It’s just Mateo and Alyssa now. Winona came back down to the surface of
Earth as well, but she has her own life with SD6, so she’s more of an
honorary member of the team. Mateo used his temporary teleporting powers to
jump them down to Kansas City, where the two true team members stayed in The
Bridgette. It was a little weird for them, but fine. They made it work. This
morning, Vearden called from space to ask them for a favor. He and Arcadia
were approved for the house in the suburbs that they want to buy. The only
thing pending that can’t be done over the phone is the home inspection. They
want someone there to observe the process in person, so that’s where they
are now.
“This is a beautiful vehicle ya got there,” the inspector says when they
meet in the driveway. He immediately seems salty and talkative, and he
clearly has an aversion to personal hygiene. Perhaps he’s a Suilien, like
those people in the hospital who were being purified by their rivals. Or
he’s given up on life, and he’s faking it through forced cheerfulness. Or
maybe he was just in a hurry this morning.
“Oh, yeah, it’s a company car,” Mateo explains. It’s not entirely a lie.
“Car is a bit of a weak word, don’t you think?” The inspector caresses the
outer hull with his grubby little hand. My car can’t fly.”
“Oh, if it did, you couldn’t ever drive anything else again,” Mateo muses,
trying to play the part of the friendly suburbanite. “It would get you to
your jobs faster.”
The inspector looks at his watch, and frowns. “I’m not late,” he insists.
Awkward. “No, I—I’m not saying that you were, I was just...”
“Ah, I got you! You’re too easy, my friend. What’s your name, brother?”
“Mateo. Mateo Gelen.” He was about to say his real last name, but then he
thought that it would be best not to go around declaring any possible
connection to the infamous Leona Matic. It’s still not yet safe.
Alyssa shakes the man’s hand next. “Alyssa...” she begins, and they can both
see her struggling to think of a fake name too. “...Gelen.”
Okay, that’s okay. Mateo can work with that. He smiles, reaches behind her
back to her opposite shoulder, and pulls her closer.
He smirks creepily. “See, I knew you and I had a lot in common. I like ‘em
young too. You ol’ dog.” Then he howls. The man actually howls out loud. In
front of people.
Mateo just clears his throat uncomfortably.
“Ha-ha, anyway, I’m Guthrie. Guthrie The Dog. Nah, they don’t call me that,
but I’m tryin’ it out. Wadya think?”
“I think it...suits you.”
He takes it as a compliment. “Anyway, I better get to work, shouldn’t I?
It’s like you said, I can’t fly to my other jobs.”
The rest of the day is just as inappropriate and uncomfortable. They’re
happy to help, but this guy is a lot to deal with. They would rather be in
charge of moving all of Arcadia and Vearden’s belongings, which they
probably will have to do later. That is, if it’s ever safe enough for them
to return to Earth. They have sure all been doing a lot of moving recently.
It’s good, though, it makes them feel kind of normal. Packing and carrying
boxes is the kind of thing that regular people do everyday without thinking
about bombs, tactical teams, and spaceships. They just worry about men like
Guthrie.
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