Control the Storm (Artorias & Isla)

[junebug]

The dark, dreary hours of the evening were a sign that a storm was coming. The clouds were a charcoal color and every tall tale sign of what was once a fine evening sunk into the distance. People yelled over one another as they scrambled to get home to their children, husbands, and wives in a timely manner. In the upper side of Devils Fork, Alicia clung onto the last of her shirking humanity as she commanded the museum curator and everyone else to get down on their knees and put their hands over their heads. They complied.

"Tie them up, men."

She walked around the jewelry museum, her eyes hard as steel as she surveyed each of the hundreds of hostages. "How much is this necklace worth?" she questioned the curator, gesturing to the piece of jewelry laden with diamonds, rubies, and pearls. "$5 million."

"Take it."

The museum was a boorish place to be. It was bright, the walls white as snow, and appeared delicate as glass. The floor below her was the same. She was walking in a pale room filled with colorless stands and royal blue cushions beneath the loot her thieves were grabbing with gloves that didn't trace their fingerprints onto the jewelry. Alicia noticed a hostage around the corner begin to fidget around and suspected he might be trying to undo the restraints. She blew the top of his head off and everyone screamed.

"Shut up!" A familiar male voice approached. "Babe, we got everything." She cracked her knuckles as he leaned forward and kissed the upper part of her neck. She shrugged him off. How many times had she told him to address her by her real name? "Alright boys," she called out. "Let's blow this place up."

"At your command." A small beep and the timer for twenty minutes began ticking. "Keep an eye on the hostages. If any of them move, shoot. Leave the manager to me." She took off to where they'd successfully kept the manager of the jewelry museum– in his office. Alicia moved up the winding steps, her legs carrying her like a bird across the interior. She dove for the manager the moment she burst through the doors.

The brown-haired gal could feel the sweat on the back of his neck begin to seep into her business like attire. "Say goodbye you old bag of bones," she whispered, her fingers about to pull back the trigger when she suddenly heard the glass windows shatter, deafening her as she immediately dove for cover behind one of the bulky sofa chairs, then fired a shot at the trespasser.​

@Artorias

 

[Artorias]

The sky was silent and the air dark and ominous, the winds slowly stirring for a storm to roll through the already dark and twisted city of Devils Fork. The city use to be a place of peace until Mayor Gundersson stepped down because of the Criminals that now run this town. His Father was a good man that kept the city safe until that all happened, now his Father is a drunk and stays at the Manor for safety reasons. They were still rich and had money to spend on Garret, but he didn't want to leave the city or go to College. He had taken that money and used it on himself, to save the city and get his revenge.

Garret oversaw a portion of the city from the rooftop that he was perched on, and he could see the events of the Jewelry Museum taking place from where he stood. The vehicles that were waiting outside, the grouped up people near the windows and armed men.

Garret's suit was made of the highest tech and metal money could afford. It was lightweight, but durable enough to stop bullets from puncturing through. It was flexible and advanced, something the Police needed to start developing to handle the Criminals. A small grappling gun with thick steel rope was attached to the wrist mounted launcher, used for scaling up buildings, getting away, tying people up, or traversing across the rooftops. Using the hook, he traveled down at an angle straight for the managers window of the Jewelry Museum, crashing through he rolled as gunshots were fired at him, his back hitting against the desk and out of sight of the person shooting at him.

Getting into a crouched position, Garret put his hands underneath the desk before pushing upward. He was strong already, but the cybernetic suit advanced and doubled his strength so he could throw the desk up into the air and at the sofa the criminal was hiding behind.

He had nothing to say to the criminal now. He didn't care if they surrendered or continued to fight, he was here for answers.

 

[junebug]

Alicia's neck was hot and sticky from the shards of glass that cut through her skin. It hurt to move her left arm- she jerked it too fast when she dove for cover. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins stayed as she hid behind the sofa chair for temporary cover. The trespasser landed safely as his feet touched the ground. She cursed to herself, tightening the ponytail on top her head real quick. Whoever this person was, they'd be in big trouble when Matthew and the rest got in the office. She could hear her boyfriend, if you could call him that, begin to speak through her earpiece. Trouble down below.

Fucking Policemen.

The sudden crash of the desk against the wall and the sofa made her flinch. Alicia scowled, her hand reflexively gripping the gun tighter. She'd go up to that bitch and ram her heel into his eyesocket if it was the last thing she did. All was quiet now. Drop dead silence. She narrowed her eyes. What kind of game was he playing? Was he trying to give her the silent treatment? If he thought she wouldn't go out there and shoot his brains, he was wrong, because that was that was exactly what she had in mind.

Alicia stood up, opening fire again. She shot at his chest, his head, his neck, anywhere that played a major part in keeping him alive. It took her a moment to assess that even though she thought she was hitting him spot on, it didn't matter, because he actually wasn't receiving any damage with that suit of his. She growled in frustration. "Come on!" she snapped, beginning to back slowly towards the door. She pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened. "Work you piece of shit!" She pulled it again and the clicking sound came once more.

The woman didn't have anything to defend herself with. As much as she could've tried to seduce him in the mere moment and pretend to play innocent, this was life or death. Her heart pounded in her chest as she searched her pockets for more cartidges or anything nearby that she could hit the man upside the head with. Alicia threw the gun to the side in anger. Was she doomed? She didn't think so.

Alicia found herself in a predicament. Surrender or flee. She choose neither, instead calling her squad on her ear piece to get up here, then glanced down at her watch. The bomb would go off in thirteen minutes. "You came at the wrong time," she challenged. If she could stall just long enough, leave at the moment the bomb went off and make it out alive, he'd be dead meat, this vigilante, as people liked to call him. "Let me finish my job and I won't kill you. Plain and simple."

@Artorias

 

[Artorias]

After Garret through the desk up into the air and against the wall and sofa, the girl hiding behind stayed silent for a moment before standing up and taking a few crackshots at him. He didn't move as the bullets pinged against the chest armor and helmet, skidding as small sparks sprayed from the metal grinding against one another. Through the fire and angry face, he recognized the woman and who she exactly was and it made the blood under his skin boil. He came here to kill the criminals, maybe get an answer or two but now he just wanted to knock her out and drag her back to his 'hideout'. "Keep meowing loudly, but you are still just a small cat. You are panicking, afraid of what I might do." Garret began to move forward as Alicia dropped her gun and seemed to be backed into a corner, not literally.

The door was kicked open before two men ran inside with weapons drawn, assault rifles. These weapons were a bit heavier and more techy, but his outfit could still withstand the bullets and absorb, but he would feel some pain from the strong kick of the gun, but he would live. An SMG/Pistol was strapped to both of Garret's legs, within reach of his fingertips. The cybernetics of the suit allowed the 'vigilante' to move faster, and react faster.

Drawing his little SMG Pistol, Garret fired two precise rounds into each forehead of the two simple-minded thugs that were part of Alicia's crew. The barrel let out small amounts of smoke as Garret's hand lowered the pistol back into its holster as the two bodies slumped to the ground, their weapons clattering against the pure white tiles that were now slowly being stained by blood.

"Then kill me, Alicia." Garret spoke again as he walked over to the two dead bodies and kicked one, rolling the dead body onto its back. His voice was distorted by the helmet he wore, so his voice wasn't recognizable.

Gunshots could be heard downstairs as the Police were in a shootout but he could care less about the Police. He was no Hero, and he would kill an Officer if it came down to it, but he would rather avoid doing such a thing.

Garret was giving Alicia the option to fight, or run...but he wouldn't let her get away if she tried to run. If she tried to fight, then he would simply laugh at her pathetic attempts at trying to shoot him. His suit was not indestructible, to the contrary it was weaker to knives/swords/sharp objects than bullets. It was weaker to those because of the open areas on the sides of his torso, armpits, etc. Places where you just couldn't really hit with a gun.

 

[junebug]

Trepidation consumed the small woman. He'd just killed two of her best men, Julian and Emir. She stood in her place as he rolled the men over onto their backs and kicked them. The horror seen in her eyes was not enough to comprehend how she was feeling. Alicia was a leaf, falling to its demise.

She pressed her lips together, the stain on the glass tile becoming a visual she would never forget. He spoke and she could only narrow her eyes in confusion when he spoke her name. Alicia opened her mouth to speak, "How the hell do you know my name?" but quickly realized that was a dumb move.

She kicked off her heels and began to ran. "Matthew!" she screamed, turning the corner outside the office. She thought she was fast, but she wasn't fast enough. The moment she'd taken a left, she felt large, leathery gloves grasp her injured arm and seize her. She whimpered at the pain.

"Let go of me!" Alicia helplessly kicked, twisted her body, and tried to elbow him in the guts. All her attempts at escaping failed. She'd never been held like this before, his tight grip suffocating her even though she wasn't being choked to death.

Hope sparked when Matthew and the other guys arrived. He whipped out his gun and began shooting the man clad in black and blue like it was nobody's business. "Get your hands off of her, you son of a bitch!" Matthew growled, taking aim and firing at his head, then his arm. They bounced off his suit like a slinkie.

"Stop shooting!" Alicia hissed, moving her body to try and get out once more, but the vigilante's grip was steel. "What business do you have here, huh?! Get your hands off my girl!" Alicia sank in the man's grip, her efforts in vain.

"Just get the fucking jewels and go!"

"This man has no right to touch you, Alicia!" Even though it seemed like he was staring at her, he was boring his eyes straight into the man's head. "I said, let go of her! Let go of her or I'll kill you!"

 

[Artorias]

Garret was boiling with rage as Alicia tried to run but he was faster and stronger, wrapping the smaller woman up in his steel grip as she tried to escape and beat against him to let him go. She was panicking to be freed, knowing now that she was finally beat by someone smarter, stronger, and better than a low criminal like herself. Matthew, her new lover as it seemed, entered the room and began to fire at Garret even with Alicia in his arms. Luckily for her, her new boy toy was a decent shot and hit pieces of his armor and not Alicia herself as he held against a majority of his body for protection, though he didn't need it. Wrapping one arm around her stomach and holding her there, he pulled out his own weapon and aimed it at Matthew.

"Then kill me. You know you can't, but you can try." Garret was grinning like a devil underneath the helmet he wore as he knew that Matthew was backed into a corner just like Alicia was previously. He wasn't going fall to these low life criminals that aren't nearly as organized as the people he was aiming for. Surely Alicia or this man had a few connections with more powerful people.

Garret's finger slowly pulled the trigger, the gun barely moving in his hand as the bullet fired from the pistol and hit Matthew in the side of his abdomen. He could of taken a killshot, but he wanted Alicia to watch the man she was with be in pain, potentially on the verge of death if the building was really going to explode. As Matthew yelled in pain, Garret holstered the weapon and rendered Alicia unconscious.

By the time the focus was back on Garret and Alicia, they were both gone out he window that he came from. The men were too focused on Matthew and what happened that the two somehow slipped out of the building.

---

Garret had returned back to his little hideaway, deep into the center of the city where it was heavily guarded. The safest place in the city was in the center, where the Mayors Office was, the Rich Housing District, so on and so forth. It was a small house on the corner of a small neighborhood that he decided to take over and place all of his gear in.

When he entered the house, he handcuffed the unconscious Alicia to a bed post, laying on a bed while Garret undressed and packed his gear away before leaving the room and downstairs. The building was two stories, bedrooms upstairs along with the two bathrooms and one shower, and the first floor was kitchen, living room and two 'study' rooms, and while he waited for Alicia to wake up he was going to cook himself something to eat and some extra food to taunt Alicia with.

 

[junebug]

The last thing Alicia remembered was Matthew yelping in pain and surrendering faster than her cat could chase a laser. "Fine, take her." Alicia remembered tears immediately springing to her eyes. "You son of a-!" Then everything was black. Alicia woke up a few hours later with a thousand knives splitting her skull open.

The room was spinning and she had no way of telling where she was. She tried to sit up, promptly realizing that her wrist was cuffed to the bed. Alicia yanked on the handcuff, huffing in annoyance. That man was an intelligent one cuffing her to the bed so she couldn't escape.

A small smirk graced Alicia's flesh-colored lips as she thought about it for a brief moment. "Kinky," she muttered dryly under her breath, waiting for something to happen. She tugged at the handcuff again, but to no avail. Fighting back was useless, she knew.

Contemplation ran deep through her mind. Her boyfriend had all but practically abandoned her for his injury. She didn't want to think about how much that hurt. Alicia didn't know whether she was going to get killed or starved to death, let alone whether or not her cut would get treated.

Her free hand instinctively moved to her neck, lightly touching the spot where a shard of glass had lodged into place. There was a bandage there. Alicia grumbled under her breath, mind wondering about whether or not she should thank the man who kidnapped her. She didn't want to. She was more interested in getting out of here and giving her boyfriend a pep talk. If he'd been the one to get handled by somebody like that, bullet wound or not, Alicia would sacrifice herself to save him, even if he was a little bit of a jerk.

"Hey!" she yelled out, hoping he would come out of hiding and tell her just what he planned to do with her. "You gonna come up here and make me another notch in your bedpost or what?!" That was bound to get his attention one way or another, not that she was actually interested in cheating on her boyfriend.

 

[Artorias]

Garret finished cooking the last slice of bacon along with his dinner for the night, breakfast was what was for dinner. It wasn't the best dinner he has ever had, but it was simple, fast and easy to make and always tasted good and who didn't like breakfast? Perfect for taunting Alicia with because he use to know her. He use to date her, though they never got anywhere because they were still young and in High School. The farthest he had ever gone with Alicia was to second base along with making out, and they were suppose to 'do it' the night she came over to his house, but she needed to use the restroom first. A fool he was as she actually left the house, and he sat in his room for an hour before finding out. He was a god damn idiot during High School, and then his Father went into a drunken stupor.

As he plated two different plates of food, he heard Alicia calling up from the bedroom about a notch in the bedpost. Something that didn't really grab at his attention, but he did pick the two plates up and walk upstairs. He wore no boots, so soft footsteps could barely be heard as he walked upstairs and entering the dark bedroom. The lights were turned off, so it was too dark to give the 'vigilante' a face at the moment.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you Alicia." Garret spoke, no filter on his voice as his hands placed the plates on the night stand and he reached up, turning the lights on so she could get a good look on who kidnapped her.

When she finally realized who it was, he had a large smirk on his face. "Long time no see Alicia, hope you aren't too uncomfortable." Garret pulled a chair up and took a seat, out of Alicia's reach as he grabbed his plate of food and then hers, but placed hers barely out of range for her to grab. If she attempted, her fingertips would barely graze the porcelain.

 

[junebug]

Alicia gave the unmasked perpetrator a devious smile as she raised her foot and opened her mouth to say something clever, but he cut right to the chase. Her heart sped up at the sound of the familiar voice. Garret? He flicked on the light and she scrambled to put her feet down in a modest position. God dammit. Fuck. Garret. How? When?

She suddenly felt self-conscious of who she really was. Her face was red with embarrassment, for toying with him like that, for toying with... him. He was an old friend, just an old friend. She was ashamed that she'd gotten caught.

Alicia glanced down at herself as he came around with a chair and sat down. Memories from the past flooded her mind with guilt. She felt vulnerable and she hated it. She immediately narrowed her eyes and glanced up at Garret, trying to play dumb, despite the somewhat coincidental meeting.

"I'm very uncomfortable, thank you very much! Who are you and what the hell do you want with me?" she hissed. The smell of bacon, toast, and eggs sifted through her nostrils and she could feel her fingers itching to grab the plate. Her stomach felt empty and she was not in a good mood right now.

"I'm not hungry by the way, so you can stop taunting me because your stupid tricks won't work." If anything, it only made her even more hungry. She knew, Garret knew. He was just... being a jerk about it. This son of a bitch. He was just as bad as Matthew!

Alicia tugged at the handcuff, trying to keep an angry face on because right now, more than anything, she wanted to melt in front of him and apologize, but she knew he wouldn't forgive her, not even when she was dead. "Do us a favor and get down to the questioning or whatever you want to do with me so I can leave and we can both be in peace."

 

[Artorias]

Garret held his smirk as Alicia tried to act tough in front of him, but he wasn't buying a word she said. He didn't believe what she said anymore, not after what happened between the two of them. He slowly ate through his piece of bacon before moving on to the eggs while staying quiet the whole time, letting her speak about whatever she wanted to. She could try to get into his head, try to bargain with him to leave. "You are quite talkative now Alicia. I don't plan on asking you any questions, because every word from your mouth is a lie." He wasn't going to forget about that day and what she did to him. How he went to school the next day like a damn idiot, and of course he bragged to his friends that he would be having sex and they asked about it. He couldn't even lie and say he did.

He finished his plate of food and stood up, leaving the room with her alone and having to sit in silence as she heard the sink run. He was cleaning off his plate before he walked back upstairs and sat down in the chair, his arms folding across his chest. In High School he was rather scrawny, always hiding behind his Father's name and title, never needing an ounce of muscle. Everything was different, his shirt clung tightly against his biceps and torso, revealing the amount of muscle mass he has now.

He hated her for what she did, but something deep down inside him made him want to soften his face and feed her like he did back in High School. Those stupid little cute couple things teenagers did, but he held back those feelings and kept a stone cold face with no emotion.

 

[junebug]

She was frustrated. Her head hurt and she just wanted to get him out of her line of sight. Alicia didn't want any trouble with Garret, she just wanted to leave, go drown in the bathtub, something less miserable than being faced with the one person she wasn't expecting to see after ten years.

It was too long. He was... different now. He was tall, handsome, and those eyes, those beautiful hazel eyes. She had an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch his face, to breath on his lips, but this wasn't the right time to be thinking about that. She denied him when she could've had him. She missed her chance. Alicia glanced down at her lap and bit her lip, not sure what to retort because... he was right.

Everything she said was a lie. It hurt her fragile ego, but he was right. She was being stupid, pretending not to know him and she'd only just made a bigger fool of herself by acting uncivil towards him. Her tough, aggressive front would get her nowhere.

Alicia shifted uncomfortably in her poisition, trying to find a more suitable position for someone with one wrist handcuffed to the bedpost. Garret left for a few minutes and Alicia glanced up at the ceiling, trying not to let the tears build up. She was terrible.

The moment Garret entered the room once more, she glanced back down at herself. She was itching to say something, but her timid demeanor had her turning her body as far away from him as possible. She didn't want to talk. She didn't know what do, what to say. An apology wouldn't cut it.

She didn't even want to ruminate about how awful she was, letting him go like that, lying to him more than enough times, but it couldn't be helped, at least not in this melancholy situation. Friends weren't even supposed to lie to each other, he'd counted on her and she'd let him down. "If you don't have anything to say to me, you're just wasting your time doing this," she offered up calmly, her chest throbbing with anxiety.

 

[Artorias]

Garret sat quietly in the old wooden chair, it creaked with every small movement Garret made but he didn't pay any mind to it. His focus was still on Alicia who couldn't make eye contact with him anymore as she laid on the soft pillows and sheets of his bed. The only bed in the house as this is where he lived, occasionally checking in on his Father to make sure the man was still alive from all the alcohol he has consumed. "So is there nothing for you to say to me? Nothing about that night?" Garret finally spoke, his hands pushing up on his knees as he stood and stretched. He didn't want to know exactly why she broke his heart, but he did want an answer. He wanted the truth from her.

His fingers twitched to uncuff her and let her walk out if she chose to or to stay and talk, but he also twitched to wring her neck. Grab and choke her out and kill her with his own bare hands. Emotions ran through his body like a highway, but his eyes showed no emotion as his smirk fell to a simple straight line as he just stared down at her body laying on the bed. "You know...ten years ago all I could think about is getting you in my bed. Now here you are, in my bed and all I can think about right now is why I shouldn't strangle you." It wasn't in the kinky way either.

Garret turned his back to her as he ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing what to do about the current situation. When he first knocked her out and brought her here. He was so pissed and new what he wanted to do, but now that he has calmed down and his blood wasn't running full of testosterone or adrenaline, he didn't know what to do anymore. Pictures hanging up on the wall of his younger life, small little bookshelves full of mechanic books on building cybernetics. It wasn't furnished for people to live in like a family, it was furnished like a single person with no life.

Garret stared at the blank white paint on the wall as the small bulb in the ceiling illuminated the room, showing everything clear for them both to see. His eyes closed as he tried to think about all the things she did to him, to get his blood boiling so he could just finish his little mission without any emotions getting in the way. The faint waft of the breakfast still on the nightstand barely out of reach of her, filling the air with its aroma.

Letting out one aggravated sigh, he turned on his heel and grabbed her arm so she rolled over and faced back at him. In his other hand was the plate of food and he set it on the bed by her hand so she could eat. "I still hate your fucking guts...but I'm not a monster."

 

[junebug]

Alicia hated him. She hated the way he reminded her of how incompetent she was. She hated hearing his voice, she hated feeling weak to her bone every time she saw him, and just... feeling useless and used.

Everything was wrong. This was wrong. For the longest time, she'd felt lonely and not even being near him could make her feel any less lonely than the amount of blank space that failed to fill the void in her heart. Alicia wanted Matthew. She couldn't bare to look Garret's way without breaking down inside and that was the last thing she wanted in this god damn place.

"There's nothing I can say that'll make you believe me or even care about what I have to say," she replied bitterly, not even sorry she was still acting like a jerk to him. "Not about that night, not even when I..." She shut up. He didn't kill her, at least not yet. It was something to be grateful about, but she just wasn't feeling it. Her body shook and she took the liberty of trying to calm down. "Just forget it."

She didn't say anything as he talked about ten years ago. She shrugged at his response. "That's what boys do. That's all they think about. Feel free to strangle me now though. I welcome it." She was tired of listening to him talk about the past. She already thought about it enough for it to become a daily life problem.

The grasp of his large hand around her arm surprised her. She obediently turned over to face Garret, face looking anywhere but at him. She didn't have to comply, but she was afraid that if she didn't he'd unleash fury on her or something twice as bad.

"Uh-huh," she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Garret's statement. "You still hate my guts. Tell that to me again because right now, I'm pretty sure I don't have any. I'll eat this later when it's cold. I'm seriously not hungry right now, but I doubt you'd believe that."

She just wanted to be left alone in peace, but at the same time, she wanted someone near her. It just sucked because he wasn't the kind of person that she could instantly cry on for her parents being neglectful, or feeling lonely her whole life until she found him, then denying him the comfort she wanted because she was a stupid girl afraid to love. "How long am I staying here? Until you know I won't go out and do more bad things just because I think I can?"

 

[Artorias]

Garret didn't know what to do in this situation as he laid the plate down beside her, Alicia wanted nothing to do with Garret and he wanted nothing to do with her, but he didn't want her to leave again. She commented more on the situation they were in and Garret couldn't bring himself to answer any of her questions or say anything that wasn't what he already said, so he simply turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving her with the plate of food so she could at least eat. He didn't want to think anymore so he left the room with her alone in it and entered the bathroom with the shower. Garret began to strip down until he was bare, stepping inside the shower he turned it on and let the warm water wash over his skin as he thought.

Should he let her leave peacefully, should he kill her, or should he keep her here away from the world and let her slowly be forgotten. His original plan was to make her know who was going to kill her, but the bloodrush has passed and in the place of anger was sadness and confusion. He washed himself down as he occasionally glanced out the dark window of the bathroom, a small window to show the daylight--or in this instance it was dark out.

Garrets goal was not aiming to taunt as he exited the shower and wiped his body down with a towel. He wrapped his lower waist with the towel and walked back across the hall and into the bedroom where his dressers were. His mind wasn't exactly straight on the moment, as he should have grabbed clothes before leaving the room in the first place. He felt odd standing in the same room with the first woman he loved, with only a towel protecting his body from being naked.

"I need the locations of the bigger fish. Not your little gang and...boyfriend." Calling one another babe, and how Matthew didn't want him touching her already told him their little relationship status.

 

[junebug]

Once Garret left, Alicia had time to recuperate, in a way. She could hear the shower running behind closed doors and she instinctively wet her lips. He was doing this to show her what she was missing out on. He had no other interest. She was confident in her claim. Alicia unbuttoned her blazer with one hand and breathed in the cool air that surrounded her. Garret was good to not uncuff her just yet- if he ever planned on doing that- because she would try and storm out of the house as fast as she could to see Matthew.

A part of her wondered about Matthew, her boyfriend. Where was he now? Was he getting treatment back at base? Alicia hoped he was forming a search party to find her instead of giving up. She relied on him to save her, to give her security when she needed it, comfort when she wanted it. Everything she didn't have at home. Matthew was the air that she breathed, but her mind kept crawling back to Garret. Alicia didn't know why. Maybe it was because at some point, she did love him, but not anymore.

When Garret came back, she forced herself to look the other way. She was tired of this stupid taunting. Why was he doing this? Did he want her to explode or accept the fact that yes, she'd never get him back? Alicia stared off into space as Garret's silvery voice entered her ears. "Uncuff me," she muttered. "There's no other big fish in town." A lie. Alicia knew this, but then again, it wasn't exactly a big lie, so it was fine, right? Mahatma Cooperation was the largest criminal organization in Devils Fork.

The cooperation was where Alicia's former boss resided after she tried to take on crime life by herself with some of her own goons. However, after she'd previously infiltrated their facilities a month back, they just weren't as... big anymore, if you wanted to put it that way. She thought about it for a moment though, coming up with some hardly thought out plan to be set free. If he wanted to really know where the big fish was, he'd have to force her to tell him. "Actually," Alicia spoke, changing her mind, "technically speaking, if you wanted to know, I wouldn't tell you because you know me. I don't work with people like you. What do they call you anyways, Garret? Cyborg?"

 

[Artorias]

Garret already knew that she was lying again already when she said there was no other big fish in town. Garret already knew the names of the people he was going after, and he was testing to see if she would give him fake names. She didn't, instead she simply told him there was no one else in town which was the biggest lie he has ever heard from her lips, and he stood up straight and stopped rummaging through his dresser, instead he walked over with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist as he stood next to the bed. His hands grabbed Alicia's wrists as his lithe body leaned over so his face was near hers, "Why do you continue to lie to me Alicia?" His voice was close to breaking and causing him to yell.

From this distance she could smell the body wash that he used and the shampoo, so on and so forth as his hands gripped her wrists tighter. They weren't gripping hard enough to start hurting her, but it was slowly progressing. "I haven't killed you yet because I use to love you, Alicia. I hate you and what you did to me, and I fucking despise it...but I can't kill you because I know it will hurt me." His fingers slowly uncurled from her wrists as he stood back up slowly and looked down at her.

She was beautiful still, more matured in terms of her body and curves but still had the same face and everything he fell in love with and it sickened him that he could only think about the good memories they had together. He has never turned someone over to the Police, always killing them after getting his answers, but today Alicia might be the first person he took to the Max Security Prison in the center of Town.

"Just tell me why you did it, and I will turn you over to the authorities." It was a better fate than him telling her that he was going to kill her.

 

[junebug]

Alicia's eyes hardened as he walked over to her and grabbed her wrists without warning. Her breathing was shallow as he buried his face inches from hers. She wanted desperately to spit in his face, call him a coward, but she held back. All she could see was him and his beating heart. He was too calm inside, but had a fiery temper. She loved that.

Garret's fingers grasped her tiny wrists and Alicia held back a whimper from his tightening grip. She tried to pull away, kick at him, do something, but she didn't. He was a reminder. A painful reminder. Her heart speeding up when he came too close to her personal space, his face merely inches away. She breathed on him and the hairs on her skin went up.

The warmth that radiated from his body relaxed her muscles for some time. Then, he was gone. He pulled away, and Alicia felt cold again, like always. Her eyes cast down and a small smile graced her lips. "You won't get your answer either way, so just kill me, Garret. We both know you don't have it in you." She sounded content with him driving a dagger through her heart or shooting her head with one of his pistols and she was. Alicia was fine with Garret's face being the last one she sees before he ended her.

If Garret killed her, her pain would finally end and he would be the one suffering. She leaned against the headboard, one leg crossed over the other. Life was unfair. "Besides, I deserve to die for what I've done. Don't you think so? Think about it. If I was in prison, I wouldn't ever let you see me, but if you killed me now, you can see my face before you go dig a grave for the girl you love. Oh, I mean, the girl you once loved."

 

[Artorias]

She wanted him to kill her, she kept pushing for him to kill her and it was strange but the thoughts didn't properly run through his head as he rifled through his dressed once more and pulled out a pistol. Pulling out the magazine he made sure it was loaded and that one was in the chamber before clicking it back in with the heavy metal noise of it being cocked and ready to shoot. "Fine. Is this what you want" He asked her, stepping by the bedside once more and placing the barrel against her forehead. His eyes seemed cold as he looked down at her, his finger was steady on the trigger but he didn't pull it yet.

He didn't know what he was thinking, blood boiling under his skin as he couldn't stand to look at Alicia and what she did to him. Yet he couldn't pull the trigger, and after a minute of holding the gun to her head he didn't pull the trigger. Instead he leaned back down and let the gun fall to the floor as his lips pressed against hers. He wanted her body against his, to feel her naked skin touching his in the moment of strange passion. It was what he wanted, and he couldn't bring himself to kill her no matter how much he wanted to.

Even if she didn't want the kiss, even if it was uninvited, he was going to because that is what he wanted and she had no say in the matter. She was the one cuffed to the bed and unable to escape him.

The kiss lasted for only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity before Garret pulled away and grabbed the gun. He didn't say a word about what he just did or what happened, but he didn't know if he should just leave the room for the night and sleep on the couch, advance some more, or kill her. The last option was never going to happen. He could kill men and women without blinking an eye or feeling a thing, but with Alicia it stirred his insides.

 

[junebug]

Alicia let out a small, breathy laugh as she heard him cock the gun. The grief wouldn't go away. "Everything I've ever wanted," she whispered, closing her eyes as he pressed the barrel against her forehead. She was stupid. She didn't want this. She didn't want to die, but the feeling that even if he didn't have it in him, he could always change his mind, made a small tear escape. "You're a good man doing this, Garret. A good man." How much longer could she keep it up? How much longer could she lie to save herself?

Her fingers dug into the cloth of her skirt, desperate to end this tension, this fear she had. Alicia was afraid to die, she was afraid to tell Garret the truth. "I l..." The gun dropped and his sweet lips pressed against her own mid-sentence and for a brief moment, she felt bliss. She felt free. His hands touching her face and skin brushing against her own ignited a fire inside her which she unable to tame. It wasn't a long kiss, but the passion she'd felt drove her beyond her wildest dreams. How could he still love her after everything she'd done?

Alicia licked her lips as he picked up his gun and began to walk away. Her mind stirred with the quick kiss and she wondered if that was only just to get her to say something. It didn't matter though, because it worked. "Wait." Her heart was still on overdrive as she spoke. "I'm the bigger fish."

 

[Artorias]

Garret set the gun down out of reach of Alicia as she spoke up and told him to wait, claiming that she was one of the big crime lords running the city. He didn't know if he should believe that, or if she wanted him to just stay because of the kiss. His waist was still wrapped in the towel, barely clinging on for life. If it fell then he would be naked before her, though he didn't really care if she mocked him or laughed or anything. He stood in silence as he looked at her face, trying to find if she was lying. "I don't care right now." He picked up the keys that was next to the gun and walked over as he unlocked the handcuffs, so now she was free to leave or free to stay with him, though he wouldn't admit he wanted her to stay in the bed and undress.

"You are free to go..." His voice was softer now, not as stern and cold as before. It sounded like he didn't want her to leave, not after the kiss they just shared. Maybe he was delusional and if she left, he would begin to think straight once more. Maybe he really did still love her. There was a possibility a lot of the things they shared and said...maybe she wasn't lying on all of them.

He walked past her to the dresser as he pulled out some fresh clothes for him to wear, mainly just boxers since it was growing later into the night and he was going to sleep soon since he didn't have any distractions to keep him up.