierce eyes narrowed at me as I talked.
“We simply want to know who the new drug lord is, and where we can find him.” I said calmly, “It will help us to help you keep the rest of your friends alive. The crime rate in the city has risen far too much recently, and we can’t keep up with it to keep more people alive. We don’t want to have to look into mandatory lockdowns.”
The woman glanced at the officers behind me and then looked back. Giving me a level stare. After a few moments, she spoke.
“I will never throw my people under the rule of your kind.” She said acidly. “We always end up disappearing.”
I held out my hands. “I assure you, that will not happen. I simply want to find the new drug lord and end the rise of crime that has happened here. It’s the best thing for your people. Along with the other residents of the city.”
“Levi has given us the tools we need to ensure we all can live a happier life.” The woman said. “But you are right. My people are dying far too much. As long as I get immunity, I will tell you where he is.”
“I cannot give you that promise, ma’am.” I said. “I can, however, see about working out a deal for you. If you help us first. Time is of the essence, I’m afraid.”
“Fine. But I will need that in writing first.” The woman said as she stood straight. “My father always taught me to get legal matters in writing before I ever finish something. No matter who it is with.”
“Smart man.” I said, “I don’t have any paper with me, but I can give you my business card with a very small blood signature as my binding word that I will help to find you a deal. But I will need your name first.”
“Agreed.” The woman said. “My name is Jerika.”
“Thank you, Jerika.” I said pulling a business card out of my wallet. Turning to the officers behind me, I asked, “Does anyone have a pocket knife?”
A Shifter handed me a small knife and then backed up, getting back in line with the others behind him. I turned back to the woman and smiled before pricking my thumb and pressing it firmly against the bottom of the card.
“Here you go, Jerika.” I said, holding out the card to her. “As promised, you have my binding offer to help you get a deal, in exchange for the whereabouts of this Levi.”
Jerika snatched the card and shoved it in her back pocket, then looked me in the eyes.
“He’
s at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street. Staying in one of the Luxury Spa Suites.” She told me. “I don’t remember the exact room number, but that’s all I know. He had been doing business in his room at first, but then changed to doing his business at the pool in the poolside bar or cabanas. I guess he liked the look of the shark tank or something.”
“Perfect, thank you, Jerika.” I said to her, then turned to the officers again. “Please take her back to the station and placed in a holding tank for now. I will return to the station once we have more information on Levi and will help with her from there.”
“Yes, sir.” Jory said.
“The rest of you, come with me. We need to set up a perimeter around the Golden Nugget and see if we can get some people in there for recon.”
Az
“Alright Cory, I’m coming!” I called down the stairs after I finished getting ready. “I’m just grabbing my bag so I can take some snacks with me. I don’t want to be out there all day again with nothing to eat.”
“Just hurry up. I want to get this done fast. We only have like 6 places left to go in this direction.” Cory called back up to me.
“We only have like 6 places left to go to.” I mocked, then called down again. “I’m coming!”
I grabbed the leather-bound book that came in the box the night before and stuffed it in my shoulder bag before heading downstairs.
“Alright, I’m here, your bossy hagness.” I sneered at Cory. “Let’s go.”
“Finally. I swear, if you didn’t have any resemblance to our family, I would really have to say that you are a troll in disguise.” Cory jabbed back. “I really don’t understand how I could be related to you. Twin brother or not.”
“Well, you are. I’d rather be a troll than a hag, though.” I replied as we closed the door and went to the elevator.
“Don't be an idiot, Az.” Cory huffed. “I want to get this done as soon as possible so Pappy will see that we can be trusted with helping out in the future.”
“Of course, shopping for new clothes never entered your mind at all, did it?” I asked coyly.
“Obviously, I'd like to go shopping, Az. I always do in new places.” Cory replied as we exited the elevator and headed for the doors outside. “But right now we really do need to focus on finding and retrieving that gun. It could be extremely dangerous if it is left in the public.”
“Well, let’s hurry up then. We don’t have a lot of different stores to go to and I want to finish this as soon as we can so I can go check out some potential herb shops. I want to see if they have any witch hazel. That kid down the block at home called last night and is getting some pretty bad acne, so I need to make a different topical for him.” I said.
◆◆◆
“Thank you for your time anyway, sir.” Cory said to the man in the second to last shop as we were leaving.
We opened the door and stepped out into the hot early afternoon air.
“That man was totally useless.” Cory said. “Obviously we don’t know a lot about different guns. We’re just kids.”
“Cory, there are a lot of kids in life that do know about guns. Almost as much as some adults. Their parents teach them younger so they can be aware of what they can and can’t do around them.” I replied. “I assume he was asking us all those questions to make sure if we were just a couple of kids that think guns are toys and wanted to play cops and robbers. Or if we were legitimately looking for the gun we are. Like he said, there aren’t really any guns that look like it around. It’s purely a magical one that has no business being in existence.”
“Well, he didn’t have to sound all sorts of snippy about it.” Cory huffed. “We’re not little kids anymore, Az. We’re almost adults, now that we have our papers for registration we can get adult jobs.”
“Just because we’re almost eighteen, have completed our camp classes, and have our registration papers does not make us able to fully understand things right away, Cory.” I told her. “Hell, some people don’t grow up mentally until they're in their mid to late twenties.”
“Women mature a lot faster than men do Az. So yes, you may still need to grow a bit, but I am perfectly fine where I am at in my growth.” Cory said snottily.
“Cory, just because a woman can mature faster than a male doesn’t mean-” I began, stopping as a man with dreadlocks stepped in front of us.
“Hello. I was in that shop there while you was asking about that odd gun.” He said. “I know where it is, I seen it before. I can take you to it.”
“You’ve seen it?” Cory asked, surprised. “When was this?”
“I seen it yesterday.” He replied. “I knows the person that has it. I can take you to him. Just follow me.”
The man started walking away, waving for us to follow. Cory and I looked at each other and I raised my eyebrow.
“Why can’t you just tell us where it is?” Cory asked. “We can go get it ourselves.”
“It’s just easier to show tourists where something is than to just tell them where to go.” The man said.
“Cory, we may not have another chance like this.” I said in a whisper. “This could help us get the gun and finish this before dinner tonight.”
“I don’t know Az. I want to get this done soon just as much as you do. But I’d rather he told us where to go so we can do it ourselves.” Cory replied.
“I get that, I really do. But we’ve already been to almost all of the gun and specialty shops around, nobody has seen or even heard of a gun like this before.” I said.
“Fine, but only after we ask him some more questions about the gun.” Cory countered.
“Fair enough.”
“Sir, before we go with you, we want to ask some questions.” Cory called out to the man that was still walking away from us.
“Aks them, but hurry. There’s not alotta time left.” The man replied.
“What did the gun look like, exactly?” She asked as we hurried to catch up to him.
“It was a smaller, handheld type. Looked like it had gears comin’ out the top by the chamber.” He replied.
“And?” Cory prodded.
“Well, it was a dark green color.” He said, scratching his head. “And the chamber was kind of rounded. Almost like you see wid dem old timey paintball guns.”
“That sounds about right.” I said to Cory. “Let’s go. We can finish this soon and be done.”
“Alright. No funny business though.” She said to the man. “We’re on a mission for the Council.”
“I’ll just lead you there.” The man said. “After that, you finish whatever you need to do.”
We followed him for a few streets before the man turned into an alleyway.
“Why aren’t we taking the roadways?” Cory called out.
“It’s a shortcut. Yous said you wanted to get done fast.” The man called back over his shoulder.
We followed the man in a little farther before he abruptly stopped and turned back, a gun drawn and aimed at us. He Shifts a little, showing a little gray fur and long nasty yellow looking teeth, but stops just enough so he can still talk.
“Give me all your money.” He said, saliva dripping from his yellow teeth. “And your purses.”
“It’s not a purse!” I sighed frustrated. “It’s a shoulder… You know what, whatever. Put the gun away. We don’t have any money.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” The man yelled. “You clearly have money. You dress like you roll in money.”
“That just sounds stupid.” I said. “Why would we roll in money?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care!” The man shouted. “Just give me everythin yous got.”
He started muttering under his breath and tugging at his dreadlocks.
“Maybe after I can get some good items, the Sterling Giants will make me their leader again. That stupid Levi thinks he can steal my crew?”
“Dude, what are you blabbering about?” I asked.
“Just give me yous money!”
Cory reaches behind her back as if to pull something out of her pocket and then brings her hand forward to show she created an energy ball. The jade green of her Madgie mist sparking as if in an electrical storm.
“Put the gun down, or I’ll give you a pretty nasty shock.” She said to the man.
“Look, just give me yous money and I let you go.” He replied with a small shrug.
Cory drew back her arm and tossed the energy ball at the man. At the same time a bang rang out, and she clutched her stomach. She kept her eyes on the man and stumbled before falling to her knees.
“NO!” I screamed, then flung a couple more energy balls at the man before kneeling in front of her. I grabbed her face and tried to look in her eyes, seeing a deep green flash over her eyes before she finally looked away from the Shifter and at me.
Cory pushed me away and went over to the Shifter, now laying on the ground, passed out with Cory’s jade and my light blue mist still hovering over him, and started kicking him.
“You son of a troll loving worm, maggot infested, shit-eating slime ass troll whore!” Cory screamed at him. “Why can you do it, and I can’t? It’s not fair!”
I reached out and grabbed her as she struck another blow to the man's middle, rolling him over.
“Cory, stop!” I said frantically. “We need to get you to the hospital.”
She spun around toward me and screamed, raising her hands with her Madgie mist, forming a roiling mass of thunder.
“NO! Get away from me!” She screamed. “I need to go, I need to figure it out!”
I held up my hands in a placating manner.
“Wait, Cory. It’s me, Az. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re ok. What do you need to figure out?”
“I’m fine. Do you see any blood?” Cory asked, gesturing to her middle.
A small hole showed where she was shot, but I couldn’t see a hole in her skin, nor any blood flowing out.
“No, but I still think we need to get you checked out. Please come with me to the hospital.” I said, holding out a hand to her.
Stone Cold NV: World of Sin, Book 1 Page 13