Not safe anywhere

‘Oh, Ellis! You’re back.’

‘Hazel just brought me home. She’s gone again, now.’

‘Are you alright? Your hands look sore.’

‘Yeah, I’m fine… Where’s Nix? I don’t want her to see me like this.’

‘Raya’s looking after her. I figured it was best, in case you came home a mess.’

‘Well, fortunately it’s just my hands. It was an ambush after all… I wasn’t in any danger, not with Hazel there.’

‘Good, I’m glad.’

‘Let’s get those hands cleaned up. I’ll make some tea and we can drink it in the room.’

‘What happened, then?’

‘As we planned, Hazel went to Austin’s apartment to get him. We went all the way out to Pinochle Pond, made sure it was deserted first. We both roughed him up a bit then I took a picture on my phone. We left him there and then went to City Hall.’

‘What did Tate say?’

‘He was angry, of course. He kept turning the blame back on me, saying Charon had it coming over the meteor. Then he denied setting Raya’s house on fire-’

‘Oh, what bullshit! We already know it was him.’

‘Exactly. Then he said if I thought the police force was corrupt, then I’m just as bad for staying in it.’

‘Nonsense. Typical Tate, always making it someone else’s fault.’

‘I wasn’t surprised he went down that route. But most importantly, we got him to agree to a truce.’

‘What, he really agreed?’

‘Yeah. Very grudgingly, and God knows how sincere it was, but… he said yes, in the end.’

‘Let’s hope he meant it, then. Though we have little reason to trust a word that comes out of his mouth.’

‘Exactly. I dunno if I believe him.’

‘Well, I don’t believe him either, but at least we did something. Even if it only buys us some more time. Things had got too much. We just need some breathing space. Besides, I already know for a fact that Miles is gonna come after him again at a later date.’

‘Well, we already knew that.’

‘You okay, El?’

‘…It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. I was so fucking mad about what Austin did to Charon… He got what he deserved, but still. I hope I don’t have to do it again.’

‘Yeah, I think I’d be the same way. I think you did the right thing, but in the end, you’re not a violent person.’

‘It was the same for me when I went after Miles. It takes a lot out of you. We’re not used to doing things like this.’

‘I don’t want to be used to it, either. Let’s hope this is finally it.’    

‘I agree. But good job. You made a stand for your son, and I think you should be proud of yourself for doing that.’

‘Thanks, Edward.’

‘Where’s Tate?’

‘Sorry, but I wasn’t able to bring him.’

‘What? Why not? Did something happen?’

‘No, I just couldn’t get Ellis to agree to that condition. The rest of the plan went off fine, but I couldn’t bring Tate back with me. He wasn’t comfortable knowing what I would be taking him for. He doesn’t support torture done to anyone, so… I had to leave him.’

‘But… That just means you’ve done him a favour and got nothing out of it.’

‘Ellis was able to negotiate a truce with Tate. I’m sure it’s only temporary, but isn’t it good to keep him and his siblings safe from him for a while?’

‘It’s still no punishment for Tate. Hurting his allies doesn’t really hurt him, not on its own. You’ve seen how little he cares about other people.’

‘And? Sorry, but I wasn’t prepared to go against Ellis’ wishes right in front of him. I told him you would probably go after Tate later, and he accepted that. Not everything is about revenge, Dad. I actually want to stay on his good side. He is my cousin, and, well… He’s never going to trust you, so shouldn’t one of us get on with them?’

‘…This wasn’t what we agreed to. And I’m sorry, Hazel, but I feel like you’ve been used here. It’s kind of you to want to help them, but…’

‘We punished a misogynistic, abusive piece of shit, and in return managed to get back at another misogynistic, abusive piece of shit. I used violence for a purpose this time, and I can live a lot happier with that knowledge.’

‘One job completed. And as promised, I brought one of his fingers.’

‘Oh, good! Did you both come out of it okay?’

‘ONLY THEY HAVE SUSTAINED PERMANENT DAMAGE.’

‘I might have killed one of them, I’m not sure. I suppose it’s not impossible to survive a broken neck, but… She was surprising, though. I expected humans with their frail little bodies to have more self preservation.’

‘All that to protect that waste of air. Do they think it was worth it?’

‘Presumably not if she’s dead.’

‘I did ask her. She simply turned the question around on Rikard and I, instead.’

‘AS IF WE WOULD BE KILLED BY A HUMAN.’

‘What caused those marks?’

‘THE OTHER WOMAN WAS A KIND OF SHAPESHIFTER. SHE WAS MORE PROBLEMATIC. SHE TRANSFORMED INTO A WOLF-LIKE CREATURE.’

‘Not only is she a shapeshifter, but she’s telekinetic, as well. She was able to procure a vast amount of knives and send them flying at us.’

‘Wow. The pair of you have done a wonderful job. It sounds as though it would take someone quite strong to be able to sustain that.’

‘We did it well enough. That was her biggest trick, anyway. Oh, though she is also capable of casting illusions, as well. That was a bit nasty, an attempt at psychological warfare. It sounded as though Abraxas and this woman were in on it together - she impersonated his daughter.’

‘Which daughter?’

‘WEDNESDAY.’

‘That fucker! Absolute prick deserved to lose his finger, and more appendages than that.’

‘FORTUNATELY AESHMA WAS ABLE TO SEE THROUGH THE ILLUSION.’

‘And I told him that if he dared to come after any of us again, I’d be returning to harvest his penis. That explains why he was so confidently able to enact violence on the girl, since she wasn’t really his daughter. We weren’t convinced.’

‘He’s regularly violent to his kids. It would’ve made no difference.’

‘Charming. There were other children in the house as well, I recall. And a woman. She thought I was going to hurt them, when I just wanted the snivelling little bitch hiding amongst them.’

‘Oh, typical of him to use his children as shields. Just like Tate and his twins.’

‘SPEAKING OF WHOM, IS HE WAITING FOR US?’

‘No, I’m afraid there’s been a change of plan. We’re going to delay that one a while longer.’

‘Oh. Well, in that case, if you decide to share the fun…’

‘WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE DELAY?’

‘We already dropped one bombshell on Tate today. Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to lull him into a false sense of security then strike later?’

‘I DO SEE THE MERIT IN THAT. AND AT LEAST NEXT TIME WE WILL ALL BE BETTER RESTED.’

‘It has been a rather busy day.’

‘And then when we’re ready, he can learn that he’s not safe anywhere. Not even at work.’