Foreboding Skies (The Skybreaker Saga Book 1) by Connor Taylor Page B

would like to move onto the next reason the government is interested in you. We have reason to believe that you or several of your associates belong to a certain …community. A community that has recently come into the light from a long time in the shadows. We would like to open relations if you will.” That was what I was waiting for. Uncle Sam wasn’t far behind, though the general public knew nothing. But that was hardly unusual. They were the ones who always overrated to every little secret.
    Standard operating procedure in situations like this and take a play from politics 101. Lie and Deny. The Silence was on its last legs, but now wasn’t the right time. And these were not the right people. As daunting and frustrating as my problems were now they would be magnified greatly if I shared anything other than my name, rank, and favorite cereal with the Feds. And if the people sitting across from me were the people who responsible for this mess then that was complication enough. I needed to slip away in a calm and smooth manner that wouldn’t exasperate the situation any further. I was an expert at exasperating situations. You could say I was a master exasperator. Unfortunately I lacked the ability to appease.
    “I don’t think I follow Agent Goodwin, what community are you talking about? I’m not entirely sure what…Oh! Oh… well I’m not gay you see…” That got a reaction at least. Maranis actually looked right at me for a moment before anchoring her eyes on her report once more. Goodwin seemed to be having a minor conniption underneath his smile.
    Going the way you thought it would Mr. Douchebag? Most likely not. I wasn’t precisely gaining the upper hand so much as I was spitting on theirs. I know I said I would be polite, and I think that I was succeeding in that respect. But that didn’t mean I had to be meek and roll over.
    “You misunderstand me Mr. Smith. I am not referring to the Gay community. Umm, how to phrase this? This particular community is far older than any other. It has roots all over the world and has had a profound impact upon the world. A community made up of extra-ordinary people…err individuals. Do you understand?” I didn’t see how it was possible to understand his rambling. If he was bullshitting me he excelled at it. I was almost ready to believe he really was here on official assignment. Only almost.
    Maranis was emitting hostility, that could mean she was my enemy or that she was one of the numerous humans who loathed and feared the supernatural. Funny that Goodwin didn’t seem at all hateful. He was still a douche.
    Before any more words could be spoken a knock sounded at the door. Maranis didn’t bother looking up and I was being interrogated, which left Rick to answer the door.
    After a few seconds he did rise to answer the door with a glare at his partner and a reassuring nod to me. I was not reassured. Every instinct across the various levels of my mind told me this was wrong. He shouldn’t be nice to me, this was unnatural behavior. This meant I was getting played. That still left me Maranis to figure out. The surface of a person was misleading, as tremulous emotions bubble up to the surface they twist and bend till they appear to be entirely different from their source.
    For all I knew she was upset because her favorite show had been canceled or her significant other walked out on her. I still refrained from looking at her with my spirit filter on. I still didn’t know why I was stopping myself from doing that. I got the distinct impression it would be a bad idea.
    I don’t know what I was going to say to her. But I was going to say something. I would have, had Goodwin not reentered the room with a cheery smile. It still looked wrong on him. Like smiles everywhere were under assault. “Good news Mr. Smith. We are letting you go immediately. We just have to ask you to stay in town for the next couple of days. And don’t worry about those detectives anymore, they