Chapter 101 - A Busy Day

After consulting with Google Maps and the team for direction to the mayor's office at the City County Building, Cassandane departed. She carried Spencer's phone so they would be able to contact each other in case of an emergency. The troops shambled about, using the bathroom and breakfasting on leftovers from their time training at the abandoned house.

Mike pulled Srinivas aside. "Why is Smith here?"

"He was here whenever we arrived yesterday. I am thinking Kendra is not exclusive in dating me." Srinivas folded his arms and stared out the window.

"Sorry, Srinivas. I can't figure out why she keeps going back to that guy."

"He is very handsome man," Srinivas muttered.

"He looks like a girl," Mike said.

Spencer rounded everyone up once breakfast had concluded and marched them outside for training. Alone, Mike sat down to begin the process of recruiting. He first contacted Jimmy to let his friend know he had been reactivated as a member of the Earth Defense Army. Then he called Cop Cody from the gym and offered him the opportunity to interview with Cassandane that night. Cody accepted instantly, got the address of the apartment, and Mike got off that call.

Next, he called Fred Whittaker, formerly of the National Guard, who had been a model soldier for sixteen years until a herniated disk resulted in a medical discharge. Whittaker had been crushed when his time in the military had been cut short. It took about five seconds to get a yes out of the man. Mike called up Sean McGreary next, also a former National Guard buddy. McGreary had only served six years, having joined exclusively for the college money, but his main reason for not re-enlisting had been a desire to do something more meaningful than logistics. He had gone to school for nursing, so Mike couldn't blame him for cooling on his role as a part time truck driver for the army. Mike didn't have the man's current phone number, so he had to send a message over social media.

When they did talk, McGreary decided to play twenty questions. What kind of medical coverage did they have? Superpowered health. How much did the job pay? Probably a lot, come talk to the boss to find out the actual numbers. What rank would he have? That would depend on a lot of factors, come talk to the boss. What would be his military occupational specialty? Depends on what talents he attuned to. As the conversation wound on, Mike had to finally issue an ultimatum: agree to an interview or walk away. At which point McGreary agreed to visit that night to talk to Cassandane.

Then he began the immense task of reading and responding to all of the text messages he had received since the EDA had gone public the previous day. He had barely begun the task when a thunderous knock on the door caught his attention. The knock had come twice more before he yanked open the door to reveal the presence of a uniformed city police officer. "What can I do for you, officer?"

The cop eyed Mike for a moment before nodding his head. "You're Mike Dombroski, from the building catch."

"My boss should be talking to the mayor right about now to make our relationship with the city official," Mike said. "I'm not interested in making any statements until that is done, if that is alright with you."

"Well, Mr. Dombroski, this isn't an official visit."

Mike's corona flared out, invisible, in preparation. "Not official?"

"I spent part of yesterday wearing my own handcuffs on top of a roof."

"Ah," Mike said. "Sorry about that. The troops are a little green still."

"It was a bit of an ordeal," the cop said. "Especially as I was aware of the events happening in New York. By the time I managed to get out of my cuffs and back to my car, circumstances had changed. There was chatter on the radio about a friendly army training in Pittsburgh. No one had even noticed the fact that I hadn't checked in with dispatch in a while. So I made a questionable call and didn't report what had happened to me."

"That's convenient for us, Officer . . . ."

"Call me Joe. Like I said, I'm not here on official business."

Mike nodded. "I really appreciate that fact. Would you be able to come back here tonight? We're holding interviews for new members and you seem like a solid candidate."

Joe smiled and held out his hand for Mike to shake. "Deal. I'll see you tonight, Mike. What time?"

"Show up about dinner time. You might have to wait a few hours on the boss, we're not real sure on our timeline."

"No problem. I'll catch you later, Mike."

He closed the door and went back to his phone, a smile on his face. That made four recruits so far: Cop Cody, Staff Sergeant Whittaker, Specialist McGreary, and Officer Joe. Three of the four seemed very eager to pursue the opportunity. Mike made his way through his messages, responding when he thought it necessary, blocking other numbers to reduce future harassment. He had to spend half an hour on the phone with his mother, who had trouble believing the figure performing heroics on the television was her son. He ignored the messages from his former in-laws. That would have to wait for sure.

Once he had caught up, Mike flew off for a quick shopping trip. He picked up a little welcome gift for the boss before grabbing a late lunch of sushi.

Back at the apartment, the troops were taking a break from training while Spencer had a mini meltdown caused by a few hours of interaction with surly recruits. Mike gathered everyone together who had the kinetic talent to go over the basics of using the open and loop dimensions for corona wrestling. He had Spencer and Srinivas practice their kinetic talent in another room while they went through some very basic exercises. Due to the few hours of experience he had on top of his almost ridiculous strength advantage, handling the best efforts of the others was like wrestling an epileptic mid-seizure.

He made sure everyone had caught on to the very basics before sending Spencer off with a wad of cash to bring back dinner. She returned with rotisserie chicken, fruit salad, croissant rolls, and bags potatoe chips. While everyone ate, others began to arrive. People greeted Jimmy warmly, Varanelli jumped up to hug Whittaker and McGreary, Cop Cody received an enthusiastic fist bump from Jimmy, and Spencer almost crapped her pants at the arrival of Officer Joe. "He's cool," Mike said. "He wants to interview with the boss tonight."

"You guys do not have the space for this many people in here," Cop Cody said.

"This place is temporary. We're moving EDA headquarters very soon," Mike promised.

"I hope so," Cop Cody continued, "because it is about a million degrees in here with all the body heat."

Jimmy put an arm around Cody's shoulder. "Yeah, you're hot, all right."

Cop Cody made eye contact with Spencer and pointed a thumb at Jimmy. "You see my luck? I only attract the ones I don't want."

Jimmy held both hands over his heart as if he'd been wounded. "Why, Cody, are you racist?"

"More like sexist. I'm not equal opportunity when it comes to my love life" Cody said.

At that point, the door opened inward, pushing bodies aside. Stateira Cassandane eyed the crowded space before speaking. "We have a contract with the city and an informal agreement has been made with the federal government. We are going to be relocating to the convention center. The fourth floor has been reserved for our exclusive use." Everyone stared at her in silence, causing Cassandane to raise a single brow. "We are relocating now. Centurion Mike, Sergeant Erica, please arrange for the transportation of personal items and the cots."