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Somewhere Between	By : AceMaxwell Category: G through L > Hellboy Views: 13422 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Hellboy, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
- John
We land in Venice, with strictest of gag orders on the airport. Manning must have taken a private jet, because he meets us on the landing strip to make sure Liz and I get outfitted with communicators before we're released into Italy.
He tells us the plan, which is to meet up at approximately 2300 hours to start the mission. That's when the streets will be quietest. It's also about when jet lag will be kicking in the hardest.
After our incredibly short brief, Manning recommends that everyone take in the city now, because it might be the only chance they get. Once we wrap this thing up here, we're headed home. He also suggests that they snag some rest at the hotel before we get to work.
I stand on the loading ramp to the plane, watching the other agents disappear into the city of water. They're all in gaudy tourist clothes to keep from drawing too much attention to our presence here.
I'd like to go see everything, but I'm not going without HB. I don't think I could enjoy myself if I knew he was here sulking (which I know he would be). I do need to find a convenience store though… for a few… needed items. Only thing is, I have to take Ellis with me. It's embarrassing enough having to buy that kind of stuff anyway, let alone with somebody standing over my shoulder.
"I'm going to go into town," I state for general consumption. I get an expected grumble from Red. He really hates being left behind. "But I'll be back in a minute," I say directly at HB.
He perks up a little, "You're not doing the touristy thing?"
"No," I put my forehead to his, settling between the stubs of his horns.
"Well, I am," Liz says as she passes us.
Abe sets down his third book of the day, "Would you take a photograph of the Library, if you don't mind. I've heard it's lovely."
"Sure, Abe," she says, adjusting her communicator. She makes a face at it and finally just shoves it in her pocket. "See ya."
I wave and look back at Red, finishing the thought I had earlier, "I'm just going for some stuff I forgot." I was hoping I could say it without blushing, but I can feel the heat crawling across my face. Now he's definitely going to know that something's going on.
HB curls his hand around my waist with a grin that just screams trouble, "What kind of stuff, John?"
It was supposed to be a surprise and I am not so gullible that he can pry it out of me with a grin, "That is none of your business." I twist out of his hold and smile over my shoulder as seductively as I can, but I'm betting it just came off as goofy. Either way, I get a good response from him.
I hear HB ask Abe if I'm getting him a present and I'm grateful at Blue's aloof, 'Who knows?' I trot right past Ellis and down the loading ramp tossing, "I'm ready to go," as I pass.
He doesn't look up from his PDA, "If you need me, just give me a call."
I don't think he really understands his job yet. I'm grateful that he's willing to give me my space, but Manning will be pissed if he finds out Ellis let me enter the city on my own. "You have to come with me," I tell him.
He glances up then, his brow furrowed, "I do?"
"Yeah, you do. Manning will have your ass for breakfast if you don't accompany me. You're his attempt to minimize PR clean up. He thinks I'll do something stupid without a babysitter."
"Oh," is all Ellis says before coming down after me. "That doesn't really seem fair."
"Tell me about it."
Venice really is a beautiful place. HB and I are going to have to take a tour later, with or without Manning's consent. Actually, I already know the answer to that question, so we probably won't even mention it to him. I've snuck out once and I'm already considering becoming a repeat offender. HB's wearing off on me.
When we find a convenience store, it looks like it should be a historical monument, but every building in the area looks like that.
Ellis makes a beeline for the magazine rack. I'm not sure how long that'll occupy him, so I ask him to find me some beef jerky too. If I'm lucky, it'll be more of an American thing and it'll take him twenty minutes of searching to figure that out.
I find the aisle I want in the very back of the store. Considering Italy is primarily Catholic, I'm not surprised it's hidden back here.
Now, the next question is: do they have condoms in HB's size? I don't have a good idea of what size I should get; it's not like I've seen him naked. The best guess I can make is based on the fact that he's huge everywhere and by staring at the front of his pants (thankfully I've never been caught staring).
Maybe I should be more concerned with lube…
The eighteen thousand different types and flavors of lubricant are a little overwhelming. That's definitely more variety then you'd find at an average CVS. It's probably more than you'd find at a sex shop, but I can't say that with any experience.
Hell, the last time I did anything was when I was 22 and my then boyfriend, now scumbag, supplied everything. It was supposed to be this romantic evening, and it was, then he broke up with me the next morning. I went to Quantico a few months later and didn't look back, but I did briefly consider egging his car before I left.
I pick up a box of condoms labeled 'magnum' size. Do they get any bigger than that? Most of the others are just 'medium' or 'large'. I guess if you're extra large, you start getting into nicknames like magnum, or horse.
"The ribbed kind are always good."
If embarrassment levels could reach critical mass, this would be that moment. I whip around. Ellis is right behind me, what the hell happened to my distraction?
"Where's the beef jerky?"
"Oh, I didn't find any, but I found what I think might be potato chips," he holds up a bag and gives it a shake. Whatever's inside sound heavier than chips. "Can you read Italian?" he asks, flipping it over to examine the back.
I drop the condom box back on the shelf, trying not to look as mortified as I feel, "You couldn't have been gone more than a minute, how did you search the entire store?"
"I didn't… so, who're planning on sharing those with?" he motions at the rows of condoms. "Liz?" he adds, with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
Okay, so he's nice, but seems to have the attention span of a fish and might be entirely clueless.
"Did you miss the plane ride?" I ask, picking up a regular bottle of lube. Why does it come in flavors? Seems weird. I set it down.
"No, why?"
I can't stop my sigh, "I was in his lap for about half the trip."
Ellis pauses for a couple seconds and I can almost hear the wheels turning. "You're sleeping with Hellboy?" he finally exclaims.
And now the entire store knows why I'm in this aisle. "Keep it down," I hiss. If I could crawl inside a hole and die, I would. "We haven't done anything yet, but I was kind of hoping…" I mutter, tailing off.
He seems surprisingly okay with all of this. He didn't get that classic disgusted look, or take a few steps back, or anything like that. Instead, he pops open the bag of chips, and sticks one in his mouth.
"You know, demons don't always mix so well with humans," Ellis says softly.
It was such a sudden change in attitude that I think he might have some experience behind those words. I look back at him, but he's completely blank-faced, not showing a single clue as to where that comment came from.
I have to ask, "What makes you say that?"
"I think these are dried fruit," now he's just being evasive intentionally.
"Ellis…"
He sticks a few more pieces in his mouth, his eyes glued to the shelves. I'm beginning to think that he's not going to say anything when he grabs a box off the shelf and tosses it at me. He goes right back to smiling, "I dated this girl that turned out to be a Succubus. Well… not so much dated as ended up in a one-night-stand with. She, uh… she tried to feed on me."
He starts walking towards the front of the store and all I can do is follow numbly. "She tried to eat you?" I barely remember to keep my voice down.
"Yeah… barely got away with my bits intact, if you get my meaning. This was in Washington, by the way, but when I went back to work, they tried to convince me it didn't happen in therapy. When I wouldn't believe them, they shipped me to BPRD," he says and drops his half-empty bag and a magazine on the counter.
While he's talking to the clerk, I glance down at the box he gave me. Its single serving lube packets. I would laugh at the concept of making lube into a condiment, but little packages are more convenient on the go. Then again, how much sex do people have on the go? Usually they wait until they get home. It's as good as anything I guess.
I drop the box on the counter when Ellis is done and pay for it. The cashier gives me a little smile and bats her eyes as she bags it up. I try to ignore her flirting, mostly because she looks like she's in her mid-forties.
That's kind of a funny judgment, considering how old HB is. I snag my purchase and hurry out after Ellis.
"I think she liked you," he says. He's already flipping through his magazine, something with a really hot car on the cover.
"Isn't that in Italian?" I ask.
He holds the magazine wide to show me a picture of a bright red Ferrari careening around a corner, "Do you need to read Italian to appreciate that?"
"Nope." He has an excellent point.
I pull out my purchase and rip open the box, sticking a few of the 'servings' in my jeans pocket. Better safe than sorry. "I forgot condoms," I slap my forehead. It was what I came out here for. I turn to head back for the store, but Ellis grabs my arm.
"I wouldn't worry so much about that."
"Huh?"
"You're a werewolf and he's a demon, what kind of STDs do you expect to catch?"
Okay, so I hadn't thought of that. Its just habit I guess. Safe sex is kind of burned into your mind from the time you hit puberty, so condoms are the first thing that come to mind when sex is involved. Or hopeful sex…
"Hey, um…" Ellis starts, but gets quiet. When I glance up at him, he presses on, "Sorry about what I said. I didn't want you to think that I was judging him."
"It's okay. HB does get that a lot though, so don't say anything like that around him."
Ellis goes back to his cars, finishing our conversation with, "Sounds like a plan."
I walk behind him, spending the rest of the trip staring at the back of his head and trying to figure him out. I don't come to any conclusions before we get there.
- HB
Myers and I spend most of the day sleeping, since there's not much else to do and we're going to be up half the night looking for our 'mystery creature'.
I was mildly disappointed when he came back with a pharmacy bag and not something cool. It's not like I'm into touristy 'I heart Venice' kind of shit, but it was something I would have pegged Boyscout for getting. Oh well.
I actually don't sleep as much as he does. For the most part, I sit with him curled up against me, which I don't mind at all. Sometimes, he's awake too, but we don't really say anything. I don't know if that's… normal. I hope it is. This can't be going downhill already.
When agents start reporting in, Abe and I get geared up. It's showtime.
John straps his gun against his hip and gives me a nervous smile. He's got to be twitchy going into this; it's the first time he's gotten to fight with us on this level. Not that anything's stopped him from doing it before, but now it's actually in his job description. He's gone from pamcake pusher to guardian of mankind. Big jump.
"I'll watch your back," I tell him, hoping it helps. When he starts fiddling with a seam, I realize it really didn't. I grab his arm and pull him to me, kissing his forehead. "Relax kid, you'll do fine. It's not like this is your first rodeo."
"Yeah, you're right," he says with that same weak smile.
Myers may be nervous at the start, but he always finds his nerves before the end. I'm not going to worry too much. Hell, if I told him he couldn't come, he'd be raring to go.
We head out to the southern portion of the city, where most of the disappearances have been centered. A couple of our guys are armed with motion detectors while another has an infrared scanner. Abe's more useful than either of them, but we'll let Manning think his equipment is 'helpful'.
It's late enough that we don't encounter anyone on the streets. Unlike New York, when there's not a party, Venice is pretty quiet. At least that's what I'm going to assume. Hell if I know, if I ever get to go out of town, I'm usually the one in the crate marked 'live cargo'. Makes a guy feel good…
Abe moves ahead of us, his hand stretched out in front of him. I'll never get how he picks up information through his fingers. He stops at the edge of a bridge and holds his hand over the water. "The creature has been in these waters for a very long time," he says, shifting his hand from side to side, "It has grown large and hungry since it arrived."
"Wanna go for a swim, Blue?" I joke.
"I would much prefer to get a lock on the creature's location before I jump in, Red," he returns easily.
"But we could rig a fishing pole for you. You'd make great bait."
Off to the side, I hear Manning complain, "If this turns out to be a shark, we're all going to look like idiots."
"It's not a shark," Abe says immediately. "It's older than that, and bigger."
"Bigger than a shark?" Myers kinda squeaks behind me. He's been doing just fine with our work, but his first encounter with anything still freaks him out. Eventually, he'll stop being surprised with the rest of us.
We keep moving, coming to a boat dock filled with gondolas. Abe stops again, but this time he's kind of rigid, "It's here."
Agents look every direction with guns drawn. I guess they forgot it's only ever been seen in the water.
I join Abe at the edge of the canal and peer out. Water's too dark to see much of anything. We could use some submerged floodlights or something. "Can you tell what it is," I ask Blue.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a good idea," he answers, going over to the agent holding his box of books.
While Abe fiddles with his reference material, I lean back out over the water. I'm really hoping this thing is hungry enough to come to the surface, 'cause I don't… swim well. But you wouldn't either with a sixty-pound boat anchor attached to your wrist.
Boyscout comes up next to me, "Are we going to need wetsuits for this?"
"Maybe he'll come up to say hi," I comment.
"Her," Blue corrects.
John glances over at him, "How do you know it's female?"
Blue slides one of his books out, after some of his usual finger waggling, and flips it open. "I just do," is his answer. "Here we are. I believe our friend might be a siren."
"A siren? We got dragged all the way out here for a siren? Couldn't somebody else have handled this?" I complain. I mean, seriously? Why doesn't somebody just pop a cap in her ass and be done with it?
Wait, didn't Blue say this thing was big? I've never actually seen a siren before, but how big could they get? Last time I said that, the bastard I had to fight was pretty damn big, so maybe it's best not to question it.
John grabs my sleeve and points out across the water, "There she is."
I don't see a damn thing at first, but, when I squint, I spot a half-naked chick in the canal.
That's it? She doesn't look like much, just a pale girl with big boobs. I take aim with the Samaritan.
"Red, you should probably hear this information," Blue says as I'm tightening my finger on the trigger. "Unless it has something to do with resurrection, I think a bullet to the brain should do fine, Blue. I can handle it."
I squeeze a shot off and completely miss her. She sinks back into the water.
"Crap…"
John raises an eyebrow and looks over at me, "You really need to work on your aim." He laughs at my glare. Glad he's relaxed enough that he thinks he can mock my marksmanship. I should take the brat across my-
"Red, this is important," Blue starts again, "The human figure a siren shows itself as is a ruse to lure in her prey…"
"She isn't that cute," I cut in.
Like usual, Abe just rolls through my interruption, "But her most useful lure is her voice, which can be hypnotizing."
Got it, don't let her sing. Easy enough. She just needs to show her face again and I'll put an end to this real quick.
John is scanning the water carefully while our team splits up to get better positions. I note that Manning's gotten way the hell out of the battle zone and is letting us handle this. I would call him a chicken for it, but it makes my job easier.
Liz spots the bitch next, "She's right there, between the boats."
I take aim. She's close enough now that there's no way that I'll miss, "Say goodnight."
Then there's this voice…
- John
I put my hands over my ears the moment the siren starts singing and yell at HB, "Shoot her!"
He doesn't move, or fire, or even seem to hear my voice. It's like he's in a catatonic state. I glance around and realize that the other agents are in the same condition, everybody except Abe and Liz.
Liz pulls her hands down and shrugs at me, "Why aren't we affected?"
"I don't know," I answer. "Abe, what's going on?"
"She's drawing them in. A siren's voice only works on those who would be attracted to a female human," Abe explains quickly, putting his book back in the box. The agent holding it doesn't even blink.
I understand it not affecting Liz, and I'm pretty self-explanatory, but I wonder why she has no affect on Abe? I'll have to remember to ask later. I try not to be ticked at the fact that HB's just as easily put under as everybody else, though, he did date Liz for some time. I really don't want to think about that.
"We don't have long before she will begin-"
The first splash startles me, mostly because I have no idea what it was, but I see the second agent plunge into the water.
"She's calling them to her, she must be silenced quickly," Abe yells.
I pull out my gun and clip her shoulder, without much of an affect. She ducks behind a boat before I can hit her again. "Damn it! Toast her Liz!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot HB moving towards the water. I run over and grab the back of his jacket. It's like trying to stop a train. I dig my heels into the street, but I can't get enough traction… I'm just sliding. Actually, I don't think traction is the issue, I think it's that he weighs THREE TIMES what I do!
"Liz, now!" I yell.
She's got her hands started, but her brow is furrowed, "I can't! She needs to be closer!"
I hear the next agent drop into the water and his disappearance is followed closely by the smell of blood. She's eating them, she must be. The texture beneath my shoes changes and I realize that HB's dragged me onto the dock. This isn't working! I can't stop him by myself.
"Red, snap out of it!" I beg, going around and planting myself against his chest. It isn't any more helpful than pulling on him. "HB, please!" I will NOT lose him to something like this!
The siren comes out from her hiding place. I whip out my gun and put a bullet square between her blank eyes. Nothing happens. She smiles at me with a mouth full of pointed teeth and keeps singing.
The woman is a ruse… so maybe she's not what I need to kill. Fake or real, she's still the source of the problem and the source of the voice.
I put another bullet in her chest for good measure, but I'm not surprised when she's unaffected. The next big splash puts a knot in my stomach. I look over at the edge of the dock where HB was a moment ago and find it empty.
"Hellboy!"
I run to the water, but I can't see far. There's no sign of him! I find myself screaming his name again and again, like it'll help. I'm not a strong enough swimmer to pull him out, but I know who is, "Abe, help him!"
She will NOT take him from me. He's mine! I turn, feeding off the pulsing heat coursing through me. It makes me feel stronger, more powerful. It clears my head. "Liz, get repositioned! First chance you get, you fry the bitch!"
Abe's in the water before I can finish with Liz, but I don't wait for him to resurface. I yank my shirt over my head to get it off my burning skin. I may not have willed the change, but I'm ready when the pain hits me. It's not like the first time, the pain is much more bearable and I can feel the raw energy taking over very quickly. The wolf kicks in seconds later and it knows exactly what to do: defend my chosen.
As soon as I'm on all fours, I'm running full force. The siren is about twenty feet from the end of the dock, so I'm going to need enough behind my jump to reach her. I circle around to give myself some distance and bolt for the edge. The deck rings hollow beneath my feet as I pound across it. Every inch brings me closer to tearing into her.
I push off hard and, for just a second, I can fly, before I come down on her like hell itself. I miss her throat in my first lunge, my teeth scraping across her shoulder instead. A foul taste explodes in my mouth. She has the flavor of a dead fish that's been out in the sun for several days.
Despite my attack, her song continues uninterrupted. She writhes under my weight, trying to toss me off, but I dig in where I can. I snap for her throat again and miss. Sharp pain rips through my chest. She smiles, that horrid, pointed grin and lifts me up over her head, her claws still buried in my chest. I thrash, kicking at her and growling, but she tosses me off into the water.
It takes me a second to get oriented. I can't tell up from down and the water is dark with blood. There's a large mass in the water beside me. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I realize that the woman is more than a ruse, she's just a lure. The siren's true body stretches out for hundreds of yards, curled in and out of the pylons keeping the city afloat. Ragged spines and fins jut off her body like ancient armor. They pulse and flatten in a rhythmic pattern to keep her positioned.
A massive, gaping mouth cuts across the creature's face, the gore from at least one human litters her teeth. She shifts slightly and I see Abe dragging HB to the surface a few feet from her. My lungs burn for air, but she twists towards them and Abe can't swim any faster dragging Red's weight.
Rage burns through me. They're my pack! I target the only weakness I can find, her gills, and tear into them with teeth and claws. Her acrid blood pours into the water to mingle with the human. I dig deep beneath the first layer, grabbing a mouthful of anything soft and making it into ribbons. I do as much damage as I can until she slams sideways into me, pushing me deeper.
Her wild thrashing takes her out of my vicinity and I swim towards the surface. Paws aren't as good for swimming as hands and feet. I can't seem to get to the surface fast enough, it's so far away. My chest feels like it's on fire and black is crawling at the edge of my vision. This isn't good.
I breathe out what's left of my air to buy time and watch it float away. My limbs slow. They feel like weights, so hard to move. I can't stop my need to inhale, breathing in lung-fulls of water. The black in my vision accelerates and I can't seem to care.
Funny… my paws are hands again… I didn't even notice the change…
The last thing I see is something falling into the water above me, and then everything is dark.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
TBC…
HB didn't get much to say in this one, but he'll get plenty of the next one. By the way, out of pure curiosity, I'd like to take a vote on which voice ya'll like better, John's or HB's.
- 6
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- 8
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Somewhere Between