Family Ties

[Satine]

Satine settled back into the seat and did everything to avoid looking into the eyes of any passengers that would be looking at her. Her face continued to look downward. Her hands were fidgeting as she tried her best to keep them still. What would be so simple to do was nearly impossible for her as her mind worked against her. Her chest hurt with pounding of fear, her gut was balling up and twisting into a thousand knots and her mouth was dry. Still so dry. She felt like she had not drank in days and for all she knew she likely had not. Her hands finally found the pockets in the outside layer of the habit and slid down in. Out of view was better than watching them twitch on her lap.

Satine felt the cool brush of coins roll over her fingers as they finally bottomed down in the pocket. Each of her hands gathered up the loose change discovered and gripped them tight in her sweaty palms. She couldn’t be entirely sure without removing her hands but she was confident she had enough for a bottle of water until she could figure out something else.

Satine felt the stop and popped up. Her hands had no choice but to leave the pockets and she shifted all the coins to her left hand and pocketed them for convenience. The Bullwood transit had a shop next door. It would be simple. She would dart in and out in mere seconds. It was never busy when she had been there. Why would it be now?

Besides that point, the habit was not only getting her looks it was like a fast pass at an amusement park. It was aiding her in doing whatever she basically needed to without having to wait. She stepped forward to exit and immediately the bodies in front of her stepped aside and smiled while gesturing their hands to the clear space ahead. She dipped her head randomly and tried to do whatever it was a nun was expected to do. She did the pants, wallet and signal to slide into home base gesture. One face seemed to buy it while another looked at her with a narrowed and questionable look. So she tapped her hand at her left shoulder then went to tap the right and missed the shoulder. She was too paranoid about who could be catching up with her that she ignored it and took advantage of the clear route into the door of the shop.

”I said I should be getting a discount!” The angry voice caught her immediate attention as she looked around for something to drink.

Each cold drink case Satine passed seemed empty. Not only was she out of luck on finding water to drink she had become swallowed in a group of customers trying to be helped first. All she wanted was to saturate the cotton ball that had grown into the size of a tumbleweed in her mouth. Once that was done she intended to swallow it down and move on. Staying in any one place too long was all it took to get her *** killed. She was certain that is what it was coming down to.

Satine pressed her shoulder into the back in front of her and starting budging her way forward. She spotted a young kid towards the counter holding a frosty bottle and tugging onto the bottom of a womans jacket.

“I want candy.” The child began the slow annoying whine that usually won over the impatience of most parents in a crowded shop.

Satine was hurting, thirsty and she wanted a miracle. The kid had no reason to be pissing and moaning about his lot in life thus far. She nudged another body in front of her to move and got the stock apology of anyone who looked down at her in annoyance until they were greeted with the coif sitting on her head. Finally she was at the front and the only thing standing in her way for hacking up that dust ball in the back of her throat was Dennis the Menace holding what she could find no more of. Her top lip twitched and something went into overdrive. She leaned down and whispered in the child’s ear while the woman with him was distracted with demanding her discount.

“You will go to hell if you don’t practice patience my sweet child.” Her voice was soft as it should be coming from saintly lips. “Hand over the bottle of water and the demons will allow you to rest peacefully tonight. God loves you...I think.”

“I need a lotto ticket too!” A less than pleasant odor came on the wave of sour air that spilled out of the unclean body to her left. “Hurry it up! I haven’t got all ******* damn day and night!”

Satine was getting no where. She looked at the man spewing obscenities and slid her arm in front of him to take front and center. Her hand set down the bottle of water she had taken from the kid now hiding behind his mother.

“Sorry, Sister!” The cloud of stench grew as she narrowed her eyes. The man’s face went all kinds of red in embarrassment and handed her the lotto ticket that was patted then slid over the counter. “Take this ticket. God is good. Bible told me so...and my grandma!”

“Is there a bus in this town?” Satine tried waving it off and interrupted him as she did. What a dumb ***. Like a lotto ticket will save his *** from his sins? “Any taxi’s that are heading south? RV’s?” She was grasping at straws now.

Satine heard a bell ring loudly as her hand was now wrapped in the apologetic males and raised to the point she was on her bare tip-toes. She tried to swat him off in the tight confines of everyone moving in closer from behind like there was a concert starting and the mosh pit finally opened up. He was not having it. He had a tight hold on her. Now she wished she had her gun. She was ready to snap and it would have cleared the place in no time flat.

“It is a winner!” The shopkeeper yelled above the cheers behind her. “We have a winner folks!”

The sound of the register ringing open echoed in the background. Satine looked at the grubby male grinning at her like a choir boy being forgiven for swiping his father’s girly magazines. Her jaw tightened and now that fire was about to erupt all over again.

“Get your hand off me, Sir, or you will be…” Satine didn’t get time to finish as there was a camera clicking away and a voice calling from the door asking where the lotto winner was.
“What is your name!” He squeezed harder and began pulling her up higher. His other hand took to enforcing the hold on her. “I gave her the winning ticket! Tell them your name!”

“Satine Hodges, you imbecile!” Satine was more than done with the circus that had started around her. She raised the water bottle in her hand and whacked the unsuspecting male across the jaw. “Get your damn hands off me!”

With that move Satine was like a badger cornered. While directions were being barked as to where her winnings could be claimed she felt the hair on the back of neck rising. She was no safer in the crowd of people she was with than she was running on the streets for her life. She growled and pushed her way out of the mass of hot bodies and tugged her layers of habit free as she exited the door of the shop. She gave herself a small reward for not completely flipping her **** by cracking the seal on the bottle of water she didn’t pay for.

‘**** them all.’ Went through her mind as her gums and teeth took a bath in the icy water being squeezed down her throat by her desperate hand.

Saine kept swallowing as her barefeet began moving again. Her rest stop was over. It was only seconds and the bottle was empty. She tossed it without concern and wiped the back of her hand across her dripping lips. With a spin on her bare heels she stepped back into the transit for a last ride to Coastside Station.

The transit slowed to a stop and a rush of commuters exchanged places boarding and exiting. Finally, when all was clear, a swoosh of the sliding door was followed by the movement of the transit picking back up and moving on its route. Two more stops and one unexpected quick stop for an ambulance screeching was enough to eat up a total of thirty precious minutes. That was less time than she usually took a shower but now every cursed minute counted.

Once there Satine made her way back out. She looked left and then she looked right. The street was clear. It was time to start hiking fast. She made a quick stop into the lotto payout location to collect her money. It appeared another miracle was at work. Her wallet was left at the convent. They would take her word for it since she had no reason to lie. The bills shifted through her hands as she counted each one. She would use it to hire the first down and out looking loser with wheels and a soft spot for a nun. That lucky ******** was going to get her *** over the border. She stepped off the curb and rolled the money up. Her hands disappeared deep into the pocket at each hip and stayed there as she made her way crossing the street.

[Doc]

Doc got into his car and sighed. Mortll’s prank had gotten him good. It had not even dawned on him that it was April Fool’s Day. He raked a hand through his hair and then moved to buckle his seatbelt. Maybe she was right, he had been working a lot of long hours, and he needed to relax some. Phoenix had Genesis Solutions in hand, the Nuns were handling the Asylum, that left him with the Lab. Maybe he could cut back the amount time he had been devoting to the Asylum, after all? What would it hurt? He would get to see Mortll more than once a week. Which gave him double the odds of her prank really happening. He started the car, he was going to stop at a drugstore and buy some condoms. They might lower the odds by half? He wasn’t sure, but they couldn’t hurt could they?

A few minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of the nearest drug store to the asylum. He was just about to shut the engine off, when the name of the most recent lotto winner was announced live on air, ‘Satine Hodges’. Doc stopped cold. There could not be two women in Harper Rock named Satine. He listened as the announcer repeated her name and offered his congratulations along with the standing joke that if she wanted, she could share her winnings with the DJ. He turned off the radio as he dialed the asylum.

As soon as someone answered he said in a clipped tone, “This is Dr. Nilson…” he wasn’t able to say anymore because he was summarily put on hold. That action only served to make him more impatient. As soon as the Mother Superior answered she launched into a rather hurried confession. His impatience turned to cold anger. “What the **** do you mean she escaped?!”

Doc paused before responding with a scathing retort, “Don’t ******* tell me to watch my ******* language! You allowed a ******* murderer to waltz out of a ******* insane asylum!”

The word ‘anger’ could not fully capture the full scope of blistering wrath, that accompanied his next comment. “She was dressed as a -what-?”

The short answer he received, caused his voice to go cold. “Did you say ‘nun’? Because I could have sworn .. you said ‘nun. Tell me .. I misheard you.”

The coldness turned arctic. The kind of arctic cold that burned worse than fire. The Mother Superior was sure to feel the frost moving over the airwaves as he said, “How long has she been gone?”

He started counting, he was close to losing it. “You don’t know?” He counted another ten count and breathed through his nose in an effort to regain his composure, “When was the last bed check?”

Silently counting and envisioning bodily violence to a group of nuns, his voice became unnaturally soft, as he said clearly and distinctly, “That riding crop you once threatened me with. Find it. There is punishment to be meted out, once I get there.” He disconnected and backed out of the parking lot, he headed for the lotto office. If he was lucky she would take a chance on leaving town with some cash.

Taking every shortcut he knew, and taking a few that were quite illegal, he managed to get from one end of the city to the other in less thirty minutes. But he has no clue how long Satine had been free. For all he knew she was already on a car, train, plane or bus out of town. And if she was, he started counting again, because Micah would ******* kill him. Then when he got back, Vel would kill him. In fact they might tag team kill him repeatedly. It wasn’t the thought of the possibility of death that bothered him. No it was the thought, that the one time they relied on him, him alone, he had failed them both.

[Satine]

"--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--"

Doc: Having arrived at the Lotto office, he had parked and was in the process if exiting his car when he thought he spied a dark furtive figure. The figure was dark and sticking close to the shadows. He knew there was a figure there, and it would be the appropriate area for someone coming from the transit. He made no move to leave the side of the car. He did not want to draw attention to his presence. His patience was rewarded as the figure moved into the light.. it was a nun.

Satine: The black polyester slid back and forth across the backs of her bare heels as Satine made her way across the street. The pavement was rough against her feet and now she regretted having left her shoes behind in the rush to get out of the asylum when she still had a chance. Her feet did double time as soon as she thought of the place. It was all the inspiration she needed to get across the street faster than ever. If she could find a bar perhaps she could find that sinner who would give over the keys to a set of wheels to clear their name.

Doc: He waited for a few seconds and then smiled to himself, he wasn’t going to chase on her down on foot, no. He would run her down … with his car. After all she needed to be taught a lesson. She needed to learn that with actions come reactions. Her action of breaking out, would be met with the reaction of breaking some bones.

Satine: If she remembered correctly there was some sort of Forge place then to the east of it was a western bar, High Noon or something like that. Just across the street at the corner of that block was a strip club. Jackpot! She pulled her hand to cover the front of her black layered abdomen and tried to look as saintly as possible as she began her sprint towards the one place that would be full of the guilty willing to do just about anything to get her forgiveness and keep her mouth shut. She was nearly across the street and after that she would be able to be lost in the buildings between.

Doc: Doc slid back into his car, he closed the door softly. He started the engine, and it came to life. The nice thing about high performance engines is that they could purr quietly when needed. He was rather surprised at the direction she was taking. He would have expected her to take a more direct route to the office. But she was moving in a direction he didn’t expect. All the better for him, the direction she was headed was into the seedier part of the city, making it less likely anyone would really care.

Satine: Quickly she darted from the outside of the Forge and continued moving past the buildings and found herself on the corner outside the High Noon Saloon. She glanced up briefly to note the correct name of the establishment then turned her attention towards the headlights crossing back and forth in front of her. Figures the traffic was increasing the closer she got to the club she was now staring at. The habit had to be a good luck charm in there. She was sure of it.

With all the faith Satine had left to invest in a plan she stepped off the curb and bolted towards the back of the club. It was not long and she found herself in the dark alley. Standing beneath the dim lighting from the surrounding buildings she began looking for a back door. Every building was required to have one. If she could avoid going in through the front it was all the better. Her hands slid in over the money in her pockets and headed in the dark narrow alleyway. Once inside she was sure she would be in a vehicle in no time flat. That...or talking her way out of a guest appearance on stage or worse. However, nothing could be half as bad as what she had already been though. On that she was willing to bet all the money in her pockets.

Doc: He followed her as she skirted along the buildings. He had witnessed her glancing over her shoulder repeatedly to see if she was being followed. But thus far she had not realized she indeed being followed. She was looking for a person or persons, but not a vehicle. He knew the area, when she darted into an alley, he knew he had her. That particular alley had no exit. No doors, it was perfect. He would have her cornered. He drove forward and blocked the alley with the front end of his car. He paused there, as he revved the engine in a menacing and taunting manner.The headlights of the car illuminated her. He could see her clearly. From her wide shocked eyes, to her bare feet. He grinned ferally.

[Doc]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--


Satine: Satine turned again only this time her whole body followed through with the pivot. Headlights were nearly blinding her as her eyes widened then narrowed to see through the haze of the bright beams. The engine picked up from its unusual soft idle. Someone was impatient. Perfect. That made two of them. Her hands pulled from her pockets and she began her walk towards the car while riding the side of the building. Only when she reached the front of the vehicle was she able to make out the face of the driver. Her heart felt like it dropped to her feet. How are they finding her? She was so unprepared for this. It was like being caught in a nightmare and there was no way out. One bad scene seemed to lead right into another.

“No…” Her voice cracked softly as she stepped back and nearly stumbled over the length of the habit. “Gods no!”

Satine looked back and saw nothing but a dismal end to the alleyway she trapped herself into. She looked to the passenger side of the car and saw no one. She figured her only chance was to make a sudden run around the car next to the building and hope like hell that expensive car he was sitting in was worth enough he would not risk scratching it. With that her feet made a wild dash back towards the car with the plan of passing right by it and heading towards the saloon across the street. A few drunk cowboys could be counted on doing the right thing.

Doc: The look on her face when she recognized him was priceless. She made a vain attempt to backup, but she realized quickly that she was not going to find escape that way. He was somewhat surprised as she took off running toward him. He gunned the engine. The car leapt forward moving to meet her head on. Privately he was rather pleased that she wasn’t going down without a fight. He intended to show her what it meant to cross him. The more she fought, the better the excuse he had to beat her head in, should Vel or Micah decide to come check on her.


Satine: The car was coming too quick. Her mind raced as the weight of her body shifted from the left to her right foot. She was not going to make the veering to the left of the passenger side as she planned. She had no choice. She intended to try jumping on the hood like in the movies and then roll off but that went badly the moment she was in the air with her hands ready to grab who knows what. In the blink of her eyes, she kissed the windshield as she glided over the top of it and ultimately tumbled over the rear of the car and landed with a breathtaking blow to the unforgiving asphalt. She tried to catch her breath as her pain filled joints tried to pull her up. Each burning pull of the muscles that hated her for doing it throbbed as she stood up. Finally her lungs filled and she cried out in agony for anyone to hear.

“HELLLLLLLLLPP!!!!!”

Doc: Doc felt and saw her body hitting and rolling over the top of his car. He watched her slide off the trunk, in his rear view mirror. It was reflex that caused him to immediately put the car in reverse and slam into her just as she stood up and the scream for help emanated from her. The thud of his car hitting her, was brief but notable. Moving swiftly he exited the car, moved to the back of the car to grab her before what she was able to flee.

Satine: Satine felt the pain that she was working her way through while standing was instantly knocked right out of her. She was blindsided and didn’t see the car come back at her. She slid up over the back of the car but with its instant stop she slid back down and landed to the side on the ground again. This time whatever hurt before paled in comparison to what likely was broken. The pain was not worth moving as she heard the driver’s door open. She took two breaths and felt the sharp heat stab down into her pelvis. She couldn’t lift her body up. The sounds of small grains beneath the dress shoes she could make out with her eyes reminded her she was likely not going to need to worry about getting up. A bone jarring tug found her looking him.

So this was it? This was going to be the asshole who was going to put her lights out permanently? it was odd but she found it almost amusing. She hurt too bad to laugh. She always thought it would be Chester. This sharp dressed, sportscar driving ******** was appearing to be the runner-up. Well, she was ready and delivered the line she had decided on long ago when it came down to it. As soon as she parted her lips she was reminded how much damage kissing a moving windshield can cause. Blood filled her open mouth.

“**** you!” She hissed with a rib aching exhale and spit everything including part of a tooth in his face. With what could be her last breath she gave it one last shot and yelled again. Where were those good samaritans when you needed them? “HELP!”

Doc: Doc moved to stand over his quarry. Her seething anger only fueling his humor tenfold. “I doubt you will find anyone willing to help you.” His lips twisted in a wry and cruel grin. His right hand fisted, “You know what has to happen now. You have to be punished.” His fist reared back, and using all his vamperic strength he slammed it into the side of her jaw.

Satine: She watched the blood land on the man’s perfect suit and his handsome face. She admired its bright color and the way it settled randomly as if she had all the time in the world to take pleasure in her final mark on the world. The pain was still there but she found the fact she was about to die that made it less noticeable. Colors mattered more and tastes she took for granted. The sound of a distant alarm becomes music and even the scent of exhaust could be appreciated in her final moments. Her eyes had enough time to fix on his. She would remember them. She clung to the sound of each of his words. The scent of his breath between them overpowered the aroma of her own blood flowing in her mouth. It was the last messages she would hear. His face she imprinted in her memory and his fist...well now she knew she would remember that too. With a sharp burst of bone crushing pain everything went black.

[Velveteen]

The night had started so perfectly. Velveteen was swooning with every word he sang to her and the first part of the evening had her falling in love with him all over again. Unfortunately though that all ended rather abruptly when he mentioned Bunny and guilt clawed its way up her spine painfully. The conversation only went bad from there. Satine had become a constant source of argument for the couple and while Velveteen wished she could disconnect herself from this as easily as she did most other things, she just couldn’t. That fact alone caused a level of angst that she wasn’t used to. The lack of control over the situation only further added to it.

The vampire shewed at her lip thoughtfully as she stood there and looked at him. They had, it seemed, reached an agreement. As much as she wished she could convey her real feelings on the matter she just couldn’t. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, quite the opposite. She just couldn’t really put into words the thoughts that plagued her. She couldn’t explain the ball of dread that weighed heavily in the pit of her stomach. Nothing about it made any sense and when things didn’t make sense, Velveteen was at a loss as to how to deal with them. Perhaps it was better that she let her husband deal with it. So far all she had done was make a series of bad choices when it came to her sister.

A smile moved slow and easy over her reddened lips and she took a step forward. Any bad feelings had been quickly tossed aside in preference of the feelgood ones her husband managed to stir in her all too easily. This man was her Achilles heel. Her greatest weakness and she was sure he knew that all too well, but the truth was there was not a single thing she wouldn’t do, give or sacrifice for him. The strength of her love and need for him was nothing short of overwhelming and to see him smile was the closest to heaven that she would ever get.

A hand came up so that long, slender digits could curl in the soft, worn cloth of one of his favourite t-shirts when fear tore an icy path from the centre of her being. It made no sense but before the woman could even question this oddly out of place emotion some unseen force rose up from nowhere and smacked her in the face with what felt like a sledgehammer, knocking her backwards before she fell to the floor in a tangled heap. There was barely a second given for confusion before pain wrapped itself about every nerve ending in her face and squeezed them brutally before moving its attention to her side where she landed on grease covered cement floor of the garage.

She could taste blood and her first coherent thought was that she hoped to **** her teeth weren’t broken. Silver orbs, wild and confused, searched for her husband though she felt as if she was blind. Seeing yet not seeing. Two scenes overlapping each other yet cancelling each other out at the same time. She thought she heard him call her name but it sounded like he was so far away. She managed to start clawing her way to her feet and for a split second she could see the concerned features of her husband hovering close by. A hand came up in the hope of catching his and a sense of urgency filled her. Her need to connect with him became a matter of life and death, as if his touch could prevent her from being stolen away from this reality and hurtled into a whole other world.

Her fingers brushed his and the garage seemed to spin faster and faster about her, taunting her as she struggled to find her feet when suddenly out of nowhere what ever had hit her before caught her in its grasp once more and tossed her like a rag doll across the room. Her back slammed up against the truck and yet again she fell to the floor like a rag doll. She called his name, at least she thought she did and when she looked up she thought she saw him rushing to her. She hoped it was him...it was hard to tell as nothing around her seemed real or solid. The shadows shifted and while she knew she was inside, thought she was inside, she couldn’t help but feel like she was also outside, on the road somewhere. “Satine.” was the only word that seemed to work and was spoken in a voice so small and broken that it would have been difficult to hear.

She felt his cool hand at the back of her neck whilst the other slid beneath her legs to scoop her up. His familiar strength, sure and dependable made her feel safe and as she opened her eyes instead of him she saw a disjointed ghostly like, fist come from nowhere. Her head snapped to the side and was followed by more pain that thankfully was immediately followed by the soothing blackness of unconsciousness.

[Micah]

It hadn’t been a bad evening overall, not at first. And not even after the elephant in the room had been addressed. He could have chosen to get angry all over again but there was no point in it. He’d been angry, and he’d gotten over it. Bunny was going to be just fine and would suffer no lasting damage from the wounds she’d sustained. Besides Bunny knew what she was getting herself into. When Micah had found her running that night he’d made sure she knew what she was signing up for when he enthralled her. And knowing that small blonde had still agreed. She’d been an asset to not only him but to Vel and the entire faction.

Satine. Micah wanted to hate her, and in a way he did. She’d waltzed into their lives and turned them upside down with her smartass mouth and her bad ******* attitude. Though as much as he wanted to throttle her another part of him wanted to protect her. Injuring her caused injury to Vel and that wasn’t even the only thing. She was family. Not just to Vel but to him as well and because of that it brought those protective instincts to the surface that were reserved for those he actually gave a **** about. That Satine was making him feel that way...it made him resentful and for that he hated her. Did it make sense? No but then there wasn’t much Micah did that made sense to anyone but himself. He liked it that way.

They’d reached an accord, he and Vel did, in regards to Satine. Micah knew she didn’t like it but it was the only real solution that he could come up with and accept. He’d explained his feelings to Vel, was as honest with her as he could be but she didn’t like it. He understood. Another female forming a bond, a relationship with him brought her own instincts to the surface and sister or no sister his wife wasn’t going to be okay with it. But people had seen Satine’s face now and it wouldn’t surprise him if some of the more unsavory residents of the city sought her out to try and use her against Vel. In his own way, Micah was trying to protect them both and he hoped in time Vel would understand that.

Pale, slender fingers curled into the front of his shirt and his own fingers reached out to slip through the belt loops on her jeans. Before he could do anything else though, their evening that had just started to get back on track went to hell in a handbasket.

One minute his hands were on her and the next she was ripped out of his grasp and sent to the floor. There was no logical explanation for it. She hadn’t tripped. His wife wasn’t clumsy and even if she had been the look on her face would have been comical. But fearful? Never. Her hands moved through the air, searching blindly and he tried to get to her side to help her, calling her name but he doubted that she was able to hear him. She was ******* terrified and for once he was too.

Seeing her drag herself across the floor to get to him had him frozen in place. He couldn’t move, think or even speak but when he saw her hand reach for him he was finally able to get his body to cooperate. Micah felt her fingers brush against his but before he could grab onto her she was gone, thrown across the room by some force neither of them could see. Her back slammed into the side of his truck and before she could hit the unforgiving cement he was moving. As he reached her side he heard her whisper one word. A name. Satine. Of course! It all made sense to him now.

Concern turned to anger. That wicked, white hot rage built inside of him and rolled through his body like molten lava, igniting him and sending him to a fury that was indescribable. And he knew just who to direct it towards. For now though his wife needed him. Carefully he gathered her into his arms and headed upstairs. It wasn’t home, but it was better than nothing and it was secure. She would be safe there for now. Settling her onto the couch he covered her with a soft blanket and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’ll be back baby. Please, stay put.” He thought she might have murmured her agreement but he was already gone, having used his tome to get back to the Eyrie. He only had one thing in mind at that moment - getting to Satine.

A few portals and one transit ride later Micah was standing at the entrance to Winterbrook. Raising his fist he beat on the door. Zero fucks were given to anyone who might be sleeping. Zero fucks were given to the disturbance he was causing. “DOC!! You slippery *********** open the motherfucking door!”

[Doc]

Doc watched as Satine fell to the ground. She didn’t into a collapse into a serene ladylike repose, like is often seen in the movies. No she crumpled like a bag wet laundry. A wadded up heap of clad in the black vestments of a nun. He left her there for the moment, as he went to look at the damage to his Porsche Panamera.

He rubbed the rear end of the car and the rear bumper where it might appear he hit someone. It wasn’t overly noticeable really. But Doc liked his cars perfect. He would be able to tell how much damage if any, in better light. He then moved around his car, looking for any other dings or nicks that may have befallen it due Satine’s willful nature. One thing was for sure, she wouldn’t try to escape again, not once he was through with her. He intended that she become well acquainted the ECT room. He wanted her to equate freedom with pain, and he had a variety of ways to make that happen.

Having thoroughly inspected his car, and made the mental notes of every scratch, burnish and ding, Doc returned to the crumpled pile of fake nun. He opened the back door and unceremoniously picked up, and chucked the crumpled body into the back seat. He was tempted to punch her again. But he could tell she was well and truly out. No faking that one.

The drive back to Winterbrook was uneventful and normal. His anger at her audacity for attempting this escape, was fading. He glanced at his watch, based on what the nun told him on the phone, total time she was free, was at most two hours. Not bad really. And if he was lucky the nuns hadn’t alerted the cops, so hopefully, this incident would be a non-issue. No one would ever know.

Turning on to the drive headed to Winterbrook, his last thought was proved wrong, for there on his doorstep was Micah. An angry and irritated Micah. It clear he was listening to the radio and heard about Satine’s lotto win too. Parking his car, he collected his errant inmate, dragging it out of the car and tossing her over his shoulder. He walked up behind Micah.

“DOC!! You slippery *********** open the motherfucking door!”

“Hello Micah. This one is the slippery one. She damn near killed one of my nuns.” He said as he moved in beside Micah in order to get to the door. He wasn’t going to react Micah’s anger. It was justified. Doc pulled out his security key card and swiped the bar, and the red light turned green, indicating the door was now unlocked. He opened the door and said in a rather jovial way, “Found her at the High Noon Saloon.. apparently she has a thing for mechanical bulls.”

Doc was already at the security doors that separate the lobby from the main floor as he said, “Make sure the light turns red when it shuts, will you?’

[Micah]

At the sound of Doc’s voice Micah turned, his rage intensified tenfold at the mere sight of him. Originally the killer had thought that maybe Satine had had a run in with another inmate at the asylum, and Micah was ready to kick whoever’s *** he had to find out why it was allowed to happen in the first place. He had been under the impression that Winterbrook was secure. Not that he had been told as much, but because Micah had figured Doc to be a real stickler for rules and **** when it came to a place like this. After what Micah had seen Vel go through he’d changed his mind. The best place for Satine was with him, and Vel. Between the two of them they had enough places to keep her that no one would ever be able to find her.

Micah opened his mouth to say something incredibly nasty when he caught sight of who Doc was carrying like a sack of potatoes. Satine. He tried again but Doc was speaking, and he sounded almost happy about it. Had he honestly expected Doc to treat Satine any differently because she was Vel’s sister? Yeah. He really had. But this...this was going too far. It was too late for him to control his temper. Far too late for that. He didn’t give a **** about where she had been, or what she had been doing. He didn’t give a **** about the light turning red once the door slammed shut behind him as he slipped inside behind Doc but he made sure anyways. Once that door slammed though….Micah turned his rage on his fellow faction mate.

“So I see you’re the reason that my wife is currently curled into a ball on the couch after having been thrown around like a ******* ragdoll?” It occurred to Micah that Doc wouldn't know about what had happened to Vel as a result of what had happened to Satine. Once the killer was done with his tirade, he sure as **** would. “See theres something that Vel and I didn’t mention. Whatever happens to her?” Micah pointed at Satine the disguised nun. “Vel feels it. Why do you think I haven’t killed her by now? Because I don’t know if that would kill Vel. And it’s not a risk that I’m willing to take. Can’t say I give a **** about your nuns or her love for riding mechanical bulls. Obviously I was wrong to trust that she would be safe here.”

Concentrating Micah pulled the memory of Vel being whipped around the garage to the front of his mind and forced it into Doc’s head. Let him see for himself what had happened to Vel as a direct result of what had happened to Satine. Let him feel how helpless Micah had felt watching Vel as she crawled across the floor to get to him. Let Doc feel the vast array of emotions that had rolled through the killer seeing his wife suffer. Only then would Doc understand.

[Doc]

As the memory was pushed into his mind’s eye, of Velveteen curled in a ball and in pain, Doc almost wanted sigh. He saw pain every day. And .. **** him, he didn’t have an empathetic bone in his body. The memory was nothing more to him, than watching a clip from a movie with no context or maybe a commercial. Context could change any scene, from a serious drama to dark humor. He didn’t dare grin, although he wanted to, he could almost hear the voice over saying ‘Depends undergarments, never be caught without them’, as Vel crawled across the floor. He doubted Micah would appreciate his humor.

There was no winning with Micah. Doc was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. It was in his best interests to be damned if he ‘didn’t’. And, did it not cross Micah’s mind, that maybe the fact that Vel experienced associative synaesthesia in regard to her sibling, was 'need to know' information? How the **** was he supposed to know this tidbit of very important information, osmosis? And just how did Micah expect him to keep the little psychopath in check without physically forcing her? Harsh language? That obviously had not worked that well for Micah, since he was the one that stabbed her in the leg, so what does he do? Micah dumps the little shitbag on him, and then complains about the manner in which Doc was dealing with her. Well **** that ****.

Doc unceremoniously chucked the unconscious Satine at Micah. He refrained from saying a pithy parting comment, even though part of him wanted to. There was no need to say anything. Micah had made the trip here specifically, when he could have called and bitched at him, so it was abundantly clear that Micah wanted his ‘charge’ back. Well there she was, nun habit and all. He had better things to do than chase all over town after Velveteen’s crazy sibling.

Climbing the stairs to the door of the Asylum, Doc passed his key card through the key swipe and entered. Part of him said it would be good to warn Micah, that since Vel was already suffering from associative synaesthesia, that chances were pretty damn good that the pain would get worse when in close proximity to the afflicted. The other part of him said, we’re vampires none of this **** is documented, let him find out on his own.

[Satine]

“Like I said before, I don’t know where she is at.” A long set of fresh from spring break fingers weaved lightly at the top of a full head of wild cinnamon tinted curls. “I don’t even know her name to be perfectly honest. But the the chick you are describing sounds about right. She doesn’t say much. Keeps to herself and when she does say something she sounds like she comes from the land down under.”

Lanky shoulders rolled back a little as the twenty-something male shifted his hazel eyes between the two men in dark stiff suits staring him down like a set of gargoyles. There seemed to be more and more of them starting to hang around town now that Cody gave it some thought. Dark suits. Not gargoyles.

“She seems harmless. I kind of got the impression that she preferred to be left alone. Well, that is until she scared the **** out of me. She spotted me trying to take a hammer to a couple of old bar stools I was trying to fit in the dumpster. You would have thought I was behind the barn trying to put down her family dog or something. She came out of nowhere and screamed at me to stop. Damn near yanked those stools out of my hands like she was saving the earth and didn’t say another word as she stomped back into the lobby and disappeared. Weird, eh?”

Cody went quiet for a moment. The woman was a looker. Nice curves, dark long hair and those eyes were like a set of lightning bolts when they fixed on you. You froze in your tracks trying to take them in. Never seen a set quite like them. Had to be contacts. He figured he was shot down before he even tried asking her what her deal was. Before he drowned too much in reflecting what she looked like he remembered something else. “Oh! I think she has a thing for chinese take-out. The hallway and elevator always smell like it when she is coming and going. Come to think of it...haven’t smelled it recently. Who knows maybe she went back home.”

Cody’s face went flat wondering if that was possible.If so that was a long time to be in a seat in the air. He hated sitting through a movie without a smoke break. Now he was needing to step outside and light up and he was starting to get hungry. Where the hell was Justin? Dumbass probably got stoned and totally brain farted the movie they had planned on going to. Great. He was looking at Agent K and Agent J who appeared to be waiting for him to pull a rabbit out of his sleeve or something. Did these guys ever bat an eyelash or break wind or something? They looked like wax mannequins until they talked.

“Perhaps, but that is highly unlikely.” The cold face beneath the transition lenses finally replied. “We have reason to believe she is here.”
“Oh?” The hands left the front jeans pockets and the lean bronze arms folded across a medium well toned chest totally forgetting he was outnumbered and the last one in charge. “Why is that?”

Cody had a hidden talent. He was told as much more than a few times by several people. A majority of those happened to be his ex’s. The well known talent reared it’s head and the faces looking at him bore the same expression of suspicion that those ‘better-off-as-ex’ gave him when he walked right into a **** storm of epic proportions.

“We are asking the questions.” The taller of the two spoke lifting his focus from the small device in his own hand. It was possible that it was a pager but the more Cody checked it out he was not quite so sure. “Remember?”

“Yeah…” Hazel eyes rolled upward then a cocky expression formed. “This a men in black thing and the chick has an extra set of arms and legs or something? Because she looks pretty normal compared to some of the crazy **** I have seen around here.”

Both men looked at the male getting bold with the attempt at playing 21 questions. There was a long silence. Not one eye blinked on either face nor a twitch of a lip. Upper or lower. Cody held out as long as he could but in the end he lost. He blinked first. Damn these guys were good.

“You know where we can find her?” One of the men stepped closer and eyed the jean and t-shirt clad male up and down as if perhaps she could be standing right behind him hiding. “Do you have any idea where she hangs out when she isn’t here?”

“Like I said before I don’t know her name. She likes chinese food and saving outdated furniture. She does sound like who you guys are looking for. Check the flea markets? She in trouble or something?” Cody paused as he noticed his buddy finally arrived to pick him up for that movie he almost gave up on.

“Hey man.” Justin nodded to the guys who looked out of place hanging in the hall of the apartment building with his friend. His hand dove into his jacket pocket to try and sink his small stash deeper in the pocket that he wished was endless the more the men looked at him.

“You remember that chick that lives in there.” Cody’s thumb hiked over his shoulder and pointed back at Satine’s apartment door. “Nice looking, dark long hair and worth remembering?”

“Yep. The one who almost kicked your *** over some bar stools?” Justin winked at Cody while scratching his chin thoughtfully with his free hand. “Wait! Her?!” Suddenly Justin looked like he had a bombshell he couldn’t wait to drop even if two strangers were standing right there to hear it.

“Yes.” The tall male with glasses interrupted. “The one that lives here.”
“I forgot to tell you about that. Check this out…” Justin swatted Cody’s shoulder as if he wasn’t paying attention. “You were gone down in the Keys when it happened.” He looked over at the two in suits and shrugged as if he owed them details. “My man Cody here went south for spring break and left me home alone. Imagine that.”

Both men stared back at him saying nothing.

“Dude! Shut up! The chick…?” Cody swatted Justin back to get him on track.
“Alright, get this…” Justin was already busting a ‘know-it-all’ grin. “She was on t.v. or something. Twice! First she was at the airport getting arrested for pulling a gun on airport security at some checkpoint. Good thing you gave up those bar stools without a fight. Babe is packing some fire power. Then a few days or a week or whatever the **** I don’t know she was winning the lotto. No ****. Hey...is she a nun?” Now he scratched his head thinking about how ridiculous that all just sounded even coming from his mouth.

Cody eyed Justin wondering what he had been smoking. He was stunned. Justin came up with all sorts of whoppers but this one took the cake.“A what…?”

“Nevermind…” Justin ignored the expression and went on to give the last of what he finally learned while Cody was playing in the sand for a couple weeks. “Her name is Satine. Next time you see her tell her to be cool and pick up our bar tab. They told me we are cut off until we pay up.”
“Satine?” Cody was stumbling on getting out the name he was hearing for the first time.
“Yep, that would be her name. Never heard that one before.”
“You guys try knocking?” Justin shook his head at the two men and thumbed a gesture at Cody standing there in the same spot not moving a muscle. “Huge help he is, right?”

With that said Justin leaned in and knocked on the door. Noticing it jiggled his hand fixed around the door knob and tested it with a light turn. The door went open and with it went a call for the woman who lived there. “Anyone home?”

“Dude, so not cool! You can’t just do that.” Cody was now as oblivious as Justin to the two suits still standing there watching them. He shoved Justin away from the door. “Girl is on t.v. for having a gun and you are just winging it opening her door like Mr. Jones looking for a cup of sugar?”

Justin laughed at Cody’s attempt to get him out of the way. “Man, relax. If she tries to come after you we got back up.”

Now that the door had been open more than a moment the stench of rotten eggs and expired meat rolled out into the hallway where they all stood looking in. Cody and Justin immediately took hold of their t-shirts and pulled the collars up over the bridge of their nose. Each gagged and turned around in slow circles while the men in suits stared at the modest furnished apartment. One nodded and the other looked down at the inside door mat. Justin and Cody leaned over looking as well.

“Oh ****, not you again.” Was in bold black font across a brown square of cheap artificial turf.

“What the hell?!” Both simultaneously commented on the greeting at their feet.

“Place smells like someone died!”Cody gagged again and turned to grab some fresh air a few feet away.
“Dude!” Justin drops his hand from his t-shirt and let it slide down. “You know that lamp you been missing that disappeared from your door when you were bringing stuff up from the car and gave me **** about taking it?” Laughter begins. “I think the mystery is solved as to where it is."

The men in black formed a single file formation and stepped inside the doorway of the apartment. The cloud of rot did nothing to deter them. They had a trail that they were on. So far the more that they continued to follow the faint but trackable steps left behind it always brought them a little closer to the one who had a lot of explaining to do. As far as they were concerned it was rather plain and simple. One does not cut a man up like a side of beef with his own ax and wrap him up leaving him in his own deep freeze. Not usually. And even if they do they certainly were not okay with the guilty party letting their own mother, drug addict and psych case or not, take the blame. That is just wrong. One needs to be accountable and in the very least answer a few questions.

"Hey!" Cody surrendered the hold on his t-shirt as well and decided he wanted his lamp back. He made his move and stepped quickly towards the woman’s door. "Can I grab..." The door was closed and locked before he could finish his sentence. "My lamp?"

The men split up quickly. One disappeared to the right and the other to the left. Their hands stayed close to their concealed weapons as their steps were nearly silent while they advanced down the halls. She could run. They would give her credit for that. But she could not hide. Not for long. One drawer opened in the bedroom while another closed in the bathroom vanity. Back and forth the sounds of swift sweep work took place. If she was to come back she would never know that they had been there. They were pretty sure she wouldn’t be returning. The eggs and sour funk filling the apartment was one clue.

“Got her.” The voice from the bedroom of the West Tower apartment was the second clue.

A door closed just as it had been before and the taller suit met up with the other in the middle of the modestly furnished living room. Sensitive documents in a skilled and ambitious hand were produced for the other to look at. It was not easy when they started out but as with any case they were assigned to that was similar they longer the person ran the easier it was catching up with them.

“She isn’t getting far.” The documents disappeared into the inside pocket of the dark suit jacket. “Now that we know what she is doing here. Time to get out of here. In the mood for some chinese take-out?"