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  Rawiri wrinkled his nose. She wasn’t the first person to make this comment. “It is a sign of respect. He is always first and foremost an agent and I don’t want to ever forget that. When we are private, I call him Jephry but when others are around, I always make sure to call him by his title. It is a good thing to be a habit. Especially, when you are dealing with suspects.”

  Her eyes were warm as she asked, “Do you think he would betray your friendship?”

  He snorted. “No, he is way too honourable for that. No, Agent Harold lost someone when he was younger and he focused his life on looking after the one thing she loved. The city. I think that is why he hates Portland so much. He is messing up with his girl’s dream.”

  Freya smiled at him warmly. “I trust Agent Harold. It’s sad to think he lost someone.”

  Her arms tightened around him and he enjoyed the sense of familiarity. Why was it so easy to be with her? He brushed his lips over hers.

  Natasha chuckled and he looked up. “I see Waha you have fallen.”

  Freya frowned. “Waha?”

  Natasha’s eyes sparkled with her mirth. “Oh, yeah, you didn’t know him when he was undercover. Our agent here used to be a punk gang boy called Waha.”

  Warren said, “Did you pick that name? Because if I was a gang member, I would have picked you for a snitch with a name like that.”

  Rawiri chuckled. “Gang members aren’t that smart and I’d had the name for a while. It is more about the way you act than anything else.”

  Natasha nodded. “Oh, he was good. It was Hal though who picked him out but we all know she notices more than others.”

  Natasha tapped her head and he remembered Natasha had the same vision for auras as Hal had. He wondered what she could see and from the small smile on her lips he knew she saw something. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

  Natasha said, “Grab your bags and I’ll show you where your rooms are and then we can eat something.”

  ___

  The house was a mansion. Freya had seen mansions before but this made them seem small in comparison. There were extensive outbuildings and they set the main house up like a massive Georgian monstrosity. She could not imagine living in a place that would require a map just to find the bathroom.

  She glanced at Rawiri and she saw he was also uncomfortable about staying here. She said, “Nice place.”

  Natasha seemed distracted as she answered, “Mmm yeah, Warren wanted a place where he could work in peace. He has been thinking of opening up some other rooms to invite others in his field to come discuss things. What things, I never understand or care, but it might be good for him to make friends. I worry he is a bit lonely out here.”

  Warren had followed them with some of their bags. “Hey, I have friends.”

  Natasha rolled her eyes. “Friends who all think you are a geek even for geeks.”

  Warren shrugged. “Mom and Dad started in a big place as well and they filled it.”

  Natasha snorted. “I hope you don’t expect me to pop out half a dozen kids to fill those rooms.”

  Warren wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I’m irresistible.”

  Natasha stopped and opened the first door to their rooms as she answered, “Irascible is more like it. Here you go Waha, this one is yours.” She put her arm around Freya. “The room across the way is yours. I thought you two would like to be near each other.”

  ___

  Rawiri waited until the couple had left before he snuck into Freya’s room. She had just opened her bag.

  She spun. “What are you doing here?”

  He smiled as she was blushing. “Not what you are thinking. I just thought you would like to stay up and talk.”

  Freya’s blush increased and eventually she let out a long breath. “Fine.”

  She didn’t sound very enthusiastic though it did not discourage him. A lot was happening in her life, she had a reason to be reluctant to push their relationship further. “You don’t have to sound so excited about it.”

  She shook her head. “I’m just worried.”

  He looked around her room. There wasn’t much in the way of furniture. Natasha and Warren might live in a mansion but they lived frugally.

  He settled himself on the bed. “So, what did you bring?”

  She motioned towards the bag she was working from. “Clothes. I don’t have anything else. I haven’t even had a chance to look for an apartment yet and I don’t know if I can stay with my parents for very long.” She made a face when she said the last.

  Obviously, it was difficult to live with parents once you had grown. He assumed because he never had to worry about that.

  He watched her as she unpacked her clothes. She was all nervous and fidgety.

  He didn’t like to see the emotional hurt in her eyes so he said, “I remember what it was like not having anything.”

  She glanced up surprised.

  He shrugged. “Didn’t I tell you about that?”

  She shook her head. He settled in to tell her a bit about his life and propped himself on the pillows of her bed. “When I was young, I left where I was in the Wildlands and went to the city. I only had the clothes I was wearing. I was a kid and I didn’t have any money. If it wasn’t for the Mission, I would have starved on the streets.”

  Her eyes warmed. “I didn’t think there were any homeless kids in Whatinga.”

  Rawiri shrugged. “There isn’t. If they caught you sleeping on the streets, they kicked you out of the city. There is a group in the city who gives homes to any kid that arrives in the city. Completely out of the goodness of their hearts. Without them I would have died back then.”

  Freya moved so she was leaning over him and kissed his lips. “I’m glad they were there for you.”

  He pulled her back and kissed her again. He knew he would leave the room soon. She was too afraid and nervous now to decide about taking their relationship further but he could enjoy just being here with her. Besides, he knew this wouldn’t last. Not when she found out more about him.

  Rawiri sighed and moved off the bed. “You should get some rest.”

  Freya nodded. “Thanks, I don’t know if I could do any of this without you.”

  He was sure he couldn’t without her either. He could face a physical danger but what was out there in the Wildlands was something more but equally dangerous as anything he had faced so far. His past.

  ___

  It was a tight squeeze with the three of them in the small cab of Natasha’s truck. The track they were following was full of ruts so all of them were holding on to something to keep steady.

  Natasha said conversationally, “I come out this way a lot. There are a few older factories that I have been reclaiming. You’d be surprised by how much is still there. The bandits and thieves in this area don’t seem to be overly interested in heavy machinery so they leave it alone.”

  She motioned to some structures in the distance. “We will check out this place first. It has only recently been abandoned. From the description you gave me this is the most likely place. Especially, if you walked to the rail line. This is the closest structure to the line besides the Edge.”

  It didn’t take long for them to arrive and park outside the building. The building was half buried in the ground like many of the buildings in the Wildlands. It was already half claimed by the environment and the roof of the main structure had collapsed in.

  It didn’t look familiar but then he hadn’t seen it in twenty years. Freya came to stand beside him. She tugged on the hat she had borrowed from Natasha. The sun was pretty harsh out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  The shield membrane let through light during the day but it was more like a soft glow. People in Whatinga didn’t have to worry about sunburn. It was different out here in the Wildlands. The sun glared at them and the ground under their feet was parched. He knew this from when he was young that this land was a land of extremes. If there was rain there would be floods and if there was cold it w
as a blizzard. The plants that remained were scraggly and hardy.

  Mostly it was dusty.

  Freya asked, “Did you really grow up in a place like this?”

  Rawiri nodded. “Until I was ten. Then I went to the city.”

  She shook her head. “I just can’t imagine it. It must be so hard for people to live like this.”

  It had been. He wouldn’t deny that. He motioned with his head and they went into the building.

  Natasha sat on the hood of her truck and when he looked back to see if she was coming in, she waved them on. She must have explored the place already. He followed Freya inside.

  He knew straight away it wasn’t the place but he didn’t leave quite yet. If Mana was still haunting the Wildlands, then he would have been here at some stage. They left, probably stealing all that they could, when the people had left.

  He could tell that whatever had chased off these people had been violent. The furniture that was still here was overturned and there was broken glass that crunched under their feet as they walked.

  There was also blood but if people died, the survivors had taken the time to bury them as there were no remains.

  He crouched down to pick up a piece of a broken lamp. Freya asked, “Is this the place?”

  He shook his head. “No. But my brother might have been here. He did like the raiding. He didn’t see anything wrong with it.”

  It was why he hadn’t asked his brother to come with him when he had gone to the city. He had always wondered if his brother would have condemned him or supported him over what happened with Tama.

  Freya came closer and looked down at what he was looking at. “Was it hard to leave?”

  He shrugged. “In some ways it was actually easy. You see, I kind of burned my bridges. There was no way people would let me stay after what I had done.”

  Her hand rested on his shoulder. “Oh, what did you do?”

  His voice was bleak when he answered, “I killed a man.”

  Freya blinked confused with his answer. When she finally found her voice. “I can’t believe you would kill someone in cold-blood.”

  Rawiri stood up and turned to her. “I don’t think it was very cold blooded and the man needed to die.”

  Her cheeks flushed with colour at his words but he wasn’t finished. He didn’t like she thought he could even be a cold-blooded murderer.

  The words stuck in his throat as he set her straight. “He was a predator and he used young boys.”

  Her eyes went wide and she reached out for him. “Oh, Rawiri I am so sorry.”

  He pulled away from her touch as he realised he had revealed too much.

  “No,” he denied but even he could hear the pain in his voice.

  She dropped her hand and her voice was soft as she spoke. “You must have been so scared. You know it wasn’t your fault.”

  He had reacted too harshly and turned and ran a hand through his hair. He knew even a year ago he would have yelled at her or laughed it off and somehow made her dump him because he wouldn’t want to share.

  He let out a deep breath. “It isn’t something I want to talk about.”

  He flinched as her hand softly touched his shoulder. But he didn’t pull away. He closed his eyes as he wanted her touch. Even if she sometimes accidentally triggered memories. He caught her hand and turned around.

  He said in a strained voice, “One day I’ll be able to talk about it but with my brother back I’m a bit brittle.” Maybe he could stave off the time when she left if he could just keep the details from her.

  She nodded her eyes glistened with unshed tears. He didn’t want her pity so he pulled away and started a closer study of the ruins.

  He opened a cupboard when Freya said, “Shush.”

  When he stopped, he could hear what she had heard. It was the soft meow of a cat. He was stunned. Animals were so rare to find and one out here was a miracle.

  Together they moved towards the sound. They saw the small cat that couldn’t be very old sitting on a beam that had once held up the roof. It was black and white with fur that was sticking out at odd angles. Freya cooed, “Oh, you are a cutie.”

  Rawiri wrinkled his nose. “It needs a bath.”

  Freya reached up for the cat. “Of course it does.”

  The cat surprised him by coming closer. They must have left it behind when the place was abandoned. Except that it looked more like a kitten.

  Freya scooped it up and held it close to her chest. Together they went outside. Natasha hopped off the hood. “Oh, you caught it.”

  Freya asked, “You knew it was there?”

  Natasha scratched the cat behind its ear. “Yeah, I saw the mother around. But she has moved on, I think, and left her kittens. I caught the others but this one was stubborn. It must be hungry. I have some food in the car.”

  Freya followed. “What happened to the others?” Natasha flashed a grin as. “Oh, they had no shortage of homes. They all live in Edge. They make a good pet for fishermen as there is always enough to feed them, with the scraps of fish, they bring in. They are great at catching mice and rats. We still have those around and I think we will have more once the shield is up.”

  Natasha smiled warmly at Freya as she fed the kitten some scrap food. “I think this one has a home to.”

  Freya looked up sharply. “Wait, are you sure?”

  Natasha laughed. “It wouldn’t come to me. It must like you. I think the cat made its own choice.”

  Rawiri looked at Freya holding the cat and how it rubbed its head against her chest. Natasha was right.

  ___

  It was dark by the time they returned. Exhaustion settled over all of them. No one spoke to each other so it had been a quiet ride. Natasha yawned and stretched when she got out of the truck.

  Freya hesitated. She had the bundle of the cat in her lap. Rawiri jumped out and was already heading towards the house. Natasha glanced at her that spoke volumes. Freya sighed and edged out of the vehicle.

  The cat wriggled in her arms and when she was inside the house, she let it go. Hopefully, it would stick around for the food and water. She had no idea how to look after an animal even though she had always wanted a pet.

  The cat zoomed through the house obviously not shy. She wished she could have that kind of confidence.

  Unlike the cat, Freya made her way through the house cautiously. There weren’t many of the rooms in use so it didn’t take very long to find Rawiri. He was in his bedroom. He turned his back to her and he rummaged through his bags.

  She didn’t want to interrupt but she also felt it was important to speak to him as well. She had never been good with these kinds of human interactions. Being an only child there had not been many her own age that she had associated with. At school she had never fitted in as most of the people in her classes were sometimes ten years older than her. She bit her lip and then thought she would just dive in.

  “Rawiri?” He didn’t turn but she ignored that. “Lots of people have dark things in their past. We all have our secrets. It wasn’t like you did anything wrong.”

  She recoiled backwards when he turned. That dangerous part of him she always suspected was there glared at her through his eyes. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”

  She pursed her lips. “I’ve dealt with a lot of people that have had issues Rawiri.”

  He growled. “I’m not one of your patients, so don’t treat me like I’m some injured soul you have to repair.”

  His words bit but she didn’t relent. “Rawiri, I don’t think you are one of my patients.”

  “Then what am I to you?” The silence that fell between them was as dangerous as the look he had given her before.

  It hung awkwardly between them until Rawiri said, “Just leave me alone, Freya.”

  He turned around and ignored her. She wished she had said what she had been thinking. He was someone special to her. But she wasn’t sure if they were at that stage yet and if her words would draw him back fro
m this darkness or just push him away.

  It didn’t help that she was still unsure what he was to her either but it hurt he would use that uncertainty to push her away. She looked at the ground finding it painful to look at the rigid line of his back.

  Freya turned and left. Words were never her friend and here they felt like two edged knives. She knew any more words spoken would just leave the two of them bleeding.

  Chapter Eight

  Edge: April, 2088

  Rawiri wandered the mansion. There really were plenty of rooms but most of them were empty of furniture. He had found one that had a large picture window that was boarded over. He had wedged up one board so he could look outside. He snorted when he realised the glass was coated in dirt. He rubbed at it with the edge of his sleeve. It was still dirty outside but he now could see through the window.

  Outside was beautiful. Since this town had plenty of water, it was rather green. With walls to protect the plants from the wind off the ocean. It looked like a patchwork quilt. Stunning.

  When he was a child, he had dreamed of living in a place like this. His mother had told him stories about what the world had looked like before the wars and the weather changing.

  He missed her even though he had lost her when he was very young.

  His mother would have clipped him over the head for the way he had treated Freya. She had always drilled it into them to treat others with respect and he had acted more like an injured animal than a human being with Freya.

  Rawiri placed his hand on the glass. His mother had always said it was better to be nice to others than to spread misery. It was why she had always sung when she was sad.

  He let out a breath. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to apologise to Freya as he was still hurting but he could at least not spread his misery.

  ___

  Freya placed a bowl of water on the floor for the cat. It sniffed the suspicious-looking container but eventually it drank. She watched the small and wretched creature for a while. Her mind clear and devoid of thought.

  She looked up when Natasha came into the kitchen.

  She smiled as Natasha said, “Hey, he is looking pretty good.”