Fox Life

When Kyro didn't react to the phone, Iris poked him in the side and pointed at it. "I think it's important."     

He sighed and picked it up, calling Gale. It was extremely early morning for him, but he answered straight away. "Have you packed your things? I've already notified the pilot and the crew to get ready."     

"What exactly happened?" Kyro asked, his gloom about Lucy's situation quickly clearing up. His expression grew serious and eyes focused.     

"Your assets are going to be frozen tomorrow if you don't show up here. They have evidence that you left the country to meet up with the criminal for a collaboration and have built a case against you."     

As Kyro cursed under his breath, Gale added, "Dioscuri can't take it, so you get your ass here and spin whatever nonsense you want, but get yourself out of that shit. I've already got my hands full dealing with Mark and trying to figure out what happened to your dear girl."     

"All right, we will—"     

"No!" It was like a trigger word had been spoken, and Gale finally lost patience. "No, you won't. You're leaving her right there. Can't you see that you're in deep shit already? If anyone sees her again, YOU'RE dead meat, and so is Dioscuri. Use that empty head of yours for once. She has no place here, not for now anyway."     

Iris pretended not to hear his words. Even as her heart shattered to pieces, she kept her calm expression, like her world wasn't falling apart. Even if Gale wasn't the one who would choose her fate in the end, she could understand the importance of his words.     

She had feared for a while that her presence would endanger Kyro too much, and now the day had finally come. It would have been easy to say that she had expected it and should be fine, but she wasn't, not in the least. How could it have really come to that?     

And the control of it had never been within her grasp. What could she, a normal person with neither money nor connections, do against government persecution? Should she have just allowed herself to get caught and asked them in the face why they were after her?     

It sounded like a horrible idea at the time, but now… Iris was no longer so sure. She could see that Kyro was angry and going to argue with Gale, but her insides told her that he would give in at the end. And if he didn't, she would push him away herself. Dioscuri was his and Gale's masterpiece, and it housed more people than she could ever imagine. It couldn't falter just because of her.     

"Have you even learned anything?" Kyro asked, and Iris realized that she had missed out on a part of their conversation by losing herself in her thoughts.     

"More than I'd like. Everything was started by Jane, but it was later pushed by Greesten. They turned it into the great manhunt it's now become."     

Kyro's brows furrowed. "The pharmaceutical giant? What do they want from Iris?"     

"Still working on that, but I need time. And peace. I'll prepare her a new identity, so just let her stay home for a bit more. It's not like I'm telling you to forget her there. Just give me time to clear up the country before she returns."     

"New identity?" Iris asked in surprise. "But I have my own here, why—"     

"Silly girl, did you forget about the fact that police is after you there as well? So don't use your real identity, okay? As long as you stay low, they're not going to find you, since they seem to be afraid of making it public in your country."     

"That might mean something," Kyro said, his eyes cloudy as he thought about it. "It doesn't make sense why they're so over the top back in the states, but so secretive here."     

There was a sigh from Gale. "I'm looking into that too, but it can simply be that they don't have enough influence there. Whatever the case, just get her a low key place and bring your ass here. Even I need to rest sometimes."     

He ended the call then, and Iris and Kyro were left in an uncomfortable silence. They looked at each other for a moment, not saying anything. What could they say? The course of action had been laid out for them so obviously…     

"It's okay," Iris said in the end, smiling at him. "I'll go pack up what you got me and you can leave. Won't be a few minutes."     

"Iris…" Kyro said as if her name was a plea for something.     

She pushed herself to smile even brighter, like she was really okay with it, like she wasn't going to crumble into a ball of tears the moment he was out of sight. "I'm really fine." She even chuckled. "It's not like we're saying goodbye for all time, right? Your life in the states needs you."     

It was the truth, and yet it hurt more than any lie possibly could. But Iris didn't allow herself to wallow in misery. Not at that moment anyway.     

Kyro watched her every move, every change in her expression. The hands in his lap trembled, but they didn't reach out for her.     

It was for the better, though. Iris wasn't certain if she could continue with faking inner strength she didn't posses if he came close. "I understand your dilemma, and it's really fine with me. You just have to promise to return," she said with a grin. Somehow making it believable was harder than running for a whole day.     

"Like I could stay away," he murmured.     

In one fluid motion, he stood up and pulled her close. His lips met hers in a passionate embrace, and in moments both of them were out of breath. "Don't think for even a moment that I'm leaving because I want to. I'll take care of everything in a few days and will be back, all right? Just a few days."     

It would take him a day just to get back to the states, but Iris didn't say anything. She just nodded, afraid that her voice might break if she tried saying anything. Tears were converging in her eyes, but she pushed them back, like they were the devil.     

After a moment, Iris struggled free and went to pack her things. She only had a few clothes, so she was done in a few minutes. And so was Kyro. When they were about to leave, a stranger knocked on their door. He was sent by Gale and presented Iris with a new passport, clean debit card with a decent amount of money, and a new phone.     

From then on, she would be Iris Jackson, a nobody of middle class which had just come to live in Bristol from a village nearby.