You'll have to pardon the short note, if you enjoy reading these...I'm having a very lonely and generally unhappy day, so you get this to read. I know Reni gets a little strange toward the end--it will be explained in the next couple chapters. I bet some of you could guess what happens, though...or rather, "who" happens. (Cue spoiler...) Thanks for reading.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Strange Dreams

The room is dimly lit; shadows in corners are made even more pronounced, and even more menacing, by the moonlight streaming through the skylights. At first sight, the place looks deserted–just an old building. The floors are old hardwood, the walls are cracked and crumbling with age, and all of it is barren. The wooden beams that support the ceiling groan occasionally, as if threatening their age and slow decay.

A figure, shaded by the light, steps in front of a place on the wall and watches it intently, for a very long time. It’s a woman, clad all in black, with long silvery hair and dark eyes. She holds a knife in her right hand, glinting as it reflects the moonlight.

“Tricky, tricky, tricky,” she whispers, never breaking her gaze. With a sudden cry, she lunges forward, brandishing the knife so that it seems like it will pierce the wall.

At the last second, a girl materializes, turning hard to the left. She doesn’t look any older than maybe eighteen or nineteen; her dark red hair settles to cascade down her back as she stops, and in the light her lavender eyes look almost metallic-blue.

The knife slams into the wall; a portion of it crumbles when the woman pulls it back out, and she drops the knife, stepping back to stare hard at the girl.

“That was very well done, Miss Trill. You seem to have far better control over your abilities than that other woman–what’s her name? The blue-eyed one.”

The girl narrows her eyes. “If you mean Kanesuma, she’s perfectly good at using her powers. She’s helped a lot of people with them.”

The woman laughs. “Well, all of that will change soon enough. We can’t have the young agent surviving this; she’s seen and heard too much.”

“What are you going to do to her?” the girl demands.

“Her powers have not fully developed, and she’s pushed her limit. She’s going to die.”

The girl draws back a step, horrified. There is no inflection in the woman’s eyes–no sign at all that she cares who lives or dies. Maybe not even herself. In the shadows, the other agents are perfectly still and silent, though they must have seen it too.

The scene changed.

The woman stands only with the girl, now, staring up at the skylight as she holds the still redhead in her arms. “You’re weaker than I thought,” she muses, her smile cold. “Anyone as weak as you deserves to go down with me. Don’t you think so?”

The girl only closes her eyes; her expression is one of rueful acceptance. Smiling at her concession, the woman looks down at her face. Black begins to rise around them, swirling in a tower of darkness. As it reaches shoulder-height, the woman dips her head to kiss the girl softly.

“We’ll go together,” she whispers against the girl’s lips, closing her own eyes.

The tower of black closes over them, spinning faster and faster. Suddenly, all at once, it turns bright red and shoots down into the ground, leaving a spherical hole in the floor that only goes down a few feet.

When the dust clears, there is no sign of the woman or the girl–all that remains is a small pile of sand.

The scene changed again.

Everything blurs horribly, then begins to sharpen. Thunder shakes the ground, sounding too loud and too close--Maybe Eden is making it; maybe she's not.

Stefan is lying on the pavement, unmoving and unresponsive. He barely breathes.

Kanesuma bites her lip, fighting tears as she glances behind her. Where are the others? The fight has to be over by now, they should be here, they should be helping her...helping Stefan...

Swallowing hard, she looks back down at the unconscious agent. One hand starts forward, as if to touch him, and then she stops it, forcing it back by her side. Shivering as a wind picks up, she takes a breath; it appears in front of her as white mist when she lets it out again.

“Stefan, don’t do this,” she pleads softly, wishing he would open his eyes. “It can’t end this way. I won’t see you off like this, not now. Please...”

Nothing. Kanesuma bows her head, shaking. Rain begins to fall, slowly but quickly gaining speed; a drop lands on Stefan’s cheek, sliding away beneath his eye like a tear. Soon, it is pouring so hard that nothing else can be heard. Her hair hangs limp around her face, weighing her down.

“Stefan, I’m begging you,” Kanesuma whispers. “This is the stupidest thing...I can’t believe you would go out like this! How could you leave...without saying goodbye?” Sniffing, she lowers her head, touching his chest where his heart would be; she can’t even feel it beating. “God, Stefan,” she sobs. “You spineless traitor.”

Something soft touches her hand, barely noticeable at first until she realizes she can’t feel the drops of rain anymore. Startled, she stares at it.

“So, that’s what you think of me,” Stefan says very softly. He sounds tired, but he is smiling very faintly, joking.

Kanesuma meets his eyes, her own still anguished but also bright with relief. She tightens her hand around his with a sob, leaning down to rest her head on his chest. “No, Stefan,” she chokes out, her tears a warm contrast to the rain. “Never.”

Stefan’s smile fades. He closes his eyes and brings his free arm up to curl it over her, protecting and comforting though he feels as though he has the strength for neither.

The image began to darken and slowly blacked out. For a long time, nothing else revealed itself. Then suddenly something rumbled, low and quiet. Thunder, maybe? Rain would be nice. There were voices; faint at first, then stronger.

Amon’s face filtered slowly into view, backed by near-darkness but illuminated by a soft light. It warmed his complexion, making him look softer than usual. His voice was quiet when he spoke. “Hey,” he said. “Are you feeling all right now, Eden?”

Eden blinked up at him slowly, taking in her surroundings as she sat up and trying to recall what had happened. “Samara and I were arguing,” she murmured fuzzily, “and then...what?”

“You collapsed.” Kanesuma spoke up from somewhere. “Stefan said you gave him and Reni quite a scare.”

Eden frowned.

“You’ve been doubling up on yourself lately,” Amon said. His eyes seemed darker than usual in the shadowed room. “There’s a lot of stress and tension around here, with Robyn and how many missions we’ve gotten lately.”

“I guess,” Eden sighed. Abruptly she remembered something. “Amon, are you all right? Kanesuma said...”

He gave her a small smile, pushing her hair back gently. “Yes, I’m okay. It’s just been a rough month, that’s all. Are you hungry? Dinner should be ready soon.”

“You...” Eden stopped. Arguing with him would be useless, and besides, she had enjoyed his actions too much to snap at him. “Sure,” she sighed, getting to her feet.

They met Kanesuma and Samara in the dining room; Kanesuma was setting dishes of food down while Samara set the table.

“Hi, guys,” Kanesuma greeted them, smiling as she set down a bowl of rice. “Feel better, Eden?”

Eden smiled. “I do, thanks.”

Samara looked up, setting down forks and knives in the proper places with hardly a glance. “Eden, I’m sorry,” she sighed, finishing up and straightening. “For earlier, I mean. Stefan and Reni are making me apologize, but I do mean it. I just get carried away sometimes, and I’m not really having a good week, with Robyn and everything...and I didn’t think you would actually collapse like that, really! It scared me...”

“Apology accepted, Sam. I know you didn’t mean it; I didn’t mean it, either. I’m in the same boat.” Eden frowned and glanced about. “Where are the others, by the way? Do they know it’s time to eat?”

“Yeah, they do,” Kanesuma said. “I told them. Stefan went to get Reni.; Reni wasn’t at his best after the whole screaming bit, so he went to his room for a while. I think they’re talking, but they should be out soon, no worries.”

“No worries,” Eden sighed, sitting down. “Okay.”

Reni came into the dining room about ten minutes later, looking tired as always. Stefan was beside him; his hand slid off the younger agent’s shoulder as they parted ways to take their places at the table, passing greetings to everyone.

“I need to talk to you.” Eden almost dropped her fork when Reni murmured in her ear, barely pausing in his stride. “After dinner; help me do the dishes.”

Eden carefully swallowed and nodded. She watched Reni sit down in his seat and smile at Kanesuma, a feeling of unease nearly killing the rest of what little appetite she had. What does he want, that he has to speak with me privately?

Dinner progressed smoothly; a long discussion over trivial things was batted around the table from agent to agent. Eden didn’t get into it, but neither did Samara, so nobody really suspected anything.

After dinner, Eden stayed behind, clearing plates and dishes as Reni and Stefan finished up their meals in respective silence. Stefan was finished before Reni, conveniently, but he also offered to help Eden with the dishes...not-so-conveniently. Eden declined, hoping her voice sounded normal when she told Stefan patiently that he and Samara had done the dishes last night, and it was Reni’s turn this time.

Thankfully, he let it go, leaving to join the others in the living room just as Reni was finishing up. The brunette followed Eden into the kitchen, setting his plate atop the three others that were to go in when the sink wasn’t so full.

For a few minutes, they washed dishes in silence. Reni calmly rinsed a plate and set it in the drying rack, and then he took another one from her.

“Keep your voice down,” he said softly, startling her a little. “If we speak at normal volume, they can hear us in the living room.”

“Okay,” Eden agreed quietly, frowning a little. “What’s this all about?” she asked.

“You know already. You were asleep for going on five hours...and those were some awfully strange dreams you had.”

Anger swept through her and the sudsy plate nearly slipped from her fingers. Reni caught it deftly and began to rinse it, expressionless, and for some reason it only angered her more. “You were reading me?” she hissed, using the excuse of leaning over to get the rest of the plates.

“Not on purpose,” he sighed. “I knew dinner was going to be ready soon, and we usually all go to bed shortly after that. I figured you would have a hard time sleeping through the night if you slept any longer. That’s all.”

“It’s not really your business to look into my dreams, you know,” Eden muttered.

Reni sighed again, ignoring the plate she was waiting for him to take as he braced himself against the counter and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, don’t start,” he mumbled; Eden wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or the headache he was probably getting. He seemed to get those a lot.

“Reni?” she queried gently. But by then he had straightened and taken the plate from her, and was rinsing it again. His face wasn’t blank anymore, though; he looked a touch exasperated.

“I wasn’t looking into your dreams, okay?” he muttered finally. “It happened by accident. I was trying to wake you up, and I couldn’t get through the dreams to reach you.” He glanced at her.

Eden looked down at the plate she was washing to avoid his gaze, afraid of what his eyes would show. “Oh,” she mumbled, faintly embarrassed for snapping at him when it wasn’t really warranted.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, as if he were reading her again. “I was just sort of concerned–they didn’t seem like bad dreams, but I don’t think you were exactly enjoying them, either.”

Eden shook her head, blowing hair out of her eyes, and smiled a little when Reni reached over to tuck the loose strands behind her ears with a wet hand. “Thanks,” she offered serenely. “I...guess I wasn’t,” she added, hushed.

“Anything I should know about?”

“You wouldn’t. At least, not all of it...not two of them. The last one...you’d remember.” Eden’s washing slowed as she closed her eyes briefly, shaking off a sudden chill. “Ah, remember the time we had to go down to New York, to take in that guy who imported illegal stuff from other continents, and who was also a murderer and who was hiding out in that really old area? He was considered a rogue and could manipulate everything?”

Reni was silent for a minute. “Stefan,” he finally stated.

Eden nodded. “You know what I saw, then.” She handed him the last plate and wiped down the counter, then let the water out of the sink. When she turned, she stumbled back a step; Reni was so close suddenly. “Jesus–!”

“Shh,” Reni warned, covering her mouth. She nodded and he pulled his hand back; they both listened intently, and finally laughter and Amon’s voice drifted to them.

“Keep the religious fights to a minimum, guys,” he called.

Eden swallowed. “Sorry, Amon!” she called back.

Reni let out a soft breath, stepping back and frowning deeply as he leaned against the counter and closed his eyes for a minute. Eden watched him, wondering.

When he opened his eyes again she asked, “What were you doing? Just now?”

He shook his head; there were lines in his face again, indications of strain. “Just messing with my shields. It’s nothing, Eden.”

“Okay,” she said.

Reni didn’t say anything else for a few minutes. Eden fidgeted nervously, knowing there was something else, and finally he came through. “What about the first two?”

“The first two what?”

“Dreams.” Reni’s gaze was steady. “You said I wouldn’t know.”

“You don’t.”

“So tell me.”

“I...” Eden bit her lip, looking away.

“What?” Reni asked softly, still leaning against the counter.

She shook her head. “I don’t remember,” she lied, swallowing hard. “I know there were two girls, but...I don’t know, I think they were playing hide and seek or something. It wasn’t anything big–“

Just like that, Reni had her backed against the fridge. His eyes were serious; endless. “Someone died,” he told her, making her breath catch. “I know that much. You do too, and you’re lying to me. Come on.”

Eden swallowed again, wishing she could look away. “I-It wasn’t what you think,” she said nervously.

Reni tilted his head. “What do I think?” he asked her softly.

“I don’t know, but it wasn’t what you think, I only knew one of the girls, we all did, she was just a friend of ours Reni nothing more and why the hell won’t you just let it go,” she begged.

“Was she an agent?” Reni asked, the softness of his voice a stark contrast to the subtle highlight in his eyes.

“God,” Eden whispered. “Yes, okay? Yes she was. Before you came. So you don’t know. Let it go already.” Please.

Reni stepped back, startled by the bright sorrow in her eyes. What did I just do, he wondered uneasily. “Okay,” he conceded, a little confused. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I pushed you, Eden...”

“Just forget it,” Eden whispered, and left the room quickly.

Reni closed his eyes and slumped against the counter again. Damn it. His shields shuddered in their places and he frowned uneasily–they shouldn’t be doing that.

A voice in the back of his head whispered, I know why. It sounded sly and smug and very much like Agis. Reni forced his breathing to stay level as his hands tightened on the counter, holding him up.

“Reni?” He opened his eyes and glanced over to the doorway that led to the open hall–Stefan stood there, frowning. “Where’s Eden?”

“She...went to bed early, I think,” Reni replied, keeping his voice soft in hopes that it wouldn’t shake like his hands wanted to. “The dishes are done,” he added unnecessarily.

“I can see that.” Stefan raised an eyebrow. “Mark just called–he says Kirose called him to tell him that Robyn’s doing well and can leave soon. We figured one of us might swing by tomorrow, since we’ve got the next two days off.”

“Sounds good,” Reni murmured.

Stefan nodded, stepping further into the kitchen and dropping his voice. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly. “And don’t say everything fine, because the look on your face gives it away.”

Reni cursed inwardly; he may have been the telepath, but Stefan saw through everything. “Just my head,” he said softly.

“Mmmm...just your head how?” Stefan wanted to know, as he came to stand before Reni.

Reni couldn’t help a breathless laugh. “Oh, fuck,” he conceded, “you win.” Then his shields abruptly degenerated and a gasp slipped from his mouth; his hands slid from the counter. Stefan kept him from falling, and his eyes widened at the zap of power that passed through the contact. It was enough to steal his breath away; Reni looked like he might melt through the floor, with his head tilted back slightly. The expression on his face looked like a war between pleasure and pain, and the latter was definitely winning.

“Reni what the fuck?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered hoarsely, closing his eyes. He could just summon enough strength to stand on his own two feet still, but surprisingly he couldn’t hear anything at all, not even the others’ thoughts. “I think...it’s got something to do with the other night. Yest–no, day before. With Robyn. I wasn’t...right...”

“Obviously,” Stefan muttered, helping him out of the kitchen. “Come on. You’re going to bed early, too.”

“No.” Reni forced him to stop, nearly doubling over himself as his shields waned again. “Jesus–I’ll never get any sleep if this isn’t fixed, Stefan,” he said breathlessly.

“You’ve done it before.”

“No I haven’t,” Reni snapped. “Not this in particular. Strengthening my shields, yeah, but nothing like this. Miguel found something, before, when I passed out the other night...he told me I should probably work on them before something like this happened, but I never had the time, with Samara and Eden and then when I was talking to you I didn’t even know it was coming–“

“Stop,” Stefan commanded, keeping his hands on Reni’s shoulders as Reni leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in misery. “Here, look. What can be done to fix this?”

“It takes work,” Reni breathed slowly. “Combine the thoughts with the negatives and imagine a barrier blocking out everything you don’t want, with little woven gaps for things you don’t mind to get through, except the barrier has to be thin so things can be screened but strong enough to withstand attack...has to be reinforced, too.”

Stefan sighed. “And you can’t make all of that alone.”

“No,” Reni mumbled. “Have to go downstairs, let them do it. Reread the makeup.”

“You did or they should?”

“Both.”

Shit. “Reni, you’re not getting me anywhere. What do you want me to do, take you to the infirmary?”

Reni’s eyes opened, clouded over. “Eden saw something,” he said, weaving. “Death.”

Stefan shook him. “Hey, stop. You’re freaking me out.”

“Death is a midnight runner.”

Now he really wasn’t making sense. Stefan draped one of Reni’s arms over his shoulders and held onto his hand, slinging an arm around his waist. “Amon,” he shouted, as Reni’s head dropped. “Call down to Communications and tell Mark to meet me at the elevator on the second floor. Reni and I are going out.”

“Everything all right?”

“No. I’ll explain when I get back. Check on Eden.” Stefan tugged on Reni’s hand to get him moving, starting for the door.

“I can’t keep anyone out of my head like this, Stefan,” Reni whispered with his eyes closed. “Even you could do damage, and you don’t know anything about how my head works.”

“I know you’re a basket case,” Stefan said surely, and shut the door.

When they stepped out of the elevator, Reni shuddered and sank to his knees. Mark was kneeling beside him before Stefan could even react, murmuring something to the agent in muted tones.

“What just happened?” Stefan asked, as Mark helped Reni up and let the agent lean on him.

“The elevator is dead,” Mark told him tiredly, busy extending his shields to cover Reni; Reni sighed and almost immediately relaxed.

Stefan blinked. “What?” he asked flatly, totally lost.

Mark sighed. “Dead, Stefan. It’s a term Communications and the Lab uses to describe something that’s been completely proofed in every way–no sound, no thoughts, no emotions, nothing. Reni was feeling that shutoff acutely; the rest of the building above ground only has manual soundproofing. When you two stepped out of the elevator, thoughts could get into Reni’s head again. It’s a very sudden switch.”

“But he’s never reacted like that,” Stefan said, confused, as he followed Mark back to an empty white room.

“No, he wouldn’t have,” Mark replied, guiding Reni over to a chair. “His shields are normally much stronger, and he’s been trained so that he’s used to the switch and can handle it, when he’s strong enough. Tonight he’s not.” Reni whispered something to Mark and Mark rubbed his shoulder, then turned with serious blue eyes. “Stefan, what happened?” he asked wearily, stepping to the side as a medic with gray eyes and short auburn hair entered the room and went to Reni.

Stefan sighed. “I’m not really sure,” he said, glancing tiredly at the medic. “I was talking with him for about twenty minutes before we went to join the others for dinner and he was fine. He said he never saw it coming. After dinner he helped Eden wash dishes–after you called I went in to tell them what you told us, but Reni was the only one there. He said Eden went to bed early. He was acting a little strange, and then suddenly he just collapsed...I was going to take him to his room, but he wouldn’t let me. He said something about the other night and the medic finding something after he passed out. Then he was going on about how he couldn’t fix whatever was happening in his head without help...but he was rambling so much it was hard to tell what was him talking to me and what was him talking to himself.” Stefan bit his lip and glanced at the door.

Mark leaned with his back against the wall, fingers tapping a slow pattern on his crossed arms. He was staring up at the ceiling, looking thoughtful. “Anything else?” he finally said.

Stefan thought back. “Eden,” he replied finally. “Reni said that she’d seen something–death or something–and then he went all creepy and whispered, ‘Death is a midnight runner.’ I don’t have any idea what he was talking about, there.”

Mark’s hands stilled as he closed his eyes. “Someone got to him, then,” he murmured softly.

“What?”

His eyes opened. “Thank you, Stefan. I can’t figure much of it out, myself, but Miguel can. He’s good at that sort of thing.”

“Miguel–that’s the one Reni was talking about. What’s going on?”

“It’s almost nine o’clock, Stefan,” Mark told him, straightening and pushing open the door as he muffled a yawn. “Go back to Sector Five and get some sleep. You’ve still got tomorrow and the next day off, and you should go see Robyn.”

“Mark–“

“I’ll take care of Reni. Good night, Stefan.” Mark shut the door and rested his forehead against it briefly, knowing he’d just dismissed someone for the first time in all his years of working for DARIET. It was painful to think about.

“Mark,” the medic called quietly. His voice was calm and gentle, settling Mark’s nerves–probably with the intention of doing so. “Sit down before you fall down, I know you’re exhausted. I need you to separate your shields from Reni’s so I can get into his head properly and figure out what’s going on, and that’s not exactly an easy task when you’re barely holding your own.”

“Sorry,” Mark murmured, managing a smile. He turned and crossed the room, sitting down in the other chair and closing his eyes. It took him five minutes to untangle his shields from Reni’s, even though he’d had them barely touching when he first extended the cover. “He’s messed up, Miguel,” he sighed. “Be careful, I don’t know who might be poking around in there.”

“Besides you.” Miguel stared at him, calm and even. “Again, I know you’re tired, but you can stop protecting him. I’ve got it covered. Out, Mark Evan Smith.”

Mark flinched as though someone had been about to strike him, sitting up a little straighter. “Damn,” he muttered, rubbing his head. “Okay, one: a little warning would be nice before you just shove at me like that. And two: don’t use my middle name. You know that, we’ve been through it.”

The medic’s smile was a soft apology. “That’s right,” he said. “Sorry.” Without waiting for a response from Mark he added, “Now, you’re going to have to clear your head. I could separate my thoughts from your thoughts from his thoughts, but it’s really much easier if you expend a little effort. Try sleeping, if you’re going to stay in this room.”

“Preferably dreamless?”

“You know me too well.”

Mark rubbed his neck. “Can I use the bed at least? I think the chair will kill me, Miguel.”

Miguel chuckled. “Assuming the Chief is aware of your absence upstairs, absolutely. Dreamless, though.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Mark stood up, yawning again, and locked his hands behind his back to stretch his arms. “Oh, man. Deshita better not decide he wants to keep me late tonight, I don’t think I can take it.” He crossed the room and hopped up on the bed, debating about his shoes for a moment before he slipped them off and curled up.

“I still don’t understand why he does that,” Miguel was saying. “It’s stupid. You get more work done, but you fill one and a half times your quota of work every day by curfew anyway.”

“It’s so he can feel better about himself,” Mark mumbled. “By acting on his sadist tendencies he doesn’t have to think about how they shouldn’t be there.” Groaning, he buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes.

“Mark,” Miguel called. “Mark.”

“He was a hit man in a past life...What?” Mark’s head shot up.

“Dreamless.”

“Hell.” Mark dropped his head back to his arms and took a deep breath. “Okay, just give me a few minutes. If I’m still in danger of dreaming then you have every right to slam me with whatever you’ve got.”

“That’s not a good threat to give me,” the medic said mildly.

“Look, I can dish it so I have to be able to take it, all right?” Mark groaned again. “Stop talking and let me sleep before a headache follows me in.”

Miguel did. When he was sure Mark was asleep (and not dreaming), he turned back to Reni. “Okay, agent,” he said softly. “Let’s get you figured out.”