Hallows: Pretty Snakes & Devils

American Tourists

Cage The Elephant- Cigarette Daydreams

Ahsan

"You need to get a hold of yourself," Jimenez pushes me into our room. "Take a breather. What the hell was that?"

"How am I in the wrong here? You saw what she was f*****g wearing,"

"San, B.B. can wear whatever the f**k she wants. We've talked about the way you try to control what she wears. Even Carson is backing off,"

"Her-" I stop taking a deep breath. My phone begins to ring saving me from sticking my foot in my mouth.

"Answer that," he walks up to his area. I look down at my phone to see Director Braxton Baird. I have to blink a few times wondering if I'm imagining this s**t. "It's still ringing,"

"Shut up," I roll my eyes and answer it. "Aziz,"

"Mr. Aziz, it's been a while," he answers. "You sound very American now,"

"What the hell do you want, Baird?" I growl. This was the man that forced my parents to flee Chad. The man who oversaw my basic training as a kid. It has to be some kind of emergency if he's calling. This man wouldn't just pick up the phone to tell me he misses me.

"As temperamental as always, Ahsan. I hear you've been very busy in the States," small talk?

"Again, what the hell do you want, Baird?" I say impatiently.

"We found a body. It's special-grade operative 198563," he clears his throat. I feel the blood drain away from my body.

"What? There's not f*****g way. My mother's been dead for eight years,"

"Aziz," he sighs. "Now that you are back in the Fringe, there are things you are going to learn that you're not going to like,"

"What the f**k is that supposed to mean, Braxton? What things?"

"How fast can you get here, Ahsan?"

"I'll call you back,"

"Ahsan, you must remember what we are, how we are raised. I know you have been out on your own for a very long time, but you must remember what we are," he hangs up.

"Hey," Jimenez is standing behind me when I lower my phone. "Hey, look at me,"

"It's my mother," I turn around to face him. "She's dead,"

"We know that," he nods.

"No," I shake my head. Things I'm not going to like. What a f*****g asshole.

"There you are," we both turn around to find B.B. and Damian walking into the room. "Before you start, I am changing,"

"Why are you covered in blood?" I ask the shock sobering enough for the most important thing in my life.

"Vic got a little carried away with the hunter nicked one of his big veins and we had to close it," she looks me over. "What's wrong?

"Why do you think something is wrong?" I ask. Several options flit through my head. My biggest concern is leaving her in the state she's in. The snake has been present for weeks now. The trust between her and the reaper is at best acquainted. I know she's on edge about everything that's going on.

"Well, you're not yelling at me and you're kind of pale. You're pretty color is cold," she reaches for my face. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I needed my chest exposed. I'm new to compulsion and I read that my snake's is better than my reaper's. Letting Eve win is more often aggressive than it isn't. I can show you the scales,"

She's worried about me. That's strange to me. I'm not the type to worry anyone. Especially not her. B.B. is usually the one we're all worried about. Our relationships are only starting and because of what she is, she's the most important piece. Worrying her is out of the question as she gets situated to what she is. It was difficult for me as a child. I can't imagine having to come to terms with it at her age. By the time I was eleven, I already knew what I was and how to use it to my advantage.

"B.B.," Jimenez comes over to us. "He's not upset with you anymore, Bonita. Give him a moment,"

"I have to go," I clear my throat.

"No, you're not going anywhere," he grabs my arm when I head for the door where Damian is standing.

"This is important," I tell him.

"What's going on, guys?" B.B. asks.

"She's asking you a question, San," Ro tightens his grip. I place my hand over his and turn back to face them both.

"Give us a moment, Damian. I'll go back down once I've cleaned up," she tosses him something.

Damian looks down at the device in his hand and leaves shutting the three of us in. B.B. immediately comes closer. She reaches for me but as always she pauses just before touching me the way she always does. She knows I don't like being touched without my permission. I place my hands over hers granting her what she wants.

"What's wrong?" she asks her tone soft now. Worried.

"I just got a call from Director Baird," I answer. She slides her hands down the front of my body so she can lean back enough to look at me.

"Your mentor," she nods. "What did he want?"

"They found a body back home. It's my mother," even saying it out loud sounds insane to me. She glances over at Ro and then back at me thinking it over in her head.

"I can take you," she says without hesitation. She steps back taking my hands in hers. "We can go right now if you like,"

"What about your guest and the hunter?"

"Damian knows what we're looking for. The guys are all downstairs. Ro and I can come with you. We can all come back together once you're satisfied. I just need a location,"

"You would drop everything you're doing for me?" B.B.'s always been the kind of person that takes on what's in front of her. Her mind wanders but not when it comes to the big things and this counts as big. She has a high-rank hunter in her basement and if the blood on her speaks for itself, he doesn't have much longer to live.

"Of course. You're more important to me than Burstein. I doubt he has clearance for a lot of the stuff we need answering. He's a lower rank than David because his family is new to the Church. They've got like six decades. He's the second generation," she squeezes my hands. "We'll go where you're going. Right, Ro?"

"Right," he answers as he taps away on his phone. He's probably telling his guys he's not going back out there tonight.

"I'll get us a location," I agree knowing that I'm not going to get rid of either of them.

"We'll go tell the others we'll be home late," she nods.

"Bonita," Jimenez stops her when she lets go and tries to run past me. "Bano,"

"Right," she laughs looking down at her filthy lab coat. "You guys want to join me? It'll take twenty minutes,"

"Nothing we ever do takes twenty minutes," I scoff.

"Nothing," Jimenez agrees. Especially not with the three of us present.

"Fine, whatever time it takes," she shrugs and spins around before skipping into the bathroom. I turn my attention to Jimenez.

"Que es una hora mas? They've lied to you your whole life. One hour isn't going to kill you," he smirks.

"I really really want to say yes but we need to go," I shake my head. "And if I go in there, she's going to make everything better. Right now, I want to be pissed. I'll tell the others. Do not get in the shower with her," I push him back making him laugh. "You're an ass,"

"Sorry, big guy. She does make everything better and one of us needs to be level-headed. She's not one to hold her tongue," he shrugs and pulls his shirt over his head tossing it aside.

"Twenty minutes," I growl as I head for the door.

Carson and Lucien are both laughing at Damian who is now holding the hand B.B. had taken off the hunter before we brought him here. The hunter himself looks exhausted. These guys aren't just whatever hunter riff-raff the church has to offer. The newer members always have something to prove and they go above and beyond for their new calling. It's best to be patient with them. Treat them as equals. Information is valuable to them. Not that it matters to Carson and Victor. They're both hotheads. While Victor keeps it in check, Carson outranks him. If Carson wants to push, Victor doesn't have a choice.

"You good?" Dec asks me when I reach for one of the holy syringes she's been working on with David.

"Yeah," I clear my throat going over to the hunter. "Do you have what you need from him, Damian?"

"Yeah, hit him with that," he nods. I inject the hunter with the silver liquid. His body immediately relaxes. It's cleansing whatever she did to him. Removing all impurities. A shot like this could kill one of us.

"You're in serious trouble," I tell him. "I suggest you answer their questions. They're not very patient when it comes to information. You understand, yes? Hellbourne Hallows are a little entitled. Patience isn't a virtue here. I've learned that from experience,"

"b***h," Lucien growls from outside of the box. I go over to the fridge and take a water bottle before bringing it over to him. He watches me closely as I crack the can of Liquid Death open. I put it to his lips. He shakily drinks from it.

"You're Ahsan Aziz," he groans.

"That's correct,"

"What is a master assassin like you doing here with a bunch of f*****g kids? Your father is rolling over in his grave," he shuts his eyes.

"I hope so," I set the can down on the floor next to him.

"What's going on?" Carson asks.

"Something came up. I have to go. B.B. volunteered to come with us," I inform him. He crosses his arms over his chest.

"You good?"

"Yeah, a little surprised, but it is what it is," I shrug.

"Are you asking him for permission?" the hunter laughs. "Never thought I'd see the day an Aziz would bend over for an outsider. You may not be part of the fringe anymore, boy but you are definitely a traitor to your kind, and for what? A Reaper?"

"A Blackstone. I wouldn't expect you to understand," I laugh. "You are after all just a dog for the Church of Light,"

"Us? You're taking Ro with you?" Lucien dismisses the hunter.

"Yeah, is that a problem? We should be back in a few hours. I'm just verifying some things," I nod.

"Is it safe for B.B. to go there?" Victor asks.

"It's not safe anywhere for B.B.," Carson waves him off when Damian comes over and starts checking the hunter's vitals. "It's also not safe for others when she's out and about with the snake standing guard the way she is. She's on edge. San, you have to be patient with her right now. This is her first time dealing with betrayal and it's not going to be easy for her to shake. Trust her instincts,"

"I've never worked with her like this. I don't like her around my people. You know how they feel about her and she's very American,"

"I understand, but Bella isn't just your girl. She's on the board. Just don't brush her off. She won't like that," he shrugs. "Trust me, man, and if she doesn't like something. She'll let you know. She'll be good for you if you play nice,"

"Thanks," I nod because he's really good at getting B.B. to calm down. Not as good as Lucien but Lu is the only one that should have some kind of degree when it comes to her.

"Do you want-" Dec clears his throat. "To, you know, talk about it?"

"No," I glare at him. The others laugh. "Maybe when we get back. I'm going to need something strong,"

"We can put this guy in the freezer if you want us all to go with you," Lucien suggests.

"Aww," Damian turns around to look at us. He's holding a tray and a pair of tweezers.

"I'm fine. If we do need back up I'm sure B.B. can just come get you," I wave them off.

"Has she implied to any of you that we can summon her?" Vic asks. We all turn to see him cutting a slice of skin from the severed hand.

"Like Beetle Juice?" Lucien laughs.

"She said that if we think hard enough about her or want to see her bad enough, we can call her to us," he places the thinly sliced piece on a little glass dish. "Is this thin enough for you, nerd boy?"

"I think she was flattering you," Damian says going over to him with what looks like a piece of the hunter's arm.

"Let's try," Lucien clears his throat and shuts his eyes.

"That's not what I said," Jimenez laughs from the front of the lab. She has her arms wrapped around his neck while he drags her forward. Her legs are between his. He has a huge smile on his face.

"Yes, you did," she insists. "You can't just go back on your word,"

"That doesn't count," Dec laughs.

"Agreed," the others roll their eyes.

"Listo?" Jimenez asks me.

"Yeah," I nod. I take my phone and hand it to her.

"I have this for you," she holds up a little black gel tablet.

"For me?" I ask taking it.

"Yeah, for your tummy. So you don't get sick when we jump. This is a big distance and the last thing I want is for you to be sick in front of scary people from your country. I know that's important to you,"

I'm not sure what to say. I'm not used to being taken care of this way and every time she does something like this, it unsettles me. Victor tosses me a water can. I look down at it and roll my eyes. I take the tablet and watch as she takes a messenger purse and starts putting things in it. A camera. A tablet. A small keyboard. Darts. I little box. I'm guessing it's a mini first-aid kit.

"What is it you think we're going to be doing?" I ask looking down at her bag.

"It is never wrong to be prepared for the worst," she shrugs. "Carson says my paranoia is justified,"

"Always," Carson nods. She goes up to each of them and gives them a goodbye kiss.

"You're coming back," Vic glares at her when she stops in front of him.

"Yeah," she nods. "But I'm not going to see you all for a bit and when I return I have to take Lucien, Delilah, and San back to New York," she sighs and then turns to us. "Ready?"

"Yes," we both answer. She comes to stand between us and takes one of our hands in hers. I flip them off before she pops us away.

I don't really like the name she gave her ability but bubbles have been the theme of her abilities and that's adorable. It's fitting to her bubbly personality when she's not being a monster or crying. I don't know what it is about this power that makes my stomach churn. Every time she's moved me around this way I've lost the contents of my stomach. However, today is different. I feel fine.

It's early in the morning here. She didn't take us inside the way I thought she would but then again she's never been inside of the building itself. The Fringe Embassy is heavily guarded. There are crows hidden all over the place. Two of them materialize in front of us before we can make a move.

"Identification," one demands and holds up a voice box.

"Special Grade Devil 275643," I answer. "They're with me,"

"Aziz," she looks me over and then does the same to B.B. and Jimenez. She turns around and motions us to follow.

"Are there people who speak French here?" B.B. asks.

"Oui," the crow answers her. B.B. makes a low squeaky sound to show her excitement. Jimenez and I look at one another and smile. The crow looks back at her amused. "Parles-tu Francais?"

"Oui, mon père pense que les Français sont la race la plus grossière du monde donc il est amoureux de cette culture," she says clearly. The crow and I laugh because that is hilarious.

"Your dad thought the French were rude? How would he know?" she asks.

"He toured there," B.B. smirks. We stop in front of a metal detector. "Can't we just tell you we have weapons and skip this?"

"You're not allowed weapons beyond this point," the crow shakes her head.

"Then we're not staying," she shrugs and looks back at me.

"I agree," I nod.

"Are your weapons registered?" the security guard asks.

"Yes," she reaches into her satchel and hands him some paperwork.

"Put them on the belt," he hands the papers back to her.

She groans and slips off her bag. She places it in a plastic bin and proceeds to remove her leather jacket. She sets it down with the bag. She takes her guns off. The knives follow. Her phones and other s**t she has in her pockets. Jimenez laughs and starts removing his weapons as well. She walks through the metal detector making it go off.

"s**t. I forgot," she says and reaches for the knife in her boot and tosses it into the container. She walks through it again and is cleared.

"So, that's why you stayed away," the crow smirks as she watches B.B. put herself together again. I grin taking both my weapons out and walk through.

This place hasn't changed a bit. There are Hallows in uniforms walking around with their big guns on full display. I pull B.B. between Jimenez and me when I catch some of them looking her over. The crow takes us to the private elevators that lead up to the top floors where the higher-ups like to hide. When I glance back at B.B. she's sitting on top of Eve with her camera out. There's a huge smile on her face as she takes pictures of everything.

"Touristes Americains," someone scoffs at her.

"Yeah, f**k you too," she flips them off. Jimenez presses his lips together trying not to laugh. When we get to the elevator Eve sets her down and shrinks down to disappear into her clothes. "Excuse me, miss. What is this?" she holds the camera up to the crow and shows her a picture. "Brainwashing area?"

"B.B.," Jimenez warns her. The crow grins.

"That's the learning area for the daycare. Some of the Crows have degrees in animation. They create educational toons for the kids while their parents work,"

"That's cute. Um, would it be too much to ask if I can get access to those toons? I've never been to a Hallow bra-uh. Training facility and I'd like to learn,"

"Hmm," she looks B.B. over. "I'll see what I can do,"

"I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Belladonna Blackstone. You can call me B.B.," she extends her hand out.

"I know," the crow smiles and takes her hand. "My name is Calico. You can call me Cali,"

"That's a cool name," B.B. nods. "Calico,"

Calico's face turns bright red. She doesn't say a word until we get to the top floor. B.B. doesn't even notice the effect she has on everyone around her.

"You know where to go, 275643," she says holding the doors open for us.

"Will I see you again?" B.B. asks her as we walk out.

"I hope so," Calico smiles. She steps back and lets us through. I reach for her before we go any further.

"What's up?" she asks looking up at me.

"I know you're used to getting your way, Princess and you know I love giving you what you want. These people aren't like us. They're close-minded. They stick to the traditions and rules of the Fringe. They're strict and they're old. I want you to stay behind me at all times. Unless you are addressed, don't say anything. I want to know what's going on and I won't be able to focus if I have to be worried about you. Can you promise me to be a good girl?"

"Will I be rewarded?"

"Cabrona," Jimenez laughs shaking his head.

"Whatever you want," I agree.

"You f****d up," he shakes his head. I tilt her head back keeping my eyes on hers.

"Whatever you want, B. That's how serious I am,"

"Okay," she nods. "You're the boss,"

"Thank you," I brush my lips against hers. She smiles and puts the camera away. She takes a deep breath and motions me to lead the way.

There are two Reapers standing outside the Director's doors. I give them my number and wait for them to open the doors. B.B. stays a couple of steps behind me to my right and Jimenez to my left. The two of them scan the room letting me take the lead. This is the first time I take B.B. out like this with me. I've never had to deal with business B.B. I've watched her interact this way with the others but having her stand behind me feels different. It doesn't feel like I have the most important part of me protected behind me. It feels like having one of my men watching my back. No, it's more than that. It feels a lot more like she's protecting me. I glance down at my shoulder when Eve appears. She wraps herself around me protectively.

"It's been a long time 275643," Baird stands up from behind his desk. I've never been in this office. Never had to before. I was always good at my job. I don't like that he's not speaking English. Not that it matters. B.B. has been learning three different Arabic dialects. The Mesopotamian one is her favorite. "You should have come alone. You're not part of that stone. They are not your people,"

"Tell me what I need to know," I ignore him.

"I need you to stay here," he growls. Eve hisses. I turn my attention to B.B. Her eyes are pitch black but she hasn't said a single word.

"That's not going to happen," I shake my head.

"It will. You belong-"

"Touch him and I'll burn this f*****g building down with everyone in it," B.B. snaps. "He came here for answers. You're going to give them to him and we're going to leave. There is no third option,"