Ya

"You want my name? For the record? Fine, Nathanial Jonathan Briggs. Residing at 122 Connecticut Lane, San Francisco. You already know the place, Jakes' Bar, down on the waterfront. You had it staked out for the past two months."

"I don't know where she is. She's been gone for two weeks now, why do you people keep asking me the same damn questions over and over. Kya is gone. I have no goddamned idea where she went. She just left one day."

"Yeah, I loved her. She's a beautiful woman and I loved her with all my heart. It doesn't matter now, she's gone. Back to wherever she came from. Can I go now?"

Nate was finally released from the FBI offices and walked out into the bright sunlight. It was a crisp clear morning in Frisco Bay, and he was exhausted. Two weeks. Fourteen days since the love of his life vanished, and then the police and FBI swarmed all over him, the bar, and the bay looking for her. They had never found her, or if they did, they didn't tell him.

God knows why the FBI was looking for her, it's not like she was a criminal or anything. Just a lovely woman with a hidden past, who shared his life, his bed, and his heart for almost half a year. Nate pushed open the doors to the bar and looked around, the staff was there, Shirley, Charlene and Kate, all dressed in their green, gold and black, slinging drinks and tossing jokes with the regulars. Nate walked in and just sat down at the bar. Within seconds Shirley was beside him with a hug and a brew.

"Welcome home, Boss. You here to stay this time?" She said in her husky breathy voice.

"I hope so, Shirl. How's business been?" Nate said, drinking some of the pale ale he liked to enjoy when he had a brew.

"Good, busy, as always when we get close to Paddy's Day. Charlene's been keeping the back end running while you been dealing with the authorities, so we're running OK. But I know she can always do with you looking over the books and making sure she didn't slip a decimal." Shirley said, a sparkle to her eye, then sashayed away to serve another customer.

Nate finished the brew and got back to his feet, then went around behind the bar and gave Kate a hug, she smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, then continued to sling drinks and pour ale for the thirsty brunch crowd. He went into the back room and had a look around. It was all cleaned up, much different from when the FBI raided the place. They had torn it apart, searching for anything, something, God knows what, trying to find where Kya had gone.

On his desk, was the small perpetual motion sculpture she had gotten him as a present. They had left that, not realizing just what it was, so it had been left alone. Nate had that as a memory of the girl he had now lost. Eight glass spheres, lined up in a row, supported by thin strings. On the end were two shiny chrome spheres. If you pulled one apart, it would clack, and the other would bounce away then come back to impact, pushing the momentum of the first one. Only difference was, this device was much closer to an actual perpetual motion device than anything sold in stores.

Nate knew that the glass was actually industrial diamond, and the metal was some odd metallic blend Kya knew about but would not tell him much, just that it was from her, to him, and that it was real. He pulled one of the chrome spheres back and let it fall, setting the device in motion.

Once every second, a sphere would clack, precisely in time with the clocks in the room, it was a timepiece as well as an example of the conservation of energy principle as Kya understood it. It conserved it's own energy and did not expel it. The noise made was the only drain on the energy, so this would go in time for days before needing to be fired again.

Go into any store and you can pick one up, but it will only last a few minutes, maybe fifteen or twenty if you're lucky. Nate's was much more real than that.

He looked over the books, made some notes as to adjustments that would have to be made, but overall, Charlene had done a great job of keeping the place afloat while he was dealing with the FBI.

"Nate? How you doing, honey?" Shirley said as she came in to check on him.

"As good as can be expected, Shirl. My hearts' ripped apart, and the cops think I killed her." He replied with a sigh.

"We know she's not dead, honey. She's gone back home. Where she needs to be." Shirley said, coming over to sit on the desk and look at him. She was a decade older than Nate, the oldest of his staff, and had been working here years ago, long before he and Kate had bought the place.

Shirley knew how to sling the booze, throw a comeback, and toss a drunk on the street better than any bouncer Nate had ever met. She also loved her job, so he kept her on, and had supported her through her own traumas, especially when her husband had passed on three years ago. She was like the older sister he'd never had, and she was a good woman. Shirley knew how hard he had fallen for Kya, and had been the first to pick up Kya's condition months ago.

"You aint' kidding nobody, Nate. You look beat, go upstairs and lie down, you need to sleep." Shirley said, then got back to her feet and held out her hand.

Nate put his hand in hers and followed the older woman out the door and around the corner to the narrow stairwell that wound up around the back of the bar to the suite that was built above it, in the ceiling crawlspace, decades ago when this building had been put together. It was a cozy place, Nate had made it his own since he had moved in years back. Now, he hesitated as he got to the door. Shirley turned and looked at him.

"I can still smell her, Shirley." He said softly, and Shirley noticed the light fragrance that Kya had always worn, some scent that she had never identified, but was soft and wafted around with the woman as she had moved. It had always seemed to suit her, and it was still detectable, even after this time had passed.

"Yeah, you will, Nate." She said, pulling him into the room. "You need to open up the windows in here and let the fresh air in, the cops went all over this place too, it took Kate two days to put everything back in the drawers after they finished, and then the bastards came in and did it again."

She went over and pushed open the swing windows to let in the fresh mid-morning breeze that always blew in from the bay. Nate sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed, lost in memories of times spent on the bed, wrapped in Kya's arms and legs as they made love over and over again.

He lay back and before he knew it, was out like a light, he never even noticed Shirley pull the wrap over him and then leave the room to let him sleep.

...

Nate walked down the stairs and into the hustle of the night time shift at the bar. Charlene was now there, serving drinks with Kate, Shirley had gone off-shift, and he slipped back into his role as barkeep, gently easing in beside Charlene who smiled at him, then danced out of the way to let him run the counter as she picked up a tray and joined Kate to keep the golden nectar flowing to the regulars and the crowds that always filled the place in the evening.

Nate didn't talk much that evening, but he kept the drink flowing, and with the girls doing their part, the night time crowd was sated, their thirsts quenched, and finally, it was closing time. Charlene looked at Nate, then pointed to the clock, he smiled at her and rang the ship's bell hanging above the counter.

"Last Call, everybody, we're closing up shop for the night." His voice rang out. A few regulars looked up bleary-eyed at the sound, as he'd not spoken much, but there was a general movement to place final orders, and then the regulars and the remaining patrons gradually filed out until there was nobody left but Nate, Charlene and Kate, who closed the doors behind the last customer and flipped the sign to Closed, then locked the doors and leaned against them with a sigh.

"Glad to have you back, Boss." Charlene said as she took up the cleaning supplies and began to wipe down the tables, joined by Kate as they worked together to tidy the place up while Nate grabbed the soft mop and began to sweep the floor of all the general debris.

"Good to be back, 'Lena. Thanks for taking care of the place for me." He replied, then he reached over, pulled Kate to him and gave her a solid kiss on the cheek and a firm hug.

Thank you, sister, for sticking with me through all of this." He said, letting her go as she smiled at him, then went back to cleaning the tables.

Nate waved to the both of them as the two ladies left for the evening. Charlene and his sister were in an intense relationship, and Nate knew that Charlene took good care of his mute twin. Kate always let him know how happy she was to have Charlene, and as far as Nate was concerned, if she was happy, then so was he. Until now, now, he was alone again.

He turned out the main lights, then stopped as his eyes lit upon a framed picture hanging at the end of the counter, a picture taken just a few weeks before. He was sitting on one of the barstools, Kya was standing, between his legs, an arm wrapped around him, her other arm was around Kate while Charlene and Shirley took up positions on either side of them. Everybody was smiling and happy, just as it was supposed to be.

Why did she have to leave? And really, where did she go? Nate sighed, the biggest question of all was the one he knew he would never get an answer to. What was going to happen to the child she was carrying? He finally dragged himself up to the bed and fell asleep, dreaming of when he had met this lovely woman and the events surrounding her.

...

Nate had been out sailing on his boat, appropriately named 'Two Bits' because after he'd bought it, that had been about all the money he'd had left from his account. She wasn't a big sailboat, as boats go, only 34', but she was fully equipped, with two cabins below deck, a small kitchen, head, and all the basic amenities.

Nate and Kate had sailed in her for years before they had finally settled in the Bay area, and he enjoyed taking the boat out on weekends, challenging himself to the currents of the bay and he especially liked the challenge presented by the San Pedro bay area, where the swells would get intense as the tidal shifts occurred, making for an exhilarating morning or afternoon.

This Sunday, the fog was rolling all over the bay, making for an easy sail, but with little wind, Nate had the motor ticking over, just lazily pushing the boat through the water at a few knots, with him watching both the rangefinder and the radar to avoid any other boats or shallows that might beach his boat.

An odd noise made him look up, but he saw nothing, but could hear it. An odd pulsing humming noise that got louder and louder. The motor stopped with a cough, and he noticed the rangefinder and sounder also stopped, as did the radio with a hiss of static. The next thing he knew he was caught in a heavy three foot swell and had to fight with the rudder to bring the boat bow-on to the waves so she wouldn't capsize. That was when he heard the splashing, and the electrical system came back to life.

He turned the boat towards the splashing and as the fog parted in front of him, he saw somebody in the freezing water, coughing and spluttering. The Frisco bay water was deep Pacific ocean water, fed by outflow from rivers and streams that were also cold, making for this water to be a very uncomfortable place to be if you weren't prepared for it.

Nate feathered the engine, dropped the sea anchor, and then tossed a life ring to the woman he could now see, splashing and coughing. The ring landed near her, and she turned to it, then went under. Nate kicked his shoes off and dove into the water after her.

He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her back to the surface, then grabbing the ring, pulled her through the middle of it and made sure her arms were on the outside, she held on tightly, and Nate noticed a few things immediately. She was nude, her blonde hair was ridiculously long, and her eyes were intense blue.

He swam, pulling the ring and his rescuee along with it to the back of the boat, and then getting behind her, kicking his legs strongly, Nate pushed her up out of the water and she clambered aboard the boat, followed by him. She fell to her knees immediately, coughing hard, he noticed a small blue pouch was in her hand, and as she struggled to get to her feet, she left it there, then promptly fell back down again. Her wrists and ankles were ringed in reddish skin, like they were irritated or chafed.

He opened a locker and pulled out some of the woollen blankets that were always stored there. He wrapped one around her shivering bareness and then rapidly rubbed her arms through the blanket to get some warmth and circulation going, but she was very cold, her lips were turning blue and her teeth were chattering.

Nat was pissed, who in their right mind would dump a naked helpless woman into freezing cold water? He picked her up, meeting no resistance, and took her below, where he sat her on the cot in the main berth, then he laid her down, still no resistance at all, and went to get some heat pads.

He pulled out three of the saline pads and tossed them into the microwave for 2 minutes on high, then once it beeped, pulled them out and carried them back into the cabin. He wrapped the heated gel pads in some cloths to protect her skin, slid one onto her stomach, another at the small of her back, and then a third between her legs, as close to her cleft as he dared. He didn't want to be inappropriate, but her core temperature had to be brought up or she'd go into hypothermia.

Her shivering continued, but he noted that the bluish tinge to her lips was fading as some colour began to return to her face. Such a pretty face, he could see. Oval, with a Eurasian style to it, she was very exotic looking. Her eyes were very Asian, almond-shaped, and her nose was just a tiny button, slightly up-turned, her lips were full but at the same time, thin, not overly large. Her bone structure was delicate, well, fine, maybe not delicate. This girl didn't look at all fragile. She had a gold pendant on a wire chain around her neck, but it was just a simple gold cylinder, so it did nothing to help him to identify her.

She looked at him as he looked at her, still shivering, and every once in a while he would check the heating pads, then adjust them to make sure they were still working to bring warmth back to her body, but it didn't seem to be working too well. He sighed, the only other way to bring a person back to temperature was full body contact.

She watched with that same oddly neutral expression as he peeled off his own wet clothes, leaving him just in shorts, and then he laid down on the bed beside her and gently pulled her over to him, wrapping them both in the blanket.

Nate knew he was almost fully erect, this girl was some kind of wet dream fantasy come true, and he became even more erect when as he pulled her to him, she slipped her legs apart so he was between them and his cock was pressed against her shaven cleft, separated just by the shorts.

He resisted the urge, and gently repositioned himself, trying not to touch her cleft or mons as he did so, then made himself comfortable, arms around her, letting his own warmth flow into her and bring her body temperature up.

He noticed shortly thereafter that she had fallen asleep. This girl was either very trusting, or something was definitely wrong with her. Nate filed that away as he also drifted off for a brief nap.

He awoke when she stirred and noted that he was no longer rock hard, and his shorts were still intact, so hopefully, both of them had kept their dignities. She was mumbling something as she slept, words that made no sense, in a language he didn't recognize. Again, it sounded Asian, but he had little experience with other languages. Knowing only a few choice words in French, could pass a basic conversation in Spanish, and was helpless with anything else other than to know how to ask for a beer.

She felt warm though, so she was no longer in danger of hypothermia. He gently rolled her onto her side, she did not awaken, and he wrapped her in a dry blanket and then pulled the covers over her to keep her warm as he got up and pulled on some dry clothes, then tossed his own wet ones in the hamper.

He noticed something on the floor, that small pouch. It wasn't his, so it must be hers, maybe it had some kind of ID or something.

He opened it and saw nothing except some jewels sparkling in the light and some disks of dull yellow metal. It couldn't be gold? He pulled one out, yes, it was gold. Double Eagles. This girl was carrying bullion. The jewels looked to be diamonds. What was she, some kind of courier? Or perhaps a smuggler?

Nate put the pouch back on the table where she could clearly see it when she woke up, and went above deck to check the boat. The sea anchor had prevented them drifting far, and it was now late afternoon.

He pulled up the anchor and fired up the engine, then turned Two Bits around and headed for the harbour and her berth. He was going to be late getting back, so Kate would have to be notified, but Charlene would be able to handle that.

He spent a leisurely two hours driving the boat south and then gently pulled her into her mooring spot ta the marina where he secured her at both ends of her dock with the mooring ropes, making sure they were both secure and solid before getting back on board and going to check on his mysterious passenger.

She was still asleep, which was not unusual for somebody who had gone through whatever might have happened to her. Nate knew he should probably inform the cops, because a naked woman, in the middle of the bay is not a standard occurrence. But, the pouch full of valuables gave him pause. He was alone, on his boat, and suddenly this girl appears, carrying a pouch full of precious metal and diamonds?

He thought about what to do. He didn't even know her name. She was a few inches taller than Kate, but mostly the same build, so the spare clothing on board for his sister ought to fit her well enough to get her back to his place.

Nate gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.

He didn't expect to be flung against the far wall and have her look like she was about to take his head off with some sort of karate chop. She was strong, a lot stronger than he expected.

She was speaking, but he had no idea what language she was using, it was some sing-song rolling tongue that he had no experience with. Definitely Asian. She kept repeating one word though, which sounded like Kia or something like that. What did she have to do with the car company?

Nate pointed at himself and carefully said "Nate"

She stopped, look at him oddly, then tapping her naked chest, said "Kya"

Communication had begun.

Nate went very carefully, he kept his distance, and went to the cupboard that held Kate's clothing, then pulled out a shirt, bra, panties, and shorts, which he held in front of him and offered to her.

Kya took the clothing and dropped it all on the bed, then pulled the items apart separately and looked at them all critically. The bra she looked at with total confusion, before tossing it over her shoulder and ignoring it completely. The black T-shirt, which had a Def Leppard logo on it, she looked at oddly, turning it all directions before pulling it over her head and down over her bare chest. She was a bigger bust than Kate so her breasts stretched the fabric more, which made her even more alluring to Nate's eyes. She pulled on the flimsy panties, they were a bit tight on her hips, but they seemed to fit, and then she pulled the shorts on, wriggling her hips a bit to pull them up and then stood back up to look at him, The shorts were way too tight on her, the zipper wide open and there was no way Nate could see the button ever closing.