Implied Odds

"Sakaki update." Amon's voice came through on the metallic little speaker in his ear.

"There hasn't been any activity. From what I can tell there hasn't been any activity inside the building either." It was strange. For the first time Sakaki took note of the building structure itself. The only windows of any merit were on the second floor that seemed to lead in to hallways. The only major window seemed to go into a bedroom of some sort. Trying to use the buildings around it as a staging ground he quickly realized that there wasn't a direct line of site into the building.

"Alright. Robin and I will be there in five minutes to relieve you."

"I'll be here." Sakaki waited patiently. Sitting back in the front seat of the car Sakaki became painfully aware of the gnawing sensation in his stomach. This morning hadn't left much time for food and now the young hunter regretted it. He needed something.

Turning the little dial slightly to the right Sakaki turned up the radio trying to drown out the sounds coming from his stomach. Shifting uncomfortably the hunter wrestled with the idea of lunch. Only five more minutes and he would be able to pack it up for the day.

xxxx

"He has been sitting there all day." Kathain muttered rather frustrated at the situation. Nycole plopped down on the overly cushioned bed next to her best friend.

"He is still there? Dear god the man is stubborn." Nycole rolled on to her side. She had to give him credit. He was a very determined man. And she kind of liked it. He was amusing. This little detective of hers.

"Yeah, I don't think he has moved to even go to the bathroom…" The curly red head replied. Nycole watched Kathain watching her.

"Alright Nycole. This is where you either get to volunteer information or we can pretend that this won't eventually go somewhere." Kathain offered flatly as she peered out of the window.

Bashfully Nycole buried her face in a fluffy feather pillow. Closing her eyes Nycole tried to avoid the conversation for another few minutes. I mean what on earth was she supposed to say. Then suddenly it was a little too clear.

"Kathain, I think I have done a bad thing. So you know how I have that little sushi place?" Nycole offered up shyly.

"Yeah." Kathain prompted.

"So I ended up sitting next to a set of detectives who were studying some rather strange burnings. It seems that there is an epidemic of people burning from the inside out." Nycole seemed to dance around the subject. She was good at that. She would distract her opponent with cute quick little quips. It was just a shame that it only worked on Kathain when Kathain wanted it to.

"So we have proof that the runes work? What do we know? And the better question, what do they know?" This was Kathain's game face. The stern slightly overpowering look. It always seemed to remind Nycole of a western right when one of the cowboys would say 'Circle the wagons.' It was a look that had sent the globe trotting around the world to find sanctuary.

"We have proof. They had the exact runes scribbled on a little notebook. Apparently they are working a little differently then we thought they would. They seem to be burning from the inside out. Now what we know, we know that these detectives seem really innocent to all of this. They have already interviewed one of the 'victims'. I don't know what else they know. The guy from the bar fight is the male detective. So I assume they have linked it back to here. He seemed to be looking for someone when he came in. I don't know who though. And that is the sum of it all." Nycole seemed to ramble on.

They both laid there staring out the oversized window. It was amazing. They had come so far to hide from the troubles of their lives. They came here to escape their own version of persecution. They came here to escape him. And now another man was hunting them.

"Do you think they are going to be a problem?" Kathain finally broke the silence.

"I hope not." Nycole seemed to sigh.

"Okay. At this point we have two options. We can tell the guys and they can deal with this. Which in all honestly really isn't a good option for you or him. Or we can try to deal with this ourselves. You can continue to go out, possibly meet up with him, and try to keep a close eye on him."

It wasn't a bad plan. Hell, in all honesty it wasn't much of a plan. But it was a plan that gave her an option she liked. So it was a plan they would be going with.

"So in your expert ookie-spookie opinion, what should I, slash we, do?" It wasn't often that Nycole asked for advice. When dealing with people the situation rarely came up. But this was about more then Nycole herself. This was about the Thirteen, her family. And she wouldn't risk that for anything.

Kathain's eyes glazed over. Her pupils dilated as if allowing all the light of the future to seep in. The girls softened allowing the energy of her gift to flow through her. Nycole paused staring at the girl. Her face seemed to be caught in between rapture and void. It was her gift, her gift of sight. And so Nycole allowed the other Oracle to do what she did best. She allowed the other Oracle to guide events as she did people.

"You need to go get sushi. I am hungry. Oh and wear something cute." The statement caught her off guard. Kathain always had a way of saying the oddest of things. It wasn't uncommon. But the one thing that still amazed Nycole was Kathain's ability to be understated. Often Nycole wondered if when everything finally came to pass if Kathain would be standing in the middle of the blood bath merely commenting on what a bad day she seemed to be having.

The oppressive little black and red room came flooding back. Nycole had been running from the memories of it all day. She could see the swinging dim light. She could smell the aroma of filthy, decay, and sickness. She could feel the stuffy sweltering humidity of the room. It all sickened Nycole. Trying the empath clung to this Kathain. The violent imagery pulled her down. This wasn't her gift. She wasn't meant to see, to know how it would all play out. Nycole fought desperately against this place, this time. This wasn't a future she would allow to come to pass.

"NYCOLE!" Kathain's voice came screaming in.

"Oh god Kathain. I keep seeing it. I can't pull out of it." The empath crumpled on the bed.

"I know it's hard." Kathain said as she stroked the empath's hair.

"I see it. I can see it on you. The pain, the bruising, the blood it is all there." The empath whimpered.

"It gets easier. And the visions will fade as time goes on. Just push it away and don't think about it." Kathain said trying to easy her best friend.

"I don't know how you do it." Nycole muttered.

"Well how about this. Go get some air. It will do you some good. Go get some sushi. If the guys start to ask questions I will tell them you went out for tampons. You know how scared they get when we mention anything girly."

"I…" The girl didn't know how to respond. She wanted out. The pain of the past few days clung to the walls like smoke. The rancid smell of it all seemed to choke Nycole. Closing her eyes the empath tried to center her own energy.

Claming her mind the empath pushed away the sickening image of Brett crumpled in the deep red light. She pushed away the metallic smell of his blood. She allowed her mind to focus on the shining diamond of his soul in the black tapestry of her gift. The small jewel flickered. Her mind wrapped around it. He was safe. They were both safe. Her heart began to beat a low rhythmic pattern. Slowly the girl opened her eyes.

"Maybe I could use some air. But how am I going to get out without the guys noticing me? I mean it is not like they like us going out by ourselves to begin with. Let alone either of us doing it after out little psychic fieldtrip." Nycole began as she packed her drawstring bag.

"Just leave that to me." Kathain cooed. An evil grin spread across her face letting Nycole know she already had a plan.

xxxx

Nycole crept down the stair into Purgatory. Her bare feet connected quietly with each step. She could hear the mutters of the others already in the dance floor of hell. It didn't really surprise her. The Thirteen had to be prepared. Whether the healer in her liked it or not being prepared meant being able to fight. It was their lot in life just as it was her lot in life to be there to help pick up all the pieces in the end. Taking note to stay close to the wall Nycole rounded the corner. She needed to remain hidden until Kathain gave the signal.

"What do you mean you want to spar? I thought we had this conversation?" Kristo's voice came from the other room.

"I know, but I am going to need to know how to defend myself. I can't depend on one of the Thirteen always being there. Plus just trust me." Her partner in crime was incredible sometimes. They didn't question the girl's methods often. It had come about one too many times where she had set something small in motion that paid off in the long run. It was her gift as a precog.

"Kathain? What aren't you telling me?" The weapons master's voice was laced suddenly caution.

"Look I promise that you will understand soon. I am not doing anything that is going to put anyone into any danger." The girl said shyly. "So are you going to show me how to us this dagger or should I run the risk of hurting myself trying to stab the bad guys."

Nycole could feel the irritation wafting off of Kristo. It was rare that Kristo allowed his emotions to appear on her radar so to speak. It was even more rare that he allowed them to get the best of him. But right now, Kathain seemed to be pushing all the right buttons. As much as Nycole hated to say it pushing buttons seemed to be the precog's specialty.

"Fine but if we are going to do this I am going to get the practice ones. Wait here." He said as he headed into one of the storage rooms.

Nycole took her cue. Pulling all of her stuff closer to her chest Nycole bolted for the back door. Making her way past Kathain she gave a quick wave.

"Just remember: not to late." Nycole had barely heard the words as she eased open the back door. Freedom came on the other side of the door. How tempting it was to close this door and walk away from it all. Nycole was smart enough to know that she wasn't the first to have a crisis of faith. Crisis of Faith. The words hung bitterly in her mind. The girl couldn't help but wonder if it was possible to have a crisis of faith. How do you loose faith if you are not sure you had any before.

The sharp and rather painful growl of her stomach felt more like a cat trying to find its way out of her body. Right now she wasn't going to care. She was just Nycole, average American girl touring Japan. Today she was going to be normal. And her normal self obviously wanted food.