Emily stood in the doorway of his bedroom arms crossed with a scowl. Her golden eyes held a adorable heat to them. He continued to tie his red tie and dress for his meeting with the broker. Instead of saying a word he waited. Nero took a look at the clock. Then it clicked.
"I hate it." Nero let out a sigh.
"You said you'd give it a chance." He said before using his desk as a prop to tie his shoes. His computer monitor read the temperature. It was going to be a nice hot summer day in Colorado. He still had three hours to drive to the meeting spot.
"Where did you find that woman? She does nothing but ask questions and then she asks how they make me feel. I don't know how I feel." Emily yelled.
"And how does that make you feel?" Nero asked. She gave him a glare.
"I liked it better when I was the older sister. Why can't I get my license, I'm seventeen?" Emily asked.
"Learn to control the mist and you won't need a license at all." Nero told her before grabbing his keys. "You look twelve and I heard the driving instructor in town is a pedophile. While I'm gone don't go off the property, make sure Amelia Slithers knows where you are, and don't shoot laser beams in the house." He walked over to his closet and pulled out a massive stack of tomes. "Since there isn't much of a magic library online, you'll have to study these. Aphrodite lent them to me so be careful with them." Nero said.
"You're really leaving, aren't you?" She stared hard unable to meet his eyes.
He glanced over at the stack of bills two hands high
"Unfortunately, we're a bit in debt after the house, land, and car. It'll be ok, I'll call you after the meeting. I might be back when you wake up." If anything, that was an understatement. They were in the hole deep and no amount of mist manipulation would change the numbers on the books. Debt seemed to the the limit where the mist ended. If there was a god behind the limit it would probably be Hades. Ironically, getting into debt had been the easy part. The mist let him get as big a loan as he wanted.
"Just play a game or something and relax. Go fishing the addsaid said the pond was stocked. Just don't go beyond the posts." He knew eventually she'd go beyond them. That's why he's killed any monster within fifty miles of his home. Friendly monsters were the exception.
"Be safe little bro." Nero hugged her tightly before putting on his black cowboy hat and heading downstairs. He passed through the hallway and heard crying. The sound brought him to Amelia's door. Nero opened the door slowly to find Ms. Slithers curled up and crying in her pillow.
"Hey lady what's with the tears was my sister that mean?" Nero asked. The lamia turned her head and her eyes widened when her gaze met his. Amelia scrambled back to the wall behind her. Nero rubbed his face. He was irritated by the reaction but that didn't mean it wasn't warranted.
"I didn't kill a friend of yours, did I?" She shook her head slowly. "That's good, then why are you crying?"
"Y y you are g g going to k kill me because I failed." Nero let out a sigh and took a chair from her desk, twisted it to rest his arms on the back, and sat down.
"I hired you to be her therapist. Your credentials speak for themselves, why would I kill you for doing your job?" Nero asked.
"You've killed hundreds of monsters." Nero nodded.
"Yea my count is getting pretty high. Its kind of boring honestly. I've set up a few signs, but I guess only a few monsters read English. Certain monsters can move freely. I've posted the list. If you aren't on the list of monsters allowed to go through, then go around." She stared at the floor like it could give her all the answers. "Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. I haven't seen you trying to eat my sister." She continued to sniffle. Nero sighed, he hated seeing women cry.
He stepped forward and took her in his arms gently.
"I'm not going to hurt you Amelia. You're safe in my arms." It was weird she dwarfed him in size but fit perfectly in his arms. She cried into his suit ruining it and making him late. That was ok, she was helping his sister and therapists were arguably people too. She just happened to be a snake from the waist down. He hoped she wouldn't start using him to voice her issues.
Amelia fell asleep whimpering in the arms of the man she feared.
Nero tucked her into bed gently. She was snoring when he left the room. He closed the door behind him and rubbed his face. He'd have to drive faster than before.
After making his way downstairs, he drank a glass of water and set off.
From the driveway the building was a rundown shack. It would've been just another crack house in the ghetto. This world hid its secrets well under the façade of what is expected. Nero often wondered how others saw him. Did he look like a businessman while he drove, what did he look like now? He stepped through a hole in the mist and the place morphed. Cars, chariots, and wooden wagons filled the parking lot.
Ahead of him the shack was transformed into a building made of adobe. It was squared, tall, and professional. A youthful centaur armed to the teeth stood at the door. A Warhammer with a head of celestial bronze was within easy reach. It was sheathed in the centaur's saddle bag. The man himself had a bushy mustache and his hair was slicked back. Strapped to his side was AK-47.
Nero froze and waited for something to happen. If this turned into a fight, he'd have to rush the centaur first. The horsemen were known to be quick. He planned to end it with a single blow if it came to that. A trickle of white form would give him more than enough power to out speed the centaur.
"I like you boy your eyes are dangerous. Go in the broker doesn't like to be kept waiting." Nero nodded and stepped past the centaur. He kept his hold on his power. There was always a chance this was a ploy.
When the door shut behind him, he found himself in a strip club. Patrons couldn't take their eyes off the shows in front of them. He heard a soft cough from his left.
"If you have an appointment please register." A lamia said from behind a desk. Iron bars separated her from the floor. She slipped the forms out on a clipboard with a pen chained to it.
"Sorry this is a lot to take in." Nero said.
"Well we aren't exactly under government regulation and we try hard to stay under the notice of Olympus. We are the Mythological Mercenary Bureau and proud of it." Nero quickly filled in the information and handed the forms back. The naga quickly updated his information on her computer before looking back at him.
"Please have a seat and enjoy yourself." Nero looked around. Monsters of all kinds moved about on poles with their own unique twist on pole dancing. He didn't know what brought them here or if they wanted to be here, but they smiled to the crowd and danced to their patron's cheers.
"What would you suggest?" Nero asked.
The lamia looked up from her work. Her name tag read Marissa. A small smile graced her lips. "This is your first time in our establishment. Well Mr. Nero I'd suggest a Trisha over there with the golden scales. I've seen a patron drop five grand to spend an hour in her coils. I wouldn't mind cuddling with her myself. Beware her venomous barbs. When a lamia has you in her hold you have no choice but to stay and listen." Marissa said.
Nero watched her glide around the pole with control and grace. Her belly moved toned and fit in an inviting way. A small loin cloth hid her womanly virtue from prying eyes. No matter how she moved it never quite revealed what lay beneath.
He shrugged his shoulders and joined the patrons. Trisha moved and Nero watched for what felt like hours. A hand on his shoulder took him out of his trance. "The broker will see you now." Nero nodded and got up. He took a few tens from his wallet. Trisha took his hand and quickly coiled around him to hide them from other customers.
She guided his hand between that flimsy loin cloth. His hand brushed her warm soft slit sending sparks flying through his body. He fought the feeling and put each bill in place. She frowned at him before pecking him on the cheek.
"We'll play another time sugar." Trisha said. She flexed her coils grinding them against his chest. They felt powerful, warm, and welcoming. He shook his head, but the feeling wouldn't leave him. Something was wrong.
A cough from the side finally made her move. She unwound from his body and returned to coiling around the pole and dancing for the patrons. "Its ok, she's the type that sleeps with every new guy. Think of it like a right of passage for patrons." A guy sitting in an armchair said. He was older, wore a flowing white beard, and held a staff with a crystal in his hand. There was a look of power in his eyes that was unmistakable.
"Call me Wulf, I'm sure we'll work together eventually everyone does." The old man said with a chuckle.
"My name's Nero and thanks for the info." So, he was special because he was new. That wasn't a bad thing.
"Boy no one cares what your name is. Survive here for two weeks and maybe we'll bother learning your name." Wulf said. The other patrons laughed at his words.
Nero followed his escort to a large room. Behind a large desk was a Sphinx. The lady had her black hair in a bun, wore a choker with a lock around her neck, and handles a tea cup with with excellent poise. He felt short sitting in front of her towering desk. Suddenly, he was self-conscious of the tear stains on his suit. Nero sat up straighter and waited for the interview to begin.
"Would you or our guest like anything before I leave Ms. Golden?" His escort asked.
"No that will be all." The door shut and Nero waited.
"I've heard a lot about you. Most of it is second hand but that isn't unusual. I'm the broker, I collect information and send adventurous young men like you out to solve riddles. Though in truth it's a mix between investigation, bounty hunting, and infiltration. Do you have any questions so far?" Ms. Golden asked.
"I'm happy for the opportunity to work with you. But, who suggested me." Nero asked.
"Hera mentioned you in passing and I was curious. I sent a few agents out and here you are." She smiled showing off a set of sharp fangs.
"Does that mean I get the job?" Nero asked. Ms. Golden chuckled.
"Don't put the chariot in front of the horse. Consider yourself on a trial run. If you impress me then you 're in on a permanent basis. I've picked out a few jobs. They're relatively new and the trail shouldn't have gone cold yet. Take a look." She handed him three files.
A centaur filly was kidnapped on the way to an aero smith concert. An unidentified monster is hunting in a small town. And a door that eats people. Nero looked over each file. Some of the information confused him. He was missing details but that could be collected on site. Over all it looked like he'd be busy.
"How well does it pay?" Nero asked.
"I've spent millennia building wealth. I also understand what its like to be poor. Sometimes, I wouldn't eat for weeks at a time. When my task was ended, I devoted many centuries to build what I have today. Every completed task is ten grand. Every secret discovered is worth another thousand. So, make your report detailed." Ms. Golden said.
"Thank you I'll take all three. Does the order matter?" She shook her head.
"You have full freedom to investigate as you will. Wield the mist wisely to hide our existence from not only mortals but the Olympians as well. We aren't exactly above board." Ms. Golden said. She shoed him away with her claws and he got up. Before he left he stopped.
"Can I leave my car parked here? I'm faster on foot." Nero asked.
"Of course." He relaxed and looked through his assignments.
Nero stepped into the strip club side of the Bureau to see a centauress slamming her cunt against a pole nearly swallowing the circumference of the pole with thick lips alone. A few guys whistled cheering her on. Nero lowered his hat and approached the door.
"You wouldn't happen to need some help on your first mission would you boy?" Wulf asked.
"Nah, Ms. Golden gave me an easy one. I don't think I'll need a pro." Nero added a bit of emphasis on the last word.
"Whatever you say lad. I'll tell you if you don't solve the case you aren't getting paid. Fine, I'll let you try the easy one." Nero shrugged, and left the club.
After getting situated in his car, he turned the mirror to see Trisha longing in his back seat. It was mostly piled with long coils of tail. How she fit herself in his car was beyond him? He decided to conclude it as magic.
"I hope you know; I always get my man." Trisha said in a whisper.
"Alright lady what are you doing in my car. I'm twelve, I've only had a boner once and it wasn't on purpose." She let out a chuckle.
"I'm going with you so make sure you don't fuck up." Trisha said.
"That's a lot of gas, I planned to just run there." Nero muttered.
"I'll teleport and meet you there then." Trisha said.
"Look Lady, I'm sure I look like quite the snack to you but I'm treating this job seriously." Nero yelled.
"Nero I'm a monitor of the bureau. My job is to make sure you follow what few rules we have and to grade your results. We can either be friendly about it or I can show you that I'm not just a pretty face." Trisha said with a dangerous smile.
Nero let out a sigh and started the car. He didn't want to vacuum the golden sand out of his back seat.
Author's Note: Hey thank you for reading. Its all about to heat up for this arc. For a time line lets say the Lightning Thief is 3 years away. Leave a Review and tell me what you think.