Justice Keepers Saga - Books 7-9

Chapter 6-1

Harry maneuvered his wheelchair through the front hall, dressed in a pair of shorts and a pink button-up t-shirt that he left untucked. The chair was still a sore spot for him, but it did its job, and he had a guest to greet.

A very disheveled looking Jack stood just inside the front door with a big smile on his face. “Enjoying your time off?” he asked, eyebrows rising behind those messy bangs. “Lots of time to loaf around?”

Harry looked up to squint at the lad. “As a matter of fact, I am,” he said with a nod. “I get to watch my robotic butler make tea, cook dinner and do a poor job of simulating a nineteenth-century British house servant.”

Jack chuckled.

A few quick taps on the control panel wheeled Harry around so that he was facing the kitchen, and he rolled through the long hallway that ran alongside the stairs, When he passed into the next room, he had to let his eyes adjust to the glare.

Bright afternoon sunlight came through the window above the sink, illuminating his white cupboards and chrome refrigerator. The table was bare except for a thin vase in the middle that held roses.

Tilting his head back, Harry blinked a few times. “Yup…This is my life now,” he said, guiding his chair deeper into the kitchen. “Sitting around here and reminding you whippersnappers about what real police work is like.”

Jack strode past him with hands in his pockets, pausing at the door that led out to the backyard. The boy seemed troubled. “Is Melissa around?” he asked in cautious tones. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“She"s in class,” Harry answered. “Won"t be back until later this evening. We were expecting you to stop by for the party.”

“I was gonna make an appearance.”

Oh no…

After nearly five years of working with Jack, Harry knew enough about the lad to recognize when he was worried. It was the kind of kinship you eventually developed with a partner, and they may as well have been partners. All those nights teaming up to bring in petty criminals using Leyrian weapons.

Things had been simpler then; sometimes Harry wished he could go back to those days. Then he remembered that he had been in life-threatening danger for most of it and decided that it was probably nostalgia acting up. But at least he had been useful. Now, he was just in the way. “Spit it out, kid,” Harry said. “What is it?”

Jack turned around.

Silhouetted by the light from the backyard, the boy looked grim, his eyes fixed on the floor. “It"s not easy to say…” he mumbled. “And I guess it"s my fault.”

“What is?”

Jack closed his eyes, pressing a fist to his mouth and clearing his throat with some volume. “Leo is free.” The words came out as a whisper. “I don"t know how, but we got the report earlier this morning.”

Harry felt a single drop of sweat roll over his forehead and down the length of his nose. His head sank upon hearing those words. “Leo is out,” he said. “God help us all. I thought that man would be locked up forever!”

“So did I.”

“How did it happen?”

Leaning against the door with his arms folded, Jack looked up at the ceiling. “Wish I knew,” he whispered. “But Slade had ten years to put his people in key positions. There are more of them than we anticipated.”

Harry"s stomach was churning, and for some reason, the wound in his chest started to throb. He remembered the way Leo had manhandled him with ease. That awful feeling of being completely helpless. And worst of all, the man had promised to go after Melissa and Claire. They had to do something-

Harry got out of the chair.

Pain flare throughout his body, and he doubled over with a hand against his chest, wincing from the ache. “Shouldn"t have done that,” he wheezed. “Damn it, Jack, we have to do something.”

The young man looked at him with blue eyes as cold as eyes, and suddenly Harry felt very stupid. “We are going to do something,” Jack insisted. “But you"re going to give yourself a chance to heal.”

Harry dropped back into the chair with his hands on his thighs, hunched over and gasping. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Yeah…You"re right. I"m sorry; you know how I get when someone threatens my girls.”

“That"s why I love you.”

“Love you too, kid,” Harry said. “So, will you be coming to the party tonight?”

Jack went pale, his face twisting into something that was painful to look at. “I got the invite,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I figure I"ll make an appearance, but I really need to get some things done.”

Pressing his lips together, Harry studied the young man. “Anna,” he said, shaking his head. “Look, the two of you are going to need to work out your issues sooner or later. Don"t hide from your own friends, Jack.”

“Yeah…I guess so.”

Melissa felt a little embarrassed when she saw the lengths her father had gone to celebrate her birthday. Well…She supposed they weren"t that extravagant, but if Harry had not been successful as a cop, he could have been a party planner.

thatHer father had strung up lights along the back of the house that cast a warm glow over the backyard and set lanterns on poles in the garden. There was a long, rectangular table full of snacks, and a bowl of punch. No doubt Michael had done most of the work, but she could see her father"s touch in everything.

Three of her classmates stood in a small cluster in the grass. Niella Savan with her long brown hair framing a tanned face was nodding along with something Ty Venez said. That young man was tall and lanky with prominent cheekbones and a complexion that made it look like he needed more sunshine in his life.

And there was Aiden.

In beige pants and a dark blue button-up shirt that he wore untucked, Aiden stood there with a smile on his face, watching her from the corner of his eye. Oh, God…What did my dad say to get him here?

Oh, God…What did my dad say to get him here?Melissa wore a sleeveless yellow dress with a skirt that flared, her black hair done up in a braid. “Hey,” she said, striding toward him. “I"m glad you could make it tonight. You look nice.”

“So do you,” Aiden replied. “Welcome to Earth adulthood.”

Grinning sheepishly, Melissa felt her face burn. She bowed her head to him. “What did my father tell you?” she asked. “You know, this birthday really isn"t that big of a deal back home. You can"t even drink-”

didAiden was smiling, turning his head to look at the back of her house. “He told me that you would be very unhappy if I didn"t come.” Well, at least that wasn"t too bad. “He then said something about my being an upstanding young man.”

“Oh god…”

“Yeah, very parental.”

Melissa stood before the young man with arms crossed, unable to find the courage to look up. “That"s my father,” she said with a shrug. “Try not to read too much into it; he really does mean well.”

As if on cue, the back door slid open, and Harry"s chair came rolling out onto the patio. Her father looked left and then right and then focused his attention on one of the other guests. “Ben! You made it!”

Tanaben was leaning against the back wall of the house with his legs stretched out, a drink in his hand. “Lovely place you got here, Harry,” he said. “So, the runt is finally all woman sized.”

“Seems like.”

Oh god…

Oh god…Why did older people always feel the need to draw attention to the fact that she was so young? It was hard enough being a cadet and trying to get people to take you seriously for five minutes; didn"t they realize they were making life that much harder for her?

Almost covertly, Aiden took her hand, and she suddenly felt a burst of warmth and affection. It was all she could do to avoid kissing him right there. Making out with a guy in front of your father wasn"t exactly the way to prove your maturity.

Tilting her head to one side, Melissa batted her eyes. “You"re wonderful.” Instinct took over, and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek before she could stop herself. “I"m really glad you came.”

Aiden went beet-red, shut his eyes and hung his head in chagrin. His soft, nervous laughter left her feeling uneasy, but he soothed her concerns by saying, “I"m really glad I came too.”

“Is what he"s saying true, Melissa?” Niella asked.

When she looked up, the other woman was watching her with lips pursed, a puzzled expression on her face. “On your planet, you still wouldn"t be permitted to drink alcohol even though you"ve reached the age of majority.”

“It"s true…Sort of.” She explained about how different nations had different rules – which was also true of Leyria, though there was more commonality – and how she would have to wait one more year to drink legally in Canada. It suddenly dawned on her that it would be awkward going back home. Here she was, a Justice Keeper who could be sent on life-threatening missions. She could be asked to evade gunfire, but as far as Canada was concerned, booze was a big no. “Excuse me a moment,” she told the others. “I really should greet the other guests.”

She found Ben leaning against the back wall and staring into his glass. His frown seemed ominous. “How"s it going, kid?” he asked. “Guess I should stop calling you that now that you"re all grown up.”

“Or, just a thought, you could stop bringing it up.”

“Point.”

Melissa spun around to lean against the wall beside him, folding her hands over her stomach. Finding the willpower to ask what she wanted to ask was difficult. “So, I"m told you"re working with software developers.”

“Indeed.”

“How are you liking it?”

Ben lifted his glass to his lips, shut his eyes and drank half of it. “Not too bad,” he said. “Much less gunfire, which is always a plus.”

“You don"t miss it at all?” she asked. “Working with us?” Memories of the angry rant he had directed at Larani were there in her mind. Perhaps she should have been more tactful in bringing it up.

Ben scrunched up his face, then shook his head forcefully. “Sorry, kid,” he said. “I remember what it was like to be your age, to want to change the world. But you grow out of it when the world kicks you enough times.”

Closing her eyes, Melissa took a deep breath, then nodded once in understanding. “I get that,” she said. “But we miss you. There are a lot of people who wouldn"t be alive today if not for what you did a few months ago. Including me.”