by Michael Todd
The general sat back in his office chair and smiled, picking up the phone and dialing Timothy’s number. He loved messing with the kid. It was too easy, and so much damn fun. It was one of the few entertaining things he got to do with his time.
“This is Timothy.”
“Timothy, it’s General Brushwood.” He could almost hear the grimace on the other end.
“Morning, sir. How are you?”
“Good. I just got off the phone with Angie. Bright young lady.”
“Yes, she is, sir.”
“She told me about the idea to use your skills. I like it. You are good at what you do, and I think if it works it will be an asset to many. I am, however, only giving you a temporary approval on this. You will work strictly within New York state, and prime the information for use by your team and us. To move on from that point, not only does it have to be tight, no flaws, you will have to create some sort of test to confirm that whatever company is used is good enough to provide this service. I don’t want some crap company with loose security and minimal skills messing this up. It has to be fool-proof.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Unless, of course, you want to work on selling this service to three million municipalities around the world, in one hundred and twenty-two languages at a minimum?”
“Holy shit, no.” Timothy had just realized the enormity of the project. “Uh, that’s a lot, but this service is important. I will say, I can’t tell you that Katie wouldn’t be willing to do that. She is motivated in that way and looking to expand her businesses. However, if it’s something too large that she doesn’t want to take on, then I would be willing to do it for sure. If she doesn’t want the responsibility, that is. This can’t end up in the wrong hands.”
“That’s good to hear, Timothy. You have your work cut out for you, so good luck. If you need anything from me, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or have Angie do it for you.”
“Yes, sir,” Timothy replied with a chuckle, knowing they had been had.
The general hung up the phone and stretched his shoulders back, drumming his fingers on the table. His mouth curled into a smile, and he started laughing to himself. This time, he had finally gotten one over on Timothy. He had a hard time believing they would come to him with an idea like that and actually expect him not to screw with them, at least a little. The general knew Katie probably expected it, which was why he hadn’t heard a peep out of her all day. She had her people taking care of the details, putting them through the initiation of dealing with him. All in all, though, the whole thing sounded absolutely perfect. He just hoped it worked.
We just ate a sub like three hours ago.
So? I’m hungry, and I want Chinese, Pandora insisted. Since when was I ever the one to stop and be worried about when the last time I ate was?
Never. That would be never. You would eat all day every day if I let you.
Gotta get the calories, my dear. Demon life is strenuous.
I’m sure it must be exhausting lounging around in there doing absolutely nothing ninety percent of the time.
Hey, I fight, remember, even if I’m fighting through you and these days that is at least 50% of your life.
Katie sighed. I suppose you’re right.
Katie pulled out her phone and found a decent Chinese restaurant about three blocks from where they were. She walked along the streets with her head down, trying not to attract any attention. She had gone out in a pair of flare jeans, flip-flops, and a sweatshirt; frumpier than she usually dressed, trying to hide her identity from everyone. Sure, she appreciated the praise, but she didn’t want to live in a constant halo of it.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they went inside and took a seat in the back booth. The waitress came over and took her drink order, and Katie skimmed through the menu. Pandora was there, but not focused on the food. She was too busy giving Katie a play by play of her night with Brock like she hadn’t been there.
See, I told you it wasn’t about your vagina of death.
He hasn’t been back out in the field, so the results aren’t conclusive.
You can’t blame that on your homicidal slit of horror. That’s just the breaks for living a life like you guys do. He left with a smile on his face, and that is what really matters.
Yeah, until a demon takes his head off his shoulders.
Pandora sighed. What you really need to start thinking about is position. You guys tried a few during the night and I was proud of you, but you need to really get creative. If your v does kill the guy, you can at least give him a wild night before he bites the big one. Missionary is fine for housewives and church women, but you’re flexible. Use that fact.
I think he was more worried about the feeling than whether my leg was behind my head.
Oh sure, sure, until you put your head behind your leg and see his reaction. Trust me, this isn’t just for him. I’m a selfish demon bitch. I want you to have multiple O’s. This advice is to get the most out of your time. You should be fucking exhausted by the end of it.
The waitress walked up and put Katie’s drink down with a smile. Katie started out with an appetizer or two and ended up working her way through seven different plates during the time they spent at the restaurant. Not only that, she finished every single one of them. The server and kitchen staff kept poking their heads out to watch Katie from a distance.
“How does she eat all of that food? I wouldn’t think it was humanly possible?” the chef whispered to the server.
The server shrugged. “Maybe she isn’t human...or she has a tapeworm...or an iron stomach.”
Katie and Pandora talked the entire time they were eating, which was mostly the reason why Katie didn’t even realize that she had gone through so much food. She had gotten to the point where she just ate until Pandora was full, which gave her the nod in her stomach to stop. There was no point in fighting over it or trying to avoid it. She either listened to her bitching or went with a really aching belly because Pandora would inflict major hunger pains until she gave in, or just eat the food and deal with the repercussions later. She liked Chinese food a lot, too, so it wasn’t really that bad. All the rice though made her wonder if she was going to blow up like a pigeon.
You know what really gets me? Katie whined.
No, but I’m sure you will tell me.
On the way over here, I was slammed into by seven—SEVEN—different people. And every single one of them was extremely fucking rude. The only thing they said was either “oomph,” or “get out of the way.”
It’s New York.
Every single one of them had a fucking New Jersey accent. How is it that an entire state can be so damn rude? They have no respect for anyone else, and they act like I should be the one to apologize when they rammed into me. And at first, I thought, oh, it’s just the ones in the city, but no. I went to Jersey, and they were the same damn way. It’s like they were born and raised to be fucking assholes. I don’t get it.
Maybe it’s you. Maybe you are just a bright shiny target for dickheads. I tell you, I had that exact problem when I was topside before. It was like every man I met was a complete and total asshole. Of course, at the same time, I liked that. The nice guys made me want to barf with their romance, hand-holding, and lovemaking. Just give it to me and leave me be, damn it.
Are you even in this conversation, or have you checked out into Pandoraland?
Sorry to tell you, but you are always in Pandoraland. If we check out, it’s to hover on Earth for a few and then head back to the happy place.
That sounds absolutely miserable, and if it’s true, it is why I am so pissed off all the time.
That’s just because you are a raging bitch.
Look who’s talking. Seriously, though, Jersey is the fucking worst and for no reason. It’s not like there is a demon that can do that, infect an entire state with the asshole virus.
Pandora cleared her throat nervously. Well, I mean, there actually are demons large enough to affec
t big areas of land. They are very few and far between, and they tend to stick to rural communities.
You are just telling me this now?
I mean, it’s really not that big of a deal. There are all kinds of demons out there, and to be honest, I don’t think many people would complain. Humans like to be miserable.
No, we don’t.
Sure you do. You go on crazy diets where you can’t eat bread, you wax shit off your body, you date people who make you miserable and you refuse to change your ways if it doesn’t work. It’s seriously like a planet full of masochists.
I think you are seeing us all wrong.
In reality, there is probably a much more practical answer to Jersey than an emotion demon. Like maybe the people in Jersey are just all assholes. I know, it sounds unlikely to have so many in one place, but who moves in or out of Jersey really? Not many people. They breed their doom and gloom and stay in their smelly dirty state. I would be an angry bitch all the time too if I had to tell people I was a resident of New Jersey. It’s like saying I like the off-brand makeup because it’s just shitty and I’m shitty too, so we are the perfect match.
Katie put down her fork and took a deep breath, looking up at the waitress who was bringing the bill. She smiled kindly at Katie, but Katie knew they had all been watching her. It really didn’t even bother her anymore. She was used to stares, especially when it came to eating in public. Her eyes opened wide looking at the number of zeroes her bill was showing. That part hurt her feelings every single time. She had never in her whole life spent as much money on food as she did with her demon. She could have bought ten houses by that point just out of the amount she spent on donuts and Italian food.
But then again, what would she do with ten houses? At least with the food, she got a little peace and quiet every once in a while.
She dropped a wad of cash in the bill holder and closed it up, leaving it sitting on the table as she got up, stretched and headed back out of the restaurant. Before she exited the doors, she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up and made sure she had everything. Katie slid her sunglasses on her eyes and squinted as she walked out into the sunshine. Luckily it was starting to become fall, and the air was crisp enough for her not to burn alive inside of her sweatshirt. She put her hands in her pockets and walked with her head down back toward the direction of the park. She wasn’t feeling people today, and she wasn’t feeling any work either.
It’s all the Chinese food, Pandora replied. You’ll feel better once I get it metabolized.
I really hate eating that much food, especially when I’m about to roll up to the police station. You never know when they will throw me a flak jacket and send me out to an incursion. It would be really bad manners to puke all over people during a battle.
I don’t know, might get their asses moving faster.
I would probably stab someone if they puked on me while I was killing demons. It’s like super freaking rude. You know?
Pandora laughed. I have never puked before, unless you include word vomit. If you include that, well, it’s a constant stream of it.
Isn’t that the fucking truth.
Angie walked around the condo, dusting things off and making sure that everything was straight. She headed into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, staring into nothing as she added the cream and sugar and stirred it. About five minutes later she pulled herself out of it, shaking her head. She had been in a trance for days, unsure what to make of it.
She took her coffee and walked over to the computer, pulling up both their schedules. She ran through hers to make sure it synced perfectly with Katie’s. She needed to know where Katie was at all times and what she was doing. She didn’t want to be caught off-guard, especially not with a boss who had a lifestyle like hers did.
Angie sat back in her chair and tapped the pen against her lips, looking at the few empty days of the schedule. She looked around the room for a moment and then leaned forward, typing an appointment with the police into her schedule. She bit the side of her lip, knowing it was made up, and then clicked the Share button, putting in Katie’s information. She hovered the mouse over the Send button for several moments. Finally, she let it go, clicking and then shutting her computer. She looked around, holding her cup of coffee to her lips, hoping she had done the right thing.
Chapter Seventeen
Katie had found a local boxing gym. She liked having a place to work out where no one bothered her. It was much easier than working out in the condo’s fitness room or going to some gym where she couldn’t work out without the eyes of almost every guy in the place focusing on her tits instead of their own damn business. That wasn’t even taking into account the extra attention she’d been receiving since her public revelation. The last thing she needed was to be peppered with a million questions when all she wanted to do was burn off some energy and lose herself in her thoughts while she worked on her kicks.
She hadn’t really thought that part through when she’d bought the condo, but it was okay. It got her out of the house and motivated to work out. Otherwise, she would stare at the weights from the couch every night, and the only thing she’d lift would be donuts. While Pandora could build muscle, she couldn’t maintain it or optimize it to make Katie stronger and faster. That was all up to Katie.
Katie pulled out her iPod and put the buds in her ears. She turned on some trance music and found her groove, ignoring everything else going on in the gym. She didn’t like to lose concentration, and the owner of the gym knew that. He made very sure everyone else knew that too. The guy was cool. He understood her need to train and had offered to spar with her anytime she wanted. Those days she felt like she needed it almost all the time. Not having a team to practice with was hard to swallow.
The doors up front opened but Katie didn’t pay them any mind. Everyone who worked out there was cool, and she was in her own little world. The new guy walked in with his bag on his shoulder and set it down on one of the benches. He reached in and pulled his towel out, nodding to the guy next to him. As he looked across the gym to get acquainted with the place, his eyes fell on Katie. At first, her ass and hips caught his eye, but as she swung her long braid out of her sweaty face his mouth dropped open.
“Holy shit! That’s the mercenary Katie, from Katie’s Killers,” he said to the guy next to him, slightly freaking out. “I’ve only ever seen photos of her. Never thought I’d actually meet her face to face. She’s even hotter in person.”
Another guy across from him looked at the other regular, and they both stepped forward, shushing him.
“She’s here because we treat her like a kid sister. We don’t make any big deal of her being here, and we don’t for any fucking reason tell anyone she works out here. She can come here and do what she needs to do without the hassle of the people who want to ask her a shit-ton of questions and fanboy out on her. She specifically told Harry, the owner, that she would continue to come here, and pay damn good money too, if we all respected her rules and made sure to leave her be. Do you get that?”
“If not, you will need to make other arrangements.” The guy held his hands up to show he wasn’t starting anything, but he also moved to block the newcomer’s view of Katie. “No disrespect, you know, but she is now gym family to us and fuck knows we spend more time here than with our own damn families.”
“Right, no I get it. Lips tight, and leave her alone.” He nodded his understanding. “Wait, so this is her...what?”
“Dude, seriously?” the guys repeated, putting one hand on his shoulder and a foot up on the bench to talk closer. “We are her place to hide. Her safety before she goes out there and kicks major fucking demon ass. The deal is, if she wants to talk she will let us know. If she wants to spar, we spar with her. We all know she could and has kicked our asses all over this fucking gym.”
“Yeah.” The other guy scoffed. “Her and Calvin. That dude packs a fucking punch, I won’t lie. I’m a big guy—bigger than anyone else in here—but that guy
puts out ten times the strength I can. Maybe it’s the demon inside him, or maybe just the fact that these mercs are used to training harder than fucking Olympians. Now I understand what the demons feel when they are going wild on their asses.”
“Who is Calvin?”
“Calvin. You will see him, trust us. He works right alongside Katie. They are a team, and he has been a merc longer than most. They are the remaining members of Katie’s Killers, still holding it down for the city. Calvin was on the news in France, kicking demon ass with Katie. He is quiet. Less followed, but just as badass.”
“I don’t know if I’d say just as.” The other guy chuckled. “Katie is like a fucking hurricane and tornado all twisted up into one giant storm.”
“Man, so do they spar with just anyone?”
“Nah, Harry picks who can spar with her. He wants to make sure that not only do they get a workout that’s worth their time, but that whoever is the lucky one to be on the receiving end of the hit can take it. The first time they got up there Katie sparred with Big Boy John, and within three minutes she had laid him out cold. He was out for two days.”
“Big Boy John? As in, the heavyweight amateur who almost took the world title last year?”
“Yeah.” The guys chuckled. “When he missed the pageantry match in Las Vegas two weeks ago? That was because Katie laid him out. She felt so bad that she paid his hospital bills and bought his house for him and his wife. I personally found it absolutely hilarious. Big Boy has a tendency to think he is tougher than he actually is. This took him down a peg or two, at least for a little while. I bet he’ll be back to shit talking in another month or so.”
“Damn, that’s some crazy shit.”
“Yo, but we’re serious—you need to keep this shit under wraps. If anybody starts coming here looking for her because one of us snitched, they will kick all our asses out of here. Harry feels like he’s being patriotic, and I think he thinks he can somehow con her into competing, although she won’t even hear of it. She knows she would kill the competition, and it wouldn’t be fair.”
