Rain examined the area, it appeared to be quite ideal for anyone who'd like to get around unnoticed, at the point where you couldn't move around on the streets, the sewers made it quite easy to get to the next place. He realized that it was likely to contain more clues than the streets were, though he was hesitant to move into them just yet. From the corner of his eyes he spotted people, a rather mysterious woman walking around in the alleys, and Adrian, speaking to some suspicious man. At first, when Adrian took the demon sword out from its wrappings, he felt worried.
Is it a fight? Does he need help?
Rain felt like going down there and help. However, as no one attacked, it became clear that it likely wasn't. Besides, he'd fought Adrian during training, he knew that the other was strong enough to take care of himself. He pushed the worry mostly away, just as he saw the woman walk into the sewers.
Hm. Is she working together with the target, the target in a different form, or is she from a different organization?
He had been told to keep an eye out for those, did that mean following her as well? Rain was already moving at this point, running, almost soundlessly, getting down the apartment stairs in no time and keeping to the side-streets. He then entered the sewers just at quietly, listening to the sound of her talking -though she was a little bit too far away for him to hear just what- and followed her, examining the sewers for traces of demons as he did.
"Nice sword, did you pick it up at hot topic? might need to get him sharpened though, his wits lost its edge."
"Dull whetstones only produce dull blades, thou dullard."
"Ha! I think you managed to annoy him. Not bad."
Adrian was impressed. Most people would have cowered in fear or at the very least been too stunned to make a quip like that. This guy either had some serious balls or he was used to this kind of thing. It was also amusing to see Eligos shut down like that.
"Somethings been killing people at night, I aim to find out what and stop it. Though I'm not too picky on the order there. Now its your turn, why are you here and which group sent you."
Adrian lowered the sword but didn't put it away. He held it loosely with the tip touching the ground, eye pointed directly at the other man.
"So you're an altruist? Just looking out for the people, no personal interest at all? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, it seems rather unlikely," Adrian replied. "Personally, I'm here to kill that demon and take the remains to my organisation. As for who we are... I'll just say the church isn't a big fan of us. I'm sure you can connect the dots."
"How the hell would I know?" The bartender growled, leaving a maelstrom of retorts swirling around Jake's head.
Because bartender's have a tendency to just KNOW things.
How the hell would you know how to get me a drink, without even acknowledging my presence as I walked in here?
Shut it, ************ and get me a damn beer.
Just tell me where he is and I'll not cause any trouble.
Because he's clearly sat right next to me.
I wasn't even talking to YOU.
Jake considered which response to roll with before realising that saying nothing would probably be for the best. Besides, he knew the drunk next to him was Jones. It was inevitable.
"Whada YOU wan." The man next to him blurted, irritably.
With a sudden, thrilling sense of excitement, Jake smiled and leaned nearer to the drunken man. There was no indication as to how this would would play out, especially considering the condition of the man, but Jake could only hope a direct approach would pique the guy's curiosity enough to hear him out.
"Jones? Uhhh....detective Jones?" He'd toyed with the idea of saying 'ex-detective', but didn't want to rile up or alienate his only good lead. "I'm a journalist, and I know you were the one who thought there were some connections between the murders. I'm inclined to believe you and I want to run a story on it." Here, Jake pulled out his notepad and a pen. For a moment, he almost pulled out the dictaphone but swiftly clicked the record button inside his jacket pocket instead.
Scribbling a few short-hand notes onto the pad, Jake continued in a hushed whisper. "I'd like the names and contact details of any witnesses you spoke to that led you to believe the murders are connected; I'd like to speak with them myself if that's possible. Also - and I know this may not be strictly by the book," He hesitated and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Although by the looks of you, I'm unsure whether you care about that by now. Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me about the victims. Are there any connections between them? How did they die?"
Jake could feel his energy being revitalised by the hands-on approach. It was always like this though; excitement at the prospect of information. But when the information finally came, his spirits would drop, his blood cool down and that crushing sense of helpless, hopeless desperation would return with the knowledge that something inhuman was responsible.
Even with this foresight, Jake felt excited with the possibility of learning something form this broken man. So, with pen hovering over his notepad expectantly, he sat and waited for the drunk to respond.
"So you're an altruist? Just looking out for the people, no personal interest at all? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, it seems rather unlikely, Personally, I'm here to kill that demon and take the remains to my organisation. As for who we are... I'll just say the church isn't a big fan of us. I'm sure you can connect the dots."
"Church doesn't approve of a lot of people, but don't worry I could care less about your... alternative lifestyle," Randall replied, his mind going over the possibilities.
Cabal is most likely, damn wizards, not a fan myself though at least they're closer to the right side of things than some. Could also be consortium, but he hasn't tried to bribe me yet and doesn't have a private army on hand, so cabal it is. He shrugged off the remark about his intentions, considering his reply.
"As for my intentions a friend called me in, might even be some money in it for me, but I'm hardly behind on my rent," he continued "So you can mark me down as mostly altruistic if you like."
He paused for a moment, considering his options, the man hadn't put away the sword yet but at least seemed somewhat impressed by his attitude. Randall didn't much care about what happened with the remains of the demon either, so there was little to lose by allying himself with the swordsman. Provided he doesn't slow me down or get in my way that is, of course it all depends on how he feels about any sort of alliance.
"I'm Detective Summers," he said gruffly, extending a hand to shake "I'll avoid stepping on your toes if you'll do the same for me, though I wouldn't mind hearing what plan you might have to deal with this thing."
Despite what Father Daughtry did to reassure him, Hugh still had a gut feeling about the limo being somehow involved with his first hunt. And if he'd learned nothing else in his schooling, it was to trust what it told him, he doubted he'd have made it through with his barely passing grades if he hadn't.
"In the meantime, we should probably look around the back-alleys, maybe the waterfront to find some kind of trail. They'd be the most likely places for this demon to hide between killings, assuming it doesn't have a lair in plain sight."
He exhaled, briefly closing his eyes before replying and taking his grasping hands out of his pockets, and that appeared to stop them,"Then it appears this will be a standard hunt after all Father. But we will need our equipment if we find this thing's residence. I will bring yours if you would give me the keys to the cart, so that we may start this more efficiently."
With the keys in-hand and their mission set before them, Hugh set back for the car the church had provided for them. Reaching it, he pulled his bag of equipment - also provided by the church - out and slung it across his back, grabbing the priest's staff out with his free hand before closing the trunk and ensuring the vehicle was locked. With all of their possessions on his person, he retreated to the nearest blind alley.
Leaning the staff behind him, he shrugged out of his jacket and placed it on the ground, after which he also placed his holster on top of, followed quickly by the other pistol and holster inside of his bag of hunting equipment. unbuttoning his overshirt, the Templar set this beside himself as well, almost rushing himself to then get the bodyarmor on over his undershirt tucked into his jeans, then quickly redressing himself. Both holsters were now beneath his jacket, along with an extra clip. Getting back to the car, he put the rest of his gear back into the trunk, not fully caring how it fit, too much time had already been wasted in his opinion.
A mix of excitement and nervousness overcame him as he found his way back to Father Daughtry's side, handing off the priest's staff. This was his first actual hunt, his first foray into his future experiences of demon-hunting, he hoped he could live up the expectations his superiors had always had for him. Also not being eviscerated and spread across Boston would be a very welcome gift from the Lord.
"Where do you propose we start Father? Searching these back alleys, or the waterfront?"
Jackson watched others gather around the limo. The front window opened as a "priest" talked to the driver. Whatever the priest said, it seemed to of scared the limo off. Jackson took mental notes of the two he saw. By the priest outfits, they almost certainly were Templar. Although, it wasn't heard of for a demon or a turned to mask as a religious figure, even an augmented...
At the thought memories flashed through Jackson's mind.
The abomination screaming in pain as it charged at him. The scientists being lined up against the wall. The child crying as he put the gun to her head.
Jackson closed his eye, trying to will those memories away. Jackson breathed in, breathed out, and opened his eyes.
As Jackson recovered, he knew he needed to decide what to do. He looked back at the pair. They seemed content to just stand around. The limo was gone, and more likely to get a lead then these guys do just standing there.
Still, only one of them was currently being tracked on his tablet. Jackson moved from the warehouse and into the alleyway, where he couldn't be seen from the street. Jackson pulled out the small quadcopter. He sent it up into the air up five stories so it was above the buildings. Jackson looked at the camera's view. They hadn't moved. Jackson set a target onto the older priest setting it into follow mode. It would track that "person" as long as he was within visual range from the sky. Hopefully, the quad was high enough that it wouldn't be noticed (and if it was, hopefully anyone who saw it would assume it was just a toy, was a new police drone, or was being used to film a youtube video).
Jackson put away the control laptop, setting the GPS location of the quad to the tablet. Jackson got up and headed after the limo.
Eligos glowered at the self-proclaimed detective, Adrian's attitude didn't help matters either. Just how could someone be impressed by sheer indifference? What stood before them was not a brave man but a coward who hid behind a mask and a wall of apathy.
"I'll avoid stepping on your toes if you'll do the same for me, though I wouldn't mind hearing what plan you might have to deal with this thing."
"A rather dastardly deal, cur." Eligos replied. It was frustrating how he couldn't just cut Summers down. Instead, there was only the option of trusting Adrian to take up Eligos's little piece of advice.
A demon having to trust a human... What was the world coming to?
Hugh closed his eyes before replying to Shaun, and when he did, Shaun had to give him a wry smile.
"Then it appears this will be a standard hunt after all Father. But we will need our equipment if we find this thing's residence. I will bring yours if you would give me the keys to the car, so that we may start this more efficiently."
He could already hear his old trainers voice in his head as he handed the keys to his partner. "There is no such thing as a standard hunt, boy. Every demon is different, and you pray to God Almighty that you never get into an exceptional hunt alone." The older Templar was hardly more experienced than Shaun was now, but he was certainly better trained.
So when Hugh got back and handed his spear to him, he made sure the headpiece was secure enough to stay on, but easy enough to pull off if he needed it before turning to him.
"You know, I was taught there is no 'standard hunt' Hugh. It's best not to be complacent or cocky." he pointed out, but he gave a small smile to show that he knew that Hugh was anything but complacent or cocky, adding, "But, I think you'll do fine."
He could tell the young man was definitely ready for his first demon slaying. He certainly seemed more ready than Shaun had for his first time, so he didn't foresee any problems.
"Where do you propose we start Father? Searching these back alleys, or the waterfront?"
Glancing around, he frowned a little to himself before nodding to the nearest alley.
"Back-alleys first. Best to get those out of the way before tackling the problem of how to search the waterfront." he said, before striding into the very alley he pointed out.
His strides were slow and careful while he looked around, and he grasped the shaft of his spear tightly with his right hand while he reached underneath his collar with the left. Pulling out his rosary, he lifted it up and over his head before flipping it once so it wrapped around his knuckles.
As the two of them once again adjusted their equipment, before they set off though, Father Daughtry replied to Hugh's comment about the hunt.
"You know, I was taught there is no 'standard hunt' Hugh. It's best not to be complacent or cocky."
"There is no such thing as a standard in the first placement either,"He shot back, before realizing what he said and who he had spoken so harshly to,"I-I'm sorry Father Daughtry,"he hastily stuttered, his head angled towards the ground,shame and embarrassment rushing through his young frame,"I apologize. I didn't mean to question your experience or that of your Mentor."
They began the search soon after, Hugh and his trained eyes looking for any clues they could find, if there were any after all. But Boston was different from the training grounds of Rome and the well-kept catacombs beneath the city. Distractions abounded and his skin still tingled and burned from earlier, though he kept his hands near his hidden weapons, just in case they came into contact with someone or something unsavory.
"There is no such thing as a standard in the first placement either."
The priest blinked at that, but sighed softly as Hugh quickly apologized.
"It's alright, Hugh, and I didn't mean any offense. I was just remembering what Knight Soren hammered into me on my first hunts, and I thought it was appropriate. I can tell that you are hardly one to be cocky." he said, smiling just a little before tilting his head a bit.
"In fact, I'd say you're more ready than I was when I went on my first supervised demon hunt. It's natural to be nervous but you seem rather collected. On the other hand, I was a paranoid wreck." he added with a quiet chuckle.
As he said that, however, he felt a prickle on the back of his neck. Like someone, or something, was watching him from afar, but he couldn't tell what. He looked around for a few moments before he shrugged it off.
"Apparently part of me still is. I'd swear we're being watched. Keep an eye out." he told Hugh.
"I'll avoid stepping on your toes if you'll do the same for me, though I wouldn't mind hearing what plan you might have to deal with this thing."
Adrian looked at the outstretched hand, considering his options. He did enjoy hunting solo (well, as solo as one could with a talking sword), however another set of eyes and ears could be useful. Plus, with Rain on the job as well they shouldn't have a problem taking down the target, even if it was stronger than expected.
"A rather dastardly deal, cur."
Glancing at Eligos, Adrian could sense it's frustration. It had little patience for talk and diplomacy, something he could relate to himself. Unfortunately, not every problem could be solved with violence.
"You'll have to wait a little bit longer for some slicing I'm afraid my friend," Adrian said, swapping the sword to his off-hand and grasping the detective's with a firm grip. If he was paying close attention, the detective would be able to notice the beginning of the scales that covered the larger man's arm under the coat.
"Name's Drake. I'm here with another agent, a young guy with pale skin and a guitar case. We split up to cover more ground and see if anyone spotted anything suspicious recently." Breaking off the handshake, Adrian replaced Eligos under his coat.
"We're to meet up in a couple of hours and discuss what we've found. Honestly though, we'll probably have to wait until nightfall and try catch the target in the act. They appear to be quite adept at concealing their presence during the day." Satisfied that Eligos was concealed sufficiently, Adrian looked the man in the eyes.
"Do you have any info on the target? That's what detectives do right, uncover facts? All we know is it's quite strong and skilled at avoiding detection."
"Hello, sir, if you don't mind, I was.. I was wondering if you knew anything, or anyone who knows something, about those missing sailors and smaller shipments reported recently? I'd make it worth your time." Victoria asked the older man, holding up a bill.
The old man had been busy directing his sailors around as they prepared for launch. His vessel appeared to be a mid-sized fishing vessel manned by maybe a dozen people. Glancing at Victoria, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. Still, he wasn't one to argue with free money.
The old man grabbed the bill and began to speak in a thick Bostonian accent. "I don't know much about about them missing sailors; haven't lost a member a my crew since the storm of 01. Some of the big cargo ship captains have been talking about missing sailors but I don't take much stock in it; sailors disappear all the time; can't handle the life so they find something safer. Cargo though... lately whenever we arrive in port our counts are off a bit. We tried measuring our catches by count and weight and counting a dozen times. Even tagged the fish as we tossed them into the hold and they end up missing. Every time, we're missing neigh a hundred fish. Some a the bigger ships are missing all kinds a goods. One even lost a BMW a few weeks back; can you believe that? As for our fish, none a my crew'd be taken it; once you've weathered a Massachusetts Squall together, yer as close as blood. The crew sometimes says they hear scrapping on the deck at night but we ain't found no stowaways. I'm chalking it up to bad counts and birds finding a way into the hold."
Then, smiling, he added another note. "Ya know; you pay better than the last two ta ask these questions. For a little more, I might remember who else has been askin about."
Meanwhile, not far from there, Jackson Clark had tracked down the limo in time to catch the bulk of the information.
[HEADING=2]Bar[/HEADING] "I'd like the names and contact details of any witnesses you spoke to that led you to believe the murders are connected; I'd like to speak with them myself if that's possible. Also - and I know this may not be strictly by the book, Although by the looks of you, I'm unsure whether you care about that by now. Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me about the victims. Are there any connections between them? How did they die?" Jake asked.
Jones looked at him for a long moment, clearing the booze-fog from his mind. "I wouldn't... Ah what do I care; you can flush your career away with me if ya like. Tell you what; order me another few rounds a lager and ya can have it all. I don't care anymore." he said, tossing a USB drive on the table. "Long and short of it is there ain't no witnesses to find. One of the reasons this whole... thing don't make sense. The victims are all found dismembered and some of said members missing. An arm, a leg, a few organs. Sometimes the whole body is gone and all we find are the stains. Whoever's doin this is smart; knows how to strike when people ain't looking and uses old Boston like a maze. Disappear into alleys he does. Or the water; sailors been vanishing too. On the bodies we found, we don't kind any kinda weapon marks. It looks like the people are ripped apart by hand so the guy's gotta be huge. Asking around, we heard rumors of a big - 8 feet big - guy in a while coat walking around. Had to be the guy. Course, as soon as I bring this to the chief, they dismiss it as circumstantial. Tried to bring it to the press and I lost my job. We got a serial killer on the loose and my boss just wants ta bury his head int eh sand."
[HEADING=2]Back Alleys[/HEADING]
As Shaun and Hugh rounded the corner, they were met with another branch - this one with four ways they could go. They'd entered the back alleys on the water front side and walked as far as city central, though through such a circuitous route as to make the distance 5 times as great. It was easy to see why a monster would hunt in such an area; you could disappear down an alley with a hundred pursuers on your tail and have a damned good chance of escaping. Worse, sewer entrances were many and there were at least as many entrances to buildings; half of which were abandoned. The cities secret places were next to impossible to navigate; even direction sense became confused save the few places where you could make out the sun and the direction in which it moved. Signs of struggle - both mundane and potentially monster related - were common enough as to make the idea of being caught in here after dark a disconcerting proposition.
Still, despite this, they'd managed to wander into a few clues. Odd footprints - too few to make a trail obvious - of a creature far too large to be human and the smell of death and decay told a tale. Something was definitely using the area as a hunting ground and using the sewer system to move around freely. There was one place they chanced upon where the signs of a fight were obvious; something had broken through the wall of an abandoned building with great force a few days ago, leaving a ripped white fabric behind. A bluish liquid had dried on the remains of the building, though whether this was the blood of the monster or the result of whatever had broken through the wall wasn't obvious.
Still, the greatest clue they'd encountered had been a few seconds ago. They'd been wandering for a while without further clue when they heard a voice - though not the words - echo from around a corner. Listening more closely, they could make out the occasional word. "enemy", "organization, "life", "kill". However, as they rounded the corner they were meet with nothing but more paths. They were about to give up when they heard a bone-chilling roar follow; coming from below a slightly-ajar sewer cover.
[HEADING=2]Sewers[/HEADING]
The smell of human filth was overwhelming. Were it not for her in-human body, she likely have lost consciousness from the horrid smell alone. Still, despite this, she managed to pick up on the faint smell of something worse: decay and death leading off into the darkness.
As she yelled out her offer, she could hear the words echo throughout the vast, unnatural cavern. They echoed for nearly a minute before silence fell. She must have waited there for a few minutes before she received an answer: a primal, malicious roar who's origin could not be natural in even the most remote of senses. A few minutes later a second roar echoed through; louder and closer than the first...
From the other direction.
@Tex and Hugh: I time skipped you a little ahead (to the back alleys) so I'd have something to give you. Let me know any questions you have about your findings via PM or skype and I'll answer them (assuming you would know the answer from the clues).
@Rawen: You may enter the sewers when and where you prefer since you didn't specify how far behind Sesthine you were.
@Terra, Drummodino, and IFS: I'll post something for you when you decide on what you all want to do.
While Rain hadn't heard more than the echoes of what the woman had said -and barely so- he definitely heard the replies. He had gotten close enough to her to be able to run over to her in no time should he need to, when he heard the first of the roars, a roar that was clearly that of a demon.
Is this where its hiding? How did the lady know? Who is she?
He opened the guitar case and got the sword from the middle-pocket of the hard guitar case. In the other compartments of it was luggage, though the leather of a demon kept the sword from cutting through the pockets and cutting what he had. He closed the guitar case, and put it back on his back. He held the sword ready as he went closer to the roar, as well as the woman. That was when he heard it, a second roar, from the opposite direction.
Two demons? No. At least two demons, or possibly one that moves quickly enough. Assuming the former would be the safer option.
Not only that, but from the sound of it, was close to him. He turned towards it, and then back towards the woman. "You," he said, her presence was already known, and now his was as well. He sounded hostile, though it was because he was vary of her rather than an attempt to intimidate or scare. "Who are you?"
Honestly, Rain didn't know how well he would do against two demons, possibly more. However, running away was not an option, if he did he'd be an embarrassment to Cabal, a horribly cowardly member.
Not unless I know that it will be more fruitful to force the demons to fight me somewhere I would have more of an advantage.
"I'm with the Cabal," he continued after a short break, and went over to the woman, sword held ready. He kept his distance to somewhere he could dodge any possible attacks, and he kept his eyes on her. Any movement she made, he'd react, though he had to admit that it was a little too dark for his liking. His other senses were focused on the demons.
"If they attack, will you fight them? Or are you another enemy?"
It wasn't long before Shaun realized just how fortunate this demon was for the layout of the city of Boston, since the way the city was built made alleys like a labyrinth. There was not only a myriad of different branching paths that branched even further, but there were building entrances, some of them clearly long-abandoned. On top of that, there were sewer grates for a guaranteed place to hide without being found.
To make matters worse, there were signs of struggle here and there that couldn't be clearly attributed to either a human OR the demon they were hunting. Really, the alleys seemed to be the worst place to be caught alone, even without the threat of a supernatural attacker. But when he noticed an odd series of footprints, he bent down to examine them.
The area itself stank of death, and the footprints were clearly inhuman. There weren't enough to track, but it painted a clear enough picture for him.
"Well, I'd say that it's definitely been here at some point. Can't say how recent." he murmured before he stood and moved further on.
When the came upon a wall that had been broken clean through, he grimaced.
"Well whatever it is is very strong. And may wear something white." he added as he picked off a scrap of white fabric from the remains of the wall.
Slipping it into a pocket, he glanced around and noticed the blue stains on what was left of the buildings side, but ignored it for now. They would have to keep an eye out for a blue 'blood' trail. As they wandered a little farther, however, they heard voices, causing Shaun to rush forward, grasping his spear in both hands. He pressed his back against the corner and slipped the headpiece off the spear. Then he whirled around the corner and held his spear at the ready. But there was nothing there but empty alleys.
A moment later however, whatever the voice was was answered by a roar. Shaun turned and looked around wildly for the source before coming upon the sewer cover that wasn't quite on right.
"Of course. Why wouldn't it be the sewers. Lets go Hugh, it could be close." he said, using the blunt end of his spear to pry the cover up and off.
Then he started to climb down. When he reached the bottom, he coughed at the smell, and covered his mouth with his free hand.
"Jesus wept, that stinks. And I wouldn't even be able to tell if that's the smell of death over the stench of shit." he said, before turning at the sound of another roar.
Waiting for Hugh, he pointed the way before starting forward with a purpose.
She had set her phone to record what the man said, once he began talking and she realized it was of value. When he asked for more money, she sent the recording to Winter to help them with that report they were supposedly working on, and request that they hurried up.
Victoria pulled out another hundred dollar bill, and held it so he could see it, but didn't give it to him just yet. She hadn't gotten any reply about that boat either, and if Sesthine still wanted it this seemed like an opportune moment to acquire one. "I'm interested enough in who else asked about it, but I'd pay even more if you could have a boat ready for me and my... partner, by the time it gets dark. She's very interested in seeing the city by sea."
Victoria handed him the hundred dollar bill, with the promise of more money if he fulfilled her other request as well as told her about these people. She set the phone to record again.
Sesthine
She kind of gave up on the creature having any intelligence, other than basic survival and territorial senses like that of animals, when it returned her greeting with a roar. The second roar from the other direction opened up the possibility she'd not considered before, that there might be more than one of them. It was possible that it had learnt how to move down here, but why had she not heard her any echoes of footsteps when it moved then? Animals would return each other's roars at times too, so it might have warned any other creatures that was in here with it.
It made little sense though. Why would they risk exposure when she came close? It was possible that a lot of people in the alleys had heard those roars, and would force some kind of authority to investigate it. It would also draw those she'd warned them about. These creatures were either dumber than she'd been lead to assume; they really hated the dead; or she'd stepped into their home where they may keep their children. Sesthine was only fond of the first possibility.
She tugged at her bond, signalling to Victoria that she'd found what they were looking for and more. When the man finally decided to come out of the shadows and speak to her, she wasn't surprised by his presence, but that he'd chosen to approach and adress her.
"Nemo." She said, in response to his first question. Sesthine found his second question amusing, and wondered why he'd only thought of two options. It would be so easy to pick one of them, instead of both, which she saw as the third and better option. Obviously she'd defend herself if they attacked, but she wouldn't hesitate to kill him either. "I'll defend myself."
Sesthine pulled her axe out to easier protect herself, then she ran through the darkness in the direction of the first roar. She assumed that beast would either be coming towards her or retreating in the direction of the sea. If she heard battle behind her she hoped the beast would be able to kill the cabal. As a vampire she'd no problem moving fast in her natural environment, the darkness, but for now she would chase the first beast and leave the cabal to deal with the rest, unless there was only one, in which case she'd return soon enough.
"Do you have any info on the target? That's what detectives do right, uncover facts? All we know is it's quite strong and skilled at avoiding detection."
"Not much, people don't like to talk about it," Randall replied, making note of the man's scales "I know its big and fast, and it only seems to come out at night, might be a shapeshifter of some sort going by what I have heard, though I can't be sure."
The scales didn't mean a great deal to him, he knew from personal experience that some people were changed in their fight against the demons and that some even chose their changes to be better equipped. With a name like drake he wondered if the scales were somehow dragon related, ha, that would be a bit of a poor joke. Though breathing fire would be quite useful... It didn't matter how much like a monster the man looked, if he fought against the actual monsters he was human enough for his tastes.
"I've mostly been familiarizing myself with the streets so I can be ready for it when night falls," he continued "City's a bit of a maze, but I've got a feel for it by now. Been looking for the sites of the attacks as well, though I haven't found one yet."
"Shit..." Jake breathed, feeling his face turn pale. The vague details of the murders were gruesome enough without having the added knowledge of the kind of...things capable of such acts. He snatched up the USB and dropped a few notes onto the bar. "Thanks man. If this all turns out to be true, and I can prove the murders are connected, you'll be getting your job back."
As Jake turned to leave, he faltered slightly and spun back to face the fallen detective. "You'll also make the chief look like a dick and probably force a public apology to you." With an encouraging smile, Jake left the bar.
Outside, Jake pulled the USB form his pocket and twiddled it idly, thinking. This would just contain the detective's notes, maybe some pictures of the "pieces" they'd found. It could wait until he'd gathered as bit more information.
And that was where Jake felt stuck. The guy said there were no witnesses whatsoever; not a particularly surprising occurrence when dealing with Extraplanar entities. People saw what they wanted to see and tried not to see what the didn't believe. A common problem when interviewing victims of creatures. The only lead he had was an eight-foot "guy" in a white coat and a vague statement that some sailors were among the missing victims.
Jake pocketed the USB wearily and headed to the nearby waterfront.
As he rounded a corner at the waterfront, Jake noticed a sparkling limo parked incongruously at the side of the run-down street. That was certainly odd. With narrowed eyes, Jake scanned the limo for any indication of who it might be; such an out-of-place object could have something to do with the case. Or worse, it could be hunters snooping around, the potential chaos of which would be catastrophic if they weren't the subtle type.
As Jake slowly advanced on the vehicle, he happened to catch a glimpse of a young woman, professionally dressed, talking to a salty man. She was waving money in fornt of his face and smiling. It was at that point that Jake saw he face clearly.
"Shit." He breathed, changing the direction of his now hastened steps to the woman.
Victoria Winter. Of all the brats to come poking their up-turned noses into this business, Victoria was one of the worst. Jake remembered meeting her once at a conference that he was forced to attend. She bitterly despised the Extraplanars and seemed to have made it a personal misson of hers to hunt every single one of them.
Unsurprising, considering what had happened to her father...
...But what about the rumours? Jake stopped suddenly as he recalled the times when he'd heard she had a pet demon. A vampire or with or something. He eyed the limo cautiously and felt his heart rate increasing. He knew that just barging through with demands for her to fuck off would just fuel her more. Or get him killed if the rumours about her pet were true. This had to be played with subtlety. But force, as well.
Bracing himself for the ensuing petulance, Jake stepped up to Victoria and the grizzled man. "Victoria, hi!" he shouted, all big grin and exuberant wave. "How the damned hell are you?"
Rain narrowed his eyes, he doubted that was her actual name. Whether or not she was attempting to be rude he didn't know, but it was uncalled for regardless. Besides, it answered little, a useless reply for the purpose of giving a useless reply.
So typical of people outside Cabal.
He had half a mind to just leave then, go towards one of the demons and get it done. However, she answered his second question, choosing neither of his options, from the sound of it.
"I'll defend myself."
Someone I can't trust not to attack me, in other words.
"Suit yourself."
She then ran ahead, and Rain decided not to follow. The demon behind him was closer, and considering her height and speed, he had a feeling she wasn't a human either.
She could be a turned, or possibly be bound to someone.
Just what group she did or did not belong to wasn't important now, since she wasn't from Cabal. The worst situation would be to have to fight her and the demon in her direction, and then have other demon close in on him, so he activated the magic boots on his feet, let them merge with his feet and legs, and ran towards the direction the second roar had come from, the closest one. He was ready to attack as soon as he spotted anything, movements, people, anything that could be his target. It was dark, but his eyes were quickly getting used to the darkness.
After traversing the archaic district of the city, drawing memories of Rome and Jerusalem to the front of his mind, and while a stench permeated the area the closer they got to the creature's lair. Footprints larger than his and the Priest's own combined, scraps of white cloth and a blue liquid reminiscent of blood brought many a possible Demon to his thoughts, though he still had no concrete idea of what they were tracking.
The closer they got, the heavier the stench began to feel, once what had been an ever-present whiff had turned into a cloying atmosphere of decay and waste. Until they reached an open sewer grate, a voice that sounded inquisitive, closely followed by a bone-chilling roar that boomed out of the underground and reverberated in the ancient abandoned Boston around them, leaving behind a slight ringing.
"Jesus wept, that stinks. And I wouldn't even be able to tell if that's the smell of death over the stench of shit."
A self-shake and exhalation later, Hugh pulled a cloth from his jacket, put it into his armpit to absorb the sweat before tying it around his head, covering his mouth and nose. Not that his stench was all that nice to smell in the first place, but it did help and cut the gag-inducing stench present welling from out of the sewer. Father Daughtry had already begun his descent into the darkness, though Hugh stopped him and pulled him back up.
"Let me go first Father, I can better defend below than you with that blessed replica."
Descending into the darkness, he pulled a pistol from the shoulder holster and scanned the dark area around him, seeing the telltale ripple of material and something metallic glint around a corner.
"Who are you and what are you doing here!?"He shouted into the darkness with his peculiar accent,"Come out!"
When Hugh stopped him from going down first and mentioned that he would be a better defender with his pistols than Shaun was with his spear, the priest gave him a strange look but conceded. As it was, the sewers were likely going to be close quarters, but the important thing was that this was Hugh's mission. He needed to get at least one kill under his belt, and Shaun was more there for support.
So, when he followed down the ladder behind his partner, he found him aiming a pistol into the darkness at a figure in the dark wearing some sort of billowing cape, and there was a crescent-shaped glint that had gone around the corner.
"Who are you and what are you doing here!? Come out!"
Grasping his spear, he followed behind him but didn't keep so close as to crowd him.
"Is it the demon we've been looking for?" he asked in hushed tones before he held up his rosary-wrapped fist, "Here."
After a few moments of concentration, focusing on the righteousness of their cause to fight the demons that plagued humanity, on his faith in God above, white crackling flames erupted from around his hand, lighting up the area around them so they could see better.
"This is your mission, Hugh. Remember, I'm here to support you and not the other way around. I'll keep you covered." he said, offering a smile of encouragement.
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