Behind Frenemy Lines
Page 17
“In Dublin?” Galaxy guessed. “Oh no! They weren't going to Paris at all!” She slowed the van to pay, eclipsed by the emotional toll.
“What makes you think that?” Lee asked
“It's his pattern. We used to throw authorities off track by ditching the last leg of a trip. He's been threatening custody! I bet they planned to hitch to Howth, snatch Anya and disappear into the horizon. It makes sense now. That’s why Vik arranged to get rid of my dad. He knew he could overtake my mom.”
“They can't hurt your family from prison,” Audra soothed, patting her shoulder.
“And we are the ones Paris-bound now!” Lee reminded. “We can arrange for your mom to meet us during the stopover or we can take the ferry from France.”
“Heck, we deserve to flit around the Eiffel Tower, don't ya think? I'll drop in on my old college roommate, and it's the City of Love, perfect for ya 'all!” Audra plucked Fitzy's I.D. from his hand.
“I thought it was the City of Lights?” Gal speculated, feeling calmer.
“It's whatever we want it to be.” Lee's whisper brought back the Kryptonian chills that captivated her in the first place. “There's just one stipulation.”
Galaxy braced herself, not sure what to expect. “Let me guess. We join the mile high club?”
“Hmmm, that does sound like us, but I was thinking, no cats!”
Chapter Twenty-One
G alaxy stumbled through the passenger tunnel in a groggy fog, clutching Lee's arm to steady herself. Landing in Collinstown at eight in the morning and their overnight flight had been useless. Whenever she'd close her eyes for more than twenty minutes, every shake and turbulent dip jolted her awake, comforted only when the morning aroma of coffee quilted the cabin.
“I slept fine,” Audra announced, her usual perky self, as they emerged into the clamor of the airport hub. “Heck, I can snooze through hurricanes. In the Carolinas, we were raised to nestle into the hands of Jesus and batten down the hatches. Works wonders, Hon.”
Gal clutched her sick stomach, envious. “Thanks, I'll try anything at this point.”
“I can sleep anywhere,” Lee bragged, putting his arm around her. “But not when you're grabbing me every half hour.”
“Guess I just can't keep my hands off you,” she teased, embarrassed. He consoled her with a kiss.
Deep down, she wondered if her fitful slumber had more to do with the anxious anticipation of her daughter. Would she understand why she was away so long? Mum elected to ferry across Paris so they wouldn't have to hug and run, but she was eager to kiss that sweet face.
Before hitting the runway, Galaxy left resignation papers on Geoff's desk, thanking him for the opportunity. He had surprised the agents by acknowledging a job well done on the Fitzy case. And not only could Andle cook up great evidence in the lab, he was quite the cobbler, churning out alterations on their tickets, hot off the press!
Galaxy recalled his glumness when they exchanged hearty handshakes, his tight squeeze confirming Lee's prediction.
“Shall we grab some bangers before customs?” Lee yawned, spotting a café chalkboard, the crisp sizzle of meat awakening his senses.
“You two are relentless,” Audra scoffed, shaking her head.
“He means sausages,” Gal explained, as they headed over. “But I guess that doesn't plead our case very well, does it?”
Their chuckles were interrupted by the warning whirl of the baggage claim, startling them as they waited to cross the congested corridor. Only Galaxy glanced up, entranced by the spinning suitcases, now unfocused blobs of buckskin and canvas. Suddenly a huddled ball of black leather tumbled onto the conveyer belt, mutating into a craggy-faced human!
The dizzying hallucination felt like a werewolf movie in IMAX. “There's a bad guy riding the carousel,” she panicked, pawing her partner.
“Let's get you a caffeine I.V. — Stat!” Lee laughed, leading her away. “Hopefully you can catch some Z's on the next flight.”
She blinked, snapping herself out of the sluggish stupor, but the dream sequence didn't disappear. Instead, the disfigured chap with the ascot and greasy ponytail rolled off nonchalantly, blending into the bag-grabbing crowd before gimping away.
From The Author
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Galaxy O'Jordan was born in a 1981 journalism class at Colonial High School in Orlando, Florida. The teacher, Mr. Jones, assigned the challenge of developing a cast of characters and the last scene of a T.V. script, in which he provided the premise—an assassination attempt on the Russian Premier.
She had a minor but similar role then of “honey trapping” an agent. Luckily his partner caught on, and the attempt was foiled just in time. I'm not sure where her name came from, but because of her task, I was going for something exotic, I'm sure. It's also quite possible, I was subtly influenced by the hoopla of the first manned space shuttle launch, Columbia, in April 1981.
Flash forward to 2014: Galaxy is dusted off, dipped into the fountain of youth and begins a metamorphic journey, blossoming into a major complex character. It's been quite a joy ride!
Craving more Lee and Galaxy? A sequel is brewing. Other titles in the works are…
The Pearly Gates Phone Company
Confessions of a Goody Goody