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The rusty hinges of the old, wooden door creaked as she opened it. Upon entering the stuffy room, the woman felt around the wall, looking for the lightswitch with her hand, struggling to find it in the dark. She turned on the lights, revealing the modest motel room she had been living in for the past weeks. Kate didn’t spend much time here, mainly using the place to sleep or store things. The flickering lightbulb that hung loosely from the ceiling without a lampshade covering it was irritating. It would drive her nuts staying here for too long.
The reason she had come here now was to change clothes. Katharina had just gotten back from her visit to the Stilwater Science Museum.
As it was her day off, and the museum was deep within Ronin territory, the blonde had gone in as a civilian, avoiding anything purple to not get recognized or spotted. Her choice of clothing might have actually saved her skin, as she actually had had a close encounter with two Ronin guarding a door inside the SSC. Had she represented the Saints, they might have second guessed her being the mere visitor she had been.
After exiting the large museum complex, she had wasted no time telling Pierce, one of the higher-ups of the gang, what she had uncovered over the phone. Relaying that information had felt good, it was a true accomplishment to her. The lieutenant had advised her to leave the area at the end of their call, so now she was back at her motel on the southern island of the city, far away from the Japanese gang’s territory.
But to be extra safe, she would change out of the clothing she had worn today, just in case one of them had taken note of her looks and would remember her. Due to the Ronin’s large numbers, the chance of running into one of the two on the street was slim and almost nonexistent,
but she wasn’t going to risk it.
She took off her shirt and pants, putting them in a basket that she would take to the laundromat later. Then she opened her wardrobe to grab a fresh pair of shorts, and a white tank top. As she looked for her sweatband of the same colour, she came across one of her priced possessions that she had stashed on one of the shelves. It was an item that was of great importance to the fit woman, her trophy necklace.
Seeing it again reminded her of why she had actually come to Stilwater. She picked the makeshift piece of jewelry up and inspected the many demon fangs that decorated the string. Each of them was the reward for one of her hunts. Every single tooth accounted for a demon she had slain.
That’s why she had travelled here in the first place, to investigate suspicious activity that had raised several red flags for the experienced huntress. Yet somewhere along the way to get closer to the suspected succubus, she had gotten caught in the creature’s web.
Kate had never planned to stick around this long. Weeks ago she had expected to have one of the Boss’ fangs dangling from this string alongside the rest by now. But one thing had led to another, dragging her deeper into the demoness’ world than she had originally intended.
And while the deviation from her usual MO was exciting, it was also a bit scary. She wondered just how far she would go along until she was ready to make a move. Only time would tell.
She put the necklace back in the wardrobe, hiding it on the top shelf. She had worn it a couple of times since joinng the horned woman's crew,
but it was risky should the Boss ever take a closer look at exactly what kind of teeth they were. Johnny, who had still been sour after getting his ass kicked by her during the blonde’s canonization, had wasted no time referring to her as the tooth fairy. Less than thrilled by that experience, and hoping to avoid that nickname sticking, she had stopped donning it. Finding the sweatbands she had been looking for, she put them around her wrists and closed the wardrobe again.
For now, she would continue playing her role as a member of the Saints. She picked up her phone and knife before heading outside.
As she locked the door behind her, she couldn’t help but wonder if Pierce had already passed along her intel to the others by now.
She would find out tomorrow. Until then, she he was going to focus on her workout for the day, looking forward to learning what the lieutenant had come up with regarding the yellow clad gang.