"Sir, we've just received word from one of our field agents." Rob Scarlatto turned his attention away from the papers he was reading and listened intently to Claudia's words through furrowed brows. Claudia held her breath as Scarlatto slowly took off his glasses and stared a hole into her with his golden eyes. "Catherine Pope," she started, exhaling heavily, "the agent sent after Dave, has been defeated."

Scarlatto stared for a solid quarter minute before suddenly nodding in understanding. "I see." Another awkward pause passed, as both waited for the other to add a comment. "Right!" Standing up from his desk, Scarlatto strolled over to his window and drew the curtains. Keeping his slow, meticulous stride, he walked to the office door and locked it before sighing and stoically marching back to his desk and crawling under it.

Obediently, Claudia followed him down there without a second’s hesitation, sitting on her knees beside her melancholy boss who was now cradling himself in the space beneath the desk. A small radio sat on a makeshift shelf playing soft, relaxing music as Scarlatto cradled himself on the floor. "How exactly did he do that?" Scarlatto quietly asked. "You said she was his hard counter. That she'd have no problems beating him."

"I did, sir. And I apologize for the misinformation." Claudia bowed her head lower. "But it appears that Dave has obtained an ally of sorts." Scarlatto looked to Claudia with sunken, terrified eyes. "According to the report, this person has an unusual Jewel. They were covered in a bright light and obtained a gun of sorts." Claudia extended her index finger and thumb to create a gun shape, wagging her thumb back and forth to simulate shooting. "With the two of them working in conjunction, Pope didn't stand a chance."

"Who else?" He curtly asked. "Who else can get there?"

"Well…" Claudia looked away in shame, and her eyes fell upon a small poster that hadn't been there last time she'd checked. It had a small furry creature hanging from a clothesline, with the caption 'Hang in there, baby' printed in large font. Biting her lower lip, she turned back to him and just let it out. "Nobody. Everyone at the rendezvous point got tired of waiting and left. They've returned to their hotels to prepare for the trip back."

Scarlatto buried his head back into his crossed arms and rocked himself. He made a strange, high pitched whining noise that made a wave of embarrassment wash over Claudia.

"Sir." She calmly said, putting her hand on top of his head and gently caressing it. "We're not licked yet. The report tells us that they're planning on leaving Earl very soon." Scarlatto looked up from his arms. "All we need to do is find out which direction they're heading and cut them off. We can send another agent and catch up to them in a few hours." Claudia put a stop to her petting and stood up, grabbing the black book that sat on the corner of Scarlatto's desk. "Dave has been on the offensive lately" she explained, kneeling down and opening the book. "He doesn't want to run anymore, he's actively looking for our base. I suspect he only turned to Earl because we had agents set up there that he wanted to interrogate."

Scarlatto fell backward and hit his head against his desk. "You mean he's gonna find us!?" he shouted, grabbing his head and vigorously scratching. Claudia dropped the book and quickly grabbed both of his wrists when she saw he was drawing blood. Scarlatto, looking into her own frightened expression with her trembling lips and misty eyes, felt a pit of guilt build up in his stomach and throat. "Sorry" he calmly said, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Don't worry about me." Claudia shakily said, pulling Scarlatto in for a hug. "You're running yourself ragged, Rob. You need to get some sleep. How long have you been awake?"

"It's only been a couple of days." He nervously said, looking away from Claudia’s expression. "I'll admit, I haven't been too excited about going to bed lately, but I was just about to go to sleep after finishing this order. Honest."

"I heard you tossing and turning the other night. You were having a nightmare." Claudia said, biting her lower lip. "I know you're worrying yourself about Dave. Ever since that day, it's all you've been able to think about. If he wants to put a hand on you, he has to get through all of us first, and you know that."

"It's not just my safety I'm worried about, Claudia. It's yours too." Scarlatto pulled Claudia out of the hug and put a hand to her chin. "What would a man like him do to you if I couldn't protect you?"

"I'm strong on my own, Rob. My Jewel is more than enough to protect both of us" Claudia said, raising both of her hands to her sides.

Slowly, the desk the two were huddled beneath rattled and shook before raising itself off of the carpeted floor. The desk raised above their heads, high enough for both of them to stand up, all the while the objects on the desk remained undeterred. The numerous books from Scarlatto's bookshelf flew out of their spots and twirled in a ring around the desk. Like a ballet of office supplies; pens and paperclips and staplers and telephones began to twirl over the pair's heads. "Much stronger than when we first met all those years ago."

"Well aren't we a showoff?" Scarlatto put his hands in his pockets and watched the dance over his head. "This must take a lot of focus. I wonder what'd happen…" Without looking away from the display overhead, Scarlatto approached Claudia very closely from the side. "If your concentration was suddenly broken."

Grabbing her chin, Scarlatto quickly turned Claudia to face him and planted a kiss on her lips. Caught off guard, Claudia lost both her focus and control on the myriad of objects over her head. Their floating dance came to a stop and they began to fall. Before any of the falling items hit them, Scarlatto wrapped his hands around her neck, and tapped his fingers together, producing a bright red bubble of a barrier around them. The desk, books, and other office supplies crashed painlessly onto it, leaving the two inside to share their embrace in peace.

Scarlatto pulled himself off first and smiled as he brought his hands back tapped her on the nose. "That Jewel of yours is pretty impressive. It fits a lady like you" he said, winking. Claudia smiled and punched him in the shoulder. "You are right though. I should get some sleep," Scarlatto said as he undid his tie and removed the belt from his pants.

Claudia smiled, as the debris all around her began to float again. The black book that she had picked up before floated right in front of her face, and it flipped through a number of pages before stopping. "Rest easy, Rob. An agent is staying at a nearby hotel, I'll have them cut off Dave and his little friend while we gather more forces."

"Is that right?" Scarlatto asked, undoing his shirt. "Then I guess I'll just stop worrying then."

As Scarlatto left the office, everything that had been moved by Claudia's display was returned to its proper place. Each book replaced to its original location, the desk returned upright, the pens back in their cup, and each order placed in a neat and organized pile.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Scarlatto wandered down the halls back to his bedroom, the lack of sleep finally hitting him hard. Hopefully, the nightmare that had caused his insomnia wouldn't rear its ugly head again.

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Zed ambled down the stairs, a small carry-on bag now stuffed with clothes and toiletries hanging over his shoulder. Down the street, Dave waved him over to follow, and Zed all but jogged to catch up to him.

As the boys silently walked down the city streets, they both paid close attention to the car horn that would sound with each press on Dave's key fob. Each honk had them turn a corner or cross the street in search for the car. With one more press on the fob, Dave's car came to life right across the street from the diner the two had eaten at the previous night.

"I thought I had parked around here," he said, pressing the 'unlock trunk' button for Zed. Peering into the trunk, Zed found a number of suit bags stacked on top of each other and it was like looking into a tuxedo rental store's back room. Pushing them aside, he placed his bag into the trunk. "While you're packing over there," Dave said, wiping his mouth with a napkin he found, "would you mind handing me one of those bags? I need a change of clothes."

Zed picked out a black bag and handed it to Dave, who pointed a finger to the ground and twirled it. "Thanks, now turn around, would you kindly?"

"You're not gonna change out in public, are you?" Zed dubiously asked, looking around. "What if someone sees you?"

"We'll be gone in a minute so it's fine. And if someone does see me, it'll brighten up their morning, dontcha think?" he explained with a chuckle. Zed crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Dave dropped the chuckle and coughed. "I'll make it quick, now would you kindly?"

With a shrug, Zed turned away and directed his gaze up the street the two had just walked down. The morning sun was just breaking over the horizon, lighting up the familiar skyline in a gorgeous orange-red and purple light. Perhaps it was because he knew he wouldn't be seeing it for a time that made his eyes water, as his mind flashed with memories of walking up and down the streets for what felt like his entire adult life. Although he was used to leaving the town of Earl every now and again, a sense of pride filled his chest, knowing that he had a purpose this time around. This wasn't just some road trip to visit family or discover an elusive restaurant with some co-workers.

A fly flew near Zed's ear, and the loud buzzing disrupted his trance and snapped him back into reality. He waved his hands around to frighten them off, but that only seemed to attract more of them. "I changed clothes earlier," he thought, "I definitely must've gotten the garbage smell off of me. What's this guy after?"

Out the corner of his eye, Zed spotted Dave's bare back as he took his shirt off. He could see the ribs poking through his snow-white body, along with a number of dark bruises peppering his pale back and sides. Deep looking scars were strewn all over, and Zed could feel his stomach turning at the sight. Before Zed could scrutinize these marks anymore, Dave slid on a white collared shirt and put a dark blue colored jacket on top of that. As Dave turned back around, Zed quickly whipped his head back down the road, pretending to admire it. Dave immediately noticed and frowned, looking disappointedly over his shoulder at his own back.

The dirty clothes were placed into another suit bag and the entire lot was dumped into the trunk. Dave was practically limping, and he struggled to raise his arms high enough to close the trunk. "Let me get that." Zed said, slamming the trunk down for him. A fly on the trunk caught his attention, and he thoughtlessly waved it away. "Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital or a pharmacy? Or anything?"

"No no, I'll be alright" Dave assured, opening the driver door and put one of his legs in. "Don't worry. All I need is a good night's sleep and I'll be right as rain."

Taking a deep breath, Dave leaned into the car and fell into the driver's seat, grimacing and groaning all the while. Slamming the door with one hand, Dave put his other hand on his ribs and lightly massaged himself, but suddenly stopping when Zed sat in the passenger's seat beside him. "So what's the plan?" Zed asked, looking out his window to the flies dancing on the other side. "Where are we heading next?"

Dave grabbed a map on the dash and he pulled it open. Several lines were drawn with marker, with some towns being circled. "I've been visiting every town in the Tea County" he explained, handing Zed an edge of the map so the two could hold it open together. "I've been looking for Scarlatto's base of operations for over a month now." Dave turned his head and faced Zed. "I've been attacked more frequently around these parts, you see. It has to be around here somewhere."

Dave pointed a finger at Zed, leading his eyes to follow it onto a point on the map. "Every circle on this map is a town where I've been attacked" he explained, "I escaped of course, but I think that these attacks mean I'm getting closer."

Zed scanned the map, amazed at the sheer number of places Dave had gone. At the diner, Dave mentioned that he was from Soda County on the other side of the state. Had he traveled all this way by himself? "Dave," he started, looking at him with furrowed brows. "How long have you been doing this? You're talking like some grizzled war veteran."

"Long enough," Dave answered, keeping his eyes on his map. "I've spent too long running from this man like a scared kid. I'm going on the offensive now." Dave dropped a finger on a red line that suddenly cut 90 degrees, leading to a location on his map called 'Earl'. "Here's where we are now" he explained. "I came here because I saw the Jewel Storm on the news. I suspected I could catch one of those Scarlet geeks and ask some questions. Didn't turn out as I had hoped, but it wasn't a waste of time, at least."

Zed looked at Dave. He recalled watching him sitting down on boxes, struggling to stand up, collapsing on the street, breathing slowly, with a body covered in marks. How long was long enough? 3 months? A year? Scratching his chin, Zed wondered how much longer this fellow would've lasted had they not met.

"Chamomile!" Dave exclaimed, making Zed jump. Folding up his map and throwing it onto the dashboard, he fished the keys out of his pocket and stuck it into the ignition. "That's where I was going before." Starting the car, Dave did the appropriate shoulder checks and began rolling out of the parking space. "I heard a rumor that Scarlet Saviors were staying at a hotel there not too long ago. If we're lucky, we'll find some clues that might point us in the right direction."

"If they were there recently, who's to say that some guys aren't waiting there to ambush you right now?" Zed asked, clutching his seatbelt as Dave quickly cut the steering wheel left and right with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Don't you think it might be a trap?"

"I'm actually counting on it, to be quite honest." A strange smile crept on Dave's face. "You see, if I get attacked, I might be able to turn it around on them and do some questioning. I kinda screwed up here a few times, but next time I'll be more careful."

"That sounds like a bad plan, Dave. If you're careful, won't that give the enemy more openings to attack?" Zed placed a hand on Dave's shoulder, and Dave winced. Zed pulled his arm back, worried he may have touched a wound. Momentarily glancing to his companion, and seeing the worried expression on his face, Dave grabbed his hand with one of his own. As they drove to a stop at a red light, he turned to look at his passenger.

"I'm not really in a position to liberally come up with plans. These guys are unpredictable, with their numbers and variety of Jewel powers. All I can do is keep moving forward and think on my feet." Turning his attention back on the road, Dave took hold of the steering wheel with both hands and crossed the intersection at the green light. "If I slow down, they'll just catch up to me. And if I'm caught…" Dave didn't even finish his statement. He stared intensely down the road.

Zed sat back in his chair. "Do you even know why Scarlatto is after you? Why is he sending people to attack you?"

"I can tell you that much." The car sped by a large green sign that read 'now leaving Earl'. "But we've got a bit of a drive, so I'll start at the very beginning..."

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Back in town, the cloud of flies that had spent the night congregating around Dave's car moved through the air like a small RC plane. It floated into a back alley, where a figure in the shadows stood with an outstretched hand. The flies coated the hand, which quickly moved beside one of his ears. The droning buzzes filled his head, and he diligently nodded as if he were speaking to someone over the phone in plain english. He raised his other hand, holding an actual phone, to his ear and spoke into it.

"He's going east. Towards Chamomile."