[FIN] Who Will it Be?

[TawnyAngel]

She must have thought that Abel would succeed, or she hadn't wanted his money anymore. Having had a look at her apartment Zevran was quite sure that she wouldn't give up easy money, she liked to spend far too much, and so that left the other option. He didn't look over at Abel as his processed this fact, that perhaps they were more similar than he had thought. Abel was secretive about some things, he had assumed he had reason to be so, but he hadn't imagined anything like this. Perhaps he was wrong, jumping to conclusions that a normal person wouldn't but the facts all seemed to fit. Abel though? Really? He couldn't imagine why.

While his mind continued to churn over the pieces of the puzzle Zevran smiled brightly at the ensnared red-head and gave her an all too friendly nod. "Good morning Patty."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Patty glared daggers at Zevran while Dirksen lifted the phone to his ear once more. "Are you still there Kevin? Ah, good. I sent Spike up to you, I assume he's there now. Do let me know what you discover when.. Ah, that was fast. ...mhmm. And the dates and times? ....I see. You're sure? Alright. Thank you, Kevin."

As he hung up the phone, Abel leaned his head forward so he could get a better look at the redhead he'd suffered under for so long. Karma was finally getting to her. "Patty what?" He asked, watching her carefully. "What's your real full name?"

"Why would I--"

Dirksen cut her off and supplied, "Patricia Stoddard."

Abel frowned thoughtfully and cast his mind back, searching for the memory that flitted just out of reach in the back of his mind.

"Why would you--"

"Ah." He grasped it; his expression cleared and he nodded his head once, "That explains a lot, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now then," Dirksen turned to Patty, "it's been confirmed that you have, indeed, been the one skimming profits. I don't appreciate that in the least, nor do I appreciate you trying to lay the blame on Kiersten. Last but not least I don't appreciate you trying to have someone kill me. While I don't know exactly how much you stole from me, it ends now, and I will get all of it back."

"No, look, sir, I can pay you back, I can--"

"Of course you will -- with whatever's in your apartment," he explained as he turned and headed for one of the nearer doors along the back wall. Patty paled more the closer he got to the door. "We'll sell everything off that we don't need to make up for the losses you've sustained, don't worry."

"Sir please don't, I--"

"Frankly, Patricia, I'm tired of your begging. You've been digging your own grave for months," Dirksen said, tiredness tinging his voice as he cut her off and opened the innocuous-looking door, "so you really shouldn't be surprised that the time has come for you to lie in it. Tiny, if you'd be so kind?"

With a rumble that was angrier than any the Venusaur had uttered thus far, Patty abruptly soared through the room with a fading "no no no please don't" before the vines snaked around and pushed her through the door. Dirksen passed the manila envelope and papers to the armed man beside him, gestured to the Venusaur with the now free hand while the other returned to his inner pocket, and Tiny acquiesced; the vines around both Abel and Zevran slackened and receded completely. Once again Dirksen produced his handgun, but this time he gestured to the room with it as he looked at the pair of blonds, specifically at Abel, "If you'd like to do the honors you may; I know she's been blackmailing you for roughly two years now."

Abel hesitated, frowned, then hooked his thumbs into his pockets as he crossed the room before he halted just outside the door and peered around it. Inside, the vines had Patty pressed haphazardly against the wall similar to before, though now one of the vines pressed into her chin to prevent her from begging like she had been; instead she made a rather pitiful, frightened whine. The taller blond inhaled deeply, held it for a few seconds, then shook his head, though he kept his eyes on the struggling redhead for now. "No, I don't think I do. You probably want to more than I do," he said with a glance to the older man, "given what she wanted to do."  

[TawnyAngel]

As the vines uncoiled from around him Zevran stretched and rubbed at a few bruises, his gaze trained thoughtfully on the room that Patty had been dragged into; the b***h's full name meant something to Abel? Perhaps he would find out what later on, if they were allowed to leave alive of course. Had Dirksen offered Abel the chance to 'do the honours' as he so eloquently put it as a sort of last cigarette against the wall, or was it a sign that he was grateful enough to pay no mind to what they knew? He couldn't imagine Abel or himself using the information - he suspected Abel would prefer to avoid this street for the rest of his life if possible - but Dirksen could not be sure of that, though he did know that Patty had been on Abel's case for two years so perhaps he had an idea of his character? On the other hand perhaps he was simply smart enough to know that if either of them did try anything they could be dealt with and as such would take a relaxed view of their continued existence.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Dirksen nodded his head once at the answer, glanced down at Zevran as he approached, then simply shrugged. "Yes, I must admit I'm not particularly pleased to learn about her true intentions, though I'm glad to learn of them now rather than later," he said as he turned the safety off of the handgun, aimed and fired into the room in one fluid motion - Abel flinched a bit at the sharp report of the gun, not at the sight it made - then when the vines receded, he shut the door.

"Now," he went on as he turned the safety back on, "as you've done me a favor - two favors, in fact - and I know you're something of a moral person, I will do the same for you. When she first started blackmailing you, Patricia gave me a copy of your documents with the request that if she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, we should make copies and send them to a number of addresses. I will give that copy to you as the first favor. Spike, please fetch that manila envelope out of my safe for me, will you?"

"Haunt!" The Haunter disappeared again.

"The second favor," he went on once the ghost vanished for the umpteenth time, "is if we find any other copies of those same documents in her apartment or on any of her devices, I'll have them permanently deleted. I assume those are acceptable."

"I... Yes," Abel replied, suddenly stunned and feeling as if this were all too good to be true, "thank you." Was this a dream? This was all working out so well - almost too well - surely there would be a catch of some sort... "Thank you," he said again, more emphatically with a tad more emotion than he'd intended. If that were true, if this was it, then... "Ah, what about Taavi?" He asked suddenly, coming back down to Earth. "She was blackmailing him too, though I don't think she had much on him."

"Taavi... I think she mentioned him before, but she never gave me any documents for him," Dirksen replied after a thoughtful pause and a shake of his head, "which means she was probably bluffing him."

"Ah, yeah.." And if she was, he'd fallen for it. But what could he have done? He wouldn't want to take the chance that she wasn't bluffing. The Haunter chose that moment to manifest nearby, a thick manila envelope clutched in its hands; at Dirksen's signal, it uttered a gleeful "haunt haunt!" as it presented its prize to Abel. The taller blond took it gingerly, ensuring it was sealed before tucking it under his arm, "Thank you again, I.." This still all seemed too good to be true, honestly, but--

"Now then; I presume that's what you've been wanting all along. Now that you have it, and now that you'll no longer be blackmailed, I want to make something perfectly clear to you both." Dirksen's expression darkened a tad, his bright green eyes glinting, "You both know nothing about us or what we do here, correct?" When Abel nodded his head, he continued. "Good. Do make sure to keep it that way. I needn't remind you that I have your current address as well as that of your family, I believe, and I'd hate to make use of either after the favor you've done for me today. But if I ever see you here again - either of you," he added with a pointed look at Zevran, "I'll be forced to do so. Is that clear?"  

[TawnyAngel]

After all she had done Alyssa, Patty, whatever you called her did not deserve so clean an end. Perhaps it was for the best though, over quickly allowing Abel to move on without any undue unpleasantness. It really did sound as though they were being allowed to leave too, with barely a condition upon it. Zevran nodded when Abel did and tapped the side of his head lightly. "Understood, I feel myself growing forgetful of this place already. Before it and you are driven from my mind however there is one more small thing, I took some documents from your former associate's filing cabinet, receipts and so forth. They are outside in the car, would Spike perhaps like to come out and collect them?" In the midst of everything else he had quite forgotten the files, it was fortunate that he had recalled before they left.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Dirksen turned a skeptical look onto Zevran, but it cleared quickly enough and he nodded. "Yes, I'll be needing those back. Spike? Please see them out and bring those documents back with you, if you would."

"Haaauuuunt," the ghost replied. It gestured for the pair to follow before it floated towards the door they'd walked in originally.

Abel followed after it, still somewhat stunned, though he did half turn and add one more "thank you" before following the Haunter out into the hallway again. This was... almost too good to be true. Was he really free now? Was he dreaming?  

[TawnyAngel]

Just like that? Really?

Zevran walked towards the door, focusing on Abel in his peripheral vision in case he wavered and on the prickling of the hair on the back of his neck. Lull them into a sense of security, get them to turn their backs.... But if Dirksen had wanted them dead he would have pinned them with that grass monster as he had Patty so perhaps it really was as easy as that.

Outside Zevran headed over to the car and, once Abel unlocked it, he picked the documents up out of the passenger footwell and held them out to the Haunter. "All in order I think your associates will find. It was interesting to meet you but I quite fervently hope we never do again." Get in the car, get Abel home, everything else could wait.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Haunter cackled gleefully as it grasped the documents in both claws, grinning widely at the pair. It switched to holding them with one hand, its amused grin morphed into a more menacing one, and it pointed back out onto the street, "Haunt."

"Don't have to tell us twice," Abel said with feeling as he opened his door and got into the car. For lack of a better place for the moment - or rather, a safer place - Abel stuck the packet he'd received into the footwell on his side before buckling himself up and starting the car. Once Zevran was safely in the car, the taller blond backed the vehicle out of the alley and out onto the street. A few furtive glances after that showed no signs of them being followed. Not many other cars were out on the streets at such an early hour, even with the sun's rays beginning to peek out over the tops of the buildings, and Abel was okay with that. They weren't being followed. They were free to go.

He was free.

He slowed the car to a halt at a stoplight and turned to Zevran, still rather stunned about the whole thing. "Was that it? That was it, right? That all just happened?" They were free to go, Alyssa - Patty - was gone, she wouldn't blackmail him or Taavi anymore, he and his family would be safe... It was over?  

[TawnyAngel]

"¡No kidding!" Zevran agreed as he climbed into the car and, after a moment, remembered to fasten his seatbelt. It would be terrible to escape from what could have been a death trap only to get smashed through the windshield by a drunk trying to get home before his spouse awoke.

They pulled away in silence, and though he sat relaxed in his seat Zevran's eyes flicked quickly between the rearview mirror and his door mirror. Nobody was following them, at least nobody visible.

When they came to a halt he finally tore his attention away from the lack of pursuit to look at Abel with a slowly growing smile. "You know, I do believe it just did. I honestly thought that odds were even of Dirksen disposing of us once he had all he could get from us." Perhaps he had moral objections to killing people unless they had betrayed him, or unless he was being paid. "Standards among thieves," Zevran murmured more to himself than to Abel. After a moment however he focused again, his smile growing to a grin, and leant over to kiss Abel briefly on the cheek. "Well done! You were excellent, and now you are free!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He'd looked back to the stoplight to watch for it to turn green, but the unexpected kiss made him blink a few times and he tore his eyes away from the light to stare at his friend. After a few long moments a hopeful smile peeked out at the corners of his lips but as yet too tentative, too hesitant, too uncertain, too unsure to emerge more fully. His hands dropped from the wheel and instead lifted to run his fingers through his hands as he leaned back against his seat. "I'm free," he repeated, tasting the unfamiliar phrase on his tongue before saying it again, "I'm free?"

Overhead the light turned green, but Abel didn't continue driving just yet.

Instead he turned to look at Zevran, still too unsure of everything to really fully accept that everything just happened so easily as that, and held his hands palm-up in a helpless, almost pleading gesture. "I'm not dreaming, right?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran kept grinning, he wasn't surprised that Abel was having trouble taking it in after so long! "No you are not dreaming, I assure you. Would you like me to pinch you, or perhaps kiss you again to prove it?" he suggested, but as he spoke instead of moving to do either he reached out to twine the fingers of one hand with Abel's and rubbed light circles on the other man's palm with his thumb. "I could quite easily be persuaded to do either, or both in fact."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

No, he wasn't dreaming. That had actually happened; Alyssa was actually dead, she wouldn't blackmail him anymore, they had left without issue. They were alive. He was free.

"I.." Uncertainly his fingers curled around Zev's hand as he looked down at it, his brows furrowing ever so slightly.

He was free.

A flood of relief washed over him, crashed over him like a tidal wave and took with it all the weight he'd carried on his shoulders for so long. His eyebrows inclined and he drew in a quavering breath, his gaze focused firmly down at their hands, and when he spoke it was in a voice filled with emotion, "It's been two years -- two years, Zev, I..."  

[TawnyAngel]

The way Abel spoke made Zevran's heart squeeze painfully in his chest, not with sadness but with- what? A lot of something, relief for his friend perhaps? He squeezed Abel's hand tightly and leant over so that he could reach over and squeeze his shoulder with his free hand. He could have said 'I know', but he had only known for... how long had it been? Twelve hours? A bit more? He had known something was wrong before of course but not what, and there was still a lot he didn't know but that didn't matter right now.

"It is over now," Zevran said eventually, and he found that his own voice was not entirely steady as he spoke. "She is gone, you are safe." She couldn't hurt him anymore, or anyone else.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Overhead the stoplight turned red again.

Before he lost himself too much, Abel reached over to switch the vehicle from drive to park and then leaned closer to drop his forehead onto Zevran's shoulder, taking deep, uncertain breaths as he tried to steady himself. He squeezed the hand in his while its twin reached up to curl around Zev's arm, grateful for his presence, for the comfort he tried to provide. It was over, she was gone -- he was safe, Taavi was safe, Zev was safe, his family was safe... Everything was okay now. It was finally over.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran twisted further in his seat so that he could wrap his arm around Abel better and murmured soft nonsenses to him in Spanish. Just like that it was over; whatever Alyssa had used to manipulate Abel was in a folder at their feet, easily destroyed once they got back to Abel's apartment.

After an indeterminate period of time Zevran reverted to English to comment; "I think the sun must be due to rise soon." It seemed fitting to him to watch it come up from somewhere, but perhaps Abel would prefer just to get back and sleep after all he'd been through in the past couple of days.