Nathan's Clan of Deadheads Page 10

  “Well, let me think a minute. The smell of that bacon’s bitin’ a deep hole in my stomach. I believe it’d go right nice in an omelet, maybe with a healthy dose of cheddar.”

  “Got it. Marvin?”

  “Just a couple bagels. I want to save room for dinner tonight. And don’t forget my schmear.” Marvin nudged Nathan. “Tommy here puts together the best corned beef and pastrami this side of New York.”

  “Aww, dude…I owe you a hug for that. Mike?”

  Marvin let out a chuckle. “Keep your hug, just bring me the bagels.”

  “You know, I feel like pancakes today. No, make that French Toast.”

  Tommy ripped the ticket from the pad, jammed it into and spun the wheel above the counter, and smacked the bell twice. From there he poured four coffees, made his way back to the table, dealt out the cups, and sat down.

  Ten minutes later, Moe rang out three dings on the bell interrupting their idle chit-chat about the city, places Nathan should visit, and restaurants they thought he might like. Tina glanced around at the empty tables, delivered a curt, “Well, I hope you don’t think I’m going to bring it to you,” and went back to her task.

  Tommy retrieved the plates and placed them in the proper spots, which impressed Nathan. “Dang, you’re right handy moving around with your hands full.”

  “Lotta practice, dude.”

  Marvin picked up a bagel and slathered it with the cream cheese Tommy brought with the rest of the orders. “He used to work here.”

  “Do tell,” Nathan asked just before taking a forkful of his omelet. “Oh, my Lord, ya’ll.” His head tipped back and his eyes closed for a moment. “Talk about hog heaven. That fairly melts in your mouth, the blend of cheese to bacon is downright perfect.”

  “We’ll have to leave an extra tip for the cook.” Mike winked at Tommy.

  “If this don’t beat my Big Mama’s breakfast, I d―” Nathan’s brow furrowed, and his body straightened and froze. The voice he heard loud and clear, called him by name. His full name, which nobody had ever used, except maybe his mama did like the time he and a couple buddies had gotten into his father’s still. The voice sounded a bit familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

  The cup moving toward Mike’s mouth halted, and Tommy sat with a slice of toast between his lips, both wore wary expressions.

  Voices came to Nathan muffled, as if through a dense fog. Marvin asked, “What?”

  Tommy pointed at Nathan. “I’ve seen that before.”

  “Oh, holy mother of Mary.” Marvin jumped from the booth and moved out of Nathan’s vision. “Is it Jason or Nancy?”

  “Haven’t seen them in a long while. I’d bet neither.” Mike put his cup down. “It’s Jenna.”

  Nathan laid his fork on his plate, lifted the napkin from his lap, folded it, and placed it on the table. He didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he couldn’t do anything but follow instructions telling him—no, commanding him—to go to the park where he’d left his truck. He stood without a word to the others and walked out vaguely aware of the conversation of the guys trailing behind.

  “Come on, let’s see what’s going on,” Mike said.

  “You really think it’s Jenna making him do this?” Marvin let out a sigh. “The woman needs to learn how to delegate.”

  “It makes sense, doesn’t it, Marvin?” Tommy grabbed up their dishes and dumped them into the bus tub. “I mean she left last night right after he told her about what he’d witnessed. I’ll bet she wants more information.”

  The closer to the park and Jenna, the more muffled their conversation sounded in his ears. Nathan prayed that nothing more than Tommy’s words would be true.

  Chapter 21

  On the trek over the bridge and down into the park, Nathan moved like a robot, manipulated by an unseen, unknown source. He dodged a few live folks, but deadheads skirted around him as if he’d caught a deadly, communicable disease. The foursome stood in the same place they’d been when he spotted them earlier. Despite the knot in his stomach roiling like milk in a butter churn, his feet moved him steadily toward them.

  He entered the small circle. Without bothering to turn to him, Jenna issued no pleasantries or welcome and got right down to it. “Nathan, are these the three people you saw in the bar?”

  More automaton impulse engaged his mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The leader of the rogue group looked him up and down. “He couldn’t have. I’ve never seen him before, and I’d have remembered him.”

  “Why would he lie? What would he have to gain?”

  “Maybe he does it himself, moves in and takes over people. Maybe he wants you to think—”

  Regardless of the truth in the statement, or maybe because of it, Nathan’s brain engaged as if it had been set free. “I don’t want her to think anything. I’m just lookin’ for a bit of clarification. Heck, I’ll admit to entering some unsuspecting guy so’s I can enjoy a few finer things in life. I’m no saint, never claimed to be.”

  “See? See there?” The woman’s voice broke over the top of his, and carried an accusatory, yet defensive tone. “Our kind has become brazen about this and it must stop.”

  Jenna’s expression turned dark. “Nathan, who was in that bar, what were they doing?”

  “Well, ma’am, from my vantage point in the stockroom, as far as live folks go?” Nathan waited for a nod from Jenna. “Besides the bartender, only one guy sat at a table drinking a beer. That one there,” Nathan pointed to the male of the group. “He stood towering over and studied him real long and hard. That was after they’d swallowed up the four dead folks. And they hadn’t been doing anything, just sittin’ there, talking, and enjoying their refreshments. They all finally left when the man reached and took a good solid swig from his beer. But, I thought for sure… Well, ma’am, I’m not sure what I thought. My knees were knocking so bad, if I’d been alive the bottles back there in that stockroom would’ve rattled the roof right off the barn.”

  After a moment of silence, Jenna cast her gaze from one rogue member of her sect to the next. “What proof do you have that any of the people you’ve taken did things maliciously?”

  One of the subordinates stated, “We aren’t to interfere with the living. Isn’t that so?”

  Jenna fixed her gaze on her. “And what is it, exactly, our sect does if not interfere?”

  “We have permission, how else do we fulfill our responsibility?” The rogue leader became defiant and her physical stature rose to meet Jenna.

  “Oh, shit. I wouldn’t want to be her right now.”

  “Hush, Marvin, this doesn’t concern you. Why are you even here?” Jenna turned to face him.

  Mike stepped in and tugged on Marvin’s arm. “Curiosity is all. We were with him,” Mike jutted his chin toward Nathan, “at Epstein’s when he dropped his fork and walked out.”

  “Keep quiet, or leave,” Jenna said, and turned her attention to the matter at hand. She rose up, her visage towering over the others. “Where do you think your authority and power comes from?”

  Her opponent’s body shrunk down to normal height. She cast her eyes to the ground and turned away.

  Jenna moved so quickly Nathan didn’t even see a blur. She appeared in front of the witness, huge and glowering. “I gave no permission for you to leave.” The woman froze as still as a lizard. “These people you’ve taken, did they kill anyone? Maim them? Frighten them so much they ended up in a mental hospital? The purpose of this sect, my sect, is to protect the living from the living. You have no reason, nor authority, to police the dead. Who brought you into this service?”

  The man of the group shifted his weight, his small eyes darting around the park. He reached up to smooth his hair. “Her name was Diane. She told us to keep the living safe.”

  “Oh, Jesus H., doesn’t it figure.”

  “Marvin, go home,” Jenna warned. When he’d turned to leave, she added, “Tommy, Mike, you too. And take Nathan with you. It appears I’ve got s
ome things to attend to.”

  Nathan breathed a quiet sigh as he joined them.

  “See? That’s what I’m talking about,” Marvin said, his face scrunched in a pout, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “What’s the point of being married? She’s never around. She’s always busy with this crap. I mean, why did—”

  “Dude, she’s got responsibilities now.”

  “I got her responsibility right here, hippie.”

  “I heard that, Marvin,” Jenna said as she turned to watch them leave. “And if you don’t like being married, I’m sure there’s a remedy. Now, do as I say, and go home.”

  Nathan’s shoulders tensed into knots big enough to tether a horse to a hitching post. “Please, don’t make her angry.”

  Chapter 22

  Jenna turned her countenance on her wayward members. “How many innocents have you taken?”

  “None!” Arrogance returned to her underling’s voice.

  “Well, we’ll see, won’t we.” They tried to shrink away from Jenna. She increased that fear with a malevolent grin as her form surrounded the three. Not unlike those she’d observed in Jason, a member of the North American Council of Keepers and equal partner in the World Council, who’d tested her so many months before, Jenna heard the pleading voices, the woe of wrongful capture and imprisonment. Cautioning herself against being tricked, she listened with keen insight to the sadness, the despair of the accused, and the denials of the behavior which caused them to be entombed. She sensed no malevolence, no intent of misdeed.

  Jenna backed away from the three wayward members of her sect, yet held them frozen in place without effort. Lifting her face to the rising moon, ignoring the whisper of fallen leaves as they tumbled around in a whirling wind, she called out to her mentor. “Jason, I need your help.”

  Out of nowhere Jason appeared at her side, and Nancy, the protégé who would soon take his place, appeared next to him. The two looked from Jenna to the three who stood frozen in fear. “These are yours?” Nancy asked, stepping forward.

  “Yes. From the accounts I’ve heard, they’ve gone beyond the scope and caused quite a commotion.”

  “Before we empowered your sect, I asked how we might regulate this police force of yours, and now we get down to it, don’t we?” Jason asked.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know how this—” Jenna attempted to explain.

  He raised his hand. “No. There will be no excuses. You were told. If there isn’t the strength to tend the sect, it shall be dissolved.”

  “The issue is not strength,” Jenna responded. “I assure you, these three have earned the ultimate punishment, and it shall be meted out. In fact, you’re free to take them yourself and be done with it.”

  Nancy placed a hand on Jason’s arm and his expression softened. “Then why the urgent call?”

  Jenna jutted her chin toward her charges. “How can the innocent they’ve taken be freed?”

  Jason and Nancy, Keepers of the worst of the worst, moved to envelop the three. With her shared power, Jenna listened as they questioned, prodded, and dug for the truth of the deadheads begging to be released.

  Jenna placed a steady and comforting grip to their shoulders as deadheads tumbled out of Jason and Nancy by twos and threes into the clearing, their hands held out as if to stave off further pain. Dusk had fallen more than twice before the final captive stepped free from the imprisonment of the wayward Watchers, and the three offenders vanished from view.

  Her mouth gaped open at the sheer number of them and a chorus of appreciation reached Jenna’s ears. She turned to Jason and Nancy. “Thank you. New guardians will be found to keep watch over their city.”

  “You could’ve done this yourself,” Nancy told her. “You need to have more confidence in your ability, your judgement.”

  “I’m still new at this,” Jenna responded. “I needed to be sure.”

  A funnel of bright light streamed down from the sky as if the Milky Way itself moved to embed into the earth, and Teresa’s form shimmered into view, like heat from an asphalt highway. A strong sense of serenity emanated from her as she bowed in turn to Jason, then Jenna, her equals on the World Council. “My old friend,” she said to Jason, “it’s a new way of dealing with our plane of existence. Remember when we began? Mistakes will be made, but Jenna will find her way.”

  A long sigh escaped from Jason, but a gentle smile appeared on his face as he gazed at all the deadheads gathered around them. “Millennia of doing this work have taken their toll. I’m tired, so very tired.” He turned to face Nancy. “I’m afraid it’s very close to my time.”

  Teresa touched the sleeve of his coat and studied him for a while. Sadness overcame her expression, though the smile never faded, and she nodded. “There is a bit more you need to do, yet. I cannot say more than that. But, I won’t leave it to any emissary. My arms will welcome you as I embrace all who seek peace. Yet, for you, there will be special grace.”

  They all heard the unspoken offer of sanctuary from Teresa. The same offer that came to the very young and very old who passed from the plane known as life. A mass of deadheads moved toward her. The aura of light around the woman grew, and then she bowed to the three Keepers. By the time her form dissipated completely, the crowd had dwindled significantly.

  From the shadows created by the moonlight a timid-sounding voice asked, “Are we free, then?”

  “Yes,” came Jason’s reply.

  Those who had been freed and who decided to stay on the earthly plane wandered off. Within minutes Jason, Nancy, and Jenna stood alone.

  “I really do apologize,” Jenna said.

  “Well, I suppose, as Teresa said, mistakes will happen.”

  “Not again. Not if I can help it. You two have your hands full enough without having to come to my rescue.”

  “Call your Council members to you. Tell them this is what happens to those who misuse their station and power over others weaker than they.”

  “I will, Jason. Thank you.”

  “And, perhaps, you’ll learn a bit more about the problems you face,” Nancy added.

  Jenna returned the bow the two offered as they disappeared from her view. She turned to head home when Diane called out. “Jenna, there’s a problem.”

  “Ugh. Now what?” Jenna stopped short and turned.

  “Hey, don’t take it out on me!”

  “Sorry, I’ve just spent who knows how long dealing with… Never mind… Look, I need a bit of a break, can’t you handle this?”

  “I wish. There’s a woman who keeps managing to escape our clutches, and we need to find her before she kills again.”

  Chapter 23

  Nathan waited for the verdict in Marvin and Jenna’s hotel suite. That night, he even opted to bunk at Tommy and Mike’s in the extra room rather than stay by himself. When they woke, they grabbed Marvin and went to the deli for breakfast. As the hours wore on, Nathan’s anxiety increased; he chewed up numerous toothpicks, tapped rhythms with a foot, and swayed his legs in syncopation.

  Tommy placed his cup down on the table and stared for a minute. “Dude, what’s got your panties in a bunch?”

  “She’s been gone a long time. It’s been almost two full days since she let me walk away. But I still don’t have any answers.”

  “You’re starting to sound like him,” Mike said, hefting his cup in Marvin’s direction.

  “Hey, watch it there, buddy. I think I’ve calmed down a lot since Jen’s taken this stuff on.”

  “That you have, Brody. I’m just sayin’—”

  “Yeah, well, don’t.”

  “Truth is, Nate, time moves different for Jenna when she’s dealing with these things. We just have to let it be. She’ll be back when she’s taken care of those rogue…agents, or whatever you want to call them.” Mike sniffed the air and glanced at Tommy. “I think I need some of that bacon that just came off the grill. Would you mind?”

  None of their answers did anything to calm Nathan. His nerves hummed like an
electrified fence. Tired of fiddling with his flatware, he gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood. “Well, I surely appreciate the hospitality. But, I can’t just sit around like this. I’m as keyed up as a penned bull. I’m gonna go do some of that sight-seeing ya’ll recommended the other day and check back in later.”

  He gave a wave, and “Thank you,” to Tommy as he walked from the deli. As soon as he rounded the corner and knew they could no longer see him, he broke into a run. He stopped at the top of the bridge where he had a good view of the park. Jenna remained in the same spot, the “rogue keepers” could barely be seen, but it looked to Nathan as if they had company. A man in old baggy clothes and a well-dressed woman had joined the pow-wow, but they towered over Jenna.

  Nathan left to check on his truck. Once satisfied it hadn’t been messed with, he skirted through the trees to watch. His tormentors stood motionless, then they faded into a blackness as the visages moved to surround them. Moments later, it was as if they never existed. Many hours later—it felt like at least a day had passed—the clearing in the park was filled with deadheads. He stood, mouth agape, as Teresa’s shape took form. A lightness, a sense of pure serenity emanated from her, and Nathan summoned the courage to move forward to join the crowd.

  He understood the decision of those deadheads who moved to Teresa, but his penchant for life remained steadfast. At Jason’s declaration that the rest were free to go, Nathan relaxed.

  Word traveled through the plane of the dead a tad slower than gossip traversed the hollers of West Virginia, but with the head of the sect married to Marvin, Nathan figured there would be no sense in returning to the hotel to let them know what transpired. They’d know soon enough. Since the National Museum of the United States Air Force stood pretty much across the street he headed over.

  Not only did he scope out the exhibits, but he kept an eye peeled for possible candidates. Strangely, the crowd contained a lot of families. As much as he envied those men, Nathan couldn’t even consider separating a father from his young children. He’d seen how the survivors of those killed in the mine explosion grieved, and it just wouldn’t do to take a family man. No, it had to be a single guy.