Pantheon - Chapter Twenty-Four (09/26/2007)
As promised, here's the rest. ^_^
**********************************************
"She just... left?" Kathleen asked in confusion, looking from Monica to Bethany and back again as they milled about in the lobby of the FBI building. "I mean, I know the briefing was boring and all, but she'd never just wander off, especially mid-assignment. This is Raquel we're talking about!"
"I know," Bethany replied. "Nevertheless, she's not here. And no one seems to remember seeing her leave." Part of her wondered if this had anything to do with the mysterious subject of their breakfast conversation, but she kept that thought to herself. No point in needlessly embarrassing anyone. Yet.
"Do you think she's all right?" Monica worried. "Maybe she's in trouble! Maybe she needs help! Maybe-"
"Maybe we should just try and call her," Kathleen interrupted calmly, giving her girlfriend's hand a quick squeeze.
"...yeah, that might be a good idea."
Trying - and almost succeeding - not to smirk, Bethany raised her comm up to her mouth. "Raquel? It's Bethany. Is everything okay?"
Monica leaned in long enough to ask, "Where are you?"
There was an unnerving silence. Finally, just when they were beginning to consider calling in an alert of some kind, Raquel's voice answered, "Yeah, hi. I'm fine. I'll meet you back at the academy later."
"What's going on?" Bethany asked, vague suspicion entering into her tone.
"I'm keeping an eye on Kali. She left early and I didn't have a chance to tell anyone what I was doing. And she's gonna notice this if I go on for much longer, so I'll just say that so far, she hasn't done anything suspicious. I don't know if she still counts as a threat or not, but I'll stay on her tail for the time being. Raquel out."
"Oh." Bethany lowered her arm, feeling a little foolish for jumping to conclusions. "Wish she'd said something sooner."
Because, really... Raquel ditching her job just to get some? That was beyond ridiculous.
**********************************************
"You're going to stay on my tail, are you?" Kali asked, amused, as Raquel shut off her comm with a sigh.
"Well..." she grinned, placing it back on the bedside table and cuddling up against Kali, who was nice enough to tolerate it. "Somebody's got to keep an eye on you. Among other body parts."
Kali snorted.
"Why me?" Raquel whispered, the question surprising her. She hadn't actually meant to ask it aloud.
"Why you what?"
"Why..." Well, she could hardly expect to get away with dropping the subject now, could she? "Why pick me? You could probably have... anybody you wanted. Why did you...?"
She couldn't ask what she was really worried about: Do you think I'm just a whore? Do you want me around for anything beyond sex?
Hell, she wasn't even sure if she wanted anything from Kali but that!
Just... please don't say you chose me because of convenience. Please.
Kali sighed. Dammit, why did it always have to come back to emotional issues? She hated those. "A better question would be, why did you start something with me? If you were so upset about what I did to you and your friends..."
"I don't know!" Raquel exploded. "I wish to God I did! I wish I knew why I always fall for someone who would be absolutely horrible for me, and I know it, and still go ahead anyway! I wish I knew what the fuck was wrong with me that I can know you're a sociopathic killer who viciously assaulted me and my friends, massacred who knows how many people, and would probably feel absolutely nothing if you had to kill me for whatever reason... and still hate the thought of having to let you go." She laid her head against Kali's chest, willing herself not to cry, knowing that wouldn't be received well at all. "If you're using some kind of seduction technique you learned on me... please stop."
Well. What could she say to that? "Unfortunately, I'm not doing anything of the sort. Any seduction going on is purely unintentional." It was a curious feeling, though, having someone know what kind of person she was, some of the things she'd done, and still want to be with her anyway. Not bad, precisely, just... different. "If it helps at all, I have no intention of harming you or your friends, unless you decide to start helping The Centre for some reason."
Raquel choked out a laugh. "I don't think you need to worry about that."
"Good." She paused. "And speaking as a truly - one might even say spectacularly - fucked up individual... You're fine. Sex doesn't always need to have some deeper meaning attached to it. Sometimes - fairly often, actually, from what I've observed - it just is what it is. Do you enjoy it?"
"Yes." The answer was muffled by Kali's breasts, but still perfectly understandable.
"Do you think I'm using you in some fashion? That there's something I can get from you besides the blatantly obvious?"
"...not really."
"Then stop worrying about it."
Raquel buried a sigh. If it were only that easy... But she did feel a little better, actually. And the idea that someone as hot as Kali found her sexually attractive certainly didn't hurt.
She frowned. "What's your name?" she asked randomly.
"What?"
"Your name. What is it?" She paused. "Your real name, I mean. Not the fake one the NSA has. I know it isn't actually Kali."
Kali shook her head incredulously. Why did everyone want to know that? Idly, she wondered if Raquel had taken lessons in 'how to be annoying without really trying, while inexplicably somehow managing to avoid inspiring violence' from Amy. "Why do you want to know?" And why do you think I'd tell you?
"Well, maybe if I end up screaming your name, I want to make sure I've gotten it right," Raquel remarked impishly. She couldn't say why she really wanted to know, because she wasn't quite certain herself. She just knew that it would feel wrong to call her Kali in such a situation, and that she had to know.
Sometimes, it seemed like Kali could tell what she was thinking, even if the assassin didn't usually care. "First Sekhmet, now you... It's not that interesting a name, really."
Distracted as she was, it took Raquel a moment to connect Sekhmet to Amy. "Amy knows?"
"Ever since I first arrived at The Centre, she's the first one I've ever told."
"But it isn't all that important," Raquel drawled sarcastically. Kali smirked.
"If only to keep you from harassing her about this ,too, and distracting her from her work... It's Nayana."
Raquel smiled widely. Maybe it didn't matter all that much, but to be only the second person she'd ever told... Again, she had to force herself not to cry. "It's beautiful."
"It's six letters, is what it is."
"Can I... call you that? If only when we're alone?"
She sighed. "If you must."
"Thank you." Raquel gave her a hug.
Kali didn't think she'd done all that much, but accepted the hug anyway. It was easier that way.
"I'm glad I got to see you before you had to leave," Raquel decided. "Wish I could come with you."
"I'll bet."
"Unfortunately, though, somebody's got to stick around here and take care of the real work, while you guys are off on your little vacation," she added playfully.
"Oh, however will you manage?"
"Truly, it shall be an epic challenge," Raquel agreed with mock solemnity. "Perhaps one day they shall write songs about it."
"No poems?"
"I hate poetry. Give me music any day. Hell, sometimes..." She trailed off, blushing.
"Sometimes?" Kali prompted. Or should she start thinking of her as Nayana? No, that might get confusing, if she constantly referred to her by that name in her head. She just knew she'd blurt it out randomly in a conversation if she did that.
And she certainly did know about mentioning things she'd rather not, as she'd just proven. But then again, if Kali could trust her enough to reveal her real name... "Sometimes..." she whispered, "...I play around with writing my own."
"Huh. Okay."
"Umm... That's not exactly a huge secret, but if you could keep it to yourself, maybe..."
"Who would I tell?"
Another good point. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Raquel got the feeling she was serious. "I suppose we're gonna have to get out of bed, soon, huh?" she said, semi-smoothly changing the subject.
"Only if you don't want Amy to find you naked in my bed when she gets here."
Yeah, they were gonna have to get out of bed, soon.
**********************************************
Amy knocked politely on the door of Kali's hotel room. She wanted to get moving soon, and that meant rounding up the last member of their party. She knew Max and Janet weren't especially thrilled about Kali essentially replacing Dominique for the mission, but it might well need both of them to succeed.
Fortunately, they had been granted permission to make use of the transporter for the duration, as there had been some concerns that not only might The Centre figure out what they were up to - Dominique had managed to sneak away just long enough to send them a quick update that said that Angelo had tipped Parker and her team off to Kali's involvement (which, while expected, wasn't good), though as yet no one there had any idea that Athena's message even existed - but prolonged time confined together on an airplane might provoke violence.
Kali opened the door, somehow managing to look as composed as ever and somewhat rumpled at the same time. "I take it we're all set?" she asked as she turned and walked to the table where her shoulder bag was. Amy knew from experience that she'd have all manner of items in there that would be helpful in whatever scenario they might conceivably end up in, and that she'd have God knew how many weapons on her person somewhere.
Her experience also let her recognize the generally disheveled state of the room for what it was. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything," she remarked as she the clothing scattered on the floor. There was also a faint scent in the air that she knew all too well, which made her raise an eyebrow at Kali.
"Not really. She had to leave anyway."
"She did?" The other eyebrow rose. "I didn't know you were..."
"I'm not." She fixed Amy with a level look. "You are. I just don't give a damn either way."
Amy smiled faintly. "If only everyone were so enlightened."
"I think that's the only time you've ever wished anyone else might be even remotely like me."
"Can you blame me?"
"Of course not." She shouldered her bag. "So, are we ready to make the world safe for puppies and kittens and what the fuck ever?"
Amy rolled her eyes. "Funny. I-" She stopped as something caught her eye. "Who did you take that off of?" she asked, gesturing to the DEBS-issued comm sitting on the bedside table.
"She didn't," a new voice said from the bathroom doorway before she could answer. "It's mine."
Amy turned, blinking in surprise to find Raquel standing there. She quickly added that statement to the fact that the Hispanic girl wasn't wearing any pants, and came to a swift conclusion.
Raquel stared in confusion as Amy turned and launched into a tirade of what sounded like some kind of Indian or Hindu language. The only word she actually understood was 'Nayana', thus confirming that Amy did indeed know Kali's real name.
Hell, she probably knew her full name, date and place of birth, parents' names... the works.
Kali responded in the same language, not sounding defensive so much as... irritated, perhaps, but unless she was imagining it, there was at least a trace of defensiveness there, at least in the beginning. Other names began popping up, including 'Diamond', which confirmed her suspicion that she'd somehow sparked this disagreement. (She couldn't really say fight, since from what she'd heard, when those two fought, blood was spilled and property damaged.)
"Don't you dare lead her on, Nayana," Amy said, suddenly switching to English.
"I'm not! You're the one who insists on walking around, pretending we haven't been profoundly fucked up."
"Yes, we have," Amy agreed, seeming to surprise her. "But we don't have to stay that way. I haven't. Lucy is..." She sighed. "I wish I could make you understand what she means to me. God willing, some day you'll fall in love, too, and maybe then you'll get it. Right now, though..." Her eyes hardened. "I'm warning you. If you visit any further misery on that girl..."
"You know, 'that girl' is standing right here!" Raquel snapped, striding forward as if she wasn't almost naked and in the presence of two woman who could snap her like a twig. "And I don't remember anyone asking you for your input on this!"
"Raquel, you don't know her like I do!" Amy insisted, eyes pleading with her to understand. To wake up.
"How am I supposed to know her at all if I don't spend any time with her?"
"Don't go getting ahead of yourself," Kali said flatly. "I am not girlfriend material, even I know that. Nor do I have any desire to be. Now we all have work to do, so I suggest you get dressed and get back to your academy, while we get going." She looked at Amy. "Shall we?"
Not looking at all happy, Amy nonetheless hit a button on her comm, and the two vanished.
Sighing, Raquel slipped her comm on and began the process of collecting her clothing. She had no idea what had made her reveal herself to Amy like that, but it was too late to change things now. She slipped out, pausing only long enough to reflexively grab the key that had been sitting on a bureau, wondering what she'd make up to tell her team about why she'd been gone so long.
And the entire way she did her best to ignore the little voice in the very back of her mind that wanted nothing more then for Kali to come back in one piece.
She wasn't ready to deal with that, yet.
**********************************************
"I can't believe neither of you told me," Janet complained as moved through the basement of the art gallery. Amy had identified it as being in Virginia somewhere, but since they'd been beamed right inside to materialize near the bottom of the stairs, well, they could have been anywhere.
Amy and Kali were hunting through crates of carefully packed away paintings, as the one they were looking for had evidently been taken down from its display position to make room for other artwork. The two had seemed oddly tense when they'd first gotten there, but that had quickly faded away to nothing as they worked.
"And what would we have said?" Max asked archly. "'Oh, hey Janet. Amy just blackmailed a room full of senators and various foreign politicians so she could keep seeing her girlfriend'? The less you knew about it until it worked, the better."
"Yeah, but- Wait. Did you just say 'her girlfriend'?"
"I thought you'd figured out by now that she and Lucy weren't faking their relationship," Max said disingenuously.
"Of course I- Hey! This isn't about me!" She thought she might have caught a faint chuckle coming from the box Amy was currently half-way inside, but when she looked Amy didn't even seem to be paying attention to them. "When did you finally give up on your almost hysterical denial that they were a real couple?"
Max smiled. "I didn't. I didn't have to. I always knew."
"Huh?" That was about as eloquent as Janet was feeling just then.
"Do you remember that mission we had, with the kung fu bank robbers in the train station?"
Like she'd forget that sort of thing. "Of course."
"Well, earlier that day, Amy and I'd had a talk, mostly about her time at The Centre. Mostly. She also told me all about why she really let herself be 'kidnapped' by Lucy Diamond."
All about it? Silently hoping that her part in that hadn't been covered, Janet instead said, "Then why the hell were you so firmly stuck in the land of denial?"
"Because I couldn't know," Max said patiently. "At the time, it was still a felony. If I treated it as anything but an act when she began "officially" dating Diamond, things would have gotten VERY complicated after this operation was over. But thankfully things have changed now, because that sort of act isn't as easy as Amy makes it look. And I don't enjoy looking like an idiot in front of my fellow agents. I may not be wildly thrilled about the idea, but..." She shrugged. "It's not my call."
Janet shook her head, smiling. Things finally were starting to make sense to her. "Oh, who are you kidding? You know you're a total mushball."
"Excu-"
"Ah ha!" Amy exclaimed, stopping any kind of fight well before it had a chance to form. "Got it." She pulled a good-sized painting from out of the storage crate. The funny thing was that she seemed to be trying not to look at it any more then absolutely necessary.
When she finally got a good look at it, Janet couldn't blame her. The thing was hideous, looking like nothing more then the result of someone eating paint and then throwing it back up. And if she thought it was ugly, she could only imagine what an actual artist like Amy thought of it. "Okay... now what?"
"Now we get the next clue," Amy said. "I think it's hidden behind the painting."
"How do we get it, then?"
"Like this." Amy rested the painting up against the box, produced a pocket knife, flicked it open, and, with something like exuberance, stabbed the canvas at the top and ripped a jagged line down the middle.
"Having fun?" Kali asked, sounding vaguely amused.
"Oh, I've been waiting years to do that," Amy agreed readily. "And..." She pulled the two pieces of canvas apart and reached inside, withdrawing an envelope. "...I suspect she knew it." She opened the envelope and took out the single piece of paper it contained. "'Shiva would have broken this by now, even if he would have had to be reminded'," she read.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Max demanded.
Amy chuckled, and even Kali smiled. "Well," Amy began, "there was this training exercise..."
Sekhmet didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit confused as to the purpose of what they were doing.
Allegedly, they were supposed to be engaged in training, with two teams trying to take each other out... thankfully, they'd been assigned the old paintball guns again. However, things seemed to have degenerated into some kind of free-for-all, with team memberships dissolving and people running every which way, trying to hit someone, help someone else avoid being hit, or just run.
She was crouched atop a stack of boxes in the 'abandoned warehouse' they'd been taken to, watching the melee. In theory, her sniper position meant she had an almost perfect shot at most everyone down below, except for those who kept ducking under cover, or moved out of sight. But as she watched Mercury shielding Aphrodite (who'd been on the other team) from Anubis (who had been on Aphrodite's team), she had no idea who was friend or foe.
And it didn't help that part of her wanted nothing more then to go down and join in on the fun. All the shrieking and laughter... Well, it was very tempting.
She wasn't the only one managing to keep the original scenario in mind, though. Kali, naturally, wasn't anywhere in sight down below, and while Athena was bound to be somewhere, Sekhmet hadn't yet seen her. (Why Athena wasn't stopping what was going on was anyone's guess.)
Oh! There was Amaterasu! She smiled as she watched her friend creeping slowly down a row of boxes. And... oh, there was Thoth, sneaking up behind her. Not really giving it any thought, she aimed and fired off three quick rounds, which caught him in the chest.
Both looked up, startled, and Amaterasu flashed her a quick smile before darting away to look for cover. Thoth, to her surprise, didn't seem to mind at all that she'd spoiled his shot, grinning at her and giving her a quick salute with his gun. Then he, too, dashed off, in a different direction.
A few balls splattered into the box she was crouched on, which thankfully didn't wobble. There had been a few crashes as other stacks had fallen apart over the last hour. She ducked even lower and returned fire, catching Bryn in the arm.
Apparently, 'trying to hit the sniper' looked like a fun game, because she soon had to dodge even more incoming fire, from multiple directions, and her stack wasn't so stable that she could move around that much, so she did a few splatters of paint on her here and there. Thankfully, Amaterasu came to her rescue, ambushing Apollo and Mercury, which distracted everyone else, and the melee resumed.
There were several more bangs, crashes, and other sounds of destruction, many of which seemed to be coming from wherever Shiva happened to be right then.
As he ran down an alley, though, he was suddenly yanked out of sight. And now that she thought about it, she didn't see Typhon anywhere, either.
Well, that cleared up the mystery of where Kali was.
Eventually, the lights snapped on with almost blinding intensity after the near-darkness they'd been working in, and everyone stopped moving immediately, then headed to the semi-open area in the middle. Sekhmet began the careful process of climbing down, and managed to join them just as Dr. Mason and two of their other instructors arrived. Athena was standing off to the side, trying her damnedest not to look as amused as she felt. "That," Mason began, "did not go quite the way it was supposed to. Who can tell me what you did wrong?"
Now that the high of 'battle' had worn off, most of them were fidgeting nervously, knowing that they were bound to be punished for this.
Most of them.
"We didn't bring any paint grenades?" Shiva suggested helpfully.
"Paint... grenades?" Athena repeated slowly, an incredulous eyebrow raised.
"Well, sure! That would have taken out the sniper fairly easily, wouldn't it?" He smiled at Sekhmet, and gave her a slight, apologetic shrug.
"She was one of the VERY few of you that actually remembered what you were supposed to be doing here!" snapped another instructor, a man named Cole. Everyone reflexively tensed; whenever he was the one to discipline them, his punishments were always... worse... then usual.
"Not to mention all the property damage you caused," Mason added. "Boxes, lights, broken brooms, shattered glassware... I think the only thing you missed was the kitchen sink."
"Oh!" Before anyone could stop him, Shiva dashed off. Soon after, the sound of shattering porcelain and rending metal filled the air. Athena buried her face in her hands, shaking her head, while several of the other children had to choke down laughter. Even Kali's mouth twitched once, surprisingly enough. It got worse when they heard him shouting "Got it!" off in the distance.
"We are going to have a long talk about this when we get back to The Centre," Mason promised, which wiped the smiles off of their faces quickly.
Still, as long as it was her and not Cole doing the talking, they wouldn't mind TOO much.
"So... The next clue is... in the sink?" Janet asked, confused.
"One way to find out," Amy said with a shrug. There was a small washroom down in the basement, which she remembered from her last visit there when Athena had needed to clean off the traces of blood that had landed on her after her fight. A quick check showed that the sink, in fact, no longer worked.
Kali had gone off to find some tools as soon as she'd read the note, so it was easy enough to dismantle the pipe that lead from the sink to the wall. "I'm amazed that no one's been down here to fix this in all these years," Amy remarked as she carefully withdrew the segment of pipe.
"You'll have to ask someone on the staff about that later," Kali said as she gently pulled out another envelope. She opened it, read the paper inside, and grimaced.
"Where to next?" Amy asked her.
Kali shook her head and sighed as she handed over the paper. "You're not gonna like it."
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"Are you sure we should be bothering her?" Monica asked as they approached the room Raquel shared with Bethany. "I know if I'd had to deal with someone like Kali for that long, I might want some time to myself, too."
"If she says she wants to be alone, we'll leave her alone," Bethany said reasonably. "But we can't know that until we ask. Besides... it's my room, too." At least until the Fall semester started up, when they'd have moved into their new living quarters.
She enjoyed rooming with Raquel, but she had to admit, she looked forward to having her own room, too.
It did make her wonder, though, what Kathleen and Monica would do with the spare bedroom. Use it for storage, maybe?
When they got closer, she could faintly hear music coming from inside their room. She raised an eyebrow as she recognized it. "That," she declared, "isn't an especially good sign."
Hay una niña sola en su habitación
jugando con el aire y su imaginación
no comparte tesoros, ni tampoco secretos
su universo es grande, más que el mundo entero.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira su alrededor
y no ve más que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
"Uh, will you guys give me a minute?" she asked, not really waiting for an answer as she unlocked the door - that it was locked was another not-terribly-great sign - and slipped inside.
"...sure, okay," Kathleen said to the closed door.
Raquel was laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Bethany shook her head and sat down near her. "Does this have anything to do with what we talked about this morning?"
Raquel shrugged infinitesimally. "Might."
"Damn. She must have really gotten to you, then." Raquel, as far as she could tell, tended to save listening to La 5ª Estación for special occasions, as a treat of some kind. "I don't think I've heard this song in eight months." And that had only been after a rather messy breakup, followed swiftly by a horribly blown training exercise.
Another minute shrug was the only answer she got.
Cien noches de lágrimas y de fría oscuridad
el calor más cercano era el de la soledad
tiene tanto miedo a que puedan entrar
en su frágil burbuja de irrealidad.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira a su alrededor
y no ve más que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira su alrededor
y no ve mas que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
Niña...
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
"Wanna talk about it?" Bethany offered.
"...not really." A pause. "Thank you, though."
"It's no big, you know that," Bethany said, waving it off. "So, I should tell Kathy and Monica... what, exactly?"
Silence.
"Okay, then. Glad we had this conversation," she said playfully. Raquel shut off her cd player before the next song came on.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I just... I'm tired."
"I guess being stuck with Kali for so long didn't help matters at all."
"Actually... it wasn't that bad." At Bethany's incredulous look, she sat up and tried to explain... without actually explaining. "Don't get me wrong, I still think she's a complete sociopath with a horrifying track record, but... Well, when she's not trying to smack you around or kill you, she's surprisingly... tolerable."
"If you say so, boss," Bethany said, clearly not believing it for a second. "I'll tell the others you want to be alone. Though, you know, you might have to put up with a short visit from Monica."
Raquel smiled. It was small, maybe, but it was there. "I think I can live with that."
"I should hope so." Bethany rose from the bed and headed for the door. There was a small, muffled conversation, and then, as predicted, Monica did indeed slip inside. "You gonna be all right, Ray?" she asked, taking Bethany's spot on the bed.
"I think so. I just..."
"What?"
Looking in Monica's open, trusting eyes, Raquel found she just couldn't lie again. So before she could think better of it, she heard herself saying, "I think maybe I slept with someone that I probably shouldn't have."
And now you all see why this chapter took me so long to write - it just wouldn't stop! And it has the most flashbacks in a single chapter of any of them. :) Hope it was worth the wait.
The lyrics were "Niña" by La 5ª Estación (aka La Quinta Estación), from their album Flores de Alquiler. This marks the first time I've ever used lyrics that were entirely in Spanish. ^_^
Next time - The treasure hunt continues, while Dominique discovers that The Centre has their sights set on on a young girl who shows all the signs of an untrained Pretender - and that they've warned Amy to stay away.
**********************************************
"She just... left?" Kathleen asked in confusion, looking from Monica to Bethany and back again as they milled about in the lobby of the FBI building. "I mean, I know the briefing was boring and all, but she'd never just wander off, especially mid-assignment. This is Raquel we're talking about!"
"I know," Bethany replied. "Nevertheless, she's not here. And no one seems to remember seeing her leave." Part of her wondered if this had anything to do with the mysterious subject of their breakfast conversation, but she kept that thought to herself. No point in needlessly embarrassing anyone. Yet.
"Do you think she's all right?" Monica worried. "Maybe she's in trouble! Maybe she needs help! Maybe-"
"Maybe we should just try and call her," Kathleen interrupted calmly, giving her girlfriend's hand a quick squeeze.
"...yeah, that might be a good idea."
Trying - and almost succeeding - not to smirk, Bethany raised her comm up to her mouth. "Raquel? It's Bethany. Is everything okay?"
Monica leaned in long enough to ask, "Where are you?"
There was an unnerving silence. Finally, just when they were beginning to consider calling in an alert of some kind, Raquel's voice answered, "Yeah, hi. I'm fine. I'll meet you back at the academy later."
"What's going on?" Bethany asked, vague suspicion entering into her tone.
"I'm keeping an eye on Kali. She left early and I didn't have a chance to tell anyone what I was doing. And she's gonna notice this if I go on for much longer, so I'll just say that so far, she hasn't done anything suspicious. I don't know if she still counts as a threat or not, but I'll stay on her tail for the time being. Raquel out."
"Oh." Bethany lowered her arm, feeling a little foolish for jumping to conclusions. "Wish she'd said something sooner."
Because, really... Raquel ditching her job just to get some? That was beyond ridiculous.
**********************************************
"You're going to stay on my tail, are you?" Kali asked, amused, as Raquel shut off her comm with a sigh.
"Well..." she grinned, placing it back on the bedside table and cuddling up against Kali, who was nice enough to tolerate it. "Somebody's got to keep an eye on you. Among other body parts."
Kali snorted.
"Why me?" Raquel whispered, the question surprising her. She hadn't actually meant to ask it aloud.
"Why you what?"
"Why..." Well, she could hardly expect to get away with dropping the subject now, could she? "Why pick me? You could probably have... anybody you wanted. Why did you...?"
She couldn't ask what she was really worried about: Do you think I'm just a whore? Do you want me around for anything beyond sex?
Hell, she wasn't even sure if she wanted anything from Kali but that!
Just... please don't say you chose me because of convenience. Please.
Kali sighed. Dammit, why did it always have to come back to emotional issues? She hated those. "A better question would be, why did you start something with me? If you were so upset about what I did to you and your friends..."
"I don't know!" Raquel exploded. "I wish to God I did! I wish I knew why I always fall for someone who would be absolutely horrible for me, and I know it, and still go ahead anyway! I wish I knew what the fuck was wrong with me that I can know you're a sociopathic killer who viciously assaulted me and my friends, massacred who knows how many people, and would probably feel absolutely nothing if you had to kill me for whatever reason... and still hate the thought of having to let you go." She laid her head against Kali's chest, willing herself not to cry, knowing that wouldn't be received well at all. "If you're using some kind of seduction technique you learned on me... please stop."
Well. What could she say to that? "Unfortunately, I'm not doing anything of the sort. Any seduction going on is purely unintentional." It was a curious feeling, though, having someone know what kind of person she was, some of the things she'd done, and still want to be with her anyway. Not bad, precisely, just... different. "If it helps at all, I have no intention of harming you or your friends, unless you decide to start helping The Centre for some reason."
Raquel choked out a laugh. "I don't think you need to worry about that."
"Good." She paused. "And speaking as a truly - one might even say spectacularly - fucked up individual... You're fine. Sex doesn't always need to have some deeper meaning attached to it. Sometimes - fairly often, actually, from what I've observed - it just is what it is. Do you enjoy it?"
"Yes." The answer was muffled by Kali's breasts, but still perfectly understandable.
"Do you think I'm using you in some fashion? That there's something I can get from you besides the blatantly obvious?"
"...not really."
"Then stop worrying about it."
Raquel buried a sigh. If it were only that easy... But she did feel a little better, actually. And the idea that someone as hot as Kali found her sexually attractive certainly didn't hurt.
She frowned. "What's your name?" she asked randomly.
"What?"
"Your name. What is it?" She paused. "Your real name, I mean. Not the fake one the NSA has. I know it isn't actually Kali."
Kali shook her head incredulously. Why did everyone want to know that? Idly, she wondered if Raquel had taken lessons in 'how to be annoying without really trying, while inexplicably somehow managing to avoid inspiring violence' from Amy. "Why do you want to know?" And why do you think I'd tell you?
"Well, maybe if I end up screaming your name, I want to make sure I've gotten it right," Raquel remarked impishly. She couldn't say why she really wanted to know, because she wasn't quite certain herself. She just knew that it would feel wrong to call her Kali in such a situation, and that she had to know.
Sometimes, it seemed like Kali could tell what she was thinking, even if the assassin didn't usually care. "First Sekhmet, now you... It's not that interesting a name, really."
Distracted as she was, it took Raquel a moment to connect Sekhmet to Amy. "Amy knows?"
"Ever since I first arrived at The Centre, she's the first one I've ever told."
"But it isn't all that important," Raquel drawled sarcastically. Kali smirked.
"If only to keep you from harassing her about this ,too, and distracting her from her work... It's Nayana."
Raquel smiled widely. Maybe it didn't matter all that much, but to be only the second person she'd ever told... Again, she had to force herself not to cry. "It's beautiful."
"It's six letters, is what it is."
"Can I... call you that? If only when we're alone?"
She sighed. "If you must."
"Thank you." Raquel gave her a hug.
Kali didn't think she'd done all that much, but accepted the hug anyway. It was easier that way.
"I'm glad I got to see you before you had to leave," Raquel decided. "Wish I could come with you."
"I'll bet."
"Unfortunately, though, somebody's got to stick around here and take care of the real work, while you guys are off on your little vacation," she added playfully.
"Oh, however will you manage?"
"Truly, it shall be an epic challenge," Raquel agreed with mock solemnity. "Perhaps one day they shall write songs about it."
"No poems?"
"I hate poetry. Give me music any day. Hell, sometimes..." She trailed off, blushing.
"Sometimes?" Kali prompted. Or should she start thinking of her as Nayana? No, that might get confusing, if she constantly referred to her by that name in her head. She just knew she'd blurt it out randomly in a conversation if she did that.
And she certainly did know about mentioning things she'd rather not, as she'd just proven. But then again, if Kali could trust her enough to reveal her real name... "Sometimes..." she whispered, "...I play around with writing my own."
"Huh. Okay."
"Umm... That's not exactly a huge secret, but if you could keep it to yourself, maybe..."
"Who would I tell?"
Another good point. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Raquel got the feeling she was serious. "I suppose we're gonna have to get out of bed, soon, huh?" she said, semi-smoothly changing the subject.
"Only if you don't want Amy to find you naked in my bed when she gets here."
Yeah, they were gonna have to get out of bed, soon.
**********************************************
Amy knocked politely on the door of Kali's hotel room. She wanted to get moving soon, and that meant rounding up the last member of their party. She knew Max and Janet weren't especially thrilled about Kali essentially replacing Dominique for the mission, but it might well need both of them to succeed.
Fortunately, they had been granted permission to make use of the transporter for the duration, as there had been some concerns that not only might The Centre figure out what they were up to - Dominique had managed to sneak away just long enough to send them a quick update that said that Angelo had tipped Parker and her team off to Kali's involvement (which, while expected, wasn't good), though as yet no one there had any idea that Athena's message even existed - but prolonged time confined together on an airplane might provoke violence.
Kali opened the door, somehow managing to look as composed as ever and somewhat rumpled at the same time. "I take it we're all set?" she asked as she turned and walked to the table where her shoulder bag was. Amy knew from experience that she'd have all manner of items in there that would be helpful in whatever scenario they might conceivably end up in, and that she'd have God knew how many weapons on her person somewhere.
Her experience also let her recognize the generally disheveled state of the room for what it was. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything," she remarked as she the clothing scattered on the floor. There was also a faint scent in the air that she knew all too well, which made her raise an eyebrow at Kali.
"Not really. She had to leave anyway."
"She did?" The other eyebrow rose. "I didn't know you were..."
"I'm not." She fixed Amy with a level look. "You are. I just don't give a damn either way."
Amy smiled faintly. "If only everyone were so enlightened."
"I think that's the only time you've ever wished anyone else might be even remotely like me."
"Can you blame me?"
"Of course not." She shouldered her bag. "So, are we ready to make the world safe for puppies and kittens and what the fuck ever?"
Amy rolled her eyes. "Funny. I-" She stopped as something caught her eye. "Who did you take that off of?" she asked, gesturing to the DEBS-issued comm sitting on the bedside table.
"She didn't," a new voice said from the bathroom doorway before she could answer. "It's mine."
Amy turned, blinking in surprise to find Raquel standing there. She quickly added that statement to the fact that the Hispanic girl wasn't wearing any pants, and came to a swift conclusion.
Raquel stared in confusion as Amy turned and launched into a tirade of what sounded like some kind of Indian or Hindu language. The only word she actually understood was 'Nayana', thus confirming that Amy did indeed know Kali's real name.
Hell, she probably knew her full name, date and place of birth, parents' names... the works.
Kali responded in the same language, not sounding defensive so much as... irritated, perhaps, but unless she was imagining it, there was at least a trace of defensiveness there, at least in the beginning. Other names began popping up, including 'Diamond', which confirmed her suspicion that she'd somehow sparked this disagreement. (She couldn't really say fight, since from what she'd heard, when those two fought, blood was spilled and property damaged.)
"Don't you dare lead her on, Nayana," Amy said, suddenly switching to English.
"I'm not! You're the one who insists on walking around, pretending we haven't been profoundly fucked up."
"Yes, we have," Amy agreed, seeming to surprise her. "But we don't have to stay that way. I haven't. Lucy is..." She sighed. "I wish I could make you understand what she means to me. God willing, some day you'll fall in love, too, and maybe then you'll get it. Right now, though..." Her eyes hardened. "I'm warning you. If you visit any further misery on that girl..."
"You know, 'that girl' is standing right here!" Raquel snapped, striding forward as if she wasn't almost naked and in the presence of two woman who could snap her like a twig. "And I don't remember anyone asking you for your input on this!"
"Raquel, you don't know her like I do!" Amy insisted, eyes pleading with her to understand. To wake up.
"How am I supposed to know her at all if I don't spend any time with her?"
"Don't go getting ahead of yourself," Kali said flatly. "I am not girlfriend material, even I know that. Nor do I have any desire to be. Now we all have work to do, so I suggest you get dressed and get back to your academy, while we get going." She looked at Amy. "Shall we?"
Not looking at all happy, Amy nonetheless hit a button on her comm, and the two vanished.
Sighing, Raquel slipped her comm on and began the process of collecting her clothing. She had no idea what had made her reveal herself to Amy like that, but it was too late to change things now. She slipped out, pausing only long enough to reflexively grab the key that had been sitting on a bureau, wondering what she'd make up to tell her team about why she'd been gone so long.
And the entire way she did her best to ignore the little voice in the very back of her mind that wanted nothing more then for Kali to come back in one piece.
She wasn't ready to deal with that, yet.
**********************************************
"I can't believe neither of you told me," Janet complained as moved through the basement of the art gallery. Amy had identified it as being in Virginia somewhere, but since they'd been beamed right inside to materialize near the bottom of the stairs, well, they could have been anywhere.
Amy and Kali were hunting through crates of carefully packed away paintings, as the one they were looking for had evidently been taken down from its display position to make room for other artwork. The two had seemed oddly tense when they'd first gotten there, but that had quickly faded away to nothing as they worked.
"And what would we have said?" Max asked archly. "'Oh, hey Janet. Amy just blackmailed a room full of senators and various foreign politicians so she could keep seeing her girlfriend'? The less you knew about it until it worked, the better."
"Yeah, but- Wait. Did you just say 'her girlfriend'?"
"I thought you'd figured out by now that she and Lucy weren't faking their relationship," Max said disingenuously.
"Of course I- Hey! This isn't about me!" She thought she might have caught a faint chuckle coming from the box Amy was currently half-way inside, but when she looked Amy didn't even seem to be paying attention to them. "When did you finally give up on your almost hysterical denial that they were a real couple?"
Max smiled. "I didn't. I didn't have to. I always knew."
"Huh?" That was about as eloquent as Janet was feeling just then.
"Do you remember that mission we had, with the kung fu bank robbers in the train station?"
Like she'd forget that sort of thing. "Of course."
"Well, earlier that day, Amy and I'd had a talk, mostly about her time at The Centre. Mostly. She also told me all about why she really let herself be 'kidnapped' by Lucy Diamond."
All about it? Silently hoping that her part in that hadn't been covered, Janet instead said, "Then why the hell were you so firmly stuck in the land of denial?"
"Because I couldn't know," Max said patiently. "At the time, it was still a felony. If I treated it as anything but an act when she began "officially" dating Diamond, things would have gotten VERY complicated after this operation was over. But thankfully things have changed now, because that sort of act isn't as easy as Amy makes it look. And I don't enjoy looking like an idiot in front of my fellow agents. I may not be wildly thrilled about the idea, but..." She shrugged. "It's not my call."
Janet shook her head, smiling. Things finally were starting to make sense to her. "Oh, who are you kidding? You know you're a total mushball."
"Excu-"
"Ah ha!" Amy exclaimed, stopping any kind of fight well before it had a chance to form. "Got it." She pulled a good-sized painting from out of the storage crate. The funny thing was that she seemed to be trying not to look at it any more then absolutely necessary.
When she finally got a good look at it, Janet couldn't blame her. The thing was hideous, looking like nothing more then the result of someone eating paint and then throwing it back up. And if she thought it was ugly, she could only imagine what an actual artist like Amy thought of it. "Okay... now what?"
"Now we get the next clue," Amy said. "I think it's hidden behind the painting."
"How do we get it, then?"
"Like this." Amy rested the painting up against the box, produced a pocket knife, flicked it open, and, with something like exuberance, stabbed the canvas at the top and ripped a jagged line down the middle.
"Having fun?" Kali asked, sounding vaguely amused.
"Oh, I've been waiting years to do that," Amy agreed readily. "And..." She pulled the two pieces of canvas apart and reached inside, withdrawing an envelope. "...I suspect she knew it." She opened the envelope and took out the single piece of paper it contained. "'Shiva would have broken this by now, even if he would have had to be reminded'," she read.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Max demanded.
Amy chuckled, and even Kali smiled. "Well," Amy began, "there was this training exercise..."
Sekhmet didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit confused as to the purpose of what they were doing.
Allegedly, they were supposed to be engaged in training, with two teams trying to take each other out... thankfully, they'd been assigned the old paintball guns again. However, things seemed to have degenerated into some kind of free-for-all, with team memberships dissolving and people running every which way, trying to hit someone, help someone else avoid being hit, or just run.
She was crouched atop a stack of boxes in the 'abandoned warehouse' they'd been taken to, watching the melee. In theory, her sniper position meant she had an almost perfect shot at most everyone down below, except for those who kept ducking under cover, or moved out of sight. But as she watched Mercury shielding Aphrodite (who'd been on the other team) from Anubis (who had been on Aphrodite's team), she had no idea who was friend or foe.
And it didn't help that part of her wanted nothing more then to go down and join in on the fun. All the shrieking and laughter... Well, it was very tempting.
She wasn't the only one managing to keep the original scenario in mind, though. Kali, naturally, wasn't anywhere in sight down below, and while Athena was bound to be somewhere, Sekhmet hadn't yet seen her. (Why Athena wasn't stopping what was going on was anyone's guess.)
Oh! There was Amaterasu! She smiled as she watched her friend creeping slowly down a row of boxes. And... oh, there was Thoth, sneaking up behind her. Not really giving it any thought, she aimed and fired off three quick rounds, which caught him in the chest.
Both looked up, startled, and Amaterasu flashed her a quick smile before darting away to look for cover. Thoth, to her surprise, didn't seem to mind at all that she'd spoiled his shot, grinning at her and giving her a quick salute with his gun. Then he, too, dashed off, in a different direction.
A few balls splattered into the box she was crouched on, which thankfully didn't wobble. There had been a few crashes as other stacks had fallen apart over the last hour. She ducked even lower and returned fire, catching Bryn in the arm.
Apparently, 'trying to hit the sniper' looked like a fun game, because she soon had to dodge even more incoming fire, from multiple directions, and her stack wasn't so stable that she could move around that much, so she did a few splatters of paint on her here and there. Thankfully, Amaterasu came to her rescue, ambushing Apollo and Mercury, which distracted everyone else, and the melee resumed.
There were several more bangs, crashes, and other sounds of destruction, many of which seemed to be coming from wherever Shiva happened to be right then.
As he ran down an alley, though, he was suddenly yanked out of sight. And now that she thought about it, she didn't see Typhon anywhere, either.
Well, that cleared up the mystery of where Kali was.
Eventually, the lights snapped on with almost blinding intensity after the near-darkness they'd been working in, and everyone stopped moving immediately, then headed to the semi-open area in the middle. Sekhmet began the careful process of climbing down, and managed to join them just as Dr. Mason and two of their other instructors arrived. Athena was standing off to the side, trying her damnedest not to look as amused as she felt. "That," Mason began, "did not go quite the way it was supposed to. Who can tell me what you did wrong?"
Now that the high of 'battle' had worn off, most of them were fidgeting nervously, knowing that they were bound to be punished for this.
Most of them.
"We didn't bring any paint grenades?" Shiva suggested helpfully.
"Paint... grenades?" Athena repeated slowly, an incredulous eyebrow raised.
"Well, sure! That would have taken out the sniper fairly easily, wouldn't it?" He smiled at Sekhmet, and gave her a slight, apologetic shrug.
"She was one of the VERY few of you that actually remembered what you were supposed to be doing here!" snapped another instructor, a man named Cole. Everyone reflexively tensed; whenever he was the one to discipline them, his punishments were always... worse... then usual.
"Not to mention all the property damage you caused," Mason added. "Boxes, lights, broken brooms, shattered glassware... I think the only thing you missed was the kitchen sink."
"Oh!" Before anyone could stop him, Shiva dashed off. Soon after, the sound of shattering porcelain and rending metal filled the air. Athena buried her face in her hands, shaking her head, while several of the other children had to choke down laughter. Even Kali's mouth twitched once, surprisingly enough. It got worse when they heard him shouting "Got it!" off in the distance.
"We are going to have a long talk about this when we get back to The Centre," Mason promised, which wiped the smiles off of their faces quickly.
Still, as long as it was her and not Cole doing the talking, they wouldn't mind TOO much.
"So... The next clue is... in the sink?" Janet asked, confused.
"One way to find out," Amy said with a shrug. There was a small washroom down in the basement, which she remembered from her last visit there when Athena had needed to clean off the traces of blood that had landed on her after her fight. A quick check showed that the sink, in fact, no longer worked.
Kali had gone off to find some tools as soon as she'd read the note, so it was easy enough to dismantle the pipe that lead from the sink to the wall. "I'm amazed that no one's been down here to fix this in all these years," Amy remarked as she carefully withdrew the segment of pipe.
"You'll have to ask someone on the staff about that later," Kali said as she gently pulled out another envelope. She opened it, read the paper inside, and grimaced.
"Where to next?" Amy asked her.
Kali shook her head and sighed as she handed over the paper. "You're not gonna like it."
**********************************************
"Are you sure we should be bothering her?" Monica asked as they approached the room Raquel shared with Bethany. "I know if I'd had to deal with someone like Kali for that long, I might want some time to myself, too."
"If she says she wants to be alone, we'll leave her alone," Bethany said reasonably. "But we can't know that until we ask. Besides... it's my room, too." At least until the Fall semester started up, when they'd have moved into their new living quarters.
She enjoyed rooming with Raquel, but she had to admit, she looked forward to having her own room, too.
It did make her wonder, though, what Kathleen and Monica would do with the spare bedroom. Use it for storage, maybe?
When they got closer, she could faintly hear music coming from inside their room. She raised an eyebrow as she recognized it. "That," she declared, "isn't an especially good sign."
Hay una niña sola en su habitación
jugando con el aire y su imaginación
no comparte tesoros, ni tampoco secretos
su universo es grande, más que el mundo entero.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira su alrededor
y no ve más que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
"Uh, will you guys give me a minute?" she asked, not really waiting for an answer as she unlocked the door - that it was locked was another not-terribly-great sign - and slipped inside.
"...sure, okay," Kathleen said to the closed door.
Raquel was laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Bethany shook her head and sat down near her. "Does this have anything to do with what we talked about this morning?"
Raquel shrugged infinitesimally. "Might."
"Damn. She must have really gotten to you, then." Raquel, as far as she could tell, tended to save listening to La 5ª Estación for special occasions, as a treat of some kind. "I don't think I've heard this song in eight months." And that had only been after a rather messy breakup, followed swiftly by a horribly blown training exercise.
Another minute shrug was the only answer she got.
Cien noches de lágrimas y de fría oscuridad
el calor más cercano era el de la soledad
tiene tanto miedo a que puedan entrar
en su frágil burbuja de irrealidad.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira a su alrededor
y no ve más que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
Ella ríe sin saber porque
ella habla sin saber porque
ella mira su alrededor
y no ve mas que dolor.
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir
niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
Niña...
Niña ¿qué va ser de ti?
sin sueños que cumplir
con tu vida no querrás seguir.
"Wanna talk about it?" Bethany offered.
"...not really." A pause. "Thank you, though."
"It's no big, you know that," Bethany said, waving it off. "So, I should tell Kathy and Monica... what, exactly?"
Silence.
"Okay, then. Glad we had this conversation," she said playfully. Raquel shut off her cd player before the next song came on.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I just... I'm tired."
"I guess being stuck with Kali for so long didn't help matters at all."
"Actually... it wasn't that bad." At Bethany's incredulous look, she sat up and tried to explain... without actually explaining. "Don't get me wrong, I still think she's a complete sociopath with a horrifying track record, but... Well, when she's not trying to smack you around or kill you, she's surprisingly... tolerable."
"If you say so, boss," Bethany said, clearly not believing it for a second. "I'll tell the others you want to be alone. Though, you know, you might have to put up with a short visit from Monica."
Raquel smiled. It was small, maybe, but it was there. "I think I can live with that."
"I should hope so." Bethany rose from the bed and headed for the door. There was a small, muffled conversation, and then, as predicted, Monica did indeed slip inside. "You gonna be all right, Ray?" she asked, taking Bethany's spot on the bed.
"I think so. I just..."
"What?"
Looking in Monica's open, trusting eyes, Raquel found she just couldn't lie again. So before she could think better of it, she heard herself saying, "I think maybe I slept with someone that I probably shouldn't have."
And now you all see why this chapter took me so long to write - it just wouldn't stop! And it has the most flashbacks in a single chapter of any of them. :) Hope it was worth the wait.
The lyrics were "Niña" by La 5ª Estación (aka La Quinta Estación), from their album Flores de Alquiler. This marks the first time I've ever used lyrics that were entirely in Spanish. ^_^
Next time - The treasure hunt continues, while Dominique discovers that The Centre has their sights set on on a young girl who shows all the signs of an untrained Pretender - and that they've warned Amy to stay away.