Surveillance

"I don't like it," Woods said regarding the abandoned factory in front of them.

"Could your bird have led us into a trap?" John asked.

"Well it's not my bird, and no," Woods said, "But Amelia might have."

John scanned the building, but he didn't see any ravens, human or otherwise.

"So what's the plan?" He asked.

"We'll watch from that building across the street," Woods said, "Then wait and see who comes out."

John nodded and they moved the car out of sight, then found a second story window with a view of the factory. There was no AC, and they were in the middle of Arizona in the afternoon, so needless to say, it was very uncomfortable. The situation reminded John so much of Afghanistan, magical raven spirits not withstanding.

As they waited though, he wondered just how many other magical creatures he had encountered without knowing. Could any bird be a shapeshifter? What about other animals? Hell, how many people had he encountered who weren't actually human. All of the magical women he had met in the last three day were hot as fuck: Emura, Sama, Morgan, even Amelia. Was that common for magical creatures to be uncommonly attractive? Of course Emura was actually a giant reptile, and Amelia was a bird, so their human forms weren't actually real.

And then it hit him: he had sex with a reptile. Well, he already knew the woman he slept with was the dragon he saw last night, but he hadn't mentally connected the dots until now. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Before he could reconcile that thought, Woods nudged his shoulder and pointed across the street. Amelia, in human form, walked out of the factory. She was followed by a man carrying a gun who John guessed must have been Korean. They spoke for a moment, but they were out of earshot so John didn't catch anything they said.

As Amelia tried to leave though, the man grabbed Amelia's wrist. She tried to yank away, but then he **** her to kiss him. He held it for a full half a minute while Amelia stood as straight as a rail. When he let her go she wiped her mouth and walked away while he stared at her ass. When he went back inside she turned back into a raven and flew off.

"She's on the move," Woods said unnecessarily.

"What do we do, go inside or follow her?" John asked.

"She still needs to tell the truth," Woods said as the eagle appeared in the sky above them. Half an hour later the bird led them to a dull and delapidated house. John knocked on the door and Amelia answered with terror in her eyes. The eagle landed on Woods' arm and glared at her with predatory intent.

"Thank you, spirit," Woods said.

"We saw you at the factory, Miss Amelia," John said, "Please tell us the truth now."

"If they know I spoke to you they'll..." she stammered and collapsed against the door frame.

"Hey hey," John said softly and crouched next to her, "You don't need to be afraid of us."

"It's not you or Emura I'm afraid of," she said.

"We figured that part out," he said, "So maybe we can help you."

"John," Woods warned.

"May I try to handle this first?" John asked. Woods nodded and sent the eagle away.

"That man at the factory," he asked, "Who does he work for?"

"Shelong," Amelia said.

"Bloody hell," Woods cursed. John made a mental to ask about that name the first chance he got.

"Walk me through from the beginning," John said, "Emura kept me out of the loop, so did she actually hire you to do?"

"I was hired to steal an amulet from Coyote," Amelia said, "Whether I succeeded wasn't important, I was just supposed to lead him on a chase around the spirit realm all night long."

"And these people told you not to do that?" He asked.

"They gave me another job to do, knowing that Emura had already hired me."

"What was the job?" He asked.

"They..." Amelia gulped fewrfully.

"What was the job, Amelia?" He pressed.

"They made me plant a bomb," she said.

"A BOMB?" John and Woods said at the same time.

"Where is it?!" John asked, "Where's the bomb, Amelia?"

"The Saguaro Building," Amelia said.

"That's Dragonguard's office in Phoenix," Woods said as he dialed Emura as quickly as his phone allowed, "Emmy? Emmy, listen! Evacuate the Saguaro Building immediately. There's a bomb!"

"Why did you agree to plant a bomb?!" John asked.

"They're holding my daughter captive in the factory," Amelia said, "I had ****."

"I wouldn't think planting a bomb was a choice!" He said, "I'm sorry, I understand. Can you tell me anything else about the bomb? Where is it? Is it on a timer?"

"The explosive charge is in the sublevel near the foundation," Amelia said, "I don't know how it's armed or triggered."

"Sublevel!" John shouted to Woods on the phone with Emura, "Thank you, Amelia."

"John," Woods said, "She wants to talk to you."

"Emura?" He asked when he took the phone.

"John, I have a new assignment for you," Emura said, "Kill the raven bitch."

"WHAT?"

"You took the job to kill monsters, well here's your chance," Emura said.

"She's not a monster!" He cried.

"She just committed an act of terrorism!" Emura said, "That's pretty monstrous to me!"

John inhaled deeply and said, "Remember when you told me this job would be more complicated than just killing monsters? Well, it's complicated like that."

He wasn't sure if the phone went static or if Emura was hissing at him, but finally she said, "I'm listening."

"She was **** to plant the bomb," he said, "The people who are actually behind this are holding her daughter hostage as leverage."

There was a very long pause and he heard shuffling papers, agitated voices, and people hurrying to get out of the building, but Emura was dead silent. John's stomach felt like it was tying itself in a knot, his hair stood on end, and he thought a tricycle in the yard inched closer to him.

"Fine," Emura finally said, "Guess you get to be the knight in shining armor for the damsel huh?"

"Thank you," he finally exhaled. His hair relaxed and the tricycle rolled back down the gentle slope to the position it was resting in before.

"But I can't spare my other knights during a bomb threat," she said, "I'll send what help I can, but you're going in alone."

"Fine," he said, "They're holding her in an old cement factory. I'm heading back there now." He returned the phone to Woods and helped Amelia to her feet.

"We'll take my motorcycle. It's faster than I can fly," she said as she ran into the house.

"Woods?" John asked, "Who is Shelong?"

"Emura didn't tell you?" Woods asked, "Shelong is one of the most dangerous and powerful women in the world. She's Emura's greatest rival, and the only other living dragoness."

"Another dragon?" John said fearfully, "She's not here is she?"

"If you're asking me if the most powerful woman in Asia is hiding out in a cement factory in Phoenix," Woods said, "Maybe?"

John sighed as the garage opened and Amelia wheeled out on an old Harley. Woods opened the trunk of the car and John stared in awe at the contents. There were as many kinds of guns as you could fit in that space. John grabbed an M-16, but Woods handed him a .50 caliber revolver.

"Is that really necessary?" John asked, "That thing will break my wrist."

"Then don't use it unless you don't have a choice," Woods said.

"Come on let's go!" Amelia shouted.

"Good luck, John," Woods said, "And be careful."

John nodded as he strapped the rifle over his shoulder and hopped on the motorcycle behind Amelia.