Closing her eyes and leaning back against the headrest, Cadence resolved to attempt to get a few hours of sleep, if at all possible, so that she could face the next hurdle head-on. Next to her, the only other Hunter on the plane, Stormy, was snoring loudly, her head situated precariously on a small, red pillow, haphazardly shoved up against the window. Cadence sighed, knowing there was absolutely no way she could actually sleep with that raucous going on and her mind flittering from Jack, to Aaron, to the other events that had just transpired. In this situation, she honestly wished she had some sort of sleep aid that could put her out of her misery. Just as she was contemplating throwing an elbow in Stormy's direction, despite the fact that the other Hunter had a reputation for being less than hospitable, which Cadence had witnessed firsthand on their trip, she received a message over her IAC, the device implanted in her eye which allowed her to communicate via thought with her other team members.
"How are you hanging in there?" Christian asked, his voice coming across loud and clear through the Intelligence Assistance Communicator as the words also popped up before her very eyes.
Cadence could almost feel his eyes on her from where he sat one row back and across the aisle from her. Despite her inability to sleep, her eyelids suddenly seemed too heavy to open, so she didn't bother to turn her head to look at him. She had assumed he was asleep like almost everyone else, and so she was slightly surprised to have received a message. Nevertheless, she replied simply, "Okay."
"You sure about that?" he replied. Christian had been the one to implant the IAC in Cadence's eye, and despite the fact that he had not known her long, he seemed to have a pretty good read on her.
Sighing once again, Cadence replied, "No, not really." Just prior to the trip to Paris, Cadence had been reprimanded for not following protocol on a hunt. It was Christian who stood up for her to Aaron and defended her decision to do whatever it took to destroy the Rogue Vampire they had been chasing. It was also Christian who had shown up outside of her apartment that night, his feelings for Cadence evident in his kiss. The introduction of Christian into Cadence's already complicated mental state was almost too much for her to stand, and she was tempted to just shut her IAC off completely rather than converse with him at that particular juncture. However, she did care about him, and didn't want to be rude, so she was hopeful that, if she kept her responses brief, perhaps he would get the hint and leave her to her restless mind.
"Do you want to talk or are you trying to sleep?" Christian responded, giving Cadence the opportunity to duck out of the conversation if she was inclined to do so.
Hesitating for only a moment, Cadence finally resolved to politely exit. "I'm extremely concerned about Jack, and I think the only way I'm ever going to stop worrying about him is if I can try to get some sleep. I'll talk to you when we land, okay?"
Christian was a bit slow to reply. "I understand," he said. "If you change your mind, there's an empty seat back here."
"Thanks," Cadence responded. Then, after a momentary pause, she turned her IAC to Full Off mode, hoping that everyone would understand that she just wanted to be left alone for a while. Stormy stirred next to her, turning her face toward the window, which stifled the snoring just a bit, and Cadence was suddenly hopeful that, perhaps, she could drift off after all.
It seemed like only a few moments had passed when Cadence felt an elbow to her ribs and sat up abruptly, suddenly prepared to defend herself against the assailant, her arms immediately taking a protective stance.
"Easy there, cowgirl," Stormy said, her enormous hands pressing Cadence's arm just hard enough to keep her from swinging before she realized exactly who it was attempting to wake her. "Just wanted to let you know Aaron wants you to turn your IAC back on. We'll be landing pretty soon, and he wants to talk to you." Then, she added, "Geeze, someone's a little touchy," before crossing her arms and focusing her attention out the window.
Cadence rubbed her face, wondering exactly how long she had been asleep. The last thing she remembered was the overwhelming thought that she would never be able to sleep again. Her mouth was dry, and she was very aware that her breath was stale and bitter. Before she followed Aaron's request, she bent down to the bag she had stowed under the seat in front of her and pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink. Then, she dug around for her tin of Altoids before simultaneously checking the time on her phone and turning her IAC back to Full On. Checking her phone, however, immediately brought back thoughts of Jack and the seven unheard messages, and the queasy feeling quickly returned. She could see that it was almost 2:00 and they should be landing very soon, which meant she only had a few more minutes of ignorant bliss before she was faced with what could be one of the harshest realities she had ever had to face.
"Well, hello there," Aaron said through the IAC. "Would you mind coming back here for a few minutes so that I can talk to you? I'd come up there, but I'm not completely convinced moving around is in my best interest just yet."
Cadence was temporarily confused. Elliott, Aaron's best friend and right-hand-man, had been sitting in the seat next to him when they took off from Paris, so she wasn't exactly sure how she was supposed to come back and have a discussion with him in the constraints of the airplane. However, glancing over her shoulder, she could see that Elliott had relocated, and the seat next to Aaron was now empty. Without bothering to reply, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood, steadying herself on stiff legs before making her way back the few rows and sliding in next to him.