Decay (8 page)

The alien was getting good at letting the guy's sarcasm roll right off his back. Alan didn't even glare, which was a step up from their last meeting. “With this new technology, we'll be able to do some incredible things. I'm not even sure what all will happen. However, I've also been given permission to come up with a plan to capture prisoners of war, namely Bean and Sprout. Our other task will be to devise a plausible way to make them go unnoticed for a few days. It hasn't been declared a priority, but I want it on the back of your minds all the same. You know the culture so much better than I.”

“That shouldn't be too hard. All Orly has to do is ask his ex out on a romantic weekend vacation,” JD said while wiggling his eyebrows. Angela wanted to punch him for the suggestion. Thankfully, Orlando didn't take it too seriously.

“I'd rather kiss a cactus,” he muttered.

JD shrugged. “Just an idea. She's hot, so maybe I'll find a way to ask her instead.”

Idiot.
Sometimes Angela wished she could put duct-tape over his mouth or find some way to filter his brain, so he actually thought before speaking. Cadence's eyes glistened with tears, and he didn't even seem to notice.

Right when Angela was about to say something, Orlando spoke up. “I'm sure your girlfriend would be all for that.”

“We're not labeled, actually, and if it's for the cause...” JD nudged Cadence playfully. She didn't reciprocate the fun attitude. “Oh come on, I was joking. I wouldn't actually ask her out. You know that right?”

Cadence shook her head and scooted away from him. “Not labeled, huh?”

“I don't like them. I thought you knew that already.” JD narrowed his eyes.

“Your opinions on dating change a lot,” she said coldly. “Or maybe I was an idiot and thought things were different with me, when they're actually not.”

“What is your problem?”

Once again, Orlando's mouth opened, but Angela shot him a warning glare. This was not a fight he wanted to get in the middle of, especially since Orlando was so difficult to read. Sometimes he liked to antagonize people for his own personal enjoyment, and at other moments he actually tried to be helpful and understanding. The fact that he stayed silent and listened to her proved he only wanted to help, but whatever he had to say was something that needed to wait until later. Maybe he and JD could have some 'guy time' in the near future.

“Well?” JD's voice was beginning to rise. All Cadence did was sit and stare ahead blankly, head resting on her hand. He scowled. “Come on, talk to me? What's got you so mad?”

Unable to watch it anymore, Angela stepped in. “JD, maybe you should leave her alone and talk about this later?”

Cadence's hunched up body, sharp stare forward, and heavy breathing was standard girl communication for 'leave me alone, I'm furious'. Angela's brother did not understand anything about girls, and it was too painful to watch him blunder even further. She'd risked a lot by even suggesting he let it go for the time being. It needed to be said. The room filled with a lot of awkward tension the moment he opened his mouth, and she personally couldn't take it any longer. Plus she didn't want to watch all of their dirty laundry air out, and figured Cadence felt the same way.

JD moved closer, to his apparently unlabeled relationship partner, and touched her hand. As soon as their hands made contact, Cadence stood from her seat and glowered at him so coldly that even Angela winced.

“I was an idiot to think things would be different with us,” Cadence said coldly. Then in barely more than a whisper she added, “I never should have slept with you.” She fled the room soon after, JD hot on her trail.

Silence filled the room. Angela wasn't even aware a place could become so quiet she could hear the hum of the refrigerator which was in a completely different room. The first person to make a noise was Alan, who exhaled slowly through his mouth. His jaw was tightened, his gaze hard. Angry footsteps could soon be heard from above, followed by a door slamming and some muffled yelling. Thankfully Orlando's house was well insulated because she did not need to hear any more details about her brother's personal life. There wouldn't be enough brain bleach in the world to get rid of some of the mental images she now had of him.

For a moment, Alan only pursed his lips together, before finally speaking. “Perhaps we should stick to our small side projects a little longer instead.”

Angela shook her head. “No way! We can leave them out if they can't get their act together, but why punish the rest of us? Orlando and I are more than capable of going out on the field and kicking some butt!”

“Yes, you are. Maybe I should divide you up. Keep some of you here, and bring some of you along.”

“Split them up, you mean,” Orlando said. “Force some space on them?”

“Precisely.” Alan nodded.

Angela let out a quiet whistle. “Maybe. JD won't like being left behind.”

Alan stood up and smoothed his pants. “I know. Cadence still has a lot she can work on. I will keep her tasked with the drug, we will postpone the plans to capture Bean and Sprout, and the rest of you can aid on the field task. I'll rework my plan. This should not have happened. It's unprofessional to date your comrades.”

I was hoping you wouldn't say that,
Angela thought and looked down at her hands. Her fate with Orlando was sealed right then and there. The guy may have had a rebellious side, but she doubted he'd seek her out for a date with Alan watching, and the alien would be watching to make sure nothing else got in the way of his precious mission.

“We done?” Orlando asked in a soft voice, which wasn't like him at all. She would have given anything to be able to read his mind.

“Yes, we're done. I need to go back to my ship, set a specific schedule, and get the materials you'll need to convince your parents to let you go. Among other things. I'll be in touch.” And without so much as a 'goodbye', Alan teleported out of the room.

Orlando stared, blinking a few times, before facing her. “Still on for dinner? Or do you conveniently have plans?”

She laughed. “The only plan I have is to get out of here because I don't want to be around for the aftermath of whatever is going on with them.” She pointed up at the ceiling, indicating JD and Cadence's fight. They were still yelling at each other, and chances were it was going to get ugly fast. JD was brutal when he got angry, and later he'd be sulking about the whole thing for days to come.

“Exactly what I was thinking, and hopefully they remember that The Apartment is rated G.” Orlando glanced up and then shook his head. Angela smacked him firmly on the arm. “Ow, what was that for?”

“You know,” she stated and then walked out of the room. She headed down the stairs, ready to leave and eat away her feelings.

Half an hour later she was doing just that at a restaurant in uptown. Not the location she would have expected, but it was good to get away from her home town. Orlando probably didn't want to be seen with her in a place where people he might know would notice. Plus, the spot he had picked out had all of the things she was craving, pancakes, hash browns, and pie.

She was in the process of devouring a pancake covered in syrup as she looked around the cute little building. “You know, I thought all of the places in uptown were, like, hip and trendy.”

“Most are,” he said as he took a bite out of a burger. Just watching him eat it, made her stomach turn a little. She was a vegetarian. Meat in general always made her a little queasy. Something about the smell and the texture set her off, so she cut it out altogether, outside of the occasional sushi or shrimp scampi. For whatever reason, she was more sensitive to him eating the burger than usual. The last time she'd watched him eat meat hadn't bothered her in the slightest.

Focus on something else.
She did her best to stop watching. Unfortunately, he was too hot to take her eyes off of him. Even when he chewed, the way his mouth moved was delicious in its own way.
Pathetic! Stop! It's not going to happen! Find something to say, quick!

“But not this one, huh?” she said. “How did you know about it?”

He took a sip from his water glass. “Family brunch was usually done here. It used to be more popular back then, before the area remodeled into a hipster bar scene. I figured we'd gone to the local joint so many times maybe we could try something new. Plus there's an art fair starting tonight. It runs through the weekend, and since I apparently have plans tomorrow and homework for Sunday, tonight will be the only chance I get to check it out.”

“And you assumed I wouldn't mind coming with you.”

“Was I correct?”

“Yeah, but …”

“But?” He raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. “Assuming can be dangerous.”

“I like danger. It keeps me on my toes.”

“Is that why you want to kidnap Sprout?” she asked quietly. Her appetite was starting to leave her for other reasons now, like the idea of him and Tait getting close again.

Orlando rolled his eyes, his trademark move, and worked on eating his French fries. “Alan asked me what I thought about going on a bigger mission should the opportunity arose. He wanted to know if I felt we were ready for some reason. Probably just to make sure I wouldn't bolt again if things got tough. Anyway, I told him it seemed like a logical idea to mention to the boss-man. Hello? Who better to question than the leader of the henchmen? I didn't think he'd take it seriously. I certainly never said I wanted to do it just that it's a missed opportunity. Yeah, it's going to be dangerous, but that's not why I think it's a good idea. I'm not
that
bored.”

“Or bitter?”

“Or that,” he mumbled.

Angela put her fork down and sighed. “You're right. As much as I don't want to admit this, it does make sense. I'm not sure what makes this artifact more important than getting answers, but we'll find out, huh? I just hope JD and Cadence can figure out whatever is going on between them.”

“Same, though if you hadn't stopped it, he probably would have dug himself a hole to China at the rate he was going. And can we just say TMI? My poor virgin ears will never recover,” Orlando said. His voice was laced with the usual sarcasm, like he was trying to make light of the situation and add a little humor. Of all the things he said, the one part that stuck out the most was “virgin”. It actually made her heart skip a beat to know that he hadn't succumbed to all of Tait's charms, and that there were guys out there who didn't screw around.

She forced out a laugh, not wanting her worry to show. “JD is the king of TMI unfortunately.”

“Cadence is the one who mentioned it,” he pointed out. When the bill came, he pulled out some cash from his wallet, too much for their order, and put it in the leather folder. “Ready to walk it off?”

With a nod, Angela stood from her chair. Her mind was slowly beginning to relax, but Orlando's laid back attitude usually had that effect on her.
If he's on the mission, it'll be fine. Everything will be fine. We worked well together before, so I don't see why the future would be any different.
Getting in on more of the action was exciting for her. She wanted to do more than just sit by and watch, while everyone else contributed. Training didn't qualify as being useful, productive maybe, but it didn't add much to the cause.

They walked in the cold January air down the streets of uptown. She had to resist the urge to move in closer to him. It would have been such a wonderful and natural thing for her to do. Their friendship was special. If she had been with anyone else, she wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to touch him. Orlando didn't come off as a touchy feely kind of guy. The two had hugged once or twice in the couple of months she'd known him. He didn't give JD high fives or any other normal guy gestures of affection either. Angela's bond with Orlando was emotional and deep. She couldn't spoil it by putting him on edge from one misunderstood action. If she did, then he might close himself off again.

So she kept her hands in her pockets, and at least six inches of space between them. That seemed like an appropriate distance. It was close enough where they didn't feel like strangers, but not so much he'd think she was putting the moves on him. Even if she did decide to act on her crush on him, she didn't want to be one of
those
girls who flung themselves onto a guy. It was probably why she'd never had a boyfriend, but she had more self-respect than that.

Orlando led her inside a nearby mall full of high end shops, and littered through the hallways were tables of local artist's work. Most displayed paintings, but there were some who did sculptures or other kinds of arts and crafts. One woman had crocheted purses, and another had Ukrainian dyed eggs. Orlando paused a moment to buy a number of homemade suckers before heading over to a table with some elaborate paintings. One in particular seemed to catch his interest, a picture of a galaxy in the shape of a horse head. The stars lit up in the background with the way the light hit the paint.

“This is interesting,” he said as he studied the picture.

Angela nodded, staying silent for a moment so she could focus on the image. “It puts a lot of things into perspective.”

He nodded as well. “I used to have an actual photograph of it up in my room a few years ago. It's a real galaxy out there. This depiction makes the horse more defined, like it's a real, living, and breathing creature. I like the creative liberties taken on it.”

“You've got a little art critic in you,” she teased.

“Hardly. I just know what I like and what I don't. I know absolutely nothing about technique or whatever else they judge a painting on,” he said and picked up a small painting of a sea dragon with silver foil scales.

Angela couldn't help but smirk. “You've got a secret nerd side huh?”

“It's not a secret. I'm not hiding it, nor am I broadcasting it.”