Gunderson pulled his car to a stop once again. This time, we were much closer to the building we'd been staking out. Despite being much closer now, we still had other buildings and structures between us. We also pulled into a small alleyway that was at an angle from where the building was with all the spike heads in it.

After turning the keys and bringing the rumbling engine of the convertible into silence once were, Gunderson turned to look at me.

“What?” I asked, unsure why he was just sitting there and staring at my face.

“I want you to stay outside and watch the rear of the building.” Gunderson declared. “I’m going inside alone.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, feeling a bit surprised at being put on the sidelines suddenly.

Part of me, a large part, was relieved at the idea I wouldn’t have to walk into this dangerous situation. The other part was slightly hurt at the thought of being suddenly left out now. Both sides felt a bit irrational to me, in their own ways.

“When we go in there, I can almost guarantee they will put up some kind of fight and not allow themselves to be arrested willingly. When they do put up a fight, they won’t hold back, and because of that, neither can we. That means if you go inside of that building, there is a very real chance you’ll have to take another person’s life in order to safeguard your own.” Gunderson said in a patient and calm voice.

“I…” My words started before quickly coming to a stop.

“Yes, you’ve fought and killed an otherworldly monster already, but it’s a lot different when the thing you’re fighting can talk back to you or smile at you. It changes things when you know they have a history of their own, friends, family, and loved ones. Yet, despite all that, they’ll still come at you with lethal intentions. Can you take their life, given all of that?”

“I don’t know.” I replied honestly.

“That’s what I expected you to say, and part of me is glad that you did.” Gunderson said with a warm smile on his face. “I’ll be honest, they’ll likely come a day, far sooner than either of us would like, that you’ll have to commit certain actions in order to answer that question, but that day doesn’t have to be today.”

“I…I think I understand.” I said glumly. Everything he said was true. I didn't want to kill another person. Still, I also would very likely have to, given my status as a supernatural. “I’ll cover the back then, I guess.”

“Good.” Gunderson said. “You’re not completely off the hook. Watching the back exit is still an important job. One I know I can trust you to handle.”

“Sure, I’ll, uh, do my best.” I responded with a bit more enthusiasm this time.

“Right, with that decided, here’s the plan.” Gunderson announced. “We’ll pull up to the rear of the apartment complex, as close as we can without direct line of sight on us. I’ll get out while you wait near the car. You’ll keep a lookout on the rear alleyway behind the building. There is only one door that we’ve seen on this side of the building. It looks like it used to be an emergency fire exit."

“Based on the decrepitness of everything else in there, I doubt the door alarm still works.” I pointed out.

“Probably not, but it shouldn’t matter regardless. Meanwhile, while you're doing that, I’ll make my way to the front of the building and make entry through the front door. After announcing myself, I’ll detain and arrest anyone I come across. As I mentioned just a moment ago, I doubt they’ll make things that easy for me, but hope springs eternal.” Gunderson said with a wry smile on his face.

“Am I going to have to do that for anyone trying to come out the back?” I asked.

“Yep, ideally, no one will make it out this way, but in case they do, try your best to detain them for questioning.” Gunderson said seriously. “I doubt anyone in there can go toe-to-toe with a supernatural, even a new one like in your case, but even so, your well-being comes first, do whatever you have to capture them while keeping that in mind.”

“Right…I’ll, uh, I’ll be fine.” I said, trying to reassure myself as well as him.

“Don’t worry. I doubt many, if any, will come out this way.” He said with a confident grin on his face. “I’ll handle the heavy lifting on this one. Just do your best.”

“Will you really be alright going in there by yourself?” I asked, looking Gunderson up and down. “There were a decent number of people inside of there, a couple dozen, at least.”

“I doubt all of them are even still conscious.” Gunderson replied flippantly. “Many of them are probably high out of their mind on spike and completely oblivious to the world around them. But, even if they were all awake and ready for me, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

That same predatory smile had returned to his face as he said that.

“You’re, uh, awfully confident.” I reasoned.

“This isn’t my first rodeo, and I doubt they have all that much as far as equipment and magics.” Gunderson said with a shrug. “Don’t worry though, I’ll be well equipped and prepared before I go inside. I did bring along my own personal armory, after all.”

“Right, that thing.” I said while looking behind me at the car’s trunk. This car really was more than meets the eye and not just a sign of Gunderson’s desperate midlife crisis. Although, I suppose I still can’t rule that out just yet.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Exactly, which reminds me.” Gunderson said while turning to look towards the vehicle's dashboard that was between the two of us. “You see this right here?”

He was pointing at a series of knobs and dials and what looked like an antique radio or something.

“Uh, yeah.” I replied.

“If things get really bad, as in you feel your life is in real mortal danger, press this button right here.” He said while indicating a non-descript black button to the side of the center console.

“Alright, what’s it do?” I asked, genuinely curious now.

“Keep you safe.” Gunderson said simply, adding a bright smile at the end for effect.

“Thanks, that’s very descriptive. What else?”

“Hmm, I think I’ll leave that as a surprise. I’ll only say that it’ll activate a number of defensive devices that will, for sure, protect you from harm.” He said with calm conviction.

“Okay, so if things get super bad, press this button.” I said while pointing at the large black button he had just shown me.

“Super duper bad, as in, there is an army of elite ninjas with flaming katanas coming for my head, or, oh fuck, a horrifying magma-spewing dragon has just popped out of the ground and is flying straight at me.” Gunderson explained while gesturing around wildly with his hands for added effect.

“Uh, putting aside the specific and detailed examples you just used, this car could really protect me from all of that?” I asked in apparent disbelief.

“If you press that button there.” He said while shoving his index finger on the now more ominous black button. “Then yes, it can.”

“...Got it.” I said while eyeing the plain-looking button, trying to discern what secrets pressing it would reveal.

“Good. I doubt you’ll need to use it, but just in case.” He said with a smile.

After that, he turned away from me and started to open the car door to get out, but I spoke up to bring him to a stop.

“Wait.” I said in a slightly low voice.

“Hmm?” Gunderson said while turning back to look at me. “Are you worried about something else?”

“Um, kinda.” I said, looking down at my lap and gathering my thoughts before continuing. “I, uh, do you remember me mentioning a girl with pointed ears that I saw at that party?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Gunderson replied, settling himself back down into his seat to hear what I had to say. “You didn’t know her name, but you noticed she looked different, and you tried to talk to her, but she avoided you.”

“Yeah, her. Well, I had a dream about her recently.” I said while looking back up and into Gunderon’s eyes. “A dream dream, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean like a vision dream from your portent skill?” He asked.

“Uh-huh, or at least I think so.” I said uncertainly. “Anyways, in this dream, I saw a lot of different strange scenes about Mira, but in one of them, she was doing alchemy, I think.”

“Okay, not something super uncommon for a paranatural, especially someone with elven ancestry.” Gunderson explained.

“Right, well, in this dream where she was prepping and going over her ingredients, some of the ones she mentioned were grave breath and wolfsbane.”

“Ah, I see.” Gunderson said, seeming to have discerned my point and my somber mood. “You think that this girl is somehow involved with our investigation, with manufacturing spike in some way?”

“Maybe, I also got a quest related to her right after I had that dream.” I said.

“What was the quest, the exact wording, please.” Gunderson said while taking out a small notebook from his coat pocket.

Frick, that didn’t seem like a good sign for Mira. I don’t know why, but putting her in danger felt off to me. I felt a strange protective feeling when I thought about her. It was weird.

“Uh, the exact wording, let's see…”

Side Quest: Girl in the Mirror

You’ve had a dream and a vision about a girl with purple in her hair and unusual ears hidden within. Why? Find out who she is and how her fate might be tied to your own.

Objectives: (0/3)

Success: ???

“Hmm, three objectives.” Gunderson mused out loud. “Okay, now go over the dream in detail. Start from the beginning.”

Doing as he said, I recounted my dream of Mira. The surreal alchemy with the smokey snake and chains, the gathering of ingredients with the ever-present feeling of danger, the burdens and expectations she felt for herself, and finally, the strangely contrasting feelings of safety and shame she had related to the bathroom stall at the end.

All the while, Gunderson had been scribbling down extensive notes in his little notebook.

“Interesting. What did you say her name was? I’m assuming you found that out already.” Gunderson asked.

“Um…” I responded non-commitaly.

I needed to tell Gunderson about this, both because it seemed related to his case and because I could use his insights on it. Now though, I still felt strongly that putting Mira into Gunderson and the IDPA’s crosshairs was dangerous.

“What?” Gunderson said, looking back up at me after I hadn’t responded for a while.

“I’m not sure if or how she might be involved in this, but I… don’t want anything bad to happen to her.” I responded with forced confidence.

“I…I’m not going to hurt her, Jenni.” Gunderson told me softly. “At most, I’d like to ask her some questions. Like you said, we don’t know how or even if she is really involved in this. The timing and ingredients you mentioned are certainly suspicious. At the very least, she is in some way important to you in the near future. Her being somehow related to this case would fit that theory.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I brought it up.” I said morosely, looking back down at my lap.

“I appreciate you trusting me with this.” Gunderson said. “Look, I promise you, I won’t hurt her in any way. In fact, why don’t you take the lead in investigating whatever connections she might have to all of this.”

“Really?” I asked him, looking back at his now grinning face.

“Yeah, sure.” He said with a smile. “You did get a quest for it after all, and it’ll be a good experience for you.”

I felt a sudden intense wave of relief at his words. Knowing the IDPA wouldn’t be going after Mira somehow made me feel an incredible sense of relief. I still didn’t really understand why I felt so strongly about the well-being of a girl I barely knew at all. The only explanation I had was that it was somehow related to the quest or dream I had about her. Maybe it was still giving me hints or clues about the quest's solution through feelings and not just that one dream.

“With that settled for now, come on, we’ve got some criminal scumbags to take down.” Gunderson said with a fierce, excited smile on his face.