Modus Morte: Chapter 16

Jasper waved her guests away happily, and Takeo lingered, he said, to help her when the doctor came. He seemed to have something else to say but was unwilling to say it. He and Reaper had been at their pissing games again; while the others were saying their goodbyes, they had been arguing. Jasper didn’t catch what was said, because it was quick, quiet, and in Japanese. They only did that when they didn’t want her to know what they were talking about. It started about a day after they met. Jasper hated it, she knew they only did it when they were talking about her behind her back. Reaper knew too many languages and Takeo was just plain… well Takeo.

Jasper really didn’t understand her reaction to him. Having someone around besides that blasted cat was such a relief, it was probably just that, but some nagging thought tried to convince her it was something more. Maybe she could get a dog when Takeo left, then she wouldn’t be so lonely. Preferably a really big one that would chase Reaper around and make him forget about teaching her to use her magic.

Jasper thought of something she really needed to say. “Reaper.” She said, interrupting the two of them. Both stopped in mid-sentence. Whatever they had been talking about must have been really good, they both looked guilty about something.

“Umm yes.” The cat asked, coughing to cover something up. Takeo turned around so Jasper wouldn’t see what he was doing. This detail did not escape her.

“You!” She practically yelled at him stabbing at him with her finger, and he flinched. Good. He needed to know how much trouble he was in. “You are one of the most inconsiderate bastards I have known, and I have known quite a few!”

“Hey! What did I do?”

“What did you not do?” Takeo was ever so helpful. Jasper was going to ignore for a moment the fact that he could also be an ass. She wasn’t dealing with that one just yet.

“I am going to say this once, and only once, since you didn’t seem to get any hints today at the meeting. Do not talk about that Warren psycho in front of Ciela. If you didn’t understand the coffee-cup to the head approach then just wait to see what I plan to hit you with next!”

“What do you mean?” Takeo snickered at that. Reaper could not be that clueless.

“Warren obviously did something bad to Ciela. Couldn’t you tell that by the way she reacted to hearing about him?” Reaper didn’t answer, and Jasper was getting frustrated with the feline. “Call me crazy, but here’s what I figure. Jayna told me that Warren thought I was someone else. I’m guessing that someone must have been Ciela. Her reaction was not one you reserve for people you haven’t seen in a while, she was really upset. So keeping that in mind, mentioning the fact that Warren tried to beat the ever loving hell out of me might have been a bad idea?”

“You did not say that he beat you that badly.” Takeo interrupted. Jasper had forgotten that she had skipped a few details of the story the first time.

“I was a little out of it when it happened.” She stammered a bit, and frowned at him. Takeo frowned right back at her. Why the hell was he upset with her now?

“Fine.” Reaper bit out, then growled out something under his breath. Takeo just grinned at the feline. He was enjoying this entirely too much.

“Takeo.” She decided to make sure she covered all the bases while she was at it.

“Jasper-san.” Takeo faced her with that look he had that made her heart drop in her chest, just what she didn’t want right now. “Jasper-san?” he asked again. She didn’t blush but she did shift her gaze to the space above his head.

“I would hope I don’t have to ask the same of you.” He grinned at her in that irritating way. He was just as much of a bastard as Reaper sometimes.

“I do not know what you are speaking of.” He said.

“Bullshit.” Jasper whispered, turning away from them. Reaper was giving Takeo the evil eye. “It’s time for the doctor to come. Will you help me, please?” She said to no one in particular as she tried to hobble away. She was definitely getting a dog when Takeo left, maybe an exotic breed. She’d name it after him and train it to chew on Reaper’s belongings. That would make her feel better.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Faust had blown out all but one of the candles, turned down the bed, and had sat her down on her side. He took his time brushing out her long hair. Then he kissed her gently on the forehead and tucked Pris in for the night. He took the candle and walked over to the desk and emptied his pockets. He poked his finger at the pile. A bit of lint, a crumpled receipt, and $3.57, not much to show for all his hard labor, but there were more important things than money - so much more.

He sat and opened his journal and began to write. Not much to tell actually, but keeping a record was important for posterity. When he finished he closed the book and set it aside, rising and going to the bed. He was so tired that he didn't bother to undress and only kicked off his boots before lying down beside her. Frying the rat had been a stupid, if satisfying, expenditure of energy. Maintaining the wards and preserving Pris while amassing the power needed to complete her transformation was exhausting.

Caution be dammed. He would have to work faster, or expand his area of operations.

Modus Morte: Chapter 17

Jayna took her time walking back to the shop. She wasn't sure what was going to happen when she next saw Ciela, but she was certain that it was going to be uncomfortable for both of them. She was relieved to see the door intact as she stepped up on the front porch of the house, and even happier to see that everything between the door and the stairs to the living quarters was where it belonged. She couldn't hear any stomping about coming form the second floor, and that was another hopeful sign. Over time Jayna had learned to expect over-the-top reactions from Ciela, and although she was more prone to curling into a ball and sobbing than she was to violence, Jayna was bracing for the worst. Deciding that there was nothing so wrong that couldn't be helped by a pot of steaming tea, she crossed the shop past the front desk to the stairs leading to the second floor living quarters. A flash of light off metal caught her attention. A set of keys lay in the center of the desk, Ciela's keys.

She climbed the stairs slowly, deliberately. No point in jumping to conclusions, she thought to herself. She turned left at the top of the stairs, taking the hall to Ciela's room. The door was slightly ajar. No sound came from inside. Jayna knocked twice then opened the door and stepped inside. The room was a mess, which wasn't a surprise since Ciela wasn't much of a housekeeper. Even amid the chaos it was plain to see that Ciela was gone, the closet door was flung wide and most of her clothes were missing, her few favorite things gone from her bedside table and dresser top. Jayna turned to leave the room only to find Lucifer staring up at her from the doorway. "Yes, you've got the run of the house again. She's gone."

Jayna stepped over the self-satisfied cat and went back down the hall to the kitchen. That pot of tea was becoming a better and better idea all the time. She filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove to boil then picked up the phone from its cradle on the counter, turned it on, and punched in a number from memory. One ring... She got her favorite teapot out of one cupboard, Two rings... a canister of loose Earl Grey tea out of another. Three rings... She had pulled a random cup out of another when a voice came on the other end of the line. "O'Shea's Body Art...”

"Mike, it's Jay. Is Ciela there?" There was a pause on the other end.

"Yea, um, sure. Let me get my appointment book." She could hear him walking to the other side of the shop.

"Look, I'm not going to try to get you into the middle of anything. I just want to be sure she's ok."

"I can do that. I just need to find a long enough block of time." Mike was becoming a better liar, there was hardly any stress in his voice at all.

"Is she going to be staying with you?" Jayna asked.

"Mmhmm. You know the drill." She heard Mike place the phone against his chest and say what sounded like this will only take a second to someone else, probably Ciela, before speaking into the phone again. "It will probably take some time to get this all worked out, but I think we can pull it off."

"Thanks, Mike. I'll be in touch." Jayna hung up the phone and went back to her tea, and preparations for the evening's work.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ciela walked through the mall in something of a daze. It was a bad idea, she knew, but she had little choice in the matter, those damned voices in her head were distracting her.

She had already dropped off a few of her belongings at Mike’s apartment and hoped his ‘door is always open’ policy applied in this situation. She was going to talk to him, just in case. Not to mention a little bit of a warning would probably be nice. Announcing ‘Hi honey, I moved in!’ as soon as he walked in the door would probably not go over too well.

She got to the shop quickly enough, and the place was blessedly deserted. Mike was actually cleaning, so it must have been a pretty slow day. He glanced up as she walked in, grinned automatically before her appearance registered. She did not look too happy.

“Cie, you ok?” Mike crossed the room and stood in front of her, started to put a hand out to pull her into a hug but decided against it. He could feel a mixture of anxiety and fear and confusion coming from her. Not a good sign.

“Yeah, sort of.” She was staring at her sandals.

“Did something happen at the meeting?” She wasn’t volunteering anything either. Deciding what to say?

“Yeah.” She muttered, still looking at anything but him, mostly the floor. “Something happened at the meeting.”

This was like talking to a wall, he hadn’t seen Ciela this…stubborn? Shocky? Since…
Oh, hell.

“I don’t want to go back to Jayna’s. I was hoping I could stay with you for a little while.”

She finally managed, looking up from the floor before dropping her eyes again. Her eyes had the shiny gleam of someone trying very hard not to burst into tears.

“Ciela…?” Great, just great. “Staying with me’s not a problem; you know you’re always welcome. But you’re gonna have to tell me what’s going on, ok?”

She nodded. “Jayna just told me that Warren is back on J Street.”

Mike tensed somewhat but prodded her to continue. “Just that?”

“He’s been back for a while. She said she didn’t tell me because she didn’t want to upset me.”

Mike nodded, though Jayna hadn’t said anything to him, either. It was times like this he remembered just how young Ciela really was. “She wants to protect you.”

Ciela flinched, and muttered in Náhuatl, at him or at the voices in the helmet, he couldn’t be sure. “Why does everyone think I need to be protected from everything? Not telling me is a whole lot more dangerous than letting me know so I can be prepared!”

Ciela had gone from on the verge of tears, to nearly shaking in anger in the space of a few heartbeats. Apparently she was viewing Jayna’s actions as some sort of betrayal, and even worse, was nowhere near as ‘over’ the attack as everyone had thought. She’d managed to fool him, as well. “Cie, honey, sit down before you fall down, ok? And start over at the beginning. I’m a little lost here.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Jayna was rechecking her bag of supplies for the night for the third time when the bell to the shop rang. The sound startled her and she jumped. She was really in no mood for any unannounced visitors. She stomped over to the door and shouted a bit louder than necessary, "Go away, I'm closed!"

A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. "Jay, it's Torres. Can I come in?"

Jayna unlocked the door and opened it. "Sure, I just didn't want to deal with any after-hours customers." As she stepped back to allow the detective to pass she was amazed at the woman who walked past her. The voice was definitely Torres', but the look was unbelievable. Jayna would have walked right past this woman on the street and never known her. In place of the ultra-professional police woman, here was a much younger looking party-girl who could only be described as hot in high-heeled thigh-high boots, skin-tight leather strapless mini-dress, and a matching leather jacket slung over one shoulder. "That's a new look for you." she said almost speechless.

"When in Rome, as they say." Torres did a little turn to show off. "It's all borrowed. I wouldn't be caught dead in clothes like these if it wasn't for a job."

Jayna shut the door and threw the deadbolt. "You should, it looks great on you."

"Right. I bust my ass for years to get the respect I deserve and after 30 seconds in this I go back to square one. I don't think so."

"I wasn't suggesting that you go to work like that, just that it might be something you might want to try on your down time. You don't have to always be so serious." Jayna was beginning to think she might have to give up speaking entirely, as everything she said today seemed to hit someone's hot-button.

"You've never seen me completely off the clock, so you really can't judge. You have no idea what I can be like under the right circumstances." She could tell that Jayna was tense and in a foul mood. "I take it things didn't go well with Azangel this afternoon?"

"They didn't go at all. She was gone by the time I got back, moved in with Mike."

"She's a big girl. She'll get over it…eventually." She fervently hoped that the conflict between the two friends wasn't going to hinder the current investigation. It would be dicey and dangerous enough without any undue distractions.

Jayna shrugged, "At the moment I'm more concerned with getting this psycho off the streets. What's the plan for tonight?"

"There are a couple of clubs in the area that service the kind of crowd that our victim ran with. Jasper and Az are going to check one out. I figured we could take the other. If we pose as a couple no one should be any the wiser."

Modus Morte: Chapter 18

Jasper stared at her drink for a moment. She hadn’t touched it since the bartender brought it out, and it was one of her favorites, a Long Island Ice Tea. She hadn’t had anything with alcohol in a really long time, but tonight it was mostly for show. The woman that sat across from her seemed to be staring at hers too. Ciela had gotten tequila. She seemed relieved when Jasper said she didn’t expect her to actually drink it.

Ciela was staring at her surroundings in awe. She hadn’t said much since they arrived, and Jasper was beginning to think Ciela was mad at her. Maybe it was just that they were both feeling out of place. They were in a club that was very ‘Goth’; it was dark and brooding and packed with a lot of people in black. Both Ciela and Jasper were wearing black clothes, black lipstick, eyeliner and mascara. Ciela was pale enough to blend in with the rest of the group, and had actually gotten a few comments on her ‘pallor’.

Jasper was feeling out of place though, and a bit nervous. Torres assured her that the goths would think she was one of them because of her skin color, but she didn’t realize how right the other woman had been. They had practically accepted her as one of them. All she had to do was sulk in the corner.

Tonight there was a band on the stage, with a violinist of all things, and the lead singer was prancing around the stage with a long sleeved black sweater on, when almost everyone else had on short sleeves. The sweater had a giant skull on it that was quite creepy looking, and Ciela kept giving it strange looks. Jasper figured there was more to it than the other woman was willing to share.

Jasper spent her time looking between Ciela, the sweater, and Takeo. She was supposed to be watching him right? He was busy talking to another man in the corner. Jasper knew he was pretending to be a gay man, but Takeo seemed to be playing it so very well. If she wasn’t so worried about Ciela she might find herself something akin to jealous. God this was getting bad. She had to force herself to look away from the man when it looked like he was going to kiss the one he was talking to.

“Are you okay?” Jasper asked the other woman to distract her from her own annoyance. Ciela jumped slightly when she spoke.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ciela was a bad liar, but Jasper wasn’t going to push it right now.

“Okay.” She replied looking back at Takeo. He was whispering in the other man’s ear now. Jasper bit her lip and looked away.

“A better question is, are you all right?” Ciela asked her. It was probably the blush that gave that one away.

“Yeah.” Jasper suddenly felt very dry-mouthed. She pushed her drink farther away, before she drained it. “Just peachy.” Ciela only grinned at her.

“Have you ever done this before?” Ciela asked her. “You know, the whole stake-out thing.” She was staring at the skull again, which was okay because Jasper found herself staring at Takeo again.

“Yeah. Once or twice, you?”

“Never.”

“Then there’s no better time to start I guess.” Jasper was just glad Reaper wasn’t around for this one. No cats allowed in the club. She was sure he was in the alley somewhere though, probably licking himself. Jasper was hoping he’d get bored and go home. Even the possiblility of him getting laid might be an improvement for his grouchy ass. She remembered Takeo muttering something about that after the doctor left earlier. She had been trying to walk around the house some; her leg was stiff from the cast. Those two followed her everywhere. She had to shove Reaper out of the bathroom when she went to change for the stake-out!

Ciela didn’t know how lucky she was to know them only in passing. They had been fairly well behaved in front of her so far. Jasper was relieved that Reaper wasn’t following Takeo around like a jealous tribble for once. Then again Reaper would be soooo upset he missed his chance to rib the Asian for the way he was acting now. Takeo was good at pretending to be a gay guy. Really good.

“Umm… Are we supposed to actually watch him that closely?” Ciela asked, bringing Jasper out of her thoughts. Jasper tried not to blush. It didn’t work.

“Yeah.” She replied. Maybe it would get Ciela off of worrying about that sweater.

Ciela blinked a couple of times before saying, “Oh.” Then she laughed nervously while playing with a napkin on the table. That was better than silence, she supposed.

“Well there are other things to stare at if you want.” Jasper said, blushing. Ciela glanced at the sweater again. “The guy isn’t that bad looking, aside from the sweater.” She then noted. That made Ciela blush. “Sorry.” Jasper added ducking her head. She didn’t want to make the other woman feel bad.

“No don’t worry about it.” She waved it off. “Just sorta preoccupied.”

Jasper grinned at that one “Yeah, I know that feeling.” There was no use hiding it. Ciela probably noticed it. She wasn’t about to force the other woman into a conversation about it, but a topic change wouldn’t be a bad idea. “I’ve never really been in a place like this before.” She frowned looking back at their target. “I’m guessing this isn’t exactly your scene either.”

“Definitely not, but I’ve been in clubs like this before.” She looked around gesturing to the place slightly. “It’s a lot to take in at first, but you get used to it.”

“Part and parcel of the job.” Jasper smiled.

“Would you like to dance?” Jasper almost jumped. She hadn’t seen the man approach her. He was tall and dressed extravagantly. He was wearing more makeup then she even owned, and by the smell of him was probably a bit tipsy.

She blinked a bit before answering, “Yeah, sounds good.” She grinned nervously and shot Ciela an apologetic look. Ciela waved at her excitedly to go ahead.

Jasper grinned nervously as the guy literally pulled her to him. She was hoping that Ciela was watching Takeo ‘cause there was no way she would be able to now…or would she? Jasper decided to aim the overly excited man a little closer to their target as they danced.

This apparently would be a feat unto itself. The man who asked Jasper to dance was named Toby, or Toby No!, depending on what he did. She soon realized he liked licking things. As he rattled on to her about something she wasn’t listening to, he licked her neck out of the blue. That was probably what he was talking about. Jasper had developed the ability to tune people out, while still appearing to be listening. She practiced this often with Reaper and his long lectures; sometimes it kicked in with others. Sometimes it was more of a detriment than a bonus though, and this looked to be one of those times.

Toby was easier to lead though when you were talking to him. Jasper teased him a little about what he has licked. Apparently it was everything he could get his hands on. The bar, glasses, a railing, a chair, you name it and he’d licked it tonight. When he reached in for another lick she heard Takeo’s voice.

It wasn’t really his voice. It was the voice of Romanov. Torres had managed to retrieve a voice sample for them from the dead man’s answering machine. It was louder and crisper than Takeo’s natural voice, and in Jasper’s opinion, much harsher. He was talking to the other guy. She had finally gotten Toby close enough for her to listen.

“Naahh.” Takeo seemed to pause. Her back was to him so she couldn’t see him. Ciela was staring at the singer’s sweater again. No help there. “I’ve just been busy.” Jasper figured he noticed her there. That was not helpful.

“Romanov, it’s not like you to do that, man.” The other guy sounded a bit distressed “Did you at least get something for your trouble…”

Toby was being loud again. She tried not to pay attention to Toby licking at her face again, but it was horribly distracting and somewhat nauseating at the same time. He was definitely drunk. With his mouth that close to her nose the smell of liquor was overpowering. So far he had spent more time stomping on her feet than actually dancing.

She was even more surprised when he got a case of ‘Roman hands’ and placed one on her rear end. She resisted the urge to put a knee in his groin for that one as she remembered his promise to lick everything he touched. Jasper wanted to remain inconspicuous, and starting a bar fight was one of the fastest ways to get attention. All said and done she was starting to want away from Toby before he really did decide to lick everything that his hands had touched. Jasper was relieved when he let go of her enough for her to take a step back. She could hear Takeo again without the other man in her face.

“Not to worry about it.” Takeo seemed so sure of himself when acting like this. Jasper hoped he managed to convince the other guy of that too. “What did Jean Paul say?”

“Nothing.” The other man didn’t like this Jean Paul character, apparently. Jean Paul had been one of the last few people who had seen Romanov before he died. Torres’ files about this guy hadn’t been very detailed. They did have the last places Romanov went and the last people to see him. This included a handful of drunks and a few people he considered friends. It however didn’t have everything Takeo would need. Jasper was worried that they would see through this ruse before it even got started.

“That’s too bad.” Takeo said before Toby yanked Jasper out of earshot again.

Getting off the dance floor would have been the easiest thing to do. Jasper was beginning to regret letting this guy lead her out there, he was way too friendly for his own good. Another reason to thank god Reaper wasn’t there. She pushed Toby back some into the crowd. Jasper knew how to be forceful when she needed. Poor Toby thought she was playing. Again she tuned him out to hear what the others around her were saying.

“… can’t take too long, I want it to be a surprise.” Takeo was leading this guy around the block.

“Sure man. I’ll be there. I think I can get it for you.” This sounded like he was saying his good-byes. Jasper had missed almost the entire conversation. She put up with being stepped on and pawed just to miss almost everything useful. Damn.

She had to get away from Toby. Looking over to Ciela was no help again. The girl was staring at Takeo but the expression on her face was of utter shock. Of course it could be shock because Toby had just licked Jasper again in a place she did not appreciate being licked.

“Whoa, big boy, I’m going to need to sit down. You just wore me out.”

“I have that affect on people.” He stumbled over her foot again. Good thing her boots were steel-toed. He’d have crushed her toes during just the one dance.

“I'll bet you do.” Jasper said before weaving her way into the crowd. Toby tried to follow but Jasper smartly weaved towards another pretty girl that had been alone. Toby attached himself to her immediately. In any other case Jasper would have been pissed for being forgotten so fast, but this was a unique case. In fact she pitied the poor girl. When Jasper made her way back to Ciela she was tired. The crowd had been rough and loud and Toby was a horrible dancer.

“You might want to wipe Toby’s makeup off your face.” Ciela whispered.

“Yeah.” Jasper gritted her teeth as she took a napkin to her face. The man had been wearing some thick, greasy makeup. She seemed to smear it about more then remove it. “Remind me not to do that again.” She told the other woman. Ciela laughed at her.

“He was an enthusiastic person.” She agreed.

“Too enthusiastic. You know if Reaper had been here he’s have had several coronaries from that one dance alone.”

Ciela looked confused. “You mean Reaper would have danced with Toby?”

Jasper tried not to laugh as she looked for Takeo again. He was weaving his way through the crowd. “No, Reaper would have been pissed at Toby. In fact, if Reaper were here poor Toby would be hurting.”

“Ohhh…” Ciela said, after thinking a moment she then added. “I think he already is.”

It was now Jasper’s turn to be confused, “Huh?” The other woman just laughed, covering her mouth to muffle the sound. Jasper frowned a bit, then decided to see if Takeo was ready to leave. He was still on the dance floor, but was talking to someone else. Jasper could pick Toby out of the crowd too, and he looked like he was in serious pain. It took a moment for Jasper to realize Takeo had just passed him, and was probably the source of his discomfort. “Oh, you saw that I’m guessing.” She asked the other woman.

Ciela nodded in agreement. “I saw a lot.” That sounded like an understatement if Jasper ever heard one.