by A. J. Mayall
“Not really, was thinking of taking a nap.”
“Head on upstairs, McGee. I’ll let you know if we get a client.”
“I know you will.”
He walked upstairs, and paused at the top. “Oh, guy might be over later today to scrape the name off the front door. I’m renaming the agency.”
“Really? What to?”
“GearWitch Investigations.”
“Are you insane?! I thought you weren’t allowed to let the world know what you were.”
“I think that rule’s been broken already.”
Suzette groaned; that meant dealing with a people. She hated dealing with a people. People were her least favorite kind of people.
“Go to bed!”
“Seriously though. Suzette, thank you. I mean it.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll…let you in more.”
“Good; we make a good team.”
He opened the door to his loft and walked to the windows, closing them by hand and drawing the blinds, deepening the shadows of the room. From behind him he heard a panicked voice. Gypsy.
“Phoenix, I have the information. You aren’t going to like this.”
“I already beat it.”
“What?!”
“I solved the case, I’ll tell you later, but long story short, it was a project of Gemini’s from AGI.”
“Wait. No. you don’t understand, the machine. You said it fought you. Somehow it was made by someone touched by the Mechanizations. Not as powerful as a GearWitch, mind you, but strong.”
“I thought that was impossible, exposure to an unchosen meant instant insanity.”
“I know. That’s what makes this so dangerous. Tell me more about this Gemini.”
“Kinda meek, looks like a mouse that got dipped in sweet tea, all jittery and nervous.”
“Doesn’t sound like him, then. By the way, what is an AGI?”
“Big company, owns a lot of stuff, stands for Ahkriman-Gemini Incorporated, I think.”
Upon hearing the first name, Gypsy went white as snow and took a few steps back. “Phoenix,” she mumbled, primal fear crawling up her throat, “gather your things, leave this city.”
“What are you talking about? This is my home, I’ll get them back, don’t you worry.”
“Phoenix. If Ahkriman is here, you…” she swallowed, every word a hoarse whisper. “Need. To. Leave. Now.”
“What do you know? Do you know more about what’s going on?”
She nodded and almost walked backwards through the far wall. “New plan. Your training begins anew. Tomorrow. If you’re not gonna scoot, I’ll give you the best I can, McGee.”
He groaned and nodded; if it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Gypsy, right now I need to take a nap.”
She paused and looked at him with a deep concern in her gaze.
“We’ll talk more, soon.”
Gypsy faded away, leaving Phoenix alone. He hung his coat on the rack by the door. He removed everything but his boxers, tossing the clothes in a jumbled pile by the bathroom. He sighed, letting the coolness of the air conditioning relax his skin. Phoenix reached around his neck, removed the gear necklace, hanging it by the jacket in its proper place.
He turned toward the bed, and saw that it was bare. Bouncer had toppled over the edge. Phoenix plucked the toy from the floor and hugged him tight before falling back atop the covers and closing his eyes.
“Buddy, I think things are about to get interesting. Good thing I have you by my side. I swear, man, I just want something nice and dull to happen to me for a change. Not my lot in life though, is it?”
Phoenix shrugged and said in an exasperated voice, “Ah, don’t you worry…I’ll probably feel better after our nap, right?”
He hugged the raccoon close and moved just enough to pull a sheet over himself.
The raccoon, like the room, and this moment in Phoenix McGee’s life, was quiet.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
By day, A.J. Mayall is a vetter for the e-book publisher, Smashwords. He lives in California with his husband, Glen, and his best friend, Aaron. The rumors that he is a menagerie of hive-minded sentient spiders wearing a human suit are sheer fallacy and should be ignored.
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR
You can reach A.J. via Twitter or on his Picarto.tv steam.
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