Chapter 5

“Morning grandma. What’s up,” Paxine said, entering her grandma’s office. The tea tray was already on the coffee table with the speaker phone. She poured tea in one of the cups.

“Good morning,” Garon said, his cheerful voice coming over the speaker phone.

“Hi Garon,” Paxine said.

“Morning, Paxine,” her grandma said, joining her on the sofa. “This is a quick meeting regarding the governor and security. Go ahead Garon.”

“Governor’s being an…uhm….uncooperative. Doug tried to get a meeting with him this morning and was totally brushed off. You know the usual budget excuse. Doug even threatened to escalate,” Garon said.

“You mean go over the governor’s head?” Paxine said, adding sugar and cream to her tea.

“Yeah. Usually never does any good, ya know, but sometimes threats can spur action, but not this time. Anyway, Doug knew this was just a formality. Even if protocol is worthless, you have to follow it,” Garon sounded as if he thought this was funny.

“So now he can do what’s right,” her grandma said.

“Yeah,” Garon said with a laugh, “he can now ignore the rules.”

“I think my dad is good at making rules,” Paxine said. “Beside, you’re the one who ignores the rules.”

Her grandma almost laughed aloud, spilling her tea.

“Your dad’s good at getting around them,” Garon said. “Oh, and I hear he has an important lunch date with a pretty girl. What’s this all about?”

Paxine laughed, helping her grandma wipe up tea. “He’s having lunch with me so I can tell him all about the cat show. And we’re planning for Thursday. He’s taking me to the new virtual reality games at BoumaBounty.”

“Then he’ll have to cancel with the other pretty girl,” Garon said, sounding concerned.

“Garon,” her grandma said, in a watch-your-mouth tone.

“I’m the pretty girl,” Paxine said with a roll of her eyes.

Garon laughed, hanging up.

“He’s not sniffing too much catnip is he?” Paxine said, half serious.

“No, but with all the security he’s doing for your dad he is pretty busy. But that’s good. Keeps him out of trouble. Finish your tea and Greta will take you back. I hear you have to study and take a test this afternoon,” her grandma said, sipping her own tea.

“Yes. I can’t wait to be done. Between you and Garon, I have a whole list of projects to do,” Paxine said wide-eyed with excitement.

“And you are doing great,” her grandma said, rising and gave her a hug.

***

“Back already. That was quick,” Paxine’s mom said, not even finished with her first cup of coffee. She was reviewing her own schedule for the day on her computer.

“Yep. I’m going to study, and put Tache back to bed,” Paxine said, heading up the stairs, but she knew Tache was already ahead of her, under the covers.

Her books and notes were laid out. All she really needed to do was review the notes, but, instead, she rechecked her backpack. Tache was too big and heavy to ride in her backpack any more. She now used it to carry Tache’s emergency care kit, which included food and bandages. There was a tin full of spiders. The Popper, which was a large spoon Garon turned into a weapon. It shot popper beads that could burn or start someone on fire. She also had her Swiss army knife that her friend Alice gave her and a water bottle. It was empty.

She propped a pillow up to read her notes.

“Paxine. Time,” her mom said, calling from downstairs.

“Coming,” Paxine said, grabbing her backpack and uncovered Tache. “Sorry, time to go to work.”

He yawned.

“See ya, mom,” Paxine said at the top of the stairs.

“Don’t spend too much time at BoumaBounty. Your dad’s taking you there on Thursday,” her mom said at the foot of the stairs.

“I know. This is just lunch, besides; I’ve a test this afternoon. Dad’s security will take me,” Paxine said, heading toward the cube in the closet down the hall from her room. She put her hand on the wall, shutting the door to the cube.

Ding.

***

“Good morning, Paxine,” Vera, her dad’s receptionist, said. Her hair was gray and she was slightly overweight. She always wore a gray skirt and white blouse, accessorized with pink earrings.

“Good morning, Vera. Is Mr. Cushing in his office?” Paxine said, acting professional.

“He’s still in his meeting, but you can wait in his office,” Vera said, waving a hand in the direction of the offices.

“Thank you,” Paxine said, noting that Vera still wasn’t use to Tache. Vera pretended she didn’t see him.

Double doors led into her dad’s area of the building. Offices lined the hall up to the corner office, her dad’s office to the left. A hallway to the right was lined with more offices.

Her dad’s office was empty of people. Law books filled the bookcase that lined one wall. The windows showed the street, but she couldn’t see Boumabounty like she hoped. She decided to snoop down the hall, but all the offices, except for one, were empty. The man didn’t look like he wanted to talk as his desk was piled with papers.

Tache followed her being quiet as usual, until they reached her dad’s office again.

“Yeow,” he said.

“What noise? I don’t hear anything different,” Paxine said with a tilt to her head.

Tache’s ears swiveled like he was trying get rid of something in them. Paxine remembered he didn’t have his Aural ring.

“You didn’t hear it before?” she said, looking around to see if anything looked different.

“Meer,” Tache said stepping around her as if hiding.

A man entered, startling her and him, but he recovered his composure, focusing back to placing folders her dad’s desk, flipping through them as if to make sure they were the right ones. Paxine hadn’t missed the startled look, nor had Tache. He curled his tail around her leg, leading her out of the office.

Tache didn’t like the man. Paxine didn’t recognize him, thinking she knew all of her dad’s employees. Tache smacked his tail against her. She nodded to him in agreement. Something didn’t feel right.

A printer in a nearby office gave her an idea. She took a sheet of paper out of the printer, scrunching it into a ball. From her backpack, she pulled out a spider, thinking she should track the man. She enclosed the spider in her hand, letting it warm up so it had the energy needed to reach its target. If it lost its heat before it reached a new heat source, it stopped. Spiders didn’t travel very far, so she had to be near her target in hopes of a successful deployment. Once the spider reached a constant heat source, like someone’s body, it would latch on, screaming in a frequency that humans couldn’t hear, but Tache could. Dogs could hear it too, but it drove them mad.

Paxine tossed the paper wad into the office as a distraction. The man’s eyes followed the wad as it rolled under a chair. She tossed the Screamer toward the man, disguising her toss as if she tripped.

“Oops. Sorry,” she said in an apologetic mutter. “Dropping things like crazy today,” she said, retrieving the paper wad, backing out of the office.

She hid in an empty office off the hallway toward Vera, so she could see him leave. Tache’s ears twitched, focusing on her dad’s office.

Whack.

His tail hit her, confirming the Screamer was on its mark, his eyes following the sound of the Screamer. The man was on the move, but not toward them.

We need to find my dad,’ Paxine said, communicating in silence to Tache.

The reception area was silent. Vera wasn’t at her desk. Someone was always supposed to be at the desk. Panic choked Paxine. The clock above Vera’s desk showed it was a few minutes to noon. Her dad’s meeting had to be ending. If not, she was going to end it for him.

The conference room was further down the hall. The cloudy glass of the door prevented her from seeing if her dad was in there, but she could tell the room was full of people.

“Ready?” Paxine said to Tache.

Tache lashed his tail as she opened the door just enough to let him in.

Voices spilled out of the room as the door opened and then stopped in an eerie silence.

“Is that a hint we’ve run too long?” an unfamiliar voice said, before Paxine let the door close.

There were shadowy movements of people. Confusion? Or just continuing their meeting?

Shwack.

Real subtle, Paxine thought with a shake of her head, hearing Tache’s tail hit her dad.

“Excuse me a moment,” said a voice she recognized as her dad’s even though it was muffled through the door.

Paxine retreated to the women’s bathroom across the hall as the door opened.

“Greg, keep going,” her dad’s voice said through the door.

“Yes, sir,” Greg said.

Tache dashed out to sit under the water fountain by the women’s restroom. Her dad followed, pausing as if taking a drink.

“Dad,” Paxine said in a whisper, holding the door of the restroom open just a crack to speak to him without being seen. “There’s a strange man in your office. And there’s some weird noise. Wait. Wait. There he is, to your right.”

The man she had seen in her dad’s office passed Vera’s desk, entering the stairwell near the cube landing.

Her dad crossed the hall in a hurry, pulling the fire alarm. Sirens shrieked and lights flashed. He waved for her to follow, heading toward another set of stairs down the hall, past the conference room, from which people now spewed.

“What is it?” a man said, sounding like Greg.

“Get the building cleared immediately. Bomb threat,” her dad said to the group who dispersed without further questions.

Two women reached the stairs ahead of them, holding the door open. Everyone ran down all three flights of stairs. The two women ahead of them were faster, disappearing out the exit at the bottom of the stairs.

Tache yowled in silence to Paxine.

“Dad,” Paxine said, pulling his arm to stop him.

Her dad held the door for the rest of the people behind him to exit before following Paxine to the area behind the stairs where no one could see them.

Tache crouched beside them, his ears twitching as if trying to tune in a certain frequency.

The exit door slammed open and three men ran up the stairs. Her dad’s eyes followed the men who should have been leaving the building not entering.

“Let’s go,” Paxine said as soon as the men cleared the landing above them. She led the way, but as soon as she opened the door to the stairwell, Tache passed her, heading toward the main entry area of the building. People were spilling out of doors and elevators, responding to the alarm to evacuate.

Paxine lost sight of Tache as he made a sharp turn away from the main door.

“Hey…” Paxine said to complain, but Tache let her hear through his ears. The Screamer was coming from the main door, their exit.

“Dad,” Paxine said, veering to where Tache went.

Her dad took one look at the main entrance before following her without question. Paxine felt odd giving her dad commands.

People exited a door in front of them and Tache rushed in. He led them through another door into a hallway. Her dad, knowing the building better, led the way toward another exit. Paxine could hear through Tache that the Screamer was following them. Even without his Aural ring, Tache could track the Screamer. Then it was gone.

Tache stopped, looking behind them.

“Dad,” Paxine said in a quiet commanding voice, stopping him.

Tache stood still except for his swiveling ears. Paxine and her dad waited, panting for breath.

Paxine heard the Screamer again. “He’s coming around from the other direction,” she said, almost running into her dad as she turned.

Tache dashed back the way they came. They burst through the door, merging into a thicker crowd pushing to exit the building. Her father grabbed her hand as they threaded through the crowd and out on to the street.

Fire truck sirens blared as they maneuvered through the traffic congestion that included both cars and people. Her dad kept them out of the street, on the crowded sidewalk.

“Hold on,” he said, letting go her hand to so he could pull his phone out of a pocket.

Boom.

A shock wave passed over them followed by glass and metal. Her dad shoved her in front of him, his back toward the flying debris.

Silence. A deathly empty silence. Paxine wondered if she had gone deaf.

Whoosh.

Sirens and screams filled the air. People ran, bumping against them.

“You okay,” her dad said, sounding like he was shouting in her ear.

Screamer.

“Dad,” she said, pulling on his arm.

Two men were bearing down on them.

Her dad didn’t need any further warning. He grabbed her hand, pulling her into the street. Tache’s tail seemed to float in front of them as a beacon for them to follow, heading back the way they came.

More debris rained down on them. Smoke billowed out of a hole where her dad’s office used to be. A fire truck seemed to materialize in their path and her dad pulled her around it. The opposite side was clearer and they were able to run full speed. Her dad kept her in front as they followed Tache up a side street.

There was no more debris raining down on them here, but they didn’t stop until they reached a small open café. The occupants were outside, curious about the explosion.

Her dad seemed to be searching for something in his pockets before pulling out and tossing a cube. Neither one of them breathed easy until the door closed and the cube moved.

“You okay?” her dad said, feeling along her arms and back.

“Yes,” Paxine said in between breaths. “We gotta go to Garon’s.”

“What?” her dad said as if he didn’t understand.

“We have to go to Garon’s,” Paxine said with more force.

The cube shifted as if changing directions.

“What’s at Garon’s?” her dad said, checking his own arms for cuts.

“That was too close of a call. We need to get Tache’s…” Paxine said, but she couldn’t go on. She couldn’t tell her dad about the Aural ring. The men had gotten too close to them because Tache didn’t have his Aural ring. If he had the Aural ring, he would have heard them coming sooner, and kept them at a safer distance.

“I…I” Paxine said, not knowing how to explain without revealing anything.

“Can’t tell me,” her dad said, finishing her sentence. “Then don’t.”

The cube dinged its arrival, but the door opened to reveal her grandma’s living room, not Garon’s.

“I don’t know where Garon’s is,” her dad said in explanation to the question in her face, “and…” he cut her off before she could speak, “I don’t want to know.”

He tapped an area on the outside of the cube and a small door opened to reveal a keyboard. He tapped out a code.

“Paxy, put your hand here,” he said.

Paxine placed her hand against the cube.

“I’ve programmed the cube so you command it. Take it to Garon’s. I can contact my security from here. And thank you.” He hugged her. “And you…,” he said, pointing at Tache. “Thank you. Now go.”

She put her hand on the cube and the door shut. “But are you okay?” she said too late. “And how do I tell the cube to go to Garon’s?”

“Meow,” Tache said, telling her she just did.

***

The door opened, revealing the hallway to Garon’s shop. She sighed with relief as she tapped the cube like she had seen her dad, catching it as it shrunk, just like her dad. Wow, she thought for one brief moment, she had a cube.

Tache smacked her with his tail, racing her to Garon’s door. She pressed the button she had seen her grandma push the first time she had been there.

The door opened before she could lower her hand.

“Inside, quickly,” Garon said, closing the door without a sound. “You okay? Your dad?”

“I-I think he’s okay. I’m okay, but we need to get Tache’s Aural ring back in,” Paxine said in between catching her breath.

Garon lifted his hand, showing the punch. Tache jumped up onto the worktable and in a few seconds, the ring hung from Tache’s ear, unnoticeable unless you knew it was there.

“Now, I’m hearing all sorts of reports. What happened?” Garon said, sinking into the only chair in the room.

“I went to dad’s office to have lunch, but there was a strange man,” Paxine said, making sure she had the details right as she told about the noise in her dad’s office, the evacuation of the building, the explosion and the men chasing them.

“Did they look like your dad’s security?” Garon said, paying close attention.

“No,” Paxine said.

“And Vera was there went you arrived?” he said.

“Yes,” Paxine said. “She greeted me like normal.”

“She seemed her usual happy self? Nothing strange?” Garon said, tapping his nose in thought.

“Usual cheerful self. Nothing strange,” Paxine said.

“And she was away from her desk the next time you went by her desk?” he said.

“Yes.” Paxine said.

“Where’s your dad now?” Garon said.