Part II: My baby left me!
Chapter: Quetzovercoatl
"What do you mean, a fraud?" Abe sounded alarmed.
"Did you even check this information, Abe? the Quezovercoatl?! It doesn't exist, it's a book reference! I mean, a feathered boa, for God's sake?!"
"A feathered boa?" Margot asked. "I have one."
"Yes! Any woman would've known it's an accessory, not a god." Kat snapped. "You've been fooled, and I think I know by whom."
"By Agent Connelly." Sighed Professor Broom. "I am afraid we've sent my son and Agent Myers into a grave danger."
And suddenly Margot felt like suffocating.
"What do you mean?" she stated, her voice weak and strained in her ears. "Tell me all, now. Where are John and Red?"
"Agent Connelly has been working on a case for the past six months, a case about Teotihuacan-"
"Yes, I know that." Margot replied. "John was helping her with it."
"Indeed. It was me, who ordered for him to do so, and for that I am sorry." Professor Broom said silently. "But it is too late to lament that now. They did their research, and not that long ago they found out about a cult, who had been trying to wake up the ancient Gods of Teotihuacan."
"What is it with people waking up ancient Gods?" Asked Kat, annoyed. "Does anyone ever ask, if the Gods would just prefer to sleep?"
"They are Gods." said Margot. "They are thirsty of power, and they crave followers."
"Anyhow." Professor Broom continued. "Three days ago Agent Connelly approached me, asking if she could have a team for a mission in Teotihuacan. She told me there had been new sightings in the area, sightings of something that most certainly wasn't human. A feathered creature. And in past weeks, a few groups of tourists had gone missing. She told me about Quezovercoatl, and I don't know… she seemed so resolute. I trusted her."
"If you indeed trusted her, then why call Kat?" Margot asked. "Why summon us?"
"I got worried yesterday." Professor Broom replied. "After Agent Connelly had left us… I began to think different. I didn't think she'd betray us, but something didn't seem to add up. I wanted your advice, Kat. I wanted for you to go and check on them, for I have tried to reach Hellboy, but I haven't heard anything from him or Myers since they left. It has been three days now."
"Three days." said Margot, and met Kat's eyes. They were both dead serious.
"Fuck!" cursed Kat. "You should've called me sooner. Preferably the minute that bitch asked you to let her take HB and Myers to Mexico!"
"Mind your language, young woman." Professor Broom stated. "But yes, you are right. I am afraid I have put my trust on a wrong person. If Agent Connelly truly has invented all this evidence, I cannot believe that her intentions with my son are good."
"Or John." Margot said silently. "He's there too."
But no one seemed to pay any attention to her words.
"Abe, come on - how could you not see this?" Kat turned back to face her blue friend. "All of this is fake! Why didn't you sit down with her, and check this? You always do that, when I find something of interest."
"The truth is, that there is something in Ms. Connelly, that I find distracting." Abe replied. "And no, I do not mean her looks. If I'd have to describe it, I'd say it was her 'aura'. Something about her gives me headache, that is, and thus I have been forced to avoid her."
"Great." Kat said with a tone, that told she didn't think this was great at all. "I never should've left this place. Everything goes straight to Hell, when I'm not taking care of things."
Margot didn't say anything.
She felt Kat's words as an accusation towards her. She had, after all, been the one to take Kat away from here. And her own selfishness had kept Kat from coming back. Had she truly been there for her friend, Kat would've gotten back to her feet a lot sooner, and returned to her boyfriend to patch things up.
And then the hated Botox never would've managed to kidnap the guys, God knew for what unholy purpose. Yes, Margot was still mad at John, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead.
If they were too late, Margot would never forgive herself.
"We have to leave immediately." she said, on a low voice. "There's no time to lose. If we're right, and this is a trap, Beatrix Connelly is something else entirely, than a pretty agent. She might be the one responsible for all of this, for the deaths of those tourists too. And that means she's dangerous."
"I fear you are right." Professor Broom said. "The sooner you leave, the better."
"But sir." said Abe. "We need a transport. Agent Connelly took BPRD's plane, and we need to go through Manning, all the way to FBI to get another one."
Margot snorted. "The old creep who talked to my cleavage? Yeah, leave that to me."
Agent Johnson stared in disbelief at two young, very beautiful beautiful women who had just walked into Director Tom Manning's office. The other one was tall and dark haired, with pale skin and piercing eyes, the other one petite and very slender, her short curls fiery red. Yes, sure in his job as Tom Manning's personal assistant, Agent Johnson had seen a thing or two that would've freaked out any normal FBI agent, but this strange meeting was without doubt one of the most disturbing.
The women, who'd introduced themselves as Agent Wagner and Agent Duval, had arrived without an appointment, somehow gotten past the guards and the secretary in the lobby, and walked straight into Manning's office.
"Dear Tom, I need you to help me out." Agent Duval stated, taking a seat on Manning's desk, giving the Director a lustful look through her lashes. She was wearing a pair of tight, black jeans, super high heels and a white shirt over a black tank top, and something about her was so sensual, that it made Agent Johnson rather nervous. Her lips were painted blood red, and it was really hard not to stare at them, as she spoke.
"Um, sorry, what?" Manning stammered. "Who are you?"
"You know who I am." Agent Duval said leaning closer to the director. "We've met, Tom. I'm Margot Duval, Europol."
"Oh, yes." Manning replied, dreamily. "We have met. How can I help you?"
"A plane. I need one, preferably today. Can you do that to me, Sir?"
"A plane." he said, looking somewhat confused.
"For a rescue mission, you don't need to know more." Agent Duval said. "The only thing you need to know, is that you really, really want to help me out, and give me plane."
And after a few seconds of odd silence, Manning started grinning like an idiot.
"I do want to help you. A plane, yes. No problem."
"Preferably a nice jet, not a piece of garbage like the BPRD's plane." She gave Manning a very persuasive glance, her fingers playing in her short, red curls. "I'd really appreciate it, Tom."
"Yes, off course. Anything for our beautiful, European liaison." Manning said, his cheeks burning. "Just leave it to me. I'll give you a call when all is settled."
"Thanks, Tom." Agent Duval purred, leaning closer, touching Manning's shoulder lightly with her small, gloved hand. "I owe you one."
"Ah, none sense. The pleasure was all mine."
"I bet it was." Agent Wagner muttered by the door. "Pervert."
But apparently Manning hadn't caught that, for he was still smiling. A scary, sight that one. But even more scary was Manning's next request, the one he made as soon as the ladies had left his office.
"Johnson." He said, his face again grumpy. "I need you to go with them. Don't let anything happen to my plane, you hear me?"
"Yes, Sir." Agent Johnson replied. "As you say, Sir."
But he knew he wouldn't have any chance to succeed in his mission. The women who could turn Tom Manning into a grinning fairy godmother, would no doubt do whatever they wanted to the plane.
It turned out, that getting a jet and someone to fly it, took a bit more than a few hours, and thus they couldn't get going before the next morning.
That made Margot curse out loud, in French, and bang her fist into the wall.
"Merde! Tomorrow?" she spat out. "Another day wasted!"
Kat wasn't any happier, and walked around Broom's library, her blue tail making angry, restless circles in the air behind her. "This is taking too long. Perhaps I should try and teleport us-"
"No." interrupted Margot. "That would be madness. You know a few miles is the maximum distance you could get us. Trying to get us to Mexico would probably kill you. Or send us to some other dimension, and we could get trapped there."
"I hate it when you're right!" Kat exclaimed. "But by God, I can't just sit and wait, while Botox is probably slicing the guys into pieces!"
"You shouldn't." Interrupted Abe. "What you should do, is eat and sleep, so that when we do get there tomorrow, you'll be in full strength."
"Eat and sleep?" asked Kat. "You think I can sleep?"
"You should try, nevertheless." Abe replied. "You might not be human, but there is a limit to your endurance. You won't do Red any good exhausting yourself now."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Kat agreed. "Margot, you want to grab some supper before we hit the bed?"
"No." Margot shook her head. "I have something I need to check."
"And what's that?"
"Ah, nothing." Margot said, walking towards the door. "You go and get something to eat, I'll come to your room later."
The door in front of Margot was so familiar, that seeing it cut right through all her defenses, and she felt her eyes tearing up.
She laid her hand on it, on the doorknob, and closed her eyes to concentrate.
John.
She could feel his fingerprints on the knob, and she followed them deep, into the moment he'd shut this door after leaving three days ago.
He had been nervous, she could read that much. Scared even. And sad, so sad that catching that made Margot gasp.
She opened her eyes, and let go of the door, but only for a short moment, just long enough to dig a key from her pocket. She still had it, a key to his apartment, the one he'd given her the first time she'd been here. She had hardly used it, for they had always been together during her visits, but now she was happy she hadn't returned it.
Determinate, she slid the key into the lock, and turned. The door opened, and Margot stepped in.
Myers' familiar scent surrounded her the moment she entered - steel and mint, cotton and old books, and it made her heart ache. Christ, she had almost forgotten it, and now it filled her, made her remember all too vividly how she had inhaled it from the bare skin of his neck when they'd made love.
No time for this, she told herself. You're here for a reason.
The thought had crossed her mind, that perhaps Myers had left some clues about the case in his room, and that it would be a good idea to check that.
But it was harder than she'd thought, to be here again.
The memories of the things they'd done, of the time they had spent together here, filled her mind, and she felt incapable of pushing them away. On that couch, on that table, on that barstool, they had made love. Margot could practically feel John's strong arms around her, his lips on hers, his tight abdomen against her own, when he-
Agh, stop thinking about that already!
With an angry snort, Margot turned her back to the kitchen and the living area, and walked to Myers' bedroom/office. Trying very hard not to look at the bed, she busied herself going through the papers on Myers' desk. Somehow it made her feel like an intruder, a stalker even, but she pushed the thought away. Botox could be planning for the Apocalypse, for all she knew, and thus anything Margot could find out about her plans, could make the difference.
She took a seat, and began to leaf through the pages of a notebook that lay on the table. Seeing John's handwriting made her again think of things best forgotten. The letters, the notes, the postcards, he'd sent her during the summer. "I love you. Please Forgive me." Margot felt an ache in her chest, an excruciating pain, that made it hard to breath.
She did her best to blink off the tears.
He never loved you, so stop this stupidity. This is just a job, like any other job - get your shit together!
Margot shook the distracting thoughts away, and browsed through the notebook. Aztec Gods, Teotihuacan Gods, notes concerning the missing tourists… hardly anything of interest. But then on the last pages, Myers' handwriting: "Quetzoverqoatl - sounds weird. Is not in the books, check it."
"Oh, John. You should've called Kat". Margot said silently. "She would've known."
And then an ugly stab of guilt in her heart. Perhaps this was just the thing Myers had tried to call her about. He had been calling, alright. Margot just hadn't answered.
She moved on to a pile of papers, pages printed of different internet sites. There were pictures of ancient murals, temples and pyramids. One picture caught Margot's eye, for it was displayed many times on different papers. "Mural from the Tepantitla." they said. Myers had circled the pictures and underlined the name many times, and Margot immediately knew it was important.
"Great Goddess of Teotihuacan." Margot muttered. "I wonder if-"
She opened Myers' laptop, that was on his desk, and concentrated for a few seconds until she could follow his fingerprints on the keyboard clearly enough to catch his password.
After only a few minutes of googling, (and breaking into some heavily defended databases) she found what she was looking for - a cult that wanted to rise the Great Goddess, to bring on the Apocalypse. No doubt Myers had found the same information - too bad he had been so heavily under Botox' influence, that he hadn't been able to put the pieces together.
That Beatrix Connelly wasn't trying to expose this cult. She was probably the leader of it.
With increasing fear Margot read on. To wake up the goddess, human sacrifices were needed. Thus, the missing tourists, Margot realized. But that wasn't all. Something else was needed too, something called 'blood of other dimension', and Margot had the feeling she knew exactly to whom that referred to. According to the pages she found, it was also crucial, that the time of the year and the moon cycle was just right. Margot knew that full moon was tomorrow (for an agent fighting the supernatural, it was always handy to memorize these things), and the thought filled her with fear. No way it was a coincidence that Botox had lured the guys to Teotihuacan this near to the full moon! It was the perfect date for a ritual of this magnitude.
But the full moon wasn't until tomorrow. Margot felt her whole body stirring with anxiety.
John might still be alive.
If we get there before tomorrow night, we still stand a chance.
She closed the laptop, gathered the papers and took off. She left in such a hurry, she didn't even notice that her framed picture was still on Myers' nightstand.