Octavia’s response couldn’t have been anything other than leaning in for a kiss as she heard those words. They kissed passionately, caressing each other’s hair and enjoying the warmth of their renewed fire.
Gwen pulled back and took a deep breath, interrupting the kiss and resting back on Octavia’s breasts, “So what’s your plan now? You can’t avoid these guys forever. Are you officially quitting? Do they even let you do that?”
Octavia shrugged, “I don’t know. I had no plan; I just needed a break from everything. The NJPD moved my Divinium arrows, and it is not a coincidence. Margaret Gregson, that woman I told you about, has a lot of influence in town. I’m sure she somehow got the police to move the evidence. I have no idea where, and finding that information would require me to deal with the police. It’s always a risk, me and Gabriel; the authorities do not exactly like us. We had our share of encounters with law enforcement.”
Gweneth was silent momentarily, processing the information, “Let’s say you could get the arrows back. Does that mean you get to be free then?”
“I could give them back to The Rise and ask for resignation. But I don’t know if they would grant it. I haven’t heard from anyone retiring from this job. People either die or move up.” Octavia said at the same time, she realized that no one she knew had ever left The Celestial Rise to live an everyday life again. Perhaps that wasn’t even an option, even if they never said it out loud.
“That doesn’t sound good…” Gwen, trying her best to assist, said, “You can’t just run away and disappear. They will look for you… for us, forever. I don’t want to live life looking over my shoulder. If they won’t let you quit peacefully then you need to make them know in their bones that coming after you will hurt them more than it would hurt you. Get something they want and gain some leverage.”
“Right… but how? If I talk to Gabriel, I come back in, and I can’t see you anymore; who knows what they will even do to me or to you?” She grabbed the cell phone and showed the latest message to Gweneth.
“Who’s Bishop Kristensen? Some “big deal” up the chain of command?” Gweneth asked, trying to grasp the situation.
Octavia nodded, “Yeah, you could say that. The Bishop likes Gabriel and hates me for “stealing” him from her. But he is married to the job. That man is a robot; he wants nothing to do with the Bishop or me. Gabriel is in love with the hunt; he will never leave the front lines.”
There was silence for several seconds as they pondered, letting out frustrated sighs; Gweneth finally sat up on the bed, “Well, I say we solve one problem at a time, and maybe things change around us enough that we can see a solution. That’s what I did when I was trying to keep this place running. We can start with those… divi-num arrows.”
Octavia chuckled at Gwen’s mispronunciation of Divinium, but let her continue, “I can talk to Mackie. He works at the NJPD. He became a detective just a couple of years ago. If I tell him about some possible corruption within the precinct and drop Margaret’s name, I’m sure he will get to the bottom of it and find where those arrows went.”
Octavia looked surprised, thinking for a moment before asking, “Mackie? You mean “the” Mackie that was almost always on the brink of getting a criminal record is now a police officer?”
“It’s the one! A lot changed while you were away, dear. I’ll catch you up, don’t worry. Now I have to go clean the bar and get it ready to open. Lots to do! Will you help?”
Octavia smiled, “Yeah, of course. I’ll be right out.” She took a deep breath and looked at her phone, closing it and tossing it aside.
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