Available Darkness Season 2

someone else, for whom there was no doubt of their guilt. It wasn’t hard finding truly guilty people, after all. But something about the woman had worked under his skin, and he might not have been as thorough as he usually was.
    John shook his head, thumbs on his temples, wishing he could have been there to spare Abigail the torment. Larry was right — John probably wouldn’t have made such a mistake, though there was no way to be certain. It was one thing feeding yourself, another to be responsible for feeding another. Perhaps feeling the constant pressure to provide people for Abigail to feed on made it easier to make mistakes.
    “How is she doing now?” John asked.
    “I think I found someone who can help,” Larry said, explaining that he’d just hired an au pair to watch Abigail, a nice young woman he felt would be great to have around, especially since Abigail had no other females in her life.
    Larry joked, “It’s not like I know shit about preteen girls, what they’re into, or anything about periods or shit like that. Hell, I know Abigail stopped aging, but what if she goes through puberty? I am so not prepared for periods and training bras!”
    John didn’t like the idea of someone else, someone he hadn’t vetted, being around Abigail. “How did you find the au pair? How do you know you can trust her?”
    “Relax,” Larry said. “She used to work for our neighbors across the street. They’re moving and she needed a job. It’s just a few hours a night, and half the time, I’ll probably be home, anyway. But she’ll be there for Abi. I’m basically hiring a friend for her.”
    John remembered what happened with Lydia. “What if they accidentally touch?”
    “Abi and I had a long talk. She’s wearing long sleeves, pants, and even gloves. I told Katya that Abi is a bit OCD and not to touch her.”
    “She bought that?”
    “Yeah,” Larry nodded. “There’s tons of people out there with weird disorders and shit. Hell, hit cable and you’ll see a TV show devoted to one disorder or another, all times of the day. They got one now with people who eat plastic, cat fur and other funky shit on TV now. Weird shit. People don’t even blink twice when you’re wearing gloves. Hell, you could wear a painter’s mask, and half the people wouldn’t even notice. Dude in Guns & Roses wore a bucket of chicken on his head.”
    John thought Larry was making light of the subject, but had to trust that he was making the right choice. John hadn’t thought much about the lack of a woman, or other girls, in Abigail’s life, but it did make sense that she would need a maternal figure, or a big sister at least.
    “Do you think I should stop by and see her?” John asked reluctantly.
    “I know she’d love that,” Larry said. “But maybe if she bonds with Katya, she’ll feel better.”
    John was torn. On one hand, he desperately wanted to see Abigail. He missed her more than anyone other than Hope. But at the same time, she had to grow strong and independent of him. Truth was, the agency could decide to kill him any day, and then he’d be gone forever. It would hurt Abigail far less if he was already mostly a memory.
    John said, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the Agency once I’m done. I mean, they say I’ll be free, but you and I both know we can’t fully trust them. And if they decide to get rid of me, it would hurt Abigail a hell of a lot less if I was already just a memory.”
    “You think they’d do that?”
    “I don’t know what to think,” John said. Seeing Mathews shoot an innocent woman, a mother, no less, shredded whatever safety he was feeling in his future. “But you guys are set. Right? You’ve still got money and places that they won’t find you?”
    “Yeah, yeah, we’re good. Don’t worry about it. Besides, maybe she wouldn’t bond as well with Katya if you came back right now. Maybe this is the best thing for Abi.”
    After several silent seconds, John said, “I think so. But you have to let me know if she’s not improving.”
    “Will do. And as for the other thing — Shadow. I’ll find him.”
    “Thank you.”
    “What do you want me to do afterwards? Do I let you know where he is, or set up a meeting?”
    “Depends where he’s at,” John shrugged. “If he’s surrounded by Others or Harbingers, it’s probably better that you set something up. If I walk in there, it’s gonna get ugly. Set up a meeting on neutral ground if you can. If he’s