by Alexie Aaron
“You’re not going to leave are you?” Mia asked, frightened.
“No, that was me being an idiot. My honor and sacrifice will be sharing your time with the entities that need you, being here when you come home, and listening to you complain about feathers and other flying shit.”
Mia looked at him. “Do you mean this, Ted? Because I understand if you’re not alright with it. I’ll find a loophole.”
“No, you’re going to do this, and I’m going to help you,” he insisted. “I know you can’t tell me everything because I cannot keep my mouth shut.”
“I like that you’re all gossipy,” Mia said. “I love that you are behind me, and I love when you’re behind me.”
“Whoa, Mia, we have surveyors out there.”
“So?”
“Did you tell Murphy not to mess with them?”
Mia’s eyes shot open. She ran outside, down to the woodpile, and rang the bell.
Murphy appeared alongside her.
Mia jumped. “Bloody hell, Murph, warn a woman, why don’t you! Long story short, the surveyors are here to see the best route for a sewer and utility line. I’m going to build a building with an aerie on top. I could use some help with the design.”
“Who is paying for it?”
“Actually, I’ve come into some money,” Mia smiled. “Lots of money.”
“Who died?”
“Wyatt Wayne, but only the Wyatt Wayne part. The other part… Well, we don’t need to get into that.”
“Mia, I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t do my job well enough. You were attacked and almost died.”
“No one could have called that one, Murphy. I don’t blame you or Audrey or anyone. Sometimes shit happens. I went back to work too soon. I wasn’t physically ready for that. I rushed in. Me.”
“I think you’re being awfully nice considering.”
“You know, you’re the only one that thinks I’m nice. I like that,” Mia said, sitting on the table.
He sat down beside her. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Two stories, room for a mammoth library that I have to transport here in two months’ time. Bathroom, small kitchen downstairs. Upstairs, two bedrooms, and a bathroom large enough for superhumans and bird people. And on the roof, a partially-covered aerie. Keeping in mind the wind here. We can use solar and wind power but have the other fuels just in case. I want it to enhance the view, not take away from it. You’ve got to see the library I have to house. Do you think it could have a fireplace?”
Cid walked over and up on the porch. “What’s going on over there?”
“Mia’s mending a friendship. He’s been pretty down since he fucked up and got her killed,” Ted said.
“Mostly killed,” Cid corrected. “It’s not like we haven’t done the same thing.”
“True.”
Mia got up, looked over and waved madly. She practically skipped on her way over. She smiled really big, looking at Cid.
“I told you, no, I would not father your next child, Mia, geeze,” Cid teased.
“K. We’ll leave that for later. I would like to hire you, and I can pay you with real money instead of Ted love dollars.”
“I’m listening.”
“A two-story, two-bedroom house with an aerie on top, and the first story has to be able to receive a kick-ass library in two months. Murph has some ideas on house placement, and I’m bringing the utilities to wherever the three of you, that includes you Ted, think is best. But I like the hillside. It could be my office when no one is visiting. We could stop having naked birdmen in the farmhouse. Don’t skimp on ceiling size because I saw one sucker whose wings were twelve feet tall.”
“Really, who?” Cid asked.
“Michael, prince of the angels.”
“He’s that big?” he asked.
“Parts of him are,” Mia said.
“Mia…” Ted growled.
“His wings, what did you think I meant?” she asked coyly.
“He’s Mia’s new boss,” Ted said.
“I thought Burt was our boss.”
“Actually, Murphy is my boss, and Ted is yours. You get the fun boss. I get old… Hello, Murph, nice of you to join us,” Mia said, rolling her eyes.
“Who is this Michael? Not Dupree?” Murphy asked.
“Michael, prince of the angels, older brother to Lucifer. I don’t know if he is a hand of God or not. I didn’t want to ask and embarrass him if he wasn’t. I probably should look this stuff up. Just think of the faux pas I could make up there. Where’s my son?”
“Baby Bear Rally. He’s spending the night with Susan.”
Mia’s face lit up. She stared at Ted.
“Don’t you go undressing me with your eyes. I have work to do.”
Mia turned and looked at Cid.
Ted turned her back. “You and I are going to have a talk.”
Murphy laughed.
“Ted, the work can wait, but I would be glad to step in for you,” Cid offered.
“Mia, could you at least buy me supper?” Ted negotiated.
“I could do that. Let me get changed.” Mia ran into the house.
“Are you going to tell her about Mike and Burt locating another good lead concerning Lobo?”
“Not tonight. Let her have a night without any moral dilemmas. Unless we decide on an item from Menu D.”
“You guys are confusing. It took me twenty-five years to understand the whole base thing, and now you guys are talking menus,” Cid complained.
Mia came downstairs wearing a little, skintight, black mini dress. She had Mike’s blue blazer on over it and black combat boots. It worked.
Ted was speechless.
Murphy whistled.
“Mia, wait a minute,” Cid said, running toward the barn and up the stairs to his room. He came back with a bag. “When you wore that blazer earlier, I thought you needed something, and I saw this and bought it for you.”
“Cid, how nice of you.” Mia opened the bag and grinned. She pulled out a black porkpie hat and put it on. “How do I look?”
“Like a million bucks,” Ted said.
“Actually a million point five,” Mia said.
Ted escorted her to the car. “You’re awfully dressed up for the Taco Bell drive thru.”
Chapter Twenty-five.
Murphy walked Mia through the old factory in daylight. He pointed out the exits and where he had Cid pour a few salt circles just in case of bad ghosties.
“I’m impressed,” Mia said.
“Mia, when we do the actual investigation, please wear your armor, but don’t bring your shield or sword,” he said.
“K.”
“No argument.”
“Nope, you’re the boss. Murph, the thing about being my boss is that you get to answer to your boss, Burt, for the shit I do. Ta ta!” Mia said and skipped off.
Murphy frowned. “Bad Mia.”
Mike hadn’t seen Mia since her stand on sexism. She walked into the interview room wearing his blazer and a black-velvet halter top with faded blue jeans. Her new combat boots were snug with a two-inch tread on the bottom. For the camera, she looked cool but respectable.
She caught him staring at her boots. “Do you like my new wheels? It’s what I get for sending Cid boot shopping. He thinks I’m a Toyota Four by Four,” she explained.
She rose gracefully and extended her hand to the owner of the old cereal factory. “Mia Martin,” she said, sitting down, crossing one limber leg over the other.
What was happening to him? Mia’s respectable outfit was turning him inside out. Mike excused himself, stood on the other side of the door, and thought about the last time he had to unclog the bathroom sink. He walked back in, clearing his throat.
“Tell me, Mr. Hampton, when did you first become aware of the ghosts?” Mia asked, flipping open a notebook.
“It started up slowly. We moved our operation out of town. The neighborhood was declining, and th
e bus service stopped in this section of town. I didn’t want to let go of the building. I knew that this area of Chicago was going to turn around.”
“You were right. What an astute mind you have,” Mia complimented.
“It was ten years ago that the lights started to seem like they had a mind of their own…” The owner continued to tell his story.
Mike looked over Mia’s shoulder at what she was writing.
I bet you want to be in my pants right now.
He coughed, and excused himself again.
“I’m sorry, my colleague has something stuck in his throat. When that happens to me…”
Mike ran to the command center. “Make her stop,” he begged Ted.
“I’m sorry, who? Is Audrey bothering you again? That minx,” Ted said. “Audrey, Mike requests that you stop bothering him. Over.”
“I’m not, but I will watch myself. Over,” Audrey said.
“Is that all?” Ted asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Mike said and reentered the interview room to find it empty. Mia had walked the owner out, and Burt followed them to the hot spots.
The owner was showing Mia where he had seen footprints. She bent over in the skinny jeans, and Mike could see that she had on either no underpants or a G-string at the most. He thought he’d fix her and put his hand on her ass. That should unnerve her.
She looked over at him briefly and then back at the cement floor.
“I will look out for that on our investigation. Mike, is there anything you’d like to see?” Mia asked him.
“No, I’ve seen enough,” he said.
Mia walked back with Burt. She took off her jacket, and her back was completely bare and perfect. Gone were the lash marks and the surgery site. Not even a bra strap marked that porcelain expanse of skin. Mike groaned.
Burt turned around and looked at him. “Mike, are you getting ill? You can go home. Mia’s got this one under control.”
Mia emerged from the bathroom in full battle armor. She stopped and kissed her husband before following Burt as he filmed Mike’s and Audrey’s walk-through. She didn’t expect to see anything. She was happy to act as backup. They were in the old bakery when she saw a distortion over by an oven. She whispered in her com, “Ted, activity at two o’clock from the camera.”
Burt turned the camera. Mia swallowed hard. She recognized the glass frames on the manifesting ghost.
“Mia,” Ted said. “Mia, answer me. Over.”
“Lobo, oh my god. What do I do?”
“Let Mike and Audrey approach him. Over.”
“K. It’s tearing my heart out. Over.”
“Come in, Mia. Burt, Mia’s coming in. Over.”
Mia walked quickly towards the command center. The truck was parked inside the massive warehouse. She was intercepted by two ghosts. “Billy, Yann?” Mia reached out and touched Billy.
“LilBear, it’s been a while,” Billy said and hugged Mia. She couldn’t stop the tears.
“You’ve changed.” Yann said. “How long has it been, kid?”
“Ten years,” Mia said. “I’m married and have a baby boy.”
“Cool, have you seen Lobo yet?”
“I glimpsed him.”
“Don’t you be afraid, kid. He understands why you smashed the computers and gave the fuckers back their treasure.”
“I paid restitution, Yann. You don’t have to be worried anymore. I paid for our crimes.”
“Do tell…”
Mia shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”
Billy pulled on Mia. She didn’t know how long she could maintain the contact. She followed Billy into the baking room.
Burt picked them up with the camera. Mia and two young men.
“Cid, come to the command center. I’m going to be with Mia. Over.”
Mia let herself be pulled along. Yann walked cooly by Audrey. “Hot redhead, six o’clock.”
Mia laughed. “That would be behind you, idiot,” she said.
“Oh look at you, the navigator. I think not,” he teased. “I remember sending you out for pizza and had to rescue you when you got lost.”
Ted watched as the years fell away, and Mia became one of the boys again. She even walked differently. He stood next to Burt as Billy all but dragged Mia to Lobo.
“Wife,” Lobo said and gently touched Mia’s face.
“I’ve missed you. You left me behind,” she said.
“What brings you here?” he asked, looking fondly at the woman she’d become.
“You, Billy and Yann. I’ve been looking for you. I squared everything with the demons. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
“Solid. That takes care of us, but what about you? What have you been doing?” he asked.
“I married BatWayne and have a little boy.”
“BatWayne! I knew you were walking out on me, Wife.”
“I didn’t meet him until a few years ago, and I didn’t know he was BatWayne until a few weeks ago,” Mia told him.
“That’s amazing, Wife.”
“I wrote your memorial on the wall of the gate to the Dark Web,” she said. “And I physically went into a videogame, dude!”
“No way. Billy, Mia went where we thought we were going.”
“BatWayne used Billy’s code, dressed it up, and got me in. We have a ghost in our machine…”
“You’re telling me we could get into a computer?”
“Not mine. I have a ghost in residence, but how about whatshisname’s machine?” Mia asked.
“Or whosit.”
“Nah, whosit died,” Mia said. “I suspect though, he’s hanging out this side of the wall.”
“We have talked about cruising the Dark Web. Do you think BatWayne could get us in?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to cross over?”
“Nah, all that’s there is my mother, and she is so going to nag me,” Lobo confessed. “Is that him over there?”
Mia turned around and saw Ted standing there, giving her his support. “Yup, that’s BatWayne.”
Billy and Yann moved to Ted and checked him out.
“Ted, Billy is on your right, and Yann is on your left. To you, they would look like blue mist,” Mia told him.
Lobo put his hand on Mia’s face and turned it towards him. “I’m sorry for leaving you with our mess.”
Mia fought the mixture of emotions she was feeling. She decided she needed to forgive them for getting her into trouble too. “I’m glad you guys found each other. The ether can be a jungle sometimes.”
“Do you have a picture of your son, Wife?”
Mia pulled out a picture she carried in her pocket of Ted, Brian and her at the beach.
“He’s a sturdy kid. Do you miss me, Wife?”
“Every time I touch a keyboard.”
“Talk to BatWayne. See if he can get us into the web, and we’ll take it from there.”
Mia nodded. “Thank you for saving me, Lobo,” Mia said, her eyes filling up.
“Thank you for loving me, Wife,” he said. “Don’t cry, Mia. Please don’t cry. We can live forever in code.”
“Stay out of Road to Angkor Wat; it’s a stinker of a game,” she advised, sniffing. “Ted, I’d like to introduce you to my first husband, Lobo.”
“It’s nice to put a mist to a name,” Ted said wryly.
“A joker. I remember you laughing a lot, Wife.”
“I still do, Lobo,” Mia said, grabbing Ted’s arm. “BatWayne, they want to know if you and Cid can launch them into the internet. They promise to hang out in the Dark Web and leave Jake his territory.”
“We can do that. Jake can help.”
“Is Jake your sweetheart?” Billy asked Mia.
“No, this is,” Mia said, hugging on to Ted.
“No really…”
Mia glared at him. Billy put his hands up, “My bad.”
“Before you go, are there more ghosts in this building?” Mia asked.
“Yes, there are these noisy babe
s in sugar,” Yann said.
“And the three losers in whole-grains,” Billy said. “Cross them fuckers over, so annoying.”
“I’ll try,” Mia said.
“Who’s the goon?” Lobo asked, spotting Murphy for the first time.
“He’s my friend.”
“LilBear has her own goon,” Billy said. “Cool.” He moved towards Murphy.
“Watch it! That axe can ruin your day, dude,” Mia warned.
Billy walked up to Murphy. “Mia, he’s the guy, isn’t he?”
Mia gave him the cut-it-out sign.
Billy ignored it. “LilBear talked about you, dude. Said you were so handsome.”
Mia turned and put her head on Ted’s chest. “Kill me now.”
Ted chuckled and put his arm around her.
Murphy looked at the trio and didn’t see what the fuss was all about.
Lobo, Billy and Yann looked at Murphy and saw an antique.
Mia kept her head on Ted’s chest, embarrassed.
“Ted, this is Cid. I’ve talked to Jake, and he is ready and waiting to escort, whom he sees as, his competition to the Dark Web. Over.”
“Mia, it’s time to say goodbye. I’ll take Billy and Yann to the command center,” Ted said.
Lobo and Mia walked shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. He pushed her hair away from her face and said, “Remember, it’s not who they tell you that you are, but who you are inside.”
Mia nodded. She kissed the ghost and let him go. Lobo drifted into the computer behind Billy and Yann.
Mia walked away. Murphy followed her. Ted watched them for a moment, but figured something needed to be said that he didn’t want to hear.
“If you loved me then, why didn’t you just stay with me?” he asked, grabbing Mia, hurting her arms.
“You couldn’t take care of me. You could barely manifest,” she said. “I had to follow a path. This was part of it. The rest I will have to take care of soon. Please understand, no matter how much I loved you, we couldn’t be.”
Murphy turned away from her. Mia walked back to Burt, trying to hold it together. “There are babes, women, in the sugar storage area, and three losers, men, in the whole-grains silos,” she said sadly.