9.
Sienna
“Looks like Gravity Gal saved the day,” J.J. said in my earpiece as I bumped along in the passenger seat of the van, on the way back to my new office in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. “She came in crashing in like—well, like you, actually.”
I didn’t say anything to that, but I might have blushed a little. “It’s good that she resolved it.”
“Why?” Reed said cynically from his place behind the wheel. “What’s the likelihood that they actually manage to convict Griffin on her crimes? And if they do, what are the odds she serves a serious sentence rather than getting a slap on the wrist?”
“I dunno,” I said, having already mostly lost interest now that my brother was ginning up an argument. “What are the odds you’ll stop being ill-tempered as you rail about the state of the justice system?”
“There are two justice systems,” he went on, proving my point, “one for the rich and connected, and one for the not.”
“As a guy who’s fast becoming rich thanks to your new salary,” I said, looking out the window at the green fields of rural Minnesota passing us by on the route from the training center, “you’d think you might moderate your tone if only to show some self-respect.”
“If the day comes I have to face the justice system, I won’t be trading on inside confidences and I won’t be trying to get out of what I deserve,” Reed said—a little snootily, I thought.
“Hmm,” I said. “I would. Again, I mean, since I already kinda did once.” I shot him a sweet smile. “Actually, I remember you got a presidential pardon, too …”
Reed just froze with that sour look on his face. “Thanks for proving my point.”
I sat in silence for a moment, then more tentatively, asked, “You know, you’re not really the ‘vengeance is mine’ type … so why—”
“Hey guys,” J.J. said, breaking into my earpiece. “Ariadne’s here and needs to talk to you.”
“Put her o—”
“Is this thing on?” Ariadne asked, loud enough that all of us metas cringed. Reed jerked the wheel and the van wobbled in the lane until he got it under control again. “Hello?”
“You’re on, Ariadne,” I said, my eyes fluttering from the painful reality of her yelling in my ear. I was used to hearing her voice in my head by now. Like a mom; not like the actual creepy voices in my head. “What’s up?”
“We got a request from Lieutenant Allyn Welch of the NYPD,” Ariadne said, all business. “He wants you to come to New York.”
I frowned, staring out the windshield as dawn broke over the fields on either side of the country lane. “I thought this Nadine Griffin situation was resolved?”
“That one is,” Ariadne said. “But I guess there was an exchange between Captain Frost and Gravity Gal, and Frost … pitched a bit of a fit after she left. Welch says it’s probably nothing to worry about, but he figured better safe than sorry, so the NYPD is willing to throw some consulting dollars your way if you’ll come out for a few days and keep an eye on things. And …” here she took on a little bit of a wheedling tone, very mom-like, “you know … we could use the money …”
“Understood, finance department,” I said. “If the city of New York wants me to come visit and they’re willing to pay for it, I’m all over it. I’ve been looking for an excuse to see Hamilton anyway.”
“So you’re gonna burn your entire consulting fee on theater tickets?” Reed asked slyly.
“Yo, any chance they want anyone else to come, too?” Augustus piped up from the very back seat. “Because if anyone in this car should be seeing Hamilton, it’s me.”
“You’re going to Houston tomorrow with Reed, remember?” I kept my head pointed forward so he couldn’t see me grin. We’d set assignments a couple days earlier when Texas had made a request over a low-level meta who had been starting some problems for them.
“Aw, man,” Augustus said, sounding like a kid. “Still, you ought to take someone with you for backup, right?”
“Kat’s busy,” I said, “you’re busy, Reed’s busy—”
“Wait, what’s Kat doing?” Ariadne asked.
“She’s going back to LA to film the second season of Beyond Human,” I said, trying to keep the sneer out of my voice. “And also, there’s a report of a meta up in Fresno from six weeks back that she’s going to mine for television drama—I mean, investigate,” my sneer grew more pronounced, and I could see Reed eyeing me, “while she’s out there.”
“I’m hoping for something really explosive to happen,” Kat said, bouncing with a little glee behind me. “I need to kick things up a few notches from last season, and a battle with another meta could be just the thing we need to pull out a great season story arc.”
“Try not to get killed on national television,” I said. “You know, in the name of ratings. And if you get into big trouble, remember to call—”
“Veronika, yes, I know,” Kat said, and then she switched to a whine, “but she said that if I needed her help, it has to be without cameras, and that would just ruin—”
I rolled my eyes and ignored the rest of her complaint. Veronika Acheron was a meta I’d run across in Chicago, and one tough lady. She was based out of San Francisco and we’d actually hired her on a couple of jobs out west. She was professional and a total badass, but she, like me, didn’t want to be in the public eye. Probably because her job description also involved assassinating people, which, incidentally, was how we met. I suspect I’m the only target she ever failed to kill.
“You’ll probably be fine,” I said, cutting Kat off in the middle of a fine whine, “but if you get in trouble, don’t be stupid. Call Veronika.”
“So I can tell Lieutenant Welch you’re coming to New York?” Ariadne asked.
“Book me a flight,” I said.
“Excellent,” Ariadne said, as though something really important had just been accomplished. I could almost envision the green dollar signs springing up in her eyes like one of those old cartoon characters. Since she was the entirety of the finance department, they probably had. The four of us metas were being paid big bucks by our organization, but thus far, we were earning our keep. I had figured we’d mostly sit idle and only take a few big cases that came our way every now and again, when the Federal Government got outmatched. But so far, we were getting called in by the states on a regular basis when the feds passed on helping them—which seemed to be a lot of the time. It made me wonder what kind of lazy jagoff had taken over my old job and exactly how he was filling his days. “Uh, over and out,” Ariadne said, jarring me back into the present. “Or … er … out … err … goodbye?”
“Goodbye, Ariadne,” I said, trying to put a bullet in this conversation. I heard a rough crunching noise and then static that told me she’d probably pulled off the headset or set it down roughly or something.
“The gang’s splitting up again,” Augustus said, all false-teary from the back. “This is happening a lot lately.”
“Because we’re working a lot,” I said, a smile of slow satisfaction rolling across my face. I’d worried about this venture. I’d worried before this opportunity came up, too, about how I’d fit into the world. The answer so far had been: exceedingly well. It looked like I did have a place outside government service—and for a lot more money.
“Yeah,” Kat said, sounding drained. “I could really use a vacation. Fortunately, I’m scheduled for a getaway to St. Thomas on my show. We’ve got some great stuff set up to happen there, it’s really going to define the back half of the season …”
Kat chattered away happily behind me and I tuned her out, looking at the Minnesota sun rising over the fields of green. Reed must have noticed my look, because he said. “Everything okay?”
I was a little lost in my thoughts for a minute, but I turned to him and smiled, trying to displace that look of utter seriousness plastered across my brother’s face. “Everything’s working out, isn’t it? We’re booked up. We’re together, we’ve got … like, lives and stuff … it’s all … working out.” I paused, then shrugged slightly. “Plus, the State Fair starts in a few days.”
He looked at me suspiciously. “You’re acting a little weird. I don’t want to say the ‘h’ word, cuz I don’t want to jinx anything … but you seem … ‘h’ word.”
I frowned at him. “‘H’ word? What the hell is—like, harpy?”
“One letter and a world of meaning off. Happy, Sienna. You seem … happy.”
I started to say something, and then I stopped, looking off into the sunrise. “I don’t want to jinx it either, but …” I said, and felt a smile spread slow across my lips, “… I think I am.”