Homecoming (Complete)

Chapter Sixteen

It took the better part of a week for Alex to fully recover from crawling through the tiny duct at the warehouse. Her stiffness was gone in couple days, but it took a little longer for the visible bruises to fade to the point where she could venture out into public without raising eyebrows. She had expected the bruises to fade faster, but they really seemed to linger—some even still seemed fresh. She was baffled, but assumed it was just part of getting older, and being rusty at both the trick of folding herself into such a tiny space, and the meditation she used to help speed the healing process.

She had told her project manager that she had the flu, but that she could be reached by phone if needed, and he had found very little reason to contact her during the week. Alex had been pleased, and a little embarrassed. The man was obviously very good at his job, and she realized that she might have been micromanaging him a bit.

She used her free time to scour all her resources, and past avenues of discovery, for any signs of Drakon and Umbra Mortis. By the end of the week she had exhausted every angle, had turned up nothing, and was completely frustrated. She had spent so many hours searching that the days had all blurred together to the point that she felt like she was missing some time, but a search of her memory just showed hours and hours on the phone and computer broken up by the occasional visit from her friends.

Kate, on numerous occasions the past week, had tried to reassure Alex that something would turn up eventually, but being housebound—the others wouldn't even let her go on patrol with them until she was fully healed—had her feeling a little cooped up and stir crazy on top of the frustration of not finding anything, so she had been a little snappish more than once.

This last time though, Kate had finally had enough, and had stormed out the door with a curt "call me when you get your head out of your ass!" and Alex, more furious at herself than at Kate, had yelled "don't hold your breath!" after her. Alex instantly regretted it, and had been trying to call Kate on the phone ever since, but Kate, ever the one to hold a grudge, was refusing to pick up her phone. Alex was sitting alone and sulking when Dinah popped in to check on her.

"Wazzup buttercup?" Dinah called cheerily as she let herself in the front door. Alex grumbled something inaudible. "Someone's in a mood. What's going on Alex?" she asked as she moved around the room opening the curtains to let some light in. "And why is it so dark in here? Perfect ambiance for sulking?" She grinned as she turned to face Alex who was glowering at her. "Oh come on. House arrest is nearly over, and Kate will get over it—yes I bumped into her, yes she's being childish, yes you're being childish, yes it will blow over." Dinah plopped down beside Alex on the couch. "I know you're frustrated on multiple levels, Alex," she said more seriously. "I promise we'll figure it out."

Alex sighed. "Sorry Dee," she said. "I'm just going nuts sitting around here all day with nothing to do, and I'm lashing out at the people I care most about. I know we'll figure it out. I just wanted that part of my life to be over and done with, and I find that I don't have the patience I once had when it comes to seeking out and destroying the stubborn roots of Drakon."

"Still convinced that it's Drakon trying to make a comeback?" Dinah asked.

"Until I find something to convince me otherwise I'd rather be safe than sorry," Alex nodded. "How are things going out there?" she asked. Dinah knew she was referring to the nightly patrols.

"Amazingly well," Dinah answered. "Junior has been true to his word—Squid and Punt are behind bars, and the gang war has been averted. Under his leadership the crew has started clamping down on crimes against the folks in the area around here. We've actually had very little to do this week so we've been venturing out into other areas of the city, trying to expand the 'peace perimeter' as Babs is calling it," Dinah chuckled.

"Has he heard any more about Umbra Mortis?" Alex asked.

"You mean since you asked this morning?" Dinah grinned.

Alex sighed, and was about to respond with something grumpy, but her phone rang—not her regular phone, but one of the disposables that she kept on hand. If one of those was rining it meant that something big was happening somewhere. "Sorry Dee, I need to take this," she said as she grabbed the phone and disappeared down the hallway. She came back a few minutes later, dismantled phone in her hands. Dinah raised her eyebrow.

"Shit," Alex breathed. "I need to go overseas as fast as possible. You said that Junior was keeping the streets around here pretty crime free?" Dinah nodded. "Would you and the others be up for a trip? I'm going to need your help..."

"What's going on?" Dinah asked. "I mean, yeah—I'll help you with whatever you need, and I'm sure Babs will too. I'll call Kate for you since she doesn't seem inclined to answer your calls right now." Dinah grinned, "I'm sure even her snit won't stop her from helping."

"I'll apologize as soon as she lets me!" Alex grinned back sheepishly. "If you can get them both here as fast as possible I'll explain to all of you at the same time. I have to make some phone calls. We're tight on time and we need to be out of here within the hour if we can swing it."

"On it," Dinah said, pulling out her own phone as Alex disappeared down the hall again with a fresh disposable phone in her hand.