The Deviant Underground (Time Bandit) (19 page)

“You’re done talking.” Charge took a threatening step forward and a cobweb of electricity engulfed his hands. It crackled and sizzled loudly, filling the air with an acrid smell. Conversations around them stopped to watch the escalating confrontation.

Flash stared at the glowing current and swallowed hard. “Yes, we are.” He scurried off.

“I told you!” Susan yelled and then giggled. Kathryn joined her.

“Shit. Charge is pissed,” she whispered to Susan. He sat down next her, the electricity gone. She snuggled up to him, now more than a little drunk. Kathryn let her hands wander up Charge's thigh. “We tried to tell him. But he just wouldn't quit.”

“That dude is an asshole,” Charge muttered. He turned to Kathryn, grabbed one of her legs and threw it over his lap. She squealed in surprise. Charge pulled her close to him. “But let me tell you. If any guy ever touches you again, I will kill him.” His eyes shone with fierce earnestness.

Kathryn's heart fluttered at his intensity. She stroked the side of his smooth face. “I love you, baby,” she said softly. Charge grabbed her hand and lightly kissed her palm, sending small shockwaves of electricity down her arm. Kathryn gasped.

“Are you two done?” Susan threw her arms around Kathryn and playfully pulled her off Charge. “'Cause I'm getting lonely over here!”

Kathryn laughed and hugged Susan. “Aw, don't be lonely. We love you, too!”

“Let's get outta here.” Charge stood up and held out his hand to help Kathryn to her feet. Kathryn grabbed it and stood up. The entire room spun around.

“Whoa.”

“Hey!” Susan extended her arm. “Help me up, too.” Kathryn pulled her up. The two of them almost fell over each other.

Charge laughed. “You two are fucked up.”

Kathryn tried to regain her composure. It was hard to do with the room twirling. “We are not.”

Susan grabbed onto Kathryn to steady herself. “Yes, we are!” she shouted.

“Shhh.” Kathryn went to put her hand over Susan's mouth. “Don't tell.”

“Dude, get your grubby hands off of me.” Susan batted them away. “Who knows where they've been?”

“Okay, you two. Let's go.” Charge grabbed both of their hands and led them out of the room.

***

The three of them somehow made it to the car. Susan and Kathryn had wound their way down the darkened streets while Charge tried to corral them like cats. Once in the car, Kathryn leaned back and closed her eyes. The world continued to spin.

“You totally should have killed him, Charge,” Susan said a bit too loudly from the back seat.

“I know,” Charge grumbled as he made his way onto the expressway.

“He would have deserved it.”

Kathryn opened her eyes and leaned over to Charge. “Baby, you are so sexy when you get mad.” She let her hands roam all over his lap.

“Oh, really?” Charge gasped. She could feel him bulging against his jeans, and she wanted him right there.

“Pull over,” she whispered.

“I can't,” Charge grunted as the car flew down the empty freeway.

Kathryn felt a hand on her shoulder drawing her away from Charge. “Cut it out.” Susan whined. “No fair. You’re leaving me all alone back here.”

Kathryn teleported awkwardly into the back seat. She landed on top of Susan. “Shit. Sorry.”

Susan laughed. “Yay! Company!” Kathryn slid down onto the seat next to her.

“Wow. Tonight was fun.” Kathryn looked out the window and watched the streetlights whiz by. “Tonight was so much fun. I don't want to leave.”

“You aren't going anywhere,” Susan said.

Kathryn sighed. “Yeah, I am. I'm going back.”

“The hell you are.” Susan laughed.

“Yeah, I am. I have to go back. At least for now.” She grabbed Susan's hands. “But I'll be back. I promise. I'll come back and visit.”

Susan pulled her hands away. “What are you saying? You can't leave.”

“I have to.” Kathryn was on the brink of tears. “I have so much work to do. I've been gone so long my rent is overdue . . .”

“Fuck all that shit. This is your home now. Here with us.”

“I have to make a living. I have a job I need to keep.”

“No, you don't!” Susan got louder. “Fuck all that shit!”

“Yes, I do!” Kathryn's pitch met Susan's. “I love being here, but I have responsibilities. I gotta get back. Besides, what about you? Don't you have to go back to work, too?”

“No.”

“Susan.” Charge's voice sounded like a warning.

“No? What do you mean, no?” Susan said nothing. “And what about you, Charge?” Kathryn leaned forward. “Don't you have to go back to selling insurance or some shit?”

“No!” Susan said sharply. “We don't have those jobs.”

“Susan!” Charge barked.

“Those jobs were some bullshit that we just made up. Oh, come on, Charge. It's time we told her.”

“What? Told me what?”

She looked back and forth from Susan to Charge. Neither one spoke. Finally, Charge said, “Baby, those jobs were just part of our cover so that we could meet you.”

The spinning world made it difficult for Kathryn to understand what he was saying. “Cover? What do you mean 'cover?' What the hell are you talking about?”

“Those jobs were just part of our backstory,” Susan said.

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Jonathan sent us to St. Louis to meet you,” Susan continued. Her blue eyes were luminous as the words poured out. “You are so special but so guarded and shit and you wouldn't talk to anyone or let anyone get to know you. I followed you for weeks trying to figure out a way to introduce myself and talk to you but you had no friends so I didn't know what to do so I finally joined your gym just to get a moment to talk to you, but it was hard because you wouldn't say more than three words to me, but finally, we grabbed some coffee that day after working out and we clicked as friends and I really liked you . . .” Susan grabbed Kathryn's hands. “But I kept trying to figure out a way to bring up the fact that you were a deviant and I am too but when I would even try to bring up the subject you would freak out, so I told Jonathan and he sent Charge to try and finally you opened up but it took for fucking ever and no, we never had some boring-ass jobs we just told you that so that we would seem normal.”

Kathryn stared at Susan with her mouth open. Wild thoughts flashed through her head as she tried to process everything that Susan had just said. Followed? No jobs? Sent Charge? Kathryn snatched her hands out of Susan's grip. “You set me up.”

“No.” Susan tried to reach for Kathryn, but Kathryn avoided her grasp. “We didn't.”

“Yes, you did. You lied to me!”

“NO!” Susan protested. “I mean, yes, but it was only because we didn't want to scare you.”

Kathryn shook her head. She now knew for a fact that she would be returning to St. Louis, perhaps tomorrow.

The tears welled up. “No. This whole thing was a lie.”

Charge gazed at her through the rear view mirror. “No, it wasn't baby. Our intentions were always true. We just had to be careful how we approached you. If we came out and said, 'Hey, we know you are a deviant!' would you have talked to us, or would you have freaked the hell out?”

Kathryn paused and then finally admitted, “I would have freaked the hell out.”

“Right,” he continued. His voice was steady and warm. “So we had to use means that were a little . . . unconventional.” He paused and smiled back at her, “But we’re unconventional people.”

“But . . .” Kathryn didn't want to ask her next question, but fueled by the alcohol, she couldn't stop herself. “What about your feelings for me and all the things you said? Were those just part of the 'cover story?'“

“Oh no, baby.” Charge reached back and patted her leg. “Those are real. Jonathan simply sent me to meet you and to get you to talk to us. That's it. But once I saw you—damn. I wanted you. Surprised the hell out of me when I fell in love with you a few weeks later.” He turned to her briefly and grinned. “That shit I did not expect.”

“Me, too!” Susan threw her arms around Kathryn and hugged her tight. “You’re my best friend. Really.” She pulled back and looked at her earnestly. “Please don't go.”

Kathryn didn't know what to say. She sighed and leaned back against the seat, slowly rubbing her eyes. The explanation that Susan and Charge were giving was being filtered through a haze of alcohol, but it still seemed to make sense. Kathryn knew that she had been guarded and cut off from everyone before she met them. She knew that if anyone wanted to get to know her, they would have to go to great (unconventional?) measures to do so. “But wait, why?” Kathryn lowered her hand and looked at Susan.

“Why what?”

“Why all the trouble just to meet me?

“Why?” Susan smiled. “Because you’re special. And I'll tell you a secret.” Susan leaned in close and whispered, “Jonathan thinks that you might be the most powerful deviant he's ever met.”

“Ha. Bullshit.”

“No bullshit.”

“Come on. After what I saw today? All those people doing cool ass shit? No way. And you? And you, Charge? And Jonathan? You’re all so amazing. I'm just . . .” Kathryn shrugged, struggling for the words. “Just a teleporter.”

“Are you kidding me?” Susan sat back in her seat and put one of her legs playfully in Kathryn's lap. “I would kill to be able to do what you can do. You can go anywhere. Plus, you can stop time. Oh, man, if I could do that . . .” she sucked air sharply through her teeth. “The trouble I could get into.”

Kathryn thought about what Susan said. She never considered the possibility of actually using her gift to her advantage. But what would she do? Where would she go? Susan put her leg down, reached for Kathryn's hand, and pulled her close. Her blue eyes looked watery in the dim light. “Please don't go.”

Kathryn thought about the responsibilities she left back in St. Louis, and she knew that she had to go back. She loved being with Charge, Susan, and Jonathan, but there was no way that she could stay. She couldn't give up a career that she had worked so hard to build. Academic jobs were few and far between. She couldn't quit. She was lucky to have the one she did. She could visit them. All the time. But she couldn't tell them right now. Tomorrow. She'd tell them tomorrow. End the conversation now and tell them tomorrow. “Okay, I'll think about it.”

“Yay!” Susan hugged her tightly. “You'll stay. I know you will.” Kathryn smiled slightly at Susan's response. She didn't want to get her hopes up. Kathryn gazed over Susan's shoulder at the darkened landscape. Charge had turned off the highway and was winding his way up the mountain. The thick trees now blocked all the light, and the car was almost in total darkness. The only sound was the mesmerizing hum of the car's engine. The world swayed as all of the beer and the tequila flowed through Kathryn's system. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. A few seconds later, she felt Susan's warm lips against hers.

Kathryn pulled back in shock. “You kissed me!”

Susan giggled and covered her face with her hands. “I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. You are just so beautiful.”

“You kissed me” was all that Kathryn could say. “Charge, she kissed me.” In the darkness, she could see Charge's eyes watching them through the rear view mirror.

“I know,” he said softly. “I saw.”

Kathryn looked back at Susan, who simply stared at her. Kathryn was so shocked, she didn't know what else to say. Suddenly, she was overcome with the giggles. “Oh, shit! You kissed me!”

Susan's laughter joined her own. “I know! I've been wanting to do that all night. I couldn't stop myself.” Susan paused. “Can I do it again?”

“I . . . uh . . .shit, Susan, I'm not really into . . .” She glanced awkwardly at Charge, wondering what he thought about this strange situation.

“Oh, he doesn't care.” She brushed him off with a wave of her hand. “Do you Charge?”

Kathryn could see that Charge was smiling. “No, I don't mind at all.”

Kathryn turned back to Susan. She was beautiful, but girls really weren't her thing. “Just a kiss?”

Susan held up one hand. “Just a kiss, I swear.”

“Um, okay.”

Susan eased in close to Kathryn, put one hand gently on the side of her face, leaned in, and kissed her softly. Kathryn felt the silky smoothness of Susan's skin against her face and smelled the light, fruity scent of her shampoo. She stroked Susan's hair; it felt soft and fine. Susan smiled slightly and kissed her again, this time parting Kathryn's lips with her tongue. Kathryn found herself meeting Susan's tongue with her own. Her kiss tasted sweet and little sticky—the remnants of her lip gloss—and it aroused the tingle between Kathryn's legs. She wanted to have sex, but not with Susan.

“Okay.” Kathryn pulled away.

“Wait, wait.” Susan put her hands on Kathryn's hips and tried to pull her close.

“No no no no no.” Kathryn pushed Susan's hands away, but Susan kept reaching for her. Kathryn laughed. “Damn, girl! You are persistent!”

“Sorry.” Susan finally gave up her pursuit and sat back pouting. “Shit. Why won't you let me touch you?”