Rouge

Rouge - Chapter Nineteen

When Hunter heard the apartment door open and the sound of Joshua’s expensive shoes on the tiles, she switched off the television and gave him a welcoming smile.

“You’ll never guess what I did today.”

Joshua set his briefcase on the bench top and undid his cufflinks. “I hope it was practicing control.”

“Yup,” she said. “But in a much more entertaining way. I dried my washing, except I accidentally burned two of my T-shirts and an old pair of sweatpants, but eventually I got the technique right. And I cooked lunch without using the stove.”

“Well, then there was no point in fixing it was there.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an almost warm smile. “I’m proud of your self-control, Hunter. Soon you’ll be off to school without a second thought. Anyway, what made you suddenly so understanding?”

“I realized something today. That there’s no taking away the fire, so I might as well get used to it being here. It’s a part of who I am. Maybe one day I can use it for heroic things.”

Joshua’s face fell. “Hunter, you can’t use your powers like that.”

“Why? Not using my powers would be like … winning the lottery and choosing to put it away in the bank instead of using it to solve world hunger. It’s selfish.”

There was something in Joshua’s eyes that started to scare Hunter. He joined her on the sofa, staring out at the beautiful city view and the slowly sinking sun, clenching his fists together.  “Look, I know that when you think of people with powers, you think of capes and masks and saving the world. But I care about you too much to let you get yourself into trouble.”

Hunter turned to him, kicking one leg up on the couch. “Joshua, what are you afraid of?”

His eyes drifted to hers. She’d never seen fear there. Real fear. Nervousness, awkwardness, worry, sure. But never dreaded fear.

He exhaled hard. “I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“I lied when I said there aren’t people out there like you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“I mean, there aren’t people with your exact powers, but there are people with gifts. Abilities. And when there are people with abilities, there are people who want to do them harm.”

“Like … lock me up in a lab and stick needles in me?” she smiled jokingly. Joshua nodded and Hunter’s heart sunk. “Oh. How do you know that?”

“I came across them during my research. They were working with the labs in Sweden. When I destroyed all the manufacturing companies, they somehow discovered my identity and had people called Agents follow me. These men knew I had been working on a formula. I was afraid they were watching me, watching you, so I hid all traces of the stone and Feucotetanus in the basement and pretended I knew nothing. They never came back.”

“And how did you destroy these labs, Joshua? I want to know the truth.”

He shrugged immodestly. “I did my research, posed as a scientist and cut them open from the inside. It did take some time, but there were only two labs, and they were very small and secret.”

Despite the pride in Joshua’s tone, Hunter had to admit she was a little afraid of him. If he had the ability to destroy a super-secret drug in a foreign country, what else was he capable of?

“Point is, they’re gone forever,” he added. “But the Agents … they’re still out there.”

Hunter was slowly zipping and unzipping her jacket, feeling a nervous energy rise inside her. This was why Joshua was always so over cautious of her. Why he felt the need to call her fifty-billion times when she was out. Why he became sick with worry after she ran away. Joshua was afraid these ‘Agents’ would find her.