Chapter 3:
Ducky lay on her stomach.
The cold cement pressed into her skin and the rough frigid rock sweeping the heat from her veins. She was in full gear, nun's habit and all, waiting for the time when adrenaline would push the chill from her blood and her pumping heart would race into action.
The thought filled her with excitement.
"Ducky, do you read me? I repeat, Ducky do you read me?"
Duck adjusted her earpiece, disliking its cumbersome weight; the weight of unwanted comrades.
"Yeah Zoo, I hear you loud and clear."
Man she hated team missions. Currently she was invading private property, punishable by fines that would cut straight into the funds allocated towards Ducky's food money. Normally she'd be wary of such private perches, but this was different. This property, though under the name of a human businessman, was run by demons.
After some digging into Keilkin, Ducky had found not only did he have an outstanding warrant, but The Church had been considering cancelling his contract and leaving him alone. He was after all only a Level B which while formidable was a gnat in the greater scheme of things. Little Keilkin had somehow managed to assumed the identity of Kyle Herman, a thin waifish man whom had mysteriously disappeared three months ago. Upon a thicker more muscular Kyle's return and a diagnosis of repression based amnesia, Kyle was put back to work as owner of the large corporation L-DECT.
Ducky had an inkling that Keilkin the Skin Eater didn't just eat skin, he wore it. Level B demons had all sorts of nasty talents, and eating the skins he wore could easily be a way to cover his tracks. What L-DECT did was inconsequential. What mattered was what Keilkin was doing with it.
A white van pulled up by the metal garage doors that housed the back of the brick L-DECT warehouse. The doors slid up, illuminating a grungy line of abnormally shaped shadows. Level C and D demons walked out, some in their true forms, others poorly masked. The van popped open and a male earth demon came out with a cord of rope in his hands. On the end of that rope was a woman...no two.
She adjusted to scopes of her night visor. There were actually 10 women, all tied to the same rope in nothing but bikinis and heels. They ranged in race, age, and body type but all held the same unbelievably worn, haggard, and forlorn look on their faces. One girl at the back was openly sobbing. Ducky could see a few had noticeable bruises on their faces, no doubt rewards for trying to escape.
A female earth demon slunk forward, her green breasts bared with vines that slithered down her thin form, barely covering her mossy sex. She walked up to an Asian woman with sleek black hair and angry eyes. Smiling with brown pointy teeth she pressed herself against her.
"I wanna be this one."
Her voice was like a babbling brook, an irritating pitchy gurgle that made the Asian woman flinch. The demoness hissed in response and gripped the girl's face with a green taloned hand.
"Stop that! It's unattractive. You'll crease my
skin
."
Ducky felt cool rage seep into her. So that was his business, outfitting lesser demons in human guises so they could wreak havoc. They'd take their whole lives, and no one would even know their loved one had been killed. Oh, and on the side he worked over idiotic Level C's and D's who had no business messing with his caliber of evil, like Aquiius.
"Zoo, Tank, you seeing this?" she whispered softly.
"Clear," Tank's gravelly voice boomed. "Are we moving in or outside?"
Finding Keilkin had not been easy. She had found his contract to be taken by not one but two hunters. They were fairly novice despite believing otherwise and they were higher in age than Ducky. That age difference always made for pride problems and battered egos. Ducky could hear the blather now. Since Ducky had to bust a whole organization with several demons, Father had forced her to request a team up. To her regret it went through. There were only two driving forces that caused teamwork, boredom or money. Keilkin had an attractive amount on his head and Zoo and Tank were tired of having an outstanding bounty. It made them look bad. Ducky hadn't even seen them at the church meeting when they offered the Level AA contract. They were probably not invited.
She zoomed in the visual on her night goggles so that her team could see the faces of the women on their monitors. They each held a different vantage point. Their standard issue "specs" gave a panoramic view complied of what each of them saw.
"Zoo, what do you got?"
Ducky grit her teeth as she looked at the demons.
"I got a creeper, a wing, and a die." He responded.
"What are you thinking?"
Unofficially Ducky had taken the lead on this little project. Zoo was decent enough to pretend not to mind, Tank did a great deal. She pulled to an individual spec setting and examined the garage. It was clearly some kind of bullet proof alloy. Once closed it was designed to stay closed. With earth demons on his side Keilkin would be gone before they could blow the door. The ground would no doubt be left untiled.
"We split the team," Ducky decided."Zoo you take the creeper, Tank you get the wing. I'll take the die."
There was silence on the com Before Zoo said, "Duck that's a bit risky."
"I'll be fine," she assured him confidently.
There was silence once more before he said, "Fine. Don't flip the kill switch until completely necessary, and Ducky, don't you fucking kill my pet."
"Done."
Ducky heard a bit of shuffling but could see Zoo releasing his creatures to follow orders. She pulled back from the roof's edge in time to see a cute little animal waddle over to her. Standing about two feet tall it walked on its hind legs. Once it reached her it went back on all fours. It was fat and quite cute and cuddly looking. Its fluffy crimson fur was marred by a small white patch on its tummy. Large black eyes that shone even in the dark peered at her with curiosity. It also appeared to be mouthless. In truth, it looked at bit like a red fuzzy penguin; which was of course mouthless and had clawed hind legs instead of wings.
"You never answered my question Duck," Tank rasped impatiently.
Right the plan, she thought ruefully. I have to share it.
"Tank, I want you and the wing to take out the prisoner's guards. Then Tank, I want you to stuff those girls in the van and drive like a bat outta hell. Then the wing should pick me up. Zoo, you and the creeper need to take out the lights and the rigs on the gate. Preferably before big man here starts the drive."
"What will you do?" Tank asked.
She could tell by his voice that he wasn't sure if he was angry or thankful that she had saddled him with the job of driving off with the half naked women.
"Die and I are going in the gate," she said gleefully.
"You
cannot
go alo—"
"I'll leave it open Zoo. We need to be discrete."
She heard silence before a gruff, "Ok," confirmed his acceptance. She was glad, arguing made her angry.
She beckoned the Die over to her and it waddled over obligingly. Ducky wrapped her left arm around it in a quick squeeze and placed a kiss on its forehead. The Die, apparently male appreciated the gesture and smiled for her. She winced. Dies were so cute it almost made you forget what they were.
The grind of gears turning against stone and rust put Ducky back on task. The warehouse was opening. Ducky watched as a pale bleach colored man walked out of the warehouse. He was all shoulders it seemed and he wore a crispy pressed black suit. His black sunglasses covered his eyes and he carried about a black topless cane, though he wasn't actually leaning on it. He was frigidly stolid until he came face to face with the frightened women.
As soon as they saw him they began to shriek. He smiled then and Ducky wondered how his mouth could hold such a sight. His teeth looked like black shards of splintered glass carelessly arranged in his mouth. It looked painful, like the black tint was the result of the stained blood he shed every time he closed his mouth. It was awful, but Ducky had seen worse. The human women however were obviously not of the same upbringing.
Smiling harder he raised his hand up and began to sway it back and forth between the women. Some cried the moment he hesitated too long, others closed their eyes and prayed. Eventually he settled his finger to point to a small wispy red headed woman with a pixie cut. Her big watery green eyes looked at him with fear but also a teaspoon of defiance. It was that teaspoon that set her apart.
"I will taste her flesh," he breathed quietly.
His voice sounded like sand scattered by the wind, a rasp of a whisper that assaulted the ears. Ducky frowned in irritation. She couldn't wait to kill that thing.
Two Level D's came forward and untied her. On her first step she wobbled. Apparently wherever they had stolen her from she wasn't accustomed to wearing heels. The Level D's became irate with her newborn pace, and simply lifted her up on each side. They led her back towards the garage her toes dangling near the floor and Keilkin leisurely followed.
The earth demon cackled and pointed to her lackeys to open the door of the van. One by one the women were pushed head first through the doors.
"You should have looked more appealing," the earth demon snickered to them. "If he had chosen you, you could have lived another day."
Ducky had heard enough. Obviously that earth bitch and the air bitch were of some relation, and to be honest it would be a consolation to her new haircut to shut the woman up.
"Tank..."
"Ready."
Ducky bent into a crouch and fingered the holster of her gun. It wouldn't snag, but the weapon would not fall out either. That was good enough for her. The Die climbed onto her back and fastened on. She could feel the presence of the thin pinching claws through her armor.
"Zoo?"
"Ready."
When the last girl got into the truck Ducky pulled the gun from her the holster. It twirled in the air before she caught it and aimed.
The van door closed.
