Shaggy relaxed into his seat as Henshaw drove. The piercing screams and the roaring guitar on the radio made small talk difficult. And, if Shaggy was honest, he didn’t really want to engage in any. He was too busy trying to understand what was going on. Henshaw’s demeanor practically screamed ‘cop.’ But this little trip was obviously not about anything Shaggy had previously done. So Henshaw was either a paid-off lackey of another crime family or a crooked cop looking to shake Shaggy down.

But if that was the case, why all this song and dance? Why the drive into the belly of Downtown? Henshaw could’ve threatened him just as well in the deli. But, instead, he remained polite and reasonably asked Shaggy to come with him. It was confusing and normally Shaggy would barrel through a rough conversation on the topic. But anytime he went to turn down the radio, Henshaw would catch his hand in a cast-iron grip and shake his head. The cop wanted the radio blaring.

So Shaggy sat and waited. It wasn’t a long trip. Heading into downtown in the middle of the night meant that there weren’t a lot of cars outside of Shaggy’s neighborhood. There were still plenty of cops and drones milling around Shaggy’s turf, though. But they passed through just fine and Henshaw drove straight through to Downtown Austin and then toward the south-end. Once there, he turned off onto a side street following the Colorado river.

They drove for another few minutes before Henshaw finally pulled over and stopped the car. Shaggy went to ask a question, but the old detective pressed a finger against his lips and signaled for Shaggy to remain silent. Growling to himself, Shaggy followed orders and got out of the car. As soon as he did, he took a long whiff of the area, expecting to get several scents in the air. But all he got was Henshaw’s scent marker and the random smells of the city. The Colorado river was also pretty pungent to his nostrils.

Henshaw watched Shaggy get his bearings before he waved him away from the car and down the street. They traveled south along the street for another block before Shaggy finally had to ask.

“How the hell did you clear out an entire block for this?”

Henshaw said nothing, but turned his head. An eyebrow quirked upward in question.

“I mean, I’m not getting any scents from anywhere and we just passed a motel with a full parking lot. There should at least be some smells in the air. Also, that recharging station has no one manning it.”

Henshaw looked over to the car charging station on the corner and said leadingly. “The lights are on.”

“Yes, but there is no one in the store or around the joint. What the hell is going on?”

“My friend is getting sloppy, or he doesn’t have the resources he once did.”

“And your friend is…?”

“Waiting.”

Henshaw turned back down the sidewalk and started taking in the neighborhood like Shaggy had. They walked down another block before they got to a parking garage that sat empty and dark. Shaggy took a long whiff of the air and got only the stench of garbage and an acrid disgusting smell. He gagged violently and jumped away as his eyes watered. Henshaw spun in surprise and then calmed down when he saw Shaggy was just coughing. The old detective smirked and took a single cigarette out of his pocket. Lighting it, he looked at Shaggy and nodded at the parking garage.

“In you go, Mr. Robertson. This is as far as I go. Tell him we’re even now.”

“And who would that be?”

“You’ll see. I’ll see you around.”

With that, the tall alien spun on heels and walked away. All of Shaggy’s shouted questions went unanswered as he watched the old detective travel back up the block. Sighing to himself, Shaggy stared at the dark car entrance to the parking garage. All the lights were out, but his dark vision made the first floor of the garage bright enough to see. Cars were lined up in their parking spots, a thick layer of dust across a lot of them. That, and the lack of tire marks on the asphalt behind a lot of the cars, made Shaggy think none of the cars had moved in a while.

Shaggy stepped into the darkness and ignored the stinging in his nose. It wasn’t so bad if he didn’t focus on the scents. Which, he guessed, was the point. Without his nose to smell threats, Shaggy was down one of his senses as he walked by the cars. The dark was probably supposed to inhibit his sight as well. But that was a miss on the part of whoever arranged this little meeting. He shifted his hands into their clawed forms and kept his head on a swivel. But as he cleared the first floor without a problem, he relaxed. That’s when the mental whammy slammed down on him.

His vision went dark and his mind was flooded with visions of blood and death. It started pretty generic, fields of dead bodies, rivers of blood. The works. But after a few seconds, more images flooded Shaggy’s mind that pissed him off. Levy, His pack, some of the teens, all dead around him. He focused on his mental defenses as more and more images cascaded into his mind. But then whoever was rooting around in his mind reached for something that made them freeze. Shaggy took that opportunity to wrench control of his mental defense and slam them down.

He awoke, kneeling and shivering, on the ramp to the second floor of the parking garage. Whoever put the hurt on him was nowhere to be seen, and he really wanted something to slice through. He glared up the ramp to the second floor of the garage. Calculating his options. With a snort, he turned and started walking back down. Fuck this whole mess. Whoever wanted to meet him could do so on his turf.

“Aww, did the liddle doggo get scared?” said a cocky voice.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Shaggy ignored it and kept moving even as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows in front of him. It was a man dressed in black tactical gear. He had two swords on his left hip and a pistol on his right. His blond hair was cut short, and he had the bearing of a soldier. Much like the troops the HLO had used. But the man’s uncovered face and cocksure attitude screamed mercenary or Player to Shaggy. At the moment, he didn’t care. Instead, he stepped around the cocky bastard and continued to try to leave.

A katana sliced the air in front of Shaggy and he paused as the soldier held his sword in Shaggy’s way. Shaggy sucked in air through his nostrils and let it out through his mouth as he turned to glare up at the man.

“You ain’t leaving yet, kitten. The test ain’t over.”

“You don’t want to test me, Slick. I’ve had a long day and I can think of better things to do than spend it with a weeabo.”

The confused and placid look on the soldier’s face confirmed that Shaggy was dealing with an NPC. He flicked the man’s sword with a claw and sent it roughly to the side. Slick held on to the sword and roared in annoyance as Shaggy tried to walk around him again. With a blur of speed, Slick drew his other sword and attacked.

Shaggy stepped back as the man chopped down at him. The shorter second sword missed Shaggy by a foot before Slick got his first sword back up. He tried to cut Shaggy across the middle with his katana, but Shaggy stepped back again and slammed his claws across the sword. Sparks flew and Shaggy was surprised that the man’s sword stayed intact. Slick pushed forward, chopping down with the second sword again, and Shaggy spun to the side. They passed each other and Shaggy snapped out with his claws, intending to rend the man’s shoulder from his body. But Slick bent awkwardly at the waist and avoided the blow.

Shaggy skipped away from the man in large bounds, increasing the distance and making the swordsman chase him. Sparks flew as Shaggy continued to defend Slick’s wild strikes with his claws. Over and over they danced around the first floor parking lot as Shaggy silently waited for his moment.

“This all you got? I guess the old man was wrong.” Slick mocked as he tried to chop at Shaggy again.

“Just waiting for you to start trying, Slick.” Shaggy sniped back.

“Oh, you want to see my moves, little doggy? Fine!”

With that pronouncement, Slick leapt away and held his swords in front of him. The man seemed to focus inward for a few seconds and then released a breath. As he did, his shoulders bulged ominously before sprouting out into another arm, then another torso until eventually a two completely separate bodies sprung from Slick’s own. Three clones of Slick were standing before Shaggy, each wielding two swords.

“Let’s see you block this, bitch!” all three Slicks said as one.

They dove at Shaggy, swords held high. He snorted in derision and tried to study each clone so he could find the real one. But each was identical. Shaggy wished he could smell the bastard out, but his nose was still tingling from the scents in the air. So instead he went for an all-or-none gambit.

The three swordsmen came at him from the sides and the front as Shaggy backed up against the trunk of a car. Waiting patiently, Shaggy readied himself to attack the real swordsman. But when the three swords hit him all at once Shaggy realized that all three clones were real. He was stabbed in his stomach by all three clones at the same time. They dug into his flesh and then stopped as they hit his armor. But that didn’t stop each of the Slick clones from swinging their second swords at Shaggy’s head. He managed to dodge two of the blows, but the third sliced deep into his cheek, making him growl.

Wincing through the pain, Shaggy reached out and grabbed the smirking Slick clone to his front. Relishing the look of surprise on the bastard’s face, Shaggy picked the slim swordsman up by his vest and spun him toward his two clones. As the soldier’s body hit the other two, one at a time, they both popped like balloons, vanishing completely. Slick held on to his two swords still embedded in Shaggy and tried to wrench them around, but Shaggy bashed the swordsman against the nearest car.

Slick bounced off the trunk of a car and went spinning to the floor. Shaggy took his chance and yanked both swords out of his stomach and cheek. His opponent tried to get to his feet and reach for his weapons. But Shaggy grabbed Slick’s arms by the wrists. He squeezed until he heard a loud pop and Slick screamed in pain. Dismissing his claws, Shaggy head-butted the swordsman and threw him back against the car again. Slick bounced slightly, meeting Shaggy’s fist with his face as he did.

The swordsman's head snapped backward and he went limp. But Shaggy grabbed the guy by his vest and yanked him upright. He delivered two more angry blows into the man’s face before his wrist was caught in an iron grip that would not move. Shaggy spun with a snarl and looked up into a familiar face.

“I think he has had enough, Shaggy.” Obadiah Nova said.

Shaggy tried to yank his arm out of the old man’s grip, but it wasn’t happening. He sighed.

“Fine. But you need to train your people better. If he can’t recognize a threat. He is going to die.”

Shaggy dropped Slick’s body, which slammed into the pavement. A small gasp drew Shaggy’s eye to just beyond Obadiah’s shoulder. A small woman was standing there glaring between Shaggy and the prone Slick. Shaggy shrugged his shoulders at the woman. Obadiah blew out a breath and nodded his head as he released Shaggy.

“He has been known to overestimate himself. We are working on it.”

Shaggy snorted. “Okay. You drug me out here in the middle of the night and attack me. I assume she is the Telepath that tried to disable me?”

“Yes. Mr. Robertson, meet Agents One and Two.” To Shaggy’s raised eyebrow, Obadiah chuckled. “Names are a luxury we can ill afford.”

“No. I get that. But these are your first and second agents?” Shaggy glanced between the pair, unimpressed.

“They are rough gems, Mr. Robertson. But they can shine like any other. Besides, I was only recently granted permission to recruit a team.”

“And what was I, chopped liver?”

“You were a deniable asset, Shaggy. One outside of normal channels. These two are fresh recruits straight out of training.”

Shaggy gave both the short woman and the unconscious Slick a better look. They were both clearly young and in great shape. He could see their power-sets complimenting each other and maybe becoming a great team down the line. He gave his head a small wobble of appreciation as he reevaluated.

“Okay, so they aren’t awful. But if you have them, why call me out here? Hell, why not just use the tablet you gave us before and ask to meet?”

“We’ve had to switch up operational procedure. We don’t think we’ve been compromised. But we’ve seen signs that someone is looking for us.”

“So you burned all previous forms of contact.” Shaggy nodded.

“Exactly.”

“So that explains Henshaw.”

“Yes, he’s an old friend,” Obadiah said, getting a far-off look in his eyes.

“He, uh… said that this makes y’all even.”

Obadiah snorted. “No, it doesn’t. But I won’t have to use him again for a while.”

Shaggy was surprised by the sudden shift in the old cyborg. But he was clearly back into professional spook mode. Obadiah leaned over and picked up Slick, throwing the swordsman over his shoulder. With a nod to the shorter woman, Obadiah started walking toward the second floor ramp. Shaggy watched them go before he sighed and followed along. He didn’t know what Obadiah wanted with him, but it was surely going to lead to epic high-jinks and massive rewards. Also probably some really dangerous shenanigans.