After Joe and Pete left the house, I turned to Denise. “Are you okay with this? I mean I know you’re really not, but are you going to be okay with this?”
“No I’m not okay with this," she replied. But do I really have a choice? I’m not comfortable with you heading out there and doing this but I recognize it has to be done. And I know we need the kids to get stronger. I just worry so much about them, and you.”
“I know baby," I said as I pulled her into my arms again. I’m not going to be arrogant and say everything is fine and promise no one will get hurt. We're basically attacking someone’s stronghold. But what I can promise is that we will be as safe as possible. Between the four of us, we have decades of tactical experience and collectively survived at least seven tours in a war zone. Not to mention we’re planning to bring a firestorm of Hell down on anyone who tries to hurt us.”
“I know," she replied. That’s what I’m focusing on right now. I know you and your friends can do this, and besides, you have magic right?”
“That’s the spirit honey, now you’re thinking like a gamer,” I chuckled with a broad grin.
With a slap to my arm, she pushed me away and said "Time to get to work.”
Giving her a kiss on her cheek, and with another grin, I said “Yes Dear.” Then ran off down the hall knowing another slap was coming because she absolutely hates to be called dear.
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I collected the tac vest I took from TJ and started transferring my gear to it. This new tac vest was made of much more durable material and instead of stationary, sewn in pockets like mine, it sported detachable cases made of the same durable material that could be relocated and adjusted anywhere on the vest including the back and sides. My vest only allowed gear to be stored on the front in predetermined spots. I chose not to keep the O.C. spray, ASP and my handcuffs as I was heading into battle not to make arrests and felt I didn’t need the extra weight. I also didn’t need more force options. Between my handgun, sword, bow, knives and hammer, I figured I had enough.
I also forgot about my other spell, spike growth. I hadn’t even tried to practice it let alone use it in combat. To remind myself of what the spell did, I accessed the stat screen and reread the spell definition:
- Spike Growth: Beginner 2, Summon a patch of barbed spikes in a 22 foot radius at a center point designated by the caster anywhere within 150 feet. Spikes do 20 points of piercing damage and the enemy suffers the “rooted” debuff. The spiked area has a blended effect that makes the spikes blend into the surrounding area. Blended effects may be nullified by detect traps or higher perception levels. Spike duration 10 min, Cost 100 mana, cast time 10 seconds, cool down 1 hour.
I seriously overlooked this spell. Once again making newbie mistakes. I definitely had to use this spell while on patrol around the neighborhood tonight and see if I could level it up. I had a feeling this spell was going to come in really handy. I was also planning to use my sneak ability all night long. Anything I could do to improve my skill level would benefit us tomorrow night.
With my gear all set up, I strapped on my vest and weapons. I kissed and hugged Denise, grabbed the duffle bag with the extra magazines from the garage, and headed out the side gate. With Dog beside me, I moved towards Joe’s house to collect a new helmet.