October 16, 2003
For the past few days, she spent most of her time in her London flat. Her flyball team played in Europe and the EBEE had sent her on some cases around the city. Twice, she met with Sonylla, Panjik and Emery in a Pixie-run inn located near Tremblant.
She sat on the foot of her bed, listening to her voicemails, just like when she started seeing Frank. It was full when she got back from the flyball field in Bulgaria. Part of her wanted to disconnect it and throw it across the room. She didn't like the tears coming down her eyes as she listened to them. She didn't know how to handle them. She hated the situation more than he did.
She missed him. She needed him.
Another part of her, however, didn't want to send him the wrong message. She loved him, even if she didn't understand it. She didn't want him to think she left him just like that. She hoped that when it was over and the danger had dissipated, he would forgive her and get back to her.
She knew however that it probably wouldn't be the case, that he probably would move on before she could fully eliminate the danger coming his way. In her mind, she could only see her foes finding him because of her. She had to stay away from him to protect him. If it meant for him to stay alive, she was willing to do whatever it took.
Her hologram went off. She heard it and realized that her voicemails were done spitting out its messages. She wiped off a tear running below her left eye and tapped on it. Andrew's holographic image came out of it.
"Blue, we need to go to Liverpool. There have been a lot of suspicious activities that have been reported in the area. We are tasked to protect a human minister in town for a conference. We believe he is the target of a radical group of mages."
"Does he know what we are?"
"It's unclear, but we will introduce ourselves as AW and BT. Blum and his apprentice Xanita will be with us and will introduce themselves in the same manner. If you need to fight, avoid using magic, use a firearm or a knife."
The entire day, she struggled to stay focused on her task. Her mind kept trying to find ways to meet up with Frank without raising suspicions, in case he was followed, or at least be able to call him. The Fullemon twins told her that his phone number wasn't on anyone's radar, but she knew that the moment he fell under the radar of the authorities, they would look into his call history.
She trusted her werepanthers to keep an eye on him, but she knew they also had to sleep and go to work. She thought about the upcoming holidays, when she'd have to pick up Audrey at school and take her to her family, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to safely see him or if she'd be followed.
Later in the evening, when the minister was back at his hotel with his guards, they discussed a tip they received regarding a potential warehouse nearby where cursed weapons were potentially stored. Xanita suggested that Andrew and Coralis go check it out while she and Blum would make sure no random elemental comes close to the minister.
Meanwhile, back in Montreal, Frank was on the phone with Sebastian.
"I don't understand why she wouldn't tell you where she's at or what she's been up to," said Frank, pacing his living room.
"I don't agree with her but I understand why she's not talking to me either. I saw her on the flyball field and she did ask about you, but besides that, she stuck to game talks and left right after the game."
Frank pressed on the speakerphone button and put his phone on the living room table. He poured himself a drink and sat on the couch.
"Honestly, I don't know what to think of it, my mind is all over the place. I haven't heard from her in a week and I know she didn't come here while I wasn't home. I am mad that she would leave me just like that, but between what I've been hearing from you and Vic… I don't think that she left me or that she doesn't want me anymore. It's almost like when we started dating and I didn't know about your world. I thought we were past that."
He drank the liquor one shot and refilled his glass.
"She loves you, more than she let on. Think about it, she loves you so much that she decided to take the hard road that no one dreamed of taking and stay away if it meant that no harm would come to you because of your connection to her. I still think that there must be another way, but I'm not being hunted like she is, so even if I don't agree with her on that, I respect her decision and won't force her to talk."
"I understand what you're trying to say. Something must have gone horribly wrong after that night that's preventing her from coming back home to me, and hopefully, she'll come back soon, or at least call me. She needs to know that I seriously want a life with her. I don't believe what is being said against her, I know she's not like that. I want her to talk to me when everything goes wrong."
"I know that Blue doesn't want to leave you. She still doesn't know who's been following her that night and she wasn't the only one being targeted."
Frank chugged his drink and poured another one.
"Even Vic doesn't know anything. She told me not to worry too much, and that it isn't the first time she's closing herself off from everyone. She said that once when they were at school, she'd been over a week without talking to anyone."
"I don't know about that, we didn't go to the same school. The only people who might know what's going on with her are probably Erik and Henry because they represent the closest thing she has to a family. We'll be playing in Europe all week. She usually is sent on EBEE cases when we play in Europe, bet they're watching her very closely."
"I want to be that to her. I called her UK landline and left a lot of messages. Neither of them picked up the phone. Maybe they weren't home, but I don't know if there is another number I can use to reach out to them."
"I don't have their hologram code. I know them through Blue, but we don't play on the same flyball team or work for the same people. I don't think they have a mobile phone or their own landline. Maybe Gus does, I don't know. Honestly, I'd go by what Vic is telling you. I've known Blue for 8 years, but your friend has known her for longer."
Coralis and Andrew walked out of the warehouse they were searching. They didn't find anything. Andrew's hologram vibrated. It was Blum. He looked around and saw some cameras pointing toward them. He set his hologram on satellite phone mode and answered the call.
"Are you still at that warehouse?"
"Yeah, but we were about to leave. We didn't find anything," said Andrew.
"Don't come back to the hotel, the place is crawling with human cops. I don't know yet if what I'm hearing is true, but Minister Luke Massina has been found dead, with multiple stab wounds."