A/N: Hello all. This is my new fic. Hope you enjoy it. Just to give you the heads up that updates are likely to be a bit sporadic for various reasons, but I don't like incomplete stories, so I won't leave ya hanging. Let me know your thoughts.
Special thanks to Vausemaniac for this prompt and also the title.
Enjoy.
Excerpt 1
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
IN A CLAIM FOR THE ATTEMPTED MANSLAUGHTER OF DONOVAN NEWLOVE BY ALEXANDRA VAUSE
In such a claim, it is necessary to ascertain whether there was a specific intent to kill, attempted voluntary manslaughter: heat of passion or whether there was no crime of attempted involuntary manslaughter.
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Alex is lying on the floor of the bathroom, naked. She presses the small of her back, flatter against the white ceramic tiles and closes her eyes momentarily, allowing herself to savour the sensation of the coolness against her skin, before she opens them again, gaze flicking up to the bare light bulb, gently swaying from the ceiling, encapsulated by billowing steam from the shower, until it's nothing more than a blurry amber glow.
It wasn't meant to be like this, she had plan, things were going well and then, almost as soon as the gentle summer breeze shifted to a crisp autumnal nip, so did her fortunes.
'Al….Alex…how much longer you gonna be in there?' Nicky bellows as she bangs on the bathroom door. 'Did you hear me Vause? You're gonna look like a goddamn prune if you're not careful'. She pauses, her ear to the door, listening for any human sounds, but all she can hear is the pulsing of water from the shower.
'I swear to god Vause' she continues, panic beginning to rise, 'if you don't answer me in the next five seconds, then I'm going to break the fucking door down and you can explain that to the landlord. One…..two…..' her voice is shaky now, hoping she's just thinking the worst, that Alex's black moods of last year are just a thing of the past. 'three….four….'
Alex sighs and scrambles up from the floor. 'Jesus Nichols' she yells back, isn't it possible to even get a few minutes peace and quiet around here?'
'Cut the bullshit, you've been in there half an hour already, now unless you've got somebody with you and I hope to fuck you haven't, because the silence would suggest she's having less than a great time, I suggest you finish up so that I can pee. This is my house too!'
'Alright Alright, gimme ten ok? Practice using those Kegal muscles or something' Alex snaps back and immediately feels guilty, because she knows that her friend is just looking out for her after everything that's happened and she can't blame her for the concern, after all, if the roles were reversed, she would be exactly the same. She stands over the sink, staring straight into the fuggy mirror and with a fingertip; she cuts through the mist, slowly tracing the initials A.L. They stare back at her, accusatorily.
A.L.
The biggest mistake of her life.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The coffee is good; strong and smooth and god knows she needs it today. Alex stares at the vase of Lillies sat on the reception desk: flowers of death and waits to be summoned into the meeting room. Behind the heavy wooden door, her fate is being decided and it's frustrating, because she has no input into it whatsoever, but then she should be used to it by now, because since last Fall, it feels as if she's been losing a grip of just about everything in her life.
The door creaks open and the sound jars with Alex, setting her further on edge. She should have gone for a smoke, but it's too late now. It's time to bite the bullet.
Erika, one of the director's summons her in. She's tall, slim, golden brown curls framing a heart shaped face; hard blue eyes regard Alex firmly. 'We're ready for you' she says, failing to reveal any discernible emotion and Alex can feel her stomach knot involuntarily. She leaves her coffee cup on the end table and follows Erika into the room.
Alex takes a seat at the head of the boardroom table, watching Erika slide into the chair next to Stefan and begin shuffling through a pile of paperwork in front of her. Stefan unscrews a bottle of water and pours them each a glass.
'How's the rehab going?' he asks, narrowed grey eyes scrutinising her closely, his angular face juxtaposing the syrupy smooth voice.
Alex's eyes immediately dart around the room panicked. She's missed her last three therapy sessions, favouring increasingly heavy drinking and smoking. The shrink was such a fucking cliché anyway, 'how does that make you feel?' but she doesn't suppose this is the response that either Stefan or Erika are looking for and it certainly won't help save her job, so she lies. 'Great' she says, forcing the corners of her mouth into a smile with difficulty, almost as if she's forgotten how to do it. But Stefan's gaze remains fixed on her; he's not convinced, so she adds more, tries to flesh it out, make it more compelling some how. 'I just feel so much better….ready….'
'Ready?' Stefan repeats.
'Uh, yea…y'know, to come back to work'. Her eyes flit back to Erika who is now hurriedly scribbling things down and Alex is wishing she'd chosen a different seat, one that would allow her to see if Erika's notes are going to end the only piece of self worth she's ever know. The truth is she wants this job….needs it because if she's honest, it's the only thing in her whole goddamn life she's been any good at.
'Well, you know how much we value your work Alex'. Stefan leans back in his chair a little, 'in fact, I don't think I would be speaking out of turn if I said you were one of the best we've ever taken on at Black Diamond Security'
Alex takes a sip of water, trying to calm herself. Surely he wouldn't be saying all of these things if he had no intention of re-hiring her?
'But…'
And there it is. She finds herself having to bite back a sigh as she waits for the final hammer blow. She glances out of the window, looking out onto the city below. The day has taken on a dark, eerie stillness as clouds roll in overhead. The air tinged with expectation and then she's snapped out of her reverie as Stefan resumes speaking.
'If you're going to return, it will have to be on a probationary basis'
'Sorry?' she says, not quite believing what she has heard.
Stefan smiles softly, because he knows just how much this means to her.
'I said, your return is going to involve a probation period, six months to be precise, but I don't anticipate there will be any problems.' He pauses, the smile suddenly transformed into something thin lipped and firmer as he reverts back to a steely stare.
'But be sure of this Alex, I don't believe in third chances and we simply cannot afford any more bad press, the trial caused a down turn in business for us for a short while and we're only just recovering from it, I can't have anything like that compromising us again. You understand?'
Alex nods emphatically, 'of course, I completely understand and you've got nothing to worry about, nothing at all, I've learnt my lesson'. She's not lying, if the trial has taught her anything, it's the catastrophic snowball effect that actions can have and it's not something she plans on repeating, ever.
'Good' he replies, his fingers gently tapping the tabletop. 'We have the new contract for you here' he says, taking a manila envelope from Erika and passing it to Alex. 'Take a look over it this evening and if you're happy, sign it and hand it in tomorrow and Nichols will give you you're next assignment. Ok?'
'Absolutely', Alex replies, desperately trying to contain the unbridled joy that is threatening to capsize her.
'It's good to have you back on board Alex' he says, offering his hand.
'It's good to be back' she replies, shaking it firmly, 'and thank you, I really appreciate this'.
New beginnings she thinks to herself.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Press conference
'John Abraham, New York Times, Sir, can you confirm how long the affair between your employee and your client had been going on for? Claims are leading us to believe it was around a year, is this correct?'
'I can neither confirm nor deny this, i'm not aware of the full details of the case myself…no doubt the impending trial will clarify this'
'Lara Gibbon, New York Post, can you confirm if on the night in question, your employee was off duty and if so, why was she was carrying the firearm provided to her by Black Diamond Security?'
'I am not at liberty to reveal this information due to the imminent trial'
'Lincoln Davenport, Newsday, can you confirm if Black Diamond Security will continue to trade once the trial commences?'
'I can confirm that it will be business as usual at Black Diamond. This incident was an isolated event in the company's otherwise flawless thirty-year history. We believe we still provide the highest quality personal security services and will continue to do so.'
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The music is bad and the beer is warm, but Alex is ok with that. She has to be. The bar is far enough out of town that she won't be recognized, but no so remote that she will be regarded with undue suspicion. It's been months, she's bound to be slipping out of the public consciousness by now, but even so, she doesn't like taking undue risks, she can do without the attention.
A football game plays on the TV and the bartender is more fixated on this than servicing his patrons.
'Buddy' Alex yells over the din of the terrible eighties rock music. But the bartender is too engrossed to acknowledge her.
'Hey!' she says, louder this time. Still no response. So she leans across the bar top snatches up a bottle of tequila and shots it straight into her mouth. Almost on cue, the lanky barman turns around and spots her.
'Hey, you can't do that' he says clumsily trying to grab the bottle out of her hands and instead dropping it to the floor where it smashes, 'ahhh shit, now look what you've done' he says staring back at her and then he pauses as if something's clicked in his brain. 'Wait a second….you're you're…..Alex Vause'
Alex swallows hard, clearly she was wrong, this place wasn't far enough out of town.
'From the trial that was on TV a while back….Black Diamond Security…' and now the smashed bottle of tequila is the last thing on his mind.
'Keep your voice down will you' Alex hisses, not wanting to become tonight's entertainment.
'Wow, I mean you look hotter in real life' he says, a goofy grin on his face.
'When you're done with the staring, can you get me the bill'
'Can I get a picture with you?'
'What?!'
'It's just that my buddies won't believe me unless I've got a picture with you' he continues, fumbling around in the pocket of his jeans for his cell phone.
Alex has run out of patience now, 'can you just get me the fucking bill?!' she snaps, slamming her fist down on the bar top and rattling the glasses that have been set down on it.
'Woah! Calm down, some temper you got there…..you can have your bill…..just gimme a second….jeez, surprised the jury let you off…..' he mumbles, but if Alex wasn't meant to hear, then it's too late. She reaches over the bar, grabbing the scrawny man by the collars of his shirt and pulls him so close, she can smell the joint in the pocket of his shirt.
'Look you fucking moron, I don't need this bullshit from you. Yea, the jury did let me off, but don't forget this, I am a trained killer and now I know where you work, so I suggest you keep quiet about this. You got me?'
The man nods, his breath caught in the back of his throat.
'Good' she continues before tossing some dollar bills on the counter top, 'keep the change' and then she downs the rest of her beer and leaves.
As she hits the sidewalk, the fall breeze slices at her sharply and she immediately regrets snapping. He was just some jumped up kid shooting his mouth off and she needs to keep her nose clean right now, not be involved in some stupid brawl at a beat up watering hole out of town. She glances back up at the bar, makes a mental note of the name and resigns herself to the fact that she won't be able to return here again. This is her life now, hiding in shadows, staying on the periphery of existence and there's not a goddamn thing she can do about it.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper is in quarantine; at least that's what it feels like. Her bodyguard hasn't shown up for work today and as a result, it's not been deemed safe enough to leave her residence. So here she is, holed up in the pool house, dangling her feet in the water, watching tiny waves lightly ripple the surface and wishing she was normal.
'Hey Pipes' a familiar voice says. She looks round and spots her friend Polly. She takes a seat on a sun lounger that's placed next to Piper.
'You ok?'
'No' Piper replies sullen. 'I'm stuck at fucking home because Bennett has gone AWOL'
'Bennett? The baby faced guy?'
'Yea'
'The one with the cute dimples and even cuter ass?'
'I guess…..nice to know you've been keeping such a close eye on my security staff, kinda explains why you're always keen to come over' she grins.
'Fuck you Piper, you know I'm happy with Pete' Polly says defensively. 'It was just an observation'
'Uh huh, sure it was'
'It was!'
'Ok ok fine. Well if you were hoping to go out, it's not gonna happen, not until we hire someone new, the agency is due to call me shortly and tell me who's been assigned.
'What? You've got like three other security people, why can't you use one of them to go in the car with you?'
'They're all trained to do different things Poll. The guys that are on the sidelines deal with logistics and intelligence, whereas Bennett was more direct personal protection'
'Oh yea?' Polly says grinning.
'Ewww Poll, you might see him like that, but I certainly didn't, I tell you what though, if he ever returns, I'll be sure to pass on your details, ok?'
'Hilarious' Polly says, gently nudging Piper with her foot. 'Anyway, while I'm here, Pete's friend Marco is doing a DJ set at a bar up town this Saturday, you should come, it will be fun and it's about time you got back out there'
'Eurgh'
'That's such a sexy noise Pipes, I'm surprised men are not falling at your feet when you can do that'
'I'm just so over the whole dating thing and I still can't leave my own fucking house to go buy milk'
'Since when have you ever gone out to buy milk?'
'Well….maybe I would if I could….you don't know…anyway that isn't the point, I'm like a caged animal half the fucking time and it's driving me insane. I'm twenty four, these are supposed to be the most amazing years of my life and instead I can't even go for a pee without someone mumbling something into a walkie talkie!'
'Come on Piper' Polly says, placing a placatory hand on her friend's shoulder, 'it won't always be like this'
'Won't it?' Piper replies, dejected. She kicks the water in frustration breaking the relative calm that had settled around them.
'There's no point getting angry, it is what it is, you just gotta make the best of it and that should include coming out this Saturday…..so you up for it?'
Piper doesn't reply, her gaze fixed out across the gently bobbing water.
'Please' Polly continues, gently tugging at her friends arm.
'Fine, i'll come but if it's boring, I'm not gonna hang around and play Gooseberry to you and Pete' Before she can lay down any more ground rules, her phone begins to ring. She pulls it out of the pocket of her shorts. 'It's the agency' she says to her friend, 'I've got to take this'.
'Hello?'
'Hello, is that Ms Chapman?'
'Yes it is'
'This is Stefan Forsberg from Black Diamond Security, I'm pleased to advise you we've assigned a new Close Protection Officer for you, they will be with you within the next hour. This is a very experienced member of the team and I think you will be most satisfied with their work. If you have any issues however, then please call me directly and I'll be happy to run through any queries with you. I would also like to offer my sincere apologies for the disappearance of John Bennett, we're currently making further enquiries into this matter'.
'Well thank you for your call Mr Forsberg, i'm pleased you've been able to assign a replacement so quickly'.
'You're most welcome Ms Chapman. Have a good day….'
Piper is just about to end the call when she suddenly remembers something, 'Oh Mr Forsberg'
'Yes?'
'What's the name of the new Close Protection Officer?'
'Oh yes, my apologies' he says and now the tone of his voice changes, hesitant, shaky almost and Piper has no idea why, only that it's making her feel uncomfortable.
'The name is Vause. Alex Vause'
