Chapter 61: Meet Auntie Dina, in the flesh

Esper Parker stayed with Brent up on the stage, even as the police and their version of the D.E.C. came into the room. Brent kept his hand on the gun, making sure not to move it too much. It was a good thing it was in his strong hand because his prosthetic was acting up. Every time that Brent squeezed his fingers, it would take a considerable amount of time to close.

Brent almost wanted to accuse his brother of being vindictive, but that was too soon of a reaction in his opinion. He would just guess that it wasn’t the right fit.

Esper Parker hovered around him like he was standing guard over Brent. Brent had no idea why he was being so cautious until he caught how their people were looking at him. Like he was the problem, not that he had prevented a greater massacre. Alright. Brent could figure this out.

They were viewing him as the problem, and Esper Parker was going to go down fighting if they tried to do so. Now his brother’s comment made sense. Brent wanted to snarl, but instead he gave a chuckle. These fucking idiots.

No wonder the E.A.G. was making a mess of them. No wonder they had sunk their claws in more. The people who were supposed to be fighting against them had lost their damn backbone.

Brent spat on the stage, making sure blood didn’t stay in his mouth that didn’t belong to him.

Esper Parker took the lead, speaking for Brent when they came over to speak to him. They were asking for his I.D., who he was, where he came from. Brent made sure that his eyes were glowing the whole time since it was clear that was going to have to be a defense.

The D.E.C. looking motherfuckers hesitated more when they realised that Brent hadn’t just killed people in cold blood. He’d been protecting himself. Even as Brent admitted he had no I.D. on him, his pants were too tight, and he was the younger brother of the James family.

The look of horror on their faces was almost priceless. He kind of wanted to take a photo.

It was during that moment that a woman in a uniform similar to Esper Parker’s came storming in. Her long, wavy red and white hair billowed behind her as she moved quickly. Her face was scrunched up in anger, and her eyes were glowing red. It was clear that she was worked up, and that she wasn’t in a good state either. Brent could tell from the flow of powers that he was tapped into that she was in a similar condition that Esper Parker had been in before Brent had guided him.

“What the fuck do you think you lot are doing?” She snapped, causing a few of the members who had approached Brent and Esper Parker to flinch.

“Captain Dina.” One of them began. The one who had been speaking to Brent the most. A random man, with basic features. He was unremarkable, and a civilian. It was actually surprising to Brent that a D.E.C. adjacent group had non-Espers or Guides at the scene of a crime like this. That would not be happening in Kellen’s home town. Rhys and Sergei would not allow it. Sakura didn’t really care that much.

“Why are you attempting to arrest him?” She snapped and Brent had to hide his smile. So they were trying to arrest him? Silly of them to think that he could go quietly. The group shifted awkwardly.

“Captain Dina, he killed several people.” The man said carefully and she came to a stop, slammed a hand on her hip, flicked her hair behind her shoulder and leveled her glare at all of them. The only reason why Brent was resistant was because he was used to working with S Class Espers. The others? Civilians? They didn’t stand a chance.

“He did your fucking job. You should be thanking him instead of attempting to arrest him. You should be securing this scene! This is a fucking crime scene, where an innocent civilian was murdered and this brave man, a Guide, saved many more lives! You should on your fucking knees thanking him for taking care of your fucking problem!” Captain Dina scolded and Brent could only see a small part of Kellen in her reaction. It was…very heartwarming for Brent since he missed the man.

“I wasn’t aware that civilians were capable of arresting those with powers?” Brent questioned, turning to Esper Parker. His jaw clenched.

“We didn’t want it, but the bigger, badder Guild said it was fine and got the other Guild’s on their side. So now the whole city has gone to hell in a handbasket.” Captain Dina said and Brent had a suspicious feeling he knew who the bigger, badder Guild was.

Brent’s family also had a Guild. It was the reason they had wanted so desperately for someone to be born with powers. Why they had gone to such lengths to breed and breed and twist DNA. It was how Brent was born, and he was an A Class Guide.

A blessing that had turned into a curse.

“I can put two and two together. Are you going to take my statement? After all, being covered in brain matter isn’t my favourite pastime.” Brent said with a predatory smile. The civilians before him shivered and they rushed to do so. They took the gun, thankfully properly, and Brent confirmed that it did not belong to him, but to Esper Parker who had granted him permission to have it for his own safety. Brent had made sure that he was safe.

It was an open and shut case in Brent’s eyes. However, it was clear that to these folk, that couldn’t be the case. They had rules, and for some reason, arresting him was a part of it. They weren’t going to be able to do it with both Esper Parker and Captain Dina there.

She made it very fucking clear that she would not let them get near Brent. She even marched up onto the stage and stood next to her Esper and Brent, protective. It was such a basic thing that Kellen would do that it made Brent smile.

It was after they had finished questioning him that she slid her arm around his prosthetic one and tugged him gently down the steps, guiding him out of the building and into the streets. Brent was surprised that there weren’t any flashing lights, no indication that something terrible had happened at this location. The emergency responders were loading the body bag of the poor girl who had been killed into their van, but every other car was an unmarked vehicle. That made Brent feel…uncomfortable. He didn’t like the feeling.

“What is going on?” Brent asked the two Espers following him and Captain Dina made a loud huffing noise.

“This isn’t going to be reported.” She said. “No one is going to know that someone was killed tonight, or the fact that you wiped out several members of the E.A.G. They are going to sweep this under the rug.” She looked like she had bitten something sour when she said it and Brent was having a hard time hearing the words.

The city was that fucking corrupt? What the fuck had his grandfather been doing if not fighting the pull that his brother had on others? Was he just twiddling his thumbs? Did he think giving Brent any power would change this? Brent wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

That was until he noticed how Captain Dina was looking at him. With great distrust and anger.

“You said you were the youngest son of the James family?” She asked, a snarl in her tone. “I had no idea that they had a Guide in their family. Why aren’t you involved in the Guild? Or are you one of those secret members of the family that no one speaks about until you reveal yourself?” She asked and Brent flinched.

“Captain.” Esper Parker warned. “He’s not like them.” Brent felt a little bit guilty that Esper Parker was defending him, but he was also thankful.

“You just met him.” Captain Dina shot back. “You know nothing about him. He could be just as bad as the rest of them. He could be hiding. Hell, this could be a publicity stunt.” She huffed, her grip on Brent’s arm tightening. Tragically, she wasn’t squeezing Brent’s real arm and instead was actually squeezing right where the fake met his real arm. Brent chuckled.

“Um, could I ask you not to squeeze there? You might get a rather severe shock.” Brent warned and Captain Dina turned her fiery gaze towards him. They were outside, near a car that Brent was fairly certain was hers. It was like a damn tank, something that Brent had only seen in Rhys’ possession before.

The sky was dark, the area lit with these pretty, dainty strings of lights. It was at complete odds with what Brent had just gone through and what he was covered in.

“Why? Does it hurt?” She snapped, and Brent gave a soft chuckle.

“No, which should be more concerning to you.” Brent told her, trying to give her a hint. It wasn’t like you couldn’t tell it was a prosthetic, especially where she was squeezing. It would not feel like a normal arm. However, that didn’t get through to her, but she did let him go. Brent had a feeling it had something to do with how bad off she was. Brent hesitated, not wanting to make her more angry but his Guide sensibilities wouldn’t let him remain silent. “Do you…want me to guide you?” He asked.

It was like sticking his hand into a hungry wolf’s cage.

“Why the fuck would I want anything from you?” She roared, her flaming eyes flashing. “I want nothing to do with you! You’re family is-”

“Captain Dina! That is no way to speak to a Guide, let alone one who just went through a traumatic situation! That reaction alone tells me that he is right to be worried about you. You need to go to a Guide, now.” Esper Parker’s voice held such a sense of authority that Brent felt a shiver run down his spine. It was clear that Esper Parker was used to speaking to her like this, which Brent was both glad and sad for.

The woman had to be going through something terrible.

“It’s okay, Esper Parker. I’m used to surly S Class Espers. My good friend is practically bonded to one, remember?” Brent let out a soft laugh, smiling a Guide smile as he looked between the two Espers. Captain Dina’s expression grew confused, while Esper Parker sighed. “It took him a while to get him down to normal levels. He was doing a gods work, honestly. The man is half crazy.” Brent said with a chuckle. “Then again, most S Classes are. Except…the S Class Guide I’ve met so far has been rather sane.” Brent said before he smiled at the other woman. “I wasn’t going to offer anything above hand holding for Guiding. I’m an A Class, and I have a pretty good compatibility with everyone. Practically universal.” Brent told her and she gave him a rather skeptical look.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” She asked, before glancing around, making sure that they were safe. “Never mind that. We can speak more at the Guild. You are coming with us, aren’t you?” She asked Brent. Brent opened his mouth to respond, but it was Esper Parker who spoke up for him.

“He is absolutely coming with us. I’ll explain more once we get home, Dina. But trust me when I say, you’re going to feel like a fool for lashing out at him.” Esper Parker warned and Brent laughed it off, waving his good hand.

“I’m used to it. How do you think I survived in that house for so long?” He joked, and the Esper who was not currently completely sane turned her big, fiery eyes to him.

“What?” She asked, her voice dangerous, and Brent chuckled. It was a very, very good thing that she did not realise that he only had one arm then. If she was like this, Brent and maybe another Guide was going to have a ’fun’ time guiding her.

Brent was actually excited. It had been a while since he had been able to use his powers. It was like stretching a limb he hadn’t been able to for a while. It was probably a bad thing he was looking forward to their confrontation.

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