“Amber, don’t be rude,” Eliza scolded. “He didn’t have time. He had to come back early, remember?”
“Actually, I did get something,” I corrected. Amber’s eyes lit up as I spoke. “I left it back in Bermuda, though. My friend Naomi is going to bring it to me today when she gets back, though. I actually need to thank her for hauling all of my stuff around.”
“What do you say, Amber?” Eliza raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
“Thank you, Uncle Charlie,” Amber grinned before turning her attention back to the TV.
“We’re lucky to have you, Charlie,” Eliza smiled. “You’re going to spoil her rotten, though,”
I chuckled in response. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t have any of my own kids, and I liked seeing Amber’s reaction every time I got her something.
“I better go get ready,” I said as I got up off the couch about an hour later. “They’ll probably be here any minute so that we can go pick up Patel from the airport.”
“Okay,” Eliza smiled. “Have fun.”
I nodded as I walked into my bedroom to get dressed. Through the window, I could see that the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. It was mercifully much cooler at night in Las Vegas than it was during the day, which meant I wouldn’t have to worry about being sweaty and uncomfortable while we were out tonight. As I got dressed, I began to get more excited about the evening. I’d been hesitant at first when Miranda had called to tell me about her plans. I wasn’t really into partying, and the idea of stumbling around Las Vegas amid all the drunks and tourists wasn’t exactly my idea of fun.
Regardless, I was happy about how the case had turned out, and the idea of going out drinking and gambling with my team actually didn’t sound bad.
I turned as I heard a rapid knock on the door.
“Charlie!” Miranda yelled through the closed front door. “You ready yet? Naomi’s plane came in early. We gotta go!”
I came out of the room just as Amber was pulling the door open.
“Hello,” she chirped happily.
“Hey, cutie pie,” Miranda smiled as she knelt down to ruffle Amber’s curls. “Where’s your uncle?”
“Here,” I deadpanned as I walked up to the door. “Do you make it a habit to scream through people’s front doors like that?”
“Nope,” Miranda smiled. “Just yours. You ready or what?”
“Sorry, Charlie,” Junior huffed as he caught up to Miranda. “I told her we should just call from the car, but she came sprinting up here.”
“I don’t have time to wait,” Miranda shrugged. “Come on, let’s go. The night is young, and I’m ready to start drinking.”
I laughed as I bade my goodbyes to Eliza and Amber. It was funny. When I first joined MBLIS nearly a year ago, I never would have imagined myself going out to celebrate with my coworkers. Right now, though, I couldn’t imagine giving it up for anything.
Epilogue
“Wow,” Juniper sighed. “So you investigated all of these international crimes, and your office was based in Las Vegas? That’s so cool.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I agreed with a smile.
“So, which part did you like more?” she asked eagerly.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Between traveling and Las Vegas,” she clarified. “I mean, jetting around the world to stop bad guys sounds awesome, but Vegas sounds super cool, too. How did your night on the town go? Did you win a lot of money or anything?”
“Whoa, slow down, babe,” Mark chuckled. “You’re bombarding the guy with questions.”
“Sorry,” Juniper smiled sheepishly. “I’ve just never heard a story like that. I mean, I’ve seen movies and stuff, but you’re like a real secret agent!”
“It wasn’t really a secret,” I smiled. “Though MBLIS did try to keep itself relatively unknown. It was easier for us to work when people couldn’t see us coming. As for your question, there were different things that I liked about both aspects of the job.”
“Like what?” Mark asked.
“Well, you’re right about how fun it was to travel around the world,” I nodded at Juniper. “It was always satisfying going on a new adventure somewhere foreign and exotic, but there was a lot of excitement around Las Vegas, too, especially after I became the director and stopped flying around the world. And I don’t really remember how that night went, to be honest. It’s been so many years now. I do remember we were all hungover the next morning.”
“Sounds like a fun night,” Mark commented.
“It was,” I smiled fondly as I thought back on that night. I’d kept in contact with everyone there that night and was still on good terms with them to this day.
“Oh, so you became the boss?” Juniper asked. “That’s cool. Can you tell us another story? One from when you were in charge?”
“I suppose I could,” I chuckled. “Although, it’s starting to get pretty late, are you sure you have time for another one? Weren’t you two trying to wait the heat out?”
“Oh wow, you’re right,” Juniper exclaimed as she turned to look out the window. The sun was beginning to set and was casting orange beams of light across the dining hall. “I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.”
“The temperature’s gone down, too,” I added. “Looks like it’s down to sixty now. It’s supposed to hover around the high fifties for the rest of the night. Are you sure you two don’t want to stay the night? There are plenty of vacancies, and it gets really dark up here in the mountains.”
“I wouldn’t mind spending a night here,” Juniper remarked as she took a look around the dining room. “It’s super cute, in a rustic kind of way. But no, we should get going. It’s more fun hiking at night, anyway. And if we do wait until tomorrow, we’ll just have to deal with the heat again.”
“We could definitely use some food, though,” Mark interjected. “Our supplies are running pretty low. There isn’t much around here
