Spook
Christina passed the city limits of Denver and grinned. RK looked out the window and purred.
"We'll stop somewhere, and I'll rustle up some contacts, then we'll go hunting," she told Christian. "Want anything to eat?"
Christian
"Nah, nah... just a drink," Christian waved her off.
"Coffee if you can."
Spook
"Coffee sounds good to me," Christina said.
RK mewed.
"You'll get fed, you guts. Honestly, anyone would think we starve you, when in fact you eat more then both of us put togethere..."
Christian
"Putting on a little weight there, RK?" Christian grinned, then settled back to wait for Christina to return.
Hopefully with some course of action.
Spook
RK glared at Christian, then started to clean himself. Of all the impudence!
Christina sauntered into a bar. People turned to face her. "Looking for Jerry," she told them.
Soon, she had a list of available bounties and their infomation in her hands. She studied them.
"I'll take these two, do them today, then be back tonight," Christina told the bounty holder. He nodded.
"Good to have you back, Spook."
"Good to be back. See you."
"Clean kill."
"Good business."
She left and got her and Christian cups of coffee. "Here," she said as she got back into the car, tossing the folders into Christian's lap. "Our targets." She held out his cup of coffee for him to take, sipping at her own.
Christian
Christian grabbed the folder, letting his eyes skim over the details as fast as they could.
A grin spread across his face.
"Cool," he nodded, "ready to go now?"
He took the coffee from her and raised his eyebrows as he began to drink.
Spook
"Yep." Christina nodded and drained the last of her coffee. She stuck the empty cup in the drinkholder and pulled out of the parking spot. "I thought we'd go after the empath first. They're usually pretty easy to dodge, anyway. Good practice."
Christian
Christian went back to the emapth's profile, and skimmed over it.
40 year old male with a family. Typical business man, whose partner in business wanted him dead so he could take over the company.
"Hmm..." Christian considered, rubbing his chin, "we could go about this two ways."
He smiled slightly.
"We either be very boring, and just wait until he's alone and jump in... or... this family thing is interesting. Could play some games with them, and kill the whole lot. Few less aliens on the planet won't hurt."
Spook
"Why not?" Christina shrugged as she started driving towards the house. "It's not even 8:00. They'll all be threre still. We can take our time about it."
Christian
"Even better," Christian shrugged.
"Just don't frighten the little kids too much. It won't be hard once we get started anyway. I know we can't leave them alive as witnesses, as much as I want to, but still."
Spook
"Clean for them," Christina agreed. "Quick. Simple." She stopped at a spotlight. "There's only two entrances to the house. I take front. you take back? We'll stay silent as we go in, knock them out."
Christian
"Pfft. Boring. Where did you learn to have fun?"
He sat back and put his hands behind his head.
"Go with the flow. They're not going to recognize us if we play them. You don't know what the hell you're doing with your power, so you can just tell the truth to the empath. There's no telepaths in the family, so we're right."
Spook
"Well, usually, I'm working by myself. And I had no powers before this," Christina reminded him. "We'll play it by ear then. Let the random events guide us."
Christian
"You can have fun with mind games when you don't have a power," Christian pointed out, "if you plan it right."
He scratched his left arm, near the wound he'd rebandaged.
Spook
"Mmph," Christina said noncommitedly. "Did with Mouse."
She pulled up in front of a surburban house.
"We're here." She got out of the car, closing her door behind her and went round to the boot. She got out some knives and slid them down into her boots, loaded her hand gun and fingered the double barelled shotgun for a moment. Should she take it? Nah, too ostentatios.
Christian
Christian got out and watched her arm herself, just shaking his head slowly. God, it was if she was going after someone important.
"Mouse was different," he said finally.
Then he began to make his way up to the front door, and just simply knocked.
Spook
"Yeah, Mouse was for fun," Christina agreed as she followed him. "This is just a job. RK, stay in the car."
Christian
Christian ignored her, not wanting the family inside to get a clue as he stood by the door and waited.
Finally, a small boy of about six opened the door.
"Hey there little guy," Christian smiled, bending down to the boy's height, "is your daddy home?"
Spook
Christina smiled at the kid, shades firmly in place over her black eyes. "We needed to talk to him about something important. Is your mommy home too? We really need to talk to them."
"Uh huh." The little boy nodded. "MOM! DAD!"
Christian
Christian waited until the boy had run off to find his parents, then stepped through the open door.
Standing on the other side, he nodded in approval as he looked around.
"Nice place."
Spook
Christina stepped in after him and closed the door behind her. "You do get that. There should be a teen girl, and another little kid running around somewhere."
Christian
"Teenage girl?" Christian grinned, raising his eyebrows.
"Hmm... could be better than I thought."
A man in his late 40s suddenly appeared through a doorway, and hesitated as he saw the two strangers in his livingroom. He adjusted his tie.
"Yes?"
Spook
"Hello, we're here to discuss a business proposition," Christina said pleasantly.
"You really should have contacted me at the office..."
"But Mr Lawson said we should meet you here. He was very...insistent about it."
"Dad, have you seen my car keys?" A blonde girl demanded as she flounced into the room. She was very pretty, in a vapid sort of way.
Christian
Christian grinned when he spotted the girl.
"Hey there," he began in a low voice, sidling up to her.
"Hi..."
"What is the meaning of this?" the man demanded, putting his hands on his hips.
Christian ignored him, standing behind the teen and running a hand down her arm as she shivered.
"It's just business," Christian insisted, leaning over the girl's shoulder a little, "and what's your name?"
"Sarah," she replied, frowning a little, trying to edge away from him.
Spook
Christina grinned, and carefully targeted her powers to turn off everyone in the house except Christian. "As he says, it's just business, nothing personal. Hey, sweetie," she cooed to a little girl who came running in. "You partner has some ideas that you're getting in the way off." SHe picked the little girl up.
The man made an abortive move forward to stop her.
"Uh uh." Christina smiled. "Call in your wife. This really should be a family occasion."
Christian
Christian saw the man's eyes widen, when he guessed he was suddenly cut off from all the emotions.
"Null's pretty neat at times, huh?" he grinned, having both hands on the girl's shoulders now.
"Let me go, freak!" Sarah exclaimed, trying to get him off her.
Christian took hold of her arms so she couldn't fight back.
"Trouble with your power?" he asked, snidely.
"Daddy?" came the young boy again, as he entered the room, "what's going on?"
"We're just having a friendly chat. Nothing to worry your little head about," Christian smiled, almost laughing at the man's freaked-out state.
Spook
"Kids are clean, remember," Christina reminded Christian. "You want to play with the girl, go ahead."
"What do you people want?" The man exclaimed. His wife came in.
"Peter..." her voice trailed off, and Christina grinned at her.
"Come in and join the party. We're just getting started. Wanna close the doors, baby?"
Christian
"I never said anything about doing something to the kids," Christian defended as Sarah continued to try and fight him.
"This pretty thing however... isn't a child."
She froze when he blew down her neck slightly. All the doors leaving the room slammed shut suddenly, making the family jump.
Spook
"Well, the bounty's really only for him," Christina nodded at the man.
He gasped. "You're hunters!"
"And someone give the man a prize." Christina grinned. "Name's Spook, and that's Christian."
The woman started to cry in fear and clutched the little boy to her.
"Well, they've heard of us then. Isn't that nice?" Christina played with the little girl's hair.
Christian
"Don't scare the kids," Christian scorned the woman, "you're going to make them hysterical."
He took hold of Sarah telekinetically, then made his way over to her. She cowered, pulling the boy with her.
Christian held his hand out.
"Come on out, it's ok," he beckoned to the boy with a trustworthy smile.
"No... please..." the woman whimpered, "don't hurt him."
"I don't hurt children ma'am," Christian frowned, throwing her off the boy with his telekinesis.
He took the boy's hand and crouched down in front of him.
"What's your name?" he asked innocently.
"Joshua," his eyes darted fearfully.
"Hey, it's ok," Christian rubbed his arm comfortingly, "you don't have to be scared."
Spook
"You might not, but she does!" The man said.
Christina shrugged and kissed the little girl's forehead. "Christian doesn't want to, so we won't. Doesn't that make you feel better?"
"Oh, oh god..." The girl whimpered.
"What's your name, chickadee?" Christina asked the little girl.
"Cathy."
"That's a pretty name."
Christian
"Come on Josh," Christian smiled, standing up.
He put his arms around the small boy, and lifted him onto his hip.
"Oh you're a big boy. You're daddy must be so proud."
"Please, don't..." the mother continued to whimper.
Christian ignored her, before gesturing to Cathy.
"Come on," he took her hand, "I have a surprise for you two."
"A surprise?" Joshua asked quietly.
"Yeah," Christian nodded with a smile.
He glanced at Christina, before leaving the room. He took the two smallest children to the furtherest bedroom from the main room.
Spook
Christina got a knife out of her boot and cleaned her fingernails with it.
"What are you going to do with us?" The girl asked in a trembling voice.
"Well, we're killing him," Christina nodded at the man. "Your partner, Mr Lawson, put a bounty on your head. We're just collecting it. You other two..I'm letting Christian choose."
The woman wept quietly.
"God, can't you people just shut up? I mean, geez."
Christian
Christian returned a moment later... without the children.
He closed the door manually behind him, then made his way back over to Sarah.
"Where are they?" the woman whimpered.
Christian ignored her, beginning to trace his fingers over Sarah's body.
"What's say... you and I have a little fun, hm?" he grinned, leaning in to kiss her.
His power had enough of a hold on her to make sure she couldn't do anything.
Spook
"Get away from her!" The man exclaimed, moving forward. Christina moved fluidly and her boot slammed into the side of his face. He crumpled, moaning.
"Tsk, tsk," Christina scolded him.
The woman screamed, and Christina rolled her eyes.
"God, you people just can't seem to shut the hell up." She went over to the woman and sliced her lightly across the face. "Be quiet, or I'll *really* give yu something to scream about." The woman cowered back, one hand going to her bleeding face. Christina glared down at her then sat in a chair. "Have some fun, darling. She's cute, in that Barbie doll way."
Christian
Christian raised his eyebrows at the man, then looked to the woman.
"You know... you keep making that much noise and someone's gonna interrupt us."
He looked at Christina, locking the woman's jaw with her power.
"You can have some fun with them for a while. Just don't do anything drastic."
Then he took Sarah's hand and led her from the room.
Spook
Christina grinned, and bent down to kneel next to the woman. "You know about me, right? Then you know what I can do."
She lifted the woman's finely boned hand and studied it for a moment, before breaking one of her fingers. Tears poured down her face as she tried to scream.
"And Christian's just teaching your daughter some things."
Another finger broke with a snap. The man moaned, and Christina spared him a glance. He wasn't getting up anytime soon.
"He's good though. I'll give him that."
Snap.
"Isn't this fun?"
Snap.
"I know I'm having just a peachy keen time."
Snap.
Christina broke all the woman's fingers, then went and did the same to the man. She let him feel what Christian was doing to his daughter and the pain that his wife was suffering. Tears ran down his face and he moaned almost continously.
Christian
Christian sighed as he lay on the floor beside Sarah's bed. The girl was laying, almost peacefully, under the sheets. With a broken neck.
It hadn't taken all that long before she'd begun to participate wholeheartedly - must have the whole 'bad guy' image he'd been giving off.
He rubbed his face then slowly stood. He ran his fingers through her blonde hair, leant over to kiss her forehead, then began to make his way out again.
He closed her door behind him. Three down, two to go.
When he got back to the livingroom, he pursed his lips when he saw the couples' fingers.
"That's... niteresting," he raised an eyebrow.
Spook
"I was bored." Christina shrugged. "Anything you want to do?" She picked up the woman's hand and rubbed at one of the places where she'd broken bone.
The woman's eyes bugged out and you could see the scream building behind her closed mouth.
"Or we can move onto to something more fun." Christina got out a knife and drew it along the curve of the woman's face, blood following it. "So, how was she?"
Christian
"Not as good as Taryn, although pretty good for a virgin," he smiled.
"And don't be too mean to her. She hasn't really done anything to deserve it."
He sat back into one of the chairs and rubbed his chin.
"Come on, focus. How messy are you gonna be?"
Spook
Christina licked some blood off the blade of her knife. "I don't know. She's pretty damn annoying. Whine, whine, whine."
The woman moaned.
"See what I mean? What do you feel up to doing? Or should we just kill them both and go get the next one?"
Christian
"I dunno. I like this house, so I don't particularly wanna cover it in blood," Christian screwed his face up.
"And she has reason to moan. Don't tell me you've never put up with it before."
Nevertheless, Christian snapped her neck.
Spook
Christina got the gun out of her pocket and spun the chamber. "Do you want to kill him, or should I?"
The man was a weeping mess on the floor.
Christian
"You haven't killed anyone yet," Christian pointed out.
"But if you're gonna use that, put a freaking silencer on it. Anyone would think you were a beginner. There are such things as human neighbours, you know."
Spook
Christina stuck her tongue out at him as she fitted a silencer onto it. "Need a pic after. Prove he's dead." She lifted the man's chin and nestled the muzzle of the gun there, before blowing his brains out. She got a small Polaroid out of her pants and clicked a picture. "Well, that was rather easy. And fun. Next house?" She stuck the camera and devloped picture into a pocket.
Christian
Christian stretched his arms out in front of him and yawned a little.
"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed with a nod, then stood.
He looked down at the man, then sighed at the blood soaking into the carpet.
Spook
"Ok." Christina stood, then rustled in the man's pockets for keys. "We can come back and clean the house out later."
She stuck the house keys in her pocket and stretched, before heading for the door. Oh, she was hyped. She was buzzing. Christina hummed slightly as she walked out the door, and sucked on her fingers to clean them of blood.
Christian
"Such nice carpet..." Christian shook his head, not moving for a moment.
"Nice blood, but nice carpet."
Then he followed her out.
"Do you actually have any ways of killing things... still having fun... without drawing that much blood?" he raised an eyebrow as they made their way to the car.
Spook
"Suffocation can be fun," Christina said thoughtfully as she opened the driverside door and got in.
RK sniffed in disapproval but then licked her fingers.
"I just like guns."
Christian
"So I noticed," Christian pulled a face, sitting in the back seat.
He grabbed the folder and sifted through the files again.
"Any other one you wanna do in particular? I think there's one a couple of blocks away..."
Spook
"They scare people. Even more then knives. That one sounds fine. Where is it?" Christina asked as she started the car.
Christian
Christian gave her the directions, then sat back to read the profile.
"It's kind of ironic, actually," he began, "that knives can hurt a lot more than guns, yet people fear guns more. To be killed by gunshot is quick and painless. To be sliced is a slow death, and inevitably more painful."
He turned the page.
"Hmm... X-ray vision. She's gonna spot your gun before we get to the door."
He scratched his chin.
"She's in her mid-30s. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Single parent, son in his early teens. With our luck he probably won't be home."
Spook
"Odd, isn't it?" Christina said. "I'll leave the gun inside then. That's more why I carried the shotgun, you know. Makes such a statement. And it goes boom so very loudly." She grinned.
Christian
Christian gave her an odd look.
"You're not exactly one for covering your tracks, are you?" he smirked.
Spook
"Nah. I don't always hold with subtle. I mean, I can do it, but it's nowhere near as much fun." Christina shrugged as she pulled up in front of a house. "Here we are then. And there's something so satisfying about lots of blood and big explosions."
Christian
"Well, that I can do without," Christian admitted, getting out of the car.
"I like to play with them. Sometimes you can drive a victim so insane that they kill themselves and save you the trouble."
He chuckled.
Spook
"Nice," Christina said as she got out of the car. "You can do it to empaths, really easily. Especially if they aren't well trained."
They walked up to the front door and Christina knocked, pulling her power in.
Christian
Christian waited until someone opened the door.
"Yes?" came the woman's voice.
"Hi," Christian smiled, sliding his hands into the pants of his pockets.
"We're from a nearby University, and we're doing a survey... could we please just take a moment of your time?"
Spook
"Oh, ok," the woman said pleasantly and opened the door fully. "What's the survey about?"
"How the people of our community feel our university is meeting the needs of their children," Christina answered, smiling.
"Is it a very long survey?"
"Not really, it shouldn't take more then ten minutes."
"Well, why don't you come on in then?"
"Thank you very much, ma'am."
Christian
Christian led the way inside, as the woman directed them into her livingroom.
He smiled slightly at the neatly polished floorboards. Well, maybe Christina could get away with some blood this time. As long as she didn't get it on the furniture. Old-style, and looking expensive.
"Thanks so much for doing this, you wouldn't believe how much trouble we've had finding participants," he rolled his eyes, sitting down.
Spook
"Oh yes, I can believe that," the woman agreed. "There's so little community spirit these days."
"Do you have a child who might be interested in attending the university?" Christina asked.
"Well, there's Nicky. But he's not really interested in school. He's very good at sports though. Would you like some cookies? I baked them this morning."
"That sounds wonderful, ma'am, thank you." Christina grinned. "We do have a wide range of sports scholarships."
The woman moved out of the room, then came back with a plateful of chocolate chip cookies. "He might like that. He's around the back somewhere, fiddling with his car. Boys."
"I know what you mean. It's always the same no matter how old they get," Christina said as she took a cookie.
Christian
"Excuse me?" Christian raised his eyebrows indignantly, "when was the last time you saw me working on a car?"
He took a cookie, studied it, then sat it on a small table nearby.
He reached out to shake her hand.
"Name's Christian Thomas by the way..."
"Oh really? That sounds familiar," the woman hesitated for a moment, trying to think.
"Oh you've probably heard of me," he smiled.
Spook
Christina tossed him a look. "Did I say I was talking about you, Christian? No. I meant men in general." She bit into her cookie, and her eyebrows went up slightly. It was very good. With lots and lots of chocolate chips.
"I'm sure I've heard that name before..." the woman murmured, thinking as she put the plate of cookies down on a table. "So, where is this survey?"
"Hey, mom." A tall lanky looking teen boy with brown hair moved through the living room to the kitchen. Christina looked at him consideringly. Kinda cute, in a puppy dog way.
"Nicky, don't track grease through my clean house."
The teen turned and grinned, before sweeping a lock of hair out of his face. A smear of black grease ran along his cheekbone. "I washed my hands before I came inside. And these are a different pair of shoes."
Christian
Christian glanced at Christina, then looked to Nicky.
"Manual labour isn't quite my forte. And if you were talking about men in general..." he looked back to Christina, "you're saying I'm not a man?"
Without giving her a chance to reply, he stood and slowly closed all the doors, without letting them make a sound.
"Something that might jog your memory..." he began softly, advancing on the woman a little.
She stepped back.
"Hmm... my adoptive father's name was Craig Morrison. Need another hint?"
Spook
The woman went white. "Oh god..."
"Now why does everyone call on him?" Christina sighed. "And you can take it however you want, Christian."
"What's going on?" The teen asked finally.
"Well. Someone wants your mother dead. You just happened to be home at the wrong time, honey." Christina stood and stretched slightly. "My name's Spook."
Christian
"Spook?" The woman gasped, stepping back even further, "and Christian Thomas?"
The teen frowned.
He suddenly threw his left arm out, a avse flying at Christian. Christian froze it in mid air, and sat it back on the table.
"Don't annoy me Nicky," he brought his finger up and wagged it tauntingly, "my power is a lot more advanced than yours, and I can counter whatever you do. Although it could get tiring. Greenie here has a new power all to herself."
He turned to her.
"Wanna help me out here?"
Spook
"Pfffft, Chrissy baby." Christina waved her hand negligently. "You were doing *so* well." But she did as he asked.
The woman's hands flew to her eyes. "Oh my god!"
"Enjoy the blindness," Christina said.
Nicky tried to move something else, and his eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"Called Null, sweetie." Christina stood and sauntered over to the teen. He backed away. "And aren't you cute? In a puppy dog kinda way..."
Christian
"Yeah, why don't you get rid of some of that sexual tension?" Christian chuckled.
He advanced on the woman and took hold of her left wrist.
"Please, don't hurt him..." she cowered, standing as if ready to die.
"Oh I won't hurt him. I promise. But I can't say the same for her."
The woman glanced at Christina, then back to Christian.
Spook
"Well, you already got rid of yours," Christian pointed out as she flicked a knife into her hand. "With what's her face, Sarah? Little blond tramp."
Nicky gaped, then tried to attack Christina. She hit him over the back of the head with the hilt of her knife.
"You knew them? Well, whole family's dead now." Christina grinned as she propped Nicky up against the wall and slapped his face to bring him back around into consciousness. He moaned slightly.
"Nicky!"
Christian
"She wasn't a tramp. She was a virgin," Christian grinned, stepping around to the back of the woman.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she began to cry in fear, holding her body so she had to watch what was happening to her son.
"If you're going to do anything, you might want to go for a more private room," Christian suggested, "I can look after Mama Bear for you."
Spook
"Virgin, hey? Lucky you." Christina pulled the dazed Nicky to his feet. "C'mon sweetie. One last good time before you die." She kissed him as they headed for the door.
"Oh god!"
"Thanks, Christian." She disappeared with Nicky, one hand already down his pants.
Christian
Christian waited until they were gone, before letting the woman go. He took her hand as she wiped the tears from her eyes, and let her to the table in the eating area.
"Well, as it's quite obvious what's going to happen there..." he began with a smile, "let's have a chat, shall we?"
He put his hands on her shoulders as he sat her in one of the chairs, then went to sit across from her.
"Who... who wants this?" she whimpered.
"Umm... taking a guess, your ex-husband," Christian shrugged, leaning back and putting his feet up on the table.
Spook
Christina pushed Nicky down onto the bed, dazed brow eyes looking up at her. "Ohhh, you're *so* sweet," she purred bending down to kiss him.
"Oh god..."
"Mmmm..." Christina quickly pulled his pants and hers out of the way.
"Oh, oh god!"
"First time, darling boy?" Christina mused as her hips rose and fell.
Christian
"I heard... that Tanya had taken you in," the woman began nervously.
"Yeah, she did," Christian agreed, "you know, you have a really nice place here..."
"I thought you stopped hunting?"
"I did. I did stop. That's true," Christian nodded agreeably, "but circumstances change. A mental breakdown after being kidnapped by certain..."
He looked in the direction Spook had disappeared.
"...persons, can work wonders."
He slid the dagger out of his boot and twirled it in his hand.
Spook
Christina threw her head back as she came silently. Nicky moaned underneath her and slumped back onto the bed. "See, that's why the French call it the little death." She moved off him, then snapped his neck. "And that's the big one." She kissed his cooling lips briefly, then went to find a shower, picking up her pants and underwear off the floor.
She found a bathroom and stripped off as she turned the hot water tap on.
Christian
Christian looked up as he heard the hot water come on.
"What the hell is she doing?" he frowned, "we haven't exactly got all week."
The woman turned slightly, as Christian stood. He made his way to where he could hear the shower, and banged on the door.
"Yo! Greenie! Move it!"
Then he shook his head, and headed back to the woman. She had hold of a cordless phone and was desperately pressing the numbers.
"Oh no, no no no..." Christian began softly, going over and taking her hand.
The woman cried out and dropped the phone, before he took her hand into his, put his other hand on her waist, and began to waltz with her.
"No one can help you. No one can save you..." he began in a sing- songy voice, "all that's left is to ponder the meaning of life. Wonder if you ever fulfilled it's purpose."
He slowed a little, looking down into her face. The tears definately weren't going to stop anytime soon.
"Hey..." he began softly, lifting her chin so she looked into his eyes, "at least you met a couple of celebrities. You're not going to go out with people thinking you were too pathetic to save yourself. We're professionals, you don't have a choice."
Then he hugged her.
Spook
"Screw you, Christian!" Christina called out as she rapidly cleaned herself. Shaking her hair free of water she dressed again. "I happen to like being clean, thank you very much! And it's different for guys! She got a cigarette out of her pack and lit up as she went to find him. She found him hugging the woman and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are we all done with the Hallmark moment?" She dragged back on the cigarette.
Christian
"Oh, things were just getting a little emotional," Christian smiled, pulling away.
Some of the woman's tears had soaked her shirt.
"What... happened to Nicky?" she stuttered.
"Nevermind Nicky," Christian waved her off, "you're the special one now."
He leant over her shoulder, and softly blew up and down her neck. He grinned when he saw the goosebumps begin to cover her skin.
Spook
"Nicky? Nicky's fine. Juuuussttt, fiiiinnneeee," Christina drawled. She got a knife out and sat down on a chair. "Your show, Christian. Since you seem to be having so much fun."
Christian
Christian glared at Christina when the woman started crying again.
"Stop winding her up," he insisted, "I just get her calmed down and you go and get her all flustered again."
He stepped behind the woman again as she hung her head and wept, running reassuring hands up and down her arms.
"It's ok..." he hushed in a quiet voice, more sinister than comforting.
Spook
"I'll stay mum." Christina mimed zipping her mouth shut. "Your show." She stubbed out the cigarette on the plate of cookies, before lighting another one. She studied her nails for a moment, then went back to work with the knife.
Christian
Christian smiled and took the woman's hands again, starting to dance slowly.
"I'm crossing that bridge
With lessons I've learned
Playing in the fire
And not getting burned
I may not know what you're going through
But time is the space
Between me and you
There is a line through that window
Oh don't say yes, while people say no
Life carries on..."
He murmured the song, just enough to get the feel.
"Just say die
Now that would be pessimistic
In your mind
We can walk across water
Please don't cry
It's just a prayer for the dying
I just don't know what's got into me..."
The woman began to cry again, and Christian hushed her. He softly traced his fingers down her face, then stepped backwards a little. The look on her face only became more fearful, as she kept her eyes to the gound, weeping.
Christian tilted his head a little, before forcing one of her lungs to collapse suddenly.
The woman cried out, clutching her chest as she fell to the floor.
OOC: "Prayer For The Dying" by Seal
Spook
Christina clapped politely. "Approproate song, Christian. Good technique. I'd give you a nine out of ten for that."
The woman moaned on the floor.
Christian
Christian put his hand up as if to silence her, before stepping around the woman as she struggled to breath.
As she was on her hands and knees, he circled her for a moment, then knelt beside her.
He put a hand on one of her shoulders, and gently forced her to roll over onto her back.
"Don't fight it," he whispered softly, placing his sunglasses onto his head and looking into her eyes.
She stared up at him as she choked, before he leant in over her and kissed her. In doing so, he breathed in, taking the air from her other lung before crushing it.
By the time he pulled away, she was dead. He leant over her and closed her eyes, before replacing the sunglasses onto his face. Then he stood.
"Well then, let's blow this joint."
Spook
"As you say," Christina agreed. She snapped a picture of the obviously dead woman and then headed back out to the car. "Well, do we want to do another one, or leave before the agents wake up to the fact that we killed two families?"
Christian
"They'll be onto us soon enough," Christian shrugged, "we've left enough DNA evidence for them. It's not like they can stop us anyway."
He almost chuckled at the thought.
"We can do a few more."
Spook
Christina giggled. "Oh, agents! I love killing agents. They annoy me."
She hopped into the car and ruffled through the folders.
"We did these two..."
She looked at them consideringly.
"What about this one? It's a couple of blocks away, and they will pay us a lot to kill thw whole family. Dear, dear me. Someone hates these people. Two teen girls, older couple, and no less then three children. One of whom belongs to one of the girls. And there's supposed to be a boyfriend hanging around the place. But not the father of the child. That's almost sluttish."
Christian
Christian raised an eyebrow once he was settled into the backseat.
"Hmmm... maybe a big one like that can do to round off the day."
He leant over and took the folder from her, beginning to study the profiles.
Spook
"And then we go collect the bounties."
Christina nodded, and dropped her cigarette butt out the window. She turned the key in the ignition and pulling away from the curbside.
"And then we won't need to do anything for a while..."
Christian
"And how exactly, do you know that I don't need to?" Christian raised his eyebrows.
"You may be fine to sit on your ass for a few weeks, but once you get me back into this... you're gonna be stuck with it. I'm not used to collecting bounties though, as I said, so even if I go it alone you could rake in the money if you want."
Spook
"I was just talking about killing for money, sweetie. Didn't say *anything* about not killing for fun." Christina grinned. "We can just wander round and kill aliens. Sounds fun. Sounds good."
RK mewed and she glanced back at him.
"And what's up with you? You're a predator as well. This is what we do. We kill people. Cos, it's *fun*."
Christian
"I meant on the level of mass death," Christian shifted slightly.
"I went off it for a while. Thought I could be doing the right thing. But to kill is too much of a temptation. If I get it, which I am, I am going to thirst for it continually. I will not be able to stop myself. I won't know how to. It's all programmed up here."
He tapped his head.
Spook
"Just as long as you don't kill too close to where we're living, and we move around enough, I don't see a problem with that." Christina tapped her cigarette ash off the end of her smoke on the edge of the window. "As long as we don't get caught, you can do whatever the hell you like. And if I have to, I'll stop you. I don't seem to have the get out of jail free card you do." She pulled up in front of a house. "Here we are then. Let's go."
Christian
"'Get out of jail free' card?" Christian looked confused, having never played Monopoly.
"Well what exactly do you think Tanya's gonna think when she finds out what we're doing, huh? And she's not the one in charge of the death warrants."
He got out of the car.
"One of these kids does martial arts. Watch her."
Spook
Christina stepped out of the car. "Didn't seem to bother her none last time. And don't you be worrying about me. She won't never have had to fight for her life. I have. Makes a bit of a difference."
They walked up to the front door and Christina knocked.
Christian
"Who said I was worried about you?" Christian chuckled slightly, before the door opened.
A tall, thin brunette answered.
"Hey there," he waved, "are... your parents home? We need to talk about some connections in the phone line..."
Spook
"Bastard," Christina murmured even as she kept a smile fixed on her face. "We've been told you've had some difficulties. May we come in and look around at the wiring?"
"Uh, sure, I guess..." The girl said hesitantly. "Mom!" She turned and trotted inside. The two hunters followed her.
The TV was blaring and Christina could see the three kids firmly in front of it, and an older man and woman on the couch. That just left one girl and one guy to pinpoint...
Christian
"I didn't have parents..." Christian said through his smile in another sing-songy voice.
"Yes?" the woman looked up.
"Ah, hi. We heard you were having some troubles with your phone line, so we've come to check them out."
He closed the doors.
"We didn't call..." the woman looked to her husband.
"We aren't having any troubles," the man frowned.
Christian looked to where he could see one of the cables, and used his power to snap them.
"Well, you are now."
Spook
"Stop being so literal, baby," Christina said and cracked her knuckles. "Just a word."
"Hey, Mom..." Another girl wandered in, followed by a guy over 20. Christina tilted her head slightly.
"Looks like the whole family's here now." Christina coughed slightly. "So." She concentrated and Nulled their powers, leaving Christian out of it. "You'll be experiencing some technical difficulties..."
Christian
The man had risen from his seat when he'd seen what Christian had done.
"Who are you people?" he demanded with a frown.
He tried to use his power, then faltered when it didn't work.
"Well, you might have heard of me," Christian picked some dirt out form under his knuckles.
"What's going on?" the boyfriend demanded, standing in front of his girlfriend slightly.
Christian smiled at him.
"You're about to learn a lesson about the universe, if you didn't know already."
He shook some hair out of his eyes and removed his sunglasses. The man suddenly flew backwards and hit the wall, a look of fear crossing his face. His girlfriend screamed, so Christian quickly locked her jaw.
"Christian Thomas..." the woman gasped, recognizing him.
Spook
"They usually don't get pics of me, but you've probably heard the name." Christina grinned unpleasantly. "Name's Spook."
The woman on the couch gasped and clutched at her husband's hand.
Christina giggled and bounced slightly in her boots. "Isn't it *nice* to be celebrities, Christian?" The other girl eyed them for a moment, before lunging at Christina. A sickening crack later and she was clutching at her broken arm and crying as she cowered back into the wall. "Tsk tsk."
Christian
"Hey! Go easy on her," Christian insisted, frowning a little.
"What do you want?" the man demanded.
"What do you think we want?" Christian looked up at him, replacing his sunglasses over his eyes, "what do we ever want?"
"Who?" the woman gasped, as the children began to cry.
She clutched one of them.
Spook
Christina dusted her fingernails against her top and blew on them. "Well...the bounty's for all of you. Someone here managed to piss someone off *real* bad."
"Oh, oh, oh god..." the girl with a broken arm whimpered.
"Hey, you try that kind of stuff with me, expect to get hurt. Baby girl." Christina flexed her hands again. "Where do you think we should start, Christian?"
Christian
The boyfriend moaned from the wall, as Christian eyed the children.
"Please... not the children..." the woman whimpered, as her husband sat beside her and put his arms around her in support.
"Hey, I won't hurt them," Christian insisted.
He made his way over to the children, and took hold of a small boy and propped him onto his hip.
"No!" cried the girlfriend, lunging for the boy.
Christian held her back as he took the hand of the small girl who'd been watching TV, then raised his eyebrows at the mother. He pulled the other girl from her telekinetically and knelt down.
"Want to go for a piggy-back ride?" he smiled, "come on, up you go."
He waited until the girl was on his back, then stood.
"Please, don't hurt him," the girlfriend pleaded, hugging onto her boyfriend since he'd slid from the wall unconscious.
"I already said I wouldn't," Christian made to leave the room, "it'll be quick and painless."
Spook
"Christian's just fantastic with children. He killed the other two at the first place this morning. Nary a whimper." Christina flipped a knife into her hand. "He's very good."
The family watched her with fear.
She walked over to the TV and turned it off, before walking over to the immense stereosystem and turning it on. She flipped through their CD collection, and slid a CD in.
"What you want,
What you got,
Live it up in a crawlspace.
I'd help you out,
But you don't want a chance at a better life.
You said you never looked around
And now you want to play
Well, it's a big, big city
Let me show you around some time,
Some time..."
"Good music. Loving Matchbox 20." Christina bopped slightly, then turned back to her captive audience. "Now, where should I start..." She gave the volume knob another turn upwards so that no one outside would hear anything except music.
Christian
Christian had found the childrens' bedrooms, and so lay them out in their respected beds when he was done.
He stopped for a moment in one of the girls' bedrooms, looking around quietly. He looked up at a mobile hanging from the roof, then spun it with his telekinesis. Looking down, he picked up a toy pony from the soft carpeted floor.
With a sigh, he went back to the livingroom. He cringed when the blast of music hit him.
"Jeez... loud or what? You wanna deafen them to death?"
He covered his ears, one hand holding the pony to his ear.
Spook
"Didn't want anyone to hear the screams," Christina told him.
While he'd been gone, she'd continued to break every one of the girl's bones. None of them had pierced the skin, she was that skilled. With a sharp twist of her hands, Christina broke the girl's neck.
"And not one bone went through the skin."
"What I will do without,
The spaces in between,
You can tell me now,
What it means to be,
You have been found out,
I have been decieved,
By the one that I need,
Tell me why you gotta be so cold..."
"You got anything in particular you want to do?" Christina patted the dead girl's face as her mother sobbed on the couch, clinging to her husband.
OOC:'Cold' by m20.
Christian
Christian turned the music down from the other side of the room.
"They won't scream... unless you want them to."
He took his hands away from his ears, and held the pony in both. His eyes fell on the young couple beside him, the boyfriend still being out of it. His upper lip twitched a little before he broke his neck. The girl cried out before Christian locked her jaw, and held her back to the wall by her throat.
Spook
Christina pouted slightly. "Well, not all of us are telekinetics, you know. And she was screaming rather a lot. Especially when I broke her hips." She slid her sunglasses off her face.
"Oh my god, your eyes!" The mother gasped.
"Side effect of my trip to Kansas. I think they're kinda cute, actually." Chrstina grinned. "Kinda neato." She stood and sauntered over to the lounge, hand flipping her knife up into the air and catching it.
Christian
"And she just *loves* to tell everyone all about it."
Christian stood back against a wall and folded his arms, the pressure on the girl's throat tightening.
Spook
"Well, Kansas. What can you say about it? It's got this great big whopping crater in it cos the humans *really* screwed the pooch that time."
Christina's knife flicked put and cut the woman along the face. She cried out and cowered back.
"Really nice this time of year. All...radioactive. Glowy, in fact."
"Leave my wife alone," the man said quietly, and he started to stand up.
Christina kicked out, landing her boot on his chest and pushing him back down. "So you'd rather I hurt you instead? What a gentleman. Isn't he nice, Chrissy?" She pushed down further and the man cried out as a rib splintered.
Christian
"Mmm... the noble type. Know a few of those," Christian raised his eyebrows, before the girl collapsed, lifeless.
He lifted the pony to study it, willing to let Christina have her fun.
Spook
"Yeah, but you're definetly not one. Though you did help spring me that time." Christina looked up briefly. "Thanks for that."
"Get. Off. Me."
"Like that's really going to work." Christina pressed down further and his hands came up to push her off. A flick of her hand and a knife pinned one of his hands to the back of the couch.
"AH!"
"Good boy. Keep your hands to yourself." Christina watched dispassionately as he gasped for breath and her heel sank further into his chest as she crushed his ribcage.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god," the woman whimpered next to them.
"Shut her up for me please, Chrissy?"
Christian
"Yeah, didn't realize how much I'd regret it."
Christian snarled silently, before snapping the woman's neck. He was getting tired of playing around, due to a sudden mood change.
"Don't be too messy this time. Although I guess you haven't done that bad at keeping clean this morning..."
He lifted the pony and smelled it.
Spook
"And screw you too, Chrissy." Christina frowned, then kicked out and snapped the man's neck. "I'm done. Let's go get paid."
She stalked towards the door.
Christian
"I'd rather not do that again," Christian pulled a face.
He bent down and placed the toy pony in the arms of the girlfriend, then followed Christina out to the car.
Getting in the back seat again, he sighed. Interesting day... and it was only early afternoon.
Spook
Christina started the car and pulled out from the kerb. She drove back to the club where she could find Jerry. "Don't draw attention to yourself." She left.
"Back so soon?" Jerry raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Yep. Here's the pics. Where's the money?"
"That'll take a while. Why don't you sit down and have a drink?"
"Fine. But let's snap it up, alright."
An hour or so passed with Christina getting even more antsy.
"Where's my money, Jerry?"
"It's coming. Don't you trust me Spook?"
"I don't trust anyone. Where the hell is my money? Do you really feel like dying today?"
"No, it's coming. Just relax. Have another drink."
RK mewed anxiously and stalked the confines of the car, pausing to look at where Christina had appeared occasionally. Oh dear. Oh dear dear dear.
Christian
Christian's knee was bouncing impatiently.
An hour. A whole freaking hour. Where the hell was she?
"Screw this," he shook his head, getting out of the car.
He closed the door to keep RK in, then went to find Christina.
Spook
Christina by this point had had enough. She had Jerry up by the wall, knife to his throat, bladed boot to his groin and gun threatening the rest of the room. "Where the HELL is my money, you rotten little snitch?!"
"It's coming, I swear to God!"
Christina raised her foot and he tried to squirm further up the wall away from the threat to his masculinity. "I want my money now, Jerry. I'd had to have to ruin our relationship by cutting off your balls and making you eat them."
"It's coming, I SWEAR!"
"You want to be an eunuch? One slice, and that can be your reality." Her head whipped round and she glared at a guy who was getting up. "Sit your fat ass down, Mike. This is between me and Jerry, the welcher. I want to get paid, Jerry."
"You WILL!"
"I want to be paid, NOW."
Christian
Christian raised his eyebrows as he stood in the doorway.
"Hey!" he got their attention.
He shook his head.
"What's going on here?"
Spook
"Jerry doesn't have our money," Christina told Christian. "It's not *nice*," she lifted her foot and the man tried to stand even higher as the knife nestled between his legs, "to offer a contract and not have the bounty."
"And who the hell is he?" Jerry squeaked.
"New hunting partner. Name of Christian Thomas."
A gasp fluttered around the room.
"Yeah, that's right. Craig's little protege. Now, don;t you really think you should pay us now?"
"I thought he was hanging out with that telepathic bitch, Tanya!"
Christian
"Excuse me?" Christian seemed offended, raising his eyebrows.
He stepped forward a little, noticing a couple of people cowering from him. He grinned. What a rush.
He made his way to a table behind Christina, so that Jerry could see him, then lifted his sunglasses onto his head.
"So if he doesn't have the money, then where is it?" he asked in a low voice, his face expressionless.
Spook
"Exactly what I was trying to figure out," Christina hissed.
"It's coming! Christ, Spook, I said it's coming!"
"But you see, that's the problem. That's what you were saying an HOUR ago."
"You did three! THREE! And they were all big! It takes a while to get that kind of cash together!"
Christian
Christian shook his head, then leapt onto the bar. Kneeling as if to show off, he slowly drew his dagger from his boot, then leapt down and made his way over to Jerry.
Using his telekinesis to keep Jerry's head still, he slowly and carefully held the side of the blade to his cheek.
"Don't play games with us," he said softly, eyes watchful for anyone in the background that may play up.
"How much trouble can you have gathering that money? I know that the bounties do not come from you. People want these aliens dead for a reason, so they must have the money for it."
He tilted his chin up a little and slid the blade down to Jerry's throat.
"Therefore, all you have to do is call them, and tell them to get their asses and their money here, pronto," he tilted his head, "is that so hard to comprehend?"
Spook
Jerry had two knives to his throat, one at his groin and two very pissed off hunters glaring at him. He gulped. "I called them."
"And...?" Christina drawled.
"I got two of them. But not the big one you did."
"Well, that's really a pity, Jerry, really it is. But you'll just have to pay us yourselves."
"Look. I got a car out the back, that I need gone. You'll need to swap, cos I *know* Steel is looking for you. I'll give you the car as part of it, and I'll tell him you went anyway but the way you're going. And I'll pay the rest of the money, I have that much."
Christina's eyes narrowed. "What type of car?"
"A Beamer, top of the line."
"Sounds good to me. What do you think, Chris?"
Christian
"Sorry if you can be fooled," Christian began, keeping his eyes into Jerry's, "but I've learnt not to trust anyone. Especially these kind of low lives."
He pulled the knife away and backed off. He made his way over to the bar and sat on it, before holding the dagger out. He lifted it with his power and sent it back to Jerry, letting the tip of it rest against his forehead.
"Please direct me to where the money you have, is."
Spook
"Oh, oh, oh, *shit*!" Jerry's voice got really high as the knife cut through the cloth at the crotch of his pants. "Ok! It's in the safe under the bar."
"Watch the room, Christian." Christina moved away but no one in the room moved. She looked under the bar and found the safe. "Combo, Jerry?"
"Oh, christ. 20 left, 15 right, 34 left, 16 right."
"Better not be kidding us."
"I'm not!"
"Ok, here goes..." Christina spun the combo and soon was loading wads of cash into a bag. "And the car?"
"Car's out the back! The keys are in the ignition!"
"Well, I'll go do that. I'll call you when I get it, Christian." Christina disappeared out the back to get the car.
"Shit, shit, shit..." Jerry moaned.
Christian
Christian rolled his eyes as he leant on the bar, gazing around the room at all the eyes on him. He replaced the sunglasses over his eyes, so they couldn't tell who he was looking at.
"I told her not to trust you about the car..." he shook his head, turning to Jerry and removing the knife from his forehead.
He took the knife into his hand, keeping Jerry against the wall by the throat.
"But like she'd give a $#!+ about anything I say."
Spook
Christina checked the car over for traces, bombs, bugs, anything that was not given to the car by the people that made it. What she found made her rather unhappy. She stalked back inside with a heap of wiring and a few bits of plastique, dumped it on the bar and glared at Jerry. "Very not happy, Jerry."
"Oh, *shit*! Look, Spook, that wasn't there for you!"
"But you didn't warn me about it either. You mustn't be terribly found of your balls."
"I think I need more money now. I'm rather upset."
"Damn, damn, damn...take what's in the till and just leave me the hell alone."
"Thanks, Jerry. You're a pal." Christina jumped the bar and opened the till, stuffing several thousand dollars worth of money inside the bag. She grabbed a bottle of Scotch as well. "See you, Jerry. Let's go, Christian." She vaulted the bar again and stalked towards the door.
Christian
Christian groaned, leaning back so his face was hidden in his arms for a moment.
But he was bound by his promise and had to follow her.
"If you found the bugs and $#!+, why keep the damn car? You know they're gonna be looking out for the make," he screwed his face up.
Spook
"I'm *not* keeping that car." Christina rolled her eyes. "But we better get away from the bar quickly."
She hopped into the car they had arrived in and RK pressed up against her, purring. She scrubbed at his ears as she threw the bag of money into the backseat.
Christian
"Screw them," Christian murmured, opening the back door and getting in, "if they think they can come after me then they're welcome to try. If he knows Steel, he'd kick his ass if anything happened to me anyway."
He shoved the cash onto the floor so it wouldn't be obvious.
"I'm afraid to ask how many cars you go through in a week. How the hell do you live like this? Always running..."
He shook his head.
Spook
Christina snorted as she started the car and zoomed away from the curb. "It's better then being dead."
When they were about two blocks away from the bar, there was an almighty boom behind them and debris started to rain down from the sky.
"Stupid man."
They hit the city limits and the highway, and Christina turned the speed up a notch.
Christian
Christian rolled his eyes.
"Ok, you just gave up our last bounty. Not to mention more. And who says if you stop running you're going to be dead?"
He frowned.
"I was never running. Aliens did recognize me in the street but they were too frightened to approach. Even the telepaths. Admittedly it was probably because they thought Craig would have their hides, but that's not the point..."
He sat back, and a small, twisted smile appeared on his face.
"You're afraid."
Spook
"Hell, baby, and I had you pegged for smart. When did you figure that out?" Christina drawled.
"I got all our money, don't you worry. And a bit extra. Jerry's a small timer. No one cares what happens to Jerry, and when the word gets out that he tried to cheat us, he'll find it a hell of a lot harder to fence the contracts."
She fiddled with her shades.
"And being known for hurting when I get hurt, tends to make people think twice about making me unhappy. Course, I'm afraid. I'm f*cking terrified. Let's just think about how many people are after me, shall we? And that's only the ones *you* know about. I tend to run, pick my fights. I'm nowhere near as powerful as any of the people you've hung out with before. I'm not part of anyone's orginisation. Allllll allloooooneee."
Christian
"Awwww, diddums," Christian mocked, in a tone that showed just how sympathetic he wasn't.
"This isn't your game Chris. Seriously. To get into this kind of business and to be afraid, you're basically signing your life away already."
He squinted a little.
"A scared hunter is just as useful as a 3-legged greyhound. Not saying that you can't pull off some great work, but none of that is going to amount to anything when you finally break."
Spook
"Only idiots aren't afraid some of the time," Christina said softly. "And you're the even greater fool if you don't admit. I started when I was fifteen, and I'm still going. I've never been interested in forming an orginsation, or nothing like that. I just want to kill a lot of aliens, as many of them as possible agents and go out with a bang."
She spun the wheel and zipped between two cars with nary an inch to spare. Horns blared as she slewed back into the first lane she was in.
"You have had a hell of a lot more breaks then I ever did. But that doesn't particurlarily matter. Anyway, this is depressing. What do you feel about going up to the Rockies?"
Christian
"I'll admit I'm scared when I have reason to be," Christian shifted slightly, "I just see the logical side of things. If you're gonna die, you're gonna die. No big."
He hesitated, glancing at RK.
"And I don't really care where we go. It's not like I'm going anywhere."
Spook
RK crawled over to Christian and put his head in the boy's lap. He licked at Christian's hand comfortingly as his tail twitched slightly.
"Might be leaving the US for a bit. They're all gunning for me here." Christina bit her lip. "Canada then. Then a skip over the pond to Europe...think I still have a house in Austria..."
Christian
"Europe?" Christian looked up worriedly, "can't we at least stay on the same continent?"
He looked down at RK.
"And what are you getting cuddly for all of a sudden?" he asked, scratching the cat behind the ears.
Spook
"I'll bring you back to America when the month is up. Wouldn't leave you stranded over there," Christina said.
RK buzzed happily as Christian scratched behind his ears.
"People tend to be even less observant in Europe then they are over here. They've got the opinion that they've already done and seen it all, so there's nothing new under the sun."
Christian
"But still... it's not my terrirtory," Christian looked uncomfortable as he gazed out the window.
He sighed, then leant his head back on the seat.
Oh, what did it matter? It was up to her what happened to him for the next month or so anyway. He groaned at the thought.
Spook
"Do you good to get your horizons...broadened as it were." Christina shrugged.
RK mewed anxiously and tilted his head to turn golden eyes on Christian.
"And that's exactly it. No one's expecting me to go out of the country."
Christian
Christian only grunted.
He brought his other hand down to stroke RK's fur.
Spook
RK rumbled happily as he put his head back down in Christian's lap.
"And besides. Just as big an alien community, and a much smaller amount of hunters. Don't know why exactly that is, but it means that they're even easier to hunt. It'll be fun."
Christina reached over and unscrewed the lid on the Scotch. She lifted it to her lips and swallowed some.
"Oh, yeah. It'll be just a fun day at the fair..."
She recapped the Scotch and kept driving.