InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "we were all yellow"

Shane Marion (wolfishane) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2009-12-05 14:22:00

Entry tags:

big bad wolf, willful child

Who: Shane and Piper, followed by a coterie
What: The Indiana Jones Boulder of Plot--in which there will be hunting, stabbing, psychics, and blood.
Where: Out and about in New York
When: Tonight
Warnings: Expect blood, swearing, and death.

It had been an informant who'd told Shane about the family's moves to tighten their grip on Boyd. He'd gone home and written her that note immediately after, slipping it under her door with its jagged lettering and frantic text calculated to be as disturbing as possible. He hoped it would get her attention, and startle her into pulling away from her duplicitous family.

It wasn't enough.

He'd been planning on going after Tommy later in the week, since the timing would be better, but he decided to move his plans forward. He told himself it was more convenient this way, that waiting wouldn't really make much of a difference. He told himself this even as he pushed back thoughts of tearing Tommy apart with his bare hands. No. It wasn't going to happen that way, not with this one. Maybe he'd move a little quicker than he expected, but he was going to do it right.

He headed out of Bellum with his hands in the pockets of his coat, walking toward the Giancoma headquarters. Tommy would be getting out of work in half an hour, and by then, it would be dark. When he left, he'd follow him, and when they got into some quiet alley, he'd be ready with the gun in his pocket. Simple. Tommy was sure to be armed, but it would be an easy thing to come up behind him in the dark. He'd die without ever knowing what had happened. This was one body he planned to leave for the police to find. He wanted the Giancomas to know someone was coming after them again.

He was so intent on his goal, so distracted by the sheer effort it took to keep his thoughts focused on it and nothing else, that he wasn't nearly as careful as usual, neglecting to make sure no one was following him.

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wolfishane
2009-12-06 06:37 am UTC (link)

Shane tried to pull from Shiloh's grip, but it was half-hearted. That self-preservation instinct kicked in again and he leaned a little on him, trying to support himself as much as possible and continue ignoring the twisting pain in his side. The streets were pretty quiet, and he kept himself on the inside of the sidewalk to make the bright, unmistakable red stain on his shirt less visible to anyone who might be walking on the other side of the street.

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ex_auguries536
2009-12-06 06:40 am UTC (link)

Even a full-fledged attempt to flee wouldn't have met with any success, had Shane tried it. Shiloh was tall and thin, but he wasn't a weakling. He'd grown up working the land, and avoiding blows and there wasn't a bit of softness on him.

"What room are you in?" he asked Shane, even as he reassuringly patted Aaron's shoulder with his gloved hand. "It'll be okay, Aaron," he assured, nodding toward the door of the building when it came in to view.

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	backoff 2009-12-06 06:45 am UTC (link)
	Aaron gave Shiloh a rather blank look, but again did not reply. He drifted back, inexplicably, to Piper, where he walked next to him. Every time Piper looked back at the alley, Aaron would pause and wait for him to start walking again. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2009-12-06 06:51 am UTC (link)
	Focusing on something outside of putting one foot in front of the other and keeping his hands out of sight and close to his chest was a real effort. So much time passed between the question and the answer that it seemed like he didn't intended on responding. "601," he said, at last gritting his teeth as he almost tripped over an uneven piece of pavement. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_auguries536
2009-12-06 06:57 am UTC (link)

It was the tripping over the cement that sealed the fact that Shane couldn't go up to 601 on his own, and he suspected - remembering the body in the alley - that he wouldn't go to the hospital either. As they neared the door to Bellum, he spoke loudly enough for Aaron to hear him. "Aaron, opinion?" he asked, nodding his head to Shane. He couldn't believe he was asking his brother to give him a mental readout on a possible killer, but there it was.

The other guy, the one that wasn't talking, his injuries were minor and he just needed to get somewhere with someone who could deal with the shock he was in. "What apartment?" he asked Piper, who didn't answer.

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backoff
2009-12-06 07:03 am UTC (link)

Aaron moved away from the shell-shocked blonde, stepping up on the other side of Shiloh, quiet, obedient, but at least in his right mind. Piper had receded past the point of leaving any emotional trail at all, and Shane's concentration was all on the pain. Keeping Shiloh between himself and Shane, Aaron reluctantly took one hand out of his jacket pocket and stretched out his fingers through the air in the bleeding man's direction, first two extended, the others curving and loose. After a moment he took in a breath and pulled his hand back. avoiding Shane's eyes.

To Shiloh he said, softly. "He's hurt. Confused. He's sorry. He's worried." Briefly he looked back at Piper, and then into Shiloh's eyes. "It's okay."

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wolfishane
2009-12-06 07:20 am UTC (link)

The entrance to the building was close, now, and Shane's eyes were fixed on it. His vision had cleared a little when he got moving, but his head was light. He wasn't going to make it much further. When he got inside, he'd have to get into the elevator and just hope it took him to the right floor.

When Aaron spoke, his unfamiliar voice caught Shane's attention. He didn't know at first what Aaron was talking about. Then realization dawned, and his eyes widened a fraction. It was almost enough to distract him from the pain. He didn't say anything, didn't do more than look sharply over at him, confused with a note of fear buried beneath it.

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	ex_auguries536 2009-12-06 07:23 am UTC (link)
	Shiloh didn't lead Shane to the elevator or the stairs, he led him to 104, and he tugged on Piper's sleeve, pulling him to a stop. "What apartment is he in?" he asked, motioning to Piper, nodding toward the doorknob, so that Aaron could open it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wolfishane
2009-12-06 07:42 am UTC (link)

"201," he said. Single syllable responses were, at least, something he could manage. He didn't like the looks of things, even as was herded into the apartment. He didn't have the energy to protest anymore, though, and allowed himself to be lead. As soon as he was capable of climbing the stairs to his apartment, he would. For now, he was going to just wait and see if he made it through tonight.

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	ex_auguries536 2009-12-06 07:45 am UTC (link)
	Shiloh led Shane to his bedroom, to his bed. He knew Shane was going to need that wound taken care of, and he really rathered Aaron not be present. Shiloh had plenty of experience sewing and patching things up on himself, but he didn't want Aaron to know that. "Aaron, can you help the other one upstairs?" he asked. "Don't touch him if you don't have to." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	backoff 2009-12-06 07:48 am UTC (link)
	Aaron hesitated, nodded, and then vanished from the bedroom doorway. He would not touch Piper, because he was wearing Shane's jacket, but he herded him along with his presence out the door and up the stairs. (Reply to this) (Parent)

pied
2009-12-06 07:56 am UTC (link)

Piper didn't stop on the second floor, and he didn't turn around to see if Aaron was still following him. The closer he got to the roof, the faster he moved, and by the time he reached the door at the foot of the stairs, he was practically running. He lost his footing on the steps to the roof more than once, and by the time he reached the top he was just as out of breath as he was pale and panicked.

He didn't even knock on the sliding glass door to Daniel's apartment, he just slid against it and banged his head back against it over and over, again and again.

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backoff
2009-12-06 08:03 am UTC (link)

At first, Aaron didn't know what to do as Piper's shock seemed to wear out into something like the panic from before. He understood, however, that they were moving toward safety rather than truly fleeing something behind, and so he pursued, with some vague notion that this guy was his responsibility until he got to wherever he was going. There was a brief hesitation at the foot of the dark stair, but it climbed, and then the cold winter air hit him hard, and he realized that the spooky garden was actually on the roof.

Aaron had an advantage over most, however, and he knew there was no one and nothing that wanted to hurt him in the darkness. He pursued Piper to the glass doors hidden by the curtains, alarmed by his behavior as the panic continued to spiral. "Stop!" When Piper did not respond, Aaron hesitated and then, pulling his sleeve over his hand, he pulled on the neck of Piper's shirt, avoiding Shane's coat as best he could.

The thin protection was not quite enough, and Aaron's eyes briefly glazed over as every recent, strong emotion took over.

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pied
2009-12-06 08:29 am UTC (link)

Piper was easy to tug away from the glass the small amount it would take to keep him from hitting his head against it, and his eyes focused on Aaron for the briefest of moments, before looking back at the sliding glass door. Without standing, he reached for the door handle and tried, fruitlessly, to tug it open. A moment later, and he was on his feet, banging on it frantically.

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backoff
2009-12-06 08:42 am UTC (link)

Aaron came back to himself. Without touching Piper this time, he pushed in and interposed himself between one blow and the next. "They're asleep," he said, looking at him hard and willing him to understand. Whoever was inside, he could feel the old fear that was practically in every pore of the place, and the person inside had the distant vagueness of someone in slumber. "Deep asleep. They're not waking up because they wore out from being afraid. Do you understand? Just wait a second, okay?"

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	pied 2009-12-06 08:46 am UTC (link)
	Piper didn't understand how a second was going to wake Daniel up, and all he wanted was to get inside where it was safe, because Daniel, he knew, wouldn't let anything happen to him. Regardless, he nodded, too shocked and terrified and bleeding to do anything else. He didn't even ask how Aaron knew, who Aaron was. He couldn't. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

backoff
2009-12-06 08:51 am UTC (link)

"Okay." Aaron turned around and faced the glass. Fuck, he really didn't want to do this. He put his palm against the glass.

Thirty seconds later, Aaron's hand dropped to his side. He wavered a little bit on his feet, but pointed off to their left, where the glass curved away into the wall erected to divide the bedroom from the now exposed conservatory. "In there. Bang on it again over there."

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	pied 2009-12-06 08:56 am UTC (link)
	Piper didn't know why he trusted what the kid was telling him to do, but he did. Possibly it was sheer desperation, possibly it was the way he wavered on his feet, as if he was feeling something terrible. Regardless, Piper took his fists to the glass, bloodying it from the outside with near-dried blood. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

backoff
2009-12-06 09:02 am UTC (link)

"Now stop," Aaron's voice snapped out again. "They're coming. They're coming, okay? Just stay right here. Don't move."

Aaron did not want to be on that balcony when whoever it was came out. The self-loathing, the bitter frustration, and worst of all, the spiraling guilt and suicidal helplessness--it drove him back as sure as anything ever could. He vanished off the balcony down the stair as the lock on the glass door clicked open.

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