A/N: to any french speakers reading this, I apologise furiously in advance. Also, to all my readers, I am so so thankful. If I don't reply to your review, I apologise, however I definitely read them all and all of which mean a lot to me and keep me going when my anti-muse is like 'forget it, no one cares', so thank you.
3. Robbery, Strong-arm
Lauren sat in the car, glaring out of the windshield. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Evony staring at her, waiting for her to do something. It was past lunchtime and Evony had already finished off the packet of chips. Bag of air mostly. When she'd complained, Lauren pointed out the air stopped the chips from being crushed.
Not that that deterred in her in the least from complaining. "I'm hungry. Can you just get some real food already?"
Lauren's eyes never wavered from the brick wall. "I only have twenty dollars."
"Twenty dollars can buy food. Can't it? I mean, aren't there those tiring ads on television about 'loose change' meals." Lauren side-eyed her before glaring back out of the windshield. They were currently at a gas station. One of the shittest one's Evony had seen, which she'd pointed out as Lauren pulled into it, before then commenting that they could rob the store blind and no one would bat an eye. "What are you waiting for?"
"A plan," Lauren mumbled. Running her hands across her face, she tiredly groaned, leaning back. "We need money."
"Yes. This has been established. Why don't we rob a bank?"
Lauren shook her head. "Too big." Evony blinked, before shaking off the surprise. Lauren almost smiled at that expression, similar to the 'Oh' she'd spoken, god, had it only been a week?
"Well the town's not exactly large. I doubt their biggest concern will be security. We could probably get enough to set us up in a motel for the night, at least."
"We don't need police on our tail on top of everything else," Lauren replied. "We need to get money. Just enough. A couple of hundred dollars and I'll work out something." She huffed out a breath, glaring at the wall in front of them.
"Well, you have a gun, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"Then we can rob this crappy place. See, plan solved. Let's get dinner."
"Not like that." Lauren groaned. She just wanted to sleep. No, actually, she just wanted to be in bed, curled up with a novel and have her biggest issue being her need to move to a new apartment. Again. Not Dark Fae bounty hunters that may or may not be on their tail who will definitely kill on sight.
"So we're not doing this because….?" Evony blinked at her. "Clearly it's not a moral dilemma, because from your history-"
"Yes, Evony," Lauren snapped. "I turned you human would you shut up about it for five minutes?" She glared, heaving out a breath and watched as a grin peeled over Evony's lips. The woman was freaking pleased that she'd gotten under her skin. Great. Shutting her eyes, she exhaled. Breathe out the worries or some crap. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just-"
"I was actually referring to your more shaky history of running, keeping secrets, the army, ecoterrorism, your parents…" she trailed off smiling coyly at Lauren. "Should I go on?"
Lauren hissed in a breath. "You know about them?"
"Oh honey, there's not much I don't know about you." Lauren blinked, shivering before she turned away. Right. That was a thought she'd file away to think on later. "Now: food. I'm starving and I want something. A steak with a wine and mushroom sauce perhaps?"
Lauren hummed. Blinking. She unsnapped her seatbelt, climbing out of the car. The planned formed in her head rather quickly. Cameras are likely to be recorded in a backroom, money would require a key but not a pin. Easy. Evony followed to the front of the truck. "So you'll seduce the attendant and I'll grab his keys," Lauren said, looking at her.
"Excuse me?" Lauren stared at her. Shit. Whatever she thought she'd said. She hadn't.
"The plan," she explained. "You seduce the attendant, enough for me to grab the keys, get him away from the cash register and then I'll grab the money. The alarms won't go off and then I can get rid of the video evidence before he has time to realise what's happened."
"I am not seducing some idiotic, dropout pleb with no ambition."
Lauren's brain stopped, zoning in on the singular word. "Did you...did you just call someone a pleb?"
Evony glowered, cheeks turning red. "Newsflash Lewis, you're not the only exhausted one."
Lauren stifled the laughter, trying to swallow it back. It was odd to see Evony wearing grey cotton pants with a cream wool sweater, even more so to see her look tired and frustrated at her. She looked...home-y. If you could ignore the dangerous scowl. "So, you revert to latin when you're tired?"
"Ugh. Just seduce the attendant, Doctor. I need to get this key and be done with this situation already."
Lauren shot her a dirty look. "You're seducing the attendant, I'm getting the key. Remember?"
"No. You will seduce the attendant while I get the key. I don't think you exactly have the subtle touch needed to lift keys without notice."
"Excuse me? You should talk!" Evony scoffed, infuriating Lauren even more. "And you seduce people for a living." Lauren paused, knowing her next sentence was dangerous. "Just think of it as another day at work." Evony's head whipped to Lauren's direction, eyes narrowing across the bonnet of the car. Yep, dangerous, but she couldn't back down now and for god's sake she was exhausted. "What? Did I say something that upset your pride?"
"Please, don't think so highly of yourself. At least seduction is a part of my culture and a necessary tool of survival, what's your excuse?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Apology not accepted." Lauren huffed. That wasn't what she meant and Evony knew it. "You go around seducing people as a means to an end, all of which seems to come back to Bo. And don't give me crap that it was a necessary evil. You just wanted to get into people's pants and I am not one to judge. Well, much," she added as an afterthought. "But honey stop lying to yourself. It's exhausting."
Lauren pinched the bridge of her nose, grinding her teeth. "Twice. I seduced you and her, that does not concede to it being a usual event. And this is an entirely different situation!" In the back of Lauren's mind, she was aware that they were yelling at each other. God, the attendant was probably calling the police now if he'd heard.
Or thanking his lucky stars. Who freaking knew.
"How is it different from you spybanging your way around? Just shut your eyes and think of the succuslut."
Lauren hissed out a breath, biting back her anger. She could feel her hands curling into fists as the damn woman smirked over at her. As if she was in her office, wearing a Vera Wang and not in some parking lot wearing her sweater. Her sweater. Because she was cold. "You're a right bitch, you know that?"
Evony laughed. "Because of the succuslut comment?"
"Don't call her that!"
"Why not? Does it offend you? Or does it remind you that you're darling human sugarsnatch isn't enough to satisfy your succubus girlfriend?" Lauren stalked out in front of Evony, glaring at her. Evonly just continued laughed, unafraid of what might happen. "Face it, Lauren. The truth is, you'll never be enough for her and you know it."
Lauren felt herself become at peace. A short moment where the world held still. Then her mind caught up and realised she was crying out, tackling Evony to the ground.
The woman hit the ground, back first. Her head bouncing on the asphalt, eyes slamming open. She breathed out, winded and wide-eyed. Lauren's hand went around her throat, snarling as she pulled back to punch her. Evony grabbed her her wrist, yanking the arm away from her. She grabbed Lauren's head, fisting blonde hair and rolled them both over, pinning Lauren down.
Arms above the doctor's head, her knees pushing down on Lauren's thighs, Evony grinned down at her, rolling her hips as she sat up. "Well this is familiar."
"Fuck you."
"Language, Doctor Lewis." Leaning down to lower her centre of gravity, she kept Lauren's legs pinned beneath her own, her arms still in grip. "Now. Are you going to behave now or do I have to teach you a lesson?" That should not have sounded so…
Lauren shook her head, glaring through the blonde. "Just get off."
"Ooh, now that's a thought. Unfortunately, you're not my type."
"I was before," Lauren bit back, wriggling underneath in a last attempt to get out from under her. She came to the quick conclusion that there was no conceivable way out.
Evony barely faltered on top of her, nodding in thought, "That's true, but then you were the cute human doctor who had a crush on Seven of Nine." And Janeway and hell most of the women, but Lauren wasn't going to tell her that. "Now you're just another doctor who tried to play God. No better than Mengele or Clauberg." Lauren's mouth parted, pain shooting through her. Is that how she saw her?
Their experimentations were cold, no regard to humanity. They viewed their subjects as less than… Lauren blinked. Nausea lurching inside of her. Oh god… But she didn't. She wasn't- she- the fae mistreated her. They were wrong. They were bad. They were…
Oh god.
"Get off me. I think-"
Evony climbed off, watching as Lauren scrambled onto her knees and threw up on the asphalt. Sitting back on her knees, she heaved heavily, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She wasn't like them. She wasn't. The fae were different, they were-
Lauren threw up again. Dry heaving over the spot. Her hands trembled beneath her, digging into the gravel. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Eyes squeezing shut, she inhale, trying to breathe.
"Car sick?"
Coughing, Lauren breathed heavily, eyes rapidly blinking. She looked up, the sky was grey. Of course it was. This was Canada. "Emotions tend to have a more physical effect on humans. Just wait," she smiled tiredly, bowing overself again as her stomach turned. "You're right, by the way."
"Of course I am," Evony smiled. Then paused, looking at Lauren curiously. "About what?"
"What I did to you. It was…"
"Wrong? I'm very aware. I mean of all people Lauren, why did you choose me to experiment on?" She rolled her eyes, gesturing largely around her. She looked tired though, the movement was slower, even her snark was only half there.
Lauren felt her breath rise, catching in her throat. She'd felt so right in what she'd done. It had seemed like a good idea. And after Evony made it clear that she wouldn't stop hunting Bo...well, it seemed like a good as time as any to put her plans into motion. Lauren sniffed, squeezing her eyes shut. Hubris was a fault she often fell into. The Light Fae used to keep her in check.
The Dark just expected it.
"You're not crying are you? Gods, Lauren. Don't be so dramatic. It's a useful trick, I could have used it against Elijah when I had the chance, but I'll take what I can get." She ran fingers through her hair, loosening knots. "But experiment on me again and whatever this 'treason' is, will be gone before you can beg for your life. Got it?"
"Got it," Lauren mumbled. Standing up. She dusted herself off, wiping her face. Dammit. Looking at Evony made her feel worse. "I'll fix this," she said. "I can fix this."
"Yes, well. You'll excuse me if I'm skeptical." She turned away, leaning back on the car. "At least that was thrilling. I haven't had a fight like that in a long time," she hummed, fixing her hair in the car's window. Her fingers touched under her eyes, glaring at the dark circles. Lauren almost found it cute, in a pathetic puppy sort of way.
"That wasn't a fight. That was a scuffle. At most."
"Ego still hurt?" Evony asked, looking over her shoulder.
Lauren glared, dragging fingers through the bangs of her hair. "Let's just...get this over." She pointed to the side door. Evony straightened her spine, shoulders falling back. She looked more regal in the grey pants and sweater than Lauren could pull off in her best fuck-me heels. It made the guilt weaken minutely noticing that.
The side door opened to the shop. Evony marched in first, still intentending for Lauren to take to the station attendant when she saw just who the station attendant was.
And it wasn't the drop-out idiot with greasy features she was expecting.
No. She was a young girl, twenties, dressed in the green and black uniform. Partial japanese descent with sharp features and freckles that dotted over her skin charmingly. Lauren stood, surprised at the woman. Evony perked up, immediately walking over to her with a smirk on her features. Well, Lauren thought, that solved that issue.
"Bonjour! Pouvez-vous nous aider? Mon chauffeur est perdu." ("Hello! Can you help us? My driver is lost.")
The woman blinked at her. Lauren, too, stared at Evony. She knew the woman was french, well, technically from Gaul, but… it was another thing entirely to hear her speak the language. Still, she narrowed her eyes, glaring at Evony. "Je ne suis pas votre pilote." ("I am not your driver.")
Evony smiled back at her, speaking low enough so the woman couldn't hear. "Votre énoncé est terrible." ("Your enunciation is terrible.")
Lauren bit back a sharp comment, instead turning to the confused woman. She was standing still, eyes wide and mouth parted as though her brain was having a full reset. Lauren didn't blame her.
"Je…" she mumbled, shaking her head. "Je ne parle pas français. Much...I...I just moved here..." Lauren's enunciation may not have been top range, but that woman clearly didn't, as she said, speak french. She had to get a lot of crap from the town. "My grandmother's sick and I needed the extra money, and my grandfather…" she stopped as Evony stepped closer.
"Oh," the Morrigan purred. "Good. We are...lost," she smiled, her french accent being of course, freaking perfect. Lauren held onto her anger, cheeks turning pink. She had to focus on getting the key, not on the hot, fury building in her belly. She almost wanted to tackle-choke her again.
Today was like a PMS rollercoaster of emotions. Clearly, Evony brought out the worst in her.
The Morrigan worked quickly, speaking with the woman in hushed voice, pulling her away so the attendant could explain where they were and just how far from town the gas station was. The key was passed into Lauren's hand before she could get close. The poor girl didn't stand a chance against Evony's seduction technique. Which just involved french, lots of touching and of course, Evony's voice in her ear.
Watching carefully, Lauren quietly made her way around the bench, keys palmed in her hand. Unfortunately, the register was old and stuck. When Lauren finally yanked it open, coins spilled out, drawing the attention back to her. Evony glared, the woman looked horrified. "What are you doing?"
Lauren opened her mouth to reply, but Evony grabbed the woman's shoulders. Seduction masking her desperation to draw her back. "She does not speak english, hmm?"
Lauren held up a pen, smiling the shyly. The girl wasn't fooled. She ripped from Evony, storming over to Lauren. Lauren froze before the keys were snatched away. The attendant grabbed her mobile phone from her pocket, holding it up like a weapon. "I'm calling the cops," she warned. "Leave and you might get away."
"Merde…" Lauren said, staring. The woman looked at her, clearing understanding that one. Lauren punched her, knocked the woman out with a single blow. She stared, surprised as the girl collapsed back, dropping to the ground. That had not been part of the plan. Worse, she hadn't even consider hurting anyone. Shit.
"Good hit," Evony said, walking over to look down at the girl. "I'm surprised."
Lauren shook her hand, clenching it in pain. "Most martial artists work up their hands, giving small micro-fractures to build up the density of the bones and allow it to heal over time before re-doing the process over and over again. Eventually their bones can withstand the ability to punch through concrete without hurting themselves."
Evony looked at her. "Yes, and this is relevant why?"
"I don't do that and I think I broke my hand." Lauren cradled her hand, frowning at the attendant. "Shit." Dropping to her knees, Lauren should have checked the woman for a concussion before she even worried out her own hand. The woman's head lolled but an ambulance definitely wasn't needed, thank god. Lauren would never forgive herself if she'd done serious damage.
Cradling her hand, she lifted her face up. Evony was wasting no time, already stuffing the money into pockets, grabbing a few snacks as she went. "The videos are in the back, I take it?" She snatched the keys, making her way there. "Why don't you grab the rest."
"If we're lucky, she'll have short term memory loss."
"And if we're not?" Evony stuffed a key in the lock. It didn't work. She tried another one.
"We revise the plan and make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Ohh, doctor Lewis. Look at you planning heists. Now you're my type." Lauren looked away, feeling oddly comforted by Evony's nonchalance. The woman had no issue with her experiments. It didn't make it right, but it made the guilt stop twisting inside her. Now it just sat light a weight in her belly. Evony finally shoved through the door, grinning. "Finally! Oh, look. VHS. I forgot they existed. You know, somewhere in my archive..." she trailed off, "pretend you didn't hear that."
Lauren rose to her feet, hissing in pain. Her hand might not be broken but it would bruise. Hairline fracture maybe? Nothing serious. Walking over, she looked into the room and frowned. "It's not even switched on."
"Is there another camera?"
"Not that I can see." Her eyes went around the cluttered room. There was nothing of interest. "Come on. Let's just go to town." Taking the girl's phone, Lauren left the gas station. "Are you good to drive?" she asked.
"Now you're asking me?"
"Well it's not like you offered before. I assumed you didn't drive."
"I was driving before you were born," Evony scoffed. "I actually owned one of the first cars. Still sits in my collection actually."
Lauren's brows rose. "Of course you would have a collection."
"I collect art, why wouldn't I have a collection of cars?" Evony asked, arching her brow. "No matter. The situation is over, you can save your phone call until we arrive at the town. Whoever it is can wait, or…" she smiled. "I'll call them for you."
"I think not." Lauren's head bowed, horrified at the idea of Evony relaying a message to anyone she knew. "Let's just fill up the car and leave."
Lauren stalked over to the car, placing everything into the bags before she climbed into the front seat. The truck drove around with little issue to the pump. Evony immediately began eating a packet of chips, sinking low in the seat as Lauren climbed out to fill up the car. "Can we get something more sustainable than chips?" Evony asked, winding down the window.
"You were the one who grabbed them."
"Well I was hardly going to get the pies there, was I? Did you see the state of that gas station?" Evony scoffed, munching unhappily. "I want steak, Lauren. A red, juicy steak."
"Sounds like you're low on iron."
"I ate a steak about two days ago," she dismissed.
"Well, if you're not consuming vitamin C as well, it's likely that your body isn't absorbing it."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Evony rolled her eyes, slamming her head back on the seat. "This humanity thing is bullshit. How do you deal with this shit?"
"Well, there's a large percentage of the population that is actually malnourished regardless of their weight status. With fast foods like McDonalds existing – which carry a low amount of necessary vitamins in their food, but are a lot cheaper to buy than actual fresh foods and meat – many people are putting on large quantities of weight without ingesting what their body's actually craving."
"Is that what you do? Eat salads all day?"
Lauren looked skyward, breathing in deeply. "I eat a range of different meals. When I have time to cook, I'm partial to making pizza actually. Hamburgers and chips sometimes. Pasta. Thai Chicken curry."
"Aren't they all bad for you?"
"In smaller quantities, no. I cook them all myself as well so less oils actually go into the food than if I bought takeaway. The fats and oils actually make it taste better than it really is. Which is why it's difficult to just eat one fry when you buy a side dish. Carbs especially help release the 'reward system' in the brain, making it addictive – are you actually interested in this?"
"No, it's just amusing to hear you babble." Evony stopped eating, setting down the packet. "Can we go already?"
Lauren pulled out the gas pump, setting it down. "Sure. We can go."
"You know," Evony said. "I told you you didn't have a subtle touch." She'd opened up a canned drinking, down it quickly. Lauren tried to remind herself that Evony was a victim here.
"The register was stuck. How was I supposed to open it?"
"Holding on to either sides of the drawer to reduce the force as it ejected from the register," Evony looked at her, waiting for Lauren to comment. Lauren fumbled briefly. Sometimes she forgot just how intelligent Evony was.
"So...ah, how much money did we get?"
"About four hundred dollars. Give or take." Evony shrugged, reaching into her pocket counting through the bills. "It's not nearly enough."
"No, but it'll be enough for supplies. There'll be a store in town."
"To get what?"
Lauren climbed into the car, hot wiring the engine again. She looked at Evony, smirking. "Well we can't exactly afford a motel, can we?"
"Yes. Yes we can. You don't plan on sleeping in this car again, do you?"
"The cab in the back has more than enough room for us to sleep comfortably," she looked up at Evony, watching horror melt over her features. Small comforts like that made Lauren realise she had a wicked streak.
"Us. As in both of us, in that small space? I don't think so." Lauren held the smile, working at the wires. She wasn't exactly partial to small spaces either. "Tell me you're joking."
"Some blankets, a few pillows, sleeping bags. It'll be like staying at the Ritz."
"Don't fuck with me Lewis. Tell me we're at least getting a three star motel with separate rooms."
"Oh no," Lauren smirked. "You're stuck with me for a long, long time."
"You're dead." The car started and Lauren sat up, bouncing as she put on her seatbelt. "A motel."
"We can get hamburgers for dinner."
"Steak. With wine." Evony corrected, narrowing her eyes. "Giving me one luxury, Lewis, or I swear to whatever higher power you believe in, I will make the next few days hell for you."
Lauren pulled out the stolen phone, dialing the number briefly as she smiled at Evony. "Trust me, this already going to be hell." Pulling out onto the highway again, Lauren smiled as the phone picked up. "Jenkins, hey!"
"Lauren...new number?"
"Err...sort of. I mean yes, well, borrowing a friends phone. It's complicated." Evony stared at her, snickering at the failed attempt.
"Cat got your tongue?" she asked Lauren. Lauren glared back.
"I'm sure…" came the dry reply. "I have your scarf by the way. When are you coming up?"
"Funny you should ask actually…I just called to give you a heads up. I'll be in town tomorrow or the next day, you know, depending when I leave. I need to collect that box from you. And of course, that scarf. Is it purple or pink?"
"You'll have to see. Do you have any doubt that it'll be epic? You owe me dinner though."
Evony's eyebrows shot up. Clearly the phone was loud enough for her to hear. "Dinner, no problem. How about steaks. Oh, ah, I'll be bringing another person."
"Nadia?"
"No...she…" Lauren trailed off swallowing. "Long story. Well, not that long but…" she sighed. Jenkins got it.
"Don't let Gem find out about this new girl."
"God, no. And it's not like that. At all. She's...a friend..."
"I know." Lauren could practically hear his cocky grin on the other. "Steaks and wine it is. I'll see you tomorrow or the next day. Give me a call when you know."
"Will do, thanks Jenkins. I'll see you soon." The phone clicked off. Handing it over to Evony, Lauren looked to where the bags were. The darker of the two carried necessary tools she used to mostly assemble furniture and sometimes break into cars. "Can you take the battery out of that phone too? Just in case. I doubt they'll be looking for it but better safe than sorry."
"Better safe than sorry?" Lauren shrugged. "You are far more ridiculous than I first took you for." The phone was an old motorola razr flip phone. It wasn't exactly high tech. Still, Evony was exhausted from all the arguing and too hungry to care. "Did he mention steaks for dinner?" she asked. "I could take hunting and killing something my self, I'm so hungry."
Lauren blinked at her, wondering if Evony ever had...probably. She probably made a sport out of live hunting humans, too. "Tomorrow...or the next day. We'll have hamburgers tonight. Or thai food." Lauren thought it over. "Whatever you want." As long as she stopped whining about it, Lauren didn't care what they ate.
"Real food," Evony muttered. "God I'd even take a fruit salad. Something that isn't chips."
Lauren looked at her, frowning. "It's probably from losing all that blood. Just keep your fluids up. I'll pick up some multivitamin when we go shopping."
Evony perked up. "We'll be going shopping?"
"To walmart," Lauren grinned. Catching Evony's wrathful expression, she flinched . "You can stay in the car if you want and I'll do it myself. But I'll need your cut of the money."
"Do you have a deathwish?"
"Apparently so. Look, just...relax. It's only walmart."
"And death is only a temporary setback for the fae, but don't see me walking straight for it."
"Temporary?"
Evony waved her hand. "Oh please, like you don't know."
"Well, no. Not really. The fae aren't exactly forthcoming when it comes to their history. Most of which I have to research myself and even then I can weeks looking at different sources of information that all contradict each other. It's exhausting, I'd rather use my time researching what I can with my own hands."
Evony blinked, then shrugged. "Well, I'm here now so if you have a question, ask away." Lauren opened her mouth, stuttering briefly before she closed it again. Where do you even begin? "Hurry up before I change my mind."
"I...tell me about the fae's life. After death."
Evony shook her head. "Boring. If you must know, there are different planes of existence. Death is more of a nuisance than anything else." Lauren gave her a look. "What? You didn't think life was really the end all? Please. There are different realms of existence, many of which humanity knows about, however, most of those have been exaggerated. Humans do love their fairy tales."
"And the fae enjoy embellishing their stories," Lauren counted.
"True. But what can you do? The truth is so boring. If they found out Hel was less fire and more just a hold on souls, well, the artwork would certainly be quite dull." Lauren blinked. Relatively speaking, she'd thought about life after death and so on. But it never had been a subject she thought too deeply on. "It doesn't matter though, as a human most of those planes I'm excluded from. Realms and doorways are shut because the human soul isn't old or simply strong enough to pass through."
Lauren held her breath, seeing a crack in the mask Evony wore. Barely noticeable, but there around the corners of her eyes. "You're afraid." Evony laughed at the comment. "You don't know what will happen to you."
"No, I don't," she agreed. Evony tilted her head, looking out the windshield. "But don't think that not knowing makes me afraid. What is there to know? You live, you die and either your existence turns to ash, or you prevail and move on. Being fae has the extra benefit of opening a few doors, nothing else."
"But-"
"The truth is Lauren, you may have turned my DNA human, but I was born fae. There are planes of existence I will still be connected to after death."
Lauren gripped the steering wheel, glaring before she turned her head to snap a retort. Evony's features were soft, vulnerable. Biting back the comment, she looked back to the road. She could see the town in sight.