Law of Family- Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2- Making an Entrance

It took a few minutes for me to make sure he was sober enough to deliver the passcode. After the sixth time that he messed it up when trying to repeat it to me, I thought about just going with plan B. I mean that door couldn’t be that think. With a little bit of KI enhancement, I should be able to take it down.

The thing was that while my telepathy skill was still only at 10, I could at least identify that there were four minds inside that room. That didn’t count Lambert, so even if one was the boss, that meant three guards. Criminal guards, especially those who feel secure, are not exactly known for their vigilance but that didn’t mean they couldn’t react to the door exploding inward.

People tend to let down their guard even more when mundane things happen. Someone with the passcode was likely to put them at ease. My hope was that would buy me the extra couple of seconds I might need to disable the guards inside. I had a couple of alchemical surprises for them but needed time to deploy them, and since I didn’t know for sure who the important people were, I didn’t want to indiscriminately kill.

As I took up position outside the door while Jackie prepared to knock, Josie spoke into my mind. “I still think I should be the one to go in.”

I smiled. “I want someone we can question, but if I need a room sliced and diced or flambe then I’ll let you go.”

Her mental growl reminded me of other times she growled for me. Having Josie as both my deputy and lover was complicated at times, but so totally worth it. Besides, we were still finding our feet in this relationship. “You’re more important than any piece of information we could obtain. I don’t like you taking these risks.”

“I don’t like it when you put your pants back on in the morning, but you don’t hear me complaining.”

“Be serious. And you do complain- every morning.”

 “Okay, shhh, gotta focus. He is at the door now. If things go bad you have my permission to come in and burn it all down.”

The sense of contentment that she sent back at that statement was both exciting and a bit scary. Josie was one hell of a fire mage and there weren’t many if any who could stand up to her in a one on one, no holds barred fight. But I had to focus instead of being distracted by our budding relationship.

I crossed my fingers that Jackie wouldn’t screw this up. The monkeykin knocked on the door. The slate opened and my enhanced ears heard, “Who the f are you? Piss off you drunk.”

It would have been so much easier if I could have just heard what was going on inside, but something prevented that the door opened. So, I was stuck hoping a drunk monkeykin could remember his lines.

Lambert said, “I knows the passcode. Needs to let me in.”

The guard behind the door shut the slate. That cut off my ability to hear anything further. My telepathy told me the minds were still in the room, but nothing beyond that. A second later the slat opened again, “Okay, one chance and then I’m gonna hang you up by your tail.”

Jackie stumbled back a bit. The funny thing was that I knew he could fight like the dickens. Had given me a fair number of bruises the first time I met him, before we came to an understanding. If push came to shove, I’d put my money on Jackie over the cowkin guard inside, even if he was drunk. Heck, maybe because he was drunk.

The guard asked, “Did you decide which type of meal you want?”

Moment of truth. Jackie appeared to stumble again before holding up his head and saying, “I want it like that.”

The slat slammed shut again and I moved into place. Either the gig was up and they were gonna ignore Jackie or the door was about to open and this was my opportunity. The seconds drug on as I poured KI into my legs. I still couldn’t match Josie’s speed but with enough KI I could do a decent sprint. I would have been able to lap Usain Bolt at least for a short distance.

Jackie pounded on the door. “Let me in. I said it right. Let me in. I want my bottle.”

Shit. He was totally gonna ruin this. Hmm… Plan B it was. Then the door opened. The broad chested cowkin guard was there but behind him was a much smaller catkin. If I was right, then I had just gotten really lucky. That was McLean one of the leaders of the Back Street Boys.

No time for hesitation. I erupted from my hiding spot and streaked the thirty feet to the entrance, never slowing down. The guard was completely unprepared when I slammed into the half open door after pushing Jackie out of the way. The cowkin moo’d in protest and held his hand. Meanwhile the catkin displayed astounding agility as he leapt backwards.

Instantly, the room was sheer chaos. Another catkin and a wolfkin were sitting at a small table playing cards. Up against the wall, Lambert was holding ice to his head while he sat in a small chair. As soon as he saw me, he shouted, “Sheriff.”

It was too late though. I ignored Lambert as I threw the two vials that we in my hands. The first one hit the table and exploded into a gray foam. It expanded faster than the eye could follow trapping the wolfkin in a thickening substance. The catkin managed to get away, but only partially. His left foot was still caught in the insta-crete bomb as it hardened.

The second vial was intended for the cowkin. Insta-crete was great but anything with a Strength over ninety could break free even if it slowed them. My formula still needed some improvement. But this one hit much better. The second vial hit the door guard square in the chest as he stumbled backwards from my impact. It exploded into a fine green mist.

I hadn’t been able to make the tear gas clouds large enough for crowd control, but it was both far more potent and tended to be very cohesive. A thick green cloud clung to the cowkin and he immediately began to cough uncontrollably as a mucus reaction as triggered in wide nose.

Anyone who thinks you can just muscle through tear gas has never met my concentrated formula. So far it had been enough to drop every thug I hit with it to their knees. This time was no different. I let him suffer and he tried wiping the stuff out of his eyes and nose only to make it many times worse.

McLean wasn’t still during all of this. He must have seen how this fight was going down and decided against taking his chances. A sliding door in the backwall opened and he stepped through it, but not before he managed to toss, Lambert at me.

The foxkin stumbled into me, but an empowered kick knocked him out of the way. I raced for the sliding door before it could close but at the last second, I had to jump to the side as I heard the sound of a throwing knife being pulled from its leather sleeve. I barely managed to hit the ground and roll behind the desk as one, two, and then three four inch blades thudded into the wood where I had been standing an instant before.

I cursed. The catkin guard might be stuck but his hands were free so he was able to make a nuisance of himself. I stood up from behind the desk and with a herculean burst of energy kicked it hard enough to send it flipping through the air at the catkin. I shouted, “Dodge that, pussy cat.”

Of course, with his foot stuck, he had no recourse. He threw another knife while the desk was mid-air. I’m not sure why because it did absolutely nothing. Then he yelped as the sturdy wooden desk slammed into him. I followed right on top of the desk to finish them both off.

At the same time, I sent out a telepathic cry to Josie, “McLean got away. There was a hidden door into he brothel. Go in the front and try to catch him. I have to clean up here and then I’m coming in the backway.”

The catkin was groaning in pain as held onto a clearly broken arm. I didn’t have time for this and justice in Yonderton was far swifter than I was accustomed to on Earth. I had pulled the short sword and fighting baton I used from my spatial storage. A smash to the side of his head dropped him and a quick thrust into his throat with a twist ensured he wouldn’t become a problem behind me.

I quickly assessed if the other two guards were any sort of threat. The insta-crete would likely hold the wolfkin for at least another hour before it began to break down. That would be enough time for me to get McLean if I was going to get him at all. By this point the cowkin was mewling on the ground. At the moment he was probably wishing I would put him out of his misery.

The gas would disperse in another minute or so and he would be out of it for a couple more after that. I grimaced as I realized it wasn’t near long enough. With a sigh I stepped towards him. I hadn’t made him chose a life of crime but I’d do what was necessary to protect my town. As he lay huddled on his knees his head against the floor in his hands, I came up behind him. A quick empowered thrust of my blade into the back of his neck, severed his spine and ended his suffering in an instant. At least it was merciful, which was probably far more than many of the things he had done.

I headed over for the wall and started feeling for a hidden latch. A hand grabbed at my foot and I looked down to see Lambert.

“Don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.”

I was about to snap that I wasn’t going to kill him, but then I realized, that might not be true. It was still a reflexive action to think in Earth terms, even if I was learning to respond based upon Olimeran realities. “Then how do I get through this wall?”

He clutched at my ankle harder and started to grovel. This might be real, but then I thought about Josie’s super sharp claws. Having his hand or paw or whatever wrapped around my ankle wasn’t safe. I doubted he could kill me, but I certainly didn’t want have him cut my leg open. I jerked my leg away from him as I stepped back far enough to buy me time to act.

Lambert continued to plead. “Please, please. I don’t know how the door works. But I’ll do whatever you ask. You can have the money I collected tonight. It’s almost ten platinum.”

I shook my head in disgust. A platinum was about the equivalent of $1000 on Earth. It wasn’t the best bribe I’d been offered yet, but even if I was so inclined, there was no way I would take money which had been stolen from honest shopkeepers. “Like, I would take your dirty money. Now, either tell me something I want to hear or you aren’t of any use to me and we both know what that means.”

He was on his knees now, blubbering. It was really pretty pathetic. If I didn’t miss my guess, he was currently pissing himself. That took me back for a moment. Was I really that terrifying? I was supposed to be the representative of Sativa and the standard for law and order. Had I started to go too far? No, I couldn’t let my thoughts go that way. Every second I wasted here mean McLean was getting further away.

I pulled out my cuffs and bound him firmly to the heavy desk. There was no way that a foxkin would be strong enough to break free from that, not in the short term at least. “I want a list of all the merchants you stole from tonight along with how much you took from each of them. Then when I get back, I’m gonna take that list and deliver their money back to them. But don’t misjudge my mercy. This is your second chance. I believe in second chances, but not thirds. So, get right and find a real job or next time this won’t go so well for you.”

He continued to blubber and assure me how he would turn over a new leaf while profusely thanking me for sparing him. I simply tuned him out. The wall seemed sturdy. My first instinct was to empower my arms and then beat my way through. I could do it, but didn’t know how long it would take. My Durability was only up to 49 so, I’d just as likely break some bones doing it. Healing potions would take care of that, but it would still suck.

Then another idea came to me. I channeled KI into my arms but then sent it down into my fingers. Rather than trying to increase their toughness, I focused on increasing their sensitivity. It stood to reason that if I could enhance my hearing or vision, that I should be able to augment my tactile senses.

If this worked, I could think of other much more fun applications for the technique but I had to push that thought out of my mind. Work first, then fun. I ran my hands over the wall. The increase in sensory details was astounding. I could feel every tiny divot, every twist and bend in the grain of the wood.

There was a miniscule gap in the wall which showed where the door was. The craftsmanship was excellent. I couldn’t see any difference with the naked eyes, but my fingers were telling me a different story. Now, I just needed to find a triggering mechanism. I slid my hands all around the sides of the door and still, I almost missed it. It was just very subtle, not like a simple pressure plate. That would have been too easy. Instead, what I found was another place where there was just the tiniest breadth of space around an area on the wall.

It was only two inches across but the round shape was too perfect to be an accident. I pressed my fingers into it and began to slowly twist it. It moved smoothly, but I never would have found it normally. There was a click and then the sliding door opened again. It was dark on the other side but nothing that my eyes couldn’t handle.