MS - Rav's newest story

[Ravynlee]

Yeah Frib you're right! :lol: Yeah it's crazy in my head sometimes isn't it? haha

Well spotted!

As for the rest thanks so much! You make very happy when you say that

Hopefully it maintains pace then huh?

 

Here's more for today.

 

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With a jangle of keys Joanna pushed open the door. She was relieved to be home, inhaling familiar scents, surveying familiar furnishings, being back in her own environment away from the drama and oppression and universal stench of the hospital at long last. Entering the living room she quickly opened curtains to let what there was of natural light in.

“Oh my god I’m so glad to be home, you wouldn’t believe it,” she beamed contentedly over her shoulder.

Her smile awkwardly slipped off her face as she watched her sister enter the room a few moments later. Though she was no longer in a brace or walked like a woman suffering osteoarthritis the look on her face, as jovial as it attempted to be, dampened Joanna’s excitement. The ride over had been quiet, the atmosphere strangely stressed, and it hadn’t seemed to dissipate upon leaving the congested heart of the city. Listening to the car door slam outside Joanna crossed the room to embrace her sibling with another comforting hug. Though the sisters had always been affectionate towards one another it was a gesture that Joanna had repeated even more so ever since the cords and wires and masks had come off and words had long since dried up behind bittersweet smiles and damp tentative stares back at that hospital bedside. With her smile set permanently in place she tried to tell herself that it wasn’t personal, feeling her sister stiffen up beneath her touch. She tried reasoning with herself that Ravyn had always been somewhat tentative when it came to outward displays of physical affection but she full well saw by the look in her sister’s eyes, like some suspicious feral alley cat always on guard, that it was just one more piece of her that that evil bastard Mike Shinoda had stolen from her sister and was in all likelihood now gone forever.

“I’m sorry. Listen to me. Look, you make yourself at home now too okay? This is your home now as much as it is mine, it’s always been, sis. I’m just so glad to have you home again and out of that place. Look at you,” she cooed. “The marks have almost all gone. You look-”

Stroking a reverent fingertip against her sister’s face Joanna’s words were intersected by another’s entry into the room. It was Rob bringing in the bags, one in each hand and one over his shoulder with a weary grumble. Together the two women watched him push the door closed with his foot before making his way in to offload his luggage onto one of the sofas. He sighed just as Joanna and Ravyn parted. Outside the wind was howling. The sky, as choked with cloud as it was, heralded the promise of an early snowfall.

Smiling briefly in appreciation Joanna watched him linger expectantly. He stole a quick glimpse at his wristwatch.

“Thank you. If you like you can head back to the station. We’ve got things covered now. I just wanted you to drop us back here. Just haven’t been feeling the best lately and you know I hate driving when the weather’s bad like this. We understand it’s okay.”

Rob shrugged with a pout and swung his hands together restlessly.

“I don’t know. Its just paperwork. It’s not going anywhere in any hurry if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“I’m not getting at anything. I just meant - well you look bored. Surely there’s other places you’d rather be right now than stuck here with us. I thought you were still on probation? Won’t your captain-?”

“Jesus if you wanted me to go why not just say it already?” Rob uttered.

Pushing his wire-framed spectacles further up the bridge of his nose he frowned back at his wife sternly before hefting the bags into his hands again.

“What do you think you’re doing with those?” Joanna asked.

She followed him a few steps down the darkened hallway. The light at the end of the hall switched on painting her elongated shadow across the floorboards as Ravyn remained behind in the living room still bearing silent witness.

“Putting them in the spare room, remember? Isn’t that where they were supposed to go?”

“Not yet, I was going to wash them.”

“Great - Can I do anything right by you lately?”

“Jesus Christ Rob don’t start it with that crap. We have guests here remember? You could try being a little more civil sometimes. You might even want to try smiling once in a while. Do you remember how to do that? Do you really want that to be the first face our daughter ever sees from you?”

“Lay off.”

“Forget it. Forget I said anything. You know what, stay here, keep sulking,” Joanna muttered to him derisively.

Standing in the doorway to what had been Rob’s office they had been temporarily converted into a second bedroom Joanna folded her arms across her chest watching Rob leave the bags on the single bed and echo her body language with an equally imposing stare. He watched her step in with her voice kept low but losing none of its previous animosity before looking elsewhere at his computer table now empty and the cabinets now locked draped behind sheets to make them look less conspicuous and more homely. He sighed.

[Ravynlee]

“Need I remind you what my sister has just gone through, and here you are acting like some spoilt three year old for no fucking reason! I don’t know what’s wrong with you but you need to sort yourself out and fast Robert, there’s only so much bullshit I’ll take from you, especially right now. Now she doesn’t need it and neither do I. Grow the fuck up or get out, it’s your choice.”

Blinking back at her impassively Rob snorted watching her turn her back in frustration and leave the guest bedroom. Running her fingers through her hair she huffed out a few calming breaths. In the living room Ravyn sat on the sofa hunched over her folded arms attempting to smile back apologetically.

Joanna smiled but still steamed from her altercation with her other half it didn’t transfer through properly.

“I’m sorry,” she began to say.

Her words following that were cut off by the sound of Rob’s approaching footsteps as he strode past and out the door slamming it shut firmly behind him. Ravyn flinched at the sound but Joanna’s face crumpled with irritation. They listened to the car start up and pull out into the street with tyres screeching without a word passing between them. The moment came and went before silence resumed as much as possible against the backdrop of the driving winds outside. Huffing out a sigh Joanna apologized again.

“You didn’t need to hear that, I’m sorry. I just wish he’d-”

“It’s okay,” Ravyn lied behind her forced smile. “Maybe I shouldn’t have-?”

“Don’t you start this again, we agreed while you were still in the hospital that you’d stay here, at least for a little while okay? Don’t you go listening to him. He’s just… doing what comes naturally to him lately; being a complete asshole. He doesn’t mean anything to do with you sis, trust me. It’s me he’s mad at, though god knows why and for the life of me he won’t tell me. He wants you to stay here as much as I do. In his own way you know he worries about you too. He might be too proud to tell you, but… you know. You had to put up with this shit once upon a time too remember? I can’t imagine that much has changed has it?” Joanna asked rhetorically.

She smiled despite her angst but Ravyn either hadn’t heard or was too distracted by her own thoughts to echo the sentiment back with any real dexterity. With a sigh Joanna joined her sister upon the sofa. The silence was absolute save for cacophony of nature’s fury outside.

Slinging her arm around Ravyn’s shoulder she tugged her briefly but Ravyn didn’t relent against her nor impart further tears as had almost become custom as of late. Staring fixedly ahead at some point Joanna couldn’t determine, Ravyn merely blinked back attempting weak impulsive smiles that only came out as facial spasms upon her lips. She didn’t speak for a long time and Joanna was fast growing weary of the silence. Of all the scenarios that had played through her head on the possibility of this arrangement actually coming to fruition she had seen things in such a different light that the reality now felt like some cruel sick alternate hell for her emotions. Staring at her sister as Ravyn stared off into space Joanna felt her anger evaporate against the scabs that remained now on her sister’s neck. Most of the bruising had gone now, the swelling too, and the angry maroon band that had marred her throat like some internalised rubber band had faded to a soft pastel pink. The ligature mark, as she had heard the doctors and cops refer to it - caused by the friction of whatever the hell he had used to wrap around her neck and attempt to decapitate her with and had burned into her flesh had caused a thin sheen of scar tissue to form. It caught now in the dull light serving another visual reminder to the horrors that her body had not that long ago had been forced to endure. Reaching out Joanna delicately ran her fingertips across the scars pausing as Ravyn ever so briefly jerked her head away. The younger sister sighed again through her nose.

“Sis, I know it’s hard, but… You know what the doctors said. They all told us that the first few weeks were going to be hard, that it would take some time to adjust to, time to get yourself used to living in the-”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“He blames me.”

“He doesn’t blame you sis, no one does. Christ, you didn’t ask to be-”

“In two weeks he’s barely said one word to me. He can’t even look at me. It’s like he thinks I practically laid down and begged for it. I can see it in his face. He’s-”

“He’s upset is all. We both are. You know we’re not the only ones. That Mr Vaughn from the paper you work for, he even called while you were still recovering to see how you were. They had a lot of cards and well-wishers for you sis, a lot of people have been just as worried about you as we are. We just… didn’t want to upset you any further by-”

“I was raped and almost murdered,” Ravyn muttered lifelessly, still staring ahead without focus sounding too much like a recording to have come from the living breathing blinking woman sitting stiffly beneath her sister’s protective arm. Her voice was still quiet and raspy, little more than a gruff whisper, and the words were jagged, broken, but coherent enough in the silence for Joanna to make sense out of as Ravyn explained, “I don’t think upset is really an issue compared to that.”

“Sis, we were just doing what we thought was best, that’s all.”

“You should have let me die there.”

“Sis, don’t talk like that, please. You know how I can’t stand it,” Joanna begged and drew her arm away.

Together they sat practically joined at the hip but divided by fathomless gulfs of pain that played out in their reflective and brooding silences.

“You know what I can’t stand? This,” Ravyn told her. “Listen to me. Every second word I say I can’t hear. I don’t even sound like me anymore. I don’t even feel like me. Everyone keeps looking at me with all this sympathy and pity and telling me how lucky I am to be alive. If I hear that one more time I’ll… I’m not lucky-”

“Of course you are. You survived. You lived sis, you’re still here with us that’s what matters now, okay? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You’ve got so much to be thankful for. Now enough talking like this, come on. Lets go make us some coffee. I’m sure after all that hospital crap you’re about ready to-”

“No,” Ravyn croaked.

Half way en route to the kitchen Joanna stopped and turned around. Ravyn looked back at her slowly. There was nothing there but defeat. Joanna sniffled to force on a brave face all the while her body shook with rage.

“This isn’t alive,” Ravyn told her.

Joanna grimaced and held back her tears behind the floodgates. Returning to her sister’s side she stood embracing her against the side of her stomach.

“Come on. It’s been a long day already. Why don’t you go have a shower or something, freshen up, it might make you feel-”

Ravyn shook her head and pulled back again. She wiped her eyes though didn’t seem to have been crying as Joanna reluctantly let go. She stood rubbing her stomach that seemed so heavy and low lately she felt like she were carrying around bags of cement rather than a developing life. She sighed. In it contained all the words she so badly wanted to say but would never pass her lips. Stroking her sister’s dark hair back from her face she bowed and planted a kiss against her crown. She sniffled and couldn’t help it feeling Ravyn flinching away from it. Damn him, she hissed inside her mind, inside her heart, Damn him for what he’s done to her sister, to this family - but the face of her husband burned guiltily before her opened eyes. Swallowing down her rage Joanna smiled as she parted, needing just for a moment to get away and clear her head. Reaching down she scooped the remote from the coffee table and pointed it at the television set. The sound of artificial life flooded the house, the room, with colour. Handing the remote to her sister she began to walk away. She had barely reached the kitchen doorway when the sound of a familiar tenor graced her ears like razorblades across her heart.

MS takes Manhattan by storm. Surprise guest of honour. Gala event. Raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Funds for Notre Dame College. Contributors including New York congressman and. Expressed their sincerest gratitude for. Expected to be. Unveiling ceremony. New Year.

Frozen on the face grinning back from the screen Joanna felt her body go numb in that one instant heartbeat. Her pulse sounded in her ears, her head swam, so much so she had to reach out and steady herself against the back of the sofa just to remain upright as the newscast flashed before her eyes mockingly. Joanna uttered her sister’s name but no words seemed to have come out. She wasn’t so much enraged by the fact that they hadn’t mentioned one word about her sister, as she was the mere sight of his face beaming back happily like some damned Cheshire cat in a field full of canaries. Joanna’s flesh rippled all over contemptuously. She looked down at her sister with her eyes brimming with worry. But Ravyn just sat there hunched over her knees as she had been previously, cupping the sides of her neck between her palms.

She didn’t make a sound.

 

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[Ravynlee]

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“Are you sure?”

Blinking up Frib nodded. He met his team leader’s eyes with a solemn pout, feeling the weight of his confession bear down on his shoulders rather than shift as he had been in part anticipating. The look on Joel’s face wasn’t appeasing him at all as he cleared his throat and stirred in his seat uncomfortably. Nursing the phone in his hand Joel inspected it with a slight frown on his face.

“This is a serious allegation you’re making here, man,” he reminded.

Frib nodded again with his eyes lowered once more.

“Yes sir, I know.”

“And you’re sure it’s him? This is Bourdie we’re talking about. You’re partner. Same man?”

“Yes sir.”

“And this is your proof?”

Summoning his eyes up once more Frib frowned back in consternation. His arguments that had been previously rehearsed ad-nauseum before this had stalled to a choking lump at the back of his throat beneath the gaze of this other man. Joel was looking down at him evenly. It wasn’t menacing as much as it was a challenge. Clearly the discreet way in which they lingered over the young officer’s desk set the tone for the terse conversation. As if fearing an internal backlash the junior officer looked up and around before stealing another quick glimpse in Joel’s direction. Shifting his hip against the corner of Frib’s desk Joel huffed out a sigh without further elaboration.

“What do we do?” Frib wanted to know.

He watched Joel inspect the phone in his hand before closing the clamshell screen with a considerate pout.

“I don’t know. I mean it’s all coincidence at this point right? So what if he has this guy’s number on his phone? I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason behind it. The guy’s not a stranger to this department that’s for sure. Maybe Rob was just… doing a little surveillance of his own or something? It happens.”

Frib pursed his lips dubiously. Thinking back to the day he had met the infamous Mike Shinoda first hand outside his club, he was reminded of the way he and his new partner at that time had talked. Every slight nuance of that conversation, to the point where he had been sent on an errand to the time Rob stepped inside the club on his own had the wheels turning inside the young man’s mind seriously. Though he still did not know the nature of the two men’s private conversations in those moments, doubts and fears sprouted in place of factual proof. It was all too easy to let his imagination get the better of him, but now faced with the opinion of an objective third party Frib was fast beginning to loose faith in his own instincts.

Joel continued to stare at the phone a moment before eventually handing it back to the other man to take. He sighed before folding his arms across his chest, obscuring the gleaming brass knuckles beneath his sleeves.

“So what do we do now?”

“I don’t know. I could talk to him I guess.”

“But then he’ll know. He’ll know I said something.”

“So?”

Frib stirred uncomfortably in his seat and looked around the office again as if expecting to see his partner suddenly strolling up to meet him with a vilified glare upon his face. He shrugged back in place of speaking. His previous conviction, though far from overcome, still waged a conflicting war within his subconscious. Something still didn’t sit right inside of him and as hard as he tried, either in his native tongue or his adopted American brogue, the words to speak it continually evaded him. He was a sole man drowning in a sea with everyone else around him looking on blindly not seeing a thing.

“Look,” Joel explained in his most convincingly mature manner, “I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all, you know? Maybe if we just ask him I’m sure he’ll explain it. He’s a reasonable guy from what I know of him. A bit quiet and moody lately but… Look. If you’re afraid it’ll come back on you I’ll drop a word to him. After what happened with his last partner he’s more than likely going to be happy we came to him first rather than hear this kind of talk sneak up on him around the water cooler, catch my drift? Relax you let me handle it. If there’s anything to come from this we’ll deal with it then, okay? Don’t stress over it. I’ve got your back little man.”

Stirring Frib with a playful scuff of the hair Joel s******ed at him as Frib pushed his arm away. He smiled but doubts still lingered on his face regardless. He hoped he hadn’t just stirred up more trouble than he was able to deal with but time alone itself was going to tell.

 

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[Ravynlee]

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Three weeks before Christmas Joanna finally went into labour in Midland Hospital at 1:21 in the afternoon. Though six weeks early little Haily Nicole Bourdon was born into the world kicking and screaming without further complication. Weighing in at a healthy seven and a half pound the little girl had decided to come early on the prompting of doctors who were worried that Joanna’s dropping blood pressure was going to cause too much stress on mother and child. After a day’s bed rest Joanna had been induced and Haily had come quickly, almost not waiting for her father to make his way through bustling weekend traffic from his station in the heart of business capital of the city to greet her.

“She’s beautiful,” Joanna had wept into her husband’s face as he lowered close to kiss her.

The sound of her words, and his muffled into her dishevelled hair, was lost amid her exhaustive snuffles. It had been such a long wait the relief was monumental as they cooed over the newborn’s writhing form before she was whisked away to be cleaned and weighed and heel-pricked as per protocol. Rob lingered in the waiting room afterwards along with his ex wife, the silence enveloping them in those moments so tangible it sat like a suffocating blanket quashing the ability to speak let alone make cordial eye contact.

As the hospital buzzed with life they sat silently.

Eventually Rob cleared his throat and thanked her.

“I’m glad she was… that you were there like, so she didn’t have to go through it alone,” he said at his interlocked fingers.

Ravyn nodded limply. She too cleared her throat to make ready to speak.

“Of course,” she said with weak proprietaries. “She’s my sister. What did you expect?”

“Just… I don’t know. Thanks.”

Ravyn nodded again. An hour’s worth of silence passed by in those seconds before she eventually spoke again, thanking him with as much vocal sterility they were like strangers imparting small talk at a bus station rather than the friends and lovers and married couple they had once long ago been.

“Thanks for… you know… Putting Nicky in there; Nicole. I know you didn’t want to, sis told me. I just… keeps him alive in some ways doesn’t it?”

“Like I would ever forget him.”

“I’m not saying you would.”

The silence resumed uncomfortably as quiet buzzers rang and voices beckoned over the PA system, and Rob and Ravyn sat watching the rest of the hospital go about it’s normal everyday life with the same impassive looks on their faces that seemed out of place for the overwhelming emotion of the moment. When the elevator doors opened and footsteps heralded the start of the well-wishers life returned to them but the frivolities were forced and laboured at best. To the hugs of his teammates Rob was all smiles and emotion but the look in his eyes betrayed vulnerability now that could not be put into words. As Benji vociferously embraced him and Oded clapped his back in congratulations Ravyn blinked up at the gathering with a wary look on her face and soon excused herself to the bathroom.

Sitting alone in the cubicle she struggled hard not to hyperventilate. The looks on their faces, on every one of the men’s faces brought everything back to her, as much as the smell of being in this place did again, as much as the sound of running water in the basin on the other side of that closed door. She cried so hard she was nauseous stifling the sound behind clenched fists and teeth nursing her stomach with her heart breaking with the memories she had just witnessed and those of another life when she had borne her son into the world. She cried until the tears lost their intensity and sucking back the sobs Ravyn huffed herself up to rinse her face. She stood staring into the basin, into her cupped hands that were quaking, seeing the water but not feeling it, feeling that terrible sense of foreboding come upon her again like an invisible blow to the stomach.

Water. Screaming. Panic. Pain. Oh my god, no-!

Closing her eyes she pushed it aside, the memories, the sensory overload of her attack and opened her eyes again. Shutting off the water she reached for a paper towel to blot her hands. The sudden image of a face staring back over her shoulder made her heart stop in primal fear. Choking on a squeal she jerked forward, moving, spinning around to get away from him without rational thought as to how he’d snuck in without being noticed - how he had the gumption to risk a second attack in broad daylight, and how he thought he was going to get away with it again with half dozen police officers standing out there on the other side of that door not twenty feet away blocking the only exit. But just like that as sudden as it had come the moment had passed and Ravyn was left staring at the empty bathroom around her feeling her heart knocking erratically against her rib cage. Physically pained to breathe she clasped to her throat, struggling to quell her fears and the urge to scream and cry and run out of there laughing hysterically on limbs that seemed too physically rent to support her.

He wasn’t there. He’d never been there. This was all in her head, like some nightmare she was never going to wake from, that was not quite real and not quite fantasy. Feeling like a zombie with mechanical movements and a listless stare, she struggled to walk out of there, making her way out of the bathroom still sensing his eyes on her, always on her, inside of her now, festering within her like some abhorrent cancerous tumour for which there would be no cure.

 

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[Ravynlee]

---

 

Joanna smiled back sleepily.

“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” she murmured.

Glimpsing up from the child in her arms she watched her sister nod back mutely. Clasping a tiny little fist between her thumb and forefinger she stroked the infant’s tiny head, stroking her fingertips across the fine wisps of dark hair that adorned her. Joanna sniffled and swept the tears of joy from her eyes. She was exhausted but elated. It was the most poignant moment of her life as she lay there propped up against the pillows suckling her newborn daughter to her breast. At her bedside her sister sat watching on still saying nothing. A few smiles and gentle strokes of her niece was all the animation she afforded in that private room between them. Joanna sighed to herself wistfully.

“I still can’t believe it… Look at her… She’s a little angel… I think she has my eyes but her dad’s face. She’s definitely her father, look at that little frown… and the way she sleeps… she’s going to be tall too, all legs this one. Just like I thought.”

Smiling up at her sister again Joanna’s smile dwindled. Outside beyond her sister’s shoulder the sky was bleak and overcast. It looked like the first tentative traces of snow were finally falling and night was fast on its heels.

Hearing a knock on the door both women looked up. It was another deliveryman nursing a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Motioning him in with a smile the nurse offered her apologies as both Joanna and Ravyn uttered appreciative sounds of the newest explosion of colour to grace the room. There were already half dozen bouquets and balloons and stuffed toys and cards that adorned the windowsill and bedside table and overhead shelf but this newest gift was so big the deliveryman was rendered obsolete from the waist up behind them. Chuckling with her eyes wide Joanna watched the nurse and the deliveryman clear some room to manoeuvre it on a small table on wheels on the other side of the room. The arrangement of colour was so vibrant and bright against the usual pastel hues that Joanna couldn’t help but be open-mouthed as she accepted it.

“I wonder who they’re from?” she wondered aloud as Ravyn signed for them, scratching her name on the slip of board. The deliveryman nodded back appreciatively.

“Check and see does it have a card?”

“There isn’t one.”

“Well maybe you know who sent them. Are they from my husband?”

“I’m sorry,” the deliveryman shrugged smiling back in an almost conspiratorial fashion. “I can’t say. Company policy.”

“Might be from the precinct?” Joanna mused aloud. “They’re gorgeous. Look like they cost a fortune. They better be from your daddy,” she said, grinning down at her baby.

Looking up she thanked him and dismissed him with a nod. For a moment it seemed the deliveryman in the blue florists jacket was staring at her expectantly. The smile he wore seemed too toothy, too much like a leer to be cordial. Bowing her eyes Joanna refocused her attentions on her baby girl. She told herself it was natural to expect people to stare at a newborn now, it was something she was going to have to get used to in due time. But Ravyn was still staring at him with her arms folded across her chest suspiciously. The lines inked into his wrist that peeked out as he accepted the board back from her caught her attentions. It looked like an upside down heart that turned into a star beneath the blue bandanna looped beneath the jacket’s cuff. Ravyn frowned back dubiously.

“Alright, thanks,” he said.

He nodded at them both as he continued to grin at them. Beneath the fluorescent lights his blue eyes were very intense. The mole just beside his nose was distinguished just like the hair that framed the end of his chin. Even in a city of millions there was something about him that seemed to stand out. But offering them a wink and a nod he turned his back and left the room before either one of them could query it further. The door closed leaving the room quiet but infused now with a sense of vibrancy. The flowers tainted the air with their soft fragrances. The colour titillated the eye. Cooing another sound of admiration Joanna beckoned her sister to bring them closer but Ravyn seemed temporarily aloof to touch them.

“I wonder who they’re from?” Joanna asked again.

Ravyn shrugged. The nurse that entered soon after to help shift Haily into her humidicrib echoed their previous sentiment.

“Looks like someone’s happy. Daddy’s little girl already?” she joked as she wheeled the infant out to the nursery.

Shifting herself up out of bed delicately Joanna grinned around a yawn. She sighed.

“I hope so,” she replied, watching the woman depart and hearing the door close and feeling the smile slowly drop away from her face soon after. “Speaking of…”

“I don’t know,” Ravyn muttered under her breath. “I think he said something about heading out for a few hours. He got a call or something. Apparently it was pretty urgent.”

Joanna scoffed.

“Too urgent to drag him away from his wife and newborn daughter? Listen to me, I’m starting to sound like a broken record here.” She sighed and looked to her sister.

[Ravynlee]

Managing to tear herself away from the flowers Ravyn shrugged back vaguely. Joanna grimaced as she replaced the damp nursing pad and patted the collar of her nightgown over it securely. She winced a little at her tenderness, unable to sit quite right now comfortably against the covers.

“Oh sis. What am I going to do? You know what, never mind, I’m probably just tired. Maybe he’s gone out with his friends to celebrate or something. I just… I wish I knew what it was I’m supposed to do. Maybe he’ll settle down now she’s finally here, give him a reason to come home at night, to want to-” Joanna blushed despite her pained smile.

“You know earlier was the first time he’s touched me in months. It’s crazy I know, I just had a baby for Christ’s sake and here I am getting hung up on the details it’s just… This is going to sound crazy but… never mind. Maybe I just need to sleep, maybe tomorrow things will be better.”

“Do you want me to get you something?”

“No, thanks my sweet. Maybe another husband?” Joanna joked. Instantly feeling guilty she apologized and bowed her eyes dismally. Rubbing at the band on her finger she sighed once more. “You know without you I don’t think I would have made it this far.”

“Yes you would.”

“No I wouldn’t. If anything had have happened to you, I mean, if things had gone… differently, I don’t think I would have-”

“Knock, knock,” a voice intercepted.

Looking up the two women witnessed another face lingering expectantly in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting anything?”

“Joel, no,” Joanna smiled perhaps a little too suddenly. “Please, come in. We were just having a sisterly moment. Emotional day.”

“So we heard. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

Nodding in acknowledgement in Ravyn’s direction Joel pulled himself upright and pushed open the door to enter. The giant stuffed pink puppy dog beneath his arm flopped around limply. Joanna giggled as he crossed the room and handed them to her, and inclined her face to meet his affable kiss on the cheek. The moment seemed to last a split second too long. Perhaps it was the awkward pause afterward, maybe it was the nervous eye contact or the way their fingers brushed amid the exchange that made the atmosphere shift as Ravyn watched on seriously. Shifting against the windowsill she pushed herself onto her feet and approached the bed’s opposite side. The look Joel gave her made Ravyn’s eyes drop self-consciously.

“How- how are you?”

“Good,” Joanna said, her smile wavering uneasily as he looked aside to her sister.

“And how are you… feeling these days? Everything okay?”

“Fine,” Ravyn said nursing her elbows across her chest defensively. She bowed to kiss her sister’s rosy cheek. “I’m just going out to… nurse,” she uttered in her usual fragmented monotone.

Joanna began to object but Ravyn had left the room with a nod before anyone could make a move to stop her.

The second the door was closed on their conversation Ravyn fell back first against the door and nursed a hand to her mouth.

That man that delivered the flowers - she swore she had seen his face somewhere before. Somewhere, somehow, in some recent context she knew she did. Over the sudden rush of palpitations Ravyn struggled to cast her mind back but kept coming up against a wall in her mind that wouldn’t let her get past. Surely he wasn’t- was he?

Struggling to see through eyes that were blind with her mind and heart waging silent war Ravyn staggered away struggling to make it to the bathroom just down the hall. She couldn’t breathe and the room was spinning. Her neck was so tight her eyes felt like they were bulging. The tendons in her back, her neck, her temples strained. The floor suddenly speared upwards at some precarious angle. Huffing on breaths that weren’t getting in to her lungs Ravyn felt her eyes roll into the back of her head. A second later she kissed the floor with a thud. As the darkness came over her she saw once more the figure in the blue jacket standing at the end of the corridor watching. She heard words but they were fragmented just as her own - over the deafening thrum of her pulse she could hear little except the tinkling of water droplets and the creak of leather straining in her ears. She heard bloodcurdling screams and knew they were her own but couldn’t stop it. The figure at the end of the hall back peddled a few paces before he pushed open a door and slipped away unseen. She thought she heard him laugh but it was so distant, so dissociative. She couldn’t trust her eyes or her ears as the hospital floor suddenly became drenched in water, splashing her, drowning her. She coughed but the pain was too severe. She gasped violently. Then blissful darkness descended and the nightmare of her flashback really began as it always did behind drawn lids. Somehow, in some way, Mike Shinoda had struck again and just like before she hadn’t even seen him coming.

 

---

[Ravynlee]

---

 

Standing on the bank of the Hudson River Rob watched darkness descend with his face carved from the hardest of stones. The lights glittered like jewels upon the jagged crown of Manhattan at night. At his back the New Jersey sky was afire like the skies of hell. Burrowing his fists deeper into his jacket pocket he waited. The car before him swung to a stop just a few metres away. It’s lights shut off. The engine soon followed. The darkened window hummed down and an unfamiliar face sat peering back at him. It was a woman, young, not particularly stunning but striking none the less. Her eyes regarded him like some stray dog in need of discipline. Clearing his throat Rob looked back out across the water waiting for her to initiate conversation with him.

“This is the last time we will meet like this in person,” a familiar voice articulated.

Swinging his head back Rob watched as the interior light switched on and Mike sat looking back at him against the off-driver’s side window. Something in his chest plummeted as he dropped his eyes again before casting them out towards the city ahead.

“Too many people are asking too many questions. I won’t risk it. This is a friend of mine. Anything you have to say to me you’ll say to her. From now on you’ll address her instead of me, is that clear? She’ll see that it’s delivered.”

Shuffling his foot against the loose stones Rob huffed out a heavy sigh.

“I’m out,” he said simply. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

The sound of Mike’s laughter drew his eyes up beneath a scathing stare.

“When are you going to learn?” Mike wondered with his beaming grin, “There’s no out here. Need I remind you what’s at stake? This is bigger than all of us. You’ll play your part like a good little soldier and do as your ordered. Speaking of which, you could try answering your phone once in a while, it wouldn’t kill you to be civil sometimes would it?”

“I lost it. My phone. I don’t have it.”

“So? Get another one. What do I look like, your fucking mother? Think for yourself. I have bigger issues on my plate to deal with at the moment. As do you. And I hear a congratulations are in order. You’re finally a father. Well done. The easy part’s over. Now you’re forever responsible for another mouth to feed and another life to support for the rest of your days… unless something… unforseen happens to this one too. But what are the odds huh? Twice in as many years. Even that goes beyond the realm of accidental doesn’t it?”

“Fuck you,” Rob spat hotly. He reached for his holster.

The car door opened and the woman slipped out. The cabin rocked as she closed it with a determined slam. Watching her approach Rob rolled his eyes back further insulted. His broad shoulders were defensively squared but the piece in her hand dictated his subservience as Mike continued to smile back through the car’s open window.

“Think before you do something stupid, detective,” Mike taunted amusedly.

A moment later Rob withdrew his hands to shove back into his pockets, the look on his haggard face vicious.

“Wow, the stories I’ve been hearing about you being a loose cannon really do have merit. How about that, and I thought it was all bullshit. Now I suggest you take a good hard look at yourself Rob. If not for yourself than for your daughter. Did you get the flowers by the way? No matter. It’s the thought that counts right?” he winked.

Mel’s impassive stare hadn’t shifted at all as she stood waiting beside the front of the vehicle, strategically placed to take Rob out should he chose to act or to dart backwards out of the way should he turn his rage on her.

Sliding his eyes across to the shorter woman Rob studied her deftly before resuming eye contact with Mike. He was outnumbered and he knew it but the look on his face attested he was far beyond the throes of logical thought. Despite the fact the big man looked exhausted his face, his shoulders, the way he stood physically braced screamed defiance. He was one wrong impulse away from taking one of them out or maybe even himself in one single properly placed gunshot.

A moment’s silence passed as a boat made its way slowly across the waterfront. The Hudson’s waters were slowly taking on the semblance of ink beneath the brooding night sky. Eventually Mike sighed. It was long, heavy and burdened with consternation. His breath billowed like steam upon the frigid air before fading away into nothingness.

“Listen,” he said with his voice now passively lower, “About what happened the other week… I was out of line. And I regret that. It was… unfortunate, I understand-”

“I can’t do this-”

“You’ll stay where you are and fucking listen unless you want that little girl of yours working my club for the rest of her natural life,” Mike warned.

Slowly Rob came to a stop and turned around again but his head and his shoulders were stooped so low they obscured his face in dark shadow. The gravel beneath his feet sounded like bones cracking sharply as Mike sighed again.

[Ravynlee]

“I… lost control. And it won’t happen again I can assure you that. Believe me it was a wake up call. And if I find out the name of the bastard that blindsided me I assure you I’ll do us both justice, but for now, I’m sorry. I know it’s not much consolation… but at least it all worked out in the long run. How is she anyway, your ex wife? Still… penning me as the next Pablo Escobar of New York or something?”

Rob slowly released a sound through his nose to dispel the venom that would never translate into words.

“No,” he uttered at last.

Mike uttered a sound of satisfaction.

“Good,” he said. “That’s good.” He nodded. He cleared his throat.

“Now, as far as business goes, I heard back from a few sources what I already knew. Fox and the dregs of the Bennington crew were the ones behind the hit at my club. Any word on her whereabouts yet?”

“No.”

“No. Of course not. You’re too busy pushing papers like some glorified secretary to be of much use to me lately. I must say I’m disappointed Rob. You were my shining star once now look at you. Do yourself a favour and get focussed again. If you don’t I guarantee someone else will. You don’t want Haily reading about her father’s fall from grace like your last partner do you? At least save your family the shame of your humiliation, or make room for someone else to move in maybe,” Mike smirked.

The dour stare Rob was giving him, even briefly beneath the vicious stare made the half Asian man chuckle back in open amusement.

“I didn’t think so. Now I’m going to be gracious enough to give you a second chance. Don’t make me regret my decision here big guy. There are people out there bending over backwards to work a job for me. Don’t think yourself that special. Mel here will be my eyes and ears from now on. If she sees you doing anything at all to jeopardise our little operation she has my full authority to do what needs to be done. You start having another crisis of faith I suggest you do a little soul searching here Robert. Don’t forget I was there and I saw you put your gun to Dave Farrell’s head when he was begging for his family’s life on his knees in the middle of nowhere a few months back. Don’t you forget I can take you down with me or I can bring you up, either way. The choice is entirely up to you. But think of your family first. I’d almost think they’ve been through enough as it is without making their lives any worse, don’t you?”

Blinking aside at his partner Mike motioned her aside with a nod of his head. Stirred into life Mel approached the brooding detective and handed a piece of paper to him. Rob stared down at her outstretched hand reluctantly.

“Take it,” Mike told him.

Begrudgingly Rob did so.

“What is it?”

“It’s the name of a friend of mine. I need as much information as you can get on her. Everything. Leave no stone unturned on this one.”

“Allie King,” Rob read. He blinked up. “This woman’s a lawyer. Chester’s lawyer. Chester Bennington's-"

“I know who she is. What’s your point?”

“You know I can’t- I mean, she’s-” Rob began to argue. It was cut short as Mike sighed again and sat pinching the bridge of his nose with an internalised groan.

“Unfortunately as many… friends as I have, there are a few people out there bent on seeing justice serve it’s course,” Mike said with wry cynicism. Mel smirked at him ever so slightly. “Justice. Huh. Fuckin’ junkies. This man could walk on water but it won’t change what he did in the past. Reformation my ass. Only way to cure an addict is through the barrel of a gun, period. Once an addict always an addict, fucking scum-sucking parasite-”

“But I don’t have the jurisdiction. I’m NEU now, not beat. Narcotics Enforcement. Unless she’s got a history-”

“Then make it up. I don’t care. Do what you have to. See it gets done.”

“But I didn’t swear an oath to become some glorified- private-investigator to-”

“Fuck your oath and fuck your laws!” Mike snarled and thumbed himself in the chest. “You forswore that oath when you made a promise to me. An eye-for-an-eye Rob, don’t you ever fucking forget it. If you don’t do this I’ll find someone else that will and then I won’t have a use for you anymore. It’s like I told you before, detective, everyone is expendable, even brand new fathers, you feel me? I want to hear it, tell me; yes. Say it Rob or kiss away your little girl… You know my wife’s been at me lately for a child. Think it could be easier if I just skipped the middleman and went straight into adopting, what do you think? Know of any little girls looking for a father like me? No?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Of course you will. Didn’t doubt you for a second. You know to do what’s right. Always have. Come on Phi, let’s go. The detective’s a busy man. He has work to do.”

Rob opened his mouth to speak. It was late, and he had plans to head back to the hospital he began to counter, but his words were dissected by the sound of the driver’s side door slamming to a close and the engine coming to life once again.

“You like that?” Mike asked out the window again with his toothy grin. “Phi. It just came to me. It’ll serve as a reminder to you to keep your ass in line, yeah? Having Phi here watch over you. Almost prophetic isn’t it? Shame we have to part on such terms Rob, I always enjoyed our conversations, but you know how it is. Don’t take it personally. It’s just business that’s all, just business. I’ll see you around. Give my love to Joanna won’t you? That’a boy.”

Mike winked.

A moment later the window hummed up and the tyres hissed as they grabbed for traction against the gravel. As Rob stood watching the SUV lurched forward and skidded out of the park, dipping into traffic before disappearing in plain sight, just another set of tail lights amid an endless sea headed back across the bridge towards the sleepless city.

 

---

 

That's it for today, hope it made sense

[Friðbjörn]

this gets more sombre every second, wow

love how you build your environment, and set moods and such, its really rich and deep in style, well done =)

I'm one to talk right? I can't write shit myself haha

 

but yeah, one does know good writing when he sees it

[Pheonix791989]

ballin updates. sorry its taken me so long to get on and post a reply. been busy with school work and so on. not only that i got another cold. its getting super anoying. cant seem to do anything without getting sick. *sighs* oh well.

[Ravynlee]

Thanks guys.

Ashamedly I haven't written anything for a few days now but see what I can do on my days off.

I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for replying

[Ravynlee]

Well - long overdue but here I am. Yes I have been writing again. Trying to get my head back into the zone so-to-speak. Been busy (haven't we all) so while it feels a tad substandard hopefully it at least makes sense to y'all.

 

Hope everyone's doing great as we approach the silly season (silly in almost every sense of the word ) If we don't catch up between times hope everyone has a Merry Xmas. Aww. Feel the love. And now... on with the show.

 

---

 

“Where’s Fox?”

Watching the woman settling into her seat Chester frowned back defensively. The woman smiled.

“I’m sorry.”

“Fox,” he repeated, gripping the receiver tighter against his ear. “She- she was supposed to come and see me last week but she never showed.”

The woman continued to smile back at him in her most professional manner.

“I’m sorry Mr Bennington. It’s just me today,” she said.

She watched as he struggled to make eye contact before bowing his head with a sigh. For a moment Allie’s smile wavered. Even divided by a sheet of glass she could practically feel his emotion, the pain she caught the briefest flash of in his deep dark eyes stayed with her long after the moment had passed and was soon replaced by something less vulnerable. He sniffed back and nodded towards his lap, nodding decisively to himself, drawing on some inner strengths in order to raise his eyes again and look her in the face as though the smart sting of rejection had not cut him as clearly as it had.

“Okay,” he said.

That one word made her smile again if only now out of courtesy.

“So what have you got for me?”

Though it was far from their first meeting the young defence attorney was still amazed at how easily and shamelessly she was taken in by her client’s frank aptitude. The defiance on his face never masked the look in his eyes that continued to stare out like finger holes burrowed into some fleshy skull, accentuated by the horrendous orange overalls that hung from his emaciated frame. Irrespective of the fact the man had a past that bordered on royalty the Chester Bennington that sat staring expectantly at her now was in no uncertain terms a haunted man. Looking barefaced and bored with his thin lips lax without life, he barely filled the chair he sat upon. It was still surreal to anyone taking in his presence these days to think he had once been such a powerhouse in the mean streets of New York City. The figure he cut now nursing a red cast on his recently snapped wrist and with his narrow shoulders stooped he was a tragic shadow of his former self. The guard that manned the room in which he now sat looked past him as though he weren’t even there. In many respects since his highly publicized incarceration Chester had long since disappeared, if not with the passing of time then at least inside his own skin. But even now, his reputation was a poltergeist to be challenged daily by the other inmates and guards who had an axe to grind alike. Even inside the fight to stay on top carried over - his legacy continued only now without the army at his sides to back him up. Now clean and sober all the demons he had been waging a lifelong war against were returning anew only under the guise of a stringent judicial system and an equally burdensome isolation where four cement walls now constituted his otherwise everyday living hell. Chester was alone with his memories and the state wanted him to remain so until he died, but studying him now with his newest injuries to add to the ever-growing list Allie was ready to broach a new solution to an old problem.

“Solitary confinement?” Chester repeated with an air of desperation. “I can’t do that shit. I can’t. It’s bad enough they’ve locked me up, if they put me on my own I’ll completely lose what’s left of my fucking mind.”

“Chester, I know it’s a difficult choice but I’m just talking until we get you a new trial. Until we’ve exhausted all of our appeals, until-”

“No way.”

“I understand-”

“How the fuck could you? Look at me! Another year of this shit I’ll be dead anyway-”

“Mr Bennington, Chester, if you’d just hear what I have to say-”

“No. Why? You know you’re just like every other lawyer and hot-shot that’s come in to this case. Just trying to make a name for yourself, just riding my back, my name. You want notoriety; have your name associated with mine, that’s all this is. How could I be so stupid? How could I think you were any different? Look at me here!”

“I can assure you, I’m doing everything in my power-”

“Like what? Huh? Where’s my appeal? Where’s my parole? How many fucking broken ribs will it take to satisfy you people? Huh? That shit I did in the past; it isn’t me anymore, okay! Fuck me, I fucked up, I was a dumb kid and I made a lot of dumb choices and I admit it but if you’re going to hang me then hang me, enough drawing it out! I can’t take this-”

Sensing his desperation, hearing his anger, his helplessness, Allie cleared her throat and spoke up sharply, taking control of the situation before it fast consumed her - if not the both of them.

“You have to keep fighting,” she told him. Though it was pre-rehearsed she did actually believe it. Maybe it was that tone in her voice, that rich sincerity, maybe the empathy, maybe even pity, Chester’s arguments died prematurely as a terse silence rang out across the receivers between them.

“Yeah, why?” he challenged. It wasn’t so much a question as a statement, a statement of defeat in the face of overwhelming odds.

Allie smiled at him but not because she revelled in her dominance of him. She smiled like a parent imparting virtues to their offspring. Though there were no such parental bonds between her and her client Allie gripped at the locket that hung around her neck as if it were a protective talisman of sorts. A calm sense of peace came upon her, despite the sterility and savagery of her surrounds. The faces of her children locked securely within made her smile contentedly. She shared that same look now to Chester who’s defiance was fast melting in the face of it. Reaching into the briefcase that she had been nursing across her lap she clicked it open and peered inside.

“I’ve been… going across a few of your old case files, trying to tie up some loose ends left by your previous council-”

Chester scoffed derisively; more content to watch his fingers tap silent patterns against the tabletop in front of him than take in much of what she had to say.

“Is there any one at all you could think of we could draw upon on your behalf? An old flame perhaps? A classmate who could testify to your character before the-”

“Why? Want to weigh up the competition?” Chester muttered. After a moment he peered up. The small s****** he gave her caused an equal gesture from Allie’s lips. She smiled back bashfully and dipped her eyes again.

“No, Mr Bennington. I’m happily… involved, thanks anyway.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying. It’s not like I’ve got much of a chance inside this place,” Chester sighed.

He stole a glimpse over his shoulder towards the guard. His smile seemed to waver before morphing into something else. With his bowed face hung low towards his lap Chester’s shoulders rose and fell in a heavy sigh. Allie didn’t have to question his motives to understand he was thinking of another woman, the one that he always enquired about every time she came to visit him, the same one he had asked about on arriving. He was fading in the wake of her absence but pity him as she did, Allie had made it a point not to involve herself with her client’s personal matters - and especially not this client. Smiling back she nodded as if she understood and resumed her previous train of conversation.

“I might not be able to get your sentence revoked but I might be able to get it reduced, given the right recourse.”

“What’s the point? Look at me, I’m a dead man anyway.”

“Chester-”

“I’m serious,” Chester attested sitting forward over his broken arm. “You think I don’t know what’s going on out there? I see the news too, and people talk. It’s fucking Grand Central Station in here most days. Everyone’s lining up to tell me how damned I am, who’s going to knife me in the back during roll call or cut my throat when I sleep and it’s not just the other inmates. You think I don’t know but I do. His eyes and ears are all through this place, I know he wants me dead, I know the second I set one foot out of this place he’s going to-”

“He?”

Chester balked and shook his head lowly as if to say it didn’t matter.

[Ravynlee]

“Point is whether I stay in here or I get out there someone’s going to do it. I’ve been sitting here waiting for almost two years for someone to step up and put me out of my goddamned misery and now you want to get me by myself? I have to wonder whose side you’re even on, Allie… Is it alright is I call you Allie?”

The defence attorney’s cheeks pinched with a hint of colour as she caught and briefly held Chester’s eyes. Though she had read all about him, though she knew of his flamboyant past and the dangers his name still possessed in certain corners out there on the street she couldn’t help but see him for the painfully skinny, vulnerable, yet soberly intelligent man she was coming to know him to be.

“Allie’s fine. And you have nothing to worry about. I’m on your side here, I guarantee it.”

Chester scoffed gruffly.

“Must be pretty lonely over there. As far as support goes these days I think you’re it. Bet you’re wishing right about now you’d done the smarter thing and not taken the case.”

Allie shrugged.

“Well,” she confessed after a deliberative pause. “I always did like a challenge.”

Chester s******ed now in open amusement.

“No when Noah parted the red sea man that was a challenge. Me on the other hand-”

“Well sometimes it not about winning or losing, it’s about seeing that justice is-”

“Justice?” Chester barked back tersely. His tone was as much defiant as it was affronted. “Justice? Are you shitting me? In this city? I may as well as volunteer for the gas chamber, especially when the one guy running the place is-” suddenly he stopped. He shook his head. Beneath Allie’s questioning gaze Chester flicked his hand in an attempt to let the matter be. When it was clear Allie was not going to be as compliant with a less than subtle prompting he sunk forward over the table top before him and rubbed his furrowed brow with the tips of his strained fingers.

“Mike. Mike Shinoda. MS,” he mocked like the moniker of a schoolyard bully in the playground. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m on about man, spare me okay? - You know once upon a time we used to be friends him and I, crazy I know. Now look at him… I saw him on the news the other week. Thinks his shit now doesn’t stink. Huh. I could tell you stories that’d make… never mind. Man, is it true what they say about that reporter he attacked the other week and that car bomb shit?”

Sighing to herself and stealing an impatient glimpse at her wristwatch Allie cleared her throat and brought his eyes back towards her.

“Mr Bennington, I really don’t think now’s the time to-”

“Time? Look at me sister, I don’t have anything but time! And even that is running out. I can feel it. The man’s fucking crazier than me and I’m the one here getting kicked and punched and spat on cause of some shit I really didn’t-”

Chester sighed letting his venom dissipate with sinking shoulders as Allie watched on seriously. She waited, stealing further discreet glimpses at her wristwatch and the paper she now had unsheathed from her briefcase. With a small pout she picked it up and shoved it away. The guard was watching them both suspiciously. Nodding in her most professional and unflinching way Allie waited until his focus shifted elsewhere before she leant towards the glass and summoned up her client’s attentions.

“Look, I know it seems a bit… overwhelming at the moment,” she said, grimacing at the way even her own forced diatribe fell not quite as planned from her lips, “but I won’t give up, on you or this case. I just need you to focus. If you think of anything, anything at all that might help- Just do me the courtesy, okay?”

Chester nodded dismissively. His downcast face still staring at his lap like some storefront puppy refused to face her or to be taken in by such menial words of salvation when he knew himself he walked the proverbial razor’s edge daily. Whether it was her words or his previous outburst that had pricked him, when he struggled to look up Chester Bennington met his lawyer’s eyes appearing more vulnerable than ever.

“Yeah,” he sighed. He snorted with a pout.

Smiling back encouragingly Allie held his eyes a moment trying of nothing else to bypass her professional ethics and appeal to his mortality on a real life human level. She nodded back to him agreeably. A moment later after uttering their usual words of parting Allie began to return the receiver to the cradle only to find Chester staring back at her unmoving. She paused and tentatively drew the receiver back to her ear. She let out a nervous chuckle. The way he sat there staring at her seemed ever so briefly like their roles had reversed and he were about to walk out of here leaving the attorney trapped behind the concrete and bars and razor wire with a burgeoning step.

“What is it-?” she began to ask but the words didn’t make it out quite that far. Shuffled to the edge of his seat Chester sat forward to raise a hand to the glass towards her. Allie looked at it, at his palm flat against the glass. It had to be a split second of stupid insecurities that had her mentally picturing him reaching out, through the glass, reaching towards her hip, towards her chest to grab her only to be halted smartly by the protective pane between them. The young attorney shuddered as she lowered into her seat, her smile plastic, uncertain, but fixed there none the less, as Chester sat staring at her.

“Time’s up.”

A guard had intervened but Allie barely saw him. Chester was staring at her still, into her eyes, the look he wore screaming a sentiment that were having trouble formulating into words. Suddenly the bound man was being wrenched up out of his seat and Allie’s automatic protest rang out in the boxy little room. Getting to his feet Chester nodded dolefully as he was instructed to hang up his receiver. Looking at Allie he paused ever so briefly.

“Be careful,” he warned before the guard snatched the receiver from his hand. Frowning back and suddenly tense about what she perceived to be some kind of threat, Allie began to rise from her seat again, needing to put distance between them in a knee jerk reaction before she saw Chester and the guard tussle briefly for the moulded piece of plastic and Chester’s words could be heard muffled both behind the glass and in his attorney’s ear.

“He’s dangerous! He’ll take you out of the picture one way or the other, just like all the other-!”

“That’s enough-!”

“Who- what are you-?”

“He’ll kill you man for even talking to me! He’s crazy! He’s-”

“Hey!”

On her feet now Allie slapped at the glass, the receiver in her fist momentarily forgotten as she reacted in shock to the forcible way Chester was silenced and wrangled away from his seat curtly. Half way through impulsively reciting her client’s rights Allie froze as Chester’s dissociative words echoed back like a haunting voice from a dream.

“Mike, man. He’ll come after you! After your whole family! Watch your-”

“Shut your mouth!”

Suddenly the door slammed and Allie was alone as her client was dragged away. Slowly returning the receiver to its cradle with her fingers tight and quavering she felt an icy hand run the length of her spine.

Though she was never one to put much stock in threats especially in her line of work and given the classes she were forced to deal with on a daily basis seeing all sides of life in its sickening myriad of possibilities Allie couldn’t shake the very real fear that began to gnaw at her subconscious. It was made worse by the sound of Chester’s screams dissipating down some internal corridor that echoed briefly before fading out into oblivion. Suddenly finding herself squeezing the locket around her neck Allie blinked down at her briefcase and clicked it open with two sharp snaps. Reaching in she drew out the photograph and held it between her fingers that were still white now from residual fear. The face of the smiling little girl upon it wearing such bright blue eyes on a squared intelligent face stared back almost vulnerably. The young attorney sighed. Stuffing it back in to the internal confines of her case she gave the impersonal room around her a secondary glance before she got to her feet and made her way outside into the blustering winter air.

“Hey!”

[Ravynlee]

Finding herself being bumped by the shoulder of some tall individual striding past Allie came to an abrupt stop, her face furrowing with a reactive frown. The man had stopped too and grabbed her by the arm perhaps in some chivalrous attempt to keep her from falling. The scowl on her face dissolved with the flash of gold she saw hanging from a long chain around his neck.

“Sorry,” the man said. He sounded tired but the look on his face, in his direct stare, almost unnerved her. Smiling back, again on impulse, Allie too apologised.

“Excuse me, I didn’t see you, officer.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yes, sorry. I was just-”

Before she had even had a chance to finish her explanation her words faltered beneath his direct stare. Assessing she was indeed okay he nodded at her before he simply turned his back and strode away. Allie stood staring after him a moment, snorting indignantly. Cops. They were supposed to be on the same team in some ways, both serving the law and justice, but she was well versed in her relatively short and less than illustrious career on the unspoken grudge those in her profession were subject to when one side caught the criminals and the other supposedly went out of their way to set them all free. Squeezing the handle of her briefcase in her fist the young attorney watched the plain clothed officer traverse the corridor of the visitors wing before shoving the door open and disappearing from view. Allie shook her head and rolled her eyes, feeling a strange feeling ripple through her. Sweeping her eyes around the sterile walls Allie shuddered, preferring the almost artic conditions outside than be barricaded in this building a second longer than she had to. Shrugging off the strained and oppressive atmosphere of the maximum-security prison she hurried as fast as she could through security towards her car, traversing the slippery ground with a tentative step before slipping inside of her car and kicking the engine into life.

As traffic nudged its way bumper to bumper through the white-washed streets Allie sat wrestling with her thoughts and her conscience, struggling to make sense of everything that sat burdening her shoulders like some physical presence. The news broadcaster warbled over the wind and the static sports scores and weather conditions and the latest updates that further brought Allie’s mood down as she sat slumped over her wheel, watching the world pass by in neon smears and wish with fondness to be home with her children and her man and be anywhere else at that moment than where she was, too far from where she so longed to be. So enrapt with her thoughts that Allie barely heard what the newscaster was saying, only coming to with the blast of a nearby horn to the sound of a familiar name as the reporter relayed the latest information on the city’s recent gala evening that raised so much money for the New York’s latest campaign against illegal drugs, spearheaded by none other than the irrepressible yet embattled businessman Michael ‘MS’ Shinoda.

With a sudden frown Allie reached out and snapped the radio off before she had even realised she had done so. Glimpsing down at her hand and the way it seemed to be shaking there upon the dial had her draw back into her seat and chuckle nervously. Chester’s warnings that had seemed so dire back in Rikers now seemed strangely empty as the cold light of reality seeped into them. Allie almost scoffed as she sat thinking about it, more fascinated by the way Chester had almost managed to have her convinced when she should have known better not to trust a convicted felon to begin with - especially when it came to making threats against her family as he had. Idiot. Shaking her head, Allie shuffled inside her glove compartment and drew out a CD to feed into her car stereo. A moment later the sound of music flooded the cabin bringing a sense of tranquillity and peace after such a roller coaster of an afternoon. Turning into her street and smiling with relief at the endless row of brownstones, Allie pulled in to the kerb and got out of her car before making her way up stairs with her case in fist. With a jangle of keys she quickly made her way inside. Lingering just at the doorway Allie called out to her children, as much heralding her return as it was just to hear the sound of their voices call back from upstairs, verifying they were home from school as they should have been and bringing with it a sense of blissful normalcy. The young attorney felt her fears seep away now with her mounting relief. Shrugging her coat off she left both it and her previous train of thought on the coat rack just inside the doorway and lingered a moment, casting a wary eye back out over her shoulder at her usually bustling street. Then she closed and locked the door.

 

---

[Ravynlee]

---

 

“I don’t need therapy,” Ravyn uttered.

She rolled her head and her eyes away from her sister standing by her bedside with a lowly groan. With her arms folded across her chest Joanna nodded dolefully.

“Look… I know you’re worried but- they can help you sis. Really. Just give them a try. It can’t hurt can it?”

“The man attacks me and I’m the one that needs therapy.”

“Sis, it’s not like that.”

Grunting back from between the hospital covers Ravyn scoffed at her sister. Her eyes were instantly wet but they were also seething. Licking her lips Joanna bought herself some time to gather her strength and her thoughts amid the silence as the doctor lingered expectantly nearby watching on with concerned interest.

“You collapsed, okay? Obviously you’re not coping with-”

“Coping with what? Jesus Christ, you know what- Why don’t you tell me how I’m supposed to-”

“Sis please, I didn’t-”

“No, you don’t get it. None of you get it - all looking at me like I’m the one that’s done something wrong, like I did this to myself. I’m fine-”

“Miss Harris,” the doctor said as she tentatively shuffled forward.

She began to speak about the virtues of professional counselling but seemed to lose her conviction not long into it, watching the look on Ravyn’s face simmer from bitter to defensive as she snorted at the both of them before rolling her eyes aside once more outside the window. Her intermittent snuffles braved the room to the backdrop of activity muffled on the other side of the closed door. Wiping her cheek and her nose discreetly with the back of her hand Ravyn ignored them as the other two women came together at the foot of the bed with their voices lowered to a more discreet and reticent tone.

“So when can I take her home?”

“Well I’d really like to keep her in one more night for observation-”

“I’m not seeing a shrink-”

“Sis, please, would you let me-”

“It’s okay,” the doctor placated. She smiled. “Okay.”

Though the doctor was concerned about unspoken burdens impeding on Joanna’s recent motherhood, she was forced to concede to her patient’s wishes. Technically there was medically nothing more she could so anyway, and Joanna was determined to take both her sister and her new daughter home to settle into a routine. Glimpsing at her patient gravely Sarah nodded and consigned to expedite the release forms to Joanna’s beaming relief.

After intoning the generic speech about plenty of rest and so forth the doctor bid her farewells and made her way, albeit hesitantly towards the door. She paused and lingered briefly looking back, watching Ravyn slide out and sit on the edge of the bed getting herself together. Her professional smile that bordered on sympathetic made Joanna, when she noticed, smile back appreciatively. Ravyn lowered her head stubbornly. Thanks were exchanged along with cordial words of parting before the young doctor finally left the sisters alone together.

“She has a point,” Joanna intoned as the two women sat waiting in visitors lounge not long after wards.

People were steadily trickling past, the driving winds outside making the normally sterile lobby of the hospital abnormally hospitable despite the smells of antiseptic and gauze bandages that seemed to permeate to the very core of the building. Joanna looked up and around every time she saw someone approach only to look at her wristwatch with a steadily increasing pout whenever they were passed by.

In her capsule Haily slumbered half-heartedly. She waved her tiny fists lost in white mittens in the air and frowned as she fluttered her eyes open. Reaching down Joanna patted her daughter’s chest soothingly, her smile briefly resurrected.

“Shh baby, daddy will be here soon,” she cooed.

Sinking back into her seat Joanna turned her eyes aside to her sister.

“Sis, I don’t mean to sound patronising but you have been through a lot lately. Maybe you should… at least think about it?”

Ravyn shrugged dismissively as she pondered the paper cup of coffee in her fist.

“Hey, at least you know you’re safe with us, right? We’ll just go home, all four of us, even Rob, if he can manage it, and all try to get some rest, get back into some kind of normal routine. If we’re lucky we might even get a decent night’s sleep if little miss here lets us. Things will get back to normal eventually. You just need to settle in and let- Sis?”

Ravyn was on her feet. Joanna sat looking up at her cautiously. She called after her again.

“Sis? What is-?”

Following her sister’s trail of sight down the corridor Joanna saw a young man approach. He was tall and well built with shaggy dark hair and a strangely conflicted look of defence and caution on his face. She frowned, feeling her shoulders tense up in anticipation. Though she didn’t know the young man at all it was obvious by his pronounced limp and his arm crooked in a sling that he was or had been a patient here. The way Ravyn was looking at him as he slowly made his way towards the room made Joanna rise to her feet as well.

“Sis-” she began.

“It’s okay,” Ravyn said. Her voice was low and hard to read but the quick look she afforded her younger sister was meant to be reassuring. “I know him.”

“H-hey,” the man said.

Like Rob his voice was low, quiet, but somewhat chesty with a slightly deeper monotone. He approached and stopped a few metres away, leaving half a room’s breadth between them as Ravyn nodded back in greeting. Her arms were folded across her chest, not so much defensive as consolatory in nature.

“I heard what happened,” he said. Ravyn dipped her eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“Who are you?” Joanna wanted to know.

With both sets of eyes on her Joanna frowned back, nursing a secure hand against her daughter’s baby capsule like a lioness protecting her pride.

“He’s… a friend,” Ravyn said. “Jeremy. This is my sister, Joanna.”

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

The look on the man’s face as it hit the floor and the manner of his introduction peaked Joanna’s suspicions further. Since they had moved to New York Joanna was sure she hadn’t heard the name mentioned from her sister before this. Ravyn had never had time to socialise before so she could only assume he had to have been a colleague from work, but sweeping him with a critical eye Joanna’s frown darkened at the notion he didn’t look so much like the type that wrote insightful articles for any papers, rather he looked more accustomed to being a headline within them. Sinking back into her seat Joanna watched as Ravyn tentatively approached him.

“How are you?”

“Yeah okay… you?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed, his eyes like hers darting the halls around them with open suspicion.

“They’re letting you out already?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy lied.

Looking sharply over his shoulder in the direction he had just travelled Ravyn was practically able to read the look on his face as he smiled back at her dubiously.

“Safer you know.”

“Yeah,” Ravyn agreed. She contemplated the floor a moment. “So where are you headed?”

“I- I dunno. Anywhere but here. Somewhere where he can’t find me. Has to be somewhere, right?”

Ravyn nodded with a dry click to the back of her throat.

“Listen, I just wanted to… before I go-”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter-”

“No, that day when you came to visit me a few weeks ago, just after the… you know… I wasn’t… well I wasn’t particularly… honest with you. I feel like I could have… I dunno, maybe said something or done something different maybe, all of this mightn’t have-”

“It’s not your fault,” Ravyn sighed. “You didn’t do it, right.”

Nervously snaking his tongue across his lip Jeremy tried to smile encouragingly. It didn’t translate or last as long as it had obviously been intended as they both stood studying the floor dismally.

“Look… that story you were writing-”

“Oh, no,” Ravyn shook her head. Jeremy quickly met her eyes. “I’m not- I mean, I can’t… I’m not doing that anymore.”

“But… what about your friend?”

“I… I can’t - Too much has happened, you know. I can’t risk it… I… just can’t, I’m sorry.”

Ravyn’s shoulders sunk despite her forced smile as Jeremy nodded back in acknowledgement.

“I guess it’s for the best.”

“Yeah.”

“So… what now?”

Ravyn shrugged again as she cast her eyes back over her shoulder towards her sister still cooing over her infant daughter in her seat. She chewed her lip considerately as she looked away.

“I don’t know.”

[Ravynlee]

People strode past weaving their way around and in between them. Clearing his throat Jeremy nodded ahead gesturing he was ready to leave. Though they were far from friends the pain they shared forged a kind of empathetic bond between them that went beyond their forced smiles and awkward silences. Meeting eyes again Ravyn felt herself blushing, not so much beneath his wandering gaze but at the strange sense of vulnerability now that seemed to have invaded her being since waking from her nightmare, feeling him studying the mark scored into her neck and the faint marks left on her face as she studied him in turn. Had the will allowed it she would have almost laughed at the irony of their situation now, thinking of the age old cliché of trauma being the ultimate conduit for human interaction. Tightening her grip around herself Ravyn nodded back at him. It was as much an apology as it was a thanks and a goodbye and so much more that would never brave the air between them. Swallowing loudly Ravyn began to walk away. Shuffling forward Jeremy beckoned her to wait.

“Look- I know it’s bad timing but…”

“What?”

“Your friend, Jammer. I know it’s not the best time but I just… I knew her. I mean I didn’t know her, know her, I knew of her… that thing she had with Mike a few years back… I knew about it. I was there.”

Open mouthed and poised to speak Ravyn frowned back at him as Jeremy paused a moment before he began to move.

“What? Wait-”

“Look, I can’t stay, I have to-”

“Wait, just- tell me, what do you know? What happened to her? Did he kill her? He did, didn’t he? Oh my god you saw it?”

“No. No, I didn’t see anything,” Jeremy rebuked with his voice like his head lowered discreetly. His expression seethed with fearful indignation, his movements just as nervous and doubtful. “I didn’t know her that well. I only met her a few times. She was always there when I went over to Jay’s place. Mike’s place I mean-”

“You saw her?” Ravyn gasped. Her mouth hung open.

“Yeah. The last time was about… I dunno, two weeks, three weeks before Jay died - I’d heard them arguing, her and Mike. I actually thought they were married when I first met her, you wouldn’t think she was just some two-bit whore he picked up from the street. She was always hanging off his arm, you know, hanging on every word he said. It was like she was obsessed or something, like she had to be with him all the time. I mean all the time. She wouldn’t give him any space. It was no wonder they were always going at it, fighting and… you know. She kind of liked it that way from what I heard of it, you know… rough… Anyway it got too physical this time and she left. I forgot all about it. Wasn’t until later on I saw her face on the evening news and I remembered but by then-”

“Well did you go to the police?”

“And say what? I was frigging high most of the time. No one was going to believe a word I said especially about some guy getting rough with a hooker. No one cared. I’m sorry, but… I know I should have, I just… I didn’t think too much of it at the time. I guess I didn’t figure she’d wind up dead a few months later. She was just another streetwalker you know? She was a nobody to me. Look, I know she was your friend and all but… I’m sorry. I know, I should have said something sooner, I just… anyway… it doesn’t matter now. I just wanted you to know the truth before I left, in case something happens to me-”

Shaking her head Ravyn shuffled closer, wary of the look her sister was affording them now with a critical eye from her seat on the other side of the room.

“What would it matter what happens to you? Why would- would Mike come after you now? You didn’t see anything; you’re not a threat to him. I don’t even know what you are. You’re not a doctor or an intern like you were supposed to be. I don’t know why I should even trust what you have to say when I can’t even be sure who-”

“Because,” Jeremy said, mirroring her discreetly. “What do you think I was doing there in the first place, in Sacred Heart? He put me there. He sent me in to get the files-”

“What files?”

“Jammer’s files, her medical files.”

“What would he possibly want with- with her medical files for Christs’ sakes? He was sleeping with her, wasn’t he? Wasn’t that all there was-”

“Because she was pregnant,” Jeremy stated matter-of-factly.

Receiving her gawk-eyed stare his resolve melted to an incredulous leer as he scoffed to himself.

“What, don’t tell me you didn’t know? Jesus Christ, you were supposed to have been her friend. She didn’t tell you?”

“No,” Ravyn stammered out eventually after a long unsteady pause. “No… she… pregnant? To him?”

The look in Jeremy’s eyes as they bore into hers unnerved Ravyn as much as the content of his confession. Swallowing down a boulder she stood reeling, her heart and mind racing, blinking profusely with her eyes wet and stinging. She rubbed at her upper arms as if in comfort but found herself assaulted by the force of her memories, and by the impending pressure of those yet to be confronted. She seemed barely conscious of anything else as Jeremy looked around again watching Joanna over Ravyn’s shoulder with caution etched into his scarred and haggard features.

“But I don’t under-”

“Why else do you think he wanted her to disappear? She wanted to start a family and settle down and he didn’t. She was a threat. You were a threat. I was a threat. God knows how many others there are out there, but personally I have no intentions on sticking around to find out. Frankly I’m surprised he hasn’t sent someone around to finish me off here,” Jeremy said with a nervous chuckle.

Glimpsing the halls again he returned his focus to her if only briefly to assuage that if she were smart she too would be quickly following his lead.

“You know who he is, you know what he can do. No one else is going to be able to protect you,” Jeremy warned. He fell silent as Joanna suddenly strode up to intervene on the moment.

“Look I don’t know who you are and I don’t care,” Joanna said, clearly off put by the way her sister was jaggedly huffing out her breaths. “But I should warn you, my husband is on his way here this very minute. He happens to be a cop and if you’re not gone by the time he-”

“He owns the cops,” Jeremy snapped back. “Don’t you get it? He owns this fucking city. Him and a handful of others, they’re in control of all of this, not you, not me, especially not the law. They are the law. The cops turn the other way, that’s what they’re paid to do. If you don’t believe me, ask your-”

Suddenly falling silent Jeremy drew back and surveyed the halls both sides of him like a man trapped in some dangerous maze. Frowning back both Joanna and Ravyn blinked back over their shoulders to see just what had stopped him. The unmistakable silhouette of Joanna’s husband approached with its casual tread. Looking at each other and then at the other man they both emitted sounds of shock to find Jeremy scurrying away as fast as he could manage up the hall casting nervous glances over his shoulder all the way.

“Who’s that?” Rob grunted impassively.

He came to an eventual stop just beside the baby capsule resting in the floor before Joanna’s seat a few metres behind the women. Though he looked weary and worn-down like he hadn’t slept in days with his clothes slightly crumpled and his long face shaded in growth he offered a small smile down at his daughter limply rolling her head about against the pastel blankets at his feet. He looked up again at Joanna and Ravyn as they exchanged an unreadable glance between them.

“Ready to go?” he wanted to know.

Joanna nodded watching as a passing crowd swallowed up the other man before he slipped around a corner and disappeared completely from view. Turning she smiled agreeably at her husband.

“Right on time,” Ravyn scoffed under her breath.

[Ravynlee]

Whether or not he had heard her, or cared, Rob glimpsed aside at his ex wife and muttered a few words that were as much a greeting as they were an enquiry of her condition. Ravyn nodded and was walking away as Rob and Joanna looked after her. Whether attempting to placate the situation or needing the innocent comfort of her baby girl Joanna swept the capsule into her hand and ushered Rob to take her bags as she followed her sister out. The wind was cruel as it lashed at their hands and faces as Rob reefed open the back door to manoeuvre the baby capsule into.

Watching him slide their precious cargo across the seat into the holster Joanna began to protest.

“I know what I’m doing alright?” Rob snapped over his shoulder.

He huffed out his breath and the sudden venom dissipated along with it. Beneath the brooding frown and around the dark stain of stubble the look on his face was remorseful as Joanna stepped back.

“I have done this before, remember?” he said. “Just… let me do it. I got it. Get in.”

Joanna nodded as she watched her sister climb in on the other side of the baby seat. She smiled back sadly.

“Yeah, of course… sorry. So… where have you been? Have you got the rest of the afternoon off at least?”

Rob groaned.

“No.”

“No? What? Come on Rob, Jesus, you’re not some robot. How often are you going to be able to take your new baby home from the hospital? Don’t they understand there that you have other commitments too besides-?”

Assessing her sarcasm with an impassively cool stare Rob sighed through his nose before he secured the seat belt around the baby capsule and stepped back to close the door beside him with a secure thump. Startled Haily began to cry as husband and wife locked eyes sternly. Pursing her lips Joanna stepped around him to re-open the door.

“I’ve got her,” Ravyn called.

Still watching his wife Rob waited for Joanna to step into the car. Tired of the same old battle of wills and wanting to get home now after all that had happened Joanna sighed to herself as she did as she was bidden, grunting a word of thanks as Rob slammed her door shut closed a moment later a little too firm for comfort. As Haily’s cries began settling to more manageable snuffles, he too climbed in and started the engine without so much as another word passing between them and turned out onto the street. Then together as a family they made their way through the bustling traffic noise and chaos back across the Hudson River back home once more.

 

---

[Ravynlee]

---

 

“Merry Christmas, baby.”

Chuckling against her husband’s lips Rashell pulled back enough to watch him flutter open his lids against the pillows. She giggled and pecked his lips again. Smiling Mike groaned and stretched beneath the covers. They moaned together as he draped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer.

“Mm. Are you my present?”

Chuckling again playfully Rashell kissed him once more before she patted his chest and ushered herself off. She grinned at his disappointed pout.

“No, I’m not.”

“Damn,” Mike frowned.

His toothy grin quickly infected the rest of his face. Scrambling for her wrists he drew her close again as Rashell pretended to put up a fight. Muttering something along the lines of wanting to unwrap her, the phone rang. The mood was quashed in an instant as they both slumped together against the pillows.

“Don’t answer it,” Rashell pleaded.

She peered upwards, the warm pressure of his tee shirt and his chest beneath it a comfort against the side of her face. Looking aside at cell phone doing it’s irritated little dance atop the bedside table Mike groaned. He swept Rashell’s hair delicately from his face.

“It’s Christmas morning, Mike. Please.”

“It could be important.”

“It can be the president of the United States for all I care,” Rashell muttered into his tee shirt. She huffed out a sound and pushed herself up on an outstretched arm to face him. “This is our day, baby. You promised. Surely one day out of the year you can let the club and all of that deal with itself. Please.”

“It’s still a business, babe. It brings in the money.”

“I don’t care. If they had any decency they’d be home with their wives and families too not… ogling some half naked Barbie and getting wasted. It’s hardly the Christmas spirit.”

“Well it’s different for everyone isn’t it?” Mike remarked.

Running his fingers through her hair he drew her head down to kiss her face before shifting out beneath her. With a groan Rashell slumped aside. She watched him reach over and snatch up the phone with a weary grumble. The shrill ring ended but the momentary silence in it’s wake was just as piercing as Mike slumped back to look at his wife’s disparaging glare.

“Hey Tak, what’s up? - Oh he did?”

Rolling her eyes Rashell groaned and slapped his leg beneath the covers before Mike chuckled and warned her with a word to stop. Though he was frowning back his smile was placating at best as he reached out to grab her bare thigh and give it a squeeze back in reprimand. Rashell yelped and swept his hand off. She tapped him again before crawling towards him to slowly slide her arm in under the blankets. She purred into his face.

“Hey-” Mike flinched. Whether frustrated by the conversation still taking place in his ear or the grip she now had on his nether regions Mike manoeuvred the phone against his shoulder and with a few curt words had his wife’s arm back out in the open, frowning back now without his trademark smile. Rashell pouted and slumped down against the blankets. It was clear in a few seconds the tenor of the phone call was far from pleasant and it was sucking out all the jovialities in the room along with it. Rolling her eyes Rashell went to slide off the bed only to have Mike reach for her hand. She swept him off with a grunt. Ignoring his pleas in a word to stay, or to apologize, or to wait, Rashell slipped on her gown and strode from the room. She let the bedroom door close a little too abruptly behind her.

Downstairs making herself a coffee Rashell continued to pout to herself, sniffling on tears that weren’t fierce enough yet to actually make it to the surface. Hearing the stairs creak as he made his descent towards her she deliberately did not turn around. Against the frigid conditions on the other side of the window nearby she caught sight of his approaching reflection. The smell of his cologne told her what her lack of visual clues did - that he was already dressed and going out yet again.

“Aren’t you at least going to stay and have breakfast?” she asked, not caring much for the answer she anticipated to come. Behind her Mike sighed.

“I was thinking maybe we could spend at least a few hours together seeing as though my parents can’t make it in now from the bay, but-”

“Won’t have time.”

“No, of course,” Rashell uttered under her breath. “What else is new?”

The sound of her spoon chiming against the edge of the mug ricocheted too loud throughout the kitchen as Mike now stood behind her. His hands slid over her shoulders and gave them a firm yet reassuring squeeze. Rashell turned her head aside, as much deflecting the gesture as it was a basest need to incline her cheek against it. The sound of his voice as it breathed her name made her close her eyes dismally. Her angry resolve was melting too fast but she was determined to hold fast as long as she could. Struggling herself forward she picked up her mug and sipped at it, the hot sting against her lip a grounding force as she felt Mike take a step back away from her.

“Your present’s over there,” she grunted, pointing at the small box atop the breakfast table with cool disregard.

She began to walk past him.

The sight of him standing there smirking at her in her peripheral vision made her stop and turn around. It was hard to remain angry when in that instant, in her mind’s eye, she saw him as he had been all those weeks ago in cuffs in custody looking at her just like he was now - and she hadn’t thought at that point he would even be free in time to be with her for Christmas let alone any after. She sighed as his smile grew. He approached digging a small envelope from his back pocket to hold towards her.

“I meant we wouldn’t have time because of this.”

“What is it? Concert tickets?”

Mike scoffed as he came to a stop in front of her. Tucking his chin against his chest he met her eyes solemnly and waited for her to take the package from his hand.

“No. It’s yours. Open it.”

Rashell huffed. She was no longer in the right frame of mind to appreciate the sentiment of anything penned by Hallmark, but the photograph inside of it perplexed more than satiated her curiosities.

“It’s… a picture of a house.”

“No,” Mike clarified, reaching around to nurse the picture along with her.

“It’s not? Is this another one of those Easter egg hunt things? I’m not really not in the mood for guessing games, Mike.”

“What’s to guess? It’s yours.”

“Uh hu. Thank you for my lovely… picture of a house. Clearly you put a lot of thought into this one-”

“Jesus,” Mike laughed and slung his arm around her.

He lowered to nuzzle and kiss her neck seductively, relishing in her presence as much as her scents.

“I meant we won’t have time to go anywhere this year, except the removalists. You need to start packing. This is our new home.”

[Ravynlee]

Turning to face him Rashell frowned in consternation. Surely he had to playing with her, she reasoned. It wasn’t at all unlike her husband to play strange jokes on her sometimes, his bent sense of humour was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him in the first place, and yet… the beaming grin he was giving her was making tears spring to the surface.

“Oh my god, Mike… it’s perfect! You- you can’t be serious.”

“On the contrary, I can if I try,” Mike frowned.

“We-we can’t afford this-”

“You let me worry about that. I’ve got it covered, alright?”

His immediate grin caused the stern act to crumble as Rashell collapsed against her husband’s shirt and squealed and chuckled and fawned against him. S******ing Mike stroked her back relishing in the contact and the embrace before stealing another glimpse at his wrist.

“And now I have to go,” he said, ushering her off.

“Oh no, no, please stay. Look, open yours. We’ll open it together. I’m so excited, I’ve been wanting to show you for days now but-”

Clasping her head between his hands Mike kissed her crown, kissing her forehead, her lips and stealing a second deeper kiss he paused to stare into his wife’s eyes intimately.

“I will when I get home, I’ll only be a few hours, I promise. I love you,” he vowed.

Rashell’s eyes watered.

“I love you too, baby. Oh baby, can’t we just-”

Muffling her words against his lips again Mike stole another quick kiss before he pulled himself away and snatched up the box to stuff into his pocket. He winked back at her with his beaming grin and with a jangle of keys he headed towards the front door. He wordlessly agreed to whatever it was she intoned next, lost as it was behind tears of joy or shock or residual disappointment, before waving back to her and slipping outside. The door at his back closed with a sharp thud as Mike paused and sunk against it.

Surveying the street basking in the first crisp falls of winter Mike huffed out a frigid breath before he glimpsed back over his shoulder as if able to see inside. His shoulders fell. Huffing out another nasal sound Mike pushed himself off and descended the stairs with a slow and burdened tread. He lingered a moment on the sidewalk. A car entering the street summoned his attentions, the sound of it’s motor strangely out of place amid the cool, quiet surrounds. Stuffing his fist beneath the hem of his jacket pockets Mike felt for the piece stuffed into the back of his trousers. He cursed as the cold steel graced his palm like an icicle. Fingering the pistol a moment he waited watching the car slow to a crawl in front of him. A heartbeat later it idled at the kerb.

Sweeping his eyes around again quickly Mike strode towards it and bowed close as the door creaked open. The ivory face of Tak peering back from the driver’s seat made Mike smile back wryly. Ryu lingered across the back.

“Yo, s’up man.”

“Hey.”

“Hey man. Merry motherfuckin’ Christmas, yo.”

With a s****** Mike reached in and caught their hands in brief greetings before he drew himself up and slipped inside of the car. About to close the door he paused briefly to look back at his house again. He shook his head at their curiosities and reaching out drew the door to a slam.

“It was. Til I got the phone call.”

“I bet,” Tak s******ed suggestively and bumped his companions’ fist with his own. “So how’d she like the present, man?”

Mike shrugged. Tapping his pocket he withdrew the small box wrapped in the silver paper inscribed in his wife’s handwriting. With a considerate pout he shook it near his ear briefly.

“You know Rashell, easily pleased, lucky for me.”

“Yo, I still can’t believe that other bitch is forcing you out of your home, dog; that fuckin’ reporter. She should’ve kept her mouth shut, man. That shit is-”

“No one’s forcing us out of anything,” Mike stated distractedly picking at the wrapping paper. “This move was long overdue anyway. Too many memories there… it’s time to make some new ones, time to step up a little. Besides… it makes good business sense. No need to travel so much back and forth now. At least I can be closer to the action, for want of a better word.”

“I thought you didn’t want your old lady involved in all this?”

“All of what?” Mike asked, looking aside at his friend with a pinched frown and a toothy grin on his face. “I’m being a supportive husband. Bringing Rashell in doesn’t necessarily change anything. She’ll still be kept on a need to know basis - no one needs to know any different.”

The three of them were rocked about as the car wove its way through the quiet suburban streets towards the heart of the city.

“What’s that?” Ryu asked over his friend’s shoulder.

Looking at the small box that barely filled his palm Mike gave it another cursory glance before he groaned and returned it to his pocket with a dismissive shrug.

“Besides,” he said, continuing on his previous train of conversation, “after what happened last time… let’s just say I need to keep her on a shorter leash. If this whole fuckin’ experience has taught me anything it’s that I can’t have my focus split in every direction at once. Too many things could suffer. She could suffer and I’m not about to risk it. Anyway, I didn’t want to but the world needs to see her beside me apparently. The press loves that shit, or so I’m told. Makes me look trustworthy-”

“Yeah, no thanks to that bitch who called you out in the papers.”

Sighing through his nose decisively Mike flicked his eyes up and met his friend’s in the rear view mirror in reprimand. Ryu sunk back into his seat with a nod as Tak shared his attentions between the road and his boss with his brow furrowed in concern.

“You think she’s ready for it?”

“Honestly?” Mike wondered with a dubious pout. “Is anyone?”

Pulling in to the car park at Fort Minor Mike pushed open the door and stepped out before the vehicle had a chance to be steered to a stop. Peering in through the opened doorway Mike looked back at his friends with concern etched into their faces.

“Yo, you sure you want to do this, man?” Tak wanted to know.

Mike shrugged back limply as he cast his eyes out around him. The street was painted in patches of white melting to muddy puddles amid dirty smears of colour. He huffed on the frigid morning air watching the plumes evaporate with wonder.

“Yeah. Go on home. It’s Christmas. Go be with your families, like. I’ll be fine, it’s just for a few hours.”

“Man we can’t leave you out here all by yourself. What if something-?”

“It won’t,” Mike assured with a toothy smile.

[Ravynlee]

With another nod he stepped back and pushed the door closed with a cushioned thump. He stood watching the car pull away before he drew the hood of his jacket up over his cap and shoved his fists in his pockets. He cursed and slapped at his hips and back pockets with an irritated groan.

“God damn it-”

Looking up for signs of the car Mike’s shoulders sunk at the realisation he must have obviously dropped his present as he got out of the car. Surely Tak and Ryu would baby sit it for a little while until he called them at least. Shaking his head in irritation Mike turned his back and began to stroll back towards the club in a brooding silence. Traffic hummed by in a ceaseless yet erratic rhythm at his back. Hearing a car turn in he lingered, leaning his shoulder into the wall. The bricks felt like blocks of ice even beneath two layers of clothing. The car rolled forward and with a slight creak idled to a stop. Casting his eyes about Mike sniffed sharply against the cold before he strode towards it. The car door swung open. Bowing to inspect the interior Mike stepped in. The vehicle rocked as he closed the door beside him.

“Morning Mike. Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you,” Mike said peeling back the hood of his jacket to see the other man now in his peripheral vision, “Commissioner Brown.”

The tall broad imposing man beside him moved slowly, casually, exuding self confidence that was more expectant of a movie star than a high ranking official as he smiled congenially. The cool leer and the suspicious gaze looked to Mike to be that of a murderer. Rolling his eyes aside Mike echoed the sentiment. The other man s******ed amusedly.

“Oh please, why be so formal? We’re old friends aren’t we?” he asked, his voice so low and quiet amid the fine leather interior it came across far more chilling than the blustering weather outside. “Please,” he urged, “call me Clancy.”

“Alright.”

“I hear you have a little problem I might be able to help you with? What can I do for you, Mike, how can I make this all… go away?”

“My court case,” Mike said straight to the point. “What about it?”

Brown snorted as he waved his hand dismissively.

“Please. That thing is already so drowned in red tape by the time the city unravels you’ll be an old man enjoying your retirement on a sunny beach in Aruba somewhere. What’s really on your mind? Surely you didn’t bring me out here all this way for that.”

“You called me, commissioner.”

“So I did.” Brown drew in a deep breath. “So I was told you had something of great importance you had to discuss with me. What is it?”

Prodding the inside of his mouth with his tongue considerately Mike s******ed at his lap a moment before he looked up to stare out at the fine droplets of sleet pattering silently against the windscreen.

“One of your own,” he said with a smirk. “has become… something of a liability.”

“To you?”

“To you,” Mike corrected. He met the commissioner’s eyes coolly.

Brown laughed as if insulted.

“Oh please, you’re wasting my time-”

“And you’re wasting mine. We had an agreement.”

“Bennington? Come on now, Mike, I told you my hands are tied here. There’s nothing I can do. He’s out of my jurisdiction. Mayor Bloomberg-”

“Fuck Bloomberg. Get him back in your jurisdiction. We had a deal remember?”

“I can’t just hand the man over to you, he’s too big of a target, too many people will notice, they’ll ask too many questions. You know how this all works, Mike, this is politics, you can’t just-”

“Politics,” Mike scoffed under his breath derisively. “Don’t lecture me about politics. I’ve been cleaning your fucking messes for the past eighteen months and all I’ve asked for is a little help in giving that son-of-a-bitch what he deserves. Don’t fucking lecture me about what I can and can’t do, commissioner. You seem to forget who you’re talking to. I gave you Bennington in the first place remember?”

“If you want the man so bad why did you let him get away in the first place?”

“I wanted him to suffer, but he hasn’t suffered enough!” Mike snapped hotly.

Swallowing down his ire he recomposed himself before continuing.

“Look, that bust alone was worth millions to your economy and I didn’t ask for a cent of it. I gave you the pushers, I gave you their contacts, their network, I single-handedly infiltrated that whole fucking operation just to give this city it’s fucking dues. All those lieutenants and captains and detectives that got a name for themselves over night owe their careers to me. You wouldn’t be where you are if it weren’t for me-”

“Mike, Mike, Mike- this isn’t a popularity contest. It’s not about who did what, or who owes what-”

“You promised me after he was convicted no more than twelve months. That’s long overdue and I’ve been more than patient-”

“Like I said Mike, you can’t expect me to just change the laws over night to suit you. It doesn’t work that way. If we go changing the laws for one man imagine how- chaotic things would-”

“Chaotic?” Mike rebuked hotly.

He laughed but it was too curt, too low, too brief to be anything bit condescending.

“Please. You think those… policing strategies you hold in such high regard really mean anything commissioner? What were they called again; ‘CompStat’ and ‘Broken windows’ or something? You think the public cares what face you put on it? Busting a bunch of dope dealers making them pay off corrupt cops, making the corrupt cops pay off their captains and lieutenants and trusted officials to look the other way, up and up the ladder it goes commissioner, one greasy hand greasing the other. It’s what drives the economy really isn’t it, all the way up to the top. And who do you think would take the blame if the population at large found out about any of that? You think they wouldn’t believe it? Come on, we both know how fragile this grip the NYPD has on this city, especially if this… bitch of Chester’s makes her grand appearance. You think one man can’t make a difference? No? Try me. What’s the worst that can happen, right?”

Rather than respond the two men studied one another a moment, the weight if their collective thoughts burdening the warm air inside the vehicle’s plush interior. Pushing out a stern nasal sigh the commissioner swung his eyes aside frowning across the dashboard in consternation.

“Just what is it you think I can do?” he asked, all former traces of his joviality gone.

Looking back he met Mike’s eyes and held them with his face furrowed now in surly resignation.

“Look I’ll make you a deal-”

“We’ve been here before-”

“Then I’ll make you a promise-”

“Give me something tangible. Right now your word is-”

Huffing out his frustrations Mike sunk back into the leather as Brown frowned out at the traffic.

“Look, I’ll arrange something. You know I’m good for it. But you know, I don’t get something, all this fuss. With one call we could end it now. What does it matter if he doesn’t walk out of there? His kind kill each other all the time, sometimes for no reason at all. The public would buy that. If you’d like maybe I could-”

“No. It has to be me. I have to do it myself. He destroyed my family. This is personal.”

“Uh hu,” The commissioner goaded with a smirk, “You know Mike, you’re starting to sound like a politician more and more each day. You keep that up I can see you in contention as the next mayoral candidate. I think you’d have a better than average chance than winning. God help the poor sap that opposes you,” he chuckled.

Glaring down at his lap Mike’s dark eyes were seething. “I’m getting kind of tired of people telling me that.”

“What, how powerful you’re becoming? Maybe it’s divine providence.”

“With great power comes great responsibility and I don’t want that responsibility, I just want what’s mine.”

“And then what? You’re just going to disappear into the sunset?” Brown wondered sceptically. “I don’t know. I still think you’re passing up a golden opportunity here my friend. You’re not seeing the bigger picture. Imagine if all of this-”

Reaching for the door handle Mike was stopped as Brown fell begrudgingly silent. He let out a low burdensome sound as they both sunk into their seats again. To the continual ebb and flow of passing traffic and the engine still idling in the frigid conditions the men succumbed to a tenuous silence for a handful of minutes. Eventually Brown spoke again.

[Ravynlee]

“Let me see what I can do. But you realise even if I did manage to wrangle him out of Rikers, tactically, Bennington won’t be any safer out of it than where he is now and I can’t guarantee his safety if something unforseen happened to him. I can’t guarantee someone else won’t get to him first. And let’s face it, he can’t just be seen to walk out of that place a free man. The general public are happy when they see their hard-earned taxes at work keeping people like him off the streets, it helps them to sleep at night.”

“Like I give a shit.”

“You should,” Brown warned. “In the meantime this… problem you mentioned earlier, what’s this guy’s name?”

“Bourdon. Detective Robert Bourdon. Recently got transferred to the Narcotics division.”

“NEU huh? Goren’s team? Big Bobbie is an old friend of mine, keeps a pretty tight ship I hear… So this guy Bourdon, you’ve been tailing him a while I take it? It would be a major waste of my time if any allegations you had against him turned out to be nothing. But, something tells me Mike you’re a lot smarter than you want people to think… I like that. I respect that. Reminds me of me,” The commissioner smirked in a moment of self-appreciation. “So, is he… something I need to be concerned about?”

Letting his eyes wander the street and the streaming flow of traffic pass by with the muffled hiss of slick tyres Mike pouted and shook his head impassively.

“No. When the time comes, I’ll take care of it.”

“You always do. And the city of New York is very grateful, as always. But I wonder, who takes care of yours, your problems I mean? A man like you surely has to have one or two skeletons shaking in the closet somewhere?”

Mike smiled and rather than speak feigned a look of innocence as the police commissioner laughed. It was low, quiet and sinister.

“Thank god you’re on our team, Shinoda, that’s all I can say.”

Extending his hand police commissioner Brown waited watching as Mike momentarily studied him before accepting it with his own.

“Mike - Pleasure doing business with you, as always. Have yourself a very fine Christmas.”

“Commissioner,” Mike said with an alligator smile. “You too.”

The two men shook hands.

Still squeezing the other man’s fist Mike dug into his pocket and withdrew his cell phone. To the commissioner’s confused expression Mike thumbed a button and held it up to show the other man.

“I’m sorry, you don’t mind if I keep a record of our conversations do you? Just in case something… unforseen ever happened to me, you know… skeletons and the like. Can never be too careful in this business…”

Brown’s eyes narrowed as his grip became like a vice locked against Mike’s. The two of them shook hands again with their grip tightening in determination and fierce battle of wills.

“No… of course not,” Brown eventually gritted out through his teeth. “Touché.”

Drawing an end to the now uncomfortably drawn out gesture Mike slid his hand free before he opened the door again and stepped outside. He closed it watching the car roll away as it had arrived and pull into traffic. A few moments later it had disappeared altogether. He glimpsed down at the phone still in his fist and smiled. Pressing a button he raised it to his ear.

“Leto, did you get all that?”

“Sure did. Wow, talk about a man loving himself.” To the sound of keys tapping in the background the other man s******ed to himself to relay quickly, “Saving it to your hard drive now. Okay, all done.”

“Great,” Mike uttered. “Send a copy to my usual account and dump the rest. And Jared-”

“I know, not a word.”

“Thanks man. Go… head off. Have a few beers. Talk to you later.”

“Alright. Merry Christmas m-”

“Yeah, you too. Bye.”

Disconnecting the call Mike pressed another series of buttons on his phone. The commissioner’s voice emanated up from his palm as he stood watching the traffic flow by dispassionately.

“Look I’ll make you a deal-”

With a snort Mike shut it off and turned it over between his fingers. Removing the casing he withdrew the small sim card from it, which he slipped into his pocket. Dissecting the rest of his phone he flung one part into the construction site beside the club, the other into the steady flow of traffic and the other he tossed unceremoniously into the dumpster as he crossed the car park. Making his way out of the allotment he crossed the street before discreetly losing the sim card down a sewer pipe letting the overflowing gutters wash it away into memory. Then tugging his hood back up over his cap again Mike bowed his head as he made his way down the street on foot, his small strange smile now grown into an all-out wicked grin.

 

---

 

(Apologies - been watching far too much Carnivale lately. For those of you that don't know him - or the HBO series - do yourself a favour and Google Mr Brown. Man's chilling as a bad guy! He's ace for the part! Freakin' awesome mental projection here hahaha - as for more to the story or the long awaited "happiness" some of you have been pining for, that's in the works as we speak. Believe it or not. I'll keep ya posted

More soon)

[crazy robster]

And there you were, worrying you lost your feel and abilities sis... Are you joking? This was brilliant as always (not that I had any doubt about it) but I'm telling you cause I know you... I don't get though...how can Mike be such a perfect loving husband and then transform into such a beast? And don't tell me he's not a bad guy deep inside...He kills (or attempts to) everybody the moment he suspects they are dangerous for him. What's his real face anyway?? o_0 Poor Rashell POOOOR Rashell wake up and smell the coffee!! And yeah I can sense we are getting closer to MY moment!! Heck yes!! I can't stand Rob any more he's become a complete and absolute wanker (forgive my language by the way) I bet EVEN Rob himself (the real one) would get upset and want to slap himself if he read about this lol I'm heading towards the path of love and Rob is pushing me with both his hands...I'm sorry Bobert you screwed up... More sis!! We're getting to the peak, come on!!

[Friðbjörn]

you sure know how to set a mood to the stories, like the bone chilling cold, whether it's the weather or just a person's heart

great updates, it's great that you can wip this up despite how busy you are

 

can't wait for the following updates =)

[The_Synner]

awesome update. took me a while to read it all but its great none the less. BTW the name's shwag. Phi might have told ya about me. She told me about all you guys. great story though.

[Pheonix791989]

hey awesome chapters mum. i cant wait to read more haha.