Chapter 20: Defenses

“Do you want to eat there, in the living room, or would you prefer eating at the table?” asked Jewel. She was hovering over Cody with boundless nervous energy.

“The kitchen is good,” he said.

Cody and Jewel felt their talismans start to warm. They looked at one another but before anything could be said time stopped. Elaine was standing in front of Cody giving him the once over.

“Why wouldn’t you eat at the kitchen? You look pretty good for almost being run over by a reckless driver.”

“Elaine,” he said. “I was wondering if you were going to stop by to chat.”

She moved closer to inspect a nasty looking rash on his elbow. It glistened with an anti-septic spray Jewel had recently applied.

“That looks like it hurts,” Elaine mused. “Good idea to get it sprayed. I would probably cover it with a loose bandage before going to bed, though.”

Cody kept his gaze and tone of voice even as he talked to Elaine. “Thanks for the suggestion. What brings you by?”

“Oh, I’m always dropping by. I usually don’t stop to chat, though. Earlier I saw there was an accident. I wanted to wait until you were alone before talking.”

Cody wanted to call bullshit. She could have stopped time at any point and talked to him. He figured she waited until she received instructions from someone else about how to proceed.

“That was considerate of you,” he said. “As you can see, I am doing fine.”

She nodded slowly. She knew he had stopped time to avoid the accident. He knew that she was the one to set the accident in motion. Even though each knew the other knew they played the game.

Cody asked, as causally as possible, “The accident. Was it that? Just an accident, or was it your handiwork to put me in a coma ahead of schedule? Do it so I don’t see it coming?”

“Oh, my! Of course not, that was not my doing,” Elaine lied with ease. “We are not quite ready for you to take on your next role. Plus, like we talked about, we want to make sure you have time to get your affairs in order.”

Cody nodded. “That’s what I thought but the timing seemed such a coincidence. Good to hear it really was just a freak accident.”

Elaine said, “If every coincident had an ulterior motive we would spend our whole lives second guessing everything we did or said. This was an accident.”

She scanned Cody again from head to toe, then said, “Well, it’s great to see you in one piece. I’ll be back tomorrow or the next day. Hope you feel better.”

Cody almost laughed. She hopes he feels better? But in a day or two she is going to orchestrate an accident that will effectively kill him just so he can take a new position in The Onyx?

“I’ll be here. No plans to go anywhere in this condition,” he joked in reply.

Time restarted.

Jewel saw the scowl on Cody’s face. The burn against her chest subsided. She said, “She was here, wasn’t she?”

There was a knock at the door.

“Food from the neighbor?” offered Cody.

Jewel turned to answer the door. When she opened it, Annike and Heidrick burst through looking warily around the room.

“She’s gone,” said Jewel.

There was another knock on the door.

“That’s probably the neighbor with food,” said Cody as Annike and Heidrick’s heads snapped to the direction of the door in alarm.

Jewel answered the door to find the neighbor balancing a large tray full of several steaming dishes.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you had company,” the neighbor said. “I only brought food for two.”

Annike said, “That’s OK. We have already had dinner. Please, come in.”

“Are you the ones that brought the pink flamingos?” the neighbor said as she maneuvered through the doorway.

Cody and Jewel looked puzzled. Heidrick chuckled as he said, “Guilty as charged. We have joked with these two that they need a little pizzazz in their yard. We saw these recently and bought a couple.”

The neighbor was clearly not in favor of such kitsch in the front yard but held her tongue.

Annike helped the neighbor put the food on the table. Jewel collected plates and silverware from the kitchen.

“Thank you so much,” said Jewel.

“Any time. Well, I hope never again after such an accident, but of course, I am happy to help.”

Annike saw the woman out and then returned to the table. Jewel found a bottle of wine and had just popped the cork as everyone sat. She poured four glasses.

“Flamingos?” Cody asked.

“They are basically early warning detectors. Kind of like radar but for Elaine and The Onyx,” answered Heidrick. “You’ve got two in the backyard as well.”

“Have you heard from Elaine?” asked Annike.

Cody nodded. “Yes, she was here a few minutes ago.”

He told everyone the details of his conversation with Elaine.

“It is pretty much what we expected,” said Heidrick.

Jewel started to speak, then cleared her throat and began again, “Can you guys tell me what’s going on again? I admit, I thought you were all full of shit earlier at the pawn shop so I didn’t really pay attention.”

No one faulted Jewel for her question or lack of earlier attention.

Annike took the question. “Yes, and while I talk, please finish your food while it is warm.”

Annike and Heidrick passed the narrative between themselves as Jewel and Cody finished their dinner. Cody saw Jewel cringe a few times but he noticed that she did not seem to have the same look of derision that she showed at the pawn shop.

“I think there is another bottle of wine in the fridge,” Jewel said as they finished eating.

Heidrick retrieved the bottle and opener and returned to the table. He popped open the cork and poured a refill for everyone.

“And that gets you up to speed,” Annike said as she finished retelling the background of The Onyx and Orion.

Heidrick said, “Let’s move to the living room. I want to hear about the attack again.”