As she approached the clear front doors entering behind a man who did not hold them open for her, she immediately pushed Alex and his weirdness out of her head. Quickly, she looked around the small place and found the bathrooms in a small hallway on the west end of the establishment. And right between the different gendered doors, nestled against the wall within a small three sided box, was exactly what she needed.
Standing at the mouth of the small corridor she got on her tip-toes, glancing back the way she came and out the front windows, craning her neck to look above the three or four aisles of junk food, but she couldn't see Alex or the car from here. Good. There was only the slight assurance that the bathroom story would hold him off and force him to give her some privacy, but he didn't have that much respect for her to wait for too long. Especially if it gave him the opportunity to whine at her for something else.
Taking in a deep breath, she approached the phone and stood with her hand on the headset in it's cradle, waiting for a man to fully enter the restroom beside her before picking it up off the hook. Digging in the pockets of her leather pants, Osono inserted several fat coins into the slot, trying to swallow even though her throat had suddenly gone dry, the saliva on her tongue seeming to dig it's heels in and scrape down the inside of her neck, choking her. She hated checking in like this, but at times it seemed inevitable, an urge she could not stifle. After all the things she'd done and the people she hurt, she never cried about it and it was very easy to brush it off and not think about the past. These phone calls not only forced her to remember everything as if it happened 20 minutes ago - which was hours worth of sin and destruction spread for her selfish needs - but they also reminded her of before... What her life had been like before she'd lost everything...
Standing at the small half-box, Ozzie rested her free hand on top of the machine while the other pressed the now lightly buzzing headset up to her ear, each silence between the rings punctuated by small crackles and a mechanical humming that conveyed empty space. Like her call was being shot out into nothingness hoping to get caught by someone out there waiting for it. As was usual for these phone calls, she tried to imagine what he was doing right now, glancing outside at the sunlight still coming through the windows of the gas station and ignoring the faces of those around her. It was about 3 or 4 on a Saturday, so he was probably in their old den, getting ready for Sunday, working on some church related papers or writing out a new sermon with his old leather-bound and weathered scriptures sitting in his lap. She remembered the old musty smell of those pages...
The old, faded, baby blue phone in the hall would have rung with it's melancholy chirping echoed a mere second late further in the house in the living room. He was probably rising from his creaking chair, carefully setting his book and papers aside before leaving the room, wearing his plain clothes while at home. He would probably wait a few beats, staring down at the phone as he removed his reading glasses, inserting them in his shirt pocket with long, slender and wrinkled fingers. She imagined his face, weathered and worn in it's old age but holding an immeasurable amount of kindness and gentleness, his hair graying and his bangs long but combed back elegantly.
He was probably staring down at the little boxy, wooden table set flush against the wall, the small lamp giving off a faded yellow light over the phone and the knitted doily covering the tabletop, a small notepad and pens set aside for taking messages because they never got an answering machine. The wallpaper would be the same because there was no doubt that he wouldn't have touched it, leaving everything the way it had been before She'd passed on. And he probably glanced down at the small picture in it's standing frame there, right beside the phone, their family captured in a happy moment one summer when they'd taken a trip to Busch Gardens. That picture had always been there since the day they'd taken the trip and she wondered if pain entered his eyes as he looked down at himself and her mother smiling happily and Ozzie with her arm around--
Osono shook her head and took in a quick breath when the headset pressed against her face clicked and connected on the 4th ring. Her fingers toyed with a screw on the top of the phone box as she held her breath and waited.
"Hello?" came the deeply graveled response, a small static crackling and the echo of distance in his words as they floated to her ear.
Osono finally took a breath but said nothing, waiting and listening to the silence before he again repeated the questioning word. There was an endless amount of patience in his voice, as there always was and always had been. Even when teaching and disciplining her as a little girl when she just didn't want to learn the lesson that life didn't always go her way, he'd never lost that patience and never seemed annoyed with her.
This time wasn't like the others when Osono called after she'd done something stupid or had just gotten out of trouble by the skin of her teeth. It was different because now she was headed towards trouble and she knew there was a good chance that she'd never speak to him again. She didn't want to think that way, but she couldn't pretend that she was invincible, especially when there was so much about the Agents that she didn't know. Danger lay ahead of her and now that they were officially on the right track with nothing else in their way, it had reminded her that she might not get another chance.
But like all the other times she'd called, silence filled the void between them, and the goodbye she desperately felt bursting within her chest, got caught and tangled in her vocal chords, strangled to death before it even reached her lips. So, she stood, her mouth closed in a firm line, her fingers still playing with the screws on the phone box, closing her eyes briefly as he said "Hello?" for a third time. He never hung up on her even though in all these years of running, she'd never uttered a word, allowing him to greet her plaintively and wait for a response that never came. It was always her who ended it and she usually could last to the fourth time he said it before she couldn't stand it anymore and hung up.
The fourth "Hello?" didn't come this time. Instead, his soft, ancient sigh echoed to her ears through the phone lines seeming to come from some hollowed, mournful place. And finally new words came from his end hitting her to the core, the sound making her feel almost scared enough to slam the phone down and run, but held captive by his voice.
"Osono," he said softly, pausing, hoping for a response before going on when it was obvious none was coming. "I know it's you." She shivered slightly, rooted in place as she imagined - remembered - the way he'd be looking at her now, understanding and sympathy filling his blue-grey eyes. "She's gone now, Ozzie. I saw you at the funeral and it's okay, we don't need to talk about what happened there... But it's just me now." There was a long silence then and she bit the inside of her gum harshly, still not tempted to say anything but feeling strangely comforted and yet shamed by his voice. "I'm..so sorry... Just come home. I just want my daughter back. ...If you're in some kind of troubl--"
Before she realized she'd made the decision, the headset was set gently back in the cradle and coins were rattling through the phone to the slot at the bottom, the metallic clacking seeming to wake her out of the trance she'd been in. Her breathing was slightly heavier and she stared at the phone for a few moments longer, mulling over his words before she turned away from it without a second glance.
Ozzie's face was set in stone as she started to walk through the short aisles of snacks, blindly wandering back to the front of the mart and the doors before she remembered that Alex had wanted stuff. She remembered she'd needed some things too, but all of a sudden, she was overcome by an extreme aversion to the place and a desire to leave, as if her dad was still back in that hallway, waiting inside the phone threatening to call out to her again.
Turning back into the aisles, she tried to remember what Alex wanted and her eyes danced over the different foods before grabbing a few things randomly and stuffing them into the wide sleeves of her army jacket. Feeling the small plastic wrapped food items crinkling within her inner pockets, she immediately headed for the doors, not even bothering to glance at the counter or the man who stood behind it. The door made no alarming sounds as she passed through and the fresh air and sunlight outside had her rushing back to the car as if she were a bird set free from it's cage.
Silently, she slipped back into her seat, closing the door and sat for a moment trying to remember what she was doing, calming her breathing. Glancing down at the GPS she let out a breath through her nose and gave a short nod to herself. Right. Gwen. Buckling her seatbelt and pulling out of the parking lot, she reached into her inner pocket and silently tossed a bag of spiced beef jerky and a jumbo bag of Skittles into Alex's lap, not even offering a perky or snippy comment like 'they were out of diapers'.
As they pulled out onto the highway and the speedometer crept up to the fifties, putting her in the fast flowing river of traffic, the weight of the phone call left her and the tension eased from her shoulders. She let it fade into the background of her mind the further they traveled from the gas station, before finally it was gone and it felt like nothing had happened. Except now, the illusion was threatened by the silence, her thoughts leaning back towards the past and the phone call, her father's voice echoing in her ear with his solemn, lonely tone.
She didn't really know what to think of what he'd said. It had been a surprise to hear him say anything other then "Hello?" first of all, and second of all... Ozzie didn't know what she'd expected, whether it was to be punished or hated by him. Forgiveness was always a possibility because he'd been like that forever, always willing to offer a second chance, even to those who probably didn't deserve it. But for him to apologize... He hadn't done anything and that just made everything worse. That in the midst of all her shame and destruction, of running away...he'd blamed himself for everything. It made her sad and made her feel guilty, that her absence had caused that reaction in a way and it just compounded how selfish and conceited she'd been about everything. Claus had been her little brother, but she wasn't the only one who missed him...
That in turn made her think of Alex's semi-apology and she realized she'd been more than unnecessarily rude to him about it. And she didn't really have a reason. Not a good one. She could keep saying she was stressed about saving Gwen in time, but every time she used that excuse it felt pathetic to let it stop her from making connections, especially when Alex was obviously willing to make some kind of effort. And the whole Rudy thing...
"I wanted to thank you...for what you said," she didn't look at him but kept her eyes on the road, her expression somewhat neutral and her voice as well. "I don't know why I got so mad before or at any time... I mean, true, you do irritate the shit out of me, but it's no reason to be such a bitch. We got enough to deal with, ya know? So... Sorry... I guess." She shrugged uncomfortably but still didn't look at him. This was probably the second time she'd apologized to him and still, it hadn't gotten any easier.
"I don't mean to get angry about Rudy and stuff... The whole thing is just kinda retarded. But anyways... Thank you for not being a complete asshole about it even when I get all up in your face...and threaten to kill you..." Then she let out a breath between her lips, suddenly feeling a whole lot better about the whole thing, even though she expected him to turn around and be a jerk or whiny bitch again. It sort of didn't matter what he did; at least she'd tried to make amends too and that was enough for now. She couldn't erase the past, but she could definitely stop using it as a crutch to justify her poor behavior.
It was right around then that she realized she'd forgotten to get anything for herself - least of all cigarettes - but other than a small quirk of her lips, she said nothing about it, not wanting to bring up questions about what else she'd been doing back there other than buying the things she'd so "desperately" needed to stop for.
Glancing at Alex finally, she said, "Do you mind if I ask what's wrong with your leg?" For once, there wasn't a rude comment waiting in the wings at her words and there was genuine curiosity when she glanced at him again, her eyes falling briefly to his feet. "I mean, you've had a limp since I met you, but sometimes it seems like it's causing you problems but then you're fine. I don't want to assume that I'm gonna be going into this thing alone and need to drag you both out by myself, but... I mean, are you gonna be okay?"
There was the hint of concern, but it wasn't directed at him completely, but more worried about how much of this she'd be doing on her own. When it came to fighting, it was no problem and she was only a little worried about dealing with too many Agents or whatever all on her own. But she depended on Alex for what he knew about these people and if he passed out while they were inside... There was only so much she could do and capture wasn't an option she wanted to think about.
***
The exuberant response that the Pup gave her delighted Stephanie and she giggled softly at his threat to shove the cookies down Jason's throat - the image that put in her head immediately made her think 'Awwwww' - and clapped her hands softly, like a little girl watching a cute animal do a terrific trick. Instantly she stopped at the sound of Master's voice and turned to him, her eyes brightening an incredibly glossy sheen as he approached. She hadn't been planning on saying anything and forgot everything except her worship of him until the Puppy suddenly shouted drawing a wide, green-eyed look, like a cat that had been startled.
From the way Pup was looking at Master when he said it, she knew that it was directed at him rather than herself and she waited for Master to say something, while staring at the Pup and blinking blankly. Pocket cookie? What did that mean? And was it necessary to shout over? The situation quickly dissolved seconds later when Master spoke again and the Pup declared a very robust dedication to the Agency and Master himself. Stephanie was almost caught up in his fervor about ready to do the same in practically the same tone of voice before her attention was once again violently jerked away by Master mentioning the cells.
Right! That's right! Alexander the guest's body and Benoit! Once again Pup returned to the land of the living as she remembered him and he stuttered brokenly and apologetically to her about wanting to see the bodies. So caught up in the excitement that was Master's cajoling encouragement - like the Pied Piper whistling a tune that unleashed a very physical pull on her body - she flippantly abandoned her earlier violent thoughts to throttle the Pup if he dared to refuse her mission to seek out Jason's treat. The gentlemanly gesture of him offering her his arm sealed it for her and she smiled in a modest way.
"Why thank you--I thought you'd never ask," in a playfully grand voice, as if he were asking her to a ball or something, and she linked her arm with his and practically skipped along with him as if they were on the yellow brick road. As they neared the corner, she eased up a bit but the excitement still coursed through her like a raging river and she squeezed Pup's arm to herself when it occasionally became too much to physically contain.
"I didn't realize you were married," she commented as they turned the corner, Master ahead of them a little ways but not too far. "Are you happy together? Do you love her? How much would you risk for her? Are you the type of man to get up and leave when there's trouble, or do you stay and fight?" A hardness had entered her 'friendly' tone and she gripped his arm tightly within the crook of her elbow, before it subsided and she smiled sweetly down at him again. "I wanted to get married once... I waited for him to ask me but he never did." She smiled again but it seemed more of a reaction to something than actually expressing an emotion of pleasure.
"As you can imagine, I'm sort of done with waiting for men to get any sense in their heads. Weddings are more for women anyway and if I want one, I need to step up and claim what's rightfully mine. If you grab me some Tequila along with the cookies, I'll invite you to mine and Jason's..." she giggled then at the look he gave her, not even seeming to realize there was anything wrong with such a pronouncement about her partner, but her mind was quickly wandering away from the subject anyway, so it didn't matter much.
"Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to be someone else, Puppy?" she asked in semi-dreamy tones. "To exist inside someone else's skin?" The hand not linked with his arm came across her body to scratch meanly at his captured forearm through his sweater. He jerked slightly, but she kept their elbows locked and continued to walk along and talk with him as if nothing untoward were happening.
"It's been my ideal for years, ever since I first laid eyes on a lab filled with hundreds of body tanks. Seemingly spread out for miles, a green glowing army of empty shells. And on that day, I immediately thought, I could be one of them. Does it seem an odd thing to aspire to? To want to flee the cumbersome flesh you were born with, shed it like a pile of dirty clothes and grow delighted at the thought of yourself being empty..."
Sharp, pointed fingernails began to gently trace the lines of his knuckles, the muscles twitching under the razor-like nails that threatened to cut him but left no mark. She could almost feel the blood pumping frantically through him, carrying each engorged cell through layers of fat and buried muscle, his heart pumping swollen and exhaustively in his chest. Stephanie didn't understand the playful desire to slit his wrists - it could have had to do with the fact that she actually was annoyed that he dared to defy her, or that he and Jason were such great pals he'd be willing to do anything for him and probably have the favor returned, or the fact that he had a wife and wore her ring proudly, the gold band on his finger glaring in the half-light that filled the hallways, mocking her with something that had slipped through her fingers, once upon a time; it could have been a lot of things - but she did not fight it and allowed the feeling to exist, hate swimming through the gaps and Swiss cheese holes in the EDP that fitted loosely over her features.
"Just think of it, Puppy!" she said turning to him as they walked along, a bright light filling her green eyes with an excited and predatory look. "Being inside someone else's skin; looking out from someone else's eyes and seeing yourself, seemingly asleep inside a loving, sterile case of liquid. To leave your old flesh behind and become someone else...
"And it's not just the bodies that are glorious, but the whole process!" an excited laugh left her and she gripped the Pup's arm close to herself as she went on, her other hand inserting itself in his to squeeze and dig her nails into his palm, a passion entering her voice as she continued. "It's something you take from someone else. Your life force sucked from your own awkward body and shoved into the mind of another, enforcing your will upon your new form, and consuming them until there's nothing but you, dominating them from the inside out..." She was silent as they came within sight of the room, just a few feet of hallway separating them from it and she spaced out briefly, shivering to remember Jason in that room - where was he...?
"Every time I see one of them, lost in their endless sleep and half-death, I long for it. I long to see myself locked away in a watery bed, and to walk away from it in stolen flesh," when she turned to the Pup again, there was something very wet and glassy about her eyes and she smiled in a tilted way before pushing ahead towards the room.
***
Rolling over onto his side, a groan split from Rudy's throat as his skull creaked in a vise and his stomach lurched with the movement. Everything sorta hurt, but after a few moments of blinking at the dimly lit ceiling, obscene yellow light helping his vision relax, he knew he was going to be okay. Sitting up, he panted a little and glanced around himself going through the motions of first, wondering where he was, then remembering and second wondering where everyone else was. And Gwen, his whole reason for being here, was missing.
"Shit!" he cursed, swinging his head this way and that, his face feeling numb and distorted like a catcher's mitt, eyes wide and looking around the shadowed halls for any trace of her. She'd been tied hadn't she? He tried to remember and instantly felt a burst of relief to remember that he had put cuffs on both her hands and feet after the diner incident. God... That felt like a lifetime ago and his nose pulsed numbly to remember what had happened when he'd dared to take the restraints off of her.
No, she couldn't have gotten far... And although there was a very good chance that she'd used her powers on some low-level idiot - just like she'd done with Hoskins - he was hoping that the drugs hadn't worn off yet. What time was it? He instantly started looking for a clock, but there was none around from what he could see. If it wasn't too much later, the drugs should still be working, but she tended to absorb the chemicals faster than he'd expected the first time and...he wasn't exactly sure anymore how much he'd given her. He'd just sort of filled the syringe about half-way each time and injected her with it every hour after he'd stolen the Yugo.It was annoying not knowing what time it was. And where the hell did everybody go?
It was very possible, since he was expected to arrive here that some underling had come by to take the girl off to...wherever she was needed, but why wasn't anyone here to greet him? He didn't expect it to be anybody important - well, okay, he always expected someone important to wait for his arrival and greet him respectfully, or at least issue him a thanks - but it would have been nice if there was somebody here. Showed how precious the damn psychic was, didn't it? The instant they got what they wanted, they forgot about him. Yeah, thanks a lot for going through psychic torture Hell, Rudy--now hit the frickin' road!
With another low grunt, Rudy got to his feet and stretched painfully before walking a few steps into the main corridor. There were some stairs over there and the front doors just beyond, but still no sign of life. Wandering by the stairs, he casually tipped his head back to look up - pretty snazzy place, if a little on the dark side; Heh. Join the Dark Side - and grimaced as the action caused a bit of residual fluid to drain down his throat from his broken nose. Instantly, he choked and realigned his head causing an airy popping to start up in his inner nasal cavity. Wincing, he waited a few beats as the pressure increased and a sneeze jerked through him.
His whole body spasmed with the abrupt movement and his feet which had been resting in a puddle of sticky something lost their footing and gravity yanked him to earth. "Fuck!" he cursed automatically as he fell, his buttocks slamming into tile and causing him to hiss in pain, rocking back and forth as it sent shock waves up his spine. Using a hand to lever himself up, he paused when it touched wetness, picking it up to look at his fingers and palms painted unevenly with dark, almost blackish red.
"Oh, Jesus!" he whined in disgust, shaking his hand as if that would help get the stuff off of him. "No welcome party; lights for shit; leaving your piles of gore all over the place with no 'Caution: bloody floor' sign! What kinda place is this?" He paused and fell silent for a moment and glanced around at the empty space, suddenly looking for something other than people. "Wait...am I being Punk'd? Ashton Kutcher, you dick!"