Seeing the funeral notice hit her like a ton of bricks. It had been such a hectic few weeks that she had mostly put the details of what had happened to her human body out of her mind, but the news that she was going to be buried in a few days hit Descent hard. She put the paper down on her battered desk, the black haired woman gracefully rising to walk over to her apartment window. Descent gazed out at the busy street below, the evening sun illuminating the occasional woman standing at street corners. It was a bad part of town she had chosen to live in, by her own choice, but slowly it was becoming a cleaner place. 'Should I go to the funeral?' Descent wondered. It wasn't like she was going to be recognized, she had altered her form a bit since her first public appearance, but the idea of meeting the people she once knew.. it was a bit unnerving. Descent smiled slightly, 'And then there's the current situation.' Over the past few days several individuals had taken shots at either Sam or Descent, and the contacts she had developed said that the Lady had put a contract out on the two of them. Personally, she felt mildly complimented by that, it was a sign they were causing Diana some troubles. So far only amateur attempts had been made, though from the size of the price on their heads she strongly suspected that some heavy hitters were on the way. "We've handled everything so far," Descent murmured to herself, "except for that rocket attack on Jess Drake's place." The war with Diana was simmering, but they weren't making as much process as she would have liked. For every operation that Sam and Descent shut down, there were two more waiting, not to mention the depth of the moral depravity they were coming up against. Diana's people seemed willing to sell anything to anyone, at the right price. With a sigh Descent realized that her attempts to distract herself weren't working at all. She returned to her desk and the paper, razor sharp mind memorizing the details of the funeral, all the while telling herself that she wasn't really going to go. "A funeral?" Sister Samantha Teresa, more commonly known as Sam, asked as they stood in the shadows, readying themselves for what was to come. This illegal money lender wasn't something they'd normally worry about, but the recent killing of several of his clients caught their attention. It seemed that falling behind on your payments was fatal.... "Yes," Descent nodded, silently cursing herself for even mentioning it. "Of course you have to go pay your respects," Sam said crisply. The brown haired priest held her pistol at the ready, her black garb suiting the severe young woman. She continued on seriously, "It's the right thing to do, after all." "The woman being buried wasn't a very nice person," Descent answered dryly, "in fact, there were times that I didn't even like her very much." Sam smiled grimly as the man they were waiting for arrived in front of the older three story building, getting out of his fancy car and walking inside. "Maybe so," she said as Sam swiftly led them towards the building, "but at least it would give you the chance to say good-bye." Two men were stationed just inside the front doors, big, hulking men who's presence practically screamed bodyguard. As soon as they saw the two women they drew guns and began firing, but they were even fasted. Descent ripped the gun from his hands even as her hand shifted into a claw, tearing at human flesh to reveal green blood. Sam's opponent stiffened then dropped as smoke curled up from the silenced handgun, the odd scent of incense and gunpowder lingering in the air. "Let's move," they ran up the stairs, neither willing to risk the old elevator. The hallway was quiet as Descent looked around the corner, frowning slightly as she saw the hall was empty. "Aren't two guards a little light for security?" she asked as they cautiously moved on. "The Lady must think we don't know about him," Sam answered, "or about the organ-legging element of this operation." They moved towards the corner office, Sam gesturing Descent to stop a moment. "On three?" she asked. Descent counted down softly then on cue they burst into the room together, hoping to catch their target off guard. Instead he looked up with a warm smile, looking almost grandfatherly with his gray hair and round, horn rimmed glasses. "If you wanted to see me," he said to them mildly, "you could have just knocked." "Shut up," Sam barked, looking around the room warily for any sign of a trap. "Well done," he nodded, still smiling, "but you two are such well meaning amateurs, really. Do you think the Lady isn't prepared for such as you?" "What are you...." Descent started to say when she spotted the device he carried in his hand. 'A detonator!' she thought even as she moved. "Wait a..." Sam started as Descent slammed her out into the hall. "Down!" Descent shielded her with her body even as a soft click was heard back in the office. K-THOOM! The charges went off down on ground level first, then the other explosive devices rippled the powerful blasts right up the older building. Glass windows were blasted out violently, raining passerby with shards, the entire structure swaying a moment then it simply collapsed, the utter destruction a work of art created by demolition experts. For a time the rubble was still as the wailing sirens of the first ambulances ad emergency response vehicles sounded, then a section of rubble shifted. Up it rose, terribly slowly, then with a massive effort it was thrust aside, revealing two badly battered but still living women. Descent rolled off Sam with a thump, leaving the priest laying there stunned for a few moments. With a groan she forced herself to sit up, body aching, only to freeze as she felt the warm fluid soaking her black clothing. "Not my blood," she murmured then Sam's eyes widened, "Descent!" The black haired woman's clothes were more rags than anything else, Descent's flesh beneath torn and shredded. Clearly she had taken the brunt of one of the explosive devices, both the power of the blast and the flying debris. Most shocking of all was the pole that impaled her, blood oozing out into a puddle around her now frighteningly still body. With a cry Sam reached for her, only to blink in surprise as Descent's eyes popped open. "I am not," she rasped out, "doing that again any time soon." "You're alive," Sam breathed out, "thank God." She looked over the bloody wounds worriedly, "What can I do to help?" "Help me get the larger pieces out," Descent growled, gesturing to the metal pole that had plunged through her body at the shoulder. Sam didn't offer any consoling words, instead she grasped the pole firmly. "Brace yourself," she warned then yanked, drawing the metal from Descent's body with a single pull. "Arrg," Descent choked off her cry, her face looking much more demonic than normal. She swiftly and brutally ripped the remaining glass, wood and metal shards from her front with Sam carefully assisting at the back. "A hospital....?" Sam started. "They wouldn't know what to do with me," Descent said grimly. Swaying she was helped to her feet, even as the first police unit arrived on scene. "Took long enough," Sam growled. "They probably didn't get the emergency call immediately," Descent answered bleakly, "the Lady Diana probably saw to that." The redheaded young woman got out of the squad car, scanning the scene quickly, then spotted Descent and Sam. Unconcerned with her own safety she raced to their side, her green eyes widening as she took in their condition. "What the hell happened here?" she demanded. "Well, well," Sam blinked as she recognized the officer, "Alex Conner." "Friend of yours?" Descent blinked as Alex swiftly moved to support her other side. "We worked on a case together," Sam answered. Alex looked at Descent's bloody but gradually shrinking wounds worriedly, "Are you going to be all right, ma'am?" "With a little time," Descent groaned. "This is like that skinwalker case?" Alex asked Sam. The other woman nodded and Alex directed them to the squad car, "I'd better get both of you out of here, before anyone starts asking the difficult questions." To be continued.... Note: Alex Conner first appeared in my other original series Blood, Sex and Magic and has also appeared in Daughters of Artemis. Reading those appearances aren't necessary to understand her reactions, but it would probably help.
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