Nosh Nothings

Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience; and your comments. All is appreciated and welcomed.

And as is known by now, the story contains mainly F/F action as well as a plot that I hope you'll enjoy. It's a patience-demanding piece and thus, some gratification is near but tantalizingly far away. Please, do check out the previous chapters if you want extra jelly on the characters. They're not listed in order but the titles are sequential as follows: (WIT)At First, Blind Borne, Escapade, Felon Failing Fallen, Just Juxtapose, Material Martyr and Nosh Nothings. That said, do enjoy the story. Please don't forget to comment....it truly does help the process 8D

TMAJO

I warned you of my frailty. I warn you of my will...

*************** Previously ******************

"Oh yes. She's in the race too. I'm beside myself with the joy of it." He got up off his perch on the table, "Come now, I'd like to make your time with me as pleasurable as I may." He moved to the door, not giving her another glance as the door hissed open. He stepped out and the air in the room fell still.

Bellinda wanted to wait and think. She wanted to think and come to the conclusion that he should shove his offer up a hole of eternal darkness. She knew she didn't want to spend another second in the dingy cell and willed her body to carry itself toward the door. No sooner had she stepped out, had the door sealed shut. She sighed and looked around the hallway to find him standing at the far end, waiting with that smirk on his face.

Fuck she hated that smirk.

*******************

He led her through the marble-chrome halls and she couldn't help but think of how much she needed a shower. He didn't seem to care that she was wearing the microbial grime of a few days and was starting to tell. She'd by now settled for herself that her captors had been keeping her for more than a few days. She'd been drifting in and out of shock-driven haze, mental slumber and pseudo manic catatonia. He walked by her side, eyeing her every now and again; his aura seemingly ready to burst but he held his tongue.

"Your mother must've been a sight to behold." He stated casually, though just under his breath, as they got into the elevator; the only elevator, it seemed.

Bellinda realized, only after she was in, how easily she had followed him. She had to admit he was charming; disgustingly so. Yet she wasn't sure know why she trusted him so, so-

"What?!" Something else hit her. The air in here felt harsh in her nostrils. Like the air in the cabin of a plane when it was too cold, over-sanitized and the pressure was just enough to keep your eardrums from popping.

"Your eyes and that mane of lava...you most certainly didn't get that from daddy, now did you?" He said with a sly smirk.

"..." Bellinda couldn't find her words. Or perhaps they were too hot to spew sans fire.

"Ah...forgive me sweet. Sometimes I do get carried away." He stopped as though waiting for something. The elevator opened and he smiled; his expression melting a little. With a wide gesture, he ushered her out of the car and into his private hall.

Bellinda eyed her surroundings. The lights weren't as blinding, but she still felt ill and a tad light-headed. She caught herself thinking about the sweaty glass of water.

"Welcome to my loft." He announced airily, breaking her wet reverie. They'd come upon a very spacious room without walls or sections of any kind.

The redhead immediately took note of the fact that there was just a fireplace and a long lounge sofa. Off to a side, stood a wide stone table and a couple of comfy chairs; it was a loft indeed. It was obvious he didn't live here.

"Please have a seat...enjoy the décor as I imagine it is to your liking." His voice echoed through the mostly vacant space. He moved to the bar to dispense a truly acidic cocktail.

The redhead held her silence and merely observed the place. The ceilings towered well past the usual nine feet. Close to double. The lights from outside poured in through huge, slant-style windows. More dizziness. She turned and spotted him brandishing two drinks as he made his way back to where she stood.

"Care for a drink?" He donned that smile again.

Bellinda didn't respond. She was ill of his games; getting more and more irritated; a swelling desire to bite his head off.

"Well on with it then." He quipped and set the glass down on the nearest flat surface. He studied her lush face for a moment, taking in the bleached caramel shade of her skin. The flash of anger brewing just beneath her silky armor, dashing a hot glow to her face; it made him thirsty. He clasped his hands together in an easy gesture "How about a shower?"

*****************

"Hello?"

"This is Jack Ross speaking, are you Mavin Bright?"

"Yes, how may I help you?" Mavin swallowed.

"You can start by telling me where the hell my daughter is!" Jack Ross barked through the receiver, going from zero to sixty in less than a blink.

Mavin felt the heat flushing through her. "I don't know where she is."

"I don't believe that!" The senator roared in his brogue. "I know about you and my daughter and that's not the issue here."

Mavin sighed. 'Of course you don't,' she thought wryly. She could think of a few reasons why he didn't believe her. The fact that they hadn't even been formally introduced was a good place to start. However, she didn't care for his tone or the implication that she had any ill-will towards the redhead.

"What then is the issue?" Mavin rumbled back.

"I want to know what you've done with her." He cut her off thickly.

"Right." Mavin rolled her eyes she could already feel her head pounding. "I'm looking for her too. I would have contacted you before but I needed to be sure. I may have a lead on her whereabouts but if I let you in, you and I will have to proceed with great caution."

"IF you let ME in?! Now listen to me, YOU WILL let me in and you WILL tell me where she is-" It was his turn to be cut off.

"Wait a second. We can't contact the feds! They'll likely endanger her. I haven't heard from her but if these people work the way I imagine they would, they'll want to bait either of us." Mavin said slowly and left the part out of her already having been baited.

"I don't care. What price wouldn't I pay for my daughter?!"

"I understand your disposition Senator and I'm sure we can both agree that it's a delicate situation." Mavin pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You're damned right it's delicate. But I promise you, if anything and so much as a hair is hurt on her-."

Mavin heard the line go flat with a long beeping sound. "Hello?"

"Had to cut that short Doc, we have something." Sam's voice bubbled into her ear.

Mavin was both relieved and tempted to ask the triple Ws but thought better of it. "Well, is it worth knowing?"

"Absolutely, we intercepted an incoming wave and got hot on the keys." Sam sounded giddy.

"What's with the peppiness?" Mavin got up to her drug stash trying to find her migraine meds.

"Dude, you gotta see this code, it is outta this world-"

"Sam?" The butch gulped down a tiny pebble.

"What?"

"The whereabouts of my girlfriend's takers...?" She pushed it down with water; glad she wasn't choking.

"Oh, right. We have narrowed it down to a trailer way over on Mott Avenue. We had to do a ton of digging too."

"I'll get the details later; do you have the trailer on map?"

"Sure do. I'm linking up to the T4 systems they have on board. Of course, this is all via backdoor trace routes so I gotta watch my ass. It's coming to you in...now."

Mavin felt her PDA vibrate at her hip. "Thanks."

"Now, wait Mave, don't do something stupid." Sian's voice filtered into the conversation.

Mavin was already bouncing into her outerwear. "What was that; thought I heard you say something stupid?"

"Do you need any help?"

"What more can you do?" Mavin grabbed her keys.

"Well, we figured a way to use their code as ours. How fast can you get here?" Sian cut in again.

"As soon as you pick me up from Fort Rock."

"That'll take forever, get to the beta jump point. I'll have a car waiting."

"Will do."

Mavin heard the line go flat again and sighed. She looked up at the ceiling of her apartment. One of the three she owned in New York City. She alone knew it existed. Times call for measures; she flipped up her cell and dialed her brother.

*****************

She'd been too shocked to speak at first. But she couldn't really refuse a chance to wash her skin of day-old grime and two-day vapors. However, she made sure he understood her displeasure. Still, she couldn't get rid of the dull, tried aches that were washing through her joints.

He'd simply nodded and pointed her in the direction of the washroom down another hall. She'd have a change of clothes as well, that is, if she didn't mind sweatpants and shirts. She'd turned off her ears at that point. Not wanting to know further details. She'd long made up her mind that he talked too much and said nothing.

She took simple note of the washroom. No tub; just a tiled wall sprouting with shower-heads. She took the fastest shower she ever had and didn't even completely strip her clothes. She maneuvered within them, washing all the necessary hygiene offenders. She wet her hair to rinse out some accumulated grease and grime. She dried off quickly and found the rack of spare clothes that seemed as impersonal as the shower-heads. Only then did she strip...sort of.

Making her way back, she found him sitting at the stone desk, nursing his drink and flipping through what looked like a report folder.

"Feeling refreshed?" He said without looking up.

"Why am I here?" Bellinda spat back, echoes bouncing. Unsure of whom the question was directed at.

"I thought we went over that." He leaned back into his chair then swung left to reach into a flap box. He pulled out a cigar and promptly clipped off the end. "I know you don't mind." He said as he sucked the cigar to life on a mini butane-torch.

A few more puffs and he cleared his throat and licked his lips. "Please have a seat. I've got secrets to share with you." He waved toward the sofa as rose from the desk. He picked up his drink and carried it with him to the lounge area.

"Has it not occurred to you that maybe I'm not interested in your secrets?"

"Alright, I lied. They're not my secrets. They're Doctor Bright's. I know you'll be interested in those."

Bellinda could feel her jaw falling, but she caught it before it dropped completely. What did he know about Mavin that she didn't? Bellinda rolled her eyes as she pondered the absurdity of it. Of course, she didn't know everything about the dark butch but why would she trust this nameless man about anything? And why was he dangling these 'secrets' over her head?

Bellinda weighed her options again. She could play along and allow him to run his mouth even though she wasn't entirely sure of his motives. Or she could contribute to a worse time in captivity by being...difficult. Either way, she wasn't guaranteed her freedom or her sure safety so why not spend the time listening to bedtime stories about Mavin? Whether or not she chose to believe them was moot at this point.

Sighing, the redhead made her way over to the lounge area and sat across from him. She was secretly glad about the sweatpants and shirt she was wearing. Nothing to entice him, make him attempt to...

"Trust me, you'll enjoy this." He began, tipping a sip of his drink.

"Well, I don't trust you. So I guess we'll just have to see." Bellinda said calmly.

"I do like you." He smiled that smile. "But please, you needn't be too tense. I usually go for blonds." He quipped and relaxed again when he got no reaction from her.

"So where were we? Ahhh yes...Doctor Mavin Bright; ex-bodybuilder; ex-physical trainer; ex-murderer...Well, I'm not sure about the urges these days, so I can't guarantee that ex." His tone was too casual.

Bellinda's eyes snapped onto him. There had to be an angle to all this. She was too far yet from falling for it.

"Unbelievable you think?" He chuckled, "Alright, I suppose you want details. Quite sometime ago, before the bodybuilding break, Mavin Bright had at one time lived with her mother whom I take it, you've never met. There's a reason for that. You see, Mavin had an uncle..." He trailed off slowly, watching her eyes watch him watch her.

He cleared his throat again, "He had a small penchant for fruits deemed forbidden. He tried to take a bite of her then. But you know as I do she's no fruit." He said with that smirk gracing his thin lips. "There was an accident; that's what was reported. The body was found; fifteen gunshots and ninety-eight stab wounds later, the body was found floating off a river-bank. The rectal impalement with a very much rusted pipe happened before all that though...She's something else." He licked his lips in refreshing amazement and sipped his drink, eying the redhead over the rim of his glass.

Bellinda leaned back into the sofa. She wasn't hearing any of it. It was too fantastic. Besides, Mavin wasn't a murderer by any shot. So where in hell was this guy pulling his story from?

"Yes, she's special Miss Ross. You'd be surprised. She had good ties by her brother to a notable general who in turn had good ties to a notable judge. The case never made it to the courts. But of course, she never actually admitted to it."

"Why exactly do you think I'd believe this nonsense?" Bellinda sighed. She had no choice but to keep baiting him. Keep him talking.

"You believed the hydric acid, and that was no lie. I haven't reason to lie to you Miss Ross. You can feel safe in my word."

"Well your word is not making sense. Where's the proof?"

"I thought you'd never ask." With that and with glee, he rose and moved to the stone desk. He handed her the folder; something that should have been burned but had only gone 'missing'. He felt a twinge at the irony.

Bellinda opened the folder. She didn't realize that her hands were shaking. She was suddenly terrified of whatever truth the story held, IF it in fact were true. She saw photographs. Pictures of Mavin as a child; clippings of the man who allegedly, was her uncle; the gruesome collection of death and his unrecognizable features; Mavin's mug-shot. She scanned her eyes over the numbers on the plaque; Mavin, with eyes, so cold and distant. She didn't bother reading the reports, unsure if she wanted to have that level of detail into Mavin's alleged past.

Sitting across from her, he watched her expression; the rapid shift in her mien. But there was no lasting state. She was examining the photos but she wasn't registering the truth he was presenting.

He reached forward and snatched the folder from her. Her expression had melted into shock now. He leaned close; he could feel the anger swelling in him.

"What are you doing?" She said slowly.

"Don't you see? This is the truth!" He stood to his full height, looming over her.

"Alright, fine. It's the truth. What do you expect, fanfare?" Bellinda said, thinking instantaneously of Adam.

"You don't believe it, she's a murderer!" He was calm again, a look of astonishment and then that smile again.

"Look, I don't care what you do or say about Mavin. I didn't ask you for any of this. So excuse me if I'm indifferent!" Bellinda felt her head churning and swirling.

"Am I such a terrible host?" Exasperation tinted his tone.

"Yes. Deal with it and stop feeding me lies. You must take me for a fool, expecting me to believe every word you say when I don't even know your name."

"I've told you, my name is not of use to you and that too remains true. Would you believe me if I told you your father was in danger?"

"I wouldn't believe that." She was angry now and could feel her head burning with the niacin-induced flush.

"Oh I really like you." He smiled and kept his twinkling gaze on her. "Fire."

****** Off the shore of Queens. Midnight. *****

"Shit!"

"Hey keep it down I'm trying to catch some rest here," Gerald turn to the golden haired man he'd been cursed to work with. He himself was balding so it certainly didn't help his ego that Freddie had a full head of sun kissed hair. "What's the ruckus about anyway?"

"Fuck if I know!" Fred clambered to his station and tapped unresponsive knobs.

"Hey, get your head right, what's the problem?" Gerald mumbled. The last thing he needed was a caffeine-fueled problem.

"Contact is somehow being compromised." Fred scratched his chin, clacking his keyboard in a fury.

"That's impossible!" It was Gerald's turn to jump. He totally could do without this mess.

"Not according to SYNKLAIR. I've been trying for the last hour to put a call through but each attempt bottoms out into fail-state." The blond guy babbled.

"In English...?!" Gerald stood behind him, eying the monitors and the flashing control panels. Most of it didn't make sense to him most of the time and now was no different.

"The system is jacked! I can't dial anon. It's somehow forwarding its ports to random directories. The system on this end is running fine and my only guess is that the satellite is blotching out." Fred said angrily.

"And you can't fix it?" Fred pinned his reddened eyes onto Gerald's sweaty forehead.

"Shit, the system is hotly new and I'm still keeping the manual under me pillow, yeah? And it's fucking early to start troubleshooting yeah? And I'm not fixing for a trip to the moon, yeah?!"

"Fuck!" Gerald grumbled, "I gotta find the insider."

"Alas, we agree!"

"Alright, alright! Can you patch in through the back channels?"

"Have you not heard the words coming out my mouth? It's all jacked! The back-channels are bottoming out and the target isn't being reached at all!"

"Damn it! This can't go wrong now!" Gerald paced for a beat, "See if you can track down the insider."

"What?!" Fred turned, "Why do we need him?"

"Just get him here ASAP!" Gerald popped a nicotine gum "Keep trying!"

***** Westbury, next day, 0600 hours. ******

"Mavin this is heavy." He felt the tingle in his spine; the hairs on the back of his thick neck prickling with the dew-time chill.

"No, it's necessary." She felt the tingle in her spine; running on less than three hours of sleep in the past 72.

"You're talking about doing something completely out of-"

"What? Out of character? Zeke, you know me better than that." Mavin sighed. Her head felt like a washing machine on the rinse with turbo engines.

"No, this is not advisable and I know I can't talk you out of it and that's why I'm so worried. I know you too well." He sighed and paced on his terrace. He glanced back through the sliding doors and could just barely make the shape of his sleeping wife, the glass was hyper reflective.

"Well, are you in or not?" Mavin mumbled.

"Don't do that M." Zeke sighed.

"Do what?"

"Don't do that 'in or out' thing. I'm always in." Zeke sighed again "But times change. There's a lot more for me to worry about now."

"...Seems to me you've already made your choice Zeke." Mavin breathed deeply, trying to focus on the conversation at hand.

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" Zeke rubbed his forehead.

"In or out?"

"What time?"

"Five hours, I need to make a short run."

"Be careful man."

"I'll call you with details. Just be ready."

********Three hours beyond the horizon********

"Mmm...you like that don't you?" Adrian toyed with the luscious body next to her. She had just come off her latest construction multi-site tour. She was tired, ragged and in the mood for just one thing.

"Yeah, baby. You know what I like." The luscious body replied, moving closer.

"Well Lola Mae, sometimes I just like to hear you say it." Adrian licked her lips and allowed her steely gaze to wash over Lola's delicious curves. She had been thinking about them for weeks now.