After It All ( Patrick )

[Kazumi O'Connor]

From the time that they had left, Edward and that other....guy...that he had called "Boss"...Kazumi had been in her room, the door locked and crying almost uncontrollably into her pillow. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to think. On one hand she wanted to tell Patrick, to call her Mother right then and there, call him....Just tell them what had happened and be done with it. But, that was just it....that wouldn't be the end of it, would it? No, it would just be the beginning, and before long, something terrible would happen to him and it would always and forever be her fault.

Then, on the other hand....if she did tell him, told her Mother...then maybe they could figure something out, perhaps they could just....Fuck! She didn't know and on top of everything else that had been going on in her mind, this was just another thing that muffled in with the confusion.

However, after she had cried herself out, it had become clear that right now, today, she just couldn't tell him. No, she had to have time to think. Normally, she was on the spot with plans and ideas, inheriting that from her Mother who was never without some kind of plan. But then, there was a significant difference between herself and her Mother. Kevala didn't have empathy for people and their lives...In her mind, it was a game against her and well, she didn't take into consideration the pain of losing somebody she loved....Because, well...she didn't feel pain anymore, she only felt anger.

Gods how Kazumi wished, more than ever now, that she could be more like her Mother. Then the choices would come easy and if there had ever been a time that Kevala was conflicted, she had failed to tell her daughter that....Not that Kazumi had ever shown any particular interest in knowing.....another thing she was regretting now.

But that said, she would glance at the clock, noting the time and slowly scooting off the bed. He would be home soon, and if she didn't get herself cleaned up, well then that was just going to make things that much more awkward.

So, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes, she threw her shirt into the bottom of her drawer, wrapping it within another shirt and stuffing it into the back bottom corner. He never really bothered to look through her things, so she was sure it would be safe there along with her journal for now....Then, moving into the bathroom, she would turn on the hot water, turning to look at herself in the mirror as she waited for it to warm up. A bruise, significant in size covered the right hand side of her face, her lip, which was split, still had blood caked about it as well as a bit that remained upon her chin....A few streaks ran down her neck and even some had soaked through onto her chest. Around her ribs, several bruises that had come from the manner in which Edward had been gripping her so damn tightly.

Hell, even the back of her head hurt and was tender to the touch from the prolonged grip in her hair. She had been worse, that was for sure, but then, this was definitely going to be enough to get a pretty upset, if not angered response from Patrick. Not to mention she was going to have to lie....and Gods how she hated that fact. She didn't ever want to lie to him, but that was where the conflict came in. Did she tell him the truth and risk losing him? Or did she lie and live with the guilt of such an action for the security in knowing that he would be okay?

"FUCK!" Screaming out as she slammed her fist into the mirror....not really thinking about it at the time, just so fucking angry with herself, with his "boss", with Edward.....The glass shattering and most of it falling down into the sink, blood pouring down her hand from the newly inflicted wounds that, to be honest, didn't even hurt at this point.

For a long moment she sat there, watching the blood slowly drip from her hand, down her fingers and into the sink. Drops of it starting to coat the shattered fragments of glass. Yet another thing she was going to have to explain, though this one she wasn't so sure she would have to lie about. Which was good.....she was a terrible liar.

After a good long moment of watching her blood drain into the sink she would sigh, composing herself and turning to finish getting undressed...no attention paid to the blood that dripped down her hand and onto the tiled floor. She was pretty far gone at this point, though she was sure she could reign herself in by the time he got home.

Thirty Minutes Later

She ran the brush through her hair, a slight wince at the pain in her hand as she did so. Turned out, there had been a rather large shard stuck within her hand, one she had to pull out and that had only made the bleeding worse. Luckily, that had been in the shower.....Not that she had bothered to clean up the mess...No, at this point, she wasn't going to lie to him about that one or try to hide it. She would just tell him she got mad, hit the mirror and that would be the end of that....She was far too gone in her thoughts to worry about cleaning that up.

Dressed in a fresh pair of clothes (tank top and shorts), she would look down at the bandage about her hand, already small dots of blood had begun to seep through the white gauze though she just shook her head and turned her gaze away from it. She knew she needed a few stitches........she just didn't care anymore. Instead, she would finish running the brush through those wet, tangled locks and then turn and make her way back toward the kitchen to busy herself with making dinner.

Anything to keep her mind off of what had happened, even if she couldn't get that guys face out of her mind, or that file....the one that showed who he was....that showed he knew everything about Patrick....A little groan escaping her, as she moved about the small but manageable kitchen. All the while, listening for the door....she had had a separate security entry installed for Patrick, a simple series of codes....since well, the prints posed a problem. So yeah, she listened, and she waited....Nervous as all hell and terrified of what this all meant.....though doing her damn best to pretend like she was just as fine as ever.

[Legion]

Patrick of course, had no idea what was in store for him at home, or what sort of plans were brewing elsewhere for his future. At the moment he was completely in the dark about everything. About his "employer", about Kazumi's situation, about their situation that was beginning to bloom. Although he had suspicions about Kazumi's recent health, being somewhat suspect that what she was telling him was not exactly the truth, he had decided that he was going to trust her. Trust her like she was trusting him, even though he still hadn't revealed the full truth of her mother's involvement in her "Feht/phee" problem. Patrick had figured he owed her that much, besides, if it was a real problem he was sure that she'd let him know, right?

Well that really didn't matter, least not now he figured. As Patrick walked up to the door of her house he was completely unaware of the situation that was about to unfold. In fact, as opposed to the other times he was actually in a good mood as he came home. Not that he was ever hesitant, or not wanting to come home, he was just more upbeat then usual, not as exhausted. Looking vehemently forward to just spending a relaxing evening with Kazumi.

Fidgeting with the panel he began to enter his series of codes. Sure, it was a pain in the ass, the sheer amount numbers, and different codes and sequences, but it kept them safe right? That was really the key. Besides, Patrick didn't have to worry about leaving finger prints so that was another huge plus. Well after a minute or two of vigorous beeping he heard the lock open and with a grin Patrick opened the door, bag slung over his shoulder.

As he entered the house he kicked off his shoes and dropped the bag off by the door. Keeping things in their place was more of her idea then his, not that he minded. It kept him far more organized, besides, it wasn't a complete change of pace. He had always kept his less then legal life in order, paid more then enough attention to that, to the point of being over meticulous. It wasn't too hard of a transition.

As he entered he smelled cooking with a slow inhale, smelling whatever it was that Kazumi was cooking, smiling, her food was always good. Though, admittedly Patrick had eaten crap for a long time, not that he'd ever compare her food like that. With a grin he'd look towards the kitchen, a grin on his face as he said, "Smells good, ye feeling any better love?"

He took a few steps toward her, not noticing her face quite yet, seeing as her back was turned towards him. It looked like she had just gotten out of the shower, not too concerning seeing as she had stayed home anyway. What he did notice though was that her hand seemed to be bandaged up, though he didn't recognize the severity yet, drawing a concerned but still upbeat, "Is everything okay Kazumi?"

She could have just cut herself during the day, right?

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She heard something at the door, or more than likely someone, and to be honest, she tensed up, closing her eyes for a moment as she silently prayed that it was not them, not Edward and....his "boss".....though when she heard the door unlock and heard the distinct sound of shoes being kicked off, she breathing a rather heavy sigh of relief and would open her eyes once more and even allow a slight smile to curl onto her lips.

Going back to what she was doing, which was chopping up various veggies for the salad she was preparing, she would listen as footsteps brought him toward the kitchen. "Hey baby...How was your day?" Not turning around, both because she was busy making sure she didn't cut herself and because she wasn't exactly prepared to face him. Though almost as soon as her question was issued his own followed suit, getting a little giggle from her as she nodded.

"Yes, I am feeling better. Not sure what it was really, guess I just have some sort of little......bug." She winced slightly at the word. Even if she wasn't pregnant, she didn't like the idea of referring to the child as a "bug" but yeah, that was part of the reason that Kazumi was one of the world's worse liars.....ever. She put way too much thought into her words.

As she heard him coming in closer, she would shifts just a bit, one leg bending at the knee so that the back of her foot could rub against the calf of her opposite leg, scratching it as best she could. Then he came to a stop and asked if everything was okay. For a second, all she could think was "Oh come on! I am not that bad a liar!"

Though a glance to her right and she would notice the positioning of her right hand, the bandage visible though the blood that was seeping through somewhat concealed. Slowly she drew her hand around in front of her, simply using it to assist in her current task, well as best she could. "Y..Yeah, everything is fine babe....Just been a long day is all. Kind of ......rough."

She cleared her throat. Yes, she was really that bad of a liar, though she despite that, she was stubborn and every time she opened her mouth, those words from his "boss" echoed through her mind. The threats, the file.....Softly she shuddered, though quick enough she would tilt her head to the side a bit, popping her neck a bit and trying to conceal the shudder.

"So, did you have a good day?" Change of subject, those always worked right? Yes, at least until she turned around, at which point her inability to lie was going to be really put to the test. "Also, I hope you don't mind pasta and salad for dinner. Felt like having something a little light." Yeah, Kazumi's typical meals consisted of Italian food...something she was sure he had picked up on by now. But by all rights, she was Italian, even if it was not by ethnicity. She was raised there, learned customs and cooking tips there, hell she even had the thick accent. So yeah, she made a lot of Italian, which wasn't all bad. Her homemade pizzas were pretty good.

Not near as good as her Mother's, but she would get there, eventually. She hoped.

Still, she kept her back to him though, making sure that the hair spilled down the right side of her face, her hand now out of the way....She knew what was coming, she was just trying to prolong it as long as possible because she was scared she wouldn't be able to keep up the lies once she was looking him in the eyes....Especially considering how much she despised lying to him..not wanting to break his trust....Hell, that was the absolute last thing she wanted. But....was it worth losing him to some kind of mission or job or whatever....just to keep his trust? Gods if only she could figure this out....would make it so much easier.

[Legion]

Little... bug? Now that seemed suspect. Not the idea in of itself, just the way she said it. She had been a little under the weather lately. So it could have been just that, but still, the way she had said it. Well, people screwed up their intonation all the time really. Verbal pauses to? Patrick's bullshitometer was going off. Though he chose to say nothing. At the same time though he wondered what this was. Was it related to the other times that she had hid stuff from him? Or was this different? Did she just want a day off? Then why not tell him, he'd love to have stayed with her. A day to herself? Patrick figured they were past white lies about that though. He gave a slight frown before stilling his mind, he wasn't going to be able to tell anyway. If it was going to present a problem, or seem like it would then he'd bring it up. If not, he'd respect her privacy.

"Rough how so?" Patrick would ask quickly in response to her reply about her hand. Concern was becoming more and more evident in his tone. Not demanding, but just concerned. Especially seeing as she had a bandaged hand. What exactly did rough mean? Once again she seemed like she was hiding something. This time though his question he wanted answered, though he wasn't demanding. But he did want to know how rough constituted a bandaged hand. He still couldn't see the damage yet so he wasn't as concerned as he was about to be.

He noted the topic change. It wouldn't work. Though she was trying to hide something Patrick wasn't about to let her hide something about her well being. He just wasn't going to demand it from her, least not yet. But he would pause, long enough for her to answer his question before moving to answer hers. Not letting her change the topics so easily.

After she had answered his question Patrick would reply, "Can't complain, glad the days over though."

About dinner though, "Sound's great Kazumi, no complaints here."

Yeah, Patrick did notice the Italian themes in her cooking. Was to be expected as far as he was concerned, she was almost italian after all. But no, Patrick wasn't complaining about the Italian influence, in fact he found it rather enjoyable. It was better then eating out all the time. Even if Patrick got all of his food groups, there was just something about home cooking. That wasn't tv dinners, yeah, that was all Patrick did when he lived on his own at a shitty apartment, because they were quick and took no effort...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She would wince slightly. Yes, rough was an understatement and Gods knew that she was having trouble lying about it. Hell, she wasn't even to the part where she had to lie and she was already feeling sick to her stomach about it. Waiting until he had answered her questions, she would give a little nod and then reach up, with her good hand that held the cutting knife and tuck a few strands of hair back from her face....the left side...keeping all injuries hidden away.

"Well that's good." Of course referring to his day, a little bite given to her lower lip, though instantly she hissed in pain as she had forgotten the rather obvious split in it that hurt like a son of a bitch when touched too roughly. Which in turn, drew her attention back to his question about her day. "And rough...You know, just have a fairly bad day is all."

She cleared her throat to try and get that nasty sick feeling out of the back of it before continuing. If she had her way she would have left it at that, but she knew that he wasn't going to just let that go. "I just...well I was sick this morning, and then once I felt better I thought I would clean the house....Ummm....got busy with that and then realized that I needed some stuff for dinner...So I went to the store...got into a fight....Came home....beat up the bathroom, took a shower and well....now here I am."

She nodded and would go back to what she was doing, her hips shifting slightly to one side as she tried to play it off as her not having said anything out of the ordinary, nothing at all. Though then she would set the knife down, a heavy sigh passing her lips as she rested her hands flat on the counter and then slowly turned around, her head lowered so that her hair spilled around her face.

It took her a moment, to at least try and compose herself, before she would lift her head and tuck her hair back behind her ears, exposing the cut on her lip, the bruise along the right side of her face and the wounded hand, with blood soaking through the bandages resting across her stomach. Yet her eyes refused to meet his, she wasn't sure that she could handle it if she looked at him. She was having enough trouble with all this, looking at him was going to kill her inside.

"It was...n..nothing really." Nodding slightly and then moving to turn back to her cooking. Trying so very hard to just.....down play it or something...Anything to prevent him from getting too upset...Though she doubted that was going to happen.

[Legion]

I look of slight concern crossed his face when she reiterated that she had had a rough day. Nothing too, or overly worried but concern. He figured that had the day been your normal rough, which he's soon find out it wasn't, it wasn't anything to get too terribly concerned about. She just banged herself up a little.

When she started to explain her day, it was obvious that there was something that she didn't want to admit to him. That was what was concerning to Patrick, although he wondered if she was afraid of his reaction or something? He wasn't entirely sure. But as she went on about her day dragging it out, she would try and race over the point that Patrick actually cared about. A fight? Now that drew more concern from Patrick. Physically, Patrick could tell you that Kazumi was better off then your average shmuck and should be able to take on most people. However as far as actual fighting went he was still mostly unsure. He had never actually seen her, nor had he ever fought her. Knowing that fighting was much more of a mental game then people tended to acknowledge, well he was unsure. But Patrick didn't count her out, maybe just not at the peak.

When she said beat up the bathroom, Patrick assumed instantly that that was where she got the hand wound from. It wasn't that hard of a deduction, really. Easy line of logic. The bathroom didn't hit back, it was most likely that she hit something that made her hand bleed, or otherwise busted it up.

"Fight?" Patrick would ask, concern in his voice eagerly wanting to know more. Though he was in no way prepared for when she would eventually turn around. He noticed how she was hesitant to, though he hadn't exactly put two and two together yet. While he figured it might of happened he also considered the fact that she may have just been worried to face him, to his response or something. But when she did finally summon the strength to Patrick would frown, concern and care for her showing on his face, though she wouldn't see it if she wasn't looking.

"Kazumi, are ye okay?" Patrick would ask standing up, slowly walking to her. Concern was the only thing she'd hear in his voice. Not anger, at her or her attackers. While he would desire to hurt them, there was still a chance that she had taken care of it, right? She was becoming more aggressive, so that was a possibility he was now considering. But more over, Patrick had learned the hard way that his biggest concern when dealing with these situations was the victim. Making sure that they were safe, and okay both physically and mentally. He had wasted so much time caring about bringing the others to "justice" and had forgotten about the people he should have cared about from the start. Even though he didn't feel the need to play hero anymore, that was the lesson he was applying here.

Stepping close to her his right and would raise, cradling her unbruised cheek in his hand tenderly as his right hand would pull out her hurt hand. Inspecting it, he would realize that it was bleeding through the rather thick gauze. Softly he would say to her with a slight smile, "I think yer hand needs stitches, looks like the bathroom really did a number on ye."

After giving her, her hand back he'd smile before hugging her affectionately, asking, "What happened love?"

[Kazumi O'Connor]

Perhaps, had it been under any other situation, under any other circumstance, she would have been relieved that he was not mad at her or anyone else for that matter. She would have been thankful that he was actually more concerned about her than anything. But in this case, knowing that she was having to lie to him, she couldn't help but feel the tears begin to feel her blue eyes that now danced with small flecks of amethyst. "I...."

And this ladies and gentleman was where her inability to lie started to show. One, her eyes only turned that specific color when she was trying to lie, something she didn't know.....and two, she just really, honestly, could not do it. Sure, she could lie sorta good when it came to protecting Aiden or Ezekial, and she was sure she could lie her ass off if it meant protecting Patrick........But to lie to him....Well that was damn near impossible. "I....there were just these guys....and...and...Well I tried, I mean...I broke the guys nose.....I think...b..but I am not that good at fighting and well....he was a lot stronger and yeah...." Yeah, she was giving as much detail as she could that bared close to truth so that she wouldn't feel entirely guilty when she got to the actual lying part.

Tears spilling down her cheek as he examined her hand, a little half hearted laugh given to his comment about the bathroom. "Yeah well....its bigger, I didn't stand much of a chance..." She sighed, curling her hand to her when she felt him release it. Though as his hand pressed to her cheek, well that would only make the tears flow that much harder. She felt so damn bad and yet she was so fucking scared, scared of losing him, of something happening to him because of her....She could never forgive herself if that happened.

Then he hugged her and she would wrap her arms around him a bit more tightly than usual, burying her face into the side of his neck and sniffling softly, breathing in his scent and gently brushing her nose against the mark, her mark, which was left upon his neck. "I am just so glad you are home..." A sound of absolute relief seeming to escape into her tone, as if she had been scared or something, as if she had thought he might not come home...Not intentional, just yeah, she wasn't good at hiding anything from him.

[Legion]

Patrick noticed her eyes start to turn that amethyst color, flaking amethyst at least. He knew that amethyst only came out in her eyes when she was feeling strongly emotionally. Sad, usually, though anything upsetting really. Though the flakes, he wasn't entirely sure about. He had seen it a few times but wasn't exactly able to place why she did that, not that it was something that she really knew of, but still. When she explained to him how the fight when down he frowned. The way she told it was off. It wasn't that she seemed to be having difficulty telling the story from emotional trauma. Moreover it seemed to be choosing the way she wanted to tell the story, paying way to much attention to the words that she was using, that seemed to be the real problem. The presentation felt off, not as authentic. Least that's what Patrick felt. She may very well have broken some guy's nose. That part seemed to have the most flow.

Patrick couldn't tell what she was lying about, but he didn't doubt that she had a good reason for doing so. She hadn't really lied to him so far, least not that he could tell. Something seemed to be going on that she was trying to hide, but he hadn't out and out asked about that. It didn't seem too serious, not that he thought at least. This however was different. She had bruises and the like on her. The way she was progressing, recovering, he felt like she'd have told him. That made him think that her reason for doing so was important. But why? She trusted him. Patrick thought long and hard for a moment. He knew that there was no real way to discern the why without asking. But should he? She was hurt, but even still it wasn't enough to get her to tell him. Should he press? Everything inside him said yes but there was still that lingering voice said no.

He gave a weak chuckle at her joke, not having decided if he wanted to pursue that avenue of questioning yet. To try and put her, more at ease he would continue, "Ye've awoken a sleeping giant."

As she hugged him she gripped him far tighter then usual. Not that he really minded, but once again, why? What was going on? He would shiver slightly, smiling at her nose on his, no her, scar. Though, his smile would turn into a frown as she spoke, not so much at the words but at the tone. So he would ask, concern in his tone, "Why wouldn't I?"

Half of him expected an answer about missions or him running from her again...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She would not pull back from him, even with his joke she would simply give a weak little chuckle and continue to keep her small form pressed tightly up against his own. If she let go right now, she was sure she would start trembling. Her mind racing with a million and one things, none of which were any good. She could feel the tears continuing to stream down her cheeks, though she didn't do anything to try and stop them. In fact, it wasn't until he asked his question that she would seemingly freeze for a moment. No movement what so ever as she tried to think of what to say....She didn't want to lie to him, but at this point it felt like one of those things she didn't have an option with.

Pulling back, those oddly colored eyes would meet with his, a little smile trying to curl onto her lips though falling just short of doing so. She struggled now, trying to think of the right words to say as she would move to place her hands on either side of his face, fingers softly caressing his cheeks as she leaned in and pressed her forehead against his own, her eyes closing for a long moment as she tried to work the problem out in her head.

Finally, she would let out a soft, shaky breath as she shook her head just a bit, opening her mouth to speak only to have her lower lip tremble with uncertainty about what she was choosing to say. So, she bit down on it as she pulled back, eyes opening to look at him now as she once more shook her head, tears streaming down her face, those eyes a bright purple shade now....."B...Baby I...I..." She gave a soft little whimper and would turn her head away slightly, eyes cast down to the floor as she reached back, gripping the counter with both hands and ignoring the pain that shot through her right as the wounds reopened and more blood soaked through those gauze. At this point, blood was beginning to trickle down her fingers, though she ignored it...Her mind far too focused on something else.

"Baby...I can't tell you...." Her eyes cutting back to him as she gave a look that suggested that she was dead serious with this. It was not a lie. Not in the slightest bit. But she COULD NOT tell him without risking losing him forever. A theory that she was not even remotely willing to test. "I love you...so, so much...but I just....I can't tell you..." Repeating the phrase, emphasizing the word so to hopefully drive home the point that it was not by her own free will that she could not tell him.

Finally, she would look away, ashamed of herself for not being able to figure out another way around this, once more ignoring the blood that dripped off her hand onto the floor and instead turning back to at least try and finish cooking. Not sure what else to say and hopeful that he would not be angry with her over this.....she just....well she just didn't have any other options that she could see right now.

[Legion]

Something was dreadfully wrong. That was not anymore clear to Patrick when her pause at his question seemed to suggest to him this wasn't an irrational fear that she was prone to have from time to time. See seemed to really thing that there was something wrong going on here. At least she seemed to know more about whatever it was then Patrick. Her freezing up, that look at him as she pulled back. As she placed her hands on his cheeks, looking for words to say as she tried to force that smile, the gravity of the situation struck Patrick. Either she had developed the largest case of paranoia ever or this was extremely serious shit, by Patrick's standards which were exceptionally high at this point.

Her eyes a complete purple as she forced those first words out, backing away from him slowly. Crying, unable to look at him, concern plastered Patrick's face. Especially as she reached back wincing in pain as her right hand's wound was now bleeding through the gauze. Patrick HAD to know now. There was no way around it. But he was about to get a glimpse of absolutely how serious it was.

When she told him she couldn't tell him, Patrick's paranoid mind started working a mile a minute, but nothing could quite click on the full gravity of the situation. He knew absolutely that she meant it when she said she couldn't tell him. And she always wanted to tell him everything. That meant that there was no doubt anymore, this was serious, a threat to one, if not both of them. When she repeated those words again, this time adding in that she loved him Patrick knew exactly what was going on here. There was someone forcing her hand. And if she wasn't going to tell him here, then here was already bugged.

Patrick's face turned serious, a type of serious she hadn't seen yet. Job serious. The fact that she seemed to act like this place was bugged led him to believe that in all likelihood their vehicles were not only bugged, but being tracked. Based on her one tidbit of information Patrick knew that they were dealing with an enemy that simple gunplay couldn't take care of. They were highly advanced, tactics likely of the elite level. Everything was made clear to Patrick, they weren't safe. They had to leave, no not just this house, not just this state, the country.

Immediately.

Without any idea of who their enemy was, at least to Patrick's knowledge, they had to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as quickly as possible. There was no other option.

All this decisioning would come to Patrick almost instantly allowing him to get the next word in close enough to sound like a normal conversation, or rather a fight, "Damn it Kazumi! Ye always do this! I tell ye everything, every little detail and what the hell do ye give me?! Nothing! I have to drag every thing out of ye, always! I'm getting really tired of it! We've discussed this and I thought ye were supposed to be more open!"

If she listened to the words, she'd know it was a lie. In fact their positions were reversed, but no one would really know that except her. He was always the one that could never talk openly, easily. It was her that was always telling him every last detail and getting him, prodding him to give every detail. She would know that. And neither of them were really getting tired of it, nor had they ever discussed it. This really was all leading up to one simple statement that Patrick was really trying to get across to her without saying, "Do what I tell you next without question."

As Patrick hooted and hollered he pulled out his work cell as well as his personal, placing them both on the table. Hoping she'd do the same, if not, so long as she listened to him he could deal with it.

"I'm sorry, let's not fight again," Patrick gave a frustrated sigh, they hardly ever fought, and definitely not ever on this, "Let's just get ye to a hospital and get ye stitched up. Get yer coat and shoes."

To emphasize his point Patrick pulled a loaded glock from a fake cereal box and visibly put in in his pants behind his back before pulling his coat on and walking to put on his shoes. Praying to God that she understood him and wouldn't give them away yet...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She knew he was catching on, she saw it in his eyes, but what she had not been expecting was for him to yell at her like that. Now, true, the roles in his little rant were reversed and she would catch on eventually, but at first, out of instinct, she would shy away from him almost instantly, tears spilling down her face as that lower lip quivered just slightly. It scared her, caught her off guard and she just couldn't handle that right now...

But then it dawned on her what was going on and she would just give a little whimper, definitely upset enough to pull off a lie that wasn't directed at him..."I..I am sorry! I just...I...Some things are just harder to talk about than others!" Giving him a little nod that she understood as she watched him take out his phones and lay them down onto the table. She herself didn't have her phone on her, it was currently plugged in in the bedroom.

Nope, it was just her, her shorts and a tank top. When he apologized she would continue to watch him, her hands shaking at this point. She didn't like this, she didn't like it at all and she was terrified of what was going to happen once they were actually out of the house. If those people...th...that guy found out she said anything or that Patrick even suspected, they would hurt him.....Still, she wouldn't say anything, just nod and move out of the kitchen, leaving everything on the counters as she moved to the bedroom to grab a pair of jeans, sliding them on along with her jacket that she always wore, the hood being pulled up over her head despite the blood stains left from her hand where it touched it.

Once she had her shoes on, she would be at the front door, the entire time consisting of only a few seconds. "O..Okay I am re..ready.." Fuck yeah she was stammering, she knew that something much worse was coming, she felt it in her stomach, and this time it was not the morning sickness kicking in. Though the thought of that just reminded her that she had one other thing she had to tell him....

But first thing first. Get out of the house, find out what he had in mind, then tell him....before they got too far gone on whatever else was going to happen. Yes...that simple. She just had to find out what kind of plan he was trying to enact because quite frankly she was utterly lost.

[Legion]

Patrick hated having to lie, but he did what he had to. It's what he had been doing for years, not what he wanted to, but what he had to. While there was a pang of guilt over making her cry he'd continue on, unapologetically, tone never changing. It was here that she'd see another very large component of who he was. Perhaps being able to realize later what he meant when he said he killed his emotions to continue on. She'd see just how good he could be and being a person other then himself. If that scared her, bringing to mind the question of who he really was, if he had been hiding himself, his true self, well, Patrick really couldn't answer that question other then with the very true facts of his life that he had already told her. But honestly, sometimes he had a very hard time knowing who he himself was. Through all of that though there was one inescapable truth if she could remember it, that one that he had said the night she had found him on the dock. This was not the man he wanted to be anymore.

When she spoke up, playing along Patrick gave an inner sigh of relief, nothing changing on his face. She was playing along with the game. That little nod confirming it. Patrick's eyes would nod but that was it. With the security set up he didn't know if the camera's were being used, or if there were more he didn't know about but he had to assume that there were. Assume that they were being watched. Why? Because everything up to this point led Patrick to believe that whoever or whatever was that had gotten to Kazumi, well they appeared to be pros. It wasn't fully clicking yet but Patrick had to assume and take precautions that assumed they were of the highest echelon of a threat.

When she was busy getting ready Patrick would finish pulling on his shoes. His hand patting his pants pocket making sure he had his wallet. They were going to take a cab to their first destination. Why? Well because Patrick had to assume that both of their vehicles were both bugged and had gps trackers on them. Their movements needed to be concealed. They had to be as hard as possible to track, no, impossible. Patrick knew the risk though, the second they took a cab as opposed to cars there would be red flags. Unfortunately Patrick didn't know as much as he needed. He needed to know what Kazumi knew to make an informed decision, and then he would have to discuss their options with her, which to him only amounted really to one.

When she said she was ready Patrick nodded, taking her left, uninjured hand in his right. Trying to comfort her through his touch. He knew she was scared, and to be honest, Patrick was too. The difference was that this wasn't Patrick's first rodeo. All his worries and fears dispersed, finding himself cool and collected for the moment. He didn't have time to be scared and so he wasn't, only so in the intellectual fashion, the knowledge that he did not want to fail, that he would not fail.

As soon as she was ready he'd leave the house, with her hand in his. Not speaking he'd not make any movement to the cars, but rather begin walking down the street, looking to hail a cab. As soon as they were a couple houses down Patrick would turn to ask her, "Kazumi, do ye have any electronic devices on ye? Ye gotta dump em now."

His voice full of that confident, but not arrogant strength, trying to comfort her through that. Patrick knew just how serious the situation was, or at least assumed that it was of the utmost seriousness. Though it was clear in his voice that now was not the time for questions. She would just have to trust him.

It wasn't too long after that Patrick would hail down a cab. Opening the door for her letting her get in first, Patrick would follow. Sitting down and closing the door Patrick would give the cabbie and address. One that Kazumi wouldn't know anything other then it wasn't a hospital, nor anywhere she'd ever been. The truth was it was a relatively remote location, under a different name, one that no one went around either. The name wasn't his, the voice he'd use to secure it wasn't recognizable, no one had ever actually seen him there. Truth was it was one of his "bug out" locations. Places he had set up in the city a long time ago, in case he had ever needed to leave in a heart beat. Each had a black bag with unmarked cash, a change of clothes, hair dye, colored contacts, an mre, a knife, a pistol, another special weapon, along with two prepaid, sealed but out of the package cell phones and some locations had a vehicle. This one did, a bike actually. Everything was meant for Patrick to be able to make a quick and untracable getaway if he had to. There was a problem though, when he had set up the spots he hadn't made provisions for ever needed to get two people out. It would work, he'd make it work, but it would be tight.

As soon as the cabby was heading in the right direction Patrick would close the plastic slide to give them some verbal privacy. Looking Kazumi in the eyes with that strength and know how that she really hadn't ever seen he would ask her, "Kazumi I need to know what really happened, what exactly we're up against."

There'd be time to explain later, but right now knowing the enemy was the most important thing...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She was not entirely sure what was going on. Well, it wasn't like she was having trouble figuring it out, but at the same time she didn't get why he was pulling her into a cab instead of one of their cars. Though, the whole "Do you have any electronic devices" thing sorta gave it away. Kinda. Either way, she hadn't grabbed her phone so she was pretty clear in that department, her mind racing too fast as the nervousness and the anxiety kicked up another notch.

The images, the ones that had, at the very least, slowed down in her mind began to race...her hand pulling free from his as she gripped the side of her head, trying hard to focus and figure out how to make them stop. Though it wasn't just the images of the torture she endured, but the things going on in her life as of right now. She was struggling and there was nothing more clear than when she gave a soft yelp and tried to stifle back the images in her mind, stifle back the possibility of losing control. Last thing she needed right now was Feht coming out.

Blood sliding down her fingers and dripping to the floor of the cab, she heard his voice and she would force her eyes to look at him, the black starting to circle within the amethyst though she tried her best to prevent herself from slipping. "T...They came to the house...He...He had a file....o...on you...Everything....ever...every detail....Said if...if I didn't stop...if I...I didn't back off....he would send you on some mission you would never come back from....o...or make you su..suffer....so badly..." She sobbed softly as she winced and laid her head back on the seat, her hand reaching for his once more, gripping it as tightly as she could to try and ground herself to the here and now so as not to lose herself to the things going on in her head. "T...Tall guy....at least....s..seven feet....Thin..."

She struggled to get the words out as she closed her eyes. She felt tired suddenly, wore out...like sleep was the best idea in the world....Though, with anxiety attacks, and the loss of oxygen due to hyperventilating, that tended to happen.....not to mention her hand bleeding so badly and her having not drunken any blood in almost a week now.....

[Legion]

Patrick looked at her concerned as the blood began to drip down onto the floor of the cab. He needed to treat that. He knew how to, though it wouldn't be anywhere near the level that the doctors could. He could stitch her up, it would be a hack job, but he could do it. But right now he needed to stop the blood flow, or at least slow it down again. His jacket still open Patrick grasped the collar of his t shirt and tore down tearing a long, and rather large strip off. Taking a hold of her injured hand he would wrap his shirt around it tightly, before tying it off. Putting pressure on the wound and covering it with something additional to have to bleed through. Patrick would then put her hand on top of his shoulder saying, to her softly, "Hold her hand here, it will slow the bleeding if it won't stop it."

He would listen carefully as she explained to him what had happened. Concern in his face as he noticed the black in her eyes. Was that Feht trying to make an appearance? That was something that would not do, especially not now. They couldn't afford a relapse, not now. Not when they were so close and especially not when they had to run.

When she said that it was a they that came in Patrick initially wondered who? His brows furrowing as she said that they had a file on him, suspicion growing. When she said that they threatened to send him on a mission he'd never return from, his eye would widen in the shock of the realization. The fuckers worker, or were the corporation that Patrick had worked for. He needed to know who. While he now knew who his enemy was, he still didn't have a face for the enemy. They'd still have to hide, at least until they could figure away to get out from under the thumb of the corporation. But it wasn't completely hopeless. One other thing he noted was the fact that they were using him as leverage against her. Patrick wanted to know what they wanted her for, it was obvious that they did, they had enough on Patrick to keep him in line. Those records they threatened to hand to the police would put him away for ever, and likely get him killed. Especially now with her, he had every reason not to want to go to jail. They were after her.

Tall, thin guy? Patrick knew that that wasn't X. That dude wasn't seven feet. This was a new guy. But she had said there were multiple people, so he asked, "Who was the other guy, or guys love?"

But he noticed how run down she was. It had been a week since She had had any of his blood, and in addition to that she may have been feeling the effects of blood loss and the stress of everything that had just happened. She could be tired to, could be a lot of things combined. He didn't know. While he wanted to leave asap they might have to wait. He hoped that wasn't the case but she needed to be well enough to travel. Softly he'd whisper to her stroking her hair, "Yer doing great Kazumi. We're going to be fine. We're going to get away."

And there was the first little hint of what Patrick was planning, vocalized at least...

[Kazumi O'Connor]

She gave a sharp little yelp as her hand was tied off and then wrapped to keep the blood from flowing all over the floor. Then as he placed it onto his shoulder she just nodded and would close her eyes. She knew why she was so tired and run down from all this, her ability to handle stuff much stronger than this usually....but right now was not the time. No, instead she tried to focus on his question....

Slowly her hand would reach up and touch against the side of her face that was hurt, the bruise....."Edward...." She allowed her head to lay to the side a bit as she struggled to just....regain her composure. "He kept....calling him boss....kept apologizing and...he looked scared of him, like...like he didn't want to cross him..." She just needed to try and think, just needed to try and rest. But then he spoke and out of everything that had been said and done, she caught onto that last part and would give a small whimper. "I have to see my Moms...I have to..." Yes, there was no way, on this planet, that she could just leave without seeing them. Family was everything to her and she would never, ever do that to them. She couldn't.

Those eyes opening again, she looked up at him, the darkness there, but stationary for now. A soft brush of her tongue to her somewhat pale lips as she silently pleaded with him, with her eyes. She had to see her Moms, she just had to. Yes, she was starting to understand the severity of the situation, of what was happening, having had time to think about it, but that didn't mean she could surrender the one thing that meant the most to her. She just couldn't. She just hoped that he would understand that..