Page 50 of Anything But Convenient

We laughed at the joke. We only recently found humor in everything that’s come to pass. They say time heals all wounds. I think it can also bring humor to a situation as well.

Not always, but in our case it has.

“Well, I should get back out there. I’m sure the guys want something too, huh?”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “You know it. I can wait until the line dies down though. You look packed.”

“No need to wait. I’ll work them in. Besides, it’s been like this for hours. It’s why I decided to stay. The only other coffee house that’s close had a fire last night. It made people have to head this way for their fix.”

“A fire? That’s odd.”

For some reason, the idea niggled at me. I couldn’t say why though. It was as if my brain knew, yet I didn’t have the conscious thoughts.

Sinclair led me back out to the main area, motioning for me to stand near the edge of the counter as he dove back in. He spoke up over the noise of the machines, explaining the situation.

“Yeah, man. It was really strange to hear about. The place had been closed and then ‘boom’ there was a fire. The owners are torn up about it. I saw them on the news talking about the freak accident. They think it might be arson.”

“Arson!? Who would want to set fire to a coffee shop?”

He smirked, shaking his head. “Some would say me. Business has never been better thanks to this. Not that I did anything. I was tucked beneath a heavy, dead-to-the-world Memphis last night.”

The visual he gave made me snort. “That sounds about right. Still, it’s weird.”

Our conversation died off after that. I fiddled with the drive in my pocket as I watched him whip up drink after drink. It only took him a few minutes to have a tray of coffees ready for me to take back to the office. He knew everyone’s orders by heart, and he even included a bag of snacks since Cohen would likely wonder why I hadn’t grabbed any.

“Thanks for this,” I told him.

He waved his hand. “Least I can do is keep those guys caffeinated. You’re the one stuck there alone with them while they’re in business mode. Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. Archie should be arriving in a bit. Besides, you have to take care of your shop.”

"That I do,” he declared as he twirled away to make another coffee for a waiting costumer.

I slipped through the door and headed back to the main office. It wasn’t a long walk, but I was much more careful on the way back given the precious cargo I had.

“Damari? Is that you?”

At hearing my name, I turned to see Archie headed my way. I smiled widely at his appearance. What good timing he had!

“Hey! You’re early.”

He shrugged on shoulder. “Takeshi wanted to give me time to rest at home, but I didn’t really feel right about not being at the office. I’ve already grown used to the place.”

“I know the feeling. The guys tend to hook you in without you even realizing. One day you’re a normal, unsuspecting citizen. The next you’re ready to hunt down the bad guys like some superhero.”

Archie laughed as he moved to walk beside me. The streets were a bit less crowded now, which gave us enough space to talk as we trekked it to the NightShade building.

“Superhero feels a bit too surreal a term. Vigilante, maybe? Or something similar. Either way, yeah, it’s like I can’t stand not being in the loop. I want to know as much as I can, without going too deep into the horror sides of it.”

I agreed with him completely. There was plenty to discuss without knowing all the horrific details of these men’s actions.

Memphis had to sort through so much of it as part of his job. I saw the toll it took on him. Taking on that burden was nowhere near my to-do list.

As we approached the building, Archie’s phone rang. “It’s Ronan,” he said slowly. “That’s strange.”

We paused outside the front doors as he answered the call. I guess we both figured if they needed something else, it would be best to head out instead of going in and out of the building multiple times. The front desk staff knew who we were so there was no hassle there. It was more the long elevator ride and thefact that we were both more than ready to curl up next to our men and listen to their theories of how to prevail against evil.

“Ronan? What’s wrong?”

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