Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 25: Chapter 25

— Léon —
Léon hated to say this, but perhaps Modraniht was right.
Maybe he should talk to himself to understand exactly what he was feeling—because the cold something spinning in his stomach like a black and white spiral in an 80s music video was starting to make him sick.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and shivered. His body felt warm—too warm—but a single drop of cold sweat sprouted in his right temple and slid down his face.
"Are you sure that's what Cae said?" Rafaela asked. She stood on the tip of her toes and looked down the slope at the entrance of Caidara's pocket dimension.
It was a narrow and rocky passage; a cave that looked as cold as it was dark. It was also uninviting and smelled like minerals, whatever minerals smelled like.
"I'm not seeing anything shining in there." Rafaela sighed, turned her phone's flashlight off, and stepped back so Léon could take a look himself.
He raised a hand and shook his head, feeling the waves of nausea once more. "I believe you."
"What did Cae say again, Pipo?" Rafaela turned around and rested a foot on a rock beside her. She bent her knees to pick up momentum and sprung up the face of the cave, climbing the two meters to a narrow, flat surface above the cave entrance.
Pipo clicked his tongue and massaged his chin while Rafaela crouched and studied the rock. Her fading tattoos assumed a faint shade of green.
"Cae said all the caves in these parts had some of these, uh... purple rocks. I, hm, forgot the name." Pipo peeked inside the cave and narrowed his dark eyes. He smiled when Rafaela offered him her hand. He took it. "Cae also said the rocks can help with our powers, but he didn't say how." Pipo squealed and laughed when Rafa hoisted him up and onto the flat rock. "And... and I thought we'd find some here, because this is the only cave around here, right?" He gasped. "Whoa. Leo, it's beautiful up here, you need to see this!"
Rafa chuckled while Pipo curled his fingers like binoculars and looked through them.
"Be careful, Pipo. Stay close to Rafa, did you hear me?" Léon said.
"Look! It's Granny Caicai! Granny! Ooooi!" Pipo shouted, waving a hand. "She's so small from up here."
Rafa laughed and crouched down again to offer her hand to Léon. "I don't think I can lift you, but I can help. Come." She jerked her chin towards the rock she had used. "Maybe we can find some of the purple rocks your brother wants." Rafa smiled, her eyes losing focus for a moment. "Can you imagine? Having your powers back and feeling whole again? What a feeling."
Léon's mouth dried; his head weighted as his thoughts sped up, each of them leading to another.
We'll find those rocks and I'll have my powers back. All of them.
"Léon?"
But what if I lose control? What if I try to kill people again? I don't want to hurt anyone.
"Léon."
And I think—I mean, I know—I'll hurt someone. Maybe Rafa can't help me. Maybe I'm better off like this. Maybe I deserve to be like this.
"Léon!"
He looked up at Rafa with a start. There was a crease between her eyebrows and she looked ready to jump down.
"Léon, you're shaking," she said. "Are you unwell again? Are your powers causing this?"
In a way, yes.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." He took in a deep breath and tried to mute the screeching thoughts in his head. Léon raised his hand, forcing a smile. "Will you help me up?"
She gave him a tiny curl of lips that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Com'ere."
Following her instructions, Léon went to the boulder at his side. He supported a foot against the rock face and held Rafa's hand.
"One, two..."
On three, Rafa pulled, helping Léon to climb the small distance between them. He reached his free hand to the edge of the rock platform, but lost his footing. The sole of his sneakers slid down the rock face, and Léon's knee came down for a hard jab on the edge of the platform.
"Ugh... shit," he growled.
When Rafa was sure Léon had enough balance, she let him go. "You okay?" She chuckled. "You definitely need to exercise more, Léon—and to buy better shoes." She pointed at her leather boots. "You're in OC now, city-boy. You need to be prepared for everything."
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "I didn't have the time to go shopping after surviving a plane crash."
Rafaela smiled and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You're pardoned this time."
Léon huffed and patted his jeans to clean the dirt. He bent down to tie his shoelaces again, and something slid off his chest pocket. That something clinked on the rock platform and jumped a few times before stopping at Pipo's feet.
"That's it!" he said. Pipo caught the glimmering something from the floor and raised it above his head. Sun poured through the triangular shape and cast a purplish light on his face.
"It's an amethyst," Rafa said with a low voice. "And the cut... may I?" Pipo smiled and placed the gem on Rafa's palm. She thanked him and asked Léon, "Where did you find this?"
Something uncomfortable swept Léon's stomach and gurgled upward, rolling to the back of his neck like a cold wave. "Rob gave it to me."
"When?"
"Uh." Léon scratched his head. "I'm not sure. When I was still in NC, so... around one week ago?"
A crease formed between her eyebrows. Finally, something shone in her eyes, and her jaw tensed. Rafa clicked her tongue. "Right. Through your hot-wired connection. Beto mentioned he tried to contact you and couldn't. That's how he knew you needed help." She showed him the amethyst. "I'm keeping this."
Léon let out an ugly sneer that, to his ears, sounded very much like Phillip. "Uh. No, you're not. It's mine." He stepped forward. "And I want it back."
"Well, I'm not giving it back, sorry. This is evidence." She made a show of pocketing the purple gem. "Around two weeks ago, Beto and I finally closed an illegal mining operation in Cidade Santa that has been boxing and sending this shite"—she patted her pocket—"to NC for the past two years. We have boxes filled with the stuff back in the precinct. The head of the operation drilled the earth, not giving a rat's arse about what lay above the mines, and the result was a bunch of landslides so severe, they left thousands of families without a roof over their heads."
"But... Rob gave it to me," he repeated. "It's.... How do you even know if that gem wasn't just a gift he bought or—"
"Please. Beto couldn't buy one of those; not with his paycheck. I can only think he was trying to help you find him." She took the gem and showed it to him. "This cut was Connie Travone's signature. Triangular—something about stability and power—smooth on one side, natural on the other. Any jeweler could tell you where to find them, although none told the police who was behind it." Her last sentence had a bitter quality to it, low and distant like a distasteful memory. "I mean, I understand why people don't really trust us—centuries of police brutality and all that." She kicked a pebble. "Now I get why The Mayor created the Heroic League instead of taking control of the Police Force in NC."
"Amma says it's hard to trust people again, Rafa, it's not their fault," Pipo said.
"Well, mite. I think you're right." She patted his head with the clumsy hesitance of someone who's not used to having kids around. Pipo seemed to notice that too, for he chuckled and gently patted her back as if to show her the right way to do it.
"Since your investigation is over," Léon began. He preferred to ignore that weird conversation about trust, forgiveness, and being hurt. "Can't I keep the amethyst? It... it's special."
"That's really not how things work, Léon. Not when you're doing the right thing." Rafa took in a deep breath. She thought for a long moment, then sighed and thrust a hand into her pocket. Her hard eyes—for they set even harder on Léon after what he was asking of her—were dark and serious, hiding any trace of the amusement she had shown for Pipo a moment ago.
Léon gulped. He had only seen one other pair of probing eyes like hers, and they belonged to his former boss and the CEO of Invidia, Iara Iamí-Xarãma. The hairs on his arms stood on end.
"Tell you what," Rafa finally said. "Keep it until we're back in Cidade Santa, but I need you to give it back to me once we're there. Can you do that?"
Léon blinked a few times to dissociate Iara and Rafaela's images in his brain. "Y-yeah. Sure can."
"Good." Rafa reached for the gem in her pocket. "I'll talk to Beto and remind him we have protocols to follow and paperwork to fill... and that he's in for an earful once I tell Marlo what he did."
Léon took in a deep breath and nodded. It would be a relief to feel the cold weight of the amethyst against his palm again. He stretched his hand, palm up to receive it.
The gem was the physical proof that Rob wanted him by his side, after all. This was a reminder of how much love Rob had for him, despite the immense pain he had caused.
Léon couldn't give it up that easily.
The sound of steps coming from the forest caught his attention. Léon looked to the side    in time to see Rob and Anhangá crossing the rim of trees below. Léon smiled when he met Rob's eyes, and warmth swelled his chest. At Rob's side, though, Anhangá's expression caught his attention.
Widened eyes, lips half-opened, shoulders tense, body hunched forward as if he were about to start running.
Why was Anhangá looking so scared?
"Rafa, wait! Don't!" Anhangá shouted.
But it was too late. Léon felt the could touch the amethyst against his palm, and a strong, unknown, terrifying influx of energy that didn't belong to him. Something tugged at his forehead, a hook pulling his conscience out of him. The sky darkened, the forest silenced, and the air around him started to be sucked in his direction.
And then, everything went black.