A week after Alex and John had battled it out, John was busy at work. His normal duties at the Agency of Magical Protection were simple enough. He spent the first few hours running over reports and casting protective magic that had been requested in triplicate. After the nightly rituals were done, John usually went out and about around New York. His favorite place was Time's Square, where he would sit on top of the large sign, cloaked, and watch the people below him.
Tonight though would be anything but normal. As John sat, eating his bagged lunch, one of his fellow agents gave his cell phone a ring. John, having a mouthful of food answered his phone and almost dropped it as he heard the news on the other end. Picking up what was left of his lunch; John quickly pulled his wand out and disappeared.
John reappeared in a dark alley where several wizard cops and rescue workers were walking around. John showed his credentials and went into the crime scene to see 3 wizards sliced from their groin to their neck. A wizard cop to his right began throwing up as John kneeled down to inspect the bodies. John made notes of the wounds and such and stood up. He grabbed his cell phone and autodialed a number. After the other end picked up, John said he had inspected everything and the reports would be made by the first responder. After listening for a moment, John nodded and hung up his phone as he turned around and walked out of the gruesome scene.
As John returned to the office, he was hurriedly wisked away to one of the conference rooms where the senior agents of the night shift were all waiting. As he went in, John nodded to his fellow agents and sat down to listen. An old bearded man stood up, "Hello everyone. This is a priority and even supersedes the Magi conflict as far as this agency is concerned." said the old man as he put a picture of the 3 wizards up behind him.
"These 3 wizards were part of a monster extermination squad. We have no idea what killed them, but whatever it was, it could take down 3 experienced monster hunters. John examined the scene so he will fill you in on the details. John." said the old man as he sat down and waited for John.
John stood up and walked to the front, "Hello everyone. The scene...well the scene was a mess. The killer used a large claw and simply split the wizards almost in 2. As you might not notice from this perspective, each wizard is missing their liver, kidneys, and heart. The claw mark seemed to stop when the killer got to these organs, and then pick up again. This leads me to believe we are dealing with a reaver." said John to let the information sink in.
The entire room when white as the realization of a reaver on the loose sunk in.
"John, are you sure? The spells for conjuring such a monster were all destroyed. Who could be that dark and evil?" asked the old man.
"I am sure director. I do not know what evil conjured it up, but whoever it was, they are needing wizard parts and that in and of itself is very bad." said John.
The director looked around the table at everyone. He couldn't believe they were dealing with a reaver. There had not been a reaver conjured up in over 200 years. "Well we can't simply ignore our other obligations. Howard, you will lead up the hunt for the reaver, so select 3 others to help you. You are all dismissed, save for John." said the director as everyone else filed out of the room.
Motioning for John to come closer, "John, I want you on this. You have a knack for doing things your own way, that technically isn't by the book, so I don't want to know how you do it, just find that reaver and his master." said the director. "Now, go, the council will have a fit." the director commented as he picked up his wand and started dialing the wizard council.
As the sun came up, John left work for home. He had a lot on his mind as he helped Theresa send everyone else off to school. John went to bed and slept for a little bit, until Jerry woke him up to help with the lunch crowd. As the afternoon wore on, John was behind the counter cleaning up as Juliet strolled into the sub shop. Looking up, "Hey Juliet. What are you doing here?" asked John.
Sitting down at the counter, "You called me. Sorry I was asleep, but I got your message, what do you need?" asked Juliet.
As John was about to tell Juliet, the door flew open and Justin, Max, Alex, and Harper came into the sub shop. Alex and Harper grabbed their sandwiches and headed straight upstairs as Justin gave Juliet a kiss before he grabbed his. Max looked at John and asked what was on his sandwich.
John just smiled at Max, "Exactly what you wanted." John said.
Max took a bite of the sandwich and smiled, "That is exactly what I wanted" Max said as he headed upstairs to start his homework.
As Juliet, Justin, and John sat at the counter, Juliet was using her eyes to motion a sorry about Justin. Justin sat down and talked with Juliet and John for a while before he too went upstairs to start his homework. Juliet turned to John and asked what he wanted again.
John grabbed Juliet's arm and drug her into the kitchen. After double checking to make sure no one was listening, "I need your help. There is a reaver loose in New York and I need to find out who is behind it." whispered John.
"A reaver? What do I have to do with a reaver?" asked Juliet.
"Keep your voice down. I know a place that I could get some information, but if I go alone, well feelings will get hurt." whispered John as he looked out the large window into the dining area.
Thinking for a moment, "When and Where?" asked Juliet.
"I will meet you at the late nite bite, and we will go tomorrow night. I need to do some reading up on reavers and some other things before I hit the trail." said John.
"Sounds like a date." Juliet said as she opened the kitchen door and passed Alex standing on the other side. As Juliet left, Alex stared at John making him feel like a little boy, "You can't go out with Juliet, that's Justin's girlfriend, though I don't know why, but still." said Alex with crossed arms.
Shaking his head and giving a sigh, "I am not going out with Juliet, she is just helping me with something." remarked John cocking his brow trying to give as good as Alex as dishing out.
"Really, and this reaver thing would be some sort of vampire dating thing." said Alex.
Grabbing Alex by the arm and dragging her to the lair, John looked around to see that the coast was clear, "Dang it Alex. Do not say that word or even think about it. If you do, it can home in on your location." said John pleadingly.
"Fine, fine, I won't, but what is a reav...I mean thing." asked Alex.
"In short it's a wizard killer. It's a conjured monster that is used to kill, drain, and harvest organs from wizards. They are almost invulnerable to most battle magic, so promise me, you will listen to me for once. All Juliet is doing, is helping me get access to some people that may know something. Please Alex, I am begging you, I can't watch you and hunt this thing at the same time." John said grabbing Alex by the arms.
Alex was taken aback by John's display. She could sense the fear emanating from him, but she soon realized it wasn't for himself, but for her. Thinking it over a few more seconds, Alex placed her hand on John's and slowly got him to relinquish his grip on her, "John, seriously, I will do what you ask." Alex said as she looked into his eyes and saw the wave of relief wash over him.
"Thank you Alex. If something ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do." John said as he walked out of the lair leaving Alex alone.