Chapter 19

Jhon Bonga walked in the front door of the Bureau of Antiquities, greeted the agent at the front desk, and headed down the long hall past the research labs. He glanced at his watch and lengthened his pace.

“Pineapple.” Annabeth’s voice carried from a lab up the hall.

“Okay, okay, I’m stopping,” Abraham’s tenor came back, nearly as loud.

No. In the office? Can’t be, the door is open.

Jhon hesitated a second before peeking around the door frame.

A cube, about a pace in each dimension, sat on the end of the counter that ran down the near side of Abraham’s lab. Abraham’s head was visible above the stone cube, and he was looking down at something behind it.

“Is everything alright?” Jhon stepped slowly into the room.

“Oh yes,” Abraham said. “Just having trouble getting this tonal lock open.”

“Mostly he’s having trouble with me,” Annabeth said, peeking around the corner. “Good morning, Director.”

“I’m not having trouble with you, Annabeth,” Abraham said. “I’m having trouble with noises you keep interjecting into my tests.”

“It’s a safe that you open with your voice,” Annabeth said. “It literally needs a safe word.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Abraham said, “it needs a precise sequence of tones, at the correct length and pitch, and probably the right volume.”

I see what’s going on here.

“She’s teasing you, Abraham.”

“Yes, sir, I know that,” Abraham said, ducking down to study something.

“You do?”

“Yes, sir, I don’t understand why it amuses her, but she continues to interject random words into my tests. Clearly, she is teasing me. The thing I don’t know is why.” He straightened and walked down the counter toward a large book.

“Do you know what a safe word is, Abraham?” Jhon asked. Annabeth giggled.

“I presume it is a phrase Annabeth invented for the sequence of sounds required to open this box. Why she keeps using actual words for her testing is the part I haven’t solved yet.” He flipped through the book, impossibly fast.

I’m pretty sure he’s still able to read at least some of that. Incredible.

“Abraham, a safe word is a word that a couple agrees to use if a sexual situation becomes too intense for one of them,” Jhon said.

“Truly?”

“Have I ever lied to you?” Jhon sighed and crossed his arms.

“I don’t believe so, Director. How could it be the same thing here?” Abraham’s orange eyebrows met over his nose in a frown of concentration Jhon had never seen him use to untangle the secrets of the natural world. Annabeth laughed aloud.

“I suspect she is flirting with you,” Jhon said. “I need to go; I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted.” He glanced down at his watch. “You kids discuss, I have work to do.”

Now I’m officially late. Again.

* * *

“Good morning, Jhon,” Sharon Tbela greeted him as he entered the conference room. “You’re early.”

Jhon glanced at his watch.

Six minutes late.

He cocked his head to the side and met Sharon’s eyes.

“Oh,” she said, drawing the word out, “you’re not early, you forgot to adjust your clock back for the time change, didn’t you?”

Jhon froze in the middle of pulling a chair out.

Excuses… excuses…nope. Nothing.

“I can’t think of any way to weasel out of it, you caught me. What are you doing here so early?”

“I was writing letters to several universities, requesting research materials from their libraries. I’m trying to get all of my office work completed early so that I can go downstairs and play with Abraham this afternoon.”

No hint of a smile, she doesn’t mean it as an innuendo.

“The strange box in the lab, or something else?”

“The tonal lock. I’ve never seen one in person before, and I suspect that Abraham will need my help.” She smiled.

“Why do you say that?” Jhon studied her closely. “He is easily our single most capable researcher.”

“I’ll pretend that wasn’t insulting, and just point out that Abraham does not have a sense of humor. Breaking a tonal lock isn’t just about the ‘sequence of sound’ Abraham is looking for, it is also about understanding the motivations of the creator. I have better intuition than he does.” She smiled again.

That’s an understatement. He’s virtually an automaton sometimes.

“First, I meant no disrespect. There is a reason you are Director of Research, and Abraham is one of your reports. Second, I understand the curiosity, but perhaps not the urgency. Do we have reason to believe this box holds something of interest?” Jhon smiled back at her. Sharon could be prickly if she thought he was questioning her judgement.

“We recovered it from Arris Bannister’s summer home.”

“Did he know how to open it?”

“We don’t know, and until we do, we should assume that he did,” Sharon said.

“Put any resource on it that you need, Sharon. If you need something we don’t have, let me know, and I’ll do everything I can to see that you get it.”

She slid her papers aside and looked into his eyes. “Sir, there is something, but it’s awkward.”

Jhon sighed. “Annabeth.”

“Yes, sir. I think she… reduces… Abraham’s effectiveness.” Sharon seemed to choose her words carefully.

“You can speak plainly, Sharon. If I’m offended, I’ll get over it.” He steepled his fingers.

“She’s a brazen…no, let me start over. She’s very forward with Abraham. I heard him say he didn’t know how to have sex, and she told him not to worry, she would teach him.” Sharon pulled a folder from her stack of work and flexed it in her hands.

“I will speak to her about office etiquette,” Jhon said.

I’ve avoided this conversation too long.

“Sir, I think we might want to add a section to the employee handbook concerning relationships with other agents,” Sharon said.

“I’m opposed to that,” Jhon said. “People make policies to avoid difficult, possibly complicated decisions. If I need to have difficult conversations with people, then so be it.” He flexed his fingers. Across the table Sharon flexed the folder back and forth.

“I know you hate bureaucracy and meaningless rules, Jhon, but prohibitions against office romances are not unreasonable. Suppose Annabeth breaks up with Abraham. How are they to work together afterward? Both of them are extremely valuable agents. By letting them… cavort… we risk losing both of them.” She slapped the folder back down on the pile and forced her hands away from it.

“Will it help if I’m completely transparent?” Jhon exhaled a ragged breath.

She narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps.”

“Annabeth isn’t just a profoundly gifted woman.”

Sharon gave him a sly half-smile. “Is this the part where you tell me she is a nephilim?”

Jhon raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. “I keep wondering how long it will take Jacob to figure that out, since he trains with her regularly. And please remember, that information could cost Annabeth her life. And mine as well.”

“Yes, sir. I’m uncomfortable with her, but I trust you.”

“Annabeth is unique. So far as we know she is the only female nephilim in history. She is the only nephilim to attempt a righteous life. Her value to this organization is inestimable. She can touch things that would kill us, fight impossible battles, and protect us from threats we would not see in time to react.

“She is also vulnerable. She has no friends of her own, only coworkers, and my friends. She is impulsive, sometimes angry, and she pushes any boundary placed around her. Some nephilim live ordinary lifespans, and some live for centuries. If she is to go on long after we are gone, it needs to be with the best foundation we can give her. She needs to live, not by an employee handbook, but live, as fully as possible.”

Sharon looked into his eyes, then down at the tabletop, then back up at his eyes, several times. “I don’t know what to say to that. It doesn’t seem right to shape the policy of an entire agency…against published guidelines, by the way…for the sake of one employee.”

“Then I’ll give you another. Abraham has nephilim blood. Not fifty-fifty like Annabeth, but enough to make him pretty exotic. You should be proud of hiring him, by the way. It was a sign of a great leader… he’s been passed over a great many times.”

Sharon smiled and nodded.

Jhon continued, “I hope, desperately, to recruit Chun. He is four hundred years old, and apparently expects to live several hundred more. In many ways he simply will not fit into our system. If we try to force him into that system, we may make an enemy of him, when he could have been an ally.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“This place is a haven for at least some of us who have great gifts, but do not fit into the established order. No other agency would allow a black director. No other agency would allow a black, female department head.

“Principles, like helping your neighbor and leaving the world better than you found it, apply to everyone, great or small. Rules, like always driving the speed limit, are for the average. We, the government, employ thousands of people who are authorized to break the speed limit with impunity. We need to be prepared to authorize special individuals to break other rules… but never principles.”

“So, if I took a liking to Lee, you would be okay with that?” Sharon arched an eyebrow at him.

“Sharon, never repeat what I am about to tell you.”

She frowned. “Jhon, you know me better than that by now. I take this job seriously.”

He raised an eyebrow at her and waited.

“Alright, I promise, but you didn’t need a promise. I know when to keep my mouth closed.”

“Lee is a homosexual. He has not told me, and to my knowledge he hasn’t told anyone else. Annabeth scrubbed his records at the Bureau of Investigation so that he could pass his background check.”

Her eyes went wide. “She what? Did you authorize that? Of course you did. But--”

“Right now, if he were found out, he could be ignored, jailed, medically castrated, or imprisoned. It would depend on who caught him, and who they decided to tell.”

“Lee?” The folder slipped out of her hands.

“Lee. And if someone were able to find evidence that I hired Lee, despite knowing about it, I would lose my position, and possibly go to jail.”

“If he didn’t tell you, how the hell could you know to scrub his records?”

“I didn’t know, but Annabeth did.”

“How?”

Jhon shrugged. “She’s the best threat-detector in the world. Or in Lee’s case, she promptly decided that he would be deeply protective of the bureau.”

“Obviously I won’t say anything to anyone… I… this is more complicated than I expected. You’ve given me a great deal to think about. Can we take this up again later?”

Jhon tried to smile, didn’t quite make it, and nodded instead. “Of course.”

* * *

Despite his bravado about difficult conversations in the conference room, Jhon stopped outside of Abraham’s lab and took two full minutes to center himself before entering.

“Director.” Abraham said, straightening too quickly. “I was hoping to speak with you. While Annabeth is out.”

“Well, I am here on different business, Abraham. Perhaps we will have time for both subjects.”

The tall man nodded. “Of course, sir. What can I help you with?”

“I know you struggle with humor--”

“Struggle is not the right term, sir. That would imply that I am trying.”

That must be a joke.

“So, you have given up on it?” Jhon crossed his arms.

“No, sir. I am comfortable with my strengths and shortcomings. I still learn where I can, but I do not struggle.”

That seems healthy. I wish I could say the same.

“I don’t know how to say this delicately, Abraham, especially to you. If I tiptoe around the issue, you will misunderstand me. But I would never say something intentionally hurtful to you.” Jhon rested his hand on the sonic lockbox.

“Sir, you are the finest manager I have ever had. Please, tell me what is on your mind,” Abraham clasped his hands together.

He’s nervous. I’ve never seen that before.

“You are a disruption to the other agents in this part of the building. Things--sounds--come from this laboratory that people up and down this hall find…well at times they find those sounds quite disturbing. Am I making sense?” Jhon ran his hand over a design embedded in the surface of the lockbox.

Is that writing? I can’t see it, only feel it.

“Yes, sir. Annabeth tells me you were quite uncomfortable that you heard me mention her clitoris.” There was a muffled snicker from the hall. Jhon lunged to the door and slammed it with vigor. The sounds of retreating footsteps mollified him, somewhat.

That was unbelievably stupid, here to talk about the words that people hear in the hallway, and I forget to close the door. I should fire me.

“It wasn’t just me, Abraham. Agents up and down the hall heard that conversation. Do you understand why that makes your coworkers uncomfortable?”

Come on, Abraham. Work with me.

“No, sir,” Abraham said. “I don’t understand why it makes you uncomfortable, but I do understand that it does. I will endeavor to learn to be more circumspect.”

Oh. That’s better than I thought I would get.

“Excellent. How about if I warn you when you’re saying something inappropriate, and you try to remember not to do it again?” Jhon parted his arms and smiled.

“Of course, Director,” Abraham nodded. “And thank you, sir. You are the first manager I have worked with who has been willing to teach me. I will not waste the opportunity.”

He’s not entirely comfortable with his limitations. Poor kid. With three doctorates.

Jhon patted Abraham on the shoulder. “What was on your mind before, Abraham?”

“May I marry Annabeth, sir?”

The hell did you say?

“Well, I guess I don’t know. Have you asked her?” Jhon tried to conceal his flabbergasted expression, to little effect.

“Yes, sir, but she said I could not ask her a question like that before asking you first.”

Annabeth said that? She hates tradition.

“Do you care for her?”

“Yes, sir. I would die for her.”

That’s not a cliche. Not from him.

“Does she care for you?”

“Oh, yes sir, very much. That is mostly why I need to marry her.” Abraham’s eyes darted around Jhon’s face, avoiding his eyes.

“I don’t follow.”

“I am not popular with the ladies, sir. To be honest, I have never had a female friend before.”

He probably hasn’t had a human friend before.

“I don’t see how that answers my question,” Jhon said.

“My sample size is not large enough to be scientific, sir, but so far as I can tell, she is the only woman in the world who has a romantic interest in me. I need to study her, to find out what makes her so different, but to do that I will need time. Probably the rest of my life. Marriage seems like the best way to facilitate that study.” He twisted his hands back and forth as he spoke.

Abraham, you mad romantic, you.

“So, you don’t want to marry her because you care for her, or because she cares for you, you just want to get married so she will stick around long enough to figure out what makes her tick?” Jhon cocked his head and wished he had a better way to study Abraham than simply looking at him.

“Yes, sir. I mean no, sir. Well, what I mean is that all of it is important, sir.”

Alright. That’s better. A bit.

“Annabeth is unique for more reasons than liking you, Abraham. Some of those reasons will make her difficult to live with. Are you prepared to put up with her eccentricities? Not to mention that she can be quite dangerous at times?”

“Oh, yes, sir. She’s told me about being a nephilim.”

Jhon double-checked the door to make sure it was still closed, then backed Abraham to the far side of the lab and lowered his voice. “Do you have any idea how much danger that word places her in?”

“Yes, sir, but no one is listening at the door,” Abraham said.

So, he can tell when people might overhear him, but still says these things… Good lord.

“That word can cost her her life.”

“Yes, sir, but you already know.”

Jhon groaned. “Well, Abraham, my appraisal is that you are intelligent, earnest, and loyal. Further, Annabeth has perhaps the most finely tuned sense of danger in the world. If she trusts you enough to give you a secret like that, then you must be a good man. You have my blessing.” He reached out and shook Abraham’s hand.

“Thank you, sir. You have no idea how happy this makes me. And since the door is closed, I already think of you as a father.”

Annabeth, we are going to have a long talk about this.

“Thank you, Abraham. I am fond of you too. Just... please be very careful. That secret is just as dangerous as the first one.”

“Of course, sir. To my grave.” He emphasized the words by nodding with a solemn expression, at least that’s what Jhon assumed he was going for.

He has to have a sense of humor in there somewhere. There are simply too many coincidences otherwise.