Cape Crossed

Chapter Twenty-Three

The small two-story home was packed to the brim with people wandering in and out. Most were grouped in the living room around an extremely pregnant woman. A few were making note of the gifts on the table, checking who'd brought gifts and comparing the sizes. The food laid out was small, easy to grab, and being picked at by anyone who passed by. The chips had already been refilled twice.

The backyard was relatively quiet, and Jake was happy for a moment of peace from the excited babbling. He swirled a cup of punch and wished for something stronger. "Come to the party, it'll be fun. By the way, I hope you're okay playing guess the baby food and eating pureed carrots from hell," he mumbled to himself.

"You didn't have to eat the spinach," a man joked, holding out an unopened beer.

"You are my hero," Jake whispered, twisting the top off easily and almost choking on the first ice cold sip. "Jake." He offered his hand and gripped the man's in a firm shake.

"Louis."

"Oh, you're the-"

"Father? Yeah, that'd be me. You're Hannah's boyfriend, right?" Louis asked. He waved Jake over to a set of green patio chairs and dropped into the nearest one.

"Yeah. How do you know her?" Jake took the seat across from him and leaned back with a contented sigh.

"Oh mutual friends here and there," he answered.

"Mutual friends? You're a doctor or something?"

"No nothing like that, I work for the government. We just happen to have had some crossover and then she met my wife and that was it. Lisa loves her to bits."

"She's pretty loveable," Jake agreed. He took another drink to avoid Louis's probing gaze. "Nice place you've got here, they must pay you well."

"Never well enough though right?" Louis joked. He glanced behind Jake and cleared his throat. "Sorry to do this, but there's something I have to take care of." As the man stood, Jake turned in his chair to get a look at what had caught his attention. He'd been expecting a pregnant wife tapping her foot or a lost looking guest. But when Surge's piercing grey eyes locked on him, he felt like a block of ice had slipped down his throat.

The two of them disappeared into the house and Jake wasted no time in launching to his feet to follow. They blended in with the crowd inside, but he kept Surge's wild hair just in sight until he turned the corner into the living room. Hannah collided with him as he rounded the corner and they fumbled for a moment to keep on their feet.

"There you are!" she cheered and grabbed his hand. "It's time to play the next game."

"Hannah, I don't think I can do anymore baby food..." Jake began but Hannah quickly waved him off.

"No food, I swear." She dragged him back out into the yard where some of the guests were filling a barrel with water. "We're bobbing for pacifiers." Hannah shoved him forward and a blindfold went over his eyes before he could protest further.

It didn't take long for Jake to get ahold of one of the floating suckers, drenching his top in the process. He ruffled his wet hair, sprinkling droplets over Hannah. "I'm going to go find somewhere to dry off a bit."

"Or we could go home, get you out of these wet clothes," Hannah mused, poking at his top button.

"And miss your friend's party?" Jake took her hands and moved them reluctantly back to her sides. "You can work on getting me out of my clothes later if you wish."

"It's a date." She kissed him quickly and nudged him back towards the house. "Go dry up mister Erwin."

The silence outside was such a sudden change from the clamor outside Jake could have believed he'd gone deaf. Floorboards creaked as he swept his eyes side to side. There was only a whole house to search out and not very much time to do it in, but he needed to know what she was doing here.

He'd searched the entire downstairs when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Jake ducked into the nearest room and peered through the crack in the door. As Surge made her way by, he reached out and dragged her in with him. A tingle rushed over his skin where he'd grabbed her. "Don't you dare zap me," he warned her.

"You shouldn't drag women into closets then, that could be very dangerous for you," Surge stepped back as much as she could in the small space. A blue flicker of electricity curled around her fingers and lit up the dark. "What are you doing here?"

"Stealing baby shower ideas," he muttered. 'What are you doing here?"

"Picking up some information, for you actually. Thank you for saving me the trip," she answered. Surge reached into her pocket and tossed a small flashdrive at him.

"You got this from Louis?" Jake looked at the small red drive. His hand shook, making it sway side to side.

"He works for the government," she paused as someone went by, snuffing out the light in her hand. "He helps keep faces off the public radar. Some very super faces."

"He works with supers?" Jake grabbed her hand, wincing at the shock that numbed his arm. "Surge, how close is he to them? "

"Could you not with the Surge stuff? It's Lauren here," she muttered. "I am trying to keep a low profile."

"Fine, Lauren, how closely does her work with the supers? Is... is he friends with them?" Jake whispered.

"I'm sure he's as friendly as anyone can be with a super." Lauren pulled her hand free and straightened her jacket. "Now then, I need to get going. I'll call you in a few days with a new job, if you're up for it."

Jake nodded, barely hearing her or acknowledging her as she slipped out. He waited five minutes and then dragged a sweater over his head to dry up his hair before shoving the damp material into a back corner. The house was still relatively empty when he walked back out.

The noise outside had gotten a little louder as people got more involved in the game. He saw Hannah's red hair as it swished over her shoulders. She threw her head back in a carefree laugh, Louis stood beside her grinning.

"What are you caught up in Hannah?"