After ensuring the woman safely made it to the the hospital, Thadeus returned to the Compound to compile his report. The Compound was a stronghold of sorts for those stationed in this sector. Typically the Scorned were the ones who spent the most time here, with others passing through as needed. It wasnt that they had to stay here of course, they just tended to prefer the solidairity. Finding his way to the main house, he couldnt shake the feeling that he was missing something. He replayed the events of the evening in his mind to see what he may have glazed over. As the front door opened, he made his way inside, almost forgetting to greet the caretaker as they outstretched their arm for his coat and keys. "Good evening Beau," Thadeus handed him his things as he entered the main hall.Beau had been at the Compound since its inception. When his time had come, there was nowhere for him to go. It was decided that since he belonged in neither the Vast or the Menagerie, that he would remain somewhere in between. Nobody really knew why, but he had become a staple of this post for all of its travellers. "Evening, Hope all is well?" Thadeus shrugged his shoulders and headed towards his quarters. "Not sure yet honestly. Has Corbin been by?" Beau shook his head. "Good, maybe I can catch him before he goes down for the night." Thadeus excused himself to his room and called him. He shot a message to their group chat alerting them to the interaction in the alley and instructing them all to be on guard for anything suspicious. As expected, Corbin was the first to call him.

"Hey. You good man?"

"Yeah, you got a minute?"

"Yes sir, what can I do for ya?" He was always ready to get the job done. Thadeus regalled him with the oddity of his evening, including the peculiarity of the Wicked he encountered." It just seemed like he was after something specific and when he didnt get it..." He paused. "Well, don't keep me waiting, I'm hangin on the edge of my seat here." Thadeus sat down in a chair and rubbed his temples. "He just left, Corbin. He didnt try to occupy either of them. He was looking for something and when she fought back..." Corbin interrupted "Hold on now, she fought back? Like did she hit it?" Thadeus grunted in confirmation. Corbin whistled on the other end of the phone.Wicked werent known for being task oriented beings. They were more the get uptop, grab a meatsack and wreak havoc until the lights go out kind of things. "Is the lady ok?" He asked, both impressed and very curious how Thadeus always got the odd ones."Yeah, I stood back a little and made sure emergency services arrived. She passed out and I didnt want to leave her there alone." The phone went silent for a moment. "What do you need me to do?" Thinking for a moment, Thadeus considered multiple plans of action. "At the very least, we need to see what it is it came up here for, so lets start by looking into the woman. See what you can find out about her. She had a badge from the auction house thing so start there. Ill get with the others some time tomorrow and see what they have." After getting off the phone, he went to take a shower to try and make sense of things. The sun would be going down in a couple hours so hopefully they could come up with something soon. As expected, a few hours later and Corbin called back. "Hey, I got ahold of the auction house. That woman is named Alaina Swanson. She was working the door with one Sophie Denning. Ive got an home address from her place of employmet if you wanna follow up but nothing out of the norm on that end." Thadeus sighed. "Yeah, give it to me." Thanking his friend for his help, he hung up and typed Alainas address into his gps.

He pulled up 2 houses down. Turning his lights off, he looked for her house. Thats when he saw them. Two Wicked were going inside. Damn, they were getting bold! They looked to have busted down the front door. A few seconds later, the top right window lit up. Had she woken up? If her behavior the last time they met was any indicator, he needed to move quick before she got herself killed. Pushing open his car door, he ran out and raced over. With there only being two of them, he would easily win any fight but that meant risking exposure to her as well as putting her in harms way. He bared his teeth and charged inside. There were two of them this time, so he needed to remember to watch his back. The first was around the corner from the kitchen. Quick as a whip, he grabbed them by the neck and twisted sharply, dropping him to the ground. He would be back up in a matter of minutes, but it gave him time to get the girl out. The second, was heading for the stair case. "Hey dickhead!" Thadeus shouted, making his target turn around quickly. It was the guy from the alley. He could tell by the long freshly bandaged slash on his cheek. The woman had gotten him good. Slash face turned towards his caller. Alaina looked downstairs and saw two men staring each other down with serious intensity. "What are you doing here?!" Thadeus demanded answers. He grabbed the man by the collar and held him to the table."We are here to claim what is ours!" Slash face choked out. Claim what was theirs? Alaina had nothing of any real value here. If he was looking for money she'd help him flip the cushions. Surely he didnt mean her? She was not about to let any man claim her. Without thinking, she decided to charge. "Hey! Get the hell out of my house! What the fuck is going on! Leave now or im calling the police!" Alaina ran down the stairs. Right about then, the first guy was rousing in the kitchen. Thadeus knew if he didn't finish with Slash here, that other prick was gonna grab the girl and take off. Throwing Slash into the wall, he ran past the first Wicked, grabbed the girl, threw her over his shoulder and hauled ass to his car. She kicked and squirmed in protest the whole way. In one fluid motion, he opened the passenger door, put her inside, and went to his side. As soon as he slid in and closed his door behind him, Alaina punched him in the face. Recoiling her fist back in pain, Alaina tried to get out of the vehicle. Unphased by the assault, Thadeus started the car and sped away from her house.

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"What do you want from me? Let me go you asshat!" She went on trying to open her door, roll down her window, or yell loud enough for someone to hear her. Rather than face the rest of the trip with her screeching next to him, Thadeus turned the wheel sharply to the left and drove into an empty lot. The woman had fire in her, that was for sure. He didnt even have to look at her to know she was staring a burning hole into the side of his head. He would have found it quite amusing in other circumstances but now was not the time. "Please, tell me whats going on. What happened back there, and why do you guys keep following me?" Thadeus turned. "You... remember last night?" That had never happened before. He thought it odd when he couldnt heal her, but the fact the memory charm didnt wok either was incredibly strange. "Of course I remember, how often is it that someone chokes you in an alley?" Thadeus laughed. "You think this is funny? You just kidnapped me, and you are laughing at me? Well I will have you know that my husband will be home soon and hes a cop so..." Thadeus smirked. "You arent married." "And how do you know that?" "I would know." "How?" "Because I had you looked into after last night." Alaina sat silent. Thankful for the lack of noise, Thadeus started driving again. She sat as far from him as she could. A mixture of curiosity and terror was engulfing her. "Look, I promise to explain as much as I can," he began, in an attempt to calm her down. " But I need you to trust me and let me do my job." Alaina settled into her seat. Her mind was whirring with questions, but the only way to get any answers was to see where this went. "Can you at least tell me where we are going?" Seeing no problem with this, he chose his words very carefully. "We are heading to a place called The Compound. Its safe, and you will be staying there until we figure this out." Alaina sighed.What felt like an eternity later, they pulled up to an ornate iron gate. A small camera turned to face the drivers side, and seconds later the gate opened. As it shut behind them, they drove up a long winding road. The headlights from the vehicle illuminated the lines of trees that edged the driveway. Alaina stared out her window.This was insane. A large fountain sat in the middle of either side of the driveway. The main building itself was also extraordinary. Very geometrical. It looked more like a fortress than a house so the name Compound fit rather well. It looked huge from the outside. What did this guy do? What had she gotten involved with? The car stopped and the doors unlocked.

"Arent you afraid I'll run?"

Thadeus shook his head as they exited the car. "You are welcome to try, but between the gate and the Hounds, you wouldnt get very far."

"Maybe I do? What then?"

"Then I would catch you."

"Are you always so comforting?"

"Yes." The man was an ass. The door opened as they walked up the steps. A rather stoic man greeted them. " I didnt know we were expecting company." The man commented as they approached. "Neither did I Beau, please prepare accordingly." Beau nodded. Alaina walked in and looked at him. "Beau? Really" not Reginald, or Oswald?" Beau smiled. "Its short." Thadeus shouted from across the room. " If you will wait in the parlor, I will try to clear up any questions you may have." Thadius stepped into his office for a moment and called Corbin to give him an update and let him know about the ineffective charm. "Holy shit are you serious? Dude, I'm so sorry, I didnt know you were having preformance issues." He stifled back a laugh. "Be serious. There is something about her that they clearly want or they wouldnt risk this much exposure. At this point she has already seen too much and has questions. What am I supposed to tell her?" Corbin went silent for a moment. He was a Scorned with Sight, so he could convene with the higher ups and relay their command. He thought of himself like a cosmic switchboard. Poor bastard. Not everyone could having voices in their head. Corbin however, did fine with it, most days anyway. Clearing his mind, he asked his superiors what to do. A few moments passed and he picked up his phone again. "Tell her whatever she wants to know."