Second Sin: Little Red and The Wolf (Pt. 1)- The Wolf's Hunt

--- Bellatrix ---

“You know you could’ve gone with him.” She pointed out, as Scarlet continued to pace back and forth in equal parts boredom and frustration.

“No, he was right.” Her sister growled in a way that meant she hated what she was saying no matter how true it was. “We just got out of the lab, we need to lay low until things are safer.”

“Didn’t um, didn’t Mercer say that vigilante guy was dealing with the lab last night?” She’d been unconscious during her rescue, but Scarlet had been hounding Mercer about it most of the day before he left.

“Yeah, but it’s not like that means jack of shit.” Scarlet scoffed. “He’s just one guy, it’s not like he can take on everyone at the labs by himself. And even if he does send them packing they still might try to grab us on their way out… No matter how boring that is.”

“Well, we’re safe, and that’s what counts.” She pointed out, trying to be optimistic about their situation.

Scarlet looked at her, her expression softening as she gave a half smile. “Yeah, I guess that is what counts in the end.”

The front door opened and they both turned towards it.

“You back already, M- Who the fuck are you?” Scarlet growled as she caught sight of a man in a trench coat stepping through the front door.

“Woah there kid.” The man raised both of his hands in the air. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

(Yes, he is.) Her other-selves whispered. (Always looking for trouble. Always hUnTiNg it. FIgHtIng iT…)

She couldn’t help but frown at that, not sure what her other self meant, but not liking what it sounded like. She hoped they would say more, but her other-selves stayed silent beyond a mad giggling.

Despite her not say anything, Scarlet immediately picked up on her discomfort and assumed the worst as her sister’s eyes flashed red as her growling grew louder.

Rather than being intimidated the man glared as his brown eyes turned gold. “Kid, we can do this the easy way or the violent way. Don’t be stupid about this.”

The moment his eyes flashed gold something about the man shifted, turning him from unassuming to dangerous. That was more than enough justification for Scarlet to lash out.

Scarlet rushed forward and swung a clawed hand at their intruder, only for the man to dodge out of the way.

“Kid, you really don’t want to do this.” The man warned her, showing his already sharpening teeth.

“I really think I do.” Her sister argued, her stance passively shifting into something more predatory.

Once more she rushed the man, this time at a speed notably faster than before.

There was a blur of movement she couldn’t quite follow, but it ended with Scarlet pinned to the wall with the man’s hand to her throat.

“Kid, for the last time, I don’t want to hurt you.” The man growled.

“As if you… could…” Scarlet gasped.

The man put a hand on the wall and dragged his fingers along it, leaving four deep gouges that he stopped just before touching her sister.

“If I wanted to, I really could, kid.” The man sighed before dropping Scarlet and turning towards Bell. “Now seeing as how you haven’t attacked me, I’m going to assume you're more reasonable than her.”

“W-what do you want?” She stuttered out before swallowing down her apprehensions.

“I’m looking for a man named Mercer.” The man answered. “Violent, angry, and wears a red and black jacket.”

“Who, who are you?”

--- Mercer ---

“Zachary DeWolf.” He nodded towards the private investigator. “So what brings you to my new place?”

“A missing person’s case.” DeWolf sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “A little girl went missing, and this seemed like your kind of case given the people involved.”

“Who’s involved?” He frowned, knowing that despite the number of cases they’d worked on together the detective preferred not to be dragged into any ‘Mask’ business, and thus only called him when there was already a mask involved.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“From what I can tell Covenant has decided to start gathering some of the city’s more… special children for some reason. If it was just one or two it’d be simple, but the sheer number of cases I’m seeing…” DeWolf trailed off before shaking his head. “It’s reaching a point where a mask has to be called in.”

“Kidnapping isn’t Covenant’s usual M.O.” He felt the need to point out, feeling like there was something DeWolf wasn’t telling him. “They’re involved in a lot of shady stuff, but they’ve always had a ‘No Kids’ rule for themselves and their clients, which is why most people consider them low priority crimes.”

“Some of the kids are being brought back no worse for wear after a couple of weeks.” DeWolf admitted, in a tone that said he didn’t believe it changed anything. “That said, their memories are fuzzy enough that no one is sure what’s happening to them, just that they aren’t being hurt physically. And given how my client remembers Asylum, he’s a little worried about what they're doing to his kid.”

“Fair enough.” He accepted, trying to think of why Covenant would go after children even temporarily. “What do the kids have in common?”

“As far as I can tell they’re all young Deviants, between the age of eight and twelve. Mostly girls, though there were a few boys taken too, but they were returned in a few days rather than weeks.” The detective listed before considering something. “They’ve mostly been Arcane kids, but there have been a few psychics and at least one M.A.D. too.”

“So they’re looking for someone specific, that much is obvious.” He figured, crossing his arms. “And they’ve been going missing all over the city or in a specific district?”

“From what I’ve seen the cases tend to drift district to district, with them returning the last of the kids the moment the next district starts seeing there’s going missing.” DeWolf answered.

“Meaning they’re sweeping the city for whoever they’re looking for, and since the kids are Deviants being returned unharmed the police in each district probably adjust the case priority enough that it hasn’t flagged in the Vigil’s system.” He pieced together, knowing that he was going to have to drop their IT a line on that flaw.

It was like he warned them, when they commented on him sticking to the Way. (The problem with being city-wide vigilantes is that a lot of the smaller cases slip through the cracks in favor of bigger problems.)

(Speaking of,) “I’m guessing the Way is the current district they’re kidnapping from.”

“We’re on our second kidnapping, if pattern holds there’ll be at least three more before the month is over, but at least two of them will have been turned over by then too.” DeWolf confirmed.

He tapped his foot on the ground as he thought the problem over.

(Honestly, this could’ve come to me at a better time. I’m not actually in a position to go all out against the Covenant of all people.) He was forced to admit to himself if no one else. (Still, while it’s a good thing no physical harm will come to them, I don’t like the idea of anyone thinking they can get away with stealing the children of Sinner’s Way. And the kids are always more important than whatever problems I’ve got to deal with.)

“Alright, I’ll take care of this.” He told DeWolf, before getting a frown from the investigator.

“What do you need me to do?”

(Curious.)

Truth be told, he worked better alone, and DeWolf would slow him down if anything. That said, it also looked like the detective had zero intention of simply handing the case over. (Well, everyone’s got a soft spot for kids…)

He gave DeWolf a once over, taking note of the rings around the man’s eyes and the sheer exhaustion rolling off of him. “When was the last time you went to sleep?”

“Honestly, I was planning on crashing on your couch while I waited for you to show up, but…” DeWolf gestured towards Scarlet and Bell who were watching them attentively.

(Shit, forgot they were here…) He’d gotten so focused on the case that he’d completely blanked them out. (I can’t keep doing that.) (Not like him.)

“In that case do you mind watching these two, they’ve got-”

“Fuck that!” Scarlet spat with sudden indignation. “I can keep us safe better than this asshole can.”

He glanced at the claws next to DeWolf and gave the P.I. a curious look, earning a shrug.

(Right, bad first impression. Got it.)

“I’ve know DeWolf for years, he’s almost as good in a fight as he is at investigations.” He tried to explain to the angry teen. “And while I’m sure you can handle yourself in a fight, having a bit of backup won’t hurt you.”

Scarlet narrowed her eyes at him. “Then why don’t you take him with you as backup?”

“Because he clearly needs a few hours of sleep.” He answered, thankful that the P.I. had nodded off for a split second before shaking his head awake.

“Then what good is he if he’s going to be asleep?” Scarlet growled.

He briefly considered telling her about how the last time DeWolf cut loose he’d given Mercer a challenge, but decided it was better not to explain why that was given how the man preferred to keep a low profile about that side of himself. (Then again given how they’re Malcontent they’d probably be the most understanding about those particular problems…)

He glanced between Scarlet, DeWolf, and Bell as he tried to figure out how to handle this.

(If I leave DeWolf with the girls, Scarlet is going to have an issue with that, but at the same time DeWolf’s investigation skills are more valuable to me right now than his fighting skills, meaning I need him to sleep if I want him to be any help on that front.)

(I guess I could take the girls with me, but that’ll change up how I approach this next bit given how I was hoping to keep the girls out of the Vigil’s spotlight and running through the city for this might draw their attention. Especially since two Malcontent are twice as notable as one.)

(Though I could leave one of them behind.) He figured. (I mean Scarlet ‘s proven herself in a fight, but I get the feeling Bell would be better at stealth than her sister if I choose to investigate rather than simply rushing Covenant. Though in either case leaving one of the girls with DeWolf might cause a problem. Scarlet probably won’t like me leaving Bell with what she views as a stranger, while if I leave her with DeWolf she might try ripping his throat out…)

Regardless of what he chose, he just knew something here was going to bite him in the ass.