"V for Vengeance"
Chapter 12
As I drove home I kept mulling things over in my head. I had a problem, well three to be exact. Each was another group that possibly wanted to kill me. One tried to kill me twice now. None of the three would mind seeing it happen and would likely have paid for the privilege of watching if not getting a few good shots in on me before I expired. I took extreme exception to the thought of letting that happen.
One tried to kill me twice now I'd and already and put a good dent in their numbers. Honestly, it was the third group, Marva and her entourage that worried me. The last time I'm mixed it up with her I almost lost my hand and I still had the scars from that encounter. The up-side is that I had learned to play the guitar, much to the protest of my neighbors and close friends during the early learning stages. I still wasn't up to playing Cliffs of Dover (see Eric Johnson) but could manage a mean Stairway to Heaven, some Santana and a few Eagles tunes.
I wasn't sure how I'd track Marva or Meagan. I needed something reliable to give me real time updates, something I didn't need to concentrate on to keep me up to date with their movements and activities so I did the only thing a wizard could do. I called Pizza 'Spress.
I could feel their presence as soon as the smell of the five large pizzas filled the back yard of my apartment. I didn't draw a circle. I didn't even put power into my words.
"I require the presence of General Toot toot." Was all that I had to say.
With a rush of air and a small explosion of light the nimbus of the now foot and a half tall fae streaked down from the air about ten feet above me and stopped about a foot away from my face.
"General Toot toot reporting as requested by the honorable Za-Lord!" He intoned dramatically with a smart salute. I returned the salute with a grave look on my face.
"General Toot toot, at ease." I said as he relaxed visibly.
"Hi ya Harry, I was close by when you called." He said looking sidelong at the pizza, the aroma seeming to swirl almost visibly around his face.
"I see. I have a proposition for you and your men." I said looking meaningfully at the pizzas. "This is only half the payment, the other half will be delivered when the service I seek is completed."
"The Za-Lord's guard is at your service!" He said now looking fully at the array of Italian masterpieces.
"There are three groups of vampires in Chicago that I'm interested in, two Red Court and one Black Court. I need you to keep an eye on them and let me know what they are doing. Specifically one group is holding this young lady hostage." I stuck the photo of Megan I had gotten from Murphy on the wall above the pizzas.
"I need to know if they try to move her or if the other groups of vampires head to where they are holding her."
"You don't want us to eliminate them for you sir?" Toot said with mixed insult and relief in his voice.
"No, there's no sense in putting yourself or your people at risk. In fact I'm ordering you to not do just that. Keep a safe distance from them and don't let them see you or get close enough to capture any of you. Just watch and listen, if they notice you, leave. Simply keep watch and report any movements or information you hear about the girl or the vampires plans to me, is that understood?" I said looking around the back yard. Many fairies were now visible, some just pin points of light, others anywhere from an inch to four inches tall.
"Understood Sir!" Toot said, turning to face the growing multitudes of fairies in my back yard. "This is going to be dangerous work. I won't order any of you to do this. However for those of you that has the courage to take up this task, step forward and claim your pizza!" He said as if giving the speech from Brave Heart. The back yard erupted in a shrill roar of combined tiny cheers as toot held up a large slice of pizza while the rest disappeared in a blur of light and flying sauce.
"Harry, can we talk, in private?" Toot said sheepishly in my ear.
His question was simple enough but it sort of put me off balance. Had I asked too much of the little folk? I know pizza goes a long way and what I asked was supposed to be simply information gathering, but these were red and black court vampires we were talking about.
I led Toot inside and closed the doors as the gorged fairies lazed in the back yard with their stomachs extended. With the door closed we went into my living room. I sat in one of the high backed chairs and Toot landed on the coffee table.
"What's on your mind General Toot toot?" I asked in a formal voice.
"You can just call me Toot when the troops aren't around Harry." Toot said. His face still too serious for a wylde fae. It just didn't look right on his normally carefree face. The tuft of yellow hair was now pulled back into a long pony tail that trailed down his back. He wore a light green tunic under the dark brown plastic that must have once been a peroxide bottle at one point in its existence, now worn as a breastplate and the two crossed envelope openers over his back. His green nimbus took on a pinkish color as he faced me.
"What's on your mind Toot?" I asked sitting on the couch while he hovered just over the coffee table.
"Well Harry, I know you wouldn't ask about all those vampires if you didn't think you'd have to fight them." He said looking at his feet while silver and golden shimmers fell from his beating wings.
"Yeah it may come to that Toot. But I need your information so that I know what they are up to and maybe avoid a fight or just pick a small one if possible." I said.
"Harry, as the General of the Za-Lords Guard, I need to protect you. So we want in on this fight Harry." He said looking at me bravely, his little hands on his hips and his nimbus glowing brighter.
"Look, Toot…" I started and the little fairy cut me off.
"Harry, we have to. If you died, we'd have, you know, failed as your guard and… We'll be laughing stocks not to mention the pizza would stop…" He said making his case plain.
"Look Toot, nobody should take you and the Za-Lord's Guard lightly. Who was it that killed the rogue Lady of Summer and saved my world from an ice age? Who else do you know who can claim such a feat?" I said honestly. Okay I'd orchestrated the attack and it was a surprise attack using iron box cutters, which is toxic to the Fae, but it was the little guys who did it. I just organized them and told them when to strike.
"Well, there is that." He said looking brighter. "If we can kill her, then some vampires should be easy!"
I had to play this right. I didn't want to hurt the little guys feelings but I couldn't send a troop of fairies to their deaths either, after all they were dedicated to me so it was my responsibility to keep them safe.
"Not so fast General, I mean Toot toot. These guys are dangerous, old vampires and there are a lot of them around right now. Maybe I can use the guard in another fight later, but right now it's just too dangerous, this isn't the fight you want to be in on." I said flatly.
"But Harry…" He said looking up at me expectantly.
"These troops are under your command and as their leader it's your job to make sure they are safe and only go into battles they can win. I don't want to lose one of your numbers if it can be avoided. You're too valuable an asset to me to let any of you die over something like this." I said firmly.
"Look the information you are getting for me could mean the difference between me and my friends living or dying. It could mean the difference between the girl being saved or taken away to become a monster. What you are doing may not be as glamorous as going into battle with monsters, but you have to understand it's extremely important. I couldn't do what I do without the help of you and your men." I said fudging it a little bit.
"Really?" He said looking at me with wonder in his eyes.
"Toot toot, wars are won or lost on information. You have, over the years, given me the information I needed to make decent plans and make them work. If I didn't have you and the guard getting me that information I'd have to guess or go with a less reliable means of gathering information. You and your men are very important to me. That's why I make sure you have pizza every week, it's that important to me. Not to mention my house has never been cleaner and better stocked, which I greatly appreciate, by the way." I said.
"Really? So we're like your secret agents then?" he said thinking hard.
"Exactly like that and I can't think of anyone that would be better at it than you and your group." I said honestly.
"Wow… I never thought about it like that before Harry." He said with a big grin spreading over his face.
"Don't get me wrong, I'll need you in another fight some day, but I want to make sure it's the right one, geared to your special talents." I said seriously. "I know you and the Guard are formidable warriors, but for this mission, I really need you to concentrate on keeping an eye on these guys and letting me know what their up to so I know when to move on them." I said.
"Don't worry Harry, we won't let you down!" He said his nimbus growing brighter and a lighter shade of gold.
"I didn't think you would, General." I said giving him a smile.
"If you need to find me I'm going to be heading over to Murphy's house, let me know as soon as they find out where the Black Court and other Red Court groups are located." I said.
"Will do Sir!" he said giving me another sharp salute, which I returned soberly.
With that he simply disappeared with a pop and minor explosion of gold and silver fairy dust.
I sat and thought for a moment about what Toot had said. It was true that they did help take out the Queen of Summer but it was a surprise attack and they had Iron, which to a fairy is like superheated steel mixed with arsenic and a very corrosive acid. However they did face her and cut her to ribbons and that took guts, a lot of guts. They weren't normally the bravest of creatures but evidently Toot was looking to claim another victory for his troops. Maybe I had taken them for granted?
Although I dismissed the idea out of hand, if they were ready for the fight and wanted to fight, they could be very dangerous. Think of an angry nest of wasps coming after you with box cutters instead of stingers. That and they were damned fast when they wanted to be. If you had 10 to 20 of them come at you at once, not only would it be near impossible to keep your eye on one long enough to target them, but the others could have you dismembered before you had time to swing. Maybe I should consider his request when I had more time to think and maybe train them.
Where had I been the last year or so? Molly and now Toot Toot, they were growing so fast and coming into their own. Although I've never been a parent, I think I now have a greater appreciation for what they feel like when their kids go off to college.
I grabbed Mouse and we headed out back to clean up the pizza boxes and let Mouse do his thing. Once Mouse and the pizza boxes were squared away, I made sure my wards were reset and then we climbed into the truck. The drive to Murphy's house was fairly fast and quiet as the traffic was light and I hit most of the lights green for once.
I was surprised to find the house quiet as I let myself in the back door. Molly was sitting at the kitchen table talking with Butters. They looked up at me over their coffee cups as I came in.
"So how did it go?" Molly asked as she started to get up.
"What do you need?" I said waving at her to sit as I headed for the coffee maker.
"I was going to do that for you, boss." She replied.
"I can get my own coffee thank you, and it went well. I have my spies out looking for the vampires as we speak. I hope to get a status report soon." I said pouring the hot black liquid into a mug that read CPD with the emblem of a badge displayed in dark blue and gold.
"Spies?" Butters asked.
"Don't ask, it's a long story." I told him.
"Well after Butters got here Lash and Murphy decided to head for bed quietly." Molly said with a smirk.
"Good, they need their rest. Although they are both too stubborn to admit they need it." I said joining them at the table sitting across from Butters with Molly at the head of the table.
"I admire strong women but these two are defiantly both alpha females." Butters said with a grin.
"Tell me about it." I said giving him a knowing smile.
"So, what? I'm chopped liver?" Molly said her cheeks getting a little flushed.
"You're the Libra version of an Alpha female Molly. You are strong and pig headed but you still take the time to look at both sides of an argument. I like to think I had something to do with that but I'm betting that your dad had more to do with it than I." I said giving her a wink, turning he cheeks fully red.
"Well if by that you mean I'm more reasonable, then I accept your compliment." She said sitting up and lifting her chin as she sipped her coffee.
"So have you had any time to study or practice your magic while babysitting these two?" I asked.
"Not really but I've been working on something for a while now. Tell me what you think." She said as she pulled her wand from her belt and stepped back onto the hard wood floor with the sugar jar.
She poured a small circle of sugar around her and touched it, bringing it to life. I could feel her draw power, but just barely. She concentrated and held out her wand then broke the circle mumbling under her breath and a kitten appeared on the table. It was solid black with blue eyes and it had fine fur and tiny whiskers. The kitten twitched its tail and meowed looking from Butters to me.
"Wow that looks so real!" Butters said. "The meow sounds so lifelike!"
"Pet it." Molly said beaming.
Butters reached out and gently pet the kittens fur that bent at his touch.
"Wow, it's so soft. That's really cool!" Butters said.
I reached out and touched the kitten's soft fur as it started to purr.
"You added a tactile element too? That's very impressive grasshopper." I said with a raised eyebrow.
"I've been working on that for a while. It's really hard but now that I'm getting the hang of it, it's coming a lot easier. I still have a lot of work to do on it though." Molly said obviously proud of herself.
Molly waved her wand and the kitten disappeared and Molly sat down looking tired.
We talked for about an hour and Butters decided it was time to head home. Molly cleaned up and then making sure the computer and TV were unplugged, made herself comfortable on the couch, while I took up residence in the chair next to Lash's bed.
I was just about to doze off when I saw gold and silver sparks appear in the air between me and Lash's bed. I sat up and with a pop, Toot toot appeared in the air in front of me.
"Harry, can we talk?" he said quietly looking over his shoulder at Lash's sleeping form under the covers.
"Let's go into the kitchen." I said quietly and tip toed into the kitchen.
"What do you have for me?" I asked.
"Well, we found one group of Red Court vampires with the girl where you said she was. We found another group in a big pretty building. It's a place called the Madison. They are taking up a whole floor for just the six of them." He said. "We have looked for the Black Court vampires but nobody's found them yet. We'll keep looking." He said with a slight frown.
"Good, the Black Court may not be in town or may not have found a place to stay yet. Keep looking and keep an eye on the other two groups and let me know if they go anywhere." I said sleepily.
"Will do Harry. Oh by the way their keeping the girl on the third floor in a corner room. She looked okay but we just kept an eye on her like you said. She's pretty Harry." Toot toot said with a shy grin.
"Perfect, let me know if anything changes of if you find the Black Court. Don't be afraid to wake me up if I fall asleep either. I need to know as soon as possible." I said leaning back in my chair.
"Will do Harry." And with that he disappeared.
I waited for another five minutes before mustering up the will to get up and head back into Lash's room. I leaned back into the overstuffed arm chair watching Lash sleep as my own breathing slowed and deepened. The last thing I remember before I fell asleep was Mouse yawning curled at the foot of the bed.
