ARROW BERLIN
The afternoon was cool, a light breeze constantly blowing. The sky blue and bright with an overall softness to its appearance. Clouds sail by gently, the wind guiding and shaping them, their white edges dispersing now and then. Warm rays of sunlight shine through them, bathing the earth in its bright natural glow. Beneath the shade of a tree's leaves, Arrow lay on the soft grass staring up at the sky – Tears slowly escaping the corner of her eyes. She kept herself from crying earlier as she comforted her younger brother – But now, surrounded by the solace of the quiet outdoors, she allows herself to grieve.
An hour passes by before she hears the door to the house open, followed by the crunch of grass under someone's footsteps. Beau Valentin appears to her side, laying down on the grass beside her. "How are you holding up?" He asks softly, turning his head slightly to look at her.
"It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that he's actually gone," Arrow replies with a sad sigh. "Things got so out of hand so fast. And now he's gone." - Fresh tears escape her eyes.
"Arrow, Beau!" Mr. Valentin calls out to them just as Beau was about to take Arrow's hand in his comfortingly. He retracts his hand mid-way, pushing himself off the ground and heading towards his father. Arrow getting up off the ground as well.
"It's time we head into Tares," Mr. Valentin says to them. "Arrow you have to deal with your uncle...among other matters. There is also something we need to look into there."
"Yeah, okay. Let's head out," Arrows says with a half-hearted nod.
~
Riding with Beau on his motorcycle, the two of them head to headquarters while her brother goes with Bell and Mr. Valentin to investigate a lead. Arrow leads the way into the building, walking straight past the receptionist who looked shocked to see her.
Navigating the halls she makes her way to her uncle's office, knocking twice before opening the door. She looks at the empty room in confusion, "He should be in," She says aloud to Beau. "We passed all the board rooms on our way here, he isn't in a meeting."
"I have a guess," Beau says to her, a grimace on his face.
Arrow angrily speed walks to her father's office, silently hoping that Beau's suggestion was wrong. Opening the door, she finds her uncle standing at the window wall, looking out at the city. Arms behind his back, he was deep in thought as he'd yet to notice Arrow and Beau standing at the doorway. Clearing her throat loudly, Arrow startles him, getting his attention.
"Arrow! My dear!" Elmaan exclaims in surprise, walking over briskly to embrace her. Arrow stands tensely in his arms, awkwardly placing one arm around him. "I've been so worried about you!" He says releasing her.
He makes a show of noticing her arm, "How badly hurt are you? I haven't gotten a chance to see you since we arrived at the farmhouse and this – This scoundrel was driving away with you on his bike!"
"My injuries are minor, I'm fine," Arrow replies. "What are you doing in my dad's office?"
"I couldn't get in contact with you or your brother! No one knew where you guys were! I don't even have contacts for the Valentins," He rambles on, ignoring Arrow's questions. "Given everything that transpired within the last few hours, the loss of my brother, your father... I don't think it is too much for me to want to know where you and your brother are. It is quite dangerous out there. You and my nephew are in a vulnerable state right now. Where were you guys? Where are you staying?" He asks, aiming his last question at Beau.
Beau makes no move to answer him, Arrow speaking instead, "Doesn't matter, I'm here now. Uncle Elm, we have to talk about my dad and Kendrick."
"Ah, yes. I just have to make a few final arrangements for your father's funeral. Kendrick's parents have insisted they handle their son's arrangements," Elmann informs her.
"What? Final Arrangements?" Arrows say in confusion.
"Yes, yes. I didn't want you to have to deal with that, especially not after everything you've been through. And your brother, he's so young. Allister was my brother, it only seemed right that I take over his funeral preparations." Elmann says matter of factly.
"I need some time to think, give me a minute," Arrow says to her uncle pinching the bridge of her nose. Elmann nods understandingly, raising his hand to gesture to the door. Quickly realizing what he was doing, he plays it off, patting Arrow on the back instead. He walks to the door, stopping to turn to Beau. "Aren't you coming, Valentin? She requested –"
"He stays, shut the door on your way out, thanks uncle Elm," Arrow interrupts him. Elmaan forces a tight smile on his face, fully exiting the room – Gently shutting the door behind him.
Arrow walks over to her father's desk, sitting in his high back leather office chair.
"Nothing but off-vibes from him," Beau comments, walking up to the desk. "I never liked him, neither did my dad."
"Yeah, something definitely is off," Arrow agrees with a sigh. Looking down, she notices the light on her father's laptop blinking. Knowing full well her father would have shut down the computer before leaving or the battery would have died by now – A series of suspicions form in her head. Opening the device she sees the sign-in page, a message indicating that there was only one more password guess remaining.
A chime on Beau's phone alerts him to a text. "Dad said meetup was a bust and they're heading back now," He relays to Arrow. She nods in response, closing the laptop once more. Grabbing the laptop bag from underneath the desk, she packs the computer and its charger into the bag. Going to the bookcase behind them, she slides open the secret compartment revealing her father's safe. Putting in the code only she and her dad knew, she opens it – Revealing its contents. Spotting a bunch of keys on a ring, a separate key to the office, she grabs them all.
Stuffing the bunch of keys into the laptop bag, she goes to sling it onto her shoulder. "I'll take that for you," Beau says, taking the bag from her hand. "Thanks," She smiles at him.
She closes the blinds on the windows before exiting the office. Beau stands behind her as she locks the door and sets a code on the electronic keypad beside it. Her father had never used it before, thinking there was no need for such security measures in the building.
Before exiting the building, she stops at the receptionist's desk. "I've locked my father's office. No one is to go in there but me. Not cleaning staff, not family members. Not even my brother. Unless they are accompanied by me. Got it?!" She says sternly to her, making sure her point got across. With that, she and Beau exit the building, hopping onto his bike.
"I need to stop by my place before we meet up with everyone."
~
JENSEN CARTER
As they approach the door, a scrawny-looking young man comes bursting out of the house. In the middle of carrying a heavy box, he clumsily trips over his own feet upon seeing Jensen and Clayton standing there. "Mr. Carter!" He exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Jensen.
He proceeds to introduce himself to a confused Jensen, ignoring Clayton completely. "Now Mr. Carter, I can explain everything to you. In fact, I have most of the answers. But I can only explain this to you alone, not your friend," Arthur, the young man, says to him.
Clayton encourages Jensen to go on, with no doubt in his mind that Jensen will relay whatever information he learned to him.
Jensen follows Arthur into the house. It was unfurnished, large extension cords running along the floor powering a series of tripod construction lights - Empty snack wrappers strewn across the floor.
Jensen takes note of the multiple scents about the house, all human. Arthur leads him past the living room into a side room. The walls covered with various pictures, newspaper articles, and lines of red thread connecting them all. The various connections made by the thread created different groups, only a couple of them joining each other. Jensen walks around the room, studying the photos – Not recognizing any of them.
"Okay let me explain," Arthur says to him.
~
Through Arthur, Jensen learns that there about a widespread group of people who'd come together with the sole purpose of exposing the truth.
They followed Lycans, hunters, and regular civilians, interfering whenever they saw fit. "For instance with you and the journal," Arthur had explained. They expose the Lycan and hunter world to humans they feel should know the truth. "Basically they go around exposing secrets."
"And these pictures?" Jensen asks.
"They monitor people before and after they interfere. Kind of like P.I.s." Arthur answered.
"And you are one of them?" Jensen inquires eyeing the man suspiciously.
"No, no, no, no! Goodness no!" Arthur answered quickly. "We have been trying to track these people down – It's how we found this place. No one was here when we arrived, they seemed to have left in a hurry."
"Track them?" Jensen repeats questioningly.
"Yes. to get them to stop what they're doing," Arthur answers. "They think they're doing a service by exposing Lycanthropy to people but it's not that simple. Some people can't handle the truth. This group goes around carelessly spilling secrets and it needlessly disrupts these people's lives. Causes these small pockets of problems across the cities, you know! We're trying to catch up to them but they don't stay in one place very long."
"Who's we?" Jensen questions him.
"Me and my boss, along with a couple of others. Vincent is the boss. He brought everyone together. He'd want to meet you now that I think about it. You see we found this place a couple of days ago, went through the files these people had – He took an interest in you. That is how I knew your name when you arrived, I read about you."
"Read about me?" Jensen asked in shock.
"Oh, yeah! There are a bunch of files and pictures. All over the place actually, even in the upstairs rooms. We're talking about detailed information on people. I haven't packed the files on you as yet, it's on that table over there," Arthur tells him. "We're taking everything, I think Vincent wants to go through it all before destroying it. I'm not sure. He'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Okay, one last thing before I look at those. Why are you only telling this to me? Why did my friend have to stay outside?" Jensen asks him.
"The answer to that has to do with my boss. He could explain the entire thing to you when he gets here. But part of the explanation is on the table behind you." With that, Arthur leaves Jensen to browse through the contents of the table.
~
Jensen stands rigidly, staring at the photographs scattered on the table before him. His hands were clenched tightly into fists, the tips of his claws pressing into his skin. He trembles as he tries in vain to contain his anger – Eyes flashing between their bright glowing yellow and his usual light brown.
There was a growl building in his throat as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. A voice sounds behind him, breaking through the haze of his mind. Slowly tearing his eye away from the table, he looks to the owner of the voice standing behind him. "It's been half an hour, I came to see what's up," Clayton says to him whilst looking around the room in astonishment. "What the hell is all this?!" He exclaims in shock.
Jensen doesn't answer him, instead, he turns back to the table – His claws beginning to draw blood as they press further into his skin.
"Jensen, what's going on?" Clayton asks, taking in his friend's tense posture.
"We met for the first time, that night in Xylia, right? When you jumped in that fight to help me out," Jensen says lowly, not turning to look at Clayton.
"Yeah?" Clayton says in response, unsure of where the conversation was heading.
"That was the first time we met right," Jensen says to him as he picks up one of the photos.
"Yeah, Jensen. We didn't know each other before we met! What's up with you?" Clayton responds in confusion. "What has that guy been telling you?"
Jensen turns abruptly to Clayton, his eyes glowing yellow before he calms himself enough for them to change back.
"Clay, look at me," Jensen says to him, staring him directly in his eyes. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that was the first time you've ever seen me. Or heard about me. Tell me, you've never known about my existence before that night of the fight, back in Xylia!"
"Yes, Jensen! That night when I jumped in that fight was the first time we've ever met! What the hell are you going on about? You sound like a mad man!"
"Then explain to me this!" Jensen says flinging the photo in his hand towards Clayton. The picture falls to the ground, Clayton bending to pick it up. Jensen watches with yellow eyes as Clayton stiffens – Picture in his hand.
"Your brother was the one who turned me, Clay. But you already knew that. Because you were there that night. Weren't you?!"
~
NAOMI REID
Sitting cross-legged on Calvin's couch, Naomi stares at the wall ahead of her. She'd since stopped crying, now in a state of shock. "So is your friend a Lycan too then?" Calvin asks entering the room, sitting beside her. He hands her a bottle of water which she takes but doesn't drink.
"I don't know. It's possible. Her eyes didn't turn yellow, but then again I guess that's something they could control," She answers monotony.
"She could be a hunter," Calvin suggests deep in thought.
"But from what we know hunters hate Lycans. Their life goal is to pretty much eradicate them," Naomi replies.
"Then maybe she is one. It'd make sense since her boyfriend is one." Calvin states. "What are you going to do now?"
"I have no clue," Naomi sighs. "I ran out of there as if my life depended on it. Part of me thinks it did but the other part of me is screaming that Avery is my best friend. I've known her and Sean for years and they've never hurt me. They've always been there for me. I am so conflicted right now! I don't know what to think, what to do. If to be scared shitless or not."
The two of them sit in silence after Naomi's confession, thinking over everything. "Need something stronger than water?" Calvin asks. Naomi lets out a curt laugh answering yes. Calvin pours them each a drink, the duo sitting in silence once more.
"Tomorrow is my last day off, I return to shift on Thursday," Naomi says taking a sip of her drink. "I don't think I can face her, not yet."
"Yeah, I head back out on Thursday too," Calvin comments, refilling his glass. "What are you going to do? Request a shift change?"
"I'm considering it, I really am. If I do that, my brother is going to hound me for an explanation. What will I tell him – Our friend and coworker has a wolf for a boyfriend and it's possible she's one too? If I'm not there what will she tell him?!"
"What if he knows?" Calvin pipes in. "There are obviously people out there who know the truth. We have to start taking into consideration who might know what we now know."
"Oh my God! What if my brother knows! And he never told me? I guess I can understand why he wouldn't tell me if he knew, considering I haven't said a word of this to him," Naomi rants on. A look of realization dawns on her face as she sits upright, placing her glass on the table.
"Have you told anyone about all this?" she asks Calvin.
"No. For obvious reasons. Can you imagine if I told – Oh, I see where you're going with this," He says in return. "Her secrecy is justified isn't it?"
"Oh gosh, I am so conflicted right now! NOTHING MAKES SENSE ANYMORE!" She cries out, tears building in her eyes once more.
"It's true what they say," Calvin says, pausing to sip his drink.
"What? That ignorance is bliss?"
"Nope. That knowing is half the battle."