Supernatural Retrieval Agency

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I perch on a roof, my talons gripping the tiles, surveying the scene in front of me.

A lone figure approaches from the fork in the road. I narrow my eyes, focusing on the way he's walking. Is this the right man? Everything about him suggests so, but I need to be sure before I make my move.

A street light falls over his face.

Bingo. He's exactly the man I'm looking for.

I stretch my wings, getting ready to use them to launch off the roof. I love having them out like this. Nothing beats the rush of the wind through my feathers.

The man comes to a stop, almost as if he's waiting for something.

I glance at the opposite roof, searching for Elias' silhouette. I'm surprised he's allowed me to go off on my own, but he seems content having gotten a sense of my abilities during our sparring session.

I flex my wings at the memory. Lucky for me, I'm not particularly bruised. I hope the same is true for Elias.

A woman appears from the other end of the street and saunters over to the man. He looks over his shoulder, as if trying to see if someone is following him. Little does he know he should be searching the rooftops for the people who are after him.

This is why they send supernaturals after each other. Sometimes. The human police force has jurisdiction over us all, but that doesn't mean that they're capable of handling every case. Some jobs involve the need for skulking on rooftops and swooping in from high up.

That's where the Supernatural Retrieval Agency comes in. Not that the name fits, but they tried to change it about fifty years ago, but after nearly five hundred years of existence, it was too late and the original stuck.

Elias' shadow waves to me, indicating it's time to act. I hold up one arm, signalling to him that I've noticed and understood what he wants from me. My main job is to block the street. With the woman around, I may need to detain her too, though Elias hasn't specifically told me that. If she's meeting with the vampire we're supposed to apprehend, then she's likely up to no good too, I'm sure of it.

I take another moment to make sure no one else is approaching the couple, and start running across the roof. My talons click against the tiles, but if anyone can hear it, they'll probably think it's a cat.

Or a harpy. We don't hide that we exist like some kinds of supernaturals do.

Either way, no one is going to call me out or bother me about what I'm up to. The next house is a ten feet jump away, but that isn't a problem for me.

I bend my knees and launch myself into the air, spreading my wings so I can glide down on the updraft. I don't need to properly fly, this will do a good enough job to get me there.

I land in a crouch and check over my shoulder to make sure our assailant isn't going to get away. Both people are still standing where I left them, talking away as if they don't have a care in the world.

Perhaps people who commit crimes should do it in a less conspicuous place.

I search the horizon for Elias, noting that he's in position already. I raise a hand and wait for him to respond. I never thought communicating would be as simple as this, but it makes sense. We're high up and neither of us are hidden by anything. That gives us a chance we wouldn't have on the ground. The bonus is that no one can accidentally hear us, though I do have a radio strapped to my belt in case we end up separated.

He responds in kind.

My heart pounds in my chest. This is it. I can take part in my first arrest so long as everything goes to plan.

I step off the building and plummet towards the ground. A few beats of my wings slows me down enough that I don't go splat, and I land squarely in the middle of the vampire's escape route.

Perfect. Even if I do say so myself.

I rise out of my crouch and dust my hands off on my jeans. The vampire and the woman he's meeting haven't noticed me yet, which isn't surprising. One of my talents as a harpy is the ability to be stealthy. I think it's from the time when our main purpose was to catch bad people. I like to think doing this job will make my ancestors proud.

On the other side of the vampire, Elias makes his own descent, looking every bit as graceful and powerful as he should. His wings are larger than mine, with a bit more of a point to them.

And they're magnificent.

I don't know many male harpies other than Dad. A lot of them don't hang around much to watch their kids grow up, and even then they keep to themselves. I'm lucky Dad decided to stay with me and Mum at all, considering.

He creeps up to the vampire, not making any sounds that don't blend in with the surroundings. If the man looks around, he'll see both of us and try to make a break for it, but he's very consumed in whatever the woman is telling him. We should be thankful to her, and not just because we get to arrest both of them in one go.

"Mika Stanbridge, you're under arrest," Elias booms out in a voice I haven't heard from him before. It matches his wings, sharp and powerful, and doesn't even have a hint of the wit I've heard from him over the course of the day.

It sends a shiver down my spine. And not because I'm scared of him. I push the feelings aside. It's probably just a natural reaction to being around a male of my own species. My body wants me to procreate with him. My mind knows I'm not ready for anything so serious, even if he is a treat to look at.

Stanbridge freezes for a moment when he sees the menacing figure coming towards him. The woman isn't as composed and lets out an ear-splitting shriek.

I wince, but cover it quickly as she turns on her heels and starts running towards me.

Do I try and catch her? Or do I focus on the man we're supposed to be arresting?

Elias seems to have Stanbridge in his sights, I'm not needed there. Which means I should try and take the woman into custody. I have no idea who she is, but even if she's innocent of any wrong-doing, she should be able to tell us something about the man she's with.

She hesitates as she spots me blocking her path, and feigns to the left. I fall for it, moving so I can grab her from where she's going to end up.

She veers to the right, slipping by me.

I grunt in frustration. How have I let myself get tricked like this? I'm not a fool. I change direction and hurry after her, surprised by how fast she's moving. There's no doubt in my mind that she's supernatural, but I can't tell what type. Probably not a shifter, or she'd have changed form in order to get away from me, but she's running faster than just about anyone I've ever come across before.

Including me.

But I can fix that. I lift myself into the air with a few powerful wing movements and dart along after her. According to Agency policy, I'm not allowed to pick anyone up, but there's nothing about me using my flying ability to chase someone better.

I climb a bit higher, knowing I'll be able to move faster up there. Once I'm level, I swoop down in front of her and reach out an arm. My fingers clamp around her wrist even as she tries to keep running.

"Stop by order of the Supernatural Retrieval Agency," I command, realising I should probably have tried that earlier.

"Let go of me," she shouts.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't do that. I have to escort you back to the station for questioning." Am I doing this right? I don't know for sure, and Elias is still busy dealing with Stanbridge so I can't ask him. I wish we hadn't had to run so far.

"I'm not going with you."

"Ma'am, I have to ask you to please stay calm," I say through gritted teeth even as she tries to wriggle free. I have magic cuffs on my belt that can restrain her no matter what she is, but I'm worried if I let go of her arm to get them, she'll manage to get free and I'll lose her.

"Argh." She thrashes around.

A shadowy figure approaches, relief crashing through me as I realise it's Elias.

"Good job," he says to me, taking out his own cuffs and clipping them onto the woman. "Ma'am, I'll release you from the cuffs once we're back at the station."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," the woman spat.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Elias pointed out.

"You can't arrest me for doing nothing wrong."

My blood runs cold. Have I done something wrong?

"You ran from my colleague and didn't stop when approached by a member of the Supernatural Retrieval Agency," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. That is a good enough reason to arrest you, but if you submit to a fingerprint scan, then we can let you go here with nothing more than a caution," he suggests.

The woman chews on her bottom lip, but then sticks out her cuffed hands.

Elias pulls a machine off his belt and clicks on a few buttons.

"Please press your finger against the screen, please?"

Reluctantly, she does.

"Thank you." Elias turns the machine back towards him. It beeps once. "Well Ms Newland, it appears you're going to be coming with us anyway. There's a warrant out for your arrest."

She gapes at him. "That's not possible."

"I'm afraid it is. Once we're back at the station, we can clear this up if it's a mistake, but for now you are under arrest and have the right to remain silent..."

"Yes. I know all that. Just get on with it," she snaps.

I try to resist the urge to roll my eyes. She can't see me anyway.

Elias doesn't let her get away with it for a moment, and directs her towards where the car is waiting.

"Where's Stanbridge?" I ask.

"He got away," Elias said as he opened the car door and pushed the woman inside.

I guess at least we got one person.