Link sighed as he looked around the mall. The section he was in anyway. According to the message he had gotten two days before, he was supposed to be here at twelve o'clock noon. He was an hour early. Sitting down on a bench near a fountain, he took a drink from the cup in his hand. He just spent his last few dollars on the coffee, but he needed the pick-up. Like most nights, last night had led to a total of an hour of restless sleep.

Leaning back on the bench, he sighed again. This was not his day. Well, just an hour to go and he will find out why he had to come here in the first place. Hopefully it will lead him to finding that missing kid, and maybe how someone found out about his past. Well, a part of it at least.

Going to take another drink of his coffee and finding the cup dry, he groaned. Some pick-up...Tossing the empty cup into a garbage can near the bench, he put his face in his hands. His migraine was back, he was probably going to fall asleep while he was walking...He just plain felt miserable. Looking at a clock, he frowned. Still fifty-five minutes to go.

Aspen had come to the mall about eight that morning. She had some shopping to get out of the way. She was getting bigger and she needed maternity clothes, since she no longer fit into her own...well her jeans, but her stomach stuck out of her shirts, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Normally that was okay, but she felt the need to cover up all the way, since she was going to be a mother soon.

That was when she spotted Link. It was a little after eleven. She smiled and waved to him, then walked over.

"My you are here early. It's nice to see you again."

She set her bags down, she had about three and pulled her hair up into a poinytail, while she stood in front of him. She was hot, shopping for a few hours wore her out. She just didn't have the same energy as before and she was either always really hot, or extremely cold. At the moment it was the first one.

"Hey, I'll be right back."

There was a starbucks across from where she was sitting and a frapaccino sounded good to her. She also had noticed how tired Link looked and the coffee he had sitting in front of him didn't look very full. In fact, it was empty. She smiled at him and jogged over to the Starbucks.

She came back about five minutes later. The line there was always long. In her hands she had a cold drink for her and coffee for him. She handed it to him and then sat down next to him on the bench.

"So, how is the hunt going?"

Link looked up when he heard someone speak. Seeing Aspen, he smiled a bit and nodded. He remembered her saying that something two days ago about wanting to help him, and truthfully, he didn't think she was going to show up, that she would have something else to do. And, apparently she did, judging from the shopping bags. He nodded again when she said she would be right back, and leaned back on the bench, closing his eyes with a sigh.

He was hoping that today was going to give him the clue he needed to solve the case he was working. The kid had been missing for awhile now, past the golden forty-eight hours. He was most likely dead now. Link didn't want to think like that, but that was how it was.

Taking the cup of coffee Aspen had got him, he sighed as he took a drink of it. The first cup didn't help much, hopefully a second one would.

"Thank you for the coffee."

Taking a drink before answering her question, he sighed. What hunt? All he could do was wait until it was the right time. He had no idea who to look for, where to go...For all he knew he was on the wrong side of the mall.

"Well...I guess I'll find out at noon. Until then, all I can do is sit around."

Taking another drink he sighed. He hated being in the dark.

"So, doing some shopping Aspen?"

((I don't know if they actually have a starbucks in Canada. I just thought of that. Haha, but it suits my purposes))

Aspen pouted as he said he could only wait. So nothing else had happened in the past two days to lead him to a clue. She felt bad, hoping that the boy was okay and that today would lead them to something new. She knew she probably wasn't much help or anything, but the least she could do was be there...to ensure that nothing went wrong.

"Your welcome," she said finally answering his thank you.

She picked up one of her bags, pulling out a few shirts and the like.

"Oh yes, lots of shopping. It's kind of starting to wear me out, but my pants don't fit anymore and my belly hangs out of most of my shirts."

She shifted, uncomfortable on the bench and put the shirts back. Her belly had been hanging out that day, but she had pulled a sweater over her shirt and wore a pair of black sweats and as usual, pink converse. Her feet hadn't started swelling just yet.

She looked tired, bags under her eyes, and hot...her hair pulled up hung down to her waist even in a hair tie. She didn't feel at all feminine.

((Sorry it took so long for me to post.))

Link just nodded and listened to Aspen, taking a drink from his coffee. He didn't say anything after she finished, he didn't know what to say about that. Sighing, he just leaned back on the bench, still feeling tired. This coffee wasn't helping any, he still felt sleepy. The consequences of sleep deprivation. He was wishing he had one more day, he was in no condition to put up with anything bad, should it happen.

Sitting back up, he finished off the coffee and tossed the empty cup into a garbage can. Taking a look at the clock, he sighed. There was still half an hour to go...Sighing, he sat back against the bench again.

"So...how have you been? Have you started any new books?"

((And sorry it is so short.))

Aspen silently watched Link, her eyebrows creasing with worry. He looked so tired all the time, but today, especially tired. She wondered what he had been doing since he left her apartment. Probably trying to find some other leads to his case, in case this one wasn't one of them.

"No, I finished a book though. Still working on my top secret novel, though."

Her eyes followed his to the clock. 11:34...

Time sure was going by slowly now. Probably because they were both anxious and waiting for the next move by the note guy...she wished to get it over with. She felt bad because Link was here, stressing over something that wasn't even his probably. He needed rest, so she hoped this would give him the clue he needed to find his missing kid.

"I got a roommate too...interviewed a few and found the perfect one."

Sorta true. She had interviewed a few, but the one she had found had not been on that list. He had just simply showed up.

"How about you? Are you okay? What have you been doing?"

Link nodded when Aspen said that she had finished a book, though when she mentioned she was working on a top secret novel, he couldn't help but think about it. What was it about? He kept himself from asking though, if it was really top secret, there was a slim chance she would tell him anything about it if he asked. Closing his eyes, he listened as Aspen continued on, mentioned she now had a roommate. He had wondered if she was going to get one, her apartment did seem rather big for one person. Oh well, he didn’t ask about it either. That probably wasn't any of his business.

Wishing he could control time, he opened his eyes when Aspen asked if he was okay and what he had been doing. Well...he had one word answers for both of them, but those wouldn't be the best ones to say. He didn't know how she would take it, and if it was the same way he assumed most people would take it, he didn't need some one to worry about him.

"Well...I've been alright, I guess...I tried finding some other leads on this kid, but I've had no luck. It's...it's almost as if the kid doesn't exist."

That was one thing that was bothering him. You think that at least one of the teachers from the school would recognize the picture. Though none of them did. But if they had to put up with the things his school teachers had to put up with, he couldn't blame them if they forgot one face.

Aspen cocked her head sideways, eyebrows creasing in a question. What did he mean, he was beginning to wonder if the kid existed? Who would lie about such a thing, especially an older woman? What kind of motive would make a person do that? It certainly wasn't the money she was forking out because she was losing money that way.

"What do you mean? Didn't anybody at his school recognize him? He can't have been gone that long and even one person his bound to have seen him."

She sighed and set her head on her elbows, leaning over so that her elbows rested on her knees. This case was getting weirder and weirder. And what about that note he had gotten, the one that stated his rank and all that. She wanted to ask him about it, but held her tongue. He had made it clear before that he didn't really want to talk about it.

Link shook his head when Aspen asked her question. He probably just asked the wrong kids. And at the end of the day he could understand if some of the teachers had problems remembering anything. It was probably just his rotten luck. After all...someone can't just vanish. It isn't possible, and he just could picture an old woman lying about her grandson like that. Then again...Hardly anything surprised him anymore.

"Well, I probably just asked the wrong kids. And it was at the end of the day, if that school is anything like mine was, I can't blame the teachers if they forgot one kid."

Sighing, he wished he didn't mention that. He didn't have to get Aspen worried over this thing. She was pregnant; she should be worrying about her baby. Not helping some broke private investigator with a case that made no sense. Not that he didn't appreciate the help though.

"Sorry...This case just doesn't make any sense."

Link seemed just as frustrated as she was, though more rightly so. It wasn't her business, and she had gotten involved anyway. She hoped he was screwing up his momentum or something, or getting in the way. She knew she wasn't really helping...she had a bad habit of panicking.

She wasn't really worried about the kid, more so Link. He looked so tired, so stressed. She couldn't think of how else to help him, except by being there...though she was probably only stressing him out more.

"I guess," she said letting out a deep breath. The school she came from, most teachers remembered every face. You'd think one person would recognize him. Though, knowing Demaitre it was quite possible no one had.

"You have no reason to be sorry, it's really complicated I know."

She shifted her gaze from him and up to the clock on the wall.

"Looks like it almost about time."

Link looked up at the clock when Aspen said it was almost time. And seeing that she was right, he sighed in relief. He had been starting to think that time had stopped, well, at least slowed down. Now he just had one more problem. Was he supposed to find whoever left the message, or wait for them to make an appearance?

"Finally...Now...Do they find us or do we find them?"

The note didn't say anything about that, so all he could do was guess. Waiting for them to find him seemed the best choice, he had no idea who to look for. Though he was fed up with waiting...Fate just didn't seem to like him anymore.

"Bah...I hate waiting...Do you think we should just start looking around? I'll go crazy if I have to keep sitting around..."

That wasn't too far off from the truth. He never had that much patience, that being on reason he had declined a promotion that would make him a sniper. But he had to do something or he would go insane.

Aspen sighed. It seemed logical that if "they" (whoever that was) had given him the note, then they would find them, but Link was right. They couldn't just wait for forever. But what if they missed whoever it was by searching for them. Highly unlikely, since she had a feeling that she was being watched. Whoever it was already was here and knew they were waiting.

"I'm just backup."

Aspen gave him a reassuring smile, but offered no opinion. She would follow Link wherever he went. After all, she had only come to make him feel more comfortable and keep him company. Something was less likely to happen to him with a pregnant, helpless lady by his side.

"Let's do what you think best. The note was given to you, not me. I think whoever it is will find us either way."