pretty big deal among witches, so maybe I’m wrong.”
“Hey Katrina, what’s happening?” I asked.
“I heard they were starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel for interns and had to come see for myself,” she said, not smiling as she turned her stare on me. For Katrina, this was major league joking.
“Yeah, the company webpage has a list of officers. Apparently they make anyone a VP,” I said. “I figure a summer of this and I can get the key to the Exec washroom.”
“Oh, I think they’ll give it to you sooner… the last bathroom attendant retired. You’re a shoo-in,” she said, slipping away to check in with her boss.
“She got the better of you with that one, mate,” Grace noted.
“Yeah, that’s okay. She’s not usually that outgoing,” I said, looking over at Aleesha, who was still wide-eyed and frozen.
“So you hang out with an Irish witch? I thought your girlfriend was a soldier?” Grace asked.
“Ex. Ex-girlfriend, and Caeco’s probably as much assassin as soldier. Ryanne, on the other hand, is a friend and knows a lot about my relatives in Ireland.”
“She the reason your bloody killer is your ex?” Grace asked.
“Ah, well, not that I want to talk about it, but we’re exes because we’re both only eighteen and we each have too much going on,” I said.
“You have computers to bewitch and she has what? People to kill?” Jodi interjected.
I bit into some cheddar with the fruity stuff on top and a dab of honey, letting the flavors overwhelm me before I answered. “Only if the FBI is killing people this summer. This is really good,” I said.
Chris leaned over. “We’re going to an off-site meeting after dinner. You’re coming along—as an observer—so you’ll want to get ready when you’re done eating,” he said to me.
“How do I dress?” I asked.
“You’ll find several sets of the security team’s uniform pants in your room. Those would be a good idea,” he said, turning back to Tanya, Katrina, and Darion.
“What? No bag of fruit?” Grace asked. I frowned and she actually blushed. “No suit, I mean. You’re not wearing your suit?”
“No,” I said, sadness in my voice. “It was ruined when I fixed the elevators to keep interns from falling out of the sky.”
“Oh you’re an arsey one, ain’t ya?” Grace said.
“It’s hard to answer when I don’t know what you’re asking,” I said, even though I had a pretty good idea.
“You’re a wiseass,” Aleesha said, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be afraid of me.
“Oh,” I said. “That’s true. It pretty much defines me.”
“No. Dangerous wiseass defines you,” Katrina threw in on her way past us. “And that’s bloody fair dinkum.”
She left with casual grace and when I turned to look at the girls, they were all staring at me. Grace looked thoughtful, Jodi confused, and Aleesha still scared, but slightly bemused.
Chapter 11 - Chris
The meet was in Brooklyn—Brighton Bay actually. In a nightclub—a loud, fist-pumping, light-flashing, drunk-dancing nightclub. The night sky outside was cloudy and rain-filled; inside the building was a riotous storm of multicolored strobe lights and deep bass. With lots of Russian being spoken everywhere around me. For the ten thousandth time, I wished I was bilingual, or better yet, trilingual. Tanya speaks at least seven languages. I struggle with one.
Nika, Arkady, Tanya, and Lydia all speak Russian fluently. Stacia and Declan were pretty much in my boat, though.
The dark-eyed hostess had turned, looking for immediate assistance when we walked in, but her manager or boss or whatever was already striding across the floor of the club to meet us. He spoke rapidly and respectfully to Tanya in Russian, then led us through the gyrating crowd to the back corner of the
“Hey Katrina, what’s happening?” I asked.
“I heard they were starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel for interns and had to come see for myself,” she said, not smiling as she turned her stare on me. For Katrina, this was major league joking.
“Yeah, the company webpage has a list of officers. Apparently they make anyone a VP,” I said. “I figure a summer of this and I can get the key to the Exec washroom.”
“Oh, I think they’ll give it to you sooner… the last bathroom attendant retired. You’re a shoo-in,” she said, slipping away to check in with her boss.
“She got the better of you with that one, mate,” Grace noted.
“Yeah, that’s okay. She’s not usually that outgoing,” I said, looking over at Aleesha, who was still wide-eyed and frozen.
“So you hang out with an Irish witch? I thought your girlfriend was a soldier?” Grace asked.
“Ex. Ex-girlfriend, and Caeco’s probably as much assassin as soldier. Ryanne, on the other hand, is a friend and knows a lot about my relatives in Ireland.”
“She the reason your bloody killer is your ex?” Grace asked.
“Ah, well, not that I want to talk about it, but we’re exes because we’re both only eighteen and we each have too much going on,” I said.
“You have computers to bewitch and she has what? People to kill?” Jodi interjected.
I bit into some cheddar with the fruity stuff on top and a dab of honey, letting the flavors overwhelm me before I answered. “Only if the FBI is killing people this summer. This is really good,” I said.
Chris leaned over. “We’re going to an off-site meeting after dinner. You’re coming along—as an observer—so you’ll want to get ready when you’re done eating,” he said to me.
“How do I dress?” I asked.
“You’ll find several sets of the security team’s uniform pants in your room. Those would be a good idea,” he said, turning back to Tanya, Katrina, and Darion.
“What? No bag of fruit?” Grace asked. I frowned and she actually blushed. “No suit, I mean. You’re not wearing your suit?”
“No,” I said, sadness in my voice. “It was ruined when I fixed the elevators to keep interns from falling out of the sky.”
“Oh you’re an arsey one, ain’t ya?” Grace said.
“It’s hard to answer when I don’t know what you’re asking,” I said, even though I had a pretty good idea.
“You’re a wiseass,” Aleesha said, momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be afraid of me.
“Oh,” I said. “That’s true. It pretty much defines me.”
“No. Dangerous wiseass defines you,” Katrina threw in on her way past us. “And that’s bloody fair dinkum.”
She left with casual grace and when I turned to look at the girls, they were all staring at me. Grace looked thoughtful, Jodi confused, and Aleesha still scared, but slightly bemused.
Chapter 11 - Chris
The meet was in Brooklyn—Brighton Bay actually. In a nightclub—a loud, fist-pumping, light-flashing, drunk-dancing nightclub. The night sky outside was cloudy and rain-filled; inside the building was a riotous storm of multicolored strobe lights and deep bass. With lots of Russian being spoken everywhere around me. For the ten thousandth time, I wished I was bilingual, or better yet, trilingual. Tanya speaks at least seven languages. I struggle with one.
Nika, Arkady, Tanya, and Lydia all speak Russian fluently. Stacia and Declan were pretty much in my boat, though.
The dark-eyed hostess had turned, looking for immediate assistance when we walked in, but her manager or boss or whatever was already striding across the floor of the club to meet us. He spoke rapidly and respectfully to Tanya in Russian, then led us through the gyrating crowd to the back corner of the
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