Chapter 2 – Offer

  “While there is mention of ‘half breeds’ as the community calls them, we do not know the full extent that hybridization actually effects them besides social standing.” – Excerpt of verbal report from field researcher to the department head for paranormal affairs.

  Kurt was still reeling a little from the unexpected situation he found himself in. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to slow the pace of his thoughts and control the situation a little more.

  Opening his eyes again, Kurt looked to the man across from him, noting his predatory smile. With an effort of will, he managed to push his immediate questions aside and focus back on the task at hand. “Ok, Let’s hear it.” The faster he heard the offer, the faster he could decide if it was worth his time.

  Agent Jay gestured to the tablet he had pced on the table and Kurt picked it up while the demon expined. “The organization I represent has been around for a very long time and is actually the merging of several orders and cults into one order or as we call it now, a company.”

  Kurt held up a hand. “Wait, cults?”

  “Well, yeah. Cults, by definition, aren’t necessarily evil, and orders aren’t always pure and filled with good intentions.” Jay said in a tone that seemed like the sentence was supposed to be followed by ‘duh’.

  “Fair enough.” Kurt said as he returned his attention to the tablet when the screen lit up.

  “As I was saying, we were formed into the Ordo Stabilitas and we have had one goal for as long as the company has existed. We want to maintain stability.” He said the st part in a very annunciated way that made Kurt focus on him again. “We don’t mean stability as in the status quo or in other social and economic ways. Frankly we look at the veil being broken as a benefit since we can be a little more open.”

  The tablet in front of Kurt dispyed a single application so he naturally clicked it. When it opened, it showed a company home page with rge, friendly letters that said ‘Welcome’ with a button just below that said begin. He pushed the button as Jay continued.

  “What we are doing is trying to prevent any of the outside influences from destabilizing things with their operatives. Oh, Operatives is what we are calling their cult members and sympathizers, you can’t say cultist and not suddenly have everyone listening in. What was I saying?”

  “We are trying to prevent outside influences…” Penny led him back on track.

  “Right! So, there are certain beings that have been trying to breach not only this realm but several of the others as well. While we have a pretty good idea of their goals, we are not certain. What we want to hire you to do is some contracting.” He turned and looked to Penny. “That’s what we are calling mercenary work and assassinations, right?”

  Penny sighed. “Haaa, yes sir.” She said in a defeated tone. “Contracting seems to be the best term for it since it also implies a steady position with the company.”

  Kurt was now reading the mission statement and core values of the company on the tables as the slide show pyed along to most of what Jay was saying. “And your company is ok with demons?” He asked.

  Jay ughed. “Haha, demon with an ‘a’ is more appropriate. Not all of us are blood thirsty monsters that prey on the souls of mortals. Besides, I think your kill count is higher than mine and I have been around since Rome still had emperors.”

  Back on the tablet, the introduction ended and a whole list of tabs rolled onto the screen. Each was beled with what he assumed was different divisions in the company. He saw logistics, political, research, development & innovation, field reconnaissance, recovery and a few others. All of the options were greyed out except the st one, Direct Action.

  “You want me to be a part of the direct-action branch?” Kurt asked.

  “Well, you are not suited for most other jobs, and I know you hate politics with a passion. Also, your previous employment had given you a rather narrow skillset that we would like to use.” Jay said.

  “Do the various governments approve of these actions?”

  “Eh, at a high enough level they do. We have all the necessary paperwork and permits to make sure that, if you do get caught, nothing will come of it.” Jay opened a folder and began to read from it. “Besides some special teams within the various agencies, you wont have much to worry about from johnny w. We also have our own procurement channels for the more exotic ordinance, so you won’t need to deal with the ATF.”

  Kurt tapped the only avaible tab and was taken to a new page outlining the responsibilities of the role and showing some of the hierarchy. He noted that there was a map broken into regions with areas highlighted. “So, you want me because I am on this side of the veil and have military experience?” He probed a bit more into why they wanted him instead of someone from a SEAL team or maybe Delta.

  “That’s part of it.” Jay said nodding along. “You are also in a good location for a field office, remote but able to access several nearby areas. The biggest reason is because you are a half breed. You have, through some impressive fate and luck, managed to have external magics and, because of you being a werewolf, have impressive internal magic.”

  Penny was nodding along and added on to what her boss was saying. “Mr. Rosk, the fact that you have both is rather rare and given the factors pertaining to your upbringing, we believe you to be a great candidate for a new program agent Jay is running. There is also some magics reted to the home and inherent rights to defend property that come into py.”

  The tablet had finished its preprogramed introduction and recruitment video by this point, and they were all sitting in silence. Kurt decided to take the lead this time. “Let’s assume that all this is true. What is the deal? What do I do and how does that make your company money?”

  Agent Jay smirked again. “Huh, normally they go right into the benefits and pay. Ok, Kurt, we can py your game.” Jay retrieved the tablet and continued. “Pretty much you will be running a field office or a sort of hub. You will be responsible for taking missions that are given to you and completing them. After you do the deed, our recovery teams roll in and clean everything up.”

  “And you think there is enough going on in northern Michigan to warrant this?”

  “Ha, hardly!” Jay ughed. “You will also get a lovely addition to your property, installed at no cost to you. These cultists have been known to try and attract small-ish pocket dimensions that we call rifts. Think of them as dungeons like in games. What we want to do is create a series of these field offices to act as magnets.”

  “When one gets summoned or tries to tch on to the world, it will instead be drawn to the device we pnt in your property. When that happens, you will go in, kill everything and take whatever isn’t bolted down. On your way out, find the core of the rift and destroy it. You then can sell us all the stuff and we will recycle it or resell it. You can also keep whatever you want but I would like you to consider selling us all the cores since they are essential to our operations.”

  “So, I pretty much will have monsters overrunning my front yard 24/7?” Kurt said in an incredulous tone. “How does anyone think that’s a good idea?”

  “Mr. Rosk, these rifts will still be in their infant days. They have not had time to consume the fabric of the world and grow. They also have a sort of one-way membrane when we attach them to one of the anchors. We can go in and out while the creatures within the pocket realm are stuck until they grow stronger and break through.”

  “Have I read this before? Wasn’t this like a movie or something?” Kurt asked. He had a feeling that this had been done before in fiction.

  “Well yeah. You would be surprised at how often things in media actually happen or are very close to what happened. Just because there are elves in lord of the rings doesn’t mean they aren’t real.” Jay said and gestured to Kurt. “Despite you not looking like an elf at all other than a slight ear shape and being a little skinny.”

  “I prefer the term ‘lean’.” Kurt said, taking the bait.

  “Sure, sure. Either way, this is the job. So, let’s talk benefits and some other details.” He pointed to the folder he had first slid over to Kurt. “If you would be so kind as to open that.”

  Opening the folder, Kurt saw a cover page titled ‘Direct Action Employee Compensation Package’. He turned the first page and saw the first number listed as annual sary. It was big, more than he made in 3 years big. But that wasn’t all.

  There were also listed other amounts like a quarterly new equipment stipend. There was a stipend for property improvements. There was even a program for repcing lost or broken equipment that was destroyed in ‘the line of duty’. Most impressive, beyond the very generous terms, was the full reimbursement for food.

  Growing up, Kurt didn’t eat much, most elves didn’t need a lot to sustain themselves and that carried over to him. After getting infected, that all changed, and he now had to eat around 4000 calories a day just to maintain himself and not be subject to wasting if he got hurt.

  “Really? Food too?” Kurt asked.

  “Yes, food for you and your entire team. There is an app that you download. Take a picture of your receipt and upload it. After about 48 hours, its back in your account.” Penny said.

  “What about taxes?” Kurt asked, curious. If they could manage to cover that, he would be sitting in a pretty good position. “I bought the property outright along with the house kit, but I still owe property taxes and all that.”

  Penny looked sad for a moment before she responded. “We have a deal with the IRS. You will never pay property taxes again, but we couldn’t manage to do anything about state sales tax.” She then perked up. “Unless you are a resident of Oregon by chance?”

  “Ah, no.”

  “Hmm, bummer.” Jay said, clearly not actually caring. “Now back to business. If you turn the next page, it outlines your schedule or as much as we can predict.”

  Kurt turned the page and saw that he would be ‘on call’ but would have official hours of 8am to 4pm. There was a very strange graph that showed what his life would look like. Best he could tell, he would get an assignment and then they would work to complete it as quickly as possible before going back to a rexed state. It seemed to be a feast or famine sort of work arrangement, but they wouldn’t be working back-to-back cases.

  “You won’t be alone of course, and you might not even operate exclusively in one area.” Jay could see the question forming before it was asked. “You will actually be assigned a handler that will help bance your workload and bring in additional teams if needed. They also help with your other needs like paperwork, errands and managing the finances. I have a feeling you will be plenty busy to start with, however. Your handler is also more a supporting ritualist than anything.”

  “And who is this handler? For that matter, you have referenced a team multiple time. How does that work?”

  “And here we get to the hard part.” Jay said with a sigh. He then hummed, thinking for a few moments “Penny here can be your handler.”

  The woman in question nearly squeaked. “M-Me? Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, why not. It’s about time you left the nest and got along on your own. Well, as on your own as you will be in the order.” He smirked and gestured between her and Kurt. “Besides, I have seen your test scores, and you are almost overqualified for the position, let alone this team.”

  “But I… I’m not even an agent, just a clerk.” She quickly shot back.

  Jay seemed to take that into consideration. “Hmm, fine. We will get that sorted out ter. But for now, let’s put ink to paper.” He summoned a pen from… somewhere, Kurt wasn’t sure. “Last page. Print, sign and date.”

  Kurt read through the rest of the contract, taking note of several key differences and finding no substantial objections. He reached out for the pen while flipping to the st page that was essentially an “I agree to the above terms” and a signature line. He signed the paper and handed it back.

  “Perfect.” Jay said, his grin slowly spreading. “Now, the fun part. Penny, please get the case.”

  “Umm, what’s the fun part?” Kurt asked.

  “This.” He said and snapped his fingers.

  Instantly, Kurt froze. Jay had cast a spell so quickly that Kurt didn’t even see it form. He couldn’t move a muscle except for breathing. He could vaguely see Penny out of the corner of his eye. She was opening a case with several vials in it and what looked like an injection gun.

  “What is his blood type?” Jay asked as he reached for the case.

  “A pos. dash L.” She responded, a strange inflection in her voice.

  “Want to do the honors?” When Penny shook her head, he shrugged and inserted the vial into the injector. “Alright, you will feel a slight pinch.” The demon then pressed the tip to Kurt’s neck and pulled the trigger.

  A slight pinch was the understatement of the century. Kurt had been shot before and a bullet had nothing on this. The initial injection wasn’t bad but the flowing and crawling sensation that followed was the awful. It felt like he had something alive under his skin and Jay expined exactly why a moment ter.

  “Please don’t panic, this is part of the initiation, or onboarding as we call it these days. What I gave you was an injection of nano machines that are going to form a sort of network over your mana channels. They will also create a pseudo neural interface that you will be able to access after a little while. That interface will allow you to interact with the machines in much finer detail after they are done refining your pathways.”

  “You are a sort of ritual caster, correct? Oh, right can’t talk. Well, these little bots will allow you to build a library of spells that you can then instantly cast at any time. There are actually more injections that will give other effects but let’s save that for ter.” Jay smiled as he returned the vial and injection gun to the case.

  He then watched Kurt for a few moments longer and, after gncing at his watch, cancelled the spell. Kurt about fell forward onto the table. The itching sensation was completely gone, and he no longer felt any pain but the memory of it made him shiver.

  “Hey, fuck face, you could have warned me!” Kurt shouted while rubbing at the injection site. “Besides, I don’t think those bots will py nice with my infection.”

  “We have found a way around that. This formu was actually made with half breed shifters in mind. It will also help with your little aversion to shifting.” He then snapped his fingers. “Speaking of.” He waved his hand in a circle in the air and drew a few sigils with his index finger. A moment ter a shimmering, red bordered, portal began to open, floating a couple inches off the ground. He dialed his phone and spoke into it a second ter. “Please send over agent Kraknovi.”

  Kurt watched the portal for another few seconds until a shape began to appear within. It was illuminated by some sort of glow within the portal construct. He could see a faint outline that grew steadily clearer as it walked forward. Just before the image completely resolved, a person broke through the surface of the portal.

  The woman that stepped through was certainly a looker in Kurt’s opinion. She had dark, bck hair that framed a narrow, pale face with light brown eyes. She was slight of figure and walked with a silent grace that reminded him of a cat stalking its prey. As she stepped fully into the room, he could see that she was a full head shorter than him… if you discounted the white tipped, bck furred ears that stuck up another couple inches from her hair. Then he saw the tail.

  There was a white tipped, bck tail that flickered back and forth behind her. It gave off the impression that she was nervous or perhaps cautious. Kurt then noticed that the backs of her hands had a light coating of midnight bck fur that ended just before the elbow. Gncing down, he then saw that her feet were digitigrade paws and covered in the same fur.

  “A kitsune?” He asked, looking to Penny who nodded.

  “What we are calling a dark kitsune. Well, I would just call her half, but you know how the rumor mill is, the name just sorta stuck.” Jay commented as he pulled out the 4th chair for her. “Kurt, I would like to introduce Agent Theakval Kraknovi. You go mostly by Val, right?” He said the st part to her for confirmation.

  “That is correct, Agent Jay.” Val said in a sweet voice that held none of the contempt that kitsune were known for. She then turned to Kurt. “It is nice to meet you, Agent Kurt.” She said with a soft smile.

  “I have to ask. What is the other half that makes you a dark kitsune?”

  “Dark elf.” She said happily with a borderline adorable head tilt and ear flick.

  “Oh, another half elf.” Kurt said. He was slightly taken aback since he had only met one other half elf, as they were very uncommon in this realm.

  “And what are you, if I may ask?” She said.

  “Half elf, half human.” He said.

  “Oh, gonna leave the rest as a fun little surprise?” Jay snarked from his side of the table.

  Getting the questioning look from Val, Kurt cleared up the unspoken question. “Werewolf.” He then shifted his arm to dispy the long dark grey fur and long, cwed fingers. He thought he managed to hide his clenched teeth and the pain pretty well but was sure Jay picked up on it.

  Val’s eyes went wide, and she looked to Jay. “I thought elves couldn’t be infected and only humans could?”

  “Yeah, turns out that it works on half humans too.” Kurt said. “I was as shocked as everyone else. That being said, there are some differences between me and most wolves.” That was very true and very uncomfortable for Kurt. Where most werewolves were bulky and packed with dense muscle, Kurt was not. His wolf form was lean and thin, looking almost too skinny. He still had the strength, speed and extra height but none of the dense mass that was useful in a takedown.

  “Oh.” Was all she said as she looked down at her hands folded in her p. Kurt could see a very faint smile on her lips as her nose twitched.

  “This won’t be a problem, right? The whole fox and wolf thing” Penny asked nervously.

  “Eh? Oh, no I don’t think so.” Val said, looking to Kurt “Just as I am not exactly a fox, Agent Kurt is not a full wolf. We each have our instincts that come from that side but those are typically a secondary consideration at best.”

  “Fantastic.” Jay said as he gnced at his watch. “Ok let’s wrap this thing up and get you kids on your way.” He then typed a quick message into his phone and returned his attention to Kurt and Val. “So, it’s currently Thursday I say we get you rolling on Monday. I can have all the equipment delivered by tomorrow morning and a crew installing everything on Saturday. That will give you a few days to get ready with food and whatnot.”