Personal Log - Dani Atarah, Kalina Zett, Tom Cardello, and the Levine children - The Bed You Make Yourself - Earth XI

Posted on Sat Sep 13th, 2014 @ 6:42am by Danielle Atarah

1,382 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?
Location: Earth

-- CONTINUED --

"Do we have an understanding?" Cardello asked, his hand still clutching Dani's chin.

She nodded slowly, her knees weak, blinking away the tears that blurred her vision.

"Say it."

"Yes," she complied, defeated. "Yes, I'll get you what you want. All of it."

"Good," he hand dropped off her chin and he took a step back, straightening his suit. Dani's eyes remained fixed on Anne's bloody forehead. "And just to remind you that you are not the smartest person in this room," he tapped her forehead with a finger, drawing her attention back to his face. "I have experts that know the exact state of those prototypes, and will recognize any traces of sabotage a mile away. You better not get any stupid ideas into that thick head of yours."

She nodded at him. "I won't. You'll get it all," she swallowed. "Just don't... hurt them." Her voice broke, her eyes pleading. "Jesus, Cardello... they're children."

"Yes," he sounded truly regretful for a moment, shifting his gaze to the group behind the invisible wall. "Yes, the girl's accident was unfortunate. They weren't supposed to get hurt," he glanced at her, "this time. I am not a heartless man, Danielle."

She begged to differ, but said nothing.

"It's not my habit to involve children in my business, but you left me little choice. Trust me, Danielle. I'd rather not have to do anything permanent."

She was going to say something, but whatever it was, it stuck in her throat as a whiny croaking sigh.

"Well." He smiled now, tapping her on the shoulder, straightening her stretched collar. "Now that we have that settled," he looked behind Dani and nodded, "I'll have Anders take them ho--"

"No!" Dani blurted staring at him, and the grip on her arms tightened. "No," she repeated more gently, squirming, "let me take them. Please."

The head of the Cardello Syndicate looked at her for a moment, considering, then nodded.

"Alright. Andrews will give you his shuttle. Take them home," he glanced at the group, "I'm sure their mother is worried. Just don't take long, Danielle," his eyes returned to stare at her coldly, "you have work to do."

The guard let her go and pushed her forward; she grabbed the edge of the table for support, breathing hard, wiping her bloody nose.

Work. She did have work. She'd do anything. Anything at all.

* * *

Cardello left with his entourage, and Andrews led her through the kitchen door to the back room, handing her the access keys to the shuttle silently before joining his boss.

Dani walked into the bright room and ignored the two thugs at the far end, walking straight towards Anne and Zett, who still crouched near her.

"Dani!" The girl cried at her, and Dani's heart broke to pieces. "Dani, they killed him," she sobbed, tears mixing with the blood on her cheeks. "They killed Schlompi!"

Dani said nothing. There was nothing to say, really, no solace, no empathetic gesture, nothing that would actually help right now. She put her arm on Anne's, fighting to hold back her own tears. Zett squeezed her shoulder quickly and resumed dabbing Anne's forehead with the wet cloth.

Dani glanced to the side, at the older woman and the twins. "Di--" her voice was raw, her throat painfully gritty, grasping at her words and holding them hostage. She cleared it twice, swallowing.

"Did they hurt you?"

The older woman glared at her with a slow shake of her head, holding the crying twins tightly. Her teeth were clenched, her jaw tight, and Dani couldn't help but being impressed. That expression on the woman's face wasn't fear; she wasn't cowering or hiding -- she was defiant, strong. She was angry.

Dani could see Andrea in those eyes, and it scared her.

She looked at Anne again, examining the girl's forehead. It stopped bleeding; a shallow cut that looked much much worse than it was. But the cut itself wasn't the point. Dani was stuck in an emotional tornado, pinning her between anger, despair, and remorse.

She did this. This was her fault. It was on her head.

"I'm going to take you home now," she muttered, looking at Andrea's mother with wet eyes, fighting to hold back her shame. The woman's relentless gaze grabbed it, twisted it, shot it back at her, shredding whatever resolve she tried to maintain.

She nodded at Zett and got up. "There's a shuttle in the back, I'll take them there." Zett nodded, giving the smaller woman a supportive smile which Dani ignored, reaching insead to hold Anne's hand and help her out of the chair.

They turned to go out the back door and Dani stopped, turning to face Zett. The woman looked at her silently. Dani leaned to whisper in the Trill's ear, and Zett listened. Then nodded, and stayed behind.

The shuttle was parked at the end of the service alley, and Dani helped the group reach it. She attempted to help Andrea's mother with the twins, but the woman shoved her away, unwilling. Dani couldn't blame her. She opened the shuttle's door and let them all climb ahead of her, leaving the door open as she helped them into their passenger seats and started lighting up the pilot's consoles.

* * *
It took Smith five minutes to show up at the shuttle, silently. He said nothing as he climbed in, only taking his place at the pilot's seat. Dani nodded at him, though she couldn't help being surprised. He didn't have to come. He could have went back to their compound and leave Dani to sleep in the bed she made herself. He didn't, though, and whatever his reasons, Dani was thankful.

Zett arrived ten minutes later, carrying a small metal briefcase and a bottle of water. She smiled at Anne and offered the water to Mrs. Levine. The woman took it, grudgingly, and drank, then helped the twins, one by one, to slowly sip from the rim.

"How are you doing, kid?" Zett crouched near Anne again, placing the briefcase next to her. Anne shrugged, her eyes wet and grieving. Dani's eyes strayed to the floor. She wasn't sure she could face her again.

The shuttle lifted, swaying gently. "Here, I brought this," Zett pointed at the briefcase and opened it, revealing a first aid kit and pulling out a small dermal regenerator. "We can't let you have a big scar on your forehead," she smiled, 'Or let your mom see this,' Dani thought, thanking her stars Zett thought ahead. "Here, let me fix that for you, it won't hurt."

Anne didn't seem to be concerned at all about how much it hurts; the loss in her eyes was devastating. Dani's broken heart crumbled in her chest.

She looked at Zett for a moment, examining the small creases on the woman's jacket, the tiny droplets of blood near her elbow and near her knee, almost completely invisible on top of the black leather.

Almost completely. Zett looked up at the smaller woman, and Dani nodded at her. It was the first time in ten years she asked for such a favor. It was one of the very -- very -- few times she considered such an action to be justified at all. But there she was, and there it was, and there Zett was, with blood on her leather jacket, and a soft quiet nod, telling her friend it was taken care of.

Whichever "guard" it was that caused Andrea's little girl to hit her head and get a nasty gash, for whatever reason and whatever motive, for whatever accidental push or shove or slap or hit -- he paid for this "accident", and from the spots of blood on Zett's otherwise clean leather jacket, he paid quite dearly.

Dani took a breath and turned to face the controls, helping Smith pilot the shuttle. Desperate times require desperate measures, she thought, and this time... this guard will not be the last one to pay.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Danielle Atarah
Grifter / Thief
Earth

Tom Cardello
Head
The Cardello Syndicate, Earth

Kalina Zett
Captain
Bristol Supply ship
The Cardello Syndicate

Smith
Executive Officer
Bristol Supply ship
The Cardello Syndicate

&

Anne Levine-Planck
Madison and Cooper Levine-Grant
Roberta Stewart-Levine

 

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