Cul de sac, p.8
Cul-De-Sac, page 8
“I’m glad I didn’t have to do that. Less paperwork.” His voice was low, and nearly mumbled. Several people nodded, including several of the hard looking military men and women. Laura waved at the man.
“Get him loaded. I want three teams. Send the decoys back on Gamma and Beta. The real three hit Epsilon. We don’t know who might be on recovery for this one, so head on a swivel, everyone. I need to get the debrief on this. Anderson, you’re with me.”
That was a woman, who wasn’t pretty at all, but made up for it by being covered with a nice set of scales. Those were invisible until she closed in and Jacob could see that she wasn’t black at all, just different. Her features were Caucasian. At least it looked like that to him. As soon as the prisoner was out of the room, Laura hugged him.
Then, for some reason, Anderson did as well. He did it back, since, clearly, they were friends, now. That or the scaled woman hugged everyone. Both worked, for him.
Laura nodded at the closeness but spoke to Faraday.
“Now, why is Jacob here? Shouldn’t you be at home?”
Speaking was suddenly hard, even if Anderson let go and was standing back, at parade rest, watching everyone in the room as if she expected to have to throw down with them. All except for him. That just made sense, of course. Before he could say more than a single stalling word, Daniel spoke up.
“Jake was checking the perimeter, for landscaping reasons. Julio on the gate, as a joke, gave him a radio, so he could call in if anything weird happened. He did, when he noticed an invisible man going over the back wall, by lavender one. Faraday and I responded, and caught him, but he escaped and made it over the wall. He threw Faraday a good fifteen feet and broke away from me pretty easily. His suit was damaged in the scuffle, high-tech stuff, so when he went over the wall, he had to fight Jacob here. The suspect did not win.”
Faraday nodded.
“Yeah. Our man took his back and choked him out. It was pretty bad-ass, I have to admit.”
Jake snorted then and nodded. It was more important that he not seem like a moron to Laura than it was to seem tough, in the moment.
“It was hilarious. I jumped on his back and did lock off a choke and wrapped my legs around his waist. Like a baby monkey. Then he ran off, not even noticing me. Eventually he fell over, but I was figuring I lived with him by that point. He didn’t even bother trying to pull me off. It was rude of him, really. I mean, way to make me feel noticed, right?”
Daniel laughed, gently.
“It worked. Then he helped us secure him and hold him for the others.”
Calley nodded.
“Then he got back here and did three tests and two baseline courses, instead of wasting time being bored or like this is a big deal. We should send you home with another one of those?”
He nodded.
“Let’s do that? These are easy, so far. I heard that there are harder ones, I can take, after I do the first bit?”
Calley nodded.
“Lots of those, really. Hundreds. Still, you have to do the easy ones first. Now, I think you can get out of here? Do you need us to take you home?” She looked directly at him, not Laura.
For the obvious reason that it was nearly curfew. For him, anyway.
His grandmother shook her head.
“I brought my car and shouldn’t need to leave tonight. Anderson is here for the debrief, for that reason. Unless you need Jacob to stay?”
She looked around the room, but only Faraday grinned at it.
“Not today. Still, that was good work. Get some sleep.”
Having that order, he was taken back home, by Laura. Interestingly, instead of yelling at him for being a moron, or even asking what he was thinking, or had been, she waited until they got home, seeming subdued.
Then, once they were inside, she turned to him.
“That... Anderson is a bit strange. A good person, but she’s been changed, so it’s hard for her to understand normal social boundaries, all the time. I hope that wasn’t off putting for you?”
He froze for a moment.
“That? No. I figured she was just claiming me. You know, as being on her team? It was about right, really. That was... I wasn’t scared. Not until later, after I realized that I’d tried to jump a person who probably would have killed me, if he’d realized I was there.”
That wasn’t really true, but it sounded right. So far, he hadn’t really felt that yet. It would happen, later, no doubt. He wasn’t one of those people who didn’t feel fear. He had, before the man had come back. Then, weirdly, when that part had taken place, he’d just felt kind of annoyed. No doubt he’d wet himself, when he dreamed about it later.
It had happened, a few times, in jail. That had been a pain but wasn’t nearly as uncommon as he would have thought. At least they understood how to deal with it. With a lot of shaming and sponges. They hadn’t given him any bedding, after all and the gray mattress had been covered with thick plastic.
Laura looked at him, seeming bland.
“It worked. That can be hard to deal with. You aren’t wrong, but part of your brain told you to fight, regardless of what might happen. The issue is that, for the time being you should probably avoid that and run, only here you were winning a fight against someone you probably shouldn’t have been able to.”
“Yep. Only, I’m not going to make a habit of it. So, chicken? It’s a bit late.”
“We still need to eat. Let me change, real quick? Pre-heat the oven to three-fifty.”
He did that, and got a roasting pan with a lid out, guessing that would be needed. Then, since it worked for roasts, he pulled the chicken and selected out some potatoes. Those he decided to boil, since he knew how to do that, it having been his job for Thanksgiving, for years. By the time Laura got back, he had the chicken washed and cleaned out, rubbed with salt and spices, and water going for the potatoes.
That wasn’t hot enough yet, so he started to cut the spuds up, leaving the skins, since he was feeling lazy. Plus, they were the golden kind, which meant that it wasn’t as obvious in a mashed dish, when it was finished.
Laura looked at what he was doing, then pointed at the bird.
“You washed that first?”
“Yep. There are instructions on the package. We’re going to be cooking this for a while. Really, I probably shouldn’t start the potatoes yet. Not if we want them hot, when the bird is done.”
That got a nod, and the woman moved to the fridge, got a bottle of water and twisted the top off, then moved to sit on the far side of the bar, facing him, but not engaging with the meal prep.
After a while, sipping the whole time, she bobbed her head.
“So... You met my team. Part of them. What did you think?”
For a few moments, Jacob wondered what the woman wanted from him. Her team had come in, for about five minutes, gotten some purposefully cryptic orders that seemed to be about taking a prisoner somewhere while confusing the issue for any watchers, and then left. Except for Anderson, who had hugged him. She had scales and apparently social boundary issues, but other than that, he didn’t think much of anything of them at all.
“They seemed fit. Polite, in a slightly gruff way? Um... They all smelled pleasant?” That got him to recall that he needed to go and shower, himself. Probably wash his clothing again. Still, he tried to look attentive, instead of as if pointing out that he understood that they were a team of super soldiers.
Which seemed to be what Laura was angling for.
“I meant, how did they seem to you? Normal, or...”
Jake rolled his eyes, actually feeling petulant and like throwing a fit was in order.
“Sure? I mean, a military team, which isn’t exactly what I’m used to seeing all the time. What do you want me to say here? I don’t know how classified any of this is, so... It didn’t happen? You had some coworkers over?”
His step-grandmother made a soft sound then.
“That works, for now. You might be given a better cover story than that. Officially, if anyone asks you about them, they’re just regular Army. Fit, like you said. Nothing more than that. As for what took place today, you saw a man climbing the wall and called it in. Julio the guard was playing a prank, so you had a radio with you. That’s all it was. You saw them catch a guy, who seemed to be there to steal.”
Jacob snorted then.
“Um, you mean the truth? That’s pretty much exactly what happened.” Sure, with some obvious powers being used. Faraday was kind of cool, obviously, and the camo suit was interesting. He could ignore having seen either of those things, if it was needed. “Besides, not to be ignorant, but... Really who’s going to ask me anything?”
That got a shrug.
“If we’re going to be honest about it, probably people who fit in here. Guests, residents or guards. If anyone does that kind of thing, it’s probably a trick. A reporter, trying to uncover this place, or even a federal agent, seeing what they can get out of you, for a security clearance. That...” She looked away, then waved at the chicken. “Cover that first? It will be dry, otherwise.”
Doing that took less than a minute. The roasting pot had a nice lid. When he was done, she sipped her water again. As if to buy time.
“I know that sounds different. A kid having a security clearance. It happens. Family members of important people and things like that. It doesn’t mean much. Just that people will be watching you, to make sure you don’t talk about things you shouldn’t. You might be fed information, or misinformation, too. That... It’s difficult, because if you hear something real, you need to report it. If it’s fake, then failing to report might be acceptable, but also might be a red flag. In general, if you know something is classified, you don’t know anything about it. Even under torture. Even things that seem trivial. Knowing how many people were in the chow hall can tell the enemy troop strength. That someone seemed bitchy for no reason could give them a line on who to exploit or try to turn. Even telling them when the order for the PX is coming in can give them a time to plan an attack, using that to sneak in or as cover.”
The chicken was placed in the oven, he set the timer, and took the hot water in the pot, off the burner. He covered it, so it would be warm, when he started again. The potatoes needed to be cut up still, but that would take about two minutes.
“I should go and shower, real quick. I’m not dodging the idea. I think I get it? I just honestly don’t know anything. I can’t think of any reason I would.” Except that it was obvious that he had eyes, but there was a difference between using them and telling everyone about what he thought he saw.
Which Laura seemed to pick up on.
“Good idea. You have bits of grass all over you.”
He jogged to get that done, noticing that he probably needed a haircut, soon. It wasn’t long, but if another fight started, he didn’t want his lustrous locks to be a tempting handhold. Not that his dirt brown hair was that shiny. His green eyes were bright and kind of cool, but his hair was boring to a level that probably made him nearly invisible. He was a little pink, even though he’d been using sunscreen for the last days.
It didn’t take a long time for him to finish up, though he did shave, making it take longer. He didn’t have to do that all the time, but had the gear for it, and was growing enough peach fuzz to be kind of ugly. Not that he was good looking when he looked in the mirror. That was more of an average thing, if he was going to be honest. He looked young, and too thin but not that soft, he realized. Not like the people he’d been around in the last days, but his face had definition, with a decent jawline and good cheekbones. So the situation wasn’t too bad.
The pimples didn’t help, but there weren’t too many of them. Four, mainly on his forehead. On the left-hand side, for some reason. Sighing, he finished dressing and cleaning up, then headed back down the stairs.
To find that there was someone else there. Not Jim, either. In fact, it wasn’t really a person. Instead, it seemed to be a black puddle in space, standing in the doorway, which was wide open, with Laura talking to it.
“Let me ask? Jacob!” She turned and waved. “There he is. Jake? Madam Ink was wondering if you’d be available to see to her lawn in the morning? She has visitors coming in a few days, from her world and wants to make a good impression. In-laws?”
The floating pool in the air spoke then, sounding rather refined and a bit like she belonged in an old movie.
“That’s right. They’re... How would you say it? Like you? Without a nimbus. We call them daylighters, back home. Very interesting individuals. My husband’s people. I hate to push in and jump the line, but I just found out, earlier this evening that they intended to come. Uninvited, but that’s the way of it with family.”
He nodded, since it was probably very possible.
“Which house? I’ll do it in the morning, if that works for you? In case they show up early. I’d do it now, but they don’t let me out at night. Something about protecting the peace and quiet for everyone else? I don’t see it myself, but those are the rules.”
There was bell like laughter at his lame joke.
“It’s rather that you might register as food for some of the people here, I think? That or available for less savory things than snacking. Not that I didn’t hear that you handled a minor situation for us earlier? Your efforts are appreciated. I’m over in lavender. Lavender two, in fact. The work can be done at any time. We don’t sleep. Not in this reality.”
Then, still seeming like a floating black cloud, the voice turned and moved away. Quickly, but not as if she was fleeing into the night.
When the door was closed, Laura tightened her mouth.
“That was a warning. Oh, she wants the lawn mowed, but it wasn’t why she really came. She came to let us know that someone is talking about you. Possibly someone who shouldn’t know who you are at all.”
Jake nodded at her, then spoke, his voice calm. The words were freaking him out, of course, but acting that way was almost always a bad plan.
“Possibly. I need to get to bed. Apparently, I need to see to some things in the morning?” He meant mowing a lawn, but Laura nodded, as if there were other plans in the offing.
“That might be a good idea. Regardless, be careful. There are people around here who you definitely don’t want to be thinking of you in the wrong way.”
That, of course, was a thing that he understood rather firmly.
Even if he did have to stay up and make the food, first.
Chapter six
Fighting himself awake early, Jacob still found Laura already gone when he woke up the next day. Instead of cooking real food, he settled for a package of instant oatmeal, that was hiding at the back of a cupboard, next to a box of Cream of Wheat. A thing that he couldn’t recall ever having had, himself.
The oats were plain, and bland, but that as fine enough, he decided. After all, he needed to see to some things that day. Getting an early start might be more important than having a filling meal, first thing. He still had to wash and dry his clothing, having failed to do that the night before. Given that he was up with the sun, at four something in the morning, that was probably fine. He still couldn’t start mowing lawns until about ten or so.
Unless it was Sunday. He didn’t think it was, but was kind of lost, as far as what day of the week it might be. Looking around, nothing inside the lower level of the house told him about that at all. So, waiting for the wash cycle, then his clothing to dry, he cleaned. Vacuuming, and scrubbing the bathrooms, and hitting the kitchen, which, while clean after a fashion, still needed the floor to be swept and then scrubbed.
“When did I become this boring? Or hard working?” It wasn’t normal at all. He used to be fairly normal, he thought.
He liked sports and sucked at playing them, for instance. Jake had taken two years of karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and been sort of average at both. Reading was kind of common in his life, and he liked movies. Not to a level that he was a real fanboy, but he’d seen about half of the new things coming out, over the last five years or so.
Then, his life had just shifted. Which, he guessed, made sense.
Standing in the living room, vacuum hose attachment in hand, so he could go over the drapes, Jake just stopped. Grief hit him like a freaking wall, as he thought about his parents. Tears came as well, even as he started working again. It was miserable, but for some reason he felt like he had to keep moving. Also like he needed to find out what was really going on.
Tears fell, leaving drip marks on his sleeping t-shirt. That was dark blue, but it showed the droplets of water from his eyes rather nicely. Since changing was in order anyway, he forced himself to keep going, wiping at his cheeks like a little kid. Or a very sweaty man. It wasn’t warm in the room, since they had central air.
“Get it the fuck together, Jake.” This was muttered to himself, but even if there had been someone else in the room, they wouldn’t have heard it over the machine he was using. Even Wallace would have missed if, if they were still around. Then, they were an insect being, so hearing wasn’t exactly a superpower for them. A bit less than human, really.
The catch cup on the vacuum was cleaned, dumped into the trash, rather carefully. Then he washed and dried it, using a hand towel, before he put it away in the hall closet at the top of the stairs. After that, since he had to run the clothing through more than once to dry it, he settled with the new workbook, and then, when that was done, mentally reviewed the other work that he’d done in the last days that way. It didn’t take long and left him feeling better than if he’d focused on how crappy he really felt.
Still, by eight in the morning he was at the Guard Shack, to find one of the other guards at the front desk. Not Calley or Mick. This wasn’t a totally new person, since he’d seen them the day before, helping with the prisoner hand over.
The woman was tan as far as her skin went but had golden blond hair and was probably about five-six. About the same size that Jake was, except for the fact that, as was common there, she was built a bit like a professional bodybuilder. It looked a bit funny, but her face managed to be attractive, even if her body under the uniform reminded him of a man’s.
