Ch: 20 In The Name of the Law

I am SO excited to put this up for you all to read. ;") It's very raw and unedited. So please don't feel afraid to correct me on any grammatical mistakes or errors!

I'll let you know...this story is taking me onto avenues I never actually anticipated. This was supposed to just be about one girl, Kismet. But, I'm quickly discovering that Gaia's story ALSO wants to be told.

Anyway, I'm just keeping you from reading.

Read away!

MWJ

"Here," a gentle voice offered. "Put this on. It'll keep you warm."

The light was dim. For a moment, as her limbs begrudgingly started to awaken, Gaia still lulled from the after affects of the dream. Had she imagined that voice? No. It had been way too real.

Slowly, Gaia let her body roll away from the wall. The first thing her eyes fell on was a jacket. The material was oddly familiar and it wasn't until a split second passed that she realized it was leather. A motor cycle jacket.

Those things are thick and warm.

The face above the hand that held it stared down at her and she finally had the courage to meet his eyes.

He was handsome. The strong jaw line, wide brow, eyes that were softly losing their golden glow.

Golden glow?

When she blinked, she knew she wasn't imagining things. The iris was receding back into its natural state, darker than his skin, but golden specks and edges made it look almost...

She couldn't describe her feelings. He didn't seem perturbed by her staring. When she caught herself, she felt her face flush but he only smiled. Without ego.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "I get that a lot."

She knew she could trust him.

"Thank you," she said clearly, lifting her hand to grab the jacket. A brief part of her sat back in awe at how steady her voice was. "Is this yours?" She ventured.

It didn't matter that she was talking to a complete stranger. This encounter made her feel like she was in a coffee shop chatting with an older brother.

"It is, but, don't worry about it. I gotta spare. It's going to be cold once we go up."

"Thank you," she repeated.

"No problem. Here are some boots for you. I hate to be in a rush, but there isn't much time. My friend needs us to move."

On the run. Her heart fell. This lifestyle seemed to fit as snug as the fur lined, copy cat boots he gave her.

Questions rose inside of her like the shadows on the far wall, foreboding and uncertain. Why? Why were they on the run again? Gaia opened her mouth to assail her fears when something stopped her. It was almost as if...as if she felt the presence of her Grams. Memories, unconnected but poignant, whirled playfully into her mind. Wait. They almost seemed to say. Not now, little one. Not now...

Tobias watched her struggle at his words and felt the hairs on the back of his neck lift. He closed his eyes, an automatic reflex.

He knew better than to acknowledge the being that had entered into the room. He was privy to this only because he was a liaison, a gateway, nothing more. When he opened his eyes after a moment, she apparently came to grips with herself. Busy shrugging on her boots, she didn't look up when they both heard boots on the stairwell. Tobias turned.

The other man, Cole, she thought to herself, came rapidly down the steps. His eyes caught hold of her, taking in her appearance and state of being, and he nodded sharply.

"Vans' out back. Let's go."

He turned around as quickly as he had entered and leaped up the stairs. Tobias turned to her as if he wanted to say something, but Gaia threw back her shoulders a bit. She stepped out of the basement that she would never forget, and into the world again. Mid afternoon light spilled onto her shoulders, and a welcoming wind twirled down to meet her. She breathed in deeply.

XXX

The car ride was silent.

Cole kept sharp eyes on the road, adjusting the wheel beneath his large hands with a smooth grace that belied his size. He was a good driver, navigating the backstreets of New York with an ease that spoke of years of experience. Soon, they came to the interstate and were heading out of the city, their speed picking up. Tobias had fallen asleep in his seat, his head bobbing up and down at the slight bumps. When she was deep in meditative thought (an activity she seemed to be doing constantly now) she caught herself to be staring at the back of his head. She still wore his motorcycle jacket. That made her think of something. Twisting in her seat, she glanced into the back of the van. There was a large empty space where two seats had obviously been taken out. But nothing lay in their stead. Save for a cardboard box. His motorcycle was no where to be found. She wondered, briefly, what had happened to it. Suddenly, the box slid to one side as Cole made a wide turn. She looked at it more closely, and briefly wondered what was inside.

"Curious?"

Gaia whipped her head back around and found Cole's eyes on her through his mirror.

"About?" she asked, not missing a beat.

"That box," Cole said, his low, commanding voice sounding alert. Aware. Watching her every move.

He didn't trust her.

Gaia's thoughts raced for a second. Tobias, a total stranger, was also a man, a peer that she trusted with her life. It was easy to tell that his feelings were mutual. Yet, she didn't feel surprised at Cole's suspicions. Resentful, yes, but not surprised. She harried to guess that Tobias' unabashed empathy towards the human race had lead these two into some dark corners. After all, the world was the world. Imperfect and full of lies... of horrible souls. People who possessed the power to take advantage of such an integral, open book that Tobias was.

People like her.

She didn't let her facial expression change. His eyes bore into hers', challenging and unrepentant.

"So what if I am," she finally answered.

Cole stared at her for a long minute. Then his eyes returned to the road before him, stony and mysterious. Gaia didn't comment further and looked out her window.

As soon as she could, she would leave these two. She had no place among them.

The thought squeezed a single tear out of her eye, but she brought her hand up to lean her head against, hiding the swipe of her finger that erased the trace of her sorrow.

XXXX

They traveled for two days, driving through the night. Tobias and Cole traded positions every four hours, Cole swiftly rejecting her offer of help with a solid, "No." Tobias had looked at her, a sheepish expression on his face, before getting out of his seat and walking around to the other side of the car. He may trust her, but it was apparent who of the two was in charge of the situation. Cole grunted like an old man as he'd settled into the passenger side. He immediately cranked the seat back and pulled his beanie over his eyes. Within minutes, he was snoring. Gaia had made herself look the other way.

Quite a few times, they passed a number of cop cars. The men inside them, with a few exceptions, were predominantly white; they would glance through their windshield, look away, only to glance in once more. The headlights of these cars also appeared in their mirror more than once. In fact, six out of eight cop cars she mentally counted had decided to casually follow them. It was hard for Gaia not to immediately assume it was primarily due to the color of their skin. The van they drove was nondescript, but the imagination was a powerful enemy, principally that of a lawman. Vans like this could be suspected of theft, perhaps even sex trafficking. Having two African American men in the front, especially with the quickly growing Stop and Frisk mandate, didn't help matters much. Every time she saw their familiar blue and white striped vehicles in the rear-view mirror, she clenched her teeth. Her stomach twisted. She wanted to call upon her mutant gift...but was slow to do so. She didn't want to think about the level of power she was capable of controlling, and refrained from opening herself to her abilities completely. Yet, Cole seemed to have a knack of spotting severely twisting routes. Thankfully, they lost them time and again.

Until it was Tobias' turn to drive.

Tobias put on his blinker as they approached an exit ramp. A motel was not too far away, and it was one Cole had searched for, in their oddly assorted, handmade directory.

"The guy's decent," he had murmured, settling in again as Tobias got back onto the road. "We'll stop here for a few hours. Regain some sleep."

That had been hours ago.

Now, they were just beginning to slow down when blue and red lights flashed behind them. Gaia's heart leaped in her throat. Tobias, as calm as ever, glanced into his rear-view mirror. He studied the cruiser for a moment, and Gaia couldn't imagine what was racing through his mind. Would he make a run for it? Would he gun the gas and peel out of there, even though that tiny compact frame on wheels had more horsepower than this gas guzzler?

"Cole," Tobias called softly. The other man's eyes flew open, as if he had never dozed off. They widened a fraction at the colors reflecting off the glass. He sat up and peered over his shoulder. Gaia gazed at his eyes, at his strong, weather worn face. They were pure white against his black skin, and she watched them survey the problem at their backs. His mouth settled into a grim line.

He returned into his seat and lifted his hands out of their pockets to lay them on his thighs; they would be utterly visible.

"Pull over," he ordered, his voice raspy with sleep. "Don't say a word. Let me speak."

Gaia bit her lip as sweat began to clam up on her palms.

Shit, she thought with terror. The first true fear she had felt since they left the safe house.

Shit, shit, shit.

Tobias found a gas station on their left and slowed...

Hello everyone.

Wow. It's been absolutely forever since I've been on here. Wonder what's happened in all of your lives, huh? Got new jobs, moved on towards your dreams.

I can't imagine. But, I can say a few things.

First, thank you. Thank you for you patience, your loyalty, and your eyes. I'm so, so thankful that you are still reading this. You have no idea.

Second, I apologize. There is one swear word in here that has been repeated four times. I rated this story to be above that garbage, but, somehow? It fit into Gaia's character. I'll not be doing that again...soon. I promise. I don't like profanity in my stories. I don't think it's tasteful. But I decided to make an exception here.

Third, I apologize again. The long hiatus..is not awesome. It seriously isn't. But, I started this thing when I was barely beginning high school. Now, I'm in college. And, you wouldn't believe it -wink- but...things change. ;] Quite a bit. People change. Yet, I don't want this to go away.

I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope even more fiercely that you'll tell me about it. Opinions? Lay them down. I have some pretty taboo content up there that some people may shy away from. But, I want factors like "race" and "feminism" in my stories. You have been dually forewarned.

;)

Thank you.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,

Merlin's Ward Jack