Valeria Nadja Voss did not show her weakness in any situation so long as she could control it. It didn't matter if it were the smallest of things; such as the pain she felt inside each time she passed over the river, or the grueling pain she felt when her leg snapped in two during one of her first missions along side Kai Adler. Today was no different as she watched Trennen Ulrick waltz into her city. Trennen was a handsome blonde whose brown eyes had once been the only eyes she wanted to see for the rest of her life. Not only did he catch the eyes of all around him, like a living sun, but he also charmed the trousers off of almost anyone he came in contact with. She had not seen or heard from him in five years. Ria sat in her corner of the coffee shop, sipping her tea and researching for her upcoming mission, as Trennen walked in, oblivious to her presence mere feet away. Following close behind him was his newest doll, a beautiful blonde with heels high enough to make Ria's feet ache just looking at them. She did her best to remain invisible, but to no avail. Before she knew it, Trennen's eyes were on her; she could feel them resting on her, studying her, deciding what the best action would be. She focused on her computer screen as if it were the only thing in the room. "Valeria Voss, are my eyes failing me?" he asked as he approached her. She tensed, looked up at him from her screen, and smiled sweetly. "Trennen, what a pleasure.".
"The pleasure is all mine. You look well, Voss. I didn't know you resided on the East coast."
"Yep, believe it. Boston has been home for me for some time now." she said, hoping he'd tire of her small talk soon and leave her in peace. Instead he sat, and turned to the blonde hovering behind him, motioning for her to sit next to him at my table. She took her seat and looked on curiously, but said nothing. He locked eyes with me for a moment, holding my gaze, I refused to falter. "How have you been then? I always pegged you for a warm weather gal." he said, letting his eyes slide over my exposed arms, which were quite tan. "I work for the government here in Boston now. Surprisingly, I love it here, the people are much more tolerable." I said, some coldness seeping into my tone.
"Well, it would have been nice to have heard from you, Val. I thought you fell off the face of the earth. My family felt the same." he said, his knuckles curling in and out of a fist slowly. Ria knew it was a tell tale sign that he was losing his patience, and she didn't care. She owed him nothing. He looked at her for a moment longer, then pulled out his wallet and took out a card, handing it to the girl sitting next to him. "Leah, dear, go down the street and buy yourself something nice to wear to the event tonight." she beamed, grabbed the card, and was out the door without even a glance back at us. Trennen turned back to Valeria,"Val, what is your deal? I always thought we would be friends after the breakup, but you literally vanished. It was low, leaving the way you did and not telling me, or my family a thing." he said, anger in his voice.
"I'm not having this conversation with you Trennen. If you can't see your errors from the past, then you haven't learned, and I have no need speaking with you. I wish you the best, but I'll be getting back to work now." His hand slammed down on the table then, making my tea splash a bit, and a few people in line looked in our direction. "I was never going to be good enough for you, Val. I knew that, and I ended things, hoping that I could be your friend. I never, ever would have wanted you gone from my life." The bell on the door jingled and a familiar form entered the coffee shop. She didn't acknowledge him, as she was too busy hiding her hands so that Trennen couldn't see that they were shaking. She concentrated on the right words to make him leave. "Trennen, I can't do this. You've shown up like a ghost from my past, and I just can't. I can't look at you, knowing that when we were engaged to be married, you lost control, after everything we'd been through, and then broke up with me in a text message. Four years, and you couldn't give me the courtesy to face me when you tore my world apart. Then you had the nerve to skip Aloisia's funeral. Coward, that is the only word I have for you." she said, regretting it all the moment she finished. Trennen's expression had hardened, and his knuckles were white from holding his fist tight. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Kai, sliding into the booth right next to Ria, pushing her to the side so that he was facing Trennen. His presence alone eased her anxiety, and she relaxed her shoulders. Trennen stared at Kai, while Kai stuck out his hand, waiting for Trennen to shake it. "Hi there, I'm Kai.", he said, as Trennen glared at me, then back at him, shaking his hand reluctantly. "Trennen Ulrick." He responded, his voice agitated.
"Nice handshake, can't say I've seen you around here before."
"Well," Trennen said, breaking eye contact, because Kai never would when there was an obvious challenge in play. He lived to be the macho man. "We were actually in the middle of a very personal conversation.." he said with more confidence than I knew he felt. Kai was, in every sense, a threat to Trennen's ego with his white t-shirt over his taut body, the veins in his arms seemed to be popping out, and his dark hair against those pale blue eyes. Kai let out an exaggerated sigh, "Look, Taylor, Valeria here is not only my partner, but also my responsibility-"
"Trennen."
"Sorry?" Kai said innocently. "My name is Trennen, not Taylor." Trennen said, ice in his voice as he stared Kai down. Ria could feel the testosterone in the room. "My bad, Trennen," he said sarcastically. "Anyhow, I think it's time you left my girl here in peace, good?" Kai raised his eyebrows at Trennen. Trennen's face was turning red at this point, both hands fisted. Then his gaze shifted over to Ria.
