Red watched Abe looking at the car as it left. He could only imagine what Abe must have been feeling at that moment. He had also noticed the way Louise seemed to be avoiding Abe. Red had never been comfortable around physics, well except for Abe, and was familiar with the discomfort of the knowledge that they prodded your mind. Going through your private thoughts, like when he first realised he loved Liz. He wanted to keep that to himself and that was nearly impossible around physics. The fact that Louise had also been abused though that exact gift, gave her all the more reason to be uncomfortable around it. That said Red felt deeply for his friend. It was difficult for most people to interpret Abe's facial expressions, but after over thirty years of friendship Red could read him better than anyone. The pain Abe had felt, when she rejected his hand, might as well have been screamed as far as Red was concerned. Louise was a good kid, but if she couldn't see or accept how much Abe cared for her, she was one of the stupidest people on earth. In order to comfort Abe he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on Blue, let's go inside and wait for some action. I hope they have brought donuts." Red said in a cheery voice and Abe just nodded walking into the van. They took turns on sitting with the headphones listening to the conversations of both Louise and Johan. Those not listening were playing cards and drinking coffee. Abe had decided to sit down and go over the file related to Darren. An hour pasted with nothing of interest happening, until Meyers started talking much to Hellboy's dismay.
"She seems sweet... Louise I mean." Meyers started.
"Ya think?" Red grunted absentmindedly.
"And she is pretty as well. Did you see that dress on her?" One of the agents interjected followed by a suggestive whistle. Red looked discretely over at Abe who momentarily shifted uncomfortably.
"So you have come to know her very well, haven't you Red?" Meyers continued.
"Well she has been living in my house." He stated in a slightly annoyed voice trying to focus on his cards.
"Do you think she might like me?" Meyers asked a little shyly.
"Like you?" Red asked with disbelief and looked over at Abe, who almost dropped the folder.
"Yes, I mean enough to go out for a movie or something. After this much time in hiding she might need it and she would have protection at the same time." Meyers suggested hopefully.
"Want my advice? Forget it son." Red grumbled, truly feeling for Abe at this moment as he remembered, when he followed Meyers and Liz.
"Yeah, you don't have a chance with someone like her. You saw what she looked like. High class, possibly a gold-digger. Probably how she got into this mess in the first place." The other agent stated earning a scowl from Red and Abe.
"You are wrong, she is not like that. Come on guys. Abe, what do you think? Think I got a chance with her?" Meyers asked turning around to look at Abe. Before Abe could come up with any responds, the agent with the headphones looked at them.
"Guys, listen to this." The agent said with a smirk on his face and the others began to listen intently.
"You are a very special girl, not to mention beautiful." The male voice whispered almost lovingly.
"Well, thank you. I was hoping on attracting a young handsome man." She whispered flirtatiously.
"And have you found such a man?" The male voice suggestively.
"Definitely... So now the question is, if he is going to take a chance and seduce me." She cooed.
The two agents started chuckling and looked at Meyers whose eyes were widened. Red looked at Abe, who's expression turned unreadable, but he was no doubt hurt.
"Are you offering yourself to me?" He whispered huskily.
"No... I'm daring you to succeed." She replied flirtatiously.
The chuckling turned into a laugh as Meyers threw his cards on the table with an expression of regret and disbelief, though not seriously hurt.
"That calculating little minx." The agent with the headphones laughed.
"Told you, she was a gold digger." The other agent stated calmly with a self satisfied smirk on his face.
Abe stood up and went out of the van. Red considered going after him, but what would he say? "Are you alright?" just seemed stupid. How could he be? Red was angry on Abe's behalf and he decided to have a serious talk with Louise later. Going around playing with peoples feeling like that. Then the conversation changed.
"Let's go somewhere private." He said in a husky voice.
"Oh, this is going to be good." The agent with the headphones said with an almost lustful smirk on his face.
"You have no idea about how special you are. So pretty. I wonder if you taste as good as you look." He whispered.
The two agents started laughing, but Meyers looked concerned and stared at Hellboy.
"This doesn't make any sense. She knows we are listening, she wouldn't do something like this." Meyers said concerned and Red looked up at him almost mirroring his expression.
"Maybe she is kinky?" The other agent suggested.
"No... something 's not right." Red said standing up, putting down his cards and listened intently.
"Who?" She whimpered in a gasp.
"We are the KaliHaSam." The male voice answered in a slightly aggressive tone, before continuing. "Naughty naughty girl."
"Okay that's it." Red said and jumped out of the van with Meyers right behind him. He walked straight for Abe, who was standing leaning against a tree looking depressed. His look turned to confusion, when Red and Meyers approached.
"Blue, what do you know of something called Ka... Ka... Damn it! Meyers?" Red looked at Meyers hoping he remembered the name.
"It was Kali something or other. Any Idea what it means?" Meyers asked Abe.
"Kali is the Hindu God of death." Abe stated.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Hey guys, we are moving in!" Red yelled passing the van as he started running with Abe and Meyers right behind him.
Red ordered them to spread out and run around the house. Abe and one of the agents one way, Red and Meyers another, while the last agent was to go inside to find Johan. Running around the building towards the garden, Red saw three men having Louise planted up against the wall, while she fought with tooth and nail.
"Let me go you bloody bastards!" She hissed.
"Now, honey... don't be like that." The blonde man stated in a deadly voice.
"The lady said to let her go or do you have trouble hearing?" Red stated walking slowly closer. While the blonde man looked at Red, Louise took the opportunity to knee him between his legs and as he bend over in pain she gave him a fist in his face, knocking him unto the ground. The sedative had stopped working a few minutes ago. She grabbed her gun on the floor and directed it at them as did Meyers and Red with their guns. The two remaining men started laughing as they got covered in a crystal like material. They started shooting at them, but the bullets just deflected of them.
"Oh, crap... Meyers, keep the squirt safe." Red grumbled as the two men came running towards him, with spears they had formed from the crystals. Louise ran towards Meyers and they both starred with disbelief. Meyers kept firing, they might not take damage, but at least it kept them confused. This was difficult without hitting Hellboy, so Louise didn't dare shoot. Red was fighting both the crystal covered men, deflecting their attacks with his fist. They were nimble and incredibly fast. It was almost impossibly for Red to get an opportunity to hit them. While deflecting the attack from one of them, the other stabbed aiming for his head. Red only dodged in the last second, getting a nasty grace on his cheek.
"Now you pissed me off!" Red growled grabbing the spear with his small hand and punching him in the head with his large fist. The crystal shattered and the man was hit by Meyers' bullets killing him. Fear struck the face of the other man at the sight of his fallen comrade. Red gave a deadly smirk.
"Now we got ya, you filthy little bastard!" Red said before punching out after the remaining man. While Meyers was shooting and Red punching, Louise grabbed Meyers' handcuffs from his belt and went to the one she had knocked down still whimpering on the ground. She knew if he was to rise again they were in trouble. He tried to grab hold of her ankles when she approached, but she managed to step on his hand with her high heels and he screamed in agony. She managed to handcuff him and looked up to see Abe, Johan and two agents running towards them. The increased firepower confused the crystallized man and Red hit him in the chest so hard that not only did his armour shatter, but he flew several meters backwards. He was dead by gunshot wounds before he hit the ground. Red straightened his back and smiled at Louise.
"Talk about good timing." She smiled back.
"One of my many specialties." Red smirked.
"What happened?" Abe asked concerned as he ran over to Louise, who was sitting on the top of the man she had handcuffed.
"Well, this gentleman here thought it would be nice to get to know me a little better. I had intended to question him, but the bastard drugged me and brought friends." She cringed her teeth in anger.
"Why did you want to question him?" Johan asked.
Her answer was to pull up the man's sleeve revealing the red Omkara tattoo on his wrist. Realising this Johan and the two other agents started to see if the other men had similar tattoos. Abe tried very hard to conceal the relief he felt, both that Louise was safe, but also that the jealousy he had felt had been completely unfounded.
"What do you say we get this guy to talk?" Red asked. Louise moved aside and both Meyers and Abe offered to help her up, but she refused saying she was quite capable of managing on her own. Hurt Abe stepped away. Red took the man by his throat and lifted him up against the wall.
"So this can go two ways. One, we settle this nice and peacefully by you telling me what you know about this Kali-thing you are a part of. Two, I beat you until you remember." Red said in a deadly voice while cringing his stone fist, which made a crunching sound. The man's eyes widened in fear.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know, just don't kill me."
"I'm listening." Red said still holding him off the ground.
"The cult I am a member of is called the KaliHaSam cult. It is the merging of the names Kali, Hades and Samhain."
"The Gods of death from the Hindu, Greek and Celtic mythology." Abe stated.
"Yes... We have been making sacrifices to them, combining the knowledge and rituals related to them into one religion."
"What do you know of Darren Connor?" Louise asked standing next to Hellboy.
"Only that he is the leader. He says that he is going to reshape the world, that us who follow him will be given immortality and eternal glory."
"What about the murdered women?" Meyers asked.
"I'm not sure. I know he needs their blood for some kind of ritual."
"You said I was special, why?" Louise starred at him with a stern expression.
"I know that you are the one they call The Serpent Charmer and they say you are the key to eternal life. I don't know anything else." The man looked at Hellboy with fear in his eyes.
"Wrong answer." Hellboy stated raising his fist.
"No, no, please don't. There is a nightclub called Nirvana. The owner is a member of the cult as well, something is going to happen there Saturday next week. What I don't know, but it is going to be big."
"How did you know who I was?" Louise asked.
"Connor figured you might show up here tonight, so he showed me your picture. Please let me go." He begged.
"On more thing, this Omkana-karna symbol what is that all about?" Red asked. Unfortunately the man didn't get a change to answer as a talon dripping with poison cut his throat. They heard a shriek and all looked towards it seeing a woman with black batwings, talons and pointed teeth. The talon that she had thrown regenerated as they looked at her. She gave a cruel smirk and the agents started shooting at her, but unfortunately she escaped laughing in a high pitched voice.
"Harpy?" Louise asked looking at Abe.
"A Erinyes. Greek Mythology, a creature of vengeance." Abe looked back at Louise who huffed irritably;
"Wonderful."
Just then Peter Brennan and some of his security guards came. They looked around on the dead bodies of the guests and fury rather than compassion showed ob Brennan's face.
"Oh my God what have you done?!" He growled in horror.
"Pest control..." Red shrugged calmly.
"These were my guests! Where did these beasts even come from?" Brennan spat as he pointed at Red and Abe. Red was cringing his fists and Louise went towards Brennan matching his fury.
"Your guests were trying to rape me! Not to mention that they have been dabbling in blood rituals and members of a forbidden cult. And talking of beasts you are a fine one to talk! I saw the way you had those poor creatures locked up like they were made for your personal amusement!" She growled at him, making him take a step backwards. Red chuckled under his breath. When angry Louise was more terrifying than he was. Abe looked at her trying not to make a pained expression. The word he had reacted to was "rape" and he felt ashamed of himself. He should have known. While she was trying to get information and nearly being assaulted he had given into jealousy and self pity. He knew she wasn't the sort of person to do a thing like going off with strange men, but his feelings for her combined with her earlier rejection of him, left his judgement clouded.
"And why not? They have educational value and why should they not be appreciated by the public?" Brennan defended himself while crossing his arms.
"Appreciated?! They are your prisoners!" Louise growled with a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"Why do you care? They are just..." Brennan didn't get a chance to finish.
"They are people! And I care because I want to be the best humanity has to offer! Is it any wonder they hate and fear us, when people like you, who study them, are not able to see them as equals?" Louise stated angrily.
"Johan, is this another one of your freaks? Keep her in line will you?" Brennan said to Johan.
"No, unfortunately I am a completely common human being, who every time I awake in the morning and look myself in the mirror, is reminded that I am somehow related to people like you! Thank you for your hospitality!" She spat sarcastically only just holding back tears of rage as she turned around and walked away.
"John, will you take me home please?" Louise said more calmly. Meyers nodded and followed her to the car.
Brennan looked complete stunned and horrified as she walked away. Johan walked up to Brennan.
"She is not wrong you know. You have done much for us, but you still only see part of the truth." Johan explained calmly and Brennan clearly respected him highly as he seemed to consider his words.
"I might have reacted rashly... seeing three of my guests dead in such a fashion... it was not how I had pictured this evening to turn out. Were the really trying to rape her?" Brennan asked concern now being present in his voice.
"Yeah. You really know how to pick your company, don't ya?" Red remarked his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Not to mention intending to use her in an occult blood ritual." Abe stated angrily.
"Then I owe both of you and apology. Both for my remark and accusation. If there is anything I can do..." Brennan apologized.
"You have done quite enough, thank you." Abe remarked bitterly and walked away followed by Red.
- OOO -
Back at the house Louise had arrived twenty minutes earlier and had told Liz very thing that happened.
"Are all people who meet them that disgusting?" Louise asked.
"Some... most are just scared. People fear what they can't understand and they think that because you look in a certain way that means that nothing in is humane." Liz explained in a sad voice.
"Humane? We really should find another word for that, because the more I see I think that humans are anything, but that." Louise grumbled, she then looked at Liz who had an incredibly sad expression on her face.
"Have no one ever treated you kindly?" Louise continued.
"Most of the agents at the bureau did and the Professor of course. You remind me of him sometimes."
"What old and scruffy? Sorry... poor attempt to deflect the embarrassment with humour. How do I remind you of him?" Louise explained shyly.
"You are very kind, look at the person underneath and sometimes you even appreciate the unusual surface." Liz smiled kindly.
"Well, one down, the rest of the world to go." Louise remarked sadly. How do you make people look beyond everything they have been taught to believe? How do make them want to change?