“Okay, I get it, we’d better do something less strenuous until we find out what happened to you today. We can hang out with the monkeys. Want to bring any of the dogs? Ted could sure use the company. Although I have yet to meet your elusive cat, Echo. Where are you hiding her?”
“Monkeys sound great. And Echo was probably hiding in one of the bedrooms.” He patted her hand and gave her a return punch on the arm. “I’m hoping you’ll get to meet Echo sometime soon. She really is special.”
“What could be so special about a cat?”
Scotty looked closely into Chloe’s face. He fought the urge to count the freckles liberally sprinkled across her nose, a casualty of the hot Sarasota sun. He looked for a sign, something that would show him that his secret would be safe with her. Regretfully, he decided he didn’t know her well enough. Yet.
“She’s special, you’ll see. In good time.” They grinned at each other, two young kids just happy to have discovered they really liked each other.
*
Driving back home, Abby announced she was going to run over to Peter’s for a few minutes. She suggested he walk the dogs then go take a nap. She would be back in about an hour, then they could talk. She also wanted him available for her meeting tonight with the Cobbys. Scotty nodded, his mind elsewhere. Saying goodbye, he rounded up the posse to take them out to the terrace.
Echo had decided it was safe to show her face and latched on to Mimi to the consternation of Barney. The extra attention Echo devoted to Mimi had helped her to integrate more fully into the posse. Her food aggressions diminished as she gained confidence. Her demeanor had brightened. She no longer wandered around the house like the ugly new girl, and was well on her way to becoming a well-balanced happy doggy.
Scotty watched her frolic on the terrace, wishing it could be so easy for him. He no longer showed any signs of his infirmities, but he felt like they still owned part of him. He reflected on the improvement in Kane’s behavior toward him. That was a blessing. He would make a better attempt to get to know him, try to include him more often. Maybe he might end up with a friend after all. He was tempted to think things were looking up; if only he could shake his heavy case of the heebie-jeebies.
He made himself comfortable on the wicker lounge chair, stretching out to soak up the sun that had decided to show up after all. That usually made him feel better. Closing his eyes, he thought about Chloe and wondered how long it would take before she asked him about the ever-present sunglasses. He had noticed more than one curious glance at them. Bound to happen soon. Breathing deeply, he nodded off.
*
Ginger Mae answered the front door, not surprised to find Abby standing there, impatience plastered on her face.
“Come in, Abby, things are a little crazy here, but Peter says he’s making progress.” She ran her hands through her blond hair, straightening her skirt that crept up her thighs when unaware. She hadn’t expected Abby or she would have changed. Most of the staff who showed up to work were men. Her philosophy was to always dress for the boys; you never knew when you might need them, or their money for that matter. A girl must be prepared to take care of herself at all times. And that often meant looking ahead to the next male opportunity around the corner.
Ginger Mae scampered quickly to catch up with Abby as she strolled without stopping to chat. Figures, she thought venomously. Abby always made her feel like the hired help. As they approached Peter’s office they could hear murmurings through the door. Abby opened the door before Ginger Mae could reach for it.
“Will you excuse us, please?” Abby looked archly at Ginger Mae, closing the door in her face. Ginger Mae steamed. What’s all the secrecy about? Peter would not let her in his office when he spoke on the phone, appearing vague when she asked questions. She knew it had something to do with hiring truckers for something. Her job consisted of editing the list of potential drivers and researching their police records on Peter’s Lexus-Nexus program. A second group of drivers had to answer some very personal questions about their families and their pets. All potential candidates were funneled to Peter for salary negotiations and the specifics of what they would be hauling. That seemed to be the big secret. She put her ear to the door, hearing nothing. Miffed, she decided to go check on Daisy. She wanted to dress her up and bring her down to meet Abby. Maybe that would help the golden holier-than-thou ice queen melt.
Knocking on Daisy’s bedroom door, the little girl came running. She threw her arms around Ginger Mae’s legs, burying her bony dark-brown head in them. Ginger Mae untangled the child and lifted her up with Daisy wrapping her legs around Ginger Mae’s waist.
“Hey, Daisy Chain. What’s my girl doing?” Daisy looked up brightly, pointing to her storybooks spread on the floor. She might not speak, but Ginger had taught her to read and do numbers, something she had picked up at an early age. She now read on what Ginger Mae estimated to be a fifth-grade level. She had learned to add and subtract complex numbers over a year ago; single digits bored her. According to her age she should be ready for kindergarten. Ginger hadn’t thought it necessary to enroll her yet, as she excelled far past anything she could learn in that kind of class. Crossing her fingers, she hoped to settle down here and find a more advanced placement for the child. Her child. Brushing Daisy’s fine hair out of her face, she reminded herself that Daisy belonged to her, not her nonexistent brother. Sometimes she had trouble separating her own lies from reality.
“Daisy, I want you to wash your face and put on your Sunday dress with your white shoes. Hurry now,” she said, leading the child into her bathroom. “I have someone special I want you to meet. We need to impress her, so put on your biggest smile.”
Mother and daughter walked reverently down the art deco stairway to the foyer, where Daisy ran up to stroke the huge ornamental cats standing guard against the wall. Ginger still praised God for the luck she had stumbled on when she met Peter: landing in such a fine home in such a prestigious location. Things were still going well between them, but she did encounter trouble in claiming her share of his attention with Miss Ice Queen making him dance for her. Desperate to bring this relationship along, she needed to cultivate a deeper intimacy quickly, in case of catastrophe: Armoni finding out where she lived. Taking a chair near Peter’s office, she boosted Daisy up on her lap to wait.
It took thirty minutes for his door to open. Daisy kicked off one of her shoes, trying to shove the other one down the front of her pinafore, sideways. At the click of the opening door, Ginger Mae jumped up, dumping Daisy on the floor with a thud. Scrambling, Ginger Mae bent over to help her daughter up, her skirt hiking itself to a dangerous level.
“And who do we have here?” It was Abby, coolly surveying the melee. Breathlessly, Ginger introduced her daughter as her niece.
“Well, I need to get back to work,” Peter interrupted, mumbling a goodbye and returning to his office. Thanks a lot, Ginger Mae thought indignantly. I have to be left alone with the ice queen? She shook off her exasperation, suddenly realizing the atmosphere strummed with silence. Turning from Peter’s door, she saw Daisy frozen, looking directly at Abby. Abby stood silently, just staring at the child. What’s going on? Ginger Mae nervously wondered as she stared at Abby’s back. Why doesn’t Abby say something?
From where Ginger Mae stood, she could clearly observe Daisy’s face. The child had many expressions, her way of communicating with those in her limited world. But Ginger Mae didn’t recognize this one. She watched as Abby raised her hand to her face. It returned to her side, clutching the ever-present sunglasses. She approached Daisy, who watched spellbound, her face a cipher. Ginger Mae moved forward, only to be cut off by Abby’s hand held commandingly in the air, her back still to Ginger Mae. Abby’s voice came clearly and casually from in front of her without turning her head.
“Ginger Mae, would you be kind enough to fetch me a glass of water?” Ginger Mae frowned, thinking she had heard Abby wrong. “Water?”
Abby nodded without turning.
“Certainly, right away.” Ginger beat herself up, all the way to the kitchen. Why do I lose it around Abby? I might as well get down on the floor and clean her shoes. I need to get a backbone, especially since I’m older than she is. I should be the one giving the orders—this is Peter’s house and I am Peter’s girlfriend. Returning with the water, she saw Abby sitting on one of the chairs, her sunglasses in place, with Daisy at her feet.
“Come on, sweetie, the nice lady doesn’t want to see you sitting on the floor.”
“That’s okay, Mommy, Abby doesn’t mind.”
The glass of water slipped from Ginger Mae’s hand and crashed to the floor, forgotten, as she started to shake, tears flowing soundlessly from her eyes. She whispered, stunned, “Daisy?”
Smiling as if nothing was amiss, Daisy stood. She went to Abby and picked up her hand. Ginger was sure some kind of silent communication was going on. She sniffed the air, noticing a smell she couldn’t identify.
“Baby, come here.” Daisy put Abby’s hand down and ran to Ginger Mae, throwing her arm around her neck as her mother picked her up. She turned to face Abby.
“Well,” Abby said kindly, “I guess I’ll leave you two ladies alone now.”
“Will I see you again, Abby?” Daisy sounded anxious.
“Yes, my dear, we’re going to be great friends.” Smiling, Abby turned to leave the room without a word to the stunned Ginger Mae.
*
Abby returned to her own house, grateful that Peter was taking his new task seriously. He had made great progress, apparently finding it not as difficult as she feared it would be to locate truckers willing to do the job. For the right money, of course. An unexpected surprise pleased her to no end. A large number of the truckers were women. A wonderful stroke of luck. Echo will be very happy when I report the news. That will make things easier in the long run.
But the most amazing turn was meeting Daisy. Abby knew instinctively she would become very important to her; to the mission. She didn’t know how or why but she knew it was worth the risk to cure her. Examining her surprising reaction to the child, Abby felt forlorn. What an odd reaction. Where did that come from? she wondered. Shaking her head, she pushed the mystery aside to consider Daisy. Of course, that now meant she would have to add the questionable Ginger Mae to her plans. She had always planned to include Peter, so it should be no problem. She hoped Jose would understand. She missed having him home, but understood he must resolve the problems with the rest of his missing family. And she certainly wanted them to be safe. She just hoped he would hurry home so she didn’t have to make a change of plans regarding Mama Diaz and the girls. Now it was time to do some explaining to Scotty and prepare for the Cobbys.
Entering the kitchen, she noticed Scotty asleep on the terrace. She stepped outside to call in the dogs. Echo followed, riding on Barney’s back with Mimi scampering alongside, trying in vain to jump up on Barney to join Echo. Scotty woke up, stretched, and joined her in the kitchen, taking a comfortable seat at the table, his elbows on the marble top. She noted his hands had a slight tremor. Seating herself next to him, she covered his hands with her own, a gesture that usually reassured him.
“You know, don’t you?” She faced him directly as he bowed his head.
“I don’t know much, Ab, but I think something is going to happen. Something bad, something scary.” He looked up, his face suddenly exposing a hint of the man he would become. “I think we are part of it somehow, aren’t we? At the sanctuary, I felt like I was being sent some kind of a message. The tiger. He meant something to me. I could feel him. Do you know about any of this?”
Echo climbed up onto the table, her face expressionless. Abby felt the aura in her mind as Echo spoke to Scotty. “It is almost time, Brother. We are preparing. You will have a part as time draws near. The mission has changed. We can only save a few, as time grows short.”
“Abby, what’s going to happen?” He read the guilty expression on her face. “You know, don’t you? Echo, why have you hidden this from me? Don’t I have a right to know?” His fist pounded on the marble; frustration, sorrow and confusion fighting their way across the planes of his suddenly colorless face. “It’s not fair. How much more can we take?”
“We will all prevail, Brother Scotty. I have chosen my Brothers and my Sister well. I waited for over a century.” Echo withdrew, scrambling off the table to join Barney, letting Barney rest his head on her tiny lap while Mimi tried to insert herself between the two of them. Penny slumbered, oblivious as usual.
“Scotty, I only learned of it a few days ago. I too received a message. You through a tiger, me, a woman or a spirit. I’m not sure what she was. She looked a lot like us, though. Her body showed changes, only more developed. She showed me what must be done. But I don’t know what’s going to happen. Only a rough idea of when. We must collect these animals and go back home.”
“What? Are you crazy? I’m not going back home. I’m just starting to have a life here.” He stood, dumping his chair over on its back. “Wait, are we being given any choice here?”
“No, we have no choice. If we stay here, we’ll die. I think you know we have to do this. Try to be strong, Scotty. We’ll learn more when the time comes. But I need your help now. In a few minutes, Kane and his father will be here. They’ll be instrumental to us. It’s going to be difficult, but I think I might need to reveal ourselves to get their cooperation. They need to go with us. I don’t think I can do this without them.”
“Can’t Echo just wave her tail or speak to the Womb and make everything better?” Scotty sounded like he was going to cry.
“No, hon, I don’t think that is what everything is all about. It’s bigger and deeper. And way out of Echo’s control.”
They startled, hearing a tap on the French doors. Scotty rose to let Kane and his father in. Captain Cobby pulled up a chair, looking from Abby to Scotty, seeing their long faces. “Who died?”
The tension in the room tightened. Abby rose, saying nothing. Matter-of-factly, she went to the ornate walnut sideboard which dominated the kitchen. She returned to the table with a bottle of brandy. “Scotty, can you please get me the glasses?”
Returning with the snifters, Scotty watched Abby pour them all a generous shot. Kane looked between their faces. “Are we celebrating something?”
Abby could see the confusion and tentative smiles on their faces. She just did not know how to tell them. The silence lengthened. She could see a slow dawning on Captain Cobby’s face, as he sensed the serious intent behind her invitation. She started slowly.
“I need you both to know you have been a great help to us in the short time we’ve lived here.”
“We’re getting fired,” Kane blurted. His father put his hand on his arm, quieting him. Abby smiled, the tension released.
“No, of course not. You are almost part of our family now. I asked you to come over because I need your help with something deadly serious.” Abby’s voice strengthened with resolve. She spoke slowly and quietly. “I know I can trust you both, but I must have your oath that this will remain between us. If you decide you can’t help me, so be it. But I am confident you will see things my way.”
“Well, you sound very mysterious. You have our word. Why don’t you just come out and ask us?” Captain Cobby motioned his head upward, a sign of encouragement.
“Okay. In about two weeks, I’m having some trucks here to deliver wildlife that I hope to load onto the yacht and have you deliver to Tampa. I will have a private jet on standby at the airport to fly us all to Newark Airport where we will join another convoy. The two of you, along with Scotty, Peter and his girlfriend, her niece and the dogs will go on to Sussex where Jose and I will join you later. The animals will be offloaded and you will take them to safety with you. Scotty will show you where. I am inviting you to stay with us.” Abby looked at three blank faces, realization suddenly dawning on Scotty’s face. He opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut, saying nothing.
&
nbsp; “Wow, that sounds like a pretty big job. Just what kind of animals are we talking?”
“I’m not going to lie to you. They’ll be big. Lots of cats, some camels, goats, some bears, some smaller wildlife.” Her voice tapered off as she saw the expressions on their faces.
“Are you kidding me? We can’t fit cages for those kinds of animals on the boat. We don’t have that kind of room. And where exactly are you getting them from?” Kane’s eyes suddenly lit up as he glanced at Scotty.
“Does this have anything to do with what happened at the cat sanctuary today?”
Abby and Scotty were silent. The captain’s eyes narrowed, suspicion doing a slow bloom on his face. As she expected it would.
“I don’t understand why you want us to live with you in your old town, we live here. I don’t want to move. My friends are here, our life is here.” Kane looked incredulous.
“Abby, you aren’t stealing these animals are you?” Captain Cobby’s voice remained low and calm.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” she said succinctly.
“But why? Why would you want to do that?” Shaking his handsome head disbelievingly, Captain Cobby took a sip of his brandy. “This does not sound like the Abby I thought I knew.”
Sighing deeply, Abby knew the time had come. She pointed over to the dogs. “Do you see Echo over there? I’m sorry but we had to lie to you. Our father was not a famous scientist. He was a no-good bastard who left us when Scotty was seven. Echo is a fully functioning natural creature. She can do many wondrous things. Such as heal. As a child I contracted a life-threatening illness. She cured me. As a result, I was given certain powers and certain responsibilities. The animals are part of the responsibilities. Something horrible is going to happen. Millions will be killed. It’s part of Echo’s assignment to do this. If you come with us you’ll be safe from the threat.”
Abby saw that she wasn’t getting through to them. Kane had a look of embarrassment on his face. His father was laughing.
Alien Species Intervention: Books 1-3: An Alien Apocalyptic Saga (Species Intervention #6609) Page 44
