Topic: Ell

Mack

Date: 2008-01-23 16:44 EST
Sarah Mackenzie gratefully absorbed the delicious warmth emitting from the snapping fire, which danced in the huge stone fireplace in the lobby of the Dragon's Breath Lodge. She wasn't certain how long it would take Dan to get them registered, but after all it had taken for her to get Dan to agree to this, she didn't mind lingering near this heated coziness, at least for a few minutes. But more than thawing out by the fire, she was anxious for her and Dan to get a room where they'd generate their own heat.

Which couldn't happen soon enough for her.

God help her, she couldn't wait to get her hands on him. It had been so long" way too long since she'd made love. It was going on close to a year and even after she'd met Dan, Sarah wanted to hold out as long as possible. It had been difficult, especially after that one particular moment, but the stress and problems that had been wreaking havoc with every aspect of her life didn't exist in this rustic lodge. Here, Sarah would have time and privacy to get herself and her relationship with Dan back on track.

She pulled off her gloves and her gaze rested on the sparkling round diamond adorning her left hand. When Daniel Breslin had slipped the engagement ring on her finger four months ago, it had been the happiest, most magical moment of her life. She loved him deeply and she'd believed, they'd both believed, that everything was going to be perfect.

Everything was, in a word, a disaster.

While it was odd enough that Sarah had found love so long after losing Cameron, she couldn't help but feel that something was going to go terribly wrong. Sarah always had trouble with men and had screwed things up with Dan once before. She'd learned her lesson when he walked away the first time, which was why she probably kept him a secret. She'd told a grand total of zero people about her relationship with Dan. If he was mentioned, it was to tell them that he was a jerk who was helping her with a cover; a body guard of sorts. If no one knew she loved him, they wouldn't be able to hurt her by hurting him.

He was kind, loving, patient, honorable, and generous. He made her laugh. Made her happy. Sure, he had his faults—but her, what man didn't leave his socks on the floor and coffee cups all over the place" Best of all, Dan loved her as much as she loved him, despite all the terrible things she'd done in the past. He didn't seem to care. He had told her a while ago that anyone can turn over a new leaf.

Their relationship had suffered briefly when Daniel had found out about Alain's threat. Sarah tried for days to convince him she'd be alright. Within a week or so he'd begun to understand that this is who Sarah was. She did things like this. While Mack did stay away from illegal things, she was still reckless at times. It was her personality and he'd accepted it. But when Sarah had seen how worried Daniel had been over the thought of her being involved in a bust like Alain wanted, she'd started to rethink her priorities. The longer she put her task off, the more she decided that she didn't want to do it. But Alain had said he'd turn her over to the people who wanted her if she didn't follow through. Wanting a life with Dan made her realize she just needed to get this over with.

The only thing she kept from Dan had been the nagging feeling that she was being followed. Watched. Trailed. At first, she wrote it off as paranoia, but the longer the feeling continued?and the voices she heard. Sarah just knew that Alain must have gotten tired of waiting. Finally afraid for her life, she turned to Daniel who in turn yelled at her. A lot. He was afraid.

After a round of tears on both their parts, Daniel agreed to get them out of the city for now. Sarah had told him she'd take care of Alain. Oh yes, she'd take care of him. But first' her night with Dan.

The deep, familiar rumble of Daniel's laughter caught her attention and she turned toward the reception desk. The mere sight of Dan, his thick, dark hair gleaming with dampness from the snow, made her pulse jump and her throat go dry with longing. He was smiling at a man and woman behind the reception desk, a couple Sarah judged to be in their sixties. They must be the owners she decided.

Sarah watched Dan striding toward her and everything female inside her came to immediate attention. With his parka unzipped, sturdy snow boots, his favorite Levi's that hugged his long legs, and a thick, cable knit sweater that stretched across his wide chest and exactly matched his dark blue eyes, he looked rugged and masculine and absolutely delicious. That same whammo of attraction that had all but knocked her unconscious the first time she'd seen him almost a year ago slammed into her now—as it did every time she looked at him. She'd dated some very attractive men over the years, but Dan was the first one who could knock the breath from her lungs with a mere look.

A look like the one he was giving her right now.

The one that curved up a corner of his gorgeous mouth and resulted in a totally sexy lopsided grin that dented a shallow dimple in his cheek and made her knees feel like freshly kneaded bread dough. The one that made his eyes glitter with that wicked gleam and sizzling sensuality she loved.

Heat that had nothing to do with the roaring fire poured through her. Looking at him now, it was impossible to believe their relationship could ever teeter on the brink of imploding. Surely with this time alone, away from everything and everyone that had been conspiring to pull them apart for the past four months, she'd be able to relax. And together they'd find a way to solve their problems. All they needed was a break. And here, at the Dragon's Breath Lodge, that's exactly what they'd have.

Mack

Date: 2008-01-23 17:25 EST
Two weeks later, Sarah crept through the back alley, her body shaking violently. Each time she moved, the footsteps sounded behind her but when she turned, no one could be seen. Since telling Daniel, the trailing had only gotten worse.

Love is a strange thing, and when Sarah was threatened with losing it, she simply couldn't handle it. This person Alain had sent after her threatened to take away everything Sarah had worked so damn hard for. It gave her nightmares and often she'd wake up screaming. Daniel was at a loss and told her to handle Alain or he would.

Today had been spent looking for the Detective and when she found him' Sarah didn't know what she'd do. She hadn't, however, planned on being followed the whole day. The paranoia set her on edge and when the sight of the Red Dragon swam into view, she just had to get inside. Abandoning her efforts of finding Alain, she made a mad dash through the rest of the alley to get inside.

She creeps inside, quickly shutting the door behind her. To those who saw her, she looked particularly out of character with her blonde hair pulled back in a clip, make-up done sensible, and wearing a flattering outfit. Shuffling further inside, green eyes glancing over the room from behind large sunglasses. Wouldn't you know it' she finds Alain. It must be her lucky day.

She watched as she stirred quietly in his seat, rubbing at his forehead and eyes. He must've dozed off. He eyes a book on the table suspiciously and tucks it back into a pocket of the coat hanging on the back of his chair.

He looks around the room slowly, searching for a cigarette....and sees Sarah staring at him. A foreboding case that had been pushed to the very back of his mind comes rushing to the front again. He nods slowly.

It's now or never. Rage boils within her as he nods. High heels click rapidly as she marches over to Alain's table. The look on her face told him that she was enraged. She wasn't slowing down, either! As she came upon him, hands reached out to shove him roughly, aiming to push him right out of his seat.

He sighs as she approaches, stands and takes a quick step back, chair going over backwards. His hand's on his shoulder holster. "That's close enough," he says sternly. "What the hell do you want?"

"I did what you wanted." Her voice was a mere whisper now. "Who did you tell"!" She's completely unarmed....and looked ridiculous in the elegant get-up. She tore her sunglasses from her face and used the arm as she pointed at him. Sarah looked horrible. It was obvious she was using again, but why' "How could you?"

He frowns darkly, and takes a step closer. "You dropped right off the face of the earth after last I spoke to you - I figured you split and ran, and didn't tell a soul." His voice, too, is a whisper. "You know me better than that, Mack. You know how I bluff."

Upon verbal confirmation that Alain hadn't done anything stupid, she began to shake in relief. Long fingers pressed into her closed eyelids, trying to relieve the tension headache that was mounting. "No. I don't even know if..." A shuddered sigh. "I don't know who found me."

He looks around the common room - they're making quite the scene, right in the middle of things. "Come on," he says, collecting his coat, and with a touch to her arm, heads towards a booth. Sitting, and saying, "Tell me everything."

Jerking her arm away as Alain touched her, she tried to pass off the sudden reaction as if it hadn't happened. Averting her gaze from Alain's, she hesitated a moment before following him into the booth. Her hands folded nervously beneath the table.

"What happened?" He says it simply, coolly. He tugs the curtain shut, and she can see him removing his gun from its holster and balancing it on his thigh, pointed out towards the room. Just in case.

"No one followed me. I'm not that stupid," commenting on his aim of the gun. She scoffed, glancing towards the wall and back to Alain. "A few days after we....talked, I felt like I was being tailed. I never saw anyone, but it's that feeling, yanno?" A shaking hand came up, teeth nipping at her bitten-back nails. Moments later, her hand dropped to the table, fingers tapping the surface rapidly.

She's nervous, and that sets him on edge....and he just can't have that. Not when, for all he knows, he might be in a gunfight before the night is done. "Take three slow, deep breaths, count to six each time....and go on." It may not be the warmest voice, but the cool confidence hopefully is reassuring. Alain doesn't lose his head, not if he can help it.

She tried and only counted to 2 before taking the next breaths. "I don't have my gun. He took it away from me...and..." She was rambling now, not quite making eye contact with Alain. "I hear someone through the walls and footsteps behind me. My cover has me so on edge that I...I can't....I can't....." She tried his advice again, knowing she was working herself into a frenzy for nothing. No one was after her in this particular moment. This time it works; a little.

"Just focus on breathing for now..." He wishes he could leave her alone right now, or bring her with him, to find some better weapons....but it'd only make her panic.

"I found someone to help me with a cover...but he's costing me a pretty penny and he took my blaster." The shaking was beginning to cease, her breathing steadying. "And I can't just leave...I'm grounded and nothing will make me violate my probation. I want my ship back the right way so I'm not always running." Tears pooled in her eyes, remaining unshed. Sarah didn't cry in front of men. At least, not this man. "I'm...I'm sorry...I just....thought that you had done something because I was taking so long." She looked away.

"You'll be okay, Mack....I promise." Oh, how quickly the detective can be swayed from blackmailing to protecting the 'damsel in distress.' "When you're ready....we can go upstairs, get you one of my old blasters....and then let's check this guy out. He's draining all your cash and took your blaster....It's worth checking out."

Cassandra had since entered, eyeing the booths as she poured hot water into a mug and dropped a tea bag in, then stopped and blinked. A frown tugged at her lips as she moved around the bar and towards the booths, not being particularly quiet in her approach.

"Alright, let's go upstairs." She nodded reluctantly, a lone shiver coursing through her body.

The curtain's still shut. Alain's got his revolver balanced on his thigh, aimed outward - easily recognizable as his fight-or-flight mode.

All at once, Sarah's gaze shifts to whomever is fast approaching. The violent tremors began again, her body shuffling backwards to press against the wall. "Alain..." She whispers, terrified.

Cassandra rapped her knuckles on the side of the booth. She'd heard Alain's voice saying a name she knew she didn't like.

He tugs open the curtain at the rapping, his hammer clicking back at the same time, and sees....Cassie. It's remarkable how quickly he reacts. "She's under my protection. I need her to bring down the racketeers behind the bakery arson and God only knows what else. Don't touch her." All this said in a cool, firm voice.

And it's also remarkable how quickly Sarah reacts as well. Swiftly, she peels herself from the wall and straightens herself.

"Fine." Cassie replied. "I won't touch her but she goes nowhere alone with you." The tea was set down on a nearby surface as she crossed her arms stubbornly.

He eases the hammer back down, standing, and then says, "Okay." Holding the revolver out to her. "But I take the shotgun this time."

It took everything Cassandra had not to snatch the revolver, but she took it calmly. "Whatever. I don't care what weapon you have as long as that backstabbing bitch isn't alone with you."

Forcing her body to remain still, clenching her hands in her lap to stop the shaking, she levels her gaze with Cassandra, though speaking to Alain. "And I'll pass. I don't trust someone who holds irrational grudges against someone who hadn't meant any harm." As she slid from the booth, Sarah tried to keep the shaking from being noticeable, but it was impossible.

"And I don't trust any bitch who apologizes for hurting the person who considered her a good friend and then turns around and does the same damn thing."

"I'll call Marshall on the way," he says simply, given Mack's view on it. And then he looks at Cassie. "This isn't the time or the place. Just trust me, and let me see this through before the whole thing falls apart."

The unspoken question as he stands there, arms, folded, looking her in the eye, is, Do you trust me or not"

"I trust you. I don't trust that whore." Taking up her stubborn stance. "I trusted her twice already. I'd have to be a frackin' idiot to do it again."

"She's not going to rape me," he says in a deadpan.

"Doesn't mean she won't try." Fired right back.

It was easier to be bitter and take her anger towards the situation that had found her out on Alain. She stared wide-eyed at Cassandra, wondering why she was still so angry. Hell, it had taken two to tango under that mistletoe so long ago. "Stay the hell away from me, Alain. Forget about your contact. Your threats don't mean anything to me if I'm already being tailed.."

Alain looked back at Mack. "You're broke, being followed, and unarmed, and that's hardly what I'd call a good position. You've got two choices - go out there on your own and see what happens....or follow me." The intense anger towards Cassie he feels bubbling up right now is smothered, well, God knows how.

Cassie had gone cold, simply standing there, one hand on her hip, the other holding the revolver, pointed carefully towards the floor. Her face was a tight blank, lips just slightly seamed, eyes hard.

"Follow you and your jealous, insecure girlfriend who'd just as soon kill me herself for something that wasn't 100% my fault' I'll take my chances with whoever is after me." Yes, it's true that her pride was overriding common sense, but Sarah wasn't about to let Cassandra walk all over her anymore. Shaking her head, she turned, still shaking, and started for the back door.

"Oh can the victim shite. You pulled your little act right there in front of me not long after acting like you wanted to be my friend again. But I won't kill you because I've been asked not to." Rolling her eyes in Sarah's direction.

He watches Mack storm off. "...Wow, Cassie. Brilliant Fucking work."

She lifted her chin in Alain's direction. "I have every right to feel the way I do about her and you know it. I rarely push you on anything but I'm right this time. I'm freaking right."

He steps up slowly to her, looking down at her. "When she's dead, and my lead's gone, more people are going to die." He says it quietly but very intensely. "And I don't know when I'm going to get another chance like this. She's not exactly my B.F.F. either, Cassie, but when you need something from somebody, typically you don't send them off to their death."

"You told me not to kill her, I won't. I'm the one who has every reason not to trust her. She has no reason not to trust me because I've never given her a reason not to. She walked away, I didn't send her away." Keeping her place when he advanced on her, chin lifting even further.

"Would it have killed you to swallow your pride and step back?" The look in his eyes almost pleading.

Dan was on the porch waiting for Sarah. How he'd found her, Sarah didn't know but right now she was grateful. Several minutes later, the door swung open and the large man stood in the doorway, looking right at Alain. Sarah spoke softly and tugged at Dan's massive arm, her body shaking violently still. Dan turned swiftly and the two disappeared as the door closed.

"Would it kill you to you understand the position I'm in right now" I considered her the best of friends, Alain. And she used that, and she used me." Lips seaming back together after that, trying to hold something back.

Putting his hand to his forehead, Alain sighed. "Jesus, Cassie, I know this. She did you wrong, she did you very wrong, but I needed her, I let you know I needed her, and you couldn't....for me....just step back?? He puts his hand to his chest. "Saving that young man's important to me, and I don't want any other family to suffer his family's fate."

"I didn't point a weapon at her. I didn't threaten to do her harm. She walked away. I didn't tell her to leave. I didn't force her to do anything." Throwing her arms up then. "Fine! Fine go get the bitch! What-the fuck-ever." She set the revolver down from him to retrieve and turned on her heel, moving for the alley door.

Alain watched Cassie go, the part of him that's seething slowly overtaken by a more common emotion of his - guilt. But it's not the alley door he goes for. Once she's out, he tucks his revolver back into its holster and hurries out the front door, out into the night.

((Collaborative effort—adapted from live play))

Mack

Date: 2008-01-23 17:32 EST
Alain leaves only two minutes after Mack and Dan. Usual haunts....Mack's usual haunts....that does him only a little good. Best places to disappear, though, and to go for protection' He gets his bearings pretty fast, sometimes walking briskly, sometimes jogging, through city streets.

Sarah was still with Dan, his large arm wrapped around her lithe body. Though her nerves were rattled, she continued to pay attention to her surroundings. Of course Alain would find her, but she didn't think he'd come after her so soon. That in and of itself would help in begin able to trust him. "Dan, wait." She drew the large man to a halt, turning to wait for Alain to catch up. it had to be him...his footsteps sounded different than the ones she's noticed trailing her before.

Alain assesses Dan carefully as he approaches the pair....but he keeps his hand off his gun so he doesn't get himself shot. He takes a moment to catch his breath. "Mack....I'm sorry about Cassie....she just....gets very stubborn, and won't listen." He coughs. Alain should smoke less. Finally, he catches his breath. "Please, Mack....let me help you through this. The three of us working together, we can figure out who's tailing you and take him out."

"Let's not talk about her, Alain. What do you want" she snapped suddenly. Sarah wasn't stupid and knew Alain didn't exactly care about her as a person. He only cared about Mack the Informant. "You want your information?" She took a step towards him, but Dan held her firmly to his side. Her skin was cold, vision blurring as she stared at Alain. The tremors had slowed and could now pass as mere shivering from the cold.

"I want that information, and I want to put a bullet inside whoever's following you. You did your job....let me do mine."

As Dan continued to listen in silence, he released his tight grip on Sarah, but she simply sagged into him. "I don't know if there's even someone there, Alain. I..." swallowing, Sarah inhaled slowly as again her vision blurred. "I'm scared." Even Alain would know how difficult it was for the spacer to admit such a thing.

"Are you staying with her at night?" he asks Dan, turning to look at him.

"Yeah." Came the gruff response. He didn't say anything else and simply looked down at Mack.

Sarah looked up at him and smiled weakly, wishing the conversation would move swiftly. Bile was threatening to make it's way up her throat. "Alain, I don't want to give her anymore reason to hate me. I realize that I was a bitch back then...but people change and while I know she and I will never be friends, I'm tired of the tension. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the girl I used to be." She gave him a wry smile, but it was true. "I'll give you your information tomorrow. And then you can't talk to me anymore."

Once again, Dan's arm wrapped around Sarah's body. "She'll be fine." Another gruff response from the large man.

He pauses....and nods slowly. "...All right. I promise I won't speak to you again. After tomorrow." He takes a look around the street, the alleyways, and then back at the pair. "Where do I meet you?"

"I'll find you." She actually chuckled. "You're not that hard to find, Detective."

"It'll get me killed someday." Sighing slowly. The guilt over Cassie is currently picking at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mack." Backing away. "Take care." Another check of the alleyways, a quick pat of his revolver, and he's moving away from them.

Sarah waited until Alain had disappeared before letting her forehead drop to Dan's chest. "Take me home before I cry," she told him softly.

((Collaborative effort))

Ell Tryer

Date: 2008-01-23 23:59 EST
One Week Earlier:

She closed her eyes, leaned forward, and felt the wind grab at her coat and toss it behind her like drab wings. She felt herself soaring" and then falling. Her eyes snapped open and she panicked as, for one terrifying moment, she teetered over the brink of oblivion. Vertigo overtook her, and she forced herself to fall back and lay on the smooth stone. She drew her legs up to her chest and rolled onto her side. From this fetal position, she concentrated on breathing regularly until the feeling had passed. Even the wind can't comfort me anymore.

When the terrifying sensation was gone, she scuttled away from the precipice and stood back up. Frustrated, she turned her mind to work. Mack had a job for her, and, though she was often late, and in fact enjoyed never showing up on time, she would never keep that particular friend waiting. She hoisted her brown duffel bag over her shoulder, ignoring the loud clanging from its contents. Two shotguns, four pistols, a stun baton, a multiple grenade launcher, and innumerable grenades protested loudly as she slung the bag over her shoulder. She was often told to take better care of her guns, but in her line of work, nothing nice ever lasted. Her wry response was always "if the guns are beat up, they'll last longer."

Before starting down the road, she spared one look back down at the city. Rhy"Din's massive expanse spread out from the tip of the horizon to the tip of the horizon. Shining spires stretched up from dark lowtowns as sweeping vistas competed with dingy slums. Innumerable beings of innumerable types streamed in and out of the many gates, but all Ell Tryer could think of was becoming another ant in the hive. She hated to stay in one place for too long, but from what Mack had said, this would not be a short job. She just hoped that her friend hadn't found another flakey employer.

An hour later, Ell stood before a dusty stone building. She reached into her pocket and withdrew her satellite phone, then thumbed the worn buttons to get to the message that had the address of the meeting place. She was at the right building, but before she could raise her fist to knock, the door was yanked violently open. Ell's hands went for the pistols at her waist, but two arms wrapped around her and a warm body hugged her close.

"Ell! It's about time!" Sarah Mackenzie said excitedly. She let her friend go and beckoned her inside, to a table in a sparsely furnished sitting room. On the table was a bottle of cheap vodka, its contents already half drained. The glass next to it, with a bit of alcohol still pooling in the bottom, told Ell that Mack had started without her.

"Couldn't you get anything better?" Ell asked, picking up the bottle and taking a swig. The burning wetness blasted the road dust from her throat, but her thirstiness did nothing to improve the taste of the swill. "Sorry, it was lying around just begging to be drunk by two old friends," Mack said with a smile, taking the bottle from Ell and taking a swig herself. She grimaced and swallowed hard, then poured herself another glass.

"Do we at least have ice?" Ell asked, crossing the room and opening a waist-high fridge. When only stale air and a rancid smell greeted her, she had her answer.

With a sigh, Ell dropped into an old chair, pulled herself up to the table, and poured herself a drink. She and Mack clinked glasses in a silent toast, then choked and coughed in unison as they forced down the low-quality liquor.

"So, tell me about this job," Ell said, unlacing her boots and kicking her feet up onto the table.

"No time to reminisce, eh?" Mack asked with a smirk.

"Not after that last job. You got away with the client's goods and I got stuck with the aftermath," Ell complained. Mack smiled bashfully and shrugged.

"I saw an opportunity and I went for it," Mack explained, shrugging. "Besides, I had no intentions of letting that sleazy gun runner sell good medicine. I'll have you know that I sold the stuff I stole, all to worthy places, at a profit," she said, smiling through a gulp of vodka.

"Yeah' That's nice," Ell retorted, forcing down another gulp herself. "And I'll have you know that I had to kill two-dozen men to get out of that place alive. After you turned, everyone else figured that I was in on it."

"Oh come on, I wouldn't get you into anything I didn't think you could handle." Mack assured her. "Besides, I didn't think it would backfire that badly."

"That's right, you didn't think," Ell chided her, though she was not truly angry.

"Well don't worry, Ell, because this job will more than make up for that," Mack said. She drained her glass, slammed it down on the table, and grabbed the almost-empty bottle by the neck. "Come with me. We need better alcohol!"

Mack

Date: 2008-01-29 18:12 EST
The S.P.I. office was empty, and Alain wasn't at the Division headquarters either - anyone there would've told anyone looking for Al, to look for him at the Silver Mark. The front door is unlocked, though the place still doesn't look quite open for business - Alain's sitting on the counter with several copper pieces, including piping, in front of him. Frowning over them.

It hadn't quite been as quickly as she'd wanted, but Alain had been found at last. Daniel had warned her that seeking out Alain so quickly could prove disastrous, so she waited. After making sure she wasn't being followed, Sarah slipped in through the front door of the Silver Mark and waited for Alain to look up. She looked slightly better, less frazzled than when last they met.

Jean is the first to greet her. The fuzzy (and growing) puppy skitters from his corner to the door to sniff and snuffle at her leg, tail wagging. Alain looks up, his expression guarded. "...I thought you needed me clear of you." Or to never speak to her again.

Sarah smiled weakly and knelt to pet the puppy. She was dressed fashionably in a nice dress and high heels. Her hair was clipped up and the jacket she wore was cinched at the waist. As the puppy licked at her fingers, Sarah looked over at Alain. "You need the information, don't you? I couldn't risk her meeting you before she began. They're watching.." That last bit probably a little more foreboding than anything.

"They're not the only ones," he replies grimly. Jean licks at her fingers, but once she's done with him, other than another snuffle or two, he leaves her alone. To sniff at a copper bolt on the floor instead. "You see whoever's been following you?" Even as he speaks, he's scanning the doors, the windows. Hand moving just an inch towards his gun, and back to his side.

Standing as puppy trotted off, Sarah wiped her hand on her jacket. She frowned, but also sneaked a quick look to the windows. "He's tall, but I haven't heard anything in a couple days. Not since going to the inn that night." Her mind changed gears and she straightened her shoulders. "Did you want the information or not, Alain, because if your informants can handle things..." She let the sentence hang.

"You seemed pretty desperate to help me that night, and I don't pretend to think it's because you care for my well-being." Snarky little quip thrown in.

He doesn't answer her quip, though he does pause at it. Just watching her, and it's hard to tell what?s churning behind the bright blue eyes. "I'll take that information. You know they know who my people are - that's why I asked you for an outsider."

"I know they're watching you. I didn't want her connected to me." As soon as she'd said it, Mack inwardly cringed and rushed on, hoping he wouldn't ask why. "Her name is Ell. Ell Tryer and she's a member of the Private Military Company. The woman has more knowledge of guns and military tactic than anyone I know. You don't need to know where she came from, just that she's here and is aware of what is being asked of her."

"Is she paid for, or does she need money?" Presently, Alain can get the money.

"She's capable, though I don't think Ell would refuse extra help. She wanted to know how you expected her to get the goods here, but I told her it was already taken care of." Perhaps Alain hadn't known that part, but Sarah wanted to help. And now that she had, she planned to disappear into the background. "What else do you want to know?"

"The cash is set aside. I'll hand it off to her, and she'll place the order." He itches for a cigarette - his hand drifts to a shirt pocket that usually has a pack in it (though it doesn't now), and instead wanders over to a little box of toothpicks on the counter. "Does she want to meet face-to-face" Might be risky. Letters might be preferrable."

"I don't want her meeting you, Alain." Spoken quite forceably. She moves towards him, reaching into her coat and pulls out a pack of cigarette's, laying them on the counter next to him. "She will find ways to contact you, I'm sure. She knows how to reach you presently and I think she'll get in touch pretty soon, actually."

"I quit," he says, and pushes the cigarettes back towards her. "...All right." He sets the toothpick between his teeth, chews on it a little...."I know I might not need to say this....but steer clear of me, Sarah. This case aside, I'm not safe to be around right now." Eyes hovering on hers, the look serious. Muunokhoi's not the only one who wants a piece of the detective...

She took the cigarettes back, putting them away. His piercing stare made her look away. She bit into her lip, the muffled clicking inside her mouth sounding. She fiddled with her hands, the right being placed over the left. "I will. For both our sakes. Finally meeting his gaze.

He reaches down to pick up Jean, rubbing his fuzzy head. "Take care of yourself." He already has what he wants from her - why would he say that now"

Sarah was halfway out the door when he spoke and it caused her to stop. Her hand still on the handle, she smiled faintly, nodding to Alain. "You know, she probably wouldn't act the way she does if you just married her." The smile grew into more of a secretive expression. "Goodbye, Detective."

His breath catches quietly in his throat, and doesn't release in a slow sigh until she's out the door. "...Another lifetime, Mack."