The Blind Diviner

Reed was late for work the next morning. He had been thinking about all the stuff that Cosima had stirred up from its rest. He had spent so long not being angry anymore, to let the bitterness roll off him like steam from a grate. But with only a few remarks, he felt like he was back to square one. The anger had brought back the old ache in his chest, the sleepless nights of tossing and turning, the temper that had been brought down to a simmer was now at full boil. And then there was another stew of anger towards Cosima, the bitch had gotten under his skin. He had let her get to him. He was mad at her and himself for it.

“There’s someone here to see you.” Charlie, who was working the front desk that day stood next to his desk.

Reed turned his chair, peering out into the front enterance to see Cosima staring up at the ceiling like it held a mosaic of some sort other than fluorescent lights. Reed’s nostrils flared for a second as he calmed himself. Straightening up in his chair and looking back to the paperwork on he had to finish, he breathed in a calming breath.

“Tell her I’m busy and I’m not seeing anyone right now. If she resists, feel free to throw her out on her ass,” Reed grumbled, playing with his pen between his fingers.

He saw Charlie leave out of the corner of his eye, not daring to look over to him talking to Cosima. He knew she could probably charm herself in or say something that would shock him enough to just let her right on through. He didn’t have to know a million things about her to just know that one, that she could manipulate the smartest of people.

“Uh, Hunter?” He turned to Charlie, seeing a sorry smile on his face. “She said she had information regarding the Hedger murders that you’ve been investigating. It seemed valid enough.”

Reed saw Cosima smile at him in the way that almost made him want to flip over his desk. “Thanks, Charlie.”

Cosima took a seat in the chair next to his desk, folding her hands on top of her purse. She looked around the small station, curiously listening to the minds around her.

“Are you here to harass me some more, Ms. Hearst?” Reed crossed his arms, leaning his chair back.

“I came to apologize actually. I overstepped my boundaries last night. It was rude.” Cosima had really came to apologize but also just to see how much of what she said had bothered him.
“Oh, well the world is right again. You can see yourself out.” Reed responded flatly, for once rather wanting to do paperwork than anything else.

“I’m serious,” Cosima said a little quieter. “I obviously stepped on your fingers. I felt threatened last night and I wanted to protect myself and in the process that meant putting you down.”

“Putting someone down is calling them something they hate, criticizing them. You though, decided to somehow indulge in my more kept secrets. I could’ve easily arrested you for whatever citation I could have thought up. I should’ve, might had made me feel better.”

“Then please do,” Cosima held her wrists out, waiting in all seriousness. “I never do that because when I do it brings out the worst in me.”

Reed tossed his pen on the desk, leaning forward in his chair. “Look, I don’t know how you knew about that stuff and I really am working on not caring about that. So I’ll accept your apology if you get up and get the hell of my sight for the rest of my life, okay?”

Cosima lowered her hands, gripping her purse. “I can do that.”

Reed watched her as she left the building, sighing with frustration as he looked back to his paperwork. But he could no longer focus on it, only on somehow feeling guilty. He had no reason to feel it. He had nothing to be sorry for. Nothing. But should he had banished her as he did?

“Who gives a shit,” he mumbled to himself as he focused back onto the paperwork in front of him, "let it go.”

Cosima knew that any chance of having her shop investigated again was blown. She’d have to take matters into her own hands she guessed. Maybe just spending the night would have her catch whomever was doing this. She had a baton and a taser at her apartment. She’d buy a gun if it didn’t make her feel so out of control. A gun gave her an uneasiness that she couldn’t get over but a taser could floor a perp like a gun.

She took a nap when she got back to her apartment, wanting to be able to stay up and be alert when night rolled around. Her dreams were usually as normal as the next person but they went too deep sometimes. She’d dream sometimes of what she knew people had been thinking and that world wasn’t her own, it could be frightening or intriguing.

When she woke, the sun was about to dipped below the horizon. Cosima changed into something a little more presentable than large t-shirt and pj shorts. She grabbed her small defensive weapons of choice and her phone. For extra measure, she brought a pillow and blanket with her for the long night ahead. She made sure to double check that she had locked her apartment when she left.
In the 30 second walk it took to her shop, Cosima realized she didn’t know what her plan of attack was exactly. What if someone had been breaking into her shop? What would she actually do? First thing would to be to rub Reed’s face all up in it but more pointedly she would have to hope that they weren’t violent or didn’t have something a little more threatening than what she was packing.

She had locked the security gates behind her as she left the store door unlocked. It was eerily quiet when she let the door close behind her but she knew she was alone. She set up her pillow and blanket on the lay down chair she had in the back. She sat down, staring forward as she wondered what to do next. The only thing she could do is wait.