Two Souls ✔ [Completed]

Two Souls : Chapter 03

His decision to move to Sacramento was based solely on fragmented memories that had been created in that place decades ago. The feeling of dewy grass underneath the bare soles of his feet. His mother's hearty laugh when she pushed him on a swing. All that wasn't much to build a future upon, but it at least reminded him of a happier time in his life.

And the city welcomed him with open arms. After a few days he was able to leave his hotel and move into a lovely little apartment downtown which had absolutely nothing in common with the house he had sold. Showcasing his talent of reading people in a well patronized diner during lunch time, he met some agents of the CBI who challenged him to find the solution for a case they just had closed. A week and several conversations with people in high places later, he earned himself a consulting position in the Major Thefts department of the CBI.

He discovered that it was fun returning stolen art objects of incalculable value to their rightful owners. No matter that some of the agents approached him with skepticism, he liked belonging somewhere again. Nevertheless, he rather kept to himself instead of going out with his co-workers for a drink after work and therefore he had still way too much time to bury himself in his grief. He felt vulnerable without his wedding ring, which had been his armor in the last couple of years but now got discarded to avoid questions he wasn't ready to answer. And all the time, hidden behind a mask of feigned calmness, lurked the fear that somebody might find out about his past.

On a Tuesday, almost four months after his arrival in Sacramento, the prospect of at least a little bit distraction presented itself to him. The day had started dull enough, with a painting being stolen for the third time since Vansh joined the CBI. Things went even more downhill when he failed to leave headquarters before the beginning of the quarterly staff meeting. He probably would have managed to shuffle out of the situation somehow, but since his supervisor already was severely pissed off after a minor hypnotism incident during an interrogation, he decided to just suffer through two mind-numbing hours of case analysis, backslapping and admonitions. Maybe he would get the chance for a little nap; he still hardly slept at night.

Half an hour into the meeting he discovered that he wasn't the only one not paying attention. His eyes fell on a dark-haired woman not far away from him who was busy dealing with something that looked like a huge stack of paperwork. Secretary? Not very likely. Judging by those he had seen here, she didn't wear enough makeup for that position. He bent sidewards to be able to look under her table. Flat, comfortable shoes. Dark jeans. He came to the conclusion that she was probably an agent, one of the few female ones he came across so far.

The way she now and then glanced at the people next to her, told him that she was their boss and could have easily delegated some of the paperwork unto them. Her refusal to do so was rather intriguing and he suspected that not only kindness was the reason, but that she also had trouble trusting other people. Vansh acknowledged to himself that watching her was more fun than he had had in years, even more so when he discovered that he was not the only one whose eyes were on her. Quickly he was able to determine that the other men in the room, leaving the indifferent ones out, were either scared of her or wanted to sleep with her.

For his part, he was too afraid to analyze any feelings he might or might not develop for her, but he still caught himself comparing her to his late wife. There had been a time when he had been able to look at people without bias, but now he was damned to search for his lost family in every woman or little girl he came across. The unknown female bore no striking resemblance to his wife, but he was still intrigued by the way she furrowed her brow. It was obvious that she, just like him, considered this gathering a waste of time. Hesitantly he admitted to himself that he was not completely averse to getting to know her better. That another human being was finally able to create positive emotions inside of him again was rather unexpected, but even though the idea scared him to death he decided not to fight this development.