"I really can't believe you called me in for a shadow."

Quinn flicked her eyes towards her Aunt Cassandra, as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "You saw the video, that's not a shadow. Joe, had to be purified and he's currently back in a Templar stronghold going through yet another surgery, to fix the damage that needed to be done to save his life. I wouldn't have insisted you come if this wasn't important."

"If it looks like a shadow, and acts like a shadow. Then it's a shadow, I don't care if it eats flesh or not. The way to kill the thing is basically the same," Cassandra said shaking her head. "You're lucky he locked this down, and is giving you another chance to clean up this mess."

Quinn frowned, "I know how to handle myself, and I have confirmation that it's not a shadow, and even if it was it's too big for us to use our usual methods on it. We need to separate the main mass into smaller pieces, we need to make sure our shadows are safe. It's why I called in several exorcists, and the best exterminators I knew. We can't allow this thing to escape. We need to end it now."

Cassandra raised a brow, "Where did you get this information from, and this plan."

Quinn hesitated, but shrugged. Cassandra was family, "Charlie and I are close, and I wanted to know if she knew what it was. She's seen it before—" Cassandra's hand immediately covered her mouth, stopping her from finishing that thought.

Cassandra glanced around but the place was busy with people milling about getting ready, "Have you lost your mind?" she hissed, leaning in. "That isn't something you say here in front of a bunch of people you don't know and you don't trust. This is something you take to the old-man and let him know."

Quinn made a face and nodded, the motion was enough for Cassandra to finally let go of her face and she glared at her aunt. "You asked."

"I didn't know you were going to start spouting secrets, and trusting a magic-touched isn't going to make them trust you and you're here to lead us, well them. You're still a hundred years to early to be leading me anywhere."

Quinn rolled her eyes at this, it was classic Aunt Cassandra bullshit. She had earned her place and her rank. She knew that her grandfather had pulled a lot of strings, and she knew that led to some resentment but it wasn't the time to focus on that. "You're just upset that she sent you to a desert, after kicking your ass."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes, "Careful."

Quinn shook her head, getting into it with her aunt Cassandra was a stupid idea, "Just follow my lead—"

"Do you have any idea what you're doing? Do you have a plan or are you expecting me to just wing it? I thought you were smarter than this, because even if I think that it is a shadow, and even if I am underestimating it nothing you've said to me indicates that you have a plan."

"I told you my plan we need to separate it, somehow break it into smaller pieces, and then finish it off like a normal shadow."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"We've got holy barriers in place, every exorcist and everyone involved has been equipped with one. Barriers keep things out, but we can use them to separate that monster, we kill that part and we keep moving until the entire thing is dead. Everyone will be equipped with the latest light technology, and we keep going until we've cleared the entire area. Should take the rest of the day. We need to move quickly and efficiently for this to work." Quinn raised a brow. "I do think these things through, the moment I heard the idea I already had a plan to accomplish that. We might lose some people, but this thing can't spread."

Cassandra scoffed, "Fine, but if I lose a limb it's on you and your plan."

~ O ~

Quinn brought the sword down with a grunt, slicing through the darkness in front of her. As weird as Charlie was her instincts had been correct about the monster, breaking it into more manageable pieces had been the correct course of action, and from what she had heard they hadn't suffered many losses.

Wiping the sweat from her brow she leans back to catch her breath and lets her arms rest for a moment, she had run out of bullets hours ago and had been hacking away for the past several hours. She was tired and grumpy but they had made progress. Quite a bit of progress, and her reputation was still intact. She tilts her head to see her Aunt Cassandra finishing off her part with an irritated scowl on her face. She waits until her aunt looks at her. "I think we need to pull out for the day, we've managed to break it into pieces." She calls out, the exorcist must be exhausted, and the chanting for the most part had stopped.

Cassandra for the most part grunts at Quinn, before nodding. It had been a decent plan if not expensive, but a small team wouldn't have been able to handle the amount of darkness alone. Leading such a team was probably worthy of another promotion but Quinn's rise had been meteoric for a woman, and she knew that many people were eager to watch her fall. "I can take care of the rest with a select team, I'm pretty certain I told you what the cost of me coming here to save your ass was."

Quinn made a face dealing with her aunt without her grandfather's help generally meant that there were strings, but she couldn't always depend on her grandfather to get Cassandra to act like family. "I don't want to deal with her—"

"Quinn, I don't actually give a shit if dealing with Judy makes you uncomfortable. You're her child, and apart from the fact that you feel betrayed, she fucking gave birth to you. Get the fuck over it, and see her," Cassandra bitched at her niece.

"You're only doing this because she's probably been judging your life choices."

"Damn right I am, she misses you and since she has nothing to do with her time, she's decided that it's open season on my life. She tried to set me up with someone respectable, she's lucky I didn't stab him and then her. You said you'd solve a problem for me if I helped you and that's my problem, deal with your mother."

Quinn frowned as she sheathed the sword, and tapped her communicator, "It's time to start pulling back before it gets dark. We'll continue the extermination tomorrow and the next day until this area has been given the all clear." She turns to look at her aunt, "Fine, but me talking to her isn't going to stop her from bothering you."

"Of course, it will when I tell her that you're in love with some Broadway actress." Cassandra smirked. "Then she'll be focused on your life choices not mine."

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I'll send her a text when I'm in New York. I'm buying Charlie dinner at what I can imagine is an expensive restaurant. I need to figure out a way to convince Charlie to meet with him, I apparently need to stop my mother from fucking with your life, and avoid my father. Anything else that I need to do?"

"Talk to your fake girlfriend."

"Rachel is real."

"But she isn't your girlfriend," Cassandra pointed out. She uncharacteristically pats Quinn on the back. "And you should probably check in with your team to make sure that they are all right, and don't forget to get purified." Cassandra snorted. "Some vacation, next time look into hopping to a beach resort somewhere, with a bunch of men—or women in bikinis and spend most of it drunk and having mind blowing—"

"Stop." Quinn groaned. "Please just stop."

"Sex. Mind blowing sex, if this thing doesn't work out with your fake girlfriend, I know some people who will blow your mind."

Quinn groaned loudly.