Etain
Saturday 07/26/70 23:46:13
Etain’s gaze was locked on her brother’s eyes and was as unwavering as the Garda’s magical support’s. When the female officer realized she had come around she was quick to offer a sip or two of water from a brand new bottle to Etain. With a silent but thankful nod she laid back down on the gurney and stole a glance out the van’s windows. She looked out into moonlit darkness, and as the van rolled on the more familiar the scenery became till they were soon passing the intricate iron-work gates at the front of the O’Neill estate and up the winding drive where the O’Neill patriarchs and their army of lawyers, medical support and the twin’s personal assistants were waiting en masse.
Inwardly she groaned. The next few moments were going to be pure hell once the doors to the van were opened. Inside her head she was left with only her own thoughts and it made her feel more scared that she couldn’t share this with her brother anymore. When the unmarked van rolled to a stop she put up her walls and prepared for the onslaught of feigned worry and concern that would be her mother and the stoic disapproval that would likely be her father. If Inspector Sean O’Holloran didn’t want melodrama from Conall at the scene, she could only imagine his distaste and reaction as soon as her mother was let loose. This thought for some reason brought a slight smile to her lips and she locked her eyes with Conall’s one last time as she could hear the driver exiting the van and coming around to unlatch the back doors.
No sooner than the back doors had been swung wide did her mother’s voice pierce the otherwise calm night with “Oh my babies!” complete with her hand to her mouth and starting immediately for the van. She was quickly reigned in by their father’s firm hand on her arm and a stern face filled with a thousand silent no’s. She knew her mother’s heart would break as soon as she spotted Conall cuffed and chained to the inside of the van and was silently relieved her father had stopped her. Etain only hoped the Inspector would release her brother before turning him over to the family.
She tried to sit up as to not have to be wheeled inside her home like some helpless soul only to have to lay right back down when her head started swimming from the after effects of the tranq patch. The paper flats the female officer had given Etain to put on were more akin to a pair of hospital scrubs, but more “appropriate” and presentable than the blood-stained dress that was now in a bag somewhere in the van. Truthfully she was just looking forward to getting inside to familiar surroundings, to take a long hot shower and then crawl into her bed for a long, long sleep. When she glimpsed the stern look on the Inspector’s face as he prepared to turn the twins over to their parents, she had a feeling that perhaps that wouldn’t come for a while yet.
Full Version: Hitting Bottom - Second Wave
John
Saturday 5/3/70 12:01:30
The elf dosn´t waste any time either. He puts his intelligence-specialists on hold, pulls this morning´s strategy-guidlines out of his com´s memory and puts them onto his display-glasses, while he starts to speak.
John: "Good to hear from you! We´ve been playing through scenarios over here since Tuesday. They can still benifit from some extra crunch-time, I´ll give you the full numbers in 48, but here is the general rundown."
In deed, he had planed to call Lanier right after this brifing, to discuss their options to breach Dean´s smokescreen. The union-man had evaded RFS´ and NeoNET´s usual sorces of intelligence and other conventional methods for 69h 59m 46s. As he stands up and confines himself to the small office next door, he starts to outline the general avenues they could take in this matter.
John: "At the time beeing our options are fairly limited, but that should change in the next two days, as we are about to compile more comprehensive data on our opposition. As of now, our main avenues of action, in no particular order, are the following ..."
Saturday 5/3/70 12:01:30
The elf dosn´t waste any time either. He puts his intelligence-specialists on hold, pulls this morning´s strategy-guidlines out of his com´s memory and puts them onto his display-glasses, while he starts to speak.
John: "Good to hear from you! We´ve been playing through scenarios over here since Tuesday. They can still benifit from some extra crunch-time, I´ll give you the full numbers in 48, but here is the general rundown."
In deed, he had planed to call Lanier right after this brifing, to discuss their options to breach Dean´s smokescreen. The union-man had evaded RFS´ and NeoNET´s usual sorces of intelligence and other conventional methods for 69h 59m 46s. As he stands up and confines himself to the small office next door, he starts to outline the general avenues they could take in this matter.
John: "At the time beeing our options are fairly limited, but that should change in the next two days, as we are about to compile more comprehensive data on our opposition. As of now, our main avenues of action, in no particular order, are the following ..."
John
Saturday 5/3/70 12:16:45
Miles Lanier listened to his top lawyer - indeed, NeoNET's top lawyer - in silence. Once John had outlined his provisional scenarios in broad strokes, Lanier spoke up. "I'm not surprised to see you're all over this. The info blackout is impressive. But I'm sure you'll have that sorted well enough to put the facts to those ideas of yours by day after tomorrow." Lanier's tone had softened since the beginning of the call - John's obvious control of the situation must have set him somewhat at ease. Still, he said nothing about relinquishing direct oversight of this project. "This is going to be an uphill battle, John. We're going to need you to push yourself, think out of the box a little more - think out of your box a little. Commitment. That will be required. I'll hear from you in 48." And Miles Lanier cut the line with his usual legendary brusqueness.
Saturday 5/3/70 12:16:45
Miles Lanier listened to his top lawyer - indeed, NeoNET's top lawyer - in silence. Once John had outlined his provisional scenarios in broad strokes, Lanier spoke up. "I'm not surprised to see you're all over this. The info blackout is impressive. But I'm sure you'll have that sorted well enough to put the facts to those ideas of yours by day after tomorrow." Lanier's tone had softened since the beginning of the call - John's obvious control of the situation must have set him somewhat at ease. Still, he said nothing about relinquishing direct oversight of this project. "This is going to be an uphill battle, John. We're going to need you to push yourself, think out of the box a little more - think out of your box a little. Commitment. That will be required. I'll hear from you in 48." And Miles Lanier cut the line with his usual legendary brusqueness.
Etain
Saturday 7/26/70 23:47:00
The two rank-and-file Garda officers hopped out, and O'Neill servants swept into the van and gently hauled out the gurney with its precious cargo. Her mother took her right hand as the ladies of the household carried her up the stairs and rolled her across the cavernous foyer. Her mother was tight-lipped, but tears were steaming down her cheeks as she looked down at her daughter.
Several times Etain tried to twist and glance back toward Conall, but each time she moved her mother's grip grew tighter, and she spoke directly to Etain - "Rest now, lass. Trouble yourself not. You're home now, the both of you, and naught will trifle with you between these four walls, nay, not while an O'Neill draws breath."
And so she was whisked up the stairs and placed in her bed. She felt humiliated as her mother supervised the ladies in peeling off the flats - she tried to help, but was far too weak - and then she was wrapped in her favorite satin nightgown, resting between silk sheets.
Next was the family doctor, a kindly old elf who examined her while her mother looked on, always holding her good hand. The doctor checked her vitals, and looked carefully for any signs of concussion. He took special care with her finger, erecting a small cloth screen, anesthetizing it, and then closing and binding the wound properly.
But that was the extent of his examination.
Etain was simultaneously relieved and concerned.
Her mother saw the question on her face, and now that they were alone spoke in the no-nonsense voice she reserved for family.
"Oh, that O'Holloran, he wanted a proper medical examination, and with a police doctor, no less. Well I told him there'd be nothing of the sort here in House O'Neill. No, this matter will scarce be handled by technicians and scientists and whatnot. And in any case, it will not be handled in public - the Garda's role stops here - whatever those cursed O'Donnell's want to do, I am right certain they'll see eye to eye on that one point."
She took Etain's hand a bit more tightly, and shifted on the bed so that she could look at her face to face. Her voice was as tender as she could make it - it carried, Etain felt sure, all the emotion her mother had still to give after decades of a life lived behind a mask.
"But I must know now, lass, ye must tell me straight, that it may never be spoken of in this world again - did he have you?"
Saturday 7/26/70 23:47:00
The two rank-and-file Garda officers hopped out, and O'Neill servants swept into the van and gently hauled out the gurney with its precious cargo. Her mother took her right hand as the ladies of the household carried her up the stairs and rolled her across the cavernous foyer. Her mother was tight-lipped, but tears were steaming down her cheeks as she looked down at her daughter.
Several times Etain tried to twist and glance back toward Conall, but each time she moved her mother's grip grew tighter, and she spoke directly to Etain - "Rest now, lass. Trouble yourself not. You're home now, the both of you, and naught will trifle with you between these four walls, nay, not while an O'Neill draws breath."
And so she was whisked up the stairs and placed in her bed. She felt humiliated as her mother supervised the ladies in peeling off the flats - she tried to help, but was far too weak - and then she was wrapped in her favorite satin nightgown, resting between silk sheets.
Next was the family doctor, a kindly old elf who examined her while her mother looked on, always holding her good hand. The doctor checked her vitals, and looked carefully for any signs of concussion. He took special care with her finger, erecting a small cloth screen, anesthetizing it, and then closing and binding the wound properly.
But that was the extent of his examination.
Etain was simultaneously relieved and concerned.
Her mother saw the question on her face, and now that they were alone spoke in the no-nonsense voice she reserved for family.
"Oh, that O'Holloran, he wanted a proper medical examination, and with a police doctor, no less. Well I told him there'd be nothing of the sort here in House O'Neill. No, this matter will scarce be handled by technicians and scientists and whatnot. And in any case, it will not be handled in public - the Garda's role stops here - whatever those cursed O'Donnell's want to do, I am right certain they'll see eye to eye on that one point."
She took Etain's hand a bit more tightly, and shifted on the bed so that she could look at her face to face. Her voice was as tender as she could make it - it carried, Etain felt sure, all the emotion her mother had still to give after decades of a life lived behind a mask.
"But I must know now, lass, ye must tell me straight, that it may never be spoken of in this world again - did he have you?"
Conall
Saturday 7/26/70 23:47:00
As the servants carried Etain away, Conall looked expectantly at O'Holloran, but all the young inspector did was look at Liam O'Neill, Conall's father. Indeed, as they took his sister away, Conall was ready to transform then and there, slipping the shackles and killing anyone that dared come between them. Only the presence of his father stayed his spell. Whatever the old man did, Conall knew it would be handled privately, which meant that sooner or later he'd be joining his sister in the house.
Without looking at his son, the head of Clan O'Neill told O'Holloran, "He'll speak with Cailleach first, then you'll release him to me." O'Holloran started to say something, but the elder O'Neill had already turned on his heel and was crunching across the gravel to the manor.
And then from somewhere out of sight Padraig "Paddy" Cailleach appeared at the doors. He was a tall human - the only such in the service of House O'Neill. He wore his ash gray hair long and to the waist, matched by a long, droopy moustache. And as always and at all times, like a knight of old that scarce doffed his mail during waking hours, he had a Level 5 ballistic vest strapped over his long-sleeved navy silk shirt. He was the head of the clan's security, as had been his father, and his father before that, just as all the Cailleach heirs had been the bodyguards to the O'Neills since before memory.
The old man fixed the Garda mage with his fierce gaze, and in his heavy Irish brogue ordered - "You, oot!" with a jerk of his calloused thumb.
The young mage wasted no time in evacuating the vehicle.
The old man entered the van and sat down across from the chained shaman.
He glanced at the chains - "O'Holloran, you poxy whelp, be this how ye treat a charge o' mine? And on the young master's own lands!"
O'Holloran quickly approached with a key, but was stopped short by Cailleach's impatient shout - "OOT!"
Alone, and with the doors shut, Cailleach glanced at the chains that bound Conall's ankles and wrists, and with a flick of an eyebrow they popped open with four sharp snaps.
Conall knew of Padraig's great power, and he also knew the old man never flaunted it - the display was an obvious message.
And then he did something he'd never done before in Conall's two decades and more - he extended his hand, shaking Conall's warmly.
"Yer a man now, laddie, by the saints ye are. Would that it'd been another way." Though he said nothing, Conall knew the man would take his failure to protect Etain himself to his grave. Though the twins had always refused to be accompanied by his staff, he'd nonetheless take the tragedy as a blight on his honor and that of his family.
"Boy, ye've fought with honor. Whate'er else may befall ye, ye'll have Paddy Cailleach's respect as long as ye walk under sun and sky. Ye did the right thing, the only right thing.
"But honor is lonely in a world without it. There'll be a price to pay, ah reckon. Not for me to set it. But I tell you now, lad, it will be for me to see that ye're here to pay it. I am bound to yer father's word, and so now I tell you what that word is.
"Ye'll na leave the house. Not at all. And ye'll na have any commerce with yer dear sister. None a'tall."
Conall's face went red with shock and anger, but Cailleach held out a hand, and such was his gravitas that the younger man's fury was, for a moment, quelled.
"I won't say it's right, but it is what it is. I know ye may fight me on this, lad, but instead I beg ye take the fight to yer Da, for I've no hankerin' ta lock horns wi' ya. Now I've warded yer dear sister's apartments meself, an' set one the staff on astral patrol round it all times, not to mention a few o' my more personal servants. There'll be no gettin' in or outta those chambers by you or by her. As fer the house, I leave it to yer own honor, which I do hold in high esteem. Shall we go to yer father, then?"
Speechless, Conall followed the security man up to the house, where they were directed to the library.
The huge room was the pride of House O'Neill - fifty meters long if an inch, and lined to the lofty rafters with leather-bound tomes as old as the Danaan. There, by the huge fireplace - now cold, dark, and dank - stood Liam O'Neill.
"Thank you, Padraig."
The guard excused himself with a bow, and Conall's father sat down in an antique armchair, though he did not motion for his son to do the same.
"Well, you've saved your sister - or at least avenged her - the jury's still out on whether you managed to save anything. In any case, I daresay any saving that did happen was from her own foolishness.
"I shan't fault you for defending her. But in doing so, you killed Patrick O-fucking-Donnell. I don't need to spell out for you what the repercussions might be - and I do not mean for you but for all the O'Neills. So, what have you to say for yourself?"
Saturday 7/26/70 23:47:00
As the servants carried Etain away, Conall looked expectantly at O'Holloran, but all the young inspector did was look at Liam O'Neill, Conall's father. Indeed, as they took his sister away, Conall was ready to transform then and there, slipping the shackles and killing anyone that dared come between them. Only the presence of his father stayed his spell. Whatever the old man did, Conall knew it would be handled privately, which meant that sooner or later he'd be joining his sister in the house.
Without looking at his son, the head of Clan O'Neill told O'Holloran, "He'll speak with Cailleach first, then you'll release him to me." O'Holloran started to say something, but the elder O'Neill had already turned on his heel and was crunching across the gravel to the manor.
And then from somewhere out of sight Padraig "Paddy" Cailleach appeared at the doors. He was a tall human - the only such in the service of House O'Neill. He wore his ash gray hair long and to the waist, matched by a long, droopy moustache. And as always and at all times, like a knight of old that scarce doffed his mail during waking hours, he had a Level 5 ballistic vest strapped over his long-sleeved navy silk shirt. He was the head of the clan's security, as had been his father, and his father before that, just as all the Cailleach heirs had been the bodyguards to the O'Neills since before memory.
The old man fixed the Garda mage with his fierce gaze, and in his heavy Irish brogue ordered - "You, oot!" with a jerk of his calloused thumb.
The young mage wasted no time in evacuating the vehicle.
The old man entered the van and sat down across from the chained shaman.
He glanced at the chains - "O'Holloran, you poxy whelp, be this how ye treat a charge o' mine? And on the young master's own lands!"
O'Holloran quickly approached with a key, but was stopped short by Cailleach's impatient shout - "OOT!"
Alone, and with the doors shut, Cailleach glanced at the chains that bound Conall's ankles and wrists, and with a flick of an eyebrow they popped open with four sharp snaps.
Conall knew of Padraig's great power, and he also knew the old man never flaunted it - the display was an obvious message.
And then he did something he'd never done before in Conall's two decades and more - he extended his hand, shaking Conall's warmly.
"Yer a man now, laddie, by the saints ye are. Would that it'd been another way." Though he said nothing, Conall knew the man would take his failure to protect Etain himself to his grave. Though the twins had always refused to be accompanied by his staff, he'd nonetheless take the tragedy as a blight on his honor and that of his family.
"Boy, ye've fought with honor. Whate'er else may befall ye, ye'll have Paddy Cailleach's respect as long as ye walk under sun and sky. Ye did the right thing, the only right thing.
"But honor is lonely in a world without it. There'll be a price to pay, ah reckon. Not for me to set it. But I tell you now, lad, it will be for me to see that ye're here to pay it. I am bound to yer father's word, and so now I tell you what that word is.
"Ye'll na leave the house. Not at all. And ye'll na have any commerce with yer dear sister. None a'tall."
Conall's face went red with shock and anger, but Cailleach held out a hand, and such was his gravitas that the younger man's fury was, for a moment, quelled.
"I won't say it's right, but it is what it is. I know ye may fight me on this, lad, but instead I beg ye take the fight to yer Da, for I've no hankerin' ta lock horns wi' ya. Now I've warded yer dear sister's apartments meself, an' set one the staff on astral patrol round it all times, not to mention a few o' my more personal servants. There'll be no gettin' in or outta those chambers by you or by her. As fer the house, I leave it to yer own honor, which I do hold in high esteem. Shall we go to yer father, then?"
Speechless, Conall followed the security man up to the house, where they were directed to the library.
The huge room was the pride of House O'Neill - fifty meters long if an inch, and lined to the lofty rafters with leather-bound tomes as old as the Danaan. There, by the huge fireplace - now cold, dark, and dank - stood Liam O'Neill.
"Thank you, Padraig."
The guard excused himself with a bow, and Conall's father sat down in an antique armchair, though he did not motion for his son to do the same.
"Well, you've saved your sister - or at least avenged her - the jury's still out on whether you managed to save anything. In any case, I daresay any saving that did happen was from her own foolishness.
"I shan't fault you for defending her. But in doing so, you killed Patrick O-fucking-Donnell. I don't need to spell out for you what the repercussions might be - and I do not mean for you but for all the O'Neills. So, what have you to say for yourself?"
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 00:07:23
Being back in her own home, in the comfort of her own bed and in her own clothes again was a pleasure, but it also felt so foreign with all the fawning over and care she was suddenly receiving. Never in her 21 years had her mother spent this much time with her and shown this much genuine concern.
The family doctor was gentle with her hand, promising there was much he could do to “restore” her back to before “the event.” While she felt no pain from her left hand anymore, the right that her mother kept squeezing as if her life depended on it was starting to ache. When the doctor had exited the room, the whole mood changed. Sure Caitriona was still playing the role of the concerned and caring mother, but the mood had turned deadly serious the moment the heavy oak door clicked shut behind the doctor.
Her mother was ranting about the O’Donnell’s and the Garda and then she asked the question Etain had been dreading as soon as she was told her parents had been contacted. She studied her mother’s face as she tried to find the “right” words and tried to determine just what the right answer was. Should she tell her what she ultimately wanted to hear, or should she tell her the truth?
As she held her mother’s gaze she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Here she was a grown woman and she was embarrassed talking to her mother about intimate things, no matter how important the answer was right now.
“Mother, I…He…”
Etain struggled for the right words and her hesitation as well as the way she couldn’t look her mother in the eye had to have given her the answer she didn’t want to hear. Intense shame washed over her, and it was all too confusing since she had done nothing wrong. The worst that could be said was that she was foolish for walking through the Belfast streets alone at night, beyond that it was all on Patrick’s shoulders for his choices.
She pulled her knees up to her tightly underneath the blankets and tried to make herself as small as possible under her mother’s gaze. She kept hoping she’d wake up and this would all be some horrible nightmare, but the realization was she wasn’t going to wake up from this and go back to a shiny happy life. She was going to have to deal with the hand life had dealt her this round as ugly as it was going to get.
She closed her eyes to hide herself that much more and her voice cracked the next time she spoke.
“Mother, where’s Conall? Can’t he come up here and just sit with me tonight?”
Her voice was so soft with such a young girl innocent tone to it you could almost hear her mother’s heart break. The truth was her daughter was no longer innocent, was no longer such a “prize” in society. Everything Caitriona O’Neill had devoted her life to building, the pristine family name and talented, good, upstanding children, was crumbling around her second by second.
Sunday 07/27/70 00:07:23
Being back in her own home, in the comfort of her own bed and in her own clothes again was a pleasure, but it also felt so foreign with all the fawning over and care she was suddenly receiving. Never in her 21 years had her mother spent this much time with her and shown this much genuine concern.
The family doctor was gentle with her hand, promising there was much he could do to “restore” her back to before “the event.” While she felt no pain from her left hand anymore, the right that her mother kept squeezing as if her life depended on it was starting to ache. When the doctor had exited the room, the whole mood changed. Sure Caitriona was still playing the role of the concerned and caring mother, but the mood had turned deadly serious the moment the heavy oak door clicked shut behind the doctor.
Her mother was ranting about the O’Donnell’s and the Garda and then she asked the question Etain had been dreading as soon as she was told her parents had been contacted. She studied her mother’s face as she tried to find the “right” words and tried to determine just what the right answer was. Should she tell her what she ultimately wanted to hear, or should she tell her the truth?
As she held her mother’s gaze she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Here she was a grown woman and she was embarrassed talking to her mother about intimate things, no matter how important the answer was right now.
“Mother, I…He…”
Etain struggled for the right words and her hesitation as well as the way she couldn’t look her mother in the eye had to have given her the answer she didn’t want to hear. Intense shame washed over her, and it was all too confusing since she had done nothing wrong. The worst that could be said was that she was foolish for walking through the Belfast streets alone at night, beyond that it was all on Patrick’s shoulders for his choices.
She pulled her knees up to her tightly underneath the blankets and tried to make herself as small as possible under her mother’s gaze. She kept hoping she’d wake up and this would all be some horrible nightmare, but the realization was she wasn’t going to wake up from this and go back to a shiny happy life. She was going to have to deal with the hand life had dealt her this round as ugly as it was going to get.
She closed her eyes to hide herself that much more and her voice cracked the next time she spoke.
“Mother, where’s Conall? Can’t he come up here and just sit with me tonight?”
Her voice was so soft with such a young girl innocent tone to it you could almost hear her mother’s heart break. The truth was her daughter was no longer innocent, was no longer such a “prize” in society. Everything Caitriona O’Neill had devoted her life to building, the pristine family name and talented, good, upstanding children, was crumbling around her second by second.
Etain
Sunday 7/26/70 00:09:00
Etain's mother drew her into an embrace - her first real hug since she was a child - which she felt like right now.
The hug said her mother understood, but then when she pulled away she wore a forced smile of relief.
"Well, then, thank the saints your brother found you in time." Her eyes, not yet completely devoid of tenderness, warned her daughter not to argue. "I will go and inform your father. He will be so relieved. He worries about you so much."
Sunday 7/26/70 00:09:00
Etain's mother drew her into an embrace - her first real hug since she was a child - which she felt like right now.
The hug said her mother understood, but then when she pulled away she wore a forced smile of relief.
"Well, then, thank the saints your brother found you in time." Her eyes, not yet completely devoid of tenderness, warned her daughter not to argue. "I will go and inform your father. He will be so relieved. He worries about you so much."
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 00:09:15
Etain watched her mother’s face and the silent admonishment at the thought of telling her father anything but what he wanted, no, needed to hear and she was left just stunned silent. The lack of discussion of her brother however troubled her further. She felt her mother’s lips against her forehead and then could hear her departing the bedroom, leaving Etain to her own thoughts and the silence that permeated the room.
She started to wonder what would happen next, when she would get to see Conall again and be able to try to talk to him about what happened, to be able to apologize for everything. But most of all to thank him. A single tear fell when she thought about all she had done to him over the last month and how without fail he had been there for her, he had fought for her to the death. She also thought about having to face her father, to have to play to the lie her mother was on her way to tell him right that moment. How was she going to face him and have to look into his eyes and tell him nothing happened, that she was still his little girl. The lie would just keep getting bigger and bigger, she’d have to keep pretending for the rest of her life. She’d never really be herself again…
Silently she cursed herself for not asking the doctor for something to help her sleep tonight. Her entire body felt like it was made of lead, however her mind would not rest. Hopelessly she picked up the remote and flicked on the TriD, quickly surfing to find the most inoffensive, light and happy show she could find to lose herself in while she started what would be the first of many sleepless hours to come.
Sunday 07/27/70 00:09:15
Etain watched her mother’s face and the silent admonishment at the thought of telling her father anything but what he wanted, no, needed to hear and she was left just stunned silent. The lack of discussion of her brother however troubled her further. She felt her mother’s lips against her forehead and then could hear her departing the bedroom, leaving Etain to her own thoughts and the silence that permeated the room.
She started to wonder what would happen next, when she would get to see Conall again and be able to try to talk to him about what happened, to be able to apologize for everything. But most of all to thank him. A single tear fell when she thought about all she had done to him over the last month and how without fail he had been there for her, he had fought for her to the death. She also thought about having to face her father, to have to play to the lie her mother was on her way to tell him right that moment. How was she going to face him and have to look into his eyes and tell him nothing happened, that she was still his little girl. The lie would just keep getting bigger and bigger, she’d have to keep pretending for the rest of her life. She’d never really be herself again…
Silently she cursed herself for not asking the doctor for something to help her sleep tonight. Her entire body felt like it was made of lead, however her mind would not rest. Hopelessly she picked up the remote and flicked on the TriD, quickly surfing to find the most inoffensive, light and happy show she could find to lose herself in while she started what would be the first of many sleepless hours to come.
Conall
Saturday 7/26/70 23:50:33
Conall felt his nails dig deep in his palms. What interaction the young shaman had with his father could be summarized in a few seconds. This was probably the longest conversation they had ever shared. Even thought Liam O’Neill was his father, the man was more of a stranger than anything else.
“What do I have to say for myself?” said the young elf in a angered tone.
A few seconds of silence passed… until Conall finally exploded.
“WHAT DO I HAVE TO SAY FOR MYSELF!” he screamed off, his face turning red.
He slammed his hand on the side of one of the bookcase, the wood creaking under the assault.
“Patrick O’ Fucking Donnell was raping my sister and he bloody got what he deserved! What do I have to say for myself you ask? I say I bloody did the whole clan, and the whole of the Tir a god damn favor, that what I did! What should I have done father? What would you have done? Did you see what they did to her hand? Do you imagine, one bloody second, she would have been allowed to live? They would have defiled her, and then taken her life. ”
Conall crossed his powerful arms across his dirty shirt.
“If being an O’Neill is to permit my sister’s abuse, then, I spit on the name and I want nothing to do with it."
Saturday 7/26/70 23:50:33
Conall felt his nails dig deep in his palms. What interaction the young shaman had with his father could be summarized in a few seconds. This was probably the longest conversation they had ever shared. Even thought Liam O’Neill was his father, the man was more of a stranger than anything else.
“What do I have to say for myself?” said the young elf in a angered tone.
A few seconds of silence passed… until Conall finally exploded.
“WHAT DO I HAVE TO SAY FOR MYSELF!” he screamed off, his face turning red.
He slammed his hand on the side of one of the bookcase, the wood creaking under the assault.
“Patrick O’ Fucking Donnell was raping my sister and he bloody got what he deserved! What do I have to say for myself you ask? I say I bloody did the whole clan, and the whole of the Tir a god damn favor, that what I did! What should I have done father? What would you have done? Did you see what they did to her hand? Do you imagine, one bloody second, she would have been allowed to live? They would have defiled her, and then taken her life. ”
Conall crossed his powerful arms across his dirty shirt.
“If being an O’Neill is to permit my sister’s abuse, then, I spit on the name and I want nothing to do with it."
Conall
Saturday 7/26/70 23:50:56
"Boy, grow up." The older elf tossed back a tumbler of gin, and set it down with a clink of ice cubes. "I've seen the pictures of the infernal mess you made in that alley. If you had the wherewithal to rip three men to bloody bits and pieces, then you certainly had the ability to protect your sister without killing one of the leading lights of of the Danaan. I don't give a damn if he got what he deserved or not - that was for your betters to determine. Your duty was to your sister, of course, but also to the clan. You could have considered both, but it seems that once again you placed your unhealthy attachment to your twin ahead of the family honor."
Saturday 7/26/70 23:50:56
"Boy, grow up." The older elf tossed back a tumbler of gin, and set it down with a clink of ice cubes. "I've seen the pictures of the infernal mess you made in that alley. If you had the wherewithal to rip three men to bloody bits and pieces, then you certainly had the ability to protect your sister without killing one of the leading lights of of the Danaan. I don't give a damn if he got what he deserved or not - that was for your betters to determine. Your duty was to your sister, of course, but also to the clan. You could have considered both, but it seems that once again you placed your unhealthy attachment to your twin ahead of the family honor."
Conall
Saturday 7/26/70 23:51:20
Conall's face was now red with anger. Both of his clentched fists were trembling, just like the rest of his body. He knew very well the extent of his action... and how grave they were. But never would he have been able to anticipate his father's reaction. By the sound of it, it was as if he was now scolding him of having saved his sister. Yes, Patrick was of an influential family. Yes, there would be repercusions amongst the whole Danaan... but Conall had at least been sure his own clan would back him.
Apparently, it wasn't so.
"I believe it is you who have misplaced your loyalty. Our name might be important, but our own blood is more precious." spat Conall.
"Am I to take it you would have rather sacrificed your only daughter, than to rough up the family name? You make me sick."
A few seconds of tensed silence passed before Conall spoke again, his tone of voice lower than usual.
"Now, I want to see my sister."
Saturday 7/26/70 23:51:20
Conall's face was now red with anger. Both of his clentched fists were trembling, just like the rest of his body. He knew very well the extent of his action... and how grave they were. But never would he have been able to anticipate his father's reaction. By the sound of it, it was as if he was now scolding him of having saved his sister. Yes, Patrick was of an influential family. Yes, there would be repercusions amongst the whole Danaan... but Conall had at least been sure his own clan would back him.
Apparently, it wasn't so.
"I believe it is you who have misplaced your loyalty. Our name might be important, but our own blood is more precious." spat Conall.
"Am I to take it you would have rather sacrificed your only daughter, than to rough up the family name? You make me sick."
A few seconds of tensed silence passed before Conall spoke again, his tone of voice lower than usual.
"Now, I want to see my sister."
John
Monday 5/5/70 12:03:00
When John sees the people sprawl out of easter mess at the orthodox church down the block, he checks the time on his glasses. The files should all have been delivered by now. Three people had left the RFS headquaters, along with a hord of their colegues heading out for lunch an hour ago. But these three left with shreds of the files saved away in unobstrusive parts of their cyberware. On their ways, they had handed over the data via skinlink, finger-datajack and directional laser transmission to other couriers, that had in turn delivered them to Lanier´s office. There it would be assembled, defrostedand decrypted this verry moment and John would soon hear from Miles.
He feels tired, he hasn´t sleapt since Lanier´s call on saturday and had been too thrilled to get some rest since the massengers went out, but now he was feeling the drain. He would take a few hours off and get some well earned sleep - or some minutes depending on when Lanier would call.
The proposed strategies wheren´t different from what he had outlined 48 hours ago, but with detailed calculations and compleatly workedout move by move - as far as this was possible with the lack of data. The elf frownes. Why am I paying them
2 Million and up, every year? When this was all over, he would come back at them and they would pay him dearly.
He retreats to his appartment in the RFS head quaters and darkness befalls his mind, interrupted only by a parade of adverseries marching through his quickly fading conciousness. The Mantidehurst eating a deformed ork miner in sexual intercourse... Geen-Meany, throwing anthrax-letters after dwarven corporate share-holders... Undead Dean, stealing the corpses of sleaping soules...
Monday 5/5/70 12:03:00
When John sees the people sprawl out of easter mess at the orthodox church down the block, he checks the time on his glasses. The files should all have been delivered by now. Three people had left the RFS headquaters, along with a hord of their colegues heading out for lunch an hour ago. But these three left with shreds of the files saved away in unobstrusive parts of their cyberware. On their ways, they had handed over the data via skinlink, finger-datajack and directional laser transmission to other couriers, that had in turn delivered them to Lanier´s office. There it would be assembled, defrostedand decrypted this verry moment and John would soon hear from Miles.
He feels tired, he hasn´t sleapt since Lanier´s call on saturday and had been too thrilled to get some rest since the massengers went out, but now he was feeling the drain. He would take a few hours off and get some well earned sleep - or some minutes depending on when Lanier would call.
The proposed strategies wheren´t different from what he had outlined 48 hours ago, but with detailed calculations and compleatly workedout move by move - as far as this was possible with the lack of data. The elf frownes. Why am I paying them
2 Million and up, every year? When this was all over, he would come back at them and they would pay him dearly.He retreats to his appartment in the RFS head quaters and darkness befalls his mind, interrupted only by a parade of adverseries marching through his quickly fading conciousness. The Mantidehurst eating a deformed ork miner in sexual intercourse... Geen-Meany, throwing anthrax-letters after dwarven corporate share-holders... Undead Dean, stealing the corpses of sleaping soules...
John
And there he was himself, John Fitzalan-Howard, in his white suit on the front porch of his marble-pillared plantation house, cooking up nefarious plots against the family members of his enemies in order to keep the countless throngs of bent-backed Negroes working for free in his cotton fields.
Monday 5/5/70 16:13:23
He was rudely awakened a mere three hours into his much-needed slumber - thank goodness for the regulator. His private comm was alerting him to an incoming message. It was Lanier.
He wasted no time on pleasantries. "That was pretty good work, John. I'm here in my office now - come down and let's have a chat."
And there he was himself, John Fitzalan-Howard, in his white suit on the front porch of his marble-pillared plantation house, cooking up nefarious plots against the family members of his enemies in order to keep the countless throngs of bent-backed Negroes working for free in his cotton fields.
Monday 5/5/70 16:13:23
He was rudely awakened a mere three hours into his much-needed slumber - thank goodness for the regulator. His private comm was alerting him to an incoming message. It was Lanier.
He wasted no time on pleasantries. "That was pretty good work, John. I'm here in my office now - come down and let's have a chat."
Conall
Saturday 7/26/70 23:51:40
Liam O'Neill gave a dismissive gesture. He was neither impressed nor moved by his son's defiance. "Paddy's already spoken to you so we'll hear no more of that. Now that we each know where the other stands, we can both get some rest and deal with this problem with cooler heads come morning. I'll luncheon with you tomorrow - we can talk more after I've gotten the lay of the land. And under no circumstances are you to leave the house - don't make things hard for Paddy's men."
Saturday 7/26/70 23:51:40
Liam O'Neill gave a dismissive gesture. He was neither impressed nor moved by his son's defiance. "Paddy's already spoken to you so we'll hear no more of that. Now that we each know where the other stands, we can both get some rest and deal with this problem with cooler heads come morning. I'll luncheon with you tomorrow - we can talk more after I've gotten the lay of the land. And under no circumstances are you to leave the house - don't make things hard for Paddy's men."
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:13:40
Still shaking off his strange deam, John listens to Lanier´s video-message and imediatly contacts Alice to send a reply and get Kob going. Five minutes and a quick shower later, he is standing infront of a mirror, while his Buttler/Bodyguard helps him dress up. It feels strange, to have the black ork help him into his suite. I liked these white marbel pillars, should get some for the entrance-hall of the new Singapoor offices.
Another aight minutes later, they are sitting in a government-gray Eurocar Shark 3000i Executive, with Alice and Manolo. The lawyer uses the trip in the car, which packs every portable anti-survilance mesure money can buy -and then some- to discuss new security procedures with his personal staff. With the operation about to cross the line to involve real shadow-work, he feels better to swap around some routines, to throw off anyone that had done his homework in the previous weeks.
He was curious why Lanier had used his private com to message him, but chances where slim the NeoNET Exec would tell him, wether he asked about it or not.
Monday 5/5/70 16:13:40
Still shaking off his strange deam, John listens to Lanier´s video-message and imediatly contacts Alice to send a reply and get Kob going. Five minutes and a quick shower later, he is standing infront of a mirror, while his Buttler/Bodyguard helps him dress up. It feels strange, to have the black ork help him into his suite. I liked these white marbel pillars, should get some for the entrance-hall of the new Singapoor offices.
Another aight minutes later, they are sitting in a government-gray Eurocar Shark 3000i Executive, with Alice and Manolo. The lawyer uses the trip in the car, which packs every portable anti-survilance mesure money can buy -and then some- to discuss new security procedures with his personal staff. With the operation about to cross the line to involve real shadow-work, he feels better to swap around some routines, to throw off anyone that had done his homework in the previous weeks.
He was curious why Lanier had used his private com to message him, but chances where slim the NeoNET Exec would tell him, wether he asked about it or not.
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:24:44
Countless minutes of channel surfing had grown tiresome but sleep came only in short amounts that were rudely interrupted with flashbacks of previous hours that left her sitting bolt upright and sweating with a scream caught in her throat. She walked into her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking into the mirror only made her want to start crying again. Her normally pale and flawless skin was now marred with ugly blotches of dark purples and blacks that faded out to sickly yellow across her cheeks where Patrick’s hand had struck her.
She felt dirty, filthy and unclean. Etain tore herself away from the mirror and turned on her shower nearly as hot as it could go. She stripped herself of her nightgown and jumped into the shower and began to furiously scrub at her skin under the scalding water. She washed her hair three, maybe four times convinced she could still see blood running with the water at her feet. She lathered herself from head to toe, scrubbing and rinsing with the hottest water she could take as her skin became raw and bright pink from the heat and abuse.
Forcing herself out of the shower she slipped on pajama bottoms and a loose long-sleeved shirt, covering up as much of herself as she could. Glancing at the time she thought twice about trying to ring her girlfriends, but it was one of those times that she desperately needed to hear Fiona telling her everything was going to be ok. She picked up her commlink and set it to dial the familiar number, however it would not connect. She tried Keelin’s number and finally her brother’s, all with the same result. Figuring something had happened to it in the alley earlier she set it aside and sat down before her desktop terminal and tried from there. This time she got a message that “all calls from this terminal have been blocked, security authorization is needed” which confused her. Her parents had put her phone on lockdown?
She decided that it was worth trying to find her mother, if not for the fact that she had no way to contact the outside world, but for the need to see if the doctor would give her something to help her sleep. She slipped a robe over her pajama’s and opened the doors of her bedroom and stepped into the sitting room that lead out into the hall. She stopped short when she saw Anne seated in one of the chairs, her nose in a book. The young woman quickly put her book down and rose to her feet when Etain exited her bedroom.
“What are you still doing up Lass?” the girl’s maid asked politely, though her eyes looked tired.
“I was going to look for my mother Anne, I’m needing to speak with her. What are you doing in here?” Etain pulled the robe tighter around her as she headed for the doors to the hall. Anne was quick to move before her and bar her from reaching the doors.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that Lass, I’m sorry. Yer parents gave me the strictest of orders that you are to stay here in yer apartments. I’d be happy to fetch the doctor for you.”
Etain stared blankly at the woman and then shook her head before moving around the woman and put her hands on the door handle only to find it locked. She tried to turn the bolt from the inside and it would not budge. Her eyes widened as she realized her parents not only cut her off from the outside world, but had gone so far as to lock her inside her own room. She was now a prisoner in her own home. She turned back to Anne with a look of confusion on her face. The woman couldn’t hold Etain’s gaze and looked down towards the carpet.
“Anne, please? Why am I being locked in my own room?! I can’t even see my parents, my brother???”
Sunday 07/27/70 02:24:44
Countless minutes of channel surfing had grown tiresome but sleep came only in short amounts that were rudely interrupted with flashbacks of previous hours that left her sitting bolt upright and sweating with a scream caught in her throat. She walked into her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking into the mirror only made her want to start crying again. Her normally pale and flawless skin was now marred with ugly blotches of dark purples and blacks that faded out to sickly yellow across her cheeks where Patrick’s hand had struck her.
She felt dirty, filthy and unclean. Etain tore herself away from the mirror and turned on her shower nearly as hot as it could go. She stripped herself of her nightgown and jumped into the shower and began to furiously scrub at her skin under the scalding water. She washed her hair three, maybe four times convinced she could still see blood running with the water at her feet. She lathered herself from head to toe, scrubbing and rinsing with the hottest water she could take as her skin became raw and bright pink from the heat and abuse.
Forcing herself out of the shower she slipped on pajama bottoms and a loose long-sleeved shirt, covering up as much of herself as she could. Glancing at the time she thought twice about trying to ring her girlfriends, but it was one of those times that she desperately needed to hear Fiona telling her everything was going to be ok. She picked up her commlink and set it to dial the familiar number, however it would not connect. She tried Keelin’s number and finally her brother’s, all with the same result. Figuring something had happened to it in the alley earlier she set it aside and sat down before her desktop terminal and tried from there. This time she got a message that “all calls from this terminal have been blocked, security authorization is needed” which confused her. Her parents had put her phone on lockdown?
She decided that it was worth trying to find her mother, if not for the fact that she had no way to contact the outside world, but for the need to see if the doctor would give her something to help her sleep. She slipped a robe over her pajama’s and opened the doors of her bedroom and stepped into the sitting room that lead out into the hall. She stopped short when she saw Anne seated in one of the chairs, her nose in a book. The young woman quickly put her book down and rose to her feet when Etain exited her bedroom.
“What are you still doing up Lass?” the girl’s maid asked politely, though her eyes looked tired.
“I was going to look for my mother Anne, I’m needing to speak with her. What are you doing in here?” Etain pulled the robe tighter around her as she headed for the doors to the hall. Anne was quick to move before her and bar her from reaching the doors.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that Lass, I’m sorry. Yer parents gave me the strictest of orders that you are to stay here in yer apartments. I’d be happy to fetch the doctor for you.”
Etain stared blankly at the woman and then shook her head before moving around the woman and put her hands on the door handle only to find it locked. She tried to turn the bolt from the inside and it would not budge. Her eyes widened as she realized her parents not only cut her off from the outside world, but had gone so far as to lock her inside her own room. She was now a prisoner in her own home. She turned back to Anne with a look of confusion on her face. The woman couldn’t hold Etain’s gaze and looked down towards the carpet.
“Anne, please? Why am I being locked in my own room?! I can’t even see my parents, my brother???”
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:31:00
John and his personal staff debarked in front of the NeoNET tower, sending the driver to park the car. They were quickly and efficiently ushered up to the top floors by smiling and immaculate staffers.
Naturally, as they rose toward the executive office blocks, security became increasingly tight. By the time John reached the rarefied space where offices were maintained by the likes of Miles Lanier and Richard Villiers, he had deftly been relieved of all his people.
Alone, he rode the elevator up to Lanier's expansive corner of the top floor, finding himself in a huge, windowless anteroom, with only a supernaturally beautiful executive assistant for company. She rose and came around the desk to meet him, smiling warmly and shaking his hand.
Looking into her ice-blue eyes, he wondered how much they had to pay her a year simply to keep her from making easy millions as an elite model - she had that certain something, that je ne sais quoi that set her well apart from the manufactured beauties of the media world. Her tailored Armani suit was tasteful yet did little to hide her ideal proportions. The high-end bud in her round right ear lent an air of intelligence and efficiency.
"Mr. Fitzalan-Howard," she said, "it is an honor to meet you. I'm a Harvard Law woman myself, although not so accomplished as you. Now, since this is our first opportunity to host you physically in Mr. Lanier's personal space, I'd like to take a moment to explain some facets of our security procedures, measures we take to ensure your safety during your time with us. Please sit down," she offered, indicating a plush conversation alcove. She sat down across from John, crossing her legs and leaning forward, her hands clasped and elbows on one knee, as though she were going to share with him the happiest news in the world. "Of course you have already passed through all of our physical and magical security screenings. But since you have a headware communications unit, there are some things we must take care of before our safety protocols are complete. First, please take a moment to dowload all your personal information from any cybernetic storage devices onto another storage unit, which you would then be invited to deactivate. If you lack an exo-physio device, we will be happy to provide you with one, which you would keep with you at all times and take with you when you leave here today. Once you have done that for us, we would like you to take all intrusion countermeasures in your comm unit offline, and then provide full administrative access to one of our Matrix security specialists. The technician will be present and in control of your headware, including all recording devices, for the duration of your stay here."
Monday 5/5/70 16:31:00
John and his personal staff debarked in front of the NeoNET tower, sending the driver to park the car. They were quickly and efficiently ushered up to the top floors by smiling and immaculate staffers.
Naturally, as they rose toward the executive office blocks, security became increasingly tight. By the time John reached the rarefied space where offices were maintained by the likes of Miles Lanier and Richard Villiers, he had deftly been relieved of all his people.
Alone, he rode the elevator up to Lanier's expansive corner of the top floor, finding himself in a huge, windowless anteroom, with only a supernaturally beautiful executive assistant for company. She rose and came around the desk to meet him, smiling warmly and shaking his hand.
Looking into her ice-blue eyes, he wondered how much they had to pay her a year simply to keep her from making easy millions as an elite model - she had that certain something, that je ne sais quoi that set her well apart from the manufactured beauties of the media world. Her tailored Armani suit was tasteful yet did little to hide her ideal proportions. The high-end bud in her round right ear lent an air of intelligence and efficiency.
"Mr. Fitzalan-Howard," she said, "it is an honor to meet you. I'm a Harvard Law woman myself, although not so accomplished as you. Now, since this is our first opportunity to host you physically in Mr. Lanier's personal space, I'd like to take a moment to explain some facets of our security procedures, measures we take to ensure your safety during your time with us. Please sit down," she offered, indicating a plush conversation alcove. She sat down across from John, crossing her legs and leaning forward, her hands clasped and elbows on one knee, as though she were going to share with him the happiest news in the world. "Of course you have already passed through all of our physical and magical security screenings. But since you have a headware communications unit, there are some things we must take care of before our safety protocols are complete. First, please take a moment to dowload all your personal information from any cybernetic storage devices onto another storage unit, which you would then be invited to deactivate. If you lack an exo-physio device, we will be happy to provide you with one, which you would keep with you at all times and take with you when you leave here today. Once you have done that for us, we would like you to take all intrusion countermeasures in your comm unit offline, and then provide full administrative access to one of our Matrix security specialists. The technician will be present and in control of your headware, including all recording devices, for the duration of your stay here."
Etain
Sunday 7/27/70 02:26:00
At a loss for words, Anne was rescued by the sound of the door unlocking. It was opened by one of Paddy's men, and Philippe started to enter, carrying a tray, saying, "Sorry about the wait, A..." Seeing Etain, he stopped short, almost spilling everything. "Mistress, I was certain you'd be slumbering by now."
Sunday 7/27/70 02:26:00
At a loss for words, Anne was rescued by the sound of the door unlocking. It was opened by one of Paddy's men, and Philippe started to enter, carrying a tray, saying, "Sorry about the wait, A..." Seeing Etain, he stopped short, almost spilling everything. "Mistress, I was certain you'd be slumbering by now."
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:14
“I assure you I’m wide awake Philippe.” She glanced at the tray and the thought of food revolted her.
She looked up to the opened doorway and Paddy’s man standing “guard” outside it and sidestepped the house chef quickly making it to the opening before either he or Anne could stop her. Paddy’s man however was quick to get a hold of Etain’s wrist and firmly yet gently holding her in place.
“I’m sorry Miss, but I can’t be having you leave yer apartments. Paddy’s orders.”
Etain was seething, here she was a victim and yet she was being treated like a criminal, locked away in her own room without explanation.
“Then get him up here now,” She hissed at the man as she tried to shake off his grip on her arm, “While yer at it why don’t you wake my dear parents so they can all explain why I’m being held here against my will why don’tcha. And don’t feed me any bullshit about how this is for my own good.”
Behind her Anne gasped at Etain’s “outburst” and Philippe stood there dumbfounded. House security still had a good grasp on her so bolting from the room was not an option. She glanced down the hall towards her brother’s room, willing his door to open and have him step into the hall. When nothing and noone moved she took the opportunity to call out to him.
“Conall!!”
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:14
“I assure you I’m wide awake Philippe.” She glanced at the tray and the thought of food revolted her.
She looked up to the opened doorway and Paddy’s man standing “guard” outside it and sidestepped the house chef quickly making it to the opening before either he or Anne could stop her. Paddy’s man however was quick to get a hold of Etain’s wrist and firmly yet gently holding her in place.
“I’m sorry Miss, but I can’t be having you leave yer apartments. Paddy’s orders.”
Etain was seething, here she was a victim and yet she was being treated like a criminal, locked away in her own room without explanation.
“Then get him up here now,” She hissed at the man as she tried to shake off his grip on her arm, “While yer at it why don’t you wake my dear parents so they can all explain why I’m being held here against my will why don’tcha. And don’t feed me any bullshit about how this is for my own good.”
Behind her Anne gasped at Etain’s “outburst” and Philippe stood there dumbfounded. House security still had a good grasp on her so bolting from the room was not an option. She glanced down the hall towards her brother’s room, willing his door to open and have him step into the hall. When nothing and noone moved she took the opportunity to call out to him.
“Conall!!”
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:21
The guard grimaced at Etain's scream, and muttered "I'm very sorry mistress," as he forced her back into the foyer, followed after her, and closed the doors behind him, standing in front of them. Etain saw him subvocalizing something, after which point, clearly embarrassed, he began to stare at a point a few inches above her head.
Anne dropped into a chair, her hands clasped between her knees, head down.
Philippe stood there holding the tray, an almost comical look of confusion on his face.
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:21
The guard grimaced at Etain's scream, and muttered "I'm very sorry mistress," as he forced her back into the foyer, followed after her, and closed the doors behind him, standing in front of them. Etain saw him subvocalizing something, after which point, clearly embarrassed, he began to stare at a point a few inches above her head.
Anne dropped into a chair, her hands clasped between her knees, head down.
Philippe stood there holding the tray, an almost comical look of confusion on his face.
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:36:22
Been subject to such ultra-high security protokolls before, he complyes without so much as a raised eyebrow. In his day working for Mafia Capi, Dictators and Megacorp CEOs, he had to go through this kind of striptease more often then he would care to count. Still he remembers every one of the 26 incidents vividly - he´ll never get used to this. From the moment the beautyfull assistent started her instruktions, he knew what was about to come and with the speed of thought, an identicel image of all the data on his every implanted and skinlinked device was flooding the datachip held in his datajack-port. Meanwhile the lawyer is reading some notes on the man he is about to meet one last time. Lanier must have grown more paranoid then before, he didn´t entertain such intense measures in his Novatech- or Fuchi-days. Or maybe it was that he didn´t trust John after Dankwalther. When the angelic woman closes her instructions with a question, the copy is allready compleat - including the last 12 hours of full sensory recordings as well as all his devices´ operational software with every setting.
John smiles and answers: "Thanks, I´ll be fine, Ms. ..."
As he speaks, he flips the small physical switch on the edge of the chip with his fingernail. While the storage-device is held and locked in his port by cybernetical command, the physcal switch locks access to the data sowed away on it, even by the very datajack that is holding it. Back at RFS, he would have his whole system scrubed clean by Alice and one of his cybertechnicians and then reinstaled the software.
Then he opens his cybercomlink and every subscribed implant, granting access to the security hacker. He feels anxious, physically feeling that spider crawling around on the inside of his skull, stretching it´s long spiny legs out over his cortex and running them through every gyrus, wrapping his head into a web of sticky threads.
Monday 5/5/70 16:36:22
Been subject to such ultra-high security protokolls before, he complyes without so much as a raised eyebrow. In his day working for Mafia Capi, Dictators and Megacorp CEOs, he had to go through this kind of striptease more often then he would care to count. Still he remembers every one of the 26 incidents vividly - he´ll never get used to this. From the moment the beautyfull assistent started her instruktions, he knew what was about to come and with the speed of thought, an identicel image of all the data on his every implanted and skinlinked device was flooding the datachip held in his datajack-port. Meanwhile the lawyer is reading some notes on the man he is about to meet one last time. Lanier must have grown more paranoid then before, he didn´t entertain such intense measures in his Novatech- or Fuchi-days. Or maybe it was that he didn´t trust John after Dankwalther. When the angelic woman closes her instructions with a question, the copy is allready compleat - including the last 12 hours of full sensory recordings as well as all his devices´ operational software with every setting.
John smiles and answers: "Thanks, I´ll be fine, Ms. ..."
As he speaks, he flips the small physical switch on the edge of the chip with his fingernail. While the storage-device is held and locked in his port by cybernetical command, the physcal switch locks access to the data sowed away on it, even by the very datajack that is holding it. Back at RFS, he would have his whole system scrubed clean by Alice and one of his cybertechnicians and then reinstaled the software.
Then he opens his cybercomlink and every subscribed implant, granting access to the security hacker. He feels anxious, physically feeling that spider crawling around on the inside of his skull, stretching it´s long spiny legs out over his cortex and running them through every gyrus, wrapping his head into a web of sticky threads.
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:38
Etain cast an icy glare to all gathered in the foyer around her and then turned on a heel and walked back into her bedroom and with all the strength and angst of a 16-year old slammed both doors behind her with a bang that sounded like a gunshot. As she looked around the room with new eyes gone were the plush trappings of the first girl of a Danaan family. They had all been replaced with items that just reminded her of her newfound imprisonment.
She paced the floor of her room much like a caged animal at a zoo, waiting for either her parents or Paddy’s arrival. Assuming they’d even come at all. While she never had a close relationship with her father, she would have assumed that he would have at least come up to see her once her mother had delivered “the good news” to him. Once again he let her down, no big surprise there.
She’d be a psychologist’s wet dream were they ever able to get her on the couch. Instead she got to follow in the footsteps of her mother and pretend everything was always fine, better than fine really, no matter what tormented her inside her head. Right now she’d give her first born for something to stop the noise in her head, to be able to just shut out the world and not think about anything for a while. She wanted an escape. She wanted to be out walking the grounds of their estate, under the full moon, not trapped inside the house where the walls were starting to feel like they were closing in on her.
She wanted to see her brother, she still had not been able to thank him for everything he did for her, the extreme cost he paid and would continue to pay for her foolish actions and lovesickness. But she wasn’t being allowed to see him, all she was left with was the image of him chained to the inside of the van. She abandoned her pacing and sat back down on her bed, waiting for answers to so many questions.
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:38
Etain cast an icy glare to all gathered in the foyer around her and then turned on a heel and walked back into her bedroom and with all the strength and angst of a 16-year old slammed both doors behind her with a bang that sounded like a gunshot. As she looked around the room with new eyes gone were the plush trappings of the first girl of a Danaan family. They had all been replaced with items that just reminded her of her newfound imprisonment.
She paced the floor of her room much like a caged animal at a zoo, waiting for either her parents or Paddy’s arrival. Assuming they’d even come at all. While she never had a close relationship with her father, she would have assumed that he would have at least come up to see her once her mother had delivered “the good news” to him. Once again he let her down, no big surprise there.
She’d be a psychologist’s wet dream were they ever able to get her on the couch. Instead she got to follow in the footsteps of her mother and pretend everything was always fine, better than fine really, no matter what tormented her inside her head. Right now she’d give her first born for something to stop the noise in her head, to be able to just shut out the world and not think about anything for a while. She wanted an escape. She wanted to be out walking the grounds of their estate, under the full moon, not trapped inside the house where the walls were starting to feel like they were closing in on her.
She wanted to see her brother, she still had not been able to thank him for everything he did for her, the extreme cost he paid and would continue to pay for her foolish actions and lovesickness. But she wasn’t being allowed to see him, all she was left with was the image of him chained to the inside of the van. She abandoned her pacing and sat back down on her bed, waiting for answers to so many questions.
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:38
Etain's terminal chirped. It was Anne. "Mistress, I am sorry to bother. Master Cailleach is here, as you requested. Do you still wish to speak with him, or perhaps it would be better to get some rest?"
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:38
Etain's terminal chirped. It was Anne. "Mistress, I am sorry to bother. Master Cailleach is here, as you requested. Do you still wish to speak with him, or perhaps it would be better to get some rest?"
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:45
At first she glared at the terminal but then she sighed heavily realizing she could very well need Anne on her side in the upcoming days if her parents intended to keep her under lock and key the entire time.
“Thank you Anne for your concern but I’m certain there will be plenty of time for rest. Right now I’d like to see Paddy. Please show him in?”
She rose to her feet and smoothed her hair and her robe before she heard the doors to her bedroom open. She turned to face the head of O’Neill security and put on her bravest face.
“I appreciate you taking the time to see me at such a late hour Paddy, but something tells me you were hardly sleeping. I trust you’d be the best person to ask as to why I’m being held here in my room under lock and key, not to mention guard?”
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:45
At first she glared at the terminal but then she sighed heavily realizing she could very well need Anne on her side in the upcoming days if her parents intended to keep her under lock and key the entire time.
“Thank you Anne for your concern but I’m certain there will be plenty of time for rest. Right now I’d like to see Paddy. Please show him in?”
She rose to her feet and smoothed her hair and her robe before she heard the doors to her bedroom open. She turned to face the head of O’Neill security and put on her bravest face.
“I appreciate you taking the time to see me at such a late hour Paddy, but something tells me you were hardly sleeping. I trust you’d be the best person to ask as to why I’m being held here in my room under lock and key, not to mention guard?”
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:45
"Nay, mistress, the worst to ask, by far. For the only answer I can offer ye is that it is the will o' yer Da, which I am bound by honor and by blood to carry oot. But lest ye feel more put upon than need be, I can tell ya that I doot any'un'll be leavin' House O'Neill a'tall - not fer the time bein', at any rate. Yer dear brother did what 'ad to be done, but the O'Donnells are on the warpath now, sure as me knees hurt in winter. As fer the separatin' of the two of you, I'm sure your parents have their reasons. Will there be anything else, mistress?"
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:45
"Nay, mistress, the worst to ask, by far. For the only answer I can offer ye is that it is the will o' yer Da, which I am bound by honor and by blood to carry oot. But lest ye feel more put upon than need be, I can tell ya that I doot any'un'll be leavin' House O'Neill a'tall - not fer the time bein', at any rate. Yer dear brother did what 'ad to be done, but the O'Donnells are on the warpath now, sure as me knees hurt in winter. As fer the separatin' of the two of you, I'm sure your parents have their reasons. Will there be anything else, mistress?"
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:52
Etain went numb with Paddy’s words. Separation of Conall and I? Why would they keep us apart?!?
She sank back down on the edge of her bed as she shook her head at the gruff head of security. The day was just becoming too much, the weight on her shoulders as well as her heart was becoming near unbearable. She could see the need to keep the twins safely ensconced inside the estate to avoid any form of retaliation from the O’Donnell clan, but to keep them separated from one another no longer made any sense. She closed her eyes and started to dismiss Paddy back to his duties but stopped him with a few more words. She was surrendering to the need for drugs or some other remedy to help her get through tonight.
“If ye would be so kind to ask of my mother to have the doctor give me something to help me sleep, it would be appreciated. I’m finding sleep isn’t coming so easily to me right now…”
With a nod the elder man left her room and within 15 minutes Anne was re-entering her bedroom with a crystal glass filled with cool water and a small bottle of pale blue pills and instructions from the doctor. Carelessly tossing her robe onto the floor beside her bed, Etain crawled back in between the sheets and settled in with the TriD on low in the background. She took the little blue pill from Anne’s fingers and swallowed it with a large gulp of water. She squeezed the woman’s hand gently in gratitude, seeing how she was filling the role her mother should have been playing that very moment.
The pills were potent, taking effect almost immediately to the point that within minutes she was already starting to doze off and didn’t even notice when Anne bent down and collected her robe, hanging it up before she tiptoed out of the room to let her charge sleep uninterrupted.
Sunday 07/27/70 02:26:52
Etain went numb with Paddy’s words. Separation of Conall and I? Why would they keep us apart?!?
She sank back down on the edge of her bed as she shook her head at the gruff head of security. The day was just becoming too much, the weight on her shoulders as well as her heart was becoming near unbearable. She could see the need to keep the twins safely ensconced inside the estate to avoid any form of retaliation from the O’Donnell clan, but to keep them separated from one another no longer made any sense. She closed her eyes and started to dismiss Paddy back to his duties but stopped him with a few more words. She was surrendering to the need for drugs or some other remedy to help her get through tonight.
“If ye would be so kind to ask of my mother to have the doctor give me something to help me sleep, it would be appreciated. I’m finding sleep isn’t coming so easily to me right now…”
With a nod the elder man left her room and within 15 minutes Anne was re-entering her bedroom with a crystal glass filled with cool water and a small bottle of pale blue pills and instructions from the doctor. Carelessly tossing her robe onto the floor beside her bed, Etain crawled back in between the sheets and settled in with the TriD on low in the background. She took the little blue pill from Anne’s fingers and swallowed it with a large gulp of water. She squeezed the woman’s hand gently in gratitude, seeing how she was filling the role her mother should have been playing that very moment.
The pills were potent, taking effect almost immediately to the point that within minutes she was already starting to doze off and didn’t even notice when Anne bent down and collected her robe, hanging it up before she tiptoed out of the room to let her charge sleep uninterrupted.
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:38:00
Security formalities complete, Miles Lanier's executive assistant Taylor Sloane ushered John into the inner sanctum of the number two man in one of the world's ten most powerful organizations.
Miles Lanier stood gazing out a floor-to-ceiling window with a view over the city and out to the ocean. He turned once Sloane was gone, motioning John to take a seat.
"We've looked at your scenarios, John, and they're not bad work. No less than we expected. We've crunched some numbers and run them up against existing profiles. I think we've come up with something workable based on your third plan. I must say that I do like the shift in your thinking toward direct action. Now as it stands, we like the basic thrust, but see your scenario as a potpourri of extremely complex half-measures. Each of your ideas has just as much chance of negative exposure as simply eliminating Dean, and none promise the resolution of an elimination.
"And as your own assessment concedes, he is too strong an individual to give up on his cause as long as he's still alive. All your plan will do is piss him off and escalate an already mutually destructive situation.
"No, rather than risk exposure many times through many direct actions, we risk it once for a decisive victory." John could hear in those words the personality of the sort of man who could rise to one of the most powerful positions in the world.
"Your point about the obviousness of taking him out is a good one, as are your concerns about his level of security. But an opportunity has presented itself. Dean's favorite grandson's high school football championship will be tomorrow afternoon. Naturally Dean's personal security will be tight, but for the stadium as a whole, in a farming hub in upstate Vermont, will be virtually non-existent. And as an added bonus, they've been doing a lot of good things with genetically engineered milk-cows up there that have some environmental extremists making some ugly threats.
"We're thinking drone delivery of an FAE. Handled by fully deniable assets, of course. Can I get you something to drink?"
Monday 5/5/70 16:38:00
Security formalities complete, Miles Lanier's executive assistant Taylor Sloane ushered John into the inner sanctum of the number two man in one of the world's ten most powerful organizations.
Miles Lanier stood gazing out a floor-to-ceiling window with a view over the city and out to the ocean. He turned once Sloane was gone, motioning John to take a seat.
"We've looked at your scenarios, John, and they're not bad work. No less than we expected. We've crunched some numbers and run them up against existing profiles. I think we've come up with something workable based on your third plan. I must say that I do like the shift in your thinking toward direct action. Now as it stands, we like the basic thrust, but see your scenario as a potpourri of extremely complex half-measures. Each of your ideas has just as much chance of negative exposure as simply eliminating Dean, and none promise the resolution of an elimination.
"And as your own assessment concedes, he is too strong an individual to give up on his cause as long as he's still alive. All your plan will do is piss him off and escalate an already mutually destructive situation.
"No, rather than risk exposure many times through many direct actions, we risk it once for a decisive victory." John could hear in those words the personality of the sort of man who could rise to one of the most powerful positions in the world.
"Your point about the obviousness of taking him out is a good one, as are your concerns about his level of security. But an opportunity has presented itself. Dean's favorite grandson's high school football championship will be tomorrow afternoon. Naturally Dean's personal security will be tight, but for the stadium as a whole, in a farming hub in upstate Vermont, will be virtually non-existent. And as an added bonus, they've been doing a lot of good things with genetically engineered milk-cows up there that have some environmental extremists making some ugly threats.
"We're thinking drone delivery of an FAE. Handled by fully deniable assets, of course. Can I get you something to drink?"
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:39:30
It is no surprise for John, to hear the preference of decisive elimination from the mouth of the former sniper. What takes him off guard, is the lack of precision. Is this some kind of test? The lawyer even considers if he is actually here, if he is truely awake for a second. After the moment of surprise though, he realizes that this kind of thinking is not too odd for Lanier - or megacorp high-ups in general. And of course it seems like the perfect oportunity.
John: "I´ll take the same you´ll have, thanks."
His mind is racing. So, do I have a say in this? Is he in a position to stop it? This can get us horribly hosed!
John: "You know what I´m thinking about colateral damage of this magnitude. I really think it´s unnecessary, too. Once we have Dean under pressure, no metter if he gets distracted or just mad, we can belivably make the point that he is biased due to his religious background and thus not suitable for negotiations with a megacorp partly owned by a great dragon. That will make it easy to have him replaced by one of our friends at IMU. Concerning the risk of exposure, from many small stings - we can belivably frame one of our friends for it, but that won´t work with this FAE-strike."
Monday 5/5/70 16:39:30
It is no surprise for John, to hear the preference of decisive elimination from the mouth of the former sniper. What takes him off guard, is the lack of precision. Is this some kind of test? The lawyer even considers if he is actually here, if he is truely awake for a second. After the moment of surprise though, he realizes that this kind of thinking is not too odd for Lanier - or megacorp high-ups in general. And of course it seems like the perfect oportunity.
John: "I´ll take the same you´ll have, thanks."
His mind is racing. So, do I have a say in this? Is he in a position to stop it? This can get us horribly hosed!
John: "You know what I´m thinking about colateral damage of this magnitude. I really think it´s unnecessary, too. Once we have Dean under pressure, no metter if he gets distracted or just mad, we can belivably make the point that he is biased due to his religious background and thus not suitable for negotiations with a megacorp partly owned by a great dragon. That will make it easy to have him replaced by one of our friends at IMU. Concerning the risk of exposure, from many small stings - we can belivably frame one of our friends for it, but that won´t work with this FAE-strike."
Conall
Sunday 07/27/70 03:27:11
Fully clothed, Conall laid on his bed, looking up silently at the ceiling of his room. He could feel his arms tremble under the strenuous and rigorous workout he had imposed on them. After his meeting with his father, he had released all his anger on a punching bag, hitting it hard and long enough for both his hands to turn red and bloody.
His head now clearer, the young shaman had done some serious thinking.
The night’s event had changed everything. Not just for Etain. Not just for him. For the whole O’Neill clan. For the whole O’Donnell clan. For the whole of the Danaan. Conall knew very well that his father would have been quite… unhappy about the whole affair. But at least, he had expected him to stand firm and tall behind his children.
But it wasn’t so. Things weren’t so.
The O’Donnells were much more influential and powerful than clan O’Neill. They could make their lives hell. It was falling on Liam O’Neill’s shoulders to rectify the whole situation; to apply damage control. Conall was no fool. He had seen the Garda’s behavior. They had collected no evidence, no testimony, no nothing. There wouldn’t be any trial.
The jury's still out on whether you managed to save anything. In any case, I daresay any saving that did happen was from her own foolishness.
The voice of his father echoed in his head. The young wolf shaman sprung up out of his bed. The O’Neill name had to be protected… and in doing so, it would mean that Etain would have to be sacrificed. Deep down, Conall knew very well what would come: Etain and himself would be “offered” to the O’Donnells. In their eyes… in everyone’s eyes, fragile Etain was as guilty as he was. Conall cared very little what happened to him. Actually, he didn’t care at all. But he had to get Etain out. He had to get her away.
Out of his closest, the young elven shaman grabbed a light traveling pack, and began stuffing it with his dulled colored “street clothes”. Looking down at his commlink, he simply threw it on the bed. They had to vanish. He had to take her far away.
His hand on the door handle, Conall froze up. He was nervous. Scared. He took a few deep breaths, trying to rain-in his racing mind. Paddy had warded Etain’s room… and whatever he had done was probably stronger than whatever Conall could ever imagined. But he had to try. He had to protect Etain.
Turning his head, his golden eyes came to rest on the large grey wolf that sat on his carpeted floor, a few feet away.
“I need you help again… Please…. Help me through this…”
Sunday 07/27/70 03:27:11
Fully clothed, Conall laid on his bed, looking up silently at the ceiling of his room. He could feel his arms tremble under the strenuous and rigorous workout he had imposed on them. After his meeting with his father, he had released all his anger on a punching bag, hitting it hard and long enough for both his hands to turn red and bloody.
His head now clearer, the young shaman had done some serious thinking.
The night’s event had changed everything. Not just for Etain. Not just for him. For the whole O’Neill clan. For the whole O’Donnell clan. For the whole of the Danaan. Conall knew very well that his father would have been quite… unhappy about the whole affair. But at least, he had expected him to stand firm and tall behind his children.
But it wasn’t so. Things weren’t so.
The O’Donnells were much more influential and powerful than clan O’Neill. They could make their lives hell. It was falling on Liam O’Neill’s shoulders to rectify the whole situation; to apply damage control. Conall was no fool. He had seen the Garda’s behavior. They had collected no evidence, no testimony, no nothing. There wouldn’t be any trial.
The jury's still out on whether you managed to save anything. In any case, I daresay any saving that did happen was from her own foolishness.
The voice of his father echoed in his head. The young wolf shaman sprung up out of his bed. The O’Neill name had to be protected… and in doing so, it would mean that Etain would have to be sacrificed. Deep down, Conall knew very well what would come: Etain and himself would be “offered” to the O’Donnells. In their eyes… in everyone’s eyes, fragile Etain was as guilty as he was. Conall cared very little what happened to him. Actually, he didn’t care at all. But he had to get Etain out. He had to get her away.
Out of his closest, the young elven shaman grabbed a light traveling pack, and began stuffing it with his dulled colored “street clothes”. Looking down at his commlink, he simply threw it on the bed. They had to vanish. He had to take her far away.
His hand on the door handle, Conall froze up. He was nervous. Scared. He took a few deep breaths, trying to rain-in his racing mind. Paddy had warded Etain’s room… and whatever he had done was probably stronger than whatever Conall could ever imagined. But he had to try. He had to protect Etain.
Turning his head, his golden eyes came to rest on the large grey wolf that sat on his carpeted floor, a few feet away.
“I need you help again… Please…. Help me through this…”
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:00
Conall moved soundlessly down the hall from his room to the central foyer, where enclosed hallways opened onto balconies overlooking the grand entry hall, with its muraled ceilings and museum-like collection of clan artifacts. Here, the hallway connected the east wing, where his rooms were, with the passage leading the the west wing and his sister's apartments.
Creeping slowly across the well-lit hub of the house, he entered the dimmer west wing hallway, careful not to make a sound. Just past the balcony, he stopped in a well of shadow to take stock of the situation.
The hallway extended for fifty meters to its end from where he stood, with doors on either side, well-spaced apart. Twenty meters from him, on the right side, was the door to his sister's rooms, and outside it stood one of Paddy's men - O'Leary, mundane, but a reliable man. Although O'Leary appeared to be alone in the hallway, he was obviously talking quietly with someone, his face turned towards Conall.
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:00
Conall moved soundlessly down the hall from his room to the central foyer, where enclosed hallways opened onto balconies overlooking the grand entry hall, with its muraled ceilings and museum-like collection of clan artifacts. Here, the hallway connected the east wing, where his rooms were, with the passage leading the the west wing and his sister's apartments.
Creeping slowly across the well-lit hub of the house, he entered the dimmer west wing hallway, careful not to make a sound. Just past the balcony, he stopped in a well of shadow to take stock of the situation.
The hallway extended for fifty meters to its end from where he stood, with doors on either side, well-spaced apart. Twenty meters from him, on the right side, was the door to his sister's rooms, and outside it stood one of Paddy's men - O'Leary, mundane, but a reliable man. Although O'Leary appeared to be alone in the hallway, he was obviously talking quietly with someone, his face turned towards Conall.
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 03:10:12
It was blissful the way sleep overtook her. The way her mind went blank and she didn’t have to feel anything. That peace lasted an entire 29 minutes and 20 seconds. Then the nightmare began.
She was running from something darting through dark alleys, hiding from the sharp beams of moonlight preferring to stay within the safety of the shadows. When she finally stopped to catch her breath she could feel hands wrap around her upper arms, pulling her back against the cool brick of a building. In the distance inhuman howling echoed through the night, growing louder as her fear grew stronger, as panic threatened to overtake her.
In her bed she thrashed from side to side tangling herself within her sheets as she fought of her would-be attackers as the nightmare continued to torture her.
She could feel hot breath against her cheek. She could smell the alcohol stench that accompanied it. Drunken laughter tinged with malicious intent surrounded her as wet, slobbery, sloppy kisses landed on her cheek. She struggled harder, freeing one arm from its imprisonment and she could feel flesh tearing under her nails as she dragged it across an unexpecting neck. She used the surprise to her advantage to wrench herself away from who ever was holding her and she started running again.
Her sheets were beginning to get soaked with her sweat the worse the dream intensified. She desperately wanted to wake up, to break through to the real world but the chemical shackles of the sleeping pills kept her trapped inside her own mental hell.
Alleys were blurring behind tears and sweat. Dead ends popped up without warning and she had to backtrack to escape. She could hear whomever was chasing her getting closer. The moon was getting brighter, exposing all the hiding spots in the shadows. The howling was getting louder, more insistent, more angry. She was near the canal now, she could smell the water and feel the change in humidity on her skin.
Inside her room she was caught in the throes of complete terror. Her heart was racing and she was gasping for her breath as if she were truly running, only she was dead asleep.
She relived every brutal detail of her rape and of the cutting off of her finger. Only in her nightmare the event went on for much much longer, for what felt like forever. And her attackers were constantly changing, from the three who were responsible to just about every male she had ever known. When they had finished with her they had left her for dead in the alley. She started to crawl her way out of the alley and down towards the canal to get help when something grabbed at her feet, effectively stopping her in her tracks. The hands clawed their way up her legs till they stopped at her hips, wrenching her over onto her back so she was staring up into the night sky. Covered in blood and hovering over her like she was the next sacrifice was the familiar face and form of her brother. Right before her eyes he morphed into his wolf form and snarled as the bloody jaws went for her own throat.
She sat straight up in bed and screamed like she had never screamed before.
Sunday 07/27/70 03:10:12
It was blissful the way sleep overtook her. The way her mind went blank and she didn’t have to feel anything. That peace lasted an entire 29 minutes and 20 seconds. Then the nightmare began.
She was running from something darting through dark alleys, hiding from the sharp beams of moonlight preferring to stay within the safety of the shadows. When she finally stopped to catch her breath she could feel hands wrap around her upper arms, pulling her back against the cool brick of a building. In the distance inhuman howling echoed through the night, growing louder as her fear grew stronger, as panic threatened to overtake her.
In her bed she thrashed from side to side tangling herself within her sheets as she fought of her would-be attackers as the nightmare continued to torture her.
She could feel hot breath against her cheek. She could smell the alcohol stench that accompanied it. Drunken laughter tinged with malicious intent surrounded her as wet, slobbery, sloppy kisses landed on her cheek. She struggled harder, freeing one arm from its imprisonment and she could feel flesh tearing under her nails as she dragged it across an unexpecting neck. She used the surprise to her advantage to wrench herself away from who ever was holding her and she started running again.
Her sheets were beginning to get soaked with her sweat the worse the dream intensified. She desperately wanted to wake up, to break through to the real world but the chemical shackles of the sleeping pills kept her trapped inside her own mental hell.
Alleys were blurring behind tears and sweat. Dead ends popped up without warning and she had to backtrack to escape. She could hear whomever was chasing her getting closer. The moon was getting brighter, exposing all the hiding spots in the shadows. The howling was getting louder, more insistent, more angry. She was near the canal now, she could smell the water and feel the change in humidity on her skin.
Inside her room she was caught in the throes of complete terror. Her heart was racing and she was gasping for her breath as if she were truly running, only she was dead asleep.
She relived every brutal detail of her rape and of the cutting off of her finger. Only in her nightmare the event went on for much much longer, for what felt like forever. And her attackers were constantly changing, from the three who were responsible to just about every male she had ever known. When they had finished with her they had left her for dead in the alley. She started to crawl her way out of the alley and down towards the canal to get help when something grabbed at her feet, effectively stopping her in her tracks. The hands clawed their way up her legs till they stopped at her hips, wrenching her over onto her back so she was staring up into the night sky. Covered in blood and hovering over her like she was the next sacrifice was the familiar face and form of her brother. Right before her eyes he morphed into his wolf form and snarled as the bloody jaws went for her own throat.
She sat straight up in bed and screamed like she had never screamed before.
Etain
Sunday 7/27/70 03:24:00
The maid rushed in, but it was useless, she could not calm her charge. Within a couple of minutes the doctor was by her bedside and a patch - much stronger than the one used by Maddox in the alley, had her sleeping soundlessly and this time dreamlessly.
Sunday 7/27/70 03:24:00
The maid rushed in, but it was useless, she could not calm her charge. Within a couple of minutes the doctor was by her bedside and a patch - much stronger than the one used by Maddox in the alley, had her sleeping soundlessly and this time dreamlessly.
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:05
Just as Conall was deciding on his next move, there came a knock from within the room, and the guard turned and thumbed the maglock, opening the door. The family doctor, Ebeneezer Beasley, emerged, bag in hand.
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:05
Just as Conall was deciding on his next move, there came a knock from within the room, and the guard turned and thumbed the maglock, opening the door. The family doctor, Ebeneezer Beasley, emerged, bag in hand.
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:06
Shrouded by Wolf’s power, Conall felt like a mere shadow gliding down the halls and corridors of the great O’Neill estate. While on the hunt, or simply strolling in the forest, Conall had always been keen on making his presence as elusive as possible.
But never, until now, had it mattered so much.
Using the gifts Wolf had granted him, Conall felt his movement gain in precision. Every single of his senses felt amplified thousands of times. Every second felt stretched on. Dodging from shadows to shadows, in a surreal silence, the young shaman was already starting to feel the rush of the hunt.
Hidden in a darkened alcove, he took a few slow and deep breaths to calm himself down. As much as he felt his adrenaline peak up, he needed to calm himself down… to stay cool… to focused on the task at hand.
From the shadows, Conall silently observed O'Leary. Knowing Paddy’s team… the man was probably ex-military. Or at least, a real professional of the security business. All of which meant that taking him down rapidly and quietly would be a very difficult task. From his studies, Conall also knew very well that a focused powerball would drop the man down like a stone… but chances were it would also kill him… and contrary to Patrick, O’Leary was a good man who was simply doing his job.
When O’Leary looked over toward Conall, the young elf felt his blood freeze inside his vein. Even with all the mana cloaking him away from prying eyes, there was still a good chance the O’Neill protector would spot him… but the fact he didn’t make any move or gesture toward him seeded even more doubt. Had he spotted him? Had he already called backup? Was he playing dumb?
Twenty meters was a good long distance to cross… there was just no way in hell Conall could just take him down; at least, not before O’Leary called for backup. It was only when the guard casually opened up the door to Etain’s room that Conall relaxed.
If he knew I was here… he would have never opened up.
Seeing O’Leary briefly turn his back on him, the wolf shaman took the opportunity to prowl closer. Paddy had already informed him that his twin’s room was heavily guarded and warded against magical intrusion. Conall had heard of shamans using spirits of the wind to choke sentries in the field. A quiet, clean and none lethal take down. But calling forth the help of Tir’s wind would have meant revealing himself… which was an even greater risk. No… There was no easy way to go about it.
He’d have to take O’Leary down. Hard and fast.
Just a little closer… I need to be just a little closer…
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:06
Shrouded by Wolf’s power, Conall felt like a mere shadow gliding down the halls and corridors of the great O’Neill estate. While on the hunt, or simply strolling in the forest, Conall had always been keen on making his presence as elusive as possible.
But never, until now, had it mattered so much.
Using the gifts Wolf had granted him, Conall felt his movement gain in precision. Every single of his senses felt amplified thousands of times. Every second felt stretched on. Dodging from shadows to shadows, in a surreal silence, the young shaman was already starting to feel the rush of the hunt.
Hidden in a darkened alcove, he took a few slow and deep breaths to calm himself down. As much as he felt his adrenaline peak up, he needed to calm himself down… to stay cool… to focused on the task at hand.
From the shadows, Conall silently observed O'Leary. Knowing Paddy’s team… the man was probably ex-military. Or at least, a real professional of the security business. All of which meant that taking him down rapidly and quietly would be a very difficult task. From his studies, Conall also knew very well that a focused powerball would drop the man down like a stone… but chances were it would also kill him… and contrary to Patrick, O’Leary was a good man who was simply doing his job.
When O’Leary looked over toward Conall, the young elf felt his blood freeze inside his vein. Even with all the mana cloaking him away from prying eyes, there was still a good chance the O’Neill protector would spot him… but the fact he didn’t make any move or gesture toward him seeded even more doubt. Had he spotted him? Had he already called backup? Was he playing dumb?
Twenty meters was a good long distance to cross… there was just no way in hell Conall could just take him down; at least, not before O’Leary called for backup. It was only when the guard casually opened up the door to Etain’s room that Conall relaxed.
If he knew I was here… he would have never opened up.
Seeing O’Leary briefly turn his back on him, the wolf shaman took the opportunity to prowl closer. Paddy had already informed him that his twin’s room was heavily guarded and warded against magical intrusion. Conall had heard of shamans using spirits of the wind to choke sentries in the field. A quiet, clean and none lethal take down. But calling forth the help of Tir’s wind would have meant revealing himself… which was an even greater risk. No… There was no easy way to go about it.
He’d have to take O’Leary down. Hard and fast.
Just a little closer… I need to be just a little closer…
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:12
With all the stealth of his mentor's avatar, Conall crept up behind O'Leary, apparently unnoticed by either the guard or the doctor. After an agonizing few seconds, during which he cast a spell to silence the guard, he was within springing range, but just as he launched himself at O'Leary's back, a voice behind Conall's own back yelled - "O'Leary, behind you!"
O'Leary spun, raising his stun baton, but he was too late - Conall drove his strong right arm at the guard's throat, catching the Adam's apple in the webbing between his thumb and fingers. O'Leary dropped like a sack of bricks, trying to take a breath.
Conall didn't know who had warned his target - risking a glance back he saw nothing, and it didn't matter. His path was clear. He moved into the anteroom.
Dr. Beasley calmly backed into a corner, using his dignity and demeanor to declare himself a neutral party in this fight.
Etain's nurse moved to block the door, but she was too slow for the young shaman's enhanced reflexes - indeed he was surprised they still worked after he crossed the foyer's threshhold.
But just as he was reaching for the door to his sister's bedroom, there appeared between him and the door the ghostly form of another of Paddy's men. He held a nasty looking beast spirit on a leash.
"Give it up, Conall," he said in the same voice that had warned O'Leary. "I can na stop ye in this form, but my wee friend here has no such problem. And Paddy'll be along any second now."
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:12
With all the stealth of his mentor's avatar, Conall crept up behind O'Leary, apparently unnoticed by either the guard or the doctor. After an agonizing few seconds, during which he cast a spell to silence the guard, he was within springing range, but just as he launched himself at O'Leary's back, a voice behind Conall's own back yelled - "O'Leary, behind you!"
O'Leary spun, raising his stun baton, but he was too late - Conall drove his strong right arm at the guard's throat, catching the Adam's apple in the webbing between his thumb and fingers. O'Leary dropped like a sack of bricks, trying to take a breath.
Conall didn't know who had warned his target - risking a glance back he saw nothing, and it didn't matter. His path was clear. He moved into the anteroom.
Dr. Beasley calmly backed into a corner, using his dignity and demeanor to declare himself a neutral party in this fight.
Etain's nurse moved to block the door, but she was too slow for the young shaman's enhanced reflexes - indeed he was surprised they still worked after he crossed the foyer's threshhold.
But just as he was reaching for the door to his sister's bedroom, there appeared between him and the door the ghostly form of another of Paddy's men. He held a nasty looking beast spirit on a leash.
"Give it up, Conall," he said in the same voice that had warned O'Leary. "I can na stop ye in this form, but my wee friend here has no such problem. And Paddy'll be along any second now."
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:40:20
Miles Lanier smiled as he listened to John, and when the elf lawyer finished the human executive shook his head and chuckled softly.
"John, I think you could talk the habit off a nun. So just for the sake of argument, let me tell you what my analysts tell me, and what I'm sure you've already found out for yourself. And that is that this guy is a major leaguer. He is going to match every dirty trick you pull with one of his own. And he is never going to back down - at least that's what the psych profile says. Plus the fact that that penniless IMU gaggle will never in a million years find another leader like him - they'll be back to someone like Storken. Now keep in mind that this union crap - that pinches our bottom line more than anything else we've asked you to handle. And now you tell me - and I am sure you will come up with something priceless - you tell me if your dragon-prejudice-discrediting scheme, or any of your other complicated plots - has even half as good a chance of getting this guy off our back as my bomb plan."
Monday 5/5/70 16:40:20
Miles Lanier smiled as he listened to John, and when the elf lawyer finished the human executive shook his head and chuckled softly.
"John, I think you could talk the habit off a nun. So just for the sake of argument, let me tell you what my analysts tell me, and what I'm sure you've already found out for yourself. And that is that this guy is a major leaguer. He is going to match every dirty trick you pull with one of his own. And he is never going to back down - at least that's what the psych profile says. Plus the fact that that penniless IMU gaggle will never in a million years find another leader like him - they'll be back to someone like Storken. Now keep in mind that this union crap - that pinches our bottom line more than anything else we've asked you to handle. And now you tell me - and I am sure you will come up with something priceless - you tell me if your dragon-prejudice-discrediting scheme, or any of your other complicated plots - has even half as good a chance of getting this guy off our back as my bomb plan."
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:41:30
When Lanier starts, John joins into the chuckls. Hey, don´t they say faith untested is worthless? She was a mature woman.
His smile dosn´t even flicker, as the Exec goes on. It´s true, everything he is told is true, but in the end, it´s only a matter of style and how one puts the variables in the equation. Truth be told, John enjoys the chalange that Dean represents and he´d alow himself the pleasure, even if it cost him a few milions in bonuses. But one way or the other, he´d always advice against this plan. He´d rather play russian roulet with two blanks, then with one real bullet.
John: "I know you like to shoot straight. Of course a complicated plan can go wrong in many places, but such glitches can easily be corrected. If this thing goes wrong, however and gets conected to you in any way, this deal is probably doomed. The probability of success depends on how you set the variables - statistics only go so far. So in the end, it´s up to you." His face straigtens, as he offers a juristical key phrase, to underline his point. "I must however voice my concern and strongly advice against this course of action."
See ye to it. I wash my hands of it.
Monday 5/5/70 16:41:30
When Lanier starts, John joins into the chuckls. Hey, don´t they say faith untested is worthless? She was a mature woman.
His smile dosn´t even flicker, as the Exec goes on. It´s true, everything he is told is true, but in the end, it´s only a matter of style and how one puts the variables in the equation. Truth be told, John enjoys the chalange that Dean represents and he´d alow himself the pleasure, even if it cost him a few milions in bonuses. But one way or the other, he´d always advice against this plan. He´d rather play russian roulet with two blanks, then with one real bullet.
John: "I know you like to shoot straight. Of course a complicated plan can go wrong in many places, but such glitches can easily be corrected. If this thing goes wrong, however and gets conected to you in any way, this deal is probably doomed. The probability of success depends on how you set the variables - statistics only go so far. So in the end, it´s up to you." His face straigtens, as he offers a juristical key phrase, to underline his point. "I must however voice my concern and strongly advice against this course of action."
See ye to it. I wash my hands of it.
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:09
Subtly shifting all his weigh to his back foot, Conall spread both arms far away from his body, as if showing he was holding no weapons and meant no harm. But from the fire burning in the eyes of the young shaman, it was too obvious he wasn’t about to give up his fight just now.
Conall O’Neill’s fight wasn’t over. Most didn’t know it yet, but after tonight, the young elf would never back down, never break off, and never bend over for anyone or anything.
“Git out of me way shaman. Ye won’t be stopping me, not tonight.”
If Paddy was indeed on his way, time was ticking by. He had to reach Etain now. After tonight, all might be too late.
“I’ll only say it once more; git out of me way now or go down.”
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:09
Subtly shifting all his weigh to his back foot, Conall spread both arms far away from his body, as if showing he was holding no weapons and meant no harm. But from the fire burning in the eyes of the young shaman, it was too obvious he wasn’t about to give up his fight just now.
Conall O’Neill’s fight wasn’t over. Most didn’t know it yet, but after tonight, the young elf would never back down, never break off, and never bend over for anyone or anything.
“Git out of me way shaman. Ye won’t be stopping me, not tonight.”
If Paddy was indeed on his way, time was ticking by. He had to reach Etain now. After tonight, all might be too late.
“I’ll only say it once more; git out of me way now or go down.”
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:42:00
"Well, John, I suppose you should save that strong advice for yourself, because you're going to personally oversee this operation. My assistant will provide you with all the pertinent details of the football game and Dean's security, along with a short list of deniable assets we recommend you use. Naturally the ones we've selected are very expensive, but we'll reimburse you in the form of an unrelated performance bonus a few months after the kill is confirmed." Lanier picked up his drink, and added, "And don't go getting creative on me or streamlining this thing - we need LOTS of collateral damage, enough so that no one thinks it could have been about Dean himself."
Monday 5/5/70 16:42:00
"Well, John, I suppose you should save that strong advice for yourself, because you're going to personally oversee this operation. My assistant will provide you with all the pertinent details of the football game and Dean's security, along with a short list of deniable assets we recommend you use. Naturally the ones we've selected are very expensive, but we'll reimburse you in the form of an unrelated performance bonus a few months after the kill is confirmed." Lanier picked up his drink, and added, "And don't go getting creative on me or streamlining this thing - we need LOTS of collateral damage, enough so that no one thinks it could have been about Dean himself."
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:41:30
What the ... is he going to set me up as a scapegoat? This time it´s the elf that chuckles slightly.
John: "You told me, I´d get anything I need on this one, dos that not include the services of NeoNET´s excellent ressource adjustment officers? I think it was you, who decided I was no longer suited for this kind of work a decade ago. Now I´m inclined to disagree, but still the fact remains that this isn´t my job anymore. You have planty of talented" [i]and expendable[/b] "people to oversee this operation. If NeoNET wants it to go this way, you´d have to do it yourself. I am your lawyer, not your Jhonson! As such I´ll help dealing with any fall-out, of course."
Monday 5/5/70 16:41:30
What the ... is he going to set me up as a scapegoat? This time it´s the elf that chuckles slightly.
John: "You told me, I´d get anything I need on this one, dos that not include the services of NeoNET´s excellent ressource adjustment officers? I think it was you, who decided I was no longer suited for this kind of work a decade ago. Now I´m inclined to disagree, but still the fact remains that this isn´t my job anymore. You have planty of talented" [i]and expendable[/b] "people to oversee this operation. If NeoNET wants it to go this way, you´d have to do it yourself. I am your lawyer, not your Jhonson! As such I´ll help dealing with any fall-out, of course."
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:42:10
"Well, since you insist you are still qualified for your earlier capacities, now's your chance to prove yourself. Think about it, if you had resource adjustment capabilities combined with your legal accomplishments, there'd really be no limit to how high you could climb. In any case, my mind is made up. This is an important job, and I want you on it personally. And don't worry - I want you on it precisely because you are so valuable - with you in charge, there'll be no need to make anyone expendable, and even if there was, you'd be one of the LAST assets I'd throw away."
Monday 5/5/70 16:42:10
"Well, since you insist you are still qualified for your earlier capacities, now's your chance to prove yourself. Think about it, if you had resource adjustment capabilities combined with your legal accomplishments, there'd really be no limit to how high you could climb. In any case, my mind is made up. This is an important job, and I want you on it personally. And don't worry - I want you on it precisely because you are so valuable - with you in charge, there'll be no need to make anyone expendable, and even if there was, you'd be one of the LAST assets I'd throw away."
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:09
He saw it. He saw it in his eyes. The shaman guarding Etain’s room was not going to flinch and bow out. He would be as faithful to his duty as Conall was.
In a certain way, Conall was glad the man was simply present on the astral. Taking O’Leary down had not been something he had done with a kind hearth… and he felt down right bad for the man. O’Leary was a good man… someone who had been tasked in protecting what Conall loved most. And now, he was sprawled on the floor, gasping for air. Conall simply hoped he hadn’t injured the man too seriously.
As Conall saw the shaman’s grip on the massive Beast spirit loosen, his own animal instincts kicked into high gear. The hairy and nasty looking beast roared as it was freed from it’s chain. But Conall was already one step ahead. His facial featured distorted themselves for a second, as he lashed out at the spirit: his hair became longer, tiny pieces of dark brown fur covering the tips of his even longer ears, as his face protrude forward like a wolf’s. With a roar of his own, his clawed hand went for the spirit. But the attack was wild… too wild. The materialized entity, although surprised, dodged the attack with a certain ease, backing toward Etain’s door.
Focus. Concentrate. Stay in control.
For what seemed like an eternity, both animals watched each others… judging their adversary. Conall knew the Spirit wouldn’t kill him… but he also knew that loosing this fight would mean loosing a lot more than just his own pride. Each second he hesitated was a second closer to Paddy’s arrival… the only man who could really get in Conall’s way.
“I have no wish to slay ye my friend… just let me pass…” murmured the young elf to the Spirit.
Lowering it’s head and taking in a deep breath, the Beast prepared a mighty roar. Seeing his opening, Conall literally lunged through the air like a madman, burring the deep claws that had grown on his hands inside the spirit neck. It roared it pain, as Conall’s paws, born out of pure mana, ripped through it’s vital energy… stripping away it’s connection to this plane of existence.
As it opened it’s mouth to bite Conall, the young shaman literally slapped it across the face with his clawed hand, ripping a fist size chunk out of it’s head. Unceremoniously, the large beast simply slumped to floor, it’s physical form dissolving as filaments of mana simply flowed back in the fabric of space.
Mana from the dead spirit still dripping off his hands, Conall gave a feral look to Anne and the Doctor. The low growling that came from his throat was enough to make them understand they were to leave… now. Just as they were about to leave, the young wolf shaman hailed the Doctor.
“This man…” he said pointing O’Leary “take him with you… he needs help…”
Turning his attention back to the door, Conall first tried the handle… which didn’t move an inch, not surprisingly. His knocks and screams, calling for Etain gave nothing. Cursing under his breath, he took a step back and a few deeps breaths… and kicked it open. With a loud crash, the wood broke on the first attempt, sending a shower of splinters on Etain’s rich carpet.
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:09
He saw it. He saw it in his eyes. The shaman guarding Etain’s room was not going to flinch and bow out. He would be as faithful to his duty as Conall was.
In a certain way, Conall was glad the man was simply present on the astral. Taking O’Leary down had not been something he had done with a kind hearth… and he felt down right bad for the man. O’Leary was a good man… someone who had been tasked in protecting what Conall loved most. And now, he was sprawled on the floor, gasping for air. Conall simply hoped he hadn’t injured the man too seriously.
As Conall saw the shaman’s grip on the massive Beast spirit loosen, his own animal instincts kicked into high gear. The hairy and nasty looking beast roared as it was freed from it’s chain. But Conall was already one step ahead. His facial featured distorted themselves for a second, as he lashed out at the spirit: his hair became longer, tiny pieces of dark brown fur covering the tips of his even longer ears, as his face protrude forward like a wolf’s. With a roar of his own, his clawed hand went for the spirit. But the attack was wild… too wild. The materialized entity, although surprised, dodged the attack with a certain ease, backing toward Etain’s door.
Focus. Concentrate. Stay in control.
For what seemed like an eternity, both animals watched each others… judging their adversary. Conall knew the Spirit wouldn’t kill him… but he also knew that loosing this fight would mean loosing a lot more than just his own pride. Each second he hesitated was a second closer to Paddy’s arrival… the only man who could really get in Conall’s way.
“I have no wish to slay ye my friend… just let me pass…” murmured the young elf to the Spirit.
Lowering it’s head and taking in a deep breath, the Beast prepared a mighty roar. Seeing his opening, Conall literally lunged through the air like a madman, burring the deep claws that had grown on his hands inside the spirit neck. It roared it pain, as Conall’s paws, born out of pure mana, ripped through it’s vital energy… stripping away it’s connection to this plane of existence.
As it opened it’s mouth to bite Conall, the young shaman literally slapped it across the face with his clawed hand, ripping a fist size chunk out of it’s head. Unceremoniously, the large beast simply slumped to floor, it’s physical form dissolving as filaments of mana simply flowed back in the fabric of space.
Mana from the dead spirit still dripping off his hands, Conall gave a feral look to Anne and the Doctor. The low growling that came from his throat was enough to make them understand they were to leave… now. Just as they were about to leave, the young wolf shaman hailed the Doctor.
“This man…” he said pointing O’Leary “take him with you… he needs help…”
Turning his attention back to the door, Conall first tried the handle… which didn’t move an inch, not surprisingly. His knocks and screams, calling for Etain gave nothing. Cursing under his breath, he took a step back and a few deeps breaths… and kicked it open. With a loud crash, the wood broke on the first attempt, sending a shower of splinters on Etain’s rich carpet.
Conall & Etain
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:15
Moving quickly, Conall entered the room and shut the door as best he could. Of course it would no longer latch shut, but he dragged a heavy antique bureau across the floor to block it, and then ordered his own spirit to hold it shut. As he worked, each split second felt like an eternity, painfully conscious he was racing against Cailleach just for a few precious seconds with his sister.
The door barred as best he could manage, he went to his sister's side. He could not believe the break-in had not awakened her, but when he touched her face he knew the truth - the doctor had given her something to sleep. Well - he could fix that - he always carried something to give him the energy he needed when casting strenuous enchantments, and he applied one of the stim patches to his sister's arm now.
Within moments her eyes fluttered open.
Sunday 7/27/70 03:28:15
Moving quickly, Conall entered the room and shut the door as best he could. Of course it would no longer latch shut, but he dragged a heavy antique bureau across the floor to block it, and then ordered his own spirit to hold it shut. As he worked, each split second felt like an eternity, painfully conscious he was racing against Cailleach just for a few precious seconds with his sister.
The door barred as best he could manage, he went to his sister's side. He could not believe the break-in had not awakened her, but when he touched her face he knew the truth - the doctor had given her something to sleep. Well - he could fix that - he always carried something to give him the energy he needed when casting strenuous enchantments, and he applied one of the stim patches to his sister's arm now.
Within moments her eyes fluttered open.
John
Monday 5/5/70 16:43:41
There is a long moment of silence, as the lawyer trys to asess the exec´s intentions, but he can´t come up with it. He feels compelled to kick back the drink he has not even siped at so far, but puts it down with an audiable clunk instead.
John: "Alright."
The single word in a cold, low voice is everything he can bring out. He struggles to keep his face straight and only manages to do so, by putting up an emotionles pokerface. From the outside he locks calm, but his mind is racing in multiple directions.
Monday 5/5/70 16:43:41
There is a long moment of silence, as the lawyer trys to asess the exec´s intentions, but he can´t come up with it. He feels compelled to kick back the drink he has not even siped at so far, but puts it down with an audiable clunk instead.
John: "Alright."
The single word in a cold, low voice is everything he can bring out. He struggles to keep his face straight and only manages to do so, by putting up an emotionles pokerface. From the outside he locks calm, but his mind is racing in multiple directions.
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:19
As the stim patch took full effect on her and her eyes opened to the darkness softened by pale washes of moonlight coming through the windows she was disoriented and didn’t place herself in her own bed right away. As she started to sit up in bed to gain her surroundings she groaned as her head was swimming. When she could stand to refocus her eyes she sucked in a sharp breath of surprise and fear as the silhouetted form of her brother was standing just up from the foot of her bed watching her closely. Instinctively she shrank back against the pillows in her bed as she tried to find her voice but her throat was dry and it came out more as a hoarse whisper.
“Conall, how did y’get in here?”
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:19
As the stim patch took full effect on her and her eyes opened to the darkness softened by pale washes of moonlight coming through the windows she was disoriented and didn’t place herself in her own bed right away. As she started to sit up in bed to gain her surroundings she groaned as her head was swimming. When she could stand to refocus her eyes she sucked in a sharp breath of surprise and fear as the silhouetted form of her brother was standing just up from the foot of her bed watching her closely. Instinctively she shrank back against the pillows in her bed as she tried to find her voice but her throat was dry and it came out more as a hoarse whisper.
“Conall, how did y’get in here?”
Conall
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:23
When Etain came around, Conall's hearth sank. She was in an even more fragile state that he had expected to find her. He could clearly see she wasn’t just tired and drugged up… she was physically hurting.
My dear sister… what have they done to you.
He outstretched his hand, brushing a few hairs away from her face and tucking them behind her pointed ears.
“Don’t worry about that Etain. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
He briefly caressed her hair in a caring manner. In the state she was in, there was just no way he could take her away from all this. She needed rest. Conall cursed himself for his foolishness. His “rescue” attempt could have been much more dangerous for his twin’s health. Again… he had only been thinking of himself.
“It’s all ok sister… just go back to sleep.”
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:23
When Etain came around, Conall's hearth sank. She was in an even more fragile state that he had expected to find her. He could clearly see she wasn’t just tired and drugged up… she was physically hurting.
My dear sister… what have they done to you.
He outstretched his hand, brushing a few hairs away from her face and tucking them behind her pointed ears.
“Don’t worry about that Etain. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
He briefly caressed her hair in a caring manner. In the state she was in, there was just no way he could take her away from all this. She needed rest. Conall cursed himself for his foolishness. His “rescue” attempt could have been much more dangerous for his twin’s health. Again… he had only been thinking of himself.
“It’s all ok sister… just go back to sleep.”
Etain
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:26
Etain flinched slightly when Conall brushed her hair back from her face. Whispers of her previous nightmares still tickled the back of her muddled mind. When it was clear his concern was genuine she shook her head at his suggestion she go back to be and then quickly abandoned that as is just amplified the headache and dizziness she was experiencing. She reached for his hand as he drew it away from her.
“No, please don’t leave me here alone. They’re trying to keep us apart, why is he doing this?”
Her movement and speaking seemed to suck all the energy out of her as she laid back against her pillows and sighed pitifully. The he in her question could have referred to Paddy or their father, but the latter seemed to make more sense. She confirmed the question when she continued.
“You know he hasn’t even come to see me yet. So much for how he “worries about me so much” the way mother claims.” She made a noise that sounded like disgust and looked back up toward her brother’s face.
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:26
Etain flinched slightly when Conall brushed her hair back from her face. Whispers of her previous nightmares still tickled the back of her muddled mind. When it was clear his concern was genuine she shook her head at his suggestion she go back to be and then quickly abandoned that as is just amplified the headache and dizziness she was experiencing. She reached for his hand as he drew it away from her.
“No, please don’t leave me here alone. They’re trying to keep us apart, why is he doing this?”
Her movement and speaking seemed to suck all the energy out of her as she laid back against her pillows and sighed pitifully. The he in her question could have referred to Paddy or their father, but the latter seemed to make more sense. She confirmed the question when she continued.
“You know he hasn’t even come to see me yet. So much for how he “worries about me so much” the way mother claims.” She made a noise that sounded like disgust and looked back up toward her brother’s face.
Conall
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:31
Conall gave Etain what could be best described as a reassuring smile. Her hand felt soft and warm.
“I don’t know yet… but don’t worry. They know very well they can’t keep us apart. I have proven it to them tonight.” He added with a slow smirk.
With his free hand, he took the bed covers and pulled them back on Etain.
“Just lie down Etain. I’ll stay here until you fall asleep. I won’t let anything happen to you… never again.”
He reached over and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Still holding her hand, he slid to the floor, sitting himself up against the side of the bed, his body turned toward the barricaded door.
In a few seconds, Paddy and his men would probably break it open.
Sunday 07/27/70 03:28:31
Conall gave Etain what could be best described as a reassuring smile. Her hand felt soft and warm.
“I don’t know yet… but don’t worry. They know very well they can’t keep us apart. I have proven it to them tonight.” He added with a slow smirk.
With his free hand, he took the bed covers and pulled them back on Etain.
“Just lie down Etain. I’ll stay here until you fall asleep. I won’t let anything happen to you… never again.”
He reached over and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Still holding her hand, he slid to the floor, sitting himself up against the side of the bed, his body turned toward the barricaded door.
In a few seconds, Paddy and his men would probably break it open.
John
Monday 5/5/70 18:00:00
Even though he uses a pair of display-glasses with the chip inserted directly into the non-wifi device, he flips of the reader when Kob enters the room with a tray of steaming tea and sandwiches.
The break is very wellcome. Although he has only sighted the data for 73 minutes and 16 seconds now, the elf feels physically exhausted. Since after restarting all his headware, when the ork had brought in the sealed datachip, the lawyer had been brooding over his options. He allready was way beyond moral considerations - or more precisely, he had pushed them aside for the time being. First think about the options left, that often sheds a different light on morals.
When his trusted servant serves the food and beverage, engaging in casual conversation on the side, John uses the opportunity to clear his mind and think about how he had gotten into this cursed situation.
Why did I say allright?! Since he had left Novatech, he had allways longed to be a part of it again. He had longed to regain Lanier´s respect, to gain Villier´s accnolagement. In a way he was much like Art Dankwalther had been. Even working for the man might ultimately just have been a way to be part of the corporations destiny. Then his master had turned against him -accusing him to hold back against his former employer- and John had betrayed him in turn. How many inocents have been killed by that Thor Shot? There had never been reliable numbers. Lanier would do this operation with or without me, only now I can make a difference or can I? Just walking away from Lanier would only have let his own people suffer, without changing anything, wouldn´t it?
After a brife talk about Lanier´s executive assistent, the lawyer dismisses his ork buttler and resumes considdering his options.
With the projected cost and outcome of this operation, he will be paying less then 100 a kill. Life is cheap and the bounty is high. An old songtext echos in the lawyers mind, as he contemplates the murder of thousends of inocents - well at least uninvolved if not inocent.
With no regard for morality, what are the pros and cons of Lanier´s plan? The risk of exposure is as high as with any and all of John´s suggestions. And the elf had a sense of foreboding about this. Much more important, any exposure of the lawyer´s options would do relatively minor damage. If the terrorist hit was linked to NeoNET, however, it would be an auto-kill for this operation ... and RFS of course. It dosn´t help, that he thinks the plan to be crude and unrefined.
Now, even if he lets that opportunity pass, NeoNET will find another one and no doubt, many people will suffer as well. Not to mention the adverse effect that crossing Lanier will have on RFS. Fucker! So much for caring about other peoples wellbeing. He outright hates Dean for bringing him into this situation. If only that stuborn old bastard had shown some willingness to negociate. Than maybe he would have managed to sway Miles from his course of action. Could I have done more? Can I still sway him, when this window of opportunity is closed He doubts it. The only way might be, to set up the runners to fail, but that dosn´t deminish the risk of exposure at all.
So if he wanted to save inocent lifes, he had to kill Dean! But even if he disguiesed the hit as a terrorist-attack gone wrong, exposure will be a given, NeoNET´s cause will most likely fail. The lawyer will have to flee, as he will no doubt be the one to be sacrificed to the public. RFS will crumble - the people he really cares for will suffer.
His mind is racing tou find a way out, but it is only hitting dead ends.
Monday 5/5/70 18:00:00
Even though he uses a pair of display-glasses with the chip inserted directly into the non-wifi device, he flips of the reader when Kob enters the room with a tray of steaming tea and sandwiches.
The break is very wellcome. Although he has only sighted the data for 73 minutes and 16 seconds now, the elf feels physically exhausted. Since after restarting all his headware, when the ork had brought in the sealed datachip, the lawyer had been brooding over his options. He allready was way beyond moral considerations - or more precisely, he had pushed them aside for the time being. First think about the options left, that often sheds a different light on morals.
When his trusted servant serves the food and beverage, engaging in casual conversation on the side, John uses the opportunity to clear his mind and think about how he had gotten into this cursed situation.
Why did I say allright?! Since he had left Novatech, he had allways longed to be a part of it again. He had longed to regain Lanier´s respect, to gain Villier´s accnolagement. In a way he was much like Art Dankwalther had been. Even working for the man might ultimately just have been a way to be part of the corporations destiny. Then his master had turned against him -accusing him to hold back against his former employer- and John had betrayed him in turn. How many inocents have been killed by that Thor Shot? There had never been reliable numbers. Lanier would do this operation with or without me, only now I can make a difference or can I? Just walking away from Lanier would only have let his own people suffer, without changing anything, wouldn´t it?
After a brife talk about Lanier´s executive assistent, the lawyer dismisses his ork buttler and resumes considdering his options.
With the projected cost and outcome of this operation, he will be paying less then 100
a kill. Life is cheap and the bounty is high. An old songtext echos in the lawyers mind, as he contemplates the murder of thousends of inocents - well at least uninvolved if not inocent.With no regard for morality, what are the pros and cons of Lanier´s plan? The risk of exposure is as high as with any and all of John´s suggestions. And the elf had a sense of foreboding about this. Much more important, any exposure of the lawyer´s options would do relatively minor damage. If the terrorist hit was linked to NeoNET, however, it would be an auto-kill for this operation ... and RFS of course. It dosn´t help, that he thinks the plan to be crude and unrefined.
Now, even if he lets that opportunity pass, NeoNET will find another one and no doubt, many people will suffer as well. Not to mention the adverse effect that crossing Lanier will have on RFS. Fucker! So much for caring about other peoples wellbeing. He outright hates Dean for bringing him into this situation. If only that stuborn old bastard had shown some willingness to negociate. Than maybe he would have managed to sway Miles from his course of action. Could I have done more? Can I still sway him, when this window of opportunity is closed He doubts it. The only way might be, to set up the runners to fail, but that dosn´t deminish the risk of exposure at all.
So if he wanted to save inocent lifes, he had to kill Dean! But even if he disguiesed the hit as a terrorist-attack gone wrong, exposure will be a given, NeoNET´s cause will most likely fail. The lawyer will have to flee, as he will no doubt be the one to be sacrificed to the public. RFS will crumble - the people he really cares for will suffer.
His mind is racing tou find a way out, but it is only hitting dead ends.
Conall
Sunday 7/27/70 03:35:00
But no one broke the door down.
Conall passed several peaceful minutes by his sister's side, until he heard her breathing become even, and knew she was once again asleep.
And then he looked up and saw that Paddy's astral form was manifesting above him.
"There an' ye've had yer fun, boy. She's sleepin' now, poor lass, an' I hope yer mind's at rest a bit. Now what say ye go back to yer room peacefully, so's me boys do na have to tear that door down once again?"
Conall removed the barricade and stepped into the foyer, where he saw four of O'Leary's mates. Their expressions were a confused mix of sympathy and the hurt of betrayal.
As he moved down the hall toward his rooms, Paddy's ghostly form walked alongside him. In the astral the old human glowed so bright he lit the darkened entry hall like noonday, his ballistic vest replaced by bejeweled chainmail.
"Now I can't say as I blame ye for yer wee stunt there, lad, but I tell ye now, I am now forced to take me orders a mite more serious. You'll find such a trick a bit harder if tried again. And the worst of it for ye, laddie, as that ye must now be confined to yer own apartments as well. Ye've some time to be with yer own thoughts now - I'd use it wisely."
Sunday 7/27/70 03:35:00
But no one broke the door down.
Conall passed several peaceful minutes by his sister's side, until he heard her breathing become even, and knew she was once again asleep.
And then he looked up and saw that Paddy's astral form was manifesting above him.
"There an' ye've had yer fun, boy. She's sleepin' now, poor lass, an' I hope yer mind's at rest a bit. Now what say ye go back to yer room peacefully, so's me boys do na have to tear that door down once again?"
Conall removed the barricade and stepped into the foyer, where he saw four of O'Leary's mates. Their expressions were a confused mix of sympathy and the hurt of betrayal.
As he moved down the hall toward his rooms, Paddy's ghostly form walked alongside him. In the astral the old human glowed so bright he lit the darkened entry hall like noonday, his ballistic vest replaced by bejeweled chainmail.
"Now I can't say as I blame ye for yer wee stunt there, lad, but I tell ye now, I am now forced to take me orders a mite more serious. You'll find such a trick a bit harder if tried again. And the worst of it for ye, laddie, as that ye must now be confined to yer own apartments as well. Ye've some time to be with yer own thoughts now - I'd use it wisely."
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