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"Right." Noir decided not to push any further. Straight answers weren't something he expected from the Dark Man.
"I don't like you." Jesha stated. She gave the Dark Man a cold stare. "Don't think you can try and pull any tricks here. Answer Noir's question. What is it you want?"
The Dark Man stood up, pushing the plate away as he did. He tossed out a crumpled hundred dollar bill. "Why my dear, I want the next person Noir brings to justice. This time, I can't really help except to pay ahead of time. You both should try to be more patient with what is going to happen next."
He nodded his head and left.
Noir sighed. "That doesn't work. You can't intimidate him."
"It isn't a 'him.'" Jesha retorted. "Monsters don't get to be persons, Noir. Why do you deal with such a... thing?"
Noir cocked an eyebrow. "I have my reasons."
"That payment? Is that it?"
"I don't feel like explaining it, ok?"
Jesha opened her mouth to demand further from him, but someone else shouted over the two of them.
"Noir Bedarte?" Loud enough to make the meager number of people in the diner silent, they all stared at the source of the shout. A group of government types, their suits and outfits emblazoned with shields and the letters USMS. A pregnant woman in dark black hair, shorter than Noir, marched to where Noir and Jesha sat.
"Oh." Noir pinched his nose. "I really didn't want to have to see you ever again."
"And I want to find a federal statute that is against necromancy so I can see how well prison treats you." The USMS agent's nose flared as she talked to Noir. "Instead, I'm here to tell you that you get to be a consultant. Dead body, a serial killer and you are the closest person who talks to ghosts."
"Gonna pay me for it this time, Agent Blackthunder?"
"You going to bring those dead agents back to life?" She retorted.
Jesha stared at the woman. She shrugged. "Sounds like fun to me. Never hunted serial killers before."
"Thanks for the support." Noir told her.
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"Jesha, this is Agent Blackthunder. I've done work with her before." Noir explained as they got into the dirty rental sedan Blackthunder had parked outside the diner.
"We didn't ask for your help on that. You did more harm than good." Blackthunder curtly interjected.
"The poltergeist needed my help. I helped."
"Right. That going to bring those dead men back to me or do you have a spell for that?" Blackthunder got behind the wheel.
"What's USMS exactly?" Jesha gestured at the lettering on Blackthunder's clothes. "I've run into FBI and some others, but I haven't heard of the USMS before."
"Most haven't. United States Multiversal Survey." Blackthunder explained. "We investigate external and supernatural threats. Most often we deal with incursions and sites that have been visited by external entities."
"Ghosts and things." Noir suggested.
Blackthunder sighed. "We catalog more than that. And we are just about looking and keeping tabs on threats. My unit, External Hazard Containment, focuses on trying to minimize damage caused by external threats. We don't go hunting or stirring up trouble. We're the people who keep track of what is going on."
"Right. And this you're taking us to is some scene or something you need analyzed or..."
"It isn't my site. Its a local matter. More of a favor I'm doing for somebody else." Blackthunder took them onto the freeway, heading westward toward Beaverton. "Its a serial killer, somebody who has been terrorizing the whole west coast for the last six months. Calls himself the Wolf. Grisly stuff."
"Oh joy." Noir chimed in.
"Right." Noir decided not to push any further. Straight answers weren't something he expected from the Dark Man.
"I don't like you." Jesha stated. She gave the Dark Man a cold stare. "Don't think you can try and pull any tricks here. Answer Noir's question. What is it you want?"
The Dark Man stood up, pushing the plate away as he did. He tossed out a crumpled hundred dollar bill. "Why my dear, I want the next person Noir brings to justice. This time, I can't really help except to pay ahead of time. You both should try to be more patient with what is going to happen next."
He nodded his head and left.
Noir sighed. "That doesn't work. You can't intimidate him."
"It isn't a 'him.'" Jesha retorted. "Monsters don't get to be persons, Noir. Why do you deal with such a... thing?"
Noir cocked an eyebrow. "I have my reasons."
"That payment? Is that it?"
"I don't feel like explaining it, ok?"
Jesha opened her mouth to demand further from him, but someone else shouted over the two of them.
"Noir Bedarte?" Loud enough to make the meager number of people in the diner silent, they all stared at the source of the shout. A group of government types, their suits and outfits emblazoned with shields and the letters USMS. A pregnant woman in dark black hair, shorter than Noir, marched to where Noir and Jesha sat.
"Oh." Noir pinched his nose. "I really didn't want to have to see you ever again."
"And I want to find a federal statute that is against necromancy so I can see how well prison treats you." The USMS agent's nose flared as she talked to Noir. "Instead, I'm here to tell you that you get to be a consultant. Dead body, a serial killer and you are the closest person who talks to ghosts."
"Gonna pay me for it this time, Agent Blackthunder?"
"You going to bring those dead agents back to life?" She retorted.
Jesha stared at the woman. She shrugged. "Sounds like fun to me. Never hunted serial killers before."
"Thanks for the support." Noir told her.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
"Jesha, this is Agent Blackthunder. I've done work with her before." Noir explained as they got into the dirty rental sedan Blackthunder had parked outside the diner.
"We didn't ask for your help on that. You did more harm than good." Blackthunder curtly interjected.
"The poltergeist needed my help. I helped."
"Right. That going to bring those dead men back to me or do you have a spell for that?" Blackthunder got behind the wheel.
"What's USMS exactly?" Jesha gestured at the lettering on Blackthunder's clothes. "I've run into FBI and some others, but I haven't heard of the USMS before."
"Most haven't. United States Multiversal Survey." Blackthunder explained. "We investigate external and supernatural threats. Most often we deal with incursions and sites that have been visited by external entities."
"Ghosts and things." Noir suggested.
Blackthunder sighed. "We catalog more than that. And we are just about looking and keeping tabs on threats. My unit, External Hazard Containment, focuses on trying to minimize damage caused by external threats. We don't go hunting or stirring up trouble. We're the people who keep track of what is going on."
"Right. And this you're taking us to is some scene or something you need analyzed or..."
"It isn't my site. Its a local matter. More of a favor I'm doing for somebody else." Blackthunder took them onto the freeway, heading westward toward Beaverton. "Its a serial killer, somebody who has been terrorizing the whole west coast for the last six months. Calls himself the Wolf. Grisly stuff."
"Oh joy." Noir chimed in.
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