Blah blah standard disclaimer.
Love to my Jester.
Review gosh darn-it! OH and when you see italics its means our boys are talking in a different language for privacy ~wink wink~
/Dear Sir, S has expressed interest in returning back to work and with your approval I'd like to put her back into active status. She has stated that she will refuse any long term assignments no matter how much the offer. I haven't been able to get anymore information from her regarding the incident that prompted her terminating her last assignment but she is insisting that her charge, in no way, harmed or mistreated her. ~L / Liz hit send and waited for a response, they were always quick to reply. Within two minutes there was a reply and S was permitted to return to work. As there wasn't a breach of contract there wouldn't be a payout that would set S up for life. Liz sighed, part of her wished there was but a bigger part of her was glad her friend wasn't mistreated and just wanted her to be alright. When her work phone rang that night, she was nearly asleep and almost didn't answer. She was glad she did because when she heard his voice on the line her heart sank at what he said and wanted to help her friend. 'Please come fetch S. She's in a terrible state and wishes to leave, promptly.' She asked what happened and if he had hurt S but to that and anything he replied that he didn't do or say anything to harm her. 'If you'd be so kind as to bring a heavy coat for her to wear I'd much appreciate it as it's rather cold out and I don't wish S to catch a chill. A card will be waiting for you at reception so you can access the elevator and her apartment.' That's it, that's all he said and then hung up. Liz had never heard such a forlorn voice in all her life. It was almost midnight when she got there and once she was in S's apartment she heard her sobbing from inside the closet of her bedroom. A bag was waiting and she started filling it not caring if S wanted anything or not. When she finally coaxed S out of the closet she noticed her eyes were bloodshot and she was nearly naked. There wasn't a mark on her, anywhere. Liz had her dressed in the warmest thing she could find with her own coat on her and had her out of there as fast as she could and back to her place. There was no way she was going to bring S back to that dump of an apartment of hers so she brought her back to hers. S sobbed for several more hours until she passed out in Liz's arms in bed. It took two days for Liz to get a word out of S but even then it was a 'yes' or 'no' reply. Liz found S, now Scarlett, a bachelor's apartment in her building for not much more than she was paying for her dumpy place. She was genuinely concerned for her friend and wanted to keep an eye on her; the building manager was sweet on her so she let her friend jump to the top of the wait list. She could tell that Scarlett was deeply hurt by what transpired between V and her but Liz couldn't get a word out of her about it. She was ready to help Scarlett find a normal day job but was somewhat shocked that she requested to go back to work with her. Liz took extremely great care to screen all the requests that came in the next few hours after S's profile was activated. No younger men, repeat customers in good standing only and no extras or late nights were being allowed by her; no one was to come into contact with her friend that might hurt her fragile state. Liz had her working only four nights a week even though she could have booked her solid for the next several weeks. After a few successful dates Scarlett started coming back around to the world of the living. After a month Liz started feeling better about the whole situation, her friend loosened up and was buying furniture and decorating her place and it looked as though she was healing and intended to stay.
'He let me go.' The statement was on repeat in Scarlett's head constantly whenever she wasn't doing much, which was a bit too often. She was grateful to have survived but the nightmares, seeing Jenna's limp body, still woke her up at night. She didn't dare speak of that night to anyone; she didn't want to risk him seeking her out after he'd let her go. Silence was golden and she'd take that man's secret to the grave if she had to. After a few good weeks of working, including the money she had made from V, she had more than enough to live on. 'Survive' she whispered, not living by a long shot so she enlisted her friends help to help her 'live'. Furniture that she had borrowed from Liz was returned and she bought her own, new, furniture. It made her feel good knowing she could finally do that without worrying about the cost now. Scarlett wrote it all down and was diligent about keeping track of her finances and even debated finding a day job just to keep herself busy so she wouldn't have too much free time to think about V. Thinking of him was dangerous because when she did pieces of his puzzle started fitting together and making sense to her and the last thing she wanted was think he was justified in killing innocent woman. The bracelet stayed on her wrist; she had debated going to a jewelry shop to have it removed without breaking it but then changed her mind. It was now a reminder to her to always be vigilant and to never trust anyone ever again. Liz was expected to be over soon to take her out to the salon and then to find her something to wear that night. She was going to an art exhibit with the older gentleman that had once brought her to an art auction. She was happy to be going and a little bit excited to see a familiar face. The hours rolled by and she soon found herself holding on to his arm and being lead around displays. This was a silent auction he explained to her and there were little note pads near all the pieces of art where you could write down your bid with your ID number. It seemed like a more civilized way of doing things rather than sitting in a crowded room holding up little paddles. It was when Scarlett found herself wrapped up in a work of art before her that mind wandered off back to what V had told her, 'the arts', V loved the arts and the thought of him being there send a rapid shiver through her body. She glanced around at everyone there; they were too busy admiring the art that they didn't notice her. 'He's not here.', she repeated it several times to calm herself down. 'I'm the perfect date.' Again repeating this to herself she calmed herself down back to reality. When she got back home she gave a soft knock on Liz's door to let her know she was back before heading to her apparent; her shoes were in hand as her feet were killing her by then. She had convinced herself that he was probably gone, moved away by now to another city. "Stupid desperate women," she mumbled as her door closed behind her, "they almost deserved what was coming to them." but then she stopped cold in her tracks. "No. No one deserves that. Ever." she frowned as she stripped down and put her pajamas on. Her new couch was her bed and a sleeping bag her covers. It wasn't much but it was hers and living in a simple uncluttered non-materialistic way suited her just fine until she felt confident enough to get a bigger place. She was glad she decided not to take a day job because after having been out all evening, sleeping in late was a little luxury she loved dearly. It was the moments before sleep claimed her that were the most conflicted for her. She felt the most alone then and it was only then when she allowed herself to miss how V made her feel, safe, valued. She recalled how his kiss made her feel so alive.
'You let her go? Alive?!' Was the only thing Stephan could say to Vladimir but without anything for him to go on there was nothing he could do to make good on taking 'care' of her for him. The threat Vladimir uttered back to his brother put a quick end to his murderous plan. His Scarlett needed to live because with her death there wouldn't be any hope he had of any future happiness with anyone else. He was in a particularly dark mood when an email caught his eye; the one from Liz to one of his managers. He had been keeping tabs on Liz's activity and this new development settled him somewhat. He decided that if S was still working for him in a year he'd arrange to bump into her at some event she was at; or even just to see her so he was sure she was indeed alright. "She didn't even scream." He recalled the last few moments he had with her when she saw him in all his glory. Fear yes, there always was fear when a human happened to discover them in the act of feeding. He wished she'd of screamed, it'd give him a sort of reason to go after her but she didn't. There were those few brief moments from when she saw, her look of fear upon him was shadowed by one of disappointment. From the moment when he was done with his meal to when he stood outside her closed closet door listening to her sobs; there was something more in them than fear; a least that's what he wanted to believe. Those were the moments that decided her fate and it was something he didn't want to have to explain to Stephan. A few weeks had gone by and he found himself in Japan with his brother. They had convinced their hosts that they could only spare a few days and that during the daytime hours they would spend sightseeing around their glorious country. All the meetings were arranged for evenings and at venues the brothers could easily vacate if needed. Vladimir hated the place; the city in particular. The noise of the people and cars was deafening; the smell was even worse. The only redeeming quality of the extreme population was the abundance of necks and places to dispose of spent bodies. The brothers feasted long and hard until the morning light for those few days they could stand being there until their departure. Their hosts didn't question their timetable; to do so would be insulting but they did ask Stephan where Vladimir's lady friend was. He heard them, even from the other side of the room from where he was and he heard his brother's reply, 'She doesn't travel well.' it gave him the closure he needed with him. A few more weeks passed and winter had settled in; Vladimir found himself back in Scarlett's city. He didn't seek her out, no; one year he promised himself he'd give her and he was determined to honor it. He did check that particular company's books and was pleased to see she was making a tidy sum for herself and a quick check of the roster of men she had been paired with confirmed his earlier suspicion that Liz was the perfect manager for Scarlett rather than a more aggressive one that would have pushed her to him sooner. Scarlett's dwelling within his space was no more by then. The wall that separated the two spaces was removed and the kitchenette was converted into a wet bar for appearances sake. The separate bedroom and bath remained intact. He'd find himself at the foot of her bed just looking at it, picturing her still in it sleeping in it many times. He had only looked on her a few times in her entire time there and now wished he'd of done it more. His phone ringing would pull him away from his reflections eventually and send him back to his desk. He felt a great void in his existence; he missed the human, as quiet as she was lounging about for his pleasure. Scarlett's actions, before she removed her eye covering now made him smirk. No other in his entire existence had played him like that, elicited such a reaction from him and he knew it. He suspected, for those several minutes, Scarlett was letting that spark he once saw in her glow for him.
Scarlett decided that Thursday mornings were the worse time for her; boredom combined with anticipation were a wicked combination. With soup cans in hand she proceeded to do the exercises that Jane had taught her. The goal wasn't weight loss, goodness knows that left to her own devices that it'd come off on its own with her skimpish and irregular eating habits, but rather to tire herself out so she'd be able to sleep soundly. It had been nine months since the 'incident' with V and although the nightmares had completely subsided she still dreamed of him, his voice and soft touch. It was building up a deep conflict within her because she didn't want to admit what she came to realize, she actually liked him a fair bit before the 'incident' and she could still picture herself, at least, still working for him if it hadn't happened. She needed to go to the office the following day to check the wall so she kept her routine short and went to bed quite early. The wall was a new development for the women of the agency. Pictures of ex clients were posted, no names and pictures of 'independents'. Scarlett recalled that Liz had told her about them and how they frequented the events that they were at to learn of potential candidates they could pursue and possibly snag for later events. She recalled how Liz told her that it was no way of doing 'business' as they were putting themselves at risk. Scarlett, although hating to think it, suspected that V preyed on these woman; no record of attending and no one to check in with at night made them vulnerable. Scarlett would find herself looking at pictures of these women to know who to avoid speaking to and inadvertently giving out the nave of her date to. She would also check the board with the men on it looking for V's image. To be there was a tarnish on their name but as much as she wanted just to see, confirm, the person she thought she saw so long ago she also wished he'd never be on there. Liz's voice bellowed behind her suddenly.
"S there you are you left so early this morning I was going to offer to share my cab with you to get here. Anyway, no matter." Liz pulled her into her office for a bit of privacy. "I got your tests results back and you are still in perfect health etcetera so your rate is being bumped up a smudge." Liz had several girls under her charge through the years and had set this particular policy in place to ensure that not only were their girls the most beautiful but the most healthiest so they could ask for top dollar. That and it made sure they could find any problems before it reached their clients and tarnish their reputation. S gave her a mock 'yay' but the news didn't come as a big surprise to her. Liz knew that outside of work her friend didn't have any of her own social life to speak of. None of the girls there did, there were far and few men around that were confident and secure enough to have one as a girlfriend and be okay with them going out with different men. Even Liz herself was victim to her job as she shared in their stigma even though she never went out with clients. "To celebrate, and because I have a ton of vacation time banked, I thought it'd be nice for us to go somewhere for a week or two and before you say you can't afford it I'm going to say that it's on me and I won't take no for an answer."
"Liz you know I can't accept that, it's too generous and I know how much you want that new place you're saving up for. How about we just go for a nice dinner or a few days? I can't bear the thought of you wasting your time with me if something or someone better comes up that you'd want to use it for." Scarlett hadn't lost hope for her friend to find someone; she knew that she felt just as alone as she did. Their friendship to to each other was one that she knew in her heart got her though the last nine months.
"I'm going to be working on you to accept this offer soon S." Liz gave her a pointed look. "So you ready for tonight? Dress pressed, shoes stretched so you're not limping by eight.." Her eyes went to Scarlett's hair '..hair appointment is soon I'm assuming." It wasn't so much of a question as an order as was making sure her friend got her nails done regularly. As far as personal maintenance went Scarlett was low on the scale so whatever little thing she did get made to do, it made her all that more immaculate. Liz admitted she was a tad bit jealous of her friend but keeping her at her best was in her own best interests.
Scarlett proceeded with her day; a light lunch, hair, nails and then back home to get changed and wait for her ride. She was going to a big company celebration of some sort over a takeover or something of the sort. She almost ignored the bulk of the details as they and the rest of them started sounding so similar to her. She did wonder though why all of her clients couldn't find a friend to take or just go alone rather than enlist her services. Of the few woman at her agency she did meet she did ask one one day the very thing and the response she got was that they were just as interested in shopping around for the perfect trophy wife as many of them were shopping around for a husband. She thought about that reason now as she sat in the car that was delivering her. 'A husband. No, not for her.' she thought. V had set the bar up so high, before the incident, that no man could ever aspire to reaching. Sure she was 'perfection' as he put it but it wasn't his compliments that impressed her it was his listening to her when she hardly spoke and his gentleness. She glanced down to his bracelet that still adorned her wrist. The diamonds glistened even in the low light of the car, she smirked. This gift, in a way, elevated her with her clients. They saw it and she knew they thought more of her; to have such an extravagant thing meant she thought highly of herself or someone else did. The door opened and she paused to ask the elderly driver where he'd be waiting for her, 'Across the street to the left.' he told her and she kissed his cheek and made him blush. It was nothing to show a bit of kindness to someone who was there working with her and not for her, he'd be there when it was time to leave. There was a difference between the two in her mind, working with and for her, and she hoped that she'd never change so much that she'd forget it. Within minutes she was inside and her arm was around her clients. He was an older gentleman and one of the lawyers that aided in the takeover. She was immediately complimented on her attire and he discreetly whispered in her ear that the picture of her didn't do her an ounce of justice. He was a very slick talker and Scarlett listened to him intently as he talked to the various shareholders for the next little while. Drinks were always offered but always refused and Scarlett would limit herself to only three d'oeuvers so she'd never need a drink to wash anything down. She was in a dark charcoal evening gown that her client picked out for her thankfully as she had always stressed over such decisions that seemed important to someone else. His name was Carl and he was twice divorced she learned because he had asked her if it bothered her. "I've only ever had one boyfriend so I'm no expert but if you didn't want to be with them for whatever reason then that's your prerogative." He replied, 'They got old fast and gave up on their looks.' which sadly didn't shock Scarlett as it should've; perhaps that she's seen it so many times. "Looks will always fade, even mine buy if that's all someone sees when looking at a person then someone like that isn't worth the time." She smirked ever so sweetly, something that Liz had taught her to do when she may have said something that might be taken as an insult or turn down. He laughed out and pulled her towards another group of people he wanted to talk to. Liz's trick worked every time and she was still the 'perfect date' as her inner voice was telling her to be. A few more hours passed and she found herself talking about what was happening in the news with the wife of one of the company owners. Scarlett, for lack of anything better to do, made a habit of reading the papers that had been left down in the laundry room of her building. Carl was a impressed with her, she could tell, he realized that she wasn't all looks then and Scarlett knew she may have secured him as a future client. Informed, polite, soft spoken and gracious is what Liz taught her to be and she followed that and everything to the letter.
'Is that her?' Stephan's question may have just have been him ripping Vladimir's chest open to rip out his dead innards. His eyes were where Stephen had indicated and he had a very good hard look before he gave his brother a curt nod. "You will not touch her. Understood." Stephan gave his brother an angry hiss under his breath. "She hasn't seen us or me from the looks of it so let's keep it that way." His brother gave him a deeply questioning look and shook his head. 'Hiding from a woman, what has become of you old friend.' Vladimir gave him a pointed look but said nothing. He was angry at himself for not checking up on her now to prevent such a thing like this from happening. There was always a chance of it but now wasn't a time to reflect on mistakes. They'd stay for a little while longer, keep up appearances and then slip out, at least he would. Stephan had found his dinner for the evening and Vladimir was still listening to a group of women chatter to determine which one was the outsider that slipped into the party that'd wouldn't be missed when he escorted her out. He kept his eye on Scarlett, she looked happy but malnourished. Her date that night was too old for her and Vladimir could tell the man was working hard to secure new clients as well as impress the beauty on his arm. Scarlett wasn't buying it, the act, even with the deeply tinted contacts in his eyes he could tell her interest was only superficial. Vladimir and Stephan were working too and not just for their meals. This company, despite the recent development of good fortune, it was going to be short lived. They had been slowly buying up shares in both companies under different shell corporations that each owned separately and were in a position of taking over now. This celebration for them was an undercover mission to find the useful humans that they would keep and those that would be sloughed off. Only a few showed promise but even then it was still uncertain until they could get their hands on the official paperwork. 'Why don't you go over and say hello? What's the worse thing she could do, run away screaming?' Stephan chuckled. "Very funny brother. Mind your date or she will be too drunk to be extricated from here properly." The brothers continued their investigation of the business, listening more so than talking and Vladimir also kept tabs on Scarlett. He debated using a fake identity and arranging to meet with her; perhaps calmly speaking with her face to face in a public place. A restaurant perhaps, over dinner they could talk and with a bit of luck or more he might be able to encourage her to return to him. His mind was set on the idea when he noticed her date moving towards them but he and Stephan were in a group of humans and couldn't move. "All the gods hate me." he grumbled under his breath and Stephan noticed what was happening to cause him grief.
Carl was tugging Scarlett along as her head was turned and still talking to a new friend. She thought it was amusing that she attended so many things that it was so rare that she never saw the same people, except the door crashers, twice. They knew her well enough and had learned to keep their distance now that she had realized that she could get them removed by security. She was in the middle of a sentence when Carl brought her to a stop and she excused herself from her friends conversation to see who he wanted her to meet or show her off to. As her head turned and she looked before her a crippling panic struck her and she froze. Carl was talking but she couldn't hear him at what he was saying, her eyes were fixed on him, V.
Vladimir tried not to look at Scarlett, not so much as to insult her date but because he thought she was going to break down crying; she had lost all color in her face and her previous beaming smile was dead. Her heart was racing and he could smell the terror rising to the surface of her perfect skin. At that moment and the next several he had lost all faith that his future plan was going to fail; she was still was deathly afraid of him. Her knuckles had gone pitch white as her grasp of her date's arm was threatening to become permanent. He did notice something remarkable, something that make his hope reignite; his bracelet on her wrist. 'Is she going to faint or run?' Stephan mumbled in Romanian; Vladimir could only gruff at him. Carl, as he introduced himself, gave her a nudge and she woke up from her shock. They carried on speaking with Carl, how could they not, and hoped there wasn't going to be a problem.
The scene, the one that haunted her for so long was hitting her full force and she could feel herself slowly breaking apart. Carl nudged her, he asked her something, if she was alright. "Uhm no. I think I'm not well. Ugh I must have eaten something that's not agreeing with me...I think. Excuse me I'm going to the ladies room." Scarlett was able to release her death grip of Carl's arm and turned on her heel and started towards the bathroom, the one in the foyer but then she, after looking back, headed out the doors. She'd come back for her coat in the morning, maybe. It was still too soon and her driver wasn't there waiting for her yet but she needed to get some distance from him. There was a coffee shop that was still open a little further down and she thought she could take a bit of refuge in there until he was there. She'd call Liz and explain, she'd understand why she bailed on Carl, she had to. She was across the street and almost to her refuge when she was yanked forcefully into the darkness of an ally.
Vladimir watched Scarlett though the crowd and make the turn to take her out of the building. She was gone. Again. 'Please tell me that that is it. No more of this nonsense brother.' Vladimir wasn't one to give up, no, not when there was a slight glimmer of hope. "I think I may have had something questionable too. Please excuse me." Stephan grumbled behind him and he took off along the path Scarlett took and was outside in seconds. The air was still that night and her scent trail lead him across the street. He then noticed Stephan exit the place and was at a human's pace a few seconds behind him. Then it hit him, a scent so potent that it made him scared; he knew what, who, it was. A few more painfully slow paces and down a few steps of a narrow alley and there he saw her, his beauty sobbing and holding her side that was reddened with her blood. She noticed him but continued to sob and labor hard to keep breathing. An eternity passed in the span of a few seconds. He'd had seen greater atrocities in his lifespan, more violent bloodies horrors during the several wars he's witnessed and himself had committed but this, this pained him deeply. He didn't dare touch her, he didn't trust himself but more so he needed to not make it look like he had any part of her attack. She was going into shock before his eyes and with the blood loss would be passing out soon. Stephan was at the opening to the alley and saw him, her and the situation at hand. "Find the bastard and make him suffer brother. For me." Stephan gave him an nod and vanished. Vladimir exited the alley and ceased the first human he noticed with a phone. "Call for an ambulance, my sister has been stabbed. NOW." The human complied and his companion rushed into the alley to assist his Scarlett. How such good humans could exist with such bad ones always perplexed him but he'd give it some so more serious thought another day. The female had some knowledge of first aid and was keeping Scarlett awake as Vladimir looked on. He might as well have been watching it on television for how detached he suddenly felt, almost helpless. The medics arrived just then and whisked her away; he was closely behind the vehicle and appeared as the gurney they had Scarlett on exited it. None of the medics noticed him as he followed closely behind them until her was halted abruptly by an over sized nurse telling him he wasn't allowed any further. Failure wasn't an option now. He was on his phone to his lawyers who buzzed into action at his greeting. Within less than five minutes he was talking calmly to the president of the board of directors of the hospital. "My sister has just been admitted to your hospital with a stab wound. I expect nothing but excellence in her care, I know how these things work so name your price" The man assured him that all in their care got the best care, money wasn't a factor. "I'm worth billions and a nurse stopped me from being allowed to be with my sister. Fix it now and a generous anonymous donation will be made when my sister is in stable condition." Three minutes was how long it took for a nurse to come fetch him after he hung up his phone and bring him to the back where they had already cut away Scarlett's bloodied dress and were trying to get information from her. She was passed out and unresponsive. The doctor was irrigating her wound and blood continued to steam out of the gash in her side. The doctor was calling for another to take a sample so they could get her type and start feeding some back to her; fluids would be needed. "She is B negative. No allergies, drug or food and has had very little eat tonight in the last several hours. She has a spotless medical record and does not drink alcohol. Anything else?" They took it all down and a bag of ruby red blood with the correct blood type was attached to her. An operating room was ordered but there was none free. A roundish man appeared beside Vladimir. 'Open room five NOW and push back what was scheduled in there. It's an elective surgery anyway, they can wait a few more hours.' The man was in shambles, clearly he was woken up from his slumber and had rushed there; he knew exactly how these things work. "Thank you for your attentiveness. Now, is there a viewing area I can observe from?" He was lead to a gallery above the room and stood an inch away from the glass and watched. His beauty appeared dead on the operating table but the machines attached to her were buzzing and beeping away, indicating she was alive. A second doctor came in to assist but was clearly not needed; the president knew how these things worked after all. 'She lost a lot of blood. The wound is deep and her liver was nicked. Can you tell me how this happened?' Vladimir inhaled the sterilized air. "She saw her ex at the party we were at and got very upset and ran away. I went out to fetch her and found that she'd been attacked. " She was a runner; he liked them the best of his prey. The man shook his head and huffed. 'I hope she dumped him and not the other way around. She's a lovely woman and shouldn't know unhappiness.' Vladimir had to agree, she shouldn't know it but shielding her from it was impossible now. Several minutes passed and Vladimir's stance hadn't moved, the president did excuse himself politely and returned quickly. 'This was left at the desk by your brother, I'm guessing this coat is yours and this is your sister's?' Vladimir gave him a nod and took Scarlett's little purse and tucked it into a pocket inside his jacket. 'They tell me it's not as bad as they suspected, there was no other damage. They will do a double check and be closing up soon and then be moving her to recovery to wake up.' The human was being as helpful as he could be; he wanted money for his hospital, Vladimir was going to use his unselfish greed to his advantage. "I will require a few things from you Sir and I'm sure you will do all that you can to make it possible for me."
Next two chapters are written...yes I know you're screaming with excitement...