July 15, 2004
"What I find odd in this, is why Clara didn't just try to kill you, since you're on a killed-on-sight list," said Sebastian, sitting on the desk chair.
"If Clara is working for the people who want to weaponize me... maybe she wanted to follow me to find Frank. Last time, it was a capture party. Maybe they were going to take me to a bounty hunter or a government official somewhere and have me executed elsewhere so they could prove it. It's what makes the most sense, considering the pattern with how other ones on that list have been captured and killed."
"True. Plus, we both know Clara is no match for you, so she wouldn't do a one-on-one against you."
"Unless they surround me like they did the last time or with Sonylla. Our flyball career may end tomorrow night, but my foes won't. You know what? If the CMMA is going to have agents at the game tomorrow, I think I will take advantage of it to confront them. If they plan for something big after the game, odds are they'll have people on the ground watching all exits and might spot Cheetah and your wolf. Can't lead them to Red Crescent pack if they follow us."
"Hmm, good point. There will be backups tomorrow. Knowing they're after you, you could bait them somewhere away from human cities."
"Yeah, and away from local packs. Here is what I think we will do. Tomorrow after the game, when we can leave, I will take off as normal, but you'll stay behind for a little bit. Pretend to be on the phone or something, but stay close to an agent. I'll head toward Tremblant. When I know for sure they're following me, I'll ping you my location."
"Then I'll head that way with the other agents," said Sebastian, following where she was going.
"Precisely. When I'm comfortably away from any towns and campsites, I probably will try to land, to make it easier for the CMMA to capture them or kill them. I know agents have aerial training, but they aren't flyball players."
"We're playing Spain in the finals. That game alone will prove your point," said Sebastian as he reached out to High Mage Finnas hologram to give him their plan.
The next day, as expected, there were a lot of journalists around the flyball stadium. They all wanted to have interviews with Coralis and Sebastian, as it was also their final game before retirement.
The game was brutal. Coralis and Oleandro kept fighting and checking each other, making each other fall off their sticks. Both of them were bleeding came the second intermission and people in attendance were convinced that they truly hated each other. The game was tied 13-13.
"Holy gods from above, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they want to cripple us," said Sebastian, sporting a black eye.
"We won the last two Silver Cups. Spain wants to win as much as we do if not more. That level of brutality was to be expected," said Coralis.
"It's no different than when we play Britain. I'm sure people think Blue and the Spanish captain hate each other, but they don't know he was at your wedding, just like they don't fully know how close you are to the Fullemon twins," said Lydia.
The Northerners won 16-13.
"Had to be a game we will all remember," whispered Oleandro in Coralis's ear.
"Wasn't expecting any different."
An hour later, Coralis and Sebastian finally could, finally, head to the take-off area. They nodded at each other, and Coralis took off, heading northwest.
As expected, she sensed that she was being followed and as planned, she sent her location to Sebastian. She wanted to call Frank, but she had to focus on the plan. She knew he was worried, but if she wanted to be able to get home to him, she couldn't let herself be distracted.
Just like they did the last time, they tried to circle her, but this time, they weren't as organized and more spread out: they were trying to lose the CMMA agents. Once she entered the Tremblant skyline, she turned to head North. She kept changing directions. One of her pursuers sent a fireball her way but she dodged it. They were still following her.
She spotted a clearing beyond the campsite area and landed on it at high speed. While her pursuers slowly circled the clearing and descended toward the ground, she conjured a fog to blur their vision and helped by Sonylla, she shot them fireballs before they landed. She stood in the middle of the clearing. One by one, they crashed on the ground.
"Thanks!" mind-linked Coralis to Sonylla.
"Anytime! Keep us alive and out of their filthy hands!"
When her pursuers were all down, she stopped throwing fireballs and turned the fog into an acid mist, which she pushed into each of them, one by one, as they started to get up on their feet. Spotting the CMMA agent descending to land from the corner of her eyes, she dissipated the acid molecules lingering in the air.
Sebastian landed at high speed next to her.
"Damn sis, what did you do to them?"
Her foes were lying on the ground, struggling to breathe. Their skin was turning red and blood came out of their nostrils and ears. The CMMA agents surrounded them. They glanced at Coralis before binding them.
"Turned the fog I made to blur their sight into an acid mist to keep them down and ready for pick up."
"That should teach them to mess with the wrong mage," said Zahir.
"You'd think they knew who they were messing with by now," said Sebastian while helping Boukya carry one of her tied-down foes toward a portal opened by one of the other agents.
They threw their charge across the portal and went to grab another one. Coralis was staring at the sky, making sure no one else was coming for her when her hologram went off.
"I see that the night went according to plan," said High Mage Finnas when she answered his call.
"We left the flyball field later than anticipated, but they took the bait. One of them tried to send me a fireball when we were flying. I'm hoping there were no campers below who saw that," said Coralis while Sebastian and Boukya threw another foe through the portal.
"How many people came after you tonight?" said High Mage Finnas, standing across the portal and watching the prisoners piling up.
"I counted 13 in that clearing. I think there were more, but some might have left when they noticed they were followed by your agents. Thanks for sending agents, let's hope this war will end before more are sent after us."
"It seems you had the situation under control on your own."
"More or less. They were distracted by your agents tonight and were more focused on losing them than capturing me."
When the CMMA crew was done passing the foes they took as prisoners across the portal, they went through it and Coralis ended the communication with High Mage Finnas. Coralis and Sebastian looked around them, listening to the silent night.
"Tonight, we can finally go home in peace. I'm sure more will come, eventually. I know we're supposed to meet up with the team for drinks but all I want to do right now, is to go home to Stephanie."
"Same, I just want to go home to Frank. Why do I feel like I am about to climb up the ranking?"
They decided to make an appearance at The Wooded Tavern, to have one drink with their teammates before calling it a night and going home to their spouses. On her way to the bar, Coralis called Frank.
"Luv, for the first time ever, I felt relieved when the news channel broadcasted an updated list of the Most Wanted Witches a few minutes ago and saw your name. You're now 10th, but to me, it meant that your plan worked and you were still alive."
"Thirteen people were sent to populate the CMMA cells after taking the bait. That means they were going to turn me over to someone who'd kill me on behalf of some authorities but failed. I had more after me when we took off from the flyball field. Those who left after I started throwing fireballs must have updated whoever paid them to come after me tonight."
"I'm willing to bet that Spain is behind it, but maybe they also went after someone there and failed. You do know Alejandro Salinz, right?"
"Yes, he is an EBEE agent from Spain. I think he was 20th when authorities last updated the list."
"He is now 11th."