Chapter 252 Return the Favor
Elizabeth and the crew hopped out of the car, and Isaac grabbed a bag from the trunk.
They trekked into the woods to the spot where Isaac's buddy's signal had vanished.
Isaac unzipped the bag and said, "Got his training gear, notebooks, and some pics in here."
Elizabeth had already peeped the photos. Isaac had hit her up that day, and she reached out that night, asking for a pic to vibe out his buddy's fate. They needed to know if he was still kicking to plan a rescue.
Sadly, they found out he bit the dust about two weeks ago. Because they had to find his remains and Isaac was being tailed, they had to wait until now to make a move.
Elizabeth pulled out three rune stones and rolled them over the photo. She then grabbed the dude's clothes and notebook, channeling their energy into the rune stones. Holding the stones, she chanted a spell and tossed them on the ground to read them.
Since this wasn't a personal reading, no need to throw the stones three times.
She picked up the rune stones and said, "Southeast, let's roll!" She then took the lead and headed out.
Isaac packed up the stuff and followed Elizabeth with Raymond. Along the way, Elizabeth tossed the rune stones five times, following the directions they pointed to.
Finally, they hit a high mountain and found a super hidden cave covered by bushes. They pushed the bushes aside and stepped into the cave.
Isaac pulled a flashlight from his backpack and flicked it on. He looked at the ground and said, "Footprints, and not just one person's. And dried bloodstains."
Elizabeth noticed too and said, "Let's check it out."
Deep in the cave, the three of them found a body.
The cave, tucked away in the mountains, had a tiny entrance hidden by tall bushes. The crappy air circulation and low temp, along with some unique environmental stuff, had kept the body from decomposing. It looked like it had only been dead for a few days.
Isaac's eyes got misty. "It's him," he whispered.
Isaac walked over and gently picked up the body. He searched but came up empty.
Plus, there were signs the area had been dug up, meaning someone else had found this spot.
After realizing Isaac's buddy was dead, they also tried to find something. It was clear his buddy's clothes had been searched.
Once they left the cave, the light got way better.
Isaac thanked Elizabeth sincerely, "Thanks a lot for this." Otherwise, his buddy's body would have turned to bones in this remote place, never getting a proper burial. He also marveled at Elizabeth's killer divination skills. They had asked a master diviner for help before, but all had failed. This time, he had tried it out of sheer desperation, and it had worked.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No biggie."
Then she looked at the body Isaac was holding. She asked, "There were signs in the cave that someone had been searching for something. Was he carrying something important?"
Isaac said, "He probably had what we were after in our last mission."
Then he sighed, "But it looks like it might've already been snatched." He had just searched and found nothing.
Elizabeth said, "Nope, it's still on him."
Isaac looked at her, surprised. "On him? I just searched and found zilch!" he said.
Elizabeth said, "Put him down. Open the bandage on his injured and bandaged left arm."
Isaac did as told. The bandage had already been messed with and was loosely tied. He had felt it carefully but hadn't found anything weird. He opened and removed the bandage, finding only bloodstains.
Elizabeth pointed to the wound on the arm and said softly, "Cut it open with a knife; the item's hidden inside the flesh."
Isaac was floored for a sec, then did what she said.
After slicing it open, he reached in and carefully felt around. He then pulled out a tiny memory card.
Isaac was stunned. "It's really here," he muttered, his eyes getting misty again.
It could be imagined the hell his buddy went through, cutting open his own arm to stash the memory card deep inside, making sure no one would find anything weird from the outside.
Elizabeth said respectfully, "You should take him back for a formal burial. His ashes should be placed in the Heroes' Cemetery."
This memory card must have some seriously important info.
The dude not only gave his life but also hid the info in a way that was both badass and worthy of mad respect. His actions made sure the crucial data stayed hidden and safe, even in death.
Isaac nodded and said softly, "I'll take him home today."
He carefully put away the memory card and then carried the body away. He thought to himself that it was thanks to Elizabeth's help that he could bring back his buddy's body and such important info.
So, he would report this to his superiors and give Elizabeth the credit she deserved.
Isaac had hit up his superiors while on the mountain. So when they got near the car, a helicopter landed not far away.
Isaac asked Raymond to drive Elizabeth back, then hopped on the helicopter and headed straight to Clifftonshireburg. It was clear that the memory card he had was super important.
Elizabeth and Raymond drove back to the hotel. By the time they got there, it was already evening.
As they walked into the lobby, they saw Darlene and a few others coming out.
Elizabeth found it hilarious that Darlene had booked the same hotel as Matthew and his crew.
She totally didn't buy that it was a coincidence, nor did she think Darlene wouldn't stir up some trouble.
What made Elizabeth cautious was that Darlene actually came up to greet her.
Darlene asked, "Elizabeth, are you here as a master diviner with Mr. Ingram?"
Elizabeth shot back, "Yeah, got a problem with that?"
Darlene smiled. "I also dig your divination skills, so I wanna hire you to help my company."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Haven't you heard that one person can't serve two opposing sides? Since I've taken Mr. Ingram's commission, I can't switch sides."
Darlene laughed. "But I've also heard that the highest bidder wins. I'll pay you double. How about it?"
Elizabeth sneered, "Do I look like someone who needs your money?" Darlene clearly wasn't genuinely trying to hire her, she had a condescending attitude.
Darlene frowned and suddenly reached out to grab Elizabeth's arm, complaining unhappily, "You're really ungrateful."
Elizabeth now got what Darlene was trying to do. "Yeah, I'm that ungrateful," she spoke coldly as she reached out with her other hand, grabbed Darlene's hand that was holding her arm. "So please, back off."
Elizabeth then shook off Darlene's hand, snapping, "And don't touch me with that hand; I'm definitely not into girls."
Darlene wasn't shocked that Elizabeth shook off her hand; it was a normal reaction. But Elizabeth's words made her uncomfortable. Did Elizabeth mean that she liked women and was trying to take advantage of her?
Her face turned cold and she snorted, "I just wanted to test your strength. I'm not into girls."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, "Well, I'm actually tougher than you."
Darlene looked at Elizabeth with interest. She sneered, "Really? Then let's see whose bones are tougher." She had achieved her goal and didn't want to waste more time with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth agreed, "I think so too. Let's wait and see." She wasn't someone who would let Darlene push her around. Whatever Darlene did to her, she would make sure to return the favor.
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