A Warrior's Journey (18 page)

I had a splitting headache caused in large
part from driving this confounded contraption of a device that
would have been better off not having been created. The other
reason for the headache could find its blame in the form of the
incessant ringing noise coming from somewhere inside the
vessel.

Why would the people of this world put such
an annoying alarm in their vessels? The vessel drove well and there
were no flashing indicator lights, but yet the alarm had gone on
and on!

It would blessedly stop briefly only to
start back up again in annoying frequency a few moments later. It
was enough to drive one nuts after a while. I looked over at Larc
and I saw the corners of his mouth crease up a little.

I was not taking this cursed thing one foot
further!

Larc turned to the others in the back, “We
go on from here on foot. We’re going to split up. Zevin, Orhanin,
Thanic, are with me. The rest of you will go with Talaric. Scout
out the city for these churches, but keep a low profile! Meet us
back here tonight with what you find.”

The sun was starting to set as the little
shop owner parked his suitcases down by the door. He was about to
leave, when he remembered a stash of money that he kept for
emergencies in a secret drawer beside the cash register.

Forget leaving tomorrow, he was leaving
tonight for forever! He bent down to access the drawer under the
counter, when he heard the jingle of the door opening.

“I’m closed!”

The door shut and then he heard the click of
heels on the floor.

In heated exasperation he bent back up from
the counter, “I said I’m closed!”

The shop owner ended on a high note, as he
caught sight of who stood in front of him on the other side of the
counter. His eyes moved slowly up from the three inch heels to the
toned calves and then to the crimson silk border of the dress that
was cut above the knees. The dress was tight, as it curved up to
outline a narrow waist, which then curved back out to encompass a
generously proportioned chest, which the dress offered a tempting
peak at by the use of a plunging v neckline. Red hair that looked
dyed hung around the leanly muscled shoulders that were held back
straight with pride.

The hair framed a face of cool beauty that
was punctuated by black eyebrows and probing cobalt blue eyes. Any
man would have been hard pressed to not have been entranced by her,
but all the little shop owner saw reflected in her icy cool gaze
was his own death, if he didn’t think fast enough.

Money wasn’t all he had in the little drawer
under the counter. He had to get to it! His life depended on it,
because he knew who she represented.

Her voice was as cool, as her gaze, as she
smoothly asked, “Mr. Kingsley I believe? Mr. Kingsley certain
events have transpired that are going to require you to come in for
questioning. You weren’t in the process of going anywhere were
you?” She asked indicating his suitcases with a nod of her
head.

Mr. Kingsley swallowed, “Just a little
weekend trip.”

She smiled, but there wasn’t anything nice
about it, “Mr. Kingsley its Wednesday. A little early for a weekend
getaway isn’t it?”

“I’m busy on the weekends so I take my
getaways during the middle of the week, but I can reschedule my
trip if it’s needed for me to help a hand of the Committee.”

“Oh it is I assure you.”

“Just let me close down my register and I’ll
be right with you.”

Mr. Kingsley ducked down with one hand still
on the countertop as he reached for the hidden drawer with the
other in search of the loaded Smith & Wesson that it held. He’d
kept the gun even though it was illegal to keep a gun of any kind,
for just such a day as today.

The progress of his hand came to an abrupt
halt, as he squealed in pain and came erect to behold in horror the
sight of his other hand affixed to the countertop by a wicked
looking blade. Moaning and crying in pain he tried to pull the
dagger out, but it wouldn’t budge.

Evette gracefully hopped up onto the counter
beside the squalling shop owner and then swung her legs around
beside Mr. Kingsley. Mr. Kingsley’s attempts to free himself ended,
as another knife blade came up under his chin and forced him to
look up into the arctic blue eyes of his captor.

Her full lips parted and she said, “You know
what your two mistakes were Mr. Kingsley?”

He tried to swallow, but the point of the
knife made it hard to do so.

“It’s alright Mr. Kingsley, if you don’t
know I’ll tell you. Your first mistake is that you should have
called us and given up your bribe money, as a good patriot to the
confederation would have. You see money is really worth nothing if
you don’t have the life yet to spend it. Second you shouldn’t have
waited to go if you were going to be a traitor to your country and
the Committee. You should have run and then kept running, but since
you didn’t here we are. Now I really do hope that we can resolve
this unfortunate situation Mr. Kingsley. I’d hate to have to take
you downtown and let the boy’s have a go at you. I’m sure you’ve
heard some of the stories.”

“I’ll talk! Please don’t take me downtown!”
The shop owner emitted in a low moan, fully aware of all the
stories of brutal torture that the Committee was guilty of
committing.

“Good, now how about you telling me
everything you know about the strangers that came to visit
you.”

As Mr. Kingsley blubbered out the whole
story Evette listened attentively.

After he had finished she contemplated him
for a moment and then she reached forward and tapped him on the
chin with the tip of the dagger, “I do believe you’ve told me the
truth, which is why I’m going to let you live and continue on with
your miserable little life, but I wouldn’t recommend betraying your
country again by aiding and abetting the enemy!”

“No I won’t! I swear it!”

Evette yanked the dagger, affixing his hand
to the counter top, out and slid off the counter gracefully. She
reached under the counter and pulled out the drawer he had been
reaching for.

She reached into it and pulled out the heavy
pistol, “Mr. Kingsley I’m really trying to help you here, but you
know that it’s illegal to have one of these. I believe a first
offence comes in the form of an extremely exorbitant fine, which if
you don’t pay you go to jail for six months.”

The knife had disappeared to somewhere, as
she held her hand palm up in expectation of payment.

Mr. Kingsley reached for the paper money in
the drawer, but she raised the barrel of the gun upwards to his
head, “I had something else in mind Mr. Kingsley.”

He swallowed and dropped the paper money
back into the drawer and reached into his pants pocket and brought
out the heavy little sack of gold that was there. He dropped it
into her outstretched palm and her eyebrows lifted expressively at
the weight of the sack.

“Well Mr. Kingsley at least it can’t be said
that you sold your loyalty to your country cheaply.” She molded the
pouch’s contents out slightly and then slipped it down her dress
between her breasts, which once situated bulged out more
expressively than before, but Mr. Kingsley was far from being
interested in the development of the moment in any amorous way.

Evette tossed the gun into the far reaches
of the shop and then deftly picked up the cash money in the drawer.
Holding it up she said, “Evidence. You have a nice day now Mr.
Kingsley.”

She walked away then her heels clicking on
the floor. Mr. Kingsley clutched his bloody hand to his chest in
relief to see her leaving and to still be alive and not having been
taken downtown.

Evette sauntered out to the three cars
pulled up outside the store. She held out the paper money to an
assistant.

A tall man with sharp features stepped
forward, “Find out anything?”

“Yes, they were here. They definitely appear
to be human, if not a bit on the superhuman side of the spectrum
from all description. There headed on their way toward the city.
Apparently they are on a quest to find a holy book.

Get me dispatch Angelica.”

Evette stood beside the car waiting for
dispatch to get back with her, when three rapidly spaced shots rang
out behind her. She turned to see the tall man step out of the
store and walk back toward the cars.

“Do you really think that was necessary
Robert?” Evette asked pointedly.

Robert sneered at her, “You getting soft or
something Evette?”

“No not soft just practical. I don’t think
the Committee really needed another dead shop owner to add to its
bloody record.”

Evette climbed the stairs up to her flat.
Her steps were slow as she was tired from the day’s events. They
had launched a massive manhunt for the strangers focused on San
Francisco and its surroundings.

So far they had only been able to gather a
few eyewitness reports of a poorly driven van matching the
description of the shop owners, but they hadn’t found the van yet
or its eight occupants. One woman’s account of the occupants of the
van had been that she thought she was in ancient times as eight
Greek gods drove by her. Somehow Evette doubted that, but the
report did echo what the shop owner had said that the men had
seemed to be extremely robust in physical form, with long hair to
boot.

She didn’t care! She just hoped they were
caught soon and were out of her hair. She reached to unlock her
door only to find the door already ajar. Her tiredness vanished as
she tensed and prepared to spring into action or away from danger
as she pushed the door open.

What she saw made her huff in disgust and
storm angrily into her apartment slamming the door shut behind her.
The form of an attractive, but barely clad woman lay sprawled on
the floor not ten feet from the door. As Evette stormed by her
enroute for the kitchen she noticed that the unconscious woman was
drooling all over the tiles that she lay on, which only heightened
her disgust. Reaching the kitchen she grabbed a pitcher and filled
it with water and then stopped.

She dumped the water back out and went to
the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of ice water that she
kept there. Storming back toward the door she dumped the entire
pitcher on top of the woman’s head and bare back.

The figure on the floor sat up sputtering
and choking. Seeing Evette standing there with the empty pitcher
she asked heatedly, “What did you do that for?”

“Missy it’s none of my business if you want
to continue killing yourself out in the city with losers and then
come back to sleep your drunken stupor off only to do it all over
again the next day, but I will not have you sprawled on the middle
of my floor like the drunken whore that you are! And I certainly
will not tolerate you ever leaving my door unlocked again! Do I
make myself clear?”

Missy got to her feet unsteadily and asked,
“What happened to you today? Did you kill someone again today?”

Something must have shown on Evette’s face,
“I see! I may be a drunken whore Evette, but you’re in a class all
by yourself precious!”

Before Missy could continue she found
herself flat on her back with all the air knocked out of her.
Looking up she saw Evette poised above her with a murderous
expression.

Missy licked her lips a little out of
nervousness. Maybe she had pushed her benefactor a little too
far.

“Missy I’m on the verge of throwing you out!
Is that what you want?”

Missy shook her head no.

“This is the way it’s going to be Missy. You
are not staying the night here! You can go find a bed somewhere
else tonight! When I come home tomorrow I expect to see this mess
cleaned up and your room in order!”

Evette walked to the door and jerked it
open. Missy got back up and moved to the door and stopped briefly
before going through.

She turned to Evette, “Your getting harder
inside Evette. You better watch it or you’ll end up like the creeps
you work with, to wired out to enjoy anything in life that isn’t
sickly twisted in some way. Why don’t you let me help you to relax
some and actually fulfill the purpose of what you hired me to play
act out for you. If you don’t want a woman’s touch then why not
hire a man to work the kinks out of your tail a few nights a week.
I can suggest some guys to you. Maybe we could even team up on you.
It would be fun. What do you say?”

Evette’s blue eyes were stormy as the ocean
during a gail force hurricane, “I do not appreciate any of your
salacious advice Missy! Goodnight!”

Missy turned towards the door, but then
turned back somewhat sheepishly, “I need some money. That was our
agreement…….”

Before she had finished asking for money
several bills were rammed down the front of her halter top. Evette
then pushed Missy out into the hall and slammed the door hard,
locking it as she did so. Missy stared at the door for a moment
before turning away heading for the night life of the city.

Evette still stood with her back against the
door wondering for the millionth time whether it had been a mistake
to take Missy in and make the agreement that she had with her.

In return for a place to stay and the money
to live her free loving lifestyle, Missy had agreed to play the
part of her female lover in the public’s eye.

Working where Evette did and living in this
city one had to appear a deviant of some kind or one became a
target of everyone else that was. Missy gave her the cover that she
needed to keep her above notice as being any different from those
she lived among.

It also gave her a reason to help keep the
men at bay too. She hated men and everything they stood for, the
filthy animals that they were!

She scarcely cared anymore for her own sex
as they could be just as bad, which Missy was a prime example of.
She came to the same conclusion that she always did though. Missy
would stay.