Gone Rogue

“Damn her!”

Shifting in his chair, Devlin stared intently at the frozen image on the vid-screen. Unable to look away, he slammed his fist against the panel turning it off. It was a gesture of frustration as much as it was anger, as he again had to change positions in order to relieve the ever increasing tension in his mind as well as his pants.

He had been watching her for weeks. And what began as a simple case of surveillance had lately become an obsession. Always elusive, she had recently become careless. Allowing herself to be seen, and frequently. It was as if she knew he was there. His mind raced with suppositions and questions. What was she up to? Why was she feeding so often? And how in the hell does she do it? How does she know I’m watching, and why is it that it affects me like this?

Devlin was reaching into the pocket of his combat pants to relieve himself of some of that tension when he heard a man’s voice in his ear.

“Tantalizing isn’t she.”

Yanking his hand out of his pants, while simultaneously spinning in his chair, Dev nearly knocked himself backwards. Luckily he was able to grab the edge of the desk and stop his momentum.

“Holy crap Gaelan! You know I hate it when you sneak up on me like that.”

“You knew I was coming – and when. If you don’t take the proper precautions before allowing an empath into the building then it’s your own damn fault. By the way, she’s much better at this mind reading stuff than I am. I would bear that in mind next time you go digging around in your pants pockets for uh….loose change.”

“That’s not funny G. Seriously, she can do that?”

Laughing, Gaelan reached across the desk and touched the vid-screen, instantly re-illuminating Esmirée’s image. It was definitely her, walking away, about to step into some shadows. Leaning in to see the picture clearer, it became apparent why Devlin had focused on this particular frame. She was looking back over her shoulder, directly into the camera, and winking. That little vixen, thought Gaelan. He grinned knowing how much she was enjoying driving Dev crazy.

Now I know why he keeps an extra pair of shorts in his desk the sick perv.

Geez, whaddya expect giving a man a look like that.

Serves him right for having every vid-com between here and Philly plastered to my ass.

You had to know that what you’re doing was gonna attract attention. Come on Esmi, cut the guy some slack.

Whose side you on?

Mine, of course.

Gaelan barely suppressed a smile and took the seat across the table from Devlin. He was looking at him strangely.

“You’re still in contact with her, aren’t you?”

Maintaining his composure, Gaelan lied somewhat truthfully.

“At the moment, no. She’s gone rogue Dev, she contacts me, never the other way around.”

As he finished his sentence, Gaelan waved his hand at the bank of monitors set in the wall behind Dev’s desk. They both looked up to see multiple images of Esmirée staring back, taunting the viewer with an impish smile.

Temporarily distracted by the flickering images, Dev let his guard down allowing Gaelan a glimpse into his emotions. Other than lust and embarrassment, there was something else, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was.

As soon as Dev realized he was being read, he tossed a file in Gaelan’s direction, forcing him to break his concentration. After landing, several photos slipped out onto the table. He didn’t have to look at them to know what they were; he’d seen personally how a wraith feeds.

Shoving them back into the folder, he glared at Dev. He knew why he had been called in, but was still unsure of what they wanted him to do about it. Soul wraiths were rare, and capturing one gone rogue was impossible. None had ever been taken alive. Not to mention that any Chaser fool enough to take on the job ever survived the hunt.

“What do you want from me?”

“Well for one, how about we not waste each other’s time. I’m sure you’ve already read half the staff before you walked in my office.”

Gaelan leaned back in his chair considering how much to reveal about what he already knew. At that very moment, Dev was doing the same. Considering the pressure he was getting from his superiors, he decided he had to trust him. He had no choice.

“She needs to be brought in…or terminated.”

Gaelan let out his breath audibly. It was one of the few times Dev had ever seen him let down his guard.

“Why me?”

“Your special abilities for one. And the fact she still trusts you.”

“Esmirée trusts no one.”

“Not even her own brother?”

He knows too much. And that’s dangerous.

Dammit Esmi, Where are you? I don’t like this not knowing, especially now.

Close enough to make pervy boy’s fantasy’s a reality. Too bad he’s not my type.

You have a type?

Gaelan could barely suppress a laugh as an obscene image only Esmi could muster flashed in his mind right before breaking contact.

“What’s it gonna be G? She can’t run forever. We can work something out. Look, I’m willing to allow a little freelance work once and a while, but the coalition is worried this will set a precedence. As we speak several other agencies have already organized hunting parties. Working together they just might succeed. I would hate to think of her falling into the hands of some other group that won’t appreciate her talents like we do.”

“It doesn’t matter how many they send after her Dev, they won’t catch her. You think the body count is bad now, just wait.”

“You think she can handle that many?”

“Remember Cairo?”

“Who doesn’t? MercCo nearly lost ten of their best units. It took a year and over half of their annual budget to replace them.”

“That’s my girl.”

Gaelan looked positively smug knowing that Esmi would never return; not on anyone’s terms but her own. However, Dev still had one more trick up his sleeve.

“MercCo’s never forgotten what she cost them G. They got Katil. Picked him up yesterday. It won’t be long until he’s turned.”

Damn.

That’s it Esmi, you have to come in. Please.

No. This is perfect. If they turn him, then there is a chance.

A Chance for what?

Revolution.

.

© 2008 J.C. Montgomery

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fiction, wraith, shards_of_hope and journals_of_the_realm