Chapter Text
Jack Carter was a Wizard.
He’d ‘come out’, so to speak, to his small family of friends not that long ago and it went so incredibly well that he’d wondered how he’d ever doubted them.
Of course, that coming out had been the result of a near tragedy and, even if it had gone south, he wouldn’t have regretted telling any of them.
He was standing in Café Diem right now, as a matter of fact, watching them all interacting with others and each other.
There was Doug Fargo and Holly Marten teamed up against Zane Donovan in a checkers battle, with Grace Deacon giving them pointers on the side.
Grace’s husband and Jack’s best friend, Henry, was reading something on his tablet with Jo Lupo nearby. As if sensing the blond’s gaze, Henry glanced up and smiled warmly as he noted the Marshal’s position near ‘his’ tree. It really covered the protection rune that Jack had put everywhere.
Allison Blake was frowning at her phone, with Jim Taggart dozing across from her.
While Allison had initiated a break of sorts with Jack, it was mostly to come to terms with his magical ability. Jack was more than alright with it, especially when she had explained that they were all in this together and it wouldn’t be fair of her to have an advantage over the others with knowing more than they did.
So far, no one had had any problem, eagerly encouraging him to perform magic whenever he wanted.
That, however, hadn’t prevented Jack from worrying that they were really hiding any discomfort in order to keep him happy about how things were going.
Though, he probably didn’t need to worry about it, since Jo would have spoken to him by now about it.
“Hey, Carter,” Allison broke into his thoughts. “I hate to bother you when you’re drinking from an empty cup, but Dr. Strutger wants you in the lab.”
Jack blinked down and smiled sheepishly as he realized she was right and his coffee cup really was empty. “No problem. That’s what I’m here for, after all. Uh, why, exactly?”
She shook her head. “I think it’s so you can look after Risky.”
Oh, yeah. That Dr. Strutger.
Since Global Dynamics was a genius think tank of sorts, it was only logical that geniuses were employed.
In this case, however, the age of the geniuses involved in the staff of interns was cause for his presence at GD.
Mariska “Risky” Covington was almost eight years old and already she was delved deep into her chosen field. Dr. Strutger hadn’t felt comfortable with a child involved in testing the project, and he would only consent if Sheriff Carter were there, even though there were a bazillion safety measures in place no matter how smart she was.
“Alright,” he agreed. “After you.”
* **
By the time he had entered the lab, donned the appropriate equipment and the test was ready to begin, he was wishing for a second Vinspresso to go.
“Sorry this is taking so long,” Risky smiled brightly up at him.
“Nah, it’s fine,” he smiled back, remembering when Zoe was that age. “I understand that it needs to be safe.”
“Are we sure this test is safe?” Fargo crossed his arms from the door suspiciously.
“For the last time, yes!” Strutger scowled.
“Carter,” Allison put a hand on Fargo’s arm. “We’ll see you later, alright?”
“Okay,” he waved as the door closed behind them. “So, Risky, how did your nickname come about?”
“I like heights,” she shrugged.
“I don’t,” he wrinkled his nose. “Never have and never will.”
“Why not? It’s fun to be above the ground.”
Strutger told them to get ready and they moved to stand a good distance away as Strutger pushed the button to start the test.
Ten minutes later, the resulting explosion rocked the building.
** *