Chapter 3
Nicodemus halted when his pokedex chirped at him. Ruth gave him a curious look as her ears rotated to track the sound. “Food?” She moved closer, weaving her head to locate the noise.
He chuckled softly as he pulled the piece of electronics from his belt. “No, not food. A speech T2 is one of the first things I’ll be purchasing when we get back.” The Eva butted her head against his shoulder gently and made a happy noise when he scratched her behind an ear. “Ah. We’ve come into range of the phone system and after a month away, I’ve got mail.” He skimmed the message headers. “I set up my bills for automatic payment and considering how long I was gone it turned out to have been a very good idea. Most of these are from Tawny.”
“Tame?” She leaned against his fingers as he scratched.
“No, not right now.” Nicodemus waved to get Elena’s attention as she orbited and held up two fingers. The Rack did a snap roll in acknowledgement and turned away to inform Lucretia.
A few minutes later the Ladyien flew in and landed. “Master, you summoned me?”
“Add radios to your list of things we want to get.” He continued when she nodded. “I’ve got some messages and I wanted you around to hear them too.”
“Yes, sir.” Lucretia pushed Ruth away and moved to his side. The Eva gave her a grumpy look and stuck out her tongue before moving over to examine some foliage for anything edible.
Tawny knew he might be out of contact for a while and most of her messages were “call me when you get back”. Only the last two made a reference to her checking the morgue list and arrest reports to see if he was still around. Her last message included a warning that Murchison was rather upset about him being gone without communicating for such a long time.
“I’m crushed to hear he’s upset.”
Lucretia grinned at his disgusted tone. “How many messages do you have from Murchison, master?”
“Four. I guess we should watch them, too.” He keyed up the messages. Two were text and were a profane version of “where are you”. The last two were video and in them a terse Murchison informed Nicodemus to call him just as soon as he got these messages and hinted at dire consequences if he didn’t. “Ooh, I’m scared.” Nicodemus rolled his eyes as Lucretia giggled. “I’d better call him or he might try to track me down and hurt me.”
The Ladyien frowned. “Doesn’t your pokedex have satellite communications capability? I know the satellite is old and sometimes erratic, but that doesn’t explain why we haven’t gotten any messages until now.”
“It does if you know I disabled the satellite com system. I don’t need Murchison or Tawny trying to screw up my work out in the wilderness or looking over my shoulder while I’m trying to get work done. If anyone asks, I’ll chalk it up to the vagaries of having a stolen pokedex.” He flashed a smile. “It’s a software patch and I can reverse it any time if I need to.”
“You can write programs?”
“No, I found it on some conspiracy website that claims pokedexes are used by the leagues to spy on Tamers. Whether or not I believe that, I figured it would still be useful for something like this. I just have to remember to delete it before letting a pokegirl center scan my pokedex. It’s slightly illegal to mod your software, which kind of hints that the conspiracy theorists may have a point.”
He worked for a moment. “Ok, the patch is deleted, com functions enabled. Did Murchison give me a number to call? Yes, it’s on the message header. Excellent. Now let’s see if it’s what I hope it is.”
Lucretia blinked at his sudden change of tone from introspective to cheerful but remained silent as he placed the call. Murchison’s face appeared. “What? You. It’s about time you called me. Where have you been?” His voice began to rise.
Nicodemus gave him a cheerful smile. “Good afternoon, sir. I’ve been convalescing.”
Murchison stopped as he started to wind up into a tirade. His mouth worked for a moment as if he was chewing Nicodemus’ words. “You’ve been what?”
“Convalescing, sir. I was attacked by a pokegirl and seriously wounded. The wounds later became infected and I almost died. Sorry, but I’ve been out of touch because of that.”
Murchison made a muffled harrumphing noise. “I see. I needed you for a job I had, but that’s already been taken care of. Did you catch any pokegirls before you got injured?”
“I did.” Nicodemus thought for a second and volunteered the information. “An Eva, Ponytaur and Rapitaur. All feral, I’m afraid.”
Murchison looked disappointed, then brightened. “Is the Ponytaur or Rapitaur cute?”
“Sir, that depends on what you consider to be cute. The Rapitaur is about seven feet tall in human form.” Murchison frowned. “The Ponytaur is about five foot six in both forms and quite dainty.”
A smile appeared on Murchison’s face. “Excellent. Send the Ponytaur to me. In addition, I want you to sell one of the others and I’ll take my normal twenty percent.”
Nicodemus stared at the screen. “You’ve got to be kidding. You’re taking a third of my pokegirls and a fifth of my money.”
“Why don’t you just call the closest OfficerJenny if you have a problem with my decisions?” Murchison smiled nastily. “Otherwise, you do what you’re told to do.”
Nicodemus gave him a defeated look. “Yes, sir. Where do you want me to send the Ponytaur?”
The Team Zenith leader grinned. “Give it to Tawny. I’ll be going by in a few days to see her anyway and she can give it to me.”
“Yes, sir. Will there be anything else?”
“Sell whichever pokegirl you’re going to right away. Take too long and I’ll make you sell both of them.”
“I will, sir. Should I give the money to Tawny?”
“No, contact me using this number and we’ll arrange a wire transfer. Get as much money as you can.”
“Yes, sir.” Murchison cut the call as Nicodemus was replying. The young man folded up his pokedex and reattached it to his belt. “Gotcha.”
Lucretia gave him a puzzled look. “Master?”
“Murchison gave me his personal com number.” He gave her a beatific smile. “Now I can find out who he is.”
***
“How badly were you injured?” Tawny gave his chest a curious look. Nicodemus just pulled his shirt up, revealing the red scars lacing up his torso. The Eva had raked him repeatedly down his chest and the deep puckers crisscrossed and tangled together in a mad patchwork. Her eyes widened. “That must have hurt. Was she trying to kill you?”
He tucked his shirt back in. “If she was, I’d be dead.” He shrugged and a slight smile appeared. “Apparently the sex was good for her.”
Tawny barked a laugh. “I guess so.” She sighed and watched Kay getting some sodas for them. “How did it go otherwise?”
“For the most part, it went ok. I caught some pokegirls and Murchison ordered me to give him one and sell one so he can get some money.” Nicodemus rolled a pokeball across the table to Tawny. “Here.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t get you anything.” Her eyes glittered with suppressed laughter.
“It’s for Murchison. It’s his Ponytaur.”
“Why give it to me?” Tawny suddenly stared at him with a look of horror. “When is he coming here?”
Nicodemus blinked in surprise. “He said he’d be here in a couple of days. That was yesterday. What’s wrong?”
Kay calmly watched her mistress rush out of the room and put a soda in front of Nicodemus. “She’s the only human woman in Team Zenith here in Montevideo.”
His eyes widened. “That idiot rapes her?”
Kay shrugged. “I never said anything about rape, but yes, she serves him in ways you cannot.”
“If she doesn’t want to service him, according to the law it’s rape.” He snorted at the look she gave him. “Yeah, what’s law to Team Zenith? Why doesn’t she do something about it?”
“What’s to do? Murchison is her boss. He’s yours too, that’s why you have to do what he says.” The Ka-D-Bra froze and cocked her head as her antenna twitched. “My god, you’re planning to kill him.”
“What?” Tawny stood in the doorway. She stared at Nicodemus. “You’ll never get away with it. Killing isn’t easy.”
Nicodemus looked from one to the other slowly and made a decision. “Actually, it can be very easy if it’s done right.”
Tawny grinned suddenly. “And just how many people have you killed, Nicodemus?”
“Three. Two since I joined Team Zenith.”
Tawny dropped into her chair, her eyes serious. “Three? Any of them up close and personal?”
“I stabbed a man in the heart. Does that count?” Nicodemus eased his hand towards Lucretia’s pokeball.
Tawny noticed the motion. “Oh, relax. I’m not a virgin either and sometimes people have to die to get the job done.” She shook her head. “But killing Murchison is several orders of magnitude harder than offing some wino in an alley. Besides, Team Zenith won’t promote you into his spot. Malcolm’s the most senior agent in the city and he’d get it.”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “That’s good to know. I guess I won’t kill him after all.”
“Nicodemus, I’m serious. If you try to assassinate him and don’t kill him, then he’ll kill you. If you do, then Malcolm will have to decide whether or not to kill you since you’ve proved willing to murder a superior.”
Kay blinked and slid in Tawny’s direction. “He doesn’t care about the job. He’s planning to leave Team Zenith and the Silver River League.”
He gave the pokegirl a flat look. “You might want to stop prying. You’re starting to become annoying. I don’t like annoying.”
Tawny blinked. “A plan? You have a real plan with a chance of success?” She looked at Kay. “Well?”
The Ka-D-Bra was still watching Nicodemus. “May I?”
He sighed. “I don’t necessarily like the alternative; so, yes.”
“What alternative is that?” Tawny paled when he pulled the tiny pistol from under the table where he’d been concealing it and aimed it at her heart. “Oh. You would have killed me? What about Kay?”
“Once made mine, she’d have been loyal to me.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Human women are rare and I was brought up to think twice about hurting one.” He smiled. “That and if you choose to help me, it’ll make my job easier.”
“Why don’t you put the gun away?”
“We’re not through negotiating. I may still have to kill you.”
“Kay won’t let you.”
“The instant I think she’s going to interfere, you’ll die.”
Kay blinked. “He’s got a better plan than you ever came up with. It’ll forestall pursuit and even get him registered legally as a Tamer in another league.”
Tawny didn’t hesitate. “Take me with you.”
“Why would I want to do that?” The pistol didn’t waver.
“I’ll be the whore of whoever is in charge. Murchison, Malcolm; it doesn’t matter who is my boss. He’ll always want a human woman of his own and, for most, this is the only way he can get one.” She shrugged. “To get out of here, I’ll be your whore. At least, for once, I get to choose the man I have to sleep with.”
Nicodemus put the revolver away. “I’ll need you to liquidate the pokegirls I caught. Give both Team Zenith and Murchison their cuts. You understand that it may be a while before I’m in a position to kill him.”
“I’ll take hope right now. Later, I’ll want results.” She leaned back with a tired expression. “He wants me to have his kid. That way he’ll know it’s human.” Her face set. “I’ll see him in hell first. How are you going to kill him? I want to help.”
“Tell me everything you know about him.”
“There’s nothing to tell. He calls me when he wants something and drops by when he wants me. I don’t know where he lives or anything else about him. I don’t even know his real name.”
“He gave me his private com number. That’ll let me find him.”
“Why on earth did he do that?”
“Exasperation, I think.” He smirked. “In any case, I’ll need to make some sacrifices, but it’ll help me find him. Until then, you’re going to have to put up with him.”
Tawny gave him a determined look. “If we can kill him and escape, I’ll put up with his touch for a while longer.”
***
“Nicodemus, what happened?” He settled heavily into the chair next to the counter. “Were you attacked?”
“I’m all right, Officer Ynez.” He shifted, wincing as he did so. “I challenged a Tamer to a duel and not only did he refuse, he had his pokegirls beat me up.”
The OfficerJenny came around the counter with a first aid kit and began treating his injuries. “You’ve been badly beaten. I’ll get you cleaned up, but you’ll need to see a doctor or a NurseJoy.” She fussed with him for a few minutes before looking up. “Do you know who he is? He’s broken several laws by having his pokegirls assault you and again by refusing a legal challenge.”
He gasped as she dabbed at his split lip with antiseptic. “He gave me his com number and told me if I ever wanted another whipping to give him a call.”
Her eyes hardened. “You give me that com number and I’ll take care of this.”
He grimaced. “I’ll do it on one condition. You tell me where he is and let me challenge him. His pokegirls looked pretty puny but he had a nice looking Amachamp that I could use.”
“You can’t tell me how to handle a legal matter, Nicodemus.”
He shrugged and winced. “I can’t remember the com number.”
Ynez gave him a glare. “Young Tamers are all alike. Fine. I’ll tell you and you can beat the snot out of him.”
“Promise.”
“Very well, I promise not to interfere. But I will make sure that a report gets filed so if he does it again I can have him up on charges.”
He rattled off the com number and she moved back to her computer. He’d been coming into her office regularly for the last three weeks, getting reports and advice from her. He’d spent many hours here, talking with her.
He’d even caught a couple of feral pokegirls based on her advice.
“Thomas Robert Murchison.” The OfficerJenny suddenly looked puzzled. “That name sounds familiar.” She entered a couple of more commands into the computer and blinked. When she looked up, her voice was crisp. “Nicodemus, you stay away from him. He’s bad news.”
“Where does he live?”
She shut down her display. “Sorry, Nicodemus, but that man is very bad. He’s been implicated in several violent crimes. You’re lucky you weren’t killed. Don’t worry, as soon as we gather enough evidence, he’ll be picked up and interrogated.” She smiled warmly. “We don’t always get all the criminals, but he’s on our radar and eventually he’ll make a mistake. Besides, he’s not a Tamer, he’s a pet owner. You can’t challenge him.”
“You won’t tell me where he is?”
“I can’t. You could get killed.” She ran her fingers through her hair.” Look, I’ve got a NurseJoy friend who doesn’t live that far from here. Let me call her and she’ll fix you right up. What do you say?”
Nicodemus grumbled. “All right.” He winced as he shifted slightly to get more comfortable. Lucretia and Ruth hit hard and they’d been very thorough, exactly as he’d ordered.
***
“He’s going into the restaurant for lunch.” Compression drained the transmission of emotion, but Nicodemus knew Lucretia was excited. Two weeks of observation had proven Murchison had that most insidious and dangerous of things for a crime boss, a daily routine. Of course, he didn’t know he was being hunted, but still it bespoke a complacency that Nicodemus hoped he never adopted.
He went everywhere with his bodyguard and driver, the Amachamp Nicodemus had seen at Tawny’s. Her name as Ana and she’d been with him for nearly a decade. Her list of skills was very extensive and she had a frightening reputation. However, it wasn’t important. Knowing about the Amachamp just made her another factor in the equation he had to solve.
What was important was that he went to the same places almost every day and he went at the same times.
“I’m tired of waiting.” Elena glared across the rooftop at an innocent billboard. Her eyes flickered in his direction to see if he’d heard her. She sighed loudly when he didn’t respond. “Sir, why don’t we do him when he comes outside?” He’d evolved her to Thundrix over a week ago. While it had definitely made her more powerful, it had also made her more impatient.
“It’s daylight. I’m planning things around his dinner stop. And not for today, either.”
She sighed again. “Yes, sir. Then why are we still monitoring him?”
“I don’t like surprises. Don’t worry, we’ll act soon if things go the way I want. Sometimes, however, they don’t.”
“You try to make things go your way all the time, master.”
“I do.” Nicodemus grinned. “Sometimes the random factors need a small push. I’m willing to do that.”
“YOU THERE! FREEZE!” He stiffened at the shout from behind. “Turn around slowly!”
He turned to see an OfficerJenny with her hand on her pistol. Her partner, a Growltit, spoke. “Slowly take your pokedex from your belt and give it to me.” The fire pokegirl advanced as the OfficerJenny shifted to the side in order to keep her line of fire open.
Nicodemus did as asked. “My name is Nicodemus Azrael.” The Growltit took the pokedex and retreated to her teammate, unclipped a piece of equipment from her belt and plugged it into his pokedex.
She read a display and nodded to the OfficerJenny. “It matches.”
The OfficerJenny folded her arms. “What are you doing up on the roof, Tamer Azrael?”
He gestured at the binoculars hanging from his chest. “I’m hunting feral pokegirls. I thought I saw one up here and came up. Since the access door was unlocked, I thought this roof was available for hunting.”
She nodded grudgingly. “It’s not. The door is supposed to be locked. The manager thought Team Zenith might be up to something and called us.”
Nicodemus looked shocked. “Feel free to look through my gear. You won’t find anything linking me with any illegal group, especially not them.” He frowned. “Oh, wait, you will find a pamphlet from Parity for Pokegirls. I got accosted earlier and though it might be rude to toss it away in front of the Jigglyslut who gave it to me. From the look she gave me, I thought it might be hazardous to my health.”
The OfficerJenny frowned. “I’ll have to confiscate it. Where did you encounter this subversive organization?”
“Do you know where Panadería De Raymundo is?” She nodded. “Outside there. They were grabbing anyone they could to talk to.” He dug the flyer out of his backpack. “Here.”
She smiled for the first time as she took it. “Thanks for the information. I’ll escort you off the roof and then be on my way.” Once they were inside, she locked the door he’d picked and shook his hand. “Thank you, citizen. Good day.” She and the Growltit hurried off.
Elena gave him a curious look. “Did that really happen?”
“Yes, and they were very rude. I hope they all get arrested.” He grinned. “We can’t go tolerating lawbreakers in our fair city, now can we?”
The Thundrix laughed until they were almost to the ground floor.
***
The ground car purred as it headed uptown. Murchison leaned back and sighed happily as soft music filled the interior. Ana’s eyes flicked up in the rear view mirror and back to the road when the Amachamp was satisfied he didn’t have any orders.
“It’s been a good week, Ana.”
She glanced at him again. “Yes, sir.” He wasn’t really talking to her. Anyone would do to talk to when Murchison was in this kind of a mood and feeling mellow about life.
He chuckled. “I think Tawny may be finally coming around. She’s been less frigid on my last couple of visits.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I think we’ll go see her again tomorrow.” He reached for his briefcase and stopped. “When is the boy due back into town?”
“Three days, sir.”
“Excellent. I think three months is long enough without a gift from Nicodemus. He’ll have to give me another pokegirl. The Ponytaur is getting boring. When he gets back he can give my new toy to Tawny and we’ll go see her again.”
“Shall I have the Ponytaur disposed of, sir?”
He shook his head. “Not just yet. I haven’t decided if I’m going to let you kill her or if I am going to reserve that pleasure for myself.” It was understood that his play toys were never sold. It was faintly possible that they might have seen or heard something that he didn’t want getting out. “I haven’t killed in a while and I’ve got to stay sharp.”
“Yes, sir.” Ana turned left onto a side road that led to Murchison’s condominium.
A mile up the road, the car began to tilt and the Amachamp pulled into the center of the road.
“What is it?” Murchison’s good mood began to evaporate as he rolled his window down.
“I think we have a flat tire, sir.” She got out of the car as he grumbled quietly. A quick inspection showed that the right front tire was going rapidly flat. “Sir, it will only take a few minutes to change.”
“Quickly,” he snapped.
Ana opened the boot and pulled out the spare tire and jack. She adjusted the jack and lifted the side of the car before sliding the jack underneath it with her foot. Murchison watched with an unhappy stare as she spun the tire iron with one hand, quickly removing the loosened lugs with the other three.
So intent on her job was she that she never noticed Nicodemus walk up from the other side of the car and drop the bare end of an insulted cable over the bumper. Quietly, he moved around to the side where the Amachamp was pulling the tire off the wheel. “Need some help?”
She jumped and spun; the tire ready in her hands to throw. Murchison twisted and peered at him through the rear window. “What are you doing here?” he half snarled.
Nicodemus began backing away from the car. “I’m here to see you, Thomas. It’s time for a chat.”
“Break him.” At the command, Ana dropped the tire and lunged. Nicodemus turned and ran as she gave chase.
The Amachamp pulled up short when Tabitha used ignite and the Rapitaur’s body burst into flame. Nicodemus stopped next to his pokegirl and grinned. “Surprised? I kept one.”
Ana growled a laugh. “She can’t stop me.”
“She doesn’t have to,” he replied almost sadly.
There was a soft thump as Elena landed on top of the car. Ana whirled, crying out in surprise. All she could do was watch as the Thundrix released her supercharged thunder bolt attack into the car.
The cable was to ensure the car was grounded, but the jack would have done the job anyway. Electricity roared as it poured through the car and the asphalt underneath the jack burst into flames as current was sucked into the ground. Both the cable and the jack glowed a sullen red and welded to the car’s frame under the electrical load.
Flames erupted from the interior of the car. They were the worst in the back, where Murchison’s body burned like a tallow candle. Black clouds of smoke belched skyward in the moonlight. The remaining tires began to melt and the vehicle’s frame started to sag from the heat.
Elena took to the air and Ana stirred. She turned to face Nicodemus with a hopeless look. “Why?”
“He made himself my problem with his greed. If he’d have been willing to let me do my job, this wouldn’t have happened. But we both know his requests would have continued and possibly even grown over time.”
Her eyes showed no understanding of his words and her voice was dead. “What happens now? Are you going to kill me too?”
Flames lit his face as he studied her. “No. I’m going to put you in a new pokeball and I think I’ll give you to Tawny. She can use you on the trip and she’s only hated Murchison, not you. But first, we’re going to go to his house and gather some things.”
“I don’t see where I have any choice, sir.”
“You can choose to die with him. Do you?”
Ana shook her head slowly. “No. He was my master for many years, but he was never worth that.”
***
“What are these?” Tawny took the two pokeballs he offered. “More subjects for sale?”
“No. They’re for you, if you want them. This one is the Ponytaur that I gave to Murchison three months ago and that one is Ana.”
“Who’s Ana?”
“She’s the Amachamp that used to belong to Murchison.”
Tawny stared at him in shock. Her voice fell to a whisper. “You did it? You killed him?”
“Did you hear about the car fire last night where the vehicle and body are too badly burned to identify?” He smiled. “That’s him. It wasn’t necessary to kill Ana and the Ponytaur was at his home. She’s been tortured, but I ran her through my PPHU and her only scars should be emotional. Ana will be useful to keep her under control.”
“You went to his house?”
“Once they realize who he is, they’re going to suspect a professional hit from within Team Zenith. I wanted to erase any records he had of Team members, including you and me. I also emptied his bank accounts for some traveling cash.”
“How did you get those?”
“Ana knew the codes.” He smirked. “She knows everything he did and, if nothing else, she can provide you with a get out of jail free card if you get captured, since you can now identify every Team Zenith member in this part of the league. For that kind of information, I’m sure they’d be willing to deal with you.”
“Why don’t you keep her?”
“Although I haven’t admitted it to anyone yet, my harem is full. I don’t have room for her. I’ve got Lucretia, Elena, two Eva that you haven’t met, including the one that attacked me. I’ve also got a Rapitaur and a Ponytaur of my own.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “I take it you’d prefer I not identify you if it comes to having to make a deal with the authorities.”
“I would. I am providing you with a lot of assistance. Besides, in a few days I’ll be long gone. Do you still want to come along?”
“Yes. Malcolm knows who I am and I’ll become his property next. I don’t think he’s a creep like Murchison was, but he and I don’t get along at all.” She gave him a hesitant look. “About what I said before, about being your woman; you don’t have to worry, I’ll keep up my end of the bargain.”
Nicodemus nodded. “I never doubted you would, Tawny, but the truth is I don’t want you to. You’re not really interested in me and I’ve got a harem full of willing women I’d rather be with than someone who’s not.” He gave her an amused smile. “You are a very beautiful woman and I’d be honored if you wanted to be my lover, but if it’s ok with you, I’ll pass.”
“I’m grateful, but I have this sudden urge to slap you.”
“Please resist it.”
***
Nicodemus Azrael
Ladyien – Lucretia – 27
Rack – Elena – 22
Eva – Ruth – 20
Eva – Naomi – 17
Ponytaur – Dorcas
Rapitaur – Tabitha – 45