Duplicity
By Divamercury
Hello all! Did you think I was dead? Well, I'm not, although as far as high school goes, I might as well bewell, maybe not. Straight A's, baby! Anyway, it's amazing how much life is sucking right now but I'm sticking it out and now, for your reading pleasure, I have an economy-sized chapter for you. Also, I have a long school break coming up this week so maybe if I'm lucky I'll be able to post more soon. Just bear with me and know that you all are the best and I will try to meet your demand for new chapters.
And by all things sacred, REVIEW!!!!
~DM ;)
Chapter 16
I watched Ian leave my office and cursed loudly, striding over to my desk and slamming my fist on the aforementioned piece of furniture. Well, that hadn't worked at all like I had planned.
Could you have taken on more than you can handle, Adair? You've never a problem seducing men before...what's so damn special about this one?' I asked myself. I've even gotten to married men! Sure, he is closely tied to the Blade...he's the Guardian, for God's sake! But that's never given me a problem before... So what is it about Ian Nottingham that made me screw up...and why am I obsessing? Could I possibly be...no!' I shook my head firmly. Surely not. Well, next order of business' I picked up the phone from its cradle and dialed a number. I only had to wait a couple of seconds before the call was answered.
"Yes?"
"I have another assignment for you," I said. "But unfortunately it varies from your typical preference."
"What do you mean? I'll kill anyone" He almost sounded sad.
"I know you will, hon," I soothed. "But this is important. Sara Pezzini is becoming a problem."
"So she's who you want me to knock off? What's so different about her? She's just another bitch who deserves everything that's coming to her."
"I agree with you, but no, I don't want you to kill herat least, not yet. I'll give her a sporting chancebecause I feel like being fair."
"Today."
"Very funny. Notice I'm not laughing. No, I need you to get rid of a man this time. His name is Ian Nottingham, and you may have seen him following you or around you sometimeit seems like he watches everything, almost like Batman or something."
"What's he look like?"
"Tall, dark hair, likes blackcome on, you can figure it out."
"Sure. Consider it done," Bill said.
"Good. Get to work. I want to hear of his death by the end of the night."
"Aye, aye, ma'am."
"Shut up, you smart ass. Just do what I tell you." I hung up and turned away from the phone, heading for the door of my office. I stopped halfway and then turned back around and picked up the receiver again. I dialed another number quickly and waited.
"Immo."
"Doctor, I believe there are several things you and I need to discuss involving Ian Nottingham..."
* * *
Still a little shaken up by my Adair encounter, I called Sara as soon as I made it to the car.
"Pezzini, Homicide."
"Hello."
"Hey, babe. How'd it go?"
"Terribly. We're in trouble, Sara. More than I had previously anticipated."
"How so?"
"Adair did several things that made me extremely nervous and will most likely end in unfavorable consequences."
"Number one?"
"She tried to seduce me into becoming her bodyguardin more ways than one."
I could practically feel her revulsion in the ever-strengthening link between us. "That bitch! That little whore! Why, I oughtta—Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Nothing happened," I said.
"I trust you, Ian. It's her I don't trust."
"And rightly so. Another thing: when we heard that Irons left her everything, he meant everything. Apparently she got hold of some files about you, me, and the Witchblade."
"Meaning she knows all about both of our lives, about your Black Dragon thing, and about the you-know-what?" she asked incredulously. I had to muddle through her coding until I remembered that she was in her office in the precinct, not doubt with Connor in the room, and she wanted to avoid certain questions including certain phrases.
"Yes. And now she wants the Blade for herself."
"Damn! So we still haven't been able to move past that issue."
"Sara, if we ever move past that issue, something will be very wrong. There is definitely always going to be a very real threat against the forcible theft of the Blade."
Sara groaned. "So what did she say when she was trying to make the pitch?"
"She kept bringing you into it, asking me whether or not I wanted to keep you safe, wanting to know if I believed her when she said that you'd be fine if I worked for her, etc."
"What did you say?"
"I told her I wouldn't believe her if her tongue came notarized."
"Ouch!" she crowed. "That's great! That sounds like something I would say."
"Exactly why I chose it. As far as I'm concerned, it was almost like you were in my head telling me what to say."
"So, where are you off to now?"
"I'm going home for a minute to call and see if either of the two other businesses can see me this afternoon. Maybe I'll have good news by tonight."
"Great. Well, take care, baby. If you see any other CEO's remotely resembling Adair, turn on your heel and get out of there."
"You don't have to tell me twice. I love you."
"I love you, too. Shut up, Connor!" I snickered. "Sorry, this stupid rookie is wearing on my last nerve. See you tonight."
"All right. And Sara?"
"Yes?"
"Please don't kill Connor. You work in the homicide part of a police station."
"Thanks for your faith in me," she said sarcastically.
"Anytime. Bye."
"Bye, you wacko."
* * *
"Ah, good old precinct life," Connor remarked as he and I slaved over paper at 7:00 that evening. It had taken me forever to get off my back about the phone call, but with a little promise of severe bodily harm, he dropped the issue.
"How did this accumulate again so fast?" I asked, gesturing to our workload. It didn't seem to be any less than what we had been working on for most of the previous day. I sighed.
"Don't know, but sometimes I wish we could kill the secretaries that type up this stuff," he replied
"Ditto. Listen, Connor," I said. "I've got to take off. I've got a huge date tonight. Me, Ian, and four of our friends."
"Nope, sorry, Pez. You deserve some more intimate time with the desk here. Forgetting the whole "skipping out on your dedicated partner" thing?"
"Who, my dedicated rookie partner?" I asked.
"Come on, Pez, even if I am a rookie, I don't deserve to get walked on."
"That's the way things are, kid. I was trampled over when I was in your shoes, and so the cycle continues."
"Another hour."
"I can't!"
"Forty-five minutes."
"Connor," I said warningly.
"Thirty."
I sighed. There was no way I could make it to my apartment, get ready, and get to Tina's in fifteen minutes.
I was about to keep arguing with him when there was a knock on my door and Jones stuck his head in. "Hey, Pez, there's someone out here that wants to see you."
"Okay. Thanks, Jones," I said, getting up from my desk. "I need a hiatus anyway," I said, looking pointedly at Connor and following Jones out of my office. To my surprise, Raven Cole was outside waiting for me near Laredo's office.
"Hey Sara!" she said happily. I grinned and crossed over to where she was standing.
"Hey. Someone's happy," I remarked.
"Life is good," she said. "Listen, I need you to come with me."
"Now?"
"Right now. Jackson's waiting for us downtown near the warehouse district."
I grimaced. "Why there?"
"He found some kind of lead or something. Don't know what it is—he hasn't even told me yet. He just wanted me to come and get you."
"I've got to get out of something, but I'll see what I can do." I ran back into my office and said, "Connor, I have to go. Give me double penance tomorrow."
"Pez," he whined, gesturing to all the paperwork stacked around him."
"Hey, how about this? I've got to go meet someone before the actual meeting, so why don't you take a break, come with me to the meeting with Jackson and then to dinner?"
"I can't. I'd—I'd feel like a—seventh wheeland that didn't sound nearly as good out loud as it did in my head," he said, frowning at his botched analogy.
I laughed. "You wouldn't beconsider yourself the chaperone. You can make sure we don't get out of hand, keep all appendages to ourselves. Now come on!" I grabbed him by the forearm and dragged him out of his chair, out of the office, and over to Raven, who immediately grinned. She circled Connor, giving him the full look-over.
"Sara, who's your adorable little friend?" she asked.
"Hands off, girl. You've got Jackson, remember?"
"Oh, yeahfunny how I keep forgetting." Raven laughed at my look. "Just kidding. So what's your name, stud?"
Connor blushed but stuck his hand out and said, "Marcus Connor. Nice to meet you, um"
"Raven," she supplied, shaking his hand. "Raven Cole."
"Oh, you're the girl that called the other day talking about dry-ice spoons—Ouch!"
I elbowed him in the side to shut him up. Raven just smiled and said, "My reputation precedes me. Yeah, that's me. What do you go by?"
"Connor," he said instantly.
"Got it. Sara, he's a vast improvement on your last partnerif I wasn't involved, oh, what I'd do," she said with a sly smile, clearly loving the shade of red Connor was turning. "Anyway, enough of that, come on. We've got places to go, people to see."
"Killers to catch," I said.
"Exactly. Okay, time to go."
"Um, Pez, shouldn't we sign out with the Captain?" my partner asked.
"Laredo's already gone home, Connor. But if I musthold that thought, Raven. Hey, Jones!" I shouted. The cop in question turned and looked at me. "What?"
"Come here!" He did so.
"What's the deal?"
"Didn't feel like yelling across the room."
Could have fooled me."
"Very funny. Will you clock Connor and me out?"
"Sure thing, Pez. The usual half-hour past time of departure?"
"You got it. Thanks, Jones."
"No prob, Pez."
I turned back to my friends. "Okay. Now we can go."
"Raven, it's 7:38. There is no way that we're going to make it in time," I told the driver of our car. I was in the passenger's seat and Connor was in the back.
"It's not my fault we got stuck in traffic!"
"Well, actually—" Connor began.
"Don't say anything," she warned. "I realize I'm driving, thus it is my fault."
"Damn, she's good," he said. Raven smirked, and I rolled my eyes.
"I'd better call the others and tell them we're going to be later than planned," I said, grabbing my cell and calling Ian.
"Sara?"
"Yeah, it's me. Listen, traffic's a bitch right now and I'm stranded in a car with a bird and a rookie cop."
"A motley crew," he remarked. "So you're with Raven and Connor?"
"Yes. We're on our way to meet Jackson and pick him up."
"We're here!" Raven announced. "It was just the next turn-offjust took us half an hour to get to it" She continued muttering under her breath as she parked the car and we headed up to the roof of the building.
"Why the roof?" I asked, still holding my cell phone to my ear.
"How many people are going to be hanging around on the roof?" she asked, swinging open the door.
"Apparently two," Connor said, pointing in front of us.
Right after Connor pointed, the sound of a man's scream of horrifying pain filled the air.
"Hey, what the hell's going on up there? Hold it!" Raven shouted. She ran ahead of us, and Connor and I had to struggle to keep up.
"What's going on?" Ian asked, having heard Raven's shout.
"Something's not right. Get over here now! Are Mac and Gabe with you?"
"Yes."
"Well, you'd better book it." I glanced down at my wrist and the Witchblade was swirling furiously, taking on the appearance of a whirlpool of sorts. "And the Blade really isn't liking this, whatever it is," I added.
"That's all I needed to hear. I know where you are. We'll find you." He hung up, and I didn't think to ask him about how he knew where to find me.
Connor and I arrived in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of a man running away and another man lying on his back and apparently severely injured. Raven was already kneeling by him and when we got closerwe realized it was Jackson. He had been dressed in a black shirt and pants, which were now wet with his blood, and his face was drawn and pale.
"Oh my God," I breathed.
"Jackson? Jack, what happened?" Raven asked, cupping his face in her hands. Her face remained stoic but her frightened eyes unfortunately belied her cool exterior.
"HeI didn't know himbut he was the church guythe guy who killed that girl—Paula. Said I knew too much so I had to die and that I'd burn in hell when I got there because of who I was. Pleasant chap, reallyup until he thought it would be fun to gut me like a fish with a huge dagger-thing."
"How in the world did he get you into this position?" I asked, kneeling down at his other side. Connor stood behind me. Surely he would have tried to defend himself.
"Stabbed me with a syringe. Some kind of paralyzing drugI couldn't lift a finger if you paid me."
Well, that answered the question fully.
"Jack, we've got to get you to a hospital," Raven said. Connor and I made motions to pick him up and we moved him about an inch but the blood resumed its gushing and he shook his head.
"I won't make it, Rave. I'm sorry. It's been fun, buthey, do you mind if I talk to Sara alone for a second?"
Connor shook his head and stepped off to the side, leaving us alone. Raven backed off reluctantly with Connor, keeping her dark eyes fixed on him at all times. I leaned in closer to him as he began.
"Listen, SaraI know I got involved in all of this for all the wrong reasons. Crimemurder-for-hire, and all kinds of other shit like that that the Speakers. But spending time with Raven and you and your friends has changed my life for the better and if I had all this to do over again I wouldn't change a thingexcept being here when I was. I just wanted to say thatand I wanted to ask you and Ian to look after Raven for me. Don't let mymemory, I guess, stop her from livingboth figuratively and literally. Don't let her do anything too stupid; as long as she trashes something, I think she'll make it through this okay."
I smiled sadly at that. "We'll look out for her, Jackson. I just wish it didn't have to end this way."
"Well, join the club on that one."
"You said the guy told you that you'd burn in hell for who you were. Do you know him?"
"I don't remember himI've worked for a lot of people in my life, Sara."
"Maybe he knows about your Speaker stint."
"Maybe. Start looking there." He started coughing heavily. "Guess—I shouldn't have—gone out on my own—like this," he said between coughs, trying to smile weakly.
"Raven!" I shouted, waving her over.
She rushed over to where Jackson and I were, and touched his forehead. He tried to speak but she hushed him.
"So that's what he looked like?" she asked, apparently having gotten a mental picture of the killer,
Jackson nodded slightly, as much as he could, which showed the drugs were wearing off. "II love you, Rave."
"I love you too, Jack."
"I'msorry I have toleave you like this. Seems like it alwaysends this way." The coughing returned and his breathing slowed, then stilled. Then stopped completely. Raven held him to her and justroared, her voice becoming an endless, feral, despondent wail. Connor and I looked on helplessly as she screamed.
She continued this for several minutes, but when she stopped screaming and started sobbing we heard footsteps on the gravel roof of the building. Ian, Mac, and Gabe were running full tilt toward us and stopped short when they got close enough. Raven was cradling him in her arms at this point, her tears bathing his face. Her shoulders shook with her sobs and I could feel each of us reach out to her.
I stood up and felt Ian come up behind me and put his arms around me. Tears filled my eyes and I squeezed his hand. The physical distance between Mac and Gabe was unusual; they were as far apart as Ian and I were close together and normally I would have thought that they would have reacted like Ian and I had.
Raven's shoulders stopped shaking but she remained slumped over Jackson's body. Connor stepped over and cautiously put a hand on her shoulder.
Which turned out to be a big mistake.
Raven raised her head and looked at us each in turn, starting with Connor who looked stunned, and I felt a stab of ice run through my heart when her eyes locked with mine. They were emotionless, just hard and cold.
"Oh, no," Ian murmured.
"What?" I whispered.
"That's not a good look," he said. "That's never a good look."
"Don't. Touch. Me," Raven said in a voice about an octave lower than the one she normally used. Connor's eyes widened as one of her eyes twitched and he flew sideways, lying on the roof. Then, expression complete with a savage snarl, she started walking towards the edge of the roof.
"Raven! Calm down!" I said, trying to get in front of her and reason with her. She appeared to have just snapped. "Jumping off or doing whatever you're going to do isn't going to bring Jackson back."
Eye twitch.
"Ooof!" My back rammed against a wall, the force of the throw making an imprint of my body in the brick. A huge cloud of dust from powdered mortar engulfed me and I crumpled to the ground. Damn, that hurt. Why did she always throw me into walls when she got a little pissed? Black spots appeared in front of my eyes, becoming larger and larger and then consuming everything until I blacked out.
* * *
"Sara!" I called, glancing back at her now crumpled form, fighting the urge to back down and trying to focus on Raven. "Now listen to me, Birdie, you can't just throw us all into walls so you can have your way with things."
"No?" she asked.
I suddenly took flight and landed next to Sara.
"Funny, could have sworn I could." Raven smirked.
"Birdie, this isn't you! You've got to snap out of this!" I shouted at her back. She rounded on me again.
"Actually, Dragon, I've never felt better! I feel free, freer than ever before. And none of you will be able to end that." She headed back on her path but stopped and shot over her shoulder, "Take care of the Wielder I threw her harder than I meant to."
Gabe approached Raven and he wasn't able to even get a word out when he followed our lead, flying instead toward Connor's side of the building instead of against the wall with face meeting gravel. I cradled Sara's body as I watched Raven came eye to eye with Mac.
"That little parlor trick isn't going to work on me, Raven," she said. Raven tried to attack as she had been lately but Mac's feet only slid a little on the gravel roof. "Because I can play that game, too."
Raven frowned. "So that's how you're going about it, huh? Well, we'll see who's stronger. I know you've been wanting to test this out for a long time," she said. Her eyes narrowed and she seemed to be sending all the energy she could toward Mac. I looked back and forth between them, wondering which of them would be the victor.
* * *
To be quite frank, I was terrified when I faced off against Raven. She was extremely strong, and with all the rage and hurt that she had on her side, it was possible that she was stronger than I wassomething I never thought I'd think or say. But I had to hold my own. I was the last line of defense for my friends and I wasn't about to back down. I didn't think she was going to kill usbut she had knocked Sara out, and that was a pretty unforgivable offense in my book. The energy she was throwing toward me would have knocked me over was I not concentrating so hard to block itit only made me move back a little.
"Is that all you've got, Raven?" I asked with more bravado than I felt. "Surely there's more in there."
She glared at me and I made the mistake of looking her directly in the eyes, the windows to her soul. My necklace swirled and I was trapped in the depths of a vision, yet I was still able to stand up against her assault somehow. I saw Raven as a child, defying Irons with the yellow paint trick she was so fond of telling us about. I saw her torturing Irons the day she discovered how to fully control her powers, and several images of her in past lives always watching Jackson die and going on a rampage of revenge flashed before my eyes. When I was released from the vision, I was a bit unstrung and I couldn't find my focus point. I tried to make her fly backward but my attempt bounced off of Raven's protective barrier and knocked me back instead.
I looked up from the ground, dread creeping through my heartConnor was on his feet once more and was trying to stop Raven, gun drawn.
"Stop or I'll shoot!" he said. He either thought that this was actually an effective move or that it was the only thing he could do, successful or not.
Raven ignored him and kept walking, drawing ever nearer to the young cop. He fired three shots nervously and watched slack-jawed as the triangle of bullets slowed dramatically, then stopped and fell to the ground, all with just a little wave of Raven's hand. Then his gun was jerked from his grip, the other rounds forced from their chambers to drop harmlessly on the ground, and she dismantled the weapon into many tiny pieces.
"None of you can stop me," she reiterated.
"What are you trying to do, Raven?" Sara had come to and was speaking weakly from her place with Ian by the wall.
"Sorry, can't share with the class, little kiddies. Then everyone'll be doing it."
"Somehow I doubt that," Gabe said.
"Please excuse me. I'll have to leave now; got places to go, killers to kill, buildings to blow." Raven stepped up to the edge of the building and then just walked off.
I'm not sure what we were expecting, but I suppose that temporarily we forgot that she could levitate, so she basically was just walking in midair. Raven shot a glance at the building next to ours and then turned to face our scattered ranks once more. She put her palms up in front of her, looking something like Magneto, and then suddenly she shot up into the sky. It happened so fast that it was almost like she vanished, but we could follow a slight black streak that turned into a dot and vanished. Connor was staring at the remnants of his gun in shock.
"Who is that chick?" he asked in disbelief.
"A very powerful telekinetic with something of a death wish," I replied.
"Why weren't you affected by herdoing whatever she did?" he wanted to know.
"She's a telekinetic, too," Gabe said.
"Sorry about this, guys," she mumbled. "Things are looking a little fuzzy here and I don't think I can stand up."
Ian and Gabe slowly stood, helping Sara to her feet. "She may have a concussion. We need to get her to the hospital," Ian said.
"You okay?" I asked. "It's a miracle that you're even coherent after that hit you just took."
"I'm fine."
"I wouldn't go that far," Ian said, and Sara stuck her tongue out at him.
"Okay, am I missing something here? Who the hell are you people?"
"You got a week?" Gabe asked, shifting Sara's weight a little and making Ian take up the slack.
"Try a month," Sara slurred.
"Come on, let's go!" Ian said, and the five of us rushed toward the exit.
We were halfway to the door when it happened.
The building only a few yards away from ours—which Raven had shown great interest in—suddenly detonated and burst into flames. Debris from the destroyed building, ten stories taller than the one we were on, fell all around us and everyone except for me dropped to the ground, taking the old tornado-drill position to protect themselves. Ian and Gabe sank down with Sara and leaned over her to protect her. Connor had his back against the wall, still terrified. Since we weren't as scattered now as we had been, I was able to put a protective shield up over us. But the weight of the debris was more than I had been expecting, what with the huge steel beam that threatened to break through as well as all the concrete.
"We're gonna die," Connor muttered, like a mantra. "We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die."
"Nota veryattitude there, Marcus" I said, my mind straining as I held off the debris.
"It's Connor."
"Whatever," I said.
"Macit's too much for you to hold," Sara struggled to say. "You'll hurt yourself if you try to keep it off of us."
"Better methan you, Sara," I said. It was my duty to keep her safe, even if it meant sacrificing myself. I then tried making a net of sorts out of my telekinetic energy and was able to gather up all the debris. It dropped to the roof not far from us and the shockwave nearly knocked me over. As soon as it was off of us, I collapsed to my knees and I noticed that Gabe, to my surprise, rushed to my side right before I passed out.
* * *
"Mac? Mac! Wake up!" Gabe grabbed her shoulders and shook her to try and wake her up.
"What's wrong with her?" Connor asked.
"You'd better bring her with me to the hopsickle," I said, trying to shake off the sluggishness in my brain. "I mean, hospital. It looks like she's gone into some kind of shock or something"
Mac's blue eyes were wide-open and staring, unblinking. Gabe picked her up and carried her through the door, me following by hanging onto Ian.
"Wait a second," Connor said, and we stopped and looked back at him. "What about him?" he asked, gesturing to Jackson.
"Call 911 and cover for us," Sara said. "Think of something. It was Bill Crane again, so go from there."
"What about the building?"
"Gas leak," I said simply. Ian looked at me strangely. "Oh, come on, like you don't know that that's what they blame all the explosions that happen around me on."
"True."
"Okay, I'll do what I can. You guys get moving. But don't think this gets you off the hook for an explanation."
"Aye, aye, sir," I said, saluting. Ian half-dragged me down the stairs to his car where Gabe was waiting with Mac.
"Let's blow this pop stand," he said.
"I think we've had enough blowing today," I muttered, and Gabe smirked. Ian acted like he hadn't heard me, started the car, and we sped away toward the hospital.
* * *
I made it back to ourmy apartment and basically kicked the door in. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I made a beeline for my kitchen and grabbed a frying pan, looking around the apartment for whatever I could find to smash. There were plenty of objects that rose to the challenge, and I relished the sound of metal against glass. I grabbed random picture frames from the tables in the apartment and flung them against the walls, glass blossoming outward as it fractured and splintered. The crunch of it under my steel-toed boots was music to my ears. I slit the curtains viciously with my katanaI had never liked those curtains anyway, I rationalized, and kept hacking away at them until all that was a little pile of yellow cotton on the floor under the window.
After I was through destroying my home, I collapsed on my bed, sobbing into the sheets. Jackson was dead and he'd taken a part of me with himlike he always did. Every time this had happened over the years I could remember feeling this way. It also felt like a piece of my sanity had gone with the piece of my heart. I found the big 8 x 10 photo of Jackson and me, the only one I hadn't thrown against a wall, and hugged it to my chest as I cried myself to sleep.