Siren had been following the girl for the better part of the day. It wasn't her usual m.o. - she didn't look out for trouble, she just went to places where trouble was until it happened to find her - but since she'd spotted her that morning, something had stood out.
One was how on-edge she seemed. Every teen had stuff to worry about. At least, Siren thought every teen did. She wasn't exactly up to date on the regular teen experience. But if television had any truth in it, anxiety was one of the core pillars of the whole sorta coming of age experience. It wasn't usually a cause for concern. Bad grades, boy troubles, crossing your parents. But this -
Was different.
She wasn't the only one following her.
It was just a bad hunch, at first. Combat training kicking in. Danger recognition. Something unnatural about the way a man in the shadows was watching passersby, something worse about the way he honed in on the kid. Siren was used to acting on her gut, though, so she followed - it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She was jobless, and had already secured a motel room for the week, courtesy of some hotshot news reporter who thought she was showing off when she booked the room with a fistful of hundreds. Thought she was a prostitute, too - paid her at the end and asked for a number.
Siren'd given her the hotline to the local Chile's Too. Hope she liked bean bowls to-go.
Anyway, the hunch paid off. She spotted the same face one more time, and another guy too. Not as bad a feeling about the second one. Not as much - well - danger, there. Still, he was very obviously looking at the girl, and he even followed her for a few hours. By the time it was getting dark, the two faces seemed to be gone, and she and her unwitting charge had ended up at an aquarium. Only then, in front of a tank full of a bunch of (really cool) eels, did Siren approach.
"Hey, kid."
She squatted beside the girl.
"Neat eels."
One was how on-edge she seemed. Every teen had stuff to worry about. At least, Siren thought every teen did. She wasn't exactly up to date on the regular teen experience. But if television had any truth in it, anxiety was one of the core pillars of the whole sorta coming of age experience. It wasn't usually a cause for concern. Bad grades, boy troubles, crossing your parents. But this -
Was different.
She wasn't the only one following her.
It was just a bad hunch, at first. Combat training kicking in. Danger recognition. Something unnatural about the way a man in the shadows was watching passersby, something worse about the way he honed in on the kid. Siren was used to acting on her gut, though, so she followed - it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She was jobless, and had already secured a motel room for the week, courtesy of some hotshot news reporter who thought she was showing off when she booked the room with a fistful of hundreds. Thought she was a prostitute, too - paid her at the end and asked for a number.
Siren'd given her the hotline to the local Chile's Too. Hope she liked bean bowls to-go.
Anyway, the hunch paid off. She spotted the same face one more time, and another guy too. Not as bad a feeling about the second one. Not as much - well - danger, there. Still, he was very obviously looking at the girl, and he even followed her for a few hours. By the time it was getting dark, the two faces seemed to be gone, and she and her unwitting charge had ended up at an aquarium. Only then, in front of a tank full of a bunch of (really cool) eels, did Siren approach.
"Hey, kid."
She squatted beside the girl.
"Neat eels."
