Ughhhhh..... would you kill me if I said I kinda sorta didn't remember those characters? I'll try something else then, you can go with it or I can start something else but here it goes:
Paige Jackson liked the name she was going by today. It gave her the persona of a sweet, girl next door from a small Kansas town who had big dreams of hitting it big and leaving her past behind her. It was the perfect guise for today and perfect for trying to figure out what today's mission was.
The man in the suite had left her a cute handbag with her instructions: Go fill in as a waitress at the Gatehart Country Club at 5:00 and wait there for further instructions.
Inside the bag were two new techphones, version 4. They were the best in the business and rumor was that only the government was giving them to top FBI and CIA agents.
Hey Turtle, u in position? Paige texted her little sister. Whenever possible Paige used her nickname for her. That was how the girls communicated. They tried not to use their real names as much as possible but whatever names they chose for the time being or the job.
She scanned the crowd looking for her baby sister but all she saw was rich politicians and their wives and other donors who showed up to the charity event. Paige did recognize a gorgeous display of food. She didn't see the harm in eating while waiting for other orders. As a waitress she was just waiting into plates needed to be cleared or cups were emptied.
The buffet looked mouthwatering. There were cheeses and meets, breads, vegetables, fruits. And then soups, main courses like chicken parm and chicken marsala, chicken stir fry and even what looked like some salmon. The only thing at their small fridge and freezer at home was half empty cartons of Ben and Jerry's and some cans of Arizona Sweet Tea.
Her eyebrows in her hairline Paige, scanned the crowd. She was going to have to wait before actually eating. If she got a chance to eat at all, there was a possibility the job would require her to leave here now. So she'd just have to wait.
(Kay, I've set it up where you could take Turtle, if you want, Sorry for the nickname, you can come up with whatever you want for my character, I just thought it was kinda cute and endearing!)
Hahaha, no. I barely remember the story we came up with. :D
A young woman bit the inside of her cheek as she glared down at the techphone she had received from her sister earlier today, reading the message that lit up the screen with disdain. Why did her sister insist on calling her Turtle of all things?
Regardless she quickly texted her sister back, yea Rabbit, i'm just waiting for the instructions.
She scratched at the fake golden hair that obscured her real hair from view as she eyed the people that passed her on the sidewalk, making sure to keep her head down so no one, not even the cameras hidden in the street lights would be able to get a good look at her face.
Slipping the phone into the back pocket of her tight black jeans, her azure eyes that were hidden by plain brown colored contacts traveled to the building she was currently standing across the street from, where her sister was currently posing as a waitress.
The Gatehart Country Club; home to corrupt politicians, gold-digging women and bigwig business owners whose only interests were money and power.
A loud chime came from the enormous clock just down the street at the subway station, signifying it was now five o'clock and the buzzing noise from her back pocket further reassured the woman's insinuation of the time.
She took the phone out of her back pocket and scanned the message that appeared on the screen of her phone along with the picture that was sent with it.
Your target is William Hughes, the current mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There have been rumors of him accepting bribes from various business owners in the city and blackmailing his enemies in order to win his position. He will be attending the charity at the Gatehart Country Club tonight. Bring him back alive.
The picture was of a man in his late forties at what seemed to be a party with a woman on each arm and a huge grin slapped on his face. He looked to be having the time of his life.
With a small laugh, the woman disappeared into the crowd of people on the sidewalk.
Just as Paige returned from the kitchen with an empty tray, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. yea Rabbit, I'm just waiting for the instructions.
Good, at least she knows someone's where they're supposed to be. The man with the suit always showed his face at these things, for a breath moment, to give her a nod, a small smile even a wave. This time he was no where to be found.
A second buzz in her back pocket and she disposed of the tray on a table that was also the stand for an impressive looking crystal duck. Ugh, rich people.
So they were looking for another rich dude. How original. She had a theory, a probably unoriginal theory but hers all the same. They were never after poor people because most poor people believed in karma. Only the real sleazebags committed crimes because most people hoped that if they were good, they'd get there true rewards and the riches would flow. The rich could only get richer and that had to bring some kind of boredom, so they turned to laundering money, stealing from charities, and being general assholes.
It didn't take long to spot Hughes. Got him, she texted Turtle. He was surrounded by woman who were drooling at him, a few bodyguards, and some of his friday night poker buddies who were just as ugly and probably as corrupt as him.
She pivoted and grabbed the tray, deciding she needed it after all. Should I Godfather it or Leverage it? She wondered. Godfathering it meant coming in hard and fast. Brushing past him with a pen needle and knocking him out quick. After that Turtle and her could get into the ambulance when they took him out to the private health care facility a quarter of a mile away. The detour of course would be the drop spot.
Or she could grift her way into the situation, using the charm that came from her given gene pool, whatever that may be, and get the mayor alone with some spiked champagne.
The party was too large to try anything else. Somehow she suspected this wasn't going to be a cakewalk like the job two weeks ago. The man in the suite was testing them, of course he was, he wanted to see what there ability was.
You got an idea of should we Leverage it or Godfather it? She texted Turtle. On their spare time they watched way to many movies and tv, read loads of books. They had developed their own language, mostly relied on pop culture references and their inside jokes, but it helped on jobs, especially ones where they weren't in the same room or were pretending not to know each other.
"Ey! Ey you!" A large man, who was already too far gone and smelled of it, came over, Frankenstein style, wobbling and limping.
She smiled at him. "Can I help you sir? A refill maybe?" She indicated the empty glass he held.
"No!" He yelled out. Then said more softly. "No. It's jus that you look so much like that girl, one of the sisters." He turned to the woman who looked stricken as she put both hands on his beefy shoulders. "You remember Carla? Those girls?"
"I'm sorry," The woman named Carla mouthed and turned him away quickly.
Paige had found that she could move again. Was there cover blown? Of course there were plenty of girls who had gone missing, plenty of sisters, especially lately. "Commissioner Bryant!" The woman named Carla chased after him.
What charity was this anyway? She found it the banner above the entranceway. Guiding Light Missing Children Charity.
The woman only known as Turtle read the text her sister had sent her, eyes staring intently at the screen as she pondered their positions.
Godfathering it would be best, but there was the matter of the paramedic driving the ambulance that could impose a slight hitch in their plans. Out of the corner of her eye, Turtle spotted a familiar looking block of a vehicle along with the lone driver who was leaning against it, munching on a sandwich and a thought hit Turtle head on.
gimme a few minutes. She texted her sister back.
She began staggering towards the man dressed in the paramedic uniform, violent, but fake coughs ripping at her throat as she did, "Excuse me..." She wheezed and the man looked startled, dropping his sandwich so he could hold her unsteady form still, "Help... please," She was wheezing badly now, making it seem as though she was struggling to breathe, "I think..." Wheeze, "I'm having an asthma-"
The man grabbed her with one hand, opening the back of the ambulance with the other, "Come on sweetheart, keep steady, you'll be alright." He assured her and she had to hide the malicious smirk that was making its way on her face with her hand as she let out a few more strangled coughs, "This way." He said, helping her into the ambulance, setting her on the gurney before closing the door behind him.
He started to rummage through the drawers, trying to find the correct steroids to inject her with in order to cease her asthma attack.
Turtle took this opportunity to slip the needle she had hidden up her sleeve down into her palm, uncapping it and in one swift motion it was planted into the man's neck who struggled slightly, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell back into her arms in a limp heap. Ripping the needle out of his throat, she tossed it to the side and began to undress the man from his uniform before tying and gagging the man with some rubber gloves that stretched surprisingly far.
She easily slipped the over-sized clothes onto her own form over her plain black shirt and jeans, tightening the drawstring of the pants to secure them before putting her jacket and bag of goods to the side and out of the way. Making sure her wig was in place she dragged the man to the cabinet which besides a few boxes of gloves and paper towels was empty. She hurriedly stuffed the man in there making sure it was closed tightly after she did.
Sparing one last glance at the cabinet where the man laid knocked out she looked at the needle which was on the floor, seeing that most of the liquid that had been in it was no longer there, 'He'll be out for a few hours.' She thought, smirking slightly as she climbed towards the front of the ambulance.
She assumed her position in the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition to start the ambulance, she shifted it into drive and began to drive towards an alleyway close to the Gatehart Country Club. Once safely in the dark alleyway, she put it in park and turned off the lights.
Taking out her phone, she sent a message containing one word to her sister, Godfather.
Paige read the text and took a moment to get herself together. She bit off half her thumb nail as she scanned the crowd, making sure she could get to the mayor and get out. Ready set go.
She refilled on champagne quickly at the bar and made sure the needle was in position under the glass. Sometimes she wondered where all of this came from. Sometimes she wondered if they were born for this. But she didn't believe in destiny, because that was just a load of crap.
It was quick and clean, just as she had hoped. She delivered champagne to the table, smiling slightly as eyes fell on her. They'd forget she was there a moment later, they always did. She put the mayor's glass too close to the edge, which allowed her to push it back. Just as she did that, the needle slid from the other side of her hand and right into the soft meat of his belly, even with his dress shirt on.
"Thanks darling." He said with a wink and she rolled her eyes but smiled shyly at him and then walked away. Then she took a place behind a column to watch the damage control.
He hit the floor exactly 7 seconds after she turned around to stare at him. One of his dates choked on her champagne and a man across from him dabbed at himself with an honest to God handkerchief and said "Good Lord!"
Then people were on him like flies. "Someone call an ambulance!"
She made a point to come out into the open and make a panicked face before disappearing into the back exit. You know the drill, she texted her sister.
Turtle hadn't even been waiting ten minutes before the crackle of the radio gained her attention.
"We need an ambulance at the Gatehart Country Club, a man has collapsed-" Turtle took hold of the receiver attached to the radio, pressing onto the small red button, interrupting the transmission.
"Ambulance Number Five Zero Four, I'm on my way." She mustered her manliest voice.
She didn't wait for a reply and the tires screeched as the ambulance ripped out of the alleyway, lights flashing wildly and sirens blaring.
When she arrived in front of the country club, everyone was in panic.
She brushed her way through the crowd, hitting anyone who didn't move with the gurney. She didn't particularly care, she was here for one reason and one reason alone and he just happened to be writhing on the floor.
Hughes was barely breathing, a small side effect of the drug her sister had injected him with, he'd be fine in a couple of hours. His eyes were barely open and they seemed hazy, like he was struggling to stay awake. His body was shaking, almost to the point of convulsing. With the help of one of the waiters, she loaded him onto the gurney, strapping him down tightly.
"Hey there Mr. Hughes." Turtle called out to the man as she rolled him towards the ambulance, there was amusement sparkling in her eyes as she did, "My name's Marcy, I'm going to be taking good care of you." Venom laced her voice as she gave a fake name and whispered reassuring words into the man's ear.
As she loaded him onto the ambulance, she shut the door, denying anyone who wanted to ride aboard with the fallen politician. She didn't even spare a second glance to the woman who now sat in the passenger seat, instead she secured the gurney, rummaging through the bag she had discarded before, coming out with a syringe.
"Good night." She said to the man, plunging the needle into his neck, the same way she did to the paramedic. In seconds he stopped trembling and his eyes were now closed and breathing now steady. She hopped into the driver's seat, ripping the wig off of her head, letting her dark brown hair flow freely from its restraint. The engine of the ambulance roared and Turtle turned to the woman, "Shall we Rabbit?"
They pulled out as and got on the road as if it were a sunday stroll in the mountains. Funny, she thought, they never did normal things.
She settled against the seat trying to get comfortable. She never had a chance to sleep anymore. As soon as she closed her eyes at night she was plagued by terrible night terrors that left her forcing her fist into her mouth to keep her from screaming. She hated that shit.
Behind her eyes she saw the same black abyss that scared her as a child. Is that what death is like? She hoped not. There was nothing peaceful in that.
Her phone buzzed just as she opened her eyes and decided she didn't want them closed anymore. She scanned it and flipped it shut, pushing it under her leg to secure it.
"56th and 8th some warehouse called Ferguson Metals." She told Turtle.
They weren't far from the warehouse. When they got there Paige spotted an alleyway and she pointed it out. They pulled into it and Turtle cut the engine.
She got out and was hit by the heat. "Damn," she said and went around to open the doors. That's when a man's gravelly voice said, "Put your hands up slowly, one wrong move and I'll blow you to Jesus before you can even blink."
Paige sighed. Locals would have probably shot her, feds would have jumped her or tased her. So that left, ugh, a bounty hunter.
Even though she was disgusted with them a chill went down her spine and gooseflesh appeared. How was she stupid enough to get a gorram bounty hunter on them?
Turtle's face was marred with a frown as she felt the cool metal of a gun being pressed to her temple and the frown only deepened once she heard the man's declaration directed towards her sister from the other side of the ambulance.
The person who was holding the gun to her head said nothing and Turtle thought to herself how unusual it was for bounty hunters to work in pairs. A rough push on her shoulder forced her out of her thoughts and forced her to face the ambulance. The metallic surface of the ambulance acted as a mirror and Turtle found herself staring into the eyes of her captor.
He looked young, younger than her at least, maybe twenty or twenty one. He had a baby face with cold eyes that told the story of a lost childhood and years of pain.
Turtle could relate.
Before she could let nostalgia take hold of her instinct told her she needed to get both her and her sister out of here unharmed; they couldn't fail this mission because the consequences of doing so were much worse than what any bounty hunter could ever do to them.
The look in the man's eyes told her not to try anything, but Turtle was never one to follow instructions.
She shifted slightly and knew that it didn't go unnoticed by the bounty hunter who shoved the gun against her temple even harder. Taking in a deep breath she eyed him as he shifted towards her left side.
Mistake number one.
A rustle from behind one of the trash cans in the alleyway took the man's attention away from her for a split moment and he lowered his gun slightly as his eyes flickered to the trash cans.
Mistake number two.
She slid her left foot around his right leg, using the left side of her body to pin the man to the ambulance, her left hand held a knife to his throat while her right pinned the hand that held the gun to the ambulance.
"Everything alright over there, Luka?" The man who had Turtle's sister at gunpoint asked.
She pressed the knife harder to "Luka's" neck as if to warn him if he didn't comply she could easily slit his throat, "Say yes." She said in a hushed voice.
"Yes." Luka said calmly with a rather thick Russian accent, "She vanted do ged avay."
Turtle tightened her grip on the hand that held the gun, "Let go." He did, but with much reluctance.
She frowned as the other man began to laugh, "Got a little fight in her, huh? That's expected. Come on, we've got a big check waiting for us." She heard him begin to walk around the ambulance, her sister's footsteps staggering ahead of him, most likely due to the gun pointed at her head.
Paige's face lit up with a grin as she spotted Turtle manhandling Luka who had an annoyed look on his face at this point. The other bounty hunter however was not as amused.
"Let him go or I blow her brains out." He threatened, nudging the gun into Paige's head.
Paige turned to look at him and despite her hands still being held in the air, she grinned, "Try it."
"Mistake number three," Turtle said with her voice at whisper as she leaned closer to Luka, "You came after us."
Gunshots echoed in the alleyway and it wasn't long before police sirens were ringing through the streets.
Paige and Turtle were long gone by then, leaving behind a man with a bullet embedded in his skull and a Russian who didn't wait around long enough for the cops to arrive.
As Turtle drove towards their destination, she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that this wouldn't be her last time encountering the Russian bounty hunter named Luka.
"Freaking hate bounty hunters," Rabbit said as she brushed herself off. They had parked the ambulance and were now rolling the stretcher to the entrance of the warehouse.
It was stereotypical, faded stone, broken windows that kids probably took turns trying to break. In one of the broken windows, Paige could spot a dark figure for a split second peering down at them. The man in the suite? A body guard? Or another bounty hunter?
Her heart was still pounding and her body ached with fatigue. During each job she was getting more tired. Physically and emotionally but she had always been good at brushing it off.
What she wasn't good at brushing off was that someone was after her little sister and her, although she couldn't muster enough anger on her own account. How dare they? Assholes.
She needed to keep a clear head, though. From what she could tell Turtle was okay. "You good?" She whispered, biting her lip. She had to ask. The minute she crossed the threshold she couldn't ask questions. Hell she didn't even know if they would talk. Drops with this guy were always different. Sometimes there were more directions waiting other times there was nothing, they just left what they had to leave.
She ran a hand over her mouth and kept rolling the mayor closer to the door.
(Sorry it's short, I just had a few free seconds to write. They will get longer!)
(Why thanks :D and I apologize for the length of mine as well. So short T_T;)
Turtle glanced over at her sister who's tired eyes were staring at her, "I'm fine." She said tersely.
Turtle would never say it out loud but she hated the tired look in her sister's eyes that had been there for years now. Her sister had given up a lot for her and for once, Turtle wanted to see Rabbit's eyes full of life and energy, not lifeless and tired.
She wanted the aching of her muscles to stop and the bags under her eyes to disappear. She wanted to stop looking over her shoulder after turning every corner. She wanted a full night's sleep without the fear of being attacked. She wanted to settle down in one place and stay there.
Turtle shook her head as they walked into the warehouse, not knowing what lay beyond the doorway.
They had chosen this life.
They chose the sleepless nights, the fighting, the paranoia and the hardships that came with this life.
It was no one's fault but their own.
Still...
"Hello girls." A deep voice greeted them from the shadows of the warehouse.
Paige rolled her shoulders and put the lock on the stretcher. The mayor grunted loudly.
"Hello girls," came from deep within the warehouse. She tensed for attack but then the voice continued. "I've sent a man, Albert to recover the mayor. I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you today but I had pressing business elsewhere. If you proceed into the warehouse and make a left to go up the stairs you'll find in the alcove at the top of them your payment and more information about your next job. I'm afraid that you might find this one rather difficult but I need you both to do well on this. Your lives may in danger if you don't. I will text more directions as soon as I can. Ciao. "
It wasn't the man in the suit's real voice. In fact it wasn't even his real personality. Rabbit had heard angry cop to wheezy math teacher. Today's was grandfatherly mentor. And still she didn't like his note of warning. He told them to be careful sometimes but never concerning the job itself. He never told them anything really concerning it before the initial information. She didn't want to admit it, but that scared her.
She knew that they had to move before Albert came to collect. He couldn't see them and they couldn't see him.
"Let's go," she said and left, not sparing a glance at the man on the stretcher. She lost compassion for those involved on the job a long time ago. She was afraid that she didn't know what it was. Unless it involved her sister of course, but she couldn't explain that either.
She took the stairs two at a time, eager to get to the goods. She heard her sister pounding behind her and ran quicker. She was always one for a little healthy competition.
She turned around and grinned when she got to the top first. Yesterday morning Turtle had beat her to their only bathroom in their current house. Now that the job was over they could return to their actual home. If you could call it that.
She picked up the old leather journal on the floor with two large envelopes. The information and money in the envelopes, the journal, she didn't understand.
Paige opened one of the envelopes and counted the money and then the other. It was directions, plane tickets, fake IDs, keys. That was normal. Then what was the journal?
She put it all back and handed the envelopes to her sister. Then she opened the journal, only it wasn't a journal. It was a picture album.
The first picture was taken at an odd angle and had pictures in front of it, but it looked to be of a puppy dog. Her eyebrows came togehter and she felt her sister move in to look as well. The next picture was more in focus. A woman with auburn hair with two little girls. One was a baby with blue soulful eyes and the other a little girl with green bright eyes, grinning wide. She nearly dropped the book. "What the fuck?"
With shaky hands she flipped to the next picture. It was of a front yard of a big house. A blanket was spread in front and the same little girl was standing at the edge with the same grin, holding out her hands as the baby took a step. First steps.
"Turtle, Turtle, you can do it! Walk to me."
"Look, sweetie, she's walking! Ryan are you getting this on tape?"
"I'm taking a picture too, babe."
The little was determined to take the few steps to her older sister. She made a face and a grunt but finally did it and collapsed in her sisters arms.
"You're such a good girl, Turtle. And you are such a great big sister, sweetie."
"I'm the best big sister ever!" She looked down at the baby who repositioned herself on her lap. "I'll always protect you." she whispered.
She turned around, sure she heard Albert leave with the mayor. She started going down the stairs, wanting to get outside to get some air. She had to get in touch with the man with the suit. Demand why the hell he would bring this up? How had he gotten it? But it was probably nothing. It could be any little girls in the pictures, any house, family. She didn't remember hers much, except that memory, and maybe he knew that. Tried to use it to weaken her or something, play with her mind a bit.
When she got to door, she heard a loud pop and a beep. She turned around and saw a bag there, like the ones the man in the suit usually delivered for them. Maybe Albert left it? Or he failed to mention it?
She was weary but figured that it couldn't be that serious. If anything it was something she shouldn't touch because it wasn't meant for her. She'd leave it as soon as she looked in it.
"Hey, do me a favor and stay up there for a sec okay?" She asked her sister. Just in case. If it was something. She put the album outside the warehouse door so she could pick it up when they left and went back to the bag.
She opened the zipper and took a sharp inhale. Murphy's law.
"Shit," she took a step back and it went off. And then there was white, a ringing so loud in her ears and black.
(Thank you~ and holy crap, this got me in suspense wondering what was going to happen but then I realized I have to write the next part D:)
Turtle had a frown on her face as she waited on the stairs for her sister, "Those pictures..." She whispered.
Turtle couldn't remember her parents.
She'd never really bothered to think of them; it was always her and Rabbit and Rabbit was all she really needed, but that woman in the picture...
She looked so much like Rabbit, so much that it just couldn't be a coincidence.
Turtle felt her eyes water. If that picture was really of her, Rabbit and their mother, it would be Turtle's first time ever seeing their mother's face and she didn't want to forget it.
"Shit." Turtle heard from downstairs.
"Rabbit?" Turtle started down the stairs, but was thrown back when a force hit her full on, "Rabbit..." She mumbled, slumping down on the stairs, her head throbbing as her vision blurred and darkened.
~
When Turtle finally came to, the warehouse was full of smoke and close to collapsing, "Rabbit!" She called out, her voice cracking, "Rabbit where are you?!"
She limped down the stairs, her head pounding with pain and the room around her spinning. The smoke blurred her vision even more and made it hard to breathe. There was burning rubble from the ceiling scattered about the room.
She staggered about, calling out for her sister with her hoarse voice, "Rabbit!"
Please.
"Rabbit!"
Please don't take my sister away from me.
Underneath an enormous beam and other debris, Turtle saw a figure, blackened with ash and struggling to breathe, "Rabbit..." Her eyes were getting heavy as she practically crawled towards the pile of rubble, reaching out towards her sister's hand as darkness took over once more.
Please.
(I apologize once again for the shortness, next one will be much longer (:)
There's a place people go that's between sleep and awake. It's an in between place, a waiting room before you move on. And Rabbit, or Paige was there.
"You might want to open your eyes."
Paige snapped her eyes open. "Hey Quinn."
Kneeling in front of her, with her long black curls in front of her freckled face was Jocelyn Taylor, her next door neighbor from years ago when they lived in their house.
"Josie?" She got up and looked around, everything was grey.
"It's me. Or rather your subconcious half broken mind version of me."
"I haven't seen you since-"
"The day before you and your sister were taken away. I know. I cried for months when you didn't come home, you know? I didn't understand it, really. I was young, but I knew. "
She touched a hand to her face. She remembered the bag, the blast, but why did she wake up here?
"Mia?"
She turned sharply at her name. "Only my sister calls me that."
'And only then when your truly alone, right? I know how it is with you two. You don't remember your abduction or anything about it. You just remember waking up, and the man with the suit."
"How do you know about him?"
Jocelyn frowned. "I'm in your head remember?"
"I need to get back to my sister now." She started looking around for an exit. She didn't see one.
"That might not be possible. At least for a while."
"What are you talking about?"
"You took a hit, remember?"
And she did, she remembered the blast, the heat, the pain and the darkness.
"Is Turtle okay?"
"She'll be okay. You just need to rest for a bit."
"No I need to get up now."
"You can try but you'll only make it last longer."
"So what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Rest? Relax. Let your memory heal itself. Hang out with me."
"Yeah my mind's version of my old best friend."
"You've dreamt about our sleepovers. Remember that one time, out in the tent in my backyard? Jake scared us so bad we nearly peed our pants and Turtle and Casey were bugging us so much?"
She didn't remember.
"He loves you, you know? He keeps the picture they handed out when you taken in his wallet."
"That's not true."
"Yeah it is. He's going to be an FBI agent and work on finding missing kids. He wants to find you and your sister."
"I don't even really remember him."
"That's what sucks about drug induced amnesia huh? But you remember a bit, you know you do. You remember me and Jake and your parents but not anything else really. But that's why you have a job at home. To come back and remember."
"What do you mean a job at home?"
"You don't think the photo album was a coincidence, do you? You don't remember where home is but the tickets are to your old home state of California."
Mia just stared at her.
Jocelyn sighed. "Dream states are so free. I could tell you the secrets of the universe right now and you wouldn't remember it when you woke up. But you'll figure it out."
"How?" Mia whispered.
"With that wonderful mind of yours, Mia Ryan Quinn. Say hi for Turtle for me."
"I get to wake up now?" Mia jumped up, ready to be rid of the grey.
"Nah, I think you need to just sit for a bit. Breathe, you need to breathe."
As Turtle opened her bleary blue eyes the first thing she noticed was the death grip she had her sister's hand who was lying right next to her, still unconscious.
The second thing was the fact they were in the back of a van.
The third was that the van was moving.
And the fourth was a familiar person in the driver's seat.
"Why..."
"I followed you do da varehouse." He said, not turning to look at her, "Dere vas big explosion, you and your seester never came oud." He explained, "So I vent in."
Turtle kept silent as she spared a glance over to her sister while lightly tracing her thumb over her sister's knuckles, taking notice of the burns and cuts that adorned her sister's body.
Unconsciously, her grip tightened and she noticed a pair of gray eyes staring at her, "You vould nod led go of her."
"Thank you." Turtle said, "For saving us. You didn't have to."
"I am Luka."
Turtle hesitated, biting her lip before speaking, "Ada. My name is Ada." It's been so long since she used that name, "How long have we been driving?"
"Nod long." He reassured her, "I found dis book," He said, gesturing towards the passenger's seat, and Turtle, or rather Ada looked over, seeing the photo album sitting there, "Id had dis in it," He held up two tickets that Ada's sister had stuffed into the album before the warehouse was blown to bits, "I am assuming you vould like do go to airpord, da?"
"You don't have to drive us there, we can make it on our own."
"I vill drive you."
Ada's eyebrows furrowed together, obviously annoyed at the Russian man, "You don't have to."
"I vill drive you." He repeated.
"I killed your partner, why would you want to help us?"
Luka blinked, eyes glancing up to the rear-view mirror where he could get a good look at her bruised and battered form, "He vas not my pardner, he vas merely, ah, vhat is dat vord... an aquaindence. An eyesore, really."
Ada's eyes narrowed at him with a suspicious glint, "If you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you this time."
His cold eyes stared into hers before turning back towards the road, "So, she is your sister, da?" He asked.
"Yes."
"You vould do anyding to make sure no harm comes to her, da?"
"Yes."
"Dat is good, dere is no pain vorse dan losing a sibling." His eyes seemed to soften just slightly before hardening again.
Ada looked down at her sister, who's steady breathing seemed to soothe her. Ada had been so close to losing her.
One of Mia's earliest memories was of waking up in the backseat of the family car. Turtle was snoring softly next to her in her car seat, Mom was upfront humming to the radio that was turned down low, and Dad was upfront driving, tapping his hands on the steering wheel. She had blinked her eyes a few times and yawned, her whole mouth shaping into an O. "Hi baby," Mom said and reached her hand back, turning around and smiling at her. "We're almost there."
She had remembered going to Grandpa and Grandma's and playing in their large backyard. They lived by the Ocean and the smell was salty and warm. Now they were on their way home. Dad put the turning signal on and they turned into the drive.
"Where?" She asked.
Then she saw the large florescent sign DINER, lit up in red around a blue border. Dad parked and lifted Turtle out and Mom got her out. They ate pie and ice cream and she had her first root beer float. "A family road trip." Dad said.
It was this memory that came through the most, even though she hadn't thought about it in years. Hadn't been able to.
She blinked her eyes and tried to shift in the seat. Only it wasn't a seat, it was a van. Her body went rigid and the pain came at full force. "Turtle?" She rasped and then coughed.
Her throat felt like she had just jugged gasoline and her body felt like thousands of little pins were pricking her over and over.
She turned to see the man driving the van was the bounty hunter. "Who sent you?"
Paige Jackson liked the name she was going by today. It gave her the persona of a sweet, girl next door from a small Kansas town who had big dreams of hitting it big and leaving her past behind her. It was the perfect guise for today and perfect for trying to figure out what today's mission was.
The man in the suite had left her a cute handbag with her instructions: Go fill in as a waitress at the Gatehart Country Club at 5:00 and wait there for further instructions.
Inside the bag were two new techphones, version 4. They were the best in the business and rumor was that only the government was giving them to top FBI and CIA agents.
Hey Turtle, u in position? Paige texted her little sister. Whenever possible Paige used her nickname for her. That was how the girls communicated. They tried not to use their real names as much as possible but whatever names they chose for the time being or the job.
She scanned the crowd looking for her baby sister but all she saw was rich politicians and their wives and other donors who showed up to the charity event. Paige did recognize a gorgeous display of food. She didn't see the harm in eating while waiting for other orders. As a waitress she was just waiting into plates needed to be cleared or cups were emptied.
The buffet looked mouthwatering. There were cheeses and meets, breads, vegetables, fruits. And then soups, main courses like chicken parm and chicken marsala, chicken stir fry and even what looked like some salmon. The only thing at their small fridge and freezer at home was half empty cartons of Ben and Jerry's and some cans of Arizona Sweet Tea.
Her eyebrows in her hairline Paige, scanned the crowd. She was going to have to wait before actually eating. If she got a chance to eat at all, there was a possibility the job would require her to leave here now. So she'd just have to wait.
(Kay, I've set it up where you could take Turtle, if you want, Sorry for the nickname, you can come up with whatever you want for my character, I just thought it was kinda cute and endearing!)
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A young woman bit the inside of her cheek as she glared down at the techphone she had received from her sister earlier today, reading the message that lit up the screen with disdain. Why did her sister insist on calling her Turtle of all things?
Regardless she quickly texted her sister back, yea Rabbit, i'm just waiting for the instructions.
She scratched at the fake golden hair that obscured her real hair from view as she eyed the people that passed her on the sidewalk, making sure to keep her head down so no one, not even the cameras hidden in the street lights would be able to get a good look at her face.
Slipping the phone into the back pocket of her tight black jeans, her azure eyes that were hidden by plain brown colored contacts traveled to the building she was currently standing across the street from, where her sister was currently posing as a waitress.
The Gatehart Country Club; home to corrupt politicians, gold-digging women and bigwig business owners whose only interests were money and power.
A loud chime came from the enormous clock just down the street at the subway station, signifying it was now five o'clock and the buzzing noise from her back pocket further reassured the woman's insinuation of the time.
She took the phone out of her back pocket and scanned the message that appeared on the screen of her phone along with the picture that was sent with it.
Your target is William Hughes, the current mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There have been rumors of him accepting bribes from various business owners in the city and blackmailing his enemies in order to win his position. He will be attending the charity at the Gatehart Country Club tonight. Bring him back alive.
The picture was of a man in his late forties at what seemed to be a party with a woman on each arm and a huge grin slapped on his face. He looked to be having the time of his life.
With a small laugh, the woman disappeared into the crowd of people on the sidewalk.
"Not for long."
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Good, at least she knows someone's where they're supposed to be. The man with the suit always showed his face at these things, for a breath moment, to give her a nod, a small smile even a wave. This time he was no where to be found.
A second buzz in her back pocket and she disposed of the tray on a table that was also the stand for an impressive looking crystal duck. Ugh, rich people.
So they were looking for another rich dude. How original. She had a theory, a probably unoriginal theory but hers all the same. They were never after poor people because most poor people believed in karma. Only the real sleazebags committed crimes because most people hoped that if they were good, they'd get there true rewards and the riches would flow. The rich could only get richer and that had to bring some kind of boredom, so they turned to laundering money, stealing from charities, and being general assholes.
It didn't take long to spot Hughes. Got him, she texted Turtle. He was surrounded by woman who were drooling at him, a few bodyguards, and some of his friday night poker buddies who were just as ugly and probably as corrupt as him.
She pivoted and grabbed the tray, deciding she needed it after all. Should I Godfather it or Leverage it? She wondered. Godfathering it meant coming in hard and fast. Brushing past him with a pen needle and knocking him out quick. After that Turtle and her could get into the ambulance when they took him out to the private health care facility a quarter of a mile away. The detour of course would be the drop spot.
Or she could grift her way into the situation, using the charm that came from her given gene pool, whatever that may be, and get the mayor alone with some spiked champagne.
The party was too large to try anything else. Somehow she suspected this wasn't going to be a cakewalk like the job two weeks ago. The man in the suite was testing them, of course he was, he wanted to see what there ability was.
You got an idea of should we Leverage it or Godfather it? She texted Turtle. On their spare time they watched way to many movies and tv, read loads of books. They had developed their own language, mostly relied on pop culture references and their inside jokes, but it helped on jobs, especially ones where they weren't in the same room or were pretending not to know each other.
"Ey! Ey you!" A large man, who was already too far gone and smelled of it, came over, Frankenstein style, wobbling and limping.
She smiled at him. "Can I help you sir? A refill maybe?" She indicated the empty glass he held.
"No!" He yelled out. Then said more softly. "No. It's jus that you look so much like that girl, one of the sisters." He turned to the woman who looked stricken as she put both hands on his beefy shoulders. "You remember Carla? Those girls?"
"I'm sorry," The woman named Carla mouthed and turned him away quickly.
Paige had found that she could move again. Was there cover blown? Of course there were plenty of girls who had gone missing, plenty of sisters, especially lately. "Commissioner Bryant!" The woman named Carla chased after him.
What charity was this anyway? She found it the banner above the entranceway. Guiding Light Missing Children Charity.
Gorram.
We have to act fast, kiddo. she texted.
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Godfathering it would be best, but there was the matter of the paramedic driving the ambulance that could impose a slight hitch in their plans. Out of the corner of her eye, Turtle spotted a familiar looking block of a vehicle along with the lone driver who was leaning against it, munching on a sandwich and a thought hit Turtle head on.
gimme a few minutes. She texted her sister back.
She began staggering towards the man dressed in the paramedic uniform, violent, but fake coughs ripping at her throat as she did, "Excuse me..." She wheezed and the man looked startled, dropping his sandwich so he could hold her unsteady form still, "Help... please," She was wheezing badly now, making it seem as though she was struggling to breathe, "I think..." Wheeze, "I'm having an asthma-"
The man grabbed her with one hand, opening the back of the ambulance with the other, "Come on sweetheart, keep steady, you'll be alright." He assured her and she had to hide the malicious smirk that was making its way on her face with her hand as she let out a few more strangled coughs, "This way." He said, helping her into the ambulance, setting her on the gurney before closing the door behind him.
He started to rummage through the drawers, trying to find the correct steroids to inject her with in order to cease her asthma attack.
Turtle took this opportunity to slip the needle she had hidden up her sleeve down into her palm, uncapping it and in one swift motion it was planted into the man's neck who struggled slightly, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell back into her arms in a limp heap. Ripping the needle out of his throat, she tossed it to the side and began to undress the man from his uniform before tying and gagging the man with some rubber gloves that stretched surprisingly far.
She easily slipped the over-sized clothes onto her own form over her plain black shirt and jeans, tightening the drawstring of the pants to secure them before putting her jacket and bag of goods to the side and out of the way. Making sure her wig was in place she dragged the man to the cabinet which besides a few boxes of gloves and paper towels was empty. She hurriedly stuffed the man in there making sure it was closed tightly after she did.
Sparing one last glance at the cabinet where the man laid knocked out she looked at the needle which was on the floor, seeing that most of the liquid that had been in it was no longer there, 'He'll be out for a few hours.' She thought, smirking slightly as she climbed towards the front of the ambulance.
She assumed her position in the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition to start the ambulance, she shifted it into drive and began to drive towards an alleyway close to the Gatehart Country Club. Once safely in the dark alleyway, she put it in park and turned off the lights.
Taking out her phone, she sent a message containing one word to her sister, Godfather.
And now, she would wait.
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She refilled on champagne quickly at the bar and made sure the needle was in position under the glass. Sometimes she wondered where all of this came from. Sometimes she wondered if they were born for this. But she didn't believe in destiny, because that was just a load of crap.
It was quick and clean, just as she had hoped. She delivered champagne to the table, smiling slightly as eyes fell on her. They'd forget she was there a moment later, they always did. She put the mayor's glass too close to the edge, which allowed her to push it back. Just as she did that, the needle slid from the other side of her hand and right into the soft meat of his belly, even with his dress shirt on.
"Thanks darling." He said with a wink and she rolled her eyes but smiled shyly at him and then walked away. Then she took a place behind a column to watch the damage control.
He hit the floor exactly 7 seconds after she turned around to stare at him. One of his dates choked on her champagne and a man across from him dabbed at himself with an honest to God handkerchief and said "Good Lord!"
Then people were on him like flies. "Someone call an ambulance!"
She made a point to come out into the open and make a panicked face before disappearing into the back exit. You know the drill, she texted her sister.
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"We need an ambulance at the Gatehart Country Club, a man has collapsed-" Turtle took hold of the receiver attached to the radio, pressing onto the small red button, interrupting the transmission.
"Ambulance Number Five Zero Four, I'm on my way." She mustered her manliest voice.
She didn't wait for a reply and the tires screeched as the ambulance ripped out of the alleyway, lights flashing wildly and sirens blaring.
When she arrived in front of the country club, everyone was in panic.
She brushed her way through the crowd, hitting anyone who didn't move with the gurney. She didn't particularly care, she was here for one reason and one reason alone and he just happened to be writhing on the floor.
Hughes was barely breathing, a small side effect of the drug her sister had injected him with, he'd be fine in a couple of hours. His eyes were barely open and they seemed hazy, like he was struggling to stay awake. His body was shaking, almost to the point of convulsing. With the help of one of the waiters, she loaded him onto the gurney, strapping him down tightly.
"Hey there Mr. Hughes." Turtle called out to the man as she rolled him towards the ambulance, there was amusement sparkling in her eyes as she did, "My name's Marcy, I'm going to be taking good care of you." Venom laced her voice as she gave a fake name and whispered reassuring words into the man's ear.
As she loaded him onto the ambulance, she shut the door, denying anyone who wanted to ride aboard with the fallen politician. She didn't even spare a second glance to the woman who now sat in the passenger seat, instead she secured the gurney, rummaging through the bag she had discarded before, coming out with a syringe.
"Good night." She said to the man, plunging the needle into his neck, the same way she did to the paramedic. In seconds he stopped trembling and his eyes were now closed and breathing now steady. She hopped into the driver's seat, ripping the wig off of her head, letting her dark brown hair flow freely from its restraint. The engine of the ambulance roared and Turtle turned to the woman, "Shall we Rabbit?"
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They pulled out as and got on the road as if it were a sunday stroll in the mountains. Funny, she thought, they never did normal things.
She settled against the seat trying to get comfortable. She never had a chance to sleep anymore. As soon as she closed her eyes at night she was plagued by terrible night terrors that left her forcing her fist into her mouth to keep her from screaming. She hated that shit.
Behind her eyes she saw the same black abyss that scared her as a child. Is that what death is like? She hoped not. There was nothing peaceful in that.
Her phone buzzed just as she opened her eyes and decided she didn't want them closed anymore. She scanned it and flipped it shut, pushing it under her leg to secure it.
"56th and 8th some warehouse called Ferguson Metals." She told Turtle.
They weren't far from the warehouse. When they got there Paige spotted an alleyway and she pointed it out. They pulled into it and Turtle cut the engine.
She got out and was hit by the heat. "Damn," she said and went around to open the doors. That's when a man's gravelly voice said, "Put your hands up slowly, one wrong move and I'll blow you to Jesus before you can even blink."
Paige sighed. Locals would have probably shot her, feds would have jumped her or tased her. So that left, ugh, a bounty hunter.
Even though she was disgusted with them a chill went down her spine and gooseflesh appeared. How was she stupid enough to get a gorram bounty hunter on them?
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The person who was holding the gun to her head said nothing and Turtle thought to herself how unusual it was for bounty hunters to work in pairs. A rough push on her shoulder forced her out of her thoughts and forced her to face the ambulance. The metallic surface of the ambulance acted as a mirror and Turtle found herself staring into the eyes of her captor.
He looked young, younger than her at least, maybe twenty or twenty one. He had a baby face with cold eyes that told the story of a lost childhood and years of pain.
Turtle could relate.
Before she could let nostalgia take hold of her instinct told her she needed to get both her and her sister out of here unharmed; they couldn't fail this mission because the consequences of doing so were much worse than what any bounty hunter could ever do to them.
The look in the man's eyes told her not to try anything, but Turtle was never one to follow instructions.
She shifted slightly and knew that it didn't go unnoticed by the bounty hunter who shoved the gun against her temple even harder. Taking in a deep breath she eyed him as he shifted towards her left side.
Mistake number one.
A rustle from behind one of the trash cans in the alleyway took the man's attention away from her for a split moment and he lowered his gun slightly as his eyes flickered to the trash cans.
Mistake number two.
She slid her left foot around his right leg, using the left side of her body to pin the man to the ambulance, her left hand held a knife to his throat while her right pinned the hand that held the gun to the ambulance.
"Everything alright over there, Luka?" The man who had Turtle's sister at gunpoint asked.
She pressed the knife harder to "Luka's" neck as if to warn him if he didn't comply she could easily slit his throat, "Say yes." She said in a hushed voice.
"Yes." Luka said calmly with a rather thick Russian accent, "She vanted do ged avay."
Turtle tightened her grip on the hand that held the gun, "Let go." He did, but with much reluctance.
She frowned as the other man began to laugh, "Got a little fight in her, huh? That's expected. Come on, we've got a big check waiting for us." She heard him begin to walk around the ambulance, her sister's footsteps staggering ahead of him, most likely due to the gun pointed at her head.
Paige's face lit up with a grin as she spotted Turtle manhandling Luka who had an annoyed look on his face at this point. The other bounty hunter however was not as amused.
"Let him go or I blow her brains out." He threatened, nudging the gun into Paige's head.
Paige turned to look at him and despite her hands still being held in the air, she grinned, "Try it."
"Mistake number three," Turtle said with her voice at whisper as she leaned closer to Luka, "You came after us."
Gunshots echoed in the alleyway and it wasn't long before police sirens were ringing through the streets.
Paige and Turtle were long gone by then, leaving behind a man with a bullet embedded in his skull and a Russian who didn't wait around long enough for the cops to arrive.
As Turtle drove towards their destination, she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that this wouldn't be her last time encountering the Russian bounty hunter named Luka.
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"Freaking hate bounty hunters," Rabbit said as she brushed herself off. They had parked the ambulance and were now rolling the stretcher to the entrance of the warehouse.
It was stereotypical, faded stone, broken windows that kids probably took turns trying to break. In one of the broken windows, Paige could spot a dark figure for a split second peering down at them. The man in the suite? A body guard? Or another bounty hunter?
Her heart was still pounding and her body ached with fatigue. During each job she was getting more tired. Physically and emotionally but she had always been good at brushing it off.
What she wasn't good at brushing off was that someone was after her little sister and her, although she couldn't muster enough anger on her own account. How dare they? Assholes.
She needed to keep a clear head, though. From what she could tell Turtle was okay. "You good?" She whispered, biting her lip. She had to ask. The minute she crossed the threshold she couldn't ask questions. Hell she didn't even know if they would talk. Drops with this guy were always different. Sometimes there were more directions waiting other times there was nothing, they just left what they had to leave.
She ran a hand over her mouth and kept rolling the mayor closer to the door.
(Sorry it's short, I just had a few free seconds to write. They will get longer!)
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Turtle glanced over at her sister who's tired eyes were staring at her, "I'm fine." She said tersely.
Turtle would never say it out loud but she hated the tired look in her sister's eyes that had been there for years now. Her sister had given up a lot for her and for once, Turtle wanted to see Rabbit's eyes full of life and energy, not lifeless and tired.
She wanted the aching of her muscles to stop and the bags under her eyes to disappear. She wanted to stop looking over her shoulder after turning every corner. She wanted a full night's sleep without the fear of being attacked. She wanted to settle down in one place and stay there.
Turtle shook her head as they walked into the warehouse, not knowing what lay beyond the doorway.
They had chosen this life.
They chose the sleepless nights, the fighting, the paranoia and the hardships that came with this life.
It was no one's fault but their own.
Still...
"Hello girls." A deep voice greeted them from the shadows of the warehouse.
They had to look out for each other.
No matter what.
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Paige rolled her shoulders and put the lock on the stretcher. The mayor grunted loudly.
"Hello girls," came from deep within the warehouse. She tensed for attack but then the voice continued. "I've sent a man, Albert to recover the mayor. I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you today but I had pressing business elsewhere. If you proceed into the warehouse and make a left to go up the stairs you'll find in the alcove at the top of them your payment and more information about your next job. I'm afraid that you might find this one rather difficult but I need you both to do well on this. Your lives may in danger if you don't. I will text more directions as soon as I can. Ciao. "
It wasn't the man in the suit's real voice. In fact it wasn't even his real personality. Rabbit had heard angry cop to wheezy math teacher. Today's was grandfatherly mentor. And still she didn't like his note of warning. He told them to be careful sometimes but never concerning the job itself. He never told them anything really concerning it before the initial information. She didn't want to admit it, but that scared her.
She knew that they had to move before Albert came to collect. He couldn't see them and they couldn't see him.
"Let's go," she said and left, not sparing a glance at the man on the stretcher. She lost compassion for those involved on the job a long time ago. She was afraid that she didn't know what it was. Unless it involved her sister of course, but she couldn't explain that either.
She took the stairs two at a time, eager to get to the goods. She heard her sister pounding behind her and ran quicker. She was always one for a little healthy competition.
She turned around and grinned when she got to the top first. Yesterday morning Turtle had beat her to their only bathroom in their current house. Now that the job was over they could return to their actual home. If you could call it that.
She picked up the old leather journal on the floor with two large envelopes. The information and money in the envelopes, the journal, she didn't understand.
Paige opened one of the envelopes and counted the money and then the other. It was directions, plane tickets, fake IDs, keys. That was normal. Then what was the journal?
She put it all back and handed the envelopes to her sister. Then she opened the journal, only it wasn't a journal. It was a picture album.
The first picture was taken at an odd angle and had pictures in front of it, but it looked to be of a puppy dog. Her eyebrows came togehter and she felt her sister move in to look as well. The next picture was more in focus. A woman with auburn hair with two little girls. One was a baby with blue soulful eyes and the other a little girl with green bright eyes, grinning wide. She nearly dropped the book. "What the fuck?"
With shaky hands she flipped to the next picture. It was of a front yard of a big house. A blanket was spread in front and the same little girl was standing at the edge with the same grin, holding out her hands as the baby took a step. First steps.
"Turtle, Turtle, you can do it! Walk to me."
"Look, sweetie, she's walking! Ryan are you getting this on tape?"
"I'm taking a picture too, babe."
The little was determined to take the few steps to her older sister. She made a face and a grunt but finally did it and collapsed in her sisters arms.
"You're such a good girl, Turtle. And you are such a great big sister, sweetie."
"I'm the best big sister ever!" She looked down at the baby who repositioned herself on her lap. "I'll always protect you." she whispered.
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She turned around, sure she heard Albert leave with the mayor. She started going down the stairs, wanting to get outside to get some air. She had to get in touch with the man with the suit. Demand why the hell he would bring this up? How had he gotten it? But it was probably nothing. It could be any little girls in the pictures, any house, family. She didn't remember hers much, except that memory, and maybe he knew that. Tried to use it to weaken her or something, play with her mind a bit.
When she got to door, she heard a loud pop and a beep. She turned around and saw a bag there, like the ones the man in the suit usually delivered for them. Maybe Albert left it? Or he failed to mention it?
She was weary but figured that it couldn't be that serious. If anything it was something she shouldn't touch because it wasn't meant for her. She'd leave it as soon as she looked in it.
"Hey, do me a favor and stay up there for a sec okay?" She asked her sister. Just in case. If it was something. She put the album outside the warehouse door so she could pick it up when they left and went back to the bag.
She opened the zipper and took a sharp inhale. Murphy's law.
"Shit," she took a step back and it went off. And then there was white, a ringing so loud in her ears and black.
(Tried to make it longer!)
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Turtle had a frown on her face as she waited on the stairs for her sister, "Those pictures..." She whispered.
Turtle couldn't remember her parents.
She'd never really bothered to think of them; it was always her and Rabbit and Rabbit was all she really needed, but that woman in the picture...
She looked so much like Rabbit, so much that it just couldn't be a coincidence.
Turtle felt her eyes water. If that picture was really of her, Rabbit and their mother, it would be Turtle's first time ever seeing their mother's face and she didn't want to forget it.
"Shit." Turtle heard from downstairs.
"Rabbit?" Turtle started down the stairs, but was thrown back when a force hit her full on, "Rabbit..." She mumbled, slumping down on the stairs, her head throbbing as her vision blurred and darkened.
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When Turtle finally came to, the warehouse was full of smoke and close to collapsing, "Rabbit!" She called out, her voice cracking, "Rabbit where are you?!"
She limped down the stairs, her head pounding with pain and the room around her spinning. The smoke blurred her vision even more and made it hard to breathe. There was burning rubble from the ceiling scattered about the room.
She staggered about, calling out for her sister with her hoarse voice, "Rabbit!"
Please.
"Rabbit!"
Please don't take my sister away from me.
Underneath an enormous beam and other debris, Turtle saw a figure, blackened with ash and struggling to breathe, "Rabbit..." Her eyes were getting heavy as she practically crawled towards the pile of rubble, reaching out towards her sister's hand as darkness took over once more.
Please.
(I apologize once again for the shortness, next one will be much longer (:)
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There's a place people go that's between sleep and awake. It's an in between place, a waiting room before you move on. And Rabbit, or Paige was there.
"You might want to open your eyes."
Paige snapped her eyes open. "Hey Quinn."
Kneeling in front of her, with her long black curls in front of her freckled face was Jocelyn Taylor, her next door neighbor from years ago when they lived in their house.
"Josie?" She got up and looked around, everything was grey.
"It's me. Or rather your subconcious half broken mind version of me."
"I haven't seen you since-"
"The day before you and your sister were taken away. I know. I cried for months when you didn't come home, you know? I didn't understand it, really. I was young, but I knew. "
She touched a hand to her face. She remembered the bag, the blast, but why did she wake up here?
"Mia?"
She turned sharply at her name. "Only my sister calls me that."
'And only then when your truly alone, right? I know how it is with you two. You don't remember your abduction or anything about it. You just remember waking up, and the man with the suit."
"How do you know about him?"
Jocelyn frowned. "I'm in your head remember?"
"I need to get back to my sister now." She started looking around for an exit. She didn't see one.
"That might not be possible. At least for a while."
"What are you talking about?"
"You took a hit, remember?"
And she did, she remembered the blast, the heat, the pain and the darkness.
"Is Turtle okay?"
"She'll be okay. You just need to rest for a bit."
"No I need to get up now."
"You can try but you'll only make it last longer."
"So what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Rest? Relax. Let your memory heal itself. Hang out with me."
"Yeah my mind's version of my old best friend."
"You've dreamt about our sleepovers. Remember that one time, out in the tent in my backyard? Jake scared us so bad we nearly peed our pants and Turtle and Casey were bugging us so much?"
She didn't remember.
"He loves you, you know? He keeps the picture they handed out when you taken in his wallet."
"That's not true."
"Yeah it is. He's going to be an FBI agent and work on finding missing kids. He wants to find you and your sister."
"I don't even really remember him."
"That's what sucks about drug induced amnesia huh? But you remember a bit, you know you do. You remember me and Jake and your parents but not anything else really. But that's why you have a job at home. To come back and remember."
"What do you mean a job at home?"
"You don't think the photo album was a coincidence, do you? You don't remember where home is but the tickets are to your old home state of California."
Mia just stared at her.
Jocelyn sighed. "Dream states are so free. I could tell you the secrets of the universe right now and you wouldn't remember it when you woke up. But you'll figure it out."
"How?" Mia whispered.
"With that wonderful mind of yours, Mia Ryan Quinn. Say hi for Turtle for me."
"I get to wake up now?" Mia jumped up, ready to be rid of the grey.
"Nah, I think you need to just sit for a bit. Breathe, you need to breathe."
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As Turtle opened her bleary blue eyes the first thing she noticed was the death grip she had her sister's hand who was lying right next to her, still unconscious.
The second thing was the fact they were in the back of a van.
The third was that the van was moving.
And the fourth was a familiar person in the driver's seat.
"Why..."
"I followed you do da varehouse." He said, not turning to look at her, "Dere vas big explosion, you and your seester never came oud." He explained, "So I vent in."
Turtle kept silent as she spared a glance over to her sister while lightly tracing her thumb over her sister's knuckles, taking notice of the burns and cuts that adorned her sister's body.
Unconsciously, her grip tightened and she noticed a pair of gray eyes staring at her, "You vould nod led go of her."
"Thank you." Turtle said, "For saving us. You didn't have to."
"I am Luka."
Turtle hesitated, biting her lip before speaking, "Ada. My name is Ada." It's been so long since she used that name, "How long have we been driving?"
"Nod long." He reassured her, "I found dis book," He said, gesturing towards the passenger's seat, and Turtle, or rather Ada looked over, seeing the photo album sitting there, "Id had dis in it," He held up two tickets that Ada's sister had stuffed into the album before the warehouse was blown to bits, "I am assuming you vould like do go to airpord, da?"
"You don't have to drive us there, we can make it on our own."
"I vill drive you."
Ada's eyebrows furrowed together, obviously annoyed at the Russian man, "You don't have to."
"I vill drive you." He repeated.
"I killed your partner, why would you want to help us?"
Luka blinked, eyes glancing up to the rear-view mirror where he could get a good look at her bruised and battered form, "He vas not my pardner, he vas merely, ah, vhat is dat vord... an aquaindence. An eyesore, really."
Ada's eyes narrowed at him with a suspicious glint, "If you try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you this time."
His cold eyes stared into hers before turning back towards the road, "So, she is your sister, da?" He asked.
"Yes."
"You vould do anyding to make sure no harm comes to her, da?"
"Yes."
"Dat is good, dere is no pain vorse dan losing a sibling." His eyes seemed to soften just slightly before hardening again.
Ada looked down at her sister, who's steady breathing seemed to soothe her. Ada had been so close to losing her.
Her heart clenched at the thought.
Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath.
All she had to do was breathe.
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She had remembered going to Grandpa and Grandma's and playing in their large backyard. They lived by the Ocean and the smell was salty and warm. Now they were on their way home. Dad put the turning signal on and they turned into the drive.
"Where?" She asked.
Then she saw the large florescent sign DINER, lit up in red around a blue border. Dad parked and lifted Turtle out and Mom got her out. They ate pie and ice cream and she had her first root beer float. "A family road trip." Dad said.
It was this memory that came through the most, even though she hadn't thought about it in years. Hadn't been able to.
She blinked her eyes and tried to shift in the seat. Only it wasn't a seat, it was a van. Her body went rigid and the pain came at full force. "Turtle?" She rasped and then coughed.
Her throat felt like she had just jugged gasoline and her body felt like thousands of little pins were pricking her over and over.
She turned to see the man driving the van was the bounty hunter. "Who sent you?"
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