Amy One
Shapeshifters have to prepare for numerous possibilities, situations, and circumstances. It doesn’t matter if one is preparing to give a monumental presentation or snatch a Rembrandt out from under an elitist nose. The effort requires attention to detail, the ability to adapt to a situation faster than someone can blink, and to be a smooth talker.
Amy One watched a vampire killer flee. She had expected resistance, and some retaliation would have been verbalized or attempted. Amy had set several contingencies in motion before coming into the store and she had proceeded to ensure that her task was completed. There had been one moment when she had been working. There had been a few signs, but she had written them off too quickly. The next thing she knew, Amy One, an art thief, was regaining consciousness; and she had found herself in the front row of the showdown.
What is this?
The movements were controlled. The weapon was unique in its construction. A human female displayed control and self-confidence with complete awareness of the type of creature she had come face to face with. Amy felt impressed by the discipline. The fight proceeded and Amy quickly ensured that she had maintained Chad’s form. Her body ached from the punch and the resulting impact. The female charged but then lost some kind of armament. She then proceeded to release a second weapon within seconds of realizing her error. This weapon, Amy observed, had a thin blade and had been concealed inside a tube or rod. The attacker muttered something under her breath, and her shoulder stiffened.
Who has the skills to take on a vampire, and what kind of blade was that?
A hunter? A government agent? Some kind of independent contractor?
The third one seemed unlikely. Amy felt certain that she would be aware of independent contractors. Hunters were a dime a dozen, and one could pin down a government agent by their rules or powers. Amy glanced around the second. There were noises of distress, but no one had dared come over.
Amy singled her attention on the fight. The government, M.A.G.E, was supposed to be licking its wounds. Amy had carefully planned her movements and actions while in this quaint area. Hunters had skills and weapons. The woman didn’t show any powers, and she was gutsy to take on a vampire. At the same time, hunters move in packs. There was never just one in a town. Not if the hunter wanted to survive.
This raises questions about the area and whether or not I can-
Amy’s thoughts trailed off as the hunter lashed out outward with a fist. She caught Chad right in the mouth. He flew and in a flash. Amy coughed as Chad’s head rolled across the floor.
You’re a hunter I’d rather not tangle with. That strike was quick and agile! Who are you and why haven’t I ever heard of you before?
The hunter looked fatigued, but understandably moved to make her escape. Amy had been so caught up in the evaluation and regeneration that when their eyes met, Amy felt her innate abilities kick in. Eyes were windows to the soul, and shapeshifters were well-equipped to see through the fluff. The hunter displayed anxiety, and there was a look of genuine surprise. Amy felt her mind stall. She hadn’t quite recovered from her assault. A moment passed, and she shut things down as noises and commotion carried across the store. The lights flashed and Amy didn’t waste a moment and immediately changed form. It was a basic form, one that she had picked up on the street in the inner city. Amy had selected it because it had seemed innocent and careful observations had proved that she would be warmly welcome among a group. Chad was dead, and it would raise too many questions for any worker or one of the security guards to see a twin.
Amy thought about her prize hidden behind the counter. Was there any chance to salvage the operation?
There was a way. Whoever this hunter was, she was unwelcome news. Her first task was the rightfully pin the fiasco on the guilty party.
“Murderer!”
Amy unleashed the theatrics as she readied herself for the encounter. Big eyes, hysterical rambling, and soul-chilling horror centered on how someone had cut off another person’s head. Within seconds, half a dozen employees and the two security guards from earlier appeared, and the workers hurried to her side, while the security guards, with hands on the weapons, took in the scene but then pulled back in astonishment.
“That’s a body!” one exclaimed. “Without a head!”
“What the!”
“Oh my GOSH!”
This was certainly a new level of crime for the store apart from the random vandal and the occasional shoplifter.
Amy let her form tremble, and she placed a hand over her mouth. The employees all went pale as they took in the body and the expanding pool of blood. The employees chatted, and Amy allowed them to fill in the details themselves, which helped as more people came over and there were new exclamations and outbursts of alarm.
“Who would do such a-“
Amy ignored the speaker but cheered inside as a large, broad-shouldered man vomited at the sight of a severed head. Amy knew she struck gold. Everyone’s attention would be on the attack. Questions about her employment would be secondary thoughts.
By the time they dig into me, I’ll be long gone-
Amy’s eyes fell on the ground near where she had impacted the display and lying beneath some debris, she spotted the drug tube. Amy bit her lip and kicked it under a round display base. M.A.G.E didn’t need to get their hands on that, at least not anytime soon. The hunter didn’t need it either. There was enough residual in the container. Someone with enough chemistry knowledge, along with some potion making would be able to figure it out. Its poor reaction made her skin crawl. When you pay top dollar, you expect to have premium results. It should have kept him out for hours, but it had worn off in a matter of minutes. The oversight and inconvenience! She wouldn''t make the same mistake next time, and the Chemist would answer for shoddy work. No one cons a con artist.
“We need to get everyone outside!” an official person said. Amy felt their voice was na?ve and the authority they were asserting was fresh and untested. Still, Amy didn’t resist and assumed a submissive persona. For the moment, her face was the face of a victim, and a traumatized victim. There would be considerable attention on her, but the actual employees, guards, and the forthcoming police officers. They would ask questions, but the situation was as simple as someone wearing a mask and holding a gun. No, the hunter had been quite expert in their execution, maybe even masterful. This was a back alley or some deserted street. That had been a foolish choice, one with too many variables.
Amy paused and gritted her teeth, her insides felt twisted. Fortunately, the people around her assumed it was absolute shock and fright.
It was brash, but where had the hunter gone? She was young, but the things she did. Those were things you can’t just do. They must be taught and practiced. Then there was that blade.
Even if she had help on the inside, the hunter wouldn’t have been able to predict the outcome, and the store would have been full of people. Amy had hoped the people would have been sufficient cover if Chad had attempted to get even, and it would have worked. This hunter was an outlier. When had a new player come onto the scene? And in this town? Who could take out a vampire and not have a reputation?
“Everything is going to be alright,” said a red-headed worker with braces. “The police are here, and I’m sure more will be in just a few minutes.”
“You’re incredibly lucky,” a second worker said, a boy with curly hair. He cut off with a grunt and Amy figured someone had elbowed him in the shoulder. Amy turned and did her best to show a teary smile. He had no idea just how right he was.
I know the people monster hunters and M.A.G.E agents who would have the skills I witnessed in action. I know their faces, their schedules, their contacts, and those who would disclose information for the right price.
They were good, a true mixture of masters and experts. Amy always had to be on her guard, but it was a system that worked. Amy thought back to the scene, she needed something to give to the officers. Some key details they couldn’t overlook or set aside.
Amy returned her attention to the scene. It wasn’t flawless, but she could remember a landscape nearly as good as she could remember a face. You couldn’t enjoy French impressionists without some internal understanding of the marriage of emotion, color and detail.
The blood was centralized in one place. The crucial moments before Chad’s premature death played out in her mind.
There were no streaks or splash marks.
The hunter had been wise to push the body away to avoid getting any blood stains on her clothes, and she hadn’t appeared injured when she had fled. The lights flickered overhead.
The help?
An alternative option was generated in her mind, and she cursed at the oversight. Monster hunters tend to work in pairs or trios, but why were they there? Chad wasn’t the kind of vampire that chased small children or had some kind of bizarre fetish. The hunters wouldn’t waste their time on him. The only other target was her, and a shapeshifter would be a big prize. It would be something worthy of name recognition.
Amy scanned the crowd and even began to feel suspicious of the employees around her. Was this a prize hunt? Had someone tipped off hunters that a shapeshifter was going to do a job outside of their territory?
No one had known she had been coming, but she could think of at least three people who would put a target on her back. Amy could list plenty of people who would come after her, and there was a smaller list of people who she would prefer to stay away from, halfway around the world, or would if possible. Her first list stayed true in her mind. The area was supposed to be remote and unassuming. The earlier chaos had rightly put the government into a frenzy, and this wasn’t going to help. At the same time. Amy was sure this wasn’t a chance encounter. Someone had put the hunter up to it.
Someone special and vindictive.
“The cops have asked that we clear the store while they secure the scene,” a coworker said softly. “There are paramedics in case anyone is hurt if you feel that you’re going to vomit or faint. They would like to examine you.”
“Great idea,” Amy said, focusing on a sinking feeling that was sparking her flight or fight response. “I need an exam.”
Some workers commented on her bravery, while other coworkers offered some words and comfort while hiding their disgust for the horrific scene behind them.
Severed heads tend to do that. Amy thought.
Now they were free from the murder scene, and Amy began to formulate a plan. The police were there, and she hadn’t thought about the people who came to see what was going on. Someone could be in that group, and unwelcomed Someone, and while it would take some time for the hysteria to die down. Amy thought about her story, and her mind went blank. She chalked it up to the results of her collision, but at the same time, she hadn’t planned on infiltrating the store. You can’t just walk around and take people’s clothing and pretend to be someone you’re not; maybe in the big cities, but you need to have the right target knee-deep in the right kind of stress.
They’ll pick apart my story because their case would tank if my credibility got shot. I can give a basic description of the hunter, but there were plenty of people in the crowd by now. The hunter could easily have escaped.
“Hello,” a man in a suit called out, “let’s calmly proceed outside and we’ll take statements and-”
“I’m sorry detective,” one of the security guards said, “but this situation is critical and”
Amy relaxed slightly as they stopped beside glass shelves full of decorative statues like animals and furniture along with racks of floral greeting cards. The security guard and the employees, even though none of them had been present, began to break down the series of events. The lights flickered, and someone commented that the cameras were out and Amy pretended to cough in an effort to hide her amusement as one employee spun details, some of which included an axe and a big, hulking giant.
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“I better call it in,” the detective said, “if we’ve got an axe-wielding killer on the loose!”
“No, it was,” Amy began, but the security guard stepped aside, and he began to talk over a radio. While the detective pulled out his phone and stared at the door, undoubtedly keeping an eye on his officers who were securing the external doors.
It''s impressive that she was able to get away from the scene.
Amy wrinkled her nose and skidded her feet across the floor a few times to implant the thoughts of nerves and worry.
“It’s alright,” one of the workers said with some motherly reassurance.
“Thanks,” Amy said adding a sniff. It seemed unlikely that the hunter was still in the building but the comments about the lights and the cameras struck her thoughts. It was likely that she had help, but why was she here? Had Someone tipped her off? Was it worth going outside and attempting an escape? Amy hadn’t seen the help, nor did she know if Someone himself might be hanging out as the woman with the stroller, or the teenager in the dark green hoodie.
“Please head up front,” he said dismissively. This was probably the most action he’d ever seen on the job in his entire career.
“Be sure you give your statements to the police. There are some officers outside.”
Amy studied the guard’s uneasy reaction and then complied with every order without complaint. It wasn’t time to make her move, but that window of opportunity was closing fast.
“Hey get the manager over here,” the detective said. “what is going on with these lights? Did you guys forget to pay your power bill?”
Amy lurched forward and was immediately surrounded by supportive employees. It was fortunate no one wore any name badges, and for now, her name would be the furthest from people’s minds. In a store like this, people often don’t know their coworkers. It was a great cover.
Lights? Pay the bill? Someone you are a devil.
The hunter was gone, but her help was, without a doubt, still here, and why would that happen? Amy thought about her ill-placed duffel back and a few other pieces of incriminating evidence. The police might ignore it because the hunter had cut the head of a worker. That was going to take precedence over a few canvases held together with rubber bands. The hunter? Would she try and steal her bag? Why not? Hunters were generally strapped for cash unless they used fake IDs or stolen credit cards. A few thousand bucks, that was a few thousand bucks and Amy had a reputation for being one of the best forgers.
They’ll probably take it and slip out the back. Amy reasoned, Or, if Someone is really feeling overly cheerful, he might just wait until it''s logged into evidence, and then he’ll produce a warrant to get it out for some high-profile case.
If there was one thing Amy couldn’t stand, it was to have Samuel One, aka Someone, have something else to hold over her head.
I’m not going back to the drawing board. Amy thought adamantly. I’ve got too much riding on this to give up now.
Time was money, and Amy hated losing either, but she loathed losing both. It was time for some drastic action. Amy fingered a ring on her right hand. Then she looked out the window and pressed down hard on the band.
A small mushroom cloud erupted from across the parking lot. A car, which was now unidentifiable, ballooned into the air and came down with a fervent crash that several windows bowed from the shockwave and had spiderweb cracks spread across the surface. Everyone in the store went berserk. Amy meanwhile dove for cover behind one of the nearest cash registers and assumed a new form, a bald male police officer. He was in his late forties and came from a military background and family, but from her recollection, he hadn’t seen any combat. He had been stationed at a base and had been on the perimeter patrol. Amy felt her muscles expand, and she coughed once to make sure the digraph would give her the commanding voice she would need to bypass any security.
Someone was smart to put a monster hunter on his payroll, but hunters are always looking for a quick payday, and no hunter would stick around for the police to arrive unless they were desperate.
Now ready to move, Amy conducted a quick search beneath the cash register and found a pair of scissors beside a roll of black trash bags. The hunter was well-armed, and scissors were comparable to throwing a small rock at an oncoming train. It would have been preferable if she had a gun, but real weapons weren’t something she couldn’t simply create. If necessary, shapeshifters could generate the appearance of something like a gun in a holster, but it wasn’t something that they could actually use. Amy jumped over the cash register and knocked her now broad shoulder into a rack of candy bars, which spilled across the floor, but she ignored the poor excuse for pain and made a steady advance deeper into the store. Amy checked a corner and put her back up against a display as the lights went completely out and she heard someone from upfront say, “Is everyone alright?”’
Amy heard no replies but didn’t pay the group any further attention. If I hurry, I can grab the duffel and head through the loading dock, or a back employee entrance.
She was sure it would be easy to find. Most public buildings had emergency lights on the walls or on the floor to guide customers and workers to areas of safety. Amy tightened her grip on the scissors and charged back toward the frame section. There were inaudible screams, probably some confusion as to where their distraught, but unnamed co-worker had disappeared to. It was unlikely that they would suspect that she had raced back into the store. If anything, they would probably assume that she had made her way outside. It didn’t matter, because Amy One was going to be gone. The crowd would delay the search, and the car bomb would cause some serious disorientation and wild speculation. Amy kept her grab up and thin blade angled downward so she could strike at the first indication of trouble.
When the frame section came insight. Amy tensed. There were plenty of shadows and lengths of darkness and the emergency barely covered more than a few inches. She wasn’t particularly fond of cat-and-mouse games. Where could the agent be hiding? The guard she had determined was physically in his prime. He had decent muscle mass despite several hours of consistent sitting and hardly lifted anything heavier than a few boxes for older neighbors or helping his kids move into their college dorm forms. The form was suitable for infiltration but for a face-to-face encounter. Amy needed something else if she was going to put up a fight. She steadied herself and considered some alternatives but disregarded the thought when she spotted some mannequins. The faces had all conveniently been turned away. There were five in all and three of them were a similar female body size. Amy did a quick assessment of the moment when she had awoken and had seen the hunter kill the vampire.
What did she look like? Amy wondered. Was she blonde? Brunette. Redhead. It all happened too fast. Shapeshifters had fantastic memories, and fragments came forward as she pieced together the memory. Shapeshifters have a high tolerance to pain and injury, but the impact had made her mind go blank. If she had stayed unconscious longer than a few minutes, Amy tensed as she considered how she may have reverted back to her original form, which she could not risk using save for the direst of circumstances.
This has got to be a trick. The faces would have been forward for everyone to see no matter which way through the store they came.
Amy held the scissors, ready to strike. She turned her feet sideways and kept her free hand before her. Her boots squeaked across the tile floor, and her solid movements quickly turned into a shuffle. The indecision pushed her a bit faster. This was ridiculous. She was Amy One. She didn''t twitch, and she didn’t get nervous.
“Surprise,”
Amy tensed as something cold, and metal clicked down hard around her free wrist, and she felt her weight shift when her arm was jerked and pushed in a sudden motion that caused her body to twist and come down hard on her chest. Some kind of cloth was immediately pulled over her head and the scissors slipped from her fingers, but they were of no use anymore. By instinct, a new form came to her mind, and Amy immediately began to change but she didn’t want to draw attention to it. The hunter could have some insight into Someone, his movements, and plans. A gold mine opportunity wasn’t something to pass up. Amy slowed her process and allowed her now captor to continue. Most shapeshifters transform the inside out, and it wasn’t too difficult to keep the external change dormant until she was ready to spring an attack.
Let’s see what I can learn about these people. Amy thought. Due to the hood over her face, she only had a few clues to cue her into her surroundings. Amy waited for words, sounds, and anything indicating her attackers were in a false sense of security. The situation was tense, and whatever they planned would have to take shape fast, leading to mistakes Amy could exploit. Amy stumbled, and her assailants pulled her upright. Amy clenched her teeth, and her body went rigid when a third set of hands came down on her shoulders, she heard a click and found her arms now properly secured behind her back.
“You''re making a mistake.” Amy hissed, “I may be alone, but I’ve got a deadly bag of tricks up my sleeve.”
“Shut up and move!” a second voice ordered. Amy blinked twice. The speaker had masked their emotions pretty well, but there was an undertone that was hard to replicate and equally hard to hide. Amy mentally chewed on the command.
Genuine concern. Amy noted as she complied with the order; and was there some maturity in that voice?
That was it. A maturity that comes with age in the voice. A trainer? A mentor, perhaps? Amy began to build a profile, and then she began to assess the situation. There had been three distinct grips and the isles were pretty clear. Were the still by the frame section? Amy closed her eyes and focused on the noises; would she be able to judge distance if she could hear the employees and security from earlier?
Nothing!
The store would have been evacuated, Amy noted, and the police were likely setting up a perimeter and gaining initial information to assess the threat and if there were any other things to be concerned about.
Someone certainly pulled out all the stops to catch me in the act.
Who else would have known to attack a shapeshifter in the dark? Amy heard a phone vibrate and a hand urge her onward, but her captors remained silent. They were texting each other. Who were these people?
Amy closes her eyes and focuses on her attackers. There was plenty of contact and anyone smart would not maintain contact with a shapeshifter. Amy reached out but found her mind drawing multiple blanks. No stress level, no age, gender. They were wearing gloves.
Amy tensed and inched her new form onward. Time to make my own threat assessment.
There were a few more phone alerts, but then the sounds of the floor changed, and the prodding became a bit more frequent. Off in the distance, they were in a wider space, and Amy heard some noises and several pairs of feet fanning out in control of the situation pattern. Then, there were two doors and a change in temperature, even though the mask or hood. Amy recognizes this style. It was a play right out of the era of a loading dock. Amy relented any attempts of resistance, but several plans were coming together. She took a few different pieces and a picture formed in her mind. It wasn''t perfect, but a few moments of chaos would be enough to drive a wedge among these hunters. All she needed was a few moments and then, someone was going to pay and pay dearly.
Click, the temperature changed, and her captors steadied her ascent down some stairs. They were now outside. The captors spoke in low voices, and Amy was listening, but she caught no one, direction or name. Amy took in a breath and recognized the usual natural smells, along with faint traces of tobacco, alcohol, and car exhaust. Real exhaust, from a running engine.
Someone was kidnapping her!
Amy readied her most impressive form. A 6 foot three, 300 lbs, and enough muscle and pure fighting force that even the most aggressive Spanish bulls would see and promptly run the other way instead. Someone wouldn’t bring her to his new hideout. No, he would make sure that she was locked up in some dismal location until he felt that he had the time to come and visit.
Amy counted the stairs and genuinely stumbled when she found gravel beneath her feet. The captors grumbled about it, but at least they could see. Despite the inconvenience, she focused on the form. And pictured her satisfied thrill when she challenged these average goons. She''d send them back to their boss with their tails between their legs.
Amy narrowed her brow into a glare. It would be a much more menacing response and begin to engage the transformation’s characteristics. She felt her body become denser; her bones thicken. But her restraints didn''t break. Amy smiled and pushed her will further into transformation. Amy flexed her fingers and was ready to rip the restraints into pieces. Amy flexed her shoulders, but the restraints expanded, and then she paused when the material, some kind of metal, began to cut into her wrists.
This is unexpected.
Amy attempted a second show of force, but the restraints didn’t budge, and the links, cord, or chain linking them together suddenly began to constrict, and it limited her mobility even more.
Amy reversed course, selecting a new form, a nimble child with incredible speed. All the strength and mass she had begun to produce shifted in the opposite direction. Amy readied herself to cheer when the restraints fell to the ground, but instead, they remained where they were. Amy shook her hands, but she found them stuck, like a ring that doesn’t come off. Amy took a step and then felt restraint click around her ankles and a new length of cord secured them together. Amy considered a new form but doubted the results would be any different. Amy One was now completely in her captor''s power.
“Get these off of me,” Amy demanded, “Do you know who I am?”
“Your name’s Amy, and yes, we know who you are and what you do.” a male voice said. “And I''m sure your resume is impressive, but at this moment, we don''t care.”
This statement brought Amy a stiff moment''s pause, and she began to reassess. These people didn’t sound like hunters, they sounded more like some kind of agent. She had never been accosted by so many agents before, but all of this had reached a whole new level.
Someone would have to pay good money to employ people like. Otherwise, these are people he would avoid.
“Look,” Amy said. She still had the hood on and had to consider her words to avoid further setbacks “Tell Someone that he owes me big time. We had a good plan, and I didn''t appreciate getting left in the dust.”
“Figured,” said a woman''s voice. The same woman''s voice Amy had noted the maturity in before. The concern was there, but it wasn’t compressed or anxious. This woman had confidence.
“It was stupid coming here. You should have realized people pay attention, and M.A.G.E is volatile now, given the attacks from a few days ago.”
Name drop? Cliché! Amy rolled her eyes, but it was more for her own amusement. This wasn''t an interrogation. This was a poorly executed shakedown. Whoever these people were, they knew about M.A.G.E, but they weren’t a part of it. They had skin in the game, but they wanted something.
“I''ll take that under advisement,” Amy said. And look. “If you work for Someone, you should know that he''s tried to kill me several times. The longer you leave me alive, the better chance I have of getting away. And believe me, I know how to hold a grudge.”
“I''m sure you do,” said another male voice. Amy recognized that cadence is known for its advanced age. There was another tone. What was it? Yes, Amy realized, and this was something she hadn''t anticipated.
Urgency. Were they trying to fly under the radar?
“Whoever you are. If you''ve got a boss trying to make a name for themselves, you should let them know Someone is here and he''s up to something big. I''m talking about a real game-changer. If he or she asks nice, maybe you can come work for me.”
Amy felt multiple hands on her arms and legs. They were all gloved, so she was powerless to do anything. The group spoke in low voices, and Amy considered a different form but figured her cuff would change as they had before.
That''s all right, Amy thought. If there was one thing she was skilled at, it was biding her time.
“The offer has a clock,” Amy said, “and I wouldn''t consider it a limited-time offer when you chat about it.”
They would chat, but as far as she was concerned, they were as good as dead.