Jess frowned, drinking some of her glass of orange juice as the
pajama clad woman read her morning paper. 'Gang War Rages On!' was the
banner headline, and with a scowl she scanned the article. It seemed
that a series of attacks against drug runners was going on, along with
targeting other illegal activities like gun running and prostitution.
"Huh," Jess sighed to herself aloud, "I do not like the look of
this." She out the paper down, running a hand through her hair, "Not at
all."
After a moment's thought the tall, black haired woman reached
over to pick up her cellphone, calling up a number and then hitting the
send button. It rang on the other end for a moment, then a smooth voice
answered, "Hello?"
"Grace," Jess identified the woman's voice almost instantly.
"It's Jess Drake," she said calmly, "I want to speak with the Lady,
please."
"Yes, ma'am," there was nervousness and even a bit of fear in
Grace's musical voice as she quickly relayed the call.
"Jess," the Lady Diana's voice was warm, almost sultry, "it's
been a long time."
"Not long enough," Jess said calmly. She rustled the paper, "I
was just reading about you, and I don't like what I see."
"I'm keeping to our agreement," and now there was soft venom in
Diana's voice, "as I promised. I am staying out of the region you
protect, and will continue to do so."
Jess closed her eyes, trying to get a feel for what Diana really
meant, but as far as she could sense she was telling the truth. "So
what's going on?" she asked.
"It's a do-gooder, one not that unlike yourself," Diana answered
her. She hesitated, then sweetened her voice to coo, "I am prepared to
offer whatever you may wish, for the removal of the brand that you
inflicted on me."
"No deal," Jess smiled, thinking of the sigil she had left
burned into Diana's cheek. "Besides, you're the only one who can remove
it."
"You told me back then to turn over a new leaf," Diana's voice
was back to being ice cold as she continued, "you meant it, didn't you?"
"The brand reflects who you really are," Jess said with
satisfaction, "only by leaving your wicked ways behind you can you get
rid of it."
"Damn you..." Diana hissed.
"Probably," Jess agreed, "maybe we'll both be down there where
it's all toasty." Her voice dropped lower as she added, "I got into your
bedroom once, to put that brand there. I can do it again, so don't try
to screw with me."
Jess could hear her raspy breathing, the woman was that angry.
"I'll keep our bargain," Diana finally said, "the territory and people
you protect will be safe, in exchange for your not interfering in my
affairs any longer."
Jess winced and jerked her cellphone away from her ear as the
phone on the other end was slammed down. "Talking with your worst
enemy," Jess sighed, finishing off her orange juice, "what a way to
start the day."
Abandoning the remnants of her breakfast Jess went into the
bedroom, stripping her pajama's off efficiently. She slipped on panties,
jeans, and a T-shirt, then got her socks and shoes on. Grabbing her
leather jacket she was off, locking the door behind her.
She really should have gone straight to her tattoo shop, but
instead she detoured to a nearby shop. The bell over the front door rang
as Jess went into the Sisterhood bookstore, and the thin, buzzcut blonde
behind the counter smiled. "Hey, Jess," Hunter nodded.
"Hunter," Jess tried to hide her disappointment. She smiled at
the woman wryly, "Did the books I asked for come in yet?"
"I think so," Hunter grinned at Jess. She turned around to call
out, "Hey, Alice! Your girlfriend is here!"
"Hunter!" Alice scolded her, the tall, well dressed black haired
woman coming out of the back carrying a box of books. "We're just
friends," she continued to the blonde.
"Yeah, sure," Hunter chuckled softly. She waved casually, "I'll
go unpack the rest of that shipment, leave you two friends alone."
"That girl's impossible," Alice muttered as Hunter sauntered
off.
"That she is," Jess agreed with an amused smile. She looked over
at Alice curiously, "Hunter thought my books were in?"
"About half," Alice agreed. She opened up the box with a handy
blade, digging through the packing paper before she pulled out stacks of
books. "I was a bit surprised by the occult requests," she added as she
sorted them.
"Well, now that you know my secret," Jess shrugged slightly, "I
can order them from you, rather than going across town to buy them."
Alice soon had a stack of books that she handed to Jess, "Here
you go." She paused, "I was wondering, are you busy tomorrow night?"
"Nothing planned," Jess admitted, "though with my life, that
doesn't always mean anything." A slight smile as they took the books to
the counter, "Why do you ask?"
"I wondered if you'd like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow
night," Alice said shyly, looking down as she rang the books through the
till.
Jess didn't hesitate for a moment, "I'd love to. Are you going
to come to pick me up, or should I come and get you?"
"Why don't we meet here?" Alice offered. She shrugged, "This is
convenient to your shop, and I can change here if needed."
"Sounds like a plan," Jess handed her debit card over. They rang
that through, and Jess left with her books under her arm and a cheery,
"See you then!"
"You're just friends, huh?" Hunter startled Alice a few moments
later, having come up behind her almost silently.
"Eep!" Alice squeaked in surprise, spinning around to glare at
Hunter. "Oh, shut up," she sighed, but Alice was smiling.
Jess smiled to herself slightly as she unlocked the front door
of the tattoo parlor, taking a second to murmur a few words to
deactivate the more unusual defenses. She walked past the front room,
pictures all over the walls of women and mythical beasts, then into the
back of the shop.
The needles and other gear she cleaned, working slowly and
carefully. Jess actually hummed softly to herself as she worked,
disassembling the equipment, cleaning, then putting it back together
smoothly. The blades she used for her more exotic jobs were sterilized
along with the needles, the medical kit stocked and ready if needed.
"Good to go," Jess murmured softly as she walked over to a
cupboard. A stick of incense was removed and then lit before being set
into a empty vase to burn down. She paused to breathe deep of the
delicate scent, smiling.
The sound of a bell tinkling signaled someone came into the
front. Jess wiped off her hands and put a suitably grave expression on
her face as she walked into the front of the shop, "Hello, how can I
help you?"
"Ah, hi," the redhead smiled tentatively, her green eyes visibly
nervous. "Uhm, I want to get a tattoo," she managed to stammer out.
Jess tilted her head to the side, feeling a smile fighting it's
way out. 'It's so cute when they're nervous,' she thought. "What sort of
tattoo?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," the redhead young woman admitted. She looked to
be in her early twenties, if that. A bit sheepishly she continued, "I
made a bet with some friends, and I kind of lost."
"And the looser gets a tattoo," Jess sighed. She gave the girl a
wry smile, "It's not a good idea, you know. A tattoo is pretty
permanent."
"I know!" the girl whimpered, her red hair falling into her
eyes. "But.. I promised," she sighed.
Jess looked at her thoughtfully, "Would something that looked
like a real tattoo do? One that would last a few months?"
"Yeah, I think so," she brightened up. "You can do that?"
"No problem," Jess agreed. She raised an eyebrow, "But first I
need to know two things: first, what tattoo do you want; and two, what's
your name?"
"Elaine," the girl smiled, "but my friends all call me Lane."
She looked at the pictures and smiled, pointing to a broken heart with
the word 'Heartbreaker' underneath, "That one."
"Where do you want it?" Jess asked.
Lane blushed, "That was the other part of the bet. It has to be
on my butt."
Jess chuckled softly, shaking her head. 'It's going to be an
interesting day,' she mused as she lead the girl over to the work table.
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