Hey everybody! Here is Chapter 5!
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Katja, happy birthday to you!" It was Katja's 13th birthday and she and Sophie were still living in Dallas. Despite being given fake birthdays by Witness Protection, the only birthdays that they celebrated were the original days. Katja had trudged down to the kitchen table where Sophie sat with a big stack of red velvet pancakes decorated with 13 candles. Katja's face broke out into a wide smile and she tackled Sophie with a hug.
"Thank you Sophie," Kat said happily. Sophie kissed her head fondly.
"You're welcome, Kitten," she said as she returned the hug. Though she was almost as tall as Sophie, Kat climbed onto Sophie's lap.
"You're getting a little big for that, don't you think?" Sophie asked jokingly. Kat stuck her tongue out at her and Sophie did the same before kissing her cheek. "Make a wish, Kitten." Kat stared at the candles for a few minutes before blowing out the candles.
"That took a while. What did you wish for honey?" Sophie asked as she took the candles off the pancakes and waved away the smoke.
"I wished we wouldn't have to move again. I like it here," Kat said longingly. Sophie stroked Kat's head.
"The Marshalls move us to keep us safe, but I agree with you," she said with a sad smile. A second later she remembered something and gently pushed Kat off of her lap.
"Sophie where are you going?" Kat called out. Sophie disappeared for a few minutes and came back with the TV on a rolling cart.
"I have something that I think will cheer you up," Sophie said triumphantly. Kat ate her pancakes as Sophie hooked the TV to the wall socket and put a tape in the VCR. After fiddling with the remote and a few curses, the screen turned on and up came a still frame of Elena, Kat's mom.
"Mama?" Kat asked softly. Sophie struggled to hide her smile and pressed play.
"Pietro, be quiet. We don't want to wake her," Elena said to the camera in Russian. Pietro, Kat's father, laughed quietly and followed his wife down a dim hallway, holding the camera high enough to see over Elena's head. They came to the end of the hall and quietly opened the door with the letter K on it. The floor was nearly covered in toys and clothes, but somehow Elena made it to the bed without stepping on anything. In the center of the room was a twin bed that held the sleeping 4-year-old Katja curled up in her blankets. Elena sat on the bed and gently shook Kat's shoulder.
"Kitten? Wake up, sweetie," she said softly. 4-year-old Kat's eyes opened slowly and she smiled as she saw her parents.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Katja, happy birthday to you," sang Pietro and Elena as Pietro pulled out a box tied in blue wrapping paper. Katja eagerly tore apart the paper and opened the box to pull out a pair of ice skates. Sophie stopped paying attention to the tape and looked at Kat, who had a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Sophie leaned over to hug Kat and they watched the rest of the tape for the rest of the morning.
Kat woke up with a smile on her face. That was one of the few nights when she didn't have nightmares and it was beautiful. She looked over at her window and sat the sky turning lighter with the coming of the sun. Kat sat up in bed and stretched before getting up to go to the window. She climbed up to the roof and sat there until the sun was just barely over the horizon before going back in her room to take a shower. She stepped out of the shower and put on a low cut blue top, skinny jeans, and blue flats. Kat detangled her hair and let it hang loose as she walked downstairs. She walked into the sunroom to see Leena, Claudia, Myka, and Pete standing around the table. They were bent over something on the table and didn't notice Kat's approach.
"Good morning," Kat said. They all turned around and smiled at her.
"Happy birthday Kat!" they yelled at her. Kat started laughing as they rushed at her and engulfed her in a massive hug.
"Thank you guys," she said as they broke away. Leena guided her to the table where a tall stack of red velvet pancakes waited for her. Kat froze at the sight and stared at Leena in confusion.
"I remember you saying that you love red velvet cake so I decided to make red velvet pancakes," Leena said. Kat looked at the pancakes and opened her mouth to speak, but was distracted by Pete running to the kitchen and back.
"We can't forget candles," he said. He had two candles in his hand, shaped like the numbers 1 and 2. He placed the 2 in front of the 1 and lit them with a pocket lighter.
"Make a wish, Kat," Myka said in excitement. Kat nodded and waited a minute to blow out her candles. She heard applause behind her and sat in the chair to pick off the candles.
"Kat, you okay?" Claudia asked with a hand on Kat's shoulder.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
"You're crying. Is everything alright?" Claudia asked. She sat in the chair next to Kat's and waited for her answer. Kat didn't even realize she was crying until Claudia pointed it out. She touched her face and laughed when she felt wet streaks going down her chin.
"I'm not sad, I'm happy. The last time someone made me red velvet pancakes was on my 13th birthday. I was just reminded of that, is all," Kat said as she wiped her face dry.
"Happy tears are okay. As long as there's nothing making you sad I'm okay with it," Claudia said as she cut into a pancake and stabbed some pieces onto a fork. "Open wide. Here comes the airplane." Claudia stuck the fork with pancakes in Kat's open mouth and the two women laughed at their antics. They chatted while Kat finished her breakfast and got their things together to drive over to the Warehouse.
"Morning, Artie," Kat said as they entered the office. Artie grunted in response and kept typing away at his computer. Kat rolled her eyes and watched in amusement as Artie pointed to the pegboard. She walked to the spot he pointed at and saw a white envelope pinned to the board with her name on it. Kat opened it and pulled out a set of car keys.
"Artie what is this?" she asked. Artie looked at her over his shoulder.
"Exactly what it looks like. Mrs. Frederic says happy birthday," he said as he turned back to his work. Kat was stunned, but ran outside and saw a dark grey Toyota Rav4 that she hadn't noticed when they pulled up. She smiled and ran back inside to hug Artie tightly. He tried to run away, but gave in and hugged her back before sending her away to do inventory. Kat ran down the stairs to bring out her bike and cart before speeding around the Warehouse floor with a checklist in the cart. She went down the aisles checking and rechecking artifacts that she and Artie had bagged before running into Claudia.
"Can I give you a ride, little miss?" Kat asked in a British accent. Claudia started laughing at the sight of the cart and curtseyed.
"Why thank you," she said in the same accent. She climbed in the cart and laughed as Kat drove her to the next aisle over for the next artifact on her list. The pair went around checking artifacts like this until they saw bright flashing lights and heard disco music. Claudia started dancing and Kat just shook her head.
"That'll be the Studio 54 disco ball. Come on, Boogie Wonderland, we should go see if they broke anything," Kat said sarcastically. Claudia stuck her tongue out at her.
"You're just mad because I can dance and you can't," she said as she climbed back in the cart.
"Oh I can dance. I just hate disco," Kat said as she got on the bike. Kat pedaled fast and hard to find the source of the lights and music. She and Claudia made found Pete holding up a large mirror and Myka sitting on the floor next to him. Artie and Leena came to the scene from another aisle and Artie immediately went to Myka.
"Myka are you okay? What's going on?" he asked with worry. Myka looked at him blankly and walked off.
"Ask him," she said emotionlessly. Kat looked at Myka as she walked away and looked back at the mirror with suspicion.
"I didn't realize we had Lewis Carroll's mirror," she said to Artie, who ignored her and looked at Pete for an explanation. After Artie yelled at Pete for playing with artifacts again, they all went back to work. Kat and Claudia continued to bike around the Warehouse for the rest of the morning, singing songs and making jokes about Artie.
"How does it feel? Knowing that you can legally buy your own whiskey now?" Claudia asked as Kat drove them home in her new car.
"Well, now I don't have to beg Leena to buy it for me, which is a plus. Other than that, I don't really feel different," Kat said as she laughed.
"You're not even a little excited?" Claudia asked dubiously.
"Of course I'm excited. I can legally get drunk if I want to and no one can arrest me," Kat said, laughing harder. Claudia shook her head at Kat and let her laugh. They arrived at the B&B in time for lunch and ate quickly. As Kat washed dishes, Claudia disappeared with Pete and Leena made some tea for Myka. Kat couldn't hear their conversation, but studied Myka's face while they spoke. It hadn't been more than a few hours since the disco ball went off, but something about Myka seemed different and it was bothering Kat. She finished the dishes quickly and went to sit at the table just as Artie arrived with a case and bakery goods. Claudia and Pete came in soon after with Claudia griping about a game that she had been playing.
"Gary and Jillian Whitman, aka, more aliases than they would care to mention. They are small-time thieves who have inexplicably hit the big-time," Artie began the intro to the case. Claudia and Pete began to fight again over the game and Myka snapped at them.
"Let's let Artie get through this so we can just not be here any longer than necessary, alright?" she said with a slight chuckle. Claudia and Pete looked at her with stunned disbelief while Kat simply raised a brow at her words.
"Thank you very much, Myka. Much appreciated," Artie said with surprise.
"You're welcome," Myka said sweetly. Kat's eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. With Myka's near-constant moods at Artie this past week, this reaction was a complete 180 from how she was this morning. Myka looked at Kat with a question on her face and Kat just shook her head like there was nothing wrong.
"So what is this artifact?" Myka asked curiously.
"It's unconfirmed, but if there is one, it's given these two an unbelievable amount of luck; the kind that defies all laws of probability. They've had winning streaks in Miami, Detroit, and Atlantic City and not one single gaming commission alarm bell has been tripped," Artie answered.
"So they're high rollers who stay under the radar?" Kat summed up. They all stared at her with confusion. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know how gambling works."
"And more on that later. They're taking a little bit back from the house. What's the big deal?" Pete asked in an easy manner.
"Iniquitous hands with the means to exploit fate," Artie emphasized.
"Iniquitous means bad," Claudia faux whispered to Pete.
"Thanks, Roget," he said sarcastically.
"So where are they now?" Myka asked as she ate a Danish muffin. Kat's eye twitched at the action. Myka almost never eats sweets…
"Three hours ago, they checked into room 1510 at the Maximus Hotel in Las Vegas. I've also prepared a rundown of possible artifacts that are still in the wild that might be responsible. And there's also plane tickets and reservations for the Maximus and all that stuff," Artie explained as he handed Pete and Myka files with more information.
"Artie, can I go with them?" Kat asked excitedly.
"Not a chance. I need you here. You can go another time," Artie said immediately. Kat pouted and sat back in her chair. Artie hesitated for a moment when he saw her face, but was distracted by Myka.
"Where's the money?"
"What?" Artie asked in confusion.
"Well, we need to roll high," came Myka's explanation.
"There's $10,000 in Pete's envelope," Artie pointed to Pete. The field agents smiled in excitement as Pete pulled out the money. Artie ushered Pete and Myka away as Kat put the bakery goods away in the kitchen and put the tea cups in the sink to be washed later. She heard raised voices and saw Artie stalking off leaving a seated Claudia who mildly scared.
"What was that about?" Kat asked, staring after Artie.
"I offered to help with the McPherson thing, but he doesn't want me digging into it. Don't even worry about it," Claudia said as she saw the frown on Kat's face. She knew the older girl could get protective and didn't want to be the cause of an argument between Kat and Artie.
"As long as you're okay," Kat said as she smoothed Claudia's hair back from her face. Claudia blushed and nodded quickly before getting up.
"Yup. Totally fine. We can go now," she said as she grabbed her bag and ran for the door. Kat smirked in triumph and nearly ran into Leena on her way out.
"You shouldn't tease her like that," Leena said in a faux stern voice. Kat shrugged.
"She won't ever respond to me that way, anyway. What's the harm in having a little fun once in a while?" Kat asked devilishly. Leena rolled her eyes and handed her her coat before following Kat out to her car.
"Eventually you're going to have to tell her why you torture her so much," Leena said patiently.
"I was going to tell them all after Pete and Myka get back," Kat said hesitantly. Leena looked at her in surprise.
"Really? Are you ready for that?"
"I'm pretty sure Myka's already figured it out by now so I don't see why not," Kat said with a shrug. Leena gave her a one-armed hug as they got closer to the car.
"Everything will be fine. You'll see," she said confidently as she watched Kat get into the car.
"What'll you see?" Claudia asked as Kat climbed into the driver seat.
"Leena thinks I'll be able to persuade Artie into letting me go to Vegas alone for my birthday, but I'm not so sure," Kat said quickly, covering up her troubled look. The drive seemed to last an eternity to Kat, who couldn't help but think of all the possible outcomes of her announcement. Would they take it well? Would they avoid her? Would she be allowed to continue working at the Warehouse? They were stupid questions, but they haunted Kat nonetheless. Claudia went down to the Warehouse floor with Artie while Kat and Leena stayed up in the office organizing files. They worked silently until Kat's phone went started buzzing with a call from Claudia.
"Hey can you bring your bike and meet us down by the disco ball?" Claudia asked immediately.
"Sure. When?"
"Now, if possible." Kat hung up and ran down to where her bike was stored and rode over to Artie and Claudia. They were trying to put the cover back over Lewis Carroll's mirror when Kat reached them.
"What's going on?" They turned to her as they succeeded in putting the cover over the entire mirror.
"We have a slight problem, but nothing to worry about until we get back to the office," Claudia said quickly. Kat didn't look convinced and stared at the mirror curiously.
"Don't just stand there. Help us get this on the cart," Artie said, blocking her vision. Kat frowned, but did as asked and tied cables down over the mirror to secure it. She rode back to the office and waited for Claudia and Artie catch up with her. The three of them struggled to get the mirror up the stairs while it was still attached to the cart.
"Careful!"
"Stop yelling!"
"Be quiet, both of you!" Kat shouted at them. She ended up taking the brunt of the weight going up the stairs and was quickly tiring of their bickering. They finally got the mirror into the office where Kat sat in Artie's chair and tried to catch her breath. Leena came in through the umbilicus and Artie berated her for taking her time in arriving.
"What's this?" Leena asked curiously.
"Well, this is why I called you," Artie said as he pulled the cover off the mirror. Kat watched in horror as Myka stared back at them with terror in her face.
"Why didn't you tell me that Myka was in the mirror?" Kat asked in a deathly calm voice. Claudia and Artie shuddered simultaneously and looked at each to see who would answer the angry Russian.
"Artie, what happened?" Leena asked, breaking the tension.
"Optical divagation, I think," he said with a sigh.
"What?" Claudia asked.
"Kind of like a retinal flare after a photo flash. My best guess is the blast from the disco ball, it kind of fritzed this mirror's primary reflective capacity and probably clipped part of Myka's psyche and fused it in there. It's kind of like a shadow on the wall after Hiroshima," Artie tried to explain.
"It's a pretty lively shadow," Leena observed.
"Yes, but is it?" Artie countered.
"Is it what?"
"Alive," Leena said simply. She and Artie shared a look before Leena rolled up her sleeves and Artie took a firm hold of her belt.
"What's that about?" Claudia asked suspiciously.
"I'm going to pull her back if she falls in. Get your mind out of the gutter," Artie replied sardonically. Artie braced himself and Leena put her hand on different spots of the mirror where Myka stood. After a moment of searching, Artie pulled her back.
"So?"
"Nothing," Leena said in confusion.
"So what is it? Just a shadow play?"
"Well, the glass is like a barrier. If that's alive I can't tell," Leena said as she stared at the mirror.
"Let's just ask her," Claudia suggested.
"It," Artie corrected briskly.
"Well 'it' might have something to tell us. Why can't we just talk to her?" Claudia snapped back.
"Because we do not converse with reflective entities, okay?"
"Because?"
"Bloody Mary," Kat said quietly from the chair. Claudia looked at her in disbelief.
"That's just an urban legend, though, right?"
"Oh it's very much real," Kat said as she stood up.
"Shadows have power and you let this thing speak and there is no telling what could happen," Artie said. He started mumbling to himself, but turned away to call Pete on the Farnsworth. Pete wasn't picking up a bad vibe from Myka so Artie cut the call.
"He's fine and so is Myka, okay?" Artie said to Leena and Kat. They didn't look convinced, but it was enough to make Artie turn back and look for clues about the mirror. As Leena and Artie debated details over the mirror, Kat went over to take a nap on the chair by the door.
"What is that?" came Leena's voice. It startled Kat, who woke up with a jolt and sat up straight. She sleepily stretched and walked over to the mirror where Claudia had placed a tripod in front of it. There was something attached to the top of it, but it was covered up.
"It's just something I whipped up," Claudia said as she adjusted the tripod.
"What do you mean, whipped up? Just now?" Artie asked suspiciously.
"Yeah that's right," came Claudia's response. She took off the cover. It looked like a mess of electrical boxes tied together by rope.
"What are you doing?"
"Opening a line of communication. The CIA uses laser mics to read vibrations off windows to hear what's going on the other side of the window, right?"
"Yeah," Artie said cautiously.
"I want to hear what she has to say," Claudia said with determination. Artie cut in front of her before she could take down the cover, which had been put back up while Kat was sleeping.
"Bloody Mary, shadows have power, I get it, but what if that's not just a shadow, Artie?" Claudia asked impatiently. After some persuading and trying to get around him, Artie finally pulled down the cover and allowed Claudia to set up her machine. She pushed a few buttons and suddenly a blue laser shot at the mirror, making the surface ripple with the force.
"I've been burned by this before. They look real and they'll say anything," Artie warned.
"Say something," Claudia encouraged.
"Artie when I get out of here I'm hugging her and I'm kicking your ass," Myka's shadow said. Leena and Kat smirked at the sass.
"That won't be happening," Artie said as he swiveled on his chair.
"Artie it's me," pleaded the shadow.
"You're just a reflection. The real Myka is in Las Vegas on a mission with Pete," Artie said calmly.
"What? No I'm not, Artie," the shadow said.
"See?" Claudia said to Artie.
"That's exactly what I mean. You just don't get it. Turn that thing off," he ordered.
"Artie, if I'm in Vegas with Pete, then how can I be here? Just don't turn it off," the shadow reasoned. Artie turned off the laser against her words.
"Whatever that thing is, it's never getting out of here," he said with finality.
"Artie, I understand your need to take everything with a grain of salt, but I think Claudia might be onto something," Kat said. Artie ignored her and went back to researching the mirror Kat glared at him in frustration and walked into the kitchen to make some coffee. Claudia followed her and sat in a chair, watching as the older girl started muttering to herself in Russian. Kat noticed that Claudia had followed her and sighed.
"We can't help him solve this if he refuses to listen," she said. Claudia nodded and waited for her to continue. Kat poured her coffee into a mug and lead Claudia out to the porch. The two girls sat side-by-side and stared sullenly at the Warehouse until Kat ran out of coffee and had to go back in for more. They stayed with Artie and Leena, pacing about the room until Leena spoke up.
"You know when you hold a mirror up to a second mirror and you get that sort of reflected infinity thing?" Kat and Artie nodded while Claudia kept pacing. "Well, what happens if that mirror is reflected into something like the Studio 54 disco ball? Is it possible to get some kind of artifact interaction? Something completely unexpected?"
"I don't know," Artie said tiredly.
"What if the disco ball goes off and someone is standing in front of Alice's mirror?"
"Just like Myka was," Kat said, catching onto Leena's thought.
"I think we know what happens," Artie said in an obvious tone of voice.
"Do we really?" Leena countered.
"Could reflections switch places?" Claudia asked.
"Could people?" Leena added.
"If they could, then theoretically the personalities should follow too," Kat said.
"She pulls to the right," Artie said in awe.
"Pardon?" Kat and Leena asked.
"It's something I noticed a couple months ago. When Myka's mad at me, she pulls to the right," Artie said as he walked closer to the mirror.
"She's mad at you now. Has been for about a week," Claudia said.
"So is she…" Leena started.
"Pulling…" Claudia continued.
"To the right?" Kat finished. Artie didn't answer, but took down the cover to the mirror and sat his chair in front of it. He nodded at Claudia and she turned on the machine.
"You're really mad at me," Artie started.
"I feel sorry for you, actually," Myka's shadow said from where it was sitting.
"Why is that?"
"Because of all the things right in front of your face that you simply refuse to see."
"Like what?"
"Like me."
"Well, I need to ask you a question only the real Myka would know the answer to," Artie said after an awkward moment.
"You're wasting time, Artie, cause Pete's in danger," Myka said curtly.
"So are you, right? If you're really who you say you are," Artie insisted.
"Okay," Myka said after a moment. "Here's what you and I both know, but we never talk about it." Artie waited for her to continue.
"That I don't trust you. That I need you to tell me the truth and to not treat me like chess piece that you move around on a board that only you can see. That I am valuable, that I matter, and that I deserve to know everything I can about this world that you send me into every day so at least I have a fighting chance." Kat sat down and crossed her arms over her chest and listened with a sense of satisfaction. This was Myka, not the woman who was with Pete.
"In spite of everything, I like you. I think you're great. And I want you to think the same of me," Myka finished. Artie kneeled down in front of the mirror and put his hand on it. Myka put her hand on the same spot from her side of the mirror.
"I screwed up," Artie said simply.
"Yes you did," Myka said bluntly. Artie smiled faintly and stood up.
"Call them," Kat said as she handed Artie the Farnsworth.
"Well, what do you want me to say? 'Hi Myka. We think you're sharing a body with a deranged psychopath?'" Artie said sarcastically.
"I don't know! Ask them about her ferret for all I care," Kat defended herself. Artie thought about it and nodded his approval before calling them. Alice-Myka answered the call.
"Hey," she said sweetly. Kat, who wasn't in view of the Farnsworth, shuddered and pretended to vomit at the sickly sweet tone, much to the amusement of the ladies.
"Hey. Is Pete with you?" Artie asked, trying to ignore Kat.
"No. Listen, I'm a bit busy. Can I call you back?" Alice-Myka said.
"Yeah sure. Is everything okay?"
"It will be as soon as I can get back to work."
"Okay, yeah. I've got some bad news. Leena tells me that your ferret escaped and she's been trying to call for it. She doesn't know its name. I don't even know if you finally named that thing, did you?" Artie asked.
"No, actually, I never did. Just put some food out and it'll come back. I've got to go," Alice-Myka said before she hung up.
"I didn't think you would take me seriously on that. What's so important about the ferret's name?" Kat asked.
"Myka did name the ferret. She's just not telling Pete the name," Leena said smugly.
"Why not?" Claudia asked before Kat could.
"She named it Pete," Artie said with a sigh. Claudia and Kat laughed at that.
"Yeah, it's cute, but so annoying," Myka said as an explanation.
"I like that. That's good," Claudia said to her.
"You think that's funny? Because if she thinks we know, she'll kill him," Artie said tensely.
"Not if we don't warn him," Kat said. They spent several minutes trying to call Pete on his cell and trying not to think of the worst possible scenario.
"I can't get a hold of him. His cell keeps going to voicemail," Artie said finally.
"He's in a big hotel. Why not just call him from the front desk?" Kat asked as she poured herself a third cup of coffee.
"Don't you think you're had enough coffee? You know how caffeine affects you," Leena said as she scrutinized the mug.
"What else do you want me to drink, Leena? I hate tea and I don't think whiskey is going to help me contribute," Kat snapped at her. Leena just raised an eyebrow at her and held out her hand. Kat glared at the hand before passing over her mug.
"Don't make her too angry, Leena. We all know how cranky she gets without coffee," Claudia said with a grin.
"You've never seen her with too much coffee," Leena said as Kat sat back in her chair.
"Is it really that bad?" Myka asked from the mirror.
"Think of Pete with comic books, multiply that by five, and that's generally how much energy she has with more than three cups of coffee," Leena said as she stroked Kat's hair.
"It's better than dealing with headaches all day long," Kat said as she closed her eyes. After Artie got a hold of Pete, they all went to work and started laying out a trap for Alice-Myka. Artie and Kat took the mirror back down to the Warehouse floor and covered it back up with the sheet while Claudia and Leena hid in a room next to the office. Artie headed back to the office with a plan to find and follow Alice-Myka to the mirror while Kat stayed behind and hoisted the Studio 54 disco ball into the air. After securing it with some rope, Kat hid behind a crate and waited for Alice-Myka to show up. Kat saw her walk by a few minutes later and stood to follow her when she saw Pete come out from behind another aisle and start flinging ping-pong balls at her. Alice-Myka pointed her gun at Pete and Pete yelled to Artie, who shot up a flare signaling Claudia and Leena. A second later, the disco ball was hit with a laser and it started flashing and playing 80s music. The light hit the mirror and the mirror started glowing, making Alice-Myka scream. Kat closed her eyes and looked away from the mirror, turning back once the light had died down. The real Myka stood there with a relieved look on her face. Kat ran to hug her and smiled as Myka hugged Pete and Artie.
"I know we're not supposed to do this, but can we please burn that mirror?" Kat asked as they walked back up to the office. Artie laughed at her question and shook his head no. They were quiet on the ride home and silently ate dinner. After washing the dishes, Kat felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Pete, Myka, Claudia, and Leena looking at her expectantly.
"Come on, girlie. It's time you had your first drink," Pete said, slinging an arm over her shoulder. They all walked out to Pete's car and climbed inside.
"My first legal drink, you mean," Kat said with a grin.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Myka said with a smile.
"Oh calm down, Mykes. Don't act as if you never had a couple sips before your 21st," Pete said.
"A few sips, sure, but never anything more than that," Myka said defensively.
"Leena, why are Mommy and Daddy fighting?" Kat asked with a wide grin. Leena and Claudia started laughing while Pete and Myka's bickering got worse.
"How about this?" Pete said to Myka as they pulled up to the only bar in Univille, "I'll teach her how to drink responsibly and you teach her how to pick up guys."
"Or Myka can teach me how to drink responsibly and you can teach me how to pick up girls," Kat suggested as they got out of the car. Pete and Claudia stared at her as if she had grown three heads while Leena and Myka were nonchalant.
"You can't seriously tell me you thought she was straight, can you?" Myka said as they entered the bar.
"Well I was going to ask, but since you beat me to it, it means less work for me," Pete said with a wide grin.
"I think you made a mistake in telling Pete," Claudia said as she gave Kat a side hug. Kat felt warmth spread through her chest as she realized that Claudia wasn't going to avoid her.
"Don't say that, Claudia. It would be my honor to teach you the art of ensnaring the fairer sex," Pete said in a posh British accent. They all laughed at Pete and ordered a round of drinks. Pete, Myka, and Leena all took turns telling Kat and Claudia about their 21st birthdays and the two younger girls died laughing. As it got later, Kat excused herself to get some fresh air. As she was pulling on her coat, she felt something in her pocket and pulled out a sliver of paper. On it was the phone number that Mrs. F had given her a few weeks back when they were in Washington, D.C. Kat stared at the paper for a minute before pulling out her phone and dialing the number. Kat waited nervously as the dial tone rang numerous times.
"Hello? Who is this?" came Thomas Kane's sleepy voice. Hearing it brought back a rush of memories from and made Kat feel sick to her stomach.
"Hi Tom. It's Katie McLeod. I heard you've been looking for me."