"You ready for this?" Thalia asked as she parked her car. Her gaze moved to the bar that they had parked next to. It was not a place that she would go to for a casual night off. No one in their right mind would go there really. Thalia wasn't even sure if they allowed humans inside.
The bar of Ma Gasket. It was just as filthy as Thalia expected. There was no way to read the name of the bar, as the lights had been knocked out a long time ago, along with most of the sign. The walls were a red color, but something told Thalia that was not the original paint.
There were a few passed out patrons lying along the alleyway. Thalia could see large creatures inside, throwing back beers and other alcoholic drinks. This would be a paradise for a police officer that needed to make their arrest quota for the month.
"Always," Zoë answered. Thalia glanced at her partner. The two had worked together since Thalia left the academy. Zoë had been her trainer, and she even sought out Thalia to work with her. Probably because she was so impressed by her scores.
While Thalia was still considered a bit of a rookie in their world, she had caught on well enough. There wasn't a creature she didn't know how to defeat. Whatever knowledge or skills she didn't have were supplemented by Zoë.
"Let's get this over with then," Thalia said. She stood and got out of her car. Thalia adjusted the badge around her neck. It identified her as a hunter that was legally trained to handle and subdue wild beasts. It was the first thing she showed cops if she ever ran into them, and it usually got any suspects to talk.
There were a lot of rules and regulations that Thalia had to follow. Being weighed down by bureaucracy and red tape sucked, but it was worth it to make the world a better place. Thalia sighed and closed her car door. Her gaze moved to her partner. Zoë moved forward.
"Don't let your anger control you," Zoë warned. Thalia nodded quietly. She kept her hands in her pockets. The two stepped into the bar. Most of the patrons turned to look at them, and seeing as it wasn't a Cyclops, Ogre, or some other large creature, they instantly seemed suspicious.
Thalia looked at the bar counter and spotted Ma Gasket. The Cyclops was standing next to her two sons and laughing boisterously. Thalia walked towards Ma Gasket and leaned on the counter, "Are you the owner?"
"I am," Ma Gasket confirmed as she turned towards Thalia. Zoë walked towards the counter and calmly sat on it. "What the hell do you want? You with the cops?"
Ma Gasket's two sons stood and moved around the counter. Thalia only smirked at the intimidation tactic. She knew these idiots wouldn't lay a hand on a hunter. Not with all of these witnesses. And with Zoë watching her back, Thalia had nothing to worry about.
"I'm with the hunters of this city. I just needed to ask you a few questions," Thalia began. Ma Gasket studied her in suspicion. "Is it true that you and your boys threatened Chiron?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ma Gasket denied with a shrug.
"You didn't beat the shit out of one of his workers?" Thalia questioned.
"If I did, who would care?" Ma Gasket countered. She studied Thalia. A small smirk came to her face. "And if I did, the little runt probably deserved it."
"I just think you should leave Chiron alone," Thalia intoned. She studied Ma Gasket and then looked at her sons. "I can see you're running a busy operation here, between the drugs being sold in the backroom and the whores getting fucked in your bathroom, cops would have a lot of fun with this place."
"Cops won't touch our ma. No one can," one of the sons snapped. Thalia glanced at him and then back at Ma Gasket.
"I'm not so sure about that. They probably wouldn't normally, but if a hunter requested it, they would change their tone. I doubt many of your clientele would come to this bar if a cop was always here. Or a hunter," Thalia threatened. Ma Gasket glared.
"You can tell Chiron that he won't take my business away from me," Ma Gasket growled.
"Trust me. Chiron doesn't want these assholes anywhere near his bar. He just wants Tyson to be left alone. And for you not to come around and threaten him or his employees. It's pretty simple," Thalia warned.
"That boy is mine," Ma Gasket growled. "He signed a contract to join my bar. There isn't shit you can do about it."
"He signed a contract?" Zoë interrupted. Ma Gasket looked at her and sneered. "What kind of contract?"
"The kid needed a job, and I gave him one. He had to sign a contract, and it's not my fault that he can't read," Ma Gasket explained as the sneer grew on her face. Zoë nodded and looked at Thalia.
"A contract is legally binding. There isn't anything we can do about it," Zoë said. Thalia tried to open her mouth, but a look silenced her. Zoë turned back to Ma Gasket. "That doesn't change the fact that you threatened Chiron and attacked one of his employees."
"I wouldn't have bothered if he wasn't trying to steal my worker," Ma Gasket countered. Thalia glared and opened her mouth. A hand grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Why don't we come to a compromise?" Zoë offered. "What would it take to get you to leave Tyson alone?"
Ma Gasket didn't answer. She just watched both of them and stood to her full height, "The boy is mine, and you two will not come here and threaten me. If I see a cop or one of your hunter bitches here, I will find Chiron and finish the job. What I did to his little worker is nothing compared to what I'll do to him."
Thalia felt Zoë pull her away from the counter. Zoë spoke, "We'll keep that in mind, Ma Gasket. Just remember that Chiron is greatly loved. Anything happening to him could spell great trouble for whoever does it."
"I'll keep that in mind. Now, get the fuck out of my bar," Ma Gasket threatened. Her two sons stepped forward. Thalia felt Zoë pulling her away. The two of them walked out of the bar, and Thalia kept a hand on her crossbow in case someone tried to jump them. When they got to the car, Zoë looked at her.
Thalia studied her partner and tried to hide the annoyance on her face. She got in her car and slammed her keys into the ignition. Zoë sat in the passenger seat and spoke, "Did that go how you wanted it to?"
"Of course," Thalia said sarcastically. She drove forward and shook her head.
"Ma Gasket was never going to listen to us, and I didn't need you to start a bar fight," Zoë lectured. Thalia didn't answer as she turned up the radio. "You can pout, or we can figure out a solution."
"That was my solution," Thalia grumbled. Zoë smirked.
"You're not going to meet strength with strength. The contract does present a legal problem, but we also know that Ma Gasket doesn't care about legality. She's going to do what she wants, and I would rather not have Chiron get caught up in it," Zoë explained. "We have to figure out how to get Tyson away from Ma Gasket without her getting upset about it."
"That's why we threaten to call the cops on her," Thalia began.
"If she knows the cops are coming, she'll hide anything illegal, and if she can't do that, she'll go ahead and murder Chiron before the cops come. If they're coming anyway, what does she have to lose?" Zoë countered. Thalia sighed and turned down the radio. "We also don't want Ma Gasket going after Tyson's family."
"You're right," Thalia agreed reluctantly. "We should check in with Chiron. Let him know what happened."
"What do you know about this new employee that was attacked?" Zoë questioned.
"Not much," Thalia answered. "Just that she stumbled into the bar one day and helped Annabeth when a drunk guy was harassing her."
Thalia kept meaning to thank this new hire personally. Annabeth had been one of her best friends as a kid, and she hated to hear if anything happened to Annabeth or Jason when she wasn't there to protect them.
"We should talk with her too. Let her know that she can talk to us if Ma Gasket threatens her," Zoë said. Thalia nodded her agreement. The two fell into a comfortable silence, and Thalia focused on driving. She wasn't entirely happy about the outcome, but they both knew it would be like talking to a brick wall.
"Breaking news from Fairmount Valley," the man on the radio broke the peaceful silence. Thalia's eyes flickered to the radio, and Zoë turned it up. "A scene of a massacre was discovered by the police today."
"Fuck," Thalia cursed as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Fairmount Valley was where they had their last big job. They were trying to find evidence about a werewolf pack that owned the city and ruled it with an iron thumb. Thalia wasn't entirely convinced that everyone there wasn't a werewolf, but she did know that no one was willing to tell her an absolute thing about the pack.
Investigating on their own led to nothing, and eventually, they were told to call off the hunt. They had no official evidence or anything that they could use in court. Thalia had a bad feeling when she left the city that the pack there would do something terrible. It seemed like they had.
"It seems as if the entirety of the Vingerro family, the founding family of the town, was found slaughtered in a massacre. Locals have told officials stories of a group of supposed werewolf hunters. Officials were told this group had killed the Vingerro family and then demanded that any remaining werewolves be turned over, with houses that were deemed creatures being painted with a red cross made of blood on the door."
"Police have not identified any members of this werewolf hunter group, but we do know that they do not work in an official capacity, and that-"
Thalia's hand slammed into the radio to turn it off. Her hand shook in anger. She knew this would happen. This is why she hated bureaucracy and politics weighing them down. If they had just arrested the werewolf pack when they had a chance, this asshole group of vigilantes wouldn't have rolled in and killed them.
That was the problem with rogue hunters. They had no one to answer to, so they just killed whoever they wanted. If someone gave them problems or tried to defend a creature, they would be killed. They also caused hunters who had been trained by and employed by the government to lose legitimacy.
There were more than a few groups like that out in the world, but most of them were small and unable to make their mark. There were a few bigger ones, including those that had their "monster hunting roots" dating back all the way to Dracula and the like. But, they weren't doing this to defend towns. It was for damn sport or prejudice.
"It's across the country, Thalia. There's nothing we can do about it," Zoë consoled. "The Vingerro family deserved what came their way."
"What about the people who died in the crossfire?" Thalia grumbled.
"We hope that no one did," Zoë said softly.
"Whatever," Thalia spat, and she kept her gaze on the road. "I could go for a stiff drink and to see my brother."
"That sounds like a good plan," Zoë agreed before falling silent. She knew better than to try and get Thalia out of this kind of mood. Thalia just didn't understand how someone could be so evil that they hunted creatures for sport and tortured them for fun.
Zoë was right, though. There was nothing they could do about it. But, Ma Gasket was someone they could handle. Thalia would see to it personally that they found evidence to put Ma Gasket behind bars. She wouldn't let that bitch hurt anyone else.