A/N: Quick update for everyone. To lg4az, mayflowers and LuckyDuck132: thank you so much. I may not say it out loud but I always look forward to your reviews. Thank you for liking this story and for encouraging me to keep writing. From the bottom of my heart, thank you :) PS. I don't own anything. Except mistakes, of course. By the way, exciting news: I'm writing a Karmy fic and a Maleficent!Brittana fanfic. So watch out for those!
It's funny how fast people can move when they know they have a deadline. After my argument with the detective, it took me less than five minutes to drive what would have been a 15-minute circuitous route to my apartment. Once we got there, I ran my hand along the stone checking for any signs that someone was upstairs waiting to ambush us.
Nothing.
I guess Kitty had no reason to have us followed or killed when yet since we were on our way to meet her anyway.
As soon as I stepped through the door, I toed my heels off before wiggling out of my dress. Not even caring that the detective was just behind me. "Give me a minute." I mumble before heading to my room, throwing the dress into the hamper on the way.
Moving over to the mantle, I grabbed the three drawings before closing the door behind me. I headed straight for the bathroom and got in the shower, peeling off my ruined underwear before washing myself from the make-up and dirt.
I tried to keep any thoughts of Brittany away but it was no use, my mind bombarded itself with everything Brittany. Her smell, her taste, the feel of her lips and the way she had touched me. It made an involuntary groan escape me.
Her beautiful eyes.
It made electricity run up my spine and I forced myself to push it aside. Slamming my hand on the tiled wall of the bathroom. I can't be distracted. Not now.
I diverted my energy into making sure that I washed my hair, cleaned my nails and rubbed soap on my body with unnecessary attention. When I stepped out of the shower, I walked towards the bed and knelt beside it, puling out a small duffle bag before fishing my phone out of my purse
I hit a familiar number on my speed dial. It rang once, "Santana."
"I need you to do something for me." I say as I tapped on the appropriate icon on the screen, putting her on speaker phone.
The woman paused for a second and I could tell she was worried, she knew something was wrong. "Fine."
"You know where my apartment is, right?" I got up and walked to my closet, "Rachel?"
"Yes. I know it."
"Good. If I don't show up at the Pit tomorrow, I need you to go to my apartment. You'll find a bag on my bed. Keep it safe." I tell her, stuffing the three drawings into the bag and zipping it closed.
"What happened?" Rachel asks
I draw in a breath to stop myself from snapping at her, "Rachel, Can you. do that. for me?" I ask again, slowly. Emphasizing on every word.
She lets out a breath and a soft, "I can."
"Good"
Pulling up my panties, I stared at the phone on my bed. Feeling slightly sorry for leaving the dwarf in the dark, Rachel deserved to know. In case, I die.
"They got Puck. She- Kitty. She got Puck."
"and you're going to confront her, aren't you?"
"I have no choice. I just need to make sure that whatever's left of my family is-" "You're stronger than her, Santana. You can defeat her."
I couldn't help but sigh, "yeah, I don't think so." I tell her, "but I'll do my best to make sure that Puck is safe." I tell her as while I get into my usual "business" attire.
Black pants, long-sleeved shirt, and boots. "Focus on defeating Kitty not on what you need to take care of before you die. Do you understand me? You are not allowed to die, Santana Lopez. " She says, "and you're not going to. I know you, and I know you'd never let yourself get beaten so easily. Especially not by some corporate brat with a little air magic." Rachel's voice says firmly, echoing around my head.
"I'm not planning to die; just planning ahead."
I went over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. A thin vest lay inside. On the outside, it looked just like the ones that I normally wore in assignments but these were specially made for me. The plates inside were made of silverstone, basically rendering it indestructible to bullet and knives. It also helps by absorbing magical power. Just like the silverstone on my palms.
Once I clasp it in place, I opened the next drawer down. A row of knives sitting comfortable on custom-cut charcoal foam glinted up at me. I stuffed two in my boots. Two more went up my sleeves. A fifth knife got tucked against the small of my back.
As much as I wanted Kitty Wilde to suffer for what she did to Finn, the most important thing right now is to make sure that Puck and Quinn were safe. That means I needed kill Kitty as soon as I get the chance. I'm sure Finn would agree that the safety of his brother is more important than torturing his killer.
Dead was dead.
As long as we were breathing and she wasn't, well, I just have happy with that.
I wasn't an idiot and neither was Kitty. She wouldn't be content with a simple trade. No, she'd see this as an opportunity to get rid of all the loose ends. I wasn't going to get double-crossed twice by the same bitch.
Once I was ready, I headed back to the living room where I say Dani gearing up. She had replaced her dress with a black shirt and black cloth pants. She was also wearing a black tactical vest and a shoulder holster on top. Black combat boots finished and a high ponytail finished her look.
The only thing missing were aviator shades and maybe a K-9 partner.
I couldn't stop my eyebrow from raising, "what the hell are you wearing?"
"What?" Dani asks, "Look, I was SWAT before I became a detective. Bite me."
"Already have, Detective."
She mumbles something that I didn't quite catch before clipping a small revolver on her ankle holster. When that was done, she took the gun from her left side, ejected the clip, pulled the trigger then pushed the full clip back into the gun. Checking it for any defect that might cost her, her life. Once satisfied, she did the same with the pistol on her other side.
I coughed out a laugh, "you ready, Rambo?"
"Shut up." her tone serious.
But I noticed that she didn't put the third pistol away. She held it to her side, her finger not quite on the trigger. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was thinking, she wanted to shoot me. That she should just kill me now while she had the chance.
Avenge the murder of Brody Weston.
Go after Kitty with the flash drive.
Save Quinn and Puck. Maybe arrest Puck.
And end this attraction that she felt for me.
Several birds, one stone.
"What? Are you going to shoot me detective?" I asked, my fingers caressing the handle of the knife that I had already palmed. Nothing was going to keep me from getting to Puck. Not Dani. Not Brittany. Definitely not the way I felt about them.
She doesn't meet my gaze, "I want to." she admitted, "for everything that you've done and all the people you've killed. You deserve it. You deserve to die." she shrugs.
I straighten, "probably."
That made Dani look at me, "but if you kill me now, Quinn dies too. Kitty will flay you alive and you wouldn't even be able to get close enough to Quinn to help her- her blood will be on your hands. Puck's too."
"I'm a cop, I'm not an amateur. I can save Quinn. Puck can die too. I don't care."
My jaw tightened at her words, "No you can't."
"That's what you think."
"That's what I know." I said, "those guns of yours might be nice, but you don't have any magic, Dani."
Her eyes narrowed as she stepped right in front of me, "and you have so much? I've seen your Ice magic. It's not that impressive."
"No it's not."
The detective didn't know that I could also control another element, it was something she didn't need to know anyway. She didn't know how strong my Stone magic was. That Rachel had always told me that I had more raw magic than anyone. That sometime, knowing and remembering what I can do with my magic even scared me.
"No, my magic isn't that impressive." I repeat, "but I have no morals. I don't care what's wrong or right. I'd be more than happy to stab Kitty in the back the first chance I got."
She didn't disagree.
"Just... Just tell me this." she says, her voice was heavy as she let out a sigh.
I cock my head to the right, "tell you what?"
"Why'd you do it? Why did you kill Brody Weston? Who hired you?" she asks, her eyes pleading.
There it was. The unavoidable question. The one I knew she would ask sooner or later.
"You don't want to know." I tell her coldly.
"Yes I do! Tell me." she demanded
For all her toughness and bravado, for all the things she'd seen in his life, Danielle was still very idealistic. Still hoping, still wanting to believe in the inherent good in people. Because of that, because of this foolish softness I felt for her, I didn't want to tell her how perverted her precious partner had been. Didn't want to tell him about the little girl's brutal rape and beating.
Knowing what Brody Weston had done would shatter any remaining illusions Danielle had about her partner and probably people in general.
If you can't trust the guy you're riding with in the squad car, then who can you trust? The knowledge would harden something inside of her, the way my family's murder had done to me all those years ago.
"Somebody wanted Weston dead so I made that happen. I know you have this weird belief that your partner was some sort of saint, but he had his secrets too. Just like everyone else. If you want to know why, figure it out for yourself."
Dani's eyes narrowed at my answer but I didn't give her any time to argue, "now are you going to put that gun away and help me or will you do something stupid and die on my floor?"
The detective drew in a breath and his hand tightened around the pistol. For a moment, I thought that she had made the wrong choice. When Dani gave a long sigh, she raised her hand and tucked the pistol back in it's holster.
"I'll help you." she said, "I owe that much for saving me. Besides, I can't leave people to die. No matter who they are."
"Good. We've got less than and hour. Let's move."
As we drove towards the quarry, I could fell an icy hand creeping into my chest and wrapping itself around my heart. Holding it tight and whispering all the bad things that could happen in the next few hours.
Fear.
Although I could tell that I wasn't afraid for myself or the fact that I might die tonight. I had accepted that. Accepted that dying in the hands of Kitty was a possible thing.
Kitty Wilde, the Air elemental who enjoyed using her power to kill. She was every bit as dangerous and deadly as I was. Even worse, she was high on her magic, coming apart at the seams, like a rag doll slowly losing her stuffing, one puffy piece of fabric at a time.
No, my fear wasn't for myself. It was for the others. Fear for Puck, even Quinn And what the elemental might have already done to them—or would do. Despite her promise, that crazy evil bitch might decide to have a little fun with her food. And I wondered whether or not the two could survive it until I got there.
The Willowfield Quarry was carved out of one of the taller mountains in the area. At one time, years ago, the quarry had been one of the focal industries in the city, employing thousands of people to extract tons and tons of ore and others from the mountain. But whatever rock or ore or gemstones that had been hidden under the earth had long been exhausted, and now the quarry stood empty, with only the murmur of the stones to break the silence.
The only people who came here these days were dwarves who tapped into the sheer walls of the quarry with their small pickaxes, looking for something sparkly to take back home to the kids.
We arrived at the quarry fifteen minutes before our time was up. I approached the area from the south, taking a little-used access road I remembered running across more than once as a kid. The same access road Bria and I used to to get in and out of the quarry without disturbing the workers.
"How did you even know about this? Have you been here before?" Dani asked. The first words she'd spoken to me since we'd left the apartment. "Not many people know about this road."
"When I was a kid, I used to come out here and play sometimes."
The detective gave me a strange look, but she didn't pry. I didn't offer any more information, like the fact I'd also come to the quarry to listen to the stones talk to me. To attune myself to the different vibrations they gave off. To practice my magic. To find a bit of peace in a world that had been turned upside down.
"What about you?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Just for the occasional body dump. It was a popular site a few years ago. We still come out here several times a year. In the spring, this place would practically be a haven for murderers. Brody and I—"
Dani shut up and stared out the window. Brooding. About me, about us, about the fact I'd hadn't told her why I'd murdered her partner.
A few minutes later, I slid the car into a stand of maple trees about a mile out from the quarry, parked it, and got out. Dani did the same and turned to face me across the hood.
"Why are you stopping?" She asked. "The Quarry is still a ways away."
"Because you're not coming in with me."
I could see the shock register in her face as her eyebrows furrow, "What the fuck are you talking about?" she snapped at me.
"Like I've been saying this whole time, Kitty is an Air elemental," I said. "You won't stand a chance against her."
"And you will?"
I sigh, "Whether you want to admit it or not, I can do things you won't let yourself do because I have no conscience. Besides, Kitty is expecting me to come along, she won't appreciate the company. It'll just make her trigger-finger twitchier than it already is." I tell her, "I'm going to get her attention, get her to focus on me. Your job is to get around her and the giants, get Puck and Quinn and get out- no matter what."
Dani shook her head, "This is crazy-"
"I'm sure Kitty will have Ryerson with her. You need to take them out or else none of us are going to survive this. Can you do that?"
The detective nodded.
"Good. Let's get this over with."
Dani looked at me one last time and our eyes met. I knew what she was thinking, barely three hours ago, we were making out in a closet and now we were both on our way to our possible deaths.
Irony. Another fucking bitch.
Once again, I felt that warm softness for her and I couldn't help but compare it to the frantic electricity when Brittany looked at me. The sensations I felt between them were too different. I gave myself a mental slap. If I thought about this too much, I'll get distracted. Unfocused. I wouldn't be able to do what needed to be done and that was a luxury I could afford, not now, not ever.
Dani nodded her head at me, her way of saying 'Good luck' or 'Goodbye', before stepping back and disappearing into the shadows. I waited until I couldn't hear her footsteps anymore before squaring my shoulders and walking towards the entrance to the quarry.
As I strode along, I touched the various knives hidden on me before tracing my thumbs over the ridges of the scar on my palm. The silverston comforted me, the way they always did. Kitty might kill me tonight, but now way in hell was I going down easy.
I walked about half a mile before I saw the entrance to the quarry. Several rusty signs were vandalized:
'Enter at your own risk! DICK.'
'FALLING DEBRIS VAGINAS'
'HARD HAT ONLY AREA'
The remains of a tall iron gate ringed the entrance, but I stepped through a gap where someone had pried the bars loose, and headed inside.
The quarry was shaped like a deep, wide bowl that was over a mile wide. The walls of the quarry rose several hundred feet above my head. Bits of quartz flashed in the low light, reminding me of cameras at a sporting event. For a moment, I felt like I was in some sort of ancient Roman coliseum. A gladiator forced to fight tigers and lions and other men just so I could see another sunrise.
In a way, I supposed I'd been a gladiator since I was thirteen, always fighting to survive, and distancing myself from the ugly things I had to do in the process.
I never realized how fucking tired I was of it until right now.
I felt like yelling Are you not entertained? Just like Russel Crowe in that one movie.
With so much raw element around me, I didn't need to touch the stones to hear them. Their sound rang in my head like a low, steady drum, punctuated here and there by beats of unease and anticipation. Even the stones knew that something different was happening here tonight.
A milky, white glow arched out beyond a curve. I'd seen that light before, at Dani's cabin when bitch's control slipped.
Her power had really driven her mad, the only way to end this would be to kill her. I hope I was strong enough- for everyone's sake.
I rounded the bend and there she was, Kitty Wilde.
She stood in the very middle of the quarry, the white light flickering in the palm of her hands, bathing her in an angelic glow she didn't deserve. If I felt like a Gladiator, then Kitty was the blonde, golden-haired Lion I had to face to survive.
If I lose, I die.
My eyes narrow, taking in every detail I could. Her elegant dress was covered up. Now she was wearing the same black cloak she wore outside of Dani's cabin the night she'd come to torture and kill the detective. I wondered if she'd worn the same thing when she murdered Finn. If my mentor's blood was trapped in the fabric. The billowing material made Kitty look like some wannabe wizard out of a Harry Potter book. Her cloak didn't really go with the large jet tooth that hung in the middle of the gleaming strand. The same necklace she'd worn in the photo with Ken Tanaka.
I eyed the rune. Power. Strength. Prosperity. The tooth was as big as my palm and polished to a high gloss. The rune was even bigger than the ruby sunburst Blaine was so fond of wearing. Blonde Devil was showing off just for me.
And she wasn't alone.
My eyes immediately went to Quinn and Puck. They stood side by side, their hands tied behind their backs. Puck had several fresh cuts on his face, blood was still dripping from a cut on lip.
One of Quinn's cheeks were red and puffy and she was leaning to her side, against puck. She was hurt. Their clothes were bloody and torn, but other than that, they looked no worse for wear.
Better than I expected.
Sandy Ryerson, Hunter Clarington's friend and a third anonymous thug, formed a triangle around the two. They must all be the men she had left. Otherwise, they would all be here. Good to know.
I wondered if Dani had already circled behind the three men, if she could see her captain pointing a gun at Quinn's head.
When the Quinn and PUck heard my footsteps, their head immediately snapped up, Puck gave me a half-smirk and a nod. Quinn, who was still leaning against him, poked out her fangs from behind her lips. She was ready to sink her teeth into the first person unlucky enough. Good for her.
"Assassin." Kitty purred, her voice coated in arrogance. "Nice of you to join us."
She threw back the hood of her back to expose her face, "so you're the infamous Spider." she mused, "I thought you'd be taller." she adds.
I return her cold stare, "Says the woman wearing a tacky Harry Potter cloak. What are you? Twelve?"
"Ouch." she said, "killer insult."
I force out a laugh, "oh and she has puns. How charming."
She didn't respond, we just stared each other down as her men looked on. Their fingers fidgeting on the triggers of their guns. That's right, focus on me.
"You know, you've caused me quite a bit of trouble." Kitty says
I shrug, "trouble has it's way of finding me and I have the habit of dealing with it." Her eyes narrowed into slits, "Same here."
We stared at each other again. Magic flickered like lightning in her gaze, brightening her eyes until they were almost pure white. A similar glow outlined her palms. She was focusing on her power, ready to use it on me the instant I stepped out of line. I could feel her Air elemental magic snapping around her.
The sensation of the opposing element made my skin crawl and the silverstone in my hands to burn.
"So before we get into it, tell me. Why me? Out of all the assassins, why did you choose me to double cross?"
"Because you were the easiest to identify."
This made my ears perk up in attention, "how?"
"If you're as good as you say you are then you know that my old friend ken Tanaka liked his fair share hookers. Seems he needed a little help getting it up and was embarrassed by more traditional relationships."
I nod. I'd seen exactly what kinds of relationships Gordon liked to have in his photo stash—ones that involved costumes.
"When I realized that Ken was growing suspicious about where so much of the company's money was going and he began poking around, I made Ryerson follow him and pick up the women he was with to see what if he had mentioned anything to them," Kitty continued.
"Ken was smart enough to keep his mouth shut to the whores, but Ryerson got some interesting information out of one of them. Information about an assassin called the Spider."
So that's how they found us. Fucking pro bono work.
"Turns out, you had done some work for one of them. Killed some cop. I didn't really care. It took some legwork but eventually, we found your handler and the rest, as they say, is bloody, bloody history."
Puck stared at Kitty and the hate sparked behind his eyes but he made no move, he was smarter than that. He knew I'd take care of Kitty- or die trying.
"That giant oaf, Finn Hudson, was easy enough to find.." she started, "but you, we never could find you."
"Of course you couldn't and that's why you hired Viper to put me down at the opera house."
Kitty smiled, "skill, beauty and brains. Aren't you the complete package?" she says, "but enough talking, where's the flash drive?"
I slowly reached into my front pocket and pulled out the small device, "you mean this?"
"Did you make other copies?"
I shrugged, "I tried to, but Ken Tanaka encrypted the drive with some software that I wasn't familiar with." an easy lie.
Before we headed here, I'd used my laptop to set-up a timed email with all the information on it. At exactly 6 A.M., the email will be sent to every news station, the police and Blaine Anderson. I may die tonight but at least I'll die knowing that Kitty's days will be numbered.
"What about Lovato?" Ryerson husks from behind Kitty. Kitty turned to look at him, "What about the detective?"
The captain stared at her, "she had to be the one that saved her that night. He's a loose end."
Kitty dismissed him with an airy wave of her hand, "we'll deal with her later. The assassin's here and she's got the flash drive. You know what to do. Kill her."
Ryerson didn't hesitate. He raised his gun and fired twice.
The bullets slammed into my chest, spun me and knocked me to the ground. The flash drive flew out of my hand and landed somewhere on the rocky ground.
Ryerson might have been a dirty cop but his aim was true, he hit me right on the heart. I would have died instantly if I wasn't wearing my vest. Still, the force of the bullet felt like I had been smacked in the chest with a ninety-miles-per-hour fast ball but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to lay perfectly still. I was on my stomach with my face away from Kitty
The echo of the gunshot reverberated throughout the quarry, throwing the stones in a frenzy of unease but I blocked out the noise as I counted.
Ten... Twenty... forty-five...
"Get the flash drive." Kitty barks, "and put a couple more in her head." I had to admire her thoroughness, if nothing else.
Heavy footsteps approach me but I couldn't tell which on of the three she sent over, didn't matter anyway. I caress the knife I had pulled out as the man stops just beside me.
A hand settled on my shoulder and turned me over, I looked up at the man's face.
Hunter's friend.
When he sees me looking less than dead, he bared his yellow teeth and hissed, "She's not-"
Last thing he ever said.
I rammed my knife into his heart. The man stumbled back, and I used his momentum to pull myself up. The sudden move surprised the others, and they stood there, not quite sure what had happened.
"Run!" I screamed at Puck and Quinn, "Now!"
Puck slammed his shoulder into the second man, who stumbled back. While Quinn darted past him and sprinted away. Puck Quickly fell in step behind her, and the two of them ran as best they could with their hands cuffed behind their backs. They disappeared around an outcropping of rock.
Ryerson and the other guy didn't know what to do—shoot Quinn and Puck or come after me.
They chose me.
As soon as they raise their guns towards me, I threw the dead giant to the side and dove to my right, four more bullets whizzing past my head. As I rolled forward, I pulled a knife from my boot and threw it at the men, hitting the anonymous thug in the stomach, dropping his gun. He screamed in pain before yanking the knife out of his gut, his hand black and shiny with his own blood.
Stupid of him.
He took a step forward and crumpled to the ground. He'd bleed out in a minute or so.
That left Ryerson and Kitty to deal with. I grabbed the knife from my other boot but the police captain was quicker than me. He got off another shot, hitting me in the chest again, making me lose my breath before stumbling back. With my chest exposed, he popped another round into my vest and I fell to the ground. The knife clattering a few feet away from me.
"I'll deal with her!" Kitty screamed, "get the other two, now!"
Without hesitation, Ryerson turned and sprinted after Quinn and Puck. All I could hope for was for Puck and Quinn to either outrun him or for Dani to find them.
With the captain disappearing behind the bend, it left me and Kitty alone in the quarry. I was already having difficulty from the four bullets that had smacked my chest that my vision was spinning from the impact. Still, I scrambled for the the knife on my back then stumbled to my feet, getting ready to throw both of my knives at her. I needed to kill her now. Before she reached for her magic.
The strong gust of wind almost threw me to the ground again.
Too late.
Even as I came up on one knee, I could see Kitty's eyes had turned completely white as she fully embraced her power. The milky glow on her fingertips turned into magical flames, licking at her skin. In less than a second, the flames coalesced into a large ball of pure power, burning like a beacon between her fingers.
"Go to hell!" Kitty hissed and threw her magic at me. I shielded my face with my hands and closed my eyes before gathering as much stone magic as I could, bracing myself for the impact.
A moment passed, suddenly a white spiraling heat exploded on my chest and it felt like the skin was being twisted. It burned and ached, the pain making white spots appear behind my eyes. Her magic had gotten past my vest and magic and now it was flaying me alive.
I hope Puck and the others made it out.