by Palladian
He nodded in return. “In that case,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin, “please excuse me for a moment so that I can call to confirm that it’s OK to extend the offer to your three friends and make another call so that I can stay here as long as I like this afternoon.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lex said, suddenly realizing that she was probably interrupting Rolf’s workday. “I don’t mean to take up so much of your time. We can talk about this sometime later–”
“Really, this is more important,” Rolf interrupted, smiling back at her as he rose. “Besides, it’s been way too long since I took an afternoon off, anyway. If there’s an emergency they can reach me on the cell phone.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile as he walked past her. Lex worked to finish her salad during Rolf’s absence, having trouble not smiling the whole time. The words “this is more important” kept echoing in her mind, and the warmth in her chest made her feel goofy.
Rolf reappeared several minutes later and sat back down at the table. “As may not surprise you, I got a yes on both counts. We’ll settle on the details once you’ve had an opportunity to contact your friends.” He paused for a moment, then grinned at her as he called the waiter over. “I’m going to order a beer since I’m not going back to work and we’re going to be here a while. Would you like anything else?”
“Yes, I think some tea,” Lex said with a conspiratorial grin.
Once the waiter had gone to get their new requests, Lex took a deep breath and began to speak. “Well, it all started when I’d lost my job and I started looking for a new one…”
To her great surprise, Lex found that once she started talking, all of her experiences just came out—her original identity, all of the happenings at the M Agency, discovering the real purpose of the agency, planning their escape and managing it, her own subsequent brushes with death, rescuing Lou and cracking the MSI DC lab wide open, moving to the West Coast, becoming a band and going on tour, how they finally ended up having to leave the US—and through the whole long story, Rolf listened to her as if no one else in the room existed, asking occasional questions but mostly remaining completely silent.
The crowd that had been there for lunch cleared out, and some people came in for later lunches or tea. When the waiter came over periodically to ask them if they needed anything Rolf ordered fruit, a basket of bread, a sandwich for himself, or more drinks. By the time Lex had finished, some office workers had started to arrive for after-work drinks. They both sat silently for a few minutes, Lex thinking that some of the things she’d told Rolf sounded nearly impossible. As something occurred to her, however, Lex spoke up to ask him a question.
“Rolf, does the government here allow the special forces to go to America?”
“Well,” he said, brow furrowed, “they don’t try to restrict our freedom of movement, if that’s what you mean. But now that you’ve told me this, I’m worried.”
“I don’t think the government would do anything too stupid because Europe is a world power, but, well, if someone traveled over there whose talents they really wanted to…study, I wouldn’t put it past them to make that person disappear like the members of those teams,” Lex concluded, looking anxiously up at Rolf.
“Would you mind if I shared enough of what you told me so that maybe some kind of warning could be passed around to the special forces about traveling to the US? I’ll be very vague about how you found out what you know, I promise,” Rolf said, continuing to look her in the eye.
“Please do,” Lex replied, sighing a little in relief. “I don’t think anyone should be subjected to that, and I’m sure they have labs like that all over the country.”
After another little silence, Lex watched Rolf look up at her hair, and then he looked her in the eye again. “So, from your story, I’m guessing that your eye color isn’t from colored contacts?”
Lex laughed. “Yes, that’s the color they turned after my body event. All my hair fell out and then grew back in white, so I decided on this color,” she continued, running her hand through her hair, “to spice things up. Unfortunately, some of the effects aren’t so benign. I had to re-learn to digest food and there are lots of things I’ll never be able to eat again. Also, although I don’t have them too often anymore, the migraines I used to have are now so bad that I sometimes pass out from the pain, which is weird since I’m used to being able to withstand most pain and remain conscious.”
Rolf shook his head, looking fierce. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” he replied.
Shrugging a little, Lex met his eye again. “It’s over now, thank goodness, and I’m here. I just feel badly that other people are being forced to go through that. I mean, we have evidence, but nothing gathered legally…”
She trailed off as she picked up her cup of tea, but she realized once she had it in her hands that it was now stone cold. The waiter picked that moment to approach the table again, and Rolf looked over at Lex.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Is there anything else you’d like, or could I bring you home instead?”
Lex couldn’t help smiling widely at him. “I don’t need anything else to eat, but I would like it if you could take me home.”
As they rode on the train side by side, packed closely together by homebound commuters, they talked in low tones. Lex learned that Rolf’s family came from Germany but that he’d gone to university in England and had lived all over Europe since then. He had been a gymnastics Olympic hopeful but had to drop out when someone discovered that he had abilities above and beyond the average human. It hadn’t been long after that when he’d been picked up by the special forces.
Still listening as they exited the train and walked down her street, Lex slowed when they arrived in the front of the house she and her friends had rented. She gestured up at it, smiling.
“We’re only here for a few more days, unfortunately. After that, we’re widening the tour,” Lex explained, then paused. “Rolf, I don’t know if you know where we’ll be stationed…” she began, and he laughed.
“You make it sound like we’re in the military!” he replied. “The normal procedure is to send someone from the local team to recruit someone new,” Rolf continued. “I did hear something recently about how they wanted to expand the special forces group here, so my guess would be that you and your friends will be put here. It’s not often that they decide to split up a group that already works well together, but you will be expected to integrate with the rest of the team here as well.”
“Thanks,” replied Lex, with a smile. “That sounds reasonable. Would you like to come in for a while?”
Rolf shook his head. “I should probably get going,” he said, then paused and looked at her seriously. “Although I’d like to ask you something. When you finish your tour and settle back in here, I’d like to take you out again, maybe for dinner this time?”
Lex smiled back at him. “I’d like that,” she replied in a low tone, looking him in the eye.
He let out a breath as he smiled back. “Good,” Rolf said as he took a card and a pen from his pocket. “Please just call whenever you’ve arranged things with your friends, and let me know what the plan is; I’ll help in any way I can. I’m also going to write my personal cell phone number on the back here so that you can reach me at any time, even if you just want to talk. All right?”
“Yes,” Lex said breathlessly, as she took the card and folded it into her hand. “I’ll call you soon so that you can have my cell phone number, too. Thanks for everything, Rolf, especially for listening to my way-too-long story.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” he said as he took the hand she’d offered and folded it into both of his and shook it. After a few long moments, he let her hand go and they moved apart.
He turned after walking a couple of steps to look back at her. “Until next time, Lex,” Rolf said.
“See you later, Rolf,” she replied, feeling the smile that threatened to split her face in half.
When she opened the door and walked into the little front hall, Lex took a step back as she got a good look inside to see Casey and Kate poking their heads out of the kitchen.
“So,” Casey asked, “how was lunch? We were starting to wonder if you were ever coming back.”
Lex turned away for a moment, sure she could feel herself blushing. “You guys,” she muttered.
Riss had been able to set up an email communications link the following day and sent out the query to Lily and Serena. The answer came back almost right away from Serena—just let her know the time and place—but Lily’s reply didn’t come for a while.
Riss and Lex sat discussing it about a week and a half later.
“Do you think they just didn’t get it?” Lex asked, waiting anxiously and looking at the clock on the computer screen, hoping the response would come during the allotted time.
Riss dipped her head as she studied the screen. “No, it’s getting there and I know it’s been read, but they just haven’t answered yet. What you’re asking them is complicated, Lex. Give them some time.”
Lex sighed and turned away, convinced that Riss was right and that she should turn her energies to getting ready for the show that night when she heard the other woman’s voice again.
“Hey,” Riss said, “they sent something.”
Turning back as quickly as she could, Lex hurried to Riss’ side and read the email with her. Casey wandered into the room a few minutes later, looking as if she wanted to ask the two of them something and raised an eyebrow when Lex started to cheer. Giving Lex an odd look, Casey watched for a moment as her friend rushed forward to hug her.
“Casey,” Lex said, finally looking up with a smile, “they’re coming.”
“Well, it’s about time,” Casey replied, giving a big smile in return. “When?”
“I wanted to ask you about that,” Lex answered. “When is the next time we have a break in the tour of maybe three days or so?”
“Well, definitely not next week, but the following week we have a show on Sunday and then our next one isn’t until Thursday night.”
“Good,” Lex said, nodding as if the gears in her head were turning. “Do you think we have enough time to get to Brussels and then back out to the show on Thursday? I’d like it if we could all get there to welcome them, and then, well, I’m thinking maybe we could all sign the paperwork together, make it legal.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Casey responded, looking serious and pleased at the same time. “Riss, what do you think?”
“Let’s do it,” Riss as she briefly looked up from her computer.
“All right,” Casey continued, “I’ll run it by everyone else and make sure we’re all in agreement.”
And so the entire group, along with Rolf and an immigration official, waited near the center of the Grand Place early on a Tuesday afternoon. The day had dawned sunny but cold, not unexpected for late fall, and everyone seemed impatient, scanning the crowd around them anxiously. Lex did the same but couldn’t help but smile when her gaze met Rolf’s. He stood at her side, wearing a grey wool overcoat that fell to his knees and a black and white herringbone scarf, and Lex found she couldn’t keep her gaze away from his for long.
“You know,” she said quietly, “I completely forgot to ask after I told you my long tale, but you promised you’d let us know what your special ability is. So, what is it?”
He looked away for a moment, then back at her, a serious expression on his face. “All right, that’s fair. I’m a shapeshifter, like your friend.”
“Kate you mean?” Lex asked, trying to clarify.
Rolf nodded in return. “She seems like a generalist, though. I’m a specialist; I only shift to one animal. But, since I do, I can do a total transformation.”
“Really?” Lex said, her eyes suddenly wide with excitement. “I’ve got to see that! Well, not now or anything, but what is it that you turn into?”
He paused then, tilting his head to one side to study her. “I think I’m not going to answer that yet. It’s the sort of thing that’s easier to show you, anyway.”
“I can hardly wait to see,” Lex said, smiling and excited. She’d been about to say more but stopped, following her other friend’s gazes to see four figures coming in their direction across the square.
There was a brief moment where everyone fell still, but a second later pandemonium reigned with everyone rushing forward, hugging and talking all at once. Casey had knelt down to fuss over Ron while the young man said to Lily, “Mom! I thought you said the Aunties were dead!” Kate stood in front of Lily, her hands on the other woman’s shoulders, both of them looking into each other’s eyes. “The new eye is so beautiful!” Lily exclaimed and Kate replied, “I couldn’t have done it without you,” before she hugged the doctor. Lex found herself standing in front of Mr. Chen.
“I’m so very, very glad you could come, Mr. Chen,” Lex said, blinking to hold it back as she felt herself tearing up. “I thought I might never see you again.”
He smiled as he met her gaze. “Lex, how can I ever thank you enough?” he asked in a low tone.
“No need for thanks,” she said, smiling in return. “I’m just so happy you’re here.”
And she forced herself to turn away then as Casey came forward to introduce Lou, Lex instead meeting Serena’s gaze.
“And you! I’ve missed having you around so much it’s not even funny!” Lex said, moving forward to hug her friend.
“Maybe now that you’re going to be living here I can come to some of your shows,” Serena replied, hugging Lex close. “I wanted to come to some when you were in the US, but I was afraid I’d call too much attention to you guys.”
“We’d love to have you, you know,” Lex said as she drew back from their hug a little. “How’s everything going at the old place? And with your family’s company?”
Serena shrugged. “Well, we got a couple new recruits for the team, but I can’t say I think too much of them. Mostly I’ve been focusing on helping to run the company. I’ve been out there a couple days a week at least, sometimes more. Your whole idea worked like a charm; John and I got rid of my dad’s idiot apprentice in a couple of months of working together. Now the two of us are running the place; my dad went into semi-retirement. He still shows up periodically to stir the pot, but he actually said something to me the other day about the place being really well run these days. For my dad to say anything nice to me is a stretch, so having him actually say something like that…well, it’s all due to your idea, so thanks, Lex.”
Lex shook her head in response and hugged her friend again. “I only had the idea; you did the work. Congratulations!”
“Thanks. You know, I’m actually even starting to like it!” Serena laughed.
They looked around to see the rest of the group happily milling about and the immigration official and Rolf standing by. Lex turned to Serena. “Give me a minute and then we can talk more,” she said as she broke off and headed over to the two men standing aside.
They quickly had the immigration official stamp Mr. Chen and Lily’s passports before he left, welcoming them both to Belgium. After a moment, Lex raised her voice a little to address everyone.
“I just wanted to introduce Rolf Kaiser to all of you,” she said as she turned towards him for a moment, a smile lighting her face. “He’s responsible for making all of this possible, so I wanted to extend my thanks.”
He shook his head quickly. “Not at all, Lex,” he replied, smiling in turn. “We’re all very glad to have you here.”
“In order to make everything official, I thought it would make sense to go sign our paperwork, and then we made reservations to celebrate afterwards. I’ve already had a lawyer review the contract, and he assured me that it’s fair and aboveboard, and I’ve reviewed it myself and I agree. Does that sound good to everyone?” Lex continued, studying the group for a moment to see where everyone stood.
Her original six friends were mostly nodding, alo
ng with vocal agreement from Kate and Casey. Lily nodded once, looking a bit grim and resolute, and Mr. Chen smiled.
“Let’s go, Lex,” he said.
Serena turned to her as the knot of people began to collect in order to move off. “I should probably say goodbye here. I’d love to come along to see how they do things on this side of the water, but I actually have some stuff to do back in the States.”
Lex hugged her again and took a piece of paper from her pocket. “Thanks again so much for doing this,” she said, handing the paper to Serena. “Keep this with your special clothes in the locker. These are our phone numbers here. As soon as we have a permanent address I’ll get that to you, as well. We’ll expect you to be visiting pretty frequently, OK?”
Smiling as she pocketed the note, Serena replied, “Yeah, of course I will. I’m sure I’ll need to get more advice from you eventually, plus it’s been ages since we’ve gone clubbing.”
Everyone converged around Serena then, voicing their thanks. “All of you are embarrassing me,” she said with a laugh as she waved a hand in front of her face. “If you want to thank me, though, just stand around me for another minute while I go so that I don’t have to find another alley.” She waved to them moments later, just before she vanished.
As they covered the few blocks to the government offices, Lex could hear the knots of walkers talking back and forth about news from home. Mr. Chen had been working with some of the new recruits at the M Agency, George having become disinterested in his training shortly after Casey and Lex had disappeared.
“The official news was that you three had died,” Mr. Chen confirmed, replying to Casey’s question. “However, rumors kept flying around because of what George had said. Of course, most people thought he was perhaps…mistaken, but no one could ever be sure.”
At that point, Lex’s ears picked up on Lily’s response to Riss’ question about how things were at the M Agency with anyone they’d known. “Well, you’ve talked to Serena, so you probably don’t need any more news about her, but Joan’s still working there. I guess you could say she’s still officially working there, but she isn’t around much. I think she’s over at the base nearby a lot.”