Laying Down The Law *OTA*

[hunteroffreaks]

There was a new notice posted in the mess hall where the whole team could read it.

I'd just like reiterate that while the power of command may have shifted, you should all still behaving. Any misconduct-

Aw, fuck it with being formal. Enough bullshit. Anyone steps out of line, and I ain't going to be slapping your wrists and tossing you in the brig

Comments

[proper_twinkie]

"Assassination attempts? You know me so well." Betsy said from the doorway. Seeing him sitting at Stryker's desk made her stomach tighten. There was something incredibly erotic about him sitting in a place of power. Damn him.

[hunteroffreaks]

Jack looked up, his face schooled into a carefully neutral expression upon seeing Betsy. He wondered if she was going to reduce all his furniture to rubble again. "I knew the team might try to bump me off. I didn't know they'd send their best killer."

[proper_twinkie]

"It's a little late for flattery, don't you think?" She asked sauntering further into the room. Killing him would have been easy. He could be dead before he could draw his next breath and he wouldn't even see it coming. Sure, it would piss off Stryker but he would get over it eventually.

The only thing that stopped her was this nagging thought in the back of her head that maybe she wouldn't be so quick to recover from it.

[hunteroffreaks]

"What are you doing in here?" Jack watched her sashay into the room with a feminine grace that was all her own.

He'd decided the best policy would be to simply avoid Betsy, and while it had been working since he had been put in charge, he hadn't counted on her seeking him out specifically. In fact, Jack had thought she was still mad at him, though for what reson he couldn't quite remember. Women.

[proper_twinkie]

To be completely honest, she wasn't sure. She hadn't planned to come to him but that was the danger of wandering aimlessly.

Of course, she couldn't let him know that.

"The better question is why are you hiding in here? The job too much for you already? Not man enough?" She teased as she dragged her fingertips across his shoulders, making a brief detour to his neck, as she circled him. When she was on his right instead of his left, she leaned against his desk and set her foot up on the chair between his legs. "I'd offer to help but I'm just not attracted to weak men. Sorry. You know I hear Victor is shagging Gloria. Maybe she can help."

[hunteroffreaks]

Jack hoped she might leave, but she encircled him like a cat toying with a mouse. He couldn't help as his body reacted to the nails that played around his neck. It had been longer than he cared to remember since any woman had touched him there other than with the intent to try and strangle him.

But enough was enough. He reached out and grabbed ahold of the ankle perched against his chair with surprising strength, even for a mere human. He yanked hard, getting her off balance and pitching her forward. Standing up and catching her in one fluid movement, his face was only a few inches away from hers. "If you came in here just to gloat, then get the fuck out. I've got a camp to run, and don't have time for your little games with the Yakuza breathing down my neck, members of the team injured, supplies to order, and about six other people coming in with concerns that actually matter."

[proper_twinkie]

Her breath caught in her throat as he hauled her against his chest. With his face so close to hers, she needed a moment to think. Things were clouded but not the physical reaction to him manhandling her. That was very clear but she refused to be a slave to it.

Using a combination of her arms and power, she pushed him off her and back into his chair. She followed him down and braced her hands on the chair behind him so she could control just how close she got to him. And she got so damn close she was almost straddling him but not touching. "And if I don't leave, what then? You going to run, Jack? You are getting very good at it."

[hunteroffreaks]

Jack could feel both her physical and mental push as he was forced back into the chair. He sat there, glaring up at Betsy, not liking the shift in power one bit. Fortunately, he was never without a Plan B. "I never run."

Betsy found herself with a knife pressed against her taut stomach, not hard enough to puncture just yet, but firm enough to let her know the hunter meant business. "Back off. I'm not in the mood to tiptoe around and play at being nice."

[proper_twinkie]

Rather then pull back, she leaned forward letting the blade bite into her skin. It hurt and she cringed slightly as blood was drawn but she didn't back off.

Once the pain was tolerable, she opened her eyes resting her forehead against his. "This was what you wanted, wasn't it? Go ahead. Show me what a monster I am. How much I deserve to have my blood spilled." She leaned in a little further and it made her cry out a bit. "Take your revenge, Jack. Your family is watching."

[hunteroffreaks]

Jack couldn't figure out her plan, as hot blood ran down the blade and onto his hand. It was taking all of his self control not to take her right then and there. But at the mention of his family, he saw literal red, as a bloody sort of haze came over his vision, and the darkest part of himself came out to play.

Abruptly, his free hand came up and punched her across the face as hard as he could. Standing back up and grabbing her long violet tresses before Betsy could recover, he yanked her head back painfully. He moved the blade up to her neck, letting the already crimson-stained blade bite into the skin there, but not deeply. He wasn't looking at what his hands were doing. If he saw blood, Jack wasn't sure even his self-control would last. "Shut up! Don't you ever mention them again!"

[proper_twinkie]

Her eyes were wide with surprise and maybe fear as he beat her and held the blade at her throat but she kept even the slightest hint of a tremble out of her voice. A moment ago she was so sure that he wouldn't be able to hurt her let alone kill her. Now she was sure about nothing and painfully aware of how stupid she was for thinking it was possible she meant more than an object to lust over for him

[hunteroffreaks]

It was Betsy's cool composure that kept the hunter from spilling the rest of her blood onto the carpet. He was used to feeding off the fear of his victims. The more they begged and pleaded, the easier it was just to end their lives. Not recieving that response from Betsy was maddening to the dark part of his mind that saw everything in terms of black, white, and blood red.

His good eye flickered with untold emotions, the knife poised at Betsy's throat. Jack wanted her to stop talking, stop telling him what to do. With one swift downward motion, the knife cut through the air. It slammed hard enough into the desk to be buried halfway up to its hilt.

He let go of her, and faced the wall. It was an idiotic move, turning his back on an opponent, but he was no longer thinking clearly, as the haze lifted from his mind. "Get out." The words were devoid of their usual malice and snarl. All Jack sounded like was a very tired old man.

[proper_twinkie]

Her eyes closed and she released a soft sigh of relief when he didn't slit her throat. For all her bravado in the face of death, she didn't want to die. More than that, he couldn't kill her.

Forcing her to leave was the same as running so she sat there for a moment staring at his back. "No." She said softly as she closed the distance between them. Her hands hover above his arms and her mouth close to his neck. She wanted to touch him but she knew it wouldn't be welcomed.

"Jack." She breathed against him. "They don't want this for you. They don't want you to be a monster or a martyr. They loved you, Jack. If you want to honor them, let them rest."

[hunteroffreaks]

She was so close now, he could smell the coppery scent of the blood still trickling out of her wounds. The hunter hated himself for not being able to able to kill her, and also hated himself for wanting to in the first place. His self-loathing had truly sunk to a level even he never imagined.

He turned his head to the left, the blind side, afraid to even catch a glimpse of Betsy. "Stop. Just....stop it." He sounded almost like he was pleading, perhaps with Betsy, perhaps with himself. "It hurts too much with you around. I can't go back. Not now."

[proper_twinkie]

She didn't want to hurt him. Okay, technically, she was trying to make him suffer but that was more of an annoyance. Real pain, this kind of pain was never on the menu. However, nothing would heal until he faced it.

Her hands gently lowered to his arms. Her cheek brushed his neck. "Not ever. What happened happened. Nothing you do now will bring them back but that doesn't mean they had to die for nothing. It doesn't have to be senseless."

Inching her way around him, she sought out his face and cradled it in her hands. She needed him to look at her. "Live. You want to honor them? It's that simple. Hate serves a purpose but yours has run it's course. Let it go. I promise it won't take you long to find new things to hate for much better reasons."

[hunteroffreaks]

When Betsy's hands finally reached out and touched him, Jack couldn't help but lean back into her. He was tired. Tired of this anger and hatred he kept bottled up inside. But at the same time he refused to let it go. It was all he knew after so long, and he couldn't give it all up after one impassioned speech by Betsy, no matter how much sense she made.

That was enough soul-searching for one day. He met Betsy's eye briefly, but dropped them again, pulling away from her, trying to rebuild that little shield around himself. He didn't bother to sya anything, but the message was clear. She'd had her say, and the hunter wanted her to leave.