Out Of The Past

Part IV - Aftermath

For several hours after he left the cabin, Layton simply wandered the corridors of the train. Mostly he tried to stay to areas where he knew few people would go, a choice that left him mostly cold and even more miserable. And so eventually tired and freezing from walking around the low heated corridors of the train, he found his way to the Night Car, where he settled into his customary seat by more or less forcing its previous occupant out.

Watching the low key scene unfold at her bar, Audrey decided for the moment to let things go. Nothing had really come of the encounter. The previous patron had already imbibed more than his fair share of the Night Car's offerings and wanted no part of the train's Chancellor's bad mood.

Watching him for a few minutes, Audrey decided to test the waters and see where things stood between the train's leaders.

Walking up to where he sat staring at the counter, Audrey tried to appear casual as she leaned on the bar.

"So, where's the other half of this equation?" She asked, which was one of her favorite ways of referring to the two.

Layton looked up, but his focus only found the mirror that was behind a row of bottles behind Audrey.

"Don't...don' talk like that." He replied slowly, as though it was a solid effort just to form every word.

And from the look of him, Audrey wasn't entirely sure it wasn't.

"Like what?" The Night Car manager asked more carefully this time.

"Like...like that!" Came the firmer answer. "That's...that's something...it's something she would say. And I don't want to think...to think about..."

"About her?" Audrey ventured.

The man at the bar slowly nodded as he lowered his head again.

Audrey gave a small sigh as she studied him. "So, she told you?" She asked finally.

Layton only gave another small nod in response.

Audrey figured she had better get the whole story before she delved into this with the train's Chancellor. "What did she tell you , Andre?"

But she only got a slight shake of his head in response this time as he sat facing the top of the bar.

"You know, it's not really a secret." Audrey offered quietly. "Not a lot of people know what happened, but others were there. It wasn't just the two of them."

Layton turned his eyes to her again. "I really don't want to talk about this, Audrey." He carefully warned her.

Pulling back up and reaching behind her, Audrey took a bottle of amber liquor off the back shelf. "Well, you're in a bar, and you don't want to talk," she added, placing a glass on the counter and filling it, "than you must be here to drink."

Shoving the glass under his head, she watched as he carefully turned his face to her.

"This isn't one of your weird concoctions, is it?" he asked.

Audrey shook her head. "It's better." She replied with a small smile. "It's whiskey."

Never taking his eyes off of her, Layton reached for the glass, and lifting it to his lips, downed the whole thing in one smooth motion.

As he sat it back on the bar, Audrey slowly refilled the glass.

"So..., how has your day been? I mean..., otherwise?"

Layton only shook his head as he studied the refilled glass for a moment, then downed the second glass quicker than he had the first.

"I see." Audrey commented, following his motions until he sat the glass back on the counter. "Hard day at the office?"

Layton shook his head. "Don't ask that."

"Why not?"

"That was...," he stopped for a moment, a small smile actually finding its way to his lips. "It was sort of a joke...between...sometimes I didn't want to talk about things..." Layton stopped talking as Audrey went to refill the glass. But instead he reached out suddenly and grabbed the bottle from her and took a long draw off of it.

Watching him carefully, Audrey let him go for the moment. But she was carefully monitoring his intake. What she didn't need was an angry, disillusioned, DRUNK Layton in her establishment. Not that she really feared he would hurt her. He could be as gruff as a bear with a thorn in its paw at times. But she always felt safe with him.

No. What she worried about more was the others in the Night Car. One thing she always tried to do, no matter what his mood, was protect his reputation and standing on the train. He was still building confidence in his leadership abilities among the other leaders. One good drunken show in the Night Car could bring everything he had worked for for months falling down around him.

And that was the last thing he needed right now.

But she felt he was still well within his limits.

"Help yourself." She said as she watched him swallow the liquor. "After all, you are the Chancellor of the train."

The bottle hit the counter with enough force to make the glass next to it jump in fright.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Came the demanding statement.

Audrey slowly and carefully eased the bottle out of his hand. Maybe he wasn't quite up to handling his limit tonight.

Thankfully, it was late and the bar was beginning to shut down, with most of the patrons gone for the night.

"Why?" She asked softly. "Did someone else call you that?"

"EVERYONE!" Came the equally strong answer. But with that part of his anger spent, he quieted down a bit. "Everyone calls me that." He went on in a calmer voice. "And I'm sick of hearing it."

Feeling he was getting control of himself again, Audrey reached over and poured a small amount of liquor into his glass.

"Well, it is who you are, Mr. Layton."

The man at the bar slowly shook his head as he took a slow slip from his glass, leaning down to the bar rather than lifting it to his lips.

"I'm not the leader of this train." He quietly lamented to the glass. "I never have been."

"Then I'm a bit confused." Audrey replied. "Whose been leading us all these months since the rebellion?"

Layton looked up at her, a small smile playing across his features as he studied her for a moment, the lifted the glass up in front of him as he looked it over. "I haven't been leading the train, Audrey." He replied finally. "She has. Just like old times. People think things changed with the revolution. But you see, that's the greatest joke on the train. Nothing changed. She still runs everything. I'm just...her puppet. Saying and doing everything I'm told. I'm just...I'm just like Wilford was to her. Just her front-man while she runs everything in the background."

Audrey shook her head as she leaned down towards him. "You know that's not true, Andre. Melanie..."

But the name got an instant reaction as he suddenly slammed the glass back on the counter, spilling some of the contents. "DON'T. SAY. HER. NAME!" He shouted at her.

Audrey pulled back, trying not to look intimidated as she cast a quick glance around the room. He was garnering his share of stares from the remaining patrons, but nothing too lasting from what she could tell. Apparently, like the man who had vacated the seat before him, even if they had no idea what was causing it, no one wanted anything to do with him in his current mood.

"She never used you the way she used Wilford, Andre." Audrey carefully spelled it out for him, keeping her voice low and level. "She had far too much respect for you."

A slight huff from under the long braids answered her.

"When you needed help the first time," Audrey reminded him, "what did she do when you came to her? Did she laugh? Did she enjoy seeing you have to come to her for help? How many times can you count her having ever said 'I told you so.'?"

A hand reached out and held up one finger.

"Well, I can bet it wasn't in reference to your asking for help."

The hand disappeared again as he tucked it under him and he slowly pulled himself up to face her.

"She was just waiting." He stated slowly. "She knew it was just a matter of time before I failed completely. Before I had to come CRAWLING to her for help. She just...waited for me."

"No, she didn't, Andre." Audrey tried to explain to him. To get him back to seeing his friend the way he used to, or at the very least to keep that memory alive. "Melanie, in fact, worried about you a great deal. She used to talk to me about it in the early days after you took over the train. Yes, she watched you. But not like a vulture sitting there waiting for it's dinner to die. She watched OVER you. She watched FOR the vultures. The ones that were waiting round. Just waiting for you to slip up. Just once. She always stepped up to them. Warned them off. Some she did so gently, asking them to give you a chance. Others...," Audrey added with a small smile, "...not so gently."

Layton gave a small laugh. "My very own personal guardian angel. The great Melanie Cavill." He quickly downed the last of his drink, then sat and stared at the empty tumbler for a moment. "She always said she was a monster." He finally said quietly.

"And tonight she proved it to you?"

Layton sat for a moment, then slowly nodded to the question.

"You know, she didn't have to tell you, Andre." Audrey stated.

Layton turned slowly back to her.

"But she wanted you to hear it from her."

"Why?" He asked softly. "Why was that...so important to her?"

"Maybe because she wanted you to hear the truth of what happened."

Layton paused, then started to reach for the bottle again sitting on the counter. But Audrey beat him to it, moving it out of his reach under the bar.

"Why don't we see if you did." She added softly. Catching his stare, she held it for a moment. "Tell me what Melanie told you about that day, Andre."

Layton felt himself captured by those eyes peering out at him from under her dark lashes. But after a moment he willed himself to look away, dropping his own eyes back to the counter top.

"No. I don't...I don't want to repeat it."

Audrey held her stance, not moving so much as an inch as she kept her gaze on him.

After a few minutes, Layton moved slightly in the chair, feeling her eyes still on him.

"Why? How...how could she even do that, Audrey? She didn't even know Josie. She didn't have one reason to hate her."

"Is that what she said? That she hated her?"

Layton thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "No. She said...she was...looking for me. Someone told her...that Josie might know..."

"Someone?" Audrey backed him up before he got too far.

Layton shook his head slightly again. "She said...she said it was Zarah. She...she admitted to threatening her...threatening our child...to make her tell her what she wanted to know."

"Not a stellar moment for her, but Melanie was desperate from what she told me. She was afraid, Andre. And fear makes people do crazy things."

A soft, mirthless laugh answered her. "Well, she sure pushed the envelope on crazy with this one."

Audrey gave him a moment before she tried again. "So, what did she tell you?"

Layton gave a long, deep sigh this time as he pulled himself up slightly and turned to the ceiling, studying it for a moment. "She said...she told me that when they got me out of the drawer and hid me, she was frantic to find me." He gave another soft laugh. "She said all she wanted to do was talk. To make me understand what I was about to do. To her. To the train. To the society she had worked so hard to hold together."

"Sounds about right." Audrey said.

A pair of raised eyebrows met her stare. "It was...a lie." Layton all but whispered to her.

"How so?"

"The only thing she cared about was herself." He answered. "Her position. Her power. Her hold on this train."

"That's a load straight from the compost car and you know it." Audrey immediately answered back. "Melanie has never cared about anything more than this train and the people on it. It was the reason she got rid of Joseph Wilford to begin with. Because under HIS leadership, she knew the train would not survive."

Layton took a slow draw off his drink. "You believe that?"

Audrey pulled back, crossing her arms in front of her as she stared him down. "I didn't use to. When I first found out what she had done, I got on the same train car with everyone else. She was a monster. She deserved to pay for her treachery.

But I've watched her over the past few months. I've watched her with you. How she reacted to your taking over the train. How she treated you. She didn't act like some spurned ruler. Some deposed leader looking for revenge. From the very first day she only showed her concern for the train still. Putting her own feelings aside and doing what was best for this train and everyone on it. She HELPED you. Guided you. Defended you. "

"And killed Josie." Layton quickly slipped in.

Audrey leaned back over the bar, speaking in a firm whisper to him. "I am not condoning what happened in that room, Andre. I am not giving her a free pass on it. But what I am willing to do is listen to her side of it and take all the factors into consideration."

"And I think I've given her all the consideration she deserves in this."

"Really?"

"I listened to her, Audrey. I listened to her pour out the whole, unbelievable story. And at times all I wanted to do was get up from that chair and leave. But I stayed and I let her have her moment."

"'Have her moment'? You make it sound like she enjoyed it."

Layton only answered her with a solid stare.

"This was NOT easy for her, Layton. Since the day it happened it has haunted her."

"You want me to feel sorry for her?"

"I want you to consider her side of it."

"I have."

You haven't even started."

"How would you even know?"

"Because you're sitting here. Which leads me to conclude you did what you always do when faced with something you can't handle in the moment. You run. I swear, Andre, sometimes you're worse than she is."

"If I had stayed in that room, Audrey...," Layton stopped for a moment, studying his drink again. "...I'm honestly not sure what would have happened."

The Night Car manager gave him an incredulous look. "Maybe the two of you would have talked it out?"

Layton turned sharply to her. "'Talked it out?' This isn't about...about some minor infraction, Audrey. This is her KILLING someone I cared about. It wasn't something I was going to 'talk out' with her."

"Because you left."

"At the moment it was the best course of action."

"And now?"

Layton had gone back to nursing his drink as he leaned over the bar top. "Nothing has changed." He replied solemnly.

For several minutes Audrey just stood behind the bar studying the man. To her he truly did look like he was completely lost in the situation and had no idea what to do about it. He was angry, to be sure. And rightly so. But he was also hurting. And she wasn't sure exactly which feeling ran deeper at that moment.

When he spoke again, it wasn't at all what she expected to hear from him.

"Sometimes, Audrey,...I...I feel like I should have just left her sitting in that chair and let Ruth carry out her execution."

Audrey did a masterful job of hiding her shock at the statement. "You don't mean that, Andre." She whispered back to him.

Layton only continued to study the drink on the counter in front of him, not answering her.

To Audrey, it seemed like he had simply crawled back into himself and no longer was acknowledging anything around him in that moment.

She replied to his lack of an answer with a concerned stare. "Andre?"

Slowly he finally turned his eyes to her.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you honestly mean that." Audrey whispered to him. "That you would rather you had let them execute her?"

For several long moments she watched the man, and only allowed herself to breath a soft sigh of relief when he finally shook his head slowly.

"No." Came the soft reply.

Audrey was about to say something, when Layton cut her off.

"I am sorry I said it to her, Audrey." He added almost as an after thought as he turned back to her. "I honestly didn't mean it."

Whatever reaction he expected from the Night Car Manager, it wasn't the one he got as he found his face suddenly in a vice like grip under his chin as she turned him to her.

"You SAID that to her?" Audrey all but yelled in his face. "You TOLD her you would rather they had executed her?"

Layton tried his best to keep focused on the conversation. "I didn't mean it, Audrey. She knows that."

"How?!" The grip remained on his chin. "Did you say it to her?"

Layton thought for a moment, then shook his head as best he could.

Audrey dropped her hold on the man as she stepped back. She took once more to simply studying him as she thought over what was the best way to try and set things right.

But maybe now wasn't the time. The damage had been done and perhaps her best option now was to keep them separated. Give them each some time to sort things out where they stood at the moment.

Giving a deep sigh she wondered to herself if even she believed this could be fixed between the two of them.

"All right," she finally stated in her manner that left whoever she was talking to knowing without question that this was not going to be a discussion, "we're definitely not going to sort this out tonight. Do you remember where your usual room is?"

Layton was actually grateful for the offer this time, as he really had no idea what to do with himself at the moment.

He gave Audrey a small nod.

"Good. Go and get yourself to bed. I think that's the best thing for now. I'll go check on Melanie and get some of your things. I have a feeling you'll be here for a while."

Layton only gave a tired nod in reply as he heaved himself off the barstool and headed for the back rooms.

He was actually wondering if he was going to be able to get any sleep that night, but found himself gratefully slipping onto the mattress that rested in the corner of the room and quickly falling asleep.