Huge in Japan

by Matt Lincoln

  “Morning,” I responded as I leaned down to kiss her before shrugging my coat back on.

  “Off to see Harry?” She asked sleepily.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “If I leave now, I should get there by noon even with the weekend traffic.”

  “Okay,” she smiled. “Call me tonight when you get back to Las Vegas, alright?

  “I will,” I assured her.

  She closed her eyes again, and I walked to the window to pull the curtains closed. Esther worked as a bartender on weeknights, so she liked to sleep during the day. The curtains were thin, more decorative than functional, so they wouldn’t do much to block the sun. I’d buy some blackout curtains for her the next time I had a chance.

  I left the bedroom and made my way down the hallway to the living room and then out the front door. Esther lived in a little single-floor cottage tucked into the woods. It was miles away from anything else, and the closest neighbor was a five-minute drive away. It was charming during the day, but I honestly felt that it was really creepy at night. I’d only been here a few times before, and I tried not to arrive or leave after sundown. I knew it was kind of ridiculous, but I hated making the drive to her house and seeing nothing but darkness and trees for miles all around. I always felt like there was something, or someone, lurking just beyond the treeline.

  I was glad when the dense forest gave way to the scorching desert. Out here, I felt free, like the horizon could stretch on forever, and I could go wherever I wanted. I’d been thrilled when Gardner had presented us with a potential new case because it had meant that a new adventure was waiting. I felt a little disappointed now that we’d closed the Japan case. I was, of course, happy that we’d solved it, but that meant that it was back to bland office work again. Until we got another big case, I’d be confined to the office.

  At least going to visit Harry always felt like a bit of an adventure. It was impressive how much the scenery could change in such a short amount of time. First bustling city skyscrapers, then flat nothingness, and then finally the rolling mountain range. Then there was always the chance Harry would ask me to try one of his newest culinary experiments, which was always an adventure in and of itself.

  When I finally pulled up to his driveway, it surprised me to see not Harry but Amber waiting at the door for me. She jumped up and down and waved her arms as I approached. She bolted toward the truck as soon as I shifted it into park. I hadn’t been out of the car for three seconds before she threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my legs.

  “Uncle Charlie!” She yelled at top volume.

  “Hey, little monster,” I greeted her as I scooped her up. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

  “Mommy got a big order,” she explained. “This lady called her crying because she was getting married and someone had messed up the food, so she wanted mommy to bring her new food. Mommy said she would get a lot of money, so she told me to hang out with Grandpa today while she’s working.”

  “Wow, good for mommy,” I smiled. If she was being asked to prepare food for an entire wedding, she’d likely be busy all day.

  “Oh yeah,” Amber gasped. “You’re in big trouble, Uncle Charlie.”

  “What?” I asked as I carried her across the driveway and into the house. “Why am I in trouble?”

  “Because I had to find out about your office exploding on the evening news!” Harry yelled angrily from where he was sitting in the den.

  Amber nodded and wagged her finger at me admonishingly.

  “Grandpa said he was going to give you ‘what for’ when you got here,” Amber smiled.

  “Grandpa needs to stop teaching you old people slang,” I replied as I put her down.

  “Who are you calling old, you little brat?” Harry grumbled as I joined him in the den.

  “You, old man,” I teased as I fell onto the couch next to him.

  “I’m serious here, Charlie,” Harry chastised me with a scowl. “I dang near had a heart attack when I saw that on the news last night!”

  “That’s weird,” I remarked. “Wallace said he was deliberately suppressing news coverage of the bombing, so the traffickers wouldn’t be able to know if they had succeeded or not.”

  “Is that all you have to say about it?” Harry sighed. “They were talking about how the feds had busted this huge human trafficking group in Japan and how the head honcho was being extradited on counts of terrorism since he’d sent someone to have the MBLIS office bombed. When I first heard that, I thought it had just happened while you were there!”

  “I’m sorry, Harry,” I apologized. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “Didn’t want me to worry,” he scoffed. “Instead, you just almost killed me of fright. Wait, is that what really happened to your eye?”

  “Oh, yeah, it is,” I answered sheepishly.

  “For goodness’ sake, Charlie!” Harry exclaimed. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”

  I sat quietly and fiddled with the sleeve of my jacket. It had been a while since Harry had torn into me like this. I didn’t regret not telling him. I worried about his health and tried to do whatever I could to keep his stress levels down. I did feel bad about scaring him, though.

  “I am proud of you, though,” Harry sighed finally. “That was you they were talking about, right? When they said the feds caught the guy responsible? So stop looking like a kicked puppy. I hate seeing you like that.”

  “Yeah, that was me,” I confirmed. “Well, me, Junior, and Agent Gardner. Although everyone helped a lot on this case.”

  “Heh,” Harry chuckled. “Can’t believe that little punk I caught stealing chips from gas stations is off flying around the world and stopping international crimes.”

  “Aw, you’re gonna make me blush,” I scoffed sarcastically, although his words really were having an effect on me. I cleared my throat to get rid of the lump I felt there.

  “Don’t be a smart-alec,” Harry admonished as he wiped at his eyes. “Anyway, what did you bring for Amber? Don’t tell me you forgot.”

  “You brought me something?” Amber’s head snapped around from where she was sitting on the floor, and her attention was immediately captured at the very mention of gifts.

  “Of course I did,” I replied as I stood up off the couch. “It’s in the car. Wait here a minute.”

  I was glad that I’d left the unicorn in the back of my truck instead of taking it into my apartment the night I’d gotten home. I hadn’t known Amber was going to be here today, so it wasn’t wrapped or anything. I doubted Amber would care, though. As spoiled as she was by me, her mom, and Harry, she was never ungrateful. I knew she’d be happy with anything I gave her, but I had a feeling she’d be especially happy about the unicorn.

  I held the bag behind my back as I stepped back into the house.

  “Close your eyes,” I said once I’d made it back to the den. I placed the bag in front of her. “Okay, look.”

  I could tell by the way her eyes grew wide as saucers that she recognized the toy even before she ripped it out of the bag.

  “It’s Icarus!” she shrieked so loudly that Harry flinched. “He’s Princess Momo’s magical stallion. He’s so big! Thank you, Uncle Charlie!”

  She threw her arms around me, and even though my ears were ringing from her outburst, I leaned down to hug her back.

  “You’re welcome, little monster,” I smiled. Her reaction had been even more intense than I’d imagined. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I’m gonna play with him right now!” Amber declared before she scampered off, dragging her new toy by its horn.

  “Wow,” Harry chuckled once she had left. “That one was a definite home run.”

  “Yeah,” I smiled as I sat back down. “Not sure how I’m going to top that one. Geez, that little rugrat can scream.”

  “Just about popped my eardrum,” Harry chucked. “Ah well, I’m glad to see her happy. Eliza works so many hours, and I worry she might get lonely. You should come
around more often, Charlie. It’s good for her to have a strong male role model in her life.”

  “She has you,” I responded dismissively.

  “I ain’t the one she idolizes,” Harry insisted. “You think she comes running up to me screaming every time she comes to visit? That’s just you, Charlie.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. I hadn’t known that I was the only one she greeted that way.

  “I just worry about my kids,” Harry continued. “And I include you when I say that, Charlie. You’re just as much my family as anyone else.”

  “Thanks, Harry,” I smiled. I’d never been good at accepting praise or affection, but right then, at that moment, I felt more at home than I ever had.

  Epilogue

  “Wow,” Amber sighed wistfully. “I never realized all the things you did when I was younger. I remember when you gave me that unicorn, but to think that you bought it while you were on such a life-threatening mission.”

  Ellie and Byron were still fast asleep in front of the fire, and Little Charlie was leaning against his mom.

  “So, you used to do that kind of stuff all the time?” he asked. “Like, fly around the world and arrest people?”

  “Yeah, for about twenty years,” I answered. “I stopped going out into the field as much after a while. I actually became the director of the branch a while after that, up until I retired a few years ago.”

  “You were the director?” Little Charlie asked, his eyes wide. “That’s so cool. So, you got to boss people around and stuff?”

  “Charlie,” Amber scolded. “That is not all it takes to be the boss of a federal agency.”

  “She’s right,” I replied. “It was a lot harder, in a lot of ways, than just being out in the field. You have to be responsible for all the agents working under you, and by that point, we had dozens, instead of just the eight of us we had back when I first started. I did get to boss people around, though.”

  “So, did you stay friends with everyone?” Little Charlie asked. “The other agents, I mean.”

  My smile fell a little as I recalled the bittersweet answer to that question.

  “Most of them, I did,” I replied. “But, sometimes people change and drift apart. Sometimes they weren’t ever who you thought they were.”

  “That sounds cryptic,” Little Charlie responded with a sparkle in his eye. “What happened? Do you have any more stories about when you were an agent?”

  “Charlie, I think your grandpa might be tired,” Amber admonished gently. “And it’s about time you got to bed, too.”

  “What?” Little Charlie whined. “No way, mom. I’m sixteen. You said I didn’t have to go to sleep at the same time as the twins anymore. It’s not even that late!”

  “It’s two in the morning, sweetheart,” Amber said flatly.

  “Oh, really?” Little Charlie asked as he checked the time on his phone. “Oh shoot, I didn’t even notice when it got so late.”

  “You were so into the story you lost track of time,” Amber giggled. “I won’t tell you what to do, but I will strongly encourage you to go to bed. Remember you promised the twins you’d take them sledding tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Little Charlie huffed as he got up off the floor and stretched. “Good night, Grandpa. Night, Mom.” He trudged out of the lobby and down the corridor to the room he’d chosen for himself.

  “I know I told him to go to bed,” Amber started. “But I would like to hear another one of those stories while we wait for Liam to get here. If you’re not tired, of course.”

  “Don’t you worry,” I assured her. “I sleep in until noon most of the time now. I’ll be good for another few hours.”

  “You sound just like Grandpa,” she smiled. “I remember we used to stay up late when mom would drop me off at his house, and then we’d lie around until after ten and go into town to have brunch.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “I hate to admit it, but I turned out just like that old man.”

  “Well, you picked a wonderful person to take after,” Amber smiled. “So, about those stories?”

  “Well, let me think…” I pondered aloud. “Oh, I know. Might be good that Little Charlie isn’t here for this one.”

  “That scary?” Amber asked.

  “It’s very personal,” I responded. “Do you remember the time you were kidnapped?” Amber’s eyes went as wide as saucers.

  “What?” she exclaimed. “No, I don’t. When did that happen?”

  “You were still really small,” I chuckled. “I’m not surprised you don’t really remember. I’m glad you don’t actually, even if you were only gone for two days.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Amber replied. “Tell me about it!”

  “Well, we’d just gotten a lead about a potential case in Jamaica” I stood suddenly as the door burst open behind me. I instinctively reached for the gun at my waist, only for my fingers to close around air. Of course, I wasn’t a federal agent anymore. I took on a defensive stance, ready to protect Amber and my grandkids against the tall, dark figure silhouetted against the open doorway.

  “Liam!” Amber called as the figure stepped into the room and pulled the heavy hood off his head.

  “Hey, hun,” he smiled. “Hey, Charlie. Sorry about slamming the door open like that. The wind’s crazy strong outside.”

  “Liam, you’re getting snow all over the carpet,” Amber chastised as she rushed over to kiss her husband hello.

  “Oh, shoot, sorry about that, Charlie,” he smiled apologetically as he yanked off his boots and placed them by the door.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I replied dismissively. “Old place isn’t exactly in peak condition. A little water never hurt.” I moved toward the door to push it shut. The wind really was blowing, and I had to shove it with force to get it to close.

  “Sorry I didn’t make it before midnight,” Liam said as he took his coat off and hung it on the rack by the entrance. “The snow was coming down harder than I thought it would.”

  “It’s okay,” Amber shrugged. “The kids got to spend the day being spoiled by Charlie. He was telling Little Charlie and me about his days as a federal agent.”

  “Oh, really?” Liam asked as he looked at me. “That sounds pretty cool. I’d like to hear about it sometime too.”

  “He was just about to tell me another story,” Amber replied.

  “It can wait until tomorrow,” I told her. “You’ve been waiting on him all night, now spend some time with your husband.”

  Amber smiled.

  “You’re the best, Uncle Charlie,” she smiled as she leaned up to kiss me on the cheek. I watched as she led Liam away toward their room, telling him all about what the kids had been up to that day and what they had planned for tomorrow.

  Once they had gone, I sat heavily back into the overstuffed recliner. I rocked slowly back and forth as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. The time I’d spent jetting around the world solving crimes had been thrilling, but getting to spend a warm night with my family under my roof filled me with a different kind of contentment.

  Author’s Note

  Hey, if you got here, I just want you to know that you’re awesome! I wrote this book just for someone like you, and if you want another one, it is super important that you leave a review.

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  Special thanks and credit to Moonstruck Covers Design
& Photography, the studio responsible for all my What Happens in Vegas covers!