Chapter 12
For how long I'd been here, I still wasn't sure if I could train to be stronger or if I even needed to. The PRTHQ lacked the equipment necessary to push myself, so I went months without and suffered no issues. With access to the Protectorate HQ and cape facilities, I obviously took advantage of such, but I hadn't noticed an appreciable difference. Pushing myself to 100% exertion felt lacking. Even when joints popped and muscles strained, I gained nothing.
The concept of being at my absolute peak annoyed me more than it should. Not even being three to six times stronger than the strongest human soothed my discontent. I sighed and lowered the five-hundred-pound dumbbells to the floor after doing seated shoulder presses. "Any questions?"
Kelly sat at a table we hauled into the gym, hunched over an old textbook. As this was a 'public' area, she had on her mask. "No. There's just a lot of stuff to memorize. I never considered proper crime scene etiquette. Do we even deal with that?"
"As a field agent, no. But knowing what to do to avoid disturbing them can make their job much easier. Who knows, you might want to retire from field work and take a detective job."
"I suppose. Do you think
I'd be allowed to retire?"
A fair question, and if things went as expected without my shift, no, because we'd all be dead long before then. I actually haven't heard of a cape retiring outside, being maimed, or some other traumatic event. They almost always died long before they would, and powers only being around for thirty years at this point, leaving the average age well below retirement.
Kelly duly noted my silence. "I thought not."
"Squad 42, report to the emergency-ready room!"
I exchanged a glance with her and pushed myself up. "Looks like duty calls."
Kelly sat opposite me, squirming in her seat closest to the door. Holding the shield tight and cradled on her lap, awaiting deployment. Joining us was a motley crew of four different members from different squads each, for backup and scene containment. They weren't there to be in the thick of it, as all of them had assorted injuries, putting them on light duty, but the Empire throwing a fit strained the PRT to its limits.
At a generous estimate, Empire membership hovered around 5k in a city of 300k. Not all real gangbangers who acted as such full-time but who directly supported the cause and attended rallies. And, well, chaos breeds chaos. The more the different factions fought and threw around money, the more people indulged in it.
When a percent of the population went into rebellion, what the hell were the authorities supposed to do? There'd been talks about declaring martial law and bringing in the national guard, but fuck, Purity, Hookwolf, or any other major cape would roll through them, causing mass casualties.
Until things went
bad enough to call in airstrikes, it was left to the PRT and police.
"Everyone clear on the engagement?" I asked through the comms.
A series of affirmatives sounded off.
"ETA?" I asked the driver. The blaring sirens and the roaring engine made small talk impossible.
"Ten seconds."
I spun around and presented my back to Kelly. She grabbed the two handholds protruding out until she hung off me. To match me, she had one located in the dead center of her chest, fuzed with the suit of body armor, now custom fit for her tiny frame of 5'4". The key was that her power required her to remain still to charge it, being limited to slight movements, but that was
only limited to her. If I picked her up, she could charge while I ran around.
…or if I threw her. I called it a tactical redeployment.
The brakes on the van screamed, signaling our arrival. I ripped open the back doors, taking in the scene. Two in the afternoon, five miles off downtown to the south of the city, bordering on the urban sprawl. A simple two-lane road without the buildings being packed together like sardines and even plenty of vegetation. Police blocked off the road, stopping people from driving by a couple thousand feet down each road, so there were no bystanders to worry about.
And the source of the issue was one of the remaining gun stores in Brockton. A store Hookwolf had ripped the front off while grunts raided the place. I pocketed my pistol and charged. Neither rifle nor pistol would affect him, and without civilians in danger, I was given a not-so-subtle warning of no killing this time.
Hookwolf stared me down with his metal wolf mask and shirtless torso, both of which I found rather lacking. Mack was a damn sight more scary than that mask, and if I wanted to see real muscles, I just had to find a mirror.
"Charged," Kelly announced.
I pivoted, reaching back and grabbing the handle on Kelly's chest, and aimed at the open front of the store. Brace, twist, and launch, I sent Kelly flying through the air, leaving me to stare down the notorious killer.
"And look who it fucking is! McBride himself!" Hookwolf swung his arms wide, not giving the grunts a second look. "I've seen your work. Glorious! Come, I swear to only gut you after my victory."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. He knew my name. The Empire knew who I was.
Shit.
This wasn't the time, not now. There was nothing I could do. It was already too late. I just had to get through this fight and start damage control. Hookwolf loved to fight, and this was an invitation to fight without his powers, but that would only last until I started winning. Either way, it would leave me within striking distance of him. Would the added distraction help?
Kelly touched down, blazing blue, and vanished with how fast she moved, barreling into the grunts within the store. It should take her a dozen seconds to disarm them, so no, there was no benefit to giving into Hookwolf's offer.
I snaked a hand around my back and pulled free a containment foam grenade, activated it with a twist, and set it for a second detonation. A part of me wanted to banter, but that would further tie me into the identity he had already labeled me as.
Seconds passed while we stared each other down. Kelly blazed through the grunts, and I awaited her signal of losing the charge she had built.
Hookwolf approached, arms still held wide, with a cocky swagger reaching his steps. That man had more pride and ego than Armsmaster. There existed no chance in his head that he would lose to me and Kelly. Something I strived to prove wrong.
Screaming came from the store, with a single gunshot going off.
"Everyone's disarmed—charging," Kelly reported.
That gave me ten seconds before she was ready to fight Hookwolf. "Aren't you worried about your crew?" I eventually asked, keeping my voice low and almost raspy.
Hookwolf laughed, "Those fucks? Nah. If they were worth anything, they would've taken that bitch out."
Fuck'm. He insulted Kelly. My internal clock ticked past the charge mark for her, and I still had a primed grenade in my hand. So far, I had never looked away from Hookwolf, so when I suddenly snapped my head to the left at the gun store, he followed me.
Honor was only for the honorable. I pitched the grenade straight at him, with it popping halfway in a shower of foam.
Only that the spray of liquid foam met a churning wall of metal. Nowhere near enough to lock him down, giving him plenty of leverage to turn into a blender, shredding the foam bit by bit.
Kelly slammed into Hookwolf shield first, launching his slightly larger and metal body down the street with a mighty clang. She gave me a cheeky wave before pausing to charge again, always staying topped off.
Now it was my time to take a crack at the grunts. She didn't have time to restrain them, but she did enough to leave the bunch of idiots without guns. If they didn't have guns, they weren't a threat to me.
"Follow me in and get ready to extract."
The stand-ins to Squad 42 carried containment foam projectors, mostly for if things went tits-up. Hose everything down and retreat, but as Hookwolf demonstrated, it wasn't a one-stop solution to every problem. People were nuts, and the foam took time to settle. Everyone knew once the foam was on them, that was it, but some acted like animals backed into a corner and went insane.
"Get back here, you coward!"
I ignored the raging monster of metal and stormed through the broken front of the shop. Metal safety blinds laid torn across the floor with shattered glass. Inside, the eleven grunts hammered away at a locked display, trying to remove the rifles within. Some cradled broken fingers and wrists. Three, two larger muscle heads in assorted Empire wear and one lanky guy with long black hair turned to face me. "Surrender!"
"One on eleven? Surrender? Ha!" The guy slapped the lanky one. "Come, Jack, let's show him what the Empire is made of."
"I fucking told you to stop saying my name on the job!" He pulled a knife from the back of his pants and stabbed it at the middle guy, who jumped away.
"God dammit, Jack!" The second muscle head rounded on him, wrestling away the knife, while the other took the moment to line up a punch.
I was at a loss. Compared to the usual Empire competence, this landed exactly at the civilian level. No wonder Hookwolf didn't give two shits about them. They must be calling up everyone. I rolled my shoulders and dove into the scuffle before someone got stabbed. No doubt if they died, even by friendly fire, I'd get chewed out.
All it took was a couple of punches, a kick, and maybe a little light slapping, but all eleven lay groaning on the floor after a brief fight. Humiliated with their pride broken.
Two support agents rushed in, going from one to the next, zipping hands and feet together. I rushed out to support Kelly in her ongoing fight. Horrendous bangs mixed with metal scraping on concrete drowned out everything else. The remaining agents flanked me, holding their foam projectors towards the battling capes.
Hookwolf swelled up larger than a truck, a mass of undulating blades that emerged before submerging into the core, only to be replaced by another. Churning, ripping, and scraping away everything touching, be it rock or metal. Kelly faced him, her shield remaining compact and intact, but the decals didn't last under the onslaught. Whatever the alloy Armsmaster used, it was enough to withstand Hookwolf's churning blades.
I pulled a second grenade from my utility belt and primed it. Only for the sad fact that Hookwolf was a skilled and highly experienced combatant. What appeared as a whirling ball of chaos to the untrained eye were instead calculated maneuvers Kelly played into with her inexperience. He kept her positioned between the PRT forces and him while retreating a couple of feet at a time.
"On me. Incoming Battery." The two agents jogged at my side while swinging wide of the fight. The two capes battled on the left side of the road, and we jogged along the right sidewalk. Chunks of road and other debris rained down, enough so that an unarmored person would end up injured.
Kelly launched herself away, putting some distance between her and Hookwolf, and the blue lines on her increased in intensity.
Instead of reengaging to stop her from charging, Hookwolf shifted into a lupine metal beast. "Fucking cowards! I'll get my fight, McBride!"
He twisted and launched himself through the shop behind him, collapsing it in his wake. At least we knew it was evacuated. Everything around the fight was. Only idiots remained near Hookwolf with his perspicacity for killing.
"Hold!" I shouted before Kelly rushed off in pursuit.
"We can get him!"
"But at what cost?" Hookwolf ensured everyone knew his tactics. When he fled the battle, if anyone pursued him, he caused as much collateral damage as possible. People, buildings, or anything that he saw, he would destroy. I wanted to capture him too for knowing who I was, but if Hookwolf knew, the Empire knew. Something I would think about later and what I needed to do.
"Arg!" Kelly stomped her foot, cracking the tarmac below her.
Her ambition and dedication made her an excellent student, but it came at a cost whenever she felt like she failed. Something that needed to be tempered, lest she get goaded by enterprising individuals.
"Henry, Hookwold fled the field. Eleven Empire grunts, captured. Waiting on scene until support personnel arrive."
"Copy. Any specialized services required?"
Aka, did they need someone to scrape bodies off the ground and clean up the leftover mess?
"No KIA, fire services are required to check over two demolished buildings."
"Good work, McBride."
The police quickly filled in, taking the detained grunts away and fleeing the scene. Reprisals were far too common to stick around.
Back at the Protectorate HQ out on the Bay, I finished up my AAR and the personal information obstruction form. All it would do was keep any public record of mine sealed unless a sealed warrant signed by the PRTENE director or higher authority allowed it to be accessed. It was a huge pain regarding credit and loans, or anything that required a certified history, but it would keep all information about me sealed tight.
That meant marriage certificates, car ownership, and titles. Everything that could and would lead the Empire to Taylor and Annette. Not to say it was impossible to track me down, but it made the job far more difficult and hopefully gave me a heads-up before they launched an attack.
I was still absolutely pissed that they even knew who I was. The only hope was that they didn't know my appearance, only that I was an agent on Squad 42 with Battery, so that if Battery was on the field with a large agent, they knew it was me. A faint hope, but it was all I had.
But that meant someone was leaking information from the PRT. I had a suspicion about who, but I hadn't seen that fuck Calvert around after I mentally promised to cuff him the next time I saw him. I wasn't sure what my response would be now, but it would be a hell of a lot more than a light cuff.
I left the temporary room assigned to me, leaving all my gear behind. That was my second set, having my other at PRTHQ downtown, but bouncing around both locations and being on call necessitated two different sets.
"But
Puppy, we had a deal." An annoying whiny voice complained.
"A
deal? You blackmailed me! What self-respecting hero would say no to taking a villain off the streets? How could I've said no to Legend?" Kelly's voice progressively got louder and more indignant.
I scowled and stepped around the corner, coming face-to-face with Kelly and Assault, the flamboyant idiot in his pure red suit. So far, I remained undecided on whether he was just a pain in the ass or an active creep. "Battery, all finished?"
She spun to me, her frown replaced with a smile. "Yes, Sir. I finished the AAR and returned my equipment for repairs."
"So this is him? The guy you replaced me with?"
Kelly scoffed. "As if there's a comparison."
"I knew it, Pu-"
"You're trash compared to Sergeant McBride," Kelly spat out.
Assault stumbled back, his hand clasped over his heart. "Puppy." Though his eyes locked onto me,. "I have an agreement with dear old Battery and Legend about being on her team. It'd be a shame if that came up during my next check-in."
"Okay, you can join my team, then." I offered.
"Will!" Kelly instantly reacted, shocked.
"But you will be under my command." And now the ball was in his court. The thing stopping him would be his pride and knowing I had authority over him, not that anyone was renegading on his agreement. If he agreed and I determined he acted inappropriately, then I could also sanction him.
That shut him up, but I saw the calculations taking place behind his eyes. Would he push the matter?
"Will, let's go," Kelly said.
"Puppy, isn't your shift over? I didn't know you had an apartment off-base," Assault said.
"I don't. I just don't want to be here right now." Kelly spun on her heel and stalked away.
I shrugged at Assault, keeping my mirth carefully contained. While confident in many ways, Kelly tolerated a little too much, so seeing her yank the rug out from under Assault and then disengage made me proud.
Around the next bend, Kelly waited for me, out of sight of Assault. She fell in step while heading to the motor pool. Being an old oil rig, there wasn't room for personnel vehicles, so I—we—needed a ride back to the parking lot on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
"Are you doing anything later?" Kelly asked and then stumbled over herself. "Not a date. That's not what I meant. Like hanging out or going to eat... I'm really not helping."
"What's next, seeing a movie?" I asked, and the blush extended down her visible cheeks.
"Shut up."
"Wait until we're in my car; I'd rather not have people overhear," I said, still thinking of the leak. Sometimes, I really hated this world and how anyone remotely powerful or important could face the many villains that exist. Mentally stable, they were not—equipped with powers to do anything, up to violating the sanctity of the mind.
What could happen to Taylor and Annette while outside my reach was limitless, and I brought them under the spotlight of the Empire. I should've kept my head down and just been a normal agent. If this had happened before I met Annette, I wouldn't have ever gone so far and worked from the shadows, but it was too late for that.
Far too late.
Behind Kelly's back, I flipped off a duo of agents manning the door while they made kissing motions at each other. The rumors were getting a bit out of hand. Though she was another angle someone could use against me, she could hold her own against most threats. I was worried about Cauldron and other non-direct attacks or manipulations.
Besides more awkward small talk while avoiding any identifying details, the trip back went in silence. But the moment I closed my car door and Kelly stripped off her mask, I sighed and collapsed in my seat. Weakness wasn't something I could show, ever, but I felt I could trust her. I already did with my life.
"Something's eating at you."
"You heard how Hookwolf called me out."
"Yeah, that bastard! The unwritten rules should work both ways!" Kelly said, anger coloring her tone.
"No one cares about those rules, but that's only the start of it. I tried to get Annette to tell Taylor that we're having a child, and that's why the sudden move and marriage," I started, unlatching the armrest and taking out my gold band to slip onto my ring finger. "She was
heavily against it."
Deep breath, in and out. I put the SUV in gear and pulled out into traffic. That happened last Saturday, and four days later, things still hadn't settled between Annette and me.
"They blew up on each other with neither Taylor nor Annette willing to back down, so I threw it out there. At least Taylor seems to accept me now." And another sigh that almost seemed like a default state at this point.
"I'm so…
sorry?" Kelly tried.
"Still don't like her, do you?"
"She insulted and threatened me the first time we met! Taylor's cute, though, but she definitely inherited her mother's tongue." She ran a hand through her cropped hair, gazing out the window at the city on edge.
"Well, that's where I'm going. Taylor seized watch duty for Mack during the day, so I have to pick him up, take him for a run, and then it's back to my place to pack. Are you sure you want to come along?" I asked. If Annette came out to meet me, she wouldn't spare any tact for Kelly.
She laughed, but it lacked humor. "And where would I go? I don't have any friends here, and I'm certainly not staying on base with Assault hanging around. Not that I have time to make any."
"You know, once I move out, I still have six months on my lease. If you're willing to take the risk of the Empire attacking you, it's yours."
Those puppy dog eyes had no right being on someone so deadly. "Really?"
"Sure."
"You have no idea how hard it is to find an apartment that's not falling apart. You'd think that the PRT would help, but nooooo. Blah, blah, blah, on-base apartments are free. They just want us to be there if they need to call us in, but it's like I never leave work. Always there, always needing to be in costume, and the damn clown is always hovering around! Ugh! Thank you, Will, really, thank you!" Kelly said, leaving her staring at me.
"It's nothing." That passionate speech over something in my interest left me feeling slightly awkward and guilty. If she took over the rent, I wouldn't have to pay it or the fine for breaking the lease. Not that I would say as much and ruin her mood. "If you need to get off base, you can have the couch whenever you want." I offered regardless of the talk that would happen behind our backs, but that was already happening.
"What about Annette?"
"You said she threatened you into watching my back. Wouldn't this just be following her orders?"
"For how big you are, you're kinda sneaky."
If only you knew, Kelly, how much my sneaky plans exploded in my face, you wouldn't think so highly of me.
On the way to the Hebert house, I stopped at a flower place on the boardwalk and bought a single red rose. This was just one stop in a big circle to lose any followers.
"Are you sucking up to her?" Kelly asked, holding the flower before her, spinning it around. "You weren't wrong if you told me the truth."
"But I'm not saying I was, as I still can't think of a better way out, but I did break her trust, so that's what I'm apologizing for."
"You're too good for her."
I shrugged. "I made my bed, and now I'm laying in it." It was our first fight, and it was about a serious matter Annette felt was hers to deal with. Throwing everything away and splitting with a child on the way felt incredibly foolish. I wasn't that proud or had such a fragile ego to burn everything down and make life worse for everyone. What was one slight against the wellbeing of three people?
If it were just Annette and me, I would've pushed back far harder, but it wasn't. I still had this hope of completing my initial plan of training Taylor into the god killer Earth Bet needed, yet it felt so cruel to condemn her to that horrible life. Approaching Cauldron was looking better by the week, even if I wholly disagreed with their operational modus.
"Way too good for her."
And there came the guilt again. I didn't feel like I was good enough for anyone. Not now with how the Empire was coming after me and they were caught in the crossfire.
After that, Kelly put on the radio, doing well to stay clear of any reporting on the current state of Brockton. Sensationalism and pessimistic rhetoric on the PRT's actions reached an all-time high, and if it was my guess, the Empire was pulling strings to keep the public's attention elsewhere while they vied for control. Would they split into factions, or would they consolidate after one person took command?
Deep down, I prayed the Gesellschaft stayed well away and didn't turn the Empire into an offshoot. Knowing my luck, Brockton would turn into a war zone as they expanded into the states.
Then there was the Teeth. I'd rather not have to deal with them, ever. The shit they pulled made the Empire look tame. Only the Butcher kept them from being hunted down by both villains and the PRT alike. This was shaping up like the Boston games all over again.
I pulled into the driveway, taking the rose from Kelly. "Staying in here?" I asked.
She mulled over the question. "That'd just make me look guilty. It's better to have everything out in the open."
Ah, she was learning. I was so proud. "Don't be frightened, but Mack is... a little on the bigger side and a tiny bit scary."
Kelly snorted, "I just fought Hookwolf. What's a dog?"
I reached out to knock, but the door swung open before I could. Taylor stood there, wearing her signed Battery hoodie, staring at me. "I'm here to pick up Mack."
Taylor leaned to the side, staring at Kelly. "What's she doing here?"
It was at that moment that Mack peeked around Taylor, his massive black head at about chest level for her, joining in with the staring.
Kelly squeaked and used my arm to throw herself behind my back. "That's
not a damn dog!"
I met Taylor's eyes and matched her forming grin. "Don't hurt his feelings, Kelly. He's a good boy."
Taylor hugged Mack's neck, burning her face into his short black fur. He took that moment to yawn, showing off a set of teeth and a mouth large enough to encircle anyone's neck. "Aren't you a good boy? Yes, you are!"
Thwack, thwack, thwack. Mack's tail banged against the wall around the corner of the entry hall.
"Will, what is that thing? Where did you find it? Will!" Kelly yanked on the back of my jacket, and for a moment, I was worried she was going to out herself and start charging her power.
"It's fine. He's a perfectly safe dog."
"Not a DOG! And why do you sound so suspicious?" Kelly jabbed me in the back with a finger.
"Is Annette in, Taylor?" I asked while ignoring Kelly.
"Yup. She's in her room." Taylor said it with crossed arms and a scowl.
If Annette was still angry at me, Taylor was pissed at her. I pulled the rose out from around my back. "I'm going to go see her, and then I'll be off." I ignored the twitching in Taylor's eyes and stepped around her to head upstairs.
"Haha, uh, good boy, Mack?" Kelly stammered.
"Get her, Mack!" Taylor called out the attack.
"Bork!"
Bang! "AHhh! Keep him away!" Kelly ran away from Mack, flying through the living room and into the kitchen with him right at her heels.
Taylor's cackling laughter echoed throughout the house. I shook my head at the little troll.
"Will! Save me, Will!"
"It's only you, me, and Mack now!" Taylor cackled, and her far smaller feet thumped after Mack and Kelly.
"Bork!"
"Taylor, please, I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
Kelly laughed awkwardly. "Can I take that back?"
"Mack?"
"Bork!"
"Fine! Fine! What do you want?"
"Give me your hand."
They'd be fine. I rapped my knuckles on Annette's door.
"Come in, Will." I heard the sigh through the door, but she let me in today, unlike the last few times I stopped by.
Inside, she sat at her desk, hunching over a stack of notebooks with towers of books arrayed around her. A buzzing laptop displayed a half-written document. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm preparing my syllabus for whoever takes my job. Mostly copying and organizing my course work from my years of teaching. It's tedious, but the facility requires it if I want to keep my tenure with how sudden my resignation was," Annette explained, a little cool but without a bite.
The fact she was still doing so said far more than just her current actions. She still planned on marrying me and moving into a house together. That the kid was still on the table and not planning on an abortion, even if it would unfuck everything.
I pulled the rose out from behind my back. "Sorry for betraying your trust, Annette."
Annette stared at the pink rose, unmoving. Then she sighed, holding out a hand for the rose. "Apology accepted. Perhaps I was too harsh on you and a little patronizing to Taylor." She stood, brushing out the wrinkles in her blouse and knee-length skirt. The rose ended up in a glass of water, and she grabbed hold of both my hands with hers.
I cocked an eyebrow, looking expectantly at her.
At least she had the humility to blush. "I'm… sorry. Are you staying for dinner? Maybe longer?"
"Oh?" I asked, and a forming smile tugged at my cheeks.
"I've grown used to the company." Annette held her nose high.
"...at night?" I finished for her, and her growing blush confirmed it. "Anyway, Kelly's downstairs with Taylor and Mack. They seem to be getting along well, but I offered her my couch to spend the night on. So I still need to drop her off before coming back."
Annette hummed, searching my face for something. "Doesn't she have a place to stay or family?"
"She lives on base, and there's someone there she'd rather avoid."
A moment of realization dawned on Annette. "And you took her under your wing. As expected of you, Will. I'd offer her to stay here, but we have even less room than you do."
"That's why I'm going to let her take over my lease."
"...you could stay with me until we purchase the new house."
"Do you think the bed could take me?" I eyed the queen mattress, far smaller than my king, and the wooden frame didn't give me high hopes for it lasting through any sudden movements.
She laughed. "It doesn't need to last long. I still need to finish up, so why don't you get everything sorted downstairs? Don't forget to offer Kelly to stay for dinner… once I figure out what we're having." She mumbled the last part to herself.
I wrapped her in a tight hug, resting my chin on her head. "I'm glad we got over it."
"Me too, Will, me too."
Then came the discussion of the Empire, knowing about my identity. Surprisingly, Annette wasn't exactly shocked by the turn of events and appreciated having Mack around a bit more. She trusted me to handle it, and I felt the weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders. So much to do—so much to plan. Contingencies and active obscuration. The SUV had to go.
I left her to finish up her work while deep in thought to find out what the three were up to downstairs. Only to see Kelly sitting on the couch with Mack staring at her by her side, his face inches away from hers. Taylor paced around the living room with one hand on her jaw.
Kelly sent me pleading eyes, and I shook my head, welcoming the distraction. What a show Taylor was putting on!
"What is your relationship with Will?" Taylor asked.
"He is my leader and teacher."
"Hm. That's not everything."
Kelly tried to laugh it off, but it came out extremely forced. "That's everything happening between us."
"Better."
Taylor didn't need to have a power to be intimidating—she just was. I think giving her Mack maybe wasn't the best idea. Was her grilling everyone about their intentions a normal thing for her or a recent one?
"Taylor."
"Will." She didn't look up from her pacing, besides sending scathing looks at Kelly.
I made the executive decision that Kelly was having dinner with us because watching the two was far too amusing. And adorable.
Taylor took a break from Kelly to glare at me and then returned to intimidating the poor woman.
"We're staying for dinner-"
"Will, nooooo," Kelly whined.
"So I'm taking Mack for his run. I'll be back in half an hour. Enjoy!" Okay, maybe I was a bit sadistic at times.
"I'm coming with youuuuu!" Kelly leapt to her feet and dove for me.
Taylor clasped her hands together and looked up at me with her big, brown-doe eyes, blinking rapidly. "Can I
pleeeease come with you?"
"Sure, but you have to ask your mother first." Internally, I celebrated, as this would be a good start to getting Taylor into shape. But I didn't expect her to hug my chest; her head didn't reach past my ribcage. I ran a hand down her curly hair and melted, officially shelving my plans to train Taylor forever.
"Mhm, thank you, Will!" Taylor's head turned toward Kelly, and I swore I saw the flash of a pink tongue.
Kelly had this look of being affronted—a deep frown—while she glared at Taylor in turn. A shaky finger jabbed at her.
Of course, Mack decided he needed to join in, coming down from the couch before jumping at me, sending himself flying. "Bork!"
I slid Taylor out of the way as I caught the Macktastic missile, cradling the hundred and seventy-pound dog like a baby. He looked far too pleased with himself, with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. Though not without scrutiny from Taylor.