Intrigue: The Night Muse Trilogy, page 26
Chapter 25: Liars and Evaders
Wednesday dawned crisp and beautiful with the sun peeping through my room darkening curtains. However, I woke grumpy, exhausted, and overwhelmed. Lack of sleep, fear of the unknown, and thoughts of betrayal were starting to turn me emo. I had to go to the DUA today and check up on Plan A for Apollo and Plan B for Betrayal. I think I applied more foundation and under eye concealer than I have ever worn before.
Rafe picked me up on time as usual and hit me with, “Good morning, Siren. Your eyes look really exquisite with all that make-up.”
“Wow. It’s a little early in the morning to be throwing complisults my way, Rafe.”
“I am sorry. I must have forgotten part of the English language, what’s a complisult.”
“It’s an insult disguised as a compliment. Next thing I know you are going to be blessing my heart.”
Rafe continued to look confused, “What?”
I explained, “Whenever someone has a problem, the old ladies at my church always say things like ‘Poor Marcy, her daughter just got arrested selling scripts to school kids, Bless Her Heart.’ See, it’s an insult masked as empathy. It drives me crazy.”
Rafe threw me an indulgent smile as he said, “Are you sure that you weren’t raised by wolves? Really, you need to check.”
I countered back, “Why don’t you ask my parents on Friday? I am sure that will make an impression. I just need my caffeine, so if you will kindly stop on the way to school I will be grateful.”
Rafe shook his head as he pulled a fountain Mt. Dew and a Zone Bar from the driver’s side drink holder. “Your wish is my command. A housekeeper must be on his toes at all times.”
I gave him my most adoring smile as I grabbed my breakfast and said, “You are my hero. I am not worthy.” Then, I ate in blessed silence all the way to school. Because of my exhaustion and Rafe’s need to conceal the details of Plan A, the day was rather subdued and slowly inched along. I actually fell asleep between the library stacks during study hall since my homework was done for once. Rafe’s concerned gaze rarely left me. At the end of the day, Rafe wanted to take me home rather than going to the DUA, but Apollo summoned us to what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
Dr. A was coming toward us as we made our way farther into the building. “Apollo called me as well. He wants to meet us in the back of the warehouse to discuss the plan.”
I announced to Rafe, “As soon as this little conference is over, I want to bail. I need a nap and a lot less drama.”
Rafe nodded and Dr. A gave me a sympathetic look before he said, “I think this meeting is meant to help ease your mind, Calliope.”
Apollo was standing by a window in the back talking to three commando looking guys. He smiled when he saw me and headed my way. When he reached me, he placed a hand in the small of my back and guided me toward the three men.
When we were directly in front of the commandos, Apollo finally spoke. “I want you to meet the three men that will be protecting your friends.”
As I shook each one of their hands, Apollo continued. “They have extensive training in martial arts, weapons, and recon. Your friends are in good hands as you can see. We are going to dispense with names because they are not necessary.”
I must have given him a look like he was an alien because he finally asked, “Darling, do you have any questions for these gentlemen?”
They all looked at me sternly as their eyes narrowed, “Yes. Why exactly are you calling me darling?”
Apollo’s solemn face actually cracked a smile, and I think I got a lip twitch out of at least one of the commandos. “Just an expression, my dear. I take it you have no questions?”
This was the tricky part. If I didn’t seem like my usual nosy self, they might get suspicious, and I would lose some of my freedom, so I tilted my head at the commandos and asked, “What did he tell you about what you just signed up for?”
The three commandos looked at each other, and the lead commando finally spoke, “He told us that we would be guarding three sick guys and that there was a 99% chance that we would get attacked while guarding the teenagers. He also said that the individuals that would attack us will be women. However, they were going to be very well trained. We will not use weapons on them. We will only disable them. And he is paying us accordingly.”
“Well, that pretty much covers it. They won’t use weapons, but they are still the best fighters I’ve seen, and I have a black belt in karate. You will be guarding three of my good friends, and if anything happens to them, I am holding you personally responsible. So kick some eyas for me.”
The leader once again nodded, “Roger that.”
Apollo looked at his hired guinea pigs and said, “I think we are done here gentleman. I will contact you tomorrow after you have had a chance to look at the site.” He shook hands with them, and then he faced Rafe and I. “You wanted information Calliope, and now you have it.”
I gave Apollo a pained smile after the commandos were out of the building, “I wanted information—not to see the faces of the guys that you are going to use as human sacrifices. Is that what you really thought?”
Apollo gave me his unapologetic look, “I think you wanted to know who was protecting your friends, and I think you wanted to know that I was not lying to them or leading them to slaughter.”
I put my hands over my face and took a deep breath before I said, “Where are you stashing the boys? What area do these guys have to defend?”
Both Rafe and Apollo laughed at this before Apollo remarked, “Yeah. You know you are not getting that information.”
I admitted to them. “Had to take a shot. Are we done here?”
“I’m sorry about all of this Calliope. There are good parts of my world as well as the bad. I promise you that we will get to the good parts soon.”
My laugh was humorless. “I will believe it when I see it. Now, I just want to go home, please.”
Apollo nodded, “I will see you on Friday at the GAR for final prep. Brother, please take my Muse home.”
As Apollo started a conversation with Dr. A, we went to Rafe’s car.
Rafe tried to tease me back into a better mood, “Well, date night is probably looking pretty good, comparatively right now.”
I gave him a sad smile as I said, “You better bring some mad first date skills to make up for me putting up with Apollo, because he is starting to get on my last nerve.”
That got me a wicked smile from Rafe, “You know, he is trying to be as up front as possible. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished with you.”
“Those commandos’ faces are going to stay with me long after Sunday, you know. I hope they bolt to the opposite ends of the earth, so the Graces’ calls will go unanswered.”
Rafe nodded, “I think they are on a plane right after. They know the risks, and they are getting paid for those risks. They are mercenaries. This is what they do.”
We were at my house as Rafe said, “Please, Calli, just get some sleep. We need you in top form. I am worried about you.”
“Rafe, I just can’t seem to sleep from all the stress I feel because of……… our flockin first date.”
Rafe laughed as I knew he would and commented sarcastically, “You’re hilarious, Siren. Now, go get your nap.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek, then bolted with a proper, “Yes, sir.”
Instead of a nap, I called Thrace to see if he wanted to go on a run. I think he needed to keep occupied as much if not more than I did. We set off at a brisk pace. I wanted to do at least six miles, which was pretty much Thrace’s limit. We made it back in an hour—tired, sweaty, and out of breathe. Mom had salads and fruit waiting for us to eat. Thrace inhaled his then headed home with no questions about this weekend, which surprised me. I was finally tired and ready for a hot shower, my journal, and eight hours of sleep. Dr. A had left a message on my cell that on Thursday I was to go to my karate practice with Thrace. I would receive a call right before class, and I would leave and come back by the end of class. My cover was that the grant team needed some of my research, so I had to bring them my flash drive. Tomorrow was dress rehearsal which definitely was gonna help me sleep—only not.
Thursday started out gloomy, stormy, and rainy, which fit my mood perfectly. All the tension was making me snarly. It was like I picked from a Chinese take-out menu of bad moods: nervous, anxious, vacant, moody, bitchy. Rafe picked me up and instead of calling me on my snarly mood tried to tease me out of it, which just made me snarlier. I tried to stay more myself around Jazz and Key otherwise they would probe for more information. I definitely changed my attitude at lunch around Thrace, so he wouldn’t freak. I told him that I was still catching a ride with him to the gym, which got a lot of funny looks around the table. Ok. I might have slipped into snarly me again after the looks but only for a couple of minutes.
However, study hall with Rafe found me snapping at him each time he spoke. He finally called me on it halfway through study hall, “Ok—raised by wolves girl. You are going to act like a decent human being, or I am going to knock you out until this is all over. Do you want a three day hospital stay, or do want to act like your usual sweet and snarky self?”
“Finally! Took you long enough to call me on this crap. I just don’t know how to deal with this. Can I skip the run through on Friday? My sleep just gets worse the more I learn, the more I have to imagine.”
Rafe smiled and put his arm around me for a quick hug, “That sounds like a good idea. Apollo, Dr. A, and I don’t need you to go over the final planning. The only thing you really need to worry about is our first date and what I have planned.”
I sputtered, “What exactly do you have planned? You know I can’t leave the city right? Let’s just stick to something simple—dinner and a movie.”
“Boooooooring. I thought bungee jumping or parasailing. But, don’t worry, it’s all taken care of.”
“I am sure you have had a vast amount of experience taking 21st century teenage human girls on first dates. Right.”
Rafe gave me a wicked smile and said, “Speaking of a plan. Since I am not going to karate today, I am going to sign myself out of school to go help Apollo. Are you alright with that, or do you need my supervision?”
“I will be fine, funny guy. Go take care of business. I will call you tonight after practice.”
Now Thrace was my constant shadow for the rest of the day. I was starting to wish for one whole day that I would not have a shadow. I was collecting too many opposing relationships: Thrace vs. me vs. Rafe; Rafe vs. me vs. Apollo; Apollo vs. Rafe vs. Dr. A; Apollo vs. Rafe vs. Ares. Why were relationships so flockin complicated? Guys were supposed to be simple. They were supposed to only want one thing—which I wasn’t offering. I was mulling this over as I rode to class with Thrace. As we pulled into the gym, I got the phone call. I made sure Thrace heard all of it and then told him that I had to head to the GAR as soon as my ride showed up. I repeated the story to Jazz and Key as I changed, then headed to the front door as I saw a van pull up.
I jumped in the van with about five other people including Dr. A. I smiled and asked, “So, is this Team Calli?”
Dr. A smiled as we took off and said, “Yes, Calli, these are some of the Plan B team. Apollo’s Plan A Team will leave for their stations, then we will disable their vehicles and Plan B Team will move into position. We will take you and Thrace to the building where we are heading now.”
I shook my head in a daze, “Dr. A, what if we send the commandos away after their first match? The Graces couldn’t call them right? I guess I am asking if there are other alternatives?”
“Calli, we are your team. There is always what you are prepared to do and what you are not prepared to do. Tomorrow night there will be either those commandos fighting at The Corner, your three friends fighting at The Corner, or none of them fighting at The Corner. It is up to you. If we give the Graces commandos, whomever they fight against will surely die because those men are killers. Calli, it is game time--time for you to decide if you want to lead this team. Are you in?”
I started to look out the window. We had arrived at an old factory. I finally looked back at Dr. A and said, “Wonder Woman reporting for duty, Sir! Come on, let’s roll. As John Wayne says, ‘We’re burning daylight,’ Dr. A.”
Dr. A gave me a solemn smile and turned to the rest of Team Calli, “You heard Wonder Woman. I want to walk through this at least three times before we take her back to the gym. Back the van up and let’s start this drill all over again.”
We proceeded with the plan until we had it perfect. They also gave me about 10 minutes in the factory to study the layout. I paced off my steps to all the different sections while they moved debris that might get in my way during the fight. Too soon, our drill was over and we were heading back to the gym. We were debriefing the whole trip, so I didn’t have time to get anxious about Plan B.
I got back just as my class was just letting out. I walked in and told Jazz and Key that I was going for a run with Thrace before I headed home. Jazz commented, “Is there something going on that we need to know?”
I laughed and replied, “You need to know everything at all times, so that is a big question. I want to show Thrace even if I date Rafe that I will always have time for him. Period.”
Key teased, “Good luck on that one, sweetie. We still on for after school tomorrow, right.”
“Absoflockinlutely. I am going to need you guys to calm me down because Rafe is threatening to take me bungee jumping for our first date!”
They laughed and departed when they saw Thrace head my way. “You ready to outrun me, Sparky?” I asked.
“How fair is that? I have actually been practicing the last two hours unlike yourself.”
I shook my head as I commented with disdain, “Just try to keep up, old man.”
He threw various comments about how strong and manly he was while we ran. In the car on the way home, he finally asked, “Calli, how is the planning going?”
I confidently gave him the generic details of the plan. “I promise you that everything is going to be fine, Thrace.” I hugged him before I got out of the car and told him to get some rest. He thanked me again for the 100th time.
Both mom and dad were home and wanted a detailed accounting of my life. It was a judgment call, but I felt pretty sure that I wouldn’t be let out of the house until I graduated if I would have discussed what was really happening. Or I would have been taken straight to a secure mental health facility. Either option was not appealing, so I gave my standard evasive details. They were satisfied, so I was allowed to go upstairs where I made a quick phone call to Rafe. He wanted to know how practice was, which I replied by telling him of Thrace’s nervous questions. Not lying, just evading. I asked him how his preparations were going, and he evaded as well. It seemed that we were the perfect couple. Liars and evaders.
