Steampunk Time: Cape High Book Seven (Cape High Series 7)

by R. J. Ross

  There in the middle of the room stood Jack with his shirt off. Emily and Aubrey stood around him, handing each other tubes of lipstick and pots of other makeup. Across Jack’s back and over one arm was a half-finished picture of a flag. “I can’t believe we ran out of white,” Aubrey said.

  I must have made a sound, because they all turned to stare at me blankly. “Wow,” I said, bringing out my phone to click a shot. “So this is how you spend your weekends, huh?” I ask Jack evilly.

  “Put the phone down, man,” Jack said, stepping forward. Both Aubrey and Emily grabbed him.

  “Don’t, Jack, you’ll ruin your makeup!” Aubrey said.

  What little flesh he had on his face turned bright red and he spluttered as I burst out laughing. “Go on, girls, finish up the artwork--this is going to make me millions on the black market!” I urged them. That’s about when Jack tackled me and we wound up kicked out of the building for roughhousing.

  Needless to say, that date was a bust as well. At least that time I got some great blackmail pictures out of it, though.

  On my third try America’s Son--Ken Styles--got a hold of me and the entire apartment wound up having a barbecue. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t wound up being the go-for guy of the party along with Trent. I never knew there were that many meat markets in Missouri--or that they all knew to turn their signs to closed when a Liberty boy comes around. Not much one on one time with my girl that night, either.

  I could go on, but I think you’re getting the picture. Finally I looked at Nico one night, after eating yet another extremely healthy tasting meal, and begged to be let off of the “come up to get her” routine for this one night only. He and the rest of the Hall would be there watching the movie as well. If that’s not a well chaperoned date, I don’t know what is.

  Thankfully, he agreed. And now I’m standing here, watching as the rest of the apartment comes down, dressed to the nines (they even got Jack in a suit--I snap a shot with my phone for more blackmail uses) and there’s still no Zoe to be seen. Nico stops right next to me, pats me on the shoulder, and goes, “Good luck waiting out here for her,” before walking away with a laugh.

  Suddenly I think I got the short end of the stick. With a sigh I wait until everyone’s gone to pull out my phone and call my errant girlfriend. “Zoe?”

  “Max it’s TERRIBLE,” she says.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “No matter what I do with my hair I still wind up showing the white part,” she says, sounding extremely frustrated. “It makes me look like an old lady--regardless of your whole line about liking it, there’s a chance I’m going to be on television, and I do NOT want to look like an old lady!”

  “Zoe,” I say patiently. “We’re going to be late. Leave it down if you’re so worried about it.”

  “Can I? You won’t mind?”

  “I won’t mind as long as you come down.”

  She lets out a heavy sigh and I brace myself wondering if she’s going to back out completely. “Fine,” she says. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “Did you get your mask?”

  “My mask!” she yelps. I hear a thump and I’m positive she dropped the phone on me. I look at my watch again, wondering if we can sneak in if the movie’s started by the time we get there. There go my big plans of getting on the news.

  I hear the apartment building door open and look up, watching as Zoe comes out, dancing over the footprints that let her through the security field. I’ve forgotten to breathe, but right now that doesn’t matter. She looks beautiful. She’s got this pale peach dress on with sequins on top and a matching mask--I think she’s spent a bit too much time with Jeanie, but I don’t care. She hesitates as she sees me, blushing slightly.

  “Do I look okay?” she asks.

  “You look amazing,” I say, walking over and offering an arm. She takes it, but all of a sudden I’m positive she’s not paying attention to me. “Like the car?” I ask.

  “What?” she asks, glancing up at me. I can tell she didn’t hear the question--she’d been too focused on the car.

  “My car, do you like it?”

  “It’s um... nice,” she says as I open the door and she slides into her passenger seat.

  “That’s not what you’re really thinking,” I say as I close her door and head to the driver’s side. When I’m inside and touching the keys I look at her. “Looking forward to the movie?” I have to keep her distracted. The car has the newest technology outside of Nico’s toys--which means it comes with a computer. I probably should have thought about that before buying it. Whoops.

  “The movie--um--” she says, looking at me. “Oh, right! I’m more looking forward to everyone reacting to it,” she says, breaking into a grin. “There’s a bet going on in the apartment over who laughs first. I don’t think Mega would appreciate it, though.”

  “That shows why Jack was even willing to wear a suit,” I admit, grinning slightly as I pull to a stop at a red light. I glance to the car next to me when I notice how loud their speakers are. There are a handful of teenage guys in the front, all trying to climb over one another to get a look at us.

  “Hey! Hey, are you Maximum?” one asks. I stare at them blandly.

  “No, I’m just heading for a costume party,” I drawl after seeing he’s seriously asking me that.

  “Max--” Zoe says in a warning tone, grabbing my arm.

  “Wow, cute girlfriend,” another of the guys next to us calls. “Hey, girl, dump the comic book nerd and come with us! It’ll be a hell of a lot more fun!”

  “He’s not a comic book nerd,” Zoe says, her expression getting dangerous as she leans over me to look at them.

  “Dude, he’s dressed up like Maximum,” the guy says. “How is that not a nerd?” She rolls her eyes and holds her arm out across my chest, her fingers spread. Their car starts to smoke from the hood and I can hear it dying a pathetic death.

  “When he’s actually Maximum,” she says with an evil smile before sitting down in her seat properly. “It’s green,” she tells me, pointing at the light.

  I drive. Man I love this girl. “That was great!” I say, laughing. “Did you see their faces?”

  “I shouldn’t have done that,” Zoe says, sighing. “That was mean.”

  “Calling me a comic book nerd was mean,” I say. “And you did something they could get fixed. I would have destroyed the car. Consider it a good deed.”

  “Yeah, right,” she says, sighing. Her eyes fall on the console and I start feeling nervous again.

  “Zoe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You can take it apart AFTER the movie, okay?”

  “I wasn’t--”

  “You were,” I say. “But for now we’re going to get to the movies and walk the red carpet, or whatever, in a car that is in one piece--” I curse as I hear a siren behind us.

  “Pull over,” she says.

  “But we’re going to be late!” I protest.

  “Max, pull over,” she says, sighing and getting out her phone. “I’ll tell Dad what’s happening.”

  I pull over, sighing heavily. It seems to take forever before the cop is knocking on my window. “License and registration,” the cop demands.

  I reach over, pulling out my paperwork and handing it over. “The license is in there,” I tell him, “I don’t have pockets in this thing.”

  The cop looks at me strangely. “Get out of the car, sir,” he says.

  “Look, I’m already late for the movie debut. Can’t you just give me a ticket and let me go?” I demand.

  “Get out of the car,” he repeats, reaching for his gun, “both of you.”

  My forehead hits the wheel and I groan before getting out of the car in full black formal uniform and mask. “Did you steal this car?” he demands.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Driving around wearing a mask is definitely not a normal thing, you know--”

  “Max,” Zoe says as she gets out and heads around th
e car to stand next to me. “Calm down. Have him call your father.”

  “I’m not having him call my dad! That information is highly confidential, you know,” I say quietly.

  “But we’re going to be late to Mega’s movie,” she says, taking my hand. “So just call your dad--”

  “I’ve heard about you hero impersonators,” the cop says, backing up and holding up his gun. “You think you can get away with anything--things like stealing cars and--”

  “I’m not an impersonator,” I say, turning my attention back to him. “And I didn’t steal my car--I paid for it! If I was going to steal a car I wouldn’t be driving around with my girlfriend in a formal dress you moron!”

  “She’s wearing a mask, too,” the cop says.

  I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then wrap an arm around Zoe’s waist and take to the air. “We’re going to be late,” I tell the cop. “Leave the ticket on the window.”

  “Wait, we don’t want people stealing your car!” Zoe says, holding out a hand to it. The window rolls up and the doors lock before it pulls up to the curb and turns off.

  “When did you learn to do that?” I ask her.

  “When working on Panther’s car,” she says. “Sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Police Officer,” she calls as I pull her into a princess hold and fly away.

  ***

  The cop waits for a moment longer, watching as Max and Zoe fly away before the car behind him flickers and disappears. The illusion of a cop drops as well, leaving Ace standing there with a little grin on his face. “C’mon out, guys!” he calls over his shoulder. “We want to get to the movie in style, right?”

  A handful of zoo kids appear from out of the shadows and Vinny strolls forward with his hands in his pockets. “I call shotgun,” the second in command of the zoo kids says.

  “Can we all fit in that little car?” Morgan asks, looking hesitant.

  “We’ll stick Lance on the roof. He can change into something that clings,” Ace says, holding up a hand and creating a key.

  “Do you know how to drive?” Lance asks, hopping on the roof of the shiny, brand new car.

  “You’re about to find out.”

  EMILY

  I am so freaking excited that I can hardly stand it right now--no, not over Mega’s movie. Trust me, when you date one of the Liberty boys you wind up having to spend a lot of time with Mega. He considers himself their uncle, after all. I have a pretty good idea about what the movie is going to be like--and Trent’s already threatened to elbow me if I fall asleep. No, what I’m excited about is that I’m finally going to make my unofficial debut as Trent’s future partner!

  Yes, unofficial. They won’t let me make an official debut until I’m better trained. And I KNOW they won’t agree to what I really want to do for it--I mean, I’m not stupid. Even I realize that Ace is so far out of my league that it isn’t even funny. But--but--I really want to have him be my villain for my debut! And without Trent! I want to do it all on my own! Not that I’ve talked to anyone about that--honestly, I just got my first costume this week. They said it was a formal costume, which means I’m wearing a dark blue skirt with stars trailing down one side and a white leather like bodice with red wavy lines across it to show my “Liberty Girl” status. I didn’t even know what a bodice was until the tailor lady told me. It’s like a really stiff camisole without the straps over the shoulder, I guess. It’s a good thing it’s so stiff, though, because I don’t know what else would hold it up.

  “Emily?” Trent says. We’re riding in a limo with the rest of his family. Mega arranged for it. Aubrey and I are going as Jack and Trent’s dates--Liz just shoved her way in, but nobody cares. She’s family, too! It’s just Nico and his family that aren’t in here--I have no idea how they plan on getting there, but I’m sure it’ll be awesome.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  “Stop trying to look down your shirt.”

  “I’m just worried it’s going to fall down,” I say, tugging on it lightly. “Like, what’s there to hold it up?” Not much, I’ll be the first to admit.

  “Formal uniforms are always stupidly designed,” Liz says, crossing her legs in front of her. She’s wearing this cool pants suit version of her uniform and has a bodice thing a lot like mine. She doesn’t seem to mind at all--I bet she’s worn formal uniforms tons of times. “But you look adorable, so I don’t care!” she adds, snapping a picture of me with her phone.

  “Why didn’t I get a formal uniform?” Aubrey asks curiously. “Not that I mind--I like this dress,” she adds, looking down at her pretty white prom dress. Liz snaps a picture of her, as well.

  “Because Emily’s going to be in the photo-op game soon and you aren’t,” Jack says, tugging on his tie. He didn’t get a formal uniform because he tends to wear a trench coat and grunge style uniform for work. Can’t exactly make that formal, at least that’s what the tailor lady said. “What do you say, Em? Want me to do your debut?”

  “You aren’t doing her debut,” Liz says before I can manage. “I was going to ask Pan--”

  “I--” I say, unable to stop myself, “I was thinking of asking Ace.”

  The entire limo goes perfectly still, turning to look at me. Trent hesitates, and I can practically hear him thinking out his words before going, “Why Ace, exactly?”

  I’m trying to think of a reply when the limo jerks, sending me flying into Trent’s arms. The window between the driver and us rolls down. “My apologies,” the driver says. “Some lunatic in a flashy new car almost ran into us.”

  “It’s fine, no damage done,” Ken says.

  “Thank you, sir,” the driver says, rolling up the window again. I feel a hint of red creeping up my neck as everyone looks at me. I’m sitting on Trent’s lap, after all. I slide off, fixing my skirt. Not that I haven’t climbed on him a million times before to try and beat him up, but I’m in a skirt! Surrounded by family! It’s just not done!

  “Em?” Trent says. “You haven’t answered the question.”

  “Because… well… wouldn’t it be AWESOME?” I say, finally giving voice to what I’ve been thinking all along. “We could do a whole dramatic scenario with him kidnapping me, but then Ditto saving me--or me saving Ditto, and there could be all sorts of traps and--and trap doors and slides!” I say, practically bouncing. “It’d be awesome!” I’ve said that already, but it bears repeating.

  “Well… it’s an interesting theory,” Jack says after a long moment of everyone thinking. We all look to him. “But we’d have to do a bit of work before we can pull it off. And y’know, Em, I don’t think you could beat Ace… unless he lets you,” he finishes, looking me straight in the eye.

  “Jack!” Aubrey says, slapping him lightly on the arm with her tiny clutch purse. “Don’t be so negative, she’s really intent on this, right?”

  “No, he’s right,” I say. “I can’t beat Ace by myself, but it still sounds like so much fun that I wouldn’t mind losing my first battle. I mean, Jack would be fun, too, I guess--”

  “Thanks for that,” Jack drawls.

  “But I don’t feel like getting knocked around by a lot of steel,” I say with a shrug. “Remember, I heal fast--that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I’d rather have something dramatic and mind bending than bone breaking. And if anything, I SUPPOSE I can let Trent come in and save me at the end or something--but not until the end!” I warn him. “I want to do as much as I can.”

  “We’ll have to talk with Ace,” Ken says. “If he doesn’t want to do it, we’ll have to find someone else, okay, Emily?”

  “Okay.”

  “Until you’re ready for your debut it doesn’t really matter,” Liz says, looking at the various things in the limo. “You know, if Mega is paying for this maybe we should raid the fridge,” she decides, reaching for it.

  “Liz,” Jeanie says in a gently warning tone. “Leave the fridge alone. You know alcohol doesn’t do anything to you, anyway.”

  “Well, yeah, but it DOES do something
to Mega and his fancy paycheck for letting the movie use his persona,” Liz says. “I haven’t heard a peep about a movie based on me, you know. Have you?” she asks Jeanie.

  “Well…” Jeanie says slowly.

  “You have!” Liz says, getting excited. “What’s it about? Who’s your director?”

  “They want to do a family piece,” Trent says, draping an arm over the back of our seat, “with all four of us being featured. It’s a Christian company, right, Dad?”

  “Rumor has it that America’s Son just happens to be a preacher during his days off,” Ken says with a little smile. “I’ve actually had several other offers--but they all wanted to go a darker route. I’d rather not go that way. Thankfully, once it got out about the boys, well, we gained a new market with the younger kids.”

  “Trent’s really popular with little kids!” I say proudly.

  “And Jack’s pretty big in the teenage market,” Ken agrees. “They’re going to put together a movie about how Jack turns bad, and how we deal with it. It promises to be pretty entertaining.”

  “They want to redeem me at the end,” Jack adds with a shiny grin. “They’ve got no CLUE that Dad’s the one that gave me the Mohawk.”

  “Well we don’t want our little photo-op game out in the public,” Ken says. “Nobody needs to know that Jack’s what he is.”

  “A very good guy,” Aubrey declares, snuggling up against him. Seriously, how does she do that? It would be like hugging a robot or something, right? I’ll never get the whole “dating Jack” thing, but as long as he treats her well I guess it doesn’t matter.

  I’m getting distracted. “Hey, if I’m wearing this, shouldn’t Ditto wear something sort of like it? Like we could put the blue with white stars on the top and the white and red on the skirt, what do you think?” I ask them. Ditto pops into existence, making me yelp since she’s sitting on my lap. “Giddoff, you’re heavy!” I complain.

  “You’re the one that wanted to dress me up,” she says, looking down at her formal uniform with a grin. “I like it! Does this mean I get to go to the movie premier, too? I call left arm!”