It moved silently over the lawn of the mansion, across the dew-laden blades of grass and the rose bushes, the perfectly manicured shrubs and the in ground fountain with its schools of goldfish and koi. The quiet midnight breezes that had frolicked through the trees disappeared beneath leaves and branches as the visitor passed, quaking from its hiding place. Fireflies dancing amongst the greenery suddenly dropped, their lights dimming before going dark completely. It seemingly did not notice how its presence affected the lawn; it glided directly to the elegant terrace, up the rounded steps, and directly through the closed french doors.
It stopped just inside, surveying the room slowly. There was a massive hearth at the opposite end of the room with a fire burning so low it was nearly extinguishing it. The logs were nothing but piles of glowing embers. Two matching high-backed chairs framed the fireplace, a pedestal end table with carved wooden features set directly between them. There was tall champagne flute from the bar situated to one side on its surface, half full of the sparkling liquid. It watched with disinterested eyes as a hand reached out to grasp the flute by its stem and lifted it out of view.
"You're late." He said lightly. "I usually do not tolerate such rudeness."
"Forgive me, sir. There was business to attend to."
"Of course. Please, come closer." It floated closer to the hearth, the embers growing colder and colder until finally the died in a puff of blue smoke. The man sitting in one of the chairs said nothing and paid no heed. He finished the champagne with a single swig and set the flute back down as if they were not suddenly swathed in an inky darkness. "I trust all went according to plan?"
"It could not have gone better, sir. The girl was subdued and moved to our secure location quicker than we had anticipated." It hissed happily. Its eyes flared a murderous red inside of its skeletal face at the memory of her fear and desperation. The man smiled widely at his employee's cruel glee. He gracefully stood from his seat, adjusting the collar of his blazer as he stepped forward onto the plush persian rug. Even in the dark, it could see the man's every move, down to the slight twitch at the apex of his left eyebrow. It watched him closely as he strode to the mantel of the hearth to retrieve a box.
"That's excellent news. I'm quite pleased with the work you've done thus far. If you continue to impress, it will reflect in your final payment."
"Thank you, sir. I aim to please." The man pulled a thick cigar from the box but did not light it. For a minute he simply smelled it, running the length of it beneath his nose. He closed his eyes at the aroma, then stuffed it in his front pocket.
"That being said, I heard a rather interesting transmission today." It titled its head, the creaking loud pops in the silent, large room. The sharp noises echoed up into the tiled ceiling. The man paid no attention. He began to pace slowly before the cold hearth. "It seems that Benjamin Tennyson has gone AWOL from Plumber Headquarters."
"Well, I-"
"I thought I made myself perfectly clear that he was exactly the kind of attention we did not want to attract." The man's once refined voice turned hard. Without any warning, he swung out an arm and sent a ceramic vase on the mantel flying. It crashed somewhere between them, pieces rolling across the rug, some skittering onto the hardwood floor. It did not flinch or move at the man's outburst but eyed him cautiously as he moved across the space, stepping and crunching the remnants of the vase as he came closer until they were face to face. "Now he's sniffing around after our tracks, it will only be a matter of time before he gets others involved."
"May I speak frankly, sir?" It asked gutturally. The man sneered but nodded, turning away dismissively.
"You may."
"It would have only been a matter of time before Officer Tennyson became aware of her disappearance. Earth law enforcement officers were searching the premises only a few days after we removed her. By accomplishing the first phases of your agenda with haste, however, I have given you quite the advantage."
"Oh?" The man asked. It ground its teeth together at his employer's cynical tone.
"Yes. Besides the area being completely cleaned for searches and scans, any sort of trail has been left cold for days. Even with all the technology the Plumbers have at their disposal, Officer Tennyson will find it difficult if not nearly impossible to investigate the matter." It rubbed its claws together slowly, obviously pleased with its explanation of the situation. It waited for the man to turn and acknowledge his words. He didn't. He stood silent a short distance away, hands held behind his back, pushing his weight forward onto the balls of his feet. It appraised the man's posture for a minute or so, trying to discern whether or not he believed anything it said. Finally, after a few more agonizing moments of silence, the man threw up a hand.
"Very well. I will contact you when I have need of you again. In the meantime, may I suggest you keep watch for Tennyson and anyone he might recruit? I would hate for them to throw a wrench in our metaphorical machine."
"As you wish, sir." It turned to leave when a hand shot out from the darkness and caught him about the throat. It felt nothing but the pressure of his fingers for a second. Then, it turned into a horrid sucking feeling. It cried out in surprise as the man held onto him tightly, pulling it close.
"I know they call you The Hunter, but if the threads of this plot should begin to fray, I promise you that I will personally stuff and mount you above my fireplace. Do we have an understanding?" The man released it violently, pushing it so hard it flew out the doors. It landed close to the roots of a large oak tree, shaking and clutching its neck. Through the glass it could see the man working to relight the fire.
"Oh, we have an understanding, sir." It growled between its teeth. "Soon enough, however, you will realize just how little you know of it..."
Ben eyed the bar warily from beneath the protection of his smelly hood. It was the epitome of a seedy establishment if he had ever seen one. The building it was situated in was mostly falling apart, with massive cracks that began in its foundation and ended somewhere near its roof. There wasn't a single intact window pane that he could see. The remnants of the shattered glass remained in piles on the uneven sidewalk. Trash cans and garbage spilled from the small, dark alley behind it. Papers, wrappers, and anything else the wind could pick up rolled like man-made tumbleweeds past its large, plank door and blinking neon signs. A painted sign advertised the bar's entrance. Even from his post in the passenger seat of the Camaro, he could see much of the paint was chipping or missing, so 'The Cellar Door' looked more like 'Th Cear Dor'.
'Of course it would be Kevin's favorite Friday night hang out spot.' Ben thought wryly. The older man had gone in nearly ten minutes ago, casting wary glances behind him all the way to the door. He disappeared inside after one more look at his car and his former partner inside of it. His behavior had made Ben all the more anxious. Since Kevin had gone, he couldn't stop checking the mirrors to make sure no one was creeping up on the other side of the car. He locked it and shoved the keys in the wide, front pocket of the sweatshirt, then sunk deeper into the seat.
Even after all this time, it felt awkward to be the one up front. He was so resigned to sitting in the backseat that when Kevin opened the door for him to get in, he almost pushed the seat forward and crawled behind it. He huffed a bit under his breath as his cheeks reddened at the silly feeling churning in his stomach. It was her seat. The both of them still considered it so. It was the reason Kevin had been so quiet the entire car ride. Ben began to chew on a stray fingernail even as he chewed upon his stormy thoughts.
They had broke up just before Gwen left for college. The specifics of the whole ordeal had been kept mostly between the two of them, though Ben easily guessed it wasn't a pleasant affair. Neither would talk about the other. When one came up in passing conversation, the other would become moody and snippy. There were quiet wars waged on belongings and gifts they had gotten for each other, usually ending with said object in the trash. It got to the point where he actively avoided talking to both of them when he made visits home. This, seemingly, had no effect on Kevin, but Gwen's parents via his parents let him know how unhappy his purposeful lack of contact made her. He felt bad, sort of, until he remembered that he had been playing mediator between the pair for the better part of five or six years. His only hope was that somehow they would grow out of it and they could all be friends again. He thought it might be starting when he found out about Gwen's new boyfriend, but then...
There was a sharp knock on his window and Ben jumped so high he hit his head on the roof of the car. Sputtering out swear words, he rolled down the window to allow Kevin's stifled chortling inside.
"What the hell?" Ben growled. Kevin snorted quietly.
"Oh that was priceless. What were you doing, sleeping?"
"No, I was- Never mind. What's going on?"
"Look who I found?" Kevin smirked and motioned down towards his feet. Ben sat up and peered over the edge of window. Quaking on the pavement was a small trench coat with ears. He narrowed his eyes as the coat moved. A pair of round yellow eyes appeared from out of the dark. Ben returned Kevin's smirk instantly.
"Argit."
A/N: Short? Yes. Probably not the best? Yes. Necessary evil? Maybe. Either way, I felt like it was a good place to end it and I really just wanted to get something, anything, posted before the weekend so I could maybe write another chapter and possibly another entry into Little Lessons. I'm waiting for new episodes to start to get my rear (and others) in gear. As always, enjoy!