Other Places 2: Road Blocks (10 page)

"You're going to be working with at least one, if you come with me. Barb? She's not too bad, but younger than Lenore or Edom, so a little more wild. You can back out, if you need to?"

They got so close that there was no really graceful way for that to happen, but the Vampires had to have heard what she'd said. At least if they were paying attention. That had to be murder in a crowd, didn't it? Or a noise blasting night club for that matter.

"I'm in. Face your fears. Just disregard the shaking and holding myself." She clasped her own elbows in demonstration. It was cute, which she probably couldn't help, he realized. He'd mentioned that he didn't really like the over the top seduction attempts of her mom, so she was moving in the other direction, while still making sure she had his attention. Clever really.

Barb however acted like they were all old friends, and as if the girl had been totally expected. It was
just
a shopping trip, so it kind of made sense, right? Alede were good at shopping, he was sure. Not that he had proof of that, but it felt right.

They had a large, if slightly old, but very tidy looking panel van, the kind used for deliveries like UPS, and more than that, Barb drove it like an old pro, working the thing as if she did it every day. Then, at Wal-Mart, she did something else that was a bit surprising, which was to call for the manager at the door, and wait for him to arrive, rather than just going in.

"Hello! We're doing a massive shopping trip, and were wondering if we could get some help with it? There's a bit of a schedule and we don't really want to take up a whole security team because we make eight trips in and out each." She winked at Zack, who she motioned at, taking the cash envelope from his back pocket carefully. It had more in it than he'd figured, since it was filled with hundred dollar bills, not twenties. "Just so that you know we can pay. It's mainly food, some other things too."

 The man, who was named Bill Montgomery, saw the very long list and whistled a bit.

"Is the apocalypse coming? This is enough for about two hundred people."

It wasn't that many, closer to a hundred and fifty, but Zack managed not to talk, so that didn't come out, even though Barb smiled as his attention strayed to Kaitlyn over and over again. The manager was doing it more often, but she was subtly pushing her breasts out and looked to be cold. She also wasn't wearing a bra, for all that she had to be defying gravity a bit for her chest to look that way. It was an impressive sight, but he got his hormones in order before Bill did, which meant he won.

Barb nodded.

"Only for
us
, you should be fine. All night renovation work at Westfield Mall? But... help? Please?" She wasn't doing too poorly on the damsel in distress thing either, even if she wasn't anywhere near as good looking as the other girl. She was darker in hair and eyes, and had fine features, it was only in comparison that she might lack. A seven or so, Zack guessed, one that could use make-up to go a bit higher if she wanted.

Bill the manager didn't make them wait and had four people out to help them, all the volunteers for it being men, two of whom got Kaitlyn's number from her. One went after Barb, so there was that. The last one just shook his head. He was an older man, who took the list and made sure they actually
got
everything. It cost most of the money he had, but left a bit, and the men all worked with them to load the truck, which he was so glad they had now. It all fit, but Barb's tiny car would
not
have been even close to enough.

Zack didn't mention the numbers that had been passed, since it wasn't his business, but Kaitlyn grinned about it.

"I'm legal in this state, even by Human law, which Alede never follow anyway. How old are you?" It was a bit blunt, but wasn't a secret.

"Twenty-two."

That got Barb to turn and look at him in the front passenger's seat, Where Kaitlyn was pressed up against him in a way that he thought was accidental, but wasn't positive of that fact. In fact she seemed to be looking at him too, if from the side.

"Really? I..."

He knew that one, he had a mirror after all.

"Thought I was older? Yeah, I know. I'm a youngster though."

"Then what was with all the 'you're too young for me' stuff? I'm seventeen even, which is a year older than is needed and you're
only
twenty-two... That's it. I'm totally doing you. Pull the car over Barb." She sounded serious for a second and Barb actually started to do it, but then they both laughed, as if it were hilarious.

Mirror Him popped out and let both hands come up as if protecting himself from blows instead of the weird flirty playing that was really happening.

"Hey, I thought it was set at eighteen here. That's all. I'm not a lawyer or anything. I plead the fifth, or the seventh. Whichever one is right." He laughed too which was good, since neither of those fit at all.

Kaitlyn pushed against him with her shoulder, like a cat. A really big one.

"Fine,
this
time. Anyway, you and I are going out. Unfortunately I'll be a guy at the time and already have a date, so no joy there, but Keeley said that her friend Becky really just wants to make the boy she likes a bit jealous, so that he'll see her as a real person and not just a friend. I don't have the whole plan yet, but we're not supposed to let either of them know we aren't perfectly normal. Soon, I think? Unless the plans change."

That was more than he'd been told about it, but hopefully that meant his acting skills wouldn't be challenged. Since he couldn't lie, it was kind of an important thing to remember.

There was more teasing, but it was gentle enough that MH didn't have to come and protect him from it, after that. Then they spent two hours making deliveries, even with Barb doing almost all the heavy lifting for them.

He went to collect Judy, dragging his heavy legs a bit. Zack felt a bit bad, since it was nearly eleven already. She didn't seem upset or neglected at least. She'd just spent most of the day visiting with her daughter and granddaughter, so it wasn't that odd to her, he didn't think. Just what she might do on an incredibly boring visit to see her family.

Then they checked on Merry and Conrad again, with the tiny woman explaining that she still had plenty of energy from what he did earlier.

"I should be fine for a while I think. It might even be enough. I don't want to bother you more than I have." She seemed really shy suddenly, but more awake and alert, it was, hopefully a good sign.

That let Judy and himself finally get in at eleven-fifteen, where they located Troy sitting on the sofa with a different girl. One that Zack knew at least, and who wasn't crazy. Or at least wasn't as gone as the one from the other morning seemed to be gearing up for.
That
morning, he realized, feeling like the days were starting to run into one another a bit.

Calley Hale, the Shifter Ambassador's Assistant.

"Hey! I wasn't expecting company. I was going to run and make some food, would you all like something?" It was a little late and he had no particular skill in that area, but, it turned out, Judy did
and
she was glad to help. They all followed her into the kitchen and tried to be helpful in return, which didn't work well, with Calley moving in next to Zack, instead of Troy, even if the other two were probably closer relationship wise, having had sex before.

She was a squirmy and twitchy girl. One that wore thick glasses that could be used to set things on fire in the sun, and had heavy rims on them. Her hair was short and rust red, and she had ample freckles, which fit, as well as a nose that would have looked very at home in Africa. It meant she was so exotic looking that it was kind of hard to decide if she were cute or kind of ugly.

Zack decided to go with the first one for now, even if he could stand a bit less movement from her in general. It was like she was on speed, all the time, and never stopped. Only, as far as he knew, it wasn't true and all Bat Shifters were like her that way. The one in New Mexico hadn't been as bad, but he'd been stabbed, so it was hard to tell what the real score there was.

When they settled and were given the obligatory vegies to cut up, Calley started talking.

"The thing is, I was wondering if any of you had news or information we could share? I'm low on the list for my organization, but I've heard a few things, if you want to deal?" She smiled at each of them, looking hopeful.

Troy went first, seeming less than pleased, which made sense, given what he said.

"I know that TTLA is being shut down if a war starts. It's too easy of a target I guess. That would mean getting a new job, because, in the main, Vampires don't need bartenders for themselves."

Calley nodded, and looked like she was taking notes, mentally.

"Did they seem to think it was likely?"

His roommate shrugged and then looked over at Judy, who was at the counter, slicing things herself. She had the beef. It wasn't prime steak or anything, but they had some real food in the place now. It was a steak of some kind and hadn't been too expensive. As a bonus it came already tenderized, which probably meant it wasn't the best part of things.

"Edom didn't say. He just suggested we keep our eyes open, in case we have to bug out quickly. No work, no pay is the rule, so we'd all need to find something." He'd looked at Calley, but shifted back to the stove again, if only for a few seconds, as if a woman cooking there was unheard of. It was
true
, but it shouldn't have influenced him that much.

The little Bat girl wiggled in her seat, as if trying to get comfortable, and spoke softly enough that it meant Zack had to put his head closer to her.

"I have word that Shifter Mercenaries are being hired. No one is giving marching orders yet, but at least eight different groups are setting up troops. That isn't a brilliant sign really." She glanced at Zack, as if it were
his
turn, like he knew anything at all?

"All I know is that it really does seem to be a fringe group. One that wants to keep going along like they have been. The new bottled blood is supposed to be good, from what I've heard, better than live feeding in some ways, but it costs money to get, and some in their government want to make it so that it's that or animal, and nothing else. If someone told me that I could only drink bottled water now, and then tried to charge me a hundred bucks for a tiny bottle of it,
I
might get a little upset too. Especially if it was three months ago and that basically would have meant I'd have died. I'm not sure that this kind of a war will help with that however. The mood in general seemed about split, when I went around earlier to see about things." He was going to stop at that, but Calley kept asking questions and actually got out a paper and wrote on it in code, finding who was leaning what way.

"It isn't perfect. War is... Kind of good for Shifters. We make most of our cash that way, as a group. Everyone is trained from an early age, and all of us can fight. The Birds aren't that great at it, so run messages and admin, and each group has their strengths, but we can all take nearly mortal damage and heal it instantly by changing. It can be a pain, but our attrition in battle is also nearly zero. We don't have down time due to injuries either. It makes a difference."

There was activity, as Judy kept working, both at the stove and on the counter right next to her, still cutting things. Her voice was thoughtful, and a bit too smooth really.

"Supposedly we're neutral, but the fact is that no Alede wants to take the chance of falling under the power of the Vampires. Nothing against the ones here, that I've met, but it can lead to some dangerous things for us. We'll fight if we have to. Most of us aren't warrior types, not in any way. Lovers, as the saying goes. We have a lot of money and are willing to spend it all, not to be slaves again. I know that isn't the current situation, but it's the way we think, even as we try to play nice with the undead." It was pensive and she looked guilty, a thing that said she
knew
how it sounded, and that it was still true anyway.

They kept talking as they chopped and diced, and even after the meal was prepared. It turned out, once things were brought up, that he actually had the most information. It was enough, that after he spoke about being at the attack, Judy frowned.

"Wait, you were
there
? While they were fighting and killing people?"

It was the Bat girl that answered, her voice and face both so serious that she should have been wearing a black suit, instead of a green business skirt and jacket.

"He was. If he hadn't gotten the Vampires in, the whole thing would have been a hundred times worse. My brother was there, he said that without Zack, he'd be dead right now. A lot of people owe their lives to him. A whole lot." She didn't even look at him, staring at Judy instead.

Zack made a little circle in the air with his tiny paring knife.

"All hail the mighty fast transit point!" It was funny, but the strange thing was, he realized after the words came out, that he had to expect them to actually do it, or it probably wouldn't have come out at all.

That was more than a bit creepy, to him, at least.

After successfully using her junior attaché super powers to suck all the information they were willing to part with from them, Calley relaxed a good bit, seeming more interested in Judy than either of the boys. That wasn't too hard to understand. Bats weren't, according to her, picky about who they took to bed, but that didn't mean a pretty blonde might not trump them, right?

Troy kept glancing over too, but was silent until the food was on the table. It was a vegetable stir-fry with seasoned beef and white rice, which amazed Zack, as soon as he saw it, because he'd been almost certain that they didn't have anything that close to a staple in the place yet. It came from a pretty generic and large bag too, which meant that Troy was stocking up. That was actually smart.

 Zack decided to try and do that too if he could, in the future.

"Wow, this smells great. Thanks Judy." He really meant it too, since it had been a long time since anyone had cooked for him, except Lenore. He appreciated that too, of course. "It looks good too."

She winked and settled at the table after bringing it all over, setting the hot serving dishes on their two very old and horribly stained hot pads and a dish towel that once was white and dark blue stripes, and now had a disturbing yellow and green quality to it. For a few seconds he wanted to be embarrassed about it, how poor they were, but then he forced himself upright. If she cared about that, she'd have already escaped to a hotel, or possibly insisted on replacing things.

"Thanks. I don't get to cook for this many very often anymore. It's a treat, really. I hope it's OK?" She sounded very nearly shy about it, but then,
actress
. She could probably sound like whatever she wanted to on demand. It was a handy skill really. Pretending to be someone other than you were.

Regular people did it all the time, but he was always stuck just being him.

Troy took a bite, savoring it for a moment.

"Delicious. OK, that's it, you'll just have to live here full time. We can put another room in the basement for you." Then his brow furrowed and he made a strange and twisted face that was funny. "In a non-creepy way, I mean."

That got a chuckle, since it wasn't very funny, and Judy sighed.

"No can do. It would expose Zack too much... Oh!" She went wide eyed and then coughed. It seemed nearly like she was choking or something, but then she started laughing. "I just thought of something totally incorrect and wrong. Just horrible. It involved Zack walking the lines naked everywhere he went. Sorry." She bit her lips and then took another bite of food to avoid talking.

"That
would
be horrible." Zack agreed. After all, some places he went were incredibly drafty, even with pants on.

They went back and forth like that for a while, and while Troy flirted with both women, he kept himself at about half speed, for him, so he only seemed like he was interested, instead of ready to drag them off to bed at that moment. They had ice-cream for desert, which was just a store bought kind that claimed to be double churned, whatever that meant. It was good, but he'd gotten a little spoiled at work, he realized. It just wasn't exactly what he kept expecting with each bite. It was just a butter pecan after all. He almost felt sorry for it, not being treated very well in its making.

Then, at about one, which was too early for him to escape, since they had company, he went to his room to sleep. True, Judy was in there, but he was going to crash, regardless, and they were using the living room. That meant she'd have to share with Troy, but hopefully that was doable for her. Or, when they left she could just wake him up and send him packing to the sofa. That would work too.

Instead, when he finally woke up, he found that neither thing had happened, and she was fixing breakfast. It was crepes with an orange sauce and sectioned fruit. Made in his home, in his own kitchen. He hadn't really been aware that it was capable of that kind of thing.

"Good morning! What plans do you have today?" She gestured for him to sit and then gave half the food to him, which was probably more than he could handle. She took the rest, and sat across from him, her green eyes like emeralds, watching him, waiting for a response.

"Oh... I guess I need to go and check on Conrad and Merry. Then I'll answer phones and try to play make believe ambassador and get things to quiet down, if I can. That, or, I don't know. What do you have going on?" It was an old trick. When you ran out of things to say, ask the other person a simple question.

"Not much, work wise. It's incredibly strange, but my granddaughter is actually busy working, and my daughter is an important government official. I'm going to be a bit stuck. I don't suppose you can drop me off in Paris for the afternoon?" She laughed, as if it was a joke. He could though, even a full day, if she wanted.

"Do you have papers for that? The Shifter leader's wife got in trouble over there, and I had to go and get her before they locked her away. She was
not
pleasant about it either, even after I came to help her out. It
had
been free, but I charged them just for her bad behavior. Got a land settlement from them, to stop a war. They still think they owe me, but I don't really care about that." How did he explain it? As long as he had enough and could stock up, well, that was all anyone could ever do really. Things were nice, but in the end they weren't real.

That thought sounded wrong to him, but he knew it wasn't. Things weren't real.

If that was actually the case though, what was?

Judy coughed and pretended she was thinking, which was done in a way that let him realize it, holes showing in her demeanor.

"I do have what I need, except a Visa, which I bet won't be asked for. It could be fun, but I can't ask you to do that."

"Well, you know, you have to fly standby and all that sort of thing. First we need to make sure that it's safe there. You can get some fancy pastries for the rest of us, and we'll call it a trip for provisions."

She nodded, looking at her plate, then eating for a while.

"If you twist my arm, I guess. I just wish I could pay you somehow."

Zack got ready for the offer of sex in exchange, or at least hints at it, but if that was going to be the case she at least needed to convince him it wasn't a payment. There were rules to things like that, after all.

"I don't suppose you'd like a part in a movie? Nothing big, mind, just a walk on or something?"

"Nope. That actually doesn't sound good at all. I'm too likely to be mistaken for the drugged out production assistant. Say, did you sleep on the sofa? I know I took the bed..."

She actually smiled and winked at him.

"Nah, I climbed in with Troy and Calley. Very nimble, that girl. I'm actually almost certain that neither of them have any clue who I am. Or even that I'm an Alede. I collected so much energy that I didn't need the down time, so I read most of the night. Scripts that my manager wants me to consider taking on. Most of them are... Fine, really. Not what I want to do, but not awful. Howard knows not to give me those." After that she just ate, and so did he. He'd thought it was going to be too much, but finished it and barely felt full at all.

"So... Zack... Were you serious about Paris? Because otherwise I've got nothing." She laughed again, this time seeming a bit embarrassed. She didn't take it back though.

"Yeah. I was
also
serious about the pastries. You see how this works? I do a little something for you..." For once his attempt to be flirtations didn't totally fall flat at least and she winked at him. That got his attention, because it seemed to be a thing with a lot of people he knew suddenly. Really, no one did that anymore, did they? It was just a thing from old movies.

"I hear you. That works... poorly, and with such a deficit in value that I can't believe it, but if you're really sure?"

After he nodded she ran to change for the day, using the shower first, doing it all quickly enough that he had water left too. Troy and Calley would have to wait. The water heater just wasn't
that
big. It wasn't a well kept up place and had been built about sixty years before, so a lot of things were less than perfect. They paid their rent, but the landlord stayed away, which was the best thing about the man, as far as Zack could tell.

It meant they got out the door early, about seven-thirty, and were safely in the Mall three minutes later, let in the back by Hiram, who was actually just sitting and chatting with Conrad. Merry was asleep and looked peaceful. Like a tiny angel laying there on the brown and tan cushions, covered by a well worn light blue blanket. Out of place, but lovely, nonetheless.

Before he could ask how they all were, Elis started speaking, not looking at him directly, just splitting his attention between Conrad, who was sitting up normally, and his sister.

"The man woke up. He needs rest for several days, but healed the wound on the woman. She should sleep now, for a time, due to that. They both seem to believe that she'll live now. She spoke to me about it before she drifted off." He sounded focused, rather than tired or bored, which Zack would have been, doing nothing else for that long. Keeley had set him the task, and it apparently meant more than he better do a good job, or
else
. It was almost as if he literally couldn't do anything to contradict her wishes at all.

'Which would be why the smart money doesn't hang around with Greater Demons, dim-bulb. You know what I'd do if I were you? I'd go to Paris with
Blondie
here and see if you can score some fresh.' He stopped suddenly, but Mirror Him had used this one before.

Zack was supposed to act clueless and ask; fresh what? Then he'd tell him, in depth, about what he meant. It was attached to Judy, so Zack actually had a decent clue already this time.

Mirror Him laughed at the thought.

'Such a dirty mind. I meant croissants. Filled with buttery goodness. Though, if someone like that
offers
, you should fill her with buttery goodness too. To think, three months ago you had to sweet talk your hand to get any action, and now you're
swimming
in possibilities. That you keep failing at it pretty much means you're playing for the other team. It's a sad thing, but best to admit it now, so we can start looking for a nice fellow for you.' The words didn't stop for a bit, so Zack nodded and tried to talk over him, without sounding like he was screaming. It was only a voice in his head, so it could be done.

It was just harder than it sounded like.

"Um, sending out for pastries. They won't be in for..." He looked over at Judy who smiled winningly at each of them, including the sleeping Merry.

"Let's call it four hours? I should call first, so that no one is surprised to see me. May I use your phone? It will be long distance, but I can cover it."

She was speaking directly to Bob then, and the man, no matter how old he actually was, practically purred at her, even if she wasn't trying to be all that heavy handed for an Alede. In fact she seemed like no more than any other attractive, currently famous actress in the back of their little store. Which meant that he practically ran to help her do what she wanted.

Ten minutes later she was off in Paris, a driver coming to take her around, and a nice bit of cash waiting on the other end. It wasn't a clothing store that he took her to, but a modeling agency. They were temporarily closed however, since the building they were in was closed for "renovations". The woman that met them hugged and kissed Judy, making it seem like they were old friends, but then started to
kneel
in front of him. She was saying something in French, but Zack couldn't keep up with it all. It seemed a little strange, but Judy didn't laugh, just translating for the lady, who had black hair and a single mole on her upper lip, while being very nicely dressed. She looked about his own age, but that didn't, he realized, mean much for her people.

"Claudine wanted to know if you'd like her to blow you? You should say yes, she's really very good at it. Of course she
also
thinks you're actually a Greater Demon, and might make her do things anyway."

The interplay then was quick, but, Zack noticed, Claudine moved closer, shuffling delicately on her knees, which had to take a lot of practice on her part, to get it done so smoothly.

"Um, I'll be back in four hours? Please call if you need me sooner than that, or later? Also, pastries. enough to share with everyone?"

Judy laughed and hugged him, but didn't grope or anything, clearly getting that he was fantastically embarrassed already. So far she'd been the nicest of her people that way. Even Kaitlyn tried to do that, at times. It was almost like they couldn't help it. That probably meant that Judy was a lot older than she seemed. Or than he thought. Old enough to manage being in the public eye as a Succubus and not get too bad of a reputation.

"Understood. I know a place, so don't worry."

Then he got back to his job, expecting a scolding for being friendly with the woman, or at least not charging her, but Bob was busy looking at him so strangely he stopped thinking that almost instantly.

The man looked oddly proud, for some reason.