After talking with Gran, I knew I needed to talk with Ethan. Calling him was more difficult than I expected. Thinking of Ethan made me feel guilty, which was ridiculous. Worse yet, thinking about Vincent being back made me feel guilty. There was no reason for either, so I buried the emotions in my mind and ignored them.
Once I heard Ethan's voice, it became easier to keep that guilt hidden away. His relief from hearing from me was noticeable, and once I'd spoken to him, I knew I needed to see him.
However, there was too much to do. Buoyed by speaking with him, I went back to work and attacked our case head on. I wanted to get this wrapped up, even though we didn't, or at least I didn't, have a suspect in terms of who was killing the Lost.
Jin knew, though.
For someone that didn't want to know anything about his dealers, Neil knew loads about Jin, and once persuaded, he tracked down more.
After finding Jin, it only took patience to find Vincent. Patience was a virtue that I didn't have, so Rider and Sable worked together to trail our ex-partner for a few days.
Meeting Vincent had to be done in public, and we had no idea who else around could be involved in the case. This meant I would be going in blind, and I needed someone other than Neil with me. We debated using Rider, but in the end, a Native American man almost six and a half feet tall would draw attention. That would have been okay, but he also hadn't been in this world long and missed subtleties, and some social interactions stumped him.
Thanks to me, Rider was getting used to sarcasm, but beyond that, he took a lot of things at face value.
Logan was out, along with MyTH, and we discussed other AIR agents, but in the end, it was too risky. The agent would be human, almost all of them were, and they would find out more than any of us wanted them to in the official file.
In the end, we settled on Jonathan. Logan had been teaching him to fight. As an elf, he was strong and fast, he was working on his degree in criminal justice, and he could be trusted.
Logan also mentioned that his son needed some breathing space from his fiancée, Paula. Apparently, their relationship was in a downward spiral, which I hated to hear.
I had hoped that we could go pick Jonathan up so I could catch up with Ethan for a few minutes. For some reason, I really wanted to see him again before I went any further into the case. Instead, Jonathan was driving my car over. It made sense, we needed another vehicle, and getting Jonathan here faster was better.
To make up for not getting to see him, I called Ethan again and later that night, we even chatted by video.
Early the next morning, Rider joined us, while Sable let us know when we could 'accidentally' bump into Vincent.
The moment I stepped into the restaurant and saw him, pixies fluttered around my stomach.
I closed my eyes and opened myself to the Path, then stemmed the roaring tide into a small stream of rippling emotions. Besides Jonathan, no one's Path looked too agitated or eager, although, I avoided reading Vincent altogether. No one looked intensely focused on anything. I hoped that meant that no one was listening, but I knew it would be silly to assume. Once satisfied, I dropped the Path, allowing the otherworldly overlay to disappear.
Trying to convince my stomach to stop wobbling wasn't working, so I plunged in. "It's nice to bump into you like this, William."
Vincent grimaced and muttered, "I should have known." He looked torn between leaving and telling me to leave.
I slid into the booth beside him, not giving him the chance to get up, while Jonathan sat at a table nearby.
Vincent didn't bother with preliminaries. "If I asked you to stay away?"
A small part of me had wanted him to ask for help, or at least confide in me now that we were away from Jin's people. The hurt I felt must have shown on my face.
"Not like that." Vincent put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, looking more frustrated than I'd ever seen him. "Not like that." He sighed heavily. "You're working what I'm working." He straightened and sat back, looking composed. "It wouldn't matter if I asked you to stay away. I know you too well for that."
"You're right, it wouldn't help at all." Taking a hard look at Vincent's face, the new scar stood out. I lifted my hand to trace the mark and stopped. It wasn't my business.
"I don't know what you're working. You haven't told anyone. As far as AIR is concerned, you disappeared in the line of duty." I kept my voice low. Jonathan would be able to hear everything, but others in the diner would need to strain to overhear.
"If you're here, and showing up where you're showing up, you've found the jewelry," Vincent said.
Bells on the diner door jingled. My nerves rattled, as I looked up and I opened the Path to see the newcomer. The couple that entered looked like they were Gran's age and they didn't show signs of hostility in any way. After another scan of the room, I dropped the Path.
"It looks like you've gained more control," Vincent said. "I'm still trying to work out how to fix what I've done."
"Is that why you're with Jin?" I asked. "Are you practicing your new found skill on the Lost?"
Vincent's expressionless face didn't change, but it paled. "Do you really think it's me?"
"No," I admitted, "but it's not only my opinion that counts."
"Rider?"
"No, Rider's taking my side."
"Logan?" Vincent tensed, and I could see the trace of hurt in his eyes.
"You haven't left him much choice."
He swallowed. "I didn't expect Logan to think I would purposely hurt the innocent. We had been getting along before I left."
Sorting through the tangle of emotions that Vincent brought up was starting to override everything else. The case, I thought firmly, focus on the case.
"We need information," I said. "We need to know if Jin is dealing this stuff, and who's supplying him."
"Jin will kill anyone who gets too close, and it won't be quick. You have to stay away."
"I have to?" I should earn some type of medal for not raising my voice.
"I shouldn't have said that. I should know better." There was a trace of tension in his eyes. "Okay, I know you're not going to leave town, and it's too dangerous for any of you if you don't know what's going on. All of it." Vincent glanced at his watch. "But Will needs to be somewhere soon, so there's not enough time now."
"Look, we need to move on this," I said.
"We can meet later today. Four-thirty in Hampshire Park; there's a lake. Meet me on the northeast side of the boathouse, near the lake. I'll be at the second bench you see."
I wanted to argue but settled for a disgruntled sigh. "I'll be there."
There was so much I wanted to say and to ask, but neither of us spoke. The silence was awkward, which we rarely had to deal with in the past. I moved to slide out of the booth.
"Wait." Vincent reached for me, but hesitated and let his arm drop to his side.
I really wanted him to take my hand.
Okay, I should feel guilty about that. Embarrassed by the thought, I could feel my face turn red. Think of the case and only the case.
We were both at a loss as to how to proceed, and the silence continued.
"Stay safe," I said. "We'll have all the time in the world to talk after this is over."
"Sure. Stay safe," he repeated the sentiment but sounded distant.
Jonathan joined me, and we left the diner. The truck was a few blocks away, so I had a few minutes to pull myself together, and after seeing Vincent again, a few minutes may not be enough time.
"Oh, no," Jonathan said.
Looking up, I saw two men blocking the sidewalk in front of us.
The Path roared free with barely a thought. Not the small stream I usually viewed, but the raging river of power.
Why hadn't I been paying attention? We had already turned a corner or two so the diner would be out of sight.
I looked around, seeing two people crossing the street and two men following us. None of them looked friendly, and ther
e was nowhere to run.
"Three sets of people," I murmured softly. "We can't lead them any further towards the truck without announcing that we're not civilians. How many can you take?"
"Three, maybe four."
Jonathan and I had never worked together, and there was no time to make a real plan. "You take the two behind us, and I'll take the front. Get the two in the middle as best we can. If they pull guns, disarm first."
My stomach clenched. Wrestling with the Path, I began to bend it. Jonathan turned around to cover the two men behind.
The men in front of us moved forward.
"My boss said Jin took an interest in you." The man wore a T-shirt advertising a heavy metal band and looked at least ten years older than everyone else. "We can't touch Jin, and we can only follow his man, but we can take you. The boy can stay because no one said anything about him. But you? We need you."
There were no guns in sight, and no one looked too worried about what we might do.
"Ready?" I asked Jonathan under my breath.
"Yeah." Jonathan's breathing sounded measured, but his voice betrayed his doubt.
"Now." It came out louder than I anticipated, which announced my massive uncertainty.
Jonathan was virtually silent. The men in front of me froze in confusion before scrambling to their pockets. I slammed together the Path in front of me, creating a solid, invisible wall in midair. It burned through my energy, but they never knew what hit them when I shoved the wall forward as fast as I could. They fell back, tripping when the wall smashed forward. When they hit the ground, they were thrown further away. Cloth ripped, and I heard a bone snap. A blow to the face broke my concentration, and the solid air fell apart.
I staggered back clutching my eye as pain radiated out. I barely noticed Jonathan darting to another target. The man was ready to throw another, but I found his Path. The man must have been a bundle of nerves when he had crossed the street, because his Path was thick in the air. I hardened the trail behind him and yanked him back into the street. As he flew back, I saw the gun, and it was aimed at me.
Mentally reaching out, I tried to draw enough energy to make the air solid again.
Why did I make the first wall of the Path so big? Nothing was pulling together fast enough. The trigger was pulled as the gun was smashed away by a kick. The crack of the gun was unreal as the sound reverberated between the buildings.
Jonathan's fist met the man’s face and the gun clattered to the ground. I took a shuddering breath and looked around. After another punch from Jonathan and the man crumpled, and Jonathan launched himself at the man in the street. It didn't take long for him to fall.
The men were down, but stirring.
"We have to go." I was shaking.
Moving to a man that had managed to get to his knees, Jonathan was ready to attack again.
"Hey!" I tugged Jonathan's arm, ready to drag him away.
Jonathan swung around, punching before thinking. His eyes widened, and I saw him pull the punch as it reached me.
I collapsed in a heap, with the air knocked out of me. After a few panicky tries, I was able to suck in a breath.
"No, no, no." Jonathan's face blanched.
I tried to talk but only managed a wheeze.
Without another word, he scooped me up. Any protest I wanted to make went out the window, when I saw the pale panicky face of the elf carrying me.
The tightness in my chest lightened and I breathed easier. "I'm okay." I tried to reassure him further, but he looked caught in his own world of panic.
Rider and Logan were running to meet us, but Jonathan didn't seem to notice them. Jonathan's focus was on running straight for the truck. His dad grabbed his arm and stopped him dead. Jonathan's head whipped towards him. Rider snatched me away, and Jonathan's gaze snapped back to Rider. Logan unceremoniously yanked Jonathan's arm behind his back, knocked his feet out from under him and pinned his son to the ground.
Chapter 24
Rider was putting me on my feet while Logan murmured in his son's ear. I heard a few words, but the language was unfamiliar. Rider patted me down.
"Were you shot?" Rider asked as he manhandled me. "I smell blood."
"It's not mine."
Rider walked around me checking every inch to make sure there were no new holes in me.
I stood clutching my stomach. Rider moved back in front of me, and this time, his eyes were on my face. From the pain, I was sure there had to be a spectacular bruise forming.
"We're taking Vincent in now." Logan's voice was rigid.
"We should leave." I tried to sound firm through all my aches. "Those guys—"
"Go get the truck." Logan tossed me the keys, which bounced off me and landed on the ground, and he dragged Jonathan to his feet.
Jonathan remained pale, but the panic was gone.
"We can't take him in. We'll blow his cover," I said.
"He did this!" Logan yelled, his voice going colder and higher pitched as his face elongated and his ears rolled out to points. His eyes became slanted and looked larger, much too large for his face. The destructive strength behind Logan's alien appearance made me take a step back while an icy feeling of dread spread through my body. Rider angled himself in front of me and tried to get me to move further away.
I took a few steadying breaths. "Someone was following him." I was afraid using Vincent's name would shove my partner over the edge. "They decided to follow us. I wasn't paying enough attention and didn't notice them." I groped around for the right words, but I couldn't find anything else.
Even through the alien vestige he now displayed, I could tell Logan was struggling. His hands were balled into fists, and he looked as though he was poised to run and holding himself back at the same time. I wanted to move closer to try to pull up enough dredges of the Path to lighten the atmosphere, but Rider wouldn't budge, and I didn't think I was strong enough to move the Path.
Logan closed his eyes and began to shrink in upon himself. His ears rolled back, and slowly, his face returned to normal.
The ice in my stomach melted as my partner began to look more like himself.
"Let's leave." I managed to keep my voice steady, but my hands were shaking.
Logan agreed and tried to steady himself.
Rider picked up the keys, handed them to Jonathan, and then motioned Jonathan away.
Jonathan took a nervous look at his dad before going to the truck.
Rider's hand remained in my way, refusing me to move any closer to Logan.
"Let me through," I said.
Rider didn't respond and kept a watchful eye on Logan.
"I can-"
"No," Logan interrupted me, "he's right to stand in the way. I lost control, and I shouldn't have. But when I heard that shot?" Logan leaned against the building. "If Jonathan had..." Logan took a shuddering breath and looked like the words were too hard to say. "And then I thought about what I would have to tell Margaret if you were shot."
Logan's pain was palpable in the air. We stood silently while he reined in his emotions.
"You know, your son kicked ass out there today," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "He’s the reason neither of us was shot."
"His first real fight," Logan said approvingly. "He didn't lose it like I did today?"
"No." I wasn't sure how to avoid telling him what made him panic and run, but Logan saved me the trouble.
"It's good he was partnered with you when it happened. Did he do that?" Logan asked motioning to my face.
"Wait, what?" Rider dropped his arm and looked from me to Logan and back again. "No, why would he?"
"He didn't," I said. "He hit me in the stomach, but pulled his punch in the end."
"But—" Rider started.
Logan grinned and held up his hands as the truck approached. "I could tell he hit her because no one was shot, but he was panicked. He never would have hit her on purpose, but he's never been in a fight before. He'll learn from this and do better next time.
He did better than his older brother too, but then he was surrounded by other elves. Garashem would be proud."
"Older brother?" My brain was working hard to make sense of that confusion.
Logan's grin faded. "Never mind, only a passing thought. I don't want to hear the name come up from either of you, especially in front of the kids."
"Sure." Concern what might have happened to Logan's family overrode my confusion. "But-"
"It's a story for another time," Logan said with more force than necessary.
I agreed, still confused, but I knew there were areas of darkness in the elf that I should never try to see. They were buried within his golden Path.
Logan appeared to relax. "Thank you."
Jonathan parked the truck beside us, and Logan climbed in. I moved to the cab, but when I looked back, Rider was staring at us, looking puzzled.
I smiled back. "Come on, my friend, let's talk about Walkers and elves and why they shouldn't kill each other."
***
It didn't take long to fill everyone in, but there was a lot of time spent getting set up for my meeting with Vincent at the park. Logan wanted to make sure that every area was covered and that no one would follow us in or out.
I tried to cover the giant purple bruise spreading across my face, but it surpassed my skills with makeup, which didn't come as too much of a surprise. I found a thrift store and grabbed a pair of sunglasses with a large frame and lenses. The woman behind the counter gave me a concerned look and asked if I was okay as I checked out. When I retrieved the glasses from the bag later, I found a card for a woman's shelter. I worried about what others may be seeing when they looked at me, but then I tossed the thoughts aside. It was all part of the job.
It was too early to stop at the lake. At this point, the entire area would be under surveillance. Logan, Rider, Jonathan, Sable, Taylor, and a few other MyTH employees were watching everyone that entered and exited to ensure an attack like this morning wasn't repeated. Jonathan, Logan, and Rider were all placed close enough to the action that they should be able to hear everything.
Since I needed to stall for time, I parked at the art museum on the other side of the park. I flinched when I looked at myself in the visor mirror. The glasses would be large enough to hide some of my face, but there was no mistaking the bruise. I folded up the visor and my car door opened.
AIR Series Box Set Page 52