Ali stepped into the hardware store. It was almost deserted and she kept to the shadows. Ronnie was at the register ringing up the last customer in the shop.
She took a moment to look around. It seemed she had made it just as the store was closing.
"Larry, I want you to give the sales floor a double check and then a sweep."
A heavy set man sighed and reluctantly answered. "Right, Ronnie. Hey, was there any word from Julio? If he's feeling any better?"
The lean man at the till nodded curtly. "Yeah, talked with him about an hour ago. Said he should be in as normal." Pulling the cash drawer, Ronnie made his way to the back office.
Ali followed, careful to not disrupt the perception field around her.
Entering the office, he set the drawer down on Mr. Hemenez' desk. Before he could take a seat, his cell rang. He grumbled as he read the caller ID. "Mr. Keltam," he answered with a forced politeness. "Yes, sir. I got all of it. … Even yelling and bolting for the door. … Once I'm done at the shop I'll run it through my editing software at ho— … All told? Two, two and a half hours. … Yes, that includes getting it ready to upload to the web. … Yes, sir. Thank you— …and of course the prick hung up." He set his phone down and started closing out the cash when he felt something on his shoulder.
Ali leaned close and whispered in his ear. "Don't even think 'bout screamin', Ronnie." Her hand flexed ever so slightly, her claws punched his shirt and were sharp on his skin.
Ronnie froze, blanching. His jaw worked but it took him three tries to get his voice out. "W-w-who?"
"Ya did somethin' cruel, callous t'day. Ya've done it 'afore, haven't ya."
"W-w-what are you talking abou—ooow!"
Her claws sank into the skin of his shoulder. "Do not play stupid, pervers. How many times?"
"T-t-twenty, m-maybe 25." He hadn't turned his head. He didn't want to see who or what is latched on to his shoulder.
Ali's eyes narrowed and the muscles of her muzzle bunched in a snarl. "Uploaded?"
"N-no. This one i-is special. He's p-p-paying t-tr-triple for it."
Ali's eyes were an amber sheen as her claws sank deeper into his deltoid. "T'day's 'commission', it only exists on yer phone?"
He nodded rapidly, biting back a scream.
"Good." She muttered a spell, "Leið" (Transit — Icelandic), multiple times, rapidly. Ronnie's phone fell through a portal that opened under it on the desk. It traveled through a midair cycle of portals. The portals closed before it could pass through them completely. The resulting small, sharply cut fragments landed on the floor in a pile.
Ronnie's eyes went wide as he watched the destruction of his phone.
"Yer gonna do a number of things now, Ronnie-boi." Her eyes were a kaleidoscope of amber, jade, and silver energy. "You're sending Larry home. Doesn't matter if he's done sweepin' or not. Then yer writin' a letter to Mr. Hemenez explainin' what ya did. Who ya did it to. Who and what ya did it for. Yer then goin' home and getting a list of yer 'clients' and victims from prior to today. Yer going to go and turn yerself in. Do. You. Understand."
Ronnie could feel the instructions burning into his mind. He was going to do them, he had to.
"Last things. Where is Keltam right now? And if ya ever do somethin' like this again, this," she dug her claws in a little further. "Is gonna burn like molten metal bein' poured in t' it."
"M-m-m-mister Keltam is at his h-h-home." Ronnie rattled off the address.
Ali nodded and released his shoulder, stepping back into the shadows.
Ronnie then turned to the tasks he had been given, starting with sending Larry home.
Satisfied, Ali left quietly through the store's back door. She had another appointment to keep.
