[ Post a Response | Role Play Board ]
Posted by Blue Beetle
on 8/17/2008, 10:55 pm, in reply to "Quiet Moves Prologue: Quid Pro Quo (Revisited) Continued"
76.84.93.240
The gray clouds cast their shadow over the mountains, and the small close knit community nestled within them. The fall breeze blows the dried leaves that line main street from one side to another. He stands by an old oak tree, planted when the city was founded. Clinching his fists in the large pockets of his trench coat another gust of wind blows against his sturdy frame.
"You still standing out here? You know you could have come inside?" She looks over at her partner, raising an eyebrow slightly. He turns and faces her without saying a word. She's been worried for the past week, about something, she hasn't told him be he knows. Her thoughts are almost as transparent as the contents of the plastic grocery bag. "I get it. Didn't want to be caught with me when I bought these?"
She holds her recent purchases. Reaching in she takes out a bag of black cookies with white frosting sandwiched in between.
"Thought you might like some." She smiles handing him the bag of his favorite snack food. Over ten years working together and this is all she's be able to figure out about her partner, he likes cookies. Some detective.
"Thank you." For a minute she hears it, a spark of gratitude; a spark of emotion. Before she can reply back, the cookies fall to the ground, and her partner soon follows, gripping his head. His fingers dig into his skull, breaking the skin, red blood begins to creep underneath the nails.
"John! John! What's happening?" She acts out of instinct as she watches her partner wither in pain. She dashes towards her car, as patrons of the store start to huddle around him.
Images flash in his mind, places he's been, places he'll go. Friends in danger each one in pain themselves, the agony they feel is multiplied a thousand fold within his mind. He feels their sense of despair. Each image crams itself into his mind, attacking his very sense of self. He can feel her warmth as she grasps his hand.
"Stay with me John, an ambulance is on its way." Her voice grows faint as he the images overwhelm him. He can hear her thoughts, she's worried and for the first time in years he is too.
Melody Case sits at the large oak table that had been Ted Kord's. She shakes the thoughts out of her head; no it was Ted Kord’s. Two weeks ago he had rushed off to help after a strange attack in Opal City. She had sat by the television waiting to see his face on the news, to see that he was OK, but it never happened. The Bug had been found but no Blue Beetle, no Ted Kord.
"Why Ted? Why tell me now?" Her voice is horse, in two weeks she had maybe gotten twelve hours of sleep.
"Excuse me Ms. Case?" Gina's round head peaks around the office door. "I know that you're busy with things but..."
"Come in Gina." Melody sighs arranging the folders that had found themselves scattered across it. "What can I help you with?"
"Well since Mr. Kord checked himself into Rehab, I know that you've been running the company." Rehab for Pain Medication, Ted wouldn't be happy but it was the best that she could do under the circumstances.
"It's been a rough couple of weeks." Is all she manages to say, the only words that she can think off.
"Mr. Carter called wondering about you, he's left a lot of messages. Is everything between you two OK?" Michael, how could she forget him? They'd been dating and then he left on business or something the exact reason slipping her mind, he must have come back. How could she talk to him when she's spent the last week waiting to hear from Ted?
"Damn you Kord." She mutters underneath her breath low enough so that Gina doesn't hear them.
"I got this fax this morning, thought that you would like to see it." Gina takes the paper that she had been holding in her hands and lays it on the desk in front of Melody. WANYE ENTERPRISES is scrolled atop of the fax.
"Looks like Mr. Wayne would like to meet you. I heard he's quiet handsome." Gina squeaks a little pushing the sliding glasses on her nose up as Melody reads the memo.
"Company Jet?!" She exclaims surprised that Wayne would take this much interest, guess Ted had more pull then she had thought.
"I better get back to manning the phones. The Insider has already called three times asking for interviews, I've told them no by the way." Gina makes her way towards the door. "Have fun in Gotham, Ms. Case. Remember stay close to the hotel and don't go out after sunset, I had a cousin that was mugged there and left for dead."
I see his eyes, the pierce the darkness like rubies made of fire. I try to scream out but I can't. There's no light, no sound, just darkness and those eyes, like hellfire. Slowly everything begins to fade; light begins to envelop the darkness, the eyes disappearing with it.
For a while I can only hear the voices, I'm guessing they're doctors. At least I hope they are. I can only make out a few of the words, although they seem to be slower and more scattered then usual. I try to open my eyes, to view my surroundings but I can't my muscles, my body, won't let me. I'm left just to lie, I hope I'm lying, here and not be able to do a damn things about it.
When I finally do open my eyes I find myself in a hospital room. I think my vision has atrophied, it takes my eyes longer to adjust then I remember. My room has a view; I can see the horizon, mountains jaunting through clouds in the distant. Guess they gave me a VIP suite. To my left I see a nurse; she's adding another bag of IV solution to my drip.
"Hello sleepy head. I'll go tell the Doctors you're awake." Her brunette hair is pulled back in a pony tail; she winks at me as she leaves the room.
"Mr. Kord, I'm glad to see that you're awake. You gave us a most terrifying scare with your little stunt in Opal City." The voice is cold and calculated, the red eyes flash in my head at the sound of it. The figure sits in the corner of the room, a large shadow among the other shadows that cling to the wall.
"We saved your life you know? That stupid stunt you pulled stressed your already weak heart to its limit." The voice rings in my ears, I squint trying to make out the details of the onyx mass. "Our doctors are some of the best in the world and you still managed to make them sweat bullets but thanks to the moderns of medical science you pulled through. You're welcome."
"Thanks." I reply, I've got a case of cotton mouth for the ages. I cough, my chest aches, my hand clutches my side. I can feel the scare from where I was cut open.
"It was our pleasure. A hero such as yourself. All that you've done for your country, the world. Your time with the League made you an international star." The form shifts a little; I still can't tell if I'm talking to a man or a woman.
"Yeah well, I'd like to take all the credit for that but..." I press my back against the pillows behind me as I sit up.
"No need to get up, your wounds are still healing." The shadow dissolves the figure that it belongs to comes into the light. She's called The Wall for short. Amanda Waller was part of Luthor's cabinet, one of her more noble causes. The League could never connect her with anything but her presence puts me on edge. I can feel my heart rate pick up, the beeping of my heart monitor confirms it. "I would like to assure that I'm here under United Nations Jurisdiction. You are at the Castle Mr. Kord, the Headquarters of Checkmate. You see we watched you fight with Dr. Alchemy in Opal City. The operatives we had on the ground brought you here."
"Never going to let me forget huh?"
"Not a chance. In fact we have an offer for you. Checkmate is restructuring and you're knowledge and background could prove very useful for us."
"So you're offering me a job? Because I already have one of those. You see I kinda run a company that I probably should be getting back to..."
"No Ted, may I call you Ted?" She half asks, I don't think anything I could say would change her mind. "I'm giving you a job, and I'm giving you a chance to save the world, so what do you say?"
Message Thread:
« Back to thread