Strekoza: if you are wandering, it's only two chapters to go…

Chapter Eight

Vince woke up with a start, from one of his usual nightmares. He was trying to locate what woke him, when the ring of a telephone went again. He picked up the receiver, which was on a night table next to his bed.

"Good," he looked at the clock, which had 01:18, "I guess good morning."

"Is it Mr…"

"It's Vince, what you want, and you better not mistook a number or I'll hunt you for the rest of you life."

"Erm, this is agency… I mean no major stuff happens at nights, especially the calls."

"So? To the point,"

"Well I got the phone and when I told the guards what was it about, they told me it was for two people work average. So I opened the book with availabilities, kind of a line to get in touch at night."

"I know."

"Well there was five names for this night to choose. You're fourth one. No one at home before that. So can I get you to come to the office, please, as soon as possible."

"Sure, I'll just get dressed."

He cursed, as he put the phone down, if his trip to New Zealand didn't finish that early, he wouldn't be on that list. He was counting on missions out of town, but been put onto night calls list instead, at least he didn't have to work the night shifts and call the people up - loads of bad responses, and usually no responses at all. Typical.

Vince got dressed. He took a hamster out of its cage, saying: "you'll come with me."

"Good morning to all," he proclaimed going into the agency.

"Bright as usual, wish you were here with me on nights," said one of the guards, a man of sixty, who was a bit jealous of Vince's early promotion.

"Nah, at least you wouldn't be pulled out of bed. So?" he asked the girl on duty, the same one with dark hair.

"I have no idea. I reached the last person's number, his wife said that he's in hospital from food poisoning."

"Typical."

"Sorry?"

"No, nothing, it's that always on nights people with a call card for them, never pick the phone up, when I was working on night shifts I always went by their place to pick them up out of bed, in the end they gave up and always picked the phone up on my duty."

"Should I phone others."

"No point. It's already fifteen past two. Your shift stops at three and he looked through the book on next night, "you're in the list. So the guards will pass my regrets and a big sorry onto the next person to come. Or if something happens they'll know what to do."

"Gees, Vince thanks for taking a nice girl from us."

"Your very welcome." At that point a hamster's head emerged from Vince's pocket.

"Oh nuts, why do you have to bring that animal?" asked the guard.

"It's the first time. The other one got eaten by a shape shifter, if you forgot."

"At least the eagle haven't eaten you."

"And besides, if this call will end up for a few days work. What my hamster will eat."

"Does it take a few days sometimes?" the girl asked.

"Nah, only being logical. Plus I'll let you go home if it'll take longer."

They left.

"So what's the job?"

"Someone seen a possible werewolf or a shape shifter in the south of woods. We're sent to investigate and track down, if possible. Get in touch with the agency if the thing is still there."

"Not much luck with werewolves I had lately."

"Well we're not sure what the target is, I assumed that we'll find that if anything at all. Vampires aren't easy to track, nor witches."

"Still great," they got out of a car, leaving it next to a pub.

"How far?" she asked.

"Ten minutes by feet. Don't worry I've done a lot of times before. It's not hard as it seems."

"Track in woods?"

"Nope again, chase around the woods would be a tick and being woken up at night too. How did you dare spoil such a nightmare. You know how I enjoy them?"

"Do you?" she asked in astonishment.

"Not really, that's why I don't switch the phone off as almost all of other agents. I mean no one to keep me company apart from my hamster and she wouldn't mind coming with me. Wouldn't you?" the hamster was ignoring it's owner sleeping in Vince's pocket.

"Is it that bad?"

"The unexpected work? Mostly no, but after the four year ago trip to woods… well …Five people were called, I was one of them. The task was to track down a wounded unicorn in the woods. So we spent ten hours running around the woods chasing a donkey with a nail in its back. The owner said that police refused to come, so he phoned the detective agency. Unicorn was it's name. At least he paid more, never though that we'll get him the donkey that fast." it made the girl laugh.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, everybody anyway seems to ask them."

"Oh, sorry…"

"It's ok and fun, what was it?"

"Well I just was curious how old are you," she started to blush, "I mean you already been with the agency for four years…"

"Actually it's ten years and it's alright to ask my age - I never was embarrassed of being an old man. I started as a coffee maker at nine - that was so much fun, once a vampire tried to attack the agency and imagine what, he wanted coffee. So he ended up with hot coffee all over him. He was pretty upset, but got stabbed anyway. I kind of lost my family, when I was young. "

"Me too," she said surprising him, "not that you're interested."

"What happened?" he asked her as they entered the woods.

"I only had a mother, but she died when I was five. I kind of scatted the world since. I joined the circle Daybreak, when I was fourteen. So I'm working for this for three years now."

"Circle Daybreak? I though it was destroyed."

"It was. That's why I was transmitted here. They didn't quite give me top assignments."

"So are you…?"

She made a face, "your least favourite a shape shifter…"

He was surprised that's why he though he knew who she was.

"We met…" he stated.

"I know," she whispered. To which he couldn't do anything, but kiss her, he knew then that everything would be ok as long as they'd be together. She was his soul mate she whispered around his mind…

"Wait," he whispered to her, "do you think a phone call was fake, we won't find anyone. Would you like to have an early breakfast with me?"

"Sure, there is one nice place, which opens quite early. It's 20 miles away, if at agency they'll ask - we gone across the whole forest and it would take quite a lot of time. Would you like a lift," she smiled and stepped back allowing her body to transform.

Strekoza: a said chapter with a bit of happiness in it, like promised. You see I'm not that cruel…