(no subject)

[ladyfirestarter]

The desert's chilly at night. She's brought a jacket.

Charlie sits on a particular rock a few miles from the Taos complex, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around them, looking at the moon.
I am looking for someone who can take as much as I give
And'll give back as much as I need, and still have the will to live
She hasn't been able to reach Prometheus for over a month now. Not from here; not from Milliways. She's still in the habit of taking out the little clay figurine at odd moments, running her fingers over its rough-smooth surface in something like meditation.

She's doing it now.
'Cause I am intense, I am in need, I am in pain, I am in love
But I feel forsaken, you know like the things I gave away
The fallout of things at Tet has left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The security guy, Stuart, that's upsetting; the Board member, Adamson ... that's sickening. Treachery from inside. Treachery from above.

Lot of good people, she told Charles Wallace.

And blood and fire are too much for these restless arms to hold

Her blocks have to stay up while she's on the campus, for fear the kids will pick up on her negative emotions. She's alone now, and can let down the blocks and look at what's behind them: anger, and fear, and a bewildered sense of loss.

And I'm calling you, calling you, from ten thousand miles away

Over and over her fingers slide along the kouros, as though counting off prayer beads, and no answering warmth comes.

Comments

[ladyfirestarter]

She catches the coin, slaps it onto her wrist, and looks down.

"Heads it is. You start."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He draws a breath. "Okay." Both hands slip too casually into the back pockets of his jeans. "You remember Blodwen Rowlands?"

[ladyfirestarter]

Charlie's face sobers rather quickly.

"We only met the once," she says, "but yeah."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He drops his eyes to the floor. "Don't worry about her anymore."

[ladyfirestarter]

She purses her lips at that.

"What happened." It's almost not a question.

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He looks at her this time. "She's not a threat."

His clothes are very clean, for the first time in several months.

[ladyfirestarter]

And that --

Well. That's clear enough.

"Okay," she says steadily.

Though that doesn't sound like a conversation one wouldn't want to have over the phone.

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

Slowly, he lowers himself onto the arm of the couch, still watching her. "I just want you to be aware. There could be fallout."

[ladyfirestarter]

"...Did she have friends? Who might be looking for payback?"

Charlie moves to lean on the wall opposite the couch arm.

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

"There's always someone ready to pick up the grudge, friends or no. And she was good at fooling people. We'll just have to see who steps up to the plate."

[ladyfirestarter]

She nods.

And says, carefully: "I take it you'd rather not talk about the details."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He dips his head. "You take it rightly. It was an ugly thing. But it had to happen." One corner of his mouth quirks up. "Anything else?"

[ladyfirestarter]

(I CRY YOUR PARDON)

She shakes her head. "Just ... you'll keep me in the loop, in terms of fallout?"

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

"Yes, ma'am."

He folds his hands. "So, things."

[ladyfirestarter]

"Things," she echoes.

With a sigh, she pushes off the wall to come sit on the edge of the sofa.

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He twists to watch her. "Something going down that you can't talk about at all?"

(One part of that seems rather unlikely.)

[ladyfirestarter]

"It's all gone down already. So far as we know."

She's leaning forward, arms resting on her knees, hands loosely clasped.

"And there hasn't been any official statement about keeping this quiet, but ... there really doesn't need to be. It's not something we want spread around."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

"I'm being tight-lipped. Do I get to ask what didn't happen? Should I worry about it?"

(About you?)

[ladyfirestarter]

She raises her head to look at him.

"I can count on you not to spread this around," she says, and it (almost) isn't a question. "Not in my world, not in yours, not here."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

He holds her eyes. "I'm good with secrets."

The eagle was after him for a long, long time because of a secret he wouldn't give up.

[ladyfirestarter]

After a few seconds, she nods. And looks down again.

"Christmas eve," she says tiredly, "a bunch of armed men tried to kill my boss and her family. And came too damn close to succeeding."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

The line of his shoulders stiffens. "How's that?" he asks, a rumble uncurling in his throat.

[ladyfirestarter]

"She's all right, but her assistants who were with her ..." Charlie trails off, shakes her head. "And she might not have survived either, except she found a door here at the last minute."

[notboundnow.livejournal.com]

"You think you know who did it?"

The why doesn't matter quite so much as the fact they did.

[ladyfirestarter]

"...well."

A small twist of a mirthless smile.

"The gunmen themselves are mostly very dead, so that was just a question of identifying the corpses. As for who organized them..."

And the smile's gone.

"That's ... kind of uglier."