The first thing that Trinity noticed when she entered Mr. Miles' office
were the pictures adorning an end table near the couch. Devon was no where
to be seen at the moment, so she decided to take a look. She slowly walked
over to the table, as all of her strength had not yet returned. There was
only a handful of photos, but they were there none-the-less.
The frames were set up as if they were a set of stairs, with the shortest ones in front and the taller ones behind. Trinity sat down on the couch and peered at the first one. The picture was in a tiny, neat little frame, and was of the woman she had seen earlier. Next to it, in a larger, wooden frame, was a group of people all standing around a black car. She recognized Mr. Miles and the other woman, but there was another man whom she had never seen. He looked strangely familiar to her. There was something about his eyes that gave her a sense of knowing.
Moving on to the other pictures, Trinity noticed that the same man was in many of the others. It wasn't until a few moments later that she also saw that the same went for that black car.
"Wow, someone has a crush on their car." she picked up the last frame which was a bit larger than the others. It was a single picture of the man and the car. It wasn't until then that she realized that there was something different about the car. The fact that the make of car had been released in the early eighties was already apparent, but for some reason this particular car didn't fit the description of your basic Trans Am.
Trinity didn't have much time to dwell on the little details. It was then that Devon Miles entered his office. He looked up from the papers he was holding and gave her a small smile.
"Please, do sit back down." he motioned for her to return to the spot she had occupied on the couch only seconds before. Trinity nodded and was again seated. Devon walked over and took his customary spot in the arm chair across from her. An uncomfortable silence followed as both were very unsure of how to "break the ice".
"Mr. Miles," Colte moved to the edge of her seat and clasped her hands on her lap, "why am I here?" her eyes were set in a worried expression as she looked to the man for an answer. Devon found himself unable to move at the moment. The look in her eyes and tone of voice gave him a sense of deja vu as a flashback of the conversation with Michael came and went.
He hesitated somewhat before deciding that an action on his part would be better suited in explaining the situation. Miles also found himself tiring of repeating this same story over and over again. Fumbling through the stack of papers beside him, Devon produced a newspaper clipping and handed it to Trinity. She took the paper and scanned the title, which read: ROOKIE L.A. COP KILLED IN HOME INVASION. Her own face appeared next to the headline.
"What..." she began to question what it was she was reading but Devon quieted her with a single wave of his hand.
"Read further." Devon's reply was calm, but resigned.
Trinity stared at him a moment, trying to read his face. It was only the mere unammused look that urged her to read on. Minutes later she handed the article back and another silence fell between them. Thoughts were racing through her mind as she tried to remember every little detail about that night. The last thing she remembered seeing was the window to the fire escape, which at the time seemed so far away. Her train of thought was interupted when Devon began to speak.
"I know this comes as a shock to you, Ms. Colte. It was equally surprising for myself. Believe me when I say that I had no intention of things progressing such as they did." his manner turned semi-businesslike as he straightened out the papers in front of him. At that time their lunch arrived. Bonnie walked into the office carrying a tray of sandwhiches and drinks. She set it down on the coffee table and took a seat next to Trinity.
"You said you had some news to tell me." Trinity tried to push the meeting forward, as every instinct in her body told her that this could change her life, or rather inform her as to which path to follow.
"Quite right. The original reason I wanted to contact you is that the Foundation has been informed of as to the identity of your birth parents." he leaned forward, resting his elbows on each arm of the chair. Colte gave him a quizzical look.
"Why would your Foundation have anything to do with my birth parents?" she looked from Devon to Bonnie seeking an answer. She herself had only tried briefly to track down her birth mother but was unsuccessful. Besides, she had the love of her adopted parents and needed nothing more.
"Well, when informed we found that your birth father was one of our employees." with that, Devon leaned over and picked up the larger photograph and handed it to Trinity. "His name is Michael Knight. He's been working for the Foundation for nearly 15 years."
Trinity felt a hand on her shoulder and knew that it was Bonnie's. She just stared at the picture, letting the fact that this man was her father sink in. It took a while longer before she broke her gaze and looked up.
"And my mother?" her voice was a whisper.
"Her name was Stefanie. Sadly to say, she was killed on the day of her and Michael's wedding." there was a hint of sadness in Devon's voice as he recalled that day.
There was no emotion from Trinity, but that of understanding. Looking down at the picture once more, she could make out somewhat of what this man, her father, was like. The black leather coat and blue jeans told her that he wasn't tied down by a family and was devoted to his job. The feeling that the car was not your average run-of-the-mill machine came back. Yet, she decided, that was a different story altogether, and one to be told later.
"When can I meet him?" Trinity held the photograph closely to her as she questioned Miles. Devon gave an inward sigh of relief and smiled.
"Very soon, I hope. Very soon..."
The frames were set up as if they were a set of stairs, with the shortest ones in front and the taller ones behind. Trinity sat down on the couch and peered at the first one. The picture was in a tiny, neat little frame, and was of the woman she had seen earlier. Next to it, in a larger, wooden frame, was a group of people all standing around a black car. She recognized Mr. Miles and the other woman, but there was another man whom she had never seen. He looked strangely familiar to her. There was something about his eyes that gave her a sense of knowing.
Moving on to the other pictures, Trinity noticed that the same man was in many of the others. It wasn't until a few moments later that she also saw that the same went for that black car.
"Wow, someone has a crush on their car." she picked up the last frame which was a bit larger than the others. It was a single picture of the man and the car. It wasn't until then that she realized that there was something different about the car. The fact that the make of car had been released in the early eighties was already apparent, but for some reason this particular car didn't fit the description of your basic Trans Am.
Trinity didn't have much time to dwell on the little details. It was then that Devon Miles entered his office. He looked up from the papers he was holding and gave her a small smile.
"Please, do sit back down." he motioned for her to return to the spot she had occupied on the couch only seconds before. Trinity nodded and was again seated. Devon walked over and took his customary spot in the arm chair across from her. An uncomfortable silence followed as both were very unsure of how to "break the ice".
"Mr. Miles," Colte moved to the edge of her seat and clasped her hands on her lap, "why am I here?" her eyes were set in a worried expression as she looked to the man for an answer. Devon found himself unable to move at the moment. The look in her eyes and tone of voice gave him a sense of deja vu as a flashback of the conversation with Michael came and went.
He hesitated somewhat before deciding that an action on his part would be better suited in explaining the situation. Miles also found himself tiring of repeating this same story over and over again. Fumbling through the stack of papers beside him, Devon produced a newspaper clipping and handed it to Trinity. She took the paper and scanned the title, which read: ROOKIE L.A. COP KILLED IN HOME INVASION. Her own face appeared next to the headline.
"What..." she began to question what it was she was reading but Devon quieted her with a single wave of his hand.
"Read further." Devon's reply was calm, but resigned.
Trinity stared at him a moment, trying to read his face. It was only the mere unammused look that urged her to read on. Minutes later she handed the article back and another silence fell between them. Thoughts were racing through her mind as she tried to remember every little detail about that night. The last thing she remembered seeing was the window to the fire escape, which at the time seemed so far away. Her train of thought was interupted when Devon began to speak.
"I know this comes as a shock to you, Ms. Colte. It was equally surprising for myself. Believe me when I say that I had no intention of things progressing such as they did." his manner turned semi-businesslike as he straightened out the papers in front of him. At that time their lunch arrived. Bonnie walked into the office carrying a tray of sandwhiches and drinks. She set it down on the coffee table and took a seat next to Trinity.
"You said you had some news to tell me." Trinity tried to push the meeting forward, as every instinct in her body told her that this could change her life, or rather inform her as to which path to follow.
"Quite right. The original reason I wanted to contact you is that the Foundation has been informed of as to the identity of your birth parents." he leaned forward, resting his elbows on each arm of the chair. Colte gave him a quizzical look.
"Why would your Foundation have anything to do with my birth parents?" she looked from Devon to Bonnie seeking an answer. She herself had only tried briefly to track down her birth mother but was unsuccessful. Besides, she had the love of her adopted parents and needed nothing more.
"Well, when informed we found that your birth father was one of our employees." with that, Devon leaned over and picked up the larger photograph and handed it to Trinity. "His name is Michael Knight. He's been working for the Foundation for nearly 15 years."
Trinity felt a hand on her shoulder and knew that it was Bonnie's. She just stared at the picture, letting the fact that this man was her father sink in. It took a while longer before she broke her gaze and looked up.
"And my mother?" her voice was a whisper.
"Her name was Stefanie. Sadly to say, she was killed on the day of her and Michael's wedding." there was a hint of sadness in Devon's voice as he recalled that day.
There was no emotion from Trinity, but that of understanding. Looking down at the picture once more, she could make out somewhat of what this man, her father, was like. The black leather coat and blue jeans told her that he wasn't tied down by a family and was devoted to his job. The feeling that the car was not your average run-of-the-mill machine came back. Yet, she decided, that was a different story altogether, and one to be told later.
"When can I meet him?" Trinity held the photograph closely to her as she questioned Miles. Devon gave an inward sigh of relief and smiled.
"Very soon, I hope. Very soon..."
