A/N: Yes, I'm back. Don't think I would abandon you guys. I'm hard at work
on this fanfic, and I plan to do a one-shot soon that is either another
Young Wizards musical or a "Harry Potter Meets the Pillsbury Doughboy"
story, basicly where Harry squishes him and pokes him in the stomach a lot.
Anyway, I DO NOT own any part of the YW series, they are all DD's, please
don't sue. Thanks. Enjoy.
Tom Swale greeted Nita at the door. He was a tall, good looking man in his late forties and, Nita noticed, a disturbing amount of gray sprinkled among his otherwise jet black hair. "Come in," said Tom warmly, ushering her inside. "Something to drink? Coke, maybe?"
"Yes please," replied Nita, shrugging off her parka, which was useless in this heat but very comfortably on Mars, and slinging it over the back of a chair.
A very muffled, "Hi, Nita," came from what appeared to be a solitary pair of legs because the torso of the man was hidden underneath the kitchen sink. There was a clunk, a garbled swear, a clatter as a wire clipper slid to the floor, and the tap on the sink exploded, spraying water everywhere.
Carl Romeo hurriedly extricated himself from the piping, and muttered to the sink in Speech, "If you don't cut this out I'm going to unscrew you and use you as a crowbar, got it?"
Immediately, the spraying stopped. Nita raised her eyebrow and chuckled. "A bit harsh, don't you think?"
"Nah," said Carl, pulling a bottle of Coke out of the fridge and tossing it to Nita, who caught it deftly. "I've been wrestling with that damn sink for about a week.
Tom pulled up a chair beside Nita. "Yeah, seems that everything about this house is trying to kill him now."
Nita laughed. "Wasn't that happening a month ago too? Hey, Kit."
Kit had just jogged up the path and through the still open door, his forehead beading sweat.
"Why'd you run, idiot?" asked Nita, punching him jokingly on the arm. "Why not just pop in?"
"Okay. Let's get this over with so I can finish wrestling with the sink," interrupted Carl, sitting down across from Nita and rubbing his hands together in a businesslike way. "We want you two to tackle an assignment for us." He paused, as though waiting for someone else to speak, than continued, "Have you heard about those robberies that some of the advisories think were done by a wizard?"
Kit and Nita nodded mutely. Are they really going to ask us to find the thief? thought Nita. That's absurd. There's no way they would do that.
Tom's voice broke into her thoughts. "You job," he said, "is to bring down the person behind the robberies, the wizard gone rogue, I guess you'd call him.
She stared. Just sat and stared at Tom as what he was saying began to sink in. "We have to catch...?" She trailed away into nothingness and glanced at Kit, who looked just as shocked by their assignment as she did.
Carl consulted his manual, which was lying on the table and was the size of a phonebook today, and then looked up. "I think it's best if you try to figure out where the rogue is hiding by spooking a gang he's rumored to be working with."
He turned to Tom, who took the hint and continued the conversation. "There are about six or seven of them," he said, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "They wear red and black motorcycle jackets and hang around Central Park when they're not doing a job. So, what you have to do it –"
He was cut off as a buzzer rang somewhere in the house. "Oh crud, we've gotta run," he said, shutting his manual with a snap. "Look, I'll put something in the book, but you'll figure it out, I'm sure. Good luck, you two." He hurried off into the back of the house with Carl.
There was a long and uncomfortable silence. "Um..." Kit said eventually, but seemed unable to finish.
There was another pause then: "Do you think they meant it?" asked Nita, gripping her empty Coke bottle hard.
"Yeah. They can't lie, they're wizards."
"Well... can you come over to my house? We've gotta talk this over."
"Sure thing," said Kit, pushing himself up from his chair. "I just have to pop home and ask my parents. On second thought, though... I'll just call them from your place."
Nita stood and tossed her bottle in the trash, then continued out the door. The fresh air was reassuring, but it did nothing to shut out her growing apprehension about her assignment. If this rogue was powerful enough to cast a spell that would throw the Powers That Be off their trail so that they had to send a wizard after him... well, she didn't want to think about what he might do to her and Kit if he got the chance.
She began to open her claudation, her head still buzzing, but before she had fully opened the zipper of wizardry, Kit laid his hand on her wrist, stopping her.
"Can we walk?" he asked. "I'm a bit shaky, and I'm not really up to a transit right now.
Nita considered for a moment. "Yeah, you're right," she said, shaking her head. "I don't really feel that great either."
And they walked off into the sunset, both with their own thoughts, but one prominent among them in both their minds: how the heck are we going to get this job done?!
Tom Swale greeted Nita at the door. He was a tall, good looking man in his late forties and, Nita noticed, a disturbing amount of gray sprinkled among his otherwise jet black hair. "Come in," said Tom warmly, ushering her inside. "Something to drink? Coke, maybe?"
"Yes please," replied Nita, shrugging off her parka, which was useless in this heat but very comfortably on Mars, and slinging it over the back of a chair.
A very muffled, "Hi, Nita," came from what appeared to be a solitary pair of legs because the torso of the man was hidden underneath the kitchen sink. There was a clunk, a garbled swear, a clatter as a wire clipper slid to the floor, and the tap on the sink exploded, spraying water everywhere.
Carl Romeo hurriedly extricated himself from the piping, and muttered to the sink in Speech, "If you don't cut this out I'm going to unscrew you and use you as a crowbar, got it?"
Immediately, the spraying stopped. Nita raised her eyebrow and chuckled. "A bit harsh, don't you think?"
"Nah," said Carl, pulling a bottle of Coke out of the fridge and tossing it to Nita, who caught it deftly. "I've been wrestling with that damn sink for about a week.
Tom pulled up a chair beside Nita. "Yeah, seems that everything about this house is trying to kill him now."
Nita laughed. "Wasn't that happening a month ago too? Hey, Kit."
Kit had just jogged up the path and through the still open door, his forehead beading sweat.
"Why'd you run, idiot?" asked Nita, punching him jokingly on the arm. "Why not just pop in?"
"Okay. Let's get this over with so I can finish wrestling with the sink," interrupted Carl, sitting down across from Nita and rubbing his hands together in a businesslike way. "We want you two to tackle an assignment for us." He paused, as though waiting for someone else to speak, than continued, "Have you heard about those robberies that some of the advisories think were done by a wizard?"
Kit and Nita nodded mutely. Are they really going to ask us to find the thief? thought Nita. That's absurd. There's no way they would do that.
Tom's voice broke into her thoughts. "You job," he said, "is to bring down the person behind the robberies, the wizard gone rogue, I guess you'd call him.
She stared. Just sat and stared at Tom as what he was saying began to sink in. "We have to catch...?" She trailed away into nothingness and glanced at Kit, who looked just as shocked by their assignment as she did.
Carl consulted his manual, which was lying on the table and was the size of a phonebook today, and then looked up. "I think it's best if you try to figure out where the rogue is hiding by spooking a gang he's rumored to be working with."
He turned to Tom, who took the hint and continued the conversation. "There are about six or seven of them," he said, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "They wear red and black motorcycle jackets and hang around Central Park when they're not doing a job. So, what you have to do it –"
He was cut off as a buzzer rang somewhere in the house. "Oh crud, we've gotta run," he said, shutting his manual with a snap. "Look, I'll put something in the book, but you'll figure it out, I'm sure. Good luck, you two." He hurried off into the back of the house with Carl.
There was a long and uncomfortable silence. "Um..." Kit said eventually, but seemed unable to finish.
There was another pause then: "Do you think they meant it?" asked Nita, gripping her empty Coke bottle hard.
"Yeah. They can't lie, they're wizards."
"Well... can you come over to my house? We've gotta talk this over."
"Sure thing," said Kit, pushing himself up from his chair. "I just have to pop home and ask my parents. On second thought, though... I'll just call them from your place."
Nita stood and tossed her bottle in the trash, then continued out the door. The fresh air was reassuring, but it did nothing to shut out her growing apprehension about her assignment. If this rogue was powerful enough to cast a spell that would throw the Powers That Be off their trail so that they had to send a wizard after him... well, she didn't want to think about what he might do to her and Kit if he got the chance.
She began to open her claudation, her head still buzzing, but before she had fully opened the zipper of wizardry, Kit laid his hand on her wrist, stopping her.
"Can we walk?" he asked. "I'm a bit shaky, and I'm not really up to a transit right now.
Nita considered for a moment. "Yeah, you're right," she said, shaking her head. "I don't really feel that great either."
And they walked off into the sunset, both with their own thoughts, but one prominent among them in both their minds: how the heck are we going to get this job done?!