“Yeah, none taken. I’m glad for the help at least.”
Quincy continued. “You guys are all pretty young and out of your depth, like anyone would be with all of this going on, just the stuff on Earth. You have enough to worry about when you get summoned. Let me take care of shit here. You need someone covering for you. I’m already doing it with the police and all of that, but you need a person who knows the truth directing a spokesperson who doesn’t know the truth, at least not yet. I will get someone to handle the media on your behalf. I also know all of your parents to some extent from these last few days and can run point on that as well. Speaking of, officially I’m only Ryan’s attorney. Technically I’m working for your folks, but we need to change that, too. You all need to make it officially me.”
“Why?” Matt asked.
Daniel answered. “Attorney-client privilege.”
“Right. The police, FBI, whoever. They can’t make me say shit.”
“What about me?” Jack asked. “Should I do this?”
Quincy nodded slowly. “I’ll have something drawn up for both you and Daniel, ready to be signed. You may not really need it now. Technically none of you have committed a crime, but there are reckless driving charges and a few others pending against Anna.”
“Great,” muttered Ryan.
Daniel felt himself glowering. She didn’t need more problems. They needed to make that shit go away, even if it meant an expensive settlement he and Ryan paid for. His eyes went to his brother, Matt, and Eric, seeing a seriousness and muted strain in their eyes, faces, and body language. This was all real. He suddenly felt like an unsupportive asshole and vowed to drop every last thing to help them. How that would manifest, he wasn’t sure, but the surrounding gear caught his eye. Research. Buying stuff. Planning. It was a start.
Eric asked, “What about civil stuff for her? Are the families suing?”
“They haven’t yet,” Quincy said, “but I expect them to. Wrongful death. That sort of thing.”
Daniel frowned. “She can’t afford that kind of shit.”
“She won’t have to,” said Ryan. “I think this is where you come in, Daniel. If mom and dad put up any resistance to anything, I need you to get them to back down. We are paying for all of this. We have all this money we don’t need and I never use. That’s changing.”
“Yeah, totally agree. I can do that.”
Quincy warned, “This is going to get expensive.”
After a pause, Eric said, “Not nearly as pricey as not doing it.”
“So I have a question,” Matt started, looking at the attorney. “Can they track our phones and all of that? I’ve been leaving mine off.”
Quincy said, “They don’t have a reason, as much as the government people were trying to claim they do, but they may still do it.”
Daniel knew how to solve this one. “New phones. I’ll buy them and new numbers today.”
Eric nodded and said, “Yeah, I was about to ask if you can get my phone from my parents. I assume they’re the ones who have it.”
“They do,” Quincy replied. “They got all of your stuff when it became apparent you were missing with the others, and your boss cooperated with police, who initially took it, but I made them give it back after they checked it for evidence.”
Jack asked, “Evidence of what?”
“Exactly. There’s nothing, so they couldn’t hold it all despite trying. Maybe they figured you’d want it so bad that you’d walk into the police station and they could interrogate you.”
Daniel interjected. “Clothes, other stuff. You need all of that.” He turned to Jack. “Can you go to each of their places to get whatever they want from home?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Eric shook his head. “Jack, I think I’d like to keep you a silent, unseen partner. We don’t want anyone thinking they should follow you because you’ll lead them to us. You need freedom to move.” He paused and then joked, “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to be seen with you.”
This met with muted laughter, and Daniel had an idea. “Listen, you guys need a break. Take a couple hours off from this bullshit. I hooked up the TV and other stuff while you were gone. Well, Susan did. I can bring the Nintendo Switch down from the house and set it up in a few minutes. Later, I think each of you needs to call your parents, preferably on video, but it can wait. Mom and Dad are at the house, Ryan, but they don’t know you’re here yet, I don’t think. I’ll keep it that way for a bit. I’ll order pizza for lunch in a few hours. Quincy can set some shit in motion. Me, too. Let me think of some ideas on what you can tell the parents so you can just forget about it for a while, and we’ll take it over later. I think we need to be on the same page, keep the story the same, as simple as possible. I think the lie you were telling before, that for you no time passes at all while you’re gone, is the easiest.”
The claim would be that one minute everything was normal. Then a white light surrounded them, and when it faded, they were in the same place. But sometimes the time of day had changed. Or the weather. Or the people who had
