The bell in the front of the shop softly rang as Jess Drake was cleaning her needles, disinfecting her equipment for the next customer. The black haired woman set her tools aside and rose, white shirt flowing and jeans snug as she briskly headed out to the front of her tattoo parlor. "Well, well," Jess blinked when she saw who had come inside, "if it isn't Sally." The six foot tall women glared at Jess from where she waited by the front counter, her short T-shirt showing off the rippling muscles on her arms. "It's Sal, damn it," she scowled, "you know how I hate that name." Jess smirked, "That's why I use it." Sal growled something incoherent in the back of her throat. "I see you're still a smart ass," she scowled at Jess. "And proud of it," Jess answered promptly even as he thoughts raced. Though she hid it well she was honestly surprised to see Sal here, especially considering their history together. Once upon a time they had been good friends, back in Jess' street punk days at the club Purgatory, but all that had changed when Jess had tried to steal Sal's girlfriend. Sal grimaced, uncomfortably stuffing her hands into the pockets of her tight jeans. "I need your help," she finally conceded. "I kind of figured," Jess said, feeling tempted to make yet another smart remark. Her better instincts held her back as she waved the taller woman over to a chair up front and asked, "Tell me what I can do." "Don't trust me in the back room?" Sal asked as she sat down in front of the window. Jess turned the latch on the front door then turned back towards Sal. "Honestly no," she answered her frankly. "Fair enough," Sal acknowledged. She looked down at the floor a moment then looked up at Jess, "It involves Modred." "So what's that little bastard up to?" Jess kept her voice even. Modred was a mid-level mystic who bore more than a little grudge against Jess, especially when she took away his job with the Lady Diana. Even after Jess had fled her service Diana hadn't rehired him, instead going outside of the region to hire someone. "It's a bit of a long story," Sal nodded. A muscle in her jaw jumped as she clenched it, "We fought a few weeks ago, over something I thought was minor crap." "Modred nurses grudges," Jess remembered, "he probably built it up into something more." Sal nodded grimly in agreement. "He enchanted my girlfriend Helen," her voice was filled with pain as she continued, "a powerful lust spell. He's got her set up in a back room in Purgatory, taking on all comers..." "You're the bouncer there, why not just pound him into the turf?" Jess asked flatly, wondering what else was going on. "I can't," Sal groaned in frustration, "he's protected. He made some kind of deal with Me'erlyn, and she's watching over him." "This Me'erlyn, she's the new owner of Purgatory?" Jess asked thoughtfully, trying to recall if she'd ever met the lady. Honestly she doubted it, but you never knew in this business. "The newest front," Sal corrected, "I'd bet the place is still owned by the Lady." "Probably, it's way too useful to her in finding new employees," Jess agreed grimly. She met Sal's eyes, silently weighing the situation... despite Sal's ex going with her willingly Jess still felt bad about stealing her from Sal. She owed the woman something, of that she was sure, but she wasn't sure if that debt covered a frontal assault on Purgatory. Not to mention that this could all be a trap to lure Jess there, maybe even with Sal's cooperation. "Is there a way you can bust Helen free without fighting Modred?" Sal asked, her thoughts probably going in the same direction Jess' were. "Not easily," Jess answered, "I'd need an extended time alone with her, and there's no way in hell I could get in there unnoticed." "Fuck," Sal cursed softly. Jess looked off into the distance, her expression thoughtful. "This... all seems like odd behavior for Modred, though," she finally said. "He's a coward, when all's said and done, he wouldn't want to risk a direct confrontation with a enemy." "So is it his evil twin?" Sal said with some sarcasm. "No," Jess gave her a dangerous look, "but he might do something like this if someone else put him up to it, and he thought they'd protect him." Sal's eyes widened slightly as her thoughts raced ahead. "The Lady Diana?" she guessed, a certain amount of dread in her voice. "No, this is too close to home for her to approve," Jess said, "but maybe the mysterious Me'erlyn has something to do with it?" "But why?" Sal asked softly. "That's what I guess I'll have to find out," Jess met Sal's eyes as she said, "I'll see you at Purgatory tonight." Later that evening Jess Drake went through a bad part of town, the run down buildings and burnt out cars mute testament to how dangerous it was. The building that Jess walked up to was old, the exterior battered and badly deteriorating under the efforts of man and nature. All the windows facing the street were broken, boarded up, with layers of paint peeling off the walls, the only thing even remotely new looking being the heavy metal door someone had installed to try and keep out street people and other sorts of vagrants. The door swung open before Jess could even knock, Sal giving her a grim look. "About time." she muttered. "Modred here?" Jess asked. "He's in the room with Helen," Sal's voice was flat and angry, "basking in his having pulled a spell like this off." "Alone?" Jess smiled just slightly. "Him and a friend or two," Sal confirmed. "Good enough," Jess smiled grimly as she went inside to one of the most popular fetish clubs in town. Dressed in a black tuxedo and carrying a old fashioned wooden cane Jess looked just like a role-player, blending in with the crowd and the outlandish clothes they wore. Pushing past people in catsuits and leather, suits and almost nothing at all, the wooden cane she carried clicking as she made her way to the back. Small rooms lined the back of the club, available for various activities. Soft whimpers of pain and cries of pleasure were heard as Jess walked on, ignoring them. Instead her mind was focused on currents of magic, the patterns of energy left behind by powerful enchantments. Finding the right room Jess took a breath.. then rushed inside. Modred looked much as Jess remembered, the tall brown haired man standing over to one side and watching as a older man bit feverishly at Helen's nipples. His expression was almost bored, his jeans and shirt pristine, almost looking like he was waiting to work not visiting a dangerous club like this. The customer and Helen jerked apart as Jess entered unannounced, then he hurried from the room nervously. "Well, well," Modred gestured and two men emerged from the shadows, "that was stupid, Drake. You know you can't use combat magic in Purgatory, unlike the staff..." He smirked as the two men loomed over Jess, reaching for her. Jess smiled, "So?" "Wha.." one goon managed to get out before Jess struck, the edge of her palm striking across his throat to silence any possible spells. She kicked out from where she stood to hammer the other man in the gut, stunning him, then she went to work. With surprisingly powerful blows she dropped both men in moments, then turned with a feral gaze to Modred. "Oh fuck," Modred blurted out as Jess raced at him, using her cane to pin him up against the wall. He fought for breath, trying to get a invocation out, but Jess put a bit more tension on his throat and he shut up. "We're going to make this very simple," Jess' voice was a dangerous purr, "you're going to remove the spell on her then she and I are leaving." "I can't," Modred whimpered when Jess eased up on the pressure a moment. Jess punched him in the gut without warning, bringing forth a cry of pain. "Why not?" she growled. "The magic's not mine..." Modred gagged. "No," the woman's voice said from behind her, "it's mine." Jess punched Modred in the face as hard as she could, feeling a bit of guilty pleasure as he slumped to the ground out cold. She turned, studying the elegantly dressed woman and smiled coldly. "Me'erlyn, I presume?"
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