Chapter 3

Episode 9 - Sick Day

Brady hadn’t quite managed to shake the cold of breakfast out of his bones when Car called from the drive, and he paused a moment, trying to gauge where Harper was in the room before getting up and possibly running into her.

“Ready to do this?” Her voice came from somewhere near the doorway, and Brady pushed to his feet with a sigh, glancing over at Marcus, whose sleepy eyes were still grinning from his recliner.

“Sure you’re good handling things until Dash wakes up?”

“Yep, I got it. Can’t wait to see the kind of stuff the two of you can do together.”

“Didn’t work out so well last time we tried.” Brady fought back a yawn, and a soft huff sounded from Harper’s direction.

“Hey, we’re totally inside the rules this time. Didn’t plan it or anything. Microburst’s right—it’s our day for awesome. You coming?”

Brady hummed his agreement as he pulled on his heaviest jacket and layered the DAWN vest over top of it.

“All right. We’ll give it our best shot anyway. There’s probably some motivational saying I should be putting in around here, but all I can think of is ‘third time’s a charm’ and…”

“Ugh, let’s not make that a thing.” Harper’s invisible grimace carried clearly in her tone. “Come on, let’s get going. Don’t run over me. Want to try to track me again?”

“Yeah, maybe not today. Unless you really want to.” He cleared his throat and focused his hearing in on her, just in case she decided to go with it anyway.

“Okay. Want to race?” The mischief in her voice deepened a little, and the hint of a groan escaped Brady’s throat.

“Does the shot make you a morning person? You’re way too perky for this time of day.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? You’re not usually dragging this bad this early.” Marcus’s forehead furrowed, and Brady swallowed hard and shook his head.

“I’m okay. Didn’t get much sleep last night. Counting on Car to pick a boring neighborhood or two to start with, so I can rest my eyes a little while.”

“Or you could let her take Harper and come back for you after you rest a while,” Marcus pointed out sensibly, and Brady offered him an admittedly weak smile and shook his head.

“I’ll be fine. It’s not that bad.”

“Kinda feels like Rachelle’s never gonna let me be in charge again,” Marcus mumbled, and Brady couldn’t help a huff of laughter, even as he stifled another yawn and attempted to shake himself more fully awake.

“If she complains, I’ll tell her you tried. And I’m sure I’ll be better when I hit the fresh air. Let’s go, Harper. Take it easy, Marcus.”

“You are so not the one who should be saying that.” Marcus’s grumble might not have been meant for his ears, but a smile touched the corner of Brady’s mouth as he followed Harper’s footsteps out into the hall and then nearly ran over her when she paused at the door.

“Seriously?” He closed his eyes for a second and pinched the bridge of his nose to fight the sudden threatening headache. “Please, can we not do this all day? I feel like I should go first.”

“Go ahead, if you can keep it faster than a snail. Got your earpiece? Car wants to know what’s keeping us.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Brady fished the earpiece out of his pocket and fitted it as they made their way toward the elevator. “Hey, Car. My fault. Got distracted talking to Marcus. Ready to wrangle two of us today—legitimately?”

“Ready when you are, Spyglass. You actually on your way now?”

“In the elevator.” Harper answered for him as Brady fumbled with the buttons. “You clear in the driveway, or you need to circle?”

“No, it’s empty. Just don’t want to look suspicious sitting out here too long. If you’re on your way up, I’ll wait.”

“We’re coming.” Brady crossed his arms to ward off the chill of the elevator and barely remembered to steel himself before the doors opened and the cacophony of smells and sounds from the main floor of the hospital rushed over him. He leaned against the wall for a moment, pushing back the overpowering sensations until they had mostly retreated to the background—all but the whimpers and moans of a little girl, which were probably an artifact of his lingering worry for Grace.

Swallowing hard against the tightness in his throat, he opened his eyes and hurried for the entrance, shivering as the winter air hit him in the face. Car’s hatchback was there, and Brady reached for the passenger door, then stopped, suddenly realizing he had no idea where Harper was.

“In the back, Gamma Ray. Go ahead.” Harper’s unexpected voice from his earpiece made him jump a little, and he sucked in a gasp of cold air that ripped a cough from his throat. He quickly climbed into the front seat next to Car and rested his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes and forcing out a deep breath and another smaller cough.

“We good?” Car’s slightly raised eyebrow came through in her voice, and Brady didn’t bother opening his eyes.

“Yep. Go ahead. We’re ready.”

Car hummed skeptically, but the hatchback slid into gear and pulled out of the drive and onto the street. No one spoke for a moment, and Brady was just starting to drift when Car finally broke the silence.

“You guys are awfully quiet today. No chatter from the peanut gallery?”

“Probably because I’m the only peanut right now,” Marcus offered, and Brady squinted his eyes open in time to see Car shoot a legitimately surprised glance at her phone.

“Midge isn’t up? Didn’t know that was a thing when she hasn’t been out for a week. Or is she working up to a flare and doesn’t want to admit it yet?”

“Man, I hope not!” Marcus’s serious tone sent a shiver through Brady’s limbs even though there was nothing to suggest that anything was actually wrong with Rachelle. “Grace is sick, so they’re quarantining. She might be on later, but there’s no way we’re waking her up before we have to.”

“Aww, poor kid.” Car shook her head sympathetically. “Bet that’s been fun for everyone.”

“You have no idea.” Brady yawned, and Car smirked.

“That have anything to do with why you’re so tired today?”

“Not really. Rough night—and day, I guess. Won’t deny I’ve been worrying, but it’s not like I’ve been sitting up with her. If anybody has a right to be tired, it’s Rachelle, not me.”

“Not sure how you get much more tired and still stay on the ‘awake’ side,” Car muttered, but Brady wasn’t willing to spend the brain power it would take to argue with her at the moment. “So it’s just you right now, huh? Greased Lightning still sleeping?”

“Far as I know. You want him for some reason?” Marcus sounded doubtful, and Car gave a little chuckle.

“Not specifically. Just wondering if I’m safe taking on the three of you without some kind of adult supervision.”

“Come on, you are literally a year older than me.” Brady let his head fall back against the seat a little harder than he meant to, sending a dull throb all through it. He blew out a steadying breath and pressed his hand to his forehead, praying he wouldn’t accidentally do something brainless and knock himself entirely out of the action.

“I mean, we are technically the young end of the squad.” Harper sounded less bothered by that characterization than he would have expected, and Brady instinctively turned to gauge her reaction before remembering and pressing his swimming eyes shut.

“Not sure she meant to put Dash on the mature side of things, though. Feels like I should definitely wake him up for that.” Marcus’s tone held undeniable mischief, and Car’s startled intake of breath told Brady at least that he’d definitely caught her unaware.

“Hey now, who said ‘mature,’ Morning Breath? Pretty sure ‘adult’ doesn’t have to mean ‘qualified.’”

“So then you want us supervised for what purpose?”

“Give it up, Car. He’s caught you, and you know it.” Brady shivered a little and reached over to kick up the heat in the hatchback a couple degrees before settling back in his seat and letting his still heavy eyes roam out the window. “You gonna call us unqualified to handle it on our own, or you going to admit Dash is better at supervising? Pick your poison.”

“Plead the fifth.” Car stuck her tongue out at him a little, then smirked in the direction of the phone. “All right, point for you, Rookie. Now how about you put that devious mind to work helping me figure out some good scenarios for the two of them working together? Gotta maximize our assets, especially if we’re running short to start with. And you close your eyes a minute, Fly Eye, unless you want to get me yawning. I’ll nudge you when we’ve got a plan.”