Post by Amirah on Aug 30, 2010 23:50:26 GMT
It had been a long time since Amirah Novak had visited Los Angeles. From what she recalled -- and it was easily going back thirty years -- she had blown through town in pursuit of a vampire whom she had finally caught up with north of the city itself. This time was different. This time she would be hanging around, chasing a lead down on one of her sisters. As usual she didn’t know if it was going to get her anywhere, Surayya was the oldest of them, she had barely been around when Amirah had been a child and the only memories she could scrounge up were of the times she had been brought back to the compound to be retrained, for Marek to look her over and determine whether or not she needed to be worked on to maintain her submissive mental state. Near two hundred years older than Amirah, the raven haired Sura would be a powerful wolf to have on her side if she could just break through the indoctrination. Of course the blonde had to also concede that being the oldest she would be the hardest to break free of the vampire’s grip and with her track record thus far she didn’t like her chances. Every other lead or location she’d found had dried up, however, and once again she was left without a choice and with only one direction.
Tiredly the rogue wolf rubbed her eyes with her tattooed right hand, the bumps on her fingertips skimming her cheek when she brushed her hair from her face. It just so happened that someone had hired her to drop off a package in Los Angeles. Three months ago. First she’d had to track down and catch their package and he’d been a surprisingly difficult bastard to corner with lots of friends and lots of red tape getting in her way. Amirah hated red tape. Packs made her job difficult if they decided to get involved and they were the masters of tying up supernatural matters in complications, but she was smart and patient – to a fault – and in the end she’d gotten what she wanted.
Three months of the hunt though, had made her tired; she hadn’t showered for the last two weeks and she had been driving for the last few days across the country to get to the meeting place in the city. Now, the lights of the city blurring past her on all sides were a relief because she knew she was almost at the end of what had been a real pain in her ass, really she hadn’t needed to take a job to bring her here but the excuse helped, she didn’t want to raise any suspicions on the off chance they reached the wrong ears, and more than that it was easier to motivate herself to bring the package to the city than it was to come here and chase this lead only for it to go cold on her. Could she handle that again? Each time it happened she reflected long and hard about how she didn’t think she could do it again, and every time she knew that it didn’t matter, because she would hear something, a name or a rumour and her ears would prick up and the whole process would start again. This was the most solid trail she’d had in years though, it felt different.
Amirah flicked her indicator light and took a turning smoothly, the sleek SUV had at least made the drive a
more bearable, and she drove out of the main body of the city and to the deserted, dark wetlands her temporary employer had specified. There she parked and killed the engine, letting her head rest against the seat behind her.
There was a banging in the trunk.
She cursed in Polish and snatched her gloves from the passenger seat, yanking the door handle and kicking out at the same time. Dust coughed up by her boots swirled as she pivoted and slammed the door, the vehicle rocking. As she made her way towards the trunk she slipped her gloves on, they fit snugly under the cuffs of her leather sleeves. Amirah yanked the trunk open and put a hand on her hip.
Inside was a bound and gagged young man. Young wolf more specifically. He blinked at her blearily and started to wriggle and whine behind the cloth in his mouth, drawing a sigh from the bounty hunter who reached in and grabbed him by the collar, unceremoniously dragging him out and onto the ground and then leaning over him to slam the trunk again. If it weren’t for his constant talking she might have had him in the body of the car but he was young and stupid and she didn’t trust him not to try something ridiculous and force her hand. The people who wanted him wouldn’t be happy if she accidentally killed him because he was an annoying runt. That wasn’t an excuse that went over very well. Out here though she didn’t see what harm he could do, so she dragged him through the dirt and dumped him on the ground, crouching to pull the gag from his mouth and let it cling around his neck.
"Please-- please don’t kill me."
"I am not going to kill you."
He swallowed. "You look sorta like you’re going to kill me."
"Why would I have driven halfway across the country with you in my trunk if I was just going to kill you when I got here? If I intended to kill you, you’d be dead. A dead body is a lot easier to move than a live one."
"So-- so why?"
"Why?" Amirah stood up, hands on the ample curve of her hips.
"Why did you drive me halfway across the country?"
"You know why." When he started to protest her eyebrows rose, unimpressed.
"Okay. Okay, yeah I know why. Look, can you please maybe let me go? I mean, you’re a wolf, I’m a wolf, we’re practically related, you know? And if you hand me over to these guys then they’re going to kill me, I know they are. I really really don’t want to die, that’s why I was in Boston, you know? I figured if I got far enough away they’d forget about me."
There she sighed and moved away a little, sitting down on a block of abandoned pallets, interlocking her gloved fingers. Amirah looked at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "How old are you?"
"Seventy-four."
Then she laughed. "Kid," she said. "You’ve got a lot to learn."
"Don’t laugh!" He shrieked, growing hysterical at her casual attitude, she imagined, or the fact that he realised they hadn’t stopped for a bathroom break and this was the end of the line. "Shit, lady, how can you sleep at night? If they kill me, that’s on you!"
To her credit, Amirah didn’t growl, but she did narrow her eyes on him dangerously. "It’s not my fault you made enemies way above your pay grade. You got noticed by some very powerful, very determined people, you pissed them off and they hired me to pick up your sorry ass and yes, maybe they’re going to kill you when they pick you up, maybe not. It’s not my problem." There she growled, leaning back and looking towards the horizon, keeping her senses alert for an engine and her eyes scanning for headlights. She spoke distractedly, "Now shut up. You’re giving me a headache."
Tiredly the rogue wolf rubbed her eyes with her tattooed right hand, the bumps on her fingertips skimming her cheek when she brushed her hair from her face. It just so happened that someone had hired her to drop off a package in Los Angeles. Three months ago. First she’d had to track down and catch their package and he’d been a surprisingly difficult bastard to corner with lots of friends and lots of red tape getting in her way. Amirah hated red tape. Packs made her job difficult if they decided to get involved and they were the masters of tying up supernatural matters in complications, but she was smart and patient – to a fault – and in the end she’d gotten what she wanted.
Three months of the hunt though, had made her tired; she hadn’t showered for the last two weeks and she had been driving for the last few days across the country to get to the meeting place in the city. Now, the lights of the city blurring past her on all sides were a relief because she knew she was almost at the end of what had been a real pain in her ass, really she hadn’t needed to take a job to bring her here but the excuse helped, she didn’t want to raise any suspicions on the off chance they reached the wrong ears, and more than that it was easier to motivate herself to bring the package to the city than it was to come here and chase this lead only for it to go cold on her. Could she handle that again? Each time it happened she reflected long and hard about how she didn’t think she could do it again, and every time she knew that it didn’t matter, because she would hear something, a name or a rumour and her ears would prick up and the whole process would start again. This was the most solid trail she’d had in years though, it felt different.
Amirah flicked her indicator light and took a turning smoothly, the sleek SUV had at least made the drive a
more bearable, and she drove out of the main body of the city and to the deserted, dark wetlands her temporary employer had specified. There she parked and killed the engine, letting her head rest against the seat behind her.
There was a banging in the trunk.
She cursed in Polish and snatched her gloves from the passenger seat, yanking the door handle and kicking out at the same time. Dust coughed up by her boots swirled as she pivoted and slammed the door, the vehicle rocking. As she made her way towards the trunk she slipped her gloves on, they fit snugly under the cuffs of her leather sleeves. Amirah yanked the trunk open and put a hand on her hip.
Inside was a bound and gagged young man. Young wolf more specifically. He blinked at her blearily and started to wriggle and whine behind the cloth in his mouth, drawing a sigh from the bounty hunter who reached in and grabbed him by the collar, unceremoniously dragging him out and onto the ground and then leaning over him to slam the trunk again. If it weren’t for his constant talking she might have had him in the body of the car but he was young and stupid and she didn’t trust him not to try something ridiculous and force her hand. The people who wanted him wouldn’t be happy if she accidentally killed him because he was an annoying runt. That wasn’t an excuse that went over very well. Out here though she didn’t see what harm he could do, so she dragged him through the dirt and dumped him on the ground, crouching to pull the gag from his mouth and let it cling around his neck.
"Please-- please don’t kill me."
"I am not going to kill you."
He swallowed. "You look sorta like you’re going to kill me."
"Why would I have driven halfway across the country with you in my trunk if I was just going to kill you when I got here? If I intended to kill you, you’d be dead. A dead body is a lot easier to move than a live one."
"So-- so why?"
"Why?" Amirah stood up, hands on the ample curve of her hips.
"Why did you drive me halfway across the country?"
"You know why." When he started to protest her eyebrows rose, unimpressed.
"Okay. Okay, yeah I know why. Look, can you please maybe let me go? I mean, you’re a wolf, I’m a wolf, we’re practically related, you know? And if you hand me over to these guys then they’re going to kill me, I know they are. I really really don’t want to die, that’s why I was in Boston, you know? I figured if I got far enough away they’d forget about me."
There she sighed and moved away a little, sitting down on a block of abandoned pallets, interlocking her gloved fingers. Amirah looked at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "How old are you?"
"Seventy-four."
Then she laughed. "Kid," she said. "You’ve got a lot to learn."
"Don’t laugh!" He shrieked, growing hysterical at her casual attitude, she imagined, or the fact that he realised they hadn’t stopped for a bathroom break and this was the end of the line. "Shit, lady, how can you sleep at night? If they kill me, that’s on you!"
To her credit, Amirah didn’t growl, but she did narrow her eyes on him dangerously. "It’s not my fault you made enemies way above your pay grade. You got noticed by some very powerful, very determined people, you pissed them off and they hired me to pick up your sorry ass and yes, maybe they’re going to kill you when they pick you up, maybe not. It’s not my problem." There she growled, leaning back and looking towards the horizon, keeping her senses alert for an engine and her eyes scanning for headlights. She spoke distractedly, "Now shut up. You’re giving me a headache."