.Welcome.

[Jacqueline Clark]

The pixie was still in a semi-state of shock when her partner had pulled the computer towards him. His message to the mysterious messenger had snapped the woman out of her state, only to catch the last of his question. In one swift move, not even thinking about what she was doing, Jaq slapped Julian across the arm. She wanted to slap his hands like a mischievous child. She mumbled the word, “Idiot”.

Neither of them were packing and Jaq wasn't sure she could trust Julian in a fight. If it came down to that. There was no way of defending themselves if someone did try to take them on. Besides, his sister was taken in broad daylight and no one saw a thing. Knowing exactly where to find the couple in a deserted library wasn't going to provide much of a challenge.

On top of all that, this was a public area and the few innocents that were here could easily become collateral damage. She wasn't about to add any more names to her back because of him. She wasn't about to die because he was ready to take on the world on fist at a time. Grinding her teeth, Jacqueline turned the computer back, making a sound of disgust.

“Don't do that again.” She seethed with a pointed finger in his direction. "I'm not dying for you."

She turned to face the computer, ignoring his earlier question. The thing was, Jaq wasn't too damn sure herself if any of this was traceable. The user name wasn't coming up in any of the databases and technically he was 'offline'. There might be a way, but she'd have to get her hands on some new black market devices.

The chat box kept showing the same message: Run. They're coming for you. Run. After a moment it seemed to pause again. As if the user wasn't sure how to process that someone was actually talking back to him. When the pause lasted longer than 30 seconds, Jaq began typing.

Where is Arianne?

....

They can't hurt her anymore.

The woman was a little put back that it had answered her so quickly. Obviously the user realized he wasn't speaking to Arianne anymore...but then again...why did it keep repeating the same message. Without making a big deal about it, Jaq glanced over the computer to find if it had any internally installed cameras.

Do you know where she is?
Yes.

Jacqueline didn't like that she felt she was being watched. Monitored through the screen, somehow. She attempted to keep her worried look hidden. However, the best thing about all this was the fact they had a lead. Someone knew where Arianne was.

Is she safe?

…......

They can't hurt her anymore.

[Julian Tate]

The smack to his arm made Julian jump with a loud, "Ow!" It hadn't hurt, though it was his natural response to getting smacked. No one had smacked him in the arm since Arianne. In fact, his sister's number one reaction to his words or actions was a smack in the arm, the head occasionally when she felt he was really dumb.

"Babe, no one's going to come. Whoever this is hasn't had the balls to show up in ten years then sends a creepy message," he pointed out, folding his arms over his chest. He couldn't mention that he could take anything that walked through that door, that he was ready for a fight to settle the pent up emotions warring inside him. The beast deep beneathe his skin was spoiling for a fight which meant he'd probably have to go hunting tonight. "And if they do, I guarantee I'm one of those people you want on your side."

He stopped talking as the new message came across, confirming someone had been after Arianne. A quick skim said he'd killed the last hunter days before she'd gone missing yet that had been in California. One could have made a phone call except his experience said hunters were personal. And the person on the other end didn't seem threatening, though their words didn't completely rule out they were innocent of Aria's disappearance.

"Ask it where she is!" he demanded at the single word response. Unable to stand the chair anymore, he flung his cigarette onto the table and pushed away from the table, taking up pacing behind Jaq. His eyes, all color faded to black, slid over to the computer at the new message, scowling as he read the words. "What does that mean? Who was hurting her? And if she's safe, why won't she contact me? Aria's never gone this long without some contact, even if it's just a message to someone else . . ."

Dissatisfied with pacing and needing to work off energy before the beast won, Julian slammed his fist into the wall, already making a note to write a check later. He was going to owe the library some serious money if he ever wanted to return. The color of his eyes was returning slowly as he slammed his fist into the wall a second time. He sank down against the wall afterwards, sliding his hand into his glove just in case he'd managed to damage the skin.

"What good does any of this do us? We still don't know where she is," he said, the anger drained out so he just sounded tired. His expreson was carefully blank as he stared at the screen. "And this person isn't telling us. They're probably just screwing with me."

[Jacqueline Clark]

Julian was on edge and even though she knew not to worry, Jaq's body began to buzz. Tight spaces and an aggravated man wasn't a good combination. He was yelling now and the woman flinched despite wanting to keep nonchalant about the whole thing. She'd seen angry guys before, but something about Julian going over the edge made her nervous.

She tried to ignore the man and concentrate on the user. He wasn't saying anything more, except the same old thing. Run. Jacqueline jumped in her seat with a yelp when she heard a loud thud from behind her. The pixie's jaw locked as she turned around slowly, disappointed that her nerves had gotten the best of her. Her eyes caught Julian sliding down the wall and suddenly her own anger faltered.

The man looked so defeated.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Jaq walked over and knelt in front of him.

“Hey” Jacqueline said quietly as she reached for his gloved hand, finding it odd that he had put it on the first place. She glanced up at the hole in the wall and then back at him. It wasn't in her nature to comfort and the woman took her hand away to balance her squatting position.

“This is something. It confirms that the assholes in the white van don't have her anymore. It mean's she got away somehow. Aria is a smart woman. She's probably in hiding or protective custody. Any message to the outside would either get her caught or you hurt.”

Jacqueline scooted over to the right side of the man, leaning against the wall. The chat all-but forgotten. His tired voice reminded her of where she was a few years ago. In a way, it was like looking at a past version of herself. Only taller. And male. Jaq pulled her legs close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them to keep them close. She rested her chin on the top of her knees as the silence fell between them. She wished she was the type to give comforting words.

They stayed like that for another moment, Jaq nibbling on the inside of her bottom lip. “What if this guy couldn't say anything, really. Give us definite proof because they are still keeping tabs. It looked like those messages were from way back. He tried to warn your sister and now he's tried to warn us without giving too much away.”

Speculation. The pixie hated the idea of what she was doing and began nibbling on her lip again. The woman couldn't be the shoulder to cry on if she tried and it was probably only making things worse for Julian. Instead of letting this pity party go on further than it needed to, she rubbed her face aggressively and jumped up.

“ Get up. We aren't doing this. This guy's an ass, Aria is still out there, and I'm tired of sitting like ducks. Nothing is getting accomplished here. Let's pack up, grab some coffee, and clear our heads. I'm not letting this douche bag get to me.”

[Julian Tate]

Ignoring everything around him, Julian stared at the tips of his boots. He tensed up as Jaq moved over to him then jerked his hand away, flexing his fingers inside the glove. The skin didn't feel broke, though he preferred better safe than sorry.

"Dead people are safe," he replied without missing a beat. He couldn't tell her the truth, that there was very little who could hurt him. In fact, he'd been through the worst hell possible for a skinwalker and come through with no more than a few scars. However, her words did have a slightly calming effect since it gave him something else to focus on. "I don't care about protective custody. If she were safe, she has a dozen different ways to reach me, all . . . under the radar of anyone who could be hunting her."

Surprisingly, he found himself almost believing her words. It was possible this person was simply protecting Arianne in case those after her were still looking. He found it a bit hard to believe except he'd had to rely on others after losing his skin. Maybe she'd damaged her own skin to the point of a long recovery. The thought made him feel a bit better, plus he'd taken almost forty years to recover his skin so maybe that's all she was doing, healing.

He raised an eyebrow as she jumped up, sliding up further at her command. "That's incredibly rude. I might just stay here until you ask nicely," he said before pushing himself up. Glancing at his watch, he shook his head and slid his checkbook out of his pocket.

Without looking at her, he filled in a hasty amount that should more than cover the damage they'd done to the room, plus Arianne's long overdue fines to replace the books. "Can't. I have to open the shop in twenty so you'll just have to do without my amazing company for the reaminder of the day. You want to keep the laptop for further inspection, RoboCop?"

[Jacqueline Clark]

Jacqueline rolled her eyes and placed both hands on her hips. He couldn't possibly be calling anyone out on being rude. At the mention of opening shop, the woman felt a little tinge of disappointment. She hid it carefully with a mask of boredom and shrugged. Though, a feeling of dread started filling her up on the inside. At least with Julian being around, she didn't have to think about reality that much. Being involved with Arianne's case kept Jaq from obsessing too much over Ben and it made her feel less of an outsider having someone else going through the same thing.

It was a sick and twisted reason for keeping someone around, but so far it seemed to work for the pixie. She stretched and nodded, looking over at the laptop. "Yeah, let me have a crack at it later tonight. I might can come up with more."

She figured it was about time to reach out to some old contacts. Suppliers. Any one from her past that might have a clue in uncovering hidden or locked files on the computer. The machine was too clean for her taste. Gathering her belongs, she organized them neaty in her back pack. Shut down the laptop and fit it in the bag before zipping everything up. One strap over her shoulder, Jaq sighed, and looked back up at Julian.

"Besides, I wanna find out how my master piece played out with Detective Swagger. I'll call the shop when I've got something. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to play it safe. Keep contact to a minmum in case someone is watching."

[Julian Tate]

"Alright, best of luck. Don't give yourself nightmares looking at that crap on the internet."

Julian stood and replaced the items in the box, minus a book which he tucked the check into and closed it. Hefting the box onto his shoulder, he gave her a salute with two fingers and picked up his book. He was going to hand it to the librarian on the way out, let her figure out what the money was for when she saw the room.

He'd started toward the door when her words pulled him back. "Let me know how things go with jackass. I'd like to see if he learns his lesson," he said, shifting the box to be more comfortable. He hesitated a minute then wrote down a number on a scrap of paper from his pocket, passing it to her. "If no one answers the shop phone, call that one. If anyone but me answers, ask who it is. Only Sebastian should be picking it up. See ya, RoboCop."

Leaving her with the paper, he headed out of the room, a quick pause to drop off the book and his check before he left.