Who: Jane and Toby When: Late afternoon, Mid-March (After jane, mal and neil scene) Where: The Rayner Funeral Home Status: Complete
It took Jane a bit to finally track down Toby. She knew he was a nurse now, but asking around at Mercy had proven to be a bit futile as people weren’t all that eager to give her Toby’s personal information. Jane supposed she couldn’t blame them. There were a lot of psychos out there in the world, after all, although Jane felt like she looked unassuming and innocent enough. But whatever. It eventually took fifty bucks to find out that one of Toby’s clients was Edgar Rayner, who was apparently in a coma, holed up at home. That home just happened to be the funeral home, which Jane thought was pretty badass.
When she arrived, there were a couple of cars in the lot but it didn’t to be a funeral going on or anything, so she felt comfortable enough stepping into the building and looking around. There were voices coming from what Jane could only assume was the viewing room and when she peered inside, she was met with a smile from a short blonde girl.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said, doing her best to appear apologetic. “I’m looking for Toby Mitchell. I’m his cousin, Jane.” She supposed she hadn’t needed to lie, but she didn’t want Toby to get into trouble by having strangers drop by while he was working.
“Oh!” Addie’s smile widened and she quickly excused herself from the couple who were looking through their casket catalogue. “Toby’s upstairs,” she said, leading Jane to the carpeted stairs. “If you go up to the second floor, there’s a door at the end of the hall. That should take you upstairs to my father’s room. Toby should be there.”
“Thank you. I promise I won’t take long,” she promised, flashing Addie a grateful smile though inside she was thinking the woman really ought to be less trusting of people, especially in this town. Addie waved and returned to her appointment as Jane headed upstairs.
Adalyn Rayner’s father’s room was essentially in the attic, but it was nice. Comfortable and cozy. She could hear the machines as she walked quietly up the remaining stairs and she spotted Toby’s dark curls as she came to the landing. “Boo,” she said, grinning as she leaned against the wooden railing. “Long time no talk.”
Toby was sitting beside Edgar Raynor’s bed, painting his nails with teal glitter polish that matched the paints of his scrubs. His top was just as bright in purple and blue flowers, calling to mind the spring he was more than ready for, but in hues he also associated with winter. Not that he cared which season it was when it came to fashion. He’d wear whatever he pleased, no matter what time of year it was. He’d paused when he heard voices travel in his direction, then finished off his second coat as his heart began to race. He couldn’t hear Jane’s footsteps on the stairs, but somehow he knew something was coming and he had the feeling he wouldn’t like it. His head snapped up at the sound of her voice and he screwed the top back on the polish. “Jane, sweetheart,” he said, slapping on a big, fake grin. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
His forced grin only made her smile widen. It was always so nice when people were terrified to see her, even when they tried to hide it. It was like she was a harbinger of doom or something. "I came to see you. I figured it was time," Jane said. Her gaze ticked to the old man lying in the bed. What a horrifying job, having to sit beside a vegetable all day. "And I needed to talk to you about AIR." It was always better to just come out with it and be blunt. No use in beating around the bush and making small talk when Toby was at work and his employer could pop up the stairs at any time. "They're back in business, and we need your help taking care of them."
Toby wasn't scared of Jane in general; it was all in her timing. She wouldn't have tracked him down at work to make a social call, not after years and years of silence, and the only thing they had in common was AIR. He knew before she said it that he was going to hate whatever came out of her mouth, but it still felt like a kick in the stomach, a sucker punch that he didn't deserve. "What do you mean 'back in business'? They all died," he said, eyes ticking to the vegetable on the bed, then back to Jane. "Kids disappearing around here doesn't mean it's AIR. You know that as well as I do."
"They didn't all die," Jane corrected. "One of the assistants survived, but that's beside the point. Wilkes's son has re-opened AIR. I'm not saying any disappearances around here are AIR-related, but they're definitely back in business. Neil and I met with someone else in town, who was in the same shoes we were, only he was sold. He's back now and we're gathering people, and that includes you." It didn't occur to her to ask him for help. In her head, it was simply a given that anyone taken and tortured by those people would want to have a hand in taking them down. Neil, of course, was the exception but he was still going to help anyway.
“Do you have any proof that they’re hurting people this time?” Toby asked. “We killed a lot of people last time. Some of them might have been innocent. I’m in the business of saving lives these days, not taking them.” Back in business didn’t mean they were up to the same shit, or at least Toby hoped that wasn’t the case. He wouldn’t feel good about turning Jane away if AIR was really torturing kids again. The mention of someone else, someone outside their circle, piqued his interest, but he didn’t let it show. “Besides, you, me, and Neil aren’t exactly the cavalry. They’re more likely to catch us and there’s no way I’m going back there.”
Jane arched a brow. "You honestly think those people were innocent? The ones who kidnapped us and tortured us until they made us what we are? Wouldn't you rather take them down now before we have proof that they're hurting people again? And it's not just the three of us. I told you we met someone else... and he already knows of another person in town who was taken by AIR. And I'm going to get Shane here to help us too." She was getting annoyed at his flippant attitude so Jane took a breath before she lost her temper. "Look, it's scary and it sucks, but it is what it is. Just meet with Mal and the others first before you decide what to do. Can you do that much?"
"I'm not talking about the ones that tortured us. I'm talking about the others," Toby snapped. As an adult, he doubted that every single person associated with AIR was in on the kidnapping and torturing of children. That wasn't the kind of thing that an entire organization could do without information leaking out. But they hadn't been selective about the lives they took when they escaped. They'd cleaned house and, while he didn't regret it, he'd had to live with the knowledge that some of the people that died were possibly innocent. Apparently Jane didn't see it that way, or hadn't considered it, and from the way she was talking it sounded like she was prepared to repeat the past regardless of AIR's current activities. "Sure, I'll talk to 'em. But I'll know if they're lying, so somebody better have proof that they're at it again or you can count me out. And I'm not gonna let Shane barbeque a bunch of people because of something they might be doing."
"There are no others," Jane said calmly. "You know damn well those people knew what they were doing. There's no way they worked in that building didn't know what was going on. Even if they didn't directly hurt us, they were complicit." There would be no changing Jane's mind on that either. To her, AIR was evil from top to bottom. Wilkes's son was taking up the mantle now and they were going to stop him. Jane smiled again. "Toby, even if you count yourself out, you're not going to stop what we're going to do. So, talk to Mal. Listen to what he has to say. If you still don't want to help us, then you don't have to. But you're involvement ends there. If you try to stop any of us, it's going to be bad for you." Jane glanced at the comatose man again. "It seems you have your hands full here... so I'll let you get back to work." She pulled out a folded piece of paper from her back pocket and walked over to Toby to hand it to him. "That's my cell number. Text me so I have yours. Once I get a hold of Shane, and he's in town, we'll all get together to talk. Okay?"
Toby wasn’t a violent person by nature, but he felt the urge to slap that smile off Jane’s face like never before. The gall she had to walk into his life and make these declarations was incredible, but then to threaten him crossed the line. He wanted to tell her to get out and never speak to him again, but the thought that she’d planted could not be forgotten. If AIR was back in business, if they were torturing kids—torturing anyone—he knew he couldn’t let it go. And while the chance that they’d find him felt slim, he knew he wouldn’t sleep well knowing that they might be out there looking. He glared at her, unable to determine the various paths this might lead him, too close to it and far too emotional at the moment. Maybe it would come to him later. “Fine,” he said as he took her number, but made no promises. “Call next time. Or text. Don’t show up where I work.”
There was always something so satisfying about getting under people's skin, especially when they tried to squirm away from their responsibilities. And this was Toby's responsibility as much as it was hers. They had survived AIR but that didn't mean others would. It was up to them to stop it. Again. They could use Toby's help, but if he tried to back out... well, she would let him. As long as he didn't try to fuck them over. "You're right, I shouldn't have shown up at your place of employment," Jane said with a hint of amusement in her voice. She turned to head back for the stairs. "I can see you're very busy. I love that shade of polish on your nails by the way. Make sure they dry completely before touching anything!" She waved at him as she descended the stairs, pleased that Toby would at least talk to Mal. That was all she could really ask for at this point.
If that was supposed to be a dig at his line of work, it didn’t bother Toby, who knew that most of the work he did had value. Watching Edgar Raynor might not be rocket science, but the hours he put in at Mercy were a valid contribution to society. “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out,” Toby called back to her as she left, waving his pretty blue nails until she was out of sight, then flicking her off in her absence. The worst part of her visit was the way it lingered after she was gone, the threat of AIR now stuck in his mind. He hated to think they might be back and knew that he couldn’t sit around and do nothing if they were torturing people again, no matter how much he’d like to.