Laura smiled. “They’ll know without me ever telling them anything.” She reached out and patted his shoulder. “I’ll see you later at Brennan’s.”
“Bye Laura. Drive careful.” Mike shut the front door and returned to the kitchen where Jenny was rereading the article. Mike sat down again opposite her. “What do you think, Mom?”
“I think you’re right. Could the SyFy Channel have decided to do this… you know… to maybe use you for star drawing power? They had all the raw video from when Denny figured he needed to have it in their hands in case the FBI tried to fry you for the kidnapper’s death.”
Mike began to respond in the negative, but then hesitated. “That does kind of fit. If they leaked it to the papers, and people clamored for more, a Demon Inc Special between now and their Halloween one could draw big, especially if the papers spread the story across the country.”
Mike’s iPad played Darth Vader’s theme song, indicating he had a call. Mike went to retrieve it from the entryway with his Mom laughing.
“Did Denny stick you with that theme, Mike?”
“Yep,” Mike called out. “He and Demon have been communicating via computer. I think it was a collaboration. Hey Den, I was just about to call you.”
“I saw the paper and started digging. Mr. Corbett believes it was the SyFy Channel.”
“My Mom figured it out right away,” Mike replied, walking back into the kitchen to give Jenny the high sign she had been right. “It would be stupid for them to try and drive a wedge between all of us, so what do you think their purpose is?”
“Mr. Corbett says it’s ratings. He thought the article went overboard too, but they need someone to be a front figure they can enhance. Your exploits over the weekend made it an easy pick as to who. This is not a bad thing, CD. They want to do a special tomorrow night, heralding it along with the headlines all day and night until then.”
“Can they just go ahead and do all that without consulting us?”
“That’s what I asked when I talked to Mr. Corbett. He says he had to make some allowances in the contract for hyping our special. He explained SyFy needed a more dominant figure to focus on. You were their choice after seeing this weekend’s shots, along with the scar. When Mr. Corbett raised the issue of them trying to denigrate the team concept of Demon Inc, the producer immediately guaranteed they would steer the hype toward you being more of a dynamic leader of the team. The extra they’re putting out is one big chunk of cash too, brother, because they have no production expenses. Mr. Corbett says after this special and the Halloween gig, we may be into big time fame and fortune.”
“You’ve made me feel better about it. I’m hoping the team is okay with this. I’m coming to pick you up. I’d like to get a handle on this with a solid front before I have reporters bombarding me here at the house. Think you can get away for a while. I’ll bring D, and we’ll take him to the park while we sort this out.”
“Absolutely,” Denny replied. “This is just a small distraction, Mike. Wait until they hear about us going into Haunt land for an attack. It will shatter all viewing records in history.”
“I’ll stop by for you at eleven, Den. That’ll give Fluffy a little more sleep time.”
Denny chuckled. “Sounds good. See you then.”
“I must be getting good at this reality show hype,” Jenny announced when Mike hung up.
“You sure called that one, Mom. If all this extra attention draws a huge audience for the attack into Haunt world, it will also generate public outcry for the government to step up, and quit playing around. That in itself would be worth playing this game they have cooked up. I-”
Mike’s Darth Vader theme began. It was Gail. Mike walked out of the kitchen, holding up a finger to indicate he had to take the call for his Mom’s understanding.
“You were not calling me yet because you wanted to give me time to sleep in, right?”
“Is sort of a good answer?”
Gail laughed. “I got Laura’s text about the news story. Before we let Demon Inc take over this conversation, did you like last night?”
“Is that a trick question? On a scale of ten, it was a twenty. I’m getting together with Denny and Demon at eleven to sort out our course of action. Want to meet us at Bonaire Park?”
“I can’t,” Gail said with real regret. “I’m at school now. We didn’t get the day off.”
“I keep forgetting you don’t go to the same high school. You should have skipped.”
“I have tests today and I think you’re glad. You want your space. You got what you wanted and now you’re blowing me off. You disrespected me this morning. You’re nothing but a Male Chauvinist Pig that-”
Mike was already laughing. Unable to continue her accusations with a straight face, Gail joined him in laughter. “I’m glad you called. There hasn’t been much to laugh about this morning. Is Brennan’s tonight okay with you?”
“Sure is. This morning was wonderful. Tell Fluffy I owe him.”
“That ain’t happenin’. If he ever gets a hint that something he did in my life made me happy, he will bleed it dry in extortion demands.”
Gail made a light growling sound. “So I did make you happy?”
“You made me happy before this morning, HG. How did you think you got those snappy initials?”
“Just make sure since you’ve obtained the Holy Grail that you don’t forget she exists, CD. I bet Laura wasn’t happy when you and Fluffy returned at three in the morning. My Dad wasn’t real happy either. I imagine she gave you as good a going over as my Dad gave me.”
“Small doubt about that,” Mike admitted. “She waited for us with bells on. By the way, why is it everyone close to me thinks I forget them. I’m blessed or cursed with total recall as far as people I care about.”
“Hey, can I be in your corner with Stan and Jerry when you fight Chaney Costanza next week? I did good with the Fenton fight, and I know everything about what’s going on. Jerry clued me in on when you were fighting next. When I mentioned I’d like to help in your corner they jumped at my suggestion.”
“If Stan and Jerry are cool with it, so am I. Another set of eyes familiar with MMA is always welcome,” Mike replied.
“This will drive Laura mental. You know that, right?”
“Are you asking me to kick you to the curb so I can appease the problems in Laura’s life that have nothing whatever to do with me? Listen, HG. I love Laura. She’s having another man’s child. I’m acting as her birth coach. I believe in duty and honor, as goofy as those terms seem to others, but she dumped me. I’ve proven beyond any doubt I’m her friend and champion. I will be whatever her son needs when he’s born as a male figure. She’s in Demon Inc because I care, not to mention in my folks’ house, which I had nothing to do with.”
“No matter how we end up, CD, I hope you won’t ever stop being my friend,” Gail said.
“We’ve gone through life and death situations, depending on each other without a second’s hesitation, HG. We’re friends – now, and forever.”
“With benefits, right?”
Mike grinned as he heard the disconnect, wondering if Gail had somehow lost confidence in the answer he would have given her. As he turned, his first glimpse was Jenny’s face ducking back into the kitchen. Mike’s grin turned into a grimace in a split second, figuring how long she’d been eavesdropping on his conversation with Gail. His fists clenched before taking a deep breath and returning to the kitchen. He grabbed his coffee while sitting down again.
“Want to tell your old Mom what’s happening there, CD? What say we don’t pretend I didn’t hear anything, and you don’t pretend you weren’t with HG in the biblical sense?”
Mike reached over and covered his Mom’s hand with his, grasping it firmly. He met her gaze without blinking. “I don’t think at this time it would be a good subject for discussion. You and Dad have a lot to deal with. Believe me when I tell you I am not adding on to that burden.”
Jenny patted his
hand. “I’m glad you’re close to someone besides Haunts, kid. I know us taking in Laura like we did has really put you on the spot beyond even what we ever imagined. She’s pregnant with another man’s child, yet you really stepped up in agreeing to be Laura’s birthing coach. Your Dad and I were more than a little surprised, even knowing your over the top sense of responsibility.”
“I love Laura, and I’ve been completely truthful with her that it may not be in the way she would like. I also told her I would always be there for her, and I would always be her friend. Trust me in this, Mom. I know I’m only a seventeen year old, but I’m a seventeen year old monster killer with a matching killer conscience.”
Jenny clasped Mike’s hand in both of hers with a big smile. “Yeah, you are, kid.”
“Hey, what did I miss, CD?”
Mike glanced over at Demon. “Nothing. We’re going to the park with Denny to figure out a few things. I hit the headlines big time. I’ll explain it to you in the car.”
“Are you two conversing silently again? You know how rude that is, don’t you?”
“I get tired of repeating everything D tells me along with what I tell him, Mom. I just told him where we’re headed today.”
Jenny pointed a warning finger at Demon. “You look hungry, Farfel, but you have to eat dog food. Too much people food is bad for you.”
“Says you,” Demon told Mike. “Can you at least warm that crap a little?”
“Sure, D, I’ll warm some for you,” Mike said out loud for his Mom’s benefit. He went to the cupboard and pulled out two cans of dog food. “Beef or chicken?”
“Chicken. I have to watch my figure now that your Mom’s going all Nurse Ratchet on me.”
As Mike laughed and turned to repeat Demon’s retort to Jenny, Demon ran over and head-butted him. “Don’t tell her what I said, you imbecile!”
“What?” Jenny asked suspiciously.
“Nothing, Mom. Farfel says he loves you.”
“Yeah… I’ll bet he said that.”
* * *
Mike glanced back at Denny and Demon in the back with the new pad Denny had been working on for Demon to use. It enabled Demon to text messages and send them to other Demon Inc team members on their network. They had been busily working on it together ever since Mike picked Denny up. He turned into the Bonaire park entrance and parked his Chevy near the fenced in baseball field.
“How’s it going back there?”Mike watched Demon pecking speedily at the large lettered square keyboard.
“He’s doing great, Mike. The problem is figuring out how to make it easy for him to access the screen while steadying the tablet. Second challenge is his pecking at the keyboard. He has the perfect amount of pressure down pat now, and…” Denny stopped talking as he read the text on screen. “Really?”
Demon snorted and nodded his head before launching into another section of message with Denny peering at the screen, his mouth open slightly in surprise.
“No shit? Um… wow… I guess we better finish the lesson, D. Nice job. I’ll work on inventing something so you can access it easier. You’ll be able to carry it around hopefully when CD goes rogue on us and you need help to bail him out.”
Mike chuckled at the put down. “What’s the big wow for?”
“Demon was just going over current events.” Denny put away Demon’s special keyboard.
“I clued Frodo in on your escapades with the Holy Grail last night, CD.”
“I thought we agreed what goes on during a mission stays on the mission, you big mouth!”
Demon snorted his amusement. “You agreed. I just texted everyone in Demon Inc about it. I wanted something newsworthy to put out in my first text to the masses.”
Mike’s shocked face made Denny gesture with his hands in a calming manner. “I can tell he went through with his gag about telling you he texted everyone about Gail. I don’t even have his pad hooked into the network yet, Mike.”
“Good Lord, D, that ain’t even a little funny,” Mike collapsed back against his seat. “If Laura reads about Gail in a text from you, I’ll be living here in the park.”
“Oh for God’s sake, CD, grow a pair! You’re getting to be a terrible example for young Frodo here. He depends on you to lead by example. If Moby greets us at the door like last night one more time, I’m going to chase her all the way to where her living quarters should be: Demon Inc. You teens fixed everything for her so she would have a great place to live.” Demon reached up and smacked the back of Mike’s head with his paw. “Feel the darkness, CD, you big weenie.”
Denny cleared his throat. “I take it you just received a Demon attitude upgrade.”
“You got it.” Let’s go huddle over on the picnic table and get some air while Fluffy prays for another erotic meeting with his lady friend, Abby the Irish Setter.”
“She’s not the Holy Grail, but any port in a storm, right CD?”
“I’ll let you know when we get the vet bill.” Mike opened his door as did Denny. “Want me to bring your Frisbee?”
“Yeah,” Demon answered leaping out to the parking lot surface. “I need to work out some of my angst at constantly having to monitor your shortcomings, CD.”
Mike watched Demon streak across the park while shaking his head. Denny put a hand on his shoulder. Mike glanced down at him with only a slight grimace. “I’m getting much better at being upbraided by my dog. Den. That should be good for extra points in heaven, right?”
“Absolutely. You and Gail finally worked out your problems, huh?”
Mike dug a black Frisbee out of his trunk, before following a laughing Denny over toward the picnic table in the center of the playground. “Don’t start with me, Frodo. It won’t go well for you.”
“You really think the media will go all out on you, Mike?”
“My Mom’s prepared for trouble at home. They’ll be hunting for me. You can bet on that. We need to figure out what to do with this. I know SyFy is working for expanded audience, but they put all our operations in jeopardy if we’re getting dogged by the media. We would have never been able to pull off last night’s operation with the scrutiny we’ll be getting now. Do you have your early warning system fully checked out now?”
“Yep. If a portal opens anywhere, we’ll know it. I’m still working on fine tuning it so we may be able to pick up even partial openings. You wanted to talk over a common stance so how do you want to play it?”
Mike heaved a long Frisbee toss as Demon came into view. “I’m thinking we want to turn the media anal exam into an opportunity to get our message out about fooling around with the supernatural. We can turn every question they ask into a caution about Haunts and portals. We’ll use it as our common response to everything. We’ll wear ‘em out.”
“That’s not bad, Mike. I’ll text the crew until we can meet at Brennan’s. I had a chance to go over the book and board we confiscated. They’re old copies of what were very potent originals according to what I’ve been able to research on the Internet. Do you think in ancient times there were nutcases around who could control portals? Maybe that’s where all the spook and zombie stories come from.”
“Wait a minute. You mean maybe they’ve been evolving just as we have.”
Denny nodded. “That would explain how they can be so powerful here and now instead of someone’s sock puppet to be dispersed when done with. At one time, they might have been pliable enough for idiots into the black arts to control them here. The world has had some dark times with human sacrifice, war, torture, you name it. It’s also had Renaissance periods of peace, technological advancement, and prosperity. I’m not saying the Haunts are behind it all, but it could explain a few cataclysmic events. Think about some of our more notorious world figures actually being people piggybacking Caspers.”
“Wow, Frodo, let’s not try that theory out on the populace. It makes one hell of a lot of sense though. Usually, the low times in world history were turned from the darkness by religious reformation, and at others the
world was plunged into darkness because of religion. Those are some heavy observations to try out on the gang at Brennan’s. Maybe these Haunt cycles have been going on for a very long time with them gradually growing stronger.”
Denny zipped his jacket and raised the collar as an October breeze chilled the air. “We need D to know what my theory is on this too. He could clue us in if any sequence of events on his world were similar. Where is he anyway? That is one long Frisbee retrieval.”
“I don’t know.” Mike stood away from the picnic table, swiveling to look for Demon. “He does this sometimes when we come to the park. I used to think he went back home through a rift, but I know now that’s not happening. Maybe… uh oh.”
Mike pointed where Demon was running full speed at them from over the park hill on their right, where a metal fence separated the houses from the park. Even from the distance, Mike could hear angry shouting. He saw Denny smiling, figuring they were sharing the same conclusion as to why Demon might be charging across the park.
“You don’t suppose Abby the purebred lives adjacent to the park do you, Mike?”
Demon arrived seconds later, leaping on top of the picnic table. “We have to go, CD… right now!”
“Where’s your Frisbee, Farfel?”
Demon lowered his head and leaped again over Mike’s head, landing and turning to head-butt his human comrade. “Move it, Cap!”
“He seems anxious, Mike.”
“Yeah, he does. He’s urging us to leave the park on this beautiful day, and he doesn’t even have his Frisbee. I’d like to stay a while longer. How about you, Den?”
“I love it here in the park.”
Demon had begun a snarling response almost immediately. “Okay for you, Frodo. I hope you enjoy the confrontation coming, Cap. I thought you guys had my back.”
Demon at War (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 3) Page 15