Chapter 23

My condo was too small to hold everyone, especially our new possible add-ons who acted like they weren’t going anywhere. DB needed extra space so he always over-bought or rented when it came to housing.

He offered to host.

I hadn’t even looked at my Marble or Lockbox until the gathering. My Marble was a bonus to any curse related effect. Cait was going to steal another one from me. All of us were funneling our curses or curse improvement Marbles to her. She even placed an ad on my site with trade offers. Pretty much anything was accepted. The rest did likewise, but since their professions were common, not ultra-rare like hers, they had no takers. Not even Kate received any takers.

“Normally, we get together after a major run to trade and show off our loot. That knucklehead messed that up,” Heather opened while sipping her wine. Everyone besides me had an alcoholic beverage in hand. I wasn’t allowed.

My mock glower harmlessly passed by Kate. I gave up trying and drank my Coke, not that I minded. I preferred Coke to beer.

“I’ll start this time. Cait, what do you have for me?”

She grinned, knowing I had a Curse. More Armor Piercing in exchange I suspected and was proven correct.

“What does that make your AP now, Jase?”

“65%,” I laughed. For the first time in a week, that didn’t hurt.

“What the hell?” Matt questioned for those just joining us.

“Forget it, just acknowledge that he is broken and move on,” Nat defended slash attacked me away from Matt’s probing.

“What else did you get?”

I pulled out a Silver chest, “Just this.”

“Fucker where did you get that from?”

“Ghoul Lords have those in their heads. Does anyone think it is worth the price?” No, Ed was still unhappy with me from that tone; that glower was not faked either.

Neither was David’s frown. A different matter, for a different day.

“What about Keys?” Beau asked.

“That fucker hordes them.”

“Last Silver one. No one is trading them or selling them anymore, outside of huge gobs of cash.”

“Last one, how many did you have?”

“Three in total.”

“Jason bought them cheap before anyone knew what they were,” Jude sold me out. “Can you believe he bought a Silver Key for 50,000 Dollars and a Gold Key for less than a thousand Silver?”

Thanks, Jude, now I was public enemy number one. And it was the other way around. Kinda.

“A Gold Key?”

I showed them my shiny Gold key, not letting it out of my grimy paws when Marshawn reached over to steal it.

“Nope.”

“Just open it already,” Nat was getting impatient.

Inside were two diamond-studded earrings, one Gold one silver. And four playing cards. I just knew that they were all jokers.

I passed the Jokers around for everyone to see. Heather and Ed frowned at me. Toff had had one used on him, so he knew what they were, just had not seen one.

“Holy shit! You can get millions just for one of these things.”

“And you got four!”

“I know some people that will pay good money for these Jason. If for nothing else than to get their ACLs repaired or a herniated disk fixed,” Austin suggested seriously.

“Talk to Heather and Ed, they are the ones that have the criteria for distribution of those.”

“What? You have others?” DB sounded bewildered.

“Had. Toff there,” I gestured at our oldest teammate, “got one. Have you ever considered that he is older than 30?”

“Here, I thought you were bright.” Cait chimed in. She had a crush on DB. Even though she was a third of his size, his last question made her want to slap him on the back of the head. It was plain as day from her expression.

“Fuck.” That information caused a ripple.

“Fuck the gift cards, what else did you get. Don’t think I didn’t see you shove something up your sleeves.” Nat was colorful as ever.

They also watched me closer now when opening boxes.

“A silver earring of Poison Resistance.” I flourished. My agility wasn’t as good as Ed’s but it was still more than decent.

Aaaannnndddd the crowd goes silent.

I was shocked, too but had at least seen the full list before, unlike five of those present.

“What the fuck?”

I agreed with Toff’s opinion.

“This one, I’m keeping. The next I will auction off. No real money, just nuggets, Skills, and toys will be accepted in trade.”

“Jason,” Ed warned me, not to go too far.

“You don’t even have pierced ears,” Jude complained.

“I’ll pierce them for him later, now hush,” Kate volunteered her services on my behalf, quite willingly too.

“Don’t forget boys and girls. We all need Ed like shirts. So, keep that in mind when bidding”

“A Gold earring of,” being a dick, I paused for dramatic effect. They were not pleased. “Fire Resistance. The number one Mage Class boys and girls.”

“Holy Shit!” Heather was not the only one who swore, hers was just the loudest. And quickest.

“The list price for this beauty is 10,000 silver nuggets. I need to go to the loo. Bidding will start in fifteen minutes.”

“Jason don’t you fucking go anywhere,” Heather was not pleased with my artificial delay.

I really did need to go.

“I have a Force Multiplier Marble, Jason.”

I didn’t need to go that bad.

“Sold.”

“Sorry guys. I won’t take any other offers.” I hurried to the bathroom and let Heather spill the beans on what Force Multiplier was. That bitch had been holding out on me. She was a fire Mage and didn’t even use a melee weapon...

Having +10% damage when using any weapon on a non-spell assisted attack was huge. That marble made it a +20% now...

Nat and Mat were bickering again when I returned from the bathroom. I swore that those two were cat and mouse.

Bruce called me up for a walkthrough through the framed and roughed-in house. He was ahead of schedule by twenty days. Good for me, bad for the industry as a whole. New house construction was down across the board all over the world. With the uncertainty of Gates, people were renting more and more.

Hell, even licensing and inspection times were down. I mentioned going to my new house at the party the day before, and suddenly Ed was driving and Jude was in the back seat. Kate bemoaned her class and Heather still had an obscene amount of paperwork piled up.

Toff was teaching the mercs at UE, his favorite downtime activity. Said it made him smile ... watching everyone else sweat.

Nat, Mat, Francis, Austin, and Marshawn were in Macy’s, hunting undead and building up teamwork.

“What’s up with Nat, she didn’t even complain about being the only one running with Matt’s team?” I asked.

“She likes Matt,” Jude replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Probably to her it was.

“Are you three okay with that?” I asked while descending the stairs to the basement. They still had not even begun framing my man cave.

“It has always been a possibility. We will still be sisters.”

That made sense. More than all three hunting after the same guy.

My companions made notes and comments. Ed, in particular, was not sure about the size of the bathrooms. When I inquired what would be a better size. I was enlightened about Taj Mahal-sized bathrooms and their allure. Jude didn’t disagree.

“Would you be willing to give up closet space for a larger bathroom?” I asked despite myself.

“Not closet. Maybe secondary bedroom width.” Was Edna’s considered evaluation of what I needed from a master bedroom and bath.

“What would you do differently here?” I pointed at the bathroom shared between the second and third bedrooms.

“Move this wall in six inches and cut off the linen closet by four inches, you don’t need one that deep.”

“That bedroom is wide enough to take some.” The second one Jude meant.

“I can do that,” a voice behind us spoke.

“Hold on to that thought.” I asked my builder. “What else?”

There were a few other changes. My office was off-limits, I had specific requirements for that. The rest of the bedrooms they had suggestions for.

“What do you think?” I asked Bruce.

“I can do the bathroom and those two closets. The third one is a little shallow looking at it now.”

“How much and how long?”

“Two extra weeks. Four thousand dollars. Maybe up to fifteen.” Counter length, tile, bathtub, shower were all expensive addons.

“Do it.”

The changes on the main floor would take too long and cost way too much. The ones I accepted were mostly moving open frame walls, and none of them were load bearing.

Blueprints were snagged, initialed, and out, then the three of us went to lunch while Bruce made some calls.

I was still under budget and ahead of schedule.

I crossed my fingers.

Jude complained that I was playing favorites over a three-inch thick pizza slice during lunch.

“I’ve been looking. When I find something perfect for you, trust me, you will get it.”

“I’d better.” Jude had really wanted Ed’s shirt. Ed needed it more. We all recognized that. I needed one too, but I had significantly more health than my redheaded partner did. Over double, maybe even triple.

A good looking, mid-twenties woman pulled out a chair and joined us. Uninvited and unasked. Short blonde hair, light blue eyes, moderately pretty, very erect posture. Wearing casual dressy attire. And very similar to all of the rest of the mercenaries.

Someone was trying not to stand out. Even if she did.

If she wasn’t military intelligence, I would eat my helmet. Same with being a Hunter.

“May I join you? I’m Natasha.”

“Who let you sit here?” An irritated Jude asked our uninvited guest.

Ed’s lack of reaction confirmed my suspicions.

“Give her a chance, Jude. So, what brings you over to our table, Natasha? I don’t know where the moose is.”

A patronizing smile graced me. She had to have heard similar non-jokes a million times already.

“We have a letter for you. Actually, we have a scroll for you.”

My hackles rose. Jude was a study of how not to react. Ed did better than both of us.

“I’m glad I have the right man. I loved your demonstration. Unfortunately, all too many Hunters are still going to LA.”

“Thanks.” For the information, not the compliment. “I knew that some would still go.”

“You don’t have to go yourself. We are sending some of our own people.”

“What do you want from Jason?” Ed straightforwardly asked.

“Me, nothing much. I was just curious to meet him, she responded to Ed’s question. To me, “I hope one day we can do a run together. But my ‘bosses’ need to meet with you. Like I said, we have a scroll for you.”

“From whom?” Ed again.

Stabbing my pizza with my fork and taking a small bite, “The sausage is very good here. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to say.” Placing a card on the table, “My offer of joining your team, any of them, stands. I assure you; I will not be a liability.”

Patting her mouth with a napkin, the woman, the military intelligence officer, thanked us for our time, thanked me for sharing my meal, and smoothly walked away. Too smoothly. She had high physical stats. Probably close to Ed’s.

We all disappear from our section of the restaurant. I noticed the curves and grace. I bet Ed was evaluating her martial arts capabilities. Something I could not do.

“Who does she think she is?” Jude was not happy.

Ed wasn’t either, yet for different reasons.

I wasn’t sure about either aspect. I felt that ‘Natasha’, was a blend between Heather and Edna. Slightly prettier than both, maybe not Ed when she went full-bore, but an 8 or so. She had a supremely fit and toned body, slightly larger breasts than Ed. Equal to Heather, or slightly larger. Her outfit didn’t reveal enough...

And she was intelligent. A 7, I’d guess on the Status scale. That stab of my food, gave me an impression of playfulness and confidence. I had to admit, she probably would fit in.

The girls would be an issue since they would feel threatened by just about everything ‘Natasha’.

“Jude, later,” Ed ordered. I agreed with Ed. Our meal still needed to be finished. All three of us were physical types, with heightened endurance and strength. We all needed a ton of calories every day.

I glanced at the card, it said all I needed to know. The Federal building 21^st floor, tomorrow at 9:00.

Showing it to Ed, she just nodded and kept eating. Jude was pissed with our laidback attitudes.

Heather agreed with Ed, I didn’t have a choice.

Wearing a shirt, tie, and slacks, I arrived at suite A at 8:55 AM, I wasn’t used to taking the EL to work that early in the morning and it had taken longer than expected.

I buzzed and was let in by a familiar pretty face in a three-button blazer over a white button-down shirt. The single silver shoulder bar meant she was a Lieutenant; First, I thought.

“Thank you for coming Jason. Would you like a Coke or water?”

“Water is good.”

Snagging a bottled water from a mini-fridge, Natasha led me passed a few closed and curtained offices to the rearmost one. A single knock and she walked in, unasked.

At the head of the table, an Army General stood on my entry, along with two other officers flanking him; one male and one female. They were not all Air Force like Natasha; the older woman was Army, the man a Marine.