“Was she inside the diner?” Apollena countered casually.
Lane made a conscious effort not to make any expression with his face. Apollena was far more composed. At least Luna kept herself together on the outside. She’d folded both her hands, left over right on the table. Her eyes remained locked on to those of the man in the black suit. If this were a starring contest, the odds of Luna blinking before the man were slim. After the incident at the orphanage, she wouldn’t dare turn her back on any authority figure ever again.
“Does she need to be in the room in order to affect the weapons?” Asked the man in black, his tone equally as casual and curious.
Although it wasn’t immediately clear exactly how the man in black was able to enter their home, Lane had gathered enough information to understand the method. Standing up slowly, Lane gestured to the door with his right hand, “You’ve asked your three questions. You may leave now.”
The man shook his head with that same smirk as before and slowly unfolded three fingers; “I’ve asked my three questions, but I’ve not received sufficient answers.” He again folded his fingers back into a fist and gently rapped the top of the kitchen table.
“That wasn’t the deal,” Lane said firmly, “You’re trespassing and my tolerance of your breach of our fourth amendment rights has expired. Leave. Now.”
The man in black gestured with his right hand to the newspaper with the sports section still laying open, “Mister Woods, had you been paying more attention to recent events rather than athletics, perhaps you’d have been aware of the Federal Government’s recent acquisition of property in New Mexico? A handful of housing tracts that are being repurposed for necessary detention facilities. That property acquisition includes the house we’re sitting in now. Effective June second of this year, you are currently within federally owned property. I’m sure we must have sent a notice…” The man took another sip of water, shrugged and sat his glass of water back down on the table.
“Legally speaking, we’re not trespassing so much as a property manager making an inquiry of potentially dangerous tenants,” The man in black continued.
Furious, Apollena gripped the underside of the table with both her hands, “You don’t intend to take this matter to court and seriously think you’d win do you?”
“The matter of land and property rights historically has gone in favor of the United States Government. It’s not a particular flattering legacy mind you. But, there is a consistent record of victory. What is of more immediate concern is the method your adopted sibling, Katrina Woods, was able to disable the firearms of several dozen federal agents. Failure to disclose this information will have far reaching consequences. For example, the threat to national security of harboring an unknown weapon operating within our borders.” The man in black looked from Apollena to Lane, “But more personally, a failure to be honest in our conversation could affect Katrina’s standing with the Air Force. She’d only just finished boot camp, yes? Or, perhaps Robyn’s application to NYU? Your active duty with the Coast Guard? Court Marshaled. Dishonorable conduct. Our dear Apollena’s immigration status? Revoked. We could deport you back to Nigeria within the hour. Personally, Lane, being honest in this situation would be the best policy for everyone.”
Lane looked at Katrina once again frozen in mid throw. Her left hand still extended out no doubt would have accounted for the wildly inaccurate throw, but a helpful clue. Robyn’s eyes still fixed down at the man in black. Finally, Lane looked at his twin. Apollena’s iron grip on the underside of the table managed to restrain her anger and also prepare for their counterstrike.
All it would take was the right moment to act.
“Now, Lane, would you kindly detail how your younger sibling was able to disable our weapons from the roof of the Ruby’s Diner on June Twelfth of last year?”
True to his reputation, Uncle Dan returned with absolutely perfect timing. Within the kitchen a burst of sandalwood dust and rose petals preceded his arrival. This was the cue for Apollena to pull the kitchen table toward her. Her body dipped backward in her chair all the way down to the ground as the heavy kitchen table slid across the floor tiles.
At that same moment, while the man in black was distracted by the sudden appearance of their Uncle, Lane somersaulted over the top of the table. He angled his body to spill the glass of water over the man’s lap. Specifically, drenching his left hand he’d concealed under the table. There was a sharp crackle followed by an electric pop!
The man in black instinctively pushed himself back in his chair to avoid Lane’s hand reaching out for his throat. Unfortunately, that movement allowed Uncle Dan to reach out his free hand and remove the federal agent’s fedora.
Uncle Dan didn’t have the man’s hat for long. Even while holding it in his grip, the hat disappeared within a distorted light beam; like someone waving their hand in front of a prism, suddenly there was a blink of color, then nothing except a small pop.
Another misstep was the agent’s assumption of Lane’s intended target. Finishing his roll across the top of the table, Lane’s hand hadn’t continued to reach out for the man’s throat, but the agent’s wristwatch. In a single fluid motion the expensive timepiece was ripped off the man’s wrist and clutched in Lane’s palm as feet landed on the tile.
Before the agent could react, Uncle Dan held his walking stick under the intruder’s throat, “Kids, I didn’t realize we’d be entertaining guests for brunch. Who is this fashionably drab individual.”
“It’s a Fed,” Apollena said from under the table. “Failed to introduce themselves properly, apart from their badge.”
“Additionally, their company has hardly been entertaining,” Lane said, taking a cautious step back. Examining the wrist watch he’d acquired.
“Unless you want your sister’s frozen permanently, I’d suggest returning the device; it’s bio-metrically coded to my–”
Lane dropped the timepiece and slammed his boot heel into the watch’s face. Robyn and Katrina both inhaled sharply and coughed. Robyn doubled over out of her seat. Katrina stalked forward about to take a swing at the man in black.
“Hold your rage, Katrina dear,” Uncle Dan said calmly. Addressing the man who’d invaded their home, he leaned forward and pressed the Rungu harder under the man’s chin, “Do you have any other tricks up your sleeves we should know about, agent?”
The man in black was silent.
“Very well,” Uncle Dan said, gripping the man by the back of his suit jacket and hauling him up to his feet, “We’ll have this discussion at my old office in New York.”
“New York?” Robyn coughed out, steadily rising to her feet.
Uncle Dan nodded, “I believe the use of teleportation satellites breaks the United Nation’s Resolution on constructing and operating such technology.” The well dressed gentleman once again addressed his nieces and nephew, “I’m afraid I may not return in time for lunch. You know how these proceedings go? A lot of waiting around in small dark rooms for bureaucrats to enforce their own rules.” Their uncle glared at the intruder. With a sweeping motion of his hand over the agent’s wrists, a ribbon of stainless steel appeared that coiled and wrapped itself around the man’s in black forearms like a silver snake.
“You’d think the ICC would be a bit more accommodating even with your retirement,” Apollena smirked while standing up from under the table. “I’d think it rather rude to keep you waiting.”
Uncle Dan shrugged, “They’re lucky to hear from me at all.” Turning his attention back to the man in black, “Under articles thirty-nine, forty-one, and forty-two, we’ll be taking a quick trip to UN headquarters to have a little chat about the use of illegal technology. Sound like fun?”
Again, the man in black remained silent.
“Don’t wait up for me,” Uncle Dan said with a wink. Then in another scented explosion of roses and sandalwood, their uncle and the intruder vanished.
Robyn finally caught her breath, staring bewildered at her older siblings, “How long has the government been able to replicate our magic with machines?”
Lane finally relaxed his muscles, but his nerves remained tense; “The bigger question is, how long have they been watching our family?”
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