**
They had some time to kill before the meeting, so Hugo and CJ went back to the warehouse with the database. It was a lot easier to get to this time, and CJ was mostly there for scouting purposes. Since the computer tower was under the desk, out of sight of the camera, and the monitor was turned off, he just copied the database to a laptop. And now he had a nice, rather complete database in his head. He wondered who he was missing.
While they were working on that, Clem was turning in their letters of resignation, with two weeks' notice of course, and discussing severance packages, the non-disclosure agreement and how it would apply to information shared between the two companies. Clem had already purchased a building for the office, and gotten the ball rolling on setting up research and medical labs. Hugo would extend the offer of employment to Maggie as soon as he could talk to Clem about compensation.
When it was time for the meeting, they showed up in a gust of wind.
There were four men waiting for them. One was Charles, which made the others, according to Clem, Robert Tenant, the head of the West Coast branch of the Agency, and two guards.
“Gentlemen,” Clem greeted, inclining his head towards them slightly, Geez, they’ve got a small army here for us, “I don’t believe I need to make introductions?”
“No, we know who you are,” Robert said, his voice full of hostility, “What did you do to Scott?”
Clem shook his head, folding his hands together, “Oh, that’s not how this works. What we should be focusing on is why we had to show him some manners after both sides made it clear we were to stay out of each others’ way.”
“He was not acting under orders.”
But he would have gotten a promotion if he’d pulled it off. Clem added dryly. “Plausible deniability, how cute. You didn’t explicitly tell him to do it, but you would have rewarded the behavior if he’d been successful, and that is unacceptable. Something needs to be done about that.”
“Are you threatening us? I’d warn you not to, we have insurance,” the man spit out. Charles and the guards standing beside him visibly tensed.
Oh wow, he’s got snipers at Dr. Arliss’ house, trained on his kids. There was rage in the statement, and Hugo felt the full force of it. He took a step forward, ready to vacuum the entire field and do exactly what he’d intended on doing in the first place. Everyone tensed. He could hear, muffled by the grass, the sound of several clicks, but nothing came towards them. Hugo glanced at Crysta, she looked furious.
Wait. I’ll handle this, Clem interjected calmly before he actually responded to the threat, “I recommend you retract that statement, Bob. I would hate to think you're suggesting you have hostages. We came here to speak to you, so that an agreement could be reached, if you’re turning this into a hostage negotiation, that will not end well for you.”
“I can’t believe you guys would do something like that! We could kick your butts!” CJ interjected as she folded her arms across her chest.
“Just keep threatening us, and we’ll see how things go,” Robert returned, tone vicious.
Clem chuckled slightly, shaking his head, “You don’t think we have the power to save Dr. Arliss’ children and wipe you all out?" Clem smirked, "I think you misunderstand the situation here. We are doing this for your benefit. I’m not trying to threaten you, this is simply the truth.”
All the color drained out of Robert’s face, his mouth slightly opening.
“Sir?” Charles said softly beside him when the man didn't immediately recover.
“Call them off yourself, and we can continue this discussion,” Clem offered amiably.
After an extended pause where everything could have fallen apart, Robert tapped his ear and gave the order. Hugo relaxed the fists at his sides, he could feel the little dents his nails had made in his palms. It was a good thing Clem was talking.
“Wonderful,” Clem said, the cheer returning to his voice, “Now we can finally get to the agreement. It starts: you are completely hands off when it comes to Gideon Enterprises and the Phoenix Foundation, and we will do you the same courtesy. That includes all forms of surveillance.”
“I've never heard of the Phoenix Foundation,” Robert admitted, his voice several notches less confident than it previously had been.
“Oh, soon you will, don’t worry. The second term of the agreement is that in the event that any individual member of either side acts against the other, there will be a meeting with the proper authorities of the offending organization to make sure a proper punishment is enacted. If proper punishment is not forthcoming, the agreement is forfeit.” Everyone remained silent, so Clem forged ahead, “The final term is that, under no circumstances, are family members to be involved in any dispute between the Agency and Gideon Enterprises or the Phoenix Foundation.”
Hugo frowned at the obvious loophole, “No, not just families, anyone who isn’t directly related to the conflict. No hostages.”
Clem nodded in approval, “How does that sound to you gentlemen?” He offered them a pleasant smile and waited while Robert processed the agreement, searching for any other loopholes he could exploit later. He hasn’t found any weaknesses in the agreement yet, so that’s a good start.
“Would you really give us any other choice?” Robert spat.
“Very well, it’s a deal.” Clem offered his hand to shake, but the other man did not take it. Clem lowered his hand, but continued smiling.
Are they going to stick to the deal? Because if they're going to stab us in the back, I’d like to get it over with now, Hugo asked.
Oh no, Clem returned, amused, They’ll stick to the agreement because they’re terrified of us. They have no way to stop us. “It was a pleasure gentlemen. Goodbye.”
Hugo took his cue and opened a portal outside of Gideon Enterprises, closing it immediately after everyone had stepped through.
“God, they’re jerks!” CJ exclaimed, waving her arms a little.
Clem shrugged, “They’re just scared. But at least they’ll leave us alone now. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple construction companies to go visit. Can I get a lift, Hugo?” Hugo opened a portal to where he wanted to go and watched him walk off.
CJ fidgeted, “I’m going to um, go…yeah…”
He wanted to tell her to be careful, because he had a pretty good idea that she was going back to her father’s place, but she was gone before he could open his mouth. He turned to the doctor, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Thanks for stopping the darts. I got a little angry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
Crysta shook her head, blushing, “I was too. Don’t worry about it.”
“Um,” Hugo glanced at the tall building, light reflecting off of its many windows, “I don’t want to go back just yet. Do you…wanna grab something to eat or something?”
Crysta brightened, “Sure.”
Breakfast was quiet. Dr. McFadden chatted about the progress she was making on the inhibitor so that it would work on people with higher than normal metabolisms, like CJ, and also what she had done with his notes on a possible inoculate.
They headed back to the office together, and he helped her start the batch process for the inoculate. Once they finished, she suggested they head to the cafeteria for coffee. Hugo tried to stay as quiet as possible as she started blushing and getting progressively quieter, trying to give her the opening she needed to ask whatever question she seemed to want to ask.
Eventually his patience paid off as she looked away from him, “Um…maybe…if you’re not too busy, could we possibly go to Paris? I’ve never been, and you can, uh, go anywhere now. But only if you want to of course.” She looked mortified, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
That was it? He'd thought she'd wanted to talk about something serious and probably uncomfortable. Hugo glanced at his watch, “But it’s midnight there. Did you wanna go to a bar or something?” He hoped he didn’t sound too surprised, it wasn't like her wanting to go to a bar was unthinkable.
>
“No, I was kind of hoping we could go to the Eiffel Tower,” she responded shyly.
“Yeah, that sounds cool. I’ve never been there.” Did she want to talk? Oh god, he hoped she wouldn’t ask him how he was doing.
Hugo stepped through the portal he’d absently created, and the next moment they were staring up at the glow of the tower. “Oops. I forgot to ask where you wanted to go exactly. Up there?” He pointed to the top.
“Yeah. I’ll race you!” Crysta jumped and then just kept floating upwards, picking up speed as she went.
“H-hey! No fair!” Hugo yelled after her, and then a gust of wind shoved him upwards. For some reason he never thought of flying on his own. He’d never had flying dreams either. He wondered what that meant. Hugo managed to catch up with Crysta just as she was touching down on the uppermost metal platform, her shoes clicking as she landed. First one, then the other, her arms out slightly, like a dancer.
His landing was considerably less graceful, as the jet of air just dumped him onto the platform. He made a rather loud clattering noise. “Sorry,” he cringed at the sound, shoving his hands in his pockets. Crysta hid a giggle behind her hand, then leaned against the railing, staring out over the glittering expanse of Paris.
The wind was whistling through the grating. Hugo sucked in a lung-full and then slowly pushed it out. His body started to relax. The air brushing his hair and tugging lightly at his sweater told him, somehow, everything would work out.
“I’ve always wanted to come up here,” Crysta explained to the city, “there’s just something about high places that helps me relax. Not to mention the view.”
“Yeah, it’s nice up here,” he agreed, joining her at the railing, “I like high places too. The wind is stronger up here. It’s really…” he trailed off, feeling a little silly. It was unrealistic to think of any element as a living thing. The air was just a collection of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide, but sometimes it felt like it was telling him things… Crysta was looking at him sideways, waiting for him to finish the sentence. “It…makes me feel calmer, I guess,” he mumbled, fixing his eyes on the horizon.
“Maybe we should come up here again then,” Crysta considered, tracking his gaze into the dark.
Nothing was said for several minutes while the whistle of air pushed everything else out of Hugo’s mind. And then, “I’m sorry I make you uncomfortable sometimes.”
Hugo frowned at Crysta’s words as they filtered slowly into his brain, “Huh?” He glanced at her.
“I make you nervous, and I think it’s because of something I said,” she wasn’t looking at him.
“You don’t make me…” He trailed off as he realized he sounded defensive, which made him sound guilty, “I don’t know what you mean,” he finally said after a long pause. Yeah, that seemed safe.
Crysta laughed and turned towards him, still leaning on the railing. He got a prickly, warm sensation that ran up his back. She always wanted to talk about personal things, things he didn’t want to think about because he wouldn’t be able to resist picking them apart.
“This is what I mean,” she said, that small smile still on her face. Hugo resisted the urge to leap off the tower, but couldn’t keep looking at her. He wanted to tell her to stop, even though he didn’t understand why or what he was making into such a huge deal. She pressed forward when he failed to respond, “It’s because I said I would be loyal to you, isn’t it?”
He gripped the railing tightly, stopping the defensive lie before he said it. She wouldn’t believe him. She was set on the idea and didn’t need him to confirm it. She just wanted a reason. And she was patient enough to wait till the end of time for one. He had to say something, and he was no good at anything but the truth, “It’s not that…I mean…” he stopped, trying to scrape together something more coherent from his stumbling thoughts. His hands opened and his fingers curled tighter around the metal of the railing. He leaned heavily against it. Crysta waited.
“It’s…scary,” he mumbled, turning his face as far away from her as he could, “Your choice of words…it made it sound like I was supposed to be responsible for you…I shouldn’t be allowed to be responsible for anything. No one should listen to me.”
“Why is that?”
“Cause I’m dumb.” He let out a shivering breath. She would argue with him.
Crysta sighed, “No, you are very smart. But even incredibly smart people make mistakes. You can’t see everything, Hugo. I wish you’d stop expecting too much from yourself.”
He chewed on his lip; it was exactly what Mr. Hansen had said. Things weren’t like they used to be. This wasn’t like flunking a test or dropping out of college, people died when he made mistakes now. It suddenly struck him. He’d just described the business of a doctor. Hugo frowned, confused. This was a normal, everyday situation for some people. Why was it so difficult for him? He was so bad at it.
“And as for being responsible for me. You’re not. I’m sorry I gave you the impression that I thought you should be. I just meant that you could trust me and count on me to help you out whenever you needed. Just like CJ. I figured you would understand that.” He couldn’t see her face, but the wind carried the quirk of humor in it.
It felt like something was pushing down on him, “See what I mean?” He grumbled, “I missed that. I mean, I heard it, but it didn’t work itself out.” The implied appendix to that statement being he’d made the mistake because he was dumb. He left it unspoken because he was worried she’d get irritated if he said it again, and then the conversation would go on forever.
“That’s ok. We’ve straightened it out now,” Crysta turned her attention back to the city; the distant lights pushing their way out of the darkness. She was humming. It was a hair off-key, but it was “Eir of the Mountain,” the last song on the CD he’d made…the one he’d written for her.
Hugo groaned inwardly. Was she trying to make him uncomfortable on purpose? He turned his back to the railing and looked towards the stars. He’d seen the small smile on her face as he’d turned. She was doing it on purpose! His hands went into his pockets.
She wasn’t doing a bad job of it though. So she’d liked it. The brief flutter in his chest was a surprise. He hadn’t know that it mattered to him. He couldn’t help but smile a little himself. He closed his eyes, listing to the sound tugged along by the wind. This was a nice place. He’d come back here again if she wanted to.
The Sound of Wind Page 85