"So, then what?"
"Hellboy scared him off and things are back to normal. Manning and I have come to a mutual understanding: he continues to do his job and I continue to do mine, and we don't cross paths."
Myers dropped a pile of papers on top of a stack and watched Kate with awe. "Wish I'd have been there to see it. I can't imagine the look on his face when you told him off."
Kate sniffed and adjusted her crooked glasses. "In my right mind I don't think I'd have stood up to him like that. I was sick and tired and pissed off and that combined made me a little crazy."
She lifted herself off the floor with a sigh and made her way over to another file cabinet. The archive room was secluded and Kate was glad to have the chance to talk with John without being interrupted.
He'd offered to help her get some work done, and she didn't hesitate to take him up on it. While it had been a couple of days since the attack, she'd spent most of her time in the medical bay with Abe making sure she had no lasting injuries and analyzing the attack to obtain any more information about their ghostly foe. That being the case, Kate had fallen behind on some filing, but had also gained a fresh interest in finding out what Ystehogol was up to. The attack had served only to add more fuel to the fire, and Kate was ready to dive into her research once more.
"You sure you're okay with this?" she asked, wondering if John really had some work of his own to accomplish. She appreciated his help, and wasn't about to let him go even if he did have work to get done, but it made her feel less guilty to ask.
Myers swiveled in the computer chair he was relaxed in to look at her. "Hey, I'm here to help in any way I can," he said with a smile.
Tossing a Manila folder his way, Kate said over her shoulder, "Go through that one."
She heard John chuckle lightly. "So, how was it?"
Kate was engrossed in her work. "What?" she asked softly, her mind on the papers in front of her.
"Spending the day with Red, how was it?"
Pausing, Kate bit her lip. "Just like how you'd imagine spending time with Hellboy would be," she replied nonchalantly, quickly adding, "His room is a mess."
The sounds of rustling papers filled the room. "You two made up, right?" His tone was hesitant.
Kate nodded before she realized John wasn't watching her. "Yeah."
The sudden slamming of a pile of papers caught Kate's attention and she watched Myers. "Okay, what's the deal? You're not telling me anything," he complained, attempting to cover up a smile.
Kate put a hand on her hip. "Nothing happened. I guess I'm just…still uncomfortable with the situation."
"What situation?"
Kate sighed. "I don't know. Being on friendly terms with Hellboy is just…weird, okay? It's not like I don't want it, it's just…weird."
The words weren't coming and she didn't know why. Why was it so hard to talk about Hellboy? Part of her felt as though the two should still be bickering and throwing around sarcastic banter and another part of her felt that she truly wanted Hellboy's friendship. The whole idea of the change was mind-blowing, and once again, Kate found herself battling her emotions. It was all too uncomfortable to handle.
She tossed another folder into John's lap. "Try that one," she said.
That ended the conversation.
They worked in silence for a while, content to simply be in each other's company. It was then Kate remembered something.
"John?"
"Hmm," he responded, reading a document.
"Where was it that Professor Broom and Abe went the other day?" She hadn't realized until then she'd never bothered to ask. Myers looked up from his work and shrugged.
"Dunno. They were pretty secretive about it all."
Kate mentally swore. She was hoping she wouldn't have to ask Abe about it, but it seemed she was going to have to.
"Oh, okay," she mumbled.
Switching to another file cabinet, Kate huffed as she pulled open the massive drawer. Its contents were all unlabeled. She thumbed through folders briefly before deciding on a particularly thin one and yanking it out. Opening it, she noticed it only contained a single paper; it looked like receipt of sorts, documenting the cost of a boat trip. The destination had been named as Bull Harbor, and the receipt was dated November 10, 1992.
"Found something?" called John, noticing Kate had become still.
"I don't know," she whispered, turning the paper over. The back was blank.
"Come here for a second," she said.
When John appeared looking over her shoulder, she raised the paper up to eye-level.
"What's this?" she asked.
Myers studied the paper a moment. "No idea," he said, looking at it closely. "Why did this once catch your eye?" he asked, reaching out to take it from her.
"There's nothing else in that folder," she said, holding the folder in her hand. "Every other folder is packed tight, but this one only had that paper in it. The paper itself isn't even informative; it's just a receipt or something, I guess, but it's vague. Why do you think this needed a folder of its own?"
Taking the paper with him back to his chair, John shook his head and plopped down onto the seat.
"Couldn't tell you. It's probably not that important if it was all that was in the folder."
Kate nodded but didn't agree. It could also have meant that it was very important. Walking to John, she took the paper from him and folded it, placing it in her trouser pocket.
"You sure you're okay?" John said suddenly, watching her back as her shoulders slumped. "What happened the other day was really serious," he said.
Smiling, Kate turned to him. "Next time something happens to me and I'm not okay, you'll be the first to know."
John's radio suddenly beeped and he quickly put in his earpiece. "Manning's looking for me," he said reluctantly, getting up from his chair.
"Keep at it, you'll find something," he said to her, noticing the hint of hopelessness in her features. He patted her on the shoulder before leaving.
Heaving a sigh, Kate began cleaning up, realizing she wasn't going to find anything else at that time.
Once the archive room had been tidied up, she headed to the library, intent on finding Abe. When she approached the golden doors, she dredged up the strength she needed and pushed them open.
Immediately once the doors had been opened, Kate leaned against the golden panel, exhausted and still weak from her ordeal. Straightening her suit jacket, she pressed on, only to find the room completely empty. Why was it that Abe was never in his tank when she needed to talk to him?
She crossed the room to Professor Broom's desk, looking for paper to leave Abe a note that she needed to speak with him. A paper with a list of names distracted her from her mission. Picking it up, she glanced at the names. It was the list which Broom had showed her before, filled with the names of previous B.P.R.D. agents he had written down from memory. Twelve of the names had been crossed off. Kate closed her eyes momentarily, wondering how many more agents would be killed before she could find out Ystehogol's pattern of killing. Reviewing the list again, something struck her; why were there only seventeen agents listed? Surely there must have been more retired agents than that. She flipped the list over, but the back was blank. Could Broom truly have only remembered seventeen previous agents, or was there something special about these particular people? The more she thought about it, the more she wondered. She realized she couldn't ask Broom himself about it as he had obviously not told her for a reason when he'd shown her the list. Would Abe know anything? He might, but he and Broom were being so secretive lately, going on trips without telling anyone what for. Then it struck her. Hellboy must know of previous agents; he'd been with the Bureau for a long time. Maybe he would know about these particular agents.
Shoving the list into her pocket, Kate headed back out into the hallway. Immediately, she ran into Agent Clay. "Clay," she called.
Clay looked up from where he'd been speaking to another agent and watched her near him. He wrapped up his conversation quickly, and Kate reached him just as the other agent was leaving.
"You know where Hellboy is?" she asked.
There was a gleam in his eye for a moment and Kate got the impression that he knew she'd spent that day in Hellboy's room, but maybe not of the reason why.
"He's in the locker room," he said simply.
Kate nodded and was off, trying to ignore the idea that the other agents may have been harboring lascivious thoughts about her and Hellboy.
Kate had never been to the locker room before, and it took some asking around to find exactly where it was located in the maze of the B.P.R.D. headquarters. When she reached the room, she found it empty.
The room was crude to say the least; there were some showers around the corner and green lockers lined the walls. In the center of the room was a wooden bench. Tentatively, she made her way into the room.
"Hellboy?" she called quietly. No answer came.
She walked further into the room, but he was clearly not there. Coming around the corner, Kate began to call for him again.
"Hellboy–" She stopped dead in her tracks.
Before her stood Hellboy with his back to her; he was completely naked.
Kate's heart stopped dead in her chest for a moment. Quickly, she spun around and braced herself against the wall, thoroughly shocked and mortified. Hellboy, completely amused, chuckled behind her and reached for a towel.
"See something you like?" he teased, still chuckling as he watched her clutch the wall frantically.
His remark only served to make Kate even more embarrassed, and she waited for her heart to return to its normal rate.
"You can turn around, you know," he said.
Kate turned slowly, her face completely red. "I, uh…" She couldn't find words.
"You need something, or did you just come for the scenery?" Hellboy was clearly milking the situation for all it was worth.
Trying to push aside her embarrassment, Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out the list of names.
"Broom wrote these names down and told me they were all the retired B.P.R.D. agents he could remember. Wouldn't there be more than seventeen?"
Hellboy nodded. "Oh, yeah. There've been tons." He came to stand in front of her and took the paper.
"Is there anything those particular agents have in common, besides the fact they are all retired?" Kate asked.
Hellboy looked over the names. Kate's face still felt flush, and she couldn't help but realize how close they were standing.
Scrutinizing the names, Hellboy shrugged. "I know who they are, but I don't know what they've got in common," he said, handing the list back to her.
Kate nodded, disheartened. "Thanks anyway," she said, but was still determined to find out why those particular agents were listed.
The purpose of her visit to the locker room had been fulfilled, and Kate suddenly felt the wave of humiliation return. "I'll uh…see you later," she squeaked, backing out of the room slowly. Hellboy chuckled.
Just as she was leaving, she heard Hellboy call, "Hope you enjoyed the show."
Running, Kate made it to her own room in good time, and quickly entered, locking the door behind her.
Absolute mortification was the strongest emotion she felt. What was worse was that the entire scenario was playing itself over and over in her head. Nothing could have been worse. Immediately Kate realized it could have been worse, and tried not to think of it. Going to sit on her bed, she fell backwards and stared up at the ceiling.
Despite all other thoughts of the humiliation she'd experienced, one forbidden thought could not be silenced: Hellboy had a nice ass.
A/N: Yes, an update in less than three weeks! I know this one is a bit shorter, but I liked where this ended, so I didn't want to add more here. Enjoy it? I hope so! As always, thanks to my wonderful beta, The-Gothly-Emo. Also, thanks to all my reviewers! This story has gotten more reviews than I ever expected it would, and I love to hear what you all have to say about the story, good or bad (as long as it's constructive). It's truly helpful to know when I've done something right or wrong, and I appreciate those who have left reviews. Please take the time to leave a review. Thanks!