Chapter 13
Too strange
David's POV
"Allow me to fetch the files from my office." Owen said. "I didn't real-"
"I'll come with you. I could use the walk." I smiled.
I followed him out of habit and routine. He opened the door to his office and walked in. It was only when I bumped into him I realized something was wrong.
"Why'd you stop?" I asked, backing up.
"There's a girl sleeping on my desk." He said.
"What?" I looked past him and saw that he wasn't lying. She was of mixed race, white and Asian from what I could see. She had wavy black hair and wore a peach pastel t shirt.
Owen walked over and paused before maneuvering around her to get the files. He handed them to me. "Here you go, sir."
"How'd she get in here?" I asked, walking toward the desk. "Someone should have noticed." I reached out to wake her, but Owen grabbed my wrist roughly. I looked at him and he seemed surprised by his own action. He let go.
"We should tell Mr. Renard." He said lamely, for him at least.
"Your phone's right there." I pointed to it.
He took great care not to disturb the girl as he dialed our boss's number. "Hello? Is Mr. Renard there? No, it's not an emergency, just something unusual came up. I found a girl sleeping in my office. She's not my daughter."
Something about how he reacted made me almost doubt it. She clearly brought out a side of Owen nobody thought he was capable of. Upon closer inspection, she had his nose and ears. Or Vogel's, but it rubbed me the wrong way to think of her as the dark haired man's daughter. But Owen was too young to have a high school aged child.
Owen hung up and picked up the girl in a smooth manner, resting her head on his shoulder. "Apparently, the security cameras didn't pick up anything until we walked in. Mr. Renard wants to ask her some questions."
I didn't point out that she could explain to us if he would just wake her up. Renard would probably accuse me of corrupting her somehow. If this was some kind of prank, it was a terrible one. Maybe she did it for kicks and giggles, but I doubted that. Why would a teenager sleep in an office building? Did someone break in and leave her? That just seemed overcomplicated.
We walked to Mr. Renard's office. Everyone was already gossiping by the time we got to the elevator. Owen ignored them like always. It made things so much worse since he seemed ready to punch out anyone who got too close to the girl. Which was bad for me since I was following him.
"Do you like kids?" I asked.
He looked at me. "I suppose there's a certain charm to them."
"Do you know this girl?" I ventured.
"No." He said.
I frowned. Why were his actions so different from his words? He was obviously smitten with the child in his arms. For whatever reason.
We got to Renard's office and went inside, closing the door. They both raised their eyebrows at the sight of Owen carrying the little troublemaker. You haven't seen anything yet.
"Why is she still asleep, Mr. Burnett?" Renard asked.
"I… I didn't have the heart to wake her up." He admitted.
"Was the door to your office tampered with in any way?" Vogel asked.
"No. Everything was the way I left it except the girl." He answered. His eyes held a special venom toward the dark haired look alike. Something to the tune of "You touch this child, you die horribly."
Vogel didn't flinch, but he did make sure not to look at the girl too long in case Owen took it as a threat. Which wasn't a bad assumption, given that this girl had brought the literal biggest shift in his personality since I had accidentally annoyed him so much and became a victim to his passive aggressive pranks a few months back. And that was nowhere as big as this.
"Well, we won't get any answers like this. Wake her up." Our boss told him. He had noticed Owen's behavior too and decided that the best course of action was to let Owen deal with the girl as he seemed so dead set on doing.
He gently shook her, but she just groaned and nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Time to wake up, Sweetheart."
We all looked at each other. Sweetheart? The girl opened her eyes and yawned.
"Daddy?" She asked sleepily.
"I'm not your father." He said softly. "Can you tell us how you got in?"
She looked around and furrowed her eyebrows. "This isn't Grandpa's house."
She didn't know where she was?
She rubbed her eyes. "Where are we?"
"This is Cyberbiotics headquarters. Where does your grandfather live?" Owen was patience with her.
"Bar Harbor, Maine. He's gonna be so mad when he gets back from fishing." My heart seized irrationally.
"You're a long way away from Maine." I chuckled.
Her eyes widened and she looked at me. She opened her mouth, but whatever she wanted to say died on her tongue. She seemed just as shocked when she saw Renard and Vogel. Owen was very displeased that I had startled her. How was I supposed to know she still too sleepy to realize there were more than two people in the room?
"What's your name?" Renard asked.
"Talia Jones." She answered.
"Talia, what's your last memory?" Vogel asked. Owen sneered.
"I was waiting for Grandpa to come home and then I got sleepy." She said honestly.
We thought. Was she kidnapped? Why was she left in such a bizarre place? It made no sense.
"It seems we've reached an impasse. Vogel checked the footage and it didn't show anything. It flowed normally and didn't freeze." Renard said.
Her stomach growled. "I didn't get to eat since then."
"I'll get you something soon, Talia." Owen soothed, making her name sound like an endearment itself.
I stared at the blond. Did he not hear himself? He couldn't be this obvious. His eyes met mine with a clear message; slightly different than the one he gave Vogel, "This is my girl and you especially aren't allowed to touch her. Ever."
"Go get her some food then take her to the police." Renard instructed.
"Yes, sir." For the first time in my life, I felt like he was straight up lying. He left with Talia still on his hip.
"Sir, he can't be left alone with her. You saw how he's been acting-" I said.
"And how exactly is Owen acting?" He asked.
"Like-like a hen with chicks! He was ready to punch out anyone who got close to her when we were walking here. And don't tell me you didn't see the death glares he gave us." I gestured to Vogel.
"He did seem to become aggressive with it came to Talia." The bow tie wearing man agreed.
"Owen has proven himself to be trustworthy time and time again. Just because he doesn't know how to process these emotions, doesn't mean he's going to let them overtake his actions." He barked at us.
"Yes, sir." We intoned.
"Now, get back to work." Renard told me.
I left and decided to ignore that command. Owen was acting way too strangely for me to leave alone with the cause of his altered behavior. I realized I had no idea where they went. I walked up to a cubical.
"Did you see Owen go by? Owen Burnett." I asked.
"Oh, yeah. He went that way. Who was that girl with him?" They pointed toward the restrooms.
"She wandered in." I said.
"How?" The phone jockey asked.
"That's the million dollar question." I mused and went on my way.
As I saw Owen and Talia down the hall, they started walking toward the elevator. And the odd thing (aside from Owen all but claiming her as his own) was that they seemed to predict each other's movements instinctually. I frowned as the elevator with them in it closed and the down light dimmed. He was probably taking her somewhere. I had to catch up to them before they left the building. I jogged down the stairs as quickly as I could. I just barely caught them at the front desk when Talia was choosing a piece of candy.
"Mister Xanatos." Owen said unamused.
"Hello, David. Owen was introducing us to this little darlin'." Margret, an older woman originally from the South, gestured to Talia. Talia looked at me and I noticed her eyes. They were a strange green and had small brown, not hazel, splotches in them.
"Doesn't she have the prettiest eyes? Never seen anything like 'em in my life." She smiled.
Talia scooted toward Owen's side. Her quietness, unlike Owen's, could be perceived as cute. Owen glared at me.
"Me either." I agreed.
"Buy the poor dear a comb while you're out, won't you? It looks like she got caught in whirlwind." Nancy, the other lady at the front desk, cooed.
"Owen, what are you doing down here?" Janine Renard, Mr. Renard's daughter, walked in.
"Mr. Renard gave me permission to clock out early." He said.
"It's 2 in the afternoon!" I frowned.
"Fox." Talia said suddenly.
"Yes, renard does mean fox." Owen told her.
Talia looked at Janine's tattoo. Their eyes met and the older woman raised her eyebrow and looked at me.
"I must get my- Talia something to eat. We've dallied long enough. Say good bye." Owen prompted her.
"You haven't had lunch?" Janine asked.
"I've had lunch. Talia has not." He explained, trying to escape with the girl.
"Who are you anyway?" The redhead asked Talia.
"Talia." She answered.
"No, honey, she wants to know why you're here." Margret smiled.
"I got kidnapped and I woke up here. Dad's gonna-" She lost Janine immediately.
"My name is Owen." He corrected.
"Owen's gonna get me lunch and take me to the police station." She continued.
"Actually, Talia, I could give you enough money for lunch and a-" I interjected, making the mistake of stepping toward her.
I was on the floor before I knew what happened, nose bleeding. Janine knelt down next to me. The ladies at the desk gasped.
"She is a lost child, Mister Xanatos. She doesn't know her way around Manhattan. I will not allow her to be kidnapped again because you want me to help you." He wiped the, my blood off of his knuckles with a handkerchief.
"I wasn't suggesting that." I held my nose and sat up.
"Owen, apologize!" Janine gave me some tissues.
He led Talia toward the door.
"Apologize to David, Owen!" Janine yelled at him.
"I will not. Talia needs me." He said, pausing. "I suggest you go get some ice and get back to work."
"Owen Robin Burnett, apologize to David this instant!" Margret glared, using her mother voice.
He turned. "I'm sorry, Mister Xanatos. I'll control my temper better next time."
Talia looked at Owen. He pretended not to notice. It was a rare thing to see an adult get the full name ultimatum.
"Apology accepted. May I borrow your phone?" I asked Margret and she let me.
"Mister Xanatos!" Owen objected.
"I'll be fine, Owen. Everyone, except you, skips out at least once." I finished clocking out.
"Don't forget why you're leaving early, Owen." Nancy told him.
He looked at Talia. She gave a small smile and her eyes had a trusting shimmer to them, like a child to their parent. His gaze softened and his lips curved up just enough. "I'll get her home."
"I'm coming with you two." Janine announced.
Owen led us to his car and I was forced in the front with him instead sitting next to Janine. Owen asked if Talia bucked in and she said yes and we were off to lunch with a young girl who seemed to have Owen wrapped around her pinkie.
David's POV End
