CONTAINS CONTENT:
mild action violence, mild sexual themes.
{{Un-edited}}
Han wandered into Marielle’s office, and sat silently on the couch. She hadn’t knocked, or asked permission to come in, she had just done it.
Marielle knew that she was there, but she didn’t acknowledge her for a moment. She was finishing signing a paper in Sasha’s folder. Then she dated it- September 10th.
She lifted her steady gaze to her friend.
She’s beautiful, was Marielle’s first thought. She’d always thought so. Why didn’t Austin just satiate his need on her?
“I guess saying I’m sorry won’t help a whole lot, huh?” Han asked.
“Are you?” Marielle pressed, folding her hands on the desk.
Han took in a deep breath, her chest rising and falling before she fell back against the couch and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then she lifted her gaze to Marielle’s again, “No, you know what, Scarlett? I’m not.” In a similar vein to the term Downright Scarlett, sometimes Han had a habit of calling Marielle Scarlett when she felt that Marielle was being her “gorgeous, strong self” but also stubborn and a tad testy.
“You know that he tried to seduce me last night, don’t you?” Marielle growled, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, and straightening her back in her seat. “And that he’s basically next door and can probably hear everything that we’re saying.”
Han shook her head, “No, he’s down in the gym, running,” she corrected. Marielle blinked. “Fast…” Han added.
Marielle turned her head away, sadly.
Austin ran when he was desperate to let off tension, when he was trying to get away from something that wasn’t physical, or when he was overwhelmed with sadness.
At this moment, Marielle guessed that it was all the above. He was ridiculously frustrated due to not getting what he wanted last night, and abstaining from everything else. He was running from the horrifying reality that she’d given to him not more than forty minutes ago, and he was overwhelmed with sadness at their encounter.
She could imagine him leaning against the wall, winded, fingers laced together behind his head. “Just sit with it,” he was whispering to himself. “Just let the anxiety pass.” But it wouldn’t. What would he do? She’d know before the end of the day.
She looked back to Han, “And as far as him trying to seduce you goes…” She shrugged a shoulder, “Yeah,” she said as if that had been part of the plan all along. She shook her head, “Babe, you were gorgeous last night, and you dripped… and anyone in the room could have told you that you were dripping for Austin Rancor. Don’t play games with me, I’ve known you too long, Scarlett.”
“It doesn’t mean that I wanted you to intervene,” Marielle said, quietly.
Han put her hands on her waist, “Well, someone needed to do something, Scarlett, because Ashley Wilkes was looking at you like a man drowning, and you were looking at him like you had the life raft all day yesterday.” Marielle sighed, knowing that she was right. “It may be true. But I wanted you to confront something that is obvious to the rest of us. All it took from me, was a small compliment to precious Austin to see hellfire in your eyes.”
There was a pause. “He’ll just break my heart,” Marielle said distantly.
“And Vincent won’t?” Han asked crossing her arms and giving her a pressing look. Silence. “You don’t have a problem reading Austin, Marielle, you already know everything you need to know about him. You have a problem reading yourself,” Han replied, quickly.
“Look, if both of them will only crush me, then maybe I’m not right for either of them,” Marielle hissed.
Han took in a deep pull of air, pushed some of her white hair behind her ears, and looked down for a moment, considering what to say, “Nothing is for certain, Scarlett. Love isn’t about what’s certain, it’s about taking a leap and making a commitment. Things can always go badly no matter how good or bad a person is. Trust me, I’ve had several relationships, I would know. I’ve dated the choir boy who turned devil, and the devil who grew angel wings. If someone really wants something, they’ll do it, and they’ll keep doing it.”
“Thanks, doc,” Marielle growled. “I have no such commitments from Austin Rancor.”
Han cocked her head, her expression like Marielle was dumb, “Because he doesn’t know that you want them.” Marielle let out a long sigh. Han might be correct. “And without the possibility of hope,” she shrugged, “he only knows how to be what he is.”
There was a knock, and Kiritani was standing on the other side of the door. “Vincent wants us all back in there.”
***
There was a growing gathering that was getting ready to go back into the training room.
Vincent was stirring some sugar into his coffee, and when Marielle saw Austin stand behind him for a moment, she wasn’t sure what Austin was doing there. The most likely scenario? Probably just waiting for coffee. She couldn’t imagine that he was going to try and talk to Vincent.
Without warning Vincent jerked his elbow straight up into Austin’s nose, knocking his head back.
You could hear a pin drop as all eyes – giant saucers – shot to the scene.
When Austin put his head forward again, a stream of blood was coming from his nose.Vincent smirked, proudly and sipped the hot steamy liquid, “You know what that was for.”
Austin was opening his jaw, wide, and blinking a few times as he grabbed a napkin to catch the blood… “Fair,” he replied matter of factly. No point in arguing it.
Vincent turned to him, all malice suddenly gone. “Now let’s get in there,-” he said gesturing to Austin with his head, “-and show everyone else how this is done.”
Austin took a moment to process what had just occurred, Vincent’s sudden shift, and nodded. He was surprised to see Vincent’s hand stretched out to him. Truce. Austin took it, and the two gave one another a firm handshake. Austin pulled away after a moment, still wiping the last little bit of blood up. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he intoned.
For a moment, Marielle thought about how even with blood coming from his face, Austin wasn’t unattractive. In fact, the red rivulet running under his nose and over his lips to his chin might have made him more attractive in that moment.
Austin flashed her a look and her heart sank a bit.
-Don’t hate me, Marielle. Please?
She looked away. No matter how badly she felt for him right now, her anger overpowered that.
“Okay,” Vincent said, “Same team as yesterday, except we’re taking Marielle and Han this time,” he announced, gesturing to both. Marielle let out a sigh, and glanced at Han. She shrugged, and came along.
Sabine, Tala, Austin, John, Han, and Marielle joined Vincent, and Liam who had been waiting for them. Klara approached Vincent, “Should I put KAY/O into the game today?”
“Let’s wait,” he replied sweetly, giving her an adoring smile, and at this, he loosened his tie, and slipped it around her neck. She nodded with a grin, and went back to the vending machine near Tayane, who promptly started to play with the tie in a teasing way.
After fitting themselves with gloves and ear pieces, they entered the enormous room and the doors shut behind them.
Marielle leaned forward, looking John over, and she nodded her approval at his new dark face mask and hood. He was, for lack of a better word, a ghost. He tipped his chin forward, giving her a small bow. She couldn’t see his face, but vertical slash marks in the mask were illuminated by, what she was guessing was, the gaping lights in his eyes.
Vincent had already activated the game and the seven of them wandered to the table toward the back of the room for what Vincent called the “buy phase” yesterday.
“One gun per team-mate to start, and one pistol if you can handle it.” Vincent said, eyeing Marielle. She begrudgingly put back one of the two pistols that she had picked up, and gave him a snarl. Austin wasn’t watching any of their interactions.
“I thought you hinted yesterday that you wanted there to only be five of us,” Sabine said, her arms crossed as she looked over the table.
“There only will be… Liam and I are going to watch,” Vincent said. He gestured upwards where a spot above the arena that was like a balcony held some chairs. He extended his hand to Tala, “And you will be as well,” he explained. She narrowed her eyes at him, curiously. “I want you to be safe, and to observe so you can learn.” She sighed, and put her weapons down.
Liam was monitoring all of this, and he nodded his approval. “Good call, soldier.”
“I’m sorry, you want us to do what, exactly?” Sabine growled as she was looking over the arsenal, which had been kidded out by Klara. Sabine was eyeing a modded AK which they’d named a Vandal.
Austin was reaching for one, but seeing that Sabine was taking one for herself, he sighed, put it down, and grabbed a sniper with the word Marshall written on the side in silver ink.
Vincent stood straight, and looked them over, rolling up and buttoning his sleeves. Marielle was eyeing him, enjoying watching him do this. This motion said ready for action and showed his strong arms with the swirling gold. She blushed and looked down. He smirked at her, knowingly. “This is how the game is set up,” he began. “There are five bots ready to take positions around this room. They might all be in the same spot, they might be in different spots, it is randomized.” Austin threw Marielle a glance. She saw him from her peripheral vision. She could tell that for a moment, he was daring her to look at him. She refused. He looked away, and chose a pistol with a long barrel. This one said Ghost on the side in silver. He holstered it, and swallowed, testing his jaw again; it hurt. Everything in his face hurt. He shot Vincent a look… thanks. “This time,-” Vincent continued, mentally dismissing Austin’s glare, “-they’re going to be planting the spike, and you are all going to defuse it. Use one another as a team, and learn to understand each other’s disadvantages, weaknesses, and abilities to win,” he explained, and then he turned, and walked away from them.
He lifted his right hand, pulling his card from his arm, and flinging his teleporter downward, it sparkled and softly buzzed. Then he went further across the room, the other two following, up some steps, and stood at the balcony, leaning over it. Tala sat to Vincent’s right, watching everything. Liam stood to his left, a few feet away. “Oh, and I think it’s probably a good time to announce that Austin knows exactly what he’s doing, and is probably a better shot than almost everyone in this room… well, except for me, of course,” he said with a proud wink at Austin. Liam nodded; he had suspected from moment one. He recognized training when he saw it. Men who were trained carried themselves a certain way.
Austin ignored Vincent’s quip. He was fidgeting with his earpiece. “Are we on?” he asked into it.
“I hear you,” Han said, pleasantly, as she holstered one of the pistols.
“Can I ask why you decided to put us together?” Sabine growled noting the obvious tension between Austin and Marielle, then noting the tension between herself and Marielle, and herself and Austin, and her and Han and Marielle, and Austin…then she quietly noted that the common denominator was her… coincidence, of course.
Vincent cocked his head at her his expression, surprised that she hadn’t worked this out yet. “Is that not obvious?” They all looked at one another, wide eyed, trying to understand. “Do you think that when you’re in the field you to get to pick and choose your teammates? Do you think that the night before you all went out and had drinks and engaged in a big fat orgy with each other and woke up and were still in love and high fiving?” Sabine swallowed and looked down. John’s hand found hers and their fingers intertwined. “Do you know how many times I’ve had to be a team player with a person who betrayed my very life, my very existence?” They all side glanced one another, briefly; guarded. “You will work it out now, or you will die. End story.” He gestured to Austin, “Shake his hand.” Sabine glared at him, the rage of a thousand hot suns burning in her eyes as she mentally tore Vincent limb from limb. Vincent stared back matching the same bitterness and spite and then topping it. “Shake… his…hand…” Letting out a long, exasperated sigh, Austin put his gloved hand out to her.
She refused to take it, never breaking eye contact with Vincent. “I… can’t… stand him.”
“I don’t care!” Vincent cried. Marielle looked down at the intense ring of his booming voice. He was using his finger to emphasize words, and speaking quickly, “I don’t care if he slept with your mother, your sister, you father, and your dog last night, and then shot you in the foot, if you are in the arena or battle with him, you are in mad in love with Austin Rancor!” It echoed against the walls.
Austin smiled softly and looked down, trying to bury his emotions. As he’d told Marielle last night, he liked Vincent. He stayed distant, they weren’t friends. Now with this thing between him and Marielle, they never would truly be friends, but he liked him. He respected him.
Vincent continued. “He is your brother, blood born, and you are willing to take a bullet for him.” He nodded once, “And so am I.”
“Why are you putting this on me?” Sabine seethed.
“Because he already knows this, and follows that code,” Austin closed his eyes, and tensed his jaw, letting out a long sigh. Then he wiped the last little bit of blood that trickled out of his nose. “He hates you back, Sabine, trust me.” He let that hang in the air for a moment. “But he’s going to die for you if he needs to.” These words were bringing tears to Marielle’s eyes, and she was also looking down.
Sabine put her hand out and give Austin a limp handshake for a moment before dropping her hand. “Not good enough, embrace him.” Sabine glared at Vincent like the moment she had her hands on him, she was going slaughter him slowly and over a period of days after they were done. “Drop the tension! Drop the hatred,” Vincent barked. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, looking in different places, not at one another. “I don’t care if he screams, insults you, says the N word, and calls you gay this entire match, he…is…family…” He eyed her intimately, pausing for dramatic effect. “He’s your son,” he said flatly. Sabine’s face cracked, and acidic tears threatened to come as this thought sank in. Vincent drove the knife in further, “he’s Peter.”
Suddenly, Sabine couldn’t look at Austin and she was starting to twitch uncomfortably. Everyone in the room was staring, wide eyed, not believing that Vincent had actually pushed it to this place. Han was mouthing ‘wow.’ Sabine’s breathing was jerky, and hitching in her chest. “Protect…Peter…” Vincent said, gently.
Tears pricked Sabine’s green, glassy eyes, and fell, hatefully. “How dare you,” she said, raggedly.
“How dare I?” He pressed, “How dare I? You think I’m done?” he gestured, “I’m still waiting.” The room became hot, stuffy, cloying. “Hold your son.”
Austin was frozen, staring down. Marielle realized at that moment that he was trying to bury his own demons. “Do it… do it or die, I swear!” Vincent cried. Sabine slowly turned to Austin, something inside of her melting away a mask that she kept securely on her face at all times, and revealing a person that Marielle hadn’t seen in many years now. She looked vulnerable, and distraught; a gaping hole opening inside of her middle.
She broke, grabbed Austin and pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him fully, and sobbing into his shoulder.
Austin was frozen; limp. His blue eyes fluttering closed. “Ask her to protect you,” Vincent said to Austin.
Austin ground his teeth together, desperately fighting for a straight face, “Protect me,” he whispered, shakily. Sabine continued to sob. Both of them became lost for a moment in this guided fantasy, lost in the substitutes for their own deepest pains, and the catharsis of it all. Vincent knew exactly what he was doing. John tried to touch Sabine’s back, Vincent gestured, no and he obeyed; Sabine had to do this on her own.
Liam was stroking his beard, impressed.
Han’s hands were on her hips, watching, waiting.
“Say mom,” Vincent pressed.
Austin barely got it out, “P-protect me, mom.” Sabine nearly went limp, Austin kept her still, hands on her forearms. “Protect me, mom?” Marielle’s mind opened up, then, she understood.
“Tell him that you will,” Vincent commanded.
“I- I can’t,” Sabine sobbed. “I couldn’t.” John ached to hold her. Vincent urged him not yet.
Vincent pounded the railing, a gong sound caused all of them to jump. “Tell him!”
“I… I’ll protect you, son.”
“Say Peter.”
“I’ll protect you, Peter,” she whispered, shaking.
Austin finally put his arms around her.
Austin closed his eyes, obviously traveling somewhere else in his mind.
Marielle, who was a few feet to his left was crying, softly. Tala simply looked like she wasn’t sure where she fit in.
“Let go,” Vincent directed, they pulled away from each other, shaking… numb.
They both were looking at the ground like little children who were caught doing something that they were explicitly told not to do. Vincent was silent for a moment, then he pointed straight at Sabine, “He is not your enemy,” Vincent said, commandingly. A pregnant pause, “You are.” Sabine let out a ragged breath, and went into John’s arms. He held her for a moment. Austin could be held by no one. Vincent gestured at Marielle and Han simultaneously, “We’ll see here.”
Then Vincent pointed to Marielle and Austin. “And you two-” she looked up at him, expectantly, “-I don’t care,” he said coldly. “Work it out.” Then, without a pause he shouted, “Start!” And the lights went completely black, leaving them all in darkness, except for the intense glow of John’s eyes through his mask.
“This is what it will be like to fight BlackOut. She can do this for about five seconds,” Vincent explained.
The lights came back up, and to everyone’s shock he was there with them, and he lifted a pistol that he’d taken from the back, and fired straight into Marielle’s chest.
She gasped, looking down at the flashing red light. She was dead.
Vincent slowly lowered the shaking hand that held the gun that had just killed his wife, his eyes wide, and reflecting real sadness. “And that’s how quickly that happens.” Vincent proving that this little therapy session wasn’t just about torturing them, but torturing himself, as well. Marielle couldn’t read his expression exactly. “Now you are all down one. It’s five to four… and this game isn’t over.” Sabine, eyes still blotchy from crying looked around at everyone else, sadly. “And might I point out that this is the one that you all care about to varying degrees.”
Marielle sighed, confused, dejected, and began to walk towards the balcony. Vincent grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him a little, “No, my love… lie down,” he gestured to the floor. She looked at him, expression confused, tormented. “You’re dead… I want them all to remember it as they do this.” She slowly lay down on her stomach, arms tucked under her chest, looking at all of them. “Don’t move, don’t speak. Don’t talk to any of them.”
Austin looked utterly mortified internally, but he was doing a good job of hiding it. Vincent looked to the rest of them. “She’s dead,” he announced, gesturing to Marielle on the ground. “And you’re not done. You don’t even have time to think, or process. You’re going to continue to be attacked… what’s your next move?”
“What’s the point in killing her?” Sabine growled.
“The first time that I killed someone, my father was laying in a hospital bed gasping for breath. Do you think I had the luxury to not think about that the entire time?” They all shifted awkwardly and looked at one another. “This is about training you to get your emotions under control, and deal with the problems later. Austin already knows how to do this,” he gestured with his head to Austin. “You don’t. You have to stay in the moment, and nothing else.” He looked to each of them. “What’s…your next…move…?”
“I wouldn’t just leave her out in the middle of the floor, like this,” Han said angrily, gesturing down to Marielle.
“You don’t have time,” Vincent reminded. A noise from somewhere in the distance began. “And I think I hear a spike,” he taunted before lifting his right finger, and snapping, taking him back to his teleporter so he could cross the room again, and walk back to the balcony.
Austin knelt down, throwing Marielle a glance.
-I’m dead, don’t stare.
-…I’m dead, too.
He sighed, shifting the rifle over his shoulder by the strap, and re-rolling and buttoning his sleeves. “Okay, I’m going right, there,” he gestured upward to an area where boxes were raised high above a large part of the arena. He’d be able to sit and wait for a head, or body to reveal itself. “Han, come with me?” She nodded her agreement.
None of them could help throwing Marielle’s body an occasional glance, and each of them found- especially Austin, that it would briefly throw off his concentration. He couldn’t let that affect him right now. She was safe. Just pretending.
“Then John and I will try and sneak in from the left and defuse. I’ll throw down my Viper’s Pit if I get anywhere near it, you all join if you can.”
Austin nodded.
“Okay, move!” he commanded, and everyone broke up from their positions and went to hold at the places they’d said.
Vincent and Liam glanced at one another, noting Austin’s natural ability to lead. Liam was nodding.
Austin climbed, gun slung across his back to the top of the boxes, Han joining him as she flew upward, and John and Sabine taking stances that would help them sneak toward the spike. “You have a minute and a half to figure this out!” Vincent cried from behind them.
Sabine was slowly moving between boxes, pistol held up, ready. “Don’t remind me,” she hissed, throwing a glance at John who was right beside her, then up at Austin, noting that he was prone and setting up his weapon.
Han was a few boxes below him, watching with her pistol out. She was the first to make a shot, a quick peek of silver caused her to aim, fire, and take a droid down. “One down,” she said into her earpiece, and she used her flight ability to go down a few boxes to get a different angle.
Austin glanced at Marielle, then back into the scope. You can’t do that…work it out later. He was telling himself.
A flash of silver, and Austin took a shot, taking another bot down. Three verses four, now. He reslung it, and darted down the boxes, tapping Han on the shoulder. “Let’s move,” he whispered. “They know our location now.” She nodded, and joined him, continuing down and getting to a different vantage point.
He pulled his pistol out, and adjusted his earpiece as he pressed his back against the box he’d just descended, and held the gun down and away, ready for action.
Han filed in next to him, but proceeded forward, and weaved herself towards the beeping device.
Austin started in, but his chest piece went off, the red-light flickering. He was dead. He sighed, and lay down on the ground where he’d died. “I don’t even know where he came from,” Austin growled.
Han whirled around, sprung into the air, floating as she dodged a fired bullet and shot, killing the robot that was standing behind Austin. “Behind you,” she noted, and then said into the earpiece, “Everyone watch, these guys are coming up from behind us, as well.”
Sabine and John were moving closer to the spike from the left, and Sabine glanced behind her, gun up and pointing… nothing. That didn’t mean it wasn’t coming, though.
John had done the same, and because he was at Sabine’s side, he turned and walked backward for a few moments to protect them both.
Austin looked over to Marielle, wanting to talk to her, feeling the tension between them, now about fifteen feet apart.
They locked eyes.
-Please don’t shut me out forever.
-I have no interest in speaking to you right now. She sighed.
-You are speaking to me, right now. We could use this to win.
-Anything to get me talking to you, Austin… really?
Austin glanced down, shamefully, then back up. -I can’t stand how angry you are with me.
-You should have thought about that before your stunt last night.
-I did think about it.
Her eyes pricked with tears. -Then why did you do it?
-I want you so badly. I thought you’d cave. I missed you beside me this morning. I wanted to wake up holding you, and combing through your hair.
Heat lapped at her insides, and moved tremulously through her veins, as she felt her body beg, remembering his teeth against her collarbone. -Please stop, Austin. I need to breathe.
-I want to take your breath away, Marielle. You are downright delicious.
-Please.
-Then look away. He dared. She didn’t. -That’s all it takes, Marielle, just break contact.
Marielle glanced around the room, refusing to address his statements. -Don’t tell anyone about this. I’m not ready for the talk that everyone’s going to run their mouths about.
His eyes became intense, serious. -Marielle? I was going to take this to my grave, and pray that we could pass secret messages all day, every day. I haven’t told a soul.
The lights cut and there were several pops. The game ended. When the lights came back on, everyone was dead.
Vincent was down amongst them again. “And that’s only one of many ways that we get dead with the O’Fallons,” he was saying as he approached the group, extending a hand to help Marielle up. She stood. He did the same to Austin. He also took Vincent’s hand and stood. “It was a nice try,” Vincent said with a nod to Austin before he turned to the others. “As I said yesterday, you’re going to have to learn to shoot blind.”