Fugitives (2/?): Flying
Title: Flying (Fugitives 2/?)
Fandom: Heroes/The Devil Wears Prada
Rating/Genre: G/crossover
Characters/Pairing: Miranda Priestly, Andy ‘Sachs’ Petrelli, Caroline and Cassidy Priestly, references to the Petrelli family. Miranda/Andy if you squint a little…
Summary: Andy has saved Miranda from Danko’s men and they landed in a park. Now they have to decide what to do next and where to go. Miranda, still a bit in shock after the unexpected flight and Andrea’s unexpected words about ‘caring’, is worried about her children - who give her a surprise of their own.
Word count: 4 010
Spoilers/Warnings: No.
Notes: This will probably make more sense if you have some basic knowledge of both fandoms, but this part is mostly DWP based, with elements from Heroes, such as references to “abilities”, “the Company” and Andy’s family. In this AU, Andy is the sister of Nathan and Peter Petrelli and she has the ability to fly. The first part is here. Part three (shorter) is already written and will be posted soon. :)
Miranda runs her fingers through her hair, trying to think. She takes a few steps away from the young woman, turns her back on her.
Andrea. The long lost Andrea Sachs… No, Miranda reminds herself, Andrea Petrelli.
Miranda shakes her head in disbelief. The best assistant she ever had, who walked out on her in Paris - Miranda knows that she should be angry, or pretend to be; she should behave like herself, like the ‘dragon’ people expect to see. But on the other hand, what’s the point? She can’t pretend that she’s not happy to see the girl - the girl who probably saved her life.
Miranda turns around again. Andrea is standing against a tree, arms crossed over her chest, and she looks beautiful and strong - more beautiful than Miranda remembers, stronger than she ever gave her credit for. And that says a lot, because Miranda remembers that she always saw the potential in Andrea.
Did she say she cares about me? Miranda tries to understand what this can mean. The look in Andrea’s eyes - but she can’t see it anymore because she put some distance between them - seemed to tell her that she is liked. During the past two years - not often, but in weaker moments late at night - she has wondered a little whether the young woman ever liked at all or not, because there seemed to be signs that said so at times, but she has tried her best to forget about Andrea, just like she has learned to put all the others from that family out of her mind.
Miranda is still dizzy from the flight, and she is cold. For once, beauty is irrelevant; she is in danger, and she shouldn’t try to distract herself by staring at Andrea. I don’t want to be here, she thinks.
“Miranda? Are you okay?”
“What do you think?” she snaps, and she regrets it immediately. “No, I’m not okay - I mean, this whole thing was a bit of a shock, but I’m fine. I’m thinking about my children. What will happen to them? I can’t just leave them!”
Andrea nods quickly.
“Do they have any abilities?”
“Not that I’m aware of”, Miranda frowns at the mentioning of that word and everything it stands for. “I hope not.”
She used to be afraid of that. She watched Cassidy and Caroline closely when they were younger, trying to see any signs, but there weren’t any, and with time, she stopped worrying so much about them. They were going to be fine; the Company or any person associated with it was never going to have anything to do with them.
“They’re innocent”, she says, “they don’t have to be a part of this. But can I go away without them? What if they’re not safe? What if their father isn’t able to look after them properly…”
“He doesn’t know that you… that you’re special?”
Miranda firmly shakes her head. ‘Special’, perhaps, but no; not in that way. It’s one of her best kept secrets. She has never told anyone since she started her new life; she has never felt the need to tell, and if she had, she wouldn’t have known what to say.
She feels weak, insecure - for once she doesn’t know what to do, and she hates it.
She’s the one in charge. She has control; that is, after all, why people call her things like ‘The Ice Queen’ - because she’s in control of everything, she keeps her head cold when other people don’t know what to do.
But she doesn’t have control this night. Men have pointed guns at her, Andrea has taken her in her arms and rescued her, and that is not normal, so Miranda looks at Andrea as if she wants the young woman to tell her what to do.
And then her cell phone starts ringing; she realizes that the only reason why she still has it is that she was talking to someone - for a moment she can’t remember who - when those men and then Andrea ran in. Everything else - her keys, her wallet, her coat, the Book - is still in the office.
The call is from her house, and Miranda takes it.
“Mom!” Caroline shouts at the other end, “Where are you? You’ve got to come home; Cassidy has a nervous breakdown or something.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know; she can’t stop crying. She says you’re in danger and she’s afraid we’ll never see you again. Mom, where are you, why aren’t you home yet?”
“Darling, I’m so sorry!” Miranda stares wildly at Andrea; the girl stares back. “Caroline, it’s okay, I’m all right. I’m safe. Tell Cassidy right now that I’m safe…”
She hears that Caroline puts the phone down, and she says something to her sister.
“My children are worried about me”, she tells Andrea, “it’s late and I should be home by now. Cassidy has always been sensitive, but she’s never had a breakdown…”
Caroline starts talking at the other end again.
“Mom, Cassidy is like seriously freaked out, and I think that if you’re not coming home, then we’ll have to come to you. Now she says that… Andy is with you? Like, your ex assistant Andy?”
Miranda is staring into the darkness under the trees. She doesn’t want it to be true. She wants to deny everything; she wants to tell her daughter that she’s going to call Roy right now, and she’ll be right back home and everything will be under control again.
“Yes”, she admits, “Andrea is with me. She came just in time to…” save me “to help me. Everything will be okay.”
“No, it won’t. Cassidy has been telling me for hours but I didn’t want to believe it… Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re coming to you, okay? See you soon. Stay with Andy, mom, don’t go anywhere!”
“No, wait a minute - “
But it’s too late, Caroline already hung up.
“What’s happening?” Andrea asks, and Miranda tells her; she tries to hide the panic in her voice, because Caroline sounded so bizarre, not at all like herself, and what about Cassidy?
“Okay”, Andrea says, “so we’ll stay here a little while. Let’s just hope they hurry up.”
“How can you say that so calmly!” Miranda wonders if the girl has lost her mind. “They don’t even know where we are, and how did they know that you’re here?”
Miranda looks around as if she expects to see hidden cameras in the trees and microphones in the bushes; after all, this might be just a practical joke set up by Irv or someone else equally stupid. Not that anyone has ever dared to play that kind of prank on her, but there’s a first time for everything… Miranda knows that either way she has to calm down; she realizes that she both looks and sounds like someone close to hysteria.
“Oh”, Andrea says, “I have no idea how they know, but I guess that if they do, then it must be because they have some special way of knowing it, and if Caroline sounded like she meant what she said, then…”
“Oh no”, Miranda interrupts, “I refuse to accept what you’re implying…”
“But Miranda.” Andrea comes closer and suddenly Miranda finds herself staring into those big brown eyes as if she wants to drown in them, “Miranda”, Andrea says softly, “you sound like this whole idea is new to you. It’s only natural, isn’t it? If you have an ability, why would it surprise you if they can do things out of the ordinary too?”
“But it’s not good for them…”
“Maybe not”, Andrea agrees, “but these things often run in the family after all. When Peter and I discovered our abilities independently of one another, we were freaked out at first, but… it was impossible to deny it. It turned out our brother is a flyer, too, but he doesn’t want anyone to know about it, naturally, doing what he does… And our dad - lets not even go there…”
The girl shudders as if overwhelmed by unpleasant memories, and Miranda has to suppress an impulse to give her a comforting caress.
“I knew him”, she admits, “a long time ago. And your mother… has these precognitive dreams…”
“I figured it must be something like that. What about you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You sound like you really hate it”, Andrea remarks. “Maybe you even think that Nathan is right, that all people with abilities are dangerous and should be destroyed…”
“No, but some people are, that’s what the Company saw long before you were even born. But others are perfectly harmless and should be left alone. I don’t hate it, it’s just that talking about it reminds me of my past.”
“You’ve been through a lot, huh?”
The way Andrea looks at her reminds her of that night in Paris; the night when Andrea had seen her vulnerable and tired and she didn’t like to be reminded of that either.
“Don’t try your reporter tricks on me, Andrea. I don’t want to talk about it and that’s all.”
“Of course, Miranda.” Andrea smiles. “Is Emily still working for you, by the way? How is she?”
Miranda snorts.
“I trust you to remember that I don’t like smalltalk.”
Andrea doesn’t reply; she contends herself with a soft “hmm”, and Miranda can’t help but feel that something is different between them this time around.
“I know it’s hard to believe”, Andrea says, “but I asked you about Emily for a reason. Okay, so you don’t have to tell me how she’s doing or anything, but I just thought that you should call her. Or, I mean, any assistant that you have working for you at the moment…”
“Of course.” Miranda hates being made to feel stupid. “I was going to do that.”
She dials Emily’s number and taps her foot to the ground while she’s waiting for her assistant to answer, and when the assistant finally does, she knows that she’s sounding unnecessarily harsh when she says:
“Are you awake? Emily, I need you to listen carefully - are you sure you’re fully awake?”
“Yes, of course, Miranda…”
She hears the swish of sheets as Emily sits up or maybe gets out of bed. And - was that the stifling of a yawn?
“Take a deep breath and tell yourself that you love your job, or what ever it is you need to stay focused. It’s important that you get this. Now listen; I’m going away with the girls for a while. I need you to call their father in the morning and inform him that he does not need to take them this weekend. Tell him not to try to get hold of me; I’ll talk to him myself when we’re coming back.”
“Sure, Miranda. But…”
Emily takes a deep breath and bites off the words she was going to say.
“Yes, Emily; that is correct - I’m not coming in to the office tomorrow. I’m not coming in before the weekend; you will all have to do without me indefinitely. It will be up to you to inform the others tomorrow.”
“But Miranda!”
Her first assistant sounds shocked, and Miranda can’t blame her. One part of her feels guilty because she has never been away ‘indefinitely’ before. All her longer absences are usually carefully planned in advance. But she’s glad that her employees aren’t prone to question her.
“No buts, Emily. I trust you all to be able to handle my absence for a while. That’s all.”
Andrea smiles slightly.
“I see that you haven’t lost your touch. I’ve kind of missed your way of ordering people around.”
“I see that you have not lost your cheekiness. If anything, you’ve got more of it.”
And I’ve kind of missed it, Miranda adds in her thoughts. She hasn’t forgotten how annoying the young woman could be, especially during the first weeks when she didn’t understand anything at all about fashion, but Andrea had been one of the few people in her life who had dared to look her in the eyes and speak up for herself.
And Andrea have even tried to save her once before.
“But it’s true.” Andrea drops her smile. “I have missed you. I’m not sorry that I left my job when I did, because I had to do it and I think you know that, but so many things have happened since then. Miranda, you don’t know about the things that have been going on in my family… Anyway, I know that life’s too short not to say what you’re thinking to the people you care about.”
Miranda tries to find the right way to respond to that. This is the second time that Andrea has said that she cares about her… But she doesn’t have time to think this through, because they hear a rattle, and a scream, and then a loud crack as if a branch is broken, and both of them freeze and turn to the direction of the sound.
“Ouch, Caroline, you’re so clumsy! We could have broken all our arms and legs!”
“Keep your voice down; we don’t know who else is here. I’m sorry, but you know I haven’t had much time to practice. Landing is so difficult and it’s scary…”
Miranda starts running, and Andrea follows, deeper into the darkness of the park. She hears more rattle, but closer, and she realizes that it is the sound of her children hiding in the bushes.
“Caroline, Cassidy, it’s me!” she calls, and they come running; she almost falls down as they attacks her with their violent, scared, loving hugs.
“There, there”, she says, stroking the hair away from their eyes, wishing it was daylight so she could see them clearly.
“Now, my darlings, what’s all this about?”
“You tell us”, Caroline answers, “we just came because we had to. What’s going on, mom?”
“Many things are going on”, Miranda says, “and it’s very complicated. First, tell me how you got here. It seems like you… flew, Caroline?”
“I can explain”, her daughter said with something like panic in her voice. “Or… actually, I can’t. Yes, I flew. I can fly, mom! I know it sounds crazy and totally unbelievable and I just don’t get it myself, but I can do it, and, and…”
The girl begins to sound hysteric and Miranda hushes gently.
“I believe it, Caroline. It’s just that I had no idea… I’m sorry that it scares you, but it’s all right. You’re special, dear. So, you have the ability to fly? I know that it’s not considered a normal thing, but it’s not completely unheard of either. At least not where I come from.”
“What do you mean?” Caroline stares at her. “Did you know about this? Can you fly?”
“No, dear, but Andrea here can. That’s why we’re here. I was attacked, she came in and flew me to this park.”
Andrea steps out of the shadows and comes closer so the girls can see her, and they smile shyly at her, not sure of how to react. Miranda knows that the girls learned to like Andrea - unusual that they actually liked one of her assistants, yes, but after all, Andrea was likeable - and missed her when she left, but as Miranda refused to talk about Andrea after Paris, she understands that the girls are confused now.
“Mom?” Cassidy is still holding on to her as if she’s trying not to drown. “Mom, I think I’m… special, too. Because I… I sort of knew that you were here. Or not here exactly, but I knew that you were in danger and that we had to be with you…”
“When you say that you knew”, Miranda says, “do you mean that you had some kind of vision? Or that you heard my thoughts?”
“No. Just a very strong feeling. I’ve never felt that about you before so I knew it must be for real. It’s like… a mood thing. I can always feel it if Caroline is hurt, or angry or sad… At first I just thought that it was a twin thing, you know, but then once when she wasn’t even at home, she was at Alicia’s place, and they accidently got locked in down in the basement, and the doors and walls are soundproof in that house because Alicia’s brother practices with his band down there, so her parents’ didn’t know that they were down there…”
“But you knew?” Miranda says, fascinated, “what did you do? Did you call the parents?”
“No, I just went over there and asked Alicia’s parents if I could come in because my sister and Alicia were down there… Then when we were on our way home, I told Caroline about it and that’s when she showed me that she can fly.”
“I see”, Miranda says, but she doesn’t see; in fact, she feels like she has been blind and is just now starting to open her eyes. Talking about ‘the birds and the bees’ is one thing - besides, school takes care of that for the most part - but to talk about abilities? She feels that she has been doing a bad job preparing the girls for reality, but that, she realizes, is just one more thing she hasn’t done right in life.
At least now they’ll get one long family vacation, because they’re going to she doesn’t know where, indefinitely.
“Well, at least we’ll have plenty of time to talk this through when we get there”, she says.
“What?” Miranda realizes that she was talking out loud. “Mom, tell us what’s happening, please…”
Together with Andrea, she tries to explain the situation as briefly and clearly as she can. That’s not easy, but at least the girls will realize that the situation is serious.
“Do you get it now”, she asks, “we are not being hunted because of something I did. I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just that… it’s dangerous right now for people who can do things that are out of the ordinary. But don’t worry. It will be all right soon. There’s a… resistance. Someone called Rebel told Andrea about me, and she saved me earlier tonight, like I said.”
“Thanks for saving our mom, Andy”, Cassidy says.
Andrea replies, with a smile, that it was her pleasure.
“But now”, she says, “let’s not talk anymore - we need to think of some place to go where we can be safe.”
They all think in silence. Or Miranda assumes that at least Andrea is thinking; she can’t expect the girls to find a solution, and she herself has her head full of disturbing thoughts about the future of her magazine and the future of her children. Miranda can handle a crisis. She can handle anything.
I need to get myself together, she tells herself; she can’t accept this almost sedated, drowsy state of mind she finds herself to be in…
“Dad’s cottage”, Caroline says, “we can go to dad’s cottage. Mom, do you remember? We used to go there together when Cass and I were younger, didn’t we?”
“We did it once or twice, yes. I’m not much for wildlife.”
Miranda remembers the log cabin in the mountains. She went there once with her ex husband before the twins were born; she was still in love with him back then and was able to overlook some details that later annoyed her to no ends and made her refuse to spend even half a day there, much less a whole weekend. The girls had been so young last time she went there, they could hardly remember it anymore. But maybe they liked to believe that they had all spent some happy times there as a family. The small house was surrounded by dark, deep woods, miles from the nearest town; there was no internet access, there were bugs, dirt, and the clothes smelled of smoke from the fire - the place did have electricity, but a fire was ‘cosy’. Oh, well…
“We know you’re not a big fan of that”, Cassidy sighs, “but do you have a better idea?”
“I haven’t”, Miranda admits. “Your dad’s place will be perfect. As long as he isn’t there himself?”
Miranda speaks to her ex husband sometimes for the girls’ sake - most of the communication is handled by an assistant - but she prefers to see him as little as possible.
Cassidy shakes her head, but Miranda thinks of one more problem.
“But how can we find the way by ourselves? We don’t even have a map, do we?”
“No”, Caroline replies, “but it’s not a problem. You see, when I get up there in the sky, it’s like I have an inner compass or something… I just find my way… isn’t that right, Andy?”
Andrea confirms it; she can’t explain it, but as long as she says it works, Miranda is ready to take her word for it.
“And”, Andrea adds, “you should throw away your phone. And you too, girls, if you have one.”
“What?!” Miranda stares at her. “I know that you are in the habit of throwing cell phones all around, but…”
“I threw away one phone, yes.” Andrea sighs. “Because I didn’t feel like talking to you right then. I didn’t even want you be able to get in touch with me when we were still in Paris. And that’s my point. What will you tell the girls’ father if he calls you? And, more importantly, they might be able to track you…”
“I get it”, Miranda snaps, once again caught being unprepared for their new reality. “But what if something happens and we need to contact somebody…”
“I have an emergency phone”, Andrea says. “Peter gave it to me. I’ve never even used it, and he’s the only one who has the number, but he thought that I should have it. I’ll throw away my other one right now.”
Andrea does what she said. She takes a phone out of the pocket of her jacket, and throws it in the bushes.
Miranda looks at her phone. It’s new. But she believes Andrea to be right, so she turns it off and throws it in the same direction.
There is nothing more left to discuss. The sooner they leave the city, the better. Miranda feels something that’s almost like panic, a sharp pain in her chest and she feels like shouting - but she never shouts - when she thinks about leaving Runway. She is Runway. Who knows when she’s coming back? She trusts her people not to be completely lost without her for an hour or three, even for a whole week - but this?
Miranda fears that everything she has worked for will fall to pieces, but she has no choice. She might go as far as to die for Runway if she had to in order to save it, but this is not about the magazine. It’s about the girls. She doesn’t want those men to lay their dirty hands on them, so she has to leave.
Cassidy runs back to the bushes she had been hiding in, and pulls out a coat. It’s full of leaves and probably stained, but Miranda thanks her with a warm kiss; she really needs a coat, and it was very good of the girls to think of that.
Andrea puts her arms around her and for a moment Miranda is startled. She isn’t used to touching people, other than the girls; it isn’t her habit to embrace young women, not even a woman she has missed for so long - she has to admit it to herself - then she comes to her senses and realizes that it isn’t an embrace; they are just getting ready for takeoff.
“You go first”, Andrea tells Caroline, who nods firmly and wraps her arms around her sister, pale in the moonlight.
“Don’t be afraid”, Andrea murmurs, “we’ll get through this together.”
“I am not afraid”, Miranda answers, and she realizes that it’s true.
To be continued…
.
Fandom: Heroes/The Devil Wears Prada
Rating/Genre: G/crossover
Characters/Pairing: Miranda Priestly, Andy ‘Sachs’ Petrelli, Caroline and Cassidy Priestly, references to the Petrelli family. Miranda/Andy if you squint a little…
Summary: Andy has saved Miranda from Danko’s men and they landed in a park. Now they have to decide what to do next and where to go. Miranda, still a bit in shock after the unexpected flight and Andrea’s unexpected words about ‘caring’, is worried about her children - who give her a surprise of their own.
Word count: 4 010
Spoilers/Warnings: No.
Notes: This will probably make more sense if you have some basic knowledge of both fandoms, but this part is mostly DWP based, with elements from Heroes, such as references to “abilities”, “the Company” and Andy’s family. In this AU, Andy is the sister of Nathan and Peter Petrelli and she has the ability to fly. The first part is here. Part three (shorter) is already written and will be posted soon. :)
Miranda runs her fingers through her hair, trying to think. She takes a few steps away from the young woman, turns her back on her.
Andrea. The long lost Andrea Sachs… No, Miranda reminds herself, Andrea Petrelli.
Miranda shakes her head in disbelief. The best assistant she ever had, who walked out on her in Paris - Miranda knows that she should be angry, or pretend to be; she should behave like herself, like the ‘dragon’ people expect to see. But on the other hand, what’s the point? She can’t pretend that she’s not happy to see the girl - the girl who probably saved her life.
Miranda turns around again. Andrea is standing against a tree, arms crossed over her chest, and she looks beautiful and strong - more beautiful than Miranda remembers, stronger than she ever gave her credit for. And that says a lot, because Miranda remembers that she always saw the potential in Andrea.
Did she say she cares about me? Miranda tries to understand what this can mean. The look in Andrea’s eyes - but she can’t see it anymore because she put some distance between them - seemed to tell her that she is liked. During the past two years - not often, but in weaker moments late at night - she has wondered a little whether the young woman ever liked at all or not, because there seemed to be signs that said so at times, but she has tried her best to forget about Andrea, just like she has learned to put all the others from that family out of her mind.
Miranda is still dizzy from the flight, and she is cold. For once, beauty is irrelevant; she is in danger, and she shouldn’t try to distract herself by staring at Andrea. I don’t want to be here, she thinks.
“Miranda? Are you okay?”
“What do you think?” she snaps, and she regrets it immediately. “No, I’m not okay - I mean, this whole thing was a bit of a shock, but I’m fine. I’m thinking about my children. What will happen to them? I can’t just leave them!”
Andrea nods quickly.
“Do they have any abilities?”
“Not that I’m aware of”, Miranda frowns at the mentioning of that word and everything it stands for. “I hope not.”
She used to be afraid of that. She watched Cassidy and Caroline closely when they were younger, trying to see any signs, but there weren’t any, and with time, she stopped worrying so much about them. They were going to be fine; the Company or any person associated with it was never going to have anything to do with them.
“They’re innocent”, she says, “they don’t have to be a part of this. But can I go away without them? What if they’re not safe? What if their father isn’t able to look after them properly…”
“He doesn’t know that you… that you’re special?”
Miranda firmly shakes her head. ‘Special’, perhaps, but no; not in that way. It’s one of her best kept secrets. She has never told anyone since she started her new life; she has never felt the need to tell, and if she had, she wouldn’t have known what to say.
She feels weak, insecure - for once she doesn’t know what to do, and she hates it.
She’s the one in charge. She has control; that is, after all, why people call her things like ‘The Ice Queen’ - because she’s in control of everything, she keeps her head cold when other people don’t know what to do.
But she doesn’t have control this night. Men have pointed guns at her, Andrea has taken her in her arms and rescued her, and that is not normal, so Miranda looks at Andrea as if she wants the young woman to tell her what to do.
And then her cell phone starts ringing; she realizes that the only reason why she still has it is that she was talking to someone - for a moment she can’t remember who - when those men and then Andrea ran in. Everything else - her keys, her wallet, her coat, the Book - is still in the office.
The call is from her house, and Miranda takes it.
“Mom!” Caroline shouts at the other end, “Where are you? You’ve got to come home; Cassidy has a nervous breakdown or something.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know; she can’t stop crying. She says you’re in danger and she’s afraid we’ll never see you again. Mom, where are you, why aren’t you home yet?”
“Darling, I’m so sorry!” Miranda stares wildly at Andrea; the girl stares back. “Caroline, it’s okay, I’m all right. I’m safe. Tell Cassidy right now that I’m safe…”
She hears that Caroline puts the phone down, and she says something to her sister.
“My children are worried about me”, she tells Andrea, “it’s late and I should be home by now. Cassidy has always been sensitive, but she’s never had a breakdown…”
Caroline starts talking at the other end again.
“Mom, Cassidy is like seriously freaked out, and I think that if you’re not coming home, then we’ll have to come to you. Now she says that… Andy is with you? Like, your ex assistant Andy?”
Miranda is staring into the darkness under the trees. She doesn’t want it to be true. She wants to deny everything; she wants to tell her daughter that she’s going to call Roy right now, and she’ll be right back home and everything will be under control again.
“Yes”, she admits, “Andrea is with me. She came just in time to…” save me “to help me. Everything will be okay.”
“No, it won’t. Cassidy has been telling me for hours but I didn’t want to believe it… Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re coming to you, okay? See you soon. Stay with Andy, mom, don’t go anywhere!”
“No, wait a minute - “
But it’s too late, Caroline already hung up.
“What’s happening?” Andrea asks, and Miranda tells her; she tries to hide the panic in her voice, because Caroline sounded so bizarre, not at all like herself, and what about Cassidy?
“Okay”, Andrea says, “so we’ll stay here a little while. Let’s just hope they hurry up.”
“How can you say that so calmly!” Miranda wonders if the girl has lost her mind. “They don’t even know where we are, and how did they know that you’re here?”
Miranda looks around as if she expects to see hidden cameras in the trees and microphones in the bushes; after all, this might be just a practical joke set up by Irv or someone else equally stupid. Not that anyone has ever dared to play that kind of prank on her, but there’s a first time for everything… Miranda knows that either way she has to calm down; she realizes that she both looks and sounds like someone close to hysteria.
“Oh”, Andrea says, “I have no idea how they know, but I guess that if they do, then it must be because they have some special way of knowing it, and if Caroline sounded like she meant what she said, then…”
“Oh no”, Miranda interrupts, “I refuse to accept what you’re implying…”
“But Miranda.” Andrea comes closer and suddenly Miranda finds herself staring into those big brown eyes as if she wants to drown in them, “Miranda”, Andrea says softly, “you sound like this whole idea is new to you. It’s only natural, isn’t it? If you have an ability, why would it surprise you if they can do things out of the ordinary too?”
“But it’s not good for them…”
“Maybe not”, Andrea agrees, “but these things often run in the family after all. When Peter and I discovered our abilities independently of one another, we were freaked out at first, but… it was impossible to deny it. It turned out our brother is a flyer, too, but he doesn’t want anyone to know about it, naturally, doing what he does… And our dad - lets not even go there…”
The girl shudders as if overwhelmed by unpleasant memories, and Miranda has to suppress an impulse to give her a comforting caress.
“I knew him”, she admits, “a long time ago. And your mother… has these precognitive dreams…”
“I figured it must be something like that. What about you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You sound like you really hate it”, Andrea remarks. “Maybe you even think that Nathan is right, that all people with abilities are dangerous and should be destroyed…”
“No, but some people are, that’s what the Company saw long before you were even born. But others are perfectly harmless and should be left alone. I don’t hate it, it’s just that talking about it reminds me of my past.”
“You’ve been through a lot, huh?”
The way Andrea looks at her reminds her of that night in Paris; the night when Andrea had seen her vulnerable and tired and she didn’t like to be reminded of that either.
“Don’t try your reporter tricks on me, Andrea. I don’t want to talk about it and that’s all.”
“Of course, Miranda.” Andrea smiles. “Is Emily still working for you, by the way? How is she?”
Miranda snorts.
“I trust you to remember that I don’t like smalltalk.”
Andrea doesn’t reply; she contends herself with a soft “hmm”, and Miranda can’t help but feel that something is different between them this time around.
“I know it’s hard to believe”, Andrea says, “but I asked you about Emily for a reason. Okay, so you don’t have to tell me how she’s doing or anything, but I just thought that you should call her. Or, I mean, any assistant that you have working for you at the moment…”
“Of course.” Miranda hates being made to feel stupid. “I was going to do that.”
She dials Emily’s number and taps her foot to the ground while she’s waiting for her assistant to answer, and when the assistant finally does, she knows that she’s sounding unnecessarily harsh when she says:
“Are you awake? Emily, I need you to listen carefully - are you sure you’re fully awake?”
“Yes, of course, Miranda…”
She hears the swish of sheets as Emily sits up or maybe gets out of bed. And - was that the stifling of a yawn?
“Take a deep breath and tell yourself that you love your job, or what ever it is you need to stay focused. It’s important that you get this. Now listen; I’m going away with the girls for a while. I need you to call their father in the morning and inform him that he does not need to take them this weekend. Tell him not to try to get hold of me; I’ll talk to him myself when we’re coming back.”
“Sure, Miranda. But…”
Emily takes a deep breath and bites off the words she was going to say.
“Yes, Emily; that is correct - I’m not coming in to the office tomorrow. I’m not coming in before the weekend; you will all have to do without me indefinitely. It will be up to you to inform the others tomorrow.”
“But Miranda!”
Her first assistant sounds shocked, and Miranda can’t blame her. One part of her feels guilty because she has never been away ‘indefinitely’ before. All her longer absences are usually carefully planned in advance. But she’s glad that her employees aren’t prone to question her.
“No buts, Emily. I trust you all to be able to handle my absence for a while. That’s all.”
Andrea smiles slightly.
“I see that you haven’t lost your touch. I’ve kind of missed your way of ordering people around.”
“I see that you have not lost your cheekiness. If anything, you’ve got more of it.”
And I’ve kind of missed it, Miranda adds in her thoughts. She hasn’t forgotten how annoying the young woman could be, especially during the first weeks when she didn’t understand anything at all about fashion, but Andrea had been one of the few people in her life who had dared to look her in the eyes and speak up for herself.
And Andrea have even tried to save her once before.
“But it’s true.” Andrea drops her smile. “I have missed you. I’m not sorry that I left my job when I did, because I had to do it and I think you know that, but so many things have happened since then. Miranda, you don’t know about the things that have been going on in my family… Anyway, I know that life’s too short not to say what you’re thinking to the people you care about.”
Miranda tries to find the right way to respond to that. This is the second time that Andrea has said that she cares about her… But she doesn’t have time to think this through, because they hear a rattle, and a scream, and then a loud crack as if a branch is broken, and both of them freeze and turn to the direction of the sound.
“Ouch, Caroline, you’re so clumsy! We could have broken all our arms and legs!”
“Keep your voice down; we don’t know who else is here. I’m sorry, but you know I haven’t had much time to practice. Landing is so difficult and it’s scary…”
Miranda starts running, and Andrea follows, deeper into the darkness of the park. She hears more rattle, but closer, and she realizes that it is the sound of her children hiding in the bushes.
“Caroline, Cassidy, it’s me!” she calls, and they come running; she almost falls down as they attacks her with their violent, scared, loving hugs.
“There, there”, she says, stroking the hair away from their eyes, wishing it was daylight so she could see them clearly.
“Now, my darlings, what’s all this about?”
“You tell us”, Caroline answers, “we just came because we had to. What’s going on, mom?”
“Many things are going on”, Miranda says, “and it’s very complicated. First, tell me how you got here. It seems like you… flew, Caroline?”
“I can explain”, her daughter said with something like panic in her voice. “Or… actually, I can’t. Yes, I flew. I can fly, mom! I know it sounds crazy and totally unbelievable and I just don’t get it myself, but I can do it, and, and…”
The girl begins to sound hysteric and Miranda hushes gently.
“I believe it, Caroline. It’s just that I had no idea… I’m sorry that it scares you, but it’s all right. You’re special, dear. So, you have the ability to fly? I know that it’s not considered a normal thing, but it’s not completely unheard of either. At least not where I come from.”
“What do you mean?” Caroline stares at her. “Did you know about this? Can you fly?”
“No, dear, but Andrea here can. That’s why we’re here. I was attacked, she came in and flew me to this park.”
Andrea steps out of the shadows and comes closer so the girls can see her, and they smile shyly at her, not sure of how to react. Miranda knows that the girls learned to like Andrea - unusual that they actually liked one of her assistants, yes, but after all, Andrea was likeable - and missed her when she left, but as Miranda refused to talk about Andrea after Paris, she understands that the girls are confused now.
“Mom?” Cassidy is still holding on to her as if she’s trying not to drown. “Mom, I think I’m… special, too. Because I… I sort of knew that you were here. Or not here exactly, but I knew that you were in danger and that we had to be with you…”
“When you say that you knew”, Miranda says, “do you mean that you had some kind of vision? Or that you heard my thoughts?”
“No. Just a very strong feeling. I’ve never felt that about you before so I knew it must be for real. It’s like… a mood thing. I can always feel it if Caroline is hurt, or angry or sad… At first I just thought that it was a twin thing, you know, but then once when she wasn’t even at home, she was at Alicia’s place, and they accidently got locked in down in the basement, and the doors and walls are soundproof in that house because Alicia’s brother practices with his band down there, so her parents’ didn’t know that they were down there…”
“But you knew?” Miranda says, fascinated, “what did you do? Did you call the parents?”
“No, I just went over there and asked Alicia’s parents if I could come in because my sister and Alicia were down there… Then when we were on our way home, I told Caroline about it and that’s when she showed me that she can fly.”
“I see”, Miranda says, but she doesn’t see; in fact, she feels like she has been blind and is just now starting to open her eyes. Talking about ‘the birds and the bees’ is one thing - besides, school takes care of that for the most part - but to talk about abilities? She feels that she has been doing a bad job preparing the girls for reality, but that, she realizes, is just one more thing she hasn’t done right in life.
At least now they’ll get one long family vacation, because they’re going to she doesn’t know where, indefinitely.
“Well, at least we’ll have plenty of time to talk this through when we get there”, she says.
“What?” Miranda realizes that she was talking out loud. “Mom, tell us what’s happening, please…”
Together with Andrea, she tries to explain the situation as briefly and clearly as she can. That’s not easy, but at least the girls will realize that the situation is serious.
“Do you get it now”, she asks, “we are not being hunted because of something I did. I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just that… it’s dangerous right now for people who can do things that are out of the ordinary. But don’t worry. It will be all right soon. There’s a… resistance. Someone called Rebel told Andrea about me, and she saved me earlier tonight, like I said.”
“Thanks for saving our mom, Andy”, Cassidy says.
Andrea replies, with a smile, that it was her pleasure.
“But now”, she says, “let’s not talk anymore - we need to think of some place to go where we can be safe.”
They all think in silence. Or Miranda assumes that at least Andrea is thinking; she can’t expect the girls to find a solution, and she herself has her head full of disturbing thoughts about the future of her magazine and the future of her children. Miranda can handle a crisis. She can handle anything.
I need to get myself together, she tells herself; she can’t accept this almost sedated, drowsy state of mind she finds herself to be in…
“Dad’s cottage”, Caroline says, “we can go to dad’s cottage. Mom, do you remember? We used to go there together when Cass and I were younger, didn’t we?”
“We did it once or twice, yes. I’m not much for wildlife.”
Miranda remembers the log cabin in the mountains. She went there once with her ex husband before the twins were born; she was still in love with him back then and was able to overlook some details that later annoyed her to no ends and made her refuse to spend even half a day there, much less a whole weekend. The girls had been so young last time she went there, they could hardly remember it anymore. But maybe they liked to believe that they had all spent some happy times there as a family. The small house was surrounded by dark, deep woods, miles from the nearest town; there was no internet access, there were bugs, dirt, and the clothes smelled of smoke from the fire - the place did have electricity, but a fire was ‘cosy’. Oh, well…
“We know you’re not a big fan of that”, Cassidy sighs, “but do you have a better idea?”
“I haven’t”, Miranda admits. “Your dad’s place will be perfect. As long as he isn’t there himself?”
Miranda speaks to her ex husband sometimes for the girls’ sake - most of the communication is handled by an assistant - but she prefers to see him as little as possible.
Cassidy shakes her head, but Miranda thinks of one more problem.
“But how can we find the way by ourselves? We don’t even have a map, do we?”
“No”, Caroline replies, “but it’s not a problem. You see, when I get up there in the sky, it’s like I have an inner compass or something… I just find my way… isn’t that right, Andy?”
Andrea confirms it; she can’t explain it, but as long as she says it works, Miranda is ready to take her word for it.
“And”, Andrea adds, “you should throw away your phone. And you too, girls, if you have one.”
“What?!” Miranda stares at her. “I know that you are in the habit of throwing cell phones all around, but…”
“I threw away one phone, yes.” Andrea sighs. “Because I didn’t feel like talking to you right then. I didn’t even want you be able to get in touch with me when we were still in Paris. And that’s my point. What will you tell the girls’ father if he calls you? And, more importantly, they might be able to track you…”
“I get it”, Miranda snaps, once again caught being unprepared for their new reality. “But what if something happens and we need to contact somebody…”
“I have an emergency phone”, Andrea says. “Peter gave it to me. I’ve never even used it, and he’s the only one who has the number, but he thought that I should have it. I’ll throw away my other one right now.”
Andrea does what she said. She takes a phone out of the pocket of her jacket, and throws it in the bushes.
Miranda looks at her phone. It’s new. But she believes Andrea to be right, so she turns it off and throws it in the same direction.
There is nothing more left to discuss. The sooner they leave the city, the better. Miranda feels something that’s almost like panic, a sharp pain in her chest and she feels like shouting - but she never shouts - when she thinks about leaving Runway. She is Runway. Who knows when she’s coming back? She trusts her people not to be completely lost without her for an hour or three, even for a whole week - but this?
Miranda fears that everything she has worked for will fall to pieces, but she has no choice. She might go as far as to die for Runway if she had to in order to save it, but this is not about the magazine. It’s about the girls. She doesn’t want those men to lay their dirty hands on them, so she has to leave.
Cassidy runs back to the bushes she had been hiding in, and pulls out a coat. It’s full of leaves and probably stained, but Miranda thanks her with a warm kiss; she really needs a coat, and it was very good of the girls to think of that.
Andrea puts her arms around her and for a moment Miranda is startled. She isn’t used to touching people, other than the girls; it isn’t her habit to embrace young women, not even a woman she has missed for so long - she has to admit it to herself - then she comes to her senses and realizes that it isn’t an embrace; they are just getting ready for takeoff.
“You go first”, Andrea tells Caroline, who nods firmly and wraps her arms around her sister, pale in the moonlight.
“Don’t be afraid”, Andrea murmurs, “we’ll get through this together.”
“I am not afraid”, Miranda answers, and she realizes that it’s true.
To be continued…
.