26. Clay
Chapter 26
Clay
I curse and fiddle with the wiring of the rogue drone. The damn thing almost made it to the nearest city forty miles away. I zap it with enough electricity to get it back online. The machine whirs to life and rises, hovering in the air to await instructions from Raven.
“What took it out?” I ask him through the implant.
“ Lightning bolt, ” he says and I chuckle, glancing at the retreating storm clouds over the city in the distance.
“I swear it wasn’t me.”
The machine shoots above the tree line and disappears.
“Why was it so far out?” I ask.
“It was tracking a small plane headed towards the local airport in the valley.”
“I guess it was just doing its job then.”
“All systems are back online. Thanks for looking into it.”
I glance towards the city one more time. A small airplane, the size of a dime from my vantage point, sits parked just outside of a hangar. My powers reach towards it, like it’s some kind of threat.
“Did it catch anything suspicious?”
“I’ll review the tape, but it never set off an alarm and traveled outside of radar detection limits. Return to the bunker. Stay inside with Fiona for a few more days just in case it wasn’t a fluke, ” Raven says.
I smile. “If I must.” At the mention of her name, my powers recede and dissipate into the ground.
I take the long way, zigzagging and doubling back a few times until Raven confirms I’m not being followed. I slide down the ladder and land with a thud, frowning when the lights don’t turn on.
“Flowers?”
My lightning fills my palms as the screen on the wall bursts to life and muted video from one of Celine Dion’s concerts a few decades ago fills the screen. Fiona appears and points to the couch.
“Drop your lightning and have a seat.”
I do as she commands, tripping over my feet in my haste to get to the couch. If she’s about to do what I think, I don’t want to miss a second.
The dramatic music starts up and my all-time favorite Celine song, That’s the Way it Is , plays from the speakers.
Fiona lip syncs along into her hairbrush, swaying side to side and pointing at me at just the right parts. She’s shy at first, but when I snap along and dance in my seat, she forges on with gusto, and it hits me.
I want the gross PDA and sickening pet names. I want a house in the suburbs with three to six dogs and maybe a sassy cat or two. If she’s game for a couple of kids, I want them to go bananas with excitement when I tell them Uncle Paul or Uncle Charlie are coming to visit. I want weekly dinners with John and Sylvie and their brood. I want Fiona lip syncing Celine Dion to me every fucking night for the rest of my life. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, what I have to do, or what shit storm tries to pull us apart. I’m going to have a future with her.
I let her get through the refrain before I jump in, harmonizing with Celine as I sing to Fiona. She smiles and I grab her hand, pulling her into a dance as she grins up at me.
I twirl her a few times, loving the way she feels in my hands, and finish the song with a dramatic dip. She giggles as I kiss her and I smile into her pretty eyes. “I love you so much.”
Her eyes water. “I love you, too.”
“How the hell did you figure out my secret obsession with Celine?”
She giggles as I straighten and set her on her feet. “Nova.”
I glare at the tiny camera in the corner of the room. “Nova, have you ever heard the term ‘snitches get stitches?’”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to find the AI equivalent.”
“Did Ms. Edgewater’s performance make you fall more in love with her?” Nova asks.
I chuckle. “Yes.”
“Then do your worst, agent Firebolt.”
Fiona and I devolve into laughter, and the screen repeats a scene where Celine laughs.
Fiona grins. “Now you have to tell me where the obsession started.”
My smile slips a fraction, but I guide her to the sofa. “My Nana on my mom’s side was French-Canadian and babysat me until I was school age. She swore Celine was the only thing that would stop my fussing. I guess I never let it go.”
“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I kiss her forehead. “If you ever tell any of the guys, I’ll never forgive you.”
She crosses her heart. “I’ll never tell a soul.”
Nova plays I Surrender, and I chuckle. “I think she’s trying to tell us something.”
“We should take this to the bedroom.”
“Say less.” She giggles as I scoop her up and dump her on the bed.
I shed my clothes in 3 microseconds, and she laughs as I pull her on top of me. “Sing this one.”
“I don’t know the words.”
I pout, but she yanks off her shirt and bra and I forget my name. “Fuck,” I mutter.
She kisses me, and I hold her close.
“I need to tell you something,” she says.
I pause. “What?”
“This has been the happiest week of my entire life. Thank you for giving me that.”
I tuck a strand of her fading purple hair behind her ear.
“Same,” I say and she grins.
Celine’s sweet voice blasts from the living room and we both giggle before I grab onto both of our energies and use them to send us into blissful oblivion over the next few hours.