Sparks and a Girl (Rewritten to publish)

3. Midnight Swim

"Three days," Jeisa said. "All you had to do was leave."

"You're The Enforcer? The Red Dragon? You?" the man asked, lowering the fork to his plate.

It was the owner of the three attack dogs and the delicious milk. He had that ex-military look on him. Likely an officer of some sort. His body had filled out from his combat days, but his slightly soft, heavyset form sat well on him.

"Why is that always the first thing you people say?" Jeisa asked, exasperated. "Is it because I'm young? Or a woman? Ageism or sexism, what's your damage?"

"You really have no idea what's going on, do you?" the man said, getting up from the dining table.

"You're trying to get control of Weapons of Mass Destruction and I'm here to stop you," Jeisa replied, a little prickled at the accusation of ignorance. "I'm not the one on the wrong side of that equation. You are."

"I wish I could be there when you finally figure this out." He said.

"I wish you'd just left."

*

Once again, Jeisa couldn't go home after her assignment. As she pulled her helmet visor down and kicked back the stand on her matte black, lightweight sports bike, there was only one place she wanted to be. She rode to Cass' place, stopping outside the building, hoping she could think of a reason to go up and knock on her door. But it was late, and Cass had already made it clear where they stood, and that wasn't a place where it would be normal for Jeisa to stop by her house at two in the morning. She needed to leave!

However, as Jeisa leaned forward on the sports bike, appreciating the purr from the sexy beast of an engine beneath her, she looked up just in time to see Cass walking out of the apartment building. Cass walked quickly across the street, poised and confident, hair flowing free down her back and over her thigh length black jacket full of ornate buckles and cinched at her waist with a thick black belt. The jacket's V shaped opening revealed a red turtleneck stretch mini dress that went just past the jacket against her thighs. She'd finished the look with black, high heeled, mid-calf boots that hugged her gorgeous long legs beautifully.

Jeisa suddenly felt absolutely institutional in her black, practical motorbike safety jacket, pants and boots. The helmet hair didn't help either.

"No." Jeisa whispered to herself. "No, Jeisa."

She watched Cass step into a waiting Uber.

"No, Jeisa. Let her be. Just let her be."

It didn't surprise Jeisa to find herself following the cab. Cass made her crazy. Made everything crazy. But also made everything make sense. She was the ultimate personification of why Jeisa wanted, more than anything, to protect Wraith Hamlet. Cass calling this town home was why Jeisa would tolerate everything she had to do to keep it from falling to ruin. And why she had to follow that cab, first to some dingy hole-in-the-wall pawn shop then to the closed bar they were in now.

Jeisa picked up and tossed an empty beer bottle. It shattered on the hallway's floor. The man she was watching turned to the sound and walked toward it. Jeisa slunk past the doorway he was guarding and into the dark back room of the closed bar. Hiding behind a box tower of stocked canned food, she quietly watched as the two other occupants of the room looked at the contents of a solid looking backpack. Jeisa's eyes widened when she realised that the backpack was just a shell of a reinforced box that held two cases of dark coloured bottles inside.

"Ghost Horse Series, year 2008. Worth $5000 each. I'll give you both for $8000." said Cass.

"Six thousand." said the rough looking man. He wore a dark gray tailored suit with a fitted black dress shirt and black tie. He looked good, but he also looked like he was trying a bit too hard. Even from where she was, Jeisa could smell the strong, musky cologne he seemed to have showered in. He didn't have that suave grace that was needed to pull off the look he was going for.