That was when the shouting started. It was an interrogation where everyone yelled directly in her face at once.
She blinked to clear her head, and almost forgot where she was and why she was there. Oh, yeah, she remembered. Gonna find Ben, gonna find that kid, gonna kill Seer, gonna try to not get raped.
"I can't do anything when you yell!" She shouted back. This was met with a cuff to the side of the face, but she got her way and the group quieted. There was no illumination except that which came from the city's nighttime glow and was filtered through overly tinted windows. She couldn't tell how many people there were.
Someone said, "You killed a lot of my buddies." This was followed by many grunts and people adding, "me too."
"I didn't kill anyone," she said softly. "The Afterdark did that. If it had been up to me, no one would have been hurt."
This was apparently the most diplomatic thing she could have said, because a calming atmosphere filtered into the van. They van rounded a corner and Nell swayed, but the driver of this particular vehicle had much more finesse than the last.
She commented, "The last guys put a sack over my head."
"Different squads, different methods," someone said. "So what's up with you and The Afterdark? I always thought he was older."
"Not too old," Nell said. She didn't really think about what she'd said until the men laughed. They weren't laughing maliciously at all, and Nell was convinced they were guffawing genuinely. She realized what she'd said and the way it must have sounded, and she blushed.
"No, but seriously," a voice said. This one was female, and Nell was surprised. "What's up with you and that 'Dark guy?"
They weren't going to believe her no matter what she said, so she just shrugged. "I'm The Fixer. I'm a neutral party. He's a strict follower of the rules."
"Ah," the woman said. "I can get behind that. We're neutral parties too, you know."
"But you don't have powers," Nell pointed out. "It's different for you."
She blinked to clear her head, and almost forgot where she was and why she was there. Oh, yeah, she remembered. Gonna find Ben, gonna find that kid, gonna kill Seer, gonna try to not get raped.
"I can't do anything when you yell!" She shouted back. This was met with a cuff to the side of the face, but she got her way and the group quieted. There was no illumination except that which came from the city's nighttime glow and was filtered through overly tinted windows. She couldn't tell how many people there were.
Someone said, "You killed a lot of my buddies." This was followed by many grunts and people adding, "me too."
"I didn't kill anyone," she said softly. "The Afterdark did that. If it had been up to me, no one would have been hurt."
This was apparently the most diplomatic thing she could have said, because a calming atmosphere filtered into the van. They van rounded a corner and Nell swayed, but the driver of this particular vehicle had much more finesse than the last.
She commented, "The last guys put a sack over my head."
"Different squads, different methods," someone said. "So what's up with you and The Afterdark? I always thought he was older."
"Not too old," Nell said. She didn't really think about what she'd said until the men laughed. They weren't laughing maliciously at all, and Nell was convinced they were guffawing genuinely. She realized what she'd said and the way it must have sounded, and she blushed.
"No, but seriously," a voice said. This one was female, and Nell was surprised. "What's up with you and that 'Dark guy?"
They weren't going to believe her no matter what she said, so she just shrugged. "I'm The Fixer. I'm a neutral party. He's a strict follower of the rules."
"Ah," the woman said. "I can get behind that. We're neutral parties too, you know."
"But you don't have powers," Nell pointed out. "It's different for you."
