Ed stepped through the portal and onto the rocky coastline. He couldn't help but admire the view - the Milwaukee Coast may not have the long, sandy beaches of an ocean coastline but it had a charm all its own. Next to him was a frozen custard stand, its windows still shuttered. Boats bobbed in the water, some having washed up onto shore while others seemed anchored at a distance. He saw odd rippling in the water near the boats and was pretty sure he saw movement on a few of them. Beyond them the distinctive skyline was silhouetted with the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Milwaukee County War Memorial, and the skyline that was a mix of old world brick history and modern glass and metal skyscrapers. He had a moment to wonder what life was like in the city before white hot pain flashed in his head and he dropped to the ground, lifeless.
He awoke on a hard, marble floor, his joints and the back of his head tingling from laying on the unforgiving surface for too long. He sat up with a groan, closing his eyes against a massive headache.
"Should I tie him up, boss?" The voice was oily and whiny. Even without seeing it Ed immediately disliked the face it belonged to.
"Nah, he tries to run and we'll fuck him up. He's not going to outrun a motorcycle."
"He might be able to yet." Jonas wasn't one for words so when he spoke up even Mason listened.
The newly advanced level 12 Raid Lord turned to face Jonas. "What do you mean?"
"We were walking around the waterfront looking for people to bring in and he just appeared in front of us. Some sort of portal. Not sure if he could do it again."
Mason considered. "Did you find anything on him?"
Jonas silently shook his head in reply, turning the ever-present toothpick over in his mouth.
Mason grunted then turned back to the figure sitting on the ground, legs splayed out in front of him. He squatted in front of him then slapped him hard enough to send sparks shooting through Ed's vision. "Open your fucking eyes."
Ed sat back up, eyes wide in shock. For the first time he saw the hulking man in front of him. His heart sank as he turned to see the motley, dangerous group sitting around him. He counted about a half dozen men and the same amount of women. You didn't have to be an expert in human physiology to see that their expressions were all slightly… off. Ed was an expert, though, so the differences were stark and terrifying. They looked like AI robots who had just enough humanity to pass into Uncanny Valley, but not enough to climb out. Their eyes weren't vacant, per se, they just weren't… theirs. If eyes were the windows to the soul then these windows were theme park facades that only hinted at reality behind them without any true authenticity. They weren't automatons, but they weren't fully their own people either.
All except the monster squatting in front of him. "Hey, sorry. Just a bit of a headache," Ed said with feigned nonchalance.
Mason considered him then roared in laughter. "Balls on this one," grabbing Ed's chin hard enough to make his jaw ache. "At least you're no pussy. But let's get something straight right off," Mason leaned in, the humor leaving his voice as quickly as it had come. "You can be a funny man all you want as long as you don't piss me off. Got that?"
Ed could only nod in response, his usual witty retort dying on his lips.
"Good. And you know what pisses me off the most?" He paused but Ed knew it wasn't to let him answer, so he stayed silent. He could tell he was on a tightrope right now, one side was probably death and the other was certain death. He was studying this man's face as if reading it correctly was a matter of life and death, which he knew it certainly was.
"I hate fucking liars. Lie to me once - even once, and you'll not just be dead, you'll take a long-ass time getting there. Got that too?"
Ed nodded again, not needing to feign fear. Mason noted his blanched skin, the sweat pouring off his brow, and his clenched lips and smiled. He liked what he saw.
"Okay, question one: How did you get here?"
Ed sent a silent thank you to whatever gods brought him back in time to hear that person from earlier. Jonas? How could he admit what they already knew without giving away his escape plan? His portal could help him escape, but he'd need to summon his tools and would need a few seconds to cast it. He also needed to picture a place in great detail and his terrified mind was turning a blank right now. If he wasn't following his tracking spell then the place he wanted to go needed to be pictured so perfectly that the portal couldn't help but know where to latch onto. Right now the only place he could think of that vividly was the neighborhood he just came from, and he wasn't about to expose them to this kind of danger. Unfortunately, he didn't have any other people to track and hadn't thought to prepare any backups. He could picture his home back in New York vividly enough but his power wasn't strong enough to connect to something that far away.
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. All the power of The System at my fingertips to escape and no way to actually use it. With a frustrated sigh he met Mason's eyes in what he hoped was a believable expression.
"I transported here."
Mason growled and Ed didn't miss the way he clenched his fist. "I fucking know that. How?"
Ed's mind raced. "I was in a neighborhood with someone that had a skill. They said they could send me anywhere and I said 'send me to the closest beach.' I'm not even sure which beach this is but it isn't what I had in mind."
Mason searched his eyes with a dangerous, intense stare that made Ed's heartbeat speed up and sweat pour even more heavily down his brow. Then he looked up over Ed's head and addressed someone behind him. "That true?"
"Not even a little bit. No one in that neighborhood had anything like that."
Ed's heart dropped through the floor as he craned backwards to see Father Gabriel fixing him with a wolfish grin of victory.