The Millennial Box by Julie Steimle (snow like ashes .TXT) 📖

the food was rather good. When the meal was over, Zormna succeeded in escaping the house. She arrived at Jeff's home by three o'clock. She glanced across the street as she waited for them to answer the door. The usual FBI car sat there, though they appeared to be weary, tired, and very disgruntled that they had to spend the holiday sitting in a car on a cold street watching what they thought were three Martians messing with an American family.

Alex opened the door. He stepped aside and smirked. "Come in."

Nodding politely, she walked into the empty living room and looked around. "Isn't anyone here?"

Alex was still smirking. "They're where they usually are."

She sighed and nodded. Of course. They would not be anywhere else on an American holiday. They would be working. But honestly, if they had wanted to put on a show for the FBI they really should have prepared a dinner at least.

Zormna walked to the first room on the left and knocked on the door.

It opened a crack and then opened farther. Eric stood aside and let her in. She stepped inside the dimly lit room, seeing nearly all the usual suspects working on their stations. Aunt Mary was using the hairline radio, and Uncle Orren was writing something on a map and a notepad. Aaron was making remarks to Orrlar and glancing up at Zormna, but Jeff was working intensely at the computer, poring over a new graphic-loaded email. He turned around once Zormna walked to his side.

"This is some feast," Zormna said with a grin.

Jeff lifted his eyes to her. She could see that he had not rested much. His eyes were redder than usual, and the bruise around his eye had turned slightly green.

"Well, the real feast comes later," he said, stretching his back. Then turning to the computer, he said, "We got the email. There are over fifty people that handled the box, Zormna. I don't know how we're going to sort all this unless we have something to compare it to."

Zormna crouched closer and peered at the screen. The screen displayed pictures, names, addresses and brief backgrounds of each individual - a thorough and well-done job, no doubt to make up for losing the box in the first place. She scrolled down the information on the screen, examining each one. She ticked a few off the list right away.

"Oh, so certain, are you," Jeff remarked, watching what she was doing.

She shook her head as she continued down the list. "Honestly, Jafarr, you really should get more sleep. If you had you would see that these people could not possibly be a part of the theft. This man could not possibly be Arrassian. He's got brown eyes."

"Ever hear of contacts?" Jeff asked wearily.

Sighing, Zormna continued, "Ok, but what about this woman? She's black. Not just her skin, but racially she isn't Arrassian, so she isn't one of the guilty."

Jeff nodded and then pointed to the next one she ticked off. "And him?"

"Isn't it obvious that he is Indian?" she said, reading his name, "Jahmar Bindi. Come on Jafarr, look at him. No Arrassian has that nose and those long features."

Shaking his head, he pulled the mouse away from her. "The possibility is that Jahmar Bindi could have gotten plastic surgery. I can't rule anyone out."

Zormna straightened up. "Fine. Then what do you need me for?"

He sighed again. "Because...I need to think, and I've heard all their ideas. I just thought you'd like me to hear yours."

Zormna glanced around at the others in the room. Uncle Orren was watching them, but he let his eyes drop back to the map when he saw her look. Eric was watching them, but he did not bother to avert his eyes. He even waved.

"Well, what did they say?" she asked.

Jeff leaned back in his chair, stretching out his lower back and cracking his spine. "Orrlar thinks that we might get some information from Sicamore's 'contacts', but I don't think they'd help us willingly. Eergvin suggested we threaten them again, and Asdrov thought we might just tap their phones and keep watch on their computer contacts, but Al," Jeff laughed, "said, 'why don't we just put a tracer on Sicamore's car and wait until they find the thieves.' He nearly hit me when I laughed at him."

"What did Malia say?" Zormna asked, looking back at Aunt Mary. The woman blushed, but kept to her work as if she was not listening.

Jeff smiled. "She didn't have anything to suggest. She was waiting to see what you thought."

Zormna sat down in the chair next to him. "How nice," she muttered. Looking at the computer a moment, Zormna then glanced back at Aaron. "Sicamore's parents have a computer, don't they?"

Jeff nodded. "It's an old one, but it has internet access."

Zormna nodded to herself. "So do the McLennas." Looking to Jeff, she thought out loud, "Is it possible, do you think, that there might be a High Class organization web site on the internet?"

Jeff blinked. He peered down at the list. "There might." He then pulled the email account out of the way and accessed the web browser. He watched as the search engine dug up several sites and listed them onto the screen. "Let's see...high class dining.... No. High class homes...No, that's a real estate business. High Class...no that's a fashion site. These all seem no good."

"Try searching the word Arras," Eric suggested, stepping away from the wall behind them.

Jeff typed in the word and clicked his mouse on search, but it only brought up things about these tunnels in France, a rather humorous coincidence but useless nonetheless.

Shaking her head, Zormna muttered, "This will take forever. Wouldn't it be better if we just sneak onto the Sicamores' computer and see which sites they have bookmarked?"

Jeff looked back at her and laughed. Standing up, he grabbed Zormna's head and kissed her on the forehead. "Zormna, you're a genius!"

Zormna stepped back in shock. She watched Jeff walk over to Uncle Orren to get his cell phone. Aunt Mary smirked, watching Zormna make a face as she wiped her forehead - though she did it like she had just been stabbed in the head and wanted to stop the bleeding.

Using the speed dial, Jeff waited with an amazed grin on his face, staring at the ceiling and shaking his head.

"Hello? Hi. This is Big Z. I have a job for you." He listened as the other side spoke back, and Jeff nodded happily. "Good, I'm glad things are ok. Listen, I need you to break into their house and get on their computer.... Yes. Yes. I need you to get onto their internet and record their bookmarked sites.... That's right. Yes, and send it to us A.S.A.P.  Yes. Thank you R.S. I'll contact you if we need anything else. Yeah. Bye."

He turned off the phone and smiled at Zormna.

"Ok. We have that taken care of." Then he peered at Zormna and narrowed his eyes in thought. "I wonder..." He sat opposite her and grabbed a hold of her shoulders.

"You're not going to kiss me again, are you?" she said, pulling away.

Shaking his head, still smiling, he said, "No. I wonder if you could get on the McLenna's computer and - "

"Oh no," Zormna pulled out of his grip, fleeing across the room from the idea and him. "No. Mr. McLenna would skin me alive if he found me in his study snooping on his computer."

Jeff followed her around the drawing table where the radio sat, but she dodged to get farther still. "But if you could just get us some - "

"No. No. No," she protested, fleeing. "I couldn't even blink in that direction unless I was in his office to be lectured at. Jafarr, I'm serious - he guards that computer like a child. He'd kill me." Zormna stood back, staring at him in fright at the thought.

Giving up Jeff stopped chasing her and sighed. However, his grin returned. He looked up at her again. "What about Jennifer?"

Zormna emphatically shook her head. "Are you crazy? I don't want her to get in trouble with her father. It is bad enough that he blames me for corrupting her, but he'll throw me out on my ear if I as so much as get her to do something for me."

"Not if he doesn't know," he said. "Jennifer can say she needs to use his computer for a school project. What school project is Miss Bianchi making you guys do next anyway? Christmas Around the World? She can say that she needs to find more Irish recipes or something. He let you use his computer for the Culture Fair, didn't he?"

"No. Sam and I went to the mall and got the information at an Internet café," Zormna walked away, back toward the computer. After that kiss, Zormna didn't want to stand too close to him - especially when he still had that smile on his face. The last thing she wanted was her first kiss to come from the guy everyone had been accusing her of sleeping with - even if he would only do it out of misapplied enthusiasm. Arrassian men were passionately tempered and kissed a lot. It was only their awareness of her military upbringing that had kept them in line.

"But he would let her, wouldn't he?" Jeff pressed the question, not seeing Zormna's reasoning in both instances.

Zormna sighed and looked down at the floor. "I suppose. If it was obvious I had nothing to do with the project."

Jeff then nodded. "Well then, I'll just have to talk to Jennifer."

She shook her head again. "Mr. McLenna hates you. I think I'd better ask her, if we have to ask her." Zormna frowned. "I just don't like tangling her in our messes."

Hearing it called a mess, made Jeff cringe. "I know, but in a way it is also her mess. And if she can help - and you know she wants to help - then I don't see why we can't use her."

With resignation Zormna nodded. "I'll ask her tonight."

 

Thanksgiving at Jeff's house commenced after an hour in the room. Aunt Mary had left early and made a noisy fuss about turkey and stuffing for the FBI to hear. And the others vocalized in festive voices about cranberry sauce and the mashed potatoes. But the actual fare on the table was nothing of the sort. And Zormna stared at it with real gratitude as it all looked like foods from home.

Jeff narrated for her and the FBI's benefit, pointing to each item, "I know you had Thanksgiving dinner at the McLenna's but every house is different. My Aunt Mary is an impeccable cook."

Alex nodded, chuckling. He mouthed and gestured to some of the dishes then made two fists of thumbs-up for her to see his favorites.

"This is my Aunt Mary's basted and roasted turkey with cornbread stuffing." He pointed to a stack of bread bowls in which Aunt Mary was ladling in a gravy-like soup with meat chunks. The chunks of meat were Spam. "And over here is the homemade cranberry sauce."

He pointed to a pudding which was a creamy yellowish color yet did not quite smell like vanilla.

Zormna mouthed, "Kalger?"

Alex and Jeff nodded, grinning.

Jeff whispered, "Bavarian cream, actually, but it is really close." Then he said louder, "And here are a few other things. And dessert - pumpkin pie."

There actually was pumpkin pie. Three of them. Apparently the entire household loved the flavor. The McLennas had not served pie. They had sweet potatoes with marshmallows on them and some cranberry scones which they liked. But the other things that Jeff had not mentioned was this drink which Zormna recognized immediately was tsilk. It was her favorite drink from Home.

"It looks wonderful," Zormna murmured.

Jeff pulled out her chair for her, smiling.

Blinking back at him, she flustered.

"It is customary," he said. "As you are a guest in our home, and a lady."

Zormna nodded and sat down. But her face was pink.

Throughout the dinner the 'family'