I work as a P.I and a Government Agent approached me to help with a case. (Part 5)

(First: https://redd.it/s648js Previous: https://redd.it/s8tm3h )
My cellphone was ringing on my bedside table at two in the morning. I?d forgotten to turn it on silent when I went to sleep. It was rare I would get call from clients so late at night but it did happen on occasion. Normally I would let it ring and check the voice mail in the morning. Still half asleep, I looked at the number. It was Nick. He was a government agent that dealt with supernatural threats. I?ve been pretty useless on the two job we already did together an yet he still called me up I asking if I could join him on another case. I made a mistake and answered.
?What?s up Snickerdoodle??
****. Recently I?ve been trying to think of nicknames to call him because it seems as if he enjoyed them. I?ve mentally made a list of names to use and rejected ones to never call him under punishment of dying from embarrassment. Due to my half-asleep state, I used a name from the wrong list. There was a long pause as I heard him whisper the word under his breath and some rusting of paper. Faintly I heard a notebook close and I knew he wrote down the nickname. I would never forgive myself for this. Putting aside that trauma I listened to the reason why he called so late.
?There is a bit of an emergency. Can you be ready within five minutes? Bring warm clothing and a weapon if you have one.? Nick explained not sounding fazed by the greeting.
I was already out of bed trying to get dressed when he spoke. Whatever is going down must be a dig deal if he?s rushing me out the door. I wondered how dangerous this job would be. He never told me to bring a weapon before. Normally I leaned on him to do all the heavy lifting. I wanted to change that though. After the last case I went out and got a handgun. I also went to the range a few times to practice shooting. I gave the weapon all the respect it deserved. Honestly, it made me a little nervous just having it in the apartment. If I didn?t live alone, I would have bought a gun safe for it.
?Yeah, I can be ready. Where should I meet you?? I asked.
?I?ll come to your door but I need your permission to use it.?
Now that was a strange thing to ask. I told him he could and he quickly got off the phone. The new case brought danger but I was thinking more about the payday it would bring. No matter how much I worked I didn?t appear closer to my goals. However, my excitement faded when I placed my new handgun inside a side holster after checking the safety over ten times. I wanted to be a cop but a private investigator was the best I could do. I was never aware of how nervous guns made me after owning one. It was just first time jitters I felt would fade. Just as I was tossing on my jacket a knock came from my front door.
When I opened it a blast of cold air came through along with snow. It was still spring but nearly summer. There shouldn?t be any snow. Nick stood but the outside was not my apartment building hallway. I was looking off at a snow-covered mountain side landscape.
?What the hell...?? I said slowly wondering if I was still dreaming.
?The Corporation is able to connect two doors together to make travel time faster.? Nick explained as if this was a common thing.
I blinked a few times before stepping out into the ankle deep snow. The wind nearly blew me off my feet and I quickly zipped up my jacket. When I closed the door behind us, it disappeared leaving behind three long branches. Two stuck in the ground and one on top making it look like a square my apartment door fit inside moments ago. The doorways that could connect two locations together didn?t necessary be a real door. It just needed to look like one.
?It?s not a long walk. I?ll explain the case when we get somewhere warm.? Nick said and started to walk away.
I followed behind along a snow buried road. I could only tell it was a road because of the pathway through the trees. Nick was only wearing his suit with a pink scarf flowing in the wind. How he wasn?t cold was beyond me. I shivered tucking my hands into my coat pockets wondering if it wasn?t too late to turn back. Another burst of win stung my face, making my eyes water.
?How are you not freezing?? I asked trying to keep moving forward.
He stopped to look over his shoulder to watch how I jogged on the spot trying to stay warm. Without a word he took off his scarf to wrap it under my chin. The gesture made me feel warmer than the garment.
?The cold doesn?t bother me.? He said and it looked true. His face wasn?t even flushed.
?Ok then Elisa.? I chucked.
Nick turned his head slightly not understanding the reference. I waved it off so we could keep moving. The walk was under thirty minutes but it felt like hours. My socks soaked through and I knew I was going to get sick from the walk. The scenery was beautiful if it wasn?t for the weather. Under the snow was a building I didn?t notice at first. The building blended into the mountain it was bult into. Nick paused at a large steel door while trying to open it with a keypad next to it. I watched shivering while looking around for any other signs of life. When the codes Nick inputted didn?t work, he took out a black marker to write under the keypad. With practiced skill, he drew a circle then odd symbols surrounding it. When he was finished, he pricked his finger to place a dot of blood in the center of the circle and symbols. With a click, the door started to open and his writing faded away.
Regardless of the danger that would be inside, I rushed into the building Nick was right behind as the door closed shutting out the cold. Inside the building was dark. Only dark red emergency lights flickered along the hallway. We stayed near the entrance so Nick could explain what was going on as I got the chill put from my bones.
?This is a research facility owned by The Hunters. They haven?t told us much aside from some sort of infection was released. It appears to not be spread by normal methods and whatever is the cause is possibly supernatural in origin. There was forty-eight still left inside the building. If we come across anyone, we shall assume they?re hostile. Do not let them get close.?
I nodded along listening as dread started to creep into my stomach. This was a step up from finding a lost girl or looking for a killer. This case was real secret government stuff. I let my hand touch where my handgun was holstered but not comforted by it as I hoped.
?Don?t you think this is a bit much for the two of us?? I asked sounding nervous.
The red hallway looked more menacing with this new information. This was way beyond my skill set. I didn?t know anything about infections or disease. It was a comfort knowing I wasn?t exposed to some mystery illness just being inside the building for the lack of other information over shadowed the positive.
?We shall have another team arriving in an hour or so. There is another emergency going on so all the other agents are occupied. The Hunters trained to deal with this lab were inside at the time of the outbreak and assumed dead. Right now, we are the only team available.?
Because I?d warmed up Nick started to walk down the hallway. Inside the building was so hot I needed to unzip my jacket to stop from sweating. He paused at a door, hand at his side ready to strike if something came at him. Carefully he opened the door to check inside the room. When nothing of interest was inside, he started to draw another circle, this time directly on the steel door.
?What?s the doodling for?? I asked as I watched him.
?It?s a basic spell to keep the door locked. We need to check every part of the building and lock up areas behind us to ensure nothing goes inside after we leave. I?m not overly talented when it comes to magic. All the power for the spell is stored inside the marker. If you were able to draw the circle and the writing then you could do this spell as well.? Nick finished up his small circle to move on the next door in the long dimly lit hallway.
A magic marker? Really? I guess if Witches and Troll are real a marker could be magic. I debated asking if other things are real like Bigfoot or aliens but knew it was not the right time for such a conversation. I kept behind Nick as we checked inside empty rooms on high alert expecting to encounter danger at any moment. My nerves felt fried in a few minutes. Every faint sound made me tense and look around to see nothing. Nick didn?t appear as stressed but his face never looked as if he was experiencing much of anything. My hand kept hovering above my holster ready to draw if needed. I thought I was ready for this kind of case. When the danger did finally show itself, I was proven very wrong.
We found ourselves walking through a curved hallway clearing rooms. When Nick went inside, I kept a look out inside the hallway. He was never gone for more than a few minutes. So far, I didn?t see any signs of death or distress. The building appeared normal aside from the emergency lights and lack of residents. I heard a sound coming from the room Nick went inside. I was about to rush over to check on him when something else pulled my attention. A groaning from a few feet away.
Panicked, I turned my head to find the source. A man wearing a lab coat was shuffling down the hallway in an uneven gait. He bumped against walls and nearly tripped over his own feet. I choked on fear seeing him. His face pale this man looked and acted like a fresh zombie. And for good reason. Out from his chest sprouted a bulb. It was about the size of my head. I could see vines coming from the parasitic bulb going into the man's chest. When he raised a hand more vines poked out from his skin showing his entire body was infected with them under his flesh. I drew my handgun ready to fire when more noises came. This time from behind.
Four more of the infected were coming down the hallway. These men were dressed in SWAT gear aside from the heavy duty best to make room for the bulbs. I didn?t know if the infection made them take the vests off, or if they were caught before fully suited up. Each groaned as they bumped against each other.
I let out a yell of surprise when Nick came shooting out from the dark room. He didn?t say a word. Taking off like a bullet he attacked the group of SWAT men in a blur of motion I couldn?t fully follow. His form a graceful blur of attacks. I listened for the sound of his sword but didn?t hear it.
Instead of the delicate sword he normally used in his hand was a thin line of black. It was a blade almost four feet long. It sliced through the men and their gear as if they were nothing. My stomach turned as the fell to pieces.
It wasn?t just my stomach. My head felt light and I almost fainted at the sight of four people being turned into chunks. The vines inside their bodies covered most of the gore but I still couldn?t look over at them for very long. It was enough for me to forget about the man wearing the lab coat shuffling closer.
I gasped, turning with my gun raised. He was almost within arm's reach, his hand raised and milky eyes staring without emotion. The bulb started to get bigger as his face hollowed out. I froze, watching as the man appeared to be drained as the thing on his chest started to open. If I didn?t pull the trigger in the next second, I would be dead. My finger twitched and yet, I couldn?t do it. I was unable to put enough pressure into that one digit to save my life.
Nick was the one who saved me yet again. He knew he couldn?t get around me in time. Instead, he wrapped one arm around my chest to drag my body back and out of harms away as his other hand wrapped around my own holding e gun. He was the one who forced my finger down on the trigger and took the recoil of the weapon as it fired. With perfect aim, he fired three shots. One into the heart, the brain and the bulb. Just when it looked as if the bulb would open, the bullets tore through the threat. The man collapsed, bulb shriveling up now dead along with the host.
Nick released his grip. Without any hesitation he went over to the fallen scientist to investigate the now dead bulb. He grabbed a hold to pull the dead plant from the man?s chest. Slowly the bulb started to fade away inside his hand.
?This bulb was created by supernatural means. I can absorb it to use it for energy like other magic based things, but it must be dead to do so. I took care of a person inside the room so we?re down to dealing with...?
He paused speaking when his eyes landed on my trembling hand. I simply could not take my eyes off the dead man in front of me. Nick was speaking so coldly and yet a man was dead. No, at least six people were dead. The logical part of my brain knew these people could not be saved and it was a good thing they had been taken down and yet.... My vision started to blur and I couldn?t stop myself from breathing heavy. In my mind I?d killed someone. I was the one who brought a gun and now a man was dead.
When I dreamed of being a cop, I knew I would need to shoot at someone if my life was in danger. I didn?t ever want to do something like that, but assumed I would be ready if the time came. That I would be working the streets and toughened up by the time I would need to draw a gun on someone. When the time really came, I froze. Then had a panic attack after seeing the results. My mind was reeling in that moment. Any kind of logic and sensible thinking was tossed out the window. My breathing started to come in short hitched breathes as I was unable to take my mind off the body at my feet. All insecurities I desperately tried to push down came flooding in. That I was worthless, that I brought my sister down by going after an impossible to reach goal. That I would never become a real-
?Do you want to turn back?? Nick asked in a soft tone cutting off my thoughts.
?No! I can?t I...? I protested. ?I was the one who asked you to bring me along on cases and yet I ask like this. I?m supposed to be your partner and yet I haven?t done a damn thing. My job is to support you and yet I?m...?
I needed to stop speaking or else I would really loose it. Shutting my eyes tight I kept the flood of emotions back the best I could. While in the dark, I felt Nick wrap his hands around my own that still tightly gripped the handgun. I opened my eyes again to look up at him, a real expression on his face instead of his regular blank look.
?Is this heavy?? He asked referring to my handgun. I nodded so he kept speaking. ?Weapons should be heavy. They carry the weight of all the lives you can destroy with them. It?s been a long time since my swords became light and I... hate that. I need a partner who can still feel this weight. Until you?re able to lift this on your own, I?ll help carry it. We are partners after all. It goes both ways. I?m here to help you. You?re not here to take on all the burdens on your own.?
I looked down feeling a wave of embarrassment from his words. I?d gotten so freaked out seeing someone die for the first time I didn?t let myself think properly. Nick knew when he asked me to come along my lack of experience. He?s always known and yet he still wanted for us to work together. I needed to keep reminding myself I couldn?t do much, but the things I could do helped out more than I could ever realize. I nodded unable to think of a way to respond. Mentally I swore I would work harder in order to support Nick better during our cases.
He pulled away when another groaning sound came from down the hallway. Any softness in his posture disappeared as he snapped back into action ready to fight. A clicking sound from his hand made me look down. His new sword was a jet black thin blade. It collapsed out of small handle the size of a lipstick tube. It looked more of a baton than a sword.
?What happened to The Orchestra?? I asked wondering about the weapon switch.
?I... got in trouble from cutting the van in half. This blade is named Eel. Despite its size it can cut through anything. Eel is a good temporary blade but... It makes me nervous because its too excited to cut through living things.?
The groaning died down so Nick felt it safe to explain his weapon. The smaller blade was a better choice for this job. I?ve only seen The Orchestra send out waves of destruction. I wasn?t sure if it could tone it down. We needed to take down people infected by some sort of parasitic plant. Not destroy the entire building.
?Skyler, I still do not know how this infection spreads. Please stay back and cover me. I?ll protect you. Only fire your weapon if you?re able. Do not force it an put yourself in a bad situation.?
I was going to reply in some sort of negative way. I still felt as if I was useless. Not only did he have to worry about plant zombies he needed to keep an eye on me. When he looked over his shoulder and had the closest thing to a smile I?ve ever seen all those feelings faded. I kept a good grip on the handgun at my side. The cold metal feeling slightly lighter than before when I knew I was going to use it to protect my partner. When were knew we both were ready, we started back down the hallway towards whatever was waiting.


Source.