The TALONS Files: the chronicles of telepathic agent Ryan Dart

A Gray Monday

Ryan sat in his room, afraid to do anything. He wasn't quite sure why. He just knew he had this unshakable feeling consume him.

The feeling oddly reminded him of the bay in December, a thin sheet of Ice crusting its surface. He and Damon had ventured on that thin sheet when they were fourteen. Every step forward, Ryan envisioned his doom, fearing finding a patch that was too thin to support him. The comfortable thing would have been avoiding another step forward, staying on a spot that Ryan believed could support his weight. So right now, because Ryan felt the same way, he was afraid to move from his current situation.

Ryan knew he could turn on the TV. Yet, if Scam Likely stormed the room, would Ryan hear the man in time? Ryan wanted to go out and let loose, to shake off the fact that he was set to be punished. Yet, Ryan felt that would only make him an easy target.

There seemed to be no real answer, though he knew sitting on his sofa and staring at the Title Town Brewing Company's train depot building was not the healthiest thing to do. The gray skies seemed a numbing backdrop. Yet, he could think of little else.

That's when Ryan's iPhone rattled it's melodic factory setting ringtone. Ryan checked it cautiously. "Hey," Ryan answered after seeing that it was Damon.

"Hey man, I was watching the news! That car chase in Michigan didn't happen to be the result of my handy work?"

Ryan couldn't help a smile. "Sure was, you actually saved my butt."

"Glad I could help." Damon's voice was in absolute awe. Then it recovered, as if slapped in the face by the real reason for the phone call. "Hey, are you back home?"

Ryan swallowed, "Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm going to put the finishing touches on the Four Runner then."

"Okay, What would those be?"

"It's a surprise,"

"Seriously Damon, I absolutely need the car tomorrow, you have to finish it when you say you will."

"Yeah, and I will. The reason why it took so long was because I was trying to integrate this feature. It just took a lot longer than I thought. But integrating the software should be a piece of cake now. I've worked on the app all weekend, while you were off saving the world."

Ryan let out a soft appreciative laugh. 'That is actually the truth. No real sarcasm there. I was saving the world.' "There's an app involved?"

"Yeah, I made it available on the app store."

"You can do that?"

"Sure can, you just have to get it approved by Apple, which I did."

"What's the app then?"

"Psycho Spy."

Ryan chuckled. "That's great."

"Thought you'd like it."

"I really don't like that nickname, but it's starting to grow on me."

"Ok, Meet me at the ramp at 5:00. I'll give a brief demonstration. Don't worry, I'll reinstall the grappling hook and top off the rockets for flying mode."

"Cool, I don't know if I'll need it, but it might come in handy. See you then."

"Yeah, Later." Damon replied. The phone went silent.