B3 — 35. A Mess

AuthorSME

POV:  Rachel Sung Park (Our Lunar Hare that's been on that wrath train)

Recap: Relica is back, and with some disturbing news; she's working with Scarlet's mom, Adele.  Couple that with her usual psychotic tendencies, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

She's been using a Provoke Spell on Rachel, causing her more violent nature to surface, and after inviting them to join her, which they refused, gave them an invitation to a survival of the fittest competition being held in Cuba by some criminal underworld figures.  It smells fishy, to begin with.

Rachel played her cards right, which allowed the hostages to live, and now has to deal with the fallout from Relica's puppeteering while coming to terms that she was manipulated.

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Rachel’s ears twitched, head moving as she continued to scan the city for Relica; however, she doubted the Sorceress would be so sloppy after coming so prepared.  Since her body-double had vanished, the fire in Rachel’s chest had tempered, but now a new flame was kindling.

A lump dropped down her throat as she released Emotional Detachment; the flood of emotions was challenging to control, but with a few deep breaths, she managed to keep her composure.

“Where’d she go?”  Heather demanded, eyes scanning the street before locking onto a few people that were wandering by.  By her muscle tension, she was clearly angry with everything about the situation, and she heard the self-disgust in her voice, likely coming from her inaction.

Bree sighed, running her left hand through her brown hair with slight irritation.  “Is she gone, Rachel?”

Rachel closed her eyes before squatting down, resting her forearms against her knees as her head bowed; the gentle sea breeze rolling in from the ocean pressed against her skin, and the scent of the sea grew as the world blackened.  “Give me a moment to think things through,” she muttered.  “I need to prioritize things in my mind.”

Her tail twitched a few times as she dealt with the irritability, but not with Relica, with herself; the anger of the whole ordeal pulsed through her veins.  Relica managed to manipulate my emotions, which caused me to make a bigger mess than this had to be.  Sure, I can work my way out of it, but that’s not the point.  I was a puppet dancing to her string.

I want to go after her so badly right now!  But I can’t … think, I can’t be reckless.  I have to temper myself; using Emotional Detachment for something like this will make it a crutch, forcing me to use it whenever something gets under my skin.  It’s not just Lunar Pride … this is so annoying … I could even say it scares me a little.  How long was I being manipulated?

She breathed, slow and deliberate as she contemplated her actions over the last several hours, using Mental Acceleration to speed up the process.  After some thought, the moment became clear.

After leaving Maria’s block, Lunar Pride was operating there, but once I drew closer to the cops … it was then, Relica found me during my conversation with the police, or at least that was where she used her spell on me.  Priorities … what are my priorities?

Everyone watched her for five seconds before moving onto different tasks.  Scarlet glanced around, hoping to catch any sight of Relica.  Serah pulled into her own thoughts, brushing back her blonde hair the wind picked up, and Bree continued to explain everything that happened to David.

Heather turned away from her in disgust, moving to help one of the officers check the unconscious hostages.  She gave Hatch orders to report to the Lieutenant and radio in for more support, mentioning the possibility of pulling in more officers from different precincts to start a manhunt.

Rachel opened her eyes, straightening as Scarlet turned to face her.  “I can’t find her anywhere,” she groaned, forehead creased with concern.

She frowned down at Scarlet’s arm, fingers trembling as she locked it in a death-grip.  “Take a few breaths for me,” she reassured, giving her a soft smile.  “We won’t get anywhere if we panic.”

Scarlet’s fangs poked out, and she pressed them against her black lips with frustration as she closed her void-black eyes.  “I know … I know, but—but she just creeps me out…”

Rachel took a long breath while nodding.  “No, I get it.  Do you feel comfortable looking around the city for her?  You don’t need to confront her again, but just keep tabs on her if you find out where she is.  I’ll call your phone when we get ready for something else.”

Scarlet took a shuddering breath, but her jaw set.  “Yeah—yeah, no, I’ll do my best!”

Shadows surrounded Scarlet, and Rachel stared at the spot with narrowed eyes; her ears and tail gave a few involuntary twitches, showing herself how upset she was.  Scarlet hasn’t had a real challenge since transforming into a Vespertine Reaper.  It’s odd, really, she’s so reserved and self-conscious, but it almost seems like The Oscillation effect that’s happening to all of us is extremely slow-moving for her.

In any case, she’s scared of Relica, which is no wonder.  She was a hair’s breadth away from becoming Relica’s literal slave, and the only reason she survived was this part of her she hates.  Whether The Reaper is real or not is debatable, but Scarlet hates it, yet without her, she wouldn’t likely be free.  I’m sure she’s struggling inside to reconcile that.  No … I’m getting off-track.  I need to drop everything and call Tom.

Serah was watching her now, arms folded as she puzzled through something in her own mind, clearly confused by her expression, but Rachel paid her no mind.

Pulling out her phone from the pocket on her yoga pants, she brought up Tom’s number, pressing the call button, but her focus shifted to Heather as her eyes darkened.

“Who are you calling, huh?  You still have a ton to explain!”

Serah surprisingly intervened, nose twisting with disdain.  “Look, Heather, is it?  Shut-up for a minute and read the atmosphere.  Rachel’s having to sort through a lot of data, give her time to communicate, damn.”

Heather’s face turned red, shifting her anger to Serah, and the two women began a heated discussion.  Rachel tried to tune it out while waiting for Tom to answer, but it was a little hard with them being so close, even with her abilities.

“I never liked you, Feds,” Heather growled.  “What’s up with you butting into everything, huh?  You ruined at least four OPs I was a part of, and what’s up with that horrible dress, couldn’t find anything better to prance around town in?”

“Excuse me?”  Serah’s mouth opened in disbelief, eyebrows rising as she pressed her tongue against her red lips.  “That was unprofessional, to say the least!  What does any of that have to do with this situation?  Are you that insecure and threatened?  If so, that’s pathetic.”

Heather sucked on her lips, glancing away for a moment before growling, “Okay, yeah, I’ll admit I’m a bit heated right now.  I’m sorry, but this is our OP, and this happened right outside our takedown…”

“Which you only got because Rachel and Scarlet, acting with the sanction of the DDA.”

“DDA?”  Heather smirked.  “Seriously, the DDA; is that even a real thing?”

“Didn’t your Captain get confirmation?”  Serah challenged, puffing out her chest.

“Department of Demi Affairs,” Heather chuckled with a short shake of her head.  “Didn’t you say you were FBI?”

“I was, not two days ago, and I knew that in that situation, saying FBI would get more people out of harm's way since the DDA isn’t so well known at the moment.  Was I wrong?”

“Maybe not in that, but who has jurisdiction?  Yes, yes, you are wrong!”

Bree quickly moved away from the posturing match so she could continue speaking to David, and more officers were running over to help with setting up a new roadblock.

Tom answered, pulling her away from the whirlwind of verbal jabs and punches.  Thank you!  “Tom, hey…”

“Rachel—what’s up?”  He’d clearly been in bed as he gave a short yawn.

She decided to get right to the point.  “We just defused a hostage situation that involved Relica, the Legend of Medea.”

Tom sniffed quickly, and she caught the sound of him brushing his thumb against his nose before he grunted, getting out of bed.  “Yeah—I have the profile you gave the military.”  He took a drink of something before clearing his throat.

“Tom?”  A middle-aged woman grumbled.

His voice became somewhat muffled to Rachel as he pressed the phone to his body.  “Don’t bother getting up, Julia; it’s work.  It might be a while.”

“Can’t it wait?  Even you need sleep, Dear…”

“It’s urgent; sorry, Honey.”

Julia sighed, and the sound of a creaking bed-frame momentarily cut past the noise as she dropped back into bed.

Tom chuckled, he sounded somewhat exhausted.  “I’ll be back when I can.”

Getting up, he moved into what sounded like a bathroom, turning on the sink to splash water on his face while talking to her.  “Alright, Rachel, you’ve got my attention.  What’s going on?”

“Is my parent’s house address listed in my military file?”

“Umm … it is if they have the proper clearance, but most will only see you live in the general area of Miami.”  Her skin tingled, tail and ears going stiff as she quickly moved further away from any officers.  Shit … if Relica knows where my parents live…

She quickly explained the situation to him as he shifted locations to the office.  He turned on his computer, leaning back in his chair while putting on a headset to free up his hands.  His tone became more alert as the conversation went on.

“Confirm that, Rachel; did you say a Lieutenant Colonel was abducted, and his credentials were used to access your information?”

“Yes.”

“Shit…”  Tom went silent for a moment as he typed on the computer.  “Okay, we were aware of a Lieutenant Colonel that hadn’t checked in two days ago.  Everyone wanting to access Mythickin and Legendkin information has to get my authorization, and only data pertinent to the request is given.”

Rachel’s jaw locked for a moment.  “Meaning you unknowingly gave him our information?”

“Not your parents’ address, no; the only mention about your residence given is the Miami area.”

The tension against her chest eased, but she was still concerned about her family’s safety.  “Can you…”

“I’m already sending a message to have some MPs bring them back to U.S. Southern Command in Miami.”

Rachel cleared her throat.  “Could you reroute that to the FBI Headquarters?  I’ll be going there after this.”

“Umm … yeah, I send that out … alright, to the FBI center.”

“I’ll call my parents and let them know they’re on their way, and Relica also said she’d be seeing us again.”

Tom paused, leaning back in his chair, and from the sounds he was making, it seemed like he was lighting a cigar to calm his nerves.  “Give me a moment to inform my subordinates about Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey’s situation, and while I’m texting that, tell me … what’s with that yelling?”

Rachel sighed as Heather marched over to her.  “What can this Demi do?”

Serah was on her heels.  “I told you, that’s classified right now, and you…”

“It’s a police officer that’s trying to take control of the situation,” Rachel replied dryly.

Tom took a long agitated breath before saying, “Give her the phone.”

Both Serah and Heather paused as Rachel’s frown turned into a soft smile, holding out the phone for Heather.  “Wha … who is it?”  Rachel just extended the device closer.  Growling with frustration, she took the phone.  “Hello?”  She haughtily asked.

“Who am I speaking to?”  Tom asked in a professional tone.

“Sergeant Pierce, MPD, and who am I talking to?”

An irritable edge cut into Tom’s voice.  “General Tom Dallas.”

Heather paused, looking up at Rachel as her brows furrowed.  Her tone quelled as she cleared her throat.  “General as in…”

“Yes, acting CSA, or if you don’t know what that means, Chief of Staff of the Army, or a member of the Department of Defense’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sergeant.”

She still seemed to be processing the information, but her face was growing paler.  “I—umm, a four-star general of the Army?”

“Last time I checked my jacket.”

“Yes, Sir—eh, want…”

“Here’s what we’re going to do.  You’re going to go back to the ranking officer, whoever that is, and let him know that the U.S. Army has taken a special interest in this case.  I’ll be getting in touch with your police chief.  Now, return the phone to Rachel so I can better understand what actions I need to take as this may branch into a military matter with the individual we’re dealing with.  That’s all, Sergeant.”

She swallowed, slowly handed her the device back.  “FBI, DDA, and now the Military?”  She whispered, giving Rachel a confused look.

Rachel’s innocent smile hadn’t faltered as she took the phone, and Serah rolled her eyes; Serah went to talk to Bree while Heather slowly broke into a jog to run inside the café.  Rachel could hear the Lieutenant running back through the inside hallway to get to them after hearing the radio report.

“Thanks, Tom,” Rachel sighed before scratching her temple and readjusting her hair.  “Want me to tell you why Relica laid a trap for Scarlet and me?”

“Don’t leave out any details,” he said in a low voice.  “I’ll be taking notes as you go, and I may ask you to spell or repeat something if I need clarification.”

Rachel moved away from everyone and told him about the incident, leaving nothing out; she kept the phone close to her mouth and voice low in case any Demi nearby had sharp enough ears to catch the conversation.  The ambulances had arrived in the time she took to explain it, and crowds of people were growing as curious onlookers clustered to figure out what was happening.

Sergeant Pierce caught Lieutenant Bright up to speed on the situation while Bree and Serah coordinated the start of a statewide manhunt for the Sorceress.  Rachel had her own opinion on that approach but kept her silence for now since it would take a while for them to get everything organized.

When she finished the recount, Tom sat back, puffing on his cigar for a moment.  “I haven’t heard about this Demi Supremacist group, but I did hear a report about Cuba having a lot of civil control issues in yesterday’s meeting with the Joint Chiefs.  Hmm … Demi are like living weapons that can be sent in as highly effective assassins to destabilize a nation.

“I’ve been taking this seriously since day one, and because of that, we’ve managed to thwart at least twenty attacks against high-ranking politicians.  In fact, Maria dispelled a Curse-type Magic on a Democratic Senator in California the other day.  We’ve had to update the NSA, FBI, CIA, and every other organization hourly on the possible attacks we can expect, and there have been three bumbled attempts at taking out the President.”

Rachel chuckled softly.  “You don’t have to convince me, Tom.  I get it; the name of the game is changing.”

Tom was silent for a moment, chair squeaking as he shifted his weight.  “That’s the trouble.  Actually, many organized terrorist attacks have halted in a lot of unexpected areas, while civil war has erupted in what we thought would be stable places.  New organizations are being formed, gutting old ones, and this feels like it’s doing the same.  What’s your take on Relica’s goal in this?”

Her eyes moved between the crowd, and she knew more than a few people were filming or taking pictures of her.  “Honestly, I’m not sure.  She walks a fine line between a sociopath and a psychopath, and because of that, it makes her unpredictable.”

“I can see that,” Tom muttered.  “Although—you did manage to get her to release the hostages.”

“It’s an ego thing,” Rachel sighed, running her hand through her hair as she followed Scarlet’s search through the city with her ears.  “She’s smart and plans meticulously … she’s obsessive-compulsive about having control.  I played to that by giving it to her and threw a random twist to the conversation that she probably wouldn’t have expected, which drew her attention away from the hostages and onto me.”

“Smart, and dangerous,” Tom grunted.  “She does seem to walk that line well, which makes her a deadly enemy, and with her skillset—I mean, to be able to manipulate your emotions without you knowing is … it’s troubling, to say the least.  You handled the situation with a level of skill that impresses me, with what you’ve told me, and that’s the scariest thing about The Oscillation that’s constantly being brought up with the Joint Chiefs … control abilities.”

“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons she’s concerning, but this new Body-Double skill of hers has me worried.”

“Hmm … I’ve read up on a few different legends about her, and the fictional figure Medea is rife with contested facts and twists, but she seemed to be fairly devious in most of them.  Explain your own thoughts on this direction she’s taking,” Tom prompted, but he paused as his phone vibrated.  “Ah, wait … I need to respond to this real fast.”

Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall.  My family could be caught up in Relica’s web.  I was stupid to not even consider the possibility of pulling them into this when taking on Terrell.  Nam and Alexa are already dealing with baggage, and now I dump this on them?  It’s not fair, but … what should I have done?

I could fight Lunar Pride and Feral Instinct more, yet I don’t want to, and at the same time, I don’t want to hurt my family.  There’s not really a solution.  Maybe Grandpa could help me … he always seems to have an answer to everything.  The wisdom of age, huh?

Tom cleared his throat.  “Right, umm—alright, I’m good.  What were you going to say?”

Gathering her thoughts, Rachel broke it down.  “Relica is a Sorceress-type of Legendkin that uses a mixture of rituals, vocal, genetic manipulation, shadow, and sun magic, yet her favorite seems to be puppeteering from what we’ve seen.  She’s based on a Demigod that was, as you said, extremely devious, and she sure views herself like a god.

“However,” Rachel moved her back against the wall, adjusting her tail to the side, “before, she couldn’t leave her shadows or puppets; there was a set distance she had to maintain, which is one reason why Scarlet managed to pin her down.  It seems this time, she chose to make a direct copy of herself that could also use her magic, which must come with a side-effect, knowing this system, but it’s hard to say what that is.  As it stands, it’s a really powerful ability.”

“No—joke,” Tom groaned while rubbing his neck and yawning.  He wiped at his eyes before continuing, and Rachel could hear the creaking of the chair as he shifted his weight.  “You really think it was all of her abilities?”

“At least enough of them to make a difference.  Provoke, being able to sense my emotions, observe us from a distance, manipulate people, and create a fireball to name the few we saw in action.”

“It does seem like a rather strong offensive ability,” Tom agreed.  “Like you said, it should come with some drawbacks.  What are your thoughts on what should be done, since you’re on ground zero?”

“Right now, there’s nothing we can do,” Rachel said, trying her best to keep the heat from her voice.  “If anything, the FBI and police are likely playing into her hands at the moment.”

“How so?”

“She planned every detail and knew the Police and Feds were here.  However, she wanted them present and to witness the whole thing.  She wants the attention for some reason, and honestly, with her abilities, she could probably create an illusion to fool the general public.  I wouldn’t be shocked if she created visual illusions around the public to incite panic and confusion.”

“That’s a good point,” Tom mumbled.  “Just because she has stakes in Cuba with those people doesn’t mean she isn’t involved with more schemes here in The States by pulling our attention away.  I’ll give David a call after this and discuss it with him, so, to clarify, you don’t advise making this a big public event because you think it would be playing into her hand?”

Rachel pursed her lips, shifting her jaw to the right.  “I can’t really be certain, but I just see it doing more harm than good.  Terrorists need a platform to incite fear in the general public, and she’s after something.  It could just be to divide Demi and humans, for all I know.”

“Hmm … well, I appreciate your opinion, and I’ll talk it over with a few people I trust.  I’ll also increase the screening for those trying to gain access to Demi information.  That shouldn’t have happened.”

Folding her fingers in her lap, Rachel stared down at the ground, taking in every crack within her field of vision.  “I think it’s actually fairly difficult to prevent something like that.  Relica is now gathering a team, and with Scarlet’s mom involved, we’re looking at the militarization of a potential growing cult that will follow the mother in Scarlet’s name.

“Scarlet is horrified by it, and her entire life has crumbled before her eyes; she’s scared … really scared, but she tries to be strong, yet this will come to a head.  I just can’t see a situation where Relica and Scarlet’s mom don’t find us again, and it won’t be that difficult to recruit Vampire obsessed people into a cult … she also has Relica’s manipulations.”

“Yeah … those two are a cult horror story in the making,” Tom mumbled.  “We’ll brainstorm it more, but for now, I’d ask you to get close to the two new Legendkin and a Mythickin that are being sent to that FBI office.”

Rachel’s brow creased.  “New ones?  I haven’t heard anything about it.”

“Well, they’re keeping it tight-lipped, but I was let in the loop by the Director.  There was an incident between some Legendkin and Mythickin in California … two of them had some political differences, and it came to blows which wrecked part of the building.”

“Blows?”  Rachel licked her lips, and a curious smile touched her cheeks.  “If it was only two people, why are three being sent here?”

“A few of them jumped in to stop the fighting, and it got even more out of hand.  Maria made a stop to heal everyone that was injured … had a few words with one that she didn’t like, but that didn’t escalate beyond taunts, and he backed down after she got in his face.  I heard reports that he was kind of scared of her horn, which isn’t giving him the best image.”

Rachel’s left hand tightened around her stomach as she laughed.  “Sounds fun.  So, which ones are being sent to us?”

“I’ll leave the surprise of what they are,” Tom mused, “but I’ll say the girl coming didn’t throw the first punch, but she returned one hell of a one.  The two guys tried to break it up and ended up in their own sort of feud with three other Legendkin that stepped in for the other girl.”

“White knights?”  Rachel asked, trying not to roll her eyes.

“Meh,” Tom shrugged, making his chair creak.  “I don’t know the full details, but you’ll have to determine that yourself.  They’ll be there early tomorrow.”

Rachel lightly bit the inside of her cheek, looking up at the black night sky.  It adds a new level of tension.  I’m sure Maëlle, Kyle, and Anthony will be there.  If it grew violent before, it could blow up again, but Tom wants us to make friends with them.

“Hmm,” Rachel mused.  “You want them to join us when you send us to Cuba?”

“I never said I was,” Tom replied.  When Rachel didn’t respond, he sighed.  “Well, it’s a possibility, and I like to be as prepared as possible.  I could transfer over a Mythickin in North Carolina, but … I’m actually having thoughts that he might be planted by Relica with what information this has brought up.  I don’t see many issues from these new ones except maybe tempers flaring, and you can handle that.  We’ll see about the Cuba thing, though.”

“Alright, I’ll work what magic I can,” Rachel whispered, “but don’t expect the impossible, and I can’t say if Scarlet, Fiona, and Maria will like them.”

“Just—do what you can,” Tom yawned.  “I’d even consider using Maëlle, Kyle, and Anthony if you can swing them to join your little group.  The Military Contract puts you as the leader, and that group can still grow.”

Rachel smirked.  “Is that right?  I’ll keep it in mind, and it’s thanks to the Military, FBI, and you that I’m able to see all these Mythickin and Legendkin.  By the way, thanks for getting more Mythickin and Legendkin into The States; it helps to know we’re not alone.”

Tom laughed before giving her a knowing hum.  “I’d say it’s more about them adding competition that gets your blood going.”

A soundless chuckle shook Rachel’s frame.  “You understand me so well.”

“Well, I’m all for competition, but just make sure not to push it too far, and keep property damage to a minimum … if possible.  Also, text me your account information, and I’ll send over the payment for your last contract.”

Rachel’s brow furrowed.  “Wait, I thought we weren’t getting paid for that since you were helping us with the legal stuff?”

“Take it up with the President,” Tom said with a hint of humor.  “You really impressed him with the results you gave us, and he wants to make use of your services more.  Anyways, I’ve got a lot more calls to make before I can get back to bed.”

“Alright, tell Julia, Rachel says hi,” she teased.

“I won’t be doing that,” Tom replied with a low chuckle.  “Thanks for the heads-up, Rachel.  I’ll call you tomorrow, and by the way, your psyche evaluations should be coming up soon.  Be prepared; this event will likely come up.”

She was silent for a moment.  “Understood.  Thanks for the warning.”

Rachel glared at the phone as Tom hung up.  I have so much happening that it’s hard to keep everything straight.  I still need to call Maria for Zoe, and I should check up on Fiona.  Ah, mom and dad, first, then Maria, and after that, I need to handle this situation with the police.  It’s not like I’ll feel bad spinning everything against human traffickers.  It is what it is.  I just need to check all the boxes before heading back to the FBI.

She dropped her phone in her lap, running her hands through her hair with a tired groan.  I still need to get over to Grandpa’s and deal with Soo-geun.  So much to do … so little time.

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