Mr Tall and Thin gave a quick nod and salute which involved touching his chest and leaving Mr Shotgun behind. The horror of a giant stepped up and, in complete silence, smoothly led them off their poor and dingy dung cart. The entire group, with Kate oddly ahead, were led to a whole other kind of cart.
Its black sleek beauty and shape had taken the attention of the entire group. The aerodynamic design made Kate think of a grand tiger in a cheap zoo. It wasn't supposed to be there. It needed to be set free, Kate's boot crunching down on the gear like she was stomping out a cigarette.
Kate sat first and sat pressing back into the leather, the rest followed suit and they took off and passed a concrete park, that was a miniature of all of Florida? It was a satellite photo that put in its centre Miami, beach included, skyscraper, military base and space port too.
They passed right over a glass ramp to a door to what could only be described pure luxury.
If the last area was Mount Olympus, then they were even higher. There was an indoor pool and below it, in its own world, a hot spring of rock and steam. That did not include the fountain directly in front of them that was shaped like a collection ice goddesses, togas and all, a different coloured liquid pouring from somewhere, open palms, ice jars, even one with joined bodies where it fell from their joined lips. People took from glasses and collected from them. One waiter filling champagne flutes. The tweens' jaws dropped and they turned to Kate with wide eyes.
Kate's brow quirked and then she saw them.
By that fountain were couches with a group of… teens didn't feel like the right word, they were… young men. But holy cow were they beautiful men. Athletic, carved by the heavens, in shirts that were sewn so thin they flowed and fluttered despite the clear lack of wind. The youngest had to be 24 with a dark olive to them, a stunning beauty and soft but angular jawline, the softest of the group of boys. Some of them held champagne glasses. Many of them had… well 'Italian faces'. What was an 'Italian face'? Kate couldn't say outside of pointing at romance novels or a holo-com advertising obnoxiously expensive cologne.
Behind the beautiful boys beyond the grand fountain, glass alloy walls showed the beach, it was hidden behind swirling and roiling waters, the white froth and high waves were mesmerising.
But the beauty didn't last as Kate was poked in the spine.
She turned only to be surrounded by tweens.
"Yo girl." Called Button.
"It's Kaitlyn." Kate mumbled but they were already trampling past whatever she had to say.
"Yea, have you ever been up here before?"
It took effort to keep Kate from rolling her eyes. Oh sarcasm, she would eat up their nonsense and shit out a rainbow.
"No, we just moved here. We did visit one to observe though. That was by the Jacksonville space construction site." And that, right there caught the attention of Mr & Mrs Principal.
"Jacksonville station?" Asked Mr Principal. "What were you guys doing there?"
"Mom said she was 'going over her world'." Kate said, rolling her eyes and shrugging.
Their faces widened while the tweens looked to their parents, trying to figure out what it meant.
"Do you know anyone here?" Asked Mr Principal.
"Nope." Kate said simply.
"Should we wait for her, before someone stops us?"
"Oh no. It's all under my mom's name. Meredith Simone, that'll do enough before she gets there. Watch!" Kate said with new excitement.
Kate waved over a waiter holding a tray of champagne tulip glasses and after few words they were all offered one, even the girls. Mr Principal reached out to block the waiter when a unified whine escaped the tweens. It flared out of them like a siren's song. It was the most childlike thing in the world. That got Kate's full attention. Kate had no idea what she was feeling as she observed as, amazingly, Mr Principal shattered like glass. His face puffed up then melted to mush as he nodded and waved the waiter on.
"Not too much, you're the principal's daughters, that means something."
The girls were united in their nonsense appeasement and took a glass each.
"We're about to meet someone my mom knows." Kate said with a strange difficulty.
Kate pointed them forward before rushing ahead to hide the fact that she was rubbing her chest, smothering a pain that had suddenly flared.
It was a thorn in her brain and not in the plan, she needed to pass the baton, even if it meant passing it to Griff, but that would ruin things, timing was everything.