16 Arbitration
“There is a sasquatch in your kitchen with Serita,” Adam said.
“Honestly, wouldn’t it be a little strange to see a sasquatch anywhere,” Ophelia offered. They stood in the reception area of what was once the office of the Chief Medical Officer for the Asylum. Brody and Samantha could be heard arguing in what was now the office of the Director of the Perdition Falls Historical Society. Ophelia and Honi had spent a day not too long ago dusting and cleaning and making it hers even though the old wood and academic textiles left it feeling dated or maybe historic. Much like Frank’s office actually. She didn’t mind.
“He appears to be Big Tony Torelles,” Adam continued. He held her rifle in the crook of his arm, almost casually but he hadn’t offered it or mentioned it. He was going to make her ask for it.
“That is Big Tony, yes,” she said.
“Why is Big Tony a sasquatch?”
Ophelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them again. “It’s a bit of a story,” she said. “Are you really going to make me ask for it?”
“Yes,” he said. “I am.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. Was this worth it?
“May I please have my rifle back?”
He let the rifle fall to his front, finishing at port arms in a very precise and practiced manner. She reached for it but when she tried to pull away, he held it and met her eyes.
“Frank is off limits,” Adam said sternly.
Ophelia stepped in, moving her hands below his on the rifle. “Frank makes vampires.”
“I think he’s learned his lesson.”
“You really think you can set my boundaries?”
Adam didn’t budge. “I tried asking nicely.”
He had her there. She met his eyes though, and made him work for it. He didn’t flinch.
“Fine,” she said. “Frank is off limits.”
He released the weapon and she had to take a step back to balance herself.
“What about his goons,” she asked as she placed the rifle gingerly on the reception desk while she examined it. The stock was different. “What happened to my gun?”
“If they come for you or yours, end them. But they won’t. I had a talk with Frank.”
She looked up and smiled. “Did you ask nicely?”
He didn’t smile. “No,” he said. “I didn’t. As for your weapon, it took a hit. My people repaired it. They were very impressed with your setup, by the way.”
“Well, you should thank them for me if you would.”
He nodded as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
“Miss Goodfellow?” Kaley squeaked from the nearby waiting area where she sat with her brother. Ophelia looked over and saw the stars and heavens begin to orbit around Kaley’s head.
“Oh dear, sweetie,” Ophelia said, rushing over and kneeling down in front of her. “Your stars are showing. You have to concentrate.”
“It’s hard,” she said softly even as the constellations faded.
“It will get easier, I promise. You can come here anytime you like and practice, okay? The invitation is open to both of you.”
“That’s nice,” Kaley whispered.
“Who is that?” Harry asked, nodding towards Adam. He looked like an average teenage boy at the moment but his eyes swirled with the energy of the Green.
“Oh sorry,” Ophelia said, standing. “Adam, this is Kaley and Harry Carmichal. Their parents are in the other room.”
“A pleasure,” Adam said, politely. Harry gave a solemn nod.
“He’s very handsome,” Kaley said and her stars came out again. Harry blinked and two fuzzy nubs began protruding from the top of his forehead.
“Guys,” Ophelia said. “You have to focus.”
“We’re trying,” they intoned in unison.
“Well, try a little harder, okay?” Ophelia forced a smile and gave two thumbs up and then returned to Adam.
“Are they . . .” he began.
“Fey,” Ophelia finished. “Yes, they are fey. Their mother is an elf and their father is human. They’ve taken their place in the Menagerie which is basically the anthropomorphic personification of the spooky stuff of the world. Right now they are practicing their glamor so that they can appear human.”
“And their mother is an elf?”
“Right.”
“But you say that like an elf isn’t fey.”
“Well, they aren’t. Sort of not anyway. An elf would consider themselves above the fey. It’s weird.”
Adam was obviously fascinated and that made her curious. He had pretended when they met that he knew less than he actually did but he still didn’t know everything. The elves and the fey had his attention though.
The argument in her office edged up in volume and intensity. Brody and Samantha could not agree on visitation for holidays. Adam’s attention shifted from the kids to the office.
“That’s Brody and Samantha Carmichal,” Ophelia volunteered.
“Brody Carmichal,” Adam said, almost to himself. “Sergeant Major Brody Carmichal. Dropped out of the teams in the middle of a very distinguished career and disappeared.” Adam’s eyes shifted up to her with his piercing intensity. “And you know him.”
Ophelia shrugged and nodded at the same time. “He’s a friend.”
“Which explains why you move like a professional and can rig a rifle for distance shooting.”
Her shoulders slumped. He was three moves ahead and connecting dots that no one else could see, always. He must be a wonder on a chess board but he was a pain in her ass as far as keeping secrets.
So, maybe she should quit trying.
Adam watched and listened to Brody and Samantha for a moment before leaning into the room.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt but you are arguing over nothing.” He pointed to Samantha. “The solstice is normally around the twenty first.” He turned to Brody. “Christmas is always on the twenty fifth. If you want Christmas,” he pointed to Brody, ”and you want the solstice,” pointing at Samantha, “it’s completely possible and not worth arguing.”
Samantha and Brody looked at each other and then Adam before saying “Oh.” in unison.
Adam turned back to a smiling Ophelia.
“That,” Ophelia said, pointing into the office. “They need that.”
Adam’s eyes widened slightly. “They need what?”
“You, to help them come to terms over a divorce.”
He looked back into the office and back at her. “I don’t follow.”
So much for being three moves ahead.
“Brody and Sam want a divorce but Brody is human and Sam is an elf. Things are going to come up that wouldn’t come up in a normal divorce. They need someone to guide them towards an agreement that they can present to a judge for a no fault divorce.”
“I’m not a lawyer.”
“They don’t need a lawyer. They just need someone to work over their bullet points and then we can use the online forms for a basic divorce. There is not a whole lot of property and the kids are old enough to make some decisions.”
He pointed at himself with a bladed hand. “Still not a lawyer.”
“I don’t need a lawyer,” she said, eyes closed and frustration rising. “I need a very smart man to negotiate an agreement between a human who is capable of incredible violence and a supernatural entity that generates incredible levels of chaos.”
Adam’s hands went back into his pockets. He looked at the kids and then back into the room with that furrowed brow. “It does sound like a challenge,” he said eventually. She could tell his focus remained on Samantha who had moved on to arguing about birthdays. It wasn’t attraction or sympathy. If anything he appeared to be sizing up an adversary.
“Who can tell me about the elves?” he said suddenly.
“Well,” Ophelia started, “Honestly? Probably Serita.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”
“And why she can tell you things about the elves gets really wild. Like to the point that I don’t know what to do with the information. One minute, I’m all in and sort of get it and the next I don’t believe a drop of it.”
He looked at her and half smiled.
“Yes,” she said, spreading her arms out slightly. “I need therapy.”
Adam shrugged. “Don’t we all?”
“Why does it matter so much?”
He shook his head. “Maybe it shouldn’t,” he said. “But my father had an encounter with an elf who told him things a long time ago. It sent him and me down darker paths searching for a version of the truth. As rare as elves appear to be, it could have been her.”
Ophelia did not want to confirm that possibility in any way. She needed him to get Brody and Sam to an agreement and then they could untangle their connections.
“Look,” she said. “Does it have to be like this?”
“Like what?”
“Edgy,” she said. “Tense. We are closer to being on the same side than not. Yes, we have differences but does that mean I can’t ask a favor?”
“So this is a favor?”
“It can be,” she said, holding up her hands. “Or maybe another date. I still have Honi’s black dress. How about that?” She turned and dropped one hip like she was posing for a dating app.
He took a sudden half a step towards her. “Actually,” he said, his voice dropping to a silky timbre. “I was thinking something with thigh highs.”
Ophelia felt a blush rise instantly. She put her hands to her hips, then quickly dropped them awkwardly and finished by crossing her arms across her chest and a range of emotions boiled in her chest. “I . . . I just so happen,” she stammered. “To own a pair of thigh highs.”
Adam’s eyes smoldered with heat but he was already smiling. “I’m teasing.”
“I knew that,” she spat.
Dammit!
“If we go out again, I want it to be because you want to,” Adam said “No bets, no deals, no conditions.”
She nodded, awkwardly, nervously. “I’d like it that way as well.”
He returned her nod and looked back into the office where Brody and Samantha had gone silent, both scrolling on their phones. “But this will be a favor.”
“Agreed,” she said. “I’ll definitely owe you one.”
“But tell me this,” Adam said. “You have Mr. Leeds under control?”
“He listens to me and he is very protective.”
Adam nodded. “You understand that if Abigail discovers or even thinks that he is living under the Asylum, she will nuke Perdition Falls from orbit.”
“I’ve taken precautions.”
“I understand but that is not hyperbole. She will drop nukes from orbit. So I want more.”
“How much more?”
“I want evacuation protocols so that if I call, you have a way to get your people to safety before Abigail can implement any attack action.”
“We can do that,” Ophelia said.
“You will not have much time.”
“I get that, but you are aware that Abigail has some sort of connection to Serita?” She left her self out for the moment.
Adam began to pace, hands still in his pockets, eyes down. “She says she recognizes her energy but will not elaborate. Her official stance is to stand by and observe.”
“That sounds like an elf thing.”
“Abigail is not an elf,” Adam said with emphasis.
“Would she drop the nukes if Serita was here?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I don’t know.” He stopped in front of her and met her gaze. “There is a connection but I think Abigail is confused about what it could be.”
“Interesting.”
“Am I allowed to speak to Serita?”
Ophelia took a deep breath before answering. “She is her own person but I will tell you it’s a frustrating experience. One minute, she’s a street kid you want to protect and the next, she’s melting your brain with impossible knowledge.”
“Can we try together?” he said.
For some reason, she smiled. It was spontaneous and real and she didn’t understand why but it was there and she went with it.
“Yeah,” she said. “We can do that.”
He nodded and turned to the office door. She could see his mind shifting into a different gear, ready to delegate, arbitrate and negotiate. It was actually kind of hot.
Adam stepped towards the office.
“Adam?” Ophelia said. He paused and glanced back over his shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate this.”
He did not turn around. “I am of the opinion that friends shouldn’t have to say ‘thank you’,” he said and walked into the office.
Ophelia was smiling again, but this time she understood why.
However.
Her smile slowly faded.
Adam Trajan continued to have her at a disadvantage. Always three steps ahead. Farming secrets but relinquishing none. Maybe she was done with that.
Maybe she should work on leveling the playing field a bit. Nothing too drastic or dramatic. Just a bit of pushback to let him know she could play.
The smile slowly returned as she worked through a possibility in her mind. She knew what she could do. She knew how to rattle him just a bit. Not too much.
Ophelia was going to learn where Adam Trajan lived. And she was going to pay him a visit.
And she might even wear her thigh highs.
