InsaneJournal

Tweak says, ""it's not all about wand-work""

J'aime Everleigh Cavanaugh | Meg Giry (ex_peepshows656) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-02-18 00:36:00

Entry tags:

beauty, meg giry

Who: James & Ella.
What: Ella contacted James earlier today and asked for a meeting, so they could discuss things.
Where: Twisted Sister strip club, where James works.
When: Late evening.
Warnings: violencia.

"Will you stop it already, kid?" The bartender was a heavyset man with more tattoos than spare skin, and he smacked James' hand when she tried to steal another orange slice from the drink garnish tray. She'd already had a picnic with half of the maraschino cherries and wiped out the martini olives.

Like a child caught, James withdrew almost sheepishly before coating herself thick with incredulity. "What?"

"You're eating all of my garnish." He reprimanded, and watched James from the corner of his eye as he retrieved another beer from the cooler for a customer.

"Right, like somebody's going to order a mai tai in here.." James glowered playfully and waited until his back was turned before snatching up the orange slice she'd lost a moment before. Shoving it into her mouth for a quick bite, even as she was certain that she'd already been caught. Although, when the bartender leaned forward on his elbows, it was with concern and not scolding.

"You going to tell me what's wrong, James?"

"What do you mean?" She questioned, slyly dropping the orange rind to the floor under her boot heel.

"Well, you've been off work for almost an hour now, but you're still here.. stealing my shit." He lit a cigarette conversationally, smiling. "You're worried about something."

"I am not." James stiffened at his perception, casting her attention away with a determination. Momentarily inspecting the dancer that was currently on stage, the club wasn't very crowded tonight. "I'm just.. waiting for someone." Her eyes wandered to the door in thought. She hoped that Ella had taken a cab here and not tried to walk through this part of the city. Not only was it far too cold, but the dark characters of the city felt hungry tonight. James had sat on enough of their laps in this evening to know.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 04:32 am UTC (link)

"I had an extra deadbolt installed," James answered honestly. It was something small, but committal. Of course, James took threats against her seriously.. but this had been so vague, and over an internet forum. When the constant risk of having a stalker follow you home from the club loomed nightly, and girls had to be walked to their cars by bouncers with concealed weapons.. it made a few words on a white screen seem faded and boring by comparison.

"I haven't heard anything else, anyway." She offered with a brief smile of reassurance.

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bookshelved
2010-02-19 04:36 am UTC (link)

She listened, and she nodded, then she slipped out of the booth and slipped her coat on. "Let me walk you home? We can talk the remainder of the way?" she offered, figuring she could do less damage on her feet than she could sitting - less time to think.

"I- I'm sorry for making assumptions. I have a tendency to do that, I'm afraid. I only meant to compliment you," she said, apology true and real in her voice.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 04:51 am UTC (link)

Ella's apology sounded genuine, and it resonated a brief smile of civility from the dancer who remained seated while the other slipped on her coat. James wasn't going to lecture her, Ella was a grown woman. She should be more than aware that in telling someone she thought they were hiding something, she was saying that she didn't trust them. Or that she didn't believe them to trust her, which made any conversation from that point watery and useless.

"Finish your wine, Ella, I'm going to grab my coat." James conceded to the walk home and extended company primarily because she'd already been at the club for over six hours, and was more than ready to leave. And Ella had yet to voice her own concerns about the anonymous post.

James left for the dressing room that existed in a shadowy hallway offshoot from the stage. Ten minutes later she reappeared, thick black tights beneath her skirt, where once had been bare thigh. Slim boots and a weathered looking motorcycle jacket. "Ready?"

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bookshelved
2010-02-19 04:57 am UTC (link)

Ella nodded, but she didn't offer anything else as they walked outside. It wasn't that she thought people weren't trustworthy; rather, she thought everyone had parts of themselves that they hid away in safe places.

Once they'd reached the bitter cold outside, she turned toward Bellum Letale. She was about to continue her conversation about the man on the anonymous post when two men walked toward them. She was slightly worried, but not very much. New York was filled with people on dark sidewalks, and she'd been here long enough not to fear them irrationally anymore.

However, when hands covered her mouth and shoved her into the alley, the panic that overtook her was enough to steal her voice. She could hear James beside her, knew hands had grabbed her as well. And she could vaguely hear the man speaking to the other woman. "We saw you at the club," he said, accent New York Italian and thick.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 05:17 am UTC (link)

The temperature was brittle, but there was very little wind and that helped. The air was dry, and resonated as a cod hush that skated up her veins. The temperature had dropped since she'd originally walked here this evening, but it wasn't entirely unbearable. A few blocks wouldn't kill them.. or maybe she spoke too soon.

The hand on her mouth was a warm vice, catching the yell of surprise that clawed up her mouth, and muffling it altogether so that barely a sound broke free. No definable syllables, although it sounded like she was cursing. There was a struggle, but it was epically brief. When James fought, it was all erratic elbows and furious boot heels. The Italian man only had to bearhug her with one arm to diffuse her hysterical violence long enough to get her in the alley. She saw Ella then, even in the dark shadows cast by city bricks, and could tell she was scared. She tried to reassure her with her eyes, but knew it was too dark.. and probably useless, James didn't look her most reassuring at the moment. Fed up with her continued wrenching and wild throws of elbows, the man sent James into the wall with a shove.

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bookshelved
2010-02-19 08:03 am UTC (link)

When the man sent James into the wall, Ella screamed loudly enough to be heard through the hand on her mouth. The man holding her slammed her face first against the alley wall, and she felt a scrape at her temple and the sticky sweet smell of blood on the cold night air.

The world was spinning now, and she was seeing stars, and she vaguely saw the glint of a knife from beside her, from where James was. The man spoke again, and even through the pain in her head Ella realized this had nothing to do with her. It was about James, and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"You stay away from the Giancomas, you got me?" the man asked, and Ella could see the knife at James' throat. She tried to elbow back against the man holding her, but he smashed her against the alley wall again, and she went quiet. "You stay away from the heiress," the man growled.

Ella had no idea what he was talking about, but she mentally willed James to agree.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 08:35 am UTC (link)

The world exploded in a series of bright colors, and the only thing that kept her from sliding to the ground was the man's hands on her. The scratch of bricks against a velveteen cheekbone, and knuckles in her hair that wrenched her head back to abide the steady press of a knife. James wisely stopped fighting, growing numb and lax with the cool metal quivering against her rapidfire pulse.

They were speaking to her, and she had no idea what they were saying. Useless words like Giancomas and heiress. James didn't understand, and while she might have yelled and cursed and pleaded her ignorance.. she heard the whimper of Ella meeting the alley wall in a rough glimpse of brutality. James held her tongue and closed her eyes. The knife was knicking the skin of her neck, and James felt a cold, thin trail of blood when she nodded her head in silent appeasement.

Yes, yes. Whatever you say.

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bookshelved
2010-02-19 08:41 am UTC (link)

Ella heard, rather than saw, the other man smash James into the wall again, this time with a sickening thud.

Her cheeks were wet, and she was crying now, a sobbing begging driven by the fear that had finally caught up with her. And when the men backed up, repeating their warning, her knees buckled and she sank to the dirty alleyway ground.

A fisted hand in her hair pulled her to her feet, and she was tossed at James a moment later. She grabbed onto the other woman, the fear immediately visible in her eyes.

Let them leave. Let them go.

"Please," whispered.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 08:49 am UTC (link)

Pain was distant, carted away by a surge of adrenaline that numbed her and strangely kept her from crying, even as she registered the sobbing pleads of Ella. James felt separate from herself and dazed from the way she'd hit the wall. And this time, when she hit it again, she didn't even feel it.

The swirling chaos of a dark, overcast sky was the last thing James saw for several seconds. And then she was on the ground, and Ella was clutching at her. James blinked up at the men with their final warnings, wordless. This must be what shock feels like.

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bookshelved
2010-02-19 08:53 am UTC (link)

She was clutching at James so much that she didn't even notice them leave. In a lifetime filled with other people being attacked and killed in trailer parks, she couldn't fathom someone walking away and not raping or murdering them. It didn't make any sense to her, so she didn't immediately registered their departure.

Once she did realize they were gone, it wasn't the blood on her chin and temple she thought about as she sat up. "Who is the Giancoma?" she asked, even as she touched a finger gently to the blood on James' throat. Oh God we need to get out of here, playing in her mind in a delayed manner.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 09:00 am UTC (link)

It took James a long moment to find her voice, and she only shook her head absently at Ella's question. She didn't know, although her silent gesture might have seemed more like a refusal to tell. While the men had made their point and had no reason to come back, James wanted out of the alley as soon as possible. She straightened and made her way to her feet, using the support of the wall to steady herself for a moment before she extended a hand to Ella. "Are you alright?"

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	bookshelved 2010-02-19 09:02 am UTC (link)
	"Better than you," Ella said standing and hugging James. It was an awkward hug, since Ella wasn't accustomed to affection like this, but it was honest. "We need to go," she said quietly, fear in her voice. "Do you think it's safe? Can you walk?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 09:09 am UTC (link)

"I'm fine," she assured, murmuring the words into the woman's shoulder as she was hugged. James recognized the embrace for what it was, not so much affection as a gratefulness that they were both okay. James' tone was steady, even if the words were meaningless. They were just a reassurance to Ella, because James was obviously not fine. While she seemed calm and able, when James took Ella's hand, her's was shaking.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" She asked, glancing out of the mouth of the alley and finding the sidewalk empty. Stepping out, she hailed a cab a second later, and it pulled up to the curb. The driver seemed oblivious, and if he noticed that they were bleeding, he didn't say anything. Just continued to smoke his import cigarette and listen to Polish radio when they climbed into the backseat.

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	bookshelved 2010-02-19 09:12 am UTC (link)
	"I want to go home," she said, crawling into the cab and scooting against the far door. That's all she wanted, was to go home. Maybe to e-mail Daniel, but she wasn't sure he was checking e-mail where he was. Leah, she could talk to Leah if she was home. But yes, she wanted to go home. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 09:15 am UTC (link)

James nodded and quietly gave the driver the address to Bellum. Using the hem of her sweater, she tried to wipe the blood from her neck and said little else while they rode back to the building. The silence wasn't strained, it was a hollow thing. James watched out the window and closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath that reminded herself that she was okay, she was fine. She was fine.

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	bookshelved 2010-02-19 09:18 am UTC (link)
	Ella reached over and she slipped her hand into James' and squeezed, it was a movement born of the need for touch and comfort. They'd been in something terrible together, and only they could understand the fear that had come from it. "Do you have someone to go to?" she asked as the cab stopped. She shouldn't be alone right now. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-19 09:23 am UTC (link)

The question surprised James, even if the squeeze to her hand should have clued her in that it was coming. She blinked up and turned to Ella with a faint smile. It was believable, too. You can always count on a stripper to put on a show.

"Yeah." She thought of Lotte first, but knew that if she showed up like this, she'd only terrify the girl. It would be better to tell Lotte later, after James was cleaned up. Besides, there was only one person she knew she needed to talk to. Maybe she was supposed to file some kind of police report for this thing, Rick would know.

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	bookshelved 2010-02-19 09:29 am UTC (link)
	Ella smiled believably, and she nodded, and she gave James a quick, fast hug before climbing out of the cab and paying the driver. The blood on her face had dried, and she wanted to lock herself somewhere safe and hide. She thought of the dumbwaiter as she left the cab and James behind, her feet speeding up with each step. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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