strings.htm

"Skipping a Beat"
Story by Shannon Muir

Cassie tried not to swear under her breath as her cell phone buzzed. She almost wanted to ignore it all together, but genuinely feared it being an ongoing distraction. The braggart villain that popped up definitely was no more than a low-level pest, but regardless Cassie knew her paid gig was to protect Flying Glory.

She grabbed the cell phone with one hand, keeping the other near her gun's holster at a moment's notice.

The caller ID read: WALLACE HARRISON.

Quickly she flipped the cell phone open and dropped her guard long enough to remove and pocket her sunglasses. She couldn't afford to have anyone snoop in on these calls, least of all the entity who pushed her into this whole assignment to begin with.

"Wallace, are you all right?" She asked panic-stricken.

"I'm fine, darlin' but sounds like you're not," she heard the calm, soothing paternal Southern drawl tell her.

In the background, she heard someone starting to taunt the big bully wreaking havoc on the city street. It wasn't clear to Cassie yet if he was just super strong or super powered, but what quickly became clear was his super arrogance. When she heard someone from the crowd ask him who he thought he was, the big bully replied, "Who needs a name to remember me when actions speak louder than words!"

"You okay there, darlin'?" She finally heard Wallace tell her through the phone. It felt rather reassuring given the situation.

"Let's just say now probably isn't the best time for a chat," Cassie finally said in return as the bully started picking up a nearby car to throw at people. As she saw Flying Glory and the Hounds of Glory start to mobilize, she knew her move should be to drop everything and back them up.... but this was Wallace. She couldn't bring herself to abruptly say goodbye.

"Wallace, I really need to go."

"But darlin', I haven't seen you around these parts since the holiday season. You used to come over all the time when those kids you babysit are in school. Not being able to be on school grounds and all."

"That's what changed, Wallace," Cassie replied as she escaped falling debris from a car tossed and thrown nearby. "I've gone from no access to full access."

"How'd you manage that, darlin'? Even with the bodyguard gig, there's still school rules."

"Apparently if you're the original Flying Glory herself, you can sway the power of the school board."

"I don't follow."

"Elsie found out about that Cyrus guy hiring me and agreed with the idea! But get this. She insisted she buy out my contract and become my boss. Now she's got me almost twenty four-seven with this untrained brat. It's madness!"

Sirens threatened to drown her out as the cops arrived. Cassie knew they were ill-equipped to handle stuff like this. They always were.

"Wallace, I really don't want to hang up on you, but things are getting crazy--"

Cassie stopped mid-sentence as some foolish woman from the sidelines taunted the big bully as a mamma's boy. The bully responded by taking the person hostage in a chokehold. This caused the cops to draw their guns and hide behind cars.

"Still there, darlin'? Sounds good for your mission if they trust you then. George was never that lucky."

"My father is a far better inventor than this line of work. No offense meant, I know you helped train him."

"None taken, darlin'," Wallace said.

As Flying Glory started to fly in closer to confront the bully directly, he tossed the hostage like a rag doll. She saw Nate rush over to see if the stupid woman was all right. Good for Nate to be an unsung hero, bad for the fool to run her mouth and get taken hostage to begin with.

Cassie heard Wallace sigh sadly.

"Not much time to yourself then these days, then. I'll miss all the times you stopped by to visit, even when you didn't need surveillance supplies or tips."

"Don't worry, Wallace. I'll still be in touch. You've been more than just my Dad's associate to me. You're a great friend."

"Thank you, darlin'. But I have a feeling you're about to go on voyages far beyond what you ever imagined. Now keep safe and get back to your job. The old man says so."

Cassie tried not to laugh. Wallace jokingly called himself the old man for years, and as she saw him as a surrogate father it always seemed to fit.

"Thanks, Wallace," she said genuinely. "You're the greatest, though I never see you as old."

"You're always in my heart, darlin'," Wallace said affectionately.

After Wallace hung up, Cassie put her glasses back on and was just reaching to shut off her cell phone when the soul-less voice on the other side of the sunglasses communicator interrupted.

"Agent Sanderson, report!"

"Situation normal. Another day, another petty super crook, another battle," she said.

Just then, the cell phone rang again. Concerned it was Wallace again, Cassie looked at it immediately.

CYRUS MULRONEY the display read this time.

Cassie nearly swore under her breath. The band's manager always had lousy timing, and calling when the Hounds of Glory are busy pushing people out of harm's way wasn't a great choice. She heard the bully brag, "Any other woman daring to call me a momma's boy? Bring 'em on!"

She answered it again without bothering to remove her sunglasses, since the Hounds of Glory seemed to have things under control. Nate not only had made sure the woman was all right, but helped a fallen man up who started running from the scene past Dyllian taping it all.

"Cyrus, we're in the middle of a situation," she grumbled. "Call back later."

"This won't wait until later!" the voice on the other end of the phone frantically demanded. "If Flying Glory doesn't come to the office now, she'll lose her biggest chance yet."

Cassie watched Flying Glory start to charge the arrogant jerk of a pest.

"If she doesn't take control of the current situation, many other people will lose out on chances. This will have to wait. Goodbye."

Cassie hung up with an air of finality, but immediately the phone began ringing again. Cassie, certain it was Cyrus, chose to ignore it for now.

After all, her primary mission was to protect Flying Glory, not be her message girl.

The End

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