Warlock

Shooting an Angel

Under the corner of one of the empty cells, something flashed in the light. That was something worth investigating. Loch approached it and found an ID card, probably abandoned by one of the guards he had frozen before the currently sleeping guard had shot him. He looked at the picture: it was the woman in sweatpants. Perhaps it had fallen out when she had pulled her phone out of her pocket. Finally, his luck was beginning to turn.

Loch brought the card to the computer and stared at it. There was a number on it, but when he entered it into the passcode box the machine denied him. Rude. However, there was a box of some kind with a slot in it next to the computer, so he stuck the card in it. Success – the computer logged in. The password box was a lie, apparently. Humans could be so tricky.

The sweatpants woman definitely had a high clearance level, since the files on her desktop covered everything. There was a file with all of the floor plans Dixie had given him, a file with the names and information of all of the security guards, a separate file for the demon hunters, and finally a file titled 'Administration'. Loch clicked that file, then typed the name 'Estrada' in the file search box.

Vivian Estrada. He knew he had recognized the last name from somewhere. She had introduced herself with her full name when she had barged into his apartment to make a deal. Dixie had mentioned that she ran the Hancock organization, but he had forgotten about it quickly afterwards. Perhaps he should take notes like the businesswoman. Loch took a piece of paper and a pencil from the desk drawers and began to look at a document with Vivian's basic information. He had written her home address when he heard footsteps. Someone had entered the building.

Loch began to stand, listening closely. He recognized the footstep pattern and the clunk of one heel more worn-down than the other; it was Dixie, and she was alone. That was not worth returning to his cell. He sat again and started writing Vivian's phone number. The elevator dinged, and Dixie's uneven gait echoed off the basement walls. "Good morning, Dixie. At least, I think it's morning. That guard over there sort of killed me last night, so I'm not really sure how long I've been out. How are you?"

"The greeting without turning around thing. Nice. You could be a professional villain, except you're working for the good guys. Skye says you're a bit miffed about that." She ruffled his hair. It was endearing when Skye did it, but from the vampire it was condescending. Loch slapped her hand away and continued to look through Vivian's files. There was nothing valuable, since this was only a record of what she had been willing to tell humans. They clearly thought that she was one of them, so her shadows had to be strong.

"You're not going to find much from their computers that I haven't already told you. Humans aren't as complicated as you think. Especially with a company as young as this one. The actual Hancock organization is pretty old, though, so they do have a lot of data regarding how to capture the different species of 'demons'. But that's not useful to you." She had a point. Loch glanced through the file titles one last time before logging out of the computer and tossing the ID card back onto the floor. "So, you and Skye. How's that going? Do you guys argue much? How long have you been dating? You look at him like he's the sun of your world. It's adorable. Are you going to get married?" It was as if she wanted to make up for their four-hundred years of not speaking to each other in one sitting.

"Where'd you send the sweatpants woman?"

"I told her to go back to sleep and made up some scientific bullcrap relating to the importance of sleep. Sleep is good for you, though, so I imagine some of the bullcrap was true. She's our head of security, so she's been pretty pissed off lately thanks to you. If she had been fully awake, she probably would have torn your head off." Dixie yawned, clearly just as sleepy as the head of security. Like most vampires, she had forced herself into a diurnal sleep pattern with a nap at the end of the day to make up for frequent insomnia.

Loch's gunshot-induced sleep had not benefitted him at all, so he was just as exhausted. Then he remembered Skye. He would kill him for staying longer than necessary; he might even think he was dead. Loch's guilt forced him into wakefulness. "Vivian could be here soon. There was another woman here, one in a suit, who went to tell Vivian about the break-in and about me. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be here when she arrives."

Dixie frowned and stared at the elevator door. "I know you added extra shadows so she couldn't see that I'm an Other, but I'd rather not risk it. I'll walk you out. Actually, can you do that tunnel-making thing? The head of security told me about it and it sounds amazing." Loch could not believe her, but he hated the monotony of waiting in an elevator as much as the next person. The music the machines played was an abomination.

They left via tunnel, and Loch was relieved to find that Dixie lived in the opposite direction as him. She could hold a ten-hour one-sided conversation if she wanted to. He walked towards the bus station, barely remembering to remove the guard's sleeping spell before he got too far from the building, and watched the sun begin to rise. It turned the sky red, casting a bad omen on a city already soaked with blood.

Loch shoved the negative thoughts from his mind as he waited for the next bus to arrive. Only seven more jailbreaks to go.