Heroes Rising Fiction: Golden Hunt part 3

Part 3

Chase sat back in the luxurious seat of the shuttle and looked over information about Ireland, Leprechauns, and the UK. The last few times she visited this part of the world, she was stealing something and then leaving to sell it to a collector. Her only regret was she never got to steal the crown jewels.

There it was again. That howling. The man... if that is what they can call him, sat in his seat on the other side of the shuttle, listening to music. He would howl at the long notes and then pant and look out the window, then howl again and again. She asked him to stop five times already and he would go right back to it.

“Hey! Smeagol!”

He snorted, “It’s Fleagle!”

“I don’t care. Shut up.”

He scoffed and then looked out the window.

She gritted her teeth when he howled again.

She flicked her hand and one of her magic shuriken stuck the speaker next to his face, ending the music. He looked at it in terror and then at her. Her hand still out, she said, “Next time, it’s the Bob Barker treatment.” That look in his eyes was satisfying. He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. She wasn’t sure herself. The shuriken vanished, and she went back to her reports.

“Coming into London!” The pilot announced.

“Good.”

She watched as blue skies became the surroundings of London. People below would not see them arrive. The shuttle was invisible from the outside. They went right over a busy street and headed directly for what appeared to be a large, empty warehouse. The shuttle passed through the wall and landed on an empty floor. Then a lift moved them down. They didn’t go nearly as far down as the HQ in New York, but it was deep enough.

Once docked, a woman in a black suit met Chase and Fleagle.

“Ah, the agents from New York. Good. I’m Commander Troy. Come with me, we have something for you to see.”

Chase followed Troy with Fleagle right behind. Until he saw something to sniff. Then he stopped again and almost lifted a leg on an object before a worker stopped him. Chase grit her teeth and held one of her blades, ready to make this a solo mission.

They entered a control center. It was much bigger than the New York BADGE. It also had a lot more humans working things, not robots. Strangely, there was a blue police box in the corner.

“What is this place?” Chase asked.

Troy smiled, “Once, this was a branch of MI6 where we investigated otherworldly events. However, when the world leaders established BADGE, Parliament handed this division over and reassigned us under Director Nova.”

“Okay, about our mission...” Chase realized who was not with her. “Where is he now!”
“Who?”

Just then two men came in, each holding an arm of Fleagle. He was smiling like an idiot and wagging his tail. “Look, I’m sorry. The plants need watering anyway.”

Chase had a hand to her face

Troy cocked her head, “Something you caught on your way? Do we need to lock him up?”

“I would love to say yes, but no. He was assigned to help me. He is with BADGE.”

“I...see.” Sloughing this off Troy continued, “We have had a sighting.”

A blue woman walked up, “Yes. I spotted who I believe to be this dark hooded man heading toward Ireland.”

“This is Zanazola, another hero. She has been part of the BADGE contingent helping clean up the mess after the Cupid incident.”

“Are you certain he was heading for Ireland?” Chase asked.

“Almost positive. However, he could have changed course after I lost track of him.”

Troy said, “We have had several dozen false sightings recently. So, this could be nothing. However, knowing there is another relic in Ireland, be ready for anything. I have a non-powered agent up in Carlingford checking with the locals about sightings.” She handed them each small comm device. “If you encounter this hooded man, do not engage. He’s too strong. Set off the signal.”

“What if he already has whatever the Leprechaun uses as his relic?”

“Doesn’t matter. Send the signal and then hide, leave, get to a safe distance. I would love to send a whole unit of heroes with you, but with the cleanup and search, we’re stretched a little thin.”

Fleagle said, “It’s okay. Our mission is to warn this leprechaun...if we can find him...not fight that strange man.”

“Good. Then, get going. Time is not on our side.”

***

Night fell over the Carlingford mountains of Ireland, bathing the green grasses in deep shadows. A man hiked back toward his car when he came upon a strange, hooded figure.

Seeing that this hooded man was stalk still, he decided to be friendly, “Can I help you?” From under the hood, a soft voice asked, “Where is the Leprechaun?”

“You off your nut? There aren’t any wee people.”

Without a word, the hooded man walked away.

Suddenly the old hiker said, “Wait! Have I seen you on the television?”

The hooded man turned and lifted his head enough to show a thin smile, “Yes, sorry to say.” and then a blast of black mist hit the old man. He flew back, tumbled down the hill, and stopped next to his car.