Chapter 5
914 Words
Chapter 5
The phone went dark and I sighed, laying my hairbrush on the counter. I would have thought that waking up early in the day would give me more time to rest, but somehow, that’s not how the day was panning out. It seemed that every tick of the clock brought with it another twist in my plans.
“What’s next,” I wondered out loud. “Alien invasion?”
Then I laughed. I’d been thinking something like War of the Worlds, but the truth was, the aliens were already here. Hiding in plain sight.
At least I could keep my hair un-complicated, I thought ruefully. Rather than fussing with a dryer and flat-iron, I twisted the slick mass on top of my head and secured it with two glossy black chopsticks. Quickly, I put on some moisturizer and twelve-hour grape-colored lip stain. A bit of deodorant and I was good to go, ready for a day on the drums. If I ever got that far. The way today was going, you never knew.
I re-secured my towel and walked out into the bedroom, humming a tune I’d been working on the day before. I made a good living as a drummer in Molten Requiem, playing anywhere from three to five punk-rock gigs a week, but I liked all kinds of music and liked to dabble on my computer. Piecing together electronic music helped me unwind, the way some people relaxed doing crosswords. I had a pretty good following online for the long trance and jungle pieces, giving me some extra pocket change each month. Sometimes, I invested in stocks online, building up the retirement fund Kate had pestered me to set up two years before. Other times, I splurged.
Last month, I’d spent everything on an impressive bronze statue from Ethan’s bookshop. Anzu, or at least a two-foot tall version of her, stood on my dresser now wearing one of my silk scarves over her wing. The golden dragon-bird had captivated me, even before I knew her story. Like me, the ancient leader of the star-children had held the powers of sun and moon. An illusionist, Anzu’d taken on the form to prove her might and help end the ancient war between man and star-seed.
I dropped my towel and dressed quickly, pulling on underwear and a bikini top, followed by my usual rocker uniform – leather pants and a concert tee. Today’s were the darkest burgundy topped with an old Down By Law shirt that I’d scissored into a wide-necked muscle tee. Comfort clothes, for me.
“Ready for breakfast?” I asked Keeta, who raised her head from the bed where she’d been watching me and thumped her tail several times. “Alright, well, come on.”
She hopped down and followed me into the kitchen, sitting primly in the corner and waiting patiently. I pulled out some eggs and cheese, and set to work making us an omelet. When it was done, I poured Keeta some of her favorite salmon kibble and portioned out our meals – three-quarters of the omelet for me, along with a fresh avocado and tomato salad, and one-quarter for her atop her kibble. Keeta waited patiently for me to sit and start eating, and only then did she lower her head over her own bowl.
Pack always ate together. And we were pack.
Once my stomach had been sated, I knew it was time. I had to call Ethan, like I’d promised Doug. I pushed my plate away and dialed the phone.
It didn’t take long. I had him on speed dial.
“Hale.” His tone was brusque. Distracted.
“Ethan? It’s Callie.”
“Callie?” There was a pause, some noise in the background, and then his voice again, easier this time. “How are you?”
“Out of bed, for one thing.”
He chuckled. “You really don’t like being woken up, huh?”
“No. I don’t.”
“I’m sorry. From now on, I promise to let you sleep in. But you know, I’m not the only one who should apologize. You ordered me away, you know.”
“So? You broke into my dreams. Into my apartment,” I said, smirking.
“But you didn’t just order me. You ordered me. Like a bard.”
The smile faded from my face. “Damn. I’m sorry, Ethan. You know I would never-”
“I know.”
“I mean, I’ve been working with Dolores so hard. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know how hard it is to learn to control it. The power just slips out. I just thought you should know.”
“Okay. Thanks, Ethan.”
Silence stretched between us, but somehow, it wasn’t awkward.
“It’s really nice to hear your voice.” His was quiet, dripping with Southern honey.
“Ethan, I-”
“Why’d you call, Callie?” Suddenly he switched gears, all business. Maybe, he’d anticipated my protest. Maybe, I was imagining things.
“I wouldn’t have, but Doug called me earlier, he had some news he thought you should know.”
“About China Lake?”
“No. About someone in his office. Two of the lawyers were talking about the HAARP program. It’s this thing where they use antenna arrays to-”
“I know what HAARP is, Callie,” he interrupted me.
“Okay. Well, Doug overheard his boss and another guy talking about needing to find a way to transfer the information to some warpers legally, but without raising any red flags anywhere. The Washington JAG office is supposed to be receiving all the data so they can work on the case. Doug said there’s another JAG in DC you should contact, a Jolene Davis. He trusts her.”
“What about you? Do you trust her?”
“I trust Doug.”
“How do we know she’s not the lawyer they’re working with?”
“Well, if they are, then she doesn’t know who or what the warpers really are. Doug says she’s good people.”
“Okay. I’ll look into it. Anything else?”
“No, that’s all he said.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch,” he said.
And then he hung up.
Mystified, I looked at my phone. Okay. Well, that was different. Usually, Ethan was all Mr. Manners. That had been almost rude. Remembering he was on stakeout with Tag, I decided to blame the situation, not the man.
Business was business, after all.
- Writer
