Following Up

John didn't go home right away. Lock had a bunch of questions of course and the end of his shift was more like an interrogation. His manager was nervous when he explained that she had offered him a job that paid six figures. That was a lie of course, but Lock wouldn't have believed him if he had said it was actually seven figures.

"You're not considering it are you?" Georgina asked while he slid into his street shoes.

"We'll see," he said with a smug grin which made the chef squirm in her apron.

"You're one of our best employees," she said.

"Well then I'd like some kind of recognition for that," he said.

"You've never complained about your pay before," she said, "Where's this coming from."

"A six figure job offer from a smoking hot CEO made me re-evaluate my value to this business," he explained in the most professional way he could muster.

In truth, he wasn't actually considering it that much. Dragonguard's reputation was still at the forefront of his mind and it was a very bad reputation. However, he now knew that they were in the know, that there were monsters preying on humans.

For five years he'd tried to forget about that cold night in Canada (the coldest ever in North America in fact), but the memories were burned into his mind. He always assumed that this creature, a wendigo apparently, had escaped from a lab somewhere and his squad was just extremely unlucky to run into it.

Then Ms. Maidenfire (the fuck kind of name is that?) implied that his encounter hadn't been a one-off incident. Now his former CO was dead, allegedly, which she also implied wasn't entirely natural. If the world was really full of monsters, he'd met one so he had no reason to believe that it wasn't, then he wanted to be on the side that was in the know.

He left the restaurant, thousand dollar tip in hand, and made his way home. Via public transit. Then he hiked up three flights of stairs to his apartment because the elevator didn't work. He was used to large tips from wealthy customers, but the majority of all that glitz and glamor at the restaurant didn't make its way down to him, just a mere waiter. He kept a clean apartment, but there were some outlets and a fan that didn't work. The washing machine did work but if you loaded too many clothes or didn't balance it then it created a noise complaint out of thin air which teleported to the landlord's mailbox. And the couch? Well, the less said about the couch, the better.

It's not that he couldn't afford to fix any of this, but he was trying to save up for a better condo, somewhere out of city limits. As he got ready for his night routine, he imagined everything he could do with two-and-a-half million dollars. He could fix all the appliances and still afford a better home. Wait, screw the appliances, he could afford a condo within Seattle city limits!

He pulled out the business card she gave him and made up his mind to call her tonight. There was just one problem. The card didn't have a phone number. He flipped it over to make sure it wasn't printed on the other side, but that side was entirely blank. He flipped it over again and looked harder, but all he could see was the name Dragonguard and their dragon logo.

"So much for that," he thought and was about to throw it away when his thumb brushed over the metallic blue dragon. Then he thought he was hallucinating because the dragon's eye started glowing a bright gold which hurt his eyes and **** him to look away. Next the lettering seemed to evaporate into an animated cloud of smoke and new words appeared.

Hello, John.

"Uh, hi?" he said, "Who is this?"

It's me, Emura. I'm glad to hear from you.

"Is this card laced with LSD or something?" he asked.

It's magic, John.

"Right..." he said skeptically.

Oh don't give me that. You already know monsters exist, so is magic really that unbelievable?

"Is this a miniature LED screen?" he asked looking at it more closely.

I told you. It's magic. If you're interested in working for me, you'll have to get used to it.

"What makes you think I'm interested?" he asked.

You're looking at the card and haven't thrown it away yet, and we're still talking despite your skepticism.

"How do I know I'm actually speaking to Ms. Maidenfire?" he asked.

John, please call me Emura. We can continue this conversation over the phone if you'd prefer.

Finally the letters changed into a phone number. Emura picked up right away as soon as he called.

"Is this better?" she asked.

"Ok so you've proven that we were communicating a minute ago," he said, "But I still don't believe it was magic."

"Since we're at an impasse on that topic, let's move on, shall we?" she said, "Do you need some more time, or have you made a decision yet?"

"What will this "ride-along" entail?" he asked.

"I can't say over the phone, check the card," she said. He looked back at her business card.

We'll be investigating a facility that we abandoned ten years ago in Arizona. Our objective will be to assess if it can be reactivated.

"Are you expecting to run into monsters?" he asked.

"Not over the phone, I said!" she scolded him, "To answer your question though, not necessarily, but my men are prepared for that eventuality. If that's the case you probably won't be in any danger."

"Mmmmm, I don't like the sound of that," he said.

"I understand," she said, "I can tell you more tomorrow if you'd like."

"Wait, you said it was in three days," he said.

"Yes, but I'd like to see you again tomorrow," she said, "What's your schedule like?"

"Tomorrow's my day off, but-"

"Perfect!" she said, "I have property in Renton. I'll send you the address. Feel free to show up whenever you like."

"Wait wait wait," he asked before she hung up, "Uh, why?"

"Your service record gave a very detailed account of John Doe the soldier, but it didn't tell me anything about John Doe the man," she explained, "Consider it an extended second interview."

"Ok, that makes sense," he said, "I'll swing by tomorrow then."

The next day he took public transit again then walked the rest of the way. The address was still printed on the business card and hadn't changed since last night. Neither had Emura spoken to him through the card again.

She had made it abundantly clear she was filthy rich at dinner last night, and he still wasn't prepared for the enormous mansion. What he could see of it was huge, and most of it was obscured by trees. A tall wrought-iron fence surrounded the property and he followed the fence line to the main gate where he found an intercom with a key pad.

Out of curiosity, he punched in the phone number Emura had given him last night. This time it was a different woman who answered.

"Hello?" she asked. He couldn't definitively place her accent, but he guessed she was Israeli.

"Hi," he said, "My name's John Doe. I'm here for a job interview."

"One moment," she said. He waited awkwardly in silence for a minute then the gate swung open.

"That's a long driveway," he muttered then started hiking to the front door. It was easily a quarter mile and it wasn't straight. When he finally reached the mansion he was only a little bit out of breath. There was another intercom at what he assumed was the front door, but before he could press the buzzer the door opened for him.

"Hello, Lieutenant," said the woman he had spoken to at the gate, "Please come in."

"Thank you," he said. She was absolutely stunning. Definitely middle-eastern, but with violet-colored, yes violet, eyes and he hair was so black it was almost blue. However something seemed off when she moved, like she was completely weightless.

"I didn't catch your name," he said as he consciously looked up from her attractive butt.

"I am Sama, Ms. Emura's personal assistant," she said, "She'll be with us shortly. Would you like something to drink?"

"Something hard or just coffee?" he asked. Sama snapped her fingers of both hands and they were engulfed by two vortices of smoke. When the smoke dissipated she held a steaming mug of coffee in one hand, and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

"Take your pick," she said. John was stunned by the trick.

"More magic?" he asked as he poured a little bit of the whiskey into the coffee.

"Of course," Sama said. He took a sip and rolled his eyes while they were hidden behind the mug. He got a little carried away because holy shit that was good coffee. A second later he was wearing about half of it on his pants. He dropped the mug by accident and yelped at the sudden pain.

"Ah ah ah ah hot! Hot! That's hot!" he nearly tore his pants off but Sama snapped her fingers again and then they were completely dry.

"How did you- right. Magic," he said, "Sorry about the mug. Let me-" but when he looked around the coffee mug was nowhere to be found. Sama pointed to the countertop where it rested on a napkin, still full of steaming hot coffee.

"Ok, I get it," he said while Sama just smiled smugly.

"Good morning, John!" Emura said, "Sama I see you've met the lieutenant. He's a prospective new employee."

"I gathered as much," her assistant said, "If you need anything you know where to find me."

John hadn't said anything yet because he was thunderstruck as any mortal man would be. He guessed the woman had an incredible body last night, but now she wasn't concealing it with a tight blouse and business suit. Her boobs were unbelievable and they were straining against the thin fabric of her sports bra. Her yoga pants revealed every curve and muscle on her thighs, and her arms and abs were positively shredded. And yet she still retained immaculate feminine curves.

She noticed him staring and leaned against the counter with a playful smirk. Finally she snapped her fingers to get his attention and pointed to his crotch.

"Holy shit!" he tried desperately to hide his raging erection, "I am so, so sorry!"

"Don't be," she said, "This body is meant for that kind of reaction. You do need to stay focused though."

"Won't happen again," he said, "But is this still the second interview?"

"Of course," Emura said, "First part is a physical exam, so grab some water, we're going for a jog."