JACKL Inc. Ch. 01 - New Beginnings

He knocked three times, then paused then twice more. Someone on the inside knocked once then opened the door. It was Sammi.

"Oh, Alyssa, Jeremiah," she said in a whisper, "such a surprise, Kevin called you in already?"

"Yeah, I'm at a loss," Kevin groused, and pointed offhandedly, "That's Vlad, the vampire."

He pointed to a handsome younger man with a wooden stake through his heart. Surprisingly little blood for such a horrific wound.

"I did him myself," Kevin confessed grimly, "He'll recycle, somewhere, hopefully not around here. Vampires are a pain in my ass."

We stepped past the vampire corpse, and into the bedroom. The girl was lying on the bed, it would have seemed peaceful if she wasn't ghostly white with hollowed cheeks. She was blonde, naked, and dead.

"This is Tiffany," Sammi said, reading from her phone, "aka Tiff, she is... or was, a 25 year old Caucasian female that just moved into the neighborhood. No known relatives, we need to find out if she has any."

"She's not the problem, really," Kevin said, "Sammi, have Jake take her corpse to the Enclave, and we'll store it there until we can coordinate a crematorium."

"Not a lot of blood," Jeremiah noted.

"Yeah," Kevin shrugged, "Vampire deaths end up being pretty clean, which makes dealing with the remains a bit easier. Still a shame, she looks like she was a fun kid. Follow me."

We followed Kevin back out the apartment, and towards the unit across the hall. He used the the same knocking code. This time the door was opened by a black woman, who nodded at Kevin, then eyed us.

"Who are the newbs?" She asked.

"De, this is Alyssa, she's a mage, and Jeremiah - halfling." Kevin said as he slipped by her.

"Hi, I"m Desiree, tree nymph," she said, "follow me, the first couple is in here."

"First couple?" I asked, "and we have a tree nymph in our family, a dryad."

"Yeah another couple in the unit next door." De continued, "Vlad fucking broke down the interior wall to get to these two."

She pointed to a couple, who apart from the man's twisted neck, and pale flesh, could have been a detailed sculpture of a couple having intercourse.

"Is he inside her?" Jeremiah asked, bending down.

"Yeah," De said, "Vlad was a fucking deviant. Dryad, huh? That's oak tree specifically, but really it's used universally. Once a tree nymph always a tree nymph."

Jeremiah was crouched down, looking at the pair. Tilting his head as he often did when he was thinking.

"These two were Bill and Felicia Rhodes," Sammi said, "a married couple just moved to the city two months ago. Bill was a public defender and Felicia worked at Staples. They have no pets and no children."

"Looks like Vlad killed him first, then some how paralyzed her," Jeremiah said, "Fuck."

"What?" I asked curiously.

"He drained him of blood while she watched," Jeremiah said, "This guy was sick."

"Not lying," De said, "Come look at the first couple."

"This wasn't the first?" Jeremiah asked, as we stepped through what remained of a wall between the two units.

"Nope," De said, "Did the surfer chick first, then stalked this couple around the building here to the entry of their apartment." she pointed to the splayed bodies of a black couple just inside their door, "After draining them, he burst through the wall and slayed the last pair as they made love. Every shade of fucked up up in here."

Jeremiah looked at me and shrugged. Sammi and Kevin joined us, and we all looked at each other.

"Just disappear the bodies?" I started, "Let the police handle them as missing persons?"

"Too much scene evidence," Jeremiah said, "This should all be torched, but that would raise questions."

"You see my dilemma," Kevin said.

"We could use the apartments," Sammi said, "For reboots and such."

"What do you mean," I asked.

"She means we let fae inhabitat in these apartments, blend in with the community." Kevin explained.

"Correct," Sammi said, "We need to keep an eye out for Fae that are trapped. They look human, act human, but are fae. They can't be reborn without a jolt of magick."

"Which is problematic," a big hulking man said, stepping in through the destroyed wall, "because we can't tell what type of Fae they are until they are reborn."

He paused, "Jake, ogre."

"Ogre, really," I said, "like Shrek?"

He rolled his eyes, then smiled, "That's such an old joke, it is still funny though, 'I got layers!'"

I laughed, "I'm Alyssa, mage, I guess. This is my partner Jeremiah."

"So what are you saying, Sammi?" Jeremiah asked.

"We take care of the bodies, obviously," she started, "Then teams of Fae can take on the appearance of the victims."

She flashed into the form of the blonde in the first building, then continued "They assume their identities, and jobs. Carry on like nothing happened. Meanwhile they are closer to the community and can screen for trapped fae."

"How will they know how to do their jobs?" Jeremiah asked.

"We are very resourceful, Jeremiah," she smiled, "It would be better though, if they quit their jobs. It wouldn't cause a stir. I've looked at their backgrounds. All of them are new in town. None have family to speak of. Distant aunts, or uncles. No kids, no parents."

I looked confused, "So you're saying just carry on like five people weren't just murdered by a fae. That seems a bit of a dark path."

"It's at worst chaotic neutral," Kevin theorized, "We can't unkill them. Police investigations would uncover too many questions. People don't die of complete hemorrhagic shock when there is no blood to be found at the scene."

"This is obviously bad. No debate," Kevin continued, "But this provides an. opportunity for some later good for a while. When the time comes, we torch the place, and salt back in the remains from this tragedy. They all look like they died in a fire. No questions from police."

"Except for the arson investigation," Jeremiah offered.

"Arson ain't murder," Kevin rejoined practically, "Arson done well looks like an accident. A tragic accident that took five lives. It's two nights on the news, then gone from the public eye."

"Machevillian," Jeremiah muttered, "But I see the logic. We did much the same in Montana, although the victim had it coming. These poor people were innocents."

Sammi pointed to the couple entwined in the act of making love, "These two people were actually trapped fae who will now be recycled into new bodies to try again."

She held up her phone, "Just got the results back."

"Okay, that makes it easier then," Kevin said, "De and Jake, get a team to take the bodies to the Enclave for cremation, make sure we get remains back, skulls, bone fragments. You two are going to live here and take on the personas of the black couple. You can fix the wall while you are here."

De and Jake looked at each other, then flashed into the appearances of the deceased.

"No problem, Kevin" said Jake.

"Sammi," Kevin looked at her, "Who is the new oceanid?"

"She hasn't gotten a name yet," Sammi said.

"So she's Tiffany, or Tiff. The first apartment is her new home," Kevin continued, "You handle the arrangements. Tiff can work under you as part of your team. I'll get volunteers for these last two poor souls until they can get free of their jobs, then they'll disappear. We can use this unit as staging for a potentially dangerous fae."

He looked at me and Jeremiah, "Am I missing anything?"

Jeremiah thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No Kevin, seems like it's a good plan. Aly?"

"What did you mean when you said, 'makes it easier then,'" I asked.

"Nature of being recycled. They have no backgrounds, usually. They seemingly pop into existence. They don't have any relatives, or backgrounds. It's weird, but that is how the system works."

"Interesting," I said, realizing my own background was different, I let the thought go for now.

"The plan seems solid," I continued getting back to the subject at hand, "We want to help if we can, what else can we do."

"I need some help with the financials," Kevin said, "We'll have to figure out how to pay rent here to make it look on the up and up."

Jeremiah reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, then pulled out his business card, and handed it to Kevin.

"Give us a call in the morning, we can help with that." Jeremiah smiled.

"JACKL Inc. huh?" Kevin read, "What do you do?"

"Whatever you'd like," Jeremiah said, and took my hand as we walked back to the car.

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Celia - Present - Shopping

I had just met Megan, Lexi and Brooke at breakfast, but they were very friendly. We immediately shared stories about life in San Diego. The three of them were fairly new to the area, only moving to the north part of the city three years prior.

The north side luxury of their estate was foreign to me. I grew up in the much rougher south bay town. A much poorer neighborhood, but a similar charm in this city. The metroplex was a variety of different towns that had merged as the city grew. Where we were shopping was completely foreign to me.

The shop Megan chose had an attendant who was assigned to us. She was elegant and lovely, and also down to earth. She made me less nervous as she talked with us about why we were shopping. There was complimentary champagne to drink, and soon the four of us were giggling like old friends.

I was enjoying myself, despite having just met Megan and the other girls. They all focused on me, and made me feel like the center of attention. I was enjoying getting to know them, they were all so close, but the age differences made their friendships intriguing.

Lexi was the oldest, but in fantastic shape. She was lean and lithe, with very little body fat. She said she was a triathlete, like I might say I enjoyed popcorn. It was just part of who she was. Her fiery red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her green eyes blazed when she smiled. She had an intricate tattoo sleeve on her left arm, with images of foxes woven together. The reds of the fur were rich and reminded me of her hair. She had a playful demeanor, and I could tell she enjoyed herself in everything she did.

Brooke was the youngest of the three. She was about six inches taller than Lexi, with short black hair with luminous light blue eyes. Her tattoo sleeve was similar to Lexi's but in greens and browns of a forest, oak leaves and vines tangled together. She was a bit soft spoken most of the time, preferring to listen than talk. When she did speak, and laugh it was contagious. I seemed to keep glancing at her generous breasts, and when she caught me she smiled and pressed her arms together.

Megan was in the middle of the two. They were all beautiful, but with her honey-blonde hair that fell to her shoulders, and intense green eyes. She had a fantastic figure, full breasts, and a firm ass. She was wearing yoga pants, and my eyes were often drawn to her bottom as we walked through the streets.

Several times I caught myself watching them, captivated by their beauty. I didn't usually stare at women, but maybe I was a little entranced. They had a natural charisma that made me feel close to them, even if we had just met. I decided to not worry about it, and just enjoy the shopping.

They said I needed three outfits. One for the day, one for the night and one for by the pool. So we spent some time finding different combinations. In the end we found something for each of their categories.

For the pool, they convinced me that a bikini and coverup would look best on my body type. I was a bit uncomfortable with the bottoms, but they showed me how I could wrap the wrap around my hips. I was comfortable with a bikini top, and bare midriff.

"Rick's gonna love that," Brooke said with a wink.

"You have a juicy booty," Lexi grinned, agreeing, "Tease him with it in that wrap, then drop the boom later on."

For the day outfit, they decided I needed some comfortable jeans, ripped in just the right places. Part of me felt a bit silly buying ripped jeans, but that was the style. My father would probably stir in his grave at the thought, his conservatism still seeped in my veins. The top was a half-sleeve baseball jersey that buttoned up, and a white chemise underneath. I liked the sporty look, and did my hair up in a ponytail to look in the mirror.

"That'll make Rick's bat hard," Lexi teased with a wink.

"He may try to add some more rips in those jeans," Brooke grinned.

Megan was in charge of my night outfit. I told them Rick had already bought me something for bed. They all thought that was a rather bold choice. This outfit was to go out at night, not stay in, to dine or dance. After telling them of my other form fitting dress which I wore on my first date with Rick. Megan picked out a backless dress in a lovely shade of cerulean blue. The bodice covered my chest and had some in-built support for my breasts. I liked the snug collar around my neck. The waist was snug then flared into a skirt that fell to just above my knees.

"Thigh high stocking would complete the outfit perfectly," Megan smiled, "No one would be able to stop watching you dance and twirl."

Lexi recommended we should also get me some comfortable casual clothes too. I tried to complain about the cost, and they assured me the shopping was all on them. We stopped at a more normal department store and they collected different casual outfits of yoga pants, leggings, tops and even a more comfortable one piece swimming suit. I picked up a pair of swim trunks for Rick, then got another pair in the largest size they carried.

"What's that for?" Megan asked.

"Rick," Lexi replied, with a grin "in Fae form he is over seven feet tall. Usually without pants."

"Yep," I answered, not wanting to go into details.

"I don't even know if I'll be staying over again tonight," I complained with a grin on the drive back to the Estate, "and y'all have bought me a whole new wardrobe."

"We don't often get a chance to shop with someone new," Megan said with a grin, "We've had a great time getting to know you, and we suspect Rick will be around a bunch. We hope you will be too."

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Naomi - Past - Embassy hotel

I was beginning to fall in love with San Diego. So much different than our sometimes dreary home in Oregon. The sun was out, the breeze felt nice, the sun was warm but not hot. We had a delightful time in the village shopping.

I hung out with Leah and Shannon as we walked around. Many of the shops were on the tourist side of things, but it was a very neat location, right on the bay. To the south a marina of yachts and sailboats, to the north the wharf and the Navy pier. There was a big aircraft carrier.

It was such a fun place to be, and we'd only explored just a tiny corner of the town. There was a list of places we wanted to visit that might take a year to complete. The best part though was the sun. It just seemed to shine differently in San Diego than the valley where we used to live.

We finished the day eating dinner at a restaurant back in the village. Dad had taken out a reservation earlier, so we ended up having the room to ourselves. Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. I almost didn't want the day to end.

Mom got a call from someone in town, and so she and Jeremiah left to go take care of whatever that was about. Kelly hooked her arm in mine and brought me with her and Shannon to the penthouse.

"I need some company," she allowed, "At least until J and Aly get back."

She looked at me and Shannon with a hungry look. I smiled, that usually meant an extraordinarily good time. Shannon grinned at me, she knew I rarely got to be with just Kelly. My core clenched with excitement.

Kelly opened the door to their penthouse suite and the view of the harbor was expansive. The breeze through the balcony was cool, which felt good. I went out to the balcony to look over the edge and see the city as the sun was setting to the west. I smiled again, loving this new city and how it seemed to buzz all the time.

Kelly had been wearing a sundress, and now that the night was starting, she shed that like a second skin. She had nothing else underneath it, and her breasts bounced as I looked over my shoulder. She stepped out onto the balcony complete naked, and walked directly to me.

"You're overdressed if you want to play, Mi," she purred, then tangled her fingers through my hair.

I enjoyed it when she called me Mi, it was a nickname that Leah had started to use with me, and it caught on. When Kelly used it while inviting me to play, I blushed. She was always beautiful, but now she was kicking up the sex appeal. I felt flush as the object of her desire.

I kissed her lightly, which I quickly deepened. I felt her energy throb through my nerves and it made my cunt clench. I crossed my arms and pulled my top off, tossing it away to the side. Kelly smiled and took my hand.

"Let's go inside," she said.

Inside Shannon had stripped and was lying on the bed, her hands running over her breasts and her thighs opening and closing. Her eyes were closed as she touched herself, I knew that even my own fingers felt different when Kelly was pulsing her energy.

I removed my bra, and pushed down my yoga pants, my panties already tangled in them in my haste to be as naked as my partner.

Kelly smiled at me and winked, her hands pulling my waist into her arms. Our breasts pressed together, her flesh was so warm and inviting. She kissed me, then I sucked her tongue into my mouth and a wonton moan of need flowed past my lips.

Shannon slid over and ran her leg over my thigh. I looked down at her and then leaned over and kissed her deeply, feeling her tongue press between my lips. My hand dropped to her breast and squeezed, she moaned into my mouth. I parted from the kiss and looked at me.

"I want to lick your pretty pussy, Mi," she said, shifting over invingly.

"How can I resist that," I grinned and straddled her head with my thighs.

I felt Kelly's hand comb through my hair, and I turned to kiss her again. I moaned into her mouth as I felt Shannon's lips press into my lips, her hands gripping my ass to keep me where she wanted me. Kelly parted the kiss and moved to the bed.

I watched Kelly as she crawled onto the bed, she faced me and settled onto her bottom. I licked my lips as she spread her thighs, and she smiled back. She crooked her finger at me, inviting me to lean between her thighs.

"I want your mouth right here, Mi," she growled.

When I lowered to kiss her there, her hand combed through my hair then gripped and guided me to her fragrant sex. I licked my lips, then lowered my hands to either side of her sex. My tongue extended as my fingers spread her lips apart. She moaned and I felt her toss her head back as my tongue delved into her flowing sex.

She tasted like warm honey, I lapped eagerly. I ground my hips into Shannon's mouth as she pressed her tongue deep into me. I felt her hand grip and squeeze my ass. The bed shifted as Kelly rolled to grab Shannon's ankle, then she kissed up her thigh.

We all moved to accommodate the three way connection we all craved, and our moans were muffled as we licked each other. My hand lifted to Kelly's breast as I lapped at her clit. I milked my fingers to her nipple and tugged it firmly. I felt Shannon shift her chest, and imagined that Kelly was doing the same to her. Then Shannon's hand slid up my belly and gripped my breast finding the nipple.

We all groaned, then we seemed to shift together into a synchronous wave of sapphic lust. One person would shift, and the change would ripple through our connected bodies. The sensation multiplied by three and another expressive moan would reverberate from our lips. More licking and sucking would blend into another shift that rippled until we all moaned out again.