FIC: In the Arms of The Wicked, Part 2 (Colby/Charlie, Megan/Larry, Ian, David, PG-13)
Title: "The India case"
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 2/?
Characters: Colby/Charlie, Megan/Larry, Ian, David, mention of OMC.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: There are memories David, Colby, Megan and Ian can't let go.
Feedback: Yes, please. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Part 2: "The India case"
The first traces of light bathed Colby’s body as he awkwardly opened his eyes. He saw David’s apartment, David’s coffee table, and then he realized that after a night of heavy drinking, he hadn’t gone back home.
“I hate her, you know? It’s so ridiculous that at the same time I feel sorry for her, somehow.” David’s voice came out of nowhere, a rough sound so close to Colby - their heads resting on the coffee table, facing away from each other, two bottles of vodka on the floor, a strong smell of alcohol filling the atmosphere.
“It’s not weird,” was all Colby could say as he tried to recover his equilibrium. “I mean, she forced you to…” He just couldn’t complete the sentence.
“She could be carrying my son… or my daughter.”
“Well…”
“A little half black, half Indian kid… born from a rape.”
Not really knowing what to answer, Colby swallowed and remained silent. Nothing he could do would put the clock back. He had to face up to the fact that changes were coming, for David and for him.
Slowly, feeling the guilt burning his insides, Colby turned to David but still kept his head resting on the table. The window was open and the sunshine was beautiful, inviting people to enjoy its warmth and energy.
But of course, only the ones who had normal lives would respond to that call.
Almost everyone seemed set to lose their faith soon. How could things go back to normal after the India case? Because that was the new code - since Amita had been taken into a well-known psychiatric centre and her parents had said that they wanted to take her to India, almost everyone had found a new way to describe the damage she had done, as saying her name brought too painful memories back.
It was probably nonsense, because everyone who was involved in the case was either an FBI agent of a scientist. They were used to seeing these kinds of crime - rape and torture coming from obsessive behavior, but this time it had hit too close to home. It had hit them.
Colby lifted his head off the table and leaned his back on the side of the couch. The hangover was hard to bear and he had no idea what he wanted to do next.
The ringtone of his cell phone caught him unawares. Blinking over and over again, running his hands over his hair, he looked at the Caller ID and refused to respond. Even if there was a new case, he felt that for once he had to take care of himself and not others.
“Charlie?” David asked, still not looking at his partner.
“Don.”
“Same thing.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Still, you didn’t answer.”
“I don’t feel like talking to him right now. You should understand that, since you didn’t answer the door when he came here last night and you avoided me for about a month.”
This time David turned to look at Colby and said, “That’s different. In your case, it’s not that bad, man.”
“No, it’s…”
“Colby, man, you can’t hide it from me. I know you too well and it’s too obvious anyway.”
David was actually right, which was annoying, but it would be worse to keep things from his best friend, and besides, Colby didn’t have enough energy left to lie. “Yeah…”
“You haven’t talked to Charlie or Don in the last two days, and you should.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know all about the shame you’re feeling right now,” David stated, “but trust me, being touched the way she touched you is nothing compared to…” His voice faded as he continued, then he stopped. His point had already been made, so Colby didn’t see any need to explain more.
He didn’t say anything; he just lowered his gaze, fixing it on the empty bottles of vodka.
But apparently, David wasn’t done yet. “There is no reason for you to abandon what you just started with Charlie. There is no reason at all.”
They stared at each other for a moment, but Colby disagreed. “Maybe there isn’t, but there’s something we all need for now… Time.”
David tilted his head to the side, then looked at the sun that was outside the window. “Yeah, time… I just wish that could actually help…”
XxX
Tired, Megan ran her hands through her messy hair as she opened the letters that had arrived that morning. Mail was alright, it was predictable and common and the bad news it could bring was nothing compared to what had happened during the last few days.
So when someone rang the bell, she could feel her heart pounding hard inside her chest. The threat of a new reason to fall apart was present in every moment of her life, as it had been a part of it for a long time in the past.
But it wasn’t more bad news. It was Larry, and he was always lovely company.
“Hey,” she greeted him, smiling. “I didn’t expect you to come so early.”
“I can come back later if it works better for you,” he said, looking worried that she wasn’t in the mood to let him come in. He was starting to walk away, limping on his sprained ankle, when she stopped him
“No, it’s OK, I’ve just made some tea. Please, stay. Let me offer you a cup.”
Larry seemed to be reluctant to believe her words, but she guided him into her house and asked him to sit at the kitchen table. It was still very early and the sun was just starting to rise in the sky.
After taking the tea pot to the table, she went to get the cups. The delivery cards she had stuck to the fridge caught her eye. “Would you like to stay and have lunch with me? We could call for some food,” she said, aware that it was her free day.
“If that’s OK with you, then…”
“Great.” She took a look at the cards and a couple of them caught her attention. “What about Chinese?” she suggested. “Or maybe some Indian…?” But Megan soon realized what she had said, and corrected herself. “No, I guess not.”
“It’s not white,” Larry replied, and when Megan turned around, she found him shrugging and smiling at her with sorrow.
“You’re right, it’s not.” Step by step, Megan walked over to him and kissed him softly. She could feel a hesitation as their lips joined, but she knew what that meant, and she didn’t feel like discussing it.
Unless Larry brought up the issue.
“You’re been quietly different these last few days,” he muttered shyly, close to her mouth.
She looked into his eyes, saw his questions in them and quickly turned around. Going to get the tea cups was a good excuse not to show how much Larry’s comment had affected her.
Holding up wasn’t easy, but she had done it for months now and a couple more minutes wouldn’t make a difference.
“Yeah. It’s just that my work at the DOJ was full of… uncertainties. Rules didn’t apply to most cases; people did pretty much whatever they wanted.”
“I can understand that. National security is a priority and powerful leaders tend to try to keep control over sources of information in environments where law and ethics are the exception,” Larry responded, joining his hands.
Megan had always loved his insight. It might be a little awkward, it could even sound crazy sometimes, but she was sure that it was full of rationality and deep thought. So she finally faced her lover and said, “You’re right. I’ve seen many kinds of torture take place in front of my eyes, Larry,” she explained, and she ran her hands through her messy hair. “Some cases… They’re not easy to forget.”
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “I take it that there is a reminder of it in the last events and that is keeping you from finding peace of mind.”
Listening to his conclusions, Megan’s heart ached with memories of the past. Yet, she felt touched by Larry’s unusual, caring character and she couldn’t restrain a small smile. Nodding, she took the tea cups, sat at the table and arranged them.
“Maybe our talks can help me find it again,” she muttered as she poured tea into the cups and smiled at her lover. It was sweet to see Larry blush for a moment. “So, tell me more about Dr. Farrow. Is he really that interesting?”
“Oh, yes. Believe me, he might have a heterodox approach to science, but his mind is a genuine cradle of all kinds of highly valuable knowledge.”
“So you think he’ll be able to manage your classes when you need to rest?”
Excited, Larry took the cup of tea she offered him. “There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll do an excellent job. I will most definitely miss giving my lectures from time to time, but for some reason, I think students will be glad of the change of perspective on that subject.”
It was well-known that Larry’s students got bored with his lessons because they didn’t understand his endless speeches about stars, galaxies and the mystery of man kind’s existence, but they didn’t know him the way Megan did. “Oh, don’t say that, Larry. I’m sure they’ll miss you.”
“If they wouldn’t, I’d completely understand,” he replied, waving his hands in the air. “It’s not every day that you get to work with someone like Christopher. He’s a very busy man, he’s involved in several projects at the same time, and his life is intensely filled with studies that deal with interconnected fields.”
As usual, Megan could see that spark in his eyes, the one that meant that he was about to let his mind go and express itself freely. She took her cup of tea and sipped it as she admired the way he was able to keep her attention with every single word he said.
Larry looked at her, a little smile in the corner of his mouth making her feel at home. “You know, once he and I worked on an analysis about the knowledge of Physics and Chemistry the oldest and most advanced civilizations served of…”
XxX
No resting, no sleeping for Ian Edgerton.
A glass of red wine sometimes turned into a nice memory. Today, it wasn’t that at all.
This morning, it was the reminiscence of the torture Ian’s mind had been through many years ago.
Seated on a chair in his apartment, he carefully swirled the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and thoughtfully watched the liquid move in tiny, irregular waves.
Marah used to know so much about wine. She used to know everything.
If he could only talk to her again…
Ian drowned in the memories of her beautiful face, the melody of her honest laugh, and the simplicity of the clothes she always wore.
He reached for his cell phone when he heard an incoming call. “Edgerton,” he said, still swirling the glass of wine. “Ancient art… Yeah, of course I’m interested. I’ll take care of it with Eppes’ team.”
Without saying goodbye, he closed his phone and let it rest on the table. He drank the wine and put the glass beside his cell phone.
Marah.
He had to stop thinking about her, about his own mistakes. But every time he seemed to be ready to let the past go, it came back.
Shaking his head, he got up and went to grab a jacket from his closet. He picked a leather one, put it on and came back to the little dining room. Sometimes, the job overwhelmed him. What did it mean to be the best fourth sniper in the country? It wasn’t like that would open the gates of Heaven to enable him to bring Marah back to Earth.
There was something inside the jacket pocket… No, not again…
Ian pulled it out and took a deep breath. He should have seen this coming.
Memories flooded back, attached to the old picture in his hands, her face coming to life inside his brain again. Wherever he put it, trying to lose it, he found it somehow. A photograph that refused to go away; one that didn’t want to let Ian go.
He tried to tear it into pieces and throw it into the trash, but at the last moment, as always, he had second thoughts.
He just couldn’t do it. He wasn’t ready yet, no matter how much he tried to convince himself he was.
So he ended up keeping it again, now stowed in one of the drawers of his sideboard. He said goodbye to it, just like he did every time he came across the picture, hoping that someday it would magically disappear without him having to do anything.
It really didn’t make sense to try to lose it, as the photo itself and the echo of the past would return eventually, every time he tried to erase them from his life.
Now the memory was all around him, brought back by what everyone called the damn India case.
Series: In the Arms of the Wicked, Part 2/?
Characters: Colby/Charlie, Megan/Larry, Ian, David, mention of OMC.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: There are memories David, Colby, Megan and Ian can't let go.
Feedback: Yes, please. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything (characters, situations, etcetera) except my OCs.
Beta: The wonderful fredbassett.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Part 2: "The India case"
The first traces of light bathed Colby’s body as he awkwardly opened his eyes. He saw David’s apartment, David’s coffee table, and then he realized that after a night of heavy drinking, he hadn’t gone back home.
“I hate her, you know? It’s so ridiculous that at the same time I feel sorry for her, somehow.” David’s voice came out of nowhere, a rough sound so close to Colby - their heads resting on the coffee table, facing away from each other, two bottles of vodka on the floor, a strong smell of alcohol filling the atmosphere.
“It’s not weird,” was all Colby could say as he tried to recover his equilibrium. “I mean, she forced you to…” He just couldn’t complete the sentence.
“She could be carrying my son… or my daughter.”
“Well…”
“A little half black, half Indian kid… born from a rape.”
Not really knowing what to answer, Colby swallowed and remained silent. Nothing he could do would put the clock back. He had to face up to the fact that changes were coming, for David and for him.
Slowly, feeling the guilt burning his insides, Colby turned to David but still kept his head resting on the table. The window was open and the sunshine was beautiful, inviting people to enjoy its warmth and energy.
But of course, only the ones who had normal lives would respond to that call.
Almost everyone seemed set to lose their faith soon. How could things go back to normal after the India case? Because that was the new code - since Amita had been taken into a well-known psychiatric centre and her parents had said that they wanted to take her to India, almost everyone had found a new way to describe the damage she had done, as saying her name brought too painful memories back.
It was probably nonsense, because everyone who was involved in the case was either an FBI agent of a scientist. They were used to seeing these kinds of crime - rape and torture coming from obsessive behavior, but this time it had hit too close to home. It had hit them.
Colby lifted his head off the table and leaned his back on the side of the couch. The hangover was hard to bear and he had no idea what he wanted to do next.
The ringtone of his cell phone caught him unawares. Blinking over and over again, running his hands over his hair, he looked at the Caller ID and refused to respond. Even if there was a new case, he felt that for once he had to take care of himself and not others.
“Charlie?” David asked, still not looking at his partner.
“Don.”
“Same thing.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Still, you didn’t answer.”
“I don’t feel like talking to him right now. You should understand that, since you didn’t answer the door when he came here last night and you avoided me for about a month.”
This time David turned to look at Colby and said, “That’s different. In your case, it’s not that bad, man.”
“No, it’s…”
“Colby, man, you can’t hide it from me. I know you too well and it’s too obvious anyway.”
David was actually right, which was annoying, but it would be worse to keep things from his best friend, and besides, Colby didn’t have enough energy left to lie. “Yeah…”
“You haven’t talked to Charlie or Don in the last two days, and you should.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know all about the shame you’re feeling right now,” David stated, “but trust me, being touched the way she touched you is nothing compared to…” His voice faded as he continued, then he stopped. His point had already been made, so Colby didn’t see any need to explain more.
He didn’t say anything; he just lowered his gaze, fixing it on the empty bottles of vodka.
But apparently, David wasn’t done yet. “There is no reason for you to abandon what you just started with Charlie. There is no reason at all.”
They stared at each other for a moment, but Colby disagreed. “Maybe there isn’t, but there’s something we all need for now… Time.”
David tilted his head to the side, then looked at the sun that was outside the window. “Yeah, time… I just wish that could actually help…”
XxX
Tired, Megan ran her hands through her messy hair as she opened the letters that had arrived that morning. Mail was alright, it was predictable and common and the bad news it could bring was nothing compared to what had happened during the last few days.
So when someone rang the bell, she could feel her heart pounding hard inside her chest. The threat of a new reason to fall apart was present in every moment of her life, as it had been a part of it for a long time in the past.
But it wasn’t more bad news. It was Larry, and he was always lovely company.
“Hey,” she greeted him, smiling. “I didn’t expect you to come so early.”
“I can come back later if it works better for you,” he said, looking worried that she wasn’t in the mood to let him come in. He was starting to walk away, limping on his sprained ankle, when she stopped him
“No, it’s OK, I’ve just made some tea. Please, stay. Let me offer you a cup.”
Larry seemed to be reluctant to believe her words, but she guided him into her house and asked him to sit at the kitchen table. It was still very early and the sun was just starting to rise in the sky.
After taking the tea pot to the table, she went to get the cups. The delivery cards she had stuck to the fridge caught her eye. “Would you like to stay and have lunch with me? We could call for some food,” she said, aware that it was her free day.
“If that’s OK with you, then…”
“Great.” She took a look at the cards and a couple of them caught her attention. “What about Chinese?” she suggested. “Or maybe some Indian…?” But Megan soon realized what she had said, and corrected herself. “No, I guess not.”
“It’s not white,” Larry replied, and when Megan turned around, she found him shrugging and smiling at her with sorrow.
“You’re right, it’s not.” Step by step, Megan walked over to him and kissed him softly. She could feel a hesitation as their lips joined, but she knew what that meant, and she didn’t feel like discussing it.
Unless Larry brought up the issue.
“You’re been quietly different these last few days,” he muttered shyly, close to her mouth.
She looked into his eyes, saw his questions in them and quickly turned around. Going to get the tea cups was a good excuse not to show how much Larry’s comment had affected her.
Holding up wasn’t easy, but she had done it for months now and a couple more minutes wouldn’t make a difference.
“Yeah. It’s just that my work at the DOJ was full of… uncertainties. Rules didn’t apply to most cases; people did pretty much whatever they wanted.”
“I can understand that. National security is a priority and powerful leaders tend to try to keep control over sources of information in environments where law and ethics are the exception,” Larry responded, joining his hands.
Megan had always loved his insight. It might be a little awkward, it could even sound crazy sometimes, but she was sure that it was full of rationality and deep thought. So she finally faced her lover and said, “You’re right. I’ve seen many kinds of torture take place in front of my eyes, Larry,” she explained, and she ran her hands through her messy hair. “Some cases… They’re not easy to forget.”
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “I take it that there is a reminder of it in the last events and that is keeping you from finding peace of mind.”
Listening to his conclusions, Megan’s heart ached with memories of the past. Yet, she felt touched by Larry’s unusual, caring character and she couldn’t restrain a small smile. Nodding, she took the tea cups, sat at the table and arranged them.
“Maybe our talks can help me find it again,” she muttered as she poured tea into the cups and smiled at her lover. It was sweet to see Larry blush for a moment. “So, tell me more about Dr. Farrow. Is he really that interesting?”
“Oh, yes. Believe me, he might have a heterodox approach to science, but his mind is a genuine cradle of all kinds of highly valuable knowledge.”
“So you think he’ll be able to manage your classes when you need to rest?”
Excited, Larry took the cup of tea she offered him. “There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll do an excellent job. I will most definitely miss giving my lectures from time to time, but for some reason, I think students will be glad of the change of perspective on that subject.”
It was well-known that Larry’s students got bored with his lessons because they didn’t understand his endless speeches about stars, galaxies and the mystery of man kind’s existence, but they didn’t know him the way Megan did. “Oh, don’t say that, Larry. I’m sure they’ll miss you.”
“If they wouldn’t, I’d completely understand,” he replied, waving his hands in the air. “It’s not every day that you get to work with someone like Christopher. He’s a very busy man, he’s involved in several projects at the same time, and his life is intensely filled with studies that deal with interconnected fields.”
As usual, Megan could see that spark in his eyes, the one that meant that he was about to let his mind go and express itself freely. She took her cup of tea and sipped it as she admired the way he was able to keep her attention with every single word he said.
Larry looked at her, a little smile in the corner of his mouth making her feel at home. “You know, once he and I worked on an analysis about the knowledge of Physics and Chemistry the oldest and most advanced civilizations served of…”
XxX
No resting, no sleeping for Ian Edgerton.
A glass of red wine sometimes turned into a nice memory. Today, it wasn’t that at all.
This morning, it was the reminiscence of the torture Ian’s mind had been through many years ago.
Seated on a chair in his apartment, he carefully swirled the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and thoughtfully watched the liquid move in tiny, irregular waves.
Marah used to know so much about wine. She used to know everything.
If he could only talk to her again…
Ian drowned in the memories of her beautiful face, the melody of her honest laugh, and the simplicity of the clothes she always wore.
He reached for his cell phone when he heard an incoming call. “Edgerton,” he said, still swirling the glass of wine. “Ancient art… Yeah, of course I’m interested. I’ll take care of it with Eppes’ team.”
Without saying goodbye, he closed his phone and let it rest on the table. He drank the wine and put the glass beside his cell phone.
Marah.
He had to stop thinking about her, about his own mistakes. But every time he seemed to be ready to let the past go, it came back.
Shaking his head, he got up and went to grab a jacket from his closet. He picked a leather one, put it on and came back to the little dining room. Sometimes, the job overwhelmed him. What did it mean to be the best fourth sniper in the country? It wasn’t like that would open the gates of Heaven to enable him to bring Marah back to Earth.
There was something inside the jacket pocket… No, not again…
Ian pulled it out and took a deep breath. He should have seen this coming.
Memories flooded back, attached to the old picture in his hands, her face coming to life inside his brain again. Wherever he put it, trying to lose it, he found it somehow. A photograph that refused to go away; one that didn’t want to let Ian go.
He tried to tear it into pieces and throw it into the trash, but at the last moment, as always, he had second thoughts.
He just couldn’t do it. He wasn’t ready yet, no matter how much he tried to convince himself he was.
So he ended up keeping it again, now stowed in one of the drawers of his sideboard. He said goodbye to it, just like he did every time he came across the picture, hoping that someday it would magically disappear without him having to do anything.
It really didn’t make sense to try to lose it, as the photo itself and the echo of the past would return eventually, every time he tried to erase them from his life.
Now the memory was all around him, brought back by what everyone called the damn India case.