**
Hugo shifted absently, stepping away from Gideon Enterprises’ database to stretch. He’d been trying to update it with the information he’d acquired at the warehouse, unfortunately sans pictures, but success hinged on patience and an ability to keep still he currently didn’t possess. The meeting with Edvard was in an hour and Hugo was starting to doubt his sanity. Why on earth had he called the man? Why in heaven’s name had he wanted to let the killer know he even existed? The ex-musician stretched, walked back over to the computer, but didn’t sit down. Instead he stared blankly at the half-completed file displayed on the monitor. This was for Madeline, to make sure she stayed safe; what happened to him was less important.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take some precautions. Hugo logged off of the computer and headed out the door, locking it behind him. The last time he’d seen CJ she had said Dr. McFadden had asked for her, so he headed in that direction. No one he passed along the way looked at him. Hugo was chewing on his lip by the time he made it to the doctor’s office, but paused in his knock when CJ’s voice burst through the door.
“You’re not sticking that thing in me!” Her tone was shrill and indignant. Hugo temporarily discarded politeness for curiosity and stepped into the office uninvited.
Both women looked up at him when they entered. Dr. McFadden, who was sitting, had a small kit; a cotton swab in one hand and the offending capped needle on the desk beside her. CJ was standing, her chair just finishing rocking with the violent movement, her arms hugged protectively to her chest.
Dr. McFadden’s sigh was exasperated, “Hugo, can you convince CJ I need to take a blood sample? This is very important.”
“No way!” CJ declared in response, “I hate needles!”
Hugo frowned. Crysta had already witnessed CJ’s phobia firsthand, it was in her file from the entry physical, so what was so important that she’d be willing to push her luck? “What did you find out?”
The doctor’s shoulders slumped and she let out a long breath, “I completed Patrick's lab work today. He tested positive for the Substance.” Hugo sucked in his own breath. Dr. McFadden shook her head, “and Patrick’s deterioration is worse than I first thought. His telepathy is out of control and he’s actually mutating on a genetic level.”
Hugo’s eyes widened, “What?” He exclaimed, louder than he’d intended, “What is he turning into?”
“The Substance is the stuff that makes you all super crazy right?” CJ interjected, shifting slightly, her eyes focused on him now.
Hugo shifted as well, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Only if you have a lot of it. It should be ok in-”
“So Patrick had a lot of it? Wait…” CJ stared back at the needle, and then Dr. McFadden, “Do you think I’m going crazy too, that I’ve had a bunch of that stuff?” Her voice rose in pitch even though she was trying to hide her alarm.
“No CJ,” Crysta said calmly, holding up her hands a fraction, “I definitely don’t think you’re going crazy, but I am concerned that you’ve been exposed to small amounts of the Substance, which is why I wanted to do a blood test.”
CJ huffed, “Are you accusing me of taking drugs? I’d never take any of that crazy stuff!”
“No no no,” Crysta was quick to clarify, “I think you may have ingested it in food accidentally.”
The girl blinked, “Like, from the lunch room? Why would anyone put the Substance in the bagels? And wouldn’t that mean that a lot more people have been eating it?”
Crysta glanced sidelong at Hugo, and her exasperated expression told him that she hadn’t found anything useful there, “No, I suppose that wouldn’t make a lot of sense.” She glanced away from everyone, and then suddenly jerked into a sitting position, holding up a finger, her eyes bright, “Unless!” She exclaimed, and Hugo could tell it was false, but it had caused CJ to jump and already the girl was enraptured with what Crysta was about to say, “There is a spy out there targeting you specifically! I bet they could sneak into the kitchen of a restaurant where you were ordering food and slip some of the Substance in it!”
CJ looked startled and thrilled, “Holy crap! Who did it? Do I have to stop eating out now?”
Crysta shook her head solemnly, dipping it slightly in a successful attempt to hide the smile that almost broke the ruse. Then her gaze locked with CJ’s, “No. Here is what we’ll do: you’ll keep eating out, acting casual, but then bring me a sample of any food you eat and I’ll test it. If I find some of the Substance, we’ll be able to catch the criminal then!”
CJ nodded in response, “Right.” Then the smile faded a bit and she tilted her head, “Wait, all the food I eat? Even stuff from the cafeteria and when I have dinner with Mr. Gideon?”
Hugo could almost see the air catch in Crysta’s throat and for a moment he thought her surprise and nervousness would break the illusion, but she recovered quickly, “Well yes, we’ll need a baseline, just in case.”
CJ nodded enthusiastically, “Oh right. Ok,” then she spun her attention back to Hugo, “Did you need me?”
Hugo blinked, and then nodded, “Yeah, I need to go somewhere, want to come?”
CJ hesitated long enough to chew on her lip, her gaze drifting to the ground. Before he had time to question the sudden change, she brightened and was focused on him again, “Sure! Let’s go. Bye Dr. McFadden!” CJ bounced out the door. Hugo took a moment to nod towards Crysta, throwing her a reassuring smile, that she returned before he followed the teenager out the door.
As they headed down the hallway CJ turned toward him, “Where we goin?”
“To get coffee,” Hugo returned unhelpfully, suddenly nervous about letting anyone in on his stupid plan.
CJ blinked, confused, “Huh? Why do you need me for that?”
Hugo chewed on his lips, shoving his hands further into his pockets, “Um…we’re going to meet one of the guys that tried to kill Madeline. He was in the database, and I thought it would be a good idea to find out if he planned on going after her again or not.”
CJ lit up, “Awesome.” Suddenly her expression turned skeptical, “Wait, do you mean talk, or ‘talk’ to him.” She dropped her hands after the air quotes and Hugo felt his stomach plummet with them. Was that really what everyone expected of him now? To kill without question? Hugo sighed, suddenly finding it hard to look at his bodyguard. “Hey hey, don’t look like that. You mean talk talk, I get it, I was just asking.”
Hugo nodded absently, pushing the glass doors to the building open. He caught the receptionist staring at them in the reflection. He watched the sidewalk move beneath him.
CJ huffed, “Geez, I’m sorry, will you please stop moping? Do you want me visible for this meeting?”
Hugo cringed at the accusation that he was moping, but didn’t refute it. He tried to push his feelings from his mind to focus on the question. He knew his appearance wasn’t intimidating and wondered if Edvard would consider him weak enough to kill while he appeared to be unprotected. CJ didn’t look any more threatening, but in their new world, kids were only employed if they were vicious or powerful and easy to control. “Visible.” Hugo frowned at his use of language, ‘easy to control’, CJ was not easy to control, she was…helpful. Cooperative. A good bodyguard.
A friend. Hugo looked up from the ground to find CJ smiling at him, bouncing along, her arms swinging almost exaggeratedly. How could she be a friend if he didn’t even know what she had been up to lately? “Hey CJ, how is your exploring going? Find anything else cool?”
Unexpectedly CJ glanced away, pushing her palms together in front of her. The sudden stillness of her body, despite the fact that she was still walking, was troubling. “Not really. Just some…stuff.”
Taking a few quicker steps to get a good look at her face did not improve the situation, her smile was gone and her eyes were scrunched a little, “CJ? What happened?”
“Nothing!” She snapped loudly, storming ahead of him. Hugo didn’t change his pace, falling behind her as he
tried to decide if it was wise to pry or not. Before he made a formal decision she broke into his thoughts with the return of her brighter voice, “Is this the right one?” He looked up to find her pointing at the coffee shop they’d been shooting for. He nodded reluctantly, and then had to shuffle to follow her inside before the door swung in his face.
This was a bad idea. He should have told someone besides CJ what he’d intended on doing, but the only people he would have talked to were Christian or Mr. Hansen and neither of them really cared. Sure if he’d thought it would turn into a fight, it might have sparked Christian’s interest, but Mr. Hansen was only interested in the reports Hugo submitted after he’d done something stupid. So, he and CJ were on their own with the bad idea.
Hugo ordered them both drinks and they sat down at one of the small tables. The remnants of their conversation hung over the both of them for several silent minutes until the duplicator walked in. Hugo stood, immediately catching the man’s attention. He made introductions, in Russian.
The whole time Edvard stared at him with an almost perplexed expression on his face, “Your Russian is very good.”
Hugo’s face turned a little red, “I, uh, have a thing for languages.”
“Ah, I see. I spoke with Boris; so you are the one who killed Gregori.” Well, that wasn’t technically true, but Hugo really doubted the man wanted clarification, nor did he want to get Christian any more involved in things as it was. So he simply nodded. “What did you do? I saw nothing.”
Both CJ and Hugo fidgeted with their cups a little. CJ had no idea what was going on, because they were still speaking Russian; Hugo wasn’t really interested in revealing what he could do. But it seemed like the best way to get Edvard to be more open on his end, “I can create vacuums,” well, it was true, just not all of the truth.
“Helpful,” the Russian said thoughtfully. There was no irritation in his voice, he was merely curious in case he needed to attack Hugo later, it would be good to be prepared, “So what did you want to speak to me about?”
Hugo was not clever, like Clem, so the direct approach seemed best, “Are you going to attack Madeline again?”
The Russian considered this for several seconds, still looking Hugo directly in the eye. He really had the urge to look at anything else, but it seemed like a very bad idea to seem nervous, and he didn’t want to miss the man’s reactions. “The woman who can see the future? No. I was only there because Boris asked me to keep an eye on his uncle. The job didn’t go well, but I did what I was sent to do. It means nothing to me,” his tone was casual, relaxed, his body language the same. It was the truth. He didn’t care about Madeline one way or the other. He would not go after her again unless someone ordered it.
Hugo nodded, “Thank you for your time, that was all I wanted to know.”
“You’re welcome. Goodbye,” Edvard got up and left the coffee shop.
“That was quick! Even if I couldn’t understand what you were saying,” CJ said, delighted, “Did it go well?”
Hugo smiled, “Yeah, Madeline will be fine. Let’s head back.”
Just before they entered the building, Hugo’s phone vibrated. It was Clem.
“Why hello there. I’m starving, meet me at Wild Ginger, and bring the cavalry,” Clem’s voice was lighter than usual.
“Is this about that group? Should I bring Christian?”
“Leave him out for now; I’ve got a bit of personal information to give you first. Oh speaking of, bring your laptop. Alright, see you soon!”
CJ hopped up and down as the call disconnected, “Who was that? Was it Clem?”
Hugo didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt slow and slightly bewildered, “Yeah, Clem’s back.”