A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  *****

  The next morning Marshall met Tom and Alec at the VCTF office. Tom had rented a small moving truck, and they all crammed into the cab for the trip over to Deloris and Maria’s old home.

  Everything looked deserted when they pulled up in the driveway, but Marshall had an eerie feeling that the house was more dangerous than it appeared. “Keep your eyes and ears open, guys. I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he warned his teammates.

  Kevin came across the earpiece immediately. “What’s going on, Marshall?”

  “I’m not sure; it’s just a feeling I have. I think we are being watched.” He chuckled lightly. “Hell, we haven’t even made it to the front door yet.”

  The three men hopped out of the truck and started up the sidewalk toward the house. Kevin came back on the earpiece to state that backup was on its way, just in case it was needed.

  “Thanks,” Marshall replied as he reached for the door handle and opened the door. The team fanned out to scan the room, and saw an old, torn up couch with a couple of punks sitting on it. Another punk, evidently the leader of this little gang of misfits, was sitting in a torn up recliner with a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun pointed at the ceiling.

  “Who the hell are you?” the man with the gun demanded.

  “What’s it to you?” Tom replied, obviously not in the mood to deal with these lowlifes, but rather wanting to get packed up and out of there. The one with the gun casually stood and walked over to the team, acting as if it was his home and he had every right to be there.

  “I don’t know who you three are, but you are on our turf now, dude!” He snorted and spat on the floor. “Now, I believe I asked you first.” The man with the gun suddenly jammed the shotgun under Tom’s chin. As if to emphasize that he was the boss, he continued, “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?”

  The team really wasn’t worried about these three misfits; there was no chance they knew they were picking a fight with three vampires. Tom was patiently waiting for Marshall, who was in charge of the mission, to issue the order that they could kill these idiots.

  One second Tom was standing beside the guy with a gun jammed up under his chin, the next second he watched with disbelieving eyes as the barrel of the shotgun was bent, making the gun harmless. It was then that Marshall knew who their backup was. Stephanie.

  “What the fu…?” The leader stared at his gun as if it had suddenly grown legs. He took a step back and threw the gun over to the other side of the room. A calculating look in his eyes, he addressed Tom, “So, do we have a magician in the group?” He was trying to regain some control over the situation. Yeah, this guy must have done some magic to make that gun turn at such an odd angle; that is the only reasonable explanation.

  Marshall sighed loudly, out of patience. He was here to get a job done, and that’s what his team was going to do. Moving so fast that the leader never even saw him move, Marshall wrapped his hand around the guy’s throat and lifted him off the floor, leaving him dangling a few inches.

  “I assume you were expecting Enrico,” Marshall stated, listening to the man gasp as he tried to breathe.

  One of the punks still sitting on the couch spoke. “Yeah, man, he owes a lot of money. What, did he send you ‘cause he’s too chicken to come himself?”

  “Enrico is in jail,” Tom answered the guy sitting on the couch.

  “Where’s the girl?” choked the man Marshall was holding off the floor.

  Marshall’s temper flared. He squeezed the man’s neck a little harder to let him know he meant business. Marshall would have already given the order to kill all three of these punks, except the paperwork was such a headache. The council demanded full documentation whenever a human was killed during an assignment, and this would be three times the usual amount, and they just weren’t worth the work.

  Marshall glared at the gasping man before answering his question. “Safe, and that’s all you need to know.” Then, furious because he had the audacity to ask about the little girl at all, Marshall followed up by tossing him across the room. He landed in a heap between his buddies on the couch.

  Marshall pointed to the man he had just thrown across the room. “You will never go near the little girl or the woman again. Am I clear? Because let me show you what you will be facing next.” Fairly sure Stephanie was still around, Marshall hoped and prayed she would not let him down. He found he was holding his breath as he directed the room’s attention to a seemingly empty corner. Seconds later, Stephanie came to her beloved Marshall’s rescue and displayed an image of the hideous monster that she had turned into last night for her father and Marshall. She took a step toward the bug-eyed, gaping men cowering on the couch. Even Marshall had to admit that if he hadn’t known who was doing this, he would have been a bit shaken up. With her red eyes blazing and what appeared to be steam coming from her nostrils every few seconds, she was enough to scare even non-believers.

  Marshall took a menacing step toward the three sitting on the couch. “Do I make myself clear?” he repeated. Three heads nodded in confirmation. “I don’t care what Enrico owed you or what business you have with him. It’s over. He’s in jail, and he’s going to be deported when he’s released. You have until the count of three to get out of this house, or you won’t live to tell about it.”

  The two that had been sitting on the couch didn’t even wait for orders from their leader. They scurried off the couch, but one of them leaned down to retrieve the gun that had been thrown on the floor. Stephanie, still in monster form, lunged for him. “Leave that gun right where it is,” Marshall stated calmly. The guy looked up at Marshall, eyed Stephanie briefly, and then took off following his buddy. The leader of the group had also made it to the door, and the two men jostled for position for a moment before they both made it out the door and ran down the street.

  Tom and Alec looked a bit nervous with the monster still in the room, and Marshall decided to have a bit of fun. He walked over to stand in front of her. “Thanks, sweetie.” He watched both of his teammates’ jaws drop to the ground. The Stephanie-creature blew Marshall a kiss in return. Marshall chuckled—leave it to his girl to find some comedy in an otherwise serious situation. She disappeared, but it took another ten seconds for Tom and Alec to find their tongues.

  “Who—or what—was that?” Tom asked, once he was sure he could speak.

  Marshall smiled. “You two just lucked out and got a glimpse of my new girlfriend. Just don’t tell Stephanie, she doesn’t know anything about her. Isn’t she hot?” Marshall felt something smack the side of his head, and knew Stephanie was getting even with him for his joke. He chuckled to himself; he had known that his comment would get to her.

  “Okay, okay, I’m just teasing,” Marshall admitted for Stephanie’s benefit. He did not want to end up in the doghouse with his girl. Alec and Tom were still looking a bit stunned, and Marshall, relenting, decided to throw them a bone. “Okay, the truth is that we had a little help today. You two know Stephanie has some extraordinary abilities. Well, she seems to have developed a new one relating to her astral projection. She can create a form and change it into anything she wants people to see her as. I got a demonstration last night, and believe me, it’s nothing short of amazing. Just do me a favor,” Marshall continued. “I don’t know how Kevin feels about everyone knowing all of this yet, so keep it under wraps for the time being. As much as Stephanie is helping the team these days, it won’t take long before everyone finds out anyway.”

  “Wow!” Tom replied, “Just…wow! Just when I think I’ve seen everything, I get thrown something new.”

  Kevin’s voice came through the earpiece. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, we are good,” Marshall replied. “Seems three gang members were waiting for Enrico to come home and pay them money he owed. They didn’t like coming face to face with a hideous beast with blazing eyes and smoking nostrils.” Marshall paused to chuckle. “I think someone watched Disney’s Pete’s Dragon a few to
o many times when she was younger.”

  Then, turning serious, he continued, “Hey, Kevin. There really isn’t a whole lot in this house worth saving. What all do you want us to take, and what are we supposed to do with it once it’s out of here?” Marshall inquired.

  “Just bring their personal possessions: clothes, toys, toiletries, things like that. Go ahead and pack up the dishes also. Everything else can probably be left behind. I’ll check with Deloris to make sure there is nothing else she needs,” Kevin replied and then continued, “So, my suspicions were right. We are going to need to keep an eye on things; looks like they knew Enrico’s plan. I think I’ll talk to Charles and see what we can do about some new identities for these two here.”

  “I agree with that. We should be done here in about thirty minutes. Is Stephanie still here or is she back with you?” Marshall inquired.

  “She should be there,” Kevin stated, and a noise behind him alerted Marshall. He turned to find his beautiful angel standing before him.

  “Never mind, I found her,” Marshall replied as he walked up to her. “Can you keep an eye outside and alert us if anyone comes back?” He took a moment to admire her from top to bottom. “You are truly the most beautiful creature I have ever seen when you are in this form.”

  “What, like this?” she asked, and he watched his darling angel change back into the fierce-looking monster.

  “Yes, love, you’re hot,” Marshall laughed as he watched her change back to angel form.

  Marshall realized Tom and Alec were standing off to the side, witnessing the entire scene. Tom shook his head and finally spoke, “Hey, Steph, you were kind of spooky in your other form, but thanks for the help.” He gave her a genuine smile, while shaking his head in amazement.

  “You’re welcome,” she replied and then glanced back to Marshall. “I’ll be outside keeping watch.” She disappeared from sight in a blink.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Stephanie stayed with the team, unseen, until they left the old rundown house less than an hour later, and followed the truck home to be sure no one followed them. Charles and Kevin were waiting to meet with the team as soon as the truck was unloaded. They both figured that the goons waiting in the house were just errand boys, and they wanted the top dog. If Maria were going to be sold in Mexico, a child slavery ring was probably involved. Nobody knew how involved the US was in this ring, but it didn’t matter. Charles and Kevin intended to put an end to it quickly. The VCTF simply could not turn their backs on the events going on in their own city.

  Later, meeting in Charles’s office, Kevin addressed the team to fill everyone in on what had happened at the house. Once he had covered the events of the day, he continued, “I have an idea on how to stop this in its tracks.” He paused for effect. “We set up a sting operation. I don’t think they are going to let Maria go, and we can’t hide her forever. I am thinking that we should have someone watch the school tomorrow morning and afternoon when the kids are coming and going. I’ll bet they will be there waiting for her. If they are, Tuesday afternoon we set up our plan. We have Stephanie come out of the school in the afternoon as Maria’s form; these gang members will never know the difference. Let them think they are luring her into their trap, and then we go in for the kill. What do you think?” Kevin was nothing but fair when it came to his team. They had to rely upon each other too often, and it was important to him that each member felt that his opinion truly mattered. Although he was technically the boss, the team knew that unless they pissed him off with something monumentally stupid, Kevin was just one of the guys.

  “I think it should work,” Marshall spoke. “But I don’t like putting Stephanie at risk.” He leaned forward and looked at her down the long table. She glared back at Marshall, furious at his betrayal. “I can handle three gang members easy enough. Are you forgetting that if everything goes south and I find myself in a predicament, I can always become a monster and scare the mess out of those hooligans?” To emphasize her point, she immediately projected out of her body and appeared at the end of the table where Marshall, her father, and her grandfather all sat. Her form was the most hideous monster her imagination could conjure up on short notice. Charles chuckled and clapped his hands, applauding her. This was his first time to see his granddaughter in astral form. “Well done, my girl!”

  Stephanie only stayed in astral form for a moment; the whole reason for doing so was to drive home the fact that she could take care of herself. “So, there is really nothing to worry about,” she stated the moment she was back into her own skin at the end of the table. She sent another glare down to Marshall for good measure. There was no way she was going to allow him to talk her father out of letting her be a part of the sting operation. It was rare enough that her father included her in missions to begin with. No, Marshall would just need to get over himself; like it or not, she was going to be part of this.

  Kevin watched his daughter and his second-in-command throw visual daggers at one another before he stepped in. “We’ll make sure her body stays in this house. It will only be her projected form, and no matter what, she will be able to escape even if the plan blows up in our faces. I don’t see how that would happen, but if you have ideas about what could go wrong, I want to hear them. We need her on the inside to get evidence to bring them down. What’s more, if my suspicions are correct, they are far from being the only ones involved. If we are talking about young children being sold into captivity, this network needs to be stopped immediately!”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more on that,” Marshall replied as he turned his attention to his boss before conceding. “And you are right about Stephanie’s actual body not being in any danger. Sorry if I overreacted.” The apology came out mumbled, and several team members coughed into their hands to cover up their laughter.

  Charles spoke and brought everyone’s attention back to the front of the room. “Let’s finalize this plan of attack to make sure everyone is on the same sheet of music.”

  The team was meticulous in their planning, attempting to have a contingency plan for anything that might occur. The meeting ended about two hours later with a plan in place. Alec and Nicholas would watch the school Monday morning and afternoon to see if the gang members showed up looking for Maria. Kevin and Marshall planned to ask Deloris if she had any information on the gang that would be helpful to the team. They would also convince her it simply wasn’t safe for Maria to return to school next week. The team needed to have the situation under control first, and even then, Kevin and Charles were discussing new identities for both Deloris and Maria. They’d enroll Maria in a new school, under her new name, which should keep her safe. Charles estimated he could have the paperwork completed by the end of the week.

  *****

  Monday morning, Alec reported that two of the three gang members the team had met at the house on Saturday morning were now camped out front of the school in an old, beat-up van. “Good work,” Kevin acknowledged, and then continued, “just stay put and keep a close watch on things.”

  Stephanie, who was already in her mother’s office helping with paperwork, had an idea. She activated her earpiece to speak with her father. “I could easily project over there and follow the van when it leaves. That will tell us where they are hanging out, and we might be able to get some useful surveillance on them.”

  She was surprised when her father was quick to agree with her logic. “Okay, but stay out of sight, and I mean it,” he warned. “If they spot you in any form whatsoever, you could very well jeopardize our plans.”

  “Okay, no problem,” she agreed readily, happy that it looked like her dad was standing behind his word and allowing her to be a true part of the team. She immediately flung herself out of her body, and, invisible, headed to the elementary school. She spotted Alec and John, and the beat-up old white van. Knowing that her mother would have hooked up her body so everything was recorded, she sent back the message that she had arrived, had spotted Alec and John, and was currently
hovering over the van. A moment later she heard the two team members acknowledge her mother, so she knew her message had been received.

  Once school started, the goons in the van didn’t hang around. Stephanie remained invisible and followed the van, curious as to where it was headed. They drove about ten minutes before stopping in front of a condemned house two streets over from Maria’s old house. Stephanie immediately sent the information back and followed the gang members into a decrepit, mouse-infested shack of a house.

  When the two entered the house and informed their leader that Maria had not shown up for school, he became livid. “Where in the hell have those two gone?” he asked his goons as if he expected them to spout off an answer. “Maybe Deloris asked for police protection after Enrico opened his stupid mouth. If they are in protective custody, where would they be hiding?” He spoke more to himself than to his goons, and Stephanie watched, listened, and reported from an invisible spot in the corner. He removed a bag from under the rickety, musty-smelling couch, and took a razor blade out of his pants pocket. “Well, if Ms. Deloris thinks the local police are going to protect her from me, she has another think coming,” he continued as he finally glanced up at the two goons. They hadn’t moved since entering the house. “Nobody gets one up on Hector,” he snarled, and turned his attention to cutting a line of white powder on a small mirror on the coffee table.

  Stephanie was disgusted as she watched the man. The floor of the house was covered with droppings of mice, or maybe rats. The windows had been boarded up, but someone had taken some of the boards down, for ventilation, she assumed. The coffee table only had two legs; the other two were replaced by cinder blocks. How did someone actually live like this?

  She watched as he snorted the line, and then sat back on the couch. “Put out word that I’ll pay five thousand dollars to the person who leads me to either one of them.” Hector sat back and closed his eyes. Obviously, he was finished talking to his two errand boys and fully expected his orders to be carried out. Stephanie had relayed back everything she witnessed, and at this point, she felt there would be no more useful information forthcoming from the goons in the room. She left, projecting back to her body and reaching home just as fast as she could. The house alone had given her the creeps.