The Key and the Gate

DeletedUser31931

Boris chuckled as Cynthia called Jimmy a crook. “He is most certainly that, but he’s a more honest crook than some of the other men out there. So long as you pay him well enough.” As they rode up to the compound’s gate, Boris saw…. them. At least, he thought it was them. They looked like a stereotypical them… A cross between secret agents and mobsters. The kind of people that walk into your prison cell and tell you that they have the power to lock you up for a very long time, the same kind of people who put a bullet in the skull of your friends, the people who…. Cynthia distracted Boris from his line of thought and he conscious released his grip on the handlebars of the motorcycle, which he’d been gripping so hard that his calloused hands hurt slightly. Nodding in agreement, Boris revved the motorcycle and drove out of the compound’s gate, worried. What if they had actually come for Jimmy? Boris decided that Jimmy was a big enough boy to handle his own issues. The man did have what was, in essence, his own private army after all. Besides, he had Cynthia to worry about, he didn’t want to risk bringing her into a firefight when all of the training she’d had amounted to the afternoon session that they’d just had together.

Boris made a mental note that tomorrow he’d teach her about what to do if they ever ended up in a firefight and the basics of firing a gun. Throughout the drive home he proceeded to again throw out every tail evasion manoeuvre he threw, more as a force of habit by this point than out of any sense that it was working. Eventually arriving back at the flat, he stored the bike and they made their way up to the apartment. Putting the book in the safe, he locked everything up. “I’m going to hit the sack, there’s not much for us to stay up for.” Boris grabbed the shotgun and took up the same position as the night before, preparing to sleep in the same state of alertness as the night before. Given that they had seen them today… Boris could feel a storm brewing, and he knew he had to be ready for when it hit.
 

DeletedUser28032

Throughout their journey home, neither of them would catch a glimpse of them again though Boris could still feeling them watching him from out of the shadows. It was almost as if they could simply vanish the moment he turned to look for them and that if he could just simply turn his head quick enough then he'd catch them in the act.
However the only people they would see during the entire trip back were a group of hooded teenagers passing a bottle around as they loitered by a park bench, and a young Latino man sat within the doorway of their building playing what looked to be a twelve string; with his music echoing around the dingy lobby area as they passed him.
Once inside the apartment Cynthia required little in the way of persuasion to call it a night and go to sleep, though she did feel a little guilty about taking the only bed in the apartment again "do...do you think they were following us? Those men...or were they after Jimmy?" Cynthia asked as she paused within the doorway to the bedroom clearly troubled by their presence at the warehouse tonight. There was no denying that they had been up to something, the question was what and to whom?

Once again Boris would be plagued by nightmares of which he would have no recollection come the following morning save for the phrase The hounds are coming echoing around his mind.
A quick glance around the apartment would tell him that all was well in the world; the alarm hadn't been tripped, the doors, windows and safe were still secure, and everything was exactly where he had left it the night before including the book; still wrapped in its brown paper and sitting on the coffee table near where he had slept...wait that wasn't where he had left it...was it?
 

DeletedUser37114

Abbie apparently doubted that Hex could erase her work, which was a little irritating for Nia (the doubt and apparent lack of knowledge being the sharpest bits). There wasn't any sort of "wrong key" or key configuration for the system they'd been using that would erase everything like that. But before Nia could explain that, John (who had been working on... something) stepped in to defend her. Though his defense ("Abs" and "demon robot thing" weren't particularly good terms there) wasn't the reasonable argument she had been planning. Still, Abbie seemed to believe them and went to get her tools (which were, interestingly, mildly angry but protective towards their master). Activities from there segued into trying to covertly figure out what color underwear her lover was wearing (black, which looked wonderful contrasting with the rocker chick's pale skin) while handing her tools out of the box. The second part was thankfully quite easy considering that each bit was labeled and stored together (sort of like a clan or a family of sorts), otherwise she wouldn't have had a clue where to start finding the tools. Nia did take a short break to help John look through the screen prints he'd gotten from Hex before Abbie started working (which were still about as opaque as they'd been), but most of her time was spent watching the rock chick work and providing what help she could. Toward the end of the day, Abbie came out of the machine with news that she couldn't find anything wrong (which made sense, this was Hex being a brat, after all) unless she took the entire thing apart. The news itself wasn't too saddening, but it did mean another day without significant progress and Nia was reluctant (shaking her head to let her lover know) to go through a wasted day when she still wasn't sure that anything was wrong. The better news was Abbie's proposal that Nia come over to her place tonight for some Netflix (nice), food (nice), and wine (okay). She'd never actually watched Netflix with someone, her subscription was mostly for personal binge watching (Star Trek: TNG was one of the main offenders) whenever she felt like something. But the activity (and the unspoken segue into fun times) sounded like a wonderful way to spend the evening to her. "Sounds great," she said, voice quiet but enthusiastic. "Six?" Last night they'd met at half past, but meeting earlier tonight left them with a little more time to watch whatever they wanted.
 

DeletedUser31931

They were following, he was sure of that. Still, he couldn’t see them but that meant nothing. For everything else that had happened in the past few days, who knew what they were capable of. As they arrived back at the flat and Cynthia asked her question, Boris smiled grimly. “Part of me hopes that the answer to that question is Jimmy. He’s got enough skill and bullets that they’d need an army of their own to kill him. That said, it was probably us. I guess we’ll see.” Boris let Cynthia take the bedroom, defaulting to the same arrangement as the night before. His dreams were as the night before, that same phrase “The hounds are coming” echoing through his head.

Boris awoke to see the book sitting, in its brown paper package, on the table in front of him. Any drowsiness that Boris might have felt instantly vanished and a cold, hard determination gripped the man. His hands tightened around the shotgun. He had left the book in the safe. He remembered it well, opening the safe, putting in the combination and then locking the safe again. Moving as quietly as he dared, he went to check the corridor. If They were in the apartment then They certainly wouldn’t be alive for very long.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Rebecca didn't seem to accept Zani's assertions that she shouldn't feel bad, rolling out of the comforting hug so that she wasn't facing her friend anymore. Her actions had all been out of fear, Zani was the brave one, and so on. Shifting so that she could put a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder, the librarian replied, "I'm really not as brave as you make me out to be...when the goons burst in to kill the artist I couldn't move...they manipulated me along with the rest of the scene so that it would be obvious I did it, and I couldn't do a thing...just sat there in shock and fear. I had my taser on me, I could've tried to do something, but I didn't...your ex...he was a goon, and he was going to hurt you if I didn't step in...I did that to help you. Just like you helped me, even if you don't want to see it for some reason. If I'm guessing right you were supposed to let me walk into that farmhouse none the wiser, right? And yet you stopped far enough away that when they came to see what was wrong I had time to get us out of there...that took courage, and that's why I made sure you got out as well...because when it came to the final choice, you chose to save me rather than play into their hands." Zani squeezed her friend's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner. "So please, don't feel bad about what you did...I'm not as brave as you think I am, and I can hardly fault you for selling me out because you made up for it by saving me. Ok?" She really hoped this would get through to Rebecca...the poor woman had been through hell...she needed to focus on recovering rather than feeling bad about actions she'd gone to lengths to fix already. If this failed, she had another idea, but figured a gentle approach would be better for her in the long run...
 

DeletedUser28032

Nia
"Sure, six is cool by me...but...um...why don't you bring a spare set of clothes and a toothbrush with you and...You know, stop over?" Abbie said, clearly excited by the prospect of being able to spend the evening and if she had her way, the night and following morning with Nia. It hadn’t felt right leaving her whilst she was still half asleep and she would have much preferred to have remained in the other girl’s arms for a bit longer .In fact it was only her fear of being seen by any passing work colleagues that was stopping her from holding Nia’s hand or giving her a hug now “I can ask Sandra to come and pick you up from my place if you like, I’ll even tell her that I’m…um…seeing you” yeah, ok she wasn’t quite ready to admit that bit out loud in a public place just yet; with the rock chick’s cheeks flushing bright pink as she said it.
Assuming that Nia was ok with the idea she’d phone Sandra early tomorrow morning and tell her once she arrived to pick them up. It would mean Nia having to endure another car journey home in which she’d have to keep Abbie’s identity a secret but it was a start at least.

Throughout the ride home, Nia couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something was watching her, No… Following her! Back to her apartment building, not that she could see any likely candidates as they drove through the city. Even Sandra seemed oblivious to any pursuers as she happily talked to Nia; subtly dropping a few leading questions into the conversation in an attempt to glean some details as to her mystery boyfriend’s identity.
The feeling would follow her all the way up to her apartment door; only leaving her once she’d locked it behind her. It was as she was doing this that she’d catch sight of the envelope lying on the floor waiting for her. There was no address, stamp or name upon the plain brown envelope though it was sealed and clearly contained something, and since it had been pushed under her door it was obviously meant for her to find.
Upon opening the envelope Nia would find a single photograph inside; a black and white still taken from a video feed showing her and Abbie together on the couch in one of the more exotic positions they’d tried that night. Written on the back of the photo in red pen was the message “See you soon Lilly”

Zani
Feeling Zani’s hand gently resting upon her shoulder as she continued to try and absolve her of her guilt, Rebecca continued to sniffle as she fought to stop the wave of tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, still unable to accept that it hadn’t been her fault “please Zani just leave me alone…I don’t want to talk about it anymore…I just want to forget this day ever happened” she miserably whispered to the wall as she shrugged off her friends hand. She didn’t deserve to have a friend like Zani, she didn’t deserve to have any friends at all…Zani would be better off without her entirely.
She would get no further response from Rebecca that night, with the blonde either falling asleep or pretending to not long after she’d finished talking to her.

Upon waking the following morning Zani would find herself alone in the bed with her friends clothes missing from the back of the chair. However a quick search of the house would reveal a miserable Rebecca sat at the kitchen table awkwardly drinking a cup of black coffee using her broken fingers. Her hair was dishevelled, one eye was still virtually swollen shut and the other had a black circle around it that said she’d not gotten any sleep last night. Also judging by the way her friend was grimacing she’d been unable to locate the sugar within the strange kitchen in which she was sat. She’d briefly look up at her friend as she entered before dropping her gaze back down to the kitchen table before speaking in a miserable whisper “Hey Zani” with her sad little greeting seemingly all she was capable of saying to her friend at this point in time.
Before Zani had chance to say anything though their white knight; Jonathan entered the room smiling brightly at the pair as he did so “Morning, I see you managed to find the coffee then” he said with a smile as he moved over to refill the kettle and make a cup of his own; holding up an extra mug in way of a silent question as to whether Zani wanted one, a longing look appearing on Becca’s face when a bag of sugar was produced from out of a cupboard “I don’t think we were ever properly introduced, but My name is Jonathan Kingsbury, or Thrust if you like, its an old nickname but a few people still call me it” he continued in a cheerful voice; his hangover from last night or very early this morning to be more accurate, having disappeared in the intervening time.
After having produced the desired number of coffees he’d take a seat at the table and after taking a sip of his drink would begin to speak to the two librarians “so before I look at making us some breakfast, perhaps one of you ought to tell me what I’ve gotten myself into and why your friend decided to call me in the middle of the night to come and fetch you”

Boris
After unlocking the door Boris would find the corridor beyond deserted save for an old lady carrying her shopping back into her apartment, with the woman in question offering him a cheery smile before disappearing inside. It was possible that she was part of the conspiracy but it was doubtful as he’d seen her in and around this particular apartment block ever since he’d bought the safe house meaning that she probably was just a little old lady that lived a few doors down.
With the corridor devoid of armed intruders, Boris would return inside just in time to see Cynthia leaving the bedroom; rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she did so “morning Boris, sleep well?” she asked blearily before catching his mood “what’s the matter? What’s happening?” she asked nervously fearing that they were in danger of being attacked any second now with the shotgun in Boris’ hand doing little to dissuade her growing fear “Please Dmi…Boris you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” she asked, wondering how her life had gotten so complicated and what she’d done to deserve it.
 

Deleted User - 819397

It seemed Zani wasn't going to be able to get through to Rebecca that night...she was too wrapped up in her misery and guilt. She wanted to absolve her of those negative thoughts, but unless her friend was willing to meet her in the middle somewhere, there wasn't anything she could do. With the conversation determined beyond a doubt to be over, the librarian let her exhaustion overpower her at last, sinking into a dreamless sleep almost before she'd decided to nod off.

The morning found Zani alone in the bed, Rebecca's clothes gone. Worry hit her momentarily, only to be brushed away by reason. She couldn't have gone all that far...they had no vehicle outside of the idiot's, and last she knew he'd been holding onto the keys. Sure enough, after dressing and exiting the bedroom her friend greeted her in a sullen tone, sipping coffee that she appeared to be drinking for the caffeine alone, grimacing whenever she took a mouthful. The blonde looked terrible, even if she ignored the various injuries...if the bags under her uninjured eye were to be believed, she'd barely slept, if at all. "Morning Becca...I hope you're feeling better," she said with as much cheer as she could manage while still being half asleep. No sooner had Zani dropped into a chair when the idiot arrived, deciding to not live up to his nickname for once by moving to make more coffee, asking her if she wanted some. A grateful nod was all she needed to get her own mug, though as he had declined to ask how much sugar she wanted she requested he bring the bag over so she could prepare it herself...and leave the option open for her friend to add some to her drink, even if she was halfway through it. The not-quite-a-total-idiot then finally introduced himself as Jonathan (Zani immediately discarding the nickname as being moronic) and asked what he'd gotten himself into...and why their friend had called for him to come help them. This last bit caught her attention, and a quick glance at Rebecca told her that neither of them had any idea that a third party had been involved. "Wait...someone who claimed to know what was going on asked you to get us? As in, you were driving out there because you knew we would be there?" Panic flared up in the librarian, and she found herself reaching for her taser. "...you're not one of them, are you? This isn't a big setup zap him where you're trying to lull us into a false sense of security, right? zap him, get Becca, and run No one else knew what was going on...I called Becca, and that's it. You're in a kitchen Besides, even I didn't know where we were going, the only ones who did were them and Becca. Kitchens have knives So either one of them told you where to find us, or you're one of them. Wait, you have a knife Either way, I don't like the sound of that. It already has blood on it, what's a little more? So you have ten seconds to explain enough to convince me you're not one of them or...or... Just do it, save yourself the trouble" Zani didn't necessarily want to kill Jonathan...heck, she didn't think she wanted to kill anyone...and yet the more panicked and afraid she got, the more that voice in her head made it sound like a good idea...
 

DeletedUser31931

Something wasn’t right. Boris knew it. The shotgun felt cold in his hands. His hands weren’t sweating but he could feel the adrenaline in his system. As Boris leant out of the door, keeping the shotgun hidden, he saw an old lady, someone he’d seen around the building before, shuffling into her apartment. That said, you never knew who could be with them. Maybe he should kill her just to be on the safe side. Taking such an action though would likely bring the cops in and legitimise their pursuit of Boris and Cynthia… The door swinging open behind Boris interrupted his thoughts as he spun around, pointing the shotgun at Cynthia as she emerged from the bedroom. Relaxing as he saw she was alone, he quickly shut the front door and put in place the various locks again. Not that it would likely do much good against them but, to be honest, he was willing to try most things by this point. Moving into the apartment, Boris responded to Cynthia’s question with a jerk of the shotgun barrel towards the package on the table. “I put that in the safe last night. Unless our book also happens to have cracked teleportation, it shouldn’t be sitting there right now. Now I didn’t take it out of the safe. That leaves two options. Either you did, which is unlikely. Or…” Boris let the other option hang in the air, a silent threat. Part of him hoped, really hoped, that it had simply just been Cynthia who’d opened the safe during the night out of curiosity and had put the book back. It probably wasn’t though. They were toying him. Letting him know of their presence. Well, Boris couldn’t wait until he had a couple of faces to put to them. Because the moment that he did, he’d make sure that those faces weren’t recognisable for very long.
 

DeletedUser28032

Jonathan's Kitchen
"Drink your coffee Zani, you're always so tetchy before you've had any caffeine" Becca quietly spoke as her friend started to panic; the blonde girl offering up a half smile as she heaped spoons of sugar into her own cup. The change in mood however was short lived as a haunted look crept across her face and sadness into her voice "...if he was one of them we'd be tied to these chairs by now...they only pretended to be cops long enough to get through the door then they..." Becca suddenly found she was unable to speak any further on the subject as the memories of that night came flooding back. Shameful memories of pain and betrayal as she failed her best friend when she'd needed her most.

With one girl seeming to have a mental breakdown and the other rapidly descending into depression Jonathan was understandably cautious as he spoke to them, with much of his earlier good cheer now missing from his voice as the seriousness of the situation dawned on him "I promise you I know no more about what's is going on than you do...I simply assumed that whoever was on the phone was a friend of yours...perhaps we ought to start from the beginning and try and figure out what is going on...like; what were you two doing in the woods and who are them?" that was a sensible course of action to take, after all they were already in his kitchen and he was already involved in whatever the hell was going on around here.

Boris
"Wait...You think I?...Boris I don't even know where you keep your coffee! So how the hell am I supposed to crack your safe open whilst you were sleeping next to it with a damn shotgun!" Cynthia retorted angrily at the implied accusation. Didn't he realise that he scared her far too much for her to even consider betraying him, not that she would anyway as he was the only thing between her and them "...as for someone else breaking in, why go to the trouble sneaking in, opening your safe only to then leave what they’ve stolen on the table? Honestly Boris, after last night it probably just slipped your mind" she finished; scowling at the mercenary in a way that she wouldn't normally dare to. She was also not for the first time beginning to wonder about his sanity and whether or not it was actually safe for her to be around him if her was going to jump off the handle every time something a little out of the ordinary happened.
Her defiance was short lived with her personality reverting back to normalcy within a few minutes as she warily made her request "Come on Boris let’s go and have breakfast in a café or something? This apartment is sending us both paranoid, please Boris we can come back later, besides I’ve begun remembering things again"
 

DeletedUser31931

The threat did its job as Cynthia quickly confirmed his suspicions that it hadn’t been her. Boris had actually secretly been hoping that it had been her who’d done it. It only left one other option. Them… As Cynthia spoke, Boris shrugged. “I think that they’ve adequately shown that they have knowledge of us. This is probably a taunt on their part.” As she questioned his memory, he shrugged. He didn’t doubt his memory. His memory of most things were crystal clear. He had put the book in the safe. Still, there was nothing that could be done. Nothing, except to sit and prepare. Cynthia interrupted his thinking, suggesting that they go eat breakfast out and saying that she’d remember some more things.

Boris wanted to say yes and he wanted to go grab a coffee and a toasted sandwich. He wanted to say yes to Cynthia but, well, he had to face facts. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go eat outside. There aren’t many places around here that are going to do a breakfast. Less that we can go without worrying about gangs. And the ones that remain after you eliminate those two are all places you wouldn’t want to be caught at. Remember, even if they didn’t exist, you’re still an escaped mental hospital patient and your face has been plastered all over the local news for the past couple of days. We’ve mostly avoided that pitfall because we’ve been going around at night and no-one in this building block trusts the police enough that they’d tell them you were here. If we went somewhere else and had a coffee though… you bet your sweet ass we’d be fighting our way through cops. And that’s not something I’m particularly enamoured with the idea of. Especially because then I’d end up on an actual wanted list as well as theirs. And let’s just say that if I was on a wanted list, they’d probably step up the search a little.”

Boris couldn’t be certain, but he was fairly convinced that he was probably on some list so that if he ever went rogue they’d dispatch an FBI team after him. Hell, he’d probably already triggered some red flags by dropping off the network in the manner that he had. Still, he had done this before on occasion, albeit for different reasons. They probably wouldn’t figure out the link between him and Cynthia for a while unless they told the authorities. “So why don’t we have breakfast here? You can tell me what you remembered over breakfast. After we’re done we can do some more hand to hand practice.” Boris thought about things for a second, and decided there might be a compromise decision. “And, tell you what, if you work flat out on hand to hand this morning, and we make some good progress. Then, this afternoon, I’ll give you a lesson on disguising yourself in public and we can get some practical experience by going out. How does that sound?”
 

Deleted User - 819397

The mounting panic that had been threatening to consume Zani was abruptly halted by Rebecca telling her to calm down, a ghost of her usual self bubbling to the surface. It didn't last long, but the subsequent explanation did a lot to calm her. It was a bit of a struggle to get herself seated, but the librarian managed it and focused on her coffee. While she had no reason to doubt her friend, it was also true that she didn't function well without the caffeine...odds are she'd overreacted to some extent. Silence filled the small kitchen for a moment, then the idi...Jonathan spoke up, explaining he'd simply assumed the person on the phone had been a friend. The follow up questions were irritating, but expected, and Zani took a moment to get her thoughts back in some kind of order before she replied.

"We were out in the woods because we were fleeing from these...people. I don't know who they are or what they want, but they framed me for a murder I didn't commit so thoroughly I don't think I could legally escape it if the authorities caught me. We...wound up at a place where they were hiding out after I ran...she came to get me out of the city...and after I, uh...crashed the car in a panic...we escaped into the woods. I swear to everything I hold dear I didn't kill the man all the news channels were claiming I did...I had a gun to my head when they did it, they forced me to hold the knife afterwards, got me bloody...I still have the knife, actually. Figured it would only damn me further if I left it." Zani's expression turned downcast. "I don't know why they're trying so hard to ruin my life...they even got my name wrong...I'm not a 'Jain Farstrider'...I feel bad for whoever they're looking for...once they realize they've got the wrong person, they'll come down on her just as hard I'm sure. Still...I just want my life back, for the two of us to be able to go home, go to work...but I don't know how to do that." She laughed, a wry, humorless sound. "I know it sounds crazy...the doctor last night didn't believe me after he demanded I explain...I don't expect you to believe it, but you asked. Least I could do was answer." The librarian fell silent, turning back to her coffee. There was nothing more to say, and she didn't want to babble on needlessly, especially when she wasn't fully awake. For all she knew, Jonathan was about to kick them out of his place at the reminder she was a wanted woman...but she could at least make sure she finished her mug first.
 

DeletedUser13682

Johnathan sipped his coffee as he patiently listened to the librarian tell her tale. Apparently, not only were they wanted by this mysterious group that had confused Zani for a Jain Farstrider, but they were also wanted by the authorities for a murder that Zani claimed she didn't commit. By association, that probably made Johnathan a fugitive as well. "Now I wasn't quite expecting to hear that story. Wanted for a crime you didn't commit. Victim of a case of mistaken identity. I don't know quite what I was expecting to encounter when I answered that phone call, but I can guarantee that it wasn't this. Still, I was told to keep you guys safe. The guy also said my life depended on it too. Hold up a minute, I'll start breakfast." Johnathan got up and placed a CD in a home stereo system. Gypsy started playing through the kitchen speakers and Johnathan began making breakfast. As the pancakes were grilling and hte bacon frying, Johnathan continued his discussion. "Well, for what it's worth, I've had a strange night myself. Remember that monster I told you about? Wasn't a dream. Turned out to be a real thing. Old German mercenary and me hunted it down; killed it in MacArthur Park. Don't worry. It didn't bring any friends. Looks like breakfast is ready to be served. And here we go." The pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon were moved to three plates, and salt, pepper, maple syrup, and peanut butter were laid out in the center of the table. "Let's see what I have to drink. Milk, whole. Don't keep any of that skim stuff around. Think I have some creme de menthe somewhere. But I can't remember. Got some orange juice. Have vodka somewhere if you want a screwdriver. Don't have champagne, but have a nice white. It won't quite be a mimosa, but you can still get a nice buzz. Want some whiskey in your coffee? Maybe some Bailey's. I don't know about you, but I'm going to stick to coffee. Have to pick up my truck later." Johnathan sat down, fresh cup of brew in his mug, and started to eat. "Don't worry. It's not poisoned. Look, I know this is a difficult situation. Had a couple times where my buddies were framed for things they didn't do. It was easier then; just pop into the sub, and we're off again the next day. Everything was right as ran the next port call. Unfortunately, we can't escape back to say the Olympia. I have to go pick up my truck after this, so I can pick up anything you two might need. I think you'll be safer if you stay here. Don't be afraid to give me a call using the landline. Here's my number." Johnathan wrote down his cell number on a sticky note pad. "Don't worry. You'll have sanctuary here as long as you need it. Strange things are happening here, and I don't know what might happen next. Should be safe here. You can put a movie on, watch tv. Got a good selection of books, if you like nonfiction. Got a bit of time before a taxi will come to pick me up. Anything you two want to talk about?"
 

DeletedUser28032

Jonathan’s Kitchen
Once Zani had calmed down just enough to let the guy speak, it quickly became clear that Jonathan was none the wiser as to what was happening to them all or why she'd had to take a beating in the process. Though he was making them both breakfast which was nice of him, even if eating it was a struggle for her as broken fingers weren't conducive to holding cutlery and although she hadn't lost any of her teeth they had certainly been loosened last night which made chewing a painful challenge.
Trying her best to follow the constant stream of conversation coming from him Rebecca would opt for more coffee, even if alcohol did sound rather appealing to her. At his mention of his own exploits last night the blonde would practically jump out of her skin in shock "oh my god its you! The crazy monster guy from the library!" she exclaimed when she finally recognised him "wait, what do you mean it was real!?" she continued in the same shocked voice with her starting to wonder whether Zani may have had the right idea in tasering him after all "...please tell me it was just a bin bag in a tree or something I...I don't think I can handle monsters at the moment...I'm having enough problems with the human kind as it is" she said in a subdued voice as she gave up on table manners and ditched her knife and fork in favour of using her fingers to eat the bacon.

With their knight in shining armour once again riding to their rescue; this time by letting them stay in his home for the time being Rebecca deciding to take him up on his offer to pick some things up for her "If I gave you my door key could you pick up some clean clothes and a pair of glasses for me please?...I'd go myself but..." she didn't want to finish that sentence. Didn't want to admit that she was too scared to set foot within her own home again and that she was terrified that they would be there waiting for her to return. But she was and the idea of a stranger rifling through her belongings was preferable to ever setting foot within her own home again; somewhere that was supposed to be a safe place.
It was at this point in time that somebody started knocking on Jonathan’s front door.

Cynthia
Visibly deflating in response to Boris’ refusal of having breakfast elsewhere Cynthia meekly nodded her head before taking a seat at the kitchen table “sure…I guess so” she said in a voice that fully expected that the promised treat would never materialise. I’ve traded one prison cell for another…at least the nut house let me go outside she silently lamented.
Pulling out the same crumpled photo that she’d shown him before she lay’s it upon the kitchen table before speaking in a weary voice “the photo is old…I mean older than what I can remember, most of these people are dead; nasty unnatural deaths… anyway that’s Jain, we’ve already seen her, she was a shaman of some kind, that’s Lily Carter; she was kind of like my adopted cousin my uncle found her in the far east whilst hunting… something…anyway she was pretty good at building things, oh and that’s her husband she’s with” she said tapping the picture of a petite brunette girl sitting in the lap of a tall, handsome if non-descript young gentlemen. However despite the happy smile on her face her eyes seemed to be looking at somebody other than her husband “The man standing in the middle is my uncle; Dr. Jacob Stone he was our leader…well…kind of….he never bossed people around or gave orders but people always did what he suggested they should do…I…I also remembered a little more about Dmitri if…if you want to hear it?” she cautiously asked him, not sure whether he wanted to know about his past self or whether he’d preferred to pretend it had never happened which was perfectly understandable as she’d been very happy being Samantha Swann until the memories had started coming back at which point her nice, neat little life had come crashing down all around her “I just thought that…seen as we’re unlikely to find Jain that…maybe we could find one of the others like Lily or Dr Stone, or Jack” she said stabbing her finger at yet another good looking young man in a suit; his top hat tipped over at a rakish angle as he smiled at the camera with what Cynthia instinctively knew to be a sword cane his hand. Not that you could tell by looking, must be another memory? She supposed. Most people wished they didn’t forget about things. Cynthia was starting to wish that she did.
 

DeletedUser13682

“Crazy? I don't think I'm crazy. I know I seem a little bit strange, but crazy? Yeah, I've spent years of my life in a metal box, voluntarily, but I don't think that made me crazy. Maybe I was crazy and that's why I volunteered. But if the good old DoE trusts me, I must not be that crazy. But maybe they don't know. How well do the NSA and DoE communicate? Oh right coffee.” Johnathan got up and poured Rebecca another cup. She had seemed quite concerned about the prospect of that monster actually existing and what it must mean for her worldview. Now, here was a conundrum. Tell the girl that yes, monsters were real and it was something you'd have to deal with, or say that it was just a prank and there was nothing really to it. Despite his inclination to act out the former, even he could tell that the girl had been through a lot and sometimes lying was the more prudent course. “Yeah, it was a big garbage bag. My friend, met him in South Africa, had been in the neighborhood, came for a visit. He humored me for a bit, then we went to a bar downtown, got drunk, ate barbeque nachos, and caught up. You guys should try those nachos. I'll take you there personally once this whole mess is cleared up.” Once everyone was done eating, Johnathan gathered up the plates and silverware leaving the mugs behind in case more coffee was desired, and commenced rinsing the foodstuffs down the drain. Rebecca desired some personal items from her house, understandable, especially during such a stressful time. But it was a plan that Johnathan could not agree to. “I'd love to be able to grab everything you wanted from your house. I really would. I know familiar things help people cope with stressful times. But whoever found you knows where you live, knows that you two got away, and the police know that you're close friends with a wanted fugitive. At least two separate groups are going to be scouting out your place. They probably have constant surveillance. I can't risk picking anything up, lest I get captured or followed. Then the gig will probably be up for you two as well. The best I can do is buy you both new clothes and get you a new set of glasses.” As Wake Up concluded, and the sound system went silent, Johnathan heard a knock on the door. “Probably the cab driver. But they usually call. Half a minute!” Johnathan quickly ran over to the couch, where the Bren was sitting on the coffee table. After checking that it was loaded, Johnathan walked over to the door and cracked it open, pistol hidden behind the window. “Good morning,” Johnathan said in the cheeriest voice he could muster. “How can I help you this fine morning?”
 

DeletedUser31931

Boris sat down at the table, trying to ignore just quite how crestfallen Cynthia had looked when he had denied her request. As she talked him through the various people in the photograph Boris stared at the photograph, desperately trying to jog his memory of anything, anything about these people. Of course, nothing came up and Boris continued to stare as he absorbed Cynthia’s words. As she mentioned Dmitri, his gaze lifted. He stared are her for a section, his usual cold stare mixed with a tinge of what could be fear. Then he sighed and the moment had passed. “Sure, tell me about Dmitri. And then we can think about how we might find someone else in the photograph though I doubt that we’re going to have as easy a time explaining to them this madness as you did with me.” Boris didn’t really want to go looking, of course. He wanted to lay low and wait until they had the file on Jain. That was the big thing they were missing at the moment. Information. He was reliant on Cynthia for it and she didn’t have it and even the information she did have was mostly useless, though of course he couldn’t tell her that. He didn’t want to set off on a wild goose chase looking for someone who probably would think that they were insane. No, far better to wait until they had something on Zani-Jain and find out. Still, it couldn’t hurt to hear what Cynthia had to say. Then they could clear up the breakfast stuff and get on with the morning’s training. Then he could cook some lunch and, then, he’d make a decision as to whether they were going to go out in the afternoon. First thing’s first though. Story time.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Johnathan didn't fully remove the odds of him being an idiot by telling them of a monster tale as he cooked breakfast, that the thing had been real. Rebecca thankfully called him out on this, and he changed his tune to agree with her. Zani rolled her eyes at her friend. Men. Always trying to make themselves seem bigger than they were. Still, it seemed he was at least a reasonable cook, and after the stress of the previous night the librarian was ravenous. She opted into just coffee as well...the caffeine was going to help keep her going more than anything else, especially after she'd burned a decent amount of energy with her adrenaline moment. She kept quiet until Johnathan shut down Rebecca's request to get her things from her place, giving her friend a sympathetic look. "He's right Bec...both the police and...them...are going to be watching your place, especially since you've now disappeared. All going there would do for us is ensure that he'd be followed back." She looked at Jonathan, expression returning to a more neutral setup. "I'll pay for whatever you get us, just let me know how much. Least I can do to help out, since leaving the house would be a bad choice. If anyone sees me with my face all over the news..." Her train of thought was cut off as someone knocked on the door. "Oh hell...Becca, can you see the front door from where you're sitting? If you can, we need to get out of this room...if they're watching this house at all, we don't want to give them a reason to continue doing so. Come on, hurry!" Zani hated this...the paranoia, the fear...but she was going to keep the two of them alive, no matter what...the creeps had gotten her best friend involved, and she wasn't going to forgive them for that.
 

DeletedUser28032

Jonathan's Kitchen
With both Jonathan and Zani speaking out against her request Becca had to quietly admit that perhaps it hadn't been the best of ideas. Getting some fresh clothes for the pair of them wouldn't be too much of an issue; though it did mean writing down a list of rather intimate details so that Jonathan could get them clothes that actually fit, sourcing a pair of glasses that matched her prescription on the other hand would be rather tricky. She had a spare pair under the libraries front desk but sending Jonathan to retrieve them would be just as bad as sending him to her house.
With Jonathan going to answer the front door, Zani once again started acting all paranoid with her insisting that they needed to leave the room before they were seen by the mystery caller "but I haven't finished my..." Becca started before giving up. Protesting wouldn't change anything when she was in that kind of mood, better to just do as she said, and so abandoning the remains of her breakfast she would follow Zani into the rather small utility room.

"Good morning Herr Kingsbury, I trust you slept well?" Eric greeted Jonathan warmly in his strong German accent "...I've just come to collect my car and bid you farewell, after last night my business here is concluded so I'll be moving on...though while I think about it, here… take this" he said handing Jonathan a business card.
The card was for a bar in the nearby town of Kingsport called The Last Chance complete with a pair of cartoon bullet holes and a sheriff’s star printed upon it "If you ever need help with a situation like last night's there are people here who can help...if you know what I mean...now unless there is anything else I'll bid you good day" he said; offering Jonathan his hand in farewell. At least for the time being that is, as there was something about the man that gave Jonathan the impression that this wouldn’t be the last time they would be seeing one another.

Standing within what was essentially an oversized cupboard; Becca carefully positioned herself so that she could perch upon the washing machine, unsure as to how long she would be forced to hide in here with a rather twitchy Zani. They could just about hear Jonathan talking to someone but as for what they were discussing it wasn't clear, besides which Becca had other things on her mind "Zani...I've been thinking..." she started in a low voice so that it wouldn't travel to the front door and ruin the whole point of them being in here in the first place "...this Jain, that they think you are, maybe we should try and find her ourselves, she might know what the hell is going on and if not we could at least warn her that these...monsters...are after her" she said with a pained look passing across her face with it looking like she might start crying once again with her only just managing to regain her composure as she continued to speak "...what do you think? Its not like we've got anything better to do and it beats waiting around here until someone finally tracks us down" and kills us she silently added to herself. Wondering what on earth they had done to deserve what was happening to them and more importantly how to rectify the situation. If only they had Jason Bourne or Dirk Pitt to come and save them, but alas real life was nothing like it was in an adventure novel.

Cynthia
At his use of the word “Madness” Cynthia visibly flinched as if Boris had just slapped her with the girl quietly muttering “I’m not mad, I’m not” just beneath her breath clearly not intending for the mercenary to hear her.
She told him of what she could remember of Dmitri’s life, of how he’d been an officer in the Imperial Russian army and had served with distinction in several conflicts throughout the period including the Crimean war. He had been born in what had then been Konigsburg to a Russian father and a German mother and it had been there that he had first met Cynthia “…we just happened to be in the same Inn at the same time” she said with a smile creeping across her face at the memory she believed to be hers and not that of another woman. She had just arrived that afternoon with her team in preparation for an expedition and he had been visiting his parents during some long overdue leave. They had hit it off with the pair of them spending the evening together; drinking and dancing in between the long conversations in German they had had. It hadn’t gone any further than that with the pair cheerfully bidding farewell to one another after one final drink certain in the knowledge that their paths would never cross again.
So many of the little details Cynthia told Boris of Dmitri Seydelitz’s life were identical to his own that it was unnerving if nothing else, though none of it was sparking the full total recall moment that Cynthia had had. At least not until she told him of the second time they had met “We were in the Ural mountains hunting for some lost temple or something…anyway we never found it, a storm had hit us and we were trying to get back down the mountainside but there were these…things…they tore my team a part and most of your squad…you…you saved my life” she said, finishing in a whisper.
It had been a routine patrol and he hadn’t intended to spend that long out in the countryside but he’d gotten caught up in the same storm as Cynthia and her team had. It was at this moment that Boris came to realise that Cynthia hadn’t told him this piece of information. A pair of images suddenly flashed into his mind; one of a pair of glowing yellow eyes surrounded by coarse white fur and the other was of an attractive blonde woman. They were there and gone again in an instant. And with absolutely no indication as to whether they were memories or simply his imagination supplying pictures to accompany Cynthia’s tale. All the same the girl had finished talking and was waiting to see what Boris wanted to do next.
 

Deleted User - 819397

While the tiny space Zani had pulled Rebecca into was good for hiding, it didn't allow them to hear anything that was said, which was irritating. There wasn't any way to tell who was at the door and what they wanted. All that was certain was Jonathan was talking with them, which wasn't going to help long term. The librarian almost shushed her friend as she started talking, but opted against that seeing as she wasn't about to be able to understand the conversation. Instead, the option to look into this Jain person these people thought she was was brought up, and she had to admit it wasn't a bad idea...if nothing else they could warn her about the lunatics after her, and if she knew what was going on they might get some answers. However, there were a couple snags to that plan as she saw it. "I think it's a good option, the trick is going to be getting around without either of us being recognized if we need to leave the house...you're safe unless someone from the crazy guys sees you, but my face and name were all over the news last night...getting around isn't going to be easy. Granted, if Jonathan has a computer we can do a lot of the legwork without leaving, but...if not we'll need to be careful." She smiled at her friend. "It's good to see you starting to think again, Bec...I was starting to worry about you. We'll get through this together, alright?" It had hurt Zani to see the blonde beating herself up over her earlier actions...seeing even the slightest hint of her usually fast-acting mind starting up again gave her hope that Rebecca would recover yet.
 

DeletedUser13682

The mystery knocker, when revealed, came as a surprise to Johnathan. He was expecting a cab driver, waiting to take him away to that bar, the resting place of his truck. Instead he got the merc Kessler, who was swinging by to pick up his car. Johnathan looked passed the German and saw the Vanden Plas sitting in his driveway. How could he have forgotten such a pretty car sitting there all night? The hangover, for one, and the two librarians hiding somewhere in his house were probable justifications for allowing that particular detail to slip his mind. “Sleep?” replied Johnathan to Kessler’s question, as he lowered the pistol onto the doorside table. “Yeah, I slept well, aside from the hangover that is. But a quick, greasy breakfast and some Aspirin helped take care of that problem, and now I'm right as rain.” Well, he probably wasn’t, now that two groups were looking for the girls he had helped rescue, but until one of them came busting down his door, Johnathan would decide that things were going alright. And maybe things would be alright even if one of those groups did manage to find them, for Eric had handed Johnathan a card advertising a bar called the Last Chance. Maybe it was really a bar and maybe it was just a front; either way, Eric assured Johnathan that he would be able to find help if any other creepies decided to scratch at his window. “Thank you, Herr Kessler. Though hopefully I won’t have to use this. It’s a good thing to have though, just in case. If you’re ever in town again, you should hit me up, if I’m still working here that is. You'll probably be able to find me at that bar again. Well have a good day and drive safe.” After Johnathan waved at the German as he drove away in his Vanden Plas, he called out to the seemingly empty house. “You can come out now. He's gone. Just a friend of mine.” Shortly thereafter the cab driver pulled up, and called Johnathan's cell to announce his presence. With list in hand, Johnathan bid the librarians adieu, holstered his Bren, and hopped into the waiting taxi. A short drive later and he was at his truck, still just about the way he left it, as far as he could tell. Now the biggest challenges were which stores to go to and how best to make the task of buying large amounts of women’s clothes as far from awkward as possible.
 

DeletedUser31931

Boris had, once again, insulted/hurt/otherwise offended Cynthia unintentionally. To be honest, it was becoming more of a regularity at him for this point than having her happy with him he thought. That said, she was beginning her tale nonetheless and so Boris sat back in his chair, folded his arms and listened to Cynthia’s story of the man that was and just quite how he tied into this mess. The story in itself wasn’t that revealing. She’d been out on a mountain, they’d been attacked by some creatures they hadn’t been ready for and Boris, who’d been stuck out on the mountain anyway, had come across them, seemingly by chance, and rescued Cynthia from the hairy creatures… Boris’ hands lowered towards his gun as he considered the sentence that had just been uttered inside his head. Cynthia hadn’t said that last part. Had he…. Imagined it? No, that didn’t seem right either. It was like a memory. A memory of Dmitri. Of who he was?

Boris shook his head and cleared such thoughts. Telling Cynthia might just get her hopes up for nothing and he needed to get his own head in order before he started trying to help her. Last thing he needed was her and her impossible female double standards meaning that she thought he was insane as well as everything else she had already mistaken him for (he didn’t even want to know the full extent of that list). Taking their plates from the table, Boris moved over to the sink and began to wash up. “If you want to warm up that might be a reasonable idea.” Once the process of clearing up and putting away was complete, Boris would shuffle the spartan furniture around against the walls, creating the open space that they had used the day before. With that done, he would begin the morning’s training session.
 
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