Part 3
* * *
Today was
different.
Kenneth
Irons did not know why, but he knew something had changed as he gazed blindly
at the New York skyline. The sun was
bright on this November morning reflecting off the glass buildings but that
went unnoticed.
Yes…something
was different.
He had
found his wielder and she was more then he had hoped. The only thing that concerned him was her self-righteous
attitude. However, if Sara Pezzini
proved immune to manipulation, he had another woman more than willing to do his
bidding.
Hunter.
She was
strong and confident, but still young and foolish. He would find what drove her and then she would be his—just
another ornament on his mantle. He knew
the game that Hunter played as well as he knew his own and he always came out
the victor. Few women could resist his
combination of power, money, and charm.
In his
nirvana, he would have them both.
Nevertheless,
if Hunter showed her intentions to be other than stated, she could easily be
removed from the picture. But, for now,
he would enjoy her company and distraction from the Witchblade.
* * *
Ian held
his position as he observed the 11th Precinct. Sara had arrived that morning without
incident and now he watched as she and her partner left on an assignment. Nottingham slipped into his car, pulled away
from the curb, and followed. He glanced
into his rearview mirror and noticed a silver Boxster following him.
Ian's
searches, last night, regarding Hunter's past were fruitless, though, finding
her full name had been easy. He had had
no reservations about searching through her personal affects while she was
readying herself for her dinner with Irons.
The only things he had found, so far, were her school records and her
obvious connection to Irons—money.
Other than that, she had no police record or other financial trouble,
but there were still her parents. Ian
would be patient and bide his time in this case. Everyone made mistakes and when Hunter slipped, he would be there
to watch her fall.
He turned
his attention back to Sara as they approached the crime scene. Ian kept his guard up as he stepped out of
his car and surveyed his surroundings.
This was dangerous territory for Lady Sara to be in without the proper
protection. Ghosts from his past
haunted these buildings ready to strike at him or those he watched.
Nottingham
cast his dark eyes to the shadows of a building as if locking gazes with
someone. ~I know you are here.~ Ian said in his mind, giving warning to
those shades of black that held presence here.
He silently
made his way to the roof of a warehouse giving him a birds-eye view of the
area. This made keeping an eye on his
charge easy as he looked around. He
then, focused on the movement below as Sara and Danny approached the body. The body, which he had laid there several
days ago.
* * *
"The victim
was male, caucasian, in his mid thirties, six foot, and roughly one hundred and
eighty pounds." A beat cop explained
when Danny and Sara walked towards him.
"We found this on him." The
officer held up an evidence bag containing a glock 9mm.
"Cause of
death?" Sara asked putting on latex
gloves and squatting down next to the body, examining the area closely.
"As far as
we can tell a broken neck." The man
answered, and then motioned around him.
"There was a struggle. We have
identified at least three different sets of footprints."
"Do we have
an ID on this guy." Danny questioned
taking in the whole scene.
"Not yet,
Detective." The officer replied.
"Any
witnesses?"
"None have
come forward."
Sara
followed the footprints with her eyes, studying them carefully. The Witchblade's eye glowed brightly, an
internal fire raging. ~A stand off?~ She thought. ~Two against one, yet the single man was hunting the two.~
"Find
something, Pez." Danny inquired as he
walked to where she stood examining the tracks.
"It appears
that one man was chasing the other two."
Sara explained. Danny gave her a
curious look. She moved a little
further away from the body and motioned with her hands as she continued. "The first two pairs are running side by
side with the third pair following. See
how these are positioned." Sara pointed
at the ground. "These two stopped to
face their attacker. One was killed and
the other fled."
"Hey,
Morgonson!" Danny called over his
shoulder at one of the cops on the scene.
"Search the area and see if another body turns up."
"Yes, sir."
* * *
Ian dropped
from his fire escape perch like a cat.
He moved to his car using the shadows of dusk to mask his
movements. Sara had left a few minutes
before and Ian knew that his vigilance was over, for now. With the setting sun, he would return to
Irons and report. Then, he would escort
him to the estate and wait for further instructions. That could be anything from remaining at home to keeping an eye
on Sara if she got into mischief. Ian,
though, would prefer to stay at home this evening. There were many questions that needed answers and things would
never get done if he spent all his time watching his Lady.
Miss Hunter
Müller was an addition to an already complex equation. Ian knew that she was a threat to Sara, but
she was also a distraction for Irons.
In a way, this was a good thing.
It kept Irons from gaining more control over the Wielder; however, one
thing could cause difficulties farther down the road. If Hunter was true to her word and helped Irons, they could prove
a force that Sara might not be able to stand against. In that situation, Ian would have to define where his loyalties
lie.
Ian let his
thoughts settle as he pulled into Vorschlag.
The rest of the day had been uneventful. After Sara and her partner left the first crime scene, they
returned to the office and started to work on past cases. Not a very exciting day in Ian's opinion,
but he had spent it watching Sara and that made up for it. He also had some news on Irons' houseguest
that would probably not make Hunter very happy. Ian let a glimpse of a smile cross his stern features as he
entered the private elevator that would take him to the top floor.
* * *
Hunter
closed the door behind her silently and locked it. ~Home, sweet, home.~ She
thought as she moved across the main room of her apartment. Hunter tossed her shopping bags on the couch
as she walked by heading for the table.
The air in the room was chilly and she shivered a little then took a sip
of her triple shot espresso as she sat down.
Hunter pulled her laptop close to her, flipped up the lid, and booted it
up.
~Now to
take care of some things without Irons or Nottingham looking over my
shoulder.~ She thought and felt a
shiver travel down her spine, this time it was not from the cold. Hunter banished the image of the imposing
man from her mind as she settled to business.
The
Witchblade had been an interest of hers as far back as she could remember. That started when her grandmother told her
stories of the objects de puissance that Hitler collected during World
War II and grew it from there. She was
the one who encouraged Hunter to get her degree in ancient history and pursue little
know artifacts.
Several
sites and hours later, Hunter stood up stretching. She looked out the window and noticed that night had fallen over
the city. Covering her mouth with the
back of her hand as she yawned, Hunter walked over to the counter to make
coffee. Then, with a mug of steaming
java in her hands, she meandered back towards the table.
As she did,
Hunter absently looked around. There
was not much of anything in the two rooms that she had rented four months
ago. That was because she had not
planned to live here for very long. She
came to New York with the intention of living with Kenneth Irons in order to
get to the Witchblade. However, her
plans were disturbed slightly when she found that the Gauntlet was on display
in a museum and then ended up on Sara Pezzini's wrist. That would soon change.
Hunter let
out a sigh as she settled back down in front of her laptop. The curser blinked at her expectantly until
finally, she typed in "Kenneth Irons"…
* * *