Page 49 of Capture of Capricorn

“What?” he barked, putting it on speaker and continuing his artwork.

“The bomb squad might have figured out it’s a hoax. They’re coming in.”

“Fuck.” Capricorn rushed his sigils and had just finished the last swirl when he heard shouts and the clomping of booted feet.

Time to see if he’d succeeded.

He closed his eyes and reached out to the stars, to the special ones linked to him. As people poured into the room, coldness enveloped him as he shot off to the sky.

The intense frigidness lasted only seconds, but he still shivered as he returned to Earth.

Naked.

Dammit. He must have messed up part of the equation. Capricorn eyed his naked junk and sighed. Nothing like storming a tower to save the woman he loved with his dick and balls swinging.

“Well, now I don’t feel so dumb,” drawled Aries.

Capricorn glanced over to see his friend just as nude. “Guess we should have taken our time.”

“Bah. We’re here, which is the most important part.”

“We made it?”

Aries nodded. “Not exactly where we planned, but close enough” He pointed behind him. “Tower’s just over that hill.”

“Could you see anything?” he asked.

“A few abandoned all-terrain vehicles, a disabled tank, but not much else. There’s a thick fog surrounding Tower.”

“I don’t suppose there’s some clothing and weapons lying around?” his hopeful query.

“Only one way to find out.”

Despite being a tough-as-nails warrior, walking over rough ground in bare feet sucked. At the peak of the hill, they hunkered and observed. As Aries detailed, there was a smattering of vehicles parked on the outside of the moat. The tank showedharpoon damage, indicating Tower did put up a fight. But of Tower itself… the fog hung too thick to see.

Aries nudged him, but Capricorn had already seen the movement. A man emerged from the tank and sat down, legs dangling, to light a cigarette.

Oh hell yeah. Seemed like one of them would be getting a pair of pants.

“First one there doesn’t stay naked,” Capricorn whispered.

Before he could say go, Aries bolted.

Fucker. Capricorn couldn’t catch the boss. Aries made it almost to the tank before the guy having a smoke noticed.

He tossed his cigarette and stood, his gun loosely aimed. “You there. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Thank god, we found you. Me and my friend were set upon by bandits,” Aries exclaimed, holding up his hands. “They took everything. Even our clothes.”

“Sucks to be you. Now scram. I’m busy.”

“You can’t be serious. You have to help us. We’ll die out here.” Aries overdid it on the drama, but the guy seemed to believe it, because he snorted.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been wandering around here in the first place.”

Aries had been approaching the entire time he engaged with the fellow and now stood right below him. “Surely you have an extra pair of pants? Maybe a phone so we can call for help?”

The tank guy snarled, “Listen, asshole. I don’t have time for this bullshit. Move it before I put a hole in you.” The fellow stood close to the tank’s edge, glaring down.

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