“Owens!”
Wilanna looked up in time to see an agitated Agent Driver following her husband into the next room. She shook her head as Vire chuckled. The fifteen year age gap had not kept the two women from becoming fast friends the moment they met. The two set their groceries down and Wilanna looked at the other agent who was sitting half asleep at the partially remodeled kitchen counter. From what Wilanna had seen of Agent Driver before he left, and what she could see of this new agent, it looked like an all-nighter of a case.
The other agent looked a little embarrassed as he jerked awake. “Mrs. Owens I’m sorry, uh, that is, which of you is Mrs. Owens?” He looked a bit like Agent Driver. In fact they looked enough alike that they could possibly be brothers.
“Don’t apologize for my husband tormenting Dev,” Wilanna said with a smile. “He did that for well over ten years and enjoys it. Now who might you be?”
The agent flushed in embarrassment. “Reginald Michaels. You can call me Regg, though. Actually, I’d prefer it.” Agent Micheals paused for a moment and tried to suppress a yawn. “I’m Agent Driver’s partner. Can I help you ladies with the groceries or anything?”
“That’s all right, Reggie,” Vire said.
“Regg,” Agent Michaels corrected.
If she had to guess, Wilanna was certain that Vire was trying to decide whether to flirt or not. Vire rubbed her short brown hair and eyed Agent Michaels. Regg whipped his head around as a door closed, blocking off Dev’s voice. Agent Michaels moved to get up and was waved back down by Wilanna. He did not relax again until he heard Dev raise his voice as Mr. Owens laughed.
“You could be a doll and tell me why Dev is chasing my husband around,” Wilanna said as she began sorting through the groceries. “Nero is retired so two agents on the doorstep must mean something important.”
“Devin said that we needed some help in a case,” Regg explained. He hesitated, trying to decide what information could be shared. “I’ve heard about Agent Owens after my transfer. I guess…”
“Nero’ll say yes,” Wilanna laughed. “He retires for me, but he can’t get the work out of his system. So long as he isn’t doing it full time, I’ll be happy. In the meantime, can I get you anything? Something to drink or perhaps a sandwhich?”
“Oh, no thank you,” Regg said. “I’m quite fine. I’ll just wait for Dev.”
“Good.” Vire picked up tool belt left on the kitchen table and buckled it on. “If you’re going to loiter around until then, you can help with a little bit of renovation.”
“I what?” Regg looked down at the nice jacket he was wearing. “I’m not really all that good at building things.”
“I could get a monkey to build shuttle,” Vire stated as she grabbed Regg’s arm. “I’m sure you’re smarter than a monkey. Oh, and it wasn’t a suggestion.”
Wilanna laughed as she started preparing sandwiches. She knew Nero was going crazy with the whole building renovation. She wanted a business and he wanted to chase down bad guys. And yet he had retired for her. Wilanna had lived for ten years with her husband running into dangerous situations. Now after two years of retirement she was almost ready to let him run back into it all.
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