Part II

The Time of the Hunt

Chapter 11 — Foreigners

"Why us?" Alden asked as they eyed a small embankment formed by a huge tree root which blocked their path.

"Told you, I agree with you," Viper grunted, pulling himself up swiftly and without effort. Rika followed him after only a moment's pause. Alden tried and failed, accepting Rika's hand up with blood rushing to his face. "Auctionin' it off is a terrible idea."

Alden brushed dirt off his pants. "No, I get why you want to steal it. I mean, why do you need us?"

"Hector's got the Scrap, and he does all sorts of crap with electricity and tech. He's also the scariest motherfucker this side of the Rockies. I'm not going up against Hector-goddamn-Peraza alone, but I figure lightning girl here can counteract him. Right?" Viper's grizzled beard turned to face Rika, who nodded with a touch of annoyance. "I don't need you kid, but since you're apparently a package deal, you're coming along. Capiche?"

Alden swallowed hard. "Got it."

Rika clapped him on the back. "Lighten up, Zack. Viper's actually a big softie, trust me."

Viper shot her a glare. "I could break your face, girl."

"And I could break you before you even got close. You've been here for months and haven't done a thing," Rika replied flippantly. "Plus you hide under a cutesy codename. It just screams washed out."

"I still don't get it," Alden cut in before Rika could start a fight. "Hector's just one guy."

Viper laughed. "It's Zack, right?" Alden nodded. "Well, Zack, you just got here on the last train. You know fuck-all about the town or the people here, so I'll let you know now: Hector Peraza is not to be fucked with."

"How did you know I just got here by train?"

"Because I watched you get off. Which is the only reason I trust you, by the way. You haven't been infected by this fucking place yet," Viper said, glancing back over his shoulder at the receding town outskirts. "Trust being relative shit, that is. Only person I actually trust is the one you're about to meet."

Viper suddenly stopped walking on his last word. Rika nearly bumped into him. He was pointing up at a nearby tree, and they followed his eyes to a narrow-eyed lithe, blond haired woman perched in a high nook. She held a long polished wooden rifle trained squarely on Rika's forehead.

"Rook, meet Zack and Rika," Viper gestured. "Ne ovat turvallisia."

"Salasana," she replied. The rifle didn't move an inch. Rika was completely frozen, as was Alden.

"Alpha-hotel-november-six-two-one."

Immediately, Rook loosened her grip on the rifle, though her narrow eyes remained fixed on the two.

"You said one guest."

Her voice was clipped and accented. European, if Alden had to guess—he wasn't really acquainted with many different accents.

"Turned out she had a friend," Viper said, waving them forward.

After a moment's hesitation, Rika started walking again, pushing through a thick wall of underbrush. Alden suddenly realized it must be artificially placed. From a distance, he'd have never realized the trick. Once Rika vanished it became obvious how deliberate the bushes and branches had been arrayed. He followed Viper through, wincing at the twigs that scraped his face.

A simple camp lay beyond the wall of foliage. Two sleeping bags were rolled up under a camouflage lean-to, with several half-buried boxes laid out nearby. One of the boxes was open, and Alden could see silver packets of some kind stuffed inside. He felt underwhelmed by the place. For someone so intimidating, Viper was living like a homeless man in the city.

There was a soft thump on the ground behind him. Alden spun around to see Rook walk past him as if he weren't there. She was younger than he'd thought at first glance, in her late twenties rather than the age implied by the greying hair adorning Viper's face. Her hair was short and yellow-blonde, just barely enough to cover her ears, while her eyes were icy-blue and set into a face equally chilly. Rook sat down under the lean-to and picked up one of the packets, tearing it open and biting down on the generic food with a steely look. He glanced away hurriedly before she found a reason to dislike him.

"So what's an old man and a stone-cold Nordic fox doing in a town like Rallsburg anyway, besides the obvious?" Rika said abruptly, settling herself down on a tree root. Alden took her lead and sat down nearby.

Viper laughed, sitting as well and leaning over to start a fire in the small ring of stones set in the middle of the clearing. "Old man? Girl, I'm barely over thirty. Don't let the grey hair trick you, it's just from spending too much time in shit-your-pants situations."

Rika shrugged. "Whatever. Why're you screwing around in a dead-end town like this? You're both obviously special ops or something like it."

"Not here for Uncle Sam, if that's your worry, or any other flag," Viper said. He was scraping flint with a survival knife at the tinder underneath the logs the old fashioned way.

Rika clicked her tongue impatiently. She raised her arm and pointed her middle finger at the fire, then suddenly curled it upward. A flame burst into life on the tinder. The logs caught quickly and soon they were enjoying a crackling fire.

Viper gave her an appreciative nod. "Wanna teach me that trick?"

"I don't even know your name yet."

"What's wrong with Viper?"

"Sounds like you're trying way too hard."

Viper grinned. "All right then. If we're going to be working together, I guess we oughta have some trust. My name is Stefen and my companion is Tessa."

The woman behind him flicked her head in acknowledgement. She pulled out a cloth from a backpack leaning against the tree and began to polish her rifle, but Alden felt like one eye was continually trained on him regardless of her apparent distraction. She was an unnerving one.

"And you already know our names, so next question," Rika continued. "You two are here for magic, then?"

"Sure as sure," Viper leaned back and put his feet up. "My employer doesn't know about any of this yet, so you don't need to worry about your friend's little operation getting overthrown. For now."

"Wouldn't care if you did," Rika replied.

"Oh? Thought you and our high-and-mighty councilor were on the up and up."

"What's your elaborate heist plot, anyway? If we're gonna do this, it'd better be solid." Rika asked, ignoring the jab. Viper raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"No need to get complicated. The Scrap will be at the Kettle and Bones tomorrow, according to my source—"

"And he can be trusted?"

"He's never been wrong yet," Viper confirmed. "So we just go down there, middle of the day before it opens. Originally I was just gonna break in the back and take the thing, but now that we've got extra help… Hey, kid, feel like trying to lure him out front?"

It took Alden a moment to realize they were all looking at him. "Oh, err…"

"All you gotta do is knock on the front door, see who comes running. Maybe complain loudly enough that everyone comes to you. Piece of cake."

"Also means you're out of the way if it does come to a fight," Rika added.

"Will it?" Alden asked nervously.

"Hell no," Viper said. "It'll be the middle of the day and not even a cloud in the sky. None of them would ever risk tossing some actual magic at us, and it's not like they can take Tessa or me in a straight fight. We just slip away into the public and stay on the streets long enough to get away. The public's our ally here."

"And what happens after?" Rika asked.

"We read it, we go our separate ways, and I hang onto it for safekeeping."

"Okay, but counter-offer: I keep the Scrap."

Viper's eyes narrowed as he sat up straight. "Like hell you do."

"Look, you can even read it first for all I care, but I'm keeping it afterward," Rika stated flatly.

He looked genuinely surprised. "Wouldn't've thought you'd give that up so easily."

"Give and take, right?" Rika said, flipping her hair back as blue strands had fallen over her eye. "You and your friend can read to your heart's content, first dibs and everything, but afterward? It's mine."

Rook spat on the ground. Alden and Rika both looked up startled, but she ignored them and continued polishing her rifle.

"Tessa isn't awakened and doesn't plan to be. Don't mind her."

"Fine. We don't need to get along anyway. Just so long as she's not gonna shoot us in the back, right?"

"Ei vahinko tule kello kaulassa," Rook answered, not looking up.

"I trust her with my life, and I vouch for her," Viper added.

"That'd be so much more helpful if I trusted you," Rika said dryly. "But since there's no way in hell I'm getting near to it without you, nor you without me, I'd say we're golden." Rika got to her feet, and Alden scrambled to follow suit.

"So, tomorrow morning then?" Viper asked casually.

"Yeah. We'll meet you here?"

"Nah. We'll be movin' again as soon as you leave," Viper said, nodding at Rook. She began packing away boxes immediately. "Can't be too careful with what's been lurking out here lately."

"Yeah, what the fuck is that, anyway? I heard people are disappearing out in the woods lately."

"Don't know about anyone vanishing, but I've seen some damn spooky things myself. Caught a glimpse of a giant cat prowling about for one, with some killer eyes. Biggest damn cat I've ever seen. And it just stared at me like it didn't care a lick if I tried to run."

"Sounds crazy," Rika said without a hint of irony. She gave a short bow, only barely inclining her head. "Well, see you tomorrow then."

She turned and vanished through the wall of leaves and ivy. Alden was quick to follow.