The Return of the Phantom

A Disposition as Dry as Toast

Friends are there for you, even in the messiest of times. If they are a true friend, they'll have to deal with however much of that mess they throw your way.

Tucker liked to consider himself one of those friends, but this was getting ridiculous.

The past few days had already been stressful enough: that week he'd flown to Nevada for various tiresome meetings about disadvantaged schools lacking the "proper technology to provide students with an adequate education." Which was an important issue, but not when one is running on less than two hours of sleep.

Then he flew back yesterday only to find that the kindly old man who usually cleaned his office was out sick (mental note, remind secretary to send him a get well soon card). The man who replaced him had a fondness for natural cleaners and air fresheners, and that fondness was saturated into his rugs, the walls, the air was literally infused with the herby scent of lavender and tea tree oil.

It was awful. Oh how he missed those synthetic cleaners, upon which every breath seemed to clean his very insides with their chemical disinfection.

He was in the office now, and in memory of those scents he inhaled deeply, but coughed when the unfamiliar smells permeated his nostrils. Sniffling dramatically, he pulled his collar over his nose and collapsed into his chair. Then immediately sprang up as if stung.

It was still wet! Upon testing the carpet with a suspicious finger, he found it to be damp as well. The injustice!

His only comfort was in technology, but even that was starting to become a burden. He had two phones: one specifically for business and one for leisure. Even so, the two categories he'd threshed out with rigidity were starting to overlap. Checking his business phone, there was nothing new; he'd sent all his obligations to Lucien, his secretary. Taking a stressed breath, he put the business phone back into its special briefcase and pulled his leisure phone out of his pocket.

He'd been needing it a lot lately. The screen was filled with texts and emails, none of which were immediately important. Yet, one notification had to catch his eye.

Just to be sure, he opened it and read all the details it gave him, and his anxious expression changed into a grim smile. Only for you, Danny. He had to go.

With a sigh, he pulled on his coat, which was black with a cozy fur lining on the inside, and walked out where his secretary was sipping Chai tea and busily plugging numbers into a computer.

Lucien was technically a paid intern, but worked hard, and to be honest, Tucker enjoyed having the young undergrad around to liven the boring daily routine of the congressional offices.

Lucien immediately looked up curiously at Tucker's hasty departure. "Where are you off to so early?" The added bonus of the batting of eyelashes and the twirling of a sandy lock of hair was simply something everyone received from Lucien.

Tucker sighed, eyes darting down to look at his phone screen again. "One of my very good friends needs my help." Lucien nodded, with exaggerated interest in Tucker's every word. "You know, I honestly don't know how I do it all sometimes, Lucien. I'm really getting tired of devoting all my time and energy to this Congressional routine. I want to focus on more important things."

"I totally hear you, Representative." Was Lucien's enthusiastic response, in a tone with just the right amount of pity and encouragement.

Tucker smiled cordially in return and waved goodbye, while silently going through in his tired mind how exactly he was going to tackle cleaning up this next mess.

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Danny knew that there was probably something seriously wrong when he looked in the bathroom mirror and his eyes wouldn't stop glowing green. He kept blinking, silently praying they'd turn their normal blue again, but every time he'd be betrayed by the sight of green.