Once she put down the phone, Willow started adding to the list on her journal.
1. She needs to find who is behind this- the head honcho. From the groups of mercenaries, she is looking at a supernatural being who has lots of money at his/her disposal. But then, all vampires are rich. Could it be a member of the Elite council?
There is a motive- Coveting throne. If the king can be shown as useless to the people, then it would become easy for the member to dethrone him.
But why would they need the blood of other Supernaturals? What about the mage? If it's a member of the Elite council, then it would be inner politics. Why drag other Supernaturals?
All this guesswork is getting her nowhere. She needs proof. Solid evidence leading somewhere.
2. Rescue all of them at once. Even if she leaves one of them behind, the mercenaries will alert the head hydra making it impossible to rescue again.
3. What's the deal with the king? Perhaps it is time to confront that bastard. Or make him open his eyes.
No. Willow scratched the last one. Not now. If she confronted him now then he would become alert of her presence. And if he is part of this organization then all those lives... no. She must tackle him later. After finding out the head of the organization.
But how could she alone rescue all those people at the same time?
Reagan's idea is appealing more and more as she saw the statistics.
The location of the warehouses is at different corners of the city. A good 30-minute to 1-hour car drive. Even if she succeeds in rescuing one group, she needs time to recharge her power. By that time, the other team might get alerted.
This is getting harder with each new angle. No matter from which angle she saw, she had to face a very powerful supernatural, a powerful mage or witch, an army of vampires and werewolves. Well, at least there are no Supernaturals from 'Other' kingdom thrown into this mix. There is that.
Willow decided she must arm herself first to tackle anything. One step at a time. If she started thinking about the upcoming battle at her hands, she might go mad slowly.
Night has settled in, with stars blinking in the sky.
Checking the address of the arms dealer, Willow took her bag of weapons and drove to the address Reagan gave her.
She parked her "borrowed" car beside the seedy-looking garage. No one would have guessed that arms are being supplied behind this facade.
Willow strapped her weapon bag sans her bow and arrow on her shoulder and casually sauntered into the garage.
A bulky vampire is busy working under the hood of the car. She knew he heard her footsteps, what with his super hearing, but he gave the semblance of normality so she too pretended.
And the first rule of pretentiousness never shows your ignorance. Hence Willow waited patiently, scanning the garage, her eyes lapping on any potential weapons in the vicinity.
"Are you Billy Jones?"
The hulk asked after a few minutes. Willow hides her triumph smile. They always crack. But then what he asked penetrated into her mind.
Billy Jones? Seriously, Reagan?
Instead of asserting, Willow questioned, "who is asking?"
"King"
Right. I'm as much of Billy Jones as he is king. Though Reagan said his name is Dane. He is a good-looking vampire, there is no doubt about it. But he has no powerful aura that only a king can carry.
"Of course," Willow nodded, going on with this charade.
"Reagan said what you want. Come with me," he waved his hand as he left his tools haphazardly on the side, cleaned his hands on the napkin beside it, and walked to the back door.
Willow scanned the garage one last time, and after checking the weapons on her body for their accessibility, staggered behind him.
He guided her to the underground garage where a huge container truck is parked in the middle.
"This is it?" Willow scoffed, not liking the fact. This is less than she expected.
"Don't judge before you see it. This is my sweet ride," the vampire said, sweetly caressing the container before opening the door.
Weapons of all kinds hung to the walls of the container. Not an inch of space left. Machine guns, M134 Miniguns, Thunder 50 BMG, AA12's, not to forget a whole box of explosives of all kinds.
"Sweet"
"Reagan informed me of the choice of your metal. Is it for someone else?"
A frown appeared between her eyes before she realized the ring. She replied with a simple "no." No explanations. He can do whatever he wants with that.
"Are you going to sell this to them? Because I'm going to warn you, no double-crossing me"
"I'm not. This is for my use"
The vampire deflated as if he just heard that the lottery he won is bogus.
"Damn! I knew it is too good to be true when Reagan said she need stuff"
Willow is busy checking the guns to correct him.
"Pick whatever you want," the vampire said, already walking to the edge of the truck to jump.
"Everything," Willow said, not looking at him.
That stopped the guy in his tracks.
"I'm sorry, did I hear you say everything? Because I swear that is what I heard. Do you even know how much load is there in this truck? It's going to cost Reagan an arm and leg. Not that this is any of my business but are you thinking of attacking an army with that?"
"Yes," Willow replied, not batting an eyelash.
"You know what? Fine, don't answer. You do whatever you want to do. For all that I care, you can bathe with them. But no double-crossing me and no reselling them in the market"
"I told you they are for me"
The vampire lifted his arms as if he/she was a lost cause and jumped from the truck. Ignoring his blatant disregard, Willow checks each weapon. The weapons are specifically made for Fae with a metal that can be found in Faeland. Using this won't hinder her magic.
Willow made sure she noted everything in the truck. She then jumped and circled it to the driver's door.
"Need a hand to climb?" The vampire mocked.
Biting the inside of her lip, Willow placed her leg on the stand and climbed it.
"Pity," the vampire mocked as his shoulders dropped in defeat.
Without a backward glance, Willow maneuvered the truck to one of the safe houses of Reagan. No need to put all eggs in one basket. If someone is following her, they won't find her and the weapons in the same place.
Next, she went to meet the magic weapons dealer, the mysterious Rox, who may or may not have cost Reagan something.
Willow didn't like the sound of it, but more pressing matters need her attention to dwell on it.
She thought she would be meeting another solo supernatural in a dingy place, instead, the address led to a casino.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Reagan!" Willow swore loud. She doesn't want any kind of attention during this mission and here she is, at a casino brimming with all kinds of Supernaturals.
If she sees Reagan now, she will happily squeeze the life out of her.
Not seeing any other option, Willow covered her hair with the hoodie and bent somewhat to disguise her true height.
She approached the security standing at the door and said, "I need to meet Rox."
"Rox won't meet with anyone"
"Tell him Reagan sent a message," Willow said with fake confidence.
The security guards exchanged a look and one of them vacated his post and took Willow through the back entrance at once.
Strange. Willow is not liking this a bit as she ventures inside. Surely Reagan's name has an importance in this place. But in a good way or bad has yet to be seen.
She need not mull over it because as soon as she is introduced into the room, a booming voice asks, "where is she?"
Willow for once is at a loss of words. She didn't expect this reception.
Willow composed her face giving nothing away as she cocked her head and replied, "depends on what it's worth"
"Reagan informed me what you want. For me to hand over those things to you, I need her location"
"Rox... Rox... Rox... you are mistaken if you think I'm going to tell you anything. As far as I know, Reagan has already settled the payment. Now asking anything over it means getting greedy in your field. You know well what happens to the greedy people in your field"
"Are you threatening Fae?"
Willow shed the casual pose, her spine straight as if a broom is stuck in its place, her eyes narrowing at the slip of the person before her. How did he know? How did he figure it out? She wore her ring. No one should be able to guess it. Unless...
"Does Reagan know who you are?" Willow asked, anger leaving her body. There is no need to be in defense. He won't hurt her.
Wrong question to ask. Willow realized a second late when it left her lips. A storm brewed inside "Rox's" eyes.
Instead of answering her, he signaled the guard to bring the things.
"You can take whatever you want from this. But not one word leaves your lips about my identity or else you will know what I can do to those who cross me," he threatened through his clenched jaw.
"No need to worry on that front. I have no interest in interfering in your business. But before I go, I would like to make it clear to you about one thing. If you as much as harm a single strand of hair on Reagan, then no matter who you are or where you hide, I'm going to hunt you and kill very slowly"
The person straightened, squaring his shoulders, and said, "are you threatening me Fae? After learning who I'm? Don't you know what I can do for your existence?"
"Oh, I know what you can do. But you don't know what I or my team will do to you if Reagan get hurts"
"Duly noted," the person said with no flair, though his eyes betrayed him as he looked impressed by her. Well, he is warned. Though what the hell was Reagan thinking getting involved with the Fae king? And what is he doing in the vampire kingdom?
Though Willow warned him with the fake bravado, she knew as well as any other Fae that he can reduce her existence to ashes with a snap of his fingers. Yet, he let her live and walked away saying how much he wanted Reagan. Is that in a good way or bad way is yet to be seen? But as far as Willow considers, getting on the radar of a Fae king in any way is bad. Reagan, I'm going to kill you when I'm done here.