Josie stepped off the elevator alone. She stood in a foyer. She looked over her

shoulder. Jack waved at her with a grin on his face.

The door closed on his expression.

She frowned as she opened the inner door. She stepped into a round room with a

round bed on one side. Closet doors stood next to the bed. She opened them,

frowning at the dresses and shirts hanging on hangers. A box on one side of the closet

said dirty. A matching box on the other side said clean. She counted three different

types of shoes and boots on the floor of the closet. She looked at the shirts with the

back of her hand as a divider. They all had her lightning bolt on them.

She looked at some of the dresses. They resembled Mary Marvel’s costume. She

frowned at that.

Red and gold were okay, but she wasn’t exactly a dress wearing woman.

She found a giant bathroom opposite the closet. She wondered what a bath would

look like after all this time. She sniffed the soap and thought it smelled like Irish

Spring.

She planned to give the sunken tub a workout when she was done with all of this.

She walked over to the other door off her bedroom. She found an office with a desk

and chair. A picture of Captain Marvel hung on the wall beside a picture of Robby

Reed from his heyday. She had a picture of the night sky beside those two. She

paused as she watched a cloud gently move at the edge of the scene.

She wondered if Jack had made window screens to look out of the Hangar despite

being underground. It seemed like the kind of thing he would do.

She sat down at her desk. She noted it was the right height for her. She wondered if

she should get a book reader too. She mentally put it down as convenient but not

really necessary.

She smiled at the red and gold walls. Jack had done a good job with this remodel. She

had thought he would make everything like a hamster warren. She had

underestimated what he could do.

She stood. Her eyes fell on a black case on the side of her desk. She opened it, and

smiled. Jack had transported her guitar from her former quarters.

Or he had built one from scratch and left it for her.

She shook her head. She had to get back to the Hole in the Wall so they could reshape

it for the Queen. This has been a long day and she was ready to get some sleep before

the morning arrived and she had to get ready to send June home for her fight.

She needed to go down and get Jack moving. He and Elaine might already be using

their new bedroom. She hated to cut into their personal time, but she didn’t want

to waste time when they needed to get the rest of the thing done before they could

rest.

She went to the elevator and went down one floor. She found Her Majesty standing

outside the foyer door. She paused.

“I think they are arguing,” said the Queen.

“Really?,” said Josie. “Elaine usually has Jack wrapped around her little finger. I

wonder what they could be arguing about.”

She knocked on the door in her best policeman style. She had used it a lot when she

had to get the band up and moving. Nothing gets things going faster than police are

at the door, and they want your drugs.

The door slid open and Jack blocked her view, while looking over his shoulder.

“What can I do for you, ladies?,” Jack said.

“What’s going on?,” asked Josie. She squinted at him as he scratched the scar over

his eye.

“Elaine is miffed at one of the pictures that showed up,” said Jack. “I was trying

to explain it isn’t my fault.”

“Elaine?,” called Josie. “Can we see the picture?”

“No,” said Elaine. “It is embarrassing.”

“Then take it upstairs and burn it,” said Josie. She wondered what the picture showed.

She decided not to indulge her curiosity. “If it is too embarrassing to look at, then

it is too embarrassing to keep around.”

“I think that will be good,” said Elaine. “We will never speak of this picture again.”

“Lois and I didn’t even hear of a picture,” said Josie.

“I agree wholeheartedly, Elaine,” said the Queen.

Jack was silent.

Josie kicked him in the shin out of annoyance. It was a light kick. He jumped and

rubbed his shin with a hand.

“Josie’s right,” said Jack. He made a face at her. “Burning it is the right thing to do.”

“All right,” said Elaine. “Help me fold it up, Jack. I don’t want the girls seeing this.”

Josie guessed the picture would not be approved by the Comics Code Authority from

that comment. She felt her eyebrows go up.

Jack stepped back in the room, and let the door close.

“What do you think is in the picture?,” said Lois.

“I have no idea, and I have a feeling that I don’t need to know,” said Josie. “It would

probably be better for me to have never had the conversation we just had, so I am

going to do my best to forget it.”

Josie had several guesses, and she decided to put them out of her mind. If Elaine

wanted her to know, she would tell her.

“Let us dispose of this,” said Elaine as she came out of the bedroom. She had a board

broken in two and folded under her arm. “It is a good thing that we are getting

married, or we would be having a talk.”

“Yes, hon,” said Jack. He looked embarrassed.

Josie had never seen him embarrassed before. She squinted at him. What kind of

picture had his magic made for them.

They took the elevator up to the hangar part of the Hangar, and then the steps to the

open sky. The moon lit the grass and trees around the open hole. Elaine marched to

a spot away from the training dummies that June had put up. She put the board on the

ground.

“Stand back,” said Jack. He turned into the Human Torch and set the boards on fire.

He let the persona go as the picture went up. He watched as the flames reached for

the sky.

“That is good,” said Elaine. She took a deep breath. “It was a touch too much, Jack.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jack. “You looked beautiful in it.”

Elaine started to say something, but looked at Josie and Lois standing off to one side.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

She leaned over and whispered in his ear. He smiled.

“I can’t wait,” said Jack.

“You still have to work to do, lover boy,” said Josie. “Put out this fire, and let’s go

about our business. Also why the Mary Marvel dresses?”

“I have no idea,” said Jack. He called on the Human Torch again. He reached into

the flame and pulled it into his body. He let the persona go when the fire amidst the

ashes of a picture were out.

Josie covered the remains with her Geomancer. Then she ushered them back down

in the Hangar with her hands. She could feel the new bath calling her to be used.

“Let’s get the rest of this done,” said Josie. “I’m looking forward to trying out the

new tub.”

“So are we,” said Jack. “Not your tub, ours.”

“Let’s do this,” said Josie. “Did you put the windows in all the rooms downstairs?”

“Maybe,” said Jack. “The magic did all the heavy lifting.”

“All right,” said Josie. She made sure the top of the Hangar was closed down. “We

don’t have a lock for this to keep people out.”

“The fear ring should keep people away, but maybe it won’t work on everybody,”

said Jack. “I’ll put a lock in as soon as we’re done with the Hole in the Wall.”

“We’ll let the girls know about it so they know to lock after themselves if they go

out,” said Josie.

“Do you think the city wall can take an extensive change?,” asked Elaine. “I

remembered thinking no way were there rooms when Jack first showed me the

apartments.”

“The magic will buttress things,” said Jack. “You’re right about the place. How

did the Montrose install their own dungeon there inside an outer wall like that?”

“They could have openly smuggled women and girls out of the city since the Duke

and others were in on the trade,” said Josie. “I wonder why they would bother with

a way station like that. I didn’t ask Snidely about it. I was too angry to worry about

questions.”

“It always bothered me that Guin was extorting them for money,” said Jack. “Why

didn’t the Duke crush him?”

“Maybe we missed something,” said Josie. “We know Guin didn’t have any other

dealings with them. Maybe he’s a bigger wheel than we thought.”

“Or maybe some of the Montrose were doing things that allowed them to be extorted

by local criminal syndicates so they wouldn’t face problems,” said Jack. “I have no

problem believing that Guin would have arranged for an accident to happen, and his

most direct competition was the guy I took out.”

“You could ask Guin since he is helping you,” said Elaine.

“It can go on the back burner,” said Josie. “As long as Guin is helping us and not

hurting too many people, we can let some of his thing slide. I think he knows where

the line is. And we can’t pull him up, just like we can’t pull up the Exchange. I mean

we can decimate his whole organization, but do we keep doing that to everybody who

steps in his shoes?”

“I have a feeling that he isn’t going to like the King being focused on Hawk Ridge

for the next few months while we negotiate this princess romance,” said

Jack. Josie made an irritated noise as Jack grinned at her annoyance.

“I think our talk with Ropel has exposed more than what we thought was going on,”

said Lois. “And the meeting with the Duke indicated that the Royal Auditors have

been suborned.”

“So more than one duchy has been diverting money from the treasury?,” asked Jack.

“I think that is what Rickard believes,” said Lois. “I have a feeling that we are going

to see a huge bubble of corruption that will need to be lanced by the end of this.”

“The Society will give us quests if it gets too out of control,” said Jack.

“But not for ordinary corruption,” said Josie. “It has to be something major like a war,

or a disaster. I think we are changing things with our methodology and quests we

would have picked up are things we are already doing.”

“So we might be right about stalling the Shemmarians?,” asked Jack.

“I like it as an explanation even if it’s wrong,” said Josie.

They stepped through the gate and back at the Hole in the Wall. Josie took a moment

to breathe in the air. This was where they had started things. She hated that she had

been chained to a wall, but she didn’t regret the killing spree she had started her

campaign with.

“Let’s change this for Lois,” said Josie. “Then we have to get ready for tomorrow.”

“Compared to the Hangar, this should be a snap,” said Jack.

Josie checked her watch. She nodded at it being at full power.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” said Josie.

Jack took on his persona, becoming human formulae. She pulled on Zatanna. She had

gotten so much better with her magic since she had started. Adding the birds to help

her aim had improved her targeting.

They sent out their magic to shape things the way they wanted. The office came

downstairs with the model and archives being copied for use at the Hangar. The stairs

were moved to the other end of the office before the space was sealed up from the

rest of the apartment. The space upstairs became two rooms with full beds and

cabinets. The living room became a small dining room and kitchen. The bathroom

remained in place next to that.

The birds made sure everything was cleaned for their guest before they vanished.

“I think we should look the place over,” said Josie. “If the front door and window

shutters still work, we can pull them down for protection for the Queen.”

“We should ask Eric to send over some guards,” said Jack.

“I got it,” said Josie. She led the way upstairs. She checked both rooms. They were

in the front with windows facing the city. She didn’t know which way the sun would

be rising, but if the windows were facing the right way, it would be shining into the

rooms and lighting up the beds.

She tapped the window with her fist. She nodded at the sound that came back. She

thought that they could break through easily enough, but the normal weapons of the

time would need some effort to break the glass.

“Bulletproof,” said Jack. He nodded at her expression. “If Caroline is staying here

on her own, I didn’t want any Joe Schmoe breaking in.”

“What do you think, Lois?,” asked Josie.

“I’ve slept in worse places,” said the Queen. “What about these boxes in the closest?”

“You put your dirty clothes in the dirty box,” said Jack. “You pull your clean clothes

out of the clean box. It’s my way of getting around doing laundry.”

Lois’s eyes flickered to the portrait of her and Rickard holding hands, and grave

expressions.

“Let me put down security,” said Josie. “They won’t do anything but keep people

out of the Hole in the Wall, but that should be enough for you to open the gate

and come back to the Hangar if there is trouble.”

“Do you think there will be?,” asked Lois.

“You are under our protection and I would rather be ready for another Brant, than get

caught off guard,” said Josie. “And if someone did break in now, they are either after

you, or us. Either way, they will need to be dealt with in the course of things.”

“How did you decide on exploding heads?,” asked Jack.

“Put in a doorbell that reaches the Hangar,” said Josie. She shook her head. “The idea

came up with a talk with Eric.”

“And?,” said Jack.

“I was thinking about guided missiles,” said Josie. “Doorbell? I am going to put in

the security after that is done.”

“All right,” said Jack. He shook his head. She thought she heard him muttering

guided missiles under his breath as he went downstairs.

“Make sure you put a push the button and talk sign on it,” she called after him.

“Yes, Mom,” he called back.

“What was the picture, Elaine?,” asked Josie.

“I will take that secret to my grave,” said Elaine. She made a chagrined face.

“All right,” said Josie. She put the matter aside. Maybe she could find out from Jack

later. She checked her watch. “Let’s put down our sentries, and then we can get some

sleep and get ready to move Caroline in and June and Mister Warner home for the

time they need to get things done.”

“What are you thinking?,” asked Elaine.

“Birds,” said Josie. “Watch birds.”

She pulled on Zatanna. She inscribed runes at the windows and at various places

around the office. She put two more at the gate. She let her persona go as the devices

said they were on watch and ready to go.

Anyone breaking in would have to deal with their face exploding. It would be loud

and messy, but as fatal as she could make it.

“We’re going to head back to the Hangar, Lois,” said Josie. “We’ll pick you up and

take you to the hospital tomorrow, and you can help us move Caroline, and maybe

hang out with Case. Like I said, you can stay for June’s send off, or I can send you

home so you and Rickard can watch things develop from afar.”

“My presence would be a nuisance, wouldn’t it?,” said Lois. She gave Josie a stern

look.

“If you want your daughter to break up with Case, you have to let them work that

out,” said Josie. “Some people can’t make things work no matter how hard they try.

That might be the case here. On the other hand, outside pressure might be enough to

push them together in opposition to what you want. I don’t want a quest to find

Caroline every time she gets into trouble because she ran away from home and her

responsibilities. I want to grow this enough that they decide what they want to do, and

they are off my hands. After that, it will be on them to make it work.”

“If Case becomes the king?,” said Lois.

“Then he knows better to cross me on a bad day,” said Josie. “We’re leaving you on

your own. The kitchen should have food in it if you get hungry again. Please stay out

of trouble until I can get you back to the capitol.”

“I do expect some kind of news,” said Lois.

“I will ask Caroline to write you every night,” said Josie. “She might be able to teach

the kids some things.”

“All right,” said Lois. “I would appreciate that.”

“Remember, if the security goes bad, come down to the gate and step through,” said

Josie. “The birds will buy you enough time for that. Then Jack will take care of the

rest.”

“Doorbell is done,” said Jack. “Even tested it.”

“Good,” said Josie. “Good night, Your Majesty. We will see you in the morning for

breakfast. Then we will get started with the day.”

A letter appeared in the Queen’s hands. She read it silently.

“Rickard is asking for the armies to be deployed to shut the borders,” said Lois. “He

is thinking about putting a bounty on these tattooed men.”

“That will make the adventurers happy,” said Josie.