by Geonn Cannon
When she first woke up in this place, brain still foggy from whatever drug they’d given her for the flight from Germany to Seattle, she’d assumed Val was one of them. When she came in to do the initial examination, Gwen had attacked her. Val endured the punching and kicking, letting Gwen tire herself out before she wrestled her onto the bed and got the restraints around her wrists.
“We’ve met. Remember? I helped Ariadne. I’m a friend.”
Gwen’s brain was scrambled, but she did seem familiar. She couldn’t remember where exactly they’d met, but she did have a memory of this woman. It was enough to make her stop fighting and pay attention to what Val was saying.
“I’m a prisoner just like you,” Val had said. “I’m going to make this as painless as possible but you’ve got to fucking cooperate. Understand?”
Gwen truly hadn’t known whether or not she could trust Val, but all the fight had gone out of her. She surrendered, let Val administer the sedative, and felt the fog close over her mind again.
Since then, she’d been subjected to a series of tests and experiments that verged on sadistic. The hunters in charge never told her their names, so she was reduced to identifying them by physical characteristics. The man who’d captured them in Germany was the Silver Skull, due to his hair and sharp cheekbones. His partner was Walrus, from his bushy mustache. The ones who took her out of her room and “escorted” her to the lab were Goon One and Goon Two, since she didn’t think they deserved proper names. The only other one she saw with any regularity was the Geek. He had black-rimmed glasses and a generally nerdy demeanor; shirts buttoned to the collar, pencil-neck, hunched posture. He observed the tests, rarely speaking to her.
Gwen flexed her hand. The hunters holding them hostage were trying to understand canidae physiology. They wanted to know exactly what happened before, during, and after a transformation. She didn’t know what they intended to do with this information once they had it, but she fought with every fiber of her being to keep them from achieving their goals. She’d transformed ten times since being taken prisoner. She tried to time them for odd hours, to quietly transform in her room behind a locked door, and so far she hadn’t been caught. It was only a matter of time, she knew, before they succeeded.
In the meantime, they ran their evil little experiments. They took her blood. They administered electric shock. They experimented with extreme heat, extreme cold, and had once submerged her head in a basin of water so long that she thought they were trying to drown her. They stopped just before she blacked out. They gave her a fitness tracker which was never unstrapped from her wrist. She didn’t have to take it off to bathe because they only gave her a bucket of water and towels for that. She hated that, but if the alternative was showering with one of the hunters standing watch, she would take the bucket every time.
Val had proven herself to be a true ally many times over the course of their mutual incarceration. Insisting the experiments had to stop, making sure Gwen was safely returned to her room when the sadists were finally done, sneaking her extra food when she could. Most importantly, she was a conduit of information and provided communication between Gwen and Milo. They hadn’t seen each other since Germany, but Gwen could sometimes hear her shouting at their captors through the walls.
Now she was out. Whatever that meant, and she could only hope it was the turning point of this whole damn ordeal.
***
Back in Dr. Frost’s living room, Ari stood in front of the couch, uncertain of what her next step would be. She looked at Dale for help, but her expression revealed she was equally clueless.
“So what the hell do we do now?” Ari asked Dr. Frost, the default grown-up in the room due to his advanced age. “Do we just go to the office and pretend like it’s a normal day?”
“Well, I can tell you that Miss Duncan isn’t going to be much help to you any time soon. She needs a lot of rest. She needs to recuperate. And she can’t do that with all of us looming over her asking questions she can’t answer. Her body and mind both need time to mend.” He pressed his lips together and glanced over his shoulder as if making sure he’d closed the door to his office before he continued. “There’s evidence she’s been electrocuted.”
“What?” Ari and Dale said at the same time.
“Contact burns on her arms.” Frost tapped his own arms just above the elbow to show where the marks had been. “Some were old, some were fresher.”
Ari clenched her jaw and began to pace. “Why would they kidnap Mom and Milo just to torture them for six months?”
“I don’t know,” Frost said. “But torture might explain Milo’s mental state when she was found. We won’t know more until her memory starts coming back. If it ever does.”
“If?” Dale said. “It’s six months of her life. Are you saying it could just be gone?”
Frost nodded. “If the damage is bad enough. And honestly...” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want to make assumptions about what she went through. But if it was bad enough to make her conscious mind retreat so the wolf could take over while she was still in human form, then she might be better off not remembering.”
Ari shuddered. “Thank you, Doctor. Not just for this, but for everything you’ve done for us. We show up and dump huge problems on your lap, and you rise to the occasion every time.”
“Always happy to patch up you or your friends, Ariadne. I am looking forward to you dumping your mother’s problem on me very soon.”
Ari and Dale left the house and went out to the car. Dale got behind the wheel and turned to face Ari, reaching over to touch her thigh. Ari stared straight ahead out the windshield, holding her head very still, refusing to meet Dale’s gaze.
“Are you going to drive?” she finally asked.
“I’ll drive if that’s what you want,” Dale said softly. “But I’m willing to wait here if you want that, too. And once I drive, I can go wherever you want.”
Ari kept her voice quiet. “We should go to work. We have that... there’s that case...” Her bottom lip trembled and she felt tears in her eyes. She turned to look out the window quickly. Dale moved her hand to Ari’s shoulder. “I’m fine,” Ari said, though her voice betrayed the lie.
“Hey. Look at me, Ariadne.”
It took her a few seconds, but she finally turned around to look at Dale. She didn’t bother hiding the fact she was crying. Dale brushed away the tears with her thumb.
“You made peace with losing your mother. Now she’s out there, but she’s maybe being hurt. You don’t know if it’s safe to hope yet. But the carpet got pulled out from under you. It would be worrying if you weren’t a wreck right now.”
“I feel like I got my hope back just to have it taken away again,” Ari said.
“I know, puppy. I feel that, too. So just tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you there. And I’ll sit with you, or talk with you, or do whatever you need for as long as you need.”
Ari took Dale’s hand, kissed the knuckles. “I love you.” She kissed Dale’s hand again, then let it go and faced forward again. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. “Drive.”
“Where to?” Dale asked.
“West.”
Dale started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. “I can only go so far west, given where we are now,” she pointed out.
“I’ll think of something before we hit the water.”
“Okay,” Dale said, turning the car west. “I trust you.”
***
They picked up lunch and took it to the Olympic Sculpture Park. It was really too cold to sit outside and eat, but at least that meant there weren’t many other people around. Dale sat close to Ari and huddled against her, watching the water as Ari mechanically ate her sandwich in silence. When the food was gone, Ari wadded up the paper and slipped it into her pocket, and stared straight ahead like she was an actor waiting for a cue. They’d tried Diana’s cell phone twice in the car but it still went directly to voicemail. Dale was starting to wo
nder when they should call her wife to let her know what was happening.
“She’s somewhere in the city,” Dale said. “We know that much, at least.”
Ari nodded slowly.
“And Milo was in bad shape, but she’s doing better now. That means there’s a good chance Mom’s doing okay, too.”
Ari’s lips twitched and some life came back into her expression. She moved her hand to Dale’s thigh. “I really like that you call her Mom. I know how big of a deal that is for you.”
“She means a lot to me.” The wind blew her hair into her face and she brushed it away, not taking her eyes off Ari. “We’ll find her. We know she’s here, we know she needs us, and Milo’s going to do everything in her power to remember what happened.”
“What about in the meantime?” Ari said. “We just have to sit and wait while Mom is in a hole somewhere, having... who knows what done to her...”
Dale took Ari’s hand. “I know it’s tough. But it’s too dangerous to just start kicking down doors. We have to be careful. We have to do it right. Mom’s tough. She’s survived this long. We have to have faith that she’s strong enough to stick it out a little longer.”
“You say that like it’ll be easy.”
“No, definitely not easy. But we’ll figure it out.” She put her head down on Ari’s shoulder and looked out at the water. “Do you want to go over what we know?”
Ari said, “Yeah, go ahead.”
Dale put her thoughts in order before she started speaking. “Someone, presumably a group of hunters, kidnapped Gwen and Milo in Germany. Brought them back here.”
“Why?” Ari interrupted. “What’s the point of bringing them all the way back to Seattle just to lock them up?”
“That’s question number one,” Dale said. “So they’ve been held captive for about six months. Going by Milo’s condition, there’s... been some torture involved. Question two is what the torture is intended to reveal.”
Ari said, “Maybe the location of the essays.”
“Maybe. Question three is the biggest one. What happened to Mom and Milo over those six months, and how did Milo escape? That’s two questions.”
“And another one is why she left Mom behind,” Ari said. After a moment she clarified, “I’m not blaming her or holding her responsible. I know she wouldn’t have done it if she had a choice in the matter. Maybe question four should be what would make Milo leave without Mom.”
“That’s a good addition,” Dale said, sitting up now. “Five. Why were there hunters looking for Milo at the viaduct when Hayden knew she was already at the hospital?”
Ari nodded. “I’d like to believe it was stupidity or a lack of communication, but I don’t think we can count on them being dumb.”
“Unfortunately,” Dale said.
“And then there are the general questions. How many hunters there are, what they’re planning, when it’ll happen. We’re still a few months away from wolf manoth, if that’s their goal, so I don’t think it’ll be that. I hope it’s not that. We cannot have another wolfsbane threat.”
Dale shuddered. “Definitely don’t want that.”
Ari was quiet, then shifted so she could turn on the bench to face Dale. “I haven’t forgotten that today is your birthday.”
“Oh, hey, no.” Dale shook her head. “We never celebrate anyway, and what you did this morning was so sweet.”
“Are you sure?”
Dale smiled. “Yes. And I know there weren’t any candles, but Milo showing up okay and giving us hope that we might find your Mom feels like a birthday wish coming true. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m very, very satisfied with how this day has gone.”
“Truly?”
“Best birthday ever.” Dale leaned in and kissed the corner of Ari’s mouth. Ari turned her head, turning it into a proper kiss.
“Tell me we’ll find her,” Ari whispered against Dale’s cheek. “It’s easier for me to believe things when you say them.”
“We’ll find her,” Dale said. “Whatever that means, and whatever it takes, we’re going to find Mom and we’ll bring her home.”
Ari kissed Dale’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“Any time, puppy. Any time.”
Ari put an arm around Dale and drew her close so they could look out over the water for a little while longer.
Chapter Three
Their first mystery was solved when they arrived at the Bitches office. Ari was still in a funk despite Dale’s best efforts, but she was determined not to let the unknowns outweigh the good parts of the day. Milo was alive. She’d gone to sleep the night before positive that she’d never see Milo or her mother again, and now her friend was back. There was hope. But with hope came the potential for being knocked back down, and she dreaded that fall.
Dale had convinced her to spend a few hours at the office. They had a few open cases which required very low effort, and she was sure that it was just what Ari needed to distract herself. Dale opened the door to the building and Ari followed her in, stopping immediately upon stepping into the hall. Dale sensed her hesitation and turned to look at her.
“Everything okay?”
Ari sniffed the air again to be sure. Shampoo, chamomile, and hand lotion. Shae butter. She moved without thinking, brushing past Dale and hurrying to their office door. She twisted the knob and pushed the door open. She held her breath until she saw Diana sitting behind Dale’s desk, looking exhausted but uninjured. Ari exhaled with relief as Dale caught up to her and saw what had caused the mad dash.
“Diana! You’re okay!”
Diana stood and accepted hugs from both of them. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was snooping in your desk to see if I could find either of your cell phone numbers.”
“We’ve been texting and calling you all day,” Ari said.
“My phone is in my car. Which, last I saw, you had it.”
Ari said, “Oh. Right. I know exactly where it is.”
“That’s what you like to hear from someone who borrowed your car.” She stepped out from behind the desk so Dale could take her seat. “How’s Milo?”
“Much better,” Ari said. “A sedative and a little rest woke her back up. Unfortunately she’s got a big frustrating gap in her memory that keeps her from answering any questions, but the important thing is that she’ll recover. What about you? The last I saw, you were on the ground recovering from a taser shot.”
Diana shook her head. “Yeah. Remind me to avoid doing that again any time soon. I was hearing static for an hour. Hayden got away, unfortunately, but I arrested both of his goons for assaulting me, two uniformed officers, and Dr. Kalwar. We had some cruisers go around the area looking for Hayden but we never found him.”
“He’s definitely in town, and I don’t think he’s going anywhere any time soon. We’ll find him.”
Diana leaned against the desk. “In the meantime, we have his men in custody. They were wearing suits, like him, so hopefully they’re more than just random goons. At the moment they’re refusing to speak, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they get sick of the silent treatment. Even if we have to talk in front of their lawyers, we’re going to hear what they have to say.”
“They were in suits, weren’t they?” Ari thought back to the men who had almost captured her. “The men on the viaduct were dressed all in black. Like commandos.”
Diana held up a hand. “Whoa, whoa, what men on the viaduct?”
Ari quickly filled her in on what happened. “That’s where I left your car, in the ferry lot. I figured I had a better chance getting away as the wolf.”
Dale said, “I can drive you over there to pick it up.”
“Thank you.” Diana looked at Ari. “What are you going to do?”
Ari shrugged and held out her hands. “There isn’t much I can do unless Milo’s memory snaps back. We’re just going to try to take everything as it comes.”
“You can’t ignore the fact that Hayden is back in town,” Diana said. “He k
nows he can find you here. You might want to think about precautions.”
Dale said, “He’s apparently been back in town for a while and he hasn’t come by.”
“He may have wanted to maintain the element of surprise. But after what happened this morning, I don’t think you can count on that. Be careful, Ariadne, okay?”
“We will,” Ari promised.
Diana looked at Dale. “Can I take you up on that offer to drive me to my car?”
“Sure,” Dale said, rising from her chair. “Want to come with us?”
Ari said, “If those hunters are still around, it might be better if I’m not there. I’ll hold down the fort here.” She pulled Dale into a hug and whispered, “Be careful,” into her hair.
“You too,” Dale said, then kissed Ari’s neck before stepping back.
When they were gone, Ari went into her office. It felt like a thousand years ago when she’d come into this office as an employee. She worked with Glory Bennett to get her private investigator license, a job she’d never intended or expected to have. She’d been living on the street for a long time, and a steady paycheck would give her the chance to start a real life. An apartment, new clothes, shoes that weren’t held together with duct tape.
And if that was a thousand years ago, it felt like five hundred years since the redheaded business school dropout agreed to stick around for “a day or two” so she could straighten out Ari’s books. A day or two ended up being a week, and brought with it a realization that the books would just descend into chaos again without someone staying on top of them. Her files were also a hopeless mess, but Dale was able to get those under control as well.
Ari was still thinking about those early days, when Dale was her employee rather than a friend or partner, when she heard the outer office door open. She tensed and smelled the air, but it was immediately apparent her visitor wasn’t Hayden. She went back out into the waiting room and saw a girl - college-age, brunette, clearly nervous - standing just inside the doorway. She jumped when Ari appeared, then tried to cover it by tucking her hair behind her ears.