He was an Agent specifically to save people like her from facing the horrible acts of people just like this one. It was senseless to have burned her house just on the slim chance she would die in the blaze. His blood chilled as he thought of her being in that house alone and being burned. He would have to keep a closer eye on her to make sure she never came that close again.
Agent Harold sat down opposite her. “You alright?”
Freya nodded her head. “I knew he would find out but I thought he would attack the lab not my house.” She sniffed valiantly keeping her sobs inside. “All my things were there.”
Rawiri leaned against the wall so he wouldn’t be tempted to comfort her. What she was about to hear wasn’t going to be easy. He would only make it harder for her if he gave her to have an excuse to break down.
He glanced at Jephry who nodded slightly to him to acknowledge he would take the lead on this. That was appreciated as well. Because what Jephry had to say wasn’t going to go down well with her. Though they hadn’t known each other for very long, he hoped that they could have something more. What she was about to learn could destroy her and he couldn’t bring himself to do that.
Jephry’s voice was calm. “Who do you think burned down your house?”
Freya took a deep breath before she answered, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Jephry raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t I tell you what we know. Maybe then it will be easier for you to tell us what you know.”
He leaned forward a little. “When the city made its bid to get the Weather Shield, there was almost no chance in hell. We were little more than a rabble of people loosely kept together with violence. Until a rather clever and upcoming young man realised, there was a recipe for the Weather Shield. There needed to be order in the city so he brought order through an iron fist.”
He demonstrated this with a fist and it made her jump. Rawiri almost went to her then. He knew all of this but he had never met the man. She had and was probably amongst those that thought he was the city’s saviour.
Jephry continued, “He didn’t want attention brought to him so he hired several local gangs to keep the peace. He also hired a young Russian naval officer, who had defected, to keep tabs on all these gangs. He collected the rich and the powerful and to appeal to the academic Weather Shield Makers he made the academics the leaders of the city. They built a University and all the business leaders took up positions at the school.”
Jephry shrugged slightly as he spoke. “The government looked fair as they made it up of a committee of people from all over the city. No one knew that this enterprising man really was the power of the city through his gangs. Once the Shield was up, he started losing power as peace isn’t very fear inspiring. He started with drugs but since he couldn’t reveal his hand in the work, he couldn’t protect them either.”
Jephry placed a picture of one of the white flowers from the Shield on the table. Freya dragged it closer though he knew she had seen them before.
“Then one day the Shield started sprouting flowers. The original Shield Maker was curious and started testing the flowers. She was lucky as she had a new gadget a local genius made that allowed her to find the exact makeup of the flower. She discovered the flower had a component in it that made people addicted.”
Freya gasped when he placed a picture on the table of the Council member.
“She went to someone she trusted on the Council to make sure the flowers were regulated. She died in a very convenient accident within a month. Then Ambrosia went on sale. The gangs gained power and this Council member was afraid they would take power from him so he diversified his interests to another sources. This did not please the gangs and in fighting started.”
Jephry added other photos to the growing pile on the table but her hands were still holding the picture of Portland.
“During this time Warren Nasser discovered some players involved in both the gangs and the drugs. This Council member had to lie low a bit until he was sure no one was coming after him. He still had to cover his tracks though with Ambrosia. That is where the threats to you come in. This Council member can no longer completely trust his gang connections anymore.”
Jephry added the last picture on the pile of her own home burning. Beneath it was the glass of the break in at the back of the house.
“He can’t come out and kill you as he knows people are watching. An accident is not out of the question. Now, how close were you to being in your house when the fire started?”
Freya shook visibly as she took all this in. Her voice when she spoke was brittle, “I’m usually home at that time. I went to see my mother tonight. I had something to ask her. I usually only see her on the weekends. I’m always home at that time. Oh, my goodness, I was supposed to die in that fire.”
She glanced at the two of them, her eyes wide. “Are you going to arrest that bastard Portland?”
Jephry shook his head slightly. “Unfortunately, the Charter says for a Council member to be arrested they have to have proof against them without a shadow of a doubt. Now we only have speculation and theories. For instance, if I asked you about the time Portland threatened you, could you tell me exactly what the threat was?”
Freya shook her head. “He—he—just broke a few things. Oh, no, he is going to get away with this, isn’t he?”
This is when Rawiri came forward. “It is going to be alright, we can protect you in the meantime, and eventually Portland will make a mistake.”
He could tell she was close to a breakdown. Well overdue as far as he was concerned. She glanced up at him, her eyes pleading. “Protect me?”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. It was a little awkward as he wasn’t sure how to show comfort without pulling her into his arms like he wanted to. “The atramento. Hal would be happy to give them to you.”
Freya shook her head. She was quite pale now. “I don’t know if it will work on me.”
Rawiri shrugged, knowing better than anyone that the atramento couldn’t be right for everyone.
He flashed her one of his most confident smiles. “Hal will tell you for sure.”
___
Freya struggled to get her shaking under control. She had spoken enough with Warren to know she had to calm herself to gain the atramento. If she wasn’t calm, it could be dangerous. They would start a cataclysmic cascade if she had the atramento put on her when her EM fields were in fluctuation.
Also, if she had blocked channels or dark spots in her aura, she could have an adverse reaction. She had heard the last person to try it like that had gone mad and committed suicide. There were also the normal side effects of trying something as new and innovative as the atramento.
A little like what she had seen with Rawiri when he had come to her lab today.
Rawiri sat down next to her on the couch as Agent Harold spoke with Hal. Rawiri put his arm around her without a word and settled in against her side. His warmth seeped into her and she took a deep breath. She could smell his warm scent though masked with smoke from the fire.
Freya asked curious, “What are they like?”
He shrugged and tugged up his sleeves so she could touch and see his balance atramento. “You saw the speed one. They can be tricky but the ones she will put on you will have the least negative effect.”
She frowned as she traced the curves of the letters on his arms. “Are there always negative effects?”
He shrugged. “I assumed there always is. Misha said that within the first few days you can be a little disoriented. But otherwise, it adds to you rather than anything else.”
Nervously Freya asked, “What about EM fields? Do you think—”
He didn’t completely dismiss her fears but said gently, “I think if you can bring yourself back to where you usually are you will be fine. I know that is difficult after you have lost your house. But Hal suggested to me just today that if you think of good things it can help with your EM fields.”
Freya raised an eyebrow,
suddenly interested in what his happy thoughts had been about. “Really? Is it that fickle?”
He smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “I think feelings strongly influence it. But what I can tell from experience is our sense of self dictates the main flows.”
She settled in closer to him. He tugged her closer. He probably thought she was cold. Agent Harold finished speaking with Hal and the two of them approached.
Hal nodded her head. “The Bioware complicates things but it shouldn’t be any trouble. I wondered what an atramento would do with someone of your unique circumstances. Your EM Fields are a little shaky but not too bad.”
Freya gathered herself and stood up. She felt a little adrift, away from the warmth of Rawiri’s body. When Freya stood up Hal frowned and said to Rawiri, “Come with us. You can talk to her and keep her mind settled while I work. You like to talk, don’t you?”
Freya glanced at Rawiri who grinned. He really did have nice teeth she thought as she followed them to the tattoo parlour.
Freya nervously lay down on the tattoo chair.
She glanced to Hal. “Is it going to be any trouble?”
Freya hoped she wouldn’t have to spell it out as she didn’t want anyone to know about the Bioware that gave her mobility.
Hal leaned in close so she could talk softly in her ear, “You are more and never less.”
Hal patted her shoulder. “I think we will start with the balance. Hopefully, you can hide the health atramento on your cheek with some makeup. Not that I have any.”
Rawiri asked, “None left from the wedding?”
Hal blushed. “Oh, I suppose I might. I’ll have Misha look around while I work.”
Hal waved off Misha who was standing at the door. She saw his warm smile as he left.
___
The makeup covered up the atramento well. Not surprising as Freya’s skin was pale like milk and the pink of the health atramento looked more like an odd, shaped blush. Rawiri glanced at her as he drove her to her lab in the agency car.
Freya sighed. “You should have got Agent Harold to drive so you could stare at me.”
Rawiri flushed. “I don’t mean to stare. I’m just thinking—well, we will need to check up on you and though it will seem normal to drop you off today, after the fire, I thought that…”
He looked at her again before flicking his eyes back to the road. “I was thinking that if we started dating no one would think it strange if I’m around all the time.”
Freya grinned at him. “Is this just a ploy to ask me on a date? I would have said yes to a normal date, you know.”
He glanced at her again. “Really?”
She shrugged, surprised by how easy this all was. “Sure, why not? You are cute and I’m really bad at dating so I’m not that picky when people ask me out.”
Rawiri turned his attention to the road again and after a long moment he said, “I think I’d like that.”
Her voice when she answered was warm, “I’d like that as well.”
The last girl he had dated was while he was still undercover and those kinds of relationships were never serious as he had been living a lie. One he hadn’t realised had been hurting him until he had stumbled on Hal and her atramento.
___
The lab was dark when they approached. Not surprising as it was late. Had Freya really spent the whole day dealing with all of this? She frowned.
She hoped her parents weren’t too worried as this was her usual night to have dinner with them. She had called them from the Agent’s headquarters or whatever they called the place.
Rawiri parked the car and came around to help her. She picked up the bag of clothes that they had stopped to buy on the way. It would take a while for her to replace everything but at that moment she was just too tired.
She leant on Rawiri when he offered support. He said, “I’m sorry about all of this.”
She shook her head. “It is not your fault.”
He growled softly. “I feel it is. We should have caught this guy already. It rankles that there isn’t anything we can do.”
Freya reached and let her fingers brush the atramento on her cheek. “You have done enough.” She stood up straight. “I’m fine you know. You don’t have to walk me in.”
Rawiri hesitated then walked towards the door of the lab. She sighed and followed. He would need her code to get inside, anyway.
Inside there were a few lights left on for certain experiments. She went to her office where there was a large couch she often crashed on when it seemed too far to go home when she would just be at work again in a few hours.
She hesitated at the door of her office. She wasn’t sure what to do with Rawiri. She knew he was waiting for something. Well, so was she. She just wasn’t sure what it was.
Rawiri tugged the bag of clothes out of her hands and then took her hands in his own. He pulled her closer. Her heart skipped. She liked being close to him but it was definitely on the thrilling side. She hadn’t decided though if it was a good thrill or a bad thrill.
One thing she was sure of was she was going to find out. She leaned up to kiss him. His hands went to her hair and pulled her closer for the kiss. She was tall so she didn’t have to reach up too far. In fact, in her estimation they were perfect heights for each other as they fit perfectly together.
She rested her hand on his shoulder and pushed thoughts out. She wanted to enjoy this and not worry about everything in her life.
It was a long moment before he pulled back.
His eyes had turned very dark and when he spoke his voice was rough, “Night.”
He turned and left then. She wondered for a moment if she had done something wrong. But then she saw the way he strutted out of the building. She grinned.
Chapter Four
Whatinga: March, 2088
Rawiri cursed as he looked for his keys and overlooked them several times. He was rushing because he was already late. When he found them, he shoved his keys into the front pocket of his jeans and grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door.
He shrugged on his leather jacket. A gift from a foster father who had actually been decent. That man had worked hard to get Rawiri to open to him. He was the first man he trusted after he had left his brother and Tama’s gang. But his wife had not warmed to Rawiri and he had moved on. A little more bitter to have seen what it could have been like.
Rawiri walked even though he was late.
Since his place was actually closer to her parents’ neighbourhood they had decided he would pick her up from there. Why he had agreed to that was beyond him. He felt like a teenager taking a girl to the prom. With a good chance of meeting her parents on their first date.
They would both walk down to a local restaurant. Freya had offered for her parents to cook but there was no way in hell he would want to do that.
He ran his hand through his hair and wondered if he should have stopped for more than just a quick change.
Maybe he should have had a shower but that would have made him even later.
He knocked on her door and it opened fast enough he knew she had been waiting for him.
Rawiri stuttered a greeting when he saw Freya. She was wearing a short dress that flowed around her. Cut daringly at the front it showed off her assets. He thought he said something but he wasn’t sure what.
Freya pushed him out of the door and slammed the door closed behind her. She flashed him a grin. “Trust me, you don’t want to meet my parents. At least not yet.”
She gave him a shyer version of her usual grin and he broke the tension by offering his arm. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet her parents. Wouldn’t that mean they were serious? At least she was on the same page. He wouldn’t mind if they went slow. Very slow. His mind wandered into sensual territory and he had to clear his throat before he could speak.
He said, “Ah, you look lovely.”
He blushed when he said it and he wondered if it would fill the night with him uttering bland compl
iments. His hand tightened on her hand on his arm and he thought maybe he would just shut up. Surely he couldn’t make an idiot out of himself if he didn’t talk at all.
There was a long awkward silence as they walked to the restaurant and he wondered if this had been a good idea at all. But when he glanced at her, he changed his mind. When would he ever get the chance to go out with someone as beautiful as her?
Freya had worn her hair out and it cascaded down her back in golden waves. Her skin was pale and since it was a little colder at night, her cheeks held a faint blush. Her eyelashes were thick and when she glanced at him it was through their grandeur.
Rawiri took a deep breath. He had been an undercover cop for years he could do better than this. He had convinced drug dealers he was a petty punk, surely he could convince her he was at least mildly interesting. He wanted this to be fun for her and he would make it fun.
Unfortunately, the first thing that came to mind was a dirty joke and he was so nervous he started telling it before he had thought it through. He closed his eyes briefly before he got to the punch line. This was going to be a long night.
___
Isabella looked up when Agent Harold entered the cell. She flicked her hair at him and lay back in a seductive invitation. Which she completely failed at. Mainly because she wore a bright orange suit and she was very pale and gaunt. If she had been in designer clothes, she would have been called waifish but here she looked washed out. She tried this every time he visited her.
She asked, “Couldn’t resist could you, Agent?”
He leaned against the door as he usually did. She sighed and sat up. She went to her desk and sat in the steel chair.
Isabella pretended to work on something. “What brings you here today, Agent?”
“The usual,” there was no inflection to his voice as he spoke. This was a boring ritual he knew the young Miss Hauser needed to perform.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “And I suppose you are offering the usual. You know this is inhumane to keep me from the one thing that will keep me alive.”
It did not sway Jephry. “You have access to the drug here in the prison.”
Hidden Hero Page 3
