#26 Issues Much?
Abraham was troubled. The vampire wasn’t what he expected.
“Wait, these are in French?” Abraham sighed, foreign languages was on a different floor. “Why on earth would acquisitions order Harry Potter in French.”
“They’re not even catalogued correctly.” The Sudanese librarian wrinkled his brow.
“Bonjour,” Gabe said. “Have’eh-voo la Harry Potter?” Abraham raised a brow at his friend.
“What are you doing here?” Abe said. “We’re not supposed to meet at work.”
“Why good afternoon sir whom I don’t know, I would like to check out a book. The title is “You’re So Uptight.” It’s a book about my friend. Tall fellow, from Sudan. You might know him. Works in a library, has a panic attack if his shit’s outta place.” Gabe chuckled loud enough to warrant a SHHHH.
“I’ve got a book titled “Werewolf Meets Silver Bullet” if you don’t quiet down.”
“Yow, someone’s touchy.” The mechanic smiled. “So, the cut-the-wire-on-the-bike-and-make-friends-with-the-college-kid plan didn’t work. Little punk fixed his own bike before I got there. That’s the trouble with poor kids, they grow up learning how to fix all their hand-me-downs.”
“I suggested your bike shop like we’d planned, even said I’d help push the bike. He knows the wire was cut with a knife and my arrival was all-too-convenient. I don’t want him to get suspicious, he's smart. We need something a little more subtle next time.”
“No big.” Gabe said. “What’s the scoop? You never called after you were invited in the house. Did you find out anything useful?”
“About that, we’re going to need more firepower.” Abraham pointed to the medieval warfare books on the shelf. “I suggest you read these.”
“I can handle more firepower,” Zo said.
Abraham told them all he’d seen of the evil-eyed fairy and his suspicions that Ivan was far older and more powerful than they expected.
Gabe said, “Whoa, nobody said anything about us taking down an ancient on our own. You sure?”
“Unmistakable,” Abraham said. “Micah speaks with him in his native tongue. The boy is learning medieval languages from him.” Abraham shivered. “I’d place him before the turn of the century.”
“Which one?”
“Eighth. I’d guess late 700s.”
“Damn.” Gabe said. “You sure he ain’t just a historian-type himself?”
“I'd guess warlord, Viking raider, or perhaps a Carolingian soldier. He made an offhand comment that Micah was more stubborn than a Saxon unwilling to convert. I’m not convinced the vampire is entirely evil. The fairy though… an immense power radiates from him. I’ve submitted a report that we hold back and watch longer.”
“Oh come on. You wanna know what your problem is?” Zo spat out. “You’re too soft. This isn’t the first time you tried to get us to back off a kill order. You should just stick with your books and research, it’s what you’re good at.”
"And it's why I'm still alive," Abe countered.
“I’ve been doing this longer than either of you and I’m much older than I look. We didn’t kill Gabe when we tracked him down did we? We watched, confirmed he wasn’t a threat, and he joined the team. Ivan lives among humans in such a way that I don’t think he’s casting any illusions on them. I suspect the boy even knows what he is harboring. Ivan might be willing to join us, like Gabe did. He could be a powerful ally.”
“Ooh-wee, first name basis now?” Zo said. “You’re humanizing your target. Ivan? There is no IVAN. It’s a friggin’ vampire. And IT is going to die. And if that kid gets in the way then so does he.”
“Hey, easy there buddy,” Gabe said. “We take our time, gather our intel, do it right. No rushing in guns blazing. No collateral damage and NO killing innocent civilians. Boss was clear on that. They’ll erase your name from the Book and put you on the target list if you’re not careful man. Rogue elves murdering folk ain’t no different than anything else we take outta commission.”
“Get your hand off my shoulder,” Zo said. “And stay out of my way.”
For #27 Part 1
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