Katakomben

Laid out with a central corridor and four side corridors off each side, the underground structure is roughly square in shape. In the very center of the main corridor is a hydraulic lift which would lower coffins from the chapel above to the vaults down below.
At the end of each side corridor is an air vent and along the corridors are “rooms” mostly with stone shelving on which the coffins are placed.

Len 'Holmes'
Of course Len tried to resist. However she made sure to let some time pass between each attempt to escape The Crow’s grip. Like this she didn’t pose too much of a threat that needed to be rendered unconscious. She tried many different tactics.
Obviously her first go-to was violence. If she would kick him in the gut hard enough, he would have to let go of her simply out of reflex. But he managed to block her kick with his free hand, which he then used to apply pressure to her wounded leg. Len gritted her teeth to avoid screaming in pain. “Don’t try that again”, he said dryly. Len decided to take his advice on that.
After that she tried it with persuasion, but gave up quickly.
“Couldn’t you just let me go?”
“Are you going to tell me where to find Claire Hervey?”
“Nah.”
“In that case you’re not going anywhere.”
Diplomatic conversations had never been her cup of tea anyway.
She then went on to punch things they passed within her reach in order to vent her helplessness, occasionally accompanied with an angry shout. From time to time, when there hadn’t been anything to punch for a while, she simply spit onto the floor. None of it really helped. She only stopped once they went underground
“The catacombs, eh? Someone’s got a hang for the dramatic”, she remarked, but he didn’t bother to answer.
Len hadn’t been in the catacombs in quite a while. Apart from hiding, there wasn’t much to do down here.
He entered one of the side rooms and finally put Len down. A part of her wanted to take her chance with running away, but even if she could shake off his grip, her injury made running borderline impossible. So for now, she decided to simply access the situation.
The room was mostly empty. The few coffins that had been stored here seemed to be multiple decades old.  In the corner furthest away, some stuff was lying around, even including some furniture like a table filled with all sorts of junk, two chairs. and even a worn out old mattress. Len knew what this was. It was a hideout. Probably just a temporary one, or else The Crow would have put some more effort into making it comfortable.
“Your name is ‘The Crow’ and you hang around in the catacombs? What are you, a Poe fan?”
“The poem is about a raven, not a crow.”
“So you are! Who would have thought”
His arm wrapped around her neck so tightly that she couldn’t breathe.
“Nothing personal. I’m just cautious”, she heard him say, just before she blacked out.
When Len regained consciousness, she was cold and tied to a chair. She groaned and tried to tilt her head back, but it met cold stone. Apparently she was sitting with her back against one of the supporting pillars.
“Last time I got tied to a chair I at least got to keep my jacket.” She looked down at her feet. “And my boots.”
“Amateurs”, The Crow mocked as he walked over from his table.
Len couldn’t really argue with that. Lucy might know how to tie a knot and to disarm her victim, but this was a professional’s work. Len’s arms had been tied to their separate armrests, just like ropes around her ankles tied the to the chair’s legs. Her sleeves had been rolled up, her jacket and boots had been taken away, as well as the contents of her pants’ pockets. Everything had been put out of her range. This was a whole different level.
“So what now?”
“Now I’m giving you a last chance to tell me where to find Claire Hervey.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll have no choice but to make you.”
She lowered her head and glared at him. “Bring it.”
And bring it he did. He didn’t even have to rely on any tools apart from his hands since he knew exactly how to cause horrible amounts of pain. A single hit to the face and Len felt like he tore off her skin. The next one caused at least one open wound on her cheek. She could feel the warm blood flow down her face.
“Ready to talk yet?” Len spit out some of the blood that had ended up in her mouth. “Please. Is that all you got?” She quickly regretted her condescending words.
His fist hit her stomach and she barely resisted the sudden urge to throw up. She took another slap to the face, on the other side this time, but it hurt just as much as the first one. His hand wandered to her right ear and got hold of her second helix piercing. Before Len had time to brace herself for what he was about to do, he ripped out the piercing, leaving a gaping tear in her ear. This time she couldn’t hold back the scream. He seemed content with that reaction.
With his right hand he grabbed Lens bangs and pulled her head back until it hit the stone pillar. “Now would be a good moment to change your mind. Because next I’m going to break some bones. How about it?”
Len had some troubles speaking, but she was way too stubborn to just give up. “Do your worst.”
He paused for a moment, then shook his head in disbelief and disappointment. “That’s the problem with you young folk. You never know when to stop.” Len was about to give a spiteful reply as he let go of her head and sighed. “Save it, kid. I’ll give you a moment to fully think this through, since you obviously haven’t taken one yourself.” He took a step back and returned Len’s angry glare. “Your chances of escape are pretty much nonexistent, especially with that leg injury. And you’re up against me, someone with far more experience and a whole different skill set. It’s best for you to just give in. Think about it.” He went over to the corner where he had stacked some of his belongings and started gathering up some things.
For a while there was nothing to be heard apart from his busy preparing and Len’s slowly normalising breath. After she had fully recovered her countenance, she broke the silence. “You were my idol when I grew up.” She refused to look at him and focused the floor instead. She heard his movements pause. “If you’re thinking I’d let you go because of that, you’re wrong.”
“I’m serious. When I just started out, you already had an extraordinary reputation. They said that you hadn’t failed a single time in over a decade. ‘The Crow’ was a legend told at fireplaces, about a hitman with such a variegated set of skills that no one could ever be save from him.” She lifted her head but still didn’t look at him. “I knew that this was what I wanted to be. Not a hitman; I figured out early that I prefer a different field. But a legend. Someone seemingly invincible, with no flaw, who had mastered every skill there was. Someone who was feared so much that people could barely speak their name, but at the same time were so fascinated that they just couldn’t keep quiet about them.”
He grunted. “And where did that get you?”
“I don’t regret it.” She shrugged. “Well, this event specifically, I do regret. I should have just kicked you in the face.”
“You really think that would have helped you?”
“It would have. If I hadn’t been shot earlier. Which I also regret. But that’s beside the point. The point is that I have no regrets about the life I chose and the person I am today. The additional point is  that you are partially responsible for that. Basically everything I did is your fault. And if I weren’t tied to a chair I would thank you by putting a bullet between your eyes.”
“You’re contradicting yourself.”
“I blame the torture.”
“Why are you even trying to protect the girl? You seemed pretty mad at her earlier.”
“I am not protecting her, I am protecting myself. Once you got what you need, why should you take the risk of letting me get away with my life?”
“Hm.”
“Just the answer I was hoping for.”
“How about we make a deal? You tell me where to find her and I vow to let you get away with your life?”
“And why would I trust you?”
“Because this is as good as it gets for you.”
She gulped and tried to suppress the remaining pain. “I-” The next blow took her completely by surprise and hit her stomach with full force. She sagged forward. The taste of fresh blood filled her mouth. This was too much. If this kept on going she might take severe damage. Her voice was barely more than a whisper “Fine. Deal.”
“We could have gotten here a lot easier.”
She managed a faint smirk. “But that wouldn’t have been believable.”
He crossed his arms. “Alright. Spill it.”
“Westend. It’s the Crawford residence, but it’s empty most of the time. Big house. It’s one of the more remote ones. You can barely miss it.”
“Good. I’ll go and have a look at it. You can get some rest until I return.”
“But what if you don’t?”
“Was that a threat?”
“I am not exactly in a threatening position, am I? But if you, hypothetically speaking, wouldn’t be able to return, I would die down here!”
“Seems like it. So it’d be in your best interest to help me avoid this hypothetic scenario. Is there perhaps something I should know?”
Len bit her lip. She didn’t want to tell him. She shouldn’t tell him. But it was obvious enough that she didn’t have much of a choice. “There’s someone with her. A cop. He’s young, but he’s clever and trained in several fighting styles. He won’t go down easy”
The Crow chuckled. “That should not be much of a problem.” He picked his coat up from one of the coffins. Len knew that he was too much of a professional to underestimate Rory despite her vague description. She watched him put on his coat. “I’ll go get our ‘friend’. You just stay here.”
“Very funny.”
“While we’re at it, I should probably take another precaution.” From somewhere he got another rope and wrapped it around Len’s torso and the pillar behind her, thereby making sure she would stay in the same place. “My god, how many ropes do you have?!”
“Enough. I take my job seriously and therefore I am prepared for everything.”
“But why that brat? She’s so easy to kill, even a toddler could do it. Isn’t that a bit beneath you?”
“Beneath the legendary Crow, the story ‘told at fireplaces, about a hitman with such a variegated set of skills that no one could ever be save from him’?” Len interrupted him with a groan. “Possibly. But this isn’t about killing some rich lass. There are greater plans at work, that require her alive.”
“Well, that’s even worse. You have to deal with the most annoying being on earth and you don’t even get to kill her. They really must pay you well. Who’s got the money for that anyway? And any sort of interest in bloody Claire Hervey?”
He tested the tightness of the rope by pulling it lightly which made Len gag. This result seemed to satisfy him. He let go of the rope and Len could breathe normally again.
“It’s complicated. Politics always are. I don’t waste too much thought questioning my clients motivation.”
“And where did that get you?” Len snared, slightly pissed about that sudden strangulation.
“It made me a legend.” Then he walked out and left Len to herself.
As soon as he was gone, Len started trying to get rid of her ties, but they were way too tight. Simply struggling wouldn’t get her far. If she had more free moving room, she might be able to break the chair in one way or another, but with the rope around her torso, she was too restricted in her movements. If only she had some sort of tool, preferably a sharp one…
She continued to struggle against all hope until The Crow came back, carrying an unconscious Claire. ”Great. You found her. Can I leave now?”
He carried Claire over to the worn out mattress and put her on it. “No.” Len growled. She hadn’t really expected to be released that easily. Still, this was currently her best chance. ”But why not?! We had a deal, alright. You got her. I get to leave.” “The deal was that I let you get away with your life. In other words, I won’t kill you. And I will keep that part of the deal, don’t worry. But I can’t just let you run off now.” He turned around and met Len’s glare. “I’ve heard about you, Len ‘Holmes’. The promising young thief with a liking for risky maneuvers. For someone as smart as you, you’re doing a lot of stupid things. Some of course prefer to call them ‘heroic’. And I’m not going to risk you pull some of that ‘heroic’ crap on me. I’ve got a job to finish.”
Len had a bunch of different emotions going on at the same time. The most prominent one was, obviously, anger. ”So what?! I like to take some risks! But definitely not for her!”
“You can say what you want, I’m not letting you go.”
”So what now? Do I just sit here until I die?!”
“Oh no no. I know a few people that would pay good money for you. Especially alive.”
Len’s face suddenly went pale. She could easily name some of these people herself, and she didn’t feel like meeting any of them again. Especially not like this. ”So you’re not gonna kill me, you’ll just hand me over to someone that will kill me instead in the most gruesome way they can imagine? Is that it?!”
“Hey, I’m keeping my word. And it’s really nothing personal. I’m just doing my job. As a professional.”
Len didn’t even answer. She just scoffed.

Claire Hervey

Es dauerte ein bisschen bis Claire wieder aufwachte. Ihr Kopf pochte wie verrückt. Als sie ihre Augen öffnete, dauerte es einen Augenblick bis sie realisierte wo sie war und was zuvor passierte. Sie konnte sich nicht einmal daran erinnern, dass ihr Entführer sie bewusstlos gemacht hatte, weshalb es sich für sie anfühlte, als wäre sie aus Magie hier gelandet. Nach ein paar Augenblicken, begann sie sich umzusehen, wobei sie zuerst Len bemerkte und dann den dunkelhaarigen Mann, den sie, abgesehen von ihrer Entführung durch ihn, nicht kannte. Zumindest kam er ihr nicht bekannt vor, aber das war ja auch nicht verwunderlich. “Was wollen Sie von mir?” ihre Stimme war kratzig, was hätte sie nur gerade für ein Glas Wasser getan. Wobei das wohlmöglich das kleinere Problem war. “Und was macht Sie hier?” Zwar war Len momentan nicht dazu fähig ihr wieder etwas anzutun, doch dachte sie das gleiche auch in der Polizeistation. Und das endete bekanntlich ja auch nicht so gut. Doch sah sie diesmal auch recht...miserabel aus. Was auch immer sein Plan war, er schien Len nicht zu beinhalten. War es eigentlich nötig zu erwähnen, dass sie Angst hatte? Wohl eher nicht. Die einzige Person die wusste, dass sie hier war, war Rory und der lag womöglich noch in dem vorherigen Versteck und außerdem wollte und konnte sie ihm nicht wirklich vertrauen. Dazu, konnte er genauso gut tot sein. Sie schaute sich nach einem Fluchtweg um, aber selbst wenn es einen geben würde, Claire hatte wahrscheinlich keine Chance. Warum Len hier war, konnte sie sich auch nicht ausmalen. Wahrscheinlich einfach nur ein weiterer Weg des Lebens ihr eins auszuwischen. Wobei es sie zwar einschüchterte, da Claire im Endeffekt genauso enden könnte, andererseits war es eine Art Erfolgserlebnis sie so zu sehen nachdem sie ihr so viel angetan hatte.


(hah you thought I would use Crow. Well...you know I’m lazy. And you kinda created him. And like you said: I can’t play him as beautifully as you did. So he’s your responsibility now. Have fun *wink*)

Len 'Holmes'
Ever since The Crow had come back, Len had stopped trying to escape her ties. For one because she didn't want him to see her failing attempts, but also because there was no real point to it. Even if she could free herself, as long as he was around, she wouldn't get far. Instead, she had just lowered her head, closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore the burning pain she was in. When Claire raised her voice, Len looked up again. "Look who's finally awake", she hissed. "Remember how you wanted me to be 'locked in the darkest hole they could find'? Well, Congratulations! Your wish came bloody true! And you even get to witness it from the first-row seat." Len spit out into Claire's direction, but didn't bother to try and actually hit her. She would save that for later.

Claire Hervey
Anstatt einer Antwort auf ihre Fragen, erhielt Claire eine üblich schnippische Antwort von Len. Was ihr natürlich überhaupt nicht gefiel. “Wenigstens einer von uns bekommt was er verdient,” antwortete sie, nachdem diese in ihre Richtung spuckte. Sie wandte sich wieder an den Mann: “Was auch immer man Ihnen bietet, ich gebe das doppelte!” Es musste sich um Geld handeln. Das tat es immer. Hätte er sie töten wollen wie die vorherigen Angreifer, hätte er das doch schon getan. Oder? Auch siezte sie ihn immer noch. Vielleicht war er dann ja großzügiger [wenn dir ein Wort nicht einfällt und du das nächstbeste nimmst, was dir einfällt hrr].

Len 'Holmes'
"Don't talk like you have any idea of what's going on. I just risked my health and life to save your ungrateful, bony shitass, so if you could just shut up, that would be fucking great." Len was reasonably pissed. "Actually, I would greatly appreciate it if both of you could keep quiet. I have a handover to plan. Two, actually, but the second one can wait." Len could hear the threatening undertone. The Crow was still staring at a bunch of papers on his desk, but there was no doubt that he could make Len regret any cockiness within seconds. But then again, she didn't give a crap. "Yeah, maybe consider the logistics before messing with someone like me. Because you may sell me off to die, but I will make sure you don't get a single enjoyable moment until then."

Claire Hervey
“Herzlichen Dank dafür, dass du dein Leben für mich riskierst, nachdem du versucht hast es zu zerstören! Du scheinst ja richtig erfolgreich gewesen zu sein!” zischte Claire zurück. Natürlich hatte Len das nicht für sie getan. Vielleicht eher für Rory, wenn überhaupt. Die beiden steckten doch unter einer Decke. Erst als The Crow die beiden “bittete” leise zu sein, versuchte sie sich wieder zu beruhigen und wieder mit ihm zu reden. Wobei “Übergabe” in ihrem Kopf etwas auslöste, was sie alles andere als ruhig wirken ließ. Eher verzweifelt. “Wenn es um Geld geht, lässt sich darüber reden!” Erneut versuchte sie ihn mit Geld rumzukriegen. Sie wüsste nicht wie sonst.

Len 'Holmes'
Len did regret her cockiness after the first hit. She didn't even saw it coming. She did see the second on third hit though. Didn't make them hurt any less. She felt more blood on her face. Either the wound on her cheek had opened again or there was a second one now. Possibly both. "Would you maybe like to take that back?" Len hung her head and forced herself to take deep breaths. "Yes." It was barely more than a whisper. "Maybe I'd like to do that." He grabbed her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to make eye contact. There was fresh blood on his hand."Then an apology for this kind of insolence would be in place, don't you think?" Len had already formed a sassy reply in her head and she would have loved to throw it at him, but she held herself back. She glanced at Claire from the corner of her eye. Len didn't like this. But if she wanted to get out of here, she couldn't risk any more injuries. "I..." She hesitated. "I am sorry for my insolent behavior. I will try and hold back from now on." He smiled and let go. "Very good. It would be a shame if I had to damage the merchandise." Len watched him go back to his table and turn to Claire. "And you" Even though she couldn't quite see it, Len was sure that he had a very intimidating glare going on. "Can stop trying to bribe me. I have principles."

Claire Hervey
Nicht, dass es irgendwie verwunderlich war, dass Len's Aufmüpfigkeit zu Unannehmlichkeiten führen könnte, gerade weil sie schon Misshandelt aussah als Claire aufgewacht war. Trotzdem zuckte sie bei jedem Schlag erneut zusammen als hätte sie diesen nicht kommen sehen. Aber das tat sie irgendwie. Auch wenn es das nicht weniger erschreckender machte. Sie hatte nie wirklich gesehen wie jemand verprügelt wurde. Allgemein war sie wohl nicht der Größte Fan was Blut anging, auch wenn es nicht schlimm genug war um sie auszuknocken. Unangenehm war es allemal. Claire würde lügen, würde sie behaupten, dass sie es nicht irgendwo tief in ihr genoss Len in ihrer Misere zuzusehen wie sie sich bei The Crow entschuldigte. Aber auch das machte es nicht viel weniger erschreckend. "Aber das macht keinen Sinn..." stammelte sie mehr zu sich selbst als zu The Crow als sich dieser wieder zu ihr wandte. "Wofür hat man denn Prinzipien wenn einem diese nicht noch mehr von dem verschafften was man eigentlich will?" Ohne es zuerst sonderlich zu bemerken, sprach sie den letzten Teil ihres Gedanken auch aus. Nicht, dass sie ihn unbedingt zurücknehmen wollte, aber es war irgendwie doch eine Frage die sie zwar beantwortet haben wollte aber doch irgendwie nicht.

The Crow [because Len doesn't do much in this one]
"I'm talking about moral principles, but I don't expect you to understand. You're both too young and unsophisticated to know what all this is about. Maybe you'll catch on when you're older." "If you live that long", Len murmured in the background. The Crow ignored her and instead pushed Claire towards another pillar to which he tied her with his usual caution. "I have a few more things to arrange, so the two of you will just have to wait here. Don't bother with any pointless attempts to escape, save yourselves that embarrassment. Now, if you'll excuse me." Len didn't bother to reply anything as he left.

Claire Hervey
‘Zu jung’. Was hieß hier eigentlich ‘zu jung’? Claire selbst hielt sich für ziemlich erwachsen, aber das behielt sie für sich. War vielleicht auch besser so. Len’s Kommentar schaffte es trotzdem wieder sie noch nervöser zu machen als sie sowieso schon war. So wie sie das verstanden hatte, wollte sie The Crow einfach nur an die nächste Person weitergeben, was zumindest bedeutete, dass er ihr nichts antun würde, aber wie das bei der anderen Person aussah war fragwürdig. Wobei man sie auch sofort hätte töten können wenn man es sowieso später vorhatte. Wozu denn der ganze Aufwand? Nein, man wollte sie nicht töten. Möglicherweise. Hoffentlich. Sie zuckte kurz zusammen als man sie gegen eine Säule drückte und, wie Len, festband. Es tat weh. Die Seile drückten so dermaßen gegen ihre Knochen, dass sie am liebsten wieder angefangen hätte zu weinen. Wobei sie das sowieso schon wollte. ”Mach mich los!” Das Gesagte klang schon fast etwas befehlerisch weshalb Claire noch ein deutlich bettlerisches “bitte” dranhing. Als The Crow den Raum verließ, schaute sie wieder zu Len. ”Das ist alles deine Schuld!” rief sie der Diebin mit deutlich wütendem Unterton zu. So manch einer hätte es vielleicht auch als Schreien wahrgenommen, aber das war wohl doch eher subjektiv. Zugegeben war Len nicht 100% an allem Schuld aber Claire brauchte einen Schuldigen und immerhin war Len ja zumindest größtenteils Schuld. Natürlich war sie das. Jeder würde das so sehen.

Len 'Holmes'
"Oh, be quiet." Len wasn't in the mood for arguing. Instead, she tried to free herself once more, but to no avail. She had managed to loosen the ropes a tiny bit, but not nearly enough to escape. She didn't even gain space for movement from it. On top of that, the knots seemed to have tightened through her struggling, making her situation even more hopeless. She sighed and sagged back into her seat. Not that she had been able to get far away from it anyway. This was pointless. "There I go, risking my ass for some snobby toddler and this is what I get. Great. Just great. I'm never doing that again." For one reason or the other. She turned to Claire. "You got any chance of slipping out?"

Claire Hervey
Claire hatte erwartet, dass Len sie zurück anschreien würde und als diese das nicht tat, gab Claire es auch auf und begann Len zuzuschauen wie sie versuchte sich zu befreien. "Natürlich. Die einzige für die du dein Leben riskierst, bist du selbst!" Sie ersetzte das Wort durch etwas weniger profanes. Sie war zwar definitiv nicht in gehobener Gesellschaft, aber trotzdem noch eine Lady. "Ich weiß nicht..." Claire war definitiv nicht so fest gebunden wie Len, aber trotzdem war sie nunmal Claire und keine wertlose Straßendiebin mit ein klein wenig mehr Erfahrung als jemand aus einer reichen Familie. Auch war sie verletzt. Sie wusste nicht, dass Abberline Len ins Bein geschossen hatte und ehrlich gesagt hätte das ihre Meinung auch nicht geändert. Mittlerweile hatte sich der Verband um Claires Arm leicht gelößt, wurde aber durch das Seil gleichzeitig gehalten und zerstört. Ihr anderer Arm hing einfach neben ihr was ihre ganze Position noch unbequemer machte. Sie versuchte ihre Hand so zu bewegen, dass sie an das Seil kommen konnte um daran zu ziehen, was zwar ein bisschen schmerzhaft war, aber funktionierte. Was nicht unbedingt funktionierte war, es zu lockern. Sie versuchte sich loszurütteln, was ihr mehr selbst wehtat. Wär sie nicht so verweichlicht hätte sie wahrscheinlich mehr geschafft. Und das war genau das was sie erwartete von Len zu hören. Mit anderer Wortwahl. Und Schimpfwörtern.

Len 'Holmes'
Len watched Claire struggle for a while. She knew it was pointless, but everything was worth a try. Under different circumstances, Claire's obvious pain would have amused Len, but now it was just sad. "If I had known that it would come to this, I would have broken a different bone", she mumbled. Maybe her nose. Or some ribs. She sighed. "So what now? Any bright ideas? Maybe a knife hidden somewhere?" It was fairly obvious that Claire wasn't going to be of much help. Sadly, there wasn't much else Len could do.

Claire Hervey
Abgesehen von der offensichtlichen Tatsache, dass sie eingesperrt war, beschäftigte sie die Frage nach der Schuldgebung am Meisten. Von Rory war diese genauso schnell auf The Crow, Len, den Arzt und schlussendlich ihre Eltern, die sie ja nach London gezwungen hatten. Wobei sie das ganze Drama nicht auf ihre Eltern schieben wollte und konnte, weshalb sie dann doch wieder bei Rory endete. Sie selber konnte es ja nicht sein. "Was erwartet du von mir? Dass ich Erfahrung mit solchen Dingen habe?" Sie klang wieder deutlich wütender. Wer konnte es ihr versenken. "Ich glaube du verwechselst da etwas, Holmes. Ich bin nicht der Straßenhund."

“Clearly”, Len muttered. “We have some dignity. And knives.” Unfortunately, all of her knives had been taken away. The thought of it made her uncomfortable.
When The Crow returned, Len did her best to stare him down, the last bit of resistance she could offer. He didn’t seem to notice. He seemed to be upset, but about something different. The meeting apparently didn’t go well. This cheered Len up a little. At least enough to talk again. “So, how did it go?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Well, since I am the business or at least part of it, I’d beg to differ.”
“This wasn’t about you, now shut up.” He really was in a bad mood. Len was happy. Happy enough to shut up.
“Oi, Crow!” Rory’s voice echoed through the chamber. The Crow turned around to see him stand in the chamber's entrance, holding a knife. “We’re settling this now. Last time you surprised me. But this time” He was trembling seemingly in anger. “I have a knife.” The Crow still stood where he was, eyebrows raised. “You think that will be enough? You stood no chance earlier and you stand no chance now.” “We will just see about that. I’ve never been beaten and I won’t start now!” He was basically yelling at The still unimpressed Crow. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” In the back, Len quietly assumed that The Crow had simply agreed because this offered a simple way of ridding himself of the intruder.
Rory took a step towards The Crow, gripping his knife tightly. The Crow didn’t move, he didn’t grab a weapon. He just waited. Suddenly, Rory threw his knife, hoping for a surprise effect. For an amateur, it was a quite impressive throw, but only an idiot brings an amateur throw to a pro fight. The Crow dodged easily. Rory charged forward in a blind rage and met a fist. He tumbled backward, but immediately attacked again, more cautious this time. He managed to block most of the blows towards him now, but he couldn’t land a single one. Breathing heavily, he backed away.
“Why would you even assume you had the slightest bit of a chance?”, The Crow asked. He barely showed any signs of fatigue. Rory straightened his back with a little smile. “This time I brought a bluff.”
“A bluff?”
“He means me.” Len got up behind The Crow, free of her restraints. “Surprise.”
The Crow turned around to see her chair empty, with cut-through ropes scattered around it. “The knife”, he mumbled in realisation. “The knife”, Len agreed, showing off Rory's knife in her hand.
“That’s a nice try, but she can’t defeat me either.” The Crow turned his head back to Rory, only to look into a gun barrel. “Double bluff.”
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? But what will you do if I shoot her?” He had drawn his own gun so fast, Len hadn’t had a chance to stop him. And now she had a gun to her head.
“Wow”, Rory said baffled. “This is familiar. But I don’t care if you do. It’s not my life you’re taking.” The Crow seemed genuinely surprised now. “So if I shoot her, it won’t matter to you?”
“Not really, no. It would be a bit inconvenient for the triple bluff though.” “Triple bl-” Before he could finish, Len had grabbed his arm and used it to launch herself up, wrapping her right leg around his neck, strangling him into unconsciousness. “It’s nothing personal”, she taunted as he went down.
Once it was over, Len collapsed and sat down on the floor. The pain in her leg was back, worse than before, as were all the other injuries. “You took your time”, she mocked. “I encountered some difficulties along the way.” She laughed. “He knocked you out cold, didn’t he?” Rory didn’t answer. Len handed him the knife. “Go cut our princess loose.”
While Rory freed Claire, Len went through The Crow's pockets, looking for anything interesting. “So what do we do with him? You’d be a fool to think a jail could hold him.” Rory nodded in agreement. “Should we kill him then?” Len shrugged. “Don’t ask the criminal.” “Well, that leaves only one of us.” He turned to Claire. “What is your verdict?”
Len snorted.

Claire Hervey
Was geschah nachdem The Crow wiederkam passierte so schnell, dass Claire nicht mal realisierte was passiert war als sie befreit wurde. Es schien alles an ihr vorbeizuziehen und die ganze Situation wechselte so oft und schnell, dass sie nur Fetzen davon wirklich warnehmen konnte. Zum Beispiel als Len die Waffe an den Kopf gehalten wurde und Claire tatsächlich, wer hätte es sich gedacht, ein wenig 'enttäuscht' war, dass nicht abgedrückt wurde, auch wenn sie dann vielleicht nicht befreit worden wäre. Aber darüber dachte sie im Moment nicht nach. Dachte sie überhaupt? Klare Gedanken konnte sie zumindest nicht fassen. Als Rory sie befreite blieb sie trotzdem weiter leblos sitzen ohne sich zu bewegen. "Ist das eine Frage?" Sie schaute weder ihn noch seine mehr-oder-weniger-Komplizin an, sondern den Boden, wobei dieser auch einfach nur da war und sie ihm keine große Beachtung schenkte. "Sollte es nicht offensichtlich sein." Wenn es nach ihr ging konnten alle, abgesehen von ihr, in dem Raum verrotten.

Len 'Holmes' and Rory Crawford
"Alright." Len got up and limped over to the table in the corner. In one of the drawers she found what she was looking for; the former contents of her pockets and of course her weapons. She picked up a gun. Then she hesitated. "Say it." She turned to Claire. "You're about to have a man killed. I want you to acknowledge that." Rory cleared his throat. "Is that really necessary? Now is hardly the time for this." "Now is exactly the time for this. Rich people like her never value any life except their own. It disgusts me." Rory got up. "Give me the gun. I'll do it." "No one kills him until she says it. I won't stand for this."

Claire Hervey
Claire still didn’t rise her head. She didn’t want to see him. Dead or not. And that did not change when Len decided to make the situation even harder for the confused Claire who still wasn’t able to figure out what was happening around her. He should have just shot the blonde bitch. “As if you actually value someone other’s life.” Yes, Claire wanted The Crow to disappear. But killing him made the situation so much more real. Disappearing sounded way nicer. She didn’t want him to die, she wanted him to not be in her life anymore. “I want him to disappear.” Of course she knew that it wouldn’t satisfy Len at all. But it was worth a try.

[We're gonna cut this a bit short now because I don't feel like dragging this out over several Posts]
”If I wouldn’t value life, I would have killed you when we first met. But it's never too late to fix a mistake like that.” Rory interrupted Len before she could do anything stupid.
”You heard her. Let's get this over with quickly so we can leave” Rory was trying his best to defuse the situation, but Len wasn't having it. ”Disappear. What is she, 4? Face the real world, princess.” “She's 14 and has never been in a situation like this, cut her some slack.” “Bullshit. I’ve killed my first man when I was 11 and I-” “Your tragic backstory can wait until we're done.” This could have gone back and forth for a lot longer, had it not been for The Crow regaining his consciousness. Maybe he didn’t see the gun in Len’s hand, maybe he didn’t care. When he took a first quick step towards them, she placed a bullet in his head, directly between his eyes. ”There”, she said as he hit the ground. ”I killed him. Hope you're happy.”[b] Rory sighed. [b]”Let's get out of here” With another sigh he helped Claire to her feet.

Claire Hervey
Unsuprisingly, it wasn’t enough for Len but since The Crow gained back his conciousness, it didn’t matter. She winced as Len pulled the trigger and almost started crying again, had she not already cried so much before. When she got attacked by the assassins, then by Len and finally when she ended up in the hospital. She probably would never be able to cry again judging the amount of tears she shed on this day alone. Sadly that wasn’t how crying worked. She didn’t feel satisfied as he died. Maybe she would have if she wasn’t sitting in the same room. Maybe if she didn’t have to hear it. Maybe if Rory did not help her up, resultating in her having to see the body of her kidnapper. It didn’t help that Len was still here. Claire didn’t like how she called her princess. It sounded like something bad coming from her mouth. “Why can’t you just shut up for once? If I ruled the world I would have your tongue cut out.” But she didn’t. Which meant that Len would neither shut up nor be locked up in a dog pound.

Len 'Holmes'
Len had started to put her clothes back on and gather her stuff together. She stopped after putting on her second boot to shoot Claire a very angry glare. "You should be the one to watch what you're saying. You have no idea what the hell I have gone through to fucking save your sorry little ass. So shut up and keep quiet. There's stuff to be done." With that she took two steps towards the exit and collapsed.

Rory Crawford
Rory stood close enough to Len to catch her before she hit the ground. After making sure she was still alive, he picked her up and placed her over his shoulders [thats literally how they describe it on wikipedia. It's called Fireman's carry, look it up.] "If you tell anyone about this, she will kill you. You know that, right?" He then proceeded walking towards the exit, carrying an unconcious Len. "Are you coming?", he asked Claire over his shoulder. (As well as thats possible when you have 60 kilos of pure awesomeness on them) "Or would you like to stay here?"

----> Back to Crawford manor we go

Claire Hervey
"Du hast mich nicht gerettet." Claire flüsterte förmlich, weniger zu Len als einfach um irgendetwas gesagt zu haben. Umso mehr gab es ihr Zufriedenheit, die sich ganz und gar nicht ziemte, aber das tat so ziemlich alles was in den vergangenen Stunden passiert hatte nicht. "Erzähl mir was neues." Sie blieb kurz stehen bis sie ihm wieder folgte. "Außerdem...warum sollte sie das tun nachdem sie mich doch so heroisch gerettet hat."

--->Crawford Manor [Westend]