Oddest Jobs

Chinatown Rush

Lan looked out at the East River as he stood under a segment of the Two Bridges with Cam. Their backs were turned to their target, a self-storage unit that was being used as a base of operations for the eco-terrorists. Luc had tracked Marc's phone to several spots he frequented and other than the storage unit in Starrett City that housed the earth dragon lab, this was his most visited place.

"Why'd you let these guys go if you were gonna track 'em again?" Cam said. Unlike Bas who annoyed Lan with his questions, Cam seemed to just want to fully understand the things around him.

"Needed them to feel safe enough to continue operations. If I grabbed them they most likely wouldn't have talked and then we'd have to hand them over to the cops sooner or later. Their bosses would be wary and might have stopped until things cooled down. I let them think they won our little fight in the sewers and now they've got a false sense of security. Now we know where they hang out and who they are."

Luc did a background check on each of the members. He was still digging but had come across enough information to piece a story together. These mages were a group that called themselves Forever Earth. They were just a members-only organization of so-called activists and vegans who ran several social media platforms. A deeper look showed they didn't really care about any of the stuff they preached about: pushing for gentrification and laws that ruined the lives of natives. They were just a collective of rich kids with too much time and money on their hands. Before the return of magic, that was. Now with mages amongst their ranks, they've been trying to create their own little Mage Association with an eco-friendly facade.

The Mage Association put that one down fast. Forever Earth was doomed to fail the moment they tried to rebrand as 'Druids' empowered by the planet to protect her. There was a saying that where five or more mages gathered, the Association came to break it up. And that was the end of their little magic club. Officially, at least. The core members and leaders kept up their antics online and had been slowly recruiting behind the scenes. Now Luc estimated they had at least a thousand active members who worked in outposts like these across the country.

"So what now?" Cam squinted at the storage unit across the street.

He'd ditched his dress shirt, blazer, and pants and was wearing just his underclothes, a white tank and some basketball shorts. He was much more muscular than Lan's first assessment of him. Cam saw Lan checking him out and flashed him a smile. Lan noted for the first time he had braces.

"We're gonna rush in." He said ignoring the other man's leer. "I'll disable everyone with a huge sweep, you pick off the stragglers and cover me while I work."

Cam nodded once and they made their way across the street. Inside the building, they made their way to unit sixteen. Lan made quick work of the lock, melting it in seconds. Inside were futons, a mini-fridge, and a microwave. No people. Cam did his own once-over and nodded, confirming. Lan did a magical scan and found an anti-grav elevator disguised as a large floor tile. Just like the unit in Starrett, he pushed some mana into it to get it going but didn't get on.

Instead, when an empty elevator came down into their lab, the confused Forever Earth members were too stunned to react once Lan had jumped down the shaft after it.

They stared in shock for a moment, and that was all Lan needed.

He let out a huge wave of raw mana that collided with everything that had any mass, sending people and equipment flying. Anyone left standing was then shot by Cam, who clipped them in their shoulders and legs. When the shock passed, the Forever Earthers seemed to remember that they were mages. Lan felt the ambient mana being pulled in several directions. Spells in the process of being formed. He made a hard light wall blocking fireballs, wind slashes, and heat rays. He expanded the wall, slamming into them. He collapsed his construct and gave Cam the opening to take out the remainders.