CONTROL - Ver. 2

XXXIV

"Where's Sting?" Rin paced the room with her nails between her teeth.

"I don't know. I can't trace his scent which means our assailants know exactly who they're dealing with."

"Maybe they don't." Rin stopped pacing and looked at Leese who was perched on their bed. "The man referred to you as the brunette. He clearly doesn't know your name. And if he did, he wouldn't dare send people after you, especially after you showed off your power at the Grand Magic Games. Also, he would have no idea that you don't have much magic at this point."

"So what you're saying is they think I'm just one of Sting's bimbo mages at Sabertooth?"

"Precisely." Rin rolled her eyes and continued pacing again. "What if we ask Bacchus for help?" The brunette shook her head.

"He's most likely here for a job of his own or he's passing through. Also, he's already had too much to drink today. Trying to get through that thick skull of his is a waste of time." Leese and Lector watched as Rin began tugging at the roots of her hair. "Fuck! This is what I get for leaving Sting alone!"

"We were only gone for an hour at most! And the guys just found out that you guys are targets. How would they have gotten him so fast? Maybe he just went somewhere."

"But his scent is gone! How is that possible?" The room was completely silent. It was like the blonde had vanished into thin air. "I'm gonna go investigate." The exceeds watched as Rin walked over to the balcony and began climbing onto the banister.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm gonna climb up and listen in on their room." The woman could tell that Leese was about to yell at her to use the stairs but beat her to it. "I don't wanna be in a position that they could snatch me up!" Without another word, Rin took a deep breath and balanced herself on the banister while estimating the distance between her and the next balcony up. She steeled herself and held her breath, jumping up and barely wrapping her hand around one of the posts. She began hoisting herself up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Leese watched as her feet suddenly disappeared to the floor above. One down, one to go. Of course, the exceed could fly her up and help her, however, Rin was stubborn in these kinds of situations. She felt somewhat helpless without her magic and she seemed to need to prove that she was just fine without it. Also, after the vision they'd had of Leese dying when fighting the dragons, Rin had been extra careful about involving her in any kind of work.

Rin then reached up and jumped to the next balcony, however, as she began to pull herself up, she realized that their balcony door was wide open and they'd see her almost immediately. Of course, being the smart woman she is, she instead decided to hang from the balcony by her hands alone. The brunette dumbly dangled four stories up and listened in.

Inside the room, there was crying from multiple parties, presumably girls who had been taken from their rooms. Other than that, there were three men who talked closely to the balcony, one of which being the man from downstairs.

"We got more than enough for this collection."

"Noroi-san specifically said to grab the mages, so it doesn't matter. We're not going anywhere until we got the brunette chick, got it?" Rin could hear a big man sigh and the sparking of a lighter. She inwardly cursed. If he was taking a smoke break, he was about to get real damn close.

"Fine. It's still early enough to go for another grab."

"She's got curly hair, freckles, and purple eyes. She's a looker; hard to miss. Also, she's with a blonde man―"

"Hey!" Rin suddenly looked up to find Ol' Smokey looking down at her with his cigarette between his lips. She smiled meekly before releasing her grip from the balcony and dropping to the one below. Since she was typically agile and had her magic as a safety net, she did so without thinking. However, the slippery banister below sent her rolling over the edge and clumsily down to the second floor.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut as her collision with the ground below was imminent until she felt a hand tightly grab onto her wrist. Her head tilted up, finding none other than Sting keeping her from plunging to her death. He was gritting his teeth, desperately trying not to let her slip.

Thankfully, he was able to clasp onto her wrist with both hands and dragged her back up and onto their own balcony.

"What the hell were you doing?!"

"Investigating! Where have you been?!"

"I went down to the hot springs to join you but you left!" A dark red hue rose over both of their cheeks at the mention of the sex pools. "You're not allowed to go back down there, by the way."

"Neither are you." Rin began shoving Sting back into their room and moved to grab their belongings. "Nevermind that. We have to leave."

"Why? What about the job?"

"The job is fake," she groaned as she tossed him his bag. "They wanted to bring mages here to kidnap and traffic them."

"We're being targeted?"

"I'm being targeted." The woman sighed, dropping her hands to her sides. "I can't leave, but you can."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"They've got other girls. That's what I was checking on up there. I can't just leave them."

"You don't have magic, Rin," he argued. "What are you gonna do up there against all of them?"

"It's not what I'm gonna do. It's what you're gonna do." The woman began shoving him back to the balcony where Leese and Lector followed. "Get somewhere safe and come back for me before sundown."

"You can't be serious right now."

"I am," she replied sternly. "Leese." Without another word, the exceed picked Sting up by the shoulders of his top and flew him out of the room and away from the resort. From a distance, he could see two large men breaking into their room and dragging her along with them until they were out of sight.