InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Reinforcements ( Chapter 23 )

~~Chapter 23~~

~Reinforcements~

 

Cain Zelig scowled at the email displayed on the screen of his computer. His informants weren't any closer to gathering information than they were before. There were times when he hated being tai-youkai. This was one of them. Bound by the need to fulfill his obligations that couldn't be left unattended, he had a million little things to do that really didn't account for much but did thwart his desire to head out in search of information, and the knowledge that his eldest son was in danger only exacerbated Cain's mounting frustration. The tai-youkai in him didn't doubt for a moment that Bas could and would handle the bounty hunters, no matter what faction they represented. The concern was more of the father for his son; the futile wish that he had told Bas that he hadn't wanted him to go out on a hunt, in the first place. Logic told him that Bas was absolutely capable of taking care of the cat-youkai. Sentimentality, though, was much more difficult to reconcile.

 

Cain closed the email with a sigh and slumped lower in his chair. Gaze lighting on the manila file lying carelessly in the center of the blotter, he scowled. He'd been adding to his notes on Sydnie as Bas had mentioned things. While Bas had said that the girl claimed that Kit was just an alias, Cain hadn't been able to dig up any information on anyone with the name `Sydnie Taylor', either.

 

Slapping his hand on the file to drag it toward him, he opened it and tapped the photograph stapled to the left side of the cover. He had cropped the image just below the girl's chin. `She's trouble; I know it . . .'

 

Gunnar sat in one of the overstuffed recliners across from the sofa in the living room, staring thoughtfully at his telephone as Cain read through the information that Gunnar had given him on the two bounty hunter factions that they were trying to research.

 

“You know, I think maybe Bas has finally met his match,” Gunnar remarked with a smirk.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Bubby has a match?” Evan Zelig asked with a snort as he flopped down on the sofa, draping his forearm over his face.

 

“Shoes off the furniture,” Cain grumbled absently as he waved a hand at his son's feet. Evan shifted his legs, letting his legs dangle, apparently too lazy to remove the offending shoes.

 

Gunnar glanced up from his phone and gazed at Evan speculatively. “How much money you got on you?” he asked.

 

Evan lifted his arm and turned to stare at his cousin. “Dunno . . . why?”

 

Gunnar leaned forward, extending his hand, palm up. “Hand it over, pup.”

 

Evan let his arm drop over his face again and snorted. “Like hell, Gunnar.”

 

“Just do it.”

 

Evan heaved a sigh but sat up, leaning to the side so that he could dig a wad of money out of his pocket. He scowled at the money for a moment but finally slapped it into Gunnar's outstretched hand. “There, now suppose you tell me why I just gave you my money.”

 

Gunnar counted the bills and shook his head. “I'm not stupid, Evan. I know you have more than a hundred bucks on you.”

 

Evan growled but dug into his other pocket, producing another wad of money that he handed over, too. “Spit it out already.”

 

Gunnar rolled his eyes. “Two-fifty? You can do better than that . . .”

 

“Not till you tell me what I'm paying for,” he grumbled.

 

“Let's just say that I swear that you'll not be disappointed.”

 

Evan stared at him for another moment but finally pulled one more wad of bills out of his back pocket, slapping it into Gunnar's hand before sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. “That's it.”

 

Gunnar grinned. “Four hundred dollars? You're losing your touch, Evan.”

 

“What do you expect?” he retorted. “I just bought a new amplifier.”

 

“Oh, God,” Cain groaned. Evan loved music, and that wasn't a bad thing. That he loved to be as loud as he possibly could well into the wee hours of the morning, though . . . It wasn't surprising that Evan had moved into the basement, as far away from the rest of the family, who much preferred to keep normal hours, as he could get.

 

Gunnar chuckled but tossed Evan his cell phone. Evan shot him a curious scowl before glancing down at the device. He started to look away only to jerk his head right back as his eyes flared wide and a slow grin spread over his features. “Oh, damn!” he breathed. “Talk about an insta-bone . . . Who is she?”

 

Gunnar's chuckle deepened. “That would be Sydnie . . . the cat-youkai Cain sent Bas out to capture.”

 

Cain glanced up from the papers he had been reading. “What's that?”

 

“Send me that picture,” Evan demanded as Cain reached over to snatch the phone out of his son's hand. “I want to go hunting, Cain!”

 

“The day I send you on a hunt is the day I die, and I'm `Dad', remember?” Cain grumbled, eyes widening as he stared at the image on the tiny monitor. “That's her?”

 

“Can't blame Bas for being distracted, don't you think?” Gunnar quipped.

 

Cain snorted and handed the phone back to Gunnar. “Send it to me, too.”

 

“Cain, you old dog!” Evan chortled as he stood up and tried to snatch the phone away from Gunnar.

 

Cain reached over and slapped his son across the back of the head. “For her file, you little pervert.”

 

“You know, Gun, I'd have paid more than four hundred for that picture . . .” Evan added, still trying to grab the phone.

 

Gunnar laughed, trying to send the picture while evading Evan's nimble fingers at the same time. “Knock it off, Evan, or I won't send it to you.”

 

Evan grinned when his cell phone beeped to announce the receipt of the image in question. “Brings a whole to meaning to `getting some pussy', you know?”

 

“Where are you going?” Gunnar called as Evan ran toward the door.

 

“Where do you think?” the fifteen year-old tossed back without stopping. “I've gotta go do something about the full-on woody!”

 

Cain shook his head as the memory faded. He wasn't sure how his youngest son had ended up as bad as he tended to be. He should have known since Bas hadn't ever really given him or Gin any real trouble. That should have been warning enough, he supposed. Evan seemed to think that he needed to be bad enough for the both of them. Cain sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Between Evan's penchant for stating the outrageous to his youngest daughter's propensity for sleeping with whomever would let her crawl into their beds, he had to wonder if he had somehow been cursed . . .

 

At least Jillian adhered to the rule about leaving the bedroom door open. Cain had checked since Gavin Jamison—the young man who Jillian had proclaimed at the age of four would be her mate—had come back after better than two and a half years of college, completely grown up and not even close to the scrawny youth he had been. The last thing Cain wanted or needed, he figured, was for his daughter to end up mated at the tender age of fifteen regardless of Gin's insistence that Jillian wouldn't do any such thing . . . He grinned despite his abysmal thoughts. He'd made a habit of threatening Gavin's body parts about the time the boy should have hit puberty. He was pretty certain that Gavin would behave—that was, as long as Jillian didn't try to work any of her female wiles on the poor pup, because in the eleven years since Gavin had started coming to Maine to be trained, Cain had yet to see the boy say `no' to Jillian—and mean it.

 

The telephone rang, and he leaned forward to snag the receiver. “Hello?”

 

“Cain . . . Gunnar here.”

 

“If you don't have anything useful to say then you'd better hang up right now,” he grouched.

 

Gunnar sighed. “Useful? I think so.”

 

“Good. Let's hear it.”

 

“I think I know which faction is handling the bounty.”

 

Cain sat up a little straighter. “Oh?”

 

“Yeah . . . It's not good, though.”

 

“Didn't figure it would be. Tell me what you know.”

 

“I believe it's the Onyx.”

 

Cain grimaced. “Why do you think this?”

 

Gunnar paused for a moment before answering. “I think the first youkai Bas killed . . . I'm pretty sure that he was the boss' son.”

 

“Damn it . . .”

 

“And it gets worse.”

 

Cain gritted his teeth and furiously massaged his throbbing temple as a dull ache erupted behind his eyes. “Okay.”

 

Gunnar sighed again. “He said that Sydnie is expendable, but that Bas is to be brought in alive.”

 

“Over my dead body.”

 

Gunnar chuckled. “That's what Bas said, too.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“About ninety-nine percent, yes . . . It's too coincidental to be anything else. Bas killed the first bounty hunter—a cougar-youkai . . . and the Onyx's boss is a cougar-youkai.”

 

Cain rifled through the stack of papers in the file and scowled at the statistics that Gunnar had compiled regarding the Onyx. “Jeb Christopher: cougar-youkai,” he mused, reading the only name listed in conjunction with the exclusive organization. “Shit . . .”

 

Gunnar grunted in response. “I had hoped that the bounties would back off when and if they figured out who Bas was. If this is the case, though . . .”

 

“It's just adding more fuel to the fire.”

 

“Something like that.”

 

Cain grimaced, shoving the file away as he slumped back in his chair again. “And Bas?”

 

“What about him?”

 

“How are his injuries?”

 

“Better . . . Hopefully he can rest another day or two before anything happens. If he had to, he could fight now, but if Christopher sends more than two hunters—very likely, considering—I'm not so sure how he'd do. Figured I'd hang around for at least a couple more days to make sure, just in case something happens.”

 

Cain nodded. “Good . . . Gunnar?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Drumming his claws against the armrest did little to alleviate the sense of foreboding that gripped him. “That cat and my son . . . how close are they? Truthfully . . .”

 

Gunnar took a moment before answering, and when he did, he cleared his throat and sighed. “Truthfully? Well . . . how much do you like kitties, Cain?”

 

Cain grunted. “Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

He stifled a low groan, feeling his burgeoning headache ballooning into a full-out aneurism. “That much? You're sure?”

 

“Absolutely . . . wouldn't surprise me if he's thinking about taking her as his mate—not that I blame him. Sydnie's damn hot . . .”

 

“Hardly a good reason for taking a mate,” Cain grumbled. “You're positive you're not reading more into it than what's actually there?”

 

“Yeah, but it makes sex much more palatable, and yes, I'm absolutely positive.”

 

“Put Bas on the phone,” Cain gritted out, trying to ignore Gunnar's commentary.

 

“Love to, but he's not here.”

 

“What do you mean, he's not there?”

 

Gunnar snorted. “I mean, he's not here. He took Sydnie shopping. He left all his clothes in the hotel back in Oklahoma, and she just doesn't seem to have much of anything, anyway. Bas didn't want me to call you about the Onyx while Sydnie was around. Seems that he doesn't want her to know anything until we're positive who we're dealing with.”

 

“Protecting her.”

 

“So it would seem.”

 

“Pfft!”

 

“Anyway, I'll keep you posted should something else happen.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Cain leaned forward and dropped the phone onto the receiver before flopping back once more. Smashing his hands over his face, he heard the door to his study open softly and close again. He didn't have to look to know that Gin had slipped into the office. Moments later, he felt her hands on his shoulders and sighed as she massaged the tenseness away. “Bad news?” she asked quietly.

 

He let his hands drop away and tilted his head back to gaze at his mate. “You could say that.”

 

“Want to tell me about it?”

 

Cain shook his head. “Not really, but you'll hear about it, anyway.”

 

“Sounds foreboding.”

 

“Gunnar thinks we're dealing with the Onyx.”

 

Gin flinched, alarm registering in the depths of her golden eyes. He'd told her about the two factions. She understood all too well, just what sort of threat the Onyx posed. “I see.”

 

He winced. He always had hated to tell her things that worried her, even the smallest bit. “It's okay . . . He'll be fine.”

 

“You're right,” she agreed. “He's been trained, and he's smart . . .”

 

“But you're still worried.”

 

She shrugged, wrinkling her nose as she tried to brush aside his concern. “Sebastian is my baby.”

 

“Your `baby' is twenty-five years old.”

 

“I'll never stop worrying about my children.”

 

Cain nodded. “No, I don't suppose you will.”

 

Narrowing her gaze on him, she crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back. “Okay, Zelig-sensei . . . what else is bothering you?”

 

“Among other things . . .” He sighed. “Gunnar said that your son might have found his mate.”

 

Gin's eyes lit up, and she squealed happily. “Really? That's fantastic!”

 

“Not as fantastic as you think, baby girl.”

 

She waved a hand to shut him up. “Don't be silly! This is wonderful news! Who is she? Do we know her?”

 

“Gin.”

 

She hurried over to fold the afghan that was askew on the couch. “Hmm?”

 

He stood up and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “. . . Where is Bas right now?”

 

“Didn't you say he was in Louisiana?”

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“Then why are you asking me?”

 

He blinked and pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “And what is Bas doing in Louisiana?”

 

She slipped the blanket over the back of the sofa and straightened up, planting her hands on her hips as she leveled a disbelieving look at her mate. “You don't know why he's there?”

 

“Of course I do . . . I just wonder if you do.”

 

Gin squinted at him, and he had the distinct feeling that she thought he was being simple on purpose. “He's bringing that girl in for questioning . . .”

 

He nodded slowly, pinning Gin with a knowing look.

 

“But what does that have to do with Sebastian finding his mate?”

 

Cain lowered his chin, curling his fingers over his lips as he continued to stare at Gin. “Do you honestly have to ask me that?”

 

She shook her head. “I don't understand . . . It's not like he's on vacation, right? When did he find time to meet anyone when he's been spending all his time with that cat-y—?” Her eyes flashed open as her mouth rounded in wonder. “Oh . . . really?”

 

“So I've been told.”

 

Gin looked stunned for all of thirty seconds before she grinned sweetly and hurried over to hug her mate. “Evan showed me that picture of her . . . she's lovely.”

 

“I guess.”

 

Gin leaned back to gaze up at her mate. “And you don't like this idea, do you?”

 

Cain sighed and grimaced. “It's not that,” he allowed. “I don't care so much that he's found his mate, and I don't really care if he's chosen her . . . It makes everything that much more difficult, you know? I just don't want him to do anything . . . permanent . . . at least not until after he can help her clear her name.”

 

“Sebastian said she's not a murderer. That's enough for me,” Gin mused.

 

“Me, too . . . I don't have a problem with it at all. I just don't want him to have to deal with youkai asking questions after the fact.”

 

She nodded. “He's smart, Cain.”

 

Cain shook his head, brushed her bangs back out of her face. “I know he's smart, but sometimes even the most rational people do stupid things when it involves their mates.”

 

Gin nodded slowly. “Like us, you mean?”

 

He finally smiled, though the expression was thin, weak. He hated reminders that he'd almost lost Gin, and while she maintained that she was fine, he knew in his heart that he had been the one to fail her all those years ago. “Like us,” he agreed. “I was so busy trying to protect you that I completely messed it up.”

 

She pushed herself up on tiptoe and kissed his chin. “Like that was completely your fault. Tell me: why do I think that there's still something else bothering you?”

 

Cain grinned ruefully. He didn't want to alarm Gin, but he couldn't really see a way around telling her everything he knew, either. He sighed and pulled away from her, wandering back to his chair before speaking again. “Gunnar said something else,” he allowed. “He said that there's reason to believe that the first bounty hunter that Bas fought was the son of the Onyx's boss. He said . . . He said that this boss handed down orders that Bas was to be brought in alive.”

 

Gin sank into one of the chairs facing Cain's desk and shook her head. “Revenge, you mean?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“I'd try to pull him off the hunt, but if he knows that Sydnie is his mate . . .”

 

“He won't leave her,” Gin concluded. “Of course he wouldn't.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Gin frowned as she met Cain's gaze. “Papa said that Sebastian is a good fighter; a strong fighter . . .”

 

“It's not about strength, Gin. If Jeb Christopher sends groups of bounty hunters after them, they could overpower him. The last fight was two against one, and Bas defeated them. If Gunnar's right, and Christopher wants revenge, he'll just send more of his people after Bas. They're not going to fight fairly; not if they think there's a score to settle.”

 

“Sebastian . . . is in danger . . .”

 

He winced but nodded.

 

Gin digested that, her skin pale, her eyes wide, confused. She stared at her hands, clasped demurely in her lap. When she finally lifted her chin, Cain wasn't surprised to see the determined light that brightened her gaze. “You can't leave Sebastian out there alone,” she murmured.

 

Cain shook his head, rubbing his temple to alleviate the pain behind his eyes. “You think that he'd let me send in backup? Besides . . . I don't want him to think that I doubt his abilities.”

 

“He wouldn't think that,” she assured him.

 

“Wouldn't he?”

 

Gin scowled. “If they're not going to fight fairly . . .”

 

“What do you want me to do, Gin? He wanted to be a hunter. You said he'd be able to do it. I can't pull him off now.”

 

“I know what I said,” she assured him. “I'd just feel safer if there were something watching out for him, just in case.”

 

“You mean like someone trailing him?”

 

“Just to make sure that he will be okay if they try to ambush him.”

 

“Gin—”

 

“Someone who won't interfere unless Sebastian is in trouble.”

 

He sat back and regarded his mate suspiciously. “What are you thinking, baby girl?”

 

Slowly, she finally broke into a little smile . . . a smile that made him feel even more uneasy than her upset had. Somewhere deep down he knew that he wasn't going to like whatever suggestion she was going to make. Gin stood up and brushed at her skirt—a gesture that escalated his rising trepidation. She ambled over to the desk, trailing her fingertips over the phone thoughtfully.

 

“What are you doing?” he demanded quietly.

 

Gin lifted the receiver but didn't dial a number. “I'm going to make sure our son comes home.”

 

And suddenly, the pieces fell into place. Cain leaned forward, pressing down on the switch with his index finger to keep her from placing a call. “Oh, no . . .”

 

She tilted her head to the side and leveled a no-nonsense look at him. “Oh, yes, Cain Zelig.”

 

“I don't think—”

 

“I don't care! This isn't an ordinary hunt; you said so, yourself. I believe in Sebastian as much as you do, but I refuse to take any chances when it comes to his safety!”

 

She didn't smile, but her expression seemed quite relieved, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that, as much as she might wish it were otherwise, Gin really didn't believe that everything would be all right in the end. The look in her eyes was the unerring look of a mother who feared for her son, and he could absolutely understand that. Bas was a damn good fighter, but even the best fighter would have trouble if he had to face more than one enemy at a time. Her fear was rational, grounded, and while Cain hated the idea that Bas might find out about the perceived interference and think that Cain doubted his abilities, maybe Gin was right. Maybe the need to make certain his son came home unscathed took precedence over the chance that he would find out and be angry. “He can't interfere, Gin . . . not unless Bas is in real danger.”

 

“Okay,” she agreed easily enough.

 

Cain scowled at her for another long moment before settling back with a longsuffering sigh and giving his permission with a curt nod. As much as he hated the idea of sending anyone in to shadow Bas and Sydnie, he had to allow that the peace of mind that their son would be safe far outweighed the off chance that Bas would find out that he was, in fact, being followed.

 

She shot him a solemn glance then dialed the phone.

 

 

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A/N:

 

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serendith:
I am glad you are enjoying writing again - I certainly enjoy reading your stories! When you say there is a thread and all - do you mean that we should go there if we want to read the next ones or are you going to continue to post on mm.org?

 

There is a current thread in that forum where people are making … very interesting predictions for the future of the Purity series, and threads where I post teasers for the next chapter of whatever story I happen to be working on … those teasers are normally posted right after I post the chapter for the day (or the week … LOL) … No, I'll post them on Media Miner when it's time … so long as people are interested in reading, I'll be happy to share the stories!

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Reviewers

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MMorg

smallflower ( O.o … you … POKED … ME??? LMAO!!) ------ OROsan0677 ------ Aishiteru148 (No, I don't have one … It's all I can do to keep up with the stuff I have on my plate ATM … lol) ------ NekoKamiFL ------ Simonkal of Inuy ------ Simply a Lady ------ Ranuel ------ naiobi ------ katgirlofthenight ------ nerwenfaelvirin ------ inuyashaloverr ------ red_tigergirl2 ------ Dark Serenity ------ PurpleNeko-chan ------ Kyonarai ------ otakutron ------ crolynx ------ Halpo133 ------ Kaida18

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Final Thought fromGin:

He found his mate? Yay!

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~