Beast Hunters series Omnibus

by Tom Harem

  "I'm not." Kendra answered, still with the right side of her face on the pillow and both eyes closed, "You make a lot of noise."

  "Did you hear everything?" Maggie asked her, biting her lip and, at the same time, getting out of bed.

  "Almost everything. I didn't know you had that side, Maggie." Kendra said, treating her, for the first time, by her name as if she respected her boldness.

  "We didn't want to wake you up!" I told her, without even knowing where to look. On one side there was Maggie half-naked, with a trail of sperm going down her tits, and, on the other side, there was Kendra, who had just woken up, her lips swollen and moist, and her hands waving under the sheets.

  "Such a shame." She answered and winked.

  The conversation was interrupted by Gordon and three strong knocks, warning us that it was time to wake up and that Ashen was waiting for us in the living room.

  "Take a shower first," he said, "The bathroom is just down the hall."

  I took a deep breath, sighed, and grabbed my pants that I had placed on a chair by the bedside. I would have liked to have seen where the situation was leading, but duty was first, and pleasure was second. If we survived the hypothetical day, we would have plenty of time to venture into pleasurable meals, soaking ourselves in luxuries that would make the most incredulous blush. I warned them that I was going to bathe while they could talk about what had happened and, if everything went as I planned, they would both agree to have something with me at the same time. It was between that or ending up arguing and losing both, but, well, fear was something I had learned to deal with.

  I left the room. I went into the living room and waved to Ashen, who, in return, moved his head up a few inches, but didn't say a word. In his hands was the daily newspaper and he leafed through the pages as if nothing caught his attention. I ended up giving up.

  The bathroom walls were blue and white, all the objects of the latest technology. The light turned on when someone was present, and the water regulated itself according to one' s reactions. A camellia scent went off as soon as I entered, and the smell remained as I bathed. I took a deep breath in, the water flowing through my hair and over my face. I loved to feel the pressure on my face. It was as if the world beyond that ceased to exist and, at that moment, it was just me and my thoughts chatting by the fireplace.

  I hurried, put a towel around my torso and went back to the room. The girls were still naked, each on her own side of the bed, looking at the ceiling and talking. They shut up as soon as I walked in.

  "Did you talk?" I asked assertively, dropping the towel.

  After a few seconds of pause and wheezing, Maggie answered, "Yes. No problem. Neither of us mind sharing you. It may even lead to some interesting experiences as long as no one disrupts the natural balance of things. We don't have big secrets between us, do we? There shouldn't be much of a problem then."

  I looked at Kendra and expected an answer from her, "I agree. It doesn't mean I love you or will give my life for you if you are idiots, don't have any ideas. But we're together, whatever happens." She said, the last sentence being said with a thin voice, as if out of fear, apprehensive about making the emotions, which she tried to hide, a real thing.

  They ended up taking a quick shower and wearing yesterday's clothes for lack of others.

  "I'm sorry. In the evening I will take you home and you can pack your clothes and utensils. For now, you will have to be satisfied with that. The most I can get is a shirt for you, James." Gordon told us as soon as we entered the room.

  "Please call me Crash. My Hunter’s name."

  "Do you intend to follow in your father's footsteps? Or did you think we didn't know who you were?" Ashen asked, standing up, straightening his gray cloak, with the black folds raised around his neck, covering part of a syringe's mark.

  As soon as he saw us looking at it, he pulled the fold up a notch to cover it.

  "My father was the best Hunter I've ever met. He didn't even give up when everyone turned against him." I answered him, approaching him with my neck up.

  "And we all know what happened to him," Ashen answered, realizing too late the mistake he had made.

  My instinct overcame my rationality and I raised my fist, prepared to punch him, accepting the consequences straightaway, if I were not prevented from doing so by Gordon. He grabbed my arm, deviating it, my skin rubbing against Ashen's face that didn't move, except for a few strands of hair. No one said anything. Silence swamped the house. Neither the birds chirping outside nor the wind gusts that rocked the plants and tossed the dew to the ground, which I could see through the window, pulled us out of the bubble we were in. It took Ashen a few minutes to step forward, place some of his hair behind his ear, apologize, and leave the room.

  "For an S rank, he seems to be very impulsive," Kendra said after he disappeared down the hall.

  "He has a reason. I'll tell you when you get back. Now focus on your mission and leave whatever quarrels you have here." Gordon said, sweating around his neck, staining the top of his gray t-shirt, "Grab your things. Kendra, contact your sister. Tell her you want to meet up in neutral territory."

  Kendra did so. She took her mobile phone out of her pocket, pressed a few keys and we waited until we heard her ring tone, one that came with the mobile phone. What was expected of someone like her. Unlike me, who had a rock song for every message I received, which, to be honest, was also rare.

  "At this address," Kendra said, showing us her mobile phone.

  "Largo St. Patrick, Lynnaria. Half an hour." was the content of the message whose sender was only classified as "sister". Gordon took his tablet, which was also on the crystal table, and entered the location. Within seconds, a 3-dimensional image of the area appeared on the screen, covered with fingerprints, which Gordon rotated in all directions counting the possible exits as well as places where she could place her men. It was an ample green space, amid Lynnaria city, one of the richest of the surrounding areas. Four roads led to the square; one of them was a detour made on the highway and the remaining three came from the city, each from a different part, from the poorest to the richest. The differences were striking, from the buildings along the streets to the road materials and the shops on each street. In the poorer one only a dried-up drugstore, the announcement on the roof already worn out, the colorless words, other than for a "cheap" that escaped the deterioration, while in the richer alley the lights of two welcoming cafés covered half the sidewalk in blue and purple, having on the other side competition with the neutral light of a gold smithery.

  "She must have men here, here and here." Gordon said, pointing to three distinct corners, "At least."

  "Probably," Kendra said as if she expected nothing less from her sister.

  "Well, you already have your mission. Get on your way. I'll talk to Ashen. We will accompany you on camera and we will speak to you through the communicators. Don't withdraw them. They have a locator embedded." Gordon finished speaking, wished us good luck and left us alone in the room, the heat becoming unbearable, contrasting with the temperature outside.

  The naked trees, the ice melting in the light of the sun's rays, the birds with the moist feathers, and the still crystalline lake with some floating moss seemed to have emerged from a painting. It wasn't as cold as expected. The sun smiled, behind several white clouds, and given the time, 11 am, it still had a chance to peak.

  We got into the car, the wheels still muddy, warm seats, and the fogged front windows, covered by a thin layer of melted ice.

  "Are you ready, Kendra? You haven't seen her for a long time." Maggie said, breaking the silence that followed us on the road.

  "Yes, everything will be all right.” She said, looking out the window, her yawn dirtying the glass.

  We were lucky enough to pick up all the green lights and most of the vehicles on the road at that time were trucks transporting food to the restaurants. Lynnaria was just under 20 minutes away. We followed the indications that took us to the richest street, wh
ere our car was seen as just one more, not standing out from the dozens of luxury cars that were in the parking lot, where we also left ours.

  Apart from a lady who in addition to a pink hat also had a purse of the same color, held by a gold chain on her left shoulder, and a fur coat, there was no one else on the street. Even the air tasted better there. We walked down the long street, at times, being watched by shopkeepers peeking at the entrance, whispering with customers and other owners.

  "They don’t get many visitors," I said, ignoring the looks.

  "I wonder why," Kendra answered. Her brown eyes drier than usual.

  We got to the intersection. Two old ladies were crocheting on a bench while their dogs chased after a couple of young skateboarders. On a corner a few black dressed men, trousers tight to the body, wearing sunglasses despite only a few rays of sunshine reaching them. The entrance to the garden was open and a young security guard wandered around, eyes wide open, his hand on his gun. He shivered at any noise, finally wiping the blue sleeve of his uniform over his forehead, soaking it up.

  In the midst, where all the streets connected, a girl with long purple hair answered a call. She stood out by being so out of place within the image, her black boots with two-inch heels and a black top under a jacket that she had left open. I looked at the buildings around us. The windows reflected the sun, the beam protecting anyone who dazzled in the darkness. If there was anyone hiding in any of them, it would be impossible for us to predict the location. We were at her mercy and she knew it.

  "There she is!" Kendra said, pointing to the purple-haired girl, "Don't move."

  “What do you mean, "Don't move"? Didn't we move? What do you mean by that?" Maggie asked him.

  "She's not distracted. She knows we've been here since we stopped the car in the garage." Kendra said, keeping herself unscathed, waiting until her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She saw the message and walked, "Follow me."

  Strangely enough, and only by accident, I noticed that she was only stepping on the white cobblestones, avoiding the grey and black ones. She would twist her foot if necessary, to do so. I wondered if it was her liking, a memory from when she was younger, and I didn't comment. It didn't take us more than a few seconds to reach her sister. She asked us for a minute while she was talking on her cell phone, turning her back to us, acting as if no one could catch her even if she was being sought and there she was, in plain sight, under the unfolding sun, her lycra pants resting on her butt so well that even the young skaters had stopped and wheezed while sharing a can of soda. She seemed to have noticed and loved the attention.

  "I'm sorry. Hello!" She said, facing us, her lips thickened by the red wine lipstick concealing a beautiful smile behind it, "I'm glad you still remember the rules, Kendra. Follow me. You have to tell me everything. How do three level E hunters have a car like that? I had to double-check if it was really you and you know how much I hate having to look at something twice." She spoke fast, with no second thoughts, her words being thrown in the air like bullets.

  We followed her into the garden. The security guard bowed to her and the sunglasses men followed us as well, spreading themselves in the different corners of the garden, two of them accompanying us through detours where there were "stop signs". A man-made trail stretched over long meters, hidden among a sea of enclosed trees, thick trunks that omitted that secret. She guided us to a rustic door, equipped with a metal lock and a delicate sulfur and gunpowder smell. No one spoke all the way. Her purple hair, now caught in a ponytail, swung from side to side as she put a silver key in the lock.

  "We can talk in here. Ignore the smell. It's the bombs." She said, pressing a button at the door, the lights went on all over the dark blue-walled corridor, where death seemed to have already stepped. The typical place where it wouldn't be a surprise to find bodies lying on the ground, rotting in the dirt.

  "Bombs?” Maggie asked, glancing around.

  "Obviously. In the event of this place being put at risk. Remember, precaution is the basis of all escape. That and a beautiful sister, isn't that right, Kendra?" Her sister said and winked at her, "Who is this handsome boy you have with you?" She clung to me, smelling my hair, her tits rubbing against my face.

  "Let's get down to business," I answered her, holding her arms and pushing her away.

  I hadn't even let her go and the two security guards already had guns pointed at me. The lasers roamed along my body, the little red ball going from my forehead to my genitals.

  "Lipa. Stop." Kendra said and grabbed her sister's arm. An electrifying exchange of stares took place in front of us.

  "You're the same as always. So serious, not living life. You should have fun, you know? I bet the boy knows how to have a good time." She said, winking at me, "Let's go inside before someone sees us. My security guards will control the garden and change the surveillance cameras. The guard will take care of the cops who patrol this area."

  We walked down the arched corridor, through the medieval walls, to a large windowless warehouse, into dozens of stacked boxes and a white-haired man with a beard all the way down, sitting at a wooden table, counting banknotes.

  Kendra's sister raised her hand and instructed her bodyguards to position themselves on opposite sides of the room. The old man didn't even blink at the sight of our presence. He had a small mobile lamp in the corner of the table, one of those that are molded, and one can change where the light points, and at that moment it fell on his wrinkled fingers and the green and purple notes. The whole place was illuminated by a single chandelier on the ceiling, the light spreading to the tiniest corners, revealing the mold that crested in the corners where the walls hadn't been cleaned for dozens of years. A fly swirled around our bodies, sometimes landing near my eyebrow, sometimes ascending to the light where a dozen other insects were warming up.

  It was the typical criminal location; where there weren't any laws, where today it could be a money laundering warehouse and tomorrow a gathering place for illegal fighting, the fighters' blood seeping into the sewers, the voices muffled by the roof thickness and the surrounding garden shut at sunset time.

  There was no sun there. It was always day or night, depending on whether they lit the lamp or sought refuge in the darkness.

  Kendra's sister sat on one of the wooden boxes, "Shall we get down to business? Dr. Asa, right? What do you want from him?"

  "Don't bring that up. You owe me one. No questions asked." Kendra answered her. I had never seen her with such bulging eyes, tired of being there, no longer looking like the first time she put her feet there.

  "Oh, they don't know, do they? You didn't tell them why I owe you one..." Lipa said, jumping out of the box, her boots tapping the floor, the sound echoing through the room.

  She walked up to me and, once again, leaned over and whispered in my ear, the magnolia scented perfume rising through my nostrils, "She's not as tough as she looks."

  I strove to hold my attention on her words and keep control of my body although the growth in my boxers was noticeable. Her breasts, even bigger than Kendra's, rubbed against my lips, with her a few inches above me due to her high heels. Her erect nipples rubbed against my chin, or maybe it was the other way around. Her amber eyes remained on Kendra, just like a long-standing challenge, as her warm breath tickled my ears and a chill descended through my spinal cord.

  "That's enough! Just tell us what you know about him." Kendra said, breathing fast, her chest rising and descending.

  "I know that he makes objects that can be imperceptible on radars, some of them practically invisible to the naked eye. I know where he is, and I have an idea why you are here." Lipa began, wearing a smile on her face, "She told you that it was thanks to her that I managed to escape when I was almost caught? That she hid me in her house? What better place for a fugitive to hide, don't you agree?" she said, licking her lips, loving my and Maggie's stunned look.

  "You what?" Maggie said and stepped away from Kendra, eventually tripping over a pebble and a
s she wobbled, she put her hand on a spider's web, "Shit." She let it slip.

  "She's my sister! She knocked on my door, wounded, what was I supposed to do? It's not like you haven't been protecting your father too!" Kendra said in retaliation, "You're loving this, aren't you?" she asked her sister, who was leaning against the same box, the arched smile rubberizing her cheeks.

  "Maybe." Lipa replied, "Your father is involved in a number of shady businesses. You didn't really think I'd bring you here without knowing who you are, did you? Or do you think I haven't noticed your comms? Don't worry, they don't work here."

  "I'm leaving," Maggie said and then turned, walking down the long corridor.

  The security guards pointed their guns at her. She stopped and came back to us without saying a word. We would only get out of there if Lipa wanted us to, or if we forced our way out, regardless of whether we endangered ourselves or not.

  "What do you want from us?" I asked her.

  "Better that way. A promise is a promise, Kendra. We, who live on the verge of the law, have not much more than our word. Agreements are made based on it. If you want to know about Dr. Asa, there is someone you have to know. Let's get going." She said and motioned again to the bodyguards.

  They marched to the other side of the room and diverted an old closet until a dried-up wooden door appeared. They didn't take more than a minute and didn't make the slightest noise.

  "Where are you taking us?" Kendra asked. She adjusted her clothes and walked behind her sister, who was heading towards the door.

  "To the best place in the world. Where everything happens. The black market. I advise you to keep your Hunter apps in your pocket. Pretend to be potential customers and never, ever, show fear to anyone. Just because there are anti-violence rules on the market doesn't mean there isn't always someone willing to break them."

  She advanced on her own, hopping, leaving all three of us alone in an awkward environment, the words stuck in the back of our throats.

  "Kendra..." I started, but her voice overlapped mine.