“It’s hard to understand why you’re not raging right now,” I said.
Sid smiled, a cold, brittle thing. “Payback’s a bitch and I am looking forward to being her handmaiden.”
We got home, changed our clothes and hung up our uniforms. It would not be the last time we wore them. We both swore to that before we got into the house.
I started cooking while Sid sat at the table amid a stack of books and notepads.
“What are you working on, Sid?”
“I’m going over some law books and criminology books. I want to see if there is any precedent for what James is trying to pull and how we might fight back using the system.”
“You’re wasting your time,” I said. “He isn’t doing this within the system, so fighting him within it won’t work. We need to publicly embarrass or humiliate him. We need to show everyone how evil he truly is.”
Sid put her pen down and rested her chin on her hands. “That’s great, and we’ll do that. But we also need to lock it down so neither he nor anyone else, can ever do this again. That’s where the law comes in.”
“Okay, I can see that. Although…”
My words were interrupted by a pounding at the door. I glanced at Sid, turned the flame down under the pot of pasta I was cooking, and headed to the door to answer it. Another round of heavy thuds hit the door before I could open it. I pulled it open to reveal Auntie Sett standing there, fist raised, about to pound the door again.
“Come on in, Auntie,” I said.
“About time you answered the damned door. That bastard has a lot to answer for, I’m telling you,” she snarled as she pushed past me into the house.
“I assume you’re talking about our beloved Director?” Sid said from her seat at the table.
Sett paused in her rampage to blink at Sid. “Oh, hell. What did he do to you two?”
“Accused us of cheating, with your help, and told us we were no longer officers,” I said.
“With my help,” Sett hissed. “That explains some of what he said. It seems he thought we spoke after you left him because he was acting like I already knew what he was talking about.”
“What happened, Auntie?” Sid asked. “Come on, sit. I’ll get us coffee or beer or whatever you want.”
“It’s lunchtime, beer is good. Want me to order pizza?” Sett said.
“No, I was cooking already. Let me get that finished up and we can talk this out,” I said.
Sett sat down at the table and picked up one of Sid’s books. “Criminal law. Doing some studying? Or research?”
Sid brought the beer back to the table and started to clear it so we could eat. “Research. I want to find a way to pass laws so no one else can do this again.”
“That’s ambitious of you,” Sett said as she handed the book to Sid.
I dished up three bowls of pasta with tomato and meat sauce and set them on the island. A sliced loaf of French bread with butter and a small salad rounded out the meal. Sid finished clearing the table and set the food out while I carried the salad in and we all took a couple of minutes to eat.
Sett dipped her bread in the sauce and took a bite, washed down with a swallow of beer before she spoke again. “The Director has put me on probation, which is basically a suspension with pay. I can still get on campus and access my office, but my classes are being handled by another teacher and I had to turn in my badge and gun.”
“And all he told you was that you supposedly helped us cheat?” Sid said.
“That was the main point he brought up. He rambled a bit about how he didn’t understand how I’d managed to stay on staff at the Academy for so long. That it must’ve been because I was a Fortin that my pathetic skills as a witch and a trainer were allowed to be passed on to students.”
I could tell that Sett was more angry than hurt by the words, but there was a trace of bitterness there.
“Auntie, you have been repeatedly awarded the best trainer title by the cadets for the past, what, ten years? You are an excellent trainer and a much better witch than some of the purely witch-training teachers there. Don’t let that asshat get inside your head. That’s what Grampa Walsh told us, and it goes for you too,” I said.
Sett looked down at her food and took another bite. “He’s good at it, though. Getting into our heads.”
“Yeah, he is,” Sid said. “He pushes my buttons all the time. When he called us into his office, he addressed Sin as Officer Boudreau and me as ‘his sister’. As if I weren’t even worthy of being called an officer. He’s always hated that I exist.”
“Aren’t you being a touch dramatic?” Sett asked Sid.
“No, she’s not. He said as much to her face the last time we were at the manor. He would have been happiest if she were a boy, but otherwise, he’d rather she was dead,” I said.
Sett looked from me to Sid and shook her head. “Walsh suspected that James had psychopathic tendencies. I didn’t realize how accurate he was.”
“He has no emotion that seems true. He can fake it well, but it’s like turning a switch off and on. We saw it the last time we were at the manor. He was sobbing into his hands, saying he was worried about our father, then shifted gears so fast his tears were still wet on his cheeks as he told us how useless we were,” Sid said.
I ate the rest of my pasta and started on the salad. I only heard about half of Sid and Sett’s conversation as I ran the information around in my head.
“So, what do you think, Sin?” Sett asked.
“Huh? I’m sorry, I was thinking.”
“About what?” Sid asked.
“Just all the bits and pieces we’ve gathered so far. We don’t have enough to figure out our next steps against Lord James and his crew.”
“No, you don’t. Not yet,” Sett said. “But I know who has more information. Tonight, meet me in the storage barn next to the one that has your stuff in it. I’ll leave it unlocked. Come around ten.”
I looked at Sid and she nodded, so I turned to Sett. “Alright, we’ll be there. Should we bring anything?”
“Come armed and leave your phones behind.”
Sid and I ate a light dinner and dressed in dark jeans, black hoodies, and our training boots. We were each armed with a handgun and a silver dagger. Our cell phones were silenced and tucked away in our bedrooms. I left a light on over the stove and we locked up the cottage and left. It was just shy of two miles from our cottage to the barn Sett had mentioned, so we took one of the ATVs and rode up to the end of the barn road and left it in the shadows. There were security lights on each barn that were motion detection activated, so we made our way along the back of them until we got to the right place. A side door was cracked open, revealing a thin line of pale light from inside. I got up next to it and whispered, “It’s us.”
Sett opened the door a little wider and gestured for us to come in, then closed and locked the door behind her. Crates and equipment were piled up in rows, and Sett led us down one row, around the end of two more, then into a cleared space in the middle of the barn near the back. No windows meant no one could see us, and if someone opened the doors, we would be hidden by all of the stuff.
In the space was set a couch, a table with four chairs, and a power strip that ran a computer, a couple of lamps, a mini-fridge and a microwave. I didn’t see much of that because of one of the men seated at the table. “Dad!” I choked out and stepped over to him to hug him.
He hugged me tightly and then turned to hug Sid. “You kids have done so well. I am so proud of you both.”
“We’ve missed you, Dad,” Sid said.
Grampa Walsh stood from his seat at the table. “Sett, grab that other chair, would you?”
Sett pulled another chair over and we all sat at the table. Mugs of coffee sat amid notes and maps spread out on the scarred wood surface.
Sid and I sat on either side of Dad, and Sid kept a hand on his arm. Sett poured everyone some coffee and set a package of cookies on the table.
“Dad, have y
ou been staying here? In the barn?” Sid asked.
“Some of the time, yes. Mostly, when your mother is at her weakest. Now that Alicia, Evelyn, and Jolie have taken her to the city, I can focus wholly on this project and not worry about her.”
“Andre and I have been staying in a hunting cabin about ten miles into the state forest, in the section that’s just starting to grow back after the wildfire two years ago. No one goes hiking or hunting there as it’s not safe to hike there yet and nothing worth hunting has returned,” Grampa Walsh said.
“And we stay here when we need to be close to town,” Dad said.
Grampa looked at Sid and me. “Before we go further, I want you two to know this. You are still officers in the SPD, and you are now under my command. I never relinquished my command, even though some could argue that my being assumed dead relinquished it for me. That was never written into our codes and rules, so I’m still the Commander, and you are now answering to me. Well, to Cosette – she’ll be your handler. Your father and Cosette both work for me.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding and let my shoulders relax. “Thank you, Gr…er…Commander. I appreciate it.”
Sid grinned at him and lifted her chin. “Acceptable, Commander.”
“Smartass,” he muttered at Sid, then winked at her.
Sett reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out two badges and slid them to Sid and I. “Here are your badges and IDs.”
I opened it to find something different than what I’d turned in to Lord James. It still said Supernatural Police Department and my name and photo, but above it was stamped Special Operations. “What’s this?” I asked. “Special Ops?”
Sid flipped her badge over to show me that it was the same.
“You’re part of an elite team that takes orders only through Cosette, Andre or me. There are a few others, and you’ll eventually meet them,” Grampa said.
I looked at each of the faces around the table and something inside me shifted. This was more than just a badge and a job, more than just a way to help our parents. This was a calling. A sacred trust. The men and women sitting here with me trusted that I would have their backs as much as I had theirs. Did this mean I would never go to medical school? No, not considering how long our lifespans could be. But it meant that, for the foreseeable future, I was no longer a potential med student, but an officer of the law. My gaze turned towards my twin and Sid looked back. I saw a similar shift in her posture and expression and gave her a crooked smile. “Plans changed again, eh sis?”
Sid gave me a nod. “Life is change, brother.”
Dad reached out and gripped a shoulder on each of us. “You two impress the hell out of me. Now, let’s get down to business.” His hands returned to wrap around his mug and he took a sip. “As you already know, Angiers is part of the Purists, along with my father, James. We’ve identified a couple more. Your Criminal Law professor, Suzette Lang and her son, Samuel.”
“He’s one of the ones we got thrown out for cheating,” Sid said.
“And reinstated after you two were accused of cheating. He’s back in class and will be graduating next semester,” Grampa Walsh said.
“At least, that’s what he thinks,” Sett replied, and she and Grampa laughed.
Dad leaned in. “Another member of the Special Ops team is Keith Roberts. He has been working with Liam since before the attack on the house. He is undercover and embedded inside the Purist League as one of their third-tier lackeys.” He reached into the pile on the table and pulled a folder towards himself, then slid a photo out of it. A guy about our age with curly dark hair and light brown eyes smiled up from the photo. His skin was lightly tanned and he wore a mustache and goatee kept neatly trimmed and short. “Make sure you remember what he looks like so you don’t accidentally shoot him.”
Grampa Walsh snorted amusedly. “Yeah, please don’t shoot your fellow officer. You won’t like the paperwork.”
“When would we see him to shoot him?” Sid asked as she memorized the image.
“The rough outline of the plan we have right now is for Keith to let us know when the next Purist League meeting is and go in wearing a micro camera and recorder. We’ll be outside nearby, recording and watching the whole thing,” Dad said.
“If anything goes wrong, we’re the ones that will be pulling him out of there and arresting the leaders. We hope,” Sett said.
“So, for now, we train, plan, and wait to hear from Keith Roberts?” I asked.
“That’s it. Oh, and be sure to go into town with your sister tomorrow and make a scene about not being officers any longer,” Grampa said.
“Huh?” I said.
“Whine and complain or whatever you kids do, to show your displeasure about how you’ve been treated,” Grampa said, a grin slowly growing on his face. “Play the parts James has put you in.”
“Act like I’ve never taught you to behave,” Dad said.
“Ah,” Sid said. “I get it. Make them think we’re whiny little shits so they don’t know we’re still SPD and won’t be considering us much of a threat.”
“Exactly,” Sett said.
I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, they’re going to think we’re the worst thing since Cherry Marshall threw a fit at the ice cream shop.”
Sid slapped a hand over her mouth and snorted laughter.
Sett and Grampa looked confused and Dad just slid a hand down over his face and groaned.
“Cherry Marshall wanted Sin to take her to the homecoming dance when he was sixteen. Sid, Sin, and I were at the ice cream parlor and Miss Marshall came flouncing over to the table and announced to Sin that he would be taking her to the homecoming dance, and he would be wearing a sky-blue tie to match her gown. Oh, and that he would bring a white rose corsage. Sin didn’t even stop eating his ice cream. He just paused between bites, looked right at Cherry and said, “No way in hell.” then went back to eating. Sid burst into laughter. Miss Cherry stomped her feet, screamed, and proceeded to flip over tables on her way out the door, spraying the place with desserts and drinks. The manager ran out and grabbed her by the arm, dragged her back into the shop, called her mother, and made the girl clean up the mess she’d made. When Mrs. Marshall showed up, she paid the damages, slapped Cherry hard enough to make her head spin, and told her she was working off the cost of her temper tantrum over the next two months’ worth of weekends by weeding and doing yard work.”
By the time Dad was done telling the story, everyone was laughing.
Sid added, “The best part was that Cherry got so sunburned from working in the yard, she wore that white cream on her nose and lips at school and everyone called her ‘whipped cream and Cherry’ for the next two years.”
We sat and talked and laughed for about another hour before Dad got up and hugged us both. “We need to head out. It takes Liam and me a while to get to the cabin and we go in shifted form. You two get back to the cottage safely and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
Hugs all around and I watched Dad head out first, then Sid and I left. As we made our way back to the ATV, we were both silent and on high alert. A yip in the distance told us Dad had checked the route back to the cottage and we were cleared to go.
We locked up the ATV and headed to bed. The next few days were going to be interesting.
Sid
Sin and I slept in after our eventful evening. Instead of cooking, we decided to start Operation Whinygits at the diner in town. Moe’s Diner had the best corned beef hash in the state, so we were sure to have a decent audience. I chose a table in the center of the room and dropped into the chair with a heavy sigh. Sin kicked his chair out a bit and slouched into the seat. People were already starting to look and there were a few whispers. Shifter hearing being what it is, we could hear everything they were muttering to each other.
The joys of living in a somewhat tight-knit community of paranormals is that news travels fast. By the time Sin and I had driven out of the Academy the other day, ne
ws of our status and situation had spread to town. Now that a day or more had passed, everyone knew what had happened. Those who heard one version of the story were sharing it with those who had heard another version, making the whole thing grow beyond its reality.
A waitress came over and smiled at my brother. “What can I get you two?” I checked her name tag. Missy.
“I’d like the corned beef hash, fried potatoes, three eggs over easy and rye toast. Also, bring us a pot of coffee? Thanks,” I said.
Missy never looked at me, kept staring at Sin, but she did write my order down.
Sin gave her one of his panty-melter smiles but it never reached his eyes. “Missy, I’d like exactly what my sister ordered, but a double order of the potatoes and I’d prefer sourdough toast.”
Missy nearly tripped over her own feet as she hurried off to place the order and I arched a brow at Sin. “Flirting with the waitress? Isn’t it a bit early for that?” I said.
“What else have I got to do? Director Asshat, or should I say Grandfather has deemed us ineligible for his precious posse. I can’t go to med school this year, that’s all fucked up because Lord James decided we should go through his perfect Academy. We ace it and because we won’t dance to the tune he likes, we get screwed? Yeah, fine. We got his money, I’m gonna play,” Sin said.
Missy returned with the coffee, poured two mugs, set the carafe down on the table and smiled at Sin. “I get off at three. I’d be happy to play.”
Sin gave Missy a slow up-and-down perusal, then smirked. “Sure, if I don’t find a better toy by then, I’ll come back and play with you.”
I kicked him under the table and gave him a look that said he’d gone too far, but Missy didn’t even notice. She giggled and slipped Sin a scrap of a receipt that obviously had her number on it.
A table two spots away had two women seated there, whispering. Looked like a mother and daughter, out for breakfast. Mom and I used to like to go out together. I missed that. We would be doing that again when she got stronger, or so I promised myself.
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