Hunting the Hunted Ch. 01

Benjamin was reviewing the pictures laid out before him, six in all. The tattered note book was to the right of the pictures on the kitchen table. Each man had an open beer in front of them but neither had bothered to take but an initial swig. Both were sitting, both were silent.

Ben spoke first. "How long have they been missing?"

"The two boys went missing three weeks ago, the girls longer."

"And there all..." The rest of his sentence went unsaid. As Russell both understood and interjected.

"Yes, there all..."

"What happen to their Talons?" Ben asked curious. Talons were responsible for finding and teaching strays. It wasn't often that it happened but every once and a while strays were born into the world without a clear understanding as to why.

"There all dead." Russell responded, his face grim and sullen as he spoke. He was nothing if not concise.

"How the hell does that happen?" Ben asked again. Talons are typically the most gifted amongst their people, they are the teachers, the purveyors of knowledge, they just didn't turn up dead, and they had skills.

"We believe they all knew their assailant."

"Knew?" This implied a great deal. One only knew of a Talon if one had unseen knowledge. Mortals didn't know much beyond speculation about cultures outside their own, mostly myth and movie lore, nothing substantial.

"Yes." Again Russell's face let nothing escape.

"How's that possible." It was like pulling fucking teeth. Nothing was going to come from the big man easily.

The question went unanswered and Ben found himself getting angry. Russell had showed up at his door looking for his help, like it or not. Ben did not ask or go seek to be back into their world, he was fine being where he was letting his life pass as it would. He picked up the pictures and stacked them neatly putting them back into the envelope, followed by the note book. Once they were together he folded the envelope as he had been given it and put it back on the table. Standing up he grabbed his beer and took a swig as he crossed to the sink and counter. Once there he paused put his beer down, turned and faced the big man.

"You know Russell, fuck you. Fuck you, fuck your bike, fuck Gran, and fuck the whole fucked up thing." Again he had not asked to be drawn back in, they came to him. If Russell wanted his help he better damn well treat him with the respect he deserved or at the very least cooperate, this was the exact shit that caused him to walk away in the first place. "Get the fuck out of my kitchen, out of my house and out of my life. Take you shit and go."

Russell stood. He was definitely bigger than Ben and maybe in a fight Ben wouldn't last that long, but he wasn't making it easy. He'd give him a hell of go.

"Before I go, Gran wanted you to know that the baby was from our world, not theirs." Russell grabbed the envelop and put it back in his jacket. "The hunting isn't going to stop and you know that better than anyone."

It was at point in the conversation that Annie came into the kitchen, carrying her purse over her left shoulder, her left hand holding her brief case and two bags of groceries hanging from her right hand. She had always been able to defuse any situation she walked into, some people just had a presence and hers was a calming charm. Benjamin said it didn't hurt that she was amazingly beautiful either but she just fluffed that off as him trying to charm her socks off, among other things.

"So Ben who's your friend?" She smiled as she asked looking directly into the big man's eyes immediately disarming him. Her smile could melt ice and Russell's entire countenance changed upon seeing her.

"Russell, this is Annie, Annie this is Russell."

"Nice to meet you Russell, is that your bike blocking my drive?" Again her smile let on that she wasn't trying to cause any discord. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, her smile a permanent feature of her warm inviting face.

"Yes mame it is. I'll move it, I was just leaving anyway."

"Well I just got to meet you; it wouldn't do if you left so soon. Ben tell your friend to stay." It was more of a statement of fact than a request. And knowing that neither man would refuse she dropped her briefcase and began to put her purse down. She moved into the kitchen putting the groceries she carried on the counter.

Ben immediately spoke. "I think Russell has to go honey he's a very busy man."

"Nonsense Russell please stay. Besides you haven't told me how you two know each other."

Both men stood and paused not speaking. As though there was too much required to answer that question, whatever the answer was it wasn't that simple and neither was going to broach that subject easily.

"Well?" It was as simple a restatement of her question as you could get, and it would not go unanswered. Here she was this petite woman standing between two large men and yet she was more formidable than either of them and both knew it.

"Annie, Russell is Karen's brother." That was all that had to be said. Annie now understood and could see the elephant in the room and it was huge. Russell was Karen's brother. Karen. One name that said everything, it was the one thing that they had never truly discussed as a couple, not because she didn't want to but because Ben couldn't. Karen was Ben first wife and to this day her death weighed heavily upon him like a giant Millstone threatening to drag him under and keep him submerged beneath the murky waters falling into an abyss of fear and pain from which nothing ever returned. Russell is Karen's brother.

With that Annie turned and faced the big man and smiled brightly. "Well then, I guess you're staying for supper."