Monster Hunter Memoirs: Wolf and Red
Chapter Eighteen
"You're going WHERE?" Dolores Clark asked, the two teams meeting at a downtown Vancouver bar several days later.
"Japan," Red said, chugging her beer.
"A friend of ours is getting married," Wolf added, "we've been invited."
Nic Carter wondered what crazy kaiju shit they were going to get into... Probably tentacle monsters too. Knowing Japan.
"I'm SURE you're thinking weird shit," Gail Ward chided her friend.
"I BET you that something crazy is going to come up," Nic added cheerfully, the woman downing her beer.
"Not taking that bet," Mimi Johnson noted.
"We're going on VACATION. No work," Wolf said firmly.
"Like we ever have a quiet vacation?" Dolores asked reasonably.
Red paused. "Fuck. Good point," she admitted.
Mimi drank her beer as she told Dolores, "We've talked to Mr Smith over at the City Hall, they know to contact you if anything comes up. And I'll be around in an emergency."
"You're not going?" Gail asked, surprised.
"I'm kind of... wanted, in Japan," Mimi admitted.
"Wat," Nic blinked.
"Seriously?" Gail chuckled.
"It's a long story," Mimi pouted as she explained, "we could get it cleared up, probably, but it'd be a pain in the ass..."
"Fair enough," Dolores nodded.
"Bring us back some nice souvenirs." Nic teased.
"Don't hold your breath," Red laughed as she finished her drink.
"Okay, we gotta head out early," Wolf told them reluctantly, finished her beer and said, "stay out of trouble, all."
"Good luck on your trip," Dolores saluted them with her mug.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The next morning, a VERY hung over Dolores was heading in to the office building they used as as headquarters. It was part of a strip mall, with warehouse space they used for their gear. Not far from the Vancouver Airport, too...
"Fuck," Dolores winced as the car shuddered.
The ONLY reason Dolores was going into work was to check her mail. That, and see if anything came in on their official Monster Hunters Inc laptop. With just three Hunters (so far) their team didn't have a staffer to deal with this stuff.
Dolores sighed, "We need to hire a Mimi."
The office building had the usual corporate types, whom she kept a eye on. Never knew when a disguised thing might try something. She collected their mail, unlocked the office, disarmed the security then sat down.
"Junk, junk, pyramid scheme, junk, restaurant coupons, menus...," Dolores muttered as she went through the items. There were only two items that actually looked like jobs, one from the University and one Corporate client.
The corporate client looked interesting, but she made a note to look deeper into it. The bounties that were involved with that kind of work were high, but you could end up screwed over too. Especially if the company was involved in illegal activities.
Dolores was feeling VERY iffy about the University job. The Archaeology and Parapsychology departments both wanted to hire a team to go into the sewers with them to find the 'Temple of Artemis' they thought was buried under there. The same thing that triggered the event that had nearly wiped out the original version of her team.
"Not to mention we're still under-strength," Dolores muttered.
She knew Wolf and Red had, of course, already turned down the job. And YES, it irked her a little to know her team was second pick for this, too. Mind you, she couldn't blame the university, as Wolf and Red had saved her, too.
"Eh, I'll think about it later," Dolores set the letter aside. She went through the email, then decided to pack it in. Her hangover was NOT happy with her right then.
She checked in with Nic and Gail, both were also hung over, but were available if a emergency came up. In theory that would only happen if there was a monster attack in the city, but they were on call just in case.
As Dolores exited the building, she was a attractive woman looking around her questioningly. She looked lost, and Dolores walked over to ask, "Something I can do for you?"
"Susan Bishop. John's ex," the tall redhead nodded grimly.
Dolores blinked, "Oh..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Augh...," Gail groaned as she woke up.
The apartment was in Coquitlam, an expensive tower near a somewhat shitty mall. There was a housing crunch in the province, but mostly just for cheap housing. With the money Monster Hunters made, she could afford a nice place. It was a one bedroom, but generously sized and had parking etc etc. And (reasonably) convenient to the big city and airport.
"Hmm," a woman's moan made Gail realize she was not alone.
What Gail had avoided mentioning to her teammates was that she was a lesbian. The loved one she lost to the mer-people attack had been a lady... Her gut said that Dolores probably wouldn't care, or Nic. But there had been a few Holy Roller types in training camp, and she had decided it might be better to keep it quiet.
Gail put some coffee on, then went to wake her sleeping beauty. "Morning," she shook her gently by the shoulder.
"Hmm," the sexy blonde stretched awkwardly.
Gail tried not to look at her breasts covered by the sheet. "Here," she gave her a coffee, "cream and sugar okay?"
"Thanks," she smiled, taking the cup. She looked at the digital clock then froze yelping, "Oh shit. I'm LATE!"
Gail watched as the pretty woman scrambled out of bed, grabbing her clothes. "Sorry?" she offered mildly.
"Not your fault," the now dressed woman kissed Gail firmly, "I should have set my alarm. He pressed a business card into Gail's hands as she rushed out, "Call me!"
"Will do," she waved as the woman left.
Gail took some advil and sat down to drink her coffee. Her guts were too upset for a full meal, but she made up some buttered toast.
The phone ringing made Gail jump. She saw it was Dolores and answered, "Yes, Boss?"
"Ugh, don't start," Dolores sighed.
Gail bit back a chuckle, but continued, "Do you feel as awful as I do?"
"Yes, remind me not to try to keep up with Wolf's drinking," Dolores sighed.
"Or Red's. Or even Mimi," Gail added.
"Yeah," Dolores agreed. "Anyway, I checked in with the office, there's no emergencies so you and Nic can take the day off. Just keep your phone handy, just in case."
"Will do," Gail agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Nic Carter also checked in with Dolores, but was out at the time. The young woman had went for a jog around Vancouver's seawall, and was now heading home. The boyish blonde reached the house she was renting a room in, and waved as she went in.
"Nic! Everything fine?" Sebastian asked, the older man smiling.
"Just great," Nic agreed, having mostly ran off the worst of her hangover.
"We're making breakfast, if you want to join us," he added, waving to his husband standing in the kitchen.
"Scrambled eggs maybe?" Nic asked, and he nodded. The older gay couple were great landlords, and were tossing in food too.
"Made lots of girl's hearts go pitter-pat?" Anthony teased as they ate.
"You KNOW I don't go that way," Nic chuckled. She added, "But yeah, I saw a few ladies checking me out as I ran."
"Well, seize the day when you can," Sebastian noted. "You do a dangerous job, after all."
"Yeah, yeah," Nic agreed, finishing her food.
Nic headed out, dressed in jeans, blouse and jacket, carrying a concealed pistol under her jacked. Illegal, but as a Hunter the cops gave them some latitude. She went to one of the local parks, found a quiet place them took out the 'burn phone' she was using.
"Mr Jefferson," she said as the call connected.
Grant Jefferson of the Monster Control Bureau and enemy of Monster Hunters Inc, answered, "You are late for your check in."
Nic HATED government types. They had such huge sticks up their asses. However, they paid well. "Sorry, sir," Nic replied mildly. "Wolf and Red are heading out of the country... other than that, not much to report."
The US Monster Control Bureau had recuited her shortly after she survived a monster attack, and put her under cover at Monster Hunter Inc. They had hoped she'd get placed with a major US team, but sadly she was shipped off to Canada...
"Keep a eye on them, and Mimi. We think there's something more going on there," Grant replied, then just hung up.
"Fucker," Nic sighed.
To be continued...