Halla and Noni ran faster than they ever had before.
Their simple assignment had turned into an unmitigated disaster.
When the two sisters realised they had been spotted by their target they had left in a hurry. They didn't get hazard pay for this crap.
They were both mind readers in the employ of Wolfram and Hart.
As mind readers, or receivers as they thought of themselves in private, they had lived their entire lives knowing exactly what everybody was thinking. Because with the exception of vampires and who really wanted to know what they were thinking? anybody who wasn't a mind reader was transmitting their thoughts for every mind reader to receive.
After a good meal and a lot of alcohol on a double date with a particularly sweet pair of interns from the typing pool, they had explained how it was to live among people who transmitted their thoughts all day long.
They had likened it to being stuck in a traffic jam next to a jackass who had their windows down and radio turned up to full volume so everybody in the immediate vicinity could share their taste in music whether they wanted to or not. If two mind readers worked together they could block most of it out, but it was always there. Hence the reason they always worked in pairs.
Mr Morrow had asked them to follow Miss Morgan for a few days because her behaviour of late had been unusual.
What had been really unusual was that Miss Morgan was no longer transmitting her thoughts.
Usually they only needed to be on a line of sight with someone to receive what they were transmitting.
They had never had to actively try to pull a persons thoughts out of a mind before. But with Miss Morgan they were being blocked by someone or something.
They couldn't receive anything from the man she was meeting with either. If they had the time they might have asked them both just how they were preventing their thoughts from being transmitted.
Unfortunately Miss Morgan and her companion had noticed they were being watched.
They had left the club and raced to their getaway car when they saw the look of recognition in Miss Morgan's eyes.
In the time it had taken them to get in and start the engine, Miss Morgan and her date? Contact? Informant? Had appeared in the entranceway.
And that was when things turned surreal.
The expensive sports car went from zero to sixty inside of a few seconds, there were nice perks to working for Wolfram and Hart, to jolting to a dead stop. The front of the car crashed against a proverbial immovable object and was crumpled like a beer can around the mystery man who was now stood unharmed in the centre of what used to be the engine block of their car.
The instant he vanished, Noni pulled a dazed and bleeding Halla off of the steering wheel, she hadn't put on her seatbelt, and ran from the scene of the accident.
Whoever or whatever was strong enough to destroy a car, shield their thoughts and be able to appear and disappear at will was something the two mind readers knew they didn't want to be involved with.
Making it to the end of the alleyway they came skidding to a halt to find him waiting for them.
There had been no thoughts to warn them, no moving shadows on the surrounding walls and ground. Just one moment all clear, the next moment there he was.
"Who are you?" He demanded. Noni looked to Halla, who was still holding her head with one blood smeared hand and leaning on her even more now that they had stopped.
"Who sent you?" Suddenly the weight of Halla was off Noni's shoulder as her sister passed out. Noni looked down expecting to find her sister in an unconscious heap, only to look in puzzlement at her own feet dangling over a foot off the ground because he had her suspended by her throat.
"What do you want?" Noni grabbed her attackers forearm with both hands in an attempt to pry his hand from her throat. It was like trying to shift a steel girder. It took a moment for her eyes to refocus after he slammed the back of her head against the brick wall behind her. After that she wisely stopped struggling.
"Start talking." Noni desperately looked for another option, there was no way out, there was no escape. Halla was still unconscious and probably in need of medical attention. And the reason why was currently holding her over a foot off the ground by her throat. Calling for help would do no good, there were no good samaritans in downtown L.A.
From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Miss Morgan gracefully striding toward them like a model on a catwalk, the sound of her high heels echoing in the dank and dirty alleyway.
"Last chance." Noni watched as the ever confidant Miss Morgan came to a stop by the opposite wall without allowing it to touch any part of her. Standing elegantly poised with her arms folded across her chest and resting an automatic handgun against one arm.
"We work for Wolfram and Hart." There was no point in denying it. Besides, the company name came with a certain amount of protection. Everybody knew not to mess with Wolfram and Hart, if this guy realised just how much trouble he was in maybe she could get herself and Halla out of this.
"He already knows that honey." Noni's eyes snapped to Miss Morgan who just winked at her with a predatory smile, sending a shiver racing up and down Noni's spine. There would be no help coming from her.
"Do you know what will happen to you if you kill us." The smile he flashed her was even more frightening than Miss Morgans. Several of the bricks in the wall next to Noni's head exploded, the shards stinging her skin, as he punched through the wall with his free hand.
"Who said anything about killing you?" Noni felt her insides turn to ice as fear sped up her thought processes. If this man could wreck a car without a scratch he could easily tear me limb from limb.
"I'm not a mind reader like some people here. But I think he wants a name." Miss Morgan's mocking smile was positively carnivorous. Bitch is enjoying this!
"I can't tell you that!" Panic laced her voice as she looked at the two questioning her. Surely they understood what would happen to her if she gave away that information? Miss Morgan looked down and using the toe of her shoe rolled Halla onto her back with a less than gentle shove. The illumination provided by the nearby street light allowing a clear look at the oozing head wound.
"She's running out of time and you're running out of excuses." Noni looked from his eyes to Miss Morgans eyes and felt as though she was looking into the eyes of two predators eying up their next meal. It's like being stuck between a lion and a tiger, either way I'm as good as dead.
"Please! I need to get her to a hospital." As soon as she said it, Noni knew it was a mistake. Miss Morgan pointed her gun at Halla's head.
"Then you'd better talk fast."
The mind reader had given up everything. The two sisters had been hired by Linwood Morrow to spy on her and report back their findings. For some reason they couldn't get anything from Kal or herself, something to do with the pregnancy? either way, being immune to mind readers was definitely a plus.
For the first time that Lilah could remember, the aloof, superior looks that those mind readers had always worn had been wiped away and replaced by fear. They really couldn't tell what we were thinking, which levelled the playing field nicely.
Lilah had been treated to a front row seat of just what Kal was capable of. Interesting didn't even begin to cover it. As far as she could tell, he was incredibly fast, ridiculously strong and impervious to harm. Or imported sports cars and brick walls at least.
The very thought of having that much power at her command made her heart thump with excitement at the possibilities. If I could find a way to harness that power, I could dictate my own terms to the senior partners.
Lilah Morgan had learned long ago to never hesitate when it came to seizing an opportunity.
Which was why thanks to using a little misdirection and sleight of hand, Kal's glass from Caritas was sitting on the desk in her home study and her computer was running through a national database to find a fingerprint match.
While they were talking she had gotten in his face when she noticed his eyes wandering. He may have been a demon, but he was still male, and it seemed still vulnerable to her charms. And no heterosexual male was going to ignore looking at the female form when it was on display.
While his eyes were looking down the neckline of her dress, she had switched his empty glass with hers.
Not that she had needed to. Those mind readers had provided an even better distraction. Allowing her to pocket his glass unnoticed as they left the club.
A beep from her computer alerted Lilah to a match. Looking at the screen she smiled.
"Well, well, well, hello Clark Kent."