The characters belong to Top cow and TNT as do all their toys, accessories and appliances, including the Witchblade.
****warnings, apologies and excuses*
Swearing and lots of it.
This chapter may seem a bit insane. Please know that I mean no offence to anyone.
******************** denotes change of scenery
Tenebrous
chapter 15
*****************************************
Having managed to shake his pursuers for the moment, The assassin had headed for the Interstate. He'd only been on the freeway a few miles before he felt Gabriel's weight start to deaden against him.
Ian figured that whatever sustenance Sara had managed to get into the young man was expended. Gabriel's outburst of colorful expletives when two cars tried to pin them in must have taken up quite a bit of energy, in and of itself.
Nottingham decided to take the next exit and either get some food into the boy or tie him to the bike. He didn't want to have to explain to Mr. Irons nor Lady Sara that he lost the young man because he fell off the motorcycle. As it was, Gabriel had lost consciousness completely now, and although Ian had caught him in time, he could feel the boy's feet starting to slip.
He pulled off the freeway. Finding no open restaurants, he settled on a gas station-cum-party store. As he was parking his motorcycle, Gabriel stirred slightly and the assassin decided to get one potential hazard taken care of. Pulling a cord from his coat, he bound the boy's legs and draped him over the bike before filling his tank. He would have to untie them before starting off again, but for now he was taking no chances. He had no intentions of chasing the young entrepreneur around the lot or getting his shins kicked. The boy was drained at the moment but seemed to have caches of energy that appeared at unpredictably inconvenient moments for the assassin.
The motorcycle tank filled, it was time to address the food issue, as Ian was a bit hungry himself. He considered leaving Gabriel draped across the bike, but the assassin wasn't positive he'd not been tailed. He decided it would be too easy for the Sufult to just pick up the unconscious package.
Clutching Gabriel to his side, he entered the store. The attendant behind the counter gawked at the limp body that Nottingham was casually carrying around the small store as he selected foodstuffs.
"Um, mister?" the attendant finally got the nerve up to query.
"Yes?" Ian responded, not bothering to look at the other man as he checked the expiration date on a box of biscuits.
The attendant began to wonder if he'd made a mistake by addressing the stranger. The man in black seemed to behave as if there was nothing odd about dragging a body around a convenience store.
Nottingham collected a few things he deemed edible and raided the cooler before approaching the counter. The clerk seemed to be a bit frightened of him and had backed up slightly when he approached the counter.
"Your, uh...friend there," he stammered. Pointing nervously at Gabriel, he continued, "He's not, y'know, um de- um... Is he okay?"
The assassin eyed the nosy attendant with disdain before responding, "He's Narcoleptic, I'm afraid the ride was just too exciting for him." Placing the items and money on the counter, he added, "I'd prefer a bag with handles."
For some reason it took the clerk a moment for this to sink in. Encouraged by the intimidating man's reply, he annoyed Ian with another question. "Why are his legs tied?" he asked.
Ian was getting peeved at the irksome inquisitor. "He has seizures and must be restrained, lest he harm himself," Nottingham explained while shoving the money closer to the man.
"Ah, I see," the attendant commented before asking, "What about those bandages on his neck?"
The exasperated assassin was about to snap. "The boy has trouble shaving, he's not very good at it," Nottingham snipped, gripping Gabriel a little too tight in his anger. This elicited a pained squeak from the young man, apparently appeasing the attendant.
The man finally took the assassin's money and bagged up the purchases. "It's a pity about his shaving problem," the man muttered as Ian snatched the bag from his hands.
"Yes, it is," Ian concurred before sweeping out of the store.
The assassin was not happy with the delay caused by the nosey attendant, nor with accidentally squeezing his charge too hard. Propping the boy on the bike, he felt Gabriel's ribs just to make sure he hadn't broken one-or two. The young man began to stir from his exhaustion induced slumber so Nottingham opened a sugary, bottled latte and pressed it to his mouth.
After an amusing display of sputtering and cursing, Gabriel glared at his tormentor while wiping latte from his face. "What the-" he started but was cut off as Nottingham continued his latte assault. Ian managed to get at least half of it down the boy's throat before Gabriel angrily pushed it away.
"Stop it!" Gabriel barked, still coughing and trying to back away from the deranged assassin who was doing an awful job of playing nursemaid. "What in the hell are you doing?" the young man demanded irritably.
"You've lost blood and you need to eat," Nottingham replied, aiming a nutrition bar at the boy. He had lost time and patience because of the garrulous attendant and he wasn't thrilled with Gabriel's little hissy fit. Ignoring Gabriel's protesting hands, Nottingham shoved the bar against the boy's mouth, but he was being belligerent as usual.
"Mph, no-," Gabriel protested, trying to push the assassin's arm away.
On the 'no' part Ian managed to ram the bar into the younger man's mouth. Ian found the funny noise this produced from the boy quite amusing. Snickering, Ian backed off and allowed Gabriel to finish the bar by himself.
With a furious snarl, Gabriel snatched the bar out of his mouth. Gritting his teeth he pointed the nutritious snack at his assailant as he unleashed his tirade. "You sick son-of-a-bitch! Fucking hell, Nottingham! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why in Valhalla were you trying to force-feed me?!"
"You were being too slow," the assassin replied. He was a little surprised by the young man's hostility.
"Slow? What the..." Gabriel was aghast at the man's completely mental methodology. *Why did Sara leave me with this menace?* he wondered in dismay. He also noticed that his legs were tied again. *What in the hell did the man have against legs?*
"We've already wasted too much time here and I'm not certain if the man who works here is not one of the Sufult. He asked too many questions. Now, stop being belligerent and eat that," Ian demanded, pointing at the health bar still clenched in the boy's hand.
"Belligerent?!" Gabriel gaped in disbelief. "You tied me up, tried to choke me with a candy bar and got me all sticky!" Gabriel accused, pointing at his shirt, which was decorated with splotches of the sugary latte. "How in the hell did you expect me to react?"
Nottingham raised his eyebrows in amusement. The boy was quite a pistol. "If I truly wanted to choke you, I could do so easily," Ian responded. "However, my only intent is to get you somewhere safe in order to appease both Lady Sara and my employer. You need to take sustenance or this night's ordeal will exacerbate your already weak condition. You may feel fine at the moment, but I assure you, as soon as your adrenaline wears out, you will be impuissant."
Gabriel leveled an angry glare at the assassin. He didn't like how the assassin seemed to believe his own maniacal behavior was completely justified while Gabriel's reaction to this behavior was somehow outlandishly childish. Of course he felt weak, he was tired as hell actually, but that didn't mean he should willingly endure the assassin's bizarre treatment. "Yeah, I get that, Nottingham," Gabriel replied crossly. "I'll eat the damn candy bar if you untie me," Gabriel negotiated.
"It is a nutrition bar not a candy bar, Gabriel, It's good for you," the assassin coaxed.
Annoyed with Nottingham's inane attempts at playing 'mom', Gabriel glowered at the man until the assassin conceded to the deal before nibbling on the nutritious snack.
Gabriel could tell Nottingham was about to spout some enthusiastically encouraging yet condescending comment so he shot the assassin a warning glare. Nottingham merely smirked and began untying his legs.
********************
As one of his attendants left the room, Magistrate Banol scowled. The Wielder had averted her demise at the hands of the Sufult...again. The scout said it looked as if something had tipped her off at the last minute. Once more, they had drawn attention to their presence with no reward.
He hoped the Consul would not find out about this little fiasco. Luckily Consul Damak seemed overwhelmed at the moment, torn between reports on the progress of their pursuit of the artifact dealer and some other development.
Although Magistrate Banol's attempt at killing the Wielder had failed, he 'had' managed to separate her from Mr. Bowman. Magistrate Banol decided to take full advantage of this possibly brief opportunity and concentrate the agents' attention on capturing the young man.
Although the assassin had subverted their snare and escaped with the artifact dealer, one spy had managed to furtively tail him. Consul Damak's ambush, set up near Irons' estate to prevent Nottingham from bringing the quarry to his employer's stronghold was futile. The assassin seemed to be bound elsewhere.
**************************************************
****warnings, apologies and excuses*
Swearing and lots of it.
This chapter may seem a bit insane. Please know that I mean no offence to anyone.
******************** denotes change of scenery
Tenebrous
chapter 15
*****************************************
Having managed to shake his pursuers for the moment, The assassin had headed for the Interstate. He'd only been on the freeway a few miles before he felt Gabriel's weight start to deaden against him.
Ian figured that whatever sustenance Sara had managed to get into the young man was expended. Gabriel's outburst of colorful expletives when two cars tried to pin them in must have taken up quite a bit of energy, in and of itself.
Nottingham decided to take the next exit and either get some food into the boy or tie him to the bike. He didn't want to have to explain to Mr. Irons nor Lady Sara that he lost the young man because he fell off the motorcycle. As it was, Gabriel had lost consciousness completely now, and although Ian had caught him in time, he could feel the boy's feet starting to slip.
He pulled off the freeway. Finding no open restaurants, he settled on a gas station-cum-party store. As he was parking his motorcycle, Gabriel stirred slightly and the assassin decided to get one potential hazard taken care of. Pulling a cord from his coat, he bound the boy's legs and draped him over the bike before filling his tank. He would have to untie them before starting off again, but for now he was taking no chances. He had no intentions of chasing the young entrepreneur around the lot or getting his shins kicked. The boy was drained at the moment but seemed to have caches of energy that appeared at unpredictably inconvenient moments for the assassin.
The motorcycle tank filled, it was time to address the food issue, as Ian was a bit hungry himself. He considered leaving Gabriel draped across the bike, but the assassin wasn't positive he'd not been tailed. He decided it would be too easy for the Sufult to just pick up the unconscious package.
Clutching Gabriel to his side, he entered the store. The attendant behind the counter gawked at the limp body that Nottingham was casually carrying around the small store as he selected foodstuffs.
"Um, mister?" the attendant finally got the nerve up to query.
"Yes?" Ian responded, not bothering to look at the other man as he checked the expiration date on a box of biscuits.
The attendant began to wonder if he'd made a mistake by addressing the stranger. The man in black seemed to behave as if there was nothing odd about dragging a body around a convenience store.
Nottingham collected a few things he deemed edible and raided the cooler before approaching the counter. The clerk seemed to be a bit frightened of him and had backed up slightly when he approached the counter.
"Your, uh...friend there," he stammered. Pointing nervously at Gabriel, he continued, "He's not, y'know, um de- um... Is he okay?"
The assassin eyed the nosy attendant with disdain before responding, "He's Narcoleptic, I'm afraid the ride was just too exciting for him." Placing the items and money on the counter, he added, "I'd prefer a bag with handles."
For some reason it took the clerk a moment for this to sink in. Encouraged by the intimidating man's reply, he annoyed Ian with another question. "Why are his legs tied?" he asked.
Ian was getting peeved at the irksome inquisitor. "He has seizures and must be restrained, lest he harm himself," Nottingham explained while shoving the money closer to the man.
"Ah, I see," the attendant commented before asking, "What about those bandages on his neck?"
The exasperated assassin was about to snap. "The boy has trouble shaving, he's not very good at it," Nottingham snipped, gripping Gabriel a little too tight in his anger. This elicited a pained squeak from the young man, apparently appeasing the attendant.
The man finally took the assassin's money and bagged up the purchases. "It's a pity about his shaving problem," the man muttered as Ian snatched the bag from his hands.
"Yes, it is," Ian concurred before sweeping out of the store.
The assassin was not happy with the delay caused by the nosey attendant, nor with accidentally squeezing his charge too hard. Propping the boy on the bike, he felt Gabriel's ribs just to make sure he hadn't broken one-or two. The young man began to stir from his exhaustion induced slumber so Nottingham opened a sugary, bottled latte and pressed it to his mouth.
After an amusing display of sputtering and cursing, Gabriel glared at his tormentor while wiping latte from his face. "What the-" he started but was cut off as Nottingham continued his latte assault. Ian managed to get at least half of it down the boy's throat before Gabriel angrily pushed it away.
"Stop it!" Gabriel barked, still coughing and trying to back away from the deranged assassin who was doing an awful job of playing nursemaid. "What in the hell are you doing?" the young man demanded irritably.
"You've lost blood and you need to eat," Nottingham replied, aiming a nutrition bar at the boy. He had lost time and patience because of the garrulous attendant and he wasn't thrilled with Gabriel's little hissy fit. Ignoring Gabriel's protesting hands, Nottingham shoved the bar against the boy's mouth, but he was being belligerent as usual.
"Mph, no-," Gabriel protested, trying to push the assassin's arm away.
On the 'no' part Ian managed to ram the bar into the younger man's mouth. Ian found the funny noise this produced from the boy quite amusing. Snickering, Ian backed off and allowed Gabriel to finish the bar by himself.
With a furious snarl, Gabriel snatched the bar out of his mouth. Gritting his teeth he pointed the nutritious snack at his assailant as he unleashed his tirade. "You sick son-of-a-bitch! Fucking hell, Nottingham! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why in Valhalla were you trying to force-feed me?!"
"You were being too slow," the assassin replied. He was a little surprised by the young man's hostility.
"Slow? What the..." Gabriel was aghast at the man's completely mental methodology. *Why did Sara leave me with this menace?* he wondered in dismay. He also noticed that his legs were tied again. *What in the hell did the man have against legs?*
"We've already wasted too much time here and I'm not certain if the man who works here is not one of the Sufult. He asked too many questions. Now, stop being belligerent and eat that," Ian demanded, pointing at the health bar still clenched in the boy's hand.
"Belligerent?!" Gabriel gaped in disbelief. "You tied me up, tried to choke me with a candy bar and got me all sticky!" Gabriel accused, pointing at his shirt, which was decorated with splotches of the sugary latte. "How in the hell did you expect me to react?"
Nottingham raised his eyebrows in amusement. The boy was quite a pistol. "If I truly wanted to choke you, I could do so easily," Ian responded. "However, my only intent is to get you somewhere safe in order to appease both Lady Sara and my employer. You need to take sustenance or this night's ordeal will exacerbate your already weak condition. You may feel fine at the moment, but I assure you, as soon as your adrenaline wears out, you will be impuissant."
Gabriel leveled an angry glare at the assassin. He didn't like how the assassin seemed to believe his own maniacal behavior was completely justified while Gabriel's reaction to this behavior was somehow outlandishly childish. Of course he felt weak, he was tired as hell actually, but that didn't mean he should willingly endure the assassin's bizarre treatment. "Yeah, I get that, Nottingham," Gabriel replied crossly. "I'll eat the damn candy bar if you untie me," Gabriel negotiated.
"It is a nutrition bar not a candy bar, Gabriel, It's good for you," the assassin coaxed.
Annoyed with Nottingham's inane attempts at playing 'mom', Gabriel glowered at the man until the assassin conceded to the deal before nibbling on the nutritious snack.
Gabriel could tell Nottingham was about to spout some enthusiastically encouraging yet condescending comment so he shot the assassin a warning glare. Nottingham merely smirked and began untying his legs.
********************
As one of his attendants left the room, Magistrate Banol scowled. The Wielder had averted her demise at the hands of the Sufult...again. The scout said it looked as if something had tipped her off at the last minute. Once more, they had drawn attention to their presence with no reward.
He hoped the Consul would not find out about this little fiasco. Luckily Consul Damak seemed overwhelmed at the moment, torn between reports on the progress of their pursuit of the artifact dealer and some other development.
Although Magistrate Banol's attempt at killing the Wielder had failed, he 'had' managed to separate her from Mr. Bowman. Magistrate Banol decided to take full advantage of this possibly brief opportunity and concentrate the agents' attention on capturing the young man.
Although the assassin had subverted their snare and escaped with the artifact dealer, one spy had managed to furtively tail him. Consul Damak's ambush, set up near Irons' estate to prevent Nottingham from bringing the quarry to his employer's stronghold was futile. The assassin seemed to be bound elsewhere.
**************************************************