The Alter Mysteries: Death Shadow

Tempting Fate Part 4

  Swoosh. I step into the waiting room of our building. Our sign, "Paranormal Investigation Taskforce" showing our little gray P.I.T. symbol hanging at the entrance outside and on the wall above the waiting room's lone clock. Our symbol is a poorly drawn copycat of a badge I said would suffice. The clock reads 8:15 am. We do not open until 9 am. My partner is moving boxes. "Tanaka?" I call my business partner by his last name. He pokes his head out the door. "Meet me in my office." We are equals in business, but in our relationship—our dynamic is a little different. He is waiting when I open the door.

  "Take off your pants." He crosses his arms, "are you sure? We have a lot of work to get done." "Tell me no, if you don't want to, but otherwise—" I look him up and down, "you're mine." Tanaka removes his pants. As soon as they reach his feet, I grab his shirt in my fist and push him on the table.

His shirt is wrinkled after we finish. Hair disheveled from the pulling. He adjusts his collar. "That was a great start to the day." He caresses my cheek, "couldn't wait until later?" I cup his rear before moving to sit at my large antique wooden desk. "This case is stressing me out." He pulls up his chair from his sleek industrial desk.

"This killer could bring the old days back." My breath catches in my throat. I place my hands on my temples. Breathe.

"None of us want the concentration camps again." With an exhale, I straighten up and adjust my tie. "If I weren't so scared, I would waste my time on the small time paranormal."

Tanaka sits back and folds his arms, "you admitting fear worries me more." His gaze leads to the awards on the wall. We both know we caught more Paranormal and Standard criminals than most of the police force combined.

"Our business reputation is at stake too. I don't want someone else to get this guy. We get most cases now. We even have a hope of being federally contracted." Tanaka nods in acknowledgment. He stands and paces, then hovers right behind me.

His hands rest on my shoulders, "You aren't telling me everything. This is becoming personal. Why? Are you afraid of being attacked?"

I scoff, "I do not fear this idiot. It's Izzy." Tanaka removes his hands and sits back down. His chair is still angled away from his desk.

Tanaka chuckles, "don't think I won't poke the bear during lunch."

I cringe, "I am not a bear. The situation is not a bear. There is nothing to discuss. You know my stance."

Tanaka turns to his desk, "I am not just your boyfriend you know. I am your friend. As a friend," he dramatically puts his hand to his chest, "I feel the torture you are putting yourself through. Don't you want to know what she'll say?"

I glare at him, "We already bought a house together. I will have to see her every day if she rejects me." Tanaka understands I am bisexual. I understand that he hates the idea of marriage. We have an open relationship. My role is to curb his parents wish for him to settle down until he can man up enough to just say no. His role is to give me some lovin' and distract me from her. I also like him, a lot. Annoying man.

He handles the paperwork, while I make calls to our regular contractors for the small time cases. Arranging stake outs for those more organized criminals. Those in my "Definite Idiot" pile, or DI list—I handle by myself. After lunch, around 1 pm, I make the preparations to get the next on my DI list. Izzy helped me locate her. She works at a pizzeria. The smell of garlic wafts into the air. I walk in, order a pizza and sit down in a corner. As I eat I watch her doing her work, while pretending to check the clock or look at decorations. Space cadet is my game now. My aura masked by the visage of dreamy eyes. I feel her energy spike. She raises a psychic mask. Putting on a fake appearance of still working at the counter. I can sense her energy walking to the cash register. Wow, what an amateur. I shut down my auric signature and walk to the bathroom. I turn and snap a picture of her reaching into the drawer and a video of her pocketing money. She turns just in time to see me walking away from the bathroom. I smile at her, before tilting my head and looking at a painting dazed. An audible sigh comes from her mouth as if she thinks I didn't catch her. I send the information to Tanaka so he can notify the police of my finds.

I eat the last of my pizza when they walk in. Wipe my hands while they approach her, "Police, we have some questions"—The DI runs out of the kitchen. The police run after her. I slowly stand. Wipe my mouth. Dispose of my trash. There she is. I approach her car as she gets in. Her car revving up sends an anticipatory chill down my spine. There is one problem for her, it won't turn on. I smile as I tap on the glass. She points a gun at me and I laugh. I punch the window, breaking the glass of her vintage car. Shame, she should have had sonic glass installed. Now I might ruin the interior. I send her gun away from her hand telekinetically and hold her body frozen in my mind. I lift her hands up with my mind. The officer that approaches her reads her rights. Then, without any effort extracts her from the car and cuffs her. I release my hold once she is in their custody. Officer Ryan stands next to me watching the perpetrator walk away in cuffs, "I'll send you a bill."

He sucks in his breath, "you had some balls with this one."

I turn to him with a wry grin, "that would be ovaries. I have some business to attend to." He nodded and we waved good-bye. The rush of the hunt made me feel good, but this woman was so basic. I need a little extra adrenaline. My body lifts as I pull over the bar. The sweat running down my skin. My black shirt and pants ripe with my funk and pain. The power of that pain. The guilty pleasure of my being above the cut. Sure, maybe I am a bit full of myself, but it is better than being weak. I move towards the weights and start my regimen. Tanaka walks in and sits down on the bench next to me to do the same. "I met with our next client. You know we are not done for the day." I put the weights down and look at his muscles bulge as he lifts. "Listen, did you want a repeat of this morning? Working out will take less time." He put the weights down, "You are not literally asking that question, because if you were—I'd say yes, let's repeat this morning. Except, I take you this time." I sigh, "When will you learn." Then I wink at him. We both nod and get up. Time to get back to work. The remote viewer will meet us at 3 pm.