by Shawn Keys
Another knock came. This one more like a fist hammering against the wood.
Zahn huffed. “My my. They’re being awfully polite this time.”
Angelica fiddled with her necklace. “I could try and use some animals to drive them away.”
Zahn considered it. He had a decent list of tools to use: invisibility, time bend, lightning paint and his relic vision. The Fountain was not useful in a fight, and the light crystal had turned out to be precisely what it looked like. No other special properties. Along with Angelica’s emerging ability to scout and pester them with creatures, they might have a shot.
But whoever this was, they weren’t resorting immediately to shooting like last time. Resolving anything with a mercenary through talking was unlikely. Worth a shot, though ? Maybe.
Leaving the pun unspoken, he said, “If they want to discuss this, I want to hear what they have to say. But we should get dressed and ready in case we have to bolt. Maybe reach out to a few animals to scout around. See who else is lurking in the trees. When it’s time to go, we’ll have to know if any path is clear.”
They pushed off from the table and ran to grab clothes. In unspoken agreement, they were choosing attire suited for action. To the dismay of Zahn’s libido, they left their dresses crumpled on the floor and high-heeled shoes left tossed in the corner. Then again, had to admit both were still stunning in their active-wear choices .
Angelica picked a fleecy, white turtle neck that was warm yet hugged her all along her body. That topped a pair of flex-fit jeans that both let her move yet seemed tight enough to be a second skin. Kaylee opted for a pair of black yoga pants with a slightly fuzzy, green work-out sweater with a zipper up the front. With quick efficient motions, they began to tie back their hair into manageable bundles: Angelica’s blonde hair long and straight, while Kaylee’s mess of curls bobbed with each spin of her head.
With effort, Zahn ignored their athletic allure and dressed in another utilitarian black tee and some rugged yet loose-fitting, black jeans.
By then, whoever was at the door was getting impatient.
A woman’s voice called out through the door, “I’m trying to be nice about this! I don’t have to be!”
Leaving the women to their final preparations, Zahn slipped over and wrapped the Fountain and light crystal back into their protective blankets. Then he stowed them in the thin backpack which he strapped across the small of his back.
He was ready to run. And not a moment too soon.
Crack! Crack!
The report of two bullets punching through the front door echoed painfully through the cottage, rattling the large windows.
With the holes piercing the door, the woman’s voice outside was even clearer, “Knock knock. I know you can hear me. Want to see what I’m going to do next to get your attention?”
Zahn stopped by the bedroom one last time, whispering, “I think I know who this is. Haven’t dealt with her much, but she’s definitely a mercenary. That’s a good thing.”
Kaylee was still covering her ears from the shots. Given the look of uncertain fear on her face, Zahn was sure this was the first time a real weapon had ever gone off around her. He knew the true noise created by gunfire tended to surprise people. She asked, “It is?”
Zahn explained quickly, “If they were poachers, they wouldn’t have stopped to talk. Mercenaries are hired to do all kinds of things. Sure, they might want to steal them, but they wouldn’t stop to talk if they did. Not sure what they want, but maybe we can settle peacefully. This one has a reputation for being semi-reasonable.”
Angelica frowned, “Was that before or after she fired rifles at us in our car?”
“Point taken.”
Angelica exhaled, then nodded in reassurance. “Let’s hope for the best. I’ll try and scout while you go talk. Kaylee? Stay here and watch me, alright? I still need total concentration.”
Leaving the two safely together, Zahn walked down the open hall toward the front foyer. By the time he got there, he could hear Ash Collins seething.
The frustration on her voice was evident. “Don’t let this get ugly, Zahn!” She put two more bullets through the wood, dead center. She wasn’t trying to hit anything. Just making a very loud, obnoxious point that she could have blown the door off its hinges by now.
Zahn waited a few more seconds, making sure she was definitely finished firing so he didn’t get caught by a ricochet. Readying his gauntlet to impose an energy shield should she fire at him once he was in sight, he turned the handle and tugged the door open.
Ash was standing on the concrete porch, dressed in black tactical gear. She was trying to look casual, but Zahn could tell she was ready for action if Zahn came out swinging. Her face had a lovely oval shape and her lips were pouty and full, but her expression was hardened into flinty annoyance. The still-smoking pistol hanging from her right hand described her mood perfectly.
Her scowl deepened, as if seeing his face annoyed her all the more. “We need to talk. Let me in.”
Wanting to give Angelica time to scout, Zahn stalled, “After you tried to kill us? That was you in the van the other night, wasn’t it?”
Ash frowned, as if she had lost a bet with someone. “We were not trying to kill you, idiot. Call it an honest effort to get through your thick skull that we were serious. Now you know I’m going to mean every word of my threats.”
Zahn huffed back, “Sounds like sparkling conversation. You could have killed us by firing blindly through that door.”
“If you were standing in front of the door, you would have deserved it. You’re not that stupid.” She tossed her head toward the interior. “Though I didn’t think you were stupid enough to drag an innocent into your games. Gonna get someone killed.”
Twin emotions welled up inside. Instinctive protectiveness was the ugly one, and he wanted to gouge Ash’s eyes out for suggesting that she might hurt either Angelica or Kaylee. The other was more supportive. He let that control his reply, “I didn’t drag anyone into anything.” He picked up on how Ash had used the ‘singular’ form. Did she miss Kaylee’s arrival? If Ash arrived after Kaylee’s arrival, she might think Angelica was the only one here with him. Keeping that card in his pocket, he answered in the same way, referencing only Angelica, “She picked her own path. Just happens to be along the same road as mine. Threaten her again, and we’ll see how well this conversation goes.”
Ash snorted at him. “But see, that’s why I’m here. I told you that. To deliver threats. And that’s why we aren’t going to do this on the porch. I need to make sure you both hear me. Last thing I need is to spook you properly, only for her to miss the point and forge ahead in the wrong direction.”
“You want me to invite you in for tea?”
“I deliver my threats over coffee, if that’s fine by you.”
Stepping back from the door, Zahn led the way into the kitchen. He tried to be casual as he stacked the plates on the table quickly and carried them onward. Not that he cared about Ash seeing the mess; he cared about her counting the number of plates.
He was leaving his back exposed, but he figured if Ash was going to start a fight, it would be after she delivered her message. It wasn’t much, but it was the space he had to work with at the moment. He poured two mugs of coffee, then slid one across the island to Ash. “Well?”
Ash shook her head, not taking the cup yet. “Where is she?”
Zahn had intended to let Angelica (and Kaylee) listen from the bedroom, out of the immediate target area. “She can hear you.”
“Not good enough.” She brought the pistol up a little. Not quite bringing it on aim, it was a definite hint that she would. “Like I said, we need to talk face to face. All of us.”
Whatever roles they played in the bedroom, Zahn wasn’t Angelica’s master. He was loathe to convince her to step into the possible path of a bullet after what she had endured at the studio Lot .
Fortunately, she took the difficult decision out of his hands. She
must have caught on to the same fact as Zahn: that Kaylee had yet to be mentioned. Only Angelica appeared, her look now complete with comfortable running shoes. Angelica wasn’t in a gown and heels, but she crossed the distance to the kitchen like a queen out for a stroll in her castle. Her long legs carried her at a stately pace, not hurrying as she arrived at Zahn’s side. She didn’t let on about her affection to him, keeping her body language cool “And you are?”
Given their intimacy, Zahn thought he deserved forgiveness for occasionally forgetting that this was the Angelica Laviolette. With him, she was personable, lively and disarmingly cute. Now, she was every inch the international star wondering why an unknown peon had decided to invade her privacy. It was the look she would reserve for paparazzi and annoying salesmen trying to engage her in a vanity picture going nowhere.
Ash wasn’t immune to the effect. She swallowed hard, her mouth gone dry. Her gun drooped a little, like she felt foolish for thinking she could aim it at Angelica and be taken seriously. Zahn remembered the same sort of emotion when she had walked into the library back at the party, resplendent in that yellow gown. Putting two words together in his mushy brain had been hard. “Ahh, I mean –”
Angelica cut her off, putting on her most superior expression. “– This is one of my homes, you know. You’ve damaged my property. Can you think of a reason I shouldn’t be summoning the police?”
Zahn could think of a few. He didn’t want to explain to the authorities why they were mixed up in all this. Honestly, given his lifestyle, the police and their protection rarely entered his mind. He was enjoying the heavy whip Angelica was brandishing against Ash’s ego.
The mercenary woman sputtered softly as she struggled to respond. “…not … a good idea, uhmmm…” She faded off as if she couldn’t pin down her thoughts.
Zahn drove home the point, “Ash, this is Angelica Laviolette. I believe you may have heard of her.” He glanced at his lover. “Angelica, this is Ash Collins. Mercenary and, in her spare time, murderer. I suspect I know who the police would believe between the two of you.”
That was a mistake, he soon realized. His not-so-veiled accusation stung Ash’s pride. However off-balance she’d been faced with a mega-celebrity, she scrambled back into sanity using her anger. She snapped, “I am no such thing, you bastard!”
He clenched his teeth. “Tell that to Suzy Elsworth. This is a dangerous game, but you could have taken what you wanted without torturing her to death.”
Ash glared at him, nostrils flaring. “That. Wasn’t. Me !” Pissed off, she stormed right into what she’d come to say. “Enough messing around! You are going to show me every relic you have. Then, when I’m sure you don’t have the one I’m worried about, you’re getting into that shitty beige van or that nice SUV you have out there and drive to the nearest airport. I’m going to personally watch you buy one-way tickets to Amsterdam or Tokyo or wherever else you want to go that isn’t in North America. Then, you’re going to swear not to come within a thousand miles of Los Angelos for a few decades. Because if you do, we’ll be waiting. And next time, we won’t ask so nicely.”
The whole request was bizarre. Zahn had expected a demand for his relics. He had nearly attacked her when Ash mentioned them in passing. But he could tell, she didn’t think he had the one she wanted most.
Zahn wasn’t so sure. The Fountain was one of the most powerful relics on the planet. Who wouldn’t kill for eternal life? Could that be the one she was after? He certainly wasn’t going to chance finding out.
Stalling a little more, Zahn quipped, “Next you’re going to tell me that I don’t know what I’m getting into. That a ‘far greater danger exists’ and all that.”
Angelica agreed, “It’s a good movie line, but falls flat here, doesn’t it?”
Ash growled at them both. “You don’t get it. What I’m worried about is that you two might know what you’re getting into, and that you’re ignoring good judgement and getting involved anyway despite the danger!”
Zahn pressed, “What danger?”
She snorted. “I was born at night, but not last night. On the off chance you don’t know, I’m not about to tempt you into it. You’re gonna have to wonder what this was all about while you spend your long, fruitful lives hunting relics in the rest of the world.” She shrugged. “Or I can kill you both right here. ”
Zahn’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’ve been following me.”
“We hoped to find out what you knew. You’re slippery, Zahn. I give you that.”
Ignoring the back-handed compliment, he added, “Then you have to know I have…options. You seem awfully confident about the advantage that pistol gives you. Too much confidence.”
“Oh, I have a few snipers ready to help me out.”
Zahn believed her. There had been at least three others in the van with her. But that wasn’t enough. “Nice. But you’re in here. Lots of windows, but you couldn’t guarantee their sight lines before you walked in.”
Ash returned him a cold smile. “I did my research, same as you do. I know you picked up the Eye of Ra a while back. Go ahead, Zahn. Tell me what relics I have on me.”
Not that he intended to give away what he knew, but Zahn couldn’t resist an instinctive check through the magical lens covering his left eye. The result was telling. “Nothing. Either you’re bold or you’re far stupider than I thought.” Suspicion grew in him. That didn’t match her personality.
Ash mocked him, “There’s a third option. But you’ve come to trust your magical toys too much to see it.” She gestured at herself. “I have my own toy, you see. The only one I need. It smothers the effects of other relics. Only the strongest can burn through the suppression. Even then, their powers are muted. Whatever tricks you might have won’t work. So, this?” She raised the pistol a little. “This becomes the trump card.”
Zahn hated relying on technology when magic would do. I might have to rectify that in the future, he decided. For now, regret wouldn’t get him anywhere. “If the relics are being suppressed, how am I going to convince you that you’ve seen them all?”
Ash had the answer. “I can feel what my relic is subduing if I get close enough. Like a metal detector passing over the sand, see? I’ll know when this house is swept clean. Don’t worry. I’m not here to play the thief. If you don’t have what I’m looking for, I won’t touch any of it. You can load it all on that plane.”
Zahn didn’t believe her for a second. If she knew her relic-lore, then she might have seen images of the Fountain. How hard would it be to claim that the Fountain was the relic she wanted? “That doesn’t sound like a game I want to play.”
Ash gritted her teeth. “It’s no game. And what are your options here?” She leveled the pistol at his chest. Her finger wasn’t yet on the trigger, but she was too far away for Zahn to reach her before she could plug him full of holes.
“The one you never saw coming, bitch!” Kaylee appeared behind her, having slipped soundlessly out of the bedroom. Her right hand snapped out and smashed into the side of Ash’s head with an open palm blow. Not a slap, but a professional palm strike meant to do real damage. It hammered into her chin and whipped Ash’s head sideways. Most importantly, the ear-piece nestled in her ear was jarred loose and skittered across the ground. The blue ‘active’ light winked out.
Ash was dazed as she spun heavily against the island. She shook her head to clear the jumbled blobs floating in her vision.
Zahn didn’t let her regain her balance. He jumped up and slid across the island, reaching out to grab hold of the pistol. He wrenched it upward even as Ash’s finger closed on the trigger. A rattling bang! blasted across the kitchen. A bullet hole was left in the cottage ceiling. They jostled about until Zahn managed to smack her pistol-bearing hand on the island once, twice… then on the third strike the weapon went flying across the room.
Angelica saw the gun spin free; she darted to retrieve it.
Having lost her best advantage, Ash jabbed a punch i
nto Zahn’s gut, then delivered a kick that launched Kaylee against the far wall hard enough to dent the drywall.
Scooping up the pistol, Angelica turned toward the fighters. She clasped the gun like someone who had fired one a few times, but not often enough to be comfortable. She searched for an opening, but the swirl of combat meant she couldn’t shoot into them safely.
Zahn blocked Ash’s next strike, then smashed a large fist down on her shoulder to numb her arm.
Hissing in pain, the mercenary jammed the blade of her foot into the side of Zahn’s leg. Then she shoved him toward the island in an attempt to clear a path to the door.
Kaylee cut her off. Slashing in like a bolt of lightning, her elbow connected with Ash’s jaw. The mercenary’s lights went out and she flopped to the floor in a senseless heap.
Calm descended over the three people left standing .
Angelica lowered the pistol, all too happy she hadn’t needed it. “Damn, she’s tough.”
Zahn grudgingly admitted, “She’s one of the best.” He favored Kaylee with an admiring smile. “Nice form, by the way.”
The actress shrugged, “I’ve never been a party animal. Nights overseas can get a little dull when you’re filming on location in the wilderness. I hired Judith to throw me around a mat and whip my ass into shape.”
Zahn couldn’t help a small quip, “Into such a wonderful shape.”
Kaylee smacked him on the shoulder with fond exasperation.
Angelica asked, “Judith earn her sixth dan yet?”
“Two months ago.” Her focus shifted back to Ash. “She’s going to come around soon, no matter how hard I hit her. We can’t just leave her there.”
Zahn agreed. “Whatever we do, we should tie her up. Any rope around?”
Angelica pointed into the kitchen, “No, but that drawer has a roll of duct tape. Should do the job.”
He found the drawer and tossed the tape across the room to them.
Kaylee caught it, then arranged Ash’s hands to be bound behind her back. As she worked, she gave a soft laugh, “Such a shame. Too bad she isn’t on our side. She’s kind of cute. Normally when I’m tying up a good-looking woman, it’s for something else entirely.” She flashed a devilish smile at Angelica.
