Just Juxtapose

"Typical Sian, very typical." Mavin shook her head and clicked a button to run the program. She scanned it through her decoder and after a 20-minute wait, the message was descrambled. She had Pyro's address. She copied it to memory and then deleted the message. That was followed by a system sweep to make sure the message was gone. It was protocol. The tall butch was sure Pyro would be hacking into her systems later to make sure the info wasn't there. The importance of privacy was something Mavin understood well.

**********

It was about 3am and Mavin's nerves were beyond shot. The systemic assault from adrenaline wreaked havoc on her body. Her temples were throbbing in time to a ghastly cadence that spelled a brutal migraine. Now wasn't the time for paralyzing headaches but her body didn't function by reason.

The dark butch kept her eyes glued to the weather-fucked road and fought the urge to pinch her eyes shut and slam her head into the steering wheel. She pulled into the area listed on the address and made a habitual survey of her surroundings. The wind was mind-numbingly cold, lashing obscenely through her clothes and penetrating her skin. Huge gulps of air meant to soothe her only made her throat dry and scratchy. She coughed a few times and tried to keep the moisture in her mouth.

The location she sought was right in front of her. An old, abandoned building that probably should've been torn down ages ago. Instead, it stood gauchely amidst other renovated buildings, like a gatekeeper of some sort. Mavin took it all in out of habit; a way to distract herself from her situation, from her head. But she didn't bother stepping onto the curb. She just waited and soon enough, an unmarked van with darkened window pulled up to her. Just like old times.

The door of the van slid open and Mavin got in, without a word. She found a comfortable seat and leaned back into it. The van stayed in motion for about 30 minutes, before stopping. Shortly after, the door slid open again. Mavin eyed the figure wearily, as she moved to get out of the vehicle. In her dazed vision, she caught a glimpse of the dark brown eyes, with winter-glazed flecks of amber. Mavin blinked a few times and steadied herself.

"You're alright?" The voice asked, with some concern.

"I don't know." Mavin heard herself say.

"Come with me."

"Well, anything else defeats the purpose Maniac." Mavin retorted with a hint of sarcasm as she followed the person through the small, darkened lot. Glad she was wearing her jacket, the wind howled through the place, screaming past her sensitive ears. Mavin turned her collar up.

"You haven't changed a bit Mave." Maniac said without looking at the dark butch.

"Yeah, I was starting to wonder why I keep hearing that." Mavin said through gritted teeth, her head felt like it was being crushed under its own weight.

"For a while now, Sian's been expecting to hear from you." Maniac said casually as they turned into a shaft way.

Mavin didn't say anything. She couldn't, because they were just out of the shaft when Sian appeared at the end. The same amber speckled, brown eyes laid on her for the second time this morning and yet, the first. The tall butch stopped in her tracks, and contemplated her next move. She wasn't sure about the expression on Sian's face. It was severe in its intensity, a mix of relief and dread. Which was more, Mavin couldn't tell.

"Well, here you are." Sian said slowly, her voice as soft and camouflaging as Mavin remembered. The raven haired woman moved closer to Mavin.

"It's good to see you Sian." Mavin said, being utterly truthful.

"I can say the same, but the season doesn't permit." Sian replied, no hint of malice. She reached Mavin and stood toe to toe with her, slipping her slender arms around Mavin's waist, caressing her as though this was something they did every day. She was an inch or two shy of Mavin's height but nonetheless, she still had a commanding presence. "I have some information for you."

"Well, I can trust that." Mavin said flatly and gently pulled herself away from the not-so-necessary stimulation.

"Alright are we'll set?" Sam aka Maniac stated, as she went up to her station to monitor the tracer program she'd been working on.

"Your cell, we'll need that." Sian stated, in a casual tone that flowed like milk over cereal.

"Sure." Mavin reached into her pocket to get the device. To her surprise, it wasn't there.

"I got it Mave." Sian said, with the phone dangling from fingertips.

"You're slick." Mavin grinned at the raven-haired woman.

"You didn't think I was coming on to you, did you?" Sian asked in the same soft tone that never failed to confuse the dark butch.

"Sian, this is very serious." Mavin replied, catching herself on the brink of hypnosis.

"SIAN, GET OVER HERE!!!" Sam hollered from her station.

Sian let out a sigh. This all was such bad timing. She eyed Mavin for a beat and with a lick of her lips, turned in the direction of her sister's voice.

Mavin stood her ground, though she was unsure of her next move. She didn't plan on wasting any time to find Bellinda, especially after what happened to José. 'And what happened to José?' Her own mind mocked her. 'A hole in the head, a blink and you're dead.' Mavin swallowed hard as her vision blurred.

"You're coming or not?" Sian's silky voice pierced the dark woman's reverie, intoxicating her. Mavin allowed her eyes to wander; the earthy passage way, the vapor of her own breath flowing in the cold, the back of Sian's boot-clad legs, the back of Sian's thighs, her ass.

"I have to find her Sian." Mavin said frowning, her body suddenly consumed by her wrath, and a sense of guilt that'd become all too familiar.

"Okay, then. But I know I'm not getting the whole story." Sian began again.

"I think she's being held for ransom and I've been called to deal at noon tomorrow, - well, later today." Mavin said quickly.

Sian nodded, her dark hair tossing lightly about her shoulders. Bad-ass timing as always, she thought fleetingly; she hadn't seen the tall butch in years.

"You're still here?" Sam bounded towards them "...You know, I actually have better things to do."

"What do you have?" Sian asked just as they all moved through the rest of the shaft.

It led to a wider hallway which had the organic smell of deep earth. Mavin looked around and was mildly relieved that there weren't any crawlers nearby. Just as that thought left her, the odor morphed into that of damp concrete, telling of manmade structure. It was a pseudo-crypt of some sort with slightly polished walls and artificial lightning.

A few more steps through the fairly long hall, and Mavin stepped into a familiar world. Hey eyes lit up as she washed her gaze over the studio-sized space filled with all sorts of technoware. To simply say 'computers' would be a devastating understatement. However, to the untrained eye it was possible to gleam that even NASA and all the government agencies put together didn't have a speck of dust on these two, - Pyro and her twin, Maniac.

Mavin actually met them in the last place anyone would expect, which for the kind of work they did, wasn't so unusual. She's been in Nagele, a small town in Ethiopia doing some independent research for her college thesis paper. As it was her habit to do, she immersed herself in the area and made it a point to get to know the locals. Information was valuable and having it in a language she could understand was even more so.

She's been scouting for an interpreter whom she could at least trust for the time being. But as always in third world countries, politics and decent ethics are often absolute polar opposites. A mugging during a short day-tour, had left her hopelessly stranded without her valuable possessions by Lake Abaya, several miles from where she began.

And as though life thoroughly enjoyed fucking with her, she'd wandered about, lost for two days when she literally ran into a couple of seriously tanned Caucasians. She wasn't surprised, but for the fact that they actually seemed to know what they were doing in such a remote location. They offered to help her only because they figured by the way she looked that she wasn't out to rob them. Then they'd laughed themselves red when she explained that she'd been mugged by her translator, who had planned with six or more other individuals to ambush her on a tour.

The whole encounter had seemed surreal. The two introduced themselves to Mavin as Sam and Sian Connors. For the next two or three days that they spent there, Mavin got to know them a bit. They were technicians and were in the region to test equipment that was being built on contract for a client they couldn't mention. Though years later, the two came clean about their true endeavors; there hadn't been a client, they were really technicians – of the hacker variety, and they'd been in Ethiopia running tests on a new piece of technology they'd bartered off the underground market.

The memories faded into reality as the sleek shine of 21st century technology greeted her adrenaline-scorched eyes. The range of devices and wares seemed to split the room into quadrants. Two of them were fairly identical and the remaining two, completely different. Mavin immediately pinned the information down; the two look-alike workstations were as kempt as any multi-screened, multi-networked station would be, and the other two screamed of an inventor's garage.

Everything about the SamSian Twins was laid out bare, - classic geeks with modern style. Mavin's jaw hung open as she lost herself for a moment with the techno-geek in her.

"Nothing yet, hand me the cell." Sam walked by her sister who tossed her the device. "You've had contact?" Sam asked in Mavin's direction, waving to a comfy looking chair nearby.

"Yeah," Mavin nodded, taking the seat while Sian moved to her station, fingers flying over the keyboard in a frenzy that'd put many finger-fuckers to shame. "Fucking bastard ruined my Xmas eve."

"So who do you think might be running this?" Sam asked eagerly, as she placed the phone on a metal plate and pushed a green button nearby. A set of green lasers showered the phone and a few seconds later the computer chirped a single confirmation, "No bugs."

Mavin felt the sense of relief again and before she could assess it, she dozed off into a shallow coma, leaving the pyromaniac duo to their work.

*******

"I'm worried, we haven't heard from her in hours." Becca snuggled in close to her husband. They'd finally worn each other out and were trying to catch some time on the sleep train before the girls woke up.

"You know how she is." Zeke replied, not wanting to discuss his sister now. "She's gonna feel smothered if we decide to bug her now, besides it's almost dawn. I'm sure she's not waiting to call now."

"Well maybe, but she did leave here in a rush. Do you think something is up...with her and Bellinda, I mean?"

Zeke groaned and spooned his wife, "Baby, she's gonna do whatever she wants, and until she tells us, it's not for us to worry too much about."

"Zeke, she's not getting any younger and I'd like to see her happy and settled." Becca turned to face him.

"I know honey, but I've known Mavin my whole life, and I can say without a doubt that she'll do what makes her happy and if you wait around for her to please you, it won't happen unless you choose to be happy for her no matter what she's up to."

"Well, I like that she's up to the redhead. They're good together."

"I think so too, but baby, let's save it 'til later, I'm wiped." Zeke eyed the bedside clock; it was just past 5am.

"Hmmm, okay." Becca smiled and kissed him, "I love my present baby. It'll be great for when you travel."

"Ha! I'm sure baby. That's why it's molded after the original; you'll never have to miss it unless you want to."

"Well, I'm missing it right now." Becca's voice dropped like cream in coffee.

"Oh fuck!" Zeke had to grin as Becca rolled onto him and proceeded to stroke him to attention. "I've created a monster."

"Yes, it's right out of your wildest dreams." Becca's body suddenly found energy seemingly from thin air, "I promise you a good time baby, just relax."

Zeke thought he saw a grin that was just too evil on his wife's face but as her hot lips wrapped around his member, his eyes closed and he just had to ignore everything. Soon, his groans filled the room and Becca was all too happy to hear him.

****************

Somewhere deep down, she'd been hoping for a vision of clues but her dreams were of abstract impressions and designs. Her brain organized itself for the next bout of drama, providing her a theatre of celestial nonsense to occupy her senses while it recuperated.

"Mavin...!" The voice sounded warped; echoing in the recesses of her mind. She was too distracted by the sea of intense hues and almost frightening colors. The kinds you either saw when you were tripping on 'cid or about to die. She felt herself smirking, waiting for the proverbial tunnel of light.

"...Mavin!" She got a loud shout instead. Her eyes flew open into a duller, blurred view. The wild colors were gone and a familiar palette harsh grays and dead blues marred her vision.

"What?" She croaked as she blinked to clear her eyes.

"Two things," It was Sian, looking the same as she did before, "Breakfast and we found something."

"What time is it?" Mavin stretched a little; she didn't have to turn to know her neck was badly cramped.

"It's 0600." Sam said, plopping down next to Mavin, totting a sandwich.

"What did you find?" Mavin replied, she'd only slept a few hours and felt like she'd been run over by a Mack truck.

"The call number doesn't exist in the region." Sian answered, pinching a piece of her sister's sandwich.

"Meaning what?" Mavin rubbed her neck,

"They could've come from anywhere." Sam munched.

"That's normal." Mavin leaned back into her seat, desperately seeking relief from her neck.

"Not like this, it's not. See if we called the number back, we should get some kind of destination. You know, a payphone, a rigged phone, a cell, a radio tower, and so on. But we got a blank point." Sian explained.

"What like an undefined function?" Mavin's eyebrows jumped.

"Even worse, we can't pin an origin." Sam dusted crumbs from her mouth.

"Well, what if we try to intercept the call?" The dark butch palmed her head.

"Way ahead of you Mavin," Sian said, "We'll bug your cell with a 3-second passive transmission delay so we can monitor the peripheral channels before and after each call."

"And don't worry, we know you only get calls from about five people, and the kidnapper's one of 'em." Sam chuckled and nudged the dark butch.

"Just do what you have to and get me an aspirin or something." Mavin was fit to bark.

"Tsk tsk, be nice Mave. Your cell will be set in about half an hour. Do you want any breakfast?" Sam asked while Sian went off to dismantle the cell phone on her workbench.

"Fuck you." Mavin groaned as her head spun. "What happened to the midtown crib?"

"If you remember it then you know why we had to leave." Sam said as she dropped a bottle of aspirin in Mavin's lap, "It was getting too hot and we've since moved to another location. This place is just where we work."

"Right, y'all spend your holidays hacking?"

"Well, it is the busiest time of the year. You know how it is."

"I guess so." Mavin swallowed two pills and drank them down with the water Sam had provided. "So how've you been hanging?"

"Pretty good, we had a raid a few months back and so we had to beef up our shit to the nth degree."

"I see." Mavin closed her eyes.

"And you, what've you been up to?"

"You don't know?" Mavin smiled, "I thought y'all had pinned me to your radar."

"No, but we've been watching her though."

Immediately the words left Sam delectable lips, Mavin found herself back in that place she'd hoped to never see again. She sighed deeply and opened her eyes.

"How is she?" Mavin asked and wasn't really sure why.

"Not so good. She stayed in the business for about 3 years but it was never the same. She's getting married next year, committing to unhappiness."

"Phbt! Figures she would." Mavin shifted in her seat.

"Well, she tried to kill you. And after all this time, she knows you're not dead but she doesn't try to make things right." Sam said and moved to straddle Mavin.

"Somehow, I don't think she's all in the wrong. I mean, I don't even really know what happened that night and the only other witness is –"

"Dead." Sam interrupted as she took a comfortable seat in Mavin's lap.

"WHAT?!?" Mavin gripped Sam by the shoulders.

"Cancer, I thought you knew." Sam whispered, genuinely shocked by the outburst.

"Oh shit!" Mavin was at a severe loss for words. "Shit, shit fuck!"

"I'm sorry, I honestly thought you knew." Sam pressed closer to the butch and took Mavin's face in her palm. She saw the tears forming there.

"Sam, I need to be alone right now." Mavin said, closing her eyes and sealing the tears in.

"Sure, the exit shaft is that way; you walk it a few times if you want." Sam pulled herself off Mavin, "Damn, how did you not know."

Mavin didn't respond, instead, she moved toward the shaft and walked slowly through it. She was on the verge of tears; her anger was simply beyond control. She felt almost as helpless as she did when she was 5. She was practically choking on guilt and yet, it wasn't time for her to cry. So she punched the wall, sending a clean crack through it. And one through her right hand. She bit down the urge to howl and gripped her broken hand. But the pain, like everything else she was felt was just too much. So she screamed, starting with a deep growl and rising higher and higher until her scarred cords failed to make any sound at all.

****************

"You know I'm beyond thrilled that you've accepted this offer. Your presence in H&B will be an invaluable asset to the growth and progress of the company."

"Kurt, come on. You made an exciting offer. I'd have been crazy to refuse."

"Well Eva, I'll have to agree. But again, think you."

"Oh I should be thanking you."

"Well, how about a toast?"

"Okay."

"To a new friendship and a bright future, on the horizon, - and beyond; Welcome Eva Wilson." Kurt raised his glass with a smile. The rest of the room applauded.

"Thank you." Eva nodded and clinked glass with her newest associate as well as the eight other member of the H&B board of direction. She accepted the congratulatory handshakes and pleasantries with a gracious smile.

She'd flown all the way to Seattle for the meeting and the introductory mumbo-jumbo that would follow as she was integrated into the new atmosphere. Her work would be for the most part, in Washington D.C. but every now and then she'd have to make trips to Seattle, where the new H&B research headquarters was located. Her position in H&B would be a board director with more money than her last job. Eva had nothing against money.

All that considered, Eva was excited; she'd have a prominent role in the company and ultimately a more advantageous position in respect to her career. She'd call a few members of her family to tell them the good news but none except her sister would understand the significance the way Mavin would. However, she already knew Mavin's stand on the matter and at the same time, she didn't understand it.

Anyway, it wasn't like Mavin had laid a better job down to replace this one if she'd refused it. Besides, who was she working for anyway; herself or Mavin? Eva decided, she would stay and enjoy the experience at H&B as best she could. Mavin's opinion be damned.

After a few more hours of schmoozing and smiling, Eva returned to her weekend penthouse suite with a new assignment that was to begin right away.