01-16-2018, 05:18 PM
The inference was clear, and thus the prejudice. This one considered the burned channeler a murderer, set loose on society by some secret cult handshake, and once more found in suspicious circumstances. It gave her pause, just for a moment. Was he dangerous? She wanted to look at Jay, just enough to gauge if there was any surprise in his reaction. But it would show too much hesitation; she couldn't afford to seem unsure. The path forged ahead was one of blind trust.
The voice message trickled back a little as she tried to navigate her way to a fuller picture; the words that had surrounded the I'm scared constricting her heart and relegating the rest to interference. Cannibal monsters. Words that had no meaning at the time, but a lot had happened since. Starting with the chloroform smothered against her face.
She was playing this game without all the information. That much was clear.
"It doesn't 'make it better for me', but it will make it better for you if things run smoothly."
There was a hint of threat as her temper spiked, but it ran cold as ice. The man was an idiot if he thought she balked at the idea as simply cruel because she was a woman, as his tone suggested. Her stare pierced, but Jared staggered to her side then, and she caught onto his elbow like he might need the support. He seemed disorientated, or at least confused, but now wasn't the moment to explain. She squeezed his arm to acknowledge the question but urge him to keep quiet until the moment diffused. Her fingers stayed there as though she might intend to keep him in place, but really it was simple camaraderie. Africa forged links not easily broken.
The cuffs were needlessly antagonistic; the police officer had barely comprehended a word. The guy could barely move. But Jay's voice cut in before she could speak, shattering any intention she had of controlling the situation. Her expression betrayed little, but she met his eyes without flinching as he spoke. She'd had plenty of practice at that; ghosting away so that he might as well have been staring at a stranger. Inside the anger banked, but she was too self-controlled not to realise there wasn't a damn thing she could do to shove the words back down his throat now. She wasn't angry at what he'd done; she was angry at the sacrificial way he laid his head out on the chopping block.
For what?
She watched the cuffs snap around his wrists. Trying not to think of her father and loss and the helpless sense that it was happening all over again. The note of panic ripping her insides disturbed her with its voracity. Jay had been paid to protect her in Africa. For all she knew he was paid to protect her now. Nothing but duty converged their paths; she ought to remember that. Everything else was fanciful imaginings. Though telling herself that did little to assuage the feelings she carefully wrapped up and stored away from thought. Instead she glanced at the burned channeler, still on the ground and barely gripping to consciousness. Felt a desperate tug back from a precipice that crumbled about her toes. The fall would only hurt.
He got in the car without protest. Natalie didn't watch any longer. The remaining tension eased, but she felt grimmer than before. She ignored the remaining officer now, and the bland offers of an ambulance. Inside she reorganised her thoughts. Shut herself down. Focused on the bare threads. Struggled for a reconciliation as to why she couldn't walk away. And decided on a simple solution; one she didn't need to examine too closely. He saved her life. More than once. And she owed him.
"Cannibal monsters."
Alvis must have heard the same message if he'd found Jay, and she could have looked askance to him, but it was to the detective her words were directed. Not even a question really so much as confirmation of his earlier words. Of girls and monsters. An understanding of how thoroughly fucked up the situation was. But she was going to need more information if she was going to fix this. "That's what they killed? What evidence will they have against him?"
The voice message trickled back a little as she tried to navigate her way to a fuller picture; the words that had surrounded the I'm scared constricting her heart and relegating the rest to interference. Cannibal monsters. Words that had no meaning at the time, but a lot had happened since. Starting with the chloroform smothered against her face.
She was playing this game without all the information. That much was clear.
"It doesn't 'make it better for me', but it will make it better for you if things run smoothly."
There was a hint of threat as her temper spiked, but it ran cold as ice. The man was an idiot if he thought she balked at the idea as simply cruel because she was a woman, as his tone suggested. Her stare pierced, but Jared staggered to her side then, and she caught onto his elbow like he might need the support. He seemed disorientated, or at least confused, but now wasn't the moment to explain. She squeezed his arm to acknowledge the question but urge him to keep quiet until the moment diffused. Her fingers stayed there as though she might intend to keep him in place, but really it was simple camaraderie. Africa forged links not easily broken.
The cuffs were needlessly antagonistic; the police officer had barely comprehended a word. The guy could barely move. But Jay's voice cut in before she could speak, shattering any intention she had of controlling the situation. Her expression betrayed little, but she met his eyes without flinching as he spoke. She'd had plenty of practice at that; ghosting away so that he might as well have been staring at a stranger. Inside the anger banked, but she was too self-controlled not to realise there wasn't a damn thing she could do to shove the words back down his throat now. She wasn't angry at what he'd done; she was angry at the sacrificial way he laid his head out on the chopping block.
For what?
She watched the cuffs snap around his wrists. Trying not to think of her father and loss and the helpless sense that it was happening all over again. The note of panic ripping her insides disturbed her with its voracity. Jay had been paid to protect her in Africa. For all she knew he was paid to protect her now. Nothing but duty converged their paths; she ought to remember that. Everything else was fanciful imaginings. Though telling herself that did little to assuage the feelings she carefully wrapped up and stored away from thought. Instead she glanced at the burned channeler, still on the ground and barely gripping to consciousness. Felt a desperate tug back from a precipice that crumbled about her toes. The fall would only hurt.
He got in the car without protest. Natalie didn't watch any longer. The remaining tension eased, but she felt grimmer than before. She ignored the remaining officer now, and the bland offers of an ambulance. Inside she reorganised her thoughts. Shut herself down. Focused on the bare threads. Struggled for a reconciliation as to why she couldn't walk away. And decided on a simple solution; one she didn't need to examine too closely. He saved her life. More than once. And she owed him.
"Cannibal monsters."
Alvis must have heard the same message if he'd found Jay, and she could have looked askance to him, but it was to the detective her words were directed. Not even a question really so much as confirmation of his earlier words. Of girls and monsters. An understanding of how thoroughly fucked up the situation was. But she was going to need more information if she was going to fix this. "That's what they killed? What evidence will they have against him?"