GreyLord wrote: ↑1 year ago
To read this and enjoy it properly, one should listen to powerful music while reading. Something like The Ride of the Valkyries. Fantastic writing, @wolfman.
That is a powerful choice, would also recommend the strings arrangement of clubbed to death by escala or carmina burana.
Caesar73 wrote: ↑1 year ago
The calm after the Storm could be a Title for this chapter. Most sensibly written was the Conversation beween Sasha and Nikita, and Sasha encouraging her sister to take good care of herself. There is really a powerful bond between the three sisters. Equally powerful? The Conversation at the end, as Dani explains why she had been late. Well done [mention]wolfman[/mention]
This and the next chapter were tough to right. It was hard to get the balance but i think i managed it.
Nikita collapses on the beach exhausted. Dani and Sasha half drag and half carry her up the beach, laying her in the cool shade of an olive grove.
Dani crafts a t-shirt and shorts from necrotic matter and after some manhandling, she and Sasha dress their sister. Dani looks down in amazement at her barely conscious sister.
Sasha shares Dani’s admiration of their sister after being dragged across the Adriatic by a small dolphin with blue eyes. “I cannot believe that worked.”
Dani hands Sasha another t-shirt and shorts and nods, “She always steps up. Feels like when I am weak, she is strong.”
Sasha frowns for a moment, “Could you have made a boat to get us across?”
“Yes but maintaining the boats form would have drained me and I am already a bit shaky.” Dani says, looking down the beach, “I think that is Rimini.” She says, looking at the coastal town in the middle distance.
“Don’t suppose you have any safe houses nearby?” Sasha asks, hopefully.
Dani stares down the beach deep in thought and then slumps to the ground, “Nothing close. Nearest I have is a place in Monaco, but that is a last resort, only if there is nothing else.”
“That sounds ominous. Is it dangerous?” Sasha asks, curiously.
Dani greets the question with silence as turmoil troubles her face. Sasha looks at her, deciding not to push the question, “She is normally an open book, but I can’t tell what she is feeling.” She thinks, “Sadness? Fear? Or something else?”
Eventually Dani looks up at Sasha but cannot meet her gaze, “When I was the Zombie, I did a lot of things I am not proud of.” She begins, the pauses seeking the right words, “In Monaco there is a place I worked in order to track a target. I did what I had to do, no regrets. When I left, the owner said if ever I wanted to visit, I was welcome to.”
Sasha sees the reluctance on Dani’s face and places an arm around her, “If we can get a phone, we can call Jim, I have stayed at the Bella Prima up the coast before, he could get us booked in.”
Dani turns away, heading inland, “Can you stay here with Niki? I will see if I can rustle up some supplies.”
“Sure.” Sasha says, watching her walk away, “Are you OK?”
Dani stops and gently taps a tree with the side of her fist, before turning back, “In my life, I have killed a lot of people, but some of the things I did there haunt me.”
“Seems like they still do.” Sasha says, trying to work out what happened to her sister.
Dani closes her eyes and nods gently, “In Monaco, I worked in a brothel to get close to a target. I was there for about six weeks, waiting for the perfect moment.” She fights to keep her emotions in check.
Both women’s gaze, snaps to Nikita as she stirs restlessly, they watch as she moans softly in pain and slowly settles.
“At that time, I was prepared to do anything to get the people that hurt her.” Dani says, stroking Nikita’s hair, brushing it out of her face.
“Thank you Dani. I love you, babe.” Nikita slurs rolling onto her side, exhausted.
Dani stands on the verge of tears. To Sasha’s eyes, she looks so fragile, she could break if she hugged her. “Why don’t you stay for a bit? Nikita can rest and hopefully metabolise more from the fish she ate. I might be able to catch a few fish and we can eat as well.”
Dani slumps to the ground next to a tree and looks up at her sister, “I have had the lives of so many pass through me today. I felt every triumph, defeat, joy and sorrow. Some had been held in the dead world for centuries and I felt every minute. The ones that were the hardest were the ones with secrets, for the burden they carried.” She says unfocused.
Sasha sits beside her and gently wraps an arm around her, “Are you alright?” She asks filled with concern.
“I have so many secrets. They are a weight around my neck.” Dani says resting her head on her sisters shoulder.
“You never need to keep anything from me.” Sasha says, softly. “We have your back, babe. We always do.” Sasha says, acknowledging that her sister is actually asking for help.
“The place I worked at was called Heaven. A hedonists playground. While I was there, I was the naughty schoolgirl, the icy dominatrix, the simpering slave, the babysitter, the bad girl who needs to be taught a lesson and anything else my clients needed.” Dani confesses.
Sasha is both shocked at the confession and heartbroken at what Dani put herself through, as she says, “You did what you had to do.”
Dani give a hollow laugh, “I stayed for around six weeks.” She closes her eyes, holding back tears. “I had been on the hunt for months and the guys were OK in Cambodia. I felt so alone and for a few bright shining moments, I didn’t. I had trouble letting that go.“
“It must have been so hard for you. I wish you had come home sooner and we could have faced it together.” Sasha says gently.
“I am sorry, I stayed away. I was wrong.” Dani says, exhausted.
“That doesn’t matter. It’s in the past now.” Sasha assures her.
They sit in comfortable silence, the only sounds, the low sussura of the surf and Nikita’s soft snoring.
“I was jealous of you.” Sasha says, before she realises the words have escaped her lips.
“Really?” Dani asks, sitting bolt upright and looking at her sister.
Sasha nods, slightly ashamed, “When you showed up having saved Niki and Kim, you were this globe trotting badass. While I was still at home playing a housewife, biding my time, you were a one woman army, taking down all threats to us.” She admits, with a reluctant shrug, “And ever since then, I have honed my skills, instead of getting out there.”
“I see the strength you have and the bond you share with Kim, Niki and dad and I feel such a fool for the choices I have made.” Dani says, wiping her eye with the back of her hand. “You have a happiness, I will never know.”
“We might regret our pasts, but the future is our for the taking, babe. Whatever the bond I have with them, there is always a place with us for you.” Sasha says, gently.
“Thank you.” Dani says, trying not to cry. “I’m sorry that I am a bit of a mess. The flashes from those on the island have settled to a dull roar.”
“You could probably do with a decent meal and a good night’s sleep.” She winces stretching her limbs and then exploring her injuries, “At least the swim cleaned us up and washed away the blood.”
Dani looks over at a softly snoring Nikita, “Still can’t believe she swam us across the Adriatic. She was almost on her knees before she ate and is probably still digesting the fish.”
“When she wakes up, we will regroup and work out how we are getting home.” Sasha says, with a gentle yawn.
“You have been on the go since you were taken, why don’t you get some kip?” Dani suggests concerned, “I can keep watch. Besides, we just look like tourists having a nap at the beach. If anyone asks, I will say, we went on a night out, lost our cash and passports. We will be dismissed as silly British girls embarrassing themselves abroad.”
Sasha chuckles and looks down the beach seeing a scattering of sun seekers. She smiles absent mindedly at the children playing in the surf.
She closes her eyes and slows her breathing. Sasha loses herself in the connection she has with her body, as she slowly begins repairing her body. Popping bones back into place, fusing broken bones and stemming internal bleeding.
That was one of those reflective chapters you do so well [mention]wolfman[/mention] - that conversation between Dani and Sasha is so very well written, Dani opening up is a good thing. I can imagine, that this is ws not easy to write.
Caesar73 wrote: ↑1 year ago
That was one of those reflective chapters you do so well @wolfman - that conversation between Dani and Sasha is so very well written, Dani opening up is a good thing. I can imagine, that this is ws not easy to write.
It was tough to write, but i felt it important as she is so powerful and displays abilities so far from normal humans, it is vital to show her human vulnerability and fallibility.
GreyLord wrote: ↑1 year ago
The care that the sisters have for each other is poignant. A well written chapter very appropriate at this place in your story.
I have always tried to balance chatacter pieces with the action and the intrigue of the story to keep it grounded, despite the nature of the story
Thank you as always for taking the time to read and comment
Ernesto smiles to himself, “This is the best office in the world.”
He sits in the back of a rowing boat, gently bobbing on the waves. The sun beats down, but a cool Adriatic breeze refreshes his tired arms.
After draining the last, of his third morning beer from the bottle, he sets it down and reaches for the hand line. With practiced movements he begins reeling it in careful to avoid the baited hooks secured every metre.
It takes a few minutes to carefully bring the line in and he sighs in disappointment, “All of those hooks and nothing biting.”
He glances towards the beach and shakes his head, “Maybe, I am a little close to shore. The kids swimming are scaring off the fish.”
Cracking the cap off of another beer, he sits back and closes his eyes, “I have worked hard this morning. I’ve earned a little rest before, I get the other line in.”
Eric pushes hard, arms slicing through the surf, legs pumping hard. Years of practice have made his stroke perfect, but this is the first time he has swam in a sea.
“This is amazing. I never dreamed that the ocean would be like this. I can never thank my brother enough for this trip.” He thinks, looking over his shoulder at his brother on the shore.
He floats on his back on the surface, staring up at the sky. “They are calling me back in, but I am not ready yet. I am sure I can do another few minutes and it won’t delay us too much.”
The man in the boat is shouting something in Italian, but Eric doesn’t understand. He treads water for a moment and waves at the man, “Hello.” He says, giving the man a smile.
The man in the boat flails his arms and talks excitedly, then his eyes widen and he scrambles for something in the boat.
Eric sees something like a large ball of string fly into the water. He doesn’t have time to react before he feels a sharp pain and is dragged underwater.
Dani sits with her back against a tree, acting as a silent sentinel, watching over her sisters. Nikita snores softly, almost in sync with the gentle lapping of the waves, whilst Sasha lays in silent meditation.
She smiles to herself, “It might be handy to stay in this area for a couple of days, if we can.” She casts he gaze out to sea, looking past the man with the wildly flailing arms, in the rowing boat off shore. “If there is trouble at the island, we are close enough to get back and render an assist.”
Sasha stirs softly, stretching her back, trying to get comfortable. Dani subtly reaches through the barrier and crafts a pillow and blanket from necrotic matter. With gently care she lifts Sasha’s head and slips the pillow under before laying the blanket over her.
A movement to her left makes her tense up and raise her hands ready for attack. When she looks up, she doesn’t see an attacker. Instead she sees Nikita, sprinting full tilt, towards the surf.
“Going fishing. Don’t wait for me. See you at the hotel.” Nikita calls over her shoulder, with a sense of urgency she doesn’t usually show. Before Dani can call out a response, she has already hit the water.
Dani gently shakes Sasha’s shoulder. “Sorry, babe. I think we got trouble.”
Sasha stretches before sitting up, “Ah shit. What’s she done?”
Nikita dives under the water. No one on the beach can see her gills or the webbing between her fingers and toes. She sees the life pulse of the boy being dragged deep underwater.
She powers towards him, cutting through the water like she was born to it. Casually she snags a sardine and shallows it whole, spitting out the bones, reflexively.
“Hang on kid, I’m nearly there.” Nikita says, now close enough to see him.
“This is bad.” She thinks, drawing level to him, “He has hooks embedded in his thigh and body, from where he has twisted trying to get loose.”
Nikita spots the fleeing albacore tuna and with a lions claw severs the line, letting it swim free.
The boy struggles to get free, with his arms pinned by the line anchored in his skin. Nikita watches as he dumps the last of his air from his lungs, in his struggles. “Damn it. I have nothing in my lungs to pass on because of the gills. He doesn’t have long.” She snips the lines holding him with a single claw and smiles at the boy.
Retracting the webbing from her toes and fingers, she points to the surface and when the boy nods, she begins kicking to the surface as quickly as she can, whilst ensuring that the nitrogen in his blood doesn’t form bubbles.
“I can’t bring us up too quick or he will get the bends, but I can feel his life pulse flickering from lack of air.” She thinks, beginning to worry. “Only ten feet to go.”
Then it happens. He locks eyes with her. His lungs are burning and try as he might, he can resist no longer. Nikita does the only thing she can to stop him drowning.
He struggles against the hand clamping his mouth and the fingers pinching his nose, but his resistance is futile. As the light goes out behind his eyes, they break the surface forty metres from shore.
Not strong enough to restart his heart and keep swimming, she powers to shore laying him down with the sea lapping at his feet. She begins chest compressions. Everything is a blur, sounds are distant and she feels the crowd gathering around her, rather than sees them.
Tears form in her eyes as she silently prays for this boy before her. No older than Kim and her sister. A boy whose life she holds in her hands. In this moment, like every moment she is in this position, all that matters is that this boy lives.
Despite the crowd gathered, one could hear a pin drop. No one speaks, even the ever present sound of the waves seems to cease.
“Come on kid, you got a lot of years to live, time to open your eyes and start living them again.” Nikita silently pleads, maintaining a steady rhythm.
She closes her eyes and wraps her mind around his waning life pulse and gently squeezes it in time to the rhythm of chest compressions. With each squeeze it comes back stronger and stronger.
Nikita stops and rests back on her hands, when the boy opens his eyes and gasps for breath.
A cheer goes up from the crowd and Nikita gives the boy a wink. She sees the hooks still embedded in his body and wears a look of dismay, “Four large barbed hooks. Need to remove the rings attached to the line, so I can push them through.” She thinks, before calling out in Italian, “Need wire cutters.”
After a few moment, no cutters appear, so she sighs to herself using her teeth to cut through the thin but tough metal, clipping off the rings and pushing the hooks through.
A man breaks free from the crowd and takes the boys hand. With tears in his eyes he cradles the boys head. Nikita backs away quietly, taking advantage of the crowd focusing on the boy and ignoring her.
She slips back beneath the waves and recalls the gills and the webbing to her fingers and toes. With utter focus she streaks away from shore, heading for deeper water.
“Life is so much simpler here. No politics, no infighting, no regrets. Only predator, prey and the sea.” Nikita thinks, swimming hard.
She smiles to herself, feeling her prey down below. She senses its’ life pulse as it struggles in the deep. “It’s getting weaker.” She thinks, silently approaching.
Nikita floats ten feet from the albacore, watching closely, “It still has the hook in its mouth. Looks like the other hooks have snagged in kelp and rocks.”
With a flick of her arms and legs, she pounces on the fish, tasting its blood in the water. Holding it tight, she feels her hunger rising, but clamps down on it. A snap of her jaws later and the ring of the hook in the fishes mouth is gone and she pulls it clear.
Tentatively she sweeps the shadows from its life pulse, healing it before letting it go. “You have had a bad enough day. Go your way in safety “
Nikita looks on with a hint of sadness, as the fish recovers and swims off. “You are free to roam as you will. No one expects anything of you. Least of all you.”
She floats, weightless in the water, watching the tuna’s life pulse long after it vanishes from sight. She keeps watch as the fish glides away and fades beyond the limit of her senses.
Nikita turns to head back to shore and her sisters, then pauses feeling the seascape between her and the shore “Well, I think a little more in my arsenal and reserves can’t hurt.”
So Nikita reaches another stage, level? Fighting for the life of the boy was incredible intense - and the end when reflects about how easy life is in the Sea, the circle of life? Welll done, [mention]wolfman[/mention]
Caesar73 wrote: ↑1 year ago
So Nikita reaches another stage, level? Fighting for the life of the boy was incredible intense - and the end when reflects about how easy life is in the Sea, the circle of life? Welll done, @wolfman
I liked the balance of this and tried to show the intensity of what Nikita normally does, compared to a moment of quiet in the sea. Thank you for your kind words
Nikita wearily emerges from the surf feeling fully satiated. Before the approaches the spot she left her sisters, she knows that they have moved on. “I can’t sense their life pulses.” She looks up at the sun and sighs, “Well I have been away for a couple of hours, I suppose.”
She approaches the spot she left them and spots the words “Bella Prima, Cervia.” written in the sand. With a smile, she releases a housefly. Nikifly explores the area a little before it picks up the scent and begins to track Dani and Sasha. Nikita slowly follows the trail, enjoying the feel of the sun on her arms and legs.
Suddenly, she is aware that she feels the sun on her back and dives into a bush. She looks down at her nakedness and knows that there is a problem, “The clothes Dani crafted for me have just vanished. Maybe she is out of range to maintain them or maybe...” She let’s the thought linger for a moment, before she makes a decision.
Looking around, she sees no one looking on her direction and dissolves into a swarm of bees. The swarm rises up from the bush like an angry cloud, and follows the scent of her sisters, praying that all is well.
The streets below the rolling mass of insects, hear the noise of the swarm but see nothing of the octopoid pigmented insects camouflaged again the sky. It is focused entirely on following the trail, “The scent is weaker but still present. Maybe they got transport of some kind.”
A myriad of dark thoughts assail her as she proceeds up the coast. “I need to be ready for anything.” She thinks, approaching the outskirts of Cervia.
The swarm settles on the rooftop off the Bella Prima Hotel and she transforms back into her normal form. “I am not picking up their life pulses. I really hope that means that they weren’t here.”
She notes two police cars parked at the front of the hotel and frowns, “Too much of a coincidence. I need to move.”
Nikita closes her eyes and reaches out to the life pulses of all those around her, giving each a light touch and withdrawing. When she opens her eyes, she looks like a nondescript man, with a subtle mix of features from over a dozen people.
She seizes the handle of the service door on the roof and forces it open. Stepping inside, she camouflages her skin again the walls and releases a dozen mosquitoes.
She sends the flight deeper into the hotel, towards a cluster of people a few floors down, “If there is trouble somewhere on site, that seems a good place to start looking.”
The camouflaged insects fly in formation staying close to the ceilings of the buildings until they approach the crowd of people and crawl silently along the high walls.
Each insects positions itself above one of the assembled crime scene investigators and they strike as one. Most of the officers don’t notice the bites or give a second thought to the insects watching from the ceiling.
Nikita closes her eyes and focuses on the images from the forensic officers blood, piecing together the details of what happened here from their investigation.
“Sasha and Dani checked in about two hours ago. Their room was booked and paid for by an untraceable account using an email address that only existed for twelve minutes.” Nikita thinks, “Jim booked the room then.”
She refocuses and takes a deep slow breath. “Guests report sounds of a disturbance roughly an hour and a half ago. Around the time the clothes Dani crafted vanished. By the time the police arrived, the room was empty with signs of a struggle.”
She squints trying to pin point something that the mosquitoes can smell, before continuing her breakdown. “They have found evidence of tasers being used and are trying to trace them. No fingerprints, blood or particulate transfer, as if the room was scrubbed.”
Nikita focuses, her expression, grim and determined “CCTV shows them enter the hotel but no evidence of them leaving or any unusual activity is shown. However, a camera in the loading dock has been disabled.”
She leans back in the stairwell and rests her head on the wall, staring at the ceiling, “Everything about this, was fast. A response team attended soon after their arrival, took them down quick and left without a trace. How is this possible?”
Kate’s words echo in her mind, from her investigation training, “When facts are few and far between, do not speculate. Focus on what you know.”
She tries to focus on the facts but the smell that the insects detect, distracts her. With a purging breath she clears her mind to concentrate on the smell for a moment to understand what it is so she can refocus fully.
“Lavender, lemon, ginger, roses, chamomile and something else.” She thinks allowing the insects to breath deeply, “Nettles and a hint of turmeric. It smells familiar somehow.”
Nikita plays back her memories seeking a similar composition of scents and her mind is pulled back to Sasha’s wedding day.
Sasha stands nervously outside the church, trying to composed herself. She looks radiant in her wedding dress. The fitted dress with a sweet heart neckline, accentuates her curves and the crystal microbeading glistens in the sun like diamonds.
She chews her lip and asks, “Do I look alright?”
“You look amazing.” Nikita assures her, in a pale green, halter neck dress with a mermaid skirt.
Sasha nervously fiddles with her bouquet and glances at the door to the church preparing to go in.
Steve, in a charcoal grey suit and waistcoat, puts his arm around her and whispers, “I get it. I am expecting her to turn up too.”
“Why isn’t Dani here? Could it be that she really is dead?” Sasha asks, with a look of sadness.
“I don’t think so. I have been monitoring chatter and there are a number of assassinations across the world which could have been done by her. I think she is alive.” Nikita says also putting her arm around her sister.
“If there was a way she could be here, she would be love.” Steve says gently.
“I guess so.” Sasha mumbles.
“Today is about the here and now. Behind that door is a man who loves you with every part of his being and a girl who adores you.” Steve whispers, “Do you think that they have been waiting long enough?”
Sasha looks up and beams a smile through a ghostly wisp of tears. She nods softly and Nikita smoothes down her skirt and winks at her sister.
Nikita enters the church and sees Kurt smiling down the aisle at her, desperate to see his wife to be.
In the stairwell, Nikita’s eye flash open, “The smell is like the incense that was burnt in the church.”
She nods to herself, “Why would the room smell of incense?” She wonders, for a moment, before sending some of the mosquitoes into neighbouring rooms. A moment later she calls back all of the insects.
“The other rooms lack the smell, someone burnt church essence in that room.” Nikita thinks, preparing herself. When they return, she re-absorbs them before exploding into a massive flock of sparrows.
The flock scatters to the four winds seeking out all of the churches in the area. Within a few minutes, she forms an ever expanding blanket feeling the life force of everyone in the area.
Sasha wakes slowly, but keeps her eyes closed trying to get some clue regarding her surroundings. “I can hear Dani breathing nearby. I am stretched out spread eagled. I feel metal sleeves pinning my arms and legs, chest and waist directly to the wall. I cannot move at all and I am guessing Dani will be in the same boat.”
Dani takes a slow deep breath trying to remember what happened. “We got to the room and about half an hour later the door burst in and there were a lot of darts and tasers going off.” She tries to sidestep and her blood chills in her veins, “I can’t feel the dead world.” She thinks, staying calm. “OK. Do this the old fashioned way then.”
Dani opens her eyes, risking a peek around the room. The room is filled with soft light, supplemented by candles. The room is sparsely furnished aside from a small table and four chairs, off to the side. Aside from Dani and Sasha pinned to the walls side by side and the door to their left, the only dominating feature is a large mirror opposite them.
“We’re alone, but probably being watched.” Dani says, watching her sister in the mirror.
“Guessed as much.” Sasha says, opening her eyes, “They could have at least provided robes.” She says seeing that Dani is naked too.
“We need to have a word with our travel agent.” Dani fires back, “They are only getting a one star review. ABTA will be getting a very strongly worded letter about this.”
“I am sure I ticked the option for a pool.” Sasha says, with a smile. She locks eyes with Dani in the mirror and subtly flares her nostrils.
“After the last few weeks we have had, I would love an afternoon in a pool with a couple of bottles of a chilled crisp white.” Dani says, then takes a deep slow breath in the though the nose. “What is that smell? Mainly floral with a few hints of. I don’t know.”
The door to the room opens and an older man dressed in a black shirt and trousers walks in, his shoes click on the floor. The middle aged man strides into the room placing two cloth bundles and a small wooden box on the table.
He turns to face the women with kind eyes and picks up a cloth bundle and approaches Dani, “I am sorry about this.” He says, with a Northern Italian accent, before unfurling the blanket and pinning it to the wall to cover her modesty.
He takes the other bundle from the table and covers Sasha’s body in a similar manner before sitting on the table facing them. “Can you please confirm that you have been treated with respect and not mistreated in any way?”
Sasha looks him up and down, trying to get a read on him, “Apart from being, locked to this wall, we have been treated OK.”
He pauses thoughtfully, and nods to himself. “Do you know why you are here?” He asks, in a calm even tone.
Dani shrugs, “Given the things we have done, honestly there are any number of reasons.” Her lip quivers, when she realises she cannot lie.
The man considers her answer carefully, before opening the wooden box on the table and taking out a thin sliver of wood. He approaches first Dani and then Sasha and presses the piece of wood to the back of each of their left hands, before retaking his seat and carefully replacing the shard in the box.
Dani and Sasha exchange a glance in the mirror, before the man speaks again, “A great evil rose on Snositi. We need to determine if the great evil is vanquished or if it is you.”
“We battled Timor Arno and his forces and....” Sasha stops when he raises a hand to stop her.
“We know exactly what happened. We have witnesses. The souls of the dead, were not the only spirits trapped.” The man says calmly. “What is to be determined is if the evil is gone, or if it resides within you.”
“What happens if you find evil within us?” Sasha asks, subtly testing her restraints.
“Then we will try to purge it from your souls.” He says, with no satisfaction. “If this cannot be achieved, then you will end your days, within these walls.”
Sasha struggles against the steel that holds her, ripping her skin where her body is pressed into the stone wall, “Let us out of this you maniac “ She begs thinking of her kids.
“Our family will tear this place apart.” Dani pledges, coldly.
“This place has been hidden for hundreds of years. I am sorry, but no one is coming for you.” He says calmly, having heard that line a hundred times before.
He takes a step back and kneels before them, pressing hands together. He bows his head and softly says, “Let us pray.”
Nikita watches the nondescript abandoned church feeling the life pulses of everyone within and under it. “Sasha and Dani are here.” She thinks, waiting for the last sparrows to rejoin her.
With a detached expression, she released a cloud of mosquitoes. Each insect is covered in nematocysts and camouflaged in the early afternoon air. She casts them towards the building and splits herself.
She takes a deep breath and waits for the swarm to be in position before ordering a first one strike, then another.
The kindly man fixes the sisters with his gaze and begins, “By now you have probably realised that you are unable to use your abilities.” He smiles gently, “We have been dealing with individuals like you for some time. You have been injected with a serum, that prevents you exercising the focus you need to use them.”
Dani exhales slowly, “How long does the serum last?”
“You will find out, if your souls are clean.” The man says, slowly getting up. The weight of his years, is heavy on him as he settles into one of the rooms chairs.
“I don’t understand how you found us so fast.” Dani says, trying to buy time.
The kindly looking old man, leans back in his chair, deliberating for a moment, before giving an open handed gesture, “As I said, it was not just the souls of man trapped on the island. Other spirits were also present and when Timor fell they were freed.” He shrugs, “When they were freed, they came to us and told us what happened.”
“If you know what happened, why this?” Sasha chips in, straining against her restraints.
“If a child is about to be killed by a wolf and the wolf if killed by a scorpion, is the scorpion a hero?” The man asks, softly.
“The scorpion is neither hero nor villain. It is acting according to its nature.” Dani says, thoughtfully.
“So you need to determine our nature to see if we are good guys or hiding a greater evil?” Sasha asks, fearing the worst.
The man solemnly nods, thinking to himself, “I already suspect what I will find. I wish there was another way.”
Sasha doesn’t know why but she fears this man, as he pulls an ancient looking rosary from his pocket and drapes it around her neck. She tries, in vain to shake it loose.
He places a gentle hand on the nape of her neck and looks gently into her eyes, “Just relax, my child. This will soon be over.”
He sits back on the table and simply asks, “Are you evil?”
Sasha howls in agony as she feels white hot tendrils of pain lance through her body and into her soul. The pain only seems to grow as time passes until she screams, “No.”
The man watches as she pants, recovering from the pain. “Have you done evil things?”
Sasha screams in silence as her body and soul is assaulted again, the pain prevents any kind of rational thought and it takes all of her strength to spit out, “Yes.”
The man, looks sad as he asks, “What evil things have you done?”
Sasha begins to weep as the litany of her misdeeds, great and small tumbles freely from her lips.
Dani watches in horror as a deluge of small sins pours from her sister without hesitation or restraint, knowing that she will be next.
Nikita gives the order and all of the mosquitoes strike simultaneously. She nods to herself, “All hostiles neutralised. No one who has fallen is at risk.”
She let’s out a long slow breath and thinks, “I know the layout, protocols, access codes and everything there is to know about this place.”
She watches the life pulse of the last man to fall to the ground paralysed and begins to walk towards the building.
Nikitwo, Nikithree and Nikifour head straight for the maintenance shed and claims several packs of zip ties and rolls of duct tape. With calm precision, they move from person to person securing their arms and legs so that once the paralysis wears off, those affected will remain incapacitated.
Nikifive strides into a well hidden store room and pulls three bags from the racks and a large envelope from a shelf and then leaves the facility.
Nikita walks slowly through the eerie quiet of the town and church trailing her fingers on the cool stone of the buildings and inhaling the scent of this places history.
She braces herself on the outside of the door holding her sisters, feeling the life pulses of all in the room. She reaches into the man’s life pulse and takes what she needs.
Dani’s head lolls weakly on her shoulders, following her turn with the rosary beads. The outpouring of her sins, leaving her drained.
The man turns surprised to see Nikita walk in. She approaches the control panel and uses his retina and thumb print before she speaks in perfect Latin using his voice, “The Apocrypha reveals truth, but Enoch reveals wisdom.”
She catches Dani as she collapses and helps her into Sasha’s arms. Fixing the man with a hard stare, she tells Sasha to “Take Dani to the infirmary two doors down, give her pain killers, glucose and saline. I will be there shortly.”
For a split second she thinks she detects a look of disgust on Sasha’s face as she slips Dani’s arm around her and takes her weight. She look sorrowfully at Nikita. “Are you coming?”
“Soon babe. I need a chat with the Cardinal first.” Nikita says in a soft gentle tone. Unable to pin down what is wrong with her sister, she dismisses the look.
Dani raises her head slowly, “What took you so long?” She says weakly, but manages to crack a smile.
“Had to stop for a spot of lunch.” Nikita says with a soft smile.
As Dani is about to chuckle painfully, Sasha pulls her to her feet and drags her out of the room.
The Cardinal sits quietly and watches the exchange between the sisters and tries to swallow despite the dryness of his mouth. He almost flinched when Nikita turns to him.
“I guess you and I need to talk.” Nikita says, calmly taking the other chair.
“The only way you could be here, is if all of my people are dead.” The Cardinal says solemnly.
“Paralysed but not dead. Your people are very much alive.” Nikita says, leaning back in the chair. “My priority is my sisters. If I can keep them safe without taking a life, I will do so.”
“Well you have your sisters. What happens now?” He asks, nervously.
“You do important work and you should continue to do so.” Nikita begins calmly, “There is no reason for bad blood between your organisation and ourselves. I would like for us to shake hands and walk away as allies, not enemies.”
“What is to stop us from coming for you?” He asks, almost incredulous.
Nikita shrugs, “Same thing that would stop us coming for you. Neither side would decisively win and both would lose good people for nothing. I know your organisation, passwords, protocols and your true mission. I have made a career of saving lives and in that we are the same.”
The older man considers the point, thoughtfully. “So we just shake hands and walk away?”
“Pretty much. We go our own ways. You know how to reach me if your organisation ever needs support and I can always reach you.” Nikita explains, before picking the wooden box up from the table. “I understand if you need to see if I am one of the adversary.”
“You realise that whilst you undertake the trial, you will be completely vulnerable?” He says, raising an eyebrow.
“Consider it an act of good faith, Your Grace.” She says with a gentle smile.
The Cardinal bows his head, in sombre reverence, taking the box. “I hope you pass as your sisters did.” He says, taking the small sliver of wood from the box and pressing is to the back of her left hand.
He breathes a sigh of relief, as the last shard of the True Cross leaves her unscathed. Nikita bows her head and allows the ancient rosary to be draped around her neck.
The Cardinal places a gentle hand on her shoulder and softly asks, “Are you evil?”
Dani collapses in a chair in the infirmary, exhausted. She licks her lips trying to moisten them and looks up at her sister, “Thank you.”
Sasha slaps Dani in the face with all of her natural strength. “How could you?” She hisses, her eyes full of tears.
Dani flails dazed and confused, “What’s going on? Sasha?”
“Don’t play innocent. I heard your confession.” Sasha barks, angrily, unleashing several more slaps.
Dani relaxes, letting her reflexes take over, deflecting some of the blows, as she tries to remember every sin she confessed. “I can’t block all of her strikes. She might kill me.” She thinks feeling a wave of calm wash over her.
Sasha angrily snarls, punctuating her words with vicious blows. “How could you? Why didn’t you say anything about her or the orphanage?”
Dani feels her heart lurch as she realises the one thing that could make her sister react like this. “I thought it was for the best.”
“Yeah, because your judgement is always so sound.” Sasha says angrily, before striking her sister again. “It will kill her when she finds out.”
“No. You can’t tell her. Please.” Dani begs, weakly. “I would rather Sasha kill me than make me confess.” She thinks.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Sasha snarls. “I always thought you were a bit nuts but never capable of something like this. I was so wrong.”
“I thought Nikita was dead and it was better this way.” Dani pleads.
“Don’t give me that. You have known she was alive for long enough to tell her.” Sasha fumes, “If you don’t tell her I will.”
Another of those roler coasters [mention]wolfman[/mention] .... So Sasha and Dani are rescued by Nikita, but it seems that comes with a price: Nikitas choice is a sound one. To strike a deal, the two organizations to coexist. But the escalation at the end is a promise of further complications. I have to say, I don´t understand fully what Sasha is refering to, but whatever it is, it enrages Sasha enough to lash out a Dani. That last third was quite emotional. There must be a terrible secret to be revealed.
Are you close to revealing deep secrets, [mention]wolfman[/mention], or do you have other tricks for us first. Whatever you chose, I know it will be excellent.
GreyLord wrote: ↑1 year ago
Are you close to revealing deep secrets, @wolfman, or do you have other tricks for us first. Whatever you chose, I know it will be excellent.
Thank you for your continued patronage and ki d words gentlemen.
Fear not, the truth behind the end of this chapter will be revealed soon enough. I had considered writting out Sasha and Dani's confessions in full. However whilst Sasha's would not be too bad, Dani's would be anything up to 20,000 words.
wolfman wrote: ↑1 year ago
I had considered writting out Sasha and Dani's confessions in full. However whilst Sasha's would not be too bad, Dani's would be anything up to 20,000 words.
Dani´s confession would have been a story on it´s own
And I think it was the right decision not to spell the confessions out - it is much better that way: Letting the reader in the dark, what enraged Sasha so much. It must have been something really bad, considering Sasha´s reaction.
“Niki! Are you OK?” Sasha asks, surprised when her sister joins them. She pulls on a doctors coat to cover her nakedness.
Nikita eyes her sisters suspiciously, sensing a tension between them, “Yeah, we are all good and cleared to get out of here.”
“What the hell is this place?” Dani asks, trying to avoid Sasha’s gaze, pulling her doctors coat tighter around herself.
“Later. We need to get moving first. Are you both OK to move?” Nikita asks, with a mild sense of urgency, noting the bruises on Dani’s face before sweeping all of the shadows from her life pulse.
Sasha and Dani nod and both slowly get to their feet. The three of them walk in silence, through the complex working their way to the surface.
Nikita barely breaks her stride as a swarm of flies engulf her and is absorbed into her skin. Sasha and Dani exchange a look, before Dani asks, “Where is everyone?”
“Paralysed and restrained to buy us time. We’re clear for now. Not that they will come after us.” Nikita says, pushing through the fire doors into the open afternoon air.
Sasha and Dani manage to keep pace with Nikita, when she strides out of the base, and climbs into a waiting camper van. Unseen by Sasha and Dani, Nikifive is in the vehicle dressed in a black Def Leppard t-shirt and tartan mini skirt, with black ankle boots, which Nikita now wears since merging with her.
Sasha climbs into the back of the van while Dani climbs in the front without exchanging a word.
Nikita can feel the tension again and decides to play it off for now, simply saying, “The gear from the hotel is in the back. Get yourselves sorted.”
Sasha passes Dani a bag and retrieves her own, selecting a pink, purple and grey tracksuit bottoms and top with a white t-shirt. Dani opts for black shorts and tank top. Both women dress in stony silence.
Nikita guides the camper van through the quaint centuries old streets of the small town, confident that all of its inhabitants are paralysed and can offer no problems for their escape.
They ride in silence, down the side of the mountain, heading north. “I’ve had enough of this.” Nikita decides, before saying, “Let me guess. You heard each others confessions and something was said.”
Nikita pulls off of the track down the mountain onto a more traditional road, “Sasha probably didn’t have too much to confess, so by the law of averages, it was something Dani said.” She pulls a packet of cigarettes out of the door pocket and lights one before offering the pack to Dani.
Dani lights a cigarette and takes a deep lungful of smoke and closes her eyes, “Can you pull over please?” She asks, feeling sick.
Nikita opens the window allowing the smoke to escape and shakes her head gently, “Need to keep moving.”
“What is the deal with that place?” Sasha asks, feeling the increase in tension and feeling for Dani.
“Nice try.” Nikita says, blowing smoke out of the window. “Come on Dani, spill.”
Dani winces and takes a deep lungful of smoke. She winds her window down, savouring the cool breeze, “When I was hunting down those who profited from what they did to you and the others, I was in Canada. There was a senior researcher who was responsible for gene sequencing. I tracked him and his wife to a farm in the Canadian Rockies.” She closes her eyes, seeing the faces of the researcher and his wife.
Dani takes another deep drag of tobacco smoke and continues, “Turns out he was also the doctor who removed your eggs.” She pauses for a moment, frightened to look her sister in the eye, “He took one of the eggs and implanted into his wife.” She closes her eyes and swallows, “They had a baby. Your baby.”
Nikita grips the steering wheel a little tighter but betrays no other outward sign of emotion. “After I killed the doctor and his wife, the baby was taking into the care system and housed in an orphanage.” Dani says, before her voice cracks, “I am so sorry. I thought you were dead. I thought it best to leave the baby to be placed with a family.”
Nikita shrugs off Sasha’s hand, when she places it on her shoulder, as Dani continues. “I visited once a month but one day she was just gone and no one could tell me where she went or what happened. I tried everything I could think of, but I couldn’t find her. I wanted to tell you but I was ashamed. How could I tell you that I lost your baby?”
Nikita pulls the van over to the side of the road and turns off the engine. For a moment no one speaks. Sasha sees the pain on her sisters faces and places a hand on Dani’s shoulder as she starts to cry.
Nikita stubs her cigarette out and leans her head back on the head rest. She turns to her sister and hugs her without saying a word.
Dani hugs her back, burying her face in her sister shoulder. Between sobs, she mumbles, “I am so sorry.” over and over again.
“Oh Dani.” Nikita says fighting back tears. Sasha sits in the back seat helpless in the face of her sisters pain. All she can do is lay a hand on each of their shoulders and look on in silent pain imagining how she would feel if she lost Liam the same way.
None of them move for the longest time, until Nikita releases her sister and settles back into her seat trembling.
Nikita stares into the distance for a moment, gathering her thoughts, “I wish you had talked to me sooner.” She says, looking over at her sister.
Dani sniffs back tears and coughs weakly, “I am so sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you.” She stares at her feet, “There has been so much going on. It never seemed to be the right time. Please forgive me. I would do anything to get your baby back.”
Gently she takes Dani’s hand and gives it a light squeeze. “Mia.”
Dani looks up confused, seeking answers in her sisters eyes. “My daughter’s name is Mia.” She says with a mix of pride and love.
Dani looks at Nikita shocked, “You knew?”
“I followed up on the death of the researcher. I found out he had a child and it wasn’t much of a leap to work out she was mine. I visited her in secret. She was so beautiful. Such a perfect little girl.” Nikita says, dabbing her eyes, “I was able to take her before they knew what happened. I took her across the border and dropped her off at a fire station in the US.”
Dani turns with a look of shock, “You took her?”
Nikita nods, “I figured if I could find her, others could too. So I decided to snatch her from there, get her across the border and leave her somewhere in the middle of nowhere and walk away.”
Sasha looks on, unable to believe what she is hearing, “But you regret not being able to have kids. Why let her go?”
Nikita smiles at the ghost of a memory, “I came close, was about to make the call to arrange evac for us both to come home. But when I held her and looked into her beautiful big blue eyes, I saw the life I could give her. I knew in that instant, that she deserved a better life than I could give her.”
She smiles warmly, remembering the touch of her baby’s soft skin and her tiny fingers squeezing her thumb. She closes her eyes and inhales through her nose, remembering the smell of her child.
Nikita chokes back tears as she continues, “She is innocent. She deserves a fair crack at life. She is in a good home, with people that love her as much as I could.” She exhales slowly, “That is why I have thrown myself into work, looking for you when you were lost and anything to stop me thinking about her.”
“You would be a wonderful mother.” Sasha says, earnestly.
“Look at me.” Nikita says, turning towards the back seat, “I am a mess. Physically I am a monster. The experiments Lund and his people performed on me, still haunt me and let’s not forget, I sometime drink blood.”
The van is silent after Nikita’s outburst. Why didn’t you say anything?” Sasha asks, still reeling.
“It is painful to talk about and I haven’t told anyone. Only us three know and I want it to stay that way.” Nikita warns.
“But....” Dani begins but is soon cut off.
“No buts. I don’t want anyone else to know about her. It is essential to keep her safe. I wont even tell you where in the States I dropped her off.” Nikita says, with a sense of finality, starting the camper’s engine.
They travel through country lanes keeping a leisurely pace as the wind their way north. Sasha lays down in the back of the van, on one of the beds and Dani gazes out of the window, enjoying the afternoon breeze through her hair.
“What was the deal with the place we were in anyway?” Sasha asks, wanting to break the strange mood in the van.
Nikita sighs, welcoming the distraction, “That was the base of Cardinal Thomasino and home to a Swiss Guard unit that doesn’t exist.”
“Do you mean, what I think you mean?” Dani asks, letting the question hang in the air.
“Vatican sanctioned special operations group. The whole town is a cover for their operations.” Nikita says, lighting a cigarette, “At a moments notice, a team of special forces trained operatives and combat ready exorcists can be deployed to anywhere in Europe. They have other sites around the world.”
“That is mad. Are you winding us up?” Sasha asks, in disbelief.
“Straight up. They respond to sightings of non human terrestrials, cryptids and other weirdness. They neutralise a dozen threats a month, worldwide.” Nikita explains.
“How did you get us out of there?” Dani asks, lighting a cigarette and leaning back in her seat.
“So I sent out a swarm of mosquitoes, covered with jellyfish nematocysts. They paralysed everyone in the facility and drew everyone’s blood so I could learn everything about the place.” Nikita begins, “Then I sent them into the town when I realised that the whole place was a cover.”
“You can do that?” Sasha asks, with a newfound appreciation of her sisters abilities.
“Been practicing since I wiped out a human trafficking operation in Cambodia with Murder Hornets, can do bees, wasps, houseflies, and ants.” Nikita answers, before returning to her tale, “Anyway, I then split up and whilst some of me restrained everyone on site and I came to get you, I found our stuff and some cash and ducked out to get us a ride.”
“Honestly, the look on his face when you walked in like you owned the place, freed us and took charge, was a picture.” Sasha says, shaking her head and smiling.
“He was the only one I wasn’t able to sample because of the rooms hermetic seal. But so many people onsite have watched him at work, it was easy to work out what I had to do.” Nikita says, blowing smoke out of the window.
“So we could have left at that point? What kept you?” Dani asks, thinking aloud.
“I made an ally of the good Cardinal and took his tests, so his people wouldn’t come after us.” Nikita says in a manner of fact tone.
“Really?” Dani asks, with a look of confusion.
“Yeah. Made him see the sense of mutual support and proved he wasn’t making a deal with the devil. He is actually quite a decent guy.” Nikita says, conversationally.
“So I take it you know how he was able to make us spill our guts so freely.” Dani asks, shivering at the memories of her confession.
Nikita guides the vehicle around a sharp bend in the road and shrugs, “The piece of wood he touched to the backs of our hands was a piece of the truth cross which burns those of demonic blood.” She pulls up sharply and turns onto a main road, “The rosary was carved from the tree that Judas hanged himself from. He was compelled to take his life due to lies and now anyone who wears the rosary, cannot quell themselves from speaking the truth.”
Dani looks at Nikita and raises an eyebrow, “That is mental.”
“What is mental is that Niki isn’t freaking out about it.” Sasha says making eye contact with Nikita in the rear view mirror.
Nikita shrugs again, “Why would I? Our family is proof that there is so much more to life than the human experience. If you can accept what we can do, then it is easy to accept that the events of the Bible, might be more than just stories and that there are many strange forces in the world.”
“Hang on. You tasted the blood of everyone there? Does that mean you know exactly what they have encountered?” Dani asks, feeling very curious.
Nikita blows a plume of smoke out of the window and simply smiles to herself, thinking, “I also know what we are.”
“That good eh?” Sasha asks from the back seat, “So what’s the plan?”
“Head a little way up the coast, call home, grab something to eat and keep a low profile.” Nikita explains, stubbing out her smoke.
“I don’t know about anyone else, but after the last couple of days, I need a drink.” Sasha says, fatigue in her voice.
Dani smiles to herself, “What could possibly go wrong?”
GreyLord wrote: ↑1 year ago
Amazing! Fantastic! Stupendous! Overwhelming! @wolfman, the complexity of your thinking is beautiful to read.
Nothing to add her: This was as intense as it could get. We learn what Sasha enraged so match, we learn that Nikita was already in the know, and how Dani sufferred under her guilt.
Nikita relaxes in the drivers seat as she eases the camper van into a parking spot overlooking a beach north of Ravenna. The darkening sky overhead signals the coming of the night in a couple of hours.
Dani dozes in the front passenger seat, somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. With the events of the last few days sapping her energy and a strange feeling of safety allowing her to give in to her fatigue.
Sasha sits cross legged on one of the camp beds in the back. Her back ramrod straight and the backs of her hands resting on her knees. Slow breathing aids her focus, while she repairs the last of her gross injuries, leaving only cosmetic damage.
Nikita turns off the engine and quietly steps out of the van into the warm early evening air. A cool breeze kisses her skin and she purrs to herself relishing the feeling. She glances down the beach, to the source of music gently drifting on the breeze from a myriad of bars and sea front shops.
“Could be fun.” She thinks sending a sand fly to take a look at a beach party spilling from a hotel onto the sand.
The fly zips around the revellers and through the outdoor bar area. Nikita thinks to herself, “Decent music and cheap booze. Could be a good night. Looks like the bar food is good too.”
She quietly gets back in the driver’s seat and gently shakes Dani’s leg. Her sister awakens with a sharp intake of breath and a groggy look in her eyes. “Hnuh what?”
“Sorry babe, time to get something to eat and regroup.” Nikita says softly, knowing that Sasha will hear too.
“Cool “ Dani says, lighting a cigarette. “Just need a minute to wake up.”
Sasha opens her eyes and exhales slowly, “What’s the plan?”
“Bar down the beach. Food seems OK, we can blend with the crowd and might be able to get a phone from an onsite concession.” Nikita says, keeping an eye on the revellers.
“Sounds good to me. I could eat a scabby donkey.” Dani says, sending a plume of smoke out of the window.
Sasha snatches a crop top and cargo shorts from one of the bags and begins to get changed, “I am up for this. My stomach feels like my throats been cut and I could murder an ice cold cocktail.”
“I’m going to scout it in person. I will see if I can get us some phones, while I am there.” Nikita says, getting out of the van and lights a cigarette. “They need to talk.”
Sasha bites her lip, nervously. She is surprised when Dani doesn’t flinch from her touch and speaks softly, “I’m sorry.”
Dani sighs and stubs out her cigarette. She pauses for a moment before answering, “You want to know something funny?”
Sasha frowns and suspiciously says, “Sure.”
Dani turns slowly in her seat, “It has only just occurred to me, that you could have killed me and without my powers that would have been it.”
Sasha opens her mouth to speak, but stops herself and looks questioningly at Dani.
“A lifetime of misdeeds, over just like that. I have done a lot of bad things and I can live with that. I knew what I was doing and I can own it.” Dani begins, “When someone dies near me and then use me as a conduit, to the great beyond. I feel their lives torn through my soul on their way. Almost like they pass through me and leave their pain behind.”
Sasha leans forward in her seat and lays a hand on Dani’s shoulder and squeezes gently “Oh Dani.....”
Dani cuts her off, “Without my abilities, I can die just like anyone else and there is a good chance I would not come back.” Dani smiles inscrutably, “On some level, a part of me wishes you had killed me.”
“Are things really that bad?” Sasha asks, stunned.
“It was a fleeting thought.” Dani sighs, “I like to think that when i shepherd souls to the great beyond, they get a sense of peace. Maybe by keeping doing it, I can make up for the things, I have done.”
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry I hit you.” Sasha says, gently.
“I forgive you.” Dani says, patting the hand that Sasha has left on her shoulder.
“Thanks babe.” Sasha says, on the edge of tears.
“No worries.” Dani says, seeing her sister’s reflection in the rear view mirror, “Besides, without your abilities, you hit like a pussy.”
Sasha chuckles in mock indignation, and punches Dani’s arm “Cheeky bitch.”
Dani twists away in her seat laughing, “Gotcha.”
“You pain in the ass. You’re gonna get a whooping.” Sasha laughs.
“If you define a whooping, as you head butting my fist over and over again then, I guess you are right.” Dani says, glancing in the back.
“Cheeky sod.” Sasha says, grinning. “All joking aside though, are we cool?”
“I forgive you, babe.” Dani says, climbing into the back to hug her sister, “Not that I have a right to ask, but am I forgiven?”
“Of course you are, babe.” Sasha says, hugging her back.
“Thanks, babe.” Dani says, reaching across to the other seat, picking up a small but well equipped make up kit from one of the bags Jim sent. “Shall we do this evening properly?”
“What do you mean?” Sasha asks, eying g the kit.
“When Niki gets back, we call home, then we hit the bars. We could all do with a night out.” Dani says with a smile at the sound of the words leaving her mouth.
“I don’t know.” Sasha says, in a moment of indecision, weighing the need to see her son and daughters with her own need to recharge, “Only if Niki is on board and everything is ok back home.”
Nikita opens the recently purchased pay as you go phone and registers it, before loading credit.
“I hope they have settled things.” She thinks approaching the van.
Once set up she slips the phone back into a paper carrier bag and pulls out the next one. “This has to be among the roughest few weeks we have ever had. Dani is a wreck and Sasha isn’t much better. I wish I knew what to do for the best.”
She lights a cigarette and takes a deep lungful of smoke. She leans back against a wall, looking out to sea for a moment, yearning for a simple life.
“Now they know.” She thinks, finishing setting up the second phone and drawing the third, “I really wasn’t ready to talk about Mia. But maybe the time is right.”
Nikita smokes quietly, lost in her own thoughts for a few moments. Trying to find an excuse to avoid going back to the van. “I just feel awful that Dani has carried this guilt around for so long.”
She stubs out her smoke and drops it into a bin, before heading back to the van. “Time to face the music.”
Unsure of what she will find when she opens the door, she reaches out with reluctant fingers and pulls the door open.
Relief fills her seeing Sasha, quietly applying eye make up and Dani doing her nails. The van’s radio plays a club track loud enough to hear the beat, but too quiet to hear the words.
She slips into the van’s rear and slides the door shut, before sitting on the seat opposite them. “Are we all good?”
Sasha and Dani exchange a glance before Dani says, “Yeah, all good babe.”
“What’s going on?” Nikita asks, curiously.
“Well we have been talking and decided that after we have checked in, if all is well we are having a night out.” Sasha says, applying a little lipstick.
“Seriously? Basically today, we have fought a necromancer and his army of the dead, then escaped from Vatican special operations and you want a night out?” Nikita asks, with raised eyebrows.
Dani and Sasha exchange another glance and Sasha shrugs, “Pretty much.”
Nikita sits deep in thought for a moment, before she speaks, “We need to blend in as tourists. We need to establish a cover story and credible deniability.” She says quietly nodding, before passing one phone to Dani and another to Sasha, “Call home. If we are doing this, we do it right. We need supplies.”
Sasha accepts the phone, however, neither she nor Dani can say a word, before Nikita leaves the van once more.
Sasha dials a familiar number and puts the phone on speaker. She feels Dani’s hand curl around her own as the phone rings.
“Yeah.” Carl says in a somewhat flat tone.
Somewhat surprised, Sasha replies, “Carl, it’s Sasha. I am here with Dani and Niki is nearby, we are OK.”
Carl exhales sharply and exclaims, “Thank fuck for that. When the hotel room got hit, we started to get worried.”
“Is everything ok? I expected Jim to answer.” Sasha asks, uneasily.
“Yeah.” Carl says, in a long drawn out way, before adding, “Liam is adorable and Kim and her sisters are doing well. Jim is making sure Natalie is ok after a while alone searching for signs of you.”
“Do you need us to get back.” Sasha asks, relieved.
“Get back when you can. All is well here.” Carl assures her. “What are your plans?”
“Long story but It’s been a shit show here. We are going to get something to eat and bed down for the night. I think we will be overlanding tomorrow on our way back.” Dani says, considering routes through Italy and France.
“Probably best to come back covertly. We still have a lot of press hanging around. No sense asking questions about where you have been.” Carl says, “That said, if you are in trouble, say the world and I will come running.”
“Likewise.” Sasha says with a smile.
“Have a good night. Check in when you can.” Carl says, smiling. “Oh Kim and Tara have just popped in. Do you want me to pass you over?”
“Yes please. I need to hear their voices and know that they are ok.”
A few moments later, Sasha ends the call and gently sets the phone down, with a sigh, “I needed that.”
Dani nods gravely, “If I had my powers, I could be back in a few hours.”
Sasha raises her eyebrows, “Still nothing?”
Dani shakes her head and shrugs, “Nothing. Maybe it won’t come back. What about you?”
“A little bit. I am not at full strength but I am getting there.” Sasha confirms, “Maybe because your power is so pronounced, it may take time to come back.”
“I am in no rush. Bizarrely, I am looking forward to a relatively normal night out.” Dani says, wistfully. “I quite like the idea of a normal life.”
“It’s not all it is cut out to be.” Sasha says, reflecting on pretending to live a normal life for so long.
“There is no one left for me to hunt down. No wrongs to right. No pressure to do anything. Maybe I can start to have a real life.” Dani says, hopeful.
Both women turn as Nikita opens the rear door of the camper van and hops in.
“Sorry about that, had to get some supplies for the evening.” Nikita says, handing each of her sisters a bag from a clothing boutique.
Sasha smiles, looking at her bags contents, but Dani simply raises an eyebrow and asks, “Seriously?”
After all the drama of the last chapters this quiet, reflective chaper was a nice change. Sasha and Dani sorting things out, and about to having a good time. Why do I have the feeling this is the calm before another storm hits home? And I wonder about the last paragraph: What has Nikita purchased for her sisters?
And there is that strange thing about Dani´s powers ... it is just a feeling but I think, there is more to that than meets the eye ...
Great work [mention]wolfman[/mention] ! As always!
