Pathline (10 page)

Rune found her travel b
ag sitting in the open closet, then went over to adjust the thermostat a few degrees higher. 
She took off her jacket and tossed it on a chair by the windows, turning to face Rook who had sat on the bed and was flipping through the hotel's entertainment guide. 

"They have a few decent movies on here, what do you say we order up a bottle of wine and watch one?" Rook asked
,
as she came over to join him. 

"Sure," Rune answered as she stacked up the pillow
s behind her,
"
j
ust try not to choose an expensive bottle, I feel bad putting this all on the agencies tab"
.
 

Rook chuckled.
"
Y
ou're quitting remember? You should take advantage while you still can
.
" 

Rune shook her head at him, but smiled
.
"
W
hat happened to keeping grounded roots?"

Rook smiled back at
her as he reached for the phone.
"
T
his is a one of a kind special circumstance" he said
,
with a wink. 

Rune laughed,
kicking off her boots and
laying back on her pile of pillows.  After Rook placed the room service order he grabbed the TV remote and
started
one of the movies for them. 
Rune smiled when she realized which movie he'd picked; it was an adaptation of a book that Rook had read to her when they were young, it had come out the previous year but she hadn't gone to see it because it reminded her too much of him. 

"We read the book together, makes sense that we should watch the movie together" Rook said, settling in beside her. 

About
fifteen
minutes
later there was a knock on the door from room service.  Rook paused the movie and stood up to open the door.  The hotel attendant rolled in a cart with a bottle of wine chilling in a tub of ice, two wine glasses, and a covered silver dish. 

Rook gave him a t
ip the
n
closed the door
.
"I ordered strawberries with cream, I remember ho
w much you used to like them" he said
,
as he took the lid off the dish. 

He placed the plate on the spot between them on the bed, then opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a full glass. 
It had been ages since Rune has eaten strawberries with
cream;
she took one off the plate and ate it slowly
,
savoring it. 
She caught Rook watching h
er, a smile on his face, but then he turned and restarted the movie. 
Halfway through the movie and the bottle of wine Rune started to get sleepy and found herself nestling next to Rook, the strawberry plate between them long since discarded empty to the floor. 
Rook rested his cheek against the
top of her head and continued
watch
ing
the movie. 
By the time the credits started to roll Rune had fallen asleep against Rook's shoulder. 

He kissed her forehead lightl
y, gently pulling away from her.
"I'd better get back to my room love
.
" 

Rune yawned and sat up as he stood
.
"
O
kay.  Have a good night Rook
.
" 

He walked to the door and
turned to her as he left.
"
Y
ou too Rune, sweet dreams
.
"

She slept in late the next morning, not eager to leave the comfortable warm bed and get back to the world.  She showered and dressed, then decided to see if Rook was up to grabbing some brunch at the hotel restaurant.  Rook
answered the door fully dressed
and seemed to have been up for
some
time
. 

"Good morning sunshine, you finally hungry?" Rook asked
,
as she stepped into his room. 

"How long have you been up?" she asked, settling down into a chair. 

"A few hours, but I didn't see any reason in waking you.  I've managed to get us a
W
anderer for our outsider team, you remember Wraith?" 

Run
e thought about it for a moment.
"
H
e was the one who used to own the neighborhood gym right?" 

Rook nodded, p
utting things away into his bag.
"
Y
eah, that's him.  He works as a mercenary recruiter
now;
I was finally able to get a hold of him this morning, sounded happy to be working a job again ins
tead of just hiring for them.  You want to head down and grab something to eat?" 

Rune chuckled.
"
T
hat's ex
actly what I came to ask you.  Do you think we should
invite
Eri?" 

He didn't seem too pleased at the idea, but shrugged his shoulders
.
"
Sure."
 

They walked a few doors down to Eri's room.  It took her a while to answer the door, and she was still in her robe when she did. 

"Rook and I are heading downstairs to grab some brunch, care to join us?" Rune asked. 

Eri looked between the two of them, running her hand through her hair
.
"I had a little too much fun at the lounge last night, how about you two just have some food and strong coffee sent up to my room when you get down there?" 
She stepped back into her room and closed the door without waiting for a response. 

Rook snorted.
"
S
he does have a way about her doesn't she" he said
,
as they headed towards the elevator. 

When they reached the restaurant entrance they placed the order for Eri then headed to a table by the windows facing the bay. 
They enjoyed a nice brunch, catching up,
and then
headed out to take a stroll along the bay. 
Rune used the opportunity to bring Rook up to speed on the details of the
C
harger attack. 
They returned to the hotel by mid-day to get ready for their flight. 
Eri was dressed and waiting for them in the hotel lounge, chit-chatting with another guest. 
They all headed upstairs to their rooms to grab their bags, checked out, then Eri drove them to the city airport. 
They grabbed a quick snack at the airport food court then headed to their terminal where boarding was about to begin.  Rune sighed to herself as she noticed that they had first class seats. 
The flight was uneventful, with them arriving in the early evening. 
There was an agency car waiting for them at the curb, and they had a quiet drive back to NSDA headquarters. 
Eri got on her phone as th
ey drove up and her assistant, A
gent Roberts, came out to meet her. 

"The rest of the team is assembled in the main training room awaiting your arrival.  We figured that we'd do basic introductions then set everyone free for the night" he said
,
with a questioning look to
Donovan
. 

"Sounds good Eric, I hope things have gone smoothly in my absence?" she asked in return. 

Agent Roberts nodded.
"
P
retty good, they have the basic hang of using the electromagnetic equipment by now and have
begun
to device possible defenses
.
" 

Rune and Rook followed behind them as they lead the way.  Rook glanced around as they walked through the buildings, a slight frown on his
forehead
.  Rune found herself feeling a bit numb as she walked through the familiar surroundings. 
They made a quick stop at the desk of the
Director's
personal assistant so that Rune could drop off her written and signed resignation letter. 
When t
hey reached the ent
rance to the main training room they
could see the rest of the
unit
standing idly inside. 
The
group
turned towards the new arrivals as soon as
Donovan
and Roberts entered the room. 
The
H
eads of
G
overnment and
Military, as well as the agency D
irector
,
where there as well. 
Agent Roberts stood aside and let
Agent
Donovan
take the lead as soon as they approached the
H
eads and
D
irector. 

Donovan
walked up to the
D
irector and
H
eads, no
dding, then motioned behind her.
"I'd like to introduce you to the
C
harger Rook who's thankfully agreed to assist us in this venture
.
" 

The
D
irector step
ped forward to shake Rooks hand.
"
T
he agency is very thankful of any assistance you can provide to get this matter settled with as quickly and smoothly as
possible
.  Welcome
.
" 

Rook
shook
his hand and nodded
.
"
T
hank y
ou.
I'll do what I can
.”  He
also
nodded
to the
M
ilitary and
G
overnment
H
eads. 

Donovan
then lead them over to the where the
unit
was standing, behind their corresponding tactical leaders. 

She
wa
lked over to Malik's team first.
"Rook, this is the
D
efend
er Malik, head of Tactical Team-
I
.
" 

Malik stepped forward and shook Rooks hand, both eyeing each other carefully but putting on a friendly face
.

"
A
n honor"
Roo
k said
,
as their hands met
.

Malik nodded. 

"Behind him stand the
D
efender Catha,
W
anderer Blythe,
R
unners Suri and Delph, and
S
ky
W
alker Felix"
Donovan
continued, as the supers each nodded as their names where mentioned. 
She
then
walked over to where Serk stood.
"
T
his is the
D
efen
der Serk, head of Tactical Team-
II, the team you and Rune have been assigned to
.
" 

Serk reluctantly stepped forward to shake Rooks hand, neither said anything. 

"Behind him stand the
D
efender Ash,
R
unner Helo, and
S
ky
W
alker Nave"
Donovan
stated
,
as the supers nodded in response. 
"Well, that takes care of the introductions.  You're all free for the night, report first thing tomorrow for the start of formal
strategic
and tactical planning."
She
glanced at
those gathered, turning on her heels and heading out the door with her assistant close behind her. 

The rest stood
hesitantly
for a moment, quietly looking at
each
other. 

T
he Director stepped forward.
"Rune, I'd like a moment if you would
.
" 

Rune turned towards the D
irector and nodded
.
"
O
f course
.
"
T
hen
followed him out of the room, glancing back once to look towards where Rook and Malik stood near each other. 

They headed
into a nearby open
office;
the D
irector took a seat behind the desk and motioned for Rune to sit. 
"The Head of Government spoke to me about your intent to resign, and needless to say we're very concerned about it.  I was hoping that this break would help you clear your head and
reconsider;
you're a very valuable asset to this agency Rune.  I know that
W
anderers don't always get the recognition they deserve, but the work you do here is very important to our overall functioning
and
is
greatly appreciated by the agency senior staff
."