"As you like," he shrugged with that disquieting confidence. "You can't exactly turn in your badge and gun."
    "No, but—"
    "Oh, shit!" Lucky announced, and sprinted out of the room. I still don't know what that was about.
    "Anyway, I've got another idea that might help, too," Reilly went on.
    "What is it?"
    "Let me see if it pans out first. I'll be in touch."
    As he was leaving, an orderly poked his head into the room. All was well, he's in stable condition, and we might as well go home.
    "I want to be here when he wakes up," I stated stubbornly. Phoenix picked me up. "Look, don't you even start—"
    "Come on. There's nothing you can do here, and you need some sleep."
    I think that was the first time he's ever shown any sort of personal concern for me. That feels strange. And he was obviously right, since I didn't have the energy to argue with him, and don't really remember returning to base.
    Dawn fixed the roof. It took her about two seconds of concetration. I stared at the ceiling for thirty seconds and was asleep. Talon went out on patrol and had a run-in with the vigilante, who might be a werewolf of some description, although he's getting more violent as the moon wanes, rather than waxes. And Lucky's been having dreams about Xyrgoth, which makes them think it might be him again. I don't have the energy to care.
    A tap on the door woke me up.
    "What?"
    "Telephone. It's Reilly," Dawn said.
    "Oh. Thanks. Yes?" I didn't want to talk to him, or anyone else for that matter.
    "Hi. That idea I had, looks like it might work out. I put in a call to a guy I know in Detroit, he has my job out there. You know the Detroit Warriors?"
    "Yeah." I rubbed my bleary eyes.
    "Trent Aster, Daedalus, is flying out. He's a telepath, specializes in memory loss."
    For a moment I was speechless. "Oh. That's great, Reilly. Good idea. Thank you." My bottomed-out hopes lifted a few centimeters. "Is anyone meeting him?"
    "He said he could find the place."
    "Oh. What time?"
    "Didn't say."
    "Oh," again. "Well—thank you. That might do the trick."
    "Hope so." He hesitated. "How you holding up?"
    "So far, so good." I suppose I didn't sound very convincing, because there was a long pause.
    "Does anyone call you Sasha anymore?"
    Weird question—after all, how many people do I even know? "No, not really."
    "You okay with that?"
    "I haven't really thought about it. I guess so." Amid my other problems, it honestly hadn't crossed my mind, but now that he asked I find myself wondering.
    "Oh. Take care of yourself, Sasha." He hung up. I wandered anxiously around the base, unable to concentrate or sleep, unwilling to let myself hope. Dawn looked up.
    "You have visitors. They're on the roof."
    I went up to see who it was. Two people with wings had landed there. The woman was seven feet tall, enveloped in flames, and inhumanly beautiful in much the same way Dawn is. The man was slightly shorter but also handsome, and didn't have the flames.
    "Hello," I said cautiously.
    "Hi," was his cheerful response, offering a hand. "Trent Aster, Daedalus. This is Emily, also called Inferno. You must be Needle. Wow," he added, glancing around, "you guys actually have a base? We just get together in my office every few weeks."
    "It's not much, but we like it. I wasn't expecting you so soon." I was impressed, and not a little envious. I tried to suppress the latter.
    "I don't have to book flights," he shrugged, settling his wings.
    "I see. Do you want to—"
    "Can we come in? It's a little chilly out here."
    "Is it?" Emily asked.
    "She doesn't notice. I do."
    She doused her flames, and we went inside to the conference room, where I introduced them to Dawn. She and Emily looked at one another curiously, with expressions of near recognition.

| Top |