by P. S. Power
"You're going to be working with at least one, if you come with me. Barb? She's not too bad, but younger than Lenore or Edom, so a little more wild. You can back out, if you need to?"
They got so close that there was no really graceful way for that to happen, but the Vampires had to have heard what she'd said. At least if they were paying attention. That had to be murder in a crowd, didn't it? Or a noise blasting night club for that matter.
"I'm in. Face your fears. Just disregard the shaking and holding myself." She clasped her own elbows in demonstration. It was cute, which she probably couldn't help, he realized. He'd mentioned that he didn't really like the over the top seduction attempts of her mom, so she was moving in the other direction, while still making sure she had his attention. Clever really.
Barb however acted like they were all old friends, and as if the girl had been totally expected. It was just a shopping trip, so it kind of made sense, right? Alede were good at shopping, he was sure. Not that he had proof of that, but it felt right.
They had a large, if slightly old, but very tidy looking panel van, the kind used for deliveries like UPS, and more than that, Barb drove it like an old pro, working the thing as if she did it every day. Then, at Wal-Mart, she did something else that was a bit surprising, which was to call for the manager at the door, and wait for him to arrive, rather than just going in.
"Hello! We're doing a massive shopping trip, and were wondering if we could get some help with it? There's a bit of a schedule and we don't really want to take up a whole security team because we make eight trips in and out each." She winked at Zack, who she motioned at, taking the cash envelope from his back pocket carefully. It had more in it than he'd figured, since it was filled with hundred dollar bills, not twenties. "Just so that you know we can pay. It's mainly food, some other things too."
The man, who was named Bill Montgomery, saw the very long list and whistled a bit.
"Is the apocalypse coming? This is enough for about two hundred people."
It wasn't that many, closer to a hundred and fifty, but Zack managed not to talk, so that didn't come out, even though Barb smiled as his attention strayed to Kaitlyn over and over again. The manager was doing it more often, but she was subtly pushing her breasts out and looked to be cold. She also wasn't wearing a bra, for all that she had to be defying gravity a bit for her chest to look that way. It was an impressive sight, but he got his hormones in order before Bill did, which meant he won.
Barb nodded.
"Only for us, you should be fine. All night renovation work at Westfield Mall? But... help? Please?" She wasn't doing too poorly on the damsel in distress thing either, even if she wasn't anywhere near as good looking as the other girl. She was darker in hair and eyes, and had fine features, it was only in comparison that she might lack. A seven or so, Zack guessed, one that could use make-up to go a bit higher if she wanted.
Bill the manager didn't make them wait and had four people out to help them, all the volunteers for it being men, two of whom got Kaitlyn's number from her. One went after Barb, so there was that. The last one just shook his head. He was an older man, who took the list and made sure they actually got everything. It cost most of the money he had, but left a bit, and the men all worked with them to load the truck, which he was so glad they had now. It all fit, but Barb's tiny car would not have been even close to enough.
Zack didn't mention the numbers that had been passed, since it wasn't his business, but Kaitlyn grinned about it.
"I'm legal in this state, even by Human law, which Alede never follow anyway. How old are you?" It was a bit blunt, but wasn't a secret.
"Twenty-two."
That got Barb to turn and look at him in the front passenger's seat, Where Kaitlyn was pressed up against him in a way that he thought was accidental, but wasn't positive of that fact. In fact she seemed to be looking at him too, if from the side.
"Really? I..."
He knew that one, he had a mirror after all.
"Thought I was older? Yeah, I know. I'm a youngster though."
"Then what was with all the 'you're too young for me' stuff? I'm seventeen even, which is a year older than is needed and you're only twenty-two... That's it. I'm totally doing you. Pull the car over Barb." She sounded serious for a second and Barb actually started to do it, but then they both laughed, as if it were hilarious.
Mirror Him popped out and let both hands come up as if protecting himself from blows instead of the weird flirty playing that was really happening.
"Hey, I thought it was set at eighteen here. That's all. I'm not a lawyer or anything. I plead the fifth, or the seventh. Whichever one is right." He laughed too which was good, since neither of those fit at all.
Kaitlyn pushed against him with her shoulder, like a cat. A really big one.
"Fine, this time. Anyway, you and I are going out. Unfortunately I'll be a guy at the time and already have a date, so no joy there, but Keeley said that her friend Becky really just wants to make the boy she likes a bit jealous, so that he'll see her as a real person and not just a friend. I don't have the whole plan yet, but we're not supposed to let either of them know we aren't perfectly normal. Soon, I think? Unless the plans change."
That was more than he'd been told about it, but hopefully that meant his acting skills wouldn't be challenged. Since he couldn't lie, it was kind of an important thing to remember.
There was more teasing, but it was gentle enough that MH didn't have to come and protect him from it, after that. Then they spent two hours making deliveries, even with Barb doing almost all the heavy lifting for them.
He went to collect Judy, dragging his heavy legs a bit. Zack felt a bit bad, since it was nearly eleven already. She didn't seem upset or neglected at least. She'd just spent most of the day visiting with her daughter and granddaughter, so it wasn't that odd to her, he didn't think. Just what she might do on an incredibly boring visit to see her family.
Then they checked on Merry and Conrad again, with the tiny woman explaining that she still had plenty of energy from what he did earlier.
"I should be fine for a while I think. It might even be enough. I don't want to bother you more than I have." She seemed really shy suddenly, but more awake and alert, it was, hopefully a good sign.
That let Judy and himself finally get in at eleven-fifteen, where they located Troy sitting on the sofa with a different girl. One that Zack knew at least, and who wasn't crazy. Or at least wasn't as gone as the one from the other morning seemed to be gearing up for. That morning, he realized, feeling like the days were starting to run into one another a bit.
Calley Hale, the Shifter Ambassador's Assistant.
"Hey! I wasn't expecting company. I was going to run and make some food, would you all like something?" It was a little late and he had no particular skill in that area, but, it turned out, Judy did and she was glad to help. They all followed her into the kitchen and tried to be helpful in return, which didn't work well, with Calley moving in next to Zack, instead of Troy, even if the other two were probably closer relationship wise, having had sex before.
She was a squirmy and twitchy girl. One that wore thick glasses that could be used to set things on fire in the sun, and had heavy rims on them. Her hair was short and rust red, and she had ample freckles, which fit, as well as a nose that would have looked very at home in Africa. It meant she was so exotic looking that it was kind of hard to decide if she were cute or kind of ugly.
Zack decided to go with the first one for now, even if he could stand a bit less movement from her in general. It was like she was on speed, all the time, and never stopped. Only, as far as he knew, it wasn't true and all Bat Shifters were like her that way. The one in New Mexico hadn't been as bad, but he'd been stabbed, so it was hard to tell what the real score there was.
When they settled and were given the obligatory vegies to cut up, Calley started talking.
"The thing is, I was wondering if any of you had news or information we could s
hare? I'm low on the list for my organization, but I've heard a few things, if you want to deal?" She smiled at each of them, looking hopeful.
Troy went first, seeming less than pleased, which made sense, given what he said.
"I know that TTLA is being shut down if a war starts. It's too easy of a target I guess. That would mean getting a new job, because, in the main, Vampires don't need bartenders for themselves."
Calley nodded, and looked like she was taking notes, mentally.
"Did they seem to think it was likely?"
His roommate shrugged and then looked over at Judy, who was at the counter, slicing things herself. She had the beef. It wasn't prime steak or anything, but they had some real food in the place now. It was a steak of some kind and hadn't been too expensive. As a bonus it came already tenderized, which probably meant it wasn't the best part of things.
"Edom didn't say. He just suggested we keep our eyes open, in case we have to bug out quickly. No work, no pay is the rule, so we'd all need to find something." He'd looked at Calley, but shifted back to the stove again, if only for a few seconds, as if a woman cooking there was unheard of. It was true, but it shouldn't have influenced him that much.
The little Bat girl wiggled in her seat, as if trying to get comfortable, and spoke softly enough that it meant Zack had to put his head closer to her.
"I have word that Shifter Mercenaries are being hired. No one is giving marching orders yet, but at least eight different groups are setting up troops. That isn't a brilliant sign really." She glanced at Zack, as if it were his turn, like he knew anything at all?
"All I know is that it really does seem to be a fringe group. One that wants to keep going along like they have been. The new bottled blood is supposed to be good, from what I've heard, better than live feeding in some ways, but it costs money to get, and some in their government want to make it so that it's that or animal, and nothing else. If someone told me that I could only drink bottled water now, and then tried to charge me a hundred bucks for a tiny bottle of it, I might get a little upset too. Especially if it was three months ago and that basically would have meant I'd have died. I'm not sure that this kind of a war will help with that however. The mood in general seemed about split, when I went around earlier to see about things." He was going to stop at that, but Calley kept asking questions and actually got out a paper and wrote on it in code, finding who was leaning what way.
"It isn't perfect. War is... Kind of good for Shifters. We make most of our cash that way, as a group. Everyone is trained from an early age, and all of us can fight. The Birds aren't that great at it, so run messages and admin, and each group has their strengths, but we can all take nearly mortal damage and heal it instantly by changing. It can be a pain, but our attrition in battle is also nearly zero. We don't have down time due to injuries either. It makes a difference."
There was activity, as Judy kept working, both at the stove and on the counter right next to her, still cutting things. Her voice was thoughtful, and a bit too smooth really.
"Supposedly we're neutral, but the fact is that no Alede wants to take the chance of falling under the power of the Vampires. Nothing against the ones here, that I've met, but it can lead to some dangerous things for us. We'll fight if we have to. Most of us aren't warrior types, not in any way. Lovers, as the saying goes. We have a lot of money and are willing to spend it all, not to be slaves again. I know that isn't the current situation, but it's the way we think, even as we try to play nice with the undead." It was pensive and she looked guilty, a thing that said she knew how it sounded, and that it was still true anyway.
They kept talking as they chopped and diced, and even after the meal was prepared. It turned out, once things were brought up, that he actually had the most information. It was enough, that after he spoke about being at the attack, Judy frowned.
"Wait, you were there? While they were fighting and killing people?"
It was the Bat girl that answered, her voice and face both so serious that she should have been wearing a black suit, instead of a green business skirt and jacket.
"He was. If he hadn't gotten the Vampires in, the whole thing would have been a hundred times worse. My brother was there, he said that without Zack, he'd be dead right now. A lot of people owe their lives to him. A whole lot." She didn't even look at him, staring at Judy instead.
Zack made a little circle in the air with his tiny paring knife.
"All hail the mighty fast transit point!" It was funny, but the strange thing was, he realized after the words came out, that he had to expect them to actually do it, or it probably wouldn't have come out at all.
That was more than a bit creepy, to him, at least.
Chapter seven
After successfully using her junior attaché super powers to suck all the information they were willing to part with from them, Calley relaxed a good bit, seeming more interested in Judy than either of the boys. That wasn't too hard to understand. Bats weren't, according to her, picky about who they took to bed, but that didn't mean a pretty blonde might not trump them, right?
Troy kept glancing over too, but was silent until the food was on the table. It was a vegetable stir-fry with seasoned beef and white rice, which amazed Zack, as soon as he saw it, because he'd been almost certain that they didn't have anything that close to a staple in the place yet. It came from a pretty generic and large bag too, which meant that Troy was stocking up. That was actually smart.
Zack decided to try and do that too if he could, in the future.
"Wow, this smells great. Thanks Judy." He really meant it too, since it had been a long time since anyone had cooked for him, except Lenore. He appreciated that too, of course. "It looks good too."
She winked and settled at the table after bringing it all over, setting the hot serving dishes on their two very old and horribly stained hot pads and a dish towel that once was white and dark blue stripes, and now had a disturbing yellow and green quality to it. For a few seconds he wanted to be embarrassed about it, how poor they were, but then he forced himself upright. If she cared about that, she'd have already escaped to a hotel, or possibly insisted on replacing things.
"Thanks. I don't get to cook for this many very often anymore. It's a treat, really. I hope it's OK?" She sounded very nearly shy about it, but then, actress. She could probably sound like whatever she wanted to on demand. It was a handy skill really. Pretending to be someone other than you were.
Regular people did it all the time, but he was always stuck just being him.
Troy took a bite, savoring it for a moment.
"Delicious. OK, that's it, you'll just have to live here full time. We can put another room in the basement for you." Then his brow furrowed and he made a strange and twisted face that was funny. "In a non-creepy way, I mean."
That got a chuckle, since it wasn't very funny, and Judy sighed.
"No can do. It would expose Zack too much... Oh!" She went wide eyed and then coughed. It seemed nearly like she was choking or something, but then she started laughing. "I just thought of something totally incorrect and wrong. Just horrible. It involved Zack walking the lines naked everywhere he went. Sorry." She bit her lips and then took another bite of food to avoid talking.
"That would be horrible." Zack agreed. After all, some places he went were incredibly drafty, even with pants on.
They went back and forth like that for a while, and while Troy flirted with both women, he kept himself at about half speed, for him, so he only seemed like he was interested, instead of ready to drag them off to bed at that moment. They had ice-cream for desert, which was just a store bought kind that claimed to be double churned, whatever that meant. It was good, but he'd gotten a little spoiled at work, he realized. It just wasn't exactly what he kept expecting with each bite. It was just a butter pecan after all. He almost felt sorry for it, not being treated very well in its making.
Then, at about one, which was too early for him to escape, since they had company, he went
to his room to sleep. True, Judy was in there, but he was going to crash, regardless, and they were using the living room. That meant she'd have to share with Troy, but hopefully that was doable for her. Or, when they left she could just wake him up and send him packing to the sofa. That would work too.
Instead, when he finally woke up, he found that neither thing had happened, and she was fixing breakfast. It was crepes with an orange sauce and sectioned fruit. Made in his home, in his own kitchen. He hadn't really been aware that it was capable of that kind of thing.
"Good morning! What plans do you have today?" She gestured for him to sit and then gave half the food to him, which was probably more than he could handle. She took the rest, and sat across from him, her green eyes like emeralds, watching him, waiting for a response.
"Oh... I guess I need to go and check on Conrad and Merry. Then I'll answer phones and try to play make believe ambassador and get things to quiet down, if I can. That, or, I don't know. What do you have going on?" It was an old trick. When you ran out of things to say, ask the other person a simple question.
"Not much, work wise. It's incredibly strange, but my granddaughter is actually busy working, and my daughter is an important government official. I'm going to be a bit stuck. I don't suppose you can drop me off in Paris for the afternoon?" She laughed, as if it was a joke. He could though, even a full day, if she wanted.
"Do you have papers for that? The Shifter leader's wife got in trouble over there, and I had to go and get her before they locked her away. She was not pleasant about it either, even after I came to help her out. It had been free, but I charged them just for her bad behavior. Got a land settlement from them, to stop a war. They still think they owe me, but I don't really care about that." How did he explain it? As long as he had enough and could stock up, well, that was all anyone could ever do really. Things were nice, but in the end they weren't real.