Bad Blood ~Rewrite~

Twenty-Four

Soft voices echoed through the shadows as the weight in her limbs seemed to lessen. Caitlyn shifted softly in her place, allowing her heavy eyes to flutter open. The area around her was dark, but there was a faint light illuminating her small bunk. Her gaze darted around the little compartment as she tried to understand where she was. There was a blanket wrapped around her, and she lay in a small cot that was tucked into a narrow cubby. She sat up and stretched as best as she could in the tight area, realizing suddenly that she was no longer in her pristine Emerald gown, but was instead in comfortable pajamas. She shuddered lightly when she realized that she hadn't changed out of the outfit herself, and she suddenly felt exposed.

Hushed whispers sounded from another area, and she leaned in quietly to listen.

"You can't keep going back on your word," Nick's voice bounced off of the walls. "I'm the one you're supposed to trust in this. I'm not one of your little hostage assassins, I'm your nephew... your blood!"

"Nicholas, there are things you need to know and things that you don't. I am the one who decides such things. These lessons are really for your own good. If you want to take over the company someday, you need to know and understand how to make hard decisions. You need to know how to make sacrifices," Depp said slowly.

"Caitlyn is not a sacrifice that I will ever make. Do you understand me? Not again. You asked me to shoot her, and I did. I listened to you, I made that sacrifice-" Caitlyn felt her breath hitch in her throat as she leaned against the wall to the cubicle. She bit the insides of her cheeks as she listened intently.

"I asked you to kill her on site. Technically, you failed that mission. She's making you soft... she's making you weak-"

"If you pull a stunt like that again... if you put her in danger like that again, I'll show you what it feels like to make a sacrifice."

"Think about who you're talking to before making threats," Depp's voice was deep and held a sharp tone of warning.

"Think about who you're dealing with before pulling shit like that again... you're the one who trained me, so you really want to find out what I'm capable of?" There was a long moment of tense silence. Caitlyn felt her heart hammering loudly in her chest.

"Let's call a truce," Depp said finally. "I won't put Caitlyn in harms way, and you stop being so irrational. You need to focus yourself back on the mission. There are bigger things at play here than just your little girlfriend and her group of misfits... We need to focus on the move... but I can tell you this... If she and her group get in our way, I can't guarantee her safety. She's not immune from our company's consequences just because you have a soft spot for her. Everyone is expendable." Caitlyn took in a soft breath and closed her eyes, her mind spinning out of control as she tried to process all of the information. She still felt the exhaustion from before wearing at her. "Why don't you go wake her up? Now that we've landed, I'm sure her group is eager to see her. I'm sure if we keep her too long, they'll become volatile..." Sudden footsteps sounded in her direction, and she quickly laid down in her cot, flipping over to face away from the opening and pretending to be asleep. She steadied her breath as best as she could as she felt someone appear behind her. She held her breath suddenly as she listened intently to hear behind her. A long moment of silence passed before she heard a soft sigh and felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder to shake her awake.

"Caity, hey... it's time to wake up," he said, sitting beside her gently. Caitlyn felt an ache in her heart as she remembered all of the times she'd woken up beside him. She flipped over gently and opened her eyes, seeing that Nick had to bend lightly to sit on the cot in the closed space. "Hey..." he said softly, brushing her hair away from her face. "How are you feeling? You crashed pretty hard." A sudden memory flashed in her mind, and she tensed up slightly. She pictured the senator cornering her with that horrible look in his eyes, and she remembered his blood painting the wall. She took in a deep breath as she looked back at Nick, feeling his fingers brush gently through her hair still.