Busy week

Mr. Jones ran the UV light over everything one last time, then flipped the lights back on, apparently satisfied with his handiwork. Aside from the presence of those two men who didn’t seem to belong there — who didn’t seem to belong anywhere — the room looked exactly the same as it had a week before.

Mr. Smith turned to me, his child-sized light gray suit somehow still spotless and unwrinkled after all that had happened. “Remember,” he said, “no one can ever know. No one.”

“But what do I tell …?”

“You don’t tell,” he said. “You can’t tell. Anyone. This never happened, understand? This never happened and we were never here.”

“But how do I explain where I’ve …”

He shrugged. “You bought a house. That takes time. It’s complicated. Granted, it’s not usually this complicated, but still.” Smith smiled that unnerving smile of his, the one that makes me grateful he’s on our side. “Just tell them you were dealing with the settlement. Tell them you were doing all of that paperwork for the FHA and make it sound like that was the only three-letter agency you’ve ever had to deal with.”

“You think they’ll buy it?”

“Trust me,” he said. “If there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s cover stories. If they bought Skylab, they’ll buy this.”

The little man stuck out a tiny hand and I shook it. He gripped it tightly as he said, “Any sign, any hint that it’s happening again and you call us.”

“The same number?”

“Any number. Just say the word and we’ll be back.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I said, “but I really hope I never see you again.”

“With any luck,” he said, heading for the door. “Mr. Jones?”

Jones peeled off his oversized latex gloves, neatly tucking one inside the other. “Thank you again for your assistance,” he rumbled, extending his room-temperature hand. I shook it, suppressing a shiver and reminding myself that he too, as unlikely as it seemed, was on our side.

“And thank you for yours,” I said. “For everything.”

And then they were gone.

I looked around the strangely quiet room, just like any other room now as far as I or anyone else could tell. The computer sat on the desk in the corner, once again just an ordinary computer.

In all the chaos and commotion of the past week, I realized, I hadn’t posted anything in forever. I think I might’ve even missed a Left Behind Friday. People will understand, I told myself. After all, I just bought a house. There was all that paperwork for the FHA. It was complicated.