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Emergency Cupid
A Dallas Fire & Rescue Kindle World / Mt. Olympus Employment Agency Crossover Story
R.L. Naquin
Table of Contents
Emergency Cupid
More DF&R Kindle World Stories
Other Works by R.L. Naquin
About R.L. Naquin
Special thanks to Paige Tyler
for sharing the world of Station 58 with us
and letting us play in her sandbox.
Chapter 1
Love was in the air. Literally. And it was a gods-awful mess.
Somebody—no telling who—had acquired or concocted a love bomb and set it off in the middle of Dallas, Texas. Spells like that were usually scams off the Internet, and they rarely worked. Or they worked too well, like this one.
The head office detected the higher-than-average number of bad matches being made in the area and sent a manager to check on the situation. The manager’s report sent the entire office into a tizzy.
So, there I was, the Cupid department’s number one Cupid. My record for making love matches exceeded Devon Yorkshire’s record by thirty-five percent. Devon was the number two Cupid. Not to toot my own flugelhorn, but sending me to fix this problem was an obvious choice.
The affected area was a nine city-block area—a three-by-three section. Right in the center, where the loose magic was thickest, sat Station 58, a firehouse filled with heroic and extremely fit men and women who saved lives every day.
So much potential for matches, both good and bad. If I could clean up the stray magic and disconnect the bad matches the love bomb had caused, I could potentially make an unprecedented number of matches in record-breaking time.
There had to be a gold watch or a trophy or something for that, right? Maybe a party in my honor?
As I moved down the sidewalk—invisible since I was wearing my Cupid wings—love magic floated around me in the form of small, fluffy feathers. Each time I came close to one, I flipped the switch on my handheld Magic-Vac 5000 and sucked it into the attached bag.
At the first corner, I came across a couple wrapped in an embrace and leaning against a blue Volkswagen. The two were oblivious of anything but each other, and their hands wandered each other’s bodies in a way that was highly inappropriate for the middle of the street.
The woman’s hand snaked into the man’s hair as they explored each other’s lips. “Oh, Gary,” the woman murmured.
“Steve.” He nibbled her ear. “My name is Steve.”
As a certified Cupid with a high success rate of instigating true love, I was appalled. This was unnatural. This was a travesty.
I stepped off the curb and drew closer to them. Magical feathers clung to the back of Steve’s neck and poked out of his companion’s dark hair. I fired up the Magic-Vac and ran it over both of them until they were free of fluff. While I was at it, I went ahead and took care of the white dog hair on the man’s pant legs.
“You’re welcome,” I said. I wasn’t concerned about them hearing me. With the wings on, I was as silent as I was invisible. They felt nothing, either, as I ran a hand down first his arm, then hers, removing the self-made match and any residual magic.
They both came up for air and blinked at each other.
Steve stepped back, hands in the air. “I am so sorry, miss. I have no idea what happened.”
The woman’s expression was confused, and her face turned pink. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I don’t know either. Steve, you said?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Megan.” She gave him a shy smile. “I think…I think I’m late for work.” She climbed into her VW and drove around the corner, leaving Steve standing in the street rubbing the back of his neck. After a moment, he crossed the street and strode past a storefront under heavy renovations, then ducked into a pet shop.
I had a moment of regret that I didn’t have time to follow him. I liked pet stores. I didn’t have any pets, of course. When I was a little girl, my parents wouldn’t allow it. Animals made messes and took away time from more important things. As an adult, I had to agree. I was far too busy. Rules were made for a reason.
It didn’t hurt to look sometimes, though. Maybe I’d have a chance to pop in for a few minutes before I left town. After my work was done, of course. Just to look.
I continued down the sidewalk, crossed the street, and stood in front of Station 58. The doors were rolled up, showing off the shiny red trucks, and several people rushed around inside arranging equipment I didn’t have a name for and couldn’t imagine what their purpose was. It seemed excessive. I wasn’t an expert, of course, but a lot of what I was looking at took up added space and made the area look cluttered.
Maybe I’d give them some tips once I cleaned up the magical mess. Of all places, a fire station should run at top efficiency. I’d be more than happy to help them with that.
The air around me was thick with the iridescent feathers making so much mischief. I turned on the Magic-Vac 5000 and waved it over my head. The feathers gravitated to the vacuum, and the powerful suction pulled in sizable amounts of magic, thinning the air. Less than five minutes later, the bag was full.
A coffee house sat across the street and over a little from the firehouse. I crossed, grabbed a chair at an empty table, and got to work.
Before I’d unlocked all three pins on the collection bag, a ridiculously tall woman with short, spiky hair swung a leg over the chair across from me and dropped into the seat. She grinned and stared at me, which was impossible, since I was still invisible.
“It’s about time you got here.” She took a long pull on a disposable coffee cup, then smacked her lips and stared at me again. “My gods. You are stinking adorable, aren’t you?”
I resisted the urge to fluff my blonde curls and flash her a dimple. There was no reason to waste my talents on this stranger. “Thanks. You’re very…tall.”
She shrugged. “You’re…what? Five foot nothing? I suppose I do look tall from down there.” She placed her cup on the table and leaned forward. “I’m Vanessa.”
I forced a polite smile. “Ellen.”
Vanessa laughed. “Good. I’d hate to think I found the wrong Cupid.”
I had trouble wrapping my head around this brash woman. In all my years as a Cupid, no one had ever seen through the invisibility spell of my wings. “I’m sorry. Who are you, exactly?”
“What? They didn’t tell you I’d be here?” She threw her head back in a dramatic sigh that seemed to be directed at the universe in general.
I shook my head. “Nobody told me anything. Maybe you could give it a try?” I drummed my fingers on the table. This—whatever this was—didn’t figure into my plans. I’d made a schedule. I had lists.
An older woman—probably in her late sixties—walked past us holding hands with a young guy barely out of high school. He held his skateboard tucked under his arm as they walked.
“Oh, for Elysian’s sake.” I half rose from my seat,
then remember the bag on my vacuum was full. I left it on the table and bolted after the badly matched couple.
“You’ll see,” the woman said, grinning up at the kid and stroking his arm. “Canasta is easy to learn.”
The kid’s expression was dreamy. “We should totally get married in Vegas. You like Elvis, right?”
She giggled. “Until I met you, I thought he was the most handsome man in the world.”
“Alright, break it up.” I plucked the feathers from their hair and arms and cheeks by hand, then brushed my hand over their arms to break the match.
The look of horror on both their faces was hard to watch. I turned and walked away so I wouldn’t have to see it. I couldn’t avoid hearing the sound of her purse hitting him and his yelp that followed, though.
I returned to my seat, cradling a handful of feathers in one hand. Not sure what to do with them, I sat that way, eyeballing the intruder who eyed me back while sipping her coffee.
“You were going to tell me who you are.”
She smiled. “I’m Vanessa.”
“So you said.”
“I work in the Chaos department. I’ve been sent to observe.”
“Observe what, exactly?”
She sat back in her chair. “I’m here to observe. That’s what we do in the Chaos department. We watch. We take notes.” She leaned across the table. “And sometimes, we assist.” She slapped my hand from underneath and it jumped, releasing all the feathers I’d collected.
“No! Hey! What’s wrong with you?” Dismayed, I watched the magic scatter into the wind and join the rest of the mess I hadn’t yet cleared. I swung my head around and scowled at Vanessa.
One side of her mouth quirked upward and her voice took on a sing-song quality. “Chaos!”
“You need to leave. This is a huge job, and if you’re not going to help, you need to go back to wherever the Chaos office is and tell them there wasn’t anything here for you observe.”
Vanessa made a pouty face. “And here I thought we were getting along so well.” She took out a small notebook and pen and jotted something down. “You’re not going to like what I say next, then.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Unless it’s ‘goodbye,’ you’re probably right.”
She shook her head in feigned sadness. “You’re attitude is going to make this partnership really awkward.”
“Partnership?” She was right. I hadn’t liked the next thing she’d said. Not one bit. “I don’t work with a partner.”
“Oh, but you do!” She pulled a rumpled piece of paper from inside her blue leather jacket. “Both our offices have authorized it. You’re stuck with me.” She handed me the paperwork and watched my face as I read through it.
She hadn’t lied. I did not care for what I saw. Someone, somewhere in the higher ups, had decided to test a new program where various departments teamed up and assisted each other.
“I don’t even know what Chaos does. How can I come here and bring order back to these people with Chaos following me around?” I stood and gathered my vacuum. “I’m going back to my hotel room, and I’m calling the home office.” I glanced at my useless vacuum. “And I’m changing the bag on this thing.”
She waved me off. “Do what you want, sugar pie. I’ll wait here.” She flicked her empty cup and watched it tumble over, then land upside down on the edge of the trashcan. It rested there for a moment, then a gust of wind blew through and the cup toppled into the can.
“Awesome!” She thrust her arms in the air. “Woohoo!” She flipped her notebook open and jotted something down.
I shook my head and turned toward the hotel. Somebody at the home office had a lot of explaining to do.
Chapter 2
As angry as I was, I wasn’t stupid. One does not yell at a goddess—especially when the goddess is one of the big ones. Aphrodite took my call herself, so I had to deflate all that rage inside me and put it away in a locked box in my head. It was a skill I’d learned early in life, so it wasn’t too difficult.
“But ma’am, I still don’t understand why I was chosen for this new program. You know I have a fantastic record. I work best alone. And she’s so…chaotic.”
“Who better to pair with an Agent of Chaos than our most organized Cupid?” Aphrodite sighed, and it sounded like a breeze blowing across the ocean waves. “Just do this for me, Ellen. Can we show the Chaos department that we’re reasonable and know what we’re doing? Work with her. Make me proud.”
She didn’t come right out and say it, but by the end of the conversation, I almost felt like the Cupid department was being audited or something. Was that even possible?
My skin itched at the idea that someone might think our numbers or methods were off and we needed to be observed by a separate department.
After I hung up, I smoothed my hands over my skirt to get rid of any wrinkles, then buttoned my pink and white cardigan. A little lip gloss and a brush through my hair later and I felt ready to go back out there and represent my department.
Even if it killed me to work with the crazy lady with the spiked hair.
With my wings snug over my shoulders, a supply of Magic-Vac bags in my messenger bag, and a brand new bag on the vacuum, I peeked through the door to make sure no one was there to see the door open and close to let out an invisible woman. No need to scare the locals into the thinking the hotel was haunted.
Vanessa stood in the middle of the hall with her notebook in her hand.
I growled under my breath, then opened the door. “Hello.”
“Ready to go? I think I saw a man propose to a goat two blocks from here. Lots to do.”
“Why is there a goat in the middle of the city?” I frowned, not sure whether she was serious.
“Might’ve been a dog, I guess. Or a motorcycle. I should probably get my eyes checked.”
I stepped into the hall and closed the door. “So, how is this going to work? Are you helping or just watching?”
She smiled. “You know I’m not invisible, right? And I don’t have a fancy vacuum. I’m happy to advise, though. I give excellent advice.”
I scowled. “I bet you do.” I moved to the elevator and tapped the down button. “I guess we’d better get to it, then.”
The doors opened and we stepped inside, joining a short, balding man with a mustache. He smiled at Vanessa, but didn’t glance my way.
“Do you ever go out without being invisible?” Vanessa pressed the L button to take us to the lobby, even though it was already lit up.
“Excuse me?” The man looked startled.
“Oh, not you, honey.” She grinned at him.
“Oh.” He clasped his hands in front of him and looked straight ahead until we reached the lobby and the doors opened. He scurried off like a mouse who’d been let out of a trap.
“I think you scared him.” I walked across the lobby past the front desk.
The man who’d checked me in stood sorting key cards into piles of like pictures. I admired his dedication and organizational skills. There were a lot of pictures, so he had a lot of piles. He was whistling.
“Hi, Stuart. You’re doing a great job.” Vanessa waved at him on her way past.
He stopped sorting, blinked a few times, then held his hand up in a half-hearted return wave.
I was pleased to see she hadn’t distracted him. That sort of concentration wasn’t common anymore.
When we stepped outside, I fired up the Magic-Vac 5000. The hotel was on a corner of the affected area, and the empty bag attracted any nearby feathers almost like static electricity. I moved slowly toward the fire department, planning to focus first on the station, clearing it out and hopefully finding who was responsible, then doing a cleanup of the eight blocks around the perimeter.
It didn’t hurt to clear some on the way, though.
As I walked, I vacuumed. As Vanessa walked, she chattered. She didn’t appear to care one bit that I was invisible, and to anybody walking by, she probably looked insane, babbling away at t
hin air.
“Seriously,” she said, kicking a can into the gutter. “Are you ever visible? Do you live your entire life with those wings on?”
“I take them off.” I picked up the can she’d left lying in the gutter and held onto it for half a block until we passed a recycling bin. “When I’m off duty, I hang them up and leave them in the office. Right now, I’m working, so I keep them on. They’re my uniform.” I wasn’t sure why her questions rubbed me the wrong way. It was as if she were accusing me of something. But I had no idea what.
“If I could be invisible, I’d sneak into the men’s locker room at a gym.”
I looked at her from the corner of my eye. “It probably smells like…well, like a men’s locker room in there. Why would you even think about it?” I made a face.
The whirring of the Magic-Vac changed to a steady hum indicating the bag was full. I stopped and reloaded, depositing the full bag into a larger bag I’d brought along. I flipped the switch and continued down the sidewalk, sucking in as many feathers as I could.
Vanessa stopped to watch a couple kiss as they exited a cab. I observed the matching wedding rings and kept walking.
After a moment, she trotted to catch up with me. “When was the last time you went out on a date?”
Startled, I stopped walking. The truth was, it had been a long time. I never had dated much. I wasn’t even allowed to date until I turned eighteen, and by then, it seemed like a frivolous waste of time. First, I’d had college courses. Then work took over my life. Dating had never been a priority. But this nosy woman didn’t need to know any of that. I scowled at her. “Why would you think that’s any of your business?”
She tilted her head and gave me a long, thoughtful look. “Okay. Fine. When was the last time you went out with friends?”
I grunted and turned away. “I don’t see why you want to talk about this.” How could she know that everyone at the office cheered every time I came through the door with new matches to write up on the wall? How could she know those same people went out together for drinks every Friday night and never once asked me to go with them?
Dallas Fire & Rescue: Emergency Cupid (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Cupid Book 1) Page 1