Aila heaved a sigh as she left the store. None of her previous managers had offered to be a reference for her in her search for something new, and without them, her work history was basically useless. Heck, one of the managers hadn't even responded to the five times she'd tried to contact her.
The job search was not going well. Aila slid into an alley and groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. How was she supposed to save Arx when she couldn't even take care of her mom?
Her patron hadn't come to visit her since that last time in the hospital, so he probably wasn't too annoyed with her...yet. Would it be possible for a supernaturally powerful being like him to help her find employment? Maybe if things got bad enough...
But no. He'd done plenty for her. She couldn't expect to be rescued every time she ran up against a wall. No one had ever done her any real favours, not until her life was saved after the incident with Hot Rod and Cold Snap.
She'd learned that Hot Rod was dead now. She didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was glad that he could never hurt her - or anyone else - ever again. On the other, she wished she could have punished him herself.
Best to let bygones be bygones, though. She could still enact revenge on Cold Snap if it came to it.
As Aila started scrolling through her phone, looking for companies - any company at this point - that might be hiring, she was distracted by a commotion on the street.
"You're in for it now, Randy!"
She glanced absentmindedly to the side, then did a double take.
One man was running, weaving between people, ducking and rolling desperately. Another was chasing after him, twin glowing scythes in his hands.
Was this legit? Was a Miracle Bearer just running around willy-nilly in broad daylight without a disguise? Aila could barely believe her eyes.
But, hey. If they were going to do her the favour of coming to her, she'd take advantage of it. She debated how far to go - she really didn't want her face out in the media again. It would only cause trouble for her family. On the other hand, here was an opportunity to accomplish her mission. And yet, if she wanted to truly accomplish it, she'd have to go out into the open. Leaving the job half-done would indicate that she existed without actually doing anything of use.
What to do?
Perhaps it was divine providence. Perhaps this was his way of telling her to get moving and do what she had to, that the rest of the pieces would fall into place before long.
Aila took a deep breath and activated her Miracle, staying hidden in the alley.
"This is seriously getting old, Justin!" Randy tripped and landed on his knees, inches away from Justin's scythes. Couldn't a guy go for a walk in peace? Did Justin have a tracker on him or something?
"It is getting old," Justin said, stepping forward and putting a scythe to Randy's neck. "You need to quit running. Just come and tell us everything. I won't hurt you - much."
The dark grin on his face sent chills down Randy's spine. To think that they'd once been partners...
"Why are you so angry with me?" Randy asked, trying to crawl away from the blade. "You're the one who betrayed me."
"You got the loot and ran."
"After you abandoned me to the military!"
They shouldn't be hashing this out here. There were cameras, and mics. Both of their faces were exposed. Either Justin had gotten stupid, or he had a lot of confidence that Angela would protect him.
Based on what Jase and the others said about her, Randy wasn't sure she would.
Either way, this was very bad for him.
"Talk," Justin said, moving his scythe so that it trapped Randy in position. If he moved his neck at all, there would be blood.
"What the hell do you want?" Randy growled. He wouldn't sell out the others. Not when he knew what it was like to be on the other end and they'd done nothing to deserve it. Jase had kept his word and taken care of them, even as it got harder.
"Tell me where Jase Rosales is hiding. Or, if that's too much, his little darling will do. Where's Mist?"
Randy just glared back. Apparently that was answer enough.
"You worthless slime!" Justin yelled, raising his other scythe in the air.
He swung it down.
Randy closed his eyes, his life flashing before his eyes. His consolation? This was very public - and the military wouldn't stop chasing Justin until he was locked up for good.
Hopefully the others would at least mourn his death. The sort of funeral they'd had for Meadow would do. Maybe his ghost and Meadow's would be there. Then they could watch over everyone else.
Ha. Wishful thinking.
The half-second seemed to stretch on forever, until Justin's fist landed in his face and the man started cursing.
"Where is it? What happened?"
Randy opened his eyes. Justin was still standing over him, but the scythes were gone. Instead, Justin was straddling him, punching him in the face with each syllable he said.
"What! Is! Going! On?"
Randy didn't know either. But without the Miracle in the picture, he had a better chance of fighting back. He grabbed one of Justin's fists and threw him off of him, then scrambled to his feet.
Now he and Justin circled each other, the one-sided match now reduced to a brawl. Fist against fist. Randy could manage that.
Justin lunged at him, and Randy sidestepped, kicking him in the gut. Justin swore and spun at him, reaching for his throat.
Far too easy to deflect. If Justin was going to fight stupid, this would be effortless. Randy just had to deal with the bruises he'd gotten when he still thought Justin had a scythe to slice him with.
Aila watched the brawl quietly, keeping out of sight. Stepping into the spotlight would be too risky at this point, and she wasn't sure she could take on the raging man who'd just lost access to his Miracle. The other man, however, seemed quite capable now that there wasn't a magical weapon in the mix.
Before long the military came in and the two men fled. Aila thought about following the angry one, but decided she didn't want to risk his wrath. At least she'd averted disaster for today.
With a sigh, she stared at her phone, wishing finding a job could be just as simple.
