Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Thirty-Six: Throwing Rocks at Waves

Blue-stained water ran through Regan's hair and streamed into the bathtub. She knelt on the bathroom floor with her head under the tap and watched the water swirl around the drain. After a few minutes, she turned off the tap and dried her hair with a faded towel hanging next to the shower. She dropped the towel on the edge of the bath and shook out her damp hair. The bathroom was in disarray. There were cracked tiles on the wall and broken pieces of mirror scattered across the floor around her. Regan picked up one of the larger shards and examined her reflection. Her hair was now a vivid, uniform blue. She dropped the piece of mirror into the sink.

As she left the bathroom and walked into the kitchen, she could feel the change in the air. There was a lingering sense of panic that hung in the house like mist. 

She looked at the kitchen table. There were pieces of equipment scattered across the tabletop, as if someone was assembling their gear for an operation. Regan picked up a grey flak vest that was lying on top of a set of binoculars. On the left chest panel there was the same silver shield logo that she'd seen on Forester's jacket. On the right side was a red medical cross. Regan heard a tread on the stairs and placed the vest back on the table. 

'What happened?' she said. 

Sarafina walked past her and placed a pair of collapsible police batons on the table. She had changed out of her summer dress and was wearing a pair of functional khaki cargo pants and a black t-shirt. 

'It's too hard to explain.' 

Regan looked at her. There was an ugly cut on her bottom lip surrounded by deep purple bruising. Her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying before, but now she looked like someone who had cried all of the tears they were going to and had found themselves in the strange, still waters beyond. 

'Try me,' said Regan. 'I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to hit the key points.' 

Sarafina let out an irritated sigh. 'I've done what I can for you. I have my own problems now. I don't have the time or the patience to put up with you anymore. Your old clothes are in the top draw next to your bed. Eva fixed them for you. I want you out of here.' 

Regan shrugged. 'As you wish.' 

She walked upstairs to her bedroom as Sarafina started to strap on her equipment. In her room it was as Sarafina had promised; her tartan skirt and black jacket had been repaired and folded away neatly in the top drawer. By the time she changed into her clothes and walked back to the kitchen, Sarafina was tightening the straps of her flak vest. The batons were sheathed at her side, and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. 

Regan looked her up and down. 'You'd better hope you're a stronger fighter than your friend, or you've just spent the last few minutes getting dolled up to have your throat slit.' 

Sarafina stopped and looked at the floor. For a moment it looked as if she was going to cry again, but instead her voice became hollow, like she was reciting her words from cue cards. 

'They took Eva,' she said. 'Forester was outside when they did it. He saw them, and now the stupid, stupid fool has gone off to try and rescue her.' 

'Who took her?' 

'Gareth. He's a gang leader with pretensions to being a drug lord. In reality, he's just a violent psychopath who attracts other people like him.' 

'How did you get on his list?' 

'He doesn't just deal in illicit drugs. He's been pushing out home cooked prescription drugs as well, but he doesn't care what he cuts them with. He might as well be selling rat poison.' 

'I didn't ask for a list of his crimes; I asked what you did.' 

'I followed a couple of his couriers to the warehouse where he was storing the drugs and destroyed them.' 

'You cost him a lot of money.' 

Sarafina turned on Regan. 'You make it sound like this is my fault.' 

'It is.' 

Sarafina's cheeks went pale as a look of fury passed across her face. 'If I watched him poison people in front of me and just let it happen I might as well shove the pills down their throats myself.' 

'People die. Whether they die now or later makes no difference. You might as well struggle against the tides by throwing rocks at the waves.' 

Sarafina clenched her fists. 'Are you a cynic, or do you just have no moral compass?' 

'All actions have consequences. You were a fool to think you'd escape unscathed. You have too much to lose and it makes you weak. If you truly wanted to make a difference, you'd abandon your sister and your friends and burn your house to the ground. After you'd done that, you'd finally be ready to fight without fear of consequences.' 

'My sister means everything to me. I'd die to keep her safe.' 

Regan shrugged. 'Then you have no place fighting.' 

'You're wrong!' Sarafina slammed her hand down on the table. 'You have no idea what it means to protect another person.' 

Regan leant back and put her hands into the pockets of her jacket. The look she gave Sarafina had the subtle implication that she was being carefully and permanently filed under the category reserved for idiots. 

'And now you plan to charge into the gang's nefarious hideout and demand they give back your sister and your friend.' 

'If that's what it takes.' 

'I assume, in your head, they just raise their hands sheepishly and admit they were wrong, instead of what they're really going to do, which is stab you to death and drop your body in the sewer.' 

'I've had training.' 

'So you keep saying.' 

Sarafina sighed. 'It's easy to be snide when you don't have anything on the line. You know what? I don't care what you think. You're empty inside. You have no soul. I'm going to go after my sister and Forester. They don't have anyone else. The investigators don't want anything to do with Gareth's gang, and there's no one else who can help me. Maybe I'll die trying, but I'll die knowing I did everything I could.' 

'He'll keep coming, you know. Even if you somehow defeat him here today, every day you'll be wondering when he'll come back.' 

'Is that a reason to give up?' 

Regan didn't reply. Instead, she walked around Sarafina into the kitchen. On the bench next to the stove was a wooden knife block. Regan pulled a large kitchen knife from the block and tested the blade carefully with her thumb. The long blade caught the sun streaming in through the shattered doors as she checked its weight and balance. 

'What are you doing?' said Sarafina. 

Regan's lips drew back into an ugly smile. 'I'm going to show you how to make a real difference in this world.'