The last blue orchid

Chapter One

"Where the hell did she go?" I heard the short stocky man half yelled, half puffed at his two minions from where I was hidden in a spiky, twiggy bush - exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday night. Not.

"We lost her, sir" one of the minions answered about ten feet down the road walking closer to where I was crouching.

"You better find her, or Bowman will have your heads!" Stocky barked, the mention of his name made shrink into the bush even further. They must have meant another Bowman, surely! There is no way they wouldn't be high enough in command to know Campbell Bowman.

"B-but we l-lost h-her scent, s-sir?" The second minion squeaked, cowering away from their leader. I silently thank charmed stones in my pocket for holding out, though I can feel them weakening by the second.

"Then use your damn eyes!" He bellowed, the vein on his forehead looks like its about to explode. He looks so ridiculous, I have to bite the inside of my cheek to hold back a snicker. That would give me away faster than this dissolving spell.

"Yes, sir!" The both reply and scurry off down the street.

"What did I do to be stuck with these god damn idiots?" He grumbles to himself as he heads down in the opposite direction to twiddle dee and twiddle dumb.

I waited a good 5 minutes before a decided it was safe to venture out of my hiding spot. The amulet that hung around my neck had cooled down about two minutes ago, letting me know that there were no werewolves near.

Stretching out my stiff legs, not the smartest idea to squat behind a bush for over 15 minutes. When I felt comfortable to stand, I set off in the same direction as the minions, deciding I would have better odds if I bumped into them again. As unfit as stocky seemed, I saw him throw a nasty punch back in the bar, threw the poor guy halfway across the room.

Setting of in a light jog, I'm pretty sure there is a phone box a few blocks away, next to that amazing Chinese restaurant. My stomach rumbled at the thought, if only I wasn't running for my life, Satay chicken and fried rice would go down a treat right about now.

When I rounded the corner, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw the graffiti covered glass box. Pulling my hoodie up, hanging my head low, I slowly made my way to the phone booth. My amulets burn is still long gone, but it's been a little while since I recharged it, so relying on that alone could be dangerous, it's already played up on me once tonight.

Stepping up to the door, pulling my sleeve down over my hand to grasp the sticky looking handle to open the byfold door. Once inside I did a finally scan of my surroundings before I pick up the large receiver, typing in the number I have dialled too many times before. As usual, two rings before a young lady picks up.

"Thank you for calling fluffy land Laundromat, how may I help you?" She chirps

"The mocking bird fly's higher when the sky is blue, over the Himalayan waters." I reply almost robotically.

"One moment please," her voice more monotone this time, before she patched me through.

"Howdy," I almost cried when I heard his voice, even his silly accent made me smile, somewhere between Australian, Polish and American, never able to decide which one he wants to be.

"Oli, I need new paper - fast!" I stated, I'm not stupid enough to let him know that I've missed him, his ego doesn't need stroking.

"Anastasia! Long-time no talk," he laughed

"This isn't the time for your stupid carry on" I rolled my eyes while he continued to laugh.

"Okay, okay, what happened?" Starting to sound a little more on task, I can just hear his fingers going wild on the keyboard.