Secret
Aelita decided to follow Nathan, but she did use her cell to call the others and tell them what she knew. At first she almost had Jeremie search for her and try to stop her from going. But in the end she used her persuasion to bend his will to her favor. He agreed to relay the message to the others and promised they'd stay on school grounds.
She followed Nathan to his truck and literally gave him a heart attack as she grabbed his shoulder.
"Fuck!" he shouted throwing himself aginst the door.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, but whether you like it or not I'm coming too." She told him sternly.
"Okay okay, just don't do that. I have a low blood pressure dang." He sighed opening his door and unlocking her side.
They both got in and drove onto the main road, it was going to be a long drive to the informant. So the pink haired girl decided to make some conversation.
"This guy, he knows about those men?" she asked feeling stupid but knowing it would lead to a bigger thing.
"Yes, he's helped the police in the case however, he's my family friend and a fine hacker if I must say." He told her sorta lightening up.
"Should I stay in the truck while you go see him?" she asked.
"No, your coming in with me. Who knows if these slave traders have scouts watching me." Nathan surprisingly went for her hand and held it, squeezing ever so slightly to let her know he cared about her.
"That's good to know." She smiled weakly.
"To know that we know about the slave traders or that I still love you." He grinned nervously at what he said.
"Both." Aelita moved her hand around his to where they had them clasped together.
Aelita could feel a slight cold feeling to his fingers but they warmed up with her hand. Soon his thumb began caressing her hand, she blushed slightly. It had been very long since they actually showed such love to each other. Aelita had just about thought he was just a lonely depressed man, now her eyes opened. She saw the kind and protective boy she knew back when this all started. The boy who sacrificed himself for her at those life risking moments, almost died after they got Kathleen arrested, and whom she made love with the first time. That little piece of her those few years came back, now she would be able to finish what she started that one day. Help him heal his wounds and pain.
The drive was two hours long, and soon they drew close to a neighborhood. To Aelita it looked like a normal urban setting, but as they drove into a street she saw something else. Most of the houses were owned but with little signs of their occupants, stray dogs were chained to the front yards. Varying in color, they showed their teeth with aggression as their truck passed by their domains.
"Don't worry, those dogs may look mean but they can sense when an person who's bad inside passes by. They bark like mad and the people on these blocks come to the window ready to fight if need be. I bet they'd love you as good at heart as you are." He giggled pulling the truck into a drive way of a plain grey house.
As Aelita and him got out and formed up side by side, he pointed to the open backyard drive way. It led to a garage way in the back end of the back yard, the grass looked like it hadn't been cut in some months now. When the two started to walk to the side door of the home, she almost slipped from something on the ground. Thankfully Nathan was there to catch her, she blushed in his arms till he helped her stand again.
"Be very careful and watch your step, there are Chinese plums everywhere. I hope you like that fruit cause he'll offer us some." Nathan plucked a one of the sun colored plums off of the many limbed tree and showed her.
"Wow, do we just eat it like this?" she asked taking it and continued walking.
"No, there's a jam you make out of them. Very sweet. Okay just follow me and don't go anywhere without me, incase the dogs begin to bark I need to know where you are." His tone changed from loving to a policeman.
She sensed that now wasn't the time for her to ask any questions as they went inside. But all of this worried her, what if the dogs began to bark.
Nathan knocked on the door three times and someone answered, it was an old lady.
"Why hello there are you Nathan Hernandez?" the frail woman asked.
"Yes ma'am, its good to see you again." He smiled and hugged her like a childhood kid or a grandchild.
"My my, it's defiantly been along time since then. Well I made that jam you both like." She chuckled to herself as she turned and went into the house.
Nathan motioned her to follow him and he closed the door after both were in. Aelita looked around, the home looked quite small but very quaint. The kitchen was nominal and the livingroom was big enough for two large sofas and a TV. Aelita noticed an old man sitting on the couch drinking coffee as he read the news paper. He did say a short hello and shook both their hands before returning to his reading.
"We'll be in hackers room?" Nathan told her before he and her left down a long hall.
They went all the way down to the last door on the left and entered. As Nathan opened the door, a young man popped out with a large shotgun aimed at the couple.
"State your name and business." He told them with his eyes leering at them with dark intent.
"Man stop joking around we got business to do." Nathan pushed the gun out of the way.
"Ha ha, just tryin to have some fun." The man told them as he set his gun to the side, he had a heavy latin accent in his words.
Aelita and Nathan went into the dim room, Aelita felt very unsure of what was going on. So she quickly grabbed Nathan's hand before anything else happened. Then the lights came on, like a flash from perpetual lightning. The room lit up, revealing an electronic equipment crammed quarters. Hard drives were suspended from the walls and multiple screens clustered together in various corners, their wires webbed the ceiling by hooks and tape. All this came to Aelita as the super calculator lab of the factory, the whole room looked like a miniature version of the computer interface Jeremie used without the holo map and all.
The informant sat down in his large desk chair and wheeled up to the couple. He had a soda previously open in his hand.
"So my friend, what can I do for you today eh?" he asked.
"You know why I'm here." Nathan said sternly.
"I meant why did you bring this fine chica?" he grinned at her.
"She wanted to come so I'll be her escort for the entire time." Nathan replied, "Can we get on with this?"
"You know, I always knew you'd snag a beautiful girl. Not everyone goes through your messed up life and gets a chica as hermoso and actually pink haired as you madam." He bowed to her sitting in his chair before spinning to the computers.
"He's very curdious as you can see, what he told you was he said you were very lovely in Spanish. He doesn't get out as much." Nathan told her as he touched her shoulder.
"Anyone care for some tortillas with jam?" the old lady came in with a plate of the stuff.
"Thanks grandma." The informant said to her and she put the plate on a small table before leaving.
The old woman smiled to them right before she closed the door. Aelita watched Nathan take a piece and he nodded to her so she did the same. The jam was amazingly sweet and thick with pulp, better then grape jelly.
"Okay, from what I've been able to find. They've been buying up some stuff and they have open slots for sale. Meaning…" the informant spoke as he typed away, his face was concentrated to the screens.
"They have already caught more victims…where is the check in point?" Nathan asked.
The informant continued to type away on his comp and gave them a look like it would take a while till they got an answer. So in the mean time, Nathan grabbed her hand again but this time he scooted close to her. Aelita felt safer when he did that, she smiled to him before resting her head on his shoulder.
"Give me one more minute and I'll have some stuff from my buddies." The informant told them.