Had To Be Enough

Charlotte bowed her head once more to Kane as Vincent strode out of the room. There have been no introductions, but he didn't seem to be as curious as Darion and Sera were which honestly proved to be a relief.

She didn't want more explanation than needed and was ready to head back to the hotel room for a meal and rest.

They slid through the protective metal gates once more, and Vincent returned his badge to the front desk. She was still holding tight to the documents that Kane had given them earlier, and she wondered what Vincent was going to do with the information.

Vincent turned back and tilted his chin down, silently asking her if she was ready. Charlotte nodded, and they went back to the car. With a sigh, she slipped on her seatbelt and glanced at Vincent, who placed the previous documents from Darion and Sera also into her hands.

"I'll be sending those to Stone," Vincent said.

"I see," Charlotte murmured. "Are you meeting him at the hotel?"

"No. We'll see him tomorrow."

"Did he already send you a new place to go and look at?"

Vincent shook his head. "Just another day of scouring the streets. We need to take this slow and steady and not rush the process."

Charlotte leaned back in her seat. She knew what she was getting into the moment that she asked to help. Her voices of complaint were taken seriously by Vincent, so she would try her best to not say anything unless it was actually pressing. "I understand."

"It's tedious work," Vincent said, as he slid her glance. "We might not even find anything after weeks of searching."

She brought her hands together and nodded. "It's just driving me insane since I swear they are just under our noses."

Vincent gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I know, Charlotte."

She brought her head into her hands, as she got deja vu since she swore that they had the exact same conversation only a little while back. They still got good information today, so not all was lost since they were productive.

It was scary if she actually admitted it out loud. There were traces of death all around her that sent chills down her spine and goosebumps up her arm. She didn't want to miss any detail since it could be the key to unlocking the tiny bit to get them started on a full investigation of the vigilantes.

Vincent slammed on the gas, and Charlotte leaned her head back on the headrest as she watched other cars whiz by. All cars were powered by batteries which made a substantial impact on the environment with the air becoming more purified, however, it didn't help with the fact that the technological experiments were digging deep into the world's resources.

Bright lights illuminated the dark night sky, completely eliminating the stars that were rarely ever seen at all which was a complete shame. She brought her gaze back to the highway bridge they were on, as they were almost to the hotel.

Her stomach was softly rumbling, and Charlotte placed a hand over her stomach to try and stifle it, but Vincent was able to catch it, not much to her surprise.

"Let's grab a meal before we head up to the room," Vincent said.

Charlotte answered automatically. "Yes, please."

He lifted a brow at her hasty words. "Are you tired?"

"Why are you asking when you know?" Charlotte laughed.

"You're right. I need to get you to bed. You're going delirious."

Charlotte yawned. "My apologies. I'm good with anything."

"For food?"

"Yes, sir."

"Charlotte."

Her head fell the other way, as she looked at him through her lashes. "What?"

"If you ever address me, say my name."

She lifted her hand in an apology, and he locked her hand with hers, placing their intertwined hands together by the car console. Charlotte didn't pay him any mind and instead closed her eyes with the comforting coolness of his grasp.

Charlotte squeezed tighter and knew that Vincent wasn't going to waste his words attempting to comfort her, but the little actions that he did do were enough. It had to be.

The car stopped, and Charlotte opened her eyes to see that they were in the brightly lit area of the parking space for the hotel. Vincent got out first, and Charlotte stretched her arms and cracked her neck before she also got out and followed him to the elevators.

There were two other people in the elevator when the golden doors opened, and Vincent got on, pressing their floor before pulling Charlotte in so that she was standing in front of him closest to the doors. It didn't take long for more people to come pile in, making the space even more cramped.

The parking ramp went high into the air, and the elevator kept going up since there were still people to pick up before continuing its route back down due to the fact that most people still needed to go down to the first floor of the lobby to check in.

She and Vincent were headed to the second highest floor, so they quietly waited their turn before getting off when the doors finally pulled open to their floor along with the quiet murmurs of irritation from people who were wondering why they needed to wait to go up so high only to go all the way back down again.