Living in the Shadows: IC, your run might be over... Options

[Morgannah]

17:55:02 Friday 05 January 2063 - Sugar, Malibu Beach, CFS

"You've already helped," she smiled, wondering how in the world she'd be able to ease his suspicions. "though I could certainly use some company if you're still interested."

Any place you like, Caska. Call it any way you need to....

[grendel]

17:55:07 Friday 05 January 2063 - Los Angeles, CFS

1. Compromised: set a location and they'll try and beat us to it, they'll come with force we can't resist.

2. Uncompromised: she's asking if we can bring her in.

Vegas' face was neutral, her hands working against one another in her only subconscious habit. Caska's eyes flickered from her message on the screen to her and back again, cold and calculating. The display beneath the lettering was a 1:10000 scale topo map of Los Angeles, indexed with BattleTac symbology of the team's force disposition. Karnak summed up the question with his usual mercenary succinctness:

Risk vs. reward.

Caska nodded, glancing once more to Quill and Vegas. The discussion had already transpired.

Plan B, then.

Quill relayed orders over the tac channel as Caska switched himself back up to his phone interface.

"Lake Street Station, Pasadena, thirty minutes. There's a trio of telecoms at the northwest corner. Go to the first one and wait for my call. Bring only what you need."

He felt himself coming alive, awakening once more as violence loomed about him. And her. She stood at the center of it all, a calm eye in a hurricane of blood and lead. She'd better be worth it, Quill had said during their discussion. Caska's lips drew back in a brutal, shark-like rictus. If she was compromised, or was being used to bring the team in, he'd burn the world down around them.

[Morgannah]

17:55:19 Friday 05 January 2063 - Sugar, Malibu Beach, CFS

She paused for a moment, a barely audible sigh slipping out before she was able to catch it.

What? Were you expecting a night on the town? Dinner and a show, perhaps?

Oh, shut up. When this has settled down a bit, I'm going to sleep for a blessed week just so I don't have to listen to you ..

.. no you won't, actually. You'll sleep a solid three hours and not a moment longer because you're a 'good' girl. Good girls do as they're told.

"Right. 30 minutes."

Cosmo had too much grace to frown and too much pride to respond to the mocking voice in the back of her mind. Instead, she began to thread her way through the twisting crowd, each of her movement seeming like more of a dance than the purposeful strides they were. She kept a close eye about her, though, scanning for even the smallest thing that was out of place. Finding nothing, she accepted her longcoat, scarf, gloves, Manhunter, and a trio of grenades, securing each in its proper place before venturing onto the street.

Clear.

It seemed as though a sleek yellow taxi pulled up to the curb as she started raising her hand so she slipped inside, smiling pleasantly with a hint of a blush playing across her cheeks.

"Lake Street Station, please."

She allowed her cheeks to turn a shade darker at the driver's slight nod. Ducking her head bashfully, she continued in a softer voice.

"Do you, ahh, think you could do me a huge favour and forget that you drove me tonight? There's this guy that's been following me around that thinks he's my boyfriend and I really wish he'd leave me alone. Anyway, there's a hundred in it for you if you keep the destination out of the book...."

Cosmo kept her smile firmly in place as she reached into her purse and withdrew a few neatly folded bills, showing them to the driver and waiting for his brief nod of assent. After that, it was just a matter of staying alert and touching up her appearance for the next "scene."

[grendel]

18:19:32 Friday 05 January 2063 - Lake Street Light Rail Station, Pasadena, CFS

The evening wind was up, daylight fading quickly from the Western horizon as Cosmo drew her coat closer about her. It wasn't just the wind. She could feel them on her, the eyes and sensors, staring from overhead, from each cornice and shadow. It didn't much help the crawling flesh at the back of her neck that it was his team that was watching her. She'd seen the vague shadow orbiting the station when she first exited the cab. That she didn't see it now was a measure of the rigger's skill. The telecom kiosks were exactly where Caska said they would be. She paused at one of the entrance arches, concealed and covered for the moment, yet still feeling totally exposed.

The northernmost telecom screen fuzzed for a moment, then cleared to an incoming call graphic.

[Morgannah]

18:19:33 Friday 05 January 2063 - Lake Street Light Rail Station, Pasadena, CFS

Cosmo reached forward, making a conscious effort to keep her fingers from shaking. It was infinitely better to be aware of whatever surveillance was present but too many years of running had given her an almost uncontrollable urge to turn to the shadows and hide in this sort of situation. If there were even a few other people she'd be able to hide if things went south ..

.. but then, so could the others.

Frowning slightly, she lifted the receiver and waited for her next set of instructions.

[grendel]

18:19:39 Friday 05 January 2063 - Lake Street Light Rail Station, Pasadena, CFS

"In thirty seconds a taxi will pull up. Get in."

[Morgannah]

18:19:46 Friday 05 January 2063 - Lake Street Light Rail Station, Pasadena, CFS

Should I put a blindfold on as well, I wonder?

Don't be nasty ....

Nodding wordlessly, she placed the receiver back in its cradle and turned to where the taxi would likely arrive. Sensing nothing new around her yet, she slips into the taxi that stops in front of her and peers into the front seat.

[grendel]

18:20:06 Friday 05 January 2063 - Lake Street Light Rail Station, Pasadena, CFS

For some reason, she's not surprised to find the front seat of the taxi empty. It pulls away on a near silent electronic drive as soon as her door is closed. A pocket secretary rests on the seat next to her. For thirty minutes, the vehicle winds its way through the streets of Los Angeles, finally entering the inner loop for departures at Los Angeles International. The pocket secretary beeps with a message.

Take the shuttle to Long Term Parking B.

[Morgannah]

18:49:52 Friday 05 January 2063 - Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CFS

Drawn to the point of nearly screaming and only aggravated by the excruciating headache that would not go away, Cosmo's nerves had, to put it mildly, seen better days. How it galled her to go through step after step like some puppy trained to jump through hoops and across inflatable swimming pools. After all the stresses of the day, it was her sincerest hope that she'd be allowed to relax soon.

Sighing, she carefully lifted the pocket secretary from the seat and carried it along with her (in case another message was sent through) to the shuttle. It was all she could do not to slump within her seat.

[grendel]

19:10:08 Friday 05 January 2063 - Longterm Parking B, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CFS

The bus lurched over the barrier inset into the entrance line of the longterm parking lot, jostling Cosmo and adding another needle of pain to the base of her skull. Knuckles whitened momentarily where they clutched the plastic case of the pocket secretary before she forced herself to relax. As the shuttle bus pulled up to its first stop, a gray Ares Roadmaster braked to a halt, its cargo door sliding open. Cosmo became aware of two presences close at hand, the headache slowing her combat reflexes for crucial seconds. The men seem to appear out of nowhere, rising from seats that she could have sworn were occupied by inconspicuous business travellers. Now, though, they hooked arms through her own, carrying her effortlessly into the dark confines of the Roadmaster. The vehicle was underway even before the door was fully closed, and she found herself enfolded in a familiar embrace, dark, expressionless eyes above harsh cheekbones holding her gaze. Pain, tension, fear, and adrenaline came to a boil.

"Fragging bast..." she hissed, hands curling into claws, only to be cutoff by his mouth descending on hers. Still, she fought, twisting in his grasp, wanting the anger, needing it. But he was relentless, driving everything from her mind but him.

"...bastard," she finished when he finally broke away. Caska smiled.

"Missed you, too, sweet."

[Morgannah]

19:10:32 Friday 05 January 2063 - Longterm Parking B, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CFS

She pulled back slightly, wide eyed and all but trembling for the half second it took to collect herself. For one undisguised moment there was nothing but raw, brutal emotion writ across her features; everything from the obvious (and understandable) passion flaring bright and hot at the forefront to a chaotic swirl of awe, torment, anxiety, and no small amount of terror. Grief, as well, seemed to settle about her, looming large in eyes that had seen too much, threading its way about her throat until she could barely breathe. Without any sort of anger to distract her from the sort of sadness that threatened to unravel her entirely, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to..

Dear Spirits, they were only ch-..

.. not here, Love.

Cosmo nodded imperceptibly and let out a slow, painful breath, drawing strength from Caska's presence as well as her own depleted reserves. She lifted her chin and returned his smile with a thoroughly charming bashfulness that was only complimented by the warm flush of her cheeks.

"You know I missed you," she dimpled, taking a second to brush her lips across his cheek before turning to smile at the other three in the Roadmaster.

"Thanks for the save tonight. I'm Cosmo, though I suppose you knew that already."

Settling back onto the folding bench seat and appearing as casual and composed as ever (and in spite of the Mac truck crashing through her head, over and over), Cosmo waits for the two men to take a seat, expecting the inevitable round of introductions to give her a few seconds to learn a bit more about each member of Caska's shadow team.

I hope prices haven't gone up too much since '61..

[grendel]

19:14:18 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Caska glances at the other man that carried Cosmo into the Roadmaster, before moving to the rear to crouch in front of her. Over his shoulder, she could see him, dense muscles barely hidden beneath a subdued urban camouflage jumpsuit, a black tac vest fitted over that, and the smooth gray expanse of an Ares Alpha slung muzzle down across his chest. He moved to sit in the jumpseat just forward of the sliding cargo door. Across from him, reclining in a pilot's chair behind the driver's seat, was the actual driver. The details of his face and body were concealed by the shadows in the cabin of the vehicle, highlights from the central MFDs washing across his face. The woman in the passenger seat, though, met her gaze unflinchingly. She was dressed in a plain Actioneer suit, her brunette hair styled in a short pageboy. They were uniformly tense, ready for whatever action was required. Caska waits until her attention is once more focussed on him.

"So here's the deal. We can get you out, but it's going to cost. We know, if not specifically, at least in general what the opposition is capable of. But if we do, we're going to move fast, displace far, and go to ground hard. If you can't, or don't want to move like that, then there won't be any more backup on the street. I won't risk the team and I won't let them risk themselves. You are like me, trained, a combat mind. You know the danger of this path. What do you want to do?"

[Morgannah]

19:15:42 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

It was all she could do to keep her hands in her lap, so overwhelming was the urge to press her fingers to her temples. This was not even remotely close to what she had in mind for her evening. Briefly, she considered everything she'd mentioned on the phone, wondering where the miscommunication had occurred and how in the world she was going to deal with it. How could she have blundered so severely?

Was it "relocate?" No, that was clearly an alliteration .. wasn't it?

Her head felt like it was going to split itself in half.

More than anything, she wanted to shout "yes, let's go.," to throw her hands up in the air and be done with this place. After years of running alone, she wondered what it would be like to have someone else to rely on if things went south, to be trusted with so much responsibility herself. She could be as reckless with her own life as the situation dictated .. so long as she knew that no one else would be affected....

Could she really put all of them at risk like this? To save her own skin? The fact that the team had ultimately agreed to get her out of Los Angeles was a sign of their trust in Caska as their leader; the fact that Caska himself had even suggested an extraction was a sign of .. some degree of caring for her, certainly, but likely had a great deal to do with the safety of his team. Cosmo had a rough idea of who (and what?) was hunting her as well, of the extent of their resources, the length of their reach. How could she subject anyone to that sort of risk, much less someone she'd grown to care about so deeply?

Both of the strange children known as Kald she had met had made it perfectly clear what sort of repercussions awaited her if any of her taskings were left incomplete. She'd lied, stolen, and killed to satisfy the organization responsible for her release and knew that it, too, would follow her until the debt was satisfied. With three taskings left, there was at least the possibility of finding a few answers in the near future, provided she survived that long.

It was possible, she knew, to keep a low profile and wait out the next couple of weeks. They would find her eventually, of course, but by then she hoped to better understand who they were and face them on her own terms. Cosmo knew that none of this could be accomplished if she was committed to something larger than her own personal fight; she would not be reckless with someone else's life. She could not live with another person's blood on her hands.

"I will pay you," she began quietly, earnestly, her mind screaming that there had to be another way, "for tonight's extraction as well as any intel you have regarding who, and what, is after me."

Cosmo stared hard at Caska, hating herself for letting any sort of emotion creep into what was intended to be business from the very beginning. She was too soft; naive, as well, to assume that she could have what other people had. He had been .. and would be better off without her.

"I do know the danger of this path. I am a combat mind .. and like you, I won't let you risk yourself and the lives of your teammates any longer. I won't ask you to pick up and leave everything you've worked so hard to achieve, not for this."

Her voice threatened to give out as a lump the size of a city block formed in the base of the throat. Oh, Spirits, don't let me cry here ..

"As much as I appreciate your offer, and I do, the only possible course is to decline."

[grendel]

19:16:14 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Caska nodded once, sharply, hollow inside. He switched, still holding Cosmo's eyes.

We're shifting to the drop plan, standby for location.

Behind him, he could hear the faint rustling of his teammates as they adjusted their positions based on the effects of the decision tree. He watched the heat flow through Cosmo wanting to wind his arms around her, to feel her skin next to his, to feel alive once again. He knew this was a response to the adrenaline of the situation, that the organism wanted to prove it was still alive, that the possibility of imminent death drove the elemental biological being into a frenzy of desire to attempt to pass on its genetic material. The intensity of feeling, though, surprised him. It had been a long time since he felt this way about anything.

"We'll drop you wherever you want, then. I can give you some gear in the interim until you can make contact with your fixer, if necessary."

He paused, rewording his next statement several times before settling on a final draft.

"I'd like to see you again. Give me a call when you're able to. Consider it an indefinite rain check on our dinner and theater."

[Morgannah]

19:17:02 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

She nodded as well, though a sad little smile crept across her lips as she did so.

"I will. As soon as I'm able."

Cosmo couldn't quite credit the ache that spread across her chest at the thought of watching him leave, not knowing if they'd catch up to one another before their ultimate debts were paid. After everything that had happened today, all she wanted was to feel 'safe' again, to melt into Caska's arms and banish the memories of the horrible thing she'd done, to cling to him until they both fell asleep .. to stave off the enormous loneliness that would become part of her reality all too soon. Would she ever see him again?

Every minute she spent in the Roadmaster, though, was a minute her enemies would use to track her down.

"Rose Hill Park ," she replied, slowly reaching into a concealed boot pocket for her credstick. "I have everything I need close by." And it's better all around if no one knows where I'll be.

"How many in your crew?"

[grendel]

19:19:31 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Caska places his hand over Cosmo's, shaking his head once. He was up the tac channel, relaying and updating. His eyes sweep from Quill to Vegas, both of whom were supine now. He ran his thumb across the ridge of Cosmo's hand, turning back to look at her.

"Fifteen minutes."

[Morgannah]

19:20:14 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo nodded and swallowed hard as she replaced the slender credstick, drawing his hand up to cradle the side of her face afterward. She attempted a smile, of course, knowing that it would do him well to see that she would be all right, and then very nearly laughed as she imagined how pathetic it must have looked.

Not 'goodbye.'

Everything she might have said sounded so trivial in her mind; chat would be beyond pointless and anything more serious would ultimately make things worse than they already were. She sighed, brushed her lips across his open palm, and simply set about memorizing his every feature while she still had the chance; her desire to know, to remember overrode all but her most basic passions and it broke her heart that their last minutes together could not be spent more privately.

This can't be 'goodbye' ....

[grendel]

19:21:33 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

The gentle caress of Cosmo's lips across his palm brings Caska back to their night at the movies. For a moment, he does nothing but watch her eyes, feel the warmth of her skin, the flutter of her pulse.

To Hell with it.

He wraps his hand in her hair and pulls her into a kiss.

[Morgannah]

19:21:38 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Without so much as batting an eyelash, Cosmo, growling softly, throws herself into his arms, wrapping herself about him and responding with a frantic energy that all but begged for release. She shuddered, refusing to think about anything but him; eyes, mouth, arms, hands .. dear, sweet Spirits, his hands ..

Her last coherent thought was made obvious as she glanced meaningfully at the rest of his team before turning wickedly shimmering eyes back to Caska ....

[grendel]

19:23:05 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

For minutes, there was only the press of bodies together, lips together, hands insistent. Fulton watched for a moment, feeling the heat between the two predators. Then, with a smirk, he stood and made his way to the driver's seat.

Caska shoved a duffle bag of gear onto the floor, making room on the bench seat for him, before pulling Cosmo astride his lap. A moment's fumbling in the dimness of the cabin, a gasp, a sigh, and her hair falling about his face. He wound his arms around her, feeling her shiver in his embrace, and kissed her again.

[Morgannah]

19:25:38 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo put a lifetime of feeling into those last few minutes. Every sigh became a wordless whisper, every soft cry an endearment as she spoke to him, sharing what her conscious mind would not permit her to speak aloud, what she could not bring herself to say no matter how hard she tried. Too soon, she found herself laying dizzy and helpless against his chest, her arms wrapped about him with all the strength she owned.

"Caska, tell me something true," she whispered, still shuddering, her lips only a hairsbreadth from his, "anything."

Just don't ask me to run ..

[grendel]

19:27:11 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

For a moment, silence connects them, broken only by the steady rumble of the Roadmaster's diesel. Caska's expressions, so minute as to be missed by one less skilled than she, were a bonfire in the dim half-light. She can feel the nova of will inside him, the relentless energies capable of so much damage, held in check by such a narrow margin. His voice is a low, vicious snarl, fueled by adrenaline and passion.

"I would burn the world down for you. If you call, I will find you. Nothing will stop me."

[Morgannah]

19:27:35 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo let out a long, slow breath and nodded, believing him, half-afraid because she trusted that more completely than anything she'd learned since waking up on the first. Reading between the lines, she also understood that his promise had nothing to do with war or personal power, that he felt more than he knew .. and hoped he'd come to the same conclusion in time.

Her eyes were wide, soft, and dark with longing as she watched him, drawn to that terrible radiant intensity like a moth to a flame. Fatal words rode to the forefront of her mind yet again, trampling across reason and sanity until she crushed herself to him, aching to tell Caska just how much he was needed and how utterly he'd consumed her .. though for the first time in recent memory, she had no idea how to go about saying it.

So Cosmo fused her mouth to his and set about showing him all over again.

[grendel]

19:32:07 Friday 05 January 2063 - Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CFS

Fire burned through Caska's veins as he felt Cosmo shudder against him once more. Their time together was nearly up, he could tell even without the BattleTac interface overlaying his vision at a thirty percent mask. Looking back now, he could see every step of the path which had lead them to this point. He couldn't, with any honesty, admit that he hadn't seen this possibility when he gave the woman risen from her grave his phone number. But, having arrived here, at this crucial junction point, he could not clearly see the path before him. He held her close, feeling her breathe against him, inhaling the soft smell of her body, her hair. He brushed his fingertips across her cheek one last time, not needing to tell her that the Roadmaster had arrived.

[Morgannah]

19:32:25 Friday 05 January 2063 - Rose Hill Park, Los Angeles, CFS

Cosmo sighed softly, brushing a bit of damp (and slightly tangled) hair aside and tucking it behind one ear, a gesture that was both unconscious and completely feminine. She smiled, though it was bittersweet, and leaned in to brush her lips across each corner of Caska's mouth, her eyes still locked with his.

Now, now .. here's looking at you, kid.

That night at the old movie theatre had already taken on a silver sheen, its background fading to the black and white of her most precious memories. The care he had taken that night and the thought of doing it in the first place only solidified the terrible ache in her chest.

"I will come back," she whispered, quietly certain, her voice regaining its strength as she braced herself for the challenges of her chosen path. Leaning in again, she pressed her lips to his, kissed him sweetly, and was gone.

...

She would remember later how quickly the emptiness had returned, the horrible wrench of her body leaving his, how hard it had been to pull her gaze from his face and turn to the bleak expanse of the park, knowing that he would force himself to watch her walk away. She would also remember how she had almost turned around in one weak moment, willing to run as far and as fast as she could if Caska would only stay with her.

Resolve to do the "right thing" returned to her as quickly as it had vanished, however, leaving her cold inside and with only a splitting headache for company.

Cosmo walked on. Alone.