Ravela parked outside of the school district. She was leaning on the hood of her car. It was already twenty minutes past eight. The way from her motel through the city had led her past the results of last night’s assailants running amok. Burned-out buildings, crime scene tape all over the place, firetrucks, ambulances, and police cars rushed about, trying to pick up the slack. She had turned up the volume to hear the news on the radio. It was unusual for the news broadcaster to speak for an entire morning. Ravela could tell by the lump she could hear in the man’s voice that this was a highly irregular situation.
“The police chief has advised all citizens to take shelter at home and stay away from windows when they see a group of men walking down your street and report any activity to the police. If we all work together, further bloodshed may yet be prevented.”
There was a pause, and the studio door opened. The newscaster asked in an irritated voice, “Another attack? Oh, you got to be kidding me. This is ridiculous. I’ve been at this for hours. Man, I need a break. You, come here. Why’re you looking so shocked? Come here, sit in this chair, and read the next report, will ya? I need a coffee and something to eat. Yeah, yeah, go on, sit here. I’ll be right back in like ten-twenty minutes tops.”
Ravela wryly smiled. That was something she so far hadn’t happened in her life.
“Th-this is Pliada Radio, M-Melle Mulage with the news.”
Ravela turned to the radio. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard—little Mrs. Mulage interning for a radio station. The girl just put herself on Ravela’s notice due to having a little reporter in her: avoiding her had just become a priority.
She turned back to the gate, tuning out the news for a while.
Finally, Safora and Laena saw fit to show up. They were being stopped at the gate by one of the guards. Ravela watched them argue for a while before he let them through. She crossed her arms while the girls looked around for a moment before they spotted her.
‘It’s rude to make a lady wait, you know?’ She thought to herself.
Safora looked not well rested. Ravela imagined that seeing dead people killed by explosions had been a wake-up call for her. At least, she planned on making it a wake-up call this time.
“Good morning. I see you’ve slept well, Safora. Laena, it’s been a while. Any excursions you want to tell me about while we are being honest with one another?”
Laena shook her head. “I was busy with school. What have you been up to? Since, you know, we kinda didn’t talk for months.”
Ravela scoffed at the girl. “I’ve been a busy bee. I am building a life and getting to know the locals. Having one adventure with a surprise guest star. I assume Safora already filled you in on what she knows?”
Laena nodded. Her expression was that of a pouting teenager whose barbs have been ignored by an adult.
“Great, then let’s drive.”
“Shotgun!” Safora blurted out.
Laena’s reaction was immediate. “No, you can sit in the back!”
Safora looked shocked. “But I called it.”
Her friend put her hands on her hips. “You called it, but I deserve it.”
Ravela groaned. “What is this about?”
Safora turned to Ravela. “I called shotgun; I get to ride in the passenger seat, of course.”
Ravela looked over at Laena. “I’m calling you a loose cannon, so you ride in the back. Laena gets to ride in the front since she didn’t do anything stupid.”
Safora threw her hands in the air while Laena blew a raspberry at her. “No, that’s not fair.” But she went and sat in the backseat.
Ravela got into the driver’s seat and turned off the radio.
“So, how is school?” She opened the conversation with a trivial question.
“It is school. What are you asking? It’s boring. It is no fun. We are walking on eggshells. Something weird happened to Troy Han, and he’s no longer in school. People say he’s in the hospital…..did I mention that it is sooooo boring?” Safora jumped at the question, poking her head through the space between Laena and Ravela.
“You sit down and put the seatbelt on,” Ravela told the teenager. “So you were bored a bit? That’s it? You fly into burning houses, hunting criminals unthinkingly without knowing what they can do? What you did wasn’t just reckless. It was stupid. You could have died back in the building. You know that?” Ravela vented at Safora. “I told you to stay put, and then I find you there of all places! You picked the most dangerous spot to be in a city of millions.”
She took a deep breath. “So, boring, walking on eggshells? No incidents? Crushed doorknobs? No floating through school suddenly or tripping clumsily and barreling through a wall?”
Laena shook her head. “No, we’ve been model students. No outbursts or anything.”
Ravela started the car. “Well, that is better than expected. I would have sworn when I see you two again, at least one of you would already be famous for her powers.”
Safora chimed in from behind. “Hey, I got great control over my powers!”
Ravela shook her head while driving down the road. “This Troy Han kid, what happened? What do you know?”
Safora quieted down right away and let Laena tell Ravela about what they heard from the roommate.
Ravela fell silent after Laena finished her story. Safora and Laena noticed the burned shops and buildings in the city, but they didn’t ask about them. They would hear about all of this soon enough.
“Might be that he got altered by the explosion during the game. Not every alteration happens instantaneously,” Ravela said bitterly. “Sorry, that happened to your classmate. I can’t change that.”
“So what now? What will you do about it?” Safora asked.
Ravela tilted her head, entering the freeway while she thought about the situation. “I can’t do anything about that. And if you are smart, for once, you will let this go. There is nothing to be done here.”
Laena jumped in. “But what if he gained powers? Aren’t you responsible for him too?”
“There are big differences in this situation. For one, he doesn’t know how he got his powers. I didn’t give them to him willingly, either. He doesn’t know who I am, and I want to keep it that way. Bad enough that I have to rely on you two to keep your secrets. You’re also tasked with keeping mine.” Ravela turned her head, looking directly at Laena for a moment. “I don’t wish for him to know about me. You don’t talk to him about me. Don’t even think about it. That is only if he even comes back to school. That is if he got powers and the government doesn’t take him in like some specimen.”
Ravela got quiet again.
Safora spoke up first. “So, no chance of opening up to him? How will he learn to use his powers then?”
Ravela grimaced. “If he has powers now, he will have to learn to use them on his own or with the help of the authorities. I won’t be responsible for every altered human I happen across. Not that I don’t want to be, but I can’t. You two are already more than a handful. Especially you, Safora.”
Laena crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So, we got lucky, and now we get your help just because we know your secret?”
Ravela looked in her back mirror, Safora glaring daggers at him. Glancing over, Laena did the same. They took offense to her protecting herself.
“There is no guarantee that the person you knew Troy to be, is the same Troy coming back. It might have changed him in a way I can’t even help him.” Ravela said firmly. “In that crowd, there is no telling how many people will become altered. I can’t take on a lot of altered beings. A circle of three is already too big for secrets to be kept properly unless, of course, the people entrusted with that secret can bring some discretion and respect to the table.”
Ravela pulled over to a gas station. “I am about to take you to my new home. I need to know here and now that you won’t be blurting out my name to every person you feel like telling. Are you going to just tell anyone about me? How long till one of them turns out bad and my house gets burned down, and I end up murdered because you decided I had to trust someone, no matter my protest? I know you’re good kids, and your heart is in the right place, but I would not tell any other altered: ‘Hey, by the way, those two, yeah, those two got these powers.’ Because I would paint a big target on your backs. And what if you tell Troy about me, and he decides he hates having powers, or what has happened to him? What will you do then? When he is out to get me, and you stand between us? Will you just let him tear me apart if he has the powers to do so? This isn’t some circle of friends helping each other out. It is a community based on trust and respect. You two ought to have enough respect for me by now to not play games with my life. The both of you should by now have enough respect not to play with your own lives or your family's lives like that. I don’t have a family. As far as I know, I am alone in this world. But your stakes are too high to even think of involving anybody without extensive research and an unshakable certainty they won’t pose a risk to you and yours.”
Ravela was rolling from the parking spot to the gas pump. “I will get some snacks and drinks. Why don’t you two have a heart-to-heart while I’m gone?”
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Ravela exited the car and told the service worker, “Good morning, ten liters, please, and thank you.” Then she entered the station and took one of the small baskets by the door. Going through the aisles, picking some chocolates, gummy worms, candy bars, and sugary soft drinks for the road. She walked up to the cashier and said, “This and,” She stretched her neck a bit, looking over at the pump, “Pump three, please.”
She was paying her dues to the man she took her bag of snacks back to the car.
She saw the girls were still talking about the situation. Handing the serviceman a five-dollar bill as a tip with a nod, Ravela opened the door to the backseats and put the bag of snacks on the seat.
Then closed it again and walked around to the driver’s side. She looks up at the sky. It had been a while since there was sunshine and no clouds above. The grey scenery with a bit of drizzle, snow, or fog had been weighing on her mind, and she hadn’t even noticed until she looked up and saw the sunshine and bright blue sky.
Ravela took a moment to feel the sunlight on her face. Opening the door after the moment had passed, she got back behind the steering wheel.
“So, how do you feel now? Do you still want to tell anyone powerful you meet, knowing that some may be like the man burning down the warehouses or the factory of the day before?”
Laena spoke for both of them. “No, you’re right. It would be crazy to just tell anyone who gains powers. We were not suggesting we would do that. We just wanted to hear your thoughts about it because this was something that might concern you. Sorry that we got so heated about this. Troy is our classmate, after all.”
Ravela made a skeptical face. ‘Sure, you were just hearing out my thoughts.’ “Alright then, how about we drive on then? I planned to show my home to you during next summer break, but oh well. No use in crying over spilled milk, right? I must warn you, it’s not much to look at right now,” She said, starting the car and driving back on the freeway.
“What’s with all the snacks and soda packs?” Safora asked from the backseat.
Ravela grinned. “Well, I thought some comfort food for all the troubles we faced recently would be fine.”
Safora ruffled through the bag. “Awesome! Uh, there are coconut bars.”
Laena turned in her seat. “Really? Gimme one.”
Safora stopped rifling through the bag. “Oh, now the backseat is good enough for you, hm? Well, well, well, how the tables have turned.”
“Get over yourself and give me a coconut bar, or I’ll dunk your hair in purple paint Sunday night.” Laena threatened.
Safora made a gasping noise. “You wouldn’t!”
Ravela wondered why that would be so bad. Then a candy bar hit Laena on the nose.
“There you have it!” Safora said, sounding genuinely angry.
“Ow, ey!” Laena squealed.
Ravela intervened with a loud voice. “Now, that’s enough! You two need to behave. I not gonna wreck my beautiful new car because you two can’t share candy like normal friends would.”
Laena looked at Ravela from the side. “B-beautiful?”
Safora sputtered. “N-new?”
Ravela frowned. “I bought this just a month ago. Of course, it’s new.”
The girls started laughing at her. They were laughing at her and the care! Ravela was outraged. “What? You got a problem with my car or something?”
Safora stopped laughing. “Oh, oh no. It is wonderful. A car for the ages.”
Laena added, still laughing, “Yeah, it’s a real classic, alright.”
“What are you two on about?” Ravela wasn’t happy with this turn of events.
“You know, my grandfather had one just like this when he was still young.”
Safora’s last remark finally made Ravela realize what was going on.
“Wait, are you saying my car is old?”
“Noooo. Not at all. There’s at least one or two that came before it.” Laena chimed in again.
Ravela began gritting her teeth and said with a pressed voice. “Fine, I get it. I might as well be riding you around on horseback. I got it.”
Safora got in one last dig by saying. “That car salesman must have been happy to have you as a customer that day. Did he offer you the cars that still started with a front crank, and what was wrong with those?”
The girls were having fun at her expense, but at least the mood wasn’t so tense anymore. Ravela relaxed and decided that she might as well join in if she could stop them from mocking her car. “Eh, they weren’t the right colors.”
The girls roared with laughter.
Ravela didn’t think the car she bought was that old of a model.
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*Gradjia sheriff’s office*
Deputy Briar had been on front desk duty for the last two months, courtesy of his father leaning on the sheriff after the incident at the football game.
He had been ridiculed by his fellow deputies for getting “benched,” but after that rough day, he enjoyed some peace. It was noon, and Maland Briar was getting ready to get his lunch from the backroom fridge. He could already taste the turkey sandwich and his well-deserved lunch coffee.
The moment he got up, the front door opened, and two men in black suits walked in the door. Maland sat back down. “Blessed day. How can I help you?”
One of the two men stepped forward while the other walked over to the seating area and sat down like he had no care in the world.
“Ah yes, good morning,” He looked at the name tag on Maland’s uniform. “Deputy Briar. Is the sheriff in right now?”
Deputy Briar shook his head. “No, he went out to a call. You’re welcome to wait for him, though.”
“Agent Phang, do we have time to wait around?” The man in front of him asked.
“No, we do not. We are here to collect the evidence and move on.” The man lounging on the couch replied.
“Sadly, Deputy Briar, we won’t be able to wait for the Sheriff.” The man before took an apologetic bow like it was custom for many people from the West Coast. “The evidence we’re here to collect stands in connection with organized crime. As I understand, the case was open and shut for you.” The man put his hand on his forehead and leaned back like he had forgotten something important. “Oh, apologies. Allow me to come into the room again properly. My name is Agent Xiao. I am with the FBI,” He put down a badge on the table and slid a card and a federal court order over to Deputy Briar. “These are my credentials. The number on this card will put you in contact with my superior back upstate, and this most important piece of paper is a federal court order. Signed this morning by the honorable Judge Cody. Now far be it from me to inconvenience you right before lunchtime, but-”
Deputy Briar cut him off, unfolding the document. “I get it. I get it. What is this about? The guy that did it is dead, isn’t he?”
“Of course, but there is the national security matter of how a known criminal came into possession of a mountain of explosives.” The agent supplied him.
“The rubble you collected, the photos you shot, and the statement you took may be a done deal to you, but to us, they’re invaluable intel. Deputy Briar, please, as I understood it, you were the man who took out this madman. I can’t go into too much detail, but the things happening in Pliada City lead us to believe that this pertains to a matter of national security. You’d be doing your nation a great service if you could have us back on the way to our lab before you eat your lunch.”
Deputy Briar picked up the phone. “One moment, please.”
He dialed the number on the card and waited for the phone to be picked up. It rang once, twice, and a third time.
Maland was thinking about hanging up, but then he heard a click.
“Deputy Director Dent, who’s this?”
“Blessed morning, Deputy Director. This is Deputy Briar from Gradjia in Buck County.”
There was a pause, and he heard the rustling of paper. “Deputy? A sheriff’s office? Now, why would a sheriff want to call…” There was another pause, and he could hear the man call in a stressed tone. “Kolly, Kolly, get in here. One second, Deputy ….Briar, was it?”
“Yes, Sir,” Maland responded, a bit confused.
“We will clear this right up. Buck County?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Kolly, does Buck County ring a bell with us?”
Deputy Briar could hear a faint voice of a woman say, “Sir, you sent Agent Phang and Agent Xiao out there. The explosion at the football game, remember?”
“Oh, Kolly, how would I survive these days without you? Thank you.”
Deputy Briar looked at Agent Xiao, who looked like he had been expected to be forgotten.
“Deputy Briar, you still there, son?”
Maland snapped out of his musings. “Yes, I am still here, Sir.”
“I am happy to confirm that Agent Phang and Agent Xiao are indeed coming on my orders. What else can I do for you?” He could hear the stressed tone in the man’s voice.
There was no telling the amount of pressure this man was under, but it couldn’t be little. “Sir, that is good enough for me. Have a good day.”
“You too, deputy.” He could hear the receiver being put down but not properly hung up. “Kolly, get me the blue tie and the flag lapel pin. The defense secretary called another meeting, and the director saw fit to stick me with this nightmare.”
“Sir, before that. Your wife has called to remind you to take your heart medication.”
Deputy Briar shook his head and hung up the phone. “You’re drowning in work over the things happening in Pliada City, hm?”
“Oh, the alarm bells are going off everywhere.” Agent Xiao said dryly.
“Think the Reds are arming the criminals.” Maland inquired.
Agent Xiao gave him a look. “I can’t talk to you about who I think is doing what,” A quick wink followed that statement. Then he turned back to his partner. “Can you believe this guy? Asking me those questions?”
Agent Phang gave him a bored wave. “Can we get this over with, please? I would like to follow some actual leads sometime soon.”
Agent Xiao turned back to Maland and shrugged. “Well, can you help us out now?”
“Of course, I’d be happy to help.” Maland agreed. “We only got three cartons anyway.”
Agent Xiao looked at him, shocked. “W-What about the wreckage? The debris from the truck and the crates?”
Deputy Briar shrugged. “Got to the local yard, most of it anyway. The parts that are still recognizable were kept, but the rest… Photographed it, and then we sent it to the yard.”
“The yard!?” Agent Xiao’s face expressed pure disbelief.
“Agent Xiao,” Agent Phang intervened from behind. “no need to panic over spilled milk. Not like we were going to take that with us today anyway.”
The man before him cleared his throat. “Right, right. If you could get a hold of the yard and try to salvage what you can till we get out here again, that would be great. Those boxes, then…please, lead the way. Sorry, I sometimes forget that a closed case in a county doesn’t get stored in the big warehouse as we do it up high. My bad.”
“No offense taken. You got a lot more on your plate than we do.” Maland said, walking to the evidence room after handing Agent Xiao his badge.
“You’re a good man. Other officers would have held that little stumble against me.” Agent Xiao said.
Deputy Briar thought that he was the first federal agent that he met in his time as a deputy. Maland wanted to help him out. An idea came to his mind. “You know the culprits were involved in another incident.”
Agent Xiao piped up from behind. “Really?”
“Yeah, they made a school bus crash the traffic barrier in Old Gradjia just before this stunt. We arrested them there. The statements and things connected to those two’s activities, including where we arrested them at the time, might be of interest to your investigation.” Maland supplied.
“That…yeah, that might be helpful. I might have to come back with another court order for that.” The federal agent thought out loud.
“Or I could give you those boxes, and when you come to collect whatever we can save from the wreckage, you can bring that court order with you.” Maland offered.
Agent Xiao patted him on the shoulder. “Deputy Briar, you’d be doing me, my fellow agents, and your country a great service.”
Maland smiled and nodded. “I think, since that case is closed too, there won’t be a problem with that.” They started carrying out the boxes. After they packed the evidence into the trunk of their car, they drove off.
Maland finally sat down for his well-earned turkey sandwich.
He enjoyed his sandwich and sandwich when Sheriff Thorn and his father returned from their regular lunch.
“Deputy Briar, you’re a bit late with your lunch today. What’s the matter?” His boss asked him.
“Oh, Sheriff, there were two federal agents here with a court order.”
The sheriff frowned. “Whatever could they want here?”
Maland went to pick up the court order, but it didn’t sit on his desk anymore. “That’s odd. The court order was right here before lunch. Judge Cody ordered the release of the evidence of the bomb explosion to the FBI. Agent Xiao and Agent Phang just picked it up half an hour ago.”
Sheriff Thorn’s frown became more profound, and his father chimed in with a remark that pulled the rug from under him. “Son, Judge Cody retired last year.”
Maland’s mouth fell open. “He what now?”
Sheriff Thorn picked up the central radio beside Maland. “All units, we have fake federal agents in the county. They’ve stolen evidence and are on in a….” The sheriff turned to Maland, putting the receiver to his mouth, waiting.
“A black limousine. GenealMotors model with tinted windows. Two Asian men in black suits. Both roughly twenty-five to thirty-two years old.” Maland rattled off, shell-shocked.
“You heard it. Move out! Get me the evidence back. I’m calling the other jurisdictions. We’ll get these clowns.”
The sheriff began dialing out without looking at the number. He knew the neighbors like the back of his hand. He finished dialing, and nothing happened.
He got back on the receiver, cursing. “They’ve cut the telephone lines or something. I will have to drive over to the next town. FIND ME THESE MEN!”
He drove for about ten minutes before he spotted a car standing slightly off the road near a central telephone node, a burning black limousine. The telephone node was destroyed with a small tent constructed over it. Sheriff Thorn cursed.
The deputies and firefighters gathered, and Sheriff Thorn stood there, and it was the first time that any of the deputies had seen their boss’s dark skin turning a shade of purple with impotent rage. His face contorted in a way nobody had ever seen. They’ve been had by some criminal again.
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*In a camper driving down the freeway*
Min and Julius Wu sat in front laughing as they drove away from the backwater they had relieved of certain crates of evidence. In the back of the camper sat their fellow P.I.’s pouring themselves a nice warm coffee.
“That was two months of investigation and preparation.” Aoto Harada said. “I can’t believe that worked. This is a huge payday for us. Not that the pay wasn’t already great. To the weird fixations of wealthy moguls.”
His partner on the other side of the temple toasted with his coffee mug to him. “Hear, hear.”
The mood in the camper was great. They’ve been combing through the region for months. This incident caught the eye of their wealthy employer. Aoto wasn’t sure what this obsession was about, but he didn’t mind doing work for a person paying buckets of money to him for seemingly random information.