Boyd Ainslie | Red Riding Hood (ex_sanguine300) wrote in bellumlogs, @ 2010-05-03 00:01:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | big bad wolf, red riding hood |
Who: Boyd and Shane
What: Completed log
Where: 601
When: Immediately after transformation (this)
Warnings: None
Boyd had been quiet on the walk back to 601. She'd seen the apartment number as they'd left 104, and she'd noticed the quiet (the lack of Aaron's dog), and she'd noticed the police tape. She knew Vaughn and Aaron had developed a friendship (a fact which regularly maddened her), and she and Aaron had grown estranged because of it, but that didn't change the fact that all the signs pointed to something terrible having happened while she was away. It made her quiet, and it made her thoughtful. It also made her hate this building.
When she'd been younger, when her family had been murdered, when she'd been raped by the current head of the Family, when the haunts had kept her up nights, when she'd slept on a ratty cot in the basement of her foster home, when she'd been in the asylums, when all of those things had happened, she had always held onto the hope that one day things would improve.
Now, later, there was Vaughn, blackmail, and the imminent death of the people she cared about. The meds (the drugs) numbed it, but it was only a way to deal with waiting for the terrible things. The terrible things still came. They'd always come. She didn't have any hope that it would end. None.
She hated the building.
As she walked into 601, she hugged herself. It looked unfamiliar; as if she'd never lived there. And she was quiet as she walked over to Shane's computer and began to type.
He shut the door behind them. He was sure that he'd locked the door when he left the apartment, but if finding it unlocked was just one more of the building's tricks, then so be it. He ducked into the bedroom to change into his own clothes. It made him feel more settled, being back in his apartment in clothes that belonged to him, that didn't smell like someone he had known.
When he came back out, he'd pulled on a sweater with long sleeves and sweatpants. The thought of sleeping the day away was tempting, but he had more important things to worry about. He sat down in a chair next to the computer, pulling his feet up onto the seat, and watched Boyd type. The bleeding at his temple had stopped, but the long dark swathes of skin all over him were only getting darker. He kept his eyes on her, her face. She looked so tired. It made him want to wrap her up and carry her into bed and never let her leave. Like that would keep her safe.
She'd been typing a message for Rosalie, Daniel and Vlad, but she stopped when he sat down beside her. Her fingers hovered over the keys a moment longer, and then she pushed the laptop away and pushed her seat back. She crawled into his lap, not hesitating, and she curled herself around him (and his bruises) gently. "You're a stupid, fool man," she said, even as she ducked her head under his chin and closed her eyes a minute.
Surprise melted quickly into a small smile. He held her, running a hand over her hair. "So you've told me," he said into her shoulder, lifting his chin to settle it there.
He didn't say anything for a while. He had questions he had to ask, things she needed to explain, but just for a moment, he wanted to be able to hold her and have her in his arms and not think about anything else. Moments like that never lasted, and for her sake, if nothing else, he wondered why they couldn't.
Finally, the question could be put off no longer. "Are you going to tell me about it?"
She knew what he was asking, of course, just as she knew that Red had spent the entire evening running her mouth. Boyd didn't think she liked Red just then. "You gonna promise you won't go do something foolish and dangerous? Cause that's why I don't say nothing; cause I'm scared you're gonna make it worse," she explained, still unsure he wouldn't make it worse, even though it was pretty much as bad as she could imagine it right now.
He brushed her hair behind her ear. "I want to help," he said. He thought for a moment. It was likely best to be honest. "If it's Vaughn-and I'm pretty sure it is-I couldn't really hate her more than I do right now, and clearly I still haven't been able to catch her. If it's the Family...I can't say that I won't try to do whatever I can to help you, but I'm not stupid, Boyd. I don't want to make things worse for you, and I'm not going to do anything that I think will do that."
She looked over at the laptop, where she had been typing the same thing she was about to tell him anyway. "Vaughn's got the money - my parent's money. I don't know how she found it, but she must have looked like me when she took it out, cause now they think I got it. She's saying she'll tell them it was Rose, if I don't do what she wants," she sighed, even as she curled closer against him. "But if I do what she says, she'll leave you and Daniel and Rose alone; leave y'all in peace forever."
He sighed. "Oh, Boyd." Even before she'd spelled it out, he'd been fairly sure she was doing whatever she was doing to try to protect her friends. He understood it, but it was still a touch exasperating. Very like her. "You know that's probably not true, right? Vaughn will do whatever she wants, and just use the money to keep you under her thumb. There's no reason for her to play fair. Sooner or later, she's going to break her promises. It doesn't matter what she says."
He stroked her hair. "So it boils down to the money," he said. "The Family thinks you have it, so the best way to calm them down and cut Vaughn's leverage off would be to get it, of course. The problem is figuring out where she has it and then getting it back." But that sort of thing could always be arranged. His mind was already two steps ahead. He was thinking about who he could call, who in the building might be able to help who could be trusted to be discreet. A twinge of pain in his back finally brought him back, though he didn't react to it outwardly.
"Meanwhile, you need to be somewhere safe." He'd stopped running his fingers over her hair when he became lost in thought, and started up again when he spoke. "Who is Rick, really? Can you trust him?"
"Rick's a cop, and he works for the Family," she said with a sigh. She'd looked up at him when he'd stopped petting, when he'd gone all thoughtful quiet, so she was looking up at him when he spoke again, when he started petting her hair again. "He's supposed to be spying on them for me, and I think he's gone kinda insane. He's always hated me something fierce, but now I don't think he does." She paused when he asked about trust, and she bit her lip. "I trusted him enough to let him watch for Rose. Do I trust him for me? I don't know, sugar, and I don't much care, really. I don't want Rose gettin' killed over this is all."
Rick being a cop was something of a surprise, but it explained why people were always complaining that the police who lived in the building never did anything about the crimes taking place in it. If Rick was Family, that actually made sense. "He's helping you even though the Family wants you?" That might actually mark Rick as someone trustworthy, even if he did seem like he had gone off-kilter. And was an asshole.
He stilled. "What do you mean, you don't care?"
She curled back up against him soft and young, but her voice was sure and hard. "They ain't gonna let someone who stole their money live, Shane. You know that well as I do," she said with complete and utter certainty. "And even if we manage to fix it for me, what then? Somethin' else will happen with Vaughn or somethin' else altogether." She looked up at him again, voice going resigned and flat. "I'm real tired of all this, Shane."
When she mentioned what the Family might do to her, he tensed. They had to fix it, and they would. And if the Family came for Boyd, he was going to be there to greet them. He wasn't going to give them the opportunity to take anyone else away from him. If it came down to it, he'd happily kill every member of the Family to keep her safe.
"We'll fix it," he said, kissing her on the forehead, pulling back to look down at her. "Do you want to go somewhere?"
The question seemed out of left field. Maybe there was only one good solution. Maybe getting out, going somewhere a thousand miles away, beyond the Family's reach, was the best thing they could do.
She considered going back to Rick's sister's house, but being anywhere near Rosalie would only make matters worse, make Rosalie look guiltier if she followed through on her threat. No, that wouldn't work. "A hotel," she said tiredly. "You got something to hide all this red hair in?" she asked in a tired, monotone voice. "Shane, the only way out is to get the money from Vaughn. There ain't no other way."
He carefully shifted her off his lap. He'd considered picking her up and laying her down somewhere for a moment, but he was just too sore to manage it. He walked toward the bedroom to find her a hat, not saying anything in response to her statement. That they had to get the money from Vaughn was obvious. What he didn't like was how tired she looked.
He found a black skullcap buried in his closet, and carried it back out. He paused at the end of the hall.
"I care," he said, walking over to her.
She met him halfway, and she tucked her hair into the skullcap, just a few red strands slipping free. "Do you?" she asked, smiling just a little, just a touch.
He reached up, pushing the locks that had fallen out under the cap. "Yeah," he said, with a faint smile. "More than you know, I think."
"That makes you real dumb," she said, but her voice was fond, and she wound her arms around his waist gingerly, thinking of his bruises. "We gotta get you cleaned up," she said, as if she'd only realized just then that he'd changed. Even with the words, she didn't move, didn't make any move to do so. She didn't ask if he had any plans for getting the money, she was quiet, so quiet than her breathing slowed and went shallow-quiet.
"You promise to watch Rose?" she asked in the utter stillness.
He held her shoulders, listening to her breathe, waiting. When she did speak, he said only, "You promise to try to care?"
She looked up at him. "It's real hard the day after bein' Red, Shane. She ain't- she ain't scared of the Family or Vaughn, and she ain't worried for you or Rose or Daniel," she said, and she walked to the couch and sat on the arm. "It don't bother her none that Rose don't listen, or that Daniel don't care, or that I'm worried for you day and night. You seen Daniel lately? He can't handle Vaughn. That man can't handle himself these days, and there ain't no one makin' it any better. And Rose? Rose is like a little girl that's bound to walk right into oncoming traffic without even seein' it comin,'" she said, then she looked at his face and held out one hand. "And you just do nothin' but get into trouble without me around," she said softly, the fondness evident in the words. "Vlad's been helpful, but he can't keep y'all from gettin' hurt."
He stood close to where she sat on the arm of the couch, listening. It was hard for him the day after being the Wolf as well, though for entirely different reasons. "You can't take everyone's well being on as your own responsibility," he said. "Rosalie will be fine, I'll keep an eye on her, make sure she stays safe. Daniel's got Ella to take care of, which should take his mind off Vaughn for a while. And I'm fine."
"What's Vlad done?" he asked. This was news to him. Vlad wasn't good for anything that wasn't killing innocent people, as far as he was concerned.
Her only response to his assurances was to scoff.
She tiredly pushed away from the arm of the couch, and she walked to the door. "He's listened, and he's tried to get Rose from gettin' herself into messes by snoopin,'" she said. "Daniel too, who's tryin' to get himself killed by a psychopath."
'The psychopath' had to be this anonymous person, the one who'd tortured Ella, maybe murdered Aaron, maybe thrown Nicky into the catacombs. Something was so wrong with this building.
When he noticed she was going for the door, he followed a few steps before stopping. "You're going?" He did everything he could to hide how alarmed he was at the idea of her just walking back out into the city after everything that had already happened to her. It didn't quite work.
"Just goin' to find me a hotel. It ain't safe for me to stay here, Shane. Even if the Family don't come looking, Vaughn will," she said, tugging the cap down over her ears. "Come on. Walk a girl."
If she hadn't invited him he would have invited himself, so that worked out well. He put on shoes, a spare, old pair lying beside the door. His other shoes, as well as his clothes, were still in the cemetery. He was either going to need to prepare better or remember not to wear anything he was fond of the day before the moon.
He shut the door behind them, staying close by her side. "Do you have a place in mind?"
She looked over at him, and she gave him a smile that was all adoration. Her fingers petted his cheek. "I ain't telling you, sugar. I need to be able to move easy, and it's safer if you don't know."
He was hit with surprise and disappointment at once, although her touch, admittedly, softened the blow a little. "Why? It's not as if I'd tell anyone." She had to know that, at least.
"I know," she said honestly, the truth of her words evident in her eyes. "But I don't want you becoming a target on account of knowing where I am." She paused. "You realize how much money we're talkin' about, don't you, sugar?"
"I do," he said. He almost went on to point out that if they were going to make a target of him, it wouldn't much matter whether he actually knew where she was or not. But she didn't need that kind of worry. "If you're sure."
Inwardly, the idea of being separated from her again, and while she was potentially in danger, no less, made him think of the things he was going to do to Vaughn when he found her, the things the Wolf had attempted but hadn't been able to. Well, the rest of the month she couldn't very well throw him around with a flick of her wrist. She'd get hers.
She looked both ways before leaving the apartment, and her step was fast and light on the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at him as she moved, and she spoke in a quiet, quick whisper. "You just keep an eye on Rose and Daniel. I'm willing to admit you can go all wolf and kill anyone needs killin,' should the need arise, but Daniel's got no notion of taking care of himself, and Rose is even worse," she said, very obviously unconcerned with the outcome of her own safety in this. "And if the Family gets me, you make sure Vaughn keeps her word and leaves everyone be, you hear me?"
"The Family is not going to get you," he said, voice more of a growl, tensing muscles aching all up and down his spine.
She stopped when he growled, and she blocked his path down the stairs, stopping in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "No," she said, finally shaken out of her tired fog. "This is not going to become another vengeance thing for you, Shane. Promise me, or I'm disappearing. I mean it," she said, impassioned.
He searched her face. "You really just expect me to walk away if you disappear, if they hurt you?" He shook his head, frustrated, cutting off any reply. "It's not going to happen. I'm going to make sure it doesn't."
"They just want their money, Shane. Vaughn's the one doing this, the one hiding it from them. My parents, they never meant to hide it. The Family is their Family. They were loyal to 'em at all cost, whether you and me think it's right or not. That money, it's theirs. It ain't mine, and I don't have a mind to keep it," she said strongly, because it was true. Her grandmother lived for the Family, and her parents never regretted the life they lived.
"Vaughn's first priority," he assured her. "If I can get the money from her and get it to the Family, then great. But if they hurt you anywhere along the line, I don't care if it's just over the money. That doesn't excuse them." He'd never assumed that she meant to keep the money, but it was a touch reassuring to hear.
She tipped her head thoughtfully. "You send 'em my chandelier. It's all I got access to of the Family's fortune, but it's worth near a million dollars." She shook her head almost immediately after she said it. "I'll get someone else to do it, so they don't get scent of you," she corrected, then she started down the stairs again in a hurry. "Your first priority is Rose and Daniel. Vaughn and the money are second," she corrected, looking over her shoulder as she neared the lobby.
He followed her lead, looking behind them. He tried to keep aware of their surroundings as they walked, sniffing out any sign of Vaughn. "Fine." Daniel would likely be fine, not that there was anything Shane could really do for him aside from try to keep Vaughn from doing any physical damage to him. Rosalie was the one who might actually need protecting.
She walked out into the early morning sunlight, and she turned and kissed him, her fingers sliding from his cheeks into his dark hair. She lingered over it, made it last, and when she pulled away it was reluctantly. "I'll call you," she said, touching her fingertips to his lips.
He held the kiss as long as he could, until she broke away. It was good, a small comfort. It wasn't enough.
He kissed the tips of her fingers and fought the urge to follow her. "As soon as you get somewhere," he said. It wasn't a request.
She nodded, and when a cab pulled up to the curb, she climbed in without another word, and she watched through the back window until he was out of sight.