After a sweep by both James’s team (meaning him and Madelyn at that point) and Forester and one of his men, the Foundation all agreed that Celia’s house was free of paranormal influence. It fit the pattern. Polly Grace had fucked back off to Neverland or Ashburnham with her millions, and now she had no use for any of them. It still made James nervous, but Celia insisted it was fine and Agent Forester actually offered to stay at the house with them for the night if she wanted. 

Celia took him up on that, but he had to go back to Boston to submit his report first. Meanwhile, Uncle Tommy offered to do one last round of checks at the house tonight. Maybe three sweeps was overkill, but James would take it. As Tommy was preparing for that out on Gran’s front porch, James spotted the otherwise seemingly uninvolved Adam in the living room with the girls, talking softly. But as the hallway cleared out, James could hear them.

“It’s safe again,” he was saying as Penny nodded, wiping at her red eyes. “Your house with Mom is safe, I promise. And so is ours.”

“Can you come stay with us?” Krissy asked. “And Mommy?”

Penny glared at her sister and James walked away before they caught him eavesdropping. Some parts of this he didn’t need to be involved in.

Uncle Tommy and Agent Forester left together, both promising to return in a little while. Adam was gone shortly after as well, heading out to a work shift he’d been anxious not to miss now that they were free to leave. James and Madelyn stayed to have supper with Celia, Auntie Jules, and the girls. 

“What happens from here?” Celia asked a little while later as they all sat around the kitchen table.

James swallowed the too-large bite of meatball he’d just taken. “We set up protections at the house,” he said. “Basically what Gran has here, but with a few updates. Auntie Jules, we can do that here as well if you want.”

Auntie Jules smiled at him, then winked at Madelyn. “Your friend has been updating me on some of the new options out there. There are a couple we’ll discuss.”

“Hey, Uncle James?”

Penny had been quiet until now, only speaking when she was spoken to. James looked over at her. “Yeah, hon?”

“Is Ava going to be okay?”

The girl had terrorized her since fifth grade, and that was Penny’s first thought? Celia, Auntie Jules, and his own mother were going to kill him because not only was this girl going to join the Foundation as soon as she finished college too, she’d be a captain before she was thirty. 

And maybe it’d be a better place by then, so James could see that as nothing but a good thing for her.

“She is,” James said. “The person who did this, she got her payment and that’s all she cares about.”

“So she won’t be back?”

James paused for a second, just long enough for Penny to narrow her eyes at him. “She won’t,” he said finally. “She… nothing about this was personal for her. It was for them, and they hired her to do it for them. And now it’s over.”

He glanced over at Celia, who reluctantly nodded. Then he turned back to Penny. “You’re safe to go back home,” James continued. “It’s protected in every way it can be. And yeah, there are scary things in the world. You’re old enough to know that. There are scary and dangerous things out there and you need to be careful. But you don’t have to live your whole life looking for them.”

His aunt looked pointedly at him. “I get paid,” James protested.

Madelyn laughed. “Not much.”

“Oh, look who’s talking.”

The conversation turned from there and eventually made its way back to Penny’s school play. “Can you come?” Penny asked James. “Please? There’s three nights of it.”

“I’ll try,” he said honestly. “Three nights?”

“Yeah. And a Saturday afternoon show.”

“Wow, they’re really working you guys.”

She was smiling now, beaming as she looked across the table at him. “I really hope you can make it.”

Now Madelyn was looking at him too. “Send me the days,” James said, all defenses destroyed now. “I’ll be there.”

***

When he and Madelyn got back to Headquarters, James went straight to his car and turned the key in the ignition, not sure what outcome he expected more. When it came to life as healthy as ever, he sighed and shut it off.

“My shift is starting anyway,” he said with a laugh. “Are you going home? Go home.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Madelyn said. “I don’t even have to go inside.”

“But you’re going home, right?”

Wait, was she embarrassed? “Spill,” James said.

Madelyn grimaced. “Me and Graham are going to watch a movie.”

“How embarrassing.”

“I mean, at your house.”

“So, you mean embarrassing for me then,” James said. “I think I picked up all my laundry. Go. Have fun. See you tomorrow.”

He waved her off, and she laughed, then gave him a quick, unexpected hug. She felt so delicate and it almost worried him for a second, at least until he remembered the taser crackling in her hand as she took Devens down. “Good work out there today,” James said.

“Is it really inconsiderate to tell you it was nice to be out in the field?”

James laughed loudly at that, the sound escaping before he realized it. “I’m glad I could help,” he said. “Go. I think I left some beers in the fridge, help yourselves.”

She turned and started walking toward James’s house and he reluctantly went inside what might as well be his home.

Amelia was there, as was Gabriella, who was wrapping up her own shift. “It’s done,” she said as James walked in.

“As it’s going to be,” he replied. “Polly Grace is still out there doing her weird shit.”

“But Celia and the kids are good?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re good?”

She looked at him expectantly and he considered telling her about the gun, then stopped. She’d find out later and be pissed off, but James needed to decompress and process it first. “Yeah,” he said truthfully.

“And we finished the Blueberry Hill case.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. We were right, the activity was in the field, where the auto shop is now. I went over and cleaned it. It took about half an hour and the lingering energy seems to be fading out. I told the owners about the potential body, but it’s been a hundred years so I don’t imagine there’s much left. Still, the Foundation is going to contact the city and the family of the missing man, so any digging will be up to them now. McGovern emailed to let me know all of that when I submitted it.”

“How did you..?”

“Bradley was in charge of the shift at that point, he approved it.”

“And then a hundred-year-old case was closed.”

“If she hadn’t died, it would have been done that afternoon.”

James surprised himself again as he moved to hug her. It was quick, then he stepped back. “Thanks for handling that, Gabs,” he said. “I’ll submit it in a little while.”

“I’m going to head out,” Gabriella said. “Do you need anything?”

He glanced into the half-open back bedroom door, where he could see Bradley working on something at the computer back there. On the other side of them, Amelia was in the living room, with about three different cases’ worth of paperwork surrounding her. 

“Nah, you head out,” James said. “Love you.”

That seemed to catch her a little off guard. “Love you too,” she said with a soft smile, the scar making it slightly crooked.

Gabriella headed to the door as James went upstairs to where Amelia was working. She looked up as he walked through. “Madelyn told me everything,” Amelia said. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Amelia could always tell when James was being honest, and he truly appreciated that right now. “Good,” she said. “Talk later?”

“I’ll be here all night.”

He winked at her, then went into his office as his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Meredith, just saying hi. James forced himself to text back immediately, otherwise he was never going to. 

And not because he didn’t want to see her. Now that the adrenaline of the past few days was going down, his mind was wandering back to the parking lot outside the diner. And how he’d really like to replicate that as soon as possible.

Polly Grace was gone. Devens was no longer his problem. He could focus on other things now, at least for a little while.

He opened his email and the first thing that showed up was a list of additional expenses for the individual branches that were starting this month. It wasn’t anything enormous or shocking. Honestly, James had been expecting the Foundation to shift heating oil over to their control for a little while now, especially when they were doing the electric bill here already. He’d have to talk to Bradley about that tonight.

James looked at the email. It had arrived two minutes earlier and was addressed only to him, not Bradley. And down at the bottom, it said to consult with the team logistics coordinator or other appropriate personnel. Meaning Bradley hadn’t received this information yet.

James got up, aware that this plan was going to get him killed, but whatever. This wasn’t the first time his life had been on the line today. He walked down to the back bedroom and stood quietly in the doorway for a second. Bradley didn’t notice as he typed up whatever he was working on.

“Hey, Brad, what are the new changes in expense lines this month?”

“Heating oil and oil tank maintenance,” Bradley said without looking up from the screen. “Why?”

James stared at him for a second, considering how to approach this. Apparently he was silent for a little too long, because Bradley turned to him. “Why are you being creepy?” he demanded.

“I never told you that,” James said. 

“It was in an email or something, I don’t know.”

“You weren’t on the email. I just got it. It was only addressed to me, and I was told to tell you.”

“Then I don’t fucking know. Just please leave me alone, I have work to do.”

James came further into the room. “Look,” he said, sitting on the side of the bed with his hands on his knees. “What do you think’s going to happen if you pass that test?”

“That I’ll have to deal with a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit? And they’re going to think I have magic powers and not let me get my actual work done? Just like right now?”

He had a fair point. “It’s not a big deal,” James said. “It’s just a test.”

“Then you go and do it.”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” James said. “Kiddo, there comes a time in every young man’s life when he starts to notice certain changes in his body.”

Bradley stopped his furious typing, hands going still over the keyboard in a way that James knew meant he should get the hell out of this room. “I’ll do what I can to get you out of it,” he said, standing up. “But no promises.”

“I’m not going,” Bradley said. “I’m not wasting my entire day so that some guy can play out his Ghostbusters fantasies.”

“Ghost- Bradley, we’re an organization that hunts ghosts. Busts them, if you like. You think that’s the part of the movie that inspires people to join the Foundation? I don’t think this guy’s there going, ‘Oooh, I can’t wait to piss off some salty asshole with my super special not fucking see through cards. God, nothing turns me on more than ruining some prick’s morning with my magical card games.’”

Bradley sighed. “I’ll order oil tomorrow,” he said.

“Maybe give it a week, since they just told me tonight and they’re going to fuck up something with the transition.”

“Maybe you should go take that stupid test instead.”

“I’ll be in my office. My aunt sent over a bunch more food, so help yourself. It’s all in the Tupperwares in the fridge. She sent over some cherry pie for you, your name’s on the cover.”

He expected another barb, but Bradley nodded. “Thanks.”

Was that almost a smile? Bradley turned back to his computer and James headed to the door. But before he was out of the room, Bradley called his name.

“James?”

If Bradley was using his first name, then James was a little afraid to hear the next part. He turned back to see Bradley looking at him, an odd expression on his face.

“He had a gun on you?”

James nodded, the casual smile he’d been attempting to give faltering slightly. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m fine though. Madelyn tased him.”

Bradley swallowed. “Good,” he said, nodding slightly. “Good.”

“We’ve all been in the same amount of danger before,” James said. “Just a different form. I’m fine, really. Just a little shook.”

“I can take the night shift if you need to go.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” James said. “I’d rather stay here with you guys than lay in bed alone and dwell on it. So, are you still going to say you aren’t psychic?”

Bradley held up his phone, the concern on his face instantly replaced by a familiar scowl. “Madelyn texted me, jackoff.”

“Fine,” James said. “You’re still going to the screening, I’m not dealing with the rescheduling calls.”

Bradley waved him off as he went back to his work, seemingly satisfied James would remain alive. James closed the door most of the way, then headed back toward his office. The paperwork for the Blueberry Hill case was sitting on his desk to be filed away, along with several reminders for things he’d meant to do all day and notes from the Polly Grace case that now needed to be filed as well. But before he could pick them up and get started, he noticed a new email from Sharon Delgado.

James –

What’s your opinion on Richard McGovern? He was just announced as liaison for the New Hampshire branches and I know you’ve worked closely with him in the past.

Regards,

Sharon

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and now New Hampshire. James hoped McGovern was right for his own sake if they were gradually having him take the entirety of New England. He answered briefly and honestly, then picked up the file Gabriella had left on his desk. Her notes and results were nice and neat, blending right in with LeRoux’s. 

An old photograph fell out of the folder as he went to put it in the box he’d optimistically cleared out for the old cases as they were completed. James picked it up and stared at it in the yellow lamplight. A tall woman a little older than him, with what he knew was a fashionable haircut for the time. She was smiling at the camera like she knew a secret and she couldn’t wait for you to ask about it. He flipped it over to see the elegant script on the back tell him exactly what he had expected to see.

James set the folder in the box, but kept the picture of Anne LeRoux out. From outside his door, he heard Amelia call something to Bradley, who must have come out of the bedroom based on the promise of pie. Bradley laughed at what she said, then answered, though it was muffled by the door James had absently closed on his way in. 

He propped the picture of LeRoux up on his desk, against the old Fitchburg State College mug that housed all of his pens. She looked happy in the picture, like she loved her life and what she did. 

His phone buzzed with two texts in rapid succession. Meredith asking after his day. Then Gabriella threatening to fucking kill him now that she’d heard from Madelyn too. He took a moment to answer both, listening as the conversation started up again outside his office door. 

There was so much to do and it would never be complete. Not really. He’d never finish working through these boxes of files, even if Meredith never brought another to their door. Polly Grace was still out there and he knew in his heart that he’d see her again someday. 

But for now James was going to go refresh his coffee, go eat some dessert out in the living room with his friends, then get back to the parts of this job that he loved as well. So he gave Anne LeRoux a smile in return, then headed out the door.

END

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