Hello People! Thanks for sticking with me so far! Sorry if there are any spelling errors! Please review, I really don't know if I should keep going with this story! If you have any suggestions let me know! Sorry this is another short chapter!
"No, no you can't go home." Monty said imploringly. He leaned down until his cheek rested against hers, and he whispered in her ear, "Just do one thing for me and I will do my best to get you home." He pulled away and looked at her hopefully.
Adako's eyes darted to Arlynne and Landon who were standing a few yards back, then returned to Monty. She nodded. Monty breathed a sigh of relief and planted a quick kiss on her forehead, helping her rise. He slung his arm over her shoulders and they sauntered over to Arlynne and Landon.
"She's fine."
The foursome continued until Monty pulled Adako to a halt, Landon and Arlynne not even noticing as they kept on with their conversation, crossing to the other side of the warehouse where Luke was.
Adako turned to Monty. "What?"
"Well, don't you want to know what you have to do to get home?"
She nodded, her eyes narrowing.
"We get to go on a vacation!"
Adako's face screwed up. "What?"
"Well, not exactly, "Monty admitted. "It's like one though. It's a mission, actually, but all we have to do is just hunt around...er, look around and get to know the right people, find out what information any one person knows, have alot of fun and leave. The fun comes in getting to know the people, usually. We just do what they do if it is acceptable, and we get paid..I mean I get paid for it. Of course I'll share with you, but your payment is my help to get home, savvy?" He scrutinized her up and down, making her look away. "You should sleep, " Monty whispered. He opened the car door for her and she climbed in gratefully, Espie right behind her. When she appeared settled, Monty climbed on the hood of the car and sat down, prepared to sit there until she woke up. He didn't want anyone disturbing her at the moment.
Adako let her dog lay on the seat first, then situated herself around her, laying on her back and resting Espie's front leg on her neck. She leaned her face against Espie's soft belly fur, and curled her legs, resting her feet on the window after having pulled her shoes off. She sorted through her thoughts of the day, and then expelled them from her mind. There was no way she could find a reasonable explanation for this day. Instead she concentrated on the sound of her and Espie's breathing, the sound lulling her into a fitful sleep.
A week later the foursome, plus Arlynne, were at their 'base'. Eventually they had worked out the differences between the two packs, and the residing one surrendered rightfully to the visiting one. Out of the deal they received, as promised, a treaty with that pack and another means of transportation. This being the sweetest car Adako had ever layed eyes on. It was a Jaguar XK8 convertible, fully equipped with a supercharged V8 engine and a six speed automatic transmission. The seats were soft grain leather, and they also sported 12-way power-adjustable heating for both the driver and the front passenger. Another nice thing was that it had radar-based adaptive cruise control. Obviously that pack was alot richer than they appeared.
At the moment Monty was teaching Adako how to defend herself. He had given her about 20 standard razor blades, which could be acquired almost anywhere and were about three inches long with an long cut out in the center. He taught her to grip it carefully, since it was double edged, and hold it in place with the first joints of her pointer and middle fingers sqeezing together through the cut out. She could hold them and make a fist so it looked like there was nothing there, then when she went for the punch, slice, her opponent might be missing something. He taught her to store them in different but accessible places, like just in the hem of her sleeve, in the cuff of her gloves if she was wearing them, in the top of her socks, under the tongue of her shoes, in any place that was quickly accessible.
Monty himself preferred to go unarmed, relying on his catlike vampire abilities and doglike canines. Luke relied on his mind power, and Landon carried a firearm somewhere on his person 24/7.
Adako approached Monty just before sunrise one night. "um, Monty?"
"Yeah?" he put down the stick he was carving.
"Uh, I really hate to bother you guys, but...I kinda really need some new clothes."
He grimaced. "Can it wait until we get to... where we're going?"
"That is in about a week, right? Absolutely not!"
"Um... ok. Luke is leaving for town in about fifteen minutes."
"Monty! Luke? Very funny!" She threw out her hands. They hadn't spoken since the incident in the warehouse. "You know how it is!"
"Yeah well your gonna have to get over that pretty quick if you want clothes that bad. You're acting like a kid anyways. You two need to take a chill. As for me, I am going to retire for the day, so if you're going with him you'd better let him know."
With that, he turned tail and retreated to the basement. She sat down in the main room of the house and just stared at her surroundings. The main room was kindof like a lobby, seeing that the house was akin to an apartment complex. It had about twenty different rooms of varying sizes, but most of them were made for one person. It was a safe-house of sorts, but the 'people' that wished to stay there had to have a casual acceptance by Landon, Luke, or Monty. They kindof ran the place.
The furnishings in the Lobby were simple but nice, as in you could tell that mostly guys lived there. There was a blue vinyl sofa up against one wall which she was sitting on, and beside it a darker, navy blue recliner. There was a coffee table in front of the blue couch, which had a couple decks of cards sitting on top, and inderneath were various board games. On the far wall was an entertainment center with a flatscreen TV, a DVD player and VCR, and there was also an X-box and PS2 with about a dozen games. In the corner by the TV was a palm tree/plant in a big green pot, standing about four feet tall.
On one of the walls there was nothing up against it, revealing a mural that covered the whole thing. Walking up to it, Adako traced the lines and contours of the painting with the tip of her finger, drawing a pointed ear, a well shaped muzzle, a pointed fang, a glistening tongue, a defined jaw, a muscular chest, and huge paws. The painting was life-size, a pack of wolves in the wild, some with their faces to the moon, some seeming to stare right at you. It awed her and she just studied it, totally forgetting that she needed clothes and that Luke had most likely left by now, until-
"So your small mind is capable of perceiving fine talent in art?" Luke stood in the doorway, keys to the new Jag in hand.
Adako's studious look turned into a glare, but she still faced the mural. "Intelligent words for the dumbest smart person I know."
Suddenly he was right behind her, holding her twisted wrist behind her back. Adako bit her lip to keep from crying out, her fingers on her other hand groping for the hidden blade in her sleeve.
"Do you really think so lowly of me?" He asked. She froze, thinking he knew about her blades, until he continued. "Do you really think that I would have you for dinner?" She slipped it into her hand.
"You know, " she said. "You need to go to charm school." In a flash she untwisted and sliced into his shoulder, retrieving the keys he dropped and flying out the door. She jumped into the car and jerked it into gear, peeling out and smiling to herself. She looked in the rearview mirror and slammed on the brakes, doing a quick U turn and speeding back to the steps by the front door. Luke was standing in the sidewalk, Espie in his arms, a knife glinting in the rising sun. He set her down, crooking his finger at Adako and she came, plopping the keys into his open palm and glumly admitting defeat. He smacked her shoulder.
"And you, " He continued her quote from I, Robot. "Are the dumbest dumb person I know. " He threw down the knife and climbed in the car, beckoning for her to follow. She grudgingly complied.
