Communication

by Stella Notecor

CHAPTER ONE

  For a covert private investigator, Stanton’s office was remarkably prominent. Jason crossed the lobby of the Lindsey building, noting the extravagant decorations. Gilded mirrors lined the walls and plush carpeting softened the floor beneath his feet. The Lindsey building was known throughout New York City for housing high profile businesses. He entered the elevator and read the list of the building tenants, who ranged from plastic surgeons to divorce attorneys to loan sharks.

  “Stanton and Associates” headed the list. It was the only office on the top floor—the penthouse suite.

  Jason pressed the button for the thirty-second floor and watched the elevator doors slide shut. A tiny ding announced that the elevator had begun to rise. He stared at his reflection in the shiny silver doors for a moment, then made a face at his messy blond curls. He blinked and the man looking back at him had thick, gorgeous brown hair. The elevator dinged again, and Jason winked at his new reflection. “Looks like this is our stop, gorgeous.”

  The doors slid open to reveal a bustling office. Jason approached the secretary at the front desk. “Good afternoon. I’m here to see Christopher Stanton.”

  She blinked at him. “Name?”

  “Jason Keith.” He offered his best smile.

  She typed something into her computer and then shook her head. “You don’t have an appointment. Have a seat over there—” she waved a hand towards some chairs along the wall “—and I’ll call you when he can see you.”

  Jason sighed and sank into one of the chairs. It depressed him when he couldn’t impress someone while in his most attractive morphs.

  He glanced at his watch. Quarter to one. In a typical office, everyone would be coming back from lunch soon. He’d make his move then.

  Settling in with an outdated sports magazine from the meager selection offered, Jason kept an eye on the elevator. As soon as he heard a soft ding, he prepared himself. A group of five stepped off the elevator. Jason stood up and slid into place behind them. He shifted, morphing into an old man with wrinkled skin and gray hair. He followed the group past the secretary, who didn’t give him a second glance.

  As they turned a corner, Jason fell away from the group and shifted again, this time into a young man with black hair and darkly tanned skin. Walking purposefully, as if he knew where he was going and had a right to be in the office, Jason started exploring. Each door was labeled with a name plate or two, and while Jason didn’t spot Stanton’s, he did recognize one name.

  Jason popped his head in the door of a small office. “Excuse me, are you Dr. Taylor Carter?”

  Dr. Carter, also known as Jim’s best friend Ray, glanced up from his work. “How can I help you?” He absently ran a hand through his brown hair, mussing it more than it already had been. From the deep wrinkles in Ray’s forehead, Jason could tell he had been hard at work for a while.

  Ray could definitely use a break, and Jason was well known for being good comic relief. “I was wondering if you could x-ray my head and tell me if my brain’s broken.”

  Ray stared at him for a minute, then his brown eyes flashed silver behind his glasses. “Dammit, Jason! What are you doing here?”

  Laughing, Jason stepped into the office and took a seat in front of Ray’s desk. “I never could pull the wool over your eyes.”

  “Of course not. No one else I know has a metal plate in their head.”

  Nothing could be hidden from Ray’s x-ray eyes, and Jason could only alter the soft tissues of his body. Ray would always know who Jason was. There was no reason to be someone else around him.

  Jason shifted back into his genetic body, feeling more comfortable in his own skin.

  Ray nodded. “Better, but you forgot the eyes.”

  Jason hadn’t forgotten. When his eyes were properly hazel, he looked too much like his mother. He finished his shift with a sigh. “Happy?”

  “Very. What are you doing here?”

  Jason shrugged. “Nothing much. Just thought I’d come and visit you.”

  Ray smacked the papers he was holding down on his desk. “I never told you where I work. And how did you get by Christine?”

  Jason hadn’t realized Ray worked here until he saw the name on the door, but Ray didn’t need to know that. “Christine?”

  “The secretary at the front desk.”

  Jason smiled evilly and steepled his fingers. “I have my ways...” Ray stared at him silently until Jason squirmed in his seat. “I shifted and snuck in behind a group coming back from lunch.”

  Shaking his head, Ray sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. “Only you would sneak into a P.I.’s office. I’m surprised Christine let you by. Normally she sets anyone who tries that on fire.”

  That pretty blonde woman with gorgeous curves set people on fire? “What is this place? Stanton told me I’d fit in, but he didn’t explain much.”

  “I knew the mystery would draw you in.” Jason spun around to see Stanton standing in the doorway, his salt and pepper hair standing out in stark contrast to his midnight black suit.

  He saluted the man. “Good afternoon, sir!”

  Stanton chuckled. “Hello, Jason. Glad you decided to take me up on my offer.” He motioned to the door. “Now, if you’ll join me and leave Dr. Carter to work in peace, I’ll explain what we do here.”

  “See you around, Ray.” Jason stood and followed Stanton out of the office, snickering when Ray let out a huge sigh. As he walked, he changed his eyes back to blue. The small change made him feel anonymous, as if he had slipped on a pair of sunglasses to obscure his face.

  Stanton led him through the office, passing by the secretary’s desk. “Thank you for letting me know Mr. Keith had arrived, Christine. He gets into trouble if left alone too long.”

  Christine glared at Jason. “I can tell.”

  Jason shrugged at her and smiled. She huffed and turned back to her work.

  Stanton patted Jason on the shoulder and led him onward. When they were out of earshot, Stanton murmured, “A word of advice if you decide to join us: stay on Christine’s good side. I might be in charge of this operation, but she’s the power behind the scenes. If she doesn’t like you, you’ll find yourself assigned to a lot of crappy cases.” He paused in front of another office, a much larger one than Ray’s, and pushed open the door. “This is my office.”

  Huge windows covered two walls in the corner office and showed off a large chunk of the New York skyline, which glittered under the summer sun. Jason whistled appreciatively. “Nice!”

  “You’d think so, but the glare is terrible in the mornings. And all the sunlight breaks down my leather furniture.”

  Stanton flopped into a large armchair in front of the desk and gestured for Jason to take the seat opposite him. He sat, and the stiff leather molded comfortably around him.

  Stanton fixed his gaze on Jason. “Judging by the nickname, you know about Carter’s powers.”

  Jason nodded. “He saved my ass one night after a bar fight when he told me I’d fractured my skull. The doctors said the injury should have killed me. Instead, I’ve got a metal plate in my head and an x-ray machine for a best friend.”

  “What else have you discovered about us?”

  Jason leaned back in his chair. “Well, you’re ostentatious.” He nodded towards the windows, and Stanton chuckled. “But I’ve got no idea what you actually do. You said you’re private investigators, but you’ve got Ray and a secretary who sets people on fire. And you want me, a shapeshifter, to join you.” This meeting was leaving Jason with more questions than answers. When Stanton had saved Jason from getting his ass kicked in a bar fight, he had betrayed himself as an old friend of Jason’s mother. Jason had been ready to write him off—he didn’t give a damn about people who thought he should be like his mom—but then Stanton had said something different.

  Instead of remarking upon his heroic mother and wondering why Jason couldn’t be more like her, Stanton said his mother saved twenty people—but he knew Jason could save hund
reds. That had caught his attention. After ruminating on it for a week, Jason decided to accept Stanton’s invitation to join his group.

  It didn’t hurt that Jason had gotten fired from his bartending job after the fight and was down to his last fifty bucks.

  “You shapeshift. Christine controls fire. Dr. Carter sees through solid objects.” Stanton paused for a moment. “I can influence people’s thoughts.”

  Suddenly, it connected. “You’ve got a team of paranormals.”

  Stanton relaxed into his chair. “I knew you’d figure it out.” He waved a hand towards the huge windows. “How many paranormals are there in New York? Tons, yet you never read stories in the newspaper about paranormal crimes. Someone has to clean up the streets, and normal cops don’t even believe in us.”

  Jason hadn’t really thought about it before. He rarely spent time in the company of normals. The paranormal population was huge, especially in New York, and there was no reason to mix with normals if he didn’t want to. “And you guys do it all.”

  “Exactly. We work with local law enforcement, including the FBI and CIA, as parapolice—similar to the work paralegals do for lawyers and paramedics do for hospitals. Our budget is large; law enforcement agencies pay us for the investigations we solve, and we also take on private clients. My employees receive very comfortable salaries.” He folded his hands in his lap. “In return, they do anything I ask.”

  Anything Stanton asked? It sounded a bit ominous, but he seemed trustworthy. If Ray was willing to work for him, then obviously he wasn’t a bad guy. Jason took a deep breath. “Where do I sign up?”

  Stanton locked gazes with him. “Are you sure you want to work here? This job requires secrecy and dedication. You won’t have time to go bar hopping. Instead you’ll spend your nights on stakeouts.”

  Stakeouts sounded a heck of a lot more fun than sitting in the back of a bar getting smashed. “I’m in. When’s payday?"