To Geft: By the time this story is finished, a lot of questions will be answered, though what exactly Mecha-Man is doing for the French government may or may not be one of them.
"Come on, come on, please pick up…" Felix muttered to himself, fumbling and almost dropping the phone in his panic. The image of the building, its side blown out by an explosion, the front door left wide open and blocked off with police tape, the too-familiar streets in front and to the side of the building, the building next to it where they often ended their patrols, the police truck and van parked in front while a mix of people in police uniforms and lab coats streamed back and forth between the apartment house and the van… All of it remained seared in his mind. Bri's face arose unbidden before his eyes, her face turning pale, her eyes widening in shock and horror, lines of blood streaking her chest, her shirt ripped apart. He swallowed, clenching his eyes shut, the tears hot streaking down his face. He had found her and kept her safe that time… but not this time – he had left her behind in London while he and Dhuan went off to Wales. She had needed him, and he hadn't been there for her. Hells, he hadn't even known there was a problem until hours later! What if she had been at her flat when it happened? What if she was hurt and in hospital? What if she was… his breathing hitched. What if she was… dead?
If something had happened to his partner while he was away… he would rip those responsible limb from limb.
His hand trembled as something landed on his wrist and patted his forearm. A gentle thumping against the side of his palm drew his attention. "Hound?" Barkk squeaked hesitantly, insistently tapping his arm.
Felix started, his eyes popping open, and stared down at her for a long minute without seeing. Finally, he looked past the Kwami at the phone in his hand, the screen lit up with a face, and heard the somewhat muffled voice coming through the phone to match the face. Quickly, he held the phone up to his face and looked into the tired eyes of Bri. Her unkempt hair hung around her face, streaks of soot and grease ran down her cheeks and across her forehead, she wasn't wearing any makeup, and he could see the neckline of one of his old t-shirts that she occasionally slept in. And yet, for all that, he had never seen such a wonderful sight before in his life. "Oh, thank God you picked up," he groaned, almost collapsing to the ground from sheer relief. "I saw the news just now and I thought–"
Bri let out a breath and frowned, her mouth twisting around. "No – I'm okay," she assured him, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Anne and I both are. We were at the Manor when it happened, so we're fine – your mother says 'hi,' by the way."
Felix nodded in relief, his finger hovering over the picture on the screen. "That's good – I'm so glad you're okay… you have no idea!" He swallowed, sniffling, and coughed to clear his throat.
Giving him a wan smile, Bri held a hand up toward the phone. "I'm okay, Pup," she repeated softly. "It's okay."
Slowly, Felix forced himself to breathe. What happened last night?" he whispered.
Bri's mouth set in a thin line. "Someone blew up our flat," she informed him curtly.
His jaw dropped, and he blinked in disbelief. "What?"
She nodded, grimacing. "It was an explosion. Centered on our flat. From a missile that someone had fired at the building."
"Was anyone hurt? Killed?"
"No one was killed, at least," Bri told him, her shoulders slumping in relief and her head falling back. She shook her head in frustration. "But a couple of the rooms nearby had their walls collapse, and a couple of the other girls got hurt really badly. Jen broke her leg. Christine was in the hallway when it happened; apparently she was pushed back into the wall and dislocated her shoulder. Everyone on the floor has ringing in their ears from the blast." She looked up at him, strain in her face. "I–I still don't believe it happened."
Felix let out a breath, swallowing. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there," he apologized. "But I can be there in a minute, just as soon as Pegasus opens a bloody portal."
She hummed, smiling gently, and glanced up, nodding in thanks as someone handed her a cup. "Thank you," she whispered, sipping from the cup.
"Of course," Felix's mother answered, placing a hand on Bri's shoulder. "I heard your phone go off; I thought you might need some of this."
"Mother?"
Felix's mother dropped lower to look into the phone, her face breaking apart into a bright smile, though with worry lines creasing her cheeks. "Hi, honey," she told him, stifling a yawn. "How is Wales?"
"Not as exciting as London, apparently."
His mother sighed heavily. "We could do with a little less of that kind of excitement in our lives."
"True," Bri agreed, frowning. She let out a breath. "Fortunately, Anne and I seem to have it under control – at least for now." She gave Felix a meaningful look, glancing up at his mother as she did so.
Felix nodded. "Fortunate that you have three of you there," he commented, giving his mother a meaningful look. "Mother could take the night shift while you slept; you and Anne can handle things now while Mother sleeps."
"Absolutely," Bri acknowledged with a nod. "And now that we're awake, you can get some rest," she told Felix's mother.
"I don't–" She paused, covering her mouth. "I don't need rest," she protested, letting out a loud yawn.
"I think you do," Felix told her, as Bri nodded firmly beside her.
Bri placed a hand on Felix's mother's shoulder. "Really, it's all right. We can manage just fine for the morning, just the two of us on our own." She laughed humorlessly. "At this point, I suspect that classes will be canceled for the day in any event."
Felix's mother sighed heavily. "Oh, fine," she grumbled. Giving Bri a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead, she gave Felix a look. "You know I'm not an old woman you need to coddle…" she warned, though without putting any force behind the words. Her lips turned up into a smile. "But I suppose I need to let you two speak in private in any event…"
"Good night, mother," he told her, giving her a smile until she was out of sight. Finally, he turned to Bri, a question in his face. "So how are you doing? You said you were okay…"
Bri nodded firmly. "We are," she assured him quickly. "With a little help from a surprising source," she added, raising an eyebrow at Felix.
Felix cocked his head to one side, his brows furrowed. "Oh?"
"Mecha-Man." She shook her head ruefully. Felix blinked. "I didn't believe it either," she continued. "But apparently Papa sent him to keep an eye on my building – they have left the Lynchpin's service."
"And you believe him?"
She furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He swallowed. "I just mean, he could be saying it to make you trust him," he answered. "He's planted bombs around London before, remember."
She frowned. "Well, yes…" she admitted. "But I think it fits. He left the Lynchpin, and now the Lynchpin is lashing out – targeting me to get to him. And when we found him, he was helping rescue Jen."
Felix let out a low growl. "That bastard's going to regret messing with my girl…"
Bri's mouth set in a thin line, her eyes flashing. "Oh, he is definitely going to regret that," she promised, knocking.
He hummed, examining her face on the phone again. "I'm glad to see you're okay," he murmured.
She giggled, though without much humor. "Considering that I haven't actually slept in the flat since before the Tarasque ever showed up, I wasn't exactly in any danger," she pointed out wryly.
He chuckled, some of the anxiety and tension in his chest abating.
Bri frowned, her eyes moving around on the screen. "I don't see Dhuan anywhere."
He shrugged. "We split up so I could ask questions in the town while he looked in the hills," Felix explained. "I'm sure he's fine. We may be coming home sooner than later," he added. "Even before finding out about this."
"Oh?"
He nodded. "I may have a lead – at least enough for us to follow up on. And if that pans out, we could come straight home. But even if it doesn't pan out, we may still return home sooner." He eyed her carefully. "I miss you."
She smiled warmly. "I miss you, too." She furrowed her brows, looking past him in all directions. "So where is Dhuan?"
Felix shrugged and leaned back, continuing to walk in rough circles around the hill where they had agreed to meet. The tall grass brushed against Felix's legs, and he walked a little more slowly, running his fingers through the lush green grass along the side of the hill as he walked around. "I'm not… huh." He ran his fingers through the grass feeling each individual strand, glancing down to watch the grass as it separated between his fingers. Something different brushed against his finger, and cocked his head. Pulling his hand away, he found a couple tufts of hair – the same shade of brown as Dhuan's bear form. Holding it up, he frowned. "Well damn."
Bri's eyes widened.
Felix frowned, looking more closely at the hair. With a closer inspection, he could feel its coarseness – exactly like Dhuan's fur. Feeling around the area more carefully, however, he couldn't find any further evidence of Dhuan's presence in the grass. He frowned. "Something might have happened here," he told Bri urgently. He grimaced, gritting his teeth, and scanned the ground around where he had found the fur. The sooner he found Dhuan, the better – the sooner he would be able to return home and help Bri with whatever was happening there. Dropping to one knee, he cocked his head as his hand fell on an impression in the soil, right next to where he had found the fur. Sticking his finger into the impression, he moved it around carefully, studying the shape: smooth and straight, thin though wide. "What could this be?" he murmured to himself. "An arrow mark?"
Bri gasped, her eyes widening in concern. "You need to find him!"
Felix started, shaking his head firmly. "I need to get back to you!"
"He needs you more!"
"And I need you more!" Felix half-yelled. "I need to see with my own eyes that you're okay! I need to get home!"
"Pup," she whispered, letting out a breath and swallowing hard. "I understand. Believe me: I want nothing more at the moment than to see you, here and now, beside me. But that's not what's most important at the moment. I'm telling you, I'm okay. I will be okay by myself here with Anne and your mom for a little while longer. But Dhuan needs your help, now. He doesn't have any other backup except you."
"Well, he shouldn't have wandered off," Felix grumbled, though without as much force behind his words.
Bri pursed her lips. "And if he was abducted by the Lynchpin's people?" she pointed out, her eyes narrowing. "Mecha-Man saw a couple of Lynchpin's people in London; he suspects there could be a few more that Lynchpin hired here to work for him."
"All the more reason to get back to you!" Felix insisted.
She shook her head firmly. "No. You need to stay where you are and find Dhuan. All the evidence of what happened to him is where you are. Let us worry about London. We'll be okay for a little while longer."
Felix groaned and smacked the ground next to him helplessly with his fist. "God damn it," he grumbled darkly. He let out a breath. "Fine. But as soon as I find him, I'll be back to London."
