freeguilt    _{*  q - tip.}

_{‘     —   my god.    where’s the  volume control  on this thing ?    you know,   you sound  just  like this chihuahua my neighbors had when i was about your age.    awful,   yappy  little creature.    never knew when to keep its mouth shut.    i feel like you can relate.     ’}

_{he doesn’t entirely  call off his dog.    he does,   however,   lift his hand to halt proceedings for the moment.    looks at her with mock disbelief like he’s never heard such unwarranted cruelty before in his life.}

_{‘     hey,   don’t take it out on him.    see,   look what you did   —   you hurt his feelings.    chief’s my best buddy !    isn’t that right,   big guy ?     ’     the most he gets is radio silence.     ‘     …  yeah,   he’s not much of a talker.     ’}

_{it’s less  crowding her in  and more crowding her towards the exit.    or making an attempt,   at least.    he’s not above having her thrown out by the scruff of that hoodie,   if he’s being completely honest with himself,   but here’s where things start to get a little  hard knock life  for this kid :  blaine isn’t fazed by much.    certainly not this,   although he’ll give credit where credit is due.    she’s putting in a real,   valiant effort.    good on her.}

_{he lets out a dramatically exaggerated noise that’s half groan,   half sigh.     ‘     am i giving off some kind of  mom  vibe here ?    is it the dye job ?    god,   i can’t even express to you how many times i’ve told my stylist  explicitly  to keep it natural.     ’}

_{brows quirk like inverted commas.}

_{‘     your friend’s out making deliveries.    i’ll get him on the phone,   if you  pinky swear  to skedaddle after you two catch up.     ’}

_{“     yeah ?    ‘n what’re you gonna do about it ?     ”}

_{meathead’s about to find out how hard she  bites.    dogs bare their teeth in a show of aggression to a potential threat and she’s no different.    spine straightens to make herself taller,  as if it’ll tip the scales back in her favour.    the man had to be just shy of seven feet tall    ––––    she can’t say she wasn’t  relieved  when deaux intervenes.}

_{so,  she doesn’t say anything.    just stares that douchebag dead in the eye,  barely breathing.    she doesn’t give a shit whose feelings are hurt and whose aren’t,  but has an inkling of suspicion that says  chief  isn’t really bothered.}

_{levels john’s gaze in a fixed stare,  jaw tight and hands balled into fists at her sides.    fighting the urge to skirt this seven foot obstacle and  deck him  on principle isn’t an easy feat.    she ought to be  congratulated  on how much restraint she’s showing.     “     nah,  you don’t wanna know what kinda  vibe  you’re givin’ off.     ”     pre - AVL felonius gru meets count olaf.}

_{he’s the kind of person she’d avoid crossing paths with on the streets.    partially because he  looks  like one of those men in their thirties desperate to stay relevant,  but mostly because of the  rumours  about those missing  kids  from helton shelter that were last seen at the skatepark.}

_{the same park that our  john deaux  hung around with the candyman.}

_{sneers,  taking a defiant step forward.     “     think i’ll wait here ‘till he gets back.    poochie’s one of them homies you gotta see face t’ face ‘cause he mumbles ‘n shit when he’s all doped up,  you feel me ?     ”}

_{she sidesteps around chief,  strolling leisurely past one of the displays like she’s looking to buy,  before stopping next to one with a dark mahogany finish and angles to see both chief and deaux,  a newly lit cigarette hanging from her mouth.     “     gotta love the  irony,  yo.    how much is this one goin’ for ?    le’me guess.    more than i can afford.     ”}

freeguilt    _{*  ravi.}

_{‘     oh,   i wish.    don’t be fooled by the great hair and shiny hemostatic dissection tools   —   it’s not all  glitz and glamour,   i can assure you.    did you know i used to work for the CDC ?     ’}

_{and was subsequently  sacked  from the CDC.    long story for another time.    true,   she never struck him as the  junkie  type,   but that’s not why he brought it up.    can’t be too careful anymore,   what with the growing zombie population   (   thank you,   blaine   )   and the formula for a cure not exactly progressing how he’d like.}

_{palms up to concede surrender,   he gravitates toward the break room as much to steer them away from the partially autopsied  corpse  as to fix a fresh cup of tea.}

_{‘     you’re right,   you’re right.    my apologies.    but while we’re on the subject,   i wouldn’t touch any  max rager  products with a ten - foot pole either.     ’}

_{“     p’ft.    those hemo - whatever tools ain’t impressin’ no one.    yo,  no shit ?    aw,  man,  that’s awesome !    did you quit ‘cause you found out they put the  cancer  virus in our vaccines ?    read an article ‘bout that.    ”}

_{reluctant to follow and still expecting to see that white sheet sink near the mouth region as the  cadaver  takes its first undead breath.    she jumps down from the top step and into the morgue,  glancing to the table as she passes.    wonders if that’s what kallie would have looked like.    quickly shakes the thought before it sours her mood.    bullet hovers in the doorway,  uncomfortable,  cold,  and moreover,  curious.}

_{“     oh,  now you’re just trippin’ !    their energy drinks are the  shizz,  f’ rilla !    heard about this one dude who went full - on  beast mode  after drinkin’ one of them !     ”}

_{“     why’re you worried about where i’m  from,  fool ?    what you  should  be worried about is someone puttin’ a bullet in yo’ q - tip lookin’ ass !     ”     and what  she  should be worried about is putting her foot in her mouth.    but she has a penchant for it.    can’t help herself.    it hurts more than it helps and you’d think she’d stop pushing her luck.}

_{crime bosses aren’t this lenient.    maybe in some alternate universe where bullet isn’t  bullet,  she’d high - tail it out of this funeral home.    instinct is telling her she can’t take on two men,  one of which is thrice her size.    she knows it’s right.    could end up dead before the night’s over.    is that a price she’s willing to pay ?    (    the answer is yes.    she doesn’t have many friends left and wants to  protect  the ones she does have.    if she doesn’t,  who else will ?    )}

_{“     i don’t give a rat’s ass what you think.     ”}

_{interjecting before he has the chance to finish.    a typical response from a sixteen year old girl.    one who just felt her heartbeat jump up and into her throat as movement near the archway caught her eye.    the man with the eyepatch moving towards her,  void of expression.}    

_{her voice is loud when she tells him to back off.     “     call off your fuckin’  dog,  you pussy !    what,  think you’re tough shit ‘cause you got this  meathead  doin’ all the heavy lifting ‘round here ?    some  kingpin  you are.    does he do all yo’ dry - cleaning,  too ?   ”    sneering,  gaze flitting from one  white - haired douchebag  to the next as she sidesteps,  refusing to be crowded in.     “     you still ain’t told me where he is,  ‘n i ain’t leavin’ ‘till you do.    nut up,  bitch !     ”}     //  @freeguilt,  cont.

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{he doesn’t think she’s weak.    isn’t trying to  victimize,   either,   but how it must sound from where she’s standing doesn’t escape him.    (   how do you tell someone like bullet  i don’t want you to get hurt  without sounding like he thinks she might break at a moment’s notice,   no matter how far that might be from the truth ?   )       ‘     —    do what you gotta do,   bullet.    just keep me in the loop.    ‘n if you start gettin’ bad vibes,   you know,   like somethin’ ain’t right,   let me follow up on it.    s’all i ask.    you’re doin’ good,   alright ?    real good.     ’}

_{lesson learned:  cause and effect.    one of life’s many philosophies that came to fruition after persuading angie to give her a name.    that blood is on her hands.    bullet won’t make the same mistake twice.    she knows better than anyone the kind of  trouble  too much digging can get you into.    knows all about that dark place,  both metaphorical and literal.     “     yeah.    might as well hand me a badge so we can really get this case  poppin’,  huh ?     ”}

freeguilt    _{*  ravi.}

_{‘     with the exception of you,   my second cousin,   and anyone else fortunate enough to be born after 1987.     ’}

_{moving on.}

_{tweaking  is a concern if not a surprise,   considering what kind of recreational substances the good people of seattle are dabbling in these days.     ‘     right,   and   —   about that.    if you happen upon something called  lucky u,   i’d give it a wide berth.    you know,   from a medical standpoint.    i  am  a medical professional.     ’}

_{“     you’re an ME,  yo.    medical professional makes you sound a hell of a lot more  sophisticated  though,  don’t it ?    like you’re rollin’ in dough,  catchin’ them honeys.     ”}

_{but she’ll heed his warning.    drugs aren’t her scene though the company she keeps might give the wrong impression and that’s something she’s working on remedying before it gets her in  trouble.}    

_{she’s heard of lucky u.    even knows pushers.    never tried it herself and doesn’t  plan  to.    fingers crossed she sticks to her guns this time and doesn’t let a little trauma wreck her mental stability.    she’s been getting back on track,  picking up where she left off and piecing herself together again.}

_{it’s a work in progress.}

_{“     does it  look  like i’m some kinda junkie ?    y’ gotta gimme a li’l more credit,  f’ real.   ”}

adatrox    _{*  raynne.}

      the turn of her anger is swift, lifting the amicable slouch of her posture and shaping it into something else, something accusatory.  it takes a moment of held silence to reign in the grate of irritation in her voice.   ‘   you mean that dealer, bullet?  that someone?   ’

_{bullet wears her own anger like a second skin,  so she knows it when she sees it.    shoulders stiffen,  eyebrow arching as though she’s  daring  raynne to cross that line.     “     that dealer’s a friend,  yo.    ‘n you know damn well i don’t do none of that.    body’s a temple,  remember ?     ”     but she dabbles here and there,  mostly with the  weak  stuff.}

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{‘     yo,   it ain’t  like  that.     ’       and he  knows  she knows it.       ‘     c’mon.    you ever hear me sayin’ i don’t think you can handle your shit ?    but you gotta let me do my job.    you gotta meet me halfway,   alright ?     ’}

_{“     ––––    then  prove  it.     ”     she hates being treated like she’s too fragile to hold her own.    on the street,  they think she’s weak.    she’s still in the process of proving them wrong.    never allowed herself be victimised and isn’t going to start now.     “     ain’t that what i’m doin’ ?     ”}

freeguilt    _{*  ravi.}

_{‘     …  and you haven’t the  faintest  idea what i’m talking about,   do you.     ’     latex gloves come off with a snap and he’s leaning forward a little to get a better look at the photo on her screen.     ‘     mm   —   nope,   sorry,   don’t recognize him.    my slabs are all full - up,   i’m afraid,   but if he arrives in a body bag i’ll   –––––––     ’     stop.   backpedal.   he clears his throat.     ‘     ah,   when   —   when exactly did your friend speak to him last ?     ’}

_{“     p’ft.    everyone knows the village people.     ”     she doesn’t know the village people.    figures they’re not worthy of  costuming  based on the  ‘ atrocious ’  comment.}

_{pockets the phone,  somewhat relieved until he shatters that confidence in one fell swoop.    she knows it’s just ravi being ravi,  but  death  has been taking too many of her friends lately and it leaves a sour taste in her mouth.     “     almost a week.    whatever.    he’s probably just  tweaking.     ”}

freeguilt    _{*  ravi.}

_{‘     —   i’ll have you know that all hallows’ eve is,   unironically,   the  liveliest  night on my calendar.    i once performed an autopsy on somebody dressed as one of the village people.    atrocious.    what can i do for you ?     ’}

_{“     one of the  village  people.     ”     nothing surprises her anymore after the pied piper killings,  except for maybe the corpse she’s half - expecting to  breathe  beneath that sheet.     “     i got a friend who’s got a friend that’s been off the radar for a couple days.    was wonderin’ if you sliced ‘n diced him,     ”     holding out her phone for him to see.}

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{she’s a little  too good  at it.    that’s part of the problem.       ‘     maybe,   but  i  don’t know who i’m dealin’ with yet ‘n i don’t want you gettin’ eyeball - deep in some other  shitstorm,   you feel me ?    i gotta serve a warrant out near,   uh,   pike place.    i’ll let you know how it plays out    —    on one condition.    somewhere down the line if i tell you to back off,   you back off.    don’t fuck around.    that too much to ask ?     ’}

_{it isn’t,  but she has a penchant for not backing down even in the face of  real danger.     “    i’ve been handlin’ my shit for ages,  yo.    you ain’t gotta  tell me  when ‘n how to pick my goddamn battles.    what’s next ?    sit ?    stay ?    you gonna make me  roll over ?    i told you.    i got this.     ”}