Meta Marshal Service 2

by B N Miles

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I was a mess back then. But Wyatt took me on anyway and helped me get my shit together. I owe him.”

  “He’s a decent guy.”

  “Yeah, he is, but he’s determined to get me to do all this paperwork.”

  “Monster. Good luck.” She hung up the phone.

  Jared smiled and leaned back in his chair. For a second, he closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the quiet of the break room.

  They had a lead. A small one, but it was something. It might not pan out, and if it didn’t, they’d be left with nothing.

  Maybe that wasn’t so bad. Maybe they didn’t want to be involved in all this, anyway.

  This was all high up on the food chain. Families like the Medlar didn’t do small scale shit. Missing Elves, Dryad land getting bought up, an ancient artifact—that was the sort of stuff Jared wanted to avoid.

  Besides, he had two girlfriends now. He needed all the energy he could get just to keep them happy.

  He got some more coffee and headed back to his desk. Harold gave him a look as he sat back down and began to type.

  For the rest of the day, he filled out forms. He wrote up reports. He filed, collated, did all that good stuff. He made a massive dent in his paperwork, and while he didn’t finish it all up, at least he wasn’t leaving too much for Harold.

  Right at five, he clocked out, grabbed his service weapon from the drawer, put on his light jacket, and headed out. Wyatt nodded at him as he passed his Captain’s office.

  The streets were busy, but Jared didn’t mind. He melted through the crowd, trying not to look around too much. But a few people caught his eye. One was a Fae, another was an Imp. He thought he spotted an Elf, and possibly a Dwarf, but it was hard to say. The Dwarf certainly had the right build and a nice, thick beard, but he drifted down a subway entrance, and Jared couldn’t get a better look at him.

  Most Metas could pass for human, but some passed better than others. Trolls and Ogres, for example, only looked vaguely human and tended to congregate in small towns on the edges of society. He knew of Troll enclaves in South America and India and other secluded rural places.

  But for the most part, humans could look at a Fae and not see anything special. They’d appear beautiful and thin with delicate bone structures and deep, light-colored eyes, but they’d still look human, more or less. Even Elves could pass, assuming their ears were tucked back. Imps had a harder time, but if they tucked their tail and wore colored contacts, it wasn’t so bad. The bright red eyes tended to give them away.

  The Accords held because Metas understood the value of living in human society, and the value of passing as human. Individual Metas didn’t remember the times when humans hunted Metas and killed them out of fear, but Jared had seen it himself. There were still parts of the world that didn’t accept Metas, and didn’t think twice about slaughtering them.

  But things worked as they were, despite grumblings from Meta Rights people. They didn’t know how bad things could get without the Accords. Nobody did, not really, except for the Magi that fought on the front lines, slaughtering the Metas that stepped out of bounds.

  He headed up his stoop, trying not to let himself go down that dark alley. He headed inside and found Jessa sitting at the kitchen table, frowning at her laptop. Cassie was lounging on the couch and perked up as soon he came inside.

  “I’m so happy you’re home!” she said, bounding up and running to him.

  He dropped his bag and hugged her. “Hi, Cassie.”

  “I missed you.” She kissed him once, twice. “Oh, so much.”

  “Let me guess. Jessa’s been sitting on her computer this whole time, right?

  “I’m so bored,” Cassie said. “Oh my god, so bored. She’s just glaring at it like she wants the thing to explode.”

  “She probably does.” Jared kissed Cassie. “Let me talk to her then I’ll make dinner. How’s that sound?”

  “What a progressive man,” Cassie said, grinning. “You could let your two girlfriends cook for you, you know.”

  “I like taking care of my girls.” He slapped her ass. “But I’m not all that progressive, don’t worry.”

  She laughed and hit his arm before flopping back down on the couch.

  He walked over and crouched down next to Jessa.

  “Look at this,” she said as a greeting, not taking her eyes from the screen. She turned the computer toward Jared.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “MetaNet.”

  He laughed. “Really?”

  “Sure.” She jabbed at the screen. “Look.”

  He frowned at it. The page looked sort of like Facebook, but just slightly different, and the logo said Metabook.

  The picture was of a middle-aged man with a thin, severe face, and dark eyes. He was grinning, and his fangs were displayed. He had on a black button-down shirt, the top button left open, and there were candles burning in the background, though it was a fuzzy image. The profile itself was barren, but the location listed Philadelphia.

  “He’s a Vampire,” Jared said.

  “Bingo. I couldn’t figure out why the guy had nothing about him online. I thought maybe it was a fake name, but then I had a thought, and…” She grinned. “I logged into MetaNet and took a look around. Turns out, he’s a Vampire. Still doesn’t have much about him, but that’s something.”

  “Good work,” Jared said, laughing. “Really good work. I never would’ve thought to check MetaNet.”

  “You wouldn’t, human.” She grinned and kissed him. “My simple human.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m spitting in your diner now.”

  She laughed and shrugged. “Go for it.”

  He kissed her cheek and stretched. He forgot all about MetaNet. Since the Accords strictly limited the way humans and Metas interacted, Metas had to build their own parallel Internet structure. It was way behind human Internet, and more like the way the Internet was back in the early 2000s, but it functioned and allowed Metas to be themselves online. They had their own social media, news websites, chatrooms, MMOs, even a crude form of Reddit. Since he wasn’t a Meta, he didn’t have easy access to it.

  But of course, Jessalene did. Cassie probably could get access if she wanted, but Jared suspected she didn’t even know about it.

  “So we know he’s a Vampire,” he said, and headed into the kitchen, talking louder. He grabbed a beer from the fridge. “And we know he owns a pawnshop. But what does he have to do with our Goblins?”

  “That’s the interesting part,” Jessalene said. “I checked out his friend list. Guess who’s on there?”

  Jared took a long drink from his beer and poked his head out toward her. “No way.”

  “Yes way.” She turned back and laughed, holding up the laptop. “Mondo.”

  “Jesus. These guys are idiots.”

  “I know, right?” She shrugged. “I don’t get it myself. Why would the Medlar hire these morons to do their dirty work?”

  “Maybe this Vampire doesn’t have anything to do with Wen Bet.”

  “Could be.” She put her laptop back down. “But I think we need to go pay him a visit.”

  “Wyatt did say today was a mandatory office day, but he didn’t say anything about tomorrow.” Jared took another long drink. “Guess we’re taking a little trip.”

  “Did I hear trip?” Cassie came over. “If we’re going somewhere, I’m coming.”

  “Don’t worry, we’d never leave you behind,” Jessalene said, getting up. She walked over and draped her arms around Cassie, hugging her tight.

  Cassie beamed, delighted by the affection. She thrived under attention, and Jared went out of his way to touch her and show his desire for her as often as he could, and she always did the same.

  “I’ll leave you two to it,” Jared said. “I have dinner to prepare.”

  “He’s so progressive,” Jessalene said.

  “Don’t say that, he’ll slap your ass.” Cassie laughed. />
  “Sounds like a fair trade. Come on over here, Jared. Make it hard, please.” She batted her eyes and poked her round, tight ass toward him.

  He sighed, headed into the kitchen, and got to work.

  11

  Cassie took a corner a little too fast, and a pedestrian that was about to cross jumped back onto the sidewalk. Jared gave the woman a little apologetic wave then put a hand on Cassie’s knee. Her hands gripped the steering wheel of Jared’s black sedan and she was hunched forward as the car wove dangerously down the street.

  “Slow,” he said.

  “I am going slow.” She frowned out the front windshield.

  “Cass.”

  “Okay, okay.” She tapped the brakes. The car jerked and slowed. “Better?”

  Jared looked back at Jessalene. She shook her head slowly, her eyes wide.

  “Listen,” Jared said. “Maybe we should do driving lessons another time.”

  “What? No, this is fine. We’re not even going far.”

  Jared frowned, but she had a point. The Vampire’s pawnshop wasn’t too far away, barely a ten-minute drive. It was a little after eleven in the morning, so traffic wasn’t heavy, and the sun was shining. There wouldn’t be many more perfect opportunities for Cassie to get some driving practice in.

  Except, Jared realized, there would never be a good time, because it was terrifying to have Cassie behind the wheel.

  She clearly understood the basics of driving. She used the gas and the brakes, she mostly obeyed traffic laws, and she kept the car going in the right direction. But she couldn’t seem to make it all happen smoothly. The car jerked around, accelerating too fast, braking too hard, and swerving too aggressively. Jared had never seen someone drive like that before in his life and really hoped he never would again.

  They made it deep into South Philly without incident. The larger, denser buildings of Center city turned into the more open, residential southern section. There were fewer trees in South Philly, and the city spent less money making the place beautiful, since Center City was where the tourist dollars were. They’d just come from the Marshal’s office, where Jared had run inside and shoved a requisition form under Wyatt’s nose. He frowned at it, shut his eyes, sighed, and signed off before giving Jared a hard look. “Make sure the Were doesn’t shift with it on,” was all he said. After that, Jared made a quick trip to the armory, barked at a bored-looking clerk to hurry it up, and jogged back outside.

  Jared watched the streets flash past. The houses were all smaller in this part of the city. Three stories was the maximum, with only a few buildings going higher. It was a residential area, and the businesses tended to be bodegas and restaurants and bars. Jared guided Cassie toward the curb and she managed to get the car parked without smashing anything.

  “Kill the engine,” he said.

  She obeyed.

  “Give me the keys.”

  She hesitated. “But—”

  “Cassie,” he said.

  She sighed and handed them over. “I’m a fine driver. You’re both too squeamish.”

  “Sweetie, you know I love you, right? But you’re not a good driver.” Jessalene let out a breath like she’d been holding it the whole time.

  Jared tucked the keys into his pocket and got out. Cassie glared at Jessa, but both girls followed him up onto the sidewalk. The car was crooked in its spot, but it wasn’t so bad that Jared had to fix it.

  “All right,” he said, frowning at the street. There weren’t any other people out, although there was a cute little park to their left with a small swing set, climbing area, and a few slides for kids. The sidewalk was uneven but in good enough shape, and the houses themselves looked well-kept, with flowers in window boxes and clean stoops. “The pawnshop should be about a block up.”

  “Weird place to have a pawnshop,” Jessalene commented.

  “I was just thinking the same thing.” Jared started ahead and the girls followed. “Do you two know the plan?”

  “I stay silent and intimidating,” Cassie said. “While you two do the talking.”

  “That about sums it up.” Jared grinned at her. “You should threaten to drive him somewhere. I bet that would get him talking.”

  She glared at him and Jessalene laughed, draping her arms around Cassie. “Oh, don’t be so cranky,” she said. “He’s right, you’re a terrible driver. But you’re really good in bed and super pretty.”

  Cassie glared at Jessalene but didn’t pull away.

  Jared listened to them bicker as he walked along, studying the houses. From what he could tell, most of them were single families, though a few were converted into apartments. That wasn’t unusual in Philly. There wasn’t a lot of room to build new apartment buildings, so developers bought up row homes on the cheap and converted them into investment properties. Some of them were pretty nice and comfortable, though a few were real shit holes.

  They came to the end of the block. Jared crossed with the girls on his heels. They fell silent as they hit the next block. The park on the opposite side ended and turned into shops with apartments on top. The block they stepped onto looked similar, with big glass shop fronts for bars, laundromats, dry cleaners, and at the very end, a pawnshop.

  It looked clean and almost inviting from the outside. Jared expected more bars and more advertisements for payday loans, but instead it had a simple sign painted on the window, a nice set of golf clubs, a few dresses, and an assortment of jewelry displayed behind it. He glanced back at the girls then pushed the door open, heading inside.

  The shop itself was clean and well lit. The center space was open, and the display counters went all the way around. Inside the displays were huge assortments of things, from wedding rings and watches to what looked like an old hand grenade. There were knives, swords, brass knuckles, video game systems, an old computer monitor, and countless other random stuff. Some of it looked pretty decent, and it was all relatively clean and in good shape.

  Jared expected something more like that Goblin garage, just stuff piled everywhere in one massive rat’s den. Instead, this was a clean and comfortable shop.

  Jessalene walked to the counter and looked down through the glass. Cassie did the same, and both of them looked like they were browsing as Jared approached a small bell. He hesitated before ringing it once.

  There was some movement in the back, and then the cloth divider was pushed aside. Arman Kozlov stepped through, looking just like he did in the pictures. He wore a button-down shirt, a pair of simple wire-rimmed round glasses, and khaki slacks. He looked more like an accountant than a pawnshop owner, and he smiled at Jared with a friendly and almost warm expression.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “Hello, are you Arman Kozlov?” Jared asked.

  He hesitated, his smile melting away. “Yes,” he said. “I am. And you are?”

  “Jared Bechtel of the Meta Marshal Service.” He took his badge out and held it up. Arman barely glanced at it before Jared tucked it back into his shirt.

  “Marshal?” He sounded surprised. “I didn’t realize we had Marshals.”

  “We have all sorts, Mr. Kozlov.”

  He shrugged. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m searching for a man,” Jared said. “A Goblin, actually.”

  At the mention of a Goblin, Arman looked interested. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Jared with a slight frown. “I don’t know many Goblins,” he said.

  “But you do know some. This one’s name is Mondo Willhaven, he ran a landscaping business up in Glenside.”

  “Sorry, not sure who that is,” Arman said, frowning at Jared and not looking away.

  Jared glanced over at Jessalene. She wandered toward them and leaned against the counter. “Mr. Kozlov,” she said. “I’m Jessalene Dorvahn, Jared’s partner. I was hoping you could help us out.”

  He glanced at her and didn’t seem phased. “I wish I could, but I don’t know a Goblin named Mondo. That’s an odd name, even for a Goblin.”

/>   “So you’d remember him if you met him,” Jared said.

  Arman shrugged. “I think, yes.”

  “How about any of his associates? Do you know any Goblins that work for a landscaping business?” Jessalene stared hard at him, her face serious.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “That’s strange,’ she said. “Because we found your address in one of their books.”

  He looked surprised. “I have no clue why. Maybe they wanted to pawn something?”

  “Seems like a long drive to go pawn something,” Jared said. “Especially when there are shops closer. Do you offer particularly good rates?”

  “Not really,” Arman admitted.

  “So you see why we’re here, then,” Jessalene pressed.

  Jared glanced back and saw Cassie standing near the door, her arms crossed, a scowl on her face. She wasn’t intimidating in the least, but god, she was cute.

  “I’m sorry, Marshals,” he said, shaking his head. “I truly don’t. This Mondo may have had my address, but I have no clue who he is. I’d love to help, I just can’t.”

  “All right, then.” Jared frowned at him. “You have security cameras in here, yes?”

  “I do,” Arman admitted. “But they won’t be much use.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I don’t keep footage for more than a week. Delete the rest.” He shrugged. “Hard drives fill up fast.”

  “Would you let us see the last week? Might be that our Goblin or one of his associates stopped by in that time.”

  Arman laughed. “Sure, Marshal. I’ll make a copy. Got an email address?”

  Jared took out his card and handed it to him. “That jbechtel@mms.gov will do fine, it’s right on there. Email that video over when you can.”

  “I will.” Arman gave them all a smile. “Say, any of you interested in a knife perhaps? Never know when a perp will get aggressive.”

  “No, thank you,” Jared said.

  “Oh, I might want to—” Cassie started, but Jessalene gave her a look, and she stopped, looking sheepish.