Girl Takes Up Her Sword (10 page)

Chapter
13

Dinner at Melanie’s

Just as they stepped onto Melanie’s front porch, something buzzed in the pocket of Emily’s jacket. Since he was holding it for her, Danny fished whatever it was out.

“What’s this?” he asked. “Did you finally get a phone, Em?”

The text on the device in his hand read “Msg from the WV address: We should have listened. Sorry. Help.”

“It’s not a phone,” she said, holding out her hand. “It’s a handset for the security cameras at my place. Jesse set it up for me.” She showed him how to cycle the screen through views of her front door, rear window and the driveway.

“Whoa, that’s high-tech. But what’s that text about?”

“Must be from Ethan.”

She read the message and frowned. A few thumb strokes, another frown and she slipped the device back into her jacket. When she looked up again, she tried to avoid his eyes.

“Well, you gonna tell me about it?”

“Okay,” she said after a moment. “I guess I should include you in more of this stuff. Ethan forwarded a message from an email address I gave the bikers. You remember the big, quiet guy who never got off his bike? He wants to meet me.”

“Yeah, like you’re ever gonna meet him anywhere,” Danny snorted.

“I just asked Ethan to arrange a meeting at the Covington Mall tomorrow after school.”

“What!? You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. I’m going.”

“What on earth for?”

“He’s asking for help. Do you really expect me to ignore that?”

“I hardly know what to expect most of the time with you. Why not just call the police, or something? Isn’t that what people usually do? But go meet him..., no that’s not what I expected.”

“What are the police gonna do? Besides, I already went to their roadhouse to settle things. Don’t get upset. Ethan had the cavalry there in case things got ugly.”

This was the first he’d heard of it, and the news washed over him like ice water. It’s like she’s not afraid of anything. He noticed her staring at him, her dark eyes sizing him up in that way she has. It felt like he’d been weighed and measured.

“Sorry. I guess my communication skills need a little work,” she laughed. “Come with me tomorrow. Then maybe you can begin to see these things the way I do. Otherwise, how are you ever gonna understand me?”

Danny nodded his head, without really knowing what he was getting himself into. Would he be keeping her safe, or the other way around? He didn’t care to answer the question.

Melanie’s father opened the door and ushered them toward a side door into the yard.

“You have it with you?” he asked.

Emily held out a long, narrow sack. When she reached in and took the handle, the sack fell away.

“You brought your sword?” Danny asked. “What for?”

“Excellent,” said Mr. Birdwell. “It looks old. How long have you had it?”

“My mom says it’s been in the family a few generations. But Sensei thinks it’s at least three or four centuries old.”

“It’s a bit worn, but the blade looks to be in pretty good shape,” he said, as she drew it out. “The scabbard could use a little work.”

Emily smiled at this, as if she knew something no one else did.

“So I’ve been told. But I like it just the way it is.”

“Well, I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said, motioning to an outbuilding in the corner of the yard. It was fitted up as a workshop.

“Wow,” Danny said. “You’ve got quite a setup in here.”

The room was stocked with all sorts of fabric, canvas, nylon webbing, strapping material, plastic and metal clasps. A large sewing machine dominated the workbench.

“It’s part of my business. We sell camping equipment in the store down in Covington. But I also make custom gear for special customers. When Melanie told me what happened at the lake, how you protected her. Well, I just wanted to make you something in gratitude. It’s really nothing, but I think you’ll like it.”

He reached up to a high shelf and brought down an odd looking tangle of straps. It looked like a backpack without the pack.

“What, exactly is it?” she asked.

His eyes beamed as he explained.

“It’s to hold your sword. I mean it’s not like you can wear it in the sash of a kimono around here.”

She laughed.

“Show me.”

“There’ll be a couple of adjustments. But, if you’ve noticed Mel hugging you a lot lately, she’s really been taking measurements for me. So it ought to fit pretty well.”

The straps went over one shoulder and around her waist. He snugged them up a little bit. The whole rig was surprisingly light, probably not more than a few ounces.

“You can wear the sword in either direction, with the handle up or down. But down is probably better, since it might be hard to draw a blade that long over your shoulder.”

He locked the sword and scabbard into a couple of clasps and showed her how the mechanism worked.

“Squeeze here and it releases. It also allows the whole rig to tilt back. Then you can draw the blade. When you replace it, the clasp automatically locks.”

Emily stepped out into the yard and tried it out, drawing the blade and replacing it a few times.

“It’s amazing! I love it. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Oh it was nothing, the least we could do. Thank you for keeping our girl safe.”

Danny saw her expression sink at those words. Even he felt the weight of them, as if he’d been transported back to that night by the lake. Keeping them all safe might well prove to be an infinite task.

“There’s one more thing. If you wear the blade handle down, there’s room for another blade handle up, a shorter one. I have a cousin in Maryland who makes swords. I know, it sounds odd, but it’s what he loves. And he knows all about this sort of thing.”

He reached behind the door and pulled out what looked like a little
katana
, no more than thirty inches long altogether, with a blade a bit less than two feet long. Surprisingly, it was not metal, but some sort of gray plastic.

“A
wakizashi
,” Emily said gleefully. “It’s so light. What’s it made of?”

“Kenny made it as an experiment. It’s kevlar and resin molded on a hardwood core. There’s no metal in it at all. He says it’ll hold an edge. The resin is super hard, like steel, but with better flex. The thing is, it might not stand up to a clash against a heavier blade. It’s also probably better for stabbing than slashing because it’s so light. But it’s sharp enough to cut through bone. When I told him about you, he wanted you to have it.”

He fitted it into the back of the harness. Another little squeeze released it and Emily swung it up over her head and then around. The swish was audible. But the blade moved so fast it was practically invisible.

“Robbie, are you still playing with your toys back here?” Mrs. Birdwell called out.

She peered around the corner of the house to see where he was.

“Don’t mention the incident at the lake,” he whispered. “We haven’t told Eleanor about it yet. I’m not sure how she’ll take it.”

“Oh, there you two are. I didn’t realize you’d arrived,” she said. “C’mon, honey. You’re making the boys do all the grilling.”

“It’s never a good idea to leave Wayne in charge of that much seared flesh,” Danny said.

“Don’t worry,” Mr. Birdwell said with a laugh. “He’s got help.”

“Thank you so much,” Emily whispered in his ear. “You’re too kind. And thank your cousin for me, please.”

He blushed as they made their way around to the back. When Danny and Emily turned the corner, he noticed Steve horsing around with Wayne next to the grill. That can only mean one thing: Amanda must be here, too. And there she stood, on the far end of the patio, huddled with Melanie and her mother, giggling over something or other. Amanda glanced over nervously, and then buried herself back into whatever Melanie was saying.

“Well,” Emily grumbled. “This explains what Steve was on about yesterday.”

She dutifully joined the girls, and Danny went over to the grill.

“This is gonna be
interesting
,” he muttered, casting a wary eye across the patio. Wayne grunted apprehensively.

“Sorry about this, guys,” Steve said. “It seemed like a good idea an hour ago. Now I’m not so sure.”

“C’mon, Steve,” Wayne replied. “You gotta have the courage of your convictions.”

As if by natural sympathy, the boys found themselves gradually approaching the girls, almost without willing to move.

“I hear you made a conquest at the Naval Academy,” Amanda said, in needling tones. “A Midshipman? At least, that’s how Wendy describes it.”

Emily flashed a quizzical look at Melanie, who smiled back sheepishly.  Danny was all ears, and turned to Wayne expectantly. He shrugged.

“I hear congratulations are in order for you two,” Mrs. Birdwell said to Emily and Steve.

“Yeah, valedictorians,” Melanie said, with a big smile. “Isn’t that fantastic?”

Now it was Amanda’s moment to be discomfited by the conversation.

“Yeah, great,” she said.

Melanie draped a long arm over her shoulder and pulled her in. The other arm snaked its way over Emily’s shoulder.

“C’mon guys. For me, okay?”

Emily leaned around Melanie and said, “Truce?” Amanda nodded, though the expression on her face hardly suggested conviviality.

“I smell burnt flesh,” Mr. Birdwell sang out. “The meat is
ready
.”

The conversation around the patio turned to summer plans.

Amanda had already lined up a job as a lifeguard at one of the county swimming pools. Steve’s uncle needed him to help out on a fishing boat for July. August was already set aside for baseball camp at the university.

“I’m working with my dad,” Danny said. “We’re starting up the roofing business again.”

He’d clung to the notion of helping his father for years, in the hope that repairing the business would fix his parents’ marriage. But somewhere deep in the back of his mind, the part reserved for the most secret fantasies, he also entertained dreams of a cross-country adventure with Emily. Nothing concrete, just shining images of riding down the highway on the back of a motorcycle, or camping on romantic mountainsides. What he couldn’t fathom was how to propose the “plan” to her. Besides, he’d already made a promise to his dad.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Emily said. “I’m sure your mom is really pleased.”

“You have plans, Em?” asked Melanie.

“Not really, nothing as solid as everyone else. I’d like to go to Japan with my mom, you know, visit relatives.”

Danny’s fantasy of an adventure with Emily underwent a sudden transformation on hearing this, exchanging bullet trains for the open road, zen gardens for campsites. Sadly, this version of the dream seemed even more remote than the previous one. Where on earth would he get the money for the airfare, much less all the rest?

“Wow, Em. That sounds wonderful,” Melanie said. “Can I come, too?”

Her father snorted out beer and barbecue.

“Aren’t you helping out in the store this summer?” her mother asked, as a gentle reminder. “Don’t you need to earn some money for the fall?”

“Oh, I know, Mom. Don’t worry. But a girl can dream, can’t she? Wouldn’t it be wonderful, and so exotic? Just think of it.”

Two men in dark suits rounded the corner of the house just in time to see Melanie’s father coughing out cole slaw on the lawn like a cat with a hairball.

“Pardon us, folks. We knocked out front, but maybe no one heard. We’re looking for Emily Kane.”

The conversation went silent as everyone turned to look at them. Melanie’s parents gaped at each other, as soon as her father cleared his throat. Danny looked at Wayne for a moment, casting about for the right thing to do and the nerve to do it.

“Who are you?” he demanded, finally, his voice just a little shaky.

“Federal agents,” one of them replied gruffly, flipping open an ID too quickly for careful examination.

“Are you Miss Kane?” the other asked Emily, over Danny’s shoulder.

“Just what do you want with her?” Danny persisted, refusing to give way.

“Step aside, please, son.”

“This is my house,” Melanie’s father said. “Unless you have a warrant of some sort, I think you’d better leave.”

Danny saw Emily stand up, deposit plate and napkin on her seat and walk over to him. She surveyed the scene calmly. A series of options seemed to flash across her eyes: resist, fight it out, run, comply. He felt deeply connected to her at that moment. She would comply, he thought, to save them from an awkward scene, or worse. She put a hand on Mr. Birdwell’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’ll go with them.”

Her hand seemed to have a soothing effect on his mood. He backed away and stood by his family. Emily handed her jacket to Danny.

“The keys are in the pocket. Take my truck home for me.”