“Do you have any questions that I could answer for you?” Jake asked, trying to sound relaxed and calm.
The man stopped his wandering gaze, fixed his eyes on Jake and asked, “Have you ever heard of a veil of iron?”
Jake cocked his head to one side. “Veil of iron?” He searched his non-existent memory. “Nope. What is it?”
“I think it’s medieval chainmail or something, but worn like a mask. My girl heard about it in some obscure movie she watched calledVoid in the Shadow.” The guy shrugged. “I just thought it sounded cool.”
Jake smiled. “I’ve never seen that movie, either, but you’re right, it does sound cool.” His gut still roiled, but he quashed the feeling. He hated to disagree with his gut but this guy was not an evil villain. This was just a guy looking for a unique present for his girl. Or a relative of Beryl’s checking Jake out. Either way, a non-threat.
“Well, if you want me to try to make something custom, like a veil of chainmail, let me know.”
The guy nodded. “Thanks. If I decide to pull the trigger on it, I’ll bring what I think the specs are.”
Jake grabbed a business card from the holder next to the register. “Here’s my business card. You can call or send an email if you decide to go forward with a custom job.”
The guy took the card, studied it, smiled and tucked it in his jacket pocket. “Thanks. Nice to meet you.”
“I didn’t catch your name,” Jake said.
The guy blinked. “I’m Ian.” He reached out his hand and they shook.
“Great to meet you, Ian. I hope you stop in again.” Jake watched as Ian left, waving on his way out the door.
Maybe he’d see Ian at the next Ashcraft family dinner, assuming he was a relative and also assuming Jake and Beryl hit it off on their first date.
You are getting ahead of yourself. You should stop it.
Jake ignored his gut-roiling subconscious and, soon enough, Frederick returned from his lunch—ten minutes early.
Darkfall exited Dark Matter Metal & Leather disturbed by his meeting with “Jake Jones.” He was at somewhat of a loss. It was clear that Luca Radbourne a.k.a. Ironveil a.k.a. Jake Jones had no idea who he was, yet Luca seemed like his old self in his general demeanor. It was beyond odd, talking to his best friend and being treated like they were strangers.
To that end, he probably shouldn’t have given his real name. It was what Luca had always called him, rather than Obsidian Montero. In school, Luca said his name was too much of a mouthful and shortened it to Ian. He was one of the very few people who called him that.
Darkfall sauntered along the sidewalk in downtown Alienn, Arkansas, considering what his next move should be. Cmdr. Goddard had given him the authority to handle the situation however he thought best, as long as it remained quiet and the mission remained secret.
He had also been ordered to find out the status of Luca’s mission in Alienn and whether he had succeeded in discovering the identity of the Alpha who had broken a very important rule and shared a video about aliens living on Earth. It wasn’t that folks beyond Alpha-Prime didn’t know, but very few were privy to video confirmation of that secret information.
The other subject on Darkfall’s mind since he’d quietly arrived on Earth was a certain someone he’d never expected to see again. He thought about her more often than he should.
Ivy Olive Upchurch was the lodging coordinator at the belowstairs facility at the Big Bang Truck Stop.
It was unlikely Ian would run into Ivy anytime during this covert journey, unless he made the effort to do so. And he shouldn’t.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t keep an eye out for her. He certainly wouldn’t go out of his waynotto see her, even if it was only from a distance.
Darkfall shook his head and closed his eyes. It might be catastrophic to see her again and have her recognize him. She might give away his identity or, more importantly, his clandestine profession. He had two, though she only knew about one. They’d met when he did a job for her as a Corrector. She’d needed help that only Darkfall, or another Corrector, could provide.
Darkfall had taken steps to ensure that if she did reveal his secret in any way, even by accident, that he couldn’t be hurt by it or have his career burned. For some reason, he believed she would never give that information up. Would never betray him. Just as he would never betray her.
It was beyond foolish to entertain the thought of any sort of reunion while he was here on Earth, but he couldn’t put her out of his mind. Especially knowing she was so close.
Ultimately, he was a fool.
His communicator device from Alpha-Prime buzzed in his pocket, taking him from his foolhardy thoughts. He reached for the alien communicator without thinking, closing his fist around it in his pocket, but not pulling it out.
The devicedidlook like an Earth-styled cell phone. He should really be someplace more isolated from prying eyes before looking at it or using it. He hurried down the street, ducked into a narrow, quiet alley and retrieved the device, opening it and thumbing through to the messages.
