White | Silver | Black
"Une...?" Sally stared worriedly at the other woman, taking in the haggard appearance and dark circles under her eyes. Lady Une jumped, looking up from the paperwork she'd been staring blindly at for several minutes.
"Sally? What are you doing here...?"
"Apparently talking to myself, since I don't think you've been listening to me for the last few minutes."
"Sorry," the dark-haired woman grimaced, rubbing at her eyes wearily. "What were you saying?"
"I was asking if this look was a new trend that I missed. And since when have you been one to follow the fashion trends set by our homicide department?"
Lady Une flushed. "It's not... and I'm not. I just... haven't slept well the last few nights."
"Mhmm." Sally frowned. "That's what they normally say too. And we took Maxwell out of the field for that if you recall."
"I'm not that bad." Une scowled at her. "And I'm not exactly a field agent, remember? Besides... It's only been a few nights. Maxwell went weeks without sleeping. You said yourself that he was suffering from acute sleep deprivation."
"Yes... and Dorothy is fast approaching that line," Sally sighed. "I would think that Maxwell just handed off his bad dreams to her, but he's not looking much better. And even Zechs is beginning to look frazzled."
Une tried to wrap her mind around the image of Zechs looking frazzled and failed.
"How's Lowell looking?" She glanced up to see Sally blush slightly. The blond woman mumbled something that Une couldn't quite make out.
"I'm sorry... did the phrase very handsome just come out of your mouth?"
The flush got darker, even as Sally glared at her. "No. And get your mind out of the gutter."
"My mistake." Lady Une managed to hide the grin.
Sally rolled her eyes. "And he's working with the homicide division. Of course he looks tired. Anyone would that tries to match their hours." She threw a pointed look at Une.
"Point taken." Une shook her head. "And I promise... I'll try to sleep."
"So what are these nightmares about, anyway?"
"That's the weird thing..." Une shrugged. "I can't remember them once I wake up."
"Do you want me to give you something to help you sleep?"
Lady Une shivered at the thought of not being able to wake from the nightmares. "Not yet... I promise I'll ask for help if they keep up much longer."
"I'll hold you to that." Sally stood up. "And speaking as your doctor, not just your friend... you need to sleep. You don't want to end up resembling Maxwell. We need you too much for that."
"We need him too much for that too," Une growled. "And I promised, didn't I? I'll take care of myself."
Sally just smiled. "Good."
Ice frosted the walls of the narrow corridor, forming kaleidoscopes in the light from the hand lamps. At the end of the corridor, the walls bowed inwards as if a giant hand had squeezed them.
"Fucking lights are out completely. Need to just evacuate this hellhole and be done with it."
"And where are they gonna put the people who live here, huh?"
The corridor suddenly receded backwards, until the crushed hallway was out of sight. The lights went out... it was dark. Very dark. Until a body floated into view. Empty, hemorrhaged eyes stared blindly at nothing... a mouth opened in a silent scream.... And then the darkness was filled with bodies... all floating... all screaming...
"It's okay...it's okay now...."
Dorothy forced her eyes open as Zechs pulled her into his lap and tucked her head under his chin. The room was dark, as usual; she fought the urge to start screaming again. Fighting her way free of his arms, she scrambled across the mattress and towards the light switch. Not in the dark... no more... please....
"Doro...?" Zechs caught up to her at the wall, his hand closing over hers and flicking on the rarely used lightswitch. "Dorothy...come on. Wake up...."
"I'm awake..." she moaned as strong arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her bodily over to the nearest couch. "I may never sleep again... but I'm awake now."
"What did you see...?" he asked.
"It was the hallway again... there were people talking about the lights being out. They were using lamps... and there was ice everywhere. Someone said they should evacuate everyone, and... and someone else asked... where would they put all the people?" She swallowed hard.
"And then what...?" A gentle hand stroked damp hair out of her face.
"And then it was just dark... until the first bodies floated into view."
"Floated?" Zechs frowned. "In the harbor...?"
"No." She looked up at him. "In space. I... I think they spaced them. There were so many bodies... some were... some were children. None of them were wearing suits..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the faces of the dead, frozen into screams that would never be heard in the vacuum of space. "Make it stop, Zechs. Oh god... make it stop showing me...."
"I can't," He whispered, pulling her into his arms again. "I would if I could...."
"I know...." She rested her head wearily against his shoulder. "I think Howard may have been right."
"Oh?"
"Fine-tuning Epyon's focus... doesn't seem to have stopped the nightmares... but it has made them a whole lot easier to see."
He sighed, and just stroked her hair soothingly. "I'm sorry...."
"Me too..." She sighed, and wiped her eyes. "And God I'm sick of crying on your shoulder like a simpering idiot with a case of the vapors."
"Doro... you couldn't simper if your life depended on it."
She blinked up at him... and couldn't quite stop the watery laugh. "Really?"
"Yes." He glanced down at her warily.
"That's... the sweetest thing... you've ever said to me."
Zechs stared down at her in surprise, then grinned ruefully. "I suppose it is, isn't it? I'll have to work harder then." He sighed. "Come on... it's still early. Think you can try to get a little more rest? You don't have to fall asleep."
"No, but I'll try. You need to get some sleep, even if I can't. One of us has to be conscious in case Duo and Lowell get lucky..." She trailed off, shivering suddenly. "But... can we...leave the light on?"
Duo watched grimly as dusk fell on the streets of Little Russia, and the changeover from urban community to urban hellhole began. The small retail shops were closing, and the few men and women on the street doing last minute Christmas shopping clutched their children and packages close as they scurried for the shelter of well lit homes. Neon flickered on the in the windows of bars and clubs, and the first prostitutes began filtering onto the street corners.
By the time true night fell, all those with homes to go to would be there; barricaded behind locked doors with the curtains drawn, they could pretend that this night was no different than any other. There has been peace between Earth and the Colonies for a year now. Too bad we still haven't figured out the goodwill-towards-our-fellow-man bit.
Once the pool of victims had widened, it had quickly become obvious that the majority of victims had not been members of what Duo had termed The Lost. They'd been looking for a needle in the wrong damned haystack. And while there had been no way to determine what time of day most of the victims had been chosen by their killer, a second round of interviews with friends, family members and coworkers had revealed that most of those with jobs... had vanished after leaving those jobs for the day. They also turned up the fact that several of the victims were in the habit of stopping by a pub on the way home from the docks and warehouses. Most of them vanished around dusk... as near as we can tell...
He couldn't help scowling a little as the light faded. The trap is set... and the bait is getting just a little testy here... Duo caught sight of Lowell heading towards one of the bars half a block down the street, and could imagine that the older man was just as frustrated as he was. Something had to happen soon, or they were both going to lose their minds. Leaning back against the rough bricks, he watched the arrival of night to the streets of little Russia.
Lowell shifted off his barstool, shoving the empty glass and a five credit bill towards the bartender as he stood. Time to move on... no fish are going to bite here.
Stretching a little, he shot a covert look around the sparsely crowded bar. No one in the area might know the full extent of the murders... but it was obvious that fear had impacted the people here. That or the entire population of Little Russia knows exactly what's happening and isn't telling... Scowling, he headed for the street and the next bar. It was after sundown... maybe nothing was going to happen. But he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Someone other than Duo.
Not that that was surprising. He'd expected someone to start noticing that Little Russia had a new Good Samaritan now. He'd helped 3 elderly ladies across the street, stopped a purse-snatcher in his tracks... and broken up 2 brawls. What the hell did he have to do to get this nutcase's attention?
Making sure to stagger a little, he headed down the street in an aimless path designed to take him through the heart of Little Russia. He caught a brief glimpse of Duo lurking in the shadowed mouth of an alley half a block down the street, and felt a sudden impulse to check in with his partner.
"Duo," he spoke softly; knowing the sensitive wires they were both wearing would pick the noise up. Dorothy had insisted they wear them once they started trying to draw the killer out, and Lowell had to admit he felt slightly safer knowing Duo, and his partners, could hear anything that happened.
/"Here..."/ Duo's voice was a soft whisper in his ear. /"Anything?"/
"Maybe... stay close."
/"Gotcha covered."/
Glancing at the reflections in the storefront windows as he passed, he couldn't see anyone following... but then he couldn't see Duo anymore either. With a sigh, he turned to head into yet another bar; and stopped at the panicked cry from an alley ahead of him.
"No!...Please God...let me go..." It was a woman's voice, and the terror in the muffled cry had him moving in that direction almost without thought. "Somebody help me!"
"Duo..."
/"I heard."/ The younger man sounded worried. /"Think this is it? They're taking the bait?"/
"Don't know. Could be another chance to make my reputation. Stay out of sight till we know which it is."
/"Be careful."/
Lowell rolled his eyes, even as he turned the corner. The scene that awaited him, while unpleasant, was not exactly unexpected. A man had a much smaller woman backed against the alley wall, pinned with one hand as the other slid up beneath her skirt. She was sobbing hysterically as she struggled to get away, tears smearing her makeup in black streaks down her cheeks.
"Hey, asshole..." Lowell grabbed the guy by the shoulder and peeled him away from the woman. This can't be the one... he's big, but no bigger than I am. And I couldn't have taken out either of those dock-workers on my own without taking some damage.
The man swung around to glare at Lowell, knocking his hand free with a low growl as he shoved him back. "This is none of your business, friend."
"I don't count rapists as friends," Lowell snarled. "Why don't you leave the lady alone, and we'll discuss this...." He broke off as the man charged him; ducking the fist heading for his jaw, he grabbed the man's arm and let momentum swing his opponent into the alley wall. Moving quickly to block the way back to the woman sobbing behind him, he faced down the rapist and waited for the man's next move.
They circled for a moment, testing each other before the man charged again. Each time, Lowell managed to put himself back between the man and his victim. Shit... what the hell is this guy doing? He can't seriously think he still has a chance to finish what he started... though why the hell she hasn't run yet is beyond me...so what is he waiting for?
His question was answered a moment later.
/"Watch your back!"/ Duo's voice was loud in his ears, and Lowell instinctively dropped. A length of metal pipe swept through the air where his head would have been, and only narrowly missed his opponent. Rolling, he caught a glimpse of Duo tackling the woman from behind, knocking the metal bar from her hands as they hit the pavement. Then his attention was forced back to his own fight. The man facing him grinned suddenly.
"Something funny, asshole?" Lowell growled as he reached his feet again.
The man nodded, but instead of answering, he simply threw himself at Lowell again. Caught up in blocking the sudden flurry of blows, it took Lowell a moment to realize that he was being forced farther into the alley. Feinting, he slid to the side and circled; not liking the exposed feeling of having his back to the unknown, he was more than happy to be the one forcing the direction. To his surprise, the man started laughing. The sound sent chills down Lowell's back, especially since he was not sure what the man was finding humorous. Ok... I'm guessing we found the nutcase....
"You really think you can take me?" The man snarled, throwing another punch at Lowell's stomach. Ignoring the taunt, Lowell blocked the blow and then sidestepped quickly to avoid the man's other fist. "You'll have to catch me first...." With a last laugh, the man turned and ran. Too late, Lowell realized he'd been maneuvered out of the way of the man's escape path
Fuck.
"Duo!"
"Go! I'll catch up..." Duo sounded a little breathless, and Lowell spared his partner a quick glance before turning to chase his opponent. Duo had the woman pinned, and was attempting to lock handcuffs onto wildly flailing wrists. Other than the artfully streaked makeup, there was no sign of her earlier tears. Her eyes were filled with raw fury.
"Be careful."
/"Watch your back...stop that you freaking bitch... Preventers. You're under arrest, now hold the hell still..."/ Forcing himself not to laugh at the annoyed growl in his partner's voice, Lowell tuned him out as he caught sight of his prey ahead of him.
"Zechs... we need backup!"
/"On it's way. Duo, go after him. I'll take over here."/
/"Right...Got your back Lowell."/
Oddly relieved now that his partner was watching his back again, Lowell increased his own pace to keep up with the fleeing thug. They were running through a maze of alleys and narrow streets, and he was quickly losing all sense of direction. Hope to hell our backup can find us once we take this asshole down... He realized he'd said that out loud when he heard Duo's breathless chuckle in his hear.
/"You and me both, buddy. Where the hell's this guy going?"/
A last turn and the maze of alleys suddenly opened out around them even as the sky was blocked out by the mass of the 87th street bridge snaking over their heads. Lowell caught a glimpse of the harbor on the other side of a rusted chain link fence, and the man he'd been chasing standing in the middle of the narrow courtyard formed by the fence and the crumbling buildings on either side. It was obvious that they were long abandoned, all the windows boarded up facing the courtyard and the doors chained shut.
/"What the fuck is that smell...?"/ Duo muttered as he and Lowell both stopped in the mouth of the alley. The man they had been chasing was still grinning at them, standing in the center of the open space as if he hadn't a care in the world. Lowell wasn't sure he really wanted to know what was causing the cloying reek, and it was all he could do not to throw up. Forcing himself to ignore the sickening stench, Lowell pulled his gun and took a cautious step into the open.
"Preventers. You're under arrest," he growled.
"Oh. Really?" The man laughed. "Of course you are. No one else in this godforsaken hole would have had the balls to follow me, not any more."
Stalking forward cautiously, Lowell kept a close eye on the suspect and trusted Duo to watch the shadows around them. The bridge blocked out any light from the sky, and the only light came from across the harbor; the thick darkness was beginning to take on a life of its own. He could feel it pressing around him, watching him....
/"Shit... he's not alone."/ Duo whispered softly, and Lowell could hear an odd tension in the younger man's voice.
"How many...?"
/"Not sure...where the fuck is our backup?"/
/"Duo? Where the hell are you guys?"/
/"The harbor... under the bridge.... It's not a serial killer, Zechs... it's a cult."/
Lowell felt his flesh crawling at the soft words, and suddenly he felt far too exposed in the center of the courtyard.
/"Fucking bloody... You okay?"/
/"You'd better get here damn fast, Zechs..."/
And then all hell broke loose.