Thank you for still following although I am not updating as regularly as I should and want to. But real life interferes much too often. Very special thanks to Celebrisilweth for continuously staying with this story!


IX. In which what was hidden is laid bare

When they were finally allowed to interrogate the wounded orc, Tauriel suspected it had been only because of the Senator wanting to see the man himself that the medics finally had given in. She wondered how many strings Azog had pulled to keep his man shielded from any interrogation this far. When she approached the door where a police officer was stationed she wondered what made both Thranduil and Legolas accompany her. The captured man was just an average orc, a hired hooligan from Dol Guldur. She had run his profile – fingerprints, name, and criminal record – through her computer, but nothing out of the ordinary had come up. He was notorious with a gun, a dealer both in drugs and stolen goods and had been in jail for assault and battery. But there must be more to him when the Senator took the effort of interrogating him personally.

The man called Mitchell Narzug lay in bed and was watching a game show when they entered. He didn't look up until Legolas snatched the remote and turned off the TV. Legolas skipped the niceties and came straight to the point.

"You were on a speed boat racing after Thorin Durinson. Why?"

"I was taking a stroll at the river when someone shot me. Did you find out who it was?"

"Yes." Legolas didn't care to explain that the bullet the surgeons had removed from Narzug's chest was the same caliber Tauriel used.

"Why were you after Durinson? Who gave the order to hunt him down?"

Narzug turned his gaze towards the Senator as if bored.

"Why is that child bothering me? Is this some kind of kindergarten-project?"

"I am Chief Public Prosecutor, and you will answer my questions. Now."

The orc bared his teeth.

"You think yourself important, pretty boy. But you are nothing. You know nothing."

"No?" With a quick movement Tauriel exposed the black tattoo on his neck. "You belong to the Gundabad Gang. You were hunting the company of Thorin Oakenshield. You are trying to sabotage his quest. "

"Quest?" Narzug laughed. "That runt will never be victorious. He will never take back Erebor!"

"No one would dare to reclaim Erebor whilst the Dragon holds it."

Narzug sneered at Legolas. "Smaug is nothing compared to what will come. The eye is already looking for you."

Legolas glowered at the man. "What are you talking about? Which eye?"

Thranduil stepped forward and pierced Narzug with his cold gaze. "Tell us what you know about Thorin Oakenshield, and I will set you free."

"Oakenshield is nothing. Your little feud is nothing. The line of the Durinsons will come to an end. They are nothing but a nuisance, an obstacle to our triumph." The orc laughed. "Our time has come again. Your world, the life you are so accustomed to, will end. You will belong to us. Everything that is dear to you will belong to us. Even the water you drink, the very air you breath will be ours. You will be slaves."

Legolas frowned and gave his father a puzzled look. Thranduil's face stayed motionless. Then he turned abruptly and gave Tauriel a curt nod.

"The interrogation is over. Mr. Narzug is free to leave whenever his health allows it. All charges are dropped."

He left the room, Tauriel and Legolas stumbled after him. Narzug's black laughter tingled in their ears.

"Why did you do that? We are not finished yet! There is more the orc must tell us!" Legolas stared disbelieving at his father.

"There was nothing more he could tell me."

"What about the Durinsons? What he said sounded like a threat. They have been attacked twice already," Tauriel nearly shouted. "Thorin Durinson and his nephews might be in danger. Shouldn't we investigate? Maybe put them in protective custody?"

Thranduil watched her coldly. "I see no reason why. What business the Durinsons have with those orcs is not our concern. Like will to like."

She pressed her lips together but said nothing. What did he know about the Durinsons? He didn't know how much Fíli cared for his younger brother. He knew nothing about the affection and admiration Kíli had for his uncle. He didn't know about the nightmares a young man was suffering from who lost his father when he had not yet been born.

"What did Narzug mean when he said, our world would end? That we will be slaves? What is the eye he was talking about? We cannot set him free without further investigation!" Legolas piped up.

"If the babblings of an orc trouble you, double the watch at our borders. All roads, all rivers! And keep me informed should really something strange be happening. Nothing moves without I hear of it, understood?" Thranduil turned his back on them and resumed walking, leaving Legolas momentarily gaping for breath before he hurried to catch up.

"We have to do more than just watch our borders! We must take action. Senator! Father?"

X

It took an hour of teeth-grinding and kicking her desk periodically, until Tauriel decided she didn't care about what Thranduil had ordered. She returned to the hospital to question the orc again. But Mitchell Narzug had already left. She was not surprised that nobody knew where to. The address in his file led her to a rented room that hadn't been used for weeks. She was still worrying about what the orc had said about ending the line of the Durinsons and wondering how to get a hold of him without the Senator hearing of it, when she opened the door to her flat.

"Darling, you're home!"

She growled softly and entered the living room where Kili was sitting on her couch with her laptop. What on earth had made her allow him to use her computer?

"I told you not call me that."

"I know. It should be your line anyway. But since you stubbornly refuse, it's my turn to do the household chores."

"I won't object if you would rinse your mug once in a while. And I am not your darling."

He laughed, his dark eyes sparkling. "But you are. My darling, my angel, my saviour."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes, and he laughed again.

"Don't pretend. I know you like it."

"You can't wrap me around your finger with silly sweet-talk. I don't care about pet names."

"I do. Have you thought about what to call me?"

She grunted. "House-pest? Nuisance? Annihilator of chocolate and snatcher of blankets?"

Ignoring his indignant huff she pointed at her laptop. "Hacking other people's computers? You are using my wireless. I am not keen on being prosecuted, you know."

"I can use your neighbour's access if you want."

"It's coded."

He smiled, and Tauriel sighed. Of course that wouldn't stop him. He had hacked into a police computer. Her stomach still knotted at the thought of it.

"Relax. I'm just doing some research."

"On how much money you can transfer from other people's bank account without them noticing?"

He shot her a look somewhere between hurt and amusement and pushed the laptop towards her.

Tauriel sat down next to him and looked at the screen.

"The ark of stone? What is that?"

"The heirloom of my family. It is a unique relic made from a rare and precious stone and had been handed down from father to son for generations. It is valuable, both materially and ideologically. It had been in our possession for centuries when it was lost nearly thirty years ago. Thorin has been searching for it ever since."

She looked at the shiny object that seemed to be nothing else than a small box made from some rare gem. Beautiful engravings decorated the lid and the sides.

"Is that writing of some sort? What does it say?"

"It's Khuzdul. The secret language of the Durinsons." He laughed at her perplexed face. "Yes, I know. Whacky. But my people are very proud of their traditions. Mum forced Fili and me to learn it when we could barely speak our names."

"Say something. In Khuzdul."

"Can't. Sorry. It's a secret. You never speak it in front of others who are not family unless your life depends on it. You may tell your Khuzdul name to the one you love, though. The one you want to be with for the rest of your life. It is the Durinson's way of proposing. But we're not there yet. Sorry, love."

"A secret name? Instead of a ring? You're joking."

"My Khuzdul name is quite beautiful. Better than a stupid ring. You'll see." He winked.

She ignored him and looked at the computer again. "What happened to the ark? Where is it now?"

"That's what I try to find out. It was lost when Smaug took over Erebor, and it is important to Thorin to get it back. It is part of regaining his position, his honour. What – who – he was before he lost everything." He clicked on an image. "See that article about an exhibition of stonemasons? Look at the picture. See what is sitting in the showcase next to the fat man?"

"Looks like the ark of stone. But where…" She blinked. "That is Mirkwood Tower."

"Yeah."

"Were you searching for it when we caught you in Mirkwood?"

"Are you asking as a police officer?"

She gave him a look. "I am a police officer."

"Then, no, we weren't. Doesn't matter anyway. The exhibition was fifteen years ago. I doubted the ark was still there right from the start, but my uncle insisted."

"Then you are at a dead end?"

"Not necessarily. Today I managed to get another picture from that exhibition." He zoomed at the legend on the showcase.

"Ark, Simarill, early first century. Use unknown," Tauriel read aloud and gasped. "Loan of Dragana Smaug!"

"It's still there. It is still at Erebor." Kili grinned. "And she has no idea what it truly is. She wouldn't have allowed it to be shown in public otherwise. All she knows is that it is rare and precious."

"But where does she keep it?"

"That is a good question. And one I'm going to solve while I am sitting crippled on your couch. I may have to use some of my special skills though. Shall I access your neighbour's WiFi?"

Tauriel sighed. "No. Use mine and don't get caught."

He kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

When he turned back to her laptop and his fingers danced over the keyboard, his dark brows drawn together in concentration, she realised she was actually disappointed. He had not tried to kiss her properly. Not now and not in all the days he had spent with her since Fili and Bofur had been knocking at her door. He had been flirting, he had been charming her, he was even sleeping next to her in her bed, cuddled against her back, his arm around her, his fingers intertwined with hers. But he had never tried anything.

Of course she could have taken the initiative. But things would become a lot more complicated then. Arwen, who was constantly texting and asking about that tasty morsel of a man Tauriel had dragged up, had called him boyfriend material. Was he? And was she girlfriend material? Tauriel doubted that very much. And therefore had decided not to spoil the good times they had. She would never admit that to anyone, but she liked to be with him. She was looking forward to coming home, to his jokes, his smile, his arm snaking around her when they sat on the couch. She didn't want to lose that. If he was content just being with her, so would she.

The only problem was that it was driving her nuts. At work she had caught herself sniffing at her shirt that had his scent on it. She was daydreaming of kissing him and undressing him. Haldir had come into her office the other day when she had been absentmindedly sucking on her pen and had made a hasty retreat, blushing like a school girl. Tauriel had hastily left the office then to get a cold shower. Something she now enjoyed regularly before going to bed, where she leaned into Kili's embrace and tried to ignore how good the body felt that was so very close to hers and unsuccessfully tried not to think about the rippling muscles she had glimpsed when he had changed his shirt.

Tasty morsel indeed.