XXX
Alberta, Canada
XXX
The air was unusually warm on the night everything began, and throngs of Fae-folk had come through the Dal Riata looking for great alcohol and a good time. Trick stood at the bar, serving drinks and cleaning out glasses while he watched the happenings going on.
A pack of wolf-shifters sat at one of the booths, laughing loudly and deciding where to host their next run. Assembled at the table next to them was the local group of kitsune, disguised as bouncy college-aged girls. Really, if one wasn't privy to the secret they all shared, a passerby wouldn't be able to tell that they were more than human.
Truth be told, Trick was happy that his Fae bar seemed to be doing so well, even if it meant he didn't get a moment's rest. Maybe he should have taken Kenzi's offer to help him with serving. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. Having Kenzi anywhere near this much alcohol without supervision would be a bad thing.
Over at the pool tables, his long-time friend and wolf-shifter Dyson skillfully shot the eight-ball into a side pocket, earning him a sigh and twenty dollars from his opponent, a woman named Tamsin.
"Damn, beat again," she complained, "I don't know why I keep challenging you, dog-boy."
"I'd blame it on the alcohol," Dyson grinned, "Unless you want to admit that you're a really terrible pool player."
"Never!" Tamsin glared, grabbing a shot from a waitress that walked by, downing it in a single gulp. "Another game?"
"Provided you're paying for the next round of drinks."
She seemed to consider this for a moment, "Done."
Trick was engrossed with his duties as barkeep and didn't notice as someone approached the glass case that housed all of his important treasures. Not that he would've minded if someone was looking at his collection. He took an unusual amount of pride in his artifacts and relished the thought of showing them off.
He also didn't see the person unlock the case with one swift move and swipe a velvet-lined box. The thief slipped the box into a coat pocket, relocked the case and walked out of the Dal Riata without attracting any attention.
Trick probably wouldn't have discovered the theft for a few days if the next morning's newspapers hadn't all flashed the same headline. "Young woman found brutally strangled in her own home, leaves authorities baffled." What the papers didn't know was that the victim, a young woman by the name of Iris Conner, wasn't even a human. She was a Fae.
The Fae community was rattled to say the least. Both Light and Dark vehemently denied any involvement, choosing instead to blame the other side for the atrocious deed. Trick knew that there was only one group that could be trusted to catch the killer and return the stolen artifact.
"Bo? Could you grab Kenzi and Lauren and meet Dyson, Tamsin and Hale down at the station? We have a murderer to catch."
XXX
Univille, South Dakota
XXX
"Myka," Pete Lattimer whispered, tiptoeing into his partner's room. He knew that she would kill him for waking her up this early, but Artie had called about a potential ping and they needed to get down to the warehouse as soon as possible. "Myka!"
A vaguely human-shaped lump stirred in response to his call. Sneaking stealthily up to the bedside, he tried to shake her awake. "Come on, Mykes, we have a job."
Pete sighed, and knowing that we would later regret it, raised his hand and smacked the bed with all of his might. Two things then happened. The lump squeaked in indignation and the door leading to the adjacent bathroom swung open with a loud bang. Myka bounded out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas and holding her toothbrush in one hand.
"Pete! What the hell are you doing in my room?" She crossed her arms, looking at him for an explanation.
"Wait, if you're there then who's this?" Pete looked extremely confused.
Myka's eyes widened and she stuttered, "No one. Why would anyone be there?" She made to push her partner out of her room but it was too late.
The pile of sheets and pillows moved and the head of H.G. Wells popped out, "Darling, is it time to get up already?" she yawned.
"WHOA!" Pete gasped, his brain finally putting the pieces together. "I did not see that one coming. Ah, sorry guys, I'll just…."
"Helena, I do believe that we have just rendered Pete Lattimer speechless," Myka chuckled, enjoying the embarrassed look on her partner's face.
"A rare sight indeed," H.G. agreed. "But what's this about a ping? Did Artie find an artifact?"
"Yeah, he said to meet him at the warehouse ASAP. All of us, including Claudia and Jinks. He seemed kind of worried, now that I think about it."
Myka frowned, "It's gotta be something big then. All right, give us fifteen minutes and we'll meet you in the car." And with a single gesture, she shooed Pete out of her room. The door slammed shut behind him.
"Bering and Wells are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" he sung under his breath, heading back to his own room to grab his Tesla gun and Farnsworth.
"I heard that!" Myka snapped.
XXX
Meanwhile, downstairs, Steve Jinks was making breakfast. Claudia had woken him up that morning by planting a tiny exploding bug in his alarm clock. Instead of waking up to some soothing nature sounds, his morning had literally started off with a bang. Claudia apologized and said that she would buy him a new clock, but judging by the huge grin on her face, she wasn't even sorry about destroying his old one.
"Breakfast is served!" He called, setting down the last of the dishes and waiting for the feeding frenzy to begin. As usual, Pete Lattimer was the first one to slide into the kitchen, grabbing a plate and piling it high with eggs and toast.
Claudia filed in behind him, speculating about what kind of artifact they'd be hunting and mentioning the need to take a trip to the nearest hardware store. Leena walked in from the garden, followed closely by Trailer the dog, who sat patiently by his food bowl, tail wagging expectantly.
"Here you go, Trai," Steve said, pouring a cup of dry kibble into the dish and rubbing the dog's ears. "Can't forget you, can I?"
"Where's Myka?" Claudia mentioned casually, "I only ask because usually she's here trying to steal the last piece of bacon, speaking of which…" she paused as if she expected her friend to come barreling down the stairs. Hearing nothing, she chuckled, swiping the last slice of bacon off the serving plate.
Pete snorted, downing his glass of orange juice in one gulp. "She's probably still trying to find her clothes. Did you know that her and H.G. were, you know, doin' it?"
"Well, yeah," Claudia responded dryly. "It was rather obvious. Wait, you didn't know?"
Pete's face fell, "Hold on, did everybody know that they were more than friends?" He was met with multiple nods of confirmation. Even Trailer barked in affirmation. "Really? Even the dog?"
"We all thought you knew," Steve placated, pouring himself a cup of coffee and settling down in his chair. "They've been together for a while now."
"Great, now I feel like an idiot," Pete grumbled. Steve patted him on the shoulder sympathetically, upending his mug and draining the last bit of his morning coffee.
"Who's an idiot?" Helena made her way down the staircase, walking hand-in-hand with Myka.
"Pete," everyone chorused.
Helena smiled, "Ah. Are we ready to go? The last thing I want this early in the morning is another lecture from Artie about the importance of being punctual."
"You got that right," Myka muttered, helping Steve start cleaning up the dishes, "Ready, Pete?"
Pete nodded and grabbed his jacket from the coatrack and throwing his car keys to his partner. "We'll see you guys there," he addressed Claudia and Steve from over his shoulder. They waved in return and went back to cleaning up the breakfast table.
"I wonder what artifact Artie's found this morning?" Myka mused as they backed out of the driveway.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good if he's calling for us this early in the morning," H.G. reasoned, stifling a yawn.
"Because usually the worst thing that can happen with an artifact will usually happen," Pete and Myka recited simultaneously.
XXX
Alberta, Canada
XXX
By the time the team landed at the airport and set their things up at a hotel, it was early afternoon and everyone was hungry. Steve had stayed back at the hotel to start coming up with potential artifacts. He'd be in constant contact with Leena and Artie back at the Warehouse while his friends went to find food.
"I'm starved, who wants to hit a restaurant?" Pete's stomach growled at the mention of food.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Claudia agreed, looking around at the various buildings, "How about the Dal Riata?" she pointed at a small sign that hung on the wall of the building. "It looks nice enough."
"I'm game, why don't you go inside, see if they're open, and check out their menu," Pete shoved the younger girl toward the front door of the bar.
"Wait, why aren't you going?"
"Because if I smell any kind of food I'm going to eat it, and I'd like to know what it is I'm going to be munching on."
Claudia huffed, "All right, I'll go. Wait here," She pushed open the door to the bar and walked inside. It looked like any other bar and restaurant, with pool tables lining one wall and booths the others. "Hello? Is anyone there?" The entire place seemed to be weirdly empty, and Claudia wondered if they were even open.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to ask for a menu when she felt something hard collide with her head. The last thing she saw before blacking out was a pair of black, heeled boots and a voice muttering in what sounded like Russian.
XXX
Claudia groaned, raising her hand to delicately press against the rapidly-swelling welt on her forehead. All she could think of to mutter was, "Ow…"
"Who the hell are you?" The mysterious girl growled, holding an old umbrella over Claudia's head. She looked to be no more than a few years older than the Warehouse's youngest agent. Startled, Claudia scuttled backwards, reaching for the mini-Tesla she always kept tucked in her waistband. Her hand groped nothing but thin air. "Looking for that?" the girl pointed to the weapon with the butt of her umbrella, "I didn't know what it was and I sure as hell wasn't about to touch it."
A back door suddenly burst open behind her, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. "Claud? Are you okay?" Pete, Myka and H.G. rushed through the door, guns raised.
The girl jumped back, swinging her umbrella wildly, "You brought friends? Motherfu-"
"Kenzi!" Myka whirled around and was thrown to the floor by a taller woman, whose eyes glowed a mysterious blue color. Try as she might, she couldn't get out from under the other woman. Pete faced a similar situation, his face pressed against the floor, straddled by a man who had a feral glint to his eyes. He snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal a set of sharp, serrated canines.
H.G. had her own Tesla pointed at the head of the woman who had tackled her girlfriend, ready to shoot should the woman so much as breathe wrong. Anyone who threatened her love was going to pay dearly. Triumphant that she had the upper hand, she neglected to notice a blonde woman stealthily sneaking up behind her. Cold metal pressed into her back and she berated herself for not being wary enough.
"If you would please take your sights off my girlfriend, it would be very much appreciated," the blonde asked evenly.
"Provided your girlfriend stops straddling mine, I'll consider the request," she retorted, holstering her Tesla all the same.
"Bo, do you think you could…" With a stiff nod, the woman stood up, her shocking blue eyes starting to fade to a warm, milky brown color.
Myka propped herself up on her elbows and dusting off her clothes, "Thanks. We just wanted to see if this place served lunch, not to start anything! It seems to me that we've all gotten off on the wrong foot."
"Yeah, explaining a kidnapping isn't usually a good conversation starter," Claudia said, her eyes still trained on Kenzi.
"I agree," the confident woman-Bo—added, "My name's Bo, the one with the umbrella is Kenzi, that's my friend Dyson, and that's my girlfriend Lauren," she explained, pointing to each person as she said their names. "Now, we've divulged, so it's your turn."
"I'm Myka Bering, Secret Service."
"I'm her partner, Pete Lattimer, also Secret Service."
"Helena Wells."
"Whoa, are we all just going to ignore that fact that this crazy chick over here knocked me out and tried to threaten me with an umbrella?" Claudia asked, completely dumbstruck by the easy-going attitude her friends were adopting.
Kenzi shrugged, handing Claudia her mini-Tesla back, umbrella still clutched in her hand. "You looked pretty damn suspicious, what was I supposed to think? Now, who are you?"
"Claudia Donovan."
Bo narrowed her eyes, "Back up a second. Secret Service? What are you guys doing here in Canada?"
"Classified business," Myka said slowly, glancing warily at her. "We're looking for whatever killed a young woman in her own home last night."
For the first time, Dyson spoke up, "So are we. What interest does the U.S. Secret Service have in this case?"
"Let's just say that the circumstances surrounding her death seemed more than a little strange, if you catch my drift," Pete replied. "It's kind of our job to investigate the strange."
"Well it seems that we're both looking at the same goal here," H.G. interjected, "What say everyone to working together on this case? I'd much rather that then fighting."
No one objected, and all of the tension flew out of the room, to be replaced by a delicate feeling of trust. "You all said that you're familiar with strange?" The question came from a short man who walked up behind Bo and placed a hand on her arm, "I think we should take them up on their offer, even if they're human. We haven't turned up any leads and maybe they can help us before another Fae is killed."
Bo's expression was wary, but she sighed loudly and nodded. "Would you guys mind helping us out?"
"Only if there's gonna be cookies in it for me," Pete stated seriously.
"Is he serious?"
"Unfortunately."
