Ch. 5

When chasing a wild goose, dress properly and take plenty of ammo. – Street Proverb
 

"Stupid fraggin job! Dis is da last time I let Turk handle biz. Drek, dat kid could be anywhere by now," Lank grumbled.  He cruised the streets looking for some sign of Karina on the offhand chance that she might return to the area.  As he passed the park, he saw Karina and another girl climb on a bike and take off. "There she is! Damn, dis is my lucky day!"  Lank smiled and followed them at a safe distance until they stopped at a motel. He pulled over and watched them enter a room. Taking note of the room number, the ork left to find a public telecom and inform his partner that the target had been found.

"How was class?" Vixen asked over the noise of the shower.
"Good, it’s been too long since I went though and I’m a bit sore," Turner said. "Hand me that towel."
Vixen passed her the towel and left the room to join Karina at the tiny dinette. Turner joined them a bit later. She rubbed her hair dry with the towel and then draped it over the back of a chair to dry. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down. "Ok, we need to check out Hawk’s place today and start planning how we are going to get in."
" Sounds good. Let’s finish up here and get ready to go," Vixen replied.
They quickly finished their breakfast and started dressing for the day.
Suddenly Karina stiffened. "Something’s wrong!" she whispered.
Turner looked at her. "Can you tell what?"
"No!" Karina gave Turner a pleading look when she hesitated. "You’ve gotta believe me!"
"Drek!" Turner grabbed her pistol off the bed, and motioned to Vixen. Vixen drew her own weapon and started moving towards the kitchen when the door burst open. She dove for the bathroom and snapped off a couple of shots at the intruder.
Turner threw herself through the connecting door to the other suite and opened fire.
 Karina took one look at the massive troll in the doorway and dropped to the floor. She rolled under the bed and quickly cast an invisibility spell. She scooted over and peeked out from under the bed.
Turk lifted his roomsweeper and fired at Turner. She ducked behind the doorframe, and screamed as flying wood splinters and pellets tore through the flimsy doorframe and into her shoulder.  She fell to the floor and rolled to get out of the line of fire.
Karina looked up quickly when she heard a crash at the window. Through a crack in the curtains she caught a glimpse of Lank trying to break the window.  She threw a stun blast at him and ducked back under the bed. Her head swam for a second from the drain of casting.  She shook her head. ‘I don’t have time for this now!’ she thought.
Turk bellowed as two quick shots from Vixen hit him square in the chest. He backed up and dove for cover as she started walking her fire up towards his face.
Vixen waited for him to reappear and then cursed at the sound of a distant siren. "Frag! Lone Star’s on the way!" she yelled.
When neither Turk nor Lank reappeared, Vixen ran over to Turner. "Can you move?" she asked hastily "We gotta leave. Mist, get out here and help me! Turner’s hit!"
Karina rolled out from under the bed and helped Vixen lift Turner onto the bed.
"Quick, get the medkit outa my bag!" Vixen pointed to her rucksack.
Karina rummaged around until she found it and threw it to Vixen. She threw the rest of their gear into another bag while Vixen slapped a patch on Turner’s shoulder. Karina took a quick look out the open door. "All clear. Let’s go." She grabbed the kits and followed Vixen and Turner to the car.
"I’ll take the bike. You two take the car and meet me at my place. Watch for anyone following you," Vixen warned before sprinting to the bike. Karina climbed into the car. She set the autopilot and turned her attention to the wounded merc. "Just hang on Turner, you’re going to be fine."
Turner shook her head groggily. "Gahh, I hate the taste of olives!  You ok?"
"Yeah, I’m fine. Just hold still and let me concentrate."
A soothing warmth spread over Turner’s shoulder and arm. Her muscles relaxed and she sighed in relief. She looked over at Karina and stared in fascination at the shaman. Her features had taken on a foxy appearance.  She shook her head as the look faded. ‘Must be seeing things.’
"There, that should do it. But don’t try moving around a lot just yet," Karina said.  "Vixen said to meet back at her place. Looks like we’re going to have to find another safe house. How did they find us?"
"Don’t know. Maybe they followed us from class," Turner stated. "Did you get everything from the room?"
"Yeah," Karina said. "Ya know, I think I’m gonna kill those two."
"I scan that. Save some for me," Turner replied.

"I’m gonna kill dat fraggin kid!" Turk bellowed. "I’m gonna rip her fraggin heart out wit my bare hands and eat it!"
"Dat’s what got us into dis fraggin mess in da first place ya stupid trog!" Lank yelled back. "Johnson’s gonna have our heads for dis. Look, we gotta find dat necklace first! Den we kill da kid. Ya scan?"
Turk stomped out of the room without a word. Lank stared after him in disgust. ‘Dat trog is getting to be more trouble den he’s worth. Maybe it time ta find me a new partner,’ he thought.

Vixen was waiting when they got there. "Anybody follow you?" she asked.
"Not that I could tell, but we can’t stay here long," Turner said, her face pale with shock.
 Vixen looked at her grimly. "We gotta get you someplace safe and take a better look at that.
"I’m fine!" Tuner snapped. She gritted her teeth. "Let’s just get going."
"Ok, I got us another hotel room. Follow me and keep a close eye out for any tails," Vixen said. She stalked back to the bike and swung on.

"Magical healing or not, your not leaving this room tonight!" Karina said firmly. " And if you give me any trouble I’ll… I’ll hit you with a sleep spell!"
Turner grimaced. "Fine, but…"
"No buts! Now get some sleep." Karina turned away dismissively.
Turner grumbled under her breath, but a few moments later her breathing settled into the slow rhythm of sleep.
"She’s going to be all right, Mist," Vixen said quietly. "You saved our hoops today, ya know. Thanks. How did you know?"
"I don’t know. I just had this feeling and I knew I was right. Maybe my totem told me." Karina shrugged.
"Well, what ever it was, ya did good." Vixen yawned. "Get some sleep." She stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes.
Karina switched off the light and lay there for awhile thinking. Finally, she sighed and drifted off to sleep.

4726 West Maple was a modest house in a quiet residential area. It was a grey stucco one story. Nothing distinguished it from the other houses in the neighborhood.  Karina astrally scanned the house as they drove by. She looked carefully for the signs Mask had told her about, but there were no magical defenses she could see. Not even a low-level ward. "Nothing. No sign of any magical protections at all. Do you want me to do an astral recon of the place?" she asked.
"Ok, but be careful," Turner said as they pulled into a grocery store parking lot down the street. She went into the store to get drinks, leaving Vixen and Karina in the car.
Karina settled herself in the seat and pillowed her head on her arm as if asleep. She stepped out of her body and zipped back the way they had come. She tried to read the numbers on the houses but couldn’t make any sense of them. Recognizing an unusual tree in the front yard of the house, she cautiously approached it. Nothing stirred as she slipped through the front door. The house was still and quiet except for the distant drip of a leaky faucet.  Karina looked around, memorizing the placement of the rooms to describe to her partners later.  As she moved through the walls in between the bedrooms she found a small safe hidden behind the paneling. Marking its location in her mind, she continued her search. The house was completely empty. It looked like no one had been here since Hawk had left that night. After a quick look around , she sped back to her body. She sat up just as Turner returned.
"Did ya get anything?" Turner asked her.
"Yeah, the house is empty.  And I was right, there are no magical protections. It looks like no one has been there since Hawk left. I found a safe too. If you get me a piece of paper I can ya draw a map of the place," Karina said.
Vixen handed her a discarded wrapper and a pen, and she quickly sketched out a crude map. "Here ya go." She handed it to Turner and sat forward with her arms draped over the front seat. She pointed out the rooms, telling them what each one was.  Suddenly, Vixen started the car. "Put that away," she warned Turner. She drove over to where a sec guard was standing, studying them suspiciously. She leaned out the window and called to him. "Excuse me sir, do you happen to know if there is a mall nearby? We came to visit a friend and her neighbor tells us she won’t be home until 13:00, so we have a couple of hours to kill." She flashed him a devastating smile.
 His face cleared as he smiled back. "Certainly, Miss." He walked over to the car to give them directions and flirted a bit with Vixen before sending them on their way.

"I’m gonna try to bypass this door sensor," Vixen said later that night. She pulled out a credit card sized magnet and put it between her teeth. She jiggled around in the old fashion key lock with one of her picks for a few seconds until she was awarded with a quiet click. She turned the handle and slipped the magnet between the door jam and the door. Then she slowly opened the door until it was wide enough to slip through. Turner and Karina held their breath as she sank to her knees and inched her way across the floor. Finally, she reached the motion detector and stood up, coming at it from underneath. She reached into a pouch hanging at her side and pulled out her electronic tool kit. She selected a small screwdriver and opened the case of the detector. Finally she clipped a set of wires to the innards and hooked up her deck. "Wait one tic."
She settled the plug into her jack and entered the system.

From blackness sprang vivid colors. Her silver fox icon stood in a room surrounded by shimmering green walls covered with controls. This was the slave node for all the sensors. She began to shut them down when suddenly the light turned a dirty amber color, and began to pulse. ‘Alert!’ she thought. Looking around she saw only one way out.  She bounded down the tunnel past the ice that was just now beginning to form. As she flew through the datapath, she saw a large Octagon in front of her. Blocking her way was the UMC icon for access ice, a gate with a keyhole. Vixen threw a key into the lock, and rushed into the gate and bounced.  It didn’t open.  She tried again, more carefully, taking time to pick the lock. This time it opened. Working quickly, she moved into the CPU and went to the control panel. She had only a second before the system sent out an alert to the monitoring system. She quickly shut down the alert, then the system. She looked around making sure that she hadn’t forgotten anything. Then a big red button appeared before her. She reached out with a paw and tapped it. Black….

"What the frag happened? You set off an alert. I just barely caught it before it sent out a scream for help!" Vixen snapped.
Karina looked sheepish. "Sorry, I sneezed."
Vixen sighed. "Get in here before someone sees ya." She put down her deck in its armored case and looked around. "Nice place," she said, shining her flashlight around the room.
The living room was tastefully decorated in a western style. A dark leather couch, flanked by two leather armchairs, graced the wall opposite a large fireplace.  They could still make out vacuum marks on the cream colored carpet. A light layer of dust over everything was a counterpoint to an otherwise immaculately clean house.
 Vixen made her way over to a desk set in the corner and set her deck down. " Take a look around and I will see what I can find in Hawk’s system." She sat down and jacked in.
While Vixen had her wicked way with Hawk’s computer, Karina led Turner into the back part of the house. She showed Turner the panel the safe was behind. Turner finally found a switch that popped open the panel. A thumbprint scanner was set into the sheet rock the safe was embedded in.
"Aw frag, now what’re we gonna do?" Karina asked.
Turner grinned. " Watch and  learn, chica. First, go find me some tape and a pencil."
Karina headed back into the living room and came back a minute or so later with a roll and a pencil. "Will this do?" she asked.
"Yep." Turner walked into the bathroom and rummaged under the counter until she found some face powder. She crushed the pencil lead with the butt of her pistol and added it to the face powder. Then, using the powder puff, she dusted the counter carefully. She blew lightly across the counter to remove the excess powder and bent down for a closer look.  "There! Hand me the tape."  She ripped off a piece of tape and gently applied it over a thumbprint the powder revealed. She pulled it up slowly and lifted it to show Karina the print. Then she folded the tape in half and applied it to her thumb. " Let’s go." Back at the safe she pressed her thumb to the pad and after a second was rewarded with a quiet click.
"All right!" Karina said.
Turner opened the safe and pulled out a pouch. She shut the safe and carried the pouch into the living room. She sat down on the couch and opened it.  Inside was a cred stick , a pocket secretary , a key, and several small pieces of jewelry which she  laid on the coffee table. "That’s it."
Karina picked up the key. " Wonder what this is to?"
Turner looked up from the pocket secretary and frowned. "No idea. Not many places use keys any more." She turned her attention back to the small machine. After a minute of  fiddling with it she frowned. "Hmm. This is interesting."
Karina came over and looked over her shoulder.  "What is it?"
"Looks like directions to someplace in the Cascades. I wonder if Hawk had a safehouse or something up there. Feel like a little trip?" She grinned at Karina.
"Sounds like our next stop," Karina replied.
Turner gathered up the things that where in the safe and tucked them away. "Let’s get Vixen and get out of here."
Karina nodded. "Let me clean up the bathroom first. No sense of advertising that we were here."
"You got it." Turner replied.

Vixen packed away her deck . "Nothing in her system. Ya get anything?"
"Yeah, I’ll tell ya about it on the way," Turner replied.
Karina looked around making sure they had left no trace of their presence. "Did you reset the alarm?" she asked.
"Yeah,  let’s go."
The trio slipped out of the house, locking the door behind them.  Heading back to the room, they made plans for the next stage of their adventure.
 

Karina climbed out of the car and looked around.  A small cabin sat in the clearing surrounded by tall  pines.  Only the wind rustling the tops of the trees and an occasional  bird call broke the stillness.  The cabin was built from weathered wood and looked like it had been there for years, nestled comfortably in its surroundings.  A porch extended around one corner of the building providing a welcome haven,  several chairs and a table in one corner and a hanging porch swing in the other corner awaited to provide comfort.  She glanced over at Turner. " Pretty place."
"Yeah, it is. Quiet too. We’ll have to remember this in case we ever need a place to hole up," Turner replied.
Together they climbed the steps. Karina pulled out the key they had found and inserted it into the lock. She held her breath and turned the key.  There was a quiet click and the door swung open. " Bingo!" She gave a wide grin.
Turner looked over to where Vixen was leaning up against a tree, a contented smile on her lips. "Vixen! Ya coming?"
"Na, ya go ahead mate, I’ll just hang here. It’s been way too long since I’ve been outta that hellhole of a sprawl," Vixen said.
Karina stepped into the room and looked around. The central room was dominated by a large fireplace.  Rustic wood and leather furniture created a casual atmosphere.  Several animal heads hung on the walls, a mute testimony to the prowess of some unknown hunter.  Karina shivered uneasily.  ‘That bear looks like it’s lookin’ right at me.’ She moved quickly across the room to  peer down a short hall and discovered four bedrooms, a bathroom and a rather large kitchen.
Turner joined her a moment later.  "Why don’t you take the front two bedrooms and I’ll take the back two?"
"That’s fine with me. I just hope they don’t have anymore of those heads," Karina replied with another shudder.

The two women split up and after a thorough search they met back in the living room.
"Nothing!" Turner said with disgust.
"I found some ladies clothes in the middle room, but no necklace. Not even any place to hide one,"  Karina replied. She looked around the room. " I guess that leaves this room, the bathroom and kitchen."
"And outside," Turner reminded her. She moved to the door and hollered. "Yo, Vixen! If you’re done communing with the trees, why don’t ya take a look around and see if you can find that blasted necklace." She turned back to Karina. "You check in here and I’ll take a look in the bathroom and kitchen."
Karina settled herself on the couch and shut her eyes. With a sigh, she stepped out her body.
Turner shook her head, murmured "Cheater," good-naturedly, then headed for the back of the cabin once more, leaving the shaman to her search.
A quick look under the floor showed nothing unusual. Karina walked through the walls but found nothing there either.  ‘Damn! Looks like this was a wild goose chase.’ She slipped back into her body and opened her eyes. The bear was starring at her again. She looked away but her attention was drawn back again. "If only you could talk," she told it. The bear stared at her mutely. She looked around the room, thinking. " I wonder……"
She jumped to her feet and crossed the room to stand under the bear’s head. Reaching up, she pulled it away from the wall a bit and looked at the board it was mounted on.  ‘Humn… new nails.  Interesting.   This would  make a good hiding place.’ Carefully she lifted the head off the wall and placed it on the floor. Looking around the room for a tool she spotted the fireplace poker.  She used it to gently pry the board away from the head and eagerly looked into the cavity.  She caught a glint of something in the dim light.  Excited, she reached in and pulled out the object.
Four strands of shimmering pearls, rubies and gold formed a dazzling pool in her hand. Her eyes widened in awe. She held it up by the gold clasp and let it dangle in a beam of sunshine. The rubies flashed with an inner fire. "Turner!"
Turner entered the room and gasped with wonder. "It’s beautiful!" She crossed the room and took the necklace gently. "This is incredible! It must be worth millions."
"I wonder who owned it first?" Karina asked softly.
"Who knows? Maybe Vixen can find out," Turner replied. She handed the necklace back with a small sigh of regret. "Nice find. So what are you going to do with it?"
Karina started a bit. " I hadn’t really thought about it. What do you think we should do with it?"
"Well, why don’t we just hang on to it awhile and think it out. I’m sure we can find a buyer for it somewhere. Our best bet is to find out what it’s history is before we sell it," Turner replied.
"Sounds good to me." The two exchanged a grin and headed for the car.

****************************************************************************

A special Thank you to my beta readers,Norcumi , "Incognito" and Maven.

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