Pathline (23 page)

The others agreed and seemed eager to get out into the field and see some action instead of just sitting around planning. 
Rune had watched Malik throughout the discussion, thinking about their relationship and everything that it meant and caused.  She'd also been waiting to see if the other
s
would come up with a valid plan for how to take down Mana, but their ideas still posed too much risk of exposure.  She knew Rook would defer to his team to
swoop
in and wrap the job up as soon as the others were out of the picture, but that would also raise too many questions with the agency. 
By the time they were let go to prepare for the op that night she had made up her mind. 
She stood and made her way out after the others, heading towards the back exit. 

Malik caught up to her once she was alone and put an arm out to stop her.  "You're avoiding me, ever since you and Blythe got back from doing recon.  You w
ant to tell me why?"

She met his gaze and found anger rising inside her
self
at his look.  "This isn't the time or place Malik
."  She walked around his arm and kept going.

He seemed caught off guard that she had used his super name even though they were alone.  "
Malik
?"
He said, from behind her. 

"We
're workin
g here, anything else can wait.  W
e both have things to do." 

She didn't turn to face him but kept walking.  She could feel the desperation and worry she'd been experiencing since she and Blythe had seen the news report turning to
fury
whenever she looked at
him
.  She sped up her pace trying to put further distance between them.

Malik caught up with her again and grabbed her arm turning her to face him, forcing her to stop.  "What is this
, what's going
on;
you think you can stop long enough to tell me that?
"  Anger was starting to rise in him too.

"You'll be able to come back from this, a small blip in your otherwise perfect
reputation;
no one will hold it against you.  There's no coming back from this for me.  No one will hire me after this."  Her voice was harsh,
livid
.  She pulled her arm out of his grasp.

He looked at her confused.
"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?  What do you think I'm talking about!  You and I didn't just start a tabloid
story;
people’s
anger at my involvement with you went further than that.  Oh, but they're all just ready and willing to forgive you for your moment of poor judgment."  She started walking away from him again, feeling the resentment and apprehension starting to take over.

"Laura, stop!  What happened during recon, did you see a news story about us?  What did it say?"  He came and stood in front her, blocking her path. 

"You wanted to believe the best in people, easy to say as a Defender.  I knew better than that. 
I knew better
.  Now, because of my foolish mistake every Wanderer in the country will have to pay the price."  She stood there and glared at him. 

He blinked at her words.  "
Your
mistake
?  Is that what we've become, a mistake?  And why would our relatio
nship involve any one else?"  His
words were level now, measured. 

"
There are riots and protests going on, the nation turned against Wanderers and their
deceitful
ways.  You want to talk about
our relationship
?  Tell me, just how long would you stay at my side when your adoring public turns on you completely?"  She walked around him and left him standing there in silence. 

She walked out through the back exit and stopped, her heart
racing
.  Her emotions were running high, she couldn't wander like this.  She needed to get control of herself.  She set off walking again, hoping the exercise would help calm her down. 
She had gone a few block
s when she realized something else...
she couldn't go back with Rook. 
That life was
gone;
there was no returning to it.  He wasn't home anymore. 
In that moment she wanted nothing more than to just disappear.  She wouldn't be as recognizable abroad.  She could start over in another country, take up the merc
enary
lifestyle. 
Just work for hire, no emotional attachments, no strings,
and no
commitments. 

They don't need me anyway
, she thought,
most of them hate having to work with Wanderers
.  She should just leave them all behind. 
What commitment did she have, really, for an agency that was all too happy to use her skills for their benefit
but would throw her under the bus to save their
image?
 
They wouldn't even be looking for her until that evening when the op was set to
begin;
she would have a head start.  She could feasibly wander home to her apartment, grab some things and take off from there. 
She'd traveled abroad many times for work, and she'd made a few contacts along the way.  She could do it.  If she was gone maybe that would help calm down the outcry against Wanderers. 
It seemed cowardly, she knew, but she found it hard to think of an alternative.  Marcus claimed to love her, but no love was unconditional, and it was only a matter of time before that
love turned to resentment
. 

She stopped at a deli and grabbed something to eat. 
She found a small park in the area and took her food with her to eat there.  She sat at an empty bench and watched the people passing by, the kids playing in the playground. 
There had always been something so liberating about blendi
ng into the background
.  Not being noticed, not judged or questioned
, just
another face in the crowd. 
That would be harder now, she knew, she'd a
lready gotten recognized once.  That would hinder her work, her life, in this political climate. 
But maybe it would allow her an opening elsewhere.  She thought back to the idea she'd had about Mana earlier. 
She remembered what Eri had said, "
I'm a survivor, I go where the odds are
".  Maybe Eri had a point.  It
all came down to trust and alliances.  What did she owe the agency, Malik, even Rook?  How much did each of them mean to her?  In the end how much had it all been worth?  She was alone, no
w
as always, and it was herself she needed to trust.

She glanced at her watch; it was past
noon
, the teams would be starting to prepare for the evening.  She stood and started walking to the parks edge, but she wasn't headed towards the agency field office.  As soon as she was sure no one in the area was watching she wandered away.  She was walking down the street that lead to the converted warehouse apartments she had found Mana at.  She stopped across the street from the building, looking for signs of movement inside.  She made no effort to conceal her
presence;
in fact she was hoping he would notice her.  After a few minutes she caught movement through a window on the second floor.  She waited for the perso
n
inside to look out the window; s
ure enough a woman opened the curtain a bit and looked out spotting her.  When the woman saw her Rune lifted her hand in a quick wave.  There would be no doubt now, they'll know she was there on purpose. 

She walked up to the building and leaned on the wall next to the entry door.  A minute later she heard the latch click and a woman opened the door and looked around for her.  Rune looked the girl over; she was young, probably barely legal.

"Who
are you and what do you want?"
The girl said, giving her an annoyed look.

Rune smirked at her.
"I'm here to speak with Mana, why don't you get back to working on your tan?" she said dismissively.  Rune stepped forward and moved around the girl to step inside.

"Hey!  You can't come in here."
The girl
rushed
in after her.

Rune ignored her completely and looked around. 
T
he inside had been set up as a loft, nice too. 
T
here was a fully stocked bar on one side, leather couches facing a big screen TV, and on the othe
r side a hot tub.  There was a
staircase in front of her which led to the
open
second floor which appeared to contain the bed
room area
.  A second girl sat at the edge of the bed, looking down at them.

"Hey, who's she?"
T
he girl from the bed
called down. 

The first girl ca
me up and stood in front of her.
"
Y
ou need to leave right now." 

Rune barely acknowledged her.
"
O
r what?"  She looked around and finally spotted him, coming out of the bathroom behind the hot tub. 

He looked at her, moving towards them.  "Shut up Terri, this lady is my guest."

Rune stepped towards him, meeting his gaze.  "It there somewhere the g
rownups can talk?"
She said, momentarily glancing to the two staring girls.

Mana chuckled.  He turned to look at the girls
.
"
W
hy don't you two go out shopping huh?" 

The girl on the bed shrugged and started putting on a shirt and shorts.  The girl Terri pouted, but when Mana ignored her and headed to the bar she grabbed her purse and walked out the door, the second girl going out after her. 

He turned to l
ook at Rune from behind the bar.
"
W
hat would you like?"

She walked over and sat on one of the black leather sofas.  "Scotch, if you've got it" she said, making herself comfortable.

He got two drinks ready and walked over
,
placing hers on the coffee table in front of her and taking a seat on the leather chair next to the sofa.  "So to what do I owe this honor?  It's not ev
eryday that a beautiful agency W
anderer comes calling." 

Rune took a deep drink
.
"I figured you must already know that I was in town, after I got made by that stupid drunk the other night." 

Mana
laughed.
"Poor Rune, must be getting so hard to do an honest days spying with all that publicity following you around." 

She leaned back into the sofa finishing her drink.  "You know why I'm in town?"

He smiled, eyeing her carefully.  "I can guess.  My people told me the agency was getting close to tracking me down. 
I m
ust admit I'm a bit surprised by the personal visit though, not that I mind." 

She sat forward and put her glass down hard on the coffee table.  "They sent me out here, to hick town, to find you
.  The Charger that threatens their whole status quo.  And I get made.  And why?  Because although they can somehow hide the fact that a power plant was leveled on their watch, apparently they don't mind letting the press eat me alive."  She looked at him, ire running through her veins.  "
Let’s
just say I'm not feeling particularly loyal
to those basta
rds at the moment." 

He nodded and stood to refill her drink.  "They really haven't lifted a finger to help you have they?  What's the point of working for the agency if they don't even have your back?"

Rune grimaced as she took the drink from him.  "That's the question of the day isn't it?  The way I figure, if they are willing to let me burn then why should I help them.  If they want you found, maybe they should get out here and track you down themselv
es;
let’s
see how well they manage
without a Wanderer." 

He laughed.  "Quite the spitfire aren't you.  Those are strong words, think you would actually follow through?  I mean, what about that boyfriend of yours?" 

Rune rolled her eyes
.
"
H
ave you been watching the news?  Have you seen him out there defending me?  Doing anything other than covering his own ass?"  She drank down her second glass.  "No.  But I guess that's my fault for expecting anything out of a media super." 

Mana shook his head, a mock frown on his face.  "That's too
bad;
I was really rooting for you two." 

She glared at him.
"
F
unny
.
"