Page 25 of The Eagle and the Shrew

“How can you just not be mad at her at all?” Anson asked.

“I’d be lying if I said it was all hunky-dory,” Nari admitted. “But I’m working on it with Paige. On forgiveness and understanding victimology. On understanding that Ariel was not in her right mind when she attacked us, and the only way for her to get back to being in her right mind is through rehabilitation. Me holding a grudge or insisting on making her pay would get in the way of that.”

Anson opened his mouth, perhaps to argue, but a pair of women stood in the doorway. The one with thick, brown hair tapped on the doorway. The large permanent wings behind her—courtesy of Dr. Grimm—folded tight to give her space as she walked through the doorway. Once inside, she relaxed the wings, the light from above glistening in the sleek black feathers from the motion. She narrowed her blue eyes on Anson as the woman with bright pink hair reached over to grab the other’s hand. Nari recognized them from the investigation: Gabby and Lyla.

“Come in,” Nari said, giving her best welcoming smile. She knew Gabby had a complicated history with Anson, since Gimm had dispatched him to recapture her. Twice. The first time he succeeded, leaving Gabby with the wings that wouldn’t shift away. The second time he tried to collect her, that was when FUC intervened, apprehending Anson.

“I h-heard… trying to…” She paused, closing her eyes. While Gabby’s aphasia had improved after cognitive therapy, she still had difficulties talking. “Help find Gr-grimm,” Gabby continued, keeping her blue eyes on Anson’s shirt as if too afraid to make eye contact. She eventually looked up, though her pale face blanched when her eyes met his.

“I am. I have a lot to make up for,” he said in nearly a whisper.

Gabby sighed as Lyla put a protective arm around her. Gabby scrunched up her face in determination as she continued. “I had to…f-face you. That way…he…does n-not win.” She closed her eyes, probably to better focus. “Grimm. Took much…from me. Us.” Gabby moved her hand in a circle to show she meant Anson and Lyla, too. “No one d-deserves…him to ruin…our lives forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your sister. You went…f-for me…to…to get her back. Grimm used you.” She glanced to Lyla as if silently asking her to continue.

With a nod, sending the pink feathers in her hair fluttering, Lyla said, “Grimm already was manipulating your sister to his side. He probably never intended to give her back to you. Gabby told me as much as she could about Grimm, having unfortunately spent a lot of time with him.”

“M-more than I care to admit,” Gabby said with a sigh. For a moment, a faraway look crossed her face as she probably remembered something terrible. Lyla put an arm around Gabby’s shoulder. Gabby looked to her and nodded with a soft smile.

Lyla continued. “Anson, you are nothing like Grimm and should stop beating yourself up over it.”

Gabby looked to Anson, and her determined, steely gaze held on to Anson’s. She and Lyla must have spent a lot of time rehearsing what Gabby wanted to say.

“But —” Anson started.

Layla cut him off. “I also was a rescued experiment. If we don’t let go of what happened and find a way to move on, we let people like Grimm win. He already controlled you for who knows how long. How long are you going to let him have that power over you?”

Gabby nodded, her face relaxed as a solemn expression washed over it. “I am done… letting him…have p-power on…over me. That’s why…I am here. Talking.” She looked Anson up and down, her blue eyes inspecting him. After a moment, she smiled. “Take care, Anson.” She turned to Nari. “Feel better, Agent Lee.”

“I will. You two take care, too.”

The women nodded and smiled before walking away, their fingers laced together. Nari was glad to see they were doing well. Hopefully Anson would take what they’d said to heart. But she supposed that was for him to figure out. If anyone was able to help him with that, it was the FUC employees at the WANC building. They were trained to help rehabilitate survivors who fell captive to madmen like Grimm. Nari was certain they were also trained to help someone like Anson, a man caught in the crosshairs of evil. Though he didn’t have physical scars, she saw the psychological ones.

“We will find Grimm. And I’ll do my best to help you process what you’ve been through. Everyone at WANC will.” It wasn’t much, but she could offer hope. She reached out her arm, inviting him over.

“I would like that.” A dark look crossed Anson’s face, as though he was remembering all the other things that still stood in their way of riding off into the sunset. “I just want this all to be over.” He looked as exhausted as she felt.

Nari rubbed his shoulder. “It will be. Soon.” It better be. She would do all she could to take Grimm down. The safety of everyone depended on it.

14

The warm summer sun heated up Anson’s skin as he sat on the picnic blanket. The ground had already hardened despite the recent rains, though the coolness of the gentle breeze whispered of autumn yet to come. August was coming to a close. In Anson’s opinion, there wasn’t a better time to dig deep in the dirt and hide from the heat in an underground den. But he had few moments to dedicate to leisure time, so he wanted to spend them wisely. When he wasn’t helping the agents track down Grimm by analyzing any data they found, he was with Nari.

He leaned back, letting the warm rays of the sun kiss his face. It was a day warm enough for shorts, but wearing anything but pants would show the ankle monitor. A small price to pay for his freedom. And he’d pay almost anything to spend time with Nari.

Her brown eyes beamed up at him as she plucked a red grape off the cluster. She plopped it into her mouth. He savored the way her lips pursed around the fruit, savored the satisfied smile she gave him.

“Do you have to go back tomorrow for more antivenom?” Anson asked. Nari had been rid of the IV drip with the antidote for a few days, but Dr. Brown insisted she still drop by for a daily injection.

Nari nodded. “At the end of the week, they’ll run a blood test and see if I’m ready for weekly shots instead of daily.”

Anson grimaced. “I wish Ariel would donate samples already. It would help you, but it would also help FUC figure out what Dr. Grimm did to her.” What else he’d done to her, that was, but he left that last part unsaid. It was nearly too painful to think about what they already knew: his sister had lost a leg and had been completely brainwashed. But the important thing was that she was safe now.

Nari wrapped her arm around Anson’s shoulders, sending a shiver up his spine. It was a welcome feeling. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, but Paige thinks she’s making progress. It will be slow progress, but it’s still a step in the right direction.”

“I guess that’s something.” It had taken him quite some time to change the way he thought, and he’d been far less influenced than Ariel had been. Even so, he still had to mentally fact-check his thought process. He still had trouble trusting others—except Nari. He trusted her with his life. That was saying a lot. “Let’s talk about something else.”

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