London, England. The home of crumpets, tea, British accents, and one of the possible locations of an elusive man known only as Joshua. Need I say more?
An alley cat shrieked and darted away as Afton and I appeared out of thin air, down a side alley in London. I looked up and down the alleyway for any bystanders but the cat had been the only one to witness our arrival. That was good, because when we had Ported to Madrid, a pair of teenage girls had seen us appear out of nowhere. Afton managed to convice them that it was a simple magician's trick, but I didn't want any other close calls. I pulled my coat around myself. It was a lot colder here than where we'd come from. Afton and I had already checked Joshua's hideouts in Madrid, Dublin, and Rome. We were onto our next destination, London. Afton had told me an address, and I had Ported there. We wanted to be as efficient as possible. I pulled my hand out of Afton's to reach into my pocket for my cellphone. It was 6:35 pm back in New York, which meant that it was 11:35 at night here in London. I put my phone back away. "We should get moving," I said. "Amelia's party starts at seven." "She won't mind if we're late," Afton said. "Yes, but your mother might," I pointed out. Afton smiled. "C'mon, you worrier, let's get to Joshua's house." He grabbed my hand to pull me along, and this time, I didn't resist his touch like I had back in New York. Maybe I was capable of trusting people, after all.
I pulled Rachel along with me to a door that opened onto the alleyway. Rapping on its night-cooled surface, I glanced at Rachel and raised my eyebrows with a grin. About a minute after I knocked, the door swung open, and a thin, unkempt man with short hair and a five o' clock shadow was standing there in the doorway, watching us warily. "Who're you?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes at the pair of us. Stepping farther into the light, I shot the man a grin. "Joshua, it's good to see you again." "Afton Cooper, do mine eyes deceive me? How are your dear parents?" "Well, my mother's fine, and my father's dead," I told him dryly. "But we didn't come to talk about Tynan and Kendra." Joshua ignored my statement and narrowed his eyes at me. "So he died between last week and today? I just saw him in Rome on Tuesday." "You were probably hallucinating," I told him. "Now, will you help us or not?"
I squeezed Afton's hand nervously, looking the man up and down. He looked very suspicious, just the sort of person that you didn't want to meet down a dark alley in the night. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we had done. But it would be worth it if this lead paid off. "And who's this young lady?" he asked, looking pointedly at me. "I'm Rachel Griffin," I said firmly. "Griffin, eh? As in James Griffin?" "That's right," I said, wondering where this conversation was going. "Shame, that one," the man made an unhappy clicking noise with his tongue. "I knew James. Nice chap, would always help someone out when they were in trouble. You look like him, you know." "Yes, yes, we know that," Afton said irritably, stopping Joshua from rambling on. "Let's get on with the information, alright?"
"Yes, yes, be patient. Allow me to clean up first," Joshua said without looking away from Rachel. He was like that with new people. Fixing them in his mind. But the gleam in his eyes made me narrow mine. He ushered us into his apartment and disappeared upstairs while we looked around the place. I had been here once before.
"Nice place, huh?" Afton remarked as we entered the apartment. I nodded, appreciating his use of sarcasm as I looked at the papers strewn everywhere, from the tabletops to a few stuffed under the rug. Joshua had gone upstairs, I presumed to change into normal clothes, for he had been wearing only sweatpants, a ratty t-shirt, and a bathrobe before. But another explanation for his disappearance occurred to me. "You don't think he's going to call any Hunters, is he? Or get a gun?" I asked, concerned. I had seen others use this ploy before. "You did bring something to defend ourselves with, right?" I pulled my hand out of his to wipe my palm on my pants. The insides of my hands had started sweating, as they did when I was nervous.
"Rachel, dear. Trust me. I wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't safe. Joshua is far too afraid of Hunters to call them; it's why he has so many different places to live," I told her, smiling as reassuringly as I could. "And he won't shoot me. He knows Ma'll skin him if he does. Trust me, he's tried." Her eyes widened, and I chuckled at her expression. "He has tried to kill you?" "Yes, he has. I started him on fire the first time, and the second time Ma attacked him. It was his way of finding out whether I was worth wasting his time and energy upon to tell me the information he knew." Hearing a small creak on the stairs, I knew what he was going to do and raised my voice. "And he knows that if he tries to do anything you, I'll burn this apartment down." There were footsteps on the stairs then, and Joshua emerged into the room. His hair had been neatly arranged into his usual perfect style, and he wore a pair of nice jeans with a t-shirt. In his hand he held a gun. "There you are, Joshua. You're looking yourself again," I told him, ignoring the gun and Rachel, who had grabbed my hand and was squeezing it tightly. "Yes, I suppose. So why are you so fond of this little Porter?" he inquired, gesturing to Rachel with the gun. "Rachel? Because I'm making her trust me. She's having a bit of trouble with that." I grinned over at her, trying to transfer some of my confidence over to her. "But she will. Give her a chance to, eh?" "Alright, fine." The man met Rachel's eyes and smiled. "Someone so shy as you could never be a threat anyway. And I'm sure all that quietness is hiding some feistiness in you that makes you worth my time." He laid the gun on a small table and grinned at us. "So, what do you need to know?"
"We want to know about a woman named Valerie Murray," I said, trying to sound as confident as possible. "She'll be about twenty or so now. We want to know what she's been doing, what type of super she is, if she's even still alive. We want to know if she's connected to Roxanne Murray in any way. And if she is, how, and why." I was careful to keep my tone demanding but polite. Even though I knew Joshua had Afton's approval (or at least some of it, in any case), I still was unwilling to trust the man. At least, not until he had proved himself to be an ally.
"Valerie Murray, age nineteen, Shifter, daughter of the infamous Roxanne Murray and unknown father. Dabbling in dark stuff, you are," Joshua told us. "She's a dangerous Hunter. Why do you want to know about her?" "Because I have a bad feeling about her. I think she's going to do something. And with the way the rebel families are gathering around my place lately, I know she's going to make an appearance." "What else do you know?" Rachel prompted, watching Joshua warily. "Patience, little Porter," he said, shooting a quick grin at Rachel. "Val-er-ie Mur-ray." He stretched the name out, saying it carefully while he thought. "Serial killer of supers. Seeking revenge. Estranged from mother. Smoker. Seemingly impossible to find, unless you know where to look. Reckless. Accomplished super tracker."
~Afton
(If you want to finish Joshua's description of Valerie... Go for it. Haha)
(Nope, I think he's got her covered ;) And is Joshua going to be upgraded to sidebar status?)
"Accomplished super tracker..." I trailed off, staring down at the file I had placed on the table. A chill went down the back of my spine. To think, a girl only a year older than I was had already killed dozens of supers, and she had managed to slip under our radar. "Do you have any idea what she looks like?" I asked Joshua. He pondered my question for a moment. "I don't have a specific picture of her, if that's what you're asking, but I have a general description of her from the few that have either been lucky enough to survive her attacks or managed to witness a killing and get away with their skins. Tall, blonde hair, gray or blue eyes, athletic. Dresses in black. Almost always has a cigarette ready." "Well, that helps at least a little," I said. Joshua turned to Afton. "If you've got a bad feeling about her," he said, "you shouldn't ignore it. You should tell your ma, and whoever else is in the vicinity to take precautions. You don't want to mess with her."
"Dangerous supers," I muttered, shaking my head. "Alright, Shockerboy. I'll listen to your warnings. I have a feeling she's going to make an appearance very soon. You take care of yourself, too. Never know when a Hunter's going to come knocking at your door." Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Frowning at the irony of the situation--I mean, come on, a guy uses one little metaphoric cliche, and it immediately becomes literal. Honestly!--I followed Joshua to the entryway, then found a space where I could see the door, but whomever was at the door couldn't see me. Rachel joined me in my hiding place just seconds before Joshua opened the door. I held my breath. In the doorframe leaned a rather short, red-haired woman with eyes just about exactly the same color as mine. "Joshua," she said, smiling at the man and slowly pulling a pair of leather gloves off of her hands. "It's been quite some time since I had the pleasure of seeing you. I have some questions for you involving a few pesky little supers that I want to get rid of. One such girl being a miss Amelia Friedstrom. Have you any information for me, dear?" Joshua stammered through an affirmative--I had never seen him so nervous. I realized it was an act a half-second later and grinned.
I held my breath as Joshua answered the door. I prayed that it wasn't a Hunter, but irony won out, and in stepped a short woman with cropped red hair and leather gloves. I almost gasped in recognition, but kept quiet for fear of being heard. Afton looked around at me, confused. I leaned in close to him, stepping up on my toes to whisper in his ear. "I know who that is," I said, as quietly as I could. "That's Claudia Cooper. She's a Hunter. She killed one of my father's good friends, Lyra, back in the fight against the Division." "Cooper, as in—" Afton started to whisper back. "Yes. Cooper as in Tynan Cooper. He's her father. Her mother was some random girl he met in Vegas." At the look on Afton's face, I added quickly, "But that was a long time before he fell in love with your mother, of course."
(I'm pretty sure Afton would've known that. He did research his genealogy and ask Joshua a ton of questions... Oh well. I'll go with it. Lol)
"How do you know all of this stuff?" I inquired as quietly as I could, watching Claudia from where we were hidden. She and Joshua had moved into the room we had been in before.
(Yeah...I didn't really know what else to say, but let's roll with it.)
I smiled, poking him in the chest with my index finger.. "You're not the only super who does a little research, Afton Cooper." I realized how close we were to each other, and stepped away, sobering a bit. I looked around for Claudia and Joshua. She had stepped into the room we were in earlier, Joshua trailing behind. "Should we leave him here and go warn the others, or..." I let my sentence trail off. "No," Afton said firmly. "We're not abandoning him." "Then what are you suggesting?" I asked. "A diversion?"
I grinned inwardly at Rachel's tiny bit of almost-flirting and turned my attention back to Claudia and Joshua. "A diversion? Perhaps. But how do you feel about grab-and-gos? He doesn't have any files around here; they're all in his mind," I whispered, watching the pair--Claudia was confident, and Joshua looked the part of nervous filekeeper. "So if we can get around Claudia and to him, we could potentially grab him and just... disappear."
"Why don't you do your whole fire-thingy," I said, glancing at him. "Y'know, throw fireballs at her or something. Or set her on fire. And then I can grab Joshua, grab you, and we can Port back to wherever comes to my mind." "Why not just back home?" "Because she might grab onto me, or you, while we're going. I don't want her knowing the location of Amelia, not to mention the rest of your family. Either way, it--" I quieted abruptly, as Claudia had just stopped talking. "Did you hear something?" she asked. "Joshua, do you have guests you didn't tell me about?" Her mocking tone made me shiver. I swore under my breath, but kept as still and as silent as I could.
Claudia's eyes met mine through the spot Rachel and I were spying, and I realized they were exactly the same as mine. The woman smiled. "Afton Cooper, in the flesh. I'd been wondering whether I'd ever meet you. And who is it with you?" Rachel and I stepped out from where we'd been standing, our cover blown. Those eyes, the ones that were exact replicas of my own, widened with surprise and pleasure. "Rachel Griffin! I remember your father. A pest, he was. Always killing my colleagues." "Hardly could call them colleagues," I commented quietly, "since you were only eight years old at the time." Claudia's eyes narrowed at me. I only smiled pleasantly back, watching the fire that was growing behind Claudia.
I said nothing, only stared back at Claudia. I couldn't believe that a woman this young—only ten or so years older than I—could remember the time before the Division fell. In fact, she had been a major part in it. In every story about the battle against the Division that I heard, Claudia was credited with killing Lyra Beckett, a Watcher and Tynan's cousin. I tried hard not to let my eyes flick to behind her, where a fire was growing, and I held her gaze. "They were more like playmates, weren't they?" I said, almost for a lack of words. Claudia's eyes narrowed. "I heard about your father, Rachel Griffin," she said, her tone sweet but dangerously soft. "I'd give the Mirage a medal if I knew who he was." "You're lying," I said, trying to keep the conversation going, giving Afton more time to concentrate. I slipped my hand into his again, and nearly pulled away. It was uncomfortably warm to the touch, so much so that pain started to shout through my arm. But I grit my teeth and ignored it, trying to keep Claudia talking. "You know who killed my parents, you just won't tell me." I said defiantly. She tilted her head to one side, a smirk on her lips. "But I know it wasn't you," I continued. "You ne'er would have managed it." "And why not?" Her smirk was gone now. I smiled, half a grimace of pain. "Too elaborate."
Noticing that Rachel tensed when she took my hand, I realized I must be burning hot and tossed my heat to the fire, cooling myself down considerably and building up the fire even more. The heat from this thing was going to alert the very annoyed Claudia to my blaze very soon, so I just quickened up the inevitable by starting a smaller flame near Claudia's feet. She immediately leaped into the air away from it, her eyes wide and suddenly full of fear. "Get it away from me!" she screeched, dancing around as tiny tongues of flame started in random places on the floor by her feet. The fire went out immediately after it started each time, and after too much time had passed, I was laughing so hard at Claudia's ridiculous fire dance that I could barely keep control of her dance partner. And then Joshua was suddenly on Rachel's other side with a few bags, I put my fires out, he took Rachel's hand, and the three of us disappeared from Joshua's London house, leaving Claudia to calm herself down. We had found the woman's weakness. I grinned.
(Let's just continue the commenting here, until they go back to the Cooper's house, because it's a waste of time to make a whole other page. Plus I'm lazy :P)
I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the first place I thought of: my parent's old cottage in Wales. We appeared in the front hallway, Joshua knocking over the umbrella stand as we arrived. He clutched his knee and grimaced. "Sorry," I said. "I wasn't really shooting for specifics when I thought of this place." I looked around. The place was like I remembered it, wooden floors and doors, cream walls, open, bright windows. But there was something different about it now, a kind of stillness in the air. It didn't have the same feel as when my parents were alive. I noticed the pain in my left hand, I looked down and saw that most of the skin was shiny and red. I winced. Those were burns from Afton's hand. I pushed through a door to the kitchen and started looking through the herb shelves for something that would soothe my hand. Aloe, maybe.
"He'll be fine," I replied to her apology. I followed her into the kitchen, leaving Joshua to pick up the fallen umbrella stand. As Rachel stood on tiptoes to check the shelves in the kitchen, I caught sight of the red skin of her hand and I blinked in surprise. "Did I burn you?" Going to her, I took her hand and inspected the angry red burns. They were beginning to blister. "It's fine, really," she told me. "I was the one who grabbed your hand." Looking at the shelves Rachel had been searching, I located bandages, and on the counter, I found an aloe plant. Breaking off a piece of the plant, I spread some of its liquid carefully on Rachel's burns, my touch as gentle as I could manage. After I had finished that, I wrapped her hand in a few layers of bandages and taped the end in place. "There," I said, keeping hold of her hand and meeting her brown eyes with a smile. "All better."
"Thank you," I said, glancing up shyly. I leaned over and kissed Afton on the cheek, then turned around and put the bandages away. Afton cleared his throat. "So," he said awkwardly. "Where are we anyway?" "Wales," I said shortly, opening up one of the cabinets. I was hoping to find some cans of corn or beans or something. I was sure I'd stocked provisions here the last time I'd visited. "This was my parent's house," I explained to Afton over my shoulder. "Before they...well, you know."
"I see," I replied, still distracted by the shock to my synapses that had been Rachel's kiss. I watched her dig through the cabinets, searching for food, I assumed. Reaching around her, I opened a higher cabinet and pulled out a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. "This should be good enough, right?" "Perfect. I'm starving," Joshua cut in, finally making an appearance in the kitchen. "Okay. Find us some butter and milk, and we're off to a good start, eh?" He sighed. "Okay, I'll go buy some. I don't have much money, but it should be enough." I smirked at him and allowed him to leave without even bothering to offer some of my own money. "That should keep him occupied for a little while, I should think," I remarked, shooting Rachel a wink.
"We might as well get started with the food," I said. "We won't need the butter and milk until the end." I grabbed a big pot from one of the bottom cabinets. As I turned the burner on and put water in the pot, I said, "What should we do about warning the others? Should we actually go there, or do you want to text Xander or Amelia or something?"
~Rachel
(IDEA! Rachel or Afton will text Amelia or Xander, both of whom will be too preoccupied with the James drama to notice. The party will go on as usual, and Valerie and Claudia (plus any other Hunters who want to come) will show up in the middle of it. There will be confusion and pandemonium, and hostages (Yay! I love hostages!), and some supers will get away. Amelia/Xander will check their phone and either come to join Rachel and Afton and Joshua, or know where they are and go do something else. What do you think?)
"Yeah, I can text Amelia. She's more pleasant to deal with than my brother," I told Rachel, fishing a large spoon out of a drawer. Handing it to her with a grin, I pulled out my phone and texted Amelia.
Hey, watch out. We suspect some vengeful Hunters might turn up and crash the party. And we won't be coming back today, 'kay?
"So what do you do normally? When you're not hunting up information, that is?" I asked Rachel, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
(Maybe...you can definitely have one show up at the Cooper's house later, but let's wait for Kat's answer too.)
"I paint," I said. "And read. And write, just a little bit." I smiled to myself. "I'm more the shy artsy type, if you know what I mean. My mother was an artist, too. That's one of the reasons why my father fell in love with her." I leaned over to grab a wooden spoon from the jar that held all our cooking utensils. "What about you?" I asked as I stirred the water absentmindedly. "What does Afton Cooper do in his spare time?"
(I dunno. Maybe this could be a safe house? One the Hunters don't know about yet...)
"Well..." I paused a moment to consider that question. "I hunt up information on anyone and everyone. I cook. I read. I explore my house. I sing." That last one made me grin a little. "But you won't be hearing that anytime soon. I also like to travel. Sometimes I just sit and... watch. People are fascinating." She smiled at me. "Interesting," was her only comment. "What do you like? Just anything you love. From ramen noodles to Korean pop music to DDR to traveling. Surprise me with your list. It can be anything," I told her with a huge grin.
(I think they'd know about it, since they essentially killed Rachel's parents here...or found them here anyway, but they might not bother with it because they think that there's nothing left to do with it.)
"Umm," I thought for a minute. What did I like? I hadn't really thought about it in a long time, since before my parents were killed. Since then I had been too preoccupied with keeping myself alive to bother with things that I liked. "Cathedrals," I said after a minute. "The Great Wall of China. The Sydney Opera House. The Parthenon. Architecture in general, I guess." I tried to reach for more things from my childhood. "Romantic comedies. Shakespearean plays. Lace. The color yellow. Birds. Green tea. Rollercoasters, though I haven't been on any in a very long time."
"What do you like? You can answer while I think," Rachel told me. I smiled, leaning back on the counter and folding my arms. "Well," I began, thinking about the question. "The Eiffel tower. 80s music. Banana cream pie. Fire. Jane Austen books, even though most people consider those to be girl books. Harry Potter books. Books in general. Macaroni and cheese. People-watching. Files on people. Notebook paper. You," I finished, grinning when she looked up in surprise.
I met Afton's eyes and blushed. "Me?" I asked. "Not many people like me. Teenagers, street vendors, Hunters. There was one I met in Picadily..." I rambled on, trying to change the subject and hide the fact that my face was bright red. I wasn't good at this sort of thing. Flirting wasn't my strongsuit. I left that to people like Lucie O'Neall.
I grinned as I tipped the box of macaroni into the boiling water on the stove. Plucking the wooden spoon from Rachel's grasp, I stirred it while I patiently waited out her rambling. When she finally trailed off, I looked over at her. "For a quiet girl, you can talk a lot," I commented amusedly as her face returned to its earlier shade of scarlet. Before she could reply, I added, "But I like it. You're an interesting girl, Rachel Griffin." Just then, Joshua walked in with a grocery bag and a grin. "Got the stuff!" "Thank you, Joshua," I replied, not looking up from Rachel's brown eyes.
"Oh, thanks," I said to Joshua. "You can just put it on the counter." He nodded, and did so with a smirk. He pulled a stick of butter and a jar of milk out of the bag. "I also took the liberty of getting this," he said, unveiling a newspaper from under his coat. "You two can look at the headlines if you want, I just got it for the crossword." He ruffled the papers, pulling out the section with the word puzzles and leaving the rest to Afton and me. I walked over to the counter and picked up the newspaper. I scanned the cover page. There had been several celebrity scandals, one political debate, and a few assorted crimes committed. The usual stuff. I handed the newspaper to Afton. "See if you find anything interesting," I said.
Flipping through the pages, I found something of interest and inspected it closer. It was a small picture entitled "The London Scene." And there, in a doorway behind some couple holding hands, stood my father. "Holy sh*t," I said quietly, staring at the picture. "He's alive." "Who is?" both Joshua and Rachel said at the same time. I shook my head in disbelief. "My dad. Except that's impossible, because why wouldn't he come home?"
I looked over Afton's shoulder at the picture in the newspaper. It was definitely Tynan Cooper. Considerably older than my father's old pictures of him before the fall of the Division, but the same man. I had never met Tynan in person, had only heard stories from my father, but he was supposed to be very nice and helpful. Just the sort of person you'd go to in a crisis. But he had been missing, presumed dead, for almost a year. How could he show up in a newspaper picture? "Maybe it's some sort of Hunter trick," I suggested. "You know, to mess with your mind or something." "Yes, but why would they bother with it?" Joshua asked. "And if it is photo-manipulation of some sort, intended for us, how could they know that Afton would see it? How could they know that we're here?" "Watchers?" I suggested. "Possibly, but there aren't many Watchers who are Hunters. They're mainly neutral, or on our side. Something to do with their visions. Killing people upsets their 'karma', or something..." Joshua shook his head. "Strange ones, Watchers are. Usually very superstitious."
"Drew, he's looking at a newspaper. Do you have today's newspaper with you?" I spoke quietly into the cellphone. "No. I'll go get one now," came my current colleague's reply. "Good. Call me back." I snapped it shut and kept my eyes on the stool next to where Afton Cooper, Rachel Griffin, and Joshua Lindbergh were standing, keeping my peripheral vision trained on the three supers. My bright red hair had been dyed black, and on my eyes were brown contact lenses- just as a precaution. Not that they knew who I was, anyway. I was nonexistent in the Hunter World until recently, when Marre escaped my grasp.
I wished, not for the first time, that I was somehow a Whisperer as well. I could not hear what they were saying, nor read their lips, as they were turned away from me. I took a swig from my Guinness beer and continued what was one of the biggest parts of my job- waiting.
(Is she at a bar? Afton, Rach, and Josh are at a house. Buuuuut, I can make this work. Your girl can be creeping through windows. Looks like Rach's parents house is next door to a bar! Yeah! Lol)
I shook my head. "They wouldn't manipulate a picture. Too many people think my dad's dead. And besides, when we were at your house, didn't you say my dad had come to you a couple days earlier?" I asked Joshua, watching him through narrowed eyes. Joshua nodded. "That's right, I did. He was in London." "Then he's alive. But why didn't he come back? Why is he hiding?" I asked, suddenly frustrated and confused.
(Yeah! Okay, didn't think of that... great, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin are now neighbors to a tavern! Yay! :D)
"I have the paper," was Drew's first words when he came on again. "Anything of interest?" I heard paper flipping before it stopped, and then there was a sharp intake of breath. "We were wrong." "What?" I was getting impatient now. "Tynan Cooper is alive."
(Haha I always imagined their house as being a little cottage in the Welsh countryside, but I suppose it can be in a village! Just don't make the bar all sophisticated and shiny, it's probably more medieval-esque. Think wooden tables and home-brewn beer.)
"Probably for your own safety," I said. "My own father did that to my mother, before she was born. He had Kayana O'Neall—well, she was Kayana Terrace then—wipe Mother's memories of him, to keep her safe from Hunters. And then after the Division fell, they went back and restored them. So maybe he's doing something similar. I'm sure he has a good reason for avoiding you." "Yes, but why?" Afton asked. I could hear the note of desperation in his voice. "Why is he hiding?" "Hunters," I said simply. "Maybe even the Mirage."
"What the hell?" I hissed into the phone. "No way." "Jack was right, Marissa--" Drew began, but I cut him off furiously. "Jack was a flaming idiot," I growled. "I know he was a traitor, but he was right! Tynan Cooper isn't dead, and if he finds the rest of his family, they could be very dangerous!" Drew pressed, and I grudgingly admitted that he was right. "Do you know where he is?" "The newspaper had him in London. Here." My red lips curved in a deadly smile. "Let's go."
(If she wants to draw attention to the pair of them... Lol. Hey, random question. Who is Val's dad? Is it Roscoe, or some random guy?)
"Hiding from us isn't going to stop the Mirage. If he thinks my dad's dead, wouldn't he come after us? Ma was a rebel. We're kids of rebels. Josh has information on everyone," I said, still staring at the small, slightly blurry picture. Suddenly, I saw something in my father's hand and inspected the paper even closer. I could barely make out the words, but I somehow finally was able to read it. "Where did Romeo and Juliet take place again?" I asked Josh and Rachel. "Verona, Italy. Why?" Joshua asked. Putting the newspaper down on the counter I had been leaning on, I pointed to the piece of paper in my dad's hand. "Meet me where star-cross'd lovers first confessed their love." "The balcony," Joshua said, searching through his photographic memory. "At la casa di Giulietta." "Do you know the address?" Rachel asked. "Via Cappello, 23, 37121 Verona, Italy," he replied without missing a beat, smirking at the surprise on her face. "Italy is one of my favorite places."
(Remember Roxanne was pregnant because of one of her missions? It involved getting the person she was targeting to trust her, so he did, and...yeah. So he's still alive, lucky man, because Roxanne didn't have time to use the information against him because she was too preoccupied with the fall of the Division. So no, Roscoe isn't Val's father. But I'll bring her biological father up eventually...somehow...)
"We should go now, while it's still dark," I said, looking from Afton to Joshua and back again. "We don't want to be spotted by any Hunters." Italy was only one hour ahead of us. Here, it was around 12 o'clock at in the morning, so there it would be 1 o'clock. The perfect setting for meeting someone.
"Alright, Porter, do your worst. Or best?" Joshua said, slipping his hand into Rachel's with a grin. "Oh, now, wait a second. I'm still hungry," I said, pointing at the forgotten macaroni. "Can't we eat first?"
"You've got five minutes," I said. Afton hastily scooped the finished macaroni into his mouth as fast as he could. I had eaten a large dinner before we went looking for Joshua, so I was only a little hungry. I could manage; I'd been worse.
Before my 5 minute eating time was up, I had scarfed down the entire pot of macaroni. "We'll have to get more food later," I told Rachel and Joshua, now taking Rachel's hand. I realized only when we got to Verona that during the entire time that I ate, Joshua had kept a hold on her hand. I knew exactly what game he was playing, but I held my tongue.
~Afton
(So I recently found out that Afton is a girl's name... Oh well.)
(Funny, it always seemed like a boy's name to me...Maybe it can be one of those cool names which can be used for a boy once in a blue moon [i. e. Artemis from Artemis Fowl])
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the address in Verona. I thought of how I'd always pictured it in my mind while I was reading Romeo and Juliet. Lots of foliage, moonlight wafting through the trees, a little breeze playing across the grass. I had never actually been to the garden, but I had thought about it often. Italy was one of those locations I've always wanted to visit, but I never got the time to. With no sound at all, Joshua, Afton, and I vanished from my parent's house and arrived in the backyard garden of Via Cappello, 23, 37121 Verona, Italy.
And just as Rachel, Afton, and Joshua Ported out of Rachel's parent's house, I casually dropped the lit piece of newspaper I found on the floor near the bar, and walked out of the tavern. Soren, who was waiting outside, grasped my arm and gave me a grin before turning us both invisible (thank God for the darkening sky and the drunkards who wouldn't remember anything by tomorrow), then Porting us to Andrew's apartment just as the tavern promptly burst into flames. The fire caught onto the alcohol and a great mushroom cloud of smoke billowed out of its windows as the tavern exploded.
"Afton," came a voice from behind us. The three of us turned, searching the shadows behind trees and smaller plants. I didn't see anyone. "Dad? Is that you?" I called in a loud whisper. "Tynan?" "Who is that with you?" this time the voice came from my left. "Rachel and Joshua," I replied, squinting into the darkness. And then a form materialized through the darkness to my left again. I turned again and saw my father, standing there, barely aged but for the grey hairs that streaked his brown hair. "I... you're... alive." "Well, yes," he replied, the apology clear in his eyes. "I was tracking Hunters... I killed a few. But I didn't want any of you getting into it. It's dangerous." "Oh, of course. Saving the world while your family thinks you're dead," I replied, unable to keep the sarcasm and hurt from my voice. "Ma couldn't sleep for months because she was crying. Xander got even more insufferable. Nan's friends all decided it was weird that her daddy died and stopped talking to her. And I took over all of the files because I am going to hunt the Hunters whether you like it or not," I told him, glaring a challenge.
"He's not in London," I said all of a sudden. Drew and Soren looked up simultaneously. "What?" "He's not in London," I repeated, and Soren's eyebrows furrowed. "But in the picture--" "Exactly! Cooper's not an idiot, he must have known there would be people like us chasing him once they saw him in the newspaper!"
Realization dawned on Drew's face. "Of course you're right," he shook his head. "I didn't even think of that." "Of course you didn't," I scoffed, and threw a wad of cash at the taxi driver, telling him to drop us off at the nearest stop. As we climbed out, Soren inquired, "Then where do we go now?" I stood there, thinking. While Drew may be the information and espionage guy, and while Soren was the muscle guy, I was the brains of the group. "Of course!" I snapped my fingers. "Griffin Ported them out there somewhere- exactly where, I don't know. But she wouldn't have Ported them suddenly if they didn't know at least have a good guess at where Cooper would be. And they're bound to have had a reason to. So let's go back to the Griffin household- if it isn't ruined yet- and see if there are any clues."
Soren nodded, and pulled Drew and me into an alley where we Ported straight into the broken down pub. "Keep your hands on me. We're invisible- we don't want the police seeing us," he whispered, and the three of us got into Griffin's place without much difficulty- considering that there were police cars outside. "Okay, people. Spread out and start searching!" I ordered, and promptly made my way into the kitchen. Half of it was destroyed, but in the corner I could see the newspaper sitting on the table. I picked it up, so I could see it for myself. The more I looked at it, the more I felt like Cooper was holding something. It was a slip of paper. With writing on it.
"Drew, find a magnifying glass and get over here!" I called.
(sorry, crappy comment... but I'm... tired...zzzzz)
I heard a voice I recognized as Marissa Pierce and rolled my eyes. The Terrible Trio were here, too. I shot a glare at the random Porter I had picked up. "Stay here, or your kiddies and wife will get it. One phone call," I warned him, holding up my phone. Making my way through the room to the kitchen, I peered out and grinned. "Figured that little thing out, have you?" The three Hunters whipped around. When they caught sight of me, Marissa grinned. "Claudia Cooper. It's been a while." "Mmhmm. Come in here," I said, waving them over to the room I had taken over with the Porter. "I have a bit of information," I told Marissa as soon as she stepped inside. "Oh?" "Yes, and you're going to help me with something before we go off searching for Coopers and Griffin and that d*mned Joshua."
~Claudia
(I think they should all go to the Cooper household, yes? Stir things up a bit with all them supers. Otherwise, the Terrible Trio can refuse. Up to you.)
(I vote yes, and Val and her cousin Leon can come along for the ride. I think Val is going to be hunting Kendra anyway, on her maniac serial killer quest...)
I studied the man before us. Tynan Cooper matched the picture in the newspaper perfectly, right down to the gray hairs on his head. Even though I knew him to be only in his late forties or early fifties, he looked much older. The pressure of life on the run can do that to people. But Afton clearly hadn't seen this weariness, or if he had he wasn't paying attention to it. He and Tynan were locked in a staring contest, and I could tell that Afton was getting angrier by the second from the heat his hand was generating. Not wishing to be burned a second time, I quickly withdrew my grasp. Joshua pulled me to the side. "Don't want to get in the middle of this," he said softly. "Give them a minute to cool down." I didn't want to wait a minute for the two Coopers to sort out their differences. I hated people fighting, it was the reason why I had chosen to become a pacifist. What was I doing here anyway? Getting myself mixed up in the kind of violence I had wanted to avoid in the first place? I made a decision. "Afton?" I called out. "Afton, let's go. Somewhere safe. We can bring your father too, but let's get out of here. Hunters could have seen the picture just as easily as we did. They could be coming for us."
"Ah." I nodded, as Soren cautiously examined Claudia. He was naturally paranoid, for some reason. Drew was eyeing the shorter and yet older girl with interest. "So, what's this information you have?" I asked, raising a perfect dyed dark eyebrow. i scanned the living room with some wariness- I knew for a fact that this was where my brother was killed in a stupid but brave assassination attempt of Rachel Griffin's mother.
~ Marissa
(Terrible Trio? Hahaha Oh, and Marissa's last name is spelled not as 'pierce', but as 'pearce')
"Oh, undoubtedly," I replied to Rachel without looking away from Tynan. "They most certainly will come after us." "The Griffin girl is right. We should get out of here," my father said, raising one eyebrow. It was a challenge. Would I control my temper or endanger Joshua and Rachel? I glanced at Rachel and sighed, remembering that she didn't like conflict. Forcing myself to cool down, I tried to smile at her; I barely managed a grimace. "So would you like to give your powers a rest for now? We can walk somewhere. I'm sure the Hunters wouldn't expect that."
~Afton
"A good source gave me a location," I told the three Hunters. "I know Tynan, his son, and the Griffin girl are rapidly becoming a threat, but what if we could take out other threats with one single stop?" "Where?" Marissa asked, eyeing me. I grinned, holding up a finger. "Ah, see, here's the catch. If I tell you this bit, then I will be accompanying you on your travels. Deal?" I asked, watching them carefully for their reactions.
~Claudia
(Yes, the Terrible Trio. It suits them. ;) And sorry about that. I'm used to writing/typing Tamora Pierce [my favorite author] that it immediately came out as "Pierce"...)
I narrowed my eyes. Claudia was very powerful, but not the most trustworthy person. But then again, neither was I... I decided to risk another betrayal. "Deal." I stuck out my hand, which she shook. Her hand was soft and warm, but the curt, single shake and the steely glint in her eye was definitely very different. "Now what kind of information is this? I'm not going off traipsing with you lot if you don't tell me where and why we're going."
"That would be great," I smiled uncertainly, glancing at Tynan and back again. I didn't like the way he had called me 'the Griffin girl', as if my lineage was more important than my actual personality and morals. But then again, it might mean that he didn't know much about me expect for my parentage, which was a good thing. The element of surprise is key, as my father used to tell me. While I was contemplating this, Joshua had found a gate that led out of the garden. It was bolted, but he pulled a hairpin from his jacket and started to wiggle it around inside the lock. I looked at him in surprise. "Does he always have things like that handy?" I asked Afton in a low voice. "Usually," he answered curtly, and I could tell that he was still upset at his father. Joshua finally got the lock open, and gestured with a sweep of his arms that we were to walk through. I went first, checking the small alleyway outside for signs of life. After the coast was clear, I nodded and my companions followed me.
"It's a house in New York City. They've made it undetectable, but my source is infallible," I told Marissa and the two men. I gave a quick grin when I noticed their patience beginning to run out. "There are supers there. A gathering of them. My source even saw Kate Marre. Aren't you looking to exact some revenge upon her?" Marissa nodded once, curtly. "And it so happens that the owners of this particular house were two of the Division destroyers. We're talking big roles in the destruction." I paused, grinning, and pulled a small picture from my pocket, showing them a young woman, holding hands with my father and grinning over at the other destroyers of the Division, on the edge of the picture. "Kendra Cooper, her family, and assorted family friends. O'Nealls included. Are you with me?"
~Claudia
As we left Juliet's House, I stayed away from my father. Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Fishing it out, I glanced at the caller ID. It was Ma. Immediately, I tossed the phone to my father. "If you don't tell her, I will," I told him, glaring a challenge of my own. He looked down at the small screen and winced. "I... can't. Not yet," he said. The grief in his eyes told me he hadn't wanted to stay away, but it wasn't that simple, just letting him off when he had allowed us to believe for over a year that he was dead. "You have to. She deserves to know," I told him, my voice softer. "She hasn't been the same since you left. She's not happy, not really. And she's lost her will to really fight. She needs you." My phone stopped vibrating as Tynan sighed and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"So, where are we walking to?" I asked Joshua, for lack of anything else to say. "Are we just going to continue walking down this dark alley in the dead of night, or are we going to find a cafe or a shop or something?" "I doubt anything would be open at this time of night," Joshua answered. "But I think that would be a good idea. Somewhere where people won't talk, since I don't trust those two not to make a scene." He jerked his thumb at Afton and his father, the latter of which was talking to someone on Afton's cell phone.
"I can hear you, you know. And Tynan must have a plan, or else he wouldn't have led us here. Right?" I asked, turning to my father. He handed me a piece of paper and continued speaking with Ma. "Here," I said, handing it to Rachel. "I'll give you some light to read by." Holding my hand over her shoulder and above the paper, I made a small flame in my palm and held my hand palm-down over the note. When Rachel cringed a little, I managed a real smile, albeit a small one. "I'm not going to burn you again. I promise." Rachel nodded and read, "There's a room at Hotel San Luca, about twelve minutes away. Take a left onto Via Mazzini, and follow it to Piazza Bra, and from there to Corso Porta Nuova. Stay on Porta Nueva until you get to Piazza Pradaval. Take a right, then continue to Vicolo Volto San Luca. Hotel is on the right." "Alright, let's go then," Joshua said as I extinguished my flame. "Yes, let's. And Rachel?" I hesitated a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. For... causing conflict. I was a little upset. I know you don't like it, so... sorry."
"It's fine," I lied, then realized I should probably rephrase what I had said and be honest. "I've just never liked fighting. Not since my parents died." That statement was nearer the mark. Not the truth, but close enough so that I didn't feel guilty. I didn't like lying to people whose opinions matter to me either. We walked through the quiet alleyways and roads of Verona, avoiding streetlights wherever we could. I doubted that any Hunters would be here, but it was best to stay on the safe side.
"And the Griffin girl, Coopers, and the Lindbergh bloke would come rushing back if they heard any trouble. We'll have to be careful," I told Claudia, knowing that she already knew I'd agree. "I do stealth, not full-blown dramatic charges." Drew smirked behind me, and I elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He winced and grumbled a bit. Soren, like in the usual company of those he was either afraid of or greatly respected, kept silent.
My father handed my phone over to me when we got inside the hotel. "Your mother is in hysterics." "I would imagine. Dead husband comes back--it's got to be somewhat of a shock," I replied calmly, although I was surprised. Ma was never in hysterics. Ever. I went to the front desk to fetch our key. Taking it from the random guy behind the desk, I accidentally glanced at his laptop on the desk and saw the news up. Oddly enough, it was news from the UK. In the corner, a small link reminded me of something. Waving Rachel over and apologizing to the guy as I spun the laptop so it faced me, I pointed to the link. "The King's House--a little family-owned Welsh pub known for its specialty be..." The rest of the title was hidden; it must have been too long. Pointing at the screen, I inquired, "Wasn't that right next to your old house?"
~Afton
"Hm. It's hard to be stealthy when every super knows your face. Unless we get creative with the disguises." I paused, beginning to grin, still completely ignoring the two men in the room. "One of your guys is a Porter, right? Let's do this the right way: old school."
"Oh my God," I said, looking up at the television screen. "Oh my God, you're right." The King's House was right next to my parents' house. It had been there ever since I could remember, and from what I could tell, ever since the oldest resident of the town could remember either. It had been owned by one large clan, passed down and sometimes sideways from family member to another. "Why is it on the news?" I asked worriedly, unable to disguise the fear in my voice. "What happened? Were we spotted? Were the Hunters watching us?"
I smirked. "Sounds good. Our Porter though--" and here I gestured to Soren, "Has picked up a bit of Stealthing. Could be useful, yeah?" I raised a dark eyebrow. "Is your little follower there a Porter as well?" I inquired, looking over her shoulder (I had to stand on tip-toe, no matter how much I would deny it) at the man standing silently a ways behind Claudia.
"Him?" I said, jerking a thumb toward the man and smirking. "No, no. He's something of a new pet. I needed a Porter to get here. We could very easily kill him, but I don't think we have time. We've got Normals incoming." I paused, glancing at the man, whose eyes were wide with fright, but whose mouth was stubbornly set in a half-smile. "Claudia Cooper, if you kill me, you will not ever be able to sleep at night for guilt." "Won't I? Seems to me like you think I have emotions," I said, meeting his eyes. He flinched, but his smile remained. "Seems to me like you think I care about the life of a worthless piece of scum like you." I turned to face him full-on. "Perhaps I shan't kill you. But I can take every memory of your wife and your precious little children from you. Emily and Addison, right? Don't test me, Porter." "Claudia," Marissa said quietly. I heard firemen coming and smiled at my pet Porter. "Run along now. I have no further need of you." He vanished instantly, and I turned back to Marissa and the men. "We'll be going to the Guthrie Theater on South Second Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota. An old school job requires old school disguises, and that requires a little Minnesota theatre and the professionals there. Let's go," I told Soren, the first time I had addressed him directly. "You're the Porter." ~Claudia
"Looks like"--I clicked the link, bringing up an article and a picture--"it burned down. Just about an hour ago." "We were just there. About an hour ago," Joshua told Tynan quietly, eyeing the computer screen grimly. "That is, we were just at Rachel's house, right next to it." Scanning the article quickly, my eyes went wide when I got to the assessment of the damages to the pub. "90 years of serving customers from places as far away as America went up in flames. Eyewitnesses say it happened very quickly, without warning. Although we don't at this time have an official statement as to the extent of the damage done to this beloved pub, we do know the fire spread to several of the surrounding homes, causing varying degrees of damage. More news on this later." "A Starter. Afton, you didn't--" Tynan began, but I cut him off. "You don't think I actually had something to do with this, do you?" He glanced at me. "You are a bit unpredictable when you get worked up." "I was unpredictable. If you had been around, you would know that I've learned to control it!" I exclaimed, feeling my fire spreading through my veins. Immediately, I pulled it back in, keeping it from boiling over and burning the whole hotel to a crisp. "I'm not going to fight any more. Let's just try to figure out what happened. It had to have been Hunters, and they must have seen us." ~Afton
"Of course. Hold on--" Soren grasped my hand and I grasped Drew's, just as the blonde man used his other hand to lightly touch Claudia's shoulder. We disappeared instantly. The Guthrie Theatre was a cylinder-shaped building, with another section coming off of its side. When I looked down and didn't see my legs, I realized that Soren had been thinking enough to keep us invisible. After all, appearing at the front doors of a very populated theatre was not the brightest idea.
I took the laptop from Afton's hands, not wanting to believe what had happened until I read the article for myself. There it was, just as he had read it. I felt sick to my stomach, and there was a buzzing noise in my ears. I recovered myself just in time to hear Afton say something about Hunters. "Who?" I asked, half asking the question as an entry into the conversation, half expecting an answer, or at least a guess. "There could be any number of people," Joshua said. "But it must have been someone who knew we were there. Maybe Claudia or someone associated with her? She saw you Port us away, so she must have figured out where you were going. Either that or the Hunters have been watching your parents' place since they were killed." I nodded, turning this over in my mind. I had gotten Afton, Joshua, and myself nearly killed at least once today, when I had agreed to go hunting for information about Valerie Murray. And now I might have unwillingly endangered us a second time, by Porting to my parents' house. Was it just a set of freak coincidences? Or were the Hunters keeping tabs on me, watching my every move? Suddenly everyone that I saw looked very suspicious, even Tynan. I inched closer to Afton. He was the only person I was willing to trust.
(@Stormy: So I saw the part about cylinder-shaped, and I was like, "Waaaa? Nuh-uh, I've been there. Twice! It is SO not cylindrical." And then I looked. And I was like, "Okay, whoa. I guess it kinda is." Haha)
I pulled away from the group, fully aware that when I lost contact, I would no longer be invisible. "I don't need your Stealthing. I have people inside. Use your abilities when they are needed." Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I made my way toward the entrance as I typed out a message. Pressing the "Send" button just as I pushed the doors open and entered the large theatre. I glanced to the gift shop on my left. Not seeing my contacts there, I headed to the back staircase, trusting that the Trio would still be following me. We made our way up several flights of stairs before finally reaching the door I needed. Swiping my card, I waited for the green light that allowed me entry and pushed the door open. "Welcome, lady and gentlemen, to the backstage area of the Guthrie Theatre," I said, striding inside. Among the few people milling about the area, I spotted one I knew and went to her. "Anna, darling, how are you?" "Claudia Cooper, in the flesh, returned here to our wonderful theatre! You may have only worked here for a few months, but we definitely miss you!" the woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a hug. Here was a dangerous situation. I couldn't allow the Terrible Trio to see that I had become rather fond of the people at this theatre where I had worked as a 26-year-old. The pretense that I had no emotions was hard enough to keep up, let alone with these people who knew the real me.
~Claudia
Rachel moved closer to me, away from my father and anyone else in the room. It was a minute movement, but I caught it nevertheless and spotted the suspicion in her eyes. "Darling," I whispered into her ear, giving her the most reassuring smile I could muster and putting an arm around her, "breathe a little. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. And none of these people are Hunters anyway." "How can you know that for sure?" she asked as Joshua and Tynan began to talk about the possibility of Hunters around us. "None of them are in my files, and Joshua hasn't recognized any of them. He is the living database of Hunters and supers in general; people seek him out to give him information and ask for it as well," I told her as I took the laptop back and handed it to the concierge, who, I realized now, had probably heard the whole conversation. And hadn't blinked an eye at the impossibility of some of it. I narrowed my eyes at him, and my eyes flicked to a girl who was watching us from across the room. "But informants, they don't have to be superhuman," I said so only Rachel could hear as I took our room key from the guy at the desk.
(Haha! The first time I saw it I was like, "Woah! Awkward cylinder!", so... xD)
Soren and Drew exchanged looks behind me. "Of course," I nodded, and strode ahead with her. When Claudia embraced the taller woman, I frowned slightly. This place was close to her heart, it seemed. Drew's eyes narrowed behind me, and he nudged me. Right, he would be able to sense emotions, wouldn't he? Anethstetic, and all that. I cleared my throat, and they stepped away from each other. I stuck out my hand. "Marissa Pearce. And you are...?" I trailed off, arching one dark eyebrow in question (?).
"Alright," I sighed, relaxing just a little bit. I trusted Joshua's knowledge and Afton's reasoning. I had to admit, it felt good, not having to worry about dodging Hunters left and right. Hopefully the rest of our adventure would be far less...interesting. And Afton's arm around me also helped me to relax. I took the room key from him, holding it so that we could both see. "Room 101," I said. "You just had to pick the number of the torture room from Nineteen Eighty-Four, didn't you?" Afton grinned. "Sorry," he apologized. "I couldn't help it. Though I almost went with 42."
~Rachel
(I don't know if you've read Nineteen Eighty-Four, but I assume Afton has, as it's a pretty well-known book. And the 42 reference is from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.)
"Anna Schermann, stage director," she replied to Marissa's question with a smile, taking the redhead's outstretched hand and shaking it. "Currently, we're working on a production of Julius Caesar. If you'd like, I can show you around a little. The actors are still getting into costume." "Actually, we are here on a little business," I told Anna with an impish grin. "A little job that requires some disguises." The woman frowned at me. "I don't like your jobs. They don't always end well." "Will you help us anyway?" I inquired, my smile fading a little at the look of disapproval in her eyes. "Mary Ellen!" Anna shouted, shaking her head with a half-smile. "How could I not help?" A petite blonde woman rushed over to us with a small smile at me. "Yes, Anna?" "Get this lot some disguises. Realistic. Elaborate. I want your best work," she told Mary Ellen. Turning to the Trio, she smiled and held out her hand to each of them. "It was nice meeting you all." "Thank you very much," I said to Anna with a grateful smile. "You're welcome," she replied, hugging me again. "Visit more often, won't you?" "I'll try." ~Claudia
"Let's go up to the room," Tynan said suddenly, breaking away from his conversation with Joshua and snatching the room key from Rachel and starting off down the hall toward the rooms. I followed with a sigh, keeping my arm around Rachel as I went. Joshua followed close behind. We soon arrived at the room, and Tynan swung open the door to reveal a full suite with two beds, a large couch, and a bathroom with both a bathtub and shower. "Dibs a bed! Wanna share?" I teased Rachel, raising an eyebrow and shooting her my best mischievous grin. ~Afton
(Ahahaha Afton...I can't say that I didn't see that one coming, though.)
I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again, and turned bright red. "Absolutely not!" I managed to splutter. "I'll sleep in the bathtub if I have to, thank you very much." I stepped away from him quickly, hugging my arms around myself. Joshua laughed. "Nice try, Afton, but I think the little lady would like a bed to herself." He looked around at the room, calculating. "Two of us can sleep on the beds, one on the couch, and one on the floor. Unless room service can bring us a cot or something." "I'll call and check," Tynan said, picking up the elegant corded phone that stood on the nightstand.
As we followed Mary Ann, I hurried forward to keep pace with Claudia's long strides. "You're quite friendly with these people," I commented quietly, so that the Normal in front of us wouldn't hear. "Know them from before, did you?"
72 comments:
An alley cat shrieked and darted away as Afton and I appeared out of thin air, down a side alley in London. I looked up and down the alleyway for any bystanders but the cat had been the only one to witness our arrival. That was good, because when we had Ported to Madrid, a pair of teenage girls had seen us appear out of nowhere. Afton managed to convice them that it was a simple magician's trick, but I didn't want any other close calls.
I pulled my coat around myself. It was a lot colder here than where we'd come from. Afton and I had already checked Joshua's hideouts in Madrid, Dublin, and Rome. We were onto our next destination, London. Afton had told me an address, and I had Ported there. We wanted to be as efficient as possible.
I pulled my hand out of Afton's to reach into my pocket for my cellphone. It was 6:35 pm back in New York, which meant that it was 11:35 at night here in London. I put my phone back away. "We should get moving," I said. "Amelia's party starts at seven."
"She won't mind if we're late," Afton said.
"Yes, but your mother might," I pointed out.
Afton smiled. "C'mon, you worrier, let's get to Joshua's house." He grabbed my hand to pull me along, and this time, I didn't resist his touch like I had back in New York. Maybe I was capable of trusting people, after all.
~Rachel
I pulled Rachel along with me to a door that opened onto the alleyway. Rapping on its night-cooled surface, I glanced at Rachel and raised my eyebrows with a grin.
About a minute after I knocked, the door swung open, and a thin, unkempt man with short hair and a five o' clock shadow was standing there in the doorway, watching us warily.
"Who're you?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes at the pair of us. Stepping farther into the light, I shot the man a grin. "Joshua, it's good to see you again."
"Afton Cooper, do mine eyes deceive me? How are your dear parents?"
"Well, my mother's fine, and my father's dead," I told him dryly. "But we didn't come to talk about Tynan and Kendra."
Joshua ignored my statement and narrowed his eyes at me. "So he died between last week and today? I just saw him in Rome on Tuesday."
"You were probably hallucinating," I told him. "Now, will you help us or not?"
~Afton
I squeezed Afton's hand nervously, looking the man up and down. He looked very suspicious, just the sort of person that you didn't want to meet down a dark alley in the night. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we had done. But it would be worth it if this lead paid off.
"And who's this young lady?" he asked, looking pointedly at me.
"I'm Rachel Griffin," I said firmly.
"Griffin, eh? As in James Griffin?"
"That's right," I said, wondering where this conversation was going.
"Shame, that one," the man made an unhappy clicking noise with his tongue. "I knew James. Nice chap, would always help someone out when they were in trouble. You look like him, you know."
"Yes, yes, we know that," Afton said irritably, stopping Joshua from rambling on. "Let's get on with the information, alright?"
~Rachel
"Yes, yes, be patient. Allow me to clean up first," Joshua said without looking away from Rachel. He was like that with new people. Fixing them in his mind. But the gleam in his eyes made me narrow mine.
He ushered us into his apartment and disappeared upstairs while we looked around the place. I had been here once before.
~Afton
"Nice place, huh?" Afton remarked as we entered the apartment. I nodded, appreciating his use of sarcasm as I looked at the papers strewn everywhere, from the tabletops to a few stuffed under the rug. Joshua had gone upstairs, I presumed to change into normal clothes, for he had been wearing only sweatpants, a ratty t-shirt, and a bathrobe before. But another explanation for his disappearance occurred to me.
"You don't think he's going to call any Hunters, is he? Or get a gun?" I asked, concerned. I had seen others use this ploy before. "You did bring something to defend ourselves with, right?"
I pulled my hand out of his to wipe my palm on my pants. The insides of my hands had started sweating, as they did when I was nervous.
~Rachel
"Rachel, dear. Trust me. I wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't safe. Joshua is far too afraid of Hunters to call them; it's why he has so many different places to live," I told her, smiling as reassuringly as I could. "And he won't shoot me. He knows Ma'll skin him if he does. Trust me, he's tried."
Her eyes widened, and I chuckled at her expression.
"He has tried to kill you?"
"Yes, he has. I started him on fire the first time, and the second time Ma attacked him. It was his way of finding out whether I was worth wasting his time and energy upon to tell me the information he knew." Hearing a small creak on the stairs, I knew what he was going to do and raised my voice. "And he knows that if he tries to do anything you, I'll burn this apartment down."
There were footsteps on the stairs then, and Joshua emerged into the room. His hair had been neatly arranged into his usual perfect style, and he wore a pair of nice jeans with a t-shirt. In his hand he held a gun.
"There you are, Joshua. You're looking yourself again," I told him, ignoring the gun and Rachel, who had grabbed my hand and was squeezing it tightly.
"Yes, I suppose. So why are you so fond of this little Porter?" he inquired, gesturing to Rachel with the gun.
"Rachel? Because I'm making her trust me. She's having a bit of trouble with that." I grinned over at her, trying to transfer some of my confidence over to her. "But she will. Give her a chance to, eh?"
"Alright, fine." The man met Rachel's eyes and smiled. "Someone so shy as you could never be a threat anyway. And I'm sure all that quietness is hiding some feistiness in you that makes you worth my time."
He laid the gun on a small table and grinned at us. "So, what do you need to know?"
~Afton
"We want to know about a woman named Valerie Murray," I said, trying to sound as confident as possible. "She'll be about twenty or so now. We want to know what she's been doing, what type of super she is, if she's even still alive. We want to know if she's connected to Roxanne Murray in any way. And if she is, how, and why."
I was careful to keep my tone demanding but polite. Even though I knew Joshua had Afton's approval (or at least some of it, in any case), I still was unwilling to trust the man. At least, not until he had proved himself to be an ally.
~Rachel
"Valerie Murray, age nineteen, Shifter, daughter of the infamous Roxanne Murray and unknown father. Dabbling in dark stuff, you are," Joshua told us. "She's a dangerous Hunter. Why do you want to know about her?"
"Because I have a bad feeling about her. I think she's going to do something. And with the way the rebel families are gathering around my place lately, I know she's going to make an appearance."
"What else do you know?" Rachel prompted, watching Joshua warily.
"Patience, little Porter," he said, shooting a quick grin at Rachel. "Val-er-ie Mur-ray." He stretched the name out, saying it carefully while he thought. "Serial killer of supers. Seeking revenge. Estranged from mother. Smoker. Seemingly impossible to find, unless you know where to look. Reckless. Accomplished super tracker."
~Afton
(If you want to finish Joshua's description of Valerie... Go for it. Haha)
(Nope, I think he's got her covered ;) And is Joshua going to be upgraded to sidebar status?)
"Accomplished super tracker..." I trailed off, staring down at the file I had placed on the table. A chill went down the back of my spine. To think, a girl only a year older than I was had already killed dozens of supers, and she had managed to slip under our radar.
"Do you have any idea what she looks like?" I asked Joshua.
He pondered my question for a moment. "I don't have a specific picture of her, if that's what you're asking, but I have a general description of her from the few that have either been lucky enough to survive her attacks or managed to witness a killing and get away with their skins. Tall, blonde hair, gray or blue eyes, athletic. Dresses in black. Almost always has a cigarette ready."
"Well, that helps at least a little," I said. Joshua turned to Afton.
"If you've got a bad feeling about her," he said, "you shouldn't ignore it. You should tell your ma, and whoever else is in the vicinity to take precautions. You don't want to mess with her."
~Rachel
"Dangerous supers," I muttered, shaking my head. "Alright, Shockerboy. I'll listen to your warnings. I have a feeling she's going to make an appearance very soon. You take care of yourself, too. Never know when a Hunter's going to come knocking at your door."
Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Frowning at the irony of the situation--I mean, come on, a guy uses one little metaphoric cliche, and it immediately becomes literal. Honestly!--I followed Joshua to the entryway, then found a space where I could see the door, but whomever was at the door couldn't see me. Rachel joined me in my hiding place just seconds before Joshua opened the door.
I held my breath. In the doorframe leaned a rather short, red-haired woman with eyes just about exactly the same color as mine.
"Joshua," she said, smiling at the man and slowly pulling a pair of leather gloves off of her hands. "It's been quite some time since I had the pleasure of seeing you. I have some questions for you involving a few pesky little supers that I want to get rid of. One such girl being a miss Amelia Friedstrom. Have you any information for me, dear?"
Joshua stammered through an affirmative--I had never seen him so nervous. I realized it was an act a half-second later and grinned.
~Afton
I held my breath as Joshua answered the door. I prayed that it wasn't a Hunter, but irony won out, and in stepped a short woman with cropped red hair and leather gloves. I almost gasped in recognition, but kept quiet for fear of being heard. Afton looked around at me, confused.
I leaned in close to him, stepping up on my toes to whisper in his ear. "I know who that is," I said, as quietly as I could. "That's Claudia Cooper. She's a Hunter. She killed one of my father's good friends, Lyra, back in the fight against the Division."
"Cooper, as in—" Afton started to whisper back.
"Yes. Cooper as in Tynan Cooper. He's her father. Her mother was some random girl he met in Vegas." At the look on Afton's face, I added quickly, "But that was a long time before he fell in love with your mother, of course."
~Rachel
(I'm pretty sure Afton would've known that. He did research his genealogy and ask Joshua a ton of questions... Oh well. I'll go with it. Lol)
"How do you know all of this stuff?" I inquired as quietly as I could, watching Claudia from where we were hidden. She and Joshua had moved into the room we had been in before.
(Yeah...I didn't really know what else to say, but let's roll with it.)
I smiled, poking him in the chest with my index finger.. "You're not the only super who does a little research, Afton Cooper." I realized how close we were to each other, and stepped away, sobering a bit. I looked around for Claudia and Joshua. She had stepped into the room we were in earlier, Joshua trailing behind.
"Should we leave him here and go warn the others, or..." I let my sentence trail off.
"No," Afton said firmly. "We're not abandoning him."
"Then what are you suggesting?" I asked. "A diversion?"
~Rachel
I grinned inwardly at Rachel's tiny bit of almost-flirting and turned my attention back to Claudia and Joshua.
"A diversion? Perhaps. But how do you feel about grab-and-gos? He doesn't have any files around here; they're all in his mind," I whispered, watching the pair--Claudia was confident, and Joshua looked the part of nervous filekeeper. "So if we can get around Claudia and to him, we could potentially grab him and just... disappear."
~Afton
"Why don't you do your whole fire-thingy," I said, glancing at him. "Y'know, throw fireballs at her or something. Or set her on fire. And then I can grab Joshua, grab you, and we can Port back to wherever comes to my mind."
"Why not just back home?"
"Because she might grab onto me, or you, while we're going. I don't want her knowing the location of Amelia, not to mention the rest of your family. Either way, it--" I quieted abruptly, as Claudia had just stopped talking.
"Did you hear something?" she asked. "Joshua, do you have guests you didn't tell me about?" Her mocking tone made me shiver. I swore under my breath, but kept as still and as silent as I could.
~Rachel
Claudia's eyes met mine through the spot Rachel and I were spying, and I realized they were exactly the same as mine. The woman smiled. "Afton Cooper, in the flesh. I'd been wondering whether I'd ever meet you. And who is it with you?"
Rachel and I stepped out from where we'd been standing, our cover blown. Those eyes, the ones that were exact replicas of my own, widened with surprise and pleasure.
"Rachel Griffin! I remember your father. A pest, he was. Always killing my colleagues."
"Hardly could call them colleagues," I commented quietly, "since you were only eight years old at the time."
Claudia's eyes narrowed at me. I only smiled pleasantly back, watching the fire that was growing behind Claudia.
~Afton
I said nothing, only stared back at Claudia. I couldn't believe that a woman this young—only ten or so years older than I—could remember the time before the Division fell. In fact, she had been a major part in it. In every story about the battle against the Division that I heard, Claudia was credited with killing Lyra Beckett, a Watcher and Tynan's cousin.
I tried hard not to let my eyes flick to behind her, where a fire was growing, and I held her gaze. "They were more like playmates, weren't they?" I said, almost for a lack of words. Claudia's eyes narrowed.
"I heard about your father, Rachel Griffin," she said, her tone sweet but dangerously soft. "I'd give the Mirage a medal if I knew who he was."
"You're lying," I said, trying to keep the conversation going, giving Afton more time to concentrate. I slipped my hand into his again, and nearly pulled away. It was uncomfortably warm to the touch, so much so that pain started to shout through my arm. But I grit my teeth and ignored it, trying to keep Claudia talking.
"You know who killed my parents, you just won't tell me." I said defiantly. She tilted her head to one side, a smirk on her lips. "But I know it wasn't you," I continued. "You ne'er would have managed it."
"And why not?" Her smirk was gone now.
I smiled, half a grimace of pain. "Too elaborate."
~Rachel
Noticing that Rachel tensed when she took my hand, I realized I must be burning hot and tossed my heat to the fire, cooling myself down considerably and building up the fire even more. The heat from this thing was going to alert the very annoyed Claudia to my blaze very soon, so I just quickened up the inevitable by starting a smaller flame near Claudia's feet. She immediately leaped into the air away from it, her eyes wide and suddenly full of fear.
"Get it away from me!" she screeched, dancing around as tiny tongues of flame started in random places on the floor by her feet. The fire went out immediately after it started each time, and after too much time had passed, I was laughing so hard at Claudia's ridiculous fire dance that I could barely keep control of her dance partner.
And then Joshua was suddenly on Rachel's other side with a few bags, I put my fires out, he took Rachel's hand, and the three of us disappeared from Joshua's London house, leaving Claudia to calm herself down.
We had found the woman's weakness. I grinned.
~Afton
(Let's just continue the commenting here, until they go back to the Cooper's house, because it's a waste of time to make a whole other page. Plus I'm lazy :P)
I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the first place I thought of: my parent's old cottage in Wales. We appeared in the front hallway, Joshua knocking over the umbrella stand as we arrived. He clutched his knee and grimaced.
"Sorry," I said. "I wasn't really shooting for specifics when I thought of this place." I looked around. The place was like I remembered it, wooden floors and doors, cream walls, open, bright windows. But there was something different about it now, a kind of stillness in the air. It didn't have the same feel as when my parents were alive.
I noticed the pain in my left hand, I looked down and saw that most of the skin was shiny and red. I winced. Those were burns from Afton's hand. I pushed through a door to the kitchen and started looking through the herb shelves for something that would soothe my hand. Aloe, maybe.
~Rachel
"He'll be fine," I replied to her apology. I followed her into the kitchen, leaving Joshua to pick up the fallen umbrella stand. As Rachel stood on tiptoes to check the shelves in the kitchen, I caught sight of the red skin of her hand and I blinked in surprise. "Did I burn you?"
Going to her, I took her hand and inspected the angry red burns. They were beginning to blister.
"It's fine, really," she told me. "I was the one who grabbed your hand."
Looking at the shelves Rachel had been searching, I located bandages, and on the counter, I found an aloe plant. Breaking off a piece of the plant, I spread some of its liquid carefully on Rachel's burns, my touch as gentle as I could manage. After I had finished that, I wrapped her hand in a few layers of bandages and taped the end in place.
"There," I said, keeping hold of her hand and meeting her brown eyes with a smile. "All better."
~Afton
"Thank you," I said, glancing up shyly. I leaned over and kissed Afton on the cheek, then turned around and put the bandages away.
Afton cleared his throat. "So," he said awkwardly. "Where are we anyway?"
"Wales," I said shortly, opening up one of the cabinets. I was hoping to find some cans of corn or beans or something. I was sure I'd stocked provisions here the last time I'd visited. "This was my parent's house," I explained to Afton over my shoulder. "Before they...well, you know."
~Rachel
"I see," I replied, still distracted by the shock to my synapses that had been Rachel's kiss.
I watched her dig through the cabinets, searching for food, I assumed. Reaching around her, I opened a higher cabinet and pulled out a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. "This should be good enough, right?"
"Perfect. I'm starving," Joshua cut in, finally making an appearance in the kitchen.
"Okay. Find us some butter and milk, and we're off to a good start, eh?"
He sighed. "Okay, I'll go buy some. I don't have much money, but it should be enough."
I smirked at him and allowed him to leave without even bothering to offer some of my own money. "That should keep him occupied for a little while, I should think," I remarked, shooting Rachel a wink.
~Afton
"We might as well get started with the food," I said. "We won't need the butter and milk until the end." I grabbed a big pot from one of the bottom cabinets. As I turned the burner on and put water in the pot, I said, "What should we do about warning the others? Should we actually go there, or do you want to text Xander or Amelia or something?"
~Rachel
(IDEA! Rachel or Afton will text Amelia or Xander, both of whom will be too preoccupied with the James drama to notice. The party will go on as usual, and Valerie and Claudia (plus any other Hunters who want to come) will show up in the middle of it. There will be confusion and pandemonium, and hostages (Yay! I love hostages!), and some supers will get away. Amelia/Xander will check their phone and either come to join Rachel and Afton and Joshua, or know where they are and go do something else. What do you think?)
(Yes, perfect! I like it.)
"Yeah, I can text Amelia. She's more pleasant to deal with than my brother," I told Rachel, fishing a large spoon out of a drawer. Handing it to her with a grin, I pulled out my phone and texted Amelia.
Hey, watch out. We suspect some vengeful Hunters might turn up and crash the party. And we won't be coming back today, 'kay?
"So what do you do normally? When you're not hunting up information, that is?" I asked Rachel, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
~Afton
(Hi. D'you think I could insert a Hunter of mine here?)
(Maybe...you can definitely have one show up at the Cooper's house later, but let's wait for Kat's answer too.)
"I paint," I said. "And read. And write, just a little bit." I smiled to myself. "I'm more the shy artsy type, if you know what I mean. My mother was an artist, too. That's one of the reasons why my father fell in love with her." I leaned over to grab a wooden spoon from the jar that held all our cooking utensils.
"What about you?" I asked as I stirred the water absentmindedly. "What does Afton Cooper do in his spare time?"
~Rachel
(I dunno. Maybe this could be a safe house? One the Hunters don't know about yet...)
"Well..." I paused a moment to consider that question. "I hunt up information on anyone and everyone. I cook. I read. I explore my house. I sing." That last one made me grin a little. "But you won't be hearing that anytime soon. I also like to travel. Sometimes I just sit and... watch. People are fascinating."
She smiled at me. "Interesting," was her only comment.
"What do you like? Just anything you love. From ramen noodles to Korean pop music to DDR to traveling. Surprise me with your list. It can be anything," I told her with a huge grin.
~Afton
(I think they'd know about it, since they essentially killed Rachel's parents here...or found them here anyway, but they might not bother with it because they think that there's nothing left to do with it.)
"Umm," I thought for a minute. What did I like? I hadn't really thought about it in a long time, since before my parents were killed. Since then I had been too preoccupied with keeping myself alive to bother with things that I liked.
"Cathedrals," I said after a minute. "The Great Wall of China. The Sydney Opera House. The Parthenon. Architecture in general, I guess." I tried to reach for more things from my childhood. "Romantic comedies. Shakespearean plays. Lace. The color yellow. Birds. Green tea. Rollercoasters, though I haven't been on any in a very long time."
~Rachel
(Okay, fair enough. Haha. That'll work.)
"What do you like? You can answer while I think," Rachel told me. I smiled, leaning back on the counter and folding my arms.
"Well," I began, thinking about the question. "The Eiffel tower. 80s music. Banana cream pie. Fire. Jane Austen books, even though most people consider those to be girl books. Harry Potter books. Books in general. Macaroni and cheese. People-watching. Files on people. Notebook paper. You," I finished, grinning when she looked up in surprise.
~Afton
I met Afton's eyes and blushed. "Me?" I asked. "Not many people like me. Teenagers, street vendors, Hunters. There was one I met in Picadily..." I rambled on, trying to change the subject and hide the fact that my face was bright red. I wasn't good at this sort of thing. Flirting wasn't my strongsuit. I left that to people like Lucie O'Neall.
~Rachel
I grinned as I tipped the box of macaroni into the boiling water on the stove. Plucking the wooden spoon from Rachel's grasp, I stirred it while I patiently waited out her rambling. When she finally trailed off, I looked over at her.
"For a quiet girl, you can talk a lot," I commented amusedly as her face returned to its earlier shade of scarlet. Before she could reply, I added, "But I like it. You're an interesting girl, Rachel Griffin."
Just then, Joshua walked in with a grocery bag and a grin. "Got the stuff!"
"Thank you, Joshua," I replied, not looking up from Rachel's brown eyes.
~Afton
"Oh, thanks," I said to Joshua. "You can just put it on the counter." He nodded, and did so with a smirk. He pulled a stick of butter and a jar of milk out of the bag.
"I also took the liberty of getting this," he said, unveiling a newspaper from under his coat. "You two can look at the headlines if you want, I just got it for the crossword." He ruffled the papers, pulling out the section with the word puzzles and leaving the rest to Afton and me.
I walked over to the counter and picked up the newspaper. I scanned the cover page. There had been several celebrity scandals, one political debate, and a few assorted crimes committed. The usual stuff. I handed the newspaper to Afton. "See if you find anything interesting," I said.
~Rachel
Flipping through the pages, I found something of interest and inspected it closer. It was a small picture entitled "The London Scene." And there, in a doorway behind some couple holding hands, stood my father.
"Holy sh*t," I said quietly, staring at the picture. "He's alive."
"Who is?" both Joshua and Rachel said at the same time.
I shook my head in disbelief. "My dad. Except that's impossible, because why wouldn't he come home?"
~Afton
I looked over Afton's shoulder at the picture in the newspaper. It was definitely Tynan Cooper. Considerably older than my father's old pictures of him before the fall of the Division, but the same man. I had never met Tynan in person, had only heard stories from my father, but he was supposed to be very nice and helpful. Just the sort of person you'd go to in a crisis. But he had been missing, presumed dead, for almost a year. How could he show up in a newspaper picture?
"Maybe it's some sort of Hunter trick," I suggested. "You know, to mess with your mind or something."
"Yes, but why would they bother with it?" Joshua asked. "And if it is photo-manipulation of some sort, intended for us, how could they know that Afton would see it? How could they know that we're here?"
"Watchers?" I suggested.
"Possibly, but there aren't many Watchers who are Hunters. They're mainly neutral, or on our side. Something to do with their visions. Killing people upsets their 'karma', or something..." Joshua shook his head. "Strange ones, Watchers are. Usually very superstitious."
~Rachel
"Drew, he's looking at a newspaper. Do you have today's newspaper with you?" I spoke quietly into the cellphone.
"No. I'll go get one now," came my current colleague's reply.
"Good. Call me back." I snapped it shut and kept my eyes on the stool next to where Afton Cooper, Rachel Griffin, and Joshua Lindbergh were standing, keeping my peripheral vision trained on the three supers. My bright red hair had been dyed black, and on my eyes were brown contact lenses- just as a precaution. Not that they knew who I was, anyway. I was nonexistent in the Hunter World until recently, when Marre escaped my grasp.
I wished, not for the first time, that I was somehow a Whisperer as well. I could not hear what they were saying, nor read their lips, as they were turned away from me. I took a swig from my Guinness beer and continued what was one of the biggest parts of my job- waiting.
(Is she at a bar? Afton, Rach, and Josh are at a house. Buuuuut, I can make this work. Your girl can be creeping through windows. Looks like Rach's parents house is next door to a bar! Yeah! Lol)
I shook my head. "They wouldn't manipulate a picture. Too many people think my dad's dead. And besides, when we were at your house, didn't you say my dad had come to you a couple days earlier?" I asked Joshua, watching him through narrowed eyes.
Joshua nodded. "That's right, I did. He was in London."
"Then he's alive. But why didn't he come back? Why is he hiding?" I asked, suddenly frustrated and confused.
~Afton
(Yeah! Okay, didn't think of that... great, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin are now neighbors to a tavern! Yay! :D)
"I have the paper," was Drew's first words when he came on again.
"Anything of interest?" I heard paper flipping before it stopped, and then there was a sharp intake of breath.
"We were wrong."
"What?" I was getting impatient now.
"Tynan Cooper is alive."
~Marissa
(Haha I always imagined their house as being a little cottage in the Welsh countryside, but I suppose it can be in a village! Just don't make the bar all sophisticated and shiny, it's probably more medieval-esque. Think wooden tables and home-brewn beer.)
"Probably for your own safety," I said. "My own father did that to my mother, before she was born. He had Kayana O'Neall—well, she was Kayana Terrace then—wipe Mother's memories of him, to keep her safe from Hunters. And then after the Division fell, they went back and restored them. So maybe he's doing something similar. I'm sure he has a good reason for avoiding you."
"Yes, but why?" Afton asked. I could hear the note of desperation in his voice. "Why is he hiding?"
"Hunters," I said simply. "Maybe even the Mirage."
~Rachel
"What the hell?" I hissed into the phone. "No way."
"Jack was right, Marissa--" Drew began, but I cut him off furiously.
"Jack was a flaming idiot," I growled.
"I know he was a traitor, but he was right! Tynan Cooper isn't dead, and if he finds the rest of his family, they could be very dangerous!" Drew pressed, and I grudgingly admitted that he was right.
"Do you know where he is?"
"The newspaper had him in London. Here."
My red lips curved in a deadly smile. "Let's go."
(Can she set fire to the tavern? >:) )
(If she wants to draw attention to the pair of them... Lol. Hey, random question. Who is Val's dad? Is it Roscoe, or some random guy?)
"Hiding from us isn't going to stop the Mirage. If he thinks my dad's dead, wouldn't he come after us? Ma was a rebel. We're kids of rebels. Josh has information on everyone," I said, still staring at the small, slightly blurry picture. Suddenly, I saw something in my father's hand and inspected the paper even closer. I could barely make out the words, but I somehow finally was able to read it.
"Where did Romeo and Juliet take place again?" I asked Josh and Rachel.
"Verona, Italy. Why?" Joshua asked.
Putting the newspaper down on the counter I had been leaning on, I pointed to the piece of paper in my dad's hand. "Meet me where star-cross'd lovers first confessed their love."
"The balcony," Joshua said, searching through his photographic memory. "At la casa di Giulietta."
"Do you know the address?" Rachel asked.
"Via Cappello, 23, 37121 Verona, Italy," he replied without missing a beat, smirking at the surprise on her face. "Italy is one of my favorite places."
~Afton
(Remember Roxanne was pregnant because of one of her missions? It involved getting the person she was targeting to trust her, so he did, and...yeah. So he's still alive, lucky man, because Roxanne didn't have time to use the information against him because she was too preoccupied with the fall of the Division. So no, Roscoe isn't Val's father. But I'll bring her biological father up eventually...somehow...)
"We should go now, while it's still dark," I said, looking from Afton to Joshua and back again. "We don't want to be spotted by any Hunters." Italy was only one hour ahead of us. Here, it was around 12 o'clock at in the morning, so there it would be 1 o'clock. The perfect setting for meeting someone.
~Rachel
(Oh yeah! Forgot about that... Haha. Fail.)
"Alright, Porter, do your worst. Or best?" Joshua said, slipping his hand into Rachel's with a grin.
"Oh, now, wait a second. I'm still hungry," I said, pointing at the forgotten macaroni. "Can't we eat first?"
~Afton
"You've got five minutes," I said. Afton hastily scooped the finished macaroni into his mouth as fast as he could. I had eaten a large dinner before we went looking for Joshua, so I was only a little hungry. I could manage; I'd been worse.
~Rachel
Before my 5 minute eating time was up, I had scarfed down the entire pot of macaroni. "We'll have to get more food later," I told Rachel and Joshua, now taking Rachel's hand. I realized only when we got to Verona that during the entire time that I ate, Joshua had kept a hold on her hand. I knew exactly what game he was playing, but I held my tongue.
~Afton
(So I recently found out that Afton is a girl's name... Oh well.)
(Funny, it always seemed like a boy's name to me...Maybe it can be one of those cool names which can be used for a boy once in a blue moon [i. e. Artemis from Artemis Fowl])
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the address in Verona. I thought of how I'd always pictured it in my mind while I was reading Romeo and Juliet. Lots of foliage, moonlight wafting through the trees, a little breeze playing across the grass. I had never actually been to the garden, but I had thought about it often. Italy was one of those locations I've always wanted to visit, but I never got the time to.
With no sound at all, Joshua, Afton, and I vanished from my parent's house and arrived in the backyard garden of Via Cappello, 23, 37121 Verona, Italy.
~Rachel
And just as Rachel, Afton, and Joshua Ported out of Rachel's parent's house, I casually dropped the lit piece of newspaper I found on the floor near the bar, and walked out of the tavern. Soren, who was waiting outside, grasped my arm and gave me a grin before turning us both invisible (thank God for the darkening sky and the drunkards who wouldn't remember anything by tomorrow), then Porting us to Andrew's apartment just as the tavern promptly burst into flames. The fire caught onto the alcohol and a great mushroom cloud of smoke billowed out of its windows as the tavern exploded.
Ah, how I loved me some good explosion.
(Now I think the three are chasing after Tynan)
(Oh, great. Lol)
"Afton," came a voice from behind us. The three of us turned, searching the shadows behind trees and smaller plants. I didn't see anyone.
"Dad? Is that you?" I called in a loud whisper. "Tynan?"
"Who is that with you?" this time the voice came from my left.
"Rachel and Joshua," I replied, squinting into the darkness.
And then a form materialized through the darkness to my left again. I turned again and saw my father, standing there, barely aged but for the grey hairs that streaked his brown hair.
"I... you're... alive."
"Well, yes," he replied, the apology clear in his eyes. "I was tracking Hunters... I killed a few. But I didn't want any of you getting into it. It's dangerous."
"Oh, of course. Saving the world while your family thinks you're dead," I replied, unable to keep the sarcasm and hurt from my voice. "Ma couldn't sleep for months because she was crying. Xander got even more insufferable. Nan's friends all decided it was weird that her daddy died and stopped talking to her. And I took over all of the files because I am going to hunt the Hunters whether you like it or not," I told him, glaring a challenge.
~Afton
"He's not in London," I said all of a sudden. Drew and Soren looked up simultaneously.
"What?"
"He's not in London," I repeated, and Soren's eyebrows furrowed.
"But in the picture--"
"Exactly! Cooper's not an idiot, he must have known there would be people like us chasing him once they saw him in the newspaper!"
Realization dawned on Drew's face. "Of course you're right," he shook his head. "I didn't even think of that."
"Of course you didn't," I scoffed, and threw a wad of cash at the taxi driver, telling him to drop us off at the nearest stop.
As we climbed out, Soren inquired, "Then where do we go now?"
I stood there, thinking. While Drew may be the information and espionage guy, and while Soren was the muscle guy, I was the brains of the group. "Of course!" I snapped my fingers. "Griffin Ported them out there somewhere- exactly where, I don't know. But she wouldn't have Ported them suddenly if they didn't know at least have a good guess at where Cooper would be. And they're bound to have had a reason to. So let's go back to the Griffin household- if it isn't ruined yet- and see if there are any clues."
Soren nodded, and pulled Drew and me into an alley where we Ported straight into the broken down pub. "Keep your hands on me. We're invisible- we don't want the police seeing us," he whispered, and the three of us got into Griffin's place without much difficulty- considering that there were police cars outside. "Okay, people. Spread out and start searching!" I ordered, and promptly made my way into the kitchen. Half of it was destroyed, but in the corner I could see the newspaper sitting on the table. I picked it up, so I could see it for myself. The more I looked at it, the more I felt like Cooper was holding something. It was a slip of paper. With writing on it.
"Drew, find a magnifying glass and get over here!" I called.
(sorry, crappy comment... but I'm... tired...zzzzz)
I heard a voice I recognized as Marissa Pierce and rolled my eyes. The Terrible Trio were here, too. I shot a glare at the random Porter I had picked up. "Stay here, or your kiddies and wife will get it. One phone call," I warned him, holding up my phone.
Making my way through the room to the kitchen, I peered out and grinned. "Figured that little thing out, have you?"
The three Hunters whipped around. When they caught sight of me, Marissa grinned. "Claudia Cooper. It's been a while."
"Mmhmm. Come in here," I said, waving them over to the room I had taken over with the Porter. "I have a bit of information," I told Marissa as soon as she stepped inside.
"Oh?"
"Yes, and you're going to help me with something before we go off searching for Coopers and Griffin and that d*mned Joshua."
~Claudia
(I think they should all go to the Cooper household, yes? Stir things up a bit with all them supers. Otherwise, the Terrible Trio can refuse. Up to you.)
(I vote yes, and Val and her cousin Leon can come along for the ride. I think Val is going to be hunting Kendra anyway, on her maniac serial killer quest...)
I studied the man before us. Tynan Cooper matched the picture in the newspaper perfectly, right down to the gray hairs on his head. Even though I knew him to be only in his late forties or early fifties, he looked much older. The pressure of life on the run can do that to people.
But Afton clearly hadn't seen this weariness, or if he had he wasn't paying attention to it. He and Tynan were locked in a staring contest, and I could tell that Afton was getting angrier by the second from the heat his hand was generating. Not wishing to be burned a second time, I quickly withdrew my grasp. Joshua pulled me to the side.
"Don't want to get in the middle of this," he said softly. "Give them a minute to cool down."
I didn't want to wait a minute for the two Coopers to sort out their differences. I hated people fighting, it was the reason why I had chosen to become a pacifist. What was I doing here anyway? Getting myself mixed up in the kind of violence I had wanted to avoid in the first place? I made a decision.
"Afton?" I called out. "Afton, let's go. Somewhere safe. We can bring your father too, but let's get out of here. Hunters could have seen the picture just as easily as we did. They could be coming for us."
~Rachel
"Ah." I nodded, as Soren cautiously examined Claudia. He was naturally paranoid, for some reason. Drew was eyeing the shorter and yet older girl with interest. "So, what's this information you have?" I asked, raising a perfect dyed dark eyebrow. i scanned the living room with some wariness- I knew for a fact that this was where my brother was killed in a stupid but brave assassination attempt of Rachel Griffin's mother.
~ Marissa
(Terrible Trio? Hahaha
Oh, and Marissa's last name is spelled not as 'pierce', but as 'pearce')
"Oh, undoubtedly," I replied to Rachel without looking away from Tynan. "They most certainly will come after us."
"The Griffin girl is right. We should get out of here," my father said, raising one eyebrow. It was a challenge. Would I control my temper or endanger Joshua and Rachel?
I glanced at Rachel and sighed, remembering that she didn't like conflict. Forcing myself to cool down, I tried to smile at her; I barely managed a grimace. "So would you like to give your powers a rest for now? We can walk somewhere. I'm sure the Hunters wouldn't expect that."
~Afton
"A good source gave me a location," I told the three Hunters. "I know Tynan, his son, and the Griffin girl are rapidly becoming a threat, but what if we could take out other threats with one single stop?"
"Where?" Marissa asked, eyeing me.
I grinned, holding up a finger. "Ah, see, here's the catch. If I tell you this bit, then I will be accompanying you on your travels. Deal?" I asked, watching them carefully for their reactions.
~Claudia
(Yes, the Terrible Trio. It suits them. ;) And sorry about that. I'm used to writing/typing Tamora Pierce [my favorite author] that it immediately came out as "Pierce"...)
I narrowed my eyes. Claudia was very powerful, but not the most trustworthy person. But then again, neither was I... I decided to risk another betrayal. "Deal." I stuck out my hand, which she shook. Her hand was soft and warm, but the curt, single shake and the steely glint in her eye was definitely very different. "Now what kind of information is this? I'm not going off traipsing with you lot if you don't tell me where and why we're going."
~Marissa
"That would be great," I smiled uncertainly, glancing at Tynan and back again. I didn't like the way he had called me 'the Griffin girl', as if my lineage was more important than my actual personality and morals. But then again, it might mean that he didn't know much about me expect for my parentage, which was a good thing. The element of surprise is key, as my father used to tell me.
While I was contemplating this, Joshua had found a gate that led out of the garden. It was bolted, but he pulled a hairpin from his jacket and started to wiggle it around inside the lock. I looked at him in surprise. "Does he always have things like that handy?" I asked Afton in a low voice.
"Usually," he answered curtly, and I could tell that he was still upset at his father.
Joshua finally got the lock open, and gestured with a sweep of his arms that we were to walk through. I went first, checking the small alleyway outside for signs of life. After the coast was clear, I nodded and my companions followed me.
~Rachel
"It's a house in New York City. They've made it undetectable, but my source is infallible," I told Marissa and the two men. I gave a quick grin when I noticed their patience beginning to run out. "There are supers there. A gathering of them. My source even saw Kate Marre. Aren't you looking to exact some revenge upon her?"
Marissa nodded once, curtly.
"And it so happens that the owners of this particular house were two of the Division destroyers. We're talking big roles in the destruction." I paused, grinning, and pulled a small picture from my pocket, showing them a young woman, holding hands with my father and grinning over at the other destroyers of the Division, on the edge of the picture. "Kendra Cooper, her family, and assorted family friends. O'Nealls included. Are you with me?"
~Claudia
As we left Juliet's House, I stayed away from my father. Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Fishing it out, I glanced at the caller ID. It was Ma. Immediately, I tossed the phone to my father.
"If you don't tell her, I will," I told him, glaring a challenge of my own. He looked down at the small screen and winced.
"I... can't. Not yet," he said. The grief in his eyes told me he hadn't wanted to stay away, but it wasn't that simple, just letting him off when he had allowed us to believe for over a year that he was dead.
"You have to. She deserves to know," I told him, my voice softer. "She hasn't been the same since you left. She's not happy, not really. And she's lost her will to really fight. She needs you."
My phone stopped vibrating as Tynan sighed and flipped it open. "Hello?"
~Afton
(Bad comment. So tired. Sorry)
"So, where are we walking to?" I asked Joshua, for lack of anything else to say. "Are we just going to continue walking down this dark alley in the dead of night, or are we going to find a cafe or a shop or something?"
"I doubt anything would be open at this time of night," Joshua answered. "But I think that would be a good idea. Somewhere where people won't talk, since I don't trust those two not to make a scene." He jerked his thumb at Afton and his father, the latter of which was talking to someone on Afton's cell phone.
~Rachel
"I can hear you, you know. And Tynan must have a plan, or else he wouldn't have led us here. Right?" I asked, turning to my father. He handed me a piece of paper and continued speaking with Ma.
"Here," I said, handing it to Rachel. "I'll give you some light to read by."
Holding my hand over her shoulder and above the paper, I made a small flame in my palm and held my hand palm-down over the note. When Rachel cringed a little, I managed a real smile, albeit a small one. "I'm not going to burn you again. I promise."
Rachel nodded and read, "There's a room at Hotel San Luca, about twelve minutes away. Take a left onto Via Mazzini, and follow it to Piazza Bra, and from there to Corso Porta Nuova. Stay on Porta Nueva until you get to Piazza Pradaval. Take a right, then continue to Vicolo Volto San Luca. Hotel is on the right."
"Alright, let's go then," Joshua said as I extinguished my flame.
"Yes, let's. And Rachel?" I hesitated a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. For... causing conflict. I was a little upset. I know you don't like it, so... sorry."
~Afton
"It's fine," I lied, then realized I should probably rephrase what I had said and be honest. "I've just never liked fighting. Not since my parents died." That statement was nearer the mark. Not the truth, but close enough so that I didn't feel guilty. I didn't like lying to people whose opinions matter to me either.
We walked through the quiet alleyways and roads of Verona, avoiding streetlights wherever we could. I doubted that any Hunters would be here, but it was best to stay on the safe side.
~Rachel
"And the Griffin girl, Coopers, and the Lindbergh bloke would come rushing back if they heard any trouble. We'll have to be careful," I told Claudia, knowing that she already knew I'd agree. "I do stealth, not full-blown dramatic charges."
Drew smirked behind me, and I elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He winced and grumbled a bit. Soren, like in the usual company of those he was either afraid of or greatly respected, kept silent.
~Marissa
My father handed my phone over to me when we got inside the hotel. "Your mother is in hysterics."
"I would imagine. Dead husband comes back--it's got to be somewhat of a shock," I replied calmly, although I was surprised. Ma was never in hysterics. Ever.
I went to the front desk to fetch our key. Taking it from the random guy behind the desk, I accidentally glanced at his laptop on the desk and saw the news up. Oddly enough, it was news from the UK.
In the corner, a small link reminded me of something. Waving Rachel over and apologizing to the guy as I spun the laptop so it faced me, I pointed to the link.
"The King's House--a little family-owned Welsh pub known for its specialty be..." The rest of the title was hidden; it must have been too long.
Pointing at the screen, I inquired, "Wasn't that right next to your old house?"
~Afton
"Hm. It's hard to be stealthy when every super knows your face. Unless we get creative with the disguises." I paused, beginning to grin, still completely ignoring the two men in the room. "One of your guys is a Porter, right? Let's do this the right way: old school."
~Claudia
"Oh my God," I said, looking up at the television screen. "Oh my God, you're right."
The King's House was right next to my parents' house. It had been there ever since I could remember, and from what I could tell, ever since the oldest resident of the town could remember either. It had been owned by one large clan, passed down and sometimes sideways from family member to another.
"Why is it on the news?" I asked worriedly, unable to disguise the fear in my voice. "What happened? Were we spotted? Were the Hunters watching us?"
~Rachel
I smirked. "Sounds good. Our Porter though--" and here I gestured to Soren, "Has picked up a bit of Stealthing. Could be useful, yeah?" I raised a dark eyebrow. "Is your little follower there a Porter as well?" I inquired, looking over her shoulder (I had to stand on tip-toe, no matter how much I would deny it) at the man standing silently a ways behind Claudia.
~Marissa
"Him?" I said, jerking a thumb toward the man and smirking. "No, no. He's something of a new pet. I needed a Porter to get here. We could very easily kill him, but I don't think we have time. We've got Normals incoming."
I paused, glancing at the man, whose eyes were wide with fright, but whose mouth was stubbornly set in a half-smile. "Claudia Cooper, if you kill me, you will not ever be able to sleep at night for guilt."
"Won't I? Seems to me like you think I have emotions," I said, meeting his eyes. He flinched, but his smile remained. "Seems to me like you think I care about the life of a worthless piece of scum like you."
I turned to face him full-on. "Perhaps I shan't kill you. But I can take every memory of your wife and your precious little children from you. Emily and Addison, right? Don't test me, Porter."
"Claudia," Marissa said quietly. I heard firemen coming and smiled at my pet Porter. "Run along now. I have no further need of you."
He vanished instantly, and I turned back to Marissa and the men. "We'll be going to the Guthrie Theater on South Second Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota. An old school job requires old school disguises, and that requires a little Minnesota theatre and the professionals there. Let's go," I told Soren, the first time I had addressed him directly. "You're the Porter."
~Claudia
"Looks like"--I clicked the link, bringing up an article and a picture--"it burned down. Just about an hour ago."
"We were just there. About an hour ago," Joshua told Tynan quietly, eyeing the computer screen grimly. "That is, we were just at Rachel's house, right next to it."
Scanning the article quickly, my eyes went wide when I got to the assessment of the damages to the pub. "90 years of serving customers from places as far away as America went up in flames. Eyewitnesses say it happened very quickly, without warning. Although we don't at this time have an official statement as to the extent of the damage done to this beloved pub, we do know the fire spread to several of the surrounding homes, causing varying degrees of damage. More news on this later."
"A Starter. Afton, you didn't--" Tynan began, but I cut him off.
"You don't think I actually had something to do with this, do you?"
He glanced at me. "You are a bit unpredictable when you get worked up."
"I was unpredictable. If you had been around, you would know that I've learned to control it!" I exclaimed, feeling my fire spreading through my veins. Immediately, I pulled it back in, keeping it from boiling over and burning the whole hotel to a crisp. "I'm not going to fight any more. Let's just try to figure out what happened. It had to have been Hunters, and they must have seen us."
~Afton
"Of course. Hold on--" Soren grasped my hand and I grasped Drew's, just as the blonde man used his other hand to lightly touch Claudia's shoulder. We disappeared instantly.
The Guthrie Theatre was a cylinder-shaped building, with another section coming off of its side. When I looked down and didn't see my legs, I realized that Soren had been thinking enough to keep us invisible. After all, appearing at the front doors of a very populated theatre was not the brightest idea.
~ Marissa
I took the laptop from Afton's hands, not wanting to believe what had happened until I read the article for myself. There it was, just as he had read it. I felt sick to my stomach, and there was a buzzing noise in my ears. I recovered myself just in time to hear Afton say something about Hunters.
"Who?" I asked, half asking the question as an entry into the conversation, half expecting an answer, or at least a guess.
"There could be any number of people," Joshua said. "But it must have been someone who knew we were there. Maybe Claudia or someone associated with her? She saw you Port us away, so she must have figured out where you were going. Either that or the Hunters have been watching your parents' place since they were killed."
I nodded, turning this over in my mind. I had gotten Afton, Joshua, and myself nearly killed at least once today, when I had agreed to go hunting for information about Valerie Murray. And now I might have unwillingly endangered us a second time, by Porting to my parents' house. Was it just a set of freak coincidences? Or were the Hunters keeping tabs on me, watching my every move? Suddenly everyone that I saw looked very suspicious, even Tynan. I inched closer to Afton. He was the only person I was willing to trust.
~Rachel
(@Stormy: So I saw the part about cylinder-shaped, and I was like, "Waaaa? Nuh-uh, I've been there. Twice! It is SO not cylindrical." And then I looked. And I was like, "Okay, whoa. I guess it kinda is." Haha)
I pulled away from the group, fully aware that when I lost contact, I would no longer be invisible. "I don't need your Stealthing. I have people inside. Use your abilities when they are needed."
Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I made my way toward the entrance as I typed out a message. Pressing the "Send" button just as I pushed the doors open and entered the large theatre. I glanced to the gift shop on my left. Not seeing my contacts there, I headed to the back staircase, trusting that the Trio would still be following me. We made our way up several flights of stairs before finally reaching the door I needed. Swiping my card, I waited for the green light that allowed me entry and pushed the door open.
"Welcome, lady and gentlemen, to the backstage area of the Guthrie Theatre," I said, striding inside. Among the few people milling about the area, I spotted one I knew and went to her.
"Anna, darling, how are you?"
"Claudia Cooper, in the flesh, returned here to our wonderful theatre! You may have only worked here for a few months, but we definitely miss you!" the woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a hug. Here was a dangerous situation. I couldn't allow the Terrible Trio to see that I had become rather fond of the people at this theatre where I had worked as a 26-year-old. The pretense that I had no emotions was hard enough to keep up, let alone with these people who knew the real me.
~Claudia
Rachel moved closer to me, away from my father and anyone else in the room. It was a minute movement, but I caught it nevertheless and spotted the suspicion in her eyes.
"Darling," I whispered into her ear, giving her the most reassuring smile I could muster and putting an arm around her, "breathe a little. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. And none of these people are Hunters anyway."
"How can you know that for sure?" she asked as Joshua and Tynan began to talk about the possibility of Hunters around us.
"None of them are in my files, and Joshua hasn't recognized any of them. He is the living database of Hunters and supers in general; people seek him out to give him information and ask for it as well," I told her as I took the laptop back and handed it to the concierge, who, I realized now, had probably heard the whole conversation. And hadn't blinked an eye at the impossibility of some of it. I narrowed my eyes at him, and my eyes flicked to a girl who was watching us from across the room.
"But informants, they don't have to be superhuman," I said so only Rachel could hear as I took our room key from the guy at the desk.
~Afton
(Haha! The first time I saw it I was like, "Woah! Awkward cylinder!", so... xD)
Soren and Drew exchanged looks behind me. "Of course," I nodded, and strode ahead with her.
When Claudia embraced the taller woman, I frowned slightly. This place was close to her heart, it seemed. Drew's eyes narrowed behind me, and he nudged me. Right, he would be able to sense emotions, wouldn't he? Anethstetic, and all that.
I cleared my throat, and they stepped away from each other. I stuck out my hand. "Marissa Pearce. And you are...?" I trailed off, arching one dark eyebrow in question (?).
~ Marissa
"Alright," I sighed, relaxing just a little bit. I trusted Joshua's knowledge and Afton's reasoning. I had to admit, it felt good, not having to worry about dodging Hunters left and right. Hopefully the rest of our adventure would be far less...interesting. And Afton's arm around me also helped me to relax.
I took the room key from him, holding it so that we could both see. "Room 101," I said. "You just had to pick the number of the torture room from Nineteen Eighty-Four, didn't you?"
Afton grinned. "Sorry," he apologized. "I couldn't help it. Though I almost went with 42."
~Rachel
(I don't know if you've read Nineteen Eighty-Four, but I assume Afton has, as it's a pretty well-known book. And the 42 reference is from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.)
"Anna Schermann, stage director," she replied to Marissa's question with a smile, taking the redhead's outstretched hand and shaking it. "Currently, we're working on a production of Julius Caesar. If you'd like, I can show you around a little. The actors are still getting into costume."
"Actually, we are here on a little business," I told Anna with an impish grin. "A little job that requires some disguises."
The woman frowned at me. "I don't like your jobs. They don't always end well."
"Will you help us anyway?" I inquired, my smile fading a little at the look of disapproval in her eyes.
"Mary Ellen!" Anna shouted, shaking her head with a half-smile. "How could I not help?"
A petite blonde woman rushed over to us with a small smile at me. "Yes, Anna?"
"Get this lot some disguises. Realistic. Elaborate. I want your best work," she told Mary Ellen. Turning to the Trio, she smiled and held out her hand to each of them. "It was nice meeting you all."
"Thank you very much," I said to Anna with a grateful smile.
"You're welcome," she replied, hugging me again. "Visit more often, won't you?"
"I'll try."
~Claudia
"Let's go up to the room," Tynan said suddenly, breaking away from his conversation with Joshua and snatching the room key from Rachel and starting off down the hall toward the rooms.
I followed with a sigh, keeping my arm around Rachel as I went. Joshua followed close behind.
We soon arrived at the room, and Tynan swung open the door to reveal a full suite with two beds, a large couch, and a bathroom with both a bathtub and shower.
"Dibs a bed! Wanna share?" I teased Rachel, raising an eyebrow and shooting her my best mischievous grin.
~Afton
(Ahahaha Afton...I can't say that I didn't see that one coming, though.)
I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again, and turned bright red. "Absolutely not!" I managed to splutter. "I'll sleep in the bathtub if I have to, thank you very much." I stepped away from him quickly, hugging my arms around myself.
Joshua laughed. "Nice try, Afton, but I think the little lady would like a bed to herself." He looked around at the room, calculating. "Two of us can sleep on the beds, one on the couch, and one on the floor. Unless room service can bring us a cot or something."
"I'll call and check," Tynan said, picking up the elegant corded phone that stood on the nightstand.
~Rachel
As we followed Mary Ann, I hurried forward to keep pace with Claudia's long strides. "You're quite friendly with these people," I commented quietly, so that the Normal in front of us wouldn't hear. "Know them from before, did you?"
~Marissa
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