Private: The Magic in Me

[Willow Pillow]

"I could snap your neck right here, witch. No one would give a damn."


"Aww Frank, I missed you too," She smiled. Sam Miller leaned against the fenced guarded post White tang top, military cargo pants, she had her army bag slung casually on her shoulder with a tennis bag strapped around the chest and other shoulder. She didn't play tennis and there wasn't a racket in there, but she wasn't going through any metal detector so she was fine. Aviator shades were on her face but her sarcastic smirk grew as she saw the veins just growing on the man's face. "Well....I'd more call it missing those expressions."


"You keep that stupid smug face all you want. You might have this entire unit fulled Truman, but I'm onto you. And I'll be the one that kills you."


She cracked her knuckles. "Like you take care of those vampires?"


"You little-"


Sam sidestepped out of the way, the gates opening. Two SUVs pulled up. "Frank, don't harrass the guest. Not until we make the trade."


"Hey boys."


"Did you get it?"


She tapped the bag. "When have I let you down? Course...you need to fulfill your part."


One of the men rolled his eyes. "Just get in the car Abby."


Sam stuck her tongue out at Frank...Frank who had been demoted so many times his only job now was basic security detail at the gate entrance. Good times. She had met the man four years ago on a her own hunt. He was crazed about a vampire nest when she was trying to get rid of a polterguist in the house. Ghosts and vampires...not the same thing.


In the world of hunting monsters Union was the blue collar family. Task Force was the government show offs and ashwood...you stayed away from those crazies. Sam was her own little faction. She could do things no other hunter could do, so do a little trading here and there and just 'network'.


In all the business books these days, all they talked about was networking. Course, her father did not approve of it....to some degree he was right....but she liked it. It was fun...and oddly enough it felt very familiar to her.


As the SUVs drove around the union base, she popped open the door hopping out when she saw the medical tents. "ABBY!"


"I know where the drop is! I'll be there." She called out doing a slow jog.


--


"I'm going to have you work on this cadaver, Max. And you're going to show me every muscle in it and give me the definition." Seamus took off the cloth at the medical tent, a large pig like creature that looked demonic was on it. He placed on his gloves holding out the scapel. The anatomy of a pig was close to human....demonic hell pigs...different but they were going to work their way to human as he was teaching the young man the craft of mickey mousing it through medicine.


"Guess who!" hands covering his students eyes.


"Abigail Truman...."Seamus sighed. "Aren't you supposed to be....lost in Rio."


"You ruined it," Sam huffed. The bag placed next to the dead demonic pig. "I was. Saw it. Did my thing with a task force agent. Made sure I got the egg and not him. I'm back. That's how jobs work."

 

[taysilva19]

Sheamus pulled the cloth from the body in the usual nonchalant manner, forcing Max to take in the whole specimen. By now, the young hunter was somewhat used to cutting open bodies (which were usually dead) in order to understand the complex workings of a living organism. As his lessons were becoming more and more in depth, so were the specimens that Sheamus had him working with. As Max stared at the hulking mess of a creature that was currently on the table, he pushed the screaming part of his brain towards the back, something he hadn't done for a couple weeks now.


Typical Sheamus. Just when you think you have something figured out, the old man finds a way to knock you down a few pegs. Max had to admit though, he probably was the best teacher for this particular training.


The silence in the room was broken as Sheamus cleared his throat. "Specimen?"


Max had beat him to it. The minute or so that Sheamus had given him to look over the body was more than enough. The leathery hide seemed to be torn straight from a rhino, and seemed to be barely effected by the various cuts and bullet holes that it was inflicted with during the hunt that cost it its life. Two monstrous tusks protruded from its snout, which were still stained with blood. Max shivered as his hands along them, imagining the previous life this creature had led up until today.


"Hell-spawn." The young hunter responded. "Pigs shouldn't have those kinds of tusks. And the skin seems thick enough to withstand extreme heat, most likely an acquired trait to survive in the environment of... Hell."


Sheamus didn't even warrant his ward with a legitimate reply. He simply handed him a scalpel and smock. "Get to work. I'm going to let you work on this cadaver. You're going to show me every muscle in it and give me the definition. Understand?"


Max tied his smock around the his waist and took the scalpel in hand. "Yeah. Nothing different from the one I let loose years ago, right?" As Max turned his back to Sheamus, his vision suddenly went dark. Two freezing cold hands placed themselves on his face, preventing him from seeing. Even without Sheamus stating her name, Max immediately knew who the culprit was.


He playfully nudged her in the stomach with his elbow, pushing her away from him. "Leave it to you to tease a guy with a knife in his hand." He hadn't seen her for a couple weeks now, and this unexpected visitor took to visiting him, no matter what he was doing at the moment. Like cutting open a demon pig.


And that wasn't even the most awkward explanation he had to come up with in his life either.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Mac Gardner came from a long line of excellent hunters in the Union. His father alone raided a night Club where sirens hid their base of operations and came out victorious.


But as far as the union was concerned, Max was not his father. Or his grandfather. Or his great grandfather. he was a little...


Off...


But when the father died, Seamus took it upon himself to help the lad, show him how to handle medicine and see if that was where the boy could one day become a man.


Instead....max seemed to like to be friends with magical creatures. Which....was what they hunted.


Speaking of which, Sam smiled, her emerald eyes lit up with a magical glow for a split second and then died. "I would talk my way out of it."


"Abigail, no magic on the union. That was the agreement, or we would resume hunting you." The middle age man barked. His hands gripped the cold steel, knuckles turning white.


The young woman held her hands up in a surrending motion. "Just a joke. Calm down. Notlikeicoulddoitnowandmakeyouforget..."


"What was that."


"New look seamus? It looks lovely...oh present for you!" She returned the playful jab in max's stomach before digging through her bag. Eventually she pulled out a zip lock bag of bright orange red feathers and a folded piece of paper. "Phoenix feathers. And ingredients to make one he'll of a potion. Made friends with this shaman like tribe of hunters in rio. Thought this might be easier than..." her nose scrunched as she looked at the pig "getting personal with some pigs."


"He doesn't need magic to be a doctor. Can you just go to Cooke, drop off the egg and be on your way?"


Sam stuck her tongue out, then looked back at max. "Up to you. Little bit of rule breaking never hurt anyone."

 

[taysilva19]

Max smiled back at Abigail. For a couple seconds, he forgot himself and the current job that was literally laid out in front of him. He did his best to hide his disappointment. "I'd love to, but I've got a date with a literal hell-spawn. How long are you gonna be in the area? I should be done before the day is done." He paused, realizing that the chances of her staying were slim to none. Although she was respected in the camp, Abigail wasn't exactly met with open arms. Max seemed to be the only one that legitimately enjoyed her company.


From the corner of his eye, Max could see the cold stare from Sheamus, carefully watching and listening to the boy, his words seemingly being weighed by the second. When he wasn't teaching the hunter about medicine, it was usually how he couldn't trust magic, and follow it up with a ridiculous story about his father single handedly murdered some kind of creature that went bump in the night. Surprisingly, Sheamus grunted one last time, and pushed himself through the curtain that surrounded the operating table, seemingly trusting the better judgement of his young ward.


Max sighed with relief when he left. "So... Phoenix feathers in Rio, huh? How's it feel to be back here?"

 

[Willow Pillow]

Abigail Truman. It was a name that always felt like a suit just a size too big for her, but she had gone by Baby since she was 12 years old. only her father knew her real name.


"I'm not here long. I'm looking for a gun. Very scary gun where you kill everyone you care about before you do yourself in. it's up in Maine and Task force is fetching a pretty penny for it."


Her shades were lifted up and acted like a headband. A few loose strands here or there. She watched as the doc went behind the corner. He looked at her like she was incredibly dangerous. "Rio was fun. you know, max. Adventure isn't going to find you on operation tables and dead pigs. you should just go out and see it. Who knows. I could let it slip to Cooke that my next job is for task force. Someone would be a hero in the union if they....stole the gun from me." She nudged his belly in a poke giving a wink before she left the tent.


Respect was a loose word. she walked down the camp and could see the eyes on her. They were scared of her.


Work with the devil you know.


Little did they know she was more afraid of them. It was like being a mouse in a lions den. dad thought what she was doing was suicidal. Stupid. They would kill her without a second thought. Her magical eyes kept in a jar like some sort of prize. No. Everytime she was on this base she was close to someone just deciding they were fed up and go after her to kill her.


She placed her hands in her pockets to look like she was alright and confident as she went into Cooke's compound to drop off the goods.


 
"10,000 for the phoenix egg, as we agreed on."


Sam tapped her bag, figiting slightly as she looked at the liverspots on his trembling hand that held the check. Would she get that old? Probably not. "Do I want to know what you plan to do with it?"


"We don't pay you to be inquisitive, Ms. Truman. We keep you alive...because you are useful and entertain you by offering compensation when we both know what you are."


"So bad things. Wonderful. This now became awkward."


"Moral compass, Ms. Truman?"


Hesitant smile, she slipped the shades back over her eyes. "I'm on the compass of staying alive Mr. Cooke. One pheonix egg, as promised." She grabbed the check and went into her stuffed bag. Her hands going for the right inside pocket and not the left. She placed the egg on his desk, a good sized egg of about six inches in height, golden and very similar looking to the fairy tales of Jack and the Bean stock.


The old man smiled taking it in his hands. "The SUVs will escort you out."


"I'll find my own way out. Busy girl, have places to be and things to do." Grabbing his hand she shook it. "It was nice doing business with you. Until next time."


Her walk out was slow until the doors swung shut. Sam estimated....45 minutes until the old coot put it together she gave him a fake egg. Plenty of time to run.

 

[taysilva19]

Max snorted when she mentioned the bit about the gun. He wasn't entirely sure if she truly meant what she said. Sometimes it was difficult to piece together what she was saying, and separate what truly was fact and fiction. From his past experiences, Max was beginning to see the world for what it truly was. A breeding ground for demons, werewolves, and other creatures that he would've normally read about in comics or books.


He noticed the cold look Sheamus gave Abigail as he left. He remembered the words that were exchanged this morning when the word that she was coming back got out. It was an agreed upon fact that she was simply a means to an end. The bag of feathers that she put next to Max proved that. When he looked at her, Max couldn't help but do and feel the complete opposite. Truth be told, although he was trained to kill and treat people and things that were deemed "dangerous", he could also tell if something truly was, or simply looked the part. When it came to Abigail, he knew it was the latter. As long as he didn't piss her off, she wouldn't dare hurt him.


Right?


"A hero, huh?" He grabbed the scalpel from the table and focused on the razor sharp edge. "Last time I tried that, a bigger, badder version of this little cutie on the table raised hell around the camp. Thought it needed a home. Apparently if I concentrate on things that are already dead or broken, I won't be able to futz it up. Guess Sheamus has a sense of humor sticking me with medical duties, huh?"


As Abigail left the room, he couldn't help his mind from wandering, imagining the goings on in Abigail's life. It was like she knew he truly wasn't happy locked behind the walls of the Union camp.


"Maine, huh?" Max wondered out loud, letting the cold silence of the room answer him. "Girl's gonna get herself killed one day..."


He let the rest of his thoughts die out as he began listing off the different muscles he was tasked with identifying. "Alrighty, you beautiful mess, you. Talk dirty to me."

 

[Willow Pillow]

The pig not only talked dirty.....it opened itself completely for Max Gardner. Everything that was in him laid right out in the open.


That dirty bastard played with him and threw him away like garbage.


In reity, Max had a good hour before a gangly man stood in the door frame. Frank Anderson was a middle aged man past his prime believing he was in his early twentIes. Short tempered and rash most of his duties were being a watchdog to the gate entrances. He acted rabid and dillusional anyways.


For a man in his forties, his face was still oily like a teenager in puberty.


"Cooke wants to speak with you." He said. "Seems like you make the wrong friends....in this..."it was a funny word in his own mouth. It didn't taste right as he said it, "....family...of ours. You're wanted immediately. So I'd stop master baying to your girlfriend if I were you."

 

[taysilva19]

Max started untying his smock as Frank finished his sentence. "My girlfriend?" He stopped to look over Frank, who he had worked with on several missions. Although Frank wasn't a fan of the young man, the feelings were mutual. When it came down to it, the two were water and oil. Where Max was understanding, Frank seemed to look for faults in everyone and everything. When Max listened, Frank spoke out.


And to be perfectly honest, they just didn't get along.


Max continued. "Abigail isn't my girlfriend, Frank. It's called 'being friendly'. Although I don't suppose you have much experience with that, do you?" The young man smiled when Frank furrowed his eyebrows at him, thinking of a zinger of his own. "If you keep that up, I'll actually be able to smell the smoke coming from you ears. Don't hurt yourself, I heard we need all the bodies we can get." As Max passed by Frank, he heard the older hunter slam his boot down, causing Max to hurry out of the room, closing the door behind him.


What a dick head.


The young man walked into the office of Jeremy Cooke, who was sitting at a metal desk. "Close the door, Gardner. I have some questions that need to be answered." Max stood at attention in front of his leader, who only called him to his office when something went wrong, whether or not it had anything to do with Max.


"Sir?"


Cooke cut right to the chase: "That young witch you hang out with. Abigail? How well do you know her?"


Abigail? "Pretty well, sir. We're friends, but I only really see her when she's around, which is only a couple times a month-"


The Union leader placed his palms on his desk, standing up. He had at least a foot over Max, and was mostly muscle, even at the ripe age of fifty six. "How long has she planned to fuck us? The phoenix egg we had commissioned her to bring to us was a fake.


Shit, Abigail, what the hell's the matter with you?





Max swallowed hard. "I had no idea, sir. She wasn't acting any weirder than she normally does. Mentioned something about-" Max caught himself just in the nick of time. "Maine. That's where she's going next." He figured Cooke didn't need to know every dirty detail that Abigail gave him this afternoon.


"Lucky you. You're going to catch her. Walker is still a witch, leaving you no other choice to apprehend her in any manner possible. Any objections?"


"Sir, I don't think-"


"You'll have any trouble? Excellent. Grab what you need from the armory, and don't tell anyone about your mission. They'll find out when you bring her back in cuffs." Cooke noticed Max crack his fingers, which became a well known tell around the camp that the boy was bothered. "I came to you because of your lineage. Prove to me that you're the son we all say you are." Cooke strode over to Max and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Make us proud, make her pay."

 

[Willow Pillow]

The witch bitch stole from the Union.


That was the gist of what Frank heard as he stood by the door. All he needed to hear anyways. Whatever pact she might have made with the fucking retards that called themselves the council....leaders of this fucking place...was going to be over.


And if he had any say he was going to take that bloody machete she carried and use it to cleave her head right off. He smirked walking away from the door. The bitch was going to be his prize.


She had been asking for Frank to end her since day one...and he was going to do it. He might take a little something something else...but who cares it was a monster that was dead anyways....why waste good tits, you had to give it one good ride before pasture.


--


"Should have stayed hidden. Should have never gotten involved with any hunting faction Sam. What were you thinking." Driving down the highway, she lowered her voice to a deep tenor, her military bag buckled in the passenger seat.


"Yes...beacuse I wanted to live my life in a safe house...playing chess with you until Death took us...just so we can play more chess. Yeah Dad...exactly what I wanted from life." her voice back to her own passing New Hampshire.


"Hunters are the monsters. Sam. Do you have any idea what they could do to you?! Now you pissed them off. I have to get you out of this mess." Tenor voice again.


Sam sighed, "Yeah...well you're out west probably still pissed I left...and I'm more concerned why they wanted this damn egg in the first place. It probably isn't good....I did the right thing..."


She didn't continue the conversation with herself. She was probably crazier than a hatter. But she knew she did something incredibly stupid back there. Too late to take it back.


--


Paddlewood was legitimately in the middle of nowhere. Five hour drive from Boston. Her GPS lost past Bangor, she had to go to a run down map store to even find the place on a map....and the roads 20 miles away from it was all woods. Sam deduced that whoever put this town here...REALLY MADE IT CLEAR THEY WANTED NO ONE TO FIND IT.


Entering it, well, that was different too. All the shops were mom and pop shops, run down and some of them looked closed. She drove her car through seeing windows boarded up.


There was one inn open, a manor like place where Sam gave the woman a hunderd dollar bill and brought herself to her room. Up there she lied down on the bed and closed her eyes.


Bright side...no one could possibly find her here.


--


Frank was in his obnoxious 1960s thunderbird, the sound of the vehicle horrendous as grey smoke shot out of it. Muffler needed serious replacing. He stopped, throwing his GPS out the fucking window.


"FUCKING....FUCK YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT!" he yelled.


A mini van pulled up next to him, a window rolling down to show a pregnant thirty year old woman, two kids in the back and her husband driving. "Do you need help sir?"


"FUCK OFF YOU I'm uncultured I'M BUSY HERE!"

 

[taysilva19]

Max slung his knapsack behind his back after closing the chest that he kept under his bunk. He packed a couple essentials that he would need on this trip, nothing more, nothing less. His hand absent mindedly touched the cold metal of the pistol he tucked to his side, the unmistakable feeling of a fire arm.


He couldn't believe how stupid he was. What stopped him from saying no to Cooke? He should've kept his mouth shut, and let Abigail go safely, only to be seen months from now, like he normally did. Still though, at least it was only him that was going to be looking for the girl. They were both lucky Cooke chose him to go. Most likely because he knew Abigail would trust Max long enough for the hunter to capture her.


The boy sighed again. He realized he had been doing that a lot lately. He turned, giving himself a quick look-over in the mirror. His dark unkept hair was as crazy looking as ever, and the slight scruff covering his face made him actually look like he was twenty five years old. He grabbed his leather jacket from his bed and slid it on.


"C'mon Abigail. Don't do anything stupid until I figure out what the hell in supposed to do with you."


The hunter now found himself driving the motorcycle that was "left to him" by his father, heading toward Maine. He hoped Abigail knew what she was doing. He sure as hell didn't know about himself.

 

[Willow Pillow]

After a good three more hours, Sam woke up from her nap, rolling off the bed.


She dug through her bag and pulled out a journal. Notes that looked like chicken scratch from an older gentleman and there was a drawing."I know this gun is important...you have it in your notes all the time...but what am I supposed to do with it when I get it?"


Because books can talk. Aggrivated, she swatted the book out of hand. "Shut up, you. I'm not calling for help. I can do this on my own."


Wonderful job at it.


--


Heading out of the inn, Sam stopped when she noticed a small little boy peeping at her behind a tree at the house next door. She tilted her head and smiled at him, he ducked and hid himself.


Ok, maybe she was scary. Who knew. But for now, she was going to look around the town, see if she could pick up some answers on the magical gun her father wrote about so much. She knew one place would be the police station.


But bars...everyone spread the town gossip at bars.

 

[taysilva19]

Too bad Max forgot to fill the tank of the motorcycle before he left the camp. As the bike sputtered out of gas, the hunter silently swore as he hopped off the bike and stretched for a couple seconds, taking in his surroundings. Luckily, he saw the silhouette of a small town in the distance, probably not even ten miles away. Max was half tempted to leave the bike where it was in the middle of the road, not even because it was heavy to push the rest of the way, but because he would most likely look like a complete asshole waltzing into a town like this.


"Dammit Dad, why did you have to leave me only one thing?"


Max finally decided to push the bike the rest of the way, but slipped the guard at the gate a couple food stamps to let him leave it at the entrance. He shielded his eyes as he looked down the street. It was a quiet little town, and there wasn't too much activity on the streets at this time of day. Although it was an overcast day, the peeking sun was starting to set. Max paused for a couple seconds, staring at the makeshift houses that people had made, and the actual houses that were still standing after the world effectively ended a couple years ago. He had grown accustomed to tents and the occasional mortar military buildings he had grown up around, and seeing remnants of the past that weren't designed to protect people from nuclear doom were a pleasant surprise.


Could Abigail be here? I have no idea how far she could've gotten since she ran from the base. Max stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and kept a careful eye out, trying his hardest not to bring attention to himself, positive or otherwise. I'll be lucky to even find her. Girl makes a living being on the run like this, anyway.


Max turned the corner only to find a small crowd of people in front of an older looking building. It seemed restored, the paint and windows of it weren't faded, chipped, or broken, which took a lot to accomplish by today's standards. Glancing through the window, Max could see several tables, chairs, and a bar counter. It seemed like the people that were currently outside were taking a break from the activities that took place inside, given the flushed faces and loud voices Max saw and heard as he pushed his way through the small crowd.


The interior of the bar looked like what Max saw in old picture books from years before he was born. Hardwood floor, a low ceiling, and even a grumpy looking man cleaning a glass behind the bar counter. Some people were enjoying their drinks at the counter, but most were minding their own business sitting at the tables that were also available.


That should've been enough of a sign to Max that this place was... special. He took a seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to offer him a drink.

 

[Willow Pillow]

"Paddlewoods is in Conneticut, you're heading in the wrong direction. You want to go down 95 South."


"Paddlewood. I'm looking for Paddlewood."


"Woods, yeah," The AAA agent looked at him a little confused as he held out the Conneticut Map. "Told you where it is."


"WOOD not woods you Moron!"


"Sherry...is there a Paddlewood?"


"No, pretty sure it's just a Paddlewoods. In Conneticut."


"You two must be the most idiotic people I've ever met." Frank swiped his arm knocking over the business cards and brochures. The secretary jumped as the agent just blinked.


"I can show you a mirror..."


Frank nearly saw red. He wanted to jump over the counter and strangle the gangly seventeen year old. Instead, he walked out, slamming his fist at the door, cracking the glass.


The agent nodded to himself. "I should probably call the cops. Yup, because that just happened."


The secretary looked from her map collection to the direction of the door as the scary probably murderer left. "Tom, there is a Paddlewood. Somewhere in Maine, but its not in our newer maps, I found it from a map from 1967."


"Oh well...Paddlewoods sounds better anyways."


--


Paddlewoods was a town that looked broken and barely anyone lived in it, but it wasn't a town of ruin and destruction. The world still existed as it did with tablets, smart watches and phones and everyone running around busy out of their minds but never doing the correct things.


Max was just crazy. Insane.


Maybe he wasn't. At this time, maybe a different timeline ago a Samantha Miller used her magic and nuked every living person's brain into a fried mush. The only people who survived and didn't turn into monsters were ones who were not on their devices. In that time Max Gardner was probably driven to insanity.


But on this day, in this timeline, Samantha Miller walked into Duff's, the only pub in this little little town that actually existed. Guy who owned it probably made a lot of money off the drunks at this place. Going over to the counter she placed a ten on the counter. "Rum and coke."


Her business was to hear the gossip, get clues about the gun and keep moving. Union would soon figure out what she was doing, but she estimated she had atleast a day-


Bloody hell.


Max Gardner was right next to her. She tensed up for one second, side stepped out of the way and tried to walk out of the joint before he turned his head and saw her. Bloody hell.


Run, get the gun later. Just run. Maybe visit Dad for a month...that sounded like a splendid plan.


As she grabbed the door handle she knew she couldn't leave this little town until she had that magical hell item in her possession...so she just had to...get away from Union at the same time.


Wonderful.

 

[taysilva19]

He heard her before he saw her. As Abigail's boots hit the ground, Max turned, and without stopping a second, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm before she left the bar. He couldn't believe she ended up in the same place that he was. He was breathing heavily, making sure to keep his hand on his arm, and led her outside. The silence between them lasted until Max pressed her against the wall between the bar and another building hard enough where she wouldn't be able to run away.


Max calmed himself enough to catch his breath. "You gonna stay put?"

 

[Willow Pillow]

Too late. Panic mode. There was a tight squeeze on her arm and then a swift pull. She had known Max Gardner here and there for a few years but she had not once ever considered he actually had some muscle to him, enough where she couldn't pull away.


Turn to smoke and teleport. That was the easy answer. She could do it, but she didn't. She let him slam her body against the wall, a small moment of where she couldn't breathe from the impact.


"Took my breath away for a second," She tried to smile. There was the pause. Funny. Because he slammed her and knocked a breathe out. Not laughing...so not funny.


He asked if she was going to stay put. "Are you going to let me go? Whatever you're going to do...ripped up the check...so Cooke really has no loss in what went down."

 

[taysilva19]

Max kept a tight grip on her arm. He kept his face inches from hers, letting his words sit in the still air around them. "Don't. Just don't. I remember you telling me you can... teleport or something crazy like that." He looked into her eyes, and after a couple seconds he let go of her. He had so many questions that were racing through his mind, but couldn't settle on any of them. He paced for a couple seconds, and returned to her.


"Why? You should've known we were going to figure out that egg was a fake. As if you didn't know you were already under suspicion. You told me yourself last time you were in the area. That was dumb Abigail. Really fucking dumb."


He looked at her again, her green eyes surprised for once. He had never seen her look like this before. She had every reason to react this way towards him. For the first time in their relationship, Max was treating her how he was trained to, and how Abigail was always threatened. He swore under his breath.


The hell's wrong with me?

 

[Willow Pillow]

Really fucking dumb.





Sam blinked a few times trying to process this. She had been friendly to Max over the years because for some reason she felt like she had always known him. That she was safe. It was crazy, you don't feel that way with people. But she did. But in that moment the way he moved, looked at her and spoke was how the rest of the world saw her.


Really fucking dumb.





Her emerald eyes narrowed. "What was dumb Max? Was is dumb to suspect there were suspisious motives on wanting a phoenix egg? Was it dumb think maybe just maybe I would be doing more harm dropping the egg off no questions asked? It's a frikken animal. A RARE animal close to extinction! No, I know what was dumb." She pushed him hard in the chest to get him away from her. "Thinking you were different than the rest of them. My bad I'll be smarter next time."

 

[taysilva19]

"Not just dumb. Dangerous." When Abigail pushed him back, he fought urge to get right back in her face. He caught himself, and balanced himself against the wall facing her. He could still feel his face redden, thinking about her words.


"Just because I'm one of them doesn't mean I act like them. Just like you. You think I know why they wanted that egg? Guess what? I don't." He paused, catching his breath and finding his words. "You're lucky I found you."


Max scratched the back of his head. He had no idea what to do now that he found his mark. "If it means anything to you, I've got some time to kill now. Paint the town red with me?" He tried his best to wear a convincing smile. His mission was in a shambles, but he still had a friend to keep.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Sam crossed her arms but she gave a small half smile at his attempt to diffuse the situation. She never saw him angry...just the usually helpless puppy expressions he had, especially now when he was scratching the back of his head. "I hope you know how this will end. I can't let you have the egg, and I can't let you bring me back. But maybe I can give you something better that might let them leave me alone."


She paused for a second. Black Dawn wasn't something to toy with. She had to figure a way to...make it not deadly first. "But what I'm after Max...this is very dangerous....if I gave it to Union it'd have to be completely broken or i'd have to know it was just there to keep it out of mortal hands."


Cracking her knuckles, She turned to black smoke and appeared behind him. Just as a little tease that her staying put was out of her own choice and he didn't have her as some sort of...witch prize hostage. "If you're serious...we can play detective at the bar or...maybe some of the shops that are open. See if we hear any rumors about mass murders here lately."

 

[taysilva19]

He nodded, watching her eyes flicker. Max rubbed his temples, thinking. "If it keeps ypu safe. I can talk myself out of this when it comes to explaining to Union when I don't bring you back. Guess it's good they're used to failure."


When he looked where she last was, he was too late. Hearing her giggle, he spun on his heel, waving smoke out of his face. "Very funny. And yeah, I am serious. What would the would be detective do at this point?" She looked at him with a knowing expression, waiting for Max to finish his thought.


"Yeah... Lead the way. Just promise me, the minute we see Union, or any other hunters, you leave them to me. Deal?"

 

[Willow Pillow]

"Max....if the lot of them had a clue what they were doing do you think they'd hire a witch to do the jobs they should do? Don't beat yourself up....I mean you found this place and it's been off any real map for decades. Actually....how did you find this place....nevermind. I don't want to know."


He asked her to stay out of any hunter conflict half mockingly she made a girl scout promise pledge with her hands. "It's like you think I'm a killer Or something. Ok. I guess we hit the bar, see if we hear anything."


She didn't motion him to go first she went in the doors again and sat at the counter hoping max would go to the other end. Wider range.


--


A group of four men were playing cards in the back. Around their 30s. "Didn't think Paul had it in him to do that."


Shit, he had a crappie hand. He doubled down on the bet.


"You saw him after the factory ahootour. He was buggy." Good hand, he was going to play safe and match the bet. His friend was confident but didn't want to risk it all.


"Least he had the decency to not leave one of his pups alive to deal with this shit." He folded. Shorties of all shit hands.


"He did. kid hid under the sink and sprayed the cops with bleach." He had a royal flush. All in.


"You think anyone else is gonna do what Paul did?...oh guck you glenn."sour expression the first man folded.

 

[taysilva19]

"It's not like I don't trust you. It's... You need to stay safe. There are some nasty people that have it out for you. Even in Union, I can count on one hand how many members I can sctually trust around people like you." He grabbed her shoulder and quickly spun her around, to face him. "If you hear anything suspicious, tap your nose. Keep an eye out, I'll do the same if I hear anything too."


Walking back into the bar, Sam immediately walked to the left hand side of the counter, leaving Max to go to thr right. He took a seat, and slid a couple bills in front of him. The bar tender had his attention now. "Gimme a beer. Coldest you've got." Thr bar tender nodded, before walking off.


Max took the opportunity to listen to thr bits and pieces of conversation that he could pick up. Spouses complaining about their partner, work woes, and some simply bitching about anything. Behind him, Max could hear a group of men chatting over a card game. He pieced together something about a factory shoot out nearby, and a kid hiding under the sink.


Detective needs his beer. C'mon bar tender...

 

[Willow Pillow]

She arched a brow at him. Max Gardner was beginning to sound like her father. People like her...she wanted to scoff...she was ordinary...kind of sort of. Who was she kidding, she knew damn well people were terrified of her. When she was twelve years old a necromancing cult devoted all their efforts to try and capture her to raise her like some sort of....who knew what.


Imagine if that actually fell through? World be scared. But she was all to familiar with people wanting her dead or wanting her for something else.


Price of being special.


He spun her and gave the dorkiest suggestion of their cod to eachother. She let out a snort trying to contain her laughter. "Alright 007, I'll wink and tap my nose if I hear anything."


--


Fred watched his place like he always did. There was a hunter and a witch. A witch got past his protective spell barrier....meant two possible things. He would just watch her warilly and if she attempted to go behind the counter at all or slip out of his sight, he'd kill her. Right now she wasn't a threat.


Same for the hunter.


Rolling his eyes when the hunter asked for the coldest beer, he just nodded and waited. He went to the back, got the warmest bottle he could find and wiped it along his ass crack. Walking back, he placed the beer on his table and didnt' say anything.


As for the rum and coke...he spat in it when she wasn't looking and slid it over.


--


The four men talked a little more more playing a few more hands. What Max could pick up was there was a large mass shooting at the factory that Paul Marbles worked at. A few days later, Marbles went home, shot all his kids and then blew his own brains out. Town was going bananas.


--


Sam listened to the chatter. She didn't get much out of anything except how the pawn shop you could find whatever you were looking for. Every single time. THe owner was a genius, always knew the right things to put in the shop.


She took a sip out of her drink, her nose wrinkling as she put it down. Tasted funny.

 

[taysilva19]

Aw, beer, no. Max thought as he gripped the beer bottle. It felt like it hadn't been refrigerated since the day it was bottled, causing Max to simply roll it in his palms. Taking a couple seconds to relax, he closed his eyes and thought about the events of the day. It had been months since anything of note had occurred in his life, besides the occasional surprise of a dissection subject being pregnant. Although he was a little annoyed about Abigail being so foolish to even trust the Union and accept the contracts that she did, he smiled at the idea of finally being outside the walls of the Union base. So he was looking for a magic death-gun, so what?


He had been through worse, right?


He opened his eyes, snapping back to reality as a headache shot across his skull. "Oh, okay, ow." He said out loud, probably louder than he wanted it to be.


Marbles? That family those guys were talking about earlier, I know that name from somewhere. Max shook his head, writing the headache off from stress, and the familiarity of the name being heard in passing conversation back on base. He glanced at Abigail, who was still sitting on her side of the counter, seemingly behaving for once in her life. The young hunter wished his beer was at least room temperature. He had half a mind to use it as an ice pack.

 

[Willow Pillow]

Sam needed to check a pawn shop. If it had anything you could ever want....maybe it had the gun. Or it might have had the gun at some point in time. Either way...she had a pawn shop to-


Ow? Sam turned around and arched her brow as Max looked like he was about to have a vessel pop out of his head. Was he alright? Tapping her nose, she winked an eye but he seemed lost in his own thoughts.


Great, create a dorky little signal and ignore it. Her nose wrinkled agitated as she tapped it and winked again. And again. Aggrivated, she put a five on the table and walked over. Pulling a chair she sat across from him. "Lost in thought are we? I want to do a little shopping. Did you find out anything?"