FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter -11- A Moment to Breathe

Saturday January 27, 8am EST Jacksonville, Florida

** "God that was the longest night** , like, ever," Karla said, adding, "I need to get laid, for real, I swear." She opened the door leading into the living room of the yacht, dropped her purse on the floor and announced, "Honey, I'm home!" Reno, Eric and Evan followed her in. They fanned out around Karla, who came face to face with Andrea Monroe.

Reno recognized the face but not the hair color. "Wait a minute..."

"Nevada," said the girl. "No offense but your brother is far more handsome, having hair and all."

Reno ran his fingers up over his head, again reminded by the loss of his beloved hair. "You're Monroe's sister?"

"Apparently not," she groused.

Karla chuckled. "It's a long story, Reno. Let's just say she is Krys' sister for sake of ease."

"Yes," Andrea said, "For sake of ease. Apparently, I'm a minor, too." She turned back to Karla and added, "That means you've kidnapped me. Isn't that a felony offense? I can't begin to tell you how fucked up it is that you've kidnapped me."

"Hey," Evan cut in. "No need for that nonsense."

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed.

"He means the cussing," Karla replied with a shrug. "Kidnapping," she scoffed. A smile returned to her face like a ray of sunshine cutting through a cloudy day. "Come on, now, we didn't kidnap you, per say! No, no, let's just call it surprise adoption! When Stockholm Syndrome sets in, you're gonna LOVE us!"

Anne looked away from Karla and stared at the olive wood artifact on the coffee table then glanced back at Karla. "How long are you and your people holding me here?"

Karla pulled her cellphone out and glanced at the time then said, "Oh, you know, until you join our team and fight your old boss." She thumbed the screen discretely, opening an application for an auto dial-back feature. She put her own number in, set the timer for thirty seconds then put the phone down on the coffee table and approached Andrea again. "I've got some great boots in my closet. You've totally got to play dress up with me."

"Are ... are you serious?"

Karla clapped her hands together. "Yes! You're gonna see all my clothes and forget all about how upset you are, and you'll be, all, like, 'girl-gasm!' Trust me, it's going to be a blast!" The phone on the coffee table rang. Karla flinched as if startled by it. She walked away from Andrea, picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. "Oh. Man, guys, this is a serious number. Everyone stay quiet."

The demoness thumbed the 'answer' button, put the phone to her head and announced, "Yes, Commissioner Gordon, this is Batgirl. What's the haps, Paps?" She paused then said, "What? Where?" Another pause then she widened her eyes and swallowed. "How many?" Another brief pause, then, "Oh my God. We're on our way; I'll bring the whole team. Just sit tight. What's the address? Actually, no, wait, just text it to me." She shifted the phone to her other ear then said, "Yes sir." She thumbed the screen, then thumbed the button to deactivate the screen and carried the phone over to her purse that was by the front door. "Eric, gather everyone. There's an emergency. We're going to need the whole team." She turned to Reno and frowned. "I know you two boys had the longest night of your life but ... you can sleep when you're dead. Come on." She gave Evan a pat on the shoulder and called back to Eric, "Meet us on the back deck. Hurry."

Karla teleported Reno, Evan and herself out to the aft deck. A moment later, Eric came out through the back door with Topaz, Kuda, Fox, Jules, Sinopa and Patience.

Patty embraced Evan and he returned the gesture.

Rufus dropped down from the top deck and landed amidst the group in a crouch. "Wha's goin' down?"

"We've got to hurry," Karla said to them in an oddly loud tone of voice. She waved her hand in the air, making a circular gesture. "Everyone hold hands. Makes it easier to teleport a group this large." She waited until everyone joined hands then she took Eric's free hand and the whole group disappeared.

Moments later the group appeared on the blacktop away from the yacht. An Enterprise van sat in the marina parking lot with the rental agent. Karla put her hand into her purse, shoved the phone aside, pulled out her ID and said, "I know I look young but I'm the most responsible driver here. And yes, I'm over twenty-five. I'll be driving; no, we don't need additional drivers, and yes, give me the lowest insurance option on the list. And ... can we make it snappy? We're picking someone up from the airport. So just take us back to your secret base at Yankee Clipper Drive, please. We can do the paperwork at your office or whatever."

The Rental Agent looked at Karla then her motley cast of friends. "Yeah. Sure. Everyone in the van." He paused then asked, "Secret base?" with furrowed brows.

X

---

X

January 27, 9:30am EST Jacksonville International Airport

** Reno pushed his hands into his pockets,** trying not to appear frustrated or tired. "Okay. I've got to know what this emergency is."

Karla laughed and took the keys from the rental agent then turned away from the Enterprise booth and shouldered her purse. She gestured for the group to follow her back into the concourse. "Reno, this was a surprise for you and Topaz." She pulled her phone out, glanced at the time then put it back into her purse and said, "Any second now..."

"Vincent?" he asked. "You had the whole team come out to meet him?"

"I did that for his benefit, not yours," she said. "Oh, and look, here he comes now!"

Vincent, across the room, pulled his bag from the conveyer belt with a digital sign above it that read, "Bermuda to JAX."

Topaz grinned at Reno and announced, "Ladies first," then dashed off to wrap her arms around Vincent from behind. He turned around into her embrace and they immediately shared a kiss.

"So that's your brother?" asked Evan.

"Yeah. I've not seen him in person since ... like, July or August. Kid's looking good. Having a girlfriend and a little sense of self-purpose seems to have been what he needed in life." Reno swallowed back his emotion to maintain his macho façade.

Fox cut in, "Don't let her hog him up like that. He misses you. I know he does. Go on, Inspector."

Reno smirked at Fox's use of his old title. "Yeah, yeah."

Patience slid her hand into Evan's and whispered to her boyfriend, "Is it weird that I get emotional when I see reunions like this?"

"No," Evan replied in a soft tone. "I'm the same way. Reno's been looking forward to this every since we left San Francisco. I sure hope Johann gets here."

Karla watched Reno move towards the baggage claim section and leaned towards Evan's other ear. "He texted me a few days ago to say he met up with someone in Chicago and has to follow up on some stuff. I've not heard from him since. Remember, he used to work for the Justiciar. He's probably come across someone from that circle. He might be doing some sort of sect thing. We'll hear from him when it's time to hear from him."

"Crap," Evan grumbled.

Rufus and Jules struck up their own conversation and Sinopa remained quiet, watching her daughter with the boy out by the conveyer belt.

Reno approached his brother and thrust his hand into the younger man's hand then they pulled one another into a hug. Reno wrapped his other arm around his younger brother's shoulders and held him close, whispering into his ear. "Man. You look good. It's been a rough few days for me so if I act a little sappy it's because I'm tired. I've still got my head all messed up from the whole thing."

Vincent eased out of the hug and stepped back to look at his brother. "God ... the hair. And ... I know. I saw it in the news. I saved the podcast. You are on just about every news channel under the sun, Reno. The 'real deal' superhero. They talked about your thing at the bank then more about the school. It was nuts."

Reno chuckled inwardly then shook his head. "Well, mostly it was my pal, Evan. He's completely into using our abilities for that sort of thing. I just ... I was out of work, you know? And fighting crime is all I know, so ... it came naturally."

"Reno. Two thousand children and every single one lived."

"Thank God." Reno replied with an expression of relief. "Last I heard they had a complication with the kid who was shot, because he'd gone into anaphylactic shock over some medical complication. It was on the news this morning."

"According to the news he's stable and fine, now. I've been watching it on the flight. They had it on the in-air video. Someone asked to change it and I told them, 'The hell you will. THAT is MY brother!' And, you know what? I signed five autographs. I wasn't even AT that school, yet I still signed five autographs. Just for being your brother! Isn't that rich? They kept asking if Reno Nevada was your superhero name, heh. I lost track of how many times I showed my ID to prove it's our surname. The only picture I have of us in my wallet shows you with hair." He turned back to Topaz and smiled. "And, I missed you. God did I miss you. It hasn't even been that long and it feels like forever. I'm glad I was able to come back so soon."

Topaz, delighted, kissed him again. "You always know the right things to say. Fox and I want to take you out to celebrate." She then turned to Reno and ribbed him in the gut. "And you need sleep. You and Evan drove straight through from San Fran to Florida, got stuck in a school all day and talked to investigators, parents and the media all damn night. That's insane. You need sleep. I'll bring your brother back to you when you wake up."

Reno chuckled inwardly. "Yeah, uh ... no lie, I am pretty tired. I'm kinda nervous about trying to sleep. That kid in the art class on the floor. That image is not going to go away for a while."

Vincent turned back to his brother and shouldered his bag. "I have an idea. Why don't you go visit the kid in the hospital again? Seeing him on his feet will help you filter out the bad image. Talk to him. Then come back and get some rest."

Reno licked his lips then nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right, kiddo. I'll get Evan and Karla." He blinked then said, "Actually, we should all head back to the boat first. I just realized we apparently left Andrea Monroe there, alone."

Vincent tilted his head. "What? She's here? She's been missing for a week. Krys is worried sick."

"Yeah. Krys Monroe," Reno snorted in disgust. "Your new friends suck, Vinnie. I'm reserving judgment for Andrea, though. Maybe she'll be glad to see you, though. C'mon." He patted Vincent's cheek then walked back towards Karla and the group. "Uh ... let's get back in that van and back to the boat quick."

"Why?"

"Karla, c'mon now. What were you thinking? We left Andrea there alone."

"Yeah," the demoness chuckled. "You're right, TopCop. I was a bit on the tired side. Honestly, I don't care if she goes back to Falcon. She's pretty useless. If they wanted her back so bad, they'd have made your brother call us and beg for her return or ... something. Let's go, then. To the Big-E Van!"

Sinopa suddenly announced, "Shotgun!" Everyone froze and turned to face her. She blinked. "What? Is that the wrong euphemism?"

Fox laughed and shook his head then put his hand on his mother's back and guided her to the front of the pack. "No. You got it right. Shotgun is yours."

Karla grinned. "I'm glad you're acclimating to our silly society so well. The term came from motorcycles sidecars. Before that, it referred to the seat adjacent to a stagecoach driver, who kept a shotgun at his side." She raised her voice so that Vincent and Topaz, furthest from the group, would hear her, "Everyone! Back to the boat!"

Eric leaned close to Reno and Evan and asked, "You boys need a ride to the hospital? Karla rented the fifteen-passenger van for a reason. Gonna load up some reporters and drive them to the hospital so you guys can look good visiting the kid and teachers. Lance is there, now. He'll coach you guys on how to handle the spotlight. He'll tell you not to make it all about you, or to talk too much about abilities, if at all ... he'll tell you guys things like ... you know, to make the conversations about school violence awareness, and child violence awareness and to bring a sense of community and family back to the school atmosphere. Things like that."

Evan nodded. "He's always had a tactician mind. Every word or action seems to have more than one purpose. We'll talk to him before we go live."

"He's there to make sure things are going to go smooth," Eric said with faint smile. "And he's written an anonymous check to pay for the care of the child, because the parents don't have much money, and their insurance is crappy. The teachers, on the other hand, have decent coverage through their jobs. Look, it might not be wise to do anymore parlor tricks for the cameras. Half the viewers will think you're cheapening your actions of valor with fake magic tricks. Other people will become obsessed with knowing more. Either way, you'd create a lot of unnecessary attention. But you can be sure about one thing..."

Reno rubbed his chin and nodded. "Falcon will be watching."

"Exactly." Eric opened the door for Reno and Evan. The whole group made their way out to the van that Enterprise used to bring them to the airport.

X

---

X

January 27, 9:58am EST US-90 Beach Marina

** "Congratulations, you successfully followed a GPS," ** Eric chuckled from his seat directly behind Karla. "I'm so proud of you."

Karla yawned as if bored with his joke. "I could tell you the difference between Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach from a half mile up. Without some stupid GPS. Roads are different - don't make fun."

"So, do you think our houseguest is still there?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Karla replied. She paused then sighed. "Eric, we should bang soon, just saying."

Eric glanced out the window as they drove past the boat on the highway. He knew she was craving sex, and he knew she was getting low on the test pills she received from Falcon. The van moved into the far left lane. Karla put on her left blinker then turned on 20th Street North. Loupe coughed into his hand, trying to ignore the bluntness of her statement. He cleared his throat then said, "I don't see the dingy."

Karla glanced over then snorted and came up to the parking lot of the Marina. "Doofus. The dingy is on the other side of the yacht. You wouldn't see it from this side."

"Okay. Just ... call it a gut feeling."

"Yeah, yeah." She paused then announced to the rest of the van. "Who wants to place bets that Andrea Monroe took off as soon as we left?"

Vincent frowned. "Were you holding her against her will?"

Karla glanced in the rearview mirror at him then put the van into 'park' and pulled the key from the ignition. "We persuaded her to stay and hang out with us for a while but she didn't seem happy. But we never restrained her or forced her to stay by any means ... other than saying 'please.' That's it and that's all."

Jules spoke up. "Not t' mention, we were at sea. She had no desire to jump overboard, mon ami."

Vincent glanced over at Reno on his right then Topaz on his left. "I'm sure she knows that Krys and Falcon were worried about her. She never told them she was going to leave in the first place. She just disappeared one day."

"We'll know in a moment," Sinopa said from the front passenger seat. "Everyone have patience. Karla, would you do the honors?"

"Oh, geeze, if I must." She shrugged then announced, "Everyone place your bets!" The succubus disappeared from the driver seat, leaving the keys in the cup holder.

Several moments passed.

Karla reappeared in the driver's seat and offered a lame grin. "The dingy is still there, Eric. As it should be, since we were docked _any_way." She coughed into her left hand then added, "Not only did Andrea leave, she took the little Olive Wood Artifact with her. That's, uh ... that's my bad, people. I left it out. I take full responsibility for that."

Reno's eyes widened. "What! She stole from us then ran off? Jesus!"

"Reno," Vincent put his hand on his brother's knee. "When I head home in a few days, I'll find out what she took. Just..."

"No!" Reno brought his palm to his face. "We've been practically killing ourselves to figure out the whole mystery behind these things! We finally get a good clue and it gets stolen because of negligence!"

Karla turned about in the van and glared. "Reno, calm down. You're overtired. We don't even know if the 'bad guys' are really the bad guys, yet. Just slow down. We have someone that already works on the 'inside' for us - your own brother. It's a minor setback, not the end of the world!"

"Yeah, but, if you look at who has more artifacts, we're on the losing side here!"

"Reno!" Karla shook her head then glanced at Sinopa. "You want to handle his masculine ego? I'm going to get frustrated. It's bad enough we lost another puzzle piece; I don't need people flipping about it."

Rufus turned around from the middle seat and faced Reno. "Boss, we'll get it back. Remember, I've been there already. I know how t' get us back. Plus, I rescued this guy and Topaz 'n I promised to help him with helping us. CIA guy. We've got our own ducks lined up. Relax, man. You're exhausted."

"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to," Reno murmured.

Balmoral gave Reno's arm a firm pat. "Me either! Too much shazbot on my head." Evan said. "For sure, I want to go and see that kid at the hospital. Seeing him alive will give me a little closure on the situation." He turned to Patty and asked, "You want to go with us?"

"May I?" she asked.

Reno glanced at Evan then to Patty and said, "It would be good to have a reasonably responsible person with us. Eric, I know you were going to drive us but ... how about you guys start looking for that girl. She's probably local because she'd need to secure transportation, find a way to contact her pals ... all that stuff. She's in an unfamiliar place, and..."

"Calm down," Karla said.

Sinopa spoke in a calm voice. "We will conduct a search, Reno-sama. Karla and Eric are also tired. They're not overtired like yourself and Evan-san, but ... I think they should stay with the yacht. The rest of us will search. We have Rufus. He has exceptional tracking skills."

"That there's also true," Rufus chuckled. "The nose knows."

Jules chuckled and shook his head. "Mon ami, I'll keep everyone in line. Jus' go to the hospital. Yer' sending this Falcon character a strong message. 'We're the good guys.' Just relax, oui?"

"Yeah, yeah. Alright. I know when I'm outnumbered."

Fox laughed. "That's good, Reno. Because everyone here agrees that you should take a load off and go visit that kid and those teachers. You and Evan busted your butts to save lives after driving at a dangerous speed in the dark while exhausted. You put your lives on the line for a lot of children. Now, go bask in the fruits of your success, man. We'll find this chick. And if we don't, it's okay."

"Yeah?" Topaz asked. "Come on, Fox. You have to admit that it really sucks we lost our trump card because we were careless and negligent."

"Topaz ... stop. It's not that bad."

"Well, then, my darling brother," Paz trailed off and smirked. "You can call Lance and tell'em that we all messed up."

Karla cleared her throat. "No. I left the thingy out on the coffee table. It was my mistake. I will call Lance. Reno, Evan, Patty, get your tails to the Wolfson Children's Hospital. Everyone else, and people who actually do have 'tails' ... start looking for Andrea. Eric, we're going to take a nap; if she comes back to see if she can take anything else ... we'll be there holding down the fort. Okay ... we've got our plan, everybody. Reno, Evan, Patty ... the keys are in the cup holder. I've already programmed the address to the hospital into the GPS. You're going to get back on US-90, west away from the beach, and take it towards the city. Follow the GPS to the first waypoint. You'll be picking up some contacts I've made that will help get the word out. You won't be filmed live this time."

"But..."

"No buts, Reno." Karla grinned then reached back behind herself for Eric's hand. They disappeared.

Once inside the yacht, Karla pulled her cellphone from her purse and grinned at Eric. They headed down the hallway towards the master bedroom and she brought the cell to her head. After the second ring, Lance answered.

The succubus tittered with delight. "Your plan worked exactly as you said it would. God only knows where she went but ... she took the artifact."

"Understood."

"Also, Lancey-pants, Reno, Evan and Patience are on their way up to the hospital. They'll be picking up a group of journalists that I called about two hours ago. Pull those boys aside and coach them on what to say before they get in front of a camera."

"Eric and I already discussed that," said Lance over the line. "Go get some rest. Who else was in on this plan?"

"Eric and Topaz."

"Alright. Will she tell Vincent?"

"No, silly boy. She's a good actress, regardless of how much she likes him. I'm off to bed. Oh!" Karla paused then smiled. "Have you and Steven figured out how to make those pills for me that Falcon promised?"

"No. We cannot figure out what he's done to make them. And that's if they're even legitimate. It won't take long, though. One of the synthesized ingredients is difficult to amalgamate properly."

Karla scrunched her nose. "Blah. Okay. Well, keep trying. Synthetic sex pills sound like a good way to retire from romp-hunting."

"We'll let you know if we figure it out." Lance disconnected the line from her side.

Karla turned to Eric and shut the bedroom door behind herself. "We have the whole boat to ourselves." Then she waggled her brows.

Eric responded with a sly grin. "I think, as tired as we both are, we're both going to sleep well after this." He put his hands on her waist and lifted her up then moved her towards the bed.

X

---

https://www.sofurry.com/view/666457