Justice delayed is justice denied.
Maybe it was true what they said about her when she was just a teenager at Nevermore school. She wasn't normal. She didn't understand the world as others did and didn't want to. She didn't want to accept the world circles in an immovable and immutable structured way because the rules were unfair, in favor of a lucky few. She couldn't accept there was nothing to do to change what should never have been established. For years she'd seen many suffer while waiting for a justice that never arrived...that did not exist. Her family was powerful and influential; with so much richness they could stop winning money for decades and still live in tranquility and luxury, but this didn't mean they were oblivious to what was happening in the world.
- Let me see.- Her father asked, stretching out an arm to look at the sheet the brunette had previously held in her hands. - Esteban is a disgrace, but this place could be dangerous. There are too many hunters hanging around the area.
Wednesday tensed her shoulders, not very happy after hearing her father's refusal; he used to support all her plans, no questions asked. The Addams Family had had a goal for years: to provide justice to those suffering souls whom no one had offered a hand...helping them, using whatever methods were necessary. If such methods involved murder and torture and the young seer found such activities fascinating, it was only an insignificant detail. They had recently aided a group of gorgons, and in the process, they murdered several dealers. During such a mission, they heard about the wolves' sale Esteban Digori was organizing. They'd tried to help the wolves countless times before but were often late or received false information. With the werewolf population dwindling precipitously, Wednesday decided that the only solution was to find out who was running the city's wolf sales.
- I won't be alone. If it gets out of control, we'll retire.- commented the brunette, carefully playing her cards.
Her father always plays to win and only moves when the odds are on his side. There, looking at the seer's notes silently, her father couldn't seem less convinced. Wednesday had to admit it wasn't her best plan; going undercover as a buyer under the name Raven and hoping everyone was distracted to get to Esteban wasn't exactly a plan, but Ajax was convinced they could make it work; Wednesday never turns down a challenge, too sure of herself to be scared off just because the plan was unpredictable.
- Sorry, scorpion, it's risky.
Wednesday knew better than to insist, her father was as stubborn as herself, and if the plan seemed risky to him, he wouldn't go along with it even if she begs him to accept it, which she wouldn't because begging wasn't part of her vocabulary. Instead, she stood up, saying goodbye with a nod and walking firmly towards the office's door. She gripped the knob, took a deep breath, and abandoned the place, activating the communication mechanism in her ear.
- Xavier... we'll go for a trip.
That was the code sentence for the chestnut man to know her father hadn't agreed, so they would have to leave without authorization. Gomez was too sharp not to catch them if they disappeared out of nowhere; they'd need credible excuses. The brunette cut the communication, moving through the corridor decorated with the paintings of her ancestors, focused on her footsteps as she went to her room.
- Where is Pugsley? - Questioned Addams, opening the door to her room, fixing her penetrating gaze on the hand resting on top of her bed, painting his nails.
"In the hive with Eugene. Did something happen?"
- My father is not in favor of the plan. -explained the seer, approaching the closet to take out a black raincoat she soon dropped over her shoulders.
"What will you do?"
- Go.
"You'll get us in trouble."
- Do you want to dissuade me or give me a reason to go?
"Tyler was coming to visit you today. It's that day of the month."
Tyler.
Why was she dating the Hyde again?
Sometimes even Addams fails to understand why she's dating the young brunette who seemed more interested in looking at Xavier's ass during training than in having sexual intercourse with his girlfriend. Addams didn't care. After all, the brunette had an aversion to physical contact and intimate relationships. Intercourse was too much at times, and not in a positive way. It was hot and sticky, and always leaves an unpleasant scent on her skin. Tyler was caring, and the fact that he was a Hyde thrilled her at first. Unfortunately, the emotion didn't last long. At least, because she is a cold, short-word person with unreadable expressions, she hasn't had to fake orgasms. Tyler assumes she's silent while reaching her orgasm because, after all, she's like that with everything in her life. Being her only sexual experience, the seer didn't have enough information to debate such an insinuation. She could just be asexual.
- Cancel the appointment with Tyler.- ordered the brunette, walking firmly towards the door while Thing tried to get her attention.
(...)
- No, I won't, Wednesday. I owe too much to your father to lie to him like this.- Barclay declared, shaking her head without taking her eyes off the punching bag she was hitting.
- When you needed help with Kent, I don't remember my father providing you with ideas to help him. - the brunette commented, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed; the siren glanced over her shoulder, rolling her eyes when their gazes met.
- You're manipulating me, Addams. We agreed you wouldn't.
- I agreed not to manipulate you as long as it was not strictly necessary.
- Does this seem important to you? Please, Wednesday! They sell wolves daily. Your father is right this time! Esteban is dangerous, and the location is even more.
-I always knew I had to turn to Yoko.- Addams murmured, straightening her body. - You're afraid of my father.
- It's not fear.
- I can feel the tremor in your voice.
- Wens, stop manipulating me.
- It is not manipulation if I only state the obvious.
- You're a fucking selfish piece of shit, you know?
- You know I don't like flattery.
- Alright! I'll do it! I'll tell him you're with me. Just leave, and if you get us in trouble, I'm going to punch your expressionless face!
- Threats. You're getting better, Barclay.
Bianca didn't bother to answer her taunts, she turned and followed her training while Addams spun on her legs with a smile lifting the corner of her mouth.
(...)
- No going off plan, understand, Wednesday? - Xavier asked, stopping the vehicle in front of the auction house.
The place was huge, with an extensive garden extending to a treated wooden door where decorative flowers had been carved. At the entrance gate were two men whose unfriendly faces invited them not to look for trouble or face the consequences. They slipped in without difficulty, and Esteban met them at the door, smiling with such false kindness Addams admired his dedication. The man was thin, with a long face and prolonged grips. He must have some muscular disease, sensed the brunette when Esteban took a few more seconds than normal to let go of her hand.
The auction area was a simple platform bathed in a blinding light that at least disturbed only the moderator and not the buyers. Wednesday positioned herself in the back, in one of the last rows, her dark eyes following the movements of Esteban's men. To her right, Ajax kept moving his knee, making the seer anxious. She should have brought Yoko but didn't need a quick assassin, just someone capable of immobilizing their enemies.
- The office must be up that staircase.- Xavier commented.
Addams looked at him briefly before returning her gaze to the horde of shoppers slowly filling the chairs. She felt her stomach turn watching them so relaxed as if they were about to start a birthday party, not the sale of human beings. If she didn't have to keep up her facade, she'd kill them all so fast they wouldn't have time to see her face. Wednesday closed her eyes, counting in her mind to relax; it worked for a few minutes, at least until the start of the auction. Her stomach turned every time a wolf was brought out, and buyers scrambled to get as many of them as possible. Most of them could not have been more than ten or fifteen years old, dressed in white robes, and injected with some drug that prevented them from defending themselves.
Everything started to go south when they brought out a young black-haired man. The boy was about fifteen years old, tall, muscular, and with surprisingly innocent eyes. They dragged him to the platform, on his knees and hands, salivating...panting. Wednesday had witnessed horrifying scenes, sirens in cages, gorgons on the ground with their organs exposed, and merciless torture. She had done horrible things while seeking justice, but when a lady who could've been the young man's grandmother forced him up and held his penis while the buyers cheered and laughed, she clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain still. If they wanted to get to the leader of these smugglers and end the illegal sales in Jericho, they needed to do this right.
Using all her self-control, Wednesday remained motionless, all her muscles ready to hold the gun on her side. The woman pushed the young man to the ground, and the buyers laughed and whistled. The wolf stirred in despair, clearly drugged, and the lady covered his body with kisses, leaving her red lipstick imprinted on his pale skin. Finally, she rose, placing one of her heels on the wolf's chest, making him gasp in pain as the heel dig into his skin.
Do you like it, honey?
Are you going to cum, Pussy?
Damn fucking dog.
The world is dark and cold, and places like this, lack mercy. Ajax shuddered, stretching out an arm to hold the brunette's hand, who felt the tremor in the young man's limbs. They found Ajax in a house of privileges where they rented gorgons for a few hours, promoting that "they would be the most pleasant hours of your life."
- Dad, there's someone here...- Wednesday declared, her expressionless gaze fixed on the man hiding his nakedness behind a red silk curtain.
- Hey, champ...everything is fine. We're not going to hurt you...
- Please...you can take him, just let me go...- begged the man who had had the young man immobilized on the bed and now was on his knees on the floor, naked and trembling, begging for mercy.
- Oh, of course, we're going to take him...
- Ladies and gentlemen...offers start at 10,000.
The moderator's voice brought her out of her memories; she squeezed Ajax's hand, reassuring him, before focusing her attention on the young man who was now sitting on the ground, an erection between his legs and a smile that only caused discomfort in the seer hanging from her lips. She remembered seeing that expression on a wolf a few months ago: induced ecstasy. Several minutes passed, and then the first part of the auction concluded.
-We'll wait for the auction to start again, and we'll go for Esteban.- Xavier whispered. The brunette nodded, dark eyes traveling to the lady who was abusing the teenager minutes before.
- And we're back! Ready to invest a few thousand dollars? As a symbol of our generosity...Mr. Esteban prepared a little show for you!"
Wednesday wasn't sure she could bear to see another young man being abused in front of her eyes without being able to defend him, so she started to get to her feet, but any movement her body intended to carry out was suspended when Estrella brought a young woman to the stage. At such a distance, it was impossible to identify details such as the color of her eyes or if the fascinating scar on her face was recent or not but, Addams noted her blond hair with pink and blue dyed tips...and her skin marked by scars.
Enid Sinclair.
That was the name of the wolf the hunter forced to her stand up. The light illuminated her face once she was on her feet, accentuating the scars embellishing her left side. Her wounds were red and jagged-edged, made carelessly...with hate...a few inches lower, and the wolf would have been blinded. The hunter named Gabriel grabbed the blonde's jaw, raising her face, and her blue eyes, under the unpleasant light, were confused, dilated...lost. That look screamed so loud for help that the sound reverberated in the seer's eardrums.
-Wens...- Xavier held her hand, drawing her attention. The brunette stared at him blankly, the sound of the wolf's heartbreaking shrieks claiming her gaze. - You must go now.
Addams stared unresponsive.
Then, without stopping to meditate, unable to restrain the words that her brain had not studied, she blurted out those words.
- 50,000.
75,000 dollars for a wolf.
Her father would kill her.
Besides, she didn't have the money, so she had to think fast.
- Are you crazy? - Xavier asked as they walked down a corridor.
- I'm thinking.
- Wednesday, we don't have 75, we don't even have the 50 you offered first. - Ajax commented, clearly panicking as they passed a door where a tall, stocky man gave them a suspicious look.
- I think he took this path. - murmured the brunette pushing a door.
- Wens, what the hell? - Thorpe queried, grabbing her wrist. - We must pay first; we'll get in trouble.
-First, we'll take her to a safe place. Then, I'll take care of Esteban.- the seer declared, pushing a door, corroborating that only a corpulent doctor, probably not certified, was using his scalpel to operate a wolf's shoulder.
- But, Wens, are we going to go with the plan?
- I'm going to kill him.- Addams assured, hurrying down the increasingly desolate corridor. - That has not changed.
Pity was something people like Gabriel, the hunter who she found harassing the blonde wolf, burning the wolf's back with the silver buckle of his leash, did not deserve. That night, Wednesday intended to exclusively kill Esteban, but after hearing Sinclair's sobs as she begged for mercy and was denied, she knew she would kill two rats. Once she was done, the world would be better, less rotten. Unfortunately, she wouldn't have time to torture either of the two dealers because they wasted too much time finding Enid.
- Raven, I haven't done anything to her...take her, and we'll forget about this. - Gabriel commented once Xavier and Enid left the room.
Ajax released him, moving toward the door so the hunter couldn't escape. The brunette stepped forward, grabbing a lock of the hunter's hair and pulling until he extended his neck.
- I would kill you employing my garrotte if I could take you with me... we will have to do this quickly.
Gabriel hadn't had a chance to push her away or defend himself; in a second, the brunette pistol was resting against the man's forehead. Using a silenced pistol was a quick way to take down rats, but not exactly her most beloved method. Gabriel's body slid to the ground, the bullet buried in his forehead, blood trickling down the edges. Addams glanced at Ajax, who approached, assessing the dead man. The sound of the door opening alerted them; a man much taller than the hunter they killed was entering.
-Gaby, man...stop tapping that ass...- The man had opened the door completely, his gaze lowering to the corpse, before returning to Addams. - Sons of bitches...
Wednesday fired reflexively, placing one bullet in the man's forehead and another in his chest. With all the calm in the world and knowing she only had one bullet left (and it had a name), she returned the Russian pistol to his side.
- What now?
- We'll visit Don Esteban.
(...)
Four guards were guarding Esteban's office. Addams knew the man's deen would be well guarded, that's why she decided to have the gorgon with her instead of Yoko. In an instant, the guards were stoned, and the way clear. The office was large, with wooden furniture and a collection of liquors to the left. Addams, a collector at heart, scoured the place for any liquor that caught her eye.
- Gabriel...oh...Miss Raven, they didn't announce you.- commented Esteban, emerging from the bathroom while drying his hands with a red towel. - Payment must be in cash. Congratulations on your acquisition; Sinclair will be a...precious slave.
The man moved but was stopped by Ajax before reaching his couch. The gorgon placed a hand on Esteban's shoulder, pressing hard to make the dealer understand he wasn't going anywhere. Wednesday moved forward, balancing her pistol in her hand as she assessed Esteban's face, who glanced down at the small Russian PSS pistol before returning to Addams's face.
- If you would like a discount for Sinclair, we can discuss it...
- I want information.
- What are we talking about, Raven?
-Your boss, the owner of this place, I need his location.
Esteban laughed.
- You're mad if you think I have such information.
Wednesday fell silent, assessing his pale face before stepping forward.
She was indeed mad.
- I'm patient, but we don't have much time.- Addams commented, bringing the gun to Esteban's temple.
- Go to hell.- the man blurted out staring at her with disgust.
- Goodbye.
She fired.
Her expressionless eyes remained fixed on Esteban's, enjoying the precise moment when life escaped his gaze. Ajax released him, letting the man fall carelessly to the carpeted floor.
- Check the place.- ordered Wednesday. - Perhaps there is something helpful.
There was not, but at least they found the location of another auction house belonging to a man named Pablo. They left the premises a few minutes later, walking until they found a taxi that transported them back to the motel.
- Xavier must be furious.
Surely.
- We shouldn't take her with us, Wednesday. - Ajax whispered. - I want to help her as much as you do, but you murdered her hunters, believe me, everyone will assume it was her, and they will go after her bones.
There was no response from Addams, just a blank stare that traveled to the gorgon before returning to the path leading to the outside stairs of the motel. They had rented the place because the plan was to ditch the car and be picked up by Bianca the next morning. So far, the plan is the same...Addams just added Enid to the equation. Gomez would be a little angry, but after letting him know she prevented Sinclair's rape, his father would understand. Also, they didn't have the information they wanted, but they had a new location; it was something.
Xavier had a different opinion.
Sometimes Addams struggles to grasp his opinions. As much as she tries to understand why Xavier protects her so much, she fails, and sometimes, it's suffocating. Not even Tyler, who paints himself as the ideal boyfriend, tries to control her actions. Thorpe launched into explaining why the mission failed and why they couldn't take Enid Sinclair with them. While he spoke, Wednesday remained silent, evaluating the sheet covering Enid. It was her black sheet. The sheet belonged to her older brother, Theodore Friday Addams, who had been killed while trying to prevent the kidnapping of a siren. Addams had slept with that sheet since her brother's assassination; it gave her security... a peace she hadn't found anywhere else. And Enid Sinclair was embracing it, a total stranger whose colorful hair was an attack on her retinas and whose life-battered face bore the most fascinating scars she had ever seen.
-We should wake her and tell her to leave.
- She won't leave without having her wounds disinfected.- Wednesday interrupted, this being the first thing she had said since her arrival.
- You're fucking incredible, Addams! We have to get rid of her...
-If she wants to leave later, I will let her go.
- What do you mean by "if she wants"? Wens, she cannot come with us.
Thorpe could be so tiresome.
They argued some more and then some more...and then Addmas noticed Enid's blue eyes slowly opening. At such a distance, the blue was even brighter than a few hours ago. Wednesday Addams had been determined to help the wolf from the moment her gaze fell on her, and she hadn't changed her mind. She couldn't abandon the blonde to her fate, knowing the hunters would blame her for the men she murdered...her father would understand.
(...)
The noise of the shower was the only sound filling the silent room. Several minutes had passed, and Enid was still in the bathroom, only the shower's noise confirming she hadn't escaped down the toilet. Addams walked over to the window, extracted a cigarette from the box Xavier left on the window's edge, and leaned against the frame to let the wind blow the smoke away.
Body Destroyer...
That's what Pugsley, his younger brother, calls cigarettes. Wednesday didn't smoke all the time, only on occasions like today, when uncertainty was upon her. The brunette hated uncertainty, it caused her anxiety and reminded her of that day when she couldn't do anything to help her brother Theodore. She remembers that night as if it was yesterday...if she had done something...if she had gotten out of the vehicle, or stopped her brother when he parked, maybe he wouldn't be dead. The sound of the bathroom door snapped her out of her thoughts. She fixed her gaze on Sinclair, who emerged drying her hair with one of the motel towels, wearing a black shirt and jeans that belonged to Ajax.
- Before you go, allow me to check the wound on your face.- the seer asked, putting out the cigarette and exhaling the smoke that quickly escaped through the window.
Enid nodded, approaching Wednesday slowly after placing the towel on the nearest bed. The brunette stood up, looking at the wound that seemed to have been cleaned before the auction. It wasn't a perfect job, but at least it wouldn't get infected. Judging by the depth of the scratches, it would scar.
- You should clean it in a few hours if you don't want it to get infected. - advised Addams. - The door is unlocked.
Enid looked down at her hands, moving them nervously.
- If I stay with you...what do you want in return?
- Do you want to offer something specific?
- I'm not good at many things...
- I'm an assassin. A vigilante, if you prefer. I don't have a wolf on my team yet...if you want...you could join us.
- I don't think murder is one of my virtues. -commented the wolf, nervously lifting a hand to caress her neck.
- You don't have to murder...I'll take care of that.
-I don't know if I want to be part of a mafia.
Wednesday's lips curved into an evil smile.
- We're not a mafia. We defend people like you, like the gorgon you saw and the young man who brought you here. We seek the justice that the law denied to us for years...
- Through murder?
- Don't you think the man who treated you like an object and tried to rape you deserves death?
-I don't care if he deserves it or not...violence only leads to more violence...it's not the way to achieve peace...
- Sorry to break it to you, Sinclair. Violence is indeed a way to obtain such peace. You can leave and die at the hands of hunters or stay and seek justice on your own.
- You mean...through your methods?
- I murdered the man who caused the burns on your back. Do you feel pity or satisfaction?
Enid didn't answer; her blue eyes lowered to her hands, but her white ears pricked up, surprising the brunette. She had never seen a werewolf in human form with wolf ears...it was...a little adorable... Enid's white ears looked soft...sensitive.
- Promise me I won't have to kill anyone. I might help with that condition.
- Why would I ask you to kill someone if I enjoyed doing it myself? - Wednesday asked, moving towards the bed. - Tonight, we'll sleep here.
Enid nodded, moving toward the sofa where she had been minutes ago, sitting down and hugging her knees close to her chest.
- Wednesday is your name, right?
The brunette sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard and nodding.
-Wednesday Addams.
- Thank you...I owe you my life.