by Michael Todd
“Yeah.” She winced a bit when he pulled the stitches closed. “But I need to do a hell of a lot better. Just wait…next time I’ll be just like them.”
Eric, Derek, Charlotte, and Ella looked at Stephanie and Katie, who were standing at the edge of the grassy area as the sun began to peak over the horizon.
“Feel like a hero?” Katie asked Stephanie as orange light outlined the mountains in the distance.
“Kinda?” Stephanie answered.
“How about being a badass chick?”
“Yeah.” Stephanie nodded. “I like that quite a bit.”
Chapter Thirteen
Charlotte, Katie, Stephanie, and Ella were more than happy to bring their battered and bruised asses back to Vegas.
Even Eric and Derek were glad they didn’t have to participate in another fight like that for a while. At least they hoped it would be a while.
Katie and Charlotte took the chopper back from Arizona, and the rest of the team flew back on the jet. They arrived shortly after the jet landed and choppered everyone back to the base. Ella chose to go with them, since the plane was going to need a little maintenance before it took her home.
When they landed at the new base Damian, Korbin, and Calvin were waiting outside for them.
Katie sighed, knowing she was going to have to explain the women who were claiming she shot at them, but at the point when no one would move she really hadn’t cared about the repercussions.
They got out of the helicopter and stretched, then made their way over to the tent in the center of the grounds.
“Welcome back.” Korbin smiled. “I’m glad you’re in one piece. I heard it was a hell of a fight.”
“I hurt in places I didn’t think I could hurt.” Ella rubbed her shoulder and smiled at Calvin. “Hey, buddy.”
“Hey there.” He grinned. “Girls sure did show you a good time, didn’t they?”
“Don’t we always?” Stephanie answered and patted Calvin on the shoulder as she walked past him. “Never a dull day in our world.”
“That’s for sure.” Katie chuckled as she threw her bag over her shoulder. “I’m hungry. We got anything to eat in this new joint?”
“There’s food inside.” Korbin smiled. “We pretty much have the whole place set up to stay here now.”
“Good,” Katie said. “I could use a shower and a cup of tea. How about you, Charlotte? You want some tea?”
“Why not? I got no place to rush off to,” she agreed, catching up with Katie.
“Welcome to your second home,” Katie replied, putting her arm around Charlotte. “You handled yourself well, and that is a gold star in my book.”
“Wait…” Korbin called after them, his eyes narrowed. “You did what? I thought you were hiding in a closet?”
The girls kept straight faces and rushed toward the doors.
“Hey,” Korbin yelled. “Wait!”
He stomped after them.
“Lord.” Stephanie sighed. She was standing with Calvin, Derek, Eric, Damian, and Ella. “I guess I should go help put out the fire on that one. Ella, it was a pleasure, as always.”
“Whelp.” Derek sighed, watching Stephanie walk toward the building. “I am about to go play with my gadgets, but it was a real pleasure working with you, Ella. You did well out there. Have fun in New York.”
“Stay alive, my friend,” she ordered, leaning in and giving him a hug.
He nodded at the others and headed toward the IT entrance. Ella put her arms up in the air and stretched, yawning loudly.
“Well, I guess I should be heading back,” Ella said, looking at the pilot who was waiting in the helicopter.
Calvin took out his tablet and hit the Send button on a message. “Yeah, we’re just waiting for the plane to refuel, and we can get on our way.”
Ella eyed him. “Uh, I am grown, and I fight demons, I don’t think I need a chaperone.”
“Good, cause I’m not one,” Calvin replied. “I am just doing the honors since you helped our team. Korbin likes to know his people are taken care of, get home safely, and are happy.”
“’Cause I’m a girl.” She rolled her eyes.
“That’s my cue.” Eric turned to walk away, waving a hand over his shoulder. “Have a safe trip back, Ella!” Damian followed him toward the building.
“Thanks.” Ella smiled as she waved at them.
“Not because you are a woman,” Calvin explained. “Because you are important.”
“So who’s riding back with you?” Ella asked raising her eyebrows. “I mean, you’re important to Korbin.”
“He knows I can handle anything or anyone,” Calvin told her, heading toward the chopper.
“Oh, because demon attacks on a jet in midair happen so often.” She smirked. “Sure, I can see it. One minute you’re relaxing in your chair and the next minute a demon is popping out of the air vent trying to wrestle your soul to hell.”
“Come on, trouble,” he directed, opening the chopper’s door and pointing inside.
“Okay.” She paused in the doorway with a sly smile. “Let me ask you this: are you in the mile-high club? Cause I hear that ninety-eight percent of black men—”
“Get in the chopper,” he ordered, staring at her.
“That’s what I thought.” She smiled as she sat down. “The rumors are true!”
After they finished talking to Korbin, Katie silently followed Stephanie down the corridors that sloped down to the main living quarters.
Katie hadn’t been in her new room yet, but they would have made it comfortable for her.
She wasn’t really the type to complain, and she knew she could change things around if she wanted. Katie wasn’t sure she would see the old base again. It was all for the best, though. She had never been good with goodbyes, especially when they were inanimate objects like a house or room. She glanced at Stephanie, who was smiling.
“Why do you look so happy?”
“I just think it was amazing how quickly I got Korbin to drop his attack on us for letting Charlotte fight.” She giggled. “Though I’m sure she is getting a good lecture right now.”
“You do have a way with Korbin,” she agreed, stopping as they passed a window just above ground-level.
Katie went up on her tiptoes to peer out. Sand blew wildly through the air, and the fence swayed slightly with the wind. Stephanie smiled and waited for her.
“They finished the giant chain link fence with razor wire,” Katie said. “Things are definitely coming along.”
“That they are.” Stephanie nodded and opened the door leading to the main area.
I don’t think a chain link fence and a little razor wire is going to keep demons out, Pandora snorted.
It’s not for the demons, it’s for the idiot humans so they know not to trespass, Katie explained. Once you cross it you get blown to bits, and I really don’t want chunks of little Johnny in my morning coffee.
Oh, castle-style fortifications… How quaint, Pandora exclaimed. Though I’m not really sure if any of that would help much against T’Chezz.
The next morning, Katie was more than happy to get out of her new bed and spring into action.
She had definitely slept better on a mattress that wasn’t a hundred years old and didn’t have springs that beat into her spine all night long.
She knew Korbin had replaced their mattresses on purpose; if the team slept well, they would be more apt to work out in the new training center. Why she hadn’t complained at the old base when that one damned spring had started to annoy her, she wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t like she couldn’t have just purchased a new mattress and had it delivered.
She left her room dressed and ready and headed down the corridor to the training center, which was about a five-minute walk and on the left. She felt like she was living in a submarine, but in a lot of ways she liked it.
As soon as she stepped in she squinted from the sunlight shining through the ceiling, which was tinted glass. and when you looked up, you
could see the sand blowing across it. If you were walking around outside you wouldn’t even see it until you were right on it. It was a pretty cool idea, most likely born from Stephanie’s brain.
Katie took a lap around the track to warm up and grabbed her quarterstaff, gripping it tightly and moving it in sharp, thoughtful motions. She had been practicing with it for a while and had actually gotten pretty good with it. Eric and Derek came over to her and motioned to the floor.
“You wanna spar with us?” Eric asked.
“What, both of you?”
“Yep.” Derek smirked. “Unless we’re too much for you.”
“Right.” Katie laughed. “Get your asses out there. Let’s see what you two idiots are made of.”
Katie and the guys entered the ring, and Derek took several playful swipes at her. Katie smiled charmingly and waited for him to stand up before slashing her staff at his ankles, which knocked him to the ground. She quickly moved over him and thrust her staff toward his face, stopping just an inch from his nose. He put his hands up and laughed as Katie pulled it back and helped him to his feet.
“So we are playing rough.” Derek smiled. “Noted.”
“Hey!” Stephanie called as she walked into the training center. “What are you idiots doing?”
“Testing Katie’s new skills.” Eric was in a defensive position.
“Oh, I gotta get in on this.” Stephanie laughed and tossed her bag to the side. “You think you can take the three of us?”
“Pfft.” Katie rolled her eyes. “Please, fighting you three would be like one tiny demon. Bring it on.”
Stephanie immediately ran forward and attacked, knocking Katie off balance. She caught her footing and swung her staff at Eric, who dodged it as he attempted to sneak up on her. The three threw punches innocently at first, but really got into it once Katie swiped her stick across Stephanie’s arm.
“You want to do this thing huh?” Stephanie laughed. “All right, I got you.”
Katie defended herself pretty well at first, but her human strength faded. She was panting after about ten minutes of fighting all three of them off, and the stick got heavier in her hands the longer they sparred. Derek feinted at her, bringing her attention to him while Stephanie and Eric snuck to her sides and attacked simultaneously. They brought their arms around her chest and took her to the floor, pinning her. Derek laughed as she laid there catching her breath.
“Okay, enough of this shit,” Pandora growled, juicing Katie’s energy. “Kick their asses.”
Katie’s breathing went back to normal and she kicked her feet into the air and bounced up, tossing Eric and Stephanie to the side. She twirled the staff around her and stopped with it in front of her body. All three of her teammates were now in defensive poses, pausing for only a second before lunging at her. With two swipes she took all three of them down, chuckling as they fell to the floor. She raised her staff to vertical, bowed, and walked off the mat, leaving them on the ground bitching in pain.
Stephanie laid on her back on the mat, trying to focus. The ceiling came into view and she looked at the sun through the heavily tinted glass. She picked up her head, but let it fall back to the floor with a groan.
“What just happened?” she whimpered, looking to the side as a shadow approached her.
“It looks like you got your ass handed to you,” Korbin told her, leaning over her. “Katie’s demon decided she’d had enough of you guys beating on Katie, and I guess she decided to join in. Don’t worry, you aren’t the first and won’t be the last to be bested by her inner growl. I personally think it’s an important lesson for you.”
Stephanie groaned again and closed her eyes, both her head and her legs throbbing.
She had never been bested, but that was before. She suddenly had more of an appreciation for what Katie could do.
Apparently she’d been holding back on their missions, not letting her demon take too much control. With her demon juicing her she could take down an entire army and not even blink an eye.
Stephanie’s demon didn’t do very much. She had to rely on the skills she had learned growing up with a group of people who all felt they needed to know how to protect themselves. She was starting to think that with demons like the ones she saw the day before and Damned like Katie walking around, they might not have been so wrong.
Their training had been horrible, but at least they knew how to protect themselves.
She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at Derek and Eric, who were struggling to pick themselves up from the floor. When she’d said she could take them all, she hadn’t been kidding. Stephanie pulled up her pant leg and looked at the bruise that was already forming.
“Great,” she mumbled.
“Come on.” Korbin laughed, reaching down and helping her to her feet.
She stood up and grabbed his shoulder for support as she wobbled back and forth. She felt the pain where the staff had hit her hard. Stephanie shook her head, rolled her eyes, and looked at Korbin.
“And what lesson are you talking about?” she asked. “To stay away from wooden sticks?”
“No.” He chuckled as he walked off the mat. “Years of practice don’t make up for millennia of preparation.”
“For her demon.” Stephanie scoffed to herself.
She hobbled off the mat and sat down on a bench, rubbing her leg. She glanced at Katie as Korbin passed her, giving her a high five.
Stephanie laughed, shaking her head and grabbing her bag. She had started out her day’s training with an ass-kicking, which only made her want to work harder.
Stephanie put her iPod’s earbuds in and cranked up the tunes, then put her lifting gloves on. She winced when she stood up and laughed at herself. The bruise would be a good reminder to stay on top of her game. She didn’t have the bounce-back that twenty-somethings did—not that she was old.
She started to load the new deadlift bar with weights. Eric, who had been rejuvenated by the fight and was bouncing up and down, joined her. He chugged some water and smiled.
“You need some help with those, little lady?” He laughed.
“Only if you want to find one of them lodged in your asshole,” she growled.
“Whoa there.” He chuckled and put his hands up. “Carry on, please. Get some of that aggression out.”
Stephanie was aware that she was showing aggression, but as she watched Korbin disappear down the hallway she remembered exactly what she was stressed about. It wasn’t the demons, and she didn’t have a problem being shown up by Katie.
She knew exactly what kind of activity would relieve her stress. She sighed and went back to the weights. That was way far off.
Chapter Fourteen
Katie laughed as she put up her staff and grabbed her boots, sitting down and lacing them up as she watched Korbin help Stephanie up off the mat.
Part of her felt bad, but mostly she just felt proud that she had been able to take down three of her teammates in seconds—thanks to Pandora of course. When she was done she walked toward the door, stopping as Korbin walked past. He put up his hand and gave her a high five, winking at her before walking down the hall.
She smiled at Stephanie and left the training area, heading to the elevator. She squinted hard as it breached the surface and slid its heavy metal doors open.
She put up her hand to block the sun as she made her way to Joshua’s building, which she hadn’t had the chance to check out yet. When she went inside she was impressed; he had decorated the place and added furniture. It pretty much looked like the inside of Wayne Manor, except it was one very large open room.
Joshua was in the back corner, his goggles over his eyes as he hammered some metal. When he was done he looked up and smiled, pushing his goggles up and standing up with the weapon. He quenched it in a nearby tub of water and placed it on the table behind him.
“Hey there, buddy.” Katie smiled. “Am I interrupting?”
“Nope.” he smiled. “I was actually hoping you would com
e see me today.”
On his way over to her, he stopped at a large cabinet and opened a drawer, pulling out three plastic boxes. The boxes held rounds, a hundred in each. Katie ran her hand over the tips, feeling the magic inside them.
“That’s three hundred,” he told her proudly. “I hoped to have more, but these are ready to test.”
“How do they work?” she demanded.
“Well, as they enter the body the bullet mushrooms, ejecting the harmful metal. That is when it causes problems. They’ll kill just like any other bullet, but I know how hard head shots are to make during a fight. These will disable most demons with one shot anywhere in the body so you can chop their head off or burn em’ or whatever you find necessary. Multiple hits should work on the big ones, but you have to aim really well to get the best result.”
“Nice,” Katie replied. “So if I can shoot him between the eyes use a regular bullet.”
“If you want to save the rounds, yes.” Joshua smiled. “Those are yours, of course.”
“Awesome! Thank you.” Katie accepted the three yellow plastic boxes. “Hey, I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“I was wondering if you would take a look at my quarterstaff. I want to see if it can be modified to have extendable blades. The end cap would be made of our metal, and I want to be able to remove the blades. I know it sounds crazy, but I have really been working on perfecting my skills. I can’t kill a demon with a wooden stick, and if I’m going to go farther I want to be able to damage or kill with it. I don’t want to just add a step to my fighting, you know?”
“Yeah, you want to make the most of your energy.” Joshua pursed his lips, thinking. “We can definitely do something. Come over here and let’s draw it out.”
Katie walked over to his drafting table and pulled up a chair, impressed with how professionally he did everything. It was definitely a change from the basement of the old building at the last base. Joshua pulled out some pencils and a piece of paper and quickly sketched out the staff as it was at that moment.
