01-18-2019, 10:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-18-2019, 10:44 PM by Jay Carpenter.)
Jay loitered at the car while the others followed Jessika inside. Keypad opened the rear door. Roaming eyes counted the contents without a thought, calculating the order in which to remove them without sending the entire pile tumbling to the dirt. Given the way it worked out last time that happened, it would be best to avoid a repeat.
"Let me get that for you." A hand inserted in front of his face, but Jay's own clamped down on the wrist before it could do any good. Rotation turned the elbow inward, the attached shoulder pryed against its will. The voice yelped in surprise, and Jay only then realized how young the face cringed in pain really was.
A teenager. He swallowed and let go. The kid, of all of maybe eighteen years, stumbled.
"I'm sorry." Jay said and offered a hand to steady him. A worried glance searched the background, wondering if the others saw (or heard) the inappropriate reaction. Given that he once put a shotgun in the face of a church pastor loading up firewood, it was unlikely his dad would be surprised. Mom and Cayli though, he was certain they were ignorant of the standoff that night in the snow. Jay wanted to keep it that way.
A lick of the lips and he decided to leave the luggage to the kid. "Uh, thanks." A final glance at the bag that held his uniform and he left it behind. "There's weapons under the front seats."'
Rubbing his wrist and painting on a strong face, the kid nodded. "This is Texas, sir. There's weapons under everyone's seat."
Jay laughed.
With a nod, he finally dragged himself inside.
The interior was exactly like the exterior: overwhelmingly large and overdone everything. It was food that curled its finger in the right direction, and Jay was content to follow blindly into Jensen and Jessika's world. So long as there was bacon at the end of the trail. He'd walk into the 7th realm of Naraka if it meant a good breakfast. Morbid, but not untrue.
A flash of light caught his eyes and he blinked. Heat touched his face. Acid on the tongue and dirt ground gritty in his teeth..
But another step and the light faded. A sunbeam pushed through a window high overhead, he realized, creating a bar of yellow that he must have passed through. Dust floated barely seen by the naked eye. Perpetually trapped in a cage invisible.
He knew the feeling.
Breakfast was awkward, and despite how many of them present, the table still held empty chairs. The meals he couldn't even imagine that were once served here, or maybe they still were given this acted as the home of the Governor of the largest state in the Union (Alaska doesn't count).
Jensen was awkwardly uncomfortable in his own home. His parents and sister were exhausted and Cayli looked ready for a shower until she spied a corner of the pool in the back yard. Then she seemed to come back to life. Compared to the winter weather they just left, Texas was the tropics.
Jessika talked but Jay heard none of it. His back ached and he piled too much food in his stomach too fast. When told they could each have their own spare bedroom because Jensen's house had so many fucking bedrooms, Jay finally spoke up.
"Cayli needs to go upstairs; whatever room is closest the interior of the house as possible. Any exterior walls should face the back. I'll take whatever room is nearest the front of the house." Cayli's reaction was blank, but Jay was sure she was annoyed by the over-protective older brother.
The selection seemed well received. Jay glanced at Natalie briefly before he up and left the table, needing to stretch his legs and familiarize himself with what was going to become a fortress in short order. Everyone went their separate ways after that, with Jessika leading, of course.
The Governor wasn't without her own security detail, he soon learned. They had to know he was coming, so nobody jumped him, but it was along the side of the house that he met one of them for the first time. Or - more accurately - they met him.
A tall fence, iron with decorative (yet effective) spikes on the top circled the lot. Despite the tall trees and privacy bushes, this was still the city. Fences defined one property to the adjacent. He was knelt down, one knee in the dirt, yanking on the fence post to define just how secure it was, when an ahem cleared its throat behind him.
Unlike the kid with the luggage, this one kept his distance, fully respectful of the dangers of invading personal space. Jay sighed, ready to explain himself and offer the mutual degrees of respect, yadda yadda, and stood to greet whichever detail drew the short end of the straw to track him down in person.
He was about Jay's age and size, maybe an inch shorter. A fit, strong physique filled out a suit otherwise dressed down by the open collar at the neck. He carried, of course, and wore similar communications devices to what the Dominions also wore, though a downgraded version. Both of them wore sunglasses, but Jay didn't even flinch to remove his own nor did the security beef.
They didn't need to; Jay would recognize this guy anywhere. Clearly, the former Marine standing in front of him did too.
"Let me get that for you." A hand inserted in front of his face, but Jay's own clamped down on the wrist before it could do any good. Rotation turned the elbow inward, the attached shoulder pryed against its will. The voice yelped in surprise, and Jay only then realized how young the face cringed in pain really was.
A teenager. He swallowed and let go. The kid, of all of maybe eighteen years, stumbled.
"I'm sorry." Jay said and offered a hand to steady him. A worried glance searched the background, wondering if the others saw (or heard) the inappropriate reaction. Given that he once put a shotgun in the face of a church pastor loading up firewood, it was unlikely his dad would be surprised. Mom and Cayli though, he was certain they were ignorant of the standoff that night in the snow. Jay wanted to keep it that way.
A lick of the lips and he decided to leave the luggage to the kid. "Uh, thanks." A final glance at the bag that held his uniform and he left it behind. "There's weapons under the front seats."'
Rubbing his wrist and painting on a strong face, the kid nodded. "This is Texas, sir. There's weapons under everyone's seat."
Jay laughed.
With a nod, he finally dragged himself inside.
The interior was exactly like the exterior: overwhelmingly large and overdone everything. It was food that curled its finger in the right direction, and Jay was content to follow blindly into Jensen and Jessika's world. So long as there was bacon at the end of the trail. He'd walk into the 7th realm of Naraka if it meant a good breakfast. Morbid, but not untrue.
A flash of light caught his eyes and he blinked. Heat touched his face. Acid on the tongue and dirt ground gritty in his teeth..
But another step and the light faded. A sunbeam pushed through a window high overhead, he realized, creating a bar of yellow that he must have passed through. Dust floated barely seen by the naked eye. Perpetually trapped in a cage invisible.
He knew the feeling.
Breakfast was awkward, and despite how many of them present, the table still held empty chairs. The meals he couldn't even imagine that were once served here, or maybe they still were given this acted as the home of the Governor of the largest state in the Union (Alaska doesn't count).
Jensen was awkwardly uncomfortable in his own home. His parents and sister were exhausted and Cayli looked ready for a shower until she spied a corner of the pool in the back yard. Then she seemed to come back to life. Compared to the winter weather they just left, Texas was the tropics.
Jessika talked but Jay heard none of it. His back ached and he piled too much food in his stomach too fast. When told they could each have their own spare bedroom because Jensen's house had so many fucking bedrooms, Jay finally spoke up.
"Cayli needs to go upstairs; whatever room is closest the interior of the house as possible. Any exterior walls should face the back. I'll take whatever room is nearest the front of the house." Cayli's reaction was blank, but Jay was sure she was annoyed by the over-protective older brother.
The selection seemed well received. Jay glanced at Natalie briefly before he up and left the table, needing to stretch his legs and familiarize himself with what was going to become a fortress in short order. Everyone went their separate ways after that, with Jessika leading, of course.
The Governor wasn't without her own security detail, he soon learned. They had to know he was coming, so nobody jumped him, but it was along the side of the house that he met one of them for the first time. Or - more accurately - they met him.
A tall fence, iron with decorative (yet effective) spikes on the top circled the lot. Despite the tall trees and privacy bushes, this was still the city. Fences defined one property to the adjacent. He was knelt down, one knee in the dirt, yanking on the fence post to define just how secure it was, when an ahem cleared its throat behind him.
Unlike the kid with the luggage, this one kept his distance, fully respectful of the dangers of invading personal space. Jay sighed, ready to explain himself and offer the mutual degrees of respect, yadda yadda, and stood to greet whichever detail drew the short end of the straw to track him down in person.
He was about Jay's age and size, maybe an inch shorter. A fit, strong physique filled out a suit otherwise dressed down by the open collar at the neck. He carried, of course, and wore similar communications devices to what the Dominions also wore, though a downgraded version. Both of them wore sunglasses, but Jay didn't even flinch to remove his own nor did the security beef.
They didn't need to; Jay would recognize this guy anywhere. Clearly, the former Marine standing in front of him did too.
Only darkness shows you the light.