Thanks to
Butt Ugly Backs
for the back ground tile used on this page.
  
Reaping Trouble
by Ruex & Skye


Chapter 1

The alarm clock dutifully sounded. Six pm. The hand crept out from under the comforter and felt around on the bedside table until it located the alarm clock, then proceeded to pick it up and bash it repeatedly against the table top. But when that ceased to stop it's noise, the hand began feeling for the plug, before ripping it out of the wall. Then the hand slammed it down the carpeted floor for good measure. The hand hung over the side of the bed limply a moment, still holding the cord, then there was an harsh snore, before the body under the comforter rolled over, scratching it's chest. Then black eyes opened up, staring up at the drab ceiling.

And Saffron Azreal groaned, remembering where he was. God he was so depressed. With a roll of his eyes, he sat up, scratching his head. He hated the night shift. It was always so...busy. Why did more people die on the night shift? He climbed to his feet and glanced at the alarm clock. Damn, another one... Quirking an eyebrow at it, he shuffled his feet toward the bath room.

He flipped on the light and blinked dully at his reflection in the mirror, the bed head rats nest of black hair...he leaned closer, noticing a shimmer in the light and groaned, bed head rats nest of black hair that still had GLITTER in it... The completely black eyes, which really made him look damn freaky with the pale IRISH skin tone as Dubbs likes to say. Really, he didn't look all that different from how he used to look, when he was alive...

That was the real reason why there was only one Death Elemental at a time. Because when a Death Elemental dies, he or she gets promoted. To what, Saffron hadn't figured out. Personally, he considered it, DEmoted, Grimp Reaper status was a bum end job, with a bunch of old...geeks. But that was what eternity in the after life was to be for Saffron now. Half alive...half something else...

The up shot was, he didn't have to wear a big black hooded robe, only Damon did that...And he didn't have to carry a sickle on a stick. Plus number two. Saffron smirked slightly at his reflection and turned into the shower.

Quiet well awake after that, he got dressed. He decided to go with the casual cool look tonight. Black pants and shirt, and a long black wool duster. He grabbed his usual sunglasses and left his apartment.

The text message from his boss on meeting for the morning, came through over his phone as he hit the street. Gino's, great. Best coffee shop around. Figures. Saffron thought and turned down the street in that direction.

Of course people noticed Saffron when he walked down the street, it wasn't like he was invisible, it was just that people tended to forget about him a few minutes after talking him. It could get rather boring after awhile. Lonely. Still, Saffron was determined not to let it drive him insane. He'd made it is goal to keep everyone he worked with on their toes.

He turned into the Gino coffee shop and spotted his boss right off, heading over. Lindsey was sitting in a corner booth leafing through the morning paper while sipping his coffee. Lindsey was a tall man, taller then Saffron, with very pale skin and equally long pale blonde hair. He had light greyish blue eyes. Someone told Saffron, he thought it might have been Michael, that Lindsey wasn't his real name, but he was trying to hide his...past, no knew for sure, cause Lindsey was very private.

But Saffron got a long with him rather well. He reminded Saffron of some one he knew once before, but he couldn't quiet place a face or name to the idea. See that was the problem, when you became a Grim Reaper, you didn't remember your past life. Friends, Family, that sorta thing was useless. Saffron supposed it was so they'd stay with the job and not worry about their family, but really, it'd be nice to remember where he came from.

He slipped into the opposite side of the booth and let Lindsey persue his paper for the moment, You didn't intterrupt Lindsey when he was reading. Finally, the former blond death elemental put down his paper and looked at Saffron. "I have your list for today." He said, taking a slip of paper out of his coat pocket. "Relatively short, apparently they might give you some trouble these two." Lindsey said, handing the paper to Saffron.

Saffron unfolded the thick sheet of parchment and looked at the list, blinking a moment. Eire Keeton Montgomery and Nathaniel Douglas MacDonnell. Why did those names sound so family to him? He frowned slightly. Lindsey watched him intently. "What they gonna give me problems with?"

Lindsey shrugged. "Might not want to pass over, might try to beg, who knows. Might not die easy either." He paused a moment, eyeing Saffron. "You think you can handle two at once...these two?"

Saffron gave his boss a look. "I've handled more then two before. Besides, you usually send me on the hard cases, remember?" He added, but glanced back at the names. "Do we know how they're supposed to die?"

"Gunshots I believe, not quite sure. Better hop to it, gotta round 'em up by dawn, you know that." Lindsey said, still watching him.

Saffron slipped the paper in his pocket. "Yeah yeah. See on the flip side, boss man."
He would make a check in with at the 'office' before heading to the address on the list. He opened a portal and slipped through. A paper airplane buzzed by his head as he stepped out. Kit was throwing them, sitting in her office chair with her feet on the desk.

"'Ey ye handsome..." She said with a Scottish brogue.

"Kit. How's the dead life?" Saffron asked with a smirk.

"Same as always." Kit answered with a shrug, then leaned further back in her chair and tossed another airplane toward an open door. Saffron snickered, making his way toward said open door.

There was the usual group. Michael, Dubbs, Damon and Reed. Saffron took Damon in, in his big black hooded robe, sickle leaning against his chair. He had a cup of coffee between his hands and his hood was down, he was staring morosely at the formica table top with it's gold specks. Michael was getting himself a cup of coffee as well. and Reed was at the microwave, beating out some unheard tune with his fingers on the counter. Dubbs was shuffling around in the corner, pacing.

Michael looked up as he sit the coffee pot down. "Evenin' Saffron." He said with a smirk, irish accent clear.

"Mike." Saffron greeted the only other YOUNGER member of the group. He and Michael got a long very well. Spent a lot of their nights off getting completely shit faced at the local pub.

Reed looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Powderpuff is here!" Dubbs turned to look.

"Hey Irish."

Saffron nodded and looked at Damon, who raised a gloved hand in acknowledgment but continued to stair at the top of the table with infinite concentration. Saffron eyed him with a look, before moving over to Michaels' side.

"Dude, what's up with Damon tonight?" Saffron asked softly, getting his own cup of coffee.

Michael snorted, leaning toward Saffron with a snicker. "Reed and Damon have been arguin'. Reed says the stain on the table looks like a bunny rabbit, Damon don't see it. He's been sittin' there fer the last fifteen minutes TRYIN' t' see the damned rabbit."

Saffron quirked his eyebrow. "You're kidding right?"

Then Damon spoke. His voice was gruff and gravely, he was a big man, but his speech was very eloquent. "It is NOT a rabbit. It is a hare."

Michael and Dubbs began cracking up. "Then ye just said it's a rabbit!" Reed replied with a tone.

"No, there is an infinite difference between a rabbit and a hare." Damon answered calmly.

Saffron shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "This'll be going on for awhile...." He muttered to Michael.

"Oh yeah..."

The beeping when off on the microwave, then there was a harsh swear, a minor explosion and a hiss of electricity. Michael, Dubbs and Saffron spun. Reed had just impaled the microwave on his sword, all the way through, then stabbed at it a few more times with his other sword.

Then he seemed to realize everyone in the room was staring at him silently. Even Kit was in the door way. He turned and looked at them. "It burned my breakfast." He said as if it didn't matter and removed a lump of blackened something.

There was a collective groan and Saffron shook his head. "That's four in two months alone...Lindsey ain't gonna be happy." He said taking another sip of coffee.

He left the room hearing Reed arguing with Damon still about the rabbit stain on the table, Michael laughing his ass off and Dubbs insistent pacing. He headed down the hall toward his office. Yes, Saffron had an office.

Okay, actually it was a closet...He opened what used to be the broom closet's door, where his name was scribbled in white chalk, along with the words "Intensive Control", and looked at the student's desk crammed into the corner. He pulled the light cord and realized his paper work from the night before was still waiting for him. Saffron groaned.

He managed to wedge himself into the desk, sitting his cup of coffee on the corner and picked up the pen out of the little tray, turning the papers over, and began filling them out. He glanced at his watch as he did so.

Chapter Two

Saffron headed to the address he'd been given, to find these two. Looking up at the building, he frowned. It seemed awfully fucking familiar. Taking a deep breath, he rendered himself invisible and slipped in side. He noticed the magic in the security, but even magic couldn't detect a Grim Reaper.

He took a moment to look around, Chaos Inc.

Hmm, that sounded familiar too. Damn...he hated that.

For a moment he decided to observe and made his way up stairs to where he felt the biggest collection of lives. An apartment it seemed, above offices and gyms and stuff. Odd. He stepped through the wall into the room, and looked around.

Damn, family gathering. There was a woman with white hair, sitting on a counch next to an older look man. Damn, she had to be in her twenties, and this guy looked he was in his fifties, and yet they were holding hands and he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. There was another young woman with white hair sitting on the floor, at the legs of a man with silver hair and a little boy stretched out next to her coloring.The adults were talking with the couple sitting on the floor, the red headed young woman obviously expecting. Damn, these people all looked familiar! Like he should know them some how, especially the red head, with those odd tattoos under the eyes.

Saffron eyed them all, with that over whemling intensity of knowing these people, growing until he couldn't handle it. He turned and fled back through the wall, into the hall, gasping for a breath, looking around the hall way a bit wide eyed. Even the hall way seemed familiar. He left the hall, taking the stairs down, trying to find somewhere that didn't feel familiar. Taking the stairs all the way down, to what was obviously the garage and moved around it restlessly, looking in the windows of vehicles.

There was a vehicle under a cover and out of overwhelming curiosity, Saffron yanked the cover off, only to stumble back against the wall behind it, gasping for breath again, as he stared at it wide eyed. A deep red Mazda RX-8 with flame work painted on the hood and along the side. HIS car! He knew it was his car. It was his dream car for one, and in the exact fashion he'd have it.

Then it all seemed to come crashing down, with bitter understanding. Of course those people in that apartment seemed so familiar, he knew them! They had to be family...and friends! And suddenly the look Lindsay had given, made sense. They had sent him to see either family or friends over to the other side.

Saffron tossed the car cover back on the hood of the Mazda and turned and fled from the garage back outside, ending the invisible spell. He intended on going back to the Grim Reaper offices and telling them some one else had to do this job. He wasn't looking where he was going as he crossed the street, when heard the screech of tires and looked up just in time to see the headlights of a vehicle and for a moment, couldn't move, staring like a wide eyed deer. The front fender of the car slammed into him knocking him backwards.

He hit the pavement and for a moment, just lay there, staring up at the stars, before he felt the pain and groaned, closing his eyes. He heard the motor running, and the sound of a car door opening then slamming, and heard a furious round of cursing with footsteps on the road. But what got him most, was the sense of death, the aura that surrounded who ever it was and it got stronger as they got closer. After a moment, Saffron realized who .. or more aptly 'what' was standing over top of him and he opened his eyes, staring upward.


Chapter Three

Saffron blinked, taking in the man's appearance. Then it took him a moment to realize the man could see him. "Oh...shit..." Saffron muttered, then groaned as that hurt. He wasn't sure where the car had hit him, but he hadn't thought it'd hit him hard enough to hurt...but apparently it had. He closed his eyes again, wincing at the pain and realized he really should have been looking where he was going.

Matt cursed again then knelt beside him. "What the fuck were you doing?!" he snapped as he looked him over for injuries. "fucking moron..." he muttered, then a car honked at him and someone yelled at him to move. Matt flipped them off, keeping his attention on the kid and figuring security could see them from inside well enough to have called for an ambulance or something. He resisted the urge to check out the damage to his car for the moment, his attention more on the kid and the strong death pull he felt coming off him.

"Oh...not looking where I was going...?" Saffron replied in a sheepish tone. "I had other things on my mind..." He added, tempted to point out that he really wasn't supposed to see him. He finally moved, to sit up. "But I'm fine though...ow...can't kill me..." He almost added he was already dead...basically, but that would have added weirdness to the situation.

Matt snorted at that then laughed softly. Before he could change his mind or the kid could argue, he  scooped him into his arms and lifted him off the ground. "In that case... how about we get your undead ass off the street.." he said softly. "Haven't met many others... only one really and she's gone now." he said softly. "Was beginning to think I was the only one left... You need a ride somewhere?"

"Oh...wait...what?" Saffron blinked up at him a moment, before actually laughing softly as his words got to him, which made him wince again. "Yeah... actually, as far away from this building as possible please..." He replied.

"No problem... not fond of the place myself... Matt Hogan.. every one calls me Graves." he said with a smirk, amazed at how comfortable he felt with a perfect stranger. But then  again, the kid was a necromancer too. And there'd been a connection with Marilee when they'd first met to... just ... nothing as strong as this.

Saffron blinked, looking up at him a moment, studying him. He figured the moment he got a way from the guy, he'd forget about him, so what would it hurt. "Azreal. That's what everyone calls me...Or...Irish some times...but...Saffron is my real name..."

"Azreal... that's the angel of death, right? Cute... " he said with a smirk as he carried him to the passenger side and opened the door. "Shotgun?" he asked, pausing before setting him inside." Or would you rather ride in the back.... ?" he asked, his eyes sparkling, watching the kid's face as he looked at the hearse.

Saffron took in the hearse with surprised but impressed expression. "Shotgun's fine...nice art work..." Saffron replied. He wasn't feeling so sore. Least not as much as he had. "And yeah, Angel of Death..."

"Thanks... everyone loves the car. Can't stand me.. but they love the car.." he added with a soft chuckle as he set him in then headed around to the drivers side. He spotted the security guard standing just inside the doors, eying him curiously . He waved him off to let him know the kid was fine, then got behind the wheel. By this time there were a couple cars behind him honking and cursing, but Matt had never been one to give a shit anyhow. "So...  Azreal...Saffron... Irish..." he said. "Which do you prefer .. and where the fuck would you like to go...? "

"You can call me Saffron..." He answered, not adding, for now. "Oh...you know Gino's...? It's across town, on Broadway...it's a coffee shop...that'd probably be the best place. Lindsay is probably still there and I need to tell him to take me off the job..." Saffron said, looking toward the office building again, before checking his watch. It was only ten pm.

Matt snorted softly, eying him curiously, but got turned around and headed back towards down town. "You healing up alright?" he asked. "Nailed you pretty good considering I wasn't even going that fast right then... if I'd got you a bit further down the street I might've had to scrape you off the pavement... and my hood. I don't want to know how big a dent you left either..."

Saffron was forced to snort softly, but was smirking and shook his head. "Oh, I heal just fine...little sore, but nothing that won't pass." He replied. "As for 'might have had to scrape me off the pavement'...it would have gotten really weird as it's doubtful it could have...killed me..."

"Yeah...  you already said it wouldn't kill you." Matt said with a soft smirk as he drove. He kept stealing glances at the kid next to him, the death chill coming off of him was extremely distracting and pleasant. "How long have you been dead?" he asked casually. "I've been dead since i was a kid... lost track.. think it's about twenty three, twenty fours years now..."

Saffron frowned; that wasn't something he'd been asked, even by his 'co-workers'. "Oh...I don't know...not very long, I know. Some times it seems like it's been forever, but...I know it hasn't...I think just a couple months..."

Matt gave a short laugh at that. "You think?!" he repeated. "How the fuck can you not know?" he asked,  going out of his way a bit to take the back streets. A move that let him divert a bit more of his attention to the kid next to him.. and let the encounter last a bit longer. "I remember the day i died... remember all of it. Remember waking up too.. and how much it fucking hurt..."

Saffron looked over at him, blinking. "I don't remember dying...I think it was pretty painful, but I don't remember...I barely remember waking up with Lindsay sitting next to me...in the cold...at night...oh, that fucking soil was freezing.." He muttered, before looking out the window a moment. He reminded himself that Matt would forget about him, once they'd parted company, so he didn't figure it'd hurt to explain. "I'm a grim reaper...formally a death elmental...but I died...when a death elemental...dies...and that's extremely hard to do...I think...we become grim reapers..."

Matt  glanced at him, then suddenly pulled over and shut the car off. He twisted in his seat to face him. "What?" he asked in surprise. "I thought you were a necromancer.. like me... You feel so..." he let his words trail off. "So... there're others... like you...? " he asked softly." Others that explained shit to you and helped you ... that were there when you 'came back'.... that's cool. I was alone... woke up in the morgue. Had to figure shit out on my own. Didn't even meet another Necro until I'd been one for over ten years..."

"Well, no, they didn't explain shit to me...they just said...I was dead, and this was how the rest of my life was going to be...civil servant for eternity and lonely, to boot, cause everyone forgets about me, when I walk away..." Saffron added, suddenly feeling a bit depressed. "And then...to make matters worse...I'm informed that I'm STILL singular, even amoung them...because I wasn't a normal death elemental, when I was alive..."

"Fucking civil servant? What?" Matt asked in surprise, then reached out and slipped his hand behind Saffron's head, his fingers tangling lightly in the thick black hair. He wasn't sure what surprised him more.. that he'd done it... or how good it felt. "you don;t have to do shit." he said as he found his voice again. "Its just like before.. you can have a 'life' of sorts... And what do you mean no one remembers you?"

"Oh yus, civil servant, my whole life...now, revolves around seeing the dead over to the 'other' side, rather then just...kill people now...I work the 'night shift'. It's a terrible job, it doesn't PAY and I have no choice..." Saffron said, with a weary smile, looking over at Matt. For some reason, he didn't pull away. "No one remembers me, that's how it works...no one is supposed to know there's any such thing as grim reapers...the bosses go ape shit if they think some one knows...So when some one meets me, and after I walk away, they instantly forget...that is if they see me to begin with..."

"That's bullshit.." Matt said softly. "That's... fuck.. that's just bullshit. so you're basically a fucking slave?! No way... why do you stay with these bastards..?"

"Got no choice," Saffron replied as if it just made sense, looking at him. "That's how it is...On top of that...when we come back, from being dead...we don't remember our past..."

Matt just stared at him for a moment. "That's just fucking bullshit. Of course you have a fucking choice." he said, starting to get pissed off. "Who the fuck told you you didn't have a choice? this guy you're going to  meet?" He wondered why he cared so much.. he'd just met the kid.. fuck.. he wasn't even a necro like he'd thought. "That's fucking bullshit." he repeated. "I died. I came back. I can do whatever the fuck I want. So can you."

"I don't think...things are...on the same order...between us..." Saffron said softly, thoughtfully, looking away a moment. He was quiet a moment, before he paled slightly. "You know....I don't think...we're supposed to have anything to do...with necromancers..." He added even softer.

Matt snorted at that, his fingers stroking the back of Saffron's head gently. "Probably because they're afraid we'll tell you what a fucking raw deal you're getting." he said, then looked at him thoughtfully for a second. "Wait... you're dead.. or were dead... same as them right?" he asked softly, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as an idea hit him. "They're afraid of me alright..... "

"Mm, yeah...dead...I woke up on a grave...of course I was dead...my grave..." Saffron replied softly, with a faint snort, looking out the window a moment, but he still hadn't pulled away from Matt's touch. Quiet the opposite as he sighed softly and leaned his head back against Matt's hand, his eyes closing.

"I think I can help..." Matt said softly, unable to take his eyes off of the young man beside him. "Necros control the dead... and we have some control over the various undead as well... If they don;t want you to have anything to do with us.. it's probably because they're afraid of what we can do to them." he said simply, then reached up with his other hand to brush the tips of his fingers over Saffrons cheek. "You want me to try...?"

Saffron opened his eyes slowly, to look over at him, staring at him a moment. He bit his lip for a moment, trying to decide. It could have get him in trouble. But maybe...there was a chance. "I suppose...it couldn't hurt.."

Matt smirked softly. Part of him was thinking that the kid had the definate feel of trouble and that maybe he should just drop him of and get his ass to work. "Should test it first.. see if I CAN control a reaper before I go head to head with one... Never even knew you guys fucking existed before now..." he said softly. "but .. not sure I want to use you as a guinea pig. You want to do this now? Or try it later... you can point out this guy to me when I drop you of and I can look into it first... then we can meet up later..."

Saffron looked at him a moment, before laughing softly. "Oh, I wouldn't even DARE try it on Lindsay...He's sort of our...senior grim reaper around the office and really, he's a great guy...very private, but great..." He said. "But you know...I can think of one of...'us' that you might be able to..."


Chapter Four


Matt had found himself watching Saffron's lips as he spoke and blushed. The sudden thought that maybe this intense connection and pull he was feeling was more then just chance. He was sitting here with a perfect stranger, feeling perfectly at ease and revealing shit about himself he'd never told anyone else before... and finding himself increasingly attracted to the kid.. when he'd never been even  remotely attracted to guys before.. What if this was something reapers could do? What if it wasn't the kid himself that was drawing him like this... but what he was. Matt swallowed and pulled his fingers away, but left his hand behind his head. He knew he really had to meet another reaper to find out..

Saffron decided the best would probably be Reed, just because he seemed to hate Saffron and make it a point to torture him. Either that, or Dubbs...Saffron liked Damon, Michael and Kit to much... He took out his cellphone, and text'd Kit, to see where Reed was. And smirked as Kit informed him he was hanging around on Fisk street, waiting for his target to die... "You know where Fisk street is?" He asked Matt.

"Yeah." Matt said softly. "Yeah I know where it is... what part?" he asked softly. He remembered Saffron's comment about him being different from the others and hoped that was why he felt this way. The idea that an entire race of beings could make him feel this way.. was really creepy.

"The corner of Fisk and Austin...The most annoying Grim Reaper, Reed...is there at the deli there...waiting for his target to drop...he doesn't have much sense, and rather hates me anyway...don't know why, never did anything to him..." Saffron muttered.

Matt snorted as he started to pull his hand away then stopped. "You into guys, kid?' he asked softly, sure he was blushing as he asked and carefully not looking at Saffron as he said it. He hoped the street lights wouldn't give the blush away.

Saffron blushed darkly, looking away a moment, as he put his cellphone back in the pocket of his coat. "Do you think...looking as feminine as I do...I'd be into girls...?" He said softly with a faint weary smirk. "But to answer your question...yus, I'm into guys..."

Matt swallowed hard at that then made himself turn to look at him. his fingers were still rubbing the base of Saffron's skull lightly and part of him thought he should stop, but  he didn't really want to. "Then... are you doing this?' he asked simply. "Tell me this is just you... that you're doing this... Or that you have no idea what I'm talking about... Because if this is a Reaper thing...  you're on your own..."

Saffron bit his lip, looking away a moment. "Well...its not something else any of the other reapers can cause...or do...I told you...I'm...different..." He said softly, blushing again. or maybe he hadn't stopped blushing.

Matt gave a heavy sigh of relief. "Thank the gods..." he muttered softly, closing his eyes for a moment. "You doing it on purpose?" he finally asked. "To make me help you?"

Saffron bit his lip harder, enough to draw blood and gave a soft nervous laugh. "I don't do any of it on purpose...it just happens..." He said softly, looking at Matt a moment. "No guy's ever brought it up, but I certainly have them all trying to flirt...if not more..."

Matt smirked softly. "Just as long as it isn't some sort of trick. I don't handle someone trying to control me very well." he added with a slightly sarcastic tone. He suddenly tightened his hold on Saffrons hand and pulled him towards him as he leaned forward and kissed him, blushing furiously as he did.

Saffron stiffened a moment as Matt kissed him, before pulling back to stare at him slightly wide eyed, before blushing darkly and looking away, though a faint smile touched his lips. "Surely you don't go around kissing strangers..." he said very softly.

Matt swallowed hard, tasting blood. He reached out to caress Saffron's chin, wiping off a small smear of blood there but not seeing any cut that would've caused it. "No... well...  not guys anyhow..." he said with a smirk. "Just.. wanted to. Consider it an appology for running over you... " he said , his face burning as he turned his attention to the road and started the car. "Fisk and.. Austin...?"

"Apology accepted..." Saffron replied, a bit more a smile on his lips. "Yeah, Fisk and Austin." He added, shifting slightly in the seat. He checked the clock on his cellphone again, it was almost eleven. He had no idea when the two on his list were supposed to die. He blinked, before looking up at Matt again. "Wait...you know Chaos Inc?" He asked.

"Yeah... work for 'em." Matt answered as he pulled out onto the street. "Aw fuck.. you said something about a job... and that reapers .." he shot a glance at him as they drove. "Who?" he asked, then wondered why it mattered. He didn't particularly care for most of his co workers anyhow.

Saffron dug the list out of his pocket, unfolding it. "Eire Montgomery and Nate MacDonnell." He replied, glancing at Matt as he shoved the list back in his pocket. "Have no idea how they're supposed to die...we never do. Lindsay said something about being shot...But...there's a good chance I knew them...before I died...which is really...fucked..."

Matt had slammed on the brakes at the names, glad they were on a back street with no other traffic. "Montgomery and MacDonnell?" he asked. "Fuck..." he said softly then looked at the kid again. "Wait.. what do you mean you might  know them... how do you figure that?"

Saffron looked away again. "I was there...to...to scope things out..." Saffron said softly. He looked out the passenger window. "The apartment I looked into...everyone in it...felt...extremely familiar...so I fled the apartment...and ended up in the garage...What are the chances of there being my car...well...I don't know if it was MY car...but it was the exact same type, model, color and paint job that I want...or pretty sure I've wanted...That's about the time I fled the building period...and nearly got ran over."

Matt just stared at him for a minute. "Holy fucking shit." he muttered softly, dragging the words out slowly. "Saffron....  You're Saffron..."

"Wait...what?" Saffron looked back at him, his eyes wide and looking a bit on the shocked, or maybe scared side.

Matt caught the flash of headlights behind him and pulled over to the side of the road again. He let the car pass, gathering his thoughts before turning back to Saffron. "You're Saffron Mordant...  your step mother runs Chaos Inc. You were killed in some big fight last year... protecting your little brother I think..." Matt said softly.

Saffron stared at him for a long moment, before looking, swallowing hard, and biting his lip again, nawing at the sore spot. "Well, I'm glad some one knows..." He said softly after a moment, “because I certainly don't remember...anything..."

"MacDonnell and Montgomery... they're your brother in laws..." Matt added softly. "Lex... the little brother you died for.. he.. changed.. became a girl right after that. She married MacDonnell and is about to have his kid... " he said, reaching out to cradle the back of Saffrons head again. "Montgomery's with your older half sister Regan..."

Saffron stared at him again, before groaning. "Oh, yeah, great, that just made things complicated," He muttered, sounding upset and covered his eyes with his hands. "It shouldn't make any fucking difference...but it does, considering I don't remember anything and and I want nothing more then to remember...but I'm not supposed to have anything to do with family."

"Then why send you to kill two of them?" Matt asked simply. "Doesn't make sense.... if they don't want you to have anything to do with them... then why make you have something to do with them?"

"Well, I'm not actually behind killing them...just...making their souls cross to the other side..." Saffron muttered, dropping his hands and looking out the passenger window, his eyes shinning with unshed tears. "Because I deal with the hard cases...and apparently they're going to be hard...I was planning to go tell Linsday I can't do it..."

"Could it be stopped?" Matt asked. "I mean.. I know they're going to die tonight.. probably be shot... so.. if I called and warned them... " he suggested. "They wouldn't be shot if they stayed in..."

"I'm not sure it'd work like that..." Saffron said softly. "It's not for certainly how they'll die...just that they're supposed to die tonight...There are...loop holes, but...I think the only way for it to be prevented...is for me to break the rules..."

"What .. like telling ME ?' Matt asked with a smirk. "You've already said you're not supposed to hang out with necromancers.... and here you are. And I doubt you're supposed to tell anyone about yourself or what you are.. and you did. Plus you told me who's dying tonight... What else are you planning on doing? Aside from setting up a fellow reaper ..."

"Well...I did have the thought of going back...and while this probably IS breaking the rules...if they find out...really breaking the rules...is stopping their deaths from happening...which...is with in my power..." Saffron said softly. "As long as I'm present at the time it's supposed to happen..."

Matt snorted. "Yeah .. but do you know when it's supposed to happen? Or do you just have a vague idea?" he asked then sighed. "Look... this is a problem. You have to try, I know that.. or I do. The problem is that when you do...  your fellow reapers are going to know, aren't they? And they'll come for you... and I have no clue if I can stop them unless I try. Spur of the moment shit is doable, as long as it's just the one and I have some space and time to work at it.. but if I try before hand, it'll give me that bit of an edge.  We got time to go ahead with this test run?"

"No, I don't really know for sure when, just that I have to collect their souls before dawn, or...they...become lost souls..." Saffron answered softly. He took out his cellphone again, looking at the time, eleven thirty... "I don't think we have a choice...I think we have to try...If they're my brother in laws...the last thing I want is to have to cause...my sisters pain..."

Matt sighed and turned the car around, heading back to the offices as fast as he could. "Dial a number for me.." he said, concentrating on the road. "I'll talk to them.. just  dial for me." he said and rattled off Kay's number.

Saffron sighed, before dialing the number and making sure it rang, before handing over the cellphone. He looked out the window, while Matt drove, thinking. He had to break the rules...but when he did, he knew they'd come after him, and the punishment wouldn't be pretty.


Chapter Five


Matt listened to the phone ring and hoped the guys hadn't gone out yet. He was sure they were on the late shift, which meant they wouldn't start until midnight... but he knew both men had the tendency to start sooner if they were restless... or trade off an hour or two with someone to start or end earlier. He just hoped it wasn't one of those nights. "Yeah?" Matt blinked at the voice, not recognizing  it for a minute. "Regan.. fuck... are the cowboys still there? Keep them there if they are and get them back there if they aren't.."

There was a moment of silence. "Graves? 'Fraid you're a bit late...they headed out already. They had a case come in." Regan answered, sounding slightly confused. "Is there a REASON why we should call them back?"

"Fuck." Matt said then moved the phone away for a moment. "They've left... where were you supposed to get them?" he asked Saffron, "Call them, Regan... it's important... tell them to get back to the offices immediately..."

"I have no fucking clue..." Saffron answered, looking back at him. "My job usually involves following those on my list, around..." He said softly.

"Graves...That's not a justifiable reason..." Regan replied with a sigh. "Unless you can specify, I don't have the juristiction to call them back."

"Because they're going to die, Regan." Matt snapped, "Justifiable enough for you?" he asked.


There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. "What?" Regan asked after a moment. Then she seemed to come to her senses after a moment. "Just how the fuck do you know?"
Saffron looked at Matt and snorted softly. "Way to be discrete..." He said softly with a faint smirk.

Matt snorted softly. "Because the guy who's supposed to escort them to the other side is a friend of mine and just gave me a heads up... good enough? Look blondie.. just fucking call them back. We're on our way to try to save their sorry asses and we've only got until midnight...Be a fuck load easier if they were somewhere we could find them..."

Regan was quiet for a moment longer, before sighing. "They're working on an investigation...at a club...down town on Coggin, I think, called the Red Lamp club." Regan said. "Minor demons in the basement I think...come out with the people..." Regan added.

Matt cursed softly and dropped the phone as he grabbed the wheel with both hands and turned sharply, cutting back onto main street. He grabbed the phone again. "We're not far... call them and tell them to stay put... not to go in yet... And not to piss off anyone with guns, for fuck sakes..." he added before hanging up and tossing the phone back to Saffron. " Great...  wonderful... fucking hate  trying new shit in a rush..." he muttered softly. "This works and I save your ass... you owe me a date.."

Saffron snorted softly with a smirk, looking over at him. "Considering when I do break the rules, they're going to come after me...And I have a feeling the punishment... If you save my ass, I'll give you more then a date." Saffron replied, still smirking, but looked out the window.

"Deal." Matt said simply as he pulled onto the street the club was on amid a blast of angry horns. "My car gets scratched from this shit and your brother in laws pay up... just gotta think of how." he said softly as he pulled up over the curb. "Come on, Little Azrael... time to play heroes... fucking hate playing heroes..."


Saffron sighed softly and looked at the club a moment, before laughing. "Yeah, great, wonder how they felt about being sent here. Red Lamp Club...is a sex club...Well...no nudity, but it's an S&M club..." Saffron said amused. "I had to pick up a guy here once...over dose..."

Matt smirked, his eyes sparkling. "Fuck... under other circumstances I'd love this... As it is... Let's hope we can save them so I can torment the shit out of them over it later.." he said getting out of the car. He checked his gun and knives, trying to decide if he wanted his machete too... he doubted it do much good against a Grim Reaper and he wasn't here for the demons..

Saffron got out of the car and looked around the parking lot. People were loitterring in the parking lot, dressed scantily and a lot of collars and leashes. The men were dressed a bit flashy. Some of the people eyed the hearse. "Damn...should have worn my collar..." Saffron muttered sarcastically as they headed for the door where they could hear music blasting from inside the club. A door man was being picky about who got into the club.

Matt snorted softly as he bullied his way past people to the door. The door man eyed him for a moment and Matt glared in return. "Don't make fucking hurt you. We're from Chaos Inc. Couple of our guys are already here saving your sorry ass... "

The door man didn't move, eying Matt, before looking at the kid next to him,and eying Saffron for a long moment. "We were only informed of two guys...got some id?" The door man asked, making himself tear his gaze away from Saffron to look back at Matt.

Matt clenched his jaw. "Yeah.. in my car. But I'm in a hurry... my coworkers are about to get killed and I'm not wasting time with you." he said with a tight smirk and decked the guy hard across the jaw. "Find them and stick with them, Saff.. I'll catch up."

"Stick with them...right...that's going to be interesting to explain..." Saffron replied, rolling his eyes, but smirking slightly and slipping past a stunned door man, amid the cheers and boos from the people in the line. He slipped into the club, looking around a long moment, before he spotted a cowboy hat and a silver head of hair and headed in that direction.

Matt pulled his gun and aimed it at the guy as he started to his feet. "Don't, man... I'm just here to help the guys.. that's it. Don't get in my fucking way. " he said and the guy eyed him, his gaze flickering to where Saffron was headed to the two Chaos Inc. people. "Shouldv'e just brought your Id, man.." the door man said, rubbing his jaw as he eyed Matt.  Matt snorted. "Then I wouldn't get to deck as many people..." he said and turned, heading after Saffron quickly.

Saffron headed for the bar, where Nate and Eire were talking to the barman and the manager of the club. He had to shove his way through the group of people, and tried to keep an eye out for any one who looked like a threat, but in this club, it was impossible to tell anything. He kept pushing, until he suddenly paused. For a moment, he swore he saw Reed in the crowd, looking right at Saffron. But people shoved in front of Saffron's view and he lost sight of him.

Matt caught up and slipped an arm around him, pulling him out of the way of a group pushing noisily past in the other direction. "Let me." he said, leaning close to be heard over the noise. "Stay close behind me." he added before letting go and shoving his way through. "Yo Cowboys!! What the fuck are you still doing here? Didn't you answer your fucking phone?"

Saffron suddenly grabbed Matt's hand, to keep close to him, letting him lead the way, so that Saffron could look for Reed. But he didn't see him again. It didn't ease the bad feeling he had.

Eire heard Graves and turned his head, looking through the crowd but having no problem spotting the blue hair coming there and frowned. "Wha' the fuck is he doin' 'ere..." Eire muttered, mostly to himself, before smacking Nate's arm to get his attention and nodding in Graves' direction.

Nate turned and groaned."Aww shite.." he muttered softly. Matt bullied his way to where they stood, his hand still holding Saffrons. "Regan called you... you two are supposed to out of here..." he growled.

"Regan called us?" Eire asked, raising an eyebrow. Before pulling out his cellphone. "Fuck..." He muttered, seeing she HAD called. He shoved it back in his pocket and looked at Matt. "Wha's the reason...?" He asked, before noticing some one behind Matt. He leaned around to look. Before looking shocked. "Fuck me..."

"That's the reason..." Matt said simply. "Get the fuck out of here now." he gave Saffrons hand a squeeze. " Do what you have to kid... before it's too late.."  Nate looked confused as he looked at Eire and Graves. "Wha' th' bloody fuck is goin' on..?!" he asked before he noticed Matt's hand holding someone else. He moved enough to see what had Eire attention and froze. "Holy shite..."




Chapter Six
 Saffron looked around Matt and gave Eire and Saffron a sheepish smile. "Apparently I'm not as dead as you think..." Saffron said, loud enough to be heard. Eire leaned in, sniffing at Saffron, which Saffron cringed away from. Eire swore. "Its Saffron..." He told Nate. There was a sudden gunshot and Nate's hat was knocked off. Saffron let go of Matt's hand, to turn, looking, his swords in his hand.

Matt cursed and moved to stand in front of Nate and Eire. "Put your fucking guns away and stay the fuck down. You two are the targets." he said, one hand going to Nate's head and shovnig him down behind him. The scotsman cursed him loudly, but Matt ignored him. "Who the fuck was shooting... and why the hell isn't everyone bolting for the fuckign door..?"

Saffron scanned the club, letting his gaze drift to the cat walks above. Some people where looking confussed, but there were bottles of champainge being uncorked too at some tables. Saffron spotted some one in the higher cat walks, the laser sight trying to find a way past Matt. Saffron turned and headed for the stairs, vanishing his swords to move faster. "Ye wanna tell us wha' the fuck is goin' on?!" Eire growled having ducked behind a bar chair, which really wasn't much cover.

"Sure ... Saff there is a grim reaper.. he was sent to take your souls over to the other side when the two of you are killed tonight." Matt said, spotting the red light tracking over his chest and moving to keep it  on him. "And I'm here to act as canon fodder to keep your asses safe while Saffron changes fate... good enough? shut the fuck up and stay behind me.. as close as you can fucking get .. I've got a sniper trying to track you ..." 

Nate was cursing as he huddled. "Where, fer fucks sake? I cannae see anythin'.."

"Cat walks.. stay the fuck down unless you want your  kid growing up without you."

Eire growled something, turning his gaze up toward the cat walks. He spotted the laser sight, but it was shadowed where it was coming from. "Great...really fuckin' great...An' here I was thinkin' ye'd raised the kid..." eire growled annoyed.

Saffron sprinted up the stairs to the higher cat walks and sought out the sniper, before heading down the cat walk toward the sniper. The sniper realized Saffron was coming and spun to point the rifle at him. Saffron dodged, summoning his swords again and lunged. The rifle went falling toward the dance floor, where people screamed, but the sniper lunged right back at Saffron, the two locking in a fight on the cat walk, the sniper using kick boxing, while Saffron used his swords.

Seeing the gun fall, Matt moved, heading for the cat walk after Saffron. Nate was right behind him, but Matt didn't pay any attention to the Scot... his eyes were on the last place he'd seen Saffron.

The sniper was managing to get the better of Saffron and knocked him back. Saffron lost hold on one of his swords, which went over the railing and took several hits, before the sniper suddenly managed to throw Saffron over the rail of the cat walk. Saffron bit back the sudden scream of fear and managed to grab the bottom edge of the cat walk, though one hand slipped off. The sniper took off running, away.

Eire caught sight of what was going on in the cat walks, but he turned his attention to making his way through the crowd, toward the rifle on the floor, to retrieve it. What worried him, was it was high military issue sniper rifle.

Matt cursed and skidded to a stop as he spotted Saffron, Nate close enough that he slammed into him from behind. "What the fuck are you doing...? Someone is trying to kill you, you dumb Scottish fuck!! And they SUCCEED.. because that kid is here to take your soul..." Matt growled, giving Nate a shove out of his way before heading towards Saffron. "dumb ass witch.." he muttered as he got close enough to look up at Safforn. "I'm right here, kid! Let go.. i'll catch you!" he yelled up at him, figuring it was more likely he'd just break his fall...

Saffron looked down, and sort of wished he hadn't as he saw beyond Matt all the way to the dance floor. Gods, he hated heights. "I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Saffron replied, sounding a bit frightened, but he certainly couldn't hang around, his other hand was slipping as it was. "Oh shit!" He cried as he lost grip, falling.



Chapter Seven


Eire grabbed the rifle, looking it over, when some in dark clothes lunged at him from out of the crowd with a military issue knife, but Eire spun to the side, avoiding the stab and swung the rifle around, slamming it into the face of his attacker, who staggered back, shaking his head, before trying to lunge again. But obviously his attacker didn't know that Eire had the military training of the Illuminati and had no problems defending himself as well as dishing out a good beating in return.

Nate saw Saffron fall and lost site of the sniper. Cursing even louder, he headed to where he could see Eire.

Eire and his attacker were still duking it out on the dance floor, the attacker seeming relentless with the knife, but taking more blows from Eire and the rifle butt then he seemed to land on Eire, though there were a few cuts. Eire seemed almost gleeful, as he fought, almost as if he were toying with the man.

Seeing Eire was enjoying himself and wouldn't welcome any help, Nate returned to where he'd first been shot at and found where the bullet was lodged in the wall. He cast a quick tracking spell on it, then let the spell lead him.. hopefully to where ever the sniper was hiding. 

 Eire's attacker apparently realized he was no match, and turned, lunging back into the crowd, trying to flee from Eire, who shouldered the rifle by it's strap and gave chase, pushing his way through the crowd.   

Eire's prey dodged out of sight and Eire came up short next to Nate, his blue eyes searching the crowd. "Fuck!" He swore after a moment. "Lost the bastard!"

 Nate waved a hand at Eire irritably as he kept his focus on his own prey. "got mine..." he said simply as he started off after the sniper.  

Eire eyed Nate a moment, before snorted softly and decided to follow him, making sure the rifle on his back was still in good shape.

Nate picked up speed as he dodged through the crowd, the spell gaining in strength as he got closer. He reached the far end of the room and found a hall, half hidden behind the  dj's station  and tore down it, his guns drawn and ready.

Eire and Nate started to turn a corner in the hall, when some stepped around the far corner and took shots at them. Eire grabbed Nate, pulling him back against the wall, out of range as Eire automatically clicked off the safety of the sniper rifle and came around the wall, into a kneeling position, taking a fast aim, and firing a shot. He was rewarded with a cry and one of the sniper's guns falling to the floor, before the sniper disappeared from view and there was the sound of running footsteps. Eire smirked darkly and was on his feet again in pursuit, the rifle held in military position for the next shot.

Nate cursed softly as his spell broke. " fuckin' hell..." he muttered, relieved that at least Eire had his scent again. Between the two of them, it was doubtful he'd get away. He scrambled after him, trying not to think too much about Grave's warning or the idea of Lex  having the baby without him...

Eire rounded the second corner and saw the sniper trying to get a door open. He dropped to his knee again, aiming for the next shot. His military training wanted to make it a kill shot and he had to fight with himself to make it a shot that would take the man down, but not kill him, aiming for the lower side. The sniper made no sound this time, as he was hit, but managed to get the door open and fled outside. Eire snarled with a dark curse and was on his feet, running after him, but by the time he hit outside, he couldn't see the man anywhere and the scent was upwind, causing Eire to loose it. "FUCK!"

Nate caught up to Eire and used the blood fomr Eire's last shot to cast a new spell. "Calm th' fuck down, Mate..." he said softly. "My turn again..."

"He shouldn't 'ave been able t' get far...not with that wound..." Eire growled, his eyes searching around them, even darting to the roof for any sign. But he had a feeling the sniper had used a portal.

 Nate snorted softly at Eire's comment. "An' tha' fuckin' surprises ye? After all this time huntin' monsters an' demon's galore.. an' yer surprised tha' yer shot didnae do what it shoulda done?" he asked then stopped and cursed loudly. "fuckin' portal... bloody cheater.."



Chapter Eight

Matt  had silently agreed with him but knew he couldn't get up there in time to help. He readied himself as he saw Saffron fall and managed to catch him, although his weight took them both to the floor. "Ow.... fuck... "Matt muttered softly as he lay there a minute, holding Saffron. "you hurt bad?" he asked.    

"Oh...ow...thats worse then being hit by a car..." Saffron muttered, laying on top of Matt for a moment, in an almost intimate position. Before he blushed, and scrambled to move, with a wince, looking down at Matt. "You okay?"

Matt smirked softly as he got to his feet. "Yeah... i'll add it to your tab.." he said with a smirk. "How are  you supposed to do this? Can't you just do something to those two idiots? Do you have to go after the guy trying to kill them?"

"Reed was here!" Saffron replied softly. "I saw him in the crowd...and my gut tells me something is wrong with that idea...very wrong...He shouldn't be here! He was supposed to be else where...Either he lied to Kit, or Kit lied to me!" Saffron said, looking around.

"So I get to test out this control thing after all..." Matt said, pulling Saffron against him out of the way as a group of people surged out of the way of Eire and his prey. "fuck... the damned cowboys are all over the fucking place... bastards are going to get picked off. Can you find Reed?"

Saffron looked around, trying to search Reed out, before opening his senses to allow him to pick up on him as well. It took him a moment to spot the tall muscular dark haired man, with the really bad seventies side burns. "There!" He pointed across the dance floor."

Matt followed Saffron's direction and used his own death sense to seek the man out. The death sense was there but not as strong as it was from Saffron. "I see him...." he said softly, keeping an arm around Saffron as they were jostled by the crowd. "Now let's see what I can do..." he added as he reached out with his abilities, trying to find a way through to sieze control. Zombies were the easiest,since they had no will or mind of their own, and so the only defenses they had were those given to them. Vamps that were down for the day weren't that much harder, since they were basically just empty shells at the time.. keeping them once they woke was another story, though. Matt frowned, letting himself slip into a slight trance to focus harder. Grim Reapers had both will and mind and the control to sheild themselves... and weren't going to be easy to get through to...
 
Reed wasn't watching Matt and Saffron, his gaze was one some one else. Saffron watched him closely and reached out with his own abilities. He was different from the other grim reapers after all...in that he retained many of his death elemental abilities and he focused, on pulling at Reed's abilities...and what could be called his life force...Reed snapped his head around, to glare at Saffron, putting up a resistance. At the same time, he drew a gun from behind him and Saffron blinked. Before he saw the laser sight on Matt's chest, over his heart. Saffron reacted on instinct, moving, putting himself in the path of the laser sight in front of Matt, his back to Reed. And gasped, with sudden blinding pain as the bullet hit him in the back, his eyes widening. It wouldn't kill him, but god it hurt. A lot. He wavered on his feet. Reed seemed to swore, but he became distracted, almost wavering himself, as he couldn't keep up the shield from Matt's abilities.

Matt redoubled his efforts even as he caught Saffron, holding him against him. He let the trance go, letting his sudden anger carry him instead and felt the barriers keeping him out weaken and fall. Smirking darkly he sought out that feel of death with the man and began testing ways of getting control of it....

 Saffron struggled to keep from passing out, practically laying against Matt even though he was on his feet. The pain was almost unbarable, and would be until the bullet came out.

Reed tried to put up a fight mentally, but with everything distracting him, he was slowly loosing control of his free will to Matt. Almost as if trying to win it back, he aimed again them.

Matt's eyes darkened considerably as he fought for control over Reed, the purple suddenly intensifying and brightening as he found what he wanted and it snapped in place. With a simple thought, the gun was lowered and Matt  lifted Saffron into his arms. "I got him... he's fighting like mad, but he's not strong enough to break free. He's mine." he said simply. "How do we save the dumbasses from getting killed Saff..?"

Saffron struggled to hold on to conciousness as the blackness seemed to be seeping in. "I...I...don't know..." He gasped in pain, almost not heard over the commution of people around them, some in hysterics. "I...I'm sorry!" he added with a gasp, before passing out.


Matt glanced down to find Saffron watching him and smiled softly. "Hey there angel... welcome back." he said softly. "Sorry.. haven't had a chance to get that thing out of you yet... but if you want.. I can have Reed here put one or two in himself so he can share your pain..." he added with a smirk as he found the hall and headed towards the fire escape door at the end of the hall. 

Saffron blinked, taking a moment to processes his words, before he gave a soft nervous laugh, then groaned at the pain. "Oh that would be very nice...yus please..." He muttered softly, painfully. he was struggling to breath, it seemed like he couldn't get enough air. 

Matt  swore softly and headed off after the sounds of gunfire, Reed obediently following behind.  Holding SAffron cradled in his arms felt way too good and he tried not too think too much about that as he sought out Macdonnell and Montgomery.   

Saffron lasped back into conciousness after a few moments, though it was troubled and he was disorintated. He looked up at Matt, almost confused, his expression making him look lost and fragile. And much more delicate looking.



Chapter Nine


"I'm a fuckin' crack shot with a sniper rifle! FUCK! I should 'ave taken  the bloody fuckin' kill shot! Would've saved us a hell o'lot more trouble!" Eire growled, leaning against the wall of the building, before hearing Matt coming down the hall, and looked around into the open door.

 Nate just snorted as he watched Matt approached with saffron in his arms and the other guy following at his heels. "Kill shot might not have done any good either, E'... shoulda used yer own gun... our ammo might've had enough o' somethin' in it to take him down... silver, lead, iron.. whatever th' bugger's weakness is..."

Matt smirked. "Let's get a bit further away from the crowds so we don;t have to worry about ricochets.. although how these fucking morons can keep dancing and shit with fucking gun fire and fights going on..." he finished in a mutter as he spotted Nate and Eire slipping back in through the door.

"Ye know wha's wrong 'bout this..." Eire said, looking over the rifle, before suddenly opening the chamber and discharging an almost three inch rifle bullet. He muttered something in gaelic. "This is professional shit! Professional military! The sniper, the guy who attacked me...military trainin'! I could smell it on 'em!" He suddenly pointed the bullet at Reed. "Who the fuck is this?!"

"A grim reaper..." Saffron muttered painfully, managing to turn his head to look at Eire.

A sudden portal opened up and a very furious Lindsay came through. "Saffron!" He growled. "What the FUCK is going on?! What the hell have you done now?! Do you have any idea of the shit, the bosses are screaming about! They're calling for you to be tossed in to Hell! I'm having a field day with trying to change their mind! And what the hell happened to you!?"

Reed brought his gun up and took a shot at Lindsey. Matt sighed. "fuck... how the hell did he managed to shoot you? Bastard can't aim.." he mumbled softly to Saffron. "

Eire and Nate stood there looking back and forth between Matt and Saffron and two guys. Lindsay staggered back with a groan of pain, before he snarled, his eyes going an eerie blue and white, before his sword was in his hand and he impaled Reed on it. "Ye fuckin' FUCK!" Linsday snarled, a sharp british accent to his words. He twisted the sword. "Right, that does it...time t' be rid o' one less grim reaper!" He added.

"Don't kill him!" Saffron cried, gasping from the pain. "He's involved some how!" Saffron added.

"He shot Saffron." Matt said simply as he turned his attention to Lindsey, using what he'd learned form taking Reed to try seizing control of him as well.    

Nate leaned towards Eire and whispered softly. "This whole thing is fucked ye know... we were set up... but were we set up fer us. or fer him...?"

Linsday shot Matt a dark look. "Don't even try it, boy." He snarled, hold Reed pinned to the wall. He was far stronger then Reed. His eyes focused out for a moment, before another portal opened up.

What came through caused Eire to jump with a yelp and actually scramble away. "Holy fuck!"

The figure was huge, wearing a black hooded cloak that hide the face and carrying a wicked sickle. "You called sir?" A deep but eloquent voice said and Saffron gave a painful laugh, closing his eyes a moment.

"Damon. You take Reed, and you put him in solitary and you make sure he stays put." Linsday growled.

A shadowed evil smirk appeared on Damon's face. "With pleasure, sir." He said as he grabbed Reed, opening another portal.

"Kit may be in on it too." Saffron told Linsday, struggling to stay conscious again.

Linsday swore. "I'll hold off the bigwigs as long as I can Saffron, but they're furious. Ya broke the rules, and what's more is you're running around with a necromancer. They want to thow ya to the wolves..."

"I take offense t' that." Eire said from his spot.

"Which means they want to toss yer ass t' Abadon." Linsday finished, giving Eire an irritated look for the interruption. Saffron suddenly paled even more.

"Fuck you." Matt said simply. "You were the one who sent him after his own family.. and it's your people out to kill him. He's with me now... you and the 'big wigs'.. can kiss my dead ass.. you're not getting him back."

Linsday gave Matt another dark look. "Hope you can hold up to those words there, kid." He said. "Because if Abandon gets a hold of Saffron, the worlds'll end up fucked." Linsday said simply before disappearing through another portal.

"Oh...great..."Eire grumbled watched the portal closed. he turned and looked at Matt and Saffron. "Ne'er a dull moment 'round ye, Saff." He said dryly.

"Um...if you say so..." Saffron gasped. "Cause I don't really remember...either of you..."

Matt was glaring at the spot the portal had been. "If the worlds would end.. then why the fuck would the big guys even consider it...? Stupid fucking jack ass....." he muttered, letting go of Reed. He hoped they had a good enough hold on him because he was going to be severely pissed about Matt having controlled him.  He turned to Nate and Eire with a sigh. "He doesn't remember anything since he  died.  Now lets get the fuck out of here.... clubs fucking irritate the shit out of me..."

"How the fuck does that work?!" Eire asked, staring at Saffron.

Saffron for a moment, seemed passed out again, his eyes closed, not answering for a long moment, before he finally said softly. "They took my memory..."

 "Shit..."Eire shook his head.

Another portal opened up and Damon stepped back through, his cloak hood back and looked down at Saffron with a slight frown. "You do know that, you never truly died. They were trying to get control of you. Myself, Michael and Lindsay were working toward a way to prevent that. You need to find a place out of the way. And get yourself a guardian. If their pets manage to get a hold of you and get you to Abandon...well I don't want to speak of it." Damon said. "We apologize, for putting you through all this. We doubt you'll understand, but the reason for putting you on these two, was to put you back in touch, with your family." He added, before turning and disappearing through another portal.

Saffron stared after him, before groaning. "Okay, that's it, my head hurts as much as the rest of me...night night.." Saffron muttered before passing out again. "This...is...fucked..." Eire said, looking just as confused.

Matt just snorted. "Welcome to my world.." he muttered simply. "Get your asses moving, you fucking dipshits... I'm not saving you again." he growled softly as he turned and headed for the door, Saffron cradled tenderly in his arms.

Nate raised an eyebrow and snorted softly. "More irritatin; than normal... hard t' resist shootin; th' bastard just fer th' sake o' shootin' him..." he muttered softly.

Eire fingered the rifle bullet and stared after Matt. "Agreed." He said to Nate softly, before following Matt. "Lets get back 't the offices. Yer wife's not gonna take this well...an' she's far 'nough long the stress might get t' er an' the baby." Eire added over his shoulder.

Nate hurried after Eire, the mention of Lex and the baby reminding him how close he came to leaving them... somewhere by the bar his hat lay with a bullet hole through it as testimony to that fact... and he owed his life to Graves, of all people. "Aww shite..." he muttered softly.


Chapter Ten


Matt ignored the other two as he  left the club, the door man eyeing him curiously before turning to check inside, obviously at a loss as to what had happened. He headed for the hearse, trying to decide why he'd told Lindsey SAffron was with him now.... and why the mention of SAffron gettnig a guardian seemed to strike a chord with him...

Eire and Nate passed the bar on their way out and Eire swiped the ruined cowboy hat off the floor, before tossing it back over his shoulder to Nate as they passed through the door outside. "Nice mate...try not t' let any more assholes with guns through yer door...eh..." Eire said to the door man, holding up the rifle as he passed, heading for their vehicle.

Nate was eyeing the hole through his hat solemnly, his thoughts on his wife and unborn child as he followed Eire. If Lex knew how close he'd come to dying tonight... He sighed and tossed the hat towards towards the nearest garbage can, trying not to let the sight bother him.

Saffron lasped back into consiciousness as Matt reached the hearse and he looked up at him, with a similiar look as before. "Sorry...for being so much trouble..." He whispered.

Matt snorted, smirking softly. "you're no trouble, kid. And you owe me that date... so hurry up and feel better." he said, carefully balancing him so he could get the door open and set him down. "Damn .. you're getting my car all bloody... something else to add to your tab.... At this rate, you might as well just  marry me.. i'll own the rest of your ass any how.." he said with a soft laugh and shut the door, heading around to his side, casting a glance towards Nate andEire.

Saffron shifted, trying to get comfortable in the seat, with the bullet still lodged in his back and the dark blush from Matt's words staining his cheeks. He managed to slip out his duster, with a small cry of pain, and fold it, placing it against his back and the seat, to stop the blood.

Eire removed the keys to the car as he reached it and unlocked it, casting a glance toward the hearse, wondering if Matt would be headed back to the offices or not, before Eire shook his head and got into the driver's seat, waiting for Nate.

Nate got into  the car and buckled up. "Let';s get goin'... we followin' them or just goin' straight back ?" he asked, glancing at the hearse. "E... don;t say anythin; t' Lexi... " he added softly.

"I didn't plan on it..." Eire replied softly as he starte the car, before pulling out of the parking lot. "But yer gonna 'ave 'nough o' trouble, when she finds out bout Saffron...after all...Saff...died tryin' t' protect 'er..."

Matt sat down and pulled his door shut before glancing over at Saffron. "Hey... what are you doing.. stop fucking around.. youll make it worse.." he said softly. "Should've put you in the back where you could lie down..." he said. "I can try taking it out for you... but it'll hurt like hell and if you've started to heal over it i'll end up doing  more damage before i get it out..."

"Its not healing..." Saffron muttered softly, leaning his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. He still felt like he was having trouble breathing. "I don't know what kind of bullet it is, but it's not healing...and it hurts...terribly." He breathed with a whimper.

Matt watched Saffron for a moment then cursed softly. "Fuck... I really don't like the way you look, kid..." he said then got out of the car and went to the back to grab the kit he kept stashed back there. Usually he used it on himself, but he'd dug a bullet out of a 'friend' once, and he'd healed up fine, so he figured he could do the same for Saffron. He headed to the passenger side, opening the door. "Come on kid.. let's get your shirt off so I can see what the fuck i'm doing..." he said softly.

Nate eyed Matt as they left the lot, wonderiong what was going on. "Graves is up t' somethin'... just grabbed somethin' from th' back an' went t' Saff's door..." he said before turning around to face front. "Damn ... I really don' like this shite, E'..."

Eire glanced in the mirror at the hearse, frowning then shook his head. "Looks like he's gonna see 'bout bandagin' Saffron up. Ye wanna stop or jus' keep goin' I for one, like the idea of gettin' back t' the office..." Eire said.

"Nah... he's been lookin' after him so far... get th' feelin' he wouldna care fer our help. " Nate said. "Lets just go... tell th' others ..."

"Go figure...Graves...takin' care o' any one, but 'imself..." Eire muttered, shaking his head with a slight smirk as he headed for the corner. They passed the hearse and Eire honked the horn.

~~

Saffron gave a weak laugh. "Got any experience removing a bullet?" He asked, though he managed to shift forward, working at getting the long sleeved black cotton shirt off, despite the pain. As the shirt came off, the black wings on his back were revealed. along with the long scars that crossed over his back. And the stark scar on his chest.

 "Mostly on myself... people seem to think I make a good target.. must be the hair." Matt said lightly as he opened his kit and cleaned off the skin around the wound enough to see better. the sight of the intricate tattooed wngs over the mass of scars made his heart catch and he had to focus on what he was doing. "Nice neat litle hole..." he said simply. "Must have made it's mess inside. "

Saffron turned enough for Matt to see, leaning forward against the dashboard and closed his eyes. "I suppose the hair could cause people to sponatiously want to shoot you...guess it's equalivant to a target on your back..." He said with a strain smile, glancing over his shoulder at Matt.

 Matt pulled out a pair of long tweezers and a scalpel that he'd 'liberated' from a morgue back during his days of 'average' night shift work. He dosed them liberally with alcohol then paused. "Damn... angel I don;t have anything for pain... and this is going to fucking hurt...." he said softly. "I could knock you out.. then feel like shit about it for a while.. or you could just pray you pass out quickly..." Matt ignored the honk at first then stood and waved at the two of them to stop. MacDonnell was a witch... maybe he'd be able to at least put the kid to sleep if not stop the pain....

"Matt, it already hurts..." Saffron muttered, leaning on his coat on the dashboard, his eyes closed. He'd been shot a few weeks before this, and it hadn't hurt NEARLY as much, so it made him wonder what the hell this bullet was made of.

Eire saw the wave as he stopped at the stop light at the corner. "Fuck..." He muttered, checking that things were clear, then threw the car in reverse, back up along the curve behind the hearse and put the car in park, before rolling down the window. "Need somethin'?" He asked, looking back at Matt, his tone even. He didn't really DISLIKE Matt, after all, he'd known guys MUCH worse, in the Illuminati. He'd always been of the opinion that if Matt chose to get along with other people, Eire could get along with him just fine.

"Gonna try taking the bullet out... It's hurting way more than it should and he's not healing... I got the impression that he should have started by now. " Matt said simply. "I've got nothing for the pain... And I'd rather not starting cutting him up with him feeling it.. was hoping MacDonnell could do something.."    

Nate looked over at him for a moment then got out of the car. "Yer gonna cut bullet out?" he asked. "Yer a surgeon in yer spare time, are ye?"  "Shut the fuck up, cowboy. Can you stop the pain or put him out or something? If not.. get your ass back in the car and fuck off..." Matt said simply.  Nate stepped past him and looked in on Saffron. The sight of how pale the kid was and the expression on his face explained why Graves was doing it. "Just know minor pain spells...  they'd take th' edge off, but tha's about it. Can combine one with a sleep spell though... know a few o' them. Should put ye out fer a while...." he told SAffron. "Yer sure ye want this, Saff? Can portal ye t' th' nearest hospital or back t' th' offices... Portal might be a bit rough with ye like this, but..."

"Has any one noticed the access amount of bleeding I'm doing?" Saffron asked softly, his forehead on the dashboard. "Since being a grim reaper, I haven't BLED this much..." He shifted in pain, a whimper escaping him.

"Suggests yer not a grim reaper any more...possibly no longer dead..." Eire said from his spot having gotten out. "Hold on a moment." He added, going back to the car and opening the trunk. There was a muttered where the fuck am I going to go? from Saffron. Eire snorted softly and grabbed his black bag. He carried a field kit, on every assignment and case, out of habit and one side of the field kit was a medical kit. He pulled a morphine packet from the kit, a small double dose bottle and syringe, and headed back. "This is all I've got, but it's better then nothin'." He said, riping open the packet and pulling the cap off the syringe. Saffron turned his head to eye Eire.

"A field kit...an Illuminati field kit..." Saffron said, shock in his voice.

Eire snorted softly as he filled the syringe. "Yeah kid...I was a solider for them once."

"Better then magic..." Matt said softly as he watched. Nate shot him a glare but didn't argue. "You any good at removing bullets? Like I told the kid... I usually just pluck them out of myself... and I can't fuck things up any worse. Being dead has it's advantages... get the foriegn object out and thinga heal back to normal. I can do it.. but I was more comfortable doing it when he was dead...."

Eire crouched down beside Saffron once he had the syringe fulled, Saffron's eyes were on the needle and when Eire leaned into inject him, Saffron snapped away, with a small cry of pain. "Yer gonna 'ave t' sat still, Saffron." "I don't like needles..." Saffron replied. "Yeah, I remember...Graves, hold 'im, eh?"

Matt slipped into the drivers seat and slide over as close as he coudl get, then wrapped his arms around him carefully. "hold on to me, kid...what's one little pinch compared to what you already feel, right?" he said softly. "Look at me, Saffron... don;t look at him.."

Saffron turned slightly, his side bared to Eire, he looked up at Matt, his eyes wide. "I don't like needles..." Saffron muttered. Eire waited a moment, making sure Matt had Saffron distracted, and then pulled Saffron's pants down enough to get to his hip, cleaned a spot with alcohol and slipped the needle into the vein in one quick movement, injecting him. Saffron gasped with a slight whimper, ending up leaning against Matt. "That's gonna hit quickly." Eire said. "Iffin ye keep holdin' him, I can probably get the bullet out, or else we take 'im back t' the offices an' let the doctor there do it..."

"Get it out." Matt said simply. "There's something screwy with it... It was meant for me.. if they knew what I was, who the fuck knows what they did to it..." He stroked SAffron;s cheek softly. "you'll feel better soon, angel." he said softly. "and don;t think a little hole in your back or being high as kite on morphine will distract me form that fact that you now owe me a few times over... although, seeing as how you did take a bullet for me.. I might let you off with just the date..."

Saffron snorted softly, but ended up laying his head on Matt's chest, when Eire turned him more, Saffron's arms slipping around Matt's neck. Eire pulled a flashlight from bag and handed it to Nate after turning it on, so he had more light. He laid out the long nosed twizers and the scalpal with in reach, and wiped away more blood, before running his hand over the area of the hole until he found a small hard lump. He grabbed the scalpal and went to work. Saffron buried his face in Matt's shoulder. "Where did you learn to do this shit?" He asked Eire, sounded a bit on the sleepy side from the morphine. Eire snorted softly as he worked. "When yer part o' the Illuminati's black ops team fer two years, ye pick up a lot o' skills. We didn't 'ave any surgeons with us...we had t' learn t' remove bullets ourselves." Eire said.

"Yeah... and going to hospitals tends to create too many questions. Easier to just take care of shit yourself." Matt agreed simply, stroking Saffron;s hair with one hand as he held him still with the other. "Least he has the drugs to kill the pain during the cutting... not something I coudl do."

Saffron whimpered from the pain, though it was consideribly less and he clung even more to Matt. Eire leaned over Saffron's back, as he worked, wiping away the blood and reaching into his bag for a pair of curved nose forceups, to spred some of the muscle when he caught sight of something silver. Saffron stifled the cry, in Matt's shoulder. Eire grabbed the twizzers once he had the muscle spred and grabbed a hold of the bullet before working it out, pulling with a slight yank, which was the last Saffron could hold on, passing out with another cry, going limp in Matt's arms. Eire turned, holding the bullet up in the light, inspecting it. He was scowling. "Natey, there should be a couple ziplock bags in the bag there..." He said nodding to his field kit, while used his free hand to hold a bandage to Saffron's back.

Nate shifted his hold on the flash light and grabbed one of the bags. He set the light donw long enough to open it and hold it out for Eire to drop the bullet into.

Matt held SAffron but his eyes were on the bullet. "There was something etched onto that...etched good enough that it wasn't destroyed by being fired." he said softly, his eyes going to Nate, then back to Eire, deciding the  ex mercenary was more lightly to know what was going on.

Yeah...I've seen bullets like it before...an' it ne'er bods well. Most'ld chalk it off t' being the hunter's mark." Eire said, looking at the bullet in the bag a moment, before sitting it in his field kit then turned to dress the wound, though it took his time, exaiming the wound now that the bullet was out and spotted something else. "Fuck..." He muttered, grabbing the twizzers again. He pulled out what appearently had been the tip of the bullet, but something about it, bothered Eire just as much as the rest of the bullet. He grabbed a second bag. "I think ye were right, Graves...think this bullet was meant fer ye..."

"Told you it was... the kid was stupid and put himself in the line of fire... bastard had a heart shot on me, but before i could move, the kid did." Matt said simply. "Think that shit would've done any good against me?" he asked, stroking Sffron;s hair as he watched him. "Only think that's kil me is .. well.. lets just say a bullet won't do it... not even a fancy one."

Eire got a bandage on Saffron's back, taping it securely, before turning his attention back to the ziplock bags. He eyed both with the flashlight. "Don't think this was meant t' kill ye...this was meant fer somethin' else...I'm takin' it back t' the lab. The markin's on the bullet look fae." Eire said, before putting both ziplock bags in the field kit. "I'd suggest bringin' Saffron back as well...'ave the doctor look o'er the wound...I'm not sure it's gonna heal as fast as it should...fer some one like him...get the feelin' it's gonna heal at a human rate."

Matt snorted softly. "Yeah... we'll be right behind you. If he hates needles that bad... I hope that shot lasts long enough to get him in and let the doc have a look at him before it wears off..." he muttered softly. "Thanks, man.. would've been a bitch to do that alone with nothing for the pain..." he said  simply  easing SAfforn down onto his lap while he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around him.

Eire glanced at Matt, and eyed his move with Saffron a moment, but said nothing about that. "No problem." He said about doing it. He put the two bags in his field kit and got out of the hearse. "We'll see ye there." He added simply heading back toward the car with his bag. He waited for Nate.

"You mind putting his feet up and closing the door, MacDonnell?" Matt asked simply and Nate looked at him. Hed been lost in though for the moment, considering everything that had ahappened that night. "aye.." he said and helped Matt get SAffron comfortable stretched across the seat, his head resting on Matt's leg, then shut the door. He headed back to the car getting in and just sat there for amoment, glancing back at the hearse. "Fuckin' hell.." he said softly then sighed and did up his seat belt.

Eire had sat his field bag in the back seat and climbed into the driver's seat. "Gettin' complicated, ain't it..." Eire muttered, starting the car again. "Part o' me feels I should be shocked...at seeing Graves like that with Saffron...but that's like the least thing on me mind at the moment." Eire said with a rueful snort, pulling away from the curb. "This isn't the Illuminati...it's not their mark...I've got no idea who it is..." He had the rifle in the trunk, intending to take it back to the offices as well.

Nate snorted softly. "Kay an' Auron are goin' t' have heart attacks over this mess... then they'll be goin' on a spree after th' bastards who made them believe SAff was dead all this time..." he said softly. "gonna need to get a new hat in time fer th' festivites..." he added with a soft smirk. "Saffron better not go th' same way as Lexi... with th' way graves was lookin' at him.... " he snorted softly. "...wind up with a fucking Necromancer fer a brother in law..."

Eire gave a sudden laugh and looked over at Nate as he spotted the hearse turning around to follow them. "Natey...ye know damn good an' well, Saffron probably IS likely t' go that way...but I doubt we'll be 'avin' Graves as brother in law...can't see the man givin' in like that..." He said, turning his attention back to the road, heading for hte offices as fast as the speed limit would allow.

"Yer right.. he's much more th' livin' in sin' type... Just knock her up an' piss off the family.." Nate agreed, smirking wickedly. "fuck, E'... this is so fuckin' twisted..."









< < Previous         Next > >


 


Copyright © 2006-2009
The Gurgi Clan & Chaos Inc. - 
Skye, Ruex, Sage,Washu &  Miss Frost .
All Rights Reserved.



 


TRIPLES with EMMA