Xao:

Austin Texas, inside the city.

The trailer was moved a few miles from where we had been, this time not in a banshee park. We had thought to go alone, but when we left the park, a small convoy of banshees came with us anyway, their leader pointing out they were itching for revenge after losing seven people today. The trailer was set up again by mom and Floreen, but myself and Jaden had a mission now.

Alex, our informant, had told us where he had gotten his job. Showing up there with young children like Kyle and Jessica would be conspicuous, as it was basically a bar. However I, a young banshee woman, and Jaden could go in just fine. Well, my appearance was pushing things but- I WOULD help track down Jay.

The tracker in my pocket, our small group walked down a dark alley to a bar lit with neon lights. We walked in, me seeing advertisements for different kinds of alcohol all over the place. There were girls dancing on a stage that Jaden directed my eyes away from- I just went along with that.

Our banshee was named Sabrina. She had a slender frame and apparently, it was attractive from the cheers she got when she entered the room. Hearing the jeers she simply rolled her eyes- I did too, knowing she could decimate anyone in that room with ease. All around there were wooden tables and chairs with a large finished bar on the left side of the large dining area.

Jaden and I took two barstools as Sabrina tapped the table with her fingers, putting her top half over the counter.

"Hey- you're a nice looking- he seems a bit young to be in here," noted a bartender as he came over to us.

Jaden just smiled and said, "We wish to speak to Salim. Don't worry, the boy's not here to drink."

"You really think I'm just grabbing the boss for nothing?" he asked. "What do you guys even want?"

Sabrina caressed the back of his hand, a gentle smile on her lips.

"Oh honey, we just want a little of his time," she said. "Please? If not for the stupid boys, then for me?" He hesitated. "Really, what could it hurt to just say we're here?" The man let his shoulders down, stepped back, and promptly went to speak to his boss several feet away. Sabrina smiled over at us. "Honestly, maybe you two should just be quiet while I work." She looked down. "My husband died in that attack, trust me, I'm as interested as you in this outcome."

A bald man with rather large muscles came over to us. He had pale skin, but those muscles dispelled any idea that that was a reflection of not living an active life. "Hello," the man said as he came over to us. "You wished to speak to me?"

"We're here to inquire about a job with a certain group," Jaden said.

"This group got a name?" the man asked.

"Jacobson," Jaden said.

The man nodded. "Well, this isn't exactly the employment office. You want information, I need you to buy something."

"Does it matter what?" Jaden asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and stood back, slapping the table in front of Jaden. "Shut it, pretty boy." She looked around at the drinks behind the counter. She nodded looking at me. "He'll have a grape soda, if that's around," The man slapped a can of soda in front of me so quickly it startled me.

The man chuckled. "You'd be surprised how many drinks that can work with." He turned to Jaden. "You're a man, what'll you be having?"

"I'm a man, but I don't drink while I'm working," he said. "Maybe some milk?" Sabrina put her head in her hand.

I sighed. No, Jaden didn't do this often. Actually, my years as a trickster probably gave me more knowledge of this kind of life. We were going WAY too cheap.

I cut in. "He'll buy a wine bottle." The man stared at me.

"Really?" Salim said, voice starting to crack a little. "Which wine?"

Sabrina looked up at the bottles on the wall, covering my mouth with her hand. "Hmm... ya know ordinarily I might use my um... tools..." she shook her hips, "to try to get a deal, but I think the boys kinda killed that mood."

"Yeah," the man chuckled. "You wanna do stuff like that, maybe ask for a pair of socks first so you can gag them."

"Might like doing stuff like that to this one," she said, messing up Jaden's hair. "Or ya know- doing stuff with you."

The man laughed, me looking away, trying not to look annoyed and sick. "I like how you talk, but I need money," he finally said.

She looked at the bottles again, then pointed deliberately. "Will that do?" she asked.

The man brought down the bottle. "Vodka... good brand too. You got the money?"

The woman slapped a few coins on the table. The man chuckled but then looked at the coins. "Are... are those gold?" I curiously looked at the bottle, turning it to read the label. The man smacked away my hand. "A swig of this and someone your age will be barely able to get to the bathroom in time to lose his lunch." He then looked at Sabrina. "That being said, are you sure you want this brand? It's a fine brand, but as I said, it'll get you trashed in no time flat." The woman pushed her money to him, popped the cork, and took a gulp.

She slammed the bottle down wiping her mouth publically and giving a happy "Ahh- that should do the trick. I've got some bad thoughts to put down."

"You alright?" the man asked.

"Physically or emotionally?" she asked back. "Tell these boys what they want to know."

The man stood back. "Jacobson you say?" asked Salim. He smiled over at me, me having to consciously avoid cringing. "Was wondering if you were dropping off a... package with this little one. But apparently, he's an associate- somehow." Jaden raised an eyebrow at Salim.

"I help secure... merchandise. Older than I look. I'm less suspicious when I move about certain venues," I said.

"Hmm... not a bad plan." The man commented. "Now, what do you want to know?"

"Someone got a job here, so they claim. Who would they have spoken to and when do you think?" Jaden asked.

"As it turns out Jacobson often recruits from here."

"Do I need to give you more money to find out when they come next?"

The man reached down and audibly sifted through some papers under the table. "Course you know, if you didn't know my name we wouldn't be talking at all. No, the gold was quite enough to loosen my lips. I think they will be coming back again tomorrow at noon." Jaden smiled and started to get up. The man grabbed his arm. "You seem new to these kinds of things so I'll help you out. You can come tomorrow at noon- but if you come again, come with the same company as before. I see a new group with you- Jacobson doesn't like unpredictable people. You'll be shot on sight."

"If I come alone?" asked Jaden.

Sabrina waved a hand at him. "How about I come alone?" she asked.

"Don't. Nothing suspicious. Arrive at noon as you came just now."

Thus we left the bar.

I looked around as we walked, realizing we were pretty alone at the moment. "So... feels like we're making progress fast this go around."

"Yeah," Jaden said. He looked over at Sabrina. "Thanks for your part."

"Do not mention it," she said, drinking her vodka again. "Some friends of mine will be happy to see this- tis effective..." her normal banshee accent was coming back as she started to stumble and then slump against a nearby building. She sat down. "Wilt thou do me a favor?" We both stooped down near her. "Kill that man. I wouldst ask to join the team but... verily I am in no condition."

"Think the alcohol might be the reason," I said.

She shook her head. "If only. The alcohol is only to stop the feeling." She squeezed her eyes, resealing the bottle and setting it beside herself. "Fifteen years of marriage ended in moments. I shall ever long to hold the father of my children again." She stared at the bottle. "And to think- the man we are after would surely not have thought twice about taking my babies from me too."

I sat down next to her. "You seem pretty good at this- interrogating I mean."

"I and my fellow ladies are trained to insert ourselves into this criminal world to bring monsters to justice. Tis not a nice job, but it needs to be done, does it not?"

"Is the alcohol working?" I asked. " You feel better?"

She sighed. "Not really." She shook her head. "You shall learn sometime, kid, we often do things to help with pain that... really do not work. You want my advice, something soft every now and then is fine but..." she looked at her bottle, "I see you touching something like this- don't."

Jaden stood up. "Hate to say it, but we probably should find how easy this was suspicious. Tyrin probably knew a squad of normies would get their butts handed to them by us but he sent them anyway."

"You think he wants us to find Jay?"

"I think he wants to get our fight over with now that she's out of the way. I think he wants us to come to a battlefield of his choosing," Jaden said. "I think, this time, I don't care. I just want a shot at him."

"Verily... that is- what I want to hear..." the woman said, her speech starting to slur. "You might have to carry me home by the way."

"I just want a shot too," I said. "Jay better be alive."

"Jay that little girl who helped you fight me?" she asked me. I finally recognized this was one of the women I had trained with days ago. "Little brat..." I was about to defend my girlfriend when the woman put up a hand. "She looks like my little Jezebel might in a few years... I second you. She better be alright."

"If she is, you'll have mercy on him or something?" Jaden asked me.

I was just silent on that note. Jaden picked up Sabrina and had her piggyback as we kept walking. A few minutes passed, and finally, I blew out the air in my stomach. "Moving in criminal circles, dropping cases... maybe even accepting a lost loved one without a funeral- even such as our underground funerals go. There was a time, not too long ago, when the idea of hunting someone down, knowing we might have to kill them, bothered us. Now, all that bothers me about the idea is how many we might lose in the process." I clenched my fists. "This is changing us."

Jaden looked ahead. "Yeah. I guess it is."

"We win, we take down Tyrin for good, you think it'll be worth it? Jacobson might not fall apart if we just kill him. We would need a rival organization or something to do that."

Sabrina sighed. "Leave that to us, darling... actually, depending on the size of Jacobson, the banshees can not just run around taking out multinational organizations- even if they are bad. Still... I shall be happy to escort as many of those monsters as I can out of this world."

I nodded. "So no one is going after Jacobson itself. So, I reiterate, if Jacobson itself survives us killing their boss, is taking Tyrin down still worth it?"

Jaden looked down and paused his walk. I paused after a few more steps and looked back at him. "They might stop coming after us- might not," he said. He growled and glared. He then nodded.

Sabrina bit her lip. "I am only half here and even I think it's worth it."

"Least I know I'm not alone in thinking so," I said.