Title: Trust and Betrayal
Summary: Continuation from 'Destinations'.
Authors Notes: This fic is like a soap opera. It just goes on and on. This picks up 3 months after Destinations. For those who wanted more Raphael when I wrote the other books, this is the story for you. Continued gratuitous thanks to Jaxink for the beta read and edit.
Chapter 9:
"Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love."
John le Carre
"You knew."
Sen winced at the cold accusation in Leo's voice. Raphael and the hunter were upstairs, both injured, and it was her fault. Leo could have been killed, and that would have been her responsibility as well.
"She sent a message," Sen started. She kept her eyes on her hands wrapped together on her lap.
"How long has she been in New York, Sen?"
"A few days," she whispered. "No more than a week, I believe."
"Did you see her?"
Each of Leo's questions, stated in a voice so icy it drove shivers through her, brought home the extent of her duplicity. Sen watched as a tear plopped onto her clasped hands.
"Yes." There was no point in dissembling.
"Sen, why?"
Sen glanced up. This question was not so harshly stated. Instead she could hear the confusion in Leo's tone. He stood across from her, his back to the bookshelves; his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was filled with such pain.
"She is my mother," Sen explained desperately, feeling new tears tracking over her cheeks. Leo closed his eyes, and Sen put her head back in her hands. He was through with her. She was such a fool to have trusted her mother; to have deceived Leo. Sen pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. She could feel her grief growing out of control. She did not want to weep in front of him. After he left, then she would …
A gentle arm wrapped around her shaking shoulders, and pulled her into an embrace. Leo was sitting beside her, holding her. She only hesitated a moment, and then slid her arms around him, her hands gathering the fabric of his coat and hanging on. She wept openly, her face in his neck.
"It's okay," Leo offered, trying to calm her. "It's okay, Sen. She's your mother. I understand."
999
Light poured in through the blinds, and Nienna turned her head to observe the warrior, Raphael, beside her. True to his word, he had not moved once in the night. His hand lay within an inch of her injured wrist, but he was not touching her in any way. She sighed, and looked back up at the ceiling. She must report that the writ of execution was false as soon as possible. The order would be displeased.
"'Mornin'."
Nienna turned her head again, and noted that Raphael was now awake and staring at her. His eyes were the color of the stone that populated her home word; a gray that shifted tone depending on his mood from icy steel to drowning dark. She mentally shook away the thought, and focused on her duty.
"I must get to the Transmat," she reminded him, sitting up. Raphael smiled. Right down to business. He rolled onto his side, and sat up on the sofa bed. He gained his feet a moment later. He tested his leg experimentally. It was stiff, but not as painful as last night. Raphael circled the end of the bed, and walked up on Nienna's side. He reached out a hand to her.
Nienna hesitated, but then put her uninjured hand in his. Raphael pulled her to her feet. He didn't let go right away, and Nienna's black eyes gave away nothing. She glanced at their joined hands significantly, and back up at him. Raphael released her hand, dropping his to his side. They gathered up their belongings from the floor. Raph retrieved his sai, and tucked it at his back. Nienna lifted up her belt and robe. Raphael helped her without comment to put on the belt. Looking at her arm, Raphael debated over the robe. After a moment, he dug back in the first aid kit and came up with a large square of white cloth. He folded it in half into a triangle, and fitted the hunter with a sling for her arm. Raphael then slipped her robe on to her good arm, but left it just over her shoulder on the other side. There was a clasp at the neck, and he did that up so it wouldn't slide off.
Through all of this Nienna said nothing. She was uncertain what words should be used. Ever since she gained her hunter status no one had offered her aid. Hunters stood alone always. She had been injured in battle before, and had tended to her own wounds. She had nearly bled to death following an execution two years ago. Isolated on a strange world she had hid in a cave waiting for her flesh to heal enough to return to the Transmat. This male, Raphael, was a warrior, too. And yet he asked for assistance without humiliation and gave it even without her asking.
"I need a change of clothes, and cash," Raph said, turning away to the stairs that led down to the bookstore. Nienna followed in his wake, and they gained the lower floor. No one was in the shop, and the closed sign was up on the door. Raphael checked the clock behind the counter; it was still too early for Sen to have opened up the shop. He headed out the back, turning off the alarm and unlocking the door. He waved Nienna out into the alley, and then punched the buttons to reset the alarm, and thumbed the lock on the door. He shut the door, and headed down the alley and out to the street. Nienna followed silently behind him; his grim little shadow.
Raphael checked the street, and took her good arm. Nienna opened her mouth to protest, but the next thing she knew she was escorted rapidly across the street and up to a glass-front building. The sign painted on the window read 'Hamato School of Martial Arts'. Raphael released her arm, and dug out his keys. Nienna watched curiously as Raph unlocked the front door of the school. On this world, every door seemed to be secured. On her home planet no doors were locked. Was there so little honor on Earth that the people lived in fear in their own homes?
Stepping in the door, Raphael listened for a moment. No one was here yet. Usually Mike and Juliet came in around 9:30 or 10 in the morning to set up for the 11 o'clock pre-school class, but it was only a little after 7. He walked to the office, and took a quick look behind him to see that Nienna was still there. She walked as silently as he did. He opened the cabinet in the office, and pulled out a pile of clothes. He and Leo both left changes of clothes here for when they worked out in the school. It had also proven useful after a patrol to have clean clothes handy. At least it had been since they started wearing them. Raph set the garments on the desk. Nienna stood in the doorway, watching. It should have been eerie, having those eyes on him.
"I'm gonna change," Raph informed her. He started lifting his t-shirt, and Nienna spun away and faced the hallway. Raphael quickly removed his dirty clothes, and pulled on a clean t-shirt, jeans, and a gray plaid shirt that had seen better days. He stuffed the ruined clothes into the office garbage can, and sat down behind the desk. "You can turn around now," he said. Nienna turned back, and approached the desk warily.
"Do we go now?" she asked.
"Just let me get some cash," Raphael answered. He opened the small office safe that was tucked under the desk. This was the emergency money, and Raphael was careful to only take what he felt he would need. He shut the safe, and stood up, tucking the money into his battered wallet. He rounded the desk and brushed past Nienna on his way to the hallway. Nienna trailed after him, out the door, and onto the sidewalk. Raphael hailed a taxi. They would have to cab it back back to the Transmat station, and then Raphael could pick up his motorcycle. He had left it when he started following the hunter, Nienna, the previous day. Hard to believe he'd been in her company less than 24 hours, and she'd already tried to kill him. Well, maybe that part wasn't so hard to believe. As the cab pulled up to the curb, Raph decided the odd part was how comfortable he felt with her now.
Nienna opened the door to the cab and climbed in awkwardly. She caught on quickly, recognizing the yellow vehicle from the one they rode in the previous night. Raphael followed her, and after sitting down and slamming the door, he instructed the driver to take them to the Transmat station.
"So what happens now?" he queried, relaxing back against the seat as the taxi sped through the morning traffic.
"I must inform the order of Lady Taka's false testimony," Nienna said, frowning. "I will send a message to Belgard, and await the order's instruction." And punishment, she thought but did not say. Raphael did not need to know her shame. She had taken a false claim and accepted it. She had wounded a warrior in support of a lie. These were grave errors for a Belgardian Hunter.
"You goin' to talk to the Utrom, too?" Raphael asked.
"Yes, if Lady Taka has not yet left Earth, then I must see she is detained," Nienna agreed. "Once she is on Maora 2, the order may not be able to deliver judgement."
"What kind of judgement?" Raphael inquired, curious. If there was some chance that Taka would get what was coming to her, Raphael wouldn't mind being there to see it. He and Leo could both go, and Raphael would spring for the popcorn.
"That is up to the order," Nienna non-explained. With that the hunter fell into silence again, and stared out the window. Raphael regarded her stoic expression in profile. If he knew her better, he might think she was worried.
The trip to the Transmat station passed quickly. Entering the station, Raphael spotted the message counter. He led the hunter directly there, and fortunately this early, there was no line.
"She needs to send a message to Belgard," Raphael said, nodding to Nienna. The creature behind the counter shivered, setting all its tentacles into motion.
"What … whatever the hunter requires," it stammered nervously, sliding a blank message form across the counter. Nienna stepped up to the counter, and the creature stumbled backwards. Raphael shook his head, slightly amused at all the fear his companion generated. Nienna could fight with the best of them, but she still looked like she would blow away in a strong wind.
Nienna was carefully writing her message, and when finished, she slid it back toward the waiting clerk. The message was picked up like it could explode, and the creature read it over quickly. "Great," it squeaked. "Will you wait for a reply, or do you have a number where you may be reached?"
Nienna looked back at Raphael, puzzled. "Use my cell number," Raphael offered. He recited it to the message counter clerk, who wrote it down on the form.
"I must also speak to the Utrom regarding a breach of hunter code," Nienna stated solemnly. The clerk started shaking again.
"I'll take you," Raphael said before the creature collapsed with terror. "I have a few connections here."
999
Leo was surprised to see Sen awake so early. She was sitting at the dining room table, a distant expression on her face. There were dark hollows under her eyes indicating she hadn't slept well. He could understand that. He hadn't enjoyed a peaceful night, either. After Sen had stopped crying, Leo had called Mike to come pick her up with the mini-van. Mike had kept his opinions to himself after arriving at the bookstore. Sen hadn't said a word of protest when Leo stayed behind at the store. She had kept her head down, her guilt and sadness difficult to witness.
Alone, Leo had walked around the bookstore completing the closing tasks by rote. He felt numb, his anger having drained away. He couldn't blame Sen for loving her mother, even to her own detriment. What Leo didn't understand was why Sen hadn't come to him. He would have gone with her, protected her, if she wanted to see her mother. Leo didn't trust Taka in the slightest, but he wouldn't deny Sen the right to visit her parent.
Circling behind the counter, Leo completed the cash out, putting the money into the envelope. A wooden box rested under the counter, tucked in a corner. Leo set down the envelope, and knelt on the floor. He hauled the box out and ran his fingers over the carved top. It was beautifully detailed artwork of a bridge, with a male and female figure of Sen's race on either side. The box wasn't completely closed, and Leo lifted the lid carefully. He reached in and picked up the pale robe inside. The embroidery had filaments of some metal in it, and the flowers and leaves gleamed in the mellow light of the bookshop.
Leo had that box in his hands now, and he set it on the table in front of Sen. She looked up at him, her expression startled. Her eyes flicked to the box, and then back to his face.
"What is this?" he asked, although he was fairly certain he knew the answer.
Sen swallowed around a lump in her throat. "A gift … From my mother," Sen disclosed hesitantly.
Leo nodded. He had suspected that. Sen had come from her home world with almost nothing, so it had to come from Taka.
"Okay, but what is it for?" Leo queried. He watched the flush come into her cheeks.
"A wedding," she said faintly. "It is a traditional wedding robe." Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes to the box. "I will get rid of it."
"Why get rid of it?" Leo questioned, surprised. It was beautiful, and Sen would look gorgeous in it.
"It … You … You do not wish to wed me," Sen stated softly. Leo looked at Sen with utter disbelief. He pulled out the chair next to Sen's, and sat down.
"Sen, why on Earth do you think that?" His hands were on the table, near the box. Sen kept her eyes on his hands as she answered.
"Leo, you have said nothing of a wedding or marriage." She didn't phrase it as an accusation, but Leo winced nonetheless. She was right, of course. He'd never spelled it out. "I did not presume …"
"Sen, I'm sorry," Leo interrupted. Leo's hand rose from the table, and he touched the edge of the box. "We should have discussed it … I should have brought it up. I just thought you knew how I felt," Leo continued. Sen raised her eyes, and met Leo's. "Sen, I do want to marry you." Sen's eyes lit up with amazement and happiness. It was the amazement that stung, as though she had expected less from him.
"It is not your fault," she corrected quickly, interpreting his look as self-recrimination. Leo shook his head. "I could have spoken up," Sen insisted.
"Sen, when do you ever speak up for yourself?" Leo said gently. Sen looked distressed at this perception of her character.
"I could learn," Sen replied, her voice growing stronger. "I should learn to speak for myself."
"I would like nothing better, Sen, then for you to feel safe to tell me anything," Leo asserted.
"I do feel safe," Sen countered. She put her hand on Leo's where it rested on the box. "You are not the only one who has not said what is in their heart, Leo. Do you know the gifts you have given me? My freedom, my safety …" She paused, overcome with emotion. "The love I thought I would never feel?" she whispered. "Whether we are married or not, I choose this world, because this is where you are, Leo."
Leo clasped her hand in his and stood up, shoving his chair back roughly in the process.
"I want to show you something," Leo entreated.