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Chapter -15- Unexpected Turn

August 20 - 8:50pm PDT San Francisco ...

Reno slid across the ground on his back. He sat up and glanced at the male vampire of the trio, Mark. The man was plainly dressed and had Reno's clip-on tie in his fist. "You know, I put that in my pocket because your buddy said she didn't like it..." Reno got to his feet just in time for Mark to dive towards him.

The vampire's fangs were exposed. Reno used his forearm to keep the attacker away from his throat. Nevada put his left palm on Mark's chest and sent raw current into his attacker's body.

Mark launched upwards, struck the ceiling and dropped to the floor. However, the vampire got to his knees, unharmed.

In the background, Kalen held his own against Hannah and Ashley. Kincade shouted back towards Reno, "They're trying to wear me down. We're evenly matched, Reno. Think outside the box."

Nevada scrambled to his feet and hurried back towards his car, sitting twenty feet away. He opened the driver-side door but felt two strong hands on his hips. Mark lifted Reno and threw him towards a Lamborghini Aventador 50th anniversary edition supercar.

Reno tensed up. His body disappeared just before colliding with the windshield.

A bolt of lightning crossed back through the garage. He reformed adjacent to the driver-side door of the blue Chevelle muscle car. Reno dove into his car and pulled open the ashtray. He closed his fingers over several metallic marbles.

Again, the male vampire grabbed at Reno, pulling on Nevada's legs.

Reno hit his head on the doorframe on his way out. He twisted around and put his palm against Mark's neck. He charged his hand, sending current into the metallic marbles.

Mark released Reno and reached for his throat, where the metallic orbs had burned through his skin. The vampire staggered back in pain and surprise.

Reno had one left in his hand, burned and half embedded in his palm. He plucked it out with a wince and held it between his thumb and forefinger. Nevada charged his hand, sending the marble along his fingers like a miniature rail-gun.

The metal-coated round blasted from his hand and struck Mark in the chest, blasting a large hole clear through the vampire's torso.

Seconds later, Reno felt intense pain on his hand. He glanced down at where he had a strip of flesh missing from his thumb and finger. He cauterized the wounds, flinched, and then looked back up at Mark. The vampire staggered a bit, with a hole going clear through his body.

Nevada grimaced. His attack didn't do the job. Mark came at him again. He charged his fist and swung. Energy transferred into the vampire's body, but barely stunned the undead man.

Mark picked Reno up and threw him across the garage.

Reno struck the concrete between two rows of fancy cars. He rolled twice and sat up, leaning against an AC Shelby Cobra. Nevada grunted in displeasure. He got to his feet, surprised he could take such a beating and survive it. He glanced over at Kalen up near the entrance.

Kalen Kincade was still occupied with the two female vampires, Ashley something-or-other, and Hannah Hammonds.

Reno grunted, tackled back to the floor by Mark. The vampire opened his mouth, fangs extended. He leaned in, trying to bite anywhere he could. Reno pushed against the powerful man, outmatched by the vampire's sheer strength.

"Be like the old man," Kalen grunted from across the room. "Cut him in half!"

Reno used his forearm to keep his attacker at bay, but only just. He thrust his free hand out and created a sharped arc of lightning in his hands. It took the form of a crude blade, curved slightly, and glowed in his fist. Sparks showered over his fingers, dropping from the glowing scythe like a melting ice cream cone made of raw current.

Nevada brought the sickle down firmly, catching the vampire's wrist and neck.

Unable to protect himself, Mark's hand sheared off, cauterized clean in an instant. His head dropped from his shoulders, thudding on the floor. His body went limp.

Mark's head rolled upwards and he hissed at Reno for a second until he had no breath to give. His jaw opened and closed, like a beheaded snake with fangs bared.

Reno quickly rolled away, got to his feet then turned around and kicked the head away from himself. He turned around in time to see Kalen taking down the one called Ashley while Hannah clung to Kalen's back.

Nevada created the crude sickle shape again. He approached Kalen and Hannah from behind and took her by her hair, placing the glowing arc of electricity near to her face. "You want to be next, bitch? Let him go."

Kalen dropped Ashley's dead body to the floor and sighed in relief at the sensation of Hannah releasing him.

She stepped back, first glancing at her two dead lieutenants, then at Reno's fist full of lightning. "What the fuck are you?" she demanded.

"Someone who doesn't put up with bullies," Reno said. "You going to come quietly or do you wanna join your buddies?"

"You're seriously going to put me into some sort of prison? Are you an idiot? I'm immortal. Prison would be akin to standing in the corner until..."

"Don't give me that 'outlive your enemies' bullshit," Reno told her. "You threw a person at my CAR," he snapped, adding, "and you've got a lot to answer for, kid. And for the record, we want to know where the rest of your little gang of assholes are hiding. You give people like Kalen, here, a bad name."

She smirked. "Aren't you gonna read me my rights or something?"

Nevada furrowed his brows. "Yeah, you have the right to shut the fuck up, or I'll take your head off and hunt down the rest of your pals the old fashion way. Now shut up." He turned to Kalen and said, "Call the Justiciar or whoever. Find out where we're taking this idiot. I'll leave this crap with you. I need to get started on that other case."

Kalen grinned a bit. "Taking this seriously I see. Good. Your namesake would have been proud."

"Yeah, yeah. I've gotta get back and call Karla. Someone will know where I can find this guy, Raul. Then I'm going to check in with Wilfred on the autopsies."

"Thanks for the help," Kalen said. "I appreciate it, Nathan."

Reno grinned a bit. "Just make the calls. I'll keep this dummy here."

"How do you plan to keep her restrained? Threat of decapitation only works for so long."

With a smirk, Reno took the woman, Hannah Hammonds, and shoved her to the floor. A glow of electrical energy held her against the ground. She struggled, unable to do much more than writhe.

"I just had an idea." Reno looked up. "You've heard of static, right? Well she just developed one hell of a case of static cling. She won't be getting up."

Hannah thrashed on the floor but was unable to pull herself away from the ground. She tensed her body but couldn't manage to escape. "What did you do?!"

Reno lowered to one knee and said, "I just explained it, you moron. I gave you one hell of a case of static cling. You're stuck to the ground. That's how physics works. Yeah. Physics. Yeah, science ... bitch." He stood up and nodded to Kalen. "Make the call. Book'em Danno. All that stuff."

Kalen fished out his phone with a wry grin. He shook his head, dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

X

X

North England...

Conner opened and closed his hand a few times. The world around him rose up as he descended slowly through the maintenance elevator shaft. "I prefer the rope," he whispered.

Karla's voice came over a complicated earpiece that rested behind his ear. "You prefer having control. I prefer teleporting people. I agree, this compromise sucks. But we can't see far enough down the shaft, so suck it up, babe."

Conner pursed his lips together. His feet met something solid and his knees bent. "I'm down." He felt the telekinetic force release him. Conner put his hands out then crouched atop of a maintenance elevator. He reached up with one hand and adjusted the clear glasses he wore, then fidgeted with the infrared LEDs on his gear suit.

Through his glasses, the area appeared extremely well lit, despite being enshrouded in total darkness. Parker opened a maintenance hatch on the elevator but it didn't pass through into the car. "Small problem, Karla. The elevator access panel must go up through the floor or something. I can't find a panel up here."

"Stand by, doll," she said in a sing-song voice.

Abruptly, Conner's scenery changed. He held his hands outwards and looked around at the inside of the elevator car. "I'll never get used to that."

"You're at the edge of my range. Should I join you now?"

"Might be a good idea." Conner reached for the doors of the elevator and tried to pry them apart but it was harder than he anticipated.

"Need help?" asked Karla, standing directly behind him.

His heart jumped, even though he expected her to teleport herself into the elevator. Conner stepped back and gestured towards the doors. "By my guest."

"Be your guest?"

"Yeah, I was thinking, by all means, but said that instead. You've got me flustered."

"Mm, I sometimes have that effect on men. Boys, too, apparently."

"Christ, Karla, get over yourself."

Karla grinned and placed a well-manicured fingertip against the seam between the two doors. She pushed them apart with apparent ease. "Hmm." She glanced at a sign on the wall then she turned and squinted at the control panel of buttons. "I guess one would need a key to access this floor."

"Yeah. Glad I brought one - you. This elevator doesn't have a nearby wireless access point."

"Pardon?" Karla eyed him for a moment then nodded in a knowing fashion. "That thing your father does. Say, did you ever get your hands on his little secret weapon? Kept'em in a jar."

"I've heard about it but I don't know if I believe it. Right now, I'd rather you just focus on..." Conner trailed off and held his hands up. "I'm sorry. I'm being controlling like mom. Sorry."

"It's fine. She's not so bad."

"I guess. She was patient at the right times," he said in a soft tone and stepped off the elevator. "Put your glasses on."

Karla fished them from the v-cut of her blouse and put them on. "Do they make me look smart?"

"Can you see?"

"Yeah, I see pretty well with these."

"Then it's smart of you to wear them," he said and started down the dark hallway. "This is the vault. I don't understand why there are no trip lasers or ... crap."

"Pardon?" Karla followed him out into the hallway.

Conner frowned. "Heat detection. It's all around us - sensors and such. I think Pendleton has already been alerted. I didn't see them networked through the computers in the control room upstairs. They must send their signal to a private network."

The elevator doors shut, behind them, and it ascended the shaft, stranding them in the sub-level vault.

Karla folded her arms beneath the expanse of her bust line. "If they were really badass, they would have a way to cut oxygen down here, or pump nerve gas in through the ventilation system."

Conner turned about and glared at her. "Whose side are you on anyhow?"

"I'm just saying. If I was to have a secret vault with a bunch of crap stored in it, I would go all out. They can afford it."

"Because we're probably the first to break in. Because they're too confident in being able to protect it themselves. Because they don't want the hassle of something going wrong - if something broke or malfunctioned, it would kill them. Nobody wants that."

"Relax, Conner. I'm kidding."

"Karla, knowing our luck, that elevator will come back with armed guards. Let's find the headdress and try to find another way out."

"You saw the blueprints, babe. This is the only way in and out. The ventilation shafts are too small for anything but Kuda. But we left him topside."

"Yeah, but those shafts are a three story vertical drop behind the walls. Get moving." Conner continued up the hallway and into the main section of the Pendleton vault.

Shelves lined the walls with gorgeous artifacts in display cases. Every piece of every collection was identified with a plaque. On the far right, on a large shelf against the wall, an Egyptian headdress sat on a pedestal inside a glass case. In some sections the shelves were ten feet between each next platform up.

Conner removed his orichalcum staff and swung it. The hooked end slammed against the glass but didn't crack it. Instead, he over swung and stumbled. "Jesus. Tough glass."

"Jeeze," Karla muttered, shaking her head. She held her hands out and the headdress teleported from within the case. It appeared in her grasp. "Stubborn men do things the stubborn way. See how easy that was? You just need to utilize your tools better, Conner. If you're going to take charge of an operation like this, you need to learn how to best understand your options, then you need to delegate. You can't do everything yourself. Put the cane away, babe. Leave the zipper open because we both know this place will be flooded with guards any minute and..."

"Do you like the sound of your voice or something?" he asked pointedly.

"Yes. Yes I do," she replied with a smirk. Karla shoved the headdress into his hands and folded her arms again. "Do you want me to level everyone that comes down the shaft, or do you want me to watch you act tough?"

"You keep that headdress safe. I want to send a message, not take lives."

Karla rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"How are you even sane? Does it really not bother you to kill someone?"

"Babe, if you grew up in the 1600s, with people trying to rape and murder you for being a demon, you learn to see people like animals. Some are worth keeping around - you pet them, you love them, you talk to them. Some are food, some are a nuisance and need to be put down to make everyone else's lives better."

"That's grim."

"Natalia Kincade made me realize I shouldn't lose my humanity by taking the lives of humans, okay? Humans _are_animals. We're just sentient animals. Dolphins are sentient but half the world treats them like fish. When you learn to separate the signal from the noise, you'll be much happier."

"Karla...?"

She jerked her head to the left, tossing an errant lock of blond from her face. "When you don't spend your first century and a half of life avoiding church-funded kangaroo courts, you learn to..."

"Can we focus?"

Karla rolled her eyes. "We're just passing time until these morons show up. You know, we could head back up the elevator shaft while they're coming down. We'd avoid them entirely."

Conner nodded and headed back up the hallway. "Now you're using your head. That's a good idea. C'mon."

Karla muttered under her breath. "I always use my head, you lil' shit. What does Tamamo see in you?" She followed Conner to the elevator doors then shoved the headdress into his hands. "Stay still, don't move." She disappeared.

A moment later, Conner appeared in the shaft, floating. "God this is..."

"Hush," she said. "Controlled levitation is tricky. Doing it for you and myself is more so." Karla caused them to ascend slowly.

Conner grimaced but remained quiet.

Above them, the elevator rumbled back down the shaft with a soft grunt. "Let's try twenty-feet to be safe," she said.

All at once, the elevator was beneath them but only by a few feet. It continued to descend; they ascended in the dark elevator shaft. They passed a set of doors leading to one of the floors, but not the one they came in through. A moment later, they went by another set of doors. Each floor number was stenciled on the inside of the doors in large block lettering.

Conner licked his lips and tightened his arms around the headdress. "Almost there."

"You should've brought a bag for that."

"I did. There is a duffle bag folded up and stuffed in the gear pouch on the back of my suit."

Karla reached behind him and unzipped the pouch. She pulled an intricately folded duffle bag out. "How the hell did you make it fit...?" She stopped mid-sentence, opened the duffle and slid the headdress into the bag. "You know, I didn't bring my purse with me so I wouldn't have to carry an extra..."

"Zip the bag to my back."

"Excuse me?"

"I can arch my body and land on my shoulder blades or hips. So the safest place for this is on my lower back or over my stomach. Zip it to my suit."

"You kids and your spy toys." Karla zipped the duffle bag to Conner's lower back, gave a tug on the small duffle to make sure it was secure, then gave his rump a firm slap. "All better."

"God, do you have to be such a flirt?"

"You and Ethan Sandusky are the only guys to complain."

"Who?"

"Nevermind, babe. Long story, tragic ending." They stopped at the last set of elevators, near the top of the shaft. Karla shoved him back, behind herself, and waved the doors apart. "Let's go."

"I wish I had that power."

"Because it looks badass and you want to look badass, right?"

"Exactly." Conner narrowed his eyes. He adjusted his clear glasses, which showed him the infrared illuminated area.

The doors began to squeak open.

Karla smirked. "You held your own okay last time we spared, babe." The elevators slid the rest of the way apart. A group of armed men stood in wait. Karla folded her arms, levitating in the doorway.

The guards opened fire using flash-suppressed handguns. The rounds veered off of Karla's telekinetic shell and struck the walls of the elevator shaft and doorframe.

"Do you like bowling?" Conner asked her from behind.

"I need to focus," she replied.

"Do you trust me? You said I held my own in our spar. I want you to bowl them down ... with me. Can you do that?"

"You're a minor. You're my ward."

"Karla, mom showed me how to fight people with abilities to protect myself. She even told me your weakness."

"Your point, kid?"

Conner frowned. "She said your weakness is part of your dietary metabolism. You haven't eaten anything in a while. You can't hold out the rest of the night. And I need you to get us out of here when all of this is over. So please work with me on this."

Karla grimaced. "I can hold their bullets. They'll eventually run out."

"They won't use everything they've got, Karla."

"GOD, okay, what's your plan, Conner?"

"I want you to throw me across the floor like a bowling ball and let me do some work. I'm your partner, so tag me in." He reached behind himself and unfastened the duffle then pushed it into her arms. "Please. It's all part of the escape plan."

"Fine." Karla stuffed the duffle beneath her left arm and drew her right hand back then made an underhand motion similar to pitching a softball.

Conner launched towards the group. His body ejected through the elevator doorframe. He went into a roll then extended his arms and sprung up at the center of the group in the dimly illuminated lobby.

He reached for the first gunman, still sailing forward with inertia. He brought his knee up into the first man's face in passing. In one graceful move, he kicked his legs back and reached over the man's head and shoulders, using his momentum to flip himself over the man's body. In a follow-through, Conner managed to leverage the attacker into a throw.

The attacker went head-over-heels into several other gunmen. Conner went to the ground and slid to a halt. He kicked his foot up, taking the knees of another attacker. The boy drew his knees to his chest then performed a handless kip-up, launching himself back to his feet smoothly.

He withdrew his cane with a pivot and struck another man across the face. Conner's well-dressed second opponent spun around halfway, facing back towards the other guards.

Conner stomped on the back of the well-dressed man's loafers. Parker's mind raced, coming to realize that almost all the gunmen were wearing suits and ties. He shoved the gunner forward but kept his foot down on the back of the man's left leather loafer shoe.

The gunman stumbled forward, from his shoe and fell to his knees on the ground.

Parker kicked the loafer up, catching another man in the face. "God dammit, that was meant for that guy's gun." The shoe attack worked well, however, sending the man to the floor with a broken nose.

The young thief stepped up onto the shoeless man's back, keeping the guard on his knees. Conner pivoted about, swinging his cane at mid-height. It hit two other men in their faces. He performed a backflip off the back of gunman number two. With a grunt, Conner brought the bottom of his cane down, hitting the man in his head. The attacker's face met the floor, rendering the gunman unconscious.

Conner twirled his staff. Three handguns clinked together, hanging by their trigger guards on the hooked end.

Parker opened his mouth then grinned. "Shit. Sometimes I impress myself."

"Didn't intend to steal their guns?" asked Karla from adjacent to the elevator.

"No. I guess it was instinct."

With only two gunmen left standing, one ran for the main entrance to escape. The other, near to Karla, grabbed her blouse and pulled her close, putting a gun to her head. "Don't fucking move, kid."

Karla rolled her eyes. "Conner, your mom wouldn't have let any of them get up."

"I'm trying okay?" Conner exclaimed. "I thought I did pretty good!"

"Well," Karla corrected with a smirk. "I'm joking with you, kid. Geeze." She turned to the adjacent attacker and said, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Shut up! Give me the bag under your arm, bitch!"

Karla frowned. "Why do guys like you need to say that kind of shit, huh? You need to assert control and dominance? You can't handle your testosterone, so you act like an ape - is that it?"

"I said shut up!" The attacker brought the handle of his gun down against her forehead but Karla didn't flinch and the gun glanced off her skull, barely so much as marring a lock of her hair.

"Telekinetic shell," she said, adding, "It would be way too easy to shove you down the elevator shaft, but the boy said not to kill anyone today. You're lucky."

She reached up and flicked the man with her forefinger. The attacker launched up against the ceiling and dropped to the floor in front of the elevator. The man brought his hands to his mouth where several teeth were now missing.

Karla rested the duffle in front of her waistline and folded her hands over top of it. "What about the one that got away?"

"I'm counting on it."

"Pardon me?"

Conner grinned. "I couldn't electronically interface with certain things earlier. But the thing that I could tap into was the security system. I just activated it. Our buddy is going to clear a path and show us the safe way out."

"We teleport, dumbass."

"God, fine, why do you feel the need to show me up?"

"You're getting upset because you know my way is easier and you don't want to admit it. It would damage your precious masculine ego, dear." Karla shrugged. She looked down at the pink-painted nails of her right hand. "Are we seriously fighting again?"

"Y'know what? Maybe I _could_have done this without you. So far, it's been easier than I thought."

"Oh geeze." Karla rolled her eyes. "I'm here because we're supposed to be on the same side."

"Then act like it and stop pretending like you're so high and mighty."

"You're on thin ice again, kid."

He huffed with indignation. "Look, I'm sorry we didn't do things the easy way. But my family has always judged and prided ourselves on gusto and panache."

"Oh, here we go - the teenaged boy is trying to use fancy words to make himself feel smarter than everyone around him. Newsflash, I know what those words mean, Conner."

"Are we really going to do this again?" He turned towards her and took the headdress from under her arm and attached it to the front of his suit, overtop his stomach. "Look, let's just agree to disagree and get out of here your way."

"You sure you want to do it the easy way?"

"We'll do it because you suggested a good idea, Karla. I'm ... I'm down with that, okay?"

The succubus replied with a soft smile. "There's that humility a boy needs when speaking to a lady. Good." Karla grinned. "Tamamo will be happier if her man isn't such a stuck up pig when he grows up."

They started across the large overly-plain lobby. The room was the size of a warehouse, but with a desk, and nice front doors, and some windows. It resembled a non-descript corporate office area, but larger.

Karla's shoes clip-clopped on the floor as they waded through men who were either unconscious or nearly so. Some of the men simply displayed enough common sense to stay down.

"I'm a pig, huh? This coming from the girl who slept with my mom, yet looks my age?"

Karla rolled her eyes. "Oh geeze, here we go. Look, Conner. I don't see why people just can't accept gays and bisexual people. Let's face it, babe, homosexuality is natural in the animal kingdom. Almost every species practices it to a degree."

Conner smirked. "You wanna know what else is natural in the animal kingdom? Male dominance. So how's _that_for keeping the natural order?"

Karla reached over and playfully slugged his arm. "Do you have to be such a goober?"

Conner glanced over his shoulder at the bodies on the floor. "I'm kind of upset Pendleton didn't show up to protect his stuff. His kid is on bed rest for a while, thanks to me. And, Karla, on a serious note, why are you acting like you're protective of me and Tamamo? I thought you're a sex demon? Why would you care if I'm happy with Tamamo?"

Karla shrugged.

"Well?" He stared at her for a moment then frowned. "Wait. I think I understand you."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, maybe. For you, sex is just sex. But that doesn't mean you're not above having a relationship."

They continued walking together towards the main entrance. She flipped a canary-colored lock back over her shoulder. "Go on."

Parker sighed with a frown. "You have really high standards when it comes to a relationship so you want people around you to have happy ones because you still want to believe it's possible."

Karla bit her lower lip. "That's ... a little deeper assessment than I expected from you."

Conner stopped at the front entrance, turned the deadbolt, purposefully setting off the quiet alarm, and turned to face her directly. "I'm not stupid. Tamamo sees something in me, so I'm not as stupid as I thought I was this time last year." Parker frowned and asked, "What exactly is it that you want? I mean, if you have your expectations set really high, you may never find it, Karla."

Karla cut her soft green eyes to him and removed the infrared glasses. She put them in the v-cut of her blouse. "It's complicated."

"Try me, Karla. What do you expect out of love? You might be asking too much." Conner glanced over at her, expectantly.

"I want the kind of romance talked about in poems, epics, and Hallmark cards. I'm not asking too much - I am asking for the right one."

"That's kind of ... profound."

"That's big of you to see it that way." She reached up and gave his cheek a playful pat. "You're not so bad, I guess. Sorry I gave you a rash of shit earlier."

"Do you want to wait until my whack-job cousin shows up or just leave?"

Karla smirked. She peered through the thick glass doors and waved her hand. The duffle bag and headdress disappeared. She reached over and took Conner's left wrist and spoke into the cuff of his suit. "The package is delivered. I repeat, the package is delivered."

"The microphone is on my earpiece. Who talks into their sleeve? That's just weird."

"God you're so ignorant of older technology." She leaned up and shouted into his ear. "Hi James! I delivered it into the trunk of your rental. Hit the gas and we'll meet you in San Francisco."

A car, two blocks up the street, moved away from the curb and turned at the next intersection.

Karla turned to Conner and folded her arms. "I guess you were right. It's still a three-person job. So we never leave the premises, which ... what? Proves we're legally innocent, since we let ourselves get caught without the headdress ... or...?"

"Sleight of hand is what earns you respect in my little world."

"So how long before your pal shows up?"

"Probably no long." Conner locked the front door again. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together wistfully.

"Aren't you worried about leaving your prints on the lock?"

"No." He lifted his hand and showed her his palm. "Clear coat. It's like wearing gloves without having to wear anything. Family staple since Jonathan Parker's days."

"Really? He never told me anything about it and I've worked with him on a heist before."

"Family secret."

Karla grinned. "Not anymore."

"Doesn't matter if you tell anyone. Not anymore. This Pendleton guy uses it, too. Not sure how he came up with it, or if he simply had the same good idea as my grandfather. But whatever. I noticed he wears it when I visited him last. I wonder what's taking him so long...?"

"Conner, my spidey senses are tingling. Maybe we should just get out of here and forget about this guy."

Conner stared out into the evening sky for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. Something is wrong. This is really weird, the old man should have showed up by now." He turned around ... and then tightened his hands into fists.

"What is it?" she asked.

Parker slammed his fist against the doorframe. "Remember what I said about being lauded and applauded for sleight of hand in my family business?"

Karla turned away from the door. All the attackers were missing. The floor was clear. She and the boy were alone in the lobby. "Where'd they go? How'd they leave so quietly?"

"They did it while we were paying attention to Jaye." Conner changed his tone of voice, directing his words to his uncle, over his earpiece. "Something is weird. They're not going according to plan. Are you okay over there?"

"I'm crossing the border into Scotland already. This is my first time on a Mag-Lev train - it's really neat. I'm few a few minutes from Edinburgh. Anyway, I'm free and clear."

"See? Told'ja it would be handy, being two blocks from the train station. This is why we had to do everything by a time table, so you could catch the train."

"Right. What's the plan?"

Conner glanced at Karla then back at the large empty lobby. "Just ... keep going. Stick to the plan, no matter what. Lay low until I come for you and, hey, Uncle Jaye, thank you for helping us."

"Stay safe, Conner. Tell Karla I said the same thing."

Conner turned to Karla and said, "He's good. The Mag-Lev turned out to be a good idea."

Karla shrugged. "Told'ja. So, you want to head to the train station or wait a little longer?"

"Let's get out of here. I'm impatient."

A cacophony of sound filled the lobby, followed by absolute chaos. Conner flailed about in confusion, his mind racing to grasp at what happened next.

The roof caved in from a controlled demolition, which brought plaster, chunks of concrete and girders down from above. The sudden confusion was replaced by darkness and silence.

X

X

At that very moment... Tokyo, Japan ...

Sinopa Guillot sat up in bed , drenched in sweat. She kicked off the covers and hurried to her window to cool off. The kitsune wrapped her lithe human fingers around the window sill, panting softly. She hurried back to her bed and knelt by the floor mattress, rummaging through her bag of belongings.

She rubbed her face, stood up and hurried over to a nearby wall socket where her cellphone was charging. She took it off the wire, opened it and called Lance Patterson but there was no answer.

Next she tried Rufus, but there was no answer from the werewolf, either. She tried Karla, then Conner, and finally the hospital where Tamamo was staying. No one answered. Her last call went to an automated messaging service concerning the psyche ward's visitation hours.

The kitsune called Kalen Kincade. He answered on the second ring.

Sinopa, her voice full of panic, said, "I just awoke from a partial premonition. I can't see who died in it, but someone important has just been killed! I've called everyone I thought of. No one else is answering!"

"Everyone is scattered right now, Ms. Guillot. Reno and I have our hands full with a vampire nest - orders per the new Justiciar. However, I can assure you that we are both alive. Is this a premonition of something to come?"

"No, I ... I don't think so. I think it may have just happened."

"We just left Lance Patterson's home less than an hour ago. Reno is standing adjacent to me. So that is at least three people I can vouch for."

"I've already lost so many," Sinopa said in a soft, sad tone.

"Rufus is in Seattle, and Karla is in England with your grandson. As soon as we are finished sorting these lot, I will personally start checking on everyone until we've heard from everybody. I have to go for now."

"Domo ... uhm, thank you, Kalen."

"My pleasure, Ms. Guillot," he said, pronouncing her surname as 'gee-loh'."Reno and I will head to England and check on your grandson as soon as we finish this raid. I will call you with an update when we arrive in Manchester."

"Kalen, fly to Edinburgh, Scotland. That's where they were planning to meet with James Parker afterwards. I talked to Conner just before I laid down for bed. They have Kuda with them, as well."

"Ms. Guillot, I assure you that I will find both Parkers, Karla, and the little fox creature. You have my promise. Stay safe." Kincade disconnected the line from his end.

Sinopa sat down in front of her mattress and closed her eyes. She said a prayer, unable to calm the worry and fear in her heart. She didn't know who it was, but one thing was clear to her - someone just lost their life, and it was someone she knew. Someone important to the rest of the group. Why ... why did she have to wake up in the middle of the dream?

Why?

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Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/755067