AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  “I wouldn’t say I took him on—” I started.

  “You survived! That’s enough for me. Good on you.”

  I grinned and she waved in Logan. After he was cleared, we went over some paperwork and checked in with Clancy, who couldn’t add anything to our investigation yet. In the afternoon, Logan and I stood guard for Darla.

  We set in for a few hours of mind numbing guard duty. Everyone was asked the same question. Everyone gave the same answer. Some employees cast dirty looks in my direction. I figured they must blame me for having to go through this ordeal.

  Toward the end of the day, Hank was helping track down the last few agents that needed to see Darla. Darla was less than patient.

  “I ain’t got all the time in the world for this. Let’s go see that Walker.”

  She strode out of the room and down the hall with purpose. She knew exactly where she was going. Someone was a few steps ahead of us and Vincent was already waiting in the interrogation room. I hesitated at the door. My stomach doing flip-flops pushed out the feeling of something missing that I had carried around all morning. Darla shooed me into the room in front of her. Logan stuck with us as well.

  It was the first time Vincent and I had been face to face since the incident.

  Vincent’s eyes widened subtly when he saw me; the rest of his face was as blank as ever. He looked tired, though. He needed a shave and his wrists were red. He’d probably been cuffed and re-cuffed several times in the past day. He saw me looking at his wrists and lowered his hands below the table.

  I should hate him, but I didn’t. Something about him pulled at me, but I couldn’t peg down the feeling. It was confusing the hell out of me.

  “Do you know who I am?” Darla asked as she sat down. I took the vacant chair beside her.

  “I do not,” Vincent replied.

  “My name is Darla. They pulled me out of retirement for you. I’ve got a special set of skills to set this mess straight.”

  Vincent nodded.

  “Tell me why you’re here,” Darla said.

  Vincent relayed his story from the day before.

  Darla nodded, satisfied with the story. “Okay, girl,” she said to me, “ask him your questions.”

  I blinked in surprise. I had never questioned someone before.

  I decided to go with the obvious. “Do you want me dead?”

  Vincent put his cuffed hands back on the table and leaned forward slightly.

  “I do not want you dead.” He looked straight at me, his eyes never wavering.

  I didn’t need Darla here. I believed him.

  “Are you okay?” Vincent asked.

  “We’re doing the questioning,” Logan said.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “It leads me to my next question. You said my soul wasn’t whole anymore. What exactly does that mean for me?”

  Creases formed ever so slightly around Vincent’s eyes. “I’m not certain yet. We have embarked into new territory. Please understand that I will do everything in my power to correct this mistake.”

  “Mistake?” Logan said. “You read a name in a file and my partner ends up almost dead. That’s more than a mistake, it’s criminal.”

  “I know you don’t really believe that,” Darla said. “Have you put yourself in the boy’s shoes?”

  “No,” Logan said.

  “Liar,” Darla said.

  “I understand Logan’s concerns,” Vincent said. “If Cassie had died—”

  “But I didn’t.” I stood up. “I don’t have any more questions.”

  “I have one,” Logan said. “Does someone want my partner dead?”

  “It’s a possibility that we must consider,” Vincent said. “As long as I am here, it will not happen.”

  Darla shook her head. “You’ve got to tell the truth.”

  Vincent frowned almost unperceptively. “As long as I’m here, I’ll do what I can to stop anything from happening.”

  Darla nodded, but the frown never left Vincent’s face.

  Logan took a long look at Vincent. Finally, he nodded and left the room.

  “I’ve gotta go look over a few more agents,” Darla said.

  “I’m sure you’ll be out of those cuffs soon,” I said to Vincent.

  Once again, he put his hands under the table.

  “I’m right behind you, Darla,” I said.

  Hank waited outside the conference room again with two agents. Darla made quick work of them. By the end of the day, everyone had been cleared for duty.

  After delivering the news to Barry, we said our goodbyes to Darla.

  “Never thought I’d meet a Walker,” she said on her way out. “Never thought I’d meet someone who had survived a Walker. But still, this day was boring as shit.”

  I grinned. “It could have been worse. Someone could have said yes.”

  Barry cleared his throat and thanked Darla for her service. Once she was gone, he turned to Logan and me.

  “Vincent has been cleared.” Barry narrowed his eyes at me. “Cassie, you have the right to bring up formal charges against him.”

  I shook my head.

  “He has requested a temporary transfer to this office. If you two have any reservations, I need to hear them now.”

  My stomach tightened. Did I have any reservations about him? It had been an accident. Even without Darla, I was sure about that.

  I shrugged.

  Logan took more time to answer. “I guess I’m fine with it.”

  “Good to hear. He’s working with your team,” Barry said.

  “Having him in the building is one thing, but—” Logan started.

  “He’s a skilled investigator and he wants to keep an eye on the, ah, situation he has caused,” Barry said.

  Logan crossed his arms. “I’m an investigator, and we have plenty of others around.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “And now you have another on your team.” Barry raised his voice. “Come in.”

  Chapter 6

  Hank popped his head into the office. “He’s here.”

  “Send him in,” Barry said.

  Vincent came into the room, for once without cuffs.

  Barry got straight down to business. “You’ll be working with Logan and Cassie. Let me be clear on this. Logan is the lead at all times. You will defer to him in everything.”

  “Agreed.” Vincent’s voice was impassive.

  “Don’t sound so damned excited about it,” Logan said.

  Barry ignored Logan. “We’ll see about arranging accommodations for you in the short term. Normally, I’d ask an agent to house you for a few weeks, but for now, we’ll set up a short term housing fix.”

  Vincent nodded without saying anything.

  “Logan, Cassie, get him caught up on the case.” Barry turned his attention to a file on his desk. “Hank will have information on accommodations.”

  Logan looked resigned when he walked out of the office. I followed behind Logan and the office door clicked shut behind Vincent.

  “Go talk to Hank,” Logan said. “We’ll meet you in the control room.”

  Vincent nodded and we watched him retreat down the hallway.

  Logan moved away from Barry’s door before talking. “If you don’t want to work with him, we can get him removed from the team.”

  My eyes were still on the hallway that Vincent had been in moments before. “Will he be able to help?”

  Logan shrugged. “Not if we don’t trust him.”

  “Do you trust him?” I asked.

  “He’s like a blank slate. You can never tell what he’s thinking.”

  I frowned and looked at Logan. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like he has the world’s best poker face, but he wears it all the time. By looking at him, you’d never be able to tell if he felt anything.”

  This didn’t mix with what I’d seen of Vincent. It was hard to tell what he might be feeling, but the slight movements he made seemed to speak volumes ab
out what he was feeling.

  “You don’t get a feel for anything he’s thinking or feeling?” I asked.

  “The man’s a clean slate.”

  I cast my eyes back down the hall again. Usually it was Logan that caught way more than I did. Maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t really there.

  It wasn’t a comforting thought.

  “Maybe he’s that way because he doesn’t know us,” I suggested.

  “You’re okay with this arrangement?” Logan asked and started down the hall.

  Keeping step, I said, “If he can help, I think we should let him join.”

  “No one knows too much about Walkers,” Logan said. “Maybe we’ll get the chance to find out more.”

  Hank was across the control room reviewing the massive bank of computers with large display screens. Vincent stood nearby, also watching the screens.

  Something in me loosened as we approached. It was almost as if I had been holding my breath and had only now found that I could inhale again.

  “I’ve got an update for you,” Hank said. He pulled something up on the wall monitor. “We aren't sure if this is related to your case, but it's too damned coincidental. We have four Lost that haven’t been seen in the past week.”

  “Four missing?” I didn't mean it as a question, but it popped out that way.

  “Two gnomes, a fairy, and a pixie,” Hank said. “Not confirmed missing, they haven’t been seen. It’s not that rare with the Lost, especially these particular races. We didn't think it was related at first, but then we had a call from the Ozarks this afternoon.”

  “What's going on down there?” Logan asked.

  “The centaur tribe thinks someone is missing, but they aren't sure yet. Centaurs tend to wander, so sometimes it's hard to tell. Humans were spotted in their territory yesterday. The centaurs grew uneasy and had it called in.”

  “Could be a connection,” Logan said. “Who’s down there? What do they say?”

  “Someone from the Ozark hub is with them, but they aren’t saying much,” Hank said. “They're having some language issues. We're sending you down to join up with them and find out more.”

  “When do we leave?” I asked.

  “You aren't leaving,” Hank snapped. “You're on restricted duty, so you'll be staying close to home. Logan is meeting up with agents at the AIR hub. Here's the case file.”

  Logan raised an eyebrow at Hank.

  “Everything okay today?” Logan asked him.

  “I—” Hank had started to sneer in my direction but stopped. He cleared his throat. “Not sure what’s gotten into me.”

  Hank handed the file off to Logan. Logan started to hand it to me, but stopped.

  “Looks like we need to head home so I can pack,” Logan said.

  “I have Cassie's new phone.” Hank moved a stack of papers and uncovered a smart phone. “Take care of this one.”

  Logan turned to go, but stopped short. “Your arrangements made?” He asked Vincent.

  Vincent nodded, but didn’t say anything.

  Hank filled in the blanks. “Nothing is available in the area, but we’ve rented him a room. As for the vehicle,” Hank looked apologetic, “we don’t have one ready for him yet. He’ll have to use the truck for now.”

  “Cassie and I have our own cars. It’ll work,” Logan said. “You’ll have to drop us off first though.”

  Vincent nodded.

  “And stay for dinner,” I added.

  “You want him with you and Margaret?” Logan asked.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Vincent said.

  “Gran’s expecting him.”

  Logan shook his head but then smiled at Vincent. “Margaret’s expecting you. Know ahead of time, I’ll kill you if you make a move against either of them.”

  My partner looked entirely too happy about that prospect.

  With that threat still on the air, the ride home was completely silent. Three could easily ride together in the truck, but having a virtually unknown third person was awkward. I passed the time by examining my new phone.

  Gran was getting ready to go when we arrived home. “It's bingo night! Dee Dee and I are going.”

  “I thought you were staying for dinner,” I said.

  “No, dear, he’s your guest.” Gran spotted Vincent and led us into the kitchen where she had a tray of cookies and some iced tea waiting.

  “Margaret, I have a few concerns about Agent Pironis. What do you get off him?” Logan asked.

  “Hard to read,” Gran replied without hesitation. She shrugged. “He's dangerous, but not dangerous to us. That's all I can tell. With time, I'll get more.”

  A small crease in Vincent’s forehead made him looked uncomfortable. “I assure you that I am no danger to you or your family.”

  “Of course not.” Gran smiled sweetly. “I just said that.”

  “I guess I needed to hear that before I left,” Logan said. “I'm heading out of town, but I'll send Jonathan over to check on things.”

  As soon as Gran headed out, Logan got down to business.

  “Margaret has given this guy a clean bill, but the fact of the matter is, he was sent to kill you,” Logan said. “Now, I trust your grandmother, but he could have been sent here to insinuate himself into our lives.”

  “What reason would I have to infiltrate Cassie's life?” Vincent asked.

  “Maybe you need to get some information,” Logan said.

  “First off,” Vincent started, his emotions flitting across his face, “she should be dead now.” He looked pained for a moment, but pushed on. “I wasn't exaggerating yesterday when I said it was unheard of to stop when someone's essence has started pulling away from them. I was sent here to dispose of a fiend, a demon. That was all.”

  I felt Logan and Vincent's bottled up emotions starting to uncork and pour themselves around the room.

  “Why couldn't you tell she wasn't a fiend right off?” Logan asked. There was no trace of his smile now.

  “You don't look at a person and know,” Vincent countered. Lines of anger were playing across his face.

  “Paperwork?” Logan said. “Someone writes something down on a piece of paper and the Walker just follows along.”

  “I've already admitted it was a mistake. I requested this transfer in order to rectify that mistake.” Vincent's words were low and intense. Anger started seething out of him.

  That was the last push. The world broke around me and the Path opened. There was no attempt on my part to read the Path. It was just there. My breath became raspy as my senses were assaulted. The usual shimmering ripple of the Path had turned into a deluge that poured over me. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, but the Path was still there. I might as well have had my eyes wide open. Looking at Logan, I gasped and nearly fell out of my chair. Logan and Vincent were talking, but the words were not penetrating my reading of the Path.

  Eyes glued to Logan, I saw him like never before. What was once cloaked from me was no longer hidden. Golden hues wound their way around a gleaming core. Seeing the bright sun that was Logan's Path took my breath away. It was beautiful and frightening at the same time. How had this hidden from me for so long?

  As he leaned in toward me, I pulled back. Covered by that brightness, I felt something buried deep in Logan, something that I never wanted to see break out. As I looked at the crushing waves of information, Vincent's Path came into view. I felt like I was drowning. Layers of suppressed emotions hung around him. Other darker spots clung to him. They seemed a part of him, but at the same time alien. One of these strands was deeply familiar to me, but I had never seen it. It wound in and out of his entire being. It was the first time I had ever seen a part of my own Path.

  As suddenly as it came, it was gone. My eyes could barely focus. What was once my bright kitchen was now ashen and dim. I leaned forward at the table breathing heavily, trying to get my eyes to adjust.

  “Cassie, can you hear me?” asked Logan.

  I nodded.

/>   “What happened?” Logan asked.

  “It--it was the Path. But not like usual, not like—” I took a deep breath and tried to organize my thoughts. “The Path, it opened on its own. It was different, . It poured over me. It was forceful. Stronger.” At the last moment, I decided to leave out details of Logan and Vincent's Paths. I didn't want them to know how deeply I had seen them. “It was a jumble of colors and emotion, a complete assault on my senses.”

  Vincent's blank face gave nothing away, but Logan looked tense.

  “This kind of thing shouldn't happen,” Logan said. “You.” He turned to Vincent. “Do you know what this is about?”

  Vincent looked troubled, but shook his head.

  “Maybe it was a one-time thing?” I suggested. “A side effect?”

  “Things should have settled down overnight,” Vincent said.

  I rolled my head in a few circles to shake off the unsteady feeling the Path had left.

  “Keep an eye on her.” Logan got to his feet. “The sooner I go, the sooner I get back.”

  Once Logan left, it only took a moment for me to realize that I was alone with Vincent. Unease began to build around me.

  Vincent broke the silence. “You don't look comfortable with this arrangement. I’ll go.”

  “It's fine,” I said. “In fact, it will give me time to catch you up on the case.”

  “If you are certain.”

  “I am.”

  “I gather you are looking for missing persons?” Vincent asked.

  “Actually, we're looking for a murderer.” I filled Vincent in on the details while I served up the roast that Gran had been cooking.

  Vincent's complete lack of questions meant we spent the second half of dinner in awkward silence.

  My mind raced over different questions ranging from delicate to rude, but I needed to know.

  “You said you know me.” I could feel my face going red. “What do you know?”

  Vincent took a moment to respond. “I took in what makes you, you. I see your stronger memories and how these memories sculpted your personality.”

  “So you know my personality type and a few memories.”

  Vincent's brows furrowed. “There have been great upheavals throughout your life. The most recent was a few years ago.”