Fairly Bear

Nine - Finding the lost

Barry Deckland

He was about ready to call it a night with his son, Brent. They had had a busy week, with their last shipment nearly getting sidelined by a stupid detective who had stumbled a little close to the truth of their business. They had to put in some overtime to make sure they didn’t have something like that happen again.

Of course, they could have just gotten rid of the detective, but that would mean attention to whatever she was working on, which might bring more attention to them, even if they did try to clean up all her research. They had no way of knowing if she had brought anyone else into the loop of her research, so it was more a headache than just changing their activities.

They had changed their warehouses and shipment routes, as well as their harvesting territory (which was what they called the places they abducted the women from), to be safe on all counts. Honestly, it was an irritation to have to change all their well-oiled workings, but it would probably also throw off any of their rivals.

He had allowed Tessa to take the least likely candidate to make money off and ‘escape’. It was that or dispose of the little runt. He had no idea why they’d even taken the silly little girl. His sweet and naive daughter had thought that she had somehow escaped him. What she didn’t know was that they had been following her for three years. He let her live the life she thought she wanted before he would go and retrieve her.

He had one of his trusted men keeping watch over her when she was attempting to live the life she wanted. What she didn’t know was that he had sent a few clients her way to make sure that she was well taken care of, since she refused to use the bank account that he had given her. Not once in the years since she had left, had she drawn money from that account.

“We should call it a night, Brent.” He said, but he stopped when his phone rang and he saw it was Tessa’s guard. He slid his thumb to accept the call and switched it to speaker, so Brent could hear what was going on as well.

He was worried, because this was not the weekly time he would report back on Tessa. The fact that Johnny had not kept to the usual reporting time, made Barry uneasy.

“Sir, I lost her. She went out with some girlfriends to a movie, but she just disappeared.”

“What do you mean she disappeared?” Barry asked in a low, dangerous voice, and Brent sat up straight from where he had been leaning back against the couch in his exhaustion, since he had taken the lead on moving everything.

“She looked like someone had called her and she stepped around the corner of the building, but by the time I realized it was a problem, she was gone. The only thing left was her handbag with everything in it. But there was no way for her to leave without coming back around the corner.”

“Johnny, so help me! Tessa got kidnapped while you were watching her?” He roared his anger. “Do you know the implications of this?”

“I know, sir. I looked everywhere, hacked into the cameras and there was nothing. Not a single way could she have left that area without growing wings.”

“I’m coming out there. Send me the location.” Brent spoke up with anger in his own voice as he came to his feet. Brent was protective of his little sister; he knew the value she was to them and he was a good older brother, always had been.

“See what you can find while you wait for Brent. You know the implications of this. This could be the Carver family trying to move in on our territory and using Tessa as leverage; or this could be revenge. You know Tessa knows nothing of this life.” With that he hung up the phone, coming to his feet and pacing.

His daughter was completely innocent of their dealings; he and Brent had worked hard to keep her that way. It was not completely unselfish on their behalf; it was meant to be to smooth over the plans they had in the future. Tessa had an important part to play in the future and they wanted her as compliant as possible, which is why he had allowed her to ‘escape’ and live the life she wanted.

“When you find your little sister, you bring her home. I don’t want her to be in harm’s way again.” Barry ordered his son, who had just called his second in command to get the car ready for them to leave.

Brent would take over soon, but for now, he would take care of his sister with his right hand. The kid had a fondness for Tessa that they were not sure about yet. But the kids grew up together. Chester had always treated Tessa with kid gloves; he was sure the kid fancied himself in love with her.

That meant that those two, together looking for Tessa, would leave no stone unturned and would follow any and every lead, no matter how insignificant it seemed.

“I’ll make sure to bring her home, Father. She belongs here where she is safe.” Brent promised him with a hand on his shoulder, before he hugged him and headed to the door.

“Brent!” He called when his son opened the door. He turned to face him. “Be careful out there. I have a feeling this is not going to be an easy or run of the mill kind of job. I think there’s more to this than it seems. The fact that she disappeared into thin air worries me.” He confessed with a frown.

“I’ll do what needs to be done, Father. But I will bring Tessa home.” Brent promised with a nod of understanding.

Barry watched his son go with a sigh. The young always thought they could bend the world to their demands. He had a feeling that finding Tessa and bringing her home was more than Brent thought it would be.

He had seen a few things in his fifty years of life; had lost his wife to things he had no way of explaining. He had the feeling that something like that had happened to his Tessa. He just hoped he was wrong.

Losing his daughter the same way he had lost his wife would be a slap in the face. But he couldn’t lose Tessa; he didn’t just want her home like a father wants his daughter; she would also serve a purpose in this family. After his wife’s death, he built his empire; cutting down anyone and everyone who stood in his way.

He had been angry and vengeful and had fought tooth and nail to get where he was now, but now he thought that diplomacy might take them further than they had ever been and Tessa was the key to all of that. He just hoped that Chester could keep it in his pants when they brought her back. The kid had been a tail of hers for years, being led around by his d**k because he fancied himself in love with her.

But love was a sham; Tessa had a duty and once they got her back, she would be expected to do her duty to protect and enhance the family’s future. She was the key to them rising above what they had become.

***

Unknown

He was drinking from his pet when his assistant suddenly barged into his room. He growled in anger, despite not releasing his hold on her throat. This interruption had better be good; he despised having his meals being interrupted.

The assistant, whose name currently eluded him, bowed low. “I apologize, Master. I’m afraid I have bad news.”

He sighed, realizing that he would not be enjoying his meal, so he released his teeth from her throat and ordered her to have herself seen to, knowing that his housekeeper would patch her up and feed her the meal that she deserved for her duty.

Elegantly wiping his mouth with a white embroidered handkerchief, he looked at his assistant. “What was so urgent that you had to ruin my dinner?” He enquired calmly while he glanced at his manicured fingernails.

“The company you paid to create your order has had their main warehouse raided, Master. I called Reginald and he informed me that they had had a slight hitch in their production, but would do their utmost to deliver her on time. I believe she might have been one of those removed from the warehouse in the raid the SADE task force had carried out a couple of nights ago.”

“Get Reginald on the line for me.” He hissed angrily. Were they actually giving his assistant the generic answer they give all their lowly clients? Did they understand how much he had put into their research to have the one thing no one else had? He deserved more answers and he deserved his order.

His assistant handed him the cell phone, the call already ringing. He didn’t even bother putting it to his ear when he heard the other side pick up the call. “Reginald, did you or did you not lose my order?”

“I...we...uhm...we are in the process of finding a way to get your order back, sir. We just need a little more time.”

“Why was she housed with the other lowly orders? She was supposed to be kept aside in a safe place. You kept her with the other garbage you created and then you lost her! I expect some real answers from you before tomorrow night, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir…” The voice on the other side answered fearfully and he hung up a moment later.

He stared at his assistant who was doing well to keep his eyes on the ground in front of him. Thoughtfully, he ran his thumb along his lower lip. He had no trust in that stupid Reginald; it was time he took matters into his own hands.

He was sure his order had been near completion already, judging by the reports he had been receiving. So what was to stop him from cutting out the middle man and just retrieving his order himself?

A slow, devious smile crept onto his lips at that thought. “Call in Perry. I have a job for him and his team.”

“Yes, sir.” His assistant caught the phone he casually tossed in his direction.

“Also, prepare the room; I want her to be right at home with the prettiest things a fairy could ever want. It should be ready by the time we bring her to her new home. I know this time it was a success; she will be exactly what I require. And don’t use the same room we had set up for the failure before her. I want it to be fresh and all hers; no hand-me-downs for my little fairy.”

“Consider it done, sir. Only the best for the fairy you had waited so many years for after your last disappointment.” His assistant bowed to him before he scurried off to do his bidding.

He leaned back in his seat, his thumb gently rubbing over his lower lip again as he smiled faintly at the prospect of finally having his fairy. For the first time in decades he had something to look forward to. And for the first time in centuries he allowed himself to get excited.

He was finally close to having his lifelong, century-old dream come true. He might very soon be in possession of his very own fairy, the only one left in this realm, because he had to have her created in a lab. She would be the only one of her kind and he would be the envy of every coven.

That thought reminded him that he would have to upgrade his security. He could not have every coven attempting to steal his most prized possession. She would just be his.