Amanda - Monday afternoon
May. 17th, 2004 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsFollowing this phone conversation and arrangements made following this email, Amanda gets Clarice to teleport her into town to make a deal with possibly the last person she wants to see. But some things are that important.
Thanks to Maureen for the loan of Clarice.
"I'll be ten minutes, tops," Amanda told Clarice as the other girl opened a portal. "Promise."
Clarice nodded, still unsure about this whole thing, but realising that Amanda was probably right, that this would be the only way they could help Nate and Moira.
"Be careful," was all she said as Amanda stepped through the portal and into the back alley behind Willy's Place. Teleportation always left Amanda a little dizzy and she staggered slightly as the portal winked out behind her.
"Watch yeself, darlin', wouldn't do to fall into this muck." Patches pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against, his grin as smug as always. "So, darlin', looks like ye're off th' wagon, don't it?"
Amanda didn't even pause. She seized the tatty little man in a telekinetic grip, pushing him back into and then up the wall, where she held him immobile. Her eyes were cold as she approached.
"I'm gunna say this once, an' once only, you horrible little toerag, an' you'll do well t' listen. This is a business arrangement, not a social call, an' the only thing I want t' hear comin' out of yer trap is that we have a deal." She pulled a wad of notes from her pocket. "Here's yer payment - you got me goods?"
Patches, his throat constricted by her grip, managed a brief nod, barely a movement. He swallowed compulsively and then croaked: "There. Behind th' dumpster."
Tucking the money into the breast pocket of his ratty coat, Amanda stepped back and retrieved a cloth-wrapped parcel from its hiding place. Unwrapping it slightly revealed a crystal orb, glowing fiery red at its centre as if a small flame was trapped inside it. Her fingertips tingled as she touched it, echoing the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She clamped down on her mutant power, hard, as Strange and Xavier had been teaching her to do.
"Genuine article," Patches croaked at her from where he was still pinned against the wall, Amanda nodded.
"It is. You done well," she said, and with a gesture she released the spell. The magic dealer fell into a pile of discarded garbage bags with a thump and a string of curses that literally turned the air blue for a moment. "Third time pays for all, Patches. You won't be hearin' from me again."
Patches muttered something that sounded like: "We'll see about that, darlin'," as he picked himself up and started brushing himself off. A force bolt blew him off his feet and back into the garbage, and he looked up to see Amanda standing in front of another of those portals, her eyes burning with anger and hate.
"We're done, you an' me," she said, and her voice was hard. "This settles things between us. You come near me an' mine, do or say anythin' t' cause me or them harm, an' I'll flay you alive." A dull red glow emanated from her half-clenched left hand. "We clear?"
Patches swallowed. "We're clear," he said, seeing his death in her face, plain as day. She turned to leave, and he called out after her: "That thing with Rack, that was strictly business, ye understand?"
"I understand," she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at him. "An' I hope you understand he died a horrible painful death for fuckin' with me." Her message was clear. Patches nodded, and she walked into the portal without a second glance.
"Oh, I understand all right, colleen," Patches muttered to himself as he climbed out of the garbage again. "I understand better than ye do which path ye're walkin'. An' we'll be seein' each other again one day, mark me words." Brushing himself off, he adjusted his hat, straightened his coat and took himself off to the bar to spend some of his hard-earned.
***
"Are you all right?" Clarice asked as Amanda stepped out of the portal and back into her room. "Did you get… you know, what you needed?"
"Never better," the witch said, her face still hard and determined. "Now let's get down t' the medlab an' do what I got this for, shall we?"
Thanks to Maureen for the loan of Clarice.
"I'll be ten minutes, tops," Amanda told Clarice as the other girl opened a portal. "Promise."
Clarice nodded, still unsure about this whole thing, but realising that Amanda was probably right, that this would be the only way they could help Nate and Moira.
"Be careful," was all she said as Amanda stepped through the portal and into the back alley behind Willy's Place. Teleportation always left Amanda a little dizzy and she staggered slightly as the portal winked out behind her.
"Watch yeself, darlin', wouldn't do to fall into this muck." Patches pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against, his grin as smug as always. "So, darlin', looks like ye're off th' wagon, don't it?"
Amanda didn't even pause. She seized the tatty little man in a telekinetic grip, pushing him back into and then up the wall, where she held him immobile. Her eyes were cold as she approached.
"I'm gunna say this once, an' once only, you horrible little toerag, an' you'll do well t' listen. This is a business arrangement, not a social call, an' the only thing I want t' hear comin' out of yer trap is that we have a deal." She pulled a wad of notes from her pocket. "Here's yer payment - you got me goods?"
Patches, his throat constricted by her grip, managed a brief nod, barely a movement. He swallowed compulsively and then croaked: "There. Behind th' dumpster."
Tucking the money into the breast pocket of his ratty coat, Amanda stepped back and retrieved a cloth-wrapped parcel from its hiding place. Unwrapping it slightly revealed a crystal orb, glowing fiery red at its centre as if a small flame was trapped inside it. Her fingertips tingled as she touched it, echoing the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She clamped down on her mutant power, hard, as Strange and Xavier had been teaching her to do.
"Genuine article," Patches croaked at her from where he was still pinned against the wall, Amanda nodded.
"It is. You done well," she said, and with a gesture she released the spell. The magic dealer fell into a pile of discarded garbage bags with a thump and a string of curses that literally turned the air blue for a moment. "Third time pays for all, Patches. You won't be hearin' from me again."
Patches muttered something that sounded like: "We'll see about that, darlin'," as he picked himself up and started brushing himself off. A force bolt blew him off his feet and back into the garbage, and he looked up to see Amanda standing in front of another of those portals, her eyes burning with anger and hate.
"We're done, you an' me," she said, and her voice was hard. "This settles things between us. You come near me an' mine, do or say anythin' t' cause me or them harm, an' I'll flay you alive." A dull red glow emanated from her half-clenched left hand. "We clear?"
Patches swallowed. "We're clear," he said, seeing his death in her face, plain as day. She turned to leave, and he called out after her: "That thing with Rack, that was strictly business, ye understand?"
"I understand," she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at him. "An' I hope you understand he died a horrible painful death for fuckin' with me." Her message was clear. Patches nodded, and she walked into the portal without a second glance.
"Oh, I understand all right, colleen," Patches muttered to himself as he climbed out of the garbage again. "I understand better than ye do which path ye're walkin'. An' we'll be seein' each other again one day, mark me words." Brushing himself off, he adjusted his hat, straightened his coat and took himself off to the bar to spend some of his hard-earned.
***
"Are you all right?" Clarice asked as Amanda stepped out of the portal and back into her room. "Did you get… you know, what you needed?"
"Never better," the witch said, her face still hard and determined. "Now let's get down t' the medlab an' do what I got this for, shall we?"
