Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1441156.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence,
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F, Multi
  Fandom:
      Guiding_Light, Otalia_-_Fandom, Olivia_Spencer/Natalia_Rivera_-_Fandom
  Relationship:
      Natalia_Rivera/Olivia_Spencer, Blake_Marler/Doris_Wolfe, Rafe_Rivera/
      Ashley_Wolfe, Daisy_Cooper/_OC, Ava_Spencer/_OC
  Character:
      Natalia_Rivera, Olivia_Spencer, Rafe_Rivera, Ava_Spencer, Emma_Spencer,
      Daisy_Cooper, Ashley_Wolfe, Doris_Wolfe, Blake_Marler, Original
      Characters, Reva_Shayne, Jeffery_O'Neil, Frank_Cooper, Buzz_Cooper,
      Harley_Cooper, Marina_Cooper, Shayne_Lewis, Jonathan_Randall, Sarah
      Randall, Elizabeth_Spaulding, Alan_Spaulding, Felicia_Boudreau, Remy
      Boudreau, Mel_Boudreau, Cyrus_Foley, James_Spaulding, Phillip_Spaulding,
      Elizabeth_Chambers, etc., Some_crossover_characters_included, Dinah
      Marler
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-04-10 Updated: 2014-05-06 Chapters: 7/? Words: 24861
****** ライゼン灰の中から。"Risen from the ashes." ******
by TheGarnet
Summary
     It took one decision made by Natalia Rivera during a pivotal moment
     to send her life in a direction she never thought possible - building
     a family with one Olivia Spencer. Only problem is Frank is being his
     usual clueless self, Rafe is being an ass, and Alan is once again
     after Emma. Will a dark stranger's arrival in Springfield help them
     or be their destruction, and how will this stranger's own decision
     made during a pivotal moment in their past effect everyone?
     Springfield will never be the same again. Slightly AU most events
     remain the same with a few concentrated changes to the Otalia
     storyline. Family bonding, sarcasm, harsh language, violence, music,
     and all around stupidity abounds.
Notes
     I do not own the characters of Guiding Light and do not receive any
     form of monetary gain from the use of its characters. I do not own
     the shows certain crossover characters belong to either. All OC's and
     mistakes are mine (Because I'm positive I'd drive a Beta to
     alcoholism.)
***** An Every Day Occurrence *****
Chapter Summary
     We meet a weary traveler as she begins what she will soon find out to
     be the final leg of her journey.
It was happening again. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of her subconscious
she could recognize that, but it still changed nothing. Fear – cold and
calloused wrapped its ugly hands slick and sticky with blood around her throat
and squeezed. Images long since passed but never forgotten flashed before her
eyes as the air was forced from her lungs. When the hands finally relented and
her senses returned to her the situation was no better. Smell…the strongest
sense she possessed was at times her greatest downfall.
Death – she could smell it everywhere as it stained the once pristine wall in
front of her…she shut her eyes tightly against the horror it shown. The floor
to her right was tinged with it as well; the literal pieces of her world were
scattered across it…toys long since abandoned by her tormentors. Bile rose in
her throat and spewed forth to the soundtrack of raucous laughter. She was
choking on it unable to turn her head.
And the screaming…Dear God the screaming.
WHY WOULDN'T IT STOP!
Then she remembered them on the floor far from her vision but never from her
mind. The screaming began anew louder, boulder, and more filled with pain than
before. She wanted to cover her ears to block out the sound but her hands were
tied – bound too tightly by the handcuffs that held them pinned and captive
behind her back.
Her fingers had long since gone numb.
"Please…please God just make the screaming stop so I can die in peace." She'd
given up begging for the torture to stop hours ago.
Another punch is delivered to her already cracked and in some places broken
ribs. "I did this" she sobbed. "It's my fault." And as the blood curdling
screams rose to a deafening pitch she realized…they were her own.
===============================================================================
 
Gasping for air around the gag she'd meticulously placed around her own mouth
the woman's head shot up from her pillow as sweat dripped from her body and,
tears streamed unchecked from her emerald colored eyes. She yanked the gag from
her mouth and let it drop to rest around her neck as she wiped angrily at the
flowing tears.
"Goddamnit!" she whispers hotly; unable to yell as she would have liked. "At
least the fucking gag still works," she mused to no one in particular.
The gag always helped to muffle the screams that would come in the night…every
night.
The room was dark and smelled of its last occupants. Nothing she did could rid
the place of the smell. Sex, cigarette smoke, and God knows what else lived in
the carpets, was smeared across the dingy water buckled walls, and hung
leisurely in the dust heavy curtains.
"Another brilliant choice to lay your head girl." She chuckled humorlessly as
she rolled out of bed ripping the gag – her night's savior from her neck and
throwing it into the open sea bag stuffed to capacity not too far from her on
the floor.
Walking across the small almost inhabitable motel room she took stock of the
things her eyes could not see. Sniffing the air she noted there were no demons
lurking outside her grimy little haven, and with her ears she heard no sigh of
approaching footsteps.
"Don't get too comfortable," she reminded herself after being satisfied that
there was no immediate danger. She sat down heavily in a beat up desk chair
that had one leg missing and balanced herself perfectly without any thought to
the task. She opened her laptop.
Wiping a shaking hand across her face, tasting the roof of her own mouth, then
pulling a face she checked her cameras. "No one has come snooping," she noted.
"Good for them," she said as she idly began to do tricks with her balisong.
Zen Rollover to Cutlery Lover into Aztekia Swirl than back again. Her favorite
butterfly knife was made of one of the rarest materials known to man even the
smallest amount was considered to be priceless…she played with it like it was a
toy.
She was pleased to see no one had come looking for her in the night. She wasn't
in the mood for a confrontation. It wouldn't be smart to fuck with her so early
in the morning anyway. She was always in her worst moods at this time. The
dreams – night terrors that visited her every night without fail for the passed
seven years made sure of that.
It was four in the morning she knew that without checking the time. It was the
time she woke up every morning no matter what shit-hole she had hauled herself
up in around the world. The most sleep she ever got was two three hours
tops…she couldn't afford to sleep any longer than that so there was no point in
even bitching about it.
Reaching for the unopened bottle of Jack that sat next to her laptop she
unscrewed the cap and eyed the three identical empty bottles lined up neatly on
the floor next to her perch. "Slow night last night…" She usually drank way
more. After downing half the bottle in one go without so much as a grimace she
sat it back down and unpacked her kit.
It held the basic essentials. Small hand mirror, razor blades, grinder, couple
of crisp dollar bills, you know the usual shit. Pulling out her stash she eyed
the three manila envelops stacked on top of the desk on the other side of her
laptop. Curiosity was never an issue with her at least not since…
"No…definitely not going there," she ground out through clenched teeth – voice
turning to hard steel and eyes flashing with a hint of pent up fury. "Got way
too much shit to do today."
Instead of harping on her fucked up past in her fucked up little insignificant
life she made her lines, snorted them, and then repeated until she'd had her
fill of her poisonous habit…for now. She checked her camera's again green eyes
a little more glassy than before as she finished her bottle and dropped it
neatly on the floor so that it was aligned perfectly with the others.
"There you go…family's all back together again." The thought stopped her cold
before she could expunge it from her mind. Then with the practice only the hard
and calloused could call upon she buried it deep – to be used later – to fuel
the rage. "That's not how Sensei taught you to use it." Not that she ever
really used anything he had taught her the way she was supposed to. Students of
the temple were supposed to be more peaceful – serene even and much less prone
to…violence.
They weren't random though. No her actions could never be misconstrued as that.
"Not like the sick fuckers don't deserve it." She clenched her teeth, set her
jaw, and stood up from her chair fists tightly clenched and back ramrod
straight.
The three legged chair toppled to the floor.
===============================================================================
 
She showered quickly as everything she owned was in the corner on the bathroom
floor carefully packed away into her sea bag and back pack. The clothes and
other…items she had chosen to wear stacked neatly on top.
Jumping out of the shower she went to the mirror not bothering to cover herself
with a towel. Carefully avoiding her own eyes she checked her face and body for
any left over bruising. Seeing that all were properly healed she allowed her
gaze to linger with a touch of pride to the large dragon twisting and curling –
eyes flashing – claws and teeth gnashing tattooed on her back. Reading the
Hiragana and Kanji symbols that accompanied it slightly below her right
shoulder she closed her eyes and centered herself.
Time to put on the mask, she thought. Her face turned emotionless, her eyes
dulled, her muscles relaxed yet ready to spring, her emotions…cold.
She dressed quickly making sure everything was in its place and hidden
properly. Tugging on her tight black tank top she surveyed the damage that was
her left arm.
Proof to trust no one.
She'd recently broken that rule but it was for good reason and it had been
worth it. Then again if she hadn't she wouldn't be going on this fucking fools
errand and could be well on her way to Rio by now. "Yeah and if you hadn't your
God-daughter would be dead by now." She admonished herself as she roughly
shoved her left arm into the hard confines of its customary sleeve to hide its
ugly visage. No need to bring that kind of attention down on herself.
Doing up her spiked leather belt around the waist of her tight black leather
pants that looked as though she'd painted them on she paid no attention to her
own beauty. As far as she was concerned there wasn't anything beautiful about
her. She was a monster plain and simple.
She made no attempt to fool herself into believing otherwise.
Combing her hands through her thick dark brown nearly black hair that hung well
below her waist she went about the meticulous task of concealing its length
with a simple black hair tie. She never cut it and never would.
That's what got Samson into all that shit in the Bible. Well…that and pussy.
She wasn't entirely sure her own locks held any supernatural strength, but she
wasn't going to tempt fate. And pussy wasn't a problem. Yeah she liked it but
had never had a chance to indulge in it.
One less thing to worry about.
Task completed – hair well hidden in a ponytail that hung a little passed her
strong shoulders she grabs her leather jacket and throws it on. Double checking
to make sure she has everything – mysterious packages included she leaves the
room key on the toilet lid and climbs out the bathroom window.
Never go out the front. Slip out the back. You're less likely to get killed
that way. Or at the very least less likely to get the shit kicked out of
you…again.
Running full tilt passed the fucking-perved-out-motel-manager's office and
across the graveled parking lot her footsteps make no sound. She prides herself
on always being able to conceal her passing.
Move as a ghost in the wind…
…strike like a cobra.
Tugging her sea bag from her back and leaving her messenger back pack on she
keeps stock of her surroundings.
Every rustle of the leaves in the night air. Every tire that passes by on the
not too distant highway. Every nocturnal little creature scurrying about for
food is cataloged, dissected, and weeded through for the hidden sounds of an
attackers approach.
Sea bag firmly secured to the back of her Ducati Monster 796 (black like her
disposition) she unfastens her helmet and looks at the picture affixed to the
inside. It was the first picture she'd taken in what felt like centuries. In it
was her best friend J…her only friend. They had met under some pretty fucked up
circumstances months ago. After tiptoeing around each other (neither of them
was really big on trust) they came to form a friendship she would cherish till
her dying day…so probably until tomorrow. On his shoulders was her beautiful
little God-daughter; her eyes alight with an innocence that had long since gone
dead in her own. Her little hand was tugging at the length of her G-mama's
ponytail. Couldn't get the kid to call her anything else. She paid no attention
to herself in the photograph. She'd stop really looking at herself a long time
ago. She knew exactly what it was she would see. She shoved the helmet halfway
on to her head and checked her back pack.
Weapons of choice in hidden pockets in easy reach…
Check.
Envelops with the names of people she had never met written on them…
Elizabeth Spaulding.
Reva Shayne-O'Neil.
Olivia Spencer.
Check.
"You fucking owe me one J," she sighs. "Jesus, Phoenix just because you're
crazy as shit doesn't mean you have to act like it. Quit talking to yourself."
She shakes her head knowing she'd never stop. She only ever had herself to talk
to.
Forcefully she shoves her helmet down and pushes her bike out of the drive
without starting it.
Never give them a point of reference to know how much of a head start you have
on them; makes it harder to search a set radius.
She knew that starting her motorcycle this early in the morning would stick out
in the manager's memory. He wouldn't last five seconds under their particular
form of interrogation. Even though he was a perv that stared at her ass way
more than was necessary she didn't want the fucker dead. Wasn't like he was a
demon; guy just needed some ass.
She couldn't fault him for that.
Waiting until she was far enough down the road she jumps on her bike and revs
it to life. Reveling in all of the horsepower vibrating between her legs and
her ability to control it as though it were just another limb. She takes off
leaving yet another shit-hole behind in the dead of night with no actual sign
that she had been there.
Never leave fingerprints.
Clean up any stray hairs.
Never leave behind so much as a single drop of blood…at least not your own.
Once again she travels to some new and strange place.
"Springfield here I come."
 
***** Full Circle *****
Chapter Summary
     Frank tries Natalia's patience and gets an unexpected smack down.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
 
Natalia Rivera was tired. So sick and fucking tired of all of this.
And if you tell anyone she just thought that she'd deny it and then pray for
forgiveness for lying about it.
It wasn't enough that she had busted her butt day in and day out for her entire
life to take care of herself but mostly her son.
It wasn't enough that she had on many an occasion bit her tongue and shackled
her pride to work menial jobs that offered little pay and even less respect.
It wasn't even enough that she had to lose Nicky before their lives could ever
really begin - losing her son to prison in the process.
Well that last part she'd come to realize was really a blessing in disguise.
Not her husband dying part or the part where her son went to prison. But it was
what came from it all.
But this…was asking entirely too much of her.
Olivia just had to ask for some of Buzz's chili for lunch didn't she?
Natalia smiled inwardly to herself.
Olivia.
She could now admit that when she'd first me the woman she had found her
fascinating. Her sheer presence pulled her in and away from it she couldn't
help but to crave more.
Which was why whenever Olivia called her and said those three little words
Natalia would drop everything and come running.
"I need you."
It amazed her that Olivia would need anyone. And not only did she admit it…but
it was SHE who Olivia had needed.
The months that followed were to be the foundation for the greatest
relationship Natalia had ever known…outside of her son of course. But with the
new found trust, friendship, and easy banter she and Olivia had gained in one
another had come the thing Natalia was now most ashamed of.
Denial.
Denial of what she felt when those mesmerizing eyes locked onto her own. Denial
of how happy being able to make Olivia laugh her deep belly laugh few were
every privy to hear made her. Denial of why hugs grew more common and lasted
even longer. And denial of what it was the simple touch of Olivia's hand to
hers did to her skin, nerves…body.
Denial bred desperation and from that desperation came.
Frank.
Pushed by Olivia's jovial (fake as hell) encouragement and her own fear Natalia
allowed herself to be swept up into a relationship of sorts with a man she saw
as nothing more than a friend. How could she see him as anything more with
Olivia around? Besides he was too simple, didn't listen to her very well…or at
all, to eager to please, too…well…Frank.
And all the while Olivia without even realizing it was doing everything in her
power to sabotage her own plan and to make a case for herself in the matter of
Natalia's heart. And so the volleys began.
Frank: Wait for it…Christmas trees.
Olivia: Remember that money you blew on that crap investment? Well I got it all
back. The only thing I had to do was give up my dream job and embarrass myself
in front of the media in a completely demeaning press conference tinged with
lies. Oh and you were never supposed to find out about my sacrifice.
Suffice it to say Frank Cooper never really stood a chance. It wasn't about the
money either. Olivia just had a way about her. What Rafe would call a swagger
that was all her own. A swagger that seemed to make everything in Natalia's
world a whole hell of a lot better. She gave Natalia everything and expected
nothing in return. Half the time not even wanting her to know that she had done
anything at all. And when she wasn't making Natalia's dreams come true:
farmhouse, Mel representing Rafe (Olivia still thinks she got away with that
one), and last but not least Emma; she encouraged her, pushed her, stood up for
her, protected her, and not so secretly loved her.
It all came to a head the night after Coops' memorial when Frank tried to kiss
her while they were packing up his brother's things. She knew exactly what
allowing that contact would mean. Natalia was faced with a choice.
The proverbial fork in the road. Left or right. Right or wrong. Frank or
Olivia. So she chose. And those steps had led her right back to her own front
door. Right back to Olivia.
Surprisingly enough that conversation went much better than Natalia could have
possibly expected. Really when was the last time anything with Olivia ever went
easily…don't answer that.
===============================================================================
 
"Hey I didn't expect you to be back so early. Olivia had greeted her while
trying and miserably failing to discreetly wipe the tears from her eyes as she
sat on the couch. Her knees where pressed into her chest and her legs were
covered by the throw that usually lay across the back of the couch.
In that moment she had almost lost her nerve. Almost allowed herself to be
sidetracked by the pain so evident in Olivia's eyes and so prominent in her
heavy voice.
Olivia never could do chipper well…it was always her way of trying to hide
something from Natalia. And like all of Olivia's other bullshit Natalia saw
right through it.
But the thing that pushed her to act this time. The thing that became more
powerful than her own fear was the sight of Olivia after closer inspection.
Clasped tightly in her hands and resting on her thighs was a picture frame
Natalia knew well. One she knew held the photo of her, Olivia, and Emma happy
and smiling on New Years Eve. Together…as it should be.
Without answering Olivia or even acknowledging the fact that she had even
spoken Natalia removed her coat and strode over to the couch. She sat as close
to the woman who had become so much to her as her current curled up position
would allow.
For a moment she just stared at her and took a long hard look at what her
actions - her cowardice had done. Here sat the most dynamic, awe inspiring,
confident, beautifully infuriating woman she had even known reduced to crying
alone in an empty house over a photograph.
It was time to fix this.
"Natalia what…" Olivia's words died on her lips as Natalia raised a silent hand
to stop her.
That was another thing. No one silenced Olivia Freakin' Spencer when she wanted
to speak - had something she wanted to say. Further proof that this woman did
indeed love her.
Still silent but more emboldened Natalia gently took the picture frame from
Olivia's grasp. Allowing herself a glace she noted the happiness of the moment
and reverently ran her hand across the smiling faces of her family before
sitting it gently on the coffee table in plain view.
A visual aid to bolster her confidence.
Natalia took Olivia's hands in her own and rubs her thumbs across the soft skin
of her knuckles. "Okay, I'm gong to say something to you that honestly should
have been said long time ago. I need your patience right now. Even though you
like to pretend it doesn't exist I know it's there."
Olivia gave her a watery smile while somehow making her sad eyes twinkle with a
bit of mirth.
The dichotomy of emotions under which Olivia often operated were mind boggling
sometimes. It was part of the enigma Natalia had once found hard to understand.
But the picture was much clearer now.
Puffing out a breath in a failed attempt to remove a piece of hair from her
eyes Natalia took that terrifying first step.
"For a long time now I've had these…feelings. Huge, intense feelings that at
first I didn't even want to acknowledge."
Olivia's hands began to shake in her own.
In that moment Natalia knew, that Olivia knew, she knew (if that even made
sense.) Searching Olivia's eyes Natalia conveyed a silent message.
Please let me do this. Let me say the words we've both been running from yet
aching to hear. Let me bring to life our dreams. I'm not running - not this
time. Let me tell you I love you.
Releasing one long shaky breath Olivia finally let go of the one small sliver
of control she's held on to so tightly for months and nodded her head.
They were both more than ready for this.
Receiving the go ahead Natalia dazzles Olivia without even trying by giving her
that radiant smile she loves so much complete with DEAR GOD…dimples.
They both were on the same page for the first time in months. The words had
already been shared through their own strange version of mind speak. All that
was left to do was speak them. To breathe them into life.
"The thing about these feelings is…I don't want to hide from them anymore."
"No?" Olivia asks in that small, soft, demure little voice that does funny
things to Natalia's tummy and (ahem) other area's.
"No. I think I'm more in the basking stage of things," Natalia playfully
remarks.
"Basking huh?" Again with that voice. It was going to be the death of Natalia.
"Yeah you know lying out and soaking it in - burying your toes - that sort of
thing." They share a soft laugh. The air becoming a little clearer as
anticipation began to set in.
"At first I didn't know if they were bad or good. "
Olivia nods her head in understanding as she drops her feet to the floor while
not to slyly scooting closer to Natalia.
"Probably a little bit of both?" she asks tucking that cute yet troublesome
stray hair behind Natalia's ear. She lets her hand rest on a rapidly warming
cheek.
Allowing a small sob to escape. "Oh yeah." A sniffle. " But the thing is I KNOW
that there is NOTHING wrong or bad about how I feel."
"You sure about that cause…" Olivia stops herself from finishing the self-
depreciating comment Natalia knew was to come. The disapproving frown was
enough of a warning.
"I'm so sure. Sure of this. Of us. Of the fact that I am so totally,
completely, head over heels in love with you."
Natalia's lips had barely finished speaking those last words before Olivia's
was coaxing them into participating in a different activity.
It was the slowest, softest, sweetest, most emotion filled kiss either woman
had ever experienced. After the two broke apart gasping for air out of sheer
amazement they locked eyes and smiled.
Not to be out done Olivia spoke. A little surprised at herself at how little of
that she had been doing throughout the conversation. Maybe all of those people
over the years who had told her it was sometimes best to just shut her damn
mouth and listen were on to something. Go figure.
And if you told anyone she had admitted that she'd deny it…then punch you dead
in the face…HARD!
"Yeah well…I love you too."
Smiles grew wider and the kissing began anew…with gusto.
That was the easy part. And surprisingly enough so was the little spa trip they
had taken together. They had relaxed, talked, and yes basked in the simple
pleasure of being in each other's presence.
===============================================================================
 
The hard part came later with Rafe getting out of prison (thanks to Mel and
Olivia) and finding out about them exactly one hour before Natalia had planned
to tell him herself. In hindsight it probably wasn't very smart to be making
out like a couple of horny teenagers in plane view outside of The Farmhouse
when they damn well weren't. Well…they weren't teenagers anyway.
He had ranted and raged. Made a rather inappropriate remark about an "itch that
needed to be scratched" then stormed off to pout to an already wounded puppy.
Which brought Natalia full circle and right back to Frank.
"I mean seriously Natalia what are you thinking? Obviously you're not right?
This is Olivia we're talking about. Do you honestly think she's capable of
loving anyone but herself…especially someone like you?"
Well that got her attention.
"Yes Frank I do. She is more than capable of loving. She loves her daughters
fiercely. And even though he doesn't deserve it with the way he has thanked her
for everything she's done for him she loves Rafe the same way. And YES Frank
she loves me…more than anyone ever has."
That brought Frank up short for a moment. His fragile pride had taken another
shot to the gut.
"What about me Natalia?"
Oh boy, she thought. And here come the creepy puppy dog eyes.
"I loved you. I still do - we could be happy together I know it."
Yep there they were. Ugh…I'm so over this.
"Look Frank I know you think you love me but you can't. You don't even know
me…not really. And what little you do know you learned from Olivia." She
thought about something. "And what was that supposed to mean - Olivia not being
able to love someone like me?"
She was well aware of her own inadequacy issues…she didn't need him to point
them out.
"You're good and kind; she isn't even close. It's like you said. Why would she
help me - tell me all those things about you if she really cared for you as
much as she says she does huh?" He looked like he'd just given the greatest
closing argument in history.
Natalia wasn't at all moved.
Is that really the argument you're going to go with Frank? Way to shoot
yourself in the foot. Clearly you were on the debate team in high school.
She laughed a little inwardly then chided herself for such and uncharitable
thought.
"And what about Rafe? He's hurting with all this. Don't you want him at home
with you where he belongs?"
Patience officially lost.
"Don't you dare try to use my son to guilt me into getting your way Frank! Of
course I want my son home with ME where he belongs. But, I'm hurting too Frank.
I hurt every time my baby boy opens his mouth and spews such HATRED at the
person I love. I hurt every time he goes out of his way to disrespect me AND my
relationship. No one is keeping him from coming home. No one is stopping him
from being apart of his own family but himself. It is none of your business.
And yes I am grateful to you for allowing my son to live with you. But don't
think that I don't know you have ulterior motives. Every time you dangle him in
front of me like a carrot or parade your relationship with him in front of
Olivia just to hurt her I see it for exactly what it is. His situation is
temporary Frank. When he gets his act together he WILL be coming home and we
will begin to mend the damage that has been done to our relationship. But make
no mistake Frank…you will NOT be following after him. It's like I said right?
His currently living situation is temporary…yours is not."
To most people such an impassioned, fiery, and somewhat hurtful speech coming
from one Natalia Rivera would be a shocking surprise.
But right here and now so fed up with spinning her wheels, and sick and tired
of having basically the same conversation with this man for weeks now it was
exactly what needed to be said.
Frank was left speechless and completely dumbfounded.
It was that moment Buzz returned from the kitchen - lunch order in hand for
Natalia.
For once someone in Springfield had perfect timing.
Natalia paid and thanked Buzz avoiding his questioning glances and ignoring
juniors shocked ones. She grabbed her order and walked very calmly out of
Company.
She had a lunch date with Olivia in her office. She didn't want to be late.
 
Chapter End Notes
     Once again all mistakes are my own. Also this fic has been pre-
     written and is currently as it stands 998 pages long and counting as
     I am still writing it. I hope you guys are in for a ride. Updates
     will be once a week until caught up. Although I doubt that will
     happen...then again you never know. As an introduction to this story
     I will be posting the first three chapters then begin the regular
     posting schedule. ENJOY!!
***** No Means NO! *****
Chapter Summary
     Olivia reflects on how she can manage to screw up with Natalia and
     Rafe shows his ass and someone else just might pay the price.
Chapter Notes
     All mistakes are my own.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Olivia settled down into her large leather office chair stomach and heart full
after Natalia left her office. They had enjoyed a leisurely lunch together
during which they talked about nothing at all and kissed in-between bites.
During their conversation Olivia surprised both herself and Natalia by merely
laughing about Natalia's earlier interaction with Frank.
"Did you at least give the guy his balls back?" she asked wiping the tears of
laughter from her eyes.
Natalia playfully smacked her on the arm. "Olivia stop it."
She grabbed hold of Natalia's hand and pulled her forward - leaning back on the
couch in her office with Natalia's length resting on top of her. Olivia wrapped
her arms around her and hugged Natalia close. Her love nuzzled into her neck
and found herself more comfortable than she could ever remember being.
"I'm sorry baby. I'll behave."
After that there was nothing but silence between them and they loved every
moment of it.
This of course was all new to Olivia. She had never been comfortable with just
being. She used to consider the words 'quiet' and 'still' to be synonyms with
the words 'boring' and 'as hell.'
But she was learning at a fast rate that the gentle calm she had become
accustom to in Natalia's presence was nothing short of exhilarating. With
Natalia everything was just…easier. Unless of course it came to getting her to
accept her generosity. But, she'd fix that with time.
Time.
There wasn't a lot of that stored up for her. What with the borrowed heart and
all. But Olivia would make the most of every second she had with her second
chance at life. A life that to her ever lasting surprise consisted of a
farmhouse, intimate family dinners, nights in watching movies with her girls,
simple acts like drying the dishes, and one dimpled -brown -eyed -woman she
could never get enough of.
Olivia had finally found her place in life. And it was the last place she could
have possibly expected.
But of course there was one black cloud looming over the picnic. And its name
was Rafe. Natalia's son had quickly morphed from being a catalyst of sorts to
their relationship to its greatest hurtle. How she managed to stop herself from
strangling the life out of that boy every time she saw him she had no idea.
Not really though. Deep down she knew. She knew that the only reason she hadn't
ended that loud mouthed pain in the ass' existence was because it was given to
him by Natalia.
But how could she live with the fact that the once only shinning spot of joy in
Natalia's life had become her greatest pain? After every interaction with her
son Natalia seemed more and more bogged down with the intensity of her own
child's hatred. And even still she managed to put on a brave face and hold on
to faith. Faith that he would come around. Faith that God had some huge plan
for them all.
Olivia didn't know how she managed it. If Emma were to ever turn on her the way
Rafe had Natalia she knew she wouldn't be able to bear it.
Her phone interrupted her thoughts.
"Olivia Spencer," she answered - voice cool and professional not giving away
the fact that she had been thinking some very heavy thoughts.
"Hi Ms. Spencer its Jane. I picked up Emma and she was…" Jane was cut off by a
distraction in the background.
Olivia was amused to overhear her excitable child rushing Jane to ask Olivia
about coming to the park.
"Yes Emma I'm asking her now give me a second okay?" Jane responded sweetly.
Even though the girl could be a bit thick at times she was really good with
Emma. Olivia knew well how difficult it could be to handle her daughter when
she got overly excited. Which was often.
"I'm sorry Ms. Spencer. Emma was wondering if you would be able to meet us at
the park? She has a lot of energy to burn off since there was only a half day
at school today."
"It's okay Jane I know how my daughter can get sometimes. But luckily for her I
have a light schedule today and can definitely make the park."
Olivia could only assume that Jane had given Emma some kind of signal in the
affirmative because the very loud scream of "YAY!" could be heard through the
other line.
Jane laughed and came back to the phone. "She can't wait."
"I'll be there in ten minutes. Bye Jane…oh and tell my daughter to dial it down
a little."
Jane snorted. "I'll try."
Click.
Smiling to herself Olivia stood and stretched her arms above her head satisfied
with the quiet pops and snaps of her joints. She had a date with her daughter
at the park. It would be even better if she could get the girls Mama to join
her.
She loved hearing her little Jellybean call Natalia that. Natalia loved it even
more.
Olivia grabs her things and locks up her office then makes the short trip to
Natalia's office. Her door was open as it usually was unless she was on an
important call or in a meeting. It was a subtle nod to the woman's own
openness. One of the things Olivia loved most about her.
Natalia was sitting at her desk head down concentrating on the reports in front
of her. Her hair was down - loose curls cascading around her shoulders. Her
purple silk short-sleeved blouse's top two buttons were undone revealing a
tantalizing amount of cleavage that Olivia hungrily absorbed.
It had been a mutual agreement between the two of them that they wouldn't
pressure themselves with exactly when their relationship would become more
physical. They were sharing a bed which both considered to be pleasurably
torturous. But so far they had been doing okay - they were comfortable with the
natural progression of their intimacy.
But seeing Natalia like this. In her element and so effortlessly beautiful? All
she could think about was locking the door and showing Natalia exactly what
being with Olivia Spencer was all about.
It was in this state eyes glazed over yet alight with possibilities and a
devilish smirk on her face that Natalia noticed her in the door way.
"Hey Princess," Natalia greeted her warmly.
Olivia snapped out of her fantasy at the sound. She didn't even try to fight
the blush that was quickly hijacking her face. Natalia had been calling her
that ever since their spa get away. Olivia couldn't be more thrilled.
Natalia not only called her Princess…but she treated her like one as well.
Natalia noted the smirk that had yet to fall from her lips and giggled.
"Do I even want to know where you were just now?"
"Uh…no probably not." She cleared her throat. "At least not right now."
Natalia nodded in mock sincerity. "Hmm. Rain check then?"
"Absolutely."
For a moment they just stared at each other both completely enthralled by the
other and both thinking…
I can't believe this amazing woman is in love with me.
Olivia was the first to break the silence after remembering the reason for her
stopping by Natalia's office.
"So The Bean is at the park right now with Jane; she asked if I would join her.
I was wondering if I could persuade her Ma to tag along."
Natalia beamed at the thought of her little girl and the chance to spend any
amount of time with her. Her smile quickly turned into a frown.
"You know I would love to go to the park with my girls but, I have a lot of
work to do here."
Olivia was hearing none of that.
Quickly shutting the door and striding over to stand behind Natalia she brings
her arms around her to rest on her shoulders and pulls her close.
"Please?" she playfully begs.
"Olivia," Natalia whines. She knew that she didn't stand a chance under this
type of coercion. She never did with Emma and the little girl had learned from
the master.
"Please. Pretty please. Please."
"Okay. Okay," Natalia relented while barely containing her laughter from
Olivia's antics.
"Yes!" Olivia shouted triumphantly pumping her fists in the air. She gave
Natalia a quick kiss and began to dance around to the other side of the desk.
"You're such a kid sometimes," Natalia told her shaking her head and smiling.
"Don't hate on The Happy Dance. Besides it's no worse than The Cheetos Dance."
"The Cheetos Dance is an institution," Natalia seriously replies.
Olivia laughed. "Sure honey whatever you say." Olivia made quick work of
gathering Natalia's things and ushering her from The Beacon. "If you play
you're cards right I might just push you on the swings."
"YAY!"
===============================================================================
 
"MOMMY! MA!" Emma squealed as she sprinted away from Jane and towards her
mothers.
She was caught by four strong arms that brought her close and held her safe…the
way every child should be.
Emma was a child truly blessed.
"Hey baby."
"You having fun Jellybean?"
"Yeah, But it'll be way more fun now that you're here."
Jane approached the trio and watched transfixed as Olivia kissed her daughter's
temple and Natalia playfully tugged at her ponytail before both stood to greet
her. She had worked for Ms. Spencer for years - had been subject to her
mercurial moods and had watched her implode on more than one occasion as life
had taken its kicks at her. Some deserved some…not so much. She was happy that
the woman had finally found what she was looking for.
Olivia and Natalia exchanged pleasantries with the sitter for a bit before
relieving her from her post to spend time alone with their daughter.
The family played together. They chased each other around the jungle gym (the
mommies had abandoned their heels in exchange for bare feet.) The two women
kept a watchful eye over Emma as she proudly showcased her skills on the monkey
bars. Later Emma laughed gleefully at the sight of her Mommy pushing her Ma on
the swings. The joyous shouts of "HIGHER!" were like music to her ears.
After sometime Olivia and Natalia took their leave of playing not being able to
keep up anymore with their daughter's childhood exuberance and chose a bench
from which they could keep a close eye on her.
"Phew." Natalia huffed as she put her heels back on. Olivia followed suit.
"You could say that again."
"Phew." Natalia looked over at her and smiled batting her eyelashes.
"Smartass."
Natalia just laughed and leaned back to enjoy the simplicity of such a joyous
moment in her life.
"I love this. Being here with you and Emma." She didn't allow herself to be
brought down by the fact that Rafe had missed out on another opportunity to be
with their family…again.
Olivia sensed this and let it be for now.
"Yeah. Today was a good day." Olivia slid slyly closer to Natalia and cuddled
close resting her head on her love's shoulder.
"You just jinxed it."
"No I didn't."
"We'll see."
===============================================================================
 
Unbeknownst to them their entire interaction from their arrival at the park had
been watched with disdain.
Rafe stood yards away watching as Olivia pulled Natalia further and further
away from him. He didn't allow himself to find peace in the fact that the
Munchkin was happy. She would steal his anger away from him. He didn't want
that.
He scowled every time Olivia pushed Natalia higher on the swing when she asked.
He nearly gagged when Natalia initiated a kiss with Olivia in public no less.
He rolled his eyes as he witnessed Olivia slide across the bench toward his
mother.
The bitch had game.
He had to give her that.
It was when he saw his mother wrap her arms around Olivia that he couldn't take
anymore. He didn't want to see the contentment on her face. Didn't want to
associate their closeness with anything to do with love.
Olivia was a monster and his mother was going to be destroyed by her. And what
was worse was she knew it. She knew who that bitch was and still she involved
herself with Olivia.
It was sickening.
Paying no mind to Emma playing not too far away he stalked up to the two women
on a mission.
"Well don't you two look comfy?" His voice was filled with contempt.
"Rafe!" Natalia would always be glad to see her son even if she knew she'd just
end up feeling like shit later.
"Hello Rafe." Olivia's greeting was more subdued. She wanted to be able to be
happy to see him - she really did. But there was the small matter of him being
a dick that stole any chance of that happening from her.
The two broke apart and stood to give him their attention.
High Alert.
"Please don't move on my account. Really you looked happy right where you
were."
"Rafe please not now," Natalia pleaded with him voice already defeated. This
interaction would be no different than the others they had since he found out.
She could tell by his stance and in the way his eyes shifted angrily from
herself to Olivia.
He wanted a confrontation. Otherwise he could have simply left instead of
coming up to them.
"You were right I jinxed it," Olivia said under her breath to Natalia while
pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look Rafe now isn't the best time for…"
"For what Olivia?" Rafe rounded on her disgust and hate in his voice for even
having to speak to her. "It's the perfect time for you two to grope each other
in the park in the middle of the fucking day where anyone could see you. But
not for me to call you on it?"
"Raphael! Stop it now. I am not ashamed of what we have and have no need to
hide it." Natalia really wasn't in the mood for this so soon after her argument
with Frank.
"Right so that's why everyone knows about you two then? Oh yeah they don't.
Then again if I was you I wouldn't want everyone to know I was banging the town
whore either."
SLAP!
"You will never…ever speak to me that way again. You will NEVER speak about
Olivia like that again. Do you understand me?"
Both Olivia and Rafe stood stock still not being able to believe that Natalia
had slapped him. Both were a little afraid of the steely tone of her voice.
"I said do you understand me?" Natalia's eyes flashed with fury.
"But Ma…"
"No Rafe."
"IT'S OLIVIA!" He screamed; sounding like the petulant child throwing a temper
tantrum that he was. "She's a bitch whose hurt us. She took Gus! I FUCKING HATE
HER!"
"Rafe?"
Olivia, Natalia, and Rafe stood stock still and mortified.
That small, unsure, shaky little voice that came from just behind Rafe belonged
to Emma.
She had heard everything.
When she first saw her big cousin/brother approach their moms she was so
excited. She ran to greet him but was stopped dead in her tracks by all the
mean and hurtful things he was saying.
She knew now why he didn't come around to play with her anymore.
The best thing that had ever happened to her…was something Rafe wanted
desperately to fall apart.
Suddenly she wasn't so happy to see him.
"Why?" Tears were streaking down her face. Her little world where Rafe could do
no wrong had been shattered into a million tiny pieces.
Rafe turned and reached towards her.
"Munchkin I…"
"No." She stepped back from him.
"Emma…" he tried again.
"NO!" she screamed as she turned and ran.
The three adults took chase after the girl as she darted through the park.
"EMMA! EMMA STOP!" Olivia called out over and over again but her little girl
was too hurt to listen.
The three of them watched horrified as Emma jumped from the curb, into the
street, and into the path of an oncoming car.
"NO!"
Tires screeched against the pavement.
 
Chapter End Notes
     You guys will have to remind me just in case but I plan to post a new
     chapter every Monday! Also the chapters do begin to get pretty meaty
     from here.
***** Angels Don't Have Wings *****
Chapter Summary
     Emma meets her guardian angel.
 
 
 
Today was going to suck ass.
She knew this because it always did.
Phoenix stood stoic at the grimy window in her motel room at the Springfield
Motor Inn and stared off into nothing. She took the last puff of her smoke,
pulled out her lighter, and burned up the rest. She watched the embers die off
in the ashes in the ashtray. Last night had gone as expected.
===============================================================================
 
She'd arrived in Springfield at midnight as scheduled. She found the 24 hour
storage facility she'd looked up online and stored her motorcycle. They charged
by the month and she paid it knowing she would only need it for two weeks.
Phoenix never flinched at the loss.
It was just money. And she didn't care.
After storing and covering the Ducati she set up her cameras within the unit.
One in the left corner facing outside in and one in the far corner facing
inside out. She went about the task of checking the audio visual signal.
She drilled two small holes into the concrete just under the door and screwed
in the latch to her own lock. The one provided by the storage company would be
for aesthetics only. Phoenix screwed the catch to the bottom of the door and
closed it while still standing inside. She tested the mechanism.
"Aoi - Akai - Midoriiro."
(Blue - Red- Green.)
The lock de-activated.
"Shitsurishimasu."
(Good-bye.)
The lock activated.
Satisfied she walked out. Activated the lock, and then put on the lock given to
her by the facility. She pocketed the key, put on her back pack and sea bag
then left.
She walked through the town uninterested in what little sights it had to offer.
She walked straight to the motel and spoke to the manager.
"I need a room - second floor - a lot of privacy." She didn't bother with
pleasantries.
The manager eyed her; a little suspicious of her demeanor. She was surprised he
didn't look at her the way most people did…
With lust in his eyes.
He suggested a room based on what she'd asked listing the pros and cons. She
agreed to it.
"The cost is…"
Phoenix dropped two-thousand dollars on the counter.
"That'll do," he said amazed.
"There's more where that came from. Provided of course that I am never
disturbed and the room next to mine remains unoccupied."
"Of course."
She nodded then gave the manager a lecherous grin.
"One more thing." Her voice was low and as seductive as a lover's caress.
"Anyone comes asking - I was never here. You never saw me. Otherwise…" She
reached forward and delicately fingered his collar than grabbed a fist full of
the material before forcefully yanking the man towards her. His feet left the
ground as he hung halfway over the counter. "You'll wish it were true." Her
face was a hard mask of intimidation. Her voice so deep the man would later
swear that she was possessed.
He nodded his head in a series of quick jerks. "Sure…sure no problem. Hell I've
already forgotten you," He assured her.
She narrowed her eyes at him then stared. It felt like an eternity to the poor
man who had broken out in a cold sweat.
"Good man." To him it sounded like she was merely stating a fact. She released
the man and snatched up the room key. "For your trouble," She said dropping
another two grand on the counter.
She walked out without offering him a second glance.
The manager was more than happy to see her go. He would have no problem doing
just as she asked. After being trapped in the grip of her cold stare he knew
what it was like to visit the bowels of hell.
He wasn't interested in a return trip.
Phoenix walked to her room pleased with the fact that it was at the end of the
hall.
It left them only one angle to attack from.
She went inside, closed the door, and went about the task of securing the room.
Breaking out her tool kit she removed the doorknob and dead bolt replacing them
with her own. She took the removed locks and dropped them into the creaky old
drawer in the night stand next to the bed.
The room key soon followed.
She cleaned the room from top to bottom. It wasn't so bad compared to other
places she had stayed but it still smelled too stale for her taste.
The bed was changed and everything was exchanged for linens of her own.
Cameras were set up all around the room in the same fashion the ones in the
storage unit were. Afterwards Phoenix stepped outside and after being satisfied
she wasn't being watched by any prying eyes set up cameras along the railing
over looking the parking lot, manager's office, street, and short hallway that
led to her room. She went inside and put a camera on the wall outside the
bathroom window.
She set up her laptop on the small desk the room provided and checked the
signals for her cameras. Seeing that everything was in working order she went
to change.
Stripped down to nothing but her black sports bra and black work out shorts
that were no longer than the boy shorts she wore underneath she went through a
quick workout.
100 sit-ups.
100 push-ups on her knuckles.
100 curl-ups on the bar she'd put up over the doorway of the bathroom.
Afterwards she put her body through a series of stretches that would seriously
injure most.
She checked the cameras.
Then she lit a few incense and sat in silence to meditate and calm her mind.
Checked the cameras.
Phoenix then had a smoke as she dressed for the day. It was four a.m.
No point in going to bed now.
She wouldn't fall asleep anyway. Instead she packed up her lap top - shoving it
into her backpack, grabbed her sea bag, and left the room.
She left not a single item she owned and could stand losing behind.
Crossing the street she walked into the small wooded area beyond. Phoenix
strapped on her tekagi-shuko (hand claws) then scaled the tallest strongest
looking tree she could find. Stopping at a high branch she strapped her sea bag
to it and made sure the built in alarm was on.
She took off her shuko and jumped down to the ground below.
Her feet made no sound. Even amongst the bracken and dry leaves.
She staked out a few places of interest that J had mentioned.
The Beacon. Company. Cedars Hospital. Towers. The Light House.
The Light House looked like it would make a great regrouping point should she
have to make a quick escape. So she set up cameras there as well. She would
monitor them to see how much traffic the place got to be sure.
===============================================================================
 
It was now eight a.m. and she was starving. Figuring there was no point in
trying to find anywhere else to eat than Company she left the motel. J was
always rambling on about how much he missed and or wanted a Buzz Burger.
Whatever the fuck that was.He had assured her that it was the best place in
town to grab a quick bite without garnering too much suspicion.
She doubted it.
Springfield was a small town. A town (she knew from the totally whacked out and
fucked up stories J had told her) where everyone knew everyone else and were
always in each others business. So it wasn't that much different than any other
small craphole she had been to.
It was why she hated them.
No one knew how to keep their head down - shut the fuck up - and just mind
their own damn business.
She'd stick out like a sore thumb.
She walked inside the restaurant not really caring about the décor or the
people in it.
All that mattered was that she didn't smell any demons.
The food other people where eating looked halfway decent.
And that there was an empty booth in the back corner to her right that offered
her the security of a wall to her back and a clear view of the restaurant.
She sat down and checked out the menu. Her mouth started watering. Not eating
for so long was dangerous for her to do. Especially since she'd been expending
so much energy lately. It didn't help that she'd been hanging tough with her
good buddies Jack and Coke.
That was actually kind of funny.
She snorted then actively ignored the stares from the early morning patrons. A
doughy looking guy with weird hair and an even weirder grin came over to stand
near her table. She gave him a cursory glance.
Definitely NOT a threat.
But he could do with an undershirt. The man's nips could do serious damage to
someone's retinas.
She noted that he didn't wear an apron or a Company logo shirt like the rest of
the wait staff. He didn't have a pad or pen in his hand either. Which made him
of no interest to her.
Sadly though she couldn't say the same for him. She felt a little skeevy just
from the way he was hungrily eyeing what part of her body he could see after he
managed to drag his eyes away from her breasts.
"Hi welcome to Company," he paused and smiled a little too eagerly at her. She
returned her eyes to the menu.
Waffles sounded good.
She put down her menu and began to read her copy of The Wall Street
Journalshe'd brought with her.
"You know it's interesting; I've never seen you around here before." He
commented not taking the none too subtle hint to leave her the fuck alone.
"Iieh amari omoshiro kunaides."
(No it's not very interesting.)
She smirked inwardly knowing his face would be even funnier looking with
confusion. She never took her eyes off her paper.
"Uh right…well I'm Frank."
Ugh. I'm over this town already.
"So des ka."
(Is that so?)
He may not have understood what she was saying but there was no mistaking the
sarcastic tone of her voice.
"Right…well let me get someone to take your order"
"Ripana."
(Magnificent.)
Her voice sounded extremely bored.
He walked away and began to talk to a little cutie behind the counter. From the
corner of her eye she noted that the girl was frowning at what Frank was
saying. She returned her eyes back to the paper.
Two communications companies she'd been watching for some time now had
announced their merger yesterday. Stock had skyrocketed and were now holding
steady.
She'd just made 15 million dollars over night.
Whoop-de-fuckin-doo….wait a second…cutie? Goddamnit!
The girl walked over to her.
"Um…hi I'm Daisy. My Uncle Frank said that you didn't speak English very well.
Uh…I'm sorry…did you need more time?"
She was nice enough and anxious in an adorable sort of way. Hopefully for her
the genes didn't run to strong in that family.
Daisy watched nervously as the woman did what she could only describe as
inspect her. Daisy bristled and returned the favor.
She had to admit the woman was gorgeous. Long dark brown hair - done up in a
ponytail that flowed over her shoulders when she moved her head. Bright green
eyes that were alive with an intelligence that would make most people squirm. A
small mouth with full lips. No sign of wrinkles which was amazing to Daisy
seeing as how it seemed the only facial expression the woman knew was a scowl.
She looked like she smelled something not all that pleasant. Her smooth tan
skin had no blemish in sight. And all that tight leather she was wearing left
no mystery to the shape of her body.
Phoenix was amused by the girl's tenacity and by her inability to keep it up as
she looked her over. Then like a switch had been flipped the girl named Daisy
snapped back to attention and looked her straight in the eyes without wavering.
Phoenix was impressed. Very few people could pull that off.
"No. I know what I want to order," she answered Daisy's previous question.
"Um…o-kay. Why did you tell my uncle you didn't speak English?" Daisy was
surprised by the woman's thick British accent.
"I didn't he just assumed that I couldn't speak English. Obviously I'm quite
fluent," Phoenix said flippantly. "The man isn't very observant."
"Really? Because he's a detective on the SFPD," Daisy replied defensively.
Phoenix's scowl grew more pronounced as she inwardly chuckled.
"Well he certainly couldn't detect the fact that I was reading an American
Newspaper," Phoenix replied waving said paper minimally. "Or perhaps he just
thought I was merely looking at all of the pretty pictures."
"What can I get for you?" Daisy asked sweetly - trying to mask her annoyance
and ready to change the subject. She needed the tips bad.
Phoenix simply studied her for a moment longer seeing right through her act.
When Daisy seemed to become more and more annoyed by her silence Phoenix became
inwardly more amused. Finally she answered.
"I'll have two orders of your scrambled eggs. Two of the large stack of
waffles…blueberry. Six slices of bacon. Three of those Italian sausage patties.
A large bowl of your mixed fruit. A large glass of water - no ice. A large
glass of orange juice - no ice and keep the refills coming. Oh and add some
cheddar cheese to those eggs."
Daisy stood their amazed.
"That's all. I'm trying to keep it a bit light this morning," Phoenix added as
she removed her back pack and sat it on the set beside her. She never really
had that much of an appetite in the morning. The amount of cocaine she snorted
at night probably had something to do with that.
"You're not actually going to eat all that are you?" Daisy asked her eyes wide.
Phoenix simply stared at her scowl deepening even further.
"I ordered it didn't I?" she asked condescendingly.
Daisy turned and stalked away.
With her sensitive hearing Phoenix heard her mutter "Bitch" as she entered the
kitchen.
"I would have respected her more if she had said it to my face," she commented
to no one.
Quicker than she would have expected Daisy brought out her food and refilled
her glasses then walked away without uttering a word.
Phoenix allowed herself to watch as Daisy chatted up other customers. Taking
orders, and cleaning up spills Daisy worked efficiently and with a smile. Not
common for a teenaged girl who worked at her family's restaurant.
Phoenix sniffed her food and after being satisfied the girl hadn't spit in it
or done anything else to it she tucked in; scarfing it down in record time.
Daisy came by for another refill eyes wide at the sight. She still said nothing
and walked away.
Minutes later she came back with the bill and left again.
Without even looking at the bill Phoenix pulled out two bills and shoved them
into the check folio. As she walked out she past Daisy.
"Keep the change," she practically growled.
Daisy shook her head and went to bus the table. She looked in the folio not
expecting much of a tip and saw two crisp hundred dollar bills inside.
The bill had only been thirty dollars.
===============================================================================
 
Her next stop was a place called Cross Creek. She had checked it out last night
and left quickly not liking the feel of the place. Her senses were on high
alert when she was there. Something about the feeling was familiar but she
couldn't place it.
Now she was back and still feeling apprehensive about it.
No one was home which would make the first part easier. She picked the lock and
shook her head at the lack of a home security system. It wouldn't have kept her
out…but still. She set up her laptop on the kitchen counter over looking the
living room.
"Let's see what you've been up to Winslow."
She started her Net Program and pinpointed the location of the fourteen cameras
that were set up around the house and property.
"I knew it. J is going to be so fucking pissed."
Phoenix disabled all the cameras, removed them, and then threw the now useless
technology in an empty box she had found near the stables. All she had left to
do was wait.
She put her laptop away and sat on the couch snacking on a few granola bars as
she waited. Forty-five minutes later she heard a key in the lock. From the
footsteps she heard she knew there was only one person and the footfalls gave
way to the fact the person was carrying something a little heavy.
He nose told her two people had entered the house.
Mrs. O'Neil and the baby.
Reva wasn't expecting company. So when she walked in carrying Colin in his car
seat and saw a leather clad stranger sitting comfortably on her sofa she was
surprised to say the least. She didn't allow that surprise to show. Instead she
walked in, sat Colin's seat on the floor and looked at the stranger.
Phoenix was becoming more and more impressed with this town's occupants…well at
least its female populace. Mrs. O'Neil was obviously a tough old broad.
The women must run this town.
"Hello Mrs. O'Neil."
"Well…" Reva waited hands on her hips. "Who the hell are you?"
"A friend."
"Of whose?"
Phoenix smirked a little and arched her eyebrow at Reva's bluntness.
The move reminded Reva of Olivia - green eyes and all. She resisted the urge to
bound over and smack that damn smirk off the woman's face. But she wasn't
Olivia (after all she was British) and she didn't know how dangerous she was
yet.
"Smart woman," Phoenix stated. She saw how Reva was eying her wondering how
dangerous she was. "Extremely," she stated answering the unasked question. "But
luckily for you the answer to your previous question is that I am a friend of a
mutual friend. Although he's not so much a friend of yours as he is something
else."
"Meaning?"
"Why don't you have a seat?" Phoenix offered gesturing towards the couch across
from her.
"Why sure thanks for offering," Reva turned on the sarcasm.
The hell does this woman think she is? Offering me a seat in my own damn house.
Phoenix merely arched her eyebrow higher.
"Fine." Reva sat.
Phoenix removed the first envelope from her backpack and threw it onto the
coffee table between them. It landed with a loud slap. She then picked up the
box she'd put the cameras in and dumped its contents on the table next to the
envelope.
"What's all this crap?" Reva picked through some of the wiring while eying the
envelope.
"These are cameras that were transmitting an A/V signal to what is at this
point an undisclosed location. They were set up by Edmond Winslow…he's been
watching you."
Reva's face contorted with rage. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm going to kill
that smug bastard."
"No need…that's my job," Phoenix stated coolly.
"Why? What's in it for you?" Reva asked intrigued by the woman's confident and
cool demeanor.
"Open the envelope."
Reva wearily did as instructed after noting that her name was written on front
of it. They hand writing looked vaguely familiar.
"Read the letter first. I don't know what it says. He wouldn't tell me. And
frankly I don't really care."
Reva frowned at the woman then pulled out the pages of the letter. The first
sentence was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
"Jonathan." She whispered shakily. She eagerly read the letter. Jonathan wrote
about how he and Sarah were safe at the moment. Safer than they had ever been
and how they had Phoenix to thank for that. He went on to assure her that they
would be home soon after his best friend had finished her work. It would take
her two weeks then finally they would be free from running. He went on to tell
her a little more about Phoenix - how they met - and a vague description of her
character. He told Reva how Phoenix was hard and could be difficult but that
she could trust her.
Reva eyed Phoenix again seeing her in a new light then dug into the rest of the
envelope revealing pictures of her son and grand-daughter. There were also
drawings Sarah had made for her and a small cell phone. Reva clutched the
pictures to her chest.
"So you're the one he left her with when he came back here before?"
"Yes."
"He must trust you a whole hell of a lot."
"I suppose." She cleared her throat. "The cell phone can only receive calls and
only from one number. Your designated time is between two and five on Mondays
and Wednesdays. If he can he'll call you within that time frame. No one is to
know you have that phone and should any voice be heard through the line other
than your own it will self-destruct."
Reva looked startled.
"It won't explode…just stop working."
"That sounds better."
"I'll be in town for two weeks making it safe for them to come back. Do not try
to find or contact me. If you need to speak to me for any reason or I you I'll
come find you."
Phoenix got up and walked past Reva but stopped to look down at a sleeping
Colin.
"Cute kid."
"Thank you. For everything."
Phoenix didn't respond.
"J said that your husband is ex FBI and CIA. You can tell him about this but no
one else. Ever! You see me around town you don't know me. Your husband will
know how to dispose of the cameras."
Phoenix made her way towards the door.
"Wait!" Reva stood and walked to her. "What about Alan?"
"Alan?"
"Alan Spaulding?" Reva hedged.
Phoenix smirked and tilted her head.
"Ah yes, Mr. Spaulding…what about him?" she asked conspiratorially and put on
her black aviator sun glasses.
With that she left; leaving Reva smiling devilishly in her wake.
===============================================================================
 
The next stop was a large house in need of some serious work. She guessed the
owners knew that with all the construction equipment around. The construction
crew was gone.
She waltzed right on into the house and quietly followed the sounds coming from
the kitchen. Its occupants didn't even notice her as she leaned against the
door frame.
"I'm just happy the hot water works now," they young woman Phoenix figured was
Elizabeth Spaulding said as she bit into an apple. She settled herself on to
the man's lap.
"Yeah. Can you imagine all the hot and steamy showers we can have together
now?" A man Phoenix figured was Bill Lewis. J had mentioned him.
"Oh yeah." Phoenix rolled her eye as they began to kiss.
She cleared her throat.
"HOLY SHIT!" Bill exclaimed as Lizzie jumped from his lap.
Phoenix paid no attention to their histrionics. "Elizabeth Spaulding?"
"Um…it's Lewis now. Who are you?"
"This guy your husband?"
"Yeah. That's me Bill Lewis."
Phoenix nodded. "I need to speak to you."
Phoenix gave Lizzie her envelope in the same fashion she had Reva. Lizzie cried
and squealed with delight. Then she bum rushed Phoenix with an unexpected hug.
She stood rigid and uncomfortable arms locked to her sides then cleared her
throat.
"That's quite enough of that," she said extracting herself form Lizzie's grip.
Bill thanked her and shook her hand. "You have no idea how much this means to
my wife."
"I think I do," Phoenix vaguely replied. She told Lizzie her designated phone
time. In between two and five Tuesday and Thursday. "I understand that Alan
Spaulding is your grandfather?"
"Unfortunately," Lizzie groused.
"Be that as it may he's still your family. Do you object to my handling him?"
"Are you going to kill him?"
"That decision will be left entirely to him."
With that Phoenix left.
There was on more person to visit.
===============================================================================
 
On her way to find Olivia Spencer she crossed over to Main Street and heard
screaming.
"EMMA! EMMA STOP!"
She turned in the middle of the cross walk seeing a small girl run into the
street.
"Fuck!" There was a car headed straight for her. And even if it stopped on time
the F-150 behind it could collide with it and force it forward into the little
girl. "Goddamnit!"
Phoenix ran full-tilt down the middle of the street. As she got closer she saw
two women and a young man charge after the girl but they would be too late.
Digging just a little bit deeper Phoenix hurtled towards the girl legs pumping
so fast she was almost a blur. She reached the girl two seconds after seeing
her jump the curb.
"NO!" She heard voices scream.
She scooped her up and jumped into the air tucking the screaming child's body
close and curling herself into a tight ball flipping over the car that hadn't
managed to stop yet. On her way down she was pleased to see the driver of the
F-150 swerve to his right narrowly missing the car in front of it. It freed up
space for her to land sideways behind the car. It would be a tight fit and
she'd end up getting nicked by the trucks front end. Probably on her left leg
but she could deal with that.
Landing she felt the flesh of her left leg cut open but it wasn't so bad. She'd
had MUCH worse. Quickly she checked the crying child and was satisfied to see
not a scratch on her.
"Hey Emma."
Emma looked up at her in awe.
"Where are your wings?"
"Wings?"
"Aren't you an Angel?"
Phoenix chuckled. "No definitely not an Angel. Besides they don't have wings.
Cherubim and Seraphim do but not Angels." Phoenix heard people approaching from
the opposite side of the truck. She decided to keep the girl preoccupied and
her mind off of the fact that she should be dead by now. "In fact Seraphim have
six wings. A set to cover their eyes, a set to cover their mouths, and a set to
cover their bodies. On the front and back of all six wings they have thousands
of eyes. Cherubim only have four wings though. But they are very, very
beautiful."
"Cool!" Emma's eyes shined in amazement.
"Very Cool."
No need to tell the kid she'd just described to her what the most famous fallen
of all looked like before he went ape shit and became Satan.
"EMMA! EMMA!"
"Come on kid." Phoenix rose with Emma still safely in her grasp and hopped over
the space in between the front of the truck and back of the car.
"Oh God!" the Latina woman exclaimed.
"Is she okay?" was the frantic question from the other woman.
Phoenix noted that the young man stood back; silent and shaking. He had guilt
etched all over his face.
"It's okay. The little one is alright," Phoenix assured; her accent thicker
than usual.
Emma looked at her funny.
Phoenix simply winked at her.
"Thank you!" both women said over and over again as she sat Emma down and they
fussed over her.
Phoenix groaned realizing a crowd had gathered.
I don't need this shit right now.
Both drivers rushed towards them.
"I'm so sorry she came out of nowhere."
"That SHIT was AWESOME! Did you see how she just flipped over the car?"
Phoenix shook her head then pinched the bridge of her nose.
Fucking moron.
"Look seeing as how no one was hurt and no damage was done to any of your
vehicles let's just write it off and move along."
"Yeah definitely." The car driver replied looking fearfully at Emma. Not only
had he almost killed a kid. But THAT kid? No way did he want to be around if
and when any Spauldings showed up.
He ran to his car and drove away.
The truck owner was still telling anyone who would listen how cool what had
just happen was.
"I mean it was amazing. It was like BAM! All of a sudden she was just there."
Phoenix rolled her eyes and watched as a red headed woman approached who she
guessed were the girl's mothers.
Apparently this town digs the alt. lifestyle.
It was surprising to say the least.
"I can take her over to Company if you'd like - get a sundae in her while you
talk to them," the read head said.
"Thanks Blake." the two women said still kissing and hugging all over the
little girl. Phoenix felt a twinge in her gut from the sight and frowned.
The young man still stood away from them.
Before the woman named Blake could take Emma away Phoenix approached.
"Just one minute." She said surprising everyone. "Mind if I have a word with
the little one?'
"No not at all," the other green-eyed woman said smiling at her.
Phoenix squatted to Emma's level and moved a stray hair from her eyes.
"That was pretty scary huh?"
"Yeah," Emma replied voice small and looking down at her shoes.
Phoenix gently lifted her chin. "The thing is Emma although I'm sure everyone
is happy that you're alright; you shouldn't have run out into the street like
that. I'm sure you're moms taught you better."
"Yes."
Olivia and Natalia stood amazed at how gentle this woman was being with their
daughter while explaining how dangerous what she had done was.
"And I heard them calling after you to stop. You must always listen to your
mother Emma. Even if you don't understand why she's telling you to do
something…" Phoenix buried the emotion that threatened to show and cleared her
throat. "The repercussions for not doing so could be much more terrible than
you can imagine. Understand?"
"Yes." Emma nodded.
"Okay. Can I have a hug then?" Emma smiled and hugged her. Phoenix held her
tightly for a moment and closed her eyes tight forcing the tears away.
Blake smiled at Phoenix and led the little girl away.
The young man walked up to the two women - said a quiet and shaky "I'm so
sorry." on the back of a sob and ran away.
Both women shook their heads at his departure.
"Thank you again. I have no idea how you did it but you saved our little girl."
Phoenix brushed off the thanks. "It was nothing. I'm just glad no one got
hurt."
"Except for you! Look at your leg," the Latina woman exclaimed.
SHIT!
Both women started yammering about going to the hospital.
Fuck that!
Never trust doctors. Hospitals aren't safe.
"No really it's nothing I assure you."
They didn't listen but luckily for Phoenix they were distracted and turned
their attention towards someone talking to them. It was for a split second.
When they turned back around Phoenix was gone.
"Where the hell did she just go?" Olivia looked around confused.
"Um…I'm…not sure," Natalia answered.
They ignored the enthusiastic truck driver as he hopped in his truck still
gushing over the woman's acrobatics and drove away.
They walked into Company and headed straight towards Emma who was seated with
Blake.
They checked her over again. Blake left them alone for a moment.
"I'm sorry Mommy - Ma. I should 'a listened when you said stop." She started to
cry again.
"It's okay sweetie. We'll talk about everything later," Natalia told her.
Emma knew that the talk would involve Rafe.
"But that lady was so cool." Emma beamed quickly finding a new hero. "Ma did
you know that Angels don't have wings? Only Cellophane and Cheerybums do!"
Both of her mommies laughed.
"It's Seraphim and Cherubim honey. I did know that actually it's in the Bible."
Natalia told her caught off guard with her daughter's abrupt change of subject.
Olivia looked completely lost.
"Yeah and Seraphim have six wings that cover their eyes, and mouth and body.
They have eyes all over their wings. Are they like flies' eyes?"
"Eww!" Olivia grimaced.
Natalia laughed. "No honey their eyes aren't like flies…they're much prettier."
"Yeah that's what she said."
" Who said sweetie?" Olivia asked.
"That lady."
Olivia and Natalia exchanged looks.
"She was interesting," Natalia mused.
"What you going all gooey over that James Bond accent?" Olivia teased.
"No." Natalia laughed.
Emma laughed too.
"What's so funny Bean?"
"She was playing a joke on you Mommy…she didn't have an accent."
===============================================================================
 
Phoenix jumped out of the bed of the parked truck and walked around to the
front. She pulled out one of her special wipes and cleaned her blood off of the
side of the grill. She the wipe on fire and watched as it quickly burned up.
===============================================================================
 
Slamming into her motel room she dropped her sea bag on the bed and removed her
ruined leathers.
"Just great." She frowned at her once favorite pair of leather pants.
She'd gotten them in Paris.
She went about the task of stitching up the large gash on her leg with tiny
stitches and the procession of a practiced surgeon. She covered the wound in a
special poultice and wrapped up her leg.
She had missed her window to meet with Ms. Spencer so now she was behind
schedule.
A kid almost died on her dime.
Her favorite pants were ruined.
And she brought a lot of attention to herself.
She knew today was going to suck ass.
Phoenix wondered over to the desk preparing for another night of drinking
whiskey and snorting coke.
Happy Fucking Birthday!
 TBC
 
***** Jackass *****
Chapter Summary
     Olivia and Natalia come to an explosive understanding. Phoenix meets
     Ms. Spencer.
Last night had been hard. Olivia and Natalia had brought Emma home and after a
quiet dinner talked to her about the almost accident and what she had heard
Rafe say. Emma had pretty much made up her mind on the Rafe subject. If he
didn't want to be apart of their family and wanted to hurt her mommies then
good riddance.
Besides the lady she had recently met was WAY cooler.
It was Friday and they were all looking forward to the weekend. The girls saw
Emma off to school and went back inside to enjoy the rest of breakfast before
work.
"I think I'm still a little frazzled after last night," Natalia admitted as she
sipped her coffee.
Olivia reached over and squeezed her hand. "I think we all are. If that woman
hadn't shown up…" Olivia stopped – throat closing up and unable to finish. She
didn't want to imagine the conversation they could be having right now.
"But she did. And I don't care what she said to Emma she was an Angel. Sent at
the right time to the right place." Natalia had prayed for quite sometime last
night thanking God for blessing them with a reprieve and sending the stranger
to save her daughter.
"What she did was amazing. I didn't even notice her until she was already in
the air with Emma…" She paused frowning over a thought.
"What is it?"
"Don't you find it a little odd that some woman no ones ever seen in town just
showed up out of nowhere? Plus Emma said she didn't have an accent but she
sounded pretty damn British to me." Olivia was getting more and more agitated
at the thought of someone out there plotting against her and her family…again.
"Olivia…why can't we just accept this blessing for what it is instead of
jumping to conclusions?"
Olivia cut her eyes at Natalia and smiled. "Fine. But if she turns out to be
some lunatic out to kill us all don't say I didn't warn you," Olivia warned
playfully.
Natalia stood and gathered their dishes. "Don't worry Princess I wont." She
giggled and kissed Olivia on the top of her head. "Why don't you head on up and
get dressed. I'll be up shortly."
Olivia got up and wrapped her arms around Natalia from behind while she stood
at the sink. Natalia leaned back into the caress and hugged Olivia's arms to
her. They stood there in silence for a few moments.
"I love you." Olivia said kissing Natalia's temple.
"I love you too." Olivia smiled then kissed the side of Natalia's head. Natalia
gave her a playful smack on the ass as she walked away.
Olivia turned and wiggled her eyebrows at Natalia as she walked backwards out
of the kitchen. "It's all fun and games till someone is naked and screaming my
name."
Natalia laughed. "Someone is full of themselves."
"No but YOU could be." They both laughed as Olivia walked out.
===============================================================================
 
"Still no answer?" Olivia looked over from the driver's seat at Natalia.
Natalia shook her head and sighed after hanging up her phone.
"He won't answer any of my calls, won't respond to any of my text messages or
voice-mails. Nothing. I just want to know that he's alright."
Olivia nodded her head. "Maybe you could talk to Frank and…" she trailed off as
Natalia looked at her with an incredulous look on her face.
Natalia knew damn well that Olivia didn't want her talking to Frank. Not that
she was trying to control Natalia it was just that Frank had become more and
more difficult and Olivia didn't trust him alone with her. Besides Olivia
wanted to be able to be there for Rafe he just wouldn't let her. She wanted to
know how he was doing…she worried about him as much as she did Emma and Ava
despite the fact that the man child hated her. Even still she would suck it up
and let it go for Natalia. Her love knew all of this…and it pissed her off.
"I am so over this martyr act Olivia." Natalia sighed and looked out of her
window.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean Natalia? You want to know how your son
is doing – he's living with Frank. It only makes sense that you would talk to
him about Rafe."
"NO OLIVIA IT DOESN'T!" Natalia turned to her and shouted. Olivia swerved over
to the side of the road and parked the car angry.
"Please –PLEASE explain to me what the FUCK your problem is Natalia because
honestly I don't get it. Your son is living with Frank. He's the one Rafe is
talking to. OBVIOUSLY Frank would have an idea of what's going on in Rafe's
head!" Olivia half shouted half growled at Natalia.
"That's so not the point Olivia. I don't want to talk to Frank about anything
let alone Rafe. He's OUR son whether he likes it or not and if I'll be
discussing anything about him I'll do it with the same person I discuss my
daughter with. WE should not be talking to anyone about our children except for
EACH OTHER! That Olivia is my FUCKING PROBLEM!"
There was a short pause between the two of them. Their chests heaved with
exertion and, their breaths were labored as they bore holes into each other
with their eyes.
Olivia moved first.
They lunged at each other lips and tongues crashing together as Natalia wrapped
her fingers in Olivia's hair. Olivia gripped Natalia's hip with her left hand
and pulled her towards her by the back of the neck with her right. Panting,
sighs, moans, and the passionate meeting of lips were the soundtrack to which
they found an understanding. Then the kiss turned gentle; less demanding and
more understanding as their hearts began to beat slower. They pulled apart and
gazed into each others eyes.
"Have I ever told you how much I LOVE fighting with you?" Olivia asked her eyes
twinkling. Natalia just smiled and shook her head before resting her forehead
on Olivia's chest.
It was true no one could argue with Olivia they way Natalia could. They gave
and took equally from one another and when it was all said and done they were
better for it. Their friendship had started with arguing forcing them to
respect each other more. The beginning of their relationship had fed off of it
growing stronger and stronger with each spar.
No one had ever quite understood her the way Natalia did. None of her ex's had
even come close to being able to communicate with her on such an intense level.
It was like they had all come down from the Tower of Babel; her ex husbands
spoke gibberish and she gobbledygook. Then she was left wondering around the
wilderness trying to find someone to align herself with. A nation to call her
own. Until she'd found Natalia. She spoke her language…it was as simple as
that.
"Is that why you're always pushing my buttons?" Natalia asked leaning back to
get a better look at her.
"Pretty much. Well that and you're hot as hell when you're pissed off," Olivia
admitted. Natalia swatted her on the forearm.
"Just drive."
Olivia mock saluted her then pulled back onto the road.
"Quit speeding."
"Yes Ms. Daisy."
Natalia glared at her.
"You owe the swear jar too."
"So do you."
===============================================================================
 
They arrived at The Beacon a little late due to their argument and subsequent
make-out session. When they walked to the lobby they were quickly greeted by
Greg who was bursting with energy.
"Ms. Spencer – Ms. Rivera thank God! We just received a phone call." He paused
bouncing on his toes and seemingly ready to piss his pants.
"And…" Olivia hedged. It was too early to be dealing with Greg and his vast
amount of personal issues.
"It was from Vaser Corp. The negotiations with The Hilton fell through so now
they want to book their Spring Fundraiser with us!" He clapped his hands
together and almost squealed with glee.
Both Olivia and Natalia's eyes went wide. Vaser Corporation was known for its
lavish Spring Fundraiser that doubled as a party for its higher ups. They
poured an obscene amount of money into it every year. Unfortunately for the
hotels and convention centers that had housed it for the past four years they
were very hard to please. Nothing was ever good enough for them. But if The
Beacon could succeed in doing what the rest of those hotels could not…the
implications would be momentous to their reputation…and their bottom line. The
only problem was the event was to be held in approximately two weeks.
Olivia and Natalia got right down to business. Olivia barked a serious of quick
orders to Greg about organizing a meeting with the staff for the next day.
Natalia went to the kitchen to set up a separate meeting with its crew. Then
afterwards arranged for a conference call with the fundraiser's organizer for
the next day as well.
They met back up with one another an hour later outside of Olivia's office.
"We're going to be cutting it close but with the right amount of effort we can
pull it off," Olivia assured Natalia.
"I hope so." Natalia looked nervous. Olivia was giving her a lot of
responsibility with this one.
Olivia sensed Natalia's apprehension. "Don't worry you'll do great. You're my
superhero remember?"
Natalia smiled gracing Olivia with the presence of her dimples.
"Thanks for the reminder Princess."
"No problem baby."
Olivia unlocked her office and ushered Natalia inside. When she switched on the
light they saw the last person they would have ever expected.
Sitting stoically on Olivia's sofa was the woman who had saved Emma's life.
Phoenix stood up from her perch and frowned.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
These were the same women from yesterday. The same women she was hoping to
avoid for the rest of her time in Springfield. Obviously it hadn't worked out
as planned.
Then again things in her world rarely did.
Phoenix didn't even try to hide her surprise. "Well this is unexpected," she
stated voice low and cautious.
Olivia frowned at her. There was that damn (possibly fake) accent again.
"What are you doing in my office?" Olivia asked her voice deceptively calm.
Natalia knew that voice well. It was the voice Olivia used right before she
went off. Natalia quickly jumped in to intercept the impending explosion.
"Hi. I'm Natalia and this is Olivia. We were looking for you yesterday but you
kind of disappeared on us."
Olivia looked at her like she had just lost her damn mind. Natalia ignored her.
"Yeah…I tend to do that," Phoenix replied.
"Is this about the accident? Did you need any information from us for your
health insurance?"
Olivia and Natalia walked further into the room. Olivia closed the door behind
them.
"How's the leg?" Olivia asked her suspicious of the woman's sudden appearance
in their lives…again.
She didn't even look like she was hurt.
"I'm fine…on both accounts."
Natalia looked at her confused suddenly adapting Olivia's apprehension.
"Then why the hell are you in my office? How did you even get in here? The door
was locked." Olivia tilted her head and arched an eyebrow at Phoenix.
Phoenix returned the gesture.
Had Natalia not been worried about what would happen in the next five minutes
she would have found the exchange amusing.
All it did was piss Olivia off.
"Answers. NOW!"
Phoenix gave Olivia her envelope.
"What's this?"
"Answers."
Olivia and Natalia both eyed the large envelope wearily.
Phoenix sat back down on the coach and popped a toothpick into her mouth. She
twirled it end over end with her tongue and looked at the0m. "You know you two
are kinda hot together," she stated.
Olivia and Natalia looked at her completely thrown off guard.
"Um…"Natalia looked to Olivia for rescue.
"Put your damn eyes back into your head before I rip them out," Olivia warned.
Phoenix offered her a lazy smirk and put up her hands in mock surrender. "No
problem. Merely stating a fact love."
Olivia glared at her.
Phoenix knew what she was doing. These people had been witness to her moment of
weakness. She couldn't afford for them to believe her to be anything of the
sort. She'd rather them hate her or at the very least be annoyed by her.
Natalia recognized the display for what it was immediately. She'd seen Olivia
pull that shit enough to be able to spot it a mile away.
Olivia opened the envelope. Phoenix delivered her lines and gave Olivia her
call time; 2 to 5 Friday and Saturday. Afterwards they were all left at a
stalemate.
"What the hell makes you think you can standup to the likes of Alan Spaulding
AND Edmund Winslow all on your own?" Olivia asked her.
"I've dealt with worse. These two are big fish in a little pond. There's a
whole fucking ocean out there…filled with sharks." She was going for cocky now.
Natalia saw that too.
"Well if you don't mind I'm going to need a little more assurance than that. I
don't want my Nephew and Great-Niece getting screwed over because some cocky
bitch says she can handle it."
"Olivia." Natalia admonished.
"No Natalia I'm serious. This whole situation is beyond dangerous and I don't
like it one damn bit. I want to know without a shred of doubt that they'll be
okay."
Natalia nodded her head in understanding. She'd want the same thing in Olivia's
shoes.
Phoenix was tired of being questioned.
"Listen. I understand you have your reservations and all but keep the attitude
to yourself. I've been doing this shit a long time and if anyone can get them
out of this mess it's me. Don't stand there and act like you could do any
better. They wouldn't have been running in the first fucking place if that were
true." Phoenix had risen to her feet and was invading Olivia's personal space
staring her straight in the eyes.
J said she would be difficult but fuck if I have to deal with it!
They glared at each other…neither backing down. Both clenched their fists.
Natalia stepped in between them.
"O-kay…why don't we all just…calm down…and think about this rationally." She
placed a hand on each one of their stomachs and gave a slight push.
Both of their eyes slowly trailed from each other to Natalia their angry glares
resting on her for a moment. Natalia didn't waver. Olivia stepped back first.
Phoenix continued to glare for a moment. She reached up and rubbed at something
around her neck with her thumb and forefinger.
A reminder to be smart about striking too fast. Sometimes you only got one shot
before everything was torn apart.
She let it drop and stepped back. Olivia and Natalia noted that she had a black
necklace around her neck with what looked like two large black teeth dangling
from it.
"No worries. I deal with a lot of difficult people in my job." Phoenix looked
pointedly at Olivia. Olivia pulled a face at her.
"And what job would that be?" Olivia fired off.
"Being me," was Phoenix's flippant reply.
"Enough." Natalia glared at them both – the room went silent. "Good." Natalia
gestured for both of them to sit down. They did. "So Phoenix…"
Olivia snorted.
"Problem?" Phoenix bristled.
"What the hell kind of name is Phoenix? You sure that job of yours doesn't
involve a pole?"
"Why you looking to spice up your love life?"
"You know some people would mistake you for being a jackass."
"Occupational hazard I suppose."
Natalia slammed her hand down on Olivia's desk. Olivia jumped. Phoenix didn't.
"Shut. The. Hell. Up."
"Natalia..."
"No." Her tone brokered no argument.
Olivia huffed and sat back in the chair. Phoenix grinned at her.
"Bitch."
"I heard that." Natalia gave Olivia one last warning glance. "So Phoenix the
letter says that you met Jonathan when you helped him and Sarah out of some
trouble they'd gotten into…that isn't exactly specific."
"I doubt it would be. J was always pussyfooting around with the truth and
trying to sugar coat shit for Sarah. I doubt he'd do anything less for you
all."
Olivia was a bit intrigued. "Explain."
 
TBC
 
***** Both *****
Chapter Summary
     Olivia and Natalia find out how Phoenix met Jonathan and are given an
     offer they can't refuse.
She was walking through a secluded area of the woods. It had been a long time
since she'd merely walked anywhere.
Trudged? Yes.
Stumbled? Often.
Dragged her sorry ass? Definitely.
Ran like hell? All the damn time.
But this was much better. Being able to just take a leisurely stroll and enjoy
the beauty of the world around her was a gift that she would readily accept. It
was nice being able to take a vacation from her life. Just being out here in
the middle of nowhere knowing that no one was chasing after her brought a peace
of mind that she hadn't had in a long time. Because the truth of the matter was
that no matter what anyone else thought of her she wasn't a machine. She
couldn't just keep going and going like some damn hyped up Energizer Bunny.
Besides…she hated the color pink.
She was tired. Run down and ragged. Life was taking its toll on her and she
just needed a break. She wondered why it had taken her so long to come up with
this plan in the first place. She knew it wouldn't last long and that sooner or
later they would realize that she wasn't dead but until that happened she would
bask.
After some time she heard a series of quick pops in the distance that she knew
to be the unmistakable sound of gun fire.
Shortest fucking vacation ever.
She ran towards the sound and once she was close enough hid behind a tree
watching uninterested in the scene unfolding before her.
There was a small cabin and in front of it a sedan was parked. On one side was
a man with dark shaggy hair. He looked harried and frantic as he wielded two
hand guns shooting over the hood of the car.
Parked not to far across from him were two black SUV's being used as shields
much in the same fashion as the sedan was being used by eight very big - very
pissed-off looking guys.
A stray bullet ricochet and came right towards her. She calmly moved her head
out of the way and it hit the tree she was now standing near.
She sighed.
I fucking hate guns.They lacked finesse – a certain artistry if you will. She
preferred weapons of the sharp and pointy variety. At least that way she knew
she'd only end up killing who she'd meant to.
Still the gun volleys went on; the men from both sides shouting obscenities at
one another.
You sure did get yourself into some shit buddy, she mused watching the one man
show hold his own. He was doing a pretty good job; the only problem was there
was no way he could continue to hold them off on his own for long. Good luck
with that,she thought sarcastically preparing to turn and walk away.
Maybe I could go for a swim later.
"DADDY!"
Phoenix whipped her head around at the sound. That was definitely a little
girl's voice.
"SARAH GET DOWN!" the man behind the sedan shouted. Phoenix looked around and
saw a small dark head disappear from the front window of the cabin.
"Goddamnit!" Phoenix sighed. Why did there have to be a kid?
She looked up to the sky and shook her head.
I can't get one break? She paused as if she'd hear an answer. She didn't need
to…there was only one thing to do. Right. She shrugged. I'll get right on that.
She ran around the opposite side of the cabin that was hidden by some bushes
and waited for her opportunity.
"If you mother-fuckers think for one second you're getting your hands on my kid
you got another thing coming," Jonathan yelled shooting off another series of
rounds.
"Just give up Randal! You're ass aint getting out of here alive!" one of the
men from the other team yelled back."
"FUCK YOU!"
That shout was quickly followed by an exclamation of pain. He had been shot in
his left shoulder. He only had one gun now.
"You look like you're in over your head."
Jonathan whipped around at the sound of the calm almost bored sounding voice.
"What the fuck!" He popped his head up and shot off some more rounds only to
dip back down after the guys from the other side returned the favor.
He looked over at Phoenix in bewilderment. She was sitting on the ground next
to him head resting on the side of his car the picture of relaxation. She
pulled out what looked to be a homemade cigarette, lit it, and took a smoke.
"Hey," she greeted him nonchalantly.
He didn't know who this woman was but from the looks of her she was either bat
shit crazy or a complete and total badass.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Both," she answered his unasked question.
He popped up to shoot again…shots were fired back.
One of those shots made its way threw the car. Phoenix heard its point of entry
through the other side and scooted away from Jonathan a fraction of an inch and
watched as it exited the car door from the space she had just occupied and hit
a near by tree.
"Idiots," she muttered. She popped up at the same time as Jonathan and launched
one of her Tanto (throwing knife) with deadly accuracy. It hit one of the men
across from them right in-between his eyes and he fell backwards to the ground
with a loud thud. The other seven men froze for a moment and stared at his
motionless body in wonder as blood oozed out from the wound where the knife was
still buried to its hilt.
Jonathan and Phoenix both ducked back down. She took another puff of her smoke.
My joints are fucking killing me. Maybe I should up the dosage.
Jonathan stared at her mouth wide.
"Phoenix," she introduced herself.
"Jonathan."
"Is what you said true? That kid in there yours?"
"Yeah…my daughter. I don't know what they'll do with her if they get their
hands on her. They might kill her…they'll definitely kill me." He gasped
holding on to his left shoulder applying pressure to the wound. Blood seeped
through his fingers and dripped down is arm. He was getting dizzy. That
couldn't be good.
Phoenix nodded her head finished her smoke and set the rest of it on fire.
"Hang tight…I'll be right back."
Phoenix stood up and walked around the side of the car. The men from both sides
looked at her in amazement. Jonathan looked on mute - eyes wide.
This bitch is insane!
The opposition laughed. "Look he sent his girlfriend to negotiate."
"You think I could get my knife back? I'm kind of attached to it."
"Come and get it girlie," one of the men answered her- his voice dripped with
suggestion.
Phoenix rolled her eyes.
"No problem."
What happened next could only be described as un-fucking-believable.
Phoenix raised her right hand and reached behind her shoulder as she reached
behind her back with her left and pulled two objects out of one of the hidden
pockets in the rear of her backpack. She twirled them in her hands. The handles
were black and shiny. With a flick of her wrists they opened like switch blades
with a subtle clicking noise into twin Nata (machete).
She charged them full on and they opened fire. She dodged most of the bullets
by ducking, side-stepping, or spinning out of the way. Others she deflected
with a flick of her Nata. To Jonathan it was like watching a ballet – beautiful
and ferocious in its intensity. Phoenix's body flowed like water her movements
so smooth it was mesmerizing.
Seconds later she was upon them.
They didn't last very long.
She took both of her Nata in her right hand and reached out with her left
towards the gun of the first man she reached. With one fluid movement she
dismantled it – the pieces fell useless to the ground…bullets littered the
dirt. He looked at her in awe before he received a strong forward kick to his
mid-section that sent him flying. She stepped under him as he was still in
midair and impaled him through his back. Wrenching her Nata free she went back
to her double wielding approach. Another dead body hit the ground behind her.
The men were using glocks. She had counted the shots. The man she had just
killed was the only one with bullets left in his clip.
She wouldn't give the others a chance to reload.
The remaining six were dumb enough try and take her. She supposed they thought
their size would help them.
It didn't.
A punch was thrown at her. The fist went flying through the air – unattached to
an arm.
She was brutal. Breaking bones and severing limbs until there was one man
standing. He looked at her wearily.
She bent down and wiped the blood off of her blades and onto a dead man's
jacket.
"I'll make you a deal." She told him flicking her Tana shut and putting them
away. "If you can hit me…make one tiny point of contact…just once. I'll let you
live to fight another day." And she meant it.
The thing about Phoenix was she never lied. She'd vowed to never do so again
years ago.
He was about six foot five and muscled up to the extreme. She figured he was
about 245 pounds. After all muscle weighed more than fat. Phoenix was six feet
even. She had a lean and slender body and weighed 180 pounds.
The man smiled.
Something else you should know about Phoenix was not only was her body well
muscled in it's own right but she was way stronger than she looked.
He charged her.
Oh yeah and one more thing… Phoenix was fast as hell.
She dipped down low out of the way of the man's too forceful unbalanced swing
and swung out her leg. His momentum pitched him forward. Before he could go
flying too far away from her and land flat on his face she grabbed him by a leg
and an arm and swung him back and upwards over her head. She flipped him
effortlessly and brought him back down.
The last thing he saw was the clear blue sky above.
The sound of his spinal chord snapping in two over her knee echoed off the
trees.
In her kneeling position she pushed him off of her and stood. There wasn't a
drop of blood on her. She went to the first man down and pulled her Tanto from
his head. She wiped the blood on his shirt. She walked as if she had not a care
in the world back to Jonathan who was now standing in front of his car.
His shoulder was bleeding heavily. She was sure he was on his way to bleeding
to death. His right hand was shaking as he aimed his gun at her.
"Who the fuck are you?" It was taking a lot of energy for him to even breathe
at the moment but after witnessing that massacre he couldn't allow this
stranger anywhere near his daughter.
"I told you my names Phoenix." She put up her hands and slowly approached him.
"Stay back," he warned her taking a step back himself.
"Put down the gun." She advanced again.
"I said stay back!"
He felt the blow before her saw her move…then nothing but blackness.
Phoenix knelt over Jonathan's prone form and pinched the bridge of her nose.
What the hell have I gotten myself into now?
She bent down and picked him up; cradling his body as if he weighed nothing at
all. She walked up to the cabin and in.
She saw the little girl scurry from under the table and look at her eyes wide
and fearful. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at her daddy's
seemingly lifeless body.
"Hey Sarah." Phoenix's voice was low and gentle."You want to help me make daddy
all better?"
Sarah seemed unsure at first. Sarah knew she wasn't supposed to trust
strangers. She looked at Jonathan again and saw that his chest was moving up
and down.
That meant he was still breathing.
"Okay."
When Jonathan woke up the first thing he realized was that he wasn't in the
cabin…well at least not his. The second thing he noticed was that he could
smell food cooking.
He was lying on a bed with his shoulder bandaged up. Looking around he noticed
both of his guns sitting on the night stand. He checked them.
They were fully loaded and ready to go. The safety wasn't even on them.
Sarah was nowhere in sight.
Panicked he jumped up, grabbed his guns, and tip-toed out of the room.
That crazy bitch could be anywhere.
"Sarah?" he whispered as he walked down a dark hallway towards the front of the
cabin.
He heard a voice coming from that direction. Then he heard a child giggle.
Sarah.
Cautiously he approached and rounded a corner. What he saw made no sense in
comparison to what he'd witnessed earlier.
Phoenix was sitting in a rocking chair with Sarah on her lap reading a book to
the smiling child.
"Run run run as fast as you can you can't catch me I'm The Stinky Cheese Man!"
Phoenix exclaimed funny voice and all tickling Sarah.
Sarah laughed and giggled under the assault.
It was in that moment watching Phoenix laugh with his daughter that he realized
how unbelievably beautiful she was. Her smile was luminescent and damn…she even
had dimples.
Phoenix knew Jonathan was awake. She had heard his subtle movements from the
bedroom. She whispered into Sarah's ear.
"Daddy is awake."
Sarah's eyes lit up as she turned searching for Jonathan. She spotted him head
peaking around the corner. The little girl jumped from Phoenix's lap and ran to
him.
Jonathan knelt down and scooped her up hugging her close to him.
He eyed Phoenix.
She just sat there and looked at him face unreadable.
"I'm glad you're okay daddy. Phoenix was reading one of her books to me," Sarah
told him. "Are you hungry? She made food and I helped," She announced proudly.
"You did huh? Well I bet it tastes good."
"Uh-huh." Sarah nodded her head and hugged her daddy again.
Phoenix watched them hiding the lump in her throat.
She missed that.
Phoenix cleared her throat. "How are you feeling?"
"Surprisingly pretty good. I don't even feel the wound. What did you do to me?"
"Made it better." She stated simply.
She got up and made Jonathan a plate.
It was the best food he had ever tasted.
===============================================================================
 
"It took us a while to get the hang of each other. But we both had Sarah's well
being at heart. We came to an agreement of sorts. After that we became friends.
I kept an eye on her when he came back here to check on his mother after the
cancer scare."
Olivia and Natalia sat there stunned both ready to bolt from the room.
Olivia remembered her earlier words over breakfast. "Fine. But if she turns out
to be some lunatic out to kill us all don't say I didn't warn you."
She spoke to Natalia under her breath. "I told you so."
Phoenix ignored her.
"So you…you just…killed them?" Natalia asked her voice a little shaky.
Phoenix scowled at her. "Would you have preferred I'd given them all blow jobs
instead?"
Natalia and Olivia both frowned at her vulgarity.
"Look the world isn't a nice place okay? When you're in it you learn to do
what's necessary to survive. There's no time for niceties."
"I've been out in the world Phoenix. I was alone with a child at sixteen."
"It wasn't my world. You see in my world you don't take a shit without being on
high alert with a weapon in both hands. The places I've been make the WORST
part of America look like a fucking amusement park. It's either you or them. I
choose me…EVERY time." Phoenix was speaking as though there was nothing at all
strange about the things she was saying. It was what it was.
Olivia couldn't believe that her nephew had trusted this fucking lunatic alone
with her niece. She was going to kill him if and when he ever made it back
home.
"Understand something…I don't attack people. Everything I do is in the name of
self-defense and protection. It's not like I'm running around killing people
for shits and giggles. Either I've been attacked or someone else was. Either
way you die at my hand…your ass deserved it."
Olivia and Natalia just stared at her.
Phoenix rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Look there's no point in you two pretending that you don't know me
because what happened yesterday was pretty public. But if you do see me around
town that's the ONLY connection we have to each other got it?"
They nodded their heads.
"Good and if anyone comes asking questions. How you know me? Where I am? Or
gives you a description of me you play dumb. Make sure you let them know that
you don't know me. I saved your kid. That's it. You don't know where I am or
why I'm here," Phoenix stressed.
"Trying to cover your ass?" Olivia asked.
"Yours."
They both looked startled by that.
"I'll need your permission to enter a few of your guest's rooms as well."
"Why?" both women asked. Natalia curious - Olivia pissed.
Phoenix stood up and came around to the front of Olivia's desk. She pushed her
computer and other things back a little clearing out space. She pulled an
almost paper thin rectangular object from her backpack and placed it down.
Olivia and Natalia watched transfixed as she opened and unfolded this piece or
that until a black lop top with three screens was revealed to them. Olivia
noted that there was no logo or brand visible on any part of it.
Phoenix opened up her Net Program showing an aerial view of the city. She
clicked away at a few buttons and a blue net overlaid it. Green dots began to
pop up all over the screens. Both Olivia and Natalia noticed a small
concentration of red dots as well.
"You see those green dots?"
"Yes."
"Those are all the cameras that were set up by Edmund Winslow. I'm guessing he
did it when he was back here pretending to be all reformed."
"Shit." Olivia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What's wrong?" Natalia asked her rubbing Olivia's thigh.
Phoenix watched their interaction with a spark of interest.
"I should have known he was faking it. Damnit! The whole time he was out there
doing that." She gestured towards the screens. "I was getting drunk and playing
Rock Band with the bastard."
"Rock Band?" Phoenix's face scrunched up in confusion.
"The video game. You know you play with controllers that look like instruments
like you're in a band," Olivia tried to explain. Natalia smirked at her.
Her Princess was such a kid.
"Um…no never heard of it," Phoenix replied sounding a little embarrassed. "I
prefer to play actual instruments."
Shit! Why did I just say that?
Both women looked at her surprised.
"Anyway I've been tracking all the signals for the cameras. I have a few
programs running…" She pulled up a program running through a various amount of
numbers that looked like something from the Matrix to them. "Soon I should know
where their transmitting to. It'll lead me back to his servers. I'll be able to
destroy whatever he has on anyone in town. He's too smug to have back ups.
Look." She pointed to a spot on the map and zoomed in on the Beacon. "There are
a number of cameras here. Surprisingly enough there are none in your suite or
offices. There aren't any at The Farm House either." She added.
Neither woman knew how they felt about this person knowing where they lived.
"The cameras are in these rooms." She clicked on one of the dots. A video of
Josh sitting in his suite on the phone came up. She clicked on another dot and
a video of Dinah and Shayne kissing near the door way came up. She clicked on
another and Blake's room popped up but she wasn't in it.
"They're everywhere. I've already disabled the ones out at Cross Creek. I could
take down the whole network but I don't want to alert Winslow. They have to
come down in small groups so that by the time he realizes what's going on it
will be too late for him to do anything about it."
"Good plan," Olivia conceded.
Both Natalia and Phoenix looked at her strangely.
"What? I can give credit where credit is due." She sounded insulted.
"How are you doing all of this?" Natalia found it all fascinating.
"Global positioning satellites and whatever else I want to hack into. If I get
caught I'll be in some trouble but hey what the Pentagon doesn't know won't
hurt 'em right?"
Olivia just laughed. Natalia frowned at Phoenix.
Phoenix didn't like the disapproving look. It made her feel nervous for reasons
she didn't want to acknowledge at the moment.
"Look it's not like I'm stealing or anything. I use their signals and in
exchange I plant information they don't have or other wise couldn't get into
their files. It's a win-win situation."
Olivia felt smug at that point. "Why would a Brit care so much about America's
intelligence system?"
Phoenix smirked at her. The jig was up.
"Who said I was British?" she asked – sans accent.
"You did," Olivia and Natalia accused.
"You assumed I was British I never said that I was. I don't lie."
"Yeah right." Olivia was skeptical.
"I don't…ever."
"This is nice and all for you know the Edmund situation but what about Alan?
He's difficult but he's still our children's grandfather," Natalia pointed out.
The man was a bastard but she didn't want him dead.
Phoenix looked the two women over and smirked. "Keeping it in the family huh?"
"Bite me," Olivia told her.
Phoenix leaned back and checked out Olivia's ass. "My pleasure." Phoenix leered
at her and winked.
Natalia didn't like that too much.
Phoenix noticed and backed away.
"No worries. I'm not into closet cases."
Natalia and Olivia looked offended.
"Don't worry your secret is safe with me. As a matter of fact I think I'll keep
it right here." She tapped her head. "And reflect upon it later…when I'm
alone…in the dark." Now she was just teasing them.
"Will you shut the fuck up already?" Olivia was tired of this.
Phoenix smirked again. "Other than the permission to enter those rooms I'll
need you to cooperate with me on something else. A way to muzzle Mr. Spaulding.
I'll be leaving his destiny up to him. His decisions will decide whether or not
he lives or dies"
"What do you need?"
"For you to sell me your and Emma's stock in Spaulding Enterprises." Phoenix
looked over at Natalia. "Your son's as well."
"Hell no!" Olivia shouted. She was holding onto her own stock for any leverage
purposes should the need ever arise. Emma's was part of her legacy. And Rafe
would need his should he ever need any major financial support.
"I will pay you well over more than it's worth and I'll even give it back when
I'm done," Phoenix assured. "The worst thing that could happen is you'd end up
owning Spaulding lock stock and barrel. You won't need the stock after I'm done
anyway. Mr. Spaulding will either be as harmless as a fluffy little bunny or
dead."
Olivia liked the sound of that.
TBC
***** Heat Rises Fire Burns *****
Chapter Summary
     Olivia finally speaks to her nephew and ends up with more questions
     than answers. Alan is tested.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"Aunty O!" Jonathan's enthusiastic voice boomed through the other line.
Olivia smiled at the sound. He sounded good – happy even.
"Well if it isn't my hot-little-mess. How are you…where are you?"
"We're good enjoying all of the interesting things around us," he answered
vaguely. "As for where we are I honestly have no clue." He laughed.
It was four thirty. Olivia had been in her office for some time contemplating
what she had just done. She'd sold Phoenix her stock and Emma's and Natalia had
done the same with Rafe's. Granted they had been compensated WAY more than
expected she was hoping she hadn't ended up shooting herself in the foot with
this one. She had gone over paperwork. Coordinated some more with various staff
about the upcoming fundraiser and sat contemplating the conundrum that was
Phoenix. Natalia had been in and out talking to her about business, her son's
new found fortune, and what they thought Phoenix could get up to with those
stocks in her possession.
During that time her secret cell phone had rung.
"You don't know where you are?" Olivia asked slowly. Her nephew was so strange.
"Well I have a general idea."
"And that is?"
"Japan."
"What? How the hell did you get in Japan without being stopped?"
"Ch…Phoenix flew us over. She has some contacts down in Columbia that let us
borrow a plane." He sounded nervous after his almost slip up. "It was pretty
cool she taught me how to land. Apparently that's something one should know
just in case something happens to the pilots." He was mocking the sound of
Phoenix's voice towards the end.
Olivia caught his little slip up. So Phoenix isn't even her real name. But she
said she doesn't lie and for some reason I believe her.
Olivia thought about what he had just said. "Contacts…in Columbia…let you
borrow a plane? Are these contacts drug smugglers Jonathan?" she questioned
slowly.
"Yes," Jonathan answered mocking his aunt's tone.
She kills people at will. Hacks into the Pentagon. Is seriously loaded. Likes
to fake accents. Is insufferable. Walks around wearing an entire cow. Flies
planes AND hangs out with drug smugglers. And apparently has a soft spot for
kids. What the hell is going on?
Olivia could feel a headache coming on.
"Look it's cool we flew so low under the radar we weren't even on it. She has
some program that jams the tracking systems and satellites. Even if someone had
been looking for that plane they would have never seen it," He assured her.
Olivia didn't want to get into this with him. What was done was done and the
most important part was that they were safe.
"Talk to me…tell me what's been going on with you."
They talked for quite some time Jonathan regaling her with stories of his
exploits and Sarah the "crazy woman". Olivia told him about how things were
going in Springfield. She told him of her relationship with Natalia which
surprised Jonathan to say the least but he took it in stride and congratulated
her. She even explained the Rafe situation which was something Jonathan wasn't
too happy about. But he knew exactly how to fix that problem. He kept it to
himself though. She also told him how Emma was doing; she didn't fail to
mention the almost accident.
There was a short pause after she had finished explaining it to him. "YES!" he
suddenly shouted and laughed with glee.
"Please don't tell me you're celebrating my child's near demise."
"No, no of course not it's just…God this is exactly the break I've been looking
for." He sounded down right giddy. "It's also one of the reasons why I'm
calling. You have to convince Phoenix to stay in Springfield. I don't care what
you have to do. I know she can be a little scary BELIEVE me I know. But I need
you to get her to stay at least until we get back. And I know that if anyone
can pull it off it's you."
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"She needs it Aunty O." His voice sounded desperate and was laden with sadness.
" But more importantly she deserves it. You have no idea what she's been
through. She should honestly be dead 1000 times over," he explained.
"I don't know John this a little out of my league." She was loathing admitting
it but there was too many things going on with that woman.
"Please?" he begged her. "If she leaves I know we'll never see her again. I
keep trying to get her to say that she won't disappear because her word is as
good as gold but she always side steps me. I'm scared for her…she's either
going to end up murdered…" He sounded a little chocked up "Or worse…I think
she's close to giving up. I can't lose my best friend…not like that…not again."
He could feel it. Living her life was too much to ask of anyone. Every day he
was with her he had seen it. Her shoulders seemed to hold more weight and her
eyes grew more dimmed with each passing day. She was close to her breaking
point.
Olivia was more than surprised to hear her nephew speaking this way about
anyone let alone that tiresome woman. Phoenix's situation must have been pretty
bad for him to feel so strongly about it. Not to mention the way he had been
since Tammy died. She didn't think he could take losing someone else so
tragically. Olivia sighed not liking what was about to come out of her mouth.
"I'll see what I can do."
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!" he shouted. "THANK YOU!" Olivia heard someone shush him in
the back ground. "Sorry…uh…wa…watashi wa…shazai. (I apologize)"
Olivia frowned, pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it funny.
"Sorry about that. Listen, I can give you a few hints on how to deal with her
but I can't get too much into detail because she made me promise."
"Okay." This decision was sounding dumber and dumber by the second.
"She's a hard ass to say the least and she's smart as hell so you have to stay
on your toes with her. You'll find yourself having a conversation with her
about one thing only to find out she's been leading you to another the entire
time. She thinks differently than everyone else around her and she'll use that
to her advantage. If you find yourself in an argument with her and she gets all
scary looking don't back down she respects that. She'll never hurt you unless
you try to hurt her so don't be intimidated; just stand your ground. The thing
that happened with Emma is your way in. She doesn't trust grownups – adults not
for one second but she loves kids. If she has one weakness it's that. I'm not
telling you to use Emma but she's a sucker for the guilt trip. Also even while
she's out there helping she'll want you to hate her. She wants the world to see
her the way she sees herself. She doesn't like for people to get too close…" He
paused. "But once you're in you're in and she'll do anything possible to help
you in anyway she can. You'll know when you're in. She won't say anything or
really act any differently at first but there will be subtle hints. The one
thing you'll want to look out for is her sniffing the air when you're around.
She has this weird thing with her nose. Once she gets your scent in her head
you're in her heart and there's no going back."
"You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds right?"
"Yeah believe me I do but I'm telling you she's worth it. I do have to warn you
though just in case you're ever around her when it happens. If she ever gets a
whiff of a certain scent…pauses for a moment…and gets the scariest fucking look
on her face you back away. There might also be a low rumbling sound coming from
the pit of her stomach kind of like a growl. Then again she usually does that
when she's really pissed off and annoyed anyway. She won't hurt you but she'll
go after it like a shark with blood in the water."
"What scent?"
This is by far the dumbest and craziest shit I have ever gotten myself into.
"Demon." Jonathan growled out the word in a way that sent chills down Olivia's
spine.
"Demon? What the fuck are you on Jonathan?"
"I'm serious Aunt Liv." His voice was hard and warning. "She does anything like
that you get as far away from her and the area as possible because she will
hunt it down and you don't want to see what she'll do to it."
"And what do these demons look like Jonathan?" she asked him skeptical and
exasperated. She sounded like she was placating a child; entertaining their
over imaginative stories.
"Like everyone else. The mailman. The people that live down the street. A
senator. A judge. The guy next to you on the treadmill at the gym. The woman
who does your dry cleaning."
Olivia frowned at what Jonathan was saying…and at what he wasn't. He was dead
serious and she knew it.
"I haven't been able to stop her from attacking once. Part of me doesn't even
want to…" He trailed off not knowing whether or not he should feel guilty for
that. "I get that I'm asking a lot of you – more than you even realize but this
is just too important."
"I said I'll think about it Jonathan if what you're saying is true I'll have to
talk it over with Natalia."
Jonathan's mood changed swiftly and Olivia could hear his big cheesy grin
through the phone. "Since when does Olivia Spencer confer with the person she's
in a relationship with?" He teased knowing that this was really it for his
aunt.
"Since I met her," was Olivia's answer. Those simple words spoke volumes to
Jonathan.
"I'm happy for you Aunty. Listen I gotta go the locals are getting anxious." He
laughed. "I'll call you next week."
"I'll talk to you then sweetie. Be safe."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too."
The line went dead.
Olivia sat in silence for long moments contemplating whether or not she should
even be considering getting herself involved in this Phoenix woman's life.
Because it wasn't just herself she was putting on the line anymore. She had a
family of her own to think about. Everything about this situation just felt
wrong. Like there was something she just wasn't getting. Why did Jonathan care
so much? The woman was obviously gay so he couldn't be involved with her.
But something in the pit of her stomach told her that this was one of those
risks she just had to take.
===============================================================================
 
The Spaulding mansion was beautiful in the early light of the moon. It stood
strong against the backdrop of billions of tiny stars. The lawns even for this
time of season were well cut and groomed. The back gardens went on for what
looked like miles in preparation for spring.
It was amongst these grounds a dark figure moved like a wrath in the night.
There were armed guards stationed everywhere but they were easily dispatched.
They'd be out cold for just enough time for the figure to do its business and
leave with no problem.
The security system was taken out next and with ease. I few taps of some
buttons and they were down. Camera's freeze framed, locks to secret passageways
disengaged, alarms turned idle, and the mansion became an open target.
The figure climbed up the west wall and onto a balcony. It let itself in
through the heavy glass doors. There was only one way to get to the hidden
study; the figure's surprisingly willing accomplice had warned. It had been
arranged for the mansion's staff to have the night off. And its occupants were
to be gone for the beginning of the night…all except for one.
It was that person the dark figure was to wait in the secret study for.
There was a conversation to be had.
Alan Spaulding arrived home at around six in the evening. He huffed at the
realization that no one was home. They were off trying to be a family without
him again. Phillip and his sudden reappearance in all their lives were to blame
for that. He wasn't worried though. No he would see his family back under his
control again.
Right where they belonged.
He went upstairs, to his bedroom then into his closet where a secret panel was
hidden behind a long rack of his most expensive suites. He pushed it open and
walked down the short passageway to his study. As he walked he read the report
sent to him by one of his men.
Randal had disappeared off of the face of the earth and no one could find him.
There hadn't been any sightings. No blips on the radar whatsoever. Alan would
have been fine with that…the only thing was his granddaughter had disappeared
with him.
He opened the heavy wooden door to his study and walked into the pitch black
room without turning on the over head light. He walked the well known path to
his desk and sat down.
He never even noticed the fiery red eyes watching him from the other side of
the room.
Alan switched on his desk lamp illuminating the room in a dull muted glow. He
continued to pour over the report.
"Where are you?" he questioned out loud. He was angry to say the least. He
wanted Sarah back in the Spaulding fold…back where she belonged. Then once he
had her Lizzie would quickly fall in line. From there all the pieces would
begin to click back into place.
Alan reached over and poured himself some scotch. He took a sip savoring the
smooth taste and warming as it traveled down his throat to settle in his
stomach.
There was a single flower sitting on his desk next to the liquor decanter. A
black Monk-hood; if one knew the language of flower's they would know it to
mean beware or that a deadly foe was near.
He didn't notice it.
The dark, cloaked figure turned its attention to the painting on the wall
across from the arm of the sofa it was sitting on. "Napoleon at the Saint-
Bernard Pass" painted by Jacques-Louis David was mounted proudly on the wall.
It was very clear at first glance that it was not merely a print but the actual
original first Versailles version. The history of that painting being passed
down by Napoleon's older brother Joseph to his descendants was well known.
What this painting represented to the man who now owned it was no mystery.
The figure finally spoke.
"Nice painting."
Alan nearly jumped out of his seat. He snapped his head to the left and saw a
figure hidden by a long black hooded cloak sitting on the arm of his sofa. He
reached for the phone on his desk. A bo-shuriken (throwing dart) stopped him
and pinned the cuff of his jacket to the desk. Alan snapped his head to look at
the intruder. Their arm was outstretched in his direction fingers held in a
curious pose. They didn't turn to look at him.
"Napoleon Bonaparte was a tyrant," the intruder stated.
It was the sound of the intruder's voice that kept Alan unmoving. It was deep
so deep it in fact that it seemed to echo in on itself. Yet it was calming in a
perverse sort of way. The smooth seductive tenor lulled him into what he knew
to be a false sense of security. The sound alone was so captivating it caused a
stirring in his pants. Alan was hearing what he could only describe as a
Siren's call. The fact that the voice could not be distinguished as
definitively male or female wasn't even on his mind.
The dark figure slowly turned its head.
Alan felt his heart stop then begin to beat in double time at what was staring
unwavering back at him.
The face of a black dragon ferocious and hard in feature peaking out from
beneath a dark hood looked so real he couldn't convince himself that it was
merely a mask.
But it was the eyes that captivated him.
The pupils were wide and so black that it was like starring into an infinite
abyss. The irises were a deep menacing red that as Alan watched in morbid
fascination flickered and danced like a raging inferno.
"Hello Alan."
His Adam's apple bobbed noticeably in his throat as he audibly gulped.
The figure turned its body to face him full on.
"There's hell to pay." There was a dramatic pause for effect. "I've come to
collect."
===============================================================================
 
"It's not that funny." Olivia groused from her seat ass firmly planted on the
ice.
Natalia stood over her feet sure in their skates doubled over in laughter. She
stood up straight and tried to keep a straight face. She nodded her head and
raised her hand with her thumb and forefinger mere inches apart. "A little
bit."
"Yeah, yeah. Help me up?" Olivia pouted two gloved hands held up towards
Natalia.
Natalia pouted her lips back at her. "Come on Princess." Natalia pulled Olivia
up from the ice and helped her to straighten herself out. "I thought you said
you could skate?" Natalia teased her.
"I can…you're ass distracted me," Olivia admitted.
Natalia just laughed at her.
They were having a night out at the skating rink. Emma was at home safe and
tucked away being watched over by Jane so that the girls could get some time to
themselves to have a normal date for once and just have fun. The night had been
going pretty well including Olivia's recent tumble. They'd skated together
holding hands and laughed as they joked around and attempted to pull off some
simple tricks on the ice. Neither of them was anywhere close to being Olympic
material.
Olivia was keeping her conversation earlier with Jonathan under wraps. Tonight
was about being stress free and enjoying each other. She'd talk to Natalia
about the whole thing tomorrow.
They skated for a little while longer. Olivia often found herself distracted by
Natalia's sheer presence let alone her beauty. Every time she looked over and
smiled at her showcasing white teeth and deep dimples Olivia did the
unthinkable, and fell deeper in love.
After some time they both took their leave of the ice.
"Hungry?" Natalia asked Olivia with a hint of suggestion in her voice as they
both took off their skates.
Olivia grinned at Natalia green eyes smoldering. "Starving."
===============================================================================
 
"You're a very wealthy man Alan." A gentle hand rubbed at the soft material of
the twenty-thousand dollar sofa. "More wealthy than most…on more than one
account. Yet you do not appreciate it."
The figure rose and stood. Its presence seeming to encompass the entire room.
All of the energy shifted and seemed to flow towards it. The mood that was
generated from just one move by the figure was one of stifling fear and
intimidation. Suddenly the room was too hot. Alan could barely breathe and he
began to sweat. He tugged at the knot of his tie.
The figure took a step closer.
Alan reached for the gun hidden under the desk and turned it on the person.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are but you will not take one more
step towards me," he warned voice strong and defiant. He would have been more
convincing had his hand not been shaking so hard that the gun rattled in his
grasp.
The figure stepped closer.
A shot rang out.
In one swift movement the figure threw its hand towards the floor and a subtle
pop was heard. Smoke thick and black filled the room and floated about in large
wisps seductive in their churning. Alan couldn't see a foot in front of his own
face.
The desk lamp went out.
He felt the gun quickly wrenched from his grasp.
The over head lights turned on bathing the room and everything it touched in a
dim sickly red light.
Alan looked around scared shitless unable to find his tormentor.
He heard a small noise behind him and leaned back in his chair too afraid to do
anything else.
Black hands crept over the top of his plush brown leather chair taking it
firmly in their grasp.
Suddenly that angry dragon's face appeared at his right side.
Alan screamed.
"Boo," the figure whispered.
===============================================================================
 
Olivia was pretty damn pleased with herself. Natalia couldn't take her eyes off
of the display across the table from her. They were sitting in a dimly lit
restaurant after eating dinner and were now on desert. Olivia was licking the
sinfully decadent concoction of chocolate cheese cake from her fork.
"Did you want to taste?" Olivia asked Natalia her voice surprisingly light but
still low.
"Yeah." Natalia's voice was breathy and needy. Her hand rested at the nape of
her neck and her brown eyes were so dark they were nearly black with desire.
She licked her lips and slowly drug her eyes away from Olivia's lips to her
eyes. They were doing that smoldering thing again.
Natalia felt her center clinch.
"I think we should go home now."
===============================================================================
 
Alan sat shaking moments away from simultaneously pissing and shitting his
pants as the figure came around the back of his chair and casually pushed his
glass of scotch out of the way then sat on the edge of his desk. It picked up
the bo-shuriken waved its hand and the dart was gone. It leaned forward face
mere inches from his.
A low growl emitted from the pits of the cloaked figures stomach. A puff of
black smoke blew forth from its nose and directly into his face. The sound of
the figures breathing sounded animalistic. Just like a dragon. Alan began to
feel his world tilt on its axis. Everything in the room seemed to be pulsing
and beating with life as it jumped in his vision. The figure sitting in front
of him didn't move. It sat stationary amongst the subtle chaos that had sprung
to life inside of the room. His ears worked perfectly though. His hearing was
sharper – clearer than he could ever remember it being.
"Consider this your warning Alan. Learn to appreciate the things you have. Stop
reaching out and taking what doesn't belong to you – what belongs to no one."
Alan felt his stomach lurch. He was getting hotter. The room was beginning to
feel like a sauna.
"This is your chance to do the right thing." The figure picked up the report
Alan had been reading and looked it over.
Alan heard the sounds of a gently blowing coming from the dragon's mouth. Fire
licked at the pages until it was consumed. The slight flaming remainders fell
on to his lap. He quickly patted them out.
"This is you're chance to become a good man and make up for all the evil you
have done," the voice continued. "You will only be given two freebies Alan. But
when strike three comes." The cloaked figure leaned in closer its cold wet nose
touching to Alan's.
Alan saw the flames in its eyes jump and rage stronger – faster.
"You're out." Alan gulped the figure leaned back and crossed its arms. "From
this point on you are a model citizen. You enjoy the simple things in life. You
will stop to smell the roses. Because if you so much as sneeze without covering
your mouth. A chance will be taken from you." The figure leaned back again and
growled louder. Black smoke plumed from its nostrils and twisted into the air.
"And I will take away one of the three things you love the most. The way you
have taken things from the people who didn't deserve your cruelty. You don't
want to strike out Alan. Because if you do you'll be seeing me again."
The room grew hotter the red lights dimmed and Alan watched horrified as the
dragon's eyes turned to slits – cat like in nature and the flames licked
higher. Suddenly the room was alive with the sounds of a raging inferno
burning. The dragon roared a great and terrible roar that shook Alan to his
very soul. "You don't want that do you!" the black dragon yelled as it slowly
came towards him. Fire poured lazily from its mouth. Alan grew dizzy.
The world went black.
Alan's body slumped back in his chair.
The figure quickly hopped up from its perch and flew around the room performing
various tasks.
The over head light's bulbs were switched back to plane white ones. A remote
device was removed from the room's light dimmer. The scotch that had been
tampered with was poured out from the decanter and into the sink at the bar by
the window followed by the scotch in Alan's glass. It was all replaced with a
clean batch. A sound device was removed from the bottom of Alan's chair.
A few items were placed in front of Alan on his desk. The black monkhood flower
was placed on top of them. A black scroll was tacked to the door.
The cloaked figure slipped from the mansion. The alarms were turned back on.
Guards woke up feeling chagrined for having fallen asleep on the job.
If the passengers in the small group of cars that had driven up the driveway
had looked towards the north fence as they drove by they would have seen a dark
figure vault over it. They would have written it off as a mere trick of the
moonlight and the shadows cast off by the nearby trees.
But they didn't notice.
===============================================================================
 
Olivia and Natalia burst into their room at the farmhouse tangled in each
other's arms their lips crashing passionately as their tongues danced
seductively against one another.
Jane had quickly been sent home on their arrival.
Hands roamed under shirts, tangled in wildly flowing hair, gathered greedy
handfuls of firm round flesh from both front and back.
Clothes littered the floor in their wake as they advanced towards the bed.
They fell back onto it. Natalia on the bottom scooting backwards with Olivia
following after her. She had no choice her lips seemed to be permanently
attached to their mate's.
They were both soon naked and revealing in the awe of the others soft and
satiny smooth skin.
"Oh God," someone moaned into the darkness of the room.
Lips and teeth trailed down the chord of a strong long neck then sucked.
Brown eyes tracked the outline of ample breasts in the moonlight streaming
through the window. Lips soon followed peppering them with kisses and suckling
at a hard nipple that would praise the attention if only it had a mouth.
Hands grew boulder and dipped into warm silky wetness.
"Olivia," Natalia moaned.
They had recently returned home. But the night had just begun.
===============================================================================
 
Alan woke up in his study. The desk lamp was on.
He snapped his head from left to right looking for the black dragon. It was
nowhere to be found. He sat down at his desk rubbing his eyes and groaning. He
reached under his desk and found his gun still hidden where it normally was.
That was one mind fuck of a dream.
He blindly reached for his scotch.
His hand encountered something else instead.
He opened his eyes to the sight of a black flower on top of a line of pictures.
The smiling faces of Tammy and Coop stared back at him.
His eyes went wide.
There were folders underneath the pictures. One with information on the family
of the man who had taken his place in the war. One filled with lists regaling
all of his terrible deeds. And a list filled with names of the people whose
deaths he was responsible for.
He looked up to see a black scroll tacked to the back of his door.
He hopped up and went to read it.
The words, "You've been warned Alan. Do the right thing," were written in an
elegant script with gold ink. Under it were three gold boxes.
One to be checked off for each strike.
===============================================================================
 
Across town Phoenix put away her gear laughing in her motel room
She looked down into the smoldering gaze of the black dragon.
"I fucking love this mask." She chuckled. "I think I deserve a celebratory
drink after that performance. She grabbed her backpack and walked out the door.
"I did Kumamoto Sensei proud today." She locked the door behind her. "What good
bars are around here anyway?" She asked still chuckling into the night.
 
TBC
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     For everyone currently reading. Don't be afraid to comment or I'm
     going to think you're not interested. Also I missed two updates. If
     it's Tuesday and you don't see a new posting, shoot me a line because
     I probably forgot.
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