Chapter Nine
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JASPER COULDN’T BELIEVE what he was hearing from the TV anchors.
In all of his years as a hunter, he’d been on the news several times.
Reporters had never shied away from mentioning what the hunters were up to, usually in a good light because it was a hunter’s job to save people.
Jasper hadn’t agreed with that, especially as the years went by.
Tonight, though, it wasn’t only hunters being praised.
Someone had gotten word that monsters had been involved in rescuing the kids from that warehouse, and the anchors made sure to mention it several times.
It was confusing.
“Several monsters were seen on site,” the woman, whose name Jasper didn’t remember, said, turning toward the man she was sitting with. “What do you think about that?”
“Well, it’s clear that these monsters were working with the hunters.
The ones involved in what was happening were taken away, but others were free to go and were seen talking to hunters.
Considering how many hunters and later police officers were there, that wouldn’t have happened if they’d been involved.
No, to me, it looks like they were actually working together, and I think it was about time.
A few monsters are giving their entire species a bad reputation, but I know some of them who are very nice people. ”
Jasper snorted. He’d bet his entire paycheck that if the guy knew monsters, they were people he encountered at a grocery store or something like that. There was no way he had friends amongst monsters, but Jasper could be wrong. The preppy man on screen just didn’t look like the type.
“It does sound like they were working with the hunters,” the lady agreed. “But I wonder if this might be the start of a new vigilante type of justice.”
The man frowned. “I agree that would be a bad idea. Monsters need to be kept under control, and while it’s good that some of them are working to get the bad apples reported to justice, they shouldn’t do that themselves.
It’s what the hunters were created for. We trust them, and monsters should do the same. ”
This segment was going from bad to worse.
Didn’t they understand why monsters couldn’t trust hunters?
They probably didn’t. They were human, and it was easy for them to ignore everything the hunters had done.
Hell, the general public didn’t know about most of those things.
Hunters were great at showing the world what they wanted, but behind the scenes, they could be as bad as the monsters.
The screen behind the two anchors was showing images of what had happened the other night.
Jasper wrinkled his nose when his own face appeared.
He’d managed to mostly stay out of this stuff when he’d been a hunter, but it hadn’t been easy.
He’d forgotten that reporters liked being on scene when something happened that involved hunters, and now, here he was, plastered all over the news.
Jasper grabbed the remote control and turned off the TV.
He didn’t care if they wondered why he’d been there.
As long as they didn’t try to contact him, he was happy to stay out of the spotlight as much as he could.
That was why he’d become a mechanic after he’d left the hunters.
It would’ve been easy for him to open a PI agency like Archie and Braith had, but he’d wanted nothing to do with any of that anymore.
He’d enjoyed working with them, though. He’d definitely been satisfied with the work they’d done saving those kids.
He wasn’t sure that continuing to be involved with them would be a good idea, but he didn’t have to decide now.
The apartment door opened. Jasper frowned because no one was supposed to be home, and he sat up, glancing in that direction. Cullen walked in, his shoulders slumped, his backpack sliding off one of them as he closed the door behind himself and sighed heavily.
“What happened?” Jasper asked.
Cullen yelped and turned around to face Jasper. “Why are you sitting here in the dark?”
“It’s not that dark.” It was dark, but it hadn’t been when the TV was on.
“I thought you’d be at Archie’s.”
“He’s working late tonight.” Jasper got to his feet. “Cullen? What happened?”
“Will you believe me if I tell you nothing?”
“Not with that expression on your face.” Jasper turned the light on and squinted. “Yeah, definitely not.”
“I got fired.”
Jasper frowned. Cullen had found a fast-food job a few days ago, and while it hadn’t been his favorite, he’d told Jasper that he was enjoying it. He wanted to find his own place, which Jasper could understand, and he’d been working hard to be able to. “Why?”
“I guess a lady noticed me in the kitchen. She pitched a fit because she didn’t want her food to be made by a monster.”
Jasper bit the inside of his cheek hard.
He didn’t need to tell Cullen that it was bullshit or to get angry on his behalf.
Cullen already knew all of that. What he did need to do was find a solution to Cullen’s problem.
Luckily for Cullen, he already had one. “You should talk to Archie and Braith. They’ve been getting more requests for help, and they can’t deal with everything on their own.
They asked me if I wanted to work with them, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, and even if I did, I’d be investigating with them, but what they really need right now is a secretary. ”
Cullen blinked. “And you think they’ll want me to do that job?”
“I don’t see why not. At the very least, you can talk to them before looking for another job. They’ll never fire you because you’re a monster.”
The smile Cullen gave Jasper told him that had been the right thing to say.
Hopefully, things would work out. Cullen needed the job, and Archie and Braith needed an assistant who would take phone calls and make appointments.
It seemed like a match made in heaven. It also meant that Archie and Braith would be able to keep an eye on Cullen in case Kester went after him again, which would be perfect.
“Come on,” Jasper said, gesturing at the TV. “Let’s order takeout and watch something.”
The happy smile Cullen gave Jasper made Jasper smile back. Everything wasn’t perfect, and it never would be, but it was a step in the right direction.
* * * *
WHEN ARCHIE’S PHONE rang, he groaned. He wanted to go home, but instead, he was still at work.
“Yes?” he answered, knowing he sounded exasperated and not caring about it.
He hoped it wasn’t a client, but even if it was, he had plenty of those these days.
If answering the phone in this manner made them not want to hire him and Braith anymore, he was fine with it.
“It’s Martinez.”
Archie blinked. “Martinez, as in the hunter?”
“Do you know any other Martinez?”
“I don’t. I just don’t understand why a hunter would call me.”
“I got your number from Kerry.”
“That’s the only way you could’ve gotten it, so I’m not surprised. What do you want?”
“I’ve been working on the hunters we caught in that warehouse. I was there for their interrogations and everything.”
“I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”
“My superiors certainly didn’t like it, but they’ve decided to ignore the implications.”
That really didn’t sound good, but Archie wasn’t surprised. “What?”
“We thought it was just a case of a few hunters working with monsters to get rich, but it seems like their network is organized, much more than we expected. I also suspect it might be connected to someone high up in our hierarchy. They want to brush everything under the rug. They don’t want this to be investigated. ”
Again, Archie wasn’t surprised. There was a lot of bad apples within the hunters, and one didn’t become a powerful hunter by not getting their hands dirty.
Besides, Martinez had mentioned getting rich.
That was something a lot of people would want, even hunters.
If they hated monsters, they wouldn’t care that some of them were getting hurt.
They’d use them as much as they could, get rich off their backs, and feel righteous about it.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. He still didn’t understand why Martinez had called him, although he was grateful for the information.
Martinez hesitated. “I thought we made a good team,” he eventually said.
“We weren’t awful.” They’d managed to work together without killing each other, which was more than Archie had expected.
“I don’t like what the hunters make us do a lot of the time, but I’m not ready to leave.
I know I can do good by being here, and I’m not the only one.
I just want you to know that if you ever need help again, you should call me at this number.
I’ll do what I can to help. I think it’s important that we work together. ”
“I don’t think your bosses will be happy about that.”
“They definitely won’t if they find out.”
“We’re all over the news. I’m sure they already have.”
“Yeah, and they talked to me. I still think this is a good idea. The people in charge here won’t be in charge forever, and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that the next leaders are on the right side of history.
The hunters were created for a reason, and I don’t like that we’ve stepped away from that reason. ”
That sounded like Martinez was planning on becoming one of the leaders, which would be interesting. If he did, even years down the line, it would be a good thing for Archie to be on his good side. Besides, sometimes, he and Braith did need help. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.
“Good.”
They would have to be careful, especially if Martinez had higher aspirations, but while Archie hadn’t expected this, he was pleased.
He’d have to talk to Jasper and his friends.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Martinez had a chance of ever becoming a leader.
Considering their conversation, he hoped so.