Chapter 41: Friends and Fame

Wil was amused to find that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t put work out of his mind. Here they were, just over two weeks until their presentation, and their newest breakthrough meant that they all fought over who could dream bigger. Which wouldn’t be so bad, if they weren’t out in public at the classiest place in Harper Valley.

Danson’s Steakhouse was usually a place for dates, with its dim lighting, pleasant ambiance, and quality food. The four of them grabbed a table together in the back, with an order of drinks for everyone who wasn’t pregnant, and about ten pounds of ribeyes. Wil would take a raw steak home for Isom later. The wampus cat’s behavior had been good lately.

The same couldn’t be said for Bram and Thomas, who had diagrams out on the table, in between mostly cleared plates. Thomas prodded a spot underneath a picture of one of their cars. “If we’ve got vehicles that run purely on the leylines, that frees up room where the batteries would go. You’re mad if you think we shouldn’t make the most of the room we have.”

Bram groaned loud enough to disturb people at a nearby table. They shot them dirty looks, but Bram replied with just as much fire. “They should still have batteries as redundancy. There’s no telling when something could go wrong and we want them to still work in case an emergency happens. Besides, do you really want to stress the machine with that many nested runes?”

“Oh, so the newbie is worried? Why not ask an expert? I’m waiting.” Thomas didn’t break eye contact, even when he took a petulant drink of beer.

They had finally gotten to a point where they could joke about the difference in experience without hurting anyone’s feelings.

“Why don’t we ask an expert? Let’s invite Ferrovani over then.”

Wil leaned over to whisper in Darlene’s ear, “I could listen to them fight all day.”

“I couldn’t,” said Darlene. “Break it up, fellas. Before I have to splash some cold water on you.”

Bram and Thomas glowered at one another. Despite how much of a teddy bear he was, Bram had a face made for intimidation. Eventually Thomas snickered, and the tension broke with the table’s laughter.

“That one hurt,” said Thomas. “Ferrovani’s an ass and I’m glad to be done with him.” His smile faded, and he had a faraway look on his face.

“You imagining telling him to kiss your ass?” asked Wil.

Thomas chuckled and nodded. “Exactly. I think that I’m going to do that soon, before he comes for the presentation. He still bothers me, and he very badly wants a piece of what we’ve done. I think I’m going to make it clear that he and his spies are done here.”

Darlene raised her sweet tea. “Should’ve done that weeks ago, but better now than never. Think we should do something to run them out of town before the presentation? Something other than giving one of them a nightmare and melting their guns, I mean. We don’t want to get arrested, or worse: notably not arrested because of nepotism.”

Wil winced. Now that he’d lost his temper and lashed out, guilt consumed him whenever he thought about it. The spies weren’t on the same level as Hugo, and he needed to calm down and let go. It didn’t mean he wanted to. “We could always speak poorly about them in the brewery and around town, make them pariahs.”

Thomas shook his head. “I’ll deal with them tomorrow. When I’m through with them, they will leave town. I…” His mouth snapped shut, and he wrestled with himself over something.

“What’s going on?” Bram asked, nudging Thomas. “You what?”

Thomas cleared his throat. “I’ve been working quietly, figuring things out about them. Collecting dirt, reaching out to others. They won’t be a problem anymore. I guarantee it. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that I haven’t done it sooner. They should never have gotten an opportunity to make weapons, and I take full responsibility for that.”

“Why?” Darlene’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not like you invited them here to town, right?”

“Right,” Thomas said, eyes dropping. “I didn’t want them here, and I told Ferrovani that. But like I said, tomorrow I’m going to put a stop to all of it. I’m actually glad we’re talking about it, because I have something I’ve wanted to say.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Wil looked around the table. Thomas had their rapt attention. He cleared his throat and began.

“I really, really appreciate being part of this team. This is exactly what I needed, and I didn’t even know it. For years I worked alongside the masters, never really appreciated for my contributions. I thought that being on a small team like this, I’d instantly rise to the top and show how brilliant I’ve been all along.”

Thomas made a disgusted face, and they all laughed. “That didn’t happen, because I’m not. Working with all of you made me realize that I function best as part of a team, and that I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did. You’ve all impressed me beyond my ability to convey it. So I wanted to thank you all, for the honor of letting me work with you.

“And so, a toast. To friends and fame, may we all be flush with both.” Thomas raised his beer.

“To friends and fame,” said Bram as he raised his drink, “in that order, preferably.”

“Friends and fame,” said Darlene. “And a ridiculous amount of money from our success.”

“To friends and fame,” Wil said. He raised his beer and they clinked their drinks.. “May we continue to make each other better as we go on.”

They drank, and settled back into their chairs with contented sighs. Wil sought out Darlene’s hand and ran his thumb over her palm. Just a few weeks away from an end to all of their worrying and struggles, and he could hardly believe it. It was too soon, but it also wasn’t soon enough. If Wil could speed up time and have it be tomorrow to get it over with, he would in a heartbeat.

But they still had time to iron out any last issues and finish up Bram’s latest designs. Which reminded him. “Hey Bram, how close are you to finalizing the coffin?”

“For the last time, we’re not calling it the coffin,” said Bram. He threw his napkin onto his empty plate and relaxed. “That’s too morbid, and it’s the opposite of what it will do.”

“But you have to admit,” said Darlene, “it kind of looks like a coffin. And you do put dying people in them. The snail coffin has a ring to it. Snoffin, maybe.”

“I don’t want people to associate it with actually dying!”

“Bram, Bram.” Thomas put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “You want something memorable and controversial, trust me. The snail coffin is a great way for people to ask what the hell it means.”

Wil drummed his fingers on the table. “The Time-stretcher,” he said. “It’s like a magical medical stretcher, and it stretches out each second as long as possible. What could be better?”

Their latest creation utilized a time bubble. The knowledge how to do it came from the fae, as Wil left Faerie. The time-stretcher was a large box with enough room inside for a person. Whenever the box was closed and locked, time stretched on inside. One second inside was a minute outside. Their final creation before their deadline would revolutionize trauma care.

“Dammit, that’s good,” Thomas admitted.

“I can go with that,” Darlene conceded.

“And it’s nearly done,” Bram said. He had that familiar, manic look in his eye when he talked about their projects. “It’s so funny, how much easier it is to stretch time like that than to speed it up. That first version broke the batteries, even with the connection to the leyline. All we need to do is make sure that there’s enough air and motion stabilizing to help prevent the time bubble from collapsing. It’ll be ready in time.”

“Alright, enough already,” said Darlene. “We’ve had a good, productive day and a nice celebratory dinner. We’re going to go back to work tomorrow, but I’m fat, full, and sleepy. I think it’s about time for Wil to roll me on home so we can listen to the radio and de-stress.”

“De-stress, huh?” Thomas waggled his eyebrows, earning some groans. “I think that’s a good idea. I’m tired, and I have a lot to prepare for tomorrow. But more importantly, dinner’s on me.” They cheered, once again earning the ire of their neighboring diners. Wil didn’t care.

Ten minutes later they were in their car, with Wil driving. Darlene was too far along now to comfortably fit behind the steering wheel. They drove on at a leisurely pace with the windows down. Darlene stuck her head outside the window and breathed in the summer night. Wil activated the extrasensory mode and watched his girlfriend.

Everything about that day reminded Wil of how blessed he really was. He could honestly say he had a good life, and things were going his way. Which was, of course, reason to worry. Wil chuckled at his paranoia and put it out of his mind, focusing on moving past the light foot traffic on the way back to their house.

And then the foot traffic thickened past the point of being able to drive.

“What’s going on?” Darlene asked.

“Good question,” said Wil. He popped his head out of the window and honked on the horn. It cleared a way through scowling pedestrians, and he jumped at the opportunity. The problem only got worse the closer they got to home. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

It took twice as long to get home, and then Wil saw the problem. Or rather, he felt the problem as soon as he got close enough to sense Isom, and the pure glee coming from the predator. Wil jumped out of the car and ran up the drive, pushing past the concerned onlookers.

Isom lay on top of one of the three wizards, teeth wrapped around his neck. He waited patiently for Wil, tail flickering like a snake’s rattle.

Look what I caught. He and the others tried to break in while you were gone. They work for your friend Thomas. Can I eat him?