Chapter 8: Walking Tall Against the Rain

 

            “I love you Ria.” I said barely above a whisper as I was drawing random designs on her shoulder. I was comfortably resting my head on her chest listening to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. She stood still looking up at the ceiling as her fingers tangled themselves in my hair. We were recovering from another intimate-high, as I called it. Ria always thought it was a weird way to word things but that was the only way I could describe it. Being with Ria within itself was like a high to me. She was something that I couldn’t get enough of. I always wanted more of her and her company, her smile, her voice, her laughter, her touch…just her overall being. I was addicted to Ria in ways that I myself couldn’t understand. All I knew was that I’d go insane without her.  I came to that conclusion actually a about a month ago after our first time. I had noticed the difference just like she did. There was no such thing as lust when it came to Ria. Everything and anything with her became love. As much as I wanted to deny it sometimes, I couldn’t escape from the fact that I was beyond whipped.

 

“I love you too Aaron…so much.” She said. I smiled and raised my head to look at her. Her hair was a different color now, reminded me of sand on a beach. I preferred her original hair color but I knew she couldn’t afford to be recognized. I leaned down and gave her a sweet yet passionate kiss.

 

“You have no idea what you do to me.” I stated truthfully. She smiled and held my face rubbing her thumb across my cheek.

 

“I missed you the past couple of weeks.” She said with sadden eyes. I empathized with her and removed a piece of hair from her face.

 

“I did too.”"I responded. After a moment of comfortable silence I rolled to the empty side of the bed. Resting my head now on a pillow I turned towards her and brought her close to me."“So what did you do in that time? Any funny stories?” I asked.  She smiled and propped her head up on her arm.

 

“Well you already know about that a*****e Deborah’s into?”

“Yeah, Mr. Down-with-the-clown?” I asked chuckling at the memory.

 

“Yeah him, well I was at the store, you know that one across from the Pharmacy,”"I nodded recalling there being a department store."“So I’m there doing my job, when Deborah comes in with him. I say hi and stuff…when Deborah says she’s looking for a birthday present, so-”

 

“Whoa wait…what do you mean ‘your job’?” I asked.

 

“Exactly that…my job.” She replied matter-of-factly. I sat up and rested my head in my hands.

 

“Ria.”"I groaned."“Why did you go get a job? I told you to wait things out an-”

 

“Oh no it’s all worked out Aaron.”"Ria said with her hand on my shoulder."“My job is under Deborah. So people at work think I’m her. And that way when I get paid I deposit it in her bank account. Now I can help her with the bills and stuff. Baby, I’m still technically laying low.”

I shook my head.

 

“No…no…no…Ria no, you can’t…I mean you shouldn’t have done that.”"I said starting to raise my voice. I pinched the bridge of my nose trying not to go off on her.

 

“Aaron, we have been careful about everything, Griffon especially has made su-”

 

“Who’s Griffon?” I snapped now looking at her. She reclined back offended.

 

“Griffon’s a friend that helped me get the job to begin with.” She replied with an attitude. I ran a hand through my hair.

 

“Ria…please tell me you didn’t tell him about what’s been going on.” I said getting angry at her.

 

“Well yeah, I had t-”

 

“Ria!”"I yelled"“Do you wanna go back to the Center?! Is that what this is about?!” I turned to her breathing angrily.

 

“No I don’t but if you’d shut the f**k up for a minute then maybe I can explain to you what’s been going on!” She yelled back.

 

“That’s the thing Ria, I shouldn’t be just finding these things out weeks later! What if Jewelz picked up on it before I found out? Huh?! Then what Ria?! I wouldn’t be able to do anything after that! You think I can just watch you get sent away or possibly even worse?!” I yelled turning away from her and tightening my hands into fists. I took a moment to just breath. During that time Ria took it upon herself to explain.

 

“Look Aaron, you know I needed to do something. I told you that I couldn’t go on being a freeloader like this. But so far nothing has happened ok? If you really think she’ll notice it, then I’ll just quit. Simple as that.” She said calmer than before. I turned to sit on the edge of the bed resting my head in my hands again.

 

“Does Deborah know about this?” I asked lowly.

 

“It was partly her idea.” She responded just as low. I thought about Ria’s proposal to quit. It would definitely help but the damage was still done. Jewelz would definitely notice something in the systems sooner or later, and with Mark being desperate for any kind of connection, He’d jump on it without a second thought. And if that happened, Ria would get sent back for sure. I removed my hands from my face and turned slightly toward Ria.

 

“You have to move in with Shannon.” I said knowing that would be the only solution. They wouldn’t be able to find her there. Even if they did, Shannon would be able to protect her easily, at least better than what Deborah could.

 

“Aaron I already told you I can’t just leave Deborah and Demi vulnerable like that.” Ria said. I shook my head disagreeing with her.

 

“Ria, you’re putting them in more danger by sticking around. Sooner or later Jewelz is going to notice that something’s up and when she does, Mark will order us to Deborah’s leaving me no way of warning you.”

 

“And what about my scent? They’ll smell it in the apartment and interrogate Deborah and Demi.”"Ria moved closer to the edge of the bed and grabbed my shoulder forcing me to face her."“You know what Kristine will do to them.” Ria’s eyes showed just how worried she was.

 

“It’d be worse if she found them with you.” I argued. Ria sighed and looked away. I looked down at the floor.

 

“The friendship between Deborah and I is growing Aaron. She’s not just a Hybrid, she’s a comrade…and I can’t afford to lose any more than I already have.” Ria said now fully clothed and handing me my own. I had almost finished when I came up with an idea. I turned around to see Ria sitting on the opposite side of the bed. She looked up at me with helplessness in her eyes. Yet there seemed to be a hint of something else with it. I assumed it to be determination.

 

“Alright Ria, how about we do this,”"I started, speaking softly"“You can stay with Deborah for now, but you need to start dropping your stuff at Shannon’s house little by little every day. That way if Jewelez picks up on something and we check it out, your scent will have already started to fade and you’ll be safe until things have died down.”

Ria’s face lit up and stretched across to hug me.

 

“Thank you Aaron! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She said still hugging my arm. I smiled at her and turned myself to hug her back.

 

“You’re welcome Ria, but you need to quit the job. That, I don’t advise you to keep up with. You’ll have your chance later on Ria, but I need you to be patient for now.” I said after pulling away from her. Ria’s face fell but she still nodded understanding my point. I smiled at her and brought her back in for another hug. As much as I knew this plan would work, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wouldn’t be enough. I tried to push it all to the back of my mind, hoping that it was just due to nerves over the whole situation. But deep down I still braced for the potential impact.

 

            It wasn’t until a week or so later that an entirely different problem started to rise. I was at work, checking my emails and texting Shannon on my cell phone about Ria moving in. I knew it was risky but lately I had been staying late hours so texting was my only means to checking up on things. While all of this, the rest of the team were grabbing lunch except for Jewelz and I. She was in one of the technology labs though, leaving me as the only member in our station.

 

Everything is fine here Aaron, stop worrying. Don’t you trust me at all? Shannon replied to one of my messages. I smiled knowing she was only joking. I spun in my chair typing my reply.  

 

Well that depends, do you want my kiss-a*s answer or the truth? I joked back. I spun back around to put my phone down, only to find Mai standing in front of my desk. I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

 

“Hello…” I said wondering what she could possibly want from me. Mai stood in her place studying me. I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms waiting for her to say something…anything. Mai’s expression changed to a lighter, more friendly one.

 

“How’ve you been Aaron?” She asked. I raised both eyebrows now, not trusting this conversation at all.

 

“Fine.” I said slowly. She nodded and sat on the edge of my desk. I turned the chair slightly to face her.

 

“Good, good and things at home?” She asked suggestively. What is she doing? I thought to myself.

 

“Also fine.” I responded.

 

“Just fine?” She asked getting closer. She continued to study me. I knew she wasn’t using her ability on me nor did I think she intended to.

 

“Yeah…why?” I asked. She seemed to be forming an answer. During our pause in conversation, my phone buzzed. I didn’t know whether to look at it or not. I knew it had to be Shannon’s text reply but what if Mai peeked at it? What if she was able to somehow put two and two together? Needless to say I was nervous and wasn’t going to open that text until I knew I was safe. Mai noticed something was off .

 

“Are you okay Aaron?” She asked scooting closer. I slid my chair back inching myself away from her.

 

“Yeah…I’m perfectly fine.” I lied. She shook her head and sighed.

 

“Again with the fine-s…” She said now fully facing me from on top of my desk. I inched myself away even more. I was starting to get really uncomfortable.

 

“What’s wrong with fine?” I asked. Mai only shrugged. My phone buzzed again. I looked down at it to see Shannon’s name flashing again. I turned my attention back to Mai, not daring to read the text yet. When I looked up at her though, her eyes held something different…seduction.

 

“Aaron, you work too hard these days.” Mai said crossing her legs and looking down at me causing her loose hair to fall and hover over her chest. I had to give the chick credit. She wasn’t even really wearing anything prerogative yet she could seduce as if she did. I’m not gunna lie saying she wasn’t getting to me, but I was willing to fight it. I inched my chair back further.

 

“Humph really? I thought I wasn’t working hard enough.” I said recalling Mark’s conversation with me all that time ago. Mai shook her head keeping her stare intense on me.

 

“Oh no, quite the opposite.”"She answered extending her heel covered shoe near my leg. I inched even further to get out of her reach. The action didn’t seem to faze her at all."“If I was working so hard, I think I’d  be pretty stressed.”

 

“Well…I’m not.” I said now trying to end this conversation and make her leave. Unfortunately, it wasn’t happening.

 

“Oh but you must be stressed…maybe even just a little bit?” She said gesturing the small amount with her fingers. I simply shook my head. She slid off the desk and leaned in to whisper in my ear."“I know you’re lying…and I’m not talking about being stressed or not.” Mai then pulled away and walked out of the station. I stood there looking at the empty space where Mai just was not too long ago. She knew something. How or what she knew was beyond me, but point was, she knew something. I had never been to scared before. How did she find out? Did she even find something out? Or was she just working off of someone else’s hunch? My cell phone buzzing again brought me back. I looked around the rest of the room. It was clear. I returned my attention to my phone and read Shannon’s two text messages and one from Jewelz.

 

Everything is set, we just need your help to move stuff around in the guest room. How does Saturday sound?....Aaron, you still there? Shannon’s text messages read. I replied with a simple confirmation to help. I then went to Jewelz’s text.

 

Come to the lab, I found something. I got up and headed to the lab without even replying. As I walked out of the station and down corridors leading to the other side of the floor, I was nervous as f**k! Was it Jewelz that found something and then told Mai to get it out of me? Did Mark send her as a last chance for me to come clean? All I knew was that when it came to protecting my own a*s I had to come up with something on the spot. I didn’t even enough or really any information at all to make up something now. My mind was all over the place and my growing nerves as I approached the doors to the lab didn’t help either. Before going in, I took a deep breath reminding myself to act normal. I entered through the automatic doors and entered to see all my team members present.

 

“Oh good Aaron you’re here.” Mark said turning to me and motioning for me to come join the rest of the team. I walked up still reminding myself to remain calm and focus on what was presently going on.

 

“Alright, now you guys remember when Kathaleen was trying to psycho-analyze Ria and she mentioned that based off of certain actions, we found her to have a very high sense of pride. So I ran with that and decided to try and filter part of the system to pay close attention on those with the letter ‘R’ in their name. Now the reasoning behind that is, if Ria really is as prideful as she leads on to, then if she is under an alias, then she’ll create one with the most connection to her own name. It was with that, that I was able to find something rather interesting.” Jewelz explained. She turned to the huge screen on the wall and pointed to a list of bank deposits."“In one of the banks I noticed a few irregularities. I was able to check them all out, a few were human accounts so I didn’t bother with those, it was a Hybrid that really caught my attention.” Jewelz typed on a nearby keyboard and enlarged a Hybrid profile.

 

“Deborah Robles?” Eddie read. I subtlety looked down in frustration. I knew she’d find out. I have to let them know. Before I allowed myself to drift back into my state of worry I concentrated on Jewelez and her own theory as to how Deborah connected to Ria.

 

“Yup, see Deborah here has been having two separate deposits that are each about every other week. One is a direct deposit from a Psychology Office, and the other is a regular in-bank deposit. I looked further into it and found that the consistent in-bank deposit was also a pay-check from a department store.” Jewelz said bringing up a copy of the check made from Ria’s department store. I kept on listening.

 

“So what? Plenty of Hybrids have two jobs.” Eddie returned. Jewelz smirked and typed more on her computer. She pulled up on the screen a working schedule.

 

“Yes they do, but they can’t work at two places during the same hours.” She highlighted  hours that overlapped. I swallowed hard seeing that Jewelz really had done her research. I decided to speak up.

 

“Now how does this connect to Ria?” I asked with Mark and Kathaleen nodding in agreement.

 

“Glad you asked Aaron. I was able to locate the department store and it’s around the same area as where you guys lost her scent. My theory is that either Ria knows this hybrid, or stole her identity.” Jewelz stated proudly. I looked over to Mark to see what he would make of this.

 

“If Ria stole her identity then why would she deposit money into this Deborah’s account?” Kathaleen asked. I looked over to Jewelz who seemed to be thinking about Kathaleen’s point too.

 

“Hmm…Jewelz try looking into the bank records and get the withdrawals. If Ria did take this girl’s identity, then she’s probably taking that money out too for herself.” Mark ordered. Jewelz nodded and automatically went to the hard drive of the huge computer. She pushed her glasses back up into place and simply touched the hard drive. Her eyes reflected the loads of computer information that she was processing through. Within about five minutes, she used her other hand to touch the screen and transferred the data she found. Up on the screen was exactly what Mark had asked for.

 

“There we go…Based off of the frequent withdrawals and customary deposits every other week, I’d say that we’ve got ourselves a form of identity theft.” Jewelz said. I relaxed internally knowing that at least Deborah wasn’t suspected therefore her place wouldn’t be bombarded.

 

“So what are we going to do?” I asked.

 

“We tell her of course, and survey the area. Obviously Ria has to be there if she has a job.” Eddie said. I tried to think fast. Mark was bound to jump on the opportunity to go soon.

 

“Hold on before we just jump at this, I say we get a more detailed look at Deborah.” I said. Eddie looked at me in disbelief.

 

“Are you serious? Aaron, I think what we have is solid enough to go in and get information from this Deborah chick and maybe even find a way to ambush Ria.” He said leaning forward in his chair. I did the same.

 

“Look all I’m saying is that we should have all facts first. I mean, Jewelz…”"I turned to Jewelz"“You said this chick is a Hybrid right?”"She nodded"“Okay, and how many recent cases have there been of Hybrids not even knowing what they are? A lot. I think we should just make sure that she knows about us first, or at least badge-it. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.” I said leaning back in my chair then looking to Mark to see his response. His hand was covering his mouth in thought. He then started nodding.

 

“Yeah, Aaron’s right Eddie. We can’t risk blowing our secret, that has the highest importance over all. I say we simply badge-it just to stay on the safe side and if she points out the dragons then we know to give more in depth information to her.” Mark stated. Eddie shrugged in compliance. I checked through the corner of my eye what Mai’s reaction was, but immediately looked away seeing her eyes directly at me. From the glimpse that I had, she seemed to be trying and piece together my reasoning in delaying our mission. Normally I would’ve just gone for whatever, but instead, I put doubt in the only lead we had.

 

“You know to get our badges might take us a the most two to three days. “ Kathaleen reminded Mark. He nodded.

 

“I can try entering the system and putting our order on high priority.” Jewelz suggested. Mark got up from his seat.

 

“Go for it Jewelz, I want those badges by tomorrow the latest.” He said to her. Jewlez nodded and began on her task right away. Mark then turned to the rest of us."“That’s all we can do for today, tomorrow morning I want Aaron and Eddie to survey the area before and after our meeting with this Deborah. Is that understood?”

Eddie and I nodded. Mark then gave us all a thumbs up and left with Kathaleen at his side. I followed out not too far behind. Once I reached our station, I turned my computer off and grabbed my stuff.

“Oh and good work today Aaron.” Mark said patting my back. I smiled and him and said a quick thanks. After saying good-bye to everyone, I left. Now the only thing I had left was to warn Ria and Deborah. How was I going to do that without using direct contact?  I had no idea.

 

  

 

 

 

Author's Note

Ignore grammar errors, my best friend/ editor got lazy lolz