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  Suspect 2 was knocked unconscious after attempting to bite arresting officers. Once Suspect 2 was restrained both remaining suspects surrendered. Noteworthy is that all three suspects were armed with either inherently nonlethal weapons, or had used non-lethal gel rounds where guns were used. Museum uncooperative in inventory of what suspects attempted to steal. Artifacts found in Suspect 1's vehicle were returned. Judging by how suspects act there may be items that have been overlooked.

  Suspect 1

  Name: Unknown

  Aliases: Justine Kristoff, Allen B. Shepherd, Richard T. Manning, Drake Carter

  Race: Human Caucasian

  Gender: Male

  Hair: Bald, presumed brown judging by facial hair

  Eyes: Green, Class S optical implants. Registration #451CQC99

  Identifying marks: Scarring on left wrist (presume inflicted by bladed weapon). Bullet wounds in right pectoral region, right calf, and left hand. Tattoo of a three pointed symbol on left pectoral. Size and coloration of tattoo possibly indicates gang affiliation, but matches nothing in local or regional databases. Aura, when photographed, is almost non-existent. When questioned on the matter subject is both aware of atypical aura and stated that he is 'dead' magically. Detailed transcription of conversation can be found on page ten.

  Charges: Vehicular Assault, Speeding, Resisting arrest, Destruction of Public Property, Public Endangerment, Possession of Unlicensed Weapons.

  Notes: Subject appears calm, though uncooperative. Repeatedly asked after accomplices condition, apparently has connection with the lamia we took into custody. Getaway vehicle is a heavily modified Xai-Pan, more commonly referred to as an 'urban assault vehicle'. Full inventory of getaway vehicle can be found on page seven. Attempts at matching genetic and aura resulted in being contacted by a CNS Col. Elly Starbride. Discussion was brief and one sided with Starbride informing me that subject has immunity and will be dealt with once he has been deported.

  Suspect 2

  Name: Shelly Windsong

  Aliases: Stormwalker, Crystal Scales.

  Race: Lamia South Asian, possibly Western Pacific Hair: Green, cut short at shoulders

  Eyes: Green

  Coloration: Dark blue with green diamonds along back

  Identifying Marks: None

  Charges: Assault, Assaulting an Officer, Theft, Resisting Arrest, Destruction of privet property, Destruction of public property.

  Notes: Suspect turned violently hostile during restraint. Appears to be claustrophobic, or possibly just reacts worse than the other two at being confined. Was injured during arrest and was attended to by Healer Gerald Finch (#4417H). Judging by reaction from Suspect 1 there is likely an ongoing relationship between the two. Was contacted shortly after identity was confirmed by Windsong's family requesting her name and images be kept out of any official reports to media. Personal opinion is that their requests should be ignored. Fits description of 'Golden Serpent' jewelry thefts in late ‘77

  Suspect 3

  Name: Unknown

  Aliases: Jenny, Shifter, ‘The Scarved One’

  Race: Human Oriental

  Eyes: Brown

  Hair: Black, thin braid extending to waist

  Skin: light brown

  Identifying Marks: Aura unusually active and consistent with multidimensional teleportation capabilities. To prevent subject from escaping she has been placed inside a multi-layered 'onion' ward.

  Charges: Resisting Arrest, Assault, Assaulting an officer.

  Notes: Suspects genetic and aura prints turned up no matches on local and regional databases. Clothing is custom, though appears manufactured rather than tailored. None of the identifying tags match known brands or sizing conventions. Suggest we keep her lack of identity from media in initial reports in case, like with suspect 1, she turns out to be military.

  Accident Report

  Supervising Officer: Alex Goldeyes

  Date Filed: 16 09 1878

  Summery: Following orders from Capt. Kamio prisoners were kept separated until transferred from local holding facilities to Mudloa till trial. Police Magi assisting in transfer were instructed to maintain active warding around suspects for fear that suspect #3 would be able to affect an escape, or gain access to means of escape through weapon, tools, or other summoned items. Transport vehicle left at 0800 without incident and followed pre-planned route until approx. 1042. At that point radio and empathic contact was lost for two minutes. When contact was reestablished all three prisoners were missing and escorting magi found unconscious but otherwise unharmed.

  Roadblocks were called for at approx. 1100 as well as sweeps of astral space intersecting scene of the accident. At 1400 it was determined by Sarah Avery (#4426M) suspects fled this dimension, but the exact path is not known, and attempts to recreate the bridge used have so far ended unsuccessfully.

  The odds of the trick working had been slim. Jenny laughed the moment that they exited between space and landed. Drake was too busy throwing up to notice anything, leaving Shelly as the sole member of their group staring at their surroundings. She had only found out their newest companion was a world jumper just before they made their move, else she would have pressed the woman to putting her more unusual talents to use in their raid. The end of her tail flicked in irritation. Want in one hand... They had escaped, that was the important thing for the moment.

  "Drake?" Shelly knelt by her companion while eying him with concern. She knew a little of healing, so worked small magics, it was all she dare risk working in her condition. They had all been treated badly in one way or another, so all she could manage were small things without risking harm. He smiled at her tiredly before squeezing her hand with his.

  Jenny eyed the two of them, then their surroundings. They were in a city of some sort, that was plain. It was modern enough to have electric street lamps and automobiles. Judging by their standards they landed in an upscale section of this place. It wouldn't do to have to answer questions right then, so with a sigh she put a hand on each of her companions.

  Shift.

  Guns pointed at them. Men, dazed at their sudden appearance aimed at them. Wouldn't do at all.

  Shift.

  They were in the midst of an inferno.

  Shift.

  Somewhere

  Safe and

  Secure.

  Please, somewhere

  Safe.

  Lizard-men charging...

  ...Beggars half-mad swarmed over them with hunger in their eyes

  ...Elves drew swords when they interrupted their coronation ceremony

  ...Shelly's laughter at swiping the crowns of the Elvin Monarchs died when they saw hundred foot tall metal creatures striding towards them. "Jenny. Now would be a good time to get out of here."

  Jenny's eyes were unfocused. Shelly could hear her chanting something under her breath in a low whisper. Drake tried to shake her senses loose, but she continued to focus on nothing at all.

  "JENNY!" Shelly shrieked. The metal beings were almost on top of them. Guns drawn and speaking something that hurt Shelly and Drake's ears. She slapped Jenny. Hard. "We have to go!" One of these Titans fired at them...

  Shift.

  Jenny collapsed in a bed of flowers. Never mind that they were now in the proverbial Middle of Nowhere rather than back home. Nothing was exploding, on fire, trying to mob them, eat them, kill them, or jail them. Shelly, wide eyed and fearful, grabbed both her companions roughly and slithered towards a nearby cluster of trees.. It was hard on her because she rarely participated when hard labor was involved, but her kind had a natural amount of strength that surpassed most normal humans. That was the only reason they moved the way she wanted rather than stay out in the open.

  It was their good fortune that they had moved, because something large, winged, and apparently predatory, landed a dozen paces where they had landed. Drake's eyes widened. He knew this creature. They all knew. Roc. Think of a large pterodactyl, or if you do not know what that is think of a dragon
without scales, and with only as much intelligence as a hawk or other bird of prey. Now visualize that thing as being the size of a draft horse and give it a taste for meat. That is what Drake saw.

  It sniffed the air and screamed defiantly at them. They stood perfectly still. It might smell where they had been, but they did not move, so it couldn't see them. It would have followed into the trees, but they were too close together for it to enter and not suffer claustrophobia. Every instinct in it's brain would scream that it was vulnerable with the trees so close that it could not take to the air at a moment's notice. It might wound or kill them, but it would be a target, and possibly fall prey to something on the ground. That made chasing them not worth the risk in it's animal mind. With another scream it launched itself into the air with powerful legs.

  With the Roc gone they took a moment to consider risking another shift, or letting Jenny rest. It wasn't a hard choice to make really. Each shift took as much out of the Shifter as a full workout would Drake or Shelly. They sat, talked, congratulated themselves for getting out without having to hurt anyone too badly. Drake and Shelly did that, to be more accurate. Jenny slept.

  "Shelly?" Drake had managed to find a limb that could serve as either a walking stick, or possibly a weapon, and started doing what he could to remove the unneeded branches, bark, and rough places with a sharp stone he had broken. "Do we even want to go back? I mean sure there's professionalism on the line. We said we'd deliver, and I'm not talking about cheating our client out of what he'd already paid us for." His companion was busy looking up through the trees at the green sky and pink clouds of their temporary refuge. What could have made those colors in an environment fit for life to thrive in?

  "You're wanting to change venue after telling Jenny you would rather die a hunted man in the place you were born than to always run?" She smiled to give lie to her otherwise admonishing tone. "I knew I'd rub off on you boy." She frowned at the sky. "How long are we giving Jenny?" It hadn't been ten minutes since their companion fell asleep, trusting that they would keep her safe, or wake her if they needed to run.

  "Give her a couple hours Shelly." He picked up another stone and started smoothing the spots where he had roughly cut branches away from his stick. "Don't give me that look, please. You know doing this is hard on her. We'll leave as soon as she's ready. Boredom never killed anyone." Well not if you weren't some creature out of Greek myth that supposedly heard a story so boring that they died. At least that's how he thought the story went, but it'd been awhile since he took history classes, and he always liked the mythics of the 'new' world better than the old.

  Well, most anyway. He smiled at Shelly in spite of her continued muttering over being stuck to one place. She was willful, wild, and never ever boring. Sure she would probably tire of him in a few months, but beneath the hyperactive selfish exterior she was loyal to her friends, and he was glad to have decided to work with her on a regular basis.

  Time passed. A few creatures moved through their field of view. None seemed to pay them much mind, not that they knew to be afraid of them. Jenny made small frightened noises in her sleep. Her companions worried, fretted, fumed, and stalked about in their own ways, but they kept watch. She was their ticket out of here, and her friend besides that.

  Neither Drake nor Shelly knew much about survival in the wild other than try not to get eaten, and if you can't run, then aim for the face because everything supposedly backs off if might lose an eye. Their lack of knowledge made them jumpy. Their lack of weapons made them if not precisely afraid than at least uneasy at every noise that came from around them. However they never moved away from Jenny, or tried waking her to get them out of there before she woke on her own. By the time she did it had started to grow dark.

  Shift.

  Considering the hellride they took getting away, the shift back had been a simple matter. Maybe it had to do with the wards that had been set on them, or the tension and fear in the air. Either way, they found themselves in the apartment they had rented while planning for the job. Police had been there, so everything was either strewn about, gone, or in a few cases, broken.

  Shelly tsked when she saw the pile her clothes had been thrown in. Her disappointed tsking turned into a low growl of frustration when she discovered her spare tools were missing. Drake shook his head at her, "We're just stopping here for a little rest and a shower. right?" Jenny looked up from where she had fished out a change of clothes for herself. "I don't think orange looks good on any of us."

  After doing these things they felt less weary than they had before. The change of clothes helped too. It was unfortunate that the place was probably crisscrossed with wards that would alert those looking for them if anyone showed at that apartment. Thankfully Jenny's trick of slipping from one world to another gave them an exit, although it ended up leaving Jenny tired.

  Drake frowned at this. Jenny had never acted this tired in so short a time before they had been caught. She wasn't working herself overly hard, at least not that he had seen. Of course he had no idea what affected what she could do. Maybe he was somehow hurting her just by being around. He dismissed the thought with a shake of his head while looking at the place they settled on.

  It was big, it was condemned, and it used to be a Church of Universal Brotherhood. At least it did till the Brotherhood had been found out to be a front group for a group wanting to replace the souls of its members with demon essence. It didn't matter to him or many others that they acted serene and peaceful. Salvation at the cost of even one human life had been viewed as nothing of the sort. He shook his head and laughed. "Good call lady." He patted Jenny on the shoulder before seeing if anyone else had taken the place for shelter. They didn't plan on staying long, but if the resident squatters demanded they leave they would leave. No sense in fighting just yet.

  There had been one other that called this place home. He wore tattered and stained robes that marked him as a former priest here. Small chance, in Drake's mind, of anyone stealing those. Most of the homeless, if given the choice between wearing those and freezing would take the robes and use them to make a fire. The fallen priest cowered away from Drake, black eyes wide with terror. "Please!" His voice was a fearful wail. "I ain't ever harmed nobody!"

  The priest's voice was enough to carry from the back room that Drake found him cowering to where Shelly and Jenny were seated on a stone bench by the front doors. They started to move when they saw the demon-priest backing away from Drake, stumbling as often as not over his robes. Shelly moved, wrapping herself bodily around the man. He struggled only as Drake approached, and when Drake backed away he eased up.

  Shelly loosened, letting the man go. "Nobody wants to hurt you." He glowered at her, "OK. None of us wants to hurt you. We just need to stay here a few hours till we can figure out what to do next. We didn't mean to barge in, and as soon as we can, we're gone. Can we all agree to keep calm and quiet in the meantime?"

  He drew a deep breath, "I don't care what you or the other woman do, but keep him away from me." The priest's hands clenched and unclenched. "You might want to keep clear of him too, if you value your lives anyway."

  The three companions exchanged glances, none wanted to ask, but Jenny approached. "What do you mean? He's not violent."

  The man-demon laughed, "I would have figured you at least might have figured it out Shifter." He smiled at her look of confusion, "You two gather close. You" He pointed at Drake, "Keep where you are. You might not mean anything, but this is something you can't help." He patted Shelly's tail lightly, which caused her to shift slightly to him.

  Drake shrugged and went to search the rest of the place as they talked. Part of what it he likely knew, but only part. He didn't want to hear the demon-priest talk anyway, it made his skin crawl.

  "I've heard of his kind, and we had one that had gotten as far as the transfiguration." Shelly glowered at him, it was the word the Brotherhood had used when describing the implanting process to outsiders. "When we finally saw through the
glamor woven through him we saw the same sickly non-aura your friend there has." Jenny arched an eyebrow but said nothing. "The..." He looked unsure, "My son died in the process. All that he was drained when he made contact."

  "He may wear a different face now, but all of us were given his scent and aura in case who or whatever sent him wanted to repeat the trick." The demon-priest took a deep breath and exhaled slow. "I had taken vows to do no harm once I came here. I cannot kill him, not even out of vengeance, or to defend my kind. I cannot even ask you to do what I can't. I just... please... keep him away from me till you go."

  "We won't bother you." Jenny squeezed the priest's hand gently. "I promise."

  Drake stayed gone for another hour, popping up only for brief moments after that to assure the rest that everything was fine and they were safe. He didn't like to talk about that job. He had played his part well and survived what none of the other spies had. Even those born of darkness did not deserve to happen to the thing that tried burrowing into him. Still, he meant no harm, and would cause no trouble.

  When it came time for them to leave the priest embraced Shelly and commended her 'for doing what I cannot allow myself to,' and offered Jenny advice if she were warded again. Her gift for skipping worlds was different, and wholly unique so far as how she did it, but there were certain rules that governed most spells, rules she might be able to exploit in the future.

  They still had the police looking for them, and they had to keep a low profile, but they were free and they had a job to finish. When they exited the church they sought their bearings and found that they hadn't traveled too far from their employer. Between Shelly and Drake getting transportation hadn't been that much of a problem, it had been far more challenging to find something Shelly could fit in without too much discomfort or embarrassment.