Pilot: Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“It tastes a bit like honeyed pears,” Elena said taking a sip from the paper cup. The bottle the drink came out of was clear glass and showed off the golden liquid well. Alien letters were inscribed across the glass in black. She scraped her nail against the glass and was pleased to see part of the lettering flake off.

“That was my take as well,” Andre said. The adaptation to the upper floors had been complete and they were sitting at the conference table. Various goods surrounded them and they were trying to figure out names, and details for the new products. Products they had already been through lined the shelves off to one side and a stack of potential labels and advertisements mounted to press board were leaning against the wall. In the past 10 weeks Andre had done an amazing amount of work.

“It is a bit too sweet to drink on it’s own,” Elena commented.

“Yeah,” Andre agreed. Whenever we had it we always mixed it with either vodka or club soda. Sometimes it was added to a dry champagne if it was a festive thing.”

“You know,” Elena said thoughtfully. “We have several drink concoctions that would make good mixers. Perhaps we could have a selection of cocktail additives.” Elena stood up and retrieved several different bottles from the shelves. The bottles were similar but the drinks they contained differed. One tasted a bit like strawberries, one was tart like cranberries with a dash of lemon. She arranged the bottles on the table. “The shapes of the bottles are nearly identical.”

“And we could put notes on the label about mixing for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic consumption.” Andre made a note. Elena attached a tag stating the flavor of the bottle and began setting them back on the shelves. From downstairs the steady pounding of hammers thudded and a buzz saw whined. While the upstairs had been completed the downstairs was still under construction. The work was almost complete. Nibbles, as the store would be named would soon be ready to open.

“I think that’s the last of what we have,” Andre said looking around. “I should have some ideas for the drink labels complete by the time Peter and Mr. Calabrese get here.” He stood and stretched. Elena admired way the material stretched across his chest before deliberately reminding herself he was off limits. Andre smiled and reached for the coffeepot to refill his cup. He refilled hers automatically as well before setting it down. Elena had been pleased to find he was as big a caffeine junky as she was. Elena took a sip.

“That will be great,” she said. “That way we can get a consensus before we go to print. You have worked really hard on this. Thanks for putting in all the extra hours.”

“Like you haven’t put them in as well,” he said with a smile. “At least I didn’t have to work the floor during holiday rush as well as work with this. And thank god I didn’t have to meet with Smith and Co.” Elena smiled.

“True, this wasn’t exactly the best timing. But Valentine’s Day would make the perfect opening.” She sipped her coffee. In truth between the holiday rush, military meetings, taste testing and all the little details needed to open the store Elena was feeling a bit worn thin. Squeezing details about printers in between Smith’s briefings was not an easy chore.

“Last week I asked Smith if his ships were in full color or just black and white,” She commented. Andre snickered.

“What did he say?”

“He asked me if that was code for anything.” Andre laughed and took another sip of coffee.

“Jonathan still asking you out?” Andre tilted a half smile her way at the question.

“Yeah,” she admitted. But he is only doing his job.” Elena shrugged. She had decided to take Jonathan’s multiple coffees, drink dinner invitations in stride. Andre laughed.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “I’m sure taking you to the movies is a military directive.” Andre shook his head at her.

“Probably not,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t put it past Smith to suggest it though. And I can’t see him being displeased.” She gestured with her coffee mug at Andre.

“Fair enough,” he admitted. “So when is everyone getting in?” he asked letting the subject of Jonathan drop.

“Next Wednesday,” she said. A secure port had been located about three hours away. Her grandfather would be bringing the Wind Dancer, Peter would be on his ship, Gregori’s Dream and a crew from the council shipyard would be bringing the Storm Chaser. Both the Wind Dancer and Gregori’s Dream would be heavily laden with goods bought from the families to go directly to the repackaging area located a few miles from the docks. These would be the first goods on the shelves of Nibbles, with replacements soon to follow once the channels reopened. It wasn’t the thought of the new store that made her grin though.

“A pilot through and through,” Andre said.

“What?” Elena asked.

“That grin. You can’t wait to be on board the Storm Chaser.”

“Well it is my ship,” she said. “My very first ship.” Her voice took on a dreamy quality and Andre laughed and shook his head.

“Pilots.” Elena stuck out her tongue at him. “So have you told Smith when the ships are getting in?”

“No,” Elena said shaking her head. “He would insist on coming down to the docks and then more than likely demand to search all three.”

“I can imagine how well that would go over,” Andre said thinking of his cousin. Elena grimaced.

“I imagine missing limbs would be the end result of that.”

“Probably,” Andre agreed. “Peter can sometimes be…”

“Black Pete?” Elena suggested. Andre snorted.

“They don’t call him that for his hair color.”

“I suppose not. Anyway it will be several more weeks before the Marta will be passable so they will come into town and we’ll get all of this business settled. Then on the appointed day we will drive down to the docks where only the Wind Dancer will be in sight.”

“Sounds like a plan. Are they staying with you?” Elena let out a bark of laughter at the question.

“No thank god.” She said. “There is no way all of us would survive that. Besides I don’t think Peter and grandfather would enjoy sharing my pull out couch.”

“Definitely not.” Andre thought about it a minute and a grin split his face. “Oh most certainly not.” The smile dropped from his face abruptly. “They aren’t staying here are they?”

“They are staying in a hotel,” Elena clarified.

“Good. Would you mind if I rode down with you?”

“Not at all,” she commented. “I’d like the company.”

“Good.” Andre smiled and Elena had to again remind herself that Andre was off limits. Their relationship was only a business one. Which in her opinion was a damn shame. Elena was saved from finding a response by the ringing of her cell phone. She glanced at the number and saw it was the store. Immediately she felt guilty. The store was still quite busy and her she was pseudo-flirting with an off limits guy. Reminding herself that she had hired a manager so she didn’t need to be there all the time didn’t stop the feelings of guilt.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Elena, this is Emily. There is a man here to see you.”

“Oh,” Elena said. “I didn’t think I had any appointments today. Did he say who he was with?” She stood and mentally rifled through her files.

“I don’t think he is a client,” Emily said. “And he looks kind of mad.”

“Mad?” Elena asked.

“Yeah he said his name was Smith.” Elena sighed. This could not end well.

“All right, I’ll be right down.” Elena looked at the racks of good on the shelves. Luckily the shelves were on wheels and could be rolled out of the conference room. “Do you think we can move those out?” She asked Andre. “Smith is apparently here and looks mad. Although that is his normal state. I would rather not have a conversation with him in public.”

“Sure I can do that. Do you want me to hang around?”

“That would be great,” Elena said. She didn’t really like the thought of being alone with Smith any more than she had to be. Elena went downstairs as Andre began removing the alien goods from the room. She passed the workmen who gave her a friendly wave. A couple of them were putting together some shelves and display cases. Already with the ceiling and walls painted the pace looked more welcoming. The same could not be said for Smith. He was standing by the counter frowning at Emily.

“May I help you,” she said. The voice had more snap in it than she used for customers. She did not like the man glaring at her employees.

“I most certainly hope so, Ms. Calabrese.” Several of the end of the day customers had stopped their browsing to pay attention to the exchange and Max and TJ started forward.

“Perhaps you would care to have this conversation in a more private space?” she asked icily. Smith seemed to notice the attention for the first time. He nodded and Elena gestured out the door. Max started to open his mouth.

“Andre is upstairs,” she told him. “I won’t be meeting with him alone.” She could see both Max and TJ relax a bit. ‘Men,’ she thought fondly. Smith was tapping his foot outside the front doors. Elena hoped the brisk wind would cool him down. She stepped outside and led him back up to the conference room. Several pairs of eyes followed her and Smith narrowed his eyes in assessment.

“You seem to have collected quite a following of protective individuals,” he said as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“It certainly seems that way,” she said, smiling to herself. “I wonder how that happened?” They entered the conference room and Andre sat sketching out designs in his notepad. Elena could see they were for the drinks line they had talked about earlier.

“I like the sort of art deco lettering,” she said looking over his shoulder. “Makes it seem a little more glamorous. Andre this is Smith. Smith, Andre.” Andre put down his pencil and extended his hand towards Smith. Smith shook it briskly and then stared at Andre.

“What was it you wanted to speak with me about?” Elena asked, seating herself at the table. She picked up the coffee she had left earlier and took a sip. She winced as the cold coffee hit her tongue and reached over to add more to add more heat to the cup.

“I suppose he is of the guild?” Smith said pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“After a fashion,” Andre said pleasantly.

“He is aware of the current situation if that is what you are asking,” Elena informed him. Smith nodded once.

“Then I suppose he knows all about Ian Jensen?”

“I know he sold you shoddy designs.” Andre commented. He picked up his pencil and continued to sketch. Andre had been present when Mateo called to comment on Ian’s designs. Elena had put it on speakerphone since Andre was in the room and he and Mateo had crossed paths a few times in the past. Both men had found Ian amusing and seemed to find the fact that he had scammed the military even more amusing. Since Elena had to deal with the fallout, she was less amused.

“So I’ve been told,” Smith said tightly. Mateo had also sent over a copy of the schematics she had sent him with many comments scrawled over them. Smith had not been amused. Production work on the second ship had been halted indefinitely. R so she had been told.

“You needed to speak with me?” Elena prompted. The anger returned to Smith’s face.

“Yes. About Ian Jensen.”

“What about him?” Elena said, puzzled. “The council decided since it was military personnel he had gotten killed that you should be in charge of any disciplinary hearings. They released him into your custody weeks ago.”

“And that is the end of the matter?” Smith asked. His eyes looked hot enough to spark a fire.

“As far as I’m concerned. Why?” Elena had a sneaking suspicion something bad had happened.

“And can you account for your where abouts last night and early this morning?” Elena raised an eyebrow at the question.

“I don’t see why that’s relevant.”


“Indulge me,” Smith said. Elena shrugged.

“I went with some friends to grab a couple of drinks and dinner, you know a girl’s night out sort of thing last night and then I’ve pretty much been here all day. Does that help you?”

“And you?” Smith asked, swinging his gaze towards Andre.

“Well I’m sorry to say I missed the girl’s night out. I sacked out with a pizza and some bad horror movies. Other than that same as her.”

“Care to tell us why the Perry Mason act?” Elena asked. Her stomach was twisting into knots. She kept her voice calm and her hands folded neatly in front of her, carefully not clenching her hands to make the knuckles white. Her grandfather had made her practice the calm face for negotiation purposes from the time she first moved in with him.

“Ian Jensen was found dead this morning.”

“How did he die?” She asked.

“Apparently he slipped in the shower and bled to death.”

“And you think one of use was in the shower with him?” Elena asked. Smith’s eyes narrowed.

“You are the only two Guild member’s in town.”

“”As far as I know,” Elena said, although personally she wasn’t willing to bet on it. No one in the guild would have liked Ian’s release without punishment. She also knew no one would have told either he or Andre about Ian in the event this sort of questioning came up. “Has his family been notified of this accident?” Smith’s eyebrows rose in question.

“You believe it was an accident?”

“I don’t believe he would slip in the shower and bump his head on purpose,” Elena responded.

“Was he drunk?” Andre asked.

“There is some belief that he had ingested a chemical concoction before the incident.”

“I thought it took a while to get a coroner’s report,” Andre said. “At least it seemed that way on the cop shows.”

“He did on base. We have our own doctors.”

“So Ian was stoned and fell down in the shower. And you think somehow we snuck onto a military base and pushed him?” Andre asked. “Did your doctor suspect foul play of some sort?” Smith grimaced.

“I don’t like the timing.”

“Which means that everyone else thinks it was an accident but you still want to blame us.”

“I’m not a killer, Mr. Smith,” Elena said. “And I think you need to leave now.” Elena stood. “I’ll walk you out.” She walked around the table and out of the door. She didn’t look back. Behind her she heard Smith get to his feet and follow her. She led him to the front door and opened it.

“I will see you at our next meeting.” She told him. He stepped outside and she closed the door. For a second she leaned on the closed doors with her eyes closed, knowing the paper covering the glass would block the sight of her from street view. She had little believe that Ian’s death was accidental. “And I don’t want to even guess how they got on base.” She opened her eyes.

“Are you okay?” One of the men, James, asked her. She smiled weakly.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just don’t like being blamed for things I didn’t do.”

“I hear that,” he said. Elena opened the door and stepped back outside. It was a little past closing time and all of the customers had gone. Her staff was circling idly. TJ was adjusting a lampshade that didn’t need adjusting. And Max was sweeping an already swept floor. She shook her head and smiled. They really were a great crew.

“He’s gone now,” she told them.

“Who was he?” Emily asked. Elena had known the question was coming.

“Someone who is not terribly thrilled with my family,” she told them. “He was angry with one of them and couldn’t find him so he decided to yell at me. No big deal.”

“Well I personally don’t like him,” Emily said in a huff as she struggled to button her coat over her bulging belly. Elena thought she looked almost ready to pop.

“That’s what I like about you Emily, Your open mind. You’re not still driving are you?”

“No Steve insisted, even though I still fit behind the wheel.” As if summoned Steve pulled up to the curb. Elena gave a wave to him as Emily struggled into the car. One by one the rest of the staff left. She locked up and returned to the second building. The workmen were packing up and calling it a day as well. She watched them file out and then locked the door behind them. Elena returned to the conference room where Andre was once again drawing. He looked up as she walked in.

“You know it wasn’t an accident,” he said.

“Yeah, I know.”

“This is why I went to art school,” he told her leaning back and running his fingers through his hair. “I always hated this crap.”

“Me too.” Elena looked out of the window for a moment. “I suppose we should call and tell someone to tell Alex Barton.”

“Who?”

“The council member who heads his family.”

“You think he doesn’t already know?” Elena turned towards Andre and let out a sigh.

“He probably does. But still I suppose it should be called in.” Elena picked up her cell phone and stared at it for a second wondering if she should call her grandfather or Peter. She decided to call Peter. Technically she could say it was because he was her contact while dealing with the military and that her grandfather rarely remembered to turn on the phone when he wasn’t expecting a call. The real reason however was that she didn’t want to hear if her grandfather wasn’t surprised by the death.

“Peter,” she said as he picked up the phone. “Ian Jensen is dead. It is believed he was stoned and slipped in the shower.”

“Really,” Peter said. His voice sounded vaguely amused. Elena ground her teeth.

“We don’t know if the family has been notified but figured you would tell Mr. Barton who could convey the information where it needs to be.”

“They harassed you over this,” Peter replied. All of the humor had drained from his voice.

“Both of us yes,” Elena replied.

“I see. This will be dealt with. Think no more of it.” Peter hung up the phone. Elena pulled it away from her ear and listened to the dial tone.

“I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“What did he say?” Andre asked. Elena relayed the conversation. Andre frowned at the humor and then turned a speculative gaze at Elena.

“He likes you,” he informed her.

“What?”

“He likes you.”

“He finds me useful,” Elena clarified.

“True,” Andre agreed. “But he also likes you.” Elena frowned at him and Andre held his hands up. “He never gets ticked off when I’m hassled over guild business.”

“And how often are you hassled over guild business?”

“Not often,” Andre admitted with a smile. “Wanna stay and order pizza for dinner?”

“Didn’t you have pizza last night?”

“You can never have too much pizza,” he told her. “You can also not have too many bad horror flicks. I think I have a couple I didn’t get around to last night. Nothing erases a bad day like a grade b horror flick.”

“True,” she said nodding. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Pilot: Chapter 32

Elena navigated the nearly empty road as the snow continued to swirl. Getting her car out of the garage had been an interesting feat as the snow had melted around the door, reformed as ice and did it’s best to glue the garage door shut.

“Maybe next time we could meet at a coffee shop downtown,” she mumbled to herself as she slowed for the gate. The guard quick-stepped over and she rolled down her window.

“Elena Calabrese, she told him. The wind threatened to pull her words away. He caught them and went back to the guardhouse. She rolled her window up as the gate opened. “Here we go again.”

Smith opened the door for her and led her back to the conference room. She shook her head. This scenario had gone from nerve shattering to nearly routine. ‘As long as I watch my words anyway,’ she thought as she unwrapped her scarf and unbuttoned her jacket. Inside the conference room she was unsurprised to find Jonathan already seated. He rose when she entered and pulled out a chair for her.

“Thank you,” she told him as she sat. She placed the original set of schematics and her to write on copy on the table and shrugged out of her coat. Elena looked around. “I had expected more people.”

“Really,” Jonathan asked, giving her his toothy smile. “Why?”

“Well for Ian’s lecture you packed an auditorium. Of course that could have been for creative camouflage. But then again you weren’t being sneaky then.” She turned a smile towards Smith, who frowned.

“If anyone else is needed they will be brought in at the time.”

“Of course.” Elena watched as Smith seated himself. Both he and Jonathan had brought notebooks with them and she wondered if they expected her to give them pop quizzes. She glanced over towards the glass and had the sneaking suspicion that these sessions were being recorded.

“Well, shall we begin?” Smith asked.

“Of course,” Elena responded. “What would you like to start with?” For a moment Smith looked non-plussed. Elena’s smile went from pleasant to amused. “I didn’t exactly have a lesson plan.”

“I see,” Smith thought for a moment. “Why don’t we start with Channel placement.” Elena was pleased to see that he had dropped the term world gates for the more prosaic channels. Elena unrolled the documents given to her and unrolled the map marking the locations of the four channels the military knew about. Her goal in this conversation would be to keep them from learning the fact that in reality there were 27 channels. Elena tried to hold the document flat on the table but it threatened to roll back up at any moment. She placed the other documents on two of the corners and hoped for the best. Taking a mechanical pencil from her pocketbook she pointed to each of the dots in turn. Showing true imagination the military had named them one through four.

“Now each of the channels have names,” she began. “This is the Marta, this the Evangeline, the Amalie and that is of course the Blood.”

“How did they get their names?” Jonathan asked, as he wrote the names down in his notebook.

“Each is named for the first pilot known to have taken a ship through.”

“There is someone out there named Blood?” He asked. “Not sure I’d like to meet him in a dark alley.”

“Her,” Elena corrected. “And the Blood is the only one not named for a pilot.”

“How was the Blood channel named then?”

“Well, The Blood as you have already found out, has been blocked off. It leads to an area of space that is shall we say, hostile territory. Everyone who went through ended up dead.” Privately she added the ‘or worse’. None of the stories relating to the Blood channel were pretty. “So it was blocked off and re-named Blood.”

“What was it before then?”

“I think it might have been the Mila, but I’m not really sure.” The name was something she vaguely recalled from an old book.

“You said her before. All of the channels are named for female pilots?” Smith asked.

“All of the pilots are female,” she said. Both men stared at her.

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you only train females to be pilots?” Jonathan asked. He sounded almost offended and she smiled.

“The gene for piloting can be carried by both males and females but the ability only manifests itself in females,” she explained.

“Are you sure that isn’t just superstition?” Smith demanded.

“Quite sure. The boys are tested as well as the girls and so far none of the males have been able to see the channels or even sense them.”

“But there is training?”

“Yes, it is quite lengthy.”

“And this training is needed to be a pilot?” Jonathan asked.

“Yes.”

“But you can have all the training and still not be a pilot if you aren’t female?”

“Yes,” Elena said. They sat quietly for a moment and Elena fought not to shake her head at them. It was if they couldn’t wrap their heads around the concept that there could be a skill that was uniquely female yet had nothing to do with giving birth.

“What do you mean see the channels?” Jonathan asked.

“I mean I can see the channels. It is as if there is a passageway or channel between two land formations. I guide the ship through them.”

“You said they change depth. Do you use sonar to detect depth.”

“No,” she said shaking her head. “I simply see the channel and sense how deep it is.” They seemed almost as uncomfortable with the low-tech approach as they were with the female aspects.

“Okay so tell us what will happen when you take us out. Step by step.” Jonathan said. Smith nodded. Elena got the impression that they would dissect her narrative to see where she might be leaving out her technology.

“The Wind Dancer has been chosen for this trip out. It is a seven berth Schooner style ship.” Jonathan’s pencil rapidly scrawled notes but Smith peered at her.

“Seven?” She had been expecting that question.

“Yes,” she said nodding. “The Channels are not that deep. By keeping the crew small, more room is available for merchandise. These are merchant ships after all.” Smith nodded slowly. Elena had the feeling he was translating merchandise weight into the weight of troops.

“Continue,” he said.

“As I said it is a seven berth ship. My grandfather is the captain. I am the pilot. It has been agreed that we will take up to two military personnel on this trip. This leaves space for three crewmen.” Elena paused while Jonathan caught up. He finished and looked up at her. “Each person aboard is allowed up to 50 lbs of gear. No more. And trust me Grandfather is a stickler. He will weigh it at the dock.” Smith pursed his lips and Elena got the feeling that only 50 lbs of gear came as a bit of a nasty surprise. She mentally shrugged. It really couldn’t be helped.

“But you aren’t picking up merchandise,” Smith said. Elena laughed.

“It is a merchant vessel. There is no reason it can’t pick up goods while taking you on a sight seeing tour. There isn’t any profit in it.” Personally she thought her grandfather would have an epileptic fit should anyone suggest he make a trip without securing a cargo. “Besides as we pointed out before, there is only a limited amount of time that the channels are open per year. No captain is going to make a trip and come back empty handed.”

“Okay so we have our gear and we are aboard.” Jonathan said as Smith continued to steam about the weight requirement. “Then what?”

“We sail to the Marta channel, enter the channel and sail to the docking facility. Peter has arranged for a tour of the facility. Beyond that I am not sure what the details include. I will ask for a clearer itinerary closer to the travel date so you can plan accordingly.”

“Docking facility?” Smith demanded. “You mean to tell me you people have a space station?”

“I suppose you could call it that.” Elena said carefully. She wasn’t so sure she liked the throbbing vein in Smith’s forehead.

“How is it that this Docking Facility in no way appears on our satellites? How has it remained undetected for so long? Would you care to explain that?”

“Well it isn’t exactly in orbit around the Earth,” Elena pointed out.

“What is it in orbit around?”

“Well the closest planet would be Luras. But it isn’t actually in orbit.” Elena thought a minute and realized getting into the alien technology the guild had adapted to create the docking facility was probably not the best idea. Besides, science was one of her weak points. “At least I don’t think it is. I’ve never really messed with the tech stuff.” Smith huffed for a few more minutes. He really didn’t like the concept of a space station. Elena figured it was probably a military thing.

“So we leave through the Marta channel,” Jonathan said while Smith digested the space station information. Elena got the feeling this was going to be a pattern. “Then we go to the docking facility.”

“Yes.”

“How long a trip is it?”

“Well it should take about three days to reach the Marta and once in the channels another four days.”

“I see,” Jonathan said tapping the map.

“Actually that isn’t where the Marta is,” she told him. “At least not at the time of year we are going to be traveling.” Elena sketched out a circle on the map. It was about an inch in diameter. “The Marta should be somewhere in that region at that time.” The channel had shifted over four inches from where Ian had marked it. Elena glanced at her watch and realized the time earmarked for this meeting was almost up. She nearly sighed in relief as Smith’s anger level seemed to have cranked up higher with each minute.

“Do you have somewhere else you need to be Ms. Calabrese?” Smith asked dryly.

“Not especially,” she told him. “But the roads weren’t that great coming in and are bound to be worse leaving. And we are nearly finished with our set time.”

“But we haven’t really covered anything,” Jonathan said.

“Perhaps next time you could have a list of your questions ready rather than just going randomly into the information,” she suggested, smiling sweetly at the man.

“Yes,” Smith said. “Perhaps that would be better.” He had a thoughtful look on his face. In some ways it was more alarming than his anger. It meant he was thinking. “Yes, a list we could go through…” His voice trailed off. Elena had a feeling she had better call Peter and figure out what exactly she could tell them about the docking facility before she got herself into trouble.

Somehow she thought the concept of alien technology would be something the military would be most interested in obtaining. She was even willing to bet it would be claimed under National Security. Elena shrugged and began putting her winter gear back on. It was Jonathan who walked her back out to the car. About an inch of snow had accumulated on her car while she had been inside. Luckily it was light and powdery.

“Thanks for coming out on such a night,” Jonathan said. Elena snorted before she could stop herself.

“Somehow I didn’t think a rain check would be appreciated.” She tugged open her car door and slid inside.

“You know we aren’t the enemy,” he said before she could close the door.

“I know you aren’t,” she said.

“Perhaps once you get to know us you won’t think so badly of us.”

“Maybe,” she said keeping her voice even.

“Maybe you’d care to get a drink some night after work?” Elena wasn’t certain if he was asking her out on behalf of the military or on his own.

“Perhaps,” she said. “It is our busy season though.”

“Of course.”

“Good night,” she told him with a smile. She closed the door after hearing him echo the sentiment. He walked back inside as she turned on the heater and let the windshield wipers clear away the snow. It wasn’t until she was halfway home that she realized she left the schematics and other papers on the conference table.

Pilot: Chapter 31

Elena dressed for the snow rather than for work the next morning. She knew that by the time she had plowed through the snow from her apartment to her office she would probably be soaked completely through. So into a small duffle bag she placed a nice set of pants, sweater and work appropriate shoes. She clothed herself in faded jeans, thick socks and an old sweatshirt. On top of this she added coat, scarf, hat and gloves not to mention the snow boots that always made her feel like she was impersonating a yeti.

“As long as no one sics the fashion police on me I should be fine.” She said slinging her bag of work clothes over her shoulder. At the street level, Elena’s inner child grinned with delight. She was early going into work and much of the snow to the sides had not been disturbed. In a little while she knew building managers would be out clearing the sidewalks in front of their buildings, just as she would have to do when she got to hers. But for now she had a barely marked swath of snow.

“I guess a lot of folks decided to stay in yesterday.” Elena restrained herself from making snow angels but she took great delight in plowing her way through the snow. As expected she arrived at the store wet from the snow and a little out of breath from her exertions. Elena unlocked her door and set the bag inside. Before grabbing the shovel to clear her sidewalk, she poured cider into the waiting stainless steel pot and turned it on. It would be a treat for her customers as well as herself.

She quickly shoveled the snow from her sidewalk and sprinkled the city approved mix on the cleared sidewalk to prevent melted snow from becoming sheets of ice. Elena wasn’t quite sure what was in the little pellets but had been told it was less corrosive than salt and neater than sand. To her it looked like white and pink balls of Styrofoam. She shrugged. The stuff did the job. She wasn’t going to question it.

Elena went inside and stomped off the snow clinging to her boots. Luckily she had thought to bring the floor mat in to absorb the wet. They would still have to watch for drips on the floor. Towels were placed behind the counter to help stop pools of melted snow from forming. Elena grabbed her bag of clothes and went into the back room. She changed into work clothes and hung her jeans up to dry. She had no doubt other clothes would soon join hers.

The cider was ready and she poured herself a mug to warm up from the cold. She wrapped her fingers around the steaming mug and felt them thaw a bit. She watched as her staff trickled in, each bundled against the cold and carrying work clothes. Apparently the fashion police had granted an exemption.

As expected the first snow brought the holidays to mind and the customers came in droves, worried that time was running out to find the perfect gift, to set up stunning displays to impress the in-laws, or to trump someone else in their circle’s display. Elena shook her head. She had lost count of how many people seemed to be planning more for interior design combat than any holiday she had ever heard of. She smiled her way through it, knowing their competitive streaks would help keep her in the black. As expected the cider helped with the customers as well. People came in half frozen from the chill and lingered over their cups, warming up and taking a deeper look around.

After lunch snow began to fall. The fat flakes spinning in lazy circles added to the holiday feel and didn’t seem inclined to get heavier. Elena hoped it didn’t complicate Andre’s drive too much. She glanced over to the clock on the wall and realized it was quarter to two. With luck he would be almost in town and the snow would stop before he had to drive back. As Elena finished helping Emily wrap up one of their client’s purchases in tissue paper, Max came up to her with the cordless phone from the office.

“It was ringing as I went by,” Max said handing it to her. They had a standard policy with the phone that whoever was nearest answered it, which was why the office door was usually kept open. With staff moving between the floor and the stockroom on a more or less constant basis, few calls were ever really sent to voice mail.

Elena took the phone thinking it might be Andre calling with a delay. Instead she found a breathless Ruby who sounded like she was bouncing with excitement. Apparently Elena’s offer had been accepted, the bank had agreed and the paperwork was being drawn up. All was right in the world of real estate. Once the paperwork was signed, the keys would be turned over to Elena and work could begin.

Elena hung up the phone feeling like she was riding a whirlwind. As she placed the phone on the counter, the door opened and a man bundled into a thick over coat and a scarf wrapped around his face pushed open the door and stepped in. His hat was pulled low and earmuffs covered his ears. Except for his blue eyes, Elena could tell no distinguishing features.

“May I help you,” she asked as he began to unravel his scarf. He pulled off his ear muffs and hat and stuffed them in his left jacket pocket. The gloves he tucked into his right hand pocket. What emerged from the bundle of wool was a man in his early thirties with blue eyes, a thick shock of black hair that looked in need of a trim and an amused half smile. There was a vague resemblance to Peter. “Are you Andre?” she asked before he could answer.

“Yes I am. Would you be Ms. Calabrese?”

“Elena please, and yes I am.” She held out her hand and he shook it. His fingers were like ice. “Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

“The place no. Parking was decidedly interesting.”

“Retail’s busiest season has begun,” she answered with a smile. “Would you like some cider to warm up?” she indicated the silver pot.

“That would be great,” he answered. She dispensed a cup for him and handed him the mug. She then poured one for herself to be sociable. He seemed to huddle around the warmth of the mug and she wondered how far away he had to park. He unzipped his heavy coat and looked around a bit. Off to the side TJ cleared his throat. Elena glanced over and nodded.

“Would you excuse me for a moment?” She asked Andre.

“Of course,” he responded. “I know I’m a little early.”

“It won’t take long. Please feel free to look around while you warm up.” Elena stepped away and Andre stepped out of the doorway and began to browse while taking sips of his cider. He didn’t have any of Peter’s dangerous charm but Elena had to admit he was quite attractive.

“Mr. Killian wanted to know if we had any more pieces from the Dewer collection. I know we had a couple of pieces on hold but it says hold only until today. There wasn’t a name on it just one of your personal notes.” TJ told her. She rolled her eyes.

“Sorry about that, I meant to go back and add the name but got sidetracked. We’re holding them form Gillian Mahoney. Her number is in the file under the counter. I believe she is trying to get her client’s to make a selection. Go ahead and give her a call to see if she will be in later today and if not then release them for sale. Oh and when you are done, keep the phone out here if you would while I have my meeting. Thanks.” TJ strolled back to the counter to retrieve the phone and number and Elena walked over to Andre. He looked less frozen and more comfortable.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said. “The office is back this way.” Andre followed her back into the office. He shed his coat and took the offered seat. He smiled as he looked around the office but kept his thoughts to himself.

“I really only use the office for paperwork and not meetings,” she explained rolling her chair from behind the desk so she could face him.

“Not a problem, although it is quite a change from the front of the store.”

“Yes,” she admitted. “Rather a disgrace really when you think about it. Many of the items we sell here go to make office spaces more decorative but I can’t ever seem to manage more than a cork board for invoices.” The cork board in question was covered in layers of paper so thick it was hard to tell there was cork beneath the surface. ‘I really ought to do something about that,’ she thought.

“It wasn’t a complaint,” Andre said. “Just a surprise. I guess I expected something well more like Peter’s office to tell the truth.” Elena smiled.

“I’ve never actually been to Peter’s office but I can imagine.” Elena said with a smile. “I had a chance to look over your resume and portfolio. I must admit I was impressed by both.” Andre straightened and she could see him enter business mode.

“Thank you.”

“I am curious though, the firm you are with is quite a prestigious one. Work with us won’t quite be that glamorous. Are you actually willing to consider working with us or are you simply humoring me by agreeing to this interview?” She asked. Elena was pretty sure there was a more delicate way to approach the topic but she wasn’t sure she could find it. Andre smiled.

“You have been working with my cousin.” He said. “While I am willing to go on an interview to keep the family from being upset with me, I am actually willing to leave my current position.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well,” Andre said running a hand through his hair. “Like you said it is a good firm, well known in the industry.” Andre ran his tongue over his teeth and Elena got the impression he was trying to choose his words carefully. “As low man on the totem pole, so to speak a lot of the more challenging clients get passed up the food chain and I end up doing mostly routine work. As you might suspect leaving such a large firm for another might look odd.”

“However if you left for a family venture it wouldn’t look quite so strange?” Elena asked, sensing where Andre was going. He seemed relieved when she got their first.

“Yes,” he said. “And if this turned out to only be a temporary position then when I did go to look for another firm it would be more acceptable.” Elena nodded.

“That sounds reasonable.”

“And I have to admit. This sounded quite interesting.” The quick grin made Elena’s breath catch. Yes, even without the danger he was quite attractive. “After all, I would get to market alien goods for the general public. Now that is a challenge.”

“You would be required to be on hand here,” She explained. “Especially during the initial phases.”

“I have no problem re-locating.”

“Actually the building we are going to be using is the one next door. The upper floor has a couple of apartments. One I was looking at converting into work space, since we will need much more space to do layouts and hold meetings.” She waved her hand through the air. “Obviously this won’t do. We can have one of the apartments fitted to your use. You are welcome to stay there or look elsewhere once you feel a little more settled.”

“Talk about a short commute,” he said. “It would save me a bundle on gas and I wouldn’t have to worry about car problems making me late. Sounds like a great deal.” Idly Elena wondered what was wrong with his car. He had to be making enough at the firm he was with to afford an upgrade. In her experience, men usually ended up spending their disposable income on automobiles and electronics. She decided to hold the question. “I’d have to see the place first.”

“Of course. Although I have to say there will be work going on to get the building ready for opening.” He shrugged off the construction and they settled into salary negotiations. The terms weren’t that difficult to work out. She had a feeling she was paying less than his current employer, even with the apartment thrown in, but he seemed happy with the arrangement.

“I’ll have to give two weeks at the firm,” he told her. She smiled.

“That should give us enough time to set things in order and get the items you are going to be working with together. I’m afraid I am not quite certain what goes into outfitting your workspace. If you could send me a list of needed supplies I would appreciate it.” They walked out into the front of the store. There seemed to be a bit of a lull in patrons. Most of the staff was busy replacing missing elements in the display cases. Elena introduced Andre and let them know he was going to be working on the designs for the new store.

“Speaking of which,” Emily said. “Ruby dropped these by.” She handed Elena a stack of legal looking papers and a set of keys. Elena thought that was awfully trusting. ‘But then again, they have all my bank information and it isn’t like my store is going to disappear over night like a gypsy wagon.’

“I can show you the apartment if you’d like.” She told Andre.

“That would be great,” he answered. She led him around to the front, unlocked the door and led him upstairs.

“I was thinking of converting the back apartment and leaving the front,” she said leading him up. “It would of course be cleaned and re-painted by the time you moved in.” he seemed pleased with the place and she was relieved. They left and she locked up behind them. He was bundled up in his winter garments but Elena had once again forgotten to grab a jacket for the short hop next door.

In difference to her shivering they made their farewells short. She watched him walk away for a second, just another shapeless mass of dark hurriedly moving through a world of white, before she darted back inside to warm up. She had a meeting with Smith and company and she had a feeling calling in sick would not be a possible option.

“Even with a doctor’s note,” she muttered under her breath, reaching for the mug of cider Max held out to her. “Thanks,” she said, pleased he either hadn’t heard her mutters or was willing to ignore them. She mentally checked meeting with Andre off her to do list. Unfortunately that really just left her with one big thing on the day’s list. She tried very hard not to think about Smith and the potential verbal landmines that were waiting for her after work. Instead, she took the papers Ruby had left for her back to the office and focused only on the legalese.

Pilot: Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Elena stretched herself awake and smiled. Waking up without an alarm clock screaming in her ear was her favorite part of Sunday morning. She glanced over at the clock. 9:38, a decadently late hour for one used to rising early. Elena sat up and rubbed her eyes. The room seemed brighter than usual and she slid out of bed and looked out of her bedroom window. She winced at the blinding wash of sun bouncing off of the white blanket coating everything.

“I wonder how much snow we got?” Elena’s belly rumbled, reminding her she had ignored dinner the night before. “Yeah, yeah,” she told it. She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on a thick pair of socks. Her eyes rested on the leather notebook and she remembered her dream from the night before. “No headache this morning either,” she said thoughtfully. Elena picked up the notebook and took it into the kitchen. She set it on the kitchen table while she measured coffee and filled the carafe with water. She sliced a bagel in half and popped it into the toaster.

‘Maybe it was a real dream and not a part of the Calling,’ she thought. It was possible. Not everything had to have deeper meaning. ‘That would explain the lack of headache.’ Her bagel popped up and she spread a thick layer of cream cheese over it. She placed it on a plate, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. As she ate she dissected the dream. It had all of the earmarks that linked it to the earlier dreams.

“Perhaps paying attention actually helps,” she said aloud. “Who knew?” Elena finished her bagel and set the plate aside. She pulled the notebook to her and began recording the dream. “After all it can’t hurt,” she muttered. When the recording was complete, Elena closed the notebook and refilled her coffee mug. A rumble outside startled her and she walked towards the window. A snowplow was making its way down the center of the street, pushing heaps of fluffy whiteness to the sides. Elena felt a moment of pity for those who were parked on the street.

“They are going to have fun digging themselves out,” she said. She was pleased that her seldom-used car was safely parked in the garage at the rear of the building. “Hopefully someone will dig that door open by tomorrow night.” She thought of her meeting with the military and then deliberately shifted it out of her mind. Today was her one-day off. She may have to go through a business call with Peter and review Andre’s resume and portfolio but she was not going to think about Smith.

Elena walked over towards the television set and picked up the remote control she hat left on top of it. She clicked the set on and turned it to the weather channel. Information spread across the country. Florida got rain. New Mexico was sunny. North Dakota was colder than she cared to contemplate. Finally her weather popped up. They had gotten eight inches of snow in the night and it looked like more might be heading their way.

“Pretty impressive for the first snow of the year,” she said. She glanced out of the window and looked up at the sky. The bright sun she had seen upon waking had disappeared behind a wall of gray. Oddly enough the sky looked like the color of slush while the snow still looked like white puffy clouds. “That won’t last.” She turned from the window, thinking the weather channel was probably right. Given that sky there was a good possibility of more snow on the way.

“I’ll need my snow gear in the morning,” she said, walking to the kitchen to refill her coffee mug. She mentally rifled through her closets, trying to remember where she stashed her boots, hat, gloves and scarf. She thought they were in the front hall closet.

“I’ll check later so I’m not scrambling in the morning.” She took her fresh cup of coffee into the living room and curled up on the couch. She clicked through the television channels and came across the movie Bringing up Baby. It had just started. Elena set the remote control down and settled into watch.

“Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn,” She said. “Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. Elena snuggled into the sofa and let the hilarity ensue.

When the movie was over, Elena stretched, turned off the television and picked up her empty coffee mug. “Time to actually get some stuff done,” she said. She refilled her coffee mug in the kitchen then went to the small desk where her computer sat. She settled herself in the chair and turned the computer on. It hummed to life and Elena pulled up her e-mail. As she has expected a large file from Andre was the first item in her in-box. She opened it.

The first document was his resume. She opened it. His work record looked promising. She had actually heard of both the company he had interned with and the company for whom he now worked.

“I wonder why he’d be willing to shift?” she asked herself. After all he would have to leave his current job. She didn’t think the firm he was with would allow him to freelance to that degree. She added the question to her list for Monday’s interview and hoped that Peter had not brought pressure to bear on Andre. The last thing she needed was a resentful designer. Absently she wondered if she could ask Peter without having him get too offended. She shrugged it off as impossible to guess and began to click open the graphics files of Andre’s portfolio.

She was even more impressed by the work than the company. Andre seemed to be able to tailor his talents to other people’s visions to create a wide range of styles. A very useful trait for the current project. Andre’s notes with each piece let her know how it was created and why. She appreciated the notes. Some of the pieces were spec pieces, done when the client hadn’t the foggiest clue of what they really wanted. “Also handy,” she muttered to herself. Elena pulled her leg up into the chair and rested her chin on her knee. This was really good work. She could see why Peter would recommend his cousin even beyond the family connection. Elena took a sip of her coffee as the phone rang. She swallowed as she reached for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, Elena,” Peter said. “Thank you for agreeing to a Sunday afternoon call.” Elena laughed.

“I guess it is afternoon isn’t it,” She looked down at herself and realized she was still in the t-shirt and yoga pants she had gone to bed in the night before. She shrugged. ‘It isn’t like we have video phones,’ she thought. “Besides, I don’t know when else we would have the time.”

“True,” he answered. “Did you have time to go over my list of potential products from the Baranov sources?”

“I did,” she answered, reaching for the notebook she had brought home with her. The information Peter had sent was tucked away in the back. She slid it out. “I must confess some of them I am not terribly familiar with.”

“I was afraid of that when I saw your list contained many items unfamiliar to me as well.”

“I think I have a solution though.”

“Wonderful.”

“You really shouldn’t call it wonderful until you hear it,” she cautioned.

“At least you have an idea which is better than I have at the moment.”

“Well whoever we get to help with the marketing, whether it is Andre or someone else, it is highly unlikely they will know all of the products on both of our lists. What I would like to do is call around and see if we can get at least one sample of each item on our list to start working on an inventory list. I know it might be difficult this time of year but I figured as the Channels just closed for the season we might get lucky.”

“This is a very good idea. I can talk to my family here and see what is available and as you are tied up with the council interests there perhaps Alexandro can get samples from the Calabrese line.” Elena breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t be the one calling everyone. Besides, he would know better who had what as the head of the family.

“That sounds great if you can get Grandfather to agree.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I would need the physical address.”

“It would be best to send it to the store.” She gave him the address.

“May I ask if you have spoken to Andre or if you have looked into another designer?”
“I did actually. I was just finishing looking through his portfolio when you called. The portfolio is impressive and I have a meeting with him scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”
“Sounds like you have a busy Monday morning ahead of you.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, thinking about the military meeting. “Should be a real hoot.” Peter laughed.

“I am certain you will do well.”

“Thanks. I would like to ask you a question though.”

“Of course,” he replied.

“Looking at Andre’s resume it looks as though he is currently working for quite a good firm. Yet he agreed to meet with me about this job.” Elena paused not quite sure how to ask if he had threatened Andre. Peter laughed.

“I assure you I have not brought any family pressure to bear.”

“And the other members of your family?”

“Nor have to my knowledge any other members of my family. You know you are beginning to think like the council.” Elena froze. She forced herself to breathe.

“I have no interest in being council.” She was proud that her voice remained even.

“Of course of course. And if you want to know Andre’s reasoning for agreeing to an interview I am afraid you will have to ask him.”

“Very well,” Elena said still willing her heart beat to slow.

“Good, I have been looking for facilities where the labeling and repackaging could be done and I believe I have found one. I will be sending Nicolas to check into it this week.”

“That is great,” Elena commented feeling better that they were back on the business at hand.

“And I had a thought.”

“Oh?”

“Yes while getting started with some of the prepackaged food items already available is a wonderful plan. I have in the past had some wonderfully inventive meals aboard the docking facility that combine earth foods with non-earth foods. There is a chef I know, very inventive, who might be able to expand our range of available goods.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Elena said warily. She could hear Peter smile through the phone.

“And you are leery of expanding before we even get off the ground. But the experimentation for making these acceptable for the non-guild might take some time. May I contact and approach in a preliminary fashion the chef I mentioned?” Elena realized he was asking her permission as the person in charge of decision making for their enterprise. The thought left her dizzy.

“That sounds like a good idea, for preliminaries,” she answered cautiously. “May I ask who you have in mind?”

“Consuelo McKracken,” he answered. Elena blinked.

“The head chef of Grazos?”

“The former head chef of Grazos,” Peter corrected. “She had some sort of family issue earth-side and needed to be closer to her family for a while. Apparently the limited range of ingredients is making her a bit cranky. I thought this might be a good solution.”

“I see.” Consuelo McKracken had not been born of the families. In fact no one was certain where she was born and most suspected the name was assumed. She was a petite brunette who kept her long hair bundled into a knot on the top of her head. She had piercing blue eyes that rarely missed a detail and was more than willing to use a cooking implement to rap someone across the knuckles. The owner of Grazos one of the finest eating establishments in the docking facility had come across her one evening, sampled her food and offered her a job instantly. Elena had trouble picturing the family of this woman. “I didn’t know she had family.”

“Neither did anyone else actually. I will be able to let you know how these ventures fair later in the week. Also I would like to hear about the outcome of the first military meeting. It would help to know where their line of reasoning takes them. Perhaps it will enable us to keep one step ahead. Or at least break even. Is there an evening that would work for you?” Elena thought of her schedule in her head.

“This week Thursday should work. Around 8ish maybe?”
“Sounds fine to me. I will call you then.” Elena hung up the phone and heaved a sigh of relief. Avoiding people thinking she was gunning for a council seat was very high on her Not to Do list. In fact it was circled in red and underlined. Twice. Elena shut down her computer and went back in the living room.

Thinking about the unthinkable was not a good way to spend the rest of her day off. Elena made herself a sandwich and took it to the living room. She pressed the power button on the remote control and the television sprung to life. It was still on the movie channel and midway through the Philadelphia Story. They were running a Katherine Hepburn marathon. Elena settled in, willing to enter someone else’s reality for a little while.

Pilot: Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As Elena walked home, fat flakes of snow began to drift down. She smiled as she stopped and tilted her head up to watch them spin lazily to the earth. The flakes caught in her hair and brushed against her face, melting as they came into contact with her skin. She stuck her tongue out and caught one, letting lit melt down her throat. She pulled her tongue back in and closed her mouth. She smiled, turned to look at the street in front of her and continued walking home.

The first snow of the season was magical to her. It was the fifth and sixth snows of the season that wore on everyone. As she neared home, the flakes began to fall faster. Gone were the lazy spirals as snow fell in thick waves making the world seem like a television screen full of static. The world felt muffled by the snowfall, like a bell boxed in cotton. Elena shivered as cold drops of melted snow trickled sown her scalp. She hurried her steps, wishing she had thought to wear a hat.

Once inside, she shook off the wet and went up to her apartment. She draped her damp coat over one of the kitchen chairs and decided to change into an old t-shirt and yoga pants. Pleased that she had no plans to go out that evening, she decided to make some hot cocoa and curl up with a book while the snow fell.

She pulled her favorite reading chair towards one of the windows. The chair was close enough to see the snow falling but not close enough to feel one of those sneaky cold drafts that snaked around the cracks. Elena set her mug of cocoa on the flat arm of the chair and wrapped a heavy lap blanked around her curled up legs. She settled into the chair with a smile, and sipped her cocoa while reading and occasionally taking glances out of the window. Somewhere along the way she fell asleep.

The dreams once again took her from a world of bright to the dark of space. Again she rode the storm chaser and saw the ripples of heat where there should be none. She remembered her lesson from the previous dream and instead of turning away, Elena studied the spot.

Vague images, such as she would get at the beginning of any channel passed through her mind. These were a little different however as if they were muffled behind a curtain. Elena took a deep breath and mentally ran through the old piloting lessons that had been her among her first. She could hear Deana Lang’s voice in her head. She repeated the words to herself.

“Never ride a channel blind. Always look down the path first. See not only what is on the other side but the nature of the channel. Any fool can see what is on the other side and get greedy enough to chase it. Only the smart ones come back.”

Elena decided if she was getting images as if it were a channel, perhaps she should check it’s nature as if it really were a channel. She shifted her inner sight not to follow the path of the channel but to see specifically the channel itself. It was nearly the same as when she took one of her ocean’s channels into space. Just as the open channels whispered to her, so did this one and what she learned told her it would be a one way channel. She shook her head.

“I can’t take one-way channels,” her dream self said. I don’t know the system connecting them back to my space. I need a two way.” Her ship continued to sail and she focused on a different shimmer of heat. She repeated the process and this time found a two way channel. Elena stared at it a moment.

“At least it would be a two way channel if I knew how to open it.” Elena frowned in thought. She pushed the fact that logic said she couldn’t open a channel away. “After all,” she said aloud. “This is my dream.” The dream began to fade, as if acknowledging it as such stripped it of its power. A thud started her from sleep and Elena blinked her eyes blearily open. She looked around and saw her book on the floor.

“Must have slipped,” she muttered. Luckily the cocoa had been finished before she fell asleep and the mug was already placed on the floor. Elena stretched, shivering when her limbs peeked out of the warm cocoon of air beneath her blanket. She wrapped the blanket around her and stood up. Elena glanced out of the window and saw the world wrapped in a thick blanket of white. It looked as though several inches had stuck already and the snow was still falling.

“Good thing I don’t have to go out tomorrow,” she muttered as she shuffled towards the bedroom. “No matter how many years they have lived with snow, people always forget how to drive on it the first time out.” She brushed away the visions of car wrecks that she figured would feature on tomorrow’s evening news.

She glanced at the leather notebook and briefly thought about writing down her dream, but decided it could wait until morning. She shrugged off her blanket and crawled into bed. She curled up and let herself relax. As she was drifting off, a thought occurred to her.

“I didn’t get a headache that time.” Elena smiled and drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.

Pilot: Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Elena walked to work the next morning pleased with herself over the party. She had managed to skate through conversations about what she had been up to and what her new business venture entailed without having the conversation feel stilted.

“Of course,” she thought as she unlocked the door to Calabrese Imports, “The only thing I have to watch out for at the moment is the military. Compared to that everything is gravy.” She grimaced at her reflection in the glass as she pushed the door open. She really couldn’t think of a way to explain why the military had kidnapped her and why she would now be required for meetings once a week for the next few months.

“And any reason the military would logically be interested in an imports store owner would probably be something illegal like smuggling,” she muttered, turning on the lights and readying the store for opening. “I can’t see that being good for business.” Tactfully she had left all mention of the military out of her small talk. With luck they would behave for the duration of her involvement with them.

The store hummed to life as first staff and then customers walked through the doors. Around mid morning the over-nighted bundle of papers Peter had sent arrived. Elena signed for them and took a look around. All of the customers were being helped and none of the staff looked overwhelmed. Emily had the morning off and Janine was manning the register.

“I’ll be back in the office if anyone needs me,” she told Janine, slapping the papers against her leg. The urge to read through them immediately was too great to ignore. “If we get a rush give me a yell, I’m just dealing with paperwork.” Janine nodded her understanding and turned towards the approaching customer. Elena ducked back into the office. She left the door open a crack so everyone would know she could be interrupted if needed.

Once seated she pulled open the perforated edge and slid the papers out. One section was a contract including all of the legal details forming the new company they three of them created. There were four copies; one for each of them and one for the legal folks. All four copies were already signed and dated by both Peter and her grandfather.

“I guess they don’t want to waste time,” she said. On top of the contract was a basic outline. It was the plan she had sent. There were a few tweaks. She read over them and couldn’t find fault. The final changes made her raise her eyebrows.

Peter and her Grandfather had increased the amount of capitol available for the venture as a cushion. At the bottom of the proposal was the break out. Her amount of funds given to the project remained the same. Peter and her grandfather’s contributions however increased substantially.

“As the bulk of the leg work and organization will be done by Elena Calabrese, Peter Baranov and Alexandro Calabrese shall be seen as primary investors,” Elena read. “Sounds reasonable.” She set the paper aside and began working her way through the legalese of the contract.

At the end she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was her plan and she felt it could work. Butterflies danced in her belly. Elena swallowed hard and unearthed a blue pen from the desk drawer. Quickly she scrawled her signature and the date on each of the copies. Elena realized she was holding her breath and slowly let it out.

“Well that’s done it,” she said folding her copy into her filing cabinet and placing the other three into an envelope to be sent back. Rather than dwell on the concept of being a part of a newly formed corporation, Elena pulled the real estate agent’s card from her files. She answered on the third ring.

“Ruby Michaelson, how may I help you?”

“Hi Ruby this is Elena Calabrese.”

“Elena, hi how are you?”

“I’m fine, And yourself?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

“Glad to hear it. I am actually calling about the Reynolds building you showed me a few months back. Is it still available?”

“Why yes I do believe it is still on the market. Are you interested?”

“Yes,” Elena said simply. She could practically feel the interest of the realtor sharpen. “Is there a way I could look it over again and discuss price?”

“Of course, I happen to be in your area later this afternoon, would that work?” Elena blinked in surprise. She had expected a date sometime later in the week. Apparently Ruby worked Saturdays.

“That would be fine,” Elena said. “I’m in the store so just pop in when you get here.” Business complete they ended the call and Elena put the phone down.

“Well,” she said pushing herself to her feet. “When the fates decide to align they don’t go half way.” Elena tilted her head towards the partially open door. No shrieks or screams of terror. Apparently the world had not gone awry while she was away. She tapped her fingers on the desk. Perhaps she had time for one more call. She sat back down and pulled the notes toward her. Included in the new outline was a suggestion for a graphic designer who also did web work. With the last name of Baranov she figured Andre was a relation and already knew something of the channels.

“That would help prevent further leaks,” she said. “And ensure Peter has a family member around to keep an eye on the business.” She shrugged. It wasn’t an unexpected move. “As long as his work is good and he can get along with everyone here, I don’t see how it really matters.” She dialed the phone number somewhat surprised to see the area code was not that far away.

‘Of course the college here does have an amazing arts program,’ she thought as the phone rang. ‘Perhaps he attended here and got a job nearby after graduation.’

“Hello,” a voice said as the phone was answered. He sounded out of breath.

“Yes may I speak with Andre Baranov?”

“This is he.”

“Good morning,” Elena began. “I’m Elena Calabrese I was given your number by Peter Baranov.”

“Oh,” he said. He had caught his breath and there was a wariness to his tone. She smiled, appreciating the caution.

“Yes I was looking for a graphics and web person for a family business and he suggested you.” She placed a small emphasis on family and let it be.

“I see. You are of the guild then?”

“Yes, I am. I’m going to be working with Peter and my grandfather on marketing some of the goods brought back from travels. Items such as foods, cookware and table knickknacks and as you can imagine there will need to be substantial repackaging. Especially with the food items.” There was a short bark of laughter.

“I imagine so. Are you really going to sell food?” She could hear the interest in his tone.

“That is the plan. Are you interested?”

“I could be interested.” There was a pause. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Is my cousin requiring you to hire me?”

“No it isn’t a requirement. He just made the suggestion because he thought you had the necessary skills and were already familiar with the guild. I have final say in this. And to be honest examples of your work will hold more weight than your bloodline.”

“I can send samples if you like. Would e-mail work?”

“Definitely,” Elena gave him her e-mail. “I don’t suppose we could set up a meeting? Personality and whether you can get along with the type of people you will be working with will also play a role. And you would more than likely have to re-locate should you take the job so it would probably be a good idea to see the place.” Elena gave him the location of the store.

“That’s only about two hours from here.” He paused in thought as if he were rearranging his schedule in his head. “I can send work samples and a resume in the next couple of minutes. Would you be able to look over them by Monday afternoon?”

“I would but I have a 7 pm meeting Monday night so it would have to be a fairly early meeting.”

“Well we just wrapped up a major project so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for me to take a half a day Monday. That would put me at your place around 3 ish if that works.” They finished out the details and Elena hung up the phone.

“When the fates align,” she muttered. The noise level outside her door had risen slightly and she pushed thoughts of future businesses out of her head to deal with the one she had. Elena walked back out onto the floor. While the customers hadn’t overwhelmed the staff yet, her assistance would be appreciated. She smiled at a woman frowning over a set of end tables. “May I help you?”

Luckily by the time Ruby appeared the crowd had thinned and Elena felt her absence could be tolerated again. With a brief explanation she ducked out the front door and followed Ruby back to the street. The wind whipped her hair into a frenetic dance and she shivered, wishing she had grabbed her coat. Ruby quickly unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Even without the heat on in the building the lack of wind made the building feel almost warm.

The building was as Elena remembered it. The first floor had been cleared out and was one gigantic room with only metal support poles breaking up the space. The board floor had a few water spots and her questions to Ruby revealed that a new roof had been added, so no further damage would occur. Mentally Elena added shelves and counters. She segregated off a portion of the back of the room for a check out counter and storage.

‘It could definitely work,’ she thought slowly strolling through the center of the room. The pressed tin ceiling was in good shape as well, a new coat of white paint would bring it back to life and lighten up the space. She glanced at the hanging florescent lights. Those would have to go. Mentally she replaced them with something a little more upscale.

‘Actually I think I have some in storage that would work,’ she thought. “The electricity was not turned off?” she asked Ruby.

“No, neither were the other utilities,” Ruby answered her. Elena smiled thinking Ruby considered a functioning building easier to offload than an abandoned one.

‘And she’d be right.’ The tour led them up the back stairs. There the space had been divided into two apartments. They were very basic and Elena thought the back apartment could be transformed into a meeting space and larger office.

‘Keeping the guild business separate. It might be nice to leave the front as an apartment thought. Possibly offer it to Andre as part of an incentive package if he works out.’ She nodded at the thought. Not only would the idea help her move him in but it would also ensure someone was around should the military try to investigate. Elena turned and smiled at Ruby.

“Lets talk details.” After some negotiation and a brief telephone conversation with the owner, Ruby left with a conditionally accepted offer and a smile on her face. Elena returned to the imports store. The rest of the day passed fairly quietly in a steady stream of customers. When the last had left and everyone started gathering their coats, Elena asked them to stay a few minutes.

“I mentioned a few days ago that there was a possibility of a new business venture,” she began when they were all gathered. “Well the paperwork was signed today and I have made arrangements to buy the building next door.”

“Woo hoo,” Max said. “We’re expanding.”

“Not exactly,” she explained with a smile. “It will be completely separate.” She explained the concept, leaving out the off world aspects.”

“I can see how that would really play well with what you already have,” Chase commented.

“So the end result is that we are going to be doing a bit of a shuffle around here for the next little while. I probably won’t be around here full time every day for a while until things are settled. And if any of you feel you might be interested in working with the new store on a full time basis please come and see me.” With that pronouncement she let them go locking the store behind her and wondering how things were going to end up shaking out.

Pilot: Chapter 27

Chapter 27

By mid afternoon the next day, the copies of the schematics were ready and Elena took her lunch break to swing by the copy center to pick them up. She dropped one in the overnight mailbox the copy center had on hand and too the other two back to the office with her. Back in the store she tucked them into the office and promptly forgot about them.

Other than that her day was the normal mix of daily business worries. There were no phone calls from relatives not seen in years or drop bys made by military personnel. It was somewhat a relief to face the day surrounded only by normality.

After work she went grocery shopping, restocking her fridge and her coffee pot as well as running a couple of other errands. She checked her e-mail when she got home and received a reminder of a housewarming she had agreed to go to Friday night. She smiled smugly at the bottle of wine and flowerpot of miniature roses she had picked up while she was out in anticipation of the event.

She frowned at the fact that there were no e-mails from either Peter or her grandfather but figured they were probably still pre-occupied with Ian. Idly she wondered what was happening to him. She wondered if Smith would ask when she met with him.

“Maybe someone will tell me by then?” she asked aloud. Elena bit her lip at the sound of her own voice and looked guiltily around. She was trying to remember not to talk to herself in case the apartment was bugged. In fact she hadn’t realized how much she normally did talk to herself until she tried to stop.

Now without her own voice the apartment sounded too empty. She sighed, shut down her computer and walked over to her stereo. She ran her eyes down the stack of cds next to it and decided the Pixies would be an excellent way to fill the silence. She placed it in the stereo and let it play. She smiled at the sound.

“Silence all gone,” she said softly, wondering if the music would cover up whispers. She decided to use the lull between all-encompassing events to once again restore order to her apartment. Elena put away the laundry she had washed the day before and not yet gotten into the closet and tidied up the apartment.

Papers were filed, sheets were folded, and dishes were washed. When the Pixies ended she replaced them with the Dead Kennedys and tackled the bathroom with a foaming scrub. By the time the last note clicked into silence her apartment was clean and she was ready for bed. She showered, slipped into her pajamas and slid into bed. She sighed, there really was nothing like a little normality after several days of whirlwind chaos.

Two more days of normality passed and instead of feeling relieved Elena was beginning to feel anxious. Had something happened? Was that why no one was calling her? Images of the Lorenzo being sunk by a torpedo swam through her vision. The man sent with Ian could have had a tracking device on him, probably did.

Why wasn’t he searched as well as blindfolded? She snorted at the stupidity and re-arranged a display that didn’t actually need it. Perhaps the Council made a ruling the military didn’t like. Mentally she replaced the sunken ship with a ship being swarmed by armed men intent on taking prisoners. Her grandfather could be hurt in the struggle, taken to a hospital or interrogated. Why wasn’t anyone calling her?

“I’m sure they are going to love the business plan,” Max said interrupting her thoughts of gloom and doom. “How could they not?”

“You didn’t even see the business plan,” she commented with a smile, letting thoughts of evil slide away. Max snorted.

“I don’t have to, I remember when this place was just an abandoned wreck.” Elena glanced around the store with a tender smile. It hadn’t been much more then four bare walls when she took it over. Now it was a place of her own that filled her with pride.

“You are right Max,” she said with a grin. “After all who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to sell mini slug monsters from the planet Krypton?” Max rolled his eyes.

“Superman was from Krypton, slug monsters are from Krull,” he informed her.

“I thought conquerors were from Krull,” she replied.

“No. Krull was a conqueror. I don’t know what planet he was from.”

“Well it is good you were here to clear things up for me,” she replied. “I’d hate to mis-mark the bill of sale.” The coil inside Elena relaxed a bit with the by-play. No evil had befallen the council. They just didn’t consider her important enough to update.

She wasn’t due to meet with Smith and company until Monday evening. Tonight was only Friday. If they didn’t call by the close of business Monday she would call one of the numbers Peter had left to see what it was she needed to say to Smith about Ian’s fate, should they ask. Besides, tonight was Steve and Lisa’s housewarming.

Seven thirty rolled around and Elena locked up for the evening. Normally they were open later during the week but no one was really out looking for her stores wares on a Friday night. Closer to the holidays they would extend the hours but for now this was late enough to work on a Friday night.

Elena waved a farewell to her departing employees and strode off briskly towards home. They hadn’t gotten the snow Jonathan predicted but she could feel it still in the air, waiting. With luck it would hold off until a bit later.

As she walked, Elena thought she saw someone out of the corner of her eye but decided not to turn. She didn’t have time for plots tonight. With a quick pace and some good fortune she could manage a quick shower before jumping into her party dress and not be too late.

Lisa knew Elena was going to be a little bit late as the party started at seven but that didn’t make her feel any better. She had too many years moving with the tides to feel comfortable being late. “And it only matters to me anyway,” she muttered as she tugged open the building door. She took the stairs two at a time. Once inside her apartment she stripped on her way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.

“Quickest shower in the west,” she said. Still wrapped in a bath towel she called for a cab to come and pick her up. The dress was already laid out on the bed and she redressed, added a little make up to her face, and was downstairs with her bottle of wine and pot of roses in time to see the cab glide around the corner.

“Good thing too,” she thought as the cab stopped in front of her. “Too long outside in these shoes and my toes would fall off.” The strappy, open-toed heels were perfect with her dress but not for winter weather. She was going to have to look into some serious shoe shopping for the holiday season. There were several parties she was already scheduled to attend and her feet would not last the season in her current footwear.

The cab already had the address and let her out in front of a well-lit high-rise. She glanced up at the long stretch of it and shook her head. The sleek glass was a far cry from her old brick apartment building and she would have been uncomfortable with it as her living space. It suited Steve and Lisa to a T. She paid the driver and stepped out, her evening bag clutched in her hand.

The doorman opened the glass doors for her and she took the elevator to the 10th floor. The entire building had a hushed quality too it and she imagined each of the apartments was heavily soundproofed. Her heels didn’t make a sound on the carpeted hallway and after the sighs and creaks of her building she found it to be a little disconcerting. She knocked on the door to 1053 and the door opened spilling light and sound into the vacuum of the hallway. She smiled, signs of life at last.

“Elena,” Lisa greeted her, enthusiastically pulling her into a one armed hug. “You made it.”

“Of course,” Elena said, handing over the wine and roses. Lisa smiled over the wine and cooed over the pale pink of the miniature roses, exactly as Elena knew she would. “And that’s why I avoided the more vibrant scarlet ones I preferred,” she thought with a smile.

Lisa was barely half an inch over five feet and built with the bones of a ballet dancer. Everything about her was designed to be delicate. Rather than counter balance the image she used it, embracing delicacy as Genghis Kahn would a battle-axe. “And wielding it just as well.” Lisa was well known as one of the sharpest defense attorneys in the state. Lisa placed both the wine and the roses on the counter.

“We are just tossing the coats on the bed in the master bedroom right now,” she said as Elena shrugged out of her coat. “Come on, I’ll give you a brief tour of the place while we take it back.” Lisa chatted about the apartment as they went. They were the first tenants in the space, which pleased Lisa, as she didn’t have to overthrow a previous tenants choice. “We got to modify it from the floor plans on,” she said.

Elena nodded and smiled, commenting in all the right places. As they passed through the living room she noticed the bulk of the party seemed to be comprised of men or women she didn’t know. “Steve’s friends and their wives or dates,” she thought. “Lisa must not have gotten to show off the place yet.”

“Thanks for letting me get that out of my system,” Lisa said as they reached the master bedroom. “I know I can be an awful bore.”

“Hardly,” Elena assured her. “It is a great space and you’ve done so much with it.” Lisa beamed.

“With several pieces from your shop,” Lisa commented with a smile.

“Just the whipped cream on top of the sundae,” Elena told her, tossing her coat onto the bed. Lisa laughed. Elena looked for a place to stash her purse without having it get lost in the mound of coats.

“On the vanity would be a good place,” Lisa suggested. Elena nodded and walked over. As she set the purse down her phone rang. She could hear the muffled tune rattling her keys. She sighed.

“Never a dull moment hum?” Lisa commented. “Why don’t I leave you to answer that and you can find your way back when you are done.”

“Thanks Lisa.”

“Don’t take too long though. There are several cuties from Steve’s firm you just have to meet.” Lisa stepped into the hallway before Elena could comment. She shook her head and pulled the cell phone from her purse. She flipped it open.

“Hello?” she said.

“Elena sorry I haven’t had a chance to speak with you before now,” Peter’s voice rolled out of the phone. “Things are somewhat delicate here at the moment.”

“I understand. When you get a moment though I would like someone to fill in the blanks for what I am supposed to say on Monday regarding Ian if I am asked.”

“Ah yes Ian,” Peter replied. She could hear the tiredness in his voice. “We are still debating that actually. He had his hearing and well to be completely honest half of the council was automatically out for blood.”

“That I could understand,” she said. It wasn’t much of a surprise.

“Unfortunately with the military looking over our shoulders that has become something of an issue. We’ve decided that his actions do require a disciplinary hearing but that is where we are stalled.” Elena ran through what little she knew of this sort of thing it took little effort to see why they were stalled.

“If you pronounce judgment of a disciplinary hearing you have to release him to the head of his family until then. You are afraid of an accident.” Once Ian left the Lorenzo the council would no longer protect him. Even his own family might arrange for an accident to prevent loss of face within the guild. And the council would be held accountable by the military. A light snapped on in Elena’s mind.

“Is there any reason you can’t release him to the military until his hearing?” She asked. “It would go a long way towards helping them believe everything was on the up and up and they would then be responsible for his safety. I doubt they would just let him disappear when they have so much to gain by good relations.” There was silence on the other end. “Peter?”

“Yes I’m still here,” he said. “You know that might not be a bad plan. You know you are almost devious enough to be Council Elena.”

“But no desire to be,” she pointed out quickly. He laughed.

“Of course not,” he said. “And I have no desire to press you to be, especially when I stand to make a bundle off this new venture of ours.”

“Does that mean you read over my proposal?”

“It does. Actually both Alexandro and I have read over it. I think it is brilliant and he is about to burst with pride. I’m sending over some paperwork for you to go over. We hashed out a good deal of the legalese over here. That is what took so long. It should be to you in the morning sometime before noon.”

“My apartment or the store?”

“The store, we figured you wouldn’t be home during the day. I liked your list of goods and the way you’ve presented them. Obviously they come from the Calebrese travels and
there are several from our end we would like to see incorporated.”

“Of course, however that is going to have to wait, I’m afraid I am not in a palace to discuss business.” Lisa escorted another guest back to drop off a coat and Elena caught the sound of her friend Tina commenting on the décor. “Yeah I’m at a party. Is there a time maybe tomorrow evening or Sunday that would work for you?”

“Sunday would work around 2 pm your time?”

“That would be great,” Elena said as the two women entered the room. “I’ll talk to you then.” She hung up on Peter as Tina broke out into a grin.

“Please tell me that was the devilishly attractive man from the restaurant and not a business call.”

“Can’t it be both?” Elena asked with a laugh, giving her friend a hug. “You look great, love the dress.”

“Uh huh trying to change the subject,” Tina commented to Lisa.

“So I see,” Lisa said with an eyebrow waggle. “Must be juicy.”

“Not juicy, Business.” Elena said. “I have a new business venture.”

“Really?” Lisa asked. “Details, we want details.” The doorbell rang and Lisa rolled her eyes.

“Okay I want details later.” The three of them walked back into the living room. Mentally Elena juggled facts and figures in her head. She could rejoin the guild and still maintain a place in the non-guild oriented world. It would just take some serious word considerations. She accepted a glass of wine from one of Steve’s friends who had been dragooned into playing bartender for the night. Elena smiled. She always had liked a challenge.

Pilot: Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Elena stopped and fixed a pleasant smile on her face and waved to Jonathan. ‘No need for him to think I caught him following me,’ she thought. He half jogged to catch up with her. It took him no time to cover the block separating them.

“I would be completely winded if I tried that,” she told him noticing his breathing was still relatively even as he stopped in front of her.

“I run marathons a lot,” he admitted with a grin. He was still too toothy for her taste but this time the smile seemed general. She shook the thought away. Thinking of him as a person was not a benefit.

“I only make coffee runs, and usually then I send out one of my employees instead.”

“Seems fair,” he answered.

“Do you live around here or were you just going out?” she asked indicating the neon signs that were just beginning to hum to life in the cold evening air. The day workers had all gone home, the happy hour crowd still lingered and the partygoers would soon be arriving.

“No,” he said. “I was just having coffee before I headed out.” Elena glanced at her watch, noting that several hours had passed since he had asked her out for coffee.

“Still, wow you must really linger over that last cup.”

“Well to be honest I didn’t really want to go back out in the cold. So I more or less kept drinking coffee until I could face it. I probably slosh when I walk by now.”

“So I guess you aren’t from around here?”

“No ma’am, just stationed. I’m from Florida, out by Tampa.”

“Ah,” she said. “Are you going this way?” She indicated the street she had turned on.

“Um, yes ma’am.” There was a slight hesitation in the voice.

“Good then we can keep walking. It is a little too cold to be standing in one place very long as long as that wind is up.” A gust swung her hair across her face for emphasis. She shoved it back with her hand and turned into the wind.

“I think that is a good plan,” he replied. They began walking. He seemed inclined to walk slower than her rapid pace despite his longer legs. She slowed to match his stride. She was pretty sure he was lying about just sticking around for coffee. Of course the coffee shop near her place had taken on ominous overtones in her mind at this point. ‘Like the lair of the mad scientist where his minions receive their orders so they don’t have to go into the laboratory.’ She thought for a moment. ‘I bet you could see my apartment entryway from there as well.’ Elena frowned a little. ‘Perhaps I should start using the alternate exit in the back.’

“Something wrong?”

“No,” she said. “Just thinking about your earlier snow prediction. I think you might be right.” They made a little small talk about the weather and Elena wondered how to test him to see if he had heard any of her conversation with her cousin without giving anything away.

“So,” he began as the small talk ebbed. “Would those be the plans for the ship you have there?” He indicated the tube she carried tucked under her arm. She had been wondering when he would ask.

“Yes,” she answered. “I wanted a copy I could jot notes down on while still keeping the original clean.”

“I see,” he said. “Are you sure you aren’t just passing them along to someone else?”

“Like who, a rival ship builder to undercut your production?”

“No I meant someone in the guild.”

“There are no other guild members around here. They all left with Ian.”

“You could be sending a copy on,” he commented.

“I could.”

“But you are not.”

“There is no point,” she said. If Mateo passed a copy back to the council that would of course be another matter. She might even suggest it.

“Why not?”

“Because they are of no use. They can’t ride the channels and contain no useful information.”

“Oh.” He sounded deflated and she laughed.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she said. “But I was telling the truth in the meeting not trying to get a copy of the new and better plans to build a ship of my own.”

“So you have your own ship?”

“I have never sailed my own ship. I am a pilot not a captain.” She waited for anything that would lead him to believe the Storm Chaser might be hers. He didn’t bite and she wasn’t sure how else to lure him into letting something slip so she would have a definitive answer.

‘Its not like they teach this in school. Unless of course there is some sort of Interrogation 101 I could take as a continuing education class a the college.’ She mentally laughed at the idea. ‘Maybe they also have Minion Recruiting 101 as well and I could go ahead and get my own version of Marcus while I’m at it.”

They arrived at the copy center. Even at this hour customers buzzed around the lit glass box like fireflies caught on a hot summer night. Only like the bars a block over, the clientele had switched with the hour’s passing. Gone were the business suits and corporate lackeys. In their place were students, frantically making copies for some project or another or lazily making conversation as they waited for machines. She smiled at Jonathan.

“This is my stop. Thanks for the conversation.”

“No problem. Do you want me to stick around so you don’t have to walk home alone in the dark?” As if on cue the streetlights buzzed to life overhead.

“I’ll be fine. It is only a short walk, and it is well populated and lit at night. But thanks. Have a safe drive home.” She pulled open the glass door and a puff of heat scented with toner greeted her. Jonathan looked a little lost and she couldn’t help wondering if he was trying to figure out how to get to back to his car from here without looking like he was doubling back. ‘His problem,’ she thought.

Ignoring the machines, Elena walked up to the line at the counter. It was relatively short and each person in front of her had a counter from the machines. With luck none of them were planning on doing anything more time consuming than paying for their copies. Her turn at the counter came quickly enough.

“How may I help you,” the bored clerk drawled. Her eyes kept shifting towards the wall clock and Elena guessed it was nearly the end of her shift.

“I need two copies of this made, please,” she said thinking they would now be looking for a copy with her notes scrawled across it.

“I’ll have to keep it overnight, our large format operator already has a queue.”

“That will be fine,” she answered. She wasn’t in a rush. The clerk took her name and gave her a pick up time. She said thanks and passed the roll of drawings over. With her business transaction complete she walked out of the copy center. She barely made it out the door when her cell phone rang. She stopped, tugged it out of her purse and continued walking as she answered it. The wind had a biting edge to it.

“Hello.”

“Elena? Its Aunt Catherine,” her Aunt’s voice rolled out or the cell phone.

“Hi, how are you?”

“I’m fine, just fine and so glad you are back. Now I won’t keep you because I know it is late and you must have a million things to do but Mateo mentioned working with you on the off season and possibly on the on once I retire.”

“Yes we had talked about that. He wanted to run it through with you before he gave me answer.”

“Well he did and I think it is a wonderful idea. He isn’t all that close to my brother’s kids and well he and Therese don’t exactly get along well. You were always his favorite cousin. All in all I think this is a wonderful idea. Your grandfather mentioned you had officially been listed as your own head of household so we can use the off season as a testing pattern to see if things will work and if so then later we can draw up the official transfer papers.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Elena said. She had forgotten about the transfer papers. In her mind she would just be working with Mateo on various projects, the same as they had always done. But she was the head of a household, albeit a household of one. That meant Mateo, who was not would be transferred to her. He would no longer be answerable to his mother in matters of the guild but to her. That would take some getting used to.

“Don’t worry honey,” her Aunt said, “you’ll get used to it.”

“Sure,” she said nervously. Catherine laughed.

“So you will be coming to the wedding?” She asked.

“Nate’s wedding?”

“Of course, who did you think the invitation was for?”

“I didn’t receive an invitation.”

“Really? Let’s see.” There was a shift in Catherine’s voice as if she had tucked the phone under her chin and was fumbling with something. “They were mailed on the 18th.” She sounded as if she were talking to herself. Elena imagined her aunt flipping through her pocket calendar and smiled. Scrawled into it were notes on tides and lists of goods, occasionally actual dates made their way in. “Yes, she said more distinctly,” talking to Elena this time. “They were mailed on the 18th. It can’t take that long to get to you. Can it?”

“It shouldn’t,” Elena commented. She realized she was grinning into the phone. She had not been forgotten, the mail had simply gotten lost.

“Do I have the correct address?” She rattled off Elena’s address.

“That is correct.”

“Good grief, no wonder you hadn’t RSVPed yet.” Catherine gave an impatient snort and Elena giggled. “I’ll put you down as a yes and make sure a second invitation gets sent so you have all of the information.”

“Thanks,” Elena said. They chatted a few more minutes and then hung up. Elena felt warm in spite of the cold wind. She continued walking and was a few steps away from her apartment building door when the phone rang again.

“Apparently I am popular tonight.” She said as she pulled the phone back out. The number was one she didn’t recognize but deciding she was on a good streak with phone calls she answered it anyway.

“Hello?”

“How dare you!” The words were spoken with both venom and heat. The voice was of course familiar.

“Hello Therese.” Elena answered. She stopped outside the door to her building. She would not bring this call in with her.

“That’s all you have to say to me? You sneaky, underhanded little thief!” Therese spat. Elena rolled her eyes. This conversation was maddeningly familiar. When she had taken first place in a competition, Therese accused Elena of stealing her victory. The fact that Therese was often not in the competition was usually a mute point. The words rolled off Elena with no impact.

“And what have I stolen this time Therese?” There was no heat to her words just a heavy tiredness. Therese raged sometimes sputtering into incomprehensible babble. Elena managed to catch the gist of it and sighed. She rubbed her temple.

“I take it you just left Uncle Tomas and Aunt Catherine’s house?” She asked.

“I did. They are after all my family. I’m invited over quite often.” Elena caught the emphasis on the words my and I’m and silently wondered if Therese had anything to do with the missing wedding invitation. “And if you think you can trick Mateo…”

“There was no trickery involved,” Elena said cutting Therese off before her tirade could continue. It was cold out here and hr nose was starting to go numb. “He asked if I could use his help and I said yes. Aunt Catherine agreed. That is the end of the story and I can’t see honestly how it involves you. Besides, Mateo is a person not an object to be stolen.”

“It is not the end of the story. If you think you can just waltz right back into our lives…” Elena grimaced and pulled the phone away from her ear. She could still hear Therese. Elena shrugged and pressed the end button cutting her cousin off mid rant. She tucked the phone away and opened the building door.

“I wonder how long before she notices,” she wondered aloud.