Angels With Newfound Hope
Act 2 Chapter 17: Addressal
Portal hill - Day 7, 11:01AM
The portal stood with its maintenance door still wide open. Alex took a little time to admire the marvel of engineering whilst he and his dragon got to its destroyed console. Bryce even whistled at the state of disrepair before them.
"If you or Reza did that, then I'm impressed. This is quite an amount of damage here." He almost admired the handiwork as he glazed it over. "We'd better try and power this thing on at least."
"I... don't think that'll work. I tried earlier and got nothing. Whoever did this was clearly making sure nobody gets in or out. This wouldn't rule out Maverick either." The man speculated, conveniently leaving out the fact that a component was still with Sebastian.
"Speaking of, someone came in the other day complaining of a spiky gray flier shoving them off a park bench. That sounds an awful lot like him, don't you think?" The officer didn't even allow him a chance to speak before continuing. "And who else appeared in that report but you? I hope you have a very good explanation as to why Maverick was with you that day." Bryce held a hostile glare, his sitting position almost towering over the other. Even his claws pecking away at the keyboard in an attempt to get some reaction contained the same sentiment.
"He admittedly appeared out of nowhere. I didn't even know he was following me until it was too late. That guy seems to have a stalking problem. He did the same to me and Reza the night we both got shot." Alex did his best to cover every base, even if it meant throwing his reluctant ally under the bus.
"I hadn't heard your whole side of the story besides that. Did you know he was following you before you met with Reza, or was it a spur-of-the-moment thing?" Bryce finally relaxed to some minuscule degree. He was so tense every time the two did this that it became unbearable for Alex. He had to make sure this kind of thing never happened again.
"It was the latter. I think he was actually following Reza to begin with. We bumped into each other when I ducked into a bush. All I wanted to do was take a leak, and instead, I get a face full of angry gray dragonscales." The brunette let his dragon absorb everything and ask a question before doing anything else.
"Did anything happen after that? What did he say?" Was all Bryce came back with.
"You mean what did I say? After a short and irrelevant argument, I told him to stay put if he was going to listen in."
"And yet, he didn't. All the more reason you two shouldn't be around each other. He needs to keep his nose out of this or he could end up dead." The chief chastised his friend, expressing his worry while he was at it.
"I said the same thing that night. If he didn't walk in on us, I could've played double agent, help you guys while making him believe I was still on his side." Alex replied. Bryce's head panned up in utter disbelief at what he just heard.
"You do realize this is real life, right? That kind of stuff usually only happens in spy movies." The larger male deadpanned.
"The last time someone said that to me, they were proven wrong in five seconds. But getting off topic, it doesn't look like that thing will be turning back on anytime soon." The ambassador pointed out, a finger aimed toward the console. It had still done absolutely nothing during all their chatter. The chief finally admitted defeat with a heavy sigh.
"I guess you're right. We should go back with some evidence for Emera at least." Bryce said grimly.
"Way ahead of you. I'll get some pictures to go with that card Sebastian took back to the station." Alex captured three different angles of everything before getting up, noticing Bryce with an added paw to his face.
"Dammit. I can't believe I forgot about that thing in all this. How could I have slipped up this badly?" The fiery officer was striking himself over and over again for his mistakes, effectively beating himself up in a manner.
"Hey, take it easy. You just got caught up in all the chaos. I myself have had that happen before. It's pretty commonplace to forget things with high levels of stress. I think what matters more is who did it right now anyway." The vigilante tried to soothe his dragon. It was... ineffective, to put it lightly.
"Take it easy? We have no way of contacting humanity, no out for you if things get hairy, and absolutely no way of fixing it. I'd say we're pretty much fucked!" Bryce fired back. Those angelic ambers dulled with the stress bending his will. Alex knew this could get bad, but he couldn't just stand there doing nothing.
"Bryce. I need you to listen. I can handle myself. I'm a lot more capable than you think. Let's focus on fixing this thing so we have contact again." The smaller male reassured in his own way.
"Somehow, I don't believe that, but what choice do I have? It's not like we can exile you anywhere here." The chief exhaled a deep, heavy sigh. "What do you need to work on this?"
"I think we should let Emera know first. She might block my card if we just go out right now." The human reasoned, prompting another pause.
"Did you forget we're going back anyway per her orders?" Bryce deadpanned. His company took a moment to absorb everything before disappointedly pressing a hand against his face.
"Fuck... Tell anyone about this, and I'll throw you in the ocean." The brunette promised with little actual intimidation to his target.
"If I'm being honest, my memory's not much better right now, so I have no room to talk. I can hardly even recall passing out last night. It's like everything after eight or so is just nonexistent." The larger male stated, rubbing his neck. Alex didn't blame him either. He'd be sore and stressed too if something like last night happened to him.
"Well that totally isn't spooky. It's like our competition all over again." The smaller male pointed out, only remembering it after the fact. It always hurt to do such a thing to those he loves.
"It's whatever. Not like I don't go through that at least once every week." The chief chuckled as though that really was nothing to him.
"Bryce... just how often do you go to that bar?" Was all the human asked.
"Pretty much every day. Why do you ask?" Bryce said with some curiosity at where this was going.
"That's really not healthy. Not even my own police friends go that often. Tell me you have some hobbies besides drinking." Alex begged, concerned at just how bad that had gotten.
"I do. I just drink more. I know it's bad. I know I should stop, but it's so hard..." The dragon 's eyes glued themselves to the ground. That was, until he received a delicate embrace from his companion.
"I think I can help. Just promise me one thing. Promise that if you take it, you won't lose focus." Alex's eyes shimmered in the late morning light, casting an infectious glow onto his dragon.
"I... Let me think about it. I'll tell you at the barbecue tonight." Bryce thankfully didn't outright reject the idea. Now all Alex had to do was think of something besides model building that they could do.
"That's all I ask." Alex allowed himself one last squeeze before reluctantly parting from those comforting scales. Only then did they begin the walk back...
Back at the park, both Emera and Remy sat in wait. The pearlescent archivist looked toward them in shock and rather great discomfort as heat waves began to distort the air.
"The Ambassador and the Chief of Police? What the heck did I miss?" He cocked a brow in recognition.
"You'll find out-"
"The portal was sabotaged last night. We were just gathering evidence. Speaking of, here are some photos for immediate proof, Minister." Alex flashed his phone. The holographic screen took on tablet-like dimensions so everyone could see the extent of the damages.
"So it would seem. At first, I thought you were lying. Guess I won't be doubting you again." Emera piped up again after that rude interruption. "I'll make this short, then. Chief, as a result of your carelessness regarding Reza and Maverick, I'm temporarily removing you from any duties related to the humans. You will instead serve as my personal escort until further notice. You are to return to my office with me immediately following this conversation. Understood? The pale olive female commanded. Any time spent with her at all was punishment enough in the human's eyes.
"Understood." Bryce replied simply.
"Then you are all dismissed." With that, Emera turned to leave with Remy and his dragon trailing after. Alex didn't notice it before, but an errant breeze slipped a paper out of her grasp. Perhaps that was fate telling him to chase after them. Or maybe he was just looking into it too much. Either way, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Emera's office building was just as devoid of life as the lab. At least the ambassador didn't have to follow signs to his target's office this time around. He had just as easily forgotten that along with probably many other things in the last two weeks.
"Chief, I think you should know what to do- Ambassador? What are you doing here?" Emera addressed the encroaching human with great annoyance.
"There were a couple things I needed to talk to you about. I only remembered it after the fact. Bryce, Remy, how about you two go grab some water or something? This is a private matter anyway." Alex stated rather bluntly, offering his card up in case they needed to pay.
"Well I'm not about to say no. How about you?" The chief directed his jovial attitude toward the other, who meekly agreed. The two left for a nearby water cooler for that much needed refreshment.
"Shall we, Minister?" The remaining male directed to her office with a rather threatening gaze. Emera simply allowed them inside.
"So what is this about? What was so important that you had to keep me from my duties, and send those two away?" The dragon fired off, not knowing that her company could play that game too.
"You dropped this to start. I'm surprised you didn't notice it flying away." Alex handed over the slightly dirty case file. He decided to tackle this situation with tact for once and collected himself. "Now, you look rather tense. Is there something I can do to help?" To say Emera was caught off guard from that was a bit of an understatement.
"You're offering help? Color me surprised. I thought you disliked me, judging from the daggers you were glaring at me." She, however, wasn't as such.
"I thought I'd actually be tactful for once. But if you don't want it..." The ambassador turned to leave. He was right at the door when she gestured him back.
"No no. You just caught me off guard is all. Please, come have a seat." His tactic worked. With some careful planning, he may be able to squeeze some answers out of her.
"Good. Now what's got you so strung up besides the case?" Alex pressed, trying to maintain a concerned act.
"Politics, life, you name it." Was all the minister said in response.
"Life? I'd imagine that's pretty cushy whenever you're not working. What's going on in that regard?" He probed. Surely, her thing for Bryce would come up there, right?
"It's a long story. Let's just say I'm getting on in years, and everything's hitting all at once." Emera relaxed a bit more with each moment she spent venting.
"I'm guessing that means your biological clock as well?" The human guided the topic even more in his favor. This would be one of very few times he was grateful he learned how to manipulate conversations.
"Completely. I'm aware that it's ticking. I want to continue my legacy, but it's hard finding someone as long as I'm in this field. The only person who actually sees me as a person is Bryce." There it was. The target was out in the open. Alex found it suspiciously easy to get this far. There had to be some sort of catch he wasn't picking up on.
"Bryce? I get that he treats everyone with respect, but do you really think that means he's interested?" Perhaps that was a little too much at once. Emera glanced up at him with increasing curiosity.
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I won't try. I would love for my kids to grow up with two leaders for parents. Plus; he is a specimen." The male's very heart threw up at her use of the word 'specimen'. All that talk about him treating her as a person, and she treats him like breeding stock.
"And how do you know he even wants that kind of commitment?" Alex asked. The dragon seemed baffled at the implication of such a thing.
"I..."
"Point proven: you don't. I need you to listen. I know him better than you think. He's not ready for anything like that. I'm sure there's someone out there who would love you. It just won't be him. He's not interested." The male finished to a simmering Emera. She looked as though she wanted to explode at him for even saying such a thing.
"And what makes you the expert on him? You two have only known each other for a week." The minister snarled, rising from her desk. Alex did the same with a hand on his pistol.
"I'll tell you on the final day of the festival. Just meet me at the portal after the fireworks start going off." He didn't know whether he was being convincing or not, only what could be done from here.
"I'll think about it.
