Stormcrow: Book Two: Birds of a Feather

by N. C. Reed

  “Sure,” Sean smiled down at her. “I had a good time. Sure beats just staying on the ship with nothing going on.”

  “No kidding,” Jessica nodded. “I hope I can find another one of those multi-tool things somewhere when I've been paid again,” she said wistfully. “I'm not a mechanic or anything, but that thing just looked so. . .so handy, you know?”

  “I sure do,” Sean reached into his pocket with his free hand and withdrew the small box. “That's why I got it for you,” he added calmly, holding the box out to her.

  “What?” Jessica looked at the box, then up to Sean's face, then back to the box.

  “I said that's why I got it for you,” Sean repeated. “It's the one you looked at,” he jiggled the box a little, almost like bait. “I wanted you to have it. Don't say I never gave you nothing,” he teased.

  “Sean, I. . .I don't know what to say,” she took the small box, her eyes wet.

  “Thank you is usually the phrase used in situations like this,” Sean continued to tease her. She carefully placed the box into her shopping bag and then suddenly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly with a strength that someone so slightly built shouldn't have had.

  “Thank you,” her voice was muffled with her face buried in his shoulder. “Thank you so much.”

  “It's just a multi-tool,” he told her, patting her back gently.

  “It is to you,” she nodded, pulling her head back to look at him. “It's a lot more than that to me.”

  -

  “No, no, these aren't coated in that powdery stuff,” Lucia was shaking her head as she and Talitha approached the escalator. “They drizzle a caramel like concoction over them. Condensed milk that's not quite allowed to caramelize. It's a glaze of some kind with just a hint. . .of. . .cinn. . .a. . .mon. . . .” Lucia's speech had dried up as she looked toward the escalator.

  Just in time to see Sean Galen offer a petite blonde woman a small box. Smiling. He was smiling at her. And handing her a small box. Which she took, stored in a shopping bag, and then proceeded to hug Sean Galen very thoroughly, right on the escalator.

  Smiling. Smiling at her. Sean Galen was smiling at this little. . .person who was hugging him.

  “Lucia?” Talitha's voice sounded like it was miles away.

  She was hugging Sean Galen, and he was smiling at her. Carrying a shopping bag for her it looked like. Smiling.

  “Lucia!” Talitha's voice was more stringent.

  “What?” she demanded, turning to look at Tal and speaking more sharply than she'd intended.

  “What's wrong?” Talitha asked.

  “Nothing,” Lucia snapped. “I want to go home,” she said suddenly and started for the nearest entrance. “Have the cars meet us there,” she pointed as Tal hustled to catch up and the others moved to stay ahead of the clearly upset primary.

  “Lucia, what's wrong!” Tal demanded.

  “Nothing I told you!” Lucia snapped back. “I'm just tired and want to go home, now let's go!”

  Talitha stopped short, motioning for the others to keep Lucia in their sights. She turned back to the escalator in time to see Sean Galen and a small blonde getting off the escalator, arm in arm, the blonde's head laying on his shoulder. The two walked just like that toward the opposite entrance of the mall.

  “Aw, shit,” Tal swore softly before turning to follow her charge out of the mall.

  It was a quiet trip back to the Delgado Estate.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  -

  “And that pretty well ended the trip,” Talitha reported. “Abruptly I might add.”

  Antonia sat back in her chair, her face thoughtful.

  “Maybe this will kill her interest?” Tal offered when her boss didn't speak right away.

  “Do not count upon it,” Antonia said dryly. “While she is upset now, once she has calmed she will see this as nothing more than a challenge. She may or may not accept it,” Antonia allowed, “but she more than likely will not simply give up. And I do not believe that this woman is anything like a paramour to Galen, in any event.”

  “Looked awfully chummy,” Talitha said.

  “Chummy is not the same as involved,” the older woman smiled. “And I know there are at least three women on the ship, counting her Captain.”

  “I see,” Talitha nodded carefully. “So maybe Galen has a thing going with one of his shipmates?”

  “Unlikely,” Antonia shook her head. “Galen is of the opinion that no woman would benefit from his companionship, thus lives a singular life. It is more likely that this woman is a friend, or at least someone he feels protective of. He is somewhat chivalrous, though he would not call it that.”

  “What would he call it?” Talitha asked, genuinely interested.

  “Something else,” Antonia replied calmly. Simply. “I do not expect this to change things, at least not for the moment. Your assignment remains unchanged. How did you and my daughter interact?”

  “We got on pretty well, honestly,” Talitha admitted. “I had to agree to buy some truly over-priced lingerie to go with some equally over-priced dresses in order to get her to buy some more practical clothing,” she made a face at that. “But until we spotted Galen and his shipmate, things were going just fine.”

  “It sounds as if you did well,” Antonia smiled at the younger woman. “Thank you for that. And for humoring her.”

  “It's not so much to do,” Talitha shrugged. “Anyway, that's about it. She didn't say ten words on the way home.”

  “I'm sure I will hear of it sooner than later.”

  -

  Lucia sat in her room surrounded by now useless clothing, fuming in silence.

  “'No woman needs a guy like me',” she mimicked Galen. “What a crock of shit. He could have just told me!”

  “Told you what?” her brother's voice made her jump and she whirled on him in a flash, finding a target for her anger.

  “Damn you!” she snarled. “Why didn't you tell me Galen had a girlfriend!”

  “A what?” Tony asked, surprised by the outburst. Had he not been, he might have thought to take advantage of the moment, but. . .he was caught off guard and missed it.

  “A girlfriend, damn you!” she resisted the urge to hurl something at him. “I saw him with his little mousy blonde girlfriend at Vincento's tonight!”

  “Little blonde?” Tony frowned. “Hair on her shoulders? Small framed, short?”

  “So you do know her!” Lucia was white hot again in an instant.

  “She's the pilot,” Tony replied honestly, attempting to get his sister's ire away from him. “Not his girlfriend.” He said it before he thought.

  “What?”

  “She's the ship's pilot,” he told her. “We're all friends, Lucia. At least we used to be,” he sighed. “It was probably Jess. She was attacked a few nights ago and was probably afraid to go out alone so Sean went with her.”

  “And does he make a habit of hugging this pilot in public?” Lucia's voice was scathing.

  “Was he hugging her, or was she hugging him?” Tony challenged, tired of being his sister's punching bag.

  “What?” that brought her up short.

  “Jess has had a hard time,” he told her. “She's not clingy, but Sean saved her from a very bad time on Dry Commons a few months back and she's been close to him since then. Not like that,” he snorted when Lucia's eyes narrowed yet again. “Just. . .friends. She trusts him. That doesn't come easy to her, I think. So while I'm sure she may have hugged him for something-”

  “He gave her something,” Lucia told him. “I saw him hand her a small box of some kind.”

  “Well, there ya go,” Tony replied. “He did something nice for her and she hugged him for it. She's not his girlfriend. At least not as of six hours ago, anyway,” he shrugged.

  Lucia looked at her brother for a minute longer before her face split into a small smile.

  “Thanks Antonio!” she beamed at him. “You're a great brother!” she added, righ
t before she slammed her door in his face.

  “And good night to you too,” he shook his head, wandering back the way he had come.

  Later on he would realize that this was his one grand opportunity to rid Lucia of any thought of Sean Galen, and he had let it slip through his fingers.

  -

  “Simmons,” Meredith answered her com in exasperation. Lincoln listened to her side of the conversation as he lay on the bed beside her.

  “Not usually, no,” Meredith said.

  “We can,” she replied to an unheard question, “we just usually don't. More trouble than they're worth on the whole.” Lincoln deduced from that statement that the discussion involved passengers.

  “Yes, we're going straight in.” Pause.

  “How much?” Lincoln heard the interest change in Meredith's voice and looked at her in amusement.

  “Just two of them?” Pause.

  “All right,” she seemed to relent finally. “We should be departing in less than seventy-two hours from now,” Meredith warned. “My husband has a doctor's exam day after tomorrow, and assuming he's cleared we'll be turning over the moment we return to the ship. They'll need to be aboard before then.”

  “Just send me the details on the net,” she sighed. “No one to receive them until day after, though,” she warned. “Okay. Thanks.” She put the com down after ending the call.

  “Passengers?” Lincoln asked, eyebrow going up.

  “Two,” Meredith held up two fingers as she nodded in reply. “Two people looking for direct to Elvy. Since the Harbor Master knows we're bound for Liberty Vale the minute we light off, he called us first. They're paying top dollar for a quick trip. About three times what we'd normally get.”

  “Wow,” Linc gave a low whistle. “That's serious coin.”

  “Probably blood money from some mob family,” Meredith snorted. “But if I don't know that for a fact, I'll take it. It's easy money and will pretty much pay for the time we've been idle. No sense passing up something like that.”

  “Makes sense,” Lincoln nodded. “Now, roll over so I can do something about all that tension in your back and shoulders,” he teased.

  “Well, I can't refuse that either, now can I?”

  -

  Faulks woke up to find Nita Callaveri wrapped around her, the two lying in the latter's bed in her very nice apartment.

  A few beers had led to a few harder drinks, which had led to dinner and some relaxation, which had ultimately led to here. It had been a pleasant evening, especially considering how it had started out. Faulks carefully disengaged herself from the tangle of arm and leg to stand stiffly, heading for the bathroom. She checked her chrono and realized it was well after breakfast. While not famished just yet she was hungry.

  A quick shower after finishing her business, Faulks was combing her short hair when Nita staggered into the bathroom door behind her.

  “Morning,” she smiled cat-eyed over Faulks' shoulder.

  “Morning,” Faulks smiled back, a look that was almost foreign to her. “Hungry?” Faulks asked.

  “I am,” Nita nodded, moving into the washroom to take care of her own needs.

  “Well, get yourself together and let's go have a bite to eat somewhere then,” Faulks told her. “I've still got about a day-and-a-half of leave before we start turning over.”

  “Turning over?”

  “Starting the engines,” Faulks clarified. “From a cold start it takes about three hours or so to be hot enough to light 'em off.”

  “Oh,” the other woman nodded, though she clearly had no idea what Faulks was talking about. “Okay.”

  “I'll wait for you in the living room,” Faulks said and headed that way.

  -

  “Morning,” Jess smiled as Sean entered the galley. “I'm almost done with breakfast,” she added, scooping eggs from a skillet on to two plates.

  “You didn't have to do that, Jessica,” Sean protested, though only mildly.

  “Oh, shush,” she told him playfully. “I can't take you out to eat after last night but the kitchen is fully stocked, and while I'm nothing like the chef Tony is, I can cook,” she assured him.

  “You can at that,” he agreed, taking his seat as she went back to the kitchen. She returned a minute later with toast and bacon to add to the eggs, then went back for hash browns and coffee.

  “Wow,” Sean commented at the pile of food. “This is nice.”

  “It's just plain fare, but it should be edible,” Jess grinned. “And now let’s eat before it gets cold,” she urged.

  “Yeah, cold eggs suck,” Sean chuckled as he dug in.

  “So what are your plans today?” he asked her.

  “Don't have any,” she shrugged. “What about you?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “If you want we'll work on your knife skills,” he offered. “And I'll try and come up with something you can use as a target in the cargo bay for practicing with those throwing knives.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” she nodded firmly. “Thanks, Sean.”

  “Sure.”

  -

  “How was your evening out, Lucia?” Antonia asked across the breakfast table.

  “Fine,” the girl said sleepily, her eyes still drooping. “Talitha tricked me into buying stupid clothes,” she grumbled.

  “I am given to understand that it was more of a trade off than trickery,” Antonia's eyebrow rose slightly, mostly in humor.

  “Yeah,” Lucia sighed a bit. “And they aren't too bad, really,” she admitted. “Just different. They will take some getting used to is all.”

  “What did you get?” Tony asked, curious.

  “Jeans and stuff,” Lucia shrugged, waving the irrelevancy away. “Outdoorsy kinda stuff.”

  “Outdoorsy?” Tony's own eyebrow rose at that. “Lucia, are you feeling okay?”

  “Aren't you funny,” his sister's sarcasm was biting. “What's wrong with me getting outdoor clothes?”

  “Well, nothing,” Tony admitted. “It's just. . .well, you don't seem to enjoy the outdoors too much.”

  “I do so!” Lucia sounded more like a schoolgirl than a young woman, but she was still sleepy. “I just don't do it all that often, that's all!”

  “Okay,” Tony held a hand up in supplication, not wanting to be on her bad side again. “It's cool, anyway. Who's Talitha?” he asked, looking between the two women.

  “My new bodyguard,” Lucia told him. “She's actually pretty cool,” she admitted. “And she doesn't talk to me like I'm stupid, either,” she glared at her brother.

  “I don't talk to you like you're stupid, Lucia,” Tony scoffed. “I tease you sometimes, but that's because it's my job as your brother,” he grinned at her. “But I'm well aware that you are far from stupid. Neither of us is as smart as Luka I suppose, but neither of us is dumb, either.”

  “Luka isn't all that smart once he's outside his numbers,” Lucia smirked slightly. “Remember how he used to forget to eat?”

  “Yeah,” Tony snorted. “He'd be down in the basement with a dozen chalkboards all full of numbers and start feeling faint. I asked him once when he'd eaten last and he looked at me all blank for a minute and then says 'what day is it?'” he laughed until he coughed into his napkin.

  “That's our Luka,” his sister nodded.

  “While he is prone to forget things at times, he is doing something worthwhile let us remember,” Antonia made her presence known again.

  “That is true,” Tony nodded. “His work is sure to benefit a lot of people, no doubt. Assuming he gets it finished before he starves to death!” he managed to get out before erupting into a fit of laughter yet again, his sister joining him.

  “He is at least working toward something,” Antonia shrugged casually.

  “So he is,” Tony nodded again. “I'm not really putting him down. I don't know how many times I day I wonder about something, and then usually add 'Luka would know' at the end of it.”

  “Me too!” Lucia nodded. “
I do it all the time, especially anything with math!”

  “So what do you two have planned today?” Antonia asked.

  “I'm just going to hang around here and visit,” Tony shrugged. “We'll probably be leaving day after tomorrow assuming Linc's appointment goes well, and I think it will. I'm going to spend that time here.” He was rewarded with a smile from his mother.

  “I've got a few errands to run, but they aren't important,” Lucia shrugged. “I can do them now or later, it won't matter.”

  “I have one matter that needs your attention, daughter,” Antonia told her as she stood, finished with her breakfast. “Please come and see me in my office before you do errands or whatever else you decide. Antonio, I will see you for lunch, yes?” she turned to her son.

  “You bet!” he smiled at his mother, who smiled in return and then departed.

  “Wonder what that's about?” Lucia said aloud, finishing her own meal.

  “Didn't sound bad,” Tony told her. “When you get done, assuming it isn't bad,” he snarked, “wanna hang out a while?”

  “Sure!” Lucia smiled broadly. “We can go out or stay in, whatever you want.”

  “Definitely stay in I think,” Tony told her.

  “Okay,” she nodded. “Let me go and see what mother wants and I'll be back.”

  “I'll be here or in dad's office talking to him,” Tony promised.

  -

  “I received a call from the agent this morning,” Antonia told Lucia as soon as the door was closed. “You have a very narrow window of opportunity,” she handed a small slip of paper to her daughter. “They will, as Antonio said, be leaving in two days, give or take, depending on the doctor.”

  “Thank you Mamma,” Lucia hugged her mother. “I am thankful for your help. I couldn't do it without you.”

  “I know,” he mother smiled at her. “Do not make a mistake, child. Do not make me endure the wrath of your father for nothing,” she winked.

  “You enjoy him being angry because it gives you a chance to make-up,” Lucia told her impishly and Antonia laughed.

  “You know me too well, mi niña,” she patted her daughter's cheek. “I fear sometimes you are too much like me.”