Chapter 38

Travessia was a city built over hot sands. It was expansive, but unlike the capital (that was to the brim with skyscrapers), Travessia was full of beaches, vacation huts and expensive hotels. It was a tourist's attraction, the perfect place to enjoy Birtan without freezing your ass off.

Staring up at the palm trees, Breccia hopped out of the van after Riker. She didn't notice she was still in her winter coat until the heat bit into her.

"Where's Morice?" She asked, glancing behind their vehicle.

"They're half an hour out. He'll call when they get closer." Riker dozed off on the last half of the drive and was currently rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Dixon should touch down soon. We might as well check into our room." From the outside, they looked like average tourists. This was best, as the more they faded into the crowd, the better.

Walking into the lobby, Breccia had her bags taken by the clerk's Machamp. The hotel was small, reminding her of the one she, Maddie and Neil stayed in at Isadore. However, unlike there, the lobby was covered in large windows and comfortable padded chairs. The carpeted stairs were the same crème color as the floor around them, and the place was crowded with many impatient tourists.

After checking in, Riker tugged on Breccia's coat sleeve, beckoning her to follow. There was no elevator (for some reason) so they and Arlia were forced to walk up three stories before reaching their room.

To Breccia's chagrin, there was only one bed. The room was nice, with a mahogany coffee table, bright yellow curtains and a decent television set. There was a couch as well, but regardless, some unfortunate soul would be sleeping in the bathtub.

Tossing her things on the bed, Breccia let Nibs out to stretch his wings. Luckily for Arlia, who had now collapsed on the couch, he decided to flap about on his own instead of pestering her. After a few minutes of flight, he made his way to the bathroom doorway, hanging on the sill for a snooze.

"Does he have any evidence..." Coming in last, Riker was talking on his Transceiver. "...Well they were bragging about all the men they've arrested...just start breaking legs, one of them'll talk eventually...yeah, whatever...send me a line when you get to town. We've already checked in..."

Breccia peeled her coat off, glad for the warmth."Kelly?"

"Stotler." Riker said, dropping his own bag to the floor. "All this running and we still haven't figured out who's behind this." He opened the sliding glass doors, welcoming the soft, sandy winds to blow in. "Dixon's bound to arrest an idiot willing to spill some details..." His temperament was foul, leaving Breccia alone as he walked out on the balcony.

Breccia herself stayed in for a minute or so, basking in the silence while wondering if it was smart to follow him. Receiving a message from Morice on her Transceiver, he claimed they'd be in the area within the hour. That meant the other Executives would be in soon and they'd all be able to talk about the next day's plans.

This also meant meeting up with Dixon and the other officers. (Something Breccia wasn't comfortable with).

Leaving her things on the bed and her shoes by the door, Breccia ventured out on the balcony in her socks, reminding herself to tread lightly. (There was no telling what mood Riker was in). There was a shade of palm trees around them, masking the glare of the summer sun. Despite this, the boards under her feet were still warm to the touch.

"Riker?" She saw him standing in the left corner, his elbows balanced on the railing and his head in his hands.

"What." The question came out as a bitten statement.

"You alright?"

Her boss scoffed into his palms, sighing and standing upright. (He still maintained his death grip on the railing). "What's it matter? I don't have a choice."

Standing next to him, Breccia tried to lighten the mood. "I think your nap made you cranky."

Closing his eyes, Riker couldn't help but agree with her. His nap wasn't very restful. Truth be told, he hadn't been sleeping well at all as of late.

Every time he fell asleep, he was haunted by the same dreams, as if they were waiting to pounce the moment his eyelids met. They were a jumbled mess most of the time, but no matter how they were, his mother was in every one of them.

The only person who knew about these were Donna, since she was prone to prying.

He could trust her, it wasn't like she told anyone else...

"Is it the dreams?" Breccia piped up.

"Damn it Donna!" Riker groaned and turned away. "When did she tell you?"

"Outside the boat before we left." Breccia answered, clenching her fists at the realization she may have overstepped her boundaries. "She mentioned it...I-I just...I'm sorry..."

Breccia wasn't a gossip, so he didn't have too much to worry about, but still. "If I wanted you to know, I would've told you myself."

Instead of shying away, Breccia wasn't fond of his tone and took offense to it. "You have a lot on your shoulders right now-"

"You have your purpose, and it isn't poking around in my business."

A stillness ensued, as Breccia had no words for what he just said.

Purpose.

Something about that word hurt, like an ice pick jammed into her spine. Despite the bruised feelings, the anger was still there and the next words she said had a deathly cold to them. "My purpose? So if I were still sweeping the floors, you wouldn't care?" Perhaps it was her own fault, thinking the two of them were on friendly terms. Donna had the best intentions telling her, but perhaps it was best Breccia kept her mouth shut. She turned to leave, looking inside to see that Arlia was still sleeping. "I'll be in the room if you need me."

Riker called after her. "Don't." When she disobeyed, still obviously sore about his choice of words, his temper slipped further. "I said don't! That's an order!"

Breccia whipped around, flushed in the face. "Is it my purpose to stay out here and deal with your temper!?"

"I have the right to be angry when you invade my personal space!"

"I was worried!"

So not to explode further, Riker stormed back into the room. Arlia was still fast asleep.(for some reason). Nibs had moved from the sill to sleeping atop the television.

Sitting on the bed, he did as he had outside and placed his face in his palms, breathing heavy to talk down his temper. He was concerned about them keeping a low profile, and here they were, screaming at each other like a married couple.

Eventually, things stayed quiet and Breccia came inside, shutting the door and curtains behind her. This shut out most of the light, shadowing the room and making it hard to see. Letting her eyes adjust, she walked over and sat beside her boss, doing so without a hint of malice or fear.

"You don't listen well, do you?" Riker said with weary jest.

Breccia smirked. "I like to live dangerously." She chuckled. Scolding herself for being so flippant with what just happened, her smile faded. "I didn't think about what you're going through. I should've kept my mouth shut."

"That's not an excuse for what I said." Riker rubbed his sweaty hands on his pant legs. "Sanchez said I let my emotions run too wild...last time this happened, I tried to punch his teeth down his throat."

Before he could continue further, Breccia added: "He deserves it." She was still sore at how little care the other Executives gave to Riker's opinions. Kelly and Stotler seemed to care, but were too easy going. As for Sanchez...lets say she'd love to see him take that punch to the face. "You just needed to get a little anger out."

Riker shook his head. "Not towards you...you were just trying to help." He had to come to terms with the truth of it all. Yes, the recent events were making things hard, but the dreams were wearing on him. Not just the dreams either. "I see her all the time..." He muttered, staring down at the ground. "Every time I sleep, she's there. And every time I see her, I think of him..." He clenched his jaw, reminding himself to ignore the rage in his gut. "When I was little, we couldn't make ends meet and before she...died, mom reached out to my grandfather. She'd never met him, she wasn't even sure if he'd care, but she was desperate. One night she went out to work and fell asleep behind the wheel." His voice trembled. "She was so beautiful, but to my father, she was just a fling. He never cared, never came around. He didn't want to help with me...if he had, she wouldn't have had to work so hard, she wouldn't have been out that night." There was a relief to the words, being able to say them after years of bundling it up inside. "...I think the reason my grandfather was so quick to answer...I think maybe, in his old age, he feels guilty for what he did to my father... then again, maybe he just wanted an heir." His Transceiver chimed, sighing when he saw it was Kelly."I suppose Sanchez is right." Riker said. "I know what's expected of me, and I can't seem to let these emotions go...I get so angry..."

Breccia put a hand on his leg, contemplating her next words. It was at this moment she wished her own father was here to offer her guidance. "Sometimes you have to get angry. But...I guess there's a line. Sometimes people go too far with their hatred for others... or for themselves." When he glanced over to her, she smiled. "You can't change what he did, but you can learn from it." Her own Transceiver rang, this time with a call. Seeing it was Morice, likely saying he too was nearby, she silenced it. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Riker nodded. "I have to be." He added. "You're one hell of a therapist."

Breccia chuckled. "I try on occasion."

"Yeah, well, if you tell anyone about this I'll-"

"Ship me back to Cerulean?"

"I need new material."

No sooner had their conversation ended, the rest of the group merged onto the hotel. Unknowing of where the room was, Morice waited in the lobby until Breccia went down to get him. The other Executives arrived a few minutes later, and all of them were forced to cram their way into the tiny hotel room.

"Dixon will be here tomorrow afternoon." Kelly said. "I figured he and his men would be able to fly here, but they had to make things difficult and go by boat."

Breccia and Morice were sitting on the bed while Riker and the others chatted in the main room. Despite being able to hear bits and pieces of their exchange, the two of them were out of the loop.

"How was the trip?" Breccia asked.

Morice shrugged. "Quiet. You and your boyfriend enjoy yours?"

Rolling her eyes, his friend slugged him in the shoulder. "Stop being a child. If you must know, he slept through most of it."

"How romantic..."

Breccia tugged lightly on his ear. He cringed at this, but didn't pull away. "We're professional, it always has been..." Remembering Riker's little meltdown a mere half an hour prior, Breccia decided that 'purely professional' wasn't the best term. (It was as close to the truth as she could get). "You think I'd break your heart like that?"

Morice just about shoved her off the bed. "You are his 'plus one'. I'm just the muscle."

Doing what Nibs often did when he was in need of attention, she put her chin on his shoulder. "You know, jealousy isn't very attractive." She stuck out her bottom lip. "Here I am just trying to be friendly and you're being a big ol' jerk." When he put an arm around her, she grinned. "Am I forgiven for my indiscretions?"

Morice shook his head. "Like I could actually be mad at you..."

Riker glanced over his shoulder at the two of them, breaking off the hushed conversation between he and the others. "You two." Both of his underlings snapped to attention. "Come here."

As they obeyed, Breccia took note of a final sentence uttered by Stotler. "I think we're attracting too much attention..."

"I'll figure something out." Riker said, turning to Breccia and Morice. "Dixon isn't going to be here until tomorrow evening. Until then, we need to blend in with the crowd. I want you two to go out, pretend to be tourists if you have to."

"Look normal?" Breccia surmised.

"Basically. We'll try and do the same. Leave in the morning, stay out until I summon you."

Morice waited until their backs were turned and scowled. "Great, so much to relaxing until the Gala."

Breccia elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't pout. Look at the bright side, maybe this will make up for me daring to step out on you."

"Shut up."