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Trust me... Buck had said. His eyes had been serious as he said it.
Which is why Athena found herself walking into what looked like a seedy dive bar on the outskirts of Barstow. Not a place she would normally pick. She had spent too much time dealing with drunks in places like this. On the other hand, it was the only structure for a few miles, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. She pulled into the parking lot that had only two other cars. But it was exactly where Buck said it would be, so she went inside.
The coolness of the building was a relief from the warmth outside. It wasn't summer, but daytime in the desert at this time of the year was always warm.
The bartender looked up from small group of what she assumed were friends as Athena came in and took off her sunglasses. She blinked several times to adjust to the relatively dim light inside. Although the dimness likely helped keep the building cooler.
Athena knew she looked like cop, even in civilian clothes of denim capris and a light green polo shirt. But her badge and gun were in a gun safe in the back of the SUV she had driven here. She had a knife in her belt buckle and an extendable baton in her hip pocket -- she never went anywhere without some kind of weapon on her.
Athena went to the bar and settled on a stool. "I'm meeting a... friend," she said to the bartender who strolled over to her end of the bar.
"Friend got a name?" the bartender asked with a frown.
"Friend of a friend," Athena had to admit. The only information Buck had given her was the bar and that someone would meet her.
The frown got deeper.
"I'll have whatever you have on tap while I'm waiting," Athena said. A single glass of beer wouldn't affect her. And it was one way of pretending to try to blend in.
The man went off to the taps and pulled a glass of a pale-looking beer. "It's a local brewery," the man said.
"Good to know," Athena nodded. She dropped a twenty on the bar.
The beer was crisp and tasted of apples, interestingly enough. She nodded at the taste. "Good choice," she said.
The man shrugged, ignored the twenty, and went to his friends at the other end of the bar.
Voices didn't quite carry, so she couldn't hear what the group was talking about. There was a tv on the wall at the far end of the bar but it was turned off at the moment. The quiet was soothing.
Athena was half-way through the beer when a young woman sat on the stool next to her.
"You must be Buck's friend," she said.
"I am," Athena admitted, turning on the stool. She studied the woman.
Much smaller than Athena, slight but wiry looking. California was multicultural enough that she wasn't surprised at the Oriental features on the woman's tanned face. The smile the woman gave was broad and welcoming.
"I'm Kira!" The woman held out a hand.
Athena shook the warm hand.
"Athena Nash," she introduced herself.
The bartender set a glass of something clear with ice floating in the liquid in front of Kira. "Thanks!" Kira beamed at the man. He nodded at her and went back to his friends. They all studiously ignored the two women.
"What did Buck, or his friends, tell you?" Athena asked.
"Not a lot," Kira admitted. "Only that you are... heart-sore and need to get away from your family for a few days."
Athena snorted. "My husband died, saving others," she said baldly. That she could say that sentence without breaking into tears had been a hard battle. "But I don't know how to move forward without him."
"Ah!" A nod of understanding.
"And my family, well, they have good intentions but..." Athena had to take a breath. "It's just hard."
Kira nodded as she sipped her drink. "How long do you have before someone really misses you?"
Athena gave a small grin. "I told everyone I was turning off my phone and going off the grid for a week," she admitted. "They think I'm going to a resort of some sort." Athena had not disabused anyone of that impression. Even May and Harry had been glad to see her taking some time away from work.
Kira snorted. "Well. We will be off the grid but, to be honest, it's not going to be a resort."
"I don't care about that," Athena shrugged. "Buck told me to bring practical clothes and to be prepared for some camping out."
Kira nodded. "That's about it."
"What... what are we doing to do?" Athena asked cautiously. "It's just... I don't know you."
A small laugh. "Too true," she said. "How about we go down the road a bit, to a small campsite. You'll still have cell phone coverage there, so you can call for help if you think you need to. We can talk more privately there and then, if you want to go further, we can go on. Or, we can call it done and you can go home."
Athena took a sip of her beer, to give herself a moment to think.
"I have nothing to lose," she finally admitted. "Sounds good!"
"Finish up, use the bathroom, since it's the last flush toilet you're going to see for the week, and we can go," Kira said.
Intrigued, Athena did all of that and they were shortly outside by Athena's vehicle. She looked around. "How did you get here?"
"Oh, I wasn't far away," Kira said easily. "That's part of what we need to discuss."
Athena shook her head and unlocked the car. "Get in and tell me where we're going."
Kira kept up a cheerful commentary on the local area as Athena drove half-an-hour into the desert. After the first fifteen minutes, Kira had directed her off the main road onto a well-worn, unpaved side road.
"Pull in here," Kira pointed. There was a rough, wooden lean-to and the space was surrounded by tall rocks that provided shade, protecting them from the blazing afternoon sun.
There was a picnic table and a fire pit in front of the lean-to.
"Have a seat," Kira said, pointing to the picnic table.
The table was made of well-worn, smooth wood. For something that was exposed to the elements, it was in good shape and sturdy. Someone put some work into keeping this site clean and maintained, Athena realized.
When they were settled, Kira held out a hand and wriggled her fingers. Athena cautiously took the hand.
"What do you know of the supernatural?" Kira asked.
Not what Athena had been expecting.
"It exists," Athena admitted. "I've been a cop too long to not have seen some things that cannot be explained otherwise."
"Good start," Kira nodded. "Your friend Buck, he has a touch of magic. Something that could have been more if he had been trained when he was young. But... he has a people-knack."
"He is so easy to like," Athena admitted with a small smile.
Kira nodded. "That's part of it," she agreed. "He can sometimes sense emotions. He can often tell if someone is lying to him."
Athena nodded. That tracked with what she knew of Buck. He never tolerated liars but was so outgoing and generous that it seemed like a small thing.
"I am what is known as a Kitsune," Kira went on. "I am a magical being with a human form, but I can also take the shape of a fox." She grinned. "Hang on."
Athena was startled at the orange glow of Kira's eyes and the appearance of the outline of a fox around her. The glow and the fox dissipated in a small shower of sparkles.
"Good," Kira said. "You don't scare easily."
"Not with the job I have," Athena admitted. "Can't afford to get scared by something... different."
"True," Kira agreed. "As part of learning to manage the fox spirit within me, I spent a year here in the desert with a group called Skin Walkers."
"I don't have a year," Athena protested.
"No, and for what you need, you do not need that much time," Kira assured her. "But you need to learn how to channel your emotions into something more manageable. Your grief is like a second skin, and holds you back from living your life."
Athena was startled. "I... I thought I was doing okay!"
"And if you want okay, then I will let you go back to your life," Kira said seriously. "But you will be profoundly unhappy and it will affect all that you do, as well as those around you."
Athena huffed. But then realized this was why Buck had sent her to Kira. Buck had asked for her to trust him and she realized she was going to give that trust to him.
"Where do we start?" Athena asked, still holding Kira's hand.
Kira smiled brightly.
A week later, Athena drove back toward LA. The week with Kira and the Skin Walkers was likely -- hopefully -- going to be the strangest thing she had ever done in her life. But she felt better and more balanced. Her memories of losing Bobby had been tempered, smoothed. Now, she could focus on the happy memories she had of their time together.
Athena used a rest stop on the way back to LA. She turned on her phone and ignored the cascade of message alerts. She sighed. Evidently, no one had believed that she would really turn off her phone. She'd call May and Harry when she got home in another couple of hours.
She made the most important call first. "Buck! I'm headed back to town. When can we get together?"