caveat uxor

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara is beginning to be concerned.

There's a pattern here. She knows there is. But it's subtle, it's so subtle she thinks she might be imagining it. A flyer appears on the wall of the coffee shop, announcing that his band has a show there that week. There's so few details that she thinks she must be mistaken, someone else here must have decided to use that same band name, it wasn't that creative- but she goes back to look again the next day, just to see, and it's gone.

She finds a jelly doughnut left on the hood of her car while she's out shopping. They're Kevin's favorite, and she has to talk him out of eating it- they don't know where it came from, it can't be safe, just throw it out, see how someone's already cut it open? It's oozing red jelly out over the roof of the car.

Little things, one at a time. Spaced apart enough that she's never quite sure they're related to each other. A week before something new happens? Two? Once there's two incidents in three days, then nothing for almost a month. She could be imagining it.

...maybe.

She finds a stuffed dog in their front yard. It's very generic, one of those silly plush dogs you can get at any store for a few bucks, and it's arguably, plausibly, a dog toy. But the tag on the dog's collar says 'Tammy'. And it's been torn almost to shreds, viciously. And none of her neighbors have dogs.

Tamara calls the Watcher's Council. And then she calls Bella.

Comments

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara leaves her cell phone number with Charlie and is out of the house like a shot. It takes her longer than she would've liked to get to the location Bella gave her, but she can feel herself shaking and she has to slow the car; an accident now would only slow her down more. But it's hard, to restrain herself, to obey the speed limit or wait at lights.

The intersection turns out to be in an industrial and somewhat run down section of town, insofar as such things exist in Sunnydale, in an old warehouse. Tamara parks a block away- if he hears her, and moves Kevin, if he takes her son away again- and walks up to the corner.

[cross_and_bow]

Bella and Soph are hanging out outside of the warehouse, their car parked down the street; Soph is casting something to refresh the spell on the sock and Bella's standing guard.

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara walks up as calmly as she can manage (which is not very calmly, but she's trying). "Hi," she says helplessly. "Anything I can do...? Have you... seen him? Them?"

[marrinikari]

The sock is returning to its compass-sock state.

[keyed_up]

"Not yet. Sock's waking up," says Soph. She puts it flat in the palm of her hand and waits for it to point its toes.

[marrinikari]

Compass-sock eventually determines that it would like to be pointed thataways. Thataways is definitely inside the warehouse.

[cross_and_bow]

"Right, hunting for entrances is go."

Bella starts looking for ways in.

[marrinikari]

There's a door around back. It has one of those lock-and-chain contraptions keeping the doors shut.

[cross_and_bow]

Bella's shell knife will make short work of the chain. She does her best to keep it quiet.

[marrinikari]

Compass-sock feels quite strongly they should be investigating those stock rooms over there.

[cross_and_bow]

Bella stalks towards them, shell in one hand, stake in the other - indoors she's probably not going to get the freedom of range she needs for the crossbow to be her best option.

[keyed_up]

Soph, at her shoulder, holding the sock and some herbs, follows.

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara digs out her emergency stake from her purse and follows them, at her best guess for a non-interfering distance.

[marrinikari]

It doesn't take them long to find the stock room in question. The door was locked, but that means very little to Slayer strength. Inside is a man, facing away from them but strongly resembling Tamara's picture of her ex as far as can be seen, talking quickly and angrily to Kevin. Kevin is sitting in a chair, a flimsy office style one clearly "borrowed" from the warehouse, and his leg is chained to the wall. He looks to have enough room to move around the room, but the door is definitely out of his reach.

"I don't understand why you won't-" the man hisses, and then turns around. It's definitely Charles, though his quick switch to vampface obscures his features somewhat. "You- what!" He says in Tamara's direction, ignoring the girls. "How did you find me so quickly?" He sounds deeply put out, and rather whiny. "Time to go, then." And he bolts for the door on the far side of the room.

Once he moves, Kevin gets a better view of them. "Mummy! Mummy help, let me out!"

[cross_and_bow]

Bella chases Charles at a dead run.

[keyed_up]

Soph dithers. "Bella will be back with her shell knife in a second," she tells Kevin, "and then she can get the chain off you -" And then she goes after her sister.

[marrinikari]

Charles clearly had this planned out as an escape route. The way out back is full of old boxes, shipping containers, and all sorts of junk strewn about; he clearly knows his way through it, but it would be easy to lose sight of him in the chaos.

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara runs over to Kevin. "Kevin, sweetheart, you're here, I'm so sorry, I don't know how he got you, it'll be okay now-"

[marrinikari]

Kevin smiles at her sweetly. "It's okay, Mummy, you're here now."

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara breathes a sigh of relief. "Yes, sweetheart, I'm here." She kneels in front of him. "Hang on, let me see if I can get you loose-"

[marrinikari]

Kevin's grin widens. "Hi, Mummy!"









And his face changes.

[older_and_wiser]

Tamara screams.

[marrinikari]

With a laugh, Kevin lunges for her throat-

[older_and_wiser]

-but Tamara still has her stake out.




(just in case, in case charles attacked her, in case something happened)



Halfway through Kevin's lunge, his chest meets the stake Tamara's holding up practically by reflex.



(all watchers have to practice, watchers should know how to stake, what if a vampire finds them, what if the slayer's hurt, what if something happened)



With a cry, Kevin crumbles to dust.



(her baby boy, how could charles take him, he was all she had left, how could something happen)



And Tamara collapses, unable to stand, sobbing hysterically into the floor.

[cross_and_bow]

Meanwhile:

"Fan out," Bella calls to her sister, and they take different directions through the debris. Bella has no supernatural senses to guide her, but she was very close on his trail and she is very fast and nimble. If she's wrong about where she's going Soph still has a shot at setting the guy on fire once they get into more open ground and the line of sight is better.