Jeisa made note of the sedan that followed them from the moment they left the mall to the diner, and she immediately noticed the newly painted, white, random company van parked on the street across the diner that clearly didn't belong there. Jeisa parked her truck at the diner's parking lot. She was already unbalanced as it were. These guys watching them were not making it easier for her. Cass seemed oblivious to it all, but Jeisa wasn't one hundred percent sure about Cass anymore. This was where the wheels were about to come off this ride. Quite frankly, Jeisa was ready to find out what the hell was going on.
Having finally been seated, Jeisa took in a deep breath of the hunger-inducing aroma of greasy delicious foods, full strength beer and warm deserts as they walked into the diner. After their server had rattled out the specials, she ordered the pork belly burger with all the trimmings. Cass got some duck confit fries, which were crispy potato sticks that were slathered in delicious confit duck bits and gravy. They'd decided to share, seeing as the portion sizes made it look like they'd just stepped into a Fred Flinstone's episode and ordered a dino sized meal. Diner food. You've got to love it.
Before the food arrived, Jeisa cleared her throat. She couldn't ignore the two men seated a few tables from them, watching them. She was out of time. That fleeting moment of blissful ignorance was done.
Their food could be packed to-go after this all went to shit.
"Cass..." Jeisa sighed, wondering what she'd start with. Would she bring up the whole 'I know you're straight, but you're also heavily flirting with me' or was it better to start with the 'It would be great to know why you're casually carrying around a WMD in your bag'. She was a little ashamed to admit that they both held the same importance to her still very muddled mind.
"...we need to talk." Cass finished Jeisa's sentence, taking Jeisa by surprise. "I know. I completely agree."
"Um... yeah." Jeisa replied. "There's something I wanted to ask you."
"And I promise I'll answer everything," Cass said with a sad smile. "Right after a quick bathroom break."
"Really? Right now?"
"Hey, you may have scuffed down all the popcorn, but I still had that massive slushie." Cass chuckled. But then she went a little serious. "Actions and consequences, right?"
Jeisa squared her jaw and gave a little nod when Cass excused herself from the table.
When Cass had disappeared into the bathroom, Jeisa stood up, asked the waitress to hold their food and their table, convincing the sexy blond by tucking a hundred-dollar bill into her breast pocket, then headed for the kitchen. Jeisa had been here many times before. She'd knew that the bathroom window looked into the same alley as the kitchen's back entrance.
"Jeisa?"
The diner's head chef walked over and gave her a quick hug.
"Hey, Rita."
"What are you doing here?"
"Date." Jeisa was impatient to get to the alleyway.
"Ah! Good choice coming here and not the restaurant! How's that pompous ass, Roger anyway? Why are you still humouring the idiot?"
"You're the one wearing his ring and sharing a bed with the man every night." Jeisa said with a chuckle.
"Touché!" Rita laughed. "So, what are you doing back here? Stealing secrets for the enemy's kitchen?"
"I'm pretty sure my date is ditching me from the bathroom." Jeisa sighed.
"Damn. And you want to catch the trifling bitch in the act?"
Jeisa didn't respond, but her silence and steely gaze was answer enough.
"Alright, you know your way out," Rita answered sadly. "I'm sorry, Jeisa."
Jeisa shrugged then continued weaving her way through the kitchen to the backdoor that led to the alleyway. Cass was disappearing into the main road as Jeisa left the kitchen. Jeisa was about to follow when she heard a weird sound that made her look up. Someone was climbing the fire escape of the building next to the restaurant and had just disappeared onto the roof, but it was the bag he was hauling that caught Jeisa's attention.
A rifle bag.
The case is useless without the girl.
Jeisa had assumed those words meant that they needed the girl, who she was now more than certain was Cass, alive. That rifle bag was telling a different story. Without giving herself a chance to rethink the action, she pulled up her sleeves and launched herself onto the lowest rung of the fire escape, hauling herself up to the metal staircase and quietly making her way to the roof.
The sniper was lying on the ground and pointing the large sniper rifle at the street. He heard Jeisa behind him. The man quickly got up and whipped out a silenced nine millimetre, pointing it at Jeisa. Jeisa flipped to her side away from the gun's first shot and then barrelled into the man. He dropped the gun when they both hit the ground hard.
Jeisa cursed.
This man was stronger and from the way he moved, probably good at groundwork. She hated groundwork. They grappled. Jeisa attempted to get her limbs away from him, or at least get into a tight turtle position like Coach had taught her, then think of what to do from there. She failed. They twisted over each other on the ground, and he suddenly had her in a joint lock, pinning her and trapping her right arm. He squeezed and pushed, slowly and painfully working to dislocate her shoulder joint.
She was suddenly scared. Not because she was trapped and in agony, but because she could feel that desperate need to spark bubble up dangerously inside her. She shouldn't have charged the man. She shouldn't even be here. She should have just confronted Cass, found out the truth and ended whatever torture this was between them.
Too late now.
She was here and she was losing herself.
Whatever sliver of control she'd been hanging on to after that ATM spark finally slipped away as her sense of self-preservation kicked in. Before she knew it, she had dug her nails painfully into the man's arm, breaking skin and twisting out of his slightly loosened hold. She flipped herself to standing position at the same time that he did. A left jab from Jeisa distracted the man as he moved to block it, and she took the chance to reach out and cover the man's face with her right palm. His mouth fell open in a voiceless scream of pain. He sank to his knees as the nanofibers crawled into his mind.
Jeisa felt the jolt of power pour from him.
It was incredible. Exhilarating. Glorious.
Absolutely fucking awesome!
The manic cackle moving slowly up her throat jerked to a stop when Jeisa's technopath touch brushed past the man's conscious thought. Her eyes went wide in awe. She could feel it all. His shock. His fear. His pain. His acceptance that he was dying. Oh! This was intoxicating. The power! Jeisa pulled in the electrons laced with the man's thoughts and sampled each one in maniacal glee. She was going to crash him.
And she would enjoy it.
She began to rewire his thoughts. Fear first. She would drown him in fear. Then pain. Or maybe pleasure. Yes. pleasure. That would be wickedly exciting. More of a buzz. She would show him pleasure beyond his imaginations. It was true that Cass was the only one she'd dreamt of experiencing this kind of intimate pleasure with, but she was curious about exactly what this would do to a brain. Because, after this, she would spark Cass too. She would teach the little tease about "actions and consequences". She'd make Cass happy. So very, very happy. Then she would punish her. She would push in the pain. Excruciating, brain numbing pain beyond anything she...
The thought of Cass in pain jarred Jeisa's thoughts. The reflex made her yank her hand back and disconnect herself from the man. She was out of breath and swayed on her feet. The man crumbled onto the ground, unconscious but still alive. Barely. Jeisa doubled over in pain. In need. She hadn't completed the spark and it hurt. It hurt really bad. She couldn't get away from it. She fell to one knee, one hand bracing her on the ground and the other on her middle. She was in more pain than she'd ever experienced. More pain than she knew what to do with.
The man's radio crackled at the sniper's nest, getting Jeisa's attention. He wasn't alone. She dragged herself to the sniper's nest and collapsed into a sniper stance, courtesy of dear father's idea of including all sorts of firearm education in her home school curriculum. She looked through the rifle's scope.
Cass was at a light whose walking-man-icon had just turned green. She crossed the street. The fake white generic company van was on the side of the street that she was walking towards, to the left of Cass. Jeisa wondered if Cass would turn left and Jeisa would watch the van door slide open and watch Cass get kidnapped, thus losing both the girl and the purple case. However, Cass turned right. The breath of relief that left Jeisa was a surprise. She then turned the scope to check out the rest of the curb.
There were two men in an alley that Cass was about to walk by. The men were dressed in black jackets, black combat pants and black combat boots. Were they sniper's buddies? Were they all working with the people in the van? Whoever they were, they were about to grab Cass. Jeisa steadied her breathing and pressed the trigger twice. The silent pops were followed by both men pulling back into the shadows, each grabbing at their shoulders. Jeisa had shattered the left collarbone of each man. She wasn't going for a kill. Not without a warning. And definitely not after what she'd just done to the man behind her.
To their credit, the men in the alley must not have made a sound as they disappeared back into the shadows because Cass walked by, oblivious to their presence. The radio beside Jeisa jumped to life, going crazy. Jeisa switched it off, groaning at the waves of pain that washed over her at the movement.
Jeisa swept the rifle's scope across the curb again. A woman emerged from an after-hours paediatric consultant office just ahead of Cass. She was wheeling a pram ahead of her, looking slightly anxious. Suddenly, the child launched a toy onto the road. Cass saw it and rushed into oncoming traffic to rescue the toy. Jeisa cursed. What was Cass thinking? The car hurtling toward her stopped just inches from Cass and her outstretched arm! Cass bent down, picked up the stuffed toy lion, then loped back to the lady, who had her mouth open in utter shock at Cass' action. Cass carefully placed the toy back into the pram. The lady thanked her and rolled the pram to a car that was parked not too far away, next to the curb.
Pointing the scope back to Cass, Jeisa cursed. Something was off. That visibly boxy lump that had been the black ten-inch purple velvet case in Cass' satchel wasn't there anymore! Had Jeisa just watched Cass carry out a stealth sale of that case? Because Jeisa had finally understood that Cass was a "fence". A broker for buyers of stolen goods. Like that stupidly expensive wine. And that sunset yellow Desert Eagle from that idiot truck driver's glove box on that first night they'd met. But holy shit, she was sneakier than a drug dealer selling ex on a dance floor! Jeisa swivelled the scope back to look for the woman and the baby. They were long gone. She hadn't even made any noteworthy observations about the generic mum and baby pair.
What Jeisa did see, however, was the white van starting up, and in the driver's seat was Mr. 29th floor apartment! Looks like everyone was out to play tonight. He was driving with the clear intent to make a grab for Cass, who was now making her way back to the diner. Jeisa steadied her breathing and pressed the rifle's trigger twice, hitting two of the van wheels, stopping it cold. She didn't have time to watch any more. Cass had made it to the lights and was crossing the street again to head for the diner.
"Ooh, perfect timing." said Cass enthusiastically as she sat down, having just walked out of the ladies' room when the waitress brought out their food. Cass smiled sheepishly at Jeisa. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long. That was one big slushie."
"Yeah." replied Jeisa smiling and hoping she'd cleaned up all the dirt and scuff marks from her pants and shoes. She resisted the urge to wince in pain as she moved her right shoulder, which was on fire, making it an awful experience eating with a knife and fork.
"So," Cass said, taking a forkful of fries and closing her eyes as she savoured them. "You wanted to talk?"
Jeisa stayed silent as she looked at the massive pork belly burger in front of her, its aroma enchanting. She felt nothing. Usually, she'd be salivating as she sliced the burger in half to make it easier to eat.
It was all gone. The light. The colour. The smell. It was all gone.
She didn't balk at killing those who proved that they didn't value their and others' lives by how they chose to act, but that's not what she'd done to that man on the roof. In one fell swoop, Jeisa had scrambled his mind, turning him into a living zombie with no mental capacity. He would live the remainder of his life in a hospital bed, staring into nothing, unable to find his way back.
Suddenly, Jeisa wasn't afraid of being wiped out by a weapon of mass destruction. Kind of even welcomed it.
"Maybe later," Jeisa finally answered, hoping that Cass wouldn't notice just how lost and down she was. "This spread is amazing. Let's enjoy it."
After a few bites, Cass broke the silence between them.
"Jeisa?" Cass asked.
Jeisa was barely able to eat, forcing herself to swallow every bite. It took all her focus, yet she couldn't stop herself from seeing that man's eyes, his mouth wide open in that soundless scream, his mind ripping at the seams under her power... it blurred Jeisa's vision, switching between that and the food on her plate. Had Cass finally noticed Jeisa's slow but sure unravelling?
"Yeah, Cass?"
Cass turned serious, almost solemn. "This is one of the best dates I've been on in a while."
Jeisa smiled softly. "You mean friend date, right?"
Cass chuckled, breaking her solemn look, then gave Jeisa a suggestive smirk. "Right."
***
"The Red Dragon is a warning. A second chance at life." Jeisa said. She sighed. "Why did you ignore it? Why do you people always ignore it?"
Mr. twenty ninth floor apartment whipped his head towards Jeisa. He'd just walked into a dank room in the bowels of the Warehouse district. It was the worst place to hide. The report of his presence had hit Jeisa's dad's tablet almost immediately. It had been five days after the Red Dragon had been delivered. The Enforcer was required.
Jeisa had been waiting in the corner of the room for about an hour, seated on the floor, her head in her hands, her mind still very much scrambled. She'd just dropped Cass off at her place after their date a few hours ago. They still hadn't spoken about what she'd wanted them to talk about, and the only reason Jeisa could find for this was that it caused her physical pain just thinking about the possibility of accidentally hurting Cass.
"You're the Enforcer?" the man spat. "But you were there tonight! I saw you with the girl! How...? Who...?"
Jeisa slowly got up. "What do you want with her? What's in the purple box?"
"Will you spare my life if I tell you?" he asked, his tone saying that he knew the answer.
"No. But I'll make the last few minutes of your life unbearably awful if you don't." Jeisa replied. "And I don't want to taint the experience of this night any more than I have to."
"I don't know what's in the case, but I know that it's important. And I don't know who the girl is, only that she's the only one who can open the case." The man said, walking to a sketchy minibar fridge and grabbing a handful of tiny whisky bottles. He opened one and drained it before he continued. "We were supposed to use the case to lure her in, then grab both her and the case, but something went wrong. We lost both. I actually got shot at and almost died in the process. That wasn't what I'd signed up for, so I booked it. Came to this hellhole to hide."
"Grab her?" Jeisa scoffed. "You put a sniper on her! You tried to kill her!"
"Sniper? What are you taking about?" he furrowed his brow. "We weren't going to kill her. We needed her! Capturing her alive with the case was my only ticket to getting paid."
"Gretel. She's the one who was going to pay you to take Cass?"
"Yeah."
"And you weren't supposed to kill her?"
"No."
Someone else was after Cass.
What the hell was going on here? Why Cass? Who the hell was Cass, really? What had Jeisa gotten herself into?
"Does Cass know what's in the box?"
"Not as far as I know. We just put out word that it's a valuable artefact. She's a fence. It was bait. I'm the one who told Gretel that there was no way the girl would resist opening it to see exactly what she had." He said, draining about five more mini whisky bottles. He smiled. "Dead men don't need to pay for the minibar."
"I wish you'd just left."
"You and me both."
***
Early the next morning, a few hours after completing her assignment and just sitting in that dank room, thinking, Jeisa was straddling her sports bike in the parking spot of a building she visited occasionally, but she hadn't been here for months. Having stood in that parking lot for several long minutes, watching the sunrise, she almost turned around and rode back home.
Almost.
She gritted her teeth, switched the engine off, got off the bike, hitched the strap of her saxophone backpack higher and took one final deep breath to steady herself. Although she had to really push herself to do so, she finally made it through all the security checks and to the large room.
"Settle down everyone. She's here! And you know that she'll only play if you're quiet!" called out the elderly.
The crowd faded into silence as Jeisa prepped her saxophone. She looked out into the crowd and saw him. He was looking lucid today. He always did when she was there. The regular reports that she paid a few elderlies to receive showed that this was not the norm for him.
"I thought you weren't ever coming back. Thank you." Greta whispered. She was the head elderly of the Wraith Hamlet Mental Institute.
Jeisa smiled and gave her a slight nod.
She had been coming here as a volunteer to play to the patients every week for five years, until a few months ago, after her father had sent her off to her first Red Dragon assignment. She'd started coming here right after the man she was now looking at across the room had been admitted. Clayton. Her mistake. The reason her father had stopped her from using her technopath ability. Like the man on the roof a few hours ago, Jeisa had sparked Clayton's mind, eviscerating it, and leaving him with a tiny semblance of sentience.
Jeisa sighed.
Every time she thought about what had happened on that fateful day, five years ago, she couldn't escape the reminder of how delightfully exciting it had felt to hold that power in the palm of her hand. To smash Clayton's thoughts and emotions against each other over and over again until he was barely coherent. She should have felt guilty. She'd told her father that she did. But that was a lie to spare him the awful truth.
Jeisa had started coming to the Institute to volunteer to entertain the patients every week to try and force that feeling of remorse that she so desperately wanted to feel. She'd hoped that one day she'd look out at Clayton sitting in the crowd, gazing at her with that desperately blank look, and be wracked with guilt.
Tonight, after five years of feeling absolutely nothing, and months of being away, Jeisa finally did feel something. She felt guilt. However, it was not for what she had done. It was because she couldn't help but want to do it again.
Over and over and over again.
Jeisa closed her eyes and put her lips to thesaxophone's mouthpiece, every thought in her mind ceaselessly berating her evilsoul. The elegiac and hauntingly doleful melodies pouring from the instrumentdidn't leave a dry eye in the room.