Ch. 53
It was well into Wednesday evening by the time they made it to their destination. The excitement of arriving in the state of California wore off when they rode on for hours afterwards without stopping. Nelly kept assuring them that they were almost there, but even when they hit the coastline and drove with the ocean to their side, they did not stop. Laurie briefly wondered if Nelly was going to drive them straight into the sea and keep insisting even underwater that they were almost there.
They passed a sign marked 'Huntington Beach', but Laurie did not pay much attention to it. It wasn't until they neared a hotel that she became enthusiastic.
"We're staying at a beach?" Laurie exclaimed, as she craned her neck to eagerly peer out the window. "I thought we were going to Los Angeles?"
"I was told that Los Angeles city itself might be too dangerous," Nelly explained. "The conference is going to be close to this area. I suppose it is a more convenient location."
Laurie's excitement grew tenfold as they drove up to the hotel. She had expected something like a motel she had to stay in with her mother once when they visited her mother's sister. What she saw before them was absolutely marvelous.
"Wow," said Laurie. "Did they really pay for us to stay here?"
"They certainly did," Nelly said. "It's nice, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I feel kind of shabby coming to this place dressed like this," said Dan.
The hotel exterior was blinding white -- it looked like an older structure but still sharp and smooth as if it were built only yesterday. Inside it was even better. High ceilings with magnificent chandeliers and strong wooden beams, along with a red plush carpet that stretched up a grand staircase made for a wonderful welcome to weary eyes. Even at this hour there were plenty of people to form small crowds in the lobby, and Laurie had to hold on to Walter's hand to keep from running around the place to look at everything. She whispered excitedly to Walter while Nelly handled the check-in process. Soon they were on the fourth-floor, where Nelly struggled to get the lock open.
"Are we all staying in one room?" Laurie asked Dan.
Dan shrugged and started to reply, but Nelly managed to get the door open and stepped aside, leaving Laurie to stare into the room with awe.
It wasn't just a room, but a suite. Before them was a large living area with plush carpeting, a large sofa and matching chairs, a television, desk, table, and even flowers. Nelly ushered them inside and closed the door behind them. Laurie couldn't believe it. Beyond the living room was a small kitchen, even a dining area. There were two separate rooms adjacent to each other and both contained two queen-sized beds. Each bedroom had a bathroom inside that, combined, were practically the size of Walter's apartment. Laurie had to turn on the bathtub faucet in one just to see if it was real.
"What a beautiful place," Nelly said, nodding. "They are treating us well."
"Oh, Nelly," Laurie said, wanting to jump up and down but containing herself, somehow, "I really wish we could live here."
Nelly laughed.
"Well, I don't know about that," he said. "These are tight quarters, and I'm pretty sure we would start getting on each other's nerves after a while."
Laurie felt her eyes go immediately to Dan, who was gesturing while talking to Walter. Walter didn't really seem to be listening -- he had been pretty much silent the rest of the trip to California, and Laurie regretted letting him search through her bag.
"Speaking of living here," said Nelly, "How will we arrange ourselves in the rooms? I mean--"
"I'll stay with Dan," Walter said, quickly. Laurie gave him a look, but he was turned away from her.
"Oh," said Nelly, looking a little surprised. He glanced at Laurie. "Well, all right."
Laurie tried to make eye contact with Walter, but he was already marching into one of the rooms, with Dan following.
"Are you okay with this arrangement, Laurie?" Nelly asked. "If you're uncomfortable, I could move to the living room--"
"No," Laurie interrupted. "It's all right, Nelly -- don't worry about it."
Laurie smiled at him. Nelly smiled back, and helped her bring her suitcase into their room. Laurie claimed the bed by the window. After Nelly set her suitcase down, he moved his own to the other bed and peered into the bathroom.
"Well," said Nelly, smiling, "I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower. Do you mind if I go ahead? Or would you rather..."
"Please, go ahead," Laurie told him, "I'll take my turn after you."
Nelly nodded gratefully and took his suitcase into the bathroom with him. Laurie folded her arms and paced the room for a moment as she heard the shower running. She walked to the window and glanced outside, briefly noting how close to the ocean the hotel was. She sighed and finally left the room to go to Dan and Walter's. The door was still open, and Dan was talking.
"...I was thinking that it would probably be a bad idea to invest in something like that," Dan was saying, as Laurie cautiously peered into the room.
Dan had apparently claimed the bed furthest away from the door, and he was already making himself at home by moving his belongings to the chest of drawers next to it. Walter was rummaging through his pack and pulling out papers. Laurie cleared her throat. Walter glanced up, and Dan squinted at her through his glasses with a half-smile.
"Uh, could I speak to Walter alone please, Dan?" Laurie asked him. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, uh, sure," Dan said, wiping his hands on his shirt. "Uh, let me call Hollis or something. I know there's a phone in the living room..."
Dan pushed past Laurie with his head down.
"Or the lobby..." Laurie heard him say. Then he was gone. Laurie looked at Walter, who was back to sifting through papers again.
"Walter," Laurie said, "Are you mad at me?"
"No."
"Then why are you staying with Dan?"
"It's more appropriate."
Laurie scratched her head.
"Why?" she asked him.
"It's indecent for us to be staying in one room together," Walter told her, as he finally looked up.
"But we usually do, Walter."
"Yes, but they don't know that."
"I'm sure they must guess--"
"No, Laurie. It's already done. Stop asking."
"Well, fine," Laurie sighed. "I'll go have a sleepover with Nelly while you chum it up with Dan."
"I will."
Laurie made an exasperated sound and left the room. She sat down on the living room couch with her hands clenched in her lap. After a moment, she realized the shower had died down, so she got up and waited for Nelly. When he emerged from the bathroom, she went in herself and showered. She came out feeling much better -- she was still tired and cramped after the long car ride, but the shower did make things more tolerable. Nelly was on the phone, so Laurie went to her bed and opened her suitcase, looking inside for her essentials while Nelly talked.
"Yes, of course," Nelly was saying. "Tomorrow is perfectly fine. Yes, we can speak more in person then. Thank you. Yes, good night."
Nelly hung up and smiled at Laurie.
"Leader of the Los Angeles crime fighter group," he explained to her. "We're going to discuss the details of the upcoming conference in person on Friday."
Laurie nodded and tried to be more interested, but she just didn't care right now. She sighed, feeling miserable all of a sudden. Nelly stood up.
"Well, I'm tired as heck," he said, "But I'm also starved. What say you we try finding a place to eat downstairs?"
"Okay," said Laurie, feeling a better despite herself. She took Nelly's hand, and he seemed a little surprised, but he smiled at her nonetheless. They found a cafe on the first floor and enjoyed a small dinner before they came back up. It was fairly late, but Laurie could still hear Dan talking behind the closed door to his and Walter's room. Laurie frowned at the door, wishing she could be talking to Walter instead and followed Nelly back to their own room.
Laurie and Nelly bid each other good night and settled in. Laurie wanted more time to think on her own, but she found herself drifting off to sleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. She woke up to find enough sunshine coming through the cracks in the curtains to indicate that it must be fairly late into the morning. She looked up to find Nelly making his bed. He wasn't dressed yet, so she surmised he hadn't been up that long either. Nelly looked up and smiled at her.
"Good morning," he said to her, "Or should I say afternoon?"
"Is it really afternoon?" Laurie asked, sitting up in a panic.
"No, it's actually seven o'clock," Nelly said, pointing the bedside clock out to her.
"It feels so much later," Laurie sighed, as she stepped out of bed. "It's so bright."
"Remember the time difference," Nelly shrugged at her. "And the fact that it's California, so things are bound to be brighter here."
Laurie and Nelly took turns getting refreshed and ready for the day. When they came out of their room, Laurie could still hear Dan talking and wondered if he had talked all through the night. She almost burst out laughing at the thought, but stopped herself. She thought the image might be too strange to explain to Nelly, though she was sure Walter would have enjoyed it. Thinking of Walter, Laurie felt a little sad. She watched Nelly as he walked to the door and knocked.
"Come in," said Dan's voice.
Nelly opened the door and peered inside.
"We're going to breakfast, would you like to join us?" Nelly asked.
"Sure," said Dan, emerging from the room fully dressed. Walter followed behind him, also dressed, but looking significantly more tired and sullen than Dan, who seemed to be in the running for morning person of the year. The four of them went down and found themselves a table and ordered breakfast.
"What are your plans for today?" Nelly asked nobody in particular as they waited for their food to arrive.
"I thought maybe we could go to the beach," Laurie said, eagerly. "Do you want to go, Walter?"
"No," he said, looking offended. "You know I had plans."
"Well, I thought since we just got here--"
"No."
Laurie blinked at Walter, but he wasn't making eye contact so she couldn't determine why he had used such a forceful tone.
"I could go with you," said Dan, looking up. "I mean, if you don't want to go alone or anything."
"No, it's okay," said Laurie, waving her hand. "I'll just go later, I guess."
"Hmm," said Nelly, "I'm going to the shopping center nearby -- I need to pick up a few things. I could get anything you guys need, or if you want to go with me..."
"I'll go with you," Laurie told him.
"Hey, me too," said Dan. Then he looked expectantly at Walter, who ignored him. Laurie was a little embarrassed by Walter's behavior.
They finished breakfast in relative silence; Walter first to accomplish the task, he excused himself without a second glance at Laurie as he left. Laurie stared after him, feeling hurt. She glared at Dan for some reason, but he seemed oblivious. After breakfast, Laurie followed Nelly and Dan feeling glum. Luckily Dan had gotten into a conversation with Nelly, and both of them were too busy talking to the other to include Laurie in. She was fine with that -- she was in no mood to speak with them. She lagged behind a little as they perused clothing racks. They had somehow ended up in the men's wear section of a department store, and Laurie couldn't remember when she had last been this bored.
"Hey," said a male voice.
Laurie looked up to find a dark-haired young man staring at her. He had a smile on his face, and his eyes flickered downwards for a moment before he came closer.
"Uh, hello," said Laurie, glancing around for a moment and feeling nervous.
"I just saw you walking around here and thought I'd talk," he explained. "You shopping for your dad or something?"
"No," she said, folding her arms.
The man was about to speak when Dan appeared by her side.
"She has a boyfriend you know," said Dan, adjusting his glasses. The man smirked.
"Who? You?"
"No," said Dan, sounding astonished. "And if he sees you chatting her up like that, he's going to have you killed."
"I don't see what's wrong with exchanging a few words," the man said, shrugging.
"Not when he's concerned," Dan said with a frown. "Now beat it."
The man seemed like he wanted to say something but he shrugged again and left. Laurie frowned.
"You didn't have to do that," Laurie told Dan.
"Oh yeah?" Dan asked. "What were you going to do, let him hit on you?"
"I could have told him to get lost if he got weird."
"Look, he was totally chatting you up, and I'm not about to get my ass handed to me by Walter because I didn't do anything to stop it from happening."
"It's not like Walter's going to find out," Laurie said, as she folded her arms.
"I'm sure knowing Walter, he predicted this two days ago," Dan grinned.
Laurie looked at her feet. She could hear Dan shuffling his own next to her.
"Dan, can you keep a secret?" Laurie asked him.
"Uh, sure," Dan said, though he looked nervous.
"It's just about why Walter is really here," Laurie said, softly. "It's to capture Agent Orange."
"What? Right now?"
"Yeah, he's here in California -- or at least, Walter's convinced he is."
"Ah. Well."
"Well indeed." Laurie felt her stomach tighten. "That's why I coaxed Nelly into bringing us here to begin with."
Dan stared for a moment until he burst out laughing.
"Wow," he said, shaking his head.
Laurie shrugged her shoulders and continued to avoid Dan's eyes.
"I don't know, Dan," said Laurie, sighing, "He seems to be so intent on catching Agent Orange, he pushes so many other things in his life away."
"You mean, like you?"
"I am one of those things I guess," Laurie frowned.
"Well," Dan adjusted his glasses. "I have no personal experience I can relate to you, but I know how Ozymandias used to be so obsessed with this Agent Orange guy."
"Yeah, except you were never dating Ozymandias," Laurie sighed.
"Uh, yeah," said Dan, looking quite nervous all of a sudden. "My point is, I guess it's just something that happens once you focus in on the case, you know? Something you see that's just hard to look away from once you're in. Agent Orange is a creep. I'm sure Walter's mind is just bogged down with the details of this case and it makes him come off as a little aloof."
"I guess," Laurie said, looking up at Dan, finally. "But, you know, I wish I could help Walter with this. He seems so determined about keeping it all to himself, I feel isolated."
Dan frowned and said nothing, so Laurie continued.
"I mean, at first I thought nothing much of it -- I thought he was dedicated to his work and figured this would end soon enough with his capture, but every day Agent Orange is out there on the loose I feel Walter drifting away. I mean, he doesn't even need my help anymore. He doesn't ask for it, at least."
Dan gave Laurie a sympathetic look. She sighed deeply.
"There are two sides to him," she said. "Walter and Rorschach. I'm not even saying they're different people, just different sides of the same person. That was okay -- I got along with both. They're both sweet in their own ways -- gosh, I'm talking as if they are different people, aren't I?"
Laurie laughed and held up her hands, but Dan was just studying her with sad eyes.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is," Laurie said, finding it harder to speak. Had she really felt this way all along? "Is that at some point, both Rorschach and Walter liked me. Now, not so much. Walter will be sweet to me, but Rorschach seems almost disgusted with me. And every day he spends on this case, the longer he stays Rorschach. I feel like some kind of after thought -- I mean, on the surface we get along for the most part..."
Laurie suddenly remembered with great clarity, the conversation she had with Walter regarding her mother. Walter's voice was so strong in her head. Sometimes things just don't work out when you look at them realistically. Beneath the surface, even.
Had Walter been referring to the two of them? Laurie felt sick at the thought and had to steady herself on a clothes rack. Dan looked alarmed.
"Laurie, are you all right?"
"I don't know, Dan," said Laurie, feeling heartbroken. "Is it wrong? Do we have a chance?"
"You and Walter?"
"Crime fighters and relationships in general," she said, grabbing his arm. "Is it too much to ask for a normal relationship when your life revolves around the sort of things we do?"
"Well, I..." Dan started to shrug, but he straightened himself and looked serious. "Well, sometimes I would like to think that it would be much better if I could put up my mantle; to retire and let the police do their work. Sometimes I would like to think that things would be great if I didn't have to worry about rape and murder and all the violent things that happen at night. But at the same time, I know crime fighting is a big part of what makes me feel alive. Maybe you might not come from the same place as me, but that's how it is for me. I don't really feel like me unless I'm Nite Owl II. And if I had that taken away from me, I don't think I could live with myself anymore."
"And do you think that being Nite Owl II is more important than any other aspect of your life?" Laurie was afraid to hear the answer.
"That's difficult to say," said Dan, "Considering I think I know what you are trying to get at."
Laurie nodded, a little disappointed and relieved at the same time. Dan suddenly took her shoulder.
"You know about me and the Twilight Lady," he told her, grimly, "And the best part about her was that she accepted me as Nite Owl II -- only knew me as him, in fact. I guess it's kind of twisted, knowing I was supposed to apprehend her and she was supposed to be fighting against me, but at the same time, we didn't want the other to change. We made do with what we had, and if she had asked me to stop being Nite Owl II, then maybe I would have. But, I might have resented her for that, if she had."
Dan started to laugh.
"Am I boring you to death?" he asked her, as Laurie shook her head. "Sorry. I run on weird tangents sometimes. You know what, Laurie? Maybe if you asked Nite Owl II he would have a different answer for you, but you're asking Dan, and I have to tell you this -- crime fighting is a greater part of my life, but I have another life beyond that. When you come home, you just need to know when to switch off. Otherwise, crime fighting is going to be all you have left."
Laurie nodded and looked far into the distance.
"Thank you, Dan," she said, slowly.
"You're welcome. Feeling better?"
Laurie smiled, unable to find an answer. She was relieved when Dan didn't pry for one, because she really was feeling miserable.
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To be continued...