Chp. 34 “Bad News”

“Where’s Chris again?”

Avery looked up at me as I held her in my arms, “He said he went to visit a friend. Why?”

I smiled, shaking my head as I pulled her closer to me as we continued to watch the movie on her TV. Her bed was extremely comfortable, and even though we were alone I just wanted to lie here with her in relaxation. I was still pretty fatigued from today’s practice but after we had eaten dinner and relaxed I had felt much better.

The final scene in Twilight was playing on the screen, and even though I had watched the movie a countless amount of times it was still boring to me. Avery had insisted we watch it though, so of course I didn’t argue.

I sighed, “Tell me again why you like this movie?”

I felt her move in my arms, and soon she was kneeling in front of me while I stared at her casually. I didn’t understand it, but I swore every time I looked at her I fell more in love with her. Just the way she looked at me made me melt to the core.

She sighed in frustration, “How can I not like it. It explains our relationship perfectly.”

I tilted my head, “I don’t recall sparkling when I step out into the sun, or wanting to drink your blood 24/7.”

I knew she was trying to be romantic, and I was just the type of person to be completely sarcastic. She frowned, making my heart melt a little bit inside my chest with her puppy dog face. She crawled slowly over to me, straddling my lap and sitting on my legs. I felt my heart beat thump hard in my chest as I felt her smooth, bare legs rub against mine.

“Edward is dangerous and inhumane, therefore he’s like you. Bella’s just a fragile girl who falls in love with him because he’s so mysterious and dangerous, and that’s like me.”

I lifted my eyebrow in response, seeing a sly expression play on her face. She moved closer, her hands falling lightly on my hips in the process.

I tilted my head, “I’m dangerous?”

She groaned, “That’s like asking me if you’re sexy, Andy. Of course you’re dangerous. I mean can you not control electricity and pretty much move whatever you want with your mind? Not to mention you can’t die… like Edward.”

“Ok, so I can heal, and yes I can do all of those things, but I can control myself. Edward apparently has a really hard time doing that around Bella.”

Her hand grazed up my arm and across my chest, rubbing smoothly over my breasts while she gripped the back of my neck with her other hand. She tilted her head, smirking playfully, “Don’t you have a hard time controlling yourself around me?”

I finally saw what she was getting at, causing me to smile in response, “Yes, when you look at me like that.”

She seemed to play along for a while, but then I saw something change in her expression. I tilted my head, studying her face as I tried to figure out what she was thinking.

She mouthed, whispering, “And you’re dangerous.”

I felt my heart throb in sadness, knowing that she was absolutely right, and I was putting her in dangerous positions. I clenched my jaw, “Yes, but Avery… I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She looked at me, her hazel eyes focusing in on mine intensely as she stopped and stared. She shook her head, “Andy accidents happen, and I know I agreed to follow you along but… I can’t help but feel scared.”

I watched her closely, knowing that she was scared for not only her life, but for the jeopardy of mine. She understood that everything we were about to pursue and she understood all of the dangers. Her eyes fell down again, looking away from my gaze. She did agree to come along, but if she backed out last minute I wouldn’t blame her.

All of this was scary to me too.

I placed my finger under her chin, lifting her beautiful eyes back to mine. I smiled reassuringly, “Avery… if you don’t want to come-“

“No, I want to, even if I’m scared. Andy… I don’t want to be away from you.”

I felt my heart pump faster inside my chest at her response, feeling blood rush to my face. I loved this girl so much, so much to where I was beginning to think it wasn’t healthy. Being with her made me feel whole, right, and I couldn’t really put it into words accurately.

I just knew what I felt with her was amazing, and protecting her was all I could really think about.

There was the fact of protecting my friends, my family, and even the world from this disease, but the one person that came to mind first was Avery.

It probably sounded bad but I didn’t care, I just knew my feelings towards her and that they were extreme. I wanted to be with her all the time and I wanted to protect her and make sure she was never in harm’s way. Although I knew if she was with me I would be putting her right in the line of fire.

I hugged her closer, my lips coming in contact with her soft hair. I whispered, “Avery, I’m going to protect you with everything I have.”

She was lying on top of me again, and I heard a slight whispered response exit her mouth, “I know you will Andy.”

~ ~ ~ ~

I didn’t know what had come over me, when I had found out that the infamous Fred Mason had a daughter I had just got completely carried away. All those years ago when Fred was gunned down outside of this very building I had always had a hunch that he had an offspring. I had heard countless times that he had wanted out of the Protection Bureau Agency, and for why?

The only logical reason was he had something more important, and what is more important than fighting crime?

Family.

The kid Andrea, that was Fred’s reason for coming after us all those years ago. He had been so set on destroying us completely, and everyone thought it was because he was wanted. Everyone thought he was going crazy because he was paranoid and just wanted to be left alone.

But I knew the real reason all along.

Then a tall woman walked out from around the corner, her tiny framed glasses sitting on the edge of her nose. If I hadn’t been so occupied with this thought of Andrea Mason I would’ve probably eyed her down some more and spoken to her, but I refused to lose my train of thought. Her tall heels clanked against the cold linoleum floor as I stood, knowing already it was me she would be calling for.

Her stern but sexy voice rang out, “Agent Walker, Mr. Sullivan is ready to see you.”

I brushed my hands down my suit, hoping to look sharp as I ran my hands through my dark matted hair. I fixed it as I watched the secretary eye me, causing a slight victory smirk to play on my lips. I was feeling good, I was going in there confident, and I knew he would be pleased with what I had to offer.

I followed the tall secretary eagerly, watching her full hips sway in front of me. I swore she was doing it on purpose, but I knew better than to lose my focus.

I was here for one reason and one reason only.

The eager thoughts were swarming through my head as I rehearsed exactly what I was going to say. I couldn’t screw this up, I had big shoes to fill and this case I was about to propose was crucial. I knew if I ever wanted to follow in my former partner’s footsteps, Carson Mendoza, I would have to strive like he once had.

He had been the one to actually give me a chance in the first place and pull me out of my lonely cubicle within this agency.

And this was my chance to make him proud.

Before I could further think this through the secretary held her hand out, knocking on the heavy wooden door and looking at me. I gave her my best smile as I straightened my tie and nodded at her when I heard Mr. Sullivan give the secretary the right to let me in. She then winked at me, giving me my last boost of confidence before she disappeared behind the wooden door.

There he was, the Head of the Investigative Department, the one and only Mr. Sullivan. I had only met him about a handful of times but this time I was alone with him, just one on one time. His attention was entirely on me, and he looked down at his desk and puffed, “Agent Walker, have a seat.”

I walked swiftly over to him, taking his calloused hand in mine and shaking it, maybe a little too eagerly. He nodded as I spoke, “Mr. Sullivan, I must thank you for seeing me. I wouldn’t be bothering you if I didn’t have a completely logical reason for being here.”

Sullivan leaned back in his chair and looked at me, allowing more nervousness to make its way into my stomach. I had sent him a brief email of why I needed to see him, and although it was only sent a couple of days ago, I knew it had gained his immediate attention.

Which is why I was sitting here right at this moment.

He folded his hands and leaned forward, “So, you say you’re here to propose a case?”

I nodded, leaning forward as well to let him know I was assertive and ready to take action. “Yes sir, when I was partners with Agent Mendoza I-“

“Agent Mendoza! Yes, now I remember you, you were his partner for years, correct?”

I smiled in victory as I realized I was associated with one of the most important agents that had ever stepped foot in this agency. I had in fact had the honor to investigate and fight alongside with Agent Mendoza, the famous Agent that took down the most wanted man within the supernatural world, Fred Mason. I leaned back in my chair, remembering the day Agent Mendoza retired and left me to continue on without him. He and I had been best friends, we still were, but sometimes I missed working alongside him.

I continued, “Mr. Sullivan, I don’t know if you remember back when Fred Mason had been attacking us relentlessly, but I’ve always had a different… theory, I guess you can call it, of why he was doing it.”

Sullivan tilted his head, folding his hands once again as he leaned back. He shrugged, “I mean, Mendoza claimed that he went crazy cause of all the power he was housing. He felt threatened by us and he felt invincible, so his misjudgment led to his death.”

He seemed to be set on this belief, so I knew my next sentence had to be near perfect. I didn’t want to seem closed minded or too arrogant with my response, so I chose my words carefully. I leaned back, nodding to indicate I was in a way agreeing with him, I smiled, “Yes, I agree with you on his losing his sanity, he kind of snapped that night we took him down.” I paused to cross my legs and take a deep breath, attempting not to seem too eager. I continued, “But back then I’ve always known there was something more to Mason’s actions, something else was driving him crazy.”

Sullivan scratched his chin that was sporting slight stubble, he responded, “What exactly are you getting at Walker?”

I stood, holding out a finger indicating for him to give me one second. I opened my briefcase, exposing the audio and visual I had recorded a couple of days ago in Monroe of Andrea and Teal Mason. I set it lightly on his desk while explaining, “I have been watching Teal closely for the last ten years after Fred died, but I’ve always had this hunch that there was a kid in the picture.”

This got his attention immediately, causing him to lean forward, “A kid? You think Fred Mason had a child?”

I smiled victoriously at the tone of his voice, nodding, “I know he has a kid, Mr. Sullivan, I have proof right here. She goes by the name Andrea Brock, or Andy if you will.”

I played the all-too-familiar footage I had recorded, zooming in on Andrea’s face and playing back her and her mom’s conversation. I knew I didn’t have a lot of audio or visual footage, but I knew I had just enough to set off something big. I glanced at Sullivan, seeing eagerness in his dark but alluring eyes. He was already baited with the idea of Fred actually having a kid; this would only send him over the edge.

I zoomed in on Andrea’s face, sharpening the image and allowing Sullivan to get a good look at her. He whispered, “My God… she looks just like Teal.”

I smiled, “Wait, it only gets better.”

Then I played the audio and video at the same time, allowing Sullivan to watch and listen in awe.

“Bye mom, I love you.”

This caused Sullivan to gasp at the word mom, and we listened further, coming to my favorite part of the entire recording. Sullivan’s eyes were wide, and I eagerly awaited Teal’s voice to respond.

“And Andy, practice your powers before you use them… it’s for your own safety.”

I stopped the audio, realizing I needed to continue with my pitch if I wanted to get the okay with Sullivan. He looked at me anxiously as I spoke, “So, not only is she Teals daughter for sure, but take notice to how Teal tells Andy to ‘practice her powers.’ What does that sound like to you, Mr. Sullivan?”

I felt my heart beat race as I watched Sullivan’s face contort into an expression that was clearly readable as shocked. He looked up at me, his mouth in a straight line. He spoke, “She has more than one power.”

I nodded, knowing we both knew exactly what that meant. I pushed forward, “Yes, which only means one thing…”

Sullivan nodded, standing up and looking me dead in the eye, “I’m setting out a kill order on Andrea Mason, and I’m assigning you, Walker, to get it done.”

 POSTED: February 21, 2014