Chapter 13
June 2019
The explosion was powerful enough for Dawn to feel the heat of the blast, despite the fact that she was standing over 300 meters away. Nobody inside had been left alive when the explosion had been triggered, but even if they had it was unlikely they could have survived the explosion or the ensuing inferno. And when she watched the roof cave in, a sigh of relief went out from her. She'd done it. She had achieved that which everyone had believed to be impossible.
Unless the Terakans would decide to send more people here, they no longer had any influence in this part of Europe. Dawn didn't even try to hide the satisfied smirk that crept on her face as she thought about how her adversaries would react once they heard about this. Unfortunately they weren't stupid so it was unlikely they would try to test if she'd notice the arrival of a replacement.
But she knew the Order was tenacious, sooner or later they would try to kill her again. Not only for the danger she represented, but to regain their foothold here as well. Dawn realized that if she wanted to survive, she needed to exterminate the entire Order. But that mission was far too extensive. With a history longer even than that of Soldats, it was impossible to tell exactly how widespread the Order was.
The Watcher's Council might know, but they didn't want any part in this. Dawn had contacted them for this very reason, but they had refused to pick a side in the conflict between Noir and Soldats. For once they had claimed the higher ground, although one member had admitted they didn't want to risk angering the victor.
This time she shook her head in dismay. It was incredible to imagine that those British fools were more than willing to try to punish a Slayer who'd made a simple mistake, but wouldn't take any action against the leading order of assassins. Leading. Bah, if even she thought of them as bigger than her, how could anyone else think differently?
No matter, the rest of this bunch of murderers would receive their due in time, whether she had the backing of the Council or not. Although she did wonder if they'd reacted differently had she told them that not only did their precious Key have immediate access to Noir, but actually was that assassin.
Taking out the Order wasn't worth destroying everything she'd built though. And besides, from reading the prophecies she already knew when her identity would be revealed. Well, as far as you could predict a time mentioned in a prophecy that is. At least Buffy had been directed to the Master at a specific date.
Once again she shook her head, took a deep breath of the fresh air that blew towards the house, and grabbed her radio. Calling for a role-call, it wasn't long before the reports came in, and aside from some light wounds it seemed that everyone was alright. Not that she'd expected anything else.
Her work here completed, Dawn turned her back on the burning house and walked back into the woods. The car wasn't parked that close, and it would take some time to get there. Nevertheless, she had a guest to entertain in Paris, and it wouldn't do if she was late.
X.X.X
She was late again. It never ceased to amaze Samantha how anyone as successful as Dawn managed to be late for almost every appointment the two of them made. In her case it didn't really matter, but from experience she knew that some people got so ridiculously upset if you showed up too late.
That didn't mean there were no limits to her patience either. Limits that she was starting to reach at this very moment.
Samantha had arrived yesterday, in order to surprise Dawn, but there hadn't yet been much time for them to catch up. She had arrived in the evening, but even during their short discussion then, her friend had seemed distracted. Yet when she'd asked what was on Dawn's mind, the only answer she received was some excuse about being anxious.
Apparently Dawn had an important meeting today, and it was for that reason that she wasn't here right now. To make matters even worse, the meeting wasn't even anywhere near Paris. Apparently it was somewhere to the east, Dawn had told her the city where it was taking place, but it wasn't one of the five cities in France she knew.
Still, she hoped her friend would arrive soon as she really wanted to continue their conversation from Ankara. The conversation during which she'd discovered that the two of them shared more than she'd previously thought. That she wasn't the only one who knew about the real world.
It was still difficult for her to imagine that another member of the elite knew about the secret she'd kept since her childhood. The knowledge that the stuff of nightmares actually existed. That vampires were real.
Even now, just thinking about it made her shiver in fear. She and Jeanie had been young and careless, no more careless than other people of their age but still careless. As the two of them were not only sisters, but best friends as well, they often played together. And that was exactly what they'd been doing on that night.
Jeanie was the eldest, and even at nine she had been far more adventurous than then eight-year-old Samantha would ever be. Nevertheless it had been Samantha who'd heard about the abandoned warehouse and the noises that came from it during the nights. And it had been her who'd told Jeanie about it in the hope that her older, wiser, and smarter sister would take her there.
Taking a handkerchief out of her purse, Samantha dabbed at her eyes, where was that blasted woman? She needed a distraction before her thoughts returned to that terrible night. The night that opened her eyes to the real world. When she learned that true evil existed outside of television as well.
But despite her hope, Dawn didn't show up, and knowing that she would never be able to distract herself enough, Samantha took a sip from her cup of nearly cold coffee and leaned back. The only way out now was to relive the memories and deal with them.
Again.
….…
"Hurry up, Samantha," Jeanie called out to her.
"I'm coming," Samantha panted, while directing her pretty shoes around a puddle of water. "But mommy put me in this stupid dress today, and I can't run in it."
Looking up she noticed her sister's wide smile. "I know Sam, why do you think I'm so happy she thinks you're the pretty one."
That was true. Her mother always fussed more over her than Jeanie, saying she had long ago given up the attempt to turn the older girl into a lady. Something Samantha thought unfair. Because while she had to go learn how to play the piano, Jeanie was having fun riding the horsies. Horses, Samantha corrected herself, mommy didn't like it when she said it the other way.
But finally she'd reached her sister. "I'm here."
"Okay, let's go on then."
"Is it far?"
"No, we're almost there. But hey, you're the one who wanted to go."
That was true, but they'd promised mommy to be home before dark and it was already starting to be that. "I know, but mommy…"
"I know sis, we'll walk a bit faster. Can you do that?"
Well, she did want to see the scary building Birgit had told her about. So, she nodded her agreement so forcefully it caused her pigtails to swish around. "I do."
"Good, let's go then." Jeanie started leading the way with long steps, while the shorter Samantha did her best to keep up. All the while making sure her dress didn't get dirty, so her mommy wouldn't get angry.
Even so it was still five minutes before they reached the warehouse, and the first impression she had of it wasn't very impressive. "Is that it?"
"Yeah, is that it? I thought Birgit said there were strange sounds and everything."
"She did," Samantha defended herself quickly, "she said that it was very scary."
"But it's just empty. Nothing scary about it."
A burst of wind, or something else, chose that moment to slam a door inside the warehouse, causing the two little girls to jump and look at each other. "Okay, maybe it is a bit spooky," Jeanie admitted in a quivering voice.
All Samantha could do was nod in agreement, while trying to hide behind her big sister. The sister who would surely keep all the scary things away from her.
"Let's go and look," Jeanie proposed, causing Samantha to look up.
"B-but it's scary." And it was! When Birgit had told her about it Samantha had seen going here as proving she was braver than her friend, but now that she was here she understood why her friend had turned around.
"Yeah, isn't it great?" Jeanie sounded excited, making Samantha immediately feel braver. If her sister didn't think it was dangerous, it couldn't really be. After all, Jeanie was older and smarter.
So, while ignoring the question about it being great, she did agree to go in. "But we can't stay long. See," she pointed at the sky, "the sun is sleeping already."
"The sun is down. It doesn't sleep, that's like magic, and there is no magic."
"Of course there's magic silly, Santa Claus brings our presents with magic, remember?" Jeanie shouldn't think that just because she knew a bit more, that she knew everything.
And her sister obviously couldn't tell her she was wrong, instead walking to the door of the warehouse. Trying to open the door, Jeanie encountered resistance though. "It's locked. Why did they lock an empty building?"
Duh, what kind of question was that? Sometimes her sister could be so silly. "So that people can't get in?"
"I know that," Jeanie snapped back. "But why? It's not like there's anything to steal."
"Steal?" Samantha asked with wide eyes as a very scary possibility suddenly came to her. "You don't think there are bad guys here, do you?" Because she didn't like bad guys, they were bad.
"No, there's a lock see?" Oh yeah, she'd almost forgotten about that.
But if the door was locked that also meant they couldn't get in. "So, we'll have to go home now?"
"Yeah, no wait. Maybe there's a back door." And Jeanie was off again, leaving Samantha alone, until she realized that at least. Once that happened the little girl hurried after her sister.
But no matter which door they tried, all of them were locked. And the boards in front of the windows prevented them from looking in as well. So, it was with a disappointed feeling that they arrived back at the front and Samantha asked the question she'd been thinking about since they discovered the last closed door. "Now what?"
"I don't know," Jeanie answered. "Maybe we should go home, we're late already and mom will be worried."
And angry, Samantha realized. She hadn't really minded the prospect of anger before because she believed this visit was worth it, but now that they couldn't even get in the only thing that remained was that anger. "Yeah, let's go home. I-"
She was cut off as the door was suddenly thrown open, causing both of them to let out a scream. "What a beautiful night, don't you think so girls?" the man who stepped out asked.
"W-where?" Samantha stuttered in an attempt to find out where the man came from.
Jeanie had already figured it out though. "You live in there? Is that why there are strange noises?"
"Yes, I live here. Together with my friends. Would you like to come in and meet them? We were just feeling hungry so you came at the right time."
Feeling hungry? At the right time? That was a strange invitation to dinner, and Samantha was pretty sure that her mother wouldn't approve of it anyway. "No thanks, we have to go."
Jeanie didn't say anything, probably agreeing that something was wrong here, but the man didn't stop. "Oh come on, you've been snooping here for over half an hour, I thought you wanted to see what was inside?"
"Uh-huh, but we're late. Mom said we should be home by sundown," Jeanie told the man, taking Samantha's arm to guide her away.
"You have a smart mother, but I think you should come inside anyway."
The man was really acting scary now. Her mommy had always warned her about men who'd try to be nice and ask you to come with them. They would want to do stuff to you, and while she couldn't imagine what kind of that stuff might be, it sounded very scary. Besides, it could also be a kidnap attempt.
While she had never been involved with anything like that, mom and dad didn't even think any of them needed a bodyguard, she had heard stories. And those stories were bad enough. Thinking about that, she started moving closer to Jeanie until she was right next to her, believing that together they'd stand a better chance. Reacting to that, her sister spoke again. "We have to go."
Instead of answering the two of them, the man's face changed and he turned into a monster. Samantha froze in fear, and felt Jeanie do the same thing, but that was only temporarily. A monster! There was only one reaction she could think of that might help in this situation. She screamed as loud and long as she could.
Luckily for her that scream seemed to bring her sister out of her stupor as well, but Jeanie had a better idea of what to do. Years later Samantha would think about what her sister did, and be grateful for it. She only wished it didn't have the expected ending.
"Run Sam, run!" Jeanie shouted while letting go of her and bending down to pick up a brick. The monster only laughed at their actions, but it wouldn't be long before he'd had enough fun and would want to eat.
Samantha hadn't budged yet, still far too frightened to do anything but scream and stare at the monster, but Jeanie pushed her away while bracing herself for the upcoming fight. It was then that Samantha finally moved and started running as fast as she could, for once not caring that her dress and shoes were getting dirty. And most of all, believing that her sister was right behind her.
Jeanie had always been there when she needed her, but when after running for a while she suddenly realized she couldn't hear her sister, she looked around. And froze in shock.
No. Tears started rolling over her face as she instantly realized what she was seeing. The monster was holding Jeanie, holding her in the air while the girl was futilely trying to hit it with the brick. Only when she threw it against the monster's face could Samantha hear something from that fight, and that was a roar of anger.
Next thing she knew, Jeanie was flying through the air, until she crashed against the wall of the warehouse. The warehouse she'd brought them to. As the monster then shouted something inside, more monsters appeared and went over to Jeanie. And when they reached her… "NOOOOOO!"
Her shout made the vampires, for she now realized that's what they were, look up from eating her sister. The first vampire, the one who'd hurt Jeanie now turned to her and with a loud laugh started running to her.
Finally realizing exactly how bad the situation really was, Samantha turned around and started running as fast as she could. All the while realizing that an eight-year-old girl couldn't possibly outrun a vampire. But she tried, she did her best, and when the creature finally caught her she had gone further than she'd hoped.
The vampire caught her by the neck and lifted her in the air. Taking a note from Jeanie's earlier bravery, Samantha too slapped the vampire on its arms while trying to land a good kick. "Struggle little girl, struggle. It won't help you, but it makes the blood taste so much sweeter."
It didn't have to tell her to struggle, but no matter what she tried, nothing seemed to work and she was quickly running out of adrenaline, leaving her tired and exhausted. "That's alright little girl, you tried. Not many people can say they tried as hard as you, but then aga-"
The monster's speech was cut short as it suddenly burst into a cloud of ashes, causing Samantha to fall to the cold and wet ground. Where she immediately scrunched up in a little ball, while screwing her eyes closed. She didn't want to see what had killed the monster, nothing human could have done that.
"Are you alright kid?" A kind voice asked, causing her to doubt her earlier idea. A monster couldn't sound like a girl could it? Why not? she immediately countered, the vampire had sounded like a nice man. So, she remained, hiding from the world and the monsters it contained, until something touched her.
"Ah!" Samantha screamed, while scrambling away and reflexively opening her eyes.
Only to see a girl, an old girl who had to be at least sixteen, looking at her with a concerned look.
"Are you alright?" the girl repeated, looking very worried. And this time, hoping that she wasn't making another big mistake, Samantha nodded. The girl smiled at that, and immediately asked another question. "What's your name?"
The vampire hadn't asked their name, this had to be a good sign, didn't it? "Sa-sa-samantha," she finally managed.
"That's a pretty name, I'm Alice."
This time it was the conditioning her mother had put her through that caused Samantha to answer. "H-hello."
"Hi," the smiling girl answered, "can you answer some questions?"
Once again Samantha nodded to indicate she could.
"Were you alone?"
Alone? No! "Jeanie!" In her fright she had almost forgotten about her sister. Maybe this girl could save Jeanie as well.
"Jeanie? Who's that?"
"M-my sister. T-the v-vampires got her." Tearfully she looked up, in the hope to see that the girl would now go for her sister. But all she saw in the girl's eyes was compassion and, although she didn't recognize it at the time, the pain it caused the Slayer to have failed to save yet another innocent life.
….…
It had been the first time she'd been confronted with the death of someone she loved. And even now, late at night, she sometimes recalled the expression in the girl's eyes. That expression that so clearly told Samantha what she'd done to her sister. The Slayer hadn't known, but that didn't change the facts.
She had killed her sister.
X.X.X
She was a bit late, but Dawn figured that wasn't really a problem. Samantha would understand, but when she'd entered the room she had been told the woman was waiting for her, she was surprised.
The normally active woman was just sitting there, staring straight ahead and hadn't even noticed when Dawn had entered the room. The only movements she made was the occasional dabbing of her eyes. Until finally, she took a picture out of her purse and stared at that.
"Hey," Dawn broke the silence while walking over to the chair facing Samantha.
Samantha jumped a bit, but had herself under control rather quickly, although she appeared to be rather ashamed about the way she'd been caught here. "Hi. I'm sorry for acting like a complete waste of space here."
"Don't worry, I've done my fair share of crying. Who is she?" Dawn accompanied that question with a nod at the picture of the young girl.
"My sister."
"Your sister? I didn't know you have a baby sister."
"She was my older sister."
Oh, way to go Dawn. She was curious about this sister, but it was clear that she was no longer alive. Instead of opening old wounds, she therefore changed the subject. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's not your fault, you didn't even know I was coming until I arrived yesterday," Samantha answered, obviously relieved at the change of subject.
"I still hoped I would've been here earlier. But it took me longer to deal with that particular problem than I'd anticipated."
"Like I said, it's alright. I kept myself busy today."
Good, it had been a bit annoying that Samantha had shown up the night before that last Terakan was to be dealt with, but now that that was over, she could focus on the woman. "So, I never did figure out why you suddenly arrived here yesterday."
"You didn't? I thought I'd told you," was the surprised reply.
"Oh, I know it was because you got bored at that auction in Lyons, but what made you decide on coming here?"
Samantha was silent then for a minute, probably trying to figure out the best way to voice her reasons. And when she eventually spoke, the reason didn't come as a very big surprise to Dawn. "I needed to speak to you about Ankara."
Ah, yes. Ankara, the city where she'd let it slip that she too knew about demons and vampires. Had she known how Samantha felt about those creatures, she would have spoken up sooner. Because this gave her an even greater connection to the American woman. "Of course, is there anything in particular you want to talk about?"
"You never told me how you found out they existed," Samantha started, although upon noticing her painful look, she quickly spoke on, "unless you don't want to talk about it."
"No, it's alright. You just caught me off guard there for a moment. Have you ever heard of Slayers?"
"Yes, one of them saved me, when…" Samantha trailed off, while looking at the picture of her sister.
Right, so if she had to make a guess a Slayer had saved Samantha, but failed to do so for her sister. Okay, she could live with that. "My sister was one."
"Your sister?" Samantha mirrored the question Dawn had asked earlier.
"My sister. I was caught up in something once and I found out about her then. She told me a number of things about the things that go bump in the night. I'm happy she did, but there are times I wish I never found out about it."
"How old were you then?"
Alright, she could answer these questions, there was no real danger of her spilling anything Samantha wasn't supposed to know and it might encourage the woman to speak up as well. "I was twelve." At least according to her passport. But hey, twelve, one, or three billion, who cares?
"Eight," Samantha whispered.
"What?"
"I was eight when it happened. Your sister, was her name Alice?"
Alice? She'd never even heard of a Slayer called Alice. "No, Buffy."
"Oh, it was probably one of her colleagues then." Samantha seemed to deflate again, probably having hoped that Buffy had been the one to save her. Which would have been a nice thing.
But there was something else. "It wasn't one of her colleagues, it was her successor."
"Successor? What do you mean?"
"Slayers don't have a choice about being Called, which is the name for when they receive their powers. But what it comes down to is that there is always only one Slayer. Only when that Slayer dies a new one is Called."
Samantha closed her eyes in shared pain, something that Dawn didn't need to do anymore. Too much time had passed since that night, and she had learned to live with that loss. At least, mostly. "When?"
"Not even two months after I found out."
"Oh Dawn, I'm sorry. How did it happen?"
She might have learned to live with it, but there were questions that shouldn't be asked. And to show that Dawn glared at Samantha, who immediately retracted the question.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that." Indeed she shouldn't have.
For a couple of minutes the two of them remained quiet then, until it was Dawn who broke the silence with that most mundane of questions. "Do you want something to drink? Your coffee must be cold by now."
"Yes please," Samantha replied.
Pressing the button that would call her maid, Dawn continued. "Well, now that we're both in a less than happy mood, why don't we do something about that?"
"What do you mean?"
"A party, I know you like them and there are a couple of people I'd like to speak in a less formal setting anyway. People are so much more approachable during these things."
For the first time since Dawn had entered the room, she noticed something on Samantha's face that might someday grow up to be a smile. "That sound like a good idea, yes."
The door opened at that moment, and Marie stepped inside. "How can I help you?"
"Please bring us a bottle of wine from the Manor, and a couple of glasses."
"Naturellement, I'll be right back." As the young woman turned around, Dawn refocused on her guest.
"You haven't tasted that yet, have you?"
"Am I finally going to be drinking a vintage from your fabled hidden vineyard?"
Ignoring the hidden question, Dawn nodded. "This vintage has been riping for long enough now to be found acceptable."
"It sounds good."
Of course it was good. "Remind me to give you a bottle to share with Jacob when you leave."
"I will, don't worry about that." Good, Samantha was clearly getting over her funk. She knew the prospect of the woman's favorite pastime would do that.
"You know, I have wondered why you like these things so much. Personally I think they're useful at times, but most of the time I get bored during them."
Whatever good mood had returned to Samantha, it quickly fled her face as Dawn posed that question, making her curse the fact that she'd asked the question. "I-"
Leaning forward, Dawn softly interrupted. "If you don't want to talk about it, don't worry, I understand. I didn't think you'd-"
"No," Samantha spoke up, clearly bracing herself. "I need to talk about this anyway, and Jacob would never understand."
Yes, talking to someone who understands you was useful. Dawn had figured that out for herself about a decade earlier. And so, she listened while Samantha started to talk about how she had convinced her sister to take her to the scary warehouse. During Samantha's monologue, Marie arrived with their drinks, but Samantha never noticed.
"And then Alice took me home. She spoke to mom and dad about how and where she'd found me, but they couldn't do anything either. It was too late for Jeanie, and I killed her," Samantha finished that part of the tale.
"You didn't kill her. It was an unfortunate series of events, but you didn't kill her." Killing someone is done on purpose, everything else is an accident. That was something Dawn clearly believed in and, as she'd never had an accident herself, she could know. Well, she'd never caused a fatal accident at least.
"If I hadn't talked her into going, she wouldn't have died," Samantha moaned while Dawn filled the glasses.
"Have a drink," she said while handing the first glass over. Hopefully the alcohol would dull the pain slightly, because she had no idea how to stop someone from feeling guilty. That wasn't exactly an emotion she had any recent experience with. "I'm afraid I can't really help you with that. I don't believe you killed your sister, but to be honest, I'm not sure how to convince you of that."
That obviously wasn't quite what Samantha had been hoping for, but it was all she could give the woman. "I knew you couldn't really help me with the pain, but still I'd hoped that…"
"Aside from repeating once again that it wasn't your fault, you had no idea of the dangers, didn't know vampires existed, and were only a child I can't help you to stop feeling guilty."
Why couldn't the woman believe that? Was she so immersed in self-pity? Dawn was baffled about how anyone could feel that way, but Samantha obviously did. The woman didn't continue speaking about it though, instead opting to change the subject. "But you asked me about the party thing, right?"
Silently indicating that was true, Dawn took a sip from the dry wine and sank back into the couch while Samantha was once again talking of her past. "After, after Jeanie died. Mom and dad became even more protective of me, never letting me take any risks. Not that I felt like taking them. Those first months, maybe even years, I was scared of my own shadow.
"I refused to sleep in a dark room, wanting the lights to be turned on at all times, and didn't go out. My piano lessons started taking place at home, despite the fact that my father didn't like that. In fact, the only thing I didn't do at home was going to school. My parents wouldn't budge at that, no home schooling for me."
Predictable responses, Dawn thought, but decided against saying so. Instead letting Samantha tell the story at her own pace. "I lost most of my friends during that time, and even he weekly sessions with a psychologist didn't help me."
This time Dawn couldn't stop herself from expressing surprise, that actually sounded as if the woman had chosen to go to a psychologist. Why would anyone do that? "Why?"
"You mean why didn't they help?" No, that wasn't what she meant, but Samantha was talking again. "I couldn't exactly tell him about the vampire thing could I? As far as he knew my sister and I had been attacked by a gang. Anyway, that's when I started liking parties. They were a way for me to talk to people without having to leave my house."
"In other words, you were hiding and the parties made you feel like you weren't a total loss?"
Samantha winced, but had to concede the truth in those words. "Yes, well hiding sounds so negative."
"The only interaction you had was at school and these parties. That isn't exactly a lot you know." Says the kettle to the pot.
"I know. But when you found out, weren't you scared?"
Scared? Huh, she'd never really considered that possibility. She could have been scared, but there had never really been any reason for it. Not only did she believe herself capable of taking out a couple of vampires, Buffy had been there as well. And Buffy would never have let anything happen to her in those early days.
And after Buffy was gone… well suffice it to say that fear had become a useless emotion by then. "Not really, but then I was older. But staying at home the entire day, didn't that get boring after a while?"
"No. I finally made my mother happy by doing the things she wanted me to. Learning foreign languages, learning how to dance properly, learn how to act like a proper lady. Trust me, my days were filled."
Well, that sounded boring, Dawn thought before mentally comparing their respective upbringings. The her from this world had spent her time playing with friends, and doing all the stuff girls do at that age. Which from the sound of it had been how Samantha had been before her sister's death as well.
Of course, when you compared those dancing lessons with learning the best way to kill someone twice your size and weight using only a toothpick it was obvious which upbringing was better. "Sounds… interesting."
Samantha smiled at that, a bit watery still, but a smile nonetheless. "You think it's boring."
"Actually, yeah." Well, why lie? She'd had some of that training herself so she knew what she was talking about.
"It was at first, but eventually I got to like it."
Right. Whatever. Time to get away from this subject. "So, how about the day after tomorrow?"
"What?"
"The party, how about we hold it the day after tomorrow. That would leave us tomorrow to have some fun."
X.X.X
For a hastily thrown together party it was a lot of fun, Samantha thought as she once again moved through her natural environment. Natural environment, just thinking of giving a party that title made her smile. But Dawn had been right when she'd said that, this was what she liked doing more than most other things. And as more people had shown up than she'd expected would be available on such a short notice it wasn't difficult to enjoy herself.
"Mrs Masters?" someone asked her.
Turning around, she looked at the man who'd spoken. "Yes?"
"I understand you're from Seattle?"
"That's correct." Now what did he want?
"I have wondered about this for a long time, but I realize the question might be considered rude. Would you mind if I pose it anyway?"
Right, like she'd just let anyone ask a potentially rude question. "I'm sorry, but I'm not even sure who you are."
This seemed to surprise the man. "Forgive me, I had assumed my reputation would have preceded me. My name is Bertrand Blanc."
Oh, him. Dawn had actually mentioned this guy. Apparently he was trying to take over Dawn's businesses, and while her friend pretended not to care about it, it obviously bothered her. Samantha's reply was therefore suitably frosty. "You're right, your reputation has preceded you."
"Ouch," Blanc smiled insincerely, "I take it you do not approve of my actions."
"The one thing I really don't like about my home country is the ridiculous number of law suits that were common before the Pulse. And as you are using those same tactics against a personal friend of mine… No, I don't approve of your actions."
"Don't fool yourself kid, Summers made millions over the backs of hardworking people and that wasn't all done nicely."
Had she been a valleygirl, Samanha would have reacted with a duh. Unfortunately she was raised better than that and would therefore have to respond differently. "And you believe that taking all that money away from her will make those people happy?"
"I want to see justice done."
"You want to get rich, and don't give a damn about the people you claim to be helping."
"Mrs. Masters, I will forgive you this outburst once, but please do not say something like that again."
"Or what? You'll sue me as well? I don't think you've had a lot of luck with that so far, have you?" Samantha asked, starting to get really angry at this miserable excuse for a human being. Making money over the back of her friend, how dare he!
"Haven't I? Your so-called friend might not have told you, but a week from now she'll be convicted. I've already ensured that."
He'd bought the jury, judge, whoever made the decision here in France. "You, you. I can't believe you'd go that low," Samantha hissed in barely repressed fury.
"I go low? I'd advise you to take a look at your friend's past dealings. Maybe you'll see the same trend I did."
"Really? And what did you discover then, oh great savior of the human race?"
"You can scoff whatever you want, but I have no intention of ending up dead like everybody else who tried to go against the pure and honest miss Summers."
Pure and honest? Even knowing the man meant it sarcastically those words just didn't fit Dawn. Okay, she was pretty honest. At least when it didn't concern anything she wanted to keep secret, but pure? Nah, there was no way that Samantha could possibly use that word to describe her friend. "So, you think Dawn killed her competitors? Or more likely hired someone to do it for her?"
"Yes."
"Personally I find that rather hard to believe, and I doubt you've got any real proof."
"There is more than enough proof to link her to several of those deaths."
"Is there? I spoke to her about it yesterday but from what she told me there wasn't even any circumstantial evidence. And if this was a criminal case, why hasn't she been arrested? Why isn't the police doing anything?"
"They've been bought." A conspiracy theory freak, great.
"Of course they have. But if that's the case, aren't you afraid that she'll kill you as well?" Answer that fool.
Unexpectedly, Blanc actually had an answer for it. "I don't fear for my life not only because I'm too public to kill, but also because I've taken precautions and made sure Summers found out about them."
"What kind of precautions?" Samantha asked, curious despite herself.
Blanc let a smile play around his lips before answering. "I'm afraid I won't go into the specifics here. Suffice it to say that were I to die she'll be blamed for it."
"In other words, if you're in a public area and have an accident that couldn't possibly be blamed on her, you'll still make sure she'll be punished?" Samantha asked indignantly.
Once again the insufferable man smiled. "Yes. After all, I'm sure she'll actually have engendered the accident."
"Right. Now if you'll excuse me, I see someone I need to speak to." Turning around she walked away from the annoying man. Staying polite around someone who only wanted to anger her wasn't something Samantha was very good at.
His words did make her think though, no matter how treasonous that seemed. But she'd known all along that her friend wasn't a complete angel. From what she knew of Dawn, her friend balked at physically hurting someone but even Samantha had to admit that Dawn could act pretty ruthless when it came to her business.
But never physically hurt anyone. No, that simply didn't fit her character. If she'd want something like that done Dawn would ask someone else. No! What was she thinking? Dawn would never hire anyone to kill people.
But still… doubt crept into her mind. What if Blanc was actually telling the truth? What if there was a side to Dawn that she hadn't discovered in the seven years she'd known the woman? It couldn't be, could it? She hadn't heard anyone else mentioning things like this, but was that enough proof?
If only there was some way she could discover the truth, one way or another. But right now she couldn't think of anything. Trying to put the whole issue out of her head, Samantha suddenly realized something. Blanc had never gotten around to ask his question.
Oh well, she shrugged as she looked around for a waiter where she might be able to get some wine. The man had already said it would be rude, so Samantha didn't have any intention of going back to ask him what it was.
….…
Several hours later Samantha was back to enjoying herself, and had finally gotten the courage to ask Dawn about the accusations. It might not be the smartest thing to do if Blanc had been right, but for once she'd allowed herself to indulge in a bit of drinking which stopped her from considering the risks inherent in that plan.
It hadn't been hard to find Dawn, all she'd had to do was walk up the stairs where her friend was leaning on the balustrade while overlooking the party. Obviously she still wasn't very comfortable with these things, but at least it had gotten better over the years. "Hey Dawn."
"Samantha," Dawn asked with a slight smile on her face, "I see you've been enjoying yourself."
"Yeah, well I first talked to White? Clear? No, Blanc. That's it, Blanc."
Dawn didn't seem fazed by that, which might have something to do with the fact that she'd had trouble remembering the man's name, or she was really worrying about nothing. "And now you have questions?"
"Yes," Samantha vigorously nodded.
For maybe ten seconds Dawn was silent. "Did he ask you his question?"
How did she? "How do you know about that?"
"It's one of his pet peeves. He knows you're still living in the United States and he's stated on a number of occasions that he couldn't understand why anyone who isn't completely stupid could live there. So he probably wanted to ask you why you do it."
Samantha blinked as she tried to get that information through her befuddled brain. And once she combined that information with the condescending manner the man had acted she got angry. "That bastard. He played me."
"Not everyone is as nice as you are Samantha, and Blanc is far from the honest servant of the people he claims to be."
"No shit," escaped from Samantha's mouth.
"But you still have doubts, don't you?"
This was awkward. It was bad enough that she had these thoughts about her friend, but to actually have them voiced aloud by said friend was even worse. Nevertheless, she would speak the truth. "Yes."
"Do you know of anything that could help me prove to you that I didn't do the things he's accused me of?"
Well, that's where the problem was. "No, not really."
"Neither do I. Well I could say the words, but where would be the value in that? If I did do it I would be lying, but I would have been lying to you for years anyway, and if I didn't do it…" Dawn shrugged, "I wouldn't be guilty no matter what I said."
That was true, but still… She wanted to know! "Yes, but can't you just show me the holes in his theories? That would help."
"I'm not sure if I can. There have been several cases where I was the first to take advantage of someone's death. Of course, they weren't always murdered. Most of them weren't, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate his arguments."
"You're not helping here Dawn," Samantha said, while trying to grab another glass of wine from a waiter who'd come to ask if they wanted something.
Before she'd reached it however, Dawn grabbed her hand and told her she'd had enough. Her supposed friend that is, bah what friend would stop another from quenching her thirst? Dawn then turned to the waiter. "She's had enough Andre, please let everyone else know as well."
"Oh come on Dawn, I'm still thirsty."
"You never drink Samantha, and now you've gone far enough that you've forgotten that. No, I don't think you'd appreciate it if I'd let you drink even more. Well, you would tonight but in the morning you'd probably want to kill me for it."
Kill her for it. "Great choice of words Dawn."
"Thank you."
That wasn't meant to be a compliment. Oh, who cares anyway? Let Dawn treat it as a compliment if it made her happy. But suddenly she remembered something else that had bothered her since she'd spoken to Blanc. "Dawn?"
"Yes?"
"Two things. First, I think it might be better if we'd continue this talk when I'm a bit more sober."
"You mean I was right by stopping you?" Hey! There was no reason to rub it in.
But Samantha wisely chose not to react to the statement. "And two, if there's such a hate-hate relationship between the two of you, why did you invite Blanc?"
Dawn's laughter was loud and caused several people to look up at them, but it wasn't long before her friend had recovered enough to answer. "Look at them down there Samantha and tell me what you see."
"I see a group of people who are trying to get the best deal possible from anyone here."
"No, that's what you think you see. The truth is a completely different matter. What you see there is a group of leeches. Leeches who would stop at nothing to gain what they want. Leeches for who the only purpose in life is to gain more power. And for what?" Instead of letting her answer, Dawn resumed her unexpected tirade. "Because it gives them power. All these fools care about is power, how much they can influence the lives around, and how they can gain even more power."
Well, that was a not very positive view of the world. And while she realized Dawn was entitled to whatever opinion she liked, wasn't Dawn doing the exact same thing? "Uh Dawn?"
"I know. You think I'm a hypocrite to say this. And in a way you're right. I am trying to gain more and more power every day. But that's different."
And how could that be different? "I don't get it."
"Blanc feels at home there between the leeches, doesn't he?"
The change of subject was a bit abrupt for Samantha, but she could still clearly feel the effect of the alcohol and so looked at the man Dawn indicated. "Yes, but as you said he's a leech himself."
"Look closer. For Blanc this is a wonderful day, he's at the top of his game. In less then a week he'll be in control of this very house and can give these parties himself. But he's blind as well. Look at the people around him, they try to stay away from him. He tries to befriend people, believing that is the way this world works."
"It is the way things work."
"No it's not. Friendship is optional, the most important thing when dealing with the people down there is trust. You're a prime example of that. Look at you, you believed I'd broken your trust and immediately you started drinking. No, even if Blanc had been able to continue his prosecution of me, he'd be a complete failure. To the leeches he would be someone they could never trust, someone who'd already destroyed one of them."
"Okay, I get that. I think," Samantha replied slowly while raising a hand to her head. Why was everything starting to get so blurry?
"And that trust is why I'm different. In all my life I've trusted barely a handful of people. Both my partners, before they either died or I was ripped away from them. My teacher, before it became clear what she wanted, and one or two others."
"That's why you think you're better than them? Because you don't trust people?" And did that mean Dawn didn't trust her either?
But Dawn was already shaking her head in denial. "No, what makes me different from the leeches is something else."
"What?"
"They gain power because they love it. I want to live a simple life, but if I do that we'll be doomed. No more humanity, no more power for them to enjoy."
This was getting freaky. Samantha wanted to know more, but as she moved her head all she could see was a blur. "What's happening to me?"
"You're a bit drunk my dear. Don't worry about it, just rest here for a moment."
"I-I'll do that." Was getting drunk supposed to take this long? She'd always assumed it was more or less instantaneous, or at least moving from sober to drunk while drinking and not after you'd stopped.
"Miss Summers?" Samantha suddenly heard behind her, causing her to turn around while Dawn already answered.
"Yes?"
"The police has arrived."
"Finally, I was starting to give up hope here. Tell them I'll be right there."
What? "Police?"
"Yes, they've come to rid me of an annoying problem who thought he could outsmart me. Don't worry, I'll be right back." Huh? It didn't make a lot of sense to her, but Samantha only nodded and went back to staring at the blurry crowd below her.
A couple of minutes later, at least she thought it had only been a couple, Dawn reappeared in the room below, flanked by a couple of police officers. Instinctively knowing that this was about Blanc, she focused on the man. It was all still a bit blurry but if she did her best she could make it out a little. At first Blanc acted surprised, but what she could see of his face quickly turned into happiness.
Samantha was so focused on the man however, that she hadn't seen Dawn move until she was suddenly standing in front of Blanc and smacked him with the palm of her hand. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? I'll sue you for that! Oh wait, I already am." Blanc then laughed loudly, until he was interrupted by one of the police officers.
"Bertrand Blanc?"
"Yes? What do you want?"
"I hereby place you under arrest for conspiracy to murder."
"What? Is this some kind of joke? Who am I supposed to have tried to kill?" Blanc started his tirade.
The police officers remained silent however, but Dawn didn't and spoke the words that had probably been mentioned to her earlier. "Dawn Summers, Avery Jackson, and Gustave Lamont."
The silence created by that statement was deafening, until suddenly both Jackson and Lamont spoke up. Samantha didn't know them very well, but it was clear from their statements that these were the wrong people to anger in such a way. And while Blanc was being dragged off while protesting his innocence, the two of them swore they'd ensure he'd be convicted within months.
X.X.X
The party had ended once the police had arrived, but Dawn was still awake. Conflicting feelings tore through her heart. Satisfaction that her plan had worked as she'd wanted it to, not that she'd had any doubt that the police would find the money trail she'd created from Blanc to the Terakan's private account. Or the letters she'd put in Blanc's safe.
No, that had all gone as she'd wished and with a hint here and there she'd even managed to ensure they'd put all the pieces together this fast. So that not only would the fool be arrested before the planned trials, but that it actually happened at a time that would make this party fun.
But satisfaction wasn't the only feeling that reigned in her heart. No, guilt was there as well. The guilt for what she'd done to Samantha when she'd first noticed the woman was starting to have doubts. It wasn't fair. She shouldn't have needed to do that to someone who trusted her.
But she had, and she would have to live with it. A sudden change in the air pressure at her back, and the soft creaking most people wouldn't have noticed told her the door had been opened. The sure sound of footsteps identified the intruder as Jacques, and she let down her guard before he could even notice it. "Yes, Jacques?"
She hadn't even turned around, but the man was used to her knowing it when he'd entered the room and he didn't sound fazed. "It has been done."
He sounded like something bothered him, so while turning around to look at him, she asked about it.
"It's not important, no it is. I'm sorry to say this miss Summers, but was that really necessary?"
Dawn knew what Jacques was talking about, and it wasn't the way she'd ordered Blanc to be killed while he was in prison. Especially as that wouldn't happen for over a year. No, he was referring to the same thing that was bothering her. "Yes, I'm afraid it was."
"You obviously don't like it either, so why?"
Closing her eyes in silent supplication, Dawn tried to explain her actions. "I had hoped she either wouldn't speak to Blanc, or immediately dismiss his words. In some ways Samantha is more naive than most children born in less fortunate surroundings. To her the world is still black and white, someone is either good or evil. I couldn't afford for her to place me in the evil column."
Opening her eyes, she speared Jacques with them. "Don't get me wrong, I like Samantha. She's a fresh breath of air in the usual stuffy world of old money, but I couldn't afford to have her fear me."
"How much will she remember?"
"Not much, she drank more than I'd anticipated. She'll probably remember one or two high points of the evening, but in the morning she'll be highly susceptible to another version of these events. By the afternoon she won't even remember having talked to Blanc, let alone doubting me."
"Is it permanent?"
"Nothing is permanent Jacques, except death and even that isn't always certain."
"So one day she'll remember."
"Remember, and hate me. Yes," Dawn whispered while tears started to gather in the corner of her eyes.
Taking a handkerchief she dabbed at her eyes, and looked at the wet piece of fabric in surprise. She was actually crying over this? She had killed hundreds and influenced the lives of thousands more, all without shedding a single tear. But when she had to mess with someone's memory to protect her identity she cried?
Memory, that was the whole point here, wasn't it? She'd messed with someone's memories. Just like Soldats had done to her, the one action she despised above all others, but she hadn't had a choice. Samantha couldn't be killed, she had her own part to play in what was to come, but she wouldn't be able to deal with the truth either.
"I'm sorry," Jacques said, looking miserable that he'd caused her to cry.
She tried to show a watery smile, but even that was hard to accomplish and she didn't feel like acting anyway. "It's not your fault. It's just that at times like this I really wish someone else could do this."
Jacques opened his mouth to say something, but she immediately cut him off. "No, I know what you're going to say, but that wouldn't work. The prophecies make it clear, I need to be there when it happens. No matter how much I hate them, they have proved to be correct far too often."
"I'm afraid I have some more bad news for you then."
This time when Dawn laughed it wasn't the freeing experience she'd had when Samantha had caused it. No, this time it was the desperate laugh of someone close to losing it, who knew that it would be getting even worse. "Tell me."
"A messenger arrived with a recording from Seattle."
"It has begun?"
"A self proclaimed freedom fighter calling himself Eyes Only had a recording of one of the X-5s who'd escaped in '09."
"They've started to reveal themselves?" Dawn asked in a resigned tone of voice. "Which one?"
"One of the boys, we're not sure which."
"Find out, and I want to know everything you can get me on this Eyes Only as well. From now on, Seattle is our top priority. And give me that recording, I want to watch it."
"Yes ma'am," Jacques said while handing her the recording, obviously he could still anticipate her requests.
It was time. In the dark city of rain, the mixed ones will appear. It was part of the second prophecy of light and darkness, and like all the others she knew all too well what was meant.
Transgenics had started to arrive in Seattle, a city famed for many things, among them both the amount of rain that fell there, and how hard it had been affected by the Pulse. It had started, and it wouldn't be long now before it would end.
Emptying her glass of wine, Dawn stepped over to the television set and put the small disc in the player. It was time to face the music.
Post-fic comments: Hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to leave some feedback on your way out.
kiwifruit03, MaxS452, Bob-from-Accounting, thank you all for your comments. As always they managed to make me feel better. There isn't much I can say that wouldn't spoil some of the story, so I'll remain quiet on that front.