The characters belong to Top cow and TNT as do all their toys, accessories and appliances, including the Witchblade.
*words typed within asterisks signify thoughts*
Tenebrous
chapter 23
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With a jolt, Sara awoke. Eyes flashing open, she beheld the face of a stranger and a flick of motion near her shoulder. "What the hell?!" she barked, startling the man and everyone else in the room. Being that he had swiftly jerked his hand away from her upper torso, she was pretty sure the degenerate had been trying to cop a feel.
"Ah, sorry, I was ah..." Brother Wickel stammered.
"Trying to take advantage of an unconscious woman?!" Sara supplied angrily. Her tone was loud enough to get quite a few peoples attention and all around the waiting area, people were craning their necks to get a gander at the pervert.
Brother Wickel was at a loss. This had not gone well at all. The Witchblade must have somehow warned her or gave her some sort of extrasensory perception, he reasoned. He had been positive the Wielder was deep in sleep and her abrupt cognizance was unnatural.
So much for his clandestine monitoring. Her unexpected, brazen accusation placed him on the receiving end of many accusing glares and the Sufult agent began to sweat. His superiors would not be pleased with his mistake. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two burly men in security uniforms approaching, incisively signaling the end of his 'covert' surveillance.
"I... I'll just be leaving, then," he blurted and dashed away, the two security men giving chase.
While the occupants of the waiting room turned their attention to the scuffle in the hallway, Sara spotted a vending machine containing her beloved caffeinated beverage and made a beeline for it. Her usual vast stores of caffeine had been depleted over the course of the evening and she needed refueling.
Reaching into her pocket for change, her fingers brushed against something strange. As Sara pulled the object from her jacket, the reason for Gabriel's somewhat intimate embrace dawned on her.
It was his 'She Ra' locket.
*Why had Gabriel given it to her?* she wondered, trailing a finger across the puerile icon. *Did he think it wasn't safe with-* Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she was assaulted with violent visions.
When she regained consciousness of her surroundings, she was completely horrified and frantic. Jake, who was now standing in front of her and leaning on a cane, looked pissed off.
"Great to see you too, Pe-," he complained. But his remark was cut short by his preoccupied and highly agitated partner.
"Can you excuse me a minute?" Sara croaked and skittered off, leaving the irate Rookie standing in the middle of the waiting room by himself. The rest of its occupants were at the mouth of the hallway, watching the security guards trying to latch on to the slippery Sufult. Most were cheering the guards on, but a couple of them were rooting for the pervert.
Distraught with panic, Sara dialed Gabriel's number. "C'mon, c'mon," she pleaded furiously, urging him to answer. At the end of the second ring, she suddenly remembered... Gabriel didn't have his phone with him. As the realization hit her, she felt her insides turn to lead.
"Oh God," she murmured, feeling hope seep through her fingers. The vivid imagery of Ian being shot in the head and Gabriel's capture played over and over in her mind, like some horror movie set on loop. They were both going to die and there was no way to warn them, no way to find them in time. She slumped against the wall, staring numbly at the hollowly ringing phone.
Why hadn't Ian given her his number? Did he forget? Did he not have a phone on him or did he just not care?
Praying that Iron's would help her, she decided to end the unanswered rings and call Ian's boss. Just as she was about to disconnect the phone, it spoke to her. "Sara," Ian's voice intoned.
**************************tbc
a/n: Thank you's and silly babbling. Nothing to do with the current chapter, nor the next. Simply responses to the ubercool people who have graciously taken the time to comment on the previous chapter.
*
*
*
Fae - Sorry for the wait, this turned out to be another self inflicted revision nightmare. Poor Gabe, I'm gonna have to hunt down the muse who keeps unnecessarily tormenting the fetching little minx and restrain it. I'm relieved that you at least enjoyed the cuteness, I felt bad for doing that to him.
Rogue - What can I say, I noticed I hadn't fueled her throughout the entire story, that gauge had to be getting pretty low. Gah! I can't believe I actually think about these things. Thanks also, for being supportive during my little hissy fit. :)
ann - Yay! A 'staunch' supporter! Sweet! I hope Sara's reaction lived up to expectations, though I do wonder if anyone thought it would be that particular one. I AM curious if people who read this story see what's coming or if I completely throw readers at every turn. Hmmm.
Earth - Hee! You're in league with that naughty muse, aren't you? ;) Well, unless the muses deem otherwise...
Laurie - Hee! Glad you liked my twisted little humor, hope the rest of the tale didn't send you screaming away. You brought back nostalgic memories of a fanciful time when I thought I had everything all planned out and could finish this atrocity in six chapters. Thank you. :)
Thank you, again, to the kind people who reviewed, I adore you. ^_^
*words typed within asterisks signify thoughts*
Tenebrous
chapter 23
*****************************************************
With a jolt, Sara awoke. Eyes flashing open, she beheld the face of a stranger and a flick of motion near her shoulder. "What the hell?!" she barked, startling the man and everyone else in the room. Being that he had swiftly jerked his hand away from her upper torso, she was pretty sure the degenerate had been trying to cop a feel.
"Ah, sorry, I was ah..." Brother Wickel stammered.
"Trying to take advantage of an unconscious woman?!" Sara supplied angrily. Her tone was loud enough to get quite a few peoples attention and all around the waiting area, people were craning their necks to get a gander at the pervert.
Brother Wickel was at a loss. This had not gone well at all. The Witchblade must have somehow warned her or gave her some sort of extrasensory perception, he reasoned. He had been positive the Wielder was deep in sleep and her abrupt cognizance was unnatural.
So much for his clandestine monitoring. Her unexpected, brazen accusation placed him on the receiving end of many accusing glares and the Sufult agent began to sweat. His superiors would not be pleased with his mistake. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two burly men in security uniforms approaching, incisively signaling the end of his 'covert' surveillance.
"I... I'll just be leaving, then," he blurted and dashed away, the two security men giving chase.
While the occupants of the waiting room turned their attention to the scuffle in the hallway, Sara spotted a vending machine containing her beloved caffeinated beverage and made a beeline for it. Her usual vast stores of caffeine had been depleted over the course of the evening and she needed refueling.
Reaching into her pocket for change, her fingers brushed against something strange. As Sara pulled the object from her jacket, the reason for Gabriel's somewhat intimate embrace dawned on her.
It was his 'She Ra' locket.
*Why had Gabriel given it to her?* she wondered, trailing a finger across the puerile icon. *Did he think it wasn't safe with-* Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she was assaulted with violent visions.
When she regained consciousness of her surroundings, she was completely horrified and frantic. Jake, who was now standing in front of her and leaning on a cane, looked pissed off.
"Great to see you too, Pe-," he complained. But his remark was cut short by his preoccupied and highly agitated partner.
"Can you excuse me a minute?" Sara croaked and skittered off, leaving the irate Rookie standing in the middle of the waiting room by himself. The rest of its occupants were at the mouth of the hallway, watching the security guards trying to latch on to the slippery Sufult. Most were cheering the guards on, but a couple of them were rooting for the pervert.
Distraught with panic, Sara dialed Gabriel's number. "C'mon, c'mon," she pleaded furiously, urging him to answer. At the end of the second ring, she suddenly remembered... Gabriel didn't have his phone with him. As the realization hit her, she felt her insides turn to lead.
"Oh God," she murmured, feeling hope seep through her fingers. The vivid imagery of Ian being shot in the head and Gabriel's capture played over and over in her mind, like some horror movie set on loop. They were both going to die and there was no way to warn them, no way to find them in time. She slumped against the wall, staring numbly at the hollowly ringing phone.
Why hadn't Ian given her his number? Did he forget? Did he not have a phone on him or did he just not care?
Praying that Iron's would help her, she decided to end the unanswered rings and call Ian's boss. Just as she was about to disconnect the phone, it spoke to her. "Sara," Ian's voice intoned.
**************************tbc
a/n: Thank you's and silly babbling. Nothing to do with the current chapter, nor the next. Simply responses to the ubercool people who have graciously taken the time to comment on the previous chapter.
*
*
*
Fae - Sorry for the wait, this turned out to be another self inflicted revision nightmare. Poor Gabe, I'm gonna have to hunt down the muse who keeps unnecessarily tormenting the fetching little minx and restrain it. I'm relieved that you at least enjoyed the cuteness, I felt bad for doing that to him.
Rogue - What can I say, I noticed I hadn't fueled her throughout the entire story, that gauge had to be getting pretty low. Gah! I can't believe I actually think about these things. Thanks also, for being supportive during my little hissy fit. :)
ann - Yay! A 'staunch' supporter! Sweet! I hope Sara's reaction lived up to expectations, though I do wonder if anyone thought it would be that particular one. I AM curious if people who read this story see what's coming or if I completely throw readers at every turn. Hmmm.
Earth - Hee! You're in league with that naughty muse, aren't you? ;) Well, unless the muses deem otherwise...
Laurie - Hee! Glad you liked my twisted little humor, hope the rest of the tale didn't send you screaming away. You brought back nostalgic memories of a fanciful time when I thought I had everything all planned out and could finish this atrocity in six chapters. Thank you. :)
Thank you, again, to the kind people who reviewed, I adore you. ^_^