And so a few days passed days which for Bill, were rather dreamlike and filled with more contentment than he'd ever thought was possible for a murdering bastard like himself to feel. He was happy to know that Beatrix had enjoyed herself that night, and for him that was enough. But, reality as always, had to set back in. Yet, reality seemed a little less harsh now that Bill felt as if he was truly sharing it with somebody else.
Vernita had just returned from an assignment, and was at Bill's going over plans for yet another assignment. She wasn't very happy to be doing a "double shift" and was sitting at the bar with her arms crossed over her chest. Her taunt muscles in her arms stood out with unmistakable irritation. Bill was sitting across from her. There were a stack of papers between them, containing the details of her upcoming assignment. He was prattling on his usual soft voice as he sifted through the information. Vernita seemed a little distracted and kept glowering at Bill, her eyes darting to his ear, which for some fucking weird reason he was wearing an earring in. Bill seemed oblivious to her angry looks, that or he was ignoring it very well. "Bill," she spoke up finally, "Why in the hell are you wearing an earring?"
Bill looked up, somewhat startled by the sudden question, "Because I wanted to. I haven't worn anything in it for sometime...." his brow furrowed, "And this is an issue with you.......why?" It as a rather strange question, even for Vernita.
Vernita frowned, "Are you going through a mid-life......er...post mid-life crisis Bill?"
It was Bill's turn to frown; he sat back on his stool, "Cut the bullshit Vernita.....what are you getting at?" Like when did he ever care nor put up with this sort of shit to begin with? Nobody ever used to talk to him like this. Maybe he was getting too soft. Vernita opened her mouth to say something, but just then....a familiar tall blonde strode in.
"Bill...Vernita," the tall blonde greeted with a moderately warm smile that thinned across her face. Beatrix had been in a relatively good mood for the past few days. Ever since her date with Bill she had that unfamiliar feeling of floating on a cloud. A blissful feeling that wasn't drug induced. Upon first entering the room Beatrix was immediately hit with a mixture of warm and cold. The warmth was coming off of Bill, surprisingly and the cold from Vernita. The blonde was balancing on a thin line when it came to Vernita and for the past few months their spoken words to one another were few. No matter, she wasn't going to let that bring her down.
"So Vernita," she sauntered over and slid onto the stool beside her. This was close proximity and she knew she was taking a risk. "Looks like we're stuck on an assignment together."
Vernita was like a human freezer. She even moved a few noticeable inches away from Beatrix when the blonde seated herself next to her. Her gaze was averted to the countertop, where she was making a very bad attempt to look like she was going though the stack of papers there. "Yeah....I suppose we are Bea," she mumbled, long fingers thumbing through a stack of Xerox copies.
Bill on the other hand was giving off the complete opposite vibes. He was watching Beatrix with a pair of warm brown but still intense eyes as he leaned forward on the counter.
Vernita cleared her throat rather obnoxiously into the silence, as she continued to look through the assignment information. "So....Bill...." she seemed to be completely ignoring Beatrix now, "Three targets....two female...one male.....all of them proficient in bladed weapons...." she paused, glancing up at the man sitting across from her, "Bill?"
"Hrm?" Bill pulled his gaze away from Beatrix, "Yes...yes...it's all there....." he pushed a piece of paper towards her, "Brazilian...fighters all of them....grapplers....blade fighters....yes....it shouldn't be too tough....I want Beatrix along with you though for the added support."
Vernita looked annoyed, "I don't need the added support."
"You may not think so, but I think so.....and thus, you do." Bill's features hardened, looking and sounding much like his "old self" for the moment. Vernita looked like she was going to argue for a moment, and then with a violent huff, she began stuffing all of the information into the large envelope in a rather snitty manner. Bill watched her do this with a straight face.
Before Vernita could stuff everything into the folder Beatrix quickly snatched a few pieces of paper from her hand. The blonde's features that had seconds before been warm and inviting were hard and exasperated. Vernita was being a real bitch and Beatrix hadn't done anything. She entered the fucking room and said hello!
Blue eyes stared down at the papers, she realized she had snatched information that was just the legal crap that was always packed with the assignment information, and thus it had nothing to do with their assignment. "Seeing that Vernita put the assignment away so 'neatly'," her gaze rose steadily to Bill. Although her eyes were hard, behind was that softened affection she couldn't block off. "Would you fill me in?"
Bill was glaring at Vernita with arched eyebrows and a harsh frown. He turned to look at Beatrix, like her own look, he couldn't help but let some affection seep in despite how he was feeling towards Vernita at the moment. Vernita snatched the legal crap from Beatrix's hands and finished stuffing them into the folder with the rest. Her gaze seemed permanently turned down.
Bill pursed his lips, attempting to ignore Vernita for the moment, "Well....besides their fighting styles and such....this is a trio of former championship fighters. They're currently holed up in Sacramento...so this isn't a long distance assignment. But, I'm afraid the targets aren't going to be easy kills." He leaned back, crossing his arms, "I was not given a hell of a lot of information on why this particular client wants them dead," a sly smirk, "Then again, why is not what concerns me....it's how....and you two are perfectly suited for the part."
"I still don't see why I can't go alone," Vernita grumbled, still looking down, her muscular arms looking like two coiled snakes just ready to strike out.
"Stop questioning me Vernita, it's not your place and I'm fucking sick of it." Bill put a quick end to that in a soft but menacing tone of voice. Vernita was more than wise enough to know that was indeed the end of it. She pushed away from the counter, jumping off her stool, the envelope clutched in her hand, "Fine...." she said rather lamely, her eyes finally locking on Beatrix.
This time it was Beatrix who ignored Vernita's gaze. She stared at Bill as she reluctantly slipped from the stool. She deeply wanted to give him a kiss good-bye but she didn't. It wasn't because she was afraid of PDA, hell she'd have been more then happy to. She didn't because of Vernita and because she knew that if she did it would make the assignment become colder than it already was. Instead she gave him a weak smile and turned away to follow after her sullen partner.
Once outside Beatrix rushed up and beside her. The tall blonde was going to remain calm and rational; she refused to allow herself to sink down to Vernita's level of immaturity and unspoken hostility. "I'll meet you at the airport in an hour?" Vernita replied with an even lamer 'whatever' and made haste to her car. "Bitch," Beatrix muttered under her breath and returned to her own vehicle. Ever since their escapade at Vincent's she had been receiving the cold shoulder from Vernita. If that cold shoulder was going to continue throughout the assignment there were gonna be some major issues.
An hour later the two killers met up at the airport, and laden with their gear they silently boarded the plane and reluctantly sat next to one another on the plane. Thankfully it wasn't a long flight, less than two hours. Vernita spent the majority of the time with her nose buried in a book. She was always an avid reader, so at least this behavior wasn't out of the ordinary. But beyond that, she was somewhat of a changed person. Had this been just a few months ago, the two women would have been laughing and joking around with each other on the plane....just like they used to do. Instead, now they sat in utter silence. Vernita only spoke to Beatrix when it was completely necessary. Nobody liked tension filled silence, but Vernita was doing a damn good job of pretending that she did. Thankfully they landed and rented a car with no incident. There was no need for a hotel...this assignment was close enough to "home base" that it was not necessary.
Vernita sat in the driver's seat of the rental car as they remained parked in the covered lot. She was looking through the packet of papers, "It's across town........" she mumbled, "I fucking hate Sacramento....." She threw the packet of papers onto Beatrix's lap in a rather rude gesture and started up the car. Beatrix sent a short lived glare in Vernita's direction before directing her glare at the clutter of papers on her lap. She began to diligently ruffle them back together. Vernita was really starting to push Bea's buttons. There was only so much time and self control that the tall blonde would be able to keep before she lost her cool. It wasn't just Vernita's bitchy attitude that was irking Beatrix but how quickly she turned. A good year or more passed before Elle completely and utterly despised Beatrix and it was only till recently that that hate was crystal clear. It was almost disturbing and the tall blonde didn't like it at all.
Silence followed the duration of the ride across town and into the target's area. On the corner of a long road was a red brick house and to the left was a large shack. The shack was old, metal rusting, fungus growing in vacant areas, and numerous weed growth on the dying lawn. This was supposedly where their targets were hanging out. Beatrix turned her eyes from the window and to Vernita. "Where should we begin?" She asked placidly.
Vernita had pulled around the side of the block, "We begin..." she turned off the car and wrenched the emergency break up with just a tad more force than was necessary, ".....around the back. I say we sneak in that way...." she pointed at the back of the shack, "....split up once we get inside. I want to get this shit over and done with." She opened her door with a kick. "Ya know..." she turned back to Beatrix with a grumpy look, "I just got back from a fucking assignment....just this morning...and I'm already out again. While, I'm sure all you've been doing the last few days is fucking around with Bill," she snorted, getting out of the car, "And I highly doubt that takes too much energy." She slammed her door and rounded the back of the vehicle. She popped open the trunk and began to remove her gear. She quickly began concealing her weapons after a brief glance around the street. It was a sleepy overcast day in a fairly low class neighborhood...nobody appeared to be in the near vicinity. Vernita hadn't waited in the car to see Beatrix's reaction to her last comments....but no doubt the blonde would make her opinion known. Bea had always been something of a fucking loud mouthed bitch anyways.
Vernita holstered her knife with a vicious movement.
Beatrix was sitting in the passenger's seat of the car with mouth agog. Her expression read something similar to, 'oh that wasn't nice' and 'you fucking bitch'. She blinked hard and came out of the car. She rounded the side and came over to Vernita in a cold fury. She was going to try and remain cool even though she felt morally wounded and confused. She was going to settle this like an 'adult'. "Okay Vernita," she began in an overly soft venomous tone. "You obviously have something on your mind. So, instead of throwing all of those fucking insults at me just tell me straight out." She hadn't bothered to stock up on weapons as they weren't going inside any time soon. It may have been the wiser to grab something but she had enough faith that as 'hot tempered' as Vernita was she wouldn't dare make a move against her.
Vernita didn't speak for a few moments, instead, she seemed more content to adjust her knife holster. "Yeah...Bea...I've got something on my mind," she hissed, finally looking up at her blonde counterpart, "....so...sure I'll tell ya straight." She put her hands on her hips, taking a moment to gather in her thoughts, "Your a power hungry bitch...you've always been...and now you've found a way to really get what you want. You don't think the rest of us haven't worked our asses off for this organization? We've bled and suffered through just as much shit as you. And here....you come along.....and instead of keeping up with us, you decide to really get ahead....by fucking our boss." She sneered, "Pretty damn childish if ya ask me. That's the sorta shit we used to pull in high school." She raised a finger in Beatrix's direction, "And don't even tell me your not fucking Bill...because I can tell, so just save your breath on that lie. And I'm not Elle, so don't even call me jealous....Bill's just about the last man I think I'd want to sleep with. Personally, I don't know how you do it. But...what I do have a problem with, is you...stooping so fucking low....so you can feel better than the rest of us." Her expression turned a little more emotional, "We were bud's Bea.......and then you had to go and stab me in the back...so you could feel better about yourself." She shook her head, "On top of all of that....I thought you were smarter than that....on Bill's behalf....he's a dangerous man to be with Bea....and if you ever fuck him over, I think even you will be surprised at just how different he is than any other man that I'm sure you've already fucked over. So, ya know what....fuck you...."
That monologue being said, she gave Beatrix a sidelong glare and picked up her small equipment bag.
Beatrix stared. She had been hurt by numerous things numerous times for countless reasons but this time would out weigh a lot. She pursed her lips together and her features tightened noticeably to hold back her emotions. They were buds, they had been, and Beatrix always held that fact to heart. It was hard to keep a 'friend' in the field they worked in and to have one was important. But, she had lost it and what bothered her more was the reasons were so fucking stupid. How the fuck could Vernita think those things? Yes, Beatrix could be a selfish bitch but this time her actions were completely pure.
She shook her head solemnly back and forth in resentment. "Right, Vernita, fuck me and fuck you." She took a step away from the trunk. Her face was emotionless, void, and eerily calm. "Like you said before, you don't need the added support. Have fun." She turned away from her and began a slow walk back to the front of the car. "If you manage to get yourself in a knot, feel free to scream for me." She glanced over her shoulder. "I may come." The tall blonde opened the door, slid inside, and slammed it shut. For once she wasn't going to contradict or disagree with what Vernita said. Not yet, but in time they'd sort things out with deadly consequences.
Vernita stared at the parked car, the one that Beatrix had just gotten into, for a few moments. Her face was frozen in shock and anger. She was furious. How dare Beatrix do that! That took some fucking nerve and she didn't care what she had said to the blonde, she had no right to ditch her. She clenched her teeth together...her fiery hot temper rising to a dangerous level. A hand tightened around the hilt of her knife as Vernita took a few long strides back towards the car. She glared death at Beatrix, who was now back in the passenger seat, "Bill is going to hear about this!" She yelled through the glass, "And no matter what your doing to him, he's still going to be fucking pissed at you!" Of course, Beatrix already knew all of this, but Vernita felt the need to reiterate. She took a step away and then came back, "You have some nerve Bea! That's a shitty thing to do....bitch!" Turning on her heel, Vernita strode towards the shack with a murderous slant in her stride. Somebody was going to pay for what Beatrix had done...and unfortunately it wasn't Beatrix....and even more unfortunately for them, it was going to be those three targets inside. With a vicious glare, Vernita slipped her knife out of it's holster as she kicked open the rusty back door. This was going to feel damn good.
This was the real beginning of the end for Beatrix and Vernita.
The tall blonde was waiting quietly in the living room as Vernita 'tattle-tailed' on Beatrix, outside on the porch with Bill. She didn't give a fuck what Bill would have to say about going against a DiVA rule. It may have been rule number twenty two that stated under no circumstances is it acceptable to put a partner in danger during a partnered assignment. Yes, Beatrix wanted to remain on good terms with Bill. They were 'lovers' now and it wasn't smart to do something that could jeopardize that but she didn't care. Not really because if she had she wouldn't have broken that rule. Her actions could have been in place to the fact that no matter how pissed off Bill would be with her he'd never do anything too rash, not now. This was a very, very stupid thought but it's what she thought and believed to be true and it wasn't going to change. Her major thoughts were on Vernita, what she said, and how to analyze it. That was more important right now.
She was lying horizontal on the couch, her feet hanging a few inches off the end, and her head propped up on the arm of the couch. She had recently grabbed a pillow and stuck it over her face. For some reason this gave her a sense of security and an easier thought process. When she heard the sliding of the patio door she made no motion to rise.
Even without sight, it was usually fairly easy to tell who was in the room with you....even more so when you were a trained killer. At first, it was distinctly Vernita who was in the room with Beatrix. Every person had a distinct sound to their breathing, pace to their footsteps even a certain scent. Vernita had walked in, and had seemingly stopped to look at Beatrix in silence for a few seconds. It seemed like she was going to say something, but then she turned away and walked out of the on, she walked out of the house entirely, slamming the door behind her.
A few seconds later, it was Bill who entered the room. His cowboy boots clomped on the wood floor as he went over to the bar. He was there for a good minute, moving something around and then he approached the couch. He stood over Beatrix for a few seconds and then sat down next to her on the edge. With one quick motion he plucked the pillow off of Beatrix's face and threw it aside.
Bill's expression was more than familiar to Beatrix at this point. He looked disappointed, somewhat angry and underneath it all a very slight undercurrent of affectionate amusement this was signified by just the faintest twist of his lip. "Goddamnit Kiddo......." he said softly, "You never could quite behave........even when it came to the most important of rules." This was and would always be true about Beatrix. Bill raised an eyebrow, "I'm really fucking pissed at you right now." When he was honest, he was very honest. For being "fucking pissed" which Bill was often apt to describe himself, he seemed to be taking it reasonably well. But, he also was one to hear both sides of a situation. "I heard what Vernita had to say, but I must say....I am quite looking forward to your explanation." He watched her with halfway closed eyelids.
Beatrix stared up at him from her position on the couch. Her hands were clasped over her stomach, her head was tilted in his direction, and her expression was mixed but the prominent emotion out of the mixture was distress. She began her makings of an explanation in an equally soft tone but her jaw was firm set, "Vernita shot me down real good. According to her I'm a power hungry bitch and hell, I'm not gonna argue too much with that because in some respects I most likely am. But, where she referenced it, that's where it hit." She pursed her lips into a thin line and let her eyes close to subdue her anger. "I don't understand what her fucking problem is. I sat in the car trying to figure it out, I sat here and tried real damn hard but I've come up with nothing." Her hands noticeably began to tighten where they lay. Her eye lids slowly opened and she settled her gaze back on him. Her lips parted as if to form a word but she twisted it back and went with something else, "She had it comin' Bill. I couldn't walk into that assignment after hearing what she just said and have been able to back her up if something went wrong. That......that would have been more selfish than what I already did."
Bill listened to her explanation with an unchanged expression from before. He had already heard what Vernita had said and now hearing Beatrix's side of things...he began to put the whole picture together. Vernita had been very explicit in what she had said to Beatrix, and Bill had to admit her words had upset him more than just a little bit. And nor could he blame Beatrix for being equally or more upset. Again, he was put into a difficult situation. He didn't agree with what Beatrix had done, it went against one of the most sacred of their organization's rules. On the other hand, he could certainly understand why she had done what she had done. On top of everything else, he didn't want to be angry with Beatrix....not now, not after all the anger they had dispelled on one another just to get to this point. And ultimately, he hated playing negotiator between two bickering women.
Bill looked up at the ceiling, mainly just for a way to organize his thoughts without having to look at her....which recently had become a very potent way to muddle his clear thinking. "What am I supposed to do now Kiddo? Not send you out with anybody?" He knew that this, in some part, was his own doing. By choosing to be with him, Beatrix had alienated herself from her compatriots. That wasn't fair to her. In many ways, he was the only person on her side. She had sacrificed her other friendships for his. Why the fuck did it have to be that way?
He frowned and looked back down at her. Who knew why it had to be that way, but it apparently did...and there was no getting around it. If she had sacrificed so much for him, then it would be cruel to punish her for that. Granted, Bill was a cruel person...but right now that cruelty stopped when it came to Beatrix. He laid a hand on top of her arm, "Vernita might of had it coming but you never should have left her," easier said than done and he knew that, "That said...I think you handled the rest very well. What she said to you was fucking inexcusable and I told her just as much. Your penchant for irrational fits of anger is getting much better....." he trailed off and let out a long breath, looking a little tired, "And that's that....."
That was that and Beatrix knew she had to stop thinking about that at least for a few minutes. She desperately wanted to scream or cry but she held too much self control. It hurt a lot to know that the consequences for being with Bill involved losing what she had with her coworkers. Which then bought up the topic of it being worth it and to Beatrix it was. She never had much with her coworkers to being with. Yes, they got along but there was nothing worthwhile. Vernita may have been an exception but that wasn't going to last any longer. In the end she would always have Bill no matter what anyone else thought or what happened. He'd be on her side and even so she still felt a tinge of loneliness. She slowly sat up and bent her legs up to her chest and her arms locked around them. "I think I'm gonna head home," she stated softly and nestled her chin against her knees.
Bill watched her with a furrowed brow. He was far from oblivious to the relationships between those who worked for him. He'd watched as Beatrix's fellow coworkers slowly turned their backs on her. And he knew that Vernita was probably the worst blow to Beatrix thus far. He scrutinized Beatrix with that intense knowing look. She wanted to break down, he could tell....but he also knew she wouldn't...not yet, not in front of him. He wanted to be comforting, but he was also still rather pissed off at her. Once again he was faced with what he would have done before and what he should do now.
Pushing back those very strong emotions of anger and disappointment, he wrapped an arm around her bunched up shoulders. "Alright Kiddo," he sad softly in response to her last spoken words. Bill felt as he would always feel....even if he didn't agree with what Beatrix had done, he would still be rooting for her.
"Remind me again why we're here?" Budd asked Beatrix in a hushed whisper. The two were planted up against the far wall of an abandoned office complex in the middle of the ghettos of Illinois. There was rusted metal, fungus, cobwebs, and gaps in the floor boards. All in all it wasn't a pretty building. "We are here because your shit-ass brother needed all of us to take out these targets."
"Ah, yes. There are too many for just one of us to take down," Budd scoffed, obviously annoyed by this. It had been months since Bill had ever put all the Vipers together for an assignment. Budd knew that Bill tried overly hard to prevent this from happening, considering the tension between them all but there was unfortunately no way around it.
"Okay," the tall blonde took a step away from the wall into the open hallway. She turned her head to Budd. "You take the south and I'll take the north." He nodded and went off the directed direction, a multi-Caliber in hand.
Elle Driver aka California Mountain Snake was currently crouched under a cheap metal office desk. She had been in this same position for over five minutes and her thighs were starting to ache....not to mention she couldn't feel her ass. She re-holstered the AK-47 she had strapped over her right shoulder. It was one hell of an automatic given the chance she could turn this office into a fucking dead zone. But, she was waiting....waiting on the signal. So far, there had been no movement...nor hardly any sounds. The multiple targets were nearby....all of the DiVA's knew that, but so far Bill had yet to give the signal...and thus...they were all waiting in their designated stations.
Vernita was situated in a crevice further down the hallway. She was wedged between a Pepsi machine and the plaster wall. It was dirty, cramped and loud due to the hum of the vending machine. She was also thirsty as hell and kept surpassing the urge to blow the front off the machine and drink to her hearts delight. So far she'd counted five spider webs, and twelve empty candy wrappers. "Jesus Bill....." she muttered to herself. He sure as hell was taking his damn time in giving the signal.
Bill was roughly in the center of the building...right were he wanted to be. He was completely in his element. He was strolling down the ill lit hallway, his black Asics sneakers softly padding against the flooring. He was softly humming Queen's "Hammer to Fall" to himself as he swaggered along. In his left hand was a semi-automatic Derringer pistol, in the other was that massive chrome 45 Magnum that Jeff had become so familiar with at the end of his life. For all appearances, minus the guns, Bill looked like he was meandering down the hallway to check his mailbox. A few quick casual glances through the glass doors along the way and he continued on, still humming to himself. He seemed to have a general idea of where he wanted to go. Finally, rounding the corner...he caught a glimpse of two men leaning up against the opposite wall. They were both dressed in jeans and ski vests. Without any hesitation, Bill walked right up to them. They were both armed with automatic rifles.
"Gentlemen," he spoke softly. Both men spun around; obviously they had been expecting somebody from the opposite direction. They brought their large rifles around, but they were simply too slow. Bill swiftly shot one through the head with the Derringer and seamlessly made the change of weapons and shot the other man through the leg with the Magnum. No change in expression from Bill. The man who was still living began screaming, rolling on the ground clasping onto his blood spurting thigh. "Oh god....." he moaned, eyes clasped shut. Bill stood over him, "Not loud enough I'm afraid..." he murmured and stomped viciously on the man's wounded leg. The man let out a amazingly loud blood curdling, ear piercing scream before passing out.
Bill raised an eyebrow, "Much better."
From their positions, Elle and Vernita leapt into action. The signal had been given, it was time to clear this building.
Beatrix, Budd, as well as O-Ren heard the creative signal and headed out into action. Many of the targets were ill prepared and didn't expect to be shot down with an onslaught of bullets. The Chinese-half-breed was on the second level sending bullets whizzing through the air and hitting two men in the chest. She swiftly did a one-eighty and shot three more men that were approaching in a similar fashion.
As she inched down the hall way and made a right turn she spotted Beatrix handling her own set of targets with a simple 9 mm and the skillful use of a dagger. The final target in the room dropped down dead after taking a bullet to the head. Blood decorated the walls and the wooden flooring was slippery. Beatrix slowly turned to face O-Ren. Both appeared sweaty and worn. The tall blonde offered her counter part a generous smile but it wasn't returned.
Once that blood curdling "signal" had been set off, the building turned into a war zone. Apparently the large number of members of this "drug house" had been hiding out just as well....as soon they heard the sound of bullet fire, they began spilling out of everywhere. Bill hadn't been lying....the DiVA's were easily outnumbered 10 to 1. Of course, all these assholes really knew how to do well was make crack, and when it came down to fighting the DiVA's had a much larger advantage. It was just a matter of dealing with the sheer numbers.
Elle had begun mowing down people with her AK. She knew she looked totally badass with the weapon, not to mention wearing the black skintight cat suit she was currently in and she played up the dramatics as much as possible. With her trademark sneer, she strode down the hallway, holding the gun in true Rambo style and picked off anything that moved. Her black knee-high boots were gleaming off the harsh florescent lighting. She made her way along the entire building this way, and reaching a fire exit she slammed the door open with her shoulder and bounded up the concrete stairs to the second floor. It didn't take long for her to pick up on nearby gun fire and working up into a sprint she bounded her way through a few offices and emerged into a large conference room where both Beatrix and O-Ren were taking on a large number of targets.
"Duck ladies," Elle smirked, loading another clip into her gun, "These motherfuckers are mine!"
Bill looked up as he heard the distinctive sound of AK ammunition fire up on the second floor. He'd chased a few guys into a women's restroom, shot one in there and had ended up chasing the other two down fifty feet of hallway into an executive office where he finally put away the other two. Standing above the two bodies, he'd made an interesting discovery. Sitting on the sleek office table was an open suitcase full of enough crack cocaine to supply the whole east side of Detroit, for a day at least. Sifting through the suitcase Bill had a momentary thought, and then deciding against it, he opened the large window and dumped the entire suitcase onto the street. He watched with a smirk as about two million dollars of methamphetamines were snatched up by the neighborhood's residents.
Meanwhile, Vernita knife in hand, was bounding down one of the many long hallways. The blade of her knife was covered in a fresh coat of blood. Some of these jackoff's had thought they could take her blade to blade....too bad for them...they found it was far easier to get their throats slit. She flew by an elevator door, and skidding to a halt, she decided to check the upstairs. Pressing the button, the elevator doors immediately opened. Once on the second floor, she heard automatic gunfire and headed right for that direction. She kicked open a set of large double doors and instantly hit the floor. She'd seen a brief flash of Elle standing right across from her on the other side of the room, firing a spray of machine gun bullets. "Shit! Elle!! Stop shooting!!" She screamed from her position on the ground, hands covering her head.
Elle ceased her ammunition firing. The conference room was full of smoke and was slowly beginning to clear up. O-Ren and Beatrix were on the far side of the room having avoided Elle's heinous, unforgiving man slaughtering.
O-Ren coughed as she waved a hand to clear away the smoke that was stinging her eyes. "Fuck Elle! Next time don't start that shit up in such a tight room," she said in an aggravated tone. Beatrix who wasn't any more thrilled then O-Ren was, was about to make a comment, when out of the corner of her eye she saw a glint.
The tall blonde whipped around and took a quick side step to avoid an elongated blade from slicing her in half. O-Ren hadn't seen Beatrix's attacker coming as she was busy with her own surprise attacker. O-Ren and her target, male in a business suit, not entirely sure what he was doing, were in a hand to hand combat, which brought O-Ren across to the far side of the room away from the other woman.
Unfortunately Beatrix's attacker wasn't unskilled. He was dressed in similar fashion to O-Ren's but he was wielding a deadly katana. The tall blonde warrior, unarmed against a sword, began taking swift dodges to avoid contact with the steel. Another disadvantage was the smoke. She could see but the haze was obscuring some of her perception. As another swift strike was taken at her she performed a back flip to evade but she landed wrong and hit the wall with a fierce impact leaving Beatrix at a dangerous disadvantage.
Bill had found three more suitcases of coke and had subsequently thrown the contents of all three out of the office window. This appealed to his somewhat strange sense of humor and he chuckled as the residents of the ghetto came to collect every ounce they could off of the parking lot concrete. After awhile he decided he was through playing Robin Hood and headed back down the hallway. The AK fire had stopped for the moment and he could only hope things were going decently enough on the upper floor. For now, he had more then enough business to take care of on this floor.
"Fuck!" Elle hissed, as her trusty AK was knocked from her hands by a new attacker. It seemed this new wave of attackers were slightly more skilled than the morons who had come before. She had noticed Beatrix was being attacked by a guy with a katana. She'd thought about coming to help, but fuck the bitch. Elle turned her back on the other blonde, her own attacker first and foremost in her mind. At least this guy didn't have a katana.....he was easy game....
Vernita had once again unholstered her knife and was slashing away madly at a tall suited man, who was armed with a knife of his own. Where this drug ring had come up with people who could actually use weapons was beyond her, but for the moment she was somewhat glad for the challenge. Like Elle, Vernita had seen Beatrix's new attacker and seen that he not only had a katana but probably was the most skilled of all their attackers thus far. She'd thought about coming to help, but fuck the bitch. Vernita turned her back on the tall blonde, her own attacker more important than helping her fellow DiVA member.
The man now facing Beatrix, held his katana with two self assured hands. He was calm and completely silent....a sign of a warrior. It didn't take long to realize that he knew how to use his weapon. He slashed at Beatrix with solid and deadly accurate strikes. He seemed undaunted by her ability to evade his attacks thus far. He just kept coming at her, his footwork equally as impressive as his sword work. When she made a move, he would simply mirror her and block her way. When she retreated, he advanced...when she advanced he didn't budge. In short, he was a worthy and dangerous opponent and his deadly slashes were getting closer and closer to hitting their mark.
O-Ren was farther back in the room where she was away from more of the intense action. If she had so desired to help Beatrix it would be easier said then done. But she could pull it off; this was O-Ren Ishii, but catching signals from Vernita and Elle, she withdrew any so called desire to help. She unholstered her gun and took a clean shot at her attacker who soon enough fell down dead.
This would have been a hell of a lot easier if Beatrix had a sword her own. Bill didn't say any thing about these assholes being able to wield such a weapon. Thus being her reason for only stocking up on ammo. The blonde warrior evaded another oncoming attack but this time the gun she was holding was knocked from her hands. Muttering a curse she glanced over to her fellow Vipers. Another curse passed her lips and she stared daggers into the backs of the three women. How dare they. But, this stare didn't last long as she whipped out her SOG from beneath her pants leg to face her katana wielding attacker.
A SOG wasn't much against a full edged blade but at least Beatrix could put more faith in it then her fellow team members.
Both Elle and Vernita continued to completely ignore Beatrix's plight against the sword wielding attacker. Sure, the room was still a little smoky, but they could see her more than well enough to know she was not having the best time in the world. Without a sword of her own it was very hard to defend herself properly. But, neither of the other two women made one move to help. And like O-Ren, they could both could have easily done so....they just simply chose not to.
Beatrix's sword wielding attacker didn't seem very phased by her unholstering of her SOG. It was a good bladed weapon, but against an expertly swung katana it fell a little short. He didn't seem the gloating type though, and just continued coming at her with an expression of extremely serious ferociousness. Beatrix was doing her best to block and evade his sword strikes, but her attacker was continually advancing at a dangerous rate.
Beatrix had been pushed back near the corner of the room. Her attacker didn't seem to be slowing down at all, and it was then he threw in a surprise front kick right to her throat. No matter how big or strong you were, getting kicked in the throat could stop anybody in their tracks. There was that brief moment of frozen pain, where you thought for sure your windpipe had been crushed and you choked for any small bit of air that you possibly could. So, it was no surprise when Beatrix had a similar reaction. Her attacker took full advantage of her momentarily loss of concentration and swung his blade horizontally across her chest for a long strike. He had the full intention of literally cutting her in half, but luckily for Beatrix she had taken a reflexive step back. Thus, instead of the middle of the blade, her skin received the top inch or two.
All of the other DiVA members in the room had heard her yell but none of them moved to help their fellow fallen warrior.
Beatrix hit back against the wall with blood steadily running down the front of her black blouse and onto the floor. It was a deep gash and no matter the care she gave it there would still remain an etching reminder of this 'betrayal'. She was slouched against the wall, her chest heaving up and down from exertion which only made the blood flow faster. Those intense blue eyes watched as her attacker rose up the crimson stained katana to bring it down for a final blow.
Lids closed over blue hues to take the blow and she noticeably winced when she heard a loud 'bang' echo across the room followed by, "What the fuck?!" It was clearly Budd. Beatrix whipped her eyes open to see her attacker fallen to the floor with multiple bullets in his back and across the way was Budd with a raised revolver.
The smoke from earlier gun shots had cleared and the room was now a bloody mess of dead bodies and bullet rounds. Budd took a step into the room with a baffled expression and he glanced to Beatrix. She was still stuck against the wall covered in blood and raging with hot fury. Yes, her wound hurt like a bitch but it didn't compare to the bitches in front of her. Anger could mask a lot of emotions as well as physical pain.
Her lips tightened into a taut line and she shook her head from side to side in disgust. "I would 'never' let any of you come so close," she breathed through clenched teeth.
Both Elle and Vernita stood staring at Beatrix with rather snooty expressions. Neither of them moved to help or comfort their bleeding comrade. In fact, they both looked cold and unmoved by the sight in front of them.
"We were busy.....tough break Bea," Vernita finally replied into the awkward silence. Her voice was wooden. Elle gave a stiff nod of agreement and turned away to reload her gun. Vernita's dark eyes stayed on Beatrix for a few more seconds and then she likewise turned away, seemingly more interested in cleaning off her knife.
Elle muttered something about "that will leave a scar" under her breath and she began walking around and kicking at the numerous bodies to make sure they were all well and dead. Neither of them seemed the slightest bit concerned that Beatrix was still sitting there....and still bleeding. They began meandering around the room avoiding her glare.
O-Ren stared at Beatrix, apparently not as bitter hearted as the other two but that didn't mean she wasn't still cold. She gracefully stuck her weapon back in the holster and gave the bleeding blonde warrior a serious look. "You deserved it," she muttered just above a whisper.
Beatrix felt her jaw unhinge. "Woah now, that's a tad harsh O-Ren," Budd said as he was busy tarring off some clothing material to stop the blood that continually oozed from Beatrix's gash.
Beatrix on the other hand had her own response. Her SOG was still in her hand and when O-Ren turned to walk away she could feel the 'swish' of metal flying just past her ear and snagging into the wall in front of her. O-Ren whipped around and glared.
Both Elle and Vernita knew it was only a matter of time before Bill showed up, and then the real hell would go down. Elle slowly began making her way out of the back of the conference room.....like a sneaking rat. She made it look like she was going to check on the room across the hall. Vernita looked a tad uncomfortable, and her gaze kept flicking over to the glaring and bleeding Beatrix. Budd was the only one helping her at the moment. It was obvious there was still something of an internal struggle going on in her mind, but she was not moving to help.
Then, the hell went down.
"What the fuck happened in here, I-" Bill stood in the front doorway to the room, guns holstered. He took in the entire picture with a sharp look around the room. He'd stopped speaking when his eyes settled on Beatrix. He made a few long strides across the room, and literally shoved his younger brother out of the way. "Get the fuck out of my way Budd! Now!!" Bill was completely oblivious to the fact that Budd had only been trying to help.
Bill knelt in front of Beatrix. It was different now. This wasn't just his employee sitting there bleeding profusely, this was his woman. After a brief second of looking her over, he turned and snatched the makeshift bandages from Budd's hands, "What happened Kiddo...." he spoke to her softly but with a good amount of concern and urgency. As he spoke he placed his hands, which were now wrapped in the torn clothing, over the gash and pressed down with a good amount of pressure. "Just hold still baby," he murmured. Beatrix was no stranger to this sort of injury and she could handle herself just fine, but Bill couldn't help but show a new amount of emotional concern.
Beatrix held back a wince but the pain was evident in her contorted features. She had settled herself on the floor finding it was too much effort to stand. Her legs were stretched out in front of her and her breathing continued to labor. She was ecstatic on the inside that Bill was there. Someone that actually gave a fuck what happened to her.
"O-Ren, Vernita, and Elle, they. . ." Budd began but he was cut short by the cold death glare Beatrix shot him.
She cleared her throat in a mixed effort to regain her composure. "They...weren't in the area when some katana wielding asshole took me by surprise. Unarmed with a blade of my own he gained the upper hand and I was cut..." Budd stared down at the blonde with a furrowed brow. He knew exactly what happened and he honestly thought it was disgraceful and the three deserved to be punished for it. But, knowing his brother, Budd could see why Beatrix held back from giving the 'true' story. It was a noble thing to do for those that were anything but noble.
Bill watched Beatrix closely as she retold the events that had led up to her injury. He took all of it in, including Budd's near confession. When she finished, Bill simply frowned and didn't say anything. This generally signified that he knew the truth behind the matter, but wasn't going to argue with it...for the moment. He respected Beatrix for her decision to either tell him the truth or choose to withhold information on her fellow DiVA members. Bill was still a man of honor...despite all of his less than desirable qualities...he remained true to that code of honor. He continued to apply pressure to the cut, pressing down hard on her collar bones. It was painful, but far better than bleeding to death and he needn't worry about Beatrix's threshold for pain. "Hrm...well....." he grumbled, brow furrowed, "Just keep holding still...." He placed a hand horizontally on her forehead, "Try to slow down your breathing.....deep breaths...." he spoke in that trademark calm tone of voice that almost sounded like it should be on a meditation tape.
Vernita stood a few feet away, her look slightly averted from Beatrix but it was obvious she was watching out of the corner of her eye. Her arms were folded across her chest. Elle returned a few moments later, she'd obviously declared the room safe from a "Bill episode" and was now slowly strolling around the room, examining bodies. Vernita had heard Beatrix's words, Elle had not. The darker skinned woman made no sign of caring one way or another that she had been saved from Bill's wrath.
"Budd," Bill turned to look at his brother, "Tear me off another strip," The material in Bill's hands was already nearly soaked through and while Beatrix was probably the only person he'd tear his clothing apart for at the moment, he figured since Budd had already started he might as well keep at it. Budd obliged without any hesitance. He tore off another long strip of his jacket and handed it over to Bill's waiting hand. He than began tearing off further strips for later use.
O-Ren came back into the room and stopped beside Vernita. They exchanged silent words through eye contact before the half breed began a slow saunter around the room.
The bleeding blonde found it easier to close her eyes in an effort to level her breathing apposed to staring at her fellow comrades. Beatrix could take pain as she had learned on numerous occasions how to block out pain from the mind. She was mastering the tactic. Physical pain was easy to block out, it was mind over matter, but mind over emotion was another story. Continued unanswered questions of why went through her head.
Budd cleared his throat, "Bill, there's that...guy...ya know, about twenty minutes north, could fix that up real tight."
Bill nodded silently at Budd's words. He knew exactly whom and where his brother was talking about. The three other women exchanged glances once again. They were a united strong force. "Come on Kiddo," Bill wrapped his hands under Beatrix's arms and helped her stand. She was quite woozy but she could walk with support. "Keep that on there." Bill instructed her to hold down the wad of bloody suit strips onto her chest as they made their way out of the room. The rest of the Vipers silently followed.
It took some time to get out of the building and around to the two waiting sedans in the back lot. Bill insisted the three other women go by themselves while Budd drove he and Beatrix. Since Budd knew where he was going, he led the way. Bill sat silently next to Beatrix, keeping a well educated and wary eye on the increasingly blood soaked material held to her cut. "I could drive faster than this in a coma Budd," Bill snapped, "Step it up..." The two cars roared down the interstate until they came upon a small complex of buildings that looked like a run down strip mall. One of these businesses had a sign out in front that read "Rub A Dub's Bath and Jacuzzi' Bill helped Beatrix out of the car and they entered the business, followed somewhat hesitantly by the rest.
Bill, with an arm around Beatrix, walked up to the counter where a young woman sat doing her nails. She glanced up at them. "I'd like to buy a Jacuzzi...." Bill said smoothly, "I'll only buy it from Brad." The woman nodded knowingly and didn't seem at all phased by the bloody blonde at Bill's side. "Just a moment sir...." she picked up her multi lined phone and dialed a few digits, "Brad.....a customer here to see you," she spoke into the receiver.
A minute later, a middle aged man, with a fringe of dark graying hair around a completely bald head came out front. His green eyes took in Beatrix's appearance, "Please..." he indicated the back of the store, "...this way please..." Brad, whom it was supposed, led the group through a door and into a back room that was far from a Jacuzzi showroom. It was a fully equipped hospital room. It was white clean and sported an array of instruments and professional looking equipment. Brad indicated the large bed in the middle of the room.
With Bill's aid Beatrix was situated on the hospital bed with the crinkly transparent paper rolled across the surface. She was still clutching to the clothing wraps on her chest that were now bloody rags as she lay down. Her head beginning to spin due to the blood loss but she was keeping it together. Blue hues glanced around to note the position of everyone. The three bitches were near the door, Bill was at her side, Budd was behind her, and the supposed Brad was next to Bill. She wanted to say something but when her lips parted all that came out was a splatter of blood.
Bill was watching Beatrix with an expression of utmost concern. His head was back on her forehead. "Don't try to talk Kiddo." He nearly smirked, despite the serious moment, getting to Beatrix to not open her mouth...even when she was coughing up blood, was not always an easy task.
Brad was busying himself with getting his instruments ready. He seemed quite professional and knowledgeable. He was a little cool on the bedside manner, but when you ran an underground ER...that wasn't exactly one of the qualifications. Bill continued to speak to Beatrix in a soothing tone...his words irrelevant really.....he just wanted to keep her calm as Brad was still getting prepared.
The room was virtually silent except for Beatrix's labored breathing and Bill's soft mumbled words. Then suddenly out of the middle of nowhere, Elle let out a loud snorting laugh. She slapped her thigh, continuing to laugh. Everybody in the room, save for Beatrix of course, had turned around to stare at her. Even Vernita, who had been standing solidly by her side, was staring at her in astonishment. Elle snorted again, "This is fucking hilarious really....I mean....how funny would it be if Bea kicked the bucket in a shit joint named Rub A Dub's Bath and Jacuzzi!" Another peal of laughter shook her frame, "I mean....fuck....the deadliest woman in the world...bleeding to death in the back of a Jacuzzi showroom....." Another wave of laughter took her and she gave in to it.
Everyone was still staring at her, now with disgust. Bill looked like he was going to literally shoot her right then and there. Vernita just looked all out shocked.
After an awkward few moments, Elle's laughter died down and an even more awkward silence followed, all eyes still locked on the willowy blonde.
Beatrix was in pain but she wasn't deaf. She jolted up like a patient springing from a coma, Bill's hand that was on her forehead was easily rid of, as she sat up. Her breathing was worse then before and her eyes spoke chilling volumes. Brad happened to have stopped his 'doctor' routine to stare at Elle's burst of laughter. He held numerous utensils on a tray in front of him, near the bed side. Beatrix snatched a scalpel from the tray and was about to hoist it at Elle when a firm handed grip went around her wrist. "Woah! Bea stop it. She's not worth it and you know it," Budd stated firmly next to her ear. She struggled against his grip but it was obvious she wasn't trying too hard or she'd have been able to get out of it. Her breathing became chocked and shallow. Long white fingers unraveled from the blade and it clattered to the floor. Her lips pursed. She began in a soft tone, "I want...all of you...out..." Her voice cracked but she put it back together to produce a rather fierce voice level. "Now!"
Elle had instantly stopped chuckling when Beatrix had suddenly sprung up, hell bent on throwing a scalpel at her. In fact, she sprang back a few steps, her eye wide and glaring at her arch nemesis. She mouthed something that looked like "holy shit."
Vernita was likewise now staring at Beatrix. Her expression was difficult to read, but there seemed to be just a tad of old respect for her former friend lingering there amongst the anger.
Bill had taken a reflexive step back as well, his expression still calm but a frown was now creasing his face. He glanced at his brother with a wisp of thankfulness....a rare thing. Bill once again stepped forward, hands pushing Beatrix's shoulders back down onto the bed. "That was stupid," he hissed. She looked awful, worse than before....and while her outburst was certainly understandable...it only proved to aggravate her further.
"You heard the woman," Bill growled, glancing at Brad before removing his hands from Beatrix, "All of you out....." he turned and with a quick look over his shoulder at her, he began shooing everybody out of the room. "Out! Come on! Elle! Get your ass over here...." his voice faded out as the door was shut behind the group.
Beatrix was left with Brad, who still looked a little frazzled over what had just happened. He came up next to her, a couple instruments in his hands. This included a large syringe. He leaned over her, and flicked the tip of the syringe "This might sting," he said in a firm but not unkind voice, "...but believe me....your not going to feel a thing....at least not for a few hours....." It was well known all the underground doctors had the best drugs.
The tall battle worn blonde awoke a good seven hours later. Her glossy glazed blue eyes registered her surroundings to find them comfortingly familiar. She was in Bill's bedroom. The pain she felt before was down to numbing pressure on her chest cavity and the dysfunctional continued effects of the drugs were causing her more annoyance. Thankfully her brain was too unfocused to focus on the events that transpired earlier. She shifted her head to the side on the fluffed pillow to see something she hadn't expected. Bill was lying next to her hiding behind a newspaper. She methodically cleared her throat to gain attention. When Bill quickly reacted by ruffling the paper down on his lap and turning to her she supplied a warm smile. "Unless this is hell and you're the devil then I think it's safe to say I'll live to kill another day," she said in a soft voice, her eyes sparked with a flicker of sarcasm behind her drug induced haze.
Bill chuckled, "Ya know what they say about sleeping with the devil." He gave her a wide devilish grin for added emphasis. But the wicked expression slowly melted away to one of relief, "Oh yes....you'll certainly live to kill another day Kiddo...." He set his paper aside, "Brad...the Jacuzzi man, gave you a good twenty stitches...not to mention a hardy dose of drugs. Then again, I'm sure you're already aware of that. That blade nearly split you open from shoulder to shoulder...." he gave her a dark look, "It was a very deep cut...your lucky there wasn't much muscle tissue damaged, " a raised eyebrow, "Your also lucky that asshole didn't slash you six inches lower..." He pushed himself down into a lying position and turned to face her, head propped up on his elbow. He was frowning, but it was an affectionate frown. Not very many people could pull that off as well as Bill could. He knew she'd held back information on her fellow Viper's not coming to her aid. He knew how close that cut had come to causing serious injury. He knew how near to bleeding to death she'd been. But, looking at her now he didn't want to tell her anymore of those things....at least, not for the moment. She was completely hazed out....and could react badly. Beatrix had had enough of a hard dose of reality for the day. Instead, he reached out and traced comforting fingertips along her soft jaw line, "You scared me back there," a slight smile, "Even the devil gets scared now and again...."
When his fingertips came close to her lips she made an effort to place a small kiss to him. Or at least she had hopes she kissed in the intended area as her eyes were just as distorted as her mind. She despised being drugged up but this time she was thankful for it. "It wasn't my intention to scare you," she admitted gently.
Honestly Beatrix hadn't realized how extensive her injury really was. At the point and time she received it she was too immersed in anger to concentrate on further emotions. This left her oblivious to everything else, especially pain. She closed her eyes in an effort to clear her head and slowly reopened them to gaze upon him fondly. She knew he was dying to discuss what happened with her but she also knew that he knew that she was too drugged to comprehend and have a well thought through conversation about it. This time she didn't want to linger in unsettled silence so she came up with an efficient question that would be an easy answer, "How long have I been out?"
Bill's hand was now resting behind her ear. "About seven hours," he replied to her question, "It didn't take Brad all that long to stitch you up....but he'd drugged you up so much, that it was impossible to wake you up....even if he wanted to." A slight frown, "I sent Elle and the other two off on other assignments....." he trailed off, not finishing the sentence. He paused, "You're too out of it right now to really discuss the whole story," he watched her closely, "Later...." Bill knew more than enough about drugs and mind control, to know that under the influence of strong pain killers a person was not in a safe state to receive, retain or expel emotionally strong information. She was liable to get agitated and/or confused if they talked about it now...and he didn't want that.
He laid his head down next to hers, his arm wrapped around her shoulder....careful to keep his arm away from her bandages. "At least you got some good drugs out of the whole thing," a weak smile, "Hrm...one time....when I was in Indonesia....I ended up at this doctor...turns out the guy was a veterinarian...shot me up with that shit they give horses....well....." he prattled on in that soft low tone of voice. A stupid story was always a good antidote for trauma and right now he just wanted Beatrix to forget. Later she would remember more then enough.
Beatrix listened intently to the bizarre although entertaining story. When he came around to telling his second story, which had something to do with a red convertible, a stripper, and a hot air balloon, the weary blonde started to fall back asleep. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Bill's talking. She loved it when Bill talked. Even when she was irate with him she couldn't help but listen.
She slept for another solid three hours before waking up again. This time she woke up to a darker room setting. The only light source was a dim reflective light from the hall way and the dim Chinese paper lamp on the dresser. Blue eyes opened and adjusted quickly. It was a relief to know that if her eye sight was clearer than the rest would be.
Bill wasn't lying next to her anymore. A sad realization but she knew he couldn't have been lying there for the last ten hours. With some needed effort she pulled herself up to a sitting position and stopped there. The wound was mildly stinging through out her chest area and ranged between annoyance and actual pain. She sat in that position and let the pain subside for a good minute. She swallowed a wince of pain and brought her hands up to the collar of her shirt. She pulled down to reveal the heavy-duty gauze and tape over the wound. If it had been further down it could have been used for extra padding. A faint smirk to herself as she gingerly pressed at the dressing to make sure the area was still dry.
It didn't take Nikishi and her "spidey senses" long to realize that Beatrix had woken up. She shuffled into the darkly lit room with a tray full of goodies. Most of them of her picking....Japanese treats and coffee of course. She was getting to know the blonde's tastes. "Some things for you Beatrix," she said softly, setting the tray down on the nightstand at the bedside. "Bill will be very happy to know you are awakened...." she tilted her head, "...and much more..." she searched the right English word, "....more focused." She bobbed her head, turned and left.
After that, it was no big surprise that Bill entered the room a few minutes later. He was barefoot and wearing casual lounging around attire. He gave Beatrix a soft smile as he stood briefly against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. On closer inspection, even in the dim lighting, it was possible to see that the smile was perhaps a little tight.
"She awakens once again...." he said dramatically, taking a few steps forward and sitting on the edge of the bed. His dark gaze looked her over for a moment. "How's it feeling? Last I checked the bandages were still dry." He could have made a teasing comment about getting a look at her chest, but it was apparent Bill was not in the mood for much teasing at the moment. He moved his legs to a cross legged sitting position and took sometime to look at the headboard over Beatrix's head. "You look better......this time...so, why don't you tell me the real story about what happened back there."
Beatrix stared at him in silent bafflement. She had been hoping that he would have taken her 'other' side of the story and left it at that. Her features brushed over with ice as she pursed her lips and looked away from him. She stayed in this position for some time before she gave him a fleeting glance. Bill was waiting patiently for her response.
"Fuck," she breathed to herself and turned back away. She was more focused but that didn't mean she was completely. She could tell another lie but at this point he'd know that she was lying due to the fact it would be similar to her past lie. She was left with only one option, the truth. Her head leaned back against the head board and she started in a sandpaper tone, "We were all in the same room and were attacked simultaneously. They had easy targets. I ended up defenseless against someone with more talent and a fucking katana." She paused to get her words back together. "Those fucking sadistic bitches...stood there and...watched. Any one of them could have easily took my target out. I have to admit I wasn't trying to defend myself to the extent I was capable of but, that was only due to my...stupid...thoughts that one of them would aid me...." Her voice cracked a fraction and she snapped her eyelids shut. "If Budd hadn't come in..." She trailed off. The tall blonde warrior was on the brink of cracking. She couldn't, she wouldn't allow herself to. A chill visibly shook her body, she gulped down a lump in her throat, and eyes came half lidded. "Why does it have to be so hard?"
Bill sat silently for an uncomfortable amount of time after Beatrix's truth.....and yes, this time it was the truth...he knew it. He felt a surge of sympathy when she came close to breaking down. He had to fight that.....it was tough, but he couldn't allow himself to react that way, not just yet. It was a tough thing, balancing being a boss and a lover.
After a good two minutes of silence, Bill finally spoke up, his eyes still fixated across the room. "If it wasn't so hard, then I don't think you would enjoy the challenge quite as much." A soft smirk that quickly gave away to a deathly serious expression. "I don't know Kiddo...I honestly don't have a real answer for that." There was a tone of finality in his voice. He knew how difficult this was for her....and he wished he had some comforting answer...but he didn't. He leaned back on his hands, "As for your three coworkers....I suspected as much." A pause, "Jesus.....a little emotional trauma I can handle but when one of my employee's lives gets put at serious risk for something...." his voice rose with anger, "....so fucking stupid!" A deep breath, as he turned to look directly at Beatrix, which was difficult without wanting to comfort her. She looked distraught. "Their motives remain a mystery to me.....but why you lied to protect them," he shook his head, "I know why you did it. But...on the other hand....I don't....."
Bill made a sudden movement, now directly in front of her...a hand clasped on her shoulder firmly, "A straight answer Kiddo....." He seemed adamant to get one this time, "You lied to me....to protect three women who've treated you like shit.....that's....that's what I don't understand...." He wasn't trying to be intimidating per se but he was looking at her with a very intense look that could easily be misconstrued as so.
Beatrix didn't feel intimidated. It took a great deal to get her to that point and even at her weakened emotional state she was anything but intimidated. She wasn't sure how she felt. There was still lingering anger, angst, and a great deal of confusion, that was obvious. She licked her dry lips. "I don't know..." She did know and when Bill gave her that look she was subject to change her response. Damn him.
"If you found out what they did right then you would have reacted...dangerously. And I...didn't want that. All three of them have a right to think what they want, I can't change that, but I thought maybe if I stood up and showed them that I wasn't going to play their game...they'd change their minds and we could all go back to 'loathing' one another."
Bill frowned, but it was a satisfied frown. Another, surprising truth from Beatrix. Maybe she was getting better at the whole concept...
"You thought correct....on all accounts," he said softly, the intense look losing much of its edge. He closed his eyes for a moment, "Thank you....." He settled back on his knees.
"Augh.....fuck....." he suddenly said with a tone of utter exasperation and flopped backwards on his back, hands covering his face. It was rare for Bill to show moments of such frustration and confusion....but if was going to do it, it would most likely be in front of Beatrix.
"I don't know why it has to be this way Kiddo..." his voice was muffled from his hands, "I wish it didn't have to be this way.......you don't deserve it. I do....but you sure as hell don't." He fell silent. Unsure what more there was to be said that both of them didn't already know.
She wasn't really getting any better at the truth concept, she was just giving Bill a break but either way she could feel his frustration. Her own features contorted into a taut line.
Beatrix eyed him steadily until she came to a silent decision in her head. Slowly and gingerly she inched over to him taking in the gap between them. She nonchalantly leaned her body forward and let her head rest against his chest. She would have added arms into the makeshift embrace but that put too much unneeded pressure on her chest. This was good enough. "Pardon me while I supply you with some comforting and overly corny words," she began in a gentle tone laced over with affectionate sarcasm. "Someone once told me," blue eyes gave him a fleeting glance. "That it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks and...that...as long as we have one another that's what really matters." She let out a light laugh after her onrush of 'romantic' intellect. A laugh at herself for her words. It sounded so stupid but it made her feel more comfortable.
Bill chuckled, his arms gently encircling her shoulders....making sure her wound was not being pressed down at all. He glanced down at her, eyes squinting at her with humorous affection, "That was a wise man who said that." A smile. "I like comforting and overly corny words......they remind me that not all of life is about oneself." Indeed, life by oneself was a very lonely game. Of course, you never realized how lonely it was until you weren't by yourself anymore. He let his head fall back, "True words Kiddo....they might sound overly romantic or idealized......but I'd like to believe...that even now........they hold true." Bill paused, staring up at the dim ceiling. "It doesn't matter what Elle thinks...she doesn't like anybody anyways...save for me perhaps...it doesn't matter what Vernita thinks...she's always been too petty..and she's a fool to let a good friend go over something so silly. It doesn't matter what O-Ren thinks....all O-Ren cares about is O-Ren. She's a mover...she's ambitious...and that's what I like about her, but that doesn't make her a good friend. So...that's what you've lost. In turn....you have me. I am many things...." an inward chuckle, "...many things. But," he picked his head up again to look at her, "....I think I'm worth ten of those women." Vain...sure, but this was Bill, he could pull it off. "I'd do anything for you.....name it and I'd do it...Anything you want. I would say I'd kill for you.....but somehow, coming from me, that doesn't have so much weight. Still...if you had ended up getting killed today....by the others negligence......." a long pause, "....I'd have fucking shot all three of them down." There was not an ounce of uncertainty or doubt in his voice.
"That's a comforting thought," she said with a suppressed bit of laughter. She knew for a fact that he was more than capable of doing that and that was what disturbed her. So, she let it go and went back to his earlier confessional love of doing anything for her. That whole statement went back to the idealisms of a man or woman who truly loved one another. The typical female reply to such an idealism would be 'would you die for me?' and of course the typical male response would be 'yes'. But, there was the catch because neither of them would. Beatrix was a killer and Bill was a killer and killers don't die for one another. They can help to try and prevent a death as long as helping doesn't in tow their own. Or they could simply kill one another. It was complex and she didn't want to ask it, because she knew what she thought would be true on all accounts.
She idly nestled the side of her face against him in further affection. There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Since I'm not dead and there's no need to shoot anyone, how do you plan to handle this?" Her only reasons for asking were to find if Bill planned to do anything drastic because drastic against all three could penalize the one.
Bill had meant absolutely every word of that and he knew Beatrix was more than aware of what he was capable of. But perhaps....she was not aware of just how far he could go....given the situation......just how capable he was of being an outright monster. Monster yes...but, despite it all, despite a lifetime of being looked upon as a self created monster..... he was still a human being. He wove a hand through her hair, contemplating her question. "I haven't decided yet," he admitted in a soft tone. Indeed, he'd sent all three women away on assignments so he could get them far enough away from himself so he could make a clear decision. He realized the weight of his decision. If he reacted too harshly, Beatrix would be the one to receive the consequences....and he didn't want that. He'd rather take on those consequences himself....but he knew that all three women would never do that to him...Beatrix was the obvious target of their revenge. "They can't just walk away from this unpunished," he continued, "But, I don't want it coming back to you...." he trailed off, lost in thought. "I haven't found anything fitting for what they did to you." Bill had a penchant for "fitting punishments"....he generally liked ironic and sadistically deserved punishments over anything conventional.
He laid there once again in silence, lost in his own thoughts. Beatrix was equally as silent. After a few moments, he picked his head up, looking at her closely, "What do you think they deserve?" Bill was one to rarely ask the advice of others. "After all, you're the one who's now got a huge gash across her chest because of their negligence..."
Beatrix tilted her head and stared back at him. A selection of emotions began flipping through her face before she settled on the appropriate one. She shifted back on her knees, up straight without causing a stretch, and away from him but not out of spite. A coy smirk crossed her angelically worn features and she lifted a single digit to settle on his temple. "Give me a second," she muttered lightly. "I'm trying to think like you."
A second passed and she let her hand drop to her side. She found it strange but inviting to know that Bill wanted her opinion on something as drastic as a punishment. Bill always had a way of making one's punishment ironic, relevant, and deserving. In time these 'traits' would rub off on her where she'd make her own punishments completely and utterly influenced by Bill.
"For starters, you should deduct their pay." A faint reminder that she was still going on another two months without a pay check. Not that it mattered all that much. She furrowed her slender brows in further contemplation. "And, harder more challenging assignments that will require more training time to take up their free time." She knew that would get Vernita annoyed. She wasn't fond of training. "No long distance assignments." That was for O-Ren, always taking her assignments in various parts of Japan. Beatrix shifted her position on the bed due to the fact of staying in one position for long irritated her wounds. "They probably deserve more then that but I'm feeling generous.." A lie. She knew they deserved more but she also knew that cutting their fucking heads off wasn't an option. That had to do.
Bill smiled fondly up at Beatrix as she watched her attempt to "get into his mind" so to speak. He had donned much of this "passing of the torch" to her over the years. Sure, he'd been a mentor and teacher to all of the DiVA members...but only with Beatrix had he taken the time to really entrust upon her much of his traits and methods. Of course, this teaching could also be called "corrupting" but in Bill's mind, Beatrix had every capability of being his equal or easily his superior someday. It could be said he was molding her to become himself.....perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement....but it was no accident that he had slowly been doling out these bits of his own characteristics to her. Unfortunately, she possessed a few shortcomings that kept her from his status. But, it was Bill's hope, that perhaps someday, she could overcome these "weaknesses." But, Bill...despite all his ambition and intelligence, would, in the end...find that both of their fates ended up quite differently then his master vision. For now though he had every bit of confidence in Beatrix and her abilities to momentarily "be Bill."
He watched her closely as she listed her ideas for punishments. "Rather lenient of you Kiddo....." he replied when she had finished, "But....fitting enough I think." He paused in thought, "I'm still not paying you am I?" A chuckle. "Hrm....well....I suppose those will have to do then.....I'm sorry to say that dismemberment is not an option for the moment." A dark look, "But....not something I am going to count out for the future." And coming from Bill that was not entirely bullshit. "I am curious to see how they react...." Of course, they both knew how they'd react. It would come back to Beatrix no doubt. But Bill knew Beatrix could handle it....she had proven she could handle nearly anything at this point. She wasn't going to like it, but what else was new? "When they get back....I'll inform them of the.....slight change of policy....."
He focused back on her, smiling in an attempt to break out of that mode. His hands brushed up her upper arms, "Now...how are you feeling? There's a shitload of more drugs if you want them?" A smirk, knowing full well that Beatrix despised being drugged up. "Or...I could make you some of that tea that you so adore...." the smirk widened.
Beatrix pursed her lips in an attempt to conceal her smirk. "Mmm, such tempting choices," she cooed lightly as if she were making a life-threatening decision. Well, that tea could be called 'life-threatening' but she wasn't about to put Bill down too much. "I think," another shift of her body posture. "I am going to be old fashioned and suck it up." This pretty much meant she was going to perfect her mind over matter when it came to pain. As beneficial as this could be it had its consequences. Such as; "I may get bitchy later. For that I apologize." A sly grin crossed her face as she leaned in for a quick kiss.
"You? Bitchy? Nooooo...." Bill smirked as he pulled away from her, "I'll have to watch out for flying plates and such." He shot an equally sly look her direction.
Giving her hand a squeeze he stood up, "I'm going to finish up with some things. I'll be heading to bed in awhile." He fixed her with a mock serious glare, "And when I get back...you'd better be asleep or at least faking it really damn good. Or...I'll be forced to torture you further with more of my inane stories...and that.....would be just be awful for you." A grin and then he turned and walked out, leaving Beatrix to further practice her mind over matter method without further interruption.