Echo Hartigan (inpiratesong) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2012-01-09 15:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | #solo, 2009-08-29 |
you haven't got forever, but i got that too
Who: Echo & NPC
When: Early afternoon
Where: Roads of Scarlet Oak
“Hey.”
Silence. Except for the radio with all of its drama and ‘who could do such a thing?’, but since when had she ever even begun to listen to anyone else’s plight but her own?
“Hey.”
Echo leaned forward on crossed legs, drumming blue nails against the partition. When the driver’s eyes didn’t so much as flicker in her direction, her brow creased and her gum popped. A moment later it was stuck over the face of his identity card. She never had taken well to being ignored.
“Hey. You.” She leaned back in her seat, voiced pitched over the radio just so. “We seem to have ground to a halt?”
“Yeah—” It was a crime that stating the fucking obvious stole his attention over the rest of her. “—Aren’t you hearing this?” He turned the volume up, presumably for her benefit. All Echo could hear was more of the same. Why would anyone make such a horrible attack on a gesture that was so clearly peaceful? Cue drama queen throwing the back of their hand over their forehead. Last she checked the easiest answer to that was ‘because they can’, shortly followed by ‘because they hate the godforsaken idiots involved’. It was also kind of presumptuous to assume the march was peaceful just because the title said so; how many of those preternaturals were otherwise considered dangerous by virtue of being, well, themselves? Further down the line and the marchers themselves could have been a weapon. Just because it looks like a duck and smells like a duck, doesn’t mean it’s not a were. But the taxi started up again, so perhaps she wouldn’t have to scalp him.
“Well, sure.” She scanned her nails to make sure the drumming had done no damage to the polish. Today had been a blue day until someone introduced the fireworks. Now her manicure seemed inappropriate. “But m’darlin’, this isn’t the way I wanted to be going.” He had just turned left after starting the engine again, and her apartment was to the right. Echo was certain that part had already been discussed. If not then he could paint her yellow and float her in his bath tub, but the point remained he was currently driving the wrong way. If it wasn’t for the fact a girl had luggage to trolly around, she would have told him to drop her right here, right now, and flown to Cherryblossom Place. One had to wonder how many bird-savvy individuals were around while there were anti-supernatural whoevers blowing up what sounded like the world.
The driver looked back at her, the mirror framing eyes that she imagined might be attached to a pout. She was doing her best not to get pissed off with him, really she was, but he was not making that part easy. If I find you next time I need to end something… “My kids might be in there.” Well so could mine, but I’d hope I raised the bitches better than that.
“So call them and find out.” The air of sweetness was beginning to fall in favour of a distracted impatience. She was too busy playing with her rings and considering the virtues of blowing up the enemy before they truly knew you were coming for them. It was the kind of thing she would buy into. Though, personally, she wasn’t sure she possessed enough trust in her fellow criminal to pull off today’s fireworks. Not on a global scale. Maybe she needed to work on that.
“Line’s dead.”
So naturally Daddy had to go and rescue his kiddies who were probably dead by now or just out of battery. Great. “So keep calling while we keep moving. In the right direction.” Uncrossing her legs, Echo slid forward to stare through the partition at the side of his head. “Seems like the most sensible course of action, if I’m honest.” Purely to get her out of his cab as soon as possible, while there was still a chance she would not use that small gap to knife him rather than pay him. She was fairly sure she could skewer his kidney from where she was sat. Then who would go and save the children?
“But the bridge—”
“Has collapsed, and half of the marchers have been swept into the river. Half of those again won’t even be found due to the current,” the siren crooned, suddenly a little amused. “Want me to go on?”
Did I say the wrong thing? She wouldn’t really have cared if she had, except one moment she was considering whether to trying cutting him and the next the bastard was out of the cab and pulling her luggage out of the trunk. I hope your kids died under the rubble, you—“Honey, I’d let go of me,” she warned in an oddly adult tone, despite struggling like a child against the hand that had clamped around her wrist. Really, being dragged from a vehicle was just undignified. Being dragged from a vehicle because she was more or less pointing out the obvious fact that his children were probably dead? Well – it was like this place was trying to inconvenience her with its oh so impressive explosions and he was part of the plan. “I said let go.” Because there was a little velveteen bag in her ass pocket that she ideally needed both hands to get into. Also, ow. If her wrist bruised, he was a dead cabbie. “Or you could just stop jerking me around, because this is classed as assault.” Dropping her wrist like a red hot poker, the cabbie took a step back and rubbed his neck. What was apparently some kind of shame, Echo called stupidity. Her fingers had already pulled the little bag from her pocket and were in the process of opening it when her companion – if he could even be called that – began to make his way back to his cab door. Oh, no. No, no, he wasn’t getting away just like that. She wasn’t going to kill the son of a bitch, but still… “Hey, you want your fare or not?” Sure, this was a purse, why not? She could pretend the blue-black powder she smoothed onto her palm was currency. After debating whether or not she was about to use too much, she decided it didn’t matter and blew the lot into the idiot’s face. A sweet smile immediately replaced her annoyance as he inhaled the fairy dust and… hit the deck. She pulled the draw-strings of the bag tight and stuffed it back into her pocket. He would be out for a matter of hours – maybe a day.
She’d be happier if there was a way of knowing if another car run him over.
Twirling a piece of hair around her finger, Echo thanked the unconscious man for his keys and wrestled her luggage back into the trunk. It wasn’t stealing a taxi if you intended to leave it somewhere for it to be found later on. Possibly burned out. She just needed a driver who would take her to her apartment without having an irritating moral itch in the form of family, friends or the sudden need to help.
Hah, I got his fares.
All she needed now was a generous soul to help her carry her things from the car when she got there. She really wasn’t fond of looking like Daddy’s Little Princess playing with his briefcase. Ooh, hey, maybe they’d carry her too.