by Alexie Aaron
The screaming stopped but was replaced by another sound. The sound of machinery. Ryan walked past Richard and headed down the hall. “It sounds like…”
“There’s a snowcat moving down the hillside. I think, yes, it’s friendly. I see Mia’s aunt waving a bottle of champagne out the window. I believe she’s chilling it.”
Lorna couldn’t be certain, but she swore she saw a flicker of concern cross the face of the Other.
Mia agreed to let Ted carry her down the stairs. Judy followed them, carrying the baby equipment. They made the landing when the door burst open.
“Ted, put Mia down. She’s not a toy. Judy, before I forget, could you look at a mole on my back later?” She handed Ryan the bottle she was carrying. “Be a good boy, open this and find me a glass. God knows, in this house it will have a cartoon character on it, but it will have to do. Now, can someone show me where this Other is? I’ve got a contract to break and a Christmas party to plan.”
Ted ignored Bev, and carried Mia into the kitchen. They found Bev studying the Other pinned to the wall.
“Love what you’ve done with the kitchen, Mia. Not everyone can pull off Early Dungeon. Who’s the dashing young man?” she said, holding out her hand to the Confederate ghost still at his post guarding the Other.
Breeze, totally captivated by this brassy woman, knelt on one knee and kissed her hand.
“Breeze, my aunt, Beverly Cooper,” Mia said.
A look of disdain filled Richard’s face.
Beverly turned back to give him her full attention and said, “Beverley Anne Cooper. We’ve met before.”
Chapter Twenty-five
“Do we have everybody?” Bev asked, looking around the living room. “Two bounty hunters, two law officers, two ghosts, two dashing young men. Yes, Gerald, that’s you and Cid. Two Martins, well, three actually. A birdwoman and a superhuman. I think that’s everyone. No, I believe we’re missing an Other. Mia, would you please release him?”
Mia closed her eyes.
In the kitchen, the salt fell away as the iron rack tumbled to the floor. Richard pulled his sleeves free from the knives that pinned them to the wall. He patted his pocket to assure himself he still had a copy of the contract. Bev had taken the other copies, handing one to Gerald and keeping one for herself.
“Dick, we’re waiting,” Bev called. “You can leave, but then you lose.”
Richard straightened his tie and brushed the remaining salt particles from his tattered suit. He rolled his neck and squared his shoulders. He would make them all pay for his humiliation just as soon as he turned Mia over to his client.
Mia felt an easing of her pain. Judy had her hand on Mia’s stomach and on her lower back.
“I’ll slow things as much as possible so that there is no harm to your son. But we’ll have to deliver him soon,” she warned.
Mia nodded and looked over at her aunt. Bev looked back and gave her a look that Mia could have mistaken for parental concern if she didn’t know the woman better.
Bev turned around to watch Richard walk into the room.
“I believe we have a contract to negotiate,” he said to Mia. “All these people can’t stop the process.”
“Dick, ‘ave a seat will yah,” Bev ordered. “Gerald and I were looking at your contract, and we’ve found a few errors.”
“Impossible.”
“No, really, there are a few points that make this contract null and void.”
“Impossible.”
“You’re repeating yourself, dear,” Bev said. “Open it up, and let us all look at it together.”
Richard did so.
Gerald handed his copy to Mia so she could read along.
“First rule is, you have to be invited into the home of the target by the target.”
“Mia invited me into the farmhouse.”
“She invited you into the farmhouse, but not into her home,” Bev corrected.
“She lives here,” Richard said confidently.
“Ted, whose name is on the title to the farmhouse?”
Ted looked surprised. “Mine.”
“You didn’t put your wife’s name on the deed?”
Ted looked embarrassed. “No, not yet.”
“Sheriff Ryan, can you answer a point of law for me please?” Bev asked.
“Yes, if I can.”
“Who owns this land?”
“Theodore Martin.”
“Not his wife?”
“Technically no.”
Richard fumed. “She’s his wife. This is her home!”
“Mia, do you still own the peninsula property on which your home still sits?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Is your name on the title of the property?”
“Yes. Mia Martin is on the title.”
“Not Mia Cooper Martin?”
“No, that’s not my name. I’m legally Mia Martin.”
“Dick…”
“Richard!” he insisted.
“What name is on this contract? My, oh my, I see Mia Cooper Martin. Now who is that?”
“It’s ‘er name,” Richard blurted out.
“It’s not, dear,” Bev said and turned to Ryan again. “Who is sitting beside Ted Martin?”
“Mia Martin.”
“Legally?”
“Mia Martin.”
“Not Mia Cooper Martin?”
“I’d have to look at her driver’s license.”
Cid strode over to the hall table and handed Mia her purse. She dug her hand inside and pulled her driver’s license out and handed it to Cid who delivered it to the sheriff.
“Sir, before you tell us all what it says there, what are the legalities in securing the document before you?”
“You must present identification that this is your legal name, pass a driver’s test if you haven’t already have done so, and take a rules of the road test if you have not already done so.”
“Let’s concentrate on the name. What do you need to put your name on the document?”
“Two legal papers that identify you as this person.”
“I imagine, Mia, that you did so.”
“Yes.”
“So according to the state of Illinois, you are?”
“Mia Martin.”
“Not Mia Cooper Martin?”
“No, that is not I,” Mia said.
“Sheriff?”
“It says Mia Martin. Legally the person on that couch is Mia Martin.”
“It doesn’t matter that she was born Mia Cooper?” Bev asked.
“Not in my county. Here, she is Mia Martin,” he answered, handing the license to Bev who, in turn, showed it to Richard.
A low rumble followed by a tremor underneath the farmhouse preceded all copies of the contract falling into ash.
“’ow did this ‘appen?” Richard lamented. “Again! I told those goons to check everything out.”
“So you have no hold on Mia.”
Richard flicked his wrist and a shock of electricity hit Mia so hard, it forced her and Judy back into the cushions.
“What have you done!” Beverly screamed at the Other.
Ed moved towards Richard.
“Wait,” Judy called. “Mia’s fine, but the baby is coming. Ed, get her upstairs. Now!”
Ed picked Mia up.
“Shouldn’t she go to the hospital?” Ted asked.
“There’s no time,” Judy said. “Upstairs,” she ordered.
There was a flapping of wings and the thud of three sets of bird people landing above them.
“I forgot to close the window,” Tom admitted.
Judy rushed up the stairs, followed by Ed carrying Mia.
Beverly waited until they were safely upstairs before she turned back to Richard. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“I simply released her. I can’t help if I may have gotten a little carried away,” he droned. “If you will excuse me,” he said, getting up and smoothing the line of his trousers.
“Yo
u’re not going anywhere,” Tonia proclaimed. “I’m arresting you for conducting illegal negotiations.”
Bev lifted two fingers.
“Twice. You will be taken to a place of confinement until you will be judged by your peers.”
Richard walked to the foyer. He turned back to address the humans in the living room. “Really, you have no power to take me anywhere!” he scoffed.
“I do,” Angelo declared from behind him.
The birdman flexed his mighty wings and quickly enveloped the Other. In a split second, both of them were gone.
Ryan smacked his knee. “Now that’s something you don’t see every day.”
“Well, where’s my champagne?” Beverly asked. “Negotiations are thirsty work.”
~
“It’s too soon,” Mia moaned, gripping Ted’s hand tightly as another labor pain ripped through her body.
“My sisters and I will keep your baby safe,” Judy promised. “Just let go, Mia, and let little Brian come into this world.”
“May the veil of life bring a blessing to your son,” the two Gray Ladies chorused.
Ted felt the room change as if it became something else. The brick and mortar, wood and nails seemed to become a membrane of sorts, shielding them from the outside. He kept a tight hold on Mia’s hand as she was lifted into position.
“Time to push, Mia,” Judy instructed.
Mia bore down and pushed.
Brian Stephen Cid Martin was born fifty days early and gasped his first breath with the aid of two hovering Gray Ladies. He was of a good weight considering his lack of time in the womb. His color was good, and aside from a very unusual birthmark on his right shoulder, he was perfect.
Judy severed the physical bond between mother and child and wrapped Brian tightly, handing him to Mia. “Here’s your son. He’s pretty quiet, but he is well.”
Ted gazed down at his little son in amazement. It was too soon to know anything about eye color, but it was very evident that he was looking down at a miniature version of himself. “That kid’s going to have to grow into that nose,” he observed.
Mia, who thought Brian was perfect, gushed, “He’s gorgeous.”
There was a light tapping on the door. Judy, wiping her birth-stained hands on a receiving blanket, nodded to Ed who opened the door.
Cid stood there with Murphy behind him. “The sheriff asked if he should call for an ambulance?” Cid asked Ed.
Ed looked at Judy, and she shook her head before announcing, “Mother and son are doing fine. Brian has some growing ahead of him, but my sisters and I will stay here until he is strong enough.” She added, “Give us a little while to stabilize them.”
“Yes, of course. Did you say Brian?” Cid asked.
“Brian Stephen Cid Martin,” Ed said before he gently shut the door.
“Did you hear that?” Cid said to Murphy. “They named him after us.”
Murphy pushed his hat to the back of his head. Cid thought that the ghost looked a bit nervous. “Makes us Godfathers,” he said proudly.
“Who wins the bet?” Murphy asked as they moved down the hall.
Cid pulled a folded paper out of his back pocket. He unfolded it when they reached the landing. “It says you win if the kid’s name is Stephen. I win if it’s Cid. Mike put a hundred that Mia would call the kid Ralph. He loses bigtime. Let’s see, there’s no Brian anywhere, unless you call Bev’s ‘Brainy Big Nose’ a near miss. I think we split the pot,” Cid concluded.
They entered the living room. Cid stopped and cleared his voice. All eyes were upon him. “Brian Stephen Cid Martin has entered the world. Mother and son are doing fine.”
Bev raised her glass, ignoring the tears that ran down her face. She hadn’t realized she had been holding them in. She hadn’t realized how much she cared for the people upstairs.
Gerald walked over and asked, “May I refill your glass, Beverly?”
“What took you so long?” Bev scolded.
The sound of a snowplow moving down the road brought a bit of the real world back to the people congregated in the farmhouse. A toot of a horn heralded the arrival of Burt’s beast. He pulled the car to a halt next to the steps. Dave all but tumbled outside.
“Is everything alright? Jake sent us the strangest message,” Dave said, thrusting his cell phone into Cid’s hands.
“There, displayed on the smartphone screen was a very pregnant Mia riding in a land speeder with Ted standing beside her. They were conversing with Boba Fett who declared, “There’s no room at the inn, damn it!”
“There are so many levels of blasphemy here,” Cid said, shaking his head.
“Well?” Burt said, walking over. “What happened here?”
“You might as well park the car and come inside. It’s a long story.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Mike pulled up at the farm after an exhausting drive. He had stopped by to pick up Audrey. She was mending, but driving herself would have been too much for her in her present condition. The previous week’s snow that hadn’t melted, had sublimated. Out in the hollow, the pines looked like they were toothpicks stuck in marshmallow cream. The sky was clear, and the sunshine felt good through the windows of the car. He pulled into the farmhouse drive.
He counted all the vehicles that filled the small lot. “There’s a familiar horse trailer, but the snowcat is new.”
“I think that’s a loaner yet to be picked up,” Audrey said. “I’m surprised to see the bounty hunters still here.”
“I guess they didn’t have any place pressing to be,” Mike theorized. He got out of his car and walked around to open the door for Audrey. He was practicing up on his manners. The woman he’d been spending time with was a keeper, and he intended not to lose her due to his laziness.
Ted walked out of the office. “Welcome to the PEEPs compound. We have a full house. Inside there,” he pointed at the farmhouse,” we’re housing three Gray Ladies and a god, and over there, we have bounty hunters and the ghost of a Confederate soldier. Burt has Dave bunking with him until this Friday when we will all bid the boy farewell. No one’s going to miss him, but that’s beside the point.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting the soldier,” Audrey admitted. “So how’s Brian, and when will I get to see him?”
“He’s thriving. But when you have the world’s best nurses on duty twenty-four seven, then you would. Brian’s not a crier. I suspect the boy’s already spoiled with that much attention. If not, when my parents get into town, he will be. You’re welcome to come up and see him after the meeting.”
“How is Mia doing?” Mike asked, holding the office door open for Audrey.
“Ask me yourself, Dupree?” Mia said from inside.
Mike looked in to see Mia sitting with her feet up on the conference table. Burt and Cid were busy looking over a set of old maps.
Mike walked over and kissed her on top of her head. “You had us all worried.”
“You didn’t even know about it until it was over,” Mia accused.
“True, but I worried the whole time Ted was telling me the story,” Mike defended.
“Me too,” Audrey interjected. “You sure are popular with the strangest groups.”
“Evidently, it doesn’t pay to be fair to both sides,” Mia said, lifting an eyebrow.
“Are you going to change your ways?” Audrey asked.
“No. However, I don’t think I’ll be seeing another Other anytime soon,” Mia said.
Mike looked around. “Where are the Lone Ranger and Tonto?”
“In the barn, they’ve set up house in Murphy’s corner.”
“Are they going to join us for the meeting?” Mike asked.
“Don’t know, you’ll have to ask Burt,” Mia said.
Burt looked up at the sound of his name. He seemed more contented since the last time they were together. He even looked fitter, not thinner, just not as flabby. “When’s the meeting going to start?”
“I’m waiting for Da
ve to bring Murphy and Breeze down from the hillside.”
“Breeze?”
“That’s Mia’s name for the Confederate,” Burt explained. “I believe he got it from having a large breezy hole shot through his middle.”
This explanation elicited a giggle from Audrey. “He won’t have to go by Breeze for too much longer. I have three missing gentleman-soldier candidates, I’d like to run past him,” she explained.
Mia’s face brightened. “I’m so happy. Perhaps we can at least start to give some solace to him. He really came through for us. I’d like to pass him on to his reward soon.”
“Any word on whether the Browns are going to let your father do an excavation?” Audrey asked.
“They’ve lawyered up. PEEPs have a formal warning to stay away. The family will prosecute if we continue to investigate on their property,” Mia answered. “If Sheriff Ryan hadn’t labeled it a crime scene right away, then I fear the whole thing would have been covered up.”
“I have a theory as to why, but I’ll wait until Breeze is here. Tell me, what does he look like?” Audrey asked.
“Aside from the gaping hole in his chest, you mean?” Mia teased.
Audrey rolled her eyes. “Yes. Tell me. It would help to identify him.”
“Remember, Audrey, ghost’s images of themselves are sometimes altered because of clouded memories or not having looked at themselves. Back then, photos were rare and a painted portrait was more than often influenced by the artist. In Breeze’s case, I think his family had money. The sword he carries isn’t Confederate issue. It could have been passed down through the male line. That is why I was hoping to get back in there and see if we could find it.”
“Okay, taking all this into mind, tell me, when you look at him, what do you see?” she requested. Audrey grimaced as she dug in her bag for her notebook.
Mia noticed that her friend was still hurting. She would suggest that Audrey let Judy check her over before she left. “Breeze is about five ten, which is tall for the time period. He is showing me long black hair, a Roman nose. I can’t tell whether his eyes are green or blue, but I get the impression they are light in color. His lips are thin and his jaw pronounced. He has a mole here,” Mia touched her left cheek. I think he would have been considered very handsome in his day.”