I Come Bearing Gifts (Zodiac)

[Shira Chess (DELETED 5266)]

Due diligence was something that had been ingrained in to the woman from a young age. Research, research and more research. She had done all that and more since coming to Harper Rock in the search for her Angel. The woman belong to her, and for far to long, she had been out on her own in a world that was cold, cruel and harsh. But soon enough, Angel would know that she was here, that Shira had found her once more and would be there to protect her.

While doing her research, she had managed to land a steady paying job, and a secure apartment. Interviewing with Verity and Neil had been easier than she thought. It was easy for her to appear normal. To give the right answers and shine with confidence. She had put those skills in to play with both her boss and her roommate, landing steady pay and housing with in days of each other. Thankfully those two things allowed her to do her research. To find Angel and follow her around. Working during the day and stalking during the night. Lucky for her, she didn't sleep much.

Tonight, she was heading to Pandora's Box to deliver a package. A few little trinkets for Angel that she had collected herself. She just knew the woman would adore her presents and eagerly look forward to more. A small smile was on her lips as she pushed open the door to the shop, ignoring the jingle of the bells over head. The girl behind the counter looked up, but before she could say anything, Shira waved her off and ambled silently through the store. Short as she was, she often vanished behind the displays, and the clerk soon forgot about her. This was a good thing for Shira as she was soon forgotten about.

She made her way to a curtained alcove and stuck her head inside. Spying the large purple, throne like chair and a table with a stack of Tarot cards placed neatly to one side. The pillar candled had been used at some point, but a quick touch of the fingers to the wicks showed they were cool now. A small smile curved her lips as she ducked in, barely jostling the curtain. Once inside, she tugged out the ornate wooden box and placed it on the table. Opening it up, she gazed at the milky blue eyes nestled against plush red velvet. It was a shame that the color had faded. She made a mental note about time sensitivity, even as she set out another box, this one slender like an incense holder. She opened it up to reveal a half dozen severed fingers, also nestled in plush red velvet.

"Angel,

I hope you enjoy your gifts. I will see you soon.

She placed the note with her gifts, unsigned, and then slipped out as quietly as she had slipped in, the only sound was the jingle of the bells over the door as she left the shop with a smile on her face.

[Zodiac]

A glance at the clock told the girl it was time. Jennifer reached under the front counter and pressed a button that caused a small bell to ring upstairs. As she stood there appearing to check over an inventory list, she opened her mind so her employer could read her thoughts.

'You said to let you know when it was time to get ready for you appointments. First one will be here in about ninety minutes.' she thought.

'Ooooh! Thank you!' came a silent reply. A few moments later, the sound of someone descending the stairs could be heard. Jennifer laid down the clip board as Zodiac emerged and approached the front counter. "So what's your plans for this evening?" she 'asked' while checking the appointment book.

"Hook up with a few friends. Hit some clubs." she grinned. "Is the weekend. Time to have some fun."

"Good, good," the mystic replied absently as she checked the inventory lists.

"You know, some fun wouldn't hurt you. Remember fun?" the girl teased.

"I am having fun." She put the papers back where they were kept. "I'm going to make sure the parlor is ready before you leave real quick, okay?"

"No probs. Zaph should be here by then to take over." She put the BE WITH YOU IN A BIT sign on the counter and began to count out her drawer as Zodiac retreated to her parlor.

A few moments later, Jennifer grabbed the sides of her head as her employer's voice screamed in her thoughts.

'JENNIFER MILLICENT HAYES! GET IN HERE NOW!'

"Christ!" she almost screamed. The mindspeak sounding like she in front of an amplifier at some major rock concert gone insane. The girl grabbed her drawer and made her way to the parlor, where she found Zodiac standing next to her reading table and a look in her eyes that was less than pleasant.

"You ******* with me, aren't you?" It was not a question, but a statement.

"Zo, what are you talking about?"

"Just admit it and I promise, I won't be pissed."

"What are you..."

"WHY ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME?" Suddenly, Jennifer found herself against the wall. Pinned by the much shorter woman. The drawer fell to the floor, sending its contents flying about. All of her fangs were showing as her eyes glared in anger. "Only three people, THREE, know about that and you are one of them!" Jennifer had known this woman for five years. Two of them when she was alive and three since she had been turned. In those three years, this was the first time she ever felt fear, fear for her very life, in the presence of the gypsy.

"ABOUT WHAT?" the girl screamed back. Zodiac cocked her head and stared at the woman for several moments before letting her go. She walked to the table and pointed at the boxes that sat waiting then motioned for Jennifer to come closer. She saw the note and picked it up to read.

"I didn't do this. I swear. And I never told anyone who you were before your...accident. You can go through my mind if you want."

Zodiac's tension began to melt finally. She had only told three people the 'Angel' story. Temperance, who was still in a state of figuring things out, Sable, her first childer but she had gone beyond to a place not even a fadewalker could find her, and Jennifer.

"Pretty boxes," Jennifer offered. Zodiac picked up the small wooden box and looked it over before flipping it open. "Oh my God!" the girl turned her head.

"Is it in admiration of my eyes or a 'note' saying my eyes will soon not be part of my head?" The gypsy looked at the second box and opened it to revel its own special surprise.

"Did you piss off the Mob or something?"

"Not lately, no." Zodiac closed the boxes and leaned down and began to smell them for several moments. "I don't smell a vampire. Just human scents, and yours is not one of them." She looked up at Jennifer. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Anyone you know?"

Zodiac shook her head no. "Lock the doors and call my first appointment. See if she will take a later time or postpone for the evening. I need to check something."

"Check what?"

"Surveillance video. Chain has all this security gear set up. It wasn't a vampire so no teleporting or hiding in shadows when they came in. One of these cameras had to see something."

[Zodiac]

"Whoever it is, they are good," the mystic admitted as she went through the security footage. It was a girl, she thought. It was like their mystery guest knew how the cams were set and avoided facing them. The movements almost deliberate and nothing that would have attracted Jennifer's attention that something was amiss.

"Yeah, I remember that one. Came in and just waved me off like they were just browsing."

Zodiac nodded as the cam near the backdoor saw the mystery person slip into the parlor. Sadly, the camera that was in that room was off. The only time it was recording was when the gypsy was in the purple parlor with clients, which was sad cause that would have been the time their 'ghost' might have slowed down enough to get a clear image of them.

"Damn," Jennifer huffed.

"What?"

"I suddenly feel like I let you down or something." she fumed. Zodiac smiled and patted the girl's shoulder reassuringly.

"I had no reason to think anything like this was coming, so no reason to have you keeping a sharper eye out. However, keep your gun on you just in case."

"You getting some bad vibe on this?"

"Not exactly, but the fact they chose to deliver their gift in such a fashion concerns me to their intentions. Even a sick admirer who figured human body parts warmed my heart would have been more direct. This was a message and I am not sure if its good or bad."

"So now what?"

"I can't be rude. I need to thank them for their gift in order to encourage a return."

*****

Within an hour, Zodiac sat in her parlor with her first client of the evening. Jennifer waited as the 'night' shift took over and explained to them what the deal was with the new 'display' that sat for any to see. Not the full story, but enough to satisfy their curiosity. The mystic had taken the 'gifts' and bagged them and placed them in her freezer upstairs, but the boxes they had come in now sat on display for all to see. A small placecard announced the boxes were not for sale while a small sign declared in bright happy letters THANK YOU FOR THE GIFTS!

"A lure," Zodiac had explained. Something to encourage the mystery person on. The mystic also informed her security expert to add a few cams discreetly to give some added angles for viewing and also to set the camera in the parlor to stay recording.

The sound of a car horn outside broke her thinking.

"I will see you tomorrow," the gypsy's mental voice danced in her head.

'You gonna be okay?' Jennifer thought in reply.

"I will be fine. Now go. Get drunk, get laid, whatever."

Jennifer grabbed her purse and exited the shop and approached the waiting car. She slipped into the back seat as two of her friends sat in the front laughing.

"Where to, Jenny Boo?" the driver asked as a cloud of smoke escaped her mouth.

"Somewhere where the music is loud and the drinks aren't watered down." she sighed as she tried to relax.

"Awww, what's the matter? Working for the witch creep you out again?" the passenger in front asked with a grin. It was obvious both of them had begin celebrating the weekend early.

"You have no idea," Jennifer reached over to grab the offered joint and took a solid hit as the car made its way out of the marketplace.

[Shira Chess (DELETED 5266)]

The first few minutes after she left hadn't brought much excitement for the young acrobat. She stood across the street, staring at the shop, honey amber eyes filled with emotions that couldn't be named. To alleviate her boredom, she turned to the brick wall behind her, finding the tiniest of cracks and bumps. Nimble fingers and quick feet soon had her scrambling up the side of the brick like a spider. The building was short, perhaps two stories, so she reached the roof in no time.

Once there, she perched on the ledge and stared at the shop some more. A brow quirked as she watched the clerk bustle off. From her vantage point, she could no longer see what was going on, but the girl was gone for quite some time. And when she did return, she looked worn and shaken. This was something Shira took as a good sign, for it meant that her gifts were found. Confirmation came just a few minutes later when a new display went up. She could read the sign easily from where she sat and she smirked as she did.

So Angel wanted to play. This was a good thing, and she was almost tempted to take the bait. To fling herself off the roof and go running in to Pandora's. To toss herself in the woman's arms and yell surprise like a child at a birthday party. But she did none of that. She simply reigned in her excitement and used a rusty ladder to climb down.

Sauntering across the street, she pulled the hood of her black sweater over her thick hair, hiding her face mostly in shadow as she did. A quick glance through the window showed neither hide nor hair of the two women inside. She knew she only had a few short moments, so it was with nimble hands and black lipstick that she wrote on the window, almost directly in front of the display.

"You're welcome, Angel."

Capping the tube, she tucked it in her pocket and scampered off, vanishing in to the dwindling late night crowd to plan her next move.

***Three Days Later, 8pm***

A tall, nervous looking, rat faced male jerked open the door to the creep shop and struggled to get through. Held in his hands was a large bouquet of exotic flowers, and two dozen brightly colored balloons. Tied around the vase was a small, intricately carved wooden box. Nestled inside the box was a harmless, anatomically correct Lucite heart threaded on a small silver chain. There was a thick, red liquid inside that moved with an almost oily sluggishness. And expert eye would be able to tell the contents were blood that was beginning to congeal.

Walking up to the counter, the man set the items down and looked at his clip board before looking at Jennifer. "Are you Angela Ferenczy?" He asked, wiping one sweaty palm against his jeans. His client had been very specific about who the flowers belonged to. And even though she had been a tiny slip of the thing, the man was terrified that she would hunt him down. There was something not right about her.

Jennifer gave a shake of her head and the man swallowed hard. He wasn't supposed to leave with out seeing this Angela person. But fear was more powerful than the almighty dollar. With shaking hands, he thrust out the clipboard. "Okay look, lady, I don't want to be her. Please.... just sign this so I can go home!" After giving him a quizzical look, Jennifer signed where indicated, surprised when the pen and clipboard were snatched from her hands before she could read the shop name. And to add stranger to strange, the delivery man turned on his feet and ran as if the hounds of hell were after him. Tucked in to the lavish bouquet was a plastic trident that held a small white envelope with a card and note inside.

My Dearest Angel,

I was quite pleased to see you enjoyed your presents. I only hope this paltry gift will bring you as much joy. I will see you soon."

[Zodiac]

"The guy asked for me by name? By my real name?" Zodiac drummed her fingernails on the table as she watched the security footage of Jennifer's encounter with the delivery man. Beside her hand was a printed phone pix of the message on the window someone had noticed the first night this had began.

"Yeah, he did. I did not say anything to confirm you was here." Jennifer sighed.

"This guy looks ready to piss his pants at any moment,"

"Yeah, he was scared of something, and not the normal 'I am walking into the house of evil' type of fear some get."

Zodiac frowned. The evidence was suggesting her newest 'admirer' was less than stable to the point of being dangerous. Normal delivery people had their own form of armor to them. In and out of so many places and situations they did their job with a smile and walked like a pro. Whoever this was, it wasn't the fact he was in Pandora's that was scaring him. It was his client.

Again, a beautiful package for her 'gift' to be displayed in. If she were still human, she would be terrified by now, but being exiled to the darkness as she was tended to build new armor of sorts. She had seen and done far worse than what this one had done so far.

The 'gift' sat in a small box lined with cotton where the mystic had removed it with a pentip next to the vase that had also been untouched except by the rim of the mouth. "What name did you sign with?"

"Mine. I mean, I do work here and all. That was wrong, wasn't it?"

"Six in one, half dozen in the other. If you had refused, we have no clue what this person might have done next. Something more direct and possibly dangerous and possibly to you. But by signing, you admitted you know the person they were asking for."

"I'm more worried about you." Jennifer insisted. The gypsy smiled sadly. The effect of enthralling her was showing. No matter how much free will she left her dear friend, it came out in times like this.

"You can worry after I check these things for clues, depending on what I find."

*********

(2 hours later)

Her attempts at locating and scrying fell short when she inspected the necklace. She could guess who had originally made the item, and could pick up clues as to the type of innocent used to fill the chamber, but only a very vague impression of who had put this together. They had obviously wore gloves of some kind, but it was someone who wore them as a norm. Clothing, like other items worn against the skin of a individual, picked up and eventually became saturated with the aura of the person. A hint showed itself regardless, suggesting the gloves were new, being broken in, but it was a habit of the person.

The odd bit was, it was dimly familiar in a way the girl could not put her finger on. She told Jennifer as much while dropping the gift back into the box and closing her desk drawer.

"But this is different," she tapped the vase. "Was a nice little wellspring of information."

"About your stalker?"

"Sadly, no. But the one who delivered it is a different matter. He has sweaty hands. Bodily fluids hold so much of one's aura in them. I want you to grab a couple hours sleep. Tonight we hunt."

"I get it." the girl smiled. "If we can find Rat Face, we can ask him about who hired him." Jennifer jumped a bit as Zodiac broke a small section of the vase free.

"Now, we set this out again in our 'Thank You' spot but make sure the damage cannot be seen so easy. Got a nice little lodestone here to track with. Anyways, you can sleep on the couch upstairs. I need you fresh and awake later. Not sure how long this will take."

As Jennifer did what she was told to do, Zodiac carried the vase back into the shop and set into place in full view of the storefront windows. Outside, the evening was gathering since the sun had dropped below the horizon. Suddenly the windows were a liability. A human meant she could only be on guard for so much of the time, while the would be hunter could come at any time. Someone who knew her name. Her real name. Who knew what else this person knew about her. She had gone to great lengths to make sure Angela Ferenczy and Zodiac were 2 different persons in the eyes of the world. Details in the wrong, eager ear could bring her little pocket empire crashing down around her.

For the first time in years, she suddenly felt vulnerable, and she knew she did not like this.

[Zodiac]

(5 hours later)

"I'd hate to see her idea of a tip."

Zodiac made a snorting sound and grinned as the pair looked down at the body that had been wedged between a dumpster and the wall of one of the old warehouses. The body had been stripped clean of clues. No ID or papers, nor even keys. Only the silent, cooling body missing its heart. The wound was rough, almost torn and they eyes spoke volumes of pain and terror.

"Now what?" Jennifer asked. Her glock was in hand as she kept looking over their surroundings in a practiced sweep motion. Zodiac slowly stood up and considered as her eyes took in the darkened buildings surrounding them now. Silently she cursed herself.

"No talk, just thinking. We have been set up," Like rats to a piece of cheese, they were now in the open and on unfamiliar ground. Another small piece of the puzzle now. Whoever this was knew she could scry and had counted on that fact. Who the hell knew this much about her and what she could do?

'You call it then,' the girl kept moving like before calmly.

"When I say now, put your shades on and be quick with your aim." the mystic whispered as she focused on her hand. Suddenly, a blinding sphere of light appeared and pushed the darkness back to the point of daylight. "NOW!"

Two sets of eyes worked quickly as the illumination spell worked. On one of the rooftops something moved and Jennifer fired two shots. Zodiac turned from her view and fired as well. "Right behind you!" The mystic followed the girl up the fire escape to the roof and discovered they had put holes in an old bit of industrial grade plastic sheeting that fluttered in the breeze. "Your aim has improved a lot,"

"Thanks. Plastic beware." Jennifer sighed as she looked about in the now fading glow. With a wave of her hand, Zodiac canceled her spell and darkness fell around them again. "Do you mind if I say this is really starting to creep me out?"

The mystic smiled and fought the urge to reply "You and me both" and took a seat on the edge of the roof. "Well, that was fun. Kinda. I was sure we was lured here for a reason," her eyes kept looking about for clues but saw nothing out of the ordinary save for the body below.

"Maybe they just watching us now?"

"Possible. Is why I have not done anything a mortal witch could not do for the moment." she admitted.

"What do they want?"

"At a guess? Me. Either try and drive me crazy or something else. I am still wondering how they could know my real name and have a working idea of what I can do."

Jennifer was about to speak, then paused and shrugged her shoulders.