Aya had lost the Mercer boy soon enough, going down a few alleys where she had friends that would get him to back off and serve as distractions. She enters the thrift shop that a friend of hers owns, and he hands her the clothing she came for daily without hesitation. "Be careful out there, Aya," he says as she enters his office where she changes clothes.
"Always am, Pete. Thanks, really," she says, coming out as a totally different person. "You know that if you ever need anything that you only have to holler, right?" He nods. Aya had mastered her appearance, her hair now a curly blonde with blue contacts. She changed her loose jeans that hid her figure with jeans that flattered her, a black tank covering her top with a leather jacket over it. She is hot natured, so she never really gets cold. Pete hadn't even recognized her when she first showed it to him.
"I'll be waiting for you to get back. I hear you got adopted by someone. Mrs. Evelyn to be exact," Pete comments. Aya, who knows that he knows that she believes herself to be a lost cause, only raises a brow about it. "You know why she has accepted the kids she has, right?"
"Not a clue," Aya answers, leaning against the door frame. "All I know is that Bobby is either short tempered or a dick, Angel fidgets too damn much, Jeremy ain't done nothin' to annoy me, and Jack is really quiet but can stare. Mrs. Mercer is an old lady who thinks she can help me."
Pete smiles, feeling laughter bubble. "I was once like some of the other kids you see. Started with shoplifting candy then drugs. Broke and entered her house once. I didn't think she was there." He leans across the counter to talk to Aya. "Let me be honest. I wouldn't be here if she hadn't done what she did, Aya. She takes in everyone. Everyone is her kid. She just legalized it with you because she has faith that she can dig up the best in you. She can and will save you, Aya."
Aya smiles, but there's something in it that makes it look almost robotic. "That's the thing, Pete. Only one thing can save me now. And that's blood. Maybe she can save me from the aftermath, but I doubt that I'll be around long enough to let her do so." She leaves Pete there as he watches her go. He dials Evelyn's number.
"Hey, I heard you adopted another kid."
She pushes the guy against the wall, overpowering the seventeen year old, who is one year older than herself. "Tell me what you know about him! I know he hires you out for hit jobs, Gunner!" Gunner sports a black eye and swollen cheek as he glances back at her, spitting on her shoulder. She looks down in disgust before hitting him again. "I want a name, Gunner!"
"He'll kill me," Gunner chokes out, blood spilling over the corner of his mouth. "I can't tell you, girl. Don't you get it!"
"Yeah. I get that either way you're going to die," Aya says. "So, you can either die by a girl's hand like a man with no balls, or you can see if maybe I can find the guy I'm looking for before he finds you. Which would you rather?" Gunner's eyes scan the place, looking for a way out. Aya hits him again. "Which would you rather?!"
"I-I'll tell you! Alright, I'll tell you," Gunner says, spitting blood on the side. "But I'm headin' out soon after I tell you. Can't be 'round when he starts lookin' for me. No one knows his name, man. No one. Everyone calls him Bloodless, or Blood for short."
"Where do I find him?!" Aya growls.
"N-no body knows! He finds you, not the other way!" Gunner yells. "Now let me go! I gave you a name. I gotta get outta here, man."
Aya releases him, but doesn't leave without final words. "Don't pack a bag, Gunner. If I find another guy with a bit of a looser tongue who contradicts you, I'll have to decide who I want to believe. In your pocket is directions to a safe house. Lock yourself up tight and don't leave. Weeks worth of food is there. A few pills if you pop. You ain't gonna be safer if ya ain't there."
Gunner's eyes widen before he scrambles away, pulling the slip from his pocket. Aya sees his phone coming out of his pocket. "Although, it could be full of cops for all you know! Make sure to tell Bloodless that, babe!" He freezes. "So you do know more, hunh? Nice to know you're coming clean, right?" Gunner makes a run for it, but Aya didn't intend to follow him... Yet.
Aya makes her way back to the thrift shop, looking to see that it had taken two hours to find the little shit and another hour to get him alone and another hour to get him to talk and just beat the shit out of him in general. So it has been an overall of five hours since she separated from Jack. She was right about the timing for the most part.
When she enters the shop, Aya grabs her bag and goes into the office, shutting the door and stripping off her jacket and tank top. She pulls of the blond wig and lets her black, straight hair fall down her back to her waist before pulling it into a bun. Taking out the contacts and swapping jeans before putting on her big jacket, Aya made sure she didn't miss a detail before exiting the office.
"Evelyn called," Pete says as she walks out. "Actually, I did. We're talking about the same Evelyn Mercer, so I wanna strike a deal." He put down what he was doing and looks her in the eye. "You get in trouble and come running to me, you call Evelyn and tell her everything. Everything. Because I know that your file doesn't say shit about what the real you. I didn't tell her that I know you though."
"Okay, Pete. Deal struck. But, can you pay attention to the word on the streets for a Bloodless? Sometimes goes by Blood." Aya looked at the time. "Might as well get back. If I don't, Jack Mercer might tattle on me for running off and not showing up for hours."
"Jack Mercer is next door in the music shop, so be careful about what you say. He might decide to come in here," Pete chuckles as Aya rolls her eyes. "At least try with Evelyn, Aya. She has taken the worst kids that system has seen and made them into more than dead men or prison mates. She's the sweetest woman on the solar system."
Aya holds a calculating look in her hazel eyes before shrugging. Pete sighs of relief, knowing that this answer is no where near negative. "I'll see ya, Pete." She waves before going next door, looking for the Mercer. She finds him with a few guys surrounding him. The only worker in the store pays no attention to this as they push Jack around. Aya sits back to watch.
Jack just gets more mad with the minutes, and Aya feel him come closer to snapping with each taunt and each push. Before he does anything though, Aya steps in and punches one of the five guys. "Hey, cowards. How about you try finding another group to go fight with? Ponyboy in The Outsiders had more balls than you lot."
One of the other boys decides that Aya isn't much a threat and his hormones turn all the way on. "You wanna check on that somewhere a bit more private?" Aya smirks, grabbing his nuts painfully.
"Or I can make them even less than they are now. I hear that getting you balls squeezed off isn't too bad. Let's test that," she says before letting go to block a fist. "Jack, do me a favor and go next door to get Pete. He's a big guy and this son of a bitch isn't fighting me any time soon." Jack stares at her for a moment. "Go, Jack!"
Instead of going to get Pete, Jack stands next to her instead. "How about I help you out instead of leave you to their mercy?" Aya growls before grabbing his shirt and lowering him so she can talk in his ear.
"I have a lot of anger right now. I am very frustrated, so unless you want to see me angry, go. Get. Pete. Tell him Aya needs him, and he'll be here as soon as he fucking can. Go." Aya pushes him towards the door in time for one of them to take a shot. She ducks, kicking his legs out from under him as Jack runs out. She's distracted by the dinging bell long enough for one to get a hit in her stomach. It hits her right in the spot that she has a scar from a previous encounter that hasn't fully healed.
Next thing Aya knows is that she's on the ground, hits coming in from everywhere. "Not so tough now, huh bitch?"
"You wouldn't be near as tough if you were alone," she grits out, biting her lips until she tastes blood. She takes a hit to the head and hears the door open. Aya doesn't know how much time passes, but when she comes back, all of the boys are gone and Jack Mercer is sitting in front of her.
"I'm fine," Aya says, ignoring Jack as he holds a hand out to stand up. She hisses in pain as the feeling in her torso, kneeling down on one knee. She brushes away Jack's hand again. "I'm fine, Mercer. Just because I took a few hits for you doesn't mean that we can be buddy buddy now. I still think that Evelyn will give me right back to the system."
"Quit being difficult, Aya," Pete says, forcing her to her feet before handing her to Jack. "Make sure she gets home. Don't let her take more than five steps on her own, and ask Evelyn to check for concussion. Aya can take care of the rest. Don't tell the other boys unless Aya tells you to do so. Realize that these are the rules when dealing with anything that has to do with Aya."
"Shut up, Pete," Aya mutters, coughing into her hand before hiding it. "I don't like getting beat up any more that you like seeing me beat up. I know it breaks your heart. I can walk on my own anyway, Mercer." Aya moves forward six steps before the floor begins rushing up at her and everything goes out with curses being the last thing she hears.
Aya wakes with blurry vision, but it's obvious to even her that it's nighttime. She's being dragged, and her feet are scraping against the pavement as someone tries to hold her upright. Aya tries to put weight on her feet, one hand tapping on the shoulder of who is currently carrying him. "Where am I?"
"We're almost home. You passed out back in the music store," he said, swallowing thickly. "It started getting dark and Pete was still busy so I carried you from there to about a block back. You began moving and making it difficult, so here we are."
"Jack, I can walk," Aya says as it comes back. "Let me go, Jack."
"I let you walk six steps and you collapsed, Aya. As Pete says, quit being difficult." Aya takes this moment to study Jack Mercer in the moonlight. She tries not to notice too much, because he certainly is hot. She just isn't sure if she wants to accept help from him, not wanting to give a damn and not wanting for anyone in this family to get hurt again because of her.
"We have another block and we'll be there," Jack says, attracting her attention. "Do you want to walk some?"
"I've only been asking since I woke up," Aya replies with an eye roll. Jack sets her down, and she takes a moment to gather her balance. She steps forward and goes off at the same pace as Jack, feeling light headed but unwilling to slow down because she's a little dizzy. Ha, she laughed at herself again. More like a lot dizzy.
"C'mon, this is it," Jack says, Aya having been too preoccupied with keeping her vision straight to notice that they had walked the rest of the block left. She goes up the steps, nearly tripping on the last one. She looks up as light spills onto the porch that isn't the outside light.
"Ma, we're home." Aya stands up again, holding onto Jack as she goes toward the door. "We sorta got in a fight at the music store and she kinda took 'em all on at once. Pete said to check for concussion." Aya feels someone else's hand fill hers, leading her somewhere. "Is she gonna be alright?"
"She took a hard kick to the head alright. Lucky enough that she doesn't have a concussion, but she will feel light headed for the next week. Dizziness will last a few days," Evelyn notifies Jack. "All in all, she'll be fine."
"Thanks, Mrs. Mercer," Aya mumbles, standing up. "I'm going to go crash somewhere. Not literally, but you know what I mean." Aya stands up too quickly and falls back into Jack. "Sorry."
"No sorry is needed. You'll take one of our beds, right, guys?" Aya looks to the doorway where the other three brothers stand. Bobby speaks up again. "Right, guys?"
"Of course."
"Always."
"Yeah."
"So, whoever you hate most, you can make them sleep on the couch," Bobby says as a joke. "Just pick a room and go with it." Aya shakes her head. "C'mon. We know you hate us-"
"I shook my head because 'hate' is reserved for a few select people out there in the world," Aya interrupts. "So I'll take the couch, you have your beds, and if I'm gone by morning, don't freak out just yet. Freak out when I haven't checked back in a week."
"Aya, let's go have a talk alone," Evelyn says, grabbing her hand and leading her to the old woman's bedroom. "Pete didn't tell me, but I know he knows you. Has known you for a while, am I right?"
"About three years," Aya confirms. "Evelyn, if you're going to ask about what I do, don't do it. The last time someone got involved, he died. I might not give a damn for anyone here, but that doesn't mean I want another death on my mind, on my hands."
Evelyn takes her in for a moment. "Revenge for your friend won't get you anywhere."
"This isn't for my friend. It is, however, for my mom. I'll try to finish it, old lady, this week. I'm so close..."
Aya doesn't notice the tear that slips down her cheek until the leaves the room and is upstairs and in another. "I'm so close... So close..."