Part I: Bored to Death
Chapter: The Best Day of my Life
Margot woke up to the worst moral hangover of her life.
Oh crap. Oh Hell. Oh, fuck!
What had she done?!
She moaned desperately, and sat up. Myers' strong, salty taste was still on her lips.
She shambled to the bathroom and took a look at the mirror.
A pale face, traces of makeup, hair a total mess - a huge cloud of red curls around her head.
Freak. said her inner voice. He'll never really love you.
"Shut up." she replied, and picked up her toothbrush.
What's wrong with you? Can't you control your urges, slut? the voice in the back of her head kept nagging, while she brushed her teeth. It's one thing to fool around with a vampire or other dark creature, but to destroy a good man's heart for nothing but a moment's pleasure - that's evil.
Margot did her best not to listen, but she knew it was all true.
Myers was a good man. An honest man, a decent, normal human being, pure of heart. Everything she'd never be, she knew.
And that's precisely why she wanted him so bad.
Why do you always want what you can't have? Grow up! the image in the mirror mocked her, all through her morning routines, until she finally silenced her, by leaving the bathroom.
A day full of work - world to save, monsters to kill. This day was going to be awesome, she new, and there was no way she'd let her low self-esteem issues ruin that.
Tomorrow Myers would go back to US, and she'd never have to see him again.
But instead of giving her joy, that thought filled her heart with despair, darker than night.
The breakfast was agony.
When Margot got to the cafeteria, Myers was already there - sharing a table with Marco and Thomasson. They were chatting amicably, which made Margot immediately suspicious. What had Marco said to her yesterday - that Myers was a good guy, and she should give him a chance? She couldn't shake the feeling that those two had been talking about her, and she didn't like it a bit.
Although, she thought to herself, she probably should've been happy that the jealousy thing was apparently dealt with. The last thing she needed now, were two of her team members fighting over her.
She poured herself a huge cup of coffee, and reluctantly joined her team. What choice did she have? They were going to work together on a tricky mission today, it wasn't like she could ignore them, no matter her messed up lovelife.
But damn, it was hard.
Myers was so goddamn perfect.
Margot couldn't help but to look at his delicate, long fingers as he picked up his coffee mug. She remembered all too well how they felt on her skin. And those lips of his - God, that guy knew how to use them! Just the memory of them on her mouth, made her aroused, shifting uncomfortably on her seat. Not to mention the memory of his kisses on the other parts of her body… Christ, she longed to feel them again, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
"It's not real." she had to remind herself. "None of it's real. He'll forget you the second he leaves you, and you know it."
After the good mornings, bonjours and how-did-you-sleep smalltalk, she took a sip of her coffee, trying to calm her restless heart. But it did her no good.
Myers was sitting across the table, looking straight at her, and something in his eyes made her lose her balance. Even without reading his mind, she knew just what he was thinking.
She read it from his tense posture, from the slight blush on his cheeks. That he was thinking about last night too.
God, he had the most beautiful eyes. Blue, with just a hint of gray and green, and the look of them took her breath away. She wanted him so bad that she was sure she'd burst if he didn't touch her right now. And by the look in his eyes, she guessed it was a mutual desire.
She'd gone too far with him.
Last night had been playing with fire, and now she was burning.
Suits you right. Her inner voice mocked. Now pay for what you've done.
It would be so easy just to wipe every memory of her from his mind. Or at least every memory of the things they've done… But it was too late for that now. Hellboy knew what had happened, and so did Kat and Marco. Margot could hardly wipe all their minds, could she now? Doing something like that would create an endless labyrinth of lies she wasn't really prepared to deal with.
She'd have to take care of this the old fashioned way. By staying away from Myers. By making him think, she didn't care.
That all would've been so much easier, though, if she hadn't screwed up last night.
The day was full of work, and Margot buried herself in it, with all her drive.
It wasn't until late afternoon, that all the official stuff was done - the plan for tonight operation was ready and everyone knew what they were supposed to do - so all that was left was the packing of necessary equipment.
Margot was at the armory with Marco, stuffing all kinds of guns and their ammo to big black bags, when she suddenly noticed someone was at the door.
She looked up from the tommy gun she'd been holding.
Myers.
"You mind if I borrow her for a while?" he said to Marco, with a small smile.
Marco glanced from Myers to Margot, and replied to her in Czech: "So, are you talking to him now?"
"Yes, I guess I am." she replied, also in Czech. "It's fine - we have work to discuss."
"You promise to behave?" Marco raised an eyebrow. "No throwing nice guys to the walls today?"
Margot rolled her eyes. "What are you now, my Dad? Don't patronize me, Marco. You know, I hate it."
Marco gave a small laugh, and walked to the door, passing Myers on the doorway. "All yours." he said with a wink. "Just don't make her cry this time, John."
And then it was just the two of them.
Margot felt her cheeks blushing, as Myers walked in, and closed the door.
"Is this a bad moment?" he asked.
She shook her head, and busied herself checking that the gun she'd picked before, was in good condition. Nothing sucked like a malfunctioning gun on a mission.
"No, it's fine. How can I help? You picked your guns already?"
"I have a few pistols, and enough ammo, thanks. I think that'll be enough."
"Yeah." she replied, still not looking at him. "I'm not expecting for a big fight. But better to go in prepared, right?"
Myers had walked to the table, where Margot was packing her stuff, and was now standing quite close to her. Close enough to make her feel uncomfortable, so she took a step further.
She looked up to him for the first time, and his good looks took her breath away.
Damn, those eyes! Margot cleared her throat. The perfect puppy eyes. She knew she'd do anything, if he just asked, looking at her the right way.
Like he had last night.
Margot blushed - she remembered all too well the raspy tone of his thick voice, when he'd said 'Please…!' to her. The things he'd made her do!
Margot couldn't help but to notice how handsome Myers looked - wearing combat gear already, a pair of black pants and boots, a turtle neck sweater of dark blue, that matched the colour of his eyes. Without his usual dark suit on, he looked a little boyish, more innocent, and Margot's heart skipped a beat.
"Margot, we need to talk." he said with a soft voice, that sent shivers to her spine.
"No we don't." she turned her gaze to the guns again, as if trying to pick another one.
"So, about last night-"
Margot sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not about that, please! It was a huge, huge mis-"
"Mistake?" Myers made a soft laugh. "No it wasn't. One time can be a mistake, but two times on following nights? I don't think so."
Margot didn't reply.
She knew she should argue - to lie to him, to tell him that what they'd done had meant nothing to her. But somehow she couldn't make herself to do that. There was something so honest, so pure about him standing there, looking at her with nothing but love and trust in his gorgeous eyes, that she felt her resolution shattering.
She couldn't make herself to say the necessary words to brake his hope and his heart.
"Margot, I-" he began again.
"John, please." her voice was nothing but a faint plea. "Please, don't say it."
"I must. You see…" he paused for a few heartbeats, as if searching for words. "I like you. I like you a lot, more than I've liked anyone in a very long time - or ever, actually. And… I don't know why you're pushing me away. But it's okay. I mean… I want you to know, that I'm not going to be a 'drooling idiot who can't keep his shit together', as you put it-"
"John, I'm really sorry about that." she breathed, blushing.
"Don't be." he shook his head, with a smile. "It's fine. What I'm trying to say is that, I really like you, but I'm not going to push you about it now. We have a tricky mission in front of us today, and I want you to know, that you can trust me. I will be there to cover your back, and I promise you don't have to worry about me messing it up. I will be focused. I know my stuff."
Margot had turned her back at him, and was restlessly fidgeting some ammo on her fingers, but it hardly helped her. Her heart was racing in her chest, and there was definitely something in her throat, for she felt her voice almost failing as she replied.
"Thank you, John. I really appreciate it."
She turned to face him, but couldn't meet his eyes.
She knew she'd fall if she did, and she was too scared to take the leap.
"But, Margot..." Myers said after a short pause.
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow, when this mission is over, when we've once again saved the world-" a small laughter, a small smile on his beautiful lips, "I will take you out for a dinner."
Margot gulped.
"A dinner?" she asked, nervous. "Like a date?"
"You can call it what you want, and you can even pick the place if you wish to. Coffee or food, it doesn't matter. And we'll talk this through. Okay?"
Margot didn't find one pointy thing to throw at him, not one sassy reply. She just nodded, sure that her burning cheeks betrayed her emotion.
"Alright." she said. "We'll talk. But I'm not promising anything else."
Myers gave her a gentle smile. "Hey, that's all I'm asking. No pressure."
She watched him walk away from her, out of the room, and it wasn't until he was gone that she could finally breath.
Damn, she cursed in her mind.
Heaven help me. I'm falling in love with him.
The thought filled her with a freezing fear, an overwhelming panic, like nothing before, and she wrapped her arms around her body to stop shivering.
In silence she finished packing.
There was always the hope that she'd get killed tonight.
That it was indeed Iku-Turso, and he'd eat her alive.
At least then she'd have a good and solid reason to skip the date with Myers.
As soon as the night fell, the team was packed up in a large van, driving outside the city.
There were six people in the team: Margot, Myers and Hellboy, Marco Dornak, Erik Thomasson (who'd come from Brussels with them) and a female Czech agent called Jolana Babik, who was Marco's partner - and a medic.
Margot went through the plans once more, so that everyone heard.
"So, there is this evil cult who's been kidnapping people and drained them from blood to open a portal to another dimension. The usual stuff." she shrugged.
She'd seen this a few times before, even if she was more familiar with vampires, ghosts and other spirits, but then again - it was nice to deal with something a bit different. At least her job wasn't boring anymore.
"Agent Myers from BPRD has been kind enough to share his intel with us, and we've now been able to locate the cult leader, and it is probable that he's been using this place to do his stuff. So we go in tonight, for it's full moon, and thus a perfect opportunity for him to try and open the portal again. If we're lucky, we get him before he manages to do that, and tadaaa - the world is saved."
"Or at least the local people." added Marco. "No one's going to be eaten alive after tonight."
"So, what kind of monsters are we prepared to deal with?" asked Agent Babik. "Has the leader brought some demons to this world, or hellhounds, or-"
"We don't know." replied Myers. "We have no clear picture of what's come through that portal before, but the half eaten bodies found on the area, would indicate that something's been coming through."
"Nice." noted Hellboy, lighting his cigar. "Leave those to me."
"That's the plan." said Margot. "Since you prefer to work alone, you go in from the back door. I'll break the lock for you." Margot pointed her finger at paper that held the ground plan of an old mansion. "Go through these two rooms, and take the stairs up. If I'm right, that's where you'll find the portal room. Do what you must to close the thing, if it's already open, and destroy whatever's come through."
"Sure, boss." Red noted.
Damn, it felt really nice to be called 'boss'. The thought flashed through her mind. One could get used to this.
"The rest of us split up to two teams." she continued. "Myers and Marco, you're with me - Babik, Thomasson, you wait in the car in case we need back up. The team Eminem - that's us- (Margot made a small laugh to her own joke), enters from the main door. We take care of the cultists, the human guards, who ever we happen to meet, to ensure that Red get's his stuff done. We are the diversion, in other words."
Margot let her stern glance stop at everyone's face, but no one spoke up.
She knew the plan was fine - they'd worked it up together with Myers, and she was happy with it.
"And the humans?" Marco asked. "What do we do with them?"
"We capture them." Margot stated. "Alive if possible, if not-" she shrugged. "- then not. They've been helping the evil cult leader to skin people alive, so I'd say they've been asking for it."
She rolled up the ground plan, and stuffed it into her backpack.
"So, we should be there soon." she said with a cheerful voice. "Monsters to kill, world to save and so on. If we all get out alive, I'll buy you a round in a pub. Godspeed, comrades."
"Godspeed." Myers replied, and gave her a small, suportive smile. Margot couldn't help but to answer it. The adrenalin, the expectation of the coming fight, made her heart race and her cheeks blush.
This was going to be a good night, after all. If not even the best night of her life.
At first it all went well.
No one noticed as they approached the old mansion, that seemed pretty much deserted. Margot opened the doors with her mind, and everyone stepped in silently as only trained agents could. Hellboy went his own way, Margot led her team inside.
But then the troubles began.
She had gotten used to use her telepathy as a sixth sense - relying on it sometimes more than on her other senses, and yeah, it was a handy way to scan places for people. But as soon as she'd stepped inside the house, she knew something was wrong.
A weird pain flashed through her head, and she winced.
Myers stopped immediately, and gave her a concerned look.
"What is it?" he asked with a low voice.
"I dunno." Margot whispered. "It's weird… like something's blocking me? Damn, it must be the portal!"
"You mean, you can't see if there is anyone expecting us?" asked Marco behind her back.
"Yeah." Margot nodded. "It would seem my power is off for the moment. It's gonna make this a bit more challenging. We're practically going in blind."
"Alright." Myers said with a nod. "Let's do this the old fashioned way. I'm going first."
"Fine." she gave it a go. "I'll be right behind you."
They got through a few rooms without seeing anyone. The house seemed completely empty, but Margot knew it wasn't the case. She sensed they weren't alone, but couldn't see through the fog that had descended on her thoughts. It made her more worried than she wanted to admit.
"Red, you in?" she breathed to her comlink, just to chec.
"Heading upstairs. Haven't seen anyone yet." his voice sounded normal. "You sure this is the place, boss?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Be careful, we're not alone."
"Red out." he cut off, and they were alone and silent in a dark corridor again.
"I have a bad feeling about this." she breathed.
Myers gave a soft laugh. "You quoting Star Wars?"
"There's always a right time for that."
"Shut up, you lovebirds." noted Marco. "We take the corridor to the left?"
Margot kept her voice low: "Yeah, that should take us to-"
But just then a figure stepped into the view, a man holding a big submachine gun, and in an instant the air was full of bullets, the sound of the gun ripping through Margot's ears.
She screamed, in her mind, or out loud, she couldn't have said.
Before she had time to think, she reacted - in desperation reaching for what little there was left of her powers. She waved her hand, and stopped the bullets mid air, ripped the gun from the man's hands with her mind, and threw it to the floor - but it all came too late for Myers.
With a shock Margot realized, that some of the bullets she'd stopped, had went through his body.
Myers gasped, as if surprised, tried to reach the wall, to lean to it - and fell heavy to the floor.
"No!" Margot exhaled. "No, damn it, no! Not on my watch!"
The rage woke up in her.
It was like a torch, that had been lit by the sight of Myers being hit, and now she was burning.
All that had been clouded just moments before, was now clear. There was no hesitation in her, nothing but her power, her almighty rage that burned like white flame in her mind, and it would burn this place clean.
With nothing but a wave of her hand, she threw the guard who'd shot Myers, to the wall. She didn't even hear his cry of pain and panic, as she mentally grabbed his head, feeling the crack of his neck breaking. She let the body fall to the floor, to find the others.
She could feel them now, as if there was nothing blocking her. All the humans in the building, like lights in the darkness, their petty little souls little candle flames she could blow off at her will.
It took only half of a second to grab them all, all the enemies, all the people who had hurt John. The guards, the leader, the cult followers - Margot didn't care to sort them. She reached for their hearts, and ripped them out of their chests with nothing but one thought, decorating the walls with their blood.
The lives she had just taken, felt heavy on her soul, like a cloud of darkness, but she pushed it away, in the farthest corner of her mind.
It didn't matter. Their lives meant nothing.
All that mattered, was this moment, the horrible, agonizing fear that filled her soul now that she turned her eyes to Myers.
He was lying on the floor, in a pool of blood - his blood, Marco by his side. And Margot didn't need to read his mind to know, that he was dying.
She was by his side, on her knees, in a heartbeat.
God, there was so much blood!
Margot's hands were shaking, as she grabbed Myers' shoulders. Where had he been hit? Everywhere? His jacket was soaked with dark, sticky liquid, that stained her gloves, he was spitting blood and coughing, as if he was choking.
"John, don't try to speak." she breathed. "I'm right here. You're gonna be fine."
But the look in his eyes told her he knew she was lying.
There was blood on his pale face, on his lips, that were turning blue. He tried to raise his hand to touch her face, but couldn't. The hand fell limp by his side and he winced of pain.
"Margot-" he rasped, barely audible. "I-"
"Hush." she felt like choking too, and tears were burning in her eyes. "Don't."
"I love you." he gasped.
"No!" Margot exhaled. "Don't you dare to say that, don't you dare to say goodbye!"
But for once Myers didn't do as he was told.
His eyes closed, and Margot felt his heart stopping.