Unexpected Allies

[Candy Hart]

May 15th, 2012 — Tuesday

No one is going to stop me.

For the first time in well over a week, Candy felt her anger subside. The desire for destruction remained, but waited within her patiently—satiated for the time being with her victory over Anubis for FireStar. She had her freedom, she had her life... and she had her mission.

-

The Doc's practice sat just off from the corner of two intercepting roads. Street lamps cast their glow into the night's darkness and illuminating the sign in the door's window. Closed. Beneath the one larger word, the usual business hours were provided as well as information on other clinics or hospitals for emergency situations. Candy checked the empty streets, noted the lack of lights being on within the Doc's business, and cut a path from the front of the building to the back. A light pain in her ribs accompanied her movements; Candy hadn't bothered to pay the healer enough to heal them outright—only enough to set them so that they'd heal better on their own. Once at the backdoor, she fetched out the small set of keys from her pocket and began to test each into the lock. The fourth slid in without protest; the lock opened with a turn. Slowly, she eased the door back and slipped within.

The door latched shut. Candy rested her back against its wood as her eyes adjusted to the darkness within the building, unwilling to turn on a light that might draw attention from any neighbors. A slow exhale. In her mind she went over the layout, recalling the position of the supply room—set across the hall from Doc's personal office. She place her left hand against the wall and moved forward until she came to the correct door; the process to find the correct key started anew. The door unlocked, Candy stepped into the windowless supply room and turned on the lights after locating the switch. A turn of her head to check the hall behind her. All clear. A pleased smile crossed her features. Time to restock supplies.

Candy went to work, first stealing a refill of the low-dosage pain killers the Doc had given her for her neck wound. Taking one without water to calm the remaining pain of her ribs. She went through the few other things that she needed and hummed, a tune she recalled her mother humming, as she worked. Over half the items from her mental list sat collected on a counter when Candy realized she wasn't alone. A turn of her head revealed the Doc to be leaning against the frame of the door, quietly watching her—his expression thoughtful. Her humming stopped. She set the bottle she held down and turned toward the man who blocked the way out.

"Doc."

"Candy."

"How long y'been here?"

"Since you stole my keys."

"A whole week." Despite being caught, Candy looked amused.

"A whole eight days." He corrected.

"Patient."

"It's a virtue."

Her attention turned away from the man and toward the bottles of she'd already taken out. She considered how getting caught now could play out. The incident with Jay came to mind. Lips pressed into a thin line. Once more, she regarded the doctor. Eyes ticking over his form. He looked tired and unarmed. Candy remained silent, waiting to see what game the Doc played.

"Two times supplies went missing after you made a visit for something minor. When my keys went missing..." The doctor waved a hand to Candy and the supplies she'd gathered. "I wanted to see for myself."

"And now that you've seen... what next Doc? You gonna report me to the guard?"

"Please, call me Simon." He paused and shook his head, "And no. That wasn't my plan."

"What -is- your plan?" The suspicion on Candy's part couldn't be missed.

The doctor thought her question over. "You're not an addict. I know that from the way you reacted to the painkillers I gave you. Don't strike me as the dealer type." He left his lean against the wall and moved toward the bottles that sat out on the counter, careful of Candy's position as he moved. "Extended paralysis isn't a big market unless you're catering to fraternities." He picked up a bottle, looking over to Candy. "There's a rumor you killed someone."

"Rumors."

"I'm reasonably certain you did."

The edge of her jaw twitched, but she stayed silent.

"Tony sent Jay to me for an alibi. I covered for him. Maybe I didn't completely believe that he wouldn't have had time to kill someone after his fight while I was giving the alibi.... but from what I heard from the coroner, time of death happened while Jay was in the ring. Last week, the guard came around again, asking about Jay again... and you. It got me thinking. You came here a few days before Jay needed his alibi. That was the second time supplies went missing."

"What'd you tell the guard?"

"Told them I didn't know anything about you. It's... mostly... true."

"I'm havin' trouble followin you, Doc—"

"Simon."

"Simon." A narrowed look at the correction, before continuing, "You're certain I killed someone and haven't reported your reasons for thinkin' so to the guard. Why would I kill... whoever it was?"

Simon shrugged and set the bottle he held down, "I assume you had your reasons." At Candy's look of puzzlement, he went on. "Hard as you are... I've never seen you cause real harm to someone who wasn't asking for it or looking for some trouble themselves. You have a code. Random killing doesn't fit."

"I don't think the guard cares 'bout my reasons."

"I'm not the guard. I know life isn't always so black and white as some might think, been in the gray myself. I'm not asking to know your reasons—knowing you have them is enough. You had your reasons, right?"

"Right."

"Good enough for me."

Candy frowned, still not completely buying it. In comparison to Jay, the doctor's easy acceptance of her actions threw her. "What do you want?"

"My keys back."

"Why?"

"I keep inventory. It'd be easier for me to fudge the details if you let me know what you needed before taking it." Explaining as he held out his hands for his keys.

Her hand lifted halfway, stopping before relinquishing the keys to him. "Why would you help me?"

"I think..." Here the doctor found himself at a loss for words, after all the mental practice he'd done in the previous days. His hand closed as he thought and then opened again once he continued. His voice hopeful and awaiting her acceptance. "I think you could use someone in your corner." Adding, "No questions asked."

Someone in your corner.

Candy felt the loss of her parents, the betrayal of how easily Jay believed the worse of her, and the sense of future hardship with losing her job at The Brawler. Her hand extended and placed the keys in Simon's hand.

"Aright.. Simon."

-

Candy left the practice with the supplies she needed, a few extra dollars, and a set of keys for Simon's home. Anytime you need a place to crash or need to see me. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the offer, but found herself appreciating it after too many hellish days.

The other offer however....

"Do you want me to tell the guard I lied about the alibi? Jay would be hard pressed to find someone involved with The Brawler to back him up."

"I'll think about it."

[Candy Hart]

May 16th, 2012

Appreciation could only carry Simon's offer so far. Someone in her corner. Why? Misplaced trust haunted Candy; she couldn't take the good doctor at his word. Wednesday she left the motel room, made a few calls for information, and headed for Simon's home. He'd be at his practice working; Candy had a key and a few hours to spare.

She did a clean sweep of his place, careful to leave no indication of her presence. She found various personal effects: letters, mostly from his mother; journals concerning patients and his practice; a ledger for the debt he owed Tony; the gun he'd pointed at her the night she broke in. Each item she uncovered added to her perception of Simon—none of it warranted a red flag. It didn't settle her on the matter.

May 17th, 2012

Candy followed up on her previous calls for information—burning through a good portion of her cash. Some contacts came through, some didn't. Put together, a solid folder of information on the doctor developed. Only child. Psychologist father. Mother married young, going from her parents' home to her husband's—no career outside of the home. Simon's gambling. Simon's debts—all in the clear now but for Tony. Pictures of Simon from short stints in jail—unruly behavior. Documents concerning several break-ins from parties Simon owed money to. School attended. Charity works provided. Marriage license. Death certificates. Candy sorted through it and made a timeline of Simon's life.

Obedient son, willing to follow in his father's footsteps. The girl he married in college, against his father's wishes. His change of fields. The larger private practice he worked for. The death of his wife and unborn child. Drunk driver. Three months later, the doctor starts gambling. All the trouble that followed.

Candy looked over a picture of his wife, she'd been a pretty girl—blonde hair, light brown eyes, freckles. The woman in the photo portrayed a sort of joyfulness Candy hadn't felt since she'd been naive enough to believe in love.

Been in the grey myself...

-

The microfilm slid through the machine, stopping only now and then for Candy's eyes to shift over the black and white text. A cigarette hung at her lips. Ash ignored as she focused on her task. The world melted away when she found what she'd been looking for.

"Tobias Slate commits suicide following his involvement in the deaths of Julia and, unborn son, Jonathan Murdock."

You had your reasons, right?

Right.

[Candy Hart]

May 18th, 2012

The Fresher Mat sat at a distance from Candy as she stood in the middle of the road and looked to consider the sky. Furtively, she checked the area of the owner's desk through the window of the laundry mat. On a coat rack, behind the counter, hung a pink polka-dot umbrella. Warning. Candy moved on without another glance; someone was looking for her.

Who? Jay? The guard? Someone else...? Candy headed in the opposite direction from her secluded bunker, making a change to her plans as she moved.

-

A little over a block from his practice , Simon sat outside the Harvest Cafe. The other tables and chairs that lined the sidewalk remained empty after being abandoned by the regular lunch crowd. The doctor enjoyed the relative quiet a later lunch provided, allowing him the time to have a cup of tea and read through the daily publications in peace. Candy dropped into the chair across from him.

"Candy. What a pleasant surprise. I was just reading about you."

The line of her brows and lips expressed a personal lack of any pleasantness. It only increased at the mention of him reading about her. Simon flicked through the articles until he found the one he sought and held it out to her. Candy skimmed the piece from the Gossip Gangster, discovering that Jay had written the note from 'JJMC' on the boards.

"Makes sense." Her jaw twitch as teeth pressed together. One hand crumpled the bit of paper as it caught fire. She tossed the bit of paper into the street.

Curious about the cause of the fallout between Candy and Jay, Simon watched but didn't say a word. No questions meant no questions. He moved on from the loss of his reading material and picked up his cup of tea. He waited to find out what brought the dueler to him.

"I need a favor."

"Name it."

Two heartbeats passed as Candy considered, still hesitant after seeking him out. Decided, she pushed a folder piece of paper toward him over the table, "You better have a good memory."

-

Simon followed the directions he'd spent the afternoon committing to memory. Concern left him feeling like somewhere along the way he'd taken a wrong turn, until he came upon the steel door to Candy's bunker. A hard swallow did nothing for his dry throat. He went over the number sequences in his head several times before he placed his hand to the security keypad.

"Here goes nothing."