Who? What? Why?
Here's a who's who of the weirdo's and then some.
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It didn't take me long to get better. In fact, as soon as they stopped trying to dose me with sleeping pills and I stopped tearing shit up I was up and about in two days. I kept opening the wound every time I tore things up. I guess that makes it harder to heal.
I learned everyone's name, well, just those I came in contact with constantly. The doctor lady's name was Natasha Yvanova. Now that I knew she had saved my life I could get over the anger and see she was a very beautiful woman with dark blue eyes and reddish blond hair. I had never seen hair her color before and I thought it was gorgeous not to mention she had a nice shape which she showed off in a very classy style. She was or had been a brilliant Dr. at one time but I wasn't sure I understood her thoughts. Maybe I was interpreting them wrong but the memories she projected strongly led me to think something really bad had happened for her to leave a job she was obviously good at and had loved.
The other one who seemed to project strong memories was Matthew. I liked his last name, Quinn. It reminded me of a TV show. Matthew had been a research scientist for some major corporation in Europe until a couple of years ago. Now, he played around with these guys. Most of his thoughts made no sense and had no real timeline. That was bad enough but the worse part was not one memory had a clear picture to explain itself to me. Though I could see an animal lurking in there somewhere, I just didn't know what kind. Him, I felt a bit sorry for. He was obviously unhappy and that was never a good thing. Then again his quietness made for an easy companion at least I didn't feel uncomfortable around him.
The others I came to know only by sight and because Matthew told me their names. Oded Dhakkar was an Egyptian Arab or something like that and he was the one who'd shot me. I guess I should've been pissed off at him and probably beaten him up just a little but the fact that he obviously felt bad about shooting me and had come out and said he'd done it had earned my forgiveness. Besides that he just looked at me with such guilt I didn't have the heart to kick his ass. Then again he was the only one around here about as dark as me. You'd think I'd be attracted to him, being tall dark and mysterious in a desert kind of way but nope, not a tingle.
Ryan on the other hand… God something about him just grabbed my attention and it was getting harder to tear myself away. Mr. Wolfe was trouble and I knew it but like any kid you say no to I just had to have my candy. I figured as long as I kept my ogling at a distance I'd be fine. Nobody would notice, meaning him of course. Somehow things don't work out the way you think or plan.
The one they'd assumed had shot me was Jessy. Ms. Jessica Cosmas… shit I can't stand her. I feel like tearing every strand of dark blond hair from her snooty head. She just rubs me the wrong way which is why I tend to stay away from her. I wouldn't want to kill her, accidentally of course. I have no idea what her deal is or her purpose but I wouldn't be around long enough to find out so I didn't care.
Today was my third day up and about but according to Matthew I'd been with them for a week.
'A week and no one's been looking for me that I know of. So much for being part of the family.' I sighed looking down at the training area where Oded was sparring with the Asian Russian. I know, it sounds weird, but it's true. The first time I saw Dom Xie I'd stared. He had blond hair though it was straight, not a curl or wave anywhere. His skin was milky white and he joked that the he couldn't even get a tan from a bottle let alone try the sun because he'd just turn as pink as a shrimp and peel. But his eyes, they were light blue and his features were mixed. I mean the shape of his eyes is like his Mom's side but his face is more proportioned to that of his Dad's side at least that's what he said and the rest of his body… well, he's tall and well shaped with muscles everywhere. He kinda looks like a bodybuilder only not so bulky. (Guess I should explain his mom was Chinese and she married a Russian guy. Hence the Ausian. I thought it was funny when he said it.)
I stared at them not really seeing because I was thinking about Sebastían. I wondered if he was ok, did he miss me? Did he even remember-. God, of course he doesn't think about me. He has cousins and aunts and uncles who were probably doting on him. Why should he think of his Mother?
"It's not like I carried him for nine months." I mumbled turning away from the training area and heading towards the back. I felt useless here as well not to mention there was nothing for me to do. Training in any of their areas was out of the question since I didn't want to have to answer anymore of their questions.
"Slayer." I grumbled. "Where the hell did they get that?" I thought remembering the vampires from the rest area.
I turned a corner and went down a set of stairs towards the main entrance of the warehouse where they lived and worked. They'd moved me from the hospital room yesterday so that now I had a small room all to myself. Yippee! (That's sarcasm, just so you know.) I just wanted to leave and forget I'd ever met any of these freaks. All their questions just aggravated me.
Where did I come from? What was I doing at the rest area? How had I come across the vampires? Was that the first time? Why did I have weapons in the trunk of my car?
Jesus Christ they were worse than Cordelia! And she had done a complete background check on me. It didn't make me like her any better.
"Whoa!" he put out his hand and I jumped back inhaling sharply. Just my luck to run into the Wolfe on a day like this, bad mood and all.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I turned to go-. 'Shit! There's no where to go!' I was staring at a wall with no door unless I planned on making one which I didn't think they'd like
"No door. Maybe you should go this way." The Wolfe said to my back. I shoved my nervousness down and turned to him again. He was smiling. Damn why did he have to smile? It just made him that much cuter and he had the five o'clock shadow!
'God hates me. I just know it.'
"You haven't been out of here since we brought you in." he said looking at me with those eyes that just seemed to pull me in. "How bout we get some food?" he asked. I think I nodded because he took my hand and led me to one of the SUV's parked in the loading area of the warehouse. He opened the door for me and I got in thinking my Dad would've been happy to see that. He'd of made some smart ass comment and that got me smiling.
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Ryan wondered what had made her smile but didn't ask. He liked seeing her smile and that was strange enough considering he'd just eaten a big lunch and now he was about to go out for some more. He shook his head smiling at the absurdity. He'd hardly seen her after she'd first woken up and trashed the room. At first glance she'd looked fragile then she'd spoken and he'd heard the anger in her voice. No, fragile wasn't a word to describe her and after her threat? He wondered if Matt had told her he was responsible for the IV in her arm.
'He's alive so guess there's no problem.' He thought as they drove through the industrial part of town. It was the perfect place to have their base but he didn't really like the view. It wasn't the kind of place you could bring a girl to. Not that he had that much privacy, most of the time he'd just finish his business at their place and left. No matter what the hour.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was quiet, looking out the window.
"Not pretty, I know." He said. She shrugged sitting back and looking ahead. "You can leave any time you want you know. Don't think we have you under lock and key." He said wondering if she was trying to memorize the way out of the maze.
"Ok." She said. The rest of the ride was silent except for the radio. He still hadn't bought the ipod and was suffering through the commercials.
'I'll get one today. Before we go back.' He thought, besides didn't girls get more talkative when they went shopping?
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I ordered a soup and half an order of chicken Parmesan feeling my stomach protest just at the thought of the food. It was the medication, the poison had left my body but Tasha insisted I take the last of the doses just to be safe. This was the side effect the good thing was I only had another day left of it.
Ryan had a big plate of stake, red potatoes and greens which he was enjoying. I envied him. I think he must've seen me pushing the chicken around on my plate because he stopped eating.
"Is the chicken trying to get away? Sometimes they don't kill 'em completely so it's hard to get them with your fork." He said. I looked at him not really understanding what he'd said.
"What?" I asked feeling like an idiot. I could see the smile he hid behind the napkin he pretended to used to wipe his mouth.
"You don't have to eat if you're not hungry." He said. I sighed putting my fork down feeling just a little relieved. Ryan sighed too.
"I wasn't hungry either." At my look of 'yeah, sure.' He laughed and shook his head. "No, really. I don't even know why I-." he stopped and looked at his plate again. "Truth is I already ate lunch."
"Then why-?" I waved my hand at our plates and he just shook his head again smiling. "I don't get you." I said.
"Neither do I. Guess I just wanted to get you out of there. You looked like you needed a field trip." He was looking at me again.
"Yeah, I did." I said tearing my gaze away. I pushed the plate aside wondering if I should say what I wanted to. Well, not what I really wanted to say but something at least.
"You know, I never really got a chance to ask you…" here he paused looking at me for permission so I nodded. "What's a 'Slayer'?"
I just stared.
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"A slayer…" I had to think about it for a second. All I knew was what Wes had told me about the Slayer lore and the current Slayer. Angel's ex-girlfriend. I wondered again how he could be so in love with one girl and now another one. "Men are pigs."
"Not all of us." Ryan said.
"Oh, I said that out loud?" I looked away feeling just a little embarrassed. What if I'd said something else? Something much more personal? "Sorry I was thinking about something else. You want to know what a Slayer is. Basically she's a girl chosen to kill vampires."
"A who to do what?" he asked. I could tell this was going to be one of those questions.
"A girl. She kills vampires." I made a staking motion.
"Who chooses and how do they know who to choose?" he asked sitting back.
"Maybe I should give a little background info." I sighed wondering how long this was going to take. Slayers weren't my forte nor my favorite thing to talk about.
"In every generation there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world to slay the demons until she dies. Then another is chosen and so on. Kinda sucks to think that once you're called you're pretty much dead." I shook my head feeling sorry for Buffy all over again. I wondered if maybe I should just go to Sunnydale and beat on the baddies there since I pretty much had no reason to stay in L.A.
"Who made that rule?" Ryan asked me. He looked kind of offended and I wondered if he, like me, thought this was bs.
"The Watcher's Council. Before you ask, I'm not sure who or what they are. I just know they are in charge of the Potentials. Slayers in training. They keep an eye on every Slayer there's ever been and record everything."
"And you're the current one?"
"Current what?" I asked still thinking those English bastards had some nerve.
"Slayer. Thought I heard one of the vamps say-."
"I am not a Slayer!! Why the hell is everyone saying that?" I hissed feeling more than annoyed at the thought. "I do not work for the Powers That Be!"
"Who are they?" he asked. I looked at him again before I flopped back on the bench.
"Powers That Be: higher beings kind of like Gods who send their little champions to fight for good so that evil doesn't take over this world." I finished the answer not really believing what I had been told and not liking that I had been considered one of their little soldiers.
"You're one of those?" he asked. I just shrugged I didn't know what the hell I was anymore. I wasn't a Mom and that had been my most important role. I didn't work for AI so I wasn't a PI and I guess I wasn't some champion either. So what the hell was I?
"Then what's with the weapons in the trunk of your car?"
I sighed feeling tired again. "I used to be-. I worked for a firm that helped the helpless- innocents. We specialized in cases like the ones you deal with. Things the police can't help with."
"What happened?"
I frowned turning my attention to him once more. "You ask a lot of questions for some one who doesn't know me. If you want to know if I'm running from trouble or if I broke some law why don't you have your buddies check me out. Here." I pulled out my driver's license and threw it on the table. "You need my social to, I'll write it down."
Ryan sat back looking at my drivers license. "This is a nice picture." He said looking up. "Not a lot of people smile."
"It was funny." I said not wanting to think about Sebastián and the goofy faces he'd been making so I would laugh. I couldn't help it, the heaviness settled in my chest and I got up quickly. I knocked over one of the glasses, grateful it was empty and hurried to the bathroom.
There was no one inside and as the door closed I let out the sob I had been trying to choke down. I clenched the counter feeling the granite top crack beneath my fingers and I had to let go.
"I let go."
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