Intermission - Watcher.

It wasn’t usual for her to make contact with her targets like that, but then again, this was a fairly unusual case. Nice girls, those three. Friendly, cheerful, clearly happy with how their life was going.

Shouldn’t have made contact. It’s no good getting attached to the target.

She gave them her phone number, and she still wasn’t sure if that was wise. She did it for the sake of appearances, or so she told herself. It was hard to deny that she found those girls and their whole group… interesting.

Again, shouldn’t be getting attached. The job comes first, after all.

Lucy White watched the trio leave the car meet before her in two cars. A bit annoying but shouldn’t be a problem. Alice and Fernanda were in the flashy RX-7, Milana in the silver sedan. She waited for a long moment, then hopped on her bike, put on her helmet and began to follow.

They were out of her field of view, but she knew exactly where they were going and the path they would take there. It was late enough that she was sure they wouldn’t take any detours, either. She needed to avoid being seen following them.

The first 40 minutes in the city were smooth. She hoped for no issues there and no issues arose. The tricky part came after, as they reached the outskirts of town and the amount of vehicles drastically began to diminish. The roads were getting darker, too, with almost no lights in these more rural paths. It made going unnoticed harder so she kept a large distance at first. She had their route well in her mind, though, and knew when it was time to accelerate.

There, in a large stretch of road, now completely dark except for the headlights of her bike, she caught up to them. Not the RX-7 or the silver sedan, however, but a black SUV.

Lucy clicked her tongue, pushed the accelerator and passed the SUV at at least double their speed. Like she had told the girls, this bike was performing well. Alex had definitely improved on the original specs.

Now far away from the black SUV, Lucy slowed down, turned her bike around on the road and stopped, keeping her lights on. She reached inside the truck of her bike… and pulled out a handgun. She gave it a quick check, made sure that it was loaded, and waited. A minute later the black SUV arrived.

Lucy really hoped they stopped or she might have to get yet another new bike. Thankfully, they did come to a stop, and she was able to let go of the handle and step off it.

The doors of the car opened. Four men, four large, bulky men, came out wearing balaclavas. Their faces were hidden, sure, but you could hardly be more obvious. It wasn’t THAT cold.

“Are you boys on Milán’s payroll?” Lucy asked them. “If so, I’m gonna have to ask you to come with me.”

The question was a formality. The four were the ones Lucy had been worried about. According to the information she’d been given by Mr. James Morgan’s diligent informants, Joseph Milán had hired four thugs this time to kidnap Milana, Alice and Fernanda, with a bigger priority on the latter. Apparently the creep had grown an obsession with the older of the three, and Alice, Milana, and in particular their boyfriend, Oliver, had gotten in the way of his… ‘courtship.’

“The boss said to bring him three girls,” one of the men said, his voice raspy. “I think we can keep this one to ourselves, boys.”

Ugh. Lucy was disappointed at how accurate the information was. Calling them thugs was more than they deserved. The reason Lucy had to show herself and walk around with the three girls instead of remaining hidden was that she’d been warned that these four wouldn’t have been against a public kidnapping. It seemed like their shared brain cell worked hard enough to keep them from doing it, but that was as far as it got them.

They began to walk closer, reaching into their jackets to pull out their own guns, no doubt. Lucy wasn’t about to wait and let them.

She fired her own gun. Four quick shots, all aimed at the head, all landed. They didn’t even react, as they heard no shots being fired. Four bodies fell limply to the floor, each of them with something like a short, thick needle in their foreheads.

What Lucy had in her hands was pretty much an airsoft gun, if… heavily modified to fire very small darts instead of bbs. Each dart had an extremely potent, quick-working toxin to immediately put a person to sleep. It was made with alchemy and was perfectly safe, if you don’t count the hangover of a lifetime that waits for you six hours later.

Lucy moved quickly. She disarmed the men, all of whom were carrying real handguns loaded with real bullets. She moved her bike out of the road, loaded the men on the backseat of their SUV and then moved that out of the road. Once that was done, she made the call.

“Hello, Lucy. How’s the job going?” Mr. Allen spoke on the other side of the line.

“It’s done,” Lucy said with a faint sigh of relief. “The information was correct. The men, their weapons, the vehicle, their route… They’re all fast asleep in the car now.”

“Excellent. I’ll have someone pick them up immediately. Please stay with them until they arrive. That is, of course, assuming the girls are all safe.”

“They are,” Lucy confirmed.

“And you weren’t seen?”

Lucy sighed. “I… was worried they might be attacked in public, so I approached them during the car meet. But as far as they know, I’m just an acquaintance of Alice’s brother. They don’t know I’ve been watching them for the past couple of weeks.”

“That’s okay. I defer to your expertise as a bodyguard on the job. You don’t need to be reminded of one of the main objectives, but I still thank you for keeping yourself hidden.”

Mr. Luke Allen, her employer for the last five years. This wasn’t the first protection job she’s ever done for him, but it was the strangest so far. She was usually asked to protect VIPs, important business partners or at times his own family. It was the first time she had to protect a group of young adults like them. Although… This Oliver guy IS an important business partner, so she supposed it wasn’t that different.

One important part of this job, however, was that Lucy should try her hardest not only to remain invisible, but to prevent any attacks from reaching any of their group. The idea was, as Mr. Allen put it, to let them continue their life as normal, without worrying about potential dangers. It added some complexity to the mission, it had to be said.

“There shouldn’t be a backup group,” Mr. Allen said. “After you hand over the kidnappers, you can go back home and rest.”

“...” Lucy pursed her lips. “If you don’t mind, sir… I’m still uneasy. I don’t think there will be a backup group, either, but… I still want to keep watch around their house for a while.”

“That would put me at ease. I’ll have my people send you the special camping equipment and MREs.”

Lucy smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“No, thank you, Lucy. You’re one of the few people I could ever trust with this job. Whatever resources you need, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

The camping equipment wasn't by any means anything even close to even the best one could find in a shop, so it was more than enough. Still, he provided her with the handgun and the sleeping darts, plus some other equipment. It certainly made her job easier.

“Thank you sir, but that’s enough for now.”

“Very well. Call me if anything happens. And take care of yourself as well.”

“Thank you. You too, sir. Get some rest.”

Mr. Allen chuckled humorously before he hung up. It didn’t seem like he’d listen to her advice… but then again, he never seemed to need rest.

Lucy was trusted enough to be given the full picture. She was aware of everything, including the fact that Mr. Allen had the abilities of an incredibly powerful magical spirit who feeds on greed, and the fact that one of the people Lucy was tasked with protecting, Oliver Brooks, was possessed by a spirit of similar power. One who, instead of greed… fed on sexual energy. A Spirit of Lust.

No wonder the guy had seven girlfriends. Excess was the name of the game when it came to these Higher Spirits, apparently. Lucy was capable of using some magic, herself, but the level these two operated was another thing entirely.

When she’d been given the rundown of the mission, Lucy inevitably formed a mental profile of how this Oliver guy would be. It wasn’t a very flattering image, and while she would perform the tasks given to her to the best of her abilities, Lucy wasn’t exactly thrilled to be protecting a lecherous, perverted sex addict. She could only guess how he treated those girls.

…

Mr. Allen’s men arrived and they took care of the kidnappers. They’d be taken somewhere for interrogation. And after that… who knows? Not her part of the job. She was given a backpack with supplies, then saw the team off before she hopped on her bike again.

Some distance away from the Brooks household was a large electrical pylon. The camping equipment would make staying there possible, and the high vantage point would let her make sure nothing strange came close.

When she arrived, she hid her bike behind some trees, away from the main road, then began to climb the pylon with ease, even with the large backpack on her back.

Lucy had discovered a faint affinity with magic when she was around 17. A small incident with it drew Mr. Allen’s attention, who had just so happened to be nearby. He taught her about magic, taught her how to use it, and now Lucy could make magical energy flow through her body to strengthen it. Her entire body would become strong, agile and tough. Even if she had been shot back there, she would’ve been unharmed. Okay, maybe it would’ve hurt a bit, but it would’ve left a bruise at best.

She made it high enough up the metal structure and began to make camp. How? Well, a folding platform would remain firmly in place even if set on a corner with no support on one end. A large curtain would keep the area invisible, like that cape in that one magic school movie. There, she could set up a tiny table, a tiny heater and her sleeping bag with no issues. And of course, the sleeping bag was special, too. All of these were enchanted items. Hell, even the backpack had more space than it should. Lucy was far more willing to trust the nearly floating platform than a cheap tent on solid ground. It wasn't her first time using these, anyway.

She reached into the backpack again and took out a Meal Ready to Eat. With the flameless ration heater, she’d be able to eat a hot, decent meal even here. But although Mr. Allen always made sure to get good quality MREs… It wasn’t really the same as home cooking. She hadn’t had that in a while.

Lucy noticed a car approaching the house from the corner of her eye. It looked like Diana’s car, and it was the time she and Oliver should be getting back home. Still, she reached into the backpack again, this time for another piece of gear, one she’d been given years ago. A set of binoculars with an ear piece.

The binoculars were not only powerful, but had the ability to see through walls. On top of that, one was able to clearly hear the sounds in the general direction one was looking at. It was a key piece of gear, even when her job was protection. It was thanks to them that Lucy knew Alice, Fernanda and Milana were going to a car meet.

She looked through the binoculars, right at the car approaching the gates. As expected, it was Oliver and Diana. A look at their surroundings and the road showed nothing out of the ordinary. No cars coming or going.

They went into the house and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. Once inside, they were safe. She didn't know how he managed it, but just last week Oliver had ‘claimed’ the territory of his home and attuned it to his own magic. It was, in essence, protected against outsiders. If, for example, those thugs had managed to sneak inside, they would’ve found all their strength being sapped away. If Lucy herself were to go in without permission, the same would happen to her. It really made her job easier, but she wasn’t about to grow complacent.

She watched Oliver and Diana go into the house, even watching them through the walls once they were inside.

…

…

The moment they were through, she saw Oliver grope Diana’s butt. The older woman, smirked, turned to him and began to undo the buttons of her shirt.

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat… but she didn’t look away. She HAD looked away the first few times she’d caught them, her heart racing, her cheeks burning and an immense feeling of shame washing over her.

But she didn’t just catch them one time, or two times. The more she watched over them, the more she… saw. And the more she saw, the more she learned.

Oliver WAS a lecherous, perverted sex addict… but so were his girlfriends. She’d seen them initiating, tempting him. She’d seen them sharing each other, too. And this night, meeting Alice, Milana and Fernanda face to face, had confirmed her recent suspicions.

They were all… happy with this. This Oliver guy wasn’t abusing his powers and forcing himself on anyone. It had seemed this way to her for a while, but now she could clearly see that their household was, though extremely lascivious, also very wholesome.

Hell, Lucy found herself starting to envy them a bit.

…

…

Despite her better judgement, Lucy didn’t move her binoculars away. She watched how Oliver groped Diana’s tits as they made out, and saw how Alice, Fernanda and Milana came to casually greet them at the entrance, giggling at the sight.

Lucy didn’t even notice she was licking her lips.

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