[Jennifer Cloud 01.0] The Shoes Come First

by Janet Leigh

  “Don’t fuss; you have natural beauty that even Christie Brinkley would die for. No makeup needed.”

  “Really?” I asked, wide-eyed. No one had ever told me I was a natural beauty.

  “Trust me; I’m a professional when it comes to appearances.” He kissed his first two fingers and planted them on my reflection in the mirror.

  True, he did have good taste in his designers.

  Ace and I rang the bell, but no one answered. He’s probably not home, I thought. Now what?

  Ace put his hand on the knob and turned it. The door slid open. “Well, a trustworthy soul does exist.”

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “We can’t go in. That’s trespassing.”

  “Do you want to find your cousin or what?”

  I followed Ace into the apartment. There was a small entry hall with a long mahogany side table positioned against the right wall. It opened up into a living room that held a comfy-looking leather sectional opposite a flat-screen TV. The remote and the sports section of the New York Times were lying on the glass coffee table. The news was blaring over the TV about today’s stock market expectations.

  “This is today’s paper; maybe he just left,” I said doubtfully, since the TV was on, but my brother was always leaving the house and forgetting to turn the TV off, so maybe.

  “You are good at this spy stuff; maybe you should ask for a raise when we get back,” Ace joked. “Let’s split up and see if we can find a clue as to where he might be today.”

  I went down the long hall to the right, and Ace took the kitchen and study. I entered an exercise room. I walked by a top-of-the-line treadmill, exercise bike, and a set of free weights. Mirrors lined the entire wall in front of the treadmill, giving me another horrified look at my messy hair.

  I left the workout room and wandered into the master bedroom. The king-sized bed sat against the far wall. The brown satin sheets were twisted across the bed, looking like Marco had just crawled out of them. A dresser sat across from the bed. I checked out the contents lying on top of his dresser. Black leather wallet, Tagheuser watch, tray with various coins, and a ticket stub from the opera. He likes the opera. So cool for a guy to like opera, I thought, or maybe he was dragged there by a girlfriend. I picked up a bottle of Versace and smelled. He had been wearing the same cologne the night he kissed me. I remembered how wonderful he smelled, and parts south of the border started to tingle.

  As I came out of my daydream, I heard water running. The door next to the dresser was shut. Should I knock? Maybe he was in the shower and wouldn’t hear me. I debated getting Ace, but maybe a quick peek to confirm it was really him before I pulled Ace away from his search was a better idea. Besides, if he was in the shower, I could be really quiet, and he would never know I was there.

  I slowly turned the knob and inched the door open. Steam immediately escaped through the open slit in the door. I poked my head in and saw the shower going. Should I go in? I asked myself. Well, we did share a kiss, and based on the photos from the Internet, I was not passing up a chance to see that body. I couldn’t make out a figure through the frosted glass, so I slowly eased in the room. The steam was so thick, I could barely see. Should I call out? No, maybe I should try to get a closer look to make sure it’s really him. I stepped closer to the glass but still couldn’t see anyone. I reached up to rub some steam away, and a voice startled me.

  “See something you like?”

  I jumped about three feet, then turned to see Marco standing behind me with a white towel wrapped around his waist. He was taller than I expected and had obviously used his exercise equipment extensively since our last meeting. His skin was a deep tan; his wet blond hair was cut shorter but still curled around his face in a Paul Walker sort of way. The big dimple in his chin was covered with a five o’clock shadow.

  “Marco, shit, you scared me,” I said with my hand on my chest.

  “I scared you?” His right eyebrow rose in question, then recognition glinted in his eyes.

  “Jennifer Cloud.”

  “You remember me?” I asked.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to figure out what we had in common.”

  “You knew even then?” I asked in awe.

  “When I kissed you, I knew for sure. No one heats up like that unless she has the gift.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me what I was?”

  “It wasn’t my place to tell.”

  I pondered this for a minute, then my eyes trailed over his biceps, and I lost my train of thought. He laughed, then walked behind me to turn off the shower. Just as we were leaving the bathroom, Ace came blowing in.

  “I can’t find a single thing…” he stammered.

  “Ace,” Marco said.

  “Marco,” Ace said, eyeballing Marco’s chest.

  “Um, let’s wait out in the living room until Marco can talk to us,” I suggested, pushing Ace out the door before his drool hit the floor.

  Ace and I sat on the sectional waiting for Marco. “Did you get a load of that body?” Ace asked me. “Yum.”

  I picked up a magazine off the coffee table and thumbed through the ads.

  “Puh-lease control yourself, we are trying to get him to help us.”

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how yummy he was?” Ace leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

  OK, maybe I did notice. I gave Ace an eye roll. Ace smirked. A buzzing noise sounded from his pants pocket. He reached in and pulled out a cell phone.

  Checking his phone, he grimaced. “We better hurry. The boss man is wanting to know our ETA.”

  “Tell him I wasn’t ready.”

  “It’s your heinie, sugar,” he replied as he typed in a response.

  Marco entered the room smooth-shaved and completely clothed in ripped jeans and a white T-shirt. He sat with one hip on the arm of the sofa.

  “Why are you here? I take it since Ace is here also, you are one of them?”

  “I sort of just got inducted.”

  “Congratulations,” he said mockingly. “Where is your key?” He pointed to my empty neck.

  “Where is yours?” I asked back.

  “Mine is safely tucked away so the likes of the people you work with and others don’t end up killing me.”

  “Now, Marco, you know the WTF didn’t have anything to do with your granddaddy’s death,” Ace said.

  Marco’s blue eyes clouded, and I could see a wall start to form.

  “Ace, we are here about Gertie, remember?”

  “What’s wrong with Gertie?” Marco asked.

  “The Mafusos took her.” I explained our trip back to 1915 and how we grabbed Mitchell, but they took Gertie, thinking she belonged to the key.

  “Since you have connections with the Mafusos, we thought maybe you could help us,” I asked.

  “I’m sure Ace explained I don’t travel anymore.”

  “Don’t you care what might happen to Gertie or to us if they continue taking our keys?”

  “It’s really not my problem, and I have a wedding to attend today.” He stood and tapped the face of his Tag watch.

  “We know about the wedding; I was hoping to go with you. I think Gertie might be held captive at the house.”

  “I dunno,” said Marco.

  “I guess since you retired your key, winning races doesn’t come so easy?” Ace asked. “And how does your transporter feel about her destiny being taken from her?”

  Marco didn’t seem to like the insinuation Ace was making. “I will do what’s necessary to protect my family.”

  I sat looking confused. “I’m not sure what y’all are talking about, but Gertie is my family, and I have to help her.”

  Marco looked at Ace. “You didn’t tell her?”

  “I can’t—it’s classified.” Ace pouted.

  “They classified me?” This brought a smile to Marco’s face.

  “Ace, you are glowing.” Marco pointed a finger to Ace’s key.

  “Oh damn, I forgo
t to watch the time.” He held up a watchless wrist and did a palms up. “They are probably all going to come here.”

  “Who is ‘all’?” asked Marco.

  “Oh, Caiyan, Brodie, probably some WTF agents. It’s going to get pretty crowded in here.”

  “No, you don’t. Don’t bring all those bastards here. Get out, now.” Marco stood and pointed toward the door.

  Ace grabbed his chest and doubled over in pain. I rushed to his side. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m being summoned, quite painfully, I might add,” he said, clutching his side.

  “How can Brodie do that?” I asked.

  “Not Brodie…Caiyan,” Marco answered. “One of the many so-called gifts he inherited.”

  “C’mon, Ace, let’s get you outta here before Caiyan decides to be really mean,” Marco said, helping Ace up.

  I couldn’t believe Caiyan would do that to his own teammate. Physical pain. I was beginning to see a side of him I didn’t understand.

  Marco took us up a flight of stairs to the rooftop. There were four walls surrounding what resembled a very large garage. It ran the width of the entire building and could easily hold a fleet of cars. The only thing in the garage was Marco’s race car. It was spectacular—red with the Ferrari emblem on each side of the body. Across the hood various sponsors were displayed. The race car sat low to the ground with wings that spread out in front and a big spoiler on the back plastered with the Mafuso Motors insignia.

  We helped Ace across the garage to an empty space.

  “Call your vessel,” Marco ordered. Ace whispered a word I couldn’t comprehend, and his photo booth magically appeared. He looked at me, and I shrugged. “I can’t go back until I find Gertie.”

  Ace grabbed his back in pain, then lunged into his vessel, and he was gone with a flash.

  Marco and I stood staring at each other. “You should have gone with him. They are going to come here.”

  “Maybe not. How do they know where I am?” I shrugged. “I don’t have my key, so they can’t summon me, and I’m not in my vessel, so they can’t locate me.”

  “Maybe,” Marco said, but he didn’t look convinced.

  “So, is this your vessel?” I asked, running my finger along the rear spoiler of the race car.

  “You know it is,” he replied.

  “It’s nice, way cooler than mine. But I would still like to have the use of mine back.”

  “So this is not all about saving Gertie. It’s about getting your key back.”

  “Look, Marco,” I said, moving closer to him. “I know you still use your key, maybe only to drive in your races, but I have seen it in photos.”

  He sighed. “I’m not going to deny anything, but I am not going back to time travel.” He took a step toward me and ran his hand along the side of his car like he was caressing a baby. “We probably only have about ten minutes before we are invaded by the WTF assholes. I can help you get into the wedding tonight, but that’s it. I can’t help you get your key.”

  “Marco, what happened to you?” I asked.

  His eyes clouded over, and he started to turn away from me. I reached out to grab his arm, and as soon as I made contact, a sharp bolt of heat ran up my arm. He turned to me and slid his other hand around the back of my neck. The heat consumed me like a fire bursting from within the core of my body. Marco brought his lips down on mine, and there was a loud drumming in my head as if I were underwater. I didn’t pull back this time but responded with all the pent-up frustration I had been reserving for Caiyan. He slid his hand down my back and pulled me in tighter. His tongue ran over mine, and I just knew sparks were leaping out at each touch. I felt the ground shake, and then I thought I heard a crack of thunder. Everything in my body was humming like a finely tuned aircraft.

  Caiyan’s voice interrupted the drumming. “Um, that would definitely make me want to come to work every mornin’, yeah?”

  Marco and I broke apart. Caiyan stood staring at us with his arms crossed. Guilt washed over my face, followed by anger that I was feeling guilty when the man standing in front of me had a reputation as being a loosey-goosey.

  “Marco and I are old friends,” I said, wiping the kiss from my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “Apparently so,” said Caiyan with a slight grimace.

  Marco looked at me and then at Caiyan. “Oh, Jen, you didn’t hook up with him, did you?” He ran his hands through his hair. “Don’t you know—”

  “Yes, I know.” I stopped Marco in midsentence. Just as Caiyan was about to make some witty remark, there was a flash and a gurgle. Jake jumped out of the photo booth and ran to grab me in a bear hug.

  “Are you all right? When you didn’t show this morning, I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine,” I answered, avoiding the raised eyebrows from Caiyan and Marco. Ace followed behind Jake. And just to make it really crowded, Brodie’s bathtub appeared, gurgling in the middle of it all. Jake stepped back and tried to compose himself.

  “Woo,” Ace said, fanning himself. “The testosterone in here is off the charts. You know, hon, they won’t buy the cow if you give the milk for free.”

  “Did you just call me a cow?” I frowned at Ace.

  “Figuratively speaking, my dear.” He came and slung an arm around my neck.

  “Are you all right?” I asked him.

  “Fine now, darling,” Ace said, glaring at Caiyan, who shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry to give away your location, but I wasn’t given a choice.”

  “No worries,” I told Ace while giving Caiyan the evil eye.

  Caiyan dropped his head like a misbehaved schoolboy.

  Ace made introductions. “Marco, this is Agent McCoy, the new pit boss and past romancer of our good friend Jennifer Cloud.” I rolled my eyes.

  Caiyan’s head shot up at the last remark, and a wily smile creased his face.

  Jake put forth a hand, but Marco refused to shake it. Instead he kept his arms folded across his chest.

  “I told Jen I would help her get into the Mafuso mansion tonight, but that’s all I have to offer,” Marco said.

  “Well that’s aboot as good a place to start as any,” Caiyan said. “Let’s go inside and make a plan.”

  Marco led everyone in, and as Caiyan passed me, I spoke in a hushed tone. “The next time you use force on someone who is doing me a favor, I’m coming after you.”

  “Promise?” he asked. I frowned at Caiyan, and he replied, “Just following orders.” So now I had Jake and Caiyan to blame for Ace’s forceful summons.

  We sat around Marco’s living room while he explained the wedding was a masquerade theme and a costume would be required. He clarified the Mafusos were a very generous sponsor to his racing team, hence the relationship.

  “Probably a ploy to lure you to their side,” Brodie suggested.

  “Hasn’t worked so far, but I’ll take their money for my team,” Marco said.

  Jake decided Marco should take Ace as his date instead of me.

  “I’m not taking a dude as my date,” Marco sputtered.

  “Well, then think of him as a good friend,” Jake said.

  “No.”

  “Look, gorgeous, when I get all fixed up, there’s not a dude in here who can tell the difference.”

  “He’s right there, mate,” Brodie said. “I thought he was a chick for the first week. Until that stint in Afghanistan.”

  “Hey, I had to pee, and there are not a lot of options in the desert.”

  “Why can’t I go instead of Ace?” I asked.

  “No, it’s too dangerous; the Mafusos might recognize you,” Jake replied. “I need my people to go in separately to avoid detection. The Mafusos know we are trying to get Gertie. They are assuming she is a transporter.”

  I frowned but felt like I was outnumbered.

  Jake walked around the room as he plotted. “I will go to headquarters here in the city and get a van, where we can monitor you from outside. After you and Ace get in, we n
eed to get Caiyan and Brodie inside.”

  “Not a problem for me; I have my own invitation,” Caiyan said.

  Yeah, I knew how he got it, and why did I care if Caiyan was trading information with the enemy? Because now I knew he could cause unprecedented pain to his friends and didn’t seem to mind doing it. There was something else I couldn’t put my finger on. The way he felt when I touched him.

  Jeez, there I was, lost in my own thoughts, and I wasn’t paying attention to what was being said. Just like high school. I snapped back to attention, noticing Caiyan was watching me with a curious expression. So I deduced the plan was for Jake to leave for headquarters, Caiyan and Brodie were going to the flat Caiyan had somewhere in the city, and I was to go with Ace to help find a costume for tonight’s shindig. Jake gave us strict orders to keep a low profile in case the Mafusos were out and about. We would meet back at Marco’s at 1600 hours. I felt like I should be on an episode of Get Smart. If Jake started talking into his shoe, I was going to raid Marco’s medicine cabinet for some Valium.

  Caiyan and Brodie left for Caiyan’s flat. I pictured something deep and dark, like Dracula’s lair or the Batcave.

  Ace and I stood outside Marco’s building. The sun was shining, but a cool wind was blowing, and I shivered.

  “You know the best thing about today?” Ace asked.

  I did a palms up. “No idea.”

  “Today we are working for the WTF, so that means we can turn our receipts in for reimbursement.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, and you know what else?”

  I shook my head no.

  “You don’t have to worry about me trying to get in your pants.” I laughed. Ace grabbed my hand and yelled, “TAXI!”

  Ace and I were seated in the taxi. I studied the driver’s ID, because my mom always warned me the taxi drivers were crooked, and if I ever went to New York, to be sure I knew who was driving me around. His identification stated his name was Bob, but he looked more like an Abdul or Osama to me. Ace told him to take us to West Thirty-Fourth and Broadway, then patted my knee.