Chapter 79: Mr. Kline

I rolled into Grocer Outlet then shifted the hornet into park. I sat staring at the broken sign for a long time. I really didn't want to go in. Mr. Kline was a mob boss like Matei was. That meant he had a crew or something. And what did Liam mean by contracts? Was it hits for hire? My lack of knowledge about this world was frustrating. I didn't actually know what to expect today.
I gathered up my leather purse and opened the squeaky door. The seatbelt stuck. I stabbed it with the butt end of the flashlight on my keys until it popped open. Maybe I should have asked for that ride out here, but then perhaps a full out battle would happen for crossing turf or something. I really didn't know how this stuff worked.
I finally escaped my car. I walked across the parking lot with the sun high in the sky. The warmth of it on my skin made me miss the fall back home. I didn't miss the work, though. I took one last whiff of the fall breeze then pushed the door open to the breakroom.
Mr. Kline was standing waiting for me. My jaw clenched. I really shouldn't have come. I really should have just stayed home.
"Kira! Good morning!"
"Morning," I answered. I bowed my head to avoid eye contact as I walked to my locker.
"You're not looking well, are you feeling okay?"
"Just fine."
"Good, then you're ready for your double tonight?" Something in his voice gave me the creeps. I had to avoid visibly shivering.
"Yep."
"Good. Alright. Have a good shift. Work hard."
"I always do," I mumbled.
When he disappeared through the main door, the room felt bigger. I felt like I could breathe again. There was no way I was going to be able to keep doing this job. I had to give my two weeks. I probably needed to postdate it, or just take my many paid vacation days and take the next two weeks off. Well, I should see how today went before I made a decision.
I closed the locker after affixing my nametag to my shirt. When I stepped out into the central plaza of the store, my insides cramped. I searched for Mr. Kline. For some reason, I thought if I knew where he was, I could at least keep an eye on him. I could prepare. But I really couldn't. It didn't matter if I saw him or not. His magic could take hold of me again, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I stood at the cashier counter. I flipped the light switch on. The number 6 illuminated. Customers passively fought for the first position in line at my counter. I always found it amusing. It was the most polite fight ever possible. "Oh, no, I insist you go first." "Oh, no. You have fewer items." But secretly, they wanted to be first, and even as they insisted, they crept forward towards me.
I shook my head. The nature of humanity was that of competition. I guess that was the nature of evolution. It was just funny how it manifested after so many years. Their mouths said, "Oh, no after you." But their body language said, "I'll stab you if you do."
I plastered on my fake smile. "Good morning. Did you find everything okay?"
The day droned on. Mr. Kline came to check on me at least three times every hour. I pretended to be very busy at my work. I would strike up a conversation with the customer, which was reasonably easy. Most of them were old ladies looking for a discount. I would recommend our coupons page and show them different items that might be good for them, which kept them chatting for a good long time. Eventually, Mr. Kline would be called away, and I could avoid whatever he was trying to impose on me.
Night finally fell. The other staff slowly disappeared as their end times came up. Mr. Kline hadn't bothered me for hours. That was both a relief and a stressor. I wasn't sure where he was or if he had gone home. I really hoped he had. Closing in the dark was bad enough, but closing with him lurking around was making my insides jumpy. Maybe I should call for Liam. Maybe I should call for one of my guardians. What I really wanted to do was call for Remi and Angandriel. My heart ached with that thought.
I finished with the last customer then walked around the store, making sure no one else was around. It looked pretty clear. I locked the front doors then wandered around a bit more. There were a few doors on the back wall behind the deli department that I had never been through. I took one more look around. No one else was here. Maybe it was a good idea to see what was going on behind them. Like, getting intel on your enemy. I was like a spy.
My stomach was telling me this was a bad idea. I mean, damn, my head was telling me this was a bad idea. Mr. Kline could still be here. Who knows what I could find behind that door. My hand touched the doorknob. I wiggled it. It was locked. I summoned a bit of power.
"Open," I commanded in a whisper.
The power surged out of me faster than I expected. I forgot I had been supercharged. The door flew back off its hinges and fell on the floor. The sound echoed through the store. I cringed. My eyes darted about the dark room and then behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief after a full two minutes of waiting for someone to discover me.
I flipped the light on and stepped forward past the door. It was just a storage room. I part of me felt disappointed. There was a broken meat cutter, some broken open boxes of damaged goods, and some cleaning supplies. The room was very crowded with all the items, but it seemed normal. There weren't dead bodies hanging from the ceiling or anything. Nothing I could call the cops about, not like they could do anything probably. Between Mr. Kline's puppet magic and the Veil, they probably would act like nothing was going on.
I stared at the room for a long time. Maybe I was just desperate to find something. I brought the power up to my fingers, but this time I held it tight to me.
"Reveal," I whispered.
I slowly let the magic slip out of me. I could see its pink aura gliding around the room like slithery smoke. It checked the boxes and slipped up the walls. It concentrated at the back where there was a shelf. It outlined the entire shelf like it was a door. I moved a box out of the way and stepped forward. I wiggled the shelf. There was a click, then the shelf swung forward into the wall. I stood at the entrance to a tunnel.