As the door clicks shut Aaron rounds on Paul. “Who rattled your cage?”
Paul looks over at Silas, almost as if he is unsure if he can answer in front of him.
“He’s been in my head Paul.” Aaron dismisses his concern.
“Ok then.” He taps on the desk. ”This is your fault.”
“Yeah along with lots of other things.” Aaron replies, not even attempting a defence.
“If you hadn’t gone to such lengths to make Caester in Zero…”
“Oh what was I mean to do, suddenly pop in Shades and hope they didn’t notice? The biggest collection of fate suddenly arrives right next to Blakks tree and you think he might not have spotted it.”
“What were you doing in there In the first place?”
“Covering your arse.”  Aaron retorts. “Well you, Corton and Polar.” He confesses.
“Yeah like you aren’t responsible for that too.”
Aaron sits back and throws his arms wide. “Ok So it’s all fucking my fault. The whole arsing mess. The realities, reconciliation, the Daemons, In, you, Christine, him. You happy now!”
“No!” Paul shouts back. But his face is starting to crack. “I want you to beg for forgiveness.” He starts to smile. “I want you down on your knees Mellor.” The laugh starts. “I want a Please Please Please forgive me Lord Shoko.” He takes a breath in. “And I want a yacht.” He stops and wipes his eyes.
“You can’t have a yacht”. Aaron states, beginning to laugh himself.
“Oh well bollox to this then.” Paul makes as if he is going to leave. And then stops and sits down.
They look at each other. And Aaron laughs.
“Oh dear.” He signs out.
“I’m not apologising.” Paul states.
“I never expect you too.” Aaron replies. He looks over to Silas. “Oh sit down.” He starts to open the draws of the desk until he locates the glasses and the whiskey.
Aaron pours out three generous measures. He waits until they have picked their’s up.
“To family.” He states.
“To covering each others arses.” Paul responds.
They looks at Silas, he shrugs. Then Rik says “To Suki.”
The name brings a level of seriousness to the moment.
“Yeah.” Aaron responds. “To Suki.”
“The glue that stops us ripping each other apart.” Paul adds. He knocks back the drink and gestures for another. Aaron refills the glass.
Then Paul looks at Aaron pointedly.
“How does she do that?”
“Meaning?”
Paul leans back, considering his words. “Ok. Like when I’m right. I know I’m right I am so right no-one has ever been righter. I know all the ways; I know my motivations; I have it all laid out. I am SO right that the rest of you are just fucking stupid because you can not see how right I am.” He puts down the glass his is waving, aware of the fact he is about to spill the drink. “And then she walks into the room and I am the dumbest thing in the whole of creation.”
Aaron laughs at recognition of the situation.
“That. How does she do that?”
“Honestly? She knows us too well.” He sips his drink. “It’s like a knife through butter. She can cut through all the excuses we make and get right to the heart of the matter.” His face turns serious. “And then faced with the truth you just have to back down.”
Paul sighs. He takes a drink. “It’s like…” He pauses looking over at Silas and then shrugs, “Hell like you can keep any secrets round here. It’s like with Rae and the twins.” He looks at his father in law “I couldn’t face it Aaron.” He confesses. “I knew there was no way she could survive the birth. I knew there was no way I could face loosing her. And I knew I couldn’t face anything happening to those kids. And then Charlie made the offer and I thought fuck it. This is such the right thing to do. This is a no lose. We all get to live on and be happy. Problem solved. It didn’t even cross my mind for a second that she wouldn’t want it as well. So I did it. And then she walked away. And I couldn’t even begin to see why. There she was, the one thing that matters.” He sips the drink. “The one thing that keeps my daemon at bay. And then she wasn’t there and I could not even begin to see how it could in anyway be my fault. It was her. Rae was being stupid. I’d gone to all this trouble and she couldn’t even appreciate it. And I was so damn angry I was ripping worlds apart. And then there was a knock on the door. And there was Suki. And suddenly I was this stupid senseless, self centred, selfish, childish, moronic idiot.”
“What? You expect me to contradict?” Aaron asks
Paul shakes his head. “I’m not apologising.” He states firmly.
“No you are not.” Aaron agrees.
“It was still the right thing to do.” He states firmly. “I could have done it better.” He concedes.
“You could have asked.” Aaron states.
“You can’t ask Rae about her future she always says ‘I don’t want to know!” Paul protests.
Aaron shrugs. “That’s her choice. But if it’s any consolation Suki did go and talk to Rae too.”
Paul shrugs and then finishes the drink. “I can’t help feeling that we are going to be having another of those conversations before this business is finished.” He states. He shakes his head. “There is something going on here but I’m really not sure what it is. But it feels really big. This is more than one death.”
“Yeah.” Aaron breaths out.
Paul looks over at Silas, looking him up and down.
“What?” Silas ask defensively.
Paul looks over to his diary extract, and then the picture of the victim and then back at Silas.
“Argggr” He lets out a low growl from his throat, almost guttural. He flexes his hand open and closed, as if gestures are easier to use to express his aggravation that actual words. Then he reaches out into the air above the desk as if catching some invisible ball in space; His hands coming together in frustration. “It’s there but it’s not there.” He exclaims.
“Too many missing pieces.” Aaron explains.
“and we are not going to find them sitting round here.” He stands up. “I’m going to Chrimel. See if I can stir something up.”
“Well try not to annoy them too much.”
They watch him go before Aaron looks at Silas, waiting for the comment.
“So that would explain why Rae looks nothing like you, Rik or Suki then.” Silas states softly.
Aaron shrugs. “You could have asked.”
Silas shrugs. “Never really seemed important.”
“It isn’t. Aaron admits. “It doesn’t matter what body she is in. She is still Rae. Took her a while to come to terms with that though.”
“He said ripping apart worlds.” Silas asks softly.
“Yeah He did loose it some what.” Aaron admits
“Andi said there was something really deep that ate whole worlds.” Silas prompts, unsure if he wants his darkest suspicions confirmed.
Aaron grimaces. “Just don’t get on his bad side ok.” He warns.
Silas swallows and nods. Then he finishes the drink. “I’ll go and see what I can work out about the cross.”