Prose Magica: The Ballad of the Seventeenth Part 10.5 - Nightcall

K rocked her head left and right. Her neck cracked as her helmet clicked against her shoulderpads. Gloved fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Her eyes stared at the watch wrapped around it. Three minutes past midnight. Only two left before show time.

K. The enigmatic left hand of the Seventeenth's lead Culexus. Some said she was the ghost of warmaster Brie returned from the grave. Others said she was in posession of Odette's left eye. All they knew for sure, was that she was called the Khan.

K's white suit had become a trademark of sorts. A pure white racing suit from toes to helmet underneath a white satin jacket with a golden scorpion on the back. That, and her white 1970 Dodge Challenger. The car was just as mysterious as its owner amongst the Officio. No one could figure out if she'd always had it or if it was a part of her magical girl kit - there were even rumours that it could drive itself and had a mind of its own. Some went so far as to swear they'd seen K talking with it, actually holding a conversation.

A pair of loud, booming shots rang out from inside the building. K's hand wandered to the police scanner on the dash, slowly turning the volume up.

"-possible shots fired-"

The Culexus let out a short chuckle that came out as a burst of vox-corrupted static. No matter how much he tried, the incubator could never quite manage to get the police on his payroll. Then again - she thought - if he did, she'd be out of a job.

"-approximately two minutes from location-"

K's fingers thrummed on the steering wheel. Four minutes past midnight. Any other person might have been nervous, but K was used to jackholes leaving everything to the last second. She made a deal, and a deal she would keep.

Her eyes drifted across the parking lot, still wet from the rain that had stopped just moments ago. A tall girl with long blonde hair stepped out of the building's back door first, an enormous rifle held lazily over her right shoulder. She sauntered toward the car slowly, then popped the trunk. Her eyes kept flicking back to the door nervously as she fumbled to unscrew the barrel.

K leaned over the passenger seat to open the door and flip the seat up. Her left hand tightened on the wheel as the blonde slid into the back seat. Thirty seconds.

The metal door to the building squealed open as a boyish girl with ragged black hair ran out at a full sprint. In her hands was a silver briefcase, clutched tightly to her chest. K leaned over again to flip the passenger seat back into position - just in time for the second girl to leap in and slam the car door shut behind her.

"Go, go, go!" The black-haired girl cried, trying in vain to keep her voice down.

K had already slammed on the gas by the time she reached the second 'Go'. She almost found it patronizing that her colleagues felt the need to tell her to go. As if that wasn't the entire reason she was there in the first place. K knew her job. She got a call from Holly. She told her where to be, at what time and for how long. That was it. When the timer ran out, K did what she did best; she drove.

The black-haired girl hunched over, desperate to catch her breath.

"You had me scared there for a second," the blonde said, a slight laugh decorating her words.

"I had ME scared," the other replied between breaths. "How was I, Khan?"

"Ten," the Culexus answered in monotone, her head never turning away from the road.

"Is that my score or-"

"You had ten seconds left, Fredrica," the blonde answered, speaking for the Khan.

"Shit," Freddy breathed, leaning back and placing an arm on the window sill. "The hell is this anyways?" She asked, giving the briefcase a good rattle.

"We don't ask questions, sister," Gertrude replied. "We do as we're told. Such is the way of things."

"I at least like to know who it is I'm stealing from," the black-haired Eversor grumbled, still looking the steel case over. "'s professional courtesy."

"-possible sighting on an early model white Dodge Challenger leaving the scene-"

With a single sentence from the police scanner, the car's occupants went silent. The leather of K's gloves crunched as her grip tightened around the wheel. A familiar sensation crawled up her spine. The car continued down for two more blocks before the Culexus suddenly shifted into reverse, backing the car down an alley with expert precision. The headlights went off and the car went still.

A flicker of light began to grow along the edge of the alley's mouth. The eyes of the three girls focused on it intently, none of them daring to breathe. Freddy's leg shook unconciously as she balled up both hands in front of her mouth. The police car slowly passed, K silently praying all the while that she'd parked far enough back. As gradually as it appeared, the cruiser vanished as it passed the alley. Leather crunched as the Culexus tightened her grip on the wheel.

"-Dundas and Manning clear-"

The twins breathed a sigh of relief - only to be interrupted when K suddenly slammed the car into reverse, using only the rear-view mirror as she sped backward. As soon as the alley widened into a dimly lit back street the tires screeched as she pulled a quick one-eighty.

K always tried to keep her jobs quiet. None of that action movie bullshit where the driver seemed to try his level best to attract as much police attention as possible. She could barely bring herself to see those films as comedies. Besides, K had a sixth sense for cops. And a seventh for knowing streets. And an eighth that told her how to operate any kind of vehicle as if she'd been behind the wheel for years.

Not once did she ever want to take back her wish, despite being cursed to be an existence that made others sick by her very presence. Not once, despite never being able to see her family or friends again. Not once, even on the jobs that just made her want to tie her client to the rear bumper and drag them down the highway until it stopped being funny.

Not once.

K's Challenger wove through side streets and residential districts like needle and thread. Any police cruisers that came into sight were always one step behind, just a moment too late to see the ghost car. Deep down, the Culexus wanted to try working jobs in somewhere more dangerous, where the cops came after you with helicopters and SWAT teams at the drop of a hat. Maybe she'd take a vacation to Santa Destroy some time. Just for a little spice in her routine.

There were dozens of parking garages in Toronto; only nine were connected to the Officio's parking network. Empty garages across from office buildings where the lights never seemed to go out, but no one ever entered or left. There were always a few of those in every city, K had noticed. They were often unmarked, or belonged to an obscure company that no one had ever heard of. If they had lawns, they'd seem perpetually mowed, despite no gardener ever being seen. Most of them belonged to an Officio. K idly wondered about the select few that didn't.

It took longer, but K's route was the easiest. She didn't need speed. Just a bit of stealth and patience. Soon enough, the car rolled up in front of a run-down garage just a bit too far from any major city attractions. It had an automated toll booth. K hated them, even knowing that this one wasn't entirely automated. As she rolled down her window, the Culexus jabbed a finger at the 'Request Help' button. After a short beep, a familiar voice called out from the speaker.

"How can I help you?"

"Delivery," K muttered in reply.

Hydraulics hissed as the gate lifted, allowing her entry.

"Come on through, Khan," Holly said through the speaker. "Call me as soon as you can. Got something urgent for you before you head out west."

The car bumped and bounced as it drove down into the depths of the garage. Each floor was silent and empty, an eery stillness pervading throughout. Two, three, four... Finally the Challenger rolled down to the nineth and final floor. Unlike the rest, every spot on the nineth floor was filled save one. The cars were all different though a sharp eye could tell that the license plates of each and every one ended with a one and a seven.

K rolled into the single free lot, nestled between some fancy foreign car and a pickup truck. She wondered exactly what kind of magical girl would dare drive a pickup. As if they didn't already have an image problem.

And then she remembered one who did.

The three magical girls exitted as the car came to a halt. Gertrude quietly retrieved a suspiciously heavy looking guitar case from the trunk while Freddy passed the briefcase between her hands impatiently. It wasn't until they reached the elevator that they finally spoke up.

"Guess this is it, huh?" Freddy said. "Was nice seein' you again, Khan. Say hi to Harry for me when you get home."

"Likewise," Gertrude added as she pressed the elevator's button. "It was lovely working with you."

K nodded. It wasn't until after a pause that lingered just a bit too long that she replied with a simple, curt, "Thanks. I'll tell her."

The twins nodded as they stepped into the elevator. The Culexus silently returned it, not looking away until the doors hissed shut.

Now alone in the silence of the garage, K made her way to a bank of payphones. Several were out of order, one seemed to be missing its phone entirely. The Culexus picked up one and dialled a number that had slowly been engraved in her mind over countless years.

One ring.

Then two.

"Yo," came a somber, calm voice entirely unlike the Vanus that K expected.

"Molly?" The Culexus asked. She fought to keep herself from asking what the outward-eye was doing answering Holly's phone.

A long pause followed.

"Yeah, hey Khan," the other half of the Vanus team finally answered. "Sis is a bit of a mess right now. Stuff happened. I'm covering her workload."

A second pause came as K thought for a moment. She could have sworn that she was greeted by Holly coming in to the garage. Though, it may have been Molly and K simply didn't notice. Their voices sounded nearly identical at times.

"I was told there was something urgent," K said. It was more of a statement than anything else.

"Yeah, uh, listen," the Vanus replied, seeming as though her train of thought was a bit muddled. "I need you to run a pick up job. One body bag. Disposable car. You'll be picking up one of ours in critical condition. Girl named Mona Bernard. Need you to slip in before police catch wind of it."

K didn't say a word as Molly continued, rattling off the address and a series of simple instructions.

"We don't know what happened yet. She called in, asked for back-up then passed out. Retrieve her body and soulgem, along with any pieces. You'll be driving Sue back."

The Culexus nearly dropped the phone. It had always been her dream to try driving the fastest ride in all of the Officios. But if she was returning it, then that could only mean-

"Yeah. Odette's gone. Can you do the job?"

K's only answer was a quick "Yeah."

"Good. I've already got into the police records for the gig with the twins. The official cause of the supposed gunshots was a misheard champagne cork. Nothing more."

"But gunshots don't-"

"Doesn't matter," Molly interrupted. "Get to work, Khan."

✱✱✱

It was nearly one in the morning by the time K pulled up in front of the Bernard mansion. Odette's armoured car silently stood guard outside the main gate like an enormous steel watchdog. K slid out of her borrowed Japanese sedan, the leather of her pants squeeking against the leather of the seats.

She couldn't help but feel dirty and wrong as she dropped down through the hatch in Sleepy Sue's turret. It was like cheating on her lover. The interior, K found, was not quite as the rumours said. It was not entirely hollow, in fact quite the contrary. It was cramped and claustrophobic, with all of the parts one would expect from the Puma.

K squirmed into the driver's seat with no small amount of difficulty, then took a deep breath as she rested her hands on the steering wheel. That familiar sensation wormed its way into her brain. The feeling of suddenly knowing something that she hadn't mere moments ago. She knew exactly how the vehicle worked and how to push it to peak performance.

The white-suited Culexus took the opportunity to drive a few laps in front of the gate, revelling in the feeling of achieving one of her biggest dreams. Under her helmet, she wore a grin not unlike that of a child taking the bike they got for Christmas out for its first ride. Finally deciding she'd had enough, K lined it up with the gate and just the right angle, then slammed on the gas.

Tires screeched as the armoured car flew forward. It smashed through the wrought iron with a percussive cacophany of clanging and banging. If the neighbours weren't already calling the police, K figured they would be now.

The trip up the drive took far longer than K had expected. The path wound through trees and bushes while Sue rumbled over cobblestones.

K simply stared as she pulled up in front of the mansion. The entire south side of the building was pock-marked with holes of splintered wood and plaster. Parts of it looked as though the house was barely holding itself up.

A rubber-handled claw hammer materialized in her hand as she stepped up the front door, a black body bag hefted over one shoulder. The first swing only managed to dent the door knobs. Wood splintered and caved on the second. On the third, the knobs were smashed in, allowing K to kick down the door.

The entrance hall was even more of a mess than the rest of the house. Smears and pools of still drying blood added to the rest of the scattered debris.

She needed only to follow the path of destruction to find the broken magical girl. Mona had managed to sit herself upright against one of the book cases, a smear of crimson marking the distance she'd dragged herself. K had to admire her tenacity. Even with a gaping hole in her side and a missing leg, she'd made it that far.

Quickly searching the girl, K found her soulgem: a swirling orb of purple in the centre of a silver rose pendant. A subdued and classy piece of jewelry. It seemed to fit Mona, from what little K could assume of her. The gem still looked clean enough to last a few more hours. It would be close, but K could get it to the incubator on time.

The Culexus laid the sack in front of the fallen girl and quietly unzipped it. She gently picked up the girl's body, stowing her away with care. It only took a moment to find the missing piece of Mona against the opposite wall. K placed it right where it should have been, had it been attached.

Mona's body was lifted in a gentle bridal carry - it was the most K could do for her. It wasn't until she was already at the doorway that she noticed the dead man slumped over what K could only assume was his work desk. If this was the Bernard home and the girl was a Bernard then that meant-

K shook her head. The deal was to retrieve the girl. Nothing more. She let out a long sigh, transformed into a drawn-out burst of static by her helmet. If only she could just wish away the world's suffering, she thought. If only things were that easy.

Despite this, she put one foot in front of the other and found herself leaving the building.

The night called.