Chapter 13

The group talked amongst themselves as Zeke went to pay the bill.

They chuckled as they heard Zeke have a quiet disagreement with Harry. When he came back, he was muttering to himself.

“Was there a problem, Zeke?” Travis asked.

“The silly bugger wouldn’t let me pay the full bill,” Zeke grumbled.

Travis chuckled, “Well, that often happens when you save a man’s life and his business from being robbed.”

Zeke groaned at the interested and curious looks from the others. “I didn’t do that much.”

“Come on, Zeke, spill the story,” Paul goaded.

Zeke replied, “Not here and not now. It’s still reasonably early. Do you all wish to head to my ship for a while? I have something to give Art.”

They all agreed.

With the lifts and travelators, it wasn’t a long walk to the shipyard.

Zeke had entered the lift last, so he was standing at the doors when they opened. Everyone was surprised when a 25cm long wand appeared in his hand.

Those closest heard him mutter, but not what he said. They all felt their skin prickle as he released the spell. Zeke lowered the wand but didn’t put it away as he strode out of the lift.

When the others followed, they were shocked to find Erica and three men hidden in the shadows.

The entrance to Bernie’s office was on the other side of a modest courtyard that serviced a wide walkway going left and right of the lifts. It also gave access to a dozen other small businesses and some offices.

The courtyard had planter boxes and seating surrounding the little coffee shop. The thugs had hidden behind it, waiting for Zeke and his brothers to walk around it to Bernie’s establishment.

“Oh my,” Hilda gasped. “Are they frozen dead?”

Zeke grinned, “No, they just can’t move. Do any of you recognise these men?”

Dallas replied, “Yes, they sat with Erica the night she picked up Paul.”

“I’ve seen her talking to that one on several occasions. They always split up if they saw me,” Sabrina said as she pointed to a dark-skinned, bulky-looking man of medium height. He looked about five years older than the teens and had a nasty sneer.

“He calls himself Aaron Osman. He is a real sleaze. He didn’t like me telling him to take a hike when he tried chatting me up. It was one of the reasons I wasn’t happy when Erica started hanging around with us.”

Paul added, “The other two went by the names Johnny Adams and Saif Ali. Johnny said that he was Erica’s cousin. They did use the same last name. They wanted me to ditch Dallas and my other friends and hang with them.”

“Fortunately, we were spending most of the last three weeks out flying. So, I didn’t have time or inclination to see them. It was hard enough getting time to spend with Erica.”

“He even snuck off a couple of times to see her,” Dallas added with disapproval.

“Probably needed a fix,” Zeke commented.

“What sort of fix?” Sanya asked curtly.

Zeke grinned, “Magical. Just because you didn’t have magical items doesn’t mean you can’t use your abilities. It’s more intuitive and often subtle. Some examples include suddenly faster reflexes, instant dislike or trust of someone, and being able to fix what you touch or what they call a green thumb.”

“Be that as it may, what are you planning to do with this lot?” Travis asked.

“Oh, I think they shall have an attack of conscience and go confess their sins to a constable.”

“Ouch,” Hilda exclaimed, “You play nasty with others.”

“Only bullies and those who prey on others,” Zeke replied. He walked up to each of the frozen people. He touched them and whispered something to each of them.

He returned to the group, “Let’s get some coffee.”

“What about them?” Art asked.

Zeke shrugged, “They never saw us. They will get bored, then a little paranoid about their sins and wander off to find a nice constable. Not our problem anymore.”

Zeke headed to the office, and the others followed.

He was wrong about one thing. Some people don’t have a good sense of right and wrong or are concerned about hurting others.

Aaron certainly didn’t.

Zeke had included a rec room in his new ship.

It was the only area large enough to host eleven people, even if some of them had to sit on the floor. The teenagers gave over the padded lounges to the older generation.

Zeke opened a cupboard and produced a heap of big cushions for the younger people. They happily made themselves comfortable. Dallas did the honours of making the tea and coffee with Sabrina’s help.

Once they were settled, Zeke took centre stage. He basically told Art and the others what he told the boys earlier about magic. He got some giggles from the girls about the best method to recharge.

Zeke gave Art the magical satchel, and Hilda promptly demanded one, but she wanted it to look more like a large handbag. The other women requested the same. He almost shuddered at the thought of what they would put in them.

Zeke remembered seeing what his mother often carted around in her handbag, insisting that everything in it was essential. Sighing, he had the women follow him to the workshop. He demonstrated how to use the R&R machine.

“I copied Lee’s database into my machine. Find a style of handbag you can live with and make it. Don’t worry about the colour. I can spell it to be whatever colour you wish, so it matches your outfit for the day. Make sure it has at least one large opening, preferably two. Come back to the rec room when you’re done.”