CHAPTER 27

 

“Agent Zimmerman, agent Mertz, I am ready to take your report.”

 

Oppenheimer’s voice rang through the room, still as harsh and judgemental as ever, but at least he was no longer simply calling them metahuman like it was a dirty word. Jasmine inhaled sharply.

 

“Yes, Director. It’s been a very productive day. We’ve made contact with Roger Kizinger— Adam’s uncle— and we also have a lead on his cousin Stefen, although we didn’t manage to get to him. He’s a teacher, so we’ll only be able to get to him after the end of the week.” Jasmine said.

 

The phone was silent for a few seconds, although Jasmine Oppenheimer’s keyboard clatter

 

“I hope you aren’t done, agent.” The Director spat out. “Otherwise, the NIC will have to think twice about your worth.”

 

Jasmine noticed Agnes’ face flair up, but she brought her finger to her mouth, signaling her friend to stay quiet. 

 

“No, we have more. The MSA had dozens of members staying here a few months ago, which is when they recruited Adam and a bunch of others— um, they don’t appear to be here anymore, sir.” She continued, being as polite and respectful as possible.

 

“And?” He asked.

 

The girl gulped. “Tomorrow, we will be gathering more information from Roger again and his wife using Agnes’ power. Oh, and we also have an… informant? She seems to know her way around this town, so we can possibly get more help from her.”

 

“Hm. Is that all?”

 

“Yes, Director.” Jasmine answered, feeling her throat dry.

 

“Very well, your report is… satisfactory. I expect another call tomorrow.” He said, letting go of the snark he spoke with before. 

 

“Thank you, sir. I’ll hang up now if that’s alright?” The girl asked, but when she looked at the phone, she noticed he had already exited the call. 

 

Agnes groaned. “See, he was a pain in the ass.” Jasmine swore her hair slightly brightened. “But thanks for speaking with him, I suppose. I don’t know how you keep your composure around these assholes.”

 

“Our livelihood being on the line helps quite a bit.” Jasmine answered as she sat down on her bed. The mattress was hard, but it’d do.

 

“You mean our lives.” Agnes said with a wild grin. “But you probably don’t want to talk about that.”

 

“Please don’t start. I’m tired, I think I’ll just go to sleep early.” She said as she got under the covers.

 

“Sure, but you know I’m right. I’ll just chill out for a bit with this shitty ice on my fist. Want me to turn off the lights?” Agnes asked.

 

“No, thank you. Can you set up the alarm at six?” 

 

“Yup, I got it, don’t worry. G’night Jazzie.”

 

She fell asleep a few seconds after her head hit the pillow.

 

---

 

Jasmine’s eyes shot open at the first alarm ring, and she instantly sat up. The metahuman rubbed at her eyes, stretched, and felt her shoulders crack.

 

Yeah, that felt good.

 

She turned her head to the other bed and saw that Agnes was also getting up, albeit slowly. “Hey. Slept well?”

 

Her friend turned toward her, revealing her bleary eyes. “No, not at all, but it’ll do. Wanna grab a bite?”

 

“We can go to the store before going back to the Twisted Sip.” Jasmine said as she got up. “Darn it!”

 

“What?”

 

“My feet are dusty… we really need to clean this floor.” She groaned, making her way toward the bathroom. “I’ll go pee before you shower?”

 

Agnes nodded. There was no point in hiding now that the cat was out of the bag, so the two metahumans lazily dressed and got ready, putting on their signature suits. They also made sure to bring clothes that Agnes could wear as Adam, although she wasn’t going to transform yet. The girls stepped out of the apartment and were greeted by cold rain, although they were protected by the second-floor balcony.

 

“We didn’t get umbrellas for the mission, did we?” Agnes asked half-jokingly. 

 

Jasmine sighed, putting her hand out to feel the rain. “Nope.”

“I guess we can try asking the landlord.” 

 

“I suppose so, but if push comes to shove, I can just make a run for it and quickly buy some chips or something.”

 

“I’ll be running with you, because there’s no way you’re leaving me in this dump.” 

 

Jasmine almost laughed. The metahumans climbed up the stairs and quickly walked toward Finn Beck’s office. Jasmine was about to knock before she came to a sudden realization. What if it was too early? It was only around six-twenty in the morning. Would he be up?

 

Before she could figure out what to do, Agnes had already knocked hard on the wooden door. Luckily for Jasmine’s conscience, they heard Finn’s cheery voice through the door.

 

“Come in, my dear clients!”

 

Agnes shot a wink at Jasmine before opening the door. She followed her and saw that the landlord was already up and about. The one-legged man strode toward them at a moderate pace— faster than he had been yesterday. Jasmine tried her best not to stare.

 

“How was the room? Up to your city folk’s standards, I hope?” He asked with a toothy smile, revealing his gums. His lips were gone where he had been burned.

 

“Heya Finn!” Agnes beamed. “The room’s fine, although it does need some amount of cleaning up. We came up here to ask for an umbrella, if you could lend us one?”

 

“I do have one out back if Ben hasn’t stolen it from the last time he was there.” The man said with a pensive frown on his face. He began walking toward his closet at the back of his room.

 

“I can get it, it’s alright,” Jasmine said, patting him on the shoulder. She couldn’t bring herself to watch the man struggle to walk with his cane—

 

“No.” He hissed, swatting her hand off of him. Finn clicked his tongue and went into his closet. A few seconds afterward, he exited with a bright blue umbrella. “Stop pitying me, girl. I’ve been fine before you came here, and I’m fine now.”

 

“I’m not— That wasn’t my intention…” Jasmine faltered, her eyes to the ground.

 

“Don’t lie to me, I can see it in your eyes,” Finn said, handing her the umbrella. “Don’t do it again. All I’m asking for is for you to treat me like a human being, not a zoo animal that’s sad to look at.” 

 

“I’m sorry, I’ll try my best.” She answered with a whisper.

 

“And that’s all I’m asking for.” He said.

 

Soon afterward, the metahumans made their way toward Main Street. Jasmine walked fast. She could barely hide the growling of her stomach since she hadn’t eaten for almost twenty-four hours. The rain hit their umbrella hard, and it was too small for two people, so their shoulders were both getting hit, but it was the best they were going to get. There were very few cars in the street, but it was the weekend, so Jasmine didn’t pay it any mind. Main Street was deserted compared to how full it had been yesterday, although there were people. Jasmine and Agnes quickly entered the nearest convenience store, relieved to be out of the cold rain. Autumn’s chill was beginning to hit hard, especially at altitudes this high.

 

“Whew, thank the Allfather we’re inside a building. What do you want?” Agnes asked as she closed the umbrella. Wet raindrops fell onto the floor, which got them the ire of the clerk.

 

“None of that here!” He yelled out. “I’ll be damned if someone slips and falls.”

 

“Sorry!” She yelled out before lowering her voice to speak to Jasmine. “Oops, I guess I should have thought about that. But for real, what do you want?”

 

“Anything edible I don’t have to cook works?” Jasmine quickly answered, eyeing the different aisles. “Chips, canned food, whatever.”

 

Her friend nodded, and they started exploring the store. A few minutes later, Jasmine heard a commotion at the entrance. People were entering— at least seven from the way she heard the door jingle each time. Jasmine grabbed a pack of vanilla-flavored biscuits, eyeing the amount of sugar at the back of the box. Not that healthy, but the girl grabbed it in case she ever had a craving.

 

Thinking of cravings, Jasmine began to have one of her episodes. The urge to steal surged through her and her eyes darted to the different products she could snatch and put in her bag. Jasmine tried to find something valuable, but this was a simple store, so there wasn’t much value she could steal. Compared to what she had stolen before in Adelind, this was pretty lackluster. Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Agnes.

 

“Hmm, I think we’re done, right? Maybe we can swing along the sides and grab some shampoo, the motel doesn’t have any.” She said.

 

“S—sure,” Jasmine said, snapping back to reality. 

 

As they rounded the corner of the store, they had a clear view of the exit. Almost comically, Jasmine heard a loud grumble resound through the sky— thunder. A familiar face sat there, waiting with six large men, each taller than her by at least a foot. Andrea flashed a smile at the two metahumans, although Jasmine noticed it wasn’t friendly, more like a smile you flaunted after a triumph. Her eyes, however? They were full of hate.

 

“My, oh my! Look at who it is, boys!” Andrea said, her grin getting wider and wider. “Our dear tourists, shopping local and helping business, how nice of them.”

 

It was disconcerting how someone could compliment her and yet inject such hate into their tone. The girl felt Agnes pull on her shirt. 

 

“Andrea? What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked, keeping her voice as calm and nonconfrontational as possible. “Who are your friends?”

 

“Gunther?” She continued, ignoring her. The cashier looked at her. “You saw nothing here, got it? Take a sick day, I’ll have a talk with your boss.” 

 

“Yes, Andrea.” He said before quickly taking off.

 

“This isn’t good, Jasmine,” Agnes whispered in her ear. “If looks could kill—”

 

“I know.” She interrupted, before raising her voice so the old woman could hear. “Did we do anything to anger you, Andrea? You should calm down before you make a mistake.”

 

“Are you fucking kidding—” One of the massive men started, but he quickly shut up once Andrea raised her hand.

 

“I hate liars, my dear. Whenever my son lied to me, be it about his grades or where he spent his evenings, I would beat him with a stick. He hated me for it, in fact, I’m sure he still resents me somewhat. But you know what he doesn’t do anymore? He doesn’t lie.” Andrea hissed, her jaw practically shaking with anger.

 

It suddenly clicked in Jasmine’s head. She had found out, which was quicker than she had expected, but wasn’t this…

 

“We apologize, Andrea. We did lie, but isn’t this an excessive response? We don’t want to fight.” Agnes said.

 

Jasmine nodded, echoing her friend’s words.

 

“Oh, if that was my only issue with you, yes, this would be quite excessive. Draconian, even. But it is one thing to lie about being tourists, and it is another to be in bed with the TIA.” Andrea said, her voice settling into a low growl. “And to hear you have Adam Kizinger in your custody and that you’ve been questioning his family about the MSA? That was the nail in your coffin.”

 

Jasmine’s felt her stomach drop like she was at the peak of a roller coaster. Was she really about to—

“Boys! Get her, and make it painful.”