Pathline (17 page)

Rune could only imagine the kind of
curiosity
that the assembling of all of the agencies top supers for a single job could cause, and some would definitely be inclined to respond with apprehension. 

Rune gave her a reassuring smile
.
"
W
ith the agencies top four
D
efenders involved, I'd say it's a
safe
bet the situation is in
capable
hands". 

That
seemed to help, people trusted D
efen
ders to save the day after all.

"Considering the delicate nature of the circumstances I thought we could handle the paperwork for you and Malik separately.  You can sign your half now and then pass on the message for Malik to come in to my office by the end of the day and get his half handled." 

She pulled out the rest of the paperwork from the folder, which was made
up
of several forms that needed to be filled out and signed. 

As the agent began handing Rune the forms she hesitated a moment, then said
,
"You know, if it means anything to you, I don't think it's fair the way the media has attacked your relationship.  The agency PR department has declined to comment and issued orders that no agency employee should either, but honestly I'm not sure that's the right move.  I think there are several people here who would speak on your behalf.
" 

Rune looked up at the woman, surprised.  "Thank you." 

They spent the rest of the time focused on the forms. 

The agent put the
paperwork back into
its
folder.
"I'll be here the rest of the day, make sure Malik comes to see me to get his forms taken care
of;
I'll be waiting for him". 

Rune nodded and left the office, heading back to rejoin the teams.

When Rune got back to the training room both teams were gathered there, seemingly immersed in a tactics discussion. 
Serk and Rook appeared to be in the middle of a debate about the entrance strategy, with the others weighing in their opinions on occasion. 

S
erk looked up at her entrance.
"Blythe
said you'd gotten pulled into R
ecords?" 

Rune nodded
.
"
J
ust some paperwork for my resignation, nothing job related
.
" 

Serk accepted her response and returned to arguing the
merits
of a strong entrance with Rook.  Malik turned to loo
k at her at the mention of the R
ecords
D
epartment, pulling himself quietly away from the group and making his way towards her. 

"You're expected by the end of the day" Rune said in a hushed tone
as he reached her
,
in response to his questioning look. 

He nodded
.
"I was beginning to think they weren't going to find it before you left, anything I should know before going in?" 

Rune
shrugged
.
"
I
t's just forms, but it seems the agency has adopted a silence policy when it comes to us, and it
sounds like the H
eads and
D
irector tried to delay the paperwork from going into the system for the sake of the mission.  We
appear
to be a taboo issue with command at the moment, tread carefully." 

Malik frowned a bit, but nodded.
 

In the center of the room Catha had noticed Malik's absence by now and was looking over at them with a vexed expression. 
Ru
ne remembered the words of the R
ecords agent as they made their way over to the
group;
this was definitely not someone who would speak on her behalf. 
How bad would she take it
, Rune wondered,
if
she learned of t
he extent of their involvement.
 
The agent
'
s words played in her mind over and over while she stood by watching the group discussion, not getting involved.  The media had been attacking their relationship, that she had expected, but she wondered how badly this would affect Malik's public appeal.  She hated the idea of being responsible for losing him endorsement deals or for turning the public against him.  He loved being their hero, he thrived on it. 
For his sake she hoped that the point of the attack was aimed at her.
  She also thought back to the words of warning Eri had spoken after she had found out about the marriage, about Malik growing to resent her for the public backlash his relationship with her would cost him. 
She'd been afraid of that seeming inevitability since the moment of their elopement. 
What limits would his love for her begin to show when the adoration he cherished turned against him. 

As the discussion neared its end and a general consensus of tactics was reached Malik excused himself to report to the Head of Military on their progress, fleetingly meeting Rune's eyes as he left the room. 
Serk decided that they had done all they could for the moment and released the rest of them.  As most were beginning to head out the door they were surprised by a second appearance from Agent Donovan
who ignored the chain of command and
addressed
herself directly
to
Rune. 

"Rune, I want your input on something, follow me would you?" 

Serk glanced over momentarily, but actually seemed relieved to not have to deal with the agent himself. 
Rune followed in
Donovan's
wake heading towards the
agents’
office. 
After they had both entered, Eri locked the door behind them and gestured for Rune to sit. 

"We may have a bit of a glitch, and since you're the only one here who I can discuss both aspects with I was left with the option of either bringing you in on this or figuring it out on my own." 

Rune l
ooked at her somewhat surprised.
"
I
t must be tricky, I would have guessed that you would prefer to handle whatever it might be on your own." 

Eri gave her a patronizing
glare
.
"Ha ha.  Believe me I would have, if it weren't for the fact that I simply don't have enough information to go on. 
A conference is tak
ing place in half an hour, the H
eads and
D
irector will be meeting with the CEO of a private security firm known as Blackthorn. 
They've been trying to land a government contract wi
th the agency for a while now." 

Rune looked at her.
"
P
rivate security firms often try to land contracts with the agency, what's special about this one?" 

Er
i met her gaze with a hard look.
"
B
ecause the reason Blackthorn was able to get this meeting in the first place is that they somehow seem to know about the power plant attack". 
She
let the words hand in the air. 

Rune paused.
"
W
hat do you mean they know about the power plant attack, what do they know?" 

Eri shrugged.
"
T
hat's the ten million dollar question, isn't
it?
 
The
H
eads asked me to be present at the meeting, and I'm bringing you in with me instead of my assistant, you'd be better adept at analyzing the situation than he would and I want another level head in there in case thi
s goes in the wrong direction."
 

Rune nodded slowly
.
"
O
k
ay
, let's hear what Blackthorn has to say
.
" 

The two of them made their way to the conference room where the meeting was taking place.  The Head of Government was the only one already
there;
they took seats next to him and waited for the other
s
to arrive. 

"Rune, a welcome surprise" the Head said. 

Rune nodded
.
"I hope my presence won't be a problem?" 

He shook his head.
"
N
ot at all.
I'm glad you're here, another level head to help analyze any potential problems.  Honestly, if I'd been aware that you had experience with AP supers, I would have brought you
in
on API
related discussion before now." He sighed and look
ed at her with reproachful eyes.
"
J
ust when I find another use for you, you decide to leave us
.
" 

Agent Donovan looked
up from the tablet in her hand.
"
A
lways leave them wanting more, as they say
.
" 

Rune looked at her in puzzlement, was
that
a compliment? 

The H
ead turned to look at the agent.
"I hope you don't have any plans of leaving us any time soon Donovan, we can't afford to loose two integral intelligence
assets close together
.
" 

Donovan smiled.
"I wouldn't dream of it sir, I'm enjoying my work here". 

The Head nodded to her,
and then
looked to the door of the room, which had just opened.  The Head of Military and
D
irector walked in with a woman close behind them.  The
D
irector motioned for the woman to take a seat and the
n
sat himself at the head of the long table.  The Heads, along with Donovan and Rune, sat on the left side of the table, with the woman sitting alone across from them. 

Once they were settled the Director spoke.
"
T
his is Olivia Cordova, head of Blackthorn Private Security." 

After addressing his own people he turned his attention to the woman sitting to his right. 
Rune took a moment to get
a sense of the woman before her;
she was pretty good at reading people, it was part of her job.  This woman exuded confidence, from her relaxed and almost cocky posture, to the way she held the
D
irectors glance.  This was not a woman who took no for an answer. 

"Director" she said, glancing moment
arily to the others and nodding.
"I thank you for your
time;
I know you must be busy at the moment, what with your
extenuating circumstance
to deal with." 

The D
irector looked a
bit uncomfortable at her words.
"I'm not sure we understand your reference Miss Cordova, you mentioned something in your meeting request about an attack, I assure you we are not currently dealing with anything so drastic." 

The woman smiled, a cold smile, arrogan
t.  "Let's not play games here D
irector, I know about the attack against one of your facilities.  And more than that, I know what the attack actually means for your agency
, which is precisely why I'm here.  I come offering aid." 

The Head of M
ilitary leaned forward
.
"
H
ow would you know about any attack?" he demanded. 

The woman turned to address him
.
"
N
ot tha
t easy to hide something so big.
I happened to have people in the area when it happened and I thought it was my duty to offer our assistance in resolving the matter." 

The H
ead huffed and sat back in his seat
.
"
Y
ou don't know what you're talking about, even if there was an attack, and I'm not saying there was, what could your people do that ours couldn't?  We have the best supers in the country, they've never failed us yet" he said, speaking proudly. 

The
H
ead of
G
overnment added, "W
e appreciate the offer of assistance Miss Cordova, but we don'
t currently have any contract openings, and I agree with my colleague about our ability to handle any situation." 

Cordova
smiled;
another calm self-assured smile.  "With all due respect, but I disagree.  The simple fact is that your
people have never dealt with a C
harger before."