Devil Seed Ch.1
#1 of Devil Seed
Devil Seed
By
Gemma
The Ice Wolf
1
Somewhere 30,000 ft. over the Pacific Ocean.
Guild Private Jet 083
3:27am Saturday
Aaron leaned back in his seat with his headphones on. Propping his feet up on a foot stool he let out a sigh of complete relaxation. Two hours ago he had just finished his job in Hong Kong, taking out a terrorist organization bent on overthrowing the government. This was of course child's play to him. He hadn't done any really difficult missions or jobs since the viral outbreak in Paris. Although only a few people knew about the incident, it made Aaron wish that he could go back to taking down mutants, blowing up science labs, and wiping out dangerous creatures that shouldn't exist. Then again it was also part of his past that he would have rather not revisited.
He was just dozing off when he heard a loud ringing throughout the cabin. As quickly as he had fallen asleep he woke up and reached for a button on the arm of his seat. Pressing it he looked strait ahead to a large screen. He took off his headphones just as an image appeared. The image was of someone Aaron knew personally since he first became a member of the Guild. A grizzly bear in a black suit and tie sat at a desk, his paws clasped together. Aaron grinned when he saw him.
"Hey Chief, how are things going on your end?"
The chief cleared his throat.
"Splendid. I don't think I have to ask how the mission went. So I'll just give my congratulations on a job well done."
Aaron nodded.
"No sweat. As soon as I found out where those scumbags were hiding I just informed the Hong Kong police and took out their leader. Simple in and out job. So, I assume you're not just calling me to chat right?"
The chief showed no sign of amusement.
"Well actually I have some good news. As you requested you are to be reassigned to Los Angeles."
A grin formed across Aaron's lips.
"Secondly the three agents you requested to be assigned to you have been approved. Just know that as of right now they are also on assignments and won't be arriving for some time."
"Sounds good to me." said Aaron. "I appreciate you taking the time to consider all of this."
The chief shook his head.
"I'm afraid there's a catch."
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What's that?"
"Recently, we received numerous reports of unidentified creatures appearing in several areas of the city. We think there might be an infestation. The only reason we haven't set off the alarm yet is because there hasn't been any confirmations yet. So far there isn't enough activity to pinpoint any possible hotspots."
"Do the Feds know about it yet?"
The chief leaned back in his chair.
"As of right now we've been able to keep things quiet but, I suspect it's only a matter of time before they come sniffing around. We're running out of time."
"Jeeze, just got reassigned and already I'm falling behind. This can't be good."
"A file of the whole report so far has been transferred to your assistant. Your living quarters and identities are enclosed in the file. You shouldn't have any trouble getting through customs as soon as you arrive at LAX. And before you ask: Yes, your car will be there for you to pick up."
Aaron grinned again.
"Thanks Chief."
"We're counting on you. Get the job done."
And with that the screen went blank. Aaron propped his hands behind his head, leaned back in his seat, and sighed. Reaching for the console on the arm of the seat he pressed another button. A dull tone sounded through the speakers. After a moment a feminine voice came over the speakers.
"Yes?"
"Lisa, would you do me a favor?" he asked. "Tell the pilot to change course for L.A.X. Thanks."
"I'll take care of that right now."
He propped his feet up on the footstool and put on his headphones. He soon fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Los Angeles
2:09pm Sunday
Mia Kusanagi slightly hung her head as she walked through the crowded mall. This weekend should have been enjoyable for her but, as she looked all around her, all she could think about was that she was one of the only girls in the entire Los Angeles county that didn't have a boyfriend and she couldn't understand why. She was a slender, five foot five, eighteen year old, red panda with green eyes. She wore a green tank top, blue shorts, and sandals. How any guy could miss this was inconceivable. Then there was Tracy.
Tracy was a raccoon wearing a red hoodie sweater, plaid shorts and tennis shoes. She stood approximately the same height as Mia, but with a more shapely body. Her breasts were slightly bigger and she had wider hips. It almost made Mia jealous. Hell, Tracy even had a boyfriend. Tracy sometimes teased her about being picky. Maybe she was. Maybe all guys were chauvinistic jerks, and she would have to live with it. Maybe she just needed to face the facts that she might have to either put up or go without.
They decided to head for the food court. Tracy had to find some way to get Mia's spirits up, and a couple of orange sodas sounded like the best thing right now. As they sat down at a table Mia hung her small purse on the back of the chair. She took a sip from the Styrofoam cup and sighed. Tracy sat across from her and looked around. There had to be a guy that was her type somewhere.
"Why don't you take a look around here?" she asked.
Mia shook her head.
"No matter where I look Tracy, I always see the same thing. I just don't go for the macho type. It seems like that's all there is around here any more."
Tracy leaned back in her seat, her eyes shifting left, then right.
"I just don't get it. I mean, not even the Goths pay you any attention."
Mia looked up at her friend.
"Can you honestly see me as a Goth?"
"I guess not." Tracy shrugged and chuckled to herself. This caught Mia's attention.
"What?"
Tracy just shook her head. "It's nothing."
"It sure didn't sound like nothing."
Mia was not about to be the butt of some joke. Tracy lowered her head for a moment composing herself.
"I was just thinking, what if you're one of those girls they talk about in fairy tales?"
Mia sat up strait.
"Honestly Tracy, I sincerely doubt that any minute now Prince Charming is going to fall into my lap. You read too many fantasy romance novels, you know that?"
Tracy turned away and draped her leg over her knee.
"You can be a real spoiled sport sometimes. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't give up. It's like my mom always says, there's someone for everyone, even if it takes a pickaxe, a compass, and night vision goggles to find them."
Mia rolled her eyes.
"That's a little gross."
She turned around to reach for her purse. Her eyes went wide with shock when she found that it wasn't there. She started to panic when she saw a human male in a brown jacket not three yards away, his hands at his side clutching a purse she immediately recognized as hers. Getting up, she yelled...
"Hey! Come back here!"
The man made a quick glance over his shoulder seeing Mia and Tracy coming after him before he started running.
"That's my purse! Come back!." Mia yelled again.
He started darting though small spaces between people, tables, and chairs, trying to lose them. Surely enough the two girls were falling behind. He was almost to the doors now. Suddenly...
Aaron was already enjoying himself after a fifteen hour flight that took him from Hong Kong, all the way to sunny California. He figured he'd take in a few of the sights around the area before Monday. That's when business would start as usual. After buying a couple of heavy metal CD's he decided to grab a quick snack before heading home. Looking around the food court he saw just what he needed. Near the exit doors was a small stand for corndogs. Something he hadn't had in five months. Since he had been living in Hong Kong all that time Aaron had grown accustomed to the Chinese cuisine. Unfortunately he wasn't able to eat much more than that except on special occasions, being on the go as he was.
Stepping up to the counter he looked up at the menu. Not much to offer but hotdogs, chilidogs, corndogs and fries. He didn't need much though. The clerk behind the counter kept his eyes on Aaron. He didn't even flinch when Aaron spoke to him.
"I'll have a corndog please."
The clerk pressed a button on the cash register.
"Anything else?" he asked.
Aaron shook his head.
"No thanks."
Reaching in his pocket he took a five dollar bill and handed it to the clerk.
"Here. Keep the change."
The clerk put the five in the register and handed Aaron a hot corndog.
"Come again." said the clerk.
Aaron turned around and walked over to a vacant table in the far end of the food court. Sitting down he immediately started biting into the corndog. He sat back, propping his feet up on the chair next to him. This was just what he needed. A day off where nothing could go wrong. Or so he thought.
"Hey! Come back here!"
He started looking around to find the source of the disturbance. He would have dismissed it completely if he hadn't heard the same voice yelling again.
"That's my purse! Come back!"
Something finally caught his eye when he saw two furs, both female chasing futilely after a man in a brown jacket. He was weaving through the small spaces created by people, tables, and chairs in order to lose them. Aaron started to move his right hand for the revolver he kept under his own jacket, but quickly had second thoughts. He couldn't fire a gun in a place like this. There were too many people.
"Looks like I'll have to improvise." he thought aloud.
The man was now heading in his direction. Remaining motionless he had to time it just right. Just when the thief was within five feet of Aaron he kicked the chair he had his feet propped up on right into the man's legs. The purse snatcher tripped over the chair falling on his face. Aaron stood up and approached the now downed man without any regards for himself.
"What do we have here," he taunted. "You know, guys like you shouldn't be running around the mall with a purse. It makes us all look bad."
The thief slowly picked himself up.
"Shut your mouth kid. Or I'll shut it for you."
Aaron scoffed.
"Ha! If only I had a dollar for every time some dickweed like you said that, I'd be on a cruise ship right now."
The thief now standing charged at Aaron raising his fist.
"I said shut it!"
Aaron stepped out of the thief's path dodging his fist. Now that he was wide open Aaron moved in. He threw a left punch into the thief's ribs and a right cross to the jaw. The thief staggered backwards before charging again. Aaron ducked one punch and jumped away from another. All was going according to plan. He just needed to make this guy angry enough that he'd slip up. That's when he'd make his move.
"Jeeze pal, you fight like an old lady." Aaron taunted. "At least try to hit me."
"Shut up! Hold still!" yelled the thief.
Now the thief was starting to throw a few kicks in maybe figuring that he had longer reach that way. No, the thief wasn't going to think that rationally. On the thief's next move Aaron let him get up close. The thief pivoted back and kicked his left leg into Aaron's side. Without any hesitation he grabbed the thief's leg and raised his arm, brining it down on the knee. The thief's leg bent backward with a loud snap. The thief however, let out a blood curdling scream as he fell to the floor.
"You bastard! You broke my leg you son of a bitch!"
Aaron scoffed at him with a smile.
"Maybe that'll teach you not to steal from a lady."
Stepping past the now disabled purse snatcher, Aaron walked over to a nearby planter and picked up the now retrieved purse. Brushing it off he started over to the two girls that had been chasing the now downed man behind him.
Mia and Tracy just stood there unable to say a word. From out of nowhere another human had single handedly taken down the purse thief and was now coming towards them. Mia was especially quiet. This human couldn't have been much older than her. He was five inches taller than her at least. He had blue eyes and semi short brown hair that curved into a fore lock that covered his right eye. He was wearing a black leather jacket, red shirt, black pants, and brown steel toed boots.
Tracy watched as the human approached them, Mia's gaze never averting.
"I believe this belongs to one of you."
Tracy nudged her friend when she didn't respond.
"Uh...I um...that is..." Mia stammered. She just couldn't say anything.
The human smiled at her handing back her purse. He then turned and walked away. He stepped out the door at the other side while Tracy turned her attention to Mia.
"Hey Mia, what was that? You totally choked." said Tracy.
Mia shook her head.
"I don't know. All of a sudden I couldn't say anything. It was like something was holding me back."
"Well maybe you can still catch him."
Mia turned to her friend in disbelief.
"But...Tracy, what do I say?"
Tracy rolled her eyes in frustration.
"Worry about that when you've caught up to him. I'll hold on to your purse. It'll only slow you down. Now get going."
Mia hesitantly handed Tracy her purse and started running for the door. She had to try and talk to him. At least she wanted to thank him properly. If she managed to get the words out maybe he'd want to hang out with her a while. It couldn't hurt to ask. She stepped out the door and into the afternoon sunlight. Frantically she looked left then right. He was nowhere to be seen. Just as she had given up she heard a car roaring in her direction behind her. She turned around just in time to see a silver 1987 Corvette zoom by. Mia recognized the driver at once. Watching as he pulled out onto the street, she felt her heart sink. A tear fell from her eye.
"Will I see you again?" she whispered.