CHAPTER 28

“You look just fine,” said Betsy as she finished playing with her older Brother’s bow tie. He was not happy about how he looked and there was very little that Betsy could do about that. She left him stewing and went to answer the door to their motel room.

Mike did not even bother to look and see who had knocked on the door. He knew who it was and could not think of a reason to do anything about it. Mike just grumbled, “I look like a jack ass in this thing,” as he walked to the small table and sat down in one of it’s chairs. He then grabbed a beer out of the cooler sitting on it and noted the reaction he was getting from the old man on the other side of the table. Mike asked him, “what you braying at?”

Scott Crossfield just snorted a laugh in return and then went back to sipping at his own beer. Mike grunted after more than a sip and then told Scott, “you can have my ticket if you want.”

“You’re a good man Mike,” Scott told him, “Betsy deserves this. Just like that trip to London. How often does a waitress get to go off and visit such interesting places?”

The compliment did not much impress Mike, nor did his visitor. Betsy was in awe of Didi who was dressed in something that had to cost more than Mike would have ever paid for it. That was unfortunate since Betsy said about what Mike had expected, “I have to get one!”

Didi graciously told the little blond girl, “we’ll go shopping when we get the chance.” She then smiled and greeted Scott before developing a scowl and telling Mike, “how did she manage to get you into that get up? You look, almost, um, civilized? You are going to comb your hair, right?”

Mike got up out of his chair and grabbed the coat to his tuxedo, “can we get this shit over with.” They took a cab from the hotel and the traffic was not quite as bad as Mike would have figured. It was three in the morning here in New York City so, Mike wondered, maybe this place really did sleep? He knew that it is where he wished to be right now and said as much, “why can’t they do this shit at a descent hour?”

Didi had been busy reading some documents on her phone. She had been engrossed in them until she heard Mike grumbling. Didi stopped reading and replied, “because the timing has to be precise. That’s what they tell me anyway.”

As the other doctor went back to reading, Mike replied, “oh that’s crap and you know it. How can they tell what time it is? From what you said, they don’t even exactly have a real day and night.”

Didi wanted to concentrate when she read this particular report from work but, it was clear that was probably not going to happen. She did not put up the phone though. She did look away when she answered, “oh they have it, it’s just not like ours. They come far apart too. Most of the time it’s like lighter and darker versions of dusk. Don’t ask me to explain it though, I never could quite get the hang of it.”

Betsy was actually very interested. She had never paid much attention in school but, for some reason, this was different. She was still beaming when she asked, “so what do they do for clocks, and hours, and all that stuff?”

Didi shrugged, “I know they have this big one at their embassy. Don’t worry sweetie, you’ll get to see it. I don’t think they use that to mark this event though.”

Mike mumbled, “something about the stars.”

“Yeah,” Didi agreed with Mike for once, “apparently you can see the same constellations from Feyland that you can see from here. All the stars are the same but, you know, it’s the planets and stuff that are different. That has something to do with this party they’re having.”

Betsy got excited and said, “I think I saw one of those clock things when we were in London. What I don’t get is, why they do it though. Some British guy tried explaining it to me. He was over there for a while.”

Didi wondered about that. There were not too many humans, from earth, that were there when her team went in. She asked, “what was his name? Maybe I know him?”

It was Mike that answered, “Snow, wasn’t it? If he wasn’t a spook then my bike ain’t blue.”

Betsy slapped her brother on the arm, “he was nice!”

Didi thought about that for a minute and then she decided not to say anything. She just went back to reading and that actually drew Mike’s attention. She had been working with him long enough to know when he was serious so, she spilled the beans, “some reports from Atlanta. You know, I thought when I took this assignment I’d be, like, advancing my career. I’d be at the forefront of everything. I didn’t know they were going to hide us in a hole.”

Mike laughed, “it’s the CIA, what did you expect?”

Pointing to her phone, Didi replied, “not this to be sure. We may have a new disease brewing and Wayne McCollum gets to run the team! That prick.”

Betsy suddenly dropped her smile and became somewhat cautious as she asked, “you mean like a plague?”

“Oh no honey,” Didi waived it off, “we find stuff like this all the time. It’ll probably never amount to anything. It’s just, in my line of work, mapping the genes of new microbes is how you get published and that’s how you get promoted.”

The cab came to a stop and Mike snickered as he got out, “you could do that with our buddies up in Boston. They got more than just one cell too.”

It was not a very good joke and Didi was long past the time of pretending that Mike was funny. She was also very happy to note that Betsy was of the same opinion. Didi quickly changed the subject as they walked towards the Embassy of the Feyland Empire to the United Nations. Didi remembered reading that they had wanted to build their own building but, had abandoned the idea when they found out what Manhattan real estate prices were like. They were also not pleased with how long it would take. Apparently their over bloated bureaucracy never extended to their own government who managed to do what they pleased without all the paperwork. It horrified them to find out the United States did not follow the same customs.

The elves had lit the building up which was, as Didi had seen in pictures, pretty standard in their homeland. That was certainly not uncommon for human buildings but, most UN embassies were another matter. There were many of them in New York, literally, one for every country on the planet. Didi had spent a lot of time in NYC and she still had no clue as to any of their whereabouts. The main reason was that none of them really advertised where they were. Apparently, it was another custom that the elves did not share with their new human friends. Not only did they want people to know they were at this location but, they wanted everyone to think it was attractive as well. That led to the other problem in bureaucracy.

Even the cable channels had covered it. The City and the Fey’s had apparently gone three rounds over how much illumination could be used on the embassy. There were a lot of residential buildings in this part of Manhattan and those people wanted to sleep at night. Apparently, just like with this party, the Feys operated on their own time inside their embassy. This extended to when they turned the lights on and off. Not only had the elves cited the UN treaty and the fact that the embassy was their soil but, they even went so far as to go on television and talk about America’s religious freedoms.

Montceaus Odaylya, an elf big wig, knew exactly what buttons to push when it came to Americans. Not only did he cite religious freedoms but, had asked Americans if they were really tolerant of minorities. Then the people who were talking about not being able to sleep got replaced on the news by greedy corporations who were worried about loosing rent values. Before long there were people protesting over Elf religious freedoms and, suddenly, the city backed down.

At the moment, Betsy found that she was glad the elves had won their fight. They were true artists when it came to lighting up buildings. The only thing that could have been better was if, “I want to go there one day!” Betsy noticed the strange looks she was getting from her brother and his coworker. She had to tell them again, “no seriously, I want to go. This is so fucking awesome.”

Mike grumbled, “she said the same damn thing in London.”

As they finally made it in the doors, Didi was about to say, “don’t tell me, you’re against it.” The sounds coming from inside were too much for any mere words to penetrate though. She forgot about the conversation anyway. Not only was it loud but, what the noise was surprised Didi. It was dance music? It was human dance music too.

Betsy became thrilled and when the music stopped, she told her companions, “oh I have to check this out.” She ran into the celebrating crowd with gusto. Then some woman, up on an interior balcony, began clamoring away and getting a round of cheers every time she finished a sentence. There were more than a few spot lights and cameras pointed her way as she did.

Mike knew who the woman was, “that’s the chick from that music show on cable.”

Didi examined the woman very closely and then had to admit, “can’t remember the last time I watched television.”

“Who says I watch it,” Mike replied, “I just know who she is.”

Given that he lived with a girl who was barely out of her teens, Didi could understand that. Then again, she would not be surprised if Mike had a secret stash of Teen magazines under his mattress. He was a big kid after all. Didi also had to reflect that this one fact was probably the only thing that kept her from killing him, day after day, in and out of working in the clean room together. She though Mike was a little emotionally handicapped and pitied him like he was really disabled.

When the music stopped again, Didi and Mike found themselves on the outskirts of the crowd. It was the only place where the music and roar from the party was not completely deafening. The space was underneath one of the many balcony’s, near an interior door, guarded by private human security, and was the most comfortable for now. When the music began again, Didi was sure her ears would get blown out but, here at least, she would not get trampled. She figured she could pass the time by spotting celebrities. There were more than a few who were dancing out on the floor.

Then someone tapped Mike on the shoulder. In turn, he nudged Didi and then she saw this slender woman with short, jet black, hair and was not exactly dressed for the party. She had an English accent when she spoke, “excuse me, aren’t you Doctor Michael Green?”

Fortunately for Mike, his mumbling out, “who wants to know,” was not loud enough to be heard. Didi elbowed him and took the conversation from there, “why yes he is. And you are… miss?”

A spark hit the woman’s eyes after she looked at Didi for a moment. Then she developed this look of confidence and said, “you’re doctor Compton aren’t you? I knew both of you were invited, I just had no idea you two were together.”

Mike quickly replied, “we ain’t.”

Everyone ignored his reply and this English woman continued, “I’m sorry Doctor Compton, I didn’t recognize you this way. I’ve only ever seen the pictures from those CDC handouts. You look marvelous!”

Didi started to squirm, “oh god, not those. Those pictures were horrible. I felt like I was at the DMV when they took them.” Didi caught herself, “but thank you anyway uh…”

The woman laughed and feigned embarrassment, “where are my manners. I’m so sorry. I’m Carol, Carol Somerset and it is a genuine pleasure to meet both of you.”

As the woman shook their hands, Mike asked quite bluntly, “why?”

If this English woman heard him, she did not act as if it were the case. She simply went on with, “you two do not look so, um, at home in these surroundings. I think I could offer you both a more, um, appropriate level of accommodations?”

It seemed that Didi was more than eager to jump at the chance. This Somerset woman was making them feel like VIP’s in a room full of people who really were. Mike’s first reaction was to reject the offer but, the screaming woman with her own cable show was more than enough to force a smile on his lips and reply, “why the hell not.”

At first Mike was happy that he agreed. They went through the guarded doors and he noted the two security goons did not even flinch when Somerset opened it with her card. Then it was a short trip down a hallway that was evenly lit and not full of flashing and spinning spotlights, a definite plus by Mike’s way of thinking. The room that they found themselves in was not exactly quiet, you could still hear the music from out in the atrium but, it was at least muffled to the level of a thumping vibration. It gave Mike the impression of a break room but, with none of the cheap fold out furniture he was used too. Everything in the room was first class but, being used by the people here, just like it was the cheap crap.

Once they could hold a conversation in a more normal volume, Mike asked the Carol woman, “so what do you do around this place?”

Carol considered her answer and said, “I don’t work here but, I do help out. I, um, own a publishing company, over on Madison.”

Didi excused her companion and then told the woman, “we are so grateful for this. His little sister is thrilled but, it’s not really what we’re used too.”

That lit up Carol’s eyes and she said, “oh, Betsy did come after all? Tell you what, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll make sure she has the time of her life.”

The woman practically glided as she walked off. She also snapped her fingers only once and had three guys with radios at her beck and call, almost instantly. Mike watched all of it with interest and then quietly told Didi, “kind of surprised she didn’t already know Betsy was here.” When Didi gave him a strange expression, Mike told her, “she already knows everything else about us.” Again, Didi looked to be completely at a loss so Mike spelled it out for her, “think about where you work, woman.”

Didi’s heart skipped a beat, “oh shit.” She went from on cloud nine to nervous in the drop of a hat. Then she looked around the room and began to wonder who all these people really were, as she quietly asked Mike, “you don’t think we’re in any danger here do you?”

Mike snorted a laugh, “not unless they’re trying to kill us with kindness, I don’t.”

That did not quite settle Didi’s apprehension. She actually grabbed Mike’s arm and squeezed as she asked, “what do we do?”

Mike had already made up his mind, “I’m going to see if they got any beer. This is a classy joint so I’m sure they got something.” Mike wandered over to the refreshment area, very much against Didi‘s protests, and did exactly what he said he would. When the mission was accomplished and some waiter guy, popped the cap on a bottle, and then poured the contents into a glass, Mike found himself amused by it all. Nobody had ever done that at a party for him before. He’d been to a few of these shindigs but, still, he never rated VIP treatment. Then one of the VIP’s wanted to actually talk to him.

This guy was even an elf. He had that funky hair that was rolled up in a pony tail and enough jewelry, on his ears and around his neck, to give a rapper a run for his money but, strangely enough, the guy wore a black business suit of the human variety. He was pleasant enough and offered to shake Mike’s hand, even if the elves were not in the habit of doing it. He politely asked, “so what do you think of our celebration tonight?”

Mike could not help but notice how good this guys English was. He didn’t even have an accent and would have been right at home on television. That made Mike realize something else, this guy had been on television before, plenty of times. Mike did not bother with a smile though. He just answered the question, “loud.”

That drew a laugh from the elf, “I can sympathize with you. I had wondered if all humans went in for this.” He gestured to his ears, “our hearing is a little different from yours. We don’t hear the sounds quite like you do, so, our music is not the same.”

“Hey,” Mike shrugged, “can’t blame you for that nether. I don’t listen to all that crap. Give me some Johnny Cash and I’m happy.”

“Yes,” the elf replied, “a wondrous variety you have in this land, too be sure. I’m familiar with the works of Cash.”

Mike almost laughed. He’d never heard anybody talk about Johnny Cash like he was Mozart. At the same time, Mike looked around at his surroundings and wondered if the guy was talking about a musician when he said the word ‘cash.’ That’s why he replied, “I don’t doubt it.” The Elf did not get the reference and Mike figured that was probably for the best. That was why Mike just pointed to his glass and said, “hey, I’m just here for the beer man.”

“I was told you were an expert in biology,” the elf said next. “If you don’t mind me saying so Doctor, I have noticed your mannerisms tonight.” Usually when someone told Mike that, it was a comment on his hygiene but, that proved not to be the case here, “you study the body as a profession yet, of all the humans that I have met, you really do not seem to look at us as if we are an oddity.”

Mike just shrugged in return, “hey, it’s all the same when you get right down too it, you know?”

That actually drew a subtle smile on the elf’s lips and he shook hands once more as he said, “I could not agree more Doctor, you have a pleasant evening.”

Mike got a refill before he went to find Didi again. Mike had to bullshit his way through a few conversations that he was not particularly interested in having, mostly with other guests in the room. When he found Didi it was apparent that she was interested in those kinds of things. She now looked as thrilled as Betsy had been. She was beaming and practically shaking when she told Mike, “oh my god do you have any idea who I’ve gotten to talk to tonight.”

Again, Mike only shrugged, “let me guess, movie stars, right?”

Didi had apparently forgotten about their earlier conversation. If she was nervous then she was the best poker player ever. Mike knew better than that. The woman nearly jerked his arm off when she told him about her last conversation with some actor, “that guy is on my fantasy ten list!”

Mike’s eyes opened wide for that, “your what?”

Suddenly Didi realized she probably did not want Mike knowing about that little thing so she changed the subject, “um, I heard you made quite an impression.”

“I did?” Mike looked around and wondered why he wasn’t being thrown out the door yet, “who says?”

“Montceaus Odaylya you dumbass,” Didi told him, “the elf you were talking too over by the refreshments. He’s the one you see on TV all the time!”

“No shit,” Mike was obviously unimpressed, “thought I recognized him.” His lack of enthusiasm was somewhat confusing to Didi but, then again, Mike realized that she had yet to figure out what was going to happen when they got back to work. He decided to just let her remain blissfully ignorant. Why ruin her night? She was a lot easier to deal with when she was acting like his little sister and Mike was experienced in dealing with teen aged brats.