Author's Note: The last two sections of this part take place after
"First Breath." Enjoy!
* * *
Friends will keep you sane,
Love could fill your heart,
A lover can warm your bed,
But lonely is the soul without a mate.
--David Pratt
The mid-morning sun spilled in through the narrow gap in the dark
brown drapes as Erin began to awaken. She rolled over onto her back
and winced as her hair caught in something sharp on the pillow.
Opening her eyes, she twisted her head to glance up at the object. It
was a single white rose, resting beside a note marked My Angel.
Smiling at the sweet gesture, Erin pushed herself up on her elbow and
opened the note, which read:
Erin,
Sorry I won't be here when you awaken, but I have another busy day
ahead of me and if I stay for one moment longer to watch you
sleeping, I won't ever want to leave. I want to thank you for last
night and I hope that it won't be the last that we share.
Until then, know that you have brought the first genuine smile to my
face and happiness to my heart in many years.
-Ron
Her smile growing, Erin placed the note on the bedside table and
breathed in the faint aroma of the rose. Despite her earlier
reservations about her actions, she did not regret the previous
evening. It had been one of the most intensely passionate nights of
her life, one she would not soon forget.
* * *
One hour later
Opening the creaky door, Erin entered the apartment as quietly as
possible. She wasn't one to spend the night away from home without
notice and didn't really feel like listening to a lecture from her
roommate. If she could just sneak into her room...
"Erin Louise Morgan, where the HELL have you been?!"
Freezing in mid stride, Erin winced and turned to see her friend
standing in the kitchen. "Robyn, I didn't think you'd be up this
early," she said, trying to sound innocently surprised.
"Where were you?" the shorter woman asked, glaring at her friend.
"It's not like you to stay out all night without so much a Global
call. That job of yours aint exactly paper filing, for all I knew you
were lying in the hospital beaten to a bloody pulp. I warned you
about the things that go on in there. So where were you, missy?"
"Wow, calm down. I'm sorry that I didn't call, but I thought you and
Derek could use the extra time alone. I finished work early so I went
to a friend's place."
"A 'friend'?"
"Yes, a friend. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for
class."
"Oh no you don't. Exactly who was this 'friend'?"
"Someone from the club, that's all," Erin insisted.
"You mean a client?"
"Yes."
"Erin, that was your first night on the job and you shack up with the
first guy you meet?!" Robyn yelled, astonished.
"No, it wasn't like that. Well, not exactly, anyway. It's just that
this guy is so... nice. I tingle all over when he touches me. But
it's not infatuation or pure lust, it's something more than that. I
can't explain it."
"Tingle all over? You sound like a love-struck school girl. Which you
are, more or less!"
"Look, I don't expect you to like it or to understand why I did it,
but I don't need a lecture from you. You're supposed to be my friend.
I didn't hassle you after you slept with Derek on the first date. So
can we please just forget it?"
Robyn sighed but nodded her agreement. "Sure. I'm sorry, I was just
worried about you," she apologized.
"That's okay, it was thoughtless of me not to call. And before you
ask, no, it doesn't mean that I'm going to sleep with every guy that
walks into the club," Erin reassured her friend.
"That's good to hear. So, who was this guy that's got you smitten?"
"Sorry, my lips are sealed. But I can say that he's a Companion
Protector," Erin revealed with a mischievous smile.
Robyn's eyes widened. "Please don't tell me it was Major Kincaid. The
idea of him going to a place like that really doesn't fit with the
image I have of him."
Erin couldn't help but laugh. They'd both met the young Major at The
Flat Planet several times over the past few years and were both
rather taken with him. "No, it definitely wasn't Liam."
"Good... So, er, is it true what they say about CVIs increasing
stamina?"
"Robyn!" Laughing, Erin playfully slapped the shorter woman on the
upper arm.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist. So, is it?" she prompted, grinning.
"You have a dirty mind, you know that?"
"So people claim. Now come on, tell me. I told you about that little
'problem' Derek has."
"Yeah, well I could've done without knowing that. I can hardly keep
from laughing every time I see him. But you're not gonna stop asking
if I don't, are you?"
"Nope."
Sighing, Erin finally confessed with a shy smile, "Yes, it's true.
Very true."
Both women burst into a fit of giggles.
* * *
Taelon Embassy, Two weeks later
A cold, triumphant smile curved Sandoval's dark lips as he ambled
down the ramp leading out of Da'an's office. Though initially
reluctant, the Taelon diplomat had eventually accepted the Kryss
Sandoval had to offer. It had been four days since Da'an had began
taking the synthetic substitute and after Sandoval's constant
temptations during those four days, the Taelon could resist the
cravings no longer.
Of course, aiding a Taelon in his addiction by providing the very
substance that he craved was not a thing to be happy about. But
Sandoval had made a deal and he wasn't about to back out of it now.
And this could prove extremely beneficial for me and my plans in the
long run. Da'an is dependant on me now and I intend to keep it that
way for as long as he serves a purpose.
Arriving at the Embassy exit/entrance, Ron checked his watch - 10:30 -
and was about to head for his car when Tate came up behind him.
"Hey, boss. I think you'll wanna take a look at this," the other
agent announced.
Turning to face the shorter man, Sandoval took the datapad Tate was
holding out to him and scanned its contents.
"It's the latest sensor data from Jaridia," Tate explained as Ron saw
that for himself. "She sent another transmission last night."
"Have you determined the exact target location of the signals yet?"
"Other than Earth, no, not yet."
"Keep on it." Ron handed the datapad back to his underling and
resumed his course to the employee parking garage.
It was getting late and Erin was probably more than a little annoyed
with him for having not so much as called her over the past two
weeks, but Ron needed someone to talk to after the week and a half
he'd had.
Nothing had gone according to plan with the Jaridian/Marquette
situation; the Jaridian High Command had broken contact with him for
the time-being; his position with Zo'or was growing more and more
tenuous by the day and Kincaid and Palmer were really beginning to
irritate him. All those factors combined had made for a pretty
hellish few weeks. The highlight of which had been the night he'd met
Erin, just twenty-four hours prior to the arrival of the Jaridians.
I have to see her.
Quickening his pace, Ron walked hurriedly but calmly through the
beautiful Garden and out onto the street.
* * *
Erin's apartment
Sinking deeper into the warm, rose-scented bath water, Erin sighed
contentedly, savoring the soothing water and taking in the haunting
melody flowing into the bathroom from her portable stereo.
After a long, tedious day of classes and an evening of work, relaxing
in the bathtub, listening to her favorite CD, was the perfect way to
wind down and end the hectic day. Robyn was spending the night at
Derek's, so she had the whole place to herself for once.
Suddenly a loud knocking came over the baby monitor that the two
young women used for occasions such as this, startling Erin's eyes
open.
"Dammit," she hissed quietly, sitting up. "Just when I get a free
moment to myself..."
Reaching for the towel, Erin got to her feet and stepped out of the
tub, wrapping the towel around herself as she did so.
As the knocking continued, she switched off the stereo and donned her
robe. "Just a sec," she called out on her way across the living room.
Upon opening the door, Erin's intense blue eyes widened a little in
surprise. "Ron. What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to cover
her delight with surprise at his unexpected presence.
The Protector looked troubled about something, and somewhat uneasy
about just showing up on her doorstep at this time of night. "I hope
you don't mind me coming by so late, but I needed to see you," Ron
informed quietly. "May I come in?"
"Uh, sure." She stepped aside to allow the agent entrance, then
re-locked the door and followed him over to the living room. "Can I
get you something to drink?"
"No, thank you," Ron declined, removing his coat, setting it down on
the back of an armchair. "I want to apologize for not calling you
these past weeks."
Erin graced him with a warm, gentle smile. "It's okay, you've been
busy. I understand. Please, have a seat," the young woman invited,
sitting down on the cream-colored sofa.
Ron smiled back weakly and took the seat beside her.
"So, why are you really here?" Erin asked after a moment of brief
silence.
Ron looked up at her in askance.
"I can tell you didn't track me down just to see me, or for the sex,
for that matter. It's almost undetectable, but something's bothering
you. You hide your true emotions well, Agent Sandoval," she noted
soberly.
Ron's smile widened slightly. That was another thing about Erin to
add to the list of similarities she shared with DeeDee. The late Mrs.
Sandoval had been the only other Human being with a talent for
reading his carefully shielded thoughts and emotions. The smile
quickly faded, however, as Ron remembered the reason for his being
there. "I killed a man," he finally revealed in a small voice. "Two,
actually. One was a clone."
The shocked gasp or the horrified look that he'd expected to get from
Erin did not come. Slowly raising his eyes to meet hers, he found the
young woman's expression unreadable but compassionate understanding
twinkling in her deep-blue eyes.
"Why did you do it?" she asked softly.
"Because they were a threat, a liability to the Taelons." Releasing
his breath in a sigh, he added, "And because Zo'or wanted them out of
the way."
"Then you had no choice but to do it. You were compelled to action by
your motivational imperative to fulfil Zo'or's wishes."
Ronald sighed again and averted his gaze, staring down at his lap.
"No... My CVI's imperative no longer compels me to do anything," he
confessed. "I broke free of its influence, its control, long ago."
Erin's seamless brow furrowed in mild confusion, her eyes mirroring
the disgust and shock that Ron had anticipated earlier. "Then why
would you do such a thing? It thought there was no basis in truth to
those claims the Resistance makes about you."
"I do the things I do because I need to be in the Taelons' inner
circle," Ron explained defensively, looking back up at her. "I can't
tell you everything, but you have to know that I'm not completely
opposed to the Resistance's ideals. I want the Taelons exposed for
what they truly are as much as the Resistance does."
"Then why don't you join the Movement? I'm sure your intimate
knowledge of the Synod and their plans could be useful to them,"
Erin suggested, her eyes softening again.
"I won't do that because they'd never trust me, no matter how much I
could help them. And because I don't completely support their
actions, either."
It was Erin's turn to feel uneasy now. She looked away from him and
began toying with her robe cord. "I think there's something you
should know about me..."
***
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