Bridging Destinies

Chapter 5: An Interval of Conclusions

The lights in the hallway were bright and a noise down the corridor alerted us to others nearby. I sensed a fairly large group of people, and as we walked down the hallway, the light bulbs popped and blew out, throwing the hall into shadow as we traversed it. The woman, who was our contact, was startled by each pop, and jumped at the noise, but by the time the fourth light bulb went out, she ceased to startle and looked back at the two of us, catching our eyes. I shrugged and lifted my hands just above my shoulders in an almost universal gesture of 'I really don't know either.' The woman peered back down the hall, sighed deeply, and continued walking. Dana followed, watching her back as she walked, almost snickering. I grinned, suppressing a laugh of my own. It was not a huge feat to fry anything that used electricity. Energy was energy, but Light trumped electrical wire currents, as evidenced by the many phones, laptops and other electronic devices that tended to burn out quickly when we used them. A light bulb was nothing.

As we walked, we approached the group we sensed earlier as they exited a door several feet away from us. The group was comprised of seven men wearing suits and others with shirts marked staff and security. The noise they brought with them was loud and our small group stopped. The men in suits stood in the hallway with suppressed excitement and nervousness.

'This must be the band', I decided to myself quietly, as our small group stopped in the shadow of the corridor, with its lights burned out. I did not disregard anyone in the group of people, but paid close attention to insure our safety and was stunned when I saw the man from the Louvre again in the midst of the group. 'Was he in the band?' I asked myself. 'He must be', I thought. I did not quite expect to see him again, despite seeing his image on the advertisement earlier. My expression clouded, wondering why I kept running into him.

"Of all that is holy, Mother..." I spoke under my breath. Dana glanced at me and I shook my head, dismissing his silent question at my quiet expletive.

I watched as the man looked into the dark hallway and saw our small group in shadow, frowning. He talked to a man at the edge of their group and gestured towards the hallway, as he spoke. The man looked up and the woman with us stepped forward, approached her colleague, and began to talk with him.

Dana subtly gestured to me and spoke into my mind, 'Blend in.' He suggested, and I followed him, walking to the edge of the group, our 'Staff' t-shirts claiming our status to the others. Both of us built our glamor up more intensely, as we stood near the group, so that none of the others looked at us, or noticed our alien features.

I could hear the woman we arrived with speaking to her colleague in whispers, "I checked the door. It is secure. The lights are out. I'm not sure why. I'll call maintenance to have them looked at. Could be bad wires, or something." She suggested. I took a deep, steadying breath as I listened to the conversation between the two security staff. The light in the hall was dim, but I saw everything perfectly.

I glanced between the people in the hall, noting each face. The seven men in suits were all handsome, in their own ways, but the pause to ensure that the concert hall was safe had thrown them into a heightened sense of nervousness, which I sensed as it crawled under my skin. For a moment I stared at the man from the Louvre as he turned, talking to the others dressed in suits. I sent out a comforting wave of Light to the men, encouraging them to relax and the change was subtle but enough to make a difference. Another security guard moved up to the group and talked to the others, assuring them that it was safe. The lights in the hallway in front of us worked fine, and they decided that the way was clear. The band moved forward and Dana and I pretended to follow, but hung back, waiting for the assemblage of people to move away from us. As they did so, not paying attention to us, we edged back closer to the shadows.

Our contact lifted her walkie-talkie, pretending to speak into it as she moved back towards the darker part of the hallway, where Dana and I stood half in the shadows. She whispered, "If that was either of you with the lights, please don't do that again. Kim Namjoon is too observant. If we run into him again, he will wonder what is going on. So, probably not a good idea." She explained in her native language.

I raised my brow as I regarded her, mildly surprised, and said succinctly, "Noted." I looked at Dana and he smirked, sending a teasing thought into my mind. I rolled my eyes and elbowed him lightly, then followed the woman down a separate hallway from the direction the band and staff were going. She guided us to a room and closed the door behind her after Dana and I entered. Before she was able to communicate anything else to us, her walkie-talkie went off and she picked it up to respond, frowning, "Go ahead, sir." She responded to hearing her name on the device.

"We have a disturbance at the front. We need you there." The device squawked as she listened.

"10-4." She said, "Making my way there now." She looked at us both, frowning, "Sorry. Please wait here." She told us as she opened the door and left, closing it behind her.

I nodded in acknowledgment and immediately Dana's expression became distant as he searched the paths for the potential outcomes. After a moment his countenance cleared and he shook his head, "Nothing to worry about." He said on a soft breath. We both relaxed a little and waited, though most of my mind remained vigilant. I allowed no thoughts of the man, who appeared to be named Kim Namjoon, to cloud my mind.