Free Phoenix by C. Dulaney Page A

the Suits find us if
we stay in one place too long. I’m not stupid, Mort."
    "I didn’t say you were."
    "He pissed me off because he might as well
have said we’re the reason Mister and Missus Henderson are
dead."
    Mort moved closer to the bed. "That’s not
what he meant."
    "That it’s our fault, because we’re not
vagrants. No, it’s not his fault, that old bastard with his
perfectly pressed suit and perfect hair. Our fault. ‘Cause
you decided to settle down and have a life." Brad turned his head
and Mort saw a tear in his friend’s eye. "You decided to have a
life, and it ended up taking the lives of two others."
    "No." Mort shook his head. "That’s not true,
Brad. It’s not. And that’s not what Jonah meant. Not really."
    Brad rubbed his eyes and rolled away. "I’m
gonna get some rest."
    "Alright." Mort heaved a sigh. "Alright. I’ll
be downstairs if you need me." He waited for Brad to answer, but
when he didn’t make any sign of continuing the conversation, Mort
left and pulled the door shut behind him.
     
    * * *
     
    Mort padded downstairs and huffed out a
breath when he fell back on the couch. He leaned his head back and
rubbed his face, then sat like that with his arms limp at his sides
until Jonah finally spoke.
    "When did it happen?"
    "Huh?" Mort jerked his head up. "Oh." He
rubbed his face again. "Yesterday?"
    Jonah cocked a brow. "You answerin’ a
question with a question?"
    Mort chuckled. "Sorry. I just haven’t slept
for a couple days, I think? Was up all night, then the cops were
here." He waved a hand. "Yeah, it was yesterday."
    Jonah grunted and considered his friend.
"Need help tracking, then."
    "Yeah. Whoever this is, he’s cloaked. We
can’t see or feel any sign of him. Our two precogs have dreamed of
this guy, so that tells me he doesn’t stay cloaked for long.
Otherwise he wouldn’t show up even in their visions. I just don’t
know when he’s going to turn it off, and I was kind of hoping…"
    "Right, right." Jonah nodded and smiled. He
was silent for longer than what was necessary.
    It caught Mort’s attention. "What is it?"
    Jonah sighed and sat up. "You know who this
is. He’s an agent. Most likely know who he works for, since they’ve
only ever answered to one group of people as far as I know. Agents
have always been here. Watchin’ us."
    "We have a group now. It’s not just you and
me." Mort jerked his chin toward the staircase, indicating Brad.
"He’s been having dreams of something that’s about to happen, and
it involves the sonofabitch who’s been watching us from across the
street." He motioned toward the window, to the Henderson’s home.
"He killed my neighbors, Jonah."
    "Course he did. You know how they work. And
the more of us you gather together, the more likely they are to
notice. The more dangerous they get."
    Mort snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I get it
already."
    "Not sure you do."
    "They’re trying to end the world . What part of that don’t you understand? What do you
expect me to do? And now this agent is cloaked." Mort made a
whistling sound. "Gone. He bugged out the second Brad made
him."
    "You get some sleep. I’ll go see what I can
find."
    "I’ll go wi—"
    "No. You need to sleep. I’ll handle it."
Jonah didn’t wait for Mort to argue further. He stood, put on his
hat, and showed himself out.

7
     
    " Goddammit , Jonah ." A young man , younger than Brad , slammed his hand of cards down onto a cooler someone had rigged into a makeshift table .
    " C’mon now , don’t be sore ," the cowboy said . Brad watched as Jonah swiped his hand across the top of the cooler and pulled back his hard - earned winnings .
    Brad didn’t know where he was , or when he was , but he was conscious that this was a precognition . One that involved Mort’s friend , Jonah . While he watched the card game , he decided that meeting the cowboy today must have been what triggered this dream . He wasn’t going to complain ; it beat the hell out of the ones he normally had .
    "