Page 54 of Demon's Prey
But mostly, it was something no one in her organization wanted her to know about. PEACE tried to act as its acronym stood for, but within the last year of her employment, Hendrix was beginning to think that they only really fancied the wording.
She scribbled and drank down coffee, bits of coffee grounds rushing into her mouth. She spat them out, then peered into the mug, “Fuck,” she said to herself.
She stood up from her desk and placed the mug down next to the machine. She should probably go home—this problem would still be there in the morning. As she leaned against the desk, she heard her phone vibrating against the wood.
Who the hell would know that she’d still be awake at this hour?
When she picked it up, she noticed the number. She sighed and answered with great hostility.
“What do you want, Keppler?”
“Well, good evening to you too.”
Hendrix plopped herself down on her chair and raised her feet onto her desk. Keppler was a good agent, but she had always detected an undercurrent of objectification in his tone. It wasn’t anything he said, but usually, the way he said it.
And that wasn’t enough evidence to go to HR with.
What a fun time it was being a woman on this planet.
“I was about to head home. I’m serious. What do you need?” Hendrix asked again.
Keppler sighed. “I want to update you personally on that case in New York, you know, that whole demon fiasco?”
Hendrix nodded. She had seen the creature with its giant penis climbing on top of the Empire State Building, looking like something from early 1900s cinema. Keppler was assigned to observe the case, which was one of the first examples of demons passing through to earth.
It had been estimated that many had, in fact, come through to earth, but none ever in such a public way as this Kurse being. Hendrix had been working on investigating where the demons had been coming through to earth and was so close to finding it, she could taste it.
It had, however, taken over her life completely. Any hobby or relationship she had before had faded off into the darkness. Hendrix did not concern herself too much with other people, though, as her passion was her job, and her job was her life.
Hendrix felt a stab of jealousy when Keppler mentioned the Kurse case. She thought perhaps she would have been assigned to it herself, but alas, the head of PEACE had other plans. She sighed into the phone.
“Okay, what are your updates? Give it to me fast.”
Keppler chuckled deeply and slowly, sounding more like a machine than a human. Hendrix waited.
“Okay, here are the details. He basically fell in love with a human who was investigating Gideon’s Torch, and they got married. I’ve heard through the grapevine that they are going to settle in Kortanth—his home dimension in hell, apparently.”
“Uh huh,” Hendrix nodded into her phone. She wished she could have received this information through an email. But if she wanted to continue on the case of the portal problem, she had to at least pretend as if she cared about what Keppler was doing.
“So that brings his case to a close. I will be watching him, but for the time being, I think it is best we work together.”
Hendrix covered her phone with her hand and mimed a barfing motion. There was no one in the room there to see it, but she couldn’t help it. The idea of working closely with Keppler pissed her off to no end.
“Um, that sounds fine, Keppler. I was just going over my notes now before I head to…”
Keppler interrupted her, sounding the most animated she had ever heard him “let’s talk about it then, Miss Moon.”
Hendrix squeezed the phone against her ear. She was tired and frustrated, and she was sure that Keppler got something out of talking to her on the phone so late at night. She had seen his eyes wander around the frame of her body during meetings. It gave her the shivers, and never in a good way.
She stood up again from her desk and leaned near the window. The streetlight nearby was flickering, and she breathed in and out to the pace of its glow. This seemed to calm her before she spoke.
“As I’ve told you, I’ve narrowed down the portal to a few places. Most of them are shifter hangouts—bars, clubs, what-have-you. I’ve spoken to a few informants looking for help who were willing to give me some information.”
“And?” Keppler replied without giving her any space to breathe.
“And that’s what I’ve got for now. I’ve asked for some security footage from a few of the informants, who could get it, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll find some more avenues.”
“That’s great. What a good girl you are.”
