A cat woke me up. It was an unpleasant awakening. I stared at the annoying fur ball that had sat on my neck. "I'm up, I'm up. Chill out." I muttered as I sat up yawned. Several more cats joined me as I started pulling myself out of the pick-up truck.
Yes, I had been sleeping in Hellboy's bed. It wasn't intentional at first. After falling asleep here once while checking on the cats, I was actually able to get a few hours of sleep. Maybe it was the noise from the cats that made it more comfortable, or maybe it was the familiar smell and feel of the room that reminded me of someone protective. I'd like to say it was the cats. That wasn't as creepy and embarrassing.
With the cats fed and taken care of, I was free to go.
Making my way to the library, I ran into Clay as usual. "Any new leads on your little case?" He asked. "You don't need to sound so patronizing." I countered. He smiled down at me. "I just like to check in." I rolled my eyes and pushed against the library doors when I reached them. He followed me quietly as I positioned myself by the desk where I had a timeline laid out. I needed one of those fancy police whiteboards but apparently the Bureau was fresh out of them. This was my improvised solution.
"I got news on Hellboy this morning." Clay announced. That caught my attention rather quickly. My eyes left the table and settled on Clay. "Oh? Cool, how is he doing?" I asked. "He said it's been a long trip, he is tired, he misses you and they are on their way to Argentina now." Someone pressed pause on my heart beat. "He misses… me?" I asked, awarding myself ten points for not squeaking.
"Yeah, he asked how everyone was. I told him you were getting a little antsy. I left all of 'this' out." He said, motioning to my cluttered table. "He asked me again to keep an eye on you and he mentioned that he missed you too." Clay explained. He looked like he was analyzing me, trying to gauge my reaction. I shrugged because that was the easiest way to get out of a reply. Clay wasn't fooled but he chose not to pursue the topic.
"So where are you at with your questions?" He asked, motioning to the table in front of me. I could settle for a subject change. "I don't know. I need to know so many things. Why Chumley's, how did I get there, why did Karson lose it?" Clay shrugged. "Well, the first two might not even matter; the last could simply be a chemical imbalance of some kind. He reacted to your blood." Clay stated.
"Nope, that's not it. Something happened, something that connects what happened to me with what happened at the Circus." Again, Clay didn't agree. "Unfortunately, you can't prove it. If you could, you might be able to get clearance to question the goblin but right now, you don't have just cause." A groan left my throat. "I need the goblin to make the connection!" I growled at him. He raised his hands defensively. "I'm not the one who makes the call." He was right about that part. I needed Manning's approval. I glared down at the papers in front of me. How was I going to get through to the director?
There wasn't anything of substance to present to him. I was going around in circles. Things were only getting worse. I rubbed at my eyes and tried to suppress a yawn.
"However…" Clay piped up. He got my attention with his tone. "I may know how to get through to Manning." He offered. I practically hurled myself at Clay, pulling him into a hug. "Please!" I begged. At this point, I'd do anything for some kind of leeway. He hugged me back and laughed. "Give me 24 hours. I'll see what I can do."
First Hellboy, then Clay; I needed to learn the secret to controlling Manning. It wasn't fun being out of the loop. But if I could get what I needed, that was just fine with me. Manning personally escorted me to the room where the goblin was waiting. I was literally vibrating from nerves and stress. I hadn't prepared enough and I was only going to get this one shot.
"We have sent a dozen agents in there to make him talk and we've got nothing. This is probably just one big waste of time but if you are going to be so persistent: You have 15 minutes. Then I pull you out." Manning barked. With a nod and a deep breath I opened the door and marched in.
And there sat the crazy old goblin whole started this whole mess, greeting me like an old friend.
"It's been a while." Her expression was so cold. Had she been that way when I first met her? Hmm, don't remember. Perhaps the blood and drama had drawn too much attention away from details such as that.
Then again, a lot had changed since that night. There was a change in the way she held herself. She wasn't as confident. She seemed slightly…off. "I'm not here for small talk. I have questions that you are going to answer." She finally replied. It wasn't confidence, it was desperation hidden behind anger. My grin only made the anger more apparent. "If you insist; what can I help with?" A file was places in front of me on the table that separated us. She spoke quickly. A time limit must have been placed on her visit, I noted, and she was racing the clock.
"I'm going to assume you already know about your nephews. Mykail and I have discussed the details of the night at Chumley's. Something sent Karson into a frenzy after he bit me. He is dead because of Ja-kub." She paused briefly to take another breath before continuing on. She knew I knew. I had to give her credit; she wasn't underestimating her opponent here. Perhaps this could be fun?
"The night at the circus, I don't know where that gun came from or where it went but you do. You hexed Hellboy and nearly killed him. You made it my fault. Then your nephews found me, conveniently out of the protection of the BPRD. But before they could get their revenge, something went wrong. That is the one thing you don't know: What happened? So perhaps we can find some answers together."
I know I have to be cautious now. It's intriguing that she has pieced together so much. But she doesn't know everything and I weigh my options while she continues to stare at me. But she is quick and sees something in my calm and guarded demeanor. It's interesting how she reacts to things. She leans back into her seat, her head tilts and her shoulders relax slightly.
"Unless… you already have some of those answers?" She asks. How clever, she clearly is an agent for more than just her electric personality. I chuckle. She must be special if she was able to get grumpy Mykail to talk to her. My grin sparks anger again but she is maintaining professionalism. "What is your question?" I ask. It was a deflection and I gauge her reaction. There's a twitch in her eyebrow but she regroups quickly and starts her questions.
"Why did you try to kill Hellboy?" I can't help but laugh. "Who doesn't want to kill Hellboy? Honestly, if the opportunity presents itself, most creatures would take it." She is appalled by my answer. "He is a demon, part of the 'paranormal world', as you like to call us. Yet, he fights against us more than for us. For me, it isn't personal. He dies or he lives, it doesn't particularly matter to me." I explain further. She still hates my answer but she is losing time and so she can't argue with me.
"Did you lure us to the circus that night?" She asks. "No, I certainly wasn't expecting you. Although, I probably should have expected someone after those zombies killed my customers."
"What happened to the gun you gave me?" She persisted. "Well, you threw it and it seemed dangerous to just let it lay around." I replied causally. "Why?" That was quite accusatory. "Because you don't just leave hexed metal lying around."
"Mykail said he found shell casings from the bullets I fired. That metal was hexed." She countered. Well, oopse. I shrugged. "I'm not concerned by it. The hex would wear off in a few hours after if it didn't attach itself to a living victim."
She was getting huffy and puffy. I wondered how much longer they would give her for this interview. Would she get to the real questions? I was fond of this little hot head. She wasn't boring. I would answer truthfully if she only asked the right questions. But so far she wasn't proving that she could figure out the puzzle. She took in a deep breath and went into her thoughts.
"Do you know how I ended up at chumley's?" She asked after a long stretch of silence. "No." I replied truthfully. She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Do you have a theory about how I ended up there?" I pondered the question. "I might." Again, the answer was honest. I saw a spark in her eye now.
"Do you have a theory about what made Karson flip out?" She asked. Now this was getting interesting. "I might." I replied again.
"How credible is your theory?" She continued to be cautious. Smart girl. "You tell me?"
The coldness and seriousness still dominated her facial features. My theory would make or break her case. She had to decide if I was worth believing. "Does your theory account for how I lost access to my abilities?" She took a risk playing that card. It was the last one she had. I had to give her credit, she meant business.
"It does." I replied. She processed quickly. She now knew that I also felt the absence of her power. She knew I had thought about it. I had considered all the details and found some common denominator. It gave credibility to my theory, that is, if I was even telling the truth.
"And what is this theory of yours?" She finally asked.
"Well darlin', where to start?"
Hang in there... R/R