Without Guilt

Chapter XV: Rat Poison

"Hey, T." Layla's greeting was followed by a heavy sigh when Otis joined her in the main room of Kumi and Dominique's flat.

Otis gave a nod in return, smoothing out the hood of his navy sweatshirt. It wasn't exactly his first pick of clothing; he usually went for plainer than this with its white geometric prints and bold brand logo - but right now he was just glad to be dressed in something clean and warm. The cargo pants were on the thinner side, but they would have to do.

"You look good." Kumi remarked from his seat by the window. He'd been watching the street, still waiting for Dominique to get back.

Otis gave him a deadpan stare. He still didn't know what exactly had caused such a sudden change in Kumi. Their relationship had been rocky over the years, but they'd been close enough that arguments and disagreements were never taken to heart and just as easily forgotten within minutes.

He'd thought he'd made it clear that Kumi had crossed a red line when he'd taken his things last time, and it didn't seem like Kumi was willing to swallow his pride on the matter either. At least until now.

Was it pity? Desperation? Did Kumi need something from him?

Kumi raised a brow inquisitively when Otis continued to look at him. "You good, T?"

Otis exhaled lightly, turning his gaze to Dorothy across the room.

She was quietly sorting supplies and other items into neat packages for their departure from the camp tomorrow. She was nervous, it was obvious from a mile away, it would be her first time leaving the camp.

"Otis, Pier said he needs to talk to you." Layla spoke up, her hands dipping in her coat pockets. She'd cleaned up too.

Otis turned to her, raising his chin in question.

"He's with Scarlett right now." She indicated the closed bedroom door, picking up his next question without need for prompt. "They're fine. He was angry about Lewis and Murphy, pretty sure he would've split Murphy in half if he saw him."

Otis made a raspy hum of agreement at the sentiment before continuing towards Dorothy. He'd squat down beside her slowly, holding his bandaged side. It was still tender, but the ice bath had helped seal it and reduce some of the swelling. "Dor…"

Dorothy had been in such deep concentration at her self-appointed task that she jumped when she heard him, pushing her spectacles back up her nose as she turned to him. "Oh, hey, T." She greeted with a sheepish smile, her eyes tired even behind the glass. She clearly hadn't been sleeping properly.

Otis lowered his head a fraction to get a better look at her when she failed to hold his gaze, her head lowering as she fidgeted with her pencil. He'd reach out to take it from her, retrieving the inventory pad she'd been writing on to turn to a new page.

Dorothy might have been grateful for the silent conversation, briefly looking to Layla who hovered nearby. The two women exchanged small smiles, a token of understanding.

"Your handwriting looks the same with your right hand. Are you ambidextrous?" Layla teased, leaning over his shoulder to try and see what he was writing.

Otis scoffed at her, mildly insulted at the implication that his handwriting was normally this awful.

Dorothy's smile spread just a little. "It's not that bad." She tried to console.

He rolled his eyes at her, holding the pad up so she could read what he wrote. He took a bit too long just to write a few words, it was highly impractical, but it was better than his attempt at talking.

"Ethan thinks…" She read slowly. "He thinks I was stealing?" She frowned in confusion.

Otis took the pad back to scrawl some more.

"Alcohol? Why?" She questioned.

Otis wrote the next word a little more quickly.

"Will?" She shook her head lightly, not quite understanding.

He underlined it in some frustration.

"Will…" It dawned on her. "Ethan thinks I was stealing alcohol for William?" The mere idea was preposterous, even Layla let out a mirthless laugh.

"So, he was looking for her to blackmail her? I thought he was desperate to get Lewis looked at for his leg." Layla huffed, the tassels of her scarf dancing as she shook her head incredulously.

"I didn't think he was stupid enough to go after you for it though." Kumi voiced, moving to sit on the couch nearby.

Dorothy's brows were knotted in concern. "That's awful. I'm so sorry, Otis, I didn't think-"

"Oh, don't be sorry, Murphy's problem with Otis goes way back." Layla cut her off before she could start the downward spiral into guilt.

Otis motioned his agreement, working at another poorly written message. This one was directed to Layla though.

'ETHAN DOEsNT KNOW'.

Layla waited for him to elaborate, though fortunately he already had the note written before and just flipped back to the page.

'DoM PRegnAnT.' He tapped it with the pencil.

"Ethan doesn't know that Dominique is pregnant." Layla translated, her face lighting up a fraction. "That's a good thing!" She looked to Kumi.

"Yeah. For now." Kumi agreed though sceptically. Their plans were being made up as they went along, and Ethan Murphy had certainly thrown a wrench in it.

He'd shift forward in his seat to get a bit closer to Otis who was still writing something else. "T, I wish you hadn't helped Scarlett and Pier." He confided quietly. "Murphy is one problem, but he's got nothing on us. Even the shit he's spouting 'bout Dorothy, it's all bullshit and he can't even prove it. Why'd you get involved with them anyway?" He questioned.

Otis paused, the pencil hovering over the page before he turned over the page to write something else. 'HE DOES'.

Kumi looked from the page to Otis. "What the fuck did you do?" He asked as calmly as he could manage.

"Oh God." Layla rubbed her face, waiting for Kumi to explode.

Fortunately, the conversation was paused mid-swing as the door unlocked, Dominique shivering from the cold as she rushed inside and closed the door behind her.

"Dom, where the fuck were you?" Kumi questioned, rushing over to collect her in his arms.

Dominique melted into him, leeching from his warmth. "I was getting some important stuff for us." She voiced, blowing into her hands in an attempt to warm them up faster.

Kumi pulled back a fraction to look at her, pushing her hood back and brushing snow from her braids. "What could be so important that it couldn't wait for when I got back?" He questioned, looking her over.

Dominique failed to hide her wince, her hazel eyes looking away briefly before she looked to him again, imploring him. "Can we sit down? I hurt my leg." She confessed.

In the same instance, he swept her off her feet, making her squeak with surprise as he carried her to the couch. "How'd you do that-? Dorothy, can you take a look at her?" Kumi requested, all his anger forgotten and replaced with concern.

Dorothy didn't hesitate to rush over, frowning at the bloodied and congealed denim. "We need to cut this. How did you get hurt?" She asked, opening her First Aid box. She'd been planning to pack it with her.

"Barbed wire." Dominique admitted, giving an apologetic smile to Kumi.

"You should be more careful." It was Dorothy who scolded her, the woman struggling to cut through the thick fabric with her dulled scissors but persevering until she could clearly see the wound.

"I know but look what I got!" Dominique excitedly fished in her jacket pockets to retrieve the bottles she'd taken from the storehouse. "They had so much of this stuff just lying around, they wouldn't even miss it." She pushed the first two into Kumi's larger hand.

"What is it?" Layla asked curiously, leaning over.

"Multivitamins... Omega 3, D3… Folic Acid." Kumi read what he could from the faded label. "Prenatal multivitamins." He concluded as he turned the bottles over, Dominique's excitement rubbing off on him.

Dominique smiled proudly when he brought an arm around her, squeezing her gently against his side to offer more warmth. "While I was there… I also found this." She added, some of her mirth receding as she held the third bottle out towards Otis.

Otis seemed to hang back, the distance between them feeling like a world. He didn't seem like he wanted to take whatever she was offering, but Dorothy didn't waste much time.

"Erythromycin… Macrolides." Dorothy analysed.

"Is it the right kind?" Dominique inquired, feeling a bit awkward at this strange rift she felt from Otis.

"Well, it does the job." Dorothy smiled, giving her hand a soft squeeze before holding the bottle out to Otis. "Get some food in you, then have one of these. I'll give you some painkillers after too. Pier and Kumi got your things from Will's place, it's in the kitchen."

"… nks…" It was the quietest 'thank you' towards both of them, the bottle being taken gingerly.

Dorothy gave a nod before focusing back on Dominique's leg. "Well, it's not bad, looks worse than it is. It just bled quite a bit because you were walking on it. Probably didn't feel it because of the cold."

Kumi got up to follow Otis as the man moved towards the small kitchen, Dominique's gaze following them with some concern though she was soon distracted by Layla's eagerness to talk about her pregnancy.

"Otis," Kumi called him, staying in the doorway. "That's Dom's debt to you for those antibiotics from before settled too." He stated.

Otis cast a dismissive glance to him, moving to inspect the contents of the boxes they'd brought. It wasn't like he owned much anyway, but there were a few personal items and his weapons.

Kumi lingered still.

Why was it that everyone wanted to talk precisely when he couldn't answer them? Well, not that he was very talkative to begin with. Maybe if he had been more forthcoming with his plans, Kumi wouldn't be hovering over him like the angel of death right now.

Kumi rubbed his neck, trying to think of an easy yes-or-no question but there wasn't a way he could phrase it to get the answer to what he wanted. "What's Murphy got on you, T?"

Otis paused to look at him. Why was Kumi so concerned with this? He had quite easily told him that he didn't belong with them, and that Dorothy didn't want to see him. He crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter as he observed the taller man.

"Look, I heard… what Mason was saying to you." Kumi admitted slowly. "I thought that you and him had something going on before- a good thing, y'know…"

"Cut… the crap, K." Otis rasped, his throat burning. He couldn't wait to get rid of this cotton mouth feeling, his tongue was so heavy and felt like a ball of clay.

"I was looking in that journal." Kumi finally said, indicating the leather-bound book sitting atop the dusty crate of supplies. "That's not your handwriting. There's a ring in there too, just like yours…" He reached into his pocket to withdraw the silver ring he'd picked up from the stairwell of the other building. It was still stained with dry blood.

Otis stared at it as Kumi brought it over, not seeming sure what he was meant to do with it now.

"What happened to Eugene Linden? The man who wrote this journal?" Kumi asked, offering him the journal alongside the ring. The journal was full of rantings and ravings, it sounded like it belonged to a mad man the further in it got. What started as regretful ponderings on trying to handle the situation in Denver had eventually become fanatical and desperate attempts at justification of the careless actions against the civilians in the Quarantine Zone.

Otis took the journal, shrugging a shoulder lightly. The word he mouthed was quiet, but Kumi could read it in his body language.

Eugene Linden was probably dead. Either way, it was clear that Otis hadn't seen him in a very long time. There was a photo inside too – of a man, a woman, and a child between them. It looked old enough to be pre-outbreak, so presumably whatever relationship Eugene and Otis had was one of mere convenience.

"And this Linden… he was Firefly, right? Is that what Murphy is trying to get at you for?" Kumi concluded.

Otis gave a vague hum of confirmation. It wasn't Eugene's pendant that Murphy had taken from him though, that would have made it a simple thing to deny. The Firefly pendent that Eugene had taken was his brother's – Otto Meyer.

He didn't even have Eugene's, the man had taken it with him after he and Tommy left for Wyoming. Otis had stayed behind with Mary up until they were forced to take the road or otherwise fall prey to the madness that took over once the military abandoned the QZ.

Eugene had given him a choice. Go with them or stay with his brother's widow. Mary had not been in a condition to travel, and that had proved true once they'd left Denver. It had barely been a month before she died. Otis had gone through a dark time in those five years. He'd lost the last of his family and didn't know where he was going or what he was doing.

Layla reminded him of Mary to some degree, though the former was much stronger,

These memories being stirred opened an unwelcome gate to his past and he was almost grateful when Pier appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Meyer, you're here." The scarred man noted, holding up a paper pad. "Amin told me you'd need this." He waved it, briefly looking to Kumi before approaching.

"Layla told you right." Kumi snarked, never missing an opportunity to poke fun at Otis. He felt better about himself knowing that Otis was no threat to his relationship with Dominique, though whether he was aware of this was another matter.

Otis took the pad, wasting little time in writing: 'You + Scar OK?'

Pier gave a nod and a sigh. "We're fine, yeah." He confirmed. "'m sorry you got dragged into our mess. But, I, uh…" He combed his fingers through his beard, thinking over his next words. "Heard from K that y'all're gonna be needing somewhere to stay from now on." He looked again to Kumi who gave an agreeing nod. "So, I thought if you're still good on your word 'bout the supply runs – y'know, giving me and Scar a share, I'd consider letting you guys stay."

Otis seemed surprised by the reverse-proposal, but before he could write anything, Kumi was already jumping in.

"If you got a place, why were you staying at Will's?"

"It's complicated," Pier answered shortly, then sighed. "Well, this whole thing with Murphy, I didn't want to cause more problems for Scarlett. It worked out better to have somewhere already fixed up and Meyer offered us rations on top. The place is big, it's got space, just needs some hands to fix it up." He explained.

"You seen this place?" Kumi asked Otis who nodded in response before holding up the next paper.

'YOU SHOULDNT HAVE GONE TO WILLS'.

Kumi and Pier exchanged alarmed looks.

'ETHAN' Next to a poorly drawn eye.

"Murphy don't know you're here. Last I checked, he was still outside. He's either looking for me or for you, he thinks you and Scarlett are runnin' 'round." Pier pointed out.

"Yeah, and as long as Lewis stays in Med, Murphy can't do anything to anyone here." Kumi agreed.

Pier rubbed his aching back. "'bout that, actually, I was hopin' you'd do me one last favour, T." He looked to Otis who greeted him with a patient stare. "Scar's been twistin' my arm 'bout Lewis since awhile now, but after she told me 'bout what happened at Will's place… I don't think I can sit quiet no more." He implied.

Otis raised a slit brow.

"Murphy's a problem only so long as Lewis is with him. What d'ya say we cut the head off the snake? Me and Scar can stop sneakin' 'round like we're doin' something wrong too." Pier suggested hopefully.

It would solve Pier and Scarlett's problem, but Otis still needed Otto's pendant back from Murphy. Ashton Lewis was only one head on a snake with many. Still, Murphy would know that two could play at his game, only Otis didn't need the words to do it.

`RODENTICIDE', he wrote.

Pier looked at the word. "Rat poison?" He asked uncertainly, squinting at the letters. "I think Phil brought a load in not long ago, said he was tired of 'em crawling in his things. I can get you some if you want?"

Otis made an 'ok' sign.

Please R&R!