Sequel: Liar ›
Blind
Eight
“I don’t know why you’re still here,” Kennedy said as she made her way around the studio.
“Just making sure that you don’t get cold feet,” Barton replied, the smirk evident in his voice.
She shot him a look before dumping the clothes in her arms onto the bed. Kennedy sifted through them, tossing some pieces onto the floor and tossing others into a separate pile. There were clothes piled about the floor of her ‘bedroom’, some of the pieces ranging from normal clothing items to not so normal.
“Try not to look so weird,” Kennedy added.
“What do you mean?”
“Try not to look so evil or something? I don’t know. Look normal,” Kennedy muttered with a roll of her eyes.
She turned to look at Barton only to realize that looking normal was practically hopeless. He looked too serious, too much like a special forces goon or a federal agent jackass. Making a face, she walked back to her closet and pushed the clothes that were still hanging out of the way.
When she withdrew, she had a red and black flannel shirt in her hand. Kennedy crossed the studio to where Barton was standing before stopping in front of him. He just glanced at the shirt in her hand before raising his eyebrows and looking at her.
“Not happening,” Barton said, arms folding across his chest.
“I’ve already put you down once today, we can go for two times,” Kennedy replied as she folded her own arms across his chest.
They stared at each for several seconds before Kennedy faked a kick at his thigh. His hand wrapped around her calf tightly as she drove her first into his stomach. The grip on her calf dropped as she drove her elbow into the space between his shoulder blades. She stepped out of the way as he fell forward before crouching over him.
“This is kind of pathetic,” Kennedy said as she wrestled the shirt onto him. “Aren’t you supposed to be like some kind of bad ass assassin?”
She rocked back onto her heels, still crouched over him with her arms resting on her kneecaps. Barton just grunted something that she couldn’t make out before he made to pull himself out from under her. Shifting, she started to stand before she found herself on her back with Barton crouching over her.
“You’re still one for two,” Kennedy grunted, wheezing as her tender ribs throbbed.
Barton gave her a look before rising to his feet. He grasped her hand, pulling her up with him until she was on her feet. Instead of saying ‘thank you’, she brushed past him while rubbing her ribs.
“What kind of attack dog are you supposed to be?” Kennedy muttered to Ghost.
The Rottweiler just cocked his head while looking up at her. Rolling her own eyes, Kennedy went back to folding the clothes that she would need. Loki had told her what she would need and, while not thrilled at being told what to wear, she wasn’t ready to toe the line with him just yet. That time would come soon enough.
“Kennedy, we need to talk.”
Kennedy turned as the door opened and Freyja came in. Freyja stopped short at the sight of Barton standing there before turning to find Kennedy. Once her blue eyes landed on Kennedy’s mismatched eyes, they narrowed and Kennedy swallowed. The proverbial shit was about to hit the fan.
“In private.”
“You don’t get very private in this place, Freyja,” Kennedy said, watching her.
“Find somewhere,” Freyja growled with another glance at Barton. “And, by the way, who the fuck is this?”
Kennedy turned slightly, placing her back to Freyja as she shot Barton a look. He just gave the tiniest of shrugs in her direction before looking back at Freyja. Gritting her teeth and mouthing a ‘fuck you’ at Barton, she turned and looked back at Freyja.
Freyja was giving Kennedy her universal sign of pissed off. Arms folded across her chest, jaw locked, lips pursed, eyes narrowed and hips cocked.
“Don’t you dare lie to me either,” Freyja added with a glare in Kennedy’s direction.
“Why would I lie to you?” Kennedy asked, frowning.
“Because you never tell me the whole truth?” Freyja shot back.
“When have I never told you the whole truth?”
“You visited me once two years ago because ‘you were in the area’. The next morning you looked like you’d been in a female fight club but said you were fine. I let you slide with that because I really didn’t want to start up a shit storm.”
“Oh, I remember that,” Kennedy nodded. “It wasn’t anything really. And that one is on you, you didn’t push for the truth.”
“Because I never get the truth out of you!” Freyja snapped. “You tell the truth when it suits you!”
“Well maybe I’m shutting you out for a reason!” Kennedy snarled back. “Did you ever think about that?”
“Shutting people out never does anyone a whole lot of good! In case you haven’t noticed!”
“I have noticed, thank you very much! And it works just fine for me!”
Grinding her teeth together, Kennedy turned and zipped the duffle bag on her bed shut. She shoved the extra clothes out of the way and turned in time to block the slap Freyja threw at her. Her eyes narrowed but before she could do anything, Freyja had pinned her to the bed.
“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Freyja hissed, her face mere inches from Kennedy’s.
“I haven’t gotten myself into anything!” Kennedy snarled back, twisting in an attempt to break free.
Ghost snarled nearby, the sound deep and rough. Kennedy snapped at him to hush and he fell silent. That didn’t stop him from remaining poised to attack. She could feel the bed quiver every time the Rottweiler’s tensed muscles shifted.
“Then who is he and why does he keep showing up?” the blonde asked, freeing one hand to point it at Barton.
“He’s a…business…associate of mine,” Kennedy snapped finally.
“Do business associates normally spend time together at three in the morning?” Freyja growled. “Stop lying to me!”
“I think that of the two parties arguing, the one with the bigger lie should stop demanding the truth from the other.”
Kennedy saw Freyja’s blue eyes widen and she practically flung herself away from Kennedy. As Kennedy sat up, she wasn’t at all surprised to see Loki standing there in all his black and green leather. She was more surprised to see that Freyja wasn’t bewildered at all. In fact, she was bristling like a feral dog.
Gingerly, Kennedy moved to her feet. Barton was standing near to Loki, his blue eyes focused on Freyja. Loki’s green eyes just moved between Freyja and Kennedy slowly, a devious smile splitting his lips. Finally, his gaze remained upon Freyja’s form.
“It has been a long time, hasn’t it, Freyja?” Loki asked, still smiling.
“You’re still an ugly son of a bitch,” Freyja growled.
“I see that your time spent here hasn’t improved your ever endearing personality at all,” Loki replied.
“Wait a minute,” Kennedy interrupted, looking between the two. “How the hell do you two know each other?”
Loki turned his gaze to her, still smiling that crocodile smile. Kennedy looked at him before turning her eyes onto Freyja. Freyja’s blue eyes were steadfastly Kennedy’s searching gaze. They remained solely on Loki’s face, years of spite and hatred boiling just beneath the surface.
“How did you find out I was here?” Freyja growled, watching Loki and ignoring Kennedy.
“That’s a conversation for another time, my dear. We are having an entirely different discussion,” Loki replied with a glance at Freyja.
“And you get mad at me for not telling you the truth?” Kennedy asked dubiously. “I don’t even want to know how you know him, I don’t care. Just get the hell out of here. Now.”
“Kennedy,” Freyja said, looking at her now, “I kept it from you for your own good. To protect you.”
“To protect me? Protect me from what exactly?” she snarled sarcastically. “Because you’ve done a fabulous job of protecting me, really you have.”
“Ken-”
“Don’t give me that bull shit! Don’t tell me you did this for me! If you had actually done anything for me, you would have stayed away from me! Because, in case you don’t know, I didn’t go looking for this guy! He found me!”
“Actually, you did find me. I just arranged for you to find me,” Loki interjected.
“Did I ask for your opinion?” Kennedy snapped, glaring at him.
“No, and that wasn’t an opinion.”
“I didn’t ask for your input either.”
She heard the steel door click into place and turned to find that Freyja had disappeared. Kennedy took a step back, her gauze-wrapped hands ran back through her black hair slowly. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kennedy turned and pressed her elbows to the nearby wall.
“A mental crisis and or breakdown at this point would be understood, however, we do have business to go about with,” Loki said after a few moments.
Kennedy turned and crossed her room to the closet. Crouching down, she withdrew two guns and several magazines before returning to her bed. She tucked them into the bag before reaching over to the nightstand and tossing in the bandages, salve and gauze for her hands and ribs. She rezipped the bag and turned to look at Loki and Barton.
“How exactly are we getting there?” Kennedy asked.
“Agent Barton is in charge of that. But now, we need to leave,” Loki replied.
Picking up her bag, Kennedy checked to make sure that Ghost had enough food and water before exiting the studio. She wasn’t too worried about Ghost not being able to find food as the Rottweiler was extremely resourceful at that. It also helped that Freyja had left several bags of groceries by the door.
“Is there anything else that I should be told about and haven’t?” she muttered as they stepped into the elevator.
“As I have said before, if the information is pertinent to your survival, it will be given to you.”
“And that makes me feel so much better,” Kennedy sighed.
“Just making sure that you don’t get cold feet,” Barton replied, the smirk evident in his voice.
She shot him a look before dumping the clothes in her arms onto the bed. Kennedy sifted through them, tossing some pieces onto the floor and tossing others into a separate pile. There were clothes piled about the floor of her ‘bedroom’, some of the pieces ranging from normal clothing items to not so normal.
“Try not to look so weird,” Kennedy added.
“What do you mean?”
“Try not to look so evil or something? I don’t know. Look normal,” Kennedy muttered with a roll of her eyes.
She turned to look at Barton only to realize that looking normal was practically hopeless. He looked too serious, too much like a special forces goon or a federal agent jackass. Making a face, she walked back to her closet and pushed the clothes that were still hanging out of the way.
When she withdrew, she had a red and black flannel shirt in her hand. Kennedy crossed the studio to where Barton was standing before stopping in front of him. He just glanced at the shirt in her hand before raising his eyebrows and looking at her.
“Not happening,” Barton said, arms folding across his chest.
“I’ve already put you down once today, we can go for two times,” Kennedy replied as she folded her own arms across his chest.
They stared at each for several seconds before Kennedy faked a kick at his thigh. His hand wrapped around her calf tightly as she drove her first into his stomach. The grip on her calf dropped as she drove her elbow into the space between his shoulder blades. She stepped out of the way as he fell forward before crouching over him.
“This is kind of pathetic,” Kennedy said as she wrestled the shirt onto him. “Aren’t you supposed to be like some kind of bad ass assassin?”
She rocked back onto her heels, still crouched over him with her arms resting on her kneecaps. Barton just grunted something that she couldn’t make out before he made to pull himself out from under her. Shifting, she started to stand before she found herself on her back with Barton crouching over her.
“You’re still one for two,” Kennedy grunted, wheezing as her tender ribs throbbed.
Barton gave her a look before rising to his feet. He grasped her hand, pulling her up with him until she was on her feet. Instead of saying ‘thank you’, she brushed past him while rubbing her ribs.
“What kind of attack dog are you supposed to be?” Kennedy muttered to Ghost.
The Rottweiler just cocked his head while looking up at her. Rolling her own eyes, Kennedy went back to folding the clothes that she would need. Loki had told her what she would need and, while not thrilled at being told what to wear, she wasn’t ready to toe the line with him just yet. That time would come soon enough.
“Kennedy, we need to talk.”
Kennedy turned as the door opened and Freyja came in. Freyja stopped short at the sight of Barton standing there before turning to find Kennedy. Once her blue eyes landed on Kennedy’s mismatched eyes, they narrowed and Kennedy swallowed. The proverbial shit was about to hit the fan.
“In private.”
“You don’t get very private in this place, Freyja,” Kennedy said, watching her.
“Find somewhere,” Freyja growled with another glance at Barton. “And, by the way, who the fuck is this?”
Kennedy turned slightly, placing her back to Freyja as she shot Barton a look. He just gave the tiniest of shrugs in her direction before looking back at Freyja. Gritting her teeth and mouthing a ‘fuck you’ at Barton, she turned and looked back at Freyja.
Freyja was giving Kennedy her universal sign of pissed off. Arms folded across her chest, jaw locked, lips pursed, eyes narrowed and hips cocked.
“Don’t you dare lie to me either,” Freyja added with a glare in Kennedy’s direction.
“Why would I lie to you?” Kennedy asked, frowning.
“Because you never tell me the whole truth?” Freyja shot back.
“When have I never told you the whole truth?”
“You visited me once two years ago because ‘you were in the area’. The next morning you looked like you’d been in a female fight club but said you were fine. I let you slide with that because I really didn’t want to start up a shit storm.”
“Oh, I remember that,” Kennedy nodded. “It wasn’t anything really. And that one is on you, you didn’t push for the truth.”
“Because I never get the truth out of you!” Freyja snapped. “You tell the truth when it suits you!”
“Well maybe I’m shutting you out for a reason!” Kennedy snarled back. “Did you ever think about that?”
“Shutting people out never does anyone a whole lot of good! In case you haven’t noticed!”
“I have noticed, thank you very much! And it works just fine for me!”
Grinding her teeth together, Kennedy turned and zipped the duffle bag on her bed shut. She shoved the extra clothes out of the way and turned in time to block the slap Freyja threw at her. Her eyes narrowed but before she could do anything, Freyja had pinned her to the bed.
“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Freyja hissed, her face mere inches from Kennedy’s.
“I haven’t gotten myself into anything!” Kennedy snarled back, twisting in an attempt to break free.
Ghost snarled nearby, the sound deep and rough. Kennedy snapped at him to hush and he fell silent. That didn’t stop him from remaining poised to attack. She could feel the bed quiver every time the Rottweiler’s tensed muscles shifted.
“Then who is he and why does he keep showing up?” the blonde asked, freeing one hand to point it at Barton.
“He’s a…business…associate of mine,” Kennedy snapped finally.
“Do business associates normally spend time together at three in the morning?” Freyja growled. “Stop lying to me!”
“I think that of the two parties arguing, the one with the bigger lie should stop demanding the truth from the other.”
Kennedy saw Freyja’s blue eyes widen and she practically flung herself away from Kennedy. As Kennedy sat up, she wasn’t at all surprised to see Loki standing there in all his black and green leather. She was more surprised to see that Freyja wasn’t bewildered at all. In fact, she was bristling like a feral dog.
Gingerly, Kennedy moved to her feet. Barton was standing near to Loki, his blue eyes focused on Freyja. Loki’s green eyes just moved between Freyja and Kennedy slowly, a devious smile splitting his lips. Finally, his gaze remained upon Freyja’s form.
“It has been a long time, hasn’t it, Freyja?” Loki asked, still smiling.
“You’re still an ugly son of a bitch,” Freyja growled.
“I see that your time spent here hasn’t improved your ever endearing personality at all,” Loki replied.
“Wait a minute,” Kennedy interrupted, looking between the two. “How the hell do you two know each other?”
Loki turned his gaze to her, still smiling that crocodile smile. Kennedy looked at him before turning her eyes onto Freyja. Freyja’s blue eyes were steadfastly Kennedy’s searching gaze. They remained solely on Loki’s face, years of spite and hatred boiling just beneath the surface.
“How did you find out I was here?” Freyja growled, watching Loki and ignoring Kennedy.
“That’s a conversation for another time, my dear. We are having an entirely different discussion,” Loki replied with a glance at Freyja.
“And you get mad at me for not telling you the truth?” Kennedy asked dubiously. “I don’t even want to know how you know him, I don’t care. Just get the hell out of here. Now.”
“Kennedy,” Freyja said, looking at her now, “I kept it from you for your own good. To protect you.”
“To protect me? Protect me from what exactly?” she snarled sarcastically. “Because you’ve done a fabulous job of protecting me, really you have.”
“Ken-”
“Don’t give me that bull shit! Don’t tell me you did this for me! If you had actually done anything for me, you would have stayed away from me! Because, in case you don’t know, I didn’t go looking for this guy! He found me!”
“Actually, you did find me. I just arranged for you to find me,” Loki interjected.
“Did I ask for your opinion?” Kennedy snapped, glaring at him.
“No, and that wasn’t an opinion.”
“I didn’t ask for your input either.”
She heard the steel door click into place and turned to find that Freyja had disappeared. Kennedy took a step back, her gauze-wrapped hands ran back through her black hair slowly. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kennedy turned and pressed her elbows to the nearby wall.
“A mental crisis and or breakdown at this point would be understood, however, we do have business to go about with,” Loki said after a few moments.
Kennedy turned and crossed her room to the closet. Crouching down, she withdrew two guns and several magazines before returning to her bed. She tucked them into the bag before reaching over to the nightstand and tossing in the bandages, salve and gauze for her hands and ribs. She rezipped the bag and turned to look at Loki and Barton.
“How exactly are we getting there?” Kennedy asked.
“Agent Barton is in charge of that. But now, we need to leave,” Loki replied.
Picking up her bag, Kennedy checked to make sure that Ghost had enough food and water before exiting the studio. She wasn’t too worried about Ghost not being able to find food as the Rottweiler was extremely resourceful at that. It also helped that Freyja had left several bags of groceries by the door.
“Is there anything else that I should be told about and haven’t?” she muttered as they stepped into the elevator.
“As I have said before, if the information is pertinent to your survival, it will be given to you.”
“And that makes me feel so much better,” Kennedy sighed.