Chapter 1: The Suit
The Cloaked Owl. It was a shadowy mist, a legend. The only people that knew it was real were the people who had managed to escape them, which included members who wanted out. Escape or getting out of any kind was slim at best. If the member had a family they were in too. But that also meant once you were out all of you were. The Cloaked Owl were guns for hire. Except guns weren't allowed. Everything was hush-hush. In out nothing in-between. And everyone was expendable. If you met an Owl on a mission, you were dead: food delivery, an old lady visiting her targeted daughter. NOONE. When an Owl agent wanted out, they went in a big way. For example, 10 years ago, there was breaking news of a subway that had caught fire from faulty wiring and blew up killing 12 people and injuring 17 others. That was the Cloaked Owls and get this, it was only for two people! They were considered traitors to Owl and to their team.
Although I grew up in the Owls, it wasn't until later that I realized what my parents did. What they were training me for since before I could fragging crawl. But they had been born into it too. Forced to run mission after mission, doing that kind of work takes something from you. You start to lose your soul. If you still even have one. Apparently, they did because once they had me, they wanted out and that meant putting all their years of training to use. Guess they should've taken another train.
22:15 P.M. Forty -five minutes before I had to meet up with Rex, the local fixer. It had stopped raining by the time I left my place to head over to the diner across the street. Good thing too because rain and the cold, suck. Also, calling the place I was going to a "diner" is me being nice. So, points for me. I've moved back to my childhood street and have lived here for a little over a year. The neighborhood wasn't the greatest but it wasn't a squat. It was a place that was constantly crowded as one of the best nightclubs in the city was located a few doors down. The neon lights were bright green and orange and they lit up the street. They flashed with the tempo of the hard music playing inside. Even out here the music was loud enough to make your heart pound. I was privy to an endless stream of women looking for a good time, stumbling out those doors. Though not complaining, I only deal with other elves. Humans seemed too boring. As for Trolls and Orks, well if you've seen one then you know why I wouldn't even go there. I pushed through the crowd. It was prime time for partying. Me, I just wanted some fragging food.
"Switch, you coming over to Club Lily later?"
"Izy," I say, inwardly cringing. She was gorgeous with wavy brown hair that fell just past her ears. She had a smoking body and knew she did. Too bad she was drek in bed. "Not tonight."
I don't wait for her response. I walk quickly to get away from her and to the other side. The Quick Bean. I walk in and a dwarf woman behind the counter greets me. It was small with only a few tables and always smelled good. The place is definitely in need of a fresh coat of paint and new furniture. But the food is decent and the place is at least warm. Plus, I'm starving.
"Soykakes and bean juice" I respond to the dwarf that greeted me.
She nods and turns to yell my order to the kitchen. She is a decent enough lady. Always pleasant despite her gruff exterior.
22:25 P.M. Rex is going to set me up with Mr. Johnson working in this neighborhood, but I had to recruit the Twins. I needed money and a reputation. Owls are looking to recruit. And I want in. The twins are two crazy-ass dwarf siblings that grew up hating the Owl too. That's all I knew. Not that I gave a drek. If you want to frag up Owl with me then the more the merrier. I had gotten some information from old contacts of my parents but that had been a bitch and I'd almost died every time I confronted any of them. I was able to collect the data on current members, hideouts, and substations. But there was no way I could do this by myself. Hence, talking to the Twins.
I spent 10 years leveling up the training I had gotten with my parents and learned the art of negotiation.
After a few tweaks and augmentations,
I was able to come back without anyone recognizing me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still extremely good-looking.
Finally, I get my food. I quickly eat, then pay and walk back out onto the busy street. Two female elves and a human male were already drek-faced. They stumble around to the alley and disappear through the hazy steam that came from the vents of the buildings on either side. It is colder than I'd originally thought and wearing a 3-piece suit wasn't exactly ideal. But as I pop the collar of my suit jacket, I felt a nagging feeling. The kind of feeling you need to have to live in this world. The one that keeps your ass alive. I smoothly undid the button of my jacket, slid my hand inside until it wrapped around the cold hard steel that had saved my ass countless times. I walk a bit quicker, I'm further from the lights of the club and the bustle of the crowd. The only light I have now was from the streetlights and most of them are pretty dim.
I take a sharp turn ahead, slamming my back against the wall, I withdraw 18 to my chest. My breathing is coming out faster and I can see my breath. A small shadow dances. Whoever it is, is right there. I whip out from the wall and point my gun. 18 is aimed directly at the human female's temple.
"Put your hands up and turn towards me, slowly," I say roughly.
She does exactly what I told her and drek, I regret it. She was fragging gorgeous. And that meant trouble. She reaches just under my chin, making her decently tall for a human. She is wearing ragged clothing that hung on her. She looks hungry and in need of a good shower.
I could help her with that last one. Her long hair is pulled back in a messy braid and is flung over her shoulder. She is breathing just as fast as I was earlier. The light is behind her but it's still bright enough to notice the clothes she is wearing did nothing to conceal her from the cold and I can see her shiver slightly as a breeze blows past.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?" I ask.
She swallows hard and sticks up her chin as if gathering whatever strength, she has to confront me. Granted, I'm still pointing my gun at her.
"My name is not really your business and I am not following you." She responds with fake bravado. She brings her hands down slowly and places them on her hips.
I lower 18 and take a step closer and to her, to her credit she doesn't back away.
"What the frag is a beautiful young girl like you doing alone walking down a dark street in the middle of the night?" I bend down until I'm eye level with her and just a few inches from her face.
Her eyes glow a dull red. "I can manage myself just fine, thank you." And I'm a woman. " At that, she turns and walks toward the direction I'm going.
22:55 P.M. Drek, she is a wizard. Double fragging trouble.
She looks at me over her shoulder, "So, now you're following me?"
I chuckle, "Yes, and enjoying the view."
I can see her pause slightly in her steps and tense for a second. She says nothing else as we both walk in silence down the street and turn to go into a rigger shop. The Wrench Delight. It has a big interior with 3 cars being worked on. The sound of drilling and beeping echoes against the white-colored walls.
The beautiful wizard is in front of me facing the opposite direction, so I still can't see her face.
"Switch, how you doin', chummer? Didn't think you'd bring a girlfriend with you."
Rex comes out of a door to my right and from behind him his partner, Vok. Rex is a chill troll, Vok not so much. Rex is on the smaller side with two horns, one broken,
jutting from his head. He is dressed in ripped jeans, a white T, and a biker jacket. He has two piercings over one eye and a green tattoo on his neck. Vok, he's just not worth mentioning.
"I'm good. And I don't know who she is, I indicate her with a thumb. "She was just following me."
The young woman rolls her eyes. "I'm Flare."
Rex's eyes grew big as if now recognized her. "Let me talk to my man here and I'll be with you in a moment." Rex looks at her up and down, yells something to one of the riggers and leads me to the backroom where he originally came out. Vok, thankfully stays behind. The room is simple; white walls, a desk, and a chair. It has a window looking out at the shop. Rex walks behind the desk and sits down.
"I got you a meeting with Mr. Johnson the day after tomorrow. You get with the Twins yet?"
"Nah, I wanted to talk to you first." I turn and look at the human woman again. She is sitting down eating a sandwich or what looked like a sandwich. She is eating it like it is her first meal in days. Which could actually be true.
"She's looking for work, you know?" Rex points out clearly noticing me staring at her like some teenager punk who's never laid, well, anything.
"What's her story?"
"That's for her to tell." He says with a shrug. Discretion is why I like Rex. He rose from the desk and opens the door.
"Flare?" Rex yells after her.
Flare jump at her name and quickly composes herself. She walks towards us and I now get a real good look at her. She looked of Asian descent with green eyes and platinum blonde hair. And drek did he love blondes.
She walks into the office and Rex shuts the door. She looks around nervously.
"Flare, this is Switch," Rex says.
"Swag," she says with a bit of sarcasm.
I flash her my award-winning smile and a wink.
She frowns.
"Switch here has a meeting with Mr. Johnson. Need a job, right?"
"With him?" she asks and points at me
"Beggars can't be so choosy, Beautiful," I respond looking her up and down.
Her eyes glow super bright red now. As she begins to curse me in what sounds like Japanese.
I throw my hands up. "Easy. I'm just pointing out a fact. I have a need and you do too. We could help each other out."
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When they open, they are back to normal again. I'll admit when she's mad, she's hella hot and I almost try to piss her off again just to make it happen. "No other opt." She states quietly.
"You're going to need new clothes, though," Rex states matter-of-factly. "Got to make a good impression."
"I have no creds."
I quirk an eyebrow and grin. "I do."
"What will it cost me?" she asks suspiciously and I don't blame her. Her beauty and the fact that she is a wizard would have any man hard up and wouldn't care what it took to get her.
"Take it out of your upfront payment. You in or not?" I need her to make the decision now. I still have plenty to do before the meeting.
"I'm in."