Emma's alarm woke her at the crack of dawn. The sky was void of light and the air was chilly. With a groan, Emma slapped the clock on her bedside table, silencing the blare.
Her limbs were still tired as she hauled herself up and staggered towards the bathroom. A moment later, she emerged, teeth cleaned, hair tied up in a high ponytail and dressed in workout clothes.
She moved lightly as she went to the kitchen, whipping up a protein shake and finishing it before heading out the door, water bottle in hand. She began her jog in the hallway as she head for the elevator. While she wait for the cab, she jogged in place to warm up her body before she went outside.
"3, 2, 1..."
Her head snapped down the hall when she heard a door open. Apartment 321, her eyes fell on Sierra. Emma contained her smile as she studied the woman. Sierra wore a grey and green sports bra with matching yoga pants and white running shoes. Her hair was up in a loose bun with loose strands curling around her face. Her eyes narrowed in on Emma as she too approached the elevator.
"G'Morning." She hit the ground floor button and waited.
"Morning." Emma glanced at Sierra, noticing the missing wedding rings.
"You jog? Where are you heading to?"
Emma shrugged. "Don't know yet. Know any good trails?"
"Not really. I usually just go around the block and through Donovan's park. You could always use the bike trail, too."
Emma nodded. "Bikes. Yikes." The elevator came, and they stepped inside. "I think I'll try your tactic if you don't mind."
Sierra shook her head. "No, not at all. It's a free country."
The elevator door opened to the lobby, and they stepped out into the wide space. The security looked up at them, his eyes focused on the unfamiliar brunette beside Sierra.
"Good morning, Joe," Sierra greeted.
"Good morning. Who's your friend?"
Sierra glanced at Emma, and their eyes met. She blushed as a familiar trill rippled through her. She looked back at Joe, struggling to regain her cool. "We're actually not friends. Emma just moved in next door."
Joe nodded, his eyes looking over at Emma again. She studied him too, adding his face to the list of people to be wary of. They exited the building and his face slipped away from her view. The air was cool against Emma's skin, providing a familiarity she never knew she missed. She breathed deeply, taking it in for a moment before she started off behind Sierra. Her eyes worked over time to study the streets as they made it around the block. She took in every apartment building and empty allies they passed, the faces of homeless people burnt in her memory.
She caught up to Sierra as they bent the corner to circle the block. Sierra glanced over at her at the sound of her approaching footsteps and their eyes locked. Suddenly she was flushed, and Emma knew it wasn't from the run. A smirk tugged at the corner of Emma's lips as she focused ahead, pushing past the blonde. Sierra watched her pass, her eyes falling to the brunette's backside automatically. It took a moment before she could pull them away and, with determined strides, picked up her pace.
They entered the park together, their steps in sync and sweat beading on their foreheads. Sierra picked up her speed, her eyes focused on the familiar path ahead. Emma followed, obedient to Sierra's lead.
Neck and neck, they flew through the park, their steps and pants the only sound around them. What started as an early morning jog was now the Olympic 100m sprint and they both wanted gold. No words spoke between them. Still, they understood what the other was thinking and came to a stop at the fountain, Sierra pushing ahead by an inch. Their breaths came out in short huffs. Sierra stood with her hands on her hips and her head held back as her chest rose and fell. Emma immediately went into a stretch, as if she hadn't just finished a hundred-metre sprint. Sierra watched her, baffled.
"I didn't think you'd be able to keep up."
"I do this every morning. It would be disappointing if I got beaten by you."
Sierra laughed. "You got beat by me, though."
Emma frowned. "I was distracted."
Sierra raised a brow. "Oh, yeah? By what?"
"You."
"Oh," Emma watched as the blonde flushed again. She took a few sips of her water to hide it, but there was no hiding it from Emma. Sierra looked around the park as if she was expecting somebody. Emma followed her gaze. Seeing no one, she continued her stretches.
"You could exit on the east side of the park and circle the block back to our apartment, or you could go back the way we came," Sierra offered. "It's really up to you, but I'm going to hang back here for a while."
Emma studied her, trying to decipher the lie, but Sierra's expression quickly became impassive, prohibiting Emma from getting anything at all from her.
Very well, Ms Richards. You win, this time.
Emma snatched her bottle from the ground and turned away, her gaze lingering. "Thank you for letting me hijack your morning run."
Sierra nodded and watched her walk away.
Emma began her jog back the way they came. The once-black sky was slowly lightening and stars dulled behind the gleams of the approaching sun. At the park gate, Emma passed another brunette. The only other jogger they'd come in contact with so far. A whiff of cinnamon and apples caught her nose as the woman passed, pulling her attention.
That was Emma's favourite scent and she'd follow it anywhere. To add to that, there was something about this woman that made Emma feel as if she was just hooked like a fish to a pole.
She stopped abruptly, the action completely involuntary, and looked back, her eyes locking with a set of emerald green ones she'd seen before. The other brunette slowed almost to a stop too, her eyes curious and filled with surprise all at once. Within a matter of seconds, it felt as if the world had stopped yet spun faster. Time seemed endless but not enough, and the air around them seemed to come alive, sparking in colours of gold and green amongst black. Emma felt as if she couldn't move from where she stood as a sudden invisible string seemed to pull her back into the park. Pull her towards the woman.
The woman.
As she stared at Emma, Emma could swear she glimpsed her green eyes starting to softly glow. Her heart pounded, a shiver rippling up her spine. "Oriane," She could've sworn she heard the woman mumbled but that could have just been her mind playing tricks on her.
With effort, she willed herself to move. To give Sierra the privacy she desired. It felt almost painful to pull her gaze away and every retreating step felt as if she was going against gravity itself. It felt unnatural. It didn't make sense. Yet, she had no time to dwell on that now. She needed to focus, on this mission, on Sierra and nothing else. Everything else had to wait. It took a minute for her to get to her apartment. From her office, she kept tabs on Sierra. She remained in the park for a while, still around the fountain, with little movement, except for an increasing heart rate.
Emma thought about heading back to see if Sierra was okay. She had an unusual feeling since she saw that brunette on her way out. She wondered if Sierra was safe. If the brunette could be trusted. Her gun was in her waist in no time and just as swiftly, she accessed the microphone on Sierra's phone, hoping to put her mind at ease.
Within the first second, she knew Sierra wasn't in danger, but that knowledge came along with the knowledge of something else she'd rather not have known. She tried hard to stop the embarrassment from consuming her, but she couldn't stop it. She muted the microphone and threw away the earpiece, her hands covering her tomato-red face.
A dull pain made her pull her hand back to stare at it, discovering a small cut on her finger that was swiftly leaking blood. Was it the earpiece that tagged her skin? Before she could think too much about it, the would stopped bleeding, her blood began to clot and dry and the cut began to heal itself.
She watched in amazement, her eyes flickering between her finger and the earpiece on the desk. She grabbed it up and dragged it against her finger again. It took three trues before she found the raw edge that wounded her the first time. This time, the cut was larger yet it healed just as quickly. Should she tell Harvey about this?
She put the earpiece on again, ready to reach out to her captain but a quick reminder that she was still transmissiting the audio from Sierra's phone made her face scrunch and her stomach churn. "God, why'd I have to hear that?" She remarked as she disconnected the audio.
A shiver ripped up her spine and she fled to the bathroom, deciding to clear her mind with a quick shower first. She couldn't believe how hard a time she was having trying to forget what she just heard or the reaction her body was having. She'd never felt that way before and she did not know what to do about it, only that she never wanted to feel like that again. Not around Sierra, not around anyone. Because she needed to think straight, she needed to focus and she couldn't do that when her body was doing whatever the fuck else it wanted and threatening to kill her by simultaneously going up in flames and having her heart race out of her chest.
Her shower wasn't quick because quick wouldn't cut it. She spent almost an hour there, and it barely helped, so she found herself on the phone with Harvey as a last resort.
"The morning is barely upon us, Emma. Please don't give me any bad news."
His voice was gruff, letting her know he had just woken up. She ignored his comment. "Good morning, captain. No bad news. Just checking to see how you were doing?"
"I'll be better when my daughter is safe."
"She will be fine." She promised against her better judgement. She knew better than to promise things she couldn't control the outcome of, but this time, she felt confident in herself and her response.
Harvey sighed with appreciation. "Thank you, LaRue. How are you? You sound flustered."
"I am fine," she told him quickly, but Harvey wasn't convinced. "Just... I heard something I shouldn't have and I just need to forget it. Tell me again not to sleep with your daughter."
"LaRue," His tone alone was enough warning and Emma involuntarily cringed.
"Nevermind. That did the trick."
"I have to go," Harvey grunted. "Duty calls. Keep me posted?"
"Yes, sir." The line went dead and Emma sighed, catching her reflection in the mirror. Her damp hair cascaded down her shoulders, stopping midway down her stomach. Auburn eyes stared back at her, studying her as much as they did anyone else, trying to get familiar with herself.
"Who are you?" she whispered, a question she asked herself more than she'd like to admit but never truly getting a response. She just seemed foreign, and every time she looked in the mirror, she saw someone else.
With a sigh, she left the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt for the day before grabbing her stuff to leave.
She exited her apartment at the same time Sierra did, meeting in the hall. Their eyes locked for just an instant, but in that moment, it felt as if time itself had stopped and forever had flown by.
Unspoken questions silently answered, brought on an awkwardness that stiffened their spines and shoulders. Sierra tore her eyes away first, as they both blushed. The sounds from the park haunted Emma all over again, and she tried hard to keep her mind from reimagining the scene, but knowing that Sierra knew she knew made the whole thing worse. Shoulders stiff, she headed for the elevator, wanting to evade the awkwardness.
Sierra cleared her throat, glancing at the brunette every few seconds. She wondered if Emma had stayed back at the park longer. She didn't remember seeing anyone at all. She and Grace made sure they were alone. She knew Emma knew what she and Grace were up to. What she didn't know was how. She glanced at the brunette again and saw her blush fading. Good. "On your way to work?" she pried.
"Hmmm."
Sierra nodded, and a second later, she spoke again. "What do you do?"
Not you. "I can't say."
Sierra frowned at Emma's response as they got into the metal shaft and rode it to the lobby. "I'm a teacher."
Emma stopped to look at Sierra, her eyes taking in her formal look. She wore a navy blue pencil dress with black conservative heels. A watch just above her right breast, along with her school's emblem and the national flag of America. She wore a grey-tone cardigan that was more white than grey, making her look more like a doctor than anything else.
Emma's lip twitched. "You're a scientist."
Sierra gaped at her, her response stuck in her throat. Emma took her silence as confirmation. "And you gathered that information because of what I'm wearing? You should know I don't dress like this every day."
They crossed the lobby to the exit, Sierra's shoes greeting the floor in small taps that Emma consoled with silent footsteps.
"No," Emma replied. She turned to Sierra, making the blonde meet her eyes. "I gathered that from you being a science teacher, the science books stashed in your apartment. The Bio Engineer degree you try to hide on your bookshelf and you have a steady hand that suggests years of intricate practice. That paired with your curiosity is a dead giveaway. Did you ever hear that curiosity kills the cat?"
She turned away and continued out of the building. Sierra struggled to keep up. "Are you suggesting I'm a cat?"
"No, but you sure enjoyed being petted."
Sierra gasped, her body flushing a light shade of pink. "Excuse me?"
"You're excused." Emma continued to her car, Sierra high on her heels, lost in the conversation that she had forgotten her destination.
Emma got into the driver's seat and closed the door, rolling down the window to watch the approaching blonde. Sierra folded her arms, her face showing mild irritation. "That was rude."
Emma chuckled, revving the car to life. She looked back at Sierra, seeing brows that pulled together and a jaw set hard enough to break glass. Her eyes lingered on Sierra's tightly pressed lips for way too long before meeting her hooded eyes.
"Do you want a ride?" She offered.
Sierra shifted her weight, taken aback by the sudden change of topic. The rings on her finger caught a beam from the sun, glimmering at Emma, mocking her. She frowned and watched. Sierra drew a steady breath as she looked around, her eyes mapping the busy street for nothing in particular. Apartment buildings towered into the sky, crowds of people rushed out from them towards parked cars. Nothing new.
Sierra met Emma's eyes once more. Her expression was impassive. "I don't want to put you out of your way."
"What makes you think you are?"
Blue orbs challenged Amber ones, because Emma's eyes had a tendency to change as the sun caught them. With tunnel visions, they battled the other's will, unaware that time had moved in slow motion. The buzz of the street was a silent hum, and the heating sun became inconsequential. The only thing that mattered was the other and the need for dominance. Emma won.
Sierra glanced away, shoulders sagging her defeat as her eyes flickered to her watch. Noting the time, she looked back at Emma, her lip stuck between her teeth. "Fine," she said, her voice levelled.
She made it around the car to the passenger's side, Emma's eyes following her like magnets. Emma got the door for the blonde to slip into the car. "Thank you," Sierra answered, her appreciation sincere.
"You're welcome." Seconds later, they were going 15 km in bumper-to-bumper traffic. They sat in silence, the noise from outside muffled by the tightly sealed windows. Emma spoke. "How long have you been teaching?"
"Long enough to despise it. I'm in my second year," Sierra answered without hesitation.
Emma went on, allowing her curiosity to steer the conversation. "What did you do before that?"
Sierra glanced at Emma with searching eyes. Still, she discovered nothing. She turned her attention back to the road ahead. "Wasted my time going to school to get a degree I will never use again. I was a Bio-Engineer."
Emma nodded, her eyes never leaving the road. "For how long?"
"Three and a half years."
Emma pulled her eyes away from the road, curiosity overwhelming her. "Three years? Why'd you give it up since you obviously don't like what you're doing now? Having experienced it, did you realise it was also not what you wanted to do with your life?"
Sierra's head snapped towards Emma. Her expression was defensive. "It wasn't my choice to give it up. I loved it." She paused and took a steady breath, her face becoming impassive with effort. "Is all of this really necessary?"
Emma shrugged as she continued to manoeuvre the traffic. "No. Not at all."
"Then why are you asking?"
"Why are you answering?"
Sierra frowned, her lips pressing tightly together as she looked away again. The traffic was looser now, allowing them to glide down the freeway. A pure vibrant blue sky, void of clouds, hosted the unforgiving sun. The heat of its penetration rose from the ground like disturbed flocks of birds. Giant buildings became miniature as they sped away from the city. A concrete jungle replaced with starving trees and cacti. The school came into view, on the outskirts of town, a two-story building next to a public library.
Emma slowed, falling into traffic behind eager parents. They crawled towards the entrance, the chaotic screams of the children piercing their ears. Emma hid her distaste, turning to Sierra as the car slowed to a stop.
"Thank you," Sierra threw over her shoulder, getting out of the car without a sparing glance at the brunette.
She threw her bag onto her shoulder as she hopped onto the concrete sidewalk. A pair of students swarmed her, chanting her name, bright smiles on their faces. She returned their smile, her face showing the most expression Emma had seen from the woman.
She watched Sierra for a while, oblivious to the impatient parents in line behind her. Her focus, misplaced, she studied the blonde, trying to imprint the image in her brain of a smile that reached her eyes. A fucking gorgeous smile, if she should say so herself.
A car honked behind her, startling both her and Sierra. Sierra looked back, her eyes locking with Emma's as her teeth sank into her lower lip. Emma held Sierra's gaze, everything around her becoming null for the seconds following. Then it ended and she could breathe again, something she didn't even realise she'd stop doing.
Sierra pulled her eyes away, her eyes falling on the children once more. With their hands in hers, she guided them into the school.
A silver sedan came up beside Emma. The driver, a middle-aged woman, rolled her window down to throw out a comment. "Move your ass! People have fucking jobs!"
Emma shot the woman a sharp glare and witnessed the woman wince. With Sierra gone, she pulled away from the curb, arriving at the cafe around the block.
Gun in waist, she headed inside, distasteful country music paining her ear. A shorter brunette stood at the cash register, giving Emma a cheerful smile. Her green eyes glowed at Emma as her scent intoxicated the woman and made her drunk. Emma tried to ignore the sudden palpitations in her chest, or the impulse to hop over the counter and close the space between them. Life didn't make sense to her anymore. First the attraction with Sierra and now this. They were different. One felt passive, the other, assertive, but both felt like they would consume Emma until she dissolved into a pool on the ground.
Like that melted popsicle she passed outside on the sidewalk.
"Welcome to Dunkin Doughnuts." The shorter woman spoke first, pulling Emma out of her thoughts, her dimples flashing with every word. "What can I get you this morning?"
"An Americano, please."
The brunette nodded, her green eyes falling to the register as she collected the order. "Who should I make this out to?"
"Emma."
"Does Emma have a last name?"
"Emma does, but you don't need it."
The woman only smiled and Emma hated that it momentarily took her breath away. Just as much as Sierra's earlier smile did. "Emma it is then."
Emma handed the woman a twenty and collected her change. She studied her while she served the coffee, sizing up her body in one glance. Suddenly, she decided it wasn't attraction she felt for this woman, it was hatred. She wondered what it was that attracted Sierra's attention. What did she have that Emma didn't? It wasn't size because Emma was taller, bigger, and it wasn't strength. She was charming, Emma will give her that, and she had a way about her that demanded your attention. Emma herself had fallen victim to that unseen force so she couldn't blame Sierra for succumbing too. Emma's eyes swept the woman's features. She was curvier. Her small waist and round hips definitely were a sight to behold and her breasts looked as if they were completely thriving in the C cups.
She didn't stand a chance against this woman.
Emma shook her head, the thought along with it, and collected her coffee with a begrudging smile. "Thank you, Grace." She said, the name rolling off her tongue all too smooth.
"Have a great day!" Grace wished, hopeful.
She made her way back to the school, parking across the street for the stakeout, and lifted her coffee to drink. The scent of marker wafted into her nose but it was the sight of the markings on the cup that made her stop. It wasn't her name like the previous evening despite Grace asking her for it. Numbers, in no particular sequence and separated by a hyphen, sat in the centre of a big red heart. Emilie stared at it confused.
"15-18-9-1-14-5?"
Was it a message of some sort? Perhaps, Grace needed her to know something. But what? What could Grace possibly need Emma to know?
She grabbed a pen and a wrinkled receipt from her glove compartment and wrote the numbers down. If this was a message meant for her, she was going to crack the code. She spent nearly an hour trying to do so but nothing she came up with made sense. It wasn't a phone number nor a birthday, a date, time, location or any chemical formula for elements on the periodic table.
"15-18-9-1-14-5." She clicked her pen restlessly while she stared at the numbers scribbled in black ink. "What do you mean?"
Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. Something she hasn't tried yet. The numbers could represent letters and perhaps, then, would form a word. She quickly rushed through the alphabet song, jotting down each letter and corresponding numbers until all twenty-six were on her tiny receipt. With that done, she started matching the numbers to the letters.
"15(O), 18(R), 9(I), 1(A), 14(N), 5(E)," She stared at the word she wrote with furrowed brows. "Oriane?"
Was it a name? Wasn't that a constellation and shouldn't it be Orion? Why associate it with her and why put it in a heart bubble? She stared at it longer. The name sparked something within her but she didn't understand why. She'd never met an Oriane before but she decided that if she should, she'd be ready. Tossing the pen and paper away, she finally drank from the cup and watched the cameras.
Grace's message was received.
Time passed slower than the day before, making a torturous moment even more unbearable. By the time math was over, and the sun was falling to the west, a quarter of Sierra's class was asleep, and so was Emma.
A loud honk woke her, and she straightened, her eyes falling to the monitor in search of Sierra. The woman was missing from the classroom and the corridors too. Emma swore, pulling up the tracker once more. A silent tap on the window stole her attention. Her eyes lock with a pair of familiar blue orbs, an awkward smile pushing up her cheeks.
Emma rolled the window down, the woman's scent creeping into the car and into Emma's lungs. "You haven't moved, have you?"
"I just got here." The lie rolled off her tongue with no problem.
"If, by that, you mean waking up-"
Emma turned her face away, guilt clouding her eyes that she didn't want Sierra to see. "Get in the car, Sierra."
Sierra sighed, still she made her way around the hood towards the passenger side. She buckled her seatbelt when she settled into her seat. "Should I even ask why you're here?"
"You just did." Emma pulled away from the curb, starting the commute to their apartment. The sun blazed outside, splattering rays into the car, threatening to blind her.
Sierra pulled down the sun visor for them both, receiving an appreciative smile from Emma. "Thank you."
Sierra nodded. "Do you want to tell me the reason you're here?"
"Want to, yes. Am I going to? No."
"Why not?"
Emma shrugged, letting the conversation die down. The buildings ahead stood like monuments as they entered the city, hiding the sun that pelted them.
"How was school?" Emma asked. A strange need to keep the conversation between them overwhelmed her.
"It was a good day. You should already know that."
"I speculate. You actually smiled at me." Emma flashed a smirk at Sierra, earning a scowl in response.
"You're unbelievable."
"Thank you."
Sierra's phone stole her attention for the rest of the ride. Emma watched her, stealing small glances whenever they stopped at a traffic light. She sat with her legs crossed at the knees, an almost impossible position to pull off in the confines of Emma's Benz. She turned slightly to Emma, carefully protecting the screen of her phone, which her eyes refused to break away from. The device dinged in her hand and she refocused her attention on it. Emma tried to decipher the flashes of emotions across her eyes and the reason behind her legs pressing so tightly together, but came up with nothing.
She felt frustrated, a feeling that only grew with the rapid pants of Sierra's breathing. Emma cleared her throat, demanding the attention the device had been getting. "You okay over there? Are you having a stroke?"
Sierra looked up, remembering where she was. She gulped and put the phone away. Her shoulders relaxed as her legs uncrossed. She ran nervous fingers through her hair, untaming the gold locks as she fixed a lie. "I'm fine."
They reached the apartment building in no time, avoiding the rush hour traffic. Emma checked the cameras at Sierra's apartment on the elevator ride up. When she was sure it was safe, she allowed Sierra to go in and bid her a good evening. Sierra lingered by her door, fingers loosely curled around the golden knob. Her hesitation breathed her loneliness, pulling a sympathy from Emma she didn't know she had.
She almost took Sierra's silent offer when she remembered why she was really there. She couldn't be that person for Sierra. Not with everything that was going on and the way strange things were happening to her. She needed to focus on her mission. Harvey specifically told her not to sleep with Sierra and if she wanted to live up to that, she had to keep Sierra at arm's reach and keep herself busy looking after her. A task that was proving more difficult the more she was around the woman.
"Emma,"
Emma met Sierra's blue eyes, a perfect, dark brow cocking in question.
Sierra chewed her lip for a moment, as if she was still contemplating what she was about to do. "Do you want to come over for dinner? Consider it a welcome to the neighbourhood?"
Emma stared at her, speechless. Those words were the last thing she expected to hear. She thought for a while, then accepted, regardless of everything she just reminded herself of. "Sure."
You're so damn soft.
Sierra led the way inside, Emma following close behind. The apartment was just the same as the day before, the beige couch the centrepiece. Sierra threw her keys in an ashtray on the end table, shrugged off her coat, placing it in the armchair with her purse, and marched to the kitchen.
She gestured to the sofa. "Make yourself at home."
The statement made Emma stiffen. A rush of sadness took her by surprise. She didn't know what one meant by "make yourself at home" since she never had one to begin with.
"Emma?" She blinked until Sierra's face came back into focus. "Do you want a drink?"
She nodded, her smile placid. "Yes, thank you."
A moment passed and Sierra returned with a glass of red wine, handing it to Emma. Emma eyed it suspiciously, her eyes inspecting the drink. "Are you trying to get me drunk, Sierra?"
Sierra gasped, appalled, her hand on her chest dramatically. Emma's eyes followed Sierra's hand but stayed on the woman's chest even when her hand wasn't there anymore. "Of course not. Do you not drink?"
"In vino veritas. Bibo, ergo sum," Emma responded just as dramatically, her nonchalance returning as she took the glass from Sierra's hand. Their fingers brushed, an act that was of no significance to Emma, but sent a familiar shiver down Sierra's spine. Emma noticed her reaction, befuddled by it, still, she said nothing.
"Red wine is my favourite," she told Sierra.
A fact Sierra knew all too well but kept a secret. Sierra smiled and made her way back to the kitchen, her legs pulling Emma's eyes as she went.
"Did you move here because of work?"
Emma found a comfortable spot on the couch. Somewhere she could watch Sierra in the kitchen. "Hmmm."
"What kind of work do you do?"
"I can't say."
Sierra turned from the kitchen sink to look at Emma, her eyes sizing up the brunette in a quick glance. Emma shifted uncomfortably and sipped her wine. Suddenly covered in cold sweat, a reaction that had to be that of the alcohol.
Sure, the alcohol.
"You look like the government," Sierra observed. Emma scowled. "Are you a cop? Perhaps the feds?"
Emma laughed. "My life isn't nearly as exciting." Her answer was evasive, but Sierra didn't fall for it.
"NASA? I know." Sierra said with more confidence, pointing at Emma with a wooden spoon. "It's The Secret Service."
"If it was the secret service, I wouldn't be here. I'll be in D. C or something, preparing to take a shot for the president."
"Well, is it dangerous?" She asked, frustrated. She moved around the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers, pulling out ingredients and utensils.
"Not if I play my cards right."
A loud thud made their gaze fly to the door. Emma's phone vibrated vigorously in her pocket, but she ignored it to reach for her gun. Her eyes locked on Sierra, who looked just as startled as Emma was. "Who is it?" Emma mouthed. Sierra shrugged to let Emma know she didn't know.
"Sierra!" Came a bark beyond the door.
Sierra stiffened, knowing exactly who it was now. Couldn't she have chosen a better time? "Hide." She mouthed to Emma.
But Emma ignored her, releasing her gun from its holster. "Are you expecting company?"
"It doesn't matter, Emilie. Please hide!"
It was the desperation in Sierra's voice that made Emma go behind the couch, crouching. "It's open," Sierra told whoever was on the other side of the door.
Emma peeked around the side of the couch, studying the woman who walked into the kitchen and right up to Sierra. Her tall, muscular frame made Sierra look puny. Still, her size didn't intimidate the blonde.
"You shouldn't be here," Sierra warned, her hand momentarily feeling out the underside of the countertop's overhang. Emma's gaze narrowed on what she was feeling for, and she smiled at the sight of a gun. She was right and Harvey was wrong.
The woman ignored Sierra, grabbing her face and slapping a rough kiss against the blonde's mouth. The action stunned the blonde and she momentarily was thrown off balance, out of range to retrieve her weapon. However, Emma had hers already aimed, her teeth gritting as anger surged through her. She hated when people touched things that didn't belong to them with no consent at all. As much as she wanted to do something about the whole thing, she kept her ground, watching from behind the couch. Only because Sierra was begging her to stay put in the million tiny glances, she sent Emma.
When the woman straightened, she looked around the place, her nose sniffing out the air like a dog. "Did you have another chick over?"
Sierra shook her head, taking a step back. "That is none of your business. This is my apart—"
A hefty slap struck Sierra's forearm as she swiftly blocked a slap to her face. She stepped back from the woman's hold, giving her a death stare. "I'm going to tell you this one last time. Do not put your hands on me!" her words spat fire but the woman was un-phased.
She stepped to Sierra again and Sierra rounded the island countertop, reaching the living room. The woman followed her, and so did Emma's gun, pointing at the woman's head as they came towards the couch.
"It's always something with you, Sierra." The woman spoke with mild irritation. "We shouldn't be together; I shouldn't touch you. Yada, Yada. But if I don't touch you, how else will I pleasure you, Sierra?"
"I don't need anything from you other than for you to leave me alone."
Anger flashed across the woman's features as she swung at Sierra again, her attacks sloppy. Before long, they were in full combat. Sierra could defend herself at least, but Emma could tell the other woman had more training.
Before long, Sierra had got her first hit, and she did well to recover from that, but not before getting hit again. She stumbled back and almost fell, pain shooting through her face. The thought of retaking self-defence classes plagued her mind.
Emma jumped from the couch, grabbing the woman by her shoulders, pulling her off Sierra with one swift movement. The woman went into the far wall on the other side of the room.
A hanging picture frame fell and splattered. Only then did Emma turn to Sierra. "Hide."
Sierra stood, her eyes never leaving Emma as the woman attacked. Everything around them faded from Emma's mind. The only thing remaining was Sierra and the need to keep her safe felt like Emma's destiny. She had to protect Sierra from this woman. At all costs. There was a burning desire to, and it was almost as if a part of her brain was going to be torn apart if she didn't.
She swung at the woman as she came, her gun connecting just at the side of her head, sending her to the floor with a loud thud.
Sierra gasped, a look of panic blanketing her face. Emma turned to her, but kept her eyes on her gun, her lips turning down into a frown at the sight of blood smears on it.
"You're safe now." She told Sierra.
With a swift wipe, she cleaned the blood and her gun was back in its holster. Her legs carried her to the kitchen, continuing the dinner that Sierra had started. She was making Emilie's mother's favourite stew. Emilie made it for Sierra a bunch of times in the past, but Emma never had it before.
Hence Sierra's surprise when Emma finished the recipe and shared a portion for her. Emma took it to Sierra in the living room, where she sat, staring at the body on the floor. The blood that pooled around the woman's head was negligible to Emma.
"You shouldn't have done that." Came her frail voice, her eyes distant and body pale.
"I have a duty to protect you," Emma told her simply. She stretched the plate out to Sierra again but received an apathetic stare.
"You need to eat something." Emma tried reasoning, but her voice came out begging. Fuck.
As if coming back to earth, Sierra blinked, her gaze flickering to Emma, shimmering blue eyes meeting auburn ones. Emma's arms faltered as a wave of emotion surged through her body at the sight of Sierra's tear-filled eyes.
You know what? Screw this.
She rested their dinners on the coffee table and took a seat next to Sierra.
"You wanna?" She held her arms open for Sierra to make her choice. Sierra went willingly, her head pressing against Emma's chest. Emma breathed deeply, her fingers instantly coming through Sierra's hair. It was soft, a lot softer than her own, and smooth, almost silky. A familiar comfort overwhelmed her, reminding her what she was missing from her unfulfilling life. "You're okay." She tried to tell the blonde.
Sierra nodded, her eyes fluttering close. Her arms locked around Emma as she basked in the feeling of being embraced by her again, preserving it as much as she could. As if she was hugging Emilie all over again, she breathed in, welcoming the slightly earthy scent the woman possessed.
"How are we looking with the AI?" Harvey walked into the lab Sierra and Emilie shared, his eyes finding the human-looking structure on the table before them. It looked complete, so much so that it now only resembled a sleeping person.
Sierra didn't look away from the magnifying glass that she used to peer at the small burst of green energy floating in a jar. "It's ready. Emilie went to grab us some coffee, but as soon as she gets back, we will install this and wake her up. Then she's all yours."
Harvey paused, turning to his daughter, his eyes landing on the jar she was studying. "Install the spirit orbs?"
Sierra looked at her father, frowning at his disapproving tone. She lowered the jar to the table, her hands burrowing into her coat pockets.
Cautiously choosing her next words, she answered him. "Emilie and I thought it would be a stellar idea to use the spirit orbs as its primary power source. We've tested it, done our research and we're confident that it will be successful."
Harvey shook his head. His hand waved in disapproval as he turned to the door. "Wake it up without it."
"But Captain-" Sierra ran after him, stopping by the door as she came face to face with him. "This could be revolutionary. The answer to what many scientists tried and failed to get right. This could be the invention of new AIs that are as intelligent as humans. They could learn as we do, feel emotions, have actual memories-"
Harvey scowled; his face hard as he looked back at his daughter. His eyes were conflicting emotions of pride and sorrow. "You're trying to play God, Sierra. That is not what we hired you to do. We hired you to build a grenade when we needed one. Do our monthly drug tests, run labs when we need them. Not make human clones and humanoids that could take over the world in fifty years when they outsmart us and realise that we are the problem. Do your damn job."
He pushed her out of the way and marched to the spirit orb, grabbed it from the table, and marched out with it.
Sierra stared after him, her heart sinking to her feet. Her lips trembled as she fought to control her anger and hopelessness. Once again, he'd snatched her dreams away from her. All the years she studied genetics and genomics, and dabbled in bioengineering, all gone to waste for stupid blood tests and urine tests. She wanted to change the world, and she had the will. Whoever said once there is a will, there is a way? For Sierra, the way was yet to be discovered.
"Here's your coffee, ma'am. Energise yourself so we can wake this baby up." Emilie announced as she came through the door. Her steps slowed when she saw Sierra's face, and her lips turned down into a frown. "Baby, what's wrong?"
Sierra shrugged, shaking her head, hoping to shake away her emotional turmoil, but shaking a tear loose instead. "Plan A is out the window. Time for Plan B."
Emilie glanced at the table where the spirit orbs were, finding the spot empty. She put down the coffee mugs and embraced her fiancée, her fingers combing through Sierra's hair instantly. Sierra went willingly, wrapping her arms around the brunette and inhaling her slightly earthy scent. "You are a brilliant scientist, Sierra Richards, and one day you will change the world. Never forget that."
"Who was that?" Emma's voice dragged Sierra from her memory, but she didn't remove herself from Emma's chest or her arms from around Emma's body.
"Angelina Kozlov." She said, her voice low as she focused on the steady beat of the brunette's heart. "My ex-girlfriend."
"The bad breakup?"
Sierra nodded in response, solidifying a lie she'd forgotten she'd told.
"You shouldn't have killed her." She told Emma.
"I had to." Emma glanced at the body, her voice holding the truth. Sierra sat up to look Emma in the face, their eyes locking immediately. Emma swallowed, willing herself to focus on the dire situation, instead of the sudden chill of the room. "She was a threat to you."
"She's more harmful to me dead than she is alive."
Confusion contorted Emma's face. "I don't understand."
Sierra removed herself from the couch, her shaking fingers tousling her golden hair. Her pace was deliberate, back and forth the length of the room, carefully missing the blood on the floor. "Angie was a part of a gang run by some Russian terrorist." The words made her shiver as she spoke them, fear terrifying her. "She was important to them." She stopped and walked to Emma, coming face to face with her.
Their breaths mingled, warming the surrounding air. Emma swallowed, barely able to breathe in anything but the scent of the woman before her. Her eyes held Sierra's, picking apart the blue specs until her gaze fell to Sierra's lips. Her throat became dry suddenly, and she barely heard as Sierra spoke her fear. "They will find us and kill us!"
"I won't let them." Emma reached for Sierra's dinner again, their eyes still holding each other's. "Eat."
Sierra straightened with a scowl, slouching on the couch again like a defiant child. "I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten all day."
"You've been spying on me or something?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "Eat something or I will feed you myself."
Sierra stared hesitantly at the plate before taking it from Emma. After a spoon, she spoke. "You don't look bothered by any of this."
Emma shrugged. "After a while, you get used to it." Her eyes studied Sierra, and she tried not to miss the contact between them. She couldn't stop the worry she felt though and, in some ways, guilt. "Are you okay?"
"I am," she told Emma, her words lacking conviction.
Emma just nodded. "Sure, you are."
They fell silent as Sierra pushed around her food, taking a bite only when she looked up and saw Emma's glare on her. Emma shook her head, feeling as if she was dealing with a toddler who refused to have their veggies. In her head, thoughts befuddled her. Thoughts on the many reasons Sierra would still trust her after seeing her kill a woman. Her ex-girlfriend. Why would she trust Emma at all? At first, Emma thought it was innocent, and Sierra was just oblivious to what was going on around her. But now she knew there was more to it. There had to be more to it. It had to make sense and right now, it didn't.