Comatose

Picture Perfect

"I'm so glad you could join us, Cameron. Not that Miss Jane's company alone isn't scintillating, but do like a group. Tell me, who was it that dragged you into this?"

I smirk and tug on Rowan's arm, unreasonably excited he chose to come with me today instead of watch the whole meeting from afar. The dark boy had been avoiding me all week, busying himself with Ana and various work. One wouldn't think a runaway has much work--really, what kind of work would we do? But it a place like Haven, everybody works. It's either that or watch our little society crumble into dust and vulgarity. A boy like Rowan would do almost anything to keep us from that fate.

His decision to accompany me at my scheduled meeting with the agent means more than he probably realizes. It may be nothing in his serious eyes, but I hardly take his presence for granted.

Kamryn Parker, at least, understands this much. She seems wary again, cautiously proceeding in a normal fashion she usually wouldn't reserve for someone with his demeanor. "He hasn't been dragged anywhere," I answer for him. "Rowan came purely to keep an eye on me, because the whole lot of them think I need a babysitter to keep my trap shut where it's needed."

"And you don't?" She smiles ahead of us, expression revealing nothing more as a result of those midnight sunglasses. I give them a long, hard stare, but she continues on like it's nothing; most likely, she gets stares like this a lot.

"Did you get anywhere new with that foreign girl?" I ask to move along with the conversation. She doesn't look surprised by my immediate subject change.

"Unsurprisingly, no. She's not a hard girl to spot, but we think she may have had help sneaking off our radar," she says casually. "I assume she's still in New York; things would certainly be easier if I'm right."

I laugh. "Why would you assume that? She could be anywhere by now if you're wrong."

The agent takes my comment in stride, hardly reacting in the slightest to my negativity. She pulls one hand out of her jacket pocket and examines it closely. The way she looks at the soft black leather...as if she's searching Ana there, somewhere between the creases. What a strange woman.

"My aims raise a little higher than Anastasia Roux, I'll admit," she responds. "I'm looking for someone, Miss Jane--you know that. This one...is a little more personal. A promise I made when I began working towards this job. Every case I've taken on brings me just that much closer to finding what I need. If Anastasia leaves the state...I suppose she's someone else's problem at that point. I'm not here to solve another person's problems."

My argument with Scrap from a week before springs to the forefront of my mind. I'm not here to find answers to Ana's questions. How odd that my disinterests would align so closely with those of some weird-o cop?

"You needn't be so dramatic about it," I echo my friend, his grating smile teasing my lips. "Everybody's got their secrets, Agent Parker."

She turns back slightly to look at me just over her shoulder. Harsh sunlight flashes against the tops of her glasses. "True enough. How about we work on those for today?" From her other pocket, Kamryn produces a photograph, minutely blurred, crumpled from wear, and hands it over for me to see. Rowan takes it first, holding it up to the light for a better view.

He glances down, linking our questioning gazes. "Curious. I wouldn't mind an explanation myself, honestly. Jane, you mind?"

"Well, I can't say a word if I don't know what you're on about, can I?" I grab the paper from him, a short growl emphasizing the sharp action. Ridiculous tall people.

The photo certainly is wow. Like I previously noted, the subjects are barely out of focus, but the location is undeniable, and I can easily gather who the two figures through the window are. I should have known this was a possibility; was I really that out of it that day?