How to Save a Hero [ManxMan]

Chapter Thirteen: Interview or Interrogation? - Part Two

~Chapter Thirteen: Interview or Interrogation?~

It is near the end of the short drive to a kind of shady part of town that I come to a stunning realization, all thanks to a stone statue in a park we passed by. "When you turn completely into a gargoyle, do you have wings?" I ask, feigning innocence.

Aldis glances at me before returning his attention to the road as the light turns green. "Yeah, why?"

I wait until we reach the next stop light before punching him none-too-gently on the shoulder, making him startle. "You were spying on me a couple of weeks ago, from that medieval food pod," I accuse. I get all the answer I need when he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

"It wasn't intentional. I saw you alone and wanted to make sure you were safe," he explains, though it is a pretty flimsy excuse.

"You could've just said 'hi'," I point out, because I would have been eager for his company, even if just for a few minutes while I got the food.

Aldis shakes his head in denial. "You were in uniform and I didn't want to interrupt you if there was an arrest or something going on."

I grimace and look out the window. He has a point; that'd be a bad thing to interrupt. "Sorry," I apologize, gesturing towards his arm.

He just smiles, though, not at all bothered. "You're cute when you're mad," he chirps, and I have to resist the urge to poke his face in an attempt to remove that smug smile from it.

The last five minutes of the drive are silent, but that is more due to us both being nervous than actual awkwardness. The nearest 'office' turns out to be a two-story building across the street from a seedy motel in the middle of an empty block. We are close enough to the Willamette River that I can hear it in the background, though not close enough to see it.

Aldis leads me inside the building, which has the title 'Outcast Keep' written on the heavy wooden door. A weird name for a weird place, I think as I step into the well-lit lobby and let the door swing shut behind me. There are multiple rooms branching off the main one, each hidden behind symbol-decorated doors. Only one of them I understand the meaning of and that is the bathroom, since it has gender symbols all over it.

It could also be an orgy room, but I'm still sticking with bathroom for now.

The main room looks just like a waiting room, and it even has magazines on a small glass table to add to the effect. Only one other person is in the room and they barely even glance up before returning to reading some celebrity gossip rag. Aldis does not stop in the main room, though, but instead takes my hand and leads me to one of the doors which has an arrow pointing upward. When he opens the door, there is a staircase.

"How many of these places are there?" I ask, as we go up the stairs. At the top, there is a large landing and it leads to three different doors. None of them have symbols, but this does not stump Aldis, as he heads straight for the one on the left.

"In this city? Three. In the world? A lot more," he says, and then opens the door. Inside is a small meeting room. There is a large square table and about fifteen to twenty chairs around it. However, only one is occupied.

The man waiting for us looks younger than me by at least seven or eight years, though considering the fact that he is probably Aldis' boss, he cannot be as young as he looks. His hair is almost black and reaches his shoulders – a hairstyle that might look stupid on a lot of people, but not him. Since he is sitting in the furthest chair from the door, I cannot accurately gauge his height, but he is probably average. All-in-all, he is attractive, but something about him makes me want to edge towards the door and he is not even looking at me yet.