The truck rolled to a stop beside the gleaming aircraft. Mindy jumped out first, Anny tucked in her carrier. James followed, eyes on the horizon.
Evelyn hesitated for a second, then smiled to herself. "You really are different," she murmured. "This might actually be interesting."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The private jet sliced cleanly through a band of evening clouds, sunlight washing the cabin in gold. James sat across from Evelyn Salt, half reading, half watching Mindy wander the aisle with Anny nestled in her arms.
The cat's collar caught the light—a sleek black band with a faint blue pulse under the surface. The beacon blinked once every ten seconds, syncing to the Nexus Baton clipped discreetly at Mindy's side. Tony Stark had designed it himself: a simple, disguised tactical link between a girl and her partner.
[Cortana: "Anny's tracker is stable. But Disneyland's internal network grid will cause signal congestion. Expect minor lag in dense areas."]
James smirked faintly. "A few seconds of lag in a place that size? Wonderful."
Evelyn looked up from her notes. "Sorry?"
"Just talking to myself," he said, closing his book.
The jet touched down at Los Angeles International, and within the hour, a hotel driver escorted them to the towering glass facade of the Grand Pacific. The presidential suite overlooked the ocean. Evelyn handled check-in smoothly—professional, composed, and observant. She never stopped cataloging details about him, but James acted as if he didn't notice.
Anny, however, was less composed. The flight had left her curled in Mindy's arms the whole way. Now, finally on solid ground, she leapt free and padded around the suite with curious little chirps before collapsing on a leather armchair.
The next morning, Disneyland.
One of the Happiest Place on Earth
Crowds pressed in from every side, music swelling through hidden speakers. Balloons, mascots, and the sweet smell of fried food swirled together in a kaleidoscope of color and chaos.
Mindy, wearing a purple ball cap and the Nexus Baton clipped to her belt, was wide-eyed. "It's bigger than I thought!"
"Stay close and try not to start a Hunting Operation by disappearing on me," James said dryly. "We're here to have fun."
"Uh-huh," she said, already pulling up the holographic mini-map from her baton. A blue dot blinked—Anny's collar, perfectly synced.
Anny herself rode proudly in her small harness bag, nose twitching. Everything here smelled overwelming—popcorn, sugar, and new people. She meowed once in warning when a costumed duck waved at her. Mindy laughed and scratched her head. "It's okay, he's not real."
For a while, everything was perfect. Then came the parade.
Music thundered, fireworks crackled overhead, and one particularly loud pyrotechnic startled Anny straight out of Mindy's arms.
"Anny!" Mindy cried. The cat hit the ground running, vanishing under a wave of moving legs and strollers.
Instantly, Mindy pulled her baton free. The tracker icon was still active—but lagging. The signal flickered across the map, skipping between zones.
Noticing Mindy running off, James also looked at his phone to pull up the tracker map.
[Cortana: "Signal delay increasing. Interference from park-wide Wi-Fi saturation. Margin of error: 12 to 18 meters."]
James (quietly): "Enough to lose a kid in a crowd."
He started moving, while Evelyn tried to follow. "Should I call park security?"
James shook his head. "No need. I've got this, watch over our stuff would you?."
Anny's Adventure
Anny darted past colorful legs and the smell of churros, heart pounding. Her tiny collar pinged faintly—she didn't understand it, but it felt like a heartbeat that wasn't hers. Too many sounds, too many feet. A woman knelt down suddenly, calling softly.
"Oh, poor thing, are you lost?"
Anny's tail twitched. The woman smelled of flowers and catnip, not a threat. Before she knew it, she was scooped up and nestled against the stranger's arm. The woman cooed, "Let's find who you belong to."
Anny blinked. The woman's voice was calm, and her steps gentle. So maybe this was part of the vacation? They boarded a small boat ride—bright lights, strange dolls singing endlessly. Anny's ears flattened. "What's wrong with these tiny people?" she thought miserably.
Still, the woman kept her safe.
Meanwhile, in another section of the park, Mindy pushed through the crowd, looking at her baton's small locator display in front of her. The icon jumped—Adventureland, then Frontierland, then nowhere. She bit her lip. "Come on, come on…"
Finally, a faint signal reappeared—across the park. "She's moving fast."
Her phone rang, which she smoothly took out and answered.
James's voice was heard "Did you lose Anny?"
"Yeah, I'm tracking her right now but the signal's glitchy. She's near the water rides."
"Good. Stay put when you find her. I'll close in from the west."
Mindy didn't bother to argue. She ran.
Split Search
James moved quickly to the location. To a casual eye, he looked like any other parent searching for a kid. But [Cortana] was quietly running visual filters through his eyes.
["Crowd density analysis complete. Path anomaly near north sector—female, carrying an animal-shaped outline."]
"Found you Anny," he murmured.
A faint outline appeared ahead. A woman carrying something fluffy in her arms. He adjusted course.
Mindy was closing in from the opposite side, weaving between families and food stalls. The music had shifted to another parade theme. Her baton vibrated with each partial signal bounce.
"There you are!" she spotted a floral dress stepping onto the "Small World" dock—Anny peeking over the woman's arm.
Mindy sprinted.
"Wait!" she called out. The woman turned just as Mindy skidded to a stop, breathless. "That's my cat!"
"Oh!" The lady blinked, startled, then smiled with relief. "She was lost. I was going to turn her in at guest services."
"Thank you!" Mindy scooped Anny into her arms. The cat gave a soft, scolding meow and buried her face under Mindy's chin.
James arrived moments later, calm but a little exasperated. "You really made me go into a Hunting Operation, you should have attached the leash on her before we went in."
Mindy looked down, feeling sorry for suddenly disappearing to look for Anny without telling. "Sorry."
James' expression eased into a smile. "Hey, don't worry, just keep a better eye on her and don't let her leave you again, the day is still early so let's go have fun."
The Aftermath
Back at the hotel suite that night, Anny devoured two bowls of lightly grilled fish, purring contentedly. Mindy sat cross-legged beside her, running a comb through the cat's fur while mumbling, "You owe me, furball."
Anny blinked slowly, utterly unbothered.
Evelyn filed expense reports at the dining table, quietly watching the strange little family dynamic unfold—the billionaire operative, his sharp young ward, and their absurdly spoiled cat. None of them seemed to fit any profile she'd ever studied.
Later, as the lights dimmed, Mindy and Anny fell asleep together on the couch watching tv. As Evelyn put a blanket on them and turned off the tv before bidding goodnight to James and going to her own room. James stood at the window, hands in his pockets, watching the city glow as everyone fell asleep.