Page 21 of Breaking the Dark

“Hi.”

“Hi.” He sounds slightly nervous. “How you doin’?”

“I’m good.”

“I saw your missed call yesterday.”

“Yeah. Sorry. Nothing important. Just wanted to say hi.”

There’s a weird silence on the line and Jessica’s mind finds ways to explain it, most of which involve the presence of another woman. “You okay?” she asks.

“Yeah. All good. Just getting ready for another day protecting Matt ‘maybe I’m Daredevil, maybe I ain’t’ Murdock. What are you up to?”

She laughs. “I’m at my neighbor’s place. Feeding his cat.”

“A cat?” He issues a small laugh. “Can’t picture it.”

“Hold on.” She moves the phone from her ear, then angles the camera at her and the cat, takes a snap, and texts it to Luke. “Check it out.”

She waits a beat for him to open it and then enjoys the sounds of his laughter. “That’s a big cat.”

“Yeah. He’s big. I almost lost him a few days ago. He jumped out the window, I almost had to…”

“Fly?”

“Yeah. I almost had to fly.” She breathes out heavily. It feels good to talk to someone who gets it.

“And how was that?”

“It was not great. I was pretty relieved when he jumped back into my arms.”

“Maybe he sensed it?”

“Ha!” Jessica smiles widely. “Yes. That’s what I thought. He’s been different around me ever since. I wondered if maybe, you know, animals, maybe they can smell it.”

“I’m sure they can. They can smell tumors and low blood sugar and seizures. I’m sure they can smell us.”

The conversation halts again for a moment. Jessica closes her eyes and listens to Luke’s breathing.

“You okay, Jessica?” he asks after a moment.

“I’m—I’m okay. Got a big job going.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Kind of out of my depth. But that’s okay. I’m on top of it.”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

“It’s a strange one. Some teenagers acting like androids or some such. And I have to go to the UK.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah, I know. Straight out of my comfort zone. I’ve never even left the country before.”

“Hey, y’know, you should check in with my friend Danny. Danny Rand. He travels a lot, spends a lot of time in the UK. He might be able to give you some tips?”

“Oh,” she says softly. She worked alongside Danny back in her active super hero days, and as with everyone from that era of her life, the thought of seeing him again makes her feel edgy. “Cool. Good idea. Thank you. Send me his number and I’ll message him.”