It has been one month since Tavia had awakened. It has been one week since the trip at the cottage. At Roger’s investigation room Raymond stretched from his seat, taking a quick glance at the clock. He had been working for over four hours now and was extremely tired. It was now lunch time, and Shirley had run off half an hour ago to buy her teammates lunch. Raymond was starving, and he wondered why she wasn’t back yet. He sighed, thinking back to the past week where he had to catch up on work and had been working non-stop, lacking a ton of sleep.

He smiled as he reminisce the cottage trip and his time spent with Tavia. He chuckled at the thought of her, but frowned as he wondered how she was doing. He hadn’t had any contact with Tavia since the day they got back as he was too busy and he figured she was too. He picked up his cell phone and just as he was about to call, Roger walks out of his office and announces an urgent meeting to be held immediately. Just then, Shirley walks back in and Roger says he’ll give everyone fifteen minutes to eat their lunch and then the meeting would be held. Raymond sighed, putting his cell phone down as he gets up to retrieve his lunch.

[ IN THE MEETING ROOM]

“I just got a call from the head department. They received a call from the police force from Canadawith news of a fugitive who has entered Hong Kongseveral days ago. They are handing us the case to follow. This is a very urgent case; our goal is to capture the fugitive within two weeks.” Roger explains his eyebrows creased.

“This case is difficult, as he can be anywhere in Hong Kong. From what we know as of now, his name is Kevin Cheng. He is the leader of a gang, and it has reported that they have murdered a number of people. We don’t know much about him, which is why we need to do some researching to gather more information, which means that for the next couple of days; we may need to stay past our usual work time.” Roger announced, as everyone groaned in disappointment. They knew that Roger meant that they would be staying up at the station working on the case all day long, and possibly even stay overnight.

After the meeting was dismissed, Shirley heaved a huge sigh. She took out her cell phone and texted Benny.

“Missing Benny?” Raymond teased.

“We have to delay our date again!” Shirley whined.

Jack snickered. “Right when we got back from the trip we are bombarded with so much work. And now we’re going to lose sleep!”

Shirley and Jack continued to complain, but Raymond was concentrated in his own thoughts, tuning their voices out. I wonder how Tavia’s ankle is now… He thought. He knew he should’ve taken some time to visit her. He made a mental note to visit her in the next couple of days.

- - -

The traffic was excruciating. Tavia and Selena had taken the taxi and have been stuck in traffic for over an hour now. The noise accompanied the scene, with cars honking and people screaming at one another as everyone tries to move.

“Oh, how much I wish we were in Canada.” Selena said, as she glanced out the windows.

“Tell me about it. Hong Kongtraffic is crazy!” The bus driver added.

Tavia was frustrated. The centre was quite close, she was sure she would be able to get there faster if she walked, as it was after all within a walking distance. However, her ankle wasn’t entirely healed just yet, and so she had no choice but to take the taxi.

“Selena, you don’t have to come with me. You have dinner with your high school friends in less than an hour. I’ll be able to get there myself.” Tavia assured.

“Are you sure Tavia? Maybe we could go another day?” Selena asked.

Tavia shook her head. “I’ve been rotting at home for the past week. I really want to take piano lessons again. There’s a song I’ve been dying to learn.” She said.

“Alright.” Selena hesitated, shaking her head at Tavia’s stubbornness. “I’m going to get off and walk there. Call me if anything okay?”

Tavia nodded and Selena got off the Taxi. The taxi moved slightly within the last few minutes. It stopped as the stoplight turned red. A motorcycle zoomed by and halted to a stop right beside the taxi. This caught Tavia’s attention, as she glared at the shiny black motorcycle. She wondered what it felt like to ride in one. The man riding the motorcycle was dressed all black and he wore a helmet. He turned sideways and stared at Tavia. Tavia stared back, as she recognized those pairs of eyes somewhere…Ron? Tavia thought bewildered. He recognized her instantly and he waved his hand to signal her to hop on. Is he crazy? She thought. She quickly took a glimpse at the stoplight, it was still red. Her superego and her Id were having constant battles inside her head. Finally, she gave in, quickly paid the taxi driver and hopped out of the taxi. She slid onto the motorcycle while Ron handed her a helmet. She strapped it on and turned to Ron.

Turning is head back, he grinned, “Where to beautiful?”

“How long have you had your M license?” Tavia asked.

“Long enough.” He winked. “Trust me.”

“The centre near the sushi restaurant.” Tavia said.

The stoplight turned green. “Hold on tight.” Ron warned, before starting up the engine. Just as he accelerated, the sudden speed caught Tavia off guard. She was suddenly very frightened and she regretted hopping on. She quickly held on tightly to Ron’s waist. It seemed as if he was going faster and faster, and soon Tavia was leaning on to Ron’s back. She buried her face on his back. He noticed how tense she was and smiled.

“Slow down!” She mumbled.

“Don’t you feel like you’re flying?” He stated. “Isn’t this feeling incredible?”

Tavia glanced up. The images in front of her were blurred.

“Let loose a little. Scream if you have to.” He chuckled.

Tavia sat straight up without loosening her grip on Ron. She looked around in all directions, and soon enough, she thought Ron was right. She felt the adrenaline rush through her. They zoomed past the cars that were still stuck in traffic. She decided to ease her fear, “WOO HOO!” Tavia yelled, pumping up her fist.

“That’s the spirit.” Ron laughed.

[FLASHBACK]

It is dark in Tavia’s room. The sun has set and it is now midnight. The blinds down, the door closed, Tavia is shaking under the covers. She sat upright at the corner of her bed, leaning against the wall. Every time she heard noises, she would peek from under the covers. Her eyes would dart back and forth, and once she detects nothing strange going on, she would hide under the covers again. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She was crying so hard that she could barely breathe. She was completely traumatized. A soft knock was heard from the door. Tavia jumped from the sound of it.

“Tavia….It’s me, Ron. Open up.” Ron said softly behind the door.

Slowly and cautiously, Tavia slid out of her bed and hastily opened the door to let Ron in. When she opened the door, she threw herself at Ron and hugged him so hard, crying harder.

He returned the hug and ruffled her hair. He was devastated to see her this way, he felt completely useless for not being able protect her. “I’m sorry.” Ron mumbled, for the hundredth time. He stepped in the room, without letting Tavia go and closed the door behind him. Glancing around the dark room, he knew how frightened Tavia was. He lifted her chin up and looked at her straight in the eye. Her eyes were red from crying and her face was pale. Sighing, Ron kissed her lightly on the forehead. He gently led her back to her bed and sat beside her while she lay in bed. She grasped onto his hand, unwilling to let go.

“Don’t leave, please…Don’t leave.” Tavia choked, through her tears.

“I won’t ever leave you.” Ron assured, kissing her hand. He frowned, as he felt his heart ache.

He was suddenly very furious, and he wanted revenge, but he knew that he had to control his anger and not allow anything to happen to him, as this would only deeply hurt Tavia.

“I won’t let anything happen to you ever again.” Ron swore, as Tavia shut her eyes.

[ END OF FLASHBACK ]

Dazed, Tavia tensed up as she thought about what she just remembered. She realized that they had stopped near the sidewalk, and Ron was staring at her.

“What’s the matter Tavia? Are you feeling okay?” He asked, placing his hand on her forehead.

Instinctively, Tavia got up from her seat and backed away. Ron was shocked at her reaction, but he quickly let it drop. Tavia stared at him, about to ask him about her flashback, when her cell phone rang. She picked it up. It was her piano teacher, who was wondering why she was so late. As Tavia was chatting on the phone with her, Ron got back on his motorcycle and drove away before Tavia could protest. She quickly hung up and yelled Ron’s name but he was already gone.

- - -

07/08/10