scrpblog

[scrpblog]

Jodi stayed still and watched Levington. Observing the small things, and the more blatant, taking note on the details that mattered. Ooh. She was striking a sensitive nerve in him. He reached for that bottle like it was the only solution, and he downed the second glass of liquor faster than the first. ‘Growing soft?’ So Cooper really did taint Brams’ morals with her own. And he clearly didn’t like it; that signature festering wound Cooper left on him. She could sense he was looking for a way to heal it.

He was just about to carry on with his train of thought when the phone went off. The corners of Jodi’s lips twitched downward; fucking distractions. She was in the middle of something here. She let out a silent, long sigh, and her eyes rolled at the irritation. She then joined in placing her glass down—only after she took a gulp— but her movements were a contrasting lax against Levington’s rushing and sounds of dissatisfied groaning.

Jodi didn’t know who it was on the other end of that text, or what it was even about, but when she saw the right opportunity to snatch his phone—

“Business? Right now?”

The feline took it. As much as she wanted to peek the details, Jodi calculated it was best to not pry on this one. She wanted to keep him focused, as well as cooperative. Although, her eyes did happen to gloss over the person he was texting before she locked the screen. And how convenient. “Now when they say speak of the devil..” She held the phone out of the mouse’s reach, and gave it a light, indicating wiggle. “I know you were just about to tell me some scathing opinion on them, and yet here you are: trying to help The Cooper Gang instead. Dropping whatever it is you’re about to do for yourself, all to beckon at their call, like the good, trained, little pawn you are to them..”

Jodi dangled the phone out and above the open carpet. “And I don’t like when someone interrupts my time, anyways.” Her fingers slipped away from its grasp, and down the device fell. For good measure—just in case he wanted to try and pick it back up— Jodi decided to saddle herself into Brams’ lap, and push him back into the couch by two firm hands locked on his shoulders. “Since you were on your start to being honest with me,” she continued, “I’ll ask a question, that’s had me curious since I saw it..” She slithered her fingers through the collar of his shirt, then pulled at the cloth until his wounded shoulder was exposed. Her eyes didn’t leave their lock on the mouse’s when she asked him, “You got this from being around them, didn’t you?”

———————-

Amy made sure the ride to the motel was calm, normal, full of conversation happening over songs from the local radio station, anything to make Daniel comfortable and certain he was safe. Meanwhile, she was subtly checking the rear view, taking side roads that made their travel time a little longer, and keeping a sharp eye out for any car that looked suspicious. He made a point back at the house that she had been gnawing on the whole ride: did Cage and his men think Daniel was Carlyle? Were they just as clueless to what Faust actually looked like? The guy knew how to be a leaf in the wind, so maybe Cage really never had a visual of him. They could have very well been business partners that never met face to face, she had known plenty of shady dealings between mafia members where the situation worked that way. Regardless, Amy wasn’t sitting well on the thought that she could very well be putting Daniel in danger from that deadly assumption made. She was barely recovering from the last time this happened; the last time people were put in harms way because of her..

She was going to do it right this time. She was going to get Daniel in and out, and far away from her. It would also make it a lot easier to find Faust if she was on her own, and not worrying about someone else. That was why she wanted to do this solo in the first place. She couldn’t let anymore guilt build up... she just couldn’t.

The motel was a mom-and-pop op, and Amy intentionally went for the more low-key property. One floor, a warn out paint job on the exterior, but the potted plants assorted about the outside walkways spruced it up. The inside had a better upkeep, though. “I brought a medical kit with me, so I’ll just need take a to dig through my luggage to grab that.” Amy said as she swiped her key card in the door’s lock then opened it for Daniel to walk through first. “Unfortunately I don’t have anything like that sweet tea you talked up,” the vixcoon chuckled while stepping in after him,” but I do have some bottled water. There’s also a convenience store right down the road. I can do a run for anything you’d like— after we’re done with your hand, of course.” She’d taken off her coat and placed it on one of the upholstered chairs, her cane was collapsed and back in the inside pocket. She took several steps across the small room to reach her luggage, where she then began a quick search for the medical box.

“Have a seat on the bed.” Amy pulled the kit out from beneath a stack of her clothes. “You can totally steal a hand towel from the bathroom to replace yours.” Her smirk matched the humor in her words while sitting beside the Pomeranian. She then popped open the metal tin’s top and started to pull out the appropriate aid. “Go ahead and unwrap your hand for me, and let’s see what kind of work I’ve got to do.”