Bureau of Collections || ONC2021

Body Thieves

"I don't know if I can do this." 404 complained as they stood before the illegal entry 221 had organised to the human realm. She had to keep reminding herself that he was more than he seemed. The legends of the Auditors were well known. They were secretive and ruthless, conducted their business by any means necessary and had access to things she could not even dream of.

"You said you wanted to help. This is how we help." You walk through that door, you pick a checked out drug addict and you borrow their body for a couple of hours. It's simple. They are so disconnected they won't even be conscious enough to notice we hijacked them. The more doped up, the better. We won't have the freedom to teleport or shift planes and hide ourselves like we can in the Bureau vessels. We have to be careful. These are genuine people."

"I know that." she scowled, "It just feels - wrong."

221 sighed, "Look, I'm not too happy about it either. This is the only option available to us if we want to help that unaccounted. I feel that wraith won't be the only one looking for him."

"Can't you just do some Auditor trick and deal with this in an instant?" she grumbled.

He sighed, "It doesn't work like that. I'm not some omnipotent being like the big guy. I am bound to the same restrictions you are."

"That I find hard to believe. What other artefacts do you have hidden in your arsenal? Surely you have something that will be to our advantage."

"They are all part of my Bureau vessel. I have no access to them from here, but there will be reapers. I keep them hidden at the junkie house for emergencies such as this."

Her mouth dropped, "This is not your first time doing this?" she demanded.

"Oh Lifer, you have no idea." he chuckled. "You ready?"

She shook her head, of course she wasn't. They were all trained in what to expect when entering the human realm and she had watched them for centuries, but to actually go there. To actually see and feel what it was like, that frightened her.

221 offered her a hand as he reached for the door handle, giving her an assuring smile. "You got this. Let's go save Colin Baxter."

"Just get it over with." she sighed as he turned the handle and entered, pulling her through as she shut her eyes tight, bracing for the jolting surge as they crossed over.

"You can open your eyes now."

She did, her skin feeling electric and scattered. She gasped as she looked down and realised she had no form. She watched as a spark of light darted past her, quickly hovering over an array of passed out people on a filthy mattress on the corner before vanishing as it dove into the mouth of the male.

He shot up, gaunt in a stained white singlet, snot running in rails down his lips. Rubbing at his head he looked up to where 404 hovered, pointing to a larger woman laying next to him, topless and in soiled underwear, her face masked by a thick tangle of red ringlets. Fine, she thought bitterly as she followed suit, cringing as she dove inside the woman's mouth on the next rattling snore.

Life exploded, overwhelming 404 as sensations she had never experienced roared in a body that was not her own, the vessel heavy as she got a feel for how it moved. It was difficult.

"Careful now. It can feel a little heavy on the first try. It's just gravity. You will get used to it."

She flinched, it was so loud, squinting she gazed at the face of the man 221 had hijacked. "This is vile." she croaked, tongue running along unfamiliar teeth, the accent strange as the memories and experiences of the soul laying dormant melded with her own. "Oh, that's so strange. Its not permanent is it?"

"What?"

She flinched as some of the more unsavoury memories came to light, "Oh lord! This poor woman!"

"Ah, the memories. No. They will fade once you leave, they belong to the soul, not to you, you are just sharing. Taking a ride. Come, we need to move fast. Colin is a few blocks from here. We need to run."

He offered her a hand and hauled her to her feet, "Not before I find a shirt." she grizzled as she looked around, rolled over a nearby woman and pulled out what she understood was the women's filthy blue hoodie and jeans. It would have to do. Pulling it all on awkwardly, still getting used to how the limbs worked, she followed 221 as he moved from the room, appearing a moment later with two reapers in hand.

"I need to tell you something before we go." he announced as he handed one to her, putting his own into the pocket of the oversized jeans of his vessel.

"What?" she replied hesitantly.

"I suspect the Supreme might be trying to deal with this personally."

Her blood ran cold, "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. This is going to be dangerous. He has powers even I don't possess. If he gets to the unaccounted first, we're fucked."

"Why would he do that? It makes little sense. He told us they would escalate this. Is that not why he suspended us?"

"If I'm right. He's colluding with our wraith. He cut off our access because he knows. He's a smart man, he will have figured out I am not who I seem. I have intelligence he crossed over in the last hour. You need to be prepared that we may need to take him out."

She nodded, the guy was an asshole. It was not a hard decision to come to. "Let's get this over with and fix this."

"One more thing."

She sighed, "What, 221?"

"Do exactly as I tell you. Regardless of how this plays out. Do you understand me, 404? Exactly as I tell you." he emphasised the last sentence, an intensity and care in his eyes she had not seen before.

"You can trust me 221, I am your partner."

He smiled, "Good girl. Just do your best okay?"

She nodded as he moved, breaking into a run as they left the home and raced down the street, 221 seeming to know exactly where to go.