We were tasked to discover and, if it's within our abilities to do so, stop these new, “fresh out of the hedge” changeling kidnappings from happening. Sylvan told us to go talk to this dude named Ugly Archie, a hopeful Spring Court applicant who hangs out at Glamour Shots frequently.
Holden went in to find him and bring him out to talk to us while disguised like a Beasts/TrueFriend (Welsh Corgi). I think Ugly Archie must've been very confused, but anyway he came out into the parking lot with Holden and we all went for a walk and talked about his recent ordeal.
We were told that there's this vinyl clothes bar called the Tickle and Spank that he had gone to right after emerging from the Hedge. Some cute girl named Nicky wearing a short vinyl miniskirt and fishnets picked him up there. She took him back to her place and when she and her thugs tried to take him back into the Hedge, he spiked the old woman (Wizened?) that was with them and ran. Luckily, he managed to escape. In fact, he's the only one so far known to have escaped.
So, we decided to go check out this dive. For some unexplainable reason, we sent Tim in to be the bait. When nothing happened after about an hour, Holden and I decided to go in too. I changed clothes first though, putting on some of Tim's generic boy-clothes in order to appear completely out of place.
Some guy came up to hit on me. He pulled the exact same stunts that the girl Nicky had on Ugly Archie, so I went on high alert. During all of this I noticed Holden get the shit smacked out of him from the girl I suppose he suspected, so it didn't much look like he was doing too well as bait. At this point I didn't even see Tim anywhere. No SMSes yet. Owel.
The guy, Nathan Powers, snuck some drug into my beer while he thought I wasn't looking. Twice I pretended to drink some, the second time being a “large” gulp. I think I'd fooled him. I started yawning at regular intervals too, but tried not to overdo the acting though, since I wasn't that great at it. When he finally asked to go back to his place, I told him sure, but that I had to pee first. At this point I headed to the bathroom and SMSed all three of the guys telling them to get their asses out into the car and get ready to follow us nowNowNOW.
Once outside, Nathan helped me into his Land Rover. I feigned falling asleep against the passenger window. Before we could get going though, someone threw a rock at his car and busted the back window. It ended up being Jacob. Nathan got out and argued with Jake in the parking lot quite loudly for several minutes, and then Nathan hopped in and sped off with me still in the passenger seat. I continued feigning sleep as he stopped and dropped me off on the side of the road. Fortunately, the guys were fairly close behind and picked me up.
Come to find out, Tim had taken the car off somewhere to go screw some stupid hobag. What the…? We're in the middle of WORK, you know! This is NOT play time. I'm damn lucky that Jake was able to stop Nathan with just the rock he threw since the guys had had no car to follow me in. Realistically, I should be captured or dead or raped or whatever he was planning to do right now; I'm glad Jake enough wits about him to figure out a way to delay the situation enough to get me out of it.
But now, of course, we've lost the lead we had on Nathan. I don't know if I can salvage this situation from the shambles that Tim's carelessness has left my persona in. Even inspecting his house later did not convince me that he wasn't involved (it doesn't make sense to me for him to take his victims to his own house), as he used the same techniques as Nicky, and there's no way they'd send a girl to pick up another girl with sex appeal. Hopefully I will run into later and be able to convince him that I woke up back at the Tickle and Spank and couldn't remember what happened. And that Jake was just some drunk guy who had the wrong person.
But more importantly, time to vent. Is this flippant attitude exhibited by Tim toward our duties this night the kind of thing the Summer Court looks for in its members? Color me skeptical. If he can't follow orders and do what he is tasked to do in a competent and focused manner, then there is probably no way the Summer Court would ever accept him as a member. Business is business, play is play. They should not intermix. He should've just gotten her phone number and called her back within the next week when we weren't working.
Because of this close call, I was jittery and agitated for the rest of the night. My Pride was sorely hurt, I had done well at something I suck at (socializing), but all my good effort had gone into the toilet due to circumstances outside my control. I was also annoyed and scared that a team member of ours would care so little about the rest of us that they'd do something that put us all, and me in particular this time, in grave danger.
Anyway, the next day we returned, and all of us went in this time. The one who got picked up by Nicky was Tim. Even though it's because he's so obviously gullible, I was still irritated that he was the one she picked because I felt he didn't deserve to be allowed to make up for yesterday so easily. And then of course to have it be a success in the end was the final nail in the coffin for my ego. Gee, thanks.
Anyhow, once I noticed a chick fitting Ugly Archie's description of Nicky head up to talk to Tim, I hurried myself outside and got the car started up and ready to go. I SMSed everyone else to get out here ASAP. I then watched the front door like a hawk, ready to speed off when Nicky tried to leave with Tim. Jake and Holden jumped in the car with me as Nicky drove Tim away, and we followed sneakily behind them.
I was able to tail them without them noticing, but that prevented me from following them under the apartment complex gate. The gate closed so I let the guys off at the gate, and they ran after the truck, while I dumped the car at the front office parking lot and ran after them all.
I saw Jake and Holden trying to break down the apartment door as I ran up, so I charged with all my speed and together, between my momentum and their assists, the bar snapped off the inside wall like it was plastic and the door went flying in.
We saw all four of them then. Tim was wrangling with the HUGE guy who had a shotgun, a lava guy was standing nearby, and Nicky and the old lady took one look at us and ran through the Hedge door that was open.
I was tempted to follow them and stop them. REALLY tempted. But damn it, Tim was getting his ass pummeled so I went after the big guy on him instead. Holden went to block the hedge door using his riduculous size. Since Tim seemed to have the big guy's shotgun at this point, I instead tossed Tim's gun to Holden. I had my knife in my other hand and stabbed at the big guy on Tim. Didn't do much good. Holden fired the gun. I couldn't see Jake from my angle so I had no idea what he was doing.
I dropped the knife and instead went in for a grapple on the big guy. With both Tim and me on him, we were able to slow him down. I ended up immobilizing him with a hold and letting Tim pummel the shit out of him. I heard Holden fire again, and felt lavaguy-bits splatter everywhere. Eww, good god. But not before he managed to light the couch on fire. Shit.
Eventually Tim conked the big guy unconscious. I immediately went to put out the couch blaze before it got out of control.
Tim looked pretty hurt. I glanced at the Hedge doorway. There's no way I'm not going to at least TRY to catch the old woman and Nicky. I should be able to track them in the hedge. And they shouldn't put up nearly as much of a fight as these two bruisers. I think I will pull Jake along with me if he is agreeable, and send Holden with the injured Tim to take the big guy back to Sylvan for questioning. Well, and to clean this disgusting gore up as much as possible before the cops get here.
I got out my brass knuckles and perched in the Hedge doorway, staring at the path before me. It had been about a minute since the two had scurried off into the thorns. When was it, I wondered, that I had become such a heartless monster? Hunt them down and kill them all? Violence is the only way? How could I not even react to the gory mess that used to be lavaguy? Maybe the person I am now is more in line with Summer Court's beliefs? But is that really the person I want to be?