Maria entered the limo with Clay; sure enough, Doctor Wilson Jasper and Paul Reed were already inside with a security member.

“Ms. Espinar, is the situation resolved?” Jasper asked with concern.

Brushing her lilac-white hair over her left shoulder to get it out of the way, Maria scooted over with a small smile. “Eh, yup, it’s all good. Yo, sorry to worry ya, but yeah, it was pretty bad.”

“Bad?” Reed pressed, eyebrows coming together as he glanced between her and Clay as the Master Sergeant closed the door. “I … suppose it is a classified matter?”

“You could say that.” Clay casually leaned forward to activate the microphone to the driver’s seat. “We’ll be heading to one of the local clothing stores to look for a dress.”

The driver responded soon after. “Understood. Is there any store in particular that you have in mind?”

“No. Just somewhere with a nice selection of clothes.”

The limo pulled away as the jet prepared to take-off again.

Clay sat back, smiling at her. “I hope you know your dress size.”

Maria popped her tongue. “Yo, of course, I do. Tch, you know I wear a dress every week for services, chino!”

“Is that right?” Clay chuckled. “How many dresses do you have?”

“Eh … why’s that so important, huh?” Maria asked with a lifted eyebrow. “Not like I need a lot, ya know? I mean, a lot of the chicas in the hood be passin’ down their clothes and stuff. So, you know … not a lot,” she mumbled with a weak shrug.

“Is that so?” Reed asked with a thoughtful look. Leaning forward, he pressed the button to contact the driver. “Jake, head to 1300 Santee Street, the fashion district. I recall a shop there with my granddaughter last year.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Yo,” Maria forced a chuckle. “Aye, those fashion places are freakin’ expensive … Key Rat, ya know? Just stop off by the local supermarket or somethin’, and I can grab a cheap thing. Those rich places ain’t my scene!” She replied with a forced chuckle.

[Key Rat - Used to describe a citizen of Key Biscayne who has one of those credit cards the bank won’t even show you unless you smell like a Tesla. They are always recovering from a sunburn and have a boat that you, sadly, only get to enjoy via Snapchat.]

“No need to fret,” Reed replied with a warm smile. “I believe every woman should have at least one expensive formal dress to wear for occasions.”

“Eh … hehe, why don’t I believe it’s just one?” Maria asked, glancing between the men.

Jasper nodded with a thoughtful expression. “Yes … we wouldn’t want you to be in the same dress if there is another interview. What would you suggest, Mr. Reed, five, six?”

“At a minimum, perhaps,” Reed replied without a hint of shame. “We must prepare in case of any circumstance, after all.” He suddenly chuckled, rubbing his chin. “I recall a certain celebrity at one gathering that happened to spill wine on three different dresses throughout the night … they were swapping her between clothes like a fashion show.”

“Oof,” Maria winced. “Aye, yo, I ain’t that clumsy, okay?”

“No, no, of course, not,” Jasper laughed. “It’s just a precaution. It might be a random guy that is captivated by your beauty while passing; he trips, not looking where he’s going because his eyes are too enamored by your ravishing grace … thereby, spilling his coffee across your front.”

“Dude, yo … I’d knock a fool out for ruinin’ my dress, hombre! That’s money, man, and I’ve seen crap like that from dumb fools that try to use that to start talkin’ to a girl and ish. Yo, but you seriously think that could happen?” She asked, pulling a few locks of hair behind her left ear with a doubtful look.

“As Dr. Jasper said,” Reed replied with an innocent smile, “it’s just a precaution.”

Maria glared at the two men for a moment, arms folded under her chest while she sat back.

It’s not just to get me in different clothes, right?

Her eyes suddenly popped open. “Aye, yo, but uh … aye, I got a contract with a company to wear their clothes. Uh … Tempest? Maybe we should give them a call. It’ll be free! Eh?” She asked with a bright smile. “Yo, and I get paid!”

Reed and Jasper looked lost for words, but Clay tried to hide a laugh, decorated chest heaving silently.

“Are … you positive?” Reed asked.

Maria gave him a toothy grin. “Yea! Yo, I get money and new dresses; that’s such a deal, yo, but, uh … I’ll probably have to do a photo shoot. That good?”

The two men shrugged before laughing.

“Yes, Ms. Espinar,” Reed replied. “I know some people in the mother company. I’ll make some calls and see if they can set something up … in fact, it might be better than trying to find the few shops that have opened after the mandatory lockdowns are lifted.”

“Woah, for real?” Maria asked, eyes widening. “Yo, Clay, when did that happen?”

“Within the last few hours,” Clay responded without explanation.

“Aye … coo, okay, huh…”

Maria fell silent, glancing between the men as they played with their phones. Jasper seemed to be engaged in his own thing while Reed messaged his contacts with Tempest to set up the event. On the other hand, Clay’s eyes narrowed upon getting a text.

She shifted in her seat, glancing down at her hair with a frown, lifting it up to sniff it again. “Ugh…”

Man … I should take a shower before heading over, but now these new clothes will smell of jet fuel, too. I’d be annoyed if someone just got new clothes and asked for more.

Clay absently leaned forward, pressing the button to the driver. “Change of plans; we’ll be heading to the hotel first.”

“... Of course.”

Maria felt a little bad for the man; he was driving people around that didn’t know what they were doing. Her mind didn’t linger on it as Clay’s excellent poker face cracked, showing a hint of displeasure.

“Aye, somethin’ up?”

Jasper and Reed glanced up, but once realizing she was talking to Clay, they returned to their tasks. Maria’s eyes darted over at the bodyguard, but he was still as a statue, showing no interest in whatever was being discussed.

Clay continued to send texts, receiving quick replies. “... It’s nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Maria’s thighs tightened, eye creasing upon catching the lie, but on a rare act of restraint, she let it slide, uncrossing her arms to fold her hands together in her lap. Her narrowed silver irises studied the military man, fingers darting across his phone’s screen, outside of her field of vision.

Clay knows he can’t lie to me … if he did, then he knows I’ll catch it. So … it’s something he doesn’t want to discuss in front of Reed and Jasper? Flip, I’m starting to think like Rachel.

She chuckled softly, eyes dropping to her lap with the image of the large-eared Korean girl entered her mind.

Yeah, that girl’s gettin’ into trouble … yeah, without a doubt! Everyone must be pretty busy, though…

“Tch…” She popped her tongue, lips pursing to the side while playing with her hair in her lap.

Freak, everyone’s workin’ hard … hey, I got some time. I can call Felix.

Even though Clay seemed pretty occupied with whoever he was messaging, he caught her actions. “Something wrong, Maria?” He asked, brown eyes lifting to give her his full attention.

“Uh … no, no, I’m just thinkin’ … aye, uh, we got time for me to call my brother? You know, just to uh … just let them know I’m good. I’ve got some family in Cali, too,” she mumbled with a weak shrug. “It’d be nice to let them know I’m in State, right?”

Clay’s frown softened as he scratched his neck. “Yeah, I don’t see why not.”

“Ah,” Reed cut in. “If that’s the case, then I have a second phone you can use.”

“No need,” Clay replied, taking out a phone from inside his jacket pocket. “The General had this phone prepared. It uses AES to secure any information passing through it.”

“Eh … okay,” Maria mumbled, taking the phone with a sheepish grin, “I don’t know what that ish means, but whatever.”

Calling her brother first, she had a short conversation with him, and just as she expected, other family members around the U.S. had been calling in since hearing about her actions the day before, televised across the world.

Things had been relatively quiet, but there was some gang activity ramping up within Little Havana. She told him to spread the word to keep a low profile until she returned.

“Aye, you good, though, Sis?” Felix nervously asked in Spanish. “Miguel said he heard from someone you vanished in a military vehicle or somethin’? Kind of worried some of us.”

“Tch, c’mon, Felix,” Maria laughed, returning the conversation in Spanish. “How do I sound?”

“Good…”

“Heck yeah! Aye, I may be a little low on energy right now, but that’s no big deal; I’ll just do a little sun-soaking, and I’ll be good as new! Let everyone know I’m good, okay?”

“Okay, uh … when will you be back?”

“Eh … I don’t know, bro, but look, we got cash, yo! When I get back, we throwin’ the biggest party! Yo, everyone’s invited, bro … the Cubans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Africans, and whites, yo, it’s a celebration!”

“For real?”

“Aye, I got that money in the bank! We gonna be livin’ it up Key Rat, bro, and this is only the start. Yo, you know I’ma bring in that dough. So, you just chill at home until I get back. Oh, and some of my girls might come by, ya know, Rachel, Fiona, and Scarlet, right?”

“Yeah, okay … I got it, Sis. Just come back safe, kay?”

“Aye, you know it! Ight, I’ll see ya, bro!”

Hanging up, she called her cousin, Patricia. Her stern voice answered as if she were responding to an overly persistent telemarketer, speaking Spanish. “Aye, who the hell’s this, huh? How did you get my number, bitch?”

Maria smiled, hearing some Mexican rap blaring in the background. “Aye, Cuz. Yo, it’s ‘lil Maria, girl!”

“Eh? … Yo, aye, ‘lil Maria! Yo, Cuz, what’s happin’? Tch, I be hearin’ about you and this Unicorn biz?”

“Yeah…”

She paused as her aunt’s voice became muffled, hearing some indistinguishable voices yelling back and forth, probably her twelve-year-old son. “Aye, one sec … eh? Say that again? Yo, check yourself, boy! Hatin’ on me will make your situation worse; you don’t wanna take a ride in that long black hearse. Yeah, that’s what I thought! Get that punk lookin’ bald head off that game and get on them dishes.

“Tch, aye, yo, sorry ‘bout that, girl. Aye, what’s up?”

“You know me,” Maria chuckled. “Check it, I’m just rollin’ in a limo on my way to my hotel, ya know?”

She popped her tongue. “Dang, girl, it ain’t trickin’ if you got it, and you be on that hustle! Ya in LA?”

“You know I’m gonna play the game, that’s how it goes! Wanna hook up? Yo, I can take care of some medical stuff, ya know?”

“Yo, for real?” She clicked her tongue. “Aye, uh … I got a bit of work to do, but yo, I’ll swing it. Should I get anyone else in the fam? We haven’t seen you since your daddy took you out east, years, girl.”

“Aye, bring out the Cadillac, bumper on the ground, Cuz! We’ll cruise around and chill, but eh … yo, I gotta see what my schedule will be like, but aye, it’ll be nice to see everyone. Yo, what if, uh … na, na, I’ll talk to you about it when we meet up!”

“Okay, okay, yo, yo, Alicia, Angel, yo, Maria’s gonna meet up!”

Maria smiled as she heard several people shout, “Aye!”

“Okay, Cuz, I’ll see you in a bit. We’ll get the cars prepped! Yo, Uncle Ariel is gonna be hyped! Party at the park at sundown? Castel will bring the joints, we’ll spark up the barbecue, and bump some music. You know how it be, Oldies in the backdrop, playin’ out the rag-top, Cuz! We’ll have some homemade tortillas ready to go, and yo, bring some twelve-packs of cold ones.”

“I can’t wait, Cuz!” Maria said, leaning forward with anticipation. “Yo, I’ll text you, kay?”

“Aye, got it! Just get here, girl, and we’ll tear up the blacktop.”

“Later!”

Hanging up, Maria smiled down at her phone.

Clay smiled at her, putting away his phone. “I only know a bit of Spanish, but from what I understand, you want to go to a family party?”

Maria chuckled softly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been back in Cali. Most of my cousins, aunts, and uncles are here. They’re planning a party in the local park at sundown. My brother and I have a lot of memories there when we were little.”

“We’ll have to make time for it then,” Clay replied with a soft sigh that told her that there was something on his mind. He looked out of the window for a moment before pressing the button for the driver. “How close are we to the hotel?”

“A few minutes out … do we need to reroute again?”

“No, we’ll be stopping off at the hotel for a short while.”

“... I see it up ahead.”

Maria’s eyes lifted as they came to a stop in front of an expensive building that went up several floors. “Uh…” Glancing around, she noticed the very wealthy landscape. “Where are we?”

“Beverly Hills,” Reed replied, exiting the limo behind her. “I have a colleague in the hotel business … actually, he’d like to contract your services in the next few days if possible.”

“Yo … you guys are too much,” Maria replied with a slight shake of her head. The wind wasn’t that bad, giving her hair a break.

She lifted an eyebrow as the driver got out, moving to the trunk to open it, and two hotel employees rushed to take the two bags he produced.

“Huh … you two bring luggage?” Maria asked, glancing at Reed and Jasper.

Both men shook their heads.

“No, Ms. Espinar,” Jasper laughed. “When you asked me to obtain an outfit for you, I had a sneaking suspicion you didn’t have any other changes of clothes. With the Master Sergeant’s help, I hired a team of people to find suitable casual outfits for you to browse. You don’t need to fret; what you don’t use can be returned.”

These guys are unbelievable!

Maria eyed the cases while they entered the building. Going inside, Maria whistled, seeing the polished marble, sizeable white chandelier, and a table filled with white roses in elegant vases. The paintings and lighting made it look like she was entering a whole new world compared to the hotels back in Little Havana.

Several guests had likely been stuck inside since the lockdown, loitering in the lobby, and all of them appeared to come from money. Every eye was on their party; two well-dressed men in suits, a high-ranking military man in uniform, and Maria.

She couldn’t help but feel self-conscious with the attention but did her best to not look nervous.

Reed got her room key and had one of the bellhops guide her to it, carrying her luggage.

Maria could tell the young man was nervous by his wandering eyes and lack of conversation, but the trip didn’t last long. He brought her to the third floor, leaving after she dismissed him.

Going inside, she marveled at the size of the place for just a hotel; it could have been a decent-sized condo, and the bathroom was much larger than her own back home.

Thoroughly washing away all the sweat, dried tears, and cleaning her hair, she opened the suitcases and lifted an eyebrow. There were sunglasses, sandals, shorts, pants, all kinds of shirts, and even several accessories to choose from.

“Freak … yo, Reed just goes crazy with money…” Maria mumbled, pulling out a fancy looking watch that was worth more than she cared to speculate.

Maria chose black garments, white classic cut-off shorts, kept her belt, and put on a fitted dark blue long-sleeve shirt with flowers that reminded her of Miami. To finish the outfit, she added some rope sandals that looked cool, black aviator glasses, and after some thought, decided to go with the platinum-colored watch.

She was a little annoyed that the clothes fit so well that her new phone didn’t fit in her front or back pockets, forcing her to turn her head to stare at an expensive white purse in one of the suitcases. Sighing, she put the phone and card in it before going downstairs; she’d rarely ever used a purse in her life, but there was a first for everything, and it was useful.

Her glasses were secured between her breasts as she exited, hair still semi-wet after patting it down and combing it out with the provided utensils in the suitcases, and once again, every eye was on her.

Jasper and Reed gave her an appraising look upon noticing her.

“You truly are stunning, Ms. Espinar,” Jasper commented, and Reed followed up.

“Quite. The shine you have certainly is magical.”

Maria gave Clay a teasing grin. “Until I open my mouth, right?”

Clay’s lips lifted a little. “There is the rare occasion profanity doesn’t come out of it, but no one can deny you have a lovely voice.”

“Tch … yo, I’m not used to so many people complimenting me, and frik, what’s up with everyone always starin’ … it’s creepy … like I just walked into a horror show or somethin’,” she mumbled, catching a few men and women quickly turn away as she eyed them.

“Well, I can hardly blame them,” Reed chuckled, taking out his phone. “In any case, we have a studio that was already being used, and with a few calls, they’ve managed to find several people that jumped on the opportunity to get back to work. Are you ready for a photo shoot?”

Maria shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. What time is it?” She mumbled, trying to find her phone in her bag.

“10 A.M.,” Jasper replied, pointing toward her watch.

Maria gave a start. “Ah … right, right,” she giggled. “Yo, I’ve never had one of these, but aye, I’ll get used to it.”

They walked back out, but just before they entered the limo, Clay cleared his throat. “Maria, could I have a second?”

“Uh, sure?” Maria mumbled, following him to the side. Reed and Jasper eyed them for a moment before entering the vehicle with the bodyguard that Maria swore hadn’t said a single word. “What’s up?” She asked, glancing around the ritzy place with a light smile.

“There was an incident at the L.A. FBI field office … a few Mythickin and Legendkin that were being observed there … similar to the Miami field office … there was a fight between them that ruined part of the building. There’s a … I don’t know how to describe it, but the Mythickin really scares the upper brass.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed, thinking about what might happen if Fiona and Rachel went at it. “Well, dang … uh, need me to help heal people over there or somethin’?”

Clay folded his arms, looking a bit annoyed. “None of the agents were harmed because the four Legendkin and two Mythickin involved were smart enough to at least not cause physical harm to any of the agents. Everyone was evacuated the moment it happened … no, the Director has ordered they be split up.”

“Okay?” Maria slowly replied.

“... The Associate Director requested that you heal the injuries of both parties … specifically one Legendkin that is refusing treatment. To be honest, I believe he thinks you can intimidate the guy into compliance.”

“Hold up,” Maria pressed her tongue against her teeth with a creased eye. “Let me get this straight. Some fool started a brawl, terrified a ton of people, and now he’s bitchin’ so much the big shots want someone to come in to be his mom?” She asked with a deep frown.

“He wants me to stroll in there, chew him out, and use my life to make some dumb dude comply? Screw that; I got better things to do!”

Clay sighed, looking torn. “I knew you’d say that. It’s not a good look for him, but he’s terrified after seeing what they did to the building. Also … General Dallas thinks it would be a good idea to acquaint yourself with two of the Legendkin and one of the Mythickin. Three of those six are heading to Miami since it’s been very stable; it also seems to be a political play by some politicians to put pressure on Deputy Director David of the newly formed division that handlesDemis.”

Maria growled, glaring at a nearby building. “I don’t exactly get along with those other Mythickin and Legendkin … yo, Maelle and Kyle are not my types of people, but uh … Anthony ain’t bad, and Rachel seems to be into him. Me, though? Naw, I ain’t into makin’ friends with people for other people. But…”

Clay’s lips became a line, brow furrowed as she paused, scratching the back of her head.

“Eh … yo, if General Dallas and you feel like I should meet up with them, then I’ll help out … it’s the least I can do, ya know?”

“That’s not the answer I wanted to hear,” Clay replied with a deep frown. “You don’t owe us this, and it is tied up in a lot of politics.”

Maria shrugged with a low groan. “Meh … I could care less about that. Tom’s a smart guy. If he thinks I should see them, then there’s gotta be a reason for it. Maybe he sees somethin’ no one else does … bah, I’ll give him a call myself. I can do that, right?” She asked with a questioning frown.

Clay released a tense breath, and Maria was a little suspicious about the whole thing with how the Master Sergeant was responding. He was on point when she was dying, but suddenly this comes up, and he was conflicted if she should go or not.

She slapped him on the shoulder with a bright grin. “Aye, cheer up! If it sounds interestin’, then I’ll do it, and if not, then I won’t. Easy! Yo, let’s get goin’ though, we’re burnin’ sunlight … yo,” she glanced over at the limo, “that has a sunroof! Aye!”

Clay chuckled softly, following her back to the limo.

“... I’ll give him a call after the photo shoot, but tell me more about that interview. When’s that happenin’?”

“5 P.M.”

“Okay, not bad! That should give me some time with the fam … assuming nothing else goes wrong, eh?” Maria said with a forced smile.

“Yeah … with our luck?” Clay replied, shaking his head ruefully. “All there seems to be are disasters and emergencies lately.”

“Right? Yo, you should come to the party, eh? You could use a break!”

“Maybe I will,” Clay said with a small smile. “Should I bring my family?”

Maria froze, halfway inside the vehicle. “They’re here?”

“Yeah, I live in Santa Monica.”

“Dang, son; bring the crew! Oh, but eh … only if they know how to keep it chill, ya know? Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil, right? ”

“It’s California,” Clay chuckled, “who cares about marijuana?”

“Aye!” Maria grinned, scooting closer to Reed and Jasper to let him get in. “Yo, we goin’ to get crazy tonight! Get the whole family in on this; we got dancing, food, drinks … oh, we need to bring some drinks,” she mumbled as an afterthought, “and the chill, yo! Eh … even if I can’t have meat … alcohol … smoke … freak,” she growled, rubbing the side of her head out of irritation, “being a Unicorn sucks! Yo, I purify the junk just by holding it, tipo; life’s not fair!”

The three men laughed and even the bodyguard’s face cracked with humor.

They went to the photo shoot, and she was met by a crew of people that instantly rushed her into a changing room where women fussed over so many things that it started to make Maria’s head spin. Worse was the constant debate if she needed makeup or not as they tried different styles, washed it off, and tried again. Eventually, they decided against it, going for the natural beauty they said she had.

The women cycled her through dozens of heels and dresses, mostly sticking to red, white, peach, and blues. In the end, they decided on a romantic fold-over collar, off-the-shoulder red dress, draping over her shoulders. A seamstress there quickly fashioned it to be form-fitting, following closely to her hips and opening in a sultry, high-side slit on the floor-length skirt.

It was followed by ankle-strap heels, an expensive diamond bracelet for her left arm, and diamond drop earrings that had to be forcefully punctured through her ears since any injury automatically healed to more than one woman’s surprise. To finish everything off, they put her thick lilac-white hair into waterfall braids.

Maria felt more than a little overdressed, but after the shoot, she was allowed to keep the extravagant outfit, including the jewelry, which she more than suspected that Reed had a hand in.

She darted into an office once they were going over the pictures, hoping no one saw her.

These people are insane!

The amount of pampering and work they put into making every shot perfect made her want to scream, but they were so serious about the whole thing that all she could do was sit there and follow every instruction.

Pressing her hand against her chest, she calmed her racing heart before checking her watch inside her purse. It was 1:30 P.M.

Well, I suppose it’s about time I call Tom. There has to be more to this than Clay’s letting on … maybe he wasn’t told. Hmm … anything’s better than if they decide to change clothes … I don’t know if I can go through that again. Wait, I just need to look like I’m too busy!

Taking out her phone, she called Tom.