“What do you mean it was a mistake? How does anyone even make a mistake of such proportion?”
Henry Pollard sighed. Fiona was a bundle of red hair, blushing skin, and bloodshot eyes from an overnight flight. She wanted to throttle someone.
Henry shook his head. “I wasn’t here at the time. You know as well as anyone, these things happen.”
“Our men knew what they were doing. We always assume any human that has been held by a Wolf has been bitten. So how did your people overlook it when that was in the paperwork?” Fiona yelled. Her eyes shined with anger.
“Natasha told me the person scheduled to do Jenny’s procedure was late; she was going to have her memory erased, as ordered. They were waiting and… Jenny went into her first Change.”
“Does anyone have any idea where Jenny might have gone?”
“We have someone working on it,” Henry said.
“Speaking of Natasha, where is she?” Fiona asked, fearing the worst.
“She‘s alright. She‘ll be home for a bit,” Pollard said. “Natasha wasn’t injured but she saw your men get killed. It was the first time she saw anything like that, and it shook her.”
“I need this to be handled. I can’t have news of such a thing getting out. A new Wolf loose in Los Angeles. As if I don’t have enough with Rafael…”
“We’ll handle it,” Henry said resolutely.
“You had better. Ramshead is a two timing son of a bitch, don’t think that I don’t know it. Tell him this mess gets cleaned up properly or I’ll have his ass.”
**
Jenny heard a ding and an automated voice.
“Approaching….. Wilshire.”
Jenny sat up. The passenger in the seat next to her was an elderly man holding a bag of groceries.
The bus was so crowded that she could barely see out of the front window.
She was wearing clothes that weren’t hers, she’d never buy anything so hideous – a pink running suit and old tennis shoes.
She was also carrying a leather bag, the kind she might ordinarily use for overnight travel.
In fact, she was sure this bag did belong to her.
As discreetly as she could, she opened the bag.
Just a peak.
Inside were tightly rolled wads of cash.
The bus stopped and she made her way out, pushing through the crowd of people that refused to move or back out of her way.
There was an old high rise hotel, with units that had been converted into apartments on the corner. When she asked how much, the manager looked at her suspiciously. “ Five hundred dollars a week. Cash. Up front.”
She paid him and he took the money with a sneer.
**
Once inside the furnished room, the first order of business was to go through her bag properly.
The money was separated in wads of twenties. All untraceable. She stopped counting when she got past thirty thousand.
She could remember bits and pieces of the previous days. She remembered the guards packing her bags and taking her from Marradith’s house. There was a plane trip, another ride in a black SUV, and she was brought to an office.
The girl there asked her if she wanted coffee…..
The next thing Jenny remembered, she was inside a house, standing over a dead body.
She could be sure it was a woman’s body only because what remained of her wore a dress.
Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes, because she knew what she’d done.
**
Jenny closed the drapes, relieved to immerse herself in quiet and darkness. She stripped away all her clothing and lay down in bed. Her thoughts raced. She began to shiver. Even as she fell into an uneasy sleep, hunger began to take hold. She knew that when night came, she would go back down to the street.
Looking for food.
______________
©2010 Lori Titus
Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Vamps…and a teenager named Marradith. New episodes are posted weekly, and you can read past episodes here: http://flashesinthedark.com/the-marradith-ryder-series/
For the lowdown on the cast of characters, see the bestiary for Ryder here: http://loribeth215.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/ryder-ology/
Tags: Fiona Shepherd, Henry Pollard, Jenny Winslow, The Art of Shadows, The Marradith Ryder Series
