ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 13: H&HE

16 March 2016

Phoenix, Arizona

Wren

When I walked into the kitchen to find Echo waiting for me. I froze before warily heading towards her. Echo closed the distance between us; raising her eyebrows, "Ready to come with me?"

"Come with you where?" I asked.

"To meet my friend," Echo flashed a smile. It was never good when she smiled.

I frowned, "Howl?"

"Mm," Echo walked past him, her shoulder brushing against his. I looked up at the ceiling briefly, oh boy.

"Another meal? Just for me?" Howl touched his chest, looking down at the body. "I feel so special. And the fact you brought along some eye candy as well, oof you are spoiling me, lovely!"

I blinked, realizing that he was indeed talking about me. I shook my head before I could even register what I was doing, "No."

Howl twirled towards me on delicate toes, reaching out for me. I scrambled away. Howl stopped and burst into laughter, Echo following suit. I glared at them both. Children. They were both murderous children. Echo quite literally. She covered her lips with one hand and began to walk, "Come along, boys. It's time for tea."

Aurora followed closely behind with Paiute sitting on her withers. I didn't appear to be moving along fast enough because she proceeded to shove me forward with her muzzle. Causing me to stumble into Echo's back, who without missing a beat flung me over her shoulder. I hit the wood floor with a bang that stole all the air from my lungs. There was a snort of amusement before Echo leaned over me, "Sorry."

I gritted my teeth, struggling to breathe, "Liar."

"She smiled, "Now why would I lie?"

"I don't know," I sat up with a grunt, "It's not like you're an assassin or anything."

"Not at all," Echo helped me up before we made out way to the couch. I glared at Aurora who tossed her magnificent head in response. She planned this, I knew it. She may have been a horse, but she knew what would happen. I had a feeling that Howl had witnessed the whole thing but when he came into the living room, carrying the tea, he didn't say anything about it.

I grabbed a cup and sipped at it – it smelled like Earl Grey – when Howl leaned over and whispered, "Make sure you check the bottom of the cup to make sure there isn't a toe in it. I don't remember which cup I put it in."

I gagged, "Jesus Christ."

"I'm kidding," Howl shook his head, grinning. "You've got to learn when someone's joking."

"I do know when someone's joking. Just not when it involves toes!"

"Howl knows that not everyone shares his appetite, and plus Toe Tea just isn't as great as it sounds," Echo said.

I threw her a look, "Please tell me that was a joke."

"Come on, you've seen what I do for a living. I've dipped into that water a couple of times," Echo grinned wickedly.

"Yuck," I felt sick.

Howl said something in German, to which Echo chuckled. Howl looked at me, "We have an extraordinarily dry sense of humor, and we don't often converse with civilians who aren't screaming in pain."

"Great," I muttered. "I feel special."

Echo placed her teacup down, "Before we discuss the reason as to why we are here, Wren needs to know a bit of history."

Howl nodded. He passed Echo a stack of papers before turning to me. "Over the last several decades, ALDAR has been led by a power hungry, intelligent woman known as Viper. She created the organization, and as you know, her agents are children that she lures. They are trained, created, into monsters, and beings that no human can match. Entrepreneurs, mobsters, criminals, politicians, and celebrities fund ALDAR. ALDAR has several branches in most countries, a few agents here or there, but enough to keep the connections. If need be, agents from the home base are sent to whatever location they are needed. The agents that set up base in their respective counties are regular people. They go to college, graduate at the top of their class. Often they create their own business that is a front for ALDAR. "

"And that's what this is," Echo said.

Howl nodded, "I reached out to some of my contacts and began to look for companies that are linked with ALDAR."

"From here it looks as though it sprouted several years ago. Its located in downtown Phoenix, and the name is Holda & Hilde Enterprise. Abbreviated, H&HE." Echo nodded. "It fits."

"Why is a name like that cause to think that it's linked to ALDAR?" I asked.

"Norse mythology is closely linked in Germany, some say Hitler was inspired by certain legends. And since a former Nazi started ALDAR, we were taught quite a bit about it. You could almost say that it's our religion. Holda and Hilde are German variations of Hölle, which is a German translation for the Norse word Hel. I'm sure I don't need to explain what Hel is, correct? Good. Each and everything is linked to Norse mythology. It's one of Viper's weaknesses because she is obsessive with her religion." Echo leaned forward on her elbows. "Those names are neither common or random, therefore a clue hidden in plain sight. Who runs it?"

Howl grinned broadly. "Brandt Paltar."

Echo laughed out loud, "She couldn't make it any easier, could she?"

"She could have by just hanging a sign that said, 'I'm here'," Howl pointed out.

"I take it that the name, 'Brandt Paltar', is linked to mythology?" I looked at them both.

"Yep," Howl smirked.

Echo smiled and bowed her head over the paperwork. I watched her, watched weight lift off her shoulders, and I wondered what this truly meant to her. Catching Howl's eye, I noticed that he was watching me too. But the charm had vanished from his face. The expression upon his face was almost akin to pity. What did he know? I looked away, towards Echo. "What does this mean?"

"It means that I go to Tucson." Echo replied.

"What?"

"I have to get information from this Brandt," Echo said.

I raised my eyebrows, "In the same creative way as the others?"

"No," Echo hesitated before amending, "At least not right away."