park
Amanda  

Park Street Station Chapter 17

Now that he was out of the apartment, James wished Bradley hadn’t come with him. That moment of panic after he’d disconnected from the time photo just reminded him how much he had to work on being more professional with the team. But if they were going to go to the store together, then he did need to suck it up and have the conversation. At the very least, he needed to actually apologize to Bradley for being so pushy and maybe clear the air some. It wouldn’t eliminate all the tension, but it would help him start acting like a proper captain when they got back. And at least it meant he could have this conversation in private, then just work on being more professional without having to make anyone uncomfortable back at Headquarters with another talk.

“I’m sorry I pushed earlier,” James said, absently trailing his hand along the chain-link fence outside the apartment building as they walked. “I should have realized that I can’t do that. It was weird when Robin tried to be friends. None of you are going to want your captain butting into your personal life, even if we knew each other before.”

He had seen a shop up here, right? If he was thinking of the right spot, it was just a little convenience store. But they had to have latex gloves. They’d be expensive, but he’d charge it to the Foundation and make it their problem. He’d send the expense report six times a day until they paid it.

There it was, right across a side road just ahead of them, embedded into another, larger apartment building. He glanced around for cars, then crossed the street, too embarrassed to do anything but go straight for the front door and assume either Bradley was still with him or that they’d meet again at the Foundation apartment.

The bell over the door rang as James walked into a tiny shop that was even more crowded than the apartment. Low shelves lined the narrow aisles, some of which still had pallets of cardboard shipping boxes in them. Colorful snacks spilled off of some of the shelves in front of him, while others were nearly empty at points. James nodded to the bored kid behind the counter, then walked further into the shop. A fat orange cat snoozed on a shelf a little ways down the first aisle, a little too close to a display of overpriced, overripe bananas.

“Hey, buddy,” James greeted the cat, who opened one eye to look at him, then stretched contentedly, knocking an energy drink off the counter. “Oh, big stretch.”

He took the risk, reaching over to stroke the cat’s silky back. The cat purred, then rolled away from him, effectively ending the transaction. Leaving his new friend to his sunny nap, James turned and saw Bradley standing at the end of the aisle. “I’ll check down here,” James said, motioning toward what looked like the personal care section. 

He expected Bradley to go look in another part of the shop, but he followed James. James glanced at the soap and condoms hanging from the pegboard near the end of the aisle, but there were no gloves. Great, they’d have to keep looking and waste more time.

“What does Robin have to do with anything?”

Maybe they were further up the aisle and James had missed them in his hurry? He turned and Bradley attempted to step aside so James could move back up. But the aisle was so small that James just ended up pressed awkwardly between Bradley and a display of incredibly expensive Windex.

“I mean boundaries,” he said, stepping back as he scanned the first aid supplies beside him. “I’ll be more careful about boundaries from here on out. I shouldn’t be asking you questions about things outside of work.”

There they were. Three pairs of gloves for a price that almost made him gasp like an proper lady in Graham’s old movies. But he grabbed three packs of them anyway and brought them up to the counter. Bradley followed him.

“I didn’t get mad because you’re captain,” he said. “I got mad because you’re fucking annoying.”

Helpful? Not helpful? James handed the kid behind the counter his cash and waited as he slowly counted out the change. He took it and the receipt with one nod of thanks to the kid and another to the cat, then headed toward the door.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said. “I don’t want to end up in Ancient Rome this time.”

The jingling door closed behind them, and he blinked in the sudden sunlight. “Once we’re done, I need to go back to the hotel and get my stuff,” he said, stuffing the packages of gloves into his jacket pocket. “Did you drive to Boston? I’ll drop you off there once we’re done.”

Another question, so he expected to get a comment. But they needed to figure out practicalities together, so Bradley would just have to deal with it this time.

“Um, yeah, it’s in a parking garage by Haymarket,” Bradley said. “But I have to go back to the hotel too. You don’t need to bring me to my car. I’m going to make the Foundation cover my parking since I’m here, so I’ll charge them for the cab too.”

That was a nice dream, wasn’t it? And apparently James couldn’t help himself because he immediately said, “I won’t ask because it’s not my business, but if you were on a date, you could have told me to fuck off. I wouldn’t have pulled you away. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have even called if I knew you were-”

“He stood me up.”

The apologies and awkward explanations that had been tumbling out of James’s mouth stopped as he did the same on the sidewalk. “What?”

Bradley kept going for a few steps. But once he realized James wasn’t going to keep walking too, he stopped in the shade of a small tree, his thin shoulders slumped. “I said he stood me up, okay? So no, you didn’t interrupt anything. It’s alright.”

“Shit, man, I’m sorry, I-”

“Of course you didn’t know, I didn’t tell you.”

James wanted to say something else, but nothing was coming to mind. 

“I waited there for an hour like an asshole, then said fuck it and went to my usual dance night,” Bradley continued without prompting a second later. “I had a couple drinks, and you called half an hour after I got there. That’s why I didn’t want to drive back.”

“Smart.”

Bradley glared at him. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “You have the gloves, right?”

Without waiting for an answer, he kept walking. “I left the energy sensor in the apartment,” he said, glancing at his phone. “Let’s get back before the batteries die again.”

“Guy’s fucking stupid,” James said as he got closer.

Bradley looked up. “What?”

“I said whoever he was is fucking stupid,” James repeated, something inside him breaking just a little at the surprise on Bradley’s face as he said it. “Hang on, someone’s calling me.”

It was Amelia on a video call. “There you are,” she said with a laugh. “I tried texting earlier. How is the case?”

“We found a Foundation storage apartment in a college neighborhood,” James said. “I picked up what I thought was a vehicle record and got a sneak peek at life in 1972.”

“You weren’t wearing gloves, were you?”

“No. Amateur move, but we have them now. How are things there?”

“They’ve quieted down,” Amelia said. “We had a quick case over in the state forest this afternoon. Someone said they saw a unicorn.”

“A unicorn? Are you kidding me?”

“I wish. But we did find a fucked up looking horse cryptid. Not quite a unicorn, but the closest I’ll see in my lifetime. You should have seen the teeth on this thing.”

And now they were looking for unicorns while he was here tracking a Foundation screwup. “We’re hoping the artifact is in this mountain of artifacts,” James said. “It’s barely recognizable as an apartment right now, even the bathtub is filled with boxes. And we’re supposed to be back at the Foundation at six.”

“Um…”

“I know,” James said. “And I don’t much give a shit? But I’m worried what they’ll do if we don’t get back in time. I don’t want anyone’s record taking a hit because we didn’t follow their rules. But I also feel like they’re going to spring an exciting third day on us if we don’t solve this today.”

He could see the dining room wall of Headquarters behind Amelia, a fading wedding photo from the 1940s visible behind her. Amelia let out a long breath. “Listen,” she said. “I won’t say no, but-”

“No, you need to go home and get some sleep,” James said. “If we have to, Gabriella can handle being in charge of the overnight shift for a night. I’ll send Bradley home to take tomorrow if I have to stay.”

The fact that she didn’t argue showed how tired she was. “Yeah,” she said. “Alright. But hopefully it’ll be done soon.”

“I’d so much rather it get done tonight.”

“Is Bradley with you?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Tell him that reimbursement check he was waiting on came in today. It’s not actually lost in the mail pile in your office.”

James glanced over at Bradley, who maybe looked a little embarrassed? But so was he, that mail pile was out of control. “Thanks,” he said. “He’s right here.”

“Miss you both. So was it time travel?” Amelia asked, sounding genuinely interested. “Like, actual time travel?”

“No, Jesus,” Bradley said. “Nobody time traveled.”

“It was more like that scene just replaced what I was looking at before,” James said. “It took the room in 1972 and set it over the room today. There was a huge fucking bong on the bedside table.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Madelyn’s room today,” Amelia said. “That’s wild though. I wonder how they make them.”

“Make what?”

Now Madelyn was on the call too, showing up on the screen behind Amelia. “A time photo,” Amelia told her. “Like a living capture of a moment in time.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of those,” Madelyn said. “They have a real name, I forget it though. But they’ve come up as defunct tech in the courses I’ve been taking.”

“So it’s not magic?” James asked, torn between stepping back and being professional, and his sudden interest in what was happening here.

“Oh, it’s magic, alright,” Madelyn said. “But nothing they were able to replicate after the eighties.”

“Wild.”

“Yeah, I’ll pull up some of the resources I have when you get back if you want.”

“That’d be great, thanks.”

 “I’m leaving in a few, but I can email them or leave them on your desk.”

“No, you don’t need to do that,” James said quickly, embarrassed again. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to go beyond your job for me.”

The easy atmosphere of the conversation dimmed suddenly. “No, it’s fine?” Madelyn said. “James, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said. “Hey, we’re nearly there, I need to get off the phone now. Talk to you guys later, I’ll let you know about tomorrow.”

He hung up the call a little too abruptly and put his phone in his pocket. It buzzed, but he ignored it as he started up the steps to the apartment building’s front door and realized he was alone. Bradley was still at the bottom of the stoop, typing something on his own phone.

“Are you coming?” James asked.

Bradley waved him off. “Give me a minute, I’ll be right up.”

Fine, James wanted to get this done, anyway. He hurried up the stairs to the apartment and was nearly to the right floor when his phone rang. Amelia was calling again. He pressed Decline, then opened their text thread to tell her he couldn’t talk right now. But before he could start typing, it rang again with another video call.

“Now’s really not a good time,” he greeted her.

“Don’t care,” she said. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m just stressed over this bullshit.”

“And what does Robin have to do with it?”

Fuck. Bradley hadn’t been texting with the phantom date, he’d been talking to Amelia. “I just realized I haven’t been respectful of the separation between team and captain and I don’t want to bother you all,” he said. “I shouldn’t be interfering in any of your personal lives.”

There was silence on the other end as she just looked at him. “You don’t want to bother us?” Amelia repeated slowly. “James, what-”

“I’ve been like…It’s like…I don’t know…” He was flailing now. “I feel like an asshole, you guys shouldn’t be dealing with my problems.”

“You’re an idiot,” she said gently. “Is this something they taught you during this shitshow?”

James glanced down the hall. “Yeah,” he admitted. “But they have a point about that one. If I’m going to be doing this for the rest of my life, shouldn’t I be professional about it? Especially if the Foundation isn’t going to be? I can’t screw this up for you guys. There’s too much at stake and maybe I didn’t appreciate that.”

“Look,” Amelia said, “Yeah, there are rules about fraternizing. But that’s for like, fucking, or whatever. Not for being friends. So stop stressing. Yeah, things are tangled up and probably unhealthy. And yeah, Bradley’s going to be a snippy douchebag forever. But we have to trust each other with our lives, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to be friends.”

Why was his throat tight? “He told you?”

“I think he actually feels bad,” Amelia said. “But I mean it. We need to trust each other more than we need distinction beyond the fact you’re in charge. We can’t always trust what the Foundation is telling us, but we can trust you, you know?”

He was clearly exhausted if his eyes were stinging like this. Amelia noticed, but kept going. “We’re what we have,” she said. “Do you want to be a perfect captain by their standards or would you rather have everyone safe and alive? Including you?”

“But none of us wanted Robin there, remember?” James argued. “When we were talking about our personal lives or-or, I don’t know, getting drunk at Sabine’s? We needed that space, so why wouldn’t you guys need it from me?”

“I don’t know,” Amelia admitted. “It doesn’t make complete sense, and it doesn’t have to. The rules are in place for a reason, yeah. Things get messy when you add sex or power into relationships. But the only reason you have to be captain is because we all went through something horrible and we all had to trust each other after that. And trust me, if I feel like I need a boundary, I will set it. And I’m sure the others will too.”

“I don’t want anyone to think they have to be, like, nice or something because I’m captain.”

“I’m sorry, which team are you in charge of again? Who are you there with right now?”

James laughed, feeling lighter than he had since arriving. “I really should go,” he said. “This apartment is an absolute nightmare, and it’s going to take us way longer than we have to get through it. I’ll see you soon.”

“Stop stressing this,” Amelia ordered him. “And tell Rosa hi for me.”

Fuck. “Yeah,” he said, rubbing at the headache that had never actually left earlier. “I will.”

***

James hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket, feeling for the gloves in there. Enough for everyone, just barely. If the Foundation was sending them after strange energy sources, they couldn’t shell out for some cheap latex gloves? Oh well, what else was new? But at least, even if he was still feeling a little uneasy, he knew that his entire team didn’t secretly hate him. So things were looking up from where they were two hours ago. And soon he could put this whole two days behind him.

Familiar footsteps came up the stairwell behind him and he turned to see Bradley about halfway up the staircase. He looked like he wasn’t sure what to say, which was unsettling. But before he could think of anything, James spoke first.

“Remember that card I got last week?”

“The one from the Foundation?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“You ever have something happen that’s so little and insignificant that it makes you question everything you’re doing with your life?”

“Yeah, every day.”

It sounded snarky enough that things almost felt normal. And it made him want to shut up. James felt a little too exposed right now, even if Amelia was right and nothing really had changed.

“Anyway, I guess that just kind of has me shook,” he pushed on. “Like, I’m not getting any younger and I haven’t done any other job since I was a kid. And I’m not going to whine to you about being captain, but it’s not what I planned to do. So…”

He shrugged, marveling at his own eloquence here. “Yeah,” Bradley said. “Yeah, I overreacted.”

So apparently they were both full of beautiful speeches right now. “I really appreciate you coming with me,” James said. “It’s a big help.”

“It’s fine.”

The longer they stayed down here pretending that either of them wanted to have this conversation, the more time they were going to waste that could go toward finding the artifact and leaving this building. 

“I get it, I guess,” Bradley said. “We’re about the same age, so…”

Now he shrugged. “Let’s get these gloves upstairs before anything else happens,” James said. “Those time photos are still giving me the creeps so I’m staying the hell away from that box. Unless you want to check them out. Go see 1983 or something.”

“Absolutely not.”

Good. He’d realized as he said it that maybe it was something Bradley would be interested in now that they knew what it was. And then James would be forced to be not only a captain, but a huge hypocrite of a captain, and say no. “You think they’d notice if I stole one for Madelyn?”

“Yeah, I think they’d fucking notice.”

“Just saying. If they don’t know that there’s an artifact in here powerful enough to mess up the train lines, then maybe…”


CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 18

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The Northern Worcester County branch of the Foundation for Paranormal Research is one of the organization’s top investigation and cleanup teams. So when a case comes in involving a century of mysterious disappearances, they figure they’ll be done before their lunch break is supposed to end. Investigators James and Amelia go to the site while their coworkers remain behind. But in seconds, Amelia vanishes in the cursed house and the others are forced to find her with no help from their bosses. Will they be able to get her back or will the house claim one final victim?

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