~*~
With one last squeeze from the Witchblade the metallic vines slowly unwrapped itself around Ian's wrist. He watched in astonishment as the tendrils melted back into bracelet form on Sara's wrist. Ian still felt light headed from his encounter with the Witchblade and his left arm felt like it was on fire. With much effort Ian pushed away from Sara. Crawling back to the opposite end of the elevator next to his discarded clothes. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and rests his arms on his raised knees. Leaning his head back against the wall he closed his eyes against the pounding headache the Witchblade left him. Ian took in several deep breaths; trying to lower his racing heart beat and he tried to push the burning feeling in his left arm.
It took several minutes before the pain began to abate and his heart rate returned to normal. Ian immediately opened his eyes remembering he had broken contact with Sara. To his surprise she was still left in her trance like state. Though the Witchblade had let him go it was obvious the blade had not released Sara just yet. Ian brought his left hand closer to his face. He curled his fingers and flexed his hand. The burning sensation was finally gone. Turning his hand over he noticed two faint scars on his wrist. The same spot where the Witchblade had pierced through. Ian had already been assailed with images of past lives but this time it had been more intense. Not only did he remember his love for the wielder but also what had happened in those moments they, the wielder and protector, had shared together. In those moments held the truth the of what had happened.
The two memories that stood out the most in Ian's mind were of his time with Cathain and Elizabeth. And the one evil that always seemed to lurk behind the darkness. Ian finally understood why the bard's life was so easily taken by the blade. And the memory of Elizabeth was still too painful in Ian's heart. Ian ran a finger across the two small scars on his wrist. He knew the blade had once again chosen him to protect the wielder of this lifetime. But he had to convince Sara that they belonged to each other. If she truly accepted that they become inseparable then there was nothing that could stand in their way. Not even Kenneth Irons himself.
Ian pushed himself to his feet and hastily put his clothes back on. If he was going to convince Sara of their connection they would need to discuss the issue alone and as far away from Irons. 'It must be done tonight.' Ian thought. There was not doubt Irons had been observing them through the security camera. Ian just didn't know how much of what happened Irons actually saw. He could only hope that Irons didn't see the kiss. He would still need to serve Irons for the time being. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' It was the only way Ian knew to keep Sara safe. And the fact that Irons still had a hold over him, something he could not understand yet, was still a problem.
The thought of Irons only made Ian dress much more quickly. Ian bent to pick up his gloves off the floor. In his haste Ian did not see the ring he hand placed on the gloves roll to the ground. Finally he slipped his leather glove over his left hand, making sure the ends were pulled over to cover the two scars. Though they were quite faint and one would have to narrow their eyes to see it; Ian was not going to take any chances and especially with Kenneth Irons.
Ian walked over to Sara and knelt before her one last time. He looked deeply into her glazed green eyes. He tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. He took his right hand and let his fingers lightly caress her cheek, then stopping just above her lips. He wanted so much to kiss her again but he held back. The next time he was going to kiss Sara she was going to be willing to accept his advances wholeheartedly. He let out a sigh; instead he let his lips gently press against her forehead. Once again Ian pulled himself away from her. He walked back to the control panel and picked up the phone.
"Okay Mike dinner is here." One of the two security guards monitoring the surveillance videos entered the small room. He backed up into the room, using his back to keep the door open while he maneuvered a large cardboard box with 'Gino's Pizza' printed on the cover over to a table.
"Hey Mike did you hear me or what? I said dinner is here." He placed the pizza on the table and turned to see the rookie guard asleep in his chair, feet planted on top of the desk in front of the monitors. The guard quickly rushed over and pushed Mike's feet off the desk. Mike startled awake, grabbing hold of the arms of the chair. He looked around the room until he seen who had jerked him awake.
"Dang Henry what the hell you do that for?" Mike began to rub away the sleep from his eyes. "Man I had this killer dream about this chick and me on a deserted island."
"Mike you moron you're suppose to be watching the monitors not sleeping!" Mike could see the vein in Henry's neck ready to pop out and explode. He looked at Henry and flashed him a 'what are your worried look'.
"Henry relax you're going to give yourself a heart attack before you turn 60. Nothing has changed. So what kind of pizza did you get?" Mike bounced off his chair and headed towards the box. Totally shrugging off Henry's outburst.
Henry turned to watch Mike grab a slice. Shaking his head. The kid really didn't know the kind of consequences he could get himself into. Especially with Irons and Nottingham. Taking a deep breath the older guard tried to explain how important that there was no room for errors in this company.
"Look kid you really don't want to screw up here. Nottingham runs a very tight, and I mean tight security. That's one person you don't want to cross. So there is no room for errors."
"Henry chill alright nothing interesting has happened. Elevator car 3 is still locked and Mr. Irons is on his way down as we speak. What could possibly go wrong?" Mike pointed at the large panel of television sets that adorned the wall. Henry turned to look at situations of the two cars. Car 3 was still locked and looks like the occupants were doing all right. The woman that was stuck with Nottingham was still huddled in her corner of the elevator. He recognized her as that NYPD detective. He never knew the kind of business she had with Irons and Nottingham. But then again this was a place where you don't let your curiosity get to you. Like they said curiosity killed the cat. Though he had to admit Irons' strange request to lock the elevator car did pull at his curiosity. Henry simply shrugged it off.
Henry turned his eyes to check out elevator 2. The one Mr. Irons should be riding down in. His face turned a ghostly white when he seen Mr. Irons sprawled on the elevator floor, unconscious. He immediately began punching keys on the console. Nothing happened. He couldn't understand why the car was stuck. Everything had been in working order for the past hour. What the hell was going on?
Mike eyed Henry over his pizza. He dropped the slice back in the box when he finally realized something was very wrong. He quickly made his way to the console and looked at the television screen Henry had pointed to. Mike matched Henry's pale color. He could see Mr. Irons limp form.
"Oh shit!" Mike nervously ran his hands through his hair.
"We gotta get Nottingham and find a way to unlock car 2." Just as Henry was about to pick up the phone it rang.
"Security"
"This is Nottingham" Mike watched as Henry slowly pulled the phone from his ear and stared at in horror. To Mike's surprise Henry managed to turn a few more shades of white. 'Shit this is not good' Mike thought to himself as sweat began to from on his forehead.
With one last squeeze from the Witchblade the metallic vines slowly unwrapped itself around Ian's wrist. He watched in astonishment as the tendrils melted back into bracelet form on Sara's wrist. Ian still felt light headed from his encounter with the Witchblade and his left arm felt like it was on fire. With much effort Ian pushed away from Sara. Crawling back to the opposite end of the elevator next to his discarded clothes. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and rests his arms on his raised knees. Leaning his head back against the wall he closed his eyes against the pounding headache the Witchblade left him. Ian took in several deep breaths; trying to lower his racing heart beat and he tried to push the burning feeling in his left arm.
It took several minutes before the pain began to abate and his heart rate returned to normal. Ian immediately opened his eyes remembering he had broken contact with Sara. To his surprise she was still left in her trance like state. Though the Witchblade had let him go it was obvious the blade had not released Sara just yet. Ian brought his left hand closer to his face. He curled his fingers and flexed his hand. The burning sensation was finally gone. Turning his hand over he noticed two faint scars on his wrist. The same spot where the Witchblade had pierced through. Ian had already been assailed with images of past lives but this time it had been more intense. Not only did he remember his love for the wielder but also what had happened in those moments they, the wielder and protector, had shared together. In those moments held the truth the of what had happened.
The two memories that stood out the most in Ian's mind were of his time with Cathain and Elizabeth. And the one evil that always seemed to lurk behind the darkness. Ian finally understood why the bard's life was so easily taken by the blade. And the memory of Elizabeth was still too painful in Ian's heart. Ian ran a finger across the two small scars on his wrist. He knew the blade had once again chosen him to protect the wielder of this lifetime. But he had to convince Sara that they belonged to each other. If she truly accepted that they become inseparable then there was nothing that could stand in their way. Not even Kenneth Irons himself.
Ian pushed himself to his feet and hastily put his clothes back on. If he was going to convince Sara of their connection they would need to discuss the issue alone and as far away from Irons. 'It must be done tonight.' Ian thought. There was not doubt Irons had been observing them through the security camera. Ian just didn't know how much of what happened Irons actually saw. He could only hope that Irons didn't see the kiss. He would still need to serve Irons for the time being. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' It was the only way Ian knew to keep Sara safe. And the fact that Irons still had a hold over him, something he could not understand yet, was still a problem.
The thought of Irons only made Ian dress much more quickly. Ian bent to pick up his gloves off the floor. In his haste Ian did not see the ring he hand placed on the gloves roll to the ground. Finally he slipped his leather glove over his left hand, making sure the ends were pulled over to cover the two scars. Though they were quite faint and one would have to narrow their eyes to see it; Ian was not going to take any chances and especially with Kenneth Irons.
Ian walked over to Sara and knelt before her one last time. He looked deeply into her glazed green eyes. He tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. He took his right hand and let his fingers lightly caress her cheek, then stopping just above her lips. He wanted so much to kiss her again but he held back. The next time he was going to kiss Sara she was going to be willing to accept his advances wholeheartedly. He let out a sigh; instead he let his lips gently press against her forehead. Once again Ian pulled himself away from her. He walked back to the control panel and picked up the phone.
"Okay Mike dinner is here." One of the two security guards monitoring the surveillance videos entered the small room. He backed up into the room, using his back to keep the door open while he maneuvered a large cardboard box with 'Gino's Pizza' printed on the cover over to a table.
"Hey Mike did you hear me or what? I said dinner is here." He placed the pizza on the table and turned to see the rookie guard asleep in his chair, feet planted on top of the desk in front of the monitors. The guard quickly rushed over and pushed Mike's feet off the desk. Mike startled awake, grabbing hold of the arms of the chair. He looked around the room until he seen who had jerked him awake.
"Dang Henry what the hell you do that for?" Mike began to rub away the sleep from his eyes. "Man I had this killer dream about this chick and me on a deserted island."
"Mike you moron you're suppose to be watching the monitors not sleeping!" Mike could see the vein in Henry's neck ready to pop out and explode. He looked at Henry and flashed him a 'what are your worried look'.
"Henry relax you're going to give yourself a heart attack before you turn 60. Nothing has changed. So what kind of pizza did you get?" Mike bounced off his chair and headed towards the box. Totally shrugging off Henry's outburst.
Henry turned to watch Mike grab a slice. Shaking his head. The kid really didn't know the kind of consequences he could get himself into. Especially with Irons and Nottingham. Taking a deep breath the older guard tried to explain how important that there was no room for errors in this company.
"Look kid you really don't want to screw up here. Nottingham runs a very tight, and I mean tight security. That's one person you don't want to cross. So there is no room for errors."
"Henry chill alright nothing interesting has happened. Elevator car 3 is still locked and Mr. Irons is on his way down as we speak. What could possibly go wrong?" Mike pointed at the large panel of television sets that adorned the wall. Henry turned to look at situations of the two cars. Car 3 was still locked and looks like the occupants were doing all right. The woman that was stuck with Nottingham was still huddled in her corner of the elevator. He recognized her as that NYPD detective. He never knew the kind of business she had with Irons and Nottingham. But then again this was a place where you don't let your curiosity get to you. Like they said curiosity killed the cat. Though he had to admit Irons' strange request to lock the elevator car did pull at his curiosity. Henry simply shrugged it off.
Henry turned his eyes to check out elevator 2. The one Mr. Irons should be riding down in. His face turned a ghostly white when he seen Mr. Irons sprawled on the elevator floor, unconscious. He immediately began punching keys on the console. Nothing happened. He couldn't understand why the car was stuck. Everything had been in working order for the past hour. What the hell was going on?
Mike eyed Henry over his pizza. He dropped the slice back in the box when he finally realized something was very wrong. He quickly made his way to the console and looked at the television screen Henry had pointed to. Mike matched Henry's pale color. He could see Mr. Irons limp form.
"Oh shit!" Mike nervously ran his hands through his hair.
"We gotta get Nottingham and find a way to unlock car 2." Just as Henry was about to pick up the phone it rang.
"Security"
"This is Nottingham" Mike watched as Henry slowly pulled the phone from his ear and stared at in horror. To Mike's surprise Henry managed to turn a few more shades of white. 'Shit this is not good' Mike thought to himself as sweat began to from on his forehead.