Short 16 - Fun and Games

It was one of those days.

After so many pleas from Katherine over the years of her life, I decided she was old enough (and fast enough) to meet "Sir Harry the Magic Knight," whom I once introduced to her through a puppet show.

It was a good thing I made sure of the "fast enough" part. Because, well, we are talking about spending time with Harry Dresden, Chicago's Wizard for Hire.

I won't bore you with the early details. I'll start us off in media res, if you will, just to get to the juicy bits. It even starts off in predictable fashion.

The building was on fire.

Katherine and Molly Carpenter were right on my heels as we finally got to the side door of the aforementioned building, an abandoned old warehouse in one of Chicago's (many) rusted out industrial areas. I plowed into it at full speed. It was a jarring, even painful impact, but the door gave way nonetheless and allowed us out onto the old parking lot. You know the kind; old and unmaintained with cracks that had weeds and grass growing out of them.

We all stopped and turned, illuminated by the flames roaring from every window. I gripped my sonic disruptor and sonic screwdriver, on in each hand, and was ready when the attack came.

The creature that erupted from the flames licking at the door looked like a frog crossed with a Jem'Hadar with the size of a Krogan. Its shrill scream split the night air, burns showing on parts of its body. Pitch black eyes glared at us with malice.

The creature charged.

I had, as of late, installed a new setting in my sonic disruptor: Setting 42. And it was to Setting 42 that I turned in this case.

The purple tip of the device lit up. There was no immediate result. Rather, the result only showed when the creature got to within three feet. Purple energy formed in front of it and showed the deflector field that was Setting 42.

My arm ached as I held the disruptor up against the creature. It would back off, turn a little, and try to attack from a new angle, but I kept the field on it at each turn. Each blow sent force into my arm, courtesy of force transference. I wouldn't be able to keep this up all night.

I wouldn't have to.

Harry erupted from the growing flames of the door we'd come through, looking rather singed but still very impressive and dramatic, with his staff and blasting rod already out and at the ready. As if we hadn't had enough flames tonight, he contributed more by sending a blast of fire into the side of the frog-thing battering at my shield. It screeched and disintegrated into ectoplasm.

He walked up to us and I remarked, "Well, this is what, the fourth building we've been in that you've set on fire?"

"Third," Harry corrected. "This one is on you. So much for 'my sonics don't work on wood'."

"Normally they don't and my thermal pulse wouldn't have even gotten a spark, but when some bloody careless wizard is flinging around wind and force spells like a mindless brute and ends up spilling kerosene everywhere, that's different."

"So you wanted me to let those frog demons eat your smug Time Lord face off, then?"

"No, what I wanted was a little care, if I wanted to see someone just blasting things around I'd have brought Korra or..."

As I finished, I overheard Katherine remark, "Are they always like this?"

I could frankly hear the grin when Molly replied, "Oh yeah. It's fun." And yes, I know you don't hear grins, but I could, just in the way she said it.

"I just saved your ass, Doc, and..."

There was shattering glass from the second floor, in one area of the building that hadn't caught complete fire yet. Several shapes jumped down, hissing and screeching.

"...and apparently we missed some," I finished for Harry. "Okay everyone, gather around." I pulled out my TARDIS remote. "It's time we go and..."

A slimy thing of dark red slipped out of one of the things' tongues and wrapped around my wrist. It pulled on me immediately, dragging me to the ground and yanking my TARDIS remote from my grasp. It disappeared down the disgusting thing's razor-toothed maw.

"What did you think I meant when I said 'frog demon'?" Harry pointed out as I tried to get to my feet. He nodded at Molly. Without a word, Molly grabbed Katherine's wrist and the two disappeared from sight behind a veil.

"That took me hours of careful work!", I protested. As I did so it shrieked again and made a leap.

I leaned back, still on my knees, and brought up the sonic disruptor again, keeping it in a swinging motion. "Harry, up high!", I shouted while triggering Setting 42. The creature landed on the force shield and was thrown off over my head by the motion I'd kept it in.

Harry threw a punch at it. Not a direct punch - that would probably have broken his hand (not every part of him is as hard as his skull) - but the motion of one. Kinetic energy surged from one or more of the rings on his hand and slammed into the airborne frog demon. It cried out in pain and anger as it flew beside me and slammed into an old metal container in the lot. The light from the flames was enough for me to see it explode into a mess of ectoplasm.

I scrambled to my feet in time to meet the next one. I switched to Setting 4 and blasted another one that was jumping at Harry's right side.

For those of you who love this kind of "badarse" thing, we ended up back to back. With Setting 42 I was protecting Harry from the rear while he was blasting the things left and right. At this point, "Fuego" was going to become a permanent ring in my ears, or so it felt.

And don't even get me started on the bloody smell.

When the last one went down we stood away from each other, taking in the carnage. "Well, so much for being quiet," I muttered. "And I suspect we scared off the summoner."

"Yeah."

And, certainly enough, we heard the squeal of tires in the distance. We turned to see a pair of rear red lights, looking like they were from a van or a truck, peel out of the parking lot and to the adjoining side road. "And there they go!" Harry took off running. "Let's get to the Beetle Doc!"

"But my TARDIS remote...!" I ran the opposite direction, going for the metal container where the beast that had swallowed my remote had met its end. The ectoplasm was already drying up, but the fires of the burning building were not a strong light to look either. I scrambled for the sonic and began to scan for it. I couldn't find a trace, however, and a terrible suspicion filled my head. Whomever was in the van must have grabbed it.

Just my luck. Or rather, my luck when hanging around Dresden.

The squeal of tires and the coughing sputtering of an old gasoline engine made me turn my head. Harry pulled up in the Blue Beetle. "We'll find it later, get in!"

I obliged, squeezing myself into the passenger seat of the abysmally small Volkswagen Bug. Katherine was already cooped up in the back seat with Molly. "Hey Doctor, I..."

Before Molly could finish, Harry hit the gas and made the engine roar its little heart out. We moved toward the end of the road. The tracking spell compass he'd used to find the building we'd just burnt down was still active and pointing north along the side road. The Beetle sounded like it might cough its last any moment, but somehow the ancient car kept going. "We could use Murphy's motorcycle right now," I muttered. "Or Thomas' Hummer."

"The Beetle is steady, we'll make it," Harry countered. Tires squealed as we swerved off one side road and to another, leading to one of the major through-fares of the old industrial park. In the distance I could make out two pinpricks of red light. Harry's foot pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. The Beetle's engine protested but kept going.

Not exactly the most glamorous car chase I've ever seen, or been in.

"I think they snatched my TARDIS remote," i said.

"Yeah? All the more reason to catch them."

"Doctor..." Katherine began.

She was interrupted by a clanging on the hood. A small, sprightly little demon landed on it, hissing at us. "Oh hell," Harry muttered.

"Appropriate choice of words, Harry," I pointed out, struggling to get the sonic disruptor out. I got it out and pointed it out the window as the little thing dug its claws into the hood of the Beetle, beginning to peel the metal away. I used a setting 4 blast to knock it off the hood. It screeched and hit the ground in front of us. Ectoplasm showered upward as we ran the thing over.

By this point we'd caught up to the vehicle in question, definitely a van. It had some painting on it, but the street lights were too few and far between to really see what the shapes were. The van swerved onto the main road and Harry swung hard to follow it, jostling all of us in the process.

Out on the main road, traffic was regular. We weaved around lanes pursuing the van. Harry's driving left much to be desired, in my view.

Ahead of his the van raced through an intersection with a red light. I took out the sonic and used it on the lights, switching them to green and the others to red. Tires squealed and people yelled as we raced through the intersection.

That was thrilling enough, but what came next was even worse. Desperate to evade us, the van started moving across the middle of the road into oncoming traffic. Harry glowered and tried to avoid doing the same, but as the van moved ahead of us he started to do the same.

"Can't we just track them like before?", Katherine asked.

"The tracking spell's connection loses focus," Harry explained, "and if they know what they're doing, they'll go take a shower and use the water to beat the tracking spell."

"You can do that?"

"Running water degrades magic and connections drawn from magic," Molly said to her.

Harry kept his eyes on the road, at least, but that was no comfort as he slipped back into oncoming traffic right behind the van we were pursuing. As he pushed ahead, barely, over the traffic actually going the right away, bright headlights shone ahead of us.

The headlights of an eighteen wheeler.

"Harry, truck," I pointed out.

"I see it."

And yet he didn't get back over, instead trying to force the Beetle to pass the car beside us. The van ahead swerved back into the proper side.

We didn't.

"Harry, truck!"

"I see it, Doc!"

"Dresden!"

I was certain we'd hit the thing, but at the last moment Harry swerved us back on the right side of the road, barely fitting the Beetle in between two other vehicles. The truck's horn blared angrily as it passed us by.

I forced myself to draw in a breath. "How about I drive before you get us all killed?"

"Oh, stop your belly-aching."

I would have said more, but there was another light coming, so I made sure to switch it to green in time for us to go through. After we went through the van veered off on another road, heading toward what looked to be a row of old commercial and warehouse structures. As we pursued I could hear the distant rumbling of a train.

Naturally, there were tracks ahead of us. And the stop was flashing red and the arms coming down to hold back traffic. Whomever was in the van didn't care and sped through them, snapping the arm off in the process. Harry... well, I'd say he put his pedal to the floor, but it was already there.

"Harry, you're not going to beat a..."

"Yes I am!"

"That's a bloody train, Dresden!"

"I know!

Despite my concern, he plowed on ahead, the train's warning whistle drowning out my words as we rushed up over the rails. I looked toward Harry and the lights of the locomotive beyond. They were blinding. Behind us Molly and Katherine actually let out surprised yelps at how close this was.

The Beetle got through with a second to spare.

This time it took me about ten seconds to regain my breath. "Harry, you are bloody insane!"

"It's one of my endearing qualities," he retorted.

"And you're bloody well enjoying this too!", I accused.

"It's what I live for, Doc."

I drew in another breath, knowing I'd never win the discussion.

The van kept up the chase, weaving in and out of parking lots, and finally seemed to have settled on a destination; a worn down old warehouse much like the one we'd just burnt down. We pulled up alongside as dark-robed figures jumped out of the vehicle. "Doctor, I..."

"Molly, put a veil on and get the chalk dust," Harry ordered, ignoring that she had started speaking. "Kat can help you."

"A circle?"

"Yeah. Follow along and get one laid down around them. We don't need them summoning more nasties." Harry looked over at me as I unfolded from where I'd been scrunched into the Beetle. The tension of the chase had made the sensation of stiffness worse, I must say. "Coming?"

"Just so long as you don't set this one on fire," I grumbled.

"Bite me."

We entered the building, a one story structure this time, and after passing some empty rooms that had once been building offices were in the open warehouse area of the building. The dark-robed figures turned out to be dark-jacketed figures, dressed up like people who thought Goth garb was too subdued. They looked toward us, most looking fearful and not very enthused.

But one had the look about him that said he was going over the bend. His eyes glared with hate, the kind of deep swelling hate you find from someone who finds life isn't giving him what he wants.

Harry let out something between a sigh and a groan. "You? Here I was worried about a dark sorcerer running around Chicago and it's just you?"

"And he is...?" I let the question hang.

"I warned you to stop interfering with my dark designs!", the young man declared pretentiously.

Something in my head clicked. I realized who this little would-be sorcerer was.

"Hey, Darth Wannabe, a smoke bomb is one thing, but this?!" Harry stuck a finger in his face. "You don't play with demons, kid, you're just screwing yourself over."

"People like you always say that. You always try to keep us under your boots," the young man - "Darth Wannabe" as Harry called him - hissed. "But I've seen true power now. I know I was destined to wield this dark power! I won't stop for the likes of you."

"I'm sure you think you're rather impressive young man, but these are forces beyond your ken."

"No! I've controlled them! I can do it again! Behold, I'll summon one..."

Harry closed the distance in one stride and decked the fool.

The rest of his "coven" looked on in shock as Darth Wannabe fell over. He didn't move after hitting the ground.

"They always talk too much," Harry said. He eyed the others. "I'm going to tell you straight, kids. This kind of thing can get your heads chopped off. The White Council of Wizards is always on the lookout for people who break the Laws of Magic, and binding creatures, even demons, falls under that. Do yourselves a favor and show me how your fearless, brainless leader managed to bring those things into the world."

There was silence from the assembled for several seconds. Harry's look turned into a glare. One of them, who by looking a little singed revealed herself as having been present at the last building, finally looked up and went over to a table. She brought a leather-bound book over. "Just... just don't hurt us," she pleaded.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone, I'm trying to keep you from hurting yourselves," Harry explained. "This kind of stuff is beyond dangerous. It's like juggling with nitroglycerine. Demons don't take orders very well and will use the first opening they get to turn on you." He looked over the book. Behind the kids Molly and Katherine became visible, the chalk dust circle laid carefully around the room. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, uh... some bookstore in Milwaukee," the girl answered.

"A name?"

I brought out my sonic and let Harry finish his interrogation as I scanned for my remote. Much to my frustration, I was getting no sign of it. "Now, one of you lot has a locket of mine, and I'm going to be very cross if you don't return it," I declared.

They all looked at one another in confusion.

"Doctor," Katherine said. "I should..."

"Not now." I sighed and looked at the girl who'd given Harry the book. "Which one of you went up to that metal container and fished my locket out from the ectoplasm, hrm? It's very important."

The girl stared at me in fright. "Uh... we didn't... we watched the fight and.. and ran..."

I could hear truth in her voice. Which meant I had no bloody idea where...

My TARDIS remote dangled in front of my eyes.

There was a slight grin on Molly's face as she held it up. "As we've been trying to tell you, Doctor, we picked it up during the fight."

I blinked. "Oh. Well... thank you Molly, Katherine. Excellent thinking there." I coughed and took the locket to return it to my pocket.

After making all the necessary arrangements for Darth Wannabe and his rather strained coven, the four of us stood outside and looked up into the night sky. "Well, that was the usual fun and games, wasn't it?", I remarked.

"Good times, Doc, good times," Harry agreed. "So, anyone hungry?"

"Depends. Were the Carpenters cooking tonight?"

"Afraid not. But my favorite BK is on the way back to the apartment."

I frowned. "Burger King, Harry? Really?"

"Like I've been telling you, don't diss the King."

Katherine looked at us in confusion. "'Burger King'?"

"They don't have Burger Kings where you're from, Kat?", Harry asked. "Well, hop on in, your Whopper is on me."

I shook my head, stifling some chuckles even as I, as always, muttered, "You're still a gastrointestinal menace, Harry Dresden."

"No Whopper for you, Doc," Harry retorted. "Not for someone who insults the King."

I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh. That's all I really could do, wasn't it?

All in all... a typical outing. Well, mostly typical.

After all, we didn't burn down the second building.