A/N – Bear with me... I may yet have a plot... or not.
Five Witches
By Yaya
Act II, Scene I
They were in paradise. Robin glanced across at Amon as they rode the little shuttle bus from their terminal. She had been here once, Honolulu for a short period – though her ward hated the city, said that the sins of the mainland United States were intruding on a perfect place. Instead, they had spent much of their time on the Big Island, where fire was sacred. It had been a religious experience, the power of the volcano so close - who better to understand a fire goddess than a fire witch?
That seemed like a lifetime ago. She felt - had felt in the past few months - that she had died and been reborn in the next life. It was a world where the reborn took the road less traveled, the darker of the paths. Somewhere, in another existence, another Robin lived a charmed life, oblivious to her true relation with Juliano, oblivious to Zaizen's inhumanity… the charmed Robin was probably oblivious of all things.
… of all things except Amon probably. But that had been the way of it before she had even gotten to Japan. He didn't know that, how could he? He had no time for fifteen year old girls who knew nothing of the world.
She wondered if he resented her. But what would resent look like on his face? It would have to be an improvement over the grim mask he wore every day. Even in his new clothes, a pair of jeans and an aloha shirt - what had that man been thinking to give Amon an aloha shirt? It bordered on sacrilegious. It would be like Father Juliano wearing … she couldn't think of anything right away, but then glanced at the Japanese business man to Amon's right. He wore a dark navy suit in this incredibly hot weather. It would be like Father Juliano wearing his vestments to the beach, she decided.
She could feel her blouse starting to stick to her skin and she moved around in her seat, feeling the exposed back of her knee peel off the hot plastic. A trickle of sweat fell from her forehead, stinging her eyes. She blinked in discomfort.
Thankfully, the ride between the terminal to the baggage claim was short and she sat in her seat, waiting for Amon to give her a signal, any signal. The bus was almost empty before he stood up, and by his stance she knew he was waiting for her to move first.
"Don't you ever sweat?" She asked suddenly as her white tennis shoes hit pavement. She turned as he got off the bus, but he was already preoccupied with getting his bearings, looking north towards the low mountains that dotted the landscape. Even with the billowy clouds overhead, it was extremely hot for a fall day. But this was Hawaii… and one only had to wait.
He paused on the middle of the pavement, the only two left as the other riders had headed into the building to the baggage claim. Suddenly, as if he had wished it, the famous trade winds ran through them, cooling to the touch. Robin smiled, feeling ten times better than she had earlier. Hugging herself tightly she beamed, "Ah, that was nice."
He was about to comment on her smile – he had not seen it in a while. He was not referring to the tentative smile that seemed to be a by product of her gratitude; but the smile that showed a hint of teeth, a smile that engaged her eyes… that was the smile he had… missed. The word that popped into his head was missed. It was a dangerous road to take, and he tried to think of anything else to say.
A group of people were now headed towards them, ready to take the bus back to the terminal… quaint but inefficient, it could be said of many things on the island. As the bus left full of passengers, a woman remained standing.
"Mr. Black?" She asked. She was tall, a few inches shorter than himself, and golden brown, but the most striking of her features was her long black hair that touched the back of her knees. He followed the trail of her hair from bottom to top, ending at a flower tucked behind her ear. Plumeria, the name came to him from the recess of a forgotten memory. She seemed to have come to life out of an airline commercial.
"Yes?" He asked, missing the feel of his gun.
"Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii," she smiled and draped a lei around him. As she drew back, she whispered in his ear, "Sienna Lucas sends you her thanks and her greetings."
She then turned to Robin and repeated the gesture, "Aloha. My name is Lani, and I've been instructed to take you to your hotel."
She led and they followed into the building. Passing the waiting room, where a few dozen people waited for other shuttle buses, she took the stairs that flanked a pair of escalators, "Your bags will be waiting at your hotel room in Waikiki. …It's about 1 pm local time, and your undoubtedly tired from your trip… but your hotel boasts a world class restaurant, or feel free to order anything you need – it's all been taken care of."
They walked through sliding doors and into a long building full of baggage turnstiles. It was blessedly cool, but since she was dressed for the outdoors, Robin actually shivered. From her side, Amon gave her a glance, a question in his eyes.
She shook her head to say she was perfectly fine, and it was a short time later that they passed through another set of sliding doors and were out on the pavement again. This time, the overhang of the walkways above them protected them from the sun. Robin had little time to look around before they were escorted into a limo. Amon took the seat next to her, so that they faced the front of the car, Lani sliding into the seat in front of them, staring at the back window.
As the limo left the curb, she reached into the side bar and handed them two water bottles. Robin thanked her before turning the cap and drinking half of it immediately, "Sorry. I guess I'm not used to the humidity."
"Is this your first time on the island?" Lani asked.
Robin shook her head, surprising Amon, "To the Big Island mostly, some of Maui, a couple of days here... I don't think I've ever had a bad time here!"
"Then welcome back. I hope the islands treat you well again, Miss Black. And, Mr. Black, did you enjoy your stay as much as your sister?"
He answered, "I've always enjoyed the islands."
Lani nodded pleasantly, and gauged the stances. Sitting back in her seat, she let the background music take over and it was less than five minutes later that Robin's head began to droop until she was unconscious.
Lani reached for the bottle from Robin's hands and placed it into the cupholder. "Before you attempt to kill me with your bare hands, I promise it was a mild sedative, don't worry."
Amon glanced at his unopened bottle and handed it back to Lani, "Was that necessary?"
Lani shrugged, "It affords us a few minutes alone, Mr. Black… To give you further instruction."
"I promise to listen, but that's all. I have all the instruction I need."
"Sienna said you would say that."
He glanced down at Robin, making sure she really was out, "What else did Sienna say?"
"Nothing much, other than to enjoy the islands and that it has changed much since you were last here with her. I had not heard that you ever hunted in the 50th state."
So she was a Solomon operative. Not surprising. "I didn't realize that I was one to be kept up with."
He said it with a tone that brokered no further conversation… Lani leaned against her seat, her eyes staring out of the window as they sped on the highway that followed paralleled the ocean on the southern part of the island.
If he had thought running from the Factory was a lifetime ago, then his last visit to the islands had been in ancient times...
