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Post by darius on Feb 20, 2008 10:22:19 GMT -5
This is a fanfiction I'm writing to try and get both Alyssa and Darius back into the game.
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Post by darius on Feb 20, 2008 10:23:00 GMT -5
In Paris the rain poured down with torrential force until it was hard to see whether the drops were going up or coming down, but they were there to do the job they had been paid for; it was too late to back out now.
“We go in, we get the object and we get out… Got it?” Tibaud asked looking to his friend Arnaud who was busy loading a handgun. “Where did you get that from?” They didn’t need weapons on this job. The two guards were old and fat, if they were caught they could easily out run them.
“I’m not taking any chances” Anton said spinning the chamber closed. It was an old gun, the kind you only saw in the movies. In a world where 9mm automatics ruled the streets such a weapon was an antique and therefore unpredictable.
Tibaud sighed. His friend had always been a little over eager when it came to weapons but he hadn’t had much choice but to bring him along. “Put it away.. knowing you you’ll end up shooting yourself” Tibaud warned as he checked the area once more ensuring that they were alone “I said, put it away!” he snapped, realising Anton had still to put the weapon away.
They had been here for twenty minutes watching the guards patrol the grounds every five minutes, like clockwork. Tibaud loved efficient guards; they were easier to read, easier to fool. Once he knew their routine he knew he had exactly five minutes between patrols to get in there, get the item and get out again. “Ok, let’s go” he breathed checking the map in his hand one last time as he waited for the guard to disappear around a corner into the darkness leaving the coast clear for them to enter the warehouse.
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Post by darius on Feb 20, 2008 10:23:57 GMT -5
The shelter was busy. The sounds of the pool table mingled with the blare of a television playing old re-runs of a 90’s Sci Fi show about a super human man who travels the world fixing peoples lives. It would have been inspirational had it not felt so patronising to these children who had lived most of their lives on the streets of Paris never knowing where their next meal was coming from. For them the shelter was as good as it was going to get.
In a corner of the main room two boys were fighting over a PSP console, both boys jostling for the small handheld game; knowing that at any moment the playful tussle could turn into a full blown fight Alyssa made her presence known. In their world you lived every day on a knife edge and all it took was a wrong word or a misplaced glance for you to lose your life. It was a fine balance but with the right guidance and just enough encouragement Alyssa had managed to find equilibrium of peace.
“Arnaud! Sabastien! Si vous n'apprenez pas à partager je le confisquerai" Alyssa threatened; promising to take the game player away if they didn’t share it.
“In my day it was women boys fought over” Darius joked holding back a slight smile as she rejoined him. They had been discussing the proposed changes to the centre. The For Sale sign had gone up a day before and Darius had hoped to talk Alyssa into buying the building to ensure the future of the shelter, but that morning she had called to tell him that the bank had denied her application for a mortgage.
“Believe me some things never change” Alyssa retorted with a wry smile knowing that the boys fighting over the PSP was the least of her worries. She rather liked seeing them arguing over something normal.
Darius laughed lightly as he followed Alyssa into her office; a small room that was cluttered with files, books, posters and magazines. It seemed that every available surface was taken up by the clutter including the chair opposite Alyssa’s desk which she quickly emptied of a pile of magazines to offer Darius a seat.
“So.. this fundraiser..” Aly began getting back to business “I was thinking of holding it here; that way people get to see the centre and what we do here. What do you think?”
“I think you work too hard” Darius said only half joking looking around at the mountain of work she always seemed to have.
“We’re barely running week to week at the moment, and that's with the six of us pulling 12 hour shifts each...we just can’t afford anyone else”
Alyssa had been fighting to keep the outreach programme open for months now, but at every turn something seemed to stand in her way. “If we can’t get the money we need to buy the building it won’t matter that we haven’t got enough staff.”
“I wish I could help more” Darius began sadly only to be cut off as the office door opened and a young woman walked in with a tray carrying two cups of tea.
“Thank you Françoise” Alyssa smiled at her colleague as the young women turned and left the room without saying a word. “You’ve helped enough Darius; you and the church. Without you this place would have closed long ago.” But Darius had got that distant expression he sometimes got when he was about to say something particularly resonant, which was often.
“I remember when you were that age” Darius said, looking back from where he had watched Françoise leave the room. “It wasn’t so long ago" he said letting his eyes meet Alyssas momentarily "You were going to be an artist” He remembered with a smile that made his vibrant blue eyes shine even brighter than usual as he thought back to when they first met.
Darius:-
Flash back: Jardin St Julien, 2002:
Across the street behind her thousands of tourists bustled about the cathedral of Notre Dame, their voices mingling in the cold winter air to create a dull bee like buzz that carried on the breeze to where Alyssa sat sketching the tall sculpture at the centre of St Julien’s rose garden.
Darius had been holding confession when he’d seen her first and now that the last of his parishioners were leaving he noticed that she was still there; still sitting in the same place she had been sat every morning that week when he’d looked out.
“Excuse me” He said, startling Alyssa who looked up from over her sketch book to see the priest, their eyes meeting for the briefest moment in a silence that was eventually broken by Darius “I couldn’t help but notice you sitting here” he said politely.
“I’m sorry, am I tresspassing?” she asked, starting to pack up her things, suddenly feeling very conscious that she’d been coming here to sketch all week and hadn’t once been inside the church or asked permission to be there.
“No, not at all” Darius laughed “The Church belongs to all of Gods children. I thought you might like to come inside out of the cold. I’ve just made a pot of tea and I wondered if you'd care to join me.”
Alyssa hadn’t noticed it until now but the air had cooled while she’d been sitting there and an icy breeze had picked up, rushing along the boulevard where it played at her hair, causing loose curls to fall across her face. It took a few moments more before she realised that she’d been staring at him. It was the second time in as many minutes that she had found herself lost in the stranger’s eyes. Even though she had never seen him before today there was something strangely familiar, almost ethereal, about the way he looked at her. She smiled, feeling her cheeks flush, embarrassed that he might have noticed how she couldn’t take her eyes from him “I’d like that.”
Present Day:
“That was a long time ago,” Alyssa stood up feeling slightly uncomfortable as she remembered that first encounter, but she couldn’t help letting her eyes flash momentarily to meet his “I seem to recall you didn’t waste any time roping me into helping you with this place” she laughed changing the subject slightly, placing her tea cup on the saucer. “And it was the best decision you ever made” she joked flashing him an impish grin.
Darius was about to speak but he was again cut off, this time by the trill of the telephone and thinking better of it he returned his attention to the cup of tea in his hand.
“De Valmont” Alyssa said, answering the phone with her surname. Her smile quickly faded into a frown as the person on the other end of the line spoke in a flurry of French before bringing an abrupt end to the conversation.
“Bad news?” Darius asked sipping the last of his tea.
“The police. It seems that a few of our patrons have got themselves into some trouble. They need a responsible adult to go and sit in on the interviews” Alyssa explained while she gathered the things she knew from experience she would need in order to get things processed quickly.
“I could come with you” Darius offered, not wanting her to go to the police station by herself. He wasn’t so old that he did not remember how horrible those places were and he hated to think of her there alone.
He and Alyssa had become good friends over the few years they had known each other and the more involved with the outreach program he became the more he remembered how good it felt to be doing something practical to help.
“If you don’t mind putting up with my driving” Alyssa joked as Darius stood up to open the door for her before following her out.
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