Chapter 12: Full Disclosure
*****6 hours earlier*****
In a large office within the second floor of Huntsville Interspecies Exchange building, Agent Sterling was seated at the head of rectangle oak wood, marble top table with 4 black leather seats on both sides. He was on his laptop setting up the files preparing to be displayed on the presentation board behind him. There was a large window that gave full view over much of the city with the blinds block much of the light. A small coffee machine with leftover brew was sitting next to a large potted fern. In the middle of the table was an open box of a dozen assorted Krispy Kreme donuts. A dainty hand reached across to grab a couple while half her body pressed against the surface. Next to her, both her sisters sat in the preceding chairs next to her. Both giving disapproving stares.
"Zwei, please it's poor manners to reach across the table like that.", Ein, the strongest of the trio, scolded her sister. Her long dull blades retracted neatly into her furred arms.
"Come on sis, you were such a hurry to not be late we didn't eat any breakfast. I'm wasting away to nothing over here.", Zwei, the sibling with the sharpest blades, crooned in a melodramatic voice doing a fainting pose. Her blades tucked inside her fur for safety reasons, "How am I supposed to concentrate if I don't have the proper nutrition."
"We are in a meeting, sister, try to take this seriously!", Ein stated in annoyance.
"Excuse me.", Sterling called to them but was ignored.
"Ah sis lighten up. Think of it this way, to NOT eat them would be an insult to the starving people of the world. Are you really going to be so unappreciative of how blessed you are ...in more ways than one?", Zwei finished gesturing up and down her sisters body.
Ein blushed in embarrassment and frustration. She put her finger out to offer her rebuttal but was interrupted when Drei, the sister with most dexterous fingers, reached across the table and grabbed a lemon creme filled donut while giving them a deadpan yet somewhat cheeky stare. A small medicine gourd attached at her waist.
"She's right you know. Besides, I believe your new diet is working, you've earned a cheat day.", Drei said before licking a dollop of cream from her finger.
"Excuse me, ladies?", Sterling stated but ignored again.
Ein paused taken aback by the sudden complement before adopting a chipper tone, "Oh, well...t-thank you Drei. Maybe I will have one."
"Of course. Some people hardly give themselves ONE cheat day, let alone three in one week."
A took a second for the other two to register the comment before Zwei started giggling and Ein wore a mortified expression blushing again in frustration clinching her teeth.
"Rrrroasted!", Zwei jeered at Ein who shot her agitated, flustered glare followed by a strained growl.
"HEY!", Sterling shouted slamming his open palm hard against the table. The wind weasels jumped in their chairs face their attention on a fuming Sterling with different degrees of fright. He sharply inhaled and exhaled before continuing, "If you're all done with your shtick, I'd like to get this briefing started. Now turning your attention to the board behind me."
Sterling pressed a button on his computer then grabbed a small grey remote. He pointed at the board and the entire thing lit up before showing a presentation.
A screen with ICEP's logo appeared before panning over to next slide. A slide with a light grey background and Caleb's picture in the top left corner appeared. Ein, Zwei, and Drei collectively raised an eyebrow at his picture.
"This man is Caleb D. Bizzell. Age 24, born December 10th, 1993, to the Joseph and Marian Bizzell, two older siblings Ladarious and Malissa Bizzell. He is a host of the Interspecies Exchange program. Originally, the family lived in Tuscaloosa and led a relatively normal life; father was a banker and mother a licensed child psychiatrist. Apparently, Caleb was a bit troublesome in his early teens. He had been caught shoplifting on two separate occasions and assaulted a few students that were bullying him with a baseball bat. This caused friction between himself and his siblings but his parents and even his uncle tried to be patient with him. It was his uncle that decided it would be better that he attended his daughter's school in Gadsden instead. Overtime, his parents and uncle saw a change in him. Even his grades and temperament greatly improved. This change was met with tragedy however, when an unfortunate interstate traffic accident led to the death of both his parents.", Sterling paused to change the slides as the trio wore solemn expressions upon hearing the last part.
"Afterwards, he moved to Huntsville to attend Alabama A&M and eventually graduated. He's one of the victims of motel incident in Cullman and played a large role in the arrest of several liminal taffickers."
Drei stood up and raised her hand, "You mentioned he was a host earlier, does that mean he's a host to liminals?"
Sterling gave a puzzled look towards Ein, "Is she being sarcastic or was she just not paying attention?"
"Knowing her probably both.", Ein commented dryly.
"But, yes he is a host to three different liminals at the moment. I was just about to get to them.", Sterling finished with a clear hint of impatience.
"S-sorry sir, we WON'T interrupt anymore.", Ein said glaring at Drei who returned it by taking out a pen and notepad in a mock gesture of diligence.
Sterling changed the slide and a screen with a purple background displayed a picture of Mirabelle in the top left corner that alternated between showing just her face to different angles of her whole body. The right side displayed her general information.
" This is Mirabelle Marequine, student of the Interspecies Exchange. Age 21, born September 20th 1996 to Madeline Marequine, father unknown, and no siblings. She's a subspecies of the Centaur race known as a Nightmare. All information regarding her species was previously unknown but thanks to her host we've compiled a considerable amount of data. They're a Centaur race gifted with extraordinary supernatural abilities, but more proficient in the art of dream manipulation and astral projection. Apparently, they, along with all Centaur we're once made up of one enormous warrior clan called The Great Harras that roamed much of Europe."
The triplets listened with different degrees of interest.
"Over time, many female Centaur began to develop an affinity for magic and abandoned their warrior upbringing. Their overall appearance was greatly altered as a result. This created a bit of an dispute among the centaur that still followed their militaristic traditions and worship of the primary Olympian gods of war. They viewed the magic users as heretics, cowards, and apostates. To escape persecution, the Nightmares and other centaur subspecies left the clan altogether forming their own clans, with varying cultures, religions, practices, and taboos. Ms. Marequine, like all members of her clan, are strongly opposed to violence and have extremely timid, nervous, skittish personalities. Their only means of defense is either retreating or manipulating the dreams of their attacker and using their worst fears to instill innate fear of them. Her clan appears to be nomadic, somehow traveling throughout all of Europe nearly undetected. Lastly, She apparently has a tradition among her people where they mark a person they've become greatly attached to with hoof shaped stamp. Furthermore, the stamp becomes darker as they become closer to each other."
"Ms. Marequine originally joined the exchange branch in Rome but due to an altercation with a few centaur of the original clan, decided to transfer to the U.S. branch. Upon arriving here, she bounced between homes in order to find a...more suitable host."
Sterling then changed the slide. This one had a light blue background with alternating picture of Lyca. Zwei cocked her read raising an intrigued eyebrow at Lyca image.
"This is Lyca Kessler, student of Interspecies Exchange. Age 18, born April 10, 1999. Identity of mother and father, unknown but at least 14 siblings with her as the youngest. She belongs to a Werewolf class of the kobold species. Specifically, she's of the gray wolf class. She grew up in the Eastern Mountainous territory in Montana among her pack consisting of 50 individuals. Her's is one of thirteen Werewolf packs in the United States and, like others around the world, they live in complex hierarchical social structures similar to normal wolf pack. The Alpha elite dictate everything, Betas are advisors to Alpha and enforce corporal punishment on lower levels, Delta are servants to Alpha and Betas but have more freedoms than Omega, and Omega are the lower class that receive the most harassment and fewer resources in the pack. Ms. Kessler was the Omega of her pack.
Ein reaches for the box for a donut only, to her surprise, for it to be completely empty. She turned to Zwei to see her happily munching the last of the delicacies. Zwei shot her a smug grin mouth full of cream as Ein puffed her cheeks to hold back her defeated whimpers and tears forming. Drei poked her shoulder getting her attention then handed her a raspberry filled donut wrapped in a napkin. Ein lit up in delight before snagging and enjoying the treat.
"Ms. Kessler", Sterling continued, "like many of her species, are highly social, highly aggressive and territorial, and possess higher physical capabilities and tactical intelligence compared to most kobold. They have highly competitive spirits by nature and will challenge each other either in combat or tests of skill, strength, speed, and cunning. Consistent victories and losses seem determines their rise and fall in their hierarchy. What's more, they have good morals and practice good sportsmanship. They despise cheating so much they've been known kill those caught in the act on the spot.
"Ms. Kessler was found by MON agents, very malnourished and in need of medical treatment for fresh injuries. She had attempted to leave her pack and was immediately beset by her superiors. She remained in I.A. care for six months before being allowed to join the exchange program. Unfortunately, her first host was involved in some illegal activity; namely liminal fighting and heroin smuggling and was later apprehended."
Sterling paused and glanced over to the trio. They nodded in unison signalling for him to continue.
He changed the slide over to one with a magenta background and an alternating picture of Camilla in the top left corner of the screen.
"This is Camilla...", Sterling inhales trying not fumble this, " de Alma Hermosa Sartana (nailed it) and is one of our newer students to the exchange program records and one of our more complex cases. According to background information she herself graciously provided, she was born November 23rd, 1835 making her a little over 180-years-of age.
The triplets gave incredulous glances to one another. They heard succubi had naturally long lifespans but wow. As they looked at the screen to her profile picture they thought collectively, 'Plus, she looks damn good for her age.'
"Ms. Camilla is an Elder Devil, the most powerful of the succubus species gifted with immense magical power, superhuman strength, reflexes, regeneration, and senses. They have the longest natural lifespan of any other succubus being 300 years. Unlike Lesser and Greater devil classes, they have little desire in pulling pranks and all manner of mischief, instead focusing more of their time on developing new spells or gaining knowledge. However, being creatures of discord, they occasional test their spells on unsuspecting victims; both for research and for amusement.", Sterling finished changing the slides
"Ms. Sartana was born in what is now Tampico, Mexico to Jimena Sartana and an incubus father by the name Asta Rothè. Her mother absconded with her at a young age to escape her abusive spouse and resentment among his harem. Unfortunately, it was during the time of the Mexican-American war and the ongoing conflict made finding refuge and supplies rather cumbersome. They were both on the verge of starvation and turned to stealing food from army caravans and storage houses. Her mother taught her several charm, enchantment spells and hand-to-hand combat. They avoided large settlements and never stayed in any single location for too long for fear of their true identities being discovered. For three decades they traveled witnessing many conflicts and atrocities among the U.S., Indigenous tribes, and Mexicans. After Camilla reached age 40—post adolescence for most Succubi—her mother mysteriously disappeared leaving Camilla alone to defend herself.
Ein covered her mouth in shock as her sisters wore similar expressions. Sterling had to pause for a second before continuing.
"For the decades that followed, Ms. Camilla wandered throughout her home country surviving on her own, witnessing other political conflicts of her country, and developing her own spells. All the while, watching the world and humanity develop around her. "
"8 years prior, when the Interspecies Exchange was still in its earliest stages of development, countries like Mexico were still adjusting to the news of quote ''monsters' living among them. Self-proclaimed 'monster hunters' took to the streets on bloody crusades. Ms. Camilla was discovered by ragtag group of radicals and pursued near the border. Luckily, she was saved by another succubus who then invited her to join her husband's harem. She reluctantly accepted given the less desirable alternative. For privacy sake, she wouldn't disclose much info on her time there. However, she admits that it was her husband that sold her to the Mexican cartel. There she was drugged and had one of many collars imbued by an angel's magic sealing ability. How they acquired these is still unknown. She'd spent a year forced into liminal prostitution. Camilla was one of succubi victims that was taken in after the motel incident in Cullman."
As the slide show came to an end, Sterling took his seat.
"Wow, they're quite an interesting bunch.", Zwei stated breaking the tense atmosphere, "You sure this guy really needs our protection?"
Ein was about to reprimand her sister before Sterling interjected, "A fair question. Yes, no matter how powerful his wards may be, they are still designated as students. As such, they are restricted to abiding by ICEP laws against use of unlawful force. I don't know how things are done in your branch in Thailand but here only MON personnel have jurisdiction to apprehended individuals be it human or Extraspecies"
Zwei crossed her arms in front of her relentingly, "Alright I see your point."
Sterling placed his suitcase on the table and pulled out a large manilla packet. He slid it in front of Ein who immediately grabbed it. Her sisters slid closer to get a better look. She opened it up to find several documents and three MON I.D. cards.
"Enclosed inside are you MON I.D.s for the state of Alabama, a lease form, workman's visas, and citizenship records. You will also find additional information concerning your assignment.", Sterling said as he rose from his seat and packed up his laptop and turned off the monitor. He then walked to the door and stopped to turn around to the trio who trained their eyes on him.
"Lastly, I'd like to say this Exchange branch is thankful for your service at this time.", Sterling stated with a professional demeanor. The trio stood up straight simultaneously and bowed respectfully.
"We are the ones who are grateful for being selected for this task.", Ein stated formally.
"We will carry out our mission with diligence, patience, and determination.", Drei added
"And we aren't just here to get a free vacation.", Zwei added before her sisters tackled her using their hands to cover her mouth while she flailed about to get free.
"Ahahaha, j-just ignore that sir, our sister loves to joke around", Ein nervously chuckled.
Sterling raised an eyebrow suspiciously before his phone vibrated alerting him of a caller, "Ah, it looks like I'm being called in by I.A. chairman. We'll depart in 2 hours to your assignment location feel free to get a tour of our facility from Patricia.", he said before closing the door leaving them in the room alone.
Ein and Drei released their sister breathing a sigh of relief before shooting angry glares at their sister. Zwei waved them off and took out a document from the packet with Caleb's information, including his work address and smirked deviously.
...Meanwhile...
Interspecies Affairs a complex made up of 6 large facilities for education, job training, physical and mental health care, research and development of technology, manufacture of goods from liminal resources, and housing and covering 30 square miles.
The housing area was a huge apartment complex with room units, a lounge area, club and study rooms, food service, and other amenities all catering to any liminal's individual need.
In the lounge area, there were several liminals chatting among each other, enjoying lunch from the food court, or simply relaxing. Sitting at a large table for six was a familiar. It has Hana, the blue devil girl going over her notes she had taken in class. She had taken up training to become a nursing aid, seeing as how her affinity for charm spells makes it easy to alleviate a patient's tension.
"Hana. Hey Hana!", called a voice from across the room. Hana snapped to attention before turning around and smiling at the sight of Sharon, Sylvia, and Hiedi walking towards her carrying trays of food. They each took a seat around the table placing their trays down.
"Hi guys, how've you all been?", Hana stated lightly placing her binder to the side.
"Hiedi and I have just been getting used to being roomies. Turns out this one's a bit of a neat freak. She even color coordinates her panties.", Sylvia grinned playfully pointing down at Heidi's legs.
"Eeeeee SYLVIA, vhy would you tell them that?! Und stop going through mein kleider!", Heidi shrieked blushing bright red and swatting her hands erratically at the chuckling Slyvia. Hana and Sharon giggled happily at their shinanigans.
"What about you Sharon?", Hana inquired curiously.
"I got a job at the salon close by here and I decided to get what the humans call a 'G.E.D.'", Sharon stated.
"Oh, you're going the formal education route too.", Hana said with a smile.
"Yeah, but it's kinda hard. Why do humans do so much math? What use is Pythagorean thereom? Why would want to know how long each side of a triangle is?! It's a damn TRIANGLE!", Sharon ranted with an annoyed pout before sucking down her berry-blast milkshake. Hana shyly smiled at her as Sylvia and Hiedi snickered at her frustration. Suddenly a thought crossed Sylvia's mind.
"Hey, you guys heard about Scarlett?", Sylvia stated and was met with curious yet worried looks.
"N-no, I honestly haven't spoken to her in a couple weeks.", Hana admitted somberly
"I spoke to her last week and tried to get her to have lunch with us, but she turned me down.", Sharon said looking a little down.
"She's been going to therapy you know? I heard she refuses to be evaluated by any human male staff though. When she isn't there, she's mostly in her room.", Sylvia added. They all sat in silence for a full minute before Hana spoke up breaking the silence.
"Y-you know guys...we should do something for her. Get her out for a while you know?", Hana said as the girls perked up one by one.
"Yeah! I heard from this Mothman girl at work about this cafe with open mike nights. We can go there.", Sylvia stated enthusiastically. Hana smiles as her wings twitch happily.
"That's a great idea, Sylvia.", Hana said as Sharon and Heidi voiced their approval as well. Sharon then took a celebratory bite out of her double cheeseburger. As she enjoyed the taste, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"Huh, this burger reminds me of the ones that human gave us at the motel.", Sharon remarked fondly, "Do you guys ever think about him? What was it, uhh, Caleb?"
The others went silent as they let the question bounce around in their heads.
"W-well yeah sometimes, I think about what he may be doing after everything that happened.", Hana said as her cheeks turned a darker shade of blue.
"I believe he's doing ok. Although, he'd probably be more interested in how we're doing.", Sylvia stated.
"Hehe so wahr (so true). He vas so kind to us, he protected us and even prevented Camilla from being deported. I never knew human men could be so selfless.", Heidi commented as the others smiled agreement.
"He's pretty cute too right?", Sharon asked with a literal devilish grin. The other girls were slightly caught and flushed in embarrassment. Sylvia was the first to break the ice.
"Yeah, he's not half bad looking. I'd go on 1 or 4 dates with him. What about you Heidi? Hana?", Sylvia asked to which to girls blushed even deeper shades of red, or blackish-blue in Hana's case.
"I-I...I, vell... I vouldn't exactly...say 'no'...but...", Heidi muttered burying her head using her wings as curtains.
"He is really nice, so...", Hana bashfully played with the tips of her claws.
"Awwww, I'm soooo jealous of Camilla. Living with a stud like that and not having to memorize a bunch of useless equations?", Sharon groaned miserably, "I can imagine the fun they have together."
Sharon and the others paused each imagining the kind of fun that Camilla and Caleb have together before imagining their own scenarios. Pretty soon the table was filled with slightly maniacal girlish giggling attracting curious and disturbed stares from other Extraspecies in the area.
Hana placed her palms on the and rose up with a determined expression, "You know what guys? We should ask if we could visit them!"
"Y-yeah, I'm sure the I.A. board will let us have a day pass. Totally!", Sharon chimed. Heidi and Sylvia nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Maybe we could get Scarlett to come too!", Hana stated and the others voiced their approval individually. It was unanimous.
While this was going on, Scarlett herself had just gotten to her single bedroom apartment unit. She had another therapy session earlier followed by a workout routine suggested by her shrink to help relieve stress. She carried a few bags with her, gym cloths, groceries, a white takeout bag with I.A.'s food service logo on it. She unlocked the door with her designated card key and stepped inside before closing the door locking it. A few minutes later, she finished putting away her stuff. She decided to rest on the couch with the TV off before placing the white bag on the floor. She emitted an exasperated sigh as she removed her shoes to get more comfortable before lying on her stomach. The last few weeks had taken a toll on her nerves. Not just the rigorous therapy session where she's forced to relive the horrible experiences she's endured but the anxiety and frustration she felt towards herself for being too weak to do anything to stop it. Honestly, she hated those sessions; just talking about her humiliation as some human sits there pretending to understand how she feels. She started going to the Extraspecies fitness center to alleviate stress but that soon stopped having any real affect. Even going out in public filled her with fits of paranoia. She felt as if hundreds judgmental and scornful eyes filled her with insecurity and shame at how weak she was. She's sick of it!
"...dammit. Damn it all.", Scarlett cursed to herself as she dug her claws into the couch cushions. Suddenly her stomach growled alerting to the fact that she hadn't eaten at all today.
She sighed as she adjusted herself to sit upright before grabbing the white bag. Opening it up, she took out a small salad, some fried potato wedges, and a veggie burger. She drew a magic seal in the air and the fridge opened allowing for a bottle of water to come floating to her awaiting palm. She ate some of the wedges first before opening the wrapper to the veggie burger. Before taking a bite, she stared at it pensively and the memory of Caleb flashed in her mind. She remembered the look of genuine care and concern he gave her; someone he didn't even know. In that moment, she felt...safe? Feeling her face begin to heat up the more she thought about him, she quickly drained two-thirds of the water bottle then turned to finish the rest of her meal in relative peace.
...Elsewhere...
The twister triplets were atop a building surveying the area where Caleb worked. Zwei and Drei were sitting on the roof's edge with binoculars watching the various people in the office searching for their target. Ignoring their sister Ein nervously pacing back and forth behind them mentally and verbally voicing her disapproval over the situation.
"Weshouldn'tbehere. Weshouldn'tbehere. Weshouldbehere!", Ein panicked nervously biting her nails.
Zwei turned her head behind to face her sister, "Ein, will you just chill out?!"
"How can I 'chill out'?! Couldn't we have at least TOLD them we were going out?!", Ein ranted to her sister.
"Even if we did, they'd have somebody else tag along to babysit us. Don't you guys at least want to see what this guy's like for yourselves? Don't you want this new assignment to be worth it?", Zwei replied enticingly.
"We JUST started working for this branch and regardless of what he's like, we're still expected to follow orders. Besides, this is the least challenging assignment we've had in a VERY long time and I don't want to lose!", Ein finished in a serious tone remembering the grueling missions and mountains of paperwork they had back in China.
"I know sis, but it's totally fine. We have another three and a half hours until departure, there's plenty of time to get back. They'll never know we were gone.", Zwei beamed a confident smile.
Ein sighed into the palms of her hands unconvinced by her optimism, "…I tried to stop you guys. I really did."
Drei turned around with a dry look, "If you call repeatedly saying 'Come back here you guys' as you followed us, then yes, you sure did. 'A+' for effort, but my grading system is extremely lenient."
Ein pouted angrily at her sister's comment as Drei resumed her position.
"Oh, we have a visual!", Zwei commented excitedly pointing downwards. Ein and Drei looked down to see Caleb exiting the building with a group of other people. Zwei stood up from her position.
"Let me see!", Ein said as she took the binoculars from Zwei. She could see him silently walking with five other humans.
Zwei smirked at her sister's sudden interest, "Hah, looks like somebody's getting curious."
"I think she's just surrendering to the Stockholm.", Drei commented.
"I wonder where he's going.", Ein said ignoring her sisters.
"Only one way to find out!", Zwei stated whipping up a small gust of wind, "Let's get a closer look.", she finished leaping off the building and bouncing off the pockets of air following in the group's direction with great speed (think of Sanji from One Piece's 'Sky Walk' but more ninja-like). Ein's expression became more distressed.
"Zwei wait, come back here!", Ein called out but was ignored. She turned to Drei only to find her bouncing leisurely and repeated 5 feet from the from building.
"I really admire you level of commitment. Keep it up and you may make the Dean's list.", Drei commented before leaping off after her sister. Ein stammered trying to think of a retort but hung her head in defeat. She then whipped up her own wind and proceeded after her siblings.
"Why do I always have to be the responsible one?", Ein whined as she leapt through air like lightning after them.
…minutes later….
The girls were now hiding behind the tall hedges of a small dental office next to Chick-fil-a. They had a small space cleared out to see Caleb's every movement. Zwei used her special technique where she sends tiny, unnoticeable gusts of wind at her target which rebound carrying the sound of their words back to her. She calls it her 'Voice of the Wind' and they're using it to eavesdrop on the groups conversation.
"He seems a bit more…reserved than I thought. He's only spoken when spoken to since he sat down. And the other humans won't shut up about football and vampires!", Ein said.
"Then again it kinda makes sense, considering what he went through. It's not every day a nerd contends with violent gang members AND save like 9 demon girls in one night.", Zwei remarked adjusting the binocular vision.
"That beats the hell outta my fanfiction.", Drei commented.
"He seems like a pretty nice guy though. I saw him pay for that blonde human woman's food for her." Ein added with a small smile, "He seems like a gentleman."
"An anime fan too! Didn't you hear him list some of the newest shows out this year to that guy Raj? He even likes Devilman Crybaby!", Zwei stated happily, "Finally someone who appreciates true art."
"I am also creating preconceived notions of him. Mine involve less family friendly content.", Drei comments with a faint ominous smirk.
"Looks like he's going back inside the restaurant for something", Ein as the other two refocused watch him carefully. They watched as he returned and Zwei noticed a scruffy-looking guy walking in the same direction as him seemingly about to pass Caleb. Suddenly, the man changed his direction and ran directly into Caleb spilling the latter's drink all over his clothes. The girls collectively wore serious expressions in preparation for an altercation. They watched as the man berated Caleb each glaring at him with different levels of intensity. Luckily, Caleb managed to dispel the conflict only for the man to bump past him a huff.
Zwei suddenly rose from her position watching as the man pinched Caleb's wallet, "Hey you guys saw that right?", she said turning to her sisters. Ein and Drei nodded in understanding before Ein extended her long scythe out her arm.
"Be quick, Zwei and don't let them see you.", Ein said as Zwei got into a lunging position.
"They never do.", Zwei stated before Ein swung her scythe creating a mini whirlwind to whipped through the outside of the restaurant. A blade of wind knocked the man down. Zwei rode on the current faster than the eye could track snatching the wallet from the man before he hit the ground. She tossed the wallet back to Caleb's feet as he shielded his eyes from the wind. Zwei then returned to her sisters as the winds died down leaving the man's clothes riddled in holes.
"Ha, he never saw that coming.", Zwei chuckled before noticing the dry expressions of her sisters, "What?"
"Really, you had to turn the guy into Swiss cheese?", Ein inquired in a displeased tone.
"He had it coming.", Zwei waved off, "Plus, if steals anything else, police will know exactly where to search."
"We've gotten do something about this habit of yours.", Ein sighed.
"I hate to call off Zwei's much needed counseling session but according to the conveniently placed clock inside the building behind us, it's about 45 minutes until we are to depart with agent Sterling.", Drei stated melancholically. Ein and Zwei took a minute to process what their younger sister before their blood pressures skyrocketed.
"WHAAAAAAAA?!", Ein and Zwei both shrieked.
…Meanwhile….
In Rodney Brown's Maximum-Security prison located in Birmingham prisoner was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and sitting in a special cell for death row inmates. It was Wick lying down on the bed staring at the ceiling in deep thought. For the last few weeks, he's endured the slander and vilification of the media, the invasive interrogations of the pigs in uniform, and finally the dog-and-pony show that was his 'trial'. And now he's on death row with his execution just 48 hours away; however, this was a part of his plan. He still had his trump card. Now that everyone believes he's as good as dead, he can now make his move.
Wick adjusted his legs and stood up from the bed clenching and unclenching his hand, "Fantina.", he stated pointing at the wall in front of him. The same glowing crack appeared in front of him much to his delight, but it was short-lived. The crack began destabilizing before completely breaking down and disappearing. A dumbfounded look spread across his face.
"Fantina!", he called out again and the crack reappeared, this time he heard her distorted, incomprehensible voice on the other side before it once again broke down and disappeared. What the hell was going on?
"FANTI—!", Wick attempted to yell out but was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.
"You can try a thousand more times and you'll get the same result."
Wick turned to the front of his cell and saw a man dressed in navy blue suit jacket with badge from Alabama Bureau of Investigation. He was tall with blonde hair, and one of his elongated ears had deep burn scars.
"What did you say?", Wick said glaring at the man, "Who are you?!"
"I'm Detective Greenly, I'm just a survivor of your little car bomb that claimed Gibb's life and nearly paralyzed my partner.", Greenly pulled down his shirt collar revealing the deep scar around his clavicle.
Wick smirked maliciously, "Heh, looks like my work is getting sloppy in my old age."
Greenly grimaced at his remark with steel cold blue eyes, "And the answer to your little question, I meant that I revoked your little get-out-of-jail-free card."
Greenly snapped his fingers and Wick was stunned to see the walls and floors of his cell rippling with green-glowing energy. Every step he took, the energy spread out like a rock thrown in still water.
"W-What is—?", Wick was once again interrupted before he could finish.
"I wasn't certain at first, but I knew something was off ever since you were brought in. You were too composed, even for a sociopath like you. Then during your interrogation, for a moment, I sensed a tremendous amount of magical power radiating off you. I thought I was imagining things until I decided to do a bit more digging. I reviewed the video feed from the salvaged security cameras we uncovered at the warehouse. I saw the portal that appeared during your last attempt to allude capture. I was able to piece together that you either must have summoned it yourself or you have ties to someone who can whenever you're in a pinch. The former seemed very unlikely though.", Greenly stated with a cold tone.
"So…what now? Are you going to request for my execution to be moved up?", Wick stated expectantly.
"No. To put it plainly, I've been sent to make you sit here and await your punishment, like a good boy. Even now, it's taking a considerable amount of my own energy to keep this barrier up and disperse their magic. It's an intense strain on me, but it'll be worth it to see you answer for your crimes. However, I must commend you for finding such a powerful ally because of that we have even more reason to ensure your organization is brought down.", Greenly stated.
Wick sneered and let out a light chuckle before saying, "It's funny, you people have no idea what you've awakened."
"Oh? And what would that be?", Greenly asked.
"A rage. A rage that violates, consumes, and annihilates everything in its path. That is my family. Upon my death, all of you will suffer; ICEP, police, MON, and especially that Caleb Bizzell.", Wick spoke with venomous words.
"Is that all?", Greenly stated much to Wicks surprise. Greenly then turned his back to him, "If so, I think we'll be fine; because rage has a limit, but our resolve is boundless."
Greenly walked away as Wick laughed scornfully at him. He then pulled out a phone and dialed a number, "Hello, Interspecies Affairs deputy chairman, I have something you're going to want to hear."
Okay so, I know what you're thinking and yes. I do not upload quick enough. I know you're wondering why I didn't continue where I left off on the previous chapter? Well, three things:
1. I wanted to show off the Kamataichi girls' personalities since I won't have much time to do so in the next chapter. It's gonna be more focused and Caleb and his homestays.
2. I wanted to show that the other devil girls are doing ok and it's VERY they will make a return. …Perhaps in a more…'steamy' chapter later one ^^.
3. Exposition. Exposition. Exposition!
Well, that's about it; next chapter will be out soon, be on the look out for a new story project created by myself and ma boi Superairaptor, and remember to fav, follow, and review.
This is GoatMan, say it with me y'all, PEACE FAM!