Chapter 47 – Intentions

  “Sometimes the kindest, most well-intentioned people become casualties from their own bleeding hearts.” – Kurt

  “So, what did you want to ask?” Val asked.

  Kate took the fourth chair at the table and sat while Jamie went back to work. “Well, I wanted your opinion on if we should mark the shop.”

  Kristi interjected after swallowing a bite of her food. “Why do you want to mark the shop or be a para friendly pce anyway?”

  “Just, you know…” Kate hesitates. “After what happened on Saturday, I thought we should do something to support the community. We might not be members, but we can be allies.”

  “What happened on Saturday?” Kurt asked around a bite of his bagel sandwich.

  “What rock do you live under?” Jamie said from where he was sweeping under a table. “You didn’t see the news?”

  Kate already had her phone out and was scrolling through. “Here, this.” She said and handed it to him.

  Kurt started to read it out loud for the girls at the table. “The Houston Gazette reports that a restaurant and club owned by members of the paranormal community, and with a focus on serving those also of the community, has been the victim of a deadly attack. The incident occurred shortly after seven PM when five masked men entered the establishment and reportedly threw explosives into the dining area. They managed to escape before first responders arrived on the scene.

  “There are reports of over twenty dead and a few dozen more in critical condition. Among the severely wounded are the restaurant owner and his wife. No official statement from w enforcement or government has been made at this time.” Kurt finished the st line out of reflex, having read simir in the past. He handed Kate her phone and she began scrolling again.

  “Christ on a cracker.” He swore. The girls also looked shocked, their eyes wide as they listened.

  “Oh, it gets worse.” Kate said and handed him the phone again.

  He was almost wondering how it got worse but began reading another headline from a separate news outlet. “’New group cims responsibility in attack on Houston area night club.’ Nice fucking spin on terrorism.” He commented on the headline before scrolling to read the article.

  “An attack on a paranormal centric night club te Saturday night, which led to several dead and wounded, has been cimed by an unheard-of organization. The group going by the name ‘The Keepers of the Bck Feast’ has cimed responsibility in the attack. The group appears to have adopted outdated, dogmatic beliefs from several religious practices….”

  “They are really attacking on both fronts here.” Val commented, interrupting Kurt.

  Kristi weighted in as well. “Yeah, casting snder at the para community and the world religions in barely a few sentences.”

  “Tabloid journalism and identity politics.” Kurt said, handing back the phone despite wanting to pitch it into the ke. “Ok, I get it, new terrorist group that seems to be just like the others, religious zealots that take things out of context.”

  “Kurt.” Val said, giving him a ft look.

  He held his hands up. “I know, I know. I’m just a little bitter is all.”

  “Have you thought about the actual practical side of it?” Kristi asked, focusing on Kate. “It’s fine and good to be a friend but what happens when going after the para’s isn’t enough and they decide that you’re sympathizers and bel you enemies too?”

  “That’s what I was worried about.” Jamie said as he came back over, dusting off his hands. “I don’t want to seem like I don’t care but we can’t do anything to help anyone if we are hospitalized or worse.”

  “How well can you fight?” Kristi asked and took another bite of her breakfast sandwich.

  “Umm…” Jamie and Kate said together before the brother spoke for both of them. “We can’t? or at least I never learned anything about fighting. I don’t know about her.”

  “I took a women’s self-defense css in college.” Kate said, seemingly proud until Val chipped in.

  “Cute. But anything useful?” asked the kitsune. “That doesn’t really help much against a pipe-bomb.”

  Kurt heaved a sigh. “Where are you parents?”

  “Out for the day.”

  “Ok, here is the deal.” Kurt said, leaning in. “If you want to do something, you need a pn. Talk to Don and Les, if they support it then call me.” Kurt scribbled his number on a scrap of his grocery list. “Dinner tonight, my pce. I will text you details if they are in.”

  “The only thing worse than having a bad pn is having no pn at all.” Kristi said sagely from over her now empty ptes.

  “That’s right.” Kurt said. “I will be happy to help with some wards and things around your shop, but I am not doing anything if this is just a bunch of wishful thinking and lip service heroism.”

  He stood up and the girls stood with him. “Let me know in the next hour. We are going to the store, and I will need groceries if I am feeding all seven of us.”

  They said their goodbyes and left, getting in the car as the siblings waved from the window. None of them said a word until the doors were shut. Kurt was the first to speak after starting to pull out of the parking space.

  “I really hope they call and don’t try to do something stupid.” Kurt said.

  Val giggled from the passenger seat. “I don’t know, a women’s self-defense css is some pretty powerful stuff.”

  Kristi smacked her shoulder. “Don’t disparage her.” Val flinched a little from the sp. “She at least tried, no matter how misguided or worthless the training, an attempt was made.”

  “Oww. Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.” Val said and Kurt had a feeling that if her ears and tail were showing, they would all be drooping.

  They drove and talked for a bit, not really getting too far into the weeds on the issue. Their first stop was the hardware store since Kurt needed a few things. His list had water filters, air filters, polishing compound and more fuel for his torch. Pretty basic things with the polish and fuel being the only things needed for enchanting.

  The girls wandered around for a little while, browsing the shelves and occasionally pointing out something they wanted. Val found the clearance section and almost bit on some patio furniture, but Kurt suggested they see if Dan could hook them up with something nicer.

  Eventually they hit the checkout and made for the grocery store. They had barely pulled into the parking lot when a call came in from an unknown number. “Hello?” Kurt answered over the car’s hands-free connection.

  “Hey, um, Kurt?” Asked a familiar voice.

  “Speaking.”

  “It’s Kate. Mom and dad are onboard. So, what time and what’s the address?”

  Kurt thought for a second, doing some math. “You close at five? Let’s call it for seven then.” He figured he should give them some extra time after closing. “I will text you the address. I am making pasta.”

  “Oh, ok. Umm, see you then I guess.” She said and Kurt disconnected the call.

  “Right, lets load up for not only them but also for the weekend. I don’t know how often my parents will eat with us but it’s good to have something on hand.” He said and they made their way into the store, dividing the list to make it faster.

  They were back at the house not long after, with the groceries unpacked in record time as everyone chipped in. Val went to call Penny, informing her of what they had found out. Kristi followed Kurt downstairs while he changed out water filters and checked the fans for the house.

  Since Kurt didn’t have a furnace, he had a central fan that would move air around the house. It wasn’t in any particur pattern, but it was enough to ensure heat made it around. The rooms had small stand-alone heat and air con units, but it was nice to equalize the whole house at times.

  After that, he went to his workshop and pulled out his books. He was looking to see what wards he might use in the coffee shop and if there were any enchantments that he could give the family themselves.

  “Spit ball for me.” Kurt said and handed Kristi a pad of paper.

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “What?”

  “Just put out some ideas for what we could do for wards on that building.” Kurt expined while he rifled through his book.

  Kristi began scratching at the pad. She stopped occasionally and looked around, clearly getting inspiration from the room and house. They worked in silence for several minutes until Val came down to check in on them.

  “Alright, here is what I got.” Kristi said. “We can do some traps…”

  “Nope.” Kurt said and crified after seeing her hurt expression at the immediate rejection. “Not a bad idea for a house or something but this is a public pce where people come and go in rge numbers.”

  “Right, and that could set it off accidentally.” Kristi nodded and scratched off a couple things on her page. “Ok, I also have hardened windows. That is the most vulnerable part. Then maybe some detection spells? Like what John has?”

  Kurt scratched his chin. “I think that’s a good call on the windows. There are magical and mundane means of reinforcing those.” He thought for a minute about the detection part. “Ok, so what I did for John was set an enchantment in his door frame that essentially does what the rings do but on a much rger scale.”

  “Why don’t we do that?” Val said.

  “It needs recharging. Unless I can find a mana source or something like a battery, I have to go recharge it every month. Which reminds me, I have to go visit John next week.”

  At that point Val summoned something from her ring and threw it at him. The small crystal hit Kurt in the chest and fell into his p. He looked at it for a minute then went back to his book. He began flipping pages while reaching for a note pad.

  Kristi and Val shared a look and she smiled. “The crystals we picked up from the st rift.” The kitsune said as way of expining.

  “Ahh, makes sense.” Kristi said and they watched Kurt check some things with his enchanter’s tools before swiveling back around.

  “That will work with a slightly rger crystal. What else do we have?” They threw ideas back and forth for a little while but a lot of the things that could be helpful in a defense couldn’t be used in that setting.

  “I think a sticker on the window is a bad idea.” Penny said from the doorway, making all three of them jump a little. “Sorry, I let myself in.” she said.

  “It’s fine but why is the sticker a bad idea?” Kurt asked.

  “Because people will see it that we don’t want to see it. No matter how discrete, if it is viewable from the outside, people will see it who we don’t want to alert. You won’t be able to rely on inside knowledge for long.”

  “Hmm, good point.” Kurt said and returned to thinking. “How about we react to the spell on the door?” He offered after a few minutes.

  “How so?” Val perked back up after their handler had rained on their parade.

  “So, they will know when a para walks in. If they have a small stamp or something that they can put on their cup or wrapper, then it lets the person know without broadcasting it.” Kurt was trying to think his way through the idea. “Eventually news will spread right? And if it’s a para only thing then it will be kept hush-hush.”

  They all nodded along, agreeing with the idea but then Kristi made a really good point that they probably should have thought about. “What do they do if someone comes to them and needs help?”

  “That is where we can step in.” Penny said. “The Order has a process for refugees and such. We can issue them a panic button. If it’s an immediate, life or death thing then we can teleport a team in. If it’s not a ‘right this instant’ problem, we can take them through a connection to the Order simir to your hub. “

  “And this is done out of the kindness of your hearts?” Kurt asked. He hadn’t been in the Order very long but got the feeling it wasn’t the most charitable organization.

  “Pfff. No.” Penny said with a little ugh. Apparently, the idea of the Order being that charitable was very funny to her. “The shop will be a little spy network for us. Part of the deal. That’s the exchange, they get some protections, and we get another set of eyes and ears.”

  They continued to generate ideas for how the little shop could not only help, but also be safe. Kurt wasn’t the kind of person to just take from people and wanted to give a little back. He was thinking about how to do that while starting to prep for dinner. An idea came to him when he noticed the stack of mail at the end of the counter and the letter from his bank.

  “Hey, Penny.” He said in a very sweet tone that instantly made her aware something was up.

  “Yeeess?” she answered cautiously from the couch.

  “Does the order have anyone that can help with real estate?” He was thinking about the building the coffee shop was in.

  The building was a corner lot with two suites for businesses. One was naturally occupied by the coffee shop, but the other was vacant and had been vacant for years. Something the owner was likely frustrated with.

  Penny squinted at him then shot a look at Val who just shrugged but rested her chin on the back of her chair to look at Kurt. “There are specialists that are avaible to agents. Why do you ask?”

  “He wants to buy the building the shop is in.” Kristi said while scrolling on her phone.

  “Got it in one.” Kurt said while pointing a spatu at her. “The other half of their building has been vacant for a long time. How would the order like to have an actual foothold in this region that isn’t tied to someone’s living space?”

  “That…Hmm.” Penny started to talk but then stopped to consider. “That might be workable. Let me talk to Jay and see if it’s something we are interested in.” She said.

  “Ok, I am buying that building either way.” Kurt said while dumping ingredients into the pan. “I just want to know if the order wants in on it or not. If they do, then we can work out a deal.”

  Not long after, a car rolled up the driveway causing Kurt to gnce at the clock. “Huh, a bit early but I can work with this.” He commented while putting some bread in the oven to warm. “Val, can you greet them?”

  “Already on the way.” She said, skipping past him and pying a little grab-ass on the way. She narrowly dodged the wooden spoon that was making its way for her own butt, ughing as she danced past.

  “Hmm, you two are cute.” Penny commented from her side of the isnd. She was resting her chin in her hand and making a squinty face at Kurt.

  “You should see them the rest of the time.” Kristi said from the living room where she was straightening out a bnket that had suddenly appeared after one of their trips to the supermarket. “There is a lot of uncensored hand holding going on around here.” She grinned, looking right at Kurt.

  “Big talk coming from you.” Kurt shot back with a little chuckle. “I remember someone being awfully cuddly while watching movies the other night.”

  “Tha-that’s different.” Kristi huffed, her cheeks darkening slightly. “Besides, I bet Penny doesn’t know about the shower.” She said with a haughty look.

  Kurt raised his eyebrows, not sure where this side of her was coming from. Just as he was about to defuse the situation, Penny interjected. “Oh, I love his shower!” She was completely oblivious to what Kirsti was referencing.

  That, more than anything Kurt could have possibly said, broke the little tension and Kristi began ughing. She covered her mouth and tried to stifle it as she snorted. “Ok, that was perfect.”

  She walked over to the fridge, bumping hips with Kurt on the way to get his attention. “Sorry, I just…” she whispered to him.

  “It’s ok. But if you want to talk, we can ter. Promise” He smiled, and she nodded. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the door opened before she could make up her mind.

  “…Didn’t know you had been before.” Val said while she held the door for their guests.

  “Yup, st time I was up here it was to drop off a carton of coffee and some pastries. At the time he was calling it a foundation which I think was just a fancy word for ‘hole in the ground’ if you ask me.” Don said as he id eyes on Kurt and the other two.

  He rapidly began looking around, making a show peeking around furniture and down the hall. “Looking for something, Don?” Kurt asked while pulling the bread out of the oven and putting a cover over it to keep it warm.

  “Just the tree you grow all these beautiful dies from.” He chuckled. “More of them every time I see you.”

  Smack! “Donald!” Les said as she id a hand across the back of his very bald head. “We are guests so mind your manners.”

  “Ouch, ok, ok. Best behavior.” Don said while rubbing his head. He looked up to where Kristi was standing. “You must be Kristi.” He took a step forward and held out his hand. “We heard about you from Jamie. What was it he said…” Don began to trail off.

  Kate piped up after she set her shoes by the door. “I believe it was a ‘muscle mommy’ if I remember right.” She then worked very hard to suppress a ugh.

  Jamie for his part looked curious about what Don was talking about then mortified at the lie Kate told. “I did not!” he looked frantically between the father-daughter duo before turning to Kristi. “I swear I didn’t say anything like that.”

  “Hmm, too bad.” Val remarked while squeezing through the group and walking behind the counter. “Cause you would be right.” She said while giving Kristi’s biceps a squeeze.

  The person in question went from attentive to stunned then straight to embarrassed as her face turned red and the said something about helping to set the table. She might have spent a little longer than needed in the cabinets getting ptes and avoiding eye contact.

  Smack-smack. “Kaitlyn Jane!” Les said while spping her on the arm followed by another blow to the back of Don’s head. “Don’t do that to your poor brother and you embarrassed our hosts.”

  “Yeah, don’t do things like that.” Jamie said, piling on.

  Les whirled on him with a finger pointed at his nose. “And you. Have some spine, women like a man with confidence.”

  “She’s not wrong!” Val said in a sing-song tone from her spot at the silverware drawer.

  This entire scene pyed out in less than twenty seconds after they walked through the door. Kurt was once again reminded that the older couple had a lot more energy than most humans their age and saw that it transferred to their children too.

  The family hung up their coats and took off their shoes before Val invited them to sit for a while until dinner was ready. She made sure to properly introduce Kristi to Don and Les before doing the same for Penny.

  Kurt offered them drinks while they waited with only the kids accepting while their parents begged off until dinner was on the table. They all sat and chatted while eating. Kurt told stories of working on the house while Don reminisced about their days of living and working on their sailboat.

  Jamie and Kate were talking to Penny about movies while Kristi and Val talked over the table to Les. She seemed to be asking a lot of questions about how they were taking to the area and more than once warning them about the winters.

  Eventually Kurt took the ptes and put them in the dishwasher before returning. He sat down and csped his hands on the table, looking down its length as all eyes turned to him. Don was the first to speak up, sensing that they had moved past pleasantries and into business.

  “As much as I have enjoyed the dinner and visit, I have to ask.” He began. “What have the kids dragged you into that made you drag us in too?”

  Kay_Ship