Bradford took in the smell of the cold, wet air into his lungs, and let out all the stress and anxiety he felt in the last several hours into a cool wisp of wind. He needed to be calm for this.
He took the last remaining steps toward his car and stood before the driver's window with only the dim lamps coming from the mansion illuminating his face. The window rolled down revealing Pepper behind the wheel, now wearing a chauffeur's cap and suit. The umbrella covered her from the hard, impeding rain.
"You ready, Director Buzzard? Where's the little ankle-bitter?"
He narrowed his eyes at her and pinched the bridge of his beak. "Agent Pepper, please refrain from calling me 'director' on these premises. Just 'Mr. Buzzard.'" He sighed. "April's back in the mansion. I'll be staying the night to keep my cover, perhaps even longer. Didn't you hear what happened through the spy-fly?"
Pepper looked behind her towards the passenger seats where the recording equipment were located. "Well, I only heard and recorded the conversation they had in the kitchen really, since you weren't there to hear them."
"And?"
She bit her lip and hunched her shoulders together submissively, tapping her index fingers together. "Well…that spy-fly…well, ya see…"
Bradford's eyebrows shot up briefly, then returned to its usual deadpanned manner.
"She found out about it, didn't she?"
"I don't know!" Pepper shouted, gasped, then swiftly covered her beak, shifting her gaze around as if expecting Beakley to jump out of the bushes. She held a hand near her beak and said in a hushed tone, "I don't know. She said she didn't suspect you at all - called you 'meek' actually."
"'Meek'?" Bradford repeated, an affronted brow raised.
"Yeah, I know. Crazy, right? And then they just talked about how they were gonna tell you about the whole FOWL thing, with little April and what-not, as if you didn't know. And then, the last thing I heard was a huge-" Pepper clapped her hands, but she had the foresight to not do it loudly. "Whap. Really burst my eardrums, dontcha know. I heard 22 saying something about a pest and then bloop- lost contact." She tapped her earpiece fervently. "Wanna hear it?"
What could this mean? Did Beakley suspect him? From what Pepper said, her words said she didn't, but he knew her better. Agent 22 was not known to underestimate her enemies. Yet still, that is what happened today. Was she hiding her cover even from Scrooge, keeping her secrets to herself for the time being? Or, did she really think of him as posing no harm? Were her biases blinding her? He could see that happening. But why didn't she stop him? Why trust him to hold and care for the child if she suspected him?
Nothing added up. He expected Bentina to be even more cautious especially after such an event. Didn't she at all recognize him? Did she have even some suspicion of why she saw a vulture twice in one day that had some relation with events dealing with FOWL? Perhaps her trust in him was more firm than he thought…or perhaps…
He shook his head. "I'm short on time right now, maybe later. Just go to the market, bring back some formula, bottles, fresh diapers, baby clothes, and a crib - if you can find all that at this time of night. Come back here with these items within the next hour, then go back to the house and set up the crib there. Tell my brothers I'll be away for a while again and that both the Sword and the Stone need to be protected at all costs and that neither should be touched under any circumstances."
She nodded eagerly. "Ok, got it. And what about me?"
He waved a dismissive hand at her. "Doesn't matter to me. Keep them company, watch the house and the relics, then wait for a signal from me for you to go on your way. It'll be a long while before we could all regroup. I'll also have to find a way to send the Stone back to my personal archives. You can do whatever you feel like until then, I don't care either way."
"Oh," she muttered, disappointed. "That's a shame. That kid you had there actually reminded me of my little sister Gertrude. Such a cute little dimple too, ya know, always liked me best, dontcha know," she chuckled halfheartedly, her words jumbling up in her nervousness.
Bradford's brows shot up. "Wait. You know how to take care of children? Why didn't you say something before?"
Pepper became excited and beamed. "'Course I do, you just never asked! Second oldest of eight, not to mention all the babysitting I used to do for all my cousins and nieces!" From out of nowhere she pulled out her wallet where a stream of photos of different smiling children flung all the way to the wet ground. "The kids were all so cute! There's my little brother Alex and his toy boat-"
"Pepper."
She stopped and looked at Bradford blankly with large eyes, then she became downcast, embarrassed. She swallowed heavily. "Yes?" she mumbled.
"Tell me why you joined FOWL."
"Oh, uh…" The question seemed to surprise her as she put her wallet away, a sad look washing her over. The pitter-patter of rain on the car echoed around the empty lot, filling up the small silence. "I…I heard about it from a friend of mine during high school. The idea of bringing control to an uncontrollable world. Stability, no matter what. I-uh- I had an aunt who was really hurt by an unleashed spirit, about a couple of years ago. I-um- was very close to her and-"
She pursed her beak, trying to hold back a sob.
"You're hired."
Pepper looked up, surprised. "Huh- what? Hired?"
He nodded assuredly. "Yes. You start next week as April's personal caretaker at my home whenever I'm at work and can't care for her. I will contact you directly with more directions soon."
"Oh- but-but I'm already hired- by you!"
"You start at $40 an hour."
Her eyes bulged. "Oh wow…that's more than what my parents make combined. Uhh," she frantically corrected her outfit and tided up her unmanageable curly hair. "Don't worry, Mr. Buzzard, I'll take good care of your daughter, just you wait!"
"She's not-" But he stopped himself, the words didn't feel right for him to say. "Yes. Thank you, Pepper. I'm very grateful for any help at this point. Now, go. I'm sure you remember the way back?"
"Yes sir, I do!" She started the car up. "I'll see you next week then. Oooh, I can't wait to properly meet April, I bet she's a real sweetheart! It was so cute the way you carried her when we came up the-"
"Pepper."
"Oh, sorry, sir!" she flustered. "I guess I better get going, the rain must be freezing you up to the bone. I'll be hearing from you!"
She closed the car window and drove off, leaving him alone on the driveway under the light of the mansion's streetlamps.
"And you," he said under his breath to no one, mist coming out of his mouth as he watched his vehicle exit.
The rain continued to fall, drizzling the pavement and his umbrella with a loud drumming. The day indeed had been long, and his mind had not yet fully comprehended what happened to him in the last 24 hours. His thoughts instead were full of the rhythmic, soothing sound of raindrops falling around him, calming him with their repetitive touch, removing his memories of today, of his vices, of all his deeds and faults.
The umbrella in his hand slowly fell from his grasp, and the unavoidable rain began pelting his weary face and ruffled business suit. He closed his eyes and lifted his head up to the sky, relaxing himself and allowing the drops of water to overtake him completely, washing away all that he was and all that he will be.
It was time for him to start anew with what he had now. And that meant taking his life into his own hands, without anyone telling him what to do, without anyone standing beside him, without needing to mind their actions. A renewed sense of strength returned to him, filling him up from his joints to his limbs. He felt a sense of surety about what he should do, what he had to do, but exactly what he didn't know now. He was sure it'll come to him.
"Bradford!" he heard Beakley's voice call out with the faint sound of a child crying in the background. "You're going to catch your death out there like that! Put up your umbrella and come back inside!"
She was right, of course. The rain may have brought in him a new drive for his life, but he still felt the sharp pains of age in his bones. He still had some years ahead of him. If this is what it took to bring about his visions to the world, then so be it.
But, there was no further use for him to cover himself- he was soaked anyways. He picked up the umbrella, folded it, then returned to the mansion's front porch, a touch of determination in his step.
He was going to need some new clothes.