“Yes, Aunt Grace,” Ellie answered with a giggle.
Angel smiled and assured him, “Won’t let her out of my sight.”
Once outside, Ellie tried to sound cheerful, “So, where are we off to? The Washington Monument? The Jefferson Memorial?”
Angel looked at her oddly. “You really want to go to those places?” Ellie laughed and shook her head. “Good, me either. There’re a couple places I would like to go, though.”
“I’m all yours. Remember, I can’t leave your side for two seconds.”
They started down the busy street. People were rushing past in every direction on the crowded sidewalks. Meanwhile, cars clogged the roadway in between, and buses and bicycles wove in and out. Ellie had to walk double-time to keep up with Angel’s long-legged pace. As they stopped at the crosswalk on their third block, she asked breathlessly, “So, where are we going?”
“A couple more blocks, but first—” Angel came up short as a door swung out toward them from a shiny glass building. She grabbed Ellie’s arm to force her to stop, too, as a group of big, strapping men burst through the doorway almost as a unit. All of the men were dressed in dark suits with dark shades and short or slicked-back haircuts.
Ellie couldn’t help but think Men in Black, as the small crowd moved from the building to a long black limousine parked directly in front. The men on the outer rim of the pack were all turned outwards, scanning the surrounding area with grim looks on their faces. The limo door opened, and through the wall of darkness, Ellie caught glimpses of brighter colors and maybe even a flash of jewelry. When the limo door closed, there were fewer big men left standing on the sidewalk, and Angel walked boldly up to one of them, who had his back to them.
Although all the men were big, the one Angel approached was bigger still. He was a couple inches taller than the rest and broader, if that was even possible, across the back and shoulders. His hair was jet black in a layered, wavy cut touching the base of his collar, where it curled up in a disorganized pattern. Ellie grinned, thinking how this guy’s neck was probably wider than her waist.
“Rique. Riq.” Angel was attempting to get his attention, but he seemed thoroughly engrossed in his mission of scoping out every single person on the street. Angel tapped on his shoulder, and in a louder, more aggressive tone, repeated the request, “¡Hermanito!”
Hermanito? Oh, sure, Ellie knew what that meant—little brother. The big dude was Angel’s brother, Enrique.
The hulking form spun around in response to Angel’s call, and the grim look was immediately replaced with a dimpled smile. “Ange, honey, sorry. Didn’t know it was you.” He leaned in, slid an arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t tell you. We’ve been trying to keep the chatter down…”
“Oh, right. You mentioned that.” He looked past her suspiciously, down the street, and then back over his shoulder before leaning in even closer. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine. I just wanted to—”
One of the other MIB crew reached in and touched Rique on the arm. “Hey, man, gotta go.”
“Right there,” Rique responded. Then he turned back to Angel. “Sorry, Ange, duty calls. Maybe we can have dinner next time?” He touched her cheek affectionately, then stepped away.
“Rique, wait, there’s someone I want you to meet.” He stopped and looked back in their direction, his eyes darting about as if seeking the big, important person he expected to be introduced to. Angel took Ellie’s elbow and gave her a slight shove in his direction. “This is Ellie, my latest charge. Remember? The girl I told you about—Lucy Eggleston’s daughter.”
He looked down, finally focusing on Ellie’s face. “Oh, sure, I remember. Ellen, nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and quickly shook.
“Uh, Ellie, Elodie,” she mumbled in reply. Then she wondered if her cheeks had flushed enough to hide her freckles.
“Riq!” His MIB buddy sounded impatient. Rique gave the girls a quick wave and disappeared back into the building.
Angel shrugged. “Sorry, he’s really busy right now. Whole bunch of royal big shots from…Morocco, or Monaco, or was it Montevideo? Anyway, we caught him off guard. He’s usually a little friendlier than that.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Ellie wouldn’t have had a clue what to say to him if he hadn’t been called away, so she was just as glad that the encounter had been brief. Besides, she wouldn’t want to be caught openly drooling at the guy. No doubt about it—Enrique Espinoza looked nothing like the skinny, awkward boys in her classes at school. But it was more than that. There was something, something she could see, feel around him. Kind of a warm glow.
Angel seemed oblivious to Ellie’s fugue state as she stepped to the curb to cross the street, and just kept chattering away, “It’s his first time working with such high-ranking officials, and he really wants to make a good impression.”
“Uh-huh,” mumbled Ellie, still lost in her thoughts of the big man. As they waited for a break in the traffic, Ellie felt the warm glow against her back and couldn’t help turning to look. Through the glass door of the building, Enrique could be seen standing there. His hand was pressed against his ear, and he appeared to be talking to someone, as though he had one of those spy-type earphones in. His eyes slowly rose to meet hers, and for just a moment, they locked. She had to squint as the bright sunlight around him was hurting her eyes.
“C’mon, chica. Now’s our chance.” With a sudden yank, Ellie was pulled off the curb and into the street by Angel’s firm grip. “Really gotta stay on your toes in D.C., Ellie, or someone will mow you down.”
Chapter Ten: Doo Drops
“Okay, it’s just a little further.”
Ellie was grateful to hear that they were finally nearing their destination on Angel’s little walking tour of Washington, D.C. They had already stopped at three different food stands to pick up hot sausages, soft pretzels, and handmade gelato, but eaten it all while moving at a pretty fast clip. Angel wasn’t kidding when she bragged about being in good shape.
As they waited at a stoplight, Angel pointed down the next block, to where a red and white striped awning overhung a few small tables on the sidewalk. Ellie read the sign on the awning, “Mama Luccini’s Ristorante. So we’re going to meet Mama?”
“Well, we might see her, or even Papa Luccini, but it’s actually their handsome son we’re after today.” Angel reached up to her neck and slid her fingers down inside her shirt. She pulled her hand out, letting something glittery fall against her chest. It took a moment before Ellie recognized it as the single, simple stone that Poppy Prentiss had drawn into her princess picture of Angel. Angel blushed a little at Ellie’s reaction. “I know, right? All sparkly and sweet—not really my style.”
Ellie motioned in the direction of Mama Luccini’s. “So the handsome son gave you that? He’s your boyfriend?”
Angel tilted her head just a bit, apparently not fully comfortable with the concept. “I guess you could call him that. Kind of a new thing for me. I never really had a boyfriend before. I mean, not a real one, like the kind who actually cares about you as a person and buys you nice gifts and shit.”
Ellie laughed at that. “Well, me either. I wasn’t exactly the head cheerleader at my school.”
The Walk sign came on, and they started across the street. “Hey, give yourself some time, chica. You haven’t started to, ya know, blossom yet.”
“Now you sound like Aunt Grace.”
“Well, your Aunt Grace seems like a smart lady.”
They had reached the restaurant. Angel pulled open the door and indicated that Ellie should precede her. It was the middle of the afternoon, and the place was quiet. There were only a handful of patrons inside, seated on stools at high tables or standing at the counter. A wide opening in the stone wall behind the counter revealed a view of the kitchen and a woman in a full-body apron.
Angel led Ellie around a wall to the
side of the kitchen and then held up a finger. “Wait here just a minute. I’ll see if I can get him.” She pushed through a set of wooden saloon-style swinging doors. Ellie could just see her over the top. A plump Italian-looking woman with dark hair piled on her head stood at the stove. She was stirring a large pot with a long wooden spoon when Angel walked up behind her. “Mama Maria?”
The woman dropped the spoon into the pot and spun around. She grasped Angel’s face between her chubby palms. “Angelica! How good to see you, sweetheart.” She kissed Angel on both cheeks, then pushed her away. “You look so skinny! You need to eat!” Maria grabbed a plate of pasta off the counter and waved it under Angel’s nose. “You try my Fettuccine a la Maria, eh?”
Before the woman could force the plate into her hands, Angel stopped her. “I’d love to try it, Maria, but—”
“I know, I know, you are only here to see my baby boy.”
Angel grinned. “Is he here?”
Maria pointed toward the back of the kitchen, out of Ellie’s view. “He’s in the walk-in, counting sausages. Go on, surprise him. I’ve got to serve these.” She picked up another plate of pasta and came bursting through the saloon doors.
Ellie had preemptively stepped back to avoid being run over by the little powerhouse as she passed by. After Maria disappeared from view, Ellie peered over the doors again but couldn’t see Angel. Since she wasn’t supposed to be out of Angel’s sight, she pushed open one of the swinging doors and stepped tentatively inside. Angel had her hand on the door to the walk-in freezer, but before she could pull on it, the door opened itself from the inside.
“Angel!” A stocky young man stepped out, holding a clipboard and an armload of packaged meat. He had olive-toned skin as Ellie would expect an Italian to have, but his hair was white blonde, spiked up in one of those modern boy styles. He tossed the meat and the clipboard onto the nearest counter, grabbed Angel by the shoulders, and slammed her up against the nearest wall. In her high-heeled boots, she stood a few inches taller than him. “God, you look good, baby. I really missed you.” He slid his hands down her sides and proceeded to kiss her like a man returning from six months on a submarine.
Ellie knew she should look away, but her eyes were glued to the pair. There was something electric about the connection between them, something she’d never felt before. The room was heating up around them, so hot it was creating a haze. At first, it was white hot, then changed to red. Ellie blinked a couple times and pulled on the collar of her shirt. She wondered if a quick hop into the walk-in would be considered rude.
“Stop it, man!” Angel pushed him away, wiping her smeared lipstick with the back of her hand. She waved in Ellie’s direction as she spoke, “We’re not alone, you animal.” Then she grinned and looked at Ellie. “Sorry, El. He’s not usually like this.”
“Yes, I am!” He grinned, too, and pulled her back in, but then relented and released her. He walked directly to Ellie, holding out his hand. “Sorry, honey. I hope we didn’t embarrass you. You’re a friend of Angel’s?”
Ellie was too tongue-tied to respond. The hazy heat had dissipated, but she could still feel the beads of sweat it had spawned on the back of her neck.
Angel answered for her, “Uh, yeah. Carlo, this is Ellie. She’s one of my clients’ daughters.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Ellie. I know as long as you’re with Angel, Daddy’s got nothing to worry about.” Ellie wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but she decided to play along.
The towheaded boy turned his attention back to Angel. He wrapped his arm around her waist and sucked her in beside him, then brushed a stray hair from her forehead. His voice was warm and low as he spoke, “So how long you in town for? Can I see you tonight?” A hint of the red haze seemed to surface again. Ellie rubbed her eyes to see if she could clear it up.
“Sorry, no,” Angel told him. She nodded toward Ellie. “We are staying tonight, but I’ve got to keep an eye—”
He shrugged. “So bring her along. Come on over to my place. I’ll make you both the best Veal Piccata you’ve ever tasted.” He touched his fingers to his lips in a kissing motion, indicating the quality of the dish, then added as enticement, “There’s a Dirty Harry marathon on tonight.”
But Ellie finally found her voice, “Oh no, no, no. Sorry, I don’t do third wheel.” She looked at Angel. “You go ahead, Angel. I’ll hang with Uncle Joe and that anthropologist lady, Dr. Whatsername.”
Angel was clearly about to protest that plan when Carlo interrupted, “Absolutely not. I insist you join us. Really.” Then he looked at Angel. “Honey, I want you to know that I respect you. I respect your work. If this is something you need to do, then we’ll do it together. You’re not just eye-candy to me, baby.”
The words seemed to be melting Angel like a warm oven, yet Ellie felt oddly chilled. The beads of sweat on the back of her neck felt like tiny ice cubes now. She glanced side-to-side, half-expecting to see the freezer door open again. Then she noticed it—the reddish haze she’d been seeing looked almost black now. She rubbed her eyes again. She totally needed to clean these contacts.
Angel reached out to her as she massaged her eyes. “El, you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. My eyes are just bothering me a little.”
“Maybe it’s the heat in here. Or all the oils and spices,” Angel offered. “I should get you out of here. We need to get back before somebody starts to worry.”
She stepped towards Ellie, but Carlo grabbed her arm, stopping her. “So tonight? The two of you? Eight o’clock, my place, right?”
Angel started to shake her head, so Ellie spoke up, “Sure, Carlo. I’d love to try your Veal Piccata.” She hadn’t known Angel long, but she could already tell the Gifted Defender took her responsibilities very seriously. She had told Aunt Grace that she would be with Ellie every minute they were in D.C., so there was no way she would do anything else.
“Chica, you sure?”
“Sure.” Then Ellie wrinkled up her nose. “But maybe no Dirty Harry?”
Carlo and Angel both laughed at that, and he offered, “Hey, your choice, Ellie. I’ve got a huge movie collection. Struggling actor, ya know? I like to study the greats. I’m sure I’ve got something you’ll like.”
“Okay!” Ellie felt better then. The chill seemed to have left the air, the haziness in her vision had cleared, and she was glad to be doing something nice for her new friend Angel.
It wasn’t until they were back out on the street, making their way back to the Council’s building that she remembered to ask, “Oh, hey, Angel, what was that bit about me being your client’s daughter?”
“Oh, that.” Angel made a wry face. “Carlo doesn’t know anything about the Gifted Ones. It’s strictly need-to-know. Plus, I didn’t want to scare him off.”
“So what does he think you do for a living?”
Angel grinned and patted one of her side jacket pockets, where Ellie assumed she carried some sort of weapon. “Private security. Like Rique. He thinks I’m like a bodyguard or whatever for the rich and famous. It was the only way I could explain my difficulty passing through metal detectors without freaking him out.”
“Difficulty…” Ellie thought about it a minute. “So…just what do you carry underneath all that leather?”
Angel smiled brightly. “Two guns, three knives, a taser, a set of brass knuckles, these cool spikes in my boots, and a couple pairs of handcuffs.” She looked up in her head a moment, then added with a grin, “Of course, Carlo kinda digs the handcuffs.”
Ellie slammed her hands over her ears. “I so-o-o didn’t need to hear that. But I guess it explains the red haze.”
“The what? You mean your eyes? What was that you were saying about your eyes hurting back there?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing. Just my contacts. And…I’m kind of tired…” As if to prove the point, Ellie yawned broadly and added, “Really tired.”
Angel stopped walking a moment and studied Ellie’s face.
“Hmm, maybe. I’ve learned not to ignore anything with Gifted folks. Sometimes, the least little thing can mean a whole lot.”
# # #
“Wait, so who is this Carlo person?”
“Grace, take it easy. Carlo is Angel’s boyfriend. They’ve been seeing each other for months. They’re just going to his apartment for dinner. Ellie will be fine.”
Grace felt her temperature starting to rise. She closed her eyes a moment, forced herself to be calm, and then opened them again, speaking to the image of Joe’s face on her tablet, “Well, what exactly do you know about him? Have you met him? Has Rishi checked him out?”
“Yes, yes, yes. I’ve met him. He’s very nice. And Rishi’s run a full check on the guy; he’s nobody special. Just some wanna-be actor who works in a pizzeria. I think his family owns the place. Look, Grace, as long as she’s with Angel, Ellie couldn’t be safer. You know that, right?”
Grace sighed. Yes, she did know that. Much as she’d like to think she herself could protect Ellie better than anyone, the truth was—having Angel around was like having the Secret Service at your beck and call. “All right, Joe. Just bring her back tomorrow, okay? I can’t handle worrying about Ellie and Gilda at the same time.”
“So how is the old girl?”
“Still very ill, I’m afraid. She’s lethargic, despondent, won’t eat. We were up all last night with her, and back at it all day today. We’re doing our best—taking turns massaging her, applying chelating agents, keeping her hydrated. Doo is great with her; it’s really amazing to watch.”
“Mm, right.”
The curtness of Joe’s response and the sour look on his face took Grace by surprise. Was it just her imagination, or did Joe dislike the handsome cowboy? Or perhaps, distrust him? She glanced toward Doo, who was working with Gilda only a short distance away. She lowered her voice, “Joe? Is there something wrong? Is there something I should know about Doo?”
“What? No! I mean…no.” He looked flustered, caught off guard.
The Gifted Ones: A Reader Page 14
