Ch. 8 People, Greedy Stupid People

I drove home, my thoughts on just how strong the Blue Dragon Guild members were. I knew I was a ways off, even Will who had been doing this for 6 months was only level 6. That got me thinking, so I pulled out my phone.

"This is Will.", "Hey Will it's Odellin. Do you have some time this week? I don't want to bug you or anything, but I don't know all that many Rift Breakers and I'm thinking you would be the best to help me, with you and I both being long ranged."

I heard him chuckle and he said "Yeah sure, I'm visiting my mom for a couple days, but I will be back around by Friday. You alright? You sound different."

Even he could tell the hesitation in my voice. "I need to learn more about the 'System' and my abilities. I just raided the open Rift and those Blue Dragon guys, holy cow man."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. A whole other level. Alright well hit me up Friday and we can get together.", "I will, thanks man." then I hung up and drove the rest of the way home in silence lost in my own thoughts.

When I got home Bella jumped out and ran to the wooded area nearby. I could hear rustling and waited for her to do her business before she came waddling back to me and up the steps to our home.

I opened the door and smiled at Lynette, who was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner. "Hey honey, how was the raid?"

I explained everything I saw and felt and she just shook her head "Damn, that's something else. You still want to be a Rift Breaker?" I nodded "I am definitely gonna have to become stronger, but yeah. I was thinking that with me not having to work now, I would spend a bit of time training up my skills and getting what I have already stronger."

She nodded "Just like grinding your skills on that RPG with the dragons and elves you love." I chuckled "Yeah definitely." I said as I sat down on the couch heavily.

We ate dinner together while we watched a movie, then it was time for bed. As soon as I turned to go to bed I heard my phone ringing. "Who the hell is calling me at 9 at night?" I wondered aloud.

The caller ID showed Claire was calling. "Hey Clai-" I began as I answered the phone. Her voice cut me off "Mr. Hundai, they're coming for me. They're trying to break down my door."

I immediately put her on speaker so my wife could hear "Who? Who is coming for you?"

I heard a man yelling from the other end of the phone "My girl friend and her brothers. I told her I had a Mana Stone that I was gonna sell to buy the books I needed for next semester. She told her brothers and now they're coming for me. Shiiiit-" then I heard a loud crash and Claire's terrified scream.

I picked up the phone and took it off speaker as I ran out the door. Bella was right on my heels "I'm coming Claire, hang on." I yelled through the phone before I hung up and jumped into the car.

I peeled out of my driveway and drove the ten minutes it took to get to her trailer in about 7 minutes. I turned off the car and ran to the door, Bella rushed ahead of me through the broken door frame and began sniffing around.

The trailer itself was devoid of sounds, except for running water coming from the kitchen. I went to the sink to turn it off and listened. I couldn't hear anything.

I called her cell back and heard the ringer. It was right next to the broken door frame.

"Fuck" I said out loud and punched the door frame. Only then did I notice just how bad of shape the place was in. The furniture was thrown across the room, the bathroom door was broken in as well. The bedroom door had a hole in it and the bed was on it's side, against the wall. She must have struggled a lot in that 7 minutes.

Bella looked up at me, then ran out the door and started sniffing around. She sniffed until she came to tire tracks that had to have been left by tires that peeled out of here quickly.

"Bella, I know you're not a dog, but do you think you could track Claire down?"

Bella looked up at me and her vicious grin told me all I needed to know.

I hopped in my car as Bella ran in front of it, guiding me with her nose. We continued on like this for another twenty minutes and even though Bella was not as fast as a car, she was still pretty fast as I kept up with her, doing almost 35 MPH (Miles Per Hour).

She ran up a driveway and I almost had to slam on my brakes so I didn't overshoot it as we got to where Bella tracked Claire to.

It was a long driveway that ran up into a lightly wooded area, the driveway itself was twisting and turning making it dangerous to go too fast.

When we got up the last stretch of driveway I saw a beat up looking pickup truck parked in front of a house that wasn't necessarily in the best condition, but it looked fairly big.

Turning off the car I pocketed my keys and grabbed the Goblin Crossbow from the back seat and held it in my right hand. Bella's ears perked up and she was about to start running before I said in a low voice "Quiet, we don't want to spook them Bella."

She turned towards the side of the house and then we both slowly crept up on the house, Bella in front of me.

When we got to the house I could hear the sounds of yelling coming from what seemed to be a storage shed, or a garage behind the house.

"Where the hell did a non-Breaker like you get a Mana Stone girl? Don't give me that crap about Mr. Hoondal giving it to you as payement for babysitting. Nobody would do that." then I heard a smack and a scream of pain.

Bella bristled as she crept silently forward. I did the same, being careful to watch where I stepped. I heard a ding as we approached closer to the garage, yes it was definitely a garage, but ignored the ding as I was too focused.

"Harry, don't hurt her too much. If we want her to get us more Mana Stones she needs to be able to do whatever she did to get that one." came a female voice I assumed belonged to the girl friend.

I heard a grunt "Her story isn't changing no matter what we do." then I heard another smack and had to grab Bella before she rushed in.

"I bolb you alreaby, Bister Hunbai gabe ib bo me." I could her Claire's voice come through what I thought was a swollen lip. To say I was pissed was an understatement, but I had to think about this logically.

First thing I did was called 911, Before the operator could ask me what my issue was I hurriedly cut her off with a whisper "I don't know where I am, but I have GPS on my phone. My babysitter has been kidnapped and is being held prisoner and being beaten by a group of people. I can hear them now, send help, but please stay quiet I'm going to put you on speakerphone in my pocket so you can track my location."

I pressed the speakerphone button and slid the phone into my pocket. I hoped they could hear everything. Thankfully the operator didn't say anything else as I approached the garage.

Once I was close enough I peeked in one of the windows and saw four figures, two men were standing over Claire who was tied to a chair and the other was the 'girl friend' smoking a cigarette off to the side, close to the door.

I leaned in to Bella and whispered "I will go in first, if either of the guys come at me, tackle them, but don't bite or scratch." I could swear she nodded to me. I stayed low and got to the door.

I jumped out of hiding and into the open door, grabbing the 'girl friend' and pointing my crossbow with a Mana Arrow loaded onto it at the men. I wrapped my arm around the 'girl friend' in a choke hold and yelled out as she squealed "Don't move."

Bella came right in after me and stood next to me, I could feel her anger as she eyed the two men.

Their eyes went wide and they backed away from the chair as they saw Bella and the crossbow with a blue bolt sitting on it waiting to be fired.

"What part of don't move did you not understand?" I said as they froze in their tracks. the 'girl friend' struggled for a moment before I pointed the crossbow at her "No, just no" she stopped moving as well.

Bella moved over to Claire, keeping an eye on the two men as she did. She nuzzled Claire's leg, who was in tears now "Bister Hunbai, you fsound be." I nodded "It will be alright Claire. I am here."

I pointed the crossbow back at the men, "One of you untie her now. If you try anything funny Bella there will make you her new chew toy."

They looked down at Bella who flashed them her teeth as she stood next to Claire. The taller of the two, the one with blonde hair and a sleeveless T-shirt moved over to Claire, knife in hand. Bella saw the knife and growled. He was shaking as he tried to undo her wrists.

The other one tried to jump on Bella and I shot him in the leg, it sent him into the wooden beam behind him as another Mana Arrow loaded itself into the crossbow. "Anyone else want to try anything?"

The other man shook his head as he finished cutting Claire's ropes. He turned to his sister, "You said he wasn't a Rift Breaker Jenny."

His sister shook her head and eyed the crossbow "He wasn't, he worked at that Pizza shop." I grinned "Yeah, not anymore. Now I break Rifts and Goblins. Don't make me break you."

The man shook his head and backed up as Claire jumped up out of the chair and I pushed Jenny away towards her brothers and grabbed Claire in a hug. She was crying so bad her makeup had run all down her face.

"Shh, Claire it's alright now sweetie. You're safe with me." She nodded and continued to cry. Jenny ran over to her brother who's leg was bleeding from the hole my Mana Arrow left behind.

"Harry he is gonna bleed out, grab me something to wrap his leg." Harry looked at me and I nodded, then he turned around and grabbed a towel, tying it around the hole in the other brother's leg.

When they were done I said "Now, all of you sit down. We will have a little chat until the police get here." I said as I leaned down and kissed Claire on the forehead before taking my jacket off and handing it to her.

She used it to wipe off her face and then looked at the jacket and me horrified. I chuckled and gave her a 'Don't worry about it' wave and turned my attention to dumb, dumber and dumbest.

"Now then, why in the fuck did any of you think it was a good idea to hurt this beautiful little girl? Are you stupid, or do you just not give a shit about other people?"

Jenny looked at her brothers who shook their heads before she could say anything. I opened my left hand and shot out three Force Missiles, one above each of their heads to blow holes the size of my fist in their wall.

"Talk or the next ones will not miss." I said and Jenny began spilling the beans.

Apparently her brothers were small time drug dealers for another guy. She knew, but was excited when her friend said she got a Mana Stone from babysitting she couldn't keep it to herself. Her brothers got the idea to see if they could get more from Claire before they sold them to their dealer. When they didn't believe her about me being a Breaker, they started beating her.

I shook my head and was about to say something when I heard the sirens. The police came into the garage when I yelled for them and they immediately drew weapons on me, noticing my crossbow. My badge was on my chest and the one in charge lowered his pistol as he saw the badge.

"You're the one who called?" I nodded then heard on the speakerphone a female voice "I have the whole conversation recorded, since the officers are there would you mind handing the phone to one of them please?"

I pulled the phone from my pocket and handed it to the officer who spoke to me as I hooked my crossbow back to my belt.

One of the other officers stayed pointing his weapons at the men and Jenny, while another asked Claire and I questions, taking notes on his notepad.

The officer with my phone hung up and handed it back to me, then noticed Bella and jumped about three feet in the air 'White men can jump, ha'.

Bella grinned at him and I clarified "This is my Animal Companion, Bella." he nodded and clutched his chest. Bella waddled up to him and nuzzled his leg "That is a big raccoon. Man Breakers are something else."

I grinned as he scratched Bella's head. The other officers arrested the men and Jenny, while the EMT's checked out both Claire and the man I shot in the leg.

The officer I had been talking to turned to ask "Is that from you?" I nodded and patted my crossbow. He nodded and made a note of it "I don't think any charges will be pressed given the situation, but if they are call me. My brother is a lawyer and he does work for a lot of Breakers. Wish I could become one, but the stones cost too much."

I laughed at that and took his card, "I know someone who can get you some stones." he chuckled at that, then Claire looked at me and the officer with a 'that isn't funny' look and we both looked at the ground sheepishly.

Another 2 hours went by before the officers left after I told Claire I would come by the hospital to check on her and she was taken away in an ambulance.

When I got home Lynette had tons of questions, so I explained everything.

"Hey Lynette, does she have any family around here?" I asked and Lynette shook her head "No, she's an orphan hun." I nodded as I thought to myself and Lynette sighed "Really Ode? We don't have the room."

I grinned as I pointed to the car "We can always put a deposit on a house."