The Last Dainv

Chapter 284

Lily got off the bus at McCowan and Ellesmere. Snow had piled up on both sides, so she had to reach over to the other side while balancing. She made it just in time as the restaurant, Pho Ngoc Yen, was just about to close half an hour later. Only takeout was allowed after 10pm.

Pushing through the door, bamboo dividers and palm leaves greeted her. The smell of sweet nước mắm wafted through the door as warm air escaped into the cold winter atmosphere.

An older Vietnamese woman looked up from the counter. "Welcome. For one?"

"Takeout, please," Lily said.

The woman nodded with a smile as she handed her a menu.

Flipping to the first page, Lily already knew what she wanted, but a little browsing couldn't hurt. One item caught her eye. Pho with some sort of red wine in it. That was new to the menu. Next time, she'd ask Marine and Jeanne if they wanted to go.

"Can I get the bone broth pho to go? Large, please."

"Is that G6?"

"Yes, G6."

"Ok, one moment please. It'll be ready in 10 minutes."

Lily closed the menu and gave it back to her. Quickly enough, the woman disappeared into the back and shouted something in Vietnamese.

Waiting by the counter, she scrolled through more of North Star. The rest of the articles were nothing of interest, though. Just a few quarrels between the United Knights and the Jiuling in Middle America.

Ten minutes of scrolling later, the woman returned with a plastic bag. Two containers, one with the broth and meat, one with the noodles and the herbs already inside. And an extra ziplock bag of a healthy amount of bean sprouts.

"Cash or credit?" the woman asked.

"Cash, please."

"Forty dollars, please."

Lily pulled out her wallet, took out two 20 dollar bills and handed them over to her.

"Thank you."

Taking the takeout bag, Lily also said, "Thank you."

"Have a good night."

"You too," Lily said as she exited the restaurant. Walking to the bus stop, she tried entering the shelter. However, she stopped as soon as her gaze caught the homeless person who had taken residence by the corner in his sleeping bag.

Exiting the shelter, she'd wait outside instead. The sign provided warmth anyways.

The northbound 129 bus arrived five minutes later. She climbed on, tapped her card, and found a seat near the middle. The ride took about 15 minutes with two more transfers of the same length before she finally got off the bus for her Dad's workplace.

Before she left for the Eclipsed, this was a funeral home and a Tim Hortons. Five years later, it had become a massive construction site for a condominium tower that was already delayed by 6 years.

Typical Toronto timelines. Although dad never liked those kind of jokes.

Lily approached the fence. The gate was usually locked after hours, secured with a heavy chain and padlock.

She pushed it.

It swung open.

Weird. Dad was usually paranoid about security at night. He would've never left the gate unlocked. Maybe he was just really busy.

Stepping through the gate, she walked across the gravel. Massive construction equipment and materials littered the area that was definitely not for civilian entry without a hard hat.

The portable office sat at the far end of the lot. A rectangular trailer with a metal door and three windows, one for each section. The leftmost window had light behind the curtain. Dad's office.

She climbed the metal stairs to the door. But before she reached for the handle, Lily noticed the door was already cracked open.

The fence was one thing, but having the door to his own portable unlocked and open was another thing. There was also a faint signature inside.

In other words, an intruder.

Setting the takeout bag down on the landing, careful not to make a sound, her hand reached into her jacket and pulled out a deagle.

"Dagsins ljós," she whispered. A small wisp of light illuminated at the top of her head, casting a soft glow that gave her plenty of visibility.

Slowly, she pushed the door open. The hinges slightly creaked, and the light seeped into the unlit room.

The office space was small. Her eyes tracked to the corner on her right first, then traced outwards from there.

Front of the desk, check. Lockers, check. And in the corner of the room, crouched low to the ground, was a woman half naked. Her sweatpants were ragged, torn with holes everywhere. Despite the cold weather in the portable, she didn't seem to be shivering. Instead, she was preoccupied scratching her sides where the rashes grew.

Her signature was mundane. Lily immediately lowered the gun but still kept her guard up.

When the woman turned around, her eyes were bloodshot, and her irises and pupils had turned cloudy white.

The woman lunged at Lily without hesitation, with a scream that tore her own vocal cords.

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Shit! Lily cursed inwardly, not because she was scary, but mostly because she had shit all over her body.

Reacting on instinct, she moved out of the way of the lunging woman, kicked her in the back, and the momentum carried her over the rail into the gravel.

That hit on the back and her head into the hard gravel should have knocked her out. However, the woman stood back up immediately.

A clicking, wet, and guttural sound escaped her throat. It was the sign of broken chords while trying to scream her lungs out. Blood dripped from her mouth and nose, which was clearly broken.

She charged again.

Lily vaulted over the railing. Right foot connected with the woman's temple, perfectly placed, launching her sideways and skidding against the gravel on a trail of blood.

Silence fell on the field. The woman's breath grew steady. She was knocked out this time. Whatever this was, it wasn't normal drugs. Even the man from the bus had something crazy going on.

A door slammed open behind her.

Lily spun, deagle raised, finger by the receiver, not by the trigger.

A man stumbled out of a second portable across the lot. Late 50s, wearing a hard hat, blond graying hair, and reflective vest. His face was struck with shock as he saw the gun.

Lily immediately lowered her gun. "Dad."

Her dad, Daniel, stared at her, letting out a deep sigh. "What the hell happened and what're you doing here?"

"Don't be so sudden like that," Lily holstered her gun back in her jacket. "I almost shot you."

"Well, you shouldn't be making so much noise out here," Daniel said, stepping out onto the portable's landing. "What the hell happened?"

"Why didn't you lock the door?!" Lily said harshly.

"I don't know..." Daniel muttered. "I was too busy and forgot. Construction's falling behind schedule and all."

"It's Toronto. Who cares!"

"I care!"

"Well, everyone already expects a decade's worth of delays!"

"You take that back!"

"No!"

"What'd you come here for?" Daniel asked.

Walking back to the portable's landing, she picked up the takeout bag and handed it to him. "Did you eat?"

His silence was long enough that the answer was obvious.

"Dad," Lily said sternly.

"I was going to. After I finished reviewing more of the zoning."

"Sure you were. That's why I brought you this."

"What's this?"

"Bone broth pho from Pho Ngoc Yen." Lily smiled. "It's healthy."

Daniel took the bag and looked down inside it. A soft smile formed on his lips. Then, without warning, he pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks, kid," he said.

Lily hugged him back. The smell of coffee, sawdust, and a bit of spaghetti clung to his clothes. Must've been what he had for lunch, which was unhealthy.

"So you ate spaghetti?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then what's with the smell?"

"That was my employee's lunch. Not mine."

"Did you get your blood test results?"

Daniel sighed. "It's at home."

"I'll take a look later."

"Don't be mad."

"We'll see." Lily got out of his hug.

Daniel pulled out one of the containers from the bag and examined it. His eyebrow raised at the hefty weight. "This is a lot. Wanna eat it together?"

"I can't." Lily checked her phone. It's already almost 11pm. She was already running late. "I still have a meeting after this."

"At this hour?"

"Meeting with friends."

Daniel set the bag down on the table near the door inside. He looked at her for a quick second.

"Is all of this just a phase?" he gestured at all of her.

Lily looked down at herself. Apart from the Canada Goose winter jacket, she basically almost had her black tactical gear on. Always ready to take on a rift or get a quick buck from a contract like exterminating a red imp.

"It's not a phase," she said. But she knew what he was trying to do. Trying to get out of the topic. "Dad, you and mom need to be healthy."

"We are healthy..." Daniel scratched the back of his neck. "Sort of."

"And besides, I'm already making a lot. You and mom don't need to work so much anymore. Just rest and take care of yourself."

"Hey kid," Daniel chuckled. "I got a few years left in me. You can't take that away from me! Besides, what am I going to do all day at home? Watch TV?"

"You can go walk around the neighbourhood or do something fun. Maybe go on a vacation to Asia or Europe."

"Fine," Daniel said. "But maybe after this project. Then I'll freeload off your money."

"Deal," Lily said, although she wasn't quite sure when this building was going to be done. She knew nothing about construction, but the foundation was barely even built.

Lily stepped forward and hugged him again, tighter than before.

"I'll be back home probably tomorrow afternoon," she said into his shoulder. "Don't wait up for me."

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Daniel pulled back slightly to look at her face. "Where are you going? Something dangerous again?"

"Not dangerous. Just going to Marine's place."

Daniel nodded. "The one with the cupcakes?"

"Yeah."

"Bring some back."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Dad. Your health."

"What? They're just cupcakes."

"They're also loaded with sugar and butter."

"That's what makes them good."

"Maybe just one?" Lily asked.

"Yes!" Daniel released her from the hug. "Now you're talkin'!"

"No need to celebrate. It's just one."

"That's one more win for me!"

"Ugh, you're starting to sound like someone I know."

"A guy or a girl?"

"A guy."

"You like him?"

"No."

"You lying?"

"No."

"You like anyone lately?"

"Dad."

"I'm just joking!" Daniel said, chuckling.

Lily turned to leave, then stopped as the breathing body of the woman was still on the gravel.

"You, uhh..., gonna do something about that?" her dad looked at the woman barely breathing on the ground.

"I got you," Lily said, pulling up her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the Neutral Grounds cleaner she was assigned: CLEANER #22.

[Lily: empty can on construction site at Midland and Sheppard. Get to it]

[CLEANER #22: ETA 15 minutes]

Lily pocketed her phone. "Done."

"How?"

"Someone's coming to pick her up. They'll handle it." She looked at her father seriously. "Lock your door. And don't look out the window while they're doing their job. They'll arrive in 15 minutes and be done after half an hour."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Got it. Don't go outside for an hour."

"Good."

Dad already knew her work, somewhat. They were accepting of it as long as she was safe. Stepping down onto the gravel, she looked back to tell him one more thing. "Make sure you eat your dinner!"

"You don't got to tell me!" Daniel said. "And be safe!"

"I will!" Lily shouted from the fence, waving once and then stepping back onto the street. She went back to the bus stop and waited for the 85 bus. Pulling out her phone, the bus stop schedule said it should arrive in 2 minutes. But the GPS of the next bus showed it was 15 minutes away. Typical TTC.

A couple of minutes of scrolling through Instagram made the 15 minutes fly past, and the westbound bus arrived expectedly late. It would be straight to York Mills where Marine lived for at least another 25 minutes at this late hour.

But something was weird about this whole night. First, the drug addict on the bus on her way to the hospital. Next was this woman who was basically drugged out of her mind, and her physical body was deteriorating.

This wasn't normal drugs. Now that dust was off the streets, Aurian black vagrant guilds were desperate to make money. Usual mundane drugs didn't make them crazy enough to attack a person on sight.

Lily's blood ran cold. If her dad had gotten out of work, and she never dropped by, the woman would have mauled him. Either he would've been really injured or died, and the crazy eyes meant the latter.

The bus rumbled on through the frozen Toronto night. Lily pulled out her phone. Tapping on Marine's contact, she messaged her.

[Lily: Weird thing happened tonight. Two drug addicts. What's up with that?]

[Marine: Remove dust trafficking, and what do these black vagrant guilds have left?]

[Lily: but the drugs they took looked different from the usual... like they've become crazy]

[Marine: dunno.]

[Marine: never paid attention to it. its 3 gangs fighting over the Lion's scraps over their distribution network. Glory took most of it already.]

[Lily: why would ollie take it?]

[Marine: to prevent assholes from distributing shit to more mundanes. Thats what he said.]

[Lily: Makes sense. should we do something about it? I mean the 3 idiots fighting.]

[Marine: that's why we're meeting]

[Lily: Jeanne there yet?]

[Marine: lol no. she'll be at least an hour late.]