Lindsey's apartment, LA, Wednesday Night
Piper had been gone for days now. Lindsey had lost track of the number. He hadn't been sleeping much. Not at all that first night, but exhaustion had caught up with him eventually and he'd managed a few hours here and there since then.
He'd given up on his classwork. That had gotten easier when two of his professors had vanished, taking their case studies and briefs and exams with them. There had been fewer students in the last class he'd actually attended than there should have been. Nobody else noticed.
The law firm was worse. If anyone ought to be able to handle this sort of situation, it ought to be a multi-dimensional full-service law firm. But nobody there knew what was happening. They didn't even realize anything was happening at all.
Holland, at least, had seemed concerned over Lindsey's mental state. Probably because he'd fallen asleep while sitting in on a meeting and that had been hard to ignore. But he hadn't understood when Lindsey tried to explain. He'd known about Piper. Of course he had, he'd known everything, but now he couldn't remember Lindsey ever having any sort of serious relationship. He'd sent Lindsey home early, telling him to get some rest, and had a bottle of sleeping pills sent over by courier that evening. Lindsey, after all, was an investment and the firm always took care of those.
That had been yesterday. Or was it the day before? He really couldn't remember. He needed a shower. And to shave. And sleep. The bottle of pills was sitting, untouched, on the kitchen counter. Sleep was a waste of time. He should be trying to figure out what was going on, even though there wasn't any information, anywhere. That hadn't stopped him. He'd been digging through everything he could find in the firm's archives but nothing came close to what he knew was going on.
He'd gone out earlier today. He'd needed something. It was probably stupid. Almost definitely stupid. He didn't care. He'd gone to the jewelry store anyway. They'd given him some funny looks in there, and he couldn't blame them. He knew he looked like hell. He felt like hell. But he'd had the money. It wasn't exactly the sort of ring he'd envisioned. Piper deserved something better. If she came back. When. When, damn it. He couldn't think like that. But he had it now, in the little black box. It would have to do when he got her back. He couldn't get another one anyway. The store had vanished before he was halfway down the block. He hadn't stuck around to find out if any other buildings were going to follow suit.
Now he was slumped on his couch, clutching the box in one hand and his phone in the other. He hated that damned recording by now. The one telling him his call couldn't be completed. He also hated the hold music at Portalocity. Even trying to use the firm's corporate account hadn't helped matters. They were experiencing some difficulties in his dimension, but his call was important to them. Bullshit.
He had a backup plan though. Every once in a while it paid off to have lived with a creepy demon roommate at a seriously messed up boarding school. At least, he hoped it did as he scrolled through his contacts on the phone before getting to the demon in question. If this call didn't connect...well, then he was screwed, wasn't he?
[Hoping for one demon to answer his phone, but could be open for other phone calls if required.]
He'd given up on his classwork. That had gotten easier when two of his professors had vanished, taking their case studies and briefs and exams with them. There had been fewer students in the last class he'd actually attended than there should have been. Nobody else noticed.
The law firm was worse. If anyone ought to be able to handle this sort of situation, it ought to be a multi-dimensional full-service law firm. But nobody there knew what was happening. They didn't even realize anything was happening at all.
Holland, at least, had seemed concerned over Lindsey's mental state. Probably because he'd fallen asleep while sitting in on a meeting and that had been hard to ignore. But he hadn't understood when Lindsey tried to explain. He'd known about Piper. Of course he had, he'd known everything, but now he couldn't remember Lindsey ever having any sort of serious relationship. He'd sent Lindsey home early, telling him to get some rest, and had a bottle of sleeping pills sent over by courier that evening. Lindsey, after all, was an investment and the firm always took care of those.
That had been yesterday. Or was it the day before? He really couldn't remember. He needed a shower. And to shave. And sleep. The bottle of pills was sitting, untouched, on the kitchen counter. Sleep was a waste of time. He should be trying to figure out what was going on, even though there wasn't any information, anywhere. That hadn't stopped him. He'd been digging through everything he could find in the firm's archives but nothing came close to what he knew was going on.
He'd gone out earlier today. He'd needed something. It was probably stupid. Almost definitely stupid. He didn't care. He'd gone to the jewelry store anyway. They'd given him some funny looks in there, and he couldn't blame them. He knew he looked like hell. He felt like hell. But he'd had the money. It wasn't exactly the sort of ring he'd envisioned. Piper deserved something better. If she came back. When. When, damn it. He couldn't think like that. But he had it now, in the little black box. It would have to do when he got her back. He couldn't get another one anyway. The store had vanished before he was halfway down the block. He hadn't stuck around to find out if any other buildings were going to follow suit.
Now he was slumped on his couch, clutching the box in one hand and his phone in the other. He hated that damned recording by now. The one telling him his call couldn't be completed. He also hated the hold music at Portalocity. Even trying to use the firm's corporate account hadn't helped matters. They were experiencing some difficulties in his dimension, but his call was important to them. Bullshit.
He had a backup plan though. Every once in a while it paid off to have lived with a creepy demon roommate at a seriously messed up boarding school. At least, he hoped it did as he scrolled through his contacts on the phone before getting to the demon in question. If this call didn't connect...well, then he was screwed, wasn't he?
[Hoping for one demon to answer his phone, but could be open for other phone calls if required.]