A few seconds passed letting her words sink in before she covered her breasts with her arm. I understood her need to cover up. We were trying to work out our relationship and sex wasn’t part of it. If we worked out this thing between us, then it might. I hoped it would be, but I also wanted my turtle to view me as hers.
“Where are we headed?” I asked. Wishing we were closer wasn’t going to make happen. We had to get the job done and work on getting closer while we did.
“Lasseter HQ. We need to catch the head honcho and make him answer some questions.”
“Is that legal?” I asked worried she might be heading down a dark path.
“No, but neither is blowing up a portion of the city. I know what you’re thinking. I’m not going all dark Jedi, but I will use my new found freedom to get to the bottom of this faster than the legal system would have allowed. First thing is finding the fuck we know was involved, Lasseter. We find out who was behind the attack, and I mean the one who hired him, and deal with them.”
“Totally not worried about you going dark,” I said with a chuckle.
Chapter 11
When I started this adventure with Izzy I didn’t think we would go on a stakeout. I felt like I was living an eighties buddy cop film, and I loved it.
“What do we do now?” I slid closer to Izzy on my belly. We used the roof of the building across the street from Lasseter Security headquarters.
“We wait and watch. I wish we had more equipment, but we will have to make due,” Izzy said.
“Somehow, I thought this would be a lot more glamorous.”
“That’s life. Everything always looks easier, or sexier until your the one elbow deep in shit,” Izzy said.
“All the jobs I’ve worked looked just as shitty to observers as they did to me. Either way, it’s still cool to be a part of something new, and more so to be doing it with you,” I said.
I kept my focus on the corner of my eye so I could watch Izzy without looking directly at her. She froze for a brief second before moving her head to scan the ground. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or bad.
“Look sharp, we have movement,” Izzy said.
Sure enough a Lincoln Town Car stopped front of the building. The driver opened the rear door and a woman wearing a white fur left the vehicle. She waited for the driver to open the front door before entering. The car pulled away and the front of Lasseter Security went back to boring.
“You recognize the woman?” Izzy asked.
“Never seen her.”
“Let’s go make her acquaintance.” Izzy rose to her feet and brushed off. I followed her example before we left the roof.
As we entered the lobby a man in a blue. Suit with a white cord spiraling down to the neckline from his ear looked up. His smile dropped away along with all pretense of polite behavior. “You two are not allowed here. Go back up to your rooftop perch next door.” He swiveled one of three monitors around giving us a good view of the spot we vacated.
“This can go one of two ways. You tell us where to find Lassiter, or we fuxk you up, then you tell us.” Izzy cracked her knuckles while issuing the threat.
The smule returned while the front desk attendant looked to hos left. A door opened and three of the largest juman men I have ever seen stepped out. They cracked.c. thier knuckles just like Izzy had.
“If I had a beer this is when I would hand ot to you and tell you to hold my beer,” Izzy said. She put her palm to my chest and pushed me out of the way.
“It doesn't have to be like this,” the attendant said. “You could just leave instead of getting hurt.”
My Turtle stormed over to the three brutes. I turned back to the attendant. “You could have stopped this from happening. But no, you had to be a smug asshole with a fancy camera. Now your three buddies are going to get stomped.”
“You don’t understand,” the man said while leaning over the desk. “He keeps them hungry. This is going to get very messy.”
“Izzy,” I spoje loud enough to be heard from where my turtle was, “looks like we have zombies and they are hungry.”
“I thought as much,” Izzy replied.
The attendants eyes widened. “Who the hell are you people?”
“Trouble. We are nothing but trouble,” I replied.
His eyes drifted toward my turtle and the fight. I wanted to watch as well, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of a possible threat. At least not one that was still conscious. I struck lightning quick grabbing his head and slamming his face into the desk. The guy went limps and slid off the desk.
Free of the concern of attack fro. The rear I turned and got my first eyeful of the fight.
The lumbering brutes swiped at Izzy withassive hands. My turtle ducked under or jumped out of the way with ease. The problem she faced was getting close enough to hit the zombies while avoiding a strike. Something I could help with.
As I ran toward the fight Izzy jumped back out of the way of a strike. I leapt, utilizing the abilities granted from having a werekangaroo in my pack. I cleared Izzy and slammed my knees into the face of the guy that tried hitting her. He fell back landing against the wall. I slapped the wall with my hand and back flipped to land next to Izzy.
“You were supposed to be holding my imaginary beer,” Izzy said.
“Sorry, but I think we need to hurry this up.”
The two remaining brute zombies rushed us from opposite sides. I turned facing my opponent and pulled fifty percent from my pack. Strength flooded me and I moved with speed far beyond that of a man or a beast. My fist connected with his nose smashing straight through and not stopping until my knuckles hit the back of his skull. I pulled my hand free as he fell to the ground.
“Oh that’s grosse,” Izzy said.
“You say that like you’re the one that has to clean this crap off,” I said. The faceless zombies’ shirt became my towel. Without water and soap getting all of the black brain goop off was impossible.
“You be sure to keep your hands to yourself until you bleach the shit out of that hand.”
“You got it, boss. Where do you think we,ll find the boss?” I asked.
“Up. Come on, there is an elevator.”
We rode close enough for our shoulders to touch, but neither one spoke. The trip was short since the building was no skyscraper. As the car slowed to a stop we moved to either side. Izzy pulled her gun and held it up ready to fire into the hallway of danger presented itself.
“What should I do?” I thought to my turtle.
“Stand there and look pretty. If the shit hits the fan, I’ll use my 9 millimeter rags to clean up with.”
“While I do dig the analogy, won’t your rags make a bigger mess? And you think I’m pretty? Awe,” I replied.
“Stow it,” Izzy thought back. “The doors are opening.”
There was a dung followed by the doors opening with hardly a sound. The hallway was empty and quiet. Izzy gaze me a couple hand gesture that meant nothing to me. She rolled her eyes when she realized my look of concentration was really confusion. Shaking her head, Izzy went back to me tal communications. I don’t know why she didn’t just go with that instead of hand signals.
“I think the office is to the right. Stay behind me and keep an eye out for anyone coming from behind.”
“You really said all that by waving your hand around and pointing like you’re crazy?”
“Focus, Terry.” Shr o ly said two words but her tone left me feeling properly chastised.
“Right.”
I followed Izzy through the short hallway looking back every couple of steps. In a few short moments we were at the door. Izzy gave a glance the opened the door pushing it in.
“Who are you?” The woman in the white fur asked.
Her eyes moved to me as I entered then went wide. She took a step back and looked like I was holding a gun in her face.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice broke and I thought she might be a second away from crying.
“You know this chic?” Izzy asked.
“No, never seen her.”
“What are you doing here?” Izzy asked as she took anothwr step toward the woman.
“I’m here to see Mr. Lassiter. I want to hire some men to protect me. There has bean a lot of Lycan activity and I don’t feel safe.”
“You know about Lycans?” I asked surprised by her statement.
“Of course I do. All mages k ow about you savage beasts,” she said while her eyes moved between Izzy and I. My turtle held the weapon on her, but she seemed to be more affraid of me.
“Where is Lassiter?” Izzy asked.
“He isn’t here. I was leaving my contact info so he could get back to me.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you are coming with us,” Izzy said.
“What? No!” The woman’s voice rose a couple octaves.
“I’m the woman with , so I’m the woman making the rules,” Izzy said. “Got it?”
“No!” The woman raised a blue glowing hand. A large icicle formed in front of her fingers and flew at my turtle.
Time slowed as I pulled ninety percent from my pack. My body move with speeds that should have been impossible. I ran and jumped grabbing Izzy as I fell toward the ground. The frozen attack barely missed my Tua and grazed my back. The cold shard burned a line of pain along my back.
Through our link I felt the pain of the damage I caused by hitting my turtle moving as fast as I had. I felt no guilt for it. Izzy in pain was better than Izzy dead. The turtle gate inverted with a thought and power flowed through me to my turtle Tua. In a few moments she would be fine.
The power I now shared slowed me, but not enough for the cold caster to stop me from reaching her. I grabbed her arm and pushed them out wide on time to see her send another icicle into the wall.
Dealing with people flinging around magic was new to me. There was no way I could know how to stop her fem casting without hurting her. So I hit her in the head just hard enough to knock her out as she fell I caught her and threw her over my shoulder.
“What are planning to do with her?” Izzy asked in a tone that said she wasn’t happy. “I won’t be part of some rapey harem thing.”
“Come on, Izzy. You know me better than that. You know what I think and feel. You have to know the thought of it enrages me and makes me want to throw up.”
“I’m sorry, Terry. That was a low blow, and untrue. Let’s get outta here.”
Izzy lead the way back to the elevator and through the lobby. The zombies were still dead dead and the guard was still unconscious. We kept going out the door and to Izzy’s car.
“What do we do with her?” I asked. Locking her up in the trunk didn’t seem like a good idea. Last thing we needed was her to wake and start blasting holes in the trunk with icicles.
“Put her in the back seat and stay with her. If she wakes up, and isn’t cooperative, then knock her out again.”
“Not worried about brain damage?”
“Any mage worth a damn already has auto-healing spells. She should be fine.”
My Tua opened the door and I laid the woman on the back seat. I joined her pushing her out of my way. We drove to destinations only known to Izzy.
Chapter 12
Izzy took us out of the city and to a cabin in the mountains.
Our guest woke up after we left city limits. One threat to knock her out kept her quiet and docile. Something I was glad for. I was becoming a little too comfortable hitting women lately. The fact that most of them I’ve had to hit could hit harder was my only saving grace.
“What are you going to do with me?” The woman whispered.
Izzy put the car in park and turned to look at the woman. “We’re going to ask you some questions. Your answers determine what happens next.”
“Does that mean you are going to torture me?” tears fell from her eyes at the thought of being hurt.
“No, we’re not mages. That’s not how we do things.”
“Oh.”
Her not denying the statement set me back. Did mages torture people?
“They feel like laws don’t apply to them and they do as they please,” Izzy thought to me. “Not all are like that, but enough are to be a problem.”
“Is that the kind of thing you would do?” I growled.
“No!” Her eyes became wide saucers. “I swear, I’ve never tortured anyone.”
“Okay, but you were quick to launch those icicles against us,” I said.
“I'm sorry, but I thought you were going to hurt me. I’ve never seen a Mage Hunter till today and didn’t know what to expect. Please don’t hurt me.”
“Mage Hunter?” Izzy and I asked in unison.
“Let’s get her inside,” Izzy said.
Taking one of her arms each, we guided her into the cabin. Once inside Izzy let go and pulled a plastic cover off of a chair.
“Take a seat. If you agree to cooperate and keep things civil, we will do the same. Do we have a deal?” Izzy asked.
“O… Okay. Just don’t hurt me,” she said as she sat.
“What’s your name?” Izzy asked.
“Telling us her name might show her that we think of her as more than our victim. Maybe she will open up sone,” Izzy thought to me.
“My name is Scarlet. Scarlet Aragon.”
“Good,” Izzy said. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
“No.”
“Good. Can I get you a bottle of water?”
“Are you trying to trick me?” Scarlet asked.
“We want you to be comfortable,” I said. “Like we told you, we are not here to torture you. We need information and we hope you have it. Also, I am interested in learning more about mages. I don’t really know anything about them.”
“You might be giving her too much info.”
“I think this will work out for us,” I sent back to Izzy through our mental link.
“Okay, I’ll let you take the lead on this. Do you want my input when I see something that could help?”
“Always, Izzy.”
“I could use some water,” Scarlet said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Scarlet.” Izzy handed a bottle to the woman and I waited for her to take a drink before continuing. “First, can you tell me what a Mage Hunter is, and why you think I’m one?”
“To be honest, I haven’t met any before you. We are taught that they are mostly extinct. There is said to be a woman who doesn’t actively hunt, but another coud pop up at anytime.”
“And what makes these hunters so special?” I asked.
“They comand legions of Lycans and shrug off magic like it’s water from a squirt pistol.”
“And them not being affected by magic is bad why?” I asked.
“We are people just like everyone else. We fear what we don’t understand or can’t control. For a mge, magic is all about control. We fuse an element to our souls and control it as if it were the breath we breath.”
“So you fused ice?” I asked. “I didn’t think ice would be an element.”
“It’s not, but water is. Learn to control water, and you can make ice. It’s just a matter of slowing down molecules.”
“Can anyone do magic?”
My question caused her to sit back and blink. Scarlet looked from Izzy and back to me. “Um…” She looked back to Izzy. “Um…”
“Spit it out, chica,” Izzy snapped.
“I’m not answering anymore questions,” Scarlet said. She took a sip of water then set the bottle down and crossed her arms.
“Finally I get to cut a bitch,” my turtle said.
“Wait,” I said putting my arm up to keep Izzy from moving closer.
Scarlet’s eyes went impossibly wide and her breathing became quick and shallow. Izzy’s words were getting to her, but I wasn’t sure scaring her was the way to go yet.
“Can I ask why you won’t answer any more questions?” I asked.
“Lo
ok, I will answer more questions, but I need something from you.” “What do you need?” I asked.
“She needs to get the thought of making demands out of her pretty little head before I cut her tongue out,” Izzy said. Her words got a little squeak out of Scarlet.
“Izzy, please wait outside.”
“What?”
“Please, I can handle this.”
My turtle let out a long sigh. Her face reddened and I thought for a second I was the bitch about to be cut. Then she turned and walked out closing the door behind her.
“All right, Scarlet. I’m all ears,” I said.
“I wouldn't ask this of you normally, but if you really are a Mage Hunter you may be the only person who can help me, or us.
“Help with what?”
“My family is not an important one in the magical community. But we are all exceptionally gifted with water. My brother is the best Hydro Mage to be seen in a very long time. Most mages avoid water because of the difficulty it presents. The risk of being a subpar magician is too high. The only other school that is as rare is necromancy.”
“So Lassiter is a really powerful Mage?” I asked.
“Yes, even among the select few that are Necros. The number of dead he can control is staggering.”
“Tell me about it,” I mumbled.
“I thought I just did.”
“Anyway, what is it you need help with?”
“I need you to rescue my brother.”
“From who exactly?”
“He is being held by a Lycan.”
I knew as soon as those words left her mouth just who the Lycan would be. The same son of a bitch that has been a thorn in my side since I was shown what I am. Arnold.
“Arnold is his name, I think,” Scarlet said.
“Why is he holding your brother?”
“For two reasons. One is to get my family to ply our trade to help him further his cause. The second is to utilize my brother's master of water for his experiments.”
“What kind of work did your family do for Arnold?”
“Most recently, we used water and pressure to hollow out a large cavern in Amarillo Texas.”
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