"I guess so. I mean, it's not like my body was poisoned, but the rest of me was. Where do you think that came from?"
"The office might be able to know for sure," Logan said, "but the sphinx came through not far from there. I'm wondering if the scorpion came through when the sphinx did."
"You think it was one of the Lost?" My heart sank at the idea.
"It certainly wasn't from around here," Logan said.
"I guess not," I said, dully.
"Lost or not," Logan said, "we did the right thing out there. It might have been nice if we could have taken it in alive, but that wasn't in the cards."
"I guess," I said, still not convinced.
"We managed to save some pixies and goblins," Logan said. "That made our trip worth it."
"How did the pixie get home?" I asked.
"I took it back and spoke with the goblins," Logan said. "Henderson and Rider got you to the truck."
"Sorry about that," I said.
Logan chuckled. "You nearly killed yourself while helping to take down a giant scorpion and you're worried about not walking back to the truck?"
I shrugged and didn't say anything.
The truck was quiet for a while and my eyes drifted shut.
***
Rider had a morning training session. Since Logan was driving, it was an early day for all of us again. Yawning widely, I tossed my bag on a random desk and sleepwalked to the kitchen.
It might have been smarter for me to take more than a day off work, but I wanted to be seen around the office. With all the snow, there was a good chance no one had heard about our escapades in the woods. If people saw me before the stories started to spread, they might realize that I hadn't been actually injured. At least not to any real extent.
Coffee in hand, I settled into my desk and started on the case file. The office started to come alive around me as I worked.
"Hey, Cassie," Hank said.
I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that time had flown by while I was working. "Hi."
"Have you seen Logan around?"
"Well, I'm doing paperwork and it's not finished yet," I said. "My guess is he'll be back in about an hour."
Hank chuckled. "I have new phones for both of you. Set aside some time this afternoon and we'll set them up."
"Sure thing."
When Hank left, I yawned, stretched, and looked around the room. It was practically bustling. It wasn't lunchtime yet, but I decided to take a coffee break.
"Howdy, partner," Logan said when I entered the kitchen.
"Where have you been hiding this morning?"
Logan grinned. "Target practice."
I smiled and poured my coffee. "Convenient timing."
"Is it?" Logan asked, trying to sound innocent.
"Hank's looking for you."
"I'll be sure to track him down." Logan followed me back out into the command room. "How are you feeling? Any side effects hanging around?"
"Nothing a little caffeine won't cure." I frowned as I approached my desk. "Oh joy." A pretty teal bra waited for me. When I pulled back my chair, I found another purple one.
"There are two ways to put an end to this. You can be one of the guys or an outsider. If you don't choose soon, you'll end up as the outsider by default."
"One of the guys, huh?"
Logan shrugged.
Right, I thought, I can do this. I can be just one of the guys, can't I?
An idea struck, and I took both bras in hand, scooted onto my desk, and stood up. "Can I have your attention please?" I projected my voice so the whole room could hear.
The whole room went quiet. I held up the bras. A few people looked nervous, while several others grinned.
"I know you all don't spend a lot of time around women."
A few shifted uncomfortably.
"But seriously, guys. You are supposed to be trained federal agents." I held up the purple bra to my chest. "Can you really tell me that you thought this would fit?"
There was silence for a moment, and then a few people laughed. I could feel my face starting to turn red, but I had started this, so I would see it through.
"At least one of you has a cursory knowledge of the female shape." I held up the teal bra. "I'm not going to speculate where that knowledge comes from."
A few more laughs.
"34C, gentlemen."
The laughs grew, and a few of the good old boys even clapped.
"That ought to do it," Logan said, barely loud enough for me to hear.
"Thank you," I said, turning to get down.
"Agent Heidrich?"
I froze and cringed. The laughter died fast, and suddenly everyone was very busy. Hearing your boss snap at someone in that tone of voice will do that.
Kyrian stalked up. "I don't know what this is about, but—"
An alarm sounded, cutting her short. I hopped off the desk. Metal shutters could be heard rolling down over windows and doors.
My eyes strayed to where a portal had opened a few months ago. The last time I was in a lockdown, I had almost been killed. I didn't treasure the idea of that happening again.
Logan was stifling a chuckle. When I looked around, Kyrian was gone.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
Hank walked up, looking harassed. "Take this." He handed Logan a tablet.
Logan immediately passed it off to me with the speed generally associated with file folders.
"Your regular password will work," Hank said. "We'll add your biometrics this afternoon." Then he was gone.
Confused, I pressed the power button and tapped my password out onto the screen. The air logo appeared, along with a few icons.
"This doesn't explain much," I mumbled.
"Wait for it," Logan said.
I shrugged and sat down, clicking on the few icons, hoping to find a solitaire game. Two minutes ticked by before the tablet chimed. A red icon flashed on and off in the corner. When I touched the icon, a notice popped up.
"The Farm is currently under strict lockdown. A lutine is loose in the building. Please watch your step."
"What the heck is a lutine?" I asked.
The tablet chimed again.
Frowning, I clicked the icon again.
"Four gremlins have inadvertently been released. Please approach with caution."
Logan looked amused, but I was starting to worry.
"Seriously, what's lutine?" I asked.
"They're small. As far as AIR knows, they aren't intelligent, but if there is something that can cause a little mischief or a little chaos, they will be attracted to it like a magnet."
I took note of the 'as far as AIR knows,' and filed it away to consider later. "Should we help?"
"There are probably enough agents helping, which will only make it more fun." Logan appeared to be listening for a moment, then cringed. "Ouch. Or not."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Gremlins. I don't think you'll have to worry about bras anymore."
"Why's that?"
"Carter was wearing jeans."
I pursed my lips until I was sure I wouldn't smile. "Is he okay?" Theoretically, I should have earned a prize for the amount of effort it took to keep a straight face.
"Nothing an ice pack and a few days of rest won't cure."
"So we should..." I let the sentence fall away.
"We don't want anyone else getting hurt," Logan said. "Let's go keep an eye on things."
Four Days Later:
Memo:
Please note that no clothing should not be left in the control room. If you would like to claim a pair of jeans, please do so by Friday. Henceforth, any article of clothing found unattended overnight in a common area will be donated.
The End
* * *
Want to read further?
Broken Paths (AIR Series Book 2)
* * *
Complete works by Amanda Booloodian:
AIR Series on Amazon (In Reading Order)
&nb
sp; Stonecoat: Novella 0.5 (AIR Series Book 0.5)
Shattered Soul (AIR Series Book 1)
Redcap (AIR Series Book 1.5)
Broken Paths (AIR Series Book 2)
Stolen Sight (AIR Series Book 3)
Fenrisúlfr: Novella 3.5 (AIR Series 3.5)
Fractured Worlds (AIR Series Book 4)
AIR V (April 2019)
AIR Series Box Set on Amazon
AIR Series: Books 1-3 with AIR Case Files (AIR Series Box Set)
Spellbound Murder Series on Amazon
Oath Bound (Spellbound Murder Series Book 1)
Grim Magic (Spellbound Murder Series Book 2)
Fallen Witch (Spellbound Murder Book 3)
Spellbound Murder Box Set on Amazon
Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy
Writing the AIR series has been a fun and amazing experience. There’s more planned for Cassie and her partners!
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on the site where you made the purchase. Leaving a review helps the reader and author in many ways. Your support is appreciated!
Thank you for reading!
Amanda Booloodian
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About the Author
Amanda Booloodian lives in Missouri with her loving, and often times peculiar, husband. In 2006, she took part in Great Beginnings and was awarded first place in the Mystery/Thriller category. Amanda has been passionate about the written word throughout her life. Now, much of her spare time is spent at the computer, delving into worlds accessible only through vivid imagination. In warm weather, when she isn’t pounding on the keyboard, she can often be found wandering through the wilderness. Occasionally she gets it into her head to SCUBA dive or to sit back at home and make wine, which can have interesting results and inspire her writing.
You can find out more about Amanda and her writing, including upcoming releases, on www.Booloodian.com. You can also find her on Facebook: Amanda Booloodian - Author, Twitter: @ajbooloodian, and Instagram: AJBooloodian.
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