Now Reaper understood.
"Christ, this is gonna be an expensive night…." He sighed.
"Don't eat what it's served in! Just drink it!" Jackal groaned.
It tried the ale next, watching to see how Mjolnir drank his first. It attempted to mimic the ardrizi, but could not fit the rim of the stein around those haphazard teeth. Ale spilled everywhere. With a grumble it set that down. Everyone chuckled.
The shot of vodka was much easier to down, especially once Jackal showed it how. It seemed unimpressed thus far.
Seemingly enjoying the creamy drink, Fenris, following Jackal's instructions, sipped more than consumed whole. It kept pace with Mjolnir, using the ardrizi as an example.
Jackal climbed over the back of the booth for the bathroom with Ruby going with him.
Mjolnir eventually wandered off to talk with a fellow ardrizi across the club.
"Whoa." Something caught Sparrow's eye. "Look at her." She pointed.
A woman had walked in, a man with her. A smaller human with a well chiseled body. Sparrow thought she belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine.
Long hair, braided tight on one side, a free flowing mohawk on the other. Covered in tattoos that were shimmering in the light, changing color to glow under the black light. Skin tight, tiny top that just only covered her chest and a sleeveless coat that flowed behind her. Shorts and knee high combat boots. A mask like that of a demon’s skull was split into three parts. The eye sockets of the mask were pushed to either side, leaving the muzzle of pointed teeth to cover the lower half of her face. The matching horns stood tall and swooped back into a single elegant curl that ended with the points towards the ceiling.
Eye catching from a distance. Others around the club were visibly distracted by her walking by. Eyes averted from her when her own cyan glowing irises glanced over them.
She headed right for the bar. Pulled herself up into the stool. Her companion sat next to her, the robotic dog sitting beneath her. She didn't even order. The bartender already had a glass poured and ready for her, coupled with a tall, black bottle that read in gold "Black Label." Her companion's drink was ready as well.
Sparrow openly admitted that the woman was something special, but she found herself eyeing her companion who was nearly twice her size! Just as built as her, if not more. Tattoos, a scruffy face and strong jaw. Hair gelled backwards, not long enough to reach his shoulders. An open jacket, skin tight shirt, cargo pants. He, too, had a mask, or rather a two-part helmet of a wolf skull. The jaw was resting against his collar and the upper portion of the skull was against his back. A permanent scowl as if he hated the world. She thought about small talk, but if that was his companion, he was way out of her league.
Ianisse perked up, the bird fluffing its feathers.
"Whoa...you two need to calm down." He said. He could smell their pheromones jumping through the roof. It, for him, was not the most pleasant smell.
Sparrow looked at him confused.
Reaper blatantly stared at the stranger sitting at the bar for a while. His knee bounced. Thoughts raced through his head.
He decided to take the risk. He downed the rest of his drink. Jumped out of his seat. Marched right over to her free side.
"He doesn't stand a chance." Sparrow whispered under her breath.
"She looks like she eats captains for breakfast." Ianisse said.
"Eat him?" Fenris asked.
"It's a metaphor." Sparrow laughed.
"Metaphor?"
"Oh my god, they're talking!" She patted Ianisse's shoulder.
Reaper casually leaned over the bar right next to the woman. Set his empty glass down and waved at the bartender.
She had to take a second look at him. When she did, her scarred lips parted.
He smiled at her.
"Long time no see."
"Would be better if the no see part was still a thing." She sipped on her drink.
"Oh, don't be like that." He turned to face her better. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"You and a hundred others. If you're gonna try to convince me---"
"I know you won't." He cut her off. "Honestly, just wanted to make sure you were all right. You don't pick up anymore. You're impossible to find."
She took a breath, looked to her companion and leaned back.
Reaper got a good look at him now. A middleweight, probably on the higher side. A look on his face like he could set the whole station on fire at a moment's notice.
Reaper cleared his throat and grabbed his freshened drink.
"So, you're a captain now, huh? Must be nice making your own rules."
"It's nothing special. Would rather be making a difference in the field."
"Oh, right." She smiled at her companion, "this is Reaper, we were comrades back in FCW." She said it so casually Reaper almost didn't understand her.
"Phantom." His voice was raspy, guttural. Nearly monotone.
"Phantom…?" Reaper raised a brow. "Wait. Alpha Killer? You made friends with the guy running amok and killing off your guys?"
He didn't even think about what he said until it left his mouth. Christ, don't stab me for that. He thought.
She laughed.
"Y'know the old sayin', enemy of my enemy is my friend, or somethin' like that." She smiled.
"What have you been up to, Spec?"
"Same shit, different day." She answered. "Fight. Run. Fight.” She waved her hand around. “We did discover there’s a planet with intelligent life on it you’d never expect!” She leaned towards him. “Bugs. Fuckin’ massive insects!” She went on to tell the story. A crash landing turned into survival and exploration while they waited for help. Some sort of giant bug that loved to talk.
Reaper couldn’t help but smile the whole time. He missed her. Missed their conversations and the stories she told. She had so many. He loved that he could get her to talk still.
“Anyway, anything new happen for you? New war started yet?” She leaned back with a sigh. “It’s always so boring without war.”
“Actually, yeah, I was wanting to ask you about it.” Reaper scratched his cheek. “Have you heard about valkyries?”
She raised a brow, looked to Phantom, then back to Reaper. “That’s an odd question. It’s something with some old mythos way back when we still used swords and shields. Damn, what era was that…” She thought for a second.
“No, I know what those are. I mean that.” He pointed over his shoulder.
“That weird fuckin’ wolf you got over there? Wait. Is that normal?” She looked at her glass. “Thought maybe something with the scotch.”
“Hey, Captain.” Came a voice.
They looked over to find Jackal gripping Reaper’s shoulder. He grinned.
“I wanted to thank you for earlier. Really saved my ass back there. How’s your arm doing?”
Reaper’s brow narrowed momentarily. Then he grinned as well.
“Wow!” Spectre leaned over the bar counter. “You got him out of some shit? I guess nothing ever really changes!”
Jackal’s lips pursed as he looked over to the woman. His face contorted in confusion, thought, then realization.
“Spec?!”
“Good to see you, too, bro’!”
“Wow. Whoa…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re actually here. I mean, you’re alive. Wow. Look good, too!”
“Yeah, a lot of mods you need to see sometime.” Her fingers bent into the shape of a gun, which she pointed at her head.
“If you don’t bail early morning, we could head into the training room.” He laughed, still captivated by her presence.
She and Reaper both coughed, with Reaper nearly spitting his drink out.
“Let’s catch up some time. Good luck.” He patted Reaper on the back and headed back to the table.
Reaper looked back to Spectre, unable to keep eye contact. When he went to say something, he caught the glare piercing right through him from Phantom.
TWENTY-F
OUR
Something fuzzy tickled my nose. Hard to open my eyes, I rolled over onto my back. Rubbed one. Warm, cozy, I sure as hell did not want to get up. I wasn't too sure where I was yet. Everything was blurred and slowly coming to focus. My head throbbed something awful. My knuckles hurt.
I did not remember much from last night. After seeing Spectre I sat down with the others who were busy talking about Reaper and the tatted up lady. They were happy to hear that it was in fact Spectre, but Sparrow was confused how someone like that could be into the Captain.
You don't get a girl like that. Simple as that.
Ianisse was first to head home. With Sparrow and Ruby deciding to head to the late night market.
That left me with the two biggest guys on the team and Mjolnir had the great idea to get as shitfaced as we could handle. We started a drinking game, flipping a coin into an empty glass. If you made it in, everyone else took a drink. If you missed, you drank.
I had to quit in the end. Reached my limit. Those two went on for a whole extra hour.
After that, everything else was black. I remembered it in flashes. More games. Wrestling. Rough housing.
I sat up with a deep breath. Stretched.
Oh, this was my room.
A couch was flipped over. Flipped over. It should have been bolted to the ground. Table, too. Empty bottles were scattered everywhere. Most being that ardrizian ale and that red drink from Fenris.
With a groan, I laid back down, not even questioning the fluffy mass I had been against the whole time. I rubbed my mouth, catching a glimpse of dried blood on my knuckles.
Christ, I hoped I didn't fight. Such a bad habit. Waking up with no memory, sore as a motherfucker and wounds all over.
As my senses focused, a foul smell hit my nose. The smell of alcohol almost took my attention away, but the stench of rotten flesh was just too close to not smell.
The phone rang. A series of annoying beeps in the worst kind of rhythm.
With a groan I jumped up and hurried to the kitchen to cease the beeping.
I picked the phone up, nothing more than a black colored screen. I didn't bother looking to see who it was.
"What do you want?" I grumbled.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." I could hear Reaper grinning on the other side.
"I'd rather be sleeping." I reached for a bottle on the counter. Empty. I tossed it aside and looked for one that had anything left in it.
"After last night, I bet. You boys kept the whole ship up."
"I don't even remember…." A rub of my arm made me realize I had no shirt on. No pants either. Great, now I had to find clothes!
"You ever get tired of that?"
Finding a bottle, I poured it out into my mouth. My room was an absolute wreck. Worse than how it looked when I first woke up. Most of the action was in the living room and it was there I spied what I must have been sleeping on all night.
A giant, black wolf softly curled into itself, head resting on its paws. Familiar cracks for eyes which had no lights on. Part of its cloak was curved around. It felt like I had pushed it off when I woke up.
"No. Can't say I do…." I was at a loss for words. How crazy did last night get? We didn't do anything unthinkable did we? I looked myself over.
Just briefs on. Little cuts and bruises here and there, but nothing to be concerned about. I was just grateful that I wasn't naked.
Those cracks lit up. The wolf's head lifted. He looked around before seeing me.
"Right." Reaper said. "Mind swinging by my office before you go anywhere? Need to talk to you about something."
I smiled and gave a wave to Fenris. "Roger. See you in a minute."
I hung the phone up and tossed it onto the counter.
Fenris stretched out and rolled onto his back.
The bedroom was the cleanest room surprisingly. My clothes were thrown across the bed. Sheets messed up, half on the floor. One empty bottle of beer. At least the bathroom was untouched.
After a quick shower to hopefully scrub off that stench, I got dressed and headed back to the kitchen.
Fenris was still laying there on the floor.
"Reaper wants a chat." I said, digging through the cabinets for the pain killers. "We either broke a law, or something good happened with Spec. I hope it's good. Tired of seeing him mope around."
I headed out, fetching a cup of coffee on the way. Reaper was in his office, scrolling through files on the computer. His knee bounced under the desk, an audible thump each time.
"Spectre already left?"
"She never stayed." He grumbled.
I took a seat.
"Oh."
"Anyway," he waved the idea off. "She had some new stories."
"Be nice if she were here to tell them."
"I'm worried about her. She doesn't seem well."
"She seemed fine to me and I mean really fine."
"She wouldn't tell me what she was up to. I wanna figure it out. Maybe we could help her. Besides, she gave me some info last night."
"About what?"
"Fenris."
"No way." I leaned against the desk. "What the hell would she know?"
"According to her, Apex in its younger years named all of their technology after mythological creatures. Nordic and Roman were the top used."
"So, Apex is in charge of...what? That can't be right."
"She said she saw files mentioning valkyries. She thinks they're anti-alpha hunter soldiers."
"Like that Alpha Killer guy?"
"No." He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "That guy is actually a rogue Alpha acting on his own. He's part of the Black Wolves now."
"That guy with her?"
"Alphas are going AWOL left and right to join them. They're refusing to fight each other and some are refusing to fight all together."
"So, they're making super soldiers to replace the Alphas?"
"That, or to control them better." He let out a breath. "What's bugging me is I can't find anything in the database about it. There's no mention of anything being called valkyrie. For being a business that sells information and technology, they're not sharing much."
"It's probably classified. Without Apex credentials, you'll never legally access the information. Was there anything else she spilled?"
"She did give me a name…." He thought for a second. A flashing icon catching his attention. "Guard...gard? Maybe garm…? She still has that weird accent."
"Speaking of weird." I kicked my feet up on the desk. "Had the doc given you the results of those tests?"
"She’s working on making it a proper paper first, but she told me some of the results. She wants Brannum to look over some answers so he could make a determination on psych."
"Sounds like we still know nothing about these guys."
"There's only one sample." Reaper shrugged. "It seems he's specialized in combat. All other skills leave more to be desired."
He was quiet for a minute focused on his screen.
"What the fuck did you guys do last night?" He asked.
"Huh? I don't remember honestly."
"I bet you don't. What the fuck is this? Over a hundred thousand credits owed to Solstice." He tapped the screen so it would mirror to the desk.
I put my feet down and looked. An entire list of expenses.
"I paid a third last night. You and Mjolnir paid the rest. There's no way we owe anything else. What is with the damaged goods?"
"Did you get in a fight again?" He pointed at me.
"No! I swear!" I wasn't sure if it was the truth or not.
"Damaged tables, chairs, walls...new bar counter….drinks. Wait…" he pointed at one of the lines. "Black Label?"
"That fucking bitch."
"She didn't…." He nearly smacked his face.
"She did." I pointed at the screen. "I don't even drink that old school shit." Another drink was labeled as Jack Daniel's.
"Son of a fucking raven…" Reaper sighed. "Not even a team anymore an
d I'm still paying for her bullshit."
"That's what happens when you stick your dick in crazy." I jumped up from the seat. "Well, I'll miss you, Captain. Hope you do well in...criminals don't run prisons do they?"
"Shut up…"
TWENTY-FIVE
"You wanted to see us, Lieutenant Jackal?" Ianisse stepped into the office.
Jackal was nowhere to be found. Reaper was sitting on the edge of the desk, arms crossed over his chest. Tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek. He was lost in thought, debating his current choices.
"Captain?" Ianisse questioned. "Where's Jackal?"
"He's getting a few things." He scratched his scruffy cheek. "Listen, this is important." He paused for a minute. "I'm sure this is against some sort of code, but you're our only qualified candidate. Tests show your skills are well earned."
"Are you giving us a mission?" His eyes sparked to life.
"Yes, but don't get too excited." He held a hand up. "I can't express just how dangerous this mission is."
"Well, what is it? What do we need to do?" Ianisse tried to contain himself, but his blackened leaves for clothes quivered.
"You're going to spy on someone. You should have an advantage as you are since no one would expect it. You remember the woman from the bar I talked to?"
"You need us to follow her around?"
The door opened. Jackal came in with a small bag he was still going through.
"Sorry that took longer than expected." He held out a small ear piece complete with a single lens.
Ianisse put it on, clicking the button to activate it.
Jackal gave him the bag.
"Stun grenades. Electro grenades. Oh, and this." He pulled out a thick baton with teeth on the end.
"What's all this for?"
"Ever heard of an alpha hunter?"
"Aren't they some sort of elite human soldier?"
"Better than that. Or well, worse probably."
"Alphas are the most dangerous individuals you'll ever meet. They kill. They don't ask questions. Under no circumstances are you to fight." Reaper added.
"Because she's your girlfriend, or because you don't think I can?"
"Because she will kill you if she sees you." Jackal said. "Now, be advised, none of this will hurt her."
The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) Page 20