“This beats work, Ruby. We’re going to have some real hunky bodyguards.”
Ruby closed and locked the balcony door. She looked at Zoe, confident Jack and Catherine would find the high priestess, but wishing she could share some of Zoe’s enthusiasm.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Ruby invited the escorts in. Ruby smiled at Zoe—she knew her friend would be disappointed that one of the escorts was a female while the other looked close to retirement age. Ruby could make out that they carried guns, and that gave her some comfort.
The man performed the introductions. He pointed to Ruby. “You must be Ruby.”
It was the red hair. “Yes.”
He looked towards Zoe. “And Zoe?”
Zoe smiled. Ruby had an internal chuckle. There wasn’t much muscle to this man. His suit hung from him, making him look frail. But Ruby reminded herself he had a gun.
“I’m Detective Tanner, and this lovely lady is Detective Teasdale.” He smiled. “We’re also known as T1 and T2.”
“Don’t let this comic fool you, girls. We’re here to protect and look after you. He may not look the part but he is lean and mean.”
“Thank you, T2.”
Ruby hoped T2 was right because at this point she wasn’t full of confidence. She thought of a TV show her dad used to watch, Get Smart. That agent had a number as well, although she couldn’t remember it. T1 and T2 would be easy to remember. She needed to call her dad. They hadn’t spoken much since he retired a few months back, as they both had been busy.
“Both right to go then? All electrical goods off?” T1 asked.
They nodded.
“Good. Let me go check our exit and make sure all is good,” T1 said.
The text message came not long after. “Okay, we’re right to go, girls.” T2 ushered them out the door. “You got your keys, Ruby?”
“Yes.” She deadlocked the door.
They walked down the steps. The kids in unit two were fighting again. She hoped they weren’t affected by the crazy visitor but yelling was normal for that unit.
T2 opened the main entrance to the units, stepped outside, and pointed to a sedan parked down the street. It must have rained as Ruby could smell the moisture in the air, and the street lights reflected in small puddles on the road. They walked past a lady inspecting her well-lit and rain-soaked garden. She said hello as they passed. Ruby always admired the lady’s lawn on the front nature strip. One night, Ruby and Zoe had rolled and rumbled on the grass as they were too fearful to even walk on it during the day. They considered it a conquest. Ruby believed the lady’s smile had widened since that event, almost as if she witnessed their playful mischief.
T1 opened the vehicle’s doors.
The drive was a quiet one. T1 constantly looked in the rear-view mirror to ensure they weren’t being tailed. He also exited and entered the freeway a number of times. Ruby felt safe.
They eventually turned into a narrow street. It was quiet, with most residents tucked away into the comforts of home.
They were given a quick guided tour. The house had a cosy feel about it. Ruby had a rough idea where she was, near the river and closer to the city. The house backed on to the river so offered privacy in that regard.
“It’s a quiet neighbourhood. We’ll be here for a few days. And if we feel there’s still a risk in a few days we will move to another safe house,” T2 said.
“We will be staying with you but you will have all the privacy you need. The house is designed for dual living,” T1 added.
Ruby’s phone rang. She noticed T1 and T2 stare at each other.
“Should I turn it off?”
“I’m sure whoever it is that is interested in you wouldn’t ring you on your mobile, but it still may be a good idea to turn it off,” T2 said.
<°)))><
Jill Winter was feeling zapped again. It was as though she was carrying a load but she didn’t know what the load was. She didn’t even feel like a visit to her magic mirror. She stared at the glass of water in front of her and wondered what the strange particles were floating in the water. Things picked up through the pipes as the water made its way to the glass. Harmless things.
Her partner had returned from his trip. She wasn’t normally concerned about his trips but she had been of late. It was as though she was floating back to earth. As though she’d been away. Where had she been? The anxiety and fear had returned with a feeling of heaviness. The issue with the magistrate had gone on for too long and had drained her. She felt like a puppet. But who was pulling the strings, and why was she even thinking like this? Concerns were creeping in.
Particles floated in her glass.
She had lost her way.
Her partner was a violent man. Rather, he used to be a violent man. She felt something was changing in him—like they were on a see-saw: she was down, he was up. But what was he up to?
Toby Watts was his name. At least, that was who he said he was. Was that really his name? It was all getting a bit crazy. She got up and went into her room, and sat in front of the mirror. Footsteps came up behind her. Toby—she saw him in the mirror—but his face was different. His hands rested on her shoulders and he started to massage her tight muscles. Nice, but he was quite firm. His hands moved to her neck. Things were not right. She tried to speak but no words came. She closed her eyes and let out a soft gasp. The fight was gone and she didn’t care. She heard words but they were meaningless. Everything was meaningless.
“Sorry, love. I have to do this. You’re becoming a problem and I don’t want to go back to prison. They’re tracking us down because of your lack of judgement.”
Jill Winter felt the darkness coming. She had no energy and felt strangely peaceful about what was happening.
She was drugged!
A surge of energy came. The particles weren’t harmless. Panic. She tried to scream. The grip on her throat was tighter. She was gasping, grasping, struggling for air.
“Not sure what you believe about death. You Wiccans believe many things about the afterlife. Take your pick, because you’re going there now.”
They were the last words she heard and the last thing she saw was a reptilian being coming towards her. She wanted to scream, yet couldn’t. Couldn’t scream, couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe.
