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| [Friday, September 21, 2007 at 11:47 am] |
| Subject: Crashing Out |
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 tired |
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Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Nirvana |
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"Are you sure this is gonna be all right? She won't mind?"
"She won't mind. She knows me. And she owes me a favor. A big one."
They'd spent the day gathering as much scrap metal as they could, and there were metallic rattling noises as Mallory pulled up to the curb outside the apartment building. They'd cleaned up and then eaten, and she had decided not to ask why Connor wanted to follow another redhead home when he spotted her stepping out of a pawn shop next to the greasy spoon where they'd wolfed down burgers and shakes. Whoever Julie's prospective boyfriend had been before he'd come to Searchlight, he was a person with secrets, and she didn't want to know them.
"You're sure." Not a question now, and the Destroyer turned to look at Mallory. They'd talked a bit, both before and after their scavenging duties, and if he knew nothing else about her, he knew that she was trustworthy. Like Rhiannon, like Julie. He wondered about this other guy, the one he reminded her of, but she'd kept that strictly to herself. Someone who'd left, he supposed, because in the world they lived in someone was always leaving. He nodded very slightly, his mouth set into a determined line.
"I need to wash some more of the stink off, then sleep for a few hours. She'll take me the rest of the way." His mouth opened in a yawn, and he covered it up with a hand, studying the building. It had been a long, productive day, and now he needed to rest up before meeting the others at Fang Noir. As for the other thing...well, hew couldn't put it off forever. He yawned again, and the passenger door creaked a little as it swung open.
Two heavy canvas duffel bags contained the results of their junkyard crawl, and Mallory hauled one of them out as Connor grabbed the other. Rattle, clank, rattle. "I wish I could be there," she told him as the two of them made their slow way up the sidewalk. "But it sounds like it's not a party for everyone." He shrugged. "You're doing your part. Without you, we wouldn't even know that thing was down there." That was another thing they hadn't talked about, exactly how she'd come across such information, but she hadn't offered an explanation and he hadn't asked for one. They were both doing an admirable job of not prying at one another's secrets.
On the porch, the young man paused before knocking, and then he cleared his throat. "It's probably not going to make the papers, at least if things go well. We'll put this thing down and walk out with no one the wiser. But it's already killed someone, and she might be down there with it." He looked down at the toes of his boots, the light from a streetlamp throwing his face into shadow. He looked at her again, and he reminded her even more strongly of Boden. Confident that he was going to live and his enemy was going to die, but ready to face it if the worst happened.
"If I don't come back, tell Julie...tell Julie I'm sorry."
Mallory placed her hand on his shoulder, clasping it firmly, and he did the same, a mutual gesture that didn't need words. And then he knocked, the sound very loud under the concealing canopy of the porch. Shuffling noises from inside followed, then the television's volume being adjusted. Chain lock, two deadbolts, the small spot of light through the peephole dimming as a cautious eye studied the unannounced company. Someone was worried about the safety of their own personal ass.
"Hello, Justine," Connor said quietly when the door finally opened, and the three of them stood there in tableau before he put his burden down. "We followed you home. You should be more careful." The older redhead's eyes flicked towards Mallory, who looked at Connor. "I need to borrow your couch for a few hours," he added, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "If you wouldn't mind. It's important."
A look passed between them, and it was one the second visitor didn't care to decipher. After a silence, Justine stepped back into the apartment to let them in. "C'mon in, kid," she said in a rough voice. Glad to see him, unsure of how to react to him actually being there. "Hi," Mallory said, slipping past awkwardly, and the other woman just shrugged at her. Used to people falling through the door at any hour, apparently. Everyone had their secrets.
Good thing she didn't want to know what they were. |
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| [Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 9:09 pm] |
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calm