As Above, So Below ((Lincoln King))

[Eska Morreau (DELETED 8550)]

Eska was in her element.
Walking the streets, her senses were sharpened: ears trained to catch important pieces of conversation, eyes glancing at each person who passed and making quick notes about them all.
She loved walking the streets, it was the one thing that had helped her keep her sanity after her mother's murder. She had made it a habit to walk as far as she possibly could each day, going farther and farther, sometimes dreaming of crossing the city limits and never looking back.
Now,with someone else by her side, she had a strange rush of deja vu. She led Linc further and further into the heart of the city. There was an old building at the edge of town where she kept watch. It might have served a purpose as a government building before but it was shut up now. The roof was good place to keep watch because it looked out over the whole city and was high enough so they wouldn't be seen.
All through the walk, Eska held on to Linc's hand. She had no particular purpose for this and she was hardly sure he even noticed but it helped to steady her and she was glad there was another human being who understood what was going on.
Even if that other human being was the most insufferable one around.

[Lincoln King]

He felt the warmth of her fingertips, occasionally clenching tighter against his hand as they walked, Eska pressing close to his side as they moved quietly around corners and down darkened streets lit by grainy streetlights. They washed out the colour of everything around them, leaving the world around a diffused glow of green tinged grey. It was a hazy sort of light, and added to the ridiculous feeling that they were on some kind of secret mission. Lincoln had said much for the majority of the walk, it was only as they approached the old building and Eska's steps began to slow that his voice broke the silence.

"Eska, are you planning to take me to a creepy old building to try and take advantage of me, or worse, punish me for some ancient crime i've completely forgotten i've committed?" He feigned horror, his free hand lifting to press against his chest. Those clear green eyes of his opened wide, normally pouted mouth agape in a look of mock alarm, recoiling only barely from her. "I'm innocent, I swear. It was that other ridiculously tall, dashing gentleman from your dark and sordid past. Have mercy!" He teased, dark blonde lashes fluttering down towards his high cheekbones. It felt easy to tease, to try and wind the girl up. She was younger than him, and at one point in time he'd felt some ridiculous sense of protectiveness over her. Considering how they'd met it wasn't any great surprise.

He wasn't a fan of bullies, and he'd made that pretty clear. The resulting fight over his stepping in to defend her, to stop what was about to take place, was the reason for the scar that marred the symmetry of his face. A gauge from his cheek, leaving a sunken mark that had healed but never fully disappeared. There wasn't any great, the scars she would have worn emotionally for the rest of her life would likely have been worse, and the guy didn't try to touch her again.

Some things were worth the risk, but damn his sense of justice for demanding he be the one to take it.

[Eska Morreau (DELETED 8550)]

"Come on, what kind of girl would I be if I led you all the way out here just to punish you, Linc? I'm hurt you don't trust me," Eska replied, mock sadness on her face. The building loomed over them and it gave her a strange thrill, to be here on such an empty night.
Or maybe she just missed the human contact.
The front of the building was locked up but a service entrance out back led the way up a few flights of dusty old stairs. There were a hundred other places Eska could have kept watch but there was something almost...sentimental about the place. The bakery was a block away and she loved to look at it, an almost unconscious habit. It was open again, under new management and she had never had the heart to visit it.
"Its a little way up if you don't mind heights, Linc. I kind of do but then again, I'll kill you if you repeat that anywhere." Eska pushed the door open, a small feeling of disappointment filling her when she let go of her friend's hand.
Another time, she told herself.

[Lincoln King]

He laughed, a scoffing sort of sound, and dropped the act at her words. "Not the sort of girl I remember, that much is for certain." His gaze took in the building, smirking at her mention of heights. They'd never bothered him much, and now he quite liked jumping between buildings, scrambling over high walls and taking risks because he knew he could probably land it and if he didn't then he hopefully his abilities might just keep him alive long enough to heal his sorry ***.

When Eska let go he felt the cooler night air, his skin had grown warm beneath her grip and it felt odd now, Lincoln shaking out the hand as if to brush away the sensation while he climbed the steps behind her. "How long have you been back? I mean, for me it's only been a few months since i've been back permanently. University was good, my job after was great but my father wanted me to help him with the family business. I thought he meant his company, which he did, but mostly he meant being a sorcerer. Yay me..." His voice faded with each word, until it was barely a disgruntled murmur between them as they ascended.

[Eska Morreau (DELETED 8550)]

"About a year and a half..." Eska began.
When it came to her life and her niece, her mind went on autopilot, reciting facts and dates that had been rehearsed before. She shook her head, deciding this was her friend rather than social services or one of Trin's teachers.
"Trinity and I moved back here about a year and a half ago. Julie died when Trinity was a baby and I didn't think I could handle raising her here by myself. We kind of moved around a bit but this is her-our home..." Eska trailed off, her eyes on the stairs in front of her. The building was falling to pieces, slowly but surely and one day, she would have to find a new place to scout the city.
It was fine now though and after reaching the top of the building, she pushed the rusted door that led out on to a roof. Eska had made herself at home here, piling supplies in a camping cooler and storing her weapons in a worn duffel bag. The place served as her refuge, she came often to just clear her head and it seemed almost strange to let someone else up here to see it.
"Make yourself at home, Linc. If we get lucky, we'll both get some action tonight. Either that or this is the most unromantic date ever," she shrugged, perching herself on the edge of the building, her back turned to him.
This was going to be a long night.

[Lincoln King]

She wasn't kidding about the state of the place. It was old, musty and he felt like the steps might crumble beneath them with the slightest pressure but the view from the roof was great. Eska had made herself well and truly at home, a little station set up for her city monitoring, Lincoln having the audacity to give a snort of laughter at the situation. "How have I been back for almost six months and i've not seen your sneaky little backside creeping around looking for vamps to harass?" He sobered slightly, moving towards the edge, peering over it. A thought dawned on him, of how committed she was to her paladin ways, he'd met a few who were off their heads over vampires, wanting to kill every single one. Lincoln thought they were nuts. He didn't mind the most of them, they blended in and didn't leave too much mess behind, he only had an issue with the wild ones that seemed unable to control themselves. He had not yet been given cause to hate, he reserved hate for individuals who had earned it and most just didn't. Most he couldn't be bothered with, his lack of interest more effective than hate ever could be. Too much energy spent on passion that lead to no pleasure, no resolution just a seething feeling of distaste. Instead he used his anger was like a whip, cracking hard and fast, then reeled back in.

Linc's brow went up at her words, interrupting his thoughts, the man swallowing the question that had hovered on the top of his tongue. Date? "Are you expecting to get laid? I'm not that kind of boy, Eska, shame on you." Full lips pouted as he glanced back over his shoulder attempting to look coy. "Besides, that sounds a hell of a lot like mixing business with pleasure and i'm not about that life." Based on his current career path that was blatantly untrue, but she didn't know that.

[Eska Morreau (DELETED 8550)]

"Oh get over yourself, Linc," Eska said, pulling the dagger from its strap on the inside of her thigh.
Their conversation was almost casual but she could sense an underlying tone in it. Linc, Eska learned, was someone surprisingly eager to anger. He was charming and made anyone feel as if they were basking in attention but the smallest mention of an unwanted topic would have him on the offensive.

"Yeah well, maybe you weren't looking hard enough," she jibed, making a reference about his comment on never seeing her. Eska had learnt to strike a balance when it came to the supernatural. She was suspicious of all vampires, more so with the recent wide spread knowledge of them coming to light. She would have loved to pursue every last one of them and destroy them but even she understood there were exceptions. Innocent men and women who had no power over the fate that had been thrust on them.

The air was nice and cold against Eska's face and she breathed in, reveling in the moment. Most of the time, there was nothing to see when she was on scouting duty. It didnt matter though because being here gave her a sense of freedom. The feeling of being able to breathe in the midst of all the chaos going on.

"Don't get your hopes up, Linc, there's usually nothing happening..." Eska had barely completed the sentence when a noise caused her to turn her attention towards the next block, in the direction of the bakery. She stood almost on impulse and grabbed the binoculars that lay beside her. A man in a hoodie crashed through the bakery's display window, his clothes bloody. A barage of alarms blared behind him and the paladin found her heart racing with fear.

What's going on there?

"Come on, Linc," Eska turned to Linc, her face drawn with fear, a haunted look in her eyes. "We should hurry." She ran past him, not caring to see if he caught up.

The feeling of deja vu had turned into cold, biting fear in the pit of her stomach.

[Lincoln King]

He feigned mock insult, shock. What else could he do? Besides, making a joke out of it and slinking around the topic meant he never got to find out if she was even semi-serious or holding on to some lingering school girl crush. If she thought he was cute, fuckable, he didn't mind but as long as she didn't have some grand delusions of affection beyond friendship and a mutual respect of their independent existences. "You caught me, I wasn't exactly looking. In fact, I have managed to avoid most people from High School, funny that." Lincoln acted as if it were by some miraculous coincidence he hadn't had the awkward catch-ups and "omg how ARE you" conversations on the streets of HR. It wasn't.

He'd strategically avoided most scenarios that would lead to such futile chit chat, the preamble to making coffee dates that would never come to fruition. In other words an utter waste of his precious time.

Sure, some people he genuinely liked and had made a point of keeping in touch with, then there were less like Eska who he'd been friendly with but for whatever reason they'd not bothered to keep each other updated on their lives. They both had their reasons. He was content to perch on the edge of the wall, glancing out at the street pretending to be on patrol, to take part in casual chatter or companionable silence until she allowed him to escort her safely home. She was telling him it would be a quiet night, it often was, but the sentence was cut off by a loud noise, the crack of glass. He didn't jump to his feet, or look around in alarm, no. The young King merely peered around casually, leaning over to get a better look down the street. "Oh, goody... Bad guys." He snarked, fingertips drifting once more over knuckles, the skin still raw. Perhaps they were going to take another hammering that night.

Eska was already off like a shot, running back down the stairs through the building and towards the sound. Lincoln didn't follow, not yet at least. What was the point? He didn't need to run. After a few moments he stood, stretching lightly and pinching at the pleats of his trousers where they sat at his thighs, readjusting them to allow for freedom of movement. "I'm definitely ruining this outfit." His voice held a sort of breathy weariness, a mocking tone of distaste though no one was around to hear it.

Then he jumped.

Lincoln manage to cross the majority of the distance a single bound, landing atop a rooftop overlooking the bakery, and using his recent training in parkour and free running he was able to clamber down the fire escape on the far end of the building within moments. He waited, at the corner of the street just out of view, giving Eska time to catch up to him.

[Eska Morreau (DELETED 8550)]

Eska's heart was a caged bird in her chest.

She could feel her dagger pressing against her thigh, an alien weight. She rounded the corner and there, standing was Linc. Eska didn't see him run after her, she glanced up and realized...he jumped. Of course he did, she thought with a twinge of envy. Ever the showman. The alarms at the bakery had stopped wailing and running towards the place, the paladin felt a sick sense of déjà vu.

She was a child again, seeing the police cars surrounding the bakery. Julie was squeezing her hand, so tight it hurt. Where was mama? Everything was moving on slow motion, the whole image blurred in her mind like some crazy underwater nightmare. Two men wheeled a gurney out and there was a dark, bulging body bag. What was that slip of flowery material peeking out of the bag? Oh God... mama.

Eska shook her head, what was wrong with her? This wasn't real. There had probably just been an armed robbery or something. No one had been attacked.

Right. Right?

Her boots crunched broken glass under her feet and Eska stepped cautiously through the shattered window. On the floor was a woman, a young girl actually. A teenager. A man, quite possibly her father was kneeling next to her, looking for all the world as if he was in shock.

The girl was quite obviously dead. Her face was bloody and just below the line of her collar was a nasty wound. Almost as if someone had torn her throat out...

Eska could feel the old anger bubbling towards the surface. She knew almost without knowing who had done this. The girl on the floor looked too much like her sister, same dark hair, same pale skin.

Him.

She approached the man and knelt next to him. What was there to say really? I'm sorry some lunatic just killed your daughter? It happens? All of those things sounded cold, unreal. Instead, the paladin reached out and hugged him. He didn't seem surprised or shocked, just dazed and he hugged her back, clinging desperately like a man drowning clings to anything he can reach.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "Call the police." With that, Eska stood, unstrapping her weapon from it's hiding place. There was a wooden stake in her purse but she intended to finish this. Tonight, someone was going to die. She would finally get the closure she so desperately wanted.

[Lincoln King]

"Eska! Wait!" He snapped in frustration, jogging across to follow her as she made her way over to the bakery. She hovered by a man, distraught and kneeling in the glass over the body of a teenager, a dead one. A voice tugged at him, a silent anger and a pull to find who did it and exact a cruel revenge. The voice wasn't Lincoln's, and it felt like knives jabbing into him as it tried to rip free, to force itself into a position of dominance. Kingsley. He was angry, and he wanted out, he wanted to be in control. Linc's vision was blurrying, there was darkness closing in and his hands had balled into fasts as if it might help, as if ready to fight off the invisible force.

Having a split personality could be a real *****, something along that train of thought was the last words he heard before there was a rush of noise, the blindness taking him and then silence.

Outwardly his eyes had closed, body rigid and a deep breath being drawn in through his scowling lips. All of a sudden his face relaxed, posture shifting with a roll of the shoulders. "Let's do this." His voice was confident, almost eager and a dark smirk lifted the corners of his full lips. He'd witnessed Eska's hand moving to a weapon and his own itched to grab at the dagger at his ankle, or the gun hidden beneath his jacket. Kingsley didn't hesitate to move, as a quiet voice took up a chorus of "Be careful, don't get her killed" and other such warnings, but he was already following the signs of struggle and trying to work out where the one who'd caused the damage had gone. "Hurry up, Eska." He snapped cheerily, a new bounce in his step. Kings just loved a good fight.