Chapter Fourteen

Paris

Once in Paris Chloe assigns who is going where. She sends Jamie, Mitch, and Abe to the research room where the bear is being kept, while Jackson and I go with her to the boardrooms up stairs to try and explain what is going on. As we walk are there we walk rather quickly and with purpose as we head to the main conference room. Chloe is in her element here, while she is always confident and holding herself high, she seems to take that to a whole other level here.

Once we arrive in the conference room there are already ten to twelve french nationalists around the table talking. Of course since they are speaking French I can only make out a few works. 'No more sightings.' 'bears,' 'cars'. 'Noise,' and 'people.' Jackson speaks up to the group.

"I think you're wrong."

Chloe and I turned to him surprised.

"You can understand what they're saying?"

"Enough of it. I know that, Kat can too."

I scoff.

"Not enough to know they're wrong."

One of the men in a green polo, who appears to be a park ranger of some kind.

"And you are?"

Chloe takes a deep breath.

"DGSE. they're with me."

One of the other men turn toward us.

"And, uh, what are you thinking? Why is he wrong?"

Jackson, puts his hands into his pockets, a little nervous. He has never liked talking in front of people.

"Look, these aren't necessarily normal bears."

A man with slicked back black hair leans forward from the end of the table.

"What kind of bears are they? What do you mean, they aren't normal?"

Jackson sighs as I step up next to him, taking a deep breath before I address the group.

"We aren't sure. But they won't necessarily be acting like you'd expect them to. And bears stick together so if one entered the city, it's possible and very likely, that the others will too."

The man nods.

"Perhaps they are travelling underground? The sewers, tunnels, the catacombs? And that's why they haven't been spotted."

Jackson takes a deep breath.
"From what we've already seen, these bears, they're unfazed by people. So if they want food before they hibernate, they're gonna feed on whatever's available."

"There are more than 300 miles of sewers and tunnels that run under Paris."

I sigh softly and shake my head.

"Then we better get searching."

The meeting breaks up, as the three of us quickly make our way out of the boardroom, as Chloe talks to us in a hushed tone.

"That was perfect. You two motivated them, maybe got them looking in the right direction."

Just then we hear a man's voice all out from behind us. It sounds like the man who was the most talkative in the meeting.

"Chloe!"

When we turn we see that man with the slicked back black hair, who Chloe looks like she'd rather run away from.

"Uh, Jean-Michel Lion, Jackson Oz and Katherine Smith."

Jackson nods to the man.

"Hey."

"Hello."

I stay quiet, unsure about the man. I mean Chloe is one of the nicest people I've met, if she doesn't want to be around him, something's got to be off about him. Chloe takes a deep breath before she continues.

"Jean-Michel is a civil engineer."

"I did not know you were back. Your sister said you left town."

"I'm just here for a few days."

"And why are the Americans interested in a pack of missing French bears?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"Ah. secret affairs, I understand that. But uh, heh, bears?"

"If I could tell you, I would. But I can't."

"Okay. if I get any leads on where they may be, I'll call you straight away."

"Thank you."

The two exchange a few words in French but I can't understand enough of it to figure out what they're saying. As Jackson and I watch the two of them talk, I can see tears in Chloe's eyes and hear that see is trying not to let any catch in her throat. As we turn and start to walk away Jackson asks the obvious question.
"So that's him, huh? The ex-fiance."

"That's him."

I remember Jackson saying something to me about Chloe coming to Africa on her Honeymoon, but she ended up going alone. So it would make sense there is an ex-fiance, although if I were her, I'd be wishing he had gone on the Africa trip, instead of her.

We make our way to Chloe's house in silence. Having ran into Ab, Jamie, and Mitch, we all ended up there at the same time, which I have to say, calms my nervous a little bit. Abe and I are taking a little tour of Chloe's house, while the other are in the kitchen.

"There are two beds in the guest bedroom and the sofa opens up into a bed as well."

Abe chuckles.

"The most important question is where is the wine? I hear you French are very famous for it."

Chloe smiles, assumed.

"In the kitchen, help yourself."

Abe and I enter the kitchen as Chloe heads into, what I can only assume, is her bedroom. When we get there, Mitch is unpacking a grocery bag, and Jackson is leaning on the counter.

"So no defiant pupil? What does that mean?"

"I don't know yet. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the bear wasn't affected by the Mother Cell."

Abe takes to glasses and a bottle of wine, before heading out of the room. I assume it is to find Jamie. Not that it matters that he took a bottle of wine, there are six left. As Mitch crosses to the fridge to put a few things away I cross over to Jackson, who places an arm around me and kisses my forehead.

"Hey baby."

Mitch continues on after cringing at the two of us.

"Blood labs should be back in a couple of hours."

I look over at him confused.

"But why would they be hibernating in the middle of summer?"

Mitch turns to Jackson and I, being back at the bags and unpacking a few more things.

"There are two types of hibernation. One is what we normally think of. Yogi Bear goes into a deep suspended animation to survive a winter of scarce resources. The other is when an animal falls temporarily dormant, so that resources can be biologically redirected."

Jackson shakes his head and rubs his chin.

"What do you mean redirected?"

I glance up to Jackson.

"Like why little kids sleep so deeply when they're growing."

Jackson glances down to me.

"Have you been studying for when we have our own?"

I shrug,

"Maybe. But do you mean you think the bear's are changing?"

I look back to Mitch.

"I think it's possible. The question is, into what?"

The three of us fall silent for a moment. Before I step away from Jackson and grab three glass, setting them on the counter, before opening a bottle of wine.

"Let's not worry about that right now. We are in Paris and we have wine. I can't think of a better combination."

I hand a glass to Mitch and grab the other two walking back over to Jackson. Who, once he takes his glass of wine wraps an arm around me and places his forehead against mine.
"I can think of a better one."

I giggle softly as Mitch groans, clearly not one for the mushy stuff. Before long Mitch and I start on dinner. Nothing special just some spaghetti, but feeding all of us is a lot of food, it doesn't take us long to get it done.

"Hey Jackson, could you let the other's know dinners almost done."

Jackson nods.

"Yeah sure."

Once Jackson's gone Mitch turns to me as I start getting plates and things to sit the table.

"So you're really gonna marry that guy?"

I look up a him, confused by his question.

"Yes."

"Are you two going to go back to Africa once this is all over."

"Mitch don't try to force conversation. It's not your best work. But yes, I imagine we will."

"What did Jackson mean when he asked if you had been studying?"

"Oh, Jackson and I want to have a family so I've been reading up an childhood development."

"Weren't you a nurse back when you lived in New York and in Africa?"

"I was and am a trauma nurse, not a child's or labor and delivery nurse."

"Ah.. You know I have a daughter, Clementine. I had a wife too. But I was young and stupid and let that blow up in my face after Clem got sick, and now I am doing anything and everything I can to make it up to her."

I nod and glance over to Mitch, sitting the plates and things down on the counter, as he continues.

"For as long as she can remember she's been the girl who's dying, she's never gotten to have a normal childhood and I took her to every doctor, every specialist, in the country before two years, until her mother forced me to stop. Since she has custody of Clem I couldn't do anything else. And the only thing she has to remember me or from me, is a dog. A service dog, named Henry."

Mitch looks down his eyes beginning to tear up. I guess I spent to much time disliking the guy, I never thought about what his past had been like.

"At least you tried for as long as you could, and you gave her not only her best friend, but someone who is going to be able to help her for a long time."