Joe was not sure what was happening right now.
Reggie had appeared at the café out of the blue. The very same man he had trusted to take Yana home a couple of days earlier came to stop by, possibly for a drink, with a woman Joe knew: Fetch Walker. Conduit. Murderer - at least according to the D.U.P.. He was pretty sure if Yana was here she would have told him differently. Reggie himself gave Joe a small sign, indicating that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Even though he decided to sit in a back corner to not further disturb the other guests of which a few began to talk in hushed whispers when they saw Fetch.
The female Conduit was used to that kind of behavior. And worse.
Right now all the other guests did was stare at her and she didn't doubt that if she would make a move to scare them, they would run away. Maybe it wasn't as bad because she hadn't walked in alone? Reggie had stuck close to her so everyone was aware they were here together and she had also noticed the little nod towards the man behind the counter who, in return, smiled back at him. Whoever he was, Reggie seemed to know him in some way.
Sitting down on the last table in the back Fetch grabbed the menu to study it. As she expected there was a variety of different beverages, mostly coffee but also teas and, to her surprise, lots of different cakes.
"Order whatever you like. It's on me."
Looking up at Reggie, Fetch cast him a smile. "That's something you shouldn't have said because now I'm going to order every cake I can get."
"You didn't strike me as the type to like sweets."
"I've been in Curdun Cay for six years. There was no such thing as cakes, ice cream - anything nice if you will", she handed the menu over to Reggie. "And after getting out it basically was all about survival. Food priorities didn't include sweets."
"I guess they don't", he answered as he grabbed the menu and began to look at it. He himself had never been too fond of sweet things. No matter what they were. Of course, in summer he would get ice cream once in a while and he would never say 'no' to cake or pudding Betty made. "I mean, I can't imagine what Curdun Cay is like for people like you. Like my brother."
"It's hell", propping her head on her hand she watched Reggie as he continued to look over the menu. "But I doubt you wanted to talk to me about that."
Putting the menu away Reggie looked up at her, searching for her eyes. Before he could say anything he noticed Joe approach to take their order. Which in Fetch's case turned out rather extensive as she asked to get a piece of each cake that was available today. Not all at once, but just keep it coming like a steady flow. On the other hand, Reggie was fine with a simple coffee and a piece of apple cake.
After Joe turned and left to get everything ready for them, Reggie decided to continue to talk to Fetch. To answer the comment she had made because no, he didn't want to talk about Curdun Cay with her.
"The reason I wanted to talk to you is actually because.. I have said a couple of things about and to you that were not okay", Fetch was staring at him intently. Almost as if she couldn't believe this was actually happening. "I still believe that there should be some kind of punishment because of the killings you did but on the other hand.. Delsin and Yana, they both said a lot of things to me about it and it seems that I judge you differently from my brother. I'm aware that he killed people too since he got his powers. No matter if he intended to do so or not, I have been denying to acknowledge that. To hold him accountable. It wasn't okay for me to say those things to you. To call you trash. And I apologize for that."
Yes, this was not what Fetch thought would happen when Delsin gave her Reggie's number saying that he wanted to talk to her. She did appreciate the fact that Delsin didn't give her number to Reggie but instead left it for her to decide whether or not she wanted to contact him. Though, seeing how this conversation went, at one point he might have approached her. Which, when she thought about it, was what he did by calling her back.
It appeared that both of them had decided to take a step towards the other person.
"I'm kinda unsure what to say to that", she admitted.
"That's fine. To be honest, I didn't expect you would agree to meet with me after what I said, so I neither expect you to accept my apology", it was indeed a surprise to him to actually saw Fetch approaching him outside the café at the agreed time. Even though she had said she would meet him, he knew that it didn't mean she would come. "Just think about it."
"No, it's fine. I do accept your apology but it doesn't mean I like you."
"Of course. I", he stopped when Joe stopped at their table and placed their cups and plates on it. Reggie thanked him and asked if it was possible to talk later on, to which Joe agreed before going to look after the other customers.
Fetch, already taking one bite of the cheesecake, gave Reggie a quizzical look. "How do you know him?"
"Through Yana actually."
"Mhm. You mentioned that name twice already. Who is she? D's girlfriend?"
Reggie almost choked on his coffee. Coughing he looked at Fetch who simply grinned. "Excuse me?"
"A couple of nights back he mentioned there was a girl he liked. I guess that would be Yana."
Nodding slightly, more to himself than to Fetch, Reggie couldn't help but think back to the conversation he had with Yana today. About her mother. About not telling anyone. If she would eventually tell Delsin there was a chance she would do the same with Fetch. But the two Conduits had different relations to Augustine so while his brother, probably, would react a lot more as he had done, Fetch's reaction might look a lot different. "I'm not sure about their relationship. I mean yes, it is obvious my brother likes her."
"But?"
"I'm worried."
"About her or him?"
"Both. He's my brother and since we got here I feel like a failure because there's nothing I can do to protect him. It's obvious that he's fine on his own but he is also affecting the people around him. I guess mostly in a good way because no one likes the D.U.P. and what they do."
"Yeah, no shit", Fetch commented before taking another bite of the cake.
She could understand Reggie. That he was worried about his younger brother. Brent had always been worried about her too, always tried to look out for her. He didn't care that she had powers and was fine on her own. For him, being the older sibling meant he had to make sure she was okay no matter how old she was or how good she could defend herself.
"Maybe you should try to give him space. I would ask you if he did something dumb since you guys got here but I feel like I know the answer to that."
Reggie couldn't help but smile. Of course, there was only one answer to that and she knew it.
"She sounds nice. Yana I mean. D told me she doesn't have a problem with him being a Conduit." There weren't a lot of people like that. At least none Fetch knew if she didn't count in Brent. The people at the café, while not saying anything, appeared to kind of accept her presence but she knew it wasn't true. If she had been here on her own she might have not stayed. Too vivid were the pictures in her mind of previous, similar occasions. When she had stolen money to get some food. Even if it was stolen, when she entered a store or a restaurant to get something small to eat the people working there didn't care if she intended to pay for the food in the first place.
"I'm sure the two of you will get along."
"Will?"
"Well, I mean obviously at one point Delsin might introduce you two", he said and shrugged.
"I'll be looking forward to that."
That said Fetch turned her attention to the cake. Not just the cheesecake but also the next one Joe brought over and placed in front of her. The man began talking to Reggie, saying that he had a moment so they could talk. Excusing himself Reggie stood up and walked over towards the counter where Joe began to clean a few things as both men stood to the side so no one else could hear their conversation. Fetch, who had followed Reggie with her eyes, shrugged it off. Reggie had just apologized for how he behaved, now was the wrong time to try and find out what their conversation was about.
If Fetch was honest to herself she was a little worried that it was about her in a way.
Maybe make sure that the man or anyone else here, didn't call the D.U.P. to ship her back to Curdun Cay. Though that would have been a conversation to have had before sitting down and ordering.
"How is Yana doing? I haven't seen her since that night", Joe noted.
"She's fine, I guess", leaning over the counter Reggie almost whispered the next words. "I talked to her earlier because I found out about her mother."
There was a look between surprise and fear on Joe's face. "How?"
"Saw the surveillance video and put things together. I understand why she didn't say anything. If it is no trouble, she doesn't want to see me or Delsin because she fears that her mother might keep a close eye on her, maybe you could stop by during the next days and make sure that she's not doing anything stupid."
Hearing the worry in his voice Joe nodded in response. Of course, he would do so. Yana was like a daughter to him. A little over a year ago he had met her father who did ask him a similar thing: keep an eye on his daughter because he was living far away and couldn't do so. Especially not now with the city being on lockdown. Joe wondered if he knew about the meeting between mother and daughter. Probably not.
"I will, no problem", he finally answered. "May I ask how you are taking the news in?"
"Okay", Reggie gave a little shrug. "I never thought that would be the case so it is a surprise, not going to lie about that. But I know that she's nothing like her mother and I simply hope things will turn out good eventually."
"Same here", looking over to Fetch Joe turned away and put another cake on a plate before handing it to Reggie. "She's almost out. You know in a way, you remind of Yana and her opinion on Conduits."
"I fear mine's not as good. I'm still coming around to getting used to my brother being one and spending more time with them as we go", he looked over his shoulder and at Fetch who was eating the last pieces of the cake in complete content. No, this wasn't the same person the news talked about. The Fetch he shared a table with looked like a normal young woman who enjoyed her free time eating cake and letting the world go by. Turning back to Joe, Reggie took the plate and thanked the man before making his way back to the table Fetch and he sat at.
When he placed the cake on the table Fetch first looked at the plate, then at him. She smiled. "Right on time."
"You're welcome", he said and sat back down. "Aren't you feeling sick with all the cake you're eating?"
"I'm more than willing to risk that. You invited me after all", she gave him a wink before pulling the plate closer to her. "It's not like I would have money to pay for it anyway. Maybe one day I'll pay you back, who knows?", she said with a shrug.
Seeing Fetch smile so much because of something simple like cake? No, that didn't fit the image the D.U.P. was painting of her. While sitting here, his thoughts literally all over the place, the doorbell rang and a couple of new voices filled the until then quiet café. There was a lot of talking and also laughing as three young men walked inside. But that was gone soon enough.
"Would you look at that. Looks like we entered a Bio-Terrorist café. Since when are freaks like that allowed to drink coffee in places for humans?", the man, Reggie assumed he wasn't much older than Delsin, was laughing. His two friends did the same. Looking towards Fetch he noticed that she had put down the fork and was now staring down with no intention of continuing to eat the cake at any point. "Hey man, you should really be careful and check who you allow entering, the other customers feel bothered."
Joe, who was drying off a cup, placed it on a shelf and leaned his hands on the counter afterward. His eyes wandered to the table Reggie and Fetch sat at, then towards the other customers and last towards the three men. "You are right, I should do something so my customers feel comfortable shouldn't I?", putting the dish towel to the side, he moved around the counter and towards the door which he opened without hesitation. The ringing of the doorbell filled the silence in the room once again. No one was saying anything, especially not Reggie or Fetch. The latter didn't even dare to look up - this was the very reason as to why she didn't like being with other people. "I'm politely asking the three of you to leave my store and to not come back. I'm fine to do without people like you and your friends - the customers feel bothered", even without looking at him, Fetch could hear the smile in his voice.
Why did he side with her? It would cause him trouble sooner or later.
"I don't think you get it old man."
"Oh no, I do get it"; being called an old man being in his mid-forties was not helping to get on Joe's good side. Once again he reminded the three men that this was his store and he had the right to decide who he served and who not. That didn't interest his 'conversation partners' one bit.
At this point, Reggie stepped in. "You heard the owner. I think it would be better if you leave."
"Or what? I'm not going to listen to some weirdo who hangs out with a freak like that", the man motioned towards Fetch.
"This weirdo is a cop and I'm giving you a piece of friendly advice."
"Yo Steve, let's go. It's not worth it", one of the other men spoke and grabbed the jacket of his friend. "I don't want to get in any trouble with the police."
The man named Steve didn't seem to share the same worry. "I don't care if he's a cop or not. I say he's only taking her side because he's fucking her."
"I'm sorry?", Reggie, who had been sitting until now, decided to get up but remained standing next to the table.
"'I'm sorry'. You heard me. She's allowing you to fuck her so the freak has a cop on her side to defend her. Is it worth it at least?", the laughter came to an abrupt stop as Reggie's fist collided with the man's face. Slumping to the ground, nose bleeding, Steve looked up at Reggie whom he hadn't even noticed approaching until he felt the pain. "You sick bastard!"
"Insulting an officer, not a good look", with that Reggie grabbed Steve by his jacket, pulled him back up on his feet and pushed him against a wall. "You were asked, politely, to leave the café, didn't listen, insulted other customers and the police. You didn't like the easy way so we do it the hard one: you three go and get the hell out of here, hoping to never cross my path again!", letting go of the jacket, Reggie took a step back, his eyes focused on the three men. They shared a quick look before one after the other began to run for the door so they could get away.
"Thank you", Joe said as he went to stand next to Reggie, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe a bit excessive but it worked."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that", he looked at Joe and then at his hand. "Do you have some ice for me?"
Nodding. "Give me a second."
While Joe walked back behind the counter to put a bit of ice in a bag so Reggie could cool his hand, several of the other customers commented on what had happened a few seconds ago. For Fetch, who still hadn't moved an inch, this felt surreal. Not because of the things that had been said about her but the reactions. Reggie stepping up and taking her side for one. It wasn't like she couldn't protect herself but if she had done so it would have looked a lot different, so this was better. The other thing she didn't understand were the other customers. She could hear them talk loud and clear. How they were siding with Reggie. With her.
She could also hear him apologizing for his behavior just now. No doubt he would have acted differently if he had been on duty. Even back at the theatre when he said all those hurtful things to her, he had this air of self-control around him that stopped him to go too far. Not today though.
When Reggie sat back down, Fetch looked up at him.
"Why did you do that?", her voice was nothing but a whisper.
"What? Broke that guy's nose? Because he deserved it", he said grabbing his coffee and drinking the rest in one go.
"That's not what I meant", she shook her head. "I mean you taking my side."
Looking at Fetch Reggie, for the first time since meeting her at the theatre, saw a completely different person in front of him. She looked scared. Ready to run away any second now. "Listen, I have made a mistake by judging you and there are certain types of people and behaviors I can't tolerate. That right there was one of those. I don't know", he shrugged and leaned back. "Maybe some Conduits have second thoughts when spending time with humans. I'm sure some humans do so as well. While I am still wary about you to some extent, I don't want people to see you in the wrong light."
"Like you did?"
No denying here. But people could change, right? Maybe he wasn't completely at that point yet, to see Conduits as equal. Was that the right word? In a way yes because most people saw them as a threat. As something more powerful than a human who couldn't fly, shoot lasers from their hands or be able to heal their wounds within minutes if not seconds. The D.U.P. had done a really good job to scare the world of Conduits. Reggie included. Only after Delsin established his own powers, Reggie began to see things differently. Which didn't stop him from making dumb decisions.
"Guess it took me several conversations with my brother and Yana, where they showed me my mistakes, as well as the situation with those three idiots to get closer to that point, didn't it?"
"Apparently so", looking back at the half-eaten piece of cake Fetch sighed. "You know, I'm not in the mood for more cake right now."
"How about getting a drink then. I sure could use one."
There was no way Fetch would decline that offer.
~ooo~
When the sun went down and the stars reclaimed the night sky as theirs, Delsin found himself traversing from rooftop to rooftop.
He hadn't heard a thing from his brother but Fetch had written him several hours ago, stating that Reggie had called her to meet up for a talk. Since then Delsin hadn't heard anything more from her either. He hoped the meeting between the two had gone well. No matter what, he was happy to see that his brother did make the effort to smoothen things out but whether or not Fetch accepted his apology was on a whole different page. Delsin didn't know her long enough to be able to tell how long she would hold a grudge against someone who had tried to lock her up. After all, she had been in jail. In Curdun Cay.
Delsin doubted that someone who was working at the D.U.P. would ever apologize for what they did and even if, he didn't expect any Conduit to accept the apology after all the torture they had to endure.
Stopping on a rooftop Delsin walked to the edge and sat down. His eyes focused on a lit-up window on the other side of the street.
There was Yana. Sitting on her couch, Brownie on her lap as she watched TV. It looked as if she was already in her sleepwear, maybe she had been the whole day. Delsin wasn't sure but based on the semi messy hair that might have been an option. Since he knew that her mother's appearance at work seemed to have caused her some distress he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing.
If she was going to work these days.
If she was getting her daily cappuccino fix.
If she, just maybe, thought of him once in a while.
Because he did think of her.
Time was moving slow and then also not. At one point Delsin 'woke' from his daydream. It was when Yana turned off the TV, vanished for a couple of minutes and then returned to her bedroom where she lay down next to Brownie who had made his way there earlier.
Delsin waited for another 30 minutes or so in which he watched her sleep before he got up and decided to leave.
If he had behaved like a teenager in love before, he had now turned into a stalker.
And maybe, if he had taken the time to look at anything or anyone else other than Yana during the hours he had spent on the roof, he would have noticed that he wasn't the only one to watch her.