Firebird Freedom

Firebird Freedom
Meanwhile

The young man exiting the restaurant did not even pause a step when he reached the limo, slipping in through the open door and settling back in the seat as the chauffeur moved around to the driver’s side.

“Shall I prepare a spare bedroom for the young lady, Master Dick?” he asked over a shoulder while pulling the heavy limo out into the night.

“Not quite, Alfred.” Richard finished dialing his phone and held it to one ear. “Yes?”

After a moment, he added into the phone, “So, Barbara says the sensors in the chair didn’t pick up any obvious signs of her powers being unstable, and she seemed to be telling the truth. That’s a nice change of pace from our usual nutcase. Mite seems to have sent us another good one. I suppose we’ll know better after she’s spent the week in the penthouse suite and doesn’t set it on fire. If so, have you thought about where to put her afterward? The Foundation doesn’t seem like a good fit.”

After a moment, Richard nodded. “You want to put a flaming supervillain to work for the Forest Service on the West Coast. That’s crazy, but it gets her out of this crazy town, at least.”

Richard listened for a while, then hung up. The driver let him think for a while before breaking the relative silence with, “It sounds like your evening with the young lady went well, Master Dick.”

“Relatively well, I’ll admit.” Richard leaned back in the seat and began extracting himself from the suit, placing his shoes to one side. “I need to exercise some of tonight off before heading home. Drop me off in a few blocks and I’ll patrol for a while. No need to leave any snacks out for me this evening, either.”

“I understand, sir. Chef Ramone is a master of his craft. We were both in Cupcakes’ chocolate class, but I can never get gateau au chocolat to come out as well as they can.”

The driver changed lanes as they approached a stop light and added, “It is good to see you out for a social event that did not end in fire and sirens. Perhaps you are attracting a better class of dinner companion as you mature.”

There was no response, and when the driver looked in the rear view mirror again, the back compartment of the limo was empty except for a folded suit and dress shoes.

“I hate it when they do that.”