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Keep Calm, eh! Part 2

Part 2

By Gareth Read-EllisPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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With Leo doing the reanimating thing in the basement; I’m left with some time to work in peace. Once the elevator hits the landing on Leo’s floor I’ve already got a checklist of things that I want to get done. I’m not always in the mood to put my nose to the grind stone, but when I do get down to it I don’t do half measures.

First thing is to clean up Leo’s desk. Obviously, the mess from the impromptu mortal coil shuffle needs to be dealt with, but he isn’t known for his cleanliness. Leo’s desk is usually good for at least three half finished sandwiches, or pizza slices, or one time a rotisserie chicken. I don’t know how you put down food and forget about it; I don’t tend to let my food get comfortable on the plate let alone set it down and walk away!

My booze stash also tends to balloon whenever I actually manage to catch Leo out from behind his desk. He has a real tendency to leave a lot of stuff half finished; biggest reason he won’t ever let me go. The guy can’t be bothered to finish a hot meal, why would he ever finish his own paper work. This weekend I might just throw a party… no, I’ll probably just spend a lot of time in front of a screen drinking the dregs of Leo’s depression.

Oh, shit! Ma’s right! I am dramatic!

Cleaning Leo’s desk and office is tedious work, but when it’s done the room might actually give the impression a professional works here. Which is what I aim to make this place. Better get to some even more exciting work than cleaning… clerical work… Plenty of info sheets on past bounties. Every client comes with one of their own. Some have almost every line filled out with details like year the fugitive was born, when they manifested their first cast, or if they’re Non-Magus fugitives.

I can’t believe the info the Boys-in-Blue have on my people. They’re out there keeping as many tabs on Relic Dealers as they do on Drug Dealers. If a young Magus manages their first cast, you bet Big Brother has their eye on it. Most people don’t believe Mages, magical relics, or mythological kittens… and much worse… exist, but the governments of the world actively suppress and controls us as much as possible.

Poor Leo, he was a legit P.I. until the day someone hired him to find me for reasons that I have my reasons to doubt! Little did he know I could half the things I could do. He’s told me so many times that he wishes he never took that job. His world changed in so many ways so quickly having the veil ripped from your eyes.

I’m finished cleaning up his desk and a bit of his office; I don’t have the patience to do it all. Taking the garbage out with me into the foyer I grab the garbage by my desk. Answering machine is blinking; I didn’t miss the call while I was in the basement, so how did I miss the phone ring… Whatever I’ll check it in a minute. Head for the garbage shoot in the hall way. Such a terrible and fantastic device, The Garbage Shoot. Walk 10 feet from your door and open a hatch and the dirtiest parts of your life are gone so you can forget and repeat them all over again.

I have to laugh whenever I see the sign that reads “Lion’s Den Investigations.” Leo thinks the name’s super clever given his name is Leo, he’s also told me people will associate it with Dragon’s Den. I used to think he was a complete idiot, until someone came in asking if we knew Kevin O’Leary. The name makes me chuckle, but the fact that we still call ourselves a private investigative firm is hilarious.

The Mounties can’t keep up with all the wild stuff roaming around the woods that make up 80 percent of Canada. Add in the rise of Magi coming in to places like St. John’s, Timmins, and Red Deer, the need for freelance bounty hunters went way up. When Leo came crashing into our world and me, The RCMP saw a chance to “recruit” (more like conscript) us into “The Righteous service of Canada and it’s people”

For appearance sake we’re still a Private Investigator Agency, but only because the government won’t let us put up the “Goblins, Ghouls and Ghost Busters” sign. The jobs don’t come from insecure lovers looking for evidence of what they already know; instead twice a week someone from the RCMP’s Mystical Energies Division shows up in plain clothes. They sit in the lobby for a little bit and than head into Leo’s office. They talk about some made up stuff, and then the MEDic drops off the info sheets.

It’s overly complicated and completely needless. No one is listening in to our dinky little office. If they were, I’ve never been tight lipped about details. Once the MEDic leaves all the covert-ops junk is out the window. In fact, I “Don’t have clearance” to see the info sheets themselves. Leo is allowed to share information the The MEDics have decided can be shared, but it’s never the stuff that helps.

Leo and I work so well doing this because of the way we see the world. He seems to understand how the mind works; usually the more depressed the entity the more he seems like a damned mind reader. We once were trying to catch a new Magus after her energies manifested. She was scared, ran from us and ended up on a bridge. I didn’t know what she was thinking, I’m not sure she did either. Leo, though… He jumped before she did, got to her and nearly broke her wrists he held on so tight. I’ll never forget his eyes…

I know my energies. That’s pretty much all I bring to the table. So the best way for me to use my skills is to know as much about what’s going on as possible. If the fugitive knows how to cover their tracks it’s the details that will help me find the flaws in their smoke screen. Every thing casts uniquely, and once I find those tell-tale signs I can track them. They actually make it easier to follow them when they use Casts to hide.

The office looks cleaner, and I’ve dried out. I filled in the “supplementary information” form, the MED expects us to fill out this garbage as we investigate, for Silas Latton. Leo is still collecting himself but he has stopped stumbling around. I think it is time to get something to eat!

Red Furrow, here I come!

fantasy
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About the Creator

Gareth Read-Ellis

I'm a 29 year old with a background in Radio Broadcast. I've always wanted to write and get my ideas out there. I love a good story and can spin a decent one myself, well I'm going to give it a damn good try!

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