Guardians Part 2

Chapter 3

         The bright midday sun filtered through the translucent shades of the large, elaborately arched window. It’s warm rays illuminated a massive king sized bed, its white linens made from the finest Egyptian cotton. Allison was sitting upright in the bed, her eyes wandering over the décor of the beautiful room. A huge vaulted ceiling spanned above her, as well as two hand carved French doors to her right that led into a bathroom that was bigger than the living room at Allison’s house. I wonder what it would be like to live here? She wandered to herself as she let her eyes fall onto Katie’s sleeping form next to her. Katie’s long blonde hair contrasted sharply with the white sheets and a pink night dress covered her peacefully sleeping body. Allison sighed as she slipped out of the bed, “17 rooms in the house but I always have to sleep with you.” She stretched towards the ceiling as high up on her tippy toes as she could, her arms reaching above her. Allison looked back at Katie and smiled when she saw her blue teddy bear snuggled next to her. Katie always asked Allison to sleep in her bed after a bad night and sometimes Allison would even do it without being asked, she thought of Katie’s chateau as her home away from home. Allison walked over to the large window and pressed the button next to it. Immediately the translucent sunshades along the windows slid up and let a wave of light engulf the room. Allison walked over to Katie and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, “Time to wake up kitten,” she said using the pet name she had given her years ago.
           Katie groaned and her eyes fluttered open, “what time is it?” She aked through a yawn.
         “Almost one, get up.”
         “Just another hour,” Katie mumbled while burying her head into her pillow. 
         She’s like my little sister, Allison thought to herself and with a quick pull dislodged the covers over Katie.
         “Fine” She retorted, “I get to shower first.”
         “Whatever,” Allison rolled her eyes.
         Katie hopped off of her bed with the skill of a gymnast and slipped through the double doors leading to her massive bathroom. The sound of running water was heard a second later, and Allison leisurely entered the bathroom to get ready for the day.
         Katie closed her eyes and let the warm water bead down her body. Physically she was unmarred from battle, but as always the exhaustion was still there the next day. When she closed her eyes she could still feel the blood; her enemies’ as well as hers. It was everywhere on her, and no matter how much shampoo and soap she used she could never get rid of that feeling.
        She saw Allison off to the side at one of the sinks in the marble counter. The glass shower door only blurred images from the neck down, therefore Katie could still see in and out while maintaining modesty.  Katie had always like Allison, she was like her older sister. She was a good friend but yet somehow also seemed like her protector. She really is quite beautiful, Katie thought to herself. Allison was using one of Katie’s brushes to straighten out her long black hair. Katie’s blue eyes followed Allison’s hand as she moved the brush up and down. She had worn one of Katie’s white under shirts to bed and without thinking Katie let her eyes wander over Allison’s esquisite figure. The snug shirt clung to Allison’s perky breasts and Katie could see her nipples straining at the fabric from the cold bathroom. Allison was wearing blue boy shorts and Katie’s eyes followed the skintight fabric as it curved around Allison’s tight ass. Tan slender legs mated perfectly to her curvy posterior. Katie was now completely in a trance; she watched Allison intently as she stroked her hair, the motion causing her breasts to bounce ever so slightly each time.
      “What’s wrong kitten?” Allison asked.
      Katie froze as she realized Allison had stopped in mid stroke, her sharp green eyes locked onto Katie’s blue ones in the mirror. “N… Nothing,” Katie stammered. Allison nodded her head and went back to brushing. Katie shook her head in disbelief, What was I doing?. Katie asked herself. She liked Allison as a friend, as a sister, not as a sex object. Besides she liked guys, she knew she liked guys, she had had a crush on Terry for as long as she could remember. Whenever she hugged Allison or slapped her on the ass it was for fun, not to get some desire from it.
      A knock on the door abruptly brought Katie from her thoughts.
      An old voice on the other side of one of the bathroom doors asked, “Would the ladies care for some breakfast this afternoon?”
      “Waffles okay with you?” Allison asked Katie.
      “That’s fine” Katie said, still lost in her own thoughts.
Allison flung the bathroom door wide open, the giddy expression of a child framed on her face. Winston, Katie’s family butler, merely sighed when Allison opened the door, all too familiar with hers and Katie’s lack of modesty.          
      “Waffles please.” Allison asked.
      “And for the mistress?” Winston asked with a formal English accent.
      “The same.” Katie yelled over the running water.
      “Very well” And with a formal bow and a gruff turn Winston walked off.

        A perfectly cleaned and waxed black 2002 Celica GT-S pulled onto Sidewinder street in the hills a few miles from the city. The custom installed turbo made a slight whining sound as John accelerated up the street. He pulled his car into a leaf strewn driveway and parked right next to Terry’s equally well cleaned and waxed 1966 Mustang. He quickly locked his car and jogged up the rough set of wooden steps to Terry’s apartment on the second floor. John rapped three times on the front door and waited.
        John was just about to call Terry’s cell phone to wake him up when the front door was finally flung open. A scantily clad women whose most striking feature was a long mane of fiery red hair was leaning against the door way with a sly grin of her face. She was wearing only a black lace up bra and matching thong.
John merely smiled and said, “So what’s your name?”
      “Sarah, Terry’s in the kitchen.”
      “Lead the way.”
      Sarah gave him a smile that could kill and walked back into the apartment, her ass moving rhythmically as she walked.
John shook his head as a grin crossed his face. They rounded the corner and John saw Terry sitting on a barstool at his counter, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He was unshaven and besides a robe only wore his boxers. He looked up as John entered and with a scratchy voice and said, “Morning.”
      “Afternoon.” John responded, letting his eyes survey Terry’s disorganized apartment.
      “Have a seat.” Terry motioned to the stool across from him. “You hungry?”
      “No I’m fine.” John sat onto the stool. “I would like a cup of coffee though.”
      “I’ll get it for you,” Sarah chimed. She quickly grabbed the pot off the machine and padded over to John. She leaned in and slowly poured him a mug, choosing not to notice that her breasts were almost rubbing John in the face. “There you go hunny,” she said, a hint of a southern accent detectable.
      “How did you sleep?” John asked Terry, forcing himself to keep his eyes on Terry and not Sarah’s plesantries.
      Terry sighed and leaned back on his stool, the old wood creaking in protests. “I didn’t,” He said gruffly, looking accusingly at Sarah.
      “Well he ran off in the middle of the night, I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.” She stated.
      John laughed aloud, Terry sure knew how to pick them.
      “Well I’m goanna let you boys talk in private.” Sarah leaned over Terry, her lips only inches from his. “I’ll be in the shower.” Sarah stood up and walked to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothing as she went.
      Terry quickly lit up a cigarette and let a smile cross his face. “I’m proud of that one.”
      John simply shook his head again. “I’ve definitely seen some interesting ones before Terry, but man, she looks like she might be too much for even you to handle.”
      “You might be right.” Terry responded as he puffed thoughtfully on his cigarette.                  “So what brings you to my humble abode?”

      “I was just checking up on you, make sure your ready for tonight. It’s gonna be a tough fight.”
      “I’m fine.” He said, stretching his muscular arms above him. “No worse for the wear.” A slight pause followed and he added thoughtfully, “How are the girls.?”
      “They stayed the night at Katie’s chateau. Katie and Mark both had it pretty bad last night.”
      “Where’s Mark now?”
      “He crashed at my place, he was still asleep when I left.”
      “Think he’ll be alright for tonight?”
      John leaned back in his on his own stool, taking a moment to sip on his coffee. “I think he’ll be fine. He’s too tough to let something like that get to him. The only one I’m worried about is Katie.”
      Terry nodded. A long pause passed between the two friends. “We’re going to have to be careful tonight. That thing was really tough. If you hadn’t of hit it when you did I wouldn’t be here.”
      John merely nodded, drinking heavily from his mug of coffee. “Were gonna have to go in all together, hit it from every side. Luckily it can’t produce it’s little demon toddlers anymore.”
      Terry nodded in response, “Where do you think it slept for the night?”
      John answered with a raise of his shoulders, “No idea. If I had to I would guess somewhere in the woods away from other people.”
      “That’s good. No people to get in the way. If only we could kill it while it slept during the day, make our job a hell of a lot easier.”
      “Who knows, maybe the pot can find them during the day, I mean we have only been able to get it to work during the night but it’s always possible.” John responded.
      Terry slowly stood up and looked out his window behind the table in his apartment. The view was quite spectacular since his apartment was perched on a hill that overlooked the entire city. As he took in the sights he calmly contemplated the coming night. Terry was kind of a loner, though he had many good friends he still always felt distant. It was a feeling that was hard to explain to others who had not experienced it. It was almost like he didn't belong in this world, like he should have been born into a different time period. He had tried to explain it to John once but it hadn’t came out right and ever since he kept his reason for solitude within himself. Both of his parents had died only a few years ago, and their money left over was enough to sustain his simply life until he graduated from high school. Before the guardians his plan had always been to take what funds he had left and travel the world for a few years but like the rest of his fellow comrades he was now faced with a radically different future.
        “I think we should go after it early tonight.” John said, interrupting Terry’s thoughts. “Get it done quickly so we can have at least a decent night’s sleep. We shouldn’t have to worry about witnesses if it is indeed staying in the forest.”
      Terry turned suddenly to John, his eyes as hard as steel. “What are we going to do when one of us dies John?”
        “That won’t happen.” John responded, his jaw set in determination.
        “Why do you kid yourself? That was close last night. It’s always close. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already, but it will. One day we’ll go out there and one of us won’t come back. What are you going to do if you have to explain to Mark’s mom that he’s dead. How are you going to explain it? And if Allison… Would you even be able to continue if she didn’t make it?”
        John didn’t say anything for a long time. He thought carefully about his words before they left his mouth. “We are the only ones that stand in the way, it’s a risk we all must take.”
        Terry sighed, his body turning to face the window once more. “What we do… we know so little about. We are told to go here, kill this, stop that. My loyalty to this cause is unwavering, you know that. But I at least want to know what I’m fighting for, why we risk our lives every day.”
        “You know what we do Terry.” John said, his words slow and strong. “We were given this gift to fight the evil of this world. We don’t know why we were chosen, nor why no one else was given the power to defend mankind. All we know is that we can do something about it… That’s why we fight.”
        Terry scratched his chin, his coarse unshaven face rough to his fingers. “The sun sets around eight this time of year, we should go then.”
        John was just about to agree when the bathroom door to his left opened and  Sarah emerged from a cloud of steam, her curvaceous physique wrapped in a white bathe towel. “You gentlemen hungry, because I make a mean chicken pot pie.”
      Terry looked at John with a raised eyebrow, “You sure you’re not hungry.”
      John smiled in response, “Maybe I’ll indulge just a little bit.”

      After Mark had awoke from the dead at John’s house he wasted no time in raiding his best friend’s fridge and fixing himself a proper breakfast. A half dozen eggs, four slices of bacon, and two slices of wheat toast later he climbed into his truck and drove the short distance to the Gold’s gym not ten minutes from his house.
      “Hey how’s it going Mark?” George asked him at the front desk after Mark had entered the front door and swiped his membership card.
      “Not bad man, just decided to slam the weights for an hour or so.”
      “It’s pretty empty today so enjoy the no wait time. I think Zack might be doing a back and biceps day if you’re looking for a partner.”
      “Naa I’m gonna go solo today.”
      George nodded and went back his magazine, the newest edition of Maxim. Mark blasted through his workout, hitting chest, shoulders, and triceps hard. He did heavy weight and low reps, focusing on strength by pumping the heaviest iron he could while maintaining proper form. Every time he busted out a rep, the sweat dripping off his face, his muscles screaming from the strain, he could feel himself feeling better. His anger, his frustration, everything that bothered him stopped bothering him, and by the time he was done and about to collapse he felt extremely calm and peaceful.    He took a quick shower and dressed back into his street clothes, his arms and chest looking even more massive than usual from the lingering effects of the pump.
        Mark strode out of the gym with his usual post workout swagger, feeling like King of the world and ready to take on anything. He chugged down a post workout drink of simple and complex carbohydrates mixed with a little extra protein. To most people it tasted like ass in a bottle but Mark could barely even sense the nastiness of it sense he had been drinking the same thing for years now.
      He drove slowly to his own house, enjoying the warm weather and the pleasant wind blowing through his open windows. What had happened last night was far from his mind, he knew he had come close to dying buy at the same time he knew there was no sense worrying about what had almost happened. Instead he looked to the future and took great pride in the fact that he wasn’t scared about the night ahead. Rather he welcomed it, looked at it as his second chance to redeem himself.
      Mark drove peacefully ahead, taking a quick five minutes to let the cheerleaders from one of his rival high schools to wash his aging F-350. He was even able to snag a number from one of them but as he pulled back onto the highway his smile quickly turned into a tight grimace when he realized he had to come up with yet another excuse as to why he didn’t come home last night.
      Mark’s father had died only seven years ago from a simple heart attack, one that came from his dad’s poor exercise and eating habits. Because of that Mark had vowed that he would never let himself die because of poor health, and as consequence had delved into bodybuilding as his sole passion for life. Of course bodybuilding had taken a back seat to his new occupation as a guardian, be he still made sure he had time to fulfill his hobby. The death had been hard on his mom and she was never quite the same. They still hung out and enjoyed each other’s company but the hole that was left was never quite filled in. And even though it was tough through the years their relationship was never really strained until Mark had become a guardian. The frequent midnight outings did not wear very well on his mom and Mark now found himself arguing with her almost on a daily basis. He guided his old pickup truck into the driveway and parked it right in front of the single garage door. He hopped down onto the pavement and entered through the creaking front door.
      Though it was still considered a house Mark’s home was more akin to a double story apartment. Sandwiched in between a series of “town homes” that looked exactly like his own the only thing that made his mom’s house stand out from the others was the huge splash of black paint on the garage door,  an accident courtesy of Mark and John when they tried to paint a soap box car they had built together in middle school.
      Mark mounted the steps to the second story quickly and strolled into the loft where his mom was busy working at a computer on her desk. A woman in her late 40’s, she had a hard edge about her that one could detect immediately. When she spoke she did so with an authority few had and she used this skill quite excessively to verbally tear Mark a new one.
      Mark’s ears were still ringing as he climbed back down the stairs and sunk wearily onto the couch. He hadn’t even bothered trying to fight back this time and merely took his chewing out without a word of protest. The usual punishment for his not returning home was given: Three weeks of no TV, computer, friends, and anything else that Mark could use to occupy his time. Of course he knew he was just going to leave again tonight. He sometimes seriously considered telling his mom the truth. Just say, "Hey mom, the reason I haven’t been coming home lately and I’m staying out all night is because I was actually given a magical power to transform into a demon fighting super-soldier. Several times a week I have to go out and slay many a demon, I don’t really like the job but If I don’t do it than innocent humans will continue to die!" For some reason he didn’t think that would go over too well.
      Mark stretched his massive arms out in front of him and took a relaxing breath. Living as a Guardian definitely gives you a reason to appreciate life more, Mark thought as he whipped out his cell phone and punched in the cheer leaders number.  He was certainly going to use the time he had, no matter how short it was.

Chapter 4


      At around eight o'clock the sun was just starting to think about going over the mountains. Its last rays still illuminated a two mile long private cobblestoned road that wound its way through a dense forest on the edge of town. The private driveway led to a sprawling European style structure, a huge stone and wood edifice that looked like something out of the medieval era. Multiple floors held all kinds of exquisite furniture, more than a handful of fireplaces and two different full size kitchens. It also sported several expansive dining rooms, 22 bathrooms, 17 bedrooms, and even a 16 car garage. Always staffed with a chef, a butler, a maid, it was not a stretch to say that Mr. Smith was the richest man to live in the city.
      His daughter, Katie Smith, was busy playing with her hair as she sat with her legs curled up underneath her in an expansive black leather chair. Six others like it sat around an ancient round wooden table up in the parlor on the third floor, a pane of etched windows covering one wall while old books, a glass chess set, and a massive humidifier filled with the world's best cigars covered the others. The rest of the guardians were also seated around the table in the parlor, a room that was chosen by Katie for all of their meetings because of Terry's well known admiration for Mr. Smith's cigar collection.
      Terry himself was leaning back in one of the leather chairs next to an open window puffing one of his favorite types of cigars, a Hoyo de Monterrey. "You know I'm actually glad these things are so expensive that I can't afford them because if I was rich I would have smoked myself to death by now."
      "They're still going to kill you eventually, if that's any consultation." Allison said while rumpling up her nose to the smell.
      Terry merely puffed away with a smile on his face, choosing not to pay attention to Allison's nagging.
      "Katie all I’m saying," Mark said to Katie, continuing his well thought out argument that they had been discussing earlier, "is that we all get a room or a place that we get to meet at of our choosing. We can go in order, Terry gets his smoking parlor, John get's his war room filled with old war memorials and stuff, and I get my bikini lounge room. Every time we meet we can alternate, is that really all too much to ask?" Mark finished, his ridiculous question actually seeming genuine.
      "And what girls could you possibly find to fill this room Mark?" Katie asked, playing the game.
      "Oh I have the girls Katie, plus if for some cataclysmic reason I couldn't get any girls there will always be you two, bikinis are of course mandatory."
      Allison and Katie both rolled their eyes at the same time.
      "Okay lets please get down to business." John said, his attempts at hiding a smile from Mark's joke failing. "We basically have a way tough demon that wants to go on the prowl tonight. I can't produce its little minions anymore so I'm not worried about that, but it’s still really strong. We think it probably found a place somewhere in the forest to sleep during the day, and as soon as the sun sets we will verify that with the magic pot. But until then I just want to make sure that everybody is ready for another tough battle tonight. Last night was..." John faded out, his eyes sweeping over the silent table, "Last night was scary. We were really close to dying. So if anybody wants out I have no problem with that and you can sit this one out. Any takers?"
      The silence that followed was a reassuring answer. "Okay," John continued, "That's good, I'm glad you guys are in this with me. We’re going to have to be really careful tonight, that means no, and I mean no, heroics. Were going in as a group, we attack as a group, and we get out as a group. I know I probably sound like a parent giving you advice on your first trick or treat outing but it’s really important. I didn't fully realize how dangerous this job is until last night." John sat back and his normally granite countenance was etched with worry.
      "Hey no worries boss-man," Mark said, giving his old friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "We got this."
      John merely nodded his head.

        A short while later the five guardians had all gathered in the coat room next to Katie's front door. "Ah the adventures of transforming in the coat room, one of my favourite parts about my existence as a guardian," Terry said as they entered the cramped room, his sarcasm more than apparent.
      Whenever the guardians needed to drive directly from Katie's chatue, and they were not sure if they would have a chance to transform along the way, they always used her coat room since it was right next to the front door and their cars. Katie's staff might find it kind of weird that her and her friends play dress up in the house, so this was the easiest way to avoid their eyes.
      “Okay the sun should just be about setting now, so let’s find out where the big baddie is hiding tonight.” John said as soon as they had all piled in.
Without saying a word Allison dropped a city map into the Magic Pot which they had carried with them. The ancient artifact was again a deep set black, and after a few seconds of mulling over the map in its chamber it shot it back out with its usual puff of air. Allison quickly unfolded the map and as the other four guardians crowded next to her a deep hush set over the group.
        Mark was the first to break the silence, “I’ve never been very good with directions, but it looks like that little red splotch is in the middle of down town.
      “My god…” John managed to stammer, “The demon made it all the way to there already? We have to get there as fast as we can. No telling how long before it starts praying on innocent people, if it hasn’t already…”
      There were no more words spoken amongst the group as they quickly transformed, all except Mark whose transformation gave him such size that he wouldn’t have been able to fit into any of their cars. After several minutes had passed and the group had fully transformed, Mark quickly stepped out of the closet first since he was still in normal street clothes. He motioned for the others to follow. John was just walking through the door when he turned to look back into the closet, his black mask pushed up onto his head for added comfort.
      “Grab the pot, we might need it to find him again tonight.” Allison quickly scooped the ancient artifact into her hands and they hastily made their way out the front door and onto the cobblestoned circular driveway. “We’ll take mine tonight,” John said as he opened his door and sat heavily into the seat, unstrapping his sheathed sword off his back and placing it between the seat and the center console so he could drive.
        Mark was always the fastest to call shotgun in any circumstance, which forced Terry, Allison, and Katie to ride in the back. Mark held the door open for the three as they crammed into the tiny back seat of John’s Celica. Terry grabbed one of the two cramped back seats and quickly strapped himself in; John's driving was hair raising to say the least.
        The two girls were forced to share the same seat, which neither really minded except that the shower incident was still fresh in Katie's mind. She wondered if she would feel the same way about Allison as she had before, and her fears were answered with a tiny flutter in her stomach as Allison bent over to enter the car.
        "Come on Katie, we have to hurry." Allison said as she slid into the tiny seat.
Katie blinked in response and quickly entered the back seat. As soon as she had set foot into the car and Mark had closed the door after her John slammed on the gas and sent the car schreeing forward. This forced Katie back into Allison's arm and she landed hard straddling one of Allison's legs. Katie felt a wave of heat hit her as Allison's gloved hands grabbed up high on her things and pulled her close, the thin fabric of Katie's thong did nothing to quell the sensation that Katie felt as she glided across Allison's tightly bound leg. Katie bit her lip hard and tried to focus her mind, Why am I feeling this way? She screamed to no one.
        John drove hard and fast, his fusion ZR-1's screeching in protest with every turn he made. John slammed on the brake to narrowly miss a car before throwing it into third and slamming the gas again as he accelerated onto the on ramp.
        "Whoa!" Mark yelled out, his knuckles gripping the handle were whiter than they had ever been in battle. "Some of us aren’t transformed here buddy, I can still die easily."
      John spared a quick look over to his irate friend, "Don't worry Mark, I love my car too much to crash her."
      "That's reassuring," Mark muttered under his breath.
Terry smiled in the back seat, though sometimes he regretted being a guardian it was times like these that he just had to love what he did. The metal encased fingers of his left hand aimlessly tapped on the magic pot that sat in his lap as he though about this.
      "Hey!" Allison scolded to Terry, noticing his clinking metal fingers, "Don't break it."
      Terry was about to explain to her that it had survived for thousands of years but settled on watching instead; he had noticed the peculiar nature that had gripped Katie. She was sitting as still as she possibly could with John's driving, her legs still straddling Allison's. Her eyes were darting back and forth between the windshield of the car and to Allison's fingers that were mindlessly playing with the edge of her skirt as Allison continued to reprimand Terry, who by now was paying no attention. John took another hard lane change, his front bumper missing the person in front of him by a mere six inches. Terry continued to watch as Allison decided to finally fasten their seatbelt. He noticed the way Katie's eyes shut hard as Allison reached around her to fasten their belt, the metal tip brushing up against Katie's left breast on its way to being fastened.
        "I don't know how you can stand these things," Allison said as she slid her gloved fingers under Katie's skirt and hooked them under the back of her thong. "I mean I can only wear them for special occasions. It would drive me crazy to have to wear one every time I transform," She continued, giving the white fabric a hardy tug.
Katie felt a wave of painful heat as the small piece of fabric, already secured tightly between her cheeks, dug deeper into her. John hit the brakes hard and in response Allison's arms snaked around Katie's slender waist and secured her firmly. The seatbelt caught and the fabric dug into her breasts, her nipples hardening in response. "What's going on with me?" Katie thought, her thoughts scattering as she felt another wave of heat hit her as Allison's leg rubbed against her.
      "Hold on!" John yelled as he slid the sleek Celica into a wide power slide onto the main road heading into downtown, sending nearby cars swerving and honking.
      "Were gonna die! Were gonna die!" Mark chanted as John took another turn, his back bumper narrowly missing a metal construction bin.
      "Hold on!" John yelled again as he slid under a roped off section of road under construction. "Were gonna have to take an alternative route to get there, traffic's getting bad."
      "Oh you mean the other poor souls that had the unfortunate luck to share the road with you back there?" Mark ventured
      John merely shrugged, "No one crashed." John knitted his brow as he weaved in and around the huge construction equipment that was parked half hazard over the road. Besides the occasional object that needed to be avoided, the road was a straight shot into the city. Within minutes they were surrounded by huge buildings and the stars of the night.
      "Here we go." John said as they slowed and carefully entered onto the paved road, finally out of the construction zone and back onto the legal street. "Should be just up here. I don't see any crazy pandemonium on the streets, so it must not have attacked someone openly yet."
      "We've got company..." Mark said, his voice hinting with worry over the black and white SUV that had pulled up behind them, its roof aflame with red and blue lights.
      "Son of a bitch!" John yelled as he slowly pulled over into the bike lane. "Alright keep it cool, were just going to a costume party."
        "And the weapons?" Allison asked.
      John blinked in response. He hadn't thought about that. "Okay hide my sword, and our daggers under your guys' feet. Allison put your bow behind yours and Terry's back as best you can. There was a hard rap on John's passenger window, the cop was already there. John waited as long as he dared before lowering his window, knowing that his tint made it all but impossible to see in from the outside.
      There was a long silence that passed as the cop took his time to peer into John's Celica. John had always been wary of cops, even after his guardian powers. But even he had to admit that it was a rather comical situation. The officer noted with mute pleasure the discomfort that he caused. To him he saw a six foot-one white kid dressed in a ninja outfit, a handsome middle- eastern looking young man wearing baggy, flowing tan cotton clothes.  Two beautiful teenage girls sharing the same seat, each wearing a uniform straight out of some shitty, space aged porno movie. And a shorter version of Arnold wearing a wife beater sitting in the passenger seat.    Definitely an interesting crowd he thought.
      Finally he spoke, "License, insurance, and registration please."
      John quickly fished into his glove box and retrieved his wallet as well as the other documentation. John scrutinized the officer as he handed him the papers. He was in his early 50's, barely over 5 feet tall but he carried himself in such a manner that he seemed much larger. His graying hair was cut short to military regulations and his boots were so polished they might as well have been mirrors.
      "There you go..." John said as he handed him the papers and read his name tag multiple times, making sure it wasn't some joke, "...Officer Dredd."
        Dredd let a grin creep across his stalwart face upon hearing his name, his eyes were covered by his brass-plated aviators that he still wore even though the sun set 20 minutes ago. "You know why I pulled you over?"
        John had played this game before. Cops asked what you think you did and if you told them what you really did do, you incriminate yourself. He knew it was best to play dumb, no matter how stupid he would look. "No sir I don't"
        "Really?" he asked, the edge to his voice cutting through John's attempt. "Well," He read over John's license, "Mr. Drakoss. Believe it or not I actually just saw you enter a public road from one under construction, which you obviously had to have been driving on for some time seeing as that was the only exit."
        "Well to tell you the truth," John continued, falling onto his backup plan. "Were really trying to go to a costume party. I thought it was in that building back there, and the only way I could get in was to go onto the road under construction." John could feel his comrades' eyes on his back. "Turns out it was the wrong building, so here we are."
      "Hmm" Dredd responded, the smile on his face still evident. "And what exactly are you all supposed to be?"
      "I'm a ninja." John quickly responded.
      Dredd pointed his baton at Terry in the back, "And you?"
      "A terrorist of course."
      Dredd pretended not to hear him. His eyes shifted to Katie, "You?"
      "Sailormoon."
      "I’m Selena, from Underworld." Allison chimed in after Katie, her feet fidgeting on top of the daggers she was trying to conceal.
      "And what are you supposed to be?" He asked Mark who was still wearing street clothes.
      "Hercules." He said matter-of-factly, all the while patting one of his massive guns.
      Dredd almost laughed out loud, enjoying the game he was playing.
      "We'll I'm gonna have to write you a few tickets. but I'll cut you a break on the not enough seatbelts thing. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
      John merely nodded his head, hoping to God that he wouldn't see the weapons.
      "Your getting one for ,Driving in a closed off construction zone, as well one for your tint; it's too dark."
         John pulled off the standard ticket sigh pretty well, simply glad for the fact that he wasn't caught for the weapons or for going umpteen miles an hour on the road.
      Dredd quickly wrote out the tickets and handed them to John and without a word started to head back to his SUV. But after a moment's consideration Dredd quickly turned back on his heels and put his hands on John's window seal. "One more thing," He continued, "There were reports of a black Celica driving aggressively and recklessly, almost wrecked a few cars. Know anything about that?"
      John swallowed, He could feel his heart skip a beat. "No sir, I don't think I do."
      Dredd removed his hands from the window seal and stood to his full height. "That's okay Mr. Drakoss, I'm sure they'll get caught sooner or later..."

      Even after Dredd had pulled away John could still feel his heart reverberating in his chest.
      "That was a little close," Terry said,"And let's not ever do that again."
      "Yea that wasn't too much fun. I don't think I would have liked telling my folks that I was arrested." Jake responded. He crumpled up the 300 dollar ticket and stuffed it into the center console. "The building is right up here." Jake smoothly rejoined traffic before abruptly pulling into the cul-de-sac that fronted the mini skyscraper that had been marked by the magic pot. The black Celica glided to a smooth stop and Jake turned his head to look back at the bewildered faces of Katie and Allison.
      "Were going to park right here?" Katie asked, she had regained control and was now sitting comfortably in Allison's lap.
      "No," Jake said simply before continuing after a brief pause. "I have need of your special skills."
      Allison responded by raising a single eyebrow.
      "You see all modern buildings over 7 stories require a special key to access their roof, that way the cut down on suicide's from their building; bad for business."
      "And of course we have to get this key." Allison responded dryly.
        John smiled, "We'll we can't just go in there and ask for it. And we're certainly not about to go beat the poor guard up and take it. Plus there are security cameras."
      Allison's cold stare could have made a bear turn tail and run. "And exactly what do you have in mind John?" She asked sweetly, the sarcasm practically dripping from her voice.
      "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

See Part 3