Aftermath

Ch 79: Operation: Break the Administrative Assistant

Sang

Luke guided Erica's SUV into the spot and put it into park. "All right, Vic. We found the place," he called out over the car's speakerphone.

"I'm ready," Victor said. The connection was so clear he could have been in the car with us instead of still at Kota's, probably in front of the computer.

"You don't sound ready," Nathan noted.

"I'm still checking out some of the finite details," Victor answered. "I wish I had another hour or two, maybe more, but we need to help Kota now."

"Has something changed?" Luke asked.

"No, Mr. Blackbourne said he's still being questioned." Then hastily, Victor added, "Don't worry about what's going on there; your job is to find out what Ms. Michaels is hiding. I'll be listening; you need to put the earpieces in."

Luke pulled out a small container and opened it, revealing four tiny earpieces. "Enough for everyone."

"Remember, I'll talk to you either as a group or individually," Victor reminded us.

We got out of the car and looked at the place in front of us. The windows were covered up; the porch slumped in at the middle, leaving a dark, sad little house.

"Ms. Michaels is really good at her job; they should pay her a lot more," Luke said, sounding sad.

"She's not that fucking good if she's responsible for our brother being arrested," Gabriel said, then took a deep breath. "Let's do this. Commencing Operation: Crack the Administration Assistant."

"That's a horrible name," Victor said with a laugh.

"Operation: Break the Administration Assistant?" Gabriel suggested.

"Slightly better, though still wordy," Victor said. "Let's get on with it; you can change the name later."

We gathered on Ms. Michaels' doorstep and Nathan pushed the doorbell.

The door opened, though the screen door before us stayed closed. A small boy, maybe five or six years old, peered at us through the screen. He had light brown hair and blue eyes with dried juice on his chin and shirt.

Beside me, Gabriel grumbled, "Where are this kid's parents? Answering the door without anyone around..."

"Shh," Nathan urged.

"Hi," Luke said, giving the boy a warm smile. "Is your mom around?"

Slowly, the boy shook his head. "I don't have a mommy anymore."

Luke squatted down. "You know what? I don't either," he said softly. "Nothing wrong with that."

The boy stared at him with wide eyes. "But you're big. You don't need a mommy."

"I'm not that big," Luke replied. "My uncle takes care of me. Who takes care of you?"

"Fiona."

"Good," Victor said in my ear. "I was starting to wonder if you were in the right place."

Luke smiled. "Is Fiona here?"

"She's watching TV," the boy said.

"Bailey Townsend!" A female voice yelled out from inside the house "Who are you talking..." Ms. Michaels came into sight. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said to us. "I thought it was the boy next door. What can I—Gabriel, is that you? I didn't recognize you boys without your uniforms."

Gabriel grinned. "Common mistake." He and Luke had changed into jeans and sweaters, while Nathan was still wearing his track pants and sweatshirt.

"Bailey, go play in your room," Ms. Michaels said. Dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans with her feet bare and her hair down, she looked much younger than she appeared at school.