Chapter 8

"Was she in an accident?" asked Kristin, horrified.

"This wasn't an accident." Luc replied grimly, pointing at Professor Tremblay's temple, where a bullet hole was clearly visible. "I think she ran into the Snakeheads after dropping us off and returning to her car."

"But, why would they kill her?" Kristin exclaimed fearfully. "Surely she wouldn't have given them any trouble."

"Do they need a reason?" Luc asked bitterly. "Perhaps they didn't like her answers. Maybe they just shot her because she was driving away from the main road. Whatever happened, they probably didn't hesitate for a second." Luc's anger was clearly evident in his words.

"We can't go back to Chamonix." Kristin said, understanding the implications of the situation immediately.

"No." Luc agreed. "For all we know, they've already figured out that we were with her, and they're waiting for us at Marie's house."

"So… should we go back to Calvi, then?" Kristin asked, confused. "We completed our mission, after all. Mattieu will be happy to see us again."

"I think that's our best option, right now." Luc said. "Although, I'm more interested in getting that data disc to the Federation government on Riga."

"But, how do we do that?" Kristin asked helplessly, tears of frustration running down her cheeks. Luc embraced her, pulling her close against his body and softly stroking her hair. Kristin could feel her tension easing away as he held her, and she clung to him as the only safe anchor in her stormy world.

"It's getting late." he eventually noted, glancing at the setting sun. "Let's find a place to spend the night, and we can approach this with a fresh perspective in the morning."

Kristin nodded, knowing that he was right.

They both agreed that they had to leave Professor Tremblay's car where it was, in case the Snakeheads came back to check on it. Zoltar knew that Luc was alive and in the area, so he would have every man possible out looking for them. But they took a moment to look through the car. Luc found some maps in the glove compartment, while Kristin was relieved to find some blankets inside the trunk. However, Luc was clearly disappointed that they hadn't discovered anything that might give him more information about himself and his true identity.

When they had finished their search of Professor Tremblay's car, they headed off into the trees and back up the rocky mountainside, in an attempt to find some shelter.

By now, the sun had almost completely set, and even with their enhanced vision they knew that they needed to find something soon. After about thirty minutes of searching in the near-complete darkness, they discovered a small cave hidden in the mountainside. Finding it free of any signs of recent habitation, they gratefully crawled inside.

Physical and mental exhaustion overtook them, and as soon as they had crawled back far enough to be well-concealed from any casual glance they wrapped themselves up in the blankets and each others' arms, falling fast asleep.

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Kristin awoke the next morning with a bad headache. Her sleep had been troubled, and she couldn't remember much of what she had dreamed, although from what little she could recall, it seemed as if she had been having the same dream all night, over and over again.

She stirred, and Luc tightened his arms around her, murmuring sleepily and burying his face into her red hair, nuzzling at the soft skin of her neck. Kristin smiled, her headache easing somewhat with the pleasure of this close, loving contact. She was safe, and with Luc, and that was what was most important.

While Luc drifted back to sleep, Kristin found that she could not, and so instead she pondered all of the strange events that had occurred the day before.

Finding their weapons… discovering that Zoltar knew Luc… her eyes changing color… Not to mention the destruction of two different bases, and discovering within herself a heretofore unknown ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat nearly as well as Luc did. She guessed this last wasn't really surprising, given that they had been on the same military team. They must have been trained in the same fighting styles.

But what were they going to do now? Somehow, the thought of returning to Calvi seemed wrong; as if it would be taking a step backward. There was somewhere else they needed to be.

There was a place.

A meeting place.

A rendezvous point?

Kristin didn't know where that idea had come from, but the fact that it had surfaced in her mind now, when her memories were returning, led her to trust this instinct. She was certain that this place existed.

If only she knew where she had to go.

A map!

She needed a map. If she could look at a map, then she knew that she could figure out where they were supposed to be.

They had picked up some maps from Marie's car!

Luc had stuffed the maps into the bottom of the Spectran pack they carried. Kristin pulled away from Luc's warm embrace, moving over to the nearby spot where the pack lay, ignoring the cold mountain air and Luc's mumbled protests. She found a driving map of eastern France, and spread it out on the stone floor of the cave, studying it intently, moving her finger back and forth as she read the names of every place marked there. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for.

Geneva.

Technically, of course, Geneva wasn't in France. It was set on the shore of Lake Leman, just on the other side of the Swiss border. But that didn't matter. She had found where they were supposed to go.

Kristin looked up, her eyes glowing with excitement, only to see a bleary-eyed Luc staring at her in confusion.

"What's going on?" he mumbled.

"Geneva!" Kristin exclaimed. "We're supposed to go to Geneva!"

"Switzerland?" Luc scratched his head, but it was clear that he was now fully awake. "What's in Geneva?"

"We're meeting someone there." Kristin told him. "It's a rendezvous point."

"Whom are we meeting?" Luc asked, confused. "And when?"

"When…?" Kristin's eyes clouded over for a moment as she thought about this. When? A strange urgency took hold of her, and she suddenly found that she knew the answer.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Luc repeated in disbelief. "You're certain? We're supposed to meet someone in Geneva tomorrow, and you're just remembering this today?"

"This feels right to me, Luc. It's what we have to do."

Luc sighed, but slowly nodded in agreement. "I trust you, Kristin. So far, your memories seem to be right. And it's not like we have anywhere else we have to be."

"We're going to Geneva." Kristin smiled.

"How do we get there?" Luc asked.

"Uh…" Kristin looked up blankly. "Do you have any ideas?"

"So, you tell me what to do, and I'm the one who figures it out?" Luc grinned. "Doesn't seem like this 'Commander' position is that great a job."

"We're a great team, Luc." Kristin said seriously.

"I know." Luc smiled softly at her. "We'll figure it out."

"We could walk, but we don't have enough time if we have to be there tomorrow." Kristin said regretfully.

"I don't like the idea of 'borrowing' another vehicle either." said Luc. "The Snakeheads are looking for us, and they know that we did that before. We should stay off of the roads."

"What about a train?" Kristin suggested. "We can't go into Chamonix, but we could walk to Saint Gervais-Les-Bains and catch a train early tomorrow morning to Geneva. Hopefully the Snakeheads won't be watching for us outside of Chamonix."

"It's risky, but at this point I think it's our best shot." Luc agreed. "All right. Saint Gervais-Les-Bains it is."

They ate a couple of the nutrient bars from the pack and washed them down with some water before leaving. Kristin regretted the loss of their basic toiletries, but they couldn't risk going back to Marie's house for those things. They could pick up replacements elsewhere. Still, she wished that she at least had a hairbrush, and she knew that Luc would have liked to have access to a razor about now.

Once they had eaten, it didn't take them long to pack up and go. They were able to strap the blankets to their bag, but even so, they were not overburdened. The day was sunny and bright, if somewhat chilly, and they made good time heading down the mountainside.

"Saint Gervais-Les-Bains is only about fifteen kilometers away," Kristin said, "but since we'll be walking through the foothills, it may take us all day."

"We can make it." Luc said confidently. "If we can escape from a Spectran base full of Snakeheads, then surely we can do this."

"Luc…" Kristin's voice was thoughtful. "What exactly happened, yesterday, in the base? How were we able to do that?"

"You mean, fight?" Luc asked. "I'm not sure. I just let my body move by instinct. If I try to think about what I'm doing, it doesn't work as well. That's what I've always done before. It's as if I'm programmed to make those moves, even if I can't recall how or why. But what really surprised me was the way you were able to do it as well."

"You weren't the only surprised one." Kristin replied. "I shocked myself."

"The way you used that yo-yo… to think that at first, I thought it was a toy! It makes me wonder…"

"What?"

"It makes me wonder what my 'toy' can do." Luc said thoughtfully, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the metallic bird.

"Why don't you try it?" Kristin asked.

"Now?"

"Why not?" Kristin shrugged in response.

Luc hesitated only for a second, then closed his eyes, laying the bird in his right hand. He touched it gently, and the wings snapped outward again. He held it up, over his right shoulder, his movements slightly awkward.

"Just relax." Kristin suggested. "Like with the fighting. Don't think about it. Just do it."

Luc nodded, and the tension seemed to flow from his body. Without warning, his arm snapped, and the boomerang shot from his hand, flying off into the distance. Luc's eyes opened, and they both saw the metallic bird making a graceful arc out to some distant trees, lightly cutting off a few branches before returning right to them. Luc caught it easily in his outstretched hand.

"It's sonic…" he whispered, amazed. "It can slash and cut as well, but just now, when I sent it out, it did sonic damage. I had no idea…"

"I had no idea that my yo-yo could cause explosions, or transmit electrical charges the way it did yesterday." Kristin agreed. "But when the moment came, I didn't even think about it. I just did what came naturally… going on instinct, as you say."

Luc nodded, carefully putting the boomerang back in his pants pocket.

"Your instincts are very impressive." he told her, his eyes sparkling. "Do you know how sexy you are, when you're fighting off hordes of attacking Snakeheads?"

Kristin laughed. It felt good to joke about this, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for them to be engaged in that kind of combat, using these strange weapons.

"You're pretty hot when you're fighting as well." she said shyly, winking at Luc.

"I guess we really are perfect for each other." Luc grinned. "Missing memories and all. I'm just glad that we found each other, Kristin." He took her hand and squeezed it lovingly.

"I am too." she smiled in response. "I don't know what I would have done without you, these last few months, Luc. For all I know, my memories might never have started coming back if I hadn't met you."

"I'm not so sure about that." Luc replied. "I don't think it's coincidence. I think your memories returning has to do with the timing of this 'meeting'. It seems that you're recalling things just in time for us to get to Geneva to make this 'rendezvous'. What if it's this meeting… this time…? What if that's what triggered all of this?"

"I never thought of that," Kristin said slowly, "but it makes a lot of sense. Why would my memories be gone but then return just before I had to meet someone? I think your explanation is as good as any other."

They walked in silence for a moment, pondering this idea, until Kristin suddenly gasped.

"Luc!" she said excitedly. "Do you know what day it is today? It's November 17th!"

"Yes. So?" Luc was confused as to the significance of this fact.

"Tomorrow is November 18th!" Kristin pointed out. "Tomorrow, it will be exactly one year since the Snakeheads invaded."

"One year…" Luc was astounded. "It's been one year… both of us with memories lost, and now a meeting, exactly one year after the world we knew disappeared."

He turned and looked at Kristin intently.

"It's got to mean something." he said. "This isn't co-incidental. It's all connected, somehow."

"But, why would the Snakehead Invasion cause us to lose our memories?" Kristin asked. "Even temporarily?"

It was a question neither of them had an answer to.