The Winged Wolf
Written by catsamurai16.
An Idea from TalosLives.
Chapter 9: I.M.P.s at Mardi Gras
7:00 A.M. It was time. Finally, time to wake up and get ready for tonight. He hadn't gotten as much sleep as he wanted, but there was no helping that. Jericho pushed off his covers and quickly went to his bathroom for a shower. He had an uneasy feeling about tonight, a hunch, a gut feeling he couldn't shake off. As he scrubbed himself, he thought about the plan Blitzø had for tonight. Blitzø had hinged all their bets on tonight. Jericho had spent the last two days bombarding the target with hypno spell after hypno spell to make damn sure he had the amulet on tonight. Moxxie and Millie had mapped and memorized every road, alleyway, or possible hiding spot in case something went wrong. And he and Loona were set to tail their target unto the ends of the Earth. Once they were set, Jericho would cast the magic canceling spell. Then Millie and Loona would lure the target away from the crowd. And finally… they'd kill him. It was a solid plan, for the most part.
But honestly, it wasn't Blitzø's plan that gave Jericho his uneasy feelings. It was the thought that for some reason Jericho might be put in the position of killing the target himself. And when he thought about that… his mind kept drifting back. Back to that night. That night with the screaming, the crying, the pain, and the blood. Satan, so much blood. And seeing her … laying there… lifeless… it was-! Jericho quickly turned the hot water off and let the frigid cold water take him away from those thoughts, from that night. He stood under the shower and tried to calm himself. After taking deep breath after deep breath, he finally turned the water off and started drying off.
"Don't think about it, Jericho," he thought to himself, "Just don't think about it."
After a while, Jericho went downstairs for breakfast. Stolas was already eating. He smiled at Jericho.
"Good morning, Jeri," Stolas said, cheerfully, "Is everything set for tonight?"
Jericho nodded, "As set as it can be, Uncle. What are your plans for today?"
Before Stolas could say anything, Octavia came in from the kitchen. She was carrying a tray of food.
"Good, you're up," she said to Jericho, "I was just about to come get you. Here's your breakfast."
She set down the tray and put a bowl of oatmeal in front of Jericho and then put another in front of Stolas. She quickly turned back into the kitchen.
"I've just been talking with Gerald about the servants safety routine. They've been much better at getting to the safe rooms quickly and without injuries. Gerald and I have gone around the perimeter of the mansion to check the protection spells. We really should hire more guards, Dad. Now, is everything ready for tonight, Jericho?" she called back.
Jericho looked up from his oatmeal and said, "Uh, yeah, everything's set."
Octavia came out of the kitchen with two glasses of blood orange juice and set them in front of them.
"Good," she said, "This has gone on long enough. Have you practiced the magic canceling spell?"
Before Jericho could answer, she rushed off toward the living room. Jericho looked at Stolas, who was eating his oatmeal.
"She's getting worse, Uncle," he whispered, "I swear if she becomes any more of a mother hen, she'll turn into a chicken."
Stolas said, "She's just nervous, Jeri. We all are. With Alastor's unwelcome visit-"
"But we haven't seen Alastor since that night," Jericho said, "She's acting like he's gonna pop out from the refrigerator or something."
Stolas grimaced, "Knowing Alastor, he'd rather the oven."
Jericho said, "Seriously, Uncle. I'm worried about her."
Stolas looked at Jericho and then looked to the living room.
He looked at Jericho and said,, "Don't worry, Jeri. I'll talk to her."
"Good," Jericho said, standing.
"You're not having breakfast?" Stolas asked.
Jericho said, "I'm too nervous about tonight to eat. If I feel like it later, I'll grab a bite. See ya later."
"Good bye, Jeri. And good hunting!" Stolas said, watching him leave.
Stolas was about to start eating again when Octavia came out of the kitchen.
"Jericho left already?" she asked, looking around.
Stolas said, "Yes, he had to dash off."
Octavia turned to leave, but Stolas said, "Wait, Via! I'd like to speak to you."
She turned to him and asked, "About what?"
"Please sit down, Octavia dear," Stolas said.
Octavia sat in the chair next to her father and she looked ready to bounce out of it again. Stolas sighed and set aside his oatmeal. He had to admit his little Starfire had gotten more… well, cautious as of late. Since she practically forced Jericho to tell her about Alastor, Octavia had almost been obsessed with their safety and wellbeing. Stolas had to beg her not to try and strengthen the mansion's defenses herself.
Stolas said, "Octavia, dear, I understand that you're afraid-"
"I'm not afraid," Octavia said quickly, wringing her hands.
Stolas raised his eyebrow at her and said, "Really?"
She crossed her arms and said, "Okay, maybe I am a little afraid, but can you blame me? I mean, it's not every day the Radio Demon visits our home."
Stolas leaned forward and placed his hand on her cheek, "I understand, Via dear. It was a shock for everyone, but I assure you he's not coming back. I've placed some of the most powerful protection spells I know on the mansion."
Octavia looked away from her father, "Yes, I know, but-"
" But nothing," Stolas moved and held her in a tight hug, "Relax, my little Starfire. We're safe now."
Octavia hugged her father back and sighed. She rested her head on his shoulder and said, "You're right. I'm sorry Dad."
"Don't be, dear," Stolas said. He pulled away and said, "Why don't we go do something today to relax? Perhaps we could go to that Stylish Occult place you like?"
Octavia smiled, "That sounds like fun. All right, Dad. Just let me go get dressed."
"I'll be getting ready as well," Stolas said, watching his daughter leave.
He sighed and looked at his right hand. He felt a little ashamed about lying to her, but it was for the best. Until his deal with Alastor was done, he couldn't risk anyone finding out about it.
Meanwhile, Jericho and the others were running drills to make sure the hit ran smooth silk this evening. Blitzø had been going over the different escape routes on the white board. After that, they reviewed possible places to hide the body. Finally, they worked on making sure they were safe until the canceling spell wore off and they could get home.
Finally, after a few hours, they were all set to go. They all gathered in the front office. Blitzø began pacing the room, "Okay, everyone. This is it. If we fuck it up tonight, it's over. But that sure a shit ain't gonna happen, is it?"
"No, sir!" Moxxie and Millie said together.
Blitzø turned to them and said, "I can't hear you!"
Jericho joined in as they shouted, "No, sir!"
Blitzø slammed his hands on the desk and said, "Good! And what are we gonna do?!"
'Kill that fucker!" Millie shouted.
"And how are we gonna do it?!" Blitzø yelled.
"Long and bloody!" They shouted.
"Fuck, yeah!" Blitzø shouted, raising his fist in the air, "NOW, LET'S GO!"
Moxxie charged out of the office with his arms over his head and cheering loudly. Blitzø, Loona, and Millie watched him go. Jericho groaned and rolled her eyes. After a moment, Moxxie came back into the room. He had his head down in embarrassment.
"Sorry. Got a little too amped up," he said sheepishly.
Millie went over and patted his shoulder while Blitzø laughed, "Ha, I knew he'd do that. You owe me ten bucks, kid."
"He owes me thirty," Loona said with a smug smile.
Jericho grumbled and reached into his wallet. Moxxie frowned as Millie ran her hand over his cheek.
"Don't worry about it sweetie," she said, "Besides, Jericho owes us fifty."
Jericho gave her the money and Moxxie watched in shock. He grumbled and crossed his arms, but in the end he smiled at his wife.
"All right, enough about that," Jericho said, "Is everyone ready for me to cast the color spell?"
Loona asked, "So, fucktard, how's this magic paint job gonna stay after you use that magic canceling spell?"
Jericho said, "The spell is literally putting color on us and dying our clothes, not changing our colors. Relax, bitch. Your 'fashionable' clothes will be fine. "
"Okay, that's enough, you two," Millie said, "I don't want any more name calling for the rest of the night. Am I clear?"
Jericho and Loona grumbled, but they both nodded.
Millie said, "Good. Now, go ahead, Jericho."
Jericho shot Loona a quick glare and then he began to cast the spell. Golden, green, and purple lights began to dance around the room. Slowly, Jericho pointed at the others. Moxxie's suit changed to a solid purple color with a golden bowtie and green undershirt. Millie's clothes took on a tie-dyed look, with waves of colors all around. Blitzø's jacket turned green, while his shirt and pants turned golden. The whites of his horns suddenly turned purple. Loona's outfit stayed the same, but her long hair suddenly had gold, green, and purple highlights in it. Finally, Jericho's jacket turned into a patchwork of the three colors. He summoned a mirror so everyone could take a look at themselves.
Blitzø started rubbing the purple part of his horn, "Uh, this'll come off, right?"
Jericho nodded, "It's the same stuff that humans use to paint on their windshields on their cars. It'll take a little elbow grease, but it should come off fine."
"Don't know what the fuck that means, but okay," Blitzø said.
Jericho turned to Loona, who was running her fingers through her highlights. He said, "And those should wash out fine in your next shower."
Loona looked at him, but didn't say anything. She pushed past him, saying, "You better be right."
Jericho rolled his eyes and groaned. Blitzø stepped forward and clapped his hands.
"Okay, guys. Are we all set?" he asked.
Everyone nodded. Blitzø moved to the white board and said, "Okay then. Let's get started. Let's go over the plan. First; we each go topside, separate, and start mingling with the humans while we look for the target. Once the target is spotted, Jericho casts the canceling spell. Then, whoever's closest will kill the sorry fuck. I leave the method to the lucky one. Next, we stuff the body in the nearest hiding place we've scooped up and grab the amulet. After that, we join the party and get wasted!"
Millie cheered, "Whoo yeah! I can't wait to see what this Mardi Gras thing is like!"
"Okay. Here we go," Jericho said.
He opened the portal to the human world and stuck his head through.
"It's all clear," he called back and finished stepping through.
Blitzø turned to Moxxie and Millie and said, "Okay. You two next. Remember, if you see the target, send out a text."
"Got it, Blitzø," Millie said, holding up her hellphone.
Moxxie took her hand and they both hopped through the portal. Blitzø turned to Loona.
"Are ya ready, Loonie?" he asked, smiling.
Loona smirked and cracked her knuckles, "Born ready."
And she and Blitzø walked through the portal.
Stolas and Octavia came home from their shopping trip with a few bags of clothes each. Octavia smiled and said, "Thanks for this, Dad. You were right. I needed to unwind a bit."
Stolas put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm just glad you're feeling better, Via. So, what now? Care for a meal at Wackdonald's or would you prefer something fancier for dinner?"
Before she could answer, Gerald walked up saying, "Welcome home, sir. Young Mistress."
He gave a quick bow as Octavia said, "Hello, Gerald. I told you that you could call me Octavia, if you'd like."
"I'd be honored to, young Mistress, but duty forbids it. Besides, I prefer calling you Via," he said with a smile, "Shall I take those for you?"
Octavia said, "No thanks, Gerald. I'll take them to my room in a minute."
She turned to Stolas and said, "How about pizza? I think you'd enjoy trying something new."
"Very well," Stolas said smiling, "I'll leave the ordering to you, dear."
"Okay. I'll be right back," Octavia said, heading up to her room.
Stolas began to walk upstairs to his own room. Gerald followed close behind. Stolas said, "Has there been any problems today, Gerald?"
"None, sir. Everything seems normal," Gerald said.
As Gerald and Stolas walked into his room, one of the other servants moved close to the door to listen.
Stolas said, "Good. The newest protection and detection spells are working."
Gerald asked, "Should I have the guards patrols follow the new schedule?"
Stolas set his bags on his bed, "No. Octavia's suggested routes take the guards right into the newest traps. I'll give them their route in the morning."
"Very good, sir," Gerald said, "Pardon my asking, sir, but have you heard anything from Blitzø about the assassination?"
Stolas said, "Well, Jeri has told me that they're going all out tonight. With Mardi Gras going on, they should be able to use the crowd as cover. With luck, it should be finished tonight."
"Here's hoping, sir," Gerald said.
Stolas said, "I'm sure my Blitzy will take care of it. We'll, in any case, let us go and see if Octavia has ordered that pizza yet."
As they left and went back down stairs, the imp servant raised his watch and pressed a button on it.
He said, "Calling command."
After a moment, a disguised voice answered, "Command here. Report."
"The subjects are finally going to finish their assassination tonight," the imp said.
"Has the Radio Demon been seen again?" the voice asked.
The imp said, "No. It seems the Prince Stolas's spell are keeping him away this time."
The voice said, "Good. Then we can move onto the next phase of the operation. Inform the others and await further instructions. Confirm?"
"Confirmed." the imp said and ran off to the servants wing.
Blitzø walked up the street, looking around at the crowds surrounding him. He was getting a few sideways glances, but eh, he got that in Hell too. Suddenly, someone grabbed a hold of his horn and pulled him backwards. A young child happily squealed, "Got a goat! Got a goat!"
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Blitzø yelled.
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Thomas, let go of the nice man's costume!" a woman said.
Once the kid had let go, Blitzø turned around and saw a young mother with two kids, a girl in a jesters costume who looked around ten and a three year old in her arms with his face painted purple. The baby, Thomas, was reaching for Blitzø's horns again.
"I'm really sorry about that. He's obsessed with farm animals," the mother said.
Blitzø rubbed his sore horn and said, "Yeah, it's fine. Bye."
Blitzø turned to leave and he heard the kid start fussing, "No! Want goat!"
While Blitzø was annoyed by the kids crying, the assassin in him knew it would be best to stop the kid from making a scene. He turned back to the kid and said, cheerfully, "Hey little guy, Don't start crying. You like balloon animals?"
The kid clapped his hands as Blitzø reached into his pocket and pulled out a balloon.
Staring at it he thought, "It's been years since I've done this. Hope I don't fuck it up."
He blew up the balloon and quickly tied it up. Surprisingly, he did it! He tied a perfect balloon animal horse!
"Well, hot damn!" he said, "Here you go, kid, have a horse."
The baby giggled and hugged the balloon house tight.
"That was so nice," the mother said and turned to her daughter, "Would you like a balloon animal, honey?"
The girl shook her head and said with excitement, "No, I wanna see him do a backflip!"
Blitzø smiled and did, not one, but three backflips! The little girl clapped and cheered. The baby laughed. Blitzø took a bow and said, "Aw thanks folks! It was nothing."
Suddenly, Blitzø realized he was drawing a crowd.
He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, well, I need to go."
The woman smiled and said, "Okay. Thank you again. Say goodbye to the nice man, kids."
As they turned and left, the baby was waving goodbye at Blitzø, "Bye, goat!"
Blitzø smiled and waved back. He sighed. It felt good to entertain again, even if it was only for a while. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking for the target.
Millie and Moxxie were having the time of their lives! The music, the crowds, everything! They held each other close as the latest song stopped. The crowd cheered and clapped as the band bowed. They were playing on a restaurant patio, passing out food in between songs. Millie lead Moxxie by the hand into the food line.
"I can't wait to try this… uh, what was it called again?" Millie said.
Moxxie scratched his head and said, "I think someone called it 'shrimp etouffee.' By the way these humans are eating it, it must be delicious."
When it was their turn, they were handed two small bowls and plastic spoons. Millie took a long sniff of her bowl before digging in. Stars appeared in her eyes! Seeing his wife's reaction, Moxxie ate a spoonful too. It tasted incredible! He and Millie quickly ate as the band began to get ready to play.
The band leader got to the mic and said, "Well, I hope y'all are enjoying yourselves tonight! We're gonna be cookin' and playin' all night for y'all, so tuck in. But before we do, we got some bad voodoo in our midst. We got some imps here!"
Before Moxxie and Millie could do anything, they were lifted up and taken into the patio with the band. They were set down on two wooden stools. Moxxie and Millie looked over the crowd and then to each other. This wasn't good. The band leader slapped Moxxie on the shoulder.
He laughed, "We're having a helluva time tonight, but I didn't think we'd get real devils. How are you two doing tonight?"
The crowd laughed as the band leader pointed the mic at Moxxie, who looked them over the crowd with unease.
"Uh, well… I -er… we were," he stammered out, sweat building on his head.
"Aw, no need to be nervous, son! The boys and me just wanted to show off your costumes," the man said.
"Costumes?" Moxxie asked.
"Y-yeah, our costumes, sweetie!" Millie said quickly, "Our imp costumes are good, right?"
She twirled in place and winked at Moxxie. He nodded and winked back.
"Yeah," he said, "The- uh… the toughest part was getting these tails to move right."
"I'll bet. How'd ya get these horns to stay on?" the band leader asked.
"Uh, these are wigs," Moxxie said, tugged at his hair.
The band leader said, "Huh. So, what's a pair of demons like you doing up here?"
Moxxie said, "Well, I've taken an interest in your Earthly bluegrass music. I've come to hear you play some."
The whole band laughed and the crowd cheered. The band leader picked up a guitar and said, "Sure thing, Mr. Devil. You wanna join us for a song?"
Moxxie took the guitar and smiled. He began to strum a tune. The band knew the song and followed along. Millie giggled and danced to the music.
Jericho had stayed close to the target's hotel. He watched as people came and went as it got dark. After a while, he decided to go to the coffee shop and look around. On the way, he saw Loona walking through the crowd. He caught up to her and asked, "Any sign of him?"
Loona simply said, "No."
Jericho asked, "Well, have you seen the others?"
Again, Loona said, "No."
Jericho noticed that she was wearing several bead necklaces of different colors. Jericho bite his lip. He read up on Mardi Gras traditions. In the 80s, they started to… but it was frowned on today, so no one would… well, drunks on Bourbon Street would still offer beads to women who would… and if she had so many… did… did she really?
"So, how'd you get so many necklaces?" he asked slowly.
"Some fuckers kept asking me to flash my tits for them, so I knocked them out and took 'em. Why?" she said, glancing up from her phone.
"Oh, no reason. Just curious," Jericho said, feeling relieved.
She rolled her eyes and went back to her phone.
Jericho looked over her shoulder and asked, "What's so important that it's taking you away from your job? Something good on TicVox?"
Loona pushed him away and said, "I'm checking if anything else is going on tonight. If he's not here, maybe the target's at a party or in a restaurant or something."
Jericho said, "He shouldn't. My hypnosis spells should make him want to stay on this street."
"Well, he's not here," Loona growled, "And If we don't spread out more and look for him, we'll never find-"
They were interrupted by Loona's phone ringing. She answered, "Hey, Blitzø."
"Loona! Get Jericho and come down the street to the start of the parade!" Blitzø said, "I found the son of a bitch!"
Loona grinned, "On our way."
She hung up as they ran toward the front of the crowd and saw a parade was starting to come down the road. They saw Blitzø standing in an alleyway, looking across the street. Once they caught up to him, Jericho said, "Great job, Blitzø. Where is he?"
Blitzø pointed across the street and said, "He's right there, mixed in with the college kids."
Jericho looked over and saw their target. Blitzø asked, "Can you tell if he has the amulet?"
Jericho shook his head and said, "I can't tell from here. Where's Moxxie and Millie? Maybe they can run through that group and check?"
Blitz grumbled, "That limp dick Moxxie's not answering his phone."
Jericho sighed, "Well, I can't think of any-"
Loona punched Jericho in the shoulder.
"Fucking idiot! Don't you have some magical way of checking?" she growled.
Jericho rubbed his shoulder and said, "Come to think of it, yeah, I do."
Looking over at the target, Jericho's eyes momentarily glowed blue then golden. They returned to normal and he smiled.
"He has it," Jericho said.
Blitzø rubbed his hands and said, "Perfect! Alright, work your magic, kid."
Jericho took a deep breath and concentrated. He cupped his hands and a small black mist slowly filled clapped his hands and the mist quickly spread around, far into the crowd and beyond.
"There. That takes care of all magic within a mile for the next thirty minutes," Jericho said, quickly setting a timer on his phone.
Blitzø turned to Loona and said, "Okay, Loonie-Toonie, let's you and me go over and introduce ourselves."
Loona cracked her knuckles and smiled. She and Blitzø started to move across the street, through the parade.
*BANG! RATTA-TAT! BOOM! BA-BANG!*
Blitzø pulled Loona back to the cover of the alleyway as the crowd started screaming and running.
"Were those gunshots?!" Jericho yelled.
More shots rang out as Blitzø said, "Naw, that's handgun, shotgun, SMG, and magnum shots. Great. What a time for a mass shooting."
Jericho moved past Blitzø and looked for the shooters. He saw there were four of them. They seemed to be looking for someone. Jericho moved out of the Alleyway to get a better look. A shotgun blast made him back off.
Jericho said, "I don't think they're trying to shoot the masses, Blitzø. I think they're trying to shoot us!"
Loona looked across the street and saw the group of college kids the target was with. They were huddled in a store front door. Some started to run. The target joined them.
"Shit!" she shouted and tried to bolt after.
Jericho grabbed her and pulled her back just as more shots came their way.
"Yeah, they're aiming at us, Blitzø," Jericho said.
"Fucking damnit, we're gonna lose him!" Loona said, pulling out her handgun.
"We can pick up his scent!" Jericho yelled and turned to Blitzø, "Lay down some covering fire and we'll get after him. Give me the case."
Blitzø scowled. He reached into his coat and pulled out the case. He looked Jericho in the eyes and said, "If anything happens to my little girl-"
"Nothing will happen," Jericho said.
Seemingly satisfied, Blitzø gave the case to Jericho and pulled out his flintlock. He moved out of the alleyway and began to shoot at their attackers.
"Go!" Blitzø shouted.
Jericho and Loona bolted after the target, Loona firing a few shots at the attacker herself. A quick sniff and they were off. Blitzø watched them go with a worried look. Suddenly, one of the attackers started running after them! Blitzø tried to shoot him, but another blast from the shotgun kept him in place.
Loona and Jericho followed the scent of their target as he seemed to dart and dash in the alleyways and streets. They pass people who were terrified the shooters would come their way. Jericho worried about the human cops showing up, but they didn't have time to worry about that now. If he was right they only had fifteen more minutes before his canceling spell wore off! As they came out of another alleyway, they noticed a big problem. Somehow, the target's scent went in two different directions! They looked at each other and nodded. Jericho ran to follow the scent that led down the street and Loona followed the scent that led through more of the alleyways. Loona ran as fast as she could down one alley and out into the street. The scent seemed to go into a gas station. Loona burst in and looked around.
The clerk behind the counter scream, "What the fuck?! Who are yo-"
Loona quickly shut him up by pointing her gun at him. He raised his hands as she took another sniff of the room. The scent. It led to the bathrooms! Loona moved quickly and went to them. She pushed the men's room door open and took a sniff. Besides things that made her want to puke, there was no smell of the target. She opened the women's room door and sniffed. The scent was faint, but he was there. She went in and moved to the only stall. She tried to push it open, but it was locked. She growled and kicked the door in.
"AAH! PLEASE GOD, NO! PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!" A girl screamed, holding her hands up in defense.
Loona was confused. Where was the target? Then she looked the girl over. She was wearing the target's jacket.
"Fuck!" Loona shouted and left to try and find Jericho.
Blitzø reloaded his pistol. His flintlock was empty. He knew he'd killed one of them. He rounded the corner to shoot some more, but another round of shots from the SMG held him back.
"Well, fuck. Maybe I didn't," he thought.
Suddenly, Blitzø heard more shots around the corner, then bodies hitting the ground.
"It's safe now, Blitzø!" Millie called out.
Blitzø looked around the corner and saw Millie and Moxxie standing over the dead bodies of the attackers. Moxxie bent over to pick up the weapons.
He walked toward them, "Thanks guys, but where the fuck were you?!"
Millie tucked her head, "Sorry, B. We were blendin' into the crowd and we got to havin' fun ourselves."
Blitzø said, "I don't wanna hear it, Mils. Now, we gotta catch up to-"
" Wagh! Sir, look!" Moxxie shouted, jumping back and pointing to the bodies.
One of the bodies was still moving. Not the twitching of a dying person, but the corpse was trying to stand back up. Another was still pulling its trigger finger, trying to shoot the SMG that had fallen out of its hands. And the last body was watching Blitzø, Moxxie and Millie standing over it while trying to move its legs to walk. Moxxie held Millie close while she covered her mouth with shock. Blitzø moved closer to one of the bodies.
"Well, that's kinda fucked," he said.
"Wait a minute," Millie said, "What's that?"
She moved to one of the bodies and lifted a necklace from its neck. When she took it off, the corpse slumped and stopped moving. Moxxie checked the other bodies and they had them too. He removed them and the bodies also stopped moving.
"What do you think these are?" Moxxie asked.
"We'll have Jericho check 'em later," Millie said
Blitzø said, "Yeah, speaking of, we better catch up to him and Loona,"
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Five minutes! Jericho had five minutes to find the target and get this done! He'd followed the scent down the street into a building and out its back door. He ran down the alleyway and found its exit had been blocked off. Jericho took a sniff of the air and the target's scent was strong. He was here. He had him. He began to look around for the target. There was an old rusty dumpster and several trash covered crates lining the walls in the alley. Jericho pushed the crates over and found them empty. He pulled out his gun and fired two shots at the dumpster.
"Fuck! Stop!" someone yelled.
Slowly, with his hands over his head, the target moved away from the dumpster.
He said, fearfully, "Okay, look, I'm sorry. I'll give everything back a swear. Just don't kill me."
Jericho pointed his gun right at the target's head. He did it. He had him. Now, pull the trigger… Just pull the trigger… Fuck, just do it… He… He'd been right. Jericho thought about his feelings from that morning and he'd been right. That he'd have to be the one to kill the target. It was as if someone was testing him. Jericho tried to steel himself and looked at the target. The target. He'd been calling him that mainly because he didn't know his name. He saw the target's eyes start to water and he began to gently cry. Jericho couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but he had to do it. Right? Right. He tried again to pull the trigger… Why did it have to happen this way?! This poor kid's probably done nothing wrong! He's innocent in the whole thing. Just like she was… Fuck, he shouldn't have thought about that. That night. With…with his mother screaming and pleading. With her blood everwhere… and with Jericho… NO! It's different! He has to die! Just do it! Jericho could feel his own tears start to fall.
"I…I"m sorry…" he said.
"No, please!" the target screamed and clenched his eyes shut.
Jericho tried again to pull the trigger. After a while, he shook his head, closed his eyes and lowered the gun.
*click*
*BOOM*
*Bang! Ba-Bang! Bang!*
Jericho panted and stared at the body of his attacker. Was it one of the shooters in the street? Had she followed him all the way here? He'd dodged her shot just in time. He slowly stood and moved over to her. He could tell she was dead, if the three bullet holes in her chest were any indication. Jericho almost felt like he might've seen her before. At the target's hotel, maybe? He turned to look at the target. Jericho's attacker had done his job for him. The target took the shot from her magnum to his head, taking most of his skull off. Jericho moved over to him. What was left of his face still showed that same look of fear. Jericho sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said.
He kneeled down and looked for the amulet around his neck. He took the case out of his jacket pocket and put the amulet inside.
He said, "Well, at least it's done."
Suddenly, a loud beeping caused Jericho to nearly jump out of his fur! He quickly realized it was his phone timer. His spell should have worn off by now. He took out his phone and turned the alarm off. He heard someone running towards him. He looked up and saw Loona coming. When she reached him, she looked over the target.
"Huh," she said, "And here I thought you wouldn't have the balls to kill him."
"I didn't need to. She killed him for me," Jericho said, pointing to the other body.
She shrugged, "Well, fuck it. Job's finally done. Let me call Blitzø and tell him where we are. You got the amulet?"
Jericho listed the case and shook it. The amulet jangled inside. Loona nodded and called the others to meet them there. They were in the perfect spot to portal out. As she was talking to the others, Jericho put his gun in the target's hand. He knew the human authorities would never know what truly happened here. But to at least imply these two killed each other might bring some closure to someone. He looked at the body of his attacker and wondered who had sent them. And, more importantly, how did they know about them and their plans?
The black clothed devil moved quickly. Once he'd finished writing in a code on his laptop, he reached for his phone. He quickly typed out a message.
It read, "Mission failed. Moving to secondary location."
With that, he dropped the hellphone and smashed it under foot. He moved around the room. He dumped the magical spells and scrolls into a metal trash bin. He cast a small fireball into it, lighting it all on fire. He moved to the computer and saw his program was mostly finished. He turned to the foot of his bed and picked up a baseball bat. Once the program had finished, he swung the bat hard and smashed the laptop too. When he was done, he reached for a backpack at the foot of the bed and headed for the door. He looked around the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Before he could move, the door burst open and three black tendrils took hold of him. They lifted him into the air. He struggled against them, pulling with all his strength. He started to cast a spell, but one of the tendrils broke his hands. The devil screamed in pain. Suddenly, someone walked into the room. It was the one that the devil had tried and failed to outrun. It was Alastor, the Radio Demon.
Alastor hummed as he looked around the room. He saw the destroyed hellphone and laptop. He kicked them aside and walked to the still smoldering garbage bin. Alastor looked in and saw the contents were mostly reduced to ash. He turned to the devil.
"My, my, someone's been a busy little beaver, haven't they?" he said, "I must say, I'm impressed. Normally, I can sniff out anyone who tries to poke their noses into my business quite easily. Imagine my surprise when I learned about your little group and how much you've all learnt about me. Ha! It's like having another fan club!"
Alastor circled around the devil, "Another surprising thing was how hard it was to get any information on you lot in return! Why, it seemed like everytime I found a lead, it would vanish. I have to admit, it was becoming infuriating."
The tendrils squeezed the devil hard, causing him to cry out again. They loosened as Alastor continued.
"But the most shocking thing was when I learned that you all were also following those interesting little imps. Even now, I don't understand why. But, all the same, I am a man of opportunity! So, while you were watching them, I was finally able to watch you," he said with a laugh.
He stopped in front of the devil. Alastor said, "And the things I've learned. Not only did you trick a human to research my mortal life, but you also had such impressive ways to clean up your Earthly mess. Turning that girl from the hotel into you puppet to spy on their assassination atempts was smart. Your master stroke was when you had your puppet become a puppeteer! Quite the show!"
The tendrils squeezed the devil again. Alastors smile grew and glowed.
"And now, with your help, I'll learn so much more," he said.
The devil chuckled. Alastor's eye twitched.
He said, "And what, pray tell, is so funny?"
The devil opened his mouth wide. Alastor looked inside and saw the devil's tongue had been removed. The devil laughed out loud as best he could. Alastor's smile faltered slightly. The tendrils began to tighten. The devil stopped laughing and screamed.
"Tongue or no tongue, you're going to tell me what I want to know," Alastor said.
The devil screamed louder as the tendrils broke his legs.
"Whether you want to or not," Alastor said, his voice filled with static.
Meanwhile, back at I.M.P. Jericho was looking over the necklaces that Moxxie had taken off their attackers.
"And they died after you took the necklaces off?" Jericho asked.
Moxxie nodded, "Yeah. It was very strange."
"Especially since you said that hocus pocus of yours had stopped all the magic around. What the fuck, kid?!" Blitzø said.
Jericho shook his head and said, "I don't know. I cast the most powerful magic canceling spell there is."
"You said that the spell affects everything in a mile. Could they had been out of it's radius?" Moxxie asked.
"Maybe. These necklaces have spells on them I've never seen before. Maybe one of them had something to do with it," Jericho said.
"Well, enough about that," Millie said, "We should be celebrating! We finally did it!"
Blitzø said, "Yeah, you right, Mils! Let's hit the bar! Drinks are on Jericho!"
Loona smiled, "Sounds good to me,"
"Wait! Not to put a damper on things, but what about the amulet?" Moxxie asked, "How are we going to give it to Alastor? We have no way of contacting him."
"Well, I don't know, Moxxie. Why don't we put an ad in the fuckin' papers or something," Blitzø said.
"I don't think we have to worry about that," Millie said, "I'm sure he knows we have it. He'll come get it when he wants to."
Jericho looked at the case with the amulet inside sitting on the table. He said, "True, but there's something that worries me."
The others looked at him.
He said, "This amulet is important to Alastor. It's safe to say that Millie's right. He knows we have it. But if that's the case, what is so important that he's too busy to come get it."
A chill ran through the group as they all looked at the case. It started to seem like a bomb ready to go off. And in a sense, it was.
End of Chapter 9.
