Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "bamba bamba, bamba bamba!"

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Rhiannon Lee ([info]rhiannon_lee) wrote in [info]free_form2,
@ 2008-03-24 21:50:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
The Bottom
The alley reeked of dumpsters and the piss of the homeless and drunk. Rhiannon wasn't homeless. She lifted her second bottle of Grey Goose and stared up through the bottom.

You're gonna regret it if you drink any more.

"Cheers."

Shrugging off her inner voice of wisdom wasn't as hard as it should be. She twisted off the cap and took a hit, which would've been easily done, if she hadn't been flat on her back. It spilled down her neck, soaked through her shirt, and tracked through the dust on the car hood.

Party foul.

Alcohol seemed as good a solution to her troubles as any. This morning the papers had come. The ink pen had seemed to weigh 100 pounds while she signed her life away. Now she wanted to find out how much alcohol it took to reach a stupor of epic proportions.

A street light flickered on overhead. She squinted and let her arm flop over her face, hoping it would act as a shield. The time for sweat lamps and interrogation was still to come, she figured. The worst of it wouldn't even come from the government. It would come from her friends.

"Whistler... If you can hear me," she said, raising her bottle, "Here's to disappointment. Take a look at me now."


[Thread: Open to the Man in the Hat]

(Post a new comment)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 07:03 am UTC (link)
"Of course I can hear ya. Practically screamin' in my head for the last forty-five minutes."

He'd parked a few blocks away and shuffled the rest of the way. He'd even stopped in at a Never Closed! liquor store (why did they need the bloody capitals? not like it was going to impress the suits who walked a bit faster as they passed) and got himself a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag.

Misery shouldn't drink alone. And Whistler knew just how Rhiannon was feeling. What he didn't know was why.

"Still look good to me," he continued, leaning against the car. "What's got you lookin' up at an ant's underbelly as it crawls along a blade o' grass, Rhi?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 07:17 am UTC (link)
She let her head roll to the side and studied him. Not 100% certain he was standing there, but nowhere near drunk enough to justify imagining it. "Sorry," she said. "Didn't mean to shine the bat signal. I, Rhiannon Lee, do solemnly swear." She snorted and pointed her eyes back to the sky. It was overcast. Nothing too distracting there, except the slow drift of clouds, and an occasional glimpse of the moon peeking through. "Good thing you brought your own. I've got plans for this one." She hefted the bottle and balanced it on her forehead.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 07:24 am UTC (link)
"Like I give a fuck about conserving energy."

Whistler reached into the bag and unscrewed the cap off his bottle and took a swig. He'd seen Rhiannon drunk before, and they'd certainly shared a few rounds of who can drink whom under the table, but the Slayer never purposefully drank alone. Not to this extent.

"Alright, so your arch nemesis -- the dread Hatted Man -- has arrived and is callin' ya out," he offered, watching Rhiannon fobble the bottle on her forehead. "So spill. Not the Goose. What's eatin' ya."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 07:44 am UTC (link)
"You have to swear."

The bottle veered to the left. She snatched it back and attempted a second balancing act. "Swear you'll love me 'til the end of time, no matter what I do." The soles of Rhiannon's shoes scraped against the hood as she drew her knees up. Like he'd deny her that. It was a rigged question, anyway. How could a person make a promise, not knowing the stakes?

But she needed it.

She lifted her head and wrapped her lips around the bottle neck. Three swallows later, she set it down near the wipers. "You swear and we'll talk."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 07:48 am UTC (link)
Whistler downed a few mouthfuls of the brown alcohol from his bottle and wiped the mouth of it with the tail of his shirt.

She always had his full confidence; no matter the situation, he'd stand by her. But in this moment, Rhiannon needed more from him than an understanding. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah." He didn't hesitate. "Until the end o' time, I swear to love ya no matter what comes next."

He took another swig. The mind swirled counter-clockwise to the rest of the world. "Christ, are ya on the nest, Rhi?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 08:07 am UTC (link)
Had she been swallowing, she would've choked.

It was enough to knock her sober, at least temporarily. "Jesus... Do the words fetal alcohol syndrome mean anything to you? No." Rhiannon shook her head and squinted at the streetlight again. She was definitely not on the nest, but even if she had been, she wouldn't have gone about coping with two bottles of Grey Goose. At least he had broken the ice.

She sniffed and wiped her mouth. "Worse."

Rhiannon reached for the sleeve of her thermal. She scrunched up the cuff. There was an angry, red line on the flesh of her wrist, near the bones. A present from her visit to Henderson federal headquarters. There was a tracking device buried beneath the skin.

"I'm on the payroll."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 08:16 am UTC (link)
"What the hell is--"

He stopped himself. Took it in.

What was it that Corbett had asked at the end of his latest visit to Searchlight? Had he heard anything about the Government getting involved.

Oh hell.

They did. The bastards did. And worse, they got to...

"Rhiannon."

Whistler thought more, filling the silence with a search of his Lucky Sevens, making sure the Slayer had first pick. The Agent looked at the angles, the possibilities.

"You wouldn't have gone along with it willingly." A quite statement of fact. He knew his best friend too well to -- for a second -- consider otherwise.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 05:26 pm UTC (link)
Rhiannon's upheld wrist fell back to the car. The little wound stung.

"So true."

She was beginning to feel worse for the wear. With a heaved breath, she dragged herself upright and drew her feet into indian-style. "I thought about it before," she admitted. Rhiannon didn't see any need to hide her mental debate now that the worst had happened. "Pay, benefits, weapons... back-up. The greater good," she parroted. "I thought maybe... you know, we could get somewhere, galvanizing..." The back of her hand swept through the air. He would finish the sentence for her in his brain.

"But I wouldn't have. Not how they were demanding we turn people in. Not how they were threatening to cut off people's money and jobs and... car registrations." Looking back, being threatened with the cancellation of her car registration seemed like a pittance.

She place the cigarette in her mouth and waited for a light.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 06:45 pm UTC (link)
For a man who saw the possibilities in every scenario, Whistler was blind to the little things. Like lighting Rhiannon's cigarette. It seemed that she always waited for him to light the fire.

He flipped out his zippo and struck it, providing a light to both of their tobacco sticks. "That's the thing about the 'greater good'," he posited. "The idea is usually altruistic, but the execution sucks donkey balls."

He inhaled deeply and blew rings into the air above, then shifted his weight against the car to one side so he could face Rhiannon's profile. "So what Sword of Damacles did they swing over your head, then?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 08:50 pm UTC (link)
“Jennie.”

While Rhiannon spoke, the cigarette bounced at the corner of her mouth. “There were other things. He knew about Collins, and Joseph and you. By the way… don’t do anything personal on the roof, unless you’re into audiences.”

She took the cigarette away and tapped it. The exhalation of smoke was heavy in the air. “But he said he could make her disappear.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 09:49 pm UTC (link)
The cigarette perched on his bottom lip, dried saliva holding it in place. His entire mouth went dry.

"Motherfuckers."

No wonder Rhiannon drank so hard. She saw some of herself in the younger girl, and even in their brief encounter back in San Francisco, the Agent knew that his best friend saw the girl as more than a fellow practitioner of fighting against the darkness; she was akin to... well, kin.

"Would it help much if I could change that?" he offered.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 10:52 pm UTC (link)
The brunette shrugged with a sort of numb resignation on her face.

“Like I said. There were other things.” She pushed her sleeve down to hide the mark. In time, it would be gone; there’d be no surface evidence of the tracking device underneath. The intake representative, who was full of the kind of inane positivity that nauseated others, assured Rhiannon that they wouldn’t monitor her every move. It was just a ‘precautionary’ measure, one to be used if she went missing on an assignment.

She wasn’t convinced.

Rhiannon cradled the bottle of Grey Goose between her thighs. “I’m thinking about keeping a low profile for a while,” she said and smoked some more. “The less I know about any of you, the less information I have to tell them.” She breathed deep and looked at Whistler. “Not that I would ever rat you out, you know that. But they could follow me.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-25 11:41 pm UTC (link)
"I could agree with that, but you'd see through the lie like Roy Orbison in clingfilm," Whistler joked. "Hate, absolutely hate what they're up to, and how it's rippin' ya apart. And I promise I'll do some digging when I get back into town."

He took another hit off the cigarette, grimaced as he pulled it free so he could take a hit of whiskey.

"Maybe I'll make a stop-over in San Fran and check in on our hell on wheels anyway. Throw a glamor to diffuse their spyin'."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-25 11:50 pm UTC (link)
Rhiannon was slow to nod.

“I don’t… I don’t want to be alone with this,” she admitted, giving a nervous laugh that didn’t come with a smile.

It made her feel vulnerable, saying out loud that she needed her friends, especially because she could no longer have them. Just when she’d begun to let people in, she had to learn the hard way that this was the consequence. They could be used for blackmail.

She poured another few swallows of vodka into her system, wrenching her mouth away when it started to burn.

“I was on cloud nine, before. Because of Atia.” She frowned. “Wait. When you get back… where’re you going?”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 01:11 am UTC (link)
Fingers crushed the blunt end of the cigarette and flicked the carcass of his smoke against the wall of the alley. How was he going to explain this now? Guilt rode him like a runaway horse. Just like old times. Whenever you need me, I'm on the road elsewhere.

"I have a friend riding the Ghost Train," he choked out. "Asked for some intel, to satisfy my curiousity, maybe to make amends.

"She might be alive. Meg. And if she is..."

The pit in his stomach grew larger.

"But I won't go off if you need me here."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 01:16 am UTC (link)
Rhiannon felt her heart clench up like a fist.

Whistler’s daughter could be alive. She was might be somewhere in No Man’s Land living out her twilight years, but she was probably out there.

You’re never coming back.

“No, go.” Rhiannon caught herself just before dropping her cigarette in the bottle of vodka. She balanced it on the car hood instead and took another drink. The liquid splooshed inside its container.

“Maybe you should stay gone for a while. It’ll be safer. They’re watching you here.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 02:11 am UTC (link)
"Rhi. Did too much of that already. We still have a lot of livin' to do, you and me."

He hit the bottle again. There was a sense of... finality in her voice. Had she given up on the mission? Herself?

Him?

"You want me to come back, right?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 04:45 am UTC (link)
There it was. Before Rhiannon even recognized it in herself, Whistler could see it in her. Not just the guilt, but the sense of loss. The purposeless beginning to creep its way through her heart. Rhiannon was wondering if she'd ever again get to do what she loved, slay demons, without the federal monkey on her back.

Was it going to be over? Just like her friendships would be, if they found out what she was?

'Special Agent Lee'.

"Not if they can take you," Rhiannon said. "If you'll end up a government whipping boy, get the hell out of here and never come back."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 05:41 am UTC (link)
The only person I'd let whip me is you.

Whoa, that was an improper thought. Hopefully Whistler didn't accidentally broadcast it over their shared mental connection.

"Not gonna happen. Get that? I won't give 'em the satisfaction."

One more swig of whiskey.

"'Sides, who's gonna pull your fat outta the fire when it all goes to hell?"

The Agent laughed then, hale and hearty. He knew Rhiannon was strong. She just needed to be reminded. "You took down that primo bitch, you could spit these peons out like poppyseeds."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 06:04 am UTC (link)
She couldn't put to words why it was different, dancing with Atia versus dancing with the government. On some level, it felt more dangerous to her because it wasn't supernatural. As much as Rhiannon felt the Feds were out of their league in her world, she wondered if she might be out of her league in theirs.

"I don't want to lose myself... I just found--"

Suddenly, looking into the alcohol bottle, Rhiannon was disgusted with herself. She screwed the cap back on, set her sights on the dumpster, and tossed it. The Slayer ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm in it now. No turning back, unless I wanna be a fugitive. I've just... gotta figure out how to do this, without... without breaking my rules. I won't turn on anyone. I won't."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 06:12 am UTC (link)
Whistler surpressed a grin as the bottle crashed in the bin beyond. Something about watching his best friend rise up when the odds were 100 to 1 against, made him proud.

"Easy answer is, don't play their game. Make 'em play yours."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 06:38 am UTC (link)
"Just the kinda vague, fortune cookie advice I've come to expect from you." She picked up her cigarette, which had about one puff left to offer, and finished it off. Rhiannon gave him a fluid smile and swung around to let her feet hang off the car. "You better volunteer to dig this thing outta my wrist if shit hits the fan."

From the background came the sound of police sirens. She spot-checked over her shoulder.

"Whistler..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 06:41 am UTC (link)
Whistler put the top back on his bottle and awkwardly slipped it into his coat pocket. No sense in letting the rest go to waste. If the news from Hannah was bad, he might need a stiff drink.

"You don't have ta say it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 07:21 am UTC (link)
"Okay... so let me say something else." She dropped her filter on the ground and watched a few orange ashes scatter. "I hope you find Meg."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 07:25 am UTC (link)
He smiled his widest for his best friend, and moved in for an uncharacteristic hug. "Keep a light on, eh?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 07:30 am UTC (link)
Rhiannon hugged him back, uncharacteristically tight.

"I dunno what that means," she mumbled into his shoulder. "But whatever... I'm a little drunk."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 07:34 am UTC (link)
"It's from days of old," he squeaked out, struggling for breath from the hug. "When travellers lost their way, they could be guided home to loved ones by placin' a lit candle in the window."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 07:56 am UTC (link)
"Can't you just read my brainwaves?"

Rhiannon smirked and released him from the hug. The biggest urge she had, at the moment, was to wander back inside her apartment, crash on the mattress, and pass out for the night.

"Thanks for finding me."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 07:58 am UTC (link)
"Always," he responded, to both the question and Rhiannon's comment.

"You need help gettin' home?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 08:18 am UTC (link)
She shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. I'll walk and come back for my car in the morning... afternoon." The brunette slid off the hood and patted her jeans for her keys. She was a little queasy and figured the walk might do her good anyway.

"I'd say text me before you go, but," she held up her cell and shook it back and forth, "They're probably tracing my calls already. 'Night, Whistler."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]whistlersmum
2008-03-26 08:19 am UTC (link)
Whistler pulled out his pack and lit another cigarette. It was a few blocks back to his own vehicle.

"Don't be surprised if I find a way. G'night, Rhi-Rhi."

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]rhiannon_lee
2008-03-26 08:21 am UTC (link)
**END THREAD**

(Reply to this)

Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs