My head snapped around so quickly I was sure I heard something snap. “Yeah. He was a good guy. He took care of me.”
“You realize this is all it is, right?” Mike rolled away from me and got up, grabbing his track pants. I enjoyed the view for a few seconds before responding, pulling the sheets and blankets back to my side of the bed.
“Just tell me it’s not something the Agency has you doing, part of your official duties.” I tried to make it sound light and pithy, but we both knew the question had to be asked.
He spun around, returning to sit on the mattress beside me. “That’s a funny question to ask.”
“Look…” I swallowed hard, the lethargy in my bones threatening to shut me down before I got this out. “I get that it’s your job to keep me happy, and if that means giving me a quickie every now and then, I can deal with that. But just let me know if I should be leaving a tip on the nightstand or if it’s—”
His body-crushing hug cut off any other words before I could get them out.
“Sure it’s my job to keep you happy—I won’t lie to you about that,” he whispered in my ear, rocking back and forth. “But I do care about you, Jo. I don’t think I can call it love, and I don’t want to make promises to you that I can’t keep, but let’s just run with what we have now, ’kay?”
I closed my eyes tightly, wishing once again that I had turned left instead of right on that night, so long ago, and had avoided that punk with the brick.
“I need a beer.” Limox brushed past me through the bookstore front door, pushing through a few startled customers who were digging in the bargain bin. “Hope they’ve got something upstairs stronger than milk.”
May’s face brightened as soon as she spotted David standing behind the counter. She made her way around the barrier and walked into his comforting hug, burying her face in his thick brown cardigan. I heard something between a sigh and a sob break free from May and turned away, giving them as much privacy as I could.
“I’ll be upstairs as well.” Hunter smiled. “Let me see what I can scrounge up for something resembling brunch.” He walked by the nonfiction section, grabbing a hardcover on the Second World War on the way. “Ooh, John Keegan.”
“Jessie’s upstairs with our new friend,” David murmured. “We’ll be up soon.” He began to rub May’s back, whispering to her.
I nodded, leaving the two seniors alone. The steps seemed a lot longer than they had been only a few hours ago.
“Hey.” Jessie nodded towards me, turning slightly in the chair. His fingers never left the keyboard, still tapping out a regular rhythm. “He’s on the couch. Or she is. I’m not sure which.”
The white cat sprawling on the couch opened one lazy eye, the long tail twitching as the feline stared at me. I looked at Jessie who shrugged and turned back to the monitor.
“It showed up with a note attached that said for you to talk to her. Him. It.” He passed over the piece of paper. “Cat scratched at the front door, David let it in. Damned thing sheds like a mother, however.”
The note was written with a black marker, the ink bleeding through to the other side of the thin paper. There were only two sentences, but that was all it took.
Talk to the cat. Tell me who you are.
There had to be an easier way to make a living. And save the world.
Chapter Twelve
I sat beside the white feline who reacted to my presence by stretching its paws and toes then getting up and walking into my lap. It leaned forward, almost touching its petite nose to mine before settling down with a loud growly purr.
“Right.” I drew a deep breath. “I’m Jo Tanis, nicknamed Surf.”
The trill got louder.
“I’ve got more supers here, you might have heard of them. Mayday, she’s a woman, and Meltdown—he’s one of the villains. We really can’t be fussy right now. Oh, and a Guardian. But he’s cool; he’s on our side. He came with May.” The cat raised one velvet paw and began to wash her ear. “We just got back from one of the Agency’s bases, made sure they can’t pull our plugs. So that’s a good thing.” I smiled, feeling less foolish. “So no matter what we’ll be safe. You’ll be safe.”
A voice came up the steps. “Thank you.”
I got to my feet. The white cat sprang away and down the stairway into the bookstore.
The young man stopped at the top of the stairs. I recognized him from the group of customers in front of the store, the ones we had walked through on our return. He was scrawny for his size, standing barely five feet high in his black runners. The flaming red hair reminded me of a much younger Jessie. Dark circles under his eyes showed the lack of sleep over the past few days. He jammed his hands into a dark green track jacket, shivering as he climbed up onto the loft floor. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, if that.
“I’m Peter Boyos,” he said in a whisper. “They called me Ani-Man.”
Then his eyes rolled upwards, revealing full whites before he collapsed in a heap on the varnished wooden floor.
“Well, that’s a dramatic way to make an entrance.” Hunter walked out from around the corner where the kitchenette was located, holding a near-empty bag of bread in one hand.
“Quite.” I walked over to the young man. Kneeling, I put my fingers to his throat. “I think he’s okay, got a strong pulse. Probably just exhausted. Look at the poor kid.”
“I can believe it. Last time I checked Peter was supposed to be down in Harrisburg.” Hunter tossed the bag onto the counter and knelt beside me. Between the two of us we pulled the young man to his feet and effortlessly maneuvered him onto the couch.
“You know him?” I walked into the small bedroom, grabbing one of the thin blankets. Returning to the living room, I spread it across Peter.
“Sort of. He can communicate with animals,” Hunter replied. “I met him and his Guardian once at the Agency.”
May scurried up into the loft, her hands flying to her mouth as she spotted the unconscious super. “Oh, my.” With the unerring homing instinct of a mother hen, she swooped down to sit beside him and bumped Hunter away. “He looks exhausted.”
“I’m not surprised. He must have hustled to get up here so quickly.” The Guardian stood up. “And he’s alone.” The edges of his mouth tweaked into a frown. “That’s not good.”
“Another dead Guardian? Seems like a plus to me.” Limox poked his head out from the washroom.
“Shut up,” I snapped as May put a finger to her lips, hushing Limox. He took the hint, disappearing back into the washroom.
Peter opened his eyes slowly, focusing in on the elderly woman hovering over him. “Ah…”
“Hi, dearie.” May beamed at him. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit hungry,” he confessed, a small pink tongue flicking out to wet his lips. “I’ve been traveling for a bit.”
Her attention snapped to Hunter, who immediately ran for the kitchen and returned with a stack of sandwiches on a chipped plate. “Hope peanut butter and jelly works for you. We’re a bit low on supplies.” He caught my curious eye. “That’s what I was working on before he arrived.”
Peter picked up one triangle and began to nibble on it, moving up to sit more comfortably on the couch. “Thanks.” He looked at me. “Sorry for the entire espionage thing, but I was afraid of getting trapped.”
“Totally understandable.” I sat down opposite him. “Sorry we’ve never met before.”
“Well, you were a bit out of my range.” Peter grinned.
May patted his shoulder. “Let me get you some milk.” Without waiting for an answer she got up and went to the kitchen.
“Is she always like that?” He finished off the first triangle and reached for a second.
Jessie let out a laugh from where he sat, still at the computer. “Oh you’ll learn. Just don’t ever stop eating around her.”
I took one of the sandwiches myself, discovering a healthy appetite as I bit into it and was rewarded with a loud growl from my stom
ach. “How did you get across the border?”
“Snuck across on a truck. The pigs didn’t tell.” He wrinkled his nose. “Did you know they’re cleaner than most humans?”
“I can believe that.” I glanced towards the bathroom where Limox was doing his best to destroy the ancient plumbing. “What happened to your Guardian? Is he here with you?”
“Alan didn’t…” The young man closed his eyes for a second, and then opened them, staring at the hardwood floor. “We went to Philadelphia first, like the Agency wanted.” The pain in his face was evident. “I wanted to go to New York City. I told him that we had to go, that they could hold the line in Philly without us. They had enough Alphas, they didn’t need us.”
May sat back down beside Peter, handing him a tall cold glass of milk.
“They told us to stay in Philly.” Peter studied the milk.
My heart started to race, the pulse thudding in my ears. “What happened?”
Peter didn’t look up. “It took only a few minutes for the building to collapse around us. Alan was on top, trying to coordinate the attack while I grabbed an eagle-eye view to help out.” He dropped his head down, holding it in both hands. “The dogs dug me out. By the time they reached Alan, it was too late.”
May reached over and patted Peter’s knee. “The important thing is that you’re here and you’re safe. I’m sure he would have wanted you to be alive and well.”
His lower lip trembled, and it didn’t take a shrink to see he was breaking down. She pulled him closer, almost into her lap, rocking him back and forth. Peter began sobbing quietly, burying his face in her black sweater.
I had to give it to the old woman. She had just gotten back from her first flight, raided an Agency base and escaped death, not to mention dealing with Limox, and here she was giving comfort to a young man who had just arrived. I could only hope to be half as caring when I got to her age.
Hunter got up from the sofa and walked towards the monitors, gesturing me to do the same and leave the two alone. He bent in close to me as Jessie studiously stared at the computer screen.
“Just so you know—Alan Moyer was more than just a friend. Sort of like you and Mike.”
I stared at him blankly for a long minute before catching on. Mike and I were partners, lovers…
“Ah.” It was all I could think of at the moment. “Damn.” I shook my head, shooting a glance over at where the two supers sat on the couch. “This is getting worse and worse.”
“And we’ve got Pittsburgh in…” Hunter checked his watch. “About eighteen hours, give or take a few minutes. Any ideas on that?”
The throbbing behind my left eye began, the sharp pain jabbing right through my mind. “Why do you think I’ve got the answers?”
He tilted his head to one side with a sheepish smile. “Because you’re out to save the world, girl.”
I moaned, palming both hands over my eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” Instinctively I kept my voice down, not wanting to incur the wrath of May. “Well, the first thing we’ve got to do is secure some sort of transportation.” The migraine held off just long enough for me to force a coherent thought out. “I can sort of carry four people, maybe, but we’re not flying all the way to Pittsburgh and then getting into a brawl. I’ll be too exhausted. Not to mention I’m not sure if I can even do it.”
Jessie swiveled around. “Not meaning to eavesdrop…”
“And yet, you are,” Hunter shot back with a wide grin.
“But I may have a solution.” He tapped the screen. “One of my buddies is willing to fly you guys out of Toronto Island Airport in his small plane if you need it.”
“And what does he want for this service?” A note of sarcasm crept into my voice. “First YouTube rights?”
“Possibly.” Jessie grinned. “Believe it or not there’s a lot of people rooting for you.”
Hunter looked at me, a wistful smile on his face. “Time to step up. Again.”
“Again.” I rubbed my temples. “Tell him we’ll be at the airport in fifteen hours. Flight should take us no more than two, three hours at the most, and we’re not going to land.”
Jessie flinched as if I’d punched him in the shoulder. “You’re going to jump?”
“I can probably glide us down.” My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of my head. “There’s no way he’s going to get clearance to land, I’m sure of that. Tell him to make sure he’s got plenty of fuel or an alternative landing spot picked out. I am going to get some drugs for my head and then lie down for a few hours. Call me when there’s another crisis. Hunt, you’re in charge.”
Without waiting for a response I turned on one heel, leaving them both behind. I walked towards the sleeping space, past Peter still sniffling as he softly spoke to May who continued to stuff him with the remainder of the sandwiches. Limox poked his head out from the bathroom.
“Hey, any of you supes got righteous plumbing skills?”
I dry-swallowed a pair of pills from the bottle sitting on the night table by the bed and pulled the blankets up over my head.
In my drug-addled haze I heard Hunter’s raised voice telling Limox that maybe he needed more fiber in his diet and May’s static beginning to rise at the back of my consciousness. Jessie popped in with an offer to show Peter some new video games, and David announced he was leaving to pick up some fresh rye bread and deli meats, his soothing voice droning over the sometimes-panicky responses from my team.
“Well, you could do a lot worse than these guys.” Mike sat on the edge of the bed. He was wearing his favorite sweatshirt with a U.S. Marines insignia on it and the jeans that had rips in all the right places.
“You serious?” I waved my hand towards the cloudy edges of the room. “They’re all dangerous, and not only to the aliens. May coughs and our heads explode. Limox just loves to melt crap, and I don’t even want to start to think about what to do with Peter. And they’re not exactly what I’d toss up against an alien fleet.”
“Sure, they’re no Ace, no Tan and Black.” He rubbed his bald head. “But they’re dead. So you make do with what you’ve got. You did pretty well there at the end on the farm.”
“Luck. Blind luck.” I gathered up the teddy bear, hugging it tight.
He shook his head. “Nah, you just thought on your feet. You improvised. Which is surprising, considering we tried to beat that out of all of you. The Agency only wanted you to do what they said, what they wanted. You’re going off in ways they never imagined.”
“Glad to hear it,” I replied dryly. “So now what?”
“Now you get your ass to Pittsburgh and save that city. Then take the bastards down.” He got to his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’m mighty proud of you, Jo. You’re doing great.”
The tears began to run down my face. “I’m scared, Mike. I don’t know what to do half the time and I know they’ll figure out that I’m just faking it.”
He grinned, showing off a perfect set of ivory teeth. “Girl, I know you never faked it. And you’re not going to start now. Roll with your gut and you’ll be just fine.”
Mike began to fade away, his ghostly image merging with the wall as I reached out for him.
“Hey.” Hunter’s face came into focus. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, pushing the stuffed animal to one side.
“Sure.” Lifting one hand, he brushed away still-wet tears on my cheek. “But it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be just fine.”
I pulled him into a hug. Hunter relaxed, wrapping his arms around me. He rocked back and forth as I pressed my face into his shoulder.
“It’ll be fine. I promise,” he mumbled.
“Since when can you guarantee that?” I sniffled, fingers brushing against the cold metal band on his wrist.
“Trust me.” He flinched when I tugged on the wristband. “That won’t come off without a saw or a file or something like that.” Hunter’s grip tightened. “We were prisoners as much as you we
re, Jo.”
“That’s why we fight together.” I sighed, releasing my grip on his sweater. “Mike said never to fight alone, always as a team.”
He smiled. “I’ve got your back.” The words sent warmth through my soul, damping down the fear and apprehension.
“Of that, I have no doubt.” My stomach growled as we pulled apart. “What’s up?” I wiped my face with both hands, feeling the burn on my cheeks.
He nodded towards the main room. “Time for dinner. You can’t go into battle on an empty stomach.”
“That’s for sure.” An answering growl of approval from my stomach had me smiling despite myself. “Any news? Anyone else coming?”
He paused before speaking, his brow furrowed with concern. “There’s talk of some other supers showing up in Pittsburgh to fight as well, take on the aliens. Jessie’s gotten it mostly through the underground. No one’s coming out and saying anything. The Agency’s too disrupted between losing so many and the raid on the farm that I don’t think you’ll have to deal with them for now, if at all. But that means no one’s really running the show for this round.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose between two fingers, taking a deep breath that rattled my lungs. “An unstructured attack is almost more dangerous than not attacking at all.”
“Been reading your history books, now?” Hunter leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “It’s only a rumor so don’t get caught up in the idea. Personally, I think that any survivors who haven’t come here are pretty well long gone.”
“How could they do that? It’s our fault the aliens attacked.” I realized suddenly that I was leaning against Hunter, my head on his shoulder.
He shrugged. “Not everyone’s as conscientious as you are. Can’t blame them.” Hunter sighed. “I’m surprised you got as many as you did, Jo. We did you wrong and I don’t blame those supers who cut and ran. Hell, I’m surprised Limox came in. Of all the villains, I figured he’d be the last to consider standing his ground.”
“What if we don’t win?” The words burned my lips.
“Then we give a hell of a good show on the way out. And I told you, I’ve got your back.” He placed a soft kiss on my temple and got to his feet. “Now let’s go eat before Limox decides that he wants to totally destroy all the plumbing in this building.”
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