Post by Nathan Saniti on Jul 28, 2014 19:58:55 GMT -5
The Dark Arcana – Chapter 19: The Sun
Tarrant peeked around the corner of the alleyway in busy streets of Charlotte, North Carolina that he traversed to find the head of Nova Pharmaceuticals. Playing a hunch he had from watching one of Kelli Starr’s promotions, he sought out this Iska person to discern what sort of threat level she may be and exactly why she had it in for Nathan. The streets bustled as all large cities do during the work week, yet traffic, both foot and vehicle, were lighter due to it being a Friday in the middle of summer. The skyscrapers offered up quite a bit of shade, yet the sweltering ball of gas in the sky kept the furnace set on “why am I wearing a suit?” for most of its patrons. “Try layering it with fur. It sucks, sonny Jim,” Tarrant quipped to himself.
“This is why I left New York,” Tarrant mused, waiting for a chance to safely dart off without being seen. The building he sought towered above him just across the road, a glass monolith whose only seeming purpose was to give the other structures surrounding it an inferiority complex. He planned his route in his mind. “Most likely she’s holed up somewhere near the top of the thing,” he grumbled to himself. “Gonna have to take the stairs. Less chance of being seen.”
Finally, a break in the urban commotion offered him a slight opportunity. He darted frantically across the six lane road, weaving out of stopped cars so that their wheels wouldn’t pancake him should the light go green. A small girl in a blue dress and a white bow in her blonde hair yanked on her mother’s arm in an attempt to point out the funny creature scampering into the shadows, but her maternal interest lay more with her Facebook account than her daughter’s imaginings currently. He scouted the structure, quickly assessing just how he was going to get inside. The revolving doors would be okay if he had the strength to push them himself. He could follow someone else in, but then he ran the risk of being noticed. In this world, his glamour of invisibility might not work, even against adults.
Then there was the vast steel construction filled with the unknown inside, along with the long trek up umpteen flights of stairs, all to get to some cavernous span of an office designed to make its resident feel even more empowered. A clanking behind him caught his attention. One of the workers from the cafeteria had wheeled out four rather large trash bins filled to the brim with rubbish from their lunch rush, the door propped open by the corner of the flatbed dolly she had stacked them onto. She grumbled and groused through her cigarette about the wasteful nature of people in an accent that sounded as if she could be a voice double for a certain blue-haired cartoon woman’s sister if they were Southern belles.
Tarrant skedaddled into the portal unseen. His paws skidded on the tile floors, the combination of grease and water making the task of grip nearly impossible. Quickly, he found a hiding spot close to the swinging doors that led from kitchen to the cafeteria itself. A small office next to the door stood with lights on and its own door ajar, the lone occupant pouring over whatever figures a person in that position considers every day when the phone rang giving Tarrant the distraction he needed to make his escape. The swinging doors were much lighter than the revolving door would have been, and far easier to eek through without much fuss.
The building was a labyrinth for the full-sized, much less one of a more miniscule disposition. Nevertheless, he trudged on, finally coming upon a hallway of elevators. “The stairs MUST be close,” he imagined. Hiding behind a potted plant set dead center in the hall; he scanned the signs for the staircase, noticing an arrow heading left. He hopped in the direction, coming to another heavy door. Once again timing was on his side, most likely the rabbit’s feet. (He has two of them after all.) The oak door snapped open, a sweaty man in business attire gasping for breath as he pulled the handle.
“Fitness… My… Ass…” he wheezed to no one in particular. “I’m taking the elevator next time.” Releasing the door, its automatic closing mechanism hissed quietly, Tarrant barely making it before it ensnared him with its weight.
Looking up, Tarrant nearly suffered vertigo from attempting to count the flights he had to suffer through. They seemed endless, even moreso for a rabbit. Onward and upward he climbed, wishing with every step that the elevator would have been doable.
********
Nathan held the door to the Candy World open curtly as Kelli stepped through, the smile on her face seemingly permanently plastered from their adventure. Nathan soaked it in; her company, the good times, but mostly the expression on her face. A lifetime, no, eons of lifetimes of heartache could be forgotten in that smile. It was a feeling he had forgotten existed, a feeling he had no recollection of how right it made everything. It was a human emotion, and one he hadn’t experienced in ages. It confused him, excited him. They walked sideways down an upward flight of stairs to the landing near the entrance of the Impossible Staircase, both giggling and relishing each other’s company.
Nathan led the way to the entrance of his home so that he may escort her back to her abode. “We have proven to the world that we make a fine team, my dear.” His voice softened as his cheeks flushed a bit. “And you have proven to me that my humanity isn’t entirely gone.” Kelli puzzled at him whimsically. Before she could inquire, he held up a finger to explain. “Miss Starr, you have made me feel emotions that I thought were no longer reserved for a heart such as mine.”
Kelli’s cheeks turned a shade of pink rivaled only by her hair. Nathan smirked, softly caressing her face. “I should be thunderstruck if anything happened to that adorable visage of yours.”
“What about those Dillinger guys we have to face?” Kelli inquired. “Grimm and Sadistic. I’m worried they might hurt me OR you.”
Nathan soured a bit at the moment being lost to such a note. He knew she was right though. This was certainly something they needed to address. “Mr. Grimm and Mr. Sadistic both have fearsome reputations on their own, and doubly threatening once paired. You and I, however, are of a caliber that could easily equal theirs if we remain confident and vigilant in that ring. Think of it, my dear! With you by my side and me by yours, if we manage to best those brutes, we would catch the entire PCW Universe off-kilter, and no one shall ever doubt our prowess again.”
“How can you be so sure?” She got a serious look on her face. Allowing it to snuggle in deeply, she continued. “How can you be so confident that we will win?”
“Winning isn’t the point, my dear. BESTING them by holding our own, even if not garnering the pinfall, will show the world that you and I are not to be trifled with. A victory would be icing on the cake!” Nathan’s enthusiasm seemed contagious. Kelli caught it. The serious look nestled on her face caught it. Even the two-lips in the flour garden next to his stoop perked up at his speech.
“We shall be victorious, either way. Now…” he motioned towards a rather odd-looking car of some sort. “Shall I see you home?” Kelli brightened at the bright pink, rainbow sprinkle covered automobile that looked like something straight out of the pages of a Dr. Seuss book. If she didn’t know any better, she swore it was as edible as everything in the land they had just left.
********
Tarrant had found his way into the luxurious corner office that belonged to the one and only Iska Staranova. He slipped in unnoticed when the office assistant entered to place a stack of papers neatly on the ultra-modern desk next to the Italian leather upholstered chair. The occupant had entered, nearly verclempt from an exhausting day of meetings. She had waved off her assistant, wishing for a bit of alone time before tackling the remaining business of the day. Even from this shadowy distance, Tarrant could tell she was an iron-clad ball breaker. He couldn’t place her face, but there was something extremely familiar about her scent. From her platinum blonde coif tied back into an angry knot, to her “resting bitch face” expression that made absolutely certain no happiness dared come near her.
Not too long into her solace, the intercom popped to life announcing a Mr. R to see her. Once the door yawed wide, Tarrant nearly soiled himself when a familiar figure weaseled through; Grigori Rasputin himself. Tarrant listened intently to the entire conversation, catching neither intent nor purpose to this alignment. What he did catch were the details. Whoever this woman was, she was related to Rasputin, she was just as surprised to see him as Tarrant, and that Rasputin wished to make an ally out of her to keep Nathan and Kelli apart. Oh, and Rasputin called her “zaichik,” a Russian term of endearment meaning “bunny.” All of this happened before Rasputin escorted her through a portal to an unknown world. Grimacing with dismay, Tarrant knew he had been made. He knew whatever they were up to; their meeting was moved far away from his prying ears. He also knew he had to warn his friend, and this woman’s sister, Kelli Starr.
