Warning the chapter references suicide and suicidal thoughts.
6.
Miranda came awake slowly, but she did not open her eyes. The first thing she noted, other than her continued existence, was a curious lack of physical pain. The pain seemed to be her only friend of late. It was also a clear reminder of all the things she'd lost, so it's absence lifted her spirits considerably. With an effort, she opened one eye then the other. Miranda was surprised to find herself in a richly appointed suite that reminded her so much of her old life. A life that was firmly in her past.
"I'm still alive," she thought and tried to reconcile how she felt about it. Somehow she felt disconnected from the desire to die. She could not quite recall the frame of mind that had led her to take such drastic action. She could remember the feelings of hopelessness and depression, but she'd had those feeling before. She knew that those feeling were temporary before, so why had she not recognized that this time.
She continued the perusal of her surroundings and saw the monitor and IV stand. She tracked the line from the stand to the IV implanted in her arm. As she looked away from her arm, she discovered that she was not in the room alone. Her eyes fell upon the face of the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. A clinical part of her mind scoffed at the very notion. She'd seen all of the most beautiful models in the world.
"Those eyes," Miranda thought to herself.
Seeing those eyes brought back the moment she'd first noticed them in the back of the car that was meant to end her life. That moment caused her to regret her impending, but it was too late her body was already in motion. She would have given anything to take it back.
With that, the battle in her mind ended swiftly as the part of her brain that knew she was looking at most beautiful creature in existence ruthlessly strangled its competition.
She had been so intrigued by the woman before her that she had wanted to live if only to find out the woman's name.
"All that from just one look," she told herself.]
Now she's here.
Where?
The woman's bedroom?
"How are you feeling?" the woman asked pulling Miranda from her thoughts.
"How am I feeling?" Miranda wondered to herself.
A bit of a headache but otherwise pretty good.
Well Rested.
When was the last time she could say that?
All those thoughts flashed through her head before she tried to speak.
"F," Miranda began, but her throat closed making it impossible to finish the thought.
The woman moved quickly to what turned out to be the ensuite and returned with a glass of water.
"Crystal," Miranda thought as she felt the weight of the heavy tumbler in her hand. Miranda took several slow sips allowing water to coat her throat before the tired again, "I'm fine."
Miranda looked up into those warm brown eyes and was lost, lost in the warmth, the caring and something else.
Love?
She knew it was ridiculous but there it was again that look on a face that could launch a thousand ships. Now the stare was much more intense than before. She felt overwhelmed but not unpleasantly so.
The closest feeling she could compare it to was seeing her babies for the first time. Some of that familiar pain returned like a punch to the gut when she remembered the absence of her girls from her life. She began to turn away from those eyes feeling wholly unworthy to under this woman's loving gaze. Before she could turn away, she felt a gentle hand on her cheek pulling her back.
"Stay with me, Miranda."
Miranda found herself unable to disobey the command no matter how gentle it had been given. She stared into those eyes for what seemed like an eternity before the questions came back.
What happened?
Why was she still alive?
Who was this beautiful woman?
How does she know my name?
Finally, curiosity got the better of her, so she asked.
"How do you know my name?"
Her nerves were raw, so the sentence that had been intended to convey strength came out sounding weak and small. Instead of reacting negatively, the other woman continued to express a sense of calm, acceptance, empathy and dammit there, it was again; love.
"Miranda, I'm Andy Sachs, my driver and I were in the car that almost hit you a few nights ago."
"I brought you here to my home and had a physician who is a close family friend exam you."
Miranda felt so exposed as Andy explained how she found and was compelled to read her suicide note. She looked down at her body noticing her clothes for the first time as Andy described getting her out of her wet clothing. Her mind belatedly informed her lack of undergarments. She shrugged the whole thing off knowing that she'd suffered far worse indignities over the past few years.
Besides the rather pleasing shade of pink, the other woman turned as she blushed made it quite difficult to hold anything against Andy for very long. The young woman had taken extraordinary efforts on her behalf, and Miranda could only feel gratitude in return.
"Why," Miranda asked the most important question she could think of. What kind of woman would do all this for a stranger her mind screamed.
"You know why," Andy replied holding Miranda's eyes with hers.
"That's not possible," Miranda thought, but a part of her suspected the opposite.
"The moment our eyes met I felt something and I know you did too, Miranda," Andy said with conviction.
Rather than addressing her last statement directly, Miranda deflected.
"But you're so young," Miranda began.
The woman's bark of bitter laughter seemed to surprise both women.
"When I was thirteen, I had a fight with my parents."
Miranda dismissed any notion of making light of the idea, knowing that she and her girls had many such disagreements that seemed so important at the time. There was also something in the way the younger woman spoke that made it clear that this story mattered a great deal.
"My parents and I were flying out to see my uncle, Robert."
"I told them I didn't want us to go, that I didn't think we should be spending time with him."
"Did he?" Miranda started to ask misreading Andy's words.
"No, he wasn't a molester. There was just something about him.
A darkness that I was dangerous, but he was my dad's only sibling."
"I begged them to stay, but I couldn't convince them."
"What happened?" Miranda asked quietly.
"They left me behind."
Miranda waited, knowing for certain what she would say next.
"Their plane crashed just short of a small airfield in Nebraska."
"A malfunction that was later deemed to be sabotage."
"Your uncle," Miranda said.
Andy nodded then said, "He wanted the family business all to himself, and he was willing to kill his brother, sister-in-law, and his niece to get it."
"He sabotaged the fuel system blocking the fuel lines that led to the second wing tank and the reserve tank."
"When my father realized what was happening, he dumbed to excess fuel then tried to attempt a dead stick landing."
"He came close but a last second wind gust pushed the plane into a nosedive, and with no more fuel there was nothing he could do to recover."
"At the trial, they proved that my uncle was responsible for sabotaging the airplane. He was convicted and is now serving two life sentences."
The emotionless voice Andy now used made Miranda feel sick.
The lost of the light and love from the younger woman's eyes made Miranda want to go to whatever prison the man was in, and kill him with her bare hands. She did not know where the fierce need to protect was coming from, but she could not deny its power over her.
She reached out and squeezed Andy's clenched hands. They were cold, so she rubbed them hoping to restore some circulation and to get her to unclench. Andy finally relented, and Miranda was pleased that her gesture was not rebuffed.
She had been careless with a delicate woman, and she would not make that mistake again.
"Never again," she made the silent oath knowing that she would sever her own right arm before she broke her pledge.
Andy closed her eyes as she tried to banish the thoughts that always flooded her mind when this subject came up. She mostly tried not to think of that day. Tried not to think of the hurtful words that were exchanged. On the occasions, she did allow herself to think of that day her only solace is knowing that her parents would have been grateful that their only child was not with them in their final moments.
When Andy finally opened her eyes, she is surprised to see a change in the blue eyes staring back at her. She wiped away her tears as Miranda opened her mouth to speak.
"I apologize," Miranda said.
Andy had a strong feeling that those did not come naturally to the other woman. She could see the sincerity in Miranda's eye and feel it through their linked hands. Andy, nodded her head accepting Miranda's apology and accepting all the other things the woman wasn't ready to say.
She had known that she overreacted. That Miranda's words were meant to cause such strong feelings, but despite Andy's best efforts she'd already fallen and fallen hard. Miranda's words of negation had stung worse than a mere declaration that she wasn't into girls. And dammit Andy knew that Miranda had felt it too, had seen it in the older woman's eyes.
Now those eyes were telling a completely different story, and she was doing nothing to hide it now. Andy swallowed down the feeling caused by Mirnada's intense stare. Now was hardly the time, but there would come a time her look answered back.
All thought of future endeavors reseeded as Andy remembered her vow to Miranda's children.
"Your girls," Andy blurted in a rush.
"My girls?" Miranda asked in confusion.
"I ah, promised them that I would make sure you called as soon as you woke up."
Miranda's confused look persisted as she asked, "You talked to my girls?"
"They called your phone, and something told me it was important that I answer."
Andy waited for Miranda to let her have it. Despite her good intentions, this was the third time that Andy had crossed a line. Invaded the woman's privacy and acted as if she was entitled to do so.
Miranda's face went from confused to wistful in an instant. Her eyes looked watery as she asked, "How are they?"
"They'll be a lot better after they talk to you."
The older woman seemed gratified by the answer, but they both knew there was more.
"What aren't you telling me?" Miranda asked.
Andy swallowed then relayed the contents of their conversation.
"Why would they think I was dead?" Miranda asked, but Andy thought she was talking more to herself.
"I have some thoughts about that, and there is a lot more that I need to tell you, but I think you should call your daughters first."
Miranda finally nodded her head, and Andy handed over the woman's phone.
Andy got up to leave the room. She turned then said; I ordered us some food so we can talk more over dinner."
"Ok," Miranda agreed.
Andy watched the other hesitate while looking down at her phone.
"They really miss you," Andy said before turning and closing the door behind her.
Sam pulled her bike into an alley behind the back of the now familiar building. She put her bike in lockdown mode which disabled all functions until she returned. It was one thing coming to Hells's Kitchen during the day and another this time at night. She slipped her handy taser out of her pack and slid it into the pocket of her leather jacket. She wasn't expecting trouble, but she also believed in being prepared for anything. Bag firmly slung over her shoulder and helmet in hand she walked toward Miranda's building. A few minutes later she managed to slip into a rear door after a drunk couple stumbled out. She easily snuck past the super, who was in the middle of feeding an apparent porn addiction. She took the stairs up to the 2nd floor and found Miranda's old apartment. She knocked then stood back waiting.
A few moments later a very annoyed young man opened the door. His annoyance seemed to lessen as he checked Sam out in her leathers.
"You looking for some fun?" he asked Sam's breasts. The young woman rolled her eyes then snapped her fingers to get his attention back to eye level. He looked up, and Sam could tell that he was high as shit.
"I need an hour or so in your apartment," Sam began. His eyes lit up thinking it was his lucky night.
"Alone," she finished.
Now he was just confused, but when she flashed a wad of cash, she could see the wheels in his head turn.
The idea of fucking her was now being replaced with getting even higher.
"I'll give you five hundred now, and if If I don't see your face again, I'll leave a nice tip in your freezer."
"Two hours," she said holding out the bundle of bills.
He was smart enough not to count the money. Instead, he grabbed his coat and disappeared no doubt off to see his dealer.
Sam locked the door, hung the chain, then reached into her pack. She came out with a wedge and shoved it under the door. It wasn't that she didn't trust the little junkie she just didn't trust most people. She had an idea why Miranda's ex thought she was dead, so she zipped up her jacket then put on her helmet. She killed all the lights then stepped fully into the darkened apartment. She lit the brighter than the fucking sun flashlight and began a slow and methodical scan of her surroundings.
Her search soon revealed a number of cleverly hidden spy camera. There were two in the living room, one in the kitchen, and disturbingly one in both the bedroom and bathroom as well. She pulled out a device made to trace radio signals. It was a convenient way of locating wifi signals, but it was actually capable of scanning the entire range of frequencies. She turned it on and held it close to one of the cameras.
"That's good," Sam said to herself as the device revealed that the cameras were not broadcasting live across the net. Instead, they were likely being recorded to a hard drive located somewhere close. There were a couple of obvious locations she would check after she was done going over the apartment. She took off her helmet but kept on her gloves as she continued going over every inch of the shabby digs. The living room and kitchen yielded no additional anomalies, but the bedroom was a different story.
"What's this," Sam thought as she pulled a little black box out of the heating vent.
The fact that the device had been placed directly behind what had been Miranda's bed was highly suspicious. Especially when combined with the fact that there was a camera pointing directly at that bed.
"There were only so many things one did in a bed, sex, masturbation, and sleep," Sam thought darkly.
Miranda was human, so at some point, she would have likely done all three. Given those facts, the reasons for pointing a camera at her bed was either for perverted reasons, something else, or perhaps both. She turned her attention back to the little box scrutinizing it carefully. The box was black with no visible markings. She would need to take a look on the inside, but there was no time for that now. She slid the device into her bag before continuing her search. A half an hour later the apartment was thoroughly searched with no more surprises. She went into the kitchen then put another 500 in cash in an envelope then hid it in the back of the freezer. Sam gave the apartment a once over making sure it was close to how she found it. She removed her little wedge from under the door before leaving the room for good.
She headed down the stairs but bypassed the first floor walking towards the building's basement. She paused at the door then decided to put her helmet back on just in case. She stepped into the darkened corridor then froze for a long moment to allow her eyes to adjust. She moved forward still wary of cameras knowing that they needed little to no light to do their work. She quickly located the building's utilities room behind a locked door. She mentally thanked her sister for showing her how to pick a lock, as she knelt in front of the door and pulled out her tools. She made quick work of the cheap lock then slipped into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked around the cramped space that housed the sum of the buildings cable, internet, and telephone infrastructure. It only took a few moments to find what she was looking for.
"Amateurs," she thought as she spotted the only piece of equipment in the room that did not look old as shit.
The device held four hard drives likely full of video from Miranda's old apartment. She pulled the four hard drives then plugged in a USB thumb drive into one of the boxes ports. She saw the lights on the device flash twice indicating she now owned the machine. As soon as the box tried to download the latest batch of files, she would be able to trace the attempted download back to its source. She pulled the thumb drive then moved to leave. She turned then froze as the door to the little room started to open.
"Well fuck," she whispered to herself as the visibly drunken building super stumbled into the room.
"What are you doing," the man slurred as he moved forward looming over Sam.
She looked up at him waiting for him to do something stupid.
"And there it is," she thought as the man attempted to cop a feel.
As he reached out towards her left breast, Sam's left hand reached out and grabbed the offending wrist. She turned it well past its normal range of motion causing a yelp of pain. He tried to pull his hand away, but Sam's grip was stronger than he expected. Sam countered by yanking him forward pulling the larger man off balance. As his head dropped, her head came up connecting the crown of her helmet to the middle of his face. He dropped to the floor out like a light. Sam moved to the door checking to make sure the hallway was clear. She grabbed the unconscious man by his lapel and dragged him toward the stairs. She left him at the bottom of the stairs on his side, so the big dummy didn't choke on his own tongue.
"He probably won't even remember any of this," Sam thought as she took the stairs two at a time. She got back to her bike and quickly moved away from the decrepit building hopefully for the last time.
AN: Miranda's back. Is that what you expected? Not quite the ice queen of old but I hope you like her still. Wow is Sam a badass or what. I'm guessing her adopted sister taught her more than just how to pick a lock. Questions anyone. Why the cameras? What's in the box (Thankfully not Pepper Pott's head.)? Will Sam ever get the orgasm she's promised herself? What's next for Andy and Miranda? All those questions will be answered, but you're going to have to stick around to get all the answers.
Let me know what you think. The feedback so far has been fantastic. Thank you so much for all of those who took the time to leave reviews. It helps.