Chapter 47
Kansas City, Missouri, America, 1983
Jordan Findley wanted to see him in his office, and in Aaron’s experience, that was either a very good thing, or a very bad one. Though the Guardian Leader rarely raised his voice, an admonishment from him was much like disappointing a favorite parent, and as Aaron made his way to the top floor of the office building, he hoped this was good news.
After Pearl Harbor, the US went to war, and though Aaron had wanted to enlist, Jordan made it clear that he was still needed by LIGHTS and couldn’t be spared. War tended to give Vampires enough distraction to become bolder, and that had been the case this time as well. As Jordan’s second in command, Aaron was constantly busy organizing team members across the world, attempting to keep the Vampires in check while the Nazis were defeated.
Over the next four decades, he had worked to improve technology, training, and to build the transportation network the team members used to cover much of the world in a blanket of protection. He’d worked with Jamie to create a serum that made the Transformation process much quicker and often less painful. Christian was working on a chip that could be inserted into the eye to communicate directly with the brain and act like an embedded cell phone among other things, but while that was several years off, they’d come up with a way to record information, and most LIGHTS members wore a tiny recording advice that allowed footage to be collected and analyzed. Their world was changing, and Aaron was excited about the prospects of the future.
He pushed open the office door and was welcomed by the familiar voice of Mrs. Carminati, Mr. and Mrs. Findley’s receptionist. “Good afternoon, Aaron,” she said with a warm smile. She was a human, in her mid-thirties, but her parents had been Hunters, so she knew about the secrets of the Ternion. “Have a seat and I’ll let them know you’re here.”
“Thank you,” he said, dropping into a chair in the small waiting area. He tapped his fingers on the armrest, waiting, wondering what this might be about as Mrs. Carminati made the call to let Jordan know Aaron was waiting.
A few minutes later, the office door opened, and Janette greeted him with a smile. “Aaron!” she said, as if she hadn’t seen him in years. He honestly had no idea how old she was, but she appeared to be in her mid-fifties. Still fit and capable of decapitating a Vampire by any means necessary, though she’d always been known for her axe-wielding ability, the Hunter Leader was one of the most kind, considerate people he’d ever worked with.
“How are you today?” she asked, giving him a hug before they stepped into the office.
“I’m well, thank you. And you?” he asked, following her over to Jordan’s desk.
“I’m cool,” she said nodding. Everyone got a kick out of her attempt to stay hip to the times.
“Hello,” Jordan said, offering his hand. “Nice to see you, son. Have a seat.”
Jordan appeared to be much younger than his wife since Guardians tended to stop aging once they reached their mid-thirties, but Aaron noticed he looked tired, and his hair was grayer at the temple than he’d observed before.
“Aaron, we’ve a favor to ask you,” Jordan started as Aaron sat down next to Janette. “You know me; no need to beat around the bush.”
Aaron felt that he did know him, the man who’d treated him like a son for the last forty years. On the walls of his office, Aaron saw photographs of the Findley’s actual children, the two youngest in their twenties, but he also saw several framed photos of himself, including one of him holding his pilot’s license, standing next to Jordan with the Cessna the Leader had used to teach him to fly in the background. “What is it?” he asked, looking from one face to the other.
“We want to take a vacation,” Janette, replied, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “A real one. To the beach.”
The last time Aaron had been to the beach was when he was stationed in Oahu, but he didn’t care to reflect on those days just now, assuming that was the furthest thing from the Findleys’ minds. “Okay,” he said, a questioning lilt to his voice.
“We’d like for you to run things while we are gone,” Jordan continued.
“Run things?” Aaron echoed. “You mean, just here in Kansas City?”
Janette cleared her throat. “No, everywhere. We’d like for you to be the temporary Guardian Leader while we are gone. And since I’ll be out as well, you will essentially be in charge of everyone.”
“Everyone?” The thought of being in charge of literally thousands of LIGHTS members around the world was a bit unsettling. While more leadership opportunities was a lifetime goal of his, he never thought he’d be running everything, not even for a short period of time.
“Hannah will be here to help you,” Jordan added. “She’s been around for a very long time and will be a great help.”
Aaron worked well with the strawberry-blonde Guardian who had been a therapist in her former life before Transforming and joining the Kansas City team several years ago. Calm and collected at all times, Hannah would be a great resource. He also knew that he could rely on Jamie and Christian to help him out, both of whom were now stationed here as well. Still, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that level of responsibility. Despite all of the years he’d spent doing this work, he still felt like he had much to learn.
“It’ll only be a month,” Janette assured him, placing her hand on his arm. “Aaron, you’re ready. You can do this. We know that you can.”
He looked her in the eye and then turned to Jordan who was nodding his head. With a deep breath, Aaron said, “All right.”
“All right?” Janette repeated. Then clapping her hands together and giggling she said, “Oh, good! A real vacation! Aww! I can hardly wait.”
“Thank you,” Jordan said, standing and offering his hand again. “We plan to leave next Tuesday. I have a few loose ends I need to tie up here, and then we’ll be off to Costa Rica!”
Aaron shook his hand and nodded. “I hope you won’t regret this.”
“We won’t,” Janette assured him. “Just keep an eye on Skelton. I don’t trust that crazy old kook.”
