Police Sirens: Finale Warning: Violence

[tarnishedbadge]

It was pouring rain when Levi and his partner arrived at the motel. Maine coastal weather during the summer was unpredictable at times and the late hour didn't make either of them any more eager to venture out in the rain. Really it was later than either of them should be bothering a potential witness but this was the first substantial lead they'd had in the case and both of them wanted to jump on it.

So they did rock-paper-scissors to see who would have to go get key from the night manager. They both agreed that this was too big to risk the man they were visiting being too tired to get up and answer the door. It was poor police procedure but they were too wired to go home without speaking to someone. If they had to go into his room and wake up him in bed they were completely prepared to do that.

It had been easy to convince the night manager to give up the keys once Levi flashed his badge. The guy was way too busy texting his girlfriend to put up any sort of argument with the police. With keys in hand Levi returned to the car and knocked on the driver's side window.

"Rock-paper-scissors to see who gets out to talk to the old man?" his partner asked after rolling down the window a crack.

"Get your ass out of the car. If I have to wake up an old man to interview him then you do too."

His partner sighed and rolled up the window before cutting the engine and getting out of the car. When most people got out of the car they just turned sideways and stepped out. Samuel Hinson III, Levi's partner, unfolded himself from the car. At six feet, eight inches tall he looked like he had never met a brick wall he couldn't smash through. As far as Levi was aware, he hadn't.

Samuel Hinson had been a stand out college football player who had gone into the military instead of the NFL, much to the chagrin of several franchises and the relief of more than one quarterback. In the army he was an MP, serving his time and getting out the first chance he could after learning his wife was pregnant. The two had moved to the quiet town of Siren Cove where he became a detective.

Despite his impressive size and bulk, Hinson's soft southern drawl and relaxed ways often put people at ease. When they'd first become partners they bonded over being "thirds" and had been affectionately dubbed "33" by their fellow detectives. Hinson was also a giant baby when it came to the little things, like getting out in the rain, and Levi never failed to give him shit until the big man finally gave in just to shut Levi up.

When they approached the room where the old man was supposed to be staying Levi got a burst of mental projection, panicked thoughts that spent a blinding flash of pain that almost caused him to stagger backward. Hinson glanced over at him and arched an eyebrow.

"Holy shit," Levi whispered, drawing his gun. Without any sort of explanation Hinson did the same, Levi knowing the other man would trust him completely. "You- you hear that? There's screaming. Son of a bitch, this is our guy."

There was no other explanation, there was no way there would be minds that terrified if they weren't in some sort of imminent danger. Levi rarely ever actively used his powers but if there was ever a time, it was now. Pushing out he could detect three separate minds in one room, one oddly calm and the other two were in a state of panic and despair he rarely encountered.

The other room, the one where the old man was supposed to be, contained two minds. One of them must have been the old man and the other... the other terrified Levi. He didn't think he had ever felt anything like that before in his life, the level of rage and murderous intent.

"I don't hear any screaming but I don't think the military did my hearing any favors," Hinson said.

"It's so faint, I think the victims are in this room," Levi said, nodding to the left of the old man's room. "The old man is in the other. He's probably got a partner, right?"

Hinson nodded, knowing there was no way the tiny old man they were looking for could have kidnapped someone on his own. Levi felt a strange rush of adrenaline course through him and his stomach tightened in a knot. Forcing himself to not rush in there, Levi placed a call to the station about what was going on and requested a unit and an ambulance as soon as possible, but to arrive with lights off so they didn't spook their guy.

"We have to go in there," Levi said once he had placed the call. The victims were terrified, there was no way he could sense that and wait out here.

"You use the key on their door, I bust down his?" Hinson asked. Levi knew that no matter how sturdy the door was supposed to be it wouldn't put up much resistance for his partner. Levi nodded and positioned himself in front of the victim's door, night-managers keys in hand. Hinson mouthed a silent 1-2-3 and Levi slipped the key in the locked and turned it just as his partner slammed his shoulder into the door, sending it exploding into the other room.

Levi could hear his partner shouting that he was the police and for everyone to put their hands on their head as Levi slipped into the other room, gun drawn just in case.

He recognized Wulfric from the pictures he'd circulated but the other two victims surprised him. Corrine Flynn the actress, Lara's missing friend, and Raleigh from the bakery. Hadn't he seen her just two days ago? Had she even been reported missing?

"It's okay," he told them, holstering his gun. "It's okay, I'm with the police. You're safe now, you're safe."

Comments

[starsfallen]

Corrine was on the floor, a mess of broken chair and forgotten struggle. She'd let it slip again. Her hope, her fight. She'd found herself in a state of peace. The cliche flashing of life before death. It was all around her now.

And then a bang of the door. She resolves herself for Joseph and the brute. The certain punishment for breaking her act, for trying to break free. He will take her life. Or he will take her soul. Is there even a difference? But there's something else going on. A frenzy in the air. A new voice. Police? Is this real? Is this another of his games?

She starts to squirm again, rocking the chair, trying to break her bounds. Does he see them? "Help!" She's hoarse, raw, but there's hope in her again, the fire in her is awake again. "Help us!" She doesn't care if it's real or not. It's hope.

[callmeemily]

Where Corrine's back was to him, Raleigh could see him.

She could see him, even if there was only this clarity of vision for a moment before he was blurred with tears, and she'd blink and she could see him again.

Her voice was hoarse from crying, from screaming; her wrists are bloody in the handcuffs, the makeshift bandage on her foot is red, and her face is bruised and swollen and there's streaks of blood and tears both on her skin.

None of it matters. "Levi?" His name is a broken sob, and he's standing there with a gun - and he's a cop, he's a good cop, and it's all she can do to cry.

[tarnishedbadge]

"It's alright, Emily. Corry, Wulfric, it's going to be alright," Levi said, doing his best to right Corry before be ripped the tape that bound her wrists, leaving her to get the tape from around her legs. He didn't like leaving Hinson in the other room alone, he wanted to make this as quick as possible. He did the same for Wulfric and Emily as well.

"I need you all to go stand in the corner by the door. More police and an ambulance are coming. I need you to wait right there so I know where you are, okay? You're safe now, nothing is going to happen to you, I promise."

Once Levi was sure that they understood and were going to stay where he asked them to, Levi called out to his partner that he was coming through and stepped through the adjoining door between the two rooms.

[starsfallen]

Corrine is shocked into stillness. She's afraid if she moves, speaks, breathes, the illusion will burst and she will be trapped again. But the officer - she thinks she remembers meeting him at the art festival - seeing him at the station - does that mean he's real? - helps her out of the binds, out of the broken chair she's tied against and warred against. It has been days since she's walked on her own. Had any sort if real mobility. Her legs are equally numb and stinging - all of her is. The wounds of her struggles. She wraps her arms around him to steady herself. She's still afraid to speak. Finds herself unable to even form words.

But Emily - Raleigh. Corrine promised to save her and the officers are too slow. She lunges, half crawling, to help free her. Jospeh could be back at any moment. No, no, she has to warn them. The officer doesn't know what he's getting into.

She whispers hoarse and weak, barely able to support herself as she helps Raleigh, as the officer finishes untying the man she's never even spoken to. "No." The words are almost impossible. "M-magic." She has no strength to stand so she slumps to the floor, against the wall. "...Dangerous."

[lesparker]

"Human..." Les muses, wondering how there was a second kidnapping and no one even knew, no one even reported it, but he decides that there is no reason to waste more time if the kidnapper isn't in the room. Just the police and the human...and Corry. She is in there, and Les takes a breath because he knew Lara can feel her which means he isn't about to walk into this room and find his worst nightmare. He squeezes the door knob, turning it as slowly and quietly as he can, still wanting to make sure they aren't about to walk into a bad situation. But it's a room, darkened with the curtains drawn, one lamp on, and there are the hostages.

His eyes dart around at the state of the room. Broken chairs and tossed blankets. An elderly man that looks lost and disoriented. The girl, the human. It isn't just a girl. It's Emily, the young woman from the bakery. It was her. He knew her too. He stares at her. He face is stained with tears, and she is clearly wounded, wrists bloody and awful, and....

"Oh god," he says, looking at Lara, because who the hell did this. That's when he sees Corry, and maybe this is his worst nightmare. Because it's bad. Her face, her wounded face, and the bloodied slices on her hands and legs, and Les moves across the room to help her on auto-pilot. "Corry---" he squats down beside her, touching the mussed hair on the head to look at her face. "Can you hear me? I'm here. We're here now."

[starsfallen]

"Leslie?" Corry doesn't even see him at first. But his voice. Suddenly he's beside her and everything changes. She's sure she's dead. Some angel or guardian of death has come to take her away in the most comforting arms she knows. But then he is so sturdy and so gentle around her and she reaches out to him, buries herself into him. And those eyes, the warmth of him and the strength of his arms around her, the heart beating so fast she can feel it in her own. It is her Leslie. Her wonderful Leslie. She knew he would come. She knew. "Oh god, Leslie..." And she knows it's over she knows it's okay and she finally just breaks. Sobbing into his shoulder, his neck, his chest, everything. She doesn't care if it ever stops because it's real. He is real and he is here and she can get through anything now. "I never - I never thought I'd see you again."

"I should have a pickle for you." It's all alright. She will be alright. Les needs to know she will be alright. A cracked joke, a cracked smile. It's all she has the energy muster. But it's enough.

[callmeemily]

Raleigh - after Levi and Corry'd freed her, both of them - had half-crawled off the bed to move to the corner. Stay in the corner. Stay. She'd started crying as she walked - it was excrutiating, and she was leaving bloody footprints as she slid down the wall to curl up in the corner.

Les knew her - of course he did, she said she knew him, that they'd been friends for years, and Raleigh tried to curl into an even smaller ball, her knees to her chest - and then the world turned upside down. Levi poked his head in to tell them yet again to stay in the corner, but then there were gunshots, crashes - she couldn't help the yelp of panic, the sobbing, harsh sound that crawled out of her throat as she tried to squish herself closer to the wall, to the corner, and she just prayed that Levi wasn't dead. That Joseph was dead, that his partner was dead, but not the man who'd come to get her out of here.

[starsfallen]

Corry reaches her hand out to Raleigh. Finds her fingers, holds them close. She deserves the same comfort. They're in this together. She's on her side... This girl whose life was almost taken for her own.

And then the gunshots start. The shouts and frenzy. Corry pulls her closer into the protective huddle. She, Les, Raleigh. Low on the floor, heads down. A bubble of safety. The terror is immeasurable in those moments. But they are safe. For now they are safe.

She doesn't even realize Lara is there until she goes running. Corry wants to cry out for her to stay, but she knows there's no stopping her. Please let her be okay. Please let the shots have been for the right people. Please let all of them be okay. Please just let this be over.

She buries herself deeper into Leslie. Remembers the time the Grimhildes unleashed the dementors over town and they hid together. For two nights in that fun house. She'd never been so scared and they protected each other. They will always protect each other. His strength is all she allows herself to feel now. It's better than the all-consuming fear.

[lesparker]

"Lara---" Les attempts to say when she takes off for the next room, apparently hearing something in the sound of the officers' voices that needed her attention, because she looked determined and frightened. A few seconds later, there is the pop pop pop of gunshots, and Les just grabs his arms over the back of Corry, burying his head down, trying to shield them both from the danger. When Raleigh makes it over, he feels the three of them huddled together, holding each other, not even sure what the danger is, but it's okay because he has Corry back, and he's not letting anything else happen to her. Ever again. They had each other. They were all each other had. That's how it'd had always been. That's how it would always be...

When he senses that there's only quiet in the other room, when whatever's happened has passed, and nothing else was coming for them, he scoots away from Corry on his knees so he can look at the two of them. Both of them in equally bad shape, but Emily has a vicious wound on her foot, and it's still bleeding. "Hey--" He reaches for a towel piled on the floor and puts it on her enflamed skin, soaking up the blood that he can, knowing that probably hurt to touch. "I'm gonna heal this. Might feel warm for a second..." He removes the towel and puts his hand over the cut on her foot, letting his powers send soothing heat and warmth to her wound. She would probably need stitches, judging the size of it, but he could stop the pain and the bleeding.

He looks at Corry trying to access her too. He just sees the red rings around her wrists. "How bad are you hurt?" he asks her.

[callmeemily]

Raleigh has to bite back the sound of pain as Les tries to clean off her foot, and she doesn't know how she got so close to Corry, but she buries her face in the other woman's shoulder. That hurts, too, but nowhere near the way her foot did.

The warmth on her foot pales to how much pain she'd been in, and it's only when the pulsing, blinding, continued pain finally fades that she can start to think again, to get past that base instinct that was pure animal in nature.

She's still got a lot of other injuries, but the main one - the one that sort of overpowered everything, and that she'd made it even worse than when she'd gotten it - that one's handled. That one's no longer making it so she can barely see or think. "Thank you," she says, her voice exhausted and rough. "Thank you, so much." She felt like he saved her life, by healing that cut enough that the pounding pain didn't take over.

[starsfallen]

Corry waits for Leslie to help the baker first. Her wounds are more immediate, her trauma more condensed. Corrine's scars have been building for days, and few have been physical. Joseph was relatively easy on her, bespelled by her words. Most of the [physical] wounds Corrine bears are from her own doing. A fat lip as punishment from an earlier escape attempt, bruises on her neck from the brute's hands when she tried to attack him with her chains what she thinks was the day before. The scrapes on her legs and arms from trying to break free of the chair are fresh. She thinks her wrist might be sprained from trying to break out of the binds, and layers of skin around both went with the tape when it was ripped away, leaving angry rings red and raw. And her face - she doesn't even want to know what she looks like. Everything hurts. Every part of her hurts. But its superficial. All superficial.

She looks at Leslie, close. Eyes red and wet but confident. Reassuring. Because he seems as scared as the rest of them right now. "I'm okay." Her voice cracks. "I'm okay..." She holds up the other arm, that isn't clasped with Raleigh's hand. "My - my wrist maybe. I - I think I may have sprained it." She laughs. Laughing through a sob. She has to laugh. "I think I did it to myself."

[lesparker]

He removes his hand from Emily, nodding when he thanks her, checking over her face and neck for any other immediate injuries, but he sees none and she already looks infinitely more at ease now that her foot is no longer causing her any pain. He lays a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer comfort, to ease the fear obvious in her face. "I didn't know you had been taken," he says, honestly. He knows that she is new in town, but there had to be someone out there wondering where was, trying to find her.

After Emily's injury is squared away, he turns his attention back to Corry, unable to keep his eyes off her, his concern for her obvious and overwhelming. She is scraped up, cuts and bruises, some that look days old, and he's angry at the person who did this, who had practically tortured her. He can see the signs on her wrists and ankles that she'd been tied down. He looks at her arm when she mentions it, saying she think it's sprained.

He reaches out for her, taking her arm in his hands, just reassured that she's really here. That he's able to touch her. That she's alive. His powers warm her skin, healing the damage to her wrist and the raw redness from her ties. "Well trust me. You got plenty of other battle wounds, kid," he says, smiling as much as he can muster, because it's nice to hear her laugh. He uses his fingers to gently touch the split on her lip. It's busted up bad, but he heals it by focusing an energy spark against the wound. It would take a day or two now to close up completely.

"That detective called an ambulance," he says to the both of them, hoping it would arrive soon. He can continue healing them both, but eventually he would run out of fuel. He was already funning on fumes just from his lack of sleep.

[callmeemily]

Him saying that somehow cements something in her - I didn't know you had been taken, and she just starts to cry. Quietly, her hand covering her face.

It's too much for her. Joseph had gotten into her head, that no one would miss her, no one would know she was gone - and what Les has said, he doesn't mean it in a bad way, but it just hits wrong and she's already so on edge. She just sits and cries, her breath catching as she gently tugs her hand from Corry's, to pull into herself. It's too much like before - eventually, she'll be alright. She'll figure it out, she'll recover. Raleigh's resilient, but right now...

Not so much. It's the emotional hurt, not the physical that's driving her now - and unfortunately, that's not the sort of thing Les can heal.

[starsfallen]

"War wounds. You think I'd give in without a fight?" Corry is overwhelmed by Leslie's warmth. The healing energy. The love and care as he holds her. Everything that's happened is drifting away. She wants to stay wrapped in him forever. She wants to feel this safe for always. The loneliness and horror of these past days was enough for a lifetime. She doesn't tell him that she gave up. That she'd thought it was all over. That for a time she accepted that.

The thought of an ambulance feels wrong on every level. To go from the captivity of the hotel bed to the prison of a hospital bed. "No, no ambulance. I'll be okay." And someone has to tell what happened. Joseph wanted her to tell his story. Not the ending he wanted. But she will tell it nonetheless. "I have to talk to the police." Her eyes widen with fear again. The idea of leaving his arms, his side. "You'll stay - you'll stay with me, right? The thought makes her cry again. She doesn't mean to cry. "P-please don't leave me Les."

The girl pulls away. Corry lets her go. She pulls away and it seems like she needs a moment alone and it can't be easy, seeing Leslie and her like this when there's no one there for Raleigh. But they will be gone soon. And surely there will be someone waiting with open arms when she returns. Corry nudges Les, still refusing to let him go. "Y-you should see if she's okay." Corry is not the one to do it. She's the reason Raleigh - Emily - Raleigh? - is here. And the girl knows it. There's no making that better.

[lesparker]

"I know you didn't. That's how we found you," he says, squeezing her wrist gently, in a gesture of warmth, in a thank you for trusting that he would see the silent words she left for him to find. Because he had found them and then he found her. His family. His friend. Corry. He lets go of her wrist with a nod. It would take a few days, but she would be okay. She would be herself, worn from the ordeal she'd suffered, but he would do everything he could to see that she was okay again. Not like last time.

That's why he nods at Corry, looking her in the eye, serious as ever as he makes a promise. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he says, hugging her too him, kissing the top of her head in a familiar gesture. He lets go of her again. "We will do whatever you want to do."

Corry just gestures at Emily in response, urging Les to see if she's okay. Emily is crying, the reality of what's happened to her, suddenly seeming to overwhelm her, and he stands to sit beside her. "Everything's gonna be okay. Should I call anyone?" he asks, putting a hand on her shoulder.

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi didn't want to leave Lara, didn't want Lara to leave him, but he knew that it was for the best. It seemed to take forever to get back to the room, the pain in his hip burning painfully. It was nothing compared to the pain in his head though, from pushing himself so much. He was fairly certain that if he didn't have the mother of all migraines though he would have passed out by now.

Hinson was guarding the busted open door, placing himself between whatever might come through to hurt the hostages and the madman that had escaped. His eyes went a bit wide at the sight of Levi but he didn't say anything.

"He's dead," Levi said, clapping a hand to the big man's shoulder as he stepped into the hotel room and made his way over to the room where the hostages were staying.

"They're dead. Neither of them will ever hurt anyone again," he repeated, wincing from the psychic onslaught of all the thoughts in the room. Les and Corry caring so much for each other, Emily feeling like no one would miss her. He knew he looked a nightmare, clothes drenched from the rain, bruises on his face, and the bloody wound in his side, but he didn't want them to be afraid anymore.

"Emily, am I ever glad you're here. Needed a pick me up on Saturday and went to the bakery to see your smile and it was closed. Ruined my whole day. So... good to see you. Think I might... take a nap now."

The wall behind him was incredibly supportive. Not emotionally so, it was just a wall, but structurally supportive was good enough. He thudded back into it and slowly let his body slide down to the ground. Everyone was okay now and he had time to just take a little rest...

[lesparker]

Lara was driving extremely fast, fast enough that even Les, never one to shrink away from danger, had clicked his seatbelt on and said a little spell over the convertible, because the road leading out to the motel was winding, curvy and dark. And it had started pouring rain sometime after they left, a fitting bout of bad weather considering the task at hand. His spell, or should he say his mother's spell, for the scry had worked, had given him a vision of a nearly abandoned motel outside of town. A place where people passing through Siren Cove stopped, featureless, a place you just sped straightby, the perfect place to keep a kidnapped person, because no one would ever think to go there. The motel looked like nothing, but he could feel Corry's presence there. He didn't know if she was hurt or what, but he knew he had the correct place. Once he had told Lara he had figured out Corry's location, she hadn't hesitated.

They were going to find Corry on their own. One way or the other.

Eventually they pull up to the motel. A rundown set of buildings that is just what Les saw in his vision. He looks out through the windshield, at the rain beating down on the car, and he just hopes they aren't too late. "This is the place," he says to Lara. "It's exactly what I saw. Even that truck."

[asharpertongue]

When he confirms the place, Lara pulls up in an empty space. The place is deserted apart from the truck, only a few lights burning behind closed curtains.

She looked at Les's pale face. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week, probably hadn't either. She'd had more than her fair share of sleepless nights since Corry had gone missing and worked out Levi was looking into sirens. Then she'd gotten the call from Les saying he knew where Corry was. The whole place had a sick feeling to it. Something hung over the whole area like a fog, clearly strong enough to drive away any business from the motel. Whoever - whatever had taken up residence here was leaving an impression.

She opened her mouth to speak when she heard the shout. The police were here. And that was Levi's voice.

"Shit! We have to get up there now." She said, opening the door and pausing just long enough for Les to get out of the car and follow her.

[lesparker]

Startled when Lara cursed, shouting that they needed to get up there, he panics just a little because he can't hear what she hears. He doesn't know if she just heard Corry or what. It doesn't matter. If she said they needed to go, then it meant they were almost too late. He unclips the seat belt and follows her out of the car. "What's happening?" he asks, trying to stay right behind Lara, but whatever has her spooked is making her run extremely fast.

Just be okay, that's all he needs. For Corry to be okay. Anything else is almost unimaginable. He realizes that Corry had been gone for years from Siren Cove, and before that they had lost their way, but even through all of that, all the years they never spoke, he knew in the back of his mind she was somewhere out there living it up in Hollywood, doing what she wanted. To imagine a world where she really was gone, for good, the last person he had that was family to him, that would be too much.

"Lara, what's happening?" he asks after her again once they make it too the stairs.

[asharpertongue]

"Detective Astor and his partner are here." She said quietly, heading up the stairs slowly, head cocking and trying to get a fix on where the commotion was coming from.

Pausing on the first floor, she was assaulted by Corry's presence. The girl was in a lot of pain but she was still alive and that was everything.

"She's up there." She pointed at the floor above them before heading up the stairs two at a time. At the top two doors were standing open, one of them clearly kicked in and the other undamaged, keys dangling from the lock. "That one." she said, pointing at the second door as a man shouted at the first rooms occupants.

Les was running ahead of her before she could stop him and she took off after him.

[lesparker]

Les had no idea who Detective Astor was, but he hears Lara say Corry was upstairs. He is running before he has time to think about anything else. There was a difference between knowing this was the place and knowing exactly where she was. He takes off for the staircase, his feet carrying him fast enough that it feels like he flies up them, taking them two at time. When he reaches the top, it is easy to see the room Lara means, the room where Corry is being kept. One of the doors has been kicked in, the door damaged, hanging from the hinges. The other, the adjoined room, has the door cracked too, but when Lara comes up beside him, he puts out an arm stopping her, just as they hear a man's voice shouting.

They could take care of themselves between his powers and her abilities as a siren, but they needed a couple of seconds to regroup. Sure the police were here, but they didn't know what was behind that door. If whoever it was had Corry, and if they burst inside, who knows if the kidnapper would do something rash. "Can you hear what they are saying?" he whispers in a low voice, not stepping any closer to the door, until he is positive it's safe to enter.

[asharpertongue]

Lara drew to a silent halt next to Les and held her breath. In the first room, a deep voice was telling the rooms occupant that they were the police. In the second Levis voice was soft and kind, shushing the girls, girls plural she realised.

"The man in the first room is being arrested and read his rights. Levi...the other detective, is in the second. He's talking to them, calming them down." She put a hand on Les's arm. "There's two of them in there, Les. The other girl... She's human."

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi moved into the other room where Hinson had his gun drawn on both suspects. He didn't like leaving his partner alone in the room without backup but he had to make sure the hostages didn't need immediate medical attention.

Fortunately both the old man and a scary looking guy with long hair and a beard were being compliant so far. Hinson was reading them their rights, although it looked like he had been waiting for Levi to return before he cuffed them. Before they could start though, Levi heard voices from the other room that weren't any of the three people he had left in there.

"Lara, what the hell?" he asked, sticking his head in to see Lara and some other guy he didn't recognize with the hostages. She shouldn't be here? He knew she was looking for Corry but how the hell did she get here?

"You know what, I don't care. Make sure those three are safe, the police and an ambulance are coming. Stay in here until I come get you."

This was turning into a mess. A huge mess that would take forever to sort out. But they got the bastards and no one else had died, that was the important thing.

"Cuff the big guy," Levi told Hinson. Even though his partner towered over the other man, something about him set Levi on edge. If there was ever the definition of a madman, it was the guy with the big beard and wild eyes.

As his partner moved to do just that, Levi pushed out with his abilities just a bit. Already his head was pounding from the effort and he felt a trickle of blood run down from his nose from how hard he was taxing himself. If anything was going to happen, now would be the time.

Which is when he picked up something weird from the mind of the old man. It wasn't like a normal mind, not that he was crazy or broken but there was some sort of link there, some way that Levi could sense the mind of the crazy partner as well. Something about the manacles, the manacles let him control the big man? How was that possible?

Before he could think about the link further though, something else came bursting forward from the old man's mind. He wasn't going down, not without a fight. He was a survivor and-

"Gun!" Levi shouted, just as the old man's hand snatched at something on the bed. There was the flash of a barrel poking out of some disarrayed blankets as the man reached for it but Levi didn't even need to see that to know it was there, not when he could read so clearly in the old man's mind what he was going to do.

Levi and Hinson each fired three shots, nearly point blank range. All six bullets found their mark, hitting the old man in the chest. Center mass, just like they were trained to do.

That's when all hell broke loose.

The crazy partner roared in rage, picked up a nearby table, and threw the damned thing at Hinson. Levi saw the table crack his partner in the head and send him slamming into the wall. Levi turned to fire at the other man but he slammed into Levi, throwing him off balance as searing pain shot through his hip while he watch the madman run out the door.

A quick glance down at Hinson told him that his partner was okay. Dazed, but okay. Definitely in no shape to go after the madman.

"Stay in the room!" Levi shouted to the others. "Stay in the room and don't move until the police arrive!"

He ran out of the door into the rain, catching a glimpse of the other man as he rounded the building, darting into a alleyway. Ignoring the pain in his hip Levi took off after him, just barely able to make out his shape through the rain.

The alley was wider than he first thought and with the moon behind the clouds it was full of nothing but shadows. He would have seen it if the madman had run out the other side though, even in this low light his silhouette would be visible at the mouth. That meant he was still here. Damn it, Levi didn't even have his flashlight. Raising his gun, Levi cautiously stepped forward as he turned side to side, trying to spot his quarry in the darkness.

He heard a small rustling off to one side and turned sharply in that direction, only to be hit hard from the other side. He slammed up against the wall, head bouncing off the concrete with a loud crack as he slumped to the ground, unable to keep his feet under him. His arms refused to move as his head swum, looking up all he could see was the madman standing over him, his hand shaped in a claw. A real claw, with razor sharp talons and everything.

Fuck, he was going to die.

[asharpertongue]

Lara burst through the door she’d just seen Levi and the demented siren run through, the heavy rain soaking through her clothes instantly as she chased them down the alley.

A cry from Levi went straight through Lara like a knife. There was a crash, a single gunshot and then nothing but his muted sounds of pain. They reached in and tore at her insides dragging her instincts screaming to the surface as she rounded the corner and saw Levi slumped against the far wall.

The siren was looming over Levi, drawing back a taloned hand, ready to finish him off. Everything in her wanted to kill the other siren, to tear his heart from his chest and show it to him before ripping his throat out and watching as the light faded from his eyes.

With a burst of speed she was on him, changing form as she flew at him. Her own talons were still growing as they tore at his chest, scales thickening and darkening as he retaliated and lashed at her. Lara could feel her soaked clothes shredding as her scales lifted and changed again to the razor sharp, ridged edges of her matriarch form, her hair gone, replaced by long lashing tentacles that sought to tie up his hands if they got close.

A particularly vicious slash along her side drew a cry out of her but only fuelled her anger. He leapt at her, trying to bear her to the ground but Lara was quicker, she spun with the move and he ended up face first in in the wet trash on the alley floor, Lara’s claws in his back, pinning him there.

“Stay down,” she growled, throwing as much of her will behind it as she could. Any other siren would have been a sobbing mess under the weight of her influence, begging her to let him go so that he could serve her. But there was nothing in this siren for her to manipulate. This creature wanted nothing but blood. He didn’t care whose.

Frowning she tried again, throwing her entire being behind it. He flinched under her hands but the effort was too much, left her lightheaded, her grip on his shoulders loosening fractionally.

It was enough for him.

With a wild roar he bucked and threw her off, the force sending her crashing into the fire-escape of the next building. Her ribs screamed but her heavy scales protected her from most of the impact.

The other siren started towards her but movement to his left caught his attention.

When Lara looked, Levi was aiming his gun at the siren but his hand was shaking, barely enough strength to hold the weapon let alone aim and fire. Lara watched the siren make the choice and turn away from her.

“No!” she screamed and launched herself at the sirens side, using her momentum to shove him violently away from Levi. The force of the blow sent him flying, crashing down the alley and sliding across the litter-strewn floor.

The siren was dazed, taking his time rising so Lara risked a look down at Levi and found him staring back up at her, mouth gaping and eyes wide with fear. A tiny piece of her whined, wanting to reassure him that she was still her - she knew what she must look like, eyes glowing gold-white, scales blood red and black, teeth sharpened into points, talons and hands drenched in the other sirens dark blood - but she didn’t have the time, not if she wanted him alive to hear those reassurances.

The other siren was getting to his feet at the end of the alley as Lara turned to face him, putting her back to Levi so she was between them. The siren was practically frothing at the mouth, craning to look around Lara, clearly desperate to get to the easy prey.

He roared again and ran at her, but this time she was faster. She crashed into him in the middle of the alley, shoving him away before darting back in to drag her claws across his more lightly scaled belly, ducking under his wild strike and spinning to slash at the back of his legs.

She hissed angrily as the strike went high of the mark, opening the back of his thigh instead of catching him behind the knee. More importantly the move left her overbalanced, her back vulnerable. The siren span on his uninjured leg and slammed both fists into her shoulder, knocking her off her feet. She rolled with the blow as best she could, narrowly avoiding the heavy boot aimed at her head. Grabbing for the slick leather, she yanked with all her might and was rewarded with a sharp crack from his ankle.

The howl of pain from the siren sent a vicious curl of elation through her. A surge of adrenaline sharpened her vision and she threw herself at the siren as he went down. She slashed at his ankles, hamstringing him as he went down and digging her claws into his sides, flipping him onto his back.

He was bleeding from wounds in his side and his stomach, and it looked like she’d caught an artery in his arm, blood flowing freely over his scales to mix with the rain pouring over them, slicking any grip she tried to get on him. It hadn’t done anything to lessen his fury though. He still lashed wildly at Lara, catching her arm and raking his claws down it, ripping a line of scales out from the root.

The pain was excruciating and the scream she let out must have been heard all over town. Beneath her the siren flinched violently, the pain and blood-loss obviously affecting his ability to resist her influence. Lara caught the advantage and pressed all her will into the chink in his armour, using his momentary distraction to dig her claws into his shoulders, tearing at the muscles and tendons until his arms flopped down by his sides, twitching but useless.

She had him pinned, knees on his wrists as she leant over him, panting heavily. The siren bucked once, twice in a feeble attempt to move her but she rolled with the movement until the strain went out of his muscles and he collapsed back into the muck.

Silence reigned for a moment before a sick gravelly laugh drifted up from where the siren grinned up at her, blood stained teeth gleaming sickly in the faded yellow light of the streetlamps at the end of the alley. When he spoke his voice was thickly accented, rough from pain and disuse.

“Matriarch bitch,” He spat at her, “I’ll rip his insides out! I’ll tear him up, just like I did the others! I’ll fucking eat your mate, then I’ll-…”

The quick, clean swipe of Lara’s talons across his throat silenced the siren.

In the cold and damp of the alley, Lara watched the life go out of him. Only when she was sure he was dead did she try to move, hand pressed over the gash in her side as she climbed slowly to her feet.

She turned back down the alley and staggered towards where she’d left Levi laying against the far wall.

He looked up as she approached and all the strength went out of her. She fell to her knees a few feet from him, landing hard, free hand propping her up as she looked at him.

“Levi…”

[tarnishedbadge]

Just as Levi was sure he was going to die, something slammed into the madman and knocked him away. For a moment, Levi thought that it was Hinson, recovered from being smashed in the head with a table. Even in the darkness though he could tell that it wasn't.

Whatever it was had claws just like the madman and scales as well. Some part of his mind told him that it wasn't real, that if he accepted what he was seeing, this tentacles, clawed creature, as being real it would leave his mind a gibbering mess.

But Levi was born and raised in Siren Cove and while this was weird even for there, he knew what he was seeing. Sirens. Even as he fought for consciousness a part of him mind shouted in triumph that he was right, that sirens had been involved. The thing looked like a monster but it had saved Levi, so he was going to consider it a friend.

When it looked like he had an opening, Levi raised his gone to get a shot off. Even if he didn't hit the madman he could at least distract it. His arms was refusing to cooperate though, the gun seeming impossibly heavy and unwilling to aim properly. It did the trick though, distract the madman, which was obviously a siren as well, into focusing on him.

Levi heard a scream, he heard Lara scream, and for a moment he thought she had refused to stay in the room and had stumbled onto this fight. It took him a moment to realize that the scream came from the other siren, the one that had saved him. There was a blur of motion and his savior slammed into the madman, sending him flying. For a brief moment he and the other siren locked eyes and despite their golden color, Levi could tell that it was Lara.

Lara was a siren. He was sure that the shock was written all over his face and later he would probably feel outraged and stupid for not realizing it sooner but for now he was just surprised.

He tried to struggle to his feet to help, especially when the other siren raked his claws along her back and she cried out in pain. Her scream ripped right through his soul, the sound of the person he cared about most being hurt, and he almost sobbed at how helpless he was.

Levi needn't have worried though. The madman was yelling something that he couldn't hear but a short while later it was all over. Lara slashed at the man's neck and he fell to the ground. Dead.

Half crawling he tried to make his way to her but it was still too difficult to move. The act of it sent his head spinning and he realized he probably had a concussion. Seeing Lara there though, just in front of him and injured, he grit his teeth and fought back the urge to throw up as he pulled himself forward the few feet to where she lay.

He collapsed on the ground next to her, reaching out to thread his fingers with hers. The temptation to just lay there with her, to fall asleep next to her, was almost overwhelming. There was something important he had to tell her though.

"The manacles," he croaked, his throat somehow having gone dry during the moments of sheer panic. "On his wrists. They allow someone to control a siren."

[asharpertongue]

When he reached for her hand, she tried to pull back the change, only managing to fight back to her regular siren form for now, but at least it meant he wouldn't cut himself on her scales. She looked down at their joined hands and let out a high whine. He'd reached for her. Even in her most monstrous form, he'd reached out to her. Maybe there was hope... Maybe he'd understand...

He was talking. Something about manacles but her instincts were still in overdrive, stealing her reason. It took too long to process what he'd said but when she finally comprehended, she realised why he was telling her. She had to get them off the body before the police got here. But that meant leaving Levi and everything was telling her to stay, to shield him with her body from any further threat.

A squeeze, weak as it was, to her hand brought her back to her senses. If the police found the shackles there would be far too many questions.

Slowly she pushed up from the alley floor, heaving herself up and moving on unsteady legs over to the corpse of the dead siren. She hadn't noticed them during the fight but there they were, iron shackles, clear as day hanging around his wrists. She crushed his limp hands absently as she dragged first one then the other off, gripping them in shaking hands as she made her way back to Levi.

She dropped to her knees again, closer this time and pulled Levi off the alley floor, propping him as gently as she could against the wall.

"I can't...won't leave on alone." She said softly. Logically she knew she couldn't. She barely had control over her form as it was and her instinctual response to Levi would be to defend and protect him at all costs. Even against people trying to help. She could kill them all if she stayed.

Still... "I want to stay with you."

[tarnishedbadge]

"I'm fine," Levi insisted, giving her as much of a smile as he could manage before he coughed, trying to catch his breath. Thankfully no blood came up when he did that, so that was good.

"We are really going to have to... talk about your stalking problem though. Just help me get up. I need to check on the others and I think I can hear sirens. Police sirens not... you siren."

He forced his brain not to think about that too much right now. They were both hurt but he didn't think either of them were going to die. She obviously still cared about him and his head felt like it was going to explode with how strongly she was thinking about protecting him. No matter what she looked like, she was still Lara. His Lara.

Leaning forward he rested his forehead on hers. He was tired, so tired and he wanted to sleep but that was probably a bad idea. People with head wounds weren't supposed to fall asleep, right?

[asharpertongue]

The sirens were close. Much closer than she would have liked but not as close as Levi needed them to be. His head was lolling against hers and she could feel the energy draining out of him.

He couldn't stay here - here was too close to the body. She had to get him up the stairs to Les and the others.

Gritting her teeth and hating herself she pressed her hand over the gash in his hip. The pain would keep him awake a little while longer at least and she could hate herself in private when she knew he was safe.

He made a distressed noise but his eyes fluttered open again.

"You have to get upstairs, Levi. Les is with Corry and Emily and the old man. You can make it to them."

She stood as quickly as her own injuries would let her and then stooped to haul him to his feet, half dragging, half carrying him over to the stairwell of the motel. She opened the door and propped him up in the opening.

"Go. Please." And as much as it destroyed her, she turned away, heading towards her car.