by Lindsay Nall
“Maybe we should stop in for a visit; it’d be nice to see everyone again.” Vander mused out loud making everyone look at him. “We’re close to the East District aren’t we?” Mari nodded looking between the two paths that forked in front of them. The left path would lead them along the eastern valley wall until they reached the bridge to cross but the right would take them down into the valley where, if you knew where you were going, you could reach the entrance to the Eastern District. She knew they had been getting closer to it but in the back of her mind hoped no one would notice. Over the past four days as they got closer and closer to the valley she had failed at coming up with a single reason to veer them off this path and further away from the district building. “It would be better than camping tonight and think of the food!” Vander’s mouth watered thinking of the meals they would have.
“I would like to visit too.” Reagan added though he too was looking forward to the idea of a large meal overseeing the East District for the first time.
“Mari? Are you ok with this?” Nyght asked noticing the look on her face. She shook her head and slapped a smile on her face.
“Of course I am! It’s my home isn’t it?” Nyght nodded with a smile but he could see right through her act. The thought of going home bothered her immensely and he knew why. The moment the four stepped inside they would have to be briefed on what could and could not be said in the district building along with having to hide their coats somewhere and don the apparel of field researchers. On top of that Bart would have to be the one to do the briefing. Nyght wasn’t sure if it was fear or anger rolling off of Mari as she led them down the valley trails but he knew it wasn’t the fake happiness she was trying to portray. Damn Vander and his big mouth. Nyght had known long ago that their path would take them near the East District but hadn’t said a word hoping the others would take the hint and do the same. He was still the only one out of the three that knew about what happened between Mari and Bart and now, as they passed through some high shrubs into a small hidden courtyard, Nyght almost wished he had told the others.
Mari came to a stop outside a large rock wall. If the small hidden courtyard hadn’t been here there would have been no indication that there was anything unusual in the area. Searching around the rock wall for a moment Mari finally found what she was looking for and pressed on a small oddly colored stone. As soon as she did the wall began to shake making the group take a step back as a section of it sank backward then slid to the side on a hidden track.
“Who’s there?” One of the two guards that were always stationed at this entrance questioned as they came out of the door. “Shadows? Marisol!”
“Hey, Dean. Bill.” She greeted the guard who spoke then nodded to the second, he made no move to nod back as he eyed the group in front of them. “You gonna let us in or what?”
“You know I have to call Bart.” She gave the guard she had called Dean a long-suffering look making him sigh. “You are going to get me fired one day woman.” Turning on his heal Dean waved for the group to follow him. “You know what to do just make sure you debrief them, the last thing we need is a riot.” Mari waved off his comments as she led the group of four into a small changing room to the right of the door.
“Lock your coats up, leave your weapons, grab a researcher’s coat and for the love of god do not bring up Shadows, demons or fieldwork. If you’re not sure you can carry out a lie, then don’t start it and please make sure you keep your marks covered.” Mari ran down the list of rules as she opened one of the half-dozen lockers in the room and hung her coat in it.
“Well, I don’t plan on running around naked so that won’t be a problem,” Nyght muttered opening the locker next to hers and placing his bow and quiver inside. At the curious look Mari was giving him he leaned against the locker door and gave her a grin. “curious?”
“You’re a pervert you know that?” He laughed then poked her in the forehead.
“You’re the one that’s blushing.” She grit her teeth then slammed the locker door shut with flair before storming over to the wall where the extra researcher coats were hanging.
“What did you say to her now?” Vander asked trying to get his morning star to stay in the locker.
“Who me? I’m completely innocent.” Nyght shut his locker with ease and went to get a coat. Vander stuck his tongue out at the back of his head.
Once everyone had stored their items and found coats that fit them Mari went over the list of things they could and could not say one more time.
“Mari we’ve got this, we won’t screw up.” She nodded at Reagan knowing she was being overly cautious but they had nothing to compare the researchers in this district to. She had lived with them and learned the hard way what she could and couldn’t say. If one of them screwed up in the short time they were here it would leave a mess for someone else to clean up.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.” Nyght put an arm around her shoulders leading her down the hall towards the main foyer of the building where the koi pond she had missed so much sat.
“Mari! Are you home? Are you really home!?” Bart’s voice could be heard echoing through the hallway as a Wigget flew down and hovered in front of Mari’s face.
“We’re just stopping by.” She slapped at the Wigget making it fly up higher to evaluate the group she led.
“We? Oh! Nyght! Wait…” The Wigget flew back down in Nyght’s face this time.
“What’s the big idea of having your arm around her?!” Nyght rolled his eyes but did not move to take his arm away from Mari.
“Stop it.” Mari’s voice was quiet but stern and the Wigget flew up again.
“Oh, Vander and Reagan too! I’ll have them prepare a feast for you at once! You must be beat too! I’ll prepare rooms for you all! I’ll be right down! I want to hear…” Mari snatched the Wigget out of mid-flight and turned it off. Setting the Wigget on the edge of the koi pond she gave it one last glare then shook her head.
“Dining hall’s this way.”
“But Bart said he was coming here…” Vander whispered.
“You know how he is when he’s excited…do you want to deal with that or do you want something to eat?” Vander and Reagan perked up at her statement.
“Like you have to ask.” The three followed Mari up a few corridors and into the dining hall. They were all sitting around relaxing a little bit, eating and talking to the district members wary in their word choice. As far as anyone here knew they were all field researchers and Mari had been transferred to head up their new sector. She found it humorous when an overexcited field worker sat down with them to try and chew their ears off about their new assignment.
“It’s classified.”
“But I won’t tell anyone! Please! It’s so boring here doing the same thing every day!” Vander had given Mari a look begging for help but she just held up her hands in surrender, a move she knew he would make her pay for later.
“Sorry man, can’t speak a word but I bet by now the files are in the archives.” The researcher had gotten excited at that swearing he would find the files and track them all down later so they could chat about it.
“You madam are a piece of work.” Vander growled pointing at Mari with a fork full of salad, she just laughed. They were just finishing their meals when Bart found them.
“Reagan! You’re looking well! Nyght, how’s the shadow? Ok? Vander! Have any more problems with your weapon? You know the departments wouldn’t mind taking a look at it again if it’s not working to your satisfaction…” Bart froze mid-sentence when a bowl collided with the back of his head. Turning he saw Mari glaring at him and sighed as he turned back to the others. “I should let you enjoy your meal, we can talk later.” He turned back to face Mari but she was gone. “Mari?” He looked around the hall but didn’t see her anywhere. “Still angry I see…”
“Bart?” Vander whispered. He remembered when Mari had first transferred to headquarters and how closed-lipped she had been about Bart, he still
didn’t know why.
“It’s nothing, just a little disagreement is all.” Bart tried to wave off Vander’s concern but froze when Nyght gave an annoyed snort. “So she talked to you about it?” He looked at Bart out of the corner of his eye but shook his head.
“None of my business man.”
“I see.” Bart left and a moment later Vander turned to Nyght.
“Is she going to be ok if Bart finds her?” He asked. Nyght shrugged but quickly got up and left to try and find her before Bart did. Maybe if she could work through some of her anger with him she wouldn’t kill Bart when he found her.
This was ridiculous. She was running like a child in a game of tag but at the same time, she felt better knowing the longer she could keep it up the longer it would be before Bart could confront her. It was stupid to run from this, but she was afraid of the blow-up and even more afraid of the repercussions it would cause. If this argument, or whatever it was, came to light in front of an audience there would be too many people privy to her personal life, but if it happened in private she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to control her temper.
“So, the rumors are true, you are home.” She froze at the voice as she made her way down the walkway. Of all the people who could have found her it had to be him.
She didn’t have time for whatever conversation he wanted to have right now but as usual, she had stopped or acknowledged him in a way that made it hard to walk away without feeling like a jerk. “Hey, Jere…what’s up?”
“What’s up? You just up and leave and all you have to say is what’s up?” He was angry with her and she couldn’t blame him, she was the one who had been stupid enough to give him false hope then disappear.
“Duty called, I got transferred to a new research team. There was nothing I could do about it.” She shrugged trying to keep an ear out for Bart’s incessant yelling. From the sound of it, he was at least two floors above her.
“Tell me the truth, do you just enjoy destroying men?” That caught her off guard. “First Tadum, then whatever is going on between you and Bart, I don’t want to believe the rumors but with the way he’s been acting since you left it’s hard not to.” Rumors?
“What rumors?”
“That the reason you two had a falling out is that you were involved and broke up.” Involved?! Oh, this was just great, she gets called to be a Shadow and now everyone thought she had been sleeping with the boss. Wonderful.
“Me and Bart have never had any kind of relationship other than friendship.” Jeremiah let out a scoff. “If you want to believe the rumors that’s your business. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“Sure just run off, give a lame excuse then leave that’s how it is with you right?” Her brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he acting like this? And why did he seem so angry? Sure she had just disappeared without a word but he shouldn’t be this mad over that. Something else was going on. “Marinique stopped by the district last week.” Well crap, she knew she had forgotten to do something when she left. “I asked him about Marclay needing to approve your suitors, he said it was a ridiculous thought and that I should just man up and take the rejection.” Double crap. “I’m not even that mad though, to be honest.” Her eyebrows went up in shock, he sure seemed mad. Even with what she knew about his temper this seemed a little out of place, it was calm anger that made her wonder what was brewing under the surface.
“You’re not?”
“No, and you know why?” She shook her head not sure she was going to like what he had to say. “Because I had time to think, you’re a black widow.” She was a spider? “You destroy every man you touch! Well, I’m not letting you destroy me! I’m glad I came to my senses before anything happened.”
“Jeremiah, you can’t honestly think… I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Oh, so you were protecting me?” She nodded. “Were you protecting me when you lead me on?” She bit her lip. “Were you protecting me when you lied and used your uncle and that damn bat as a reason to reject me?” Marclay let out a low hiss.
“No, I just, I wasn’t ready for anything romantic then…”
“So you are now!? Let me guess it’s one of your little research friends, maybe they should know what kind of woman you are!” He couldn’t be serious. This conversation had gone from weird to ridiculous in a hurry and she was pretty sure none of her team would take too lightly to anything he said to them.
“I can’t see you spreading lies like that. It’s not the kind of person you are.”
“They’re not lies! You drove away Tadum and Bart…” Anger at the whole situation with Bart coupled with the frustration of Jeremiah’s attitude came burbling out of her.
“This ends now! You know nothing of what has happened in my life and you will stop this.”
“No one tells me what to do!” He took three long strides bringing himself to a stop nearly chest to chest with her. This was the temper everyone had warned her about, but she couldn’t back down if she did he would think he won and she wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Step away from me.”
He challenged her with not only his stance but the look in his eyes and she had no doubt he would hit her if the mood struck him right. She had been trying so hard to save his feelings she hadn’t realized she had given his temper something to sink its hooks into. “Make me.”
They stared at each other for a long minute gauging each other’s will. It was a quick motion that made Mari react, Jeremiah had drawn back his hand, so she pulled in the air around them and pushed him across the hallway and into a closed door with it.
“What the hell was that?!” He sat on the ground staring at her wide-eyed.
“That is an infinitesimal part of me that you don’t know about. What you will know now is that if I ever find you have raised your hand to anyone again a little gust of wind will be the least of your problems.”
“You’re goddam crazy!” She shrugged as he stood. “I’ll make sure everyone knows, I’ll make sure you never set foot here again! Everyone will know what kind of monster you are!” He took off down the hallway before she could get another word out.
As she watched him disappear down the hall she gave a loud sigh. Out of the four of her group, she was the one that broke the rules she had beat into everyone else’s heads. She was going to have to tell someone about what just happened, she just wasn’t sure who or how fast she would need to do it.
“Damn…lost him.” Nyght muttered realizing he didn’t see Bart anywhere and no longer knew where he was. From a floor or two above he could hear Bart calling Mari’s name and growled. Turning he started back the way he came but stopped when Mari landed on the railing next to him from the level above.
“Idiot…oh! Nyght.” Nyght nodded as she jumped down to the floor with the ease of a cat.
“You ok?”
“I’m fine. I know how to dodge him.” She waved a hand dismissing the subject but the look Nyght gave her made her feel awkward. “I know I’m being childish.”
“It’s understandable.”
“No, it’s not, I’m running from my problems. I hate confrontation.” She leaned on the banister overlooking the floors below, Nyght leaned next to her.
“I hate fighting with Alto but he’s never caused me the kind of pain Bart caused you.” Mari fiddled with the necklace she wore for a moment.
“I know I should talk to him…if something happens to me out in the field I don’t want him to think I died angry with him.”
“Are you angry with him?” Mari thought about it for a second then shook her head.
“I don’t know anymore. In a way I know he was just trying to protect me because he loves me but at the same time I can’t figure out how someone who loves you can hurt you so deeply.” She dropped her necklace and started picking her nails. Nyght watched her for a moment wondering just what kind of love she meant.
“Do you love him?”
“Of course.” Her smile was soft and filled with deep emot
ion, how could he have been so blind not to notice it before? He berated himself for a minute wondering how he could have missed this, how he could have let himself be misled.
“Then you need to go to him.” She stood up straight at the change in Nyght’s voice, where before he had been sympathetic and caring now his voice was cold and almost emotionless. Something had changed him in a split second but before Mari could figure out what it was he turned her around and pushed her down the hallway. “Go.” Her step faltered but after a moment she nodded and walked off but the entire walk to Bart’s office she couldn’t get the flat look in Nyght’s eyes out of her head.
Bart wasn’t in his office when she got there so she sat in one of the plush chairs in the corner and waited for him to come back. It gave her time to think about everything, to try and see things from his point of view and in the twenty minutes it took before she heard voices outside the door her anger had fizzled out.
“I can’t find her anywhere.” Bart muttered.
“She is very good at hiding sir.” That voice, she knew, belonged to the chief scientist Andre. He was a sweet older man with two grown children living in a bordering town.
“I know, it’s been two months since she left and three since she would talk to me.”
“With all due respect sir, she has a right to be angry with you.” Bart’s sigh was loud enough for Mari to hear and a second later the door opened. Bart froze in the doorway staring at the woman in his office.
“He’s right Bart.” She whispered standing and walking over to stand next to his desk. Andre nodded and closed the door leaving the two alone, maybe now Bart would stop moping all the time.
“Marisol…”
“Still unorganized I see.” She straightened a few folders on his desk as he nodded.
“Yeah…I…” She held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say.
