Chapter 86

Oswald sat in the chair. Right in the middle of the Sirens. Enemy territory. Yet he was not bound, nor gagged. Probably because he wasn't a real threat, and Barbara Kean was well aware of that fact.

Oswald looked up at the woman in the black-and-blue dress. She looked lovely tonight. As always. But what he'd failed to realize was that Barbara was like a beautiful viper: easy on the eyes, but lethal at the slightest touch. He had thought that he could control her. How arrogant of a thought. How blind.

The Sirens was dark with the exception of a search-light shining its way through the window every few minutes. Just for a handful of seconds each time, night turned to day. But Oswald did not need light to see that he'd been defeated. He simply wanted to understand how that had come to pass, and if there was anything salvageable in the wreckage.

Oswald licked his lips. "I suppose I underestimated you, Barbara."

The woman pushed a golden lock out of her face. "It's the curse of great beauty."

"How did it go?" Oswald asked. "You put together what happened to Ed's librarian, and turned him against me?"

"Honestly," Barbara said, "it wasn't too hard."

"And together, you hatched a plan to destroy everything I made...and kill me?" Oswald questioned, feeling strangely calm about the situation.

"Pretty much." Barbara smiled.

"Did you plan to have Ruby executed as well?" Oswald wondered. "To have her strung up like a marionette, and force me to watch as she slowly succumbed to poison?"

Barbara stiffened. A flash of emotion - what was it, regret? Shock? Concern? - darkened those big blues. It was all the evidence that Oswald required to know that Edward had concealed that part of his plan. Like a child clinging to a favorite toy, he'd wanted to keep it all to himself. "Is she...?" Barbara didn't finish the question.

Oswald knew not how to answer. Maybe Barbara had enough compassion (or, more likely, regret for having pushed Ruby to the brink of suicide) to keep Ruby's survival a secret. But after a moment, Oswald saw the flaw in his logic: Barbara wanted to rule the underworld, and as long as Ruby lived, the blonde could never sleep soundly. She might try to sway Ruby to switch sides, but they all knew how well that would turn out. On the other hand, if he lied and told Barbara that Ruby had met her end at the hands of the botulinum toxin, then Ruby would be safe...but only until the truth was revealed. And it would be revealed. Perhaps not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. And then, Ruby would have nowhere to hide.

Oswald injected grief into his voice. "That is none of your concern."

Barbara wilted, if only by a fraction. It only lasted for a nanosecond, if even that. Then, her composure was back and stronger than ever. She moved behind Oswald, and knelt down. Her hand was on his shoulder, her voice in his ear. "Well, whatever. It was easy. And brother, did you ever take the bait!"

Oswald gave a sad smile as Barbara laughed. The sound seemed slightly forced, but it could have been his impression. He knew that he should have been furious. Raving, threatening, trying to maim. But once again, he did not. He felt as though he'd tried to run the marathon, and only made it to the midway point. Exhausted, drained, and more than a little frustrated in himself. Yet beneath those rocky emotions he felt a deep sea of calm. One that he was all too familiar with: the serenity that comes after a failure.

"Well," he said, "I hope you're happy at the head of the table."

Barbara rose, still behind him, and kept her hands on his shoulders. It wasn't gentle and supportive like when Ruby did it. This was a gesture of subtle restraint, as well as dominance. She may as well have put her high-heeled shoe on his head. "Y'know, the table is more or less littered with dead old dudes. But, hey!" She slapped his shoulders, making him wince. "It's a place to grow!" Her hands slid down, landing on his chest. More than anything, Oswald wanted to bat those hands away. But he didn't. "And now that you got what you want, you don't need Ed anymore." He couldn't help snickering. Ed and Barbara were as different as water and oil, and their partnership was no less improbable. Yet they had managed to take Oswald down in compressed time. Funny, considering their team-up was nothing like his and Ruby's.

He voiced his thoughts, somewhat. "My, my. It didn't take you long to turn on each other." Barbara, her cheek resting on her knuckles, was now close to his face. Close enough that he could count the faint wrinkles between her eyes. Oswald saw nothing but boundless ambition, and it chilled him to the core.

"Yeah, you know, I see it more as a temporary partnership that needs dissolving." Barbara said casually, cheek in palm.

Oswald knew what that meant. He swallowed. "I help you find Ed, and things get better for me. I don't, and you'll kill me. Is that about right?"

"Pretty much."

Oswald looked away, his mind a-flutter.

Sleep was like a dense blanket over Ruby's senses. Muffling her ears and blackening her sight. Dulling her awareness, yet sparking her mind.

Her dreams were as feverish as they were terrifying. Distorted reflections of the last twelve hours. Every last detail was underlined in red. Edward seemed a bit more demonic, and when Oswald professed his love for him, it felt like the sky was tearing itself apart.

That kiss, though...

Ruby had had compromising dreams about Oswald. They'd been like cotton candy, delicious but ready to dissolve at the first drop of water. For many months, she hadn't had any. Not since Oswald had drunkenly kissed her. But this other one, fueled by compassion and caring, had awakened everything she'd ever wanted to do with - to - him.

But then the dream darkened again. She felt something pulling at the edges of her subconscious. Horror. Pain. Conflict.

She saw Barbara's face...

Ruby gasped, shot up. Panting, she looked around as her vision cleared. She was still in the abandoned clinic. Everything was normal. The windows had been barred. A few inflatable mattresses had been dragged in to make the room more hospitable. Radiators were humming comfortingly, the air around them wriggling. Fish Mooney was heating up some food in a microwave. Strange was re-reading some of his notes. But when he saw that Ruby was awake, he closed his folder and walked towards her.

Ruby could barely get the words out.

"O...Oswald." She stuttered. "Where is he?"