Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 6
When there was no reply to her query, Jayna sprinted up the stairs two at a time in an effort to locate her companions. Az was sitting on the sofa at the top of the stairs in attire more appropriate for night work. Her face had the blank, far-off expression of someone deep in thought. "Earth to Azangel." Jayna snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face. "Helloooo! Anybody home?""Hmmmm… What?" Az slowly returned to the here and now. "Sorry, I was, um, thinking."
"I was asking if you were ready to go." Jayna saw no sign of the others. "Any idea what happened to the guys?"
"Aquarius said something about finding a map, I think…"
Jayna nodded in assent and dropped the bag she was carrying to the carpet. "It looked like you and Michael were getting along. He's terribly cute, isn't he?"
"Michael, cute?" Az searched for the proper word to describe the green-eyed, raven-haired man who had sat beside her and decided that cute wasn't even close. "So, how much do you know about him? Do you think he can help us find out more about David?"
Jayna took a seat beside Az. "Enough to trust him, but that's mostly gut instinct, he doesn't talk much about his past." She crossed her legs, making herself comfortable. "His name is Michael O'Shea. His father was Irish and his mother was Native American, Cree I think. He did some time in the military. I believe that he's been on J Street for about 5 years." Az nodded. "He's single. There's no girlfriend that I know of.""Really?" she asked a bit too quickly. "Why would that matter?"
Aquarius and David crested the top of the stairs. Aqua wore one of his mock-serious expressions. "I'm not sure I like what I'm hearing here… Who's single, Cochise?" He threw his arms wide in a theatrical gesture. "Az, what about us?"
"Us, US?" Az cried, a look of horror on her face. "There is no us. There never will be an us… Never! NEVER!" She buried her face in her hands to keep herself from bursting into laughter.
Aquarius clutched his chest and took a few stumbling steps. "You cut me to the quick! At least I still have you, Jayna…"
Jayna looked up at him with a sour expression on her face. "Well, until you can hire a better acting coach can we focus on the job at hand?"
"Sometimes you two are no fun at all." Aquarius sighed as he spread the map on the coffee table.
***** The group of four neared the subway station that was to serve as their entrée into the tunnels below J Street. "Would someone tell me why we had to walk all these blocks when there is plenty of parking all along here?" asked Az.
"Because I'm not about to park my car in this neighborhood when I can put it in a nice, secure, well-lighted parking lot." Aquarius didn't slow down until they were at the entrance to the station. "This isn't the vampire section of town, so everybody keep close. The sewers and access tunnels are likely to be crawling with Kobolds, or worse."
David hesitated and leaned toward Az. "What's a Kobold?"
"An ugly little dog-faced creature, about so high." She gestured to indicate its height. "They think they own the underground and have nasty dispositions. Lucky for us they aren't too bright, and as long as we don't get near their headquarters we shouldn't encounter more than a small group of them at any one time. Isn't that right Aquarius?"
"More or less." He directed the group down the stairs then to one end of the platform, then checked his watch. "The next train isn't due for about 10 minutes, so we should have plenty of time to make it to the tunnel we want." He dropped to the track bed. "This way ladies and uh, gentleman." He waited for the others to join him. "What did you bring for us, Jay? He asked once they were heading down the track. Jayna swung the bag down off of her shoulder, undid the closure, and pulled out a beat-up retro high-tech disruptor thingie that she handed to Aquarius. Then she produced another for Az, then one for herself.
"This is the safety, and this is the trigger." She indicated the proper spots on the 'gun'. "They should only stun whatever we shoot at this setting, I think." She stuffed the firearm into her belt then she dipped again into the bag. "This is for you, David." She handed him a small electronic box with a screen on one side. When she turned it on a grid pattern appeared on the screen.
"Whoa! That looks just like those motion sensors they had in the Aliens movie." Said Aquarius, coming over to get a better look.
"It should. The production designer spent enough time studying it." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. Jayna the produced battery powered lanterns for each member of the group. "Isn't that the access tunnel we're looking for?" she asked, pointing ahead. He sprinted over to the large steel door and squinted at the faded signage, comparing it to his map. "AA-23 all right, and just in time according to my watch."
"I hope this thing isn't locked if we're short on time." Said Az uncomfortably.
"Only one way to find out." Aquarius grabbed the handle of the door getting it to turn a few squeaking centimeters before it ground to a halt. "I guess that answers that question," he sighed. Jayna stepped up to the door.
"Do you mind if I give it a try?" she asked, brushing past Aqua. Before he could reply she set her feet firmly on the ground and grasped the handle with both hands, taking a deep breath. At first there was no movement at all from the handle but slowly it began to budge, the rusted metal screaming in protest as the mechanism haltingly disengaged. The door swung slowly open accompanied by copious dust motes, bits of falling rust, and a dank fetid odor. "You must have loosened it for me." She beamed at the slack-jawed Aquarius. "I think we better get inside." As if on cue they began to feel the subtle vibrations of what was most probably the oncoming train.
They filed into the narrow accessway, closing the door behind them and began moving as swiftly as possible down the tunnel. They traveled for several minutes in silence following Aquarius' lead. Eventually he stopped in front of a round hatchway a few feet off of the floor. He checked the hatch designation against the numbers on the map. "2187, this is it. Once we reach the main storm sewer we need to go north, that would be to our right. That should take us along the route the 'runner' took. If he dropped the box down a grate it will be along here." He stepped past the hatch and motioned for Jayna to step forward. "Since these things seem to like you, you might as well…" She nodded and took a position in front of the hatch. The latch here was in worse shape than the first and it took a bit of puffing and straining to get it opened.
"Remind to me bring a can of WD-40 and a heftier pair of gloves if we ever try this again." She said to Aqua, grimacing. "Goog, what a stench! I thought you said these were storm sewers, not 'real' sewers."
"They are. What can I say? Trash and dead things find there way down here." He shrugged his shoulders. "Ladies first?" he asked with a grin. Jayna rolled her eyes then vaulted herself into the tunnel.
"Ladies first, huh, why are you suddenly such a gentleman?" asked Az.
"We have to crawl through this section, and I thought it might improve the view…" he laughed.
"I hate to disappoint you, Aqua, but I think David should go first." Said Az.
"All right, why is that?" asked Aquarius.
"Because not much down here could hurt him...and if it did it would just close up. No infection to worry about...nothing."
"That makes sense, and as long as he has the sensor we'll get advance warning if there is anything moving up ahead." Jayna said, stepping aside. "Go ahead, if you please, David." The eerily quiet young man nodded and climbed into the opening.
"Just what I always wanted, an up close and personal view of his bony ass."
Az slapped Aqua upside the head lightly."Like I want to look at YOUR ass?" She asked.
"What's wrong with my ass?" Aqua said reaching back to cup a cheek, "I have a very nice ass thank you."
"Will you two knock it off." Jayna rolled her eyes as she waved her flashlight in their faces. Az followed David into the crawlspace, as Jayna turned to Aquarius, "As dark and tight as it's going to be in here, you shouldn't be too worried about the view, and keep your hands to yourself."
***** Aside from the soft 'blip-blip' of the sensor's speaker and the scraping of four sets of hands and knees on the floor, the group proceeded in silence.
After what felt like hours the tunnel opened up into a large cavernous area, David jumped down and assisted the others. Three flashlights illuminated the dome."Storm sewers. This is a detention vault. Rainwater collects here and drains off. If we were in Vampire tunnels this would be a meeting place or a market." Aquarius said, pulling a bottle from his jacket.
"Market?" Az looked at Jayna, their voices echoed off the brick as they brushed off their clothes. Jayna shrugged in reply as Aqua pulled out the map. "Do I want to know?"
"Probably not. We're not far from where they found him. This way." Aqua splashed through the standing water that was not more than ankle high. David, who had been walking in slow circles watching the monitor on his sensor as he pointed it toward the numerous tunnel entrances, followed without looking up.
"Watch for marks on the walls. Graffiti."
David once again took point, Jayna and Az paned their lights along the walls, as rodents and other unidentifiable creatures scurried for the cover of darkness.
After two lefts and a right, Jayna ran ahead of David, "Hey!" Her light jerked wildly. The sounds of traffic filtered down from a grate two stories above them."Over here." Jayna's light illuminated a discarded wad of crumpled paper on a small well-worn ledge.
"That's impressive." David mumbled.
"It's glowing." Jayna said as she pointed. David crossed to the ledge as Aqua and Azangel caught up, he hung the sensor from his shoulder and reached for the paper. David turned it over in his hands, and stiffened.
"D
a
v
i
d
?"Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 7
"David?" Aquarius repeated, waving one hand in front of the pale, slack face. Then he turned to Az. "Does he do this often? It could be a hell of a problem in a fight if he does…""No, he doesn't. I've never seen him do this before." She said, worriedly, before looking him over closely. "His eyes are moving, that's good, right?" She reached down and pulled the paper from his grip, then looked up again hopefully.
David stood, still frozen, blinking in confusion, his eyes darting, unfocused, around the sewer rapidly. Aquarius slapped him on the back with a 'welcome back' that had barely escaped his lips before David's fist met his face. Az stepped between them quickly, grabbing David's shoulders and peering up into his eyes.
"Hi, remember us?"
"Goddamn son of a…" Aquarius said through clenched teeth as he clutched his face with one hand and the other instinctively balled into a fist. His eyes hardened and took on a feral light as his instincts overrode his reason.
Jayna had seen men before in the throes of a berserker rage and stepped in to calm things before they went too far. Az was doing the right thing with David and now she needed to pull Aqua back from the edge. She interposed herself physically between Aquarius and the others, put her face close to his forcing eye contact, and then touched his face. "You had better let me check on that." Jayna said, removing his hand so she could see. "You don't want any open wounds down here. It would get infected in no time, besides I'll wager most of what lives down here can track the scent of fresh blood." His response was a low growl and a sidestep in an attempt to get around her.
Jayna sighed, realizing that reason was not going to be effective and decided to replace one primal urge with another. She grabbed him, put one hand behind his head, and kissed him - hard! He resisted for a few moments, but her tactic soon began to obtain results and she soon found herself pressed tightly against him with his hands cupping her bottom. He was a good kisser, a great kisser in fact. Their embrace was fast becoming a bit too pleasant for comfort, and she gently pushed him away. "Down boy, we have work to do." She brought the light up to his face to check for any cuts.
"You started it."
"We can't finish this here."
"Later?"
"Shut up." She said, hoping the light in his face would keep him from seeing the look on hers.
David blinked again, eyes finally refocusing on the here and now. He shook his head, looking around slowly, trying to get his bearings.
"There were rats in here. Big ones." He looked over to Jayna and Aquarius. "They unwrapped the box, opened it, found another box inside and decided to keep it because it was pretty."
"Rats can't open boxes."
"These rats can." He said, slightly annoyed. He raised his hand to above his waist. "BIG rats. I don't know what they're called as a race - I can't pronounce it. The rat that grabbed the box is called 'Stubtail' though, because most of his tail was cut off in a battle with Kobolds." He pointed in the opposite direction than which they were going. "They went that way."
Azangel blinked, and looked at the paper. "Umm…how did you…"
"It's called psychometry. He's able to read the history of an object by touching it." Jayna concluded. "Interesting. Anything else?"
"The courier was terrified of being caught with the artifact, he knew he was being followed, hated to dump it but he did. He knew he was going to die for it but did it anyway, his convictions are that strong." David looked down at the floor. "That's it. The stuff about the courier didn't make much sense, maybe because he was terrified."
"Just great…" Jayna turned toward Az and David. "Az, David cut Aqua's cheek. It's not too bad, but I think we should have this taken care of before we go on. It could attract unwanted attention. I'll need someone to hold either the light or my bag."
Azangel stepped away from David. She thought it best to keep him away from Aqua for the time being, and motioned for him to stay put. "Let me help." She shined the light in Aqua's face. He was still on edge and that wasn't going to help them down here. Neither of them were running on a lot of sleep, and this, added to the stress and poor conditions, was beginning to fray nerves. Az looked at the small cut and instinctively reached out for it. Jayna noticed the light first as the shadows in her bag moved. She looked up to see Az's hand softly glowing.
"What the hell?" Aqua mumbled as the champion of Quetz touched his face. Az didn't notice as Jayna pushed the flashlight that she held out of the way. Jayna wanted to be sure that the glow wasn't a trick of the light.
It wasn't.
When Jayna returned the light to Aquarius' face the mark was gone without a trace. "See, no problem. It was just a scratch." Azangel said, turning to Jayna.
"You healed him." Jayna said inspecting her work. "When did you start doing that?"
"Oh, it's a long story." She shrugged, dismissing the question, then changing subjects. "So do either of you know anything about these rats David was talking about?" she asked.
"The sewers are probably crawling with them." Jayna said with a shrug. "Rats have always been the constant companion of man."
"Not those kind of rats. Big rats, intelligent rats…" David again raised his hand to indicate their height.
"I've heard stories about humanoid rats living in the sewers, but I always thought it was just one of those urban legends. Not everything you hear about is real. Even here there are myths, although I grant you there aren't many." Aquarius seemed to be at a loss for words. He had been hit, kissed, and healed in a matter of moments and now everyone seemed to expect him to be back in control. It also didn't help that members of this little excursion group were doing things they barely remembered seconds later. He decided that since he was finally getting some of the respect he felt he deserved he had best take advantage of it.
They were treating him as the resident expert on this excursion so he might as well take charge. "Since these Rats are a mystery we had better be extra cautious, though down here that's always a plus. David, since you seem to know which way they went, you should take point again. Do you have any idea how much of a lead they have on us?" David shook his head. "They could be a whole day ahead of us, so we had better make up for lost time. We might want to keep the chatter at a minimum too. Rats have good hearing, I think."
The group hadn't traveled more that a few blocks when Jayna tapped Aquarius on the shoulder. "I'm not sure if this means anything, but I think I smell fresh blood."
"Quetz!"
"What the..?" Aqua and Jay followed the voice at the same time. The tunnel ahead opened into a small junction. Az and David were already inside, and her lantern was filling the space with light. The trailing pair entered the chamber and saw what had taken Az by surprise. There was a single dead Kobold floating face-down in the water and two mutilated, but also dead, 3 to 4 foot Rats lying close by. There was a crude symbol scrawled on the wall above the dead Kobold, with a bloody stump directly under it. "David, would you mind trying to find out what happened here?" Aquarius asked, making sure to stay well back from both David and the stump.
David did as he was asked and spent several minutes in a trance-like state before speaking. "There were three Rats that found the box. They thought it was pretty and were taking it back to their King." He suddenly realized that he was still holding the rat stump, and dropped it into the water. "They were surprised by a Kobold raiding party here. I guess you can see there was a fight. The Kobolds left the sign as a warning. They went that way." He pointed at right angles to the way they had been traveling. "They have the box now."
"Wonderful!" Aqua sighed. "I'm really looking forward to fighting Kobolds."
"Look at it this way," said Jayna, "if we hurry we may only have to fight a few. These bodies are pretty fresh, so they don't have that much of a head start."
"Didn't David say there were 3 Rats?" asked Az. "There are only 2 bodies. Maybe they took one prisoner."
"I don't think so," said David. "I got the impression that at least the one that did the writing thought they were all dead."
"Dead or not, we don't have the luxury of trying to find out. If we don't hurry we may just run into a full Kobold war party. I'd rather avoid that if we can. Let's move, people." Aquarius motioned toward the tunnel opening that David had indicated and the group moved on.
A few more blocks of soggy walking produced three more dead Kobolds, five more Rats, and the impression from David that the box was once again in the possession of the Ratmen.
Az tried to stifle her yawn as they moved on. She wasn't sure how long they'd been down here and she was more than ready to get clean, dry, and warm. She walked behind David and noticed the flickering of the monitor and the increased chirping. She looked up at David who was staring at the screen in silence. "David, what is it?"
"What?" Aqua asked from the rear.
"I think…" David said as the chirping picked up. He panned the device in an arc in front of him.
"Talk to me David!" Aqua moved forward, passing Jayna. "You've been holding that thing long enough that you should know how to read it."
"Movement. Lots of it. Fifteen, maybe twenty signals tightly together."
"Everybody draw. Lights down." Aqua said pulling one of the weapons Jayna passed around from his belt. Az took the weapon in hand and felt awkward. "Az, no plasma!" He pointed in her face. The flashlights reflected off the water at their feet, making Aqua look more sinister then he had planned.
"What?" Az recoiled, she was being told not to use her most effective weapon. "Why not? If we get… "
"Sewer gas! You fire plasmas down here and could ignite a methane pocket and blow us all to hell." Jayna answered for her, admiring Aqua for thinking of it. "These are stunners, non-lethal and shouldn't ignite any errant gases."
"OK, that makes sense."
"David, about those readings?" Aqua turned back to David who had taken a step or two forwards. "Range?"
"Eighteen meters." He said pointing the unit in front of him. "That way."
"Are they getting closer?"
"Not really. They're just moving around."
"A market?" Az asked, remembering Aqua's explanation of earlier and feeling a little colder.
"Move out. Weapons ready. Keep the lights pointed down, we don't want to attract attention." Aqua motioned for David to walk and the group slowly inched forward. David reached down and adjusted the volume to a lower setting as the sounds of combat began to echo through the tunnels. "Well, it's not a market."
"Depends on where you shop." Jayna recalled many markets she had been in that sounded similar.
The tunnel opened once more, this time with a three-story drop-off, the vault was lit and inside a battle raged. Ratmen and Kobolds were locked in a skirmish that looked like an outtake from Battlefield Earth. The Kobolds had what could be called clothing and better weapons, whereas the Ratmen wore hubcaps, pots and pans as armor and brandished pipes as weapons. "There it is!" Jayna exclaimed as she pointed out a small box being passed from combatant to combatant like a hot potato. The Kobolds and the Ratmen were taking turns capturing and losing possession of the box in a furious effort to keep the other from having it. The Harlem Globetrotters would have been proud.
"That's just nuts." David said looking down at the mayhem.
"So now what?" Az looked down at the chaos and shook her head. "We fight them all?"
"No. We wait for a winner and cut a deal with the Rats afterward." Aqua said matter-of-factly putting the weapon back in his belt.
"The Rats? Don't you mean we deal with the winner?" Az said looking at her insane teammate.
"Nope, we cut a deal with the Rats either way. If the Rats get it, we deal with them to buy it. If the Kobolds get it, we ally ourselves with the Rats and help them get it back and then buy it. You can't deal with Kobolds." Aqua looked down at the battle. "We just wait it out."
Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 8
The four exhausted, muck covered 'explorers' made it to the street surface with no further grisly discoveries, although they did notice that the first Kobold corpse they'd found was gone, and more symbols had been scrawled on the walls. No one in the group had been too keen on deciphering them, and they hurried past.Even David looked tired as they entered the kitchen. Not to mention soaked to the bone. "I don't believe you made us clean off in a car wash, Aquarius…" Az muttered, running a hand through her still-damp hair, the other holding her helmet loosely. A few drops of water slipped off of it to the linoleum floor and pooled there. "We get soaked, he stays dry. Doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"You think I'm gonna end up with a car that smells like a sewer? NO way. Besides - watching you and Jayna in the car wash was almost as much fun as a wet t-shirt contest."
"Whatever, you pervert. I'm calling the showers."
"Can I watch?"
"Only if I can pull your eyeballs out first." Az snapped before bolting from the room.
"Damn, she gets pissy fast…"
"Well, you are pretty annoying, Aqua." Jayna laughed, pulling her soaking wet boots off and dropping them into a hamper she'd brought to the kitchen for their soaked clothes. She removed her jacket and added it to the pile. "I'm going to clean up then fix everyone something to eat. You and David can wait in here." She exited the room before either could object.
"Great, stuck with the 'Edward Scissorhands' lookalike."
When Jayna came back a few minutes later, she was relieved to find neither had killed the other. They were basically on opposite ends of the room, David staring out the window blankly, Aquarius sitting at the table flipping through a magazine. Outside it had started raining lightly, which seemed to have drawn David's complete attention.
"All done. Your turn, Aquarius." She dropped the rest of her clothes in the hamper. "I left a robe out for you, too." She walked over to the window and looked out. Just rain. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary but David was far from ordinary himself. "When Aquarius gets done, will you please clean up?" He nodded without turning away from the window.
"I'm surprised he agreed, I thought he'd filled his quota for the week this morning." Az spoke from the doorway. She dropped her borrowed clothes into the hamper before sitting down and picking up the magazine Aqua had been thumbing through. "Ewwww…I didn't need to see that. Circe's magazine? What kinda crap is this?"
Jayna laughed. "I keep getting free subscriptions to these stupid things." She opened the fridge and started pulling ingredients out. "I forgot to ask - Az, you're not a vegan are you?"
"Um, no?"
"A Vegetarian. You do eat meat, right?"
"Oh, sure. No problem. Hey, David, if it's quicker, you can use the shower in my room."
David finally looked away from the window, and spoke. "If it keeps raining the sewer trip later may be more dangerous. It doesn't take much to flood."
"Something else he picked up from the rats no doubt." Az commented as he left the kitchen. "Alone at last." She laughed as the door closed.
"Yeah, about time." Jayna set the bowl of egg whites she was holding on the counter. "Ok, so I'm still curious. When did you start healing people?"
"It's one of the first things we're taught, silly." Az laughed, standing and stretching her arms out above her head. "And remember when you asked about my wings?" She closed her eyes, shrugged her shoulders and instantly feathered wings sprouted from her back. "Quetz fixed them all right." She beamed proudly.
Jayna walked over, peered at them closely, and whistled. "He didn't mess around, did he? They look like they're made of energy."
"They are! Light, to be specific, only solid when I want them. Took me a while to figure it out, but I've got the hang of it now. Saves a lot of money on clothes too. I don't have to have alterations done anymore!"
"Light, huh? Makes sense. Could be useful when dealing with the Vamps too."
"Hmm. I guess I hadn't thought about that."
"Well, if you hadn't dealt with them before, you wouldn't. It also explains why you were glowing so brightly through my goggles." Jayna grabbed a whisk out of the cabinet and started working on breakfast. By the time Aquarius and David returned Jayna was nearly finished cooking. Omelets, bacon, more scones, and fresh coffee sat on the table. David resumed staring out the window while the others ate.
"Yes, it's still raining, David. Why don't you sit down? You're making me nervous."
"I promise not to jump out the window." David turned and halfway smiled at Az before sitting down, alarming both Aqua and Jayna, who had never seen this particular phenomenon before.
"You don't want to know."
"So we gathered."
Jayna grabbed her phone on the second ring, smiling brightly as she recognized the voice on the other end, and handed the phone to Az, who simply looked confused. "It's Michael, he wants to ask you something."
"Oh…." She said quietly, taking the phone from Jayna after several long seconds. "Yes? I'm sorry, I forgot all about that. Can you come by to get it later on today? Can we bring it by? I'll have to ask Jayna." Jayna nodded emphatically at Az.
"You need some clothes anyway…we can go shopping at the mall." She whispered, before gathering up the dishes and handing them to Aquarius. "Since you two couldn't get along in the sewers, you get to do the dishes." She pushed them towards the sink. "Don't break any of my dishes." She grabbed Azangel by the arm and pulled both her and the phone from the kitchen, towards Az's room.
"What?" Az covered the phone with her hand. Jayna shook her head. "Tell him we'll be by before he closes up tonight." Azangel repeated the information then hung up quickly. "Why'd you say that??? I don't want to go shopping! Besides, I have clothes already! What's wrong with what I have????"
"Nothing's wrong with them if you don't plan on ever leaving the house."
"..."
"Hon, you need to develop your own sense of style. Hand-me-downs just won't cut it."
"Why do I need to do that?"
"First off you do it for YOU. You need to find what makes you feel good. Second off people judge you by what you wear. It says a lot about who you are."
"That's stupid..."
"That's life."
"No one cared what I wore back home..."
"I'm not surprised. Nobody cared about Ciela the person either, just the warrior. You can't go back home. You need to find your way here."
Ciela stayed quiet for a few seconds, unsure what to say, so Jayna continued.
"Look, I'm trying to be your friend. Sometimes that means I have to say things you already know, but won't admit to yourself. I'm not being cruel, just honest. What kind of a friend would I be if I lied to you?"
"The kind I'm used to, I guess."
"So, in the spirit of renewed honesty among friends, tell the truth." She paused, looking Ciela in the eyes. "You want to see Michael again, don't you?"
"um…"
"Say it, it won't kill you!"
"Ok, I wouldn't object…" She hedged a little, starting to blush.
"Not the answer I wanted to hear, but a start in the right direction."
"You do know that the Foundation forbids that kind of thing don't you?"
Jayna slammed the door harder than she'd planned, rattling the windows. "You aren't in the Foundation anymore, you are the Foundation!"
"I know…but the rules…"
"Why is it all organized religions try to control people by making them live by codes that go completely against…" She cut herself off after catching Az's shocked expression. "Sorry… I guess I'm as tired as you are after all."
"…right." She handed the phone back to Jayna. "Don't you think you should see if the guys have killed each other yet?"
"I suppose you're right." Jayna sighed. "I'll on check on them, and you get some sleep."
***** Jayna entered the kitchen to find David already gone and Aquarius putting the last of the dishes on the rack to dry. "You two got that job done in a big hurry."
"You know what they say about the dead moving quickly." Aqua leaned against the counter. He was beginning to look very tired. "You don't mind if I crash out here do you?" he asked, pushing himself off from the counter and coming over to Jayna.
"No, I don't mind at all. There's no point in you going all they way home when you'd just have to come back in a few hours," she replied.
"By the way, don't we have something we need to finish?" he asked.
"Oh that. You just don't give up do you?" she laughed nervously. "You do understand why I kissed you, right?"
"Oh yea, you've been fluttering around me since…" Jayna sighed heavily and smacked her forehead. "I know why you did it," he laughed. "You wanted to distract me before I kicked the crap out of David."
"Us fighting each other was the last thing we needed. Besides, I don't think he hit you consciously."
"I was as mad at myself as I was at him. We were in a tense situation, and I never should have let him hit me. It was a sloppy piece of work."
"Then all is forgiven and everything is back to normal?" she asked.
"We can kiss and make up."
"If you want to, but I don't think he's your type."
"He's not, but you are."
"I'm not so sure about that." Jayna stepped back and found herself caught between the breakfast nook and the advancing Aquarius.
"Aren't you?" he smiled. "You certainly kissed me like you were sure."
"That was just the heat of the moment."
"Hush!" He took Jayna's face in his hands and kissed her gently at first, then more passionately as she began to respond. They kissed for what seemed to her to be a very long time. Then he pulled back slightly. "Was that the heat of the moment?" She stood there speechless, measuring her breaths. After a few moments she shook her head, no. He suddenly became very serious. "Before this goes any further, there's something I should tell you…" She barely had time to wonder what horrible revelation he was about to make. "I don't do one-night stands."
Jayna arched her eyebrows in an expression of utter surprise. "That is something I NEVER expected to hear." She frowned. "Is that supposed to mean that you think I do?"
"I didn't say that. I just want you to understand that if this isn't going anywhere, I'm not interested."
"Isn't that just a bit out of character for you?" she asked.
"Don't believe everything you hear. Not even from me." He took a few steps backward and put his hands on his hips. "That Lounge Lizard act is part of my business. People tend to ignore you if you're loud and obnoxious. It also helps to weed out the losers. Anybody who would be willing to go home with 'him' isn't someone I'd ever be interested in."
"You are so strange. So what are you saying, that you want to date? I'm not sure I remember how. It's been a long, long time."
"I've been a solo act for over a year, myself." He ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I'm dead on my feet and probably not saying any of this right. You're beautiful, smart, a great cook, and I find you terribly attractive. I think we're pretty good friends. I'd like to take a few weeks and see if this has a chance of becoming something more."
Fallen Angels 1 - Chapter 9
Later:"About time you got up, sleeping beauty. Did you enjoy your nap?"
"Yeah, very comfortable, since I actually got to sleep in a bed this time! Thank you so much for staying out of my room, Aqua."
"Well, if you ever want me, I'm there…"
Az rubbed her temples with her hand, ignoring him, and sat down. "What is that delicious smell???"
"Lunch. Grilled Chicken Santa Fe sandwiches and salad to be precise." Jayna answered from the stove.
"You must love cooking." She laughed, glancing at the mess on the counter.
"Do you have any idea how boring cooking for one is?"
"No, but I think I'm going to end up fat if I stay here too long…"
"More of you for some lucky guy to love." Aqua stared at her and arched his eyebrows.
"Don't you EVER shut up, Aquarius?"
"Only if you kiss him."
"Oh, gods…you're both impossible. Where's David?"
"Downstairs. I think he's dusting the shop, if you can believe that." Jayna started setting dishes on the table. "You do need to get that clipping from him before we go to the mall, don't you." She grabbed a few more items from the fridge and added them to the spread.
"Why don't we eat before the sandwiches get cold and the salad gets warm?""Ok, it's not like he's going anywhere."
***** Aquarius pulled up next to the mall about an hour later, letting Jayna and Azangel out at the main, gated entrance. Jayna grabbed Az's arm and led her towards the large, two-level building. "The tattoo parlor's on the second level. Aqua'll be back to get us in a couple of hours, which gives us plenty of time to shop. I'll leave you in Bloomingdale's and I'll be at the gourmet shop two stores down, Williams-Sonoma."
"You can't just abandon me in there!" Az gasped in horror at the thought, remembering her excursion with Artemis and Patience. "I've only ever done this once before and it was a disaster."
Jayna snorted and shook her head. She could hardly believe her companion wasn't from another planet at moments like these. "All right, consider this Shopping 101. I'm Professor Alexander and this is your first session. Pay attention, there will be a test on this material." Az looked a bit bewildered, but at least she was listening instead of arguing. "Lesson One: This is a mall, your one-stop shopping resource. It doesn't have all of the charm of small boutiques, but it is fast and convenient. Lesson Two: You are a woman. Shopping is in your genes. It's a type of 'racial memory', that was imprinted on our collective unconscious eons ago. It will come back to you. Trust me. Lesson Three:…"
***** Approximately one and one-half hours later Ciela and Jayna sat together in an atrium coffee shop surrounded by packages. "In spite of all your protests I think you actually enjoyed that." Jayna laughed. "Besides, you look fabulous."
"Do you really think so?" she asked, checking her outfit for the umpteenth time since they left the last store. She assured herself that everything was well covered, nothing was too tight, and Jayna had been right. She was feeling better about herself. Thinking back to the outing with Patience and Artemis, she decided that the lack of solid wings made shopping a bit…simpler to say the least.
"Yes I do. There aren't many people who could carry off wearing that much white leather, but it seems natural on you." Jayna glanced at her watch. "We should get moving though. We still haven't seen Michael and Aqua will be back for us in about a half an hour. I don't want to keep him waiting too long, or rush Michael."
The two of them gathered their things. Jayna left a tip for the waitress, and they headed for the escalator. "I've never been to a tattoo, um, parlor before. What's it like?"
"Good, then you won't have any preconceived notions. Most of them aren't very wholesome looking places. This one is different. You'll see for yourself soon enough. There it is." Jayna pointed across the walkway to a small storefront. In its window hung a large neon sign, boldly proclaiming 'Body Art'. The shop was brightly lit and the walls were covered in photographs and colored drawings of various sizes. There were several comfortable chairs off to one side and a large desk close to a door, through which there came a soft buzzing sound.
"This looks a lot like a couple of those art shops we passed earlier." Ciela remarked, going over to one of the walls to take a better look.
"It should, I suppose. He is an artist after all. I just hope he isn't in the middle of a long session."
"I'm not. Hello ladies!" Michael stepped through the doorway, followed by a young Hispanic man admiring a brightly-colored coiled serpent on his right bicep. He went behind the desk and opened his appointment book. "Carlos, do you want to finish this a week from Friday, same time?" The young man nodded in assent. "Are you sure you don't want me to put a bandage on that for you?"
"I'll do it at home, amigo," he said smiling, "you take care of the ladies." He nodded his head in Az's direction. "You are one lucky bastard. Can I pay you for this next time?"
"Not a problem, and thank Anna for the burro." Michael looked up from the book. "Before either of you get the wrong idea I want you to know that he is constantly giving me grief about all of the beautiful women I get to see so much of in my work." Carlos just chuckled and waved as he went out of the door.
Az crossed the room to where Michael was standing and silently handed him the newspaper clippings. He smiled down at her and she realized that he had an annoying habit of looking a person directly in the eyes, that he had beautiful eyes, and he smelled good too. "Is there anything more you can tell me about this David?" he asked.
"Just what I told you before. There's not really a lot to tell. Jayna came up with a word to describe his powers though. Psychometry. Does that help?" She caught herself staring at him and dropped her gaze, which unfortunately didn't help matters considering how close he was. She found herself looking somewhere she really didn't want to be looking, and quickly turned to inspect a wall full of designs instead.
"Oh, Michael, I think I should introduce you properly to my friend. Her name is Ciela Jarras."
"Ciela? Are you Spanish? I haven't seen a blonde Spaniard since I was in the service, visiting Madrid."
Ciela became flustered as attention swung back to her. "Spanish? I don't really know… I was adopted. Sorry."
"Maybe we could get together later and see what else you can remember about David."
"Later?"
"Yes, later. When you have some free time." He smiled broadly down at her.
Azangel looked quickly over to Jayna for help…any kind of help, and she got it.
It just wasn't the kind of help she expected."We should have this job all cleared up later tonight, Michael." Jayna smiled.
"We should?" Az questioned her, looking a bit surprised.
"If the fates smile on us, yes."
"Well that's good to know…" Az muttered under her breath.
"Is Jay your social director, or can I deal with you directly?" When Az stared mutely at him for several seconds Michael tried a different tack. "Will you go to dinner with me, Ciela?" She opened her mouth to speak, but before anything other than 'I' managed to squeak past her lips, the phone rang. "Hold that thought…"
He disappeared into the back room and Jayna grabbed Az by the arms and shook her out of her daze. "What's wrong with you? Have you suddenly forgotten how to speak?"
"Um, no? I just…I mean…ummm…what am I supposed to say?"
"Start with YES! Good lord, girl! Even a blind woman could see he's a good catch."
"Catch? Is he a fish?"
"Never mind, just say yes or you'll regret it."
"But…"
"But what?" Michael reappeared, grinning slightly. "Don't tell me…you're already seeing someone, he's the jealous sort, you don't want him to beat me up like he did the LAST guy who asked you out, and that's why you won't go to dinner with me."
"Don't be silly!" She almost laughed.
"Ah, see? That's better. At least I got you to smile. You have a beautiful smile." He paused, beaming at her. "So when did you say you wanted to go to dinner? Tomorrow night?" Az glanced at him. He was staring into her eyes again. For some reason she found that this made it difficult for her to concentrate well enough to form a coherent answer. Adding to her dismay, she realized she was staring again too…but then she really had lost interest in the designs….
"Earth to Ciela…? Sí or no?"
"Sí…" She blinked. "A qué hora…"
His face blanked out. "My Español is horrible…"
"I'm sorry. I meant to ask what time?"
"As luck would have it, I don't have any late-afternoon appointments tomorrow. I can close up early and pick you up around 6 if that's convenient." She nodded in assent and mumbled something that might have been 'sure'. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I look over these?" He pointed to the clippings sticking out of the top of the notebook, then directed Az to a stool in front of the desk and sat down in a chair along the wall. He opened the book and read the pieces of paper, then pulled a pencil from the spine of the book and began doodling on the page.
"Without doing a bit more digging I can't say too much for certain, but I have to agree with you that he probably is your John Doe. Sometimes the dead DO come back, unfinished business, unrequited love, vengeance, there are many different reasons. The 'trick' is to figure out why he's here and what his ultimate purpose is. Until then, I suggest you keep a close eye on him and watch out for unusual phenomena that occur around him, especially if he starts attracting small animals or birds. Those kind of things are usually 'spirit guides' and could help him on whatever his quest is."
"That would be a good thing though, right? If one of these 'guides' showed up?"
"Not necessarily. The problem with waiting around for one of them to show up is, most of the time they aren't friendly. The afterlife rarely gives up the dead for benign reasons."
"You make it sound ominous."
"It could be very dangerous keeping him around. I won't kid you about that."
"I've had no problems with him, and he's been following me around for months now.""Then again he could be just searching for a long-lost lover, to say goodbye."
"If that's the case, why doesn't he remember her, or even HIS name?"
"That's a good question, and it bears further investigation..."
"There you are." Aquarius swept in through the shop door. "What's the good word?"
"Nothing much, just discussing David a little bit...where is he anyway?" asked Az.
"Back at Jay's where I left him, I would think."
Jayna stiffened. "You left him alone in the shop?"
"You think I wanted to drag that stiff around with me?""Aquarius..." Ciela covered her hand with her mouth trying to stifle a case of the giggles. "That's not funny."
"Oh, if it's not why are you laughing? Is my fly open? No, then you definitely wouldn't be laughing…"
"Would you please shut up?" Jayna asked. Az began to turn beet red as she realized what Aqua was implying. "Ok, that's it. Time to hit the road."
"Well, you know how to make me shut up, Jay..."
"Not this time..." Jayna turned her back on Aquarius and walked over to where Michael was sitting. "I can't thank you enough for your help." She glanced down at the page that Michael had been scribbling on. She looked up at Az and then back at the book on his lap. "That's very good, Michael."He shrugged and replied, "It's only a quick sketch." Aqua, hating to be left out, came over to look also and whistled softly.
"What?" Az hopped down off of the stool and walked over to join the others. Michael turned the pad around so she could see. On the page was a sketch of what was obviously her on the stool, but with beautifully folded feathered wings. "How'd you... Why?" Michael shrugged again.
"I just draw what I see. With a name like Ciela, I just thought you belonged to the sky." Since she was already blushing no one noticed that this made her even more embarrassed. Aquarius thought he might puke. A person could take the sincerity thing a bit too far.
"Can I have it?" asked Az.
"If you want. It's just a quick sketch, not very good." Michael pulled the page from the book and offered it to her.
"I hate to break this up, but I'd really rather not pull another all-nighter if I can help it." Aquarius felt sorry for Michael. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. "Tired people make mistakes, remember?" Jayna nodded in agreement and tapped Az on the arm.
"You can finish this discussion tomorrow night. We should be going now."
"Right, tomorrow…" Ciela muttered to herself as she followed the others out of the door.