Queen's Gambit

by M. Lorrox

  The applause dies down.

  He puts on an appreciative and beholden smile while he looks out over the audience in the dimly-lit room. “It’s so nice see so many eyes tonight. I’m very happy to be here, and I’m not just saying that as part of my address. Actually, we should all be very happy to be here tonight.” He clears his throat. “I’d like to tell you about some events that transpired today. There was a threat made against all of us, but it was thwarted—let me emphasize that there is no cause for alarm and that we have been given the all-clear to hold this event tonight.

  “Early this morning, it became known to our Council Guard that two individuals were plotting to detonate a bomb underneath this hotel.”

  Some rustling and murmur passes quickly through the crowd.

  “Everyone, please, let me remind you, there is no cause for alarm. The Council Guard, along with volunteer citizens, the FBI, as well as local police and emergency forces—these groups all worked together to identify the suspects, locate where the bomb was being assembled, and then carry out a surgical strike to neutralize the threat.”

  Someone in the crowd starts clapping, and others join in. Charlie glances at Eddy, who smiles and looks at June. She smiles back at him for a moment and then looks down. Skip reaches over and squeezes her hand.

  “Please hold your applause.” When the room is silent again, he continues. “I spoke to the FBI agent in charge of today’s operation. He told me two things. First, he told me about the bomb. He said that the bomb squad calculated the size of the explosion the bomb would have caused if it were detonated as the two suspects in custody had planned. They concluded that the bombers underestimated its strength, because it not only would have leveled this hotel, but it would have also destroyed the office building and part of the mall beside us. He even speculated that the blast could have collapsed the metro line that runs immediately adjacent to the underground parking garage, and buildings on both sides of this street might have toppled due to cave-ins in the underground metro station.”

  “Oh man.” Eddy tries to imagine such destruction, and he needs to rely on scenes from disaster movies he’s seen.

  “Not only should we be thankful for our lives, but the entire Washington DC metro area—Virginia, the District, and Maryland—should all be thankful for the hard work and cooperation that went on behind the scenes today.”

  He clears his throat, away from the mic. “The FBI agent told me something else as well. He told me that without help of some certain individuals, that news stations might have told a very different and more gruesome story. Major Elian Schermer of the Council Guard and Eddy Costanza, please come up onto the stage.”

  The vampire blood drains out of Eddy’s usually pale face as he shoots a nervous look to his dad.

  Charlie chuckles and grabs Eddy’s upper arm—right underneath his armpit—and pushes him up. “Get up there, and try not to trip.”

  Schermer is on the stage before Eddy reaches it. He considers just jumping the three-foot height to get on the stage—it’d be easy for him—but he thinks better of it, and he walks around to the stairs. When he’s on stage, he stands next to Schermer and stares out at the sea of emerald eyes—all wide and looking back into his.

  Hamid motions to them. “Major Elian Schermer, the most senior officer of the Council Guard, coordinated our cooperation and the surveillance activities with the FBI; and Eddy Costanza, son of Elder Sadie Costanza and Guard Commander Colonel Charlie Costanza, volunteered to aid in the operation. I am told that Eddy proved to be ‘instrumental in the success of neutralizing the threat,’ that the bombers presented.”

  He motions to them again. “The two individuals that you see on stage will of course not be mentioned in any official reports, so please, let us thank them again, on our behalf, and also on the behalf of the people that will never know the good that they have done.”

  Hamid walks over and shakes Major Schermer’s hand. People in the crowd clap with enthusiasm. Then he takes another step and shakes Eddy’s hand. People in the crowd clap furiously, June whistles and cheers, and someone in the front stands up.

  Charlie smiles as he and most of the audience rises from their seats. Yeah, I’ll stand for this. He takes a step over to where Eddy was sitting, and both he and Skip place a hand on June’s shoulders. She can’t help but smile as her eyes water.

  In a hospital in Arlington, Andrew—Blackjack—Martin wakes up with tubes in his nose and bandages on his abdomen. He looks around, sees an armed guard sitting across the room from him, then pulls his hands in—he can’t, they’re cuffed to the side of the bed.

  He looks to a bedside table and sees an alarm clock. He reads the time and realizes that had the plan worked, the bomb would have gone off just minutes ago. He closes his eyes and grits his teeth. Exeller. That son of a bitch! He stabbed me in the back… It had to be him; there’s no other way. FUCK!

  You’re a dead man, Exeller. You are a fucking corpse. He opens his eyes and snarls an angry grin. “Hey. Hey cop; I’m ready for my damned phone call.”

  The Prime Minister allows Schermer and Eddy to return to their seats, after which he delivers a short address. He discusses the progress being made with the United States government and how the High Council will continue discussing possible collaborative efforts. On the topic of going public, he insists that all aspects and potentialities are being considered and that eventually the issue will be put to vote.

  When he finishes, he thanks everyone again, and then he turns the microphone back over to Mrs. Darien. She takes the mic amidst applause for Hamid, and she waits until he is seated before she speaks.

  “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Well everyone, that concludes the first half of tonight’s event. After a fifteen-minute break, the High Council will take the stage to answer your questions. Until that time, please feel free to socialize and mingle in this area, or exit if you need. Thank you.”

  Charlie turns to Eddy. “Now don’t let this go to your head, Ed, you still need to fit through the doors.”

  “Shut up, Dad.” He turns to June. “I’m sorry that—”

  -Womp!-

  Charlie slaps him hard on the shoulder. Eddy turns and sees that the folks sitting in front of him have turned and are looking at him. They have their hands extended to shake.

  “Thank you, Eddy for helping foil that terrible plot.”

  “Of course, you’re welcome.”

  “Nice job, son.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Way to go, Eddy.”

  “Umm, thank you.”

  Eddy smiles and then turns, ducking his head down. “I gotta get outta here.”

  June grabs his hand. “C’mon, follow me.” She pulls him out of his seat, across the row of chairs, then down the aisle toward the back of the room.

  Skip looks at Charlie and shrugs. He starts walking down the row of chairs to exit, Charlie right behind him. “Think they’re getting interested in each other?”

  “Probably. I told Eddy to be super cautious and to try and not get too close too quickly, but, you know kids.”

  Skip turns and squints at Charlie. “You remember that June’s my first and only child and that she’s never had a boyfriend, right?”

  Charlie’s neck twitches. “Oh yeah, right... You know, just don’t worry about it.”

  Skip leans over to Charlie and speaks quietly. “How many kids have you raised, man?”

  He sighs dramatically. “Too many to count right now.” He smiles. “Think you’ll ever settle down again and give June a younger brother or sister?”

  Skip opens his mouth to answer, then he sees Katlyn walking in their direction. “I’d need some help with that.” He motions with his eyes.

  Charlie looks over. “Hey, is that…?”

  Skip grabs Charlie by the arm and pulls on him. “I’ll introduce you.”

  Cha
rlie glances at Skip’s hand grabbing his arm, and he smiles while scrunching his brow in surprised disbelief. Bold move, Mr. Tubman.

  Katlyn notices Skip and walks toward him. “Wow, Mr. Skip, that’s a great looking suit!”

  He smiles. “Oh, thank you. You look lovely tonight as well, and allow me to apologize about earlier—”

  “I put two and two together when they called the same Eddy that pawned Minnie off on me up onto the stage.” She smiles. “I can’t imagine what you all were going through today.”

  Skip can’t decide whether to shake his head, shrug, or nod, so he just blinks. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Now that that’s settled—” She points a finger at him and squints. “When we were talking earlier, did I have clay in my hair? Because when I got back up to my room, I had clay in my hair.”

  He swallows. “You might have.”

  She pokes him on the breast of his jacket and makes a grumpy face. “You didn’t say anything.”

  He tilts his head and lifts a hand. “I mean, you just looked so cute.”

  “Hmm...”

  Skip laughs. “Katlyn, this is Charlie, Minnie’s father. Charlie, Katlyn is organizing the activities being offered for the young ones.”

  Charlie extends his hand. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

  She shakes it and smiles at him. Her wavy hair bobs with her movement. “Oh, just call me Katlyn. And in case you couldn’t tell, I watched Minnie today. Did she show you her invention? I bet she can be a handful!”

  Charlie laughs. “She did, and she really enjoyed the activity. Thank you for watching her. I don’t think the FBI would have loved her running around and fiddling with everything.”

  Katlyn nods. “It was my pleasure. There are other events this week if she’s free, and there’s the big field trip on Friday. I bet she’d love it.”

  Charlie rubs the back of his neck. “Honestly, we’ve seen the sheet about the trip, but Sadie and I have been so busy that we haven’t even discussed it.”

  She nods and a curled spring of her hair bounces from chin-height to ear-height. “I can only imagine, with Mrs. Costanza an elder and all.”

  Charlie waits a moment. “Yeah. So, it’s to the Museum of Natural History, and it’s a large group that’s going?”

  “Yes sir, twenty-three young ones, and another dozen or so chaperones. We’ll have plenty of snacks for the children, a lunch is being catered at the museum, we’ll bring our own beverages, and the group will be using a special entrance that will be shaded.”

  Charlie notices Sadie walking his way. “That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. I don’t have any specific questions for you right now, but I would like you to meet my wife.” He melts as he gestures to Sadie, who is approaching Skip and Katlyn from behind.

  They turn and look.

  Sadie wears black heels, a tight, red mini dress, and a black, sheer gown covering the mini dress. An emerald necklace drapes across her neckline, and her hair is done up into a bun pierced with a set of ruby-tipped ebony chopsticks.

  Katlyn does a double-take and then looks at Skip in astonishment. He’s able to pick his mouth up off the floor just in time to smile back at Katlyn.

  Sadie’s lip curls just a fraction of an inch with the satisfaction of seeing them mesmerized by her. When she reaches the group, Skip takes a half step toward her. “Sadie! Wow, you look amazing.”

  She smiles. “Thank you.” She looks at Charlie. “Oh, and look at you, all dressed up in a suit and tie. Rrrawr.”

  “Dear, this is Katlyn, the woman who is organizing the field trip on Friday.”

  Sadie extends her hand. “Katlyn, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Sadie.”

  Katlyn shakes Sadie’s hand with both of her own. “Elder Costanza, it’s an honor to meet you.”

  Sadie laughs. “Call me Sadie, dear.” She lets her arm go a little limp in hopes that Katlyn will let go of it.

  She doesn’t. “The Friday field trip will be an amazing learning experience for the young ones, and every detail has been planned out. If you have any questions or concerns, my number is on the activity fliers and schedules, and you can call me any time.”

  Sadie pulls her hand out of Katlyn’s grip. “Thank you, so much. Charlie and I will discuss it.” She looks at him. “Where’s Eddy? I wanted to congratulate him as well.”

  “I think he was feeling a little overwhelmed, so he disappeared somewhere with June.” He turns and looks for Eddy at the back of the room, but doesn’t find him.

  She frowns. “I’ll tell him later.” She looks at Katlyn again and smiles. “It was lovely meeting you, Katlyn.” Without waiting for a response, she steps alongside Charlie. “We need to skip the Q and A. We have to talk.” She starts walking before he can respond.

  Charlie watches her walk away for a moment. Damn, she looks great tonight. He turns to Skip and sighs playfully. “What’re ya gonna do? Pretty lady in a dress is tellin’ me to follow her.”

  Skip nods. “I think you follow her.”

  Charlie follows her down the aisle.

  Skip shakes his head and smiles at Katlyn. “So, those are the Costanzas, they may seem a little odd, but they’re the best.”

  She nods, then lets a grin creep across her lips. “So, that’s what you do? You follow the pretty lady when she tells you to?”

  Skip licks his lips. “Uh-huh.”

  “Follow me, Mr. Skip.” She turns and walks toward the exit.

  “Mmm-hmm, right behind you.”

  June drags Eddy out of the ballroom and into the empty courtyard. “It’s such a nice night. Isn’t it?”

  Eddy looks around. “Yeah, it’s a good temperature.”

  She turns and points to his tie. “Your tie’s pretty wild. You called that a trinity knot?”

  Eddy glances down, but of course he can’t see the knot. “Yeah. Cool, right?”

  June nods, reaches her fingers around the tie and takes a step closer.

  “June, I’m really sorry about back in there.”

  She lets go of the tie. “What do you mean?”

  He takes a step to the side, looking out at the ornamental pond surrounded by dark green grass. “The credit, I mean, it should definitely have been you up there on the stage. You took all the risks.” He makes air quotes with his hands. “And were instrumental to the success of the operation, or whatever. I was just helping you.”

  “I don’t mind. I’m just glad to have helped, even if it was in secret.” She puts her arm through his. “Hmm. I was a secret helper on a secret mission.”

  Eddy laughs. “So, do you think a double secret is like a double rainbow?”

  “Duh, of course it is.”

  Eddy uses his free hand to illustrate his mind being blown. “Like, whoa.”

  “Totally.”

  The door to the courtyard opens and a voice disrupts them. “Hey, Leo? Are we interrupting?”

  Eddy looks over his shoulder. Jambavan holds the door open, and Sky is standing next to him, waving.

  “Oh, hey guys.” Eddy drops June’s arm and turns to her. “Want to meet some vampire squires?”

  “Leo?”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s a nickname.”

  She smiles. “I like it. Sure, sounds fun.”

  After some introductions, Sky claps her hands. “So, Mr. Popular, way to go earlier with that op’!”

  Jambavan smacks him on the arm—hard, but playful. “Yes, excellent work, Leo.”

  Eddy smiles awkwardly at June.

  June laughs. “You’d be surprised how shy he can be sometimes.”

  Eddy scoffs at her. “Hey!” Then he smiles at Sky and Jambavan. “Thanks, I’m really glad that they stopped them, and that we weren’t blown into a million-trillion pieces before being covered by tons and tons of rubble.”

 
Sky laughs. “Aye, me too!”

  Jambavan motions to Eddy. “The least we could do is take you out tonight as a thank you.”

  Sky agrees. “For sure. It’s required.”

  Eddy raises a finger. “Only on one condition: June comes along too.”

  “Hold your horses, buddy.” June folds her arms in front of her chest and looks up at the taller Jambavan. “Just where exactly might we be going?”

  Sky takes a step toward June and whispers, “To get some toe-curling burritos!”

  June uncrosses her arms and tips her forehead. “That good?”

  Sky rolls her eyes back in her head and drops to her knees on the ground as she lifts her hands in front of her like she was holding something sacred. “They’re sooo good, the perfect combination of fillings and gooey cheese inside an epic tortilla with mouth-watering sauces.” She drops her hands and sighs. “You’ll die a little when you eat one.” She winks.

  Eddy looks down at the eccentric and petite redhead. “You had me at burrito.”

  Sky bounces straight up and lands on her feet. “Great! Let’s go.”

  June clears her throat. “I’ll have to check with my dad; he might have other plans for me.” She frowns and imagines being locked in the suite for a month.

  Eddy puts his arm around her. “Right...” He nods to Jambavan. “Tell ya what, we’ll do a little recon upstairs, and if we can come, we’ll meet you in the lobby in fifteen minutes. That work?”

  Jambavan nods. “Sure. And grab some blood; we’ll be walking outside.” He glances around. “The real outside.” He laughs.

  Eddy and June head to the suite. When they get there, Charlie and Sadie are in the living room. They look tense—like they’re discussing something important. Eddy notices a bottle of alcohol on the counter and a tall drink sitting on the coffee table in front of his dad. “Hey, we were thinking we’d go out with the squires for burritos. Cool?”

  Sadie smiles up at him. “Congratulations, Eddy. That was a nice honor.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  June steps toward her and Skip’s shared room. “Is Dad here?”