Time of the Turning

Chapter Two

"All right, class, that's it for the day," said a young woman mounted on a black Arabian gelding.  "Your parents should be along to pick you up shortly."  She led the small class – perhaps eight or nine students – back towards the stables, dismounting with them so she could groom Rashid.

"Miss Calloway, she won't stand still," complained one of her younger students, who was also trying to groom his horse. 

Chuckling, Terri Calloway walked to the youngster's stall and held his mare still while he groomed her.  "Don't forget, Dean, that you have to make sure she knows who's boss," she told him after he was done.  By now, most of the parents had arrived, leaving one student behind after the horses were taken care of.

The girl, Arin, stood by the stall, petting her horse's nose absently.  A few minutes passed, then she shook herself out of her thoughts.  She moved across to where the riding equipment hung on the wall beside the stall and fingered the bridle, again off in her own world.  Terri watched Arin curiously.  The girl certainly was a daydreamer, but when she focused… wow.  She had been subtly encouraging the girl to push the limits, watching her with keen interest.  Arin had definite potential.

The girl stepped away from the stall, stretching her arms over her head with all her fingers extended.  She finished her stretch with a contented sigh and turned around to face Terri, a bright smile on her face.  "Thank you for the lesson, Miss Calloway."

"My pleasure, Arin," Terri grinned.  "I like seeing what you can do.  You have real potential." 

"Thanks.  My last riding teacher didn't seem to think so..."  She fell silent for another moment, and then came to.  "I suppose I'd better get going.  Angela will probably kill me if I'm home late again."

"Yeah… and it's starting to rain.  Why not come inside while you wait for your ride to show up?" Terri offered. 

Another shy smile appeared on Arin's face.  "Thank you"

"It's no problem, kiddo," she told the younger girl, leading her to the ranch-style house and showing her inside.  "Don't want you getting sick.  You hungry?"

"Yeah, I am."  Arin stood awkwardly in the middle of the front room, turning to look at each wall.  She pulled off her hard hat and looped it onto her arm, ruffling her short dark hair back into spikes.  Her gaze fell to her boots, and she shifted her weight from foot to foot.  "Miss Calloway?"

"What is it, Arin?" Terri asked, looking back at her.

Arin was staring at the rain dribbling down the window.  "Do the horses mind having the bit in their mouths?" 

Terri blinked.  "They might mind, a little bit.  Why do you ask?"

"It just seems a little cruel, to me.  If I could, I'd ride bareback and tell the horse where to go.  But I can't — not yet anyway."  She sighed pensively, and would have said more on the subject if she hadn't been struck with an incredible sense of déjà-vu. 

The door from the adjacent room opened suddenly. 

Arin stared at the Chinese man who had appeared.  His clothing struck her the most - fiery red jacket in Mandarin style with loose trousers to match and a black tank top.  His hair was dyed a mixture of reds and oranges, giving the impression that his head was on fire.

"Miss Calloway!"

Terri turned, and her eyes widened.  "Wingless…," she whispered, staring at him, the look on her face a mix of anger and fear.  With almost superhuman speed, she was between her student and the Chinese man.  "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Peering around her teacher, Arin saw the Chinese man grin slightly.  "Surely you did not think you could hide as a human, Sagittarius?"  His voice was accented, the tone disdainful.  Why was he calling Miss Calloway 'Sagittarius'?  And why 'hide as a human'?  Curiosity took over her initial alarm at his appearance.

"Keep your mouth shut, Wingless!" she hissed.  This was the last thing she needed, especially with young Arin there.  "Explain yourself or get the hell out of my house." 

"Very well."  Wingless stepped to the right to observe Arin, his gaze hidden behind circular sunglasses.  "A certain… someone wishes to see you.  You know the name — by the agreement you were supposed to go directly to him, but you did not."

Terri stepped to her left to block Wingless' view of Arin.  "Some agreements were meant to be broken." 

"Others, maybe, but not this one."  Wingless' mouth curved in a smile, and the hair on Arin's neck stood up.  "I am here to take you to him.  Whatever the cost."  Arin narrowed her eyes and glared at him.  Wingless pressed one fist against the other palm, taking his time about it.

"Arin, hide.  Now," Terri ordered, dropping back into a defensive stance.  If the girl was hurt, she'd never forgive herself.

Arin obeyed without properly thinking about it, scampering like a mouse to the door and darting through.  Her footsteps could be heard thumping up the stairs, but out of view of the front room she removed her boots and crept silently back down.  She peered carefully around the doorframe, just in time to see Wingless execute a double-roundhouse, followed by a myriad of punches and kicks, the like of which she had never seen before.

Terri was hard-pressed to block his attacks, feeling an emotion she'd not felt since the Fall: Fear.  She was no match for the Phoenix and they both knew it.  She would do what she could to protect Arin, but she knew this battle would be ultimately lost.  She allowed the momentum of his final blow to send her flying backwards, using the thrust to propel her back into her trademark back walkover, slamming her boot into Wingless' chin as she went.

He too utilised the momentum from the kick, flipping over and replicating the move perfectly.  Arin's eyes widened.  Her riding teacher knew kung-fu?  'Wingless' could mirror people?  She pinched herself to make sure this wasn't some kind of horrible dream, drawing back against the doorframe as Wingless went on the defensive, skipping backwards towards her.

He moved so fast she didn't have time to blink.  One arm shot out, round, and grabbed her.  He twisted her forwards with a practised movement and locked his arm around her throat.  Arin struggled and kicked, but without her boots it was useless.  "Stop fighting, Sagittarius, and I'll release her."

Terri froze.  "Let her go, Wingless; she's got nothing to do with this!"

Wingless smirked.  "She has everything to do with you, by the look of it."  His face was expressionless apart from cold enjoyment. 

"Fraggin' rain," muttered a young man as he pulled up to the riding school, parking the car and getting out.  Screw it if Arin's step-mum didn't want him around her, he wasn't leaving the kid to go home in the rain.  He wasn't that bad an influence, anyway.

He tried the door and found that it was open.  From inside he could hear voices, specifically Calloway's, demanding that someone let 'her' go.  There could be only one 'her' that the riding instructor was referring to.  Eyes narrowed, he reached into his bomber jacket to remove a slender throwing knife, which he flipped to the ready as he silently stalked towards the location of the voices.  Hang in there, mèimèi*…

Arin judged her moment and rammed her sharp elbow into his gut.  His grip loosened, and she slipped out from under his arm and cannoned away to the adjacent wall.  "Leave Miss Calloway alone!  Why do you call her Sagittarius?"

Wingless stared at her.  "That is none of your business."  His gaze flicked up suddenly to the opposite doorway, then back to the riding instructor.  Quick as lightning, he performed a wall run, and span out of it with a kick to her skull.  The dark woman hit the ground hard, barely retaining consciousness.  She struggled to her feet, but Wingless was waiting for her.  He slammed his fist into her solar plexus; her eyes widened as all the air was pushed from her lungs, then she passed out and slumped over his waiting arm.

A hand reached out and snatched Arin's shoulder, dragging her back behind the owner — Cue!  Arin nearly resisted Cue's pulling, thinking to launch herself at 'Wingless', but the rational side of her mind kicked in, and she darted around the doorway.  "We have to help Miss Calloway, niisan*!" she hissed, her eyes wide.

"Stay here," he ordered her, stepping around the corner and letting his blade fly straight into Wingless' shoulder, drawing a second knife as the first left his hand.

The impact knocked Wingless off balance, and the riding instructor's limp form slid to the floor.  The Chinese man picked himself up and yanked out the throwing knife, ducking under the next projectile and launching the blade back.  Arin involuntarily jerked back behind the corner as the blade flashed past her face and became embedded in the doorjamb, quivering.

Cue advanced carefully on Wingless, a third, larger blade in his hand, this one intended for fighting rather than throwing.  "What on earth do you think you're doing?" sneered Wingless.  The blood streaming down his jacket was barely visible, and didn't seem to be affecting him at all.  Arin blanched. 

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Cue sneered back, bravado bolstering him.  He could see that if it came down to a fight, the Chinese man would most certainly triumph, but he wasn't going to let a kidnapping occur without trying to prevent it.

"To me, it seems you have a death wish," answered Wingless flatly.  "However, I have no time for this.  Challenge me and die."  With this sinister warning, he grabbed Terri's prone body again and hoisted it easily.  Arin displayed her sense of timing again, this time with a well-aimed china ornament.  The seraphim smashed against Wingless' skull, and he stumbled again with a low curse.

Cue took his chance, leaping for Wingless and trying to get Calloway away from him, perhaps stupidly sheathing the blade so as not to inadvertently hurt the unconscious woman.  Recovering swiftly, Wingless saw his spring coming, just in time to lash out with his right foot.  The kick connected and thudded into Cue's stomach, throwing him halfway across the room.  "Do not waste my time." 

Cue rolled to his feet somewhat slowly, ready for more if need be.  He didn't advance, but he also made sure that he was between the stranger and Arin.

Arin realised there was no hope in hell of them actually making any headway against the martial artist.  She tugged Cue's bomber jacket.  "Cue, let's get out of here.  We can call the police or something."

Wingless heard her and turned again from his position near the window.  "You will not call anybody."

"And how are you going to stop us?" retorted the girl.

"I have ways..." Wingless let Terri's body down a second time and stalked towards Arin, his gaze predatory.  Finding Cue in the way, he pressed a fist against his palm again.  Arin's eyes went wide, but before she could warn him, Wingless released a brutal combination of attacks.

Cue yelled in pain as he was slammed backwards from the multiple kicks and punches, somehow managing to get back on his feet after the assault ended, keeping between Wingless and Arin.  He was swaying on his feet and his face was contorted in pain, but he had another knife in his hand as he stood his ground.  He'd die before he let this bastard hurt Arin, and his brown eyes conveyed this message clearly.

Wingless paused, a sardonic smile cresting his face.  "Had enough?" 

Arin had had enough.  "Niisan!  Let's call the police!"

Wingless turned his gaze on her again.  "Go ahead, little one, before I despatch your 'big brother,' as you call him.  At least one of you has an ounce of sense."  He seized the wrist of Cue's knife hand.  "And you, my friend, will pay for your interference."  Gripping the joint tightly, he twisted until the bone snapped with a dull click.  The knife fell from the young man's fingers and Arin shrieked in horror.

Cue followed his knife to the ground, clutching his broken wrist and glaring daggers at the Chinese man.  Normally, he would have made some vaguely threatening comment… but he could sense that somehow, this man would not be overly concerned.  He could also sense that if he challenged this man again, it would result in death.

His.

Wingless grinned again, replacing Terri over his shoulder.  He drew a small key from around his neck, unlocked the door leading to the kitchen and opened it.  Arin gasped.  She caught a glimpse of a plain white corridor with a dull coloured door opposite, then Wingless obscured her view and was gone, the door clicking closed behind him.

Arin raced across and flung open the door, but instead of the corridor was the kitchen.  A plate fell off a shelf as the door banged.

Angry and confused, she crossed the room to Cue.  "Come on, niisan.  We need to get your wrist sorted."

He shook his head.  "Cops first, then wrist," he managed to say.  "This is a crime scene, and our kidnapper left evidence behind.  I want to know who that man is." 

Arin scowled, but she knew he was right.  A bubble of helplessness was welling up inside her, clouding her eyes with tears.  She was so tired...  "There's a phone in the hall.  Shall I ring?"

He nodded, fumbling for his wallet.  Unless he wanted to be in serious trouble, he figured it'd be better if he had his licence for concealed weaponry out when the cops arrived.  With another worried glance back to him, Arin went to the phone and dialled.  She spoke briefly, answering questions as they came.  She hung up and came back.  "They're on their way.  I dunno what I'm going to tell Angela...  I should have been home an hour ago."

"I'll have one of the cops write you a note.  Or, better yet, blame it on me.  Your step-mum would probably panic if she knew what just happened."   He did an admirable job keeping his pain out of his face and voice; he didn't want to worry her.

"I don't want to blame it on you, Cue.  But you're right, she would panic.  Probably ban me from riding..."  Arin sat down next to him, drawing her knees to her chin.  He wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulders, hugging her. 

"Just say I got caught in traffic, or something."  Cue's mind was racing; he wasn't sure if the Chinese man was the type to leave loose ends like two witnesses lying around.  Possibly he wouldn't care, but Cue was concerned for Arin's sake; the girl was only twelve years old.

Arin leant against him, taking the comfort she always felt when around her friend.  Cue was her self-appointed big brother, much to her step mother's disagreement, and she liked him intensely.  The knife-slinging young man had attached himself to her the night after her mother disappeared, and Arin always found comfort and security in his presence.

Sirens wailed in the distance, and she picked herself up and went to the window.  The rain had lessened to a steady drizzle, and due to the lack of streetlights in the outer city, it was completely dark outside.  Cue managed to stagger to his feet and wandered to the door, eyeing where Wingless had thrown his knife.  He let out a low whistle, it was in there deep.

"What're you looking at?"  The girl looked up from her position crouched over the shattered seraphim.  She was using her index finger to poke the pieces into what she deemed the right position.

"My knife."  He looked back at her.  "You probably shouldn't touch that; this whole room counts as a crime scene."

"I never thought I'd be standing in a 'crime scene'."  Arin stood up and stretched, emitting a yawn.  "I suppose my riding lessons are off until they get Miss Calloway back, so it won't really matter if I annoy Angela now.  Can I stay at your house tonight?"

"No, kid, I'm sorry.  I'm going out later tonight, and I do have to get my wrist mended.  I'm sure you don't want to hang out in the hospital for hours, do you?"

"Not really."  She peered at his injured wrist.  "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No," he lied. 

Arin gave him a Look, and turned back to the window.  The blue lights of British police vehicles were meandering up the winding road to the ranch.  "Police are here, Cue."

"Good.  Then we can give them our statements and get the hell out of here."

"What do we do, just tell them what happened?"  Arin moved back to his side and clutched his good hand, suddenly nervous.

"And answer their questions.  Mine might take awhile, as I am armed."  He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I hope 'Wingless' doesn't come back.  He scared me..."  A loud knocking made her whisper her last sentence.

Me too, kid, he thought looking down at her before going to let the cops in.  Me too.

*                      *                      *

The clock on the dash read 22:36 as Cue drove Arin home.  The black Corvette was the only vehicle around the winding country roads at this time of night, and the headlights illuminated hedges lining the road.  Arin sat up straighter and glimpsed the speckled lights which indicated the city drawing closer.  She yawned again, cracking her jaw.  "Ow…  I'm so tired…"

"Get some sleep then, kid.  I know where you live, getting you home will be no problem," Cue replied, ignoring the throb in his right wrist.  Good job he fought with both hands; his shifting hand had been spared.

Arin closed her eyes briefly, but images kept flashing into her head.  "Can't sleep, Cue.  There's too much stuff going on in my head.  I keep thinking about that strange man in the suit and sunglasses who came with the police."

Cue growled low in his throat.  "He was way too interested in that Wingless fellow."  He didn't trust suits, so he'd withheld the name of the kidnapper.  …But Arin wouldn't have known to…

"Arin… you didn't tell them his name, did you?"

There was a silence from the passenger seat.  Arin was biting her lip.  "I think I did…"

He sighed.  "All right, it isn't your fault.  I'm probably just paranoid."

"I'm sorry, niisan."  Arin stared out of the window.  Speaking Japanese always reminded her of her mother.  Lack of practise had dwindled her grasp of the language to a few phrases and words, enough to get by if she ever decided to go there.  Her reflection in the car window stared back at her: her mother's Oriental features imprinted on her Caucasian father's face shape. 

"Don't be sorry.  I forgot to mention you should probably keep that from them.  My bad, not yours."

Arin smiled.  "So, can I stay at your house tonight?"

He hesitated.  "Yeah.  I'd prefer you to be where I can protect you.  We just have to make a stop first."

"Yeah, I'd better phone Angela and tell her.  Can I use one of your T-shirts for a nightie again?"  Arin looked at him and added, "You have to get your wrist sorted, too."

"I can get it taken care of where we're going.  I'd rather be careful tonight.  And yes, you can.  Here," he somehow managed to get his cell phone to her, "give her a ring."

Arin took it and dialled her home.  She winced as her step mother loosed off a round of ranting.  "Angela, I'm staying at Cue's house tonight.  Don't expect me back until tomorrow lunchtime.  …  Well I don't know what exact time!  …  I'm going somewhere with him.  …  No it's not a date!  I've got about six credits.  …  Whatever.  Bye."  Arin flushed.  "She thinks it's a date…"

Cue twitched.  "What the hell does she think I am, a paedophile?" he demanded. 

"I dunno; don't blow off on me!"  Arin slipped the phone into the glove compartment until Cue could retrieve it safely.  "She just doesn't like you."

"No kidding."  Cue grumbled a bit under his breath before pulling up to the pub.  "Stay here, and stay out of sight.  This shouldn't take long; I'm not playing tonight."

"Okay."  Arin handed him his phone back and crouched down in the space in front of the seat, settling herself quite comfortably in the small space.  She retrieved her notebook and pencil from her pocket and began drawing.

Cue entered the pub, waiving his usual drink and the normal challenges.  There was one man he wanted to see, and if that man was not here, he would be most upset.

In the far corner, someone was being beaten up with words.  It was being done very quietly and subtly, the antagonist being a tall man dressed in many black layers.  He finished his verbal battering and dismissed the skinny young man with a clip around the ears, examining something in his hand before pocketing it.  He moved back to his table in the corner and put his feet up.

Good, he was here.  Cue slipped to the back and pulled a chair out, sitting in front of his 'contact' – the link the cops didn't know he had.  "What do you know about someone called Wingless?" he asked without preamble.  He needed information, and he needed it now.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow.  "Why do you ask?"  He took his feet down and leaned over, motioning for the human to lower his voice.

"He kidnapped the girl's riding instructor.  Plus one of the Suits showed up at the scene to question us."

"Did he mention any motive?" asked Scorpius urgently.

"Wingless?  If he did, I wasn't there to hear it.  I came late to the party, the girl was there the whole time.  That's why I need to know."

Scorpius paused.  "He's the right hand man of a very powerful person.  I don't think he'd be after the kid, if that's what you're worried about.  Wingless is… easy to anger."

"I'd noticed," Cue drawled, displaying the wrist Wingless had snapped. 

His contact looked at the swollen wrist, then back to him.  "Tell me you haven't provoked him."

"Mommy doesn't like it when I lie."

Scorpius didn't smile.  "You're in shit, Cue.  Deep shit." 

"I guessed.  Well, I suppose it was inevitable.  Just tell me what I need to know to keep her safe."

"Your 'sister' should be fine, as long as she hasn't tried anything on him."  Scorpius leaned in.  "If both of you retaliated, you'd be best running.  Wingless never forgets.  I'm still avoiding him for something that happened a long time ago." 

Cue remembered the thrown seraph and winced.  "Fuck.  We talking leaving the city, or going halfway around the world and living in a cave on some remote island?"

"Leaving the city should be enough, for the moment.  If he shows up again, then option number two.  That boy is one of the most dangerous people I know of."  And now he's got Sagittarius…  What have we got Libs into?

"Great," Cue muttered.  "The Wicked Witch of the West is gonna love this.  So the broken wrist was promise of reprisal rather than the reprisal, is that it?"

"Most likely."  Scorpius thought for a second.  "If you're going to need help I'll be able to arrange something."  If Aries got back from taking Libra to the Merovingian sometime tonight, he'd send him to fetch Cue and his girl tomorrow morning.  Assuming Wingless hadn't done his homework.

"In the meantime," Cue asked, his voice lowering even more, "do you have anything long-range?  If I'm slipping back into that world, I'll need a gun."  He hated doing it, but he had to, for Arin's sake.  At least he knew that if need be, he could kill — he'd done it before, after all…

A sly grin slipped easily onto his contact's face.  "How big?"

"Concealable.  Feds find out, they'll re-chip me faster than celebrities divorce."

"Just the thing. These babies just came in."  Scorpius reached into an inside pocket and withdrew a pair of small, black handguns.  "For you, I'll let 'em go for six hundred and fifty."

"Screw you, highway robber," Cue muttered, reaching for his wallet.  "You saw me at the pool tables, didn't you?"  Ordinarily, he would haggle, but he didn't have the time or patience for that.

The grin widened.  "As paranoid as ever.  Your pool playing reminds me of the way a cat plays with a mouse.  You toy with the opposition, then kill them slowly."

 Cue shrugged as he passed the money over.  "It'd be boring if I went full-on right away.  Plus I'd be kicked out 'cause I'm a shark."

"Fair enough.  Thank you, sir Cue."  The money changed hands, and Cue was the proud owner of two brand new SIG P228's.   Cue nodded to Scorpius and slipped back outside.  Getting into the Corvette, he sat for a moment, then slumped over the wheel. 

"Are you all right?"  Arin popped her head up and eyed him.  "You haven't fixed your wrist yet..." she chided.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, turning his head to her.  "I'll take care of it when we get home." 

His little sister pulled herself back onto the seat and closed her sketchbook.  "Are you sure?  You look..." She paused to find the right words.   "You look like you don't know what to do."

"I don't," he said quietly, almost to low for her to hear.  He turned the key in the ignition and drove off.  He wouldn't tell her about the guns.  Not yet.

Current Location: my bed
Current Mood: moody
Tags: fanfic, the matrix, time of the turning

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