[Myrtle Beach (August 2022)]
The following morning, the gang of sorcerers were all slowly but surely getting ready to begin their day.
Everything had been rather uneventful after the agents and their two new charges departed from the MacNamara household yesterday afternoon. The drive took a bit longer than they had planned, so the group didn't actually show up at the hotel until a little after five o'clock. And with most of the hotel's amenities being closed by that time, the group decided to spend the rest of their Sunday lounging about and doing a bit of mindless exploring until it was time to go to bed.
Just like how the agents had imagined, the luxury hotel that they would be spending the next week of their lives in did not fail to impress. The place was nearly spotless, the rooms were huge, and they had a nice view of the beach from their balconies. And to top it all off, they didn't even have to carry their bags up to the top floor. One of the perks of being a "VIP" guest, as it turned out.
"I still can't believe that you guys managed to get these rooms on such short notice." Cyrus said to Evan as the trio of male sorcerers walked out of their room. One that contained three separate bedrooms for all three of them. Just like the one for the girls.
"I know, right?!" Evan smiled after letting out a yawn. "And for pretty cheap too! Usually, rooms like this run you about $400 a night, but the hotel manager gave me a discount since we're renting both at the same time. We're basically getting two for the price of one."
"I do feel a bit bad, though. The agency is supposed to cover our overnight costs whenever we're out on jobs. But you're paying for us with your own money." Freddy stated with a slightly ashamed look on his face.
"Eh, don't worry about it." The 'wind magic' user said with another smile. "It was a part of the deal to have you guys come with us. So it was worth it."
"Besides, this is far from the dumbest thing that Evan has ever spent money on." Elizabeth declared as the dark-skinned woman suddenly appeared from around the corner. The other MacNamara twin was standing in front of the elevator alongside Valerie and Maria. Both of whom gave the guys a quick greeting upon their arrival.
"You guys heading down to get breakfast too?" Evan asked his sister.
"Might as well use those VIP privileges while we can, right?"
"Can't argue with you there." Cyrus nodded in agreement.
"Besides, I read that their serving crepes this morning, and I certainly don't want to miss that."
Once the elevator had arrived, the group of six wasted no time in making their way down to the restaurant. Upon their arrival, they were greeted with the sight of a rather classy-looking dining hall that was decked out with fine tablecloths, crystal chandeliers, some nice-looking paintings, and a young man playing the violin on the low stage near the back window.
Needless to say, the group of young sorcerers was certainly impressed by the accommodations, and they took some time to admire their surroundings as they were being escorted to their table. Once they were all seated, the waitress wasted no time in taking their orders before disappearing to get them their food.
"So..." Evan began the conversation in between sips of his water. "Just to make sure that I have this right, Cyrus and Maria are going with Elizabeth to meet with her client in a few hours. While Valerie and Freddy are with me for the rest of the morning."
"Yeah, that's the plan." The tall blonde said with a smile. "We were planning on switching it up every day while we're out here. But this is what we decided to go with for the day."
"Makes sense."
Cyrus also nodded in agreement. "This way, everyone will get the chance to stretch their legs instead of being trapped in some room while Evan and his coworkers are doing their thing. No offense."
"None taken." The 'wind magic' user replied. "I don't blame you guys one bit. I'd probably do the same thing if I were in your sho-"
Evan's words were cut short the moment he and everyone else at the table suddenly felt the presence of three mana signatures moving in their direction.
'I wonder who that is.' Maria thought to herself. These mana signatures definitely weren't from cryptids based on how they felt.
"One of them is strong." Freddy commented, his words earning an affirmative nod from Cyrus.
The others were quick to agree with the 'dark magic' user's assessment. One of the unknown individuals who was moving towards them was around A-rank based on the amount of mana that they had. While the other two were roughly around B-rank.
"I wonder who they could be." Elizabeth looked at her brother. It was a rarity for them to run into other sorcerers randomly like this. Since there were so few of their kind running around outside of major population centers like Charlotte, it was very uncommon for two sorcerers to just bump into each other.
"I guess we're about to find out." Valerie adopted a slightly serious expression on her face as she turned her attention to the entrance of the restaurant.
The unofficial leader of the group knew that something like this was way too convenient to be a coincidence. So, she readied herself just in case these newcomers wanted to try something stupid. Her job was to make sure that the twins were safe from anyone who might try to harm them, and Valerie certainly wasn't about to let some clown make a move on her charges.
Barely a minute or two later, the three mystery sorcerers appeared at the restaurant entrance. One was a taller man with shaggy black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes who looked like he was in desperate need of a nap. Another was a woman with blue eyes and strawberry blond hair styled in a fishtail braid who was wearing a green sundress. And the other was a short woman with curly brown hair that Cyrus recognized almost immediately. All of whom looked to be around their age, or maybe even a bit older.
Once they were in clear view of each other, both groups directed their gazes towards one another. It was only after a brief second of staring each other down that the curly-haired brunette attempted to break the awkwardness.
"Hey, it's you!" Mikayla said loudly while pointing to Cyrus from across the dining hall.
"You know her?" Freddy quirked an eyebrow at the 'tree magic' user.
"Yeah, kinda. Me and Ayako had a job at her store a few months back. We had to get rid of some keegan rats that made a nest under her shop."
"Hey, this is the guy I was telling you about!" Mikayla then looked at her two partners. "The one who helped out at my shop."
"Is that so?" Hannah quirked an eyebrow while giving Cyrus a curious look. 'So this is the agent with that interesting magic, huh? He doesn't seem to be all that strong. But if his magic does what Aaron said it does, then this might be a good opportunity to gather some intel on him.'
The new arrivals were quickly seated at the table right next to the group. Once they got comfortable, the leader of the trio of criminals was quick to introduce herself.
"I'm Hannah Donovan." The strawberry blonde said with a friendly smile. "And the anti-social one here is my brother, Aaron."
"It's nice to meet you. My name's Evan." The 'wind magic' user greeted back with a friendly handshake. "This is my sister, Elizabeth."
"I'm Freddy."
"Maria." The stoic woman said in a cool tone.
"Name's Valerie McKenna. Nice to meet you guys!"
"McKenna?" Aaron spoke up while giving the tall blonde a strange gaze. The man quickly recomposed himself before he continued speaking. "Like that big sorcerer family out in California?"
"Yeah..." The woman said with a sheepish grin. "But don't worry. I know my family has a bit of a reputation, but I promise you I'm not like some of my relatives."
"Noted."
'Reputation?' Cyrus and Maria thought simultaneously while shooting a glance over at their partner. Neither of them was aware that the woman's family had any sort of reputation.
Hoping to quickly avoid an issue, Mikaya tried to change the topic before her friend said something that they would regret. "So...what brings you guys all the way out here? We're a long way from Charlotte."
"Work." The 'tree magic' user replied. "What about you?"
"Hannah's boss decided to treat her to a nice little vacation on her dime since she's been killing it at work lately. Apparently, she was planning to come here herself, but something came up, so she gave Blondie here the chance to unwind and she brought us along with her."
"You must have a pretty sweet job." Freddy said. "What do you do?"
"I'm basically just a glorified secretary." Hannah replied. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't technically a lie either.
Elizabeth then decided to join the conversation. "Still, though, it's pretty rare to run into people like us just out and about like this. You'd be hard pressed to find one of our kind outside of a big city."
"I agree. I guess today was just our lucky day."
The group of young sorcerers spent the next twenty minutes or so talking and eating. The conversation was pretty normal as far as the agents and their charges were concerned. Evan, Mikayla, Freddy, and Hannah did most of the talking while Valerie and Cyrus added their two cents in every now and then. And as one would expect, Aaron and Maria just quietly listened in, only talking when they were spoken to directly.
"Hey." Hannah then directed her gaze towards Evan. "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like that famous singer, Elaine MacNamara?"
The 'wind magic' user, along with his sister, tensed up a bit before regaining his composure. "I would hope so. She is our sister after all."
"Wait, really?" The strawberry blonde said with a look of shock on her face as her eyes darted between the twins.
"Yes." Elizabeth answered.
"That's crazy! Wow, I guess good looks must run in the family, huh?"
"Oh, stop it! You're gonna make Elizabeth blush."
"Funny." The 'earth magic' user gave a slightly annoyed grin.
'Damn, this girl didn't waste any time.' Valerie side-eyed the woman. She wished she could be as smooth as that.
"I guess that explains why you guys have so much mana." Mikaya added. "That sister of yours is S-ranked, right? It makes sense that you guys would be just as powerful."
"Actually..." Elizabeth spoke. "Elaine's got way more mana than us. She even has more than our father. According to the rumors, if it wasn't for Mubele, she'd probably be the strongest sorcerer on the continent. Well, except for that psycho down there in Mexico."
"The Thunder God?" Aaron said with a curious tone. "You know him?"
"Oh yeah! He and Elaine go way back; they went to school together for a couple of years. We run into him every now and then whenever he's not working."
'They know the Captain?' Maria thought to herself. This was actually news to her. The 'beast magic' user had never actually met the guy who was technically her boss on account of him being on some long-term mission. Then again, it did make a lot of sense in her opinion. Rich kids like this have always had powerful connections. And their father was the head of the DPA, after all. It was only natural that they bumped shoulders with notable people like that on a regular basis.
"That's crazy."
"I'd hate to be that guy, especially since we're all having such a lovely breakfast, but I think it's about time we head out." Freddy interjected while holding up his phone to show everyone the time.
"Yeah, you're right." Cyrus nodded while finishing off his plate.
With that, the group of agents and their charges set down their silverware and stood up from their seats. They still had a bit of time before they needed to be at their respective obligations, so now was as good a time as any to hit the road.
"Wait a second!" Mikayla shot up out of her seat before walking over to Cyrus. The 'bone magic' user then pulled her phone out of her pocket before handing it over to the young man. "Let me get your number. We'll be here for the next few days, and it'd be a shame if we didn't hang out before we left. Besides, I want to pay you back for helping me out at my shop."
"Sure, why not?" Cyrus shrugged before taking the woman up on her offer and plugging his information into the device.
"Smooth, Mikayla. I never knew you had it in you!" Hannah laughed.
"Shut up!"
"She's got a point." Evan couldn't help but laugh. "I might need to use that move in the future myself."
For some reason, Elizabeth gave her brother an annoyed glare. But she decided not to say anything to avoid making things awkward.
'Oh sure...that works just fine for her. But when I try something like that, guys just give me some lame excuse and run off in the opposite direction.' Valerie did her best to suppress her annoyance. Trying not to remember the last time she tried to get a guy's number, only for him to say that he wasn't interested and walk away from her in the middle of the mall.
Once the two finished exchanging numbers, Cyrus and his crew left the restaurant. Leaving the trio of criminals to talk among themselves. They didn't say anything until they felt like the mana signatures of the others were a suitable enough distance away from them.
"Well...that was an interesting little encounter." Hannah looked at her two partners with a devious grin. "I guess now I see why the boss made us come out here."
"You think she planned this?" Aaron looked at his sister.
"I wouldn't put it past her. This isn't the first time she sent us somewhere only for us to conveniently run into a person of interest."
"Either way, we now have that guy's number. Which means that we can track his phone whenever we feel like it." Mikaya waved the device in her hand while smiling at the other two. "And our chances of getting some more information on him later on are pretty good."
"We'll still have to wait until after our operation is over with to make our move. But I guess there's no harm in doing a bit of extra reconnaissance while we're here."
"Magic aside, he's only around a B-Rank based on his mana. And I have the elemental advantage over him. Capturing him won't be an issue."
"Then I'll leave the hard part to you."
Mikayla was practically ready to jump out of her seat. "Oh man, I can already see the money we'll get from him once we take him back to the hideout! With a unique magic like he has, we'll be rolling in dough for months."
"All in due time, guys, all in due time...."
-(o)-
Charter Profile: Mikayla
Name: Mikayla Andrea Dempsey
Alias: N/A
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Birthday: January 29th
Birthplace: Berkeley, CA, USA
Height: 61in
Weight: 127lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Race: White
Magic: Bone
Occupation: Business Owner, Iznana Operative
Stat Chart: B
-Physical Strength - 2.5
-Intelligence - 4
-Magic Amount - 3
-Magical Control - 3
-Magic Sensing - 3
-Special - N/A
Fun Fact:
-Favorite sport is softball.