Chapter 11
12 noon and Adam is anxiously waiting outside of one of the forensic labs. Finally after 2 hours, his old colleague and scientist Matt Hansen makes an appearance.
He immediately hands over a file to Adam. "No more favours Hunter off the records! This is the last time I do this for you…"
"This one was the most important favour by the way, thanks man!" He replies, taking the file.
"The findings were conclusive. The DNA you bought to us was a hundred percent original and not cloned. And as for the link between the two samples, this was also significant with a 50% DNA match. Likely either parent-child or sibling with this type of percentage.
"That's perfect, thank you!"
Adam reaches for his phone once he leaves the building.
"Hey Estel, it's me - your dance partner!"
"Adam? What did they conclude at the lab?" She anxiously asks.
"Our dance teacher is 100% Blaze. The DNA was authentic and not cloned and there was also a perfect parental match to Leon's."
"That's the best news we could hope for, I knew it was her!"
"All I gotta do now is figure out how the hell I'm gonna tell Axel, let alone Leon" Adam sighs.
"Yeah, I mean the news will change their lives for good! Then there's Blaze… how do we explain all of this to her?"
"I have no idea where to start to be honest! It's been almost 9 years, that's a long time and I'm not sure how any of those three are going to handle the news….. It's good right?"
"Yeah of course! If there is anything I can do to help, let me know" she replies.
"How about that coffee I still owe you after a year?" Adam smiles.
"I'll call you if I ever decide to take you up on that offer…" She answers, wounding his ego. "Oh and before I forget, shouldn't we be keeping tabs on Blaze? I'm sure you don't wanna lose track of her again…"
"Of course! We're going to the next dance class, I'm not taking no for an answer Aguirre!" His comment makes her laugh.
"Well actually, Blaze has a gathering tomorrow night. During the third Saturday of each month, the students, staff and teachers at the studio including Blaze get together at Velas Bar in Central District. It's a cool place with tournaments, live music…"
"How do you know all this?" Adam queries.
"Do you not read your emails?"
"Not really…."
"Well it's the perfect opportunity to break the ice with her to try and trigger her memory".
"That ain't a bad idea, I'll see you tomorrow night then" he concludes.
#Doorbell rings#
"Hey" a tired looking Axel opens the door to Adam.
"What happened to you over the last two days?" Adam asks as he takes a glance around the place which is far from it's usual state. The drapes are closed, the laundry is scattered about next to sets of weights and all sorts of fighting equipment plus there's the beer bottles in every corner.
"You know there are only 2 hours left until Leon finishes school. He was hoping to return home today. Go and take a cold shower and I'll get started on cleaning up this place."
"I was hoping he could stay with you and Cherry for one more day?"
"Why are you avoiding your son? I'm tired of making excuses to him about why you went awol the other night" Adam responds feeling irritation.
"I promised Leon we'd go through some pictures of his mom for the album he got me. After what went down with Max the other night, I just can't do that now and I don't wanna break any promises to him. I'm also still angry with Max. I mean I get it! The man lost everything and was high but why say all that shit to me? I was only just managing to deal with the fact that there's no hope in ever seeing her again. I'm willing to focus the rest of my time on Leon and do the right thing but why would Max say that shit knowing full well what it did to me when I found out she was dead?"
"You can't even say her name can you? Leon doesn't even know his own mothers name… or anything else about Blaze for that matter and that's sad. You're gonna mess him up if you carry on like this…" Adam warns.
"And I suppose your father of the year right? Where have you been for the last 9 years for Cherry and Chris?… putting your career first!" Axel snaps back.
Suddenly a sharp yellow bolt of energy fires from Adam's palms that crashes into the window, shattering the glass.
The pair immediately pause in shock for a moment, observing the damage.
"Sorry man… I still sometimes have problems controlling this power, it ain't easy". Adam catches his breath.
"No, I'm sorry…I didn't mean what I said" Axel apologises, feeling guilty with the last comment he made to Adam.
"It's true, I did prioritise my career and maybe I should have tried harder to convince Keri that everything here was ok and safe for our kids. But because I failed them in the first place, they lost all their trust in me". Adam sighs.
"You know Cherry loves you and looks up to you, just like Sammy did".
"Yeah but Chris? The boy still has nightmares about the fire and doesn't even recognise me anymore. He's even started to call Terrence dad."
"I'm sorry man. That can all change in time though, don't give up on him. You might have failed them in the past but at least they're still here and alive…anything is possible."
"What happened to Blaze wasn't your fault.." Adam replies.
"Every day I ask myself, what if I didn't plead guilty and just lived with what I did? What if we were smarter and left this city for good, maybe if I didn't end up in prison she would still be here right now".
"Sit down…" Adam orders, unable to hide the truth from Axel any longer.
"What's this?" He asks as soon as he is handed the folder with the DNA results.
"I had to be sure that the woman Max saw wasn't a clone or someone else. Estel and I went through the surveillance footage and you're gonna hate me for saying this but he was right, Blaze is alive."
Axel's heart starts to pound and his hands tremble as he opens the folder.
"I had the lab scan a sample just to be sure before talking to you and they found a match with Leon's DNA. I'm sorry I went behind your back with this but as your friend and as Blaze's I had to do it".
"Is she ok?... Is Blaze living in the city?" Axel asks hesitantly with his eyes starting to water and his voice cracking.
"Yeah, we tracked her down. She even teaches at her own dance school, she only moved here around 2 months ago."
"But it's been almost 9 years. If Blaze woke up and escaped that hospital before the explosion, why has she never tried to look for us?" Axel frowns, still refusing to believe what he's hearing.
"After what Jake did and the impact to her head, she's completely lost her memory. She didn't even recognise me, or Max or Estel. All she seems to remember is dancing and her first name…"
"I have to see her and talk to her….. Shit, I can't believe Blaze has been alive all this time!" He sighs. "What the hell am I gonna even say to Leon?" Axel panics.
"Just wait and see first… I mean really we don't know how Blaze is gonna react to the news."
"How did you even get hold of the DNA?" Axel queries.
"Estel and I went to one of her classes. There's not much we've known about her - she has no passport, no surname, no legal registered address. Her studio is even registered under her assistant's name! On the system she's just another Jane Doe."
"Where does Blaze even live then?"
"In one of the illegal apartment blocks on Vale street" Adam replies.
"I know it and it's not a nice place. It's also where Max buys his gear and is probably why he bumped into her there. She needs to know the truth about who we are and what happened to her."
"That ain't gonna be easy! To Blaze, you and I are two random strangers. We can't just blurt everything out and expect her to accept or remember it just because we say so! Also I found out she's on seizure preventative medication. The last thing any of us wanna do is make her sick."
"Where are we supposed to start then?" Axel anxiously asks.
"Just trust me on this, I have a plan…"
Saturday night couldn't have arrived any sooner. Estel and Adam anxiously wait across the street from the bar in one of the cafes like they are on a stakeout.
"Do you think he's gonna show up?" Estel impatiently asks.
"Yeah, I know he will!" Just as Adam finishes his coffee, Axel walks through the door.
"Hey why the hell did you ask me to meet you two here? The bar is across the street…" Axel asks, feeling puzzled.
"It's better we keep a look out and see her arriving there first from here rather than inside the bar just in case you change your mind or don't feel up to this" Adam answers.
"You're looking smart.." Estel observes "and is that even a slight shave and haircut I notice on you?" She says, glancing at Axel from head to toe.
"Yeah, I mean everyone knows Velas is the trendiest bar on this street. Blaze and I used to party there all the time. You two will probably have to flash your police badges at the security if you think you're gonna get in there looking like that!" Axel explains whilst Adam and Estel glance at one another awkwardly wearing their casual jeans and cargo pants.
"Shit look, that's them!" Adam notices a small group wearing their coats queuing outside the bar in the cold with Blaze in the middle.
"She's barely changed…" Axel looks on with his jaw dropped.
"Told you so…" Adam replies "let's go, they're in!"
"Wait man, I can't do this. That was crazy just now seeing her alive…it's definitely Blaze but I don't think I can go in there…" Axel starts to nervously click his knuckles.
Almost a whole hour passes by with the three of them sitting in silence across the street inside the cafe.
A member of staff approaches "I'm sorry folks but we're gonna have to ask you three to leave now. It's 9pm and we're closing".
"Can you give us two minutes please?" Adam requests whilst sat next to Axel.
"I'm going now. I might see you there, I might not" Estel says as she casually gets up to leave for the bar.
"I know this is hard…" Adam tells him.
"You don't know what's going on in my head right now…" Axel answers "I told you, I can't go in there. Look at me, I'm a nervous wreck!"
"I'm sure when you two start talking you're gonna be fine. Look, you have to do this sooner or later."
"What if she feels nothing towards me? Then what?" Axel shrugs.
"It's a big risk I know, and you might walk out of that place burnt. But at least do this for Leon".
"Ok…I'll do it" Axel replies, taking a deep breath.
"Just keep your cool and I'll do the talking if you want…." Adam says as the two of them walk into the lively bar towards the large group of dance students and teachers.
"Hunterdaddy! You finally made it!" Blaze smiles as soon as she notices him walking towards the group.
"Thought I'd take the opportunity to show off some of my moves again!" He jokes, breaking the ice as she glances at Axel next to him, trying her best not to stare.
"This is my friend by the way, I hope you didn't mind me tagging him along…" Axel immediately gives Adam a hateful stare as he is making the situation worse.
"Oh look! Estel is already on the dance floor! That's my jam..." Adam quickly makes his exit, throwing Axel into the deep end and leaving the two of them alone.
"Have the two of us met before?" Blaze nervously asks, feeling a chemistry and something familiar between them.
"Yeah, we knew each other a long time ago!" Axel gives her a warm smile, feeling more at ease now. "Blaze you've barely changed in all these years, it's like I only saw you yesterday…" he says, noticing her wearing a short backless red dress with long sleeves and lace seam, with her hair out wavy and large gold hooped earrings. After all these years, seeing Blaze again confirms there is nobody else out there that could even take her place.
"I'm so excited to finally meet someone who knew me more than 9 years ago! Sorry if this sounds a little weird but I was in an accident a few years back. It was pretty bad and affected my memory so I don't even remember your name or how we met! I just know that you seem so familiar..."
"Well my name is Axel and we first met at our workplace."
"Seriously? Are you a dancer too?" She asks surprised.
"No, we used to work on the police force together, that's how we met….. I started out as your boss actually".
"Oh my God! That's insane, I really can't envision myself as a cop!" She replies shocked.
"Yeah, you were pretty good at it but you were a nightmare to work with…. Just being honest" The two of them burst out laughing together.
"And that is why I am now self-employed!" Blaze grins.
"After you punched the acting Commissioner in the face, they refused to give you your old job back!" He grins.
"Shit! I was that bad huh?... So are you still an Officer then?"
"No, I left that place a long time ago."
"I have so much I want to ask you…. I'm so glad you're here" She pauses and stares at him for a moment, still trying her best to remember. His face, personality and voice seem so familiar yet she has no recollection of memories with the man standing in front of her.
One of her colleagues and friends suddenly startles her back to normality by tugging her arm.
"Blaze? Blaze!... When you gonna join us on that dance floor c'mon! You planned this party after all!" Her friend smiles holding a drink in her hand.
"It's so nice to meet you! Grab a drink and join us and come for a dance!" Blaze smiles as she is dragged away.
She tries her best to glance around the bar to see if Axel is still hanging around nearby, but in the blink of an eye, to her disappointment he's gone.