Kelvin finished the report with, “Fold is satisfied, but still hunts Dr. Wizard. We should help him.”
He sat back and started to read it over, when the door chimed downstairs. “Hello?” called Holder.
Wow, already? Kelvin looked at the clock – yep, Holder had arrived ten minutes early. “Be right down,” yelled Kelvin, saving the document. He would send it to Grim later.
Kelvin came downstairs, noting that Holder wore his usual gold and blue costume. Fold probably hadn’t gotten around to talking to Scott, to get him to design a new costume for Holder. Kelvin smiled, thinking whether Scott would go for exposure of abs, a codpiece, or both. Probably both.
“How’s it going?” Kelvin asked, as he shook Holder’s hand warmly.
“Really good. You?”
“Not bad. Come and sit down.”
“If this is about last night…”
Kelvin turned around. “Last night?”
Holder said with a smile, “Fold told me you talked to him. Gave him some dating pointers.”
Kelvin looked for a moment like a deer in headlights, then blushed immediately. “Oh. That. Did he do it?”
“I thought his apartment was on fire with all the candles.”
Kelvin looked down sheepishly. “I thought it was a good idea. Romantic.”
Holder punched Kelvin lightly on the shoulder. “That’s what I told him, that it meant you were a romantic. And ixnay on the flowers-ay. I’m allergic to some. Just for future reference.”
“So noted,” said Kelvin with a chuckle. “So, yeah, anyway, I didn’t bring you here for that. I brought you here because Grim asked me to develop a report on everyone.”
“A report? Like what?”
“How you like the team, what you like to do, where you want it to go.”
“I like the team,” said Holder, sitting down on the couch, tucking a leg under him. Kelvin sat across from him on the other couch. “So far I like everyone in it.”
“Do you like to work alone or with others?”
“I do better with others,” Holder said. “Honestly, rubber bullets sometimes doesn’t stop some people. I have to get up close a lot of times. That’s why I bought the mechas.”
“Mechas?”
“I left them in the basement at home. There’s two offensive mechas and two defensive mechas.”
“Robots?”
He nodded. “I got them at one of the gun shows.”
“How do you control them?”
“I figured out the on and off buttons, that’s about all. They didn’t come with manuals.”
“Bring them up here next time. I’ll take a look at them, see if we can’t get a remote control made for them.”
“Okay, that’ll be cool.” Holder bent down and opened the mini-fridge, taking out a cranberry juice. He offered it to Kelvin, who shook his head, but Kelvin did get a bottled water.
“Do you like what you’re doing?”
He frowned. “I do, but it’s a little frustrating sometimes. I mean, I get these people tied down, and then in two hours they’re back on the street. And there’s this one case I feel responsible for.”
“The burned girl?”
He nodded. “I knew her. I could have saved her if I was fast enough.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It’s my fault that the guy got away. She had a closed casket, she was that bad.”
“I’m sorry,” said Kelvin. “All I can say is, we will help you get him.”
Holder sighed. “I know. I don’t want to burden anyone with something that’s my own issue to deal with.”
“We’re a team, remember that, Julian. I know you’re not like Fold, a vigilante; or like Radar, a crusader; or like Swoop, a reluctant hero. You’re a team player.”
Julian smiled a bit, sipped his juice. “I guess.”
Kelvin drank some water. “Okay. Where do you see yourself, say, in the next year?”
“I suppose I should get a real job,” Holder said. “Or do something here that’s worthwhile. No offense, but the pay isn’t that great.”
“None taken, but we’re funded by PRIMUS, supplemented by Mr. Angrier and Grim. We’d have to take it up with them.”
He nodded. “It’s a barely living wage. I can only imagine how you’re doing it.”
“Alex and I work for UNITY. Once you get there, there’s a lot of jobs that are under-the-table. Or they tell you to keep what you find in the missions. You can then sell it on the market.” He drank again. “And Alex, he’s constantly working.”
“He needs a hobby.”
Kelvin laughed. “You’re satisfied here? With us?”
“Yeah,” said Holder. “You’re good people.”
Kelvin smiled. “That’s all I really needed to hear.”