Taking a closer look, Shawn tried to ‘see’ anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was present that would’ve given away the vigilante’s identity. He handed the card to Gus, who looked it over before handing it back to Lassiter.
“I got nothing,” Shawn said.
Gus smiled, but hid it before anyone could see, even Shawn.
That was the hardest part of the past few months; keeping his identity secret from Shawn. With his buddy’s hyper-observant gift, Gus had to make sure he kept everything out of sight at his apartment. He dared not go to the Psych office to change into or out of the costume. He never said a word about The Gray Spirit to Lassie, Shawn, Henry or Juliet, afraid to give anything away.
“Gus? Are you okay?” Juliet asked.
“I’m fine, Juliet. I’m just a little tired,” Gus replied, stifling a yawn in the process.
“Well, I’m not sure there is much else you and Shawn can do tonight. Why don’t you guys go home and get some sleep,” Juliet said, turning to Shawn.
“I won’t be able to sleep until you’re there, Jules,” Shawn said sweetly.
“I’m sure we won’t be much longer, Shawn. You go on home. I’ll see you later,” she answered back, giving Shawn a quick peck on the cheek. She walked away toward Lassiter, who was staring daggers at her.
“What’s Lassie’s problem tonight? He’s crankier than usual,” Gus asked as they walked back to the Blueberry.
“I think he’s been worried about Marlowe. She hasn’t been feeling well the last couple of days,” Shawn said.
“How do you know that?” Gus questioned.
“Hey, I’m his partner’s boyfriend, remember?” Shawn replied.
They both buckled up and Gus drove toward Juliet’s house, listening to Shawn talk about how these cases were similar to when The Mantis was around.
“I mean, what if The Gray Spirit is like The Mantis and is only after the money these kids make from selling those hot items?” Shawn asked when they pulled into Juliet’s drive.
“Let’s just talk about this tomorrow at the office. I need my sleep, Shawn,” Gus said, trying to change the subject.
“Well, okay. But you owe me some Jerk Chicken and a pineapple smoothie for lunch. Deal?”
“Deal. Goodnight, Shawn,” Gus nodded.
Shawn shut the door and walked inside the house. Gus watched until the door was shut before backing out of the drive to head back to his apartment.
‘Now that Shawn is home, I can go back to tracking the next location those kids are going to hit,’ Gus thought.
The next morning, Gus sat at his desk at CCP, looking over his route for the day. He was back to the normal grind, for now. Tonight, he’d go back to patrolling the streets as The Gray Spirit. A small smile spread across his face.
A knock at his door made Gus look up. It was Shawn, holding a takeout box and a drink carrier. The look on his face was pure and innocent. Gus didn’t like it one bit.
“Gus, buddy! Lunch time!” Shawn said, closing the door behind him.
“You said yesterday it was my treat,” Gus said slowly.
Shawn set the food on Gus’ desk, “It is. I used your card.”
Gus sighed and shook his head, “Shawn, how many times have I told you to say out of my wallet?”
“Like you won’t be happy with the rewards!” Shawn said, as he had said many a time before.
Shawn opened the box and pulled out two Styrofoam boxes. He handed one to Gus and then pulled up a chair for himself.
While they ate, Gus’ mind wandered to the previous night. One of the kids had hinted toward a possible hit that coming weekend. A really big one by the sound of it. Gus was, in a way, wondering if he should give a heads up to the SBPD or just stake it out himself.
‘Maybe I should just stake it out myself,’ he thought finally.
“Buddy? Are you okay? You kind of looked deep in thought,” Shawn asked with a mouthful of jerk chicken.
Gus took a sip of his smoothie before answering. He thoughtfully put down his drink and turned to his best friend.
“I’m fine, Shawn. I just have a lot on my mind,” Gus said truthfully.
“It’s this case, isn’t it?” Shawn asked.
Gus blinked for a moment, thinking of what to say next. In truth, that is what it was. The case. He was on the case as the Gray Spirit, too. Obviously Shawn couldn’t know that.
“Yeah, in a way,” Gus said finally.
“Look, Gus, with us on the case, plus Jules and Lassie, we’re bound to find out who this Gray Spirit is,” Shawn said, taking a sip of his own smoothie after.
Gus looked at him funny, “The identity of the Gray Spirit? I thought we were looking for the leader of the thieves?”
“That’s what the chief wants Lassie and Jules to find. We were hired officially to find the identity of the Gray Spirit.”
Gus almost choked on his chicken. He looked down at his computer screen and took a deep breath.
“Are you doing La-mas again?” Shawn asked, amused.
“No, Shawn. I’m merely taking a deep breath. This is reminding me of the whole Mantis case,” Gus defended himself.
“Dude, I know! We may have to pull out the old costumes again! The Catch and Tap-Man!”
“Tap-Man and The Catch, Shawn,” Gus argued.
“Come on, Son!” Shawn stated.
Gus tsked, then turned toward the window. Shawn took this as a cue to start in on a movie quote-a-thon. Just before he’d reached the B’s, Gus stopped him.
“Shawn! I have to get back to work. I’ll see you later at the Psych office, okay?” Gus said, throwing away the remnants of their lunch.
Shawn stood up, taking the hint. “Gotcha, Buddy. I’ll go back to Psych and do some research on the thieves.”
“Wait, you’re actually volunteering to do research?” Gus asked in astonishment.
“It’ll also give me a chance to research everything about the Gray Spirit. Once I can find some evidence, figuring his identity won’t be difficult,” Shawn said. He walked out right afterward before Gus could even move.
‘Thankfully, I don’t leave evidence behind,’ Gus thought, smiling as he watched Shawn walk away.
*********************************************
Saturday had come, the day of the big robbery. Gus, ever prepared, had his costume, his weapons and himself ready to fight. His cell phone rang as he was getting the last of his equipment together.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello, Gus,” came Rachel’s voice. He smiled wide.
“Hey, my English Crumpet,” Gus replied.
Rachel’s laughter made him feel good inside. “Gus, I called to ask if you could watch Max tonight? I need to work late and my usual nanny is out of town.”
Gus’ face fell. If he didn’t watch for that robbery, who knows what would happen, “Oh, Rachel, I can’t! I’m on a case with Shawn,” he lied.
Rachel sighed into the receiver, “Oh. You can’t let Shawn do this on his own?”
“I’m sorry, Rachel. We’re going undercover and he needs me to help him out,” Gus apologized.
He could hear Rachel say something to Max along the lines of ‘No, he can’t make it’. She then turned back to the phone.
“Hopefully I can find someone. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye,” she said, then hung up before Gus could get a word in.
Sighing, he hung up the phone and looked around. He took a deep breath (he seemed to be doing that a lot lately) and grabbed his bag. Just before he opened the door, his phone rang again.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hey, Gus! I need a break from this case for a few hours. Let’s go see the Back to the Future marathon at the Cineplex!” Shawn said.
“Shawn, I can’t. I’m going to dinner with Rachel tonight,” Gus lied again.
Shawn whined, “Guuuuss! Please! I need to see some Jennifer part duex.”
“Shawn, the first Jennifer was better. And I can’t. Why don’t you take Juliet?” Gus said.
For a moment, Shawn was silent. “She can’t go, either. I’ll…I’ll see if Dad wants to go. Better yet, I’ll stay here at the office and watch it on Blu-Ray.”
“Blu-Ray? We don’t have a player, Shawn!”
“We do as of today. I went back to the electronics store for some research and the guy sold it to me,” Shawn said.
“You mean to me. You used my card again, didn’t you?” Gus asked.
He heard a click and growled.
“Shawn,” he said to the air.
Shaking his head, he just walked out the door with his bag. He would take care of Shawn later. Right now, he had a duty to perform.