Investigation

Ace opened the door, MK.23 pistol in hand, and slowly crept inside. Henrietta was next to him, nervous.

"Should we be doing this?" the german girl asked.

"We have to," Ace replied. "I owe Hoagie and the others that much, and so do you."

The duo walked inside, and peered over the corner. Sitting in a throne, with about twenty people, a young blonde girl covered in bandages meditated. Rachel, Number 362, was clearly killed by Cree. But it seems that because of her psychic powers, she left her body and is now inhabiting another.

A few days earlier…

Henrietta was going over some old artifacts recovered from Egypt. Abby gave them to her after the fall of their leader, Rachel McKenzie. Rachel stole them from Egypt, and it was Henrietta's job to restore them before they were returned. A crimson crown with a blue and black jewel nearly fell to the ground. She quickly grabbed it before it can break into pieces.

"Got you," Henrietta said.

The door opened, and the german girl turned to see a tall, young teen wearing a pilot's uniform.

"Henrietta von Marzipan?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "Who are you?"

"A mutual friend. I'm Ace."

"Ah!" She set the crown on the counter, and brought a chair for him. "So you're the pilot Hoagie talked about." Taking a chair of her own, she looked at Ace. "You wanted to talk about something?"

"Yeah, Rachel McKenzie."

A chill came down Henrietta's spine. "What about her?"

He looked at the jewels that were set on the counter. "These damn things, they're Egyptian?"

"Yes, and why do you want to talk about the deceased leader of the KND?"

"She collected the things. And because of them, she went from one body to another."

This was absurd. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't deny it, I've done my homework. She used them for experiments…experiments that involved human sacrifices."

Henrietta leaned back on her chair. It was true that in ancient times, pharaohs would try to use human blood to gain immortality. But it has never been achieved, until now.

"She achieved immortality?" Henrietta asked.

"Yes," Ace said. "And no. Every time her body dies, she has to get in another. But to stop her, we need to catch her."

"How? How do you suppose we catch a maniac that could possess anyone's body whenever she wishes?"

"Well, I've got a few trick myself." He looked at the jewels, the back to Henrietta.

But she noticed this. "No way. You are not going to use those. They're due back in Egypt next Monday, and I'm not done cleaning them!"

"It'll be quick, and besides, it can't take that long to clean them."

Ace smiled and winked at her. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't resist.

"Fine," she said at last. "But we have to be quick."

Present day…

After several days of searching, they had finally found Rachel's hiding spot. Henrietta knew that the reason Rachel wore bandages was because she had undergone plastic surgery. It seems that Ace was not a lunatic after all, the real one was sitting in a throne, just doing nothing.

"What now?" she asked.

"We get in there, use this jewel," Ace began. "And be done with her."

"That's your plan?"

"It's all I could think of."

Without warning, the duo drew their rifles, and charged into the room. Rachel just sat there, while Ace and Henrietta gunned down her bodyguards. The german girl came up to the former KND leader, and took aim with her gun.

"Still ticking?" Henrietta asked.

Removing her bandages, Rachel looked up at her, blind rage in her deep red eyes.

"Unfortunately, hell had no vacancies," Rachel said. Looking at Ace and his jewel, she said, "The ESP amulet. Did you know that's the reason why I'm still on earth, and not in hell?"

Moving quickly, Rachel reached out with her power, pinning down both Ace and Henrietta. Walking up to Ace, she grabbed the amulet.

"I'll let you two live," Rachel said. "It's more amusing that way."

Later…

Henrietta finished cleaning the last jewel. It was just in time too. As several well-dressed men left with the items, Ace came in.

"What do you wan?" Henrietta asked.

"You know, when we took out Rachel's men, we made a good team," Ace said. "KND is working on finding her, but I think we should team up."

"Team up?"

"Yeah, help them out a little." Ace went outside, and came back in with tow suitcases. "That mean I'll have to move in with you, if you don't mind."

Henrietta laughed out loud. "Is that so?" She gave him a key, and a new watch. "Don't worry about rent, it's on the house."