(#1) Roommates by Day, Enemies by Night

Chapter 35

He checked his watch. "You slept in that late?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I was really exhausted after last night, running around all five boroughs and watching over the entire city." I slumped down to the floor, my back against the door.

I nearly fell asleep right then and there, but Jake placed a warm cup of coffee in my hands and lightly slapped me across the face. "I think you need some caffeine in you, then you'll be fine."

I drank some of the coffee and felt the caffeine course through my body. I didn't instantly perk up, but I felt more alert than I had in awhile, so that was good.

"Thanks." I murmured.

"No problem." He slapped me on the back and seized my arm, dragging me up. "Now, it's 1:45, I suggest you be on your way to St Patrick's.

I took his advice and got dressed quickly, finishing my coffee in one big gulp and tossing the cup into a recycling bin. I drove to the location, but was late, due to the immense amount of traffic that was clogging up the roads. Typical. Accidents spike on of after New Year's Day, due to the increased amount of drunk people driving on the road. By the time the roads had cleared up enough for me to get the the church, it was already 2, and I was running late.

I drove quickly the rest of the way there, and changed in the car. Parking a few blocks away, I jogged around the corner to where Black Hawk and I had been last time.

I saw her standing there, with her back to me. Even just from studying her this far away, I could tell she was tensed and uncomfortable, but confident at the same time, like she was trying to be cool, but not in reality.

"Hey." I said, jogging up behind her.

She whirled around and greeted me with a nod. "You ready to get started?" Her tone was icy, cold as the Antarctic. Ok, so we were back to pre-alliance Black Hawk. I could deal.

"Yeah, sure. Now, where did we find the clue last time?" I started walking around the church, looking up and down the building.

"We didn't." She answered simply. "We were still looking for it when I had my little pathetic fainting match and you said I had to take time off. Which, by the way, left me very bored for the past week!"

"Alright, then we find it." I offered, pushing aside some brambles that were creeping up near the church.

"Oh, I already found it." She revealed, smirking.

"Well where is it?" I said indignantly. "We don't have that much time to find it. That faster we find Gemini, the faster we can defeat them." I snapped.

For a second, I thought I saw hurt flash in her eyes, but I told myself I was just seeing things. Black Hawk doesn't get hurt. She's cold and unfeeling. As soon as these thoughts crossed my mind, the hurt vanished, and her eyes regained that cold, detached look.

"Over here." She led us to a patch of vines near the back door, and pushed them aside to reveal the symbol, scratched out near the grate on the side of the building, near the ground.

"Great." I muttered, pressing my fingers to the symbol. Sliding over like usual, it revealed the next in what seemed to be a never ending pile of clues. The next thing you know. I was going to be running around, searching for these all my life.

"The next place you go is a difficult one, the place where people lost dreams and then some. It's quiet place, storied in the past, for the lives of people across the pond, are sure to last. You must find the favorite of a child in need, the candy that delights him, causes him to stuff his face full of greed."