Chapter 1
Gabriel stood up and turned around. Jake was standing in the doorway.
"You all right, man?"
"Ah. Y-yeah," Gabriel replied. He was still somewhat shaken.
"We need to get you out of here, dude," Jake said.
Gabriel fought to keep from laughing. It was a difficult struggle, but in the end his stubbornness won out. He knew that he would never get used to Jake's California surfer-boy attitude. Once he was sure he could open his mouth without laughing, he said, "I, uh, know you're Sara's partner and all, but why should I trust you? She told me you're one of them." He nodded his
head at Burgess's still body.
Jake put his hand into his pocket and pulled something out. He held out an F.B.I. badge. Gabriel's eyes opened wide with shock."You're with the F.B.I.?" He asked.
Jake could hear the surprise in his voice. "Field agent for the F.B.I., Department of Justice task force."
Gabriel just stood there, considering if he should trust Jake or not. Making his decision, he stepped over the dead body and followed Jake out of the shop. Now that he knew who Jake really was, he thought he could trust him. He would still keep his guard up though.
They walked to Jake's car, but when they got there, Gabriel hesitated. Jake gave him a questioning look. Gabriel still wasn't sure if he could trust him or not. Considering his other option, facing the White Bulls on his own, he decided that he didn't really have much choice. Shrugging, he opened the door and slid into the car.
He stared out the window while Jake drove to their destination. An air of awkward silence hung between them. Jake knew that Gabriel still didn't completely trust him. Opening his mouth, he started to say something. Then thinking better of it, he closed it again.
All of a sudden, Gabriel's whole body seemed to tense up. His mouth opened and closed several times before he could get it to work. "There's one of your friends," he said. He pointed at a man walking along the side of the street.
"Orlinsky." Gabriel could hear Jake cursing under his breath. "What's he doing here?" Gabriel could tell that Jake was truly worried about this. Maybe I can trust him, he said to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted when Jake spoke. "He's too close to the safe house. We'll have to drive around until the coast is clear."
Gabriel just nodded his head absently. The shock of that day's events was finally starting to wear off. If he didn't keep a tight hold on his emotions, he knew they would show on his face. It was a good thing he was used to not letting people know what he was thinking or feeling.
While trying to push all the thoughts out of his head, something occurred to him. Where was Sara? What if they went after her next? Gabriel knew that she could probably handle it if anything happened. After all, she did have the witch blade. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but knew that Sara did. Even after he had convinced himself of this, Gabriel was still concerned for her. She was his friend, how could he not worry about her when her life might be in danger.
He turned to Jake and asked, "What about Sara? Is she safe?"
Jake seemed to be thinking for a minute, then replied, "If they don't find her, she'll be fine."
Gabriel rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, that makes me feel a lot better."
Jake just stared at him for a minute. "Look, after I drop you off, I'll try to find her and make sure she's safe."
"Good luck," he said with a hint of sarcasm.
"What do you mean by that?" Jake asked defensively.
"Look, she has people chasing her. They're everywhere looking for her. She thinks you could be one of them. Do you really think she's gonna just let herself be found?"
"Well, no, but next time she gets a hold of me, I'll find out where she is."
"And you think she'll tell you?"
"Why wouldn't she?" Jake asked, annoyed.
Gabriel let out a sigh of frustration. "Like I already said, she thinks you might be one of them. She doesn't know who she can trust."
"But she trusts you?"
The corner of Gabriel's mouth twitched at that. "I'm the only one she can trust. I'm the only one who isn't keeping secrets from her."
Jake cringed at that comment. He knew the kid was right. He had wanted to tell her who he really was, but he couldn't. Not until now anyway. Now that he was inside the white Bulls he figured it was safe to tell her the truth.
They had driven in circles for about half an hour when it finally looked safe to stop. Once inside, they were stopped by a guard. "Who's that with you, McCarty?" he asked.
Jake looked around and noticed that Gabriel was hanging back. He motioned for him to come forward. After looking at the guard nervously for a few seconds, he took a couple of hesitant steps forward.
Jake put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, which he shrugged off. "This is Gabriel Bowman, a friend of mi . . . " He stopped in mid-sentence at the sudden glare from Gabriel. "A friend of my partner, Sara Pezzini. He was almost killed by one of the White Bulls. Figured he would need a safe place to stay 'til we get rid of this problem."
"Well, he'll be safe here," the guard said. He held up his rifle to reinforce this statement.
"Oh. I feel so much better now." With that he wandered off.
"What's his problem?" The guard asked, looking at Gabriel's departing back.
Jake shook his head. "I don't really know. Maybe he's just trying to act tough." He looked at his watch. "I need to go find Sara. I'll be back later to check on the kid."
From the wall where Gabriel was sitting, he saw Jake leave. His whole body seemed to relax. His head went into his hands and for the first time that day he let himself think. His head shot up as he recalled some of what had happened just a couple of hours ago. He tried to keep his mind from rerunning the scenes, but he couldn't get the images out of his head. He could feel himself start to shake as the numbness of shock wore off. He closed his eyes again and didn't open them again until he heard footsteps approaching him.
He slowly lifted his head and then opened his eyes. Walking right toward him was a young woman. She had wavy, brown hair that almost reached her shoulders. Her soft, brown eyes looked troubled. But that was the only thing he could tell by looking at her face. There was something else about her. He couldn't think of what it could be at the moment though.
He forced himself to smile and nodded his head at her. She gave him a half-hearted smile and slid down the wall to sit beside him. He searched his mind for something to say. "Uh, hello," was all he could come up with.
"So, you're another victim of the White Bulls." She stated it as a fact, not a question.
"How did you know?" He asked, puzzled.
She motioned around the room with her hand. "Everyone here is. Either they or someone they knew has gone against the bulls."
"What did you do to upset them?" He didn't think she looked like she could upset anyone if she tried.
"I wrote an article about them in the Vorshlag View."
Gabriel let out a low whistle. "A big newspaper. And one owned by
Kenneth
Irons. What happened then?"
"Well, the day after it appeared in print, I had a visit from a man by
the name of Burgess."
Gabriel interrupted her. "You don't have to worry about seeing him anymore." At her questioning look, he added, "He's dead."
"How?" She sounded surprised, but there was also a note of relief in her voice.
"He and another cop, Orlinsky, came by my shop earlier today. They wanted to know where a friend of mine was. I wouldn't tell them." He then went on to tell her the rest of the story.
"Jake McCarty? He's the one that brought me here. After the first article, I went on to write another one about how I was threatened by the White
Bulls. He came by and told me who he was. Then he brought me here."
"Can you trust him?"
"Can you trust anyone?"
Gabriel seemed to consider this for a second, then shook his head.
"Sometimes I wonder about that. But, yes, there are a few out there. My friend, Sara Pezzini, is one."
"You said she was a cop." At Gabriel's nod, she continued. "And other cops are after her. That is a unique situation."
"She's a unique person," he replied. She certainly was. He knew not just anyone could wear the witch blade.
Gabriel was brought out of his thoughts when the girl beside him started to laugh at seemingly nothing. He looked over at her. "Here we are talking like we're friends, and we don't even know each other's names," she said, still laughing.
He smiled. "Well, that's easy to correct. Gabriel Bowman." He held out his hand.
She shook his hand and introduced herself. "Renee Mackenzie."
It finally occurred to him what it was about her that he couldn't think of before. She was beautiful, especially when she smiled. Her whole face lit up.
"Gabriel?"
"What?" He asked, startled. He hadn't realized she was talking to him.
"I asked you a question."
"Oh. Sorry."
"You said something about your shop. What kind of shop is it?"
"I run the website, Talismaniac.com. I sell idols, icons, and talismans."
"So, your department is weird stuff."
He replied with a laugh, "Yeah. Artifacts, unusuals, just about anything you can find almost nowhere else."
She pulled a necklace from underneath her shirt. The chain ended with two hearts connected to a rose which sat in a horseshoe. There was a stone the color of amber in the middle of the rose.
"Think you could find out anything about this?" she asked as she unhooked it from around her neck.
"What's so special about it?" he didn't see anything unusual about it.
"That's what I'd like to know. My mother gave it to me a few years back.
Said it was special and I'd find out what it was when the time was right."
She smiled. "I've never been known for my patience."
He laughed. "Me either. Well, I can't really find out anything now, but as soon as I can get to a computer, I will do my best." He reached over to take it from her hand, but she pulled it away. "Don't you want me to find out about it?" Gabriel was confused by her behavior.
"Yes, but." She hesitated to tell him why she was reluctant to hand over the necklace.
"What is it?"
"Well, when she gave it to me, my mom told me never to trust it with anyone else. But, you seem like I can trust you. So, I guess it would be all right." She was still hesitant, but was starting to put it in Gabriel's hand.
"I'll take good care of it," he said.
She smiled at him. "I'm sure you will."
Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel saw Jake walking toward them.
Wonder what he wants now.
Jake just looked from Gabriel to Renee then back again. He was about to open his mouth when Renee said, "Hello, Jake. You trying to be a hero?"
"Huh?" He looked at her, startled.
She continued with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Saving all of us from the evildoers of the world."
Gabriel was trying to keep a straight face, but was quickly losing the battle. He put his head down on his knees to hide the slowly growing grin.
"Renee, are you ever serious?" Jake asked.
She put on a serious face and said, "Of course. All the time."
Gabriel couldn't hold it in this time. He started shaking with laughter.
After a minute, he took a deep breath and looked up.
Jake just shook his head and turned to face him. "I talked to Pez.
Told her you were safe." Then he added, 'I told her who I really am."
"Finally," he muttered.
"What's your problem, dude?"
"Oh nothing." Gabriel leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Jake realized that this meant their conversation was over. He turned around and walked away.
Gabriel opened one eye and looked after Jake's departing back. "Dude."
Renee started laughing. After a moment, she stopped and was serious once more. "You really don't like him, do you?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that."
"Then what is it?"
"I just don't trust the guy."
"But he saved your life."
He smiled. "Yes, he did do that. And I'm grateful. Doesn't mean I trust him. He lied about who he is. Why didn't he at least tell Sara he was a fed.
He was supposed to be her partner, after all."
Renee nodded her head in agreement. "You're probably right. But maybe he couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if he was undercover, he may not have been able to tell anyone whohe really is."
"Yeah. I see what you're saying."
He looked at his watch and said, "I haven't eaten since last night and it's almost noon." His stomach gave a rumble to prove the truth of his words.
Renee laughed at this. Then she said, "Tell your stomach to be patient.
I'll be right back."
She stood up and walked over to the nearest guard. She stopped and started talking to him. Renee pointed at herself and to Gabriel and the guard let her pass.
Gabriel just watched her walk away. She's so beautiful, he thought to himself. She seems so confident.
He smiled at her when she came walking back. She was carrying two sandwiches and she handed one to him. "Thanks," he said as he moved it up to his mouth to take a bite.
After a couple minutes he realized she was looking at him curiously.
"What is it?"
"You're looking at me. You haven't stopped looking at me since I got back."
A blush started to rise in his face. He tried to think of an excuse, but finally decided on the truth. "You're beautiful," he said in almost a whisper.
At these words, her eyes went wide with shock. "You must be blind," she replied. "I'm plain. There's nothing beautiful about me."
He got a sad look on his face. "How can you say that?" he asked. He lifted his hand as if to touch her face, but she pulled away before he could.
Renee looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"What's wrong?"
"No one has ever told me that before except for my mom. So why is someone else telling me now?"
"Because it's the truth."
She put her head on his shoulder and started to cry. Gabriel ran his fingers through her hair. She lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to cry in front of you."
"There's nothing to apologize for," he told her.
"It's just that I haven't cried since before I got involved in all this.
All the fear anger, and everything else I've been feeling for the past couple weeks have been building up inside."
"I know how that is. It will be all right," he assured her.
She looked up into his eyes and tried to smile. That just brought a fresh flow of tears.
Gabriel was unsure of what to do. No one had ever cared enough about him to share their feelings with him. He didn't even know what made him do it, but the next minute found him bending his head down to kiss the top of hers.
Her head came up and she asked, "Why'd you do that?"
His face started to get red again. "I really don't know."
They both started to feel awkward.
"Well, now I definitely know I can trust you."
"Why?" he asked. He was glad she thought so, but wasn't sure what had made her say it.
"Because I only tell people I trust how I feel. And they're the only one I will let myself cry in front of."
"Oh."
Gabriel heard a voice from behind him.
"Gabe, what are you doing making this young lady cry?"
He turned his head, then jumped to his feet when he saw who it was.
"Sara!"
They hugged each other tightly, then Sara let go and stepped back. She looked over at Renee and smiled. "Sara Pezzini," she introduced herself.
"Don't let Gabe upset you. He's basically harmless."
Renee shook her head. "He didn't. He's not the reason I was crying."
"Sara, this is Renee Mackenzie," Gabriel put in.
"Oh. You're the journalist Jake told me about."
"Probably," Renee replied. She was trying to dry her tear-stained face with the back of her hand.
Gabriel walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled.
Sara started laughing and shook her head. "Sometimes I can't believe you,
Gabriel Bowman."
He just looked at her.
"You haven't even been here a day and already getting into trouble."
"What are you talking about?" He demanded.
Sara nodded her head at Renee.
"How is she trouble?"
Renee, sensing Sara was joking with him, started laughing. Gabriel, finally catching on, smiled sheepishly.
"I need to talk to you, Gabe."
Renee started to turn away, figuring she wouldn't be included in the conversation. She felt Gabriel's hand touch her shoulder.
"Renee," he started.
She turned back around.
"Please don't leave," he continued. "You know as much about what's going on as the rest of us."
Her face lighted up with happiness. Most of the time she was left out of conversations. People just tended to ignore her. She was never too upset about being invisible though. It meant others were leaving her alone.
She smiled at him and he moved his hand from her shoulder to take her hand in his.
"We need to get this out to the public," Sara was saying. "How can we do that?"
Gabriel thought about this for a second. "If we could get it on the net, everyone will see it."
"How will you do that?" Renee asked.
Gabriel flashed a bright, wide smile. "You are talking about me, right?"
Renee and Sara just looked at each other and shook their heads. "A piece of advice, Renee. Never feed his ego."
He got a look of indignation on his face and Renee couldn't help but giggle at it. His face broke into a smile again.
"So when do you want to do it?" he asked Sara. "I have the equipment, so we just need to find a place to tape it."
"How about tomorrow morning?"
Gabriel nodded his head. "That'll be fine. I know a place where we can do it."
"Good."
She smiled at Renee and said, "It was nice to meet you." Turning to
Gabriel she said, "See you tomorrow." With that, she turned around and left.
"I think you were right."
"Huh?"
"She does seem . . . " She paused, trying to think of the right word.
"Trustable." She laughed at her own poor choice of words.
He laughed and said, "Yeah, she is."
They just talked for the rest of the next couple of hours. They spoke of anything and everything that made its way into their minds. To them it seemed that it was no time at all before both of them were having trouble keeping their eyes open. But neither wanted to keep their mouths closed long enough to sleep.
Finally, Renee stretched her arms out above her head and yawned. Then she laughed. "Guess we should probably get some sleep now."
"You think so?" he asked with a hint of humor. A yawn escaped from his mouth. "Yeah, you're probably right."
She removed her jacket and folded it to form a pillow. Gabriel watched her curiously, then asked, "Aren't there any beds?"
Renee uttered a snort of contempt. "If that's what you want to call them. A jacket-pillow along with a blanket and the floor's not so bad. I'm used to it, though. I used to prefer the floor to my bed. The bed was too soft."
He laughed at her last comment. "Renee, you must be tired. You're not making too much sense anymore."
"Well, it's true," she said as she walked through an opening in the wall.
She emerged a minute later, carrying two folded blankets in her arms.
When she reached him, Gabriel grabbed the top one.
"Thanks," he said.
He took off his shirt and folded it in the same way Renee had folded her jacket. He laid it down on the floor just a little bit away from where
Renee was making her "bed". She was already under the blanket when he was ready to lie down. He slid underneath his blanket and pulled it up over his shoulder.
They were laying on the floor facing each other. He could tell that under the blanket she was curled up to keep a little warmer. Gabriel wanted to go over and lie down beside her. He knew it would keep both of them warm during the cold night ahead, but he also realized that would be overstepping his boundaries.
Man, this is gonna be a long night, he thought.
However, it was not too long before both of them were sound asleep. It was the first dreamless, or rather nightmare less, night that Renee had had for the past couple of weeks. The next morning she woke up refreshed for the first time in weeks.
When she opened her eyes, Gabriel was slipping back into his shirt. He saw that she was awake and his face lit up with joy. "Looks like you had a good sleep, too."
"Yeah."
He pulled his shoes on and ran his fingers through his hair. Renee suddenly forgot about the happenings of the past couple of weeks. She forgot about where she was and why. None of that mattered anymore. All she could think of was this man in front of her who didn't even think of himself before putting his life in danger for a friend.
She was pulled out of her dream like thoughts when he put something in her hand. It was her necklace.
"B-but," she stuttered.
He smiled as he closed her hand around it. "Don't worry. I'll be back for it. And you."
He leaned over and kissed her lips. Even after he pulled away, the taste of his kiss lingered. She put the necklace back around her neck. Then she pulled him back to her for a final kiss.
"I love you," she murmured when she finally let him go.
He brushed her cheek with his lips, then pulled her into him with a strong but gentle hug. "I will be back," he promised her once more.
Renee didn't want to let him go, but she looked over Gabriel's left shoulder and saw Jake standing in the middle of the room waiting, so she knew she had to.
She hugged him once more and then reluctantly let go. He mouthed the words
I love you, turned around, and walked over to where Jake was waiting.
At the door, he turned around and looked back.
Renee lifted her hand in a signal of farewell. She thought she saw the corners of his mouth lift in a smile, but knew it was impossible to see that from such a distance.
He turned back around and walked out to Jake's waiting car. Gabriel had the sudden urge to run back in, hold the woman he had so recently fallen in love with, and forget about this whole White Bulls thing. But he resisted it.
He'd promised Sara he'd help her, so he would.
As they drove away, Gabriel remembered how Renee had felt in his arms, the feeling her trust in him had brought out, and the sight of her amber-colored eyes. It was the hardest struggle of his life to keep the tears from flooding out of his eyes. But then he remembered the look in her eyes right before he left. She still trusted him even though he could be leaving for good. But he wouldn't let himself think about that possibility. He had promised to come back, and he always kept his promises. The only thing that would keep him from it would be his death.
Renee reached up and wrapped her hand around her necklace. She could still feel the warmth Gabriel's hand had left in the charm. The touch of his hand on hers stayed with her. She knew he would keep his promise. He would be back.
Chapter 2
"Where is this place I need to take you?" When Gabriel didn't answer,
Jake asked.
"Hey man, are you there?"
Gabriel realized Jake was talking to him and shook his head to clear it of the thoughts that wouldn't leave him.
"Yeah. Sorry. It's right up there," he said. "Right off to your left.
We're almost there."
They had already been to his place to pick up his video camera, tripod, and laptop. While they were there, Gabriel quickly changed into a clean shirt.
Pulling the old one off, he had held it up to his face. It still smelled faintly of Renee. He touched a spot on it. That was where one of her tears had fallen. He could hear Jake walking into the room, so he threw it on the bed and slipped into a fresh one.
"It's the next one," Gabriel informed Jake as they neared the building. He pulled up in front of it and stopped to let Gabriel out. Sara was there standing outside. She smiled as he stepped out of the car.
"You didn't bring Renee with you?" she asked curiously.
"No. I'm going to pick her up when we're done here."
She asked, "Then why don't you seem very happy?"
He shrugged. "It's just that I want to be there now."
She gave him a sympathetic smile and they walked inside. He set up his tripod in the center of the room. Once he had everything set up and hooked together, he motioned for her to start.
"Several months ago I discovered a renegade faction within the New
York
Police Department. This society is named the White Bulls," she began.
"They act like crusaders for justice, but they're nothing more than profiteers. I have a dead man's testimony and circumstantial evidence that they murdered my father when he was on to them twenty years ago."
She paused. "Are you sure this is gonna work?"
"Yes. This is going straight to the net. This time next week, you're going to be getting more hits than Napster used to."
Sara walked over to the desk where the laptop was sitting and picked up her cup of coffee. She took a drink and as she was sitting it down, she looked at Gabriel's face. His mind was somewhere else. And she knew where that was.
She put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Why don't you go back to her?
We can finish this later."
He looked at her and seemed to be thinking. Sara knew he was strongly considering the option. Then he shook his head. "No. We'll finish here first." He gave her a friendly smile and she went back in front of the camera to finish what they had begun. An hour later they were done.
Sara asked him, "You want a ride back?"
"No. I think I'll walk. Have a lot to think about."
She nodded her head. "Yeah, ok, Gabriel. Be careful," she warned him.
"I will be."
She got into the waiting car and drove in the opposite direction from that which Gabriel was walking. He turned his head to watch her go. As he turned his head back around, he thought he saw a shadow move in the alley between the buildings. He blinked and when he looked again, it was gone. A chill went down his spine, but he shook off the feeling and walked on.
Stopping at his shop, he found that there were several messages on his machine. He listened through all of them, dismissing each one in turn as "just business". From there he went back to his place. He remembered having seen some mail on the floor when he was there earlier. Stepping inside, he picked it up and walked into the kitchen. He tossed each one down on the counter as he looked at it. "Bill, bill, bill," he muttered. He stopped as he came to a different kind of envelope. It was a check for some merchandise he had sold a few weeks ago. For some reason it didn't fill him with the same feeling it once had. "It can wait 'til later," he decided.
Gabriel went into the bathroom and turned on the water to take a shower.
Once he was clean once more, he turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel off of the sink counter. Water dripped off the ends of his hair, nose, and chin. After vigorously drying his hair with the towel, it stuck up in numerous places.
He was in the process of putting his pants on when he heard a knock on the door. "Hold on," he called as he finished pulling them on. Wonder who it could be, he asked himself as the knock came again, louder this time. He picked up the first shirt he saw and threw it on. Gabriel's face lighted up when he opened the door and saw who it was. Standing in front of him was
Sara and Renee.
"Took you long enough," Sara said jokingly.
"Patience is a virtue, you know," he bantered back.
Renee felt really shy all of a sudden. Gabriel smiled at her and her face lit up with a brilliant smile. He looked back at Sara and asked, "What are you two doing here?"
"I couldn't wait to see you," Renee answered.
"I was gonna come to see you," he said. Then he added, "I just wanted to get cleaned up first."
Renee nodded her head, "Well, Sara stopped by and saw that you weren't back yet so she took me to your shop to see if you were there. But you weren't, so we came here."
Sara smiled at them and said, "Well, I'll leave you two alone now."
Then she added, "But you two should get back to the safe house."
"We will," he replied. He still hadn't taken his eyes away from Renee.
They both heard the door shut and realized they were alone. Renee started to feel shy and nervous again. He went back into his room to pull a comb through his tangled hair and she walked around looking around his place.
"Nice place you have here,' she said from the kitchen.
Gabriel poked his head out of the bedroom and smiled at her. "Thanks."
A couple of minutes later he came walking into the kitchen. Grabbing his coat off of a chair, he said, "Well, I guess we should get going now."
They walked in silence. Renee opened her mouth once to say something, but closed it again. She was afraid she'd sound stupid.
He looked over at her and noticed that she seemed like she had something to say. He tightened his grip on her hand and she looked over at him. He was about to take this oppurtunity to kiss her, but she was too quick for him.
When she pulled away from him, he saw a smile dancing in her eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.
They had almost reached the safe house when he remembered something he had wanted to ask her. "You've said a bit about your mom, but not about anyone else in your family. What about your dad? What's he like?"
Renee's face quickly turned sad. "I don't know what to tell you. I never saw him as much as I would have liked to."
Gabriel was really curious now. But he was also afraid to ask her to explain further. He didn't want her to recall memories she would rather forget. He didn't have to ask though. She continued without further prodding.
"My parents divorced when I younger. For a while I saw him every other weekend. Then he decided I didn't have to come down as often. He thought I'd rather do stuff with friends on the weekend." She shook her head like this was the craziest thing she had ever heard. "Then he was always busy, working. But, he was still always the most important person to me."
Tears had started to come into her eyes. She smiled, but he could tell she was sad. It made his heart break. Suddenly, he saw her look of sadness turn to one of startled fright. He turned around to see a man in a long, black trench coat. This man kept his eyes trained on the ground, refusing to make eye contact.
"I have come to warn you," he said.
"What are you talking about, Nottingham?"
"You and your friend are in danger."
Gabriel just stared at him.
"I warn you for Lady Sara's sake. Go." With that he turned around and left.
"Gabriel, who was that man?" Renee asked. There was still a hint of fright in her voice, even though she tried to hide it.
Just as he was about to answer, he saw what Ian Nottingham had been warning him about. Across the street were Bruno Dante, Sara's boss, and one of his men, Orlinsky.
"Damn," he swore. "Renee, we need to get out of here."
"But," she started to say but she was unable to finish her thought.
Gabriel grabbed her hand and they were off running toward the nearest alley.
They stopped at the entrance to it and Gabriel looked around. Further down he could see an Asian man. He looked behind him and saw that Dante and Orlinsky were coming closer. He looked down the alley again and the man was gone. But there was an open doorway where he had been standing a moment before.
Thinking it could lead to safety, they sprinted for the opening. Just as they ran through the doorway, a bullet smacked into the wall beside it.
Gabriel noticed a door across the room and he ran toward it. Renee was right behind him. They reached it and went out into the bright sunlight.
They had to stop and let their eyes readjust to the sun from the dimness of the alley and building. Renee sank to the ground, trying to catch her breath.
"Are you okay?" She just nodded her head, still not completely having her breathing back to normal yet.
When she finally did, he held out his hand to help her up. She smiled up at him and accepted it. He looked around, trying to figure out where they were by the surroundings. They were only a few blocks away from the safe house. The problem was that they would have to go back the way they had just come from to reach it. He sat down and put his head in his hands, frustrated. They had come so far only to be farther behind than when they had started. And now their enemies were blocking them from their destination. "It's all my fault," he mumbled into his hands. "How could I have been so stupid?"
Renee put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Gabriel, it's not your fault.
You couldn't have known we were running the wrong way."
He shook his head, disagreeing with her. "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be at the safe house. And now you're in even more trouble. It's my fault."
She squatted down so her face was level with his. Then she held his face in her hands and said, "Listen to me, Gabriel Bowman. None of this is your fault. I left because I wanted to be with you. I still do, no matter where that happens to be. So stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't help." By this time her face was getting red with emotion.
They both got back to their feet and stood there trying to think of a way out of this problem. An idea came to Renee suddenly. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. They headed back the way they had come and passed the alley they had ducked into earlier.
Renee glanced behind them and saw Dante and Orlinsky come out of an alley.
Just as the two officers spotted them, Gabriel tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.
He stumbled, falling to his hands and knees. Renee grabbed his arm and helped him back up to his feet. His right pant leg was torn at the knee and his hands were scraped from catching himself.
"Are you all right?' she asked him, concerned.
"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head.
They started off again running as fast as they could. This wasn't as fast as before though. Both of them were tired and Gabriel was moving with a slight limp. After a while, Renee looked behind them again, but could see only one man still chasing them. That brought her up short. Gabriel, who had been running right behind her, couldn't stop in time to avoid running into her. His momentum almost knocked her over.
"What is it?"
She pointed behind them. "There's only one now."
He looked back and saw what she was talking about. She couldn't hear him but could tell he was swearing under his breath. Renee tried to clear all of the turbulent thoughts from her head so she could figure out a solution to this problem.
Just as she thought of a plan, she saw Dante coming toward them.
Gabriel grabbed her hand and took off for a space between some buildings.
Before they could make it though, he felt someone grab him from behind. He struggled to get away until he saw that Orlinsky had Renee in a tight hold.
Dante shoved Gabriel ahead of him. Every couple of steps he had to push him again to keep him moving. "You could make this a lot easier on yourself if you'd cooperate," Dante whispered in his ear. "And you'd help your girlfriend too."
Worried, he looked back behind him. Orlinsky had both of her arms pulled behind her back. She was walking with an air of dignity, not letting anyone see how scared she really was.
Gabriel wanted to tell her to stop it and do what they wanted. But he didn't really want her to. Their eyes met and they silently communicated to each other to cooperate. Then, they both shook their heads. Neither of them would give in to these men.
After struggling with their prisoners for quite some time, Dante and Orlinsky finally brought them to an empty building. They pushed them down to the hard, cold floor. Renee let out an exclamation of pain as her right shoulder hit the floor. Gabriel started to crawl over to her, but Orlinsky walked over to him and kicked his already cut up knee.
He pulled Gabriel's arms behind his back and handcuffed them together.
Then, he pulled him to his feet. He pushed him against the wall and punched him in the stomach. "That's for Burgess. And that's for making me run all over the city chasing you," he said as he landed another punch to his stomach.
Gabriel let out a grunt of pain as each blow landed. He just glared at Orlinsky the whole time. Orlinsky finished the assault with a fist to the jaw that tuned Gabriel's head around. It hit against the wall opening a small gash along the side of Gabriel's head. "And that was just for the hell of it." He let him fall to the floor as he walked away.
Tears were streaming unheeded down Renee's face as she crawled over to him. She could tell that he was in pain. His jaw was beginning to turn purple and he was wincing from the pain in his mid section.
She felt helpless because there was nothing she could do to ease his discomfort. With her head bent over him, crying, she saw his lips move before she heard the whispered words "I love you" before he slipped into unconsciousness.
She ran her hand down the side of his head and her fingers came away wet with blood. She jumped to her feet and spun around all in the same motion.
"You bastard ," she hissed through her teeth at Orlinsky.
She lunged at him, ready to attack with her hands. Before she could do so though, Dante reached out and grabbed her arm, wrenching her off of her feet. "You'd better go sit back down before you get hurt," he told her in a menacing tone.
Renee glared at him while rubbing her sore shoulder. After about a minute of this, she turned and walked back over to Gabriel. She took his head onto her lap and gently pushed his hair back from his face.
*******
Sara was walking when she felt someone coming up beside her.
"Keep walking, Sara."
"Nottingham."
"Yes. I'm afraid I have some news for you."
"You're afraid?"
"Yes. Your friends are in trouble."
"My friends? You mean Gabriel and . . . "
"Yes," he replied, cutting her off. "Your enemies have them."
"Where?" she demanded.
"Follow me. I will take you there."
She hesitated, unsure of what to do. Then Danny was right beside her.
"Go with him. He speaks the truth," he told her. Then he was gone again.
She followed him in silence until they reached an old, seemingly empty building. Then, he disappeared around the corner. Sara stood there for a few seconds, then walked inside.
Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she continued down a long corridor until she reached a large room. At once she spotted Gabriel and Renee against the far wall. Dante and Orlinsky were standing in the middle of the room with their backs to her. They were deep in conversation and didn't look up until the sound of her footsteps stopped.
They both looked up at her and stared. Just as Dante was about to say something, Ian came through a door on the side of the building.
Dante had to take a couple of seconds to recover from the shock of the two sudden arrivals. Sara took this opportunity to say, "How are you gonna handle someone who actually has the to fight back?" There was a sharp bite of sarcasm in her voice.
"Easily," he snarled at her.
She pulled a gun from under her coat and both Dante and Orlinsky raised theirs to point at her. Before any of them could fire a shot however, a spray of bullets came from behind them.
Dante turned to face this new challenge while Orlinsky fired on Sara.
She rolled over and came up on one knee, firing the whole time. Then, the witch blade decided to take some action. It came to life, covering her arm with a glove of armor.
Raising her arm, she blocked each of the bullets as they came toward her.
She advanced on the confused Orlinsky. He stood there, frozen with fear, as she came even closer. It wasn't until she was just a couple of steps in front of him before he thought to react. By that time, all he could do was put his arms in front of him. But that wasn't enough. A second later
Sara was pulling the blade out of his chest.
She turned around just in time to see Dante fall to the ground. She looked over at Ian as he lowered his guns. He nodded at her and turned to leave.
"Wait, Nottingham," she called after him. As he turned back around, she started across the room toward him. "Thanks."
Sara thought she saw him smile, but couldn't be sure. He turned around and disappeared into the darkness. She turned and walked over to Renee and
Gabriel.
*******
Renee had fallen asleep, exhausted from crying. it wasn't until the gun shots had sounded that she woke up. She saw Sara shooting at Orlinsky, then something else caught her eye. The man that had warned them earlier was exchanging shots with Dante. Well, I'm glad he's on our side, she said to herself.
A minute later the whole thing was over. After speaking to that man, she remembered Gabriel had called him Nottingham, Sara walked over to them.
"Are you two okay?"
Renee shook her head. "I am, but Gabriel's not."
Sara noticed the bruise on his jaw and some cuts on his face. "What happened?"
"He wouldn't listen to me. I told him to stop talking back to them. Orlinsky came over and did that." She had started crying again by this time.
"Well, we'd better get the two of you out of here," she said.
Renee nodded. She held out her right hand and Sara grabbed it to help her up. She took a hold of Renee's other arm when she that she was wincing from the pain radiating from her shoulder.
"Thought you said you were fine."
"I am. I just bruised my shoulder."
"How?"
Renee told her about the rest of the afternoon's events. By the time she had finished, Gabriel was starting to wake up. Renee dropped down to her knees beside him. When he opened his eyes, he saw her and smiled even though it hurt his face to do so.
He saw Sara and turned his head. "Hello," he said through his cut lips.
Sara and Renee put their arms around him and helped him to his feet. "You'd better have someone take care of your face," Sara told him.
"I think someone already did," he replied with a wry smile.
"I'm serious. And Renee, you need someone to look at your shoulder."
"I'm fine," she said defiantly.
"No you're not," Sara and Gabriel said at the same time.
Renee gave in and said, Fine. Once I know that you're okay, Gabriel, Iwill get my shoulder checked out."
They walked outside and met Jake as he was getting out of his car. Sara asked him, "What are you doing here?"
"Someone told me they saw you come here with Nottingham. I was worried."
"I'm fine, Jake, but these two need to be looked at."
The two of them helped Renee and Gabriel into the back of the car. Then, they climbed into the front and Jake drove off.
Gabriel stood up and turned around. Jake was standing in the doorway.
"You all right, man?"
"Ah. Y-yeah," Gabriel replied. He was still somewhat shaken.
"We need to get you out of here, dude," Jake said.
Gabriel fought to keep from laughing. It was a difficult struggle, but in the end his stubbornness won out. He knew that he would never get used to Jake's California surfer-boy attitude. Once he was sure he could open his mouth without laughing, he said, "I, uh, know you're Sara's partner and all, but why should I trust you? She told me you're one of them." He nodded his
head at Burgess's still body.
Jake put his hand into his pocket and pulled something out. He held out an F.B.I. badge. Gabriel's eyes opened wide with shock."You're with the F.B.I.?" He asked.
Jake could hear the surprise in his voice. "Field agent for the F.B.I., Department of Justice task force."
Gabriel just stood there, considering if he should trust Jake or not. Making his decision, he stepped over the dead body and followed Jake out of the shop. Now that he knew who Jake really was, he thought he could trust him. He would still keep his guard up though.
They walked to Jake's car, but when they got there, Gabriel hesitated. Jake gave him a questioning look. Gabriel still wasn't sure if he could trust him or not. Considering his other option, facing the White Bulls on his own, he decided that he didn't really have much choice. Shrugging, he opened the door and slid into the car.
He stared out the window while Jake drove to their destination. An air of awkward silence hung between them. Jake knew that Gabriel still didn't completely trust him. Opening his mouth, he started to say something. Then thinking better of it, he closed it again.
All of a sudden, Gabriel's whole body seemed to tense up. His mouth opened and closed several times before he could get it to work. "There's one of your friends," he said. He pointed at a man walking along the side of the street.
"Orlinsky." Gabriel could hear Jake cursing under his breath. "What's he doing here?" Gabriel could tell that Jake was truly worried about this. Maybe I can trust him, he said to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted when Jake spoke. "He's too close to the safe house. We'll have to drive around until the coast is clear."
Gabriel just nodded his head absently. The shock of that day's events was finally starting to wear off. If he didn't keep a tight hold on his emotions, he knew they would show on his face. It was a good thing he was used to not letting people know what he was thinking or feeling.
While trying to push all the thoughts out of his head, something occurred to him. Where was Sara? What if they went after her next? Gabriel knew that she could probably handle it if anything happened. After all, she did have the witch blade. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but knew that Sara did. Even after he had convinced himself of this, Gabriel was still concerned for her. She was his friend, how could he not worry about her when her life might be in danger.
He turned to Jake and asked, "What about Sara? Is she safe?"
Jake seemed to be thinking for a minute, then replied, "If they don't find her, she'll be fine."
Gabriel rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, that makes me feel a lot better."
Jake just stared at him for a minute. "Look, after I drop you off, I'll try to find her and make sure she's safe."
"Good luck," he said with a hint of sarcasm.
"What do you mean by that?" Jake asked defensively.
"Look, she has people chasing her. They're everywhere looking for her. She thinks you could be one of them. Do you really think she's gonna just let herself be found?"
"Well, no, but next time she gets a hold of me, I'll find out where she is."
"And you think she'll tell you?"
"Why wouldn't she?" Jake asked, annoyed.
Gabriel let out a sigh of frustration. "Like I already said, she thinks you might be one of them. She doesn't know who she can trust."
"But she trusts you?"
The corner of Gabriel's mouth twitched at that. "I'm the only one she can trust. I'm the only one who isn't keeping secrets from her."
Jake cringed at that comment. He knew the kid was right. He had wanted to tell her who he really was, but he couldn't. Not until now anyway. Now that he was inside the white Bulls he figured it was safe to tell her the truth.
They had driven in circles for about half an hour when it finally looked safe to stop. Once inside, they were stopped by a guard. "Who's that with you, McCarty?" he asked.
Jake looked around and noticed that Gabriel was hanging back. He motioned for him to come forward. After looking at the guard nervously for a few seconds, he took a couple of hesitant steps forward.
Jake put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, which he shrugged off. "This is Gabriel Bowman, a friend of mi . . . " He stopped in mid-sentence at the sudden glare from Gabriel. "A friend of my partner, Sara Pezzini. He was almost killed by one of the White Bulls. Figured he would need a safe place to stay 'til we get rid of this problem."
"Well, he'll be safe here," the guard said. He held up his rifle to reinforce this statement.
"Oh. I feel so much better now." With that he wandered off.
"What's his problem?" The guard asked, looking at Gabriel's departing back.
Jake shook his head. "I don't really know. Maybe he's just trying to act tough." He looked at his watch. "I need to go find Sara. I'll be back later to check on the kid."
From the wall where Gabriel was sitting, he saw Jake leave. His whole body seemed to relax. His head went into his hands and for the first time that day he let himself think. His head shot up as he recalled some of what had happened just a couple of hours ago. He tried to keep his mind from rerunning the scenes, but he couldn't get the images out of his head. He could feel himself start to shake as the numbness of shock wore off. He closed his eyes again and didn't open them again until he heard footsteps approaching him.
He slowly lifted his head and then opened his eyes. Walking right toward him was a young woman. She had wavy, brown hair that almost reached her shoulders. Her soft, brown eyes looked troubled. But that was the only thing he could tell by looking at her face. There was something else about her. He couldn't think of what it could be at the moment though.
He forced himself to smile and nodded his head at her. She gave him a half-hearted smile and slid down the wall to sit beside him. He searched his mind for something to say. "Uh, hello," was all he could come up with.
"So, you're another victim of the White Bulls." She stated it as a fact, not a question.
"How did you know?" He asked, puzzled.
She motioned around the room with her hand. "Everyone here is. Either they or someone they knew has gone against the bulls."
"What did you do to upset them?" He didn't think she looked like she could upset anyone if she tried.
"I wrote an article about them in the Vorshlag View."
Gabriel let out a low whistle. "A big newspaper. And one owned by
Kenneth
Irons. What happened then?"
"Well, the day after it appeared in print, I had a visit from a man by
the name of Burgess."
Gabriel interrupted her. "You don't have to worry about seeing him anymore." At her questioning look, he added, "He's dead."
"How?" She sounded surprised, but there was also a note of relief in her voice.
"He and another cop, Orlinsky, came by my shop earlier today. They wanted to know where a friend of mine was. I wouldn't tell them." He then went on to tell her the rest of the story.
"Jake McCarty? He's the one that brought me here. After the first article, I went on to write another one about how I was threatened by the White
Bulls. He came by and told me who he was. Then he brought me here."
"Can you trust him?"
"Can you trust anyone?"
Gabriel seemed to consider this for a second, then shook his head.
"Sometimes I wonder about that. But, yes, there are a few out there. My friend, Sara Pezzini, is one."
"You said she was a cop." At Gabriel's nod, she continued. "And other cops are after her. That is a unique situation."
"She's a unique person," he replied. She certainly was. He knew not just anyone could wear the witch blade.
Gabriel was brought out of his thoughts when the girl beside him started to laugh at seemingly nothing. He looked over at her. "Here we are talking like we're friends, and we don't even know each other's names," she said, still laughing.
He smiled. "Well, that's easy to correct. Gabriel Bowman." He held out his hand.
She shook his hand and introduced herself. "Renee Mackenzie."
It finally occurred to him what it was about her that he couldn't think of before. She was beautiful, especially when she smiled. Her whole face lit up.
"Gabriel?"
"What?" He asked, startled. He hadn't realized she was talking to him.
"I asked you a question."
"Oh. Sorry."
"You said something about your shop. What kind of shop is it?"
"I run the website, Talismaniac.com. I sell idols, icons, and talismans."
"So, your department is weird stuff."
He replied with a laugh, "Yeah. Artifacts, unusuals, just about anything you can find almost nowhere else."
She pulled a necklace from underneath her shirt. The chain ended with two hearts connected to a rose which sat in a horseshoe. There was a stone the color of amber in the middle of the rose.
"Think you could find out anything about this?" she asked as she unhooked it from around her neck.
"What's so special about it?" he didn't see anything unusual about it.
"That's what I'd like to know. My mother gave it to me a few years back.
Said it was special and I'd find out what it was when the time was right."
She smiled. "I've never been known for my patience."
He laughed. "Me either. Well, I can't really find out anything now, but as soon as I can get to a computer, I will do my best." He reached over to take it from her hand, but she pulled it away. "Don't you want me to find out about it?" Gabriel was confused by her behavior.
"Yes, but." She hesitated to tell him why she was reluctant to hand over the necklace.
"What is it?"
"Well, when she gave it to me, my mom told me never to trust it with anyone else. But, you seem like I can trust you. So, I guess it would be all right." She was still hesitant, but was starting to put it in Gabriel's hand.
"I'll take good care of it," he said.
She smiled at him. "I'm sure you will."
Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel saw Jake walking toward them.
Wonder what he wants now.
Jake just looked from Gabriel to Renee then back again. He was about to open his mouth when Renee said, "Hello, Jake. You trying to be a hero?"
"Huh?" He looked at her, startled.
She continued with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Saving all of us from the evildoers of the world."
Gabriel was trying to keep a straight face, but was quickly losing the battle. He put his head down on his knees to hide the slowly growing grin.
"Renee, are you ever serious?" Jake asked.
She put on a serious face and said, "Of course. All the time."
Gabriel couldn't hold it in this time. He started shaking with laughter.
After a minute, he took a deep breath and looked up.
Jake just shook his head and turned to face him. "I talked to Pez.
Told her you were safe." Then he added, 'I told her who I really am."
"Finally," he muttered.
"What's your problem, dude?"
"Oh nothing." Gabriel leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Jake realized that this meant their conversation was over. He turned around and walked away.
Gabriel opened one eye and looked after Jake's departing back. "Dude."
Renee started laughing. After a moment, she stopped and was serious once more. "You really don't like him, do you?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that."
"Then what is it?"
"I just don't trust the guy."
"But he saved your life."
He smiled. "Yes, he did do that. And I'm grateful. Doesn't mean I trust him. He lied about who he is. Why didn't he at least tell Sara he was a fed.
He was supposed to be her partner, after all."
Renee nodded her head in agreement. "You're probably right. But maybe he couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if he was undercover, he may not have been able to tell anyone whohe really is."
"Yeah. I see what you're saying."
He looked at his watch and said, "I haven't eaten since last night and it's almost noon." His stomach gave a rumble to prove the truth of his words.
Renee laughed at this. Then she said, "Tell your stomach to be patient.
I'll be right back."
She stood up and walked over to the nearest guard. She stopped and started talking to him. Renee pointed at herself and to Gabriel and the guard let her pass.
Gabriel just watched her walk away. She's so beautiful, he thought to himself. She seems so confident.
He smiled at her when she came walking back. She was carrying two sandwiches and she handed one to him. "Thanks," he said as he moved it up to his mouth to take a bite.
After a couple minutes he realized she was looking at him curiously.
"What is it?"
"You're looking at me. You haven't stopped looking at me since I got back."
A blush started to rise in his face. He tried to think of an excuse, but finally decided on the truth. "You're beautiful," he said in almost a whisper.
At these words, her eyes went wide with shock. "You must be blind," she replied. "I'm plain. There's nothing beautiful about me."
He got a sad look on his face. "How can you say that?" he asked. He lifted his hand as if to touch her face, but she pulled away before he could.
Renee looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"What's wrong?"
"No one has ever told me that before except for my mom. So why is someone else telling me now?"
"Because it's the truth."
She put her head on his shoulder and started to cry. Gabriel ran his fingers through her hair. She lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to cry in front of you."
"There's nothing to apologize for," he told her.
"It's just that I haven't cried since before I got involved in all this.
All the fear anger, and everything else I've been feeling for the past couple weeks have been building up inside."
"I know how that is. It will be all right," he assured her.
She looked up into his eyes and tried to smile. That just brought a fresh flow of tears.
Gabriel was unsure of what to do. No one had ever cared enough about him to share their feelings with him. He didn't even know what made him do it, but the next minute found him bending his head down to kiss the top of hers.
Her head came up and she asked, "Why'd you do that?"
His face started to get red again. "I really don't know."
They both started to feel awkward.
"Well, now I definitely know I can trust you."
"Why?" he asked. He was glad she thought so, but wasn't sure what had made her say it.
"Because I only tell people I trust how I feel. And they're the only one I will let myself cry in front of."
"Oh."
Gabriel heard a voice from behind him.
"Gabe, what are you doing making this young lady cry?"
He turned his head, then jumped to his feet when he saw who it was.
"Sara!"
They hugged each other tightly, then Sara let go and stepped back. She looked over at Renee and smiled. "Sara Pezzini," she introduced herself.
"Don't let Gabe upset you. He's basically harmless."
Renee shook her head. "He didn't. He's not the reason I was crying."
"Sara, this is Renee Mackenzie," Gabriel put in.
"Oh. You're the journalist Jake told me about."
"Probably," Renee replied. She was trying to dry her tear-stained face with the back of her hand.
Gabriel walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled.
Sara started laughing and shook her head. "Sometimes I can't believe you,
Gabriel Bowman."
He just looked at her.
"You haven't even been here a day and already getting into trouble."
"What are you talking about?" He demanded.
Sara nodded her head at Renee.
"How is she trouble?"
Renee, sensing Sara was joking with him, started laughing. Gabriel, finally catching on, smiled sheepishly.
"I need to talk to you, Gabe."
Renee started to turn away, figuring she wouldn't be included in the conversation. She felt Gabriel's hand touch her shoulder.
"Renee," he started.
She turned back around.
"Please don't leave," he continued. "You know as much about what's going on as the rest of us."
Her face lighted up with happiness. Most of the time she was left out of conversations. People just tended to ignore her. She was never too upset about being invisible though. It meant others were leaving her alone.
She smiled at him and he moved his hand from her shoulder to take her hand in his.
"We need to get this out to the public," Sara was saying. "How can we do that?"
Gabriel thought about this for a second. "If we could get it on the net, everyone will see it."
"How will you do that?" Renee asked.
Gabriel flashed a bright, wide smile. "You are talking about me, right?"
Renee and Sara just looked at each other and shook their heads. "A piece of advice, Renee. Never feed his ego."
He got a look of indignation on his face and Renee couldn't help but giggle at it. His face broke into a smile again.
"So when do you want to do it?" he asked Sara. "I have the equipment, so we just need to find a place to tape it."
"How about tomorrow morning?"
Gabriel nodded his head. "That'll be fine. I know a place where we can do it."
"Good."
She smiled at Renee and said, "It was nice to meet you." Turning to
Gabriel she said, "See you tomorrow." With that, she turned around and left.
"I think you were right."
"Huh?"
"She does seem . . . " She paused, trying to think of the right word.
"Trustable." She laughed at her own poor choice of words.
He laughed and said, "Yeah, she is."
They just talked for the rest of the next couple of hours. They spoke of anything and everything that made its way into their minds. To them it seemed that it was no time at all before both of them were having trouble keeping their eyes open. But neither wanted to keep their mouths closed long enough to sleep.
Finally, Renee stretched her arms out above her head and yawned. Then she laughed. "Guess we should probably get some sleep now."
"You think so?" he asked with a hint of humor. A yawn escaped from his mouth. "Yeah, you're probably right."
She removed her jacket and folded it to form a pillow. Gabriel watched her curiously, then asked, "Aren't there any beds?"
Renee uttered a snort of contempt. "If that's what you want to call them. A jacket-pillow along with a blanket and the floor's not so bad. I'm used to it, though. I used to prefer the floor to my bed. The bed was too soft."
He laughed at her last comment. "Renee, you must be tired. You're not making too much sense anymore."
"Well, it's true," she said as she walked through an opening in the wall.
She emerged a minute later, carrying two folded blankets in her arms.
When she reached him, Gabriel grabbed the top one.
"Thanks," he said.
He took off his shirt and folded it in the same way Renee had folded her jacket. He laid it down on the floor just a little bit away from where
Renee was making her "bed". She was already under the blanket when he was ready to lie down. He slid underneath his blanket and pulled it up over his shoulder.
They were laying on the floor facing each other. He could tell that under the blanket she was curled up to keep a little warmer. Gabriel wanted to go over and lie down beside her. He knew it would keep both of them warm during the cold night ahead, but he also realized that would be overstepping his boundaries.
Man, this is gonna be a long night, he thought.
However, it was not too long before both of them were sound asleep. It was the first dreamless, or rather nightmare less, night that Renee had had for the past couple of weeks. The next morning she woke up refreshed for the first time in weeks.
When she opened her eyes, Gabriel was slipping back into his shirt. He saw that she was awake and his face lit up with joy. "Looks like you had a good sleep, too."
"Yeah."
He pulled his shoes on and ran his fingers through his hair. Renee suddenly forgot about the happenings of the past couple of weeks. She forgot about where she was and why. None of that mattered anymore. All she could think of was this man in front of her who didn't even think of himself before putting his life in danger for a friend.
She was pulled out of her dream like thoughts when he put something in her hand. It was her necklace.
"B-but," she stuttered.
He smiled as he closed her hand around it. "Don't worry. I'll be back for it. And you."
He leaned over and kissed her lips. Even after he pulled away, the taste of his kiss lingered. She put the necklace back around her neck. Then she pulled him back to her for a final kiss.
"I love you," she murmured when she finally let him go.
He brushed her cheek with his lips, then pulled her into him with a strong but gentle hug. "I will be back," he promised her once more.
Renee didn't want to let him go, but she looked over Gabriel's left shoulder and saw Jake standing in the middle of the room waiting, so she knew she had to.
She hugged him once more and then reluctantly let go. He mouthed the words
I love you, turned around, and walked over to where Jake was waiting.
At the door, he turned around and looked back.
Renee lifted her hand in a signal of farewell. She thought she saw the corners of his mouth lift in a smile, but knew it was impossible to see that from such a distance.
He turned back around and walked out to Jake's waiting car. Gabriel had the sudden urge to run back in, hold the woman he had so recently fallen in love with, and forget about this whole White Bulls thing. But he resisted it.
He'd promised Sara he'd help her, so he would.
As they drove away, Gabriel remembered how Renee had felt in his arms, the feeling her trust in him had brought out, and the sight of her amber-colored eyes. It was the hardest struggle of his life to keep the tears from flooding out of his eyes. But then he remembered the look in her eyes right before he left. She still trusted him even though he could be leaving for good. But he wouldn't let himself think about that possibility. He had promised to come back, and he always kept his promises. The only thing that would keep him from it would be his death.
Renee reached up and wrapped her hand around her necklace. She could still feel the warmth Gabriel's hand had left in the charm. The touch of his hand on hers stayed with her. She knew he would keep his promise. He would be back.
Chapter 2
"Where is this place I need to take you?" When Gabriel didn't answer,
Jake asked.
"Hey man, are you there?"
Gabriel realized Jake was talking to him and shook his head to clear it of the thoughts that wouldn't leave him.
"Yeah. Sorry. It's right up there," he said. "Right off to your left.
We're almost there."
They had already been to his place to pick up his video camera, tripod, and laptop. While they were there, Gabriel quickly changed into a clean shirt.
Pulling the old one off, he had held it up to his face. It still smelled faintly of Renee. He touched a spot on it. That was where one of her tears had fallen. He could hear Jake walking into the room, so he threw it on the bed and slipped into a fresh one.
"It's the next one," Gabriel informed Jake as they neared the building. He pulled up in front of it and stopped to let Gabriel out. Sara was there standing outside. She smiled as he stepped out of the car.
"You didn't bring Renee with you?" she asked curiously.
"No. I'm going to pick her up when we're done here."
She asked, "Then why don't you seem very happy?"
He shrugged. "It's just that I want to be there now."
She gave him a sympathetic smile and they walked inside. He set up his tripod in the center of the room. Once he had everything set up and hooked together, he motioned for her to start.
"Several months ago I discovered a renegade faction within the New
York
Police Department. This society is named the White Bulls," she began.
"They act like crusaders for justice, but they're nothing more than profiteers. I have a dead man's testimony and circumstantial evidence that they murdered my father when he was on to them twenty years ago."
She paused. "Are you sure this is gonna work?"
"Yes. This is going straight to the net. This time next week, you're going to be getting more hits than Napster used to."
Sara walked over to the desk where the laptop was sitting and picked up her cup of coffee. She took a drink and as she was sitting it down, she looked at Gabriel's face. His mind was somewhere else. And she knew where that was.
She put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Why don't you go back to her?
We can finish this later."
He looked at her and seemed to be thinking. Sara knew he was strongly considering the option. Then he shook his head. "No. We'll finish here first." He gave her a friendly smile and she went back in front of the camera to finish what they had begun. An hour later they were done.
Sara asked him, "You want a ride back?"
"No. I think I'll walk. Have a lot to think about."
She nodded her head. "Yeah, ok, Gabriel. Be careful," she warned him.
"I will be."
She got into the waiting car and drove in the opposite direction from that which Gabriel was walking. He turned his head to watch her go. As he turned his head back around, he thought he saw a shadow move in the alley between the buildings. He blinked and when he looked again, it was gone. A chill went down his spine, but he shook off the feeling and walked on.
Stopping at his shop, he found that there were several messages on his machine. He listened through all of them, dismissing each one in turn as "just business". From there he went back to his place. He remembered having seen some mail on the floor when he was there earlier. Stepping inside, he picked it up and walked into the kitchen. He tossed each one down on the counter as he looked at it. "Bill, bill, bill," he muttered. He stopped as he came to a different kind of envelope. It was a check for some merchandise he had sold a few weeks ago. For some reason it didn't fill him with the same feeling it once had. "It can wait 'til later," he decided.
Gabriel went into the bathroom and turned on the water to take a shower.
Once he was clean once more, he turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel off of the sink counter. Water dripped off the ends of his hair, nose, and chin. After vigorously drying his hair with the towel, it stuck up in numerous places.
He was in the process of putting his pants on when he heard a knock on the door. "Hold on," he called as he finished pulling them on. Wonder who it could be, he asked himself as the knock came again, louder this time. He picked up the first shirt he saw and threw it on. Gabriel's face lighted up when he opened the door and saw who it was. Standing in front of him was
Sara and Renee.
"Took you long enough," Sara said jokingly.
"Patience is a virtue, you know," he bantered back.
Renee felt really shy all of a sudden. Gabriel smiled at her and her face lit up with a brilliant smile. He looked back at Sara and asked, "What are you two doing here?"
"I couldn't wait to see you," Renee answered.
"I was gonna come to see you," he said. Then he added, "I just wanted to get cleaned up first."
Renee nodded her head, "Well, Sara stopped by and saw that you weren't back yet so she took me to your shop to see if you were there. But you weren't, so we came here."
Sara smiled at them and said, "Well, I'll leave you two alone now."
Then she added, "But you two should get back to the safe house."
"We will," he replied. He still hadn't taken his eyes away from Renee.
They both heard the door shut and realized they were alone. Renee started to feel shy and nervous again. He went back into his room to pull a comb through his tangled hair and she walked around looking around his place.
"Nice place you have here,' she said from the kitchen.
Gabriel poked his head out of the bedroom and smiled at her. "Thanks."
A couple of minutes later he came walking into the kitchen. Grabbing his coat off of a chair, he said, "Well, I guess we should get going now."
They walked in silence. Renee opened her mouth once to say something, but closed it again. She was afraid she'd sound stupid.
He looked over at her and noticed that she seemed like she had something to say. He tightened his grip on her hand and she looked over at him. He was about to take this oppurtunity to kiss her, but she was too quick for him.
When she pulled away from him, he saw a smile dancing in her eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.
They had almost reached the safe house when he remembered something he had wanted to ask her. "You've said a bit about your mom, but not about anyone else in your family. What about your dad? What's he like?"
Renee's face quickly turned sad. "I don't know what to tell you. I never saw him as much as I would have liked to."
Gabriel was really curious now. But he was also afraid to ask her to explain further. He didn't want her to recall memories she would rather forget. He didn't have to ask though. She continued without further prodding.
"My parents divorced when I younger. For a while I saw him every other weekend. Then he decided I didn't have to come down as often. He thought I'd rather do stuff with friends on the weekend." She shook her head like this was the craziest thing she had ever heard. "Then he was always busy, working. But, he was still always the most important person to me."
Tears had started to come into her eyes. She smiled, but he could tell she was sad. It made his heart break. Suddenly, he saw her look of sadness turn to one of startled fright. He turned around to see a man in a long, black trench coat. This man kept his eyes trained on the ground, refusing to make eye contact.
"I have come to warn you," he said.
"What are you talking about, Nottingham?"
"You and your friend are in danger."
Gabriel just stared at him.
"I warn you for Lady Sara's sake. Go." With that he turned around and left.
"Gabriel, who was that man?" Renee asked. There was still a hint of fright in her voice, even though she tried to hide it.
Just as he was about to answer, he saw what Ian Nottingham had been warning him about. Across the street were Bruno Dante, Sara's boss, and one of his men, Orlinsky.
"Damn," he swore. "Renee, we need to get out of here."
"But," she started to say but she was unable to finish her thought.
Gabriel grabbed her hand and they were off running toward the nearest alley.
They stopped at the entrance to it and Gabriel looked around. Further down he could see an Asian man. He looked behind him and saw that Dante and Orlinsky were coming closer. He looked down the alley again and the man was gone. But there was an open doorway where he had been standing a moment before.
Thinking it could lead to safety, they sprinted for the opening. Just as they ran through the doorway, a bullet smacked into the wall beside it.
Gabriel noticed a door across the room and he ran toward it. Renee was right behind him. They reached it and went out into the bright sunlight.
They had to stop and let their eyes readjust to the sun from the dimness of the alley and building. Renee sank to the ground, trying to catch her breath.
"Are you okay?" She just nodded her head, still not completely having her breathing back to normal yet.
When she finally did, he held out his hand to help her up. She smiled up at him and accepted it. He looked around, trying to figure out where they were by the surroundings. They were only a few blocks away from the safe house. The problem was that they would have to go back the way they had just come from to reach it. He sat down and put his head in his hands, frustrated. They had come so far only to be farther behind than when they had started. And now their enemies were blocking them from their destination. "It's all my fault," he mumbled into his hands. "How could I have been so stupid?"
Renee put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Gabriel, it's not your fault.
You couldn't have known we were running the wrong way."
He shook his head, disagreeing with her. "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be at the safe house. And now you're in even more trouble. It's my fault."
She squatted down so her face was level with his. Then she held his face in her hands and said, "Listen to me, Gabriel Bowman. None of this is your fault. I left because I wanted to be with you. I still do, no matter where that happens to be. So stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't help." By this time her face was getting red with emotion.
They both got back to their feet and stood there trying to think of a way out of this problem. An idea came to Renee suddenly. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. They headed back the way they had come and passed the alley they had ducked into earlier.
Renee glanced behind them and saw Dante and Orlinsky come out of an alley.
Just as the two officers spotted them, Gabriel tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.
He stumbled, falling to his hands and knees. Renee grabbed his arm and helped him back up to his feet. His right pant leg was torn at the knee and his hands were scraped from catching himself.
"Are you all right?' she asked him, concerned.
"Yeah," he replied, nodding his head.
They started off again running as fast as they could. This wasn't as fast as before though. Both of them were tired and Gabriel was moving with a slight limp. After a while, Renee looked behind them again, but could see only one man still chasing them. That brought her up short. Gabriel, who had been running right behind her, couldn't stop in time to avoid running into her. His momentum almost knocked her over.
"What is it?"
She pointed behind them. "There's only one now."
He looked back and saw what she was talking about. She couldn't hear him but could tell he was swearing under his breath. Renee tried to clear all of the turbulent thoughts from her head so she could figure out a solution to this problem.
Just as she thought of a plan, she saw Dante coming toward them.
Gabriel grabbed her hand and took off for a space between some buildings.
Before they could make it though, he felt someone grab him from behind. He struggled to get away until he saw that Orlinsky had Renee in a tight hold.
Dante shoved Gabriel ahead of him. Every couple of steps he had to push him again to keep him moving. "You could make this a lot easier on yourself if you'd cooperate," Dante whispered in his ear. "And you'd help your girlfriend too."
Worried, he looked back behind him. Orlinsky had both of her arms pulled behind her back. She was walking with an air of dignity, not letting anyone see how scared she really was.
Gabriel wanted to tell her to stop it and do what they wanted. But he didn't really want her to. Their eyes met and they silently communicated to each other to cooperate. Then, they both shook their heads. Neither of them would give in to these men.
After struggling with their prisoners for quite some time, Dante and Orlinsky finally brought them to an empty building. They pushed them down to the hard, cold floor. Renee let out an exclamation of pain as her right shoulder hit the floor. Gabriel started to crawl over to her, but Orlinsky walked over to him and kicked his already cut up knee.
He pulled Gabriel's arms behind his back and handcuffed them together.
Then, he pulled him to his feet. He pushed him against the wall and punched him in the stomach. "That's for Burgess. And that's for making me run all over the city chasing you," he said as he landed another punch to his stomach.
Gabriel let out a grunt of pain as each blow landed. He just glared at Orlinsky the whole time. Orlinsky finished the assault with a fist to the jaw that tuned Gabriel's head around. It hit against the wall opening a small gash along the side of Gabriel's head. "And that was just for the hell of it." He let him fall to the floor as he walked away.
Tears were streaming unheeded down Renee's face as she crawled over to him. She could tell that he was in pain. His jaw was beginning to turn purple and he was wincing from the pain in his mid section.
She felt helpless because there was nothing she could do to ease his discomfort. With her head bent over him, crying, she saw his lips move before she heard the whispered words "I love you" before he slipped into unconsciousness.
She ran her hand down the side of his head and her fingers came away wet with blood. She jumped to her feet and spun around all in the same motion.
"You bastard ," she hissed through her teeth at Orlinsky.
She lunged at him, ready to attack with her hands. Before she could do so though, Dante reached out and grabbed her arm, wrenching her off of her feet. "You'd better go sit back down before you get hurt," he told her in a menacing tone.
Renee glared at him while rubbing her sore shoulder. After about a minute of this, she turned and walked back over to Gabriel. She took his head onto her lap and gently pushed his hair back from his face.
*******
Sara was walking when she felt someone coming up beside her.
"Keep walking, Sara."
"Nottingham."
"Yes. I'm afraid I have some news for you."
"You're afraid?"
"Yes. Your friends are in trouble."
"My friends? You mean Gabriel and . . . "
"Yes," he replied, cutting her off. "Your enemies have them."
"Where?" she demanded.
"Follow me. I will take you there."
She hesitated, unsure of what to do. Then Danny was right beside her.
"Go with him. He speaks the truth," he told her. Then he was gone again.
She followed him in silence until they reached an old, seemingly empty building. Then, he disappeared around the corner. Sara stood there for a few seconds, then walked inside.
Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she continued down a long corridor until she reached a large room. At once she spotted Gabriel and Renee against the far wall. Dante and Orlinsky were standing in the middle of the room with their backs to her. They were deep in conversation and didn't look up until the sound of her footsteps stopped.
They both looked up at her and stared. Just as Dante was about to say something, Ian came through a door on the side of the building.
Dante had to take a couple of seconds to recover from the shock of the two sudden arrivals. Sara took this opportunity to say, "How are you gonna handle someone who actually has the to fight back?" There was a sharp bite of sarcasm in her voice.
"Easily," he snarled at her.
She pulled a gun from under her coat and both Dante and Orlinsky raised theirs to point at her. Before any of them could fire a shot however, a spray of bullets came from behind them.
Dante turned to face this new challenge while Orlinsky fired on Sara.
She rolled over and came up on one knee, firing the whole time. Then, the witch blade decided to take some action. It came to life, covering her arm with a glove of armor.
Raising her arm, she blocked each of the bullets as they came toward her.
She advanced on the confused Orlinsky. He stood there, frozen with fear, as she came even closer. It wasn't until she was just a couple of steps in front of him before he thought to react. By that time, all he could do was put his arms in front of him. But that wasn't enough. A second later
Sara was pulling the blade out of his chest.
She turned around just in time to see Dante fall to the ground. She looked over at Ian as he lowered his guns. He nodded at her and turned to leave.
"Wait, Nottingham," she called after him. As he turned back around, she started across the room toward him. "Thanks."
Sara thought she saw him smile, but couldn't be sure. He turned around and disappeared into the darkness. She turned and walked over to Renee and
Gabriel.
*******
Renee had fallen asleep, exhausted from crying. it wasn't until the gun shots had sounded that she woke up. She saw Sara shooting at Orlinsky, then something else caught her eye. The man that had warned them earlier was exchanging shots with Dante. Well, I'm glad he's on our side, she said to herself.
A minute later the whole thing was over. After speaking to that man, she remembered Gabriel had called him Nottingham, Sara walked over to them.
"Are you two okay?"
Renee shook her head. "I am, but Gabriel's not."
Sara noticed the bruise on his jaw and some cuts on his face. "What happened?"
"He wouldn't listen to me. I told him to stop talking back to them. Orlinsky came over and did that." She had started crying again by this time.
"Well, we'd better get the two of you out of here," she said.
Renee nodded. She held out her right hand and Sara grabbed it to help her up. She took a hold of Renee's other arm when she that she was wincing from the pain radiating from her shoulder.
"Thought you said you were fine."
"I am. I just bruised my shoulder."
"How?"
Renee told her about the rest of the afternoon's events. By the time she had finished, Gabriel was starting to wake up. Renee dropped down to her knees beside him. When he opened his eyes, he saw her and smiled even though it hurt his face to do so.
He saw Sara and turned his head. "Hello," he said through his cut lips.
Sara and Renee put their arms around him and helped him to his feet. "You'd better have someone take care of your face," Sara told him.
"I think someone already did," he replied with a wry smile.
"I'm serious. And Renee, you need someone to look at your shoulder."
"I'm fine," she said defiantly.
"No you're not," Sara and Gabriel said at the same time.
Renee gave in and said, Fine. Once I know that you're okay, Gabriel, Iwill get my shoulder checked out."
They walked outside and met Jake as he was getting out of his car. Sara asked him, "What are you doing here?"
"Someone told me they saw you come here with Nottingham. I was worried."
"I'm fine, Jake, but these two need to be looked at."
The two of them helped Renee and Gabriel into the back of the car. Then, they climbed into the front and Jake drove off.