by Michael Todd
He knew they would all make themselves available, since he rarely called emergency meetings. In fact, he was usually the guy who trudged in at the last second to those types of meetings. He looked at the clock and called into the meeting service, entering the chat room and putting the phone on speaker.
“Hello?” Korbin asked.
“Yes, Korbin,” Amy answered. “We are all here. What is going on?”
“I’m sure that by now you guys have heard there was an incursion of sorts in San Diego,” he began.
“We heard something about it,” William replied. “Sounded like the demon gave your team a run for its money.”
“He did,” Korbin agreed. “But that isn’t really the concern.”
“Then what is?” Amy asked.
“The demon came over without a host body,” Korbin told them.
“What?” Brian exclaimed. “The demon was in the flesh, just walking around San Diego?”
“Yeah,” Korbin replied. “though I would have to say it was more like he was roof dwelling and chewing on corpses.”
Amy gasped. “Jesus! This is not good; not good at all. What did you do?”
“Well, my team was able to get their blades into his skull, though one of them almost died doing it,” Korbin replied. “But we learned that if demons at this level are fatally wounded, they go back to hell. They just disappear from our realm.”
“Great,” Brian grumbled. “So you only had two of your team members on this thing?”
“Katie and Calvin were out there doing some research for me,” Korbin explained. “They just happened to be around when the SD police called.”
“The police?” William queried. “How did they know about us?”
“The higher-ups have given permission for us to work with the local departments,” Korbin relayed. “Go to the chiefs of police and bring them in on our plans. It provides more back up; more cover, basically, for the fights.”
“So you had this help on the scene there?” Amy asked.
“Yeah, pretty much the whole force was there, and while they don’t seem to be too good at keeping the secret among themselves, they had no issues with not telling anyone outside the force,” Korbin replied. “Of course, the thing seems so fantastical to people who aren’t us that they probably are afraid of looking like nutbags.”
“Shit, I feel like a nutbag most days just thinking about the truth.” Brian chuckled. “As far as the cops, I just don’t know. I feel like they would be a liability, not only for the teams remaining hidden, but keeping the team in play focused on getting the job done, rather than saving the cops from whatever situation they are in.”
“I tend to agree,” Amy remarked. “I mean, the government as a whole has been a pain in the ass to involve in anything. Everyone in there has a serious complex and they’re constantly measuring dicks, when all they really do is push paper and bandage paper cuts.”
“I don’t know if that’s fair.” Korbin chuckled. “A lot of good ex-agents end up here as Damned.”
“That is my point exactly,” Amy told him.
“All right, I hear you,” Korbin replied. “But with this new enemy on our hands and no real idea of just how many will be showing up next, I think it’s important for us to surround ourselves with as many people as possible, Damned or not.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Amy sighed. “Not happy about it, but needs must and all that.”
“I personally don’t have a problem with getting the Feds involved,” William responded. “Just more eyes on the prize.”
“Exactly,” Korbin agreed. “The more people who have our backs in this situation, the better. I am dead serious about this. This is not your run-of-the-mill demon. From what I’ve been told, the one Calvin and Katie faced was just three levels below one of the Seventy-Two.”
“Well, fuck,” Amy spat. “I’m going to contact the government groups out here, and invest in more weapons while I’m at it. We will make sure to be stacked before we even think of leaving the base on a call.”
“I’ll do the same thing.” Brian sighed.
“If you think it’s the way we should go, then so will I,” William replied.
“Good,” Korbin said. “We need to keep our heads on straight, and be overly watchful.”
With his call over, Korbin sat in his office watching the others training below. As the head of the team he wasn’t just responsible for protecting the team from demons, but from the scrutiny of the outside world as well.
As soon as the government was told, he might have different entities knocking down their doors and demanding inspections, walk-throughs, and a better understanding of what was happening.
This was not a good thing. The members of his team had already given up so much. They’d had their lives ripped apart, and the last thing they needed was some politician breathing down their necks.
To top it all off, they had their business to worry about. The creation of a tool, a weapon, has infinite possibilities. In the wrong hands, this kind of weapon could be used to cause an incredible amount of pain for those it was not intended for.
Korbin did not want this technological—and perhaps mystical—advance to fall into the hands of politicians.
He wiped his face and got up from his chair, secured his knives, and headed for the building next door.
He stared through the open iron gates at the grounds. There had to be something he could do to hide the facility; make it look unassuming and unused.
He knew that he had to keep the government away, or their secret weapons wouldn’t be so secret.
Or theirs.
He stared at the massive brick building and filed through ideas, each seeming more ridiculous than the one before. How in the world was he supposed to hide a huge building right next to his own?
He was starting to think that installing the company right there on the base had been a terrible idea. He had just wanted to keep it close, though, and had not seen the invasion of demons in the flesh becoming an issue, at least not that quickly.
As he took a step forward, he dragged the toe of his boot through the gravel. When he looked up, he stopped to watch a very attractive businesswoman go into the building. Her clothes were perfectly pressed and her hair was tied back neatly, and though she was too far away to make out the face, she seemed pretty damned professional.
Seeing her was a surprise, but he figured since she was carrying several boxes that had been left on the doorstep and had walked straight in, Katie or Derek had hired her to work there.
Korbin took a step forward, intending to go find out who she was, but as he started forward his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out, seeing a reminder on his calendar for another conference call, this time with the higher-ups. He sighed, shoved his phone back in his pocket, and shrugged.
He had too much going on to be chasing a sexy pair of legs anyway.
“So tell us, what exactly have you figured out?” Katie asked, looking down with embarrassment at the sheer number of donuts on her plate.
Don’t be embarrassed, sweet cheeks. This is what we live for, Pandora said.
“Well, it’s both simple and complicated at the same time,” Charlotte began. “On the one hand I have uncovered some seriously hidden stuff, but on the other hand, I can’t seem to get close enough to them to solidify the evidence.”
“You mean with photos and statements?” Calvin asked.
“Right,” Charlotte confirmed.
“And by the way, this is all off the record,” Calvin replied. “So you can take your finger off that recorder in your pocket.”
Charlotte sighed and sheepishly pulled a voice recorder from the pocket of her sweatshirt. She clicked it off and slid it across the table with an annoyed smile on her face.
Calvin smirked and glanced at Katie, who was staring down at her donuts with lust. Calvin elbowed her and frowned. Katie sighed and looked at Charlotte.
“So tell me,” Katie asked, “wh
at makes you so sure then that these ‘teams’ exist.”
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” she said, opening her notebook. “I’ve written down accounts of everything, but unfortunately, without a corroborating witness and photos none of that really matters.”
Katie looked at her notebook, the same kind you bought as a kid to write in during English. There were notes, sketches, and quotes scribbled on every page. There was a crease down the middle of the pages, and the notebook itself looked as if it had been folded in half and shoved into her back pocket more than once.
“All right.” Calvin smiled. “Tell us what you know…or think you know.”
“Okay, so I have five teams nailed down,” she related. “Korbin, Amy, William, Brian, and one team only known for their insignia, which is a skull with red eyes.”
Calvin tipped his head, knowing that the last on the list was completely false. There might have been some vigilante group out there with that insignia, but they had no connection to the Killers.
He didn’t want to give anything away, though, so he didn’t correct her. He hoped she’d go after that one, which would lead her far from the others and also out of danger.
“What makes you so obsessed with this?” Katie asked.
“Besides the fact that the Earth is being overrun by flesh-eating demons?” Charlotte whispered, looking around. “My aunt…she made me curious.”
“What does your aunt have to do with this?” Calvin asked.
“She just disappeared, and when I looked into it, it was like she had just dropped off the face of the planet,” Charlotte said. “There was no body, no nothing—just a government filing that she had been killed in an accident. It didn’t make any sense, and when I tried to talk to the police about it they gave all kinds of excuses but no real answers.”
“I’m sorry about your aunt.” Calvin took a bite of his donut. “But there are any number of reasons she could be missing.” He waved his donut around in a circle. “Magical demon-slaying teams being at the very bottom of the list. Maybe she did die, and maybe it really was just an accident. We humans have a tendency to want to know why, but sometimes there just isn’t an answer.”
“I get that,” Charlotte agreed. “But there was no body, no answers, and no investigation—just a letter from the government.”
Katie started to wonder if it had been the same with her. Had her mother just one day gotten a letter from the government declaring her dead? She pondered what effect that had had on her mom. She started to understand why Charlotte would try to hunt her aunt down.
“What was her name?” Katie asked.
“My aunt?” Charlotte replied.
Katie politely didn’t ask if her hearing was faulty. “Yes. What was her name, and what did she do for a living?”
“Her name was Chloe Perry,” Charlotte replied. “She was an interior designer here in San Diego, and she had a very good business. No kids and no husband, but she was one of the happiest people I had ever known. The government report said she had been in an accident on the other side of town, like a mugging, but she would have had no reason to be over there and there were no pictures taken of the event or the body. We were provided a bag of ashes and a check, that was it.”
“All right, here is the deal.” Calvin leaned over the table, then pulled back and made a face, wiping donut sugar off the table before laying a napkin on it so he could lean forward once more. “Charlotte, we need your help and your superb research abilities. In return for helping us—and not disclosing anything—I will personally try to find out if Chloe Perry is still alive. I have contacts who can help. We will need you to look into some things for us, and in return we will work to keep you safe.”
“Well,” Charlotte looked at them suspiciously, “all right, but only if you really try to find out about my aunt.”
“You have my word.” Calvin reached over to shake Charlotte’s hand.
Before they left the donut shop Katie packed hers to go, knowing Pandora would kill her if she didn’t. They rode back to that same Starbucks quietly, everyone’s minds going in different directions. Calvin pulled up in the same alley and nodded at Charlotte as she climbed out of the vehicle. She clutched her things, and looked the worse for wear. When she was out of earshot, Katie turned to Calvin with anger in her eyes.
“I know that we are supposed to achieve this directive no matter what.” Katie pointed to where Charlotte had just disappeared. “But I think it’s despicable to play with someone’s emotions over a loved one who has obviously either disappeared for a reason or really did die in some tragic accident. I really thought more of you than that, Calvin, especially since this is a promise you know you might not be able to keep.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “This is one promise that I actually can keep.”
“How?” Katie asked.
“Because Chloe Perry is the team second on Hudson’s Hitmen in the upper Northwest,” Calvin said. “They stand by and wait for orders—they’re back-up—but they are taken care of like we are, with bases and training. They are kind of a last resort, a final blow to the demons if we need it. She’s right there in front of Charlotte’s nose.”
Katie took that in, then dropped her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she got out, and Calvin waved a hand in her direction. “No, I was a bitch. I should have known better.”
Calvin nodded and told her, “Next time you pay for the donuts.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sitting on a bench at a park overlooking the water would normally be a serene event. Something that would calm and relax you, let you feel the ocean breeze and hear the squawking of the seagulls and the crashing of the waves. Make you feel the presence of the Earth around you.
For Katie though, it was a time to shove donuts into her mouth while hoping Pandora would maintain radio silence.
At least for one more damned moment.
Instead, the demon in her mind moaned as she worked her way through the pastries. Calvin looked at her and lifted an eyebrow.
“What?” she said through a full mouth, spewing crumbs. “I’m hungry, and my demon is a glutton.”
“It’s so crazy to me that you guys share pretty much everything.” He smiled. “It’s like you have a partner inside.”
“I wouldn’t call her a partner so much as a hostage-taker.” Katie covered her stomach with a hand and groaned. “But it could be worse. At least she gives me some badass power behind my kicks—though I haven’t revealed that to Korbin yet. I don’t know how he would feel about it.”
“Change is hard,” Calvin ruminated, looking at the ocean. “But with the current situation, this evolution of your relationship may be what is needed to take these beasts down.”
“Not all of them will be on board with that idea, I’m sure,” Katie said.
“I suppose not.” Calvin sighed. “My demon… He’s a Nickar, though I don’t know how he found himself so far from the water. Maybe that is why I love San Diego so much more now.”
“What’s a Nickar?” Katie asked.
“A sea demon. They are water demons, best known for drownings, capsized boats, etc.,” he answered. “He is like a Level Four or something, but just sits quietly most of the time. He does keep me thirsty.”
“I see.” Katie smiled.
“Do you think…” Calvin began, turning toward her and pausing. “Do you think your demon could persuade him to give me some support? I know that’s an unusual request, but I thought maybe it was worth a try. That last demon would have killed me, no doubt.”
What do you say? Katie asked Pandora.
How very demon-like of you to ask the other side to help defeat themselves, Pandora grumbled. He does realize that as demons we use pain and torture while you meatsacks use friendship, soap operas, and donuts?
We do what we can. Katie laughed. What do you say?
I might be able to, she snapped. But you are going to have to negotiate with me.
Katie sighed. I hate it when yo
u say that. All right, we will talk.
“It’s a possibility,” Katie said, looking up at Calvin. “It sounds like the answer is positive. It just depends on what is required of me in return.”
“You have to do things for them in return?” Calvin asked.
She looked around before answering. “For mine you do. She’s pretty fucking smart.”
“Why does it not surprise me that yours is a female?” Calvin chuckled.
What does that mean? Pandora growled. So help me, I will come out of this body and—
Katie chuckled. Calm down, Women’s Lib. Sheesh, he just meant because I’m such a force to be reckoned with. I thought you said feminism was stupid?
Stow it and feed me another donut, Pandora snapped.
Katie rolled her eyes and bit into another donut, feeling Pandora’s satisfaction roll through her. She didn’t mind making her happy occasionally.
At least she got to eat whatever she wanted.
“So what will she ask for in return?” Calvin asked.
“Who freaking knows?” Katie laughed and wiped crumbs off her face. “It has been anything from quality time watching soap operas to unique clothing in the past, but I put nothing past her. I have to make sure that whatever it is, it doesn’t literally bite me on the ass.”
“Holy hell.” Calvin’s eyes widened. “I sure hope my demon just chills.”
“They are demons, so what do you expect?” Katie chuckled. “She’s smart to negotiate, that’s for sure.”
“Does she have anything to say about the demon that tried to eat my body?” Calvin asked. “Oh wait, the one that said he didn’t like dark meat. He was just going to smash my body into a bloody pulp.”
Tell him to stop with his whining already. He’s alive, right? Pandora gruffed.
Try to understand that people of color have lived on this planet just as long—if not longer—than all others, and we have treated them terribly, Katie told her. Oppression, slavery, killings, beatings, shame, and everything in between.