Uncaging Bunny/LT Fanfiction

Chapter 18 - A Nagging Foreboding

Laurent felt the loss of Larry's presence almost the second Larry stepped from his vehicle into his own in the parking garage. This was made even more so the minute he returned to and stepped into his friend's condo, after locking the door behind him. He dropped his keys onto the kitchen counter, after which he then dragged himself over and plopped down on the couch. With downturned head in hand, Laurent blew out a sigh. He felt emotionally drained. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was already missing his bunny, and the more he recalled the sad look on Larry's face when he left him, the more his own mood started to mirror Larry's.

Leaving Larry, yet again, was becoming harder and harder for him. It was starting to feel unnatural to be apart from him. He wanted Larry with him. They belonged together.  More and more, that was becoming crystal clear to him now.

Too antsy to sit, Laurent stood up.  He lazily strolled over to the slider that led to the terrace. He opened it and was instantly greeted by a light, slightly balmy breeze blowing off the river.  He stood, looking out over the East River, his hands stuffed in his pant pockets. Light from the buildings surrounding it reflected off the now ink-black waters like jewels resting on velvet. He sat for a while on the terrace couch, thinking back over the day, painfully remembering what Larry had revealed of his past life as well as what would be coming in the days and weeks ahead.  But all of that would come soon enough.

For now, Laurent picked himself up from the terrace couch and headed back inside the condo.  He didn't like his current mood and train of thought. He mentally shook his head, deciding that the current path of his thoughts was a waste of time. After locking the slider, Laurent decided he'd clean up around the condo, and pack up his belongings, as he'd planned to spend the next two days at the safe house before he flew back to Virginia on Sunday morning. He'd turn in early for the night as he wanted to get an early start tomorrow morning. The sooner his current mission was behind him, the better.

Much of what he, along with his two-man team, had left to do was complete compiling all the video and audio data into a timeline along with his written report of his findings and recommendations for moving forward, which would then be presented to his superiors at CIA Headquarters.  This information would then be disseminated to the other appropriate federal entities, to include the State Department, the FBI, and later, the National Nicaraguan Police Force, among others, as was deemed necessary.

With his plans fully determined, Laurent went about doing what he had to do, pushing his thoughts of earlier in the day to the back of his mind. There was much yet to be done to bring Sandoval to justice, finally freeing Larry and those who'd been harmed by a man who was essentially nothing more than a deviously clever, white collar gangster.

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Before daybreak the following morning, Laurent was awakened with a start. He bolted upright in the bed in a cold sweat, momentarily unaware of where he was. He was breathing hard, his heart pounding as he looked around the space that had been his home away from home the past few days. He rubbed a hand across his face and took a deep calming breath, waiting for his breathing to return to normal.

He'd had a strange dream, which was more like a nightmare. It had been about Larry. The only thing he could now remember of the bad dream was that he thought he heard Larry calling out to him. The visual that came to him in his nightmare was that of Larry, running or being led away by some unseen foe, with Larry looking back at him with terror etched on his face. It had seemed so real to him. Laurent shook his head, pushing aside the comforter from across his body as he slowly sat up on the edge of the bed, slumped over, his elbows braced on his thighs.

Daybreak was starting to create a frame around the drapes hanging at the large windows in the bedroom. Laurent tried not to think too much about the nightmare, caulking it up to his emotional thoughts of the night before, no doubt brought on by his having to soon leave Larry behind when he returned to Virginia. It had practically been the last thing he'd thought about before he'd finally fell into a restless sleep.