Bat and the jack, p.11
Bat and the Jack, page 11
“It would be nice if they were, though,” I comment.
“Jessie is on the case,” T-Bone announces. “She’ll stay at FUCN’A to not arouse any suspicion, but she’s looking into Bannon and VH. She’ll call as soon as there’s news. She’ll also look into Val Downer and FUCN’A’s Cryptozoian Council rep, Erhart Knope, to see if there are any links between them and VH.”
“And what can we do right now?” I ask. “I could bring Jack to another location. Someplace safe.”
“Not a chance,” Mila roars. “He stays right here where we can keep an eye on him. If this goes bad, I’d rather T be around to help you out. Last time, they came at you with tranquilizers. Your whole pumpkin-scarecrow thing scared them once, but now that they know what you can do, you’ve lost the element of surprise. They’ll come with more effective weapons next time, and probably with more people.”
“She’s right,” T-Bone agreed. “You’re to stay here. I’ve got a small arsenal of weapons in the basement, anyway.”
“But we can hardly shift to defend ourselves in the heart of suburbia.”
“Why not? T shifted last Halloween. We had a whole demonic farm theme going.”
“Hardly the same thing,” I point out to my eccentric cousin.
“We really have to… wait here until something happens?” Jack isn’t too pleased with this plan.
“That’s exactly right,” T says. “Until we have more intel from Jessie, there is nothing we can do. We can’t pick a fight with an enemy we don’t know.”
“I feel useless,” Jack grumbles. “And a right ass for bringing this to your door.”
“Stop,” Mila grunts as she tries to stand up. “I need something to eat. I’m ravenous. Let’s take this meeting to the kitchen. Might as well graze and talk while we wait for our next step.”
T-Bone and Mila retreat to the kitchen, but I hang back in the living room with Jack. “We can’t do anything more right now than wait until we have more information. I know you don’t like this, but there’s nothing we can do. You’re still an important witness in all of this. As an almost FUC agent, my job is to keep you safe and out of harm’s way. It’s the same for T-Bone and Mila.”
“I don’t like that I caused more trouble instead of making the world better.”
“Well, when all of this is resolved, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make amends if that’s how you feel.”
Jack nods, but his eyes have lost their spark.
He feels really bad. It’s written all over his face.
I can only hope that he doesn’t use this as an excuse to continue his reclusive ways.
I can’t exactly date a man who won’t leave his forest.
20
Norbert
When I’m in the lab, waiting to see how one experiment or another works out, I keep busy. I’ve typically got a few things going on all at once to make sure that my time doesn’t lapse into quiet and motionless moments.
Being a subsistence farmer on top of that is also helpful.
If I don’t take care of my crops, I don’t eat.
There’s a mound of food on the kitchen table in front of me, so that’s that need taken care of. There really is nothing for me to do but sit here and speculate.
And think.
Lots and lots of thinking.
I’m about ready to rip my hair out at the roots. Vera’s hand hasn’t left my thigh since we sat down thirty minutes ago. She can feel my impatience and the urgency burning a hole through my sanity. She gives me a whole bouquet of encouraging nudges and smiles.
Mila hovers her laptop on her baby bump as she scrolls through gossip columns and social media feeds, looking for any mention of Lisbeth Bannon. Apparently, you can’t be the CEO of a large corporation without making some headlines every now and again. Mila and T-Bone aren’t too concerned about having their research ping any VH security alerts because of the VPN, firewalls, and all of this other security stuff Jessie, the computer pro, set them up with.
Whoever this Jessie woman is, I need to get her help to secure the cabin, apparently.
If I can ever go back.
“Lisbeth Bannon dated Jefferson Cabot?” Mila scrunches up her face and turns the device to show us a picture of Bannon with one of Hollywood’s heartthrobs. The guy is in everything, and it’s not because he’s got talent. “Isn’t he a groundhog shifter? Rich, connected daddy?” That’s why he’s in everything.
“He is,” Vera answers. “He’s basically shifter royalty. His dad is a big deal in the finance world. I remember reading an article about it. Daddy Dearest was really pissed his son didn’t want to follow in his footsteps and went into acting instead.”
“So we have a rich and famous actor with a tie to the finance world who just happens to be a shifter.” I sigh and run my hands back through my hair, hoping to renew blood flow and get a new idea or lead from thin air.
“That can’t be a coincidence.” Mila continues to scroll. “What if Bannon is out there, dating all these dudes she thinks can help her cause?”
“Mila,” T warns before shooting me an apologetic glance.
“What?” She shrugs. “Sorry, that was hurtful, Jack.”
“No need to apologize. You’re not wrong. She used me. Stands to reason she would do the same thing to another dude out there.”
“Oh!” Mila gasps. “Jessie is trying to video chat. Hey, lady. Did you already find something?”
Jessie clicks her tongue. “Something? Try things. Lots and lots of things.”
“Gather round, kids.” Mila lays the computer on the table where we can all see Jessie’s face on the screen. We do another quick round of introductions, but it’s pretty clear that Jessie is burning to tell us something.
“You lot need to be super careful. I did some digging into Vitality Holdings and lemme tell you. None of it is good. From what I can tell using purely legal ways”—the flush on her cheeks suggests otherwise—“there’s a bunch of rich and powerful shifters out there who don’t feel like our shifter nature is enough. They want immortality.”
“We know this.” Mila snaps her fingers. “If anyone tells me I’m being impatient, I’ll ask you to refer back to the Hairy Coo growing inside me who is two days away from his or her due date.”
“Right.” Jessie grins. “I’ll try not to take it personally. Now, these bad shifter types are funding VH. From what I was able to find in such a short amount of time is that Vitality is nothing but a big front. Yep. You heard me right. One of the largest beauty companies in the world is actually this massive conspiracy to take over the world.”
“No one is surprised by this.” Vera rolls her eyes. “I’m addicted to my cotton candy lip gloss, but I hate that I feel the need to cover my whole face in concealer to hide a single zit.”
“Preach,” Mila quips. “D’you know people are already asking me how I plan to bounce back and get my pre-baby body? Fucking ridiculous. It’ll be what it’ll be. I grew a human. What did those fuckers do today?”
“My hero,” T-Bone says before kissing the top of her head. He means it, too.
There isn’t one ounce of sarcasm in his voice. The man is completely in awe of his partner. Mila and T remind me of my parents. Both strong in their own right and in their own beliefs but so perfectly accepting of the other’s strengths. It’s something to see.
I long for that.
I never really let myself believe I wanted it, but now that I’m surrounded by people and a couple very much in love, I’ve realized something.
The reason why I always need to be busy at the cabin is that I’m lonely.
Deeply, profoundly lonely.
If I keep working and occupy every single waking hour with one dire task or another, then the solitude can’t get to me. I’m above it somehow.
How will I be able to go back to it now that I’ve discovered the meaning behind it?
Do I even want to go back to it?
If I survive this whole ordeal, what do I want my life to look like? Alone in a cabin off in the wilderness?
No. That’s not what I want anymore.
I’d like a house not too different from this one—okay, maybe a lot different where aesthetics are concerned. Maybe a partner to share my life with…
Perhaps a woman with a hazel gaze and pretty brown hair that always smells like cotton candy and happiness.
“Are you with us, Jack?” Mila pulls me out of my tailspin.
Every pair of eyes is on me, including Jessie’s. “Sorry, what? Did I miss something?”
“We need to know where you met Lisbeth,” Vera repeats. “Where you worked when you weren’t in your lab. Where she lived. Her usual haunts. It’ll give us a clue as to who she’s working for.”
“Can’t you track down the off-shore accounts?” I aim my question to Jessie.
She laughs like it’s the most hilarious thing in the world. “Oh, sure. Because they’re not smart enough to hide behind more companies with more fronts than a Dungeons and Dragons’ dice. It would take me a long time to pull at that thread. Time we might not have if they’re after you.”
“And let’s be real,” T cuts in. “If they only wanted to kidnap you or silence you before they knew what you could do? That’ll be nothing compared to their excitement when they realize you’ve turned yourself into an invulnerable pumpkin.”
“I’m not even going to ask,” Jessie quips from the monitor. “On paper, VH is only the larger corporation behind all of Vitality’s products and smaller companies. But no one who is on the up and up has this long of a trail.”
“What’s our next step then?” Vera wonders. “Why does it feel like we’ll have to bring Director Cooper in for this?”
“Because we have to,” Mila answers. “Not only is she our boss but if Erhart Knope and the Cryptozoian Council have gone rogue or have a mole, she needs to know.”
“There isn’t a chance in hell Erhart Knope is a bad guy. He’s is more straight edge than T.” Jessie quickly adds, “Sorry, T.”
“You’re not wrong.” He shrugs.
“Are you really telling me that we have to tell our boss that I fucked up my first non-mission? Leaving the cabin? Stealing a car?” Vera puts her hand over her mouth. “I think I’m gonna pass out from the disappointed look on her face and she’s not even here yet.”
“Not gonna lie. Alyce will be hella pissed at you. But you also made some very good calls. Don’t freak out just yet. Let’s see where this all leads, okay? You’ll be fine, Vera. And we’re right here with you.”
“See?” T-Bone says. “My wife is gonna be the best damn mom.”
Mila clicks her tongue, but she’s also pleased. “Easy, beefcake.” She blows him a kiss before passing the landline over to Vera. “It’s secure. Promise. Call Alyce.”
Vera nods and heaves out a breath before calling her boss to admit she might very well have fucked up her career as an agent before it even got started.
21
Vera
Director Alyce Cooper is not the kind of woman you want to piss off.
She is a—the—boss for a reason.
I also admire her. A lot.
Letting her down after what happened at the graduation is a little too much for me. As soon as I end the call—after Director Cooper coolly told me she was on her way and that we would discuss it in person—I have to rush to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face and neck.
Rule breaking isn’t something I’m exactly used to. Disappointing figures of authority I admire? That’s a big bucket of mental flagellation.
The gentle sound of knocking pulls me away from my racing thoughts.
“V, it’s Jack. Wanna talk?”
I slowly open the door and lean against the frame. Jack mimics my position, his head hovering inches over mine. His lips graze my temple while his hands grip my hips.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but I can tell you’re freaking out.”
“I broke so many rules.”
“Sometimes, to do the right thing, you gotta do a couple bad things. From where I’m standing, you did nothing wrong. You kept me alive and brought me to a safe place.”
“But then there’s the other thing…”
“I definitely don’t think that was wrong. In fact, I think that was really good. Fantastic, even. I’m looking forward to more of that.” He smiles at me. “Are there really rules that prevent relationships between agent and charge?”
“I assume there have to be. It’s a weird power dynamic, isn’t it?”
“I gladly relinquish all of my power to you, oh my batty queen.” He winks and pulls me into his arms for a hug so warm, so powerful, that even my soul feels it.
“All your power, huh?” I tease before inhaling his sweet woodsy scent. It’s as comforting as it’s emboldening.
“I actually have a lot of faith that this will all work out for the best.”
“Oh, really? How’s that?”
“Just a feeling I have, but I can’t see Director Cooper being mad that you did the best you could in an impossible situation. And if she is mad? We’ll deal with whatever comes. Together.”
“Together,” I repeat, as if the word were foreign to me. It’s not, but the idea of Jack and me as a unit, a team, for an extended time is a potent thought. Almost as much as the man himself.
Holding hands—because Mila will hardly rat me out to our boss—we make our way to the living room. My cousin is in the large armchair, feet up, eyes closed, and hands rubbing her belly. She peeks at us and grins.
“So that’s how it is. I told T something was going between you two. Tell me everything.”
“Mila, leave them be. Rest, Spooky. You need to rest.”
“I know, I know. Apparently, I’m supposed to stock up on sleep before the baby is born. As if it works that way. Exhausted? No, thanks. I’m good. I had a wee nap before pushing a twenty-pound coo out my—” She clicks her tongue. “I’m a tad scared about giving birth.”
“You don’t say,” I tease. “You’re literally the strongest, most stubborn woman I know. You’ll be fine.”
“I second that sentiment,” T-Bone cuts in.
“Besides, you know I’ll desperately want some baby cuddles. You two can nap during that time.” I mean it, too. I hope Mila knows that. It’s not like she has a doting mother around to help her with her fears about motherhood.
Aunt Sveta is in prison for hundreds of years because she killed over three hundred people. That doesn’t exactly scream, Let’s go spend some time with Granny.
The energy in the house is tense as we wait for Director Cooper, but there is every chance that it’s only my own panic coloring my perception.
When the doorbell rings—interrupting a very heated debate between T-Bone and Jack about the right kind of grazing grass for cattle—I jump to my feet and rush for the door.
“Director Cooper, thanks so much for coming,” I say as I let her into the house.
She walks in with all of the gravitas that is attached to her title. I want to duck tail and run like a kid that’s thrown a baseball through the window. I’m not a child, though. I’m a grown woman who has to face the consequences of her actions.
“You gonna tell me what the hell is going on?” she demands, crossing her arms.
“Well…” I stumble over my tongue.
“Out with it, Vera.” She snaps her fingers at me before going toward the living room. She greets the others with a curt head nod, still waiting for me to speak.
“See…” I begin as I nervously shuffle from one foot to the other. “Everything was going fine until three intruders attacked us.” I go into detail, telling my boss everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Only not everything. I don’t tell her anything about Jack and me. Not yet. Let’s take things one at a time.
Mila and T-Bone jump in, filling in the director with Jessie’s findings. She doesn’t seem overly concerned that we went to the tech guru before going to the boss. In fact, she leans back in her seat and listens to the whole sordid tale as if she were watching her favorite soaps. It’s not exactly too far off the mark.
Stranger than fiction and all that.
She doesn’t even bat an eye when we tell her about Jack and his pumpkin situation.
“You should hear some of the stuff that’s out there in the world. I’m pretty sure nothing can faze me anymore. I think my last shock came when this one got married.” She hooks a thumb toward Mila, but there’s humor in her tone. She’s joking with her employee.
This gives me hope that she won’t be too pissed off that I slept with a charge. After all, T and Mila met on a case. Sure, they were both agents, but Director Alyce Cooper has to know that sometimes life just happens.
Once all is said and done, Jack jumps in. “Is it possible that Val Downer is a mole? What about Erhart Knope? If it’s not FUC, then it has to be one of them,” Jack insists. “There’s a chance it could be Lisbeth, but she never knew where I lived.”
“And you didn’t think it was weird that the woman you were screwing didn’t care where you lived?” Director Cooper pulls no punches, but I don’t really want to hear his response.
By the flushed color of his cheeks, Jack doesn’t want to reply. “I made it clear that I like my privacy and that I didn’t have a conventional address. She didn’t question it, and I like my solitude.”
“That’s weird, but it’s your life.” Director Cooper shrugs. “Let’s put Lisbeth aside for a moment. There isn’t a chance in hell that Erhart Knope is crooked. He’s way too sanctimonious for that. But if there is a chance one of his people is more bent than a stop sign in a hurricane, I want to be the one to tell him.”
“They have a contentious relationship,” Mila explains.
“That hyena shifter loves to lord it over me that he’s the rep for the Cryptozoian Council. Like he’s better than me. My superior. Pfft. I am the Director of the FUCN’A, for fuck’s sake. All new agents pass through my doors. That means something.” She purses her lips. “Did Jessie find anything about this Val Downer? Koala shifter, isn’t she?”
