"Finch, Theresa's been kidnapped by an Unknown. Joey looks like he might be going after her." Reese said as he followed Joey out of the building.
"An Unknown? How do you know?" Finch asked, incredulous.
"It had been revealed. I could hear it. I think that might be part of Theresa's Talent."
"I've never heard of Seraph revealing an Unknown by Talent alone. But then, there are a lot of things going on in the world today that no one has ever heard of before…" This last statement was said quietly, as though Finch was talking to himself rather than to Reese. Reese wondered what he meant.
"I'm following Joey to make sure he doesn't get killed. Could you possibly try to track down all the revealed Unknowns in the city? I'm fairly certain it was a Denizen."
"I think I can manage that," said Finch dryly.
"Thanks," Reese replied before turning off the call.
Reese didn't need to be a master Tracker to be able to trail Joey. The man had left a trail behind him that could've been followed blind. It lead to a rather seedy part of town where the shadows seemed oddly deep and watchful. Reese wondered absently if there were Half-beings in New York. There didn't used to be, but that didn't mean anything. The pests had a habit of spreading quicker than fleas.
Looking around to be sure no one was following (completely missing his stalker, of course), Joey went into an alley. Reese followed silently, using his Talent to cloak himself.
"You told me that you wouldn't touch her!" yelled Joey. "Come out and talk to me, bastards!" Seemingly from nowhere, a man melted into the alley from the shadows. He felt like a seraph of the second class, but that didn't necessarily mean anything if he was an Unknown. His black hair and black clothes added to the impression that he had just been formed from shadows. He shot an insincere smile at Joey that made the scar that ran over his right eye crinkle.
"I was promised that Theresa would be left out of this job," Joey hissed. Scarface raised an eyebrow sardonically.
"The plans changed. We needed her after all for this operation. Our previous intelligence was inaccurate. There are more sentinels guarding the place than we were told."
"Jumping into a sideways dimension for a package is like jumping off of a building because you dropped a penny," snapped Joey. "It's not worth Theresa's life."
Reese raised his eyebrows. A sideways dimension? Sideways dimensions could be incredibly dangerous without the right preparations. It usually took a sort of…carriage to get in and out of them without setting the whole dimension into collapse.
"So go with her. I'm sure you can protect her. When you get back, and the boss has his package, you can take her and go where ever you want and we'll never bother you again." Joey started to open his mouth to reply, but Scarface continued, "Or, you can stay here, and we'll take her anyways and she'll take her chances without you."
Joey looked about ready to punch the man in the face at this point, but through gritted teeth, he answered, "Fine. But when we get back, we're leaving. And if I see any of you again…You won't like it."
"You'll not need to worry about us ever again after this job," Scarface replied with a smile.
Reese dialed Finch and made sure that his cloak was enough to cover his voice.
"Finch, what do you know about sideways dimensions?" Reese asked when his employer answered the phone.
"I assume there's a reason you're asking," Finch replied.
"The gang is planning on making a jump to a sideways dimension for a raid. Joey was told that they didn't need Theresa for this job, but now they're dragging her along. Joey is going along to protect her on the promise that the gang won't bother either of them again."
"I've heard of sideways dimensions being used to store dangerous or valuable items, but they're heavily guarded—not to mention the fact that the slightest misstep can trigger the whole pocket to collapse in on itself. It would take a huge amount of resources to be able to locate the coordinates outside the Veil, let alone the right place in our own dimension to jump through…."
Just then, Reese had the impression of someone behind him before he felt the butt of a gun connect with his head. It wasn't enough to knock him unconscious, and he cursed his decision to keep his cloak a light one.
"Look what I found! Looks like we've got ourselves a spy," shouted the woman that had hit him while she dragged him out into the alley, painfully ripping the cloak away from him. She searched him and took both his guns away before shoving him in front of Scarface and Joey.
"Mister Reese, what's happening?" Finch's voice echoed nervously in his ear. Scarface frowned and reached out to pluck out the earpiece. He raised his eyebrows at the woman.
"Diane, you missed something," he said before dropping the bud on the ground and stepping on it. He turned back to Reese. Abruptly, Reese noticed more people melting from the shadows. Yep, definitely Unknowns. "So, who the hell are you?" Scarface asked.
Reese quickly glanced at Joey, noting that the man seemed uncomfortable in the presence of the Unknowns before trying to think of something to say that wouldn't get him killed. "Umm, concerned…third…party?"
"What should we do with him?" asked the woman called Diane in a voice that clearly indicated what she wanted to do. Scarface looked considering for a second, but before he said anything, Joey stepped forward.
"If we're going to be jumping into a sideways dimension, we're going to need all the Power we can get. We should take him with us."
Scarface nodded. "That is a smart plan. If everything goes as planned, you can leave him there once you've got what you came for." He nodded at Diane behind Reese and there was another hit to the base of his skull, and then darkness.