In the following weeks after Hunter's return he slowly adjusted to his old life. There was still a lot of progress to go but there was a sliver of hope for him. He still forgot names left and right. Hanson still has to remind him daily who he is talking to. The business itself is fine, however. They've stashed enough away that their staff can still be paid while they are unable to take jobs. Hunter seems to be relearning everything from scratch about how to run his own organization. Hanson has gone back to being next to Hunter almost 24/7. It's been a long time since he had to care for him as such. Juliet still tries to have some conversations with him about what they've done since she joined him. He seems to remember the information about the creatures but not the job itself.
Juliet caught him in some downtime where she was able to invade his office without Hanson being at his side. The TV in the back corner was on so his back was to her. He heard her come in. With a quick glance, he was able to recognize the face but still could not remember the name. He had a glass on his desk filled with a clear liquid in one of his fancier glasses. It didn't seem to take long for him to get back into some habits. She took a seat on the far end of his desk taking the corner for herself as she watched the TV with him. He had it on to a news station that was running something about a missing person. It was out of Michigan which struck her as strange.
Looking over he didn't really seem to be interested in it. It just seemed to be noise while he was waiting for something to happen. He just seemed to be lost in his own office. Everyone had to come to him to tell him what he needed to do. She sat looking at him wondering when he was going to be back to his old self, taking charge and running things like the fine-tuned machine it was before.
She watched him as he finished the glass pouring himself another. Looking over she remembered that he promised to tone back on the drinking. After what he had been through she was willing to give him some slack but only a little bit. "You shouldn't drink so much." He looked confused by her statement. "I know you don't remember but you said that you would cut back."
"Um, ok?"
He still seemed to not get it. She grabbed the glass holding it up to him. "This is what I mean. You…" She stopped mid-sentence as something struck her as strange. Whenever she held one of his glasses she would always flinch her nose at the smell. This had no smell. She looked down before taking a sniff. Still nothing. With no hesitation, she took a sip before putting the glass down. "Can I see the decanter? The big bottle?" The giant glass bottle that she knew for holding only the highest quality alcohol was handed to her. She popped the airtight seal off of it taking a deep whiff. Again, nothing. It was water! He had been drinking water!
She handed it back with an odd look on her face. "Um, are you ok?"
"As much as I can be but you're acting weird even by my standards."
She had nothing. He was drinking water, not alcohol like she had wanted him to. He seemed to be perfectly fine as well. From the night that she saw him go through the withdrawals in Salem he turned around 180 degrees. "Hunter, do you remember my name?"
"Yea, it's um… it's… I got this." He leaned back thinking as hard as he could, "Juliet, right?"
She grinned with excitement, "Yea. Do you remember my real name?"
"Your real name?"
"Yes, the name that you bound me over?"
"Bound? Wait, you mean sealed to me, bound?"
She just nodded her head hoping that he would remember. He looked at her the best he could trying to remember. The collar caught his eye. The metal still shined like the day that he claimed her with it but his mind could not remember. She saw him looking at the collar around her neck. With a couple fingers, she placed them on it to remind herself of when they met and how reluctant she used to be to help them. His face showed the struggle he was having trying to remember but he couldn't.
His head dropped with a shake, "I can't, sorry." She forced a smile, "I'm sure it will come back." She leaned over placing her hand on his head, "I know you, you'll remember." She left him alone in the office with the TV still on. He seemed to go back to the state he was previously in before she entered. Maybe it was just his face that went back to the way it was. Something seemed to strike him pretty deep but he's been fighting with this since he returned.
As she leaned against the wall in the hallway she sighed loud enough for Hanson to hear as he walked by. "Problems Lady Juliet?"
"Hunter."
"He's really trying. You know this. But that's ok. We'll get him back up to snuff. Besides, I have a job that's perfect for us."
He was carrying a rather large stack of papers in his hands. There were a few photos clipped in along with what looked like other reports. A smile crept across Hanson's face as he said, "Please, meet us in the conference room for a briefing."
20 minutes was all it took and everyone was listening in. Adam and Cooper would be left out on this job as a chance for Hunter to show his colors again. If something did go wrong their own contingency plan was to have Hanson take control and direct yet they were hopeful that Hunter would step up. The projector turned on as the lights went out to a grip of faces appearing on the screen. Hanson began his presentation, "This job comes out of Vermont. In the last two months, 23 people have gone missing. Now, in the beginning, there was no pattern but recently it's been found that all these people do have something in common." Hanson paused hoping for a certain someone to catch it just from the faces. Hunter looked at the screen. The gears were turning and trying to make something of it. He leaned forward before it clicked, "Monsters, demons, and supernatural beings. Two werewolves, three mermaids, five demi-demons, four sirens, and the remainder are fairies and imps."
There was a huge sigh of relief in the room as Hunter sat back in his chair. He did retain a lot of his knowledge about the creatures he hunts but now, his critical planning skills are still there. Hanson continued, "They have gone missing all from the same local area. Authorities have no leads and only recently were asked to back down while specialists were called in, us in this case. We are going to be tasked with finding how they were caught, where they are, and who is doing this."
Hunter stood up looking at the grid again before Hansons turned it off. His action had him wait to shut it down while he looked. Hunter touched the screen on a couple of the faces before turning around, "Do they look kinda young to you guys, or is that just me being me again?" Hanson took a second look before looking back at the file, "They are reported between the ages of 16 and the oldest is 210 being a demi-demon."
"Which is a young demon isn't it?"
"Grown but still young to them, yes."
"Any ideas or leads on why someone would want someone so young?"
"They do not."
"Too young to fight… Hanson, is there a black market for slaves? People who would want monsters to serve them even if it's against their will?"
"I would not doubt it, sir."
"Well, looks like we may have an in already."
Hunter turned around looking at Juliet with a sly smile. She knew he was planning something and the face he gave was his old face of high risk with a high reward, just like they expected. He really was coming back to them, however, slow it may have been. Their bags are packed, and their plane loaded up and fueled, with a plan in rough stages they take to the skies heading towards South Burlington, Vermont.
Once in the air, Hansons took a seat at the table across from Hunter, "What's the plan, sir?" Hunter seemed to be lost in thought for just a moment before he shifted in his chair, "I'm not sure it's a viable plan but I think, with permission, we can use our own subdued succubus to easily find the people we are looking for." Juliet's ears caught wind of their scheming. She turned to give them her attention as they continued. "Follow me on this and correct me if I am wrong. If what we are looking for are traffickers then they will have to do something to subdue their captures much like…" It took him a second but he got it, "Juliet over there with her restriction collar. I'm also guessing that those who were caught were not just sold off for slave labor. As sad as it is, I'm sure sex trafficking is also lucrative for these people. With no offense to the lady, in a case like this, nothing makes a better love doll than a restricted succubus."
He looked over his shoulder at Juliet sitting behind them. She seemed conflicted about his wording. She tried to scowl but just could not, "Well, I mean you're not wrong but at the same time I'm kind of offended. I think there was a passive compliment in there yet it feels empty. Anyway, continue."
"That was what I was trying to avoid. But either way, a constricted succubus should be fairly sought after. We can track her with a simple locater hopefully finding where they hideout and possibly where they are keeping the others. From there though, tracking down those that have been sold may be difficult."
Hanson intervened, "If we can find the group the clean-up crews should be able to track down and return the missing persons. We can do most of the legwork then they can finish up. We still get paid, everyone comes home, and those who participated in this vile act will be punished accordingly, human or not." It was the plan. Using Juliet as bait and a double agent the two would be able to track her and hopefully find the others. "There's just one last thing that needs to be taken care of first before we begin." Hunter turned himself around to look at Juliet. "Are you ok with this?" Never before has she been asked if the plan was ok. They constantly just came up with one and then worked towards success. For the first time, even though she had been put in danger before, he had asked her for her approval to be used. Whether or not it would make a difference how she answered was unknown but just the thought was enough, "Let's do it."
The plan was set in motion.
The wheels on the plane touched down around 5pm local time. Once the plane was stored away the group was greeted in the usual fashion by police cars and a liaison. As they walked towards them Hunter stepped up behind Hanson. In a low tone to not attract attention he spoke, "Can you take points on this? I'm not sure I'm able to work with people yet." He got an affirmative nod as Hanson greeted the men in a cheery tone introducing the others. Hunter sat back with Juliet as the two of them held onto their bags. Their scheduled ride pulled up behind the line of cars. This was their time to leave. There were still plenty of questions they wanted to ask the group but now that they were on the clock, those would have to wait until they got their work completed.
The hotel they're staying at is fairly close to where they believe that they would be able to contact someone about some underground dealings. The plan got more fleshed out as they traveled back. Hunter would be the one who would make contact looking for someone who deals with more exotic "pets" than what people were used to. From there he would use Juliet's collar as a sign that he has something of great interest and value to someone. Hopefully, that little bit would be enough to get them in and begin working from inside. Juliet agreed that she would be sheepish in the exchange to not raise suspicion that she was in fact still under control of most of her actions. Hanson would become involved during the negotiation as a broker of sorts. It was a very delicate balance that required everyone to play their parts to a T. Tonight is further planning and mapping out potential areas. Tomorrow would be the real deal.
Around 8pm everyone started to clock off for the night. There was a little bit of free time to do whatever was needed before bedtime. Hunter wandered himself downstairs to the bar with a book he had brought with him. With a soda at his table, he cracked it open to the page he had the ear flipped on. Juliet wandered her way downstairs to find him alone near the corner. With no notice, she sat down across from him with a drink of her own. He marked his spot looking over, "Hello." He put the book down face up. The title read "This War". From the back, it looked like a more action-orientated book about a soldier who recalled his stories of war. "That seems like a strange book for you to be reading."
"Hanson has been trying to get me to remember some things. He let me know that I served in the Army at one time so he thought that maybe a couple books like these might bring something back."
"You really don't remember what happened do you?"
"The last thing that I can consciously remember is being dragged into the darkness. I don't remember what I was doing before then and I don't remember being shoved into the sarcophagus."
"Even in your panic you kept a cool head and stuck Cooper's number to the inside of it. Without him, we might not have ever gotten you back."
"I wonder if my coming back was worth it honestly."
The hot sting that followed was enough to jar him back. Juliet was half off her seat leaning across the table with her hand still out from where she hit him. His cheek was numb but as blood returned it turned into a dull fuzzy feeling before the pain came. "You ever say that again and I will hit you harder. Hanson, Adam, Cooper, and I all lost so much sleep because you were gone."
"But honestly answer me this. Am I who I used to be?"
This was her turn to be slapped, albeit verbally. She fell back into her seat as she watched his eyes change. "Honestly, how much have I changed since I've been gone? I still don't remember your names from time to time. I still don't remember your real name. Hell, other than Hunter I don't know what my name is. My demeanor has changed so much. I can tell by how you all react around me. I'm acting not like myself and as I usually would. Can you honestly tell me, can you look me in the eye and tell me that I am the same person that walked into that museum with you guys?"
His attitude had changed. Everything down to his body language had changed. How he spoke, acted, thought, worked, and functioned, all changed from the moment he was gone to when he returned. In the span of two days, he had lived hundreds of years. Juliet muttered the question, "What happened to you while you were gone?"
He seemed to struggle, "I wouldn't tell you even if I could. Right now it all seems like a vivid nightmare that you remember when you wake up but instead of moving on it just sticks around. There is not a person on this Earth who I would wish that upon. There is no one who deserves what happened. Think of the worst thing you can do to another person and then you still do not come close to the level of hell and torment that I went through."
"I didn't know…"
He cut her off, "And I hope you never do."
It got quiet at their table. The sense of dread spread across the barroom floor affecting the other visitors. Hunter let out a deep sigh, relaxing himself the best he could. She broke the silence, "You've been dealing with that since you came back, huh?" Just an affirmative nod. "I'm sorry I slapped you."
"It's ok. I'm glad you care enough to do that."
He cracked a smile. It wasn't a joke but an accurate observation. He took a gulp of his soda before moving his book further out of the way. With a stretch, he popped his back and shoulders. "You came down here for more than just my depressing tales. What's on your mind?" She fiddled with the straw in her drink, "I'm just nervous about tomorrow."
"I can understand that. You still have time to say 'no' to where Hanson and I will be able to come up with a new plan."
"No, I can't do that. Besides, this is the most direct way to get to where we're trying to go. I will try my best not to let you down."
The rest of the evening was spent with a much happier conversation. Hunter had to relearn all of Juliet's quirks. She got to tell him the story from her perspective of how she met him and the misadventures they had so far. Hunter got to learn a little bit more about himself than he remembered. They were able to share stories as if they had just met for the first time in their lives but laughed as though they were lifelong friends. It was a bitter-sweet moment for the both of them. The night started to get later so the two retired back to the room. The two queen-sized beds were already occupied by one body. Juliet took the one with Adam who didn't seem to bother with her being there. Hunter took his usual spot on the odd chair-couch combination. It was reassuring to see him lying there again. Tomorrow begins a new day of hard work.
The sun peeked through the shades putting one strip of light down the center of the room. Hanson's first alarm went off waking up both Hunter and Hanson. Hanson started the coffee while Hunter struggled to wake up. Once the pot was finished one cup was handed to Hunter. It was still piping hot. One thing that hasn't changed is that Hunter still was able to champ his bad coffee to wake himself up. Adam and Juliet woke up with the second alarm. Their usual fight for the shower began ending with Adam's loss. Once Juliet was out and dressed Adam took a shower. Everyone had their clothes ready to go. Hanson was in a more business casual outfit but still pressed and squared. Hunter took a pair of nicer pants with a casual shirt. Juliet, being the capture on this one, was given some ratty-used clothes. Enough to cover her up but nothing fancy. Adam's job was to stick back and keep an eye on the tracker now planted in Juliet's collar.
The operation area was just a couple of blocks away. Hunter would walk with Juliet following just behind him with her head down and not making eye contact with anyone. She was to follow Hunter to the step. Hanson would keep close but far enough that he could observe any other persons in the area. Hunter had the hardest part of this. He had to sell his partner to someone without actually knowing who they were. His first mission was to find a human who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd. There were a few people who seemed to fit that description. He mumbled out what they were to himself as they passed. His eyes however did catch someone sitting on the steps of a public building with a cigarette in their hand. The woman seemed normal enough to the naked eye but to the trained eye she was none other than a rat in disguise.
Hunter took a seat next to her audibly ordering Juliet to sit. He looked around checking his surroundings before engaging, "Lovely out isn't it?" The woman looked over at him with a scowl, "Buzz off brat."
"Hey now, I'm here for business."
She scoffed, "Pfft, you don't wanna deal with my business."
"Hm, probably not but you do want mine."
"Kiddo, you don't understand who you're dealing with."
"Are you a thieving rat or a dealing rat?"
This perked her up, "Mkay kiddo, what do you want?"
"I'm looking for someone who's looking to take an asset off of me for a fair price."
"What kind of asset?"
Hunter tilted his head towards the woman sitting beside him. "That's some asset there but what makes her valuable?" Nonchalantly he leans back, moving his hand to her shoulder. With a quick flip, he exposes the collar around her neck for just a second. Just long enough that the rat can see the silver. "That's a pretty valuable asset. Why would someone want to get rid of it?"
"Bored, looking for something new. Ya know how it goes."
"Mhm, well I know a guy who might be able to help. His name's Mick and he likes to work around an old building about four blocks from here. Find the rundown bar and ask to see the boss."
"Got it. Hope he gives you a split."
"Oh, they do."
Hunter stood up motioning for Juliet to do the same. "Pleasure doing business with you." The two took to the sidewalk once again heading down the street. They went through a back alley to get one street over before heading towards the rundown bar they were directed to. "Are you sure you're ok with doing this? You can still back out." Juliet shook her head with a smile, "I'm fine, We have to find the others." As long as she was sure about it the plan would continue.
The place really was run down. The sign looked like it was about to fall off the wall. The wires that were still holding it up looked like they had seen some better times when they weren't exposed to the outside. The two walked into the dead atmosphere looking around. There seemed to be a few people sitting in a corner in the back while the bartender stood up front keeping himself busy. Hunter walked up to the bar knocking on the wood. In a slurred voice that turned out to be his accent the bartender asked, "What'd You want?"
"I need to see the boss."
He huffed, "N' what'd you think he'd want with you?"
"I have something he might be interested in." He motioned to Juliet with a head nod.
"Well, maybe he might be interested."
He disappeared behind the counter before standing up on the far side and walking towards a back room. He returned holding the door open, "Yea, boss will see ya." As they passed he let out a snort as he sniffed the new girl. She jumped a bit, clinging to Hunter. As the door shut she shuttered, "What the hell was that?" Hunter looked back as they continued walking the dark hallway, "Looked like a boar man to me." The hallway ended at a musty-looking doorway. Opening released a horrid stench that could only be described as rotting food. Walking in there was a man sitting in a rutty chair that was falling apart at the seams. He took one look at Hunter and snorted, "You're the one with something so amazing that I just have to meet with, huh?"
"I guess that's me."
"What you have better be good. My time is money and I don't like wasting time."
"I understand. What have you been told?"
"What I'm told is that you have something relevant to my interests."
Hunter steps aside revealing the cowering woman behind him. The big guy in the chair leans forward with great interest before snorting himself, "Oh, she smells nice! Where did you find a nice thing like that?"
"Texas."
"Oh, she's a special import to my area then. What does she do?"
"Whatever you want. She's a restricted succubus."
His eyes widened at the prospect, "Ah! Succubus! Those are hard to get hands-on. I'll write you a check for $120,000 right here!"
"I prefer cash for this type of transaction."
The man seemed to freeze in his place giving Hunter a confused look. He snorted again before laughing as hard as he could, "Bwahahaha! You're a funny man! It's an expression, my friend. I always pay cash for the best items." Juliet did not like being treated like property. She would have to bear with it for a short moment while Hunter worked the deal and the job. "Since you made me laugh, $150,000." There was no hesitation from Hunter. He dropped the number and Hunter responded, "$200,000." Again, the man froze before speaking, "You come in here demanding $200,000 and I don't even know your name?"
"Dexter, $200,000."
"Bwahahaha! You're still funny! Ok, I will do $200,000 since you seem to know how much she is really worth. We have a deal, yes?"
He put out his mammoth of a hand to shake on it. Hunter stepped forward looking at the rings and jewelry he had on his fingers. With a small smirk, he grabbed his hand. The two made the agreement with a firm handshake and a hefty laugh. "Excellent! You just leave her here and we'll deal with her." Hunter turned to Juliet, "Alright sweetheart, you're someone else's toy now." Juliet didn't enjoy hearing those words. Looking into his eyes, it hurt him to say that to her. She understood though.
Hunter took his leave heading back to the hotel trusting that Juliet would be ok. Back in the hotel room, Adam was at the computer waiting for Hunter's return. "There you are." The door shut and both Hanson and Adam turned to him. Adam flipped the remote locator in the collar giving him a solid ping of where she was. They would not remove the restriction collar from her. That's what made her so valuable to them. A restricted succubus who could not drain the energy of her lover. It was perfect for a lot of people. Adam's job was to let the others know when she was moving but until then, they were playing the waiting game.
Hanson was reading an old book of tales. Adam kept his eyes locked on the computer while looking at some online shopping sites for stuff he needed. Hunter looked rather disturbed. He kept wondering what a horde of pigmen would do to a succubus. They're sloppy, greedy, and very violent by nature. The one Hunter sold Juliet to seemed to be an ok guy but for a while, he wasn't sure if he was about to explode but he ended up exploding in laughter. His touch with the world around him was still very iffy. You can learn anything from books but that doesn't matter if you can't bring it into the real world.
It was a couple hours before Adam shouted to the others that Juliet was moving. They all moved over to the screen and watched as the small dot moved across the map. It took a couple stops here and there but didn't come to a solid stop for any amount of time until it hit a building near a manufacturing loading dock. After about 10 minutes with no movement, the group went into action. Adam would stay back and keep an eye on where she was if they moved her again. Hanson drove while Hunter stuck to worrying about what they were going to do.
They didn't have much involvement with the police on this job but they were on standby to jump whenever they called. Even with the idea of having an entire armed police squad behind them, Hunter was still uneasy about this. The bait may have worked too well in this case. Everything seemed to be moving too smoothly. A short 15-minute drive and they were at what looked like an abandoned trucking depot. There were still signs of use so maybe they just didn't keep it up. Hanson made a quick call to Adam. They were able to confirm that she had not moved.
With a deep sigh, Hunter stepped out of the car walking across the street making sure no one was looking. Hanson was right behind him looking around as well, "What is the plan, sir?"
"We bust them. We survey the area and inside, call for backup, and let them take the rest."
"Simple."
"I hope so. I really do."
They had a couple options but most of them involved heading through dark areas of the building. Looking around, luck seemed to be on their side. While shaky, there was a ladder that led to the roof access that overlooked the main portion of the building. Hunter went up first with Hanson behind him. They took quiet steps as they moved across the roof. There were a few of the larger lights inside that were on, illuminating most of the main floor. There were a few people standing around and some of them were out of their hiding. They were in their normal form with small horns and tusks over their faces. They were looking around, drooling, laughing, seemingly having a good time.
One seemed to stick out though. He looked familiar yet a lot different than the last time he saw him. Hunter pointed to the largest one which was just covered in metals. His tusks had gold inlaid in them along with rings, bracelets, and other fine metals hanging off of them. "That's the boss. He's who I spoke with at the bar. He paid $200 thousand to buy Juliet off of me so keep an eye on him. I'm going to move around and see if there's a way in from up here." Hanson nodded, moving forward getting onto his stomach to keep himself low while being as close to the glass as he could. They all seemed to be hooting and hollering about something but they couldn't see what yet. Hansons heard something rattle nearby. Looking over Hunter had found a hatch that he could get into. He dropped down slowly, closing it behind him. It put him on a grid railing that went around most of the warehouse.
Using his new walkway, Hunter made his way to a dark corner where he could crouch down and get a better view without being seen. They got more and more rambunctious as another pigman walked out with something in his hand. With a hard pull, he caused Juliet to stumble out into the light. Her clothes were torn. Her body had changed as well. These guys forced her to change herself to be more attractive. She seemed to be struggling against the chain around her neck. With her hands bound behind her, she had a harder time keeping her balance. Her ankles were shackled together with a simple chain that looked like it was locked in the center. The boss motioned for another to grab something. They returned with a metal table that they slammed down rattling the entire room. The one pulling Juliet led her up to it.
A couple others circled around. The one who pulled her got behind her putting his fat hand on the back of her head. With a heavy push, he bent her over the table banging her head against it. The other two went to opposite corners. The cuffs on her were released and one arm was grabbed by each pigman. They clicked a lock strapping her arms to the table while the one behind her undid the lock on her legs. With his arm, he shoved her leg apart to lock the chains to the table legs. He snorted, "Ok, boss! She's all yours!" There was the bellowing laugh from the largest of them, "I'm not gonna lie! I'm not sure I even want to sell her!" The other joined in as he laughed.
His thumping footsteps could be felt from the rafters as he moved around. His hand seemed to swallow her head from its massive size. He pulled her head up to look at the pigmen around her. She did what she could to avoid eye contact with them but they were all looking at her. "Gotta test the merchandise! Bwahahaha!" His fat hands grabbed at her shirt, tearing it clean off. The others began to honk and snort at the half-naked woman in front of them. Hanson kept his position reaching for his phone. This was enough for them. He heard a rattling noise coming from next to him. Hunter was on the move across the catwalk. He kept low, getting closer and closer to a high beam. With it in reach, grabbed on and started shimmying his way down. He was about to make a rash action. "Come on, pick up. Pick up!" Hanson urged his phone hoping someone would pick it up. "Burlington Police department…" Before they could even finish Hanson spoke up, "To the Lieutenant, now." The officer paused for just a brief moment, "Right away."
Back on the warehouse floor, Boss Hog was showing off his new toy to his guys. "Look at the tits on her!" The others would holler as he lifted her upper body off the table by her neck to show her off. "That's well and all but I wanna see what she can do. Hue!" He snorted before she felt a claw at the small of her back. With a loud rip, her clothes were destroyed. They were thrown off to the side leaving her with nothing. The sting from the cloth ripping was all she could really feel before the cold air hit her. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." The others started inching closer, shoving each other trying to get a better look. "I'm gonna make her squeal for me."
The only thing they got to watch was a blur that knocked their boss backward onto his fat ass with a shattering thump. In the place where their boss once stood was a man wearing a sleeveless black shirt and dark jeans. With his fists clenched he was ready for the next pig to come at him. The noises stopped as they all realized what just happened. Their boss was unconscious on the floor and he was known for being the strongest among them. As they all stood in shock Hunter took the chance to grab the keys they had left near her feet. He unclasped them first before walking around releasing her arms.
Juliet was able to stand up and step back from the others. Hunter looked her in the eyes with a burning deep pain, "Are you ok?" She only nodded but it was enough. His focus turned back to the pigs. "I want you to leave. I don't want you to see this." That was her hint to leave. She found her way to a door trying to drown out the sounds of the squeals of pain. As she got outside the noises outside were all she could finally hear. Hanson was running back from the car with a spare blanket to wrap around her. He helped her back to the car where she would be able to sit in peace while they cleaned up.
It was only a minute before a swarm of police cars began to cover the area. A couple of them blocked in their car looking inside to see her covering herself with a blanket. They weren't looking for her but those who would want her. An officer stood by the car to keep an eye on it while the others moved in. It wasn't long before the trailer truck pulled into parking next to the exit of the building. The officer began escorting the pig out into the back of the truck in handcuffs. The largest one was forcefully shoved into the back with the others before they latched it shut. She watched as the back trailer swayed from the weight.
Hunter finally walked out of the building looking tired but in good shape for what may have happened. She saw that he was talking with an officer and Hanson before Hanson pointed to their car. They were going over what had happened and what they had done including Juliet's part. The officer outside of the car was signaled. He knocked on the glass to catch her attention, "Miss, are you ok in there?" She huffed before she was able to respond, "Yes, I'm fine." the officer gave a thumbs up to the others. This was going to be a mess, they could see it.
It was hours before they were able to leave. The scene was still under lockdown attracting the news helicopters. Once the skies were policed to keep them back the large trailer moved out. Hunter, Hanson, and Juliet were released but they would need to stay tonight and answer questions in the morning. They agreed, despite that not being their usual style.
Adam was still in the hotel room watching the news stations circling the warehouse where they had been. Keeping an eye on the computer he knew where they were on their way back until they parked. He shut down the tracker and closed the computer to wait for them to return. The door clicked to the card key as Hanson walked in first holding the door for the other two. Hunter went to Juliet's bag grabbing new clothes while she slunk off to the bathroom. He threw in a fresh set before she closed the door to shower and change. With a lazy fall, Hunter hit Hanson's bed throwing his arm over his eyes. He was tired but not enough to rest. His mind raced over what he saw and what he had done. Things could have gone so much better if he acted quicker. It kept eating at him and it was very apparent that it was.
Hanson took a seat next to him, "You did what you could and we got who we needed. Tomorrow they are going to find where the others are and where they have gone. We've done exactly what was needed."
"Yea, but Juliet was hurt and I feel like an ass that it got that far."
Adam turned around to the two of them, "So, it went well? Should I report that we've completed the job?" Hanson waved him off, "I'll do it tomorrow after we pack and leave." The water kicked on in the bathroom signaling that Juliet was not to be disturbed. Their night was now their own. Hunter took his chance to disappear from the room to the hotel bar again.
It was about an hour before anyone found him sitting alone with a drink in front of him. It was a soda juice mix this time. Something with a bit more flavor and a little less bubble. Juliet took her seat across from him. Her hair was still wet from the shower. She returned her body back to where it was before. Hunter looked up then back down at his drink, "You told me that I used to drink a lot. I think I'm beginning to remember why." He fiddled with the straw a bit more, "Are you sure you're ok?" With a genuine smile she gave her answer, "Yes, I am going to be fine. This isn't the worst thing we've had to do."
"It shouldn't have gotten that far and you shouldn't have gotten hurt, to begin with."
"Do you also remember that I said that you'll slowly start coming back?"
"Yea."
"That is exactly what you have told me before and as I said before, there are a lot of risks and I trust you to save me if it gets bad. Which you did with no hesitation. We've all helped each other time and time again. You saved Adam from a vampire, vampirism, and being homeless. You saved me from a Lich, death, and the same vampire. I probably can't even count how many times you and Hanson have saved each other and even so with the danger, you keep doing it. It takes a lot of work to earn that kind of trust for someone to put himself in harm's way."
Hunter leaned back looking over, "I'm just glad that you're ok."
"I am too. And I'm glad it was you who saved me."
Her hand reaches out to his but he flinches back. Neither of them is sure why he did that. "I think I just need to take a walk." Hunter stood up throwing a couple bills on the table before leaving Juliet alone. Hunter stepped out of the hotel heading in the direction of the police station. He began rubbing his eyes as they began to burn. "What is happening to me?" He cracked his knuckles while the other hand covered his eyes. With a deep breath, he relaxed his body. His body became wrapped in a shadow blanket that changed his street clothes to a solid black suit, and white dress shirt with a blood-red tie, and covered his hand in gold ruby rings. The mist disappeared into the air leaving him standing in the street. He looked down at his hands and his outfit changed. "I do but I don't."
He clenched his fists looking at the rings before releasing them over and over. Looking around he made sure there was no one around before the mist swallowed him leaving nothing behind, and dissipating into the area.
The pigmen were loaded from the truck into an underground holding cell thick enough that they could not ram through it. They were forced to sit in the cell until morning when they would be properly investigated. Two of the walls were solid concrete while the other two were thick metal bars large enough to hold them. They all just grunted while looking at one another. A few were able to fall asleep but Boss Hog was given the concrete corner to lean against. They heard the distinct sound of wind coming from inside the cell. A chilling breeze came over the cell waking them all up. The lights dimmed slightly before coming back up. A new shadow was in the cell with them against the wall with Boss Hog. Fear had gripped him to where he could not move. Everyone stared at it while they watched a hand covered in rings emerge covering Boss Hog's mouth shut. The rest of the body emerged as the shadow grew. A familiar face now stood before them with his left hand back holding Boss Hog.
With his right, he shushed them into silence. His voice was different, and his actions were suspicious. Everything they had seen from him had changed except his face. "Shh, let me speak." Everyone was gripped by fear rendering them unable to call for help. "I want you to take this as a warning. You will tell them everything. Otherwise… Well…" Boss Hog's body began to jump as he tried to make noise. No sound was coming from him. His skin turned a deathly pale as his eyes widened before rolling back into his head. With one last twitch, his body stopped. The hand was removed releasing a small black puff of smoke from Boss Hog's mouth. The grin that crawled across the stranger's face was not human. His low laugh chilled the blood in their veins as the shadows swarmed him again, taking him from sight. He was gone leaving everyone speechless as Boss Hog's lay slumped in the corner.
The group had gone to bed before Hunter had returned from his walk. He accidentally woke Juliet up as he entered the room. He waved just enough to let her know it was him. He seemed rather tired himself. He flopped into the chair relaxing before dozing off for the night. Morning came rather quickly for them as there was a knock on their door at 5am. A police officer was there ready to escort them to the station to get a full report. It took a while but they got themselves packed so they could leave right after finishing the paperwork. They piled into their car while the officers led the way.
It was really early to be doing this but the sooner it's done the better. They were put into a room with a window so they could see the rest of the floor. One officer walked by with one of the hogs in cuffs leading him down the hall. Something about him seemed rather off. His body was jerky as he kept looking around at every noise that was made. The Lieutenant came in to sit with them this time. He was very grateful for their work and just needed their process, method, and actions they took. Hunter gave them the plan, and how they executed it leaving Juliet to give them what happened after the sale. The money was turned over to the Police as evidence that they had made a deal to buy a person into slavery. A lot of the information they gave them was useful. Hunter was the one who asked a question though, "Just curious, have the pigs been cooperative at all or are they fighting you?"
"They've all been extremely talkative. The biggest problem seems to be that their boss had a heart attack last night in the cell but no one called for help and they won't tell us what happened or why they didn't call for help."
It did seem strange to them. The police were getting their information through. They would be able to quickly track down the people who had not been moved yet while finding those that had and the buyers who took them. Everything seemed to wrap up nicely on this one. The group was released with a big thank you from the investigating officers. The plane took off from the airport returning the group to their home base in Montana. Hunter got a few extra winks of sleep before waking himself up. Juliet was curious about something though, "Hey Hunter, where did you walk off to last night?" He looked behind him from his chair to catch her eye, "I just walked around the block for a while. I couldn't go far because the neighborhoods were really sketchy."
The rest of the flight was pretty quiet. Hanson did the paperwork to report the job completed. Adam removed the tracker from Juliet's collar while Hunter seemed to just stare off into the sky around them. He seemed lost in some thought yet it wasn't clear what it was. The next plan was a simple one though, relax for a while before the next job. To just take care of things at home until the next job came up. There may have been a chance for some peace this week.