Shire Bottom Chronicles

Chapter Four

Cat ran her hand under the water in the kitchen sink, watching the blood trickle down her arm and spiral into the drain. She knew Matt and Komazzi would be over soon, and didn't really care to explain to them what had happened. They may be part of the circle, but that didn't mean they had to know everything. Everyone had their suspicions that something strange was going on around town. However, few people actually chose to acknowledge it.

Cat was honestly shocked at how well she and Bane managed to keep things quiet when their experiments got out of hand. This afternoon, Cat had to take care of an incident caused by an incompetent employee because they accidentally released a ghost who could not be located. Cat tried to track it down, but something blocked her. She hoped that whatever stopped her also stopped others from noticing it.

Suddenly, a pair of arms came up behind her and hugged her tightly. She tensed for a moment before recognizing the scent. "Hello, Love." Cat smiled as she turned and locked eyes with Bane.

"Care to tell me what happened today?" he questioned, reaching back to turn off the sink. Cat rolled her eyes as she dried her arm off.

"Let's just say some heads had to roll to make a point today," Cat replied with a smirk. "Evan released one of the ghosts, and I can't find her anywhere."

"Why didn't you just call in the cleanup crew?" Bane asked, grabbing her arm as she headed for the door. "Do you realize how stupid what you did was? Evan may have slipped up, but he was the only person in town who knew how to run that fucking machine."

"It wasn't just any ghost, it was Jessica," Cat snarled, trying to pull her arm out of Bane's tightening grip. His eyes widened as the realization set in.

"That's impossible," Bane snapped, but before he could question her further, there was an impatient knock at the door. He released Cat's arm. "We aren't done here."

"We can discuss it later," Cat hissed, and then opened the door. "You're early," she said as Komazzi, Matt, and Rory walked into the apartment. She glanced quickly down the hallway before shutting the door behind them. You never could tell who might be eavesdropping in these apartment complexes. She wanted to rent or even buy a house far from the city limits, but hadn't found the time to look at the options yet.

"Allie's going crazy again, and we left early to get away from her," Rory explained. She gazed around the apartment Cat shared with Rose. It was one of the more spacious apartments in town, but she had always wondered why Cat insisted on holding meetings here instead of at Bane's place. She didn't even know where Bane lived.

"I can sympathize." Cat laughed. Cerberus came bounding into the kitchen and launched himself onto Matt, licking his face happily. "Looks like someone is happy to see you."

"I missed you too, buddy." Matt chuckled, gently pushing the border collie back onto the ground. The dog happily sat in front of him, wagging its tail.

"Komazzi." Cat smiled, kissing the tall, red-haired man on the cheek. "I hear profits are up. Congratulations."

"As much as I love small talk, we should probably not waste time seeing how Komazzi is kind of on a tight schedule," Bane said curtly, motioning to Cat's room. "Matt, Rory, I hope you don't mind, but we have a few things to discuss in private first."

Komazzi nodded knowingly, following Cat and Bane toward the bedroom. "Matt, keep watch. We shouldn't be long," he said, closing the bedroom door behind him. Cerberus placed himself in front of the door and laid down, not taking his eyes off Matt and Rory.

"I trust you've been filled in on the 'technical issues' from today." Cat sighed, sitting on her bed and pulling a file out from under her mattress.