by T Paulin
“You’re funny,” the waitress said. “How many drinks? Three?”
“What kind of beer do you have on tap?” Khan asked.
“Just three Cokes,” Valentine said. “Thank you.”
The attractive waitress rushed off, and Khan tracked her movements like a dog watching a roasted chicken walk around his dinner bowl.
After she returned with the sodas and left again, Khan sipped his Coke and grinned.
Valentine said to her brother, “Stop smiling like that. I don’t even want to imagine what you’re thinking about.”
“Not that waitress.” Khan kept grinning. “I’m just thinking about how great today went. The three of us working together make a damn fine team.”
“Sorry again,” Eli said for the hundredth time.
On the drive over, they’d explained to him how Valentine had been on her laptop working to avert the next world war, and not checking her email or playing a game, as he’d suggested. Eli was still embarrassed about his reaction in the cellar, and kept apologizing.
“We did make a good team,” Valentine said. “We’re a classic misfit trio, if you think about it. Eli is the brawn, and I’m the brains. Khan, you’re the comic relief.”
Khan nearly choked on his soda. “Excuse me? No, Eli is the comic relief. Eli. Just look at him.”
Valentine raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, enjoying Khan’s sputtering.
“He has a handsome face,” she said. “And he’s brave.”
Khan sputtered in disgust.
Eli held out his hands, palms up. “I did slay a dragon.”
Khan said loudly, “Eli, you SLAUGHTERED an entire neighborhood’s beloved miniature lap dogs.”
“Um,” said the waitress, who’d arrived with the first platter of barbecued short ribs. “What video game did you say this was?”
She set the platter down carefully, her eyes warily examining Eli’s T-shirt, which was just red enough to make the spattered blood look like a decorative pattern—or so Eli hoped.
“He didn’t slaughter all the dogs,” Valentine corrected. “That little chihuahua got away.”
“Nigel.” Khan shook his fist. “We’ll get you next time, Nigel.”
The waitress silently walked off to get the rest of their food.
Eli grabbed a napkin from the silver dispenser and patted his forehead. “You guys sure know how to make me sweat,” he said.
Khan chuckled and stretched his arms out along the back of his side of the booth. They were in a family-sized corner spot, with each of them in the middle of their own bench.
Eli finished patting his forehead, let out a sigh, and stretched his arms across the back of his bench, mimicking Khan. It felt good to take up space like this, and fill his lungs with oxygen.
Valentine did the same pose, her fingertips nearly touching theirs. Eli fought to keep his eyes above her chin, despite her excellent posture pushing out curvy things.
“I did have fun today,” she said.
“Are you going to come on more jobs with us?” Eli asked.
“I don’t know.” She squinted up at the top of Eli’s head. “You have chunks of carcass in your hair.”
“He needs a decontamination shower.” Khan reached over to serve himself some gleaming, sauce-covered short ribs.
Valentine kept squinting at his head, only now she was focused on the thin scar at his hairline. “Eli, what’s the deal with the thing in your head? Is it really a smugness chip?”
He glanced around to make sure the waitress wasn’t within hearing range.
He turned to Valentine and let the truth come out.
He took a breath and said, “Valentine, the truth is… I painted shadows on my abdominal muscles using my girlfriend’s brown eye shadow.” He clenched his jaw and shuddered. That wasn’t the truth he’d meant to tell her.
She nodded like she completely understood, though.
“I get it,” she said. “Your microchip makes you weird. It’s a weirdness chip.”
“It makes him special,” Khan said. “He was able to see the Grid, and he heard the hell hounds talking to him.”
“You have superpowers,” Valentine said.
Eli shrugged. “If you say so.”
“What else did the dogs tell you?” she asked. “Did they say what the money was for, or who hired Joey’s mother to do that programming? Did they tell you their plan? Were the poltergeists part of the plan, or just a byproduct?”
Eli thought back to his interactions with Nigel.
The rat-faced dog had looked up at Eli and tipped his head, as if to say, just keep catching the poltergeists that slip out of the Dark Grid and mind your own business.
“They were a byproduct,” Eli said. “That’s my impression, anyway. I don’t know.”
Khan waved his hand dismissively, shaking his barbecued meat and spraying Eli with more red sauce. “Never mind that. Tell us about the money. Where did it go, and how do I get some? Valentine, you saw the code. You can run the same thing on a smaller scale, right?”
She lowered her eyebrows and glowered at him. “I already wiped my computer, and my memory.”
“You’re lying.” Khan turned to Eli. “She remembers everything.”
“Everything?” Eli turned to Valentine. “You’re the one with superpowers.”
She shrugged. “I’m just a freak.”
The waitress returned with even more platters, piled high with juicy, gleaming, sauce-covered meat. “If you eat everything, dessert’s on the house,” the waitress said.
Eli looked over the heaps of food. They reminded him of something, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The day had been a long one, and he was awfully hungry.
He turned to the waitress. “What do you have for dessert?”
“Jelly-filled donuts,” she said.
Valentine gasped. “Smash off.”
“Triple smash off,” Khan said.
“Bring us three jelly-filled donuts,” Eli said. “Three, for the trio of misfit superheroes.”
She nodded and left them to their dining.
Khan smacked noisily on his sauce-covered fingers.
Valentine ate with one hand while she drew swirls and grids on a map she’d pulled from her purse.
Eli pulled his dead phone from his pocket and wondered how many messages from Brenda were waiting, sitting on a server somewhere. Then he tucked his phone away and started in on his mountain of food.
Khan held up his glass of Coke and nodded for the others to do the same. “A toast,” he said. “To teamwork.”
“Teamwork.” They clinked their glasses happily.
Author's Note
Hello! I hope you enjoyed Eli's adventures in Ghost Hackers! I write and publish in several different genres, and my books are found under a few different pen names. I have plenty of other books and series, which I hope you'll check out if you enjoy my writing style!
GHOST HACKERS SERIES
About Last Night - Book 1 www.amazon.com/dp/B00KTV547Y/
Bring on the Poltergeists - Book 2 - www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLMHBZS/
Call of the Wild - Book 3 - www.amazon.com/dp/B00N5HSHB4/
If you love mystery series, check out my new Stormy Day Cozy Murder Mystery series, which is published under my mystery pen name, Angela Pepper. These are true "cozy" mysteries, set in a quirky small town, featuring an enjoyable cast of characters, with no gore or violence, and although they are books for an adult audience, they are "clean" with no sexual scenes or swearing. Like all of my books, there's plenty of humor and a gripping plot that will keep you turning the pages!
STORMY DAY COZY SERIES
Book 1 - Death of a Dapper Snowman - www.amazon.com/dp/B00O3TTKFK/
Book 2 - Death of a Crafty Knitter - www.amazon.com/dp/B00PVHLFQU/
Thank you for your support!
T. Paulin (a.k.a. Angela Pepper)
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