~~~
On their way out of the school, Agent Samuel quickly flicked whatever it was he used to magic his mother at the receptionist and she froze as well. They bustled through the glass wall door and Josh had just enough time to notice the snow had really begun piling up inside the glass-walled courtyard of the school office. He wondered exactly how they were supposed to be tracking a little furball through the snow, but didn’t ask. For the moment anyway, he thought he’d just see what Agent Samuel was up to.
Outside, in the teacher’s lot there was a black, sporty mid-sized sedan with very dark-tinted windows. Having toyed a bit with car and motorcycle magazines as he started being interested in more grown up things Josh recognized it was not a cheapy foreign thing. Agent Samuel cruised in something classy…a Chrylser, Lincoln or maybe a Mercedes. The trunk had something that looked vaguely like the airplane wings pin he’d gotten on a trip he had taken on a plane several years earlier, but he didn’t recognize it immediately. The wheels were large and the tires wide…probably not the best thing for driving around in fresh slushy snow. Stepping into the passenger seat the boy was pleased to find the seat was heated and the car had indeed been running. Samuel had flicked the keyfob a couple times as they had hurried through the other cars and Josh figured he must have a remote start or something. Leather and suede enveloped him and as the wipers flicked the couple inches of snow that had built up in the short time Samuel had been inside the building and Joshua found he was relaxed and comfortable already. Christmas music was playing on the radio as they pulled away, but it must have been a satellite station as there was no announcer in between the songs.
Maybe it’s custom? Josh pondered as the car slipped onto the first main road. It had been plowed and was relatively safe while Agent Samuel goosed the throttle and quiet but excited-sounding little rumble growled from the back of the car. For sure it had a V8 or at least a good-sized V6 moving the MIB-style luxury sedan quickly onto the road. Josh secretly hoped he could afford a cool car like the one Samuel was driving before they were all replaced with self-driving whimpering, battery-driven cars. He also secretly changed his mind about what he might want to do when he grew up. Being an Agent for, what was it? the Institute of Preserved Magical Arts or something or other, was beginning to seem pretty enticing.
The ride to Josh’s home was only seven minutes. But he’d seen three snow plows out and about and had heard two and half songs on the radio. As they pulled up, Samuel went straight into their driveway and hopped out of the car. Josh followed reluctantly.
“What are we doing here?” the boy asked.
Halfway to the front door, Agent S turned and blurted the obvious to his mind, “You need to get some warm clothes. And make sure you dress in layers.”
Josh stopped on the walk from the driveway to the front door. “How’d you know where I live exactly anyway?”
Reaching around the boy’s shoulder and scooting him indoors as quickly as he could, Samuel answered, “I’ve read through all your files before coming to get you. There’s a reason I’m trusting you to help me out, by the way. I figured you’d want to be part of this, don’t you?”
Nodding slightly as he turned the key on the front door and stepping inside Josh murmured, “What files?”
“Never mind that. You need to get several layers of very warm clothing. I’m not sure how long this will take.”
Josh went to his room and started rummaging around. When he’d collected an armful of various clothing items, such as his thermals, a spare pair of pants, shirt and winter coat along with headgear and gloves he asked the strange agent one more question. “Where’s all your warm clothes?”
“Oh don’t worry about that. I’m wearing most of what I need, and if I need anything else I can get it from the car.”
Josh’s eyebrow cocked to one side and tilted his head to the other as if he were trying to look up Agent Samuel’s sleeves. As far as he could tell he was wearing just a plain old business suit with a shirt. How was this guy supposed to keep warm in the storm?
At the front door Samuel pulled out a thin, back-pack looking bag that he seemed to have had tucked up under the suit coat. He began taking things from Josh’s hands and stuffing them into the backpack. “We’ll keep everything safe and dry in here.”
“Uh…Okay,” was the only response Josh could muster.
With the front door locked and the two seated back in Agent Samuel’s black sedan the man pushed a button on the steering wheel somewhere and within a few seconds a pleasant female voice responded. It didn’t sound like a bot voice Josh had heard on various smart phones but like it was actually a human responding.
“Agent Samuel. How may we help you?”
“I think we’re going to need one of the cross-country cold-climate vehicles.”
“Very likely, Agent. How would you like to receive?” the voice responded briefly but with a kind tone.
“Have one of the interns drive it to this address.” Agent Samuels quickly repeated Josh’s home address to the microphone wherever it was in the car. He seemed to be looking most frequently at the rear view mirror so Josh assumed that’s where it was. Or maybe there was a camera there too?
“Confirmed. That is where your vehicle is parked now. Shall I have the driver pick up your vehicle?”
“Yes. But it might not be here when the intern arrives. Tell them to wait for us if we haven’t returned.”
“Will do, Agent Samuel. Is there anything else I may help you with?”
“Yes…” Agent S looked at the boy beside him briefly as though making up his mind about something. “Are you receiving at the Detroit office? Or is this East Coast Home?”
“Michigan, Detroit office, sir,” the voice responded casually.
“Uh…Home?”
“Yes Agent Samuel?”
“You’d better make it a human intern, not one of those local interns. Right?”
“Will the agent be exposed, sir?”
Agent Samuel fussed a bit, still with a watchful eye on Josh, whose mouth had difficulty closing at that point. “No, Home. But we need to be cautious on this one just the same.”
“Confirmed. Anything else Agent Samuel?” the lady’s voice asked with what might have been the most minute hint of impatience growing.
“No Home. That will do. But please SMS me if Agent Jackson Davison calls in at all. I’m running under his authority on this one, after all.” Samuel looked Josh straight in the eye and gave him a forced smile. It wasn’t unpleasant but it didn’t come naturally it seemed.
“Yes, Agent Samuel. Call terminated.”
There was a soft click to disconnect the woman on the other end, only noticeable because Samuel had not yet started the car. But he did so immediately after hanging up and the softly grumbling engine came to life again. If nothing else, Josh was at least glad his report of the little fuzzball earned him the chance to ride around in the awesome car, and, apparently, to meet some sort of secret agent. The day was turning into one he figured he’d never forget, no matter how it turned out.