or
Sonali:
Betty engaged in a shouting match
(well, she was shouting, he wasn’t) with the stranger at our kitchen
table. Linus was just as Larry had
described. Larry had referred to Linus
as being one of the most infuriating men ever.
Linus let out a soundless laugh when Betty grilled him on picking the
lock to the door. He looked up to me
with his green eyes and stared for a moment.
I froze where I stood. I was
unaccustomed to people looking at me that way.
I shied behind Luke, I didn’t know why, I just did. My heart was beating fast and it felt
uncomfortable to breathe.
“Good to know people still hide
from me,” Linus grumbled. Betty groaned
and sauntered over to the fridge.
“I’d offer ya a drink but you
probably already got one.”
“Actually, I was waiting on your
kind offer,” Linus said. Cartouche had
made her way into the room. She growled
at Linus. Linus only shrugged. Larry and Luke turned to the man they called
boss.
“What was that about?”
“Oh, Cartouche possesses a
photographic memory, so naturally she remembers. It’s between me and her though.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” Cartouche
shouted. I shied behind Luke once more.
“We
saved your life back there,” Linus
interjected calmly, “Let bygones be bygones.”
“Larry, can we go home pretty please?”
Luke whimpered. Larry shook his head.
“HEY!” Larry called out; the small trailer was
packed beyond comfort. “Everybody sit
down,” he said. Linus gave him an icy
glare; clearly Linus was the boss of the group.
Larry looked to Betty, “Natural Light for me if you have it, if not, PBR
will hit the spot.”
“I’ll
have a bottle of water,” Cartouche replied as she and I had somehow settled next to one another at the
table. There was something familiar
about her, but my mind was still a blank.
Did I actually know her? Did she
just happen to look familiar?
“I’ll have a coke,” I replied softly. Luke smiled at me, sitting on my other
side.
“I’ll take a coke too, that sounds
good.” He shook some of the dirt, from
the earlier run-in with the elementals, out of his hair.
Before we knew it, we were sitting
around the table, albeit mostly in folding chairs, like some mismatched family.
At first there was silence, something alien to our house because
Betty hated silence. Then there was a
sound of a bug hitting the zapper outside.
“Today’s confrontation was too
close for comfort.” Linus spoke. He looked to Larry and then to Luke with
genuine concern. His eyes passed by me
briefly, I looked at the table. “I am in
your debt Betty, you and your friend…”
“Sonali,” I said softly.
“They were lucky they only ran into the
sentinels and elementals at that.” Linus
nursed his drink. I had gone through two
cokes, Cartouche a few bottles of water, but Linus was not interested in his
refreshment.
“Lucky? They almost killed us; the Grand Am is
gone!” Luke protested.
“Why were you driving that hunk of
junk anyway kiddo?” Betty asked, turning
to Larry.
“Ah, well, I’m of humble
means. If I drove one of the beauties
out it would draw too much attention. Besides, I think a Pontiac fits my
personality well.”
“Yes, god-forbid we ruin your
perfect white-trash image,” Linus quipped.
“Well aren’t you nice?” I didn’t know what had come over me. The words just sort of blurted out. That’s how I was, silently brooding
underneath the surface till I snapped.
Linus was vexed, but he made no retort.
“Look, I’m sorry I caused you so much
trouble,” Cartouche sighed. Larry put
his hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t listen to Boss; he’s never
been good with people. And Cuz, well,
Luke’s the biggest wimp.” Larry gave
Cartouche a comforting smile, “Where I come from,” he glared at Linus, “and in
Missouri we’re proud of being ‘White Trash’,” he turned his eyes back to
Cartouche, “Back home we don’t leave helpless people behind.”
“So what did happen to you
honey?” Betty cut in.
“I pissed off Gable,” Cartouche
stated. Betty and Linus exchanged a
look. I turned to Luke, who shared my
lack of comprehension.
“Who is Gable?” I asked.
Linus looked to me with indignation.
He just stared for a moment as though
“stupid” was written on my forehead in permanent marker. Outside another bug hit the zapper. Linus sighed and picked up his drink, taking
a sip.
“Gable is the second in command of
the Elite, if one could say Methuselah hasn’t
lost control.” Linus shook his head,
knowing something I was oblivious to.
“Gable
is the most charming snake you’ll ever meet,” Betty said with a sigh,
“but he has a very strong ability and uses it for personal gain.”
“Oh?” Luke chimed in.
“Gable
is a master of suggestion,” Linus explained, “Whenever our side has gone
against him, people have been killed by their own allies under his influence.”
“So the question is, how you,
sweetie, could have possibly disobeyed his
orders?” Betty’s attention was
back to Cartouche.
“It is not impossible to go against what he tells you to do,” Cartouche said
somberly, “but to do so comes at a grave price.”
“Gentlemen…” Betty said darkly to
Linus and his crew. “Could you please
leave the room? Sonali and I need to
talk to Cartouche in private.” After
some protest they walked outside. I
looked to Betty and realized what she must be thinking. Betty reached across the table and laid her
hand gently on top of Cartouche’s.
“Do you need a rape kit?” Betty had a gift for breaching difficult
topics with honesty and tact.
“No.” Cartouche said, “Thankfully, no.” She closed
her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks.
“They did everything but that.”
“Thank God,” Betty said
kindly. “It’s ok; you’re here with us
now. The Sirens take care of their own.”
“Betty is right,” I smiled
reassuringly, “I found myself alone, I didn’t know anything. But Betty took me in, and she took care of
me. She is a bit rough around the edges,
but this place,” I gestured to our trailer, “It is a good home, even as small
as it is.” I reached out and took
Cartouche’s free hand and squeezed it lightly.
Cartouche looked to me and smiled.
“You were never this nice to me
before Sabrina.”
“Sabrina?” I asked when the door
flipped open.
“Cartouche we need your
strength!” Linus called into the room. We turned to look out the door to see the
source of the commotion. Larry was on
the ground outside. “Somebody should
have told me he took a blow to the head earlier!”
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