The Vigilante & The Dragon - Book 1 of the Guardians Saga [COMPLETED]

Patrolling with Rile Ch. 14.2

Rile and Cale sat in their living room. Cale sharpened his sword while Rile lounged on the recliner, reading the iPad that Alex had bought him. She had shoved it at him and told him to stop bothering her so much, but had blushed and hurried off when he took it with a grin.

"How long has she been training with Gabe?" Rile asked, not looking up from the iPad.

"About two hours, I guess. Why?"  Cale looked over at the door of the practice room.

"She won't last another ten minutes," he said, sounding self-satisfied. "Mr. Perfection will push her over the edge any minute now." He scrolled down the iPad screen.

"AAAaargh!" Alex's cry of pure frustration emitted from behind the door.

"Told you." Rile tapped the iPad.

"Don't sound so happy about it," Cale said as Alex stalked out of the practice area.

"I cannot take another minute.  I need some fresh air and some action.  Up to both, Rile?" she growled.

"What's the matter, Alex, practicing staff techniques too boring?" he asked in the falsely sweet tone he usually reserved for provoking Gabe. He set down the iPad.

"Techniques? Try technique. As in one. For two hours." She glanced over her shoulder and saw Gabe walking out of the room. "Rile, will you talk all day or do we catch some action?"

"Let's go." Rile almost yanked her off her feet, cutting off Gabe. He picked up and sheathed his staff and sword smoothly. They disappeared out the door.

"Where are they going?" Gabe asked as he exited the training room of their apartment, which in truth, was half of their living room they had sectioned off.

"I don't know and you don't either," Cale warned. "Time for us to earn our money patrolling for Dr. Dewey."

***

Alex and Rile walked the dark alleys around the French Quarter, the cobblestones wet from a recent rain. It was a weeknight, so there was less of the usual trash along the curb. The picturesque black wrought iron lamps shone feeble light, which encouraged muggers, pimps and drug pushers.

"Gabe's quest for perfection getting on your nerves?" Rile asked.

"If I had wanted aggravation, I could have stayed at your place. What say we go over to the Central Business District and look around?" Alex didn't give him time to agree before she took off with him in tow. His reddish gold wings snapped open and Alex reminded herself to not stare at them.

"You didn't mention flying."

"Are you scared?" she taunted.

"No."

"Then shut up. This is the quickest way and we'll get the best view."

"We'll also be the best view.  This isn't inconspicuous."

When his head jerked back from the force of sudden acceleration and his wings strained, he regretted his words.  He gritted his teeth and told himself that her speed burst couldn't last long. They made a less than gentle landing on the roof of a gutted building along the river in the warehouse district. The remaining buildings sagged, as if tired in their advanced age. Occasional empty lots were filled with straggly weeds, chunks of concrete, and twisted rebar.

"Thank you for flying the friendly skies," Alex told him with a wicked smile. 

Rile didn't reply as he folded his wings back under his shirt and looked over the edge of the railing. He suppressed his grin that she always stared at them, mesmerized. "Seems pretty quiet."

"No way.  This is The Big Easy, there's nothing but crime at this time of night." She paced along the edge of the building, scanning the streets below. They were narrow and dark and dirty. Graffiti of all types, some artistic, most not, was scrawled on the walls. The usual trash of beer cans, beer bottles, and go-cups swirled whenever there was a breeze.

*****

Twenty minutes later, Alex slumped down against the railing. "This is as boring as practicing the same staff technique for two hours. Stupid of me to pick the warehouse district. No tourists to mug."

"Then why did you bring us here?"

"I was hoping for some drug deals to break up." Alex chewed her lip in frustration. "The bigger pushers meet here to distribute. The smaller ones roam the French Quarter to sell to tourists and the like."

"Let's talk.  Enlighten me as to details of your relationship with Gabe."

"Please, Rile, if I had wanted to talk, I wouldn't have asked you along." Alex saw Rile's surprised expression and sighed. "Don't act hurt. I'm not in the mood and you know what I meant."

Before he could reply, a scream came from the street.  Alex leapt to her feet and looked over the side.

"There is a God and He doesn't hate me." Her delight was unrestrained.  She watched a moment longer and Rile joined her.  "This is too good to be true. It's all mine, Rile," she added fiercely. "You can watch and, uh, critique my style."

A man held a knife to a woman's throat. Alex swooped down and tackled the man in his midsection.  He slammed into the garbage cans at the end of the alley.  She landed a few feet away.

"You can either go now or watch this scum get some of his own. Your choice," she told the shaken woman.

"Th-thank you." The woman picked up her purse and ran out of the alley.

Alex turned away.  Her foot made contact with a metal object and she stooped to examine it. "Aww, it's a cute little knife.  You like to hurt women? Try it on me." She tossed the knife back to him.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Rile hopped off the fire escape. "Don't return weapons to hostiles."

"I need practice with knife fighting.  This is perfect.  Let me try this on my own. I'll blast him if it gets out of hand."

Alex spared Rile a glance but her attention snapped back to the alley as garbage cans crashed.  The mugger was climbing the fence at the end of the alley.

"No way, thug." She fired over his head. The blast splattered into sparks on the fence.  Instead of stopping him, he gave a tremendous leap over the fence and was gone. "Come back! Great, another thug who skipped out."

"We could chase him," Rile suggested.

"He won't be any fun.  If he's the type to run, he's too scared to fight." Alex started climbing the fire escape.

"Then I say your style lacks energy." Rile followed her.

"Stop teasing me about this.  Aren't you bored, too?" Alex asked plaintively when they reached the roof.

"I have you to amuse me. Besides, it's easier to be patient when someone else is impatient. I wonder if that's how Gabe does it."

"Must be easy for him then, he has both you and me as the impatient ones.  I still can't believe it. Two hours on one technique," Alex sighed and roamed the roof, looking over all the sides.

"That's Gabe, Mr. Perfect Eldest Son."

****

A/N

Gabe never got around to his talk with Alex ! He chickened out and instead practiced for hours!

Dedicated to my newest readers

Kayjay9651

Nelly054