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Phase II

“Hey, kid.” Bob called out. “Can you give me a hand with this?”

Ryan jogged over to the truck. “What can I do for you?”

“This is a two-man deal. Grab that handle and we’ll slide it out.”

“Wow.” Ryan grunted. “You aren’t kidding.”

“They’re heavy, but we’re going to get a lot done with these bad boys in play.”

“These are the work lights? Shame we couldn’t have Megaman put these out for us.”

Bob grabbed the other end and led Ryan to a workstation. “I like the way you think, but this bit of Christmas magic is going to come from good old-fashioned elbow grease.”

“You think we can get these all in place before it gets pitch black around here?”

Bob knelt beside the box and released the latches. “Don’t even worry about it. Once we set this one up, we’ve got light enough to set the next one up. Until we get them all in place, it’s gonna be high noon in this park.”

The Chief leaned against the grill of his truck. “Are you taking proper precautions with the jailbird?”

“Come on, Tom.” Earl shook his head. “You’ve got to give the kid a chance. He’s done his time. He’s learned his lesson. He’s nothing like he used to be.”

“Like you would know.”

“I’ve heard the stories.”

“You may have heard stories, but I put bracelets on this guy more times than I can count.”

“I’ve heard plenty about that, too.”

The Chief shot him a look before drinking some of his coffee.

“Look, I’ve got to chip in here. Are you going to hang here like a tower guard, or can we get on with this?”

“What’s stopping you?”

“You, Tom.” Earl tucked his hands into his coat pockets. “I don’t want you lousing it up. He’s been a team player all week. Not one step out of place. Leave him alone. Alright?”

“You’ve heard that story about the scorpion. Right?”

Earl waved a dismissive hand at him. “He’s no scorpion.”

“Maybe more like a time bomb.” The Chief shrugged. He dumped the rest of his coffee in the grass and got into his truck. “Tick, tick, tick, tick…”

“Okay, so the trick here is we’re putting up these prefab metal garages.” Bob said.

“Metal? Gonna be like a giant fridge.” Stan rubbed his hands together and huffed into them.

“Yeah, we got them extra big so we could line the walls with hay bales and still have the square footage Carol was looking for.”

“Metal garages aren’t especially Christmasy, Bob.” Ryan jogged in place to stay warm.

“That’s where the carpentry comes in.” Bob pulled out his phone. “Check this out.”

“Will you look at that?” Stan gawked at the pictures.

“Huh, how’d they get it to look like gingerbread?” Ryan squinted.

“Earl’s got it all worked out.” Bob stuffed the phone back into his pocket. “Let’s get these buildings up quick so we’ve got extra time for arts and crafts.”

Carol and Sarah walked around the renovated Christmas village with Earl. “So, what do you think?”

“This is amazing.” Sarah looked around at the holiday facades.

Carol smiled and clapped. “That gingerbread looks so real. I want to eat it.”

“Great. Tomorrow, we’ll work on the insides. We’ve got the walls lined with hay bales inside and out. These places will be nice and toasty right up through Christmas and New Year’s.”

“That will be a welcome change.” Sarah blew a pale plume of breath that swirled in front of her.

“This is wonderful, Earl. I’ll be working from home tomorrow. If you need anything, anything at all.”

“Sure, I’ll call Sarah.”

She smirked. “You’re a riot. I’ll be home catching up on laundry and housework.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, ladies. I’ve got your plans and sketches. We’ll get it taken care of. The new Christmas village will be done in a jiffy.”

Paul was resting in an easy chair in front of the fireplace. He had his feet up and a warm quilt draped from chest to toe.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Aundrea asked.

“Don’t get up on my account.”

She drew a sharp breath through her nose and exhaled slowly. “Paul, I’m going to the kitchen for a refill. Can I bring you anything?”

“I don’t think I’m up to it, but thank you.”

“I’ll be right back.”

He nestled into the pillow she had tucked behind his head.

“MA for MM.” His watch announced.

“Go for MM.”

“Hey, I thought you were going to some little town in Outer Jebipp, not the Romance Express. If I knew woo was going to be pitched, I would have taken the gig.”

“Connor, I’m really not feeling well. What are you talking about?”

“Wait up. Not feeling well? What’s the matter, Broham? HEARTH, why was I not hearing about this? What are your symptoms?”

“I’m just beat, Broski. I’m here on vacation, mostly.”

“HEARTH, please fill in the blanks.”

“Without Megaman’s consent or a life-threatening emergency, disclosing medical information would violate HIPAA rules.”

“This is medical? Paul, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m just tired. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks, better than ever.”

“Uh-huh. Is there going to be a ring involved?”

“A ring? Connor, what are you talking about?”

“Dude, who’s the classy blonde under the mistletoe?”

“Mistletoe? What mistletoe?”

“You were dipping this lady, and you planted one on her.”

Paul slammed the footrest down and jumped out of the easy chair. “Have you leveled up to some psychic powers?”

“No, I’m just keeping an eye on our friends for you. The Watchers got some surprisingly good shots.”

“I didn’t see anybody who looked out of place.” Dizziness inspired him to sit back down. “How?”

“You know these guys, MM. I’m sure they didn’t set one foot outside the Eight Boroughs. They ran some kind of trap on all the phones at your place. Anything interesting that turned up gets edited and posted.”

“Aw, man!” Paul massaged his throbbing temples. “Did they post any of me sitting on an inverted trash can?”

“Not that I saw. What’s that about?”

“I was about ready to fall over. One of the guys here helped me out a minute.”

“HEARTH and I will keep looking. For now, I think you’re good.”

Paul sat back and tucked the pillow behind his head and neck. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Always.”

“Anything else I should know about?”

“No, but it seems like there’s something I should know.”

“Really? What?”

“Who’s the blonde and does she have a friend?”

“Megaman, out.” He tapped his watch and put his feet back up.