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To Belong	By : BringtheHawt Category: +A through F > Bioshock Views: 20677 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the bioshock franchise or any of its characters. I am not attempting to make any money off of writing/sharing this.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Author's Note: A LOT of Elizabeth this chapter. A LOT of Noah too. Plot-wise there was stuff he had to do before he confronted "Elizabadass" and I definitely had a goal to include their confrontation in this chapter. Possibility based on reviewer's opinions of next chapter being purely Booker, check end author's notes for details. Enjoy! I definitely love everyone that has/will take the time to leave a review!
Stefano Galucci is important this chapter so you may want to read his profile if you can't remember him:
tobelongfic . livejournal . com
Remove the spaces!
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She can witness sins as they're committed ...
Noah tapped his blade against the window sill, still staring at the sky as though answers would seep from the clouds.
Exact judgment from afar ...
It was so thrilling. The idea of Elizabeth spoke so many promises to him.
A true goddess?
But she was ... human. She had to be. Her lips were real - he felt their touch. She revealed anxieties befitting of a budding female back at Time's Square. There had been bruises on her face on the first day they met ... she can bleed.
It was dear Ernest that would interrupt Noah's internal musings.
"Well ... we've certainly shared a lengthy and most exhausting professional relationship," Jacoby grumbled out as he slowly stood upward from his hunched position on the floor, "and its conclusion is long overdue. I bid you farewell."
With that last word he began to trot toward the exit.
"I don't recall terminating your employment," Reed responded with amusement, shifting away from the window to glance at the smaller criminal.
Ernest cast a wary look upon his smirking employer.
"But ... God ... - "
Noah lifted an eyebrow disdainfully.
" ... please fire me," Ernest beseeched miserably.
"Now, now, my dear Ernest, don't you feel it?" Reed quipped playfully as two steps allowed him to close the gap of the room and stand before his tormented employee, "after that touching tale of yours, I ... I feel our bond is stronger than ever."
" ... " Ernest looked so heartbroken that even his mustache seemed to droop woefully.
"I absolutely cannot part with you," the Negotiator smirked, lifting a gloved hand to pat the smaller criminal's head.
" ... great," Ernest muttered as he continued to endure the sadist's mocking pats. He started mentally chanting the words 'Smite him' over and over within his mind ...
"You have, however, proven yourself rather unreliable. No more independent projects for you, dear Ernest," Noah promised, "you will work exclusively at my side. I pray this will deter any more traitorous acts from you."
The moustached man glanced at Reed warily.
"There won't be any more betrayals," Reed inquired, tapping the flat edge of his blade upon Ernest's cheek, "will there, Mr. Jacoby?"
"No, sir."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Heat, sweat, the smells of sex.
Lillian groaned loudly as Noah shoved his hefty shaft into her ridiculously stretched pussy. She'd occasionally attempt to move ... but the iron-grip of Reed's hands on her hips reminded her that she'd go no where unless he allowed it. That strength was such a turn on. He could easily toss her about and control her with one large palm ... leaving his other hand free to tug at her nipples or play with her clit as he commanded her body.
Then there was that prick. The size of him drove her wild. His swollen cock touched her in places no other man she knew could ... and that stuffed feeling always made her strained quim sloppy with her womanly juices.
She was on all fours, panting and groaning, quivering and pulsing as he energetically plunged into her. The gorgeous female was approaching her third orgasm when she felt Noah firmly and fully bury himself in her twat, balls slapping into her flesh.
She cried out.
Then he stopped moving.
"Mh ... Mr. Reed," she protested, squirming as much as she could ... but that only resulted in that engorged prick moving a matter of centimeters within her.
Noah leaned downward to whisper in her ear: "I've a business proposal for you."
"P-please ... Mr. Reed," as her efforts to move her throbbing, tingling pussy about that dick continued. Then she felt a hand move from her hip to her upper back, pushing her face-down into the sheets.
"Focus, or I'll deny you," he insisted.
She took a deep breath to get her panting under control, then glanced at him over her shoulder. A business proposal? Weren't they in the middle of one?
Such a beautiful sight, Noah thinks. A submissive look on a needy, seductive woman ... one trembling from the feel of him, no less.
"What ... "
"Have you ever been to Buffalo?" Noah inquired with a slight smile.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Booker was packing his clothes. Because he was leaving. For nearly three days.
Elizabeth didn't know how she felt about this. They hadn't spent such a long amount of time apart since her arrival.
The awkward aftermath of their aggressive sexual exchange made her think some time apart was needed. But, as she stood in the corner of the room, arms folded about her chest ... watching her somber lover gather his belongings she was beginning to feel incredibly emotional about it.
Stay, she wanted to say, stay until I'm done being mad at you.
And Booker, of course, wanted to stay. Her presence had done so much for him. The violent nightmares had nearly vanished. Perhaps twice a month he'd have one ... and usually Elizabeth unwittingly calmed him ... It didn't take much from her at all to seal the wounds: the sight of her sleeping form beside him, the touch of her soft skin ... her bright smile. She was his sanctuary, replacing the ritualistic drunken stupors he once needed to sleep at night.
It's one of the many reasons why he had such a difficult time accepting the idea of Elizabeth leaving him.
So, yes, if Elizabeth had said the word 'stay' ... Booker would have abandoned the escort job to Buffalo without hesitation. Even though there was a man ... a family, that were depending on him. He silently hoped the job would be an easy one - he had no desire to kill anyone today, and certainly no desire to get shot or killed in a city so far from his two loved ones.
Loved ones.
Yes, DeWitt absolutely loved Elizabeth. He hadn't said the words yet to her ... and technically, she hasn't said them to him, either. She occasionally referred to him as 'love' or 'beloved,' but shied from openly saying 'I love you.' Women played odd words games like that, sometimes. Perhaps she wanted him to say it first?
Booker glanced at his quiet companion. She looked... distracted. He wondered what sort of thoughts she was having.
I love you, he admitted silently.
It felt inappropriate to say the words right now: while she was mad at him and he was about to leave for a few days. When he returned from Buffalo, he'd say them. And he'd do something ... romantic, to make the moment special. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd do ... but it'd definitely be romantic.
When DeWitt was finished packing, he moved beside Elizabeth and gazed at her for a short while.
Finally, he spoke.
"Do you have enough food for the weekend?"
"I should be fine," Elizabeth responded quietly. She loathed the thought of using her powers to steal food that didn't belong to her ... but she certainly had no intention of letting herself or Anna starve. If she looked hard enough through space and time, she'd be able to find food that would have otherwise been wasted. A goddess in poverty: picking through the edible garbage of endless realities.
"All right," Booker murmured before hesitantly adding, "I'd like you to promise me something."
The young female gazed up to him.
"I don't want you opening the door for anyone," he stated gravely.
Elizabeth's look became bitterly disdainful.
"You think I'm going to invite a man into your apartment while you're gone?"
"It's not that I don't trust you ... I just don't trust the rest of this city," Booker explained uncomfortably. Noah Reed had made at least two comments about his escort job away from the city before his men ... and both the Negotiator and the young gunman - Pelosi? - had openly confessed to being attracted to his beautiful partner.
Elizabeth sighed, annoyed by the implications of the request.
DeWitt frowned at her silence ... but he didn't have the heart to force her to make a promise over a subject that offended her.
"I just want you and Anna safe while I'm gone," he murmured, "multiple criminals know you two will be here alone ... and you both are all I have."
The quiet female nodded. His feelings were just, she decided. It wasn't just her own life, but Anna's, at risk. And, yes, people Booker had absolutely no reason to trust would know they'd be there alone ...
"I'll call you when I reach Buffalo," he promised.
" ... I'll be here."
The good bye lacked warmth. No smiles, no I'll-miss-yous. DeWitt's guilt felt thick enough to choke on.
Elizabeth watched Booker step into the nursery to say good bye to his beautiful little Anna. Again, between her and Elizabeth, he found himself wanting to stay ... He kissed her tiny baby belly until she giggled, then whispered 'dada' in her ear until she repeated it herself, then set her back in the crib.
DeWitt turned to face Elizabeth one more time. He gently touched her forearm, not daring to touch her anywhere else without her permission at this point.
"Stay safe," he told her.
Then he left.
Elizabeth stayed behind.
Before Booker had even successfully stepped out of the door, she had begun to feel pangs of loneliness. Then when she glanced about at the empty, quiet apartment ... the loneliness swelled. She checked on Anna, thinking playing with the child may help her pass the time, but the tiny girl was already falling asleep. She thinks her inevitably violent confrontation with the rebellious Negotiator would also help pass the time ... but the man just finished his carnal exchanges with Lillian and was now researching with Ernest. They were actually both attempting to research her ... and, of course, the pair was doomed to find nothing; she's only existed in their parallel for a few months, after all.
Elizabeth was ... alone again. Though this apartment seemed smaller and uglier than her Columbian prison. She hated it. She hated it. And she loved Booker. Truly, truly loved him. And she just let the tortured man she loved leave for a three-day trip without giving him a single affectionate gesture.
Elizabeth raced to threshold of the apartment, jogged down the stairs and exited the building.
She saw him on the street, about one-hundred feet away, walking toward the Grand Central Terminal to catch his train.
"Booker!" she called, and ran to him.
The ex-soldier turned around, surprised. He thinks somethings wrong - that she's scared to be alone or that he forgot to grab something important.
"Elizabeth ... ?"
So overwhelmed with emotion, she literally leapt into his strong body. He was muscular and quick, caught her with ease ... and those arms gently squeezed her petite form without hesitance.
"I'm still mad at you but," she murmured into his chest, burying several tears into his shirt, "you better stay safe, you better come back, and when you do, you better be as respectful and gentle as you were before this day ... - "
"- I will, will," he promised. There was something close to a smile. It was an odd one that didn't touch his eyes. Relief and pain and happiness and sadness were a bizarre combination.
"You better stay safe," she repeated, sniffling.
"I'll miss you, Elizabeth," he breathed, placing a hand into her hair and lightly gripping on its tendrils, "you've no idea how much I'll miss you."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
As the Negotiator walked through New York city's chilly streets, he realized he was ... frustrated.
Yes, frustrated. In his adult life, it was rare for Noah to feel this emotion as purely as he did now. His professional career was filled with many successes, few and usually inconsequential failures and lots of inappropriate laughter ... predominantly at someone else's expense.
He had fucked Lillian as though it were the last time he'd be able to touch an attractive woman before sending her off to Buffalo. As he did this, Ernest was sent to fetch the detailed file on Booker they had constructed together before attempting to collect from him.
Of course, other than perhaps additional sumptuous details of the gory crimes of DeWitt's past, he no longer had any interest in the man. It was information on Elizabeth he wanted.
Ernest and Noah had spent nearly five hours seeking information on her. They had called every phone number they had acquired for the file: Booker's few remaining relatives, his even fewer list of friends, his dead wife's relations and acquaintances, his ex-coworkers and even the ex-cavalrymen that had served with DeWitt ...
One such comrade actually lived in Rochester: a miserable man who, like all the others, had no information on Elizabeth. Noah slyly suggested he should meet up with Booker during the weekend ... as Rochester was only a two-hour drive from Buffalo. Let the two ex-soldiers wallow in each other's misery.
Ultimately, despite all these calls, no one knew anything about the gorgeous young female that shared Anna's lovely blue eyes. The entire file was a dead end.
She's real, he reminded himself. And she had a connection with Booker so strong that she ignored the man's numerous flaws, ignored the man's personal demons, adopted a life of poverty and hid all her powers from the world just to hope for a 'happy life' with him.
Absolutely ridiculous ... He thought with a bitter smirk.
This omnipotent female - one that could catch bullets out of the sky, summon storms and watch you from afar - had targeted him. She didn't even have to be physically present ... Elizabeth, on a whim, could murder a man on the opposite side of the city. And that's what she promised to him repeatedly ... death.
Well, there's always value in having the attention of such a beautiful woman ... even if the results are fatal.
As for the subject of death ... one may as well have fun with it. Truth be told Noah found himself excited and intrigued by all of Elizabeth's bold threats.
When he walked next to a phone booth on the city's sidewalk ... he decided two posthumous arrangements should be made.
He entered the phone booth, placed a coin into its slot and gave the operator the number to Stefano Galucci's home phoneline.
"Hello. Galucci residence," the secretary greeted.
"It's Reed," Noah responded.
"One moment sir."
A few minutes later, Stefano was on the phone.
"Thanks for holding," the Galucci mob boss muttered, "I had to preemptively take some aspirin for the inevitable fucking headache you- "
"- Do you remember the location of my home?" Reed interrupted.
" ... ya ... It's, what, twelve miles, northeast of the city, isn't it? Why?"
"My safe is in the basement. It's combination is twelve-thirty-fourteen -"
"- ... wait, wait, what? - "
" - and my dog will eat raw meat of any variety ... on that note, I highly recommend you refrain from bleeding in his presence."
"What the hell, Noah?!" Stefano barked, bewildered.
"Both are yours should I cease living any time soon - "
"- Noah, seriously, stop this, what's - "
"- That is all. I'll call you in the morning," and he hung up, thinking Stefano was far too emotional to ever be a truly effective leader.
Noah headed home.
Again, he imagined blue eyes.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
There was an emotional medley within Elizabeth's mind. Several chords had been struck at once: she felt apprehensive, challenged, angered, intrigued, and, above all, excited ...
She wondered if these were similar feelings to what violent men such as Noah felt when they were about to claim a life.
As she watched the criminal walked toward his home, a simple two-story cabin located in the woods outside New York city, the anticipation grew. She asked herself the strangest questions: how long does it take for a spider to weave its web? Does the guileful predator feel excitement when caught prey stirs vibrations through the silk strands of its trap? Is the taste of one insect preferable to another?
Elizabeth would continue to be patient. She'd allow the Negotiator to think he's safe.
Hunting the man certainly distracted her from thoughts of Booker and their quiet apartment.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Noah had a nearly charming routine every night he returned home.
Within about a half mile of his home, Reed would whistle loudly ... which quickly summoned his mutt, a German Shepherd mix named Achilles, from the depths of the woods.
The dog would welcome him home with blatant affection ... complete with excited trotting, tail-wagging and happy yelps; the dog would also be incredibly filthy ... as though he were dedicated to accumulating a complete coating of sludge on his fur during his master's absence. Subsequently, there'd be an outdoor bath: a gentle scrub with soap and water for the enthusiastic hound. The criminal often wondered if Achilles rolled within piles of mud for hours just to secure this daily cleansing massage.
Once the hound was clean, they'd both enter the well-kept cabin. Reed would hang up his hat and suitjacket. Then the pair would venture to the kitchen where Noah would prepare a plate of raw meat - sometimes raw human meat - for Achilles before cooking his own dinner.
Excusing the fact that the Negotiator's mutt had been fed human flesh enough times that the scent of man's blood caused him to salivate, it was a fairly normal routine.
Reed had just set down that plate of food for Achilles as the sound of a familiar woman's voice called out from behind him: "I'm going to enjoy this."
There was a flash of light before his eyes. He closed them instinctively, and that's when his glasses disappeared off his face, as though an invisible hand had plucked them away.
The Negotiator barely had enough time to tense the muscles of his body before a portal emerged beneath him, swallowing him.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
It was a moderate-sized evergreen tree in New York City's surrounding forest that the Negotiator was dropped into.
From the ground, Elizabeth watched that muscular, heavy body smack against several wet, pine-coated branches. It was fortunate for the Negotiator that she had chosen a tree with so many branches to help slow his descent. He was about half-way completed with his branch-snapping journey toward the forest floor before the man pulled off an impressive maneuver. With a grunt, Reed bashed into a particularly thick limb and, though he was practically blind and in the middle of an unexpected, painful plummet, he managed to snatch the well-anchored branch with his powerful grip.
Elizabeth's eyes widened slightly. It was quite a surprise that there was a branch even capable of supporting his weight ... much less that he managed to grab it after smacking into it.
She watched Noah dangle for a moment before clapping and making a loud acknowledgement: "That's very impressive, Mr. Reed!"
"I must admit: I'm equally surprised ... " he called back. Noah hadn't even realized she was physically present until she spoke. Despite his pain, which came mostly from his back smacking into this particularly large branch that he now clung to, the Negotiator smirked ... this was a very peculiar scenario, to say the least.
"Did you have a plan for getting down?" Columbia's Chosen asked mirthfully.
" ... I intend to hang from this branch until I produce one."
"I have a plan!" she announced playfully.
"Oh. Goody."
She opened one of her tears at the base of the branch, severing it from the tree. The Negotiator released an amused snort as his fall continued, faster than the fall of the massive branch that now followed him. Several more tree limbs would strike him on the way down ... scratching at his arms and through the fabric of his clothes. Finally the fall ended, and Noah's abrupt union with the forest floor was a painful one - Reed had tried to land on his feet but the velocity of the fall made him collapse onto his side. Pain webbed through his body like an electric current and caused a sharp huff but he didn't pause. As soon as he hit the ground, he rolled several times to avoid the severed branches' dangerous cascade to the ground.
He did avoid the massive tree limb. Barely.
Elizabeth examined the discernible path of damage Noah's fall had created within the crippled tree before she again clapped. As she watched Reed rise to his feet, she thinks the man either has a high tolerance for pain or he conceals it well. Either way, this confrontation was far from over.
"Well done, Mr. Reed."
"Thank you," he responded, trying to figure out where Elizabeth was. This was difficult with his compromised eyesight.
Another flash of light, and Noah found that his glasses had been returned to his face. He glanced down at his skin and clothes, assessing his condition ... He was filthy now, clothes damp and filled with grass and mud stains. Combined with the torn sleeve and bandaged arm, he appeared quite a mess.
Then there was the pain. Mostly in his back and legs. Not the worst pain he's felt in his life, but certainly the most pain he's felt in a long time.
Noah smirked.
"You're capable of far worse than this, Elizabeth," he commented as his eyes spotted her. She didn't approach him as a siren, this time ... The young female wore a modest purple dress, but the man still found himself enchanted by the sight of her. Possibly because there was so much power inside that body of hers.
"I am; you'll see," Elizabeth promised.
The light of Elizabeth's powers again appeared beside Noah. Within it, a small wooden table appeared a mere foot of him ... resting upon it was both his gun and his knife.
Reed glanced at the weapons. He decided it was a mocking gesture ... the sort of game he himself has played with many of his past victims: offer salvation ... offer hope when there truly was no chance for escape or survival.
A soft chuckle as the muscular man set his hands on his hips, gazing at his ... captor.
"What's wrong, Mr. Negotiator? Are you not even going to try to protect yourself from me?"
"Thy will be done," he responded with both a smile and a small bow.
Elizabeth gazed at him for a long moment before speaking: "let's review your various betrayals before we continue."
"Oh ...why not?"
"You tried to kill Ernest despite my demand that you spare him ... -"
"- only after his audacious attempt to pull a gun on me, Elizabeth," Noah explained with a surprisingly serious tone. It did force a pause from the conflicted female. She had watched the scene ... Ernest had been truly afraid ... did he attempt to shoot the Negotiator before Reed actually threatened him in any way?
It didn't matter. Jacoby, when he was finally excused from work, spent hours crying in his concerned wife's arms. Ernest had more value to this world - a family that loved him and would greatly mourn his loss. Would anyone mourn the loss of Noah Reed?
"That's irrelevant," she decided, "I still insisted you spare him. And you still disobeyed and tried to kill him. Even after he exposed his haunted heart to you ... you were going to slice his wrist."
"True enough," Reed responded, smirk deepening, "I forgot everyone under your protection is allowed to shoot me without fear of retaliation."
"Oh yes," Elizabeth hissed, "that brings us to the subject of Booker: at Time's Square, you tried to provoke him into shooting you."
" ... You're missing the comedic value," Noah declared with a short chuckle, "Booker nearly shot his financial salvation in the face -"
"-Silence, Mr. Negotiator!" She shouted as seething animosity claimed her - the result of enduring Noah's whimsical tone and casual explanations. She summoned an invention from another time and another place, one of the most incredible inventions of mankind and one she truly regretted wasn't readily available yet within this world: duct tape. And, when she had summoned the adhesive strip, she summoned it directly on the arrogant bastard's mouth.
For a brief moment, the typically unflappable Negotiator looked stunned over this act. Those gloved hands reached up to touch this ... powerful muzzle she had just planted on his lips.
If Elizabeth wasn't thoroughly annoyed with him at the moment, she may have laughed. It was certainly worth dragging the sadistic man into the middle of the forest just to see this look on his face.
"It's called duct tape," she explained, folding her arms across her chest, "and I think I've literally just discovered the world's greatest use for it: stopping that absurd mouth of yours. Now, let's continue ... "
There was amusement in Noah's eyes as he touched the corners of the tape. He realized quickly he'd never be able to remove this ... 'duct tape' unless he took off his gloves ... so he did just that as Elizabeth continued speaking ... and each word she uttered seemed to give her anger momentum.
"You still haven't paid back the debt. Instead you spent all day uselessly investigating me ... I promise you, Mr. Negotiator, you'll find nothing," this last word was spoken so loudly, so harshly that Reed was forced to look at her as he attempted to free his mouth.
"Mm. What else?" Elizabeth questioned rhetorically, "you disobeyed me at Times Square. You purposely stirred the darkness in Booker's heart. You sent your whore to follow him to Buffalo and then, worst of all Mr. Negotiator, you agreed to that ridiculous deal."
Noah, after stuffing his gloves within his pocket, began to successfully peel off the tape. Lord, the material had secured a powerful grip on his skin and lips ... He released a humored sigh when his mouth was finally free, and stuck the tape onto the wooden table Elizabeth had conjured.
"The potential for this 'duct tape' staggers me - "
"- I will not allow you to put Booker in harm's way," Elizabeth promised darkly, "he'll commit no more violence. Certainly none on your behalf!"
The Negotiator gazed skeptically at the zealous female.
"I know my own kind, Elizabeth," he argued condescendingly, "try all you like to smother the violence in his heart, you can't -"
"- He's mine to smother, not yours to liberate," she snapped fiercely, clenching her firsts, thinking Reed needed a second serving of tape.
As though sensing her thoughts, Noah went silent, though the traces of a smirk remained on his face. Her words convinced him there were many complexities to Elizabeth's relationship with Booker that he did not fully grasp - that made him very curious.
Elizabeth stepped forward. Her anger was visible in her body, her expression, her movements.
Yet her approach was observed by amused gray eyes. The Negotiator wondered what sort of response she was seeking: did she expect him to back away? Was he supposed to quiver fretfully? He refused to budge, hands moving to rest comfortably on his own hips. If he's going to die this day, it'll be with dignity ... and, to his delight, at the hands of the most spectacular woman he's ever encountered.
"What tools can you use on a man without fear?" she questioned haughtily, continuing to stalk toward him.
"Do share," Reed responded. Frankly, as she neared, he was beginning to feel more lustful than threatened ...
She stopped within a two feet of him before providing her dark answer: "Pain and humiliation."
" ... or your body."
Surprise gripped Elizabeth's face for two seconds before it was replaced by a look of pure scorn.
The Negotiator bit his tongue to prevent laughter. Whatever punishment he may endure for saying those words, it was worth it just to see the look on her face.
"It's simply a suggestion," and he wasn't shy about allowing his eyes to roam across her body, "an option that'd inspire absolute obedience from me."
Elizabeth struggled to calm herself. Was he simply faithfully clinging to his role as the world's most effective provoker, or was he trying to encourage her to kill him?
She wouldn't kill him. Not yet, anyway. She thinks, as she spared a glance at his body in that masculine hand-on-hip pose, at the sight of those broad-shoulders and the muscular arm Booker had sliced, that this is a man who needs to be reintroduced to the concept of powerlessness.
"Kneel, Mr. Negotiator," she commanded, looking at him with the wisp of a smile on her face.
Reed quirked a brow, smirking. He observed her for a moment, reviewed his very limited options, and reached to his one remaining shirt sleeve to roll it upward.
Then he stepped very close to her, with far too much confidence for her taste, and leaned downward until his lips hovered close to her ear.
"Force me to," he challenged.
She leaned her cheek into his before whispering: "gladly."
Noah breathed. Sensual thoughts had touched his mind ever since she boldly stepped into his personal space, and the touch of her skin exacerbated his frustration. He probably shouldn't be attracted to a woman that just chucked his body into a tree, a woman that just hurt him, a woman that just promised more pain, but he's been a creature of whim for more than a decade and his desire for her was difficult to ignore. It didn't help that the mystery of her further deepened her allure. His exhaustive and ultimately fruitless pursuit for any information on her had rattled his mind. It was essentially guaranteed that he was going to die at this woman's hands ... be it this day or another ... and he knew nothing of her.
"You're aware I hired Lillian," Reed reminded in a hushed tone, "that proposition was made amidst rather ... erotic, exchanges."
Elizabeth parted her lips to speak but no explanation escaped them. She wanted to say 'I'm always watching you,' ... but the comment seemed to imply a degree of ... perversity.
"Who are you?" he asked softly, still beside her ear, "sometimes I think I'm mad. That you're an invention of my mind, but then you occasionally allow these touches and ... you're real."
The quiet girl had planned a relocation for the pair of them but she found herself ... lingering.
"I can feel you," Reed continued, turned to touch his lips against her neck while extending a hand toward her hip, "taste you ... "
She had to force improper images out of her mind as she decided it was dangerous to linger any longer. The elusive female, along with Noah's glasses, vanished.
The criminal blinked as the world became blurry and his hand only managed to grasp air.
"Mm," and a bitter smile accompanied that bitter sigh.
Reed couldn't tell where Elizabeth was, but he heard her challenge: "Land on your feet."
Then he, too, disappeared ... plunging into another one of Elizabeth's portals.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
They were not near New York City.
Noah could tell for two reasons.
First, the climate was significantly warmer.
Second, this scenery had a new color palette - the blurs beneath him were composed of reddish, muddy colors.
No, this was not his cold, gray city nor its surrounding forest.
There wasn't a lot of time for the Negotiator to consider his current location. It would take three smacks into a rocky cliff's edge, two subsequent falls off the edge, and two flashes of Elizabeth's divine light, before he realized he was caught in a loop.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
Elizabeth watched Reed's repetitive plummets, a bit proud of this cyclic punishment. She was dropping the man directly upon the very edge of a cliff. If he were quick and clever with his positioning, there was potential to land on the flat, dusty rock of the cliff, but being blind and probably disoriented had led to Noah repeatedly sliding off it. Each time he slid off the plane of rock, she'd open a portal that once again set him ten feet directly above the cliff's edge.
The first fall led to the Noah's upper back bashing roughly against unrelenting stone. The second fall caused the man to smack into his side - a nasty impact for his ribcage that caused a pained grunt. The third was nearly fatal ... for a second Elizabeth thought the man was about to smack face-first into solid rock, but he managed to catch his fall with his arms. This would be the very fall that the oversized criminal managed to balance his weight in a manner that prevented his slide off the perpendicular edge of the cliff.
"Did that hurt, Mr. Negotiator?"
"Marginally," he answered, smiling. Reed was posturing, of course. This demonstration certainly had hurt - the most prominent pain coming from two freshly fractured ribs and his bruised back. He pulled his body to safety, wondering how many more broken bones he'd endure this day.
He had crawled onto his knees when Elizabeth's words paused his actions: "I told you to land on your feet. Did you manage to do that?"
" ... I suppose I didn't," Noah smirked.
A powerful gale was summoned - one strong enough to toss about a nearly three-hundred pound man, and the Negotiator sailed right back off that cliff to again enter Elizabeth's punitive loop.
To the young goddess' surprise, Reed's fourth smack into dusky rock resulted in him quickly repositioning to grab the cliff's edge, and he barely managed to form a grip strong enough to prevent from sliding off of rocky salvation. That hefty body hung there precariously for a moment, prompting Elizabeth to step to the ledge and glance down at the dangling Negotiator.
She gazed curiously at the hands that clung to the cliff's edge. The removal of his gloves revealed callused, bruised knuckles and cracked skin.
Then her eyes were drawn to the man's face ... which wore a very focused expression. Noah was blindly seeking a natural foothold within the rock wall he dangled beside.
"Have I convinced you that you're a mere insect?" she asked.
"Dog ... insect," as that intense expression melded into a smirk, "you've such endearing metaphors for me."
"I do hope you're enjoying this little game," she revealed mockingly.
"Yes. It's quite fun," Noah retorted, adjusting his grip and securing his feet along the rock wall, "I intend to land on my feet this time; be sure to watch."
Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, here I go," Reed announced before releasing the edge. She opened a portal to catch his falling body and, for the last time, he was dropped just above the cliff's edge.
Those arms waved within the as his feet landed on the solid rock. His body twisted, struggling to stay balanced and not fall backward ... and he succeeded.
Again, her mind was in Columbia. Watching Booker leap from skyline to skyline ... then hurling himself dozens of feet toward the ground. Gravity was a little different in the floating city ... but still, the degree of agility and athleticism he exhibited was ... phenomenal. Especially since he could so easily target enemies while soaring in the sky ...
Booker would have landed on his feet within three falls, she thinks. Though having competent vision certainly helped.
"Well done, Mr. Reed."
"Any more games for me, my dear?," Noah inquired as he made a playful bow, "I'm feeling ambitious."
Elizabeth examined him, wondering how many more games his body could tolerate. Amazing what a difference in a man's condition can be made within an hour, minutes, seconds. Noah's clothes were tattered at parts and thoroughly stained with marks from dust, mud and grass. There was bloody wounds, too ... and the skin on the back of his exposed forearms was scraped up pretty badly. She wondered how many bruises would pepper the man's flesh if she allowed his survival.
Remarkably, his face was untouched; she wondered if that was a result of luck, or if the fop had been doing his best to protect it.
Well, she had more on her mind than simply punishing him: he was the type of man that would respect displays of power.
"I want you to see this, Mr. Negotiator," Elizabeth decided, using her powers to return Noah's glasses to his face, "consider it a prize for your impressive performance."
The sudden restoration of his vision forced a moment of blinking and squinting before turning toward the cliff he had been thrown against four times.
The view was stunning. The land's ornaments were, on their own, beautiful ... rocks that were occasionally brown, sometimes gold, often red ... cacti, wild flowers, contorted cedar stumps and the occasional pinyon pine ... but none of it rivaled the sight of the cliffs, the depth of the canyon itself ... It gave the impression that half the world was collapsing inward, and all that remained was soon doomed to follow.
Noah laughed, then lifted a hand to his own mouth to stop himself. He hadn't meant to, it was an impulsive response. The two miracles he had just witnessed had a cumulative effect on his mind: the sight of this brilliant natural spectacle and the miraculous power that brought him here.
"This is ... the Grand Canyon," he murmured finally.
"It is," Elizabeth confirmed ... feeling oddly proud. She thinks if she wasn't so afraid of Booker discovering the truth ... that she would have loved bringing him here.
"Do you ... " Noah clenched his fists, shook his hands as though he were rooting at a sports game, "do you realize what you've ... what you can ... This is incredible. This is glorious. We ... - I never imagined your powers could work on such a grand scale. We ... must discuss the implications of you abilities over dinner sometime. This is ... You're able to ... "
Elizabeth smirked a little, thinking she broke Reed's mind. Even from behind him, her supernatural sight allowed her to witness the look on his face: one of a child so engorged with excited energy that it couldn't be contained.
"You've no equal. There's ... there's no challenging you," the Negotiator noted, amused and nearly gleeful, "there's no overpowering you, I'd never flee from you but, the fact that escape isn't even an option ... there's no escaping you, there's no hiding from you ... one's past secrets, one's life, one's destiny ... yours to claim on a whim, your will is ... Did I ... "
At this moment he turned to face Elizabeth with a contemplative expression. She returned his gaze ... finding herself both entertained and intrigued by the Negotiator's unrelenting monologue.
"Did I lose everything the day you decided to target me with all your little plans and demands?"
She pondered the question. She'd like to say the man lost everything the day he was contracted to collect from Booker ... but even then, it wouldn't have been an issue if her unfortunate lover had been able to pay back the money he had foolishly borrowed. It was a little funny, a little sad ... that the Negotiator's fate was sealed the previous day ... the day DeWitt had run out of money.
"You lost everything the moment you defied me," she answered instead.
"You ... you bemuse me. I must ask you: why?" the stirred criminal asked, voice adopting an accusing tone, "why such a narrow, muted ambition? This world would bow to you, worship you. You've powers that can both start and end wars. - "
" - I've no desire for such things - "
" - right, right," Reed smirked, setting his hands on his hips, "you desire a normal life with DeWitt. Why? All this power and you've no greater aspirations? I've never been so thrilled and disappointed within a single moment ... "
There was a harsh look on the woman's face now. The mention of Booker and the Negotiator's disappointment once again summoned her ire. Like she cared if the foul man was impressed with her.
"This is what happens when godlike power exists within a woman. Astonishing potential and yet you fancy a destiny as the housewife of a pathetic - "
Noah's words were interrupted by yet another bizarre but effective demonstration of power. His tongue was displaced from his throat ... and the space-twisting female set his tongue about five feet before his eyes.
Reed took a loud breath, but was otherwise silent. The criminal has personally severed enough tongues from men's mouths to know that attempting to speak without one results in gibberish. He smiled bitterly at the sight of his floating tongue and the strands of saliva that dripped from it - not the most charming image in the world.
Elizabeth, also eyeing the tongue, had to admit: being around the Negotiator inspired creativity. There were many ways to silence an offensive mouth with powers such as hers.
"I want to sever this tongue along with several other extremities from your body," Elizabeth muttered, before moving to stand in front of the wordless man, "but I need you able to work ... so that limits our options. What was that list of expendable body parts you shared with my beloved earlier? An ear ... teeth ... scalp. Perhaps I'll take all three from you."
Noah, obviously, couldn't offer a response. Elizabeth and her mysterious plans for him had produced hundreds of questions within his mind - the most prominent being 'what could I possibly have that you couldn't effortlessly take for yourself?' Unable to verbalize any of his curiosities, he simply stared at her for a small moment before slowly extending a hand upward to lightly trace two fingers along her cheek and about her jawline.
Elizabeth forgot to breathe for a moment - perhaps it stunned her that the man was still making efforts to touch her ...
Moments later, she adopted a fierce scowl.
"You're truly insane, aren't you?" Elizabeth accused before making a second bitter inquiry: "Is the exchange of threats your version of flirting?"
Reed smirked, but then looked away from her as he struggled to swallow the accumulating saliva within his mouth - turns out the task is significantly more difficult without your tongue. Throat muscles alone could only do so much.
"Well, time for my next demonstration. You'll like this one," the female claimed before vanishing in a flicker of light.
Noah wondered if his tongue would be left behind when he realized he was doomed for another relocation. The man braced himself, incorrectly predicting one of Elizabeth's miraculous portal was about to open beneath him. Instead, another gale was summoned, forcefully flinging his body through the air into a portal she opened behind him. Beyond the tear, a wooden wall would abruptly end the aerial journey. Reed's back endured yet another unpleasant smack - and though the impact of his heavy body caused the wood to creak and crack, it surprisingly did not split apart or give away. There was a second miracle: those glasses managed to remain on his face.
The criminal stepped forward, attempting to shrug away his pain. That's when that tongue was returned to his body, and its restoration forced a moment of readjustment. It had only been exposed to the open air of the desert for less than a minute but the appendage already felt rough and dry.
"Removing my tongue ... removing my tongue ... such fascinating power," the Negotiator commented. He instantly recognized his surroundings: they were in his living room, now, back in his cabin outside New York city.
"Home sweet home," the lurking female murmured. New York was becoming dark and cold ... so she had taken the liberty of using displaced fire to light the room's several candles and fireplace.
"You promised more," Reed taunted, cloaking his pain with a confident smirk.
"Indeed I did," she responded, again stepping toward him until she was close enough to lift a palm and plant it on his chest ... over his heart, "since you're so well-studied in matters of human anatomy ... tell me what happens when a man loses a lot of blood ... very quickly ... "
Looking at the darkly ambitious female, Noah, ever amused, opened his mouth to answer the question, but the emergence of a small point of light within the room, followed with a subsequent dripping sound, forced a pause.
There was blood ... leaking out of that pinpoint of light - blood that came out in intermittent spurts. It quickly began to form a puddle upon the wooden floor.
"My ... you're in my heart," the Negotiator murmured, utterly awed by the sight of his own blood being displaced from his body. It was incredible ... It was exhilarating.
There were odd responses from the odd criminal: a smile ... a short laugh.
"This is brilliant, Elizabeth," as his palm lightly slapped on top of her dainty hand at his chest, securing it there as he looked down toward her, "absolutely brilliant. You ... you're a dream, a miracle, a poet ... drained directly from the heart, it's so very ... "
Elizabeth lifted a brow, thinking Noah was quite a loon.
"You ignored my question," she pointed out, watching his eyes.
"Oh, yes. Rapid blood loss," Reed smirked, turning back toward the sight of his blood dribbling onto the ground, "I've a powerful heart to compliment my incredible physique - "
"- oh, don't be modest -"
" - at this moment, that's not to my benefit - It's effectively hastening my deterioration. Its rate will quicken, so will my breaths, I'll become dizzy, sweat ... limbs and lips will cool, for available blood will draw inward. Confusion is possible, inevitable internalized pain ... I'll lose consciousness before - "
Another laugh as the spurts of his blood onto the floor began to quicken, as he predicted.
"It begins, sweet Elizabeth, you must watch," as his hands moved to gently grip her shoulders. He was about to turn her about.
"No, no, I prefer to watch you, Mr. Negotiator," she announced, "you're far more entertaining."
That's when he felt it ... an awkward, uncomfortable feeling in his chest. And life's serum was escaping his body so quickly that the dizziness struck suddenly and fiercely. He released Elizabeth's shoulders as he staggered, reaching to a nearby table in an attempt to maintain stability.
"Haha ... perhaps ... I should lie down," he suggested aloud, "how long can I ... ?"
Again he staggered, found himself backing into the wall. Reed's breaths were now audible and gaining in speed. With the wall as support, he slowly slid down to the floor. Still, he smiled, as he gazed toward his blood that seeped from light. What a sight it was ... as though a glimmering night star was bleeding upon the earth.
There was suddenly the sound of Noah's bounding hound within the wooden walls of the Negotiator's cabin. Both the goddess' and criminal's eyes snapped toward the kitchen to watch the German Shepard's hurl into the living room at full speed.
It was the scent of blood that summoned him.
For a second, Elizabeth believed the human-eating mutt was going to charge at its wounded master or perhaps leap into the tiny fountain of spurting blood in the center of the room ... it would have been deliciously ironic. But the dog was both loyal and fairly intelligent ... and the sight of Elizabeth standing before his fallen master was all the encouragement he needed to growl and charge at the petite female.
"Achilles! Sit!" but Reed's voice lacked its usual strength.
The mutt wouldn't understand his error until he leapt at the offending woman.
Noah watched a portal appeared and swallow his vigilant companion. From his angle, he couldn't see where his dog was sent ... but he did hear a desperate yelp before Elizabeth closed the tear.
"Now ... Elizabeth," Reed managed to chide her despite the fact that his quickening breaths were beginning to make speaking difficult, "that's just ... soulless of you."
He's a vicious disease, Elizabeth thinks as she observed the waning criminal, he infests all that he touches. He's given his mutt a hellish appetite, inspired his pretty little whore to become a murderess, produced a level of nastiness and jealousy within Booker that I had never seen before and me ... he's summoned a darkness within me, as well.
Noah's physical discomfort was quickly becoming impossible to conceal. An odd internal burning sensation was starting to simmer at multiple points within his body. There was pressure on his chest now - he rested a hand upon it as though the touch could ease the crushing sensation ...
The Negotiator looked at the puddle of accumulating blood on the floor before he irrationally wondered if Elizabeth would feel obligated to clean it. He was about to ease flat upon the floor but his goddess' voice stopped him: "I think I'll reunite you with Vincenzo ... "
Reed gazed at her, breathing awkwardly, but there was humor in his eyes.
He winked.
Elizabeth leaned downward and stared into his eyes for a brief moment before reaching a hand to physically remove his glasses.
"Enjoy your swim," she announced after closing the internal hole she created within the weakening man's body.
Another portal.
This one placed Noah ninety feet above New York's harbor bay.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It hurt when his body slapped against the ocean's surface; there was a full-bodied pain that would soon evolve into absolute soreness. His hefty body had a momentum that drove him deep within the harbor bay's embrace ... a lightless place. The water was cold - a temperature that further sapped his diminished strength. Such a dramatic change in environment created profound disorientation; so profound that Reed floated still within the water a number of seconds before realizing he should swim. But why bother? Too heavy of a body, too deep within the water, too little oxygen remaining within him. Muscles and organs screamed for air, and he inadvertently sucked salt into his lungs.
One could ask him why he felt the need to swim. There was enough evidence that he lacked the vitality needed to climb to the water's surface. There was also enough evidence that the Negotiator was willing to die this night. And yet, he clumsily ... awkwardly ... uselessly attempted to advance upward. One could ask why . One would never hear his answer.
Noah imagined Vincenzo's handless corpse was somewhere nearby ... witnessing this struggle. Perhaps even laughing at him. It was a funny image ... a snickering, bloated, mutilated body.
Reed wanted to laugh, too.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Songbird.
It had been Elizabeth's first act as a goddess: summoning the robotic monstrosity into its watery grave.
As she watched the Negotiator plunge deep into the bay, she recalled the mechanical beast's fatal struggle against the ocean's colossal weight. The more she thought about them, the more she realized that the pair had much in common ... Songbird was powerful, obsessive, persistent ... all traits that Noah had.
And, with the proper approach, Songbird had been controlled. This fact made her feel oddly confident that Noah, too, could be controlled ... with the correct technique.
Elizabeth was still in Noah's living room, observing his underwater endeavors from afar. There was another interesting aspect to the Songbird comparison she had just made: Songbird would kill anyone who touched her ... but would never intentionally hurt her.
She glanced down at the thimble on her pinky, remembering Noah's offer to kill the man who had mutilated her.
Why didn't you defend yourself from me? I thought you wished to die, but here you are ... trying to swim to your survival. Are you a slave to bizarre whims that could change at any moment? ... I thought you had given up before we had even begun. You could have reached for your gun when I presented it to you, but you didn't. Then ... all those times I stood before you, making threats, you never once attempted to harm me. How easy it would be, with your strength, to snap my neck ... never once did you try. You wouldn't have succeeded, regardless, but still ... to not even try? Why? Is it really your fascination with me? You'll antagonize me all day but you won't hurt me ...
She thought of Reed's past. She thought of the two whores he had rescued earlier this week. She thought of all the people he's killed ... all the men he's killed.
"You don't hurt women," she realized.
Elizabeth bit her lip, thoughts flipping to Booker. She touched her own neck ... recalling the sensation of being choked. Then she remembered the sound of Mrs. Emerson's cries.
"Apparently you have at least one positive quality," Elizabeth admitted aloud, sight returning to the Harbor bay, "but it doesn't redeem you. You're a fiend."
Though as she spoke ... Noah's saddest little secret entered her thoughts. The reason a solemn boy would start down a path that would turn him into the infamously cruel Negotiator: love ...
There was at least one person who had walked this earth that had loved Noah Reed, and he would have done ... anything ... to protect her.
Elizabeth blinked back tears. The dismal female thinks if her own mother had survived her birth ... then she would have never been caught up in a bizarre war of ownership between two pathetic versions of her father.
"I do pity you, Noah ... "
A shrill ring filled her ears.
Elizabeth turned toward the source: Reed's phone.
It was actually the seventh time someone had attempted to call the Negotiator today, which seemed odd. Perhaps there was someone besides Reed's own mother that cared about him.
Curious, she answered the phone ... and she would very quickly regret it.
"Noah's residence," she answered.
" ... who the - who the fuck are you?" an impatient male responded.
Elizabeth had sifted enough through Noah's past to recognize this voice and its tone: Stefano Galucci.
"I'm ... Reed's newest employer," she answered, eyes narrowing. Elizabeth hadn't seen a lot of Stefano or his past ... but she had seen enough to know the man was a vulgar hothead that had a long history with Reed.
"Noah's what? Sure, I believe that," the mob boss growled sarcastically, "So, Noah's accepting jobs from teats now, eh? -"
" - Pardon?"
"Who are you? Why the fuck are you in his cabin? Noah doesn't invite anyone into his home unless he plans to fucking kill them."
Elizabeth grit her teeth before announcing: "you're very rude."
"This is Stefano Galucci. Put Noah on the fucking phone," he demanded. Between Noah's ominous phonecall earlier and this suspicious woman's claim, he was starting to become extremely agitated.
"I know who you are, Mr. Galucci. And what you ask is impossible. Noah's ... indisposed, at the moment."
"What?"
"He's unavailable," Elizabeth reiterated. At this point she used her powers to search across New York city ... attempting to find Stefano with her supernatural sight.
"What the fuck is ... This ain't right. This ain't fucking right at all. Where is he?"
"I don't appreciate your tone," she responded angrily.
" ... Listen to me, you dumb bitch - "
" - you insolent ... ! -"
"- I'm going to bring eighteen armed fucking men down there right now and, and ... "
"And what?" she prompted. For a second, Elizabeth was so caught up in the conversation that she had forgotten Reed was probably less than a minute from drowning in the harbor bay.
"and smack you," Stefano decided.
" ... you need eighteen armed men to assist you with smacking me?" Elizabeth pressed as fury erupted within her. She had no idea Stefano was such a ridiculous buffoon. This city seemed to be overflowing with insane bastards.
"I ... okay, no member of this family kills women, but I'm about to come down there myself and piss on your damn teats if you don't get Noah on the fucking phone right now," the Galucci mob boss roared.
Elizabeth literally thought she was about to explode with rage. Did he seriously just threaten to urinate on her?
"Very well, then!" she snapped, as her sight finally caught the image of Stefano calling from his personal home.
The space-twisting female plucked the Negotiator from the clutches of New York's bay and plopped him onto the wooden floor beside his fireplace. There were two mighty coughs as he fell heavily, body collapsing feebly ... ocean water escaped his lips before he began harsh, desperate gasps for air.
"What was - "
"- Here he is, Mr. Galucci!" she taunted before moving the phone as close to Noah as its cord would allow.
She watched Stefano's eyes widen at the sound of Reed's labored breathing. Those dark eyes ... It was more than just surprise within them ... more than just concern ... they looked agonized.
"Noah?" he called out desperately, "Noah!"
Elizabeth thought about it. Giovanni Galucci's son. Reed was essentially a prisoner of the Galucci estate throughout his teenage years ... Stefano was a similar age. Had the two formed some sort of brotherly bond during that time?
No matter. Stefano was just another despicable criminal ... the head of one of New York City's three largest snakes. She can accomplish one of her ultimate goals with Noah's unwitting assistance.
"Oh my, he's in trouble," she hissed, "he needs your help, Stefano. - "
" - Wait, listen. What the fuck do you want? Money? - "
" - Oh, I want you. Come here now, and come alone, or I'll kill him," she promised, before hanging up.
She watched, from dozens of miles away, Stefano angrily slam his phone against the wall. The image made her smile.
Her verbal tussle with Stefano had purged sympathy from her heart, replacing it with animosity. She moved beside Noah and glanced down at his panting, semi-curled body. It was both sad and humorous to see such a large, powerful body reduced to such a state. Her previous two punishments had complimented each other nicely, she realized. The rapid loss of blood had left his body oxygen-thirsty ... then the near-drowning obviously stole his only means of replacing the life-giving element. The man's body was ice-cold as well ... the ocean had been chilly and merciless, and the blood-loss compromised his body's natural ability to produce heat.
Dropping him next to the fireplace had been an act of mercy: the criminal may be able to avoid hypothermia.
"I wish Booker could see this," she murmured, nudging one of Reed's arms with her shoe, "I wish everyone you've taunted and tortured could see you right now: pathetically clinging to life."
No response ... just that wild breathing. She knelt beside the criminal and slid his glasses back on his face. Then she repositioned his head so that it rested upon her lap. The act soaked her skirts ... for Reed's hair, body and the surrounding floor were rather wet, but the proximity of the fireplace kept her warm.
As she touched him, she wondered what unseen damage had occurred within the Negotiator's body. This was more than just his lungs running out of air ... the oxygen-deprivation had turned the man's remaining blood into poison ... and now that durable body was struggling to correct the metabolic disturbance.
Elizabeth gaze then flipped from Noah to the fireplace. A spark exploded from a crack in the firewood. She thinks of all the efforts the Luctece siblings made to try to prevent the burning of this city. As she held the defenseless criminal, she found herself wondering if it was a mistake to spare New York the divine flames Comstock had dreamed of.
"Unfortunately for you," she commented, fingers gently stroking the man's cheek and neck as she held him, " ... you're exactly the sort of man I need. You're heartless, clever and renowned ... But most importantly, you've a wealth of knowledge ... all those years researching your criminal peers, all that time spent establishing a network of capable spies ... your insight into this city's mafia families is without equal."
She spent a moment to listen to that fast breathing ...
Mm. What would Noah say, if he could form words right now?
"Yes, Noah ... with my powers I could just learn all this information on my own, but ... such research is tedious and exhausting. It took me an entire night to learn of the past and hearts of you and four members of your syndicate ... Considering that there's hundreds of criminals in this city ... how long would it take for me to acquire your depth of knowledge? I was imprisoned for twenty years before I came to this city... now that I'm free, I have no intention of living in a cage of fear and paranoia. I will not use my powers to peek around every corner, I will not use my powers to judge every man I come across and I will not use my powers to investigate all the filth in this city. I will simply use my powers to claim you."
Noah's fingers curled. The act made her pause. She looked at his face, waiting for the man to speak or attempt further movement ... but he did nothing else.
"You mocked my aspirations earlier," Elizabeth continued, "before I had the chance to share this new one: I want to clean this city of its garbage. I will use you to destroy your own kind. I want to end the plague of organized crime within New York, I want all the sick, twisted criminals that walk these streets dead and I want each of the three mafias to fall. And, Noah ... "
She leaned her head to the side, trying to move her face within the struggling Negotiator's field of vision. She smiled, when she saw Reed's eyes shift to focus on her.
"When all my enemies are dead ... when you finally stand alone as this city's last remaining criminal ... I'll kill you, as well."
" ... you," Noah gasped out between breaths, but Elizabeth set two fingers upon his mouth.
"Shh ... focus on breathing."
She continued to touch his cheek and neck. His skin was so very cold, so very pale.
"I've a new metaphor for you ... since you don't seem to appreciate the dog or insect comparison," she murmured sweetly, "you're my Songbird."
She liked him like this. Here was the Negotiator - one of New York's most sinister, infamous criminals, possibly the physically strongest of them all - a debilitated prisoner in her arms. The goddess wanted to show the entire polluted city what she had just done to Noah Reed ...
But, regrettably, Stefano would be their only witness. She wondered what the man would say if he walked in to this exact image ... a petite female cradling the weakened Negotiator. She used her powers to, again, seek out that impudent mob boss. After several minutes, she found Stefano, grim-faced, in his car ... driving to their location. He had a gun, but he was alone ... as she had insisted. It seemed he took her threat seriously.
Good. Her plan to destroy this city's mafia families begins tonight.
"Would you consider Stefano your friend, Noah?" she asked softly, "he comes for you."
My. The huffing criminal was starting to look very, very tired ...
"Is he your friend? Stay awake, Songbird," she whispered, again touching his lips, "you're going to watch me decapitate your friend."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews and support! You guys have been a huge positive influence on me and I truly, truly appreciate it. It's very motivating/inspiring/awesome to hear from people. It keeps me going!
Mr. Brown where are you?!
I've a question I hope some of you will answer. I'm thinking of separating chapters between the two upcoming, separate plot archs ... The New York City(Eliz and Noah) plot Arch and the Buffalo(Booker) plot arch. These won't be long plot archs but it means the next four chapters or so will be focused on one of the two major plot paths. Do you guys think this is a good idea and that it'll prevent confusion, or would you guys prefer to get bits of both story archs in each chapter?
Repeat Reviewer Shout-Outs:
Wouldyoukindly84: I love you. You're a writing goddess and I appreciate all the test-reads and suggestions you've given. You know you totally inspire me, and if I asked you to rewrite this whole story it'd probably be four hundred times better than it currently is. Your comments on Noah/Eliz's relationship humor me for reasons I shall not yet reveal ... heh heh. Also, thanks for helping me make Elizabeth's divine intervention in chapter 8 far better than it would have been!
Paul Perkins: Hey Paul thanks for reviewing! Hopefully within the next ten or so days I'll have a chapter update for Carnality(it'll actually be TWO chapters and one of which will be dedicated to your request). Again, your continued support is much appreciated.
Incidental Vegan Cannibal: Aw you don't need to apologize for lateness, I just love hearing from ya regardless of timing. I (really)hope you enjoyed this chapter because you seem fond of Elizabadass! Gracias for repeat support.
Mr. Brown: I'm so glad to have your continued support! Thanks for pledging to stick with me, it means a lot to me! You're executive muse so you have a lot of responsibility. Heh heh.
Ya Noah has had a rough past involving abuse ... aaand now he has a rough present involving abuse(don't mess with Elizabadass!). And poor, poor Ernest isn't free of Noah(will he ever be!? stay tuned!) ... They're kinda fun to write together because Noah is so casually insane and Ernest is so openly bitter though ultimately powerless. Jacoby actually has quite a mouth ... and if he had talked to Giovanni during his days in the Galucci mafia the way he does to Noah, Giovanni would have sliced out his tongue.
It'll be really interesting how people feel about upcoming chapters. Booker's past is about to get a LOT of spotlight(to the point where it may slow down the speed of the story if I'm not careful ... hopefully people will find it interesting).
Thank you again, my muse!
Shtoops: Stool Of Wonder 4 life! FABULOUS to hear from the Almighty Shtoops. I bow to your repeated awesomeness and appreciate the support greatly!
I kinda teared up writing Ernest's story, but as a mini-spoiler he's going to be spared from the MOST tragic scenes I have planned in the future. Elizabeth and a certain original character(Spoiler: Not Noah) are going to share what I hope turns out to be a very powerful and gut-wrenching scene and, if I do it right, it'll probably be the most heartbreaking moment of the whole story(I have actually cried from mentally planning the details and dialogue of the scene) ... but that's way down the line.
Thanks again Shtoops! Lots of luff.
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