Wolves and Men

Sophia dropped down to ground level again and sped past the lone security officer in his booth. He didn’t see her swift passing, but he may have felt the wind she created. She ran up the ramp in pursuit of the car. The garage was quiet and she heard very little noise.

The car in question pulled to a stop and Sophia, slowing to normal human speeds, started walking toward the car. The car’s engine cut out and Phil exited the car smoothly and bent down to grab a cup and a thin brief case.

Sophia stopped short and bent over to be level with the man as he ducked back out of the car. “Hello? I’m sorry to bother you, really.”

The Japanese man stood up slowly and eyed the woman carefully. He didn’t seem flustered or nervous but his knuckles whitened as his grip tightened about the briefcase handle. “Yes, Miss how may I help you?”

“Well, you see I was invited to a friend’s house tonight, these are very nice condos by the way, anyway I was invited over and I must have left my light on or something because now my car’s dead. I was wondering if you might have some jumper cables.”

“If your friend was any kind of friend, they would call you a cab.” He said not cruelly but he did take a step toward the nearest elevator.

“Well I would, of course, but um you see the reason I left now was because…well she has a new boyfriend…and …well, you know…” Sophia was equal parts embarrassed and timid. She took a few more steps toward him. “I really couldn’t bother them right now. They probably wouldn’t even answer the door. And, I mean, you are right here.”

The man shook his head slowly, “I’m sorry Miss. I really don’t have jumper cables. I will call a cab for you, ok?”

Sophia was surprised in spite of herself this was not the kind of behavior she was expecting from this guy. She nodded her head in agreement. There was a small twinge of guilt before she moved. If he had been an asshole then this would be easy, but he didn’t seem like such a bad guy at all. But she had a job to do.

In the time that it takes to blink, she was beside Phil with his hand at his side in an iron grip that no human could break. She whispered in his ear, “Get in your car right now and your wife won’t have to find your brains all over the pavement in a few hours.”

The sudden movement was definitely a shock to the man but he maintained his dignity and simply nodded. He held his briefcase in his hands and turned calmly toward his car. Sophia stood behind him as he got into the driver’s seat. She then forced him into the passenger seat as she climbed in behind him and locked the doors.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said as she inserted the key and started the engine. “But if you try anything I will kill you. Do you understand?” Sophia was watching the man intently.

The man nodded quietly. His eyes were sharp and his demeanor was calm. He had laid his briefcase on the floor and his eyes were looking at her calmly.

Sophia pulled the car out of the garage and into traffic again. She saw Simon’s Galant pull into traffic behind her. Splitting her attention on the road and her passenger, she was aware of everything he was doing and what he wasn’t doing. Her vampire sight was searching his body for tensing muscles, strained veins, the tightening of his cheeks. He was doing none of these things. This made her a little uneasy and she readied herself for whatever he might be planning. She pulled the car off into some seemingly random alley and stopped the car.

“Get out, please,” Sophia asked politely. The man did as he was told and stepped out of the car into the dirty alley. Simon had parked his car but left it running. He quickly got out of the driver’s seat and stepped up behind the man and gently pushed him forward. Phil wasn’t stupid and he began walking. One minute Phil was walking calmly toward the dark end of the alley with both eyes open, and then suddenly he couldn’t see.

Simon had fastened a molded eye mask to the man’s head, blinding him before Phil could react in any way. Simon then gently grabbed Phil’s elbow and guided him some distance. Then he whipped Phil around in a circle several times. The blind folded man was disoriented and Simon had to help support him so he didn’t fall.

Sophia pulled up in the Galant and Simon helped the dizzy, uncoordinated man into the back seat. Simon sat next to him and bound the man’s hands. Sophia drove off into the night.

She stopped in the industrial district. She pulled the car into a warehouse garage and parked. Simon got out and pulled Phil with him. He guided the man into the warehouse office that had been carefully sound proofed for just this sort of occasion. Simon sat the man down in a chair and Sophia cut all the lights except for one that shown down on the bound seated man.

Sophia took up a position behind him, while Simon was in front. Sophia pulled the blind fold off of Phil. He sat blinking for a few moments as his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light focused down on him.

Simon stood with his arms crossed. “What is your name?” he asked in gruff Japanese.

Phil’s eyebrows shot up at hearing the language. He squinted as he leaned forward to try to see through the bright light into the darkness that shrouded Simon’s form and kept him in obscurity. Sophia reached down and gripped his shoulder tightly. She pulled him calmly back and put pressure on him. He was to stay put. Phil didn’t struggle against the grip and seemed to relax as he sat in his chair. Sophia kept light pressure on his shoulder as a reminder.

“What is your name?” Simon asked again in the same gruff, but patient voice.

“My name is Kenji Matsumoto,” the man said with a strong dignified voice. He didn’t try to lean forward but he kept his head level and his gaze steady, even through the bright light focused on him.