Mistaken Identities and White Phosphorus Grenades


Deciding to take Dave up on his offer of trouble on the docks, Rayvinn left the Arena and made her way up the stairs to the Red Dragon and room one twenty-two. She changed out of the skinny jeans and heels into attire more appropriate for what she was likely going to be doing for Dave. Adorned in black leather from head to toe to aid her in blending in with the shadows and darkness, Raye pulled dark hip length hair into a ponytail before twisting it into a bun just below the crown of her head. Boots (minus the typical four inch heel) were pulled on and weapons checked. A messenger bag (containing her usual assortment of oddities and explosives) was crossed over her body to rest against a jutting hipbone before she grabbed up the blacked out visor motorcycle helmet and made her way down the stairs and out the alley door.

Fifteen minutes later, Rayvinn was approaching the location at breakneck speed when the popping of gunfire had her twisting a sharp left and racing through tight space between buildings, not even wide enough to be considered a small alley. Several blocks and numerous turns later, she was approaching the small group from the opposite direction but on foot. The helmet had been abandoned upon the motorcycle when she hid it.

Sliding along the side of an abandoned warehouse, the Walther P99 with silencer was held in a high grasp upon the black grip with index finger resting lightly against the trigger. Rayvinn had the advantage of enhanced night vision and was able to pick out one shooter upon the roof of a nearby building as well as three more suited men standing with guns drawn, talking to a large man that was climbing back into a black sedan. Enhanced elven hearing picked up the man?s ranting before he sat in the car and slammed the door after he was done speaking.

?I don?t pay you to think. I pay you to aim and shoot. I don?t care about your excuses, find him and take care of it. Bring his body back here, I want to see for myself that the sonofabitch is dead. Davey boy is gonna be a good example to the rest of them.?

A sharp ebon brow arched as she heard the one sided conversation. So, she wasn?t the target but apparently she was in the right place at the right time. One more sweeping look was given the area to be sure she hadn?t missed anything. The three thugs by the car were splitting up and soon she would have to be hunting them down, so she knew she needed to act quickly. First things first; Rayvinn stepped silently from the cover of the warehouse and fired off two rounds. There wasn?t time to climb up to check if the shooter on the top of the one story building was dead or just injured; he was down and that was good enough for her at the moment.

As she ran for the cover of the next building, Raye saw a second vehicle drive up. The front passenger door and both back doors of the SUV opened and three more men stepped out. The beauty of not really having a plan is that when the unexpected happens, it is much easier to just roll with it.

There wasn?t any hesitation before Raye was pulling a black cylinder from the messenger bag. The silver pin was pulled and the elf heaved the white phosphorus grenade towards the vehicles then ran in the opposite direction. She likely didn?t need to do this but Dillon had been -very- specific about not being close to where the grenade landed.

A massive white brilliance, like the glow of a thousand suns, burst to life and within moments the temperature within the immediate area of the explosion reached well over a thousand degrees. Both vehicles became misshapen as their steel frames warped and bent and the steel alloy and aluminum bodies melted. Five minutes later, Rayvinn was creeping through the area with her pistol drawn, checking for signs of life out of the nine people that had been in the area (two drivers, six thugs, bossman). The carnage of what remained of chemical burned bodies was a gruesome display of melted skin and exposed bone, disintegrated clothing and clumps of hair and flesh. Every living and non-living thing in the area was mostly just gone. Raye was familiar with weapons and war but she had never seen anything that could exact destruction so swiftly and thoroughly.

Rayvinn was turning towards the direction she had come from so she could retrieve the Ducati, when she heard faint moaning. All of the bodies she had checked on the ground were dead and she hadn?t bothered with the drivers or the man that had been ordering the shooters. She opened what was left of the back passenger side door, reaching the halfway point before the warped frame would not budge any further. There sat the man that had given the kill order on Dave, obviously the one responsible for the destruction that surrounded him. His right cheekbone was exposed as the skin had apparently just melted off the bone. There were several other exposed areas that were in the same condition and from the amount of blood on the front of his white dress shirt, she was certain the injuries were more serious.

From the messenger bag she retrieved the small black tab-like device that Alain had given her so many months before as a direct line to Jack. The button was pushed and within a matter of seconds she heard her old bodyguard?s voice.

?Rayvinn, it?s Jack.?

?I need a Medivac. One injured--indeterminable severity.?

?I am locking on your location.? There was a three second pause. ?I have your location. Are you taking fire now, Rayvinn??

?Everyone else is dead, Jack. The place is a f*cking war zone.?

?It always is, kid. Feel that breeze?? There was a sudden gust of wind as the helicopter landed not far from where Raye stood next to the ruined car. ?That?s your ride. Take care of yourself, Rayvinn.?

?Wait, Jack. I?m not going. I need this gentleman held someplace safe. I will contact you with specifics later. I owe you one.?

?You?ve owed me one since the day we met, now you owe me around a million. I will take care of the package for you, though, and you can owe me one more. Out.?

Rayvinn put the communication device back into her bag and rolled her head around a few times to loosen her neck and shoulder muscles. She was feeling a little twitchy and had decided she would stop off for a drink as soon as she found Dave and found out what the hell was going on.

After watching the team remove the injured man from the shell of what had been a luxury sedan, Rayvinn started towards the direction she had hidden the Ducati. She knew Jack would take care of her new ?friend? and probably gather quite a bit of intel from him in the process, if the guy lived.

I Almost Took A Bullet For You--Pt I


If ever could one exist, it existed now. A cheerful dirge. He was in the midst of just that, plucking notes on the classical acoustic that had seen much better days. Propped up against the extinguished candle sitting at the center of his table was his frowning, venetian mask. He seemed to be smiling at it for a few seconds before dropping his eyes down to the guitar in his lap, watching his fingers dance through a melodic, sad minor scale. He struck a chord at the end of that impromptu scale and let it reverberate into silence as he reached out for his shot glass and knocked it back.

Sniffing sharply through his nostrils at the burn and dragging the back of his hand against his nose before setting the shot down on the table and leaning back into his seat. The guitar lay idly for a few seconds before he took it by the neck and set it down to lean against the cushions of the booth. Arms crossed and eyes focused upon the mask, teeth setting as he stared.

After several hours spent at the range with Jack, learning what information he had been able to glean from their guest along with what he had pieced together that hadn't actually been spoken, Rayvinn was rushing up the stairs. The cadence of high heeled boots tapped out across the floor as she finally reached the door and made her way outside with Hank several steps behind but gaining ground.

"C'mon, Hank...speed it up."

Raye was about to come out of her skin, she was so twitchy to be on her way back to the Red Dragon. He finally arrived and started the car, speeding away with an impatient elf barking directions. When they finally arrived at their destination, Rayvinn had her door open before the car had finally stopped. She bounded through the back alley door, jade hues shifting quickly over the room until they settled upon Dave. Good thing he was rather predictable, lately.

A matter of seconds later, the elf was relocating the guitar and sliding into the booth next to Dave as Hank moved with far more dignity and eventually eased into the booth on the opposite side of Rayvinn and Dave. There were no greetings, no words spoken at all, he was just the man that had been lucky enough to drive the crazy elf and attempt to keep her out of trouble. Rayvinn kept her voice low as she spoke.

"So, Dave...I took a little drive down to the docks two nights ago. Remember when you told me to meet you? Yeah, so...I almost took a bullet for you. Had to take care of it but not before I heard something rather interesting. Would you like for me to tell you what I learned? It involves you, of course."

She slid the bottle from in front of him and took a look at the label. "A whiskey night, huh? Fitting."

His arms had unfolded by the time Rayvinn had reached his table and, with one arm laying across the tabletop, he traced the label of the bottle. He couldn't have seen her coming, so heavily focused on the mask was he, and it wasn't that he heard her coming; he didn't even know she and her friend had joined him. It was only when Rayvinn pulled the bottle from his touch that he was snapped out of his reverie.

"Whiskey night. Yeah."

A slow, single nod as he glanced over to her friend and then looked back at her. He seemed unaffected, though to be fair he hadn't heard a d*mn word she'd said with the except of 'whiskey night'.

"What's the plan?"

Thoughts had raced to find a connection between her presence and the grave look written all over her face. She could probably see the clueless one written all over his. He had been somewhere far away. That thousand yard stare couldn't have been hard to miss.

Rayvinn's teeth snapped together with an audible click and a slow breath was drawn in through her nose as she tried to work her way past her exhaustion and stress induced irrational fit of temper that seemed to be ready to claim her. The breath was exhaled slowly as she tried to get his gaze to focus upon her by pushing her face a little closer to his and bringing her hand up next to her face to draw his attention.

"Dave...did you hear any of that? If not how 'bout this...there is an Armenian mafia guy...don't know how far up he is...that had a hit order on your head. Name is Armen Karmizian, are you familiar with him?" She had managed to keep her voice rather flat.

Rayvinn might have thought him drunk or confused but it was a standard reply when someone mentioned a name like that.

"Voch inch im lisir, Rayvinn Janeh." (I?ve heard nothing, Rayvinn Dear)

A slight smile, reaching out and wrapping a hand around her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. It was as if she had managed to carve out a moment of clarity from within his jumbled thoughts.

"You got yourself into a whole world of sh*t. Only fair you should share the spoils if we come out of this..." He jumped right into the details. "I asked you to meet me there because I wanted you to see."

He knew that last statement didn't make much sense but he wasn't quite finished. A look over to Hank, ticking his chin towards the bar.

"Drink's on me, Tiger. Go on."

He looked back to Rayvinn and smiled slightly. "It all seems to pale in comparison to what we've discovered. Almost not even worth it anymore."

I Almost Took A Bullet For You--Pt III


"Back home. My home. Do you have any idea how much mo-"

He was cut short by her suggestion of giving his dreams of money up. His dreams of money were what had taken him from being a slave to what he was today. His face steeled as he considered the option, giving Rayvinn enough respect to at least do that much before he shot the idea down.

"Tantrum? I understand your need for self-preservation, Billy, and you don't owe me sh*t...but I have to see this thing through."

A slight sigh, pausing to once again fill that shot glass back up before he leaned in close enough so that his shoulder was touching hers. Speaking in little more than a hushed whisper, he explained the details behind the cargo as well as the details behind the portal. There was more than one, yes, but now they had the opportunity to acquire two.

The details were as follows: The portal was for an added supply of slaves and for trafficking other items that were considered rarities in this land. The cargo was, indeed, not the slaves
but vials of Dragon blood that the Armenians were using to process into a highly addictive drug. Both parties had been playing good cards against each other until, as with everything that concerned a lucrative profit, it was time to cut out the middle man (a part which they were both playing for each other).

By misfortune alone, the Armenians had made the first move and failed. If it had been Dave instead of Rayvinn, the whole scenario at the docks would have ended differently. He smiled and nodded to Rayvinn when he was done.

"50/50. What do you say?"

He knew money didn't often sway his friend but he knew the promise of what was waiting for her on the other side of that portal was more than enough to sign her on.

"So, they have a way to your home?"

She wasn't understanding this. Probably because Rayvinn didn't really know a lot of specifics about Dave. She had pretty much figured out what made the man tick but there was so much about him that she didn't know...and didn't feel the urge to ask. They were friends, the specifics didn?t matter. She took people for what they were and that was that. Except now she had to ask questions. She had earned that right when she was pulled into this mess.

"You are absolutely correct, I don't owe you sh*t, Dave. Unfortunately, I can't just walk away and leave you to your own downfall because I am deeper into this thing than you apparently can comprehend. I sealed my fate right along with yours when I retaliated.?

Rayvinn was twitchy with aggravation for him but she listened as he gave her the details regarding the slaves and Dragon's blood. A brow arched as she heard all of this and then the other as she realized he knew, or had an idea, of what was going to happen that night.

"Would have been real nice to have been given a head's up."

As for his offer? "I don't want your money. I have no need for it."

She wasn't fully understanding the lure of the portal. Why did she need a way to his home?

"I am not sure what you are asking of me. I have already saved your ass once, you won't preserve it and I'm not putting my neck on the line for money. However, my neck is already on the line because they are coming for me. So if you are asking me to kill a few more of these Armenians, then the answer is yes, because I don't have an alternative."

Another long drink from the near empty whiskey bottle punctuated the little speech she had just given.

"What else can you tell me about these people? Do you have numbers? The type of weaponry they use? Any little detail will be of use."

"My home is their home. They just come from a different time than I do. I'm sure if
Maestro took a look at the portal once we get our hands on it she could figure out some way to add a little temporal mechanics to the device."

He paused for a few moments, dragging the pad of his thumb along the stubbled line of his jaw as he considered the numbers.

"Well, not counting those you took out...Could be anywhere from twenty to fifty of them. Even if they have been using the portal, it needs time to charge before they can send more through...."

Reaching up, he took a hold of Rayvinn's elbow and tugged lightly in a silent urging to get her to lock eyes with his.

"I wasn't offering you my money, Rayvinn. I was offering you a whole world."

His eyes flicked rapidly from left to right as he studied each of her eyes in turn, searching for the understanding he wished her to have before he smirked.

"Well, half of one. 50/50, remember?"

He finally took that shot down, dragging the back of his thumb across his lips as he fought the grip which the alcohol was trying to take over him. A chuckle and a shake of his head as he set the shotglass down.

"These aren't military men; well, one or two of them might have served while Armenia was part of the Soviet Union but a little planning and some guts ought to go a long way; especially since they're here, on our turf."

Another pause, releasing her arm. "I'm not asking you to kill anyone. I'm asking if you want your share. If you don't, then more for me."

January 11th.

Does She Seem Stable Right Now?


It was the middle of the night and Raye could be found sitting in the corner of the Cor's couch with her knees drawn to her chin, the shoes Dyarhk had given her were still upon her feet and she had no intention of removing them. Being consoled by the near empty bottle of Gran Patron silver tequila clutched loosely in her trembling hand, the other was lifted so it's back could wipe across a wet nose and mouth before she heaved another sigh.


Rayvinn had bounced back and forth like this since she and Cor had left the Outback after receiving the devastating news of Dyarhk's death. Some moments she would laugh uproariously as she thought of something the funny man had said or done but the next inhalation of breath was riddled with sobs and incoherent mutterings. It would have been an emotional situation for anyone whom had lost someone they loved but for a lunatic like Raye already under so much stress, as she tried to dodge the repercussions of the trouble she and Dave were in, it was magnified.

So when the phone rang, as she and Cor had known it would, Raye grabbed it instead of sticking to the plan and letting Cor smash it to smithereens so she wouldn't be forced into shooting Jack for bothering her. Apparently, the elf needed an outlet for the barrage of emotions that warred within her and Jack was the perfect scapegoat.


"Whadya want, Jackson?" The elf slurred as she pressed the phone to her ear after pushing the ?answer? button.


Cor had been unwilling to leave Raye by herself, and since he didn't sleep much at night anyway, this was a simple matter of sitting up along with her on the other end of the couch. It was true that Dyarhk's death hadn't nearly the same impact on Cor - he wasn't nearly as close to the man as Raye was - but that didn't mean that he was unaware of how badly it affected Raye or that he was dismissive of this fact. He was there if Raye needed him, and anything he was capable of doing to make the process easier for her was something he was willing to do, even if all that was needed at the moment was just being there with her.

Mostly it meant being around her to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Sometimes it meant getting her things that she asked for - food that she wouldn?t eat, drinks, things of that nature. Sometimes, in the case of the phone that just rang, that she just answered, it meant stepping in where Raye may not have been sound enough to do so herself.

Cor's lips flattened and he leeeaaaaned over to scoop the phone out of Raye's hand. He fumbled with it for a moment, first putting it up to his face upside down, then trying again. Eventually he got it right and was speaking into the reciever.

"Jack? This is Cor. She's safe and she's with me at my place. Raye received news tonight that a close friend died and I don't plan to leave her alone, right now."

Cor knew Jack was guarding her for her own protection, so it was Cor's belief that the first thing was make sure Jack knew she was okay and would remain that way.

"She'll be safe here until she's ready to go back with you. I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

Jack smirked on his end of the phone as he heard Rayvinn, obviously drunk. Before he could chastise her, however, Cor was on the phone and attempting to reassure him that Raye would be safe.


"That might be your intention, Corlanthis, but this is Rayvinn. Need I say more? That elf has a knack for finding trouble if it doesn't find her first. This mess she got herself into is a little bigger than some vampire like last time. Hank will be there in a couple of minutes. Do me a favor and take the bottle away from her so she doesn't smack him in the head with it."

"I respect your interest in keeping her safe. We're agreed on that front. But her ability to escape from your notice pretty much on her whim doesn't speak well for your abilities at keeping her secure either. In the meantime, she's here, she's not getting out of my sight, and I'm more than capable of fending off a threat that we have no reason to suspect has knowledge of her location. If Hank wants to test the defenses himself, he's more than welcome to, and I'll be more than willing to show him how protected she is. But let me be clear, I do not plan to leave her alone. And since I know my home is secure, and I know she can waltz away from where you're keeping her whenever she wants. .. well, the choice seems pretty obvious."


"Corlanthis, do you honestly believe that I have had no idea that she was gone? I have video surveillance of Rayvinn at all times. If I didn't believe she was safe with you to an extent, I would have already come for her. The times she was at the Arena with her friends...I knew what she was doing at every moment and I was within proximity, or one of the few who know of this situation, where we could actually reach out and grab her. She had no idea." Jack paused for a moment as if pondering.


"I don't doubt that you might be able to help keep her safe with assistance but she does have the ability to slip away. Do you have a some way of tracking her? Do you have an immunity to poison?"

Jack actually chuckled good-naturedly, not at all patronizing of Cor. "You haven't eaten or drank anything that she handed you, have you?"

It wasn't that Jack was trying to antagonize Cor, he was just certain Raye had not been entirely forthcoming with the man regarding her particular skill set and what she had learned with him as well.


"The fact remains, Cor, that while you can protect her within those wards...are you one hundred percent that Rayvinn won't slip away? Does she seem stable right now?"

Jack knew the answer to that question. He just wanted Cor to step back and take a look from another perspective.