Aeon Paradox

Chapter Seven: Breakfast Burritos

Archer churned the tortilla chip absently in the guacamole, moving it around like a predatory shark, his expression troubled. This was a disaster. Not only had they failed Mia Fox, now they had failed Ruby Fox as well. He didn't think the night could have gotten worse, but he'd seen the destruction in that apartment in the small hours of the morning. Fox had taken out an entire electrical grid in the struggle.

"Archer, honey. Are you with me?"

Sounds of the restaurant grill sizzling and tinny salsa music snapped him back to focus as he gazed across the mosaic table at his wife. He gave her a weary smile. Considering neither of them had slept in over twenty-four hours, she still looked beautiful.

She was a slight woman, dirty blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail with her signature thick, dark-rimmed glasses always just slightly slipped down her nose. Her large grey eyes regarded him with concern, breakfast burrito in hand half eaten, the crumpled foil remains of a second one already consumed on the plate in front of her.

"How on earth are you fitting in a second one?!" he asked her as she winked and took another bite, leaning back on the chair and revealing the pregnant curve of her stomach.

"The little ones are hungry. I don't dictate the quantity, they do."

"I can see that. You really shouldn't be pulling doubles in your condition, Lydia."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Please. Don't give me that. I'm more than competent at knowing my limits. Where did you go?"

"Hm?" he asked her, confused.

"You have been staring off into space for the last ten minutes. It's been a long night, sweetheart. A difficult one. A woman and child missing under violent circumstances. You are due back at Fox's apartment in the next ten minutes to debrief operations and next movements. This one is slightly personal. Would it be better to let Kimmel and Yang handle this?"

Archer scowled. "No. Yang is too political and Kimmel is just — the worst. I will deal with this. This is my case to lead."

"It's still a bit ethically dubious to take it on don't you think considering your past with her?" she pushed.

She was not about to let him skip over it. There was history with Ruby Fox, but it was purely based on his interactions with her when he had been appointed to the Orcrest Police Department in his first years out of the Sentinel academy. He'd been her parole officer.

"No. I have not interacted with the woman in over a decade. There is no close personal association there. The house call yesterday was standard protocol. Concerning, but coincidental. I fear it's the only thing about this case I can explain away like that."

They knew Fox had been attacked and taken. They had retrieved security footage of a large male entering the building just minutes before the reported explosion. Unfortunately, the blast had wiped out all electronics in the building afterwards, so they had nothing on the exit, no trace at all. Not even a viable witness, and they were still confirming if any others were missing from the building at the time of the attack.

They had at least confirmed Molokov's involvement. Turned out the woman assaulted in the home was the infamous Octavia Molokov. Unfortunately, they could not question her yet because of her injuries, but she was quite a prominent member of the criminal family. At least something in their intelligence prior to this had been accurate. But why? Who would contract such high-profile individuals for something like this? What was the ultimate motive against the Fox family?

Who was he to prioritise? He could neither confirm nor deny either was alive, and who were these other players? They had nothing on their identities. None of them were in the national umbral registry, which in this day and age was rare for the average citizen. It was concerning.