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 Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:37 pm
It was a big deal.
Michael knew that deflection more than most. Maybe not from Jeremy, but he’d used it himself plenty of times to be familiar with it.
“I’m glad you have something you can use now,” he said quietly, because even though Jeremy didn’t seem too open to talking about it, Michael still worried, and still wanted to be sensitive about something that was clearly bothering him.
Michael glanced over his shoulder at Soleiyu when he commented about long distance communication, but was still grateful that he had a way to communicate with Devyn without needing to be powered up.
“Wonder cat here is planning on making Chad some kind of disguise, maybe. Not sure what else we can do for him other than try to keep him safe. And no, they can’t hide out forever, but you’re right that they’re not anywhere near the city. I haven’t talked to the Reids yet. They’ll be worried about him. But I also am worried about putting him anywhere that the Negaverse could locate him and…”
Well, he certainly didn’t want the Reids in any kind of danger.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:45 pm
“I’m taking it that they don’t know about,” he gestured to Soleiyu and kept it at that.
He didn’t need to know if Soleiyu was here because of Michael or Devyn, or both of them. The important thing was that Chad was safe and had them looking out for him.
Jeremy believed in the law. He believed in truth and justice.
He believed in doing the right thing.
You didn’t always get to follow the rules when the Negaverse was involved.
“Tell them he’s in witness protection for right now. Tell them not to worry about him. Tell them it’s going to be a federal investigation so they’re not going to know where Chad is at the local level. Say they’re investigating corruption and a cover up and you need them to keep it quiet. I didn’t get a chance to call CPS about anything yet, so none of your names are in any files, there aren’t any records that should tie you to him except what’s in my car. And I’m going to get those papers and you’re going to burn them for me, because if you are steppin in, I don’t want anyone to come by asking questions. I don’t want to lead them here, or to Devyn, or to the Reids. They might ask around at school, see if Chad had any friends, maybe they’ll find a connection there. Tell the Reids to just be honest. Don’t mention the report, don’t mention talking to me. Don’t let them think I had anything to do with this. I don’t need people digging into my life, okay?”
Wait, that sounded more suspicious. “I’m too close to too many people,” he nodded to Soleiyu, first. “If the Negaverse is involved, I don’t want them to start snooping. I got people I need to protect, too. So don’t say I took a report and didn’t file it, because if they hear that and then know that Chad’s gone missing, it’s my a** on the line. I’ll look like I was helping with a cover up. And I’m not. I don't know what I’m going to do about Trent right now. You’re going to have a hard time proving he was involved if it was the Negaverse, so expect he’s going to get out of this. There’s no legal avenue to take with the Negaverse. And if he’s that close to any of them–if he could get them to kill his son? I’m sure he can ask them to take out anyone else. And if they’re pulling starseeds, who’s even going to know? Someone like me, I could have a heart attack on the job,” he shrugged. “Die in my sleep from all the stress. They don’t even have to make it bloody.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:53 pm
Of course Michael didn’t want to get people involved if he didn’t have to. That was his whole life -- trying to avoid people getting involved in dangerous things. Involved in things that could end up with them dead. Or worse if their starseed is destroyed in the process.
“You know, if you ever need to get out, I can help you,” Michael said after a few moments. He didn’t offer help to a lot of people, but those he was close to? Or those he cared about? If they were upset or in trouble or just unhappy, Michael wanted to do what he could to help.
Not that they usually took him up on the offer, as frustrating as that was. He kept looking for ways to help the Reids without making them feel guilty or like they had to repay him somehow. Maybe he would just find a way to anonymously help.
And that included Jeremy. After all, he was accepting help from a Mauvian.
“I’ll tell them that. I won’t get you involved more than you already are. I appreciate you stopping by to help with the report, even if we didn’t get a chance to submit it. It’s probably for the best that it wasn’t. I didn’t know the Negaverse was involved in all of this,” he frowned, arms crossed over his chest thoughtfully.
He was angry that Trent was probably going to get out of this without any repercussions, but what could they do that wouldn’t threaten everyone else? Obviously that wasn’t Jeremy’s fault, and he certainly didn’t want him to have a ‘heart attack’, or die from ‘stress’.
“I’m not sure if Elliot will accept that explanation but,” Michael paused and sighed. “He’ll have to.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:02 pm
Jeremy shrugged, out of habit as much as anything else. He was too prideful to accept help most of the time, anyway, but he didn’t say no.
“No, the Negaverse being involved changes things a lot. I wanted to do it by the book so it got done right, but there isn’t any ‘doing it right’ if that’s the case. I don’t like it. But I don’t know what Trent’s motivation for any of this was.”
He didn’t have all the pieces to this puzzle yet, and it might not even matter when he did.
“Maybe they’ll find something at the house they can use against him, maybe he’ll slip up. Or maybe the Negaverse will get tired of covering for him, I don’t know. We’ll see how this plays out.”
…But, he didn’t like the idea that someone who wanted his kid dead could still have a job. Could still have this job.
“Elliot’s going to have to accept it for what it is. He’s way too young to be hearing about the Negaverse.”
…And he didn’t know if the Reids were involved in any way or if Michael knew they were trustworthy. It didn’t matter, he didn’t want to know. They’d been trying to help the kid, he wanted to think that they wouldn’t have been stringing everyone along and been in on it or something.
He couldn’t help that he was suspicious. He couldn't even trust the people he worked with.
“I don’t want to do a lot of texting or calling about this. But when you know what’s going on with Chad, call me over so we can talk. I don’t want to be kept out of the loop, I want to know he’s safe. So I’m going to want to see him at some point.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:07 pm
Michael couldn’t help but consider how demanding Jeremy was about what needs to happen and what he needs to know. He was used to Devyn and his comfortably balanced give and take. He understood that Jeremy was in a difficult position, but it wasn’t as though Michael planned on throwing him to the Negaverse.
Well, then again, Michael was pretty slow to trust too. Chad didn’t seem to fully trust him yet, so maybe he was just intimidating and it would take some a bit longer than others.
He was grateful that Devyn trusted him fully as quickly as he did.
“I’ll keep you informed. I’ll be letting Soleiyu know what’s going on too, in case you need any updates that I might not have been able to pass along to you yet,” he said, watching the way Jeremy was so tense about everything.
The way he spoke about the Negaverse, and the way he said he was involved -- run into them on the job, he’d said.
But there was more to it than Michael felt he was letting on. The gruff way he spoke, and how he brushed off things about himself. And he knew Soleiyu. And said how Elliot was way too young to be hearing about the Negaverse, when Oberon had awakened when he was… what… eleven? There were others even younger… Jeremy might have even met them on the job.
“Is your brother a Senshi or Knight?” he asked, because the way Jeremy spoke of his brother, he was obviously very protective of him. And he would know, more than most, what the Negaverse could do if he was that close to someone already so involved.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:16 pm
Jeremy’s expression changed to something guarded. Something that might have been fierce if he’d thought that Michael was a threat. He was serious about the topic, and it clearly wasn’t a comfortable subject for him.
For a moment, he didn’t answer.
Soleiyu said nothing, as if he hadn’t even heard the subject. He pushed a few little tools aside but was carefully gluing two pieces of plastic together.
“If he were either,” Jeremy said slowly, pointedly, “I’m sure you’d understand why I wouldn’t want to talk about any of it.”
He’d bristled. He could protect himself, he could go outside of his comfort zone if it just involved him. But, it didn’t.
It was his brother, and Michael knew how protective he was over him. They’d commiserated over how troublesome kid brothers could be.
But, Myles was all Jeremy had. That was his family. If he was going to stick his neck out for anyone, it would be him.
He didn’t like telling anyone anything about it. No one was supposed to know. He’d made Myles promise not to tell anyone. He’d made him promise to be responsible.
Jeremy couldn’t be running around, blabbing about it. But, he looked at Soleiyu. He ran his thumb over the smooth edge of his phone. He looked at Michael.
“I didn’t approve of it,” he finally said, and although he was guarded and brittle about all of it, he was honest. “It would have been bad if anyone found out. For him and me. So I can’t risk the Negaverse snooping around. He’s not as careful as I am about anything. And I need him to be safe. He’s clumsy, he’s airheaded, he’s gullible. I don’t know how this all worked out, I don’t know why he got involved. But I’m going to do whatever I can to make Destiny City safer because I don’t want him getting hurt trying to do the same thing in a different way. So if you need help–help I can’t give you–maybe he can. Just don’t drag him into anything dangerous. He’s got–”
Jeremy shifted positions and looked like he wasn’t happy to have to say it at all, but.
“Birds. They do some healing stuff. Just. If that’s something you ever need.”
He didn’t need to warn Michael to keep quiet about it. He expected him to stay tight lipped about his brother. Jeremy could do the same. About him, about Devyn.
About Chad.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:41 pm
“If he got involved, it’s just who he is,” Michael said, his voice quiet in a way that he hoped proved that he was understanding of Jeremy’s predicament. That he wasn’t the only one with family, with a brother that was involved in everything.
“Whether by rebirth or blood, it’s just who he is.”
There were times that Michael questioned why he was involved. Why he couldn’t just ignore the Negaverse. Why he couldn’t just let everyone else take care of a magical war he had nothing to do with. But it wasn’t in his nature to turn away from people needing help. It was why he joined the military in the first place.
And now he had another war he was fighting.
“Your secrets are safe with me. I promise. That’s good to know about… his healing birds. And if he needs anything, even if it’s just someone to talk to about all of this,” Michael started and then paused and drew in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly.
“Let him know he can always talk to me.”
He didn’t have to tell Jeremy that he was involved for Jeremy to know. Not if he was as sharp as Michael thought he was.
“It’s not always easy thinking you’re alone with nowhere to turn.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:52 pm
Jeremy could piece enough together to know what Michael was saying without having to ask him to be more specific.
“Yeah,” he agreed. It was gruff, like he didn’t like to admit that it wasn’t easy when you thought you were alone. A muscle in his jaw twitched and he reached up to rub at his eyes briefly. He was tired. Worn thin.
Relieved, in the end.
This hadn’t gone exactly how he’d thought it was going to go but he wasn’t complaining. It was so much better than the alternative.
“I know. I’ll pass it on. We try not to keep too many secrets between the two of us. Didn’t really work out in our favor before, so. I trust him, though. Maybe I rag on him a bit, but he’s a good kid.” Good guy, even, but he’d always be a kid to Jeremy.
“He’s had some questions recently and doesn’t really know where to go to get them answered, so maybe I’ll give him your number.”
“Is he okay?” Soleiyu asked, still not looking up.
“He’s fine, yeah. Same thing we talked about last time. He’s ah,” he scratched the back of his neck like he was trying to figure out how to best explain things. “He’s gotten an interest in exploring. Except, the kid’s never been camping, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to send him out into the wilderness alone. I don’t take a lot of time off but I’m just worried about him getting in trouble and not having anyone to help him out. I mean, we’re city boys. He’s just got as much survival instinct as a goldfish. So if you’ve got any tips, or Devyn, yeah. I might bring him around if you don’t mind.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:57 pm
“Definitely not a good idea to send him out into the wilderness alone,” Michael grimaced at the thought. There was a lot when it came to survival, even if it was something simple like camping. If he wanted to explore, he probably meant his Wonder or World. The way Jeremy spoke about healing birds Michael had to assume it was the latter.
“Maybe when you get time you can both come along. Between me and Soleiyu, I’m sure we can get him a good number of trustworthy connections, especially when it comes to exploring and, ah… adventure. Just tell him not to pack any candles. Bears are attracted to them.”
Except there was something in Michael’s voice that clearly meant he was joking. He just knew of Jeremy’s brother’s hobbies.
“Thank you for stopping by, Jeremy. Chad is lucky to have someone like you looking out for him. Just be careful around his dad. We know he’s connected to the Negaverse, but he could very well be in it, himself.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:00 pm
“Well, I hope not. It’s a possibility, but I can’t help but think if he was going to do it himself he’d have been better off just taking his starseed and letting him go from natural causes, but. I guess we’ll see what the future holds. I’ll catch up with you soon, Michael. Soleiyu. Let me get out of here before someone starts wondering why I’m visiting. Lunch’ll be up soon and it’s going to be a long night, so I oughta go grab some coffee, anyway.”
He was still a bit at odds after all of this, but he wasn’t in a bad mood.
Uncertain and nervous, he wondered if he should have tried harder to keep Myles’ identity a secret. But then, Michael had trusted him–and he did trust Michael. They’d known each other for a while now, and even if it had just been casual drinking buddies, he’d known Soleiyu for just as long and had no reason not to trust him.
He didn’t know the exact connection between Senshi and Mauvians, but he understood that the cats were supposed to be a good judge of character–and he liked to think he was, too.
So, he trusted Michael.
He trusted that Devyn was keeping the kid safe.
Trusted that Chad was okay.
He managed a smile, no matter how brief, and ran his fingers through his hair only once before he half-turned back to the door.
“Sorry for barging in. I appreciate you being honest with me. I’ll go grab those papers and get out of your hair. I won’t have a chance to take care of them myself until after my shift and with the way my luck’s been going so far, I don’t want anyone to snoop around and find them.”
He wanted to think this was going to work out. Wanted to think that Chad was going to be okay.
Wanted to think Trent was going to get his just rewards, too, but.
He’d see what the future held.
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