Feeling

Chapter Five

As the elevator doors opened, I was greeted with the sight of Caitlin sitting on the hood of a limousine, wearing a black and blue jacket that looked as stiff as it was thick.  Still, she had didn't look as constrained as I expected her to be, considering how small she was.  She threw similar jackets at the others in the group who all caught them easily...with the exception of Helix, who almost immediately dropped his onto the ground.  Nate let go of my arm for a second so he could pull on his fully black jacket.  Dave helped Bella with her black and white jacket before sliding on his own black and green one.

"Smooth move," said Riley, smacking the back of the blond's head after they'd slid on their own jacket, this one brown and black.

"It's not my fault she throws so fast, dude," said Helix, grabbing the black and yellow jacket and shrugging it on.

"Quiet down," said Dave, snapping his fingers.  They shut up almost immediately.  "Flectere, why don't you tell Justice what it is you handle around here?"

"I'm in charge of cars and transportation.  If it's got wheels, I can drive it.  If it's got wings, I can fly it.  And if it's got a sail, I can...sail it, I guess."  She slipped off the hood and knocked on the driver's window.  It rolled down to reveal an older man dressed like a chauffeur.  "On core missions, I do the driving but in daily life and other activities, Ex prefers us to use drivers.  We have a full fleet of cars, boats, planes, and others, all fully staffed with trained professionals."  Caitlin opened the back door of the limousine and gestured for everyone to get in.

Although Dave was Ex Malo Bonum, he stepped to the side so he could help Bella slide in first.  He followed and then Nate shoved me in after.  The other three followed at will, with Riley slamming the door shut behind us all.  "Where to, sir?" asked the driver.

"The warehouse," Dave said curtly, texting on his phone.

"Please," Caitlin added, chiding Dave with her words.  He stopped typing and looked up at her, glaring coldly enough to lower the temperature in the car by at least twenty degrees; she met his gaze exactly, however.

"Please," he said finally and someone bitterly, before turning back to his phone.  "Pacta, roll up the partition, I don't think that..."

"Greg."  Always a helpful one, that Caitlin.  Or so it seemed.

"Greg doesn't need to know everything that's going on back here."  The driver glanced back uncomfortably, his eyes settling on me as the unknown factor in the group before turning around and driving out of the garage complex we were in.

This was certainly an experience for me to remember.  I'd never ridden in a limousine before.  The closest I'd come was when one passed me in the street while I was on a rare trip downtown; I'd always imagined it was some social elite society member hiding themselves from the likes of me...but maybe it had been one of these people.  Still, I'd seen enough teen movies to gather a pretty good idea of what limousines entailed: broken partitions that never closed all the way, snacks galore, enough alcohol to drown an Irishman, and uncomfortable seats covered with a plastic coating that could be easily washed down, if you get my drift.

If this limousine was the norm, then I had been dead wrong.

The car glided early down the street and as Riley pushed a button above them on the ceiling, the partition slid up just as easily.  The seats were nice; a buttery pale leather that reminded me of a jacket I'd stolen once from a client who'd refused to pay.  The snacks were evident, as Helix was already breaking into them and loudly complaining that they needed more variety beyond a "shitty form of trail mix, Ex".  As for the alcohol, I was perfectly correct about the copious amounts of it and glasses were already being poured.