Swing Shift: Book 2

by William D. Arand

  “I honestly thought she’d have talked to you about it by now. I swear… that girl.”

  Gus shook his head, not surprised.

  Nor was he mad.

  “That’s fine. Tonight, that is.” Gus chuckled to himself as he walked toward the back of the building. He’d rather take this call outside in the garden. It wasn’t as good as the one at PID, but it wasn’t bad either.

  “Really? Good!” his mom said. “I’ve really been looking forward to seeing all your little wives. I’ve only met a few of them. Mel was telling me about the newer ones. Ah… Sera? Sera and Janelle, right?”

  “You’ve met them all, Mom,” Gus said. “I’ve only got three.”

  “That’s not how Mel tells it, sweetie,” his mom said. It sounded like she was in her kitchen, baking something. “You have seven, including her.

  “Let’s see. Patricia, Vanessa, Melody, Chloe, Indali, Janelle, and Sera. I think that’s all of them.”

  Walking outside, Gus pressed his free hand to his brow.

  “No. Just Trish, Ness, and Mel. Chloe is… she’s a murderer I have on loan. Indali is my partner. Janelle just works here, same as Serafina. That’s her name, by the way. Serafina. Not Sera.”

  “Serafina? Mel just calls her Sera. And I swore Mel said Janelle was contracted to her now. Blue, she said.” His mom sounded somewhat annoyed.

  “Uh… well, actually yeah. Janelle is Blue,” Gus said. He was starting to get the impression that Mel talked to his mom maybe more than he did.

  “See? There it is. She’s your wife too, then,” his mom said with a soft laugh. “And by the way, I’m so glad to hear you’re married to an Elf now. That really shows how far you’ve come, dear.”

  Gus opened his mouth and then just closed it. There really wasn’t any point arguing it with her. She had opinions on the situation and that was just how it would remain for her.

  Not to mention… Janelle is our Blue… which means she’ll be with us until we die.

  Essentially, we’re married, just not in a relationship.

  “Paris is bringing Stewart, of course,” his mom said.

  “That’s fine. I actually like the guy,” Gus said. “He knows… right?”

  “Knows? Oh! Yes. Yes, he does,” his mom said with a laugh. “Your father was being paranoid about it and stuck around in his head until he went to sleep the day she told him.”

  Gus’s father wasn’t just a telepath, but a frightening monster of one. He could do things Gus didn’t even want to consider as possible.

  I wonder if Dad or Kat is stronger.

  Whatever.

  Dinner should be fairly normal.

  Hopefully.

  ***

  Opening the door and expecting his mom, Gus was surprised to find Serafina there.

  “Hello Gus,” Serafina said, staring at him with her owl-like glowing eyes.

  “Uh… hey… Sera,” Gus said.

  “I brought the potato salad.” She held up a glass bowl. “But I forgot the container Mel told me to bring.”

  I… alright. I guess—

  “I brought extra. Don’t worry about it,” Chloe said from beyond the doorway.

  Gus peered out from inside to see Chloe, Indali, and Janelle. They all had various items with them in containers, bowls, and bags.

  I… should have known, I guess.

  “Yep.” Gus pulled the door open wide and stepped up next to the wall. “Just head on through toward the back. The kitchen is back there.”

  “I understand,” Serafina said, walking past him and into his home.

  Janelle and Indali followed quickly behind her.

  Chloe stepped inside and then took the door from Gus and closed it, smiling at him.

  “Gus? My ever-so-kind benefactor?” she asked.

  He already knew what she wanted. She’d somehow managed to talk him into feeding her every single day as of late. They typically used the “lactation room” HR had put in on the second floor for mothers. It never lasted more than five or ten minutes, thankfully. Usually while watching some type of show on her cell phone or his.

  “Really, Chloe?” Gus asked, giving her a flat stare.

  “I won’t take long,” she said, patting his shoulder and still smiling at him. The gaps where her fangs should be always drew his eye. “Come on. I didn’t bother you at work because I figured you’d feed me here.”

  That was true. She hadn’t bothered him at work at all today.

  “I’m always gentle, aren’t I? I never take too much,” she said. “I thought maybe you could just… take me to your room and we could settle in for a few minutes and pick up where we left off the other day. We were almost done with the episode.”

  “You have a nearly infinite amount of blood you can request because you’re working for the Fed,” Gus said with some frustration. “You don’t need mine.”

  “Your blood makes me feel better,” Chloe said. There was a strange undertone in her words.

  “Fine. Fine, okay? Fine. But later.” Gus held his hand out toward the kitchen. “My mom’s gonna be here any minute, and I want to greet her.”

  “Oh, ok. I’ll just go settle in for now then,” Chloe said as she started walking away from him.

  Before he could even think about doing anything else, the doorbell rang again.

  Hoping this was his family and no other surprises, Gus opened the door once again.

  Paris and Stewart were standing there.

  His sister looked almost identical to his mother; she just dressed and acted younger.

  Her long, dark-red hair was swept back, and her light-brown eyes looked amused. On her arm was Stewart.

  He looked exactly as Gus remembered him. Brown hair in a corporate haircut, soft blue eyes, and looking like he’d be more at home in a recliner than on his feet.

  “Paris, Stewart, glad you could make it,” Gus said.

  “Brother,” Paris said, walking in and hugging him tightly.

  Then she turned to the hallway and shouted down it.

  “Mel!? I brought the cooler. Do you want me to drag it around the back?”

  “Paris?! Yes, please!” Melody shouted from the kitchen.

  Paris turned and vanished back outside.

  “Hey Gus,” Stewart said, holding his hand out to him.

  Grinning, Gus took the man’s hand and shook it firmly. He liked Stewart. He treated Paris well and loved her genuinely. Especially if he knew about what they were and was still here.

  “Howdy Stewart, how goes the making-people-unconscious business?” Gus asked, gesturing inside.

  Stewart grinned at that and then entered the house.

  “You know, same as ever,” he said. “Hired Paris as the office’s administrative assistant. She comes with me on jobs.”

  “I bet she loves that. She always had a real taste for medical fear,” Gus said.

  “Right?” Stewart said with a laugh. “Seems like she can’t ever stop. Yesterday she—”

  There was yet another ring of the doorbell.

  “Sorry, one second,” Gus said, and he pulled the door open. His mother and father were there.

  Looking like a sister to Paris was his mother. Her hair was pulled back, and she was wearing her glasses.

  Gus’s father looked like a much older and heavier version of Gus himself.

  “Oooh! There you are,” Jennifer said, darting forward and hugging Gus tightly. “And Stewart! Perfect!”

  After hugging Gus, his mom moved on to hug Stewart tightly.

  Then, in a never-ending torrent of conversation, she led Stewart straight toward the back of the house without having to be directed.

  “Hey bud,” Gus’s dad Wilhelm said, stepping up to his son.

  “Hey dad,” Gus said with a grin. Then he hugged him.

  “Oof, easy there, kid. Not as young as I used to be,” Wilhelm said, patting Gus on the back. “Though I hear I’m a father-in-law several times over now.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Gus s
aid, letting go of his dad. “Was a bit of a surprise to me, too.”

  “Well, not to immediately change the subject, but I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” his dad said. “I didn’t want to do it over the phone. I get the impression there’s more than just the Fed listening in these days.”

  “Oh?” Gus asked, suddenly nervous.

  “Yeah,” his father said with a nod. “There are a lot of utility workers around the house lately. I didn’t say anything to your mom because… well, she’d probably kill them, and I’m tired of having to help her get rid of the bodies. Do you know how hard it is to actually dig up six feet of dirt?”

  Gus blinked slowly at that.

  “Suffice it to say, I read a few of their minds,” Wilhelm said. “They were hired specifically to watch the house. I don’t have a landline, so there was nothing to tap into, but I do know they’re monitoring my internet traffic.”

  There wasn’t a single thought floating through Gus’s mind right now.

  “Unfortunately, there’s more to it as well,” Wilhelm said with a grimace. “The one that came by the other day tried to offer me free solar. They wanted to put listening devices in the house while they worked. He was a Boogieman.”

  What?

  “Really?” Gus asked.

  “Yeah,” Wilhelm said, grimacing. “This is all because of what’s been happening and that you stopped them, isn’t it?”

  Fuck.

  “Yeah… probably. I’m sorry, Dad,” Gus said.

  “Don’t worry about it, bud,” Wilhelm said with a grin. “I’m proud of you and what you did. I’d tell you to do it again. But I did want to tell you about what’s going on at the house.”

  Gus nodded. “Thanks… Dad. I appreciate it. I’ll check into it.”

  “I figured you would,” Wilhelm said with a grin. “Now, how about you introduce me to all my daughters-in-law. I hear I have seven of them.”

  Rolling his eyes, Gus led his dad back into the kitchen.

  ***

  Melody pulled on Gus’s arm, pressing her breast into his bicep.

  “This is kinda nice, in a weird way,” she said as she held tightly to him.

  She was dressed casually, as he was, and they were walking along the sidewalk toward his parents’ house.

  They’d parked a bit away and were “out on a walk” to see what they could pick up.

  If there wasn’t anyone nearby, the plan was for Melody to see what she could with her contract magic. She had several limited spells and abilities that focused on nothing other than figuring things out.

  Which was her driving motivation in life.

  “We should just… quit when this is all over. Retire,” she said. “I bet we could live off my investments and your military money for a really long time.

  “Then just turn that around and reinvest it all into something else.”

  “Know what… I agree,” Gus said. He was tired of this. Tired of it all.

  Doubly so now that his actions had brought someone sniffing around his family.

  It was something he’d always known was a possibility, but he’d never thought it would actually happen.

  “Wait, really? Okay! I’ll start planning it out for us,” Melody said. “I’ll just call my dad up and get him working on it.”

  “Never met your dad,” Gus said.

  “Well… that’s not really true,” Melody said, her voice dipping substantially. “And maybe this isn’t the right time or place, but… well—”

  “Well?” Gus asked after Melody’s voice died away.

  “My dad’s the Curator,” Melody said with a shrug. “His real name’s Miles. Miles Campbell. My mother’s last name was Lark.”

  “Wait, what?” Gus asked, feeling shocked to his core. “He is?”

  “Uh-huh!” Melody patted his forearm. “He likes you. A lot.”

  “Okay,” Gus said. Once again, he felt like the world had been pulled out from under him, and very little was making sense.

  “It’s okay, really,” Melody said. “He likes you; everything is fine. He didn’t move that far away. He’s just a couple hours outside the city. He just didn’t want to be here for the ‘inevitable’ as he calls it. I think we can prevent it, though. And I’ll be giving him an ‘I told you so’ until the end of his days.”

  “Yeah. Yeah,” Gus said. Then he sighed. Up ahead, he could see his parents’ house. “Miles Campbell. So… like… C&C Marketing Campbell?” Gus asked.

  “Exactly!” Melody said. “But we’re not related to them. Dad says I’m the only family he has. ‘Not a single other living soul on the planet,’ as he says.”

  “Not… really what I wanted to be hearing right now,” Gus said. “Kinda distracted, and I don’t think that’s something you just drop in a casual conversation.”

  “Sure it is!” Melody said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Now if I told you I was pregnant, that’d be far worse to drop into a casual conversation.”

  “I… what?” Gus asked, now looking at Melody with absolute panic. “You’re pregnant?”

  “No, why? Do you want me to be?” Melody smiled at him. “I thought we should wait a few years, or until we get the full Rainbow assembled. That way it can go much easier.”

  Closing his eyes, gritting his teeth, and not responding, Gus turned his face forward again. He really didn’t want to look at Melody right now.

  There were times when she aggravated him to the point that he wanted to smash his own head in a door until he couldn’t think anymore.

  “Awww, honey, I’m sorry. I was only teasing you a bit,” she said. “Daddy really does like you, I’m not pregnant, and everything is great.”

  Gus shook his head. He was still annoyed.

  “Don’t be that way,” Melody said with a laugh. “I’ll have Trish make it up to you for me. She owes me a favor or two anyways.”

  That strange and almost insane-sounding response got Gus to open his eyes and look at Melody.

  “Really,” she said, smiling at him. “Promise.”

  “Do you have any idea how cr—”

  Gus froze in mid-sentence, staring at the lamp post that wasn’t far away.

  There, floating in midair, was a strange blue smoke. It hovered there and only moved a small amount.

  “Goodness,” Melody said. “I’ll have to start buying stock in Trish so I can get my way out of anything stupid. I mean, I knew you enjoyed her from what happened last night, but wow.”

  “I can see something. It looks like a blue smo—oh. Oh no,” Gus said, realizing what it was he was looking at. “I can see what looks like a blue smoke. It’s the same color as that stone Sam gave me.”

  Melody turned her head and looked toward the spot where Gus was looking. Which was just beyond her shoulder.

  “Hm. I think I’d rather prefer the idea of you being that enamored with our lovely Dryad,” Melody said. Pulling on Gus’s arm, she guided him over to the spot where the smoke was.

  Walking straight into it, Melody reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She made a show of looking at the screen, all while he could see her Blue, Green, and Orange contracts glowing ever so faintly.

  “I can’t sense it,” she said after ten seconds of standing there. “Whatever it is you see, it’s not something I can pick up.”

  “Sam said planar magic, right?” Gus asked. “Is that something you’d be able to sense?”

  “No. No it isn’t. Planar magic is restricted to a very small subset of people or things,” Melody said. “Sam is one such person. But I know for a fact this isn’t something he’d be working on anyone with. His job is… very different.”

  “I guess then our worst fear is correct,” Gus said. “The same person who opened the portal that took Janelle away is now lurking around outside my parents’ house.”

  “Yes, that’s… that’s what I’d say is going on,” Melody said. “Can you follow it?”

  “Yeah. It’s a pretty obvious trail. The problem is I thin
k they got in a car,” Gus said. He’d already followed the trail with his eyes. It seemed to originate in the street, came to this lamp post, and went back to the street. Then it went right down the middle of the street leading away from his parents’ house.

  “Well, I’ll drive, and you can be my loyal bloodhound,” Melody said. “Then when we get home tonight after taking care of this problem, I’ll have Trish make up for me, and everything will be right.”

  Gus sincerely hoped that was the case. He really didn’t like the fact that someone had been lurking around his parents’ place.

  Especially someone who could open portals to other parts of the planet.

  Chapter 29 - Hunting We Will Go

  Driving along, Gus couldn’t help but remember when they’d had Trish do something very similar.

  Though it was a little different having someone as good looking as Trish hanging halfway out the window, compared to Gus staring out the front windshield like a psycho. A psycho glaring at the car in front of them.

  Given that a number of cars had gotten out of their way, he imagined people had noticed.

  “Left up ahead, I think,” Gus said.

  “Left it is, my beloved Indigo,” Melody said.

  She’d been enjoying this adventure far too much.

  It’s not that surprising. Is it? She hates the paperwork and normal, everyday police activities. She just likes the action bits.

  Making the turn, Gus was surprised by the trail. It turned almost immediately into a parking lot they drove by.

  “Uh, fuck, ah… We need to make a U-turn. They went in that parking lot,” Gus said. “We can just—eeeeeuuhhh!”

  Melody gassed the car, flung the wheel to the left, and fishtailed them hard right through the middle of the road. Coming back into a lane going the other way now, Melody got the car back under control.

  Gus groaned and leaned back in his chair.

  “Sorry, sorry, I had to. I wish we could get in another high-speed chase; that was really fun,” Melody said. “And before you worry about me not being happy, I’m very happy. I have my Indigo, my Red, my Yellow, and even my Blue. I’ve already talked Chloe into being my Green, and Indali my Orange.