It’s been over a week and, predictably, no one’s seen hide nor hair of Victoria. She’s been keeping a low profile, leaving me with nothing to do but odd jobs. Could be worse, I guess, the kinds of odd jobs available in this organization are definitely my kind of work, but the lack of progress is getting on my nerves.
I prefer being able to focus on one thing, anyway. I’ve been running back and forth across the city all week, and it’s starting to catch up to me. The horns can keep me going for longer than the average person, but I do need to sleep at some point. So I’m taking a rest day. Honestly I should’ve spent more of the past week resting than I did, there’s not really a better time for it. No leads, no work. It’s a bit of a rare opportunity. The nature of my work means I’ve always got a job to run, and usually they don’t go cold like this. I don’t really have a choice but to spend some time waiting, it’s out of my hands. Sure, management won’t be happy about how long it’s taking, but they’re also not really about to do anything about it, so why should I care? Even if they did want to make an example of me, I’m sure I could handle myself. I’m the best of the best around here, I doubt any of our other enforcers could hold a candle to me in a fair fight, and I’ve got plenty of experience dealing with unfair ones.
“Hey there, Kara. Any leads on that combat angel?”
I open my eyes and see Ricky walking in the door. “I'm in here, laying on the couch, so what the fuck do you think?”
“Jeez, excuse me for taking an interest.” I grunt and roll over, turning my back toward him. “How'd she just disappear like that, anyway? Shouldn't we have info on her from the Divinity she's affiliated with?”
“She's not affiliated with a Divinity.”
“What? I thought you said she was a combat angel?”
“I did. Not all of them answer to a god.”
“How the hell’s that work?”
I groan and roll onto my back to face him. “I don't know, Ricky, why don't you ask her after I bring her in? It's not really any of my concern, and I'm trying to rest here. All I know is that she’s not with her old Divinity anymore, and since their records are mostly connected to the halo they gave her, which doesn’t exist anymore, so all we’ve got is what we can collect ourselves. Which was basically nothing until I got back from fighting with her, after she holed up.”
“Okay, what about the other angel?”
“Second verse, same as the first. Plus there were barely any records on her even before she broke her halo, girl was downright unremarkable until a couple weeks ago.”
“So we’ve got nothing to work with?”
“Not unless they decide to leave their hole, or something unexpected turns up. Honestly it’s a little nice to get the chance for some rest. I need it, covering your dumb ass is fucking tiring.”
“What?” He had been starting to walk away, but he quickly turned back with a dumbfounded look on his face. “My dumb ass? What's that supposed to mean?”
“How many times have I saved your skin in the past week?”
“Three?”
“And how many times have I had to save anyone else you were working with?”
“I dunno, what am I, their babysitter?”
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“Apparently I’m yours, so yeah, maybe you are.”
“Look, I’m sorry, I’m still new to all this.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not the issue, Ricky. Sure, you’re inexperienced, everyone starts out that way. But until you’ve got the experience to be able to handle yourself, you need to exercise some fucking cautious. You can’t keep up with the rest of us, that’s fine, it’s what we expect out of the new guy. So don’t try to. Let us take point, keep your head on straight, watch for an opportunity to pick off a weaker opponent instead of barreling in and bearing down on the first guy you see. You’re not strong yet, so you’ve gotta be smart.” I glare daggers into his eyes for emphasis.
Ricky looks away in embarrassment, and nods. “Alright, yeah, that’s fair. Sorry for makin’ trouble for you.”
I sigh and roll back over. “It’s fine, not like I’ve got anything better to do. Victoria’s completely disappeared off the face of the earth, and I've gotta do something in the meantime, might as well watch your ass.
He coughs awkwardly. “Well, uh, I appreciate it. Anyway, I gotta get outta here. Got a job in 20.”
“Sure, sure. Take care out there, Ricky.”
“Yeah, I'll try to keep what you said in mind.” I hear him walking away, followed by the front door shutting.
Part of me wants to get up and head out there with him, but I really do need the rest. And if I don't get it, there'll be a pretty harsh limit to how useful I can actually be for keeping him alive. I hope he actually does put my advice to use, he's a good kid and I'd hate to see him turn up dead. He's only 20, it'd be a tragedy if he kicked it so young. It's not really wise of me to be as invested in his survival as I am, but I can't really help it. Far as I'm concerned a guy so young shouldn't be working this job in the first place.
Again, though, I shouldn't be worrying about it right now, I should be sleeping. I have no business being concerned about Ricky, anyway. I stubbornly keep my eyes shut, and eventually manage to fall asleep.
I dunno how long I'm out, but I'm woken by Tim shaking my shoulder. “Kara, wake up. I've got something for ya.”
I let out a groan and squint up at his sunken face. “No new jobs today, Tim, I'm not on call.”
“Not new, ongoing.”
“What?” I groggily sit up and try to rub the sleep from my eyes. “You got a lead on Victoria?”
“Pretty sure, yeah. It's a little tenuous, but… someone out there performed a ritual that nobody outside of certain Divinities should know exists. A ritual which is an essential part of a process which the office building Victoria broke into a few weeks ago was dedicated to. That seems a bit too much of a coincidence to ignore.”
“Do we know who performed it?”
“A witch. Five-foot-six, black, purple highlights in her hair. I'll have a mugshot for you in a sec. As soon as we picked up the reading we put a couple tails on her, traced her back to a house just outside the warehouse district. Seems like it’d be worth your while to give it a look.”
“What kind of resistance should I expect?”
“We haven't seen anyone but her and the occasional human visitor coming and going, but this is an unaffiliated witch we're talking about. Could be anything in there.”
“Additional personnel?”
“Your discretion. I recommend taking someone you trust to watch your back.”
“Is Ricky free tomorrow?”
“He can be. Your job takes precedence over his assignment.”
“Make that happen.” I lay back down as Tim sits down at his computer and begins typing. I don't actually expect Ricky to be of much value, but a job I'm taking point on from the start is a good opportunity for some much-needed hands-on training. Plus it'll be easier to keep him safe if he's the only one I've gotta worry about. On top of that, if I've gotta wait for him to be free, that means I get to keep what's left of my rest day. Speaking of, it's suddenly way easier to fall asleep now that I've got a lead on my primary job.
When I wake up, it's the next morning and Ricky is already here, presumably waiting for me. Good to see he didn't die without me yesterday. “Mornin’, Kara. I heard you requested me as your support for some field work today?”
I sit up and crack my neck with a groan. “Yeah, you're gonna be watching my ass. Bring a couple guns, something small. We're not looking to mow down a neighborhood, and I don't really expect you to need em, anyway.”
“What are we doing, exactly?”
“Raiding a witch's house. Lemme get some coffee and food in me and I'll explain on the way.”