(no subject)

[sunnydalealum]

In the apartment, Beth sits huddled in an armchair that feels far too big for her, clasps her hands tightly in her lap and tries to stop shivering.

"I know them," she says, her voice hollow.

Comments

[nomorekaraoke]

"And you're telling me you wouldn't have infiltrated Wolfram & Hart to do the exact same thing in a heartbeat? Because you believed it was right and it had purpose and hey, what's another bunch of evildoers? What's another demon in the long run? Nothing, when you're one of the good guys."

Shaking his head. "You don't know anything. None of you do, you're just a bunch of ugly-hearted nobodies out for blood and vengeance."

[sunnydalealum]

Jordie's knuckles go white on the axe.

"We’re Slayers," she says, "and we came for justice. And if we were just here for blood and what's-another-demon? We wouldn't be giving you a chance to step aside."

[nomorekaraoke]

"Yeah..." He has no qualms about looking her straight in the eye - so young, he wonders how young. Wonders if he'll ever see the world so clearly as when he was her age.

"You hide behind that title, why don't you. Hide behind your so called justice. Doesn't change the fact you're breaking and entering. Doesn't change the fact you're going after one of your own."

He doesn't move one inch. He won't budge. They'll have to get through him to get to Emma. Even if he's unarmed, he'll fight until he can fight no more. Over his dead body.

It's about damn time.

[sunnydalealum]

"Damn straight we're going after one of our own!" Jordie snarls. "Because nobody else will. Because nobody else has the right to. Because she betrayed us and she got Kennedy killed and she doesn't get to just walk away from that, and if you don't step out of my way I swear to god I will cut you down."

[sunnydalealum]

The door behind Lorne is thick enough that he may not hear the stifled gasp, but there's no way he can miss the sound of the lock being undone and the doorknob turning.

[nomorekaraoke]

"Then cut me down." He's dead serious. "What do I know, right? I'm just another obstacle."

He's hoping to Whoever is Listening that Emma isn't about to do something very stupid. One glance to the right, looking for things to use as weapons, he scrambles to decide on a strategy a little bit more elaborate than hit a high note, duck, cover and fight for her life.

He doesn't even get that far.

[sunnydalealum]

"Wait," says a shaking voice behind him, and the door opens.

The two Slayers flanking Jordie brace, one of them raising her crossbow and aiming –- but the bulk of her is still behind Lorne, and there's no way to get a clear shot.

For her part, Beth's trying to meet Jordie's eyes.

"Kennedy's dead?"

[sunnydalealum]

Jordie goes white, her eyes and eyebrows standing out like streaks of ink against her face, and her mouth twists with corrosive rage.

"You didn't even know?"

[nomorekaraoke]

The bulk of her will stay behind Lorne if he has anything to say about it, but for the moment they're just talking, and he can deal with talking.

He can even deal with shutting the Hell up, for the time being. One thing he won't do, however, is let himself look away from any one of the armed and dangerous girls.

[sunnydalealum]

Jordie's talking, yes –- but also taking a step forward, her hand tightening still further on that blood-red axe.

"You didn't even care enough to find out who died when you sold us out?"

[sunnydalealum]

"I didn't want anyone to die!"

It's a cry, but there's little strength in it; not desperate but despairing, not expecting to be believed.

"I didn't know what she was going to do with it, I swear, I didn't know."

[nomorekaraoke]

"Back off, kitten."

It's a threat; anything to draw the fire away from Emma. He doesn't have much else.

People always underestimate him - maybe it's the suits or the long lashes or the queer eye/straight guy vibes, he isn't sure why - but one thing he knows. It has a tendency to come in handy.

[sunnydalealum]

Jordie's not looking at Lorne anymore.

"If you don't want anyone else to die because of you," she says, lethally soft, "tell him to step aside. Last chance."

[sunnydalealum]

One unsteady hand reaches out to brace against the doorframe.

Her voice is a thin, shocked whisper. "Boss..."

[nomorekaraoke]

"Don't. I'm not letting them slaughter you."

...and suddenly, he realizes something. Something important.

To Jordie, softly, gently. "You're afraid."

[sunnydalealum]

"Not of you," Jordie answers evenly. "Beth? What's it gonna be?"

"I'm sorry," Beth's whimpering, "I'm sorry --"

[nomorekaraoke]

"No, not of me. Of what killing me will mean to you." Still watching, never taking his eyes off anything or anyone, but for now his main focus is on the girl with the fabulous hair. "What it will do to you, what your superiors will think. Your friends...what if they know me, if they'd notice I'm gone. What if they find out."

He takes one step closer, the palms of his hands showing at his sides. "Hit me. Shut me up.

"Kill me."

[sunnydalealum]

For just a flicker of a moment, she hesitates; long enough to tell Lorne that his shot struck home.

Then she lifts the axe over her shoulder, her face set in grim resolve. "I don't have to kill you," she grates, "to shut you up."

And she brings the weapon around like a baseball player swinging for the fences, turning it in mid-strike so that it's the flat of the blade, not the edge, aimed at Lorne's head.



From behind him, Beth's voice: "No!"

[nomorekaraoke]

One word echoes in his head, one word comes through more clearly than all the rest of them as he literally wrenches himself into a dodge. Coward. He isn't sure if it's aimed at himself or the girl, the Slayer or the lot of them for ganging up on Emma. But there isn't room for thought anymore, especially when one of the others follow their leader's cue.

Something slams into his back but he can't feel pain - the adrenaline rush takes care of that - just the sickly crack of something giving way. He lunges, grabbing for the lamp by the window, swings it around horizontally and hoping it will at least act as a distraction enough for Emma to "RUN!"

[sunnydalealum]

Tricia dodges the lamp -– mostly; it grazes her ribs before smashing into the wall, sending fragments of glass everywhere -– and drives a looping blow with her baseball bat into Lorne's side. Sara stands her ground with the crossbow, waiting for a clear shot.

Jordie darts to one side to circle the fight and makes for the doorway where Beth's still standing frozen, unable to move.

[nomorekaraoke]

Fuck it. Damn it, fuck it why isn't she moving, he can't stay over here if she's-- The wall seems to crash into him suddenly, and then the floor. His head spins, but closing his eyes helps against that. Buzzing between his ears, the noise and lack of every other sound is virtually inside his head.

He wants to shout intelligent snippets of advice, but there's no time for talking now, and as much as he'd like to do something more tactically ingenious, he's running out of options. Block, parry, dodge, he's losing the fight but not giving a damn, he's got to get to Emma before it's too late.

"Emma!"

[sunnydalealum]

She's crying. With terror, and sick self-loathing, and furious anger. And the tears are blurring her eyes, but that doesn't stop her from bringing her hands together sharply as Jordie swings the axe –-

-- and stopping the blade, catching the flat of it between her palms, the blow meant to split her skull arrested in midair.

Jordie stares in brief shock, and Beth twists her wrists and jerks the weapon out of her hands, hurls it aside with a convulsive shudder. "Get out of here," she says unsteadily. "Take your, your gang and get out of here. Leave us alo --"

[sunnydalealum]

The roundhouse punch to the jaw cuts off the end of the word, and sends her staggering.

Jordie steps forward, raising her fist again. "Yeah, you know what? No."

[nomorekaraoke]

His heart stops. His heart literally stops as the axe starts its downward swing; a crescendo builds from the very tips of his toes but before it can escape, Emma isn't dead, the walls aren't spattered with blood and brains, and all of a sudden his heart starts beating again. It thunders in his head, behind his eyes.

It doesn't even occur to him that throwing himself at Jordie leaves his back completely exposed, there's only one thing on his mind.

Emma shouldn't have to fight.

[sunnydalealum]

Trouble is: this is exactly the kind of thing Sara's supposed to be watching for. There's no time to shout a warning to Jordie, and no need.

The crossbow bolt hits Lorne just below the left shoulder, and goes far enough for about an inch of arrowhead to sprout from under his collarbone.