Chapter #5The Hunters by: imaj   You slip into the little hidden room at the back of the apartments, entering by the hidden door at the side. You don’t need to of course, the apartment is as much yours as it is Will’s, but you have the feeling this is one of those times that he will benefit from privacy. The recording equipment, the cameras pointing through the two way mirror that faces onto the bedroom, is off. You toy with switching it on. Will sometime appreciates the souvenirs, but there is no practical value in a recording of what’s happening next door. You drop your bag onto the countertop and settle into the chair.
The first figure in the bedroom is instantly recognizable, even without the slick suit that he has come to favour over the last couple of years. Steve Patterson is your boss, the head of Diana: The section within Fane dedicated to covert operations, the Hunters. You’ve seen him naked before, even slept with him on a few occasions. Patterson isn’t above using his own operatives to play the role of some woman that has caught his fancy.
Without thinking about it, your hand wanders to the tattoo etched onto your left shoulder. Like all of the Project Diana Hunters, your skin is covered in a network of intricate tattoos. Each represents a stolen face, a copy of a person that you can use as a disguise
Which is what the other person on the far side of the mirror must be. On the surface, she appears to be a voluptuous blonde in her early twenties. Platinum hair shimmers down her shoulders. Her nakedness reveals a near perfect hourglass figure. You feel a twinge of envy as you look down at your own body – Lean and angular with ropy muscle. You make a note to see if the woman’s face can be copied to you later.
And as for what Patterson and the mystery blonde are doing…
You smile wryly to yourself as you watch the pair couple roughly on the bed. Patterson like to think he’s in control. On the times you were with him – playing some television actress he liked the look of – he tried to lead things. The blonde is guiding him subtly though. You recognise some of the techniques she uses though, you were taught them yourself by Madame Duplantier years ago when you first joined Fane. She guides Patterson to a sweaty climax before breaking away from him and wrapping herself in the bedsheets.
“What do you think,” says the blonde, her accent American. With the white sheets tucked tightly round her body she looks like some kind of classical goddess. “Worth the wait?”
“Yeah,” grunts Patterson brusquely. “How’d you know?”
The blonde grins in a quite unfeminine way. “I used to fantasise about her when I jerked off back in my freshman year. I figured you had fond memories of her too.”
Patterson grunts monosyllabically. That clears up who the blonde really is – Will Prescott. He told you once that he went to school with Patterson, though they lived in different worlds until their paths crossed with the Libra Personae. The same book that underpins the workings of your tattoos.
“Where did you find her,” asks Patterson, pulling his shorts back on.
“Remember Eric Kim,” asks Will. He doesn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “He happened on some more masks back home. Lucy was one of them.”
“Yeah,” mutters Patterson. He’s not really listening though, just getting dressed again.
“Strange thing was, the mask was on a golem,” explains Will. “That led us back to this professor. I guess it fills in some of the blanks how we found the book. I’ve got a copy of the report for you.”
“Yeah thanks,” mutters Patterson, still uninterested.
“And an early copy of my report for Jamie,” continues Will.
That sparks Patterson’s attention. He looks up alertly. “Oh really?”
Will grins, revealing the woman’s shiny white smile. “Yeah,” he saunters sexily over to the bedside table and picks up a heavy looking document. “Here,” adds Will before tossing the papers to Patterson. “I highlighted some important parts for you.” Will puts one hand on his hip, and you instantly recognise Madame Duplantier’s training at work again. “Just make sure you ask about them at the meeting. I’ll fill in the rest.”
“Sure,” grins Patterson. “What about Dey?”
Will puts his finger to his mouth in a picture of mocking faux-innocence. “Oh, I knew I’d forgotten to do something. I better get a copy run off for him too.”
Patterson barks an ugly laugh. “No rush.” He finishes putting his suit back on before walking over to the mirror. He stands just a metre away from you, adjusting his hair with hands. Patterson seems completely unaware of you presence. He must not know about the hidden room. “I gotta read this before the facial. Be seeing you Prescott.”
Will lets the sheets drop away, revealing the woman’s body in all it’s glory again. “According to Kim’s report, the real Lucy was killed years ago. With the golem gone her life’s vacant. I was thinking of taking it up myself for a while.” Will sways over to Patterson, swing his hips as he goes. “That is, if you want,” he adds coyly before kissing Patterson full on the lips.
“In that case,” says Patterson, pulling away from Will once the kiss is over. “Be seeing you around Miss Vredenburg.”
Will walks over to the mirror as Patterson leaves. He admires himself for a few moments, giving Patterson enough time to close the door behind him. Then Will presses his hand against his lower abdomen. His body, the body of the blonde woman, melts and runs. Hips and bust flatten, his body bulks into lean slabs of muscle. Tattoos write themselves across his body
The Will Prescott in front of you is a very different creature from the Will Prescott you met two years ago. He’s grown, physically and mentally. No longer a gawky scarecrow, he is bigger, bolder and more confident. He scratches his shaven head and grins. Not at himself, at you. He knows you are on the other side of the mirror.
“Hey Paige,” he says softly. “Missed you.”
You leave the little hidden room, using the door that leads into the bedroom’s walk in closet. Within moments you are besides him, hugging him closely and taking in his scent. You’ve missed him too. You tell him as much as you nuzzle him.
“You catch the little show with Steve,” asks Will.
“How could miss it,” you reply, letting your hands fall away from Will. You take a few steps clear and give him the chance to get dressed. “It wasn’t exactly subtle.”
“Steve doesn’t react well to subtle,” laughs Will, pulling on a pair of camo trousers. The pattern is digital, a collection of muted dark blues and greys. “I prefer that he’s easier to lead around by the nose.”
You laugh yourself. It isn’t his nose that you and Will have been leading Patterson about by these last two years.
“How was Edinburgh,” asks Will. You’ve spent the last couple of months there, replacing a junior civil servant on one of the government negotiating teams there, making sure the discussions turn out the way Fane wants.
“Cold,” you reply. “Bitter. Why was I recalled?”
“I want you available for a mission in America,” Will explains. “We found a mask.”
“That Lucy woman,” you interrupt. “I saw.”
Will grins as he sits on the bed and ties the laces of his combat boots. “Nah, another one. This one’s different though,” explains Will. “I ended up inside this old bat in the Appalachians.”
“So,” you ask, not following Will’s line of thought.
“The town’s full of magical odds and ends, and she’s in charge of it all,” explains Will. “My plan is to use the mask to take control of the old woman. I want a backup team from Diana to infiltrate key individuals in the town, and I want someone I can trust in charge of them. You Paige. Some of the artefacts in the town would be very useful for us. ”
You shrug. “Fane wants anything magical that can give them an edge,” you tell him.
Will’s voice drops to a whisper. “For us,” he says, looking around surreptitiously. “I’m particularly interested in this still they have up there.” You arch an amused eyebrow. “It’s important, I know it is.”
“Okay,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Have you cleared it all with the professor then? Ah, that’s what the tryst with Patterson was for, wasn’t it?”
He nods. “There’s enough prompts for Steve in there that he’ll say what I want him to say at the meeting this afternoon.” Will grins wildly. “And he thinks he owes me a favour, for helping him make Dey look like an idiot.”
You suppress a snort. “Julian Dey can make himself look like an idiot without any outside help.”
“True,” laughs Will. He finishes pulling on his tank top. He gets back up and walks over to you. “I’ve got to get ready for this meeting with Jamie and Dey. After that, I think we’ll have a few hours before you have to set off for the States.” He kisses you quickly.
Will’s hands linger in your own for a few seconds. “Looking forward to it,” you reply.
You have the following choice:  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author