11 The Question

"Take me home," Thea stated urgently as her fingers tightened in formation. She was tempted to slap the man who she had turned into her boyfriend overnight.

He stared at her for a few seconds, before letting his head incline, "Is now really the time to go home?" This question made her furious as he wasn't immediately taking them home. Even though they were in the middle of broad daylight and in the public streets.

Thea took hold of the back of his shirt and dragged him into the alley between two shops. She then swung her arm and pinned him onto the wall with her hands now balled up around the collar of his shirt. She was smaller than him, she was weaker than him, yet she had pinned him with ease as he didn't feel the need to resist. That and if he resisted, he'd only feel it would make this all worse.

"You said you wanted to drive out the person who killed my father... To find out who it was... You had me kill two people... Now you're telling me the person who killed my father is actually my father!?" She pushed on him with her forearms, keeping him pinned even though he didn't try to get away.

Caden wore a blank face, he didn't smile and he didn't frown. His eyes were the only thing which showed emotion. They showed sadness, sympathy. There was no pity, and he was far from apathetic.

People walking by didn't take this seriously. Especially the ones who had seen them walking together like they had been before. Some may just think it was a lover's spat.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" Thea screamed in his face, incidentally spitting on him in the process, causing him to close his eyes. She could feel herself shaking, she was angry, but not necessarily at him. "I already told Tommy he wasn't my brother!"

Caden let out a quiet sigh, "Would you have believed me if I had told you earlier? Last night? At the empty graves that evening after school?" He had no backing, he had made no reason for her to believe him until he had shown her that book with the invisible list of people. When he made her aware of Tempest, when he had warned her mother and now her biological father, now was the only time he could tell her before it ruined everything. "This is the second day I've known you."

Thea kept her fingers curled up with the collar of his shirt. She stared at his throat absently, before resting her forehead against his chest. "Why are we drawing him out?"

"Because in May Twenty Thirteen, he is going to destroy the Glades in an event known as the Undertaking." The moment he said the last word, the lines he had used on Merlyn, it all clicked in Thea's head.

"You were riling him up," Thea said as her jaw began to tremble worrisomely. "If he killed my father, then he has the ability to do the same to us."

"He won't kill you, he can't." Caden said as he grasped the hand she wore the jade ring upon. "This ring protects you, even if it isn't worn, as it is bound to you." He caressed her palm with this thumb.

"He... He might kill my mother," She muttered quietly to herself as she looked to the ground. Even though she had a rift between her and her mother, she still loved her. She didn't hate her so much to want her dead.

Caden shook his head, "That will only point a finger at him." He responded as he gently moved his other hand to cup her cheek and bring her to face him. "And soon when he finds his people are being targeted. He will come for us and then you are the light we shine in his eyes."

"I... Will be the light?" Thea's mouth hung upon a few centimeters in thought. "What is the Undertaking?" Her fingers curled around his collar even tighter, but the anger that she was giving to him was dissipating slowly.

"The Undertaking is an effort to destroy the Glades, to remove the major criminal element of the city... It'll kill half a thousand people at best. The people in the book, are the people who are funding its operation." Caden informed her with a small grin across his lips as he played with the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Making her smile up at him as tears began to stream down her face.

"So we're still going to drive him out into the open, like a final boss battle...?" Thea asked with a moderated tone, her arms becoming slack, hanging only by the collar of his shirt.

"Yup," Caden said with a simple huff, moving his hand up from her cheek to comb out her hair with his fingers. "We will put a stop to his plans before they can come to fruition. The seismic weapon he plans to use isn't manufactured yet."

"Seismic weapon?" She was a straight A student, she knew exactly what seismic meant. They were going to destroy the glades in an artificial natural disaster, a forged Earthquake. "My family's company develops weapons..."

"Yes... Yes it does," Caden could see that she was piecing more and more together as he was pushing her to pick apart the puzzle of information he was feeding. "It's likely Merlyn will want to use the Applied Sciences division your mother developed, to make the weapon."

"Do you think they already have the blueprints?" Thea was becoming worried, but when she saw him shake his head in denial, she sighed with relief.

"It'll take them two years to get the necessary assets together without arousing suspicion," He responded with a faint smile kept forming over his lips as he looked her in the eyes.

"Two years..." She tried to whistle in attempt to calm herself and bring some normancy to her mind. Though it wasn't that much help, because of how anxious she was getting she could barely make a sound between her lips.

Caden smiled as he used his own weight to turn the tide, pinning her to the wall instead with one arm on the wall and the other hand on her jawline. He caressed her chin, his eyes going from her eyes to her lips more than once. It was as if he was asking for permission without words.

Pinned to the wall, not truly restrained, she looked back up at him. Her eyes were still glossy, her face was streaked with stains from tears. Her hands still grasped onto the fabric of his shirt, she could only tighten her hold as she noticed his eyes. She nipped her lower lip, going from anxious to aspired. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to lean forward, to kiss him.

In the moment she murmured quietly, "You want to make what I blurted to my mother, real and true... Don't you?" She swallowed hard, but made very little sound as consequence. Her heart was pounding hard to the point that it shook her vision with every thump. The tightening the anxieties of the day had begun to loosen.

Her fingers tugged at his shirt, forcing him to lean down into her air space, as she loosely pressed her lips against his with her head slightly cocked to the side.

Caden was surprised by the sudden inclination, let alone the willingness to take the first stand. A shaky breath escaped his nostrils, tickling her face softly. She wasn't the only one with a heart beat hammering roughly away at his chest cavity. His eyes were left partially open, while hers were almost entirely closed.

Her lips were soft, moisturized and warm. They tasted like honey and tomato. He could taste her breath as they pushed on, the garlic and the grated cheese. It was as if he was eating a meal, but instead he was sharing a first kiss.

As her fingers slowly let go of the collar of his shirt, he quietly pulled away from her lips. It was as if all of his other senses had gone dark, but as they returned, he noticed that they were no longer alone.

A man cleared his throat, the smell of alcohol reached his sense of smell.

Both Caden and Thea glanced over to see a man they both knew, maybe even sympathized with, standing at the opening of the alley. It was none other than Quentin Lance, father of Laurel Lance.

"Oh, there's a handsome bloke," Caden put on a fake english accent, though it sounded like a strange proper welsh accent as it was coupled with his natural way of speech.

Quentin scoffed and shook his head, "Tone it down in public, Kiddos. I have some questions and I want some answers. I know you were at last night's party at the Merlyn's mansion."

"Oh yeah, we heard about that," Thea said as she scratched the side of her head, tucking a wing of hair behind one ear.

"Social media places you there twenty minutes before the murder of Jordan Kern, suspected drug dealer, who supposedly wasn't supposed to be there." Quentin said as he stepped forward with his arms across his chest.

Caden glanced around and generally noticed he was the only officer there. It was likely this questioning was off the books and a random approach. "We left before it happened. You can even ask her mom, we were home around that time."

"Really?" He sounded skeptical, looking over Thea who didn't appear as if she was under the influence of anything. Though he quickly noted the ring on her finger. It was a jade ring with a dragon on it.

"You really killed the mood Mister Lance," Thea said with a deadpan expression, appearing rather disappointed that he had broke up the scene between her and Caden.

"Captain Lance to you missy," The Police Captain pointed at the girl followed with the rough tone of his voice. "And I already asked your mother. You were home at the exact time of death," it sounded as if he just wanted verification. "But at the same time we had a witness say you two hid inside of a linen closet at the same time of your supposed arrival home." He combed a hand over his scalp."They must've been high..."

"I mean, someone did try to touch Thea so we hid in a closet, but that was well before the whole shebang." Caden said this with a very truthful tone, even though it was an incredible lie.

"You know anyone who would want to kill Jordan?" Quentin asked as he heard this, wondering if the kid had an information he wished to divulge.

"I mean, Tommy caught Jordan trying to deal drugs to Thea twice, once at her family's grave and again at the party. Jordan wasn't supposed to be there, so... Merlyn's got motive, but I doubt he'd kill." Caden looked over towards Thea and smirked a little bit. "But since Thea is Malcolm's biological daughter... He has an even bigger motive."

Thea blinked several times as she heard Caden say this and nodded slowly. "True..."

Quentin gave Thea a closer look, he could see the stains from her tears, the redness of her eyes, along with the redness around her eyes. They were all indicators that she had been crying recently. "Hm..."