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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 2:16:06 GMT -5
Daws smiled wryly. "I never really had much of what you'd call a family before this all started. I've put most of my energy into tryin' to put other people's families back together -- finding runaways and stuff, y'know. But . . ."
She shrugged. "I guess this fight has made me start thinkin' about what I can do to change that. It'd be nice if I did have someone to go home to, once all this is said and done." She grinned faintly and added "Heck, after all this going toe-to-toe with Tiernan, facing my sister oughtta feel like a piece of cake."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 2:20:48 GMT -5
Vance smiled wryly. "I dunno. I think I'd feel more confident facing the old bat than my son."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 2:31:29 GMT -5
Daws glanced at Vance, then unsheathed the claws of her left hand and studied them. "I must've tracked down a couple hundred missing people in my life." She said thoughtfully. "Most of 'em have the same thing to say when I find them -- they don't think they can ever go back, ever apologize, ever explain whatever it was they did to hurt the people they left.
"But most of the time, those people they hurt are the ones paying my salary." She shrugged. "Most of the time, if you think you've done somethin' that can't be forgiven . . . you're wrong."
Daws chuckled humorlessly and sheathed her claws. "But you might not wanna listen to me -- I sound like I know what I'm talking about, but I haven't taken my own advice. We're in kind of the same boat, and I've been in it a lot longer without doing anything about it."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 2:44:28 GMT -5
"For all I know, Nate thinks I'm dead, same as Tiernan does." Vance scowled. "The car bomb that took Deanna instead of me was... messy. Nobody ever really figured out if there was one person in the car or two, and when I didn't turn up..."
He sighed and shrugged. "The memorial service was for two people. Funny feeling, watching your own funeral from the edge of the cemetery. I shouldn't have been there, but... I had to. For Deanna."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 2:57:30 GMT -5
Daws nodded in understanding and said nothing for a long moment. Then she said quietly "Nicholas Tiernan has caused a lot of funerals -- and I'm gonna see he pays for 'em, before the end."
She shrugged and took a drink. "Y'know, I can see where being a ghost in some people's eyes is useful to your purpose -- at least so long as Tiernan's still around. But," she shook her head. "Life's too short for you to spend the rest of it as a dead man."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 3:01:56 GMT -5
"Maybe." Vance shrugged philosophically. "At least I won't be missed if Nocturne gets the better of me. If anyone had any tears for me--which I doubt--then they've already shed 'em."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 3:10:51 GMT -5
"Oh, I don't know about that." Daws replied. She shook her head. "I may not agree with ya on everything, Vance -- and we'll probably butt heads over our respective opinions for as long as we know each other -- but I still think I've seen enough to say that I like the world better with you in it."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 3:15:14 GMT -5
Vance grinned. "I appreciate that, detective. And I might say the same of you."
He made a slight face. "We oughta find some other subjects to talk about before we start singing 'Auld Lang Syne' over our beer."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 3:20:03 GMT -5
Daws grinned and shook her head. "You're safe. I've got a lot of skills, from lockpicking to cursing in Hindi -- but I don't sing." She frowned thoughtfully and added "Well -- except in church, but that doesn't count. I do enough to irritate the Almighty that inflicting my voice on Him won't make that much of a difference."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 3:28:12 GMT -5
Vance laughed. "That makes two of us--both in terms of not singing, and irritating the Almighty."
He shook his head and took a sip of his beer. "So how's your partnership with the kid workin' out for ya?"
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 3:34:52 GMT -5
Daws raised an eyebrow, then took a drink and replied "Honestly? It's going better than I expected. When I offered him the job I figured I'd mostly just let him do paperwork and so-on -- stuff to keep him busy, and away from Tiernan. But he's got a real knack for the actual job. He'd make a good shamus, if he ever decided he wanted to be one."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 3:42:06 GMT -5
"Heaven help us all," Vance chuckled. Then he shook his head.
"Maybe he won't be too dangerous a liability, after all. I'm sorry for being rough on him--but when anybody with access to Tiernan is running around getting to know our operations, I have to be."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 3:51:30 GMT -5
Daws gave a surprised chuckle and ran a hand through her hair. "Wonders will never cease." She remarked dryly. "Here I thought you'd go to your grave waiting for that kid to turn traitor on me."
She leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "But I can understand the need to be cautious -- heck, I've taken to checking six or seven times a day to make sure nobody's watching my office. I learned that particular lesson the hard way."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 4:00:50 GMT -5
"That's one nice thing about being a ghost. If nobody thinks you exist anymore, they're not lookin' for ya." Vance shook his head. "I worry about the ones like you and Sid and that singing cardinal of his, having homes and businesses to protect. Trying to live any kind of a settled life and be a guerilla fighter at the same time is no good. Makes me glad to have nothing, 'cause I've got nothing to lose."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 4:11:41 GMT -5
Daws frowned slightly. "Y'know, I used to think Grimalkin was the most important thing in my life. But since this whole mess started . . ." she shrugged. "I've come to a point where if I lost it, or had to give it up, for the sake of what we do -- I'd feel like it was worth it. I never thought I'd hear myself say that."
She shrugged again and examined the tabletop. "I worry about Sid and his family a lot more than I do about myself. They've lost enough to Tiernan -- I don't wanna see them lose anything else. I'd give up just about anything to see that they don't."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 4:18:36 GMT -5
"It's not too good havin' him involved," Vance agreed with a frown. "I guess he's got as much right to vengeance as I do, but he's got a lot more to risk in getting it. I hope he remembers that."
He paused thoughtfully, and scratched his head. "By the way, what's this mood he's been in lately? Never seen anybody look so distracted for so long."
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 4:27:33 GMT -5
Daws hesitated. While she didn't want to break faith with Sid, she also idn't care for lying to Vance -- particularly as he'd sense her at it, anyway.
At length she settled for a half-truth. "Sid's . . . dealing with some tough questions. About the blood test we had Caddy run for him." She shook her head in genuine frustration. "One of those situations with no easy answer, y'know?"
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 4:33:49 GMT -5
Vance tilted his head. "With everything else he's got to worry about, I don't see why a blood test would bother him so much." He frowned. "He's not sick, is he?"
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Post by skybright on Jul 17, 2006 4:43:29 GMT -5
"No," Daws replied. "Not so far as I know, anyway. It's . . . more complicated than that. The whole thing's complicated."
She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Vance. I know I'm talkin' in circles, but there's really not much else I can say -- not without breaking confidence. You'll have to ask Sid if you want to know anything more."
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Post by Jordanna on Jul 17, 2006 4:52:40 GMT -5
Vance frowned and shrugged one shoulder. "Whatever. You just make sure he's snapped out of it before the next time we go into a fight. He'll get himself killed if he's not focused."
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