B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 20:27:04 GMT -6
Jack raised first one eyebrow at the beginning of that spectacular speech, then the other. When Nikolai finished, Jack nodded his head as if agreeing.
"You know, that's a damn good plan. A damn good one! But there's one big flaw in it," he said. He walked over to Nikolai, put a hand on either armrest of the chair he was sitting in, and leaned in very close.
"When you tell them that you killed Jack Sawyer, they won't believe one more damn word you say."
He looked Nikolai straight in the eyes as he says this, watching the farce melt into fear. "I'm getting tired of you lying to me," he whispered ominously and watched fear turn to dread. He stayed there for a moment afterward, until Nik stopped breathing, then stood up and walked back into his room.
"Now, I have a friend that might be able to help us, but it might take a little nudge to get in to see him. So grab a handgun from that closet and make yourself useful before I have to chloroform you again and we do this the hard way," he called back. "Hard for you," he added.
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 21:54:44 GMT -6
Nikolai sat like a pale statue and was screaming in his mind as his heart raced.
Jack Sawyer.
THE Jack Sawyer. He was fucked. There were very few people who Rexxam bothered to mention as potential threats, fewer still that they actually taught recruits about. Jack Sawyer was one of those people. The policy for dealing with Jack was written as 'don't.' They'd send expendables after him if they had to, but most of the higher-ups would have never entered into a fair fight with Jack fucking Sawyer. The day he'd retired the bosses actually took the day to celebrate. And not "kill people" celebrate. They bought a cake.
It had a stripper in it- or so he'd been told.
Without thinking, Nik peeled himself from the chair and walked uneasily to the closet to get the handgun. Even with the gun in his hand, however, he felt unarmed and a voice in his mind told him to eat a bullet and get it over with. Part of that voice was his own training, and for a moment he worried he'd go through with it, but the part of him that feared death was already bargaining.
Aya did not like this turn of events. Not one bit.
"You're sure you want him carrying a weapon? And why do you need one to get your friend help us?"
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 22:04:33 GMT -6
Jack returned wearing only a fresh pair of jeans. "I don't mind giving him a gun, but if he shoots me he better hope he kills me," he said to Aya as he dropped into a chair and began pulling on clothes from the pile. The fear in Aya's voice was something he figured he needed to get used to until she trusted him more, but he could not help but wish she could read a room.
The change in Nik's attitude was par for the course since the man had made flip-flopping through personalities into a hobby. Though this time he was mixing how his co-workers acted and how he had acted upon waking up in the car. Surrender and suicide kept at bay by a survivor mentality. All the Ss again.
Nik stared at that gun the way someone dying of heat stroke might look at a cold glass of poison.
Jack picked up a shoulder harness and slipped it on over his Black Sabbath T-shirt. He put his favorite handgun in the holster, then slipped on the button up leather coat. When, by the time he had done this, Nikolai had still not pulled the trigger on himself or any other occupant of the room, Jack spoke.
"Okay, pull that thing out and let's take a good look at it," he advised Aya before turning his attention to Nik. "And, if you're done trying to lie to me," he began, meeting the spy's gaze when it was finally turned his way. "I wanna know everything you know about this damn thing."
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 22:39:32 GMT -6
Aya pulled out the book and held it tightly by the sides. Nikolai's eye twitched as he looked over and his thoughts left the gun. With a suddenly dry mouth, he asked,
"Are you being serious?"
Aya ignored him. "I know only a little," she explained (in a mixture of mainly Japanese with some English) that the book was unpredictable. It usually killed any magic user who held it, but it could also form a contract with the person who used it, so that it would allow them to use magic beyond their current potential and tap into energy resources they would otherwise not be able to do- like a dog who chases after a ball long after it is so exhausted that it starts hyperventilating. She didn't know how to destroy it, why she could touch it without feeling any desire to use it, what spells it contained, or even what its desires were. She had only been told that it was very bad and addictive, and could both help and harm its user- with the eventual goal of possessing them and having its own human form. Most humans would hoard it and may even become obsessed with it while it fed on their life force. She had no idea why Jack could touch it, or why it would want to possess a mortal host in the first place.
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 22:43:17 GMT -6
Jack didn't seem to notice Nikolai's comment, but he narrowed his eyes at what Aya said.
"Well, that's a good start... Nik, you know anything about this book?" he asked while he stood up and grabbed his car keys. He motioned for Aya to put the book back in the bag and get ready to go.
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 22:54:12 GMT -6
Aya slipped the book back into the pillowcase and stood to follow.
"It's... It's just a book," Nik replied, though he was not sure if he was relieved or not. If it was a decoy, he could probably convince Jack to give it to him and let him explain the situation to his employers... but, it was that last part that made him hope the book was real. If he brought it back, the real one, they'd forgive the fact that he was a hostage instead of a corpse right now.
"No," Aya protested sourly. "It's dangerous!"
"It's a decoy," Nik replied with the hint of a smile. "Third one this week."
"You are liar," snapped Aya, looking to Jack, since his opinion was the one she cared about.
"And you are stupid," Nik countered, speaking to Aya like she'd just told him the Earth was flat. "You've both handled that book, right? If it was real, it would have done what you just finished claiming it does."
Aya frowned at him. "It's not fake."
"Why not?" he mused. "Because you want to be special? Jack touched it and someone snuck it into your bag at random. I don't know what my employers are looking for exactly, but they told everyone to avoid touching it at all costs. That's not an order they would give if we were trying to retrieve something that a girl chosen completely at random could carry around. I get that you want to feel important, but your ego isn't worth getting yourself and other people killed."
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 23:02:14 GMT -6
Jack had paused in the doorway and his smile failed him. Again with the lying. Really? Fucking REALLY?!
"A decoy?" he asked, with a brightness in his voice that was only there because he was figuring out how to control Nik's personality. If he pretended to buy into whatever the man told him, the personality used against him would be that of a well-meaning friend, instead of the jerk persona that Nik seemed to believe was charming. "That's not worth dying for but I don't think your people will let us go if we just chuck the thing into the Hudson."
As predicted, Nik heard him and his features softened.
"Well, no," he began in a lighter, younger voice. "But, you could give it to me and I'll explain that this was just a misunderstanding." The twerp's eyes even brightened as he attempted to look benign and innocent.
"And they'd be okay with that?" Jack queried. He'd never been much of an actor, but he felt he was doing a good impression of simpleminded hopefulness- even if it came off as campy. "Even though I killed some of your people?"
Nik gave a small, gentle shrug and didn't seem to realize that a benign smile was a poor choice of a reaction to that question. "They were trying to kill you. It's understandable."
Jack offered his own fake smile to Nik, then turned to face Aya. "I think we should give him the book," he stated, offering her a wink and hoping she caught how sarcastic he was being.
Aya blinked and looked apprehensive. Her gaze shifted to Nik, who was letting too much eagerness into his expression for it to stay genuine, then returned her attention to Jack. "I don't understand," she admitted in a high-pitched sigh.
'Oh, sorry," Jack replied. He then switched to speaking Japanese. "Trust me on this. I'm not going to actually let him take it."
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 23:13:18 GMT -6
Aya frowned, but Jack had been saving her life all evening and deserved her trust. She grabbed the pillowcase she'd been killing the book in, but Jack stopped her before she could even begin to wrestle the heavy book into the case.
"That's okay," he advised her. "Probably better if it's not concealed since we're giving it back."
For a moment, Aya felt angry and wondered why people did not listen to her. That moment was hastened along when Jack's smile deepened and he flicked his eyes towards Nik. When she looked over at the assassin she noticed that he looked like his crush had asked to take a photo with him and mentioned that she was dating his friend and wanted advice right before taking the photo.
'Oh!' she thought, catching on and feeling clever as she turned to Nikolai and held the book out to him. He stepped away as it came near, and the smile he had been offering transferred to her face as her apprehensive frown transferred to his. "Here," she offered, leaning forward as she did.
"Uh," he stalled. "It'd be safer in a bag or something."
"Why?" Aya pondered with the same dramatic flair that Jack had offered. "The bag is just to hide it. If it real one, bag not help."
(Jack lets Nik off the hook but makes it clear that he knows when he is being lied to. Nik's defense is that he did not make it this far in life by tempting fate. Jack's phone alerts him to the fact that two of his cab medallions have been flagged, so they probably only have a few hours before things get drastic. Nik says no. If they're that loud about looking for 2, they've found at least 3. Sure enough, it isn't much longer before Jack's apartment is broken in to. That's an entire alias lost.) Nikolai attempted to back up, not that it helped. He wasn't sure how Jack moved so quickly, but the how was not important at that moment. With his shoulder blades threatening to engrave themselves into the wall he was pressed up against, he stared forward, held his breath, and waited for a knife to slice across his throat or be inserted into each kidney. He did not move, breathe, or blink until he realized the options were not as wide open as lying or remaining silent. He had to say something real or be considered more trouble than he was worth.
"It's probably a decoy," he said. "There were three other decoys this week."
Aya considered that, but she felt magic within the book. If it really was a decoy then it was the best decoy ever. She wasn't sure how to tell and was not willing to hand the book to Nik to take a look at.
"Your friend know about book, yes?" she asked Jack. "He know if fake?"
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 23:28:24 GMT -6
Jack was happy to finally get some cooperation from Nik, even if it was not helpful information it was at least something other than a lie. He shook his head and opened the door to head outside.
"My friend knows mythology. He's an archaeologist that's fallen from grace and now just collects knowledge so he can sell it to others that want it. We need to get past his guards, and I don't want to waste a lot of money, but he definitely knows what he's talking about. Who knows, he might even invite us in,"
He handed Aya a small revolver as she turned to follow him.
"Just in case. Hope you know how to use it," he said. Then he lead the way back to the garage and unlocked the door to a nice black, 1967 Chevy Impala. The interior was black leather and very clean. The most stunning piece of the inside though was the radio. Not only does it have AM/FM and XM radio, but it had a place for a flash drive plugin, another place to plug in an mp3, a CD player, a tape player, and even an 8-track player! The only thing missing was a turntable. He even had cupholders.
Jack sat down and swung his door shut after him.
"Nik, I want you shotgun. Aya, stay in the back and put your bags under the seat, okay?"
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 23:40:12 GMT -6
Aya took the revolver as it was offered. "Me too..." she whispered.
She sat down in the back of the car and looked around. "Wow. Awesome."
Nikolai dropped silently into the front passenger seat, placing the handgun he got from the closet into a holster under his jacket. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was immensely impressed by Jack's car- even as someone who never claimed to be a car fan. He could still imagine it roaring down back-roads all across the country.
"Shouldn't someone else carry the book other than the kid?" he asked cynically.
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 24, 2007 23:45:50 GMT -6
Jack raised an eyebrow as he turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life life it had been waiting for the chance all day.
"Put yourself in my shoes, then ask that question," he said as he looked pointedly at Nikolai, then back at the road. He pulled out of the parking space and onto the street. The car roared down the road easily. After a little bit, Jack glanced at Nick.
"Look, I don't want to have keep glancin' over my shoulder at you to make sure you're not gonna double-cross me, okay? I'd like to be able to trust you to watch my back. Granted that won't come easily, but I'd at least like to know that your gonna help out, for now at least."
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 24, 2007 23:50:02 GMT -6
Nikolai sighed. He could still all-too-easily imagine what would happen if Rexxam caught up with them. Yeah, it was Jack Sawyer. The guy was a legend, but he was also retired and on his own. Rexxam had only grown in his absence.
"You don't believe in this magic crap, do you?" he questioned. "I can't help but doubt that you know what you're getting yourself into."
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 25, 2007 0:00:54 GMT -6
Jack shook his head.
"Never really knew what to believe, so I'm open to it. I'll admit, it's hard to take it all in like this, but I'm trying. And I got into this when she got into my cab at the airport. At the moment, I'm just protecting my interests, and right now, I need to find out why this damn book is so important."
After a little more silence, Jack sighed.
"You guys wanna listen to some music? It's gonna be a long drive." Then he looked at Nikolai.
"What about you, what do you think about all this magic stuff?"
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FangedSmile
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Post by FangedSmile on Sept 25, 2007 0:25:53 GMT -6
Aya began digging through her bag for a CD her best friend had given her as a going away present. Sure it was Japanese, but Jack spoke it and she didn't care if Nikolai enjoyed himself or not.
Nikolai smirked at the answer and the question. Jack was open to the idea of magic but not a full believer? Maybe it was time for show and tell. "I'm inclined to believe it." He snapped his fingers and revealed his trump card as flames ignited in his palm and smoke wafted from his skin until he simply looked like the human embodiment of a volcano. "Now, give me that book so we can end this!"
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B. B. Wolf
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Post by B. B. Wolf on Sept 25, 2007 0:30:33 GMT -6
At first Jack was startled by this. Very startled. He actually swerved and almost hit another car, but righted himself and only received the usual cursing and finger he'd get for slowing down for a stop light. He grabbed Nik's wrist in a vice-like grip. Then he frowned.
"You keep that shit up, you'll kill us all! You saw what I had in the closet, what do you think I've got already in here ya dumb shit?!"
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