Red Rainbow by G Johanson (best e reader for academics txt) 📕

said, reminding her of where they were, intruders at one in the morning. The other stranger emerged (not that Patience was particularly known to them) from what Hilaire took to be one of the bedrooms. She was a pretty thing, a dark-haired blonde with a little gap between her teeth, revealed as she had her mouth open a fraction as she surveyed them. She stood by her man in a long cream blouse and bare legs, placing her hand on his shoulder. She whispered in his ear but not quietly enough, Florence responding to her question.

“Yes, I am Florence. Are you Mrs Phantom?”

“I think you should take the mask off,” the Love Phantom’s lover suggested to him.

“We know of your power, Florence. I have a power of my own, less lethal but effective in its own way. Scoff all you like, but those who see my face fall in love with me.” This was some claim that the Love Phantom made to them – and quite possibly true.

“Prove it,” Florence said, challenging him.

“I have a lifetime of proof. I put this on as a courtesy to you both. I can’t wear it in my everyday life, but I do try and protect people wherever possible from exposure to it. That is how I can protect Patience. If anybody comes to threaten her, I can talk them round.”

Florence kept a straight face though stared at Hilaire and tried to make her laugh. Hilaire looked away from her to the Love Phantom. “We believe you, we know very well of unusual powers. My name is Hilaire Poirier, another wanted woman.”

“You look different to your picture. Understandably so, I get it,” the Love Phantom said. “I haven’t heard your name for a long time.”

“I’ve been out of town,” Hilaire explained. It was clear from what he said that he’d heard of her and knew how hot it had been for her, offering as much proof as they could provide that they had no affiliation to their occupiers. Patience was only wanted; they were the Most Wanted. “My posters have come down, and Patience’s have gone up. Can we see her just to see she’s alright?”

“I don’t get why mine haven’t gone up,” Florence commented.

“They’re after you with urgency, but it’s all being kept hush-hush. They’ll get the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, whoever deals with you,” the Love Phantom said. “We’ll ask her if she wants to speak to you on the condition you go if she doesn’t.”

“We’re old pals, Phantom, she laundered my undergarments. Black lace if you’re wondering. She’ll want to see me,” Florence said.

His lover took the cue and went to the other bedroom. The Love Phantom focused on Hilaire, the reasonable one of the duo. “The things I read about you, I wasn’t quite sure if you and your sister had powers.”

“Show him,” Florence said. “She can lift items with her mind, big shit too.”

“She’s summed it up there. Everything looks perfectly in place here, I’ll leave things alone.”

“I don’t mind,” the Love Phantom replied. “They may take a while. She’ll have to get dressed.”

“You sure?”

“It doesn’t matter if you break anything. It’s not my main residence, I can get replacements on expenses.”

Hilaire lifted up the sideboard a few inches, Florence spurring her on to do better, knowing what she was capable of. “He can make the whole world love him – show him more than that!”

Patience had thrown a dress on and stood at the back of the room with the Love Phantom’s lover keeping a protective arm around her.

“Hello again,” Florence said. “Pack your bags, the rescue party is here.”

“Thank you for the offer, genuinely. I’m surprised.”

“I’m Hilaire, I’m in your boat too, as is Florence. We’re all wanted by the Nazis, so you know we couldn’t turn you in if we wanted to. Which we don’t!” Hilaire said, aware she was presenting their case for sanctuary badly. Patience was going to want to stop with her fellow glamorous young people here rather than come back with a pair of old biddies – especially if they told her what a hovel she was going back to. Adult Eros or Haggard Vampire as roommate – tough one. “We figured out that Deveral Meyer’s funeral was a trap, so we checked out who attended. We’ve been looking out for you ever since.”

Florence added to the pitch. “You know what happened at the theatre, right? The word is on the street, if not the details. You know what I can do. Don’t you think you’d be safer with us over playing gooseberry here?”

“They’re hunting you down as a top priority...” the Love Phantom said, pointing out the folly in taking refuge with someone with a gigantic target on their back.

“As they should. As I would expect considering our respective positions,” Florence replied.

“She’s safe with us,” the Love Phantom said. “That aspect of the mess you’ve caused is sorted. If you want to help...”

“Mess? I took 87 Nazis out for you, you ungrateful so and so.”

“85,” the Love Phantom said, unafraid (and, in fact, eager) to correct her. “Two survived, though are still added to the repr...”

“Not a chance,” Florence said emphatically.

“That’s what I was told, and they knew details about your show nobody else could have known,” Patience said, civil in how she related this, unlike Florence and the Love Phantom who were on the verge of an argument.

“Don’t forget the 14 police that went to arrest her the following afternoon,” the Love Phantom said, the death tally very close to triple figures.

“None of them survived either. Come on then, Patience, don’t try mine,” Florence said.

Patience looked to her roommates and said, “Whatever you two think, I’ll do.”

“There are no guarantees, but I can promise you that our resistance is less violent and more careful,” the Love Phantom said.

“I’m not going to apologise for resistance involving resisting,” Florence fired back.

“87 of our people are going to be executed because of what you did. We’re trying to stop that. My