The Report - Part 7

By Katrose

In the overcrowded space he called home, Gabe examines his latest acquisition, a stone dagger purported to be 15,000 years old. A collector in South Africa had been after him for years to obtain one. Looks like he would be able to complete that request soon.

He was gently polished the stone, when he felt a presence behind him. He turned slowly, holding the dagger at the ready should he need it, only to find the dagger swiftly taken from his hands and placed out of reach.

"Nottingham!" he exclaimed. "Make some noise, would ya."

Nottingham gently turned the dagger in his hands, studying its lines and surface. With regret, he put it down on a shelf to his left, just out of reach of Gabriel.

"Lady Sara is in trouble and needs your help," he said softly.

"Yeah? With what?" Gabe said with deliberate nonchalance.

"There are forces working against her. She doesn't know who to trust. She may turn to the wrong one if you don't intervene."

"Me? Why not you?"

Nottingham had nothing to say to that. He couldn't. If he admitted that Sara didn't trust him, he was admitting his worthlessness in her life. Instead he kept silent, hoping Gabe would accept his words at face value and not delve any deeper.

Gabe faced Ian squarely and asked again, "Why not you?"

Ian's face darkened and nearly spit the words out, "You are the only one she'll listen to. Do it for her."

"What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Pez, this crazy guy says you can trust me, but no one else.' Like she'd believe that."

"Do whatever it takes. She needs you and you're the only one that can save her. Don't let her down." Nottingham turned and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Gabe could only shake his head and wonder what nonsense was really up with that guy.

Thinking back to his earlier conversation with Sara, he had to agree with Ian on one thing�she was bound to trust the wrong person in her current state of mind. She did need him. Now the question was, how to get to her.

~~~~~~~~~

Sara parked her bike in front of the library and sat for a few moments to collect her thoughts and figure out exactly what she needed to find inside.

What she really wanted was to confront Jake about his lies, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. She wouldn't believe most of what he said and it might end up making things worse between them and for them. Best to set her mind to doing the research and figuring out if the past could help the present.

She headed for the history section of the library. Looking in the computerized card catalogue, she located a number of books regarding Joan of Arc, but virtually nothing on Cathain. Figuring half was better than nothing, she went in search of the books.

Dropping her load of 10 books on the table, she started reading about the life of Joan of Arc. Most of what she read was common knowledge. Nothing specific about the Witchblade. Not that that surprises me, she thought, but nothing out of the ordinary either. Nothing about a lover or even a priest that tried to save her. But Sara knew that it had happened. She abandoned the history section and went in search of myths.

There she had better luck. She found a couple of books with simple paragraphs or even chapters on Cathain. Not a lot about the priest that came to the camp, but more than she found in history. She also found a few references to a priest that tried to intervene in Joan's death, but not a lot of detail.

She wandered the shelves, pulling books here and there and taking them back to her table. Her stomach growled. Looking at her watch, she realized that hours had passed and she was virtually alone on the floor. Figuring she could use the break, she left the books and headed down to the coffee shop on the first floor.

She noticed a man sitting in the corner reading intently. If not for the furtive manner in which he kept the documents covered, she probably wouldn't have paid him any attention. It was then she realized it was none other than Jake. Taking a deep breath, she approached his table.

"Hi," she said.

He looked up sharply, as if he expected to find the enemy in front of him. When he realized it was Sara, he face relaxed for a moment, then tensed again. "Hi," he replied.

When no invitation was forthcoming, Sara pulled out the extra chair and sat anyway. "What's with the paper?"

"Nothing," he said, shuffling the paper into piles that hid the topic. "Just doing some research."

"On what?"

"Oh, um, our latest case."

"Can I see?"

"Um," he slurred, "not sure if I have anything yet. Can I show you when I get it organized?"

Sara was beginning to enjoy Jake's discomfort. It almost made up for the lies he'd been telling. "I'd rather see them now," she insisted, reaching for the top paper.

Jake tried to keep the papers from her, but she managed to grab one. Flipping it over, she saw the same article that had caught Jake's attention hours earlier. "Wha?" she started.

"Yeah, I had pretty much the same reaction," he said. "Care to explain it to me?"

"Me explain it to you?" she exclaimed. "Seems you have more than a little explaining to do too."

"Probably more than you know," he mumbled.

...to be continued