Page 39 of Half Blind

“Chick, I will make you a cup of tea and make you drink it at gunpoint,” Lemon told her, laughing.

“A chick has to catch me first,” Helen said with a wink attempting to do her sexy wiggle once more. “I'm good as hell with those knives. If you show me how to lace the blades with venom safely, I will go hunting tonight to find a Field of Flowers to shut down and cut up a lowlife scum sucker so that his flesh can rot from the neurotoxins. Which venoms did that Delgado kid bring?”

Lemon held up her hands, “Jesus, calm yourself, weirdo! And stop trying to dance, because you have zero rhythm. How can you not have rhythm?”

Helen took a moment to allow the space between them to settle. Words needed to be shared, and she had a few to add to the conversation. The journey was deeper than two women building a friendship.

“What I have learned about the Archangel and watching him work is that he's criminally methodical,” she told Lemon, leaving out her relationship to Cherry and her cousin being married to the Archangel's cousin. The Archangel had also sent paperwork and arrived to marry Cherry to Mr. Slow. He was methodical in a way that made Helen nervous. “The girl was sent to you while I was here and on the day Mr. Bane was leaving. She came from a Field of Flowers nearby that was shut down. All of this is a freaky circle. When you find out what Mr. Bane is running from, you will have your answers. The next question is, which arm of the military did he work for and how doesHEknow the Archangel?”

“I don't think I like you,” Lemon said. “I'm starting to love you and that twisted brain of yours, but please, don't let me catch you in my lab again extracting your human nectar. Also, you need to wipe down everything your naked ass touched and stop it. Adding that to a potion is witchcraft. Just stop it, but let me know if it works on your man. You know, for research purposes.”

“Roger that,” Helen said, breaking into a laugh. “That is going to be his go-to with you from here on out. Your life is about to get really interesting.”

****

DINNER WAS A SOMBERaffair. The girls were missing Mr. Jared, and thus far, Lemon hadn't told them about his expected return, in case things went ass left. Helen also needed a quiet moment to check in with her cousin Cherry, whom she called first, but wished she hadn't called at all. The conversation centered around the changes in her nipples and libido and her hunk of a husband. As usual, Helen held the phone and listened. The idea of moving to Indiana suddenly seemed far more appealing than being the crying shoulder for her cousin again.

The next call went to the man himself, indicating she had the weekend off. His only words were to send a text that said, “See you at home on Friday.” She loved the idea of walking into a new space they could decorate together. A warm, squishy feeling hit her middle. It was a bracing for the next call. Helen pressed 1 on the Technician phone and waited for the gruff voice of Azreal, her handler.

“State your need,” the voice said.

“No need, just checking in,” Helen said. “Lemon gave me the weekend off, and I'm heading into Plainville, Indiana to decompress. I should return to Lemon's on Sunday night.”

“I didn't give you the weekend off,” the voice said.

“Okay, so do you want me to work the area over the weekend and look for more warehouses?” Helen asked.

“No, you don’t need to be running around on the loose unsupervised. Take the weekend,” the voice said. “I also need to wire these bonuses to your account.”

Helen held the phone and asked, “What bonuses?”

“The three warehouses. The Powers that Be was impressed that it was done with no loss of life. You were awarded ten for each.”

“Ten what?”

“Thousand,” the voice said. “I'm wiring it to your account later today.”

“Shut up! That is so cool; wait, did Yield and Apple get a bonus too?” Helen wanted to know.

“No, the work was done by you. You did the closings. The bonuses are for you,” the voice said.

Helen held the phone. In her mind, Bad Apple sent her with an assist from Yield. The money would be a bonus and nothing she was expecting. Therefore, she felt it necessary to do what was next. “Boss Lady, I have a request.”

“State your need.”

Helen asked, “Please wire four of that to Yield, then a thousand each to Apple, and his contractor Ricky. Drop a thousand to Pear, and can you set up a small money market accounts for the boys at Apple's place at a thousand each as well?”

“I can,” the voice said.

“Thank you. I will leave here on Friday around noon and be back on Sunday at dinner. Anything I need to know about those caterpillar bitches?”

“You're funny. No,” the voice stated and ended the call.

“I'm growing on her,” Helen said.

---