---

 
Author's Note: The end grows near. Both for this story and the year. Happy Holidays to all and may your loved ones be near. ~Matt
 
(Yeah I rhymed near and near. Sue me. :) )

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CHAPTER 13

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We drove back to Stauffer’s and true to his word Agent Garret bought us each a tall cup of whatever we wanted.   I had cocoa, Rainy and Willy each had some kind of foamy coffee thing, Agent Emerson had a bottle of water and Agent Garret a black coffee. He seemed strangely pleased when they handed it to him; as if he had expected to have to explain the concept of ‘black coffee’.

After we warmed up a bit, Agent Garret got down to business, “We’ll start simple.   Why were you kids in the woods today.”

I tried to come up with a plausible explanation but the truth is that I’m not very good at lying, “Uh...” was all I could seem to manage.

“Double A wanted to try a Cross Country course to see if he was interested in joining the team,” Willy said smoothly.

Rainbow nodded, “So we decided to come out and run him around the course to see what he thought.   Isn’t that right AJ?”

“Uh... sure?” I replied.   They must have been working on this for quite a while.   Hmmm...maybe I should have been doing that.

“Sorry if AJ seems a little out of it Agent Garret,” she smiled and then stage whispered behind her hand, “He’s pretty but he’s a little dumb.”

“Hey!” I objected.

“Hush sweetie,” she patted my knee reassuringly under the table and then trailed her fingers up nearly the full length of my inner thigh.

Sure enough, it shut me up immediately.

“Sure,” Agent Emerson smiled obligingly, “That makes sense: You two,” he indicated Rainy and Willy, “who are admitted friends of the missing girl, just happened to take him,” he nodded at me, “who claimed to have seen said missing girl earlier this week, to the very course where said girl disappeared.   Huh.   What are the odds.   Guess it must all be a big coincidence.”

Now it was Willy and Rainbow’s turn to come up short, “uh...” they said in unison.

“We were hoping to find something that could help her somehow,” I said quietly.   “There’s been a lot of weird stuff happening since she disappeared and... um ...”

“Adults don’t take you seriously?” Agent Garret asked as he sipped his coffee.

“I’m not totally sure I take me seriously,” I admitted, “Like I said, I was sick.”

“What do you think is going on?” Agent Garret asked calmly.   

He was good.   I knew I was hanging myself but I just kept talking.   “She might be a ghost?” I almost whispered.

“What else?” Garret asked almost as if he believed me.   Even Agent Emerson didn’t seem inclined mock the idea.

It was weird but suddenly Maria being a ghost was a little scarier.

Willy tried to explain but got tongue tied and ended up clamming up instead.   I was trying to figure out the best way to explain without coming across any crazier than was necessary when Rainy cannonballed the conversation, “Maria’s ghost is horny and mad and she’s been trying to fuck us.”

Willy and I gawked at her, it was basically true but there had to be a better way to say it.   Emerson spit water halfway across the room and barely managed to choke out a coughing, “What?”

Agent Garret just looked her in the eyes and sipped his coffee as if she had told them the sky was blue.   Either he really wasn’t surprised or he had a poker face of epic proportions.   “Care to repeat that?” he said levelly.

Willy sighed, “Something happened to Maria,” The Agents nodded. “We’ve been seeing her all over the place,” Willy was turning green.   “She... I ... she grew a ...” he gestured in vaguely lewd manner at his crotch, “we’re not crazy!”

I had to give the agents credit.   They were really trying to pretend to take what we were saying seriously.

I would have probably broken down into mocking laughter already.

“Grew a what?” Emerson asked.   I thought Willy’s pantomime was quite effective but I guess I had context.

Willy couldn’t bring himself to actually use the word.   It had to play on his mind to like a girl and have her end up better hung than I am..

Better hung than Willy is.

Well I presume she’s better hung than Willy.   I guess I don’t really know but she was pretty big and...

Okay.   No more thinking about penis.

“Her ghost has a dick,” Rainy repeated Willy’s gesture, “Dick.   Get it?”

“Right,” Agent Emerson said such that it was clear he thought we were high or something. “Is that really what you were trying to say kid?”

Willy blushed, “Actually that was pretty muAHHAYEOU!” he shouted leaping out of his chair and swatting at his crotch like it was on fire.   After a second hopping around, he pulled out his phone which was vibrating like crazy.   “Sorry, it was buzzing my nuts.” he said distractedly. “Hold on.   It’s my mom,” turning his back to us. “Hey mom, what’s up?   No, I...   We were out in the country...   No I... Yes...   Yes, I’ll tell him... I’m kind of in the middle of... Oh come on!   Fine.   Yes I’ll tell him.   Bye... I know...I know...”   very quietly he finished, “love you too.”   Willy turned back to us with an embarrassed grin on his face.   “Uh, we have to go.” he indicated me with his eyes.

That didn’t sound good.   “What?   Why?” I asked.

“I’m in trouble for not answering my phone because you didn’t answer your phone,” he replied in an irritated tone.

“Oh yeah,” I said under my breath, “my phone.   So what happened?”

“You were here for the call man.   Did it sound like I got a lot of details?” he picked up his cup and chugged the remainder.   “Your mom called my mom because you didn’t answer your phone and now I’m going to catch hell for it.”

“Sorry man, I didn’t think she would get twisted just because I didn’t check in,” maybe mom wasn’t as happy about me having friends as I thought.

Willy’s phone rang again, “Yeah mom?” he answered quickly.   His face changed from annoyed to concerned in a matter of moments, “Is she alright?   Yeah,   I’ll tell him.   Love you, mom.” he hung up the phone with a blank look on his face.

“Who got hurt Willy?” Rainbow asked quickly.   As soon as she said it I recognised the look on his face as well.

“That was my mom.” he said distractedly.

“Yeah...” my stomach was twisting in knots.

“She said that you wouldn’t be able to get a hold of your parents for a while because they had to turn off their phones.”

Agent Emerson and Garret exchanged a look and began gathering their things to leave.   “Why?” I prodded.

“You mom called and told my mom that you should just come straight to the Omaha Medical Center,” he looked sick, “Something happened to Josie.”

I came out of my chair, “What!?   What happened to my little sister?”

“I don’t know man!   Seriously dude!” he struggled against my grasp, “Dude that hurts!”

Rainbow gently pushed my arms away from Willy’s shoulders, “It’ll be okay AJ,” she said quietly.   To the agents she said, “Are we done?”

“Done enough for now,” Agent Garret agreed.   “If you think of anything, let us know.”

“I have to go,” I said in a daze, pulling out my keys.

“Maybe I should drive?” Rainbow offered.

“Dad says I’m not supposed to let anyone else drive,” I answered as I lurched toward the door.

Agent Emerson seemed to pick up on the danger as well, “She might have a poi...”

Rainbow waved him off and then got in my way.   Wrapping her arms about my waist, “You can’t drive right now AJ.”

I could have bowled her over without any real effort but I didn’t. “Let me go Bow.”

“Not until you stop being crazy,” she responded hugging me tighter. “You killing yourself won’t help your sister.”

Her face rested gently against my chest and in spite of every overly protective brotherly instinct I had, I found myself listening to her.   I took a deep breath and inhaled the slightly musky smell I was coming to associate as being Rainbow.   The tunnel vision started to fade.

After a minute or so I was more or less back.   I stroked her hair gently, “You can let me go Bow.”

“Do I have to?” she said playfully, looking up into my eyes.

“Yeah.   Come on.   I have to get to the hospital,” I turned to Willy who was still rubbing his shoulders, “Sorry man.   You can take Bow home right?”

“Yeah sure,” Willy grouched distractedly. “So that’s how you crushed your phone,” he mumbled.

“I want to go with you,” Rainy said, still not releasing the hug, “Can’t you give me a ride AJ?”

“Heh... uh... sure...” I stammered.

“Romeo,” Agent Emerson called from the door, apparently meaning me. “You drive a red, white and rust Ford pick-up?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Well then I don’t think you’re going to be driving anywhere for a while,” he said ominously.

Willy, Bow and I hurried to the door to see what he was talking about.   “Oh, no fucking way,” I said under my breath.   “No fucking way!” I shouted as I ran over to my poor, poor truck.

My truck is a P.O.S.   I know that.   It’s rusty, it’s been in a few accidents, the gas mileage is bad and the tires are nearly bald.   Sometimes I may hate it but it is mine, dammit!

“Someone is freaking dead!” I growled.   The tires were all flat, the sidewalls had been slashed brutally.   ‘Bitch’ and ‘Fucker’ were repeatedly scratched into the remaining patches of good paint.   “Did anyone see who did this?” I shouted to the world at large.   My truck was parked near the edge of the lot so I wouldn’t be in the way but it was still a busy parking lot.   Someone had to have seen it happen!

Agent Garret was talking on his phone and Agent Emerson approached me carefully, “AJ?” I must have looked insane.   “Agent Garret is taking care of your truck.   How about I get you to the Hospital.”

“Yeah, that’s... yeah.. thanks,” I said calming down a bit.

“Can I come too?” Rainbow said stepping in and taking my hand.   When she did I felt the anger flow right out of me.

“Fine with me,” Emerson shrugged.

The three of us piled into his car and I tried not to look back.

---

~oOo~

---

The ride over gave me a little time to cool off.   I was used to things going as expected and nothing seemed to be going that way this week.   Rainy and I held hands all the way there and I have to admit that by the time we arrived I was almost feeling back in control of myself.   I thanked Agent Emerson for the ride and then watched as he pulled away.

“They think we did something to Maria,” Rainy said with a hint of anger. “I guess that’s what we get for trying to help.”

I tugged her hand and we started toward the hospital with purpose, I was trying to think about anything except what might have happened to Jojo, “Why do you think that?”

She shrugged, “They just do.   They probably think we hid her in the woods after killing her and that we were going back to better dispose of the body.”

“Maybe,” I admitted, “Willy and I heard them talking about a pattern of disappearing kids.   From what they said I doubt we’ll really fit their profile.”

“When did you hear this?” she asked in confusion.   I got the distinct impression that she didn’t like not being in the know.

“Just before you started screaming like a banshee and I had to run you down,” I smiled and squeezed her hand, “What made you scream like that anyway?”

She shuddered.   It was barely perceptible but I felt it regardless, when she spoke it was with her usual, cavalier attitude, “Maria showed up and tried to fuck me again.   She had me pinned down and...” she started to shake.   I stepped in to hold her but she pushed me away, “No!   I will not be pitied or taken care of!” she squinted her eyes hard and took a few deep breaths.   When she opened her eyes, they were clear, “I freaked out and managed to get away before she could really do anything.   Then you caught me and...” she smiled.

I let go of her hand and turned her to face me, “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” she seemed honestly surprised.

“Act like it doesn’t bother you.   When she touched me I completely flipped my shit!” I ran a hand along the side of her oval shaped face tenderly.

She shuddered and hugged me tightly.   I smelled her hair and kissed the top of her head, “You don’t know her,” she said very quietly, “Maria and I are best friends.   Even after I moved we stayed close,” She looked me in the eyes, “Maria would never hurt me on purpose.   She’s just confused.”

“She’s hurting people Rainy, and the way she’s doing it is so wrong!   I mean... why does she have a ... it’s just... I mean a penis?   What the hell?”

Rainy buried her face in my chest and laughed bitterly, “When we were younger Maria and I played truth or dare at a party.   I don’t remember what the question was but she said she always kind of wanted a dick.   We all laughed and made fun of her for it and she played it off like she was just fooling around but when I asked her about it later she said it was true,” Rainy laughed again but it quickly turned into sobs. After about a minute she regained control, “but we aren’t here for me,” she said steeling herself.

I loved her.   I had only known her a couple of hours but I absolutely loved everything about her.

“And who would this be?” At the sound of my mom’s voice I felt any hope of sneaking in shrivel to nothingness.

“Mom!” I gasped happily without releasing Bow from our embrace, “Is Jojo alright?”

My mom’s face was a study in contradictions.   It was obvious that she was mad at me but at the same time she had this goofy happy look as well. It took my brain a second to process it but if mom was in any way concerned about Rainbow then things couldn’t be too bad.

“Josie is going to be fine,” she reassured me, “who is your friend?”

“What’s your last name!” she hissed into my chest.

“Cross,” I whispered back just a softly.

Rainy wiped her eyes against my chest, pulled on her glasses and turned around with a big smile on her face. “Hello Mrs. Cross my ... name ... is... holy cow you have big boobs,”   she looked between mom and I for a moment, “You’re his mom?   Did you have him when you were ten or something!?”

I slapped my forehead in frustration.   Apparently Rainy didn’t have a filter between her mouth and her brain.   Awesome.   Good to know.

“Oh my god, I love your shoes!,” Rainy gushed “My mom won’t let me wear heels even though I think they make my butt look way hotter,” she turned to show my mom her butt, pushing up onto her toes.

Mom smirked, “Well that explains some things.”

I needed to stop Rainy from talking but the idea that it might be possible for her butt to actually look hotter rendered me completely incapable of focused thought in any other area.   

Rainy dropped flat foot with a thoughtful look on her face.   She slowly turned and looked at my mom again, “Mrs. Cross?   Did you teach square dancing at Osborne Elementary?   Like once a year or something?”

Mom smiled, “Yes.   It’s been a few years since they...” now it was mom’s turn to look at Rainy anew, “Rainbow?”

Rainy bounced up and down, “You remember me!” she hopped over and crushed my mom in a hug.   “I loved your classes so much!” she gushed, “I was so sad when you didn’t do them for Junior High.”

Mom hugged her back, “It’s good to see you again too, Rainbow.”   Over Rainy’s head she mouthed, “I like her!” and gave me a thumbs up.   She then carefully extracted herself from the embrace.

I hate to admit it but her approval was a huge weight off my shoulders.

Once she was no longer being mugged by Rainbow, mom became serious once more, “It’s very nice to see you again Rainbow but this is sort of a family time.   Why don’t you just head on home?”

“I kinda don’t have a car here,” she said sheepishly, “I was sorta counting on AJ to give me a ride,”   Mom quirked an eyebrow at the possible innuendo.   “Haha, I just meant.   Ah...” she was so red she looked like Memorial Stadium on game day.

Mom put her hand on Rainy’s shoulder, “I know what you meant.   It’s okay, Rainbow.   We’ll get you home soon.   Why don’t you go inside.   AJ and I will be in momentarily,”   Rainbow nodded and then looked to me to make sure it was okay for her to leave.   When I nodded yes she scooted off inside with both mom and I watching her go in silence.

When mom turned back to me I expected to be instantly consumed by wrath and hellfire but instead she hugged me.   She was almost bouncing in place.

“Oh AJ!   She’s adorable!   I’m so glad you finally found a nice girl your age that actually interests you!   How long have you been dating?   Have you met her parents yet?   Why didn’t you tell us about her?”   mom bubbled.

“Uh,” I wasn’t sure which question to answer, “We me this afternoon?” seemed to cover most of it.

Mom nodded appreciatively, “I should have known you’d be a fast mover once you found something you liked.   And why not,” she added with a glance back the way Rainbow had gone, ”My god, that girl should model boy shorts.”

“Mom!   What the hell!” I gasped in shock.

“Callipygian,” mom considered airily, “I think that’s the term.   So firm and apple shaped...”

“Oh my god!   Please stop!” I begged, “Punish me!   Ground me for life!   Just please stop talking about my girlfriends butt!”

“It seems like such an effective torture though,” she grinned evilly. “but you’re right.   Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I accidentally sort of broke it,” I admitted, “What happened to Jojo?”

“What were you doing that would break your phone?” she glanced over her shoulder to where Bow was watching us from a window while pretending to read a magazine. “AJ!” she said in tone building toward ultimate disapproval.

“No!   We didn’t!   No!   I met her and she was running her mouth and I got mad and sort of crushed it.   That’s it!   Honest.   Willy was there!   You can ask him.   I wouldn’t do it with him there!” the look on mom’s face was still displeased, “or... you know... at all,” I finished weakly. “What happened to Jojo?” I repeated.

“Just be sure you use a condom,” she said bluntly.

“Mom!   Please!   Jojo!”   I begged her.

Mom rolled her eyes, “Your little sister had the brilliant idea to try playing DDR while doing a hand stand.”

I nodded.   It was weird knowing something before her, “Yeah, I saw her doing that a couple days ago.”

Mom was incredulous, “Why didn’t you tell her not too?   The basement floor is basically just concrete!”

I shrugged, “‘Cause she was doing fine.   What happened?”

Mom shook her head in disgust, “She slipped and face planted.   They don’t know if her nose is broken or just cracked yet,” she checked her watch, “They should know anytime now though.   Her eyes are both black and there was a lot of blood,” she shuddered at the thought, “But I think she was more scared than hurt.”

“So she’s really okay?” I confirmed.

Mom nodded, “Yes sweetie but she kept asking for you and when you didn’t answer I’m afraid I may have gotten a bit hysterical,”   she hugged me tight, “This has been a truly god awful week.”

I hugged her back, “You’ll get no arguments from me.”

Looking toward the entrance I saw Rainbow still waiting for me.   She smiled shyly and waved.

The week had it’s good points too though.

---

~oOo~

---

I stopped off in the gift shop and bought a teddy bear dressed as Supergirl for Jojo.

When Rainbow saw what I was buying she asked, “What did you’re sister do?”

“Broke her nose,” I said while waiting for them to wrap the bear.

Rainy winced, “Ouch!   Hold on!” she said to the gal behind the counter.   Quick as she could she zipped over to one of the nurses that was passing by and not long after that returned with a large band aid that she carefully placed on the Teddy Bear’s nose. “Now it’s ready,” she smiled.

My girlfriend, was awesome.

After wandering around for a while we finally found where they were keeping Jojo.   She had a bed but it was covered in paper rather than actual sheets so they obviously didn’t think she would be there very long.

“Hey Jojo,” I said softly as I entered the room.   I finally got a look at her and it wasn’t a pretty picture.   She had a rug burn on her forehead, her eyes were both black and a huge white bandage tented out over her face.   She kind of reminded me of a duck. If it hadn’t been my little sister it might have even been funny.   

When Josie saw me a look of happiness flashed across her face before she remembered that she was mad and turned her face away. “I’m not talking to you,” she said sullenly but I could see her eyes darting between the package I was holding and Rainbow, who was waiting by the door.

Dad gestured that he would be back in a second and left the room after exchanging a couple words with Rainy that I didn’t catch.   “Not even if I have something for you?” I grinned, holding out the gift.

Josie raised her nose higher in the air and flinched, “I’m not six any more, Aaron.   I can not be bought off with cheap gift shop teddy bears.”

Rainbow chuckled behind me and I tried to just gut through it, “Really? I guess I’ll just take it back then.   Too bad.   It’s really cute,”   I stood up as if to leave but left the present within easy grabbing distance.

“Give me that!” she said taking the present from me and tearing it open.   When she saw the Supergirl Bear she squealed in delight, though it sounded more like a noise you would expect from a moose, and hugged it tightly.   “I love it!”   she rubbed it carefully against her cheek, “so soft.”

“So am I forgiven for what ever it was that you were angry at me for?”

“Huh?” she looked at me in confusion, “What do you mean?”

I had to smile.   When Jojo gets over something she’s just done with it.   “What happened, Jojo?” I asked as I carefully brushed a stray lock out of her face, “You’re too good an acrobat to face plant like this.”

“Who’s your friend?” she asked suspiciously, squinting at Bow.

I blew out a breath, “Jojo this is Rainbow, she’s uh... she’s kind of my girlfriend.”

“Do you trust her?” she said quietly, still giving Bow the stink eye.

“She’s my girlfriend,”

“Yes, but do you trust her?” she repeated in a very serious way that was sort of undercut by the odd nasal quality her voice had because of the injury.

“What’s going on Josie?” I asked quietly.

She waved for me to lean in closer so she could whisper.   “I think that missing girl was in our basement.”

My heart stopped, “What?”

Jojo nodded earnestly, “I was playing Dan Dan Revu... Revul ” She just couldn’t form the words, “DDR and I saw her standing in the doorway watching me with this weird hungry look,” she whispered right in my ear, “and she had a big stiffy too!” Returning to more normal volume she continued, “When I saw that I kinda lost focus and mashed my nose,” She poked her nose experimentally and flinched, “They gave me something for the pain and now I feel all floaty,” she added with a yawn,   “they said it might make me sleepy but I feel... fine...” I managed to catch her before she hit her nose and rested her back into the bed.

I tucked the bear into her arms and she hugged it tightly mumbling something I couldn’t understand.   Once I was sure she was asleep I gestured to Rainbow that we should talk outside. “Why the hell is she messing with my sister!?” I said in a harsh whisper.

Rainy was stricken, “I don’t know!” she hissed back.   “Why are you guys seeing her at all?   Everyone else was at the meet when she disappeared.”

“Since when are there so many people seeing her?” I finally got around to asking.   “When Willy and I talked a few days ago he made it sound like it was just the two of us.”

“I think everyone kept quiet because they didn’t want to sound crazy like Marco,”

“What now?” I prodded.

“They had to put Marco in an institution,” she said quietly, hugging me, “whatever happened to him, it broke his mind.”

“Considering what probably happened I can’t say I’m shocked.   Damn. I wish I knew more about the boy they found in the woods,” I mused.   “I have a feeling he’s somehow connected to Maria.”

“What boy?” Rainy asked.

“The police found a naked dead boy about...”

“I’m fine JP,” Mom said from down the hallway.   She was carrying her shoes and her clothes were rumpled and out of place.   Dad was trying to help but it was pretty obvious he would have rather simply been carrying her.

“It’s not fine, Jackie,” dad countered, “you need to talk to a doctor.”

Without thinking I linked Bow’s hand with mine, “What happened?” I asked with concern.

“Nothing,” mom assured me.   “I lost my balance when the elevator stuttered and hit my head.”

“You said someone pushed you down,” dad reminded her.

“There wasn’t anyone else in the elevator JP.   I just got tippy on my heels,” she smiled and patted him on the arm playfully, “Unless you think it was a ghost.”

I have repeatedly seen my mom run in five inch heels on grass.   She doesn’t get ‘tippy’.   “Maybe we could check the security footage to make sure?” I asked timidly.

“Security is in the basement,” dad replied quickly.   “Here’s what’s going to happen Jacqueline,” dad boomed softly, “I am going to help you into the room with Josie.   You are going to wait there happily and calmly while I grab a doctor.”

“You could just snag one of the staff and let them do it,” Rainy said brazenly, “If she has a concussion you probably don’t want to leave her alone,” without further preamble she hared off down the hall on a mission.

Mom and dad stared after her and then started to execute on her plan. “I told you she was adorable,” mom said to dad.

Dad grunted appreciatively, “She kind of reminds me of someone,” dad mused, “Willful.   Bull headed.   Built to stop traff...”

“Oh stop!” mom said hitting him lightly.

“What should I do?” I asked.   I felt very strange for some reason.

“Why don’t you go see what the cameras got.   Take the elevator down to B3,” he scooped mom up in his arms like she weighed nothing eliciting a giggle from her, “B3.   B4 is the morgue so I wouldn’t recommend mistaking the two.   When you get there ask for Amos; tell him who you are and what you need.   He’s a good guy.   He’ll help if he can.”

Dad carried mom into Josie’s room just as Rainy returned. “They’re going to send someone over as soon as they can.   So are we off to look at grainy black and white footage?”

“Probably,” I said without paying too much attention.   “We need an elevator.”

“This way,” she grabbed my hand and started dragging me along, “You’re family is going to be fine AJ.   Lets get this done so we can find out what happened with your truck.”

Mention of my truck snapped be back to reality like a bucket of water, “Ah man!   I had totally forgotten about that!” my head throbbed with a stress headache.   “Yeah, lets go see Amos.”

---

~oOo~

---

Basement three was secured and it took Rainy and I a while to get them to let us in.   Luckily, once I mentioned dad it seemed to grease things quite nicely.   A female member of security led us through a few over lit hallways to Video Room One.

Before I could open the door it seemed to swing open on it’s own.   A high backed office chair was sitting so that the first thing you saw was it’s back.   Strangely it wasn’t sitting on the plastic carpet protector which was in front of the main terminal.   “Mr. Cross,” a voice droned in an affected manner, “I’ve been expecting you,”   He turned in his chair I the first thing I noticed were the black sunglasses.   It seemed weird for such a dark room.

Rainy looked at him cock eyed, “Are you doing something from the Matrix?”

“Give me a break!” he smiled taking off the glasses and tossing them on the desk before replacing them with a pair of orange tinted glasses. “My Agent Smith is dead on.”

“It’s wasn’t bad,” she allowed, “might have been move effective if you were in the black suit instead of a ‘smurfs’ sweatshirt.”

“Don’t mock the shirt,” he warned “It gets really cold in here and I had to find something that other people wouldn’t ‘mistake’ for being theirs,”   he started scooting back over to the plastic pad.   “I have the suit for Halloween,” he added.   “What did you kids need?”

Something about Amos calling us kids seemed incongruous.   He had to be in his mid-twenties but he had a baby face that made him look at least ten years younger.   His hair was slicked back and had obviously been cut to resemble Agent Smith’s.   Otherwise the resemblance was pretty much non-existent.   Amos was heavy set, pale and looked short.   My head buzzed badly and it took me a moment to clear it.

“Are you okay AJ?” Rainy asked, giving me a hug.

“Just a stressful day,” I smiled at her and felt a little better. “Sorry Mr. Amos...” I began but he cut me off.

“Smith,” he interjected. While watching one of the monitors. “If I have to be Mr. anything it’s Smith.   Amos Smith,” he quirked a smile my way.   “Amos is fine though.   You wanted to see the footage of when you mom fell in the elevator right?”

Rainy and I both looked at him suspiciously.   “Are you a witch?” Rainy asked with slitted eyes.

He turned to face us with a malevolent look on his face, “You have named me witch green haired one!   You know too much and the only penalty is death!” he cried rising to his feet and pointing dramatically at us.   Neither Rainbow nor I made a sound.   I didn’t know what to think.   After holding the pose for a few seconds he plopped back into his chair, laughing.   “Witch,” he snickered, “kids...”

“What the fuck was that?” Rainy whispered under her breath.

“Sorry,” he was still laughing to himself, “I don’t get a lot of visitors down here,”   he picked up the handset for a phone. “Jake gave me a call.   You didn’t think they would just let random kids wander around down here did you?”

“Who’s Jake?” I asked.

Amos looked suddenly unsure of himself, “You’re dad?”

“You call my dad Jake?” I had never heard anyone call him that.

“Sure do.   You want to see the footage?”

I wrinkled my nose, “Of you calling my dad Jake?”

“Of your mom, dummy,” Rainbow said elbowing me in the ribs.   “That would be great Amos,” she answered for me.

“I’ve got it cued up for you,” he pushed back from the monitor so we could get a better look.   “I’ve watched it a few times already and it’s a little strange but it looks like she just loses her balance.”

I pushed play and watched the video in silence.   Mom was alone in the elevator.   She pulled out her compact to check her make-up and then a moment later started and spun around.   The elevator lurched slightly but it looked like mom was going to stay upright with out any problem.   Suddenly she tipped over backward and slammed into the corner of the elevator.   Her top popped open revealing her huge black bra.   She seemed to be pushing into the corner but something about her posture and reactions seemed wrong.   

My mom is very graceful.   She doesn’t lose her footing like that.

Her hands were pressed against the walls almost like she was being held there forcibly.   She seemed to be saying something or maybe moaning.   Disturbingly it was actually a little sexy.   This went on for a few seconds and as I watched I was almost certain I saw her breasts deform strangely.

It almost looked like a hand groping her roughly.

After what to me felt like a very long time she arched her back and slid to the floor spread legged.   She was very still for a few moments and then looked around in confusion.   The elevator door opened and dad entered to help her up.

Rainy whispered, “You said you saw Maria in your mirror the first time right?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“And your mom acted strange after looking in her compact,” she continued.

I was starting to see where she was headed, “You know. Now that you...” I stood up and turned to smile at Amos.   “Thanks Mr. Smith, it makes me feel better knowing my mom was just clumsy.”   

Amos looked at me askance but smiled none the less, “Any time kid, say hi to your parents for me.”

He was going to be watching that footage a lot.   I could just feel it.   Pervert!

“Will do!” I said as cheerfully as I could manage with all the roiling emotions I was feeling.   It probably sounded a little forced in retrospect. Rainy tugged at my hand and we headed toward the door.

“You two stay out of trouble,” he added with a grin.

---

~oOo~

---

After making our way out of the sub-basement Rainy and I found the cafeteria.

“We should have asked him to enhance the image of the reflection in the compact,” Rainy said as she took another bite from the surprisingly decent peach pie we were sharing.

“Could he do that?” I asked incredulously.

Rainbow snorted and tried to stifle her laughs, “No,” she rested her chin in her hand and gazed at me adoringly, “Such pretty eyes. Why are the pretty ones always so dumb.”

“I’m not dumb,” I said evenly.

“Oh come on AJ,” she smiled, “I was just playing.”

“Once is cute.   Twice is playing.   That’s the fourth or fifth time you’ve called me dumb just since I met you,” my eyes stung and I realized they were starting to water.

Dammit!

“Are you crying?” she asked looking at me across the table. “I didn’t think you would be that sensitive.”

“I’m not crying!” I said angrily as I wiped my eyes, “I’m mad!   I’m mad that a ghost...   a freaking ghost... is messing with my family!   I’m mad that the FBI thinks we did something wrong!   I’m mad that someone messed with my truck and I’m mad that you think I’m stupid!”

Rainy looked at me blank faced.   I had driven her away.   I wanted us to be together but I couldn’t let her treat me like that.   “You’re a little bit of a girl on the inside, aren’t you?” she smirked.

I was so overcome with rage I couldn’t even yell at her.

She stood up, moved around to my side of the table and sat down in my lap.   “I think that’s kind of hot,” she said quietly as she kissed me on the neck.

I was stiff in pretty much every way possible, “I won’t be distracted by this.   I’m not dumb!”

Bow sighed and moved back to her chair, “Are we breaking up already?” she asked sadly.

“I don’t want to,” I admitted. “At least not before we actually go on a date or something,” she laughed at my little joke.   “but I can’t date someone that thinks I’m stupid.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid AJ,” she touched my hand tenderly, “It’s just... boys.   Boys are stupid.”

“Not all boys are stupid,” I defended my sex.

“I know,” she she said reluctantly though it was clear she didn’t really believe it, “but so many are!   I have six older brothers.”

“Six?” Unbidden, my mind began calculating the beating they could dish out for touching their little sister.

“Yeah,” she took another bite of pie, “and they’re all knuckle dragging morons,” she said glumly “I mean if they knew you had kissed me they would probably beat you like a lumpy pillow.   Every guy I’ve dated has been the same way.   Boys try and be cool and some of them are fine for a while but in the end they always turn out to be stupid... boys,” she groaned. “Gawd,   when I say it all out loud I sound like a total bitch.”

“You’re a cute bitch though,” I joked.

“Tell you what,” she said, taking my hand, “You try not to all me a bitch and I’ll try not to call you stupid. Sorry I made you cry.”

“It happens,” I squeezed her hand. “you aren’t embarrassed by this?” I pointed to my eyes.

“Does it happen often?” she inquired.

I shrugged, “Only when I get really upset,” I averted my eyes, “I have to really care for it to get to me,”   I smiled at her sheepishly, “I can’t believe we only met a couple hours ago.   It feels like I’ve known you forever.”

“Such a girl,” she laughed.   “Come on, lets go see if your mom is doing better.”

She stood to leave but I pulled her back into her seat, “Hold on.   I was thinking,” she almost made a comment but managed to control herself, “The door to the room Josie was in is opposite the television.   If she was watching the screen she wouldn’t be able to see the door but that’s where she said she saw Maria.”

“Mirrors?” Rainbow asked.

I shrugged, “Not quite, but lots of reflective surfaces.”

“But other people have been seeing her without mirrors,” she pointed out. “What are you thinking babe?”

I shrugged, “Maybe the Mirror is a conduit that she can use to get to you?”

“So, bloody Maria?” she quipped.

“Maybe,” my brain was running so fast it was actually slowing me down, “or maybe the mirror thing is coincidental.   Either way, she’s definitely moving beyond targeting people that were at the meet.”

“Why your family though?” Bow took a sip of coffee.

“I have no idea, but you know what?   None of this is important.   Maria is targeting my family for some reason and we have to stop her,”   I pulled her to her feet.

“Any idea how we might do that?” she asked sardonically.

“Not really,” I admitted, “Let’s go see if Jojo is awake so I can really introduce you,”   I stopped dead, “I just realized, I never got your last name.”

After a moments hesitation she said “Bright,” with a look of fear; she looked almost like she expected me to hit her.

“Awesome, that will save a lot of potential embarrassment later,” I grinned.

She seemed surprised, “Rainbow Bright.   Like the doll,” she explained.

“Yeah?” I wasn’t sure what she was getting at.

A complicated series of emotions played across her face terminating with her grabbing me around the neck and kissing me so hard I though I might pop.   “I was wrong!” she kissed me again and again, “I was so wrong!   You aren’t dumb!   You’re wonderful!   You are the most wonderful boy ever!”

I didn’t have the faintest idea what I had done to deserve such affection but at the moment I didn’t really care.

---

CHAPTER 14

---

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity.   I went back to practicing and remembered just how much fun it could be.   I helped take care of Jojo a little and tried to ignore the incredibly loud sex my parents kept having.   Rainy and I spent as much time as we could get away with together.   We called and texted back and forth when we couldn’t be.

I had never felt so happy in all my life.

On Tuesday morning I got my poor abused truck back from the police and found out something interesting about Rainy’s knuckle dragging brothers. Firstly, they were gear heads and most of them worked in her family’s garage. Secondly, Bow apparently had them all wrapped around her little finger.   A tow truck from Bright Automotive showed up at the farm and dragged my truck to their garage.   I wanted to help but they got irritated because I don’t really know one end of a sander from the other.   I asked Rainy how she had gotten them to do it so quickly and she just smiled.   I guess girls have to have their secrets.

Sightings of Maria that week dropped off completely and I dearly hoped that maybe she had finally moved on.   

The idea that my mom’s boobs had somehow exercised an angry ghost kept running through my head but I just tired to ignore it.

Everyone was busy with Spirit week and the team was getting ready for Homecoming.   Peters wasn’t dressing for the game because of his behavior the week before and the rest of the team were blaming me for it.

Screw them.   I have more important things to worry about.

Willy talked to Maria’s older brother and determined that things had gone quiet at Maria’s school as well.   Willy was a little distant after what happened on Saturday.   We had been getting along pretty well but it seemed like he mostly just wanted to forget about it all.   In all fairness I was spending so much time with Bow I didn’t put much effort into trying to hang out with him either.

We were all vaguely trying to figure out what to do next but without a direct menace it was hard to keep the energy up.

After school on Thursday I grudgingly went to see Dr. Rogers again.   The cramps had become a fairly regular thing but they weren’t bad enough for me to risk complaining about them.

“How are you feeling today AJ?” Dr. Rogers asked with a smile.

“Fine,” I replied nervously.

“Good.   Good!” he looked over a few notes, “First, I’m disqualifying you from the Wytex trial.”

“What?   Why?” despite my reaction I knew this was actually good news.   When my brain managed to catch up to my mouth I added, “Yeah, okay.”

“Easy enough then,” he smiled, “Second, I need to get another blood sample.”

I winced at the idea, “I have Homecoming on Friday.   I’d rather not be down any fluids if I can help it.”

“Understandable but I’d still really like another draw,” he said firmly.

“Is there something wrong with the other blood I gave you?   Are you a vampire?” Apparently some of Bow’s verbal proclivities were rubbing off on me.

“AJ...” mom warned.

“It’s not a big deal Jackie,” he laughed, “We get far stranger things than that leading up to Halloween.   In answer to your non-fatuous question AJ: There were a few anomalies in your blood work and we need to get a new sample to rule out contamination.”

That didn’t sound good.   “What kind of anomalies?” I asked.

Dr. Roger’s was clearly torn by what to say, “I’d rather have the new sample tested before worrying you with details.”

I sighed, “At this point I figure you think I’m dying.”

“That isn’t what concerns me,” he assured me.   “The hormone profile in your last sample is very odd.”

“Odd how?” I pressed.

Dr. Rogers handed me a chart with the profile on it, “This spike is testosterone, which we would expect, though not at this high a concentration.   These,” he pointed at several other, much larger spikes, “are female sex hormones.   The big one here is estrogen.   So unless you want to start growing breasts like your mother...”

“How much do you need Doc?”   I started rolling up my sleeve, “Just be sure you leave me enough to make it through the game.”

---

~oOo~

---

When we got back to the farm there was a shiny red pick-up with flared fenders sitting where I normally park.   “Friend of yours AJ?” mom asked, squinting at the vehicle.

“No one I know,” I admitted, “maybe one of dad’s friends?”

“That might be it,” she agreed, “the truck seems familiar.”

When we exited the garage I turned to go look at the truck while mom went to the house.   She was right.   It did seem familiar.   I wandered around it for a few minutes trying to figure out where I had seen it before.

“So what do you think?” Rainbow asked me.

“What are you doing here?” I smiled “Is this yours?” I know I shouldn’t have been jealous but I was.

She laughed and then skipped over to give me a hug, “No, dumm...” she bit her tongue, “Sorry, habit,” she knocked herself harshly on the head, “It’s yours AJ,” she tucked the keys into my hand.   I stared at her blankly.   At some point in the conversation she had started speaking in a language I didn’t understand. “So cute!” she pecked me on the lips.

“I can’t afford a new truck,” I tried to hand her back the keys.

“AJ,” she took my arm and gestured to the vehicle, “this is your truck.   It’s a little ghetto but I think my brothers did a pretty cherry job given how fast they had to work.”

I looked at the truck again and realized she was telling the truth.   The interior had been cleaned but it was the same worn out upholstery as always.   Otherwise it looked new.   “I can’t afford to pay for this Bow,” it hurt to admit it but maybe they could just take the truck to pay for what they had done.

She rolled her eyes, “Your dad already paid, AJ.   It’s yours.   Try and enjoy it will you?”

I stopped walking around the truck... around my truck... walked back to Rainbow, scooped her up in my arms and noticed my whole family watching me.   Mom gestured for me to go ahead and covered dad and Jojo’s eyes.   The moment was gone, so I just hugged her tight and whispered, “You are so awesome!” in her ear.

“Are you two done sucking face yet?” Jojo asked impatiently.

“For now,” Bow giggled and pecked me on the lips.

“So what do you think, son?” dad asked with obvious happiness.

I sat Bow down but didn’t let her go.   I was never going to let her go. “It’s awesome dad!   I will totally pay you back!” I assured him.

Dad shook his head, “Your money is no good here, boy.   Happy Thursday, AJ.”

“Wow.   Really?” I asked as I ran my hand across the paint.   I could feel some minor imperfections in the coat but it was slick and shiny and a far cry from the sun beaten paint from before.

“Aren’t you going to try starting it?” Josie asked.

I looked back at them standing there in a knot.   Mom was smiling with tears running down her face.   Dad actually looked a little misty.   I had the best family ever.   I carefully opened the door and noted that it no longer required any technique to get to open.   The seat felt the same and somewhat disappointingly, smelled the same but everything had been cleaned and polished.   “How?” I asked Rainy.

“I asked them too,” she grinned.   “Being the baby sister has it’s advantages, doesn’t it Josie?”

Jojo grinned broadly and then flinched, “Stupid nose,” she mumbled.

“So are you going to give me a ride or what?” she asked.   Mom and dad exchanged a glance but didn’t say anything.

“Can you stay for supper Rainbow?” mom asked breaking the tension between Rainy and I.

Bow checked her phone, “I have homework,” she admitted with a pained expression. “Next time?”

“Of course,” mom smiled.   “You take her home and then come right back AJ.   No, three hour make out sessions while you say good bye.”

“We aren’t that bad!” I said defensively.   Mom just quirked an eyebrow in argument.   “Well, we aren’t THAT bad,” I argued.

“I want to ride along,” Josie stated as she started for the passenger side of the cab.

Before she got two steps mom grabbed her arm, “No, Josephine,”

“Ah!   Weak!” she pouted.

“There will be plenty of time later on Josie,” dad added and she relented.

Rainy climbed in the cab with me and I turned the ignition.   The engine growled but it sounded good.   My truck didn’t suck.   I didn’t know what to make of that!

I drove Bow home on cloud nine.   I could not have been happier.   When we finally arrived we were very reasonable in our farewells.

It couldn’t have taken more than a half hour.

Driving back I realized that, in spite of all the badness that Maria had caused, if it wasn’t for her I probably never would have found my Rainbow.   “Thank you Maria,” I whispered.   “I hope you’re at rest.”