***
Thalus had their luggage waiting in a two bedroom suite on the 3rd floor. Sarah took out the cross shackles from a bag.
Thalus frowned. “I need to undress and bathe.”
She looked at Randy.
“It’s not practical.”
Thalus claimed the pullout bed in the main living room. Sarah brought out her laptop and used his bed as her desk. Dusty made himself comfortable against the pillows. Thalus tried not to recline too close to him.
“I heard Johann bought a tahu factory in the 1950s,” Thalus said. “This was in old Jakarta. The Batavia subdistrict.”
“So if he’s in Jakarta he’s probably there,” Randy said.
“A factory is a good set up if he’s still killing 100 people a night,” Dusty said.
Randy and Sarah gave sounds of agreement. Sarah typed furiously.
“Jakarta’s only a three hour flight from here,” Thalus said. “We should head there in the morning.”
Randy looked affronted. “Woah. We’re not equipped to make a strike. This mission was reconnaissance.”
“I’m suggesting we continue our reconnaissance. We’ll need to know exactly where he is and what his set-up is to formulate a plan.” He looked at Sarah. “You should send for reinforcements. We’ll gather information until they get here.”
“Johann disintegrated over a hundred soldiers in China,” Randy said. “There weren’t even any bodies to retrieve.”
Dusty sucked in a sharp breath. Thalus resisted the urge to soothe him.
“What do you mean by disintegrated?”
“The theory is that he had access to a cache of old Soviet weapons,” Randy said.
“Hmm. It would be easy for him to fortify a base in rural Mongolia. He could see an attack coming from miles away. Jakarta is congested and chaotic. We can take a position in the same district as him without being noticed. I’ll use my powers to spy on him without any risk of discovery.”
“Thalus…suggests…using…powers…to…spy…without…risk…of…discovery.” Sarah looked up at them from her keyboard. “Got it. Anything else I should put in our report?”
Randy scratched his head. “No. I guess we’ll just wait to see what headquarters says in the morning. Let’s get some rest. You’re with me, Dusty.”
Dusty hesitated to rise from the bed. “Ugh. I could fall asleep right here.”
“That’s fine with me,” Thalus said.
Dusty sneered at him. “Pssh.” He followed Randy to their room.
By early afternoon the next day the plan to go to Jakarta solidified. Dalton said they needed their information before they knew what kind of force to send. They trekked back to the airport and set off.
A relatively short flight preceded a relatively quick one-hour drive by hotel shuttle into old Jakarta. The group booked adjoining rooms at the Batavia hotel to plan their next move. Sarah quickly brought up satellite images of Johann’s factory on her computer. The three men stood huddled around her desk.
“It’s best to wait until morning for our first sweep of the area,” Thalos said.
Dusty jumped on one of the beds holding the hotel binder. “Good. I’m ordering room service.”
“Let’s check in with headquarters,” Randy told Sarah.
“Get me at least three bottles of sparkling water,” Sarah said to Dusty without turning from her screen. “I’m dying of thirst.”
“I’m thirsty, too,” Thalos said.
The three flashed him a dirty look in unison. Thalos gave them an incredulous shrug.
An hour passed where they settled in and took advantage of the hotel amenities. Dusty used Sarah’s computer while she bathed. Everyone eventually grouped in one room to wait for room service. Thalos went on the balcony. He realized part of the tahu factory could be seen from their vantage. Someone knocked at the door. Sarah rose to get it.
“Dusty,” Thalos said.
“Close the door, it stinks out there.”
“I can see Johann’s factory from here.”
Dusty reluctantly entered the heat to join him. His eyes fixed where Thalos pointed.
Thalos smelled blood. He scanned the street below to locate the source. He could hear the room service tray being rolled into the room behind them.
“Good evening, madam.”
Thalos stiffened. The moment it took for him to look back stretched out. He realized the blood scent came from the hotel corridor. Johann lifted a cloche from his serving tray.
“Chicken katsu flambé,” Johann said.
“Flambé? I don’t think so.”
Thalos pulled Dusty behind him. “Sarah!”
Flames engulfed Sarah. Randy got only two steps away from the massive white hot inferno before it engulfed him. Thalos grabbed Dusty and leapt from the balcony as flames melted the soles of his boots. He sprouted black wings and beat them furiously. Dusty clung to him with both arms and legs. He looked over Thalos’ shoulder and screamed
Thalos looked back. A grotesque bat the size of a man burst from the flames of the balcony. It closed the space between them in an instant. Thalos dove. Claws ripped open the back of his coat. The demon made a loop in the air to descend after them.
Dusty pulled a crucifix out of his shirt. He could hear the monster hiss just behind them. Then he felt heat. Dusty screamed again. He dove left. A fireball passed with enough heat to singe his hair.
Thalos saw an ancient Dutch cathedral. He sped for it. More heat hit his back. He flew zigzag. A burst of fire hit his wing and shoulder. Thalos dove into the scaffolding of a desiccated steeple. He rolled to take the brunt of their fall. They crashed through wooden platforms. He tried to slow their descent into the darkened church. Only one wing had any strength. He careened through the sheer drop, then crashed on his back onto stone floor.
Dusty trembled against him. Thalos couldn’t move. They barely had a moment to breathe before a fireball engulfed the wooden platforms inside the steeple. Fiery debris crumbled down toward them.
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