4.2 Cathouse

Bob Cat blinked his eyes open. His head throbbed but otherwise everything seemed to be in working order. He sat up and ran a hand through his black hair. It took him a few moments to realize he was on the couch of the loft he shared with Death Ray. Ray was in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the apartment. Ray gave Bob a nod as he turned back to the frying pan.

Bob struggled up and off the couch. Every part of him ached, but it was better than the alternative. He had already died three times, and he had no plans to suffer through another revival anytime soon. “You got any of that for me?”

Ray looked his way, nodded and waved him over. Bob sat down at the small fold out lodged between the kitchen and the living room to enjoy a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. He was chewing his sixth bite of egg when the buzzer sounded. Someone was downstairs at their door.

Having been unconscious for several hours, Bob doubted highly it was any of his lady friends which meant it was almost certainly a client. He couldn’t remember the last time they had a paying gig. All this freelance “helping out” as Ray liked to call it wasn’t paying the bills. Bob leapt from the chair and ran down the stairs to the first floor.

He threw a smile on his face as he yanked the door at the bottom of the stairs open. “Hi, can I help you?”

A tall man, thin but well muscled, stood in the door. He wore his hair short and as brown as his eyes. He stood up straight, government-issue straight. Bob wondered which government.

“My name is Conrad Thierry,” the man said. “I’m looking for Bob Cat and Death Ray.”

“Well you found us. I’m the Cat.” He gestured past him. “I assume you’re not here for breakfast, so come inside and tell me how we can be of assistance.”

“Good.” Thierry pushed past Bob and in to the small hallway opposite of the stairway. He continued in to the small room Ray and Bob used as an office and sat down at the vacant secretary’s desk. He promptly threw his feet up on it and looked at Bob.

“Please make yourself comfortable,” Bob said.

“Is your partner available, Mr. Cat?”

Bob nodded before he turned to call Death Ray down the stairs. Ray was already at the top of the stairs and on his way down. “Here he comes,” Bob said. Ray reached the bottom of the stairs, and he and Bob went in to the office and took two of the remaining seats. “Now what can we do for you?”

“First, I would like to put in on record that you two are not my first choices for this mission, but my superiors seem to think considering your past history that you are the best choices for the task at hand.”

Thierry pulled a thick envelope from inside his jacket pocket and threw it on the table. “My superiors at ACTION have come across information that another so-called Norn Stone has been located in the northern areas of the city, in a region called Pisa. Are you familiar with the Stones?”

Bob nodded. He tried not to salivate at the very thought of the Stone. The Norn Stones first appeared shortly after the Devastation. They could be used to channel massive amounts of energy, but prolonged skin contact would cause them to absorb in to the human body. Anyone who absorbed one would then become a metahuman. If a metahuman did the absorbing, his powers would increase several times over. Only a few of the longest residents of the Divide ever came to possess them, people like Mister Mayor and Antagonist. Though dozens existed none had been seen in months.

“Everyone in the Divide knows of the Stones, Mister Thierry. Everyone here dreams of getting one for themselves.”

“Our information within the Divide is limited but we believe it may be in the hands of one of your fellow metahumans, a Venus de Milo. We know little beyond what our satellite scanners can read.” Thierry gestured to the envelope on the table. It was stretched in the middle by what could be nothing other than several bundles of cash. “In that envelope you will find one hundred thousand dollars for each of you, Mister Cat, Mister Ray. I am here to hire you as unofficial agents of the United States government in this endeavor. I want you to enter the so-called Pisa region, locate the artifact, and return it to me. If you do so, we will quadruple the money found in that envelope. Each. As well as another artifact which you will certainly be interested in, Mister Cat.”

Bob reached down and opened the envelope. He found several bundles of hundred dollar bills inside. He showed the envelope’s contents to Death Ray. Ray just nodded.

“What is this artifact you’re talking about, Agent Thierry?”

“It’s a certain sword. A Japanese-made katana. No known name exists for it, but it possesses innate magical abilities. You should be familiar with it, as I believe it’s the missing part of that ensemble you wear, Mr. Cat?”

A greater man might wonder how the United States government had uncovered so much of his history, but Bob could only think of the sword. He spent months looking for that sword after he recovered the rest of the costume, but never found it. Now he could feel it within his reach.

“We’ll do it,” Bob said.

Death Ray reached out and turned Bob back towards him. He gave his friend and partner a glare. Bob could tell he was in no way pleased.

“What? We need the money.”

Death Ray just shook his head in frustration. He snatched the money out of Bob’s hands, turned, and started back up the stairs. He slammed the door shut at the top.

“Don’t worry about him,” Bob said to Thierry. “I’m not sure why he’s so moody right now, but once we take a down payment, we guarantee we finish the job. He and I will be a team when we go in to Pisa. We’re partners and all that even with all his anger management issues.”

“I don’t want excuses, Mister Cat. I want results. Can you deliver me the Norn Stone and do it within the next week?”

“You can count on us, Agent Thierry.”

“You’d better hope so. Because if you fail in this, Mr. Cat, you will find yourself with a powerful enemy in the United States government.” Thierry suddenly smiled, which only served to make him look even creepier. “But that’s not going to happen, is it?”

Thierry patted Bob Cat on the shoulder. He placed a card in Bob’s hand before he continued on his way to the door. “I expect a status report in forty-eight hours. Do not disappoint me, Mister Cat.”

Thierry whisked through the door and out in to the street. Bob watched him go until Thierry turned. The sun’s glare caught Bob’s eyes. He blinked and turned away for a moment, but when his eyes returned to the street, Thierry was gone. Bob pocketed the card and rushed up the stairs to find Ray.