Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Rapture’s Pavlov dog, or as she preferred to be called, Eilis, was slumped in a chair at the bar resting behind the entrance to the seating area of the fleet hall. Her employer, Andrew Ryan had demanded she sit there and wait like a child. She had an infinite supply of drink she could charge to his tab, and surprising amount of patience, so she was fine. He’d forced her to dress up for the evening and she despised it. Growing up surrounded by men in New York made her despise wearing anything feminine, no matter how much she loved how she looked in it. Anytime she attempted to wear that sort of thing she would be deafend by wolf whistles and comments she could only attempt to drown out by humming to herself. She would lie if someone asked and say something like “it isn’t as bad in rapture”, she could feel her catholic granny aiming a wooden spoon at the back of her legs for telling such lies.

I raised you better! You’ll make the lord cry with such a filthy mouth! It wasn’t like New York in rapture, it was worse because every bastard that dared do it was some rich entitled prick who felt like the world owed him something because he decided to move to the bottom of the Atlantic. One of the perks of her job, though, was the fact she had the authority to break their hand if they touched her. She’d only had to do it once so far and, to her surprise, Mr. Ryan didn’t reprimand her, he just nodded, offered a cigar and continued on whatever new ramble about ‘the great chain’ he was on.

The dress she was in was lovely, she’d admit that, a nice little baby blue number with a skirt long enough to hide the handgun she had gartered to her thigh. She would have worn one of her own outfits, fitting her style much more, but Diane had picked it out. They weren’t close, but Ryan often sent her out with the girl on shopping sprees to keep her content and Eilis was happy to do so. The poor girl was trapped in a relationship with a man who can’t make up his damn mind, she may as well have some happiness. As she starred at her drink, swirling her finger in it and missing the Irish pub she’d worked at while living in the bronx, someone sat beside her. She thought nothing of it till that someone whistled to get her attention like she was a dog. She cringed at the sound, composing herself and glancing at whoever was sitting beside her.

He was tall, had broad shoulders and suit that probably cost more than all of the suits of those walking by to try and get to their seats. He had dark brown eyes that she felt like we’re burrowing into her soul, no hair and a tiny mustache which just seemed to be the style, she never understood it. Suppressing her accent and urge to tell him to fuck off for whistling at her like that, she calmly stated “Can I help you sir?”.

Frank Fontaine had been in rapture about a year at this point and had everything he needed to be comfy set up and trapped under his thumb until he decided to release them like the fizz of a celebratory bottle of champagne. He’d only caught glimpses and heard stories of her: Rapture’s Pavlov dog, rapture’s favourite bitch, Ryan’s guard dog or whatever the hell the public were calling her when he asked. He liked knowing things, made wrapping up cons in a little bow all the much easier, but this woman seemed to be a ghost. Even people who he assumed would know a lot about her, like some of Ryan’s security team, knew barely anything but a name. The name he was given was what they heard Ryan call her, ‘Ellie’. She always has this stern look on her face, like she wasn’t trying to let any other kind of emotion slip past, and that’s the exact face she gave him after she fixed it. After he’d whistled, she flinched, then glared at him before regaining control. It was almost admirable, but the fact her eyes showed no respect or recognition bothered him.

“Just want a name to put to the lovely face I’ve seen around rapture, doll” he replied coolly with a smirk, silently ordering a whiskey on the rocks from the bartender and keeping eye contact with the woman, or at least attempting to. She didn’t seem the least bit interested. “I don’t give out my name to strangers, especially when I’m on duty. Sorry to disappoint ya love” she replied, her refined voice, similar to how Ryan carried himself while he spoke, slipping into a more harsh Irish tone. She seemed to quietly scold herself with a scrunch of her nose before downing her drink in one go. Frank couldn’t tell why but he hungered to know more about her. He tried to rationalize it. Someone so close to Ryan, if he could get some form of grip on her than rapture was as good as his. He just needed to get past that little wall she’s built up.

“You don’t have a clue who I am do ya?” He queried, watching as she stood up and dusted herself off, agitatedly pushing a few baby strands of blonde hair out of her face, she didn’t seem to be used to having her hair styled like that, it was almost cute how she got annoyed with a part of her own body. She glanced at him and he finally saw her eyes properly thanks to the over head lights, they were odd to him, Green with prominent brown speckles like a quail egg. “Not a clue. Sorry” she flashed a slight smile to be polite, but he could tell it was fake by how genuine the smile that spread across her features as she looked over to the stairs that led up to the old crackpots dressing room. Frank sucked on his teeth out of annoyance as he watched the two interact, wondering how the girl could so easily ignore him for the bat case that was Sander Cohen.

“Ellie! Darling look at you! You look absolutely divine, remind me to paint you in that lovely little number at some point, it would delight my muse” he gushed as he strut over, dressed in a shiny red suit with his usual caked on makeup and gloved hands, holding the young woman’s as she gripped his happily. “Ah, go raibh míle. You’re too kind. Have you seen Andrew? He wandered off with Diane and left me here like a bold child” she tilted her head while she spoke to him like a curious puppy, her accent slipping in more, especially when she spoke her mother tongue. It was harsh to Frank’s ears, but he’d never heard it before, the sound of it feels like it would be good to use against someone else who had no clue what he was saying as a threatening mechanism, he just needed a few useless words and he could threaten anyone in his way that feared something they didn’t understand, this was rapture after all, there was a good few of those nut jobs around.

“Andrei? He’s up at your seats already! Come come my dear, you’ll miss the show if you spend all night down here listening to that blowhard” Cohen ushered her away, waving his hand dismissively as he gestured to Frank, Eilis glancing back at him curiously as she wondered “what do you mean blowhard? Who is he?”. “That is Frank Fontaine. You need not concern yourself with doubters like him my dear” was all Cohen said on the matter and she was whisked away far from his sight. The story of Rapture’s Pavlov dog was just getting more and more enticing to Fontaine, and he wasn’t about to let a section eight like Cohen stop him from getting his answers and leverage against Andrew Ryan.

Chapter Text

Eilis is woken up by her pneumo screaming at her. Ryan had a special alarm installed on it so she wouldn’t miss a message, and while that seems kind, it was currently the bane of her existence. She tries to ignore it, burying her head under layers of pillows and blankets, but it mixed with the whale moaning outside makes her headache. She reluctantly lifted her head from its comfortable cocoon to check her clock, 4 am. She’d only got off work 5 hours ago, who the hell wanted her at this time of night? After regretting whatever life choices that led her to refusing to get out of bed in a city under the ocean, she finally got up and open the feckin thing, pulling out an accu-vox tape.

She starred at it for a moment before deciding to play the damned thing, taking the tape she already had in her accu-vox and placing it gently on her desk, being careful not to damage or scratch it. It was irreplaceable. She let the new one play while she started to get dressed, and of course, it’s Andy Ryan himself bugging her at ungodly hours. She holds in a groan of annoyance at the sound of his voice as it starts to play, brushing the matted knots out of her hair.

“Ellie dear, we have a very important party going on later today and I need you here so I can finish up important business quickly and have everything prepared for the event. I expect you here within the hour” his voice drawled on, Eilis mocking him while he spoke out of annoyance as she rubbed at her eyes, buttoning up her shirt as he continued “we will also be having a meeting with some business rivals whom you are aware of. After this meeting you will be excused to dress for the event as I do not wish for people to see you as a threat. I’ll explain more when you arrive, be cautious of parasites My dear” when he’d finally finished talking the young woman was dressed and was finishing braiding her hair to keep it out of her face, she refused to cut it. She put on a smidgen of makeup to look less like a corpse, grabbed her shotgun and left her apartment without eating breakfast like she did every morning, but this was about to be different than any morning she’d experienced in a while.

After being dragged around with Ryan, checking in on things she thought were meaningless and boosting his image with the rich, the poor pup was ready to go back to bed. She felt like a puppet being held up by a string, the others having snapped from years of neglect. He never attempted to do this with the ‘lower class’ and it always bothered her, when she asked why he would give his usual spiel of “the great chain” and how they can work their way up to the elite like he had, and when they do he will acknowledge them. It wasn’t her job to judge his decision, it was her job to keep him alive and comfortable, that didn’t mean he could control her thoughts.

When they arrived outside the Kashmir he made her stop, Sullivan was waiting by the door looking just as sleep-deprived as her. “Is there a problem sir?” She questioned, holding back a glare as he made her adjusted how she held herself slightly, speaking as he did so “spine straight, hands behind your back, chin up. These are powerful men, I don’t want them to think less of you. Keep your voice refined and don’t let any of your little mannerisms slip through”, she inhaled through her nose and nodded. “yes sir. Thank you. Shall we?” She smiled politely, gesturing to the entrance. Ryan looked rather proud of himself and entered, commanding the room as he did so.

Eilis muttered curses as she adjusted her shotgun so it was resting on her back while she walked up to Sullivan, “fuckin prick”. He snorted a laugh and lit a cigar, offering her the first puff but she refused, “I don’t envy you. He treats you like a toddler with a gun” he glanced at her weapon choice with scrutiny “bit extreme don’t ya think?”.

“It’s a shotgun, not a tank. Gets the job done quickly and there is a very small chance I’ll miss. He wants a guard dog, he doesn’t have the right to moan about me mauling people a little” Eilis replied surprisingly calmly as she glanced in at who was sitting at the table with their beloved employer.

There were faces she recognised, most she didn’t see often enough to remember the names of, sat beside: Augustus Sinclair looking rather happy with himself, the Wales brothers and that man who’d bothered her at the fleet hall a few days ago, Fontaine right? “We should probably join ‘em before Ryan starts whining” Sullivan joked before stubbing out his barely smoked cigar, glancing around to check on their not so subtle hired help before following Eilis inside and to the table. “Well if it ain’t rapture’s beloved right-hand doggy. How you doing darlin?” Sinclair asked with his million-dollar Steinman smile, she could never tell if he actually cared or was just being polite, but he was always kind to her whenever they had to interact. “Dia duit” Daniel smirked at her, “how are ya love?” Simon continued with a wink. Though hearing her native tongue and familiar Dublin drawl was comforting, she didn’t dare let her accent slip out when she’d just been lectured not to.

“I’m fine, lovely to see you” she politely greeted, bowing her head slightly before just standing there beside Ryan like her nickname insinuated. Frank had been very bored before the girl had finally arrived. He only came to this meeting to get more information on her anyway. Since their last rendezvous he’d been keeping whatever kind of eye on her he could since they’d met and realised something, very few people referred to her by name except for Ryan, his latest dame and Cohen. She seemed comforted by the familiar accent of the Wales brothers but not comfortable enough to talk back to them despite being fully capable of replying in whatever language they were speaking. He tapped his foot out of annoyance, not caring if what he was doing was seen as disrespectful and wishing he’d brought Reggie with him to give him an excuse to leave.

Her outfit currently was a stark difference to what he’d seen her in at the fleet hall, and he hadn’t seen her like that since, it felt almost special. Though a little voice in the back of his mind reminded him that strangely it bothered him other people got to see her like that too.

“I would like to formally invite you all to an event I’m hosting tonight to celebrate a recent accomplishment of Ryan industries. It will be held in my personal quarters and you are each welcomed to bring a plus one. I hope we can collaborate. Now let us enjoy this lunch” he spoke to his guests kindly, before turning to his personal guards. “You two may go get drinks for yourself but I suggest you be quick” he glared at them like stubborn children. Eilis’s eyebrows furrowed but her face stayed calm before she quickly left with Ryan’s head of security, happy to not have to act like a pedigree dog with a fear of barking because of its owner’s reaction.

“I’ll get it this time. Whaddya want?” Sullivan huffed as he went through a wad of cash he pulled from his pockets, handing her some notes as she replied “coffee with a shot of vodka mate, I’m fucking dying. you want anything besides the paper?” Both unaware of the fact an unwanted guest was hovering around them like a fish watching people inside rapture in a very odd role swap. “Nah. I got plenty of cigars, I’ll make yours a double, you look like death” he teased, Eilis shooing him away with her hand, “téigh tarraing bod Sullivan. I’ll be back in ten” she laughed slightly before hurrying away, out of the restaurant and into the waiting elevator.

Just as the doors were about to shut, a foot got stuck into it to stop them, and they once again opened. The elevators of this area in rapture were tiny, and the large figure that got in with her made her feel a little suffocated, but she ignored it and just pushed the button again so the lift would move and get her out of this situation quickly. “Where you going doll?” The figure asked, she glanced at them to see it was Fontaine and felt her mood immediately shift from ‘put on a smile for the job’ to ‘oh for Christ sake’.

“Just an errand. Can I help ya mate?” She replied bluntly, not bothering to suppress the accent since she honestly could care less what this prick’s opinion in her was. “Oh, I’m sure you can. Tell me, what’s a pretty girl like you doin followin Ryan around like a lost puppy when you could be on the arm of a guy like me?” Frank attempted to flirt, scoffing in annoyance when she just stopped looking at him, slipping out of the elevator and continuing on her way. He shouted after her but she still gave him absolutely nothing.

This woman has had to sit through Ryan’s annoyed rambles since before rapture had even started construction, some guy shouting at her wasn’t going to make her even flinch at this point. The attendee at the newsstand kept giving Eilis a concerned look, trying to subtly alert her of the terrifying presence of Frank Fontaine directly behind. “Ignore him, I’m dealing with it love. One copy of the rapture tribune and toss in an Oxford club cigarette please” she stated in a calm tone, despite her patience wearing thin. She seemed even more relaxed talking to a random stranger than she was to Frank, and that bothered him. Why did this woman ignoring him bother him so damn much?

She went to put down the cash to pay but he quickly slammed his hand down with the payment before the poor girl could even react, “I got this one for ya” he winked. Another attempted flirt which didn’t land; she just took her items, handed the attendee ten bucks, telling him “keep it for yourself lad. Bills are going up” before heading back to the elevator, paper under arm and cigarette already in her mouth. She protected it with one hand while snapping the fingers of the other, a small flame sitting on top of her middle finger and thumb as they were pressed together. She lit her cigarette, taking a long drag, grimacing before slowly breathing it out. She managed to get into the elevator before Frank could catch her and looked down on him as she went up, barely suppressing a smirk as he stared up at her like an angry toddler who didn’t get the toy they wanted.

She got back to Sullivan, who was waiting with their drinks at the bar, far enough from Ryan’s table to give him privacy but close enough to quickly get involved if necessary. He gave her a confused look, “I thought you hated smoking”, Eilis flicked her cigarette butt away as she huffed out her last breath of smoke “I do, but I’m not stabbing myself with needles just for enough eve to work” her eyes followed Frank as he walked too close for comfort just to get back to the table. “Always forget you have those plasmid things. Never would get them myself” her companion commented as he watched her chug back her drink. “Ryan paid me extra too. I don’t have all of them, just ones I find helpful” Eilis defended herself, absentmindedly scratching at where the plasmids had originally been injected not so long ago, it still hurt. 

“How much longer are we here for Sully?” She mumbled as she rubbed at her own face, waiting for her caffeine to kick in, Sullivan lazily checked his watch “two and a half hours”. Eilis suppressed a groan and proceeded to zone out for the next hour, every so often glancing up to check on the brown eyes boring into her from the table, desperate for more information she was determined to make sure he wouldn’t get. Her personal affairs were none of his or the rest of rapture’s business, and if she had any say in it, it would be none of Ryan’s either. 

“fuckin prick” she muttered as she glared at the table, taking Sullivan’s whiskey to drink as she’d finished her own. Though he was annoyed, he just focused on his paper, knowing she needed it to keep her nerves down. He couldn’t tell if she was talking about Ryan or a different participant at his latest ego stroke, but the article on page five quickly took over his attention. “You and Fontaine have a thing?” He questioned, turning the page towards her so she could read it. In big bold letters, it read: Fontaine and Rapture’s own Pavlov dog secret Rendezvous? Eilis snatched the paper from him to read it, glaring at the photo taken of the two sitting at the bar together.

The article continued; At the latest opening of Sander Cohen’s newest theatrical masterpiece was the sight of many powerful couples in rapture, but has a new one surfaced? This reporter thinks so! Rapture’s fastest rising businessman, Frank Fontaine, was spotted in the bar of the fleet hall with none other than rapture’s infamous ‘Pavlov dog’. Though the woman herself has always refused interviews and insisted, quote ‘she would rather drop dead than marry a rapture man’, from what this reporter has seen, he believes that our favourite girl is finally thinking of settling down. But what will the boss think? and they drawled on.

Sullivan gave her a look that asked “well?” Without saying it. “No. No, we do fucking not. He just sat beside me and-... and...” she trailed off as she went back to focusing on the paper, noticing who wrote the article. Stanley Poole. Her hands clenched as she started to crumple up the paper slightly. Sullivan gently took it from her, still wanting to read it, calmly commenting “how long do you need and do I need to send someone after ya to clean up?”. 

“An hour, I’ll be back before they even get to dessert” Was all she replied before Eilis once again disappeared from the restaurant, angrily checking her shotgun as she walked to the bathysphere station, the crowds of rapture parting like the Red Sea. A couple waiting for the bathysphere actually let her on first without question, not even joining her. She had a look in her eyes that portrayed her thoughts very well, I’m gonna kill that bastard.

Chapter Text

Stanley Poole sat at his desk, absentmindedly flicking his pen about as he tried to think of a new story for the Rapture tribune. Gossip had run dry the last few weeks and he needed an article by tomorrow. His recent tip on that little meet up between Fontaine & Ryan’s guard dog had sent sales through the roof, but the two hadn’t been seen together since. He could always lie, but doing that with one of the most powerful men in rapture and a broad who has the full right to shoot him if she sees fit might not be a good idea. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, “I’m busy!!” He shouted, tossing another crumpled up idea into his overflowing trash can across the room. When the door opened, he began to complain, “Hey! A man’s gotta work in silence! Do you not know what-“ but his words got caught in his throat when he saw the furious woman standing in his doorway.

“E-Ellie! So good to see you, you know... uh... I was just on my way to see Ryan!” He blabbered in a panic, picking up random items and trying to leave as fast as possible, “you know he hates to wait! So sorry” but as he got to the door he was blocked by her shotgun, which she then forcefully used to sit him down on the shitty half-broken chair he used for guests. She calmly locked the door, taking the key with her before sitting on his chair and putting her feet on his desk.

Her shoes were spotless, expected of someone constantly standing on Ryan’s expensive carpets, but the mere idea of someone doing it annoyed the reporter, and she knew that. She picked at her teeth, letting him think about what he would say when she finally broke the terrifying silence to ask him a question. When she spoke she simply asked “why is my name in your shitty excuse of a newspaper, Stanley?”,  her tone was calm but her eyes bore holes into him, watching for any little tic that told her he was lying. “Now technically, I... I didn’t even put your name in it! I don’t even know your real name! Nobody does! So you got no reason to be angry with me” he tried to weasel his way out of it, but Eilis wasn’t having any of it. She took her feet off the desk as he continued to babble, pulling out his copy of their most recent issue and turning to page five, showing it to him.

“Who else gets called ‘Pavlov dog’ in this underwater hell hole, Stanley?” He squirmed as she was obviously losing her patience with him, Stanley looked panicked, like a rat backed into a corner with a hungry cat glaring at him. He tried to change the subject.

“Why do you think they call you that huh? I uh, I could never figure it out” he wrung his hands as he spoke.

Bad idea. “I may look like a dumb blonde but sadly for you, I’m not. You know damn well why and before you can take my words outta context it isn’t feckin true” her accent started to slip back in as she lost her composure, reigning herself back in again she continued, showing him the picture he had of her and Fontaine in the article “look at this photo mate, see anything odd about it?”.

He reluctantly leaned closer, “closer, love. I know you think you have good eyesight but you really don’t” Eilis commented, keeping the same calm deadpan look. Stanley gulped, leaning closer and bracing against the desk, muttering “the hell am I even looking for ya crazy Irish broad?” Under his breath. Before another thought could even enter his head his face was slammed into the desk followed by a loud crunch, then pulled back as he was forced to sit back in the chair. He was so stunned he didn’t even react to the pain, not even hearing her next demand of “breath in” before she popped his nose back into place, making him shriek in pain. When she let go, he clung to his face, and almost curled up in the chair.

Eilis starred at the blood on her palm for a moment, realising she had no way to clean it off without Ryan noticing it on her clothes or making it obvious what she’d done in the office. She swore under her breath, checking she still had her shotgun before unlocking the door, telling poor Stanley before she left “don’t you ever write a word about me again unless I give you permission. Go to medical and tell Stienmen it was my doing. He’ll patch you up free of charge”. After that she left with a quick pace, determined to get back just in time for Ryan to not even notice she’d disappeared.

When she arrived back at the Kashmir she was rather proud of herself, her timing was spot on. Waiters swarmed the table with fancy desserts she could never pronounce as she returned to Sullivan’s side, thankfully another drink waiting for her. Still reading his paper, he handed her a napkin and commented “you're always so fuckin’ messy.  Clean your damn hand”, “thank you mammy” she replied cheekily as she did as she was told. “Oh fuck you”, he huffed, “you’re not my type” she shrugged, “oh and Fontaine is?” He teased, smirking at her, She choked on her next breath. “Oh you absolute fucking bastard” she began, ready to rip him a new one as quietly as she could, till the two went dead quiet, spines straight as Ryan approached.

“Finished already boss? Dessert just got here” Sullivan asked calmly, folding his paper under his arm. “I’ll leave them to their meaningless chatter. Eillie dear, Follow me, we must discuss something. Sullivan, you know what to do with the billing and that sort of thing” The great man explained before rushing out with the girl, desperate to get to his bathysphere and away from prying eyes and ears.

“You seem tense” she commented as she waited for him to sit, before setting the course to his private docking station and sinking into the plush seats. She may not have sounded concerned but she was, even if it was only slightly, Ryan being nervous was never a good thing. He always got so fucking jumpy when he was like that. “Fontaine is plotting something” he began, rubbing at his temples “I know he is. He’s in there grinning like a lion” he fretted. Eilis resisted a groan, getting sick of hearing that man’s name today. “I’m all for friendly competition but he has ulterior motives, and I fear the consequences of them” Ryan continued, Eilis catching the message she thought he was trying to give her, even if it was very subtle. “And what do you need me to do about it, sir?” She asked calmly, she knew his usual answers though. She just needed him to confirm which. ‘Deal with it’, ‘make him go away’, ‘you know what to do’, aka kill the poor fecker. But that was not the order she got.

“I want you to be hired by him”. She blinked at him for a moment like the fish swimming by the bathysphere window before blurting out “excuse you?”.

“You heard me quite clearly. Not immediately, of course. We’ll need to coax him in under the illusion of you expanding your services to the highest of the rapture elite. I already have your first two clients organised. Tonight you will be with Sinclair, attending my event and tomorrow you will be with Cohen for the rest of the day, he has a show tomorrow evening so I expect you to treat him with the respect and care you show me” he explained, finishing with “you will be paid extra for your time, obviously” like that made it all better. Eilis rubbed at her face and inhaled deeply “I’m sorry... You want me to advertise myself, get hired by your latest business rival, so I can figure out what his company is making so you can make it first. Am I understanding you correctly, Mr Ryan?” He nodded, “why is that my problem?”. “Because you are my employee and I am telling you it is” Ryan told her sternly, taking out a cigar and just waiting in silence. She reluctantly got up, activating the plasmid that burnt her fingers just so he could have a cigar. She shook her hand slightly to ease the pain as the fire left her veins and the Adam healed her skin.

“How long, sir?” She queried, trying to keep the venom out of her tone. “As long as I see fit” he explained, taking a drag from his cigar, blowing the smoke out as it connected with the docking station. He continued, “you may take this home but send it back, I expect to see you at 8 pm sharp and don’t dress so masculine. It’s a party, have some dignity.” He spoke to her like a child that refused to listen before abandoning her in the cold thing. She resisted the urge to ease her anger a bit by screaming curses as the door shut, knowing damn well he had recordings of everything said in the stupid thing, as he’d shown her before.

She sat in front of her mirror, around 7:45, poking and prodding at her face in an attempt to look like what Ryan considered feminine. Eilis thought she looked fine normally, but he was the one writing her rent cheques so she would just have to suck it up. She was almost tempted to show up with a suit and a little painted-on moustache just to bother him. Removing the last curler from her hair, Bobby pin between her teeth, she heard a knock on her door. She finished her hair as she walked, pulling it open and surprised to see none other than Augustus Sinclair in a new red three-piece suit. “Well don’t you look like a million bucks! Ryan teasin ya again for your less than appealin fashion choices?” He teased, offering his arm to her, “the day you wear a cabaret outfit is the day I give a shit about his opinion of me. Why are you here mate?” She asked, taking his arm to not be rude while she locked the door of her tiny little apartment. “Well, Ryan has me in on this little act of his, and he sure does pay handsomely for a man who insists he doesn’t care if I help him or not. I thought it wouldn’t be gentleman-like to be leavin you to walk all the way from here up to this little ego stroke Andy’s puttin on” Sinclair grinned, casually talking in his southern drawl as the two walked to his private bathysphere.

“One thing I don’t quite understand though, why does he have you dressin like you’re some frail thing when you're supposed to be a bodyguard? I know you're far from such but it’s gonna give some men with an ego to rival Fontaine the wrong idea” he asked, waving at others and flashing his Stienmen given smile to be polite. “You’ll have to ask him, love. Lord knows I haven’t a clue. I’ve got a pistol on my thigh though and a slit to get at it, I’ll be fine.” She explained, stopping for a moment in surprise when Sinclair waited for her to get into the bathysphere first before continuing “thank you. If every man in rapture were as kind as you maybe I wouldn’t be praying the leak in my apartment would finally bursts” she joked, crossing her legs as she sat down, not feeling the need to be ladylike around a man like Sinclair who could give less of a damn.

“You think with all his money he’d at least get you the smallest apartment in Mercury suites. For a girl with such a reputation, you sure do live like your namesake hun” he sighed, pulling out a cigarette and going to light it with a match, swatting the girl’s hands away when she tried to do it for him out of reflex from Ryan, “You know Andrew, he doesn’t believe in handouts. Or charity”. He blew out a cloud of smoke and tapped off the ash of his cigarette before commenting “I may actually hire you so you don’t starve to death”. Eilis chuckled, ignoring the slight glare from Sinclair as he wasn’t joking.

As their bathysphere came to a halt at Ryan’s private station Sinclair stubbed out his cigarette and got up, offering Rapture’s Pavlov dog his arm again before the two entered the place. It was filled to the brim with rapture’s socialites, dancers, musicians and Ryan himself who parted the ocean of people while he swanned about with Diane on his arm. Eilis could see Jasmine performing on the stage, though she was grinning with that pretty smile she had, she looked a little upset. Poor thing. Cohen was dragging his disciples around like they were dogs and everyone else she cared to recognise were already drinking the night away. No one really seemed to know what they were celebrating but they could have cared less. Ryan spotted Eilis & Sinclair, not bothering to greet them, just giving the girl a look of ‘don’t forget what you're here to do’.

“Ignore him, you’re workin under me tonight, remember? I’m gonna go get us drinks. What are you in the mood for hun?” Sinclair asked her kindly, seeming to be amused by her reaction to basic human decency. “Uh, martini, please. Thank you love” she smiled awkwardly at him, “one plain and one strawberry, got it. Be back in two shakes” he patted her arm before releasing her and being engulfed by the crowd. Eilis hated these parties, but at least usually her only job was to watch Ryan, babysit Diane or play poker with the other guards outside while watching the door. Now she had to stand there in a room full of people she didn’t know and wait for Sinclair. It didn’t even look like Fontaine was here so the entire night already felt pointless.

Frank was late, of course. Why wouldn’t he be? He didn’t need the attention of being there first, pretending he gave a single damn about this party. In all honesty, he was there for the free booze, maybe a new lay with some giddy rich broad and then back to work. He already had several businesses to run and a new construction site to keep an eye on for his new department store. Life was good but also a mild pain in the ass. He ordered a double shot of vodka from the bartender to get a buzz before he dove into the whole social aspect of this shit, glancing to his right to see Sinclair also waiting for a drink. “Ryan drag your ass in here too?” He asked casually, they were business rivals, sure, but he hated him the least out of everyone in the room and a small chat wouldn’t kill him. “Nah, actually I came here willingly. I wanted to show off somethin” Sinclair admitted with a grin as his two drinks arrived.

“Show off what? That suit’s as fuckin old as you” Frank teased, chuckling to himself as the other man just raised an eyebrow. “Not my suit, Frankie. And it is younger than that, thank you very much. I’m here to show off my new guard dog” he sipped at his strawberry martini and tried to leave, all part of the plan as Frank couldn’t resist another moment to try and start an argument “you tryna copy Ryan now? Little sad, don’cha think?”. “Quite the opposite actually, I ain’t copyin him. I got his guard dog and she’s waitin for her drink, so if you’ll excuse me” The older man explained, continuing to sip at his drink as he walked back to Eilis who was waiting there in patient silence. Frank stared at him, surely he was pulling his leg?

He watched as Sinclair went back to the girl, handed her the drink, they seemed to chat for a second before strolling through the party together, the girl acting just like she does when she’s walking with Ryan. Frank downs his shot and sucked on his teeth slightly as he thought, listening to the rich pricks around him gossip to each other as he gathered his thoughts.

“I can’t believe he did that!” Boring.

“Did you hear about what happened in Arcadia last night? How scandalous!” Even fuckin worse.

“I heard Ryan’s guard dog is finally branching out! Isn’t that exciting?” There we go. He tried to focus on the conversation the group of men were having over the annoying chatter and loud music of this shitty party. “Is she now? Into what exactly?”, “guarding other people you nitwit, what else would she be doing? I heard she’s only doing the top of the elite, those who can afford her”, “I bet she ain’t that expensive, she’s just saying no to sleaze bags like you! I’m sure if she got hired by a true gentleman, like yours truly, she might even-“ and that was all he needed to know, shoving past the group out of pure spite alone before continuing to the band while they took a break.

“Buddy, start off with something slow alright? Got a special little lady I wanna surprise” he winked, slipping the lead fifty bucks, patting his shoulder when he got a nod and returning to the crowds to wait. The band started up some slow soppy romantic tune, causing broads to drag their poor fellas onto the dance floor and Sinclair to throw back his drink at the chance to get a new one with the now mainly free bar. He made his way over to Eilis, who just stood there with her arms crossed patiently, he coughed to get her attention. “wanna dance doll? I can see you swayin to it.” He offered her a hand, she hesitated a moment, seeming to think hard about something before taking his hand “I’d love to Mr Fontaine”. He smirked confidently before leading her to the dance floor. He kept a hold of her hand, resting another on her waist as she put one on his shoulder and the two began to sway, though she was rather stiff.

Dames likes this song right? Somethin french to do with flowers. He didn’t care enough to remember it. “I think we got off on the wrong foot” he began, the girl actually looking at him, seemingly pulled from her thoughts, “Frank Fontaine. See? We ain’t strangers no more. I think that deserves me a name,” he said cooly, actually getting a slight laugh from her “smart ass. Still not getting my real name. But you may call me Ellie”. He shrugged, continuing to sway with her and resisting the urge to let his hand travel lower, “Well, Ellie, a little birdie told me you were spreading your services out past Ryan. You finally get sick of him? I know I would have by now” He asked casually, getting a mumble of “you could say that..” before she looked up at him and queries “why? Did that little birdie get you interested?”.

“Only little bird I’m interested in right now is the one in my arms, but yes. When ya free? I wanna do a little trial run to see if you’re worth a dime” he replied, surprised she hadn’t done anything like the last two times they’d met yet. “Thursday” she stated simply as the song finally ended, but she didn’t let go of him, “what time do you need me, mate?”. “I would say before the sun rises but you can’t really use that here, can ya?” He huffed, not willing to admit he could actually tell what the fuckin time was in New York, “Let’s say 4:30 am. I got shit to do. My apartment, Mercury suites. Code’s 5477, special access” he gave her a wink before letting go, kissing the top of her hand “see you in two days, doll” before disappearing into the crowd and in the direction of the hired dancers from Eves.

“Pardon me for bein vulgar but I’m pretty sure Ryan wanted you to get hired by the man, not give the reporters more to gossip on” Sinclair teased as he reappeared with their second round of drinks, chuckling to himself “any luck hun?”. “Ryan wouldn’t let any reporter past those doors” Eilis defended herself, continuing “He’s a lovely dancer surprisingly” muttering it under her breath, ignoring Sinclair when he asked her to repeat herself as she threw back her drink. “4:30 am on Thursday morning, in his apartment surprisingly. I have a sinking feeling I’m walking into a trap” she sighed, putting her glass on the tray of a waiter as they walked past. “Think he’ll torture you for all of Andy Ryan’s secrets?” The older man pried very casually as he sipped at his drink, this girl didn’t know a thing about Fontaine but he knew she knew when someone was off. He wondered if she’d caught on to how dangerous he is yet.

“He’d have to kill me then because I know absolute jack shit. I’d like to see him try though, I’ve been told I’m too stubborn to die” she laughed a bit as she spoke, Sinclair hiding a frown as that gave him all he needed to know. “Let’s go for a smoke. I’m dying for a break from Ryan’s ego. I can practically feel it from across the room” he linked her arm again, desperate for a change of subject and scenery as they got on to whatever classes as a balcony in Rapture, wanting to drown his worries in a flurry of eve and nicotine.

Chapter Text

Eilis was for once up before her pneumo screamed at her, she was eating whatever passed as toast in rapture when it began, she ignored it, but when it went off again she gave in and opened the damn thing. Inside was two packages, one was a gift from Cohen, a thank you for attending his show and posing for several painting references. If she hadn’t been forced into doing that by Ryan it would have almost been sweet. The second was a note from Fontaine, how strange.

Did he think she’d forgotten?

She quickly opened it to see wether Ryan’s plan was going ahead or she would be getting an earful of him after her walk of shame to his office. Thankfully it was just a simply note telling her to dress different and that he isn’t Ryan. Weird but appreciated. Her usual work attire needed some tender love and care anyway, she’d drop it off at that fancy tailor near Mercury suites, glad she had enough money to spare to get the entire ensemble fixed up. Who needs heating anyway?

She threw on a black shirt, having a feeling if she wore white she’d regret it, the comfiest pair of pants she owned which wasn’t saying much and some boots she’d kept from living on the surface. There was still mud from Central Park on them. She smiled at it slightly before cleaning them, grabbing her trusted shotgun and heading out to get to Fontaine’s apartment early, she couldn’t risk fucking this up. She hated walking through Mercury suites, people looked at her like she was beneath them, technically she was, Ryan made sure of that but still. Human decency never hurt. She dropped her clothes off at the tailors and then pinned the code into the wall for Fontaine’s private elevator, quietly revelling in the shocked and vaguely jealous sneers of those around her. Fontaine must be a popular man.

Frank himself was just awake, he would have loved nothing more than to lie in this expensive bed for hours but sadly ya can’t pull off a good con from the comfort of your own home. He huffed and dragged himself to his feet, getting half dressed and trotting downstairs to have a quick cigar before he actually had to start for the day. He’d almost completely forgotten about the extra help he’d hired, till he heard his elevator come up. She was early. He chewed at the end of his cigar as he waited for her to make her way in. He checked for the gun he hid in one of his cigar boxes, a fully loaded revolver, content when he knew it was there and easy to grab. There was something wrong with this whole deal, one minute she can’t stand him, the next she jumps at the chance for a job. Either she’s desperate for money, which would make his life a lot easier, or Ryan’s gotten sick of him taking over his city, business wise, and has sent his bodyguard to kill him, probably throw his body into the ocean, all that shit. Either way he was prepared. It’d be a shame to have to kill her before he could get what he needed out of her but his life was more important. He’d put too much effort into all this shit to be dead now.

Eilis knew very little about Fontaine, but the vibe she got from him was very mobster like. She imagined a room full of his workers, smoking cigars and playing pool, glaring at her as she walked by. Something along those lines, not a zen garden. It dumbstruck her for a moment, he didn’t seem like a zen person at all. She brushed it off as ‘rich dick showboating’, as Sullivan would have called it, and continued up to the door and up the stairs. She was hit with another shock by the sight of a Bear snarling at her from atop the next set of stairs, “Charming..” she mumbled under her breath as she took her shotgun off and left it propped up by his coat stand, glancing around till she spotted the back of him, slouched on a chair, smoking beside a wall of Cuban cigars. She wondered how he had so many, she’d heard a few years ago that rapture’s supply had run out, and Ryan was currently refusing imports on anything that wasn’t a ‘needed resource’.

“Mr Fontaine, sir?” She spoke softly to get his attention, he blew out a plume of smoke, quietly admiring the swirls and pretending to stretch, making sure his hand was close to that hidden revolver, as he glanced back at her. “You’re early” was all he stated, her expression stayed blank. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to get a lay of the land before work starts. I assumed you’d be with other employees” she apologised professionally. Frank looked her up and down, lingering on certain parts a bit longer than he should have. After confirming he couldn’t see any obvious weapons on her, he relaxed, sticking his cigar back into his mouth as he stood up.

“I ain’t got anyone else hired for the day, just you. If your good enough to be glued to Ryan every minute of the damn day than I’m sure you can handle it” he stated calmly, walking up to her and looking down on her slightly. Their height difference wasn’t extreme but it was enough to make her feel uncomfortable. She wanted to tell him that Ryan had an entire security team, she was just the last layer of defence, but she kept her mouth shut about that, nodding “of course”. He smirked, noticing the slight waver in her tone, “good, come on” he stubbed out his cigar and walked out of the room, Eilis following him quietly, just wanting to do her job and get this over with as soon as possible, unaware of the fact that Frank was fully trying to test her. He led her to his office, through his bedroom. It was still warm from the dying fire he’d lit last night, his suit from the night before was strewn across the floor with some remnants of girls clothes despite no one being there.

She’d seen worse with Ryan after his parties before he settled on his two current girls, but at least Ryan cared about his expensive suits enough to put them away. She stepped over them as she followed him into his office, only now noticing he was surprisingly casual; his shirt was open, no tie or vest to make him look more professional, and he wasn’t even wearing shoes yet.

He sat down at his desk, another stuffed bear nearby of course, and just randomly started sifting through documents. He pretended to read them, putting a few specific ones down on his desk that described new plasmid and products along side his blueprints that showed all the businesses that would be in his new department store. Eilis just stood on the other side of the room looking at nothing in particular. She already had the feeling he didn’t trust her, and even though Ryan wanted the exact information Fontaine was just laying out on the table for her, she knew better than to anger someone when isolated in a space she was unfamiliar with. She only now realised how separated they were from the rest of rapture, and in this office it almost felt like they weren’t in rapture at all, it felt like they were in just a normal city office on the surface. It was oddly comforting. To distract herself as Frank kept trying to lure her into his trap, she wandered over to his records, absentmindedly flicking through them and admiring them. “Want some music while you work? I know it helps some focus” she offered casually, keeping her back turned and focusing on the records to put on an act of disinterest.

Frank’s eyebrows furrowed as once again she gave him nothing, without a face to look at, discerning if she was bullshitting him or not was more difficult, “sure. Do whatever you want, I’m gonna go throw on something” he huffed, leaving the documents on the desk in a way he would notice if there was even a slight shift to read them, before disappearing into his bedroom. When he came back, dressed properly and neatly with another cigar waiting to be lit, he heard ratpack playing from his office. Sounded like one of the more popular ones, the door slid open and there was the Pavlov dog humming to herself and swaying slightly while she rolled up her sleeves, completely ignoring his untouched documents. Impressive.

Eilis was so wrapped up in her own little world of forced distraction that her usual instincts just went ignored when they told her to look behind her. She just continued to sway, her eyes shut and imagining dancing with someone, anyone, slowly swaying happily to the tune, no one there to bother them, just happy in each others company. But when she heard a light cough to get her attention she was reminded that was a far off fantasy she wouldn’t be getting any time soon. She sighed, turning and looking at Frank, almost jumping in surprise at how close he was. “Fucking Christ” she cursed under her breath, silently scolding herself for letting her accent slip again “Sorry. What are we doing-“ she tried to ask but she was interrupted when he took a step closer, making her take a step back, hitting the strange frosted glass wall in his office. “Why’d you hide that voice a yours? I don’t, neither does Sinclair. You think you’re better than us?” He asked bluntly, smirking when she couldn’t hold back the annoyed look that took over her features.

“No.. of course I don’t” she defended herself, still suppressing her accent.

“You may be known as Ryan’s dog, but since you’re workin under me now, you follow my rules. Got that?” He stated sternly, Eilis almost bit through her tongue to not talk back, “yes. And they are?”. “Talk how you would without Ryan being up your ass. I wanna know the real you, makes you easier to trust” he began, waiting for her to nod before continuing “you can talk back but if you get too lippy you’ll find out very quick why people don’t get like that with me”. “Anything else love?” She snapped at him slightly, not liking how his smirk returned as quickly as her accent, “maybe. It’s not really a rule, more of an order” he shrugged, backing off from her. When he did, Eilis finally realised how tight her chest was as it relaxed and how warm he was as she finally felt the coolness of the glass. “Hit me” she sighed in relief as she stopped the record. “Tell me your name. You’re real one doll, not this Ellie bullshit”.

“Eilis. Now can we please go do whatever ya need to get done, sir?” Her glare was still strong but her demeanour shifted from indifference to obvious discomfort, almost like that fake voice Ryan made her put on helped her feel more in control, but she’d dropped it out of concern for her life. “Love to. Need to light this first” Frank stated simply as he went to go root through his desk for a lighter or some matches, till she lit it for him with a snap of her fingers, “well aren’t you full of surprises doll?” He chuckled, happy he could have a smoke as he waltzed out of his office, forcing the girl to follow him back through his room, clothes still strewn across the floor. Frank was surprisingly fast when he wanted to be, which was a shock for Eilis as Ryan walked as slow as humanly possible most of the time. She barely had a second to snatch her shotgun before joining him in the tiny elevator. It was so cramped, she wondered how all his other guards came up with two people in it was almost suffocating.

Frank didn’t seem to mind but the close proximity made her feel like she was going to choke on every breath she took. Every time she even tried her senses were drowned in cigar smoke and whatever cologne he was wearing. When they finally got to the bottom floor which felt like it took a decade, Eilis rushed out for fresh air. “You good doll?” Frank teased as he walked by, she simply glared at him and keeping her mouth shut, resisting the urge to scream profanities at him.

Remember the job, remember the job.

Frank just seemed to wander around for a bit aimlessly, Eilis of course following his every step. It was like he was making sure she wouldn’t wander off, she wouldn’t dream of it. Even if he didn’t pay her for today, Ryan would and she needed the money regardless. They continued like a mother goose leading her goslings, till they got a bathysphere to the fisheries. She hasn’t been down here in years, Ryan never ‘lowered’ himself to it. She could practically see the face he’d pull at the smell and it made her smile to herself a bit. The smell did make her gag but she’d smelled worse, it was just the change from the expensive scented bathysphere drowning in the smell of Frank Fontaine to fish guts that caught her off guard. She was happy to be somewhere where she didn’t have to act so put together. She could almost be herself, that sounded nice.

Frank didn’t need to be at his fisheries today, he has his boys running it while he tested out the Pavlov dog, but while he was pretending to read those documents he actually had a letter from a connection he had in Persephone telling him the psycho who had tried to kill him last month had been released per his request. He had no clue who he was, just some random guy who insisted they knew eachother from New York, probably some shmuck who got caught in one of his book keeping cons. Maybe they did, he didn’t give a shit though. Either way didn’t matter, having someone connected to him from the surface and not under his thumb was bad, so he either needed the bastard locked away or dead. He would have let the bastard rot, happily checkin in on him every so often when he needed a punching bag that could talk, but he needed one last push to see if he could pull his new bodyguard into his plans for rapture. Hopefully she doesn’t die but if she does, no harm no foul.

She seemed rather relaxed physically but had a strange expression he couldn’t quiet place. He ignored it, enjoying his cigar and going over what he’d do after one of them killed each other in his head. Psycho shows up, they shoot at each other, one dies, he loops the other into getting rid of the body, future blackmail, blah blah blah.

To kill time he decided to pry at Eilis a bit more, she seemed to be forcing herself to tolerate him more at the idea of getting the job, so either he’d get valuable answers or an argument. He’d be delighted with either. “Elise” he began, glancing at her as she quietly corrected him “Eilis.”, “whatever. You got any family? Obviously not in here, out there” he queried casually, she seemed to cringe at the question, “no.”. Touchy subject, noted. “Got a fella?” He stubbed his cigar out on the wall, flicking it into the stagnant water below. “Despite the rumours that I ride everything that moves, no I don’t. Feckin bastards” she snapped back, cracking her knuckles like it was some sort of stress relief. No fella, good. Less questions if he has to get rid of her.

“Great, cause of those rumours were true I’d be shocked you ain’t knocked up by now” he chuckled, continuing when she gave him a disgusted grimace “lucky for you and Ryan, you’ll never have to up my payment for another mouth to feed. I can’t have little ones”, she didn’t seem sad at the thought but she did absentmindedly put a hand over her stomach. “Why not?” He continued to pry as he notices someone skulking about behind some boxes, needing to keep up the idea that he was blissfully unaware. “Very bloody nosey, aren’t you? I don’t have the equipment. Simple as, boss” she huffed her reply, moving her hand from her stomach to the strap of her shotgun to be safe, she felt like she was being watched. Frank blinked at her for a minute before bluntly asking “you’re a guy?”, “what? No, I just don’t have a uterus. Máthair Dé, tá leathcheann timpeall orm” she huffed rubbing at her temple with one hand. Frank had no clue what she said but assumed it was an insult.

Just as he was about to pick a fight at the worst possible time there was a gunshot and he was on the floor. Was he shot? No, Eilis had just knocked him out of the way as their stalker finally revealed himself to be exactly who Frank knew he was. He got out of the way of gunfire and watched for the victor. The two were glaring at each other like fighting dogs, guns aimed and ready to fire. “Move out of the way ya crazy bitch!  You have no clue who that fucker is. He deserves this!” The psycho screamed at Eilis but she didn’t move, “I’m gonna give you five seconds to put down that gun or you’ll find out very fuckin quick if there is a hell” she told him coldly, pretending to relax but her grip on the trigger was still desperate to pull and kill him. “fine.. FINE! If you’re standing by his side you must be just as bad as he is. I’ll make sure to aim for ya heart you fucki-“ and before he had finished, Eilis already shot him twice in the chest. She went over to him, giving him a test kick to be sure he was dead and not some super freak, thankfully he was. She pulled his gun out his hand just in case, you never know in rapture.

Frank emerged from his safe spot clapping “look at you! Looks like you are worth every god damn cent I was gonna spend! Not even a scratch. Don’t fuckin shove me though, this suit is expensive doll” he spoke, approaching her and dusting himself off. But as he did he noticed her breathing was laboured, she seemed to be shaking slightly. “Hey. You deaf or something?” he walked around in front of her. It was harder to tell with the black shirt but it was obvious there was a larger growing dark patch on the right side of her chest. Every breath made her grimace and she seemed to be holding back the urge to cough. “He didn’t hit you, right?” She muttered, “nah I’m fine doll” he couldn’t stop noticing all the little things she was doing and failing to convince him she was fine. “Let’s get you back to safety sir” her more refined voice was back but he couldn’t tell if she was doing it on purpose or out fo instinct from working with Ryan. “You’re gonna bleed all over by bathysphere” he commented, getting a mumble of an apology as her head started to drop. Before he could ask her what she was doing she just dropped, and out of some weird instinct he didn’t think he had he caught her.

“Hey. Get the fuck up. I have shit to do and you’re still on the clock” He clicked his fingers in front of her face to get her to focus but she just lay there, barely breathing. He could hear a slight whistle every time she breathed out. He thought over his options, thinking of just abandoning her there and moving on with his day, but something in him wouldn’t let him. Sentiment and sympathy were traits Frank was very proud to say he’d never felt, he’d pretended to of, course, to reel in some poor suckers like the fish they were, but this weird twinge in his chest as he watched her lay there in his arms, possibly dying, was new. Anytime he thought of putting her down it got worse, it almost hurt. He scoffed slightly, justifying it as getting his money worth, she’s an investment and it’s too early to let her drop dead, that kind of shit.

He carried her bridal style back to his bathysphere, laying her down across the plush cushions and putting his jacket over her to stop her shivering, telling himself it was so just in case she rolled she wouldn’t get blood on the upholstery. He set a course for the medical pavilion and sat beside the almost lifeless body of Rapture’s Pavlov dog, watching her chest for each shaken rise and fall during the agonisingly slow ride.

Chapter Text

Dr Stienman rather enjoyed his work, he got to make the people of rapture beautiful, perfect beings! And Ryan gave him everything he needed on an equally beautiful silver platter, but in return he often was presented with his most irritating client, the Pavlov dog.

Now it wasn’t anything bad: she wasn’t difficult to deal with or anything like that, she was rude but in rapture he’s heard worse simply for his last name. The worst thing was she didn’t have the basic decency to listen to his opinion. He just wanted to help her. There wasn’t exactly anything wrong, she was perfectly average, but she could be perfect, why can’t she understand that?! Just a few cuts here, a lift there, remove a bit of this and that and she would look stunning, but she refused. Every. Time.

As he turned to look at her sitting on his surgical table, he took a deep breath to compose himself, dismissing his nurse as soon as the girl awoke again and sitting up. Be casual Stienman, you only want to help his goddess whispered. “Back so soon?” He teased casually, examining the bullet wound in her chest, she just gave a hum as a reply, trying to stay upright as she glanced at the drips in her arm. “Another gaudy scar… you know if you let me use the proper amount of Adam you’d be scarless? Not a scratch on you. I’m sure it would boost your confidence” he suggested, eyebrows furrowing when he got a reply of “not in a million years love..”.

Eilis gritted her teeth from pain as he dug the tweezers into her wound, not giving the morphine time to kick it “oops” he shrugged, abandoning the tweezers and bullet in a dish on his equipment table. “I will admit I did expect you to return soon but not with Fontaine of all people. He carried you in here like a bride” he spoke casually as he threaded his needle to give her stitches, glancing at her when she snapped “drop the subject, now”.

He rolled his eyes, fine. “Business with Ryan?” He asked, starting to stitch her up, noticing she only winced slightly, meaning the morphine started to kick in. Good. She was always much more agreeable after that, and a lot more loose tongued. “You know it is” she muttered, rubbing at her face, “lucky for you a part of our contact is I can’t ask for details. No make up today?” He queried, glancing at the window looking into his surgical suite to see Fontaine himself arguing with his nurse. Eilis didn’t seem to notice, she just shook her head. “Intresting. You know I could make it so you’d never need makeup. A natural beauty” he reminded her, getting a quiet mutter of “not today love..”. He sighed in disappointment, injecting some Adam into her, watching as it healed the wound, though left behind a scar as she refuses the full dose. He pulled out the thread, having only used it for temporary stitches and brushed over the scar with his thumb, mumbling “such a shame” as he left to clean up, going out of his surgical suite and hoping a new candidate would be waiting somewhere in the hospital and Ms Donovan would be off his table by the time he returned. If she wasn’t maybe he could use his latest candidate to ease her worries, imagine that. Ryan’s personal guard dog having work done by him, work he could talk about and be approved by his goddess. Oh, it seemed like a far off day dream.

As Stienman swanned past, probably high off some weird new Adam/nose candy mix, Fontaine was finished arguing. “She’s my god damn employee and I gotta see what the damage is so I know if I should pay it or not. That section eight has left so move ya dumb broad” he snapped at the poor nurse who was obviously used to arguments with Stienman, shoving past her and into Stienman’s surgical suite.

There was Eilis, looking very dazed but alive, sitting on the surgical table fully dressed bar her shirt, leaving her torso and bra on show. She adjusted the strap slightly, it obviously having been moved to get at the wound better. She noticed him and stared at him slightly till her brain registered who it was “Hey Frankie” she grinned. Frank was not sure what to make of the situation, she seemed overly giddy and half awake, but she’d only been shot. It was like they’d sedated her, it was also weird to see her almost half naked when he is sure if she was ‘fully there’ she would have thrown a scalpel at him to get him to leave.

She was toned, expected of a bodyguard but weird to see on a woman, especially in rapture. Most of them were very delicate and if they weren’t, Frank wasn’t exactly drawn to them. She was absolutely covered in scars, based off the new one on her chest, mainly bullet wounds, a few possible stab wounds and a large straight one down the centre of her stomach. He thought for a moment, reading the labels of the bags of drugs she had dripped into her: some weird morphine/Eve mixed plus the Adam she’d definitely been injected with, no wonder she was out of it. “You’ve been out for hours. I was worried I was gonna have to pay for an autopsy to prove to Ryan I didn’t kill ya” he huffed, resisting an eyeroll, “Ryan has a deal with the hospital that they take any medical care for me out of his account, you wouldn’t have to pay for a thing, love. It’s one of the few perks of working for that arsehole” she laughed a bit, happy she had enough sleepy confidence to insult her boss.

She pulled Stienman’s equipment table over with her foot, rummaging through it for something like Frank wasn’t there. He wondered if Ryan often abandoned her here after confirming she was alive. “What other perks you got?” He pried, watching her curiously as she continued to rummage till she found a bandaid. “Hm... unlimited ammo and certain privileges are nice, though those tie back to keeping Ryan alive and happy so they aren’t really for my own.. I have no clue what the word is.” She rubbed at her face slightly before removing the iv needles from her arm, keeping pressure and putting the bandaid over the wound so she didn’t bleed out. She already felt uncomfortable from the vague memory of the nurse helping her cough the blood out of her lungs only a few minutes ago. “He pay you well?” Frank glanced at her as he walked away, grabbing his suit jacket that had been abandoned on a chair, they must have thrown out Eilis’ shirt.

“Enough for a shitty apartment in paupers drop and food for a day. You see why I’m taking on extra clients? I don’t wanna starve to death.. not like I could leave if I wanted to anyway...” she explained, brushing her hair back with her fingers and rubbing at her face again “god, I feel like shit..” she groaned mainly to herself but Frank heard her. “Ah. Daddy Ryan not paying ya bills Princess?” He teased, chuckling when she almost wretched, “I’m not religious but please, for the love of god, NEVER call him that again” she glared, which before he found mildly disrespectful but now it was growing on him. It was kinda cute.

“Just a joke doll, don’t stress that pretty head a yours” Frank approached, wrapping his jacket around the girl’s shoulders and making her hold it closed, “keep those a secret for me” he winked, like he owned the right to see her like this. Eilis was too tired and out of her mind to argue back, she blamed the drugs for the fact she felt her cheeks getting redder and she was almost starting to like his stupid little nicknames. She got up but stumbled like a baby deer and definitely would have face planted if Frank hadn’t caught her again. “You’re lucky I don’t have anything else to do today” he scooped her up again and calmly walked out, not giving a shit about the strange glances or the flash he saw out of the corner of his eye as he made his way back to his bathysphere, finding she was asleep again when he put her down. How much does this broad sleep?

He cracked his knuckles before setting the course to his private docking station, not in the mood to walk through Mercury suites and have people gawking at him for that long. He pulled the service radio off the wall and turned it to the frequency for his men, pressing it to his mouth as he spoke into it “Reg? You copy?”.

“I’m here boss, where the hell are you?” A gruff bronx voice replied, “medical. I’ll be back soon, had to fix up a new hire. Get all the boys over quick, we gotta discuss some shit that you’ve all forgotten” Frank’s tone was harsh and warning, Reggie sighed, knowing his boss and longtime friend well enough to tell he was going to kill someone, just responding “consider it done boss” before getting off the line. Frank smoothed a hand over his head, annoyed he didn’t have a cigar to calm his nerves as he sat down beside the sleeping girl. This wasn’t how he expected his day to go at all, and no matter how hard he thought back to it he couldn’t figure hit what compelled him to actually save the dame currently passed out beside him.

Ryan would have killed ya, or at least attempted to if ya let her die his brain suggested. No that wasn’t it.

She’s an investment, you wouldn’t let her die so soon right? Not a good enough reason.

Then a thought came that made him sit up straight, you like her. Christ, he needed a cigar.

The bathysphere shook as it docked, surprisingly not waking Eilis up. That girl could sleep through a nuclear war for all Frank knew. He stepped out, happy to have something close to fresh air. Anything was better than the stale recycled shit from the bathyspheres. Reggie was waiting in the dingy room obediently, looking like he wanted to make a comment but knew better to keep his mouth shut. “Leave her in my room, if she croaks I’ll never get the smell a death outta that thing” his boss ordered, clicking his fingers and pointing at the bathysphere and the sleeping girl inside. Reggie picked up the girl and the shotgun that was left resting on the seat nearby before doing as he was told, pushing open the secret bookshelf door in his boss’s personal office with his foot and going into Frank’s bedroom. While he dealt with that, Frank walked across to his game room where all of his current hired hands were lounging about. He calmly took the gun off one of them, who was too busy playing pool to notice, and aimed at a random worker’s head, firing and just clipping his ear. Said man’s scream of agony was what shut them all up.

“Now. Fellas. I may not know all your names off the top of my head, but I knew your face as soon as I fuckin see it. And I know damn well who was supposed to be there when I was testin out Ryan’s bitch. Would those four morons mind explainin to me why they weren’t there ? Cause I’m gonna have to spend extra money to get the blood cleaned outta my suit and bathysphere, money that could be goin somewhere else” His tone was calm but threatening, gun still ready to fire from his steady hands and his honestly surprising amount of patience wearing very very thin. He knew exactly who they were, in fact he could see them in the room, but only one of them stepped forward, “Name and excuse kid, I ain’t gettin any younger”. The young man gulped, swallowing his nerves “I was helping unload your latest shipment from New York, sir. I didn’t want to risk someone damaging it... Reggie can vouch for me!”.

Frank nodded as the man spoke, “I’ll confirm that, but thank you. You’re a good man for coming forward, and you’re reward is you’re life” he patted the terrified man’s shoulder before walking into the centre of the room. “Well? Don’t mind me, continue whatever you were doin” Frank smiled at them, the smile he used to close so many deals, the smile of a friend. They trusted him like the idiots they were and went back to their chatter and games. But that was quickly silenced by three gunshots: one man dead on the pool table, in the middle of his shot, the blood from half his head missing seeping into the felt, another man slumped backwards on a couch, his winning hand of poker strewn across his lap and the other was mixing drinks, though I don’t think what had now landed in his cocktails were considered edible. They all sat there in petrified silence, frozen in time as Reggie re-entered.

“All sorted boss. She’ll be out for a few, probably. Gave her one of your shirts so the boys can’t go gawkin” he explained coolly, surprising a grimace at the three bodies now in this room as he lit a cigar for Frank and them one for himself. Frank sighed in relief as the tobacco smoke filled his lungs, patting reggie’s shoulder “you’re amazin Reg. keep an eye on her for me alright? I got shit to do and her dyin’ll fuck up my schedule.”. Reggie nodded, going to leave, but was pulled back by a gentle warning tug at his suspenders. Frank guided his bodyguard’s view to the trembling, soul survivor of what Frank was now going to dub ‘the four fuckups’. “This fella says he wasn’t where he was supposed to be because he was helping you. Is that true?”, Reggie looked the man up and down before nodding, “yea. Helped me unload your shit. It’s by your cigars by the way” was the only answer he gave before going back towards Frank’s bedroom.

The trembling man sighed in relief, but tended up as Frank looked at him again “good job not lying to me kid, that’s a bad decision to make” Frank hummed, shooting the young man in the foot and ignoring him as he hit the floor screaming, “don’t you ever brush off a direct order from me again. Ain’t smart” he crouched down to the man’s height as he said this, before standing up and directing his men on what he needed them to do. This included their usual duties as well as body clean up, dealing with their two bleeding colleagues and more importantly, scrubbing blood from his possessions.

Unless they want to add to the work of the others, they better do good. Frank still had one bullet left.

Chapter Text

Ow. That was the first thought Eilis had when she opened her eyes, ow.

Everything hurt, it felt like she’d been shot all over again. Thinking Frank had abandoned her in a bathysphere or something like that, she slowly sat up only to be shocked by the feeling of silk sheets. Hm.

She reluctantly opened an eye only to find herself in Frank Fontaine‘s bedroom, in one of his shirts, with a random man staring at her and her shotgun was gone. She let her hand light on fire, ignoring the pain and the fact she definitely didn’t have enough eve to actually use it properly. Thankfully plasmids weren’t fully on the market yet so hopefully whoever the hell was in the room with her didn’t know what it looked like when a plasmid was just being shown vs it actually being ready to use. Reggie sighed slightly, not having enough energy to fight some crazy dame with fire hands, so he just put his hands up “not a threat, just here to make sure you didn’t die in the boss’s sheets. Mind turning that shit off? It’s hot enough in here with that fuckin fire roarin” he explained calmly, and she listened to him.

“Thanks toots” He mumbled, putting a pile of clothes and a shotgun at her feet on the bed, “thought you’d never fuckin wake up” was the last thing he said before leaving the room through the office door. Eilis pulled her shotgun to her side, checking it was loaded before looking at the clothes. They were her clothes, the ones she’d left to be tailored, and there was a wad of cash hidden in between her shirt and pants. She cautiously glanced at the door as she thought is he testing me again? Quickly getting up, she took her clothes and weapon into Frank’s bathroom so she could get changed without the man himself or whoever the other fella was seeing her naked. But had they already? She starred at the shirt she’d woken up in for a minute… no. No she’s imagining things, Stienman probably had a nurse throw it on her.

She got dressed, glaring at her very obviously exhausted face despite sleeping for what felt like a decade. Her entire body was tender from getting shot, using her plasmids and the tiniest dose of Adam she knew she’d been given. She quietly lectured herself for not bringing her watch or a radio to figure out what time it was and whatever the hell was going on. After putting her shotgun back on its strap, resting it on her back, she opened the door only to see Frank waiting there. “Look who decided to wake up. Thought you were comatose for a bit there” he teased as she slipped past him and made the bed, holding the clothes she’d changed out of in a ball under her arm.

“How long was I out?” Eilis asked softly, noticing the other pillow beside where she was sleeping had been disturbed. “Most of the day doll, it’s Friday morning. People’ll talk” Frank smirked at her, obviously prodding for a reaction that she almost gave him but caught herself. She handed him the wad of cash she’d found “you forgot this.”. “look at you, little goodie two shoes” he chuckled, opening it and taking out about $200, handing it to her “consider it a reward”.

She reluctantly took it, feeling cautious “for what Frank?”. He wrapped an arm around her waist, guiding her out of the other exit from his bedroom as he spoke “you helped me get rid of some useless rats I had scuttering around my territory, so I’m rewarding ya. Maybe next time I’ll even pay you properly. You did get shot and bleed all over my shit so I’m sure you get why I’m not payin” they walked down the stairs at the same speed, he kept his grip tight on her so she wouldn’t fall behind and she seemed too tired to care, only batting at his hand when he squeezed too hard and hurt her. “Yea.. yea of course mate” she yawned a bit as they made it to the zen garden and they stopped. “You free today?” He asked surprisingly softly, it was so strange to hear him speak like that.

“No.. sorry I’m back with Ryan, love. Why?” She replied, and his oddly softer than usual expression changed back to his business man smile “lucky you, I’m meeting the shmuck today. Was gonna hire you cause I need something to stop me from killing the man but you’ll be there anyway, so we’re golden doll!” He chuckled as he spoke but something told her he wasn’t joking. Before she could even pry for more info they were out of his apartment and walking to the bathysphere station past everyone getting onto the rapture metro. The way Frank was holding her seemed very couple like, people stared and whispered but the two ignored them. Eilis admires the trains as people piled on before they left through the doors that led out to the sea. She had never actually rode the trains, she wondered if they were nice. Ryan always insisted she used the bathyspheres, apparently they were quicker, though she has a sinking suspicion he believed he was above them, remembering he never liked taking trains when they’d were on the surface.

The world seemed to move so much faster with Frank, unlike Ryan where it felt like she was at a snails pace constantly. His world was full of danger and excitement, when one door closed you were shoved through another and she had a constant feeling of butterflies in her stomach when she was around him. It almost made her feel like she was gonna be sick, but she didn’t mind.

They were at Ryan’s private docking station quicker than she expected, he’d definitely gone off the restricted bathysphere routes. Hopefully Ryan didn’t notice or she’d be the one getting lectured. Frank linked arms with her as they walked, having this big grin on his face that was both insufferably smug and slightly adorable. She resisted the urge to rest her head on his shoulder and used whatever energy she had to keep her usual ‘Pavlov dog’ emotionless expression. They walked past the several doors Ryan had that were almost as big as his ego and finally got to this large pointless room he had. Eilis always assumed it was supposed to originally be for monitoring the security cameras, but knew it was the home of that giant useless contraption, Diane’s desk for her pointless job as Ryan’s secretary and where his security teams waited for him to decide where he wanted to waltz around with them that day. Thankfully Diane wasn’t there, Frank would have definitely been able to weasel some sort of information out of her.

Sullivan was half passed out on a chair, leaning back, only glancing up when Frank whistled at the sight of the place. “Nice place, I could think of some better uses for it though” he commented, getting a glare from Sullivan, which turned to a look of bewilderment when he saw Frank Fontaine linking arms with the woman who only a few days ago almost killed a man for insinuating she even liked the bastard. Eilis quickly freed herself, brushing her arm like she was trying to wipe him off before heading over the bewildered head of security, keeping a vague eye on Frank while he wandered around like he was looking at a property he would soon own.

“Ellie.. what the fuck?” Sullivan whispered harshly as he got up from his chair, rushing her to the farthest point he could from Fontaine. “He had me hired yesterday” she reminded him, he pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply “I have been pnumoeing you for HOURS! Ryan was about to send out a full fuckin search and rescue team for ya! I thought you were dead. The boss has been pacing for a fuckin age” he continued to whisper at her, not wanting their unwanted guest to hear but wanting to get his point across. “Jesus Christ.. I’m. Fine. That’s all that matters right? I highly doubt me sleeping in had Ryan pacing around his office, and why the fuck are you whispering?” Eilis snapped back, rubbing at where she’d been shot yesterday absentmindedly, it still hurt slightly.

Sullivan was dead silent for a moment as he glanced at Fontaine and then back at his colleague, shock fully dominating his features, “oh god, Ellie no. Please tell me ya didn’t” he almost seemed to beg. The young woman took a second to catch on but when she did she went pink with a mixture of rage and embarrassment, her voice now dropping to a whisper “I. Didn’t.” Before she shoved past him to go talk to Ryan. “Where the hell are you going?” He called after her, getting a middle finger and a scream of “póg mo thóin!” As the doors shut behind her. She checked her reflection in the shine of one of Ryan’s gold busts, making sure she had the proper expression. She cursed as she realised she didn’t have any makeup on, muttering “this should be an absolute joy..” before forcing a face that said I love my job! Good morning!

Keeping this look she walked up to the glass door Ryan had to keep his meetings and their subjects private, knocking on it lightly. The man himself was sitting at his desk, smoking while going over contracts, only glancing up slightly at the sound of her knocking. When he saw who it was he rested his cigar in his ash tray, subconsciously flattening the front of his suit as he straighten up before finally raising the glass and letting her in.

“You’re late” he spoke to her like a disappointed parent, but he hadn’t asked her for an excuse yet, so she wasn’t going to give him one “apologies sir. Won’t happen again. You have Mr. Fontaine waiting for your meeting outside, do you need me here?” She hated using her professional voice after having a whole day where she could just talk normally, maybe you should just work for Fontaine her thoughts suggested, but she ignored them. “Yes, stand here please” he ordered, vaguely gesturing to his left side while he spoke into his intercom “Send in Fontaine please”.

Frank’s entered swiftly, Ryan gesturing to the seat across from him but he was ignored. Frank strolled around the office of Andrew Ryan, imagining it being his own office and what he would change when that eventually happens. Ryan knotted his hands together on his desk, keeping himself composed but a little lip twitch told Eilis he was getting irritated and Frank hadn’t even been there for a full minute. “You wanted to discuss somethin with me, Ryan?” Frank asked casually as he finally sat after getting bored of looking for anything personal of Ryan’s.

“Yes. I wish to discuss with you the amount of properties you have bought recently” Ryan’s tone was calm but whatever he’d let slip let Frank know he wasn’t in the best temperament, making him smirk even more. “Why? Last time I checked rapture encourages me to grow my business, you got a problem with your own ideals?” Frank observed, putting his shoes on Ryan’s desk. They were covered in dock scum from the fisheries and had specks of red on them. Eilis could only hope it was paint and not blood. Ryan rubbed his temple, scoffing “I never said that” making a shooing gesture at Eilis as he continued “but you have bought several buildings in lower income areas which would provide you no profit as well as investing in a rather large trio of buildings off the shore line while refusing to state what they are for.”.

“You got an issue with trying to help the less fortunate? Besides its none of your business. You’ll find out if I plan on makin ‘em public” Frank mused as he watch Ryan’s guard dog walk away, disappear behind a set of bookshelves and come back with two glasses of whiskey “you have her well trained. I’d suggest trying actual dogs next time, they don’t complain about their trainer as much” he chuckled, taking the glass of whiskey and winking at Eilis as she glared at him. “I don’t like what you’re implying.” Was all Ryan stated before going back to business after a sip of whiskey “what are the purposes of these businesses?”.

“Ah Ryan, why should I tell ya when you have moles in my business ? They’ll get you the info soon enough” he admired his whiskey glass as he spoke, silently offering Eilis some. “She isn’t allowed to drink on the job so please stop trying to inebriate my employee…” he took a deep breath through his nose “I would never do that to a business rival, it’s petty. ” Ryan stated bluntly sucking on his teeth slightly when Fontaine chuckled “that’s a good one! I know damn well the only reason she hasn’t put that shotgun to good use is drinking when you ain’t looking. You really don’t know shit about your own employees, do you? That’s the difference between you and me Ryan. You know nothing, I know everything. I’ve learnt more about our girl in a day then you have in however long she’s had the displeasure of knowin ya” Frank continued to chuckle while he talked, standing up and leaning over Ryan’s desk, opening his drawers till he found his expensive cigars and taking one. Ryan was seething with rage, clinging to his resolve and composure.

“Doll?” Frank held his cigar out to Eilis, who looked to Ryan for approval only to get a firm shake of the head. “Fine. Look, Andy” he continued, Ryan cringing at the nickname “I run my business how I like, and you do the same. That’s why we’re here. You keep snoopin around in my business and I can guarantee that chair will be the last thing you ever sit in”.

“Is that a threat?” Eilis suddenly spoke, putting a hand on the strap of her shotgun. Frank almost snorted from the laugh that tried to come out “oh! Look at you doll! Absolutely drowning in those double standards. Save my life one day and then go to put me down the next, even after the lovely time we had last night” when Eilis’ expression changed to wide eyes confusion, he grinned. Gotcha.

“Ellie. What is he talking about?” Ryan interrogated her, glancing at her slightly but still keeping a watchful eye. She stood there with her mouth open slightly, trying to think of answer. They didn’t do anything, did they? She was dressed. The hell is he on about?

“Go on, Ellie. Tell dear old Ryan. Where the hell were you last night? Why were you late, Hm?” Frank tucked the cigar into his pocket and just continued to grin at the girl with the same look that just told her try and dig yourself outta this one. Eilis had nothing.

“I’ll leave you two to figure this out” he spoke casually, waving a dismissive hand as he walked towards the door, before stopping and turning around on his heel to mention “oh and those buildings I got off shore, they’re gonna be a department store. Opening is in two weeks, you’re invite to come gimme some of that money you cling to.” He saluted with two fingers as a way of saying goodbye, commenting as he left “check your pneumo when you get home doll” before disappearing down the hall.

Eilis was quietly mumbling a prayer in Irish, not at all being religious but knowing if there is a god she better start begging for forgiveness because she was screwed.

“Eilis.” Ryan stated sternly, making her flinch. Shit. He never used her real name, why is he using it now? “Yes sir?” She replied as calmly as she could, turning to face him. He looked so disappointed, it almost hurt. “Where were you last night? And don’t lie.” The look he had felt like it was burning holes into her. “I was doing work with Fontaine like you ordered me to, I got shot. He took me to Stienman, I had a bad reaction to the Adam, passed out and woke up in his apartment. We didn’t do a damn thing, he’s just trying to get under your skin” she explained the best she could from her limited memory of yesterday.

The king of rapture simply sighed, rubbing at his eyes, simply stating “as long as it was a one time thing and you are safe I could care less. Good thing you can’t have children or we would really have a problem. Just don’t let it interfere with our work”. Eilis felt anger well up in her chest, taking over her guilt and embarrassment. How could he say something like that? It was his fault. “Andrei, I did not fuck Frank Fontaine!” She snapped at him, but he wasn’t listening. “Come along. We have a meeting with Sander. Go get Sullivan” he ordered, picking up his half smoked cigar and holding it there till she lit it. She did so, purposely almost burning his finger before storming out.

Chapter Text

“Stop sulking” Ryan lectured Eilis as he smoked, tainting the air of the cramped bathysphere, “I’m not sulking.” She snapped back, bouncing her leg slightly as her nerves got the best of her. “You are. And stop doing that, you’re acting like a child” Ryan sighed, admiring his cloud of smoke before continuing “why couldn’t Sullivan join us again?”. “Apparently running rapture’s entire security team as well as trying to crack down on the smuggling you’re so worried about means the man has very little spare time. Isn’t that so strange?” Eilis replied a little cheekier than she meant to, even surprising herself a bit and the glare Ryan was giving her didn’t make her feel any better. When did she get the confidence to give Ryan such tone? No one around her ever had and lived..

Well that’s because she & Sullivan then arrested and beat the ever loving shit out of them on Ryan’s orders, but still.

“I need to space out your time with Fontaine more. You’re copying his vocabulary and it’s disgusting” he sneered, standing up in unison with the bathysphere’s shakey docking. “seo díreach mar a labhraím..” she muttered, rubbing at her eyes before putting on a chirpier tone “of course sir” and following him out into the bathysphere hall of fort frolic. “Where to, sir?” She asked, distracting herself from the urge to possibly make this worse by making another comment by looking at all the neon signs around fort frolic. “Cohen’s personal art collection on the other side of Poseidon plaza. I’m enquiring about certain pieces of his and then we will be leaving” he spoke sternly, glancing at her “that’s a very unfeminine jacket”.

“I know, I stole it. It’s one of yours. I had a feeling we were going to the plaza anyway to see your little friend down at Eve’s, so I knew I needed a jacket. They keep all the ice sculptures in that damn tunnel, it’s cold” Eilis justified her choice, hugging the jacket around her slightly as she could already feel the cold air from the damned place catching up with them before they’d even gone up the damned steps. “I don’t like that implication” her employer reminded her as they entered the freezing tunnels between the main area of fort frolic and it’s second little business district. “Well would you prefer everyone thought you were Cohen’s little floozy or will you settle for the fact that everyone who shouldn’t know knows of your little fling with Jasmine Jolene?” Eilis glanced at him slightly as she spoke, resisting the urge to shiver, only getting a glare from Ryan in place of an answer.

Since they were alone she decided to prod a bit. Sure, he’d be pissy, but he already was and honestly when isn’t he? “Why can’t you pick one?” He made a curious noise, “ya know, between Diane and Jasmine. They’re both lovely but it doesn’t matter that you’re ‘Andrew Ryan’, they still have feelings. Ya can’t keep dragging them along on a string forever. Pick. One.” She told him sternly, letting her accent slip a bit. Ryan froze for a minute, actually stopping to look at her as if he was considering her opinion for once. “Don’t be so childish Ellie. Pick up the pace, Sander isn’t a patient man”  was all he commented on it before continuing out of the tunnel without her. She huffed, walking through the cloud of her breath from the cold to keep up pace with him, dodging people who parted like the Red Sea for Ryan yet closed just as quickly when he’d moved.  Arseholes.

By the time she’d caught up with him, Ryan was already settled in one of Cohen’s poofy chairs, admiring a large art piece she couldn’t understand, giving less of a damn about her. That was her job. Would have been nice if he at least pretended to care about her feelings though. “Look who came craaaawlin back!” A familiar drunk voice shouted, grabbing her attention to the four men in the corner. Cohen’s ‘disciples’. He always referred to them by last name but first name always seemed kinder to her. They’re already miserable, they deserve the courtesy.

“Hector would you ever shut the hell up?!… how ya doin Ellie?” Silas snapped at him before giving Eilis a courtesy smile. “I’m fine, love. Just tired. How are my favourite boys?” She smiles, relaxing her faked accent again. “Fine” Silas and Kyle replied on unison, hector babbled something before shoving a bottle into his mouth again. “Eilis! Conas tá tú? Chaill mé ár gcomhráite beaga” Martin smiled at her, she almost squealed with excitement, making the other three stare at her in confusion, “You’re learning! Your pronunciation is shit but I love that you’re trying! I haven’t met anyone in rapture yet who’s tried” she couldn’t stop grinning at him. “Ouch but Thank you. Thought I’d reconnect with the Irish roots I forgot about. Maybe you could teach me a little more” he smiled at her. “If you two are going to go off together, don’t let Cohen find out and please don’t tell us. We don’t want to know” Silas chimed in, making the two glance at him, then eachother and grimace.

“Silas.. remember that conversation we had about my past?” Martin began, Silas nodded, “remember I mentioned I was married for a bit?”, “past tense, the hell does that have to do with you trying to get apiece of the Pavlov dog?” Silas queried, raising an eyebrow. Eilis took a deep breath and pointed at herself “sister-in-law, you absolute twat”. “Keep your thoughts to yourself next time Silas…besides, our little cailín has her eye on a certain business man!” Martin teased as he wrapped an arm around Eilis shoulders. She shrunk into herself slightly as she resisted the urge to yell at him for fear of bothering Ryan and Cohen’s little chat.

“Ellie! Sander needs to speak with you, come here” the man himself suddenly called for her, oh thank god. She slipped out of Martin’s suddenly loosened grip and rushed over to her employer. “Is there a problem?” She asked softly, taking off her stolen jacket and folding it over one arm, not really making eye contact. “Yes… oh damn I’m out of drink… Andrei could you be a darling and grab another bottle?” Cohen began, frowning at his glass but smirking slightly when Ryan got up without question “oh you are just a treat, up the stairs, to the left, in the safe behind the fourth painting! You know the code” and with that the man was gone.

“You have him more well trained than me” Eilis chuckled, “oh I know, sadly not in the areas I’d prefer. So stubborn… anywho! I need you to do something for me my dear. Ryan wouldn’t approve of this job so that’s why I’ve sent him off for a tick. Someone sent a pneumo for you to my dressing room. I have it waiting there, go on. Go have a look” Cohen cooed as he leaned back in his chair and swirled the last few drops of his merlot around his wine glass, shooing her with one hand. “That isn’t concerning at all..” She gave him a cautious look, turning to leave but he simply chuckled “oh nothing life threatening darling, I assure you! I still need you for all those shows I have you booked for, and you seem to be the only thing that reminds my dear Andrei to come see me…. I may have had a little peak and I believe you’ll be rather pleased with it. Now go on, shoo! I can only distract him for so long” he swatted at her like she was a fly till she left and returning his attention to Ryan as he trotted back down the stairs, stopping when he saw Eilis was gone, Cohen quickly spoke “oh don’t worry, I just sent her off to grab me some cigars from my dressing room. I hope you don’t mind”.

Eilis went back through the freezing tunnel, up and down the several sets of stairs just to make it to Cohen’s dressing room. Rapture was like a maze at times, she could only imagine how much of a nightmare it must be to get around if your injured. Bloody steps. She hugged Ryan’s coat around her to ignore the cold, grimacing at the smell. It was strange, it was similar to Frank’s, drowning in cigar smoke and cologne, but the slightest difference didn’t remind her of the feelings she was letting rot in the back of her brain and instead drug her back to the fact she was working. When she got to the bar at the steps to Cohen’s little private haven, she dumped Ryan’s jacket, half hoping someone would steal it, before rushing up the stairs and closing the door behind her. On his dressing table was a present, a parcel, an accuvox and a little note from Cohen.

Ellie darling,

Fontaine for some odd reason sent all these things for you. I re-wrapped them after making sure they weren’t anything actually meant for me.

Have fun

Eilis hummed curiously as she grabbed the accuvox tape, sticking it into the player on the table while she re-opened whatever the hell Frank had sent as the tape started to play. “Heya doll, miss me?” She rolled her eyes as the sound of the voice as she opened the parcel first. Inside was a magnum of all things and a load of bullet packs, these weren’t even legal in rapture. How the hell did he get one? A chuckle came from the accuvox, grabbing her attention again, “I know ya did. Hope you like those little gifts I sent ya. I have an event on for the openin of my latest business, and I need you there. Shotgun’d be a bit too flashy, but that” he whistled “that’ll fit in with ya other gift nicely. Don’t get shot this time and I’ll pay ya enough to stay in the Adonis for a month.”. Seriously? That would pay her rent for months, maybe even the year. Tempting, but whatever the hell was in the ‘gift’ was gonna be a deal breaker.

Inside sort of caught her off guard. It was a dress, in her favourite colour, in her size. How the fuck? She pulled it out to admire it, it was long and would definitely drag behind her and the material didn’t feel like garbage. In fact it felt expensive. Under the dress was a fur boa. “Jesus Christ..” she mumbled under her breath as she folded the dress back up while Frank’s tape continued “The date is two weeks from now if ya weren’t listening to me ramble in Ryan’s, be early. But not too fuckin early this time, I almost shot you. Send back something if you accept, I know ya will anyway though. Can’t wait doll”.

Those two weeks passed surprisingly quickly, and she only got stabbed twice and shot once, so progress. Stienman had all that fixed the night before though so she looked fine for whatever the job was that required her to dress up. At least Ryan gave her a reason for having to do this, Frank gave nothing expect the promise of payment. Speaking of payment that bonus Ryan promised hadn’t materialised yet and she needed it, her landlord was raising prices again and she’d already lost a few neighbours. She almost stumbled in her heels as she was so absorbed in thought, catching herself off the tunnel wall and seeing her reflection. She’d never say it out loud but she had to admit Frank had taste, she looked like a superstar. She felt so delicate, despite the magnum gartered to her thigh, it was strange. She liked it…

Eilis regained her composure, adjusting some stray hairs that got knocked around during her trip before continuing to the waiting bathysphere Frank had sent. Reggie was standing in it. “Well, well, well! You clean up nice when you aren’t bleeding everywhere and sleepin like the dead” he teased, surprise when he got a smack on the arm as she entered “Just because I look pretty doesn’t mean I can’t do my job” she commented as she sat down “so stranger, you gonna give me a name or do I just sit here in silence and pretend to be a piece of porcelain?”.

“Snarky. No wonder he likes you” Reggie mumbled, it getting muffled by him rubbing at his nose while he spoke “Reggie. Just call me Reg when we’re workin. Much quicker” he introduced himself, “what they saddle you with besides that shitty nickname ya got?”. “Just call me Ellie, saves confusion” she replied, as much as she hated her ‘Americanised’ name from Ryan, it was easier to just tell people it than get questions on why they’ve heard something different. “Any reason why Frank has me hired and sent you?” Eilis asked curiously, wondering why he’d sent his main bodyguard to chaperone her when he’s at an event alone, “hm.. ‘deceptive arm candy’. His words, not mine” Reggie answered, putting his hands up in defence when he got a glare as a response. It was hard to chat to Reggie, he seemed sceptical about her and cautious about what he let slip to someone so close to Ryan. She wished she had Sinclair or Sullivan with her, maybe even Diane. They seem to be the only people who talk to her like she’s a person and not some extension of Ryan’s hands and temper. This made ride awkward, even though it was fairly short, it felt like it took hours.

Reggie led her through crowds of waiting people, desperate for the ceremony to begin and end so they could shop, their wallets bursting with cash waiting to be thrown into Fontaine’s bottomless pockets. He guided her to a place called the Manta ray lounge, decorated like it was New Years to celebrate some sort of party, and there was Frank happily drinking at a table, telling a story he found hilarious but seemed to make the others very uncomfortable. Upon being spotted, Eilis seemed to receive a unanimous wolf whistle and she was quickly reminded why she stopped dressing like this, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

With that Frank got to his feet and happily went upstairs to her, commenting “don’t you look like a million bucks? I’m surprised you actually came, ya never sent anything back”. “You know I can’t resist an hour or four away from Ryan.” She smiled, linking his arm when he offered “now, love please tell me what ‘deceptive arm candy’ means”. He chuckled slightly, whispering back “well, openin this little department store of mine is gonna shoot me up past Ryan in terms a wealth. People are gonna want a piece of that, and Reg is too blunt sometimes, so I decided lookin like I have a pretty bird on my arm and nothin else will draw the bastards close so you can sniff ‘em out like a good dog”. “So I’m your date then?” Eilis joked, but Frank shrugged “you do got a magnum tied to ya leg, but ignoring that fact, yea. You’re my date. Got a problem with that?”. She felt heat rush to her cheeks as she pretended to look away to admire the restaurant’s freshly built decor “that’s fine. I wish you’d asked first but it’s fine”.

Frank was actually mildly surprised by her reply, he expected something cheekier or even her storming off for a bit and him having to bribe her back with more payment, but she seemed to settle into the role rather quickly: snuggling into his arm, delicately holding the fur boa around her shoulders and seeming to try and look as dainty as possible. He was struggling to tell if she was genuinely pleased with the idea or just doing her best to seem that way since he was paying her.

After greeting people, Eilis filling her position of arm candy by just standing there and attempting to look pretty, Frank guided her out of the restaurant and into his department store, full of people milling about. “Sorry, I needed outta there before I broke someone’s neck” he huffed, taking out a cigar and patting around his jacket with his free hand for a lighter or box of matches. Eilis activated her plasmid to light it for him, replying “same here, some fecker palmed my ass. I was halfway close to shooting him before you dragged us out” shaking her hand slightly to ease the pain afterwards. Frank took a drag from his cigar, blowing the smoke out slow before asking “see his face?”, she shook her head “shame. Tell me next time”.

She laughed a bit, making her look at him properly “I’m your bodyguard Frankie. You’re not supposed to worry about that kind of thing”, “I don’t worry about shit. Just looking after something I’m paying good money for. Ryan not do anything about this kind of bullshit?” He huffed, tapping the ash off his cigar off one of the balcony edges. Eilis was quiet for a moment, her face grimacing slightly as she thought about it “not really. He ignores it but I have the privilege, in his words, to: deal with them as I see fit without consequence. It doesn’t make me feel any better” she tucked some stray hairs back, sighing dramatically before mumbling “I really wanna smoke..”. Frank offered her his cigar, “go on. What? You still annoyed at me?”.

Eilis’s eyebrows furrowed as she took it off him, mumbling “that has nothing to do with it, gimme that” taking a drag from it as Frank smirked “you’re cute when your annoyed at me”. Eilis choked on the smoke from the cigar, spluttering as she glared at him and threw it away “you are so lucky you are paying me to pretend to be arm candy or I would box the head of ya for saying that…” her voice was hoarse as she rubbed at her throat, still linking Frank’s arm but she’d seem to have forgotten she was doing that. She was so distracted by her mild annoyance and her new surroundings that Frank could easily start to guide her in a certain direction “it’s a compliment. You never get complimented before?”. “Unless its by a friend or family it’s usually meant to be cruel, so no” Eilis replied absentmindedly as she watched the first few pneumo deliveries fly through the exposed tubes. “And what do I fall into doll?” Frank asked curiously as they stopped.

She glanced at him, quietly mumbling after a moment “I don’t know actually”. After finally looking away from his face, which was oddly hard to do, Eilis noticed they were outside a record store. Frank brought her inside, stating “pick one”. She gave him a confused look so he clarified “first time you ever gave me the time a day was when we danced together at Ryan’s little do. And according to a little bird or two you like that sorta thing. Pick one”. Eilis took it as an order, not knowing how else to cope with the feelings it was making rise in her chest, sifting through records while Frank waited patiently at the door.

She originally was just searching for a song she enjoyed, knowing rapture didn’t have that many options besides popular songs from just before they moved down here and the work of rapture’s finest musicians, but she noticed songs she’d never seen before. ‘I’m a fool to want you by Frank Sinatra’ being in of them. She picked it up to admire it before glancing at Frank “I’ve never heard of this one” she commented. “That’s cause it’s new. Don’t go tellin Ryan but I had the latest hits smuggled in” Frank winked, making Eilis put a hand to her chest in false offence “I would never” though she did make a mental note of it for Sullivan. Frank was just buying things off smugglers right? It’s not like he’s the head of the damn thing. He couldn’t be.

“I’ll get this one” she grinned at him, starting to slip off one of her heels to take the cash she had hidden under the sole for emergencies, but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist “It’s my business, consider it on the house”. It took a second for that to register with Eilis as she waited for the catch, but there wasn’t one. “Oh… thank you” she finally blurted out. Frank took the record from her, tucking it under his arm before offering her his free one, which she happily linked onto before they left, the cashier being too terrified from the mere presence of Fontaine to say anything to the couple. As they walked back to the party, Frank noticed the distance flicker of camera flashes and couldn’t resist a little smirk, imagining how much this will tick Ryan off. When they finally arrived back at the lounge, Frank kept walking till they got to a quieter area, quietly asking “would you like to dance doll?”.

Eilis smiled at him but her eyebrows furrowed “up here? It’d be a bit weird if someone came up for a drink, wouldn’t it?”, “oh, not here” Frank used his elbow to press the button for the private elevator up to his new office “somewhere much more private, I’m sick of this party anyway”. “Sick of your own party? You are just full of surprises Mr. Fontaine” Eilis teased as she followed him into it, ignoring Ryan’s voice in the back of her head suggesting she use this to steal whatever information she can find and run for it. But she didn’t want to. Frank was paying her and he was being kind, as pissed as she was at him for implying they slept together, one dance wouldn’t kill her. Hopefully. If he tried she did still have her gun so she wasn’t worried.

The office he had here was much more grand than the one in his apartment. It was a huge cavernous space with a model of the building and a desk looking out of a giant window. The department store was taller than most buildings in rapture, giving you a New York penthouse-esque view of their underwater home. Eilis felt like she was back standing with Ryan at the top of the Empire State Building, terrified of the heights but in love with the patterns the lights made in the night sky. She just had this look of wonder on her face. While she was distracted by the view and nostalgia, Frank left her there to admire it, taking a shot of the whiskey that was on his desk before putting on the brand new record.

As much as he wanted to use this whole event against Ryan, having the reporters who had been stalking him just for that candid shot with his date to thank for that, he still wanted to actually see how far he could go with this. Maybe he’d get a knew lay out of it or even a mole so close to Ryan he could practically control rapture in return for a batch of roses, but the idea of them just dancing together alone did sound nice. Nicer than it should have. As the record began Eilis seemed to get dragged out of her daze to look over to the source of the noise. Frank noticed her hand seemed to reach for her gun out of reflex but she stopped herself at the sight of him waiting there with his hand out. “come on, I know you can dance. Ya get cold feet all of a sudden?” He teased as he walked over to take her hands, slipping the fur boa off her shoulders and tossing it somewhere so it didn’t get in the way.

Eilis rested her free hand on his shoulder while Frank rested his on her waist but quickly snaked it to the small of her back as the song continued. The young woman found herself smiling slightly, almost like Frank’s was contagious as they swayed together, and the bloody song wasn’t helping. She couldn’t look in his eyes for longer than five seconds before butterflies threatened her stomach and her throat got tight. She knew Ryan would despise this type of thing, a distraction from work, over romantic tripe used to pacify the parasite, but right now she couldn’t have given a damn about what Ryan’s opinion was. It was just her and Frank, cut off from the world and happily alone. Almost like Frank had heard the record before he suddenly let go of her hand and tilted her back, catching her with his other hand and holding her like that.

He looked so handsome in the dark of his office like that, the back of him being warmed by the small light on his desk and the water distorted reflection of rapture’s neon lights travelling across his skin, revealing his features. He seemed to be trying to read her reaction, for once she didn’t know how to react. Words got stuck in her throat whenever she tried to form a sentence as she found her arms wrapping around his neck for support, mentally justifying it as a fear he’d let go and allow her to fall. Before she could even register what was happening Frank was leaning closer, she slowly started to do the same, letting her eyes shut as she was terrified what would happen after. But nothing terrible happened, it wasn’t a fake out, it wasn’t a joke, some awful tease to use against herself and Ryan as some sort of sick power move, it was a kiss.

It was sweet and simple and just absolutely perfect. Frank didn’t even break it for the second it took them to straighten up, since he was taller than her she had to go on the tips of her toes slightly, her heels almost falling off but she could have cared less. In that moment there was nothing else in existence, just Frank.  When they finally broke apart the two just stared at each other for a moment, honestly not knowing what to do. Frank kept his hands where they were, holding her close as Eilis moved her hands to his shoulders. “Who would have known someone named after a dog would be such a good kisser” Frank teased, his signature smirk returning as Eilis’s face went bright pink, “I wouldn’t say that..” she began, getting cut off by Frank asking “want me to prove it to you and go for another round?”.

Before she could even answer, the elevator opened, out of reflex the girl pulled out her gifted magnum and shot at it, barely missing Reggie’s head. Frank seemed more annoyed at the fact he was here than Eilis almost killing his bodyguard. “Reg, the fuck do you want? I’m in the middle a something” he glared at him, still holding onto Eilis like she’d poof out of existence if he dared even loosen his grip. “Fucking hell! Give a guy a warning next time” Reggie groaned, rubbing at his ear as it rung from having a bullet shot so close, “Ryan and Sinclair are here. You told me to come get ya”.

“Oh fuck me..” Eilis huffed, Frank taking a deep breath to compose himself, muttering “I would have if people didn’t keep interrupting” before letting go of her, fixing his suit, taking another shot of whiskey before handing her her boa. “Let’s go doll, we got guests to greet.”.

Chapter Text

Eilis stood as far as she could away from Frank in the elevator, which confused him. They’d just kissed, she never said she didn’t enjoy it and now she isn’t making any form of contact with him, physical or verbal. Why was she suddenly so cold?

When they arrived back at the bar, Ryan and Sinclair were waiting there with Ryan’s head of security. “Very rude to not be here to greet guests Frankie” Sinclair teased, seeming to be more amused by the situation than Ryan who was fuming. “Eilis come along, we need to talk” he said sternly, making the young woman cringe at the unfamiliar sound of her name from Ryan’s mouth. She went to follow him as he began to walk away but Frank put an arm in front of her “she’s working for me tonight, what gives you the right to give my employee orders?”. “Frank it’s fine” Eilis just sighed, moving his arm so she could get past, reassuring him “I’ll be back soon.” Before following Ryan down the stairs and into an empty lounge area.

“Why are you angry?” She asked quietly, not daring to sit down and add to the list of things she was about to be screamed at for. “Why? The fact that I come to make sure you are doing your job only to find your lipstick smeared on Fontaine’s face. Why do you think I would be annoyed?!” He snapped at her, rubbing at his eyes before continuing “you know better! At least I assumed you did, I was obviously wrong. Can’t you see he is trying to manipulate you?”. “Why do you think that? What has given you any reason to think that besides paranoia?” Eilis defended herself as she struggled to keep her accent and volume of her voice in check. Ryan looked astonished and offended by her statement even though there was some truth to it, “there isn’t enough hours in the day to describe to you all the ways he is trying to dig his nails into you. I’m pulling you out of this operation, you are now a conflict of interest. You will return to my side and continue your previous employment”.

“And what if I don’t want to do that Andrei?” She crossed her arms to resist the urge to hit something, “hm? What if I don’t want to?”, he scoffed at the statement “what on earth are you on about?”.

“You have no idea how hard it is to live here do you? You go on and on about the great chain, but I don’t have the privilege to be able to hold it. I can’t even touch it. I amn’t even considered human in rapture, and you have done nothing to get rid of those rumours. I have to constantly make the choice to pay rent over food. Sullivan was the only reason I could eat for months until you started to rent me out just because you got a little bitter someone in your city of yes men is better than you!” Eilis began to shout but Ryan cut her off, whispering in a harsh tone “that has nothing to do with the fact I sent you to Fontaine for information and I come to find you are so wrapped around his finger that you’re in love with him! I saw that look on your face when you came down together. It was shame, like a guilty child who’s broken something and waiting anxiously for their parents to find it while they think up a lie. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway, and I caught you.” He sat down in one of the nearby chairs as he spoke, glaring daggers at her.

“I barely know him! One kiss means nothing. How come you can have multiple partners at a time and the moment I kiss a man just because I want to then I’m the whore?” Eilis barked, not giving a damn if anyone heard at this point, she was on the brink of just screaming or sobbing, she didn’t know which, it was just years of pent up emotions flowing out at once. Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed as he rested his chin on the tips of his fingers, rebuking “the word ‘whore’ has never left my lips when I speak of you, and you know that”. Eilis rubbed at her face, smudging her mascara before sitting down and burying her face in her hands as she tried to compose herself before she said anything else. After a long moment of waiting, Andrew Ryan banishing people out of the room with a simple glare alone, she finally spoke in a shakey tone “you treat me like a disposable animal when we’re working and like a child when we’re not. It’s suffocating”, lowering her hands to show her smudged mascara was now running in pitch black tears down her cheeks. She was so overwhelmed she didn’t know what she was feeling anymore.

Ryan hesitated for a moment and then reluctantly stretched a hand over the table to lay on top of hers to comfort her in some way, “I only want what’s best for you, and for the city. I wouldn’t have made you do this if it wasn’t important, but now it’s gotten too dangerous for you to be apart of it” he explained, choosing his words carefully and keeping a cautious eye on her facial expressions. She was very easy to read emotionally when she was like this, too exhausted to keep up the cold face she was known for, it was a pain while working but helpful for these situations, as rare as they were. He continued “I don’t blame you, he obviously manipulated you in some way that made you believe he cared enough to let him do that to you. I apologise for allowing that to happen. What I need you to do now is go clean yourself up, finish the night and then cease contact with him, alright?”. The instructions were clear, at least he thought so, but the little confused expression she pulled, like a child trying to understand something they were much to young to even fathom, told him she was struggling with them slightly.

“Oh Ellie.. I swear to you I will never allow this to happen again. He’ll move on, forget about you and that this little fling ever happened and we can get back to running rapture. That’s what’s important” he gave her hand a supportive squeeze, “it’s what Thomas would have wanted” Eilis flinched at the sound of the name but nodded like she understood, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible. “I’m going to go powder my nose, excuse me Mr Ryan” she excused herself, quickly getting up and rushing to the bathroom. She cleaned up her face, composing herself and fighting back tears as Ryan’s words repeated over and over again in her head.

He’ll move on, forget about you and that this little fling ever happened.

Move on… forget about you…

Forget.

Why did that hurt so much? Why did the idea of the man she barely knew, and only kissed once, forgetting about her hurt so much? Maybe it’s because of how she feels when he smiles at her, how she almost wants to laugh at his little nicknames and finds his out right defiance of Ryan entertaining. Maybe it’s because he gave her a gift just because she genuinely liked it. Maybe it’s because he uses her name. Maybe it’s because he cares… Or quiet possibly she’s just lonely and testing the waters while in denial.

Christ, she needed therapy, but rapture didn’t have any of that. Charity. She hoped that changed soon before she ends up committing a public murder that not even Ryan will be able to dig her out of. She’d be in jail in a heartbeat.

She looked at her reflection again, knowing she still looked like she’d been crying but less upset than before. Good enough. She took a deep breath and ventured back out into the party, purposely avoiding Ryan and trying to find Frank again so she could just finish the night and get this over with, a good nights sleep will set her head right and help her decide wether she had the guts to ignore Ryan or not.

She spent the rest of the evening playing the role she was being paid for but being slightly less convincing as she’d flinch whenever Frank tried to sell the role more while Ryan was close by, which was constant. At least Sinclair was keeping his distance and actually trying to make it look like he wasn’t keeping an eye out. Ryan was never a man of subtlety and it seemed to be getting at Frank slightly. Whiskey always had a habit of getting rid of men’s abilities to keep their anger in check but Eilis had a feeling Frank loosing it would end up with half the party in the medical pavilion before midnight. She’d give his arm a squeeze to remind him to reign it in a bit but that was slowly starting to not work that well and it was making Ryan even more annoyed.

“You too seem to have gotten very close, any reason for that?” He asked snidely, making Frank quirk an eyebrow and ask “none a your damn business. Why, you worried I’ll steal your loyal doggy from ya?”, “I would never assume such a thing, if I wanted you dead she would do it without hesitation” Ryan dropped his voice to a whisper, but Eilis and Sullivan heard him perfectly. Ryan was a very reserved man but he had been drinking an awful lot tonight and that had thrown every drop of reservation out the window.

“Would she now? How bout you try that and see how quick I get ya thrown outta here on your ass” Frank sneered back while Sullivan tried to usher Ryan away with a hushed “come on boss, you got a meetin in the morning. Let’s get you sobered up and home” but Ryan simply swatted him away, giving Eilis a look she was all too familiar with and glaring at her when she proceeded to do nothing. “Frank I think we should end the party early” she stated calmly, getting ignored as he laughed in Ryan’s face “Ha! See? She won’t do shit. Looks like you just lost your doggy Ryan, and to the winner goes the spoils! Go back to your dime a dozen whores”.

“I’m just not here, am I?” Eilis huffed sarcastically, letting go of Frank’s arm as he started to get animated so she wouldn’t be smacked in the face, “I don’t think either of us are, Ellie” Sullivan sighed as the two kept a close eye on the two men, Sinclair appearing with drinks so they could, in his words: enjoy the show.

Frank started making certain gestures with his hands, being dramatic as possible while Ryan didn’t get as involved, till he pushed Fontaine’s chest when he got in his face. Sinclair snorted a laugh like he was very aware what was about to happen, while Sullivan remained blissfully absorbed in downing his drink. Eilis cursed under her breath when she saw Frank’s expression go from cocky to oddly serious. The taller man proceeded to grab Ryan by his suit jacket and pull him close, wrapping his hand around his neck and drawing back a fist to throw a punch that at that proximity would definitely break something. Thankfully being close, Eilis quickly got to them and pulled Ryan away by his shirt collar, about to say “Frank, for the love of god, calm down” but getting interrupted half way when that punch he had for Ryan hit her directly in the face.

The crowd of guests that had formed around them gasped as she stood there dazed for a moment, slightly shocked about what had happened and stunned from the pain. That was quickly pushed down by the feeling of rage and urge to punch him back, which she promptly did, busting his lip. While he recovered from that, struggling to regain his balance from the three bottles worth of whiskey in his system, she checked Ryan, seeing his neck was already bruising. She rubbed at her face again before going over to the stage of performers and snatching a microphone.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry to say there has been an incident and this event has been cut short, would you kindly fuck off to your ivory towers as quickly as possible, thank you!” She spoke chirpily, handing it back to the singer before getting back to her employers. Ryan and Fontaine seemed to both dazed and still ready to fight eachother while Sinclair was chuckling to himself, mumbling about how he wish he had a camera. “Medical?” Was all Sullivan had to ask, getting a nod, to know he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. “Augustus can we borrow your bathysphere?” Eilis asked calmly, catching the man off guard by use of his first name, “and why can’t you use one of their’s hun?” He replied cooly, “because Ryan’s records everything and Frank won’t pay me if I bleed on something he owns. I assume yours doesn’t have such terms of use?” He chuckled at her response.

“Not at all darlin. My only condition is you send it back and add cleaning it to your work with me tomorrow” he smiles kindly, getting a tired response of “oh fuck it.., right, what time do you have me, love?”, “9 am”, “I’ll be there at 7:30” she quickly called back to him as she dragged Frank out of the lounge with Sullivan and a half conscious Ryan in tow.

After dragging them through the entire department store to get back to where Sinclair has left his bathysphere, then peeling them off the seats when they finally arrived at the medical pavilion, they were quickly rushed in simply at the sight of Andrew Ryan being slightly woozy. They were each given their own rooms, being the richest men in rapture, while Sullivan & Eilis were forced to wait outside for the doctor. Stienman wasn’t happy to see them, as always, and made no attempt to hide his sigh of disappointment “I’m assuming they were both heavily Inebriated, so please explain what happened so I can get you out of my sight as fast as physically possible, you’re both very unpleasant to look at”. Sullivan scoffed but did as he was told, explaining “they got into a fight, Ryan’s got an injury to the neck and Ellie punched Fontaine so he’s got boxer’s lip”.

“Beautiful.. A nurse can deal with Ryan if he doesn’t require reconstruction while I deal with Fontaine. Please keep yourselves out of my way, you’ll stunt my…. Creativity” Stienman warned as he pulled on some latex gloves, pulled up his surgical mask and disappeared into Frank’s room, stopping to lean out and comment “Ms Donovan please don’t bleed all over my floor, it is rather bothersome” before the door shut, Eilis’s eyebrows furrowed as she touched her face, only to see her fingers come away red.

Sullivan handed her a handkerchief while asking “who deals with Ryan?”. She wiped the blood away, smearing it across her face as she replied “You, obviously. I was hired by Fontaine so he’s my problem”. “Doesn’t seem fair” Sullivan shrugged, Eilis glaring at him “how so?”. “I had to do it last time he got knocked out, and wasn’t that your fault too?” he queried, crossing his arms. Eilis wiped the blood away again, barking “oh I am so sorry I was bleeding to death so I couldn’t take that pressure from you”, “I brought you steak dinner”, “go fuck yourself Sully” She remarked, going dead quiet as she focused on not bleeding everywhere while waiting for Stienman to get out of Frank’s room.

“He’s going to hold this over our heads for weeks isn’t he?” Her companion suddenly asked, “oh fucking months. Months and months mate, and you get to be his first verbal punching bag” she replied, looking mildly worried as Stienmen left with gloves that were much too bloody for what he just did. “Don’t get him too worked up alright? I don’t need him chewing my head off tomorrow night during his date with Diane” Eilis reminded him as she wiped her face clean again and went to move, Sullivan quickly reminding her “got it, got it. Oh and don’t fuck him!”. Eilis didn’t even dignify that with a response as she slipped into the room.

Frank was grumpily sitting in the bed, his suit jacket and vest off while he nursed his swollen lip. “Shite, I didn’t think I hit you that hard” she laughed a bit, but he didn’t find it funny, glaring at her slightly. Her nose started to bleed again and she wiped it away, showing him the bloody handkerchief “you kind of deserved it, love. Are we even?”. “Why are you here?” He asked bluntly, “because you still have me hired, I dragged your ass here and now I want to make sure you’re ok” she explained softly, sitting on the end of the bed. He still seemed bothered by something. “Ryan said some shit to you, didn’t he?” His voice was monotone but a glint in his eyes told her he was fuming, currently imagining all the things he could have done to Ryan if she hadn’t gotten in the way. “Earlier, yes. Didn’t warrant you trying to bash his face in though” she sighed, going to rub at her face but grimacing from the pain of her slowly bruising nose.

“He tried to get you to kill me” Frank continued, Eilis quickly adding “he does that a lot  when he’s drunk, I’ve learned to ignore it”. Frank fully turned his focus to her as he asked “and what if he was sober? Would you have killed me? Shot me in the fuckin head with the gun I gave you in that outfit?”. The Pavlov dog choked on her words for a moment, she wondered if she actually would have. She thought of herself standing there, holding the gun he’d gifted her as she stared down at his body, just limp on the floor, the lovely white boa around her shoulder forever covered in little red stains. It was a miracle she hasn’t bled on it already, but the mere idea of doing that to a gift from Frank made her want to cry. Frank watched her expressions like a hawk as she thought. Anything to do with the scenario of her killing him made her want to puke. After a deep breath to calm her nerves, she confidently said “no”.

“Took you a while to come up with that answer” he muttered, leaning back. Though he was annoyed at the fact she took so long to give him an answer, he knew she wasn’t lying. He had a skill for knowing when people are lying since he was a master of it himself. “What did the old bastard say?” He mumbled, touching his lip to see if it was still bleeding. “A lot of… the usual honestly. But the one part he was very adamant about was the fact I can’t s-… work. I can’t work for you anymore” she told him, struggling to get the words out, she knotted her hands together on her lap “I wanted to say goodbye to you properly at the end of the party but now we’re here so that plan is out the fucking window”.

“And you’re just gonna listen to him? It doesn’t even sound like you’re questioning it. He really does have you trained like a damn Pavlov dog. One whistle and you run to his side” Frank scoffed, wiping his hand off his shirt, “he said work. Not see” She lied, knowing Ryan said cease all contact but she found herself unable to do that, “I can still talk to you and see you, despite the fact people believe Ryan has me on a leash, I do have some form of free time”. Frank knew she was lying, and she seemed to make no attempt to hide it, but she also seemed so confident in her words. “And what would we do in that free time exactly?” He asked, getting more curious by the second. “I don’t know.. talk? Have a few drinks?… maybe dance again…” Eilis mumbled, slowly losing her confidence. She completely lost it when Frank smirked again, that cocky smirk he did when he knew she was embarrassed.

“This your way of asking me out on a date, doll?” She glared at him, absolute bastard.

“Is that your way of saying you’d like to go on one?” She asked in return.

He shrugged slightly, putting his hands behind his head “you got any other fellas I should know about?”, Eilis laughed slightly “no, god no. Rapture is full of men I would love nothing more than to kick in the cock. But you seem to be an exception”.

“You punched me in the fuckin face, excuse me for thinking you were no longer interested” Frank teased as he brought his hands back down and leaned forward a bit, “consider it an Irish custom” Eilis smiled slightly. Frank snorted a laugh “Now I know your bullshitting me”.

“What if I’m not? Mother’s tell little boys to pull the hair of girls they like, how do you know if a country you’ve never been to tells little girls to punch the boy they like in his very handsome face?” Eilis queried, tilting her head like her namesake.

“Oh so you think I’m handsome now? What would Ryan say to that?” He reached over to hold one of her hands making her cheeks turn that adorable shade of pink, “probably would turn into a screaming match..” she mumbled as she tried to stop herself from looking away for fear of being rude. “You’re so pretty when your mad at something” Frank mumbled as he leaned it to kiss her, only to be stopped by a hand.

“Not in a hospital, love” she stated firmly, “as tempting as you are, I have work in the morning. I should go” she pecked his cheek and went to get up, still thinking of Sullivan’s teasing remark and Ryan’s warnings, but he didn’t let go of her hand, gently pulling her back.

“Stay” he almost whispered.

“Is that an order?” Eilis asked cautiously, “it’s a request, please..” he almost sounded like he was begging.

She knew her gut was right when it warned her that he was only doing that to convince her to stay, but she gave in, mumbling “I’ll be gone before you wake up”.

“That’s fine, just stay” he reassured her. Eilis tried to control her breath to ease the fact her heart was beating out of her chest. Frank let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist before making her lie down with him in the small bed. She had to snuggle closer to his chest so she wouldn’t fall, but the way his arms wrapped around her so tightly assured her she wouldn’t. She felt so comfortable and safe like that, like she never wanted to be anywhere else but in Frank’s arms. She slept better that night than she ever had since Ryan dragged her down here with him. She felt so safe in the arms of Fontaine, he felt like home.

Chapter Text

Eilis stretched as she walked, massaging her already bruising knuckles as she strolled through the tunnels of rapture with Sinclair, muttering in complaint “when you said you had nothing going on today, I didn’t expect to have to beat some poor bastard half to death for spitting on your shoe”. Sinclair smirked slightly, shrugging as he commented “perks of having you as a bodyguard hun, you could get away with murder if you wanted”. “That doesn’t mean I like doing it mate” she huffed, flexing her hand slightly before wiping the last bit of blood off her shirt. She was already tired from having to drag herself out of bed early to get changed and clean the blood out of Sinclair’s bathysphere, though there was very little of it, and having to fight someone didn’t help her mood. Anytime she felt her eyes droop she was brought back to being snuggled up in Frank’s arms, feeling safe and warm.

“You’re day dreamin again sweet pea” Sinclair teased as he had to tug the girl by her sleeve slightly to stop her from hitting a wall, “you really have it bad don’t you?”. “What are you on about?” Eilis knew exactly what he was implying but was very obviously not in the mood to talk about it, Sinclair persisted anyway “now come on Ellie, I ain’t blind. You’re head over heels for the bastard, and as cute as that is, I’m worried for you”.

Eilis snorted a laugh as she opened the deadbolt for Arcadia, “worried? Since when did you become my parent?” She teased, getting a slight glare in return “I’ve seen the girls he’s messed around with and it isn’t pretty hun. I’m just worried for you that’s all. Now, you can mess around with him all you like, I don’t have the right to dictate such a thing, neither does Ryan. I’m only warning you to keep an eye & an ear on what he does around you. That’s all I’m gonna say” the older man sighed, thumbs shoved into the belt of his fanny pack.

Eilis sighed through her nose, stepping into Arcadia and enjoying the freshest air you can get in rapture for a moment before replying “it’s nice to have someone worry for me. Thank you for walking with me here love, it’s very sweet”. Sinclair adjusted his tie slightly and smoothed back his hair in his reflection on the glass walls of the tunnel he hadn’t fully left yet, commenting “don’t worry about it hun, I have business here anyway. Enjoy being Ryan’s accessory for the next few hours” putting on that businessman grin that made her feel like he didn’t truly smile often before waving with his fingers as he walked away, following the crowds towards the farmers market.

After composing herself a bit and making sure she didn’t have any unwanted liquids on her, Eilis made her way to the tea gardens to meet Ryan and Diane. Diane was dressed to the nines of course, the latest styles, fashionable jewels and perfectly curled hair. Eilis felt a little guilty for not dressing up ever so slightly, but then she was a bodyguard, not an accessory as Sinclair put it. She was also annoyed at Ryan, so if he got slightly flustered just because she looks half awake, her day may just get that little bit more entertaining. Diane seemed delighted to see her, squealing a greeting Eilis couldn’t quiet catch as she hugged her in a vice like grip. “Oh Ellie! You’ll never believe the news me and Andrew have to tell you” she stated chirpily, releasing the poor girl as she sat back down, Ryan sipping his tea and seeming as uninterested as possible.

“Tell her darling!” Diane smiled at Ryan, clasping her hands together as she sat there patiently waiting. Ryan rolled his eyes, inhaling deeply before commenting “Diane and I were discussing the idea of us having children” his voice was still hoarse from his bruising throat, half hidden by his semi casual wear. “Oh… lovely..” Eilis muttered, “it is, isn’t it?” Diane gushed as she held onto Ryan’s arm, making him wince with how tight she was squeezing out of excitement, “just imagine it Ellie, they’d be so cute!”. Eilis just nodded, pretending to be happy for her while staying professional.

She knew Ryan was just toying with the idea. He’s often rambled about how he wants Rapture to be handed over to someone who deserves it when the time comes, he’d even toyed with the idea of it being an heir of his, not liking when she had reminded him that his idea was effectively a monarchy. He’d also always stated if he ever wanted an heir he’d marry the mother, and she knew damn well at this point he sadly has no intention of marrying Diane. He had no intention of marrying Jasmine either so she had hoped that baby talk would never come up again, yet here they were. Poor Diane getting her hopes up.

She continued to gush for about two hours on how cute a baby would be, especially if it looked like Ryan. She went on different tangents depending on the gender of the baby: name ideas which Ryan seemed to vastly disapprove of, almost like he’d decided on them already, lavish bedroom plans, possible nannies, how cute they’d be, anything she could possibly think of. She even threatened to make Eilis the baby’s godmother before getting a sudden snapping comment from Ryan of “there is no room for religion in rapture” and she corrected herself saying Eilis would simply be the baby’s guardian, which didn’t make her feel any better. “Oh! We could go shopping! Get some cute little outfits, maybe throw a baby shower, wouldn’t that be so cute ellie? Oh I can’t wait!” Diane sighed contently, Ryan mumbling “yes yes… of course dear” as he glared at his tea for not having something stronger in it. “Ellie, my darling could you go get Diane & I something stronger than this? There’s a liquor store on the other side of the farmer’s market, charge it to the Ryan industries account” Ryan pleaded, sighing in relief a bit more obviously than he meant to when she nodded and left, giving the security they had posing as staff and patron a nod towards Ryan so they knew to keep an eye out.

Normally Eilis hated leaving Ryan alone, since he was useless at protecting himself and she was his last line of defence, but nothing awful was going to happen in Arcadia of all places. He was being oddly nice today, she never got called pet names despite what newspapers liked to report. He’s probably just trying to be sweet in front of Diane.

She didn’t know how wrong she was however since Frank was currently watching his men beat the crap out of some moron who decided to not pay back the loan he had generously given him.

“Alright, alright, let the rascal breath” He suddenly shouted, his men obediently backing away from the man, who was bound to a chair. They’d locked him in its own business and covered the windows with newspaper, well it wasn’t his business anymore. He’d used a loan from Frank to buy it and hadn’t paid it back, so currently everything he owned now belonged to Frank. He couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing most shmucks he dealt with weren’t business savvy and never fully read contracts. He kicked the man in the shin so he’d wake up, though you couldn’t really tell considering how bruised his face was. “You got my money? Interest included of course” Frank asked him bluntly, the man only being able to shake his head in response. “Hm. Give him twenty mins to think about that” Frank instructed simply as he went to leave, Reggie calling out to him as he wiped blood off his hands “where the fuck are you going?”.

“None of your fuckin business” he sneered back before letting the door slam behind him. Though it was really none of their business; Frank was just going to stretch his legs, maybe find a pretty dame wandering around by herself, since he hadn’t fully committed to pursuing the Pavlov dog yet, have a little fun and then go back to either get his money or kill the poor bastard. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted Eilis standing not too far away from the store he’d just left, staring at it with confusion. “Fancy seein you here doll, I was disappointed when you didn’t wake me up for a kiss goodbye” he teased, walking over to her, “whaddya need?”. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of him as she glanced from him to the store and back very quickly, “Just a job for Ryan. Why is the shop all boarded up?” She asked as she tried to get a better glimpse past Frank. Since he’d slammed the door it hadn’t shut properly, it was slowly creaking back open and almost gave the girl full view of the man clinging to consciousness, surrounded by broken bottles

Frank heard it, cursing under his breath as he tried to think of something to do to distract her. Just as Eilis almost got a glimpse of the man and instinctively went to pull her shotgun off and have it ready to fire, Frank spun her around so her back was now facing the building and kissed her. Her mind went blank from surprise as she almost melted into it, barely stopping herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and reminding herself: oh for Christ sake, you’re working ya gobshite! She pulled away as she tried to gather her thoughts back together.

Why was she here again?

“Speechless huh? Love it” Frank smirked, chuckling when she glared at him as her train of thought finally came back “prick.. please let go, I need to get Ryan liquor” she mumbled, wiping at her face in an attempt to pretend she wasn’t interested. “From that shithole? Didn’t know Ryan had such bad taste” Frank tutted, keeping his hands on her waist as he pretended to think for a second,  “ya know what? Just for you, I’m gonna give you some of my special stash I had smuggled in, don’t tell Ryan” he winked. Eilis had to suppress a laugh as she reminded him in the most serious tone she could muster “you know smuggling is illegal right? I could shoot you just for that”. Frank put on his best overly dramatic offended look, taking one had off her waist to rest On his chest, asking “ Ellie, baby you’d never. Would ya miss me?”. She rolled her eyes, prying his hands off her as she huffed “go work for Cohen, he’d love your crocodile tears”.

He sighed, dropping the look and slightly annoyed she wouldn’t play along, though she seemed to be even more annoyed at the use of her false name. “So you don’t want any liquor for Ryan? You don’t gotta pay me any money for it doll” he queried as he crossed his arms slightly, noticing the door was now shut. Good, his men weren’t total fucking morons. Eilis glanced at him as he spoke before checking her shotgun and then her watch for the time. She was running tight, Ryan wasn’t patient and she knew if she took too long he’d come find her. Getting caught with Frank could be one of the worst things she could do right now short of blowing the city up. Actually now that she thought about it he’d forgive her for that, this he wouldn’t. “And why can’t I pay ya?” She asked in a bored tone as she was overly cautious now of them being spotted together and rumours spreading like wildfire.

Frank noticed her urge to leave and couldn’t help but smirk at it. Seems the Pavlov dog doesn’t want to get caught again, she may punch him for what he’s about to say but if she doesn’t his week is about to get a whole lot more enjoyable. “I’ll give you some fancy liquor, wine, whiskey, all that shit from topside and all you gotta give me is that date we talked about. A public one” he almost laughed at the reaction her face gave that she barely caught short of telling him to fuck off. “I’ll just pay.” She stated sternly, but he shrugged “then we ain’t gotta deal. Go on, run back to Ryan. I’m sure he’s dying to see what a loyal poochie you are” going to leave, only stopping when he heard her repeatedly mumbling curses before calling out “fine!.. I’m free tomorrow”.

His smirk grew “ooh, someone’s eager” he mocked. He meant what he’d said the night before, her annoyed face was really pretty to him and he didn’t know why. “I’m not. I just don’t leave leaving debts unpaid” Eilis defended herself, not liking how much Frank seemed to take pleasure out of annoying her to the brink of throwing fists.

Why did she have feelings for him again? She couldn’t remember but when she thought back to moments ago when he’d kissed her, she felt .ike her stomach was full of fireworks, she’d also blatantly admitted she liked him the night before so she was really in a hole she couldn’t easily pull herself out of. “Whatever makes you happy doll” he continued to push as he offered her his arm, which she reluctantly linked onto, and walked her far away from the little liquor store that he now owned. He didn’t know what he’d do with yet, maybe burn it down out of spite, frame it as an anti ryanism thing. That sounds fun.

After about half an hour Ryan finally saw Eilis walking back with several bottles of alcohol, the brands obviously being from the surface, as their stocks of such things had run out in the first two years. He would have wondered where she’d gotten such a thing but he was distracted by the man pointing a gun in his face and screaming while Diane sobbed into his shoulder. He watched as Eilis first stopped, then sighed, putting the bottles down on a nearby table and casually took her shotgun off, taking out the shells and pulling out two silver ones from her pocket. She calmly loaded them, cocking her shotgun and then whistling to get the crazy man’s attention. He glanced back slightly, turning his torso just enough to give her chest access,  only to see her smirk as she shot him. Electricity ran through his body as the special shells struck, little sparks flying off him before he dropped to the ground and Ryan’s apparently dumbstruck security team rushed to grab him and drag him away for interrogation.

She slung her weapon over her shoulder and brought Ryan his requested alcohol, tilting her head innocently as he glared at her, “where the hell were you?” He whispered harshly, only getting her shaking the bottle of whiskey she had in front of his face and her showing him the receipt Frank had faked as a reply. She casually poured him a glass as she asked “you alright love?” When she noticed Diane lifting her head up from Ryan’s shoulder, her foundation all over his jacket and mascara screaming down her cheeks. She nodded slightly, asking quietly “did you kill him?”. “Tempted to but no. Just hit him with some electro buck, he’ll be fine” Eilis reassured her as she poured her a glass of the wine she’d brought. She would have killed the bastard but Ryan had specific rules against doubt doing that in very public places and in front of whatever lady is on his arm at the time. God, she missed Sullivan.

Diane downed the glass of wine surprisingly quickly to try and calm her nerves, excusing herself to the bathroom and rushed away. “Oh brilliant…” Ryan sighed dramatically as he sipped at his whiskey and glanced at his watch “how much longer to you think she’ll pester me for ‘personal time’? I have business to attend to”. Eilis shrugged as she poured herself a glass of Ryan’s slightly illegal whiskey, commenting “must be so hard to have a romantic relationship and also be the biggest prick in rapture” as she sipped at her drink, knowing he was too up his own ass in his little pity party to notice the insult, and if he wasn’t, who cared? She was feeling spiteful today. She was proven right when he mumbled “you have no idea..”, after finishing her drink while they waited for Diane she came up with a thought, Diane being stressed or upset was awful since it stressed out Ryan, and that just made everyone’s day worse. “How about I take her shopping? Sullivan is probably back in Hephaestus right now,  so you go back to him, and I make her feel better before dropping her back for the night. Shops don’t close for another hour but it’ll be nice and quiet” he seemed delighted with her idea than frowned “no no.. she’ll think I’m shoving her off on you.. you have to say it.” He ordered, Ellis muttering under her breath “bhí mé ag dul a rá sin ar aon nós, ach ceart go leor..”.

At the sight of Diane, Eilis faked a smile and chirpily whispered “Ryan’s going to be busy for the rest of the night, so how about you and me sneak off for a little shopping trip?”, the young woman smiled softly at her and nodded “I’d love that. Do you think Andrew would mind?”, Eilis waved her hand dismissively “who gives a shit what he thinks? Come on”. They linked arms and left quickly, Eilis glancing back at Ryan quickly to make sure she hasn’t done the wrong thing, he looked delighted so she assumed it was fine.

She was expecting to be brought to somewhere in fort frolic but surprisingly Diane wanted to go to Fontaine’s department store, apparently she was feeling rebellious. Eilis was slightly worried Frank might appear and she knew Diane couldn’t keep her mouth shut about something like that, and Ryan knew she had no reason to lie. She was so absorbed in her worry she didn’t even noticed Diane talking to her. “Ellie?” She called out, finally getting Eilis to look up “hm? Sorry love. What was the question again?”. She was showing off a glossy little number that looked right out of the twenties, “do you think Andrei would like this? The girls suggested I should dress up more for him”. “I don’t think they should dictate what you wear mate, your clothes are fine” she tried to reassure her, looking confused when Diane frowned slightly “I see nothing wrong with dressing up every once in a while, it makes me feel good especially when he actually tries for dates”.

The Pavlov dog’s nose wrinkles at the mention of dates, her experience topside with them had been awful though the idea of one with Frank didn’t sound like torture on the account that they actually had chemistry and it wasn’t organised by her brother and his fear of her being alone while he worked. She pushed those memories away and glanced at Diane as she quietly asked “you’ve never been on a date, have you? Oh hun I’m sorry”. Eilis knew she was trying to be sweet but that still stung a bit, she started to defend herself before she carefully thought of the words coming out of her mouth “of course I have. I have one tomorrow thank you very feckin much”. Shite.

Diane looked delighted for her, holding back a squeal as she kept her voice down to a whisper “really? I thought Ryan didn’t like you dating” She frowned for a minute, but that was replaced by a smile and slight giggle when Eilis shrugged, mumbling “I’m allowed to enjoy myself once in a blue moon”. Diane held her hands, shaking them slightly as she excitedly wondered “I’m so happy for you! Who is it?”. Eilis cringed at the question as she panicked, internally lecturing herself: look what you’ve done now you dope, what’s Ryan gonna think? You go on and on about how you don’t care about his opinion and here you are, scared shitless. Well? Say something!

“Stienmen” she blurted out, composing herself as she reiterated “It’s Stienmen. I get injured so bloody often we just started to click”. She hoped she wouldn’t regret that lie later, the doctor was never one for gossip and possibly wouldn’t say anything bar a snarky comment the next time she saw him, and if anyone asked she could lie again and just say it didn’t work out. Perfect. 

“Oh” Diane seemed slightly surprised “well I’m sure you two will get along perfectly hun. He’s a real sweetie”, she lay the dress she had picked up over her arm before gasping as she had an idea “we should get you all dolled up for your date! I can just fib to Andy and say the outfit was for me” she gave Eilis a wink, seeming to be happy to help.

Eilis felt slightly guilty as she was planning on just wearing the outfit Frank had gifted her, but the more she thought about it she realised it might be rude, or would he even care? She didn’t know. It clicked for her in that moment how out of normality she was, she was so used to being Ryan’s guard dog day and night and then sleeping in on her day off and working out to stay in the right shape, she wasn’t used to this kind of thing. She hasn’t had a social life for years and she honestly didn’t know what she was doing. She’d flirted with Frank but she had no clue how to hold a romantic relationship. She was tempted to ask Diane but the relationship she and Ryan currently had was her personal nightmare, she even considered Jasmine for a moment but that was equally as bad on the other end of the scale.

Diane guided her out of the shop, abandoning the dress she wasn’t really interested in anyway and taking Eilis to what she personally believed was the best dress store in the world, she wondered how they’d agreed to come to rapture but she was too excited to care anyway. It wouldn’t be in rapture if Ryan didn’t allow it right? The department store was practically empty bar a few late night shoppers so they could rummage through the dresses in peace. Diane was pulling dress after dress off the line and handing the ones she thought would suit her companion back to her, until Eilis spoke up “Diane. Love, I’m sorry but could we possibly look at something else?…. I don’t want to over dress on the first date ya know?” She only thought of an excuse halfway through her sentence but Diane took it surprisingly well, casually putting the dresses back as she queried “what were you thinking then?”.

Eilis felt like she was about to leap out of her skin, mumbling “I don’t know, something comfy I guess. I haven’t done this kind of thing in while and I just amn’t fully comfortable back in dresses yet.. I’ll wear them if I have to but I don’t feel as pretty as I should in them. I just want to feel comfortable”, Diane nodded as she spoke like she was taking into consideration every word Eilis was saying. “Wait outside alright? I think I know the perfect thing and I’m pretty sure I know your size” she waved her away with her fingers and went father into the store while Eilis stood outside of the shop front like the obedient dog that she was, admiring the group jellyfish floating by that parted for a hoard of orca that seemed to swim loops around the building before aiming for the surface.

She hummed an old pub song she remembered her brother often humming as he worked, wondering why was she thinking about him so much today. She let out a huff as she rubbed at her face, trying to push the memories away and force herself to be in the moment. You’re not in New York, you’re in rapture at the bottom of the ocean, He isn’t here. Stop thinking about it.

She was finally grounded again by Diane coming back out with a shopping bag, grinning. Eilis went to look inside but Diane stopped her, swatting at her with her little hand “leave it as a surprise! You’ll love it I promise”. She took her word for it, not being in the mood to argue, taking her back to Ryan’s office and up into his private apartment. She waited to be excused, watching as Diane happily pecked Ryan’s cheek and made up some story about getting off the bathysphere too early so they decided to walk and that’s why they’d taken so long. Ryan pretend to be interested before sending his main dame to their room and walking up to Eilis as she waited there, her bag hidden behind her legs.

“Are you alright?” He asked, catching Eilis off guard. She blinked at him as she replied “that’s an odd question sir, I’m fine. Thank you”, his eyebrows furrowed “do you know what event is taking place in a few days?”. Eilis pretended to think but just shook her head after a few seconds, resisting an annoyed expression when Ryan mumbled “of course you don’t, you probably have no clue what day it is” he scoffed slightly “it’s the anniversary of Thomas’s passing. We hold a little private ceremony, or have you forgotten that as well?”. “No. I just don’t like thinking about my dead brother surprisingly” Eilis defended herself. So that’s why she’s been thinking about him so much, she’d probably remembered it subconsciously and just ignored it considering all that had happened recently.

Ryan just let out a sigh, stating “I will see you in two days. Enjoy your day off Ellie dear” he patted her shoulder and then went up to his room for the night. She took that as her dismissal and left as quickly as possible, walking home through the tunnels so she could guarantee she’d sleep. She’d need all her energy for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Eilis was up surprisingly early the next morning, feeling odd that she wasn’t woken up by her pneumo or people yelling outside her apartment. It was around 10am, which was late in rapture but on her days off she usually slept till 4pm, so in her mind this was good.

She was enjoying her morning in her pyjamas, clutching a mug of tea not really to drink but more to ease the pain in her knuckles from the incident with Sinclair yesterday. She clutched her nightgown around her to protect her from the cold as she nudged the bucket on her floor slightly so it would collect the drip that had now moved. She let out a little sigh, glaring at the never ending drip slightly as she made her way back to her bed, chugging her lukewarm tea before flopping back on it and rolling over so she can rummage through the bag of clothes Diane gave her. She resisted a frown as she saw one of the things was a long skirt. It wasn’t a dress, to be fair, but still. Next was a shirt, some small heels, a small purse and a bandana, which were all lovely but she was mainly annoyed about the skirt. How was she supposed to run in this damn thing?

As she glared at the gifts, trying to not be ungrateful, doing the math in her head to pay Ryan back so she didn’t feel like she owed anything while still being able to afford food, something arrived in her pnuemo. Eilis tried to ignore it, really not wanting to think about work, but the alarm screaming at her made her reluctantly drag herself from the bed to rip it open. There was a small envelope sighed FF and a rose. Her stomach sank, was he cancelling? She hesitated for a moment before taking them both out, sticking the rose in her empty mug so it didn’t get squished.

She sliced it open, reading:

I’ll be there in 30 mins,

get all nice and pretty for me.

Frankie.

Eilis rolled her eyes, happy for the warning but annoyed at herself for being so terrified of getting cancelled on. Knowing how long Pnuemo’s usually took to come from that side of rapture, she guessed she had about 15 minutes till he got here. She would have gotten a phone installed in her apartment to make her life easier but she honestly didn’t want anymore clutter in her shitty little two room home. Since she had no time to waist she got  ready, throwing on the outfit and tying up her hair with the bandana in a style she’d seen in a magazine Diane had once, a splash of makeup to look less dead as well as tossing some money and her magnum into the purse. She knew she wouldn’t need the gun but no harm in being safe considering what happened the last time she was alone with Frank in an open area. As she waited she kept tugging at the strap of the heel that went across her foot, she just found it so uncomfortable but she assumed it was just because the leather wasn’t broken in yet.

As she did that a thought popped into her head: she’d never given Frank her address, how would he find her? She tried not to rub her face so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup, instead cracking her knuckles to ease her nerves. She started to play with her plasmid as she waited, lightly her hand on fire and then extinguishing it before it started to burn her until there was a knock on her door. She saw through the peephole that it was Frank, causing her to slip out so he couldn’t see the inside of her apartment. Her neighbours leaned out windows and pretended to do basic tasks to try and get a glance at the famous business man and why he was here of all places.

The man himself took a step back to admire his date, whistling slightly “I like it. Never seen you dressed like that” chuckling when he got smacked on the chest, “holding back now are we?” He continued to tease as they linked arms and walked out of her little apartment complex, Eilis giving her neighbours a glance with a finger pressed to her lips, hoping they’d catch the message and actually listen to it.

Last thing she needed was Stanley ruining her little lie before she could set a nice bed for it to land on and not shatter the only piece of normality she currently has, though if she doesn’t get to Stienmen and get him to play along before Diane starts to gossip, that could be equally disastrous.

“You alright doll? I know I’m a catch but you don’t gotta stare” Her date chuckled as he got to the bathysphere station, scowling at it slightly and muttering “I know this is a dump but they should still fuckin clean the place”. Eilis glared at him, picking up her skirt slightly as she got in and commented “if it bothers you so much than pay someone down here to do it. It’s just rust” wondering why he felt the need to make such a useless comment. “like I’d waste my money on that shit! Maybe I should just move you into my apartment so I don’t have to look at it anymore” he suggested, grinning when he saw her resist to scream at him for suggesting such a thing.

“It’s only our first date Frankie, hold back on your feckin day dreaming. What are we doing anyway?” Eilis queried, crossing her legs as she watched him, wondering what his plans were. She wanted to get him relaxed before she asked how he found her address since that kept bothering her. She wanted the answer quickly so it either ended the date or let it go on without it bothering her. She didn’t even think Ryan knew what it was, Diane did but she had enough common sense not to gossip about that kind of thing. Frank sat across from her, putting his hands behind his head as he grinned “oh I got a whole day planned out; a romantic walk, a gift or two, dinner and maybe that dance you wanted. I got a few more record just for my girl” he winked, his grin turning to a smirk as her cheeks went pink and she muttered “I’m not your girl yet”.

“Sure your not” He replied sarcastically, just continuing to smirk in that infuriatingly sexy way that made her want to bust his lip again and kiss him at the same time.

Frank knew damn well what he was doing and that he was damn well good at it, he wasn’t even fully trying yet. He told himself again, like he had been since they started to play this game, that if this doesn’t work, it’s fine. No matter what the little voice in the back of his head told him. The fuck was that called, a conscience? He was pretty sure he didn’t have one of those. He just found her interesting, that’s all, and having someone so close to Ryan as a ‘friend’ would be very very profitable. It’s just a business transaction, and this is sort of like a meeting. He just needs to see what he’s gotta do to get her to play ball.

“Frank? Frankie?… Frank!” Eilis called out to him from outfits the bathysphere, leaning in white bracing herself off the glass, “we’re here, get out of the damn bathysphere” she put her hand out to him out of reflex for doing the same for her employers. Frank swatted it away as he got out, then wrapping his arm back around her. “Would you stop fucking acting like you’re working? Live a little! Life ain’t strictly business doll, it’s like you haven’t been on a date before” he teased, glancing at her slightly as he noticed her wrinkling her nose as she resisted the urge to make a comment, she seemed to struggle keeping her composure around him, he liked that. She wanted to curse at him for trying to lure her into a trap, letting out a strained reply of “I have.” Before composing herself and continuing “This is the first one I willingly said yes to, though. I haven’t even gone on one since a bit before we came to rapture”.

Frank rolled his eyes at the mention of ‘we’, knowing she was referring to Ryan. Did she just live and breath for that old bastard ? “Sounds harsh to the poor devils who dared to ask. You do have a resting expression of an angry bear, doll, and I’m sure that shotgun scared away any without an iron will” He mocked, surprised when she actually laughed slightly “ah no. I was rather dainty actually, I was his secretary. Perfect house wife material” she admitted while she admired the new stained glass being applied to the sea windows in fort frolic as artists of all kinds and shoppers went to and fro.

“You? A secretary? With your dartboard of a torso? I highly doubt that” Frank scoffed, not fully believing her but also wanting to use her temper to get her to talk more, hoping for some blackmail material. “Oh no I was mate. There’s a photo of it on Ryan’s private desk and everything, though you won’t be seeing that anytime soon” as she spoke she absentmindedly moved his hand off her waist and interwind their fingers “sorry you got damaged goods instead of the porcelain lass who used to organise Ryan’s files”. He glanced at their hands while she spoke in mild surprise but just went with it, tightening his grip slightly and stroking her hand with his thumb as he tried to figure out where they were going, he hated navigating fort frolic. It was a damn nightmare.

“I actually like your scars, gives you character, but you think what you want. Mind me asking how the hell you went from secretary to grizzled guard dog?” He queried semi casually as he weaved them through crowds, noticing Stanley Poole out of the corner of his eye. That sleaze bag was probably going to Eve’s, but Eilis hadn’t noticed him yet. Frank almost hoped she would so he could watch her beat that sleaze before they left.

Eilis had gone rather quiet, she wondered if she should be this open when she’d been warned about doing such with Frank,and he hadn’t relaxed enough for her to get a fair trade. But if she wanted this to work she should be honest right? It’s not like he can throw this back at her in any way it already had.

She took a deep breath and started to explain “My brother was Ryan’s original main bodyguard and had gotten me the job as his secretary. I was happy. Then one afternoon they’d just come back from a meeting and I was just doing work at my desk. I noticed the lift coming up when no one had called up to say who.. it was three gunman. To this day I amnt sure what they truely wanted. Tadgh-… Thomas sacrificed himself for Ryan and he just froze. Before I knew what was happening I had my brother’s gun, though most of them were dead. The last one shot me but I managed to kill him myself... Then I woke up in hospital and was told they could only save one of us, Ryan chose me. I got hit right in my stomach. Stienman’s cleaned it up once or twice but it’s still gaudy to look at”. Frank mumbled “fuck” putting a cigar in his mouth and making a vague noise of thanks when Eilis instinctively lit it.

“You don’t seem to hate him for that” he observed, she looked uncomfortable from that question. “How can you hate someone for saving your life? Even if it was because he just needed another bodyguard..”.

She took a quick deep breath, putting on a smile “let’s not talk about anymore depressing shit alright?” She pecked his cheek “I wanna focus on all the lovely things you apparently have planned”. Frank just nodded, seeming to still be processing all the information she’d just given him in a way he wouldn’t forget it for whatever reason before continuing to walk with her into a jewellers.

Eilis’s eyebrows furrowed as she said “I didn’t think you were serious about the gifts mate”, he just smirked again, flicking ash off his cigar into the nearby ash tray. “Noticed you didn’t have any, at least if you do, ya don’t wear ‘em. Am I not allowed to get my girl a little something to mark the occasion?” He rapped his knuckles on the front desk, being too good to ring their shitty little bell. A young man stuck his head out from the door that Eilis assumed led to his workshop, before disappearing again and returning quickly with two boxes, quickly saying “so sorry for the delay Mr. Fontaine, it has been charged to your account” quickly rushing to a couple that had entered after the two, already sweating from the terrifying presence of Fontaine.

Frank rolled his eyes as he pulled the boxes over, opening up the larger one to show a thin silver chain with a single blue Pearl on it. Eilis gasped at the sight as she admired it, not knowing much about jewellery but knowing enough to know blue pearls were rare. “Blue looks good on you” Frank explained as he took it out and out it around her next “wear it just for me though, I don’t want anyone else to see how pretty that looks on your neck”. She tucked a few stray hairs slipping out of her bandana to distract her embarrassment as she managed to get out a small “thank you”, followed by her eyebrows furrowing when she saw him pick up the other box.

He put out one hand and did a grabbing motion with it, followed by “gimme your hand” when she didn’t catch on. Eilis reluctantly did so. He admired her purple knuckles, commenting “good, this’ll come in handy then” as he popped open the box with his thumb and showed it to her. It was a gold signet ring, but instead of a family crest or initials on it, it was an indented carving of a dog’s head. He slid it onto her middle finger as he clarified “people know who you are, but don’t really recognise your face. So I want them to remember who made ‘em shut up, especially when Ryan finally lets up and let’s you work for me again”.

He admired her hand as he spoke: the little knicks and cut scars along her fingers, a few on her palm and up her arm, with the odd bullet scar that were hard to notice unless you were this close, fascinated him. He almost wanted to make a map of the scars on her body and then make sure that nothing else got added to that map. He shook himself out of the daze, ignoring those thoughts as he reminded himself: do you know what a business transaction is ? Stop day dreaming and focus, damn it.

The couple who had come in after them finally recognised Frank, the man happily calling out “Fontaine! So good to see you. Have you thought of letting my business into your latest building yet?”. Frank cringed at the sound of the man’s voice but composed himself, switching to his usual business man grin before turning to whoever the hell was bothering him. Eilis admired her ring for a moment before linking his arm and standing beside him to see what he was talking about, waiting for them to shut up so she could say thank you again. He really was being too kind and she couldn’t tell if he meant it or not.

“Johnson! Good to see you. I’m thinking about it, the question is can you pay?” He chuckled, Johnson chucking back in response as he clung to the waist of his date who was very obviously a dancer from Eve’s he was bringing home. Eilis gave her a subtle look that asked “you alright?”, the girl nodded, rubbing her fingers together to show she was getting paid well and she was fine. Good.

“You know I do! Now who this lovely beauty Fontaine? I don’t think I’ve seen her around here before” Johnson queried, his smile made Eilis’s skin crawl. She composed herself and replied “Eilis Ní Donnabháin. Lovely to meet you tú comhlán claon” putting a hand across her chest both to seem more feminine and to stop him from very obviously staring at her boobs. She hoped thickening her accent would put him off, but sadly it didn’t.

“Irish huh? How exotic! I assume that was one of your customary greetings? You must be so amazed by rapture coming from such a backwards place” Johnson continued, Eilis answering through gritted teeth “of course.”.

Frank gave her arm a squeeze to remind her she wasn’t there alone and took over the conversation “yea she is rather pretty isn’t she? Too bad I ain’t sharing. Move your eyes to your own dame’s rack, alright?” His tone was flirty at the start but slowly moved to a threat Johnson quickly obeyed. “Good, keep ‘em there ya fuckin slime ball” Frank sneered as he took Eilis out.

“I’m not exotic” she mumbled, not really being offended by the statement, just confused. She was pale as a sheet like the majority of rapture and had a thick accent that she rarely spoke in, was that what he meant? That made no sense since there were a few Irish people in rapture, so she wouldn’t have been exotic anyway, even though the number was very very small. Now that she thought about it they were poor and that asshole probably never interacted with them. “He’s just trying to drag off another girl to disappoint, don’t think too much into it” Frank reassured her as he kept a quick pace to get back to his bathysphere, not wanting to run into anyone else who insisted they were associates or even worse, friends.

Eilis let out a little snort as she tried to hold in her laughter at his comment, “Frankie! Don’t be so cruel, you think you could do a better job?” She joked, not expecting him to answer as he helped her into the bathysphere and quickly shut it behind them, setting the course before sitting beside her and stubbing out his cigar. “Maybe. You want me to prove it?” He asked in a very serious tone. Eilis was slightly startled by it, was this flirting or were they joking? Or was he testing her again? God why did this relationship have to be so fucking complicated?

“In a bathysphere? Wouldn’t that be very uncomfortable? There’s barely any room and you’re not exactly small” she reminded him as she adjusted herself so she was facing him. “That didn’t answer my question. What? You worried about what Ryan’s gonna think if he catches wind of it?” He asked her bluntly, eyebrows scowling when she casually replied “no. I’m actually rather annoyed at him at the moment, so I might ride you out of spite”.  Her statement, in a tone much too casual for what it was implying, caught him off guard. He didn’t expect her to bite back so quickly.

“the hell is that suppose to mean?” He questioned a bit quicker than he wanted to, she smiled like a little imp as she replied “Gaelic slang, love. What do you think it means?”.

*

Instead of an answer he just kissed her. I’m took Eilis’s brain a second to catch up with what was currently happening, then another to realise: oh Christ I actually want this, before kissing back, bracing her hands on his shoulders. Frank moved his hands to the small of her back while she crumpled the shoulders of his suit jacket with her grip, quickly moving down to her neck so he could hear the little gasps she was making as he made her lie down on the plush seats of his bathysphere. He wanted to replace that image of her clinging to life, unconscious on his seats to a much more pleasurable one.

“Frank…” Eilis panted as she started to come to her senses, remembering he’d mentioned something about dinner, and she wanted to ask him something, right?

Why did she struggle to keep a solid train of thought around Frank Fontaine? Christ, this was irritating.

He gave a vague hum in response as he kept up his assault on her neck, sliding one of his hands under her skirt and up her leg, making her jump slightly as if a bolt of lightning had just hit her, since when did his hands get so cold?

She struggled to form sentences as she babbled “dinner… You.. Uh, you said something about dinner” sighing in relief when he begrudgingly pulled away, propping himself up with one hand by her head.

“Do you want me to stop? You don’t gotta find a weird way around it, just say it” he stated honestly as he stared down at her and waited for a response. Eilis kept her hands on his shoulders as she finally got her train of thought back, replying “I didn’t say that, I was just reminding you…” before sighing slightly in defeat and admitting “I haven’t a feckin clue what I’m doing”. Frank was silent, then he laughed, chuckling “that’s what has you so scared ? Jesus doll, you shoulda just said so” before changing to a more sultry tone “you’re in the hands of an expert, you’re fine”.

Eilis played with his suit jacket slightly as she pretend to think, glancing back up at him “promise not to throw this back in my face?” sliding her hands up his neck and to his face as she spoke, “I’d never” Frank winked, smirking in that way he knew drove her mad. “Good, cause if you do I’m telling everyone you’re shit” she smirked back, loving the sexy chuckle that seemed to come from the back of his throat like a purr. “I fuckin love you” he mumbled just as their lips met for another heated kiss, being too lost in the moment to notice Eilis didn’t say it back.

He explored every part of her mouth like he was surveying new products, barely giving the poor girl a second to breath but she didn’t seem to mind, if she did she didn’t say so. Eilis’s natural instinct was to play with his hair, but he didn’t have any so she just moved her hands back to the nape of his neck while he bunches her skirt up, letting her nails lightly scrape off the skin.

Her heart was beating so hard she felt like it was in her mouth, and she was sure Frank could either feel it or hear it too. The lack of air from his possessive kisses was so distracting, she hadn’t even realised that one side of her neck felt oddly tender and sore.

Frank wanted her to remember this moment, even if this didn’t work out, even if they never talked again, he wants this to be ingrained in her memory till this glorified fishbowl floods. Getting impatient he ripped off her delicate underwear, making a mental note to remember to replace it before undoing his zipper. He finally freed her poor kiss bruised lips so he could watch her expressions, she was always so particular about how she reacted to things, he wondered if she’d do the same and resist the natural ones.

He took out his aching cock, grinding against her flesh, leaving a smear of precum behind as he hungrily watched her reaction. Her breath hitched as he felt her grip on the back of his neck tighten slightly, still trying to hold onto a calm and collected expression, which she was failing miserably at. Her speckled eyes stared up at him with anticipation as she anxiously waited for the next step that she couldn’t tell if she was dreading or not.

Frank slid his hand off her leg and to the lower half of the small of her back, sliding a few teasing inches into her. He got half a moan out of her lips before she caught herself, almost like she’s afraid someone would hear. “We’re in the middle of the ocean, doll” he reassured her, using his hand on her back to make her tilt her hips up and press against him as he sunk into her down to the hilt, “be as loud as you want”.

A strangled moan escaped her throat as she was feeling multiple sensations she had never felt before; a burning fire in her chest that just kept getting hotter and hotter, a weird mixture of pain and pleasure that was slowly being dominated by the latter and the desperate urge to tell Frank she loved him back. Thankfully she was able to suppress the last one, what she wasn’t able to suppress was the back arching moan Frank drug out of her as he slid almost all the way out and then slammed back in.

In a reaction that almost seemed instinctive, Eilis’s hips bucked against Frank’s, getting a groan followed by a smirk from him, “now we’re talking” he almost seemed to growl as he began to thrust, quickly getting into a rhythm when he found just what she liked, his lover moaning and rolling her hips in positive response.

Eilis couldn’t string together a coherent thought bar the one warning she’d given herself “don’t say you love him”. She couldn’t, it was the first date and that was ridiculous. Though currently it wasn’t a date, she was getting railed in a bathysphere 100 fathoms below the sea, but she wasn’t complaining though. Everything was so hot, she felt like she was melting each time Frank thrusted into her, repeatedly hitting that spot that made it feel like spot lights were flickering behind her eyes. Each thrust felt like his cock was getting deeper, as ridiculous as that sounded, she felt like he was doing that on purpose, or she’d just lost her mind.

She was currently being fucked senseless by Frank Fontaine, of course she had.

She pried one of her hands off his neck, hoping to use it in an attempt to weakly cool herself down, but it was quickly pinned down my Frank’s free hand, him messily intertwining their fingers as he attacked the other side of her neck, purposely leaving a trail of love bites like a signature she couldn’t hide, continuing to fuck her relentlessly. She was too high off the pleasure to care, butterflies fluttering in her stomach whenever he whispered her name in between each assault to her neck.

“Eilis…. Eilis… My Eilis…”

It almost felt like there was something twisting in her stomach, it didn’t hurt but it was building and building like something was about to be released, she murmured gibberish along with moans of Frank’s name, digging her nails into the back of his neck and the spaces in between his knuckles.

“C’mon sweetheart” he encouraged her as he moved her legs to his shoulders, pounding mercilessly into her cunt, chasing his own release as she tightened around him, pinning her newly freed hand, after she let go of his neck, beside her head as he revelled in her expressions. No one else has seen her like this, and if he has a say in it no one else will. He kept encouraging her as her moans got louder and he noticed the lights of the docking station fast approaching.

When that knot finally snapped in her stomach, white lights blinding her for a few seconds as wave’s of pleasure make her arch her back and press herself against the dangerous man currently holding her hands. She felt Frank thrust a few more times as her high quickly died and he stilled, a warm sensation filling her. He kissed her so softly she didn’t even notice how tender her lips were, pulling away only to get a breathless mumble of “love you..” her voice was slightly hoarse from all the screaming she’d just done so she didn’t even know if he’d heard her.

Frank shucked off his jacket, wiping his forehead with his shirt sleeve as he pulled out, tucking himself away as the bathysphere docked and offering her a hand. “You still up for dinner?”

Chapter Text

The Pavlov dog woke up to something she wasn’t at all used to, being in bed with someone else. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the room around her, very obviously not her own. It was larger than her own apartment block. She was snuggled up in the bed of Frank Fontaine himself, snuggled into his chest as he had a protective arm around her, their clothes strewn about on the floor and the fire still glowing slightly from the dying embers. She didn’t want to move, she felt so comfortable and safe. She trailed her fingers over his chest for a moment before glancing to see if he was awake, he wasn’t. She laughed slightly at his expression, he looked so grumpy while he slept. She wondered if he ever relaxed, he always tried to seem that way but she knew he was always tense about something. Confidence can only hide so much.

She would have stayed there till he’d opened his eyes but her stomach growling eventually reminded her that she needed to eat. She was surprised she had room considering how much food she’d had the night before, but she wasn’t going to complain.

After a considerable amount of effort slipping out of Frank’s vice like grip, she stole one of his shirts so she wouldn’t be prancing about in her birthday suit and made her way downstairs. Thankfully none of his men were there so she felt less subconscious wandering around while Frank slept, eventually finding his kitchen and diving into his fridge, surprised to see he had actual meat and certain ‘rare’ products. His fridge was filled with steak, milk, sausages and bacon, an entire chicken, a leg of something and oddly pineapple, aka things that aren’t available here. She hesitated for a moment as she felt guilty for taking something so expensive and definitely illegal, but when she saw in her reflection of the cool metal door, discovering her neck was now one big bruise she decided he didn’t have a leg to stand on and his luxury food was now free game.

After making herself a hearty breakfast her grandmother would have called a baby’s portion, she brought a plate and a mug of tea up to Frank, surprised to see him awake since he slept like the dead.

Frank had woken up not too long after she’d gotten up, noticing he felt lighter. He wasn’t surprised that she was gone, in fact he was surprised she’d even stayed most of the night. It was a shame he didn’t get to find out which of his tactics worked the best though. He let out a little sigh of disappointment as he stretched before going to get up and start his day, only to be shocked when she entered with breakfast for him.

“You alright love? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost” she teased as she walked over to him, “thought you left” Frank replied quietly as he put the plate on his beside table, not being hungry, and sipping at his tea. “Aww did you miss me?” Eilis pouted, smirking when he glared at her from over his mug as a way of saying no. “You were being so lovely yesterday, so I made you breakfast before I go” she explained. Frank opened out his free arm for Eilis to come in to, which she seemed to happily do so, as he finished his tea and asked “so you are leaving. What? Don’t wanna spend the day in bed with your favourite man?”. Eilis rolled her eyes and snuggled close to him, enjoying how warm he was since the rest of his apartment was surprisingly cold “tempting. Very very tempting..” she hummed, enjoying the moment before sighing “but I have work today. I can’t. Another time?”.

“Sure. When though?” Her lover asked curiously, ignoring the fact he genuinely wanted to see her again. “Whenever you want me. Just don’t eat my neck next time, I don’t need Ryan asking questions” Eilis rubbed at her neck slightly, wondering how the hell she would hide this today, especially for work, “why? Ryan not like me?” Frank queried, smiling slightly when Eilis laughed and replied “oh no. No he simply believes you are ‘rubbing off on me’ and are ‘a terrible influence’. Nothing I give a damn about”.

“Hm. Maybe I’ll do it infornt of him next time, oh or in his office. Wouldn’t that be exciting?..” his tone grew husky as he made a dive for her neck, only to meet her hand “What did I just say three bleedin seconds ago? What are ya a vampire ?”. With a roll of his eyes he pulled his face, muttering “fine. But on one exception, you gotta answer a question for me”.

“You and your feckin questions... Fine, only if you answer mine first” she shot back, getting a quick reply of “deal. Shoot”. “How did you find my address when I never told you? You knew it before our date, you sent me gifts for your party” she asked sternly, pulling away from his embrace slightly. He shrugged and replied “Ryan’s little floozy likes to talk” that wasn’t the answer she wanted and she couldn’t tell if he was talking about Diane or Jasmine. They were both rather similar woman just in very different roles, she had to give Ryan points for consistency but for christ sake man. “My turn. Ya know the way everyone calls you rapture’s Pavlov dog?” She nodded, giving him a curious look “You know one of the rumours that comes with that?” He began, Eilis mumbling “like the back of my hand”, “are you one of Andrew Ryan’s brats that he decides to hire to keep quiet? Cause a lotta people think you are”. Eilis stared at him for a moment, then laughed “GOD no!”.

Frank seemed to sigh in relief slightly, while that did damper his plans slightly, the idea that he just had sex with someone who was half of the man he despised irritated him “good because I was about to say you got all your looks from your ma. What happened to your old bastard anyway? I’d have assumed you’da dragged his sorry ass down here with you”.

Eilis thought for a moment as she tried to remember her father, she couldn’t really see his face but she remembers the prominent eyebrows, the 5 o’clock shadow, his large hands, the scar he had on his chin from falling of a horse and his farmers cap that seemed to be welded to his head of brown hair. She wondered if she looked like him, though she couldn’t really ask the man even if she knew where he was, or if he was alive. “He ran off to be a revolutionary when I was 13. Got caught by the British and hauled off for treason, left me and Tadgh with my Nan. Christ she was a chore” she explained, going to continue when Frank blurted out “who?”.

She glanced at him “my Nan?”, “no the weird name you said” he corrected her. Her eyebrows furrowed “Tadgh? My brother”. “How to you spell that?” He asked curiously “you Irish always have such weird fucking spelling”. Eilis glared at him slightly “how do you think it’s spelt?”, “T-i-e-g-e, tiege” Frank said rather confidently, “oh my god.. no. It’s not spelt how it sounds, it’s T-a-d-g-h” Eilis calmly corrected him, resisting the urge to smack him when he said “that’s not a word doll”.

“Love, this really isn’t the day for you to be making fun of my brother’s name” she warned him with a glare, he went to say a snarky reply of “what? Is he gonna rise from the dead and make me shut up?” But knew if he said that she wouldn’t speak to him again, so instead he asked “you called him Thomas before. That the English version of his name ? It’s way fuckin easier to say”. “His name doesn’t really have an English version.. the closest would be Tim really, so Ryan was close” she explained, absentmindedly running her fingers along the palm of his hand. “The hell is yours then?” He continued to query, getting a laugh out of her, “oh Ryan was way off. He thinks it’s Ellen, so he that’s why he calls me Ellie. It’s actually Elizabeth, but I prefer Eilis. It was my grandmother’s name”.

“Hm. But was I right?” Frank asked quietly, getting a confused look from his lover, “when I said you got all your looks from your mother. Was I right?”. “Never met her so I wouldn’t know love. I’m always told she was a beauty though.. How about you? Was your father also a handsome devil or did you just inherit the dogshit personality?” She teased, frowning slightly when Frank suddenly didn’t seem in the joking mood “nah. That piece a shit don’t even deserved to be called that. I’m proud to say I got all a this outta dumb luck. Bastard was as ugly as they come”. He just sat there for a moment, pouting like a child, before quickly pecking Eilis’ cheek when she let her guard down.

He smirked, “gotcha”.

“You used that against me, you absolute prick” she mumbled, resisting a smile.

“you love me, admit it” he teased as she got up, putting her skirt on “when you can say it back without trying to get in my pants then I’ll say it” she shot back. Frank shrugged, relaxing back into his bed with his arms behind his head “I think your neck proved it more than words”.

Eilis rolled her eyes, replying “no it just proves you’re fucking possessive and that I’m gonna have to dress like a nun for a month” as she walked over to kiss him softly, lingering as he caressed her face, almost considering staying but reminding herself she had more important things to do. “See you soon” he winked as he watched her leave quickly, hearing his front door shut in a matter of seconds.

When she was gone Frank let out a sigh, annoyed he couldn’t figure out what he’d done to get her so smitten and why he suddenly felt so lonely. He’s had many girls stay the night and leave before he’s even up, why did he suddenly care ? Maybe it was because none of them had ever bothered to make breakfast for him or snap back at his comments. He rubbed at his face before decided to drown out these feeling with whiskey and work.

Andrew Ryan stood in Arcadia with his head of security, patiently waiting for a certain someone to arrive. He’d closed off the entirety of Arcadia for this event, invitation only. He didn’t need this being tainted by a rude passerby or a screaming child. He’d made the park slightly colder for this occasion. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he missed the cold autumn mornings they’d used to do this topside; wind blowing swirling leaves over head, as they stood by the graveyard plot he’d bought in by the little church in the mountains of the Irish countryside, where his first bodyguard had grown up and requested to be buried should he ever pass, right beside his mother and grandmother. He let out a quiet sigh, thinking about how involved the boy had been in his plans, how fascinated he was by it all, and then just before the last year of construction, just before he could witness the glory of rapture, he was killed in the most unhonourable way possible. He deserved better.

Ryan almost wanted to pull any strings he could to organise a boat, maybe a plane just to fly out to that tiny country and actually visit the site. He remembered the last time they’d done it clear as day. Eilis sat to the side, head resting on the stone as she talked to it about her day like her brother was still among the living, apologising that she won’t ever see him again but hoping that someone else will give him flowers and keep his headstone clean. The great man remembered reminding her that Thomas couldn’t hear her, that ghosts and heaven were silly fantasies made up to control those too weak willed to make their own minds. She gave him this heartbroken look of a scared child that almost made his heart twinge a bit, her words forever sticking in his mind, “you took him from me, I’ll talk to him however I damn well please. Now fuck off”.

It was the first time she’d ever cursed at him and used a tone of such venom, it actually shocked him. She looked like she despised him, yet she still continued to do her job, she followed him down here and she was still loyal enough to live up to the name that their citizens had given her. He wondered if she remembered that day as vividly as he did.

“Look who finally decided to arrive” Sullivan commented, dragging Ryan out of his trance as his head of security stubbed a cigarette out under his shoe. Eilis and Martin Finnegan walked in with linked arms, Martin dressed in a suit while Eilis had on a turtleneck and a trench coat, assumably for the cold and a scarf wrapped around her head like actresses would do on topside for the wind. “You’re dressed like a widower” Sullivan teased, getting a mumble of “I’m cold, piss off”. Martin glanced at something out of Eilis view, giving her arm a squeeze to get her attention “I need to talk to someone about business, you alright to be on your own love?”, after getting a nod of confirmation he broke away.

When he was out of earshot Eilis queried “why are we doing this? Tadgh would have hated it”. Ryan glared at her slightly as he explained “I am honouring one of my best employees. Not many would do something this extravagant.” He got an eye roll in reply as she crossed her arms, admiring her gift from Frank. “Ellie, kid we gotta have a talk about something” Sullivan said to her quietly, she glanced at him like she was actually willing to talk, till she spotted Stienmen over his shoulder, “why is the surgeon here?” She asked bluntly, causing her partner to turn to look. “He attempted to save Thomas and also did your surgery, or did you forget?” Ryan reminded her, calling after her as she walked past the two and over to the doctor with a determined look.

“Doctor? Sorry to bother you, I was wondering if we could have a discussion?” She asked politely, putting on her voice for work. He turned to face her, looking mildly disappointed before answering “of course. What is it?”. “There’s a rumour going around that I need you to confirm if someone asks” she began to explain, getting cut off by Stienmen “and that rumour is?”. Shit.

She took a deep breath and explained “to hide the fact I’m dating a certain someone, I said I was dating you.”, he scoffed making Eilis clench her hands slightly as some form of stress relief, “look I know; not in a million years, I’m hideous, ectera, you can say whatever the hell you want just not to other people alright?”. “And what do I get out of this arrangement besides embarrassment and people assuming my very high standards have gone to the dogs?” Stienmen asked calmly, not wanting to play along in the slightest. The young woman thought for a moment, before sighing and offering “if you play along with this I’ll let you finish the work you did on my stomach.  Make it look however you want, use as much Adam as you want, I don’t care. On the one condition it’s the next time I get shot and you stick to your side of the deal”.

The doctor put a hand to his chin as he thought, adding “let me do your shoulders as well and we have a deal. I’ll even brag about it”. A shiver of discomfort ran up the Pavlov dogs spine as she resisted a no wanting to escape from her throat, “of course..”. She stuck her hand out to shake his, only to have it gently held while a kiss was places on her still bruised knuckles to sell the lie to onlookers who didn’t know how to mind their own business. Without another word Stienmen left, Eilis noticing him wiping his mouth and discarding an entire handkerchief in a nearby trash can. Bit dramatic but alright mate. She wiped her knuckles off her jacket and gratefully made her way back to Ryan.

He had a herd of people surrounding him, giving their condolences, saying useless filler like “he was a great man”, “a true son of rapture”, “taken from us too soon!” “So sorry for your loss”, basically stroking his ego and making the situation about him and what he believed Tadgh died for. She wished people would stop acting like they knew him. They didn’t know a damn thing.

Martin noticed her waiting there, slowly losing control of her face and actually starting to look upset, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders “you alright?”. She nodded, ignoring the weird pressure behind her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Why did Cohen let you come?” She asked curiously, he smiled at her “wanted me to see the unveiling of our little project. Course he’s taking all the credit but you know I did all the work. I’m sure you’ll appreciate it”. Eilis wanted to pry on what exactly he’d done but before she knew what was happening she was being guided to one of the larger areas of the park. It had rivers & ponds, large winding trees you would have swore had been there for centuries and now a giant ‘project’ covered in a tarp sat in the centre.

She glanced at her brother-in-law cautiously but he just kept grinning at her while Cohen swanned through the crowd and to the front with Ryan. “Today we are here to honour a true son of rapture! He was loyal and followed the ryanist ideology we all adore to a tee. Our beloved leader, Andrew Ryan commissioned me to recreate our lost son. We hope his image inspires the youth of rapture to claw for greatness! Voila!” With that the tarp was ripped off, exposing the tall silver statue to the crowd.

It was of a young man with greased back hair, wearing a suit minus the jacket, his sleeves rolled up showing his arms which were littered with scars as a few small tattooed that were carved into the smooth metal. The face was identical to Tadgh, down to the dimple on the left side of his face and the little half smirk he did when he knew he was right about something. It felt like Eilis was staring staring at him and she honestly didn’t know how to feel. Martin hugged her with one arm before rushing to Cohen at his beck and call to leave, not being allowed to enjoy the moment.

She just continued to stare at it, taking in all of the little details Martin had added that you’d have only known about if you were close with her brother, like the little nick on his top lip from a fight he’d gotten into when he was young and the bulge of the lighter he always kept in his pocket despite not being an avid smoker. She was so absorbed in taking in all the details she was startled by Sullivan appearing seemingly out of nowhere to comment “spitting image of him, isn’t it?”. “What did you want you talk about?” She replied, not taking her eyes off the statue, dragging a sigh out of Sullivan, “you really ain’t in the mood for the usual song and dance huh? Fine”. He pulled several photographs out of the pocket on the inner lining of his jacket and showed them to her “got these from a mole we have in a few of the local newspapers. Barely stopped them from flying off the shelves, mind explaining what the hell you were doin before I show these to Ryan?”.

Eilis reluctantly drug her eyes away from her brothers statue to look at the photos, taking them off Sullivan. They were all snapshots from her date with Fontaine, some closer than she would have liked. They were all taken at the perfect moment of course, the absolute bastards, like when they were holding hands or she kissed him on the cheek, they even managed to catch her fixing her hair after their little incident in the bathysphere. “Christ… Ryan hasn’t seen any of these right?” Sullivan shook his head, “and these are the only copies” he nodded. “Good” before he could snatch them off her she burned them to a crisp with her plasmid leaving her hand covered in back soot.

He glared at her slightly “the hell do you think you’re doing?”, “protecting my damn privacy. How would you like if I followed you to Eve’s every fuckin Wednesday night and took snapshots of you hm? Fuckin prick” she defended herself while she wiped her hand clean. “You know that isn’t want I’m referring to” Sullivan rubbed at his tired eyes as he thought “look. You can fuck whoever ya want, doesn’t bother me, not my business, couldn’t give two shits. But your playin with fire doing it with this Fontaine fella”.

Eilis cocked an eyebrow at him instead of replying properly so he continued “don’t give me that look. He’s dangerous alright? I know you ain’t fuckin Einstein but you ain’t stupid either. He’s gonna use you to get to Ryan or get something from him. Or he could just be usin you for his own needs, and I don’t like either of those options. The boss told you to stay the hell away from him for a reason, he wasn’t just tryna keep you on a leash” he gave her a genuine look of worry, which only weaselled out a reply of “I’m being careful. I promise. Just let me have this bit of normality, please? It’s nothing serious”. The older man ran a hand through his hair as he let out a little huff of disappointment, giving in “fine. But if I have a feeling he’s doing what I think he is, I’m dragging your ass out and you’re fessing to Ryan”.

Eilis let out a chuckle to ease the tension “Sure, whatever you want mate. C’mere to me” she hugged him by his torso with one arm and used his shoulder as a head rest as they both admired the statue. They were quiet for a moment as they just appreciate it, the younger woman letting out a quiet “I miss him”. Sullivan glanced at her just in time to see some tears fall. He put a protective arm around her shoulders and replied “me too kid. Me too”.

They stayed in Arcadia for hours, watching people come up to Ryan, treating him like he’d just gone through a terrible loss which he seemed to revel in. No one came to Eilis, probably not recognising her as Ryan’s little secretary from the surface or they just didn’t know she was related to the late ‘Thomas’ Donovan. That was fine for her though, she was already emotionally exhausted from simply hearing them speak of her brother like he had only recently passed and the fact she actually had something to look at while she thought of him. She had pictures of her brother, of course she had, but whenever she looked at them she felt like she was about to cry, so she never did. Even when they moved down to rapture and did this yearly remembrance for her brother, they never did anything this extravagant. Ryan, Cohen, His disciples, Diane, sometimes Stienman, the odd time Sinclair, Sullivan and herself would sit in Ryan’s office and have a toast, then the majority would leave and they’d continue with their day. Nothing like this.

By the time Ryan was sick of it all it was 9:30pm and he wanted to go home. Eilis sent Sullivan away, knowing he was desperate for a drink after having to deal with Ryan’s desperate ego all alone yesterday and this morning, so she’d take up the mantel instead, just for tonight. The two walked back to Ryan’s private quarters together in silence, Ryan only passing a comment of “Diane is out for the evening” when he noticed Eilis’s curious look as they entered his home.

He wandered to his office and she followed obediently, having not been excused to leave yet and wondering if he even would excuse her. He seemed so far away in his thoughts as he sank into his office chair, gathering himself for a moment before sitting up and grabbing his decanter and two glasses. Eilis cocked her head at the sight, making him chuckle slightly “you didn’t think I forgot our yearly toast did you?”. “I’d never” She responded politely as she filled the glasses for him and then picked up one for herself, raising it in unison with Ryan, “To one of the most loyal man we both had the pleasure to know. He would have taken so much pride in this city, and you. To Tadgh!” With that they clinked their cups together and threw back the hot whiskey.

It burned their throats slightly but it wasn’t unpleasant, warning them up from the cold. As Eilis put her cup down she smiled at Ryan genuinely, “you said his name”. He seemed confused “of course I did. Why would I call Thomas anything different?” Her smile twitched slightly as she struggles to keep it, trying to be happy at the thought he had simply said her brother’s name. Ryan was quiet for a moment before asking “how is that apartment of yours?”. The young woman infront of him was startled by the question, asking in return “why are you suddenly interested ?”. “Your brother made me swear at his death to look after you, and today’s event reminded me of that. Consider it… charity” Ryan poured himself a glass of whiskey that was practically at the brim before slowly drinking it.

Eilis moved the decanter away, realising he was drunk. “It’s fine sir” she reassured him though she knew it was anything but. She wasn’t going to weasel money out of him for a better one while he was like this, that would be cruel. She took off her jacket and scarf, laying them over the back of a chair, while making sure her neck was still covered, as Ryan continued “I don’t think he would be proud of what I’ve made you become. You’re no longer the young woman he brought into my office to beg for employment. He wanted you to be happily married to a man with a good job, a happy family and safe… and now your covered in scars and most likely will die the same way he did. It almost seems to be your birth right”. Eilis’s just nodded as he spoke, reaching over and gently taking the glass off him.

“I have never wished to be married or have children, so you don’t need to worry about me missing out on such. You don’t need to worry about me dying either, I fully intend to live into old age purely out of spite. Now I think it’s time for you to go to bed sir, you’ve had a hard day” she spoke softly, making sure to keep up the voice he taught her so he didn’t get annoyed about anything else. She honestly just wanted to make sure he went upstairs and then go home, maybe she’d be lucky and pass by Frank. She wrinkles her nose at the thought, mentally lecturing herself; stop being needy.

Andrew Ryan sat there sulking in silence for a moment before leaning across it to grab a photo frame, showing it to her. It was a photograph he’d had taken years ago to commemorate a new skyscraper he’d had built. It was of her, Tadgh, Sullivan and Ryan himself standing out the front all looking very professional but happy. It was strange to see them like that, but pleasant. Pleasant enough to drag another smile out of her which Ryan copied, “do you remember we had a break in within the first week and your only worry was if they’d damaged that damn typewriter of yours?” He chuckled, “Oi, those were expensive, I had every right to be worried. You would have made me hand write everything” Eilis defended herself as she walked over and gently made him stand. “I would have bought you a new one eventually” he admitted, making his bodyguard shake her head, “no, you would have made me work hours on end to earn the money to get one”.

He gave her a curious look “would I?”, making her stop at the foot of his staircase. “Yes. And you still would” he seemed shocked by her answer, blinking like a deer in headlights before Eilis sighed, lying “I’m only teasing” though she knew that was far from the truth. She got him to his bedroom and had him sit on the bed before asking “may I be excused for the night ?”. The alcohol seemed to be kicking in more by the second, he must have been drinking earlier as well, possibly even during the event. He started to sway a bit, bracing himself off the bed frame as he replied “no.. No I’m afraid not. Please stand guard at the door, I have a horrible feeling something bad is going to happen tonight Thomas”.

Eilis’s heart twinged in pain, but she held herself together, knowing better than to tell him any different when he was this out of it. She let her accent slip finally, knowing Tadgh never fully hid it like she was taught to, calmly whispering “of course sir. Get a good nights sleep , I’ll be at the door. Just give me a yelp and I’ll be in here faster than some poor bastard with the devil on his heels”. Her employer let out a yawn as he lay down, mumbling “you always say the strangest things” before passing out.

The Pavlov dog did as she promised, leaving the room and shutting the door, standing there obediently without a moment of rest, looking out at the city and sea life before glancing up at the surface, wondering if the great ball she saw reflecting off it was the sun or the moon. She missed both equally. She stood there like a statue the whole night, admiring the view and daydreaming about dancing in a wedding dress with Fontaine, out in the sun, happy as can be.

Chapter Text

Christ, why did mornings have to be so dull? Frank had just spent the last few hours in a meeting and was fit to shoot someone purely out of spite. Sadly he didn’t have a gun so he could only just fantasise about such a thing since Reggie refused it give him his own. “You can’t just go shootin people boss” he reminded him “this ain’t New York”. Frank simply rolled his eyes, starting to miss the bronx with his web of control, the police force around his thumb and the fbi too dumb and slow to ever catch him before he’d moved on to the next con. “I know that, you think I’m stupid?” He huffed, chewing on the end of the cigar in his mouth, sheltering it like it was windy out of years of habit while he lit it, “We got those two rats tied up down at the fisheries right?” He queried, making his way towards the bathysphere docking station, smirking to himself when his loyal bodyguard nodded.

As he walked he spotted a familiar face he hadn’t seen a few days, the Pavlov dog keeping up a fast pace and she carried some odd items; a bag full of random medical equipment for basic first aid, bleach, a few boxes of eve infused cigarettes, as well as a baseball bat resting on her shoulder. Her sleeves had been rolled up and she was wearing latex gloves at had red ‘paint’ around the knuckles. He whistled to catch her attention, loving the sight of her freezing, cringing in annoyance and turning to possibly yell at him, only for her angry look to melt into a mildly pleased one instead. “Miss me?” He asked, walking over to her with a smirk, getting a reply of “it’s only been a week or two”. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer with this mischievous look on his face.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly but she kept up the smile, warning him “Frank, I’m working, pet”. “And? Can’t I show the world how much I love my girl?” He queried as he went to kiss her neck which was barely healed from his last assault. She stopped him by hitting him lightly in the shoulder with the end of her new baseball bat, making him look up to see she’s glaring at him. “You ashamed a me now?” He frowned, “no. But I’m working” she stated calmly, rolling her eyes as he scoffed slightly “Aimt you always technically fuckin working? What? You worried Ryan’s watching you? I thought you didn’t care about what he thought of us”. “I don’t. But as I said before, I’m working. And I know for a fact one kiss from you is going to lead to me limping for the rest of the day” she sighed slightly, pecking his cheeks and pushing his hands away “boundaries are a thing, love”. She glanced at one of the large clocks they had hanging from the ceiling, cursing under her breath “fuck sake.. I’m late. We’ll talk about it later I promise” and with that she was gone.

“Someone’s in a bad mood” Reggie commented, flinching as Frank turned to glare at him “you better be referring to her or you’ll be the third rat I deal with today”. Reggie just nodded, shutting his mouth as he preferred being alive, and following Frank to his luxury bathysphere as quick as his legs could carry him. They arrived at the fishing docks quickly, Frank not even taking a second to pretend like he wanted to be here as he usually did, shoving past people and skipping steps to get to his business as soon as possible. He slipped past the gates and down to where his private subs were, glancing at his men who were unloading expensive smuggled goods with great care since he appeared. Good. He kicked a box just to make them jump, smirking like a child who just got away with petty theft before slamming the office door behind him, leaving Reggie outside to keep their noses out of his business.

In the dark little room the desk at been shoved to the wall, the lamp on its side and showing the two men bound to chairs and two of his extra muscle waiting patiently for orders. He kicked one of the rats in the shin, but he didn’t even make a noise. Frank’s eyebrows furrowed as he did it again, glancing at his extra muscle who seemed to be sweating despite the fact the room was freezing and damp. He pulled the limp man’s head up by his hair, again nothing. Clicked his fingers in front of his face, slapped him, kneed him in the gut, didn’t do shit, not even a half assed groan or wheeze of air.

“You fuckin killed him, you knuckleheads! I needed him alive!” Frank flicked ash off his cigar before taking a long drag, flicking more off again to calm his mind and cool his nerves “ Fucking hell… you know the shit I gotta deal with now cause of this?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath “fine.. Fine! Go dump him in his office and make it look like an accident, I got more important things to do” he waved a dismissive hand at his men who quickly picked up the corpse and rushed away, leaving Frank in the room with the other actually living participant.

He pulled over the now free chair, sitting on it backwards so he could lean on the back while he spoke to the slime ball. “Stanley. Stan! Come on don’t tell me you dropped dead too, got enough fuckers showing up in the docks, need to cut back a bit” he rambled, tapping Stanley Poole’s cheek till he finally sat up, dazed and confused as he tried to figure out where the hell he was, attempting to scatter back when he saw Frank. “F-Fontaine! Frankie… you don’t gotta kill me! You knew me, good old Stanley, I can keep my mouth shut, hell I’ll gush about you in the papers! Boost public opinion an all that!” He tried to scoot his chair back only for Frank to calmly pull him back over, blowing a ploom of smoke in his face and chuckling when the man squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the burning. “what’s this I hear about you spying on me when I’m out minding my own damn business?” The businessman asked calmly.

Stanley opened his mouth to proclaim he had no clue what he was talking about, only to shut up when Frank gave him a look that warned him that wasn’t a good idea. “See, Stan I got a problem that you and the other poor fucker could have helped me with. But now all I got is you. So, buddy, I need you to be open to discussion or you’ll end up in the fuckin tuna can they serve to the dockyard cats” Frank’s tone was sharp and warning. He was known for being cruel behind closed doors but that was with people present, Stanley was terrified to find out what he’d do with no witnesses, so he just nodded slowly.

Frank’s look of murderous intent suddenly turned into a businessman’s grin as he clapped his hands together “beautiful! Now I was originally gonna just beat the fuck outta you to teach you to know when to put away the camera and keep your damn mouth shut, but I got a little problem with a certain someone I think you’re very aware of. She’s the reason your shitty excuse of a snout ain’t straight no more” he grabbed Stanley’s nose, pinching it hard as he used it to move the poor man’s head around to get the point across. When he released, Stanley flared his nose as he spoke “I think I know what you’re gettin at.. but look Frank, I don’t wanna get involved with the Pavlov dog again. Crazy bitch almost broke my face for just putting her name in the paper, she’d probably skin me alive if I wrote a full article about her”.

“I’d you don’t do as I say, skinning you alive would seem like a mercy” that terrified Stanley, so he just sat up straight, or as straight as he could with the half broken chair he was sitting in, showing he was listening “good. Now here’s what we’re going to do…”.

While the two men negotiated, on the other side of rapture Ryan’s head of security was sitting in a room with a man bound to a chair, bloody & half awake with a broken chair leg they’d ripped off and beaten him with on the floor, and to top it all off there was a burn mark in the perfect shape of a hand on his arm. Eilis came in, giving Sullivan the bat before starting to treat the mark she’d accidentally left on the man. “You know he tried to kill Ryan, right?” Sullivan queried, getting a snapping response of “and? If I’m going to injure him I want it to be on purpose, not by accident cause you don’t know how to shut your gob” Before she returned her focus to the wound, covering it in petroleum jelly and then winding bandage tightly around it. She made the man tilt his head back to see if he was conscious, sighing in relief when he was.

She threw off her bloody gloves, fluffing her hair slightly so it wouldn’t stick to her from the sweat as Sullivan tossed her a packet of eve infused cigarettes from the bag. She quickly lit one, grimacing at the taste from the first drag but continuing to smoke, pacing around the room. “Sinclair back yet?” She asked, Sullivan shook his head “nope. Why’d you take so long?”. “Had to go digging for all the shit you asked for, and I ran into Frank..” she huffed, shoving her cigarette back in her mouth and mumbling something in Gaelic he didn’t catch or fully understand. “Trouble in paradise I hear” a familiar southern drawl teased as he entered the room.

Sullivan gave Sinclair a confused look and asked “since when the fuck did he know?”, Eilis offered the other man a cigarette as she replied “way longer than you love” before fully turning her attention to Sinclair “there isn’t ‘trouble in paradise’, he just doesn’t seem to happy with the fact I have boundaries, that’s all… I like my privacy and public displays of affection make me skin crawl”. Sinclair shrugged as he leaned against a nearby table “no thank you hun, I only smoke the good stuff.. It sounds like trouble in paradise to me. Be careful with that temper of his darlin’.” Sullivan continued to sulk at the fact he wasn’t the first one to be aware of what he considered a catastrophe ready to happen.

While the two older men seemed to give eachother curious glances, Eilis dealt with their guest. “Mate, all you need to do is give us a name and you’ll be in jail for a week at most. Won’t even damage whatever career you had before this, I know I ain’t exactly an angel in your eyes but you have to trust me” she spoke calm, flinching when he spat a mixture of blood and spit into her face, “right.. could have just said no deal, but fine..” she wiped the gross mixture off her face as she stuck her hand back for the bat, which Sullivan gladly handed her. “Oh are we gonna see that famous bite a yours? You always hold back in public. Hit him with all you got sugar!” Sinclair encourages her as as she adjusted her grip. She swung hard, stopping just short of the man’s jaw, which made him flinch “oh so you like having the ability to talk? Then fucking use it”.

He snarled at her like a dog, spitting “go suck off ryan ya whore! I won’t say shit”. The young woman hummed as she thought, lazily bouncing the bat in her hand before unexpectedly smashing it down on his knee. Not with enough force to fully break it but it was definitely going to fracture, swell and hurt like a bitch. The man screamed, naturally as you would from such an injury, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to calm himself, terrified from the glare the Pavlov dog was now giving him. “All I need is a name love. The lord gave me plenty of patience but you’re spreading it very feckin thin” she calmly informed him, slamming the bat down hard on his shoulder, so hard in fact that it definitely broke it, leaving a huge dent in the bat from the back of the metal chair.

Sinclair looked both mildly amused and disgusted, his eyes being bigger than his stomach with this one as the sounds the man was making were blood curdling. Eilis and Sullivan seemed numb to it though. The Pavlov dog put a gentle hand on the man’s pulverised shoulder, lightly apply pressure in a way that wouldn’t cause more damage but a shit ton of pain, “there’s a reason that rich prick has lived this long and I’m one of them, now you start talking or you’ll find out why very very quickly”.

The man seemed to get another spur of confidence as he tried to spit at her again, only to have a fist hit him in the perfect spot to knock his jaw out of place and make his face come in contact with the floor, the imprint of a dogs head left on his cheek. Eilis calmly rubbed her knuckles off her shirt, commenting “shame. You’ll have to use your hand now”. She tosses the bat back to Sullivan while she pulled the man upright by the side of the chair, holding him up by one of the legs with her foot, going to crack her knuckles and get ready to do more ‘convincing’ if necessary, until there was a knock on the door. Diane’s voice called out “Ellie! Someone wants to speak with you!”.

“In the middle of something mate!” She shouted back as she re-rolled her sleeves that had started to slip from all the swinging and punches she’d just done, “He’s very insistent you see him now!” Diane insisted. Her voice waved slightly and she sounded slightly worried. Must be Ryan, he probably had a temper. Lovely.

“Sully, give him a two minute breather and then get the bastard to write something out” She ordered, waiting till he nodded in understanding before slipping out of the room and beginning to speak “sorry for the noise sir, he was rather chatty. You’re not too shaken up right?” She lit another eve infused cigarette for herself as she spoke, managing to diminish her disgust to a slight nose wrinkle, “He should be squealing anytime soon. Can I ask, is there any reason why Sinclair was invited to wa-… oh” she went quiet when she looked up properly to see it was Frank. She gave the surrounding areas cautious glance, confirming Diane had scuttled away before asking “Why are you here?”.

Frank grinned at her, pulling out a rose “I had some free time so I thought I’d visit my girl. You seemed in a bad mood so I wanted to check in on ya doll”. She took the rose but didn’t seem that grateful for it, flicking ash off her cigarette before sticking it back in her mouth, “love, as happy as I am to see you, I’m in the middle of something” he scowled at her reply. “life ain’t strictly business doll” he reminded her, “how we gonna make this work if you can’t see that?” He put his hands on her hips, resisting a smirk when he could see her softening up slightly when he said that. Bingo.

Sullivan rolled his eyes when he spotted Frank before the door shut, of course it was him. “She sure knows how to pick ‘em, don’t she?” Sinclair chuckled as he lit a cigar for himself, watching as Sullivan dragged their now barely conscious guest over to the table. He freed one of his hands, re-handcuffing the other to the chair and handing him a pen and paper. “Gimme a name and you’ll get the medical care you need so you can use that jaw of yours again, or would you prefer I bring her back in and actually let her off the leash? She wasn’t even warmed up yet” Sullivan explained, nodding when the man did the same “good. Write”. With shakey hands he scribbled down a name, it quickly getting snatched away by Sinclair.

He pulled up his glasses to make sure he’d read it correctly before beckoning Sullivan to come closer “we got a problem chief”. Rapture’s head of security glanced over the southerner’s shoulder to see the scribbled hand writing read “Fontaine”. Sullivan cursed under his breath as he rubbed at his face.

“It feels like you only come get me when you’re needy for something, wether it’s work, attention or sex. Things I can give ya. Not me, so forgive me for being cautious” Eilis spoke honestly, her arms resting loosely on Frank’s broad shoulders, cigarette between her fingers, “who says I don’t just want you? They’re putting thoughts in ya head you have no right thinkin” he frowned, slowly easing her closer “how bout you ditch them and we go slow dance in my office? I know you love that. I even got in some new records for ya”. “You’re just trying to lead me back for a ride aren’t you?..” Eilis mumbled, glancing away slightly. Frank caressed her cheek, guiding her back to face him, “I’m not, cross my heart” he reassured her, brushing his thumb off her cheek as she seemed to nuzzle into his touch, almost believing him till the door slamming shut behind her caught her attention.

Eilis pulled away from Frank to find the source of the sound. Sullivan was dragging their culprit out of the room while Sinclair had on his smile for business “Frankie! So good to see you. So sorry to interrupt your little convo but Ellie and I have got a date with Ryan and you know how his temper can be” he linked arms with Eilis without giving her time to think, walking away at a quick pace “nice seein you! We should get drinks sometime soon”. Frank didn’t even get a second to reply before everyone who’d left that dinghy little room was gone and all he was left with was the rose he’d gifted Eilis and her cigarette burning on the ground, the smoke having a blueish tint to it with an odd chemical smell mixed with the usual tobacco and seaweed undertones of rapture cigarettes.

“Augustus what’s going on?” She asked him calmly as he dragged her through the entirety of Hephaestus and to Ryan’s office without an answer. He stood her at the little glass partition Ryan had for privacy and noise reduction, dusting her off while he fretted like a worried mother “look at you! That big oaf manhandled you like you were new fruit at the market.” He fixed her shirt collar, smoothing it out, making her rolled up sleeves look neater and tucking away the few stray hairs that had escaped her braided hair during their recent activity. He licked his thumb and wiped at her shirt in an attempt to get the dark spot off it, knowing it was blood but the black hid it well, so he gave up. Damn thing. “Now you stay here while I go have a chat with the boss” he was gone before she could protest, so she could only sit there obediently in mild confusion.

Ryan looked up from his desk to see who had come to bother him, and naturally looked very confused when he saw his bodyguard left outside and Sinclair standing alone in his office. “Can I help you Augustus?” He asked bluntly, wondering why the man looked so concerned. “Sorry to bother you, but we got an answer from that fella who made an attempt on ya this morning” Sinclair explained, handing him the piece of paper with Fontaine’s name on it “Now I know that don’t prove it’s actually him, but our man seemed certain”. Ryan stared at the scrap of paper for a moment before looking back up at Sinclair again “I’ll get people on it. Mind explaining why my bodyguard is outside?”.

Sinclair swallowed hard as he tried to think of a way to say his worries without tossing Eilis in the gutter, “I’m worried that Ellie will be a conflict of interest. She is still rather.. tender on the subject of Fontaine after that little incident at his party. I think we should keep her out of it” he suggested. Ryan seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding in agreement “yes.. she has been rather emotional lately, not her usual demeanour… I’ll see to it, you go on with your business and do not let anyone know or what we have discovered”.

“You got it chief” Sinclair said chirpily before leaving, Ryan calling out as the door open “Ellie? Come here for a moment we have something to discuss”. Eilis gave Sinclair a panicked look that read what the hell did you tell him? She composed herself with a deep breath and walked in, hiding her still slightly bloody hands behind her back so he didn’t get uncomfortable, “Yes sir?”. “Is there something you wish to tell me?” He asked calmly, knotting his fingers together and resting his chin on them. Her mind started to panic she tried to think of something to say, and who she was going to maul up for telling him.

“Nothing comes to mind love, have I forgotten something?” She asked cautiously. “Stienmen has informed me you two are seeing eachother.” Ryan stated bluntly, she physically relaxed when he said that, oh thank fuck.. “yes. Yes we are. Nothing serious, we’re just toying with the idea currently” she explained, finding it much easier to lie when she wasn’t stuck under his scrutinising gaze, he nodded while she did so. “Good. I’m happy for you, he’s a good man. If all goes well I’m sure he’d be a good husband, but don’t let it distract from the bigger picture” he encouraged her, Eilis felt her eyebrow twitch at the mention of marrying stienmen. The idea of that made her sick.

He was an amazing surgeon, sure, any woman would be happy to be married to someone so renowned but she knew him well enough to know he was a self absorbed asshole with a few screws loose. She barely even had the courage to call them acquaintances, let alone friends or lovers. She’d given up her right to choose how much of that gunk from the slugs they’d found on the seabed gets shoved in her body already, marrying him seemed like a gateway to becoming a human pin cushion for him. She kept the smile though, simply stating “we’ll see. I promise it won’t interfere with my work sir”.

“Good” Ryan seemed rather pleased with himself, “I’ve also taken some of your advice”. “Have you now?” Eilis asked playfully, wondering which prove he’d taken when she’d dared to give him any over the years. “I am bringing a therapist into rapture. Many have requested it and I believe it will be good for the people. I’m also suggesting you attend her” his tone was suddenly stern, letting her know this wasn’t a suggestion and more of an order, yet she decided to push back anyway, “why?”.

“Due to some incidents and a few of my personal concerns I believe it would be beneficial. You’ve been acting very strange if late. I didn’t see you shed a tear at Thomas’ memorial, it was very unlike you” He clarified, Eilis had to chew on her tongue to stop herself from snapping at him. She did cry, Sullivan even spotted it, and she was pretty damn sure he was the one more affected by the whole event than he should have been, not her. After swallowing the defensive remarks desperate to drag themselves from her lungs, she calmly informed him “thank you for your concern sir, but I’m fine. Tell me when she has a free slot and I’ll go if it eases your worries. Now if you excuse me I have to go check on our little attempted murderer situation” she nodded respectfully to him before leaving.

She stopped at the several guards Sullivan had stationed at Ryan’s door, quickly asking “any clue where the old man has gone?” They shook their heads almost in unison. “Right. Tell him to come find me in Arcadia, oh and don’t let anyone in for Ryan bar the pre-approved list” she ordered, going to leave but stopping when one commented “so do your job for you?”. She looked back, replying “is Ryan alive?”.

“What?” The guard asked, she repeated herself “is Andrew Ryan alive?”. “Yes…” the guard replied, almost sounding unsure. Eilis smiled too innocently for a girl with visible blood on her hands “so I’ve done my job, while you let a potential murderer get into Ryan’s office. Isn’t that strange, which one of us is doing better?…. Exactly. Have a nice day boys, tell Sullivan where to find me” her tone was blunt and quick, if they didn’t catch the message it was their own fault.

She took a bathysphere to Arcadia, happy to be out of the sweltering heat of Hephaestus. Before she got out she make sure to properly clean herself, admiring how the ring Frank had gifted her had done its purpose, and looks oddly good with blood on it. Then she reminded herself that was a dark thought she shouldn’t be having, before dragging herself from the bathysphere and sending it back to Ryan before he could complain. Worse case scenario she could walk back or even better, home! She needed to empty the several buckets she had for that leak now. It was more like a waterfall at this point.

She sighed as she walked through the crowds, trying to get to a specific spot her subconscious mind  was calling for her to go. Soon she found herself at Tadgh’s statue, how strange. She starred at him for a moment before climbing up the base, sitting with her back against his legs so she could look up at his face. No one was there so she could talk to herself like a psycho all she wanted.

“You know, Ryan’s convinced you’d love it down here… I think you’d hate it.. you always loved the sky and the mountains back home too much…” she explained, looking up at the statue like it would answer. “.. I’m finally toying with relationships again, you’d be proud of me… well not in my choice in men, or.. well man but at least I’m trying right?” She continued, giving the statue time to answer if it decided it wanted to speak at any point like some sort of miracle. “He’s sweet.. a bit eccentric but I like him. Not someone you’d bring home to granny though” she laughed at her own joke, instinctively covering her mouth as her chuckles started to sound like hiccuping sobs. She took a moment to compose herself, staring up at her brother’s metallic face, feeling like she was a toddler again and he was just this glorious giant towering over her, keeping her safe.

She just sat there in silence for a moment, composing herself and staring up at him, before quietly asking, like she was afraid of the answer “tá a fhios agat go dteastaíonn uaim thú, ceart?… ceart?…” she was silently washing for the statue to say something, anything, but of course it didn’t. It was just a chunk of metal, shaped like her brother who she was projecting her issues onto. She let out a small sigh, hugging one of its legs and burying her face into the cold metal, letting out a whimper of “ta me grá tu, draithair mise..” as she held back tears, listening for the sound of feet against cobble or grass so she knew to stop and not be caught, she hoped no one would stop her until she was ready, but her life has proven she is rarely allowed such luxuries.

Chapter Text

Sofia lamb sat in the small office Andrew Ryan had given her, finishing up some notes on her last patient during her little break in between appointments. She hadn’t been in rapture more than a week before she finally got an session booked by the infamous Pavlov dog. She’d had people mention her in passing, just casually speaking of the anxiety she gives them or how she seemed to attempt to be vaguely helpful within the restrictions she was under. The others spoke of her brutality, some starting to shake or bursting into tears at the thought. This created two very different images in Sofia’s mind, and she wondered which Ryan’s guard dog she’d meet; the terrifying enforcer with not a drop of morality, or the young woman forced into this role by the apparent cruel king of this underwater kingdom.

There was a quick knock on her door, loud and efficient. “Come in” Dr. Lamb stated calmly, filing her notes way and getting out a new page to make whatever she would need for this first, and possibly last session. The famed bitch of Ryan entered, leaning her shotgun by the door and tucking a bloody handkerchief into her back pocket. Her expression was blank and cold, her eyes terrifying at a glance but also slightly tired. She rolled her sleeves back down, hiding the multitude of scars along her arms, finally noticing Sofia as she buttoned them closed. She seemed to be studying her to see what she should do in this situation.

After a mili-second she stuck her hand out to the doctor, grinning happily as she chirpily introduced herself “Eilis Donovan. You must be Dr. Sofia lamb”. Her tone was professional and calm, demanding attention, like a female version of Ryan.

How unexpected. Sofia gently shook the younger woman’s strong hands, gesturing to the empty seat across from her own. “From my understanding you aren’t here fully on your own choosing” Sofia began, Eilis tilting her head curiously “good observation doctor. I got to pick the day, but I’m just following Ryan’s orders like a god little dog” her accent slipped into her natural one. It was harsh on Sofia’s ears, unfamiliar but oh so familiar at the same time. Irish. She’d gotten so used to the American dialect she’d almost forgotten what they sounded like. “Irish?.. hmmm.. You’re a lot chirpier than expected. Most describe you as very… temperamental” she chose her words cautiously, confirmed she chose right when Eilis laughed slightly, she couldn’t tell if she actually found her statement amusing or she was doing it out of irritation.

“Let’s just say there are many different versions of Eilis Donovan. You haven’t given me a reason to dislike you, and due to patient confidentiality and all that shite, I can be as ‘chirpy’ as I like without having to worry about you letting that slip to damage the whole scary dog thing Ryan has going for me” she grinned, but Sofia couldn’t help but compare it to a dog snarling at her. “Tell me.. what was your childhood like Eilis?” Dr lamb asked, taking her eyes off the woman in front of her to focus on her notes.

She was slightly shocked by how open the woman suddenly became, “I was born a few years after the Easter rising so tensions were high back home. Ma died during birth so I never got to meet her, I’m told she was an angel.” Eilis sucked on her teeth as she tried to think, “My brother was a decade older than me so he raised me mainly while dad was off trying to become a revolutionary, leaving us with granny, but she was too old to do much.” She gave Lamb a cautious glance to gage her reaction, she seemed tense “don’t be worrying about the whole me being the daughter of a man who thought he could take on England himself. As long as you don’t start screaming god save the king and telling me I deserved to rot for his stupid ideas I won’t start singing rebel songs and showing all those revolutionary tricks he taught me on making weapons out of nothing”.

Sofia swallowed hard as she held her composure, making her notes as calmly as she could;

Two child family

Youngest child

No mother > feelings on subject?

Tense relationship with father / grandmother> ask deeper questions next session

Strong beliefs

IRA ties? / father’s daughter

“And how did you meet Andrew Ryan?” She queried calmly. Eilis crossed her legs, bouncing one slightly as she tried to remember “you’re making me feel old thinking this far back mate…. After granny kicked the bucket just shy of my my thirteenth birthday, Tadgh took all the money we had, sold every thing we owned bar some sentimental things and our winter clothes and bought us two tickets to america. We moved in with some distant cousins in New York and everything was fine for a bit. Then the war came along.. Tadgh went to get enlisted but he had an itchy trigger finger, and they thought he was thick because he refused to speak, so he got rejected. Since all the good strong men were gone, there were plenty of jobs, and after searching and searching, working days and nights without sleep, he somehow worked his way into being Andrew Ryan’s body guard. He funded me going to night school to learn literacy and soon I was Ryan’s secretary, the rest I prefer not to discuss. Bit too private even for you doctor”.

“And.. what is or was your opinion on Andrew Ryan?” Lamb almost whispered, like she was afraid to ask. Eilis worded her response carefully, noticing the woman was making notes “I have, and always will continue to be thankful for the opportunities he has given me over the years. He has always treated me fairly and supported me in my times of need” her more professional tone returned with this statement.

Sofia made more notes before continuing with her questions;

Brother - unable to go to war (Deceived her on reason why?), hard worker, close with Ryan

Close with brother ?

Hard worker??

Defensive of sensitive topics

Secretive

Loyal to Ryan > pry further

Loyal to others ?? ^

“Are you close with any others in rapture? Acquaintance? Business associates of Ryan’s? Business rivals?” The doctor began to pry, making Eilis’ amused look turn slightly sour. “Nosey aren’t you?” She asked, her voice barely a whisper, making Sofia fear for her safety for a moment. The rooms atmosphere because so tense you could have cut through it like cake. “Suppose it’s for that little profile your making. Bet that’s Important for this whole therapy thing so I’ll bite” at that statement cause Sofia to release a sigh of relief. “I’m close with a few of Ryan’s close connections, mainly his head of security, a very close friend and a business rival who treats me like I’m human. Apart from that I don’t really have friends, I have a brother in law but I’m seeing less and less of him recently” she explained, pouring herself a glass of water before leaning back in the plush chair to drink it.

“And what about Frank Fontaine?” Sofia tried to pry again, getting a snapping response of “I don’t think that’s any of your concern doctor” the young woman putting down her cup before she even had the chance to have a sip “That’s enough information for a first session don’t you think mate?” Eilis almost hopped to her feet as she got up, walking to the door and slinging her beloved shotgun over her shoulder. She pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket, taking out a good few rapture dollars without really counting and handing it to her “that should cover it. Trua Dia tú beag rí brónach” with a wink and whistle of an old rebel song her father hummed while blackout drunk, the Pavlov dog was gone. She’d over paid, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Such a shame, she seemed to just be opening up properly. Hopefully next session would be longer and allow her to dig deeper, especially on Ryan. With that Dr. Lamb made a final set of notes;

Close with colleague, friend of employer, second employer > names?

No friends

Brother-in-law ? What happened to brother’s spouse?

Brother a homosexual? > Pry further

Bilingual

Violent when pushed

Deep connection to Frank Fontaine > pry cautiously

At around nine o’clock Eilis and Frank were spotted walking arm and arm towards Mercury suites. The businessman grinned at the sight of her on his arm, the girl still roughed up from whatever she’d done that day. After their last little fiasco he decided to try and get on her good side before tomorrow morning, he may be in the dog house for a little after that but it was all in the name of progress. “I thought you didn’t get off work till midnight, you’re about three hours early doll” he asked, resisting a soft smile when she nuzzled her face until his shoulder, she was exhausted. “Hm?… oh right, I uh… I lied to Ryan and said Cohen wanted me to watch one of his disciples while he worked.. Cohen has a show tonight so he won’t be available for comment and Martin will cover for me” she glared at Frank’s wealthy neighbours as they gave them suspicious looks, being too tired to care about there opinions.

Frank chuckled as he put in the key code for his elevator, happy to get in and away from prying eyes. “You still awake doll?” He whispered, tightening his grip around her waist so she wouldn’t fall, Eilis mumbling “ar éigean..” her brain being too tired to think in English constantly.

“No clue what that means” Frank admitted, resisting a chuckle as he guided her out, almost convinced he’d have to carry her till she perked up, rubbing at her eyes and slapping her own cheek lightly “I’m grand, I just need coffee”. “Tough shit, I don’t have any” he shrugged, rolling his shoulder when she separated him from, going to open his door for him like it was muscle memory from Ryan. He got there first, holding the door open with his foot and reminding her “you ain’t at work doll. Relax a bit… not too much though, you’re heavy and I ain’t carrying you again unless you’re dying”, Eilis swatted at him lazily, smiling slightly “prick”.

“You know you love me” He teased, getting a mumbled reply of “yea yea, whatever you want to believe love”. He wondered what she’d done that day to be so exhausted, she didn’t look injured bar the bruise in the shape of the ring he’d given her on her finger. She’d moved it to her ring finger actually, and he’d only notice, taking her hand to admire it. “Could have just taken it off” Frank commented cooly, noticing there was little flecks of tried blood stuck in the indent of the ring, “this mean we’re married?”. Eilis laughed, snorting slightly and covering her mouth in an attempt to quiet it, “no!”.

“That’s as a very definite fuckin answer” Frank pouted, pretending to be upset, “you don’t seem like the type to get married. I know you still go to Eve’s when your bored Frankie, I’m not thick” Eilis cocked her head to the side slightly as she spoke. Her lover huffed “fair point, doesn’t mean I couldn’t do that while being married though”, starting to head upstairs, knotting their fingers together so she’d follow him. “Ooo, Frank Fontaine’s favourite fuck buddy! What a title that’d be to add onto the list” The Pavlov dog chuckled as she kept up the same pace as him, not wanting to trip on the stairs. “I was thinking more along the lines of Frank Fontaine’s trophy wife” he suggested, guiding her up to his lounge, “how’s that sound?”.

Eilis hummed as she thought, Frank leaving her by his personal bar as he went to put on a record, “not too bad. What do I get out of it, pet?”. “You not know what a trophy wife is? What? They not got those back in Ireland?” He mocked her, plucking out a record to play. He flashed it to her, pulling it out of the casing when she nodded. “You let me do my shit without questioning it and I shower you with gifts and affection every moment of the damn day” Frank explained, setting the record before quickly getting back to her so they were ready before the song started. “Aren’t we already doing that?” Eilis asked quietly as she lay her arms around his shoulders and he loosely held her waist.

“I guess we are, and I don’t hear you complaining too much” Frank smirked as they started to sway, “c’mon, imagine how satisfying It’d be to rub this in Ryan’s face! I think Eilis Fontaine has a nice little ring to it, don’t you think me darlin’?” He asked, putting on a Dublin accent for the second half of his statement, catching the poor girl off guard. “That’s new” was all she managed to get out, but she was obviously attracted to it, He could feel her heart beat quicken since they were so close. “Ya like that? Little trick I’ve been workin up for ya. Found an old article of you saying you’d rather die than be with a rapture man and Irish would be preferred, so I’m practicin” he kept the accent on, loving how much she was into it, “should I just keep talking like this, love?”.

Eilis composed herself, barely, replying “as ridiculously attractive as that is, love, it doesn’t suit your face sadly. You’re a Bronx man, not the handsome Irish bastard of my day dreams, Maybe just save it for private”. Frank smirked, spinning them around and dipping her back as he made his tone huskier “would you kiss this Irish bastard?”. She moved one of her hands to his face and smiled innocently, “maybe. Very very tempting, but I know damn well if I do what you’re going to try and weasel out of it.  And I’m tired” she tapped the tip of his nose to get her point across “so no”.

“Aw come on, it’s just a kiss. Swear on me mother’s grave” He continued with that accent, Eilis not fully believing him and trying to figure out a way to get out of this. “Fine, I’ll give you a kiss if you say something in Irish. Properly, not just gibberish” checkmate. She was rather proud of her plan until he actually said something “tá tú chomh aineolach le cúl mo bholláin. There, kiss me”. Eilis laughed so hard she almost wheezed, leaning her head back as she tries to compose herself. Frank looked confused “the fuck did I say?” His accent slipping back to the usual bronx. He didn’t get an answer immediately, she actually kissed him quiet passionately to the point where he had to pull away for air, which he was not at all used to doing.

She started to laugh again as he still tried to figure out what he’d said, straightening them up and bluntly asking again “the fuck did I say?”. Through wheezes Eilis asked in return “where did you hear that?…”. “Reg told me he heard you say it once and the Irish guy called you a flatterer” He admitted, still sounding confused.

After a few minutes of her gaining her composure and losing it immediately, she told him “Frank, that’s an insult”, this isn’t help with his confusion at all, and he hated being confused “then why did you kiss me? Am I missing something?”. She just shrugged, which wasn’t a good enough answer. “You just love leaving me to figure out shit by myself don’t you?” He huffed, “oh definitely, your little confused face is adorable”. Frank suddenly smirked and before Eilis could even react he scooped her up bridal style, making her scream slightly in surprise, “now that’s adorable”.

“I hate you so much” she glared at him, desperately trying to hold it when he pecked her cheek “love you more”. Quickly they were snuggled up together in bed, Eilis practically half conscious with her head nuzzled into his chest. He idly traced patters on her bare back as he wondered “don’t you have work tomorrow?”, “hmm.. Ryan’ll think I’m hungover.. I get an extra half an hour for sympathy..” she sleepily looked up at him as she spoke, he nodded slightly before continuing his questioning “do you really like that shitty impression I did, doll?”. “Yea.. it’s like you have a whole identity I don’t know about” she joked, unaware of how right she was on a grander scale.

“Yea.. I’m glad you think it’s good” he kissed at the top of her hair, “you said I don’t look like it belongs to me though. What did you imagine? Just outta curiosity”. Eilis thought for a moment, trying to put together an image in her head from what she could remember of the men from Ireland, “a bit smaller than you, buff fella, probably has a hard labour job like farming or something to do with fishing, pitch black hair and blue eyes was pretty common for Dublin lads, always stubbly but never seen with a beard..” she described, taking Frank’s hand off her side to admire it “you have the hands though… big rough ones”. Frank committed that imaginary to memory for later, hoping he wouldn’t have to use it but knowing he most likely would. At least he had a base for it now.

“something wrong?” Eilis quietly queried, dragging his attention back “nah. Go to sleep” he reassured her, pulling the blanket up so it covered her properly. She was out like a light within seconds, leaving him alone with his thoughts. If all went to plan he’d be arrested tomorrow and Stanley would publish all those articles they agreed on, boosting public opinion and causing riots, making those schmucks that actually believed he gave a damn about them turn against Ryan, that should be entertaining.

But what would Eilis think? He rolled his eyes at the mere concept that he cared. God, why did he have it make this whole plan so damn complicated? A good con is a long one, but now he had someone he’s going to lose when he finally goes into the next phase, and he didn’t like that. Hell he might even lose her after tomorrow if he doesn’t play his cards right.

She was a valuable asset, a key part in his plan to take down Ryan if she played along and he was starting to accept the fact that he liked her. He rubbed at his face slightly as he thought. He stayed like that for most the night, only getting about an hour of sleep and still waking up before Ellis did.

He wondered how long it would take for them to get here as soon as they got the warrent. He didn’t have anyone on hand this early in the morning so he couldn’t find out without moving and waking up his lover. He wondered how much damage the bastards would cause, he hoped plenty so he could sue Ryan out the ass and add on several grand purely out of spite, maybe even get Eilis permission to work for him again, if she doesn’t break his nose on sight after today. “What are you thinking about?” Her sleepy voice suddenly broke the silence of his apartment, causing him to glance at her as she looked up at him from his chest, smiling in her half awake state. “What makes you think I’m thinkin?” He queried as he started to trace shapes on her back again since she seemed to enjoy it. She stretched her arm up and pushed her finger in between his eyebrows “you furrow your brows when your thinking, you’re gonna give yourself creases”.

“Aww you worried for me?” He teased, stopping what he was doing as she sat up, Frank admiring how her muscles moved on her back as she stretched, popping her shoulders and cracking her knuckles. He ran his hands lightly up her sides, making her shiver slightly in surprise and attempt to swat at him haphazardly. He brushed his thumbs over the odd bullet wound scars on her back as well as the few that he couldn’t fully tell the cause of, memorising them. “any of these new?” Frank’s eyebrows furrowed, Eilis glancing at him with a smile “not telling love” pecking his lips softly “I don’t have the energy to deal with getting you off a murder charge”.

The Pavlov dog did one last stretch before getting up, pulling Frank’s shirt off the end of the bed frame to wear. “I’m gonna go make tea, want anything, darlin?” Eilis queried as she quickly buttoned up the shirt while she shoved her clothes into a more compiled lump, only to feel Frank’s strong hands wrap around her torso. She glanced back, wondering why he’d gotten up “i’m only going to the kitchen, I won’t be longer than a moment” she reassured him as he buried her head in the crook of her neck, mumbling “fuck..I love seeing you wear my shirts”.

Eilis tilted her head to the side slightly to give him room as she chuckled “do you now?”. He made a vague noise of pleasant acknowledgment as he started to kiss at her neck, undoing some of the top buttons of the shirt so he could get at her shoulders. “So damn needy” Eilis sighed happily as she let him nibble at her skin, knowing she could hide it so he could be as bad as he wanted. Frank slowly made his way down from the top of her neck, past the crook knowing he should save it for later and down to her newly exposed shoulder, slowly starting to form a trail of hickeys. He loved leaving them on her, like a signature. If she was in the mood he may even leave them along her jawline just to rub this whole situation in Ryan’s face more. He was very very tempted to sink his teeth into her skin like some wild animal, knowing she’d now have two scars because of him. God he wanted to do that more than anything, he wondered if she’d actually let him, hell, maybe she’d enjoy it.

“God, Frank…” Eilis almost moaned, Frank guiding her back so she’d sit on his lap as he sat back down on his silk sheets. She turned herself around so she was facing him, resting her knees beside his thighs, being too lost in the moment to realise she was about to pull her groin muscles. Rapture’s best con man ran his hands up her legs and over her sides as he started to attack her collar bone, slowly starting to use more teeth than he would usually with love bites, hearing no complaints. They’d take a while to get here and arrest him right? He might be in there for hours, days even. Who says he can’t enjoy himself before dealing with such bullshit?

Just as he was about to make the move to start with the real fun, a loud thud rang out through his otherwise silent apartment, making the two stop in their tracks. Frank sighed in annoyance while Eilis’s face went through a parade of expressions, from confused, to panicked, to serious. She got off Frank’s lap, despite his whispered protests as he half hoped they could hide and finish before he got dragged off, grabbing her magnum revolver from her clothes pile as she crept out of the room. Frank watched her, noticing she walked on the tips of her toes, not to be quiet but seemingly out of habit. After she was out of his sight he reluctantly put pants on and followed her, not caring about being quiet. It was his own damn house, they can suck a cock of they want him to be quiet.

At the top of the stairs they could see the front door shaking before it shattered inwards, being shoved to the side by heavily clad officers as they rushed in, guns aimed at the two. Sullivan entered after, gun drawn but quickly lowering it at the sight of his long time colleague. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He sighed, “lower your damn guns!” he snapped at his men as he put his gun back in the holster. He marched up the stairs to Eilis, who was suddenly pulled close to Frank by her hip. “You said you were with Cohen’s boys, not. Him.” Sullivan whispered harshly, Eilis crossing her arms in defence “so Ryan’s sending entire battalions after me when I amn’t where I said I was during my free time now, hm? Very classy love”.

Sullivan went to retaliate till he noticed Frank’s hand placement, warning him “I’d take your hand off her if you want to keep it”. “Sully it’s fi-“ his colleague tried to reassure him, being shocked into silence when he pointed at her “shut your fucking mouth. I don’t even want to hear you right now”. Sullivan took a sharp breath as he pulled out some handcuffs and started the usual spiel “Frank Fontaine you are under arrest for the attempted assassination of Andrew Ryan and defamation of-” he tried to continue till Eilis was snapped out of her shock when she heard his accusations “what are you on about? I’ve been with Frank all night, he hasn’t done a damn thing”.

“Ellie I’d stop talking if I were you, you’re gonna want to kick his teeth in too when you see what else he’s done, now shut up and let me work” He warned her again as he continued “as well as the defamation and manipulation of Eilis Donovan to get the information to do so. You have the right to remain silent, though I know a man like you doesn’t even know that fucking word. You can come quietly or I’ll gladly knock a few of your teeth out on the stairs before grabbing you”. Frank rolled his eyes as he asked “can I at least get dressed?”. Sullivan scoffed in return and nodded, nudging his head to signal one of his men to go watch him and make sure he wasn’t making an escape, ordering “grab Ellie’s clothes too.”.

Eilis held the large shirt around her closed by the collar, looking furiously confused but staying quiet as she didn’t want to be yelled at again while feeling vulnerable. Despite the fact she was holding a literal magnum, being practically naked, bar a shirt that was like a short dress on her, was not helping her feel better. After an awkward silence she quietly begged “sully. Tell me what’s going on, please.”. Her long time colleague and friend looked at her, resisting a frown as her confused and concerned look reminded him of her waking up in hospital, asking why nobody would let her see her brother.

“That uh… that guy we had who attacked Ryan fessed up that he was paid by Fontaine. He started spewing about how he was told a lot of Information about the boss’s day to day shit. Stuff only people close to him could know. Only way Fontaine could know that was you, but I know you wouldn’t give that away on purpose” Sullivan sighed, finishing “and… He published articles about you in all the papers”. Eilis’s eyebrows furrowed, bluntly asking “articles about what?”. “I’ll just call em your uh.. ‘bed habits’, kid” he mumbled, it took Eilis only a second to catch on to what he was implying and he could practically hear her heart break. She resisted a devastated expression, fighting back tears as her face just went stone cold. The only evidence of her inner emotions was how her breath shook with each inhale and exhale as well as the white colour her knuckles were against her now pink hands as her grip tightened.

Frank was quickly brought down in a very fancy velvet suit, handcuffed but looking rather cocky. The officer tossed Eilis’s clothes to Sullivan, stating “I’m gonna book him. You take your time boss. Ma’am” he tipped his cap to the Pavlov dog, who gave him nothing more than a glance. “Wait for me in that shirt when I’m out doll. We gotta finish what we started” he cooed to her, his tone husky. “Go rot in hell” she snarled at him, her tone quivering slightly as she spat in his face, making him flinch in disgust before being dragged off.

When they were alone, Sullivan rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting “look kid, I’m sorry for being so harsh. No need to sulk over him, he ain’t worth it. Go get dressed and we can get back to work”. She shrugged his hand off, snatching her clothes and handing him her gun. With a mutter of “Mothaím comhlán…” she was gone into Frank’s game room, not being able to bring herself to look at his bedroom again.

Chapter Text

In the clean cold of Stienmen’s surgical suite sat the Pavlov dog, shirtless and half slumped as she sat on the table, Eilis held her head in her hands. She only straightened up, perfecting her posture, when the doctor came back with the surgical spirits he’d left to acquire. “In my medical opinion you should be asleep for a procedure like this, but as I understand you don’t have time for that” he explained, pulling his mask back up. Eilis had been shot at with a shotgun and by some miracle it had only hit her shoulder, the only problem was it knocked a chunk of it off, which Sullivan managed to find. Her muscles and bone was now slightly exposed, intriguing Stienmen.

The sickly curious doctor moved her arm to watch the muscles tug at eachother in fascination, knowing she was too drugged up to feel anything at this point. “I read one of the many articles Fontaine as released about you. You’re quiet the minx apparently, I believe the statement he used was ‘if she wasn’t working for Ryan she’d be more popular than Jasmine jolene’. Rather cruel.”.

“Please for the love of Christ, shut the fuck up” She snarled at him. “Good, you can talk. Ryan was convinced I’d need to check your vocal cords, you’ve been mute for several days. Open throat surgery is such a pain when you can breath properly…” Stienmen sighed as he started his work, frowning at the gaudy scar it would leave, that would be such a blemish on his pristine work. Though the Pavlov dog’s entire existence was a blemish on his work. “Love is cruel isn’t it? Since he’s thrown you in the gutter I assume we don’t have to continue with our little charade, hm?” He asked, almost sounding hopeful. “No… he wants to play dirty, fine. I’ll play back” She took a deep breath to compose herself, “how good are your acting skills?”.

“What are you asking of me?” The doctor sounded weary as he tried to focus on his work. “We pretend to be in coupled bliss, happily in love and claim Fontaine is a lying bastard who couldn’t get a woman to sleep with him if he paid. Then when he’s sufficiently annoyed we ‘break up’. Claim the stress was too much and you never have to look at my horrid face again until I come in to fulfil my side of our agreement” Eilis explained calmly, putting on her more refined voice so she didn’t stutter, wanting to sound confident. “Sander would be proud of such brilliant little plan you’ve concocted. But tell me, why should I agree? I’ve already damaged my reputation enough by claiming we’re acquainted especially after this Fontaine business. Why should I risk my social standing did you?”.

Eilis glanced at the bloody mess that was her shoulder and faint the trail of love bites that was left along it from that bastard. She swallowed hard and said “consider ‘fixing’ my shoulder however you please your down payment”. She couldn’t see it but she could tell from the look in his eyes he was smirking. “You know, even though I am still restricted by Ryan in what I can do to your… figure, that is tempting. Let me do both and you have a deal”. Eilis hugged herself, rubbing at her shoulders lightly as a way of saying goodbye to the scars and thanking Ryan quietly for making sure she didn’t come out looking like she had horns growing from her shoulder blades, before nodding.

Stienmen smoothed his hands over her shoulders in delight, commenting “I’m going to make them so beautiful, men will want to marry you from just a slipped glance!” He proclaimed, ignoring the fact she wasn’t at all delighted by that statement. As his nurse entered to help, he pulled down his mask to kiss Eilis’s temple to sell the look, resisting a grimace before ordering his nurse go and get him a proper dose of adam so he could work on his love properly.

After about two hours he’d finished, Eilis quietly admiring herself in the mirror. Well, admiring was a stretch, she’d gotten so use to the scars on her shoulders that seeing them so sleek made her feel strange. He’d made them slightly broader as well as her collar bone more prominent and it oddly suited her and her more muscly than the average rapture woman frame. Just because it suited her though didn’t mean she liked them, but it was too late to change things now. She put back on her shirt, rolling up her sleeves and hiking them up over her elbows so the large hole in one shoulder was diminished slightly.

“When do you need me?” Stienmen asked calmly as he washed her blood off his hands, “I’ll uh… I’ll send you a pneumo” was all she managed to get out before leaving, rushing to a nearby trash can to puke her guts out, glaring at the red swirls of Adam obviously present in it. She hated Adam and her body seemed to agree with her as she always had a horrible reaction to it. She hoped Ryan didn’t force her to have any other plasmids ‘for work’. Her body was barely coping with one and now this made her want to curl up with a large bowl in bed and just puke till she passed out. But she couldn’t. She had work to do. She walked past the reception, snatching her shotgun that she’d had to leave there and getting in the first bathysphere she could to Fort frolic.

After slipping through a sea of people trying to get in to see Cohen’s latest extravaganza, she found Ryan impatiently waiting for her outside the record store. “You’re late” was all he stated, and all he got as a reply was “I know.” Before she gestured for him to walk in front of her. He rolled his eyes, complaining “I’ve missed her time slot because of your tardiness”. “What? And you think she won’t give you a ride because you weren’t there to gawk at her like a wanker?” Eilis mumbled, Ryan snapping his head back to glare at her “don’t be so vulgar”.

They continued onto Eve’s, Ryan being correct as Jasmine had just finished, perking up with joy immediately at the sight of him. Eilis knew the usual routine for this, they came to watch Jasmine dance, she sat there in extreme discomfort and then she guarded the door so her and Ryan wouldn’t be interrupted and she started to pray to god that she was born deaf so she wouldn’t have to hear all of it. Today was different though, she was usually ignored but now she was getting odd stares as Ryan got up on the stage to follow Jasmine to the back room. She started to do the same as the two walked away, only to get whistled at, she glanced back to see men waving cash at her.

As calmly as she could, she stated “I’m not on the bill boys” before starting to walk away. “Come on! We all know you’re a tart just waiting for an excuse! The old geezer’s gone, give us a dance!” A man shouted, “yea! Come on we want to see what you did to be able to snatch up the title of Fontaine’s favourite girl! He ain’t as easy as Ryan!” Another joined. Eilis calmly turned around, slipping her shotgun off which was followed by a wolf whistle from several of the participants as if she was stripping. She stood there for a moment, waiting for the faint sound of Ryan slamming Jasmine’s door shut before cocking her gun with one hand and then shooting a large hole in the stage, making the men naturally flinch and dive for cover. “Keep your cocks in your pants, you’re all fecking pathetic” she sneered, honestly just hating the concept of men that this point as she went to do her job.

She calmly walked down the narrowed hallway, only to be surprised by Ryan slipping out of the room. “Something wrong?” She asked, he shook his head waving a dismissive hand. He gave a passing comment of “there’s no wine in the room” before leaving. Eilis stood there for a moment before she heard someone calling her, it was Jasmine. “Ellie! Ellie hun come here! I wanna talk to you!” she glanced at the door to see the dancer frantically gesturing for her to come closer. She did as she was told, going into jasmine’s room and shutting the door for privacy. “Sorry, I sent Ryan off so I could talk to you.. I’m so sorry to hear about the whole Fontaine thing, that must be awful” Jasmine pouted a bit too dramatically as she patted her hand on her bed for Eilis to sit beside her.

As she did as she was told Jasmine began to talk again “but, I was wondering cause so many clients are talking about it, are any of them true? The rumours?”. “I honestly haven’t read them love. But I’m assuming no” Eilis stated sternly, wondering why Jasmine was still frowning at her. “Oh you poor thing.. you really loved him didn’t you? I can see it in your eyes. Heart break” she gave the Pavlov dog’s hands a squeeze as she thought. Eilis’ nose wrinkled, why was everyone talking about her and Frank today?

Jasmine continued to ponder till she suddenly gasped as a rare brilliant idea came to mind, “how bout I help you get over him?”. Eilis tensed up in discomfort, wondering what she was implying “in what way?”. “Well when your heartbroken you can’t focus, natural thing, and I want my Andy to live a long life! So i’m going to help you get over him. You’ll be a bell of rapture! Second to only myself of course. Let’s start with a trip the Adonis! My treat”.

Eilis wondered how the hell Jasmine could afford the Adonis, wondering for a moment if Ryan paid his on and off mistress better than the woman in charge of keeping him alive. Probably. “That’s very kind, but how are you going to do that? Even having lunch there will cost you the same amount of rent as the smallest apartment of Mercury suites ” She asked quietly, just as Ryan re-entered the room with a bottle of Chardonnay and two wine glasses. Jasmine patted her hands and gave her wink, whispering “I have my ways, go wait outside”. She didn’t have to tell Eilis twice as she hated getting in between Ryan and his manly urges, making sure to stand slightly away from the door so she wouldn’t hear it over the music and chatter.

Shit, she’d have to pay for the floor wouldn’t she? Well there goes the fund for the leak in her apartment again.

After about half an hour Ryan stumbled out looking slightly ruffled up, clearing his throat as he adjusted his tie and smoothed his hair back, “you will accompany Jasmine to the Adonis. She wants to get something done but doesn’t wish to go on her own for fear of… lingerers…” he cringed at the word, the idea of others looking Jasmine made his stomach churn “just do as she asks and return her here safe” and with that he was gone. Jasmine was out soon after, dressed in what she thought was casual but was more of a party outfit in Eilis’ opinion, hooking onto the girl’s arm and walking out with her, delicately jumping down off the stage while the Pavlov dog just walked off, not caring about the loud thud she made when she landed.

She wondered why Jasmine was being so kind. They didn’t hate eachother but they always had a certain discomfort since they first met as Ryan would never let poor Eilis more than five feet away when he’d be doing ‘business’ with his lover. It was probably because of Ryan that she was being so kind, poor girl was head over heels, just like Diane. Eilis wondered for a moment why he didn’t just marry both of them. He refused to pick one, rapture wasn’t religious so monogamy didn’t seem a necessary law and he was basically the king, he could do as he pleased. Maybe she’d suggest that, it would end a lot of pain between one or both of them getting their hearts broken and bar the odd cat fight if they aren’t fully for it Ryan would be delighted. They wouldn’t but in all honestly she knew Ryan could give less than a damn about their feelings bar their devout love for him.

The ride to the Adonis was peaceful bar Diane’s babbling about how Ryan was in bed which Eilis thankfully zoned out of, focusing on the radio instead until they landed at the private docking station. It reminded her of all those old estate hotels back in Ireland that had huge gates and long private driveways just to get to the damn thing, but the rapture version of course. They were greeted by a concierge who took their names, welcoming them as guests of Ryan and escorting them to their spa area. Jasmine booked whatever she liked while Eilis admired the architecture and the swirls in the natural marble of the walls till she heard her name being called again, “Ellie come along! We’ll miss our appointment!”.

“We?” She asked, Jasmine nodded “you’ll love it I swear, now come come!” Dragging Eilis after her by her hand and into the changing room. There they were given silk robes and their hair was wrapped up with some sort of silk strand of fabric to keep it out of their faces. The slippers they had to change into to enter the spa felt marvellous and as much as she hated to admit it, Eilis almost forgot about Frank for a moment, till she heard a man call his beloved ‘doll’ and all the memories came flooding back.

With a reluctant sigh she left her shotgun and clothes in their private dressing room, looking at her hand and noticing she hadn’t taken off the ring Frank had given her yet. She didn’t want to. She took a deep breath, convincing herself she’d to it when she was ready and followed Jasmine to wherever the hell they were going.

They were led to a small marble room which reminded her a bit of a strange mixture between a gothic church and ancient Roman architecture with two beds. “I have a whole itinerary planned; facials, jacuzzi’s, the works! Next is massages, but first to get you out of your little slump, I ordered us something!” Jasmine gushed as she pulled out a tray that was on the table beside her bed. Besides two dirty martinis there was two small bowls with little pink orbs in them like some strange form of caviar. “It’s called Retinentia! It helps you relive what your mind considers your happiest memories. It’ll last till our treatments are done and you’ll come out of it feeling fresher than a daisy. The martini helps with the after taste” she explained, shoving them into Eilis’s hands before downing her retinentia and then her martini.

Eilis gave the substance a suspicious look before doing the same, grimacing at the after taste that the martini didn’t hide at all. It tasted like a mixture of motor oil and arsenic, her throat was on fire as she swallowed it. Nothing happened for a moment and just as she was about to claim Jasmine she had wasted her money, she got lightheaded. Eilis put up a hand to rub her temple, groaning in pain slightly as she waited for the feeling to stop. When it finally released, letting her think, she opened her eyes to find herself sitting in front of a birthday cake as she blew out the candles. She glanced around to see she was surrounded by her father’s fellow ‘revolutionaries’ who she always called uncle followed by their nickname, as well as her granny and Tadgh. They were all speaking at once so she couldn’t really understand them till there was a sharp whistle that shut them up. She was surprised she recognised the man who stepped forward, vaguely remembering calling him ‘Uncle Paddy’.

Uncle Paddy calmly stated “alright you lot! Now as you know Micheál is away gettin us new arms for our cause, and to pay him back we agreed to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. But what ye didn’t know was he left a gift for the little las”. She could see her Granny scowling at the man but she didn’t move from her plush chair in the corner of the room, while Tadgh looked mildly uncomfortable, commenting “she’s only ten mate”. Uncle Paddy glared at him to shut his mouth before offering his hand to Eilis, which she took, guiding her outside to the garden where he’d set up hay bales with British flags and a picture of the king. He handed her a little red present which she quickly unwrapped to find a revolver. Her ‘uncle’ crouched down beside her, putting an arm around her small shoulders and pointing as he spoke “You’re dear old dad smuggled that over all the way from France, just for you. Won it in a game of cards he did. Now what I need you to do, love, is aim right between the eyes of that old bastard there. Ya got six shots so don’t be worrying if you miss a few” he explained, showing her how to hold it properly and aiming for her. She fired, and she missed, clipping the ‘old bastard’s’ ear, but the rush she felt made her giddy, causing her to giggle and quickly aim again, slowly getting better till she hit him in the left side of his forehead. Her ‘uncles’ erupted into cheers, Paddy scooping her up as they chanted “for she’s a jolly good fellow” proclaiming the Donovan blood was strong in her and how proud her father would be. She felt happy.

While Eilis was experiencing whatever the hell retinentia was causing, Frank was sitting in an interrogation room, looking bored to tears. His suit was still somewhat neat, he had the jacket off and his tie loosened. “No clue what your talking about, can I leave? Unlike you morons I got shit to do and money to make” he crossed one leg over the other and tapped his fingers off his chin as he tried to ignore his urge for a cigar. Sullivan glared daggers through him as he hit record on the accu-vox beside him before he began to speak “look. Fontaine we got a man to admit you did it, and even if you didn’t, defamation of a high up rapture official is a punishable crime”. Frank scoffed, “high up rapture official? What? You givin her more nicknames now so she feels special? That’s like buyin a kid a toy gun so they don’t cry about daddy going off to war, ain’t gonna stop the guy from getting shot”. “Stop changing the subject” the older man snapped before continuing “Ryan is going to offer you a deal”.

Frank snorted a laugh ”is he now? Well tough shit, I amn’t hearing him out until I get something to persuade me. Even trade”. Sullivan rubbed at his temples, terrified of what he’ll have to give this entitled prick just to finish a sentence without him blatantly lying or being annoyingly sarcastic, three days straight was driving him insane, “well? The hell do you want as ‘persuasion’?”. Frank pretended to think for a moment, knowing damn well what he wanted but also wanting to annoy Ryan’s head of security. He wondered how far he could push him before he snapped, wouldn’t that be a headline ? Fontaine wrongly accused of attempted assassination! Beaten to a bloody pulp by Ryan’s head of security. Bit dramatic but from what he’s heard he’s already in favour in rapture, with the men at least. Something like that would drag in a lot of sympathy from those with hearts too kind to be here. What chumps.

“I’m guessing I can’t ask for Eilis all wrapped up in just a bow like a Christmas present can I? Cause if you have me that I’d start givin you my business secrets” he smirked, he could see a vain bulging on the older man’s forehead as he resisted the urge to smash Fontaine’s face off the table “I’m only joking! God, Ryan not pay you enough to buy a sense a humour? Bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigars from my apartment to start, then we’ll see if I need more persuasion”. Sullivan composed himself, barely, nodding and getting up to go to the door, sticking his head out of the crack he’d made to tell them what their interrogation subject wanted, his patience was so thin at this point one more snarky comment would be the end of playing good cop.

As Frank pondered his plan to get exactly what he needed out of this ‘deal’ with Ryan, Eilis opened her eyes to find herself in some sort of sauna. Jasmine’s laugh caught her attention “look at you! Your taking your first trip really well, tell me, how’s it going..” her voice faded out as Eilis felt her head drop and she snapped back up, finding herself in her tiny little apartment in the bronx. The familiar sound of neighbours shouting and the odd car going by made her head thump. She rubbed at her temples before standing up and walking over the chest of drawers they had beside the entrance to the kitchen, pulling out her brother’s almost finished pack of cigarettes. She hesitated for a moment before snatching one and a lighter, going into the kitchen. She pushed open the window as far as she could, careful not to knock over the grampaphone stacked on several old books on the counter top or turn on the gas cooker at her bare feet. She crawled out to the fire exit, checking she was alone before shakily trying to get the old rusted lighter to work, mumbling curses under her breath. When she succeeded she didn’t even revel in the moment, just lighting the cigarette and taking a drag. She coughed and spluttered, glaring at it for a moment before continuing, grimacing at the taste.

“And what are you doing babaí ?” Her brother asked, his head sticking out of the window, he looked like he was just off his shift at the mechanics. He was filthy. He crawled out before she could give an answer and took the cigarette off her “smoking? You’re only 21, no need to fuck up your lungs yet love” he teased, taking a drag himself before handing it back to her “but no shame in sharing your first proper one with your older brother”. She smiled at him slightly, mumbling “At least you didn’t react like nanny. I still hear the sound of that feckin wooden spoon bouncing off the window when she chucked it at you”. Tadgh chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders “I’d never ! Now what’s the craic? Why did I catch my angel of a sister smoking like she’s had her heart broken?”. Eilis’s nose scrunched up as she almost didn’t want to explain “remember that fella I fancied? The banker one from Washington?” Tadgh nodded with a sceptical look “well he invited me over for a drink and when I said I didn’t smoke and wanted to slow everything down a bit he called me a prudish whore who can’t have any fun and kicked me out.. wanker..”.

With that her brother took the cigarette off her and flicked it off the balcony of the fire escape “Some bastard is not a good enough reason to smoke love” he reminded her, “I always thought he had a silver spoon up his arse anyway.. Oi, how about we do something more fun to celebrate your brother’s big accomplishment huh?” He suggested, leaning back in the window and messing with something as Eilis felt her eyebrows furrow “what the hell have you done now mate?”. He put on a record, coming back out and holding Eilis’s hands with his filthy ones, covered in oil in a way that made it look like cow patches. He started to sway with her as he explained “your genius of an older brother smooth talked his way into becoming a driver for the one and only Andrew Ryan! That big billionaire fella with his name in the building down by the empire state”. She shook her head, “liar. You’ll make Mom cry with all that”. Tadgh just grinned as they continued to sway “it’ll pay well. Much more than all the jobs I have now, so I’ll get more time with you and finally get us out of this dump. Get us a real balcony” he spun her around lightly before taking her hands again. “Really? You responding to his beck and call whenever ? Tadgh, love you’ll be fired within the weak for cursing” Eilis warned him and he put a hand to his chest in false offence, “I’ve never cursed a day in my life”. She smacked his arm, making the two laugh as they swayed the night away.

Eilis was dragged back and now they were floating in a jacuzzi. “Jasmine.. Mate, is it supposed to feel this awful?” She asked, but Jasmine seemed to be going through her own memories, giggling and tossing around. Eilis didn’t what to know what she was remembering. While she had consciousness, not knowing how long till this left her system, she got up and put back on the robe, making an escape for the bathroom. She saw her reflection and thought her nose was bleeding for a minute, but it wasn’t. It was adam. She wiped it away, washing her mouth out in the sink and trying to hold herself together. She had much more Adam in her system today than she think she’d ever had and it was making her feel sick. If she’d known there was Adam in retinentia she wouldn’t have taken it, but she acknowledged she was naive for thinking there wasn’t any. Almost everything in rapture had Adam or eve in it, there was no escaping. She glanced at the clock, they’d been there for three hours. Jesus. Why was she here again?… oh right. Frank.

She huffed, composing herself before going back to Jasmine and sinking into the hot water. She could feel the pressure building in her head again but fought against it to remain consciousness, half afraid she’d drown or Jasmine would if she wasn’t awake to push her back up every so often.

Whenever she dared let her eyes closed for a moment she’d get flashes of vague memories involving her brother and nights out with friends long forgotten, nothing she wanted to be thinking about right now. As her eyes got too heavy she let them shut but kept her thoughts fully focused on the fact she was in water, in rapture, in the Adonis. Even though she repeated those thoughts she opened her eyes to find herself kissing Frank for that magical first time at his party. It was heavenly, her stomach fluttered with butterflies and she just wanted to melt into it. She dragged herself back to reality and buried her face in her hands to resist the urge to scream curses at the heavens. Of course that was one of her happiest memories. Fuck sake.

Finally having got his cigars, Frank happily smoked them while swirling his whiskey around its glass. “Ya know, this is gonna be real funny in a few years when your at the stag night” he teased, Sullivan inhaling sharply as he asked “excuse me?”. “You heard me. After all this I don’t like how your treating my gal. So, I’m gonna marry her and make sure she never has to look at your ugly mug or Ryan’s ever again. I ain’t a man who would get married but if it means I don’t gotta share I’m willing to make some exceptions.” He grinned at the man, but it faltered when he smirked back. “Oh frankie. Sadly as much as you believe it does, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Our girl has already moved on” Sullivan informed him rather cockily “so you aren’t using her as a bargaining chip while I’m here”.

“With. Who?” Frank’s tone suddenly became stern, his cocky look melting to one of repressed fury as he chewed on his cigar. “That doctor she always goes to. Seems they developed a little connection over the years and he offered her a shoulder to cry on when you accused her of being a whore” the head of security chuckled, pouring himself a glass of Frank’s whiskey and putting his feet up on the desk. “She thinks he’s a section eight, why would she suddenly go running to him?” Frank stubbed out his cigar, having almost bit through it in his anger, Sullivan shrugged “maybe she’s just into psychotic assholes. Checked out since she was head over heels for you for a bit. Now, Fontaine. You’re a business man right? Let’s do business. Tell me what I want to know and mr Ryan has promised to make sure you get plenty of cigars and conjugal visits from the girls of Eve’s while you serve a three month sentence”.

Frank’s grip on his glass was tight enough for it to almost shatter, until the door was pushed open. “Sorry sir, Fontaine’s lawyers have posted bail” Sullivan’s man stated calmly, both of the men frowning as Frank happily got up, putting his coat back on and fixing his tie as he commented “took them long enough” before leaving without even a courteous goodbye, just a quick “oh and Sully? Tell Ryan he can suck a cock” before he disappeared around the corner.

When he was back in his bathysphere, greeted cautiously by Reggie, he sat there for a moment, grinning as he heard the announcement of his release over the radio and people’s opinions on it. The scales were tipping in his favour and he could finally start making them so they’d never fall back on Ryan side again. “Where to boss? Yours or somewhere to celebrate?” Reggie asked, leaning against the side of the bathysphere and waiting to put in the order for wherever the hell he wanted to go, assuming he’d want to go celebrate in one of his clubs down at the department store.

Frank surprised him though, calmly stating “later. Paupers drop, make it quick Reg”. His bodyguard wanted to argue but knew better than to due so if he didn’t want Frank to take out his obviously pent up aggression against him. He pitied the poor bastard who dared to crossed him today because they might not come out of it alive. As they docked Frank ordered for Reg to wait, leaving without another word and marching through the area with a purpose, grimacing at how disgusting he found it. It reminded him too much of the shitty orphanage he was in for a few years in the bronx, and he wanted to burn the whole thing. Maybe when he had control of rapture he would, maybe turn it into a huge entertainment area like his own fort frolic.

He made his way to Eilis’ apartment, surprised he didn’t get lost since this place was like a fucking maze and knocked on the door. Nothing. He knocked again, harder, only stopping a when a neighbour came out, telling him “she ain’t home. There’s a spare key behind a loose brick on the right of tha door”. He stared at the older woman for a moment, asking sarcastically “why you telling me how to break in? That ain’t very neighbourly”. The elderly woman shrugged, mumbling something about “it’s quieter than your damn ruckus” before disappearing back into her home. Frank felt around for the loose brick, working it out of the wall and snatching the key from behind it, unlocking the door. Eilis obviously wasn’t home, but he wasn’t here for her. He was here to prove several points, three of them being: she still liked him, she wasn’t dating that wacko Stienmen and Ryan had her living in a shit hole.

His third point was proved immediately. Her apartment was small, only being two rooms from what he could see. The first was a kitchen/living room where her radio seemed to be the only form of entertainment besides a pile of now water damaged books she was using as a table. It was clean, well as clean as it could be bar the waterfall coming in from the roof that poured into a large basin and a bucket she had placed under it, both needed to be emptied. Frank stuck his hand in it, bringing it to his face to smell. It was sea water. Her place would flood soon if she didn’t fix that, he wondered why she hadn’t. He pushed her bedroom door open with his foot and saw a small twin bed lined with old pillows, assumably to make the horribly thin mattress more comfortable, duvets and old blankets. Ontop of all that rested a night gown,several different types of shotgun shells and her magnum that he’d gifted her which she seemed to use sparingly. A flower he’s sent her was dead in a cup on her nights and under it were any letters or audio logs he’d sent her. She hadn’t thrown them away. Finally in her wardrobe he searched for that dress he’d bought her, and there it was in a special bag you’d usually have something expensive in to protect it from moths. She’d had it professionally cleaned and kept it nice. This all brought a smirk to his face, he knew she still liked him, so that means she couldn’t be with the doctor right? Sure he was in hot water, but Sullivan was talking out of his ass.

Happy with his research he went to leave, only to hear the familiar sound of a shotgun cocking as he got to the front. There she was, Eilis. Had she had something done? She looked a lot fresher. When she realised it was him she still didn’t lower her gun. Strange. “You miss me doll? I missed you” he chuckled, crossing his arms.

“Get the fuck out of my apartment Frank.” She snapped at him, fully intending to shoot him in the shoulder if he didn’t cooperate. "Ellie, baby come on! Is this about the gossip? You know all that's bullshit! Why would I out private shit?" he asked, approaching her cautiously. He was shoved back by the butt of her shotgun with a glare that could turn a man to stone. "You’re not even trying trying to lie. Get out” Her patience was obviously teetering on the edge of just giving up or possibly shooting him until she felt better. Frank rolled his eyes as he went to leave, stopping and turning on his heels as he got to the door “can I ask you two questions doll?”. She glared at him but didn’t say no so he continued, “why are you so pissed?”.

Eilis lay her shotgun across her couch and put some water on to boil while she spoke “besides the fact you lied in the papers about our sex life and destroyed the one privilege I had, you had the audacity to lie to me to my face about it. You broke the one boundary I had, my privacy. Men who wouldn’t dare look at me are now calling me a whore and making swipes because apparently I’m dying for it, according to you” she refused to look at him as she continued to make herself tea and whatever she had left for food “I trusted you. I don’t just trust people on a whim Frank, and you shattered that”.

Frank shrugged, “we weren’t a thing to the public until I said anything, so there was no need for ‘boundaries’ in my mind” he yawned, not meaning to sound so heartless but feeling like he had a point. “Just ask your second fucking question and get out of my home” She still wouldn’t look at him as she focused on chopping up vegetables.

“Did you leave me for Stienmen?” His tone was blunt and sharp to her ears, it actually made her stop. So he had heard. Good. She calmly put down her knife and walked over to him, choosing her words carefully and with malice “I did, and you know what love? He’s a million times better than you” slamming the door in his face and dead-bolting it, returning to her vegetables, pretending they were something else to release her pent up aggression as she made her lunch, knowing she had half an hour before having to return to Ryan’s side like nothing had happened. She was so heated she cut part of her finger, “Fucking prick..” she hissed from the pain as she held her hand to her chest for a moment, noticing little droplets falling on her diced tomatoes… must be another leak.

Chapter Text

The longer you are down in rapture the harder it gets to tell when you’re on rapture time versus when the sun is actually up. Sure the lights dimmed and lightened to apparently copy the sun but that didn’t help with anything since rapture ran 24/7. You could sleep during what would normally be considered the ‘day’, get up at midnight, still being able to continue with your business like nothing happened. Eilis had become acutely aware of this lately since Ryan had decided sleep was unnecessary and she’d been working all day and night for the past week and a half, only getting a half hour off, a day, which she had to spend stopping her apartment from flooding and getting a small amount of food. Right now was the only moment of true peace she’d had in that time, Ryan was in his office, having a meeting with Cohen that she wasn’t allowed to stand in on like usual, which she found odd but didn’t question, she was playing snooker by herself, wanting to hone her skills for when she actually had free time to go down to the fighting Mcdonagh and play.

As she aimed she could practically hear Ryan lecturing her on how expensive the table was, how it was basically priceless. Everything had a price in rapture, even morals and human decency, so that was bullshit. She ignored this while she lined up her shot, her thoughts being taken over by a familiar Bronx tone huskily whispering in her ear about how he’d make her scream on his own billiards table. She wrinkled her nose to ignore it and shot, potting two balls while her cue pall pinged off the corner and bounced off somewhere else. She glanced at the door to be sure Ryan was still inside and not suddenly opening the damn thing to catch her off guard; she could hear the music playing from his office deafeningly loud even though she wouldn’t have been able to hear him anyway, strange.

After making sure the camera he had in this little area was still off she went searching for the ball, very faintly being able to hear it rolling across the hard wood floor. When she found it someone’s foot was on it, Eilis sighed deeply as she looked up to see it was Frank. Of course. “Can I help you? The waiting room is downstairs” She asked quietly, waiting for him to move his foot.

Frank had his signature smirk on as well as that infuriatingly suffocating cologne she convinced herself she hated. He loved the way her nose wrinkle like an angry rabbit when she thought of something she didn’t like, denial was cute on her. He crouched down to snatch up the cue ball and admired it, teasing “snooker’s a game for two doll. Mind if I join?”. Eilis snatched it from him, giving him a look that obviously said “no. Get out.” But she didn’t actually say it so that was enough for him to follow her back to the table as she placed the ball and lined up another shot.

After she fired, missing her shot and cursing under her breath, she could feel Frank right behind her, breathing down her neck. He slid his hands up her sides and down her arms, resting himself chin on her shoulder as she interwind their fingers, lifting her hands up to admire them, noticing she still hadn’t taken off the ring he’d gifted her. She even seemed to have been using it for the purpose he’d had it made, some fresh blood still being stuck in the smallest parts of the indented carving. “Remember when we joked about getting married? You bein my little trophy life” He questioned her, running his thumb over her bruising knuckles and watching her hands twitch slightly out of pain.

“The night before you made rapture believe I’m a whore? Yea. I remember” She responded bitterly as she jerked her hand to free them but Frank just tightened his grip, pressing her against the billiard table and forcing her to stand up straight. He knew very well if she wanted to get out of this she could, but it was at the risk of being loud and Ryan catching them in this predicament. She seemed to be debating her options, wishing Ryan hadn’t nailed the damn billiard table to the floor. “I never said you were a whore. What other people take from me sharin some of our nights together doesn’t mean I said shit” Frank defended himself, releasing her hands and backing away slightly, only to pin her back against the table as soon as she turned around before continuing “a whore can’t compare to you”.

“Frank. Get off me and fuck off downstairs.” Eilis kept her tone calm, her eyes flicking to the door and back to him, resisting the anger at the fact he’d admitted he did those articles when he’d denied it before. “Is Stienmen really that good that you’d ignore his insane shit instead of just coming back me?” He asked, leaning closer, forcing Eilis to lean back, pushing her spine against the hard wood and grimacing in pain, “spite is a beautiful motivator. Besides he has…” Eilis trailed off as she tried to think of a redeeming quality of Stienmen. Sure, he was handsome but his ego and entitlement too away from that a lot and what he was actually good at didn’t really interest her. After a moment of thinking and Frank cocking an eyebrow at her as he waited for answer, she mumbled “talented hands.”. She resisted a grimaced at the idea of what she had just implied. She inhaled sharply as she kept a stone face, trying not to gag at the thought of sleeping with the doctor.

“The fuck is that suppose to mean?” Frank sounded genuinely confused, “just because you don’t know what foreplay is besides a blow job doesn’t mean other people don’t too Frankie” And with that Eilis pushed him off her as the lock for Ryan’s office door clicked “go find a whore you can lay claim to, love, because you haven’t got a drop on me” was the last thing she said before Cohen emerged, Frank barging past him and disappearing to Ryan’s office in a corner she couldn’t see through the open door.

Cohen was dressed rather casually for once which she found strange. No makeup, just a smoking jacket and a lazy suit with his usual greased back hair. He fixed himself in the reflection of the glass as he spoke “having a little rendezvous with Fontaine again? Understandable, he seems like your type”. “We weren’t. The last thing I want him doing is touching me” Eilis defended herself, fixing her clothes and flexing her hands to forget the feeling of Frank touching her, “how was Andrei?”. “Lovely as always dear. You know the usual shtick, you saw nothing, heard nothing and know nothing.” He reminded her sternly before looking a lot chirpier as he turned on his heels to face her “do give the old man my regards, he isn’t one for proper goodbyes after this sort of thing. You’re coming to the event tonight, correct?”.

The Pavlov dog nodded, keeping her eyes on the door and wondering why it was so quiet, before remembering she should speak “of course, happy birthday sir. I’m sure it will be… rather enjoyable” keeping her ryanised voice since Ryan could possibly hear her and she wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on top of the one she already knew she was getting thanks to this mornings latest article. Suddenly Cohen was holding her face, which made her flinch and have to tense up so she didn’t hurt him with her usual reflexes. “You are just like a mini Ryan, you know that? I adore it! Wear something nice my dear, I plan on painting you two. It’s the second part of my present” he sounded so giddy and seemed to be resisting the urge to act in his usual hyper way since he was half sober and Ryan didn’t want people to know he was there. He patted her left cheek before releasing her face, waving delicately with his fingers then quickly disappearing out the door and down the stairs.

When he was finally gone, Eilis grabbed her shotgun and calmly entered Ryan’s office, turning off the record player that had started to skip itself, leaving the room deafeningly quiet, bar muffled chatter that was deep in this pretentiously large office. As she followed the noise, a thought graced her mind, would I actually be able to shoot Frankie? It made her pause for a moment. Yes, she had to, it was her job. If Ryan was in danger, of course she would, right? Who ever it was didn’t matter. She took her head and continued to follow the sound till she could make out the fact they were arguing. When the sound of a chair screeching off the wooden floor was the only audible noise, Eilis kicked open the door and aimed her shotgun at the back of Frank’s head.

Frank had Ryan by his shirt, holding him up slightly out of seat like he was threatening him, Ryan gripping onto his wrists and glaring at him. Frank however wasn’t even looking at Ryan, he’d looked back at Eilis as soon as she’d entered the room. Christ, she looked good like that, trying to look as merciless as possible, with that little twinge of emotion caught in her eyes as she stared at him. He wanted to grab her and take her right then and there, Ryan be damned, but she may actually shoot him so he thought against it. He dropped Ryan, dusting himself off as he calmly stated “sorry doll, we were just having a chat, weren’t we Andy?”. Ryan cringed at the nickname but nodded, making Frank grin “good. Stay outta my business” he warned him before walking out of the office, only stopping to peck Eilis’ cheek, whispering “see you at the party” before he was out of sight. It was almost like Eilis’ reactions were delayed as she swung her shotgun to hit him just as he was out of reach, hitting the door frame and denting the expensive wood.

“Bastard.” She growled under her breath, rubbing her cheek red raw to try and get the feeling of his kiss off, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. “Ellie.” Ryan called out calmly to catch her attention, fixing his jacket and straightening his tie “have you forgotten how to knock? I was handling it.”. “Oh feck off, you were not fucking handling it!” She snapped at him, composing herself and reigning in her accent as he cocked an eyebrow at her, “sorry. What has you believe you had it handled?”. “I simply did. My word is law if you haven’t forgotten. Now sit down, we have something to discuss before your dismissed to prepare for Cohen’s event” he gestured to the now tipped over chair in front of his desk.

Eilis popped it up with her foot, putting down her gun and sitting down obediently, crossing her legs and leaning back, not in the mood for a conversation she already knew all the points of. “Have you seen the papers this morning?” Ryan asked calmly, she just nodded but he proceeded to take a copy out of his desk and show her like she hadn’t. On the front cover was a far off picture of Eilis smoking in private, the title saying in big letters ‘LOVERS OF THE PAVLOV DOG COME FORTH - READ ALL ABOUT THEIR ROMANTIC ESCAPADES IN THIS EXCITING ISSUE!’. Eilis’ eyes narrowed as she saw the name, Stanley Poole. Oh he was fucking dead.

“I assume you haven’t become illiterate since we last spoke. Is it true?” The ‘king’ of rapture asked her cruelly, getting a reply of “the only person I’ve ever slept with was Frank and as you know that has stopped. They’re just searching for a drop of fame they won’t be getting”. Ryan seemed to stare at her for a moment, waiting for a hint that she was lying to him, but she wasn’t, so he gave up, putting away the paper. “If you’re well behaved at this party and do as your instructed I’ll make all of this go away. If not you can cope with it on your own.” He spoke to her like a bold child, and she hated it. “Fine. May I be excused sir?” As soon as Ryan nodded she was gone as fast as her legs would carry, trotting down the stairs and past Diane who reminded her the party would be in Cohen’s private club and to bring a mask.

With the short amount of time she had, only having about an hour, she first took a bathysphere to the rapture tribune building, storming past secretaries and colleagues of the slimly bastard she was there for before swiftly kicking in his locked door. He raised his hand and went to start babbling some dumb excuse but she didn’t have the patience, cocking her shotgun and shooting him with an electoro buck. He twisted and jerked till he fell out of his chair. She calmly walked over to him, making sure he watched as she loaded actual shotgun shells into it, tossing the old ones on his face. “What did we talk about the last time I saw your slimy mug Stanley?” Her tone was much too sweet as she glanced at him. He felt like he was about to be sick.

“Um… we uh… W-we… I mean you said.. uh.. do-don’t ever write another word about you without your permission” he stuttered, trying to get up till she stood up and rested her foot on his chest, setting up her shotgun with a click and a quick pump “good boy. And what did you do?” rolling her eyes as he tried to look away. She used the end of her shotgun to force him to look back at her, holding his head there as she put more pressure on his chest with her foot “what did you do Stanley? Was it exactly what I told you not to fuckin do?” He nodded, “are you gonna do it again?” He didn’t give a response this time. Eilis gave his office a quick glance to determine something as she began to speak again “how fast can you type?”. “Uh.,, pretty fast I think! Helps pump out the grid articles ya know?” He babbled, not being able to resist an opportunity to brag, especially if he believed it would save his skin. He kept trying to back away but the pressure she had on his chest was impossible to escape from. After determining he was left handed Eilis quickly relieved the pressure, as he flipped himself over to scurry away she stomped hard down on his left forearm, definitely hard enough to break it “that’ll slow you down. Use that time to not make stupid decisions”.

Surprisingly Stanley didn’t scream from the pain, he just hissed and cradled his now broken arm, stumbling to his feet after her, shouting “the hell am I supposed to do about this?! From what I hear you ain’t handing free passes out to Stienmen no more!”. All he got was a blunt reply of “deal with it yourself you absolutely fucking child” before she was gone.

With another deep composing breath and an eve cigarette that was slowly becoming more of a coping mechanism more than a necessary evil for plasmid, she regained what little patience and composure she possessed. Flicking it into her neighbour’s dead flower pot as she went inside, emptying her flood buckets into the sink before pushing them under the mini waterfall slowly engulfing her ceiling. She quickly cleaned herself up, making herself look ’nice’ as Cohn requested before staring into her closet for 20 minutes, trying to decide what to wear. Annoyingly the nicest thing she had, jewellery and clothes combined were both gifts from Frank. Fuck.

After screaming into her pillow and convincing herself that she won’t see him anyway, it’s a huge party why would she? She finally put the damn thing on as well as the dainty little pearl necklace he’s gotten her. She almost felt like he was whispering in her ear as she remembered what he’d said to her when she’d first worn it; wear it just for me though, I don’t want anyone else to see how pretty that looks on your neck. Ignoring the shiver running down her spine and the involuntary twitch her body did to escape the whisper, she went to the mirror she had propped up in the corner of her room. She absentmindedly stroked the fur boa as she admired herself, she looked stunning and she hated it. It was like Frank’s name was written all over her, she felt naked. With an annoyed huff she grabbed her shotgun, slinging it over her shoulder and positioning it on her back before laying the boa over it.

She gartered two sets of shotgun shells to each thigh since she didn’t have pockets annoyingly, putting some cash in the secret little area she had under the sole of her heel before finally heading out to meet Ryan, repeating it herself “you won’t see him. You won’t see him. It’s gonna be fine” as she boarded the private bathysphere and rotting in the awkward silence as it took her to wherever the hell the party is. It felt like Ryan had turned off the radio so she could just sit there and suffer with her own thoughts, maybe in the hopes it would fix this ‘attitude’ he kept insisting she had. Sadly for him it was just giving her more time to figure out how she could get snide comments past him without bluntly saying her thoughts.

As the bathysphere docked at the uptown area of rapture, aka an area Eilis avoided like the plague, she was greeted by Ryan’s scowling features, which confused her since she hadn’t done anything wrong yet. Just as the door opened, without even a hello she was greeted with “Fontaine is here.”. “You look lovely too sir” She stated politely as she stepped out, adding “I know he is.”. Ryan rolled his eyes and offered her his arm to link onto, “ridiculous. He’d dare to show his face after the mess he’s made” he complained as they wandered through the area to find Cohen’s beloved club, this entire place was suffocatingly pretentious. She had to dodge several swipes at her ass, a handbag from a wife who thought she was flirting with her husband and she also had to resist the urge to break the noses of the men who wolf whistled at her. “a Dhia, maraigh mé anois..” she breathed before putting on a happy facade while they were handed their masks.

“Hand made by Mr. Cohen himself, just for you, his esteemed guests” the door man explained, bowing “please put them on before you enter”. Ryan and Eilis glanced at eachother, not wanting to seem ungrateful but also hating the fact that Cohen’s handcrafted masks will make them stand out like sore thumbs covered in freshly harvested Adam. Ryan’s was a beautifully painted bear, covered in golds, copper and silvers with very intricate designs. In short it was absolutely stunning and much better than what Eilis got, which was a wolf, painted in silver with outlines of gold and red on the sharp fangs that came out from under the snout. Of course.

Without any audible complaints, the two put their masks on and entered the party, the shotgun on the Pavlov dog’s back swinging like a tail as it peaked out from under the boa that extended a bit down her back, almost like a tail.

They were blinded by pure white light as they entered, till they were surrounded by a sea of animal masks watching them intently, the music being too loud to hear the chatter. “Andrei, forgive me for being blunt, but what the hell did you and Cohen do for you to agree to this?” Eilis asked through gritted teeth, thankful for the fact the mask hid her expressions. “I don’t like your implication. He is my dear friend and it is his birthday, nothing more” Ryan insisted as they started to make there way down the stairs. Eilis rolled her eyes “implication? Andrei implication implies I’m guessing something. Your fly was down, you had lip stick stains on your shirt and a wet handkerchief in your trash”. “And how do you know those aren’t from Diane?” He asked her surprisingly calmly, which got him a calm answer of “the lipstick was red. Hers was pink today if you hadn’t noticed. Sander went in with makeup and came out clean faced.”. He scoffed slightly as they reached the bottom “you were always a bitch for detail” though that was normally an insult she knew he was trying to be endearing, “then my nickname makes sense. Next time do clean up before you need me to save your skin, I would greatly appreciate it” Eilis kept her tone calm as she noticed the people down here seemed a lot more sober and determined on watching them. Christ, where were Cohen’s boys? She needed someone she could properly tolerate at this party. In fact where was Sinclair? He had this ability to keep her calm without choking her with the metaphorical leash around her neck like Ryan.

“Do you remember the first party you ever accompanied me to?” Ryan suddenly asked, his guard dog giving him a curious glance “the one Tadgh threatened to quit over if you didn’t?”. She swore for a moment she saw Ryan genuinely smile, but he quickly caught himself “Yes, but it ended up being rather entertaining. I felt like a father watching his daughter dance at a wedding. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as engrossed and happy in a moment as you were at that party. It was one of Cohen’s as well I believe.” He reminisced, practically engrossing himself in the memory. Eilis was young and scarless, giddy at the idea of dancing and dragging her brother away from his post and onto the dance floor to swing around like children at the back of a party when they should have been asleep. Her laugh was intoxicating and her grin was contagious, he remembered even finding himself grinning and swaying just ever so slightly.

Suddenly the gruesome image of his original bodyguard’s last moments crossed his mind, lying there in a bloody heap at his feet, hand extended up to him, begging “Bury me on the emerald isles and make sure she lives happily for me. Please Mr Ryan”. Had he kept that promise ? He was dragged from his thoughts by an engulfing hug from Cohen who seemed to barely stop himself from kissing the man “so lovely to see you Andrei! Delighted you came. Now the fun part of the event awaits, but first a portrait! Or three” he rolled his wrist while he spoke, gesturing the two to a waiting set in front of easel.

Ryan grimaced, though the mask hid most of it as the two approached, Ryan sitting on the plush seat and crossing his legs while Eilis followed Cohen’s various orders of “prop your gun against the chair, lower that lovely fur tarp of yours.. yes yes stunning!… chin up!” He rolled up his sleeves as he went to paint before he hesitated, muttering “something is missing..”. He quickly marched over to the two, taking off the masks he’d so delicately crafted and tossing them somewhere to find later. He forced Eilis’s chin up a bit more, plucking out a few stray hairs to look more natural before simply smoothing out Ryan’s tie and going back to painting. His eyebrows were still furrowed as if he’d forgotten something, or was still searching for something. Yet he continued, getting paint all over himself and his finest silk suit, finishing a canvas before moving quickly onto another, Silas appearing to carry it away, Eilis only getting a glimpse of their perfectly painted figures but blurred out faces smushed into the shapes of rabbits before Cohen whistled at her so she’d retrain her sights.

After about two hours of sitting there in silence while everyone else thoroughly enjoyed themselves, Cohen being fed drink, pills and powders while he worked, he finally finished his second canvas, whirling it around to show a picture perfect painting of Ryan with Eilis’ hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t help but scowl slightly as he’d made her do such ridiculous things just to paint her hand.

The painting has its own little Cohen flares, of course, like the odd wild brush stroke and what Eilis was sure were little purple blotches peaking out of Ryan’s shirt collar, she would have thought of these as fanciful artistic licence, though she never paid attention to the man’s neck, maybe they were there. She wasn’t confirming or denying her suspicions. “Stunning” was Ryan’s only comment which made the artist weak in the knees as he walked by, Eilis going to do the same till he stopped her “hold on my dear. Who said you won’t be painted alone as well? It is an honour for me to paint you, is it not?”. The pavlov dog swallowed a bark of protest, wrinkling her nose before smiling and apologising “of course. Sorry Mr Cohen”.

Cohen followed her back to the chair and physically posed her, seemingly trying to make her elegant yet intimidating at the same time, strategically placing strands of hair and her hands, even opening her shotgun as it leaned against the chair for some added flare or ‘challenge’. She didn’t dare question his decisions, just sat there and watched, spotting Ryan swaying with Jasmine out of the corner of her eye. She knows she shouldn’t judge but has Jasmine got a little plumper? Not in a bad way, she just wasn’t used to seeing the girl’s stomach in her skin tight dresses. Another whistle from Cohen dragged her attention back, he loudly complained “and I thought my disciples had wandering eyes”. She barely resisted an expression she didn’t want him to see, wondering if that was a dig at her brother and martin’s relationship. It better not be.

Just when she’d gotten comfortable enough to zone out she spotted something swanning past Cohen that just dragged her attention away. It was Frank, and he had some girl on his arm who was dressed to the nines. She was one of the wealthier member of Rapture’s daughters, the thing was barely older than twenty two and obviously just desperate for attention and a husband to spoil her rotten, while all Frank wanted was a ride and apparently to get Eilis attention, which he did. Smirking as they made momentary eye contact, he whispered something in his little floozy’s ear which made her giggle as they rushed off to a close corner of the room.

Cohen looked up to find Ryan’s guard dog’s eyes wandering again! How impractical. He followed her line of sight to see what the hell she was staring at now, till he saw exactly what it was, her ex-lover currently eating the face off some young thing he often sees at his shows with new boys each time. Eilis seemed to allow her expression to slip for only a moment, and it wasn’t jealousy, it wasn’t anger, it was just understanding heartbreak. He felt sympathy for her, having often felt the same when he’d see Ryan clinging onto one of his mistresses when all he wanted was a drop of acknowledgement. Poor thing, but when life gives an artist such rare and painful inspiration he must seize it, memorising her expression before she caught herself, returning to the same expression he’d originally requested.

He smudged his original work into a muddled background, measuring with his thumb steady against his paint brush her proportions from the chest up. He painted with vigour, glancing back every so often at Frank and then to where Ryan once stood, before he’d rushed off to a more private spot with Jasmine for inspiration before continuing. The portrait was coming out almost angelic, Eilis’ expression captured in wonderful detail, eyebrows muddled on confusion as she resisted tears with a look of repressed and neglected longing. But something was still missing, and he couldn’t tell what. He chewed on the end of his paint brush till it cracked as he tried to figure out what it was.

While Cohen contemplated, engulfed in his artistic plight, Eilis took one more glance at Frank and his new girl to see them on the move, the girl tugging at him like a child which seemed to annoy the shit out of him, making him swat at her slightly but she was persistent, till they got to the stairs, where he actually went to shove her. Eilis rushed to catch the poor thing, getting her just in time to stop her from hitting a table nearby but just shy of the girl smacking her elbow off the bannister. She stood her up and glared at Frank “I think you should leave sir. You’ve had too much to drink”.

“I barely have a buzz” Frank rolled his eyes as he looked her up and down “what was that about not having a claim doll? I’m pretty sure I see my name all over you right now”. “Frank. Leave or I will make you” she told him more sternly, he just smirked. With that she went to grab him by his sleeve, only to be pulled harshly off the stairs by her wrist, looking back to see Reggie. “Sorry. Jobs a job” he seemed to half apologise before punching her in the face, making the party goers in attendance gasp and go dead silent as the Pavlov dog stumbled back, cradling her nose with one hand, pulling it away to see bright red blood staining it.

She glared at Reggie like a rabid dog, the bright crimson liquid running down and getting all over her pearly whites, making her look almost feral. Cohen and Frank seemed to be the only ones enjoying the situation so far, the artist getting a bout of inspiration as he started to mix the perfect shade for the blood coating Eilis’ face, while the businessmen just found her acting like that extremely attractive.

The young woman took a deep breath through her nose, huffing it out and making her face more bloody as she kicked off her heels and calmly walked up to Reggie. She acted like he was about to punch him, so when she threw it he focused on her hands, not the leg to used to take out his knee and send him into the freezing cold water of Cohen’s little island in the centre of the club. She heard Frank snort a laugh at the sight but she ignored it, stepping over Reggie and getting her shotgun. He started to panic, trying to get up buy slipping in the water. He then scrambled to get his own gun as he could hear her cock it, scrunching up her skirt and tying it in a knot so it rested just above her knees and not in the water. She gave him a bloody smile, calmly stating “eye for an eye” as she slammed the butt of gun into his face, breaking his own nose with a loud crack followed by a string of curses as he clung to it before scrambling away.

Eilis wiped away a drop of blood trying to escape her nose with my, sneering it across her face as Ryan appeared, obviously just having thrown back on his clothes from hearing the commotion, watching Fontaine, his date and his bloody bodyguard leaving up the long spiralling stairs. He then turned to Eilis, who still looked absolutely feral as she calmly put back on her heels and fixed her dress. “You look disgraceful” he sounded like he was stuck in disbelief, as if he was wondering why she did this. This was her job, he really shouldn’t be surprised. Normally she would have shot the guy but just breaking his nose was enough payback for tonight. “That’s what a bloody nose looks like, love. I can go to medical and be back within the hour” Eilis replied calmly.

Her employer glared at her “You are dismissed for the night. We will discuss this in the morning, I want you out of my sight!” He snapped, the onlookers they had before going back to chatter as they were obviously still earwigging on the conversation. Eilis glared at him faintly as she collected her things, not even giving anyone there a second glance as she left. “I don’t understand why you reacted like that. You should be thankful! She helped me find what this piece was missing” Cohen cooed, trying to show Ryan his updated works but he wasn’t interested, making the artist pout. As Silas came back to get the other canvases, Cohen caught him by the shoulder, ordering “send Fitzpatrick and Finnegan after Ms Donovan. She deserves a reward”.

Silas didn’t know what his boss was implying and he didn’t want to know if what his mind was suggesting was correct, he just did as he was told, sending the youngest and oldest of their little miserable quartet on their way. After catching the girl, dodging several swipes of irritation and a shotgun shoved back at them, they calmed her down before promising they’ll drink the night away in her apartment after they clean her up. After buying enough whiskey to fill the Great Lakes and enough medical supplies to patch up an army because Kyle didn’t know what he was doing, they got back to Eilis’s, cramming in and squeezing together on her little couch.

Cohen’s youngest disciple gently cleaned the blood away, grimacing as he saw the side of her nose was split. He mumbled “Stienmen can fix that, but I think you should rest tonight and go in the morning. What do you think Martin?”. Martin just nodded in agreement as he poured her a full glass of whiskey and shoved it in the Pavlov dog’s hand, “drink up. He hasn’t even used that stingy shit yet”.

With a defeated sigh she did as she was told, throwing back the glass quick enough to make a seasoned drinker blush, before facing the pain head on, letting out little hisses of agony as Kyle mumbled apologies. “I’m assuming you’re over the bald bastard then? Since you looked ready to kill him if he stayed” Martin commented, Eilis going to reply before gasping in pain and grabbing Kyle’s wrist out of reflex before prying her own hand off. “I’ll take that as a maybe. Still, you should try for someone else. I’ve known you since you were twenty, you have no interest in that doctor fella” Martin told her bluntly, as if he were stating fact. She managed to get out a quick reply of “rapture doesn’t have options” before she clenched her teeth as Kyle attempted to not make the situation worse.

Martin shrugged, leaving back as he poured himself some whiskey, commenting “tá roinnt leicne duga dathúla i mBaile Átha Cliath síos ag na hiascaigh. díreach tá tú cineál” Kyle gave him a confused look, wondering if the man had a concussion or if there was a reason he was speaking gibberish. Confusing the poor man more, Eilis joined in on his gibberish as she asked “mo chineál?”. Her brother in law grinned “sea. tá a fhios agat, na fellas leis na súile tolladh, airm mhóra láidre, lámha garbh. whisk ya ar shiúl cosúil le sean-sióg” he did a strong man pose and as he spoke, chuckling as he sipped his whiskey.

Eilis sucked in her lips as she resisted a laugh, giving Kyle a sympathetic look for being left out of the conversation, “Tá mé ró-aosta le haghaidh sióga. Stop leaving Kyle out, he can’t understand a word you’re saying love”. Martin waved a dismissive hand at her, making her roll her eyes and sip at her recently filled glass as as he continued, Kyle shoving little cotton sticks up her nostrils, “ansin cén fáth go mbeadh gnéas agat le macánta chomh fada?”.

Eilis chocked on her drink, covering her mouth to stop herself from spitting on Kyle as she forced herself to swallow, coughing a bit as she tried to get her voice back “fucking hell… Táim sásta go bhfuil feabhas ag teacht ar do chuid Éireannach, ach tarraing coileach, a Mháirtín”. Martin grinned happily to himself “all I wanted to hear my love! And trust me I would but sadly they’re your type down there. Not mine”. “I’m not putting one of those anywhere near my mouth” Eilis tried to glare at him but Kyle made her keep her head straight, sighing “at least I can understand you now…” as he applied compression bandages to stop the bleeding.

“Your brother said that too, and he was full of shit” Martin teased, barely dodging a swift kick at his shin, shouting at her “your heels are pointy, fuck off!” As he kicked back, missing on purpose. “You’re both acting like children” Kyle reminded them as he sniffed at his whiskey like it was some sort of alien object. “Kyle, darling you’re the baby of the group, you don’t get a say in this” Eilis teased, leaning back to rest her head on his shoulder, the group bursting out in chuckles as Kyle tried to drink his whiskey before letting it dribble back into the cup, scoffing “it tastes like fucking arsenic!”.

After about two bottles worth of whiskey each they were passed out on Eilis’s couch, Kyle happily curled up in one corner while Martin and Eilis were half on top of eachother, sort of like a cat sprawled across a dog much bigger than it just because it was warm. They would have stayed like that till Eilis’ pneumo screamed at them at whatever ungodly hour of the morning, pulling them from their cozy bliss, but Eilis was actually woken by a repeating sound, like someone was throwing rocks at her window, which was impossible since it was at least 300 fathoms below the surface.

She sleepily got up, pushing Martin’s limp arm off her and stumbling to where the noise was coming from. In her bedroom she sleepily watched a stagnant blob outside her window. Assuming it was a giant squid she went to go back to the couch, till her eyes adjusted to the dark and she realised it was a diver with a large rock. As she stared at him in confused shock as he hit her window again, a large crack forming, sprawling across the glass like spider web, water dripping from the cracks. As he raised to strike again, she was woken by a sudden burst of adrenaline, snatching an audio diary off her desk before letting the door slide shut, locking it as she heard the glass give way and a rush of sea water hit her door, leaking out from the crack underneath and quickly filling the room up to her knees is freezing salt water. The boys quickly woke up, rushing to the front door only to find it locked, not budging no matter how hard they tugged or kicked at it.

They continued to try, Martin settling for slamming his shoulder into it in hopes it would break or someone would hear, while Kyle started to hyperventilate, the water reaching their waists. Eilis quickly grabbed her shotgun, putting the audio diary in between her teeth as she fired at the door, knocking a little chunk out but not big enough. She scrambled to get more ammo, grabbing a box of phosphorus bucks she had hidden on top of her fridge for an emergency, quickly loading them and aiming. “Don’t those just light things on fire?!” Kyle screamed at her in a panic, standing on furniture to stay out of the cold. Eilis didn’t answer, shooting the door three times, little red pellets sticking to it and fizzing as Martin scurried back onto the couch, the water still reaching his hip. Eilis stood on her table to save herself and the audio diary between her teeth.

Just as the water reached her chin, the boys treading water to stay afloat as they were lower than her, there was several loud pops, and her door gave way, the water rushing out and taking them with it, pushing them out over the balcony walk ways and into the now waterlogged court yard of her little apartment complex. They shivered and heaved from the cold, Kyle trying to calm down an on coming panic attack while Eilis tried to regain feeling in her body, still not taking the audio log out of her mouth, her body still being afraid to drop it for fear it get damaged.

Martin however seemed to be thinking as he took a shivering breath, asking “eilis… would Frank ever kill someone just for disrespecting him?…”. She wanted to defend him, saying “no of course he wouldn’t” but he would, and she knew he would too well. He’d shown her. The question was would he do it to her? She didn’t know the answer to that, and that absolutely terrified her.

Chapter Text

Down by the docks of Fontaine fisheries, three men sat smoking behind the empty crates, hidden from view.

“You finish that job you were mumbling on about?” The smallest of the men asked, looking like the human version of a scruffy mutt you’d see wandering the streets, the somehow more feral looking of the men asking in return “yea! You do the job or what? We need the money” scratching rabidly at the crook of his arm that was littered in needle marks from too many plasmids. The more put together of the three grinned and nodded “of course! You know I know what I’m doing, they’ll think it was a freak accident. Bitch had a leak in her apartment and weak glass anyway. Was bound to happen. We should get paid within the week” he smoothed back his hair as he spoke.

The men chuckled darkly as they enjoyed their cigarettes, only dragging them from their lips when they heard the floorboards creep. Their eyebrows unanimously furrowed as he looked at the source of the noise, “you hear tha-“ the smallest went to ask, only for two gunshots to ring out, all but the more put together of the three dropping dead as the Pavlov dog calmly hopped over the crates. She was still drenched but now in fresh clothes, her boots causing the docks to shake as she landed. She holstered her magnum and took off her shotgun, a look of malicious intent in her eyes. Eilis was known for her usual dead pan expression, but the expression of pure rage made the man want to shrink away into the shadows for fear she’d rip his throat out.

She stepped on his dead friends without a care as she forced him to back up against the wall, pressing her shotgun against his chin, “let’s have a wee chat, shall we?” Her tone told him he didn’t have a choice in the matter, and before he knew what was going on, he was in a small office in Hephaestus with Andrew Ryan himself, his head of security, his guard dog and Rapture’s top surgeon. He was tied to a chair while he watched what was going on; The surgeon looked bored, twirling a scalpel about as if he were an art student that needed to occupy his hands, The head of security was sipping at his now lukewarm coffee and the Pavlov dog had been sent to the corner like a bold mutt. She was glaring at their captive like she wanted to maul him, and he was half afraid she would.

Ryan calmly sat in front of the man and explained “I’m sure you know why you’re here. What I need you to be aware of is the fact that I am the only thing standing between her mangling you till your own mother won’t recognise you” he gestured to Eilis, “and this man getting a new subject to practice his surgical techniques on till I give you the right to die” he then gestured to stienmen before knotting his fingers together and resting his chin on them “If you want to avoid those equally painful fates, I’d suggest you start to talk. I can only keep her leash short for so long before my hand begins to cramp”.

Their captive scoffed, glaring at Ryan “she butchers my friends.. and you want me to talk? You must have a screw or two loose, your highness”. Ryan sighed through his nose and kept the calm tone, asking “I don’t believe you know the true meaning of that word or are aware of what she could have truly done if she were not under a time constraint at the time, but you are entitled to your opinion in my city. Now, answer me this, why did you try to kill my bodyguard ?” Ryan queried, only to get spat at, it hitting him directly in the face, instead of an answer. He took a deep breath, wiping it off with a handkerchief as he ordered “Ellie dear, go for a walk”.

With that Eilis took his place as he moved to the front of the room with Stienman. Their captive grinned, assuming the girl was going to take a knock at asking him questions, but she didn’t. She began to just speak to him casually, too casually “when I was younger, my grandmother always lectured my brother about getting too close to the river by our house” she began, keeping her ryanised voice as she rolled up her sleeves “she warned him, because our aunt drowned there when she was two. Granny didn’t want the same to happen to me.” She hesitated as she seemed to momentarily get caught up in the memory, but she caught herself again as she rolled her wrist to make it crack. He grimaced. “So, growing up my brother would tell me stories, about little fairies who would pull you into the water by your hair and drown you if you went alone, but he twisted grannie’s story. He promised that if he’d come with me he’d kill the fairies with rocks so I could be safe in the water.”. The man rolled his eyes and yawned dramatically, only to tense up in surprised as Eilis sat on his lap “you reminded me of that story. Except you switched everyone else’s roles. Now I’m the one who has to keep people safe and your the disgusting little goblin pretending to be a fairy and attacking those I love” she calmly took something out of her back pocket, spinning it around her finger as she watched him.

He opened his mouth to speak, only for her to grab the side of his face, shoving her thumb into his mouth and back to the farthest part of his jaw so he couldn’t close it, she continued “you could have just tried to kill me, I wouldn’t have gave a shite. But no, you went for one of the kindest souls in rapture and my brother in law, like a fucking moron. I believe this is a good start to the shit your going to go through wether you play along or not” she stopped spinning the item to show it was pliers, getting straight to work and grabbing a molar in his mouth, giving it a sharp tug as a warning. 

“Give me a long groan for yes and short one for no” She suddenly sounded oddly chirpy as he forced him to tilt his head back and slowly started to pull at the tooth “did you try and get rid of me so Ryan would he easier to kill ?” Long groan “good. Are you working under Fontaine ?” He hesitated before letting out a fake sounding short groan. “I didn’t think it was possible to be a liar if you couldn’t speak. Humanity really does amaze me sometimes” She shrugged, ripping out the tooth and dropping it on the door, leaving him to writhe in pain. “Doctor, make sure he doesn’t bleed death and do four more on the back row. I’ll be back tomorrow for the bastard” she instructed, dumping the pliers on Sullivan’s desk and cleaning the small amount of blood off her hands off her shirt.

“Are you not going to say goodbye to your lover properly?” Ryan queried, he was obviously trying to catch her in her own lie. She resisted a sigh, of course he was still suspicious. Fuck sake.

Reluctantly she went over to Stienmen, accepting cheek kisses before she left as fast as she could, dragging Sullivan by his sleeve. “Even after all that he doesn’t trust you?” Her companion chuckled as he quickened his pace so she’d let go, she let out an annoyed groan as she rubbed at her face “apparently I can’t control my ‘womanly urges’ and he fully expects me to jump on any man who calls me a pet name. Fucking prick”. “So he’s making you stick with the doctor?” Sullivan asked softly as they made their way up the multiple levels of Hephaestus, desperate to get away from the heat. “More like he wants me to be with someone he has enough trust in, because apparently I can’t even have control over that. The only thing I have left in my life that I can control is my thoughts, when I get to die and the fact that I will rot before I marry that absolute psychopath. And I’m not even definite on the second one” Eilis patted at her pockets, desperate for a cigarette.

Sullivan gave her a sympathetic look, thinking back to only a few months ago when she used to gag at the mere concept of one, pulling out his own pack and offering her one, she reached to take it but hesitated when she saw the look he was giving her. “That Doctor lamb isn’t helping you at all, is she?” His voice was almost a whisper. Eilis shoved her hands in her pocket and sucked on her teeth slightly, ignoring how suddenly acutely aware she’d become of her body’s crave for an Eve-nicotine rush “I’m just sick of doctors telling me things I already know… thank you for the clothes by the way. I’m freezing”.

Sullivan quickly caught on she wanted to change the conversation and followed “you’re just lucky I’m shit at laundry and forgot to throw those shrunken pieces of shit out” he forced a chuckle and they continued to make their way to the bathysphere “You got anywhere to stay or is Ryan making you sleep at the foot of his bed in a basket?”. “Tempting, it’d be more comfy than my bed. But no, you’ll never guess who offered me a place to stay” She actually seemed to smile genuinely, so he bit “who?”. “Don’t you want to prove me wrong? Guess” she turned to him as they waited for the bathysphere to surface.

He sighed a little too dramatically, starting to throw out names. “Finnegan?”, “as lovely as my brother in law is, his apartment is the size of a flea circus, no”.

“Fitzpatrick?”, “poor boy doesn’t need my issues waking him at night” the sound of rushing water caught their attention as the great metal ball surfaced, bobbing slightly while the two entered, Sullivan continuing to throw out guesses, getting determined to find an answer.

“Diane?”, “nope.” The bathysphere sunk and shot off in a specific direction, making their ears pop.

“I’m running out of people you can tolerate!” He teased, sitting down, “Sinclair?”. Eilis sat beside him, looking slightly worried as she muttered “I actually haven’t heard from him at all lately”.

“I’m outta guesses. Who?” The older man gave in, taking a flask out of his pocket and taking a swig, only to choke on it when he got his answer “Cohen”.

“Ex-fuckin-scuse you? If you were a fella I’d get it but the fuck is he gettin outta you?” He explained, closing his beloved flask so he didn’t lose anymore of the previous liquid inside. “In his own words he ‘feels great sympathy for my plight and wishes to use it for inspiration for his muse’. In return I get to sleep on his couch which is more expensive then everything I’ve ever owned times five. Oh! And he wishes to ‘practice the female form’ for a client who is commissioning him, and apparently i’m less feminine than most of rapture’s women so he can ‘mentally cope’ with having to see me constantly” She explained dramatically, putting on a voice for anything Cohen had said to her. Sullivan resisted a laugh, making it come out as a snort “lemme get this straight.. you’re lettin Cohen paint you in whatever way his fuckin ‘muse’ wants in exchange for sleeping on one of his shitty expensive couches ?”. She nodded.

“… ya know for a moment there I thought you’d changed but nope. You’re still the naive little shit I met over a decade ago” he shrugged, going to take another drink. “Fuck off” Eilis laughed, snatching his flask off him to have a drink of her own “you’re just jealous I no longer have to pay rent”. “I ain’t selling my privacy just for a place to sleep kid” he shot back, grabbing his flask as soon as she’d finished her sip. Eilis smirked slightly, thinking the fact he genuinely believed they had any human rights like privacy was hilarious. Well he did have more than her but still, working for Ryan and living in rapture meant you were human until someone said so, Sullivan was just lucky he hadn’t lost his yet.

After about an hour of sorting through her items that had been pulled for her apartment, first finding what they had to throw away and then deciding what she didn’t need, Sullivan spotted something. While Eilis wrung water out of clothes and he loaded items into boxes, he found the audio diary she’d saved. Her grip on it had been both so gentle and so hard the tape wasn’t damaged bar indents of her sharpest teeth, scribbled on an old piece of paper glued to the front was “a city under the sea”. “Why’d you save this of all things?” He asked calmly. Without answering she pushed a somehow undamaged accuvox over to him with her foot before continuing her work.

He gave her a confused look, picking up the damn thing and sticking the cassette into it, waiting for it to play as he got back to work, but he stopped when he recognised the voice.

“Eilis me darling! How’s fresh air? We should be back with ya in less than a week but I know ya can’t go so long without my lovely voice so I decided to send you a little gift! No clue what the feck they’ll call these things yet but they’re like little diaries. Ryan wants people using them to document shite but I managed to woo one of the lasses trying to sell ‘em to the builders, just for a little message for you!… Christ your gonna fuckin love this place, it’s a city under the sea! You can see everything… god it’s stunning. They’ll have their own currency down here so we may be in one of the cheaper places for a bit.. but hey! No more competition! Ryan’s promising jobs for life! We’ll be living in the lap of luxury in a few months tops!…” Tadgh’s voice rang out chirpily, accent thick and unrestrained, background noise of people chatting and the sound of construction was faint as he walked through areas while he spoke, dodging planks and yelling back at people who walked into him.

It was so odd to hear his voice after so long, and so clearly, like he was right there in front of them. “Fucking prick… sorry love, you know builders. Sticks up their asses when they think they’re doing something important. Anywho, it’s fucking gorgeous! You’ll love it. I’m gonna sneak this in with all those tricky feckin documents Ryan’s sending back. I swear, they all look like gibberish to me, no clue how you understand that shit… I’ll be home soon with some new records, we should go to that steak place you like on fifth! I’m sure you are absolutely dying for a break” he went quiet again as a muffled voice sounded like they were giving him orders “right… I gotta go mate, but I will see you soon. Love ya more than the emerald isles” you could practically hear him wink with his tone as the tape ended.

The dead silence in the room was broken by a sniffle followed by a muffled sniffles as Eilis had her back to him. She straightened up as she composed herself “I um.. I haven’t listened to that for a while… but the idea of never hearing his voice again was just too much… please don’t tell Ryan…”. He walked over and put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a supportive squeeze as she wiped away her tears quickly with her thumbs. “I’d never. I got all your stuff packed away, give yourself a minute or two and we can drag it off to Cohen’s” he reassured her, for a moment actually seeing that innocent young woman who sat at the desk guarding Ryan’s office, unable to handle conflict and hiding behind a pulled up sleeve as her brother pulled faces from behind their employer’s shoulder. She was upset, she was scared and she was tired. All she wanted was her brother to walk in and tell her everything would be ok, she wanted to be held and sadly Sullivan knew no matter what he did it wouldn’t feel the same. He gave her one last supportive squeeze before stepping out of the room to give her privacy, hearing her hit play again as the door shut.

Meanwhile in Mercury suites, Cohen was pacing his apartment with a glass of Merlot in one hand and a letter in the other, reading the rather long list of specifications his latest commissioner had asked for. Cohen was never one for subtly but good god man, no need to be so honest. It made him cringe slightly as he folded it over, dumping it on a nearby table and pouring his merlot down his throat just as he heard his front door open, causing him to look back, catching the sight of the Pavlov dog and Ryan’s head of security entering with two boxes each.

“So good to see you darling, I’m glad you took my offer. You can leave your things in the library till we have a more… humane living situation for you” he gestured loosely towards his library of books that were decorative at this point, the two doing as there were role quickly before Sullivan gave a hushed goodbye and was out of his apartment before Cohen could even fain polite conversation.  “That man was always strange..” Cohen sighed, glancing at Eilis as he noticed her hair dripping water on the floor. He rolled his eyes and tossed a towel at her so she could wrap her hair up “please don’t drench my floors dear, it’s a nightmare for my slippers. Sea water eats through the velvet. Sit on the couch when your done” He warned her before swanning over to his aisle to start prepping it.

After wiping up the water trail she’d made in the floor she rung out her hair before fluffing at it slightly so it dried properly and sitting on the plush couch she’d be sleeping on for foreseeable future, admiring Cohen’s strange paintings, tilting her head and furrowing her browns as she tried to figure out what some of them were as it wasn’t fully obvious from first glance. She was focused on this until Cohen walked up to her and grabbed her by her face. She glared at him faintly “please let go of my face” she slightly demanded but he didn’t, moving her head around by her chin as if he were examining it in different lights “Sander…”. “You were crying. You don’t normally do that” he stated rather strangely, noticing the tear stains on her cheeks “was it over a man? Don’t tell me it was over that Fontaine fellow”.

“No, it was over my brother” She assured him, finally swatting his hand away as he threw them up in the air and clasped them together “Ah yes! Thomas… my, he was a real buiscut wasn’t he?… though of course you can’t agree with me, he was kin after all… something about Irish men is just fascinating… Why were you sobbing over a man who’s been dead for years ?” Cohen mused, holding his chin as he stared at her. She went to get defensive but caught herself, trying to articulate her feelings for once “imagine if… Andrei died. How long would you mourn someone that special to you?”. “Oh decades and decades darling. Till my last breath, he deserves nothing less” The artist admitted as he went back over to his canvas.

“I will continue to do the same do Tadgh… because he deserves the world tied up in ribbons and dipped in gold” the young woman mumbled, getting a chuckled scoff from Cohen “my my, when did you become a poet?”. “Long term exposure to such a phenomenal artist is rubbing off on me I suppose, how do you want me?” She swore her comment dragged a smirk out of him as he began to paint “relaxed and calm. I need practice with your form before I get into more creative works. Try not to fall asleep, I want to capture those fascinating speckled eyes of yours”.

Eilis genuinely tried to stay awake, but now that she was warm and comfortable she couldn’t help but let the drowsy state she’d been in just a few hours ago slip back as she was desperate to close her eyes. She rarely got time to sleep, so her body knew not to waste it. She was woken up around two or three hours later to find herself lying on the couch, a jacket laid over her to keep her warm and someone sitting on the velvet foot stool that has been resting in front of her. “Shite did I wake ya? I was just checking you were breathing” it was Martin, she smiled sleepily at him “I’m fine… you? Get over the shock? I know you like the cold”. He chuckled slightly “yea, I’m grand, love. You get any answers?” She shook her head, being in and out of conscious and not fully apart of the conversation. 

“I haven’t seen you sleep properly in ages. You must be shattered” he teased her slightly, Eilis humming as she thought “I’m always shattered… I slept nice with Frankie though…”. Martin was slightly shocked to hear this but decided to pry more “why? He slip you something to help you sleep?”. She shook her head again, pulling the jacket more over her torso “no.. it just felt nice to be in his arms… in his stupid silk sheets.. waking up with someone there.. even if it was only every so often…”. His eyebrows furrowed slightly “you not have that kind of relationship with Stienmen?”. Eilis seemed to hesitate, before letting out a small “no…” adding “I didn’t have nightmares with Frankie…”. 

Martin swallowed a lump in his throat and quietly asked “do you still love that murderous bastard?”. “Do you still love Tadgh?…” she shot back, her eyes dropping again. “More than you’ll ever know… go back to sleep” he replied, but she was already gone. After a moment of making sure she was in fact breathing, he answered Cohen’s beckoning, quickly going up back stairs as Eilis’s words played over and over again in his mind.

By the next morning Eilis was completely unaware of the conversation she’d apparently had with Martin as she was up and out the door before he could even follow up on it, making her way back to Hephaestus and her attempted murderer. Sullivan and Stienmen were waiting for her but surprisingly instead of Ryan, it was Sinclair. He smiled warmly at her, greeting her with a cheeky “hey hun, you miss me?”. “Like a bullet to the chest” she rolled her eyes, greeting Stienmen with a simple glance as she went to Sullivan’s side. “Since you get a lotta those, I’ll take that as a compliment” Sinclair grinned as he calmly walked over to their captive, lightly kicking at his shin “feelin talkative today, son?” Getting a mumble of a response “I suggest you start talking to me in ways I can understand, boy, or would you prefer I let Ryan’s doggy loose on you now that she has the energy to do some proper damage”.

The man reluctantly looked up at the southerner and growled “the hell do you want to know?” Half afraid of what the girl would do after what she’d done yesterday, and that was her when she was tired? Fuck. “Who are you workin for? I know a certain someone asked if it was Frankie, but our lovely doctor says you recanted that statement” The southerner probed calmly as he gave stienmen a glance as he moved across the room to Sullivan and Eilis, who were sharing a cigarette.

“How are we doing today my love?” He asked calmly, glaring back at Sullivan when the man gave him an obvious look of distain. Eilis took a long drag from her cigarette, blowing the blue tinted smoke in Stienmen’s face on purpose as she smiled at him “oh I’m in a beautiful mood”. “You don’t fuckin look it” Sullivan teased, avoiding an elbow to the side as Stienmen continued, playing the role of the concerned lover “and why is that dear?”.

“No matter what he says, I either get to release a lot of pent up aggression on someone who deserves it, or I get permission to punch Frank in the face. It’s like Christmas” Eilis just kept grinning to herself as she tapped off the ash off her cigarette before passing it back to Sullivan. “At least you’re in a good mood, that’ll keep Ryan happy” Stienmen mumbled as he glanced at his watch and then to Sinclair, calling out “are we almost done here? I have surgeries waiting”.

“Oh yes we’re fine doctor, we don’t need your services, run along!” Sinclair told him with a dismissive hand as he went back to speaking hushed whispers with their culprit. “Thank the goddess..” the surgeon side, seeming to grimace as he realised he had to do something, kissing Eilis softly before he left. When he was gone, Eilis used Sullivan’s sleeve to scrub her lips red raw before spitting on the floor. “You could at least pretend to like it” he reminded her, eilis looking at him suspiciously “who do I need to pretend for? You know and Sinclair isn’t thick”.

“I’m plump darlin, no need to deny it” The southerner chuckled as he stood up, stretching and cracking his back slightly, making Eilis snort “I means stupid, love”.  “I’m that too when duty calls” with a roll of his wrist and a crack of his knuckles Sinclair got straight to business “sadly it’s not Frankie, so sorry for you hun. But in fact he was paid by, in his words, ‘a blonde little tizzy with a daddy that has hands of gold’. That ring any bells for you darlin?”. Sullivan’s eyebrows furrowed before Eilis nudged him like she got an idea “Maria Phillips”.

He blinked at her “who?”. “Maria Phillips, daughter of the bastard who manufactures pipes to rapture. He has these gaudy big gold rings on his fingers, fancies himself a mob boss because his wife’s third fuckin cousin was Italian” she tried to remind him but rapture’s head of security remained confused.  “And what does that little thing have to do with Frankie?” Sinclair asked since Sullivan wasn’t contributing anything but looks. “I think she’s his latest bed warmer, but she wants to be more. I stopped the poor thing from her skull cracked open when he shoved her” reality suddenly clicked “she sent someone to kill be because she thought I was competition. That cunt”.

“Don’t be cruel. Either way you still get to take your anger out on someone if you don’t mind hitting a woman” Sinclair cocked his head slightly as he watched her reaction. A smile tugged at her lips as she took a sharp. Death to resist a laugh “love, some may not see it but I am a woman. If she won’t comply I promise I’ll keep away from that pretty face she loves so much.”.

John Phillips liked to think of himself as a powerful man in rapture, believing he had a lot of hold on the people he interacted with and over his ‘areas’ of rapture. Ryan may be the uncorinated king but Phillips was very very close to becoming the true one in his own mind, and with his family at his side no one could stop him. At least that’s what he had assumed until a feral looking woman he soon recognised as Ryan’s bodyguard burst into his home, incapacitated his security and his much stronger looking sons, now he was currently in his sitting room with her foot on his head, smushing it into his expensive carpet. It wasn’t painful, just a lot of discomforting pressure.

“Look what do you want! I-I’ve offered money! Power! Hell even support for Ryan and his batshit, what the fuck do you want?!” He shouted, gritting his teeth in pain as she put more pressure on his head. “Christ would you shut up? I’m not here for you or your shit” Eilis sighed as she leaned down, undoing his tie and using it to tie up his hands like she’d done to all the others “Where’s your daughter?”. “Out with some boy she’s head over heels for, why do you care?” Phillips snarled at her, only to be startled by the sound of his front door opening.

“Daddy?” A shrill voice called out. Phillips went to call out but Eilis put her foot over his mouth to shut him up. He looked at her face in terror, expecting her to be angry, but she looked hesitant, taking her foot off and stealing his handkerchief to wipe the slight blood off her hands. “Mr. Phillips is busy right now love, but we need to talk” she kept her tone calm despite the fact she was seething. There was that pretty girl who had been in Frank’s arm, now that Eilis got to see her properly instead of vague glimpses of her and a quick glance after making sure she wasn’t injured, she noticed that Maria was everything she wasn’t.

She was scarless, petite, feminine, docile and stunning. It honestly made Eilis self conscious just looking at her, and the fact she was with Frank wasn’t helping her mentality at all. She tried to rationalise why she was so upset, besides the fact this woman had tried to kill her, indirectly putting those who she cared for in grave danger, she had no reason to be mad at this woman. Eilis herself had ended it with Frank, as she had every right to since he refused to apologise like an absolute child, so why did the mere concept of someone better than her being with him make her stomach churn? She pushed those feelings down as Maria gave her such a terrified look, like she’d seen a ghost.

All the urges to punch the younger woman, abusing the fact she was also a woman and social norms be damned, melted away at the look. All she wanted was answers. “Why did you want me dead?”, Maria didn’t even seem to hear her as her breath quickened while she noticed her family and those who worked for them all tied up around the room. Horror stories she’d heard about what happened to those who failed to kill this monster in front of her started to replay in her mind. She swallowed hard as her body shook, hearing Eilis repeat her question. Angry tears filled her perfect blue eyes as she scrunched up her face, huffing slightly as she started to shake “you have no right…”.

“I do. In fact this is one of the few I have. Now answer the question please, I’ve been very nice today and I don’t want to ruin that” The Pavlov dog warned her, putting her foot on Phillips’ chest, applying pressure until he yelped as a reminder. Maria just seemed to get even angrier as she crossed her arms “God I hate you…” she snarled. “You can’t hate someone you don’t know” Eilis reminded her, only for Maria to scream back “Oh I know all about you! He doesn’t shut up about you… even the stuff in the papers… god, he is obsessed with you! You’ve ruined everything!”.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what your talking about” Eilis calmly defended herself as she took her foot off Phillips’ chest. “You don’t deserve him.. you don’t deserve anything, you shouldn’t be here!” Maria continued to scream, Eilis rubbing at her ear from the shrillness of her voice. “Ms. Phillips, tell me if I’m understanding you correctly, and please do excuse me for being vulgar but” she kept her accent slip back to its natural tone which seemed to make the younger woman recoil slightly “you sent someone to kill me over a man I amn’t even fucking anymore, all because he is an incessant man child and treats ya worse than a whore he doesn’t even want. Did I get all the details correct mate?”. Maria’s nose wrinkled as she heaved her chest for a moment before she went to smack Eilis across the face, the stronger woman catching her by her wrist before forcing it back to her side.

“thank you for confirming my suspicions.” Eilis forced a smile as she made Maria turn around, taking the handcuffs she’s borrowed from Sullivan and using them to restrain her “you are under arrest for solicitation of the attempted murder of me, Kyle Fitzpatrick and Martin Finnegan.” She was about to continue on the whole spiel till she was cut off by Maria scoffing, making her go silent “he has a painting of you..  and he’s getting more. He doesn’t even look at me without comparing me to you..” she snarled at Eilis, “he even says your damn name every time we…” her anger suddenly started to drag out sobs and she silenced herself.

Eilis turned her around and stared at her for a moment “I’m sorry, could you repeat that first bit again?”.

Chapter Text

Eilis wasn’t sure how she’d gotten dragged to a dress shop straight after her shift with Jasmine Jolene of all people, but she was here so she may as well indulge her a bit. “Love.. what are we doing?”. “You got invited to Sinclair’s party right?” Jasmine asked calmly, her head buried in a dress rack as she searched for the right size. God she was too tried for this… “Yes.. what did he call it? His pre-new years bash?” Eilis glanced at a nearby clock before returning her attention to Jasmine, something deep within her telling her to take special care of the woman. She didn’t know why. “Exactly! And you need something to wear” Jasmine began, removing her head from the clothing maze it was in to sternly say “and don’t say you don’t! The nicest thing you have is from that bastard Fontaine. How are you gonna get over him if your covered in him hm? Doesn’t make sense to me” Eilis let out a small huff and just nodded, starting to understand slightly why Ryan was struggling to pick between two woman she was slowly starting to see are identical in personality. Still didn’t excuse it though.

After getting several outfits thrown at her and having vivid flashbacks of the outfit Diane gave her, that she could no longer wear since a crab had laid eggs on several parts of it and she didn’t want it anymore, she wondered if Jasmine went for a more modest look like she had. Most likely not and Eilis was half afraid of that. Before she could even get a proper look at the layers of dresses and tulle she was holding, Jasmine gasped like she had an idea and snatched them away, hanging them back up and dragging Eilis from the shop by her wrist. “Jasmine?” She called out to her but the woman was in a determined daze, marching her across Fontaine’s department store to a suit tailors. Eilis stopped dead in her tracks, making Jasmine almost stumble like she’d been pulled back herself, looking back at her companion with utter confusion.

“What are we doing?” Eilis asked her in an odd moment of deja vu, Jasmine rolling her eyes as she answered “you just love that question don’t you? I was gonna stick you in a lovely little number but realised that’s what everyone is expecting, ya know? So we’re gonna do the unexpected! And get you a suit. Hand made of course so it shows that lovely… figure of yours” she made a strange gesture, Eilis giving her a faint glare as she knew what she was implying. “I already wear pants every day love, it won’t be too much of a shock” Eilis reminded her, getting a dismissive wave as Jasmine continued to drag her into the shop. The tailor inside seemed to be about to tell them to shoo since they were two women, but seeing it was two of the most famous woman with high connections to Ryan he treated them like it was Ryan himself in his shop, only giving the odd repressed grimace as Jasmine described the perfect suit as it was made on the spot on Eilis’ form.

The Pavlov dog zoned out while they did this, not giving an opinion or paying attention since she didn’t want to go to this party anyway. She would have rather gone for a swim and then slept, knowing she had work with Ryan and Cohen in the morning, so she wouldn’t get even another moment of rest, but Sinclair was her friend and good to her when he didn’t have to be. She was going to be polite to him, not wanting to lose someone she genuinely considered a friend. When she’s come back to reality, Jasmine was asking her a question as they sat in a bathysphere, halfway back to Mercury suites, “Sorry, what?”.

“Do you like it? I know you love pulling that stone face but genuinely. Do you?” Jasmine asked, seeming a little self conscious, making Eilis glance down at the bag, not being able to tell what the suit looked like since it was wrapped in paper covered in little birds, so she lied “of course I do”. The grin Jasmine gave her told her it worked, leaving them in a comfortable silence. Eilis turned her attention to the window out to the sea, but still noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jasmine suddenly put a hand to her stomach like something had happened, rubbing small circles and shushing it before going back to admiring her own shopping results like nothing had happened.

Was she pregnant? She couldn’t be right? She wasn’t sleeping with anyone bar Ryan these days, and the man himself always gave the lecture to poor Eilis about being safe despite being very aware pregnancy wasn’t an issue she’d ever have to deal with. He’d know. Despite being a prick he was a man of his word, so why weren’t they engaged? Why was he still with Diane? Did he know? She was conflicted because it was both none of her business and all her business at the same time. She didn’t want to bother Jasmine about it in case she wasn’t, or even if she was, what if she wasn’t keeping the poor thing? But she needed to know if she now had to worry about keeping a baby alive as well as keeping Ryan alive. She can deal with one tantrum at a time, coping with Ryan sulking over not being the top businessman constantly while he refuses to look after his own screaming child sounds like absolute hell. After a few more minutes of inner conflict, Eilis decided to leave it alone, only bringing it up if it becomes more of a concern or ryan actually mentions it.

Jasmine refused to leave the bathysphere with her when they finally docked, saying “I just have to make a stop off at the doctors. I’ll see you at the party!” Making Eilis’ suspicions only grow. She let her be though, returning to Cohen’s apartment, delighted no one was there but a very grumpy looking Martin planted on her sleeping couch. “You just missed him” her brother in law stated bluntly, taking a drag from his cigar as he pulled the blanket he had draped over him to cover himself more. “I’m not here for him” Eilis’s replied, unpacking her suit to admire it, feeling the shirt was silky, which she found she absolutely adored. “You’re wearing a suit? Why?” Martin queried, craning his neck to get a better look “because Ryan can go fuck himself. You can do whatever you want in rapture right? I already dress like a man, why not go full circle?”.

Martin snorted a laugh as she went into the library for privacy “you are just like Tadgh you know that?… you he wanted to wear a dress when we got married?”. “He did? Why didn’t he? He would have been stunning” Eilis called back her reply as she changed her clothes. Martin shrugged slightly “just decided against it. Possibly because Ryan was coming to the damn thing. Didn’t want to disappoint him”. He could practically feel Eilis scowl as she made a hum of disappointment before emerging. She rolled her foot slightly from discomfort as she walked, hating the feeling of the leather shoes and the thin sides cutting into her heels, going to Martin with a tie. He stared at her for a moment before she admitted “I don’t know how to tie one”.

He resisted the urge to laugh, patting the space beside him for her to sit. After doing what she was told he popped up her collar and did her tie with an intricate knot for decoration, making sure he could fit two fingers past it like a dog collar before folding her shirt’s collar back down. After that, without letting her get up, he unbraided her hair from its complicated style and fluffed it, making her head a wavy, curly mess before making it more organised. He made a proud little “tada” gesture when he’d finished. Eilis just trusted his judgement, pecking him platonically on the cheek as she got up, putting on the best that came with the three piece suit and abandoning the jacket since she simply didn’t want it. She considered taking her shotgun for a moment, but it’s her day off, she wasn’t working if she could help it.

She admired herself in one of the long mirrors Cohen had built into his walls for a moment, genuinely feeling rather confident, mentally admitting Jasmine may have known what she was doing when she was getting Eilis measured. Her confidence was swiped when she remembered she had a date to the event. Stienmen. Fuck. She reminded herself they weren’t in a real relationship so his opinion meant jack shit before going out the door, decided to get the rapture metro as another little ‘go fuck yourself’ to Ryan. She wrapped her hands around the strap and waited as it brought her all the back way out to Fontaine’s department store, hopping off and going down to one of the lower floors till she found the large restaurant Sinclair had recently bought and cleared out for the event.

She flashed her invitation before entering, admiring the more modern and less artsy design of the place, how most of the tables had been cleared to create a dance floor and it had a downed balcony that went out onto the sea just where the orcas would dive for fish.

While she was distracted by her new surroundings, she was suddenly embraced in a bear hug, which made Eilis tense up in panic until a southern voice made her realise it was Sinclair “Good to see you! Barely recognised you in that three piece hun, really suits ya” he compliment her, pulling away and keeping his hands on her shoulders as he admired her “though I’d brace yourself for Ryan, you know he’s the traditional sort”. Eilis lightly patted one of his hands as thanks, replying “it’s my night off, I don’t have to care what he thinks. Where’s the bar?”. Sinclair chuckled, moving to her side and wrapping an arm around her frame, not being able to fully do her shoulders since she was slightly taller than him, “a girl after my own heart! You sure your not mine?” He teased, dragging a laugh out the Pavlov dog as they ordered their first round of drinks, the young woman immediately going for hard whiskey like it was a reward for even coming here.

Just before she could enjoy whatever kind of buzz she could get after once drink with her high alcohol tolerance, Stienmen and Ryan with Diane on his arm entered together, Jasmine trailing behind like a scolded child. Eilis scowled at him, mumbling “couldn’t fucking pick one tonight, Andrei?” As she stole the rest of Sinclair’s martini before ‘happily’ walking over to the group. “Good to see you haven’t fallen apart since I left” she joked with Ryan, bowing her head respectfully to him like he was a king. “Yes… you’re choice in outfit is-“ he tried to comment but she cut over him “stunning, I know” her smile twitching as she realised she actually had to talk to Stienmen, “what do you think darling?”. The doctor’s eyes seemed firmly fixed on her waist before he drug them up to her face, putting on a soft smile as he assured her “absolutely divine, my goddess”.

That comment threw both Eilis and Ryan off, the younger of the two checking the doctors eyes to see if he was high, but from what she could tell he was sober.

“Thank you…” she responses hesitantly, relaxing when Ryan put a hand on her shoulder to grab her attention “Diane and Jasmine have gone off to dance with others, social standing and all those things women care about.. would you join me for a dance?”.

It was a strange request, Eilis had assumed he’d refuse to even touch her if she showed up to the party in the wrong attire. She simply nodded, wanting to get away from Stienmen and his all too real lustful glances. Ryan linked arms as they walked to the dance floor that was slowly swelling with people, whispering to her “Fontaine is here.”. As he said that she finally noticed him, watching her from the bar as he swirled his whiskey around the glass, smirking slightly. She rolled her eyes, focusing on not stepping on Ryan’s toes as they started to dance, staying wordless as they both kept up the act of refined individuals.

Frank weasels his way into the dance floor, spinning some poor girl around and being as over dramatic as possible, almost hitting Ryan with the girl once and apologising to Eilis instead “Sorry doll, didn’t see ya there” winking before spinning away. Ryan gave Eilis a warning glare as he noticed her cheeks flush, a reminder not to listen to her heart but listen to her head. “Hearts are what cause revolutions, and there are no need for those in our society, or any for that matter.” He stated calmly as it was time in whatever dance they were doing for you to change partners, Eilis spinning as she was taught to, stopping when she felt someone catching her, realising it was Sinclair she actually smiled “good catch”.

“You’re a sturdy one, I’m sure you’d have been fine” He chuckled, putting a bit more feeling into the dance and helping her avoid Frank on purpose as they talked “you know he’s been gettin some strange orders lately. I saw ‘em coming up past here while I was settin up the place. Look like paintings” Sinclair stated casually.

Eilis’ eyebrows furrowed as she calmly replied “what are you implying love?”. “Doesn’t Cohen paint you instead of you paying rent?” He asked, she nodded, seeming to realise something. “Do those paintings stay in his place?” Sinclair made sure to keep her for the next change so they could finish this conversation, shoving some poor girl away with his shoulder. “He burns them” Eilis sounded so sure, but her face said otherwise “except for one or two… they were left in the library till they just.. weren’t..”.

Sinclair let out a little sigh “and what were those two depicting hun?”. “Nothing awful. One was a little sultry, my shirt was open and off my shoulder.. the other was some weird feral thing like I’d eaten some poor bastard.. you don’t think he-“ Eilis began right query, getting snatched away by her wrist before she could answer her own thoughts or Sinclair could give an opinion. She was ready to punch whoever it was, only to see if was Stienmen, making her reluctantly lower her fist.

“Yes?” She went bluntly, confused when he let go of her wrist and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him, “going a little over board with the affection aren’t we mate?” She commented as he went to kiss her neck, putting a hand on his forehead to keep him away. The doctor reluctantly pulled away, looking confused but annoyed “how will we make others believe if we refuse to be publicly affectionate, my goddess?”. 

The hell had gotten into him?

They’d agreed this was all for show and not to put too much effort into it, why is he suddenly so obsessed?

He’d never want her this close usually if he could help it. All the goddess talk usually implied he was high, but he seemed perfectly sober. She would have also said sane but she wasn’t sure if the Stienmen she knew ever fell into that category. “Have you had anything doctor?” She queried, keeping her hand ready to push him away again, properly this time. “Not a drop. Currently I am one of the soberest men in rapture my love” he insisted, Eilis breaking away from his grip, brushing herself off “of course you are, go get a drink. Realise what you’re implying and i’ll see you in an hour, alright?” Eilis ordered him, making her way through the crowds as fast as she could and do that little domed balcony area, which was currently empty.

When she got there the world fell silent, like she was in her own little heaven of quiet. She enjoyed it for a moment, admiring the ocean and the chubby baby orca that swam past, snatching up a fish and happily swimming back to its mother for praise. She enjoyed the silence for a moment, letting her thoughts gather back together before brushing her hair back with her fingers and patting her pockets for her cigarettes. She didn’t bring them sadly, so with a little huff and disappointment she just decided to enjoy herself, until someone decided to ruin it.

Frank had spotted Eilis & Stienmen’s interaction, originally watching out of jealously, but after seeing her annoyed yet disgusted expression as she broke free, he decided to follow her. When he found her, she was in her own little world, admiring the beasts of the ocean and absentmindedly patting her pockets for cigarettes she didn’t have. He slipped beside her and pulled out a cigar, offering it casually which caused her to glance at him.

“It’s better than that eve shit you’ve been smoking, let’s share. Like we’re pals” he offered, lighting it and taking a long drag, tapping off the ash before offering it again. Eilis seemed to hesitate, giving in and taking a drag herself, seemingly unaware she lay her head on his shoulder as she did so.

“You and the doc have a falling out?” Frank suddenly broke the silence as it was his turn with the cigar again. Eilis glanced at him, realising he’d been watching “no. I’m just not a very affectionate person”. “In front of others, sure, behind doors we both know that’s a different story doll” Frank chuckled, blowing smoke rings in a slight attempt to impress her. It got her to smile slightly, so he’d take it. “Not anymore..” was the only reply he had before she snatched the cigar off him again, holding it in her mouth as she cracked her knuckles and shined her ring off her vest. “You ever take off that damn thing?” He asked quietly, not a drop of malice or manipulation behind it. “Not for a second” Eilis mumbled, blowing the smoke out of her nose as she offered him the cigar, which he rejected, causing her to leave it in a nearby suspended ash tray.

The two stood there in an oddly comfortable silence for a moment, resting their hands on the bannister of the balcony lazily as Frank asked “you’re staying with Cohen, right?” She nodded, wondering where he was going “he’s painting you I believe. Offered me one or two, I was tempted but nothin compared to the real thing” he winked at her slightly, wondering if she believed him. She remained stone faced. She knew he was lying now since two people had mentioned him possibly having paintings of her, she didn’t know wether it was flattering or creepy. Whatever it was she would rather be around him than Stienmen right now so she was willing to tolerate it.

Suddenly he pulled something out of his pocket to show her, it was the delicately folded front page of that morning’s paper, he handed it to her, urging “I know you don’t read the papers anymore but look”.

She gave him a warning glance that he knew meant if this was anything she thought it was he was dead. After folding out the large page she read the headline “FONTAINE RETRACTS PAVLOV DOG NIGHTS OF ROMANCE CLAIMS! says they were just lovers on the side and he was bitter about losing her Dr Stienmen, catch it all in this exciting issue”. “That’s a lie” She called him out, but he just waved a dismissive hand, “I still retracted all of my shit. Didn’t you say that’s all I had to do to win you back?” He cocked his head as he spoke. “And apologise” she reminded him, making him let out a dramatic sigh “I’m guessing tellin you I’ve opened free clinics, orphanages and poor houses won’t get me any points huh?”. Eilis shook her head, grinning and taking the cigar again as she offhandedly commented “it shows that sweet side of you I miss though”.

“Oh” The business man grinned, sliding his hand along the bannister and over her free one, she didn’t pull away or grimace, she actually flipped it over for him, “so you do miss me in some way?”. Eilis blew smoke in his face but he didn’t mind, smirking slightly “that’s all you’re getting out of me sober, love”. With a roll of his eyes and his growing grin, Frank snatched back his cigar, offering “how about I buy you a drink or ten then?”. “Not a hope in hell” she told him honestly as she went back to admiring the ocean, interwinding their fingers. They could faintly hear music coming from the party but it was muffled just like everything else.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles to grab her attentions as he bluntly asked “stay with me instead if that old crack pot”.

Eilis laughed slightly, making him faintly glare at her “I’m fine with him for the moment love. I stay rent free so I can actually afford things now, and he’s very entertaining”. “I didn’t say you’d have to pay rent” Frank flicked his cigar off the balcony, it just falling to the bottom of the glass dome where more would soon pool from inconsiderate people. She turned to face him slightly, cautiously prying “and what are you looking for trade then mate? I know you too damn well to assume you’re doing it out of the kindness of your heart”. Rapture’s best con man fained offence “oh you wound me, Ellie” smirking when she did that little annoyed expression and nose wrinkle he loved so much. He freed his hand from her loose grip and wrapped it around her waist, gently pulling her closer as he wondered “what do you think I’m looking for?”. Eilis was about to jokingly throw out guesses till she was slightly pressing against his body and could feel exactly what he was talking about.

She normally would have made a snarky comment, or even just a flirty one, anything, but all her mind could come up with was “Jesus Christ.”. “Wanna ditch this and make a downpayment? I miss the sight of you under me my darlin’.” He whispered in her ear, bringing back that damned accent that made her melt, feeling her knees go weak as she tried to keep herself composed. She found she couldn’t get any words out, just embarrassed noises as she tried to gather her now wildly scattered thoughts. “How about I help you with those words?”  He mumbled, tilting her chin up as he leaned closer, Eilis finding herself letting her eyes shut and being ready to accept the kiss.

“Eilis?” A voice shattered their romantic moment, making Eilis shove her old lover away in a panic and Frank look like he was fit to murder someone. It was Stienmen, of fucking course. He was latched onto her side like a tick before she could even properly react, asking “what were you doing with her, Fontaine? Don’t you have other girls to wind and your money hungry fingers?” He cocked at eyebrow while Frank just scoffed and left. Eilis rubbed at her temple slightly, still not being able to think straight or wind her emotions back in check. “You didn’t have to do that” She muttered, started into silence when she felt lips on her neck, whipping around out of his grip to stare at him, she couldn’t even think of anything to say bar looking bewildered as she rubbed at her neck.

“Why haven’t we done anything?” He asked much too calmly for what he’d just done. “Excuse you?…” Eilis babbled, like she didn’t fully understand what he said. “Have sex. Why haven’t we had sex?” He started to pace towards her as he spoke “I understand you started this relationship just to feel like you were getting back at Fontaine and keeping Ryan happy, but we’ve been at this long enough that we aren’t faking, are we?”. Eilis backed up till she was practically about to fall off the balcony’s bannister, almost sitting on top of it. “What are you getting at?” Eilis asked cautiously as she glanced out to the party, hoping someone would notice. If they had notices, no one was coming, probably assuming Rapture’s latest ‘power couple’ were having a moment to themselves.

“I know I often called you hideous, and I apologise for that. But recently as I’ve let Adam expand my mind, I’ve seen my goddess… and I’ve noticed you are on your way to becoming her, you’re almost identical” The doctor quickly used this an excuse to grab one of her hands and to caress her face “I no longer wish to make you my plan of perfection, as you are your own kind of such a thing. Littered with scars, not the usual female figure… you are my goddess divine, I should have seen it sooner” he brushed her thumb across her cheek, Eilis having no room to pull away for threat of falling. “I’m not your damned goddess..” she hissed, trying to look away but her head was dragged back to look at Stienmen’s love sick expression. “Aphrodite has chosen you to be her vessel so we can be together! Do you not see how glorious this is? By the will of the goddess and the test of time you will soon look like her, I won’t have to even touch you” he cooed, Eilis finally managing to slip away from him and try to leave, getting tugged back by her wrist.

“Don’t think this means I don’t adore you as you my love. I do in your own special way, that is why I am willing to sink my reputation even more by proposing. Imagine, Ryan will be delighted you marry a true rapture man. I can keep you away from any corrupting forces and soon you will look like the goddess herself” he sounded deranged, he was gripping her wrist so hard she felt like she would have a permanent mark of his hand to stare at forever. “Doctor I don’t want to even think about-“ Eilis tried to brush him off but he tugged her forward and cut her off “All I ask is you let me experience passion with my goddess, through you. If we do this, I swear I will never touch you with a scalpel again”.

The Pavlov dog went dead quiet as she looked up at the ‘sky’, considering her options. Normally she’d say no, kick him off, maybe even rough him up a bit and abandon the party, but the promise of dropping the part of their original deal that had her terrified of getting shot for the fear of waking up unrecognisable was so tempting. “I… I don’t…” she hated struggling to get sentences out, it made her feel so vulnerable. When her thoughts finally became clear she hated the logic answer; Just. Say. Yes.

“Fine… just don’t leave me looking like I got attached by a herd of leeches..” she gave in, Stienmen grinning like a psychopath as he rushed her away to the private bathroom across the restaurant and locked the door. Eilis did the same thing she’d done when she was out with Jasmine, letting her mind wander somewhere else and her body just go on auto pilot, not wanting to experience this. She realised she actually did this a lot, those ‘famous’ interrogations of her’s that she rarely remembered, she just let her body do the work it knew to do, only tuning in fully if someone talked to her or if she really felt like the bastard deserved it. Her first month down in rapture had been fully on this autopilot mode actually and it hadn’t ended too horribly.

This was different. No matter how hard she tried she could feel everything that was happening, she was only mentally ignoring it. She could only assume her body was reacting more positively since Stienmen was just getting more eager. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to think of something else, anything else. Christ, she’d take watching Tadgh die all over again rather than deal with this. Thankfully her brain didn’t bring her back to that, it instead made up a fantasy with Frank. It seemed to have decided if she was going to go through with this and had no intention of stopping, it may as well be with someone she likes. She clamped a hand over her own mouth, both to keep herself quiet and to stop herself from saying the wrong name, before returning to her sultry daydream. Though there seemed to be no point to that since she could faintly hear Stienmen calling out for his goddess, even if it was only for a moment.

She was in Frank’s game room, pushed up against that plush red chair he always sat in while he smoked, which he was doing as he made her feel like absolute heaven. He had this intoxicating smirk on his face, making sure she was enjoying it as much as himself before suffocating her with tobacco & cologne perfumed kisses, pet names galore being whispered in her ear and against her lips whenever he broke for air. She was thoroughly enjoying the moment, completely absorbed in it, till she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. For a moment she thought Frank bit her, but she was reminded this was her escape fantasy, why would he do something she had reminded him she hated.

Show came back to reality to find herself on the bathroom sink, her back against the mirror, pants down and hanging off one of her feet, no clue where her shoes were, Stienmen having a firm hand on her thigh as he tucked himself away. He had blood in his teeth as he panted, finishing zipping his pants before brushing his thumb over the soft part of tissue where her neck and shoulder met, making her flinch away from the pain, covering the area with her hand. “Sh, sh, shhhhh… I’m only adding to your beauty, no need to look so worried” he pecked her cheek as he pried her hand away, brushing his thumb over the perfect yet mangled bite from his bloody perfect teeth into her even more bloody and slowly purpling flesh. He pulled some medical tape and a cotton bandage from his pocket, almost like he’d for planned this, cleaning and dressing the wound before caressing her cheek “sadly I have a dental surgery in twenty minutes, but I did enjoy our little rendezvous. I cannot wait to do it again my goddess” he went to kiss her but she turned her face away. He didn’t seem to notice, kissing her temple instead and leaving her there.

Eilis sat there in shock for a moment, feeling gross, sore and used while she pulled her pants back up and looked at herself in the mirror. She tried to fix her hair but her hands were shaking. After a quick curse under her breath she buttoned up her shirt, frowning that her tie had been ruined and abandoning it on the floor with her vest that had been ripped open and the buttons had flown off somewhere. She found her shoes by the toilet and after managing to tie her laces after struggling for a few moments she went out to the party again. Everything was so loud it made her ears hurt and she felt dazed, she stumbled her way out of the bathroom and found herself by Ryan who didn’t notice her over his whiskey.

When he finished, he grinned at her, saluting her with his glass “Dr Stienmen has informed me of your decision to elope. I’m proud of you for finding a true rapture man” he put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged away, and though he wouldn’t verbally admit it, that worried him. “Shall I get you a drink to celebrate?” He offered, leaning against the bar, Eilis calmly ordering “three fingers of whiskey and vodka”. “Bit extreme.. but I’ll allow it” he gave her a cautious glance before turning to the bar tender to order.

Just as she was finally about to get herself back in check, her heart rate calming down, someone touched her again. She flinched and had to physically tense up to stop herself from punching them, how hard was it to see she didn’t want to be touched? She glanced at the person to see it was a man, a man she vaguely recognised as one of the older sons of John Phillips. “Yes?” She exasperated, already losing her patience since he didn’t move his hand, “you think just cause Ryan’s got you all high and mighty, you can do whatever the hell you please?” He spat at her. She just gave him an annoyed look, going to walk away till he went to swing at her. She was just going to take the punch and release all her frustrations out on the guy, till he got punched so hard in the jaw he stumbled away and fell to the floor.

“Frankie?” Eilis called out in confusion, wondering what the hell he was doing. Frank slipped off his jacket, tossing it somewhere as he rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles, getting a sadistic smirk as he approached the dazed man. He pulled him up by his shirt collar, starting to beat the man relentlessly as Ryan returned with Eilis’ drink. Sinclair also appeared to check on her, linking her free arm and checking if she’d been injured before watching the carnage. She didn’t even hear him, in fact she didn’t hear anything but a constant sharp tone as she took her drink from Ryan and sipped at it. The sounds of the world filtered back in like rushing water as Ryan, very flustered, asked “aren’t you doing to do anything?”.

“It’s my day off, and Sinclair’s party. He has staff in hand. I don’t have to do shit” She replied cooly, watching a true rapture man in her opinion beat some entitled prick much more than he actually deserved, but it felt so good to watch. Very good.

Chapter Text

Stienmen had proposed that morning, in the middle of Arcadia, while Eilis was doing her rounds with Ryan. People ooed and aahed, even Ryan broke a little smile. Eilis however remained blank, slipping off the ring as soon as she was out of sight. While Ryan used the moment to stroke his own ego she slipped away to her brother’s statue and sat at his feet, just wanting to feel comforted. If he was here, he would have refused Stienmen, right? She hoped so. She normally hated traditionalism but right now she was begging for someone in her family appear and use their belief that they have a right to give their opinion on who tries to marry her to get her the hell out of this situation. When Ryan finally found her, she didn’t bother to put the gaudy diamond ring back on, following him around rapture in absolute silence, only giving vague noises of response when absolutely necessary. He didn’t seem to notice, even though his paranoia made him catch onto slight changes nowadays.

Maybe he was ignoring it on purpose. Hopefully.

Hours passed like seconds and before she knew it, it was late in the night. Rapture’s lights had dimmed to fit the aesthetic and they were in Ryan’s office, the young woman standing obediently at his side as he filed through papers, both enjoying the comforting quiet of his office. It was rather cozy this late with Ryan’s crackling fire, one of the few in rapture, the faint sound of a record hummed in the background, put on a low volume so he could focus, and the warm light that filled the room. After being alone with his thoughts for a moment, Ryan glanced over at Eilis to finally notice she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, but she still had on that strange signet ring she’d been wearing for months at this point. Strange…

“Where’s your ring?” He asked calmly, grabbing her attention.

“Hm?.. oh. Just didn’t feel like it love” she responded casually, making her employer’s eyebrows furrow, repeating “didn’t feel like it? Do you not want to marry him?”. Eilis just gave him a soft smile, like she was leaving him up to his own interpretation. “Then why did you say yes?” He asked in an annoyed tone, “I didn’t. I just nodded and you all took that as a yes” she defended herself with a shrug, making Ryan sigh and start rubbing at his temples. “Why did you accept the damn thing then?” He half snapped at her, pouring himself a three fingers of whiskey.

“I have my reasons. None of them are your damn concern… besides you know I don’t want to be married anyway. I have no reason to get married since my life is much better without having to listen to some entitled shit who thinks he can dictate what I do because he put a ring on my finger and said some lies in front of a priest” Eilis half explained, pouring herself a full glass of whiskey since sweet christ she needed it. “We don’t have religion or religious figures in rapture, so you won’t have to worry about such a thing” Ryan remidjed her as he sipped, his guard dog quickly glaring at him. “How many times do we have to have this conversation Andrei?” She sighed. He rolled his eyes, adding “I never saw you as the traditional sort. Are you truly upset that you don’t have ‘family’ down here to witness such a thing? No father or brother to walk you down the isle? No mother to badger you while you get dressed?”. Her reaction, confused annoyance, made him smirk slightly.

Wanting to get back at him she changed the subject, but just ever so slightly “someone mentioned that lovely rumour about us today”. “Which?” Ryan asked simply, pouring more whiskey and finding a cigar which Eilis lit for him with her fingers before continuing “the lovely one of Tadgh and myself being your secret love children”. He scoffed “tabloid tripe that it is… You are very aware that is false, so why are you bringing this up?”. Eilis resisted a grin as she knotted her hands behind her back and asked “what if you were?”, Ryan looked baffled “excuse you?”. She clearly repeated the question “what if you were our father? Would you treat us like human or no different? Simple question mate” she kept her tone monotone, watching Ryan struggle to grasp the question before it finally clicked and he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he glared at her. 

“Why are you asking such questions?” He huffed, but she pushed back “You’re bothering me for having a ‘traditional mindset’ because I want answers and that’s how questions work. You and Diane have been talking about having children for months, I’m putting you in the position of treating your disposable guard dogs as flesh and blood. Think!”. Assuming she was drunk, Ryan rolled his eyes but replied, sighing inwardly “first I would make sure you both weren’t just money hungry before I made contact-“ Eilis cut over him, causing him to lean back in his chair and smoke to keep himself quiet, “think like a father with human emotions and not a business man”.

He clenched his jaw to the point where he almost bit through his cigar, resting it in his ash tray as he took a second to think, wanting to get this over with. Finally he spoke again “Thomas-“ Eilis cringed at the wrong name for Tadgh, but he ignored her “-would be the eldest and the heir to my business empire on the surface, so naturally I would give him the most attention and simply because we got along better” he tutted slightly as he thought of the waste of life that was Tadgh and his tragic death “as for you, I would have most likely let you lead the life of a socialite in hopes for grandchildren, though you wouldn’t carry the name. I’d still be against you hopping from man to man, though I can’t control your actions”.

Eilis snorted a laugh as she sipped her whiskey “you would have been atrocious, good to know. Also don’t you dare throw that shit at me, you can’t pick between your two lovers and any other big breasted blonde who winks at you when they walk by”. Ryan actually stood up, staring her down as he harshly stated “I’d be better than your actual father. That man left you two with several mental issues, a hatred for authority, no respect and an itchy trigger finger”, Eilis shouting back “all of which keep you alive, you should be thanking him!” Feeling suddenly defensive of the man she hadn’t seen since she was thirteen. Ryan was silent for a moment, before he chuckled softly, sitting back in his chair, like he’d figured out something.

“I see… tell me, is this because you’re terrified of walking up the isle alone? Are desperate for a father figure or are you asking for him like some pathetic little wedding gift?  How childish of you. You miss him don’t you? Everything you’ve done has lead to this fained request. Fucking Fontaine, being blatantly disrespectful and disobedient like some rebellious lunatic and not doing what I pay you for, it’s all fatherless behaviour, isn’t it Ellie dear?” He teased cruelly, almost sneering at her, Eilis not making eye contact with him as she hissed “stop belittling me…”. “So I’m right, fine! I’m a kind man, and understanding one even. If he is alive, which I highly doubt, I will bring him here. On the exception of two things” she looking at him as he spoke, using his fingers to get his point across “One; You fix your attitude and go back to being an actually decent bodyguard, and two; you don’t so much as glance at Fontaine again.”. Eilis scoffed, looking like a child holding back tears, sick of giving up freedoms for one drop of happiness.

“Would you like that?” He asked her, suddenly very calm, “do you really want a failed revolutionary in your utopia?..” she muttered. “That isn’t what I asked you. Yes or No, Eilis. It was a simple question with an even simpler answer” he shrugged, Eilis cursing “prick..” under her breath. “I’ll take that as a yes. You’re excused for the night, clean your act up by morning” he sneered before going back to his work. She didnt argue, snatching up her shotgun and stealing a decanter of gin as she walked by. She chugged half of it before spilling it on his carpet and then smashing it on the floor just outside the entrance to his office as an extra little fuck you. Sullivan witness all of this but knew better than to stop her, just stepping out of her way before kicking the glass down little cracks in the metal.

Eilis for once walked home, not taking a single bathysphere or metro. Angry tears threatened to fall but she repressed them as she slipped through crowds of people on happy nights out, making sure to go through Fort frolic to make sure Cohen was home before slipping away to Mercury suites. She was disappointed to find Cohen’s door was locked, which was strange since he never locked it when he was home doing nothing, claiming he wanted his disciples and Ryan to be able to walk into his sanctuary freely. Then she remembered him mentioning that if it was locked, it was done for a reason, and that reason she didn’t want to see.

Eilis simply sunk against the wall, letting her knees tuck up as she waited, hoping either the door would open or sleep would take her. Maybe One of the boys would slip out and she could stay at theirs for the night, not on the couch, forced to hear about Cohen’s sexual escapades while she’s trying to grasp at the few precious hours of sleep she had.

Just as she felt her head start to drop, a vague dream starting to smother her conscious thoughts, she heard something, an all too familiar chuckle. She glanced up to see it was Frank, smirking at her “Cohen finally kick you to the curb?” He teased. “No. I’d just rather not see what he believes is enjoyment” Eilis replied as she got up, cracking her back “what do you want?”. “Well if you ain’t staying with Salvador Dali over there, how bout you stay with me?” he offered, surprised when she genuinely seemed relieved at the concept.

“Say you’re sorry and I’ll think about it” She requested, seeming to reign in her relief to a more mildly pleased look. Frank wondered for a moment if she meant the incident at Sinclair’s party, but from the glare she gave him due to his silence he could tell it was the other thing. He rolled his eyes dramatically and gave in “fine. I’m sorry for damaging that heavily guarded reputation of yours. Do you forgive me?”.

She gave him a little smirk, shrugging as she walked past him and to his elevator, “I amn’t sure. Maybe some of that topside whiskey of yours will clear me thoughts”. Frank couldn’t help but grin himself, wrapping his arm around her waist as he put in the code, and she didn’t reject him, even when he commented “how about my offer from Sin’s? I’m still willin for ya to make down payment now till your ready to move in” just getting a quiet reply of “maybe..” as she rest her head on his shoulder while they entered the elevator. She seemed to just want to be held.

As they arrived Frank quickly got out, Eilis at his heels, the man determined to make them drinks and see if she was going to take him up on his offer. 

“Ryan throw anymore more tantrums today?” He asked teasingly, surprised when Eilis harshly cursed “he’s a fucking entitled cunt…” making him glance back at her.

She seemed to realise what she’d said but she didn’t take it back, she just rubbed at her throat as she thought, before muttering “Frankie I have to tell you something..”, “let me get a few glasses into me before ya do” he joked, but when he turned to hand her her drink, he could see she was very serious. With a slight sigh, he guided her up to his game room, sitting on opposite couches as Eilis downed her whiskey, ignoring the burn from it as she waited for Frank to be ready. As soon as he seemed comfortable she calmly said “I’m engaged”. He stopped sipping his drink momentarily, before continuing and commenting “I know. It was in the papers by noon… you don’t seem to happy about that, doll.”

“It makes Ryan happy.” She said half heartedly, Frank snarkily reminding her “last time I checked I wasn’t fucking Andrew Ryan was I?”. “Last time I checked we haven’t done anything for months because you couldn’t shut your gob” she reminded him harshly, before calmly admitting “It sounds like something you’d do. Something you could hold over his head forever” as she picked up one of his cigars, clicking her fingers to ignite a flame and enjoying a long drag from it before adding “though to my knowledge he isn’t one for taking it. Fears it’ll damage his ego, Sander’s words, not mine”. Frank laughed so hard he almost dropped his glass, barely composing himself as he looked to her with red cheeks and the odd laugh still breaking through, “Jesus, what did he do to piss you off?”.

“Too much. This fucking engagement shite isn’t helping” Eilis rubbed at her temple, Frank finally managing to compose himself and moving to sit beside her “I knew you didn’t love that bastard” he seemed so sure and proud of himself, but Eilis just looked hurt. She forced a smile with tears starting to dribble down her cheeks, whispering “I know I don’t. I feel disgusting..” she sniffled slightly as she straightened herself up, shrugging off Frank’s attempts to comfort her “Ryan is just confusing… I miss him being predictable. I can never tell wether he’s being cruel or kind… he offered to find the one bit of biological family I have left… but treated me like I was a feckin child.. I’m so confused Frankie” she let out a little sob but clapped a hand over her mouth to shush herself, taking a few shaken breaths before she buried her emotions terrifyingly quickly, wiping her tears away and seeming perfectly fine, muttering an apology.

Something clicked in Frank’s head as he saw that, realising she must be holding emotions in constantly for her to be that good at catching herself. It would have been impressive, if it wasn’t heartbreaking, even though he didn’t like to think he had one. He didn’t need one.

“I just want to be appreciated. I can deal with the names, the rumours, the violence. Everything. All I want is to be treated like with respect. If that won’t happen through common human decency, I don’t mind taking it through fear” Eilis calmly admitted, though she looked sick at the thought of her words. “I know how to appreciate you” Frank mumbled as he got closer to her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her. She brought a hand up to his cheek and stroked it with her thumb, smiling softly “I know.. you treat me like I’m made of gold. Even when you were being a prick”.

*

“Lemme do it again. C’mon. I wanna burn the touch of Stienmen off you” his tone grew husky as he practically pulled her onto his lap, Eilis not resisting, just getting comfortable as she faced him “you deserve better than me”. He tucked some of her stray hairs away behind her ear, assuring her “there ain’t no dame better than you. Let me prove that…” starting to kiss at her neck as he opened up her shirt. She still didn’t stop him but she seemed to be bracing for pain as he got lower and slid her shirt off her shoulders. He pulled away in slight surprise when he saw her shoulder.

“The fuck happened to you?” He fretted, stoping Eilis’s hand as she went to try and cover it. “Take a wild guess..” She sighed as she let her hand fall. “Looks infected doll..” he grimaced as he starred at the scabbed over bite mark, “sadly, the only doctor I’m allowed to go to wants to give me more…” Eilis rolled her shoulders slightly, wincing from the pain of her still bruised and healing shoulder before focusing back on Frank, “help me forget this under water hell hole for a bit, please frankie” she begged as she kissed along his jaw, loosely draping her arms over his shoulders and listening to the little grunts he made as she felt something slowly start to press against her thigh.

“you know if I hadn’t invited you up, I’d be thinking your using me to get back at that piece of shit” Frank chuckled as he felt her undo his belt while continuing to pepper him with kisses, mumbling “oh it’s the exact opposite love. B’fhearr liom sé a bheathú do na siorcanna..”. “I have no clue what you’re saying but fuck..” he groaned, kissing her passionately as he slipped his hands under her thighs to support, pulling away for air as he got to his feet and kissing down her neck as he brought them to his room, delicately kissing around the horrid bite mark Stienmen had left behind, like he was trying to resist the urge to get rid of it. He was half tempted to just bite over it, but he didn’t feel like getting shot and rebuilding the trust he had with her from scratch all over again when it was already more fragile then fine china.

He lay her on his expensive sheets as she guided his head back up, kissing him almost like she needed him to breath while she slipped her boots off so she could actually remove her trousers. Eilis didn’t even want to acknowledge the large frosted window Frank had looking out to the sea just shy of his bedroom entrance or the whales calling to eachother in the watery depths, she wanted to pretend rapture was nothing but a horrid nightmare.

Maybe she’d met Frank as he tried to do business with Ryan in his office and it’d started from there, maybe she was just adventurous and somehow snatched him up at a lavish party. She didn’t care whatever fantasy her mind came up with to cope, wether they were happily together or had secret rendezvous in his office by the light of New York’s constantly lit city skyline, she just wanted to feel like there was nothing in this world but her, Frank and how good he made her feel about herself in every possible sense.

The con man moved Eilis like she weighed nothing, repositioning her on the bed as he made a real show of slipping off his vest and suspenders, dramatically loosening his tie as he unzipped his pants so he could take out his aching cock. Eilis bit her lip slightly as she tried to resist a nervous laugh, knowing it would ruin the mood. That was one thing she hated about sex, she felt so vulnerable, and she hated that feeling. The feeling she could do nothing if something went wrong, even though she knew Frank would pick up on it before she even did and stop. After the incident with Stienmen her confidence was just none existent. She felt inexperienced and disgusting, and she just wanted to feel human again.

Frank could tell she wasn’t fully confident about this so he was giving her plenty of chances to say something. They’d done this enough where he could tell when she wasn’t saying no out of habit of not being allowed to have a proper opinion with Ryan, but she just seemed worried, she looked like she wanted to do this but she would have rather done it in the dark where she couldn’t see him. Christ, he wished he could kill that fucking crack pot, but he possibly needed him for any of the multiple plans he had going forward, so he couldn’t. After one of those was finalised and Stienmen lost his usefulness,Frank mentally swore to kill the bastard, chop off his family jewels and burn them in his personal fire place.

He got himself in between Eilis’ legs, lifting up her thighs so she’d tilt her hips up as grinding the tip of his prick off her cunt, getting a very positive response from it as she bucked against him and buried her face in a nearby pillow to stay quiet. “Why so tense, doll?” He asked with genuine concern as he kissed at her thigh, watching her cheeks turn a lovely peachy shade as she pulled her head away from the silk to look at him. “Just lost my confidence love. Don’t mind it” she reassured him, letting out shakey breaths and little gasps as he kissed up her torso and at her many scars while commenting “good. I don’t see why though… The way you look, no wonder men in rapture were jumping at the chance to lay a claim on this”.

Through her gasps she managed to get out an annoyed “Frank.” Knowing very well most of them were doing it to brag to friends and gain a social standing.

“I’m serious. Wanna know the reason why I lied in most of those articles?” The dangerous con man queried calmly, so close to her face she would just have to tilt her chin up to be nose to nose with him. Before Eilis could even thing of a possible reply, let alone form a sentence, Frank pushed the just the tip of his prick into her, rendering her dumbstruck as she braced herself off his strong arms. “I lied because I knew no matter what those sad saps daydreamed of, no matter how hard they tried from those shitty little articles, no matter the pathetic excuse of a story they told their pathetic excuses for ‘friends’-“ with each point he sunk deeper and deeper until their hips met, Eilis digging her nails into Frank’s flesh with a grip hard enough to bruise, letting out little moans like she were afraid the sea life would judge her, “- they’d never get to see the version of you I get to see. I don’t even think that fuckin doctor got to see my Eilis. And if I have a say in it, no one else will”.

“Jesus…Frankie” she moaned, trying to sound serious, “Darlin… if you don’t stop teasing me, I will switch our roles and ride your dick till it breaks in two” Eilis teasingly threatened through pants, making Frank smirk as he gave a cheeky reply of “remind me to take you up on that threat in my office soon” before giving her exactly what she was dying for.

Frank started off slow, getting familiar with all those sweet spots, reforming the map of Eilis’ body he had in his mind. As soon as he had a good enough idea he started thrusting in and out, hitting the perfect spot each time with the effeminacy of a machine built just for the purpose. Eilis held onto him to brace herself, closing her eyes out of a newly formed habit as the burning in her core just got hotter and hotter, becoming almost unbearable. The only thing to momentarily quench it was that moment where Frank would hit that wondrous spot, causing her to tighten and him to let out one of those low purring groans of his that were so deep she could feel her heart beat reset.

She didn’t know why her eyes staying shut, but she seemed worried to open them. The irrational thought of “what if I open my eyes and it’s stienmen? What if this was another daydream I’ve thrown myself in and he’s the one making me feel this good?” She couldn’t cope with that. It terrified her. She ran her hands up Frank’s shirt and over his shoulders, holding the back of his head like she was checking for the doctor’s well maintained hair, trying to feel the grease he used to style it on her fingers and tell if she were daydreaming. But all she felt was skin and slight stubble.

Frank had noticed, and while he was mainly focused on getting himself off and scratching the itch he’d had in the back of his brain to see Eilis pinned under him, something about her seemed off. He used one of his supporting hands on his bed to hold himself up, still pumping away as he used his now free hand to tilt her chin up. “Open those pretty eyes for me sweetheart… C’mon” he encouraged her, cupping her cheek as he felt his breath getting ragged, trying not to lose his pace. Eilis seemed to hesitate, Frank could feel her drag her nails off the back of his head and the nape of his neck before finally looking at him, revealing those speckled quail egg eyes he loved so much. “There you are” he sighed happily as he kissed along her jaw, Eilis smiling happily as she started to enjoy herself properly, tilting her head so he could get at areas he hadn’t kissed yet.

By the time he’d felt himself getting close to finishing, images of Eilis’ arching against him and babbling in Irish like she’d forgotten how to speak English entirely burned into his thoughts, his shirt off and tossed somewhere with scratches all over his body from her nails as she tried to ground herself, Frank barely being able to form together a sentence himself, he had left a signature of love bites from the shell of her ear, down her neck, over her chest and around that damned bite mark in an attempt to distract her from it. He would have spelt out his name if he’d had the patience, maybe even the shape of a middle finger just as a little surprise if Stienmen tried anything.

Maybe next time.

Oh and there would be a next time. He would make sure of it.

As they finished together, foreheads touching while their panting synchronised, Eilis prying her hands off his shoulders to cradle his face as he did the same with one of his own hands, keeping the other on her thigh like it had gone numb, the Pavlov dog sighed something that caught his attention, “I love you Frankie..”.

*

Frank chuckled, freeing his other hand and propping himself up above her “that’s new. Finally get the courage to admit fact doll?”. She laughed slightly, “I’ve said it before. Not my fault you didn’t hear or understand me” kissing him softly, not wanting to hurt more of their kissed bruised lips.

Why did Frank have to be such a bastard for hickeys and using his teeth?

“Mhm, sure you did” He teased as she pulled away, lying down beside her and smiling as she snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest “I fuckin adore you.. I miss you a bit too.” He shrugged, chuckling when Eilis lightly smacked his chest while he leaned over to grab a cigar for them to share, his lover lighting it for him before he could find his pants to find his lighter. He took a long drag, blowing smoke rings up into the ceiling above them as he continued “Eve dames just don’t have the same kick as you. You’re almost as addictive as pure nose candy” he admitted, tracing shapes on her shoulders as she looked up at him with tired adoration.

For a moment it was almost like the last few months had never happened and they were back to their little not so secret relationship just to piss off Ryan, he wouldn’t admit it but he was happy to have her back in his arms. Things are about time start finally falling into the right places and everything was going to get messy, he wanted to make sure to have a tight grip on her throughout, even if it meant kissing up to Ryan and whoever the hell he was dragging in from her past. It was all for the greater good: having rapture under his thumb after the greatest con of all, Eilis on his side living in luxury and an army of Adam addicted freaks ready to do his every whim, as well as that new project he had Suchong working on. He pondered telling Eilis about the bouncing baby brat for a moment, but decided to wait. Not yet.

The next morning, despite the fact every part of her body stung slightly from anything ranging from slight movement to gusts of air, the Pavlov dog was in a beautiful mood, which just made everyone she had to interact with’s lives much much easier. Her and Frank were sharing an oddly domestic moment moment in his kitchen, dressed for the day but not to the height of rapture’s standards. He had his arms wrapped around her hips with his chin on her shoulder as they swayed, Eilis calmly making herself tea as she hummed along to the record playing nearby. She warmed her hands with her drink before sipping as Frank complained “you sure you can’t dump the old man for the day? You’ve made me want to try out this whole domestic shit for a few hours” kissing at the only un-assaulted part of her neck. Eilis chuckled slightly, swatting at him “domestic? You just want something to give you a ride and kisses while you deal with boring business shite” she finished her tea before pecking his cheek and prying his hands off her, tucking in her shirt as she tossed the mug into the sink.

“Maybe. That ain’t a bad thing, is it?” Frank pouted, his lover just giving him a glance and nothing more as she tightened the laces on her boots and stretched to crack her muscles. “Cohen will run his gob to Ryan of I’m not back soon. Féach leat go luath, a ghrá. Ná maraigh aon duine le do thoil agus mé imithe, alright?” She kissed him softly, Frank smirking “I’ll try my best, no clue what your asking of me though”. Eilis rolled her eyes “no. Murder. I don’t need Ryan raiding your apartment for good reason and finding evidence I’ve been here”. He gave a half hearted shrug as they walked together to his elevator, Frank suddenly commenting “why don’t you just cancel your thing with Stienmen and get with me?”. Eilis went quiet and her grin seemed to falter slightly “… I’ll think about it frankie” she muttered, giving him a fake smile before disappearing down the elevator chute .

Even though Eilis had been very tempted to take Frank up on his begging for her to stay for the day, she has things to do. This was proven as soon as she got back to Cohen’s, seeing that, annoyingly, Ryan had sent her three audio recordings even though she had the morning off. She rolled her eyes as she listened to them while getting changed, Sander humming to himself as he painted while having his coffee with god knows what else in it, not fully paying attention. The first two were about what she already knew she had to do, Ryan obviously just trying to drive the point of ‘you’re an incompetent child who I need to baby’ into her head even more. She was half tempted to remind him she was turning thirty in a month but wasn’t in the mood to start another argument with him. The last one was just a casual ‘reminder’ but more like an order to go to a mandatory session with Sofia Lamb for her, in his words, ‘recent defiance and paternal issues’.

“Sander” She called out softly as she made sure her shotgun was loaded, knowing he was starting to listen when he hummed in response “do you think I could get away with breaking Andrei’s nose if I pretend I’m drunk?”. The artist chuckled “maybe. I’ll see if I can organise an event where you can get away with that my dear”. “Oh so he’s pissed you off too? Beautiful” Eilis stated chirpily as she went to leave, before stopping herself, cautiously asking “where did those two paintings you had in the library go?”. Cohen actually stopped painting, but didn’t turn to face her. He just stood there in silence for a moment before replying “I simply had them there for a reference on my improvements in later works, when they were no longer needed I burned them”. “ah. I see. Sorry, I’d just heard rumours you’d sold them” Eilis apologised as she slid the front door open with her foot, hearing Cohen defend himself with “I’d never do anything of the sort” before she left.

Ignoring the feeling like she was being lied to and the urge to pry for more information she made her way to Lamb’s office. The woman opened the door before Eilis had even sat down in her waiting room. “I’m surprised you came. Did you get to pick the day this time?” She asked the Pavlov dog calmly, Eilis slipping past her as she replied “oh I haven’t gotten to make choices personally in a while” though she knew thanks to last night that was a half lie. Sofia calmly strolled in after her, watching as Eilis picked up her own file and flicked through her session notes.

Sofia suddenly found it very hard to swallow, keeping a stone cold expression as she watched her expression for something, anything, but she got nothing. “My my… aren’t you observant? Tell me, which would you like to talk about today doctor? My relationship with Fontaine? What others have said about me? Maybe you want to discuss my ‘IRA ties’ and how that terrifies you? Or are you more interested in my brother’s bedroom habits?” The Pavlov dog queried, calmly handing back the file as she spoke before sitting down, slipping off her shotgun and laying it across her lap like it was both a threat and a protective measure. Maybe it helped with her confidence. She seemed much more defensive than last time, but not in the way she usually was.

With a calming breath Sofia sat down, quickly glancing over her notes on Eilis before taking out a notepad, “actually I have a very specific topic I’d like to speak on today. And I don’t believe your going to like it”. “Oh let me guess. If I get right you owe me a tenner” Eilis grinned as she pretended to thing “is it about my relationship with my dad?” Sofia gave her a serious look, which told her she was right, “ah… we love Ryan being a nosey shit, don’t we?” The Pavlov dog chuckled as she leaned back into the seat, pulling out her Eve cigarettes and offering the doctor once. She refused leaving the girl to ‘happily’ smoke alone.

“Ryan seems genuinely concerned for you” Sofia began, Eilis’ snorting laugh catching her off guard as the younger woman rolled her eyes “I don’t believe concern is an emotion he can feel unless it involves himself, his city or his wallet. I could be gutted like a fish and his only response to my death would be to toss up a half assed statue and move on”. “The last time we spoke of Ryan you stated you were thankful for him and the opportunities he has given you. Is your opinion still the same?” Sofia tilted her head as she spoke, tapping her pen off the bridge of her notebook to confirm a little suspicion she had.

Eilis’s nose wrinkled as she seemed annoyed by the tapping, it was something Sofia had noticed Ryan do, yet Eilis never gave a physical reaction. She was getting more relaxed in these sessions. Good. “Yes.. I can still think he’s an entitled prick but be thankful for everything he’s done” Eilis sighed slightly, tapping her nails off her gun in some sort of subconscious response to being irritated by the tapping.

Sofia hummed in understanding as she scribbled something down, “Are you thankful for him offering to find your father?”. The young woman sighed inwardly, tapping her cigarette ash off into a nearby ash try while huffing the tinted blue smoke out of her nose “what kind of question is that?”. “One designed to not offend you in any way” Sofia glanced up at her, knowing her statement wasn’t true but seeing if she could get the terrifying side of the Pavlov dog to slip out. She’d imagine Eilis would be fascinating to study while in that mindset, but she wondered if she would even survive that. Most likely not.

“Well you feckin failed at that part, didn’t you love?…” Eilis stubbed out her cigarette before continuing “yes. I am thankful. I don’t have any other living family members in this world by blood. I have a brother by marriage but I want him to have his own life and move on. If it turns out my dad is dead then I can finally mourn the man I knew as my father and move on… If he isn’t than maybe I can reconnect to the part of myself I abandoned on the freezing cold boat ride to New York”. “And who is that version of yourself you abandoned?” Sofia wondered as she continued to make notes.

Tension with Ryan

Believes she has multiple versions of herself > backed up by others experiences

Relationship with father vague

Does she miss her ‘old self’?

“I was a child going through several traumatic events and puberty. Considering all that has happened since I went to America and then got dragged down here, I am a very different person than the child he vaguely knew. Seventeen years is a lot of time apart” Eilis clarified, missing her cigarette and Frank’s loose grip around her waist from that morning. “Can you truly be so different if he never knew you properly in the first place?” Sofia asked calmly, watching Eilis scratch at the barrel of her shotgun, still keeping an annoyed look. “He knew me well enough to be a good father when he could. Was he a good father by societal standards? God no, but I adored him… He taught me how to survive and in the life I’ve been forced to take that is a very valuable skill” Eilis felt like she was defending herself, but slowly went quiet as she wondered why.

Very close with father

Confused over emotions

Sofia quickly added some notes before prying “when was the last time you actually saw your father?”. “My thirteenth birthday. He’d recently ‘officially’ become a revolutionary by making his views very public. Just after I got my presents, Soldiers burst in, broke down the door and dragged him and my uncles out kicking and screaming. Tadgh hid with me in the closet… they didn’t touch granny but she died a few months later from the stress, we all assumed he was either in prison or dead. We left Ireland within a week of her funeral.” Eilis seemed to slowly look away from the doctor as she spoke, almost like she was being dragged back to the memory.

She could practically hear the muffled shouting from outside the closet door as Tadgh held her close with an arm across her chest, holding his breath with a pistol tightly gripped in hand, Eilis having a hand clasped over her own mouth. She swore she could hear her father shouting for his children, demanding to know where they were. She hadn’t noticed that before. Was she just imagining something to make herself feel better or did he really fear the soldiers had taken his children too.

Did he still think that?

Was he dead?

Why didn’t she feel anything?…

“Eilis?” Sofia called out, dragging the Pavlov dog back to reality “sorry, did you say something?” She apologised, wondering if she’d missed something. “I said that must have been very stressful for you… I would like to organise another appointment for after you receive news on your father” Dr. Lamb explained as she took down one or two more notes before looking back up at Eilis and waiting for a response. “Just pneumo Diane and I’m sure Ryan will accept a date at some point” Eilis brushed her off as she stood up to leave, Sofia standing up to stop her, which was rather intimidating since she was 6ft tall. Eilis wasn’t small herself, but Sofia’s height plus her heels didn’t make her feel safe in a place where she’d already made herself more emotionally vulnerable than she should.

“I want to make it with you. Not through Ryan.” She passed Eilis a small business card, calmly stating “call me when your ready for our next session.”. The younger woman reluctantly took it, trying to get as far away from the therapist as possible till she called out to her again, making eilis turn her head. “Congratulations on the engagement. For the sake of keeping your future marriage though I would use some concealer on those marks your lover left behind” Sofia informed her, gesturing around her ear and neck to get her point across.

“I don’t like what your implying. Please keep your nose out of what I do in my private time and I’ll do the same with yours. Congratulations on your child’s second birthday by the way” she gave the therapist as rude a smile as she could muster before leaving.

Chapter Text

Ryan tapped his foot out of pure impatience as he waited in the welcome centre for the latest bathysphere of his new citizens to arrive. He normally didn’t do this, leaving it to his workers to show the new rapturians around and simply appearing to introduce himself at the end, shake a few hands and get back to work. But today he was looking out for a specific person, a man named Micheál Donovan, Eilis’ father. He had no clue what the man looked like but got a vague enough idea from Sullivan, who’d given him a vague description from what he’d remembered Eilis mentioning over the years, her memory of him slowly fading it seemed as she got worse at describing the man. Speaking of Eilis, she was currently interrogating another attempted assassin of Ryan, so she wouldn’t be in attendance. They seemed to be growing in popularity lately.

He shook his head back into focus as he continued to wait for the bathysphere to dock, Sinclair, who’d randomly decided to join him, commenting “you seem tense Andy. Any reason why your so worried? I’m sure he won’t bite. You’re too nicely dressed, I’m sure the man has sense”. “I am perfectly calm. And if he does I have others who can deal with that, mainly you” Ryan defended himself, straightening his tie. Sinclair’s eyebrows furrowed as he kept his calm demeanour but was rather curious about what Ryan was implying “if he does, you should be glad. Ellie had to get that bite from someone, that kind of reaction don’t come with experience. How can I help if he bothers you though?”. Ryan just gave him a simple answer “Persephone.”.

“And how much would you pay me not to mention it to our girl?” The southerner asked softly as the sound of rushing water got louder while the bathysphere started to surface. “Enough to buy all your businesses twice over plus a weekend at the Adonis” Ryan informed him as he strode forward to be in view of the bathysphere window as the water finally cleared off it. Sinclair smirked, following as he spoke to himself “you had me at buy”.

The new citizens of rapture slowly filtered out, looking around in awe at the grandeur of the underwater city as they hauled their bags behind them. Ryan watches as they got their welcome speech, making sure to watch all of their reactions to it to see if any of them were trouble makers, and one man was obviously just not interested. While their welcoming hosts described the city and the history of it, he rolled his own cigarette and quickly lit it with an old rusted lighter, enjoying it as he tilted his farmer’s cap down over his eyes. “You think that’s our man?” Sinclair whispered, Ryan nodding before quickly going up to the man, catching him by the crook of his arm as the group moved on.

The unknown man glanced at him, flicking up his cap before taking his cigarette out of his mouth. He only had one very small bag with him of personal possessions and was dressed in clothes that were obviously old and uncared for. His boots had old crusted dirt on them, his pants were filthy on the knees and had obviously been hand stitched in places, his shirt was crinkled and he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to hide the frayed edges. His face was almost identical to Tadgh, but with slight differences and obviously much older. He had a five o’clock shadow, a large scar on his chin and the same green eyes as Eilis, minus her strange brown speckles. His hair was cut close to his head but you could tell it was brown but slowly turning white. “You got a staring problem mate?” The man asked, a harsh Dublin accent mixed with one Ryan hadn’t heard before hitting his ears. “Are you Micheál Donovan?” He asked calmly, the man tapping off his cigarette as he examined the two strangers in front of him “who’s askin?”.

“We’re you daughter’s employers. This man is the owner of this fine city and the one who invited you here. We wanted to give you a very personal rapture welcome, your girl is very well known here. How would it look if we just let you wander about with the riff raff, hm?” Sinclair stated coolly with his business man grin, putting out a hand to the Irish man “Augustus Sinclair”.

Micheál reluctantly shook it, not happy he didn’t get to introduce himself like a normal person but tolerating it for now, “and where is she?”. “Working. You’ll see her soon, I just wanted to have a private talk with you first” Ryan explained, being slightly shocked by the reaction Micheál gave him, it was so subtle but so obvious. His nose wrinkled just like Eilis, he went slightly pale and he took an ever so slight step back like he was a dog ready to bolt, his eyes looked stern but terrified, but his voice was so calm “Talk about what?”.

“Nothing you need to worry about. Come along, Sinclair will be joining us” Ryan ordered, offended by the loud scoff he got from Micheál till it registered in his mind that this wasn’t one of his employees, this was a disgruntled parent who possibly doesn’t even know what happened to one of his children. This little chat would tell him if he should allow this man into his city or toss him in Persephone before Eilis even realises he is here. Maybe telling her the man was dead would fix her attitude after a small mourning period, but hopefully it would get to that. Micheál didn’t even take a moment to admire Ryan’s golden city, he just finished off his cigarette, flicking it off somewhere on his beautifully sculpted floors, tilting his cap back down and following him all the way to Hephaestus, not even acknowledging Ryan’s life’s work. At least he now had confirmation where Eilis’ disrespectful streak came from.

Sinclair guided the man to Ryan’s private game room while the uncorinated king of rapture went off to get a strong enough whiskey to keep his patience in cheque. “And where have you been the last decade or so if you don’t mind me askin? Ellie barely mentions that sort of thing” Sinclair queried as he rested his chin on his hand, getting as comfortable in the plush chair as possible. Micheál just sat up dead straight, constantly glancing around the room cautiously till he realised he was being spoken to “Ellie? Feckin Americans… I was in prison for treason in England, but suddenly I was let out and given a letter from some bastard named Andrew Ryan. I’m just here for my child and I’m leavin”.

Sinclair snorted a laugh, barely composing himself when Micheál’s annoyed look just made the situation even more hilarious “leave? Oh no, son. You obviously didn’t read the full contract for agreein to come here! You can’t leave once your down. Besides your girl has a life, I don’t think she’d slip it any time soon”. The Irish man gave him a look that asked for more information, so he continued “Ellie has quite the reputation around here, though not by name of course, people don’t know her name unless she likes ‘em. Poor girl is very defensive if that kind of thing. I wouldn’t recommend readin the papers though it’ll give you the wrong idea on the woman she has become”, “and what are they callin her?” Mick asked in a hushed tone as he seemed to relax enough to lean forward.

“Rapture’s Pavlov dog, Ryan’s favourite bitch and some other cruel ones I won’t go prying at. All very cruel I assure you, some mixture of accusations of her relationship with her employer and the usual insult for the Irish I’m sure you’ve heard” The southerner gestured towards him with his free hand as a sign of sympathetic understanding, amused at how similar this man was to his daughter in their little annoyed mannerisms. “And what exactly do ye have her doing to get such names?” Micheál’s tone remained low, like he didn’t want Ryan to hear. “Oh nothin too out of her range. She’s a bodyguard, rapture finest in my personal opinion. Our city is very modern in its beliefs, she had to keep her brother’s legacy going after all. She’s very good but I’m afraid the poor thing is bein spread very very thin” the look on the man’s face made Sinclair grin, he looked so shocked at the concept.

Micheál was absolutely dumbfounded, his Eilis a bodyguard? Last he remembered she’d sworn off guns after failing to kill a bird in one shot when he tried to help her fix her aim, how did she end up being a bodyguard ? How did she end up here? Where was she? Where was his son? “You mentioned her following her brothers legacy.. Is he here? Tall fella with little scars all over his hands” he pried, Sinclair’s grin dropped “I believe you should take that question up with Ryan himself, it ain’t really my business talkin about that boy”. Micheál’s eyebrows furrowed as he sat up straight again, grumbling “than why are you even here?”. “Oh I’m here for one reason and one reason alone, to offer you employment” The businessman smile returned as the southerner clasped his hands together.

“Employment?.. doin what exactly?” The Irish man asked cautiously, Sinclair chirpily informing him “oh just following the family business. I do love the chats me and Ellie have when I can finally get her off her tight schedule to join me, but I really need some more permanent protection down in the lower areas of the city, and I assumed there’d be no one better than the man who inspired that lovely temper of hers”. Micheál just looked confused again, temper? What temper? His daughter had never even shouted at anyone let alone hurt a fly. Sinclair suddenly planted a hand on his shoulder, catching him off guard and making him barely stop himself from punching the man so hard he would have broken his jaw “see? You’d be perfect. Come by the Sinclair Deluxe if you want the job, it’ll be yours in a heartbeat son” he chuckled, slipping his card into the pocket on the other man’s shirt and patting it “pleasure meetin you Mr. Donovan. Give Ellie my regards” with a flirty wink he was gone and Micheál was once again abandoned with his muddled thoughts.

Ryan strode in about ten minutes later with two glasses of whiskey, one obviously more expensive than the other, handing Micheál the cheaper one before sitting in the chair Sinclair had occupied moments ago. “Mr. Donovan,” Ryan tried to begin, only to be interrupted “it’s Mick, please.”.

Ryan took a deep breath, he hates being informal when it wasn’t deserved “Mick. I believe we have a common interest in this city”,  “Ah, Do we now?” Micheál muttered as he sipped at his drink, “You care for your daughter, do you not? I would have assumed you’d have stayed away if you didn’t”. “Of course I do, the hell kind of question is that?” Mick snapped at the man, grimacing at the taste of the whiskey, wondering why there was a faint taste of fish off it.

Ryan shrugged “she never exactly spoke highly of you.. let’s see.. the references of you that come to my mind are ‘bastard’, ‘prick’ and ‘failed revolutionary’. Not exactly compliments” sipping at his whiskey to resist a smug look before continuing “and yet she seems to have some strange admiration for you. Now Thomas-.. or Tadgh as you called him, he only spoke highly of you when I bothered to ask”. “Where is he?” Mick almost cut him off, Ryan humming like he hadn’t heard him, “where the hell are my children? Where is my son?” He was almost resisting the urge to scream.

“Your daughter is doing her job as she should be, your son his back near his childhood home, like he’d requested. I was and still am a man of my word” Ryan calmly defended himself, wanting to see exactly how far he could push this man, like some sort of test to see if he was worthy enough to be here. “He’d never leave that girl’s side” Mick muttered, cracking his knuckles like some sort of wordless threat. “Alive, yes. In fact if I ever had to take him more than a few miles away from her I had to make sure the girl was with someone he believed worthy of keeping a watchful eye on her. Dead though, he didn’t have much to give an opinion on” Ryan’s words hit the Irishman like a brick, he just sat there in horror.

His mother was dead, his son was dead, what next?

“My point is, you have been brought here as a sort of gift. Wether she truly wants that gift or not I amnt sure, she’s been so emotional lately, it’s a nightmare for business..” Ryan tutted “Thomas would never.. all I need is for you to fall in line and everyone will be happy”. Mick wasn’t listening to Ryan’s ramblings, instead he was resisting tears, not remembering the last time he’d cried. He put on a stoic face, yet his voice quivered slightly as he spoke “Mr Ryan. I would like to see my daughter please. Now.”.

“Fine. I was planning on checking in on her work anyway” Ryan let out a sigh, half annoyed he didn’t get a reason to get rid of this man he already found irritating. He got to his feet and gestured to Mick like he was a dog to follow him. He was taken from Ryan’s office, straight to a bathysphere and to some place referred to as Neptune’s bounty. There he was guided past many fishing businesses, a bald man standing outside one labled ‘Fontaine’s Fisheries’ seemed to be watching him intently, but he ignored it. He didn’t have time to be worrying about that now. They went through winding halls till they arrived at a room with a makeshift sign on the door that just read ‘Sullivan’, Ryan knocking on it on the glass with his knuckles and waiting with crossed arms for an answer.

Behind the locked door, Eilis had their latest attempted assassin in a headlock, waiting just till he was about to pass out before letting him breath again “I think that’s a record, what do you think?” She joked with Sullivan as he passed her a mug of coffee, “I’m sure you could break it if he doesn’t want to comply” he admitted, crouching down before the heaving man they had tied to a chair, “How are you for eve today?” He called out to Eilis, pulling the man’s head up by his hair.

Eilis just smirked at him and let fire ingulf her hand. “I am the only thing between you and the closest thing you will experience to hell, so tell us who set you up to this. You look smart, you can’t have been that stupid, someone has got to have paid you to do this” Sullivan asked calmly, but the man just stayed silent. “You don’t start answering him mate and I’ll make you miss the fact you used to have a tongue” Eilis threatened, which actually seemed to drag a terrified breath out of the man, but nothing more. Sullivan sighed in annoyance, grimacing as he had to straighten his knees “I’ll drag his ass back to the holdin cell at Persephone. You alright to explain all we got to Ryan?” Before Eilis could even nod they heard the knocking. “Speak of the devil..” she huffed, taking off her slightly bloodied leather gloves and wiping the speckles off her face, thankful she wasn’t absolutely covered blood yet today, though Cohen would have been delighted. She pulled the door open, greeting Ryan “morning sir. What has you down by the docks?” Noticing his guest standing beside him.

“Just came to check on your work and bring a little reward” Ryan explained, Eilis ignoring his guest as she asked “what kind? I’ll take an hour off or more ammo honestly love, I’m not picky”. “an é sin tú mo spideog bheag?” Mick asked, watching Eilis’ expression drop to confusion as she glanced at him. She examined the man for a moment before what he had said clicked, “daidí?”. Clearer memories came rushing back as he looked just like the day he’d been dragged out of the house, albeit a bit older. She seemed to be struggling to reign in her emotions as her nose kept wrinkling when she was resisting expressions.

“Boss! I gotta talk to ya, would you walk with me?” Sullivan suddenly chimed in, walking out dragging their attempted assassin behind him by his handcuffs, Ryan simply nodded, reminding Eilis “forty minutes, no more.” Before he was gone. Wordlessly the two walked into Sullivan’s makeshift office and shut the door, standing there in shock for a moment as they seemed to examine each other.

Mick may have looked the same besides speckled greys, but his only living child looked much much different. His memory of her from that last morning was her in a new dress her Grandmother had sewn. She was twirling around in it, showing him and his best friend, who she always referred to as Uncle Paddy, how much the dress reminded her of the ones from a storybook she used to be read as a child and how delighted she was at the fact it had deep pockets. She had mud on her feet from playing outside in the bog lands and her hair was all frizzy from running around. Her knees had been scratched, possibly from falling out of a tree, and Tadgh was letting her stand on his feet as they pretended to ballroom dance across their two room house. She was so excited, so innocently unaware of what was about to happen, probably daydreaming about the cake they’d promised they’d get her from the bakery in the town. Then there was that look of terror in her hopeful eyes when she spotted the soldiers from the kitchen window. He’d never forget that as long as he lived.

Now she was in some strange city at the bottom of the sea, dressed in dark clothes head to toe, big boots that looked strong enough to stomp someone’s head in, sleeves rolled up to show her arms littered in scars from knives, bullets, it seemed to vary. Her eyes were no longer hopeful, they just looked tired and confused, and her frizzy hair had been maintained into braids to keep it out of her face. She flexed her hand, it seemingly being stiff from whatever she was doing before, the small light in the room glinting off the signet ring on her ring finger, and the engagement ring abandoned on the table.

“What are you doing down here my darling?…” He asked her softly, Eilis shooting back “have you been alive all this time and never tried to find us?”. He frowned “I was stuck in England love, I couldn’t send letters. I was barely allowed to receive one. Last one I got was from Tadgh about your grandmother and the fact ye were going to America.. I was never supposed to leave that prison, I want you two to move on, have lives” he seemed to be trying to apologise but being incapable of saying the word. “Why did you bother coming here then? Why not use the fact you were free to move on? You shouldn’t be here” Eilis sounded so distressed, Mick was worried for a moment she didn’t want to see him, but he quickly caught on that she just didn’t want him to be in this city.

“I came here to get you, and now that I’ve seen this place and talked to that bastard you’re working for, I don’t want to leave you here” He tried to explain but she laughed at him, “leave?… you can’t leave. You shouldn’t have come here, this is purgatory. This is hell. Once you are in here you can’t go back.”.

“I’m sure we can figure out-“ Mick tried to suggest, only to get screamed at “don’t you think I’ve tried?! There. Is. No. Way. Out.”. She looked like she was on the brink of tears, covering her mouth as she leaned back against the small desk in the room to keep herself quiet.

Mick hesitated for a moment before putting a hand onto her shoulder in an attempt of comfort. “I could… I could try and get you out.. you could have a life, move on dad… bribe the fishermen, something…” she sounded like she was begging, desperately pleading for him to take her up on an offer she hasn’t fully made yet. “I haven’t been a father to you, properly, since you learned to walk. I amn’t leaving you to rot here alone” he reassured her. Eilis seemed so conflicted, she kept glancing at the door for reassurance that no one was standing there, listening to them. “I’m so sacred for you..” She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Mick cupped his only child’s cheek to reassure her, swearing “I promise you, right here and now, I will never leave you here alone. And if I can’t take us away from here, yet, I will do everything I can to make sure they treat you like a human, not like some dog. I swear, my little robin”.

Eilis embraced her father tightly, letting herself be fully vulnerable for just a moment. She let her body shake in fear, she let little sobs and cries escape as she clung to fistfuls of his shirt, babbling gibberish in Irish like she was an upset child unable to get the right words out while they were inconsolably upset. He hugged back, resting a hand on the back of her head as he cooed “I know darling.. I know” letting her release years of pent up emotions and tears into his shoulder, glaring at the door where Ryan had stood only moments before. He didn’t know a thing about that man, but from the minuscule bit of information he’d been given and the state of his children, he despised him. A fire was relit in his heart, one he swore the British had almost beaten out of him; the urge to stick a king’s head on a spike and rebuild a beautiful hellhole into something better, and this time he wasn’t going to let anything stop him.

After Eilis reigned herself back in, wiping away tears and getting rid of the flush in her cheeks, she gave her father directions to get to the Sinclair Delux, giving him a knife and a warning to be careful before they split ways just outside Fontaine’s fisheries.

Frank was simply standing there talking to Reggie, keeping a cautious eye on Mick before giving Eilis a wink and beckoning her over with a finger. “Need something?” She asked softly, “is it so bad for me to want to see your pretty face up close?” He teased, Eilis rolling her eyes and quietly saying hello to Reggie with a nod before turning her attention back to Frank. “Who’s the fella you were with?” He suddenly asked sternly, making Eilis smirk “there we go. He’s just family Ryan was kind enough to bring in for me, not competition Frankie”. “You sure?” He pried, Eilis assuring him “oh very”.

“That’s a pretty shiner you got there. Almost makes those mangled hands of hours look like the pretty ones those rich dames with even richer husbands have” Reggie broke the ice, pointing subtly at her engagement ring with his thumb, it was on the wrong hand. Frank took her hand to ‘admire’ the thing. “Tacky as hell.. thought you hated gaudy things doll” he wondered, “oh I do. But apparently if I don’t have it on I’m trying to lure other men in, why would I ever?” Eilis tilted her head as she spoke, “who’s accusing you of that sweetheart?” Frank tugged her closer by her hand, Eilis only allowing it because they were alone bar Reggie who had zoned out of the conversation on purpose. “As much as I would love to see you beat someone to a bloody pulp for me, I’ll keep that to myself my darling” she pecked his cheek “I have to go back to work”.

“What if you were working for me again?.. would you tell me then?” Frank queried as he snaked his hands around her waist. “When hell freezes over and Ryan agrees to let me do that, I’ll think about it.” Eilis tried to leave again but he only tightened his grip, “why are you always so eager to leave?”. She glared at him faintly “you know why. Love I am out of personal time for today I have to go”. “… I want to know you something before you go” Frank almost hesitated when he said that, which only intrigued Eilis’ natural curiosity more, “show me what?..”.

“It’s in futuristics.. I promise after I’ll personally drop you back and make sure Ryan is none the wiser. Might even rough you up a bit to convince him you were in a fight” he gave her a wink but she didn’t seem in the mood to play his games. “Fine. Half an hour, nothing more” Eilis gave in, Frank quickly rushing her to his bathysphere and off to his private entrance into futuristics. As he brought her through multiple rooms and past several coded doors, Eilis wondered what the hell he wanted to show her that was this protected.

Was it a new plasmid? Ryan was already trying to pressure her into getting more, he had them waiting in a drawer at his desk, but she was refusing.

Frank wouldn’t try and use her like a test subject, would he?

She gripped the strap of her shotgun slightly for comfort as they went past the last door. Inside Tenenbaum and Suchong were walking to and fro like little worker bees, not even acknowledging the fact their employer had entered the room. “Ignore them, The kruat already cleared you coming so it’s fine, don’t look so stressed sweetheart” Frank tried to boost her confidence in him but something was telling Eilis whatever was happening here was very very wrong. He took her free hand and guided her into the second room of the little heavily guarded lab, and there was a cot.

“What’s that?” She asked, knowing damn well what it implied but wanting to see if Frank would lie. He said nothing, just pushing her forward slightly by the small of her back so she’d look into it. Inside the cot sat a blonde baby, looking up at her with its big angry blue eyes. “Frank… why do you have a baby in your lab?..” she asked him sternly, picking up the poor thing to check for any injures, but none were visible. “Maybe I just wanted a kid, that so hard to believe?” Frank rolled his eyes, half glaring at the child like it would say something against him. “Yes. Yes it is. Why do you have a baby in your lab Frank? I won’t repeat myself again” She glared back at him, unknowingly holding the child closer like some natural instinct to keep it safe from whatever her body felt was wrong.

“I adopted the kid. His parents were Adam addicts, overdosed down near the Sinclair delux. Real shame. He was a little fighter so I took a likin to him, decided to keep him here” Frank lied, which he knew he was very good at, but she seemed on high alert for some reason. He couldn’t understand why. The kid actually seemed to relax slightly in her arms, like he trusted her. “Sure.. did you give him a name?” Eilis only glanced at Frank faintly as she started to bounce the baby slightly to keep him entertained.

“The Kraut decided on Jack.” Frank didn’t actually want it name the kid, naming it means it’s a person, and that thing wasn’t a person. The Pavlov dog just started to ignore him, focusing on the baby and ignoring the thought of the little glare he had looking shockingly close to Ryan’s. “Can I see him again?…” She asked quietly as she lay the baby back down in his crib, resisting the urge to snatch him back up and leave.

Why did she feel so panicked, what was happening here?

“Why? You feelin maternal all of a sudden?” Frank teased her, hugging at her waist from behind and nuzzling at the crook of her neck.

“No.. I just don’t feel good. You chose a really bad day to throw this on me..” She admitted but Frank didn’t seem to be listening, kissing at the nape of her neck. She lightly pushed him off “not here.” She told him sternly, hoping he’d finally catch on that she was not in the right mood. Frank looked mildly annoyed and very confused, still not letting go “what? The kid won’t remember it”, Eilis still didn’t give him anything, so he reluctantly gave in, putting his hands up. They quickly left, Eilis walking much faster than Frank, so eagerly in fact he even had a second give Tenenbaum a wink and whisper “be back in ten sweetheart” without her noticing, before following Eilis out.

He found her sitting in his bathysphere with one leg crossed over the other, bouncing it as she rubbed at her temples. Everything today was like a jackhammer bashing against the brick wall she’d built up for protection, and for once it was doing a lot of damage. Christ, she couldn’t even think straight. Her head was pounding.

“Let’s have dinner” Frank suddenly offered after about ten minutes of silence, being halfway back to Hephaestus at this point. “I can’t, I have work.” Eilis refused, making his eyebrows furrow, why the hell was she being so cold? “Not today. Your next day off, don’t you wanna be appreciated?” He moved closer to her as he spoke, she still didn’t look at him. “I’ll think about it Frankie” she told him calmly as the bathysphere docked and she left, being too distracted by her thoughts to say goodbye.

She was walking like she was ready to kill someone, which made the workers of Hephaestus split like the Red Sea, but she didn’t even seem away. She tried to get her head back into the right headspace for work, but the terror she didn’t know she’d experience when she realised her father was trapped here with her, the fact Frank was still lying and now there was a random baby thrown into the equation she was struggling. She knew there was something wrong with that baby, there had to be, who keeps a baby in a lab? Could she tell Ryan?

No. No she couldn’t.

She paused at Ryan’s door to take a deep breath, reigning in any drop of emotion risking escape before entering, but the place was empty. Strange.. she calmly walked through just to check the place before planning on pouring herself a much needed glass of whiskey, till she spotted his decanter was on its side and spilling over the floor. She picked it back up, going to ignore it and assume he’d rushed off with Jasmine or Diane to his office, but the broken whiskey glass beside a cracked open fountain pen on his expensive carpet as well as abandoned legal documents made her aware something was wrong. Very wrong.

“Andrei?” She called out, slipping her shotgun off and making sure it was cocked and loaded before she proceeded. “Is Diane with you?” She called out again, feigning ignorance about what was obviously going on. His secret entrance to his apartment was wide open, Sullivan’s revolver abandoned on the floor. She cautiously creeped inside, seeing an obvious struggle with moved furniture and kicked over tables. She heard a muffled groan of pain from Ryan’s personal bathysphere station. She followed the sound, aiming inside to see Ryan tied up and Sullivan incapacitated on the floor, but no attacker. Before she could ask any questions or even turn her head, she was hit with a sharp pain and her world went black.

As she started to gain consciousness again, she couldn’t breath that easily. Her body jerked as a natural reaction and she could feel something around her neck and over her mouth. She flinched as she opened her eyes and they were stung by a bright light.

Was she wet? Jesus, Why was she wet?

As soon as she adjusted to the brightness she saw she was in some sort of abandoned building, Sullivan and Ryan were tied back to back on a chair, but her hands were behind her back. She tilted her head up to see the man she’d interrogated earlier was attempting to choke her with a headlock, and failing. “Squeeze a little harder mate, I don’t have all day” she sighed slightly, not being in the mood to play helpless victim. Shorty after she was hit in the nose with the butt of her own shotgun, Eilis almost biting through her tongue not to scream as she felt her nose break. “Ah.. you have a friend.. isn’t that lovely” she grimaced, “mind teaching your mate how to choke people properly? It was so pathetic I woke up”.

Their failed assassin’s companion grabbed her by her shirt, pulling her closer to his face, making her feel like her arms are about to pop out of their sockets. “You need to learn to shut your whore mouth” he sneered at her, Eilis using the opportunity to smash her forehead into his nose. Eye for an eye, or nose for a nose in this case.

The man threw her back, making her chair tip as he stumbled away. She heard Ryan chuckle, quickly followed by the sound of a punch and teeth hitting each other. The Pavlov dog sucked on her own teeth to get rid of the taste of blood, spitting it out onto the floor before she tried to take in more of her surroundings. There was a shattered window by Sullivan, he seemed dazed but they managed to make eye contact. She looked at his foot and then his face, hoping he’d catch on. It took him a moment but he did, coughing as hard as he could to hide the noise of glass scraping across the floor and he kicked over a shard.

This sadly caused their failed assassin to turn his attention to him, abusing the poor man while Eilis sliced her fingers, rolling herself over and arching her back so she could have enough room to cut the rope on her wrists, absolutely mangling her finger tips and one section of her back in the process, but she was free. She lay back down, keeping her hands behind the chair, no matter how painful it was, to sell the look. After they were done abusing her employer and closest thing she had to a long term friend, their unwanted extra walked over and pulled her up by her hair. “We’re gonna kill those two pieces of shit, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who’d pray a pretty penny to keep you alive. Pavlov dog fanatics, Fontaine, maybe even that Fiancé of yours. You’re not even human though, so I’m sure we’ll find someone who will pay for a mutt like y-“ before he could finish she took the glass shard and stabbed it into his neck, causing him to collapse and desperately claw at it. She pushed him off her and left the man to die pathetically on the floor. Their would-be assassin had Ryan in one of his pathetic headlocks with a gun to his temple, probably Sullivan’s.

“Why don’t you stop hiding behind that someone like a coward and come fight me like a man?” She asked softly, picking her now bloody shotgun up off the floor. She was getting light headed from the amount of blood pumping from her nose but managed the keep the face Sullivan always described as her ‘I’ll maul you until your own mother doesn’t recognise ya’ face. It even seemed to startle Ryan a bit. “Put down that shotgun and I’ll come out..” their failed assassin’s voice quivered as she shrugged and crouched down to place her shotgun on the floor. He took this chance to tackle her, not dropping his gun. “You dirty fucker!” Eilis screamed as he repeatedly slammed her head into the floor to disorientate her, holding her up by her throat with a headlock, actually cutting off her air supply.

While they struggled, Sullivan was starting to free himself and Ryan, cursing from the pain of the shards of glass stuck in his fingers. Eilis’ attacker relaxed for a moment, allowing her to move enough to grab her shotgun. He got one of her arms and twisted it behind her as he continued to try and strangle her, being forced to drop his gun. Using her feet to hold it in place she aimed her shotgun and fired, not knowing wether she hit him or not, but he dropped, so she assumed she had, not bothering to check. Not even taking a second to catch her breath she freed Sullivan and Ryan, checking them for injures before sighing in relief, “good.. I was not in the mood to deal with you and surgery today”.

Ryan rolled his wrists, rubbing at the rope burn on them slightly just as he was about to question Eilis on where the hell she had gone for an extra half hour he hadn’t permitted, when he froze at the horrifying sight behind her. Their failed assassin, now missing a jaw and chunk of his face was somehow still alive. He aimed his gun at Ryan to fire, Sullivan doing the same much to Eilis’ confusion, but their attempted killer dropped as life seemed to finally leave his body. The gun still fired though, hitting Eilis directly at the nape of her neck with that gaudy bite scare she despised. Blood splattered over Ryan’s face as the bullet flew past and lodged itself in the wall. As well as blowing open a chunk of her shoulder, the bullet had hit an artery. Eilis latched her hands over the wound in a panic, knowing she’d already lost enough blood to be almost unconscious. Her hands started to shake as adrenaline filled her veins in an attempt to keep her alive.

Ryan & Sullivan were just frozen there in shock. “Wh…wh-why… why didn’t you sh-shoot?” Eilis stuttered as her body got shockingly cold, and she dropped, the last thing she saw before she hit the floor was Sullivan attempting to grab her, but obviously failing. She swore she could hear them shouting for her, or someone shouting for her, but she couldn’t feel a thing. She just felt so cold, like she was floating in the ocean but she didn’t need to breath.

Then her chest hurt, it was agonising but she didn’t have the energy to scream, she wanted to cry almost but somehow managed to stop herself from doing that. There were rounds of pain and shocking she didn’t fully understand, followed by muffled unintelligible shouting and that horrible cold. Was this what death felt like? She never imagined it being pleasant but it was supposed to be quick once you let go, wasn’t it? Or did she not want to let go?

Many months ago, slightly over a year she would have been happy to die. Not because she hated living, you must understand, but she had do reason to continue living. Of course she had ‘friends’ and colleagues who would miss her but that was never really enough in her mind to continue going. She didn’t want to do the deed herself but if she had been killed she would have been too upset. But now she had reasons to stay, though she knew Frank would move on very very quickly, she’d still miss him, and now her father was down here. She couldn’t leave him here, who knows what Ryan would do if she wasn’t there to keep them both in check, and of course there was the baby, Jack. She had no clue why she was so worried and attached to this child, but she knew something was wrong. The fact she couldn’t figure it out was bothering her, was she getting rusty? She couldn’t exactly take the baby herself, she’d be awful with children.

Either way she currently had three reasons to stay alive, and her body seemed aware of that as she slowly gained feeling again. It started with the agonising pain in her neck, then the rush of warmth followed by the sensation of having limbs, then her lungs seemed to wake up and she took a deep breath as her eyes slowly blinked open to try and adjust to the darkness around her. She pressed the back of her hand to her head to feel it was sticky from sweat despite the fact she was deathly cold. She felt her face and body to see she’d been changed, her shoulder her had been reconstructed and bandaged, her nose had cotton shoved up it to stop the bleeding as it set and from what she could tell she was alone.

Allowing herself once more moment of vulnerability she buried her face in her hands and kept out a shaky sigh of relief, only to have to quickly bury it again as her room’s door opened. Who ever it was flicked on the light and looked worried to the point of getting sick when she could see their expression. It took her a second to register it was her father. The only thing she could think to say was “I’m sorry” but he didn’t seem to hear her, just rushing over to dote on his child and make sure everything was stitched up properly before sighing sadly “ó mo leanbh bocht …” resisting the urge to hug her, knowing she’d be in a lot of pain. “I passed the head surgeon on my way here, he said he’d be in in a minute” he reassured her, unaware that wasn’t at all reassuring since she knew who that was. He sat beside her, having pulled a chair over with his foot, and just held her hand as he intently watched the door.

Now that the light was on she could see at the table by her side there was a very elaborate bouquet resting on her bedside table, a baby blue ribbon tied around it with a tag that says “with love from Frankie” and a letter. Ignoring the pain of moving anything connected to her obliterated shoulder, she leaned over to grab it, slowly ripping it open with her thumb.

It wasn’t anything elaborate, just a simple scribble of “Those bastards are lucky they’re dead, cause I would have gutted them if they weren’t. I’ll bring you something good when Ryan fucks off so I can visit you sweetheart, FF”. Oddly, that made her smile just ever so slightly. Though since whatever deity is real has a sick sense of humour, that smile had to be immediately wiped off her face.

Stienmen strolled in with the smile of a man who’d won the lottery. Twice. He completely ignored Mick as he swanned over to Eilis’ absent side, holding her hand delicately. “So good to see you’re awake my goddess. You were asleep for so long! I was afraid you wouldn’t wake. You missed New Years, I had a romantic eventing planned” he fretted. Mick, suddenly feeling very protective over his only child, chimed in “it’s only been two weeks. No need for the dramatics”. The two men faintly glared at eachother, Stienmen scoffing “and you are?”. “I’m her father. We literally just met in the hall ya thick bastard. Why are you bein so clingy with my daughter?”, “I’m her fiancé. I have every damn right to be ‘clingy’.” the doctor defended himself, turning away for a moment to find something. Eilis & Mick made eye contact, speaking without words. She squeezed his hand and shook her head ever so slightly, and he nodded, meaning he understood. She wasn’t sure he fully did.

Rapture’s head surgeon returned, practically manhandling the poor girl as he did his check up, before sighing dramatically. Cohen would have been proud. “You’ve been absolutely mangled my dear. Far off your true form’s natural plan. Surgery is the only option” he tutted. From the shade of white his child turned, Mick knew surgery was not happening. He didn’t know why she was so worried but he was going to defend her none the less. “That’s a very hasty decision mate. I think we’d both prefer a second opinion” Mick demanded sternly, Stienmen snapping at him “I am this city’s head surgeon, I am her doctor and she is my wife. I have full authority of this!”.

Mick got to his feet and in the doctor’s face, half tempted to knock his perfect teeth out “she ain’t your wife yet, and if I have a say, she never fuckin will be. We. Want. A second. Opinion.”.

Stienmen grimaced as if Mick has spat in his face, taking a deep breath as he seemed ready to throw blows. Eilis swore she saw a scalpel in his hand. In an attempt to calm the situation, she spat out “Ryan.”.

“What?/Excuse you love?” The two men spoke in unison, staring at her. Eilis regained the courage to speak, calmly stating “I’m not having a damn thing done, or moving from this room, until I talk to Ryan”.

Chapter Text

Seconds passed slower than what Eilis knew was possible as she sat there waiting for Ryan. She didn’t talk, she didn’t move and anytime Stienmen pined for her attention, she shut her eyes, letting her mind go off somewhere else. Maybe she’d ask Jasmine for some more retinentia, take a load of it with a bottle of champagne and lock herself in Cohen’s lavish bathroom for the day. Sounds nice, she’d love a bubble bath if she didn’t currently have her shoulder hanging on by threads. Maybe she could convince Frank to let her have one, but it would most likely lead to her being thrown onto the bed before she can even turn on the bloody tap.

Speaking of the devil, the man himself entered, expecting to find Eilis asleep, like usual, going to drop something off mainly to piss off Andrew Ryan and leave again, but she very obviously wasn’t. He grinned faintly, subtly irritating Ryan was amusing but her actually being conscious was much more entertaining. He let out a sharp whistle to grab her attention, resisting how her glares melting into relieved looks of adoration made him feel. “Miss me doll?” He wondered, walking over and taking one of her hands, bringing it to his lips to softly kiss her still bruised knuckles. “Flatterer. Real question is did you miss me? Or were the lasses at eves enough to scratch that itch of yours?” She teased him, Frank just smirking at her as he sat on the edge of the bed.

He used his free hand to cup her cheek, knowing she adored it, but also using it to move her head so he could see her shoulder. Even with all the bandages he could tell it had been absolutely destroyed in one chunk in particular. “That scar stienmen gave you still there?” He queried, Eilis’s grin telling him no “good thing about high powered revolvers almost killing you, they can blow off parts of your body you don’t need anymore”. “God, I missed those rare little specs of optimism of yours” Frank almost purred, leaning closer as the Pavlov dog wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders, “díreach duit a stór”. Frank sighed, almost groaning “I love when you make no fuckin sense..” before taking her lips in a biting kiss.

Eilis melted into it, knowing it felt like it had only been a few hours, maybe a day or two for her since she’d last seen Frank. But her body was fully aware it had been far too long since she’d kissed the man, so it simply fulfilled that need. The more she tasted the whiskey and tobacco off his lips, even though she hated those just ever so slightly, the more addicting it became. She wanted to taste them until she couldn’t breath.

Sadly, she was then reminded about Ryan as she heard footsteps echoing down the hall. She pried herself off Frank but he was all too eager to continue, going down her uninjured side with kisses. “Frank. Love you have to go” she lightly shoved at him but the man was persistent, “nah, I want that fuckin section eight to catch us. Maybe he’ll learn to keep his hands on his own shit…”.

Desperate to not throw herself back into the dog fighting pit until she didn’t have to worry about the risk of sneezing and her shoulder popping open, she gave him a flick on the temple as hard as she could, actually causing him to stop from he pain “as do I. But not with Andrew Fucking Ryan only feet away. I swear we’ll continue this another time, ok?” She promised him, Frank glaring at her faintly before sighing and requesting “fine, but when I try and find you, fucking answer me” he pecked her lips one last time before leaving, obviously in the mood but currently unable to do anything about it. Eilis took deep quiet breaths, fixing her hospital gown and trying to ignore the fact she felt like she was sitting on hot rocks, getting shocked every so often.

“Do stop day dreaming Ellie, it’s bad for work and you’re already lacking focus” Ryan’s voice broke through just as she was calming herself down, eyes shut again while her mind wondered on what would possibly happen later.

She opened an eye to look at him “you’re one to talk… this entire city was your daydream, you were just rich enough to build it”. “I’m letting you get away with that because you currently have enough painkillers in you to heal an army hit by a nuclear air strike. What did you need?” Ryan glared at her faintly as he calmly sat in a nearby chair. With not enough confidence as she should have had, Eilis calmly stated “I don’t want to have surgery.. I go under the knife for a moment with him and I will come out looking like Cohen’s paintings when he first discovered cocaine and bourbon mix beautifully.”.

“Yes... I can understand why that would worry you. What exactly do you want me to do about that?” Ryan glanced at his watch lazily to show he wasn’t interested, “all of that effort to keep you alive and your asking me to spend more money. You’re a very expensive dog to care for” he continued to tease as he wanted her to admit it was a stupid idea and they could move on. Eilis’ sudden and sharp change in tone grabbed his attention “Andrei, stop being a prick and fucking listen to me!…” her nose wrinkled as she realised she’d let too much slip as she reigned herself back in “I.. am willing to take enough Adam to heal this and so I can get back to work..”. “Adam is expensive” Her employer reminded her, Eilis sucking on her teeth as she resisted the urge to scream “what plasmids would you like me to get?…”.

“I’m sorry dear, I couldn’t hear y-“ Ryan attempted to tease, remaining stone faced, Eilis actually shouting at him “Give me the fucking plasmids or I will blow my guts out on your desk!”. The man visibly grimaced, seeming to get a flash of a memory he didn’t want to think of, knowing it had been brought up too many times since Eilis’ incident. “Give me five minutes…” His voice was almost a whisper as he quickly left, leaving Eilis to mull over her words as her hand subconsciously went to her stomach. She hadn’t done that in a while, she’d realised. She hadn’t even thought about it, and now that she did, she realised why her comment made Ryan so uncomfortable, possibly even why she’d said it. Another thought popped into her head as she realised her dad didn’t know, she didn’t know if she should tell him. He’d probably skin Ryan as soon as he found out, but Eilis couldn’t figure out if that was a bad thing or not.

Before her thoughts could dive back into the gruesome memory she wasn’t even sure she remembered correctly anymore, Ryan was back with a nurse, the woman carrying a large syringe and two Adam containers. Eilis gave the woman her arm, resisting the sick feeling her body was slowly being consumed by. She didn’t want to do this, but it was either new plasmids or be Stienmen’s play thing. Never again. “What are they?” She queried Ryan, trying to distract herself.

“Telekinesis and Electro bolt. They should be handy for your line of work” Ryan explained, not giving her actual details, turning away from the girl as she twisted in pain from the electro bolt while he continued to talk “the Adam should also heal your wounds, so after you’re dressed, we have work to do”. As the pain subsided and it no longer felt like she was hooked up to live wires, ignoring the slight twitch, Eilis quietly asked the nurse “does it always hurt that badly?..”, “you’ll get used to it over time. Don’t worry about it going off randomly, they fixed it doing that” the nurse attempted to reassure her beside giving her the second plasmid and quickly leaving. Ryan stood outside the door like an annoying statue while Eilis changed, her body healed but still aching, she felt like she was going to throw up her organs.

She rubbed at her neck, stretching her muscles till they cracked as they strode down the hall together, Ryan suddenly asked “what would you do for rapture?”. Eilis resisted a groan as she replied in the fakest tone possible “oh anything!”. He didn’t seem to pick up on it “good. I’m going to need you to break a promise you made to me”. Eilis just let out a hum, had she made any promises or him? Or was this his version of a promise where your blackmailed or guilty into it? Most likely the latter.

“For the sake of our city, would you be willing to fuck Fontaine?” He asked way to calmly for what he was demanding. Eilis choked on her next breath, clinging to her weakening resolve as she asked “excuse you?”. “When you two were having your little… meetings, he was much easier to cope with, and you got access to his most private areas. Do you remember when I mentioned we were keeping a close watch on his activity?” Ryan continued to explain, Eilis coughing to resist a laugh of embarrassment.

“Well it’s 1957 now and I’d prefer to have him properly behind bars before 58. I know you are a soon to be married woman, but this is for rapture’s sake” He insisted, Eilis getting sick of hearing this godforsaken cities name. “I’m sure the good doctor won’t mind me doing something for your favour. As long as you don’t throw it back at me” She joked, Ryan for once playing back “you were never the type to play fetch”. “Slainté, no more dog jokes though if you wouldn’t mind. Now let’s get back to work shall we? I’m assuming you have something fun lined up for today” She pondered playfully, wondering where this was going to lead.

While the two shared an oddly platonic moment, others were getting closer in different ways. Sinclair and Mick had actually gotten surprisingly close in the two weeks he’d been working for the southerner. Between beating up people and just standing there for aesthetic purposes, they’d started a little fling. There wasn’t any feeling behind it bar lust but they didn’t seemed to mind having three separate relationships: work, coyful friendship and meaningless sex. Sinclair had instigated the whole thing, being subtle but Mick quickly caught on, being hesitant but not fully against it. The man was still in love with a woman who died three decades ago, but accepted the fact he had needs. Sinclair couldn’t judge thought, he was filling the hole he’d made in the shape of Johnny in his heart with mick. Minus some little details, he almost fit in it perfectly, not a copy but a damn good replacement. He was Ellie’s father afterall, what kind of friend would be be if he didn’t help him in his time of need?

The two were casually chatting as they walked to the Sinclair Delux, not discussing anything in particular, just things to pass the time until the door shut behind them. While Mick was still absorbed in the act, Sinclair had gone quiet as he tugged at one of Mick’s suspenders to catch his attention “why don’t we pass some of that borin time you were talkin about, hm Mickey? I can sweet talk my way into shoving that meetin back”. Mick smirked faintly “I thought it was important” he reminded him, placing his hands on the smaller man’s hips. “Oh it was, but my needs and that handsome mouth of yours interest me much much more at this moment in time. How bout it sugar?” Sinclair teased, brushing his thumb off Mick’s bottom lip. “You are so fuckin lucky you got a voice I don’t mind calling me that” He fully let his smirk come though, kissing Sinclair passionately as they stumbled back. Mick kicked the door open and then closed when they were inside, not breaking the kiss for a moment.

He easily picked up Sinclair to sit him on the edge of his desk, shoving the contents of it off in one fail swoop as he pulled away for hair, turning his attention to Sinclair’s neck while he fiddled with his tie. Sinclair sighed happily, enjoying the affection as he commented “I personally believe I have done plenty to earn calling you whatever I please, don’t you think Mickey?” He kissed at Mick’s fluffy brown hair as he finally felt the man get his tie off, snatching it from him to loosely drape around mick’s shoulders before using it to pull him close the moment he straightened his spine. They were almost nose to nose and Sinclair just smirked at him as they were breathless, feeling his belt be slipped off from around his waist.

“Eager today, aren’t we?” He chuckled, Mick copying him as he was too breathless and achingly desperate for words. “You know, Ellie’s called the Pavlov dog, what should I call you?” The southerner cooed, the two just about to go into a kiss that would have definitely ended with them on the floor instead of the desk where Mick had planned, when there was a knock on the door. Mick cursed aloud, pulling away as Sinclair started to laugh. The Irish man was so annoyed by the interruption, he didn’t even acknowledge his lover and employer calling after him through breathless laughs, trying to get him back. At the door was a very smug looking Frank Fontaine. The two hadn’t met formally but were aware of eachother. Frank knew Mick as his lover’s failed revolutionary father and Mick knew Frank as the bastard who tried to convince an entire city his child was a lying whore.

Frank looked the ruffled man up and down, noticing Sinclair’s tie draped over his shoulders like a scarf as he teasingly asked “am I interrupting something?”. Sinclair quickly composed himself, like a professional, before appearing beside Mick within seconds “not at all, now can I help you Frankie?”. “Sure I’m not… I need a large order from Sinclair spirits for next week, and who better to order it from than our lovely southerner himself. Don’t you think, ‘Mickey’?” Frank’s smirk was insufferably smug, making Mick’s nose wrinkle as he resisted the urge to punch the prick. “He isn’t much for opinions. Ellie must have gotten that from her momma” Sinclair joked, putting a hand on Mick’s shoulder that was obscured by the door in an attempt to help with what he was now dubbing ‘the Donovan breed’s temper’. It would have been oddly attractive if it wasn’t slightly worrying that he hadn’t seen what Mick can do on full release yet.

“Tell me what you need and I’ll have you all sorted” He flashed Frank his perfect toothed business man’s grin. “I need twenty crates of Gin, whiskey and vodka, each. Oh and six pints of retinentia, I know you got a dealer” Frank gave him a wink as he glanced at his watch, seeing the time and going to leave. “What’s the occasion if you don’t kind my curiosity, son?” The southerner wondered. “I’m surprised your boy toy doesn’t know. It’s Ellie’s birthday, I’m planning somethin special” Frank informed them confidently before he was gone in a flash. Sinclair pouted slightly “you ain’t my boy toy, we’re almost the same age… Do I look like Sander Cohen?”. Mick just shrugged, shutting the door with his foot before getting back to work, Sinclair only hoping he could think straight enough to remember what Frank had ordered, five minutes into the future.

After a long day of surprisingly cope-able moments, Ryan being much kinder than usual, Eilis not being able to decrypt the reason why, they were once again back in his office, alone together, at night. The last time they did this she was belittled to the point to tears and banned from even breathing near Frank, now she was asked to basically be a thief from an espionage thriller just to steal something, my how the tables have turned. She leaned on the edge of his desk while she waited, trying out her new plasmids by using electrobolt to turn on the green lamps on either side of Ryan’s desk and telekenisis to pour him a drink and get them both cigars, not caring if she got yelled at, but he didn’t. “Is there a reason your being nice to me, or are you just in a good mood today?” She asked him softly as she lit his cigar for him. After a drag, Ryan seemed to sigh slightly, reminding her “your birthday is next week. So is Thomas’, though he never celebrated. I’d feel…. Cruel if I didn’t let you celebrate after what you’ve gone through. I’m sure it brought up many unwanted memories” with that he pushed his chair back, opened one of his drawers and pulled out a little container of what she immediately recognised as retinentia.

“Have you ever had this?” He queried, Eilis shook her head, hoping Jasmine hadn’t informed him of their day out at the Adonis. “It’s very popular among the rapture elite” Ryan explained, picking it up to admire the little pink orbs in the light “retinentia… it brings out only the best memories your brain has.. even if you’ve long forgotten them” he put it out to her, as if he were offering, but she refused with a hand “I’ve had too much Adam today love. I’ll get sick.”. Ryan rolled his eyes at that statement, leaning back in his chair as he downed the container, grimacing from the taste and popping sensation when he tried to close his mouth and a few had gotten trapped in between his teeth and his cheeks “ever since your latest… accident… I have been plagued with memories of the day we lost Thomas… and almost lost you.. you wouldn’t remember the horror… but dear god, I do not envy the men who had to see that every day in the war… it was enough to scar me for life… that is why I prefer when I have you doing that kind of work, you do it away from me as necessary..”. Eilis actually chuckled slightly “what happened to never saying that ‘over glorified parasite’s fantasy’s’ name again Andrei?”.

He didn’t even seem to hear her. His pupils started to grow as he kept grimacing at the taste “do make sure I don’t do anything ridiculous, I’ve heard this makes you lose track of time…. And is highly unrecommended for those who don’t partake in Adam consumption… something about delirium..”. Eilis resisted a sigh, realising he’d intended for them to take it together, as some sort of strange apology, but at her refusal now she is stuck babysitting him until it wares off. She was going to go see Frank but that wasn’t an option anymore. “Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall Mr Ryan.” She promised him, not bothering to speak in English since he was already gone.

While his head rolled back and he seemed happily absorbed in some memory she didn’t give a shit about, she grabbed his accuvox and recording a message for Cohen “sander! Love it’s Eilis, I’m not gonna be home tonight, but you have free reign of me tomorrow. I swear. Oh and if martin’s with you tonight tell him is é lá breithe tadhg é, caithfimid ceiliúradh beag a chaitheamh timpeall meán oíche Dé Domhnaigh. rud éigin beag agus milis, ba bhreá leis sin. Déanfaidh mé an cáca a réiteach. Thank you” knowing he’d just be nosey if she’d said it in English, she hoped Martin was sober enough to remember Irish. After wrapping it up and sending it through Ryan’s pneumo with a kick, she heard him calling to her, well not to her. To Tadgh.

“Thomas!… Tadgh.. come here. I need… I need to discuss something with you”, Eilis took a deep breath as she walked over him, deciding possibly just locking him in his bedroom for the night was a good plan, “Tadgh passed away sir. Let’s get you to bed hm?…” she stated softly, getting under his arms to support him “Ní íoctar go leor liom chun déileáil leis an cac seo…” she muttered to herself, Ryan lecturing her “Thomas, what have I said about that foreign language?… I don’t speak Russian to blend in.. you need… you need to get rid of all of that.. it’s no use to you”. She rolled her eyes, keeping an arm around his hip as she heaved him up the stairs, taking slow breaths to resist the urge to just drop him. “Thomas?…” Ryan called out quietly as she managed to get him to his bed, going down on her knees to take off his shoes, knowing he’d penalise her of she didn’t when he was sober, “what?” She snapped slightly, tossing them somewhere. “Do you blame me for your death?…” the question made Eilis halt, not replying “I was willing to let Eilis bleed to death on the floor.. in agony.. to get you to stay.. but no. The look you gave me.. your last words.. you begged… and begged.., for me to save her instead.. and I did. Even though parts of you live within her, she isn’t you… she isn’t the son I had in you..” her eyebrows furrowed, the hell was he on about parts?

“Parts? What do you mean?” She asked, he gave her a confused look but it quickly faded “ah.. of course.. you were dead, of course you didn’t know… as well as removing Eilis’ uterus, some of her other organs were destroyed beyond repair.. so we gave her some of yours…” Eilis felt her stomach lurch as she hugged herself with her free arm. She felt sick, why had he never told her ? Oh sweet Christ…

“Do you… hate me.. for letting her get into the state she’s in?.. with Fontaine and all this.. Adam buisness..” he queried drearily as Eilis sat him on his bed, desperate to leave, maybe cry and debate cutting the organs out of her as she suddenly felt rancid. She stopped at his question though, pausing just for a moment as she thought, answering what she believed her brother would say, mixed with disgusted spite on her behalf “I am grateful… but from how she has been treated, I’m not surprised she didn’t stay the same girl who saw you as an idol. Now she sees you as a lying pig, or a parasite, as you’d call it. Sleep well, sir” slamming his door behind her, she was gone, rushing back into his office and grabbing his decanter. She saw some retinentia left on his desk, it must have fallen out when he’d thrown it back like a tin of mints. She picked up a few, curious for a moment, and decided to take them. It was only a minuscule dose, hopefully it would just give her a mood boost, one memory and enough of a distraction to not thing about.. anything.

She tossed back the little pink orbs along with half a decanter’s worth of whiskey, and waited, half wishing she’d have a bad reaction and puke on his desk. Her wish came through but her natural instincts sadly dragged her to the trash can. Close enough. She glared at the refined Adam red that her vomit was, shakily getting to her feet to finally go home, when she saw two people standing behind her. They were dressed like something out of an old movie, with ginger hair and almost identical faces, they would have been identical in every way if they weren’t different genders.

The man was just staring at her, curiously, while the woman took notes. After a moment he realised she could see him, he nudged his companion and informed the woman “she has noticed us”. “She has chosen to notice us. That does not mean she is aware. Pay her no mind, I’m still trying to discern what reality this is” the woman dismissed him, so he continued to stare.

Eilis knew damn well they weren’t there before but brushed them off as a very very vivid hallucination. Suddenly feeling too tired and weak to walk all the way back home, she got comfortable in Ryan’s plush chairs where he drank whiskey while he pretended to give a damn about someone’s opinion, and tried to sleep. Her eyes dropped for a moment but when she opened them again, they were closer. The man was at her side, seemingly examining her hair, while the woman sat on the desk, making notes. “No blood in the hair or recent cuts. He’s still alive” he deduced, the woman tilting her head “but for how long. Dies, died, will die”. “Lives, lived, will live. I have faith. Though one cannot lives while the other remains” the man sighed slightly, pulling a hair out for a sample. “They could. Or they couldn’t. Reality is a mouldable thing brother mine” the woman continued, making direct eye contact with Eilis “ah. It seems she is aware of us. Pity she isn’t sober, a conversation would have helped us specify”.

Eilis sleepily looked back and forth from the two, the woman calmly standing as she made one last scribble before shutting her notebook. “Do enjoy the party, or at least the first half of it” the man told Eilis, still remaining stone faced. And when she next blinked, they were gone.

Definetly a hallucination, she told herself. She didn’t have time to be crazy, just letting sleep take her and hoping if Ryan does do something stupid, it’s atleast hilarious like him stripping and walking around Hephaestus like nothing is wrong.

The next week came in quickly, which wasn’t strange for Eilis to experience after such a large Adam intake, Ryan even commenting on her more obedient behaviour, she couldn’t stop thinking about what the two hallucinations were rambling about, and the fact her insides consisted of her dead brother’s organs. Anytime she was reminded of that she’d gag, even if someone touched her near her stomach she’d gag by association. It had gotten to the point where her father was convinced she was ill, using any chance he could to check on her, which was sweet in theory and Eilis did enjoy it, but it was horrible for work since he’d do it no matter what she was doing. She was in the process of a shootout a few days ago and he’d taken the moment to stop her after she’d lerched from him merely brushing past her.

Either way, Mick was aware she didn’t want to be touched on her stomach, and took that into consideration when they were walking to Fontaine’s party in one of the higher ends of rapture. “any reason why this slimy prick is throwing you a party?” He whispered as their lift slowly rose to whoever Frank was throwing this ridiculous show of wealth. “We’re close friends. You know papers take men and women being friends and run with it” she reassured him, unlinking their arms to fix her dress, seeming to fuss with something underneath it through the fabric. Mick swatted her hands away and smoothed it out for her, brushing some stray hairs away and admiring his daughter done up in full make up with a genuine glint of excitement in her eyes. “Just like your ma” he cooed, kissing her forehead affectionately, Eilis letting out a little laugh “you’re far to sweet, why haven’t you found a little Miss to pass the time yet?” She teased him. Mick shrugged “I have someone to pass the time” he insisted. Eilis rolled her eyes, unable to resist a grin “sure you do”.

As the doors opened they were greeted by hoards of people and loud music, all milling about and doing their own thing. The Pavlov dog took a sharp breath, leaving her father concerned, but she gave him a smile to reassure him “we’ll meet up at the end and walk home together alright? I have to do something for work”. He frowned “it’s your birthday pet.”, her smile almost seemed sad after he said that “I know. Dogs don’t get birthdays” she gave his arm a squeeze and a warning of “avoid Ryan like the plague” before absorbing herself the crowds, tempted to take her heels off since she could walk faster barefoot, but knowing rapture now a days she’d get glass or a needle in her foot, and she did not need Stienmen appearing on her birthday. Thank Christ he was fully booked for surgeries today, but the threat of him was still there.

Eilis tried to keep her thoughts on track, missing her shotgun. Ryan had said it was being fixed, but from her memory there was nothing wrong with it. Ignoring how vulnerable she felt, she decided to calm her nerves before going to Frank, with what Ryan wanted her to do hanging in the back of her mind, she knew Frank would catch on that she was hiding something immediately. She used her telekinesis plasmid to steal a cigar from a nearby man, currently distracted by a dancer buttering him up just to steal his wallet. She snuck under the ornate stairs and snapped her fingers for a flame, enjoying the private moment and the slightly muffled noise from the party only a foot away.

Trying to enjoy the moment and ignore memories creeping in, she took a long drag from her cigar, unwillingly remembering one of her birthdays back home on the emerald isles. She’d snuck out with a boy from a nearby family, maybe she liked him at the time, she didn’t remember. He’d stolen his grandfather’s pipe and the two were giggling, only to be caught before they got to light it, Tadgh practically throwing Eilis over his shoulder as he carried her home, lecturing her, only to share a cigarette with their dad the moment they were home.  It was probably since they shared a birthday, Mick was usually so finicky about Tadgh smoking, though Tadgh never celebrated his side of their joint birthday. He’d refer to birthday presents as just simple gifts, if anyone asked when his birthday was he’d simply change the subject and he honestly just had no interest in the whole affair. It could have had something to do with their mother, Eilis may not have known her but he was only ten when she died, he probably did.

She huffed the smoke out of her nose as she pushed all those thoughts away, sneaking out from under the stairs and into one of the large windowed rooms they had in this place, admiring the orcas as they chased some poor seal around in circles, diving down and swimming up to chase it. She swore one smacked it out of the ocean at one point. She abandoned her cigar in a nearby ashtray as she just tried to watch the natural order of the ocean, calming her nerves, when she felt hands wrap around her waist. “Wondered where you were, you not liking the party?” Frank teased, pecking her cheek as he held her close to him. Eilis let out a chuckle, leaning her head back to kiss at his jawline “I hate parties” she mumbled, resting her hands over his, moving them off her stomach as she went back to watching the beasts of the sea, who’d finally caught their pray, starting the maul the poor thing.

“Nah. You just hate them when it involves Ryan” Frank suggested, following her line of sight and grimacing slightly from it, she didn’t seem to have the same reaction though, she tensed her muscles slightly but kept a curious expression. “Maybe..” she muttered, going quiet for a moment before adding “you’re a lot like them now that I think about it”. “The fuckin whale?” The businessman almost was offended. “Yes. Probably tied into why I like them so much. They’re big, and sleek, and strong. Very fucking mouthy” she gently grabbed him by his chin and shook his head slightly “but secretly they’re big softies if they don’t want to kill you”. “Who says I don’t want to kill you?” Frank hummed, pulling her hand away and interlocking their fingers, “I’m very aware you could if you wanted to. Yet here I am. Maybe you just love me” the Pavlov dog smirked, “prove me wrong?”.

“I’d rather prove you right” He shrugged, glancing back at the party before whispering in her ear “come up to the second floor in five minutes. There’s an empty dressing room for the performers, third door on the left” and with that he was gone, sliding his hands off her in a way that he knew would leave her missing his touch. Eilis cursed under her breath, knowing Ryan would have preferred somewhere more private, like one of his many offices or the Fontaine Futuristic’s building down the street, but she tried to reassure herself she still had time. All of this was so damn nerve racking.

Why Ryan thought her stealing from Frank was a good idea, she didn’t know, but she was going to use it to her advantage. Ryan’s dream of having him behind bars before next year was very extreme, and if she could help it, he’d get the shortest sentence possible. For now it was her birthday, and she was going to enjoy herself wether it was for Ryan’s benefit or not. After a few more deep breaths, pushing away memories and the thought of anything involving her stomach, she left, milling through the crowds as fast as she could, till she felt someone grab her wrist and spin her around, as the spinning slowed and she felt herself be caught, she pulled the revolver she’d had gartered to her thigh and pressed it into the chin of whoever had grabbed her, knowing it was an overreaction but if it was Stienmen, she’d do anything to get him off her. It wasn’t though. It was Martin, who just looked shocked, then laughed “someone’s a little antsy, aye? What? Has the ghost of your brother possess ya for your birthday?” He teased her.

She lowered her gun, forcing a smile as she ignored her thumping heart “you know you can’t just grab me randomly” She reminded him. He shrugged as he gave her a little twirl “last few years all you’ve done to celebrate is drink and sleep in. Forgive me for being excited. Now, what’s this rumour I hear about your dad being here?”. “Ain’t a rumour love. I’ll introduce you later” she promised, trying to leave but the grip he had on her hand made her stop. “He isn’t.. ya know… like a good portion of rapture, is he?” Martin muttered, seeming to need reassurance. Eilis put a hand on his cheek for comfort “Martin. Tadgh has been openly fucking boys since he was 19. Da is fully aware, and fine with it.” She reassured him, but he still seemed hesitant.

“Look, I have to do something for Ryan, but after how about we have a dance and I properly introduce you two, hm?” She suggested, genuinely worried Martin might just leave. He hesitated again but nodded, letting go of her hand. She grinned and swore to him “half an hour at most mate, I promise” disappearing from his view and back into the hoards of people, as he fidgeted with the wedding ring on his finger, wondering if she’d noticed he’d out it back on after all these years. It was colder than he remembered.

When Eilis finally got to the second floor, she saw a trail of rose petals. Of course. She barely held in the urge to laugh, realising he’d planned this. A whole party to distract everyone so they could sneak off and have sex. Classy. Seeing the floor was clean, except the petals of course, she took off her heels, hanging them off two fingers as she followed the trail, brushing curtains out of the way to see a very lavish looking room with long leather couches, lit by two glorious chandeliers and some small banker lamps resting on the vanities spread around the room. Leaning against one was Frank, standing there with smirk on his face, just in his dress pants with his shirt open and the sleeves rolled up, swirling whiskey around a cup. “Ready for your birthday present?” He teased, Eilis pretending to pout “you seemed to have opened it already”.

Frank gestured at his crotch “Not all of it”. “When have I ever done that part?” She asked as she approached him, tossing her shoes somewhere with no confidence she’d find them later, “first time for everything” Frank just continued to keep his smug smirk, knowing from the the look in those enticing speckled eyes of hers, that she was going to play along.

“Is this my only present Frankie?” She wondered, resting a hand on his chest as she trailed her other one down his chest before hooking a finger on his belt. “Could be, what else do you want?” He tilted his head, holding in a groan as she stroked him through his pants, feigning innocence “oh I don’t know… let’s see…” she hummed as she continued to stroke it his dick through his dress pants. She seemed to resist a smirk as she got a few ideas, fully intending on playing with him a bit, honestly a little bored of always being the flustered one. “Take me to la-la land. I wanna see Marilyn again” she suggested, Frank chuckling “Monroe? Her and Ryan have a little thing?” trying to keep his eyes on her face as he heard the clinking of his buckle as she undid it with one hand. She shrugged “sworn to secrecy mate” pulling his belt out in one gesture, tossing it behind her “shower me in sapphires while we watch Stienmen get eaten by the orcas”.

“Now we’re talkin, but I thought you hated material shit” Frank’s eyes trailed down to her hands as he heard his zipper go down, but she coughed lightly to grab his attention. He couldn’t tell if he hated this or if he was just impatient, could be either in all honestly. “I do. But when it comes to you, I have gotten a slight taste for dramatic extravagance” The Pavlov dog clarified, watching his expression as she simply pulled away her hands and crossed her arms.

Frank suddenly understood what everyone was talking about when they’d described his expression as insufferably smug, considering Eilis was giving him the exact same look and very much enjoying how irritated he was. He sucked on his teeth as he composed himself, reminding her “as great as those all sound doll, something I could do tonight, preferably right now, would be great”.

“Something you could do right now?” Eilis cooed,

Frank glared at her “yes”

“You’re sure about that?” She propped her chin up on one hand, seeming to either pretend she was thinking or genuinely figuring out how far she could push him before he just ended up pinning her to one of those plush red couches.

“Very.” Frank was genuinely loosing his patience, what little he’d had before was now practically non existent.

Eilis expression changed ever so slightly as she seemed to get an idea, asking a confirming question of “Anything?”.

“Eilis.” Her lover snapped at her, one more stupid question and he was gone.

“Fine” She shrugged, draping her arms over his shoulders and caressing the back of his head, the two almost being nose to nose as she requested “marry me”. Frank hadn’t heard her for a moment, going to kiss her before what she had said registered, and he half pulled away. “What?.. You know, when I said the whole trophy wife thing I was only jokin sweetheart” he just seemed startled by the whole thing, though Eilis kept the same expression. “You asked for something we could do tonight, so there. Don’t you love me Frankie?” she spoke to him like a spoilt child being told they couldn’t have a toy, smirking at his conflicted expression “aww look at your little face! I know you’d never” she laughed, kissing him softly, but he just stood there like a statue for a moment.

After the shock wore off his glare from before returned, his eyes glossed over like a shark. “Not very nice to play with a man’s heart and head like that Ellie” he scoffed, “then why don’t I feel guilty, darling?” Eilis hummed. She mentally crossed her fingers, knowing what was about to happen next, she only hoped one of the performers had left their makeup and she could walk without enough of a limp to dance with those she felt deserved her time. Most likely not though.

Frank was fully intent on enjoying the peace while he could, because of this went as he planned, this party would be in ruin before midnight, in all the right ways, leaving him an innocent bystander with Eilis on his arm and Ryan shoved more in the filthy pit of irrelevance he should be in. Christ, he couldn’t wait, but first, he’d enjoy himself a little a bit. 

Chapter Text

After putting on about four months worth of concealer on her neck and shoulders to hide the fact it was practically purple, Eilis fixed her hair, slightly annoyed Frank had ruffled it so much. She still left a few stray strands so it looked natural, but it was just the principle of it. He didn’t even have hair she could mess up, so there was no even trade. “You falling in love with your reflection or are you pissed at me sweetheart?” She could practically feel Frank’s smirk from his tone. “Can’t I be both?” She wondered as she went back to him, sitting on the edge of the long couch as she put her heels back on. Frank’s eyebrows furrowed “you gonna tell me why?”. She looked back at him with a smile, caressing his face as she kissed him softly, pulling away to tell him “it’s my birthday. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone”. Ignoring her lover’s scowl, she smoothed down her dress, stopping when she hit her stomach and resisting a gag. She composed herself before Frank notice, thankful she hadn’t eaten yet today.

He reluctantly stood up after fixing his tie and offered her his arm “we could just stay up here you know. They won’t notice”. “Why not? It’s only been twenty minutes, not even a lightweight gets drunk that quickly.” Eilis’ eyebrows furrowed, Frank just getting a slight smirk and not saying anything. “Fine. They better be drunk because you were feckin eager. I think you scraped the floor” She teased, Frank shrugging as he brushed the curtain out of the way so Eilis could walk past “not my fault they didn’t secure their shitty furniture” guiding her by her arms as they got to the stairs “wanna dance?”. “My legs feel like boneless jelly, go fuck yourself” she jokingly snapped at him as she scanned the room for her Martin, feeling slightly like a lost child as she couldn’t see him anywhere. Frank held her chin between his finger and thumb, guiding her to look at him, wanting her full attention “got you a new record from the smugglers, had the performers put it on their schedule for the first dance of the night to make sure you like it, You like the soppy shit right?”, Eilis’ nose wrinkled in that maddening way as she seemed both intrigued and annoyed, giving in “fine. You really need to stop buying things off the smugglers mate. You’re just giving Ryan more reasons to throw darts at that lovely bald head of yours”.

Frank snorted a laugh as they walked down the stairs, how naive Eilis was with certain things when it came to him was almost adorable. He knew exactly what she was implying and exactly what he was doing. The best con is a very very long one, and if he let just enough mistakes slip through, the second part would go of without a hitch. If current rumours were true though his second idea may actually have to be altered slightly, but simply for convenience. Rumour has it someone’s riling up the poor schmucks of rapture that Frank already had firmly under his thumb. Whoever it was wasn’t using their own name, of course, they were using an alias. Atlas, the man with the world on his shoulders, and he just so happened to be Irish. How curious. Frank’s eyes fell on Mick as he watched him stand beside Sinclair, looking bored to tears but genuinely trying to feign interest in boring financial discussions.

“Frank?” Eilis called out to him, he glanced at her as an answer “I said, do you still want that dance? They’re playing the music mate”. “Not the right one. I’ll grab you when it is” he pecked her cheek, whispering a “happy birthday doll” before he was gone. Eilis just kept a confused expression, wondering why he’d left but deciding to think about it over drink, having spotted Sullivan out of the corner of her eye. She joined him, ordering some random cocktail she decided to try, before leaning on the bar stand so she could look him in the eye, which he was actively refusing to return. “Something wrong? You haven’t talked to me in weeks mate” she asked, getting a drunken mumble of “you were comatose for two of those..”. She barely resisted a frown “well I’m not now.. I didn’t expect ya to run in with a bouquet and kiss me, a hello would have been fine”, he finally looked at her, he looked absolutely broken. His voice cracked as he asked “you know what it’s like to see someone on the brink a death twice? Both times cause you either weren’t there in time or you just froze? Huh? You know how that feels?”.

“I’m not dead.. I’m right here” She tried to reassure him but it had no affect, she gave his hand a squeeze, not really knowing what to do physically as she chose her words carefully, knowing Sullivan could be delicate “Sully. I swear to you, I won’t be dying anytime soon. I couldn’t leave you alone in this fish bowl, now could I?”. “Sure.” he muttered, downing his drink with a grimace before adding “I need to keep an eye on Ryan. Happy birthday kid” leaving her there, alone. Eilis resisted the urge to follow him, assuming he was in a good enough headspace to be left alone since he was working, still she was worried. She rubbed at the back of her neck slightly, trying to calm her nerves, when a familiar southern drawl called out “My my! Is that our lovely doggy sulkin at the bar on her birthday? Now we can’t have that, can we?”. She managed to pull together a polite smile for the man as she turned to face Sinclair. “I’m not sulking, just taking a moment… where’s Mick?” She queried, almost craning to see if he was nearby, stopping when Sinclair waved a dismissive hand “don’t be worrying about him! He’s just gone out for a smoke, nothin too out of the ordinary.” His dismissive wave rolled to an offered hand very elegantly “Fancy a dance to pass the time? Don’t want people thinking you’re a wallflower, now do you?”.

“That silky tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble one day” Eilis sighed as she shook his hand, the man happily guiding her to the dance floor with a confident “oh, I know.”. The two swayed together like old friends, Sinclair waiting for the girl to physically let her guard down before asking “now Ellie, be honest with me… what were you doin with Frankie upstairs?” She immediately tensed up, quickly justifying it “you know what I was doing. Ryan endorsed it actually” noticing the rest of the party seemed rather ditsy. Sinclair was however perfectly sober, he made a hum that sounded like he didn’t fully believe her “I’d give you the usual lecture on being careful but we both know there’s no point in that.. you haven’t had anything to drink, have you?”, “no. You actually dragged me off before I got to, so thanks for that” She sounded mildly annoyed but seemed to catch on that something was wrong with the drink. Sullivan was never that open with his emotions, and he never brings up his feelings from the day Tadgh died. All of this was so strange.

She glanced at Sinclair’s expression, which was rather monotone, but the slight worried furrow of his brow the moment she looked at him with slight suspicion told her all she needed to know, “what did you do Augustus?”.

Meanwhile Mick was taking what he believed was a well deserved smoke break, when he was interrupted by the same bald bastard who’d bothered him and Sinclair earlier that week. “The hell do you want lad?” he asked between drags, tapping the ash off his cigarette, missing the wind of the surface he knew would have blown it onto the bastard’s suit. “Just wanted to chat with my girl’s old man, somethin wrong with that?” Frank replied, stealing the man’s cigarette, flicking it off somewhere. Mick took a deep breath to resist breaking this man’s teeth “she’s engaged mate. I’d watch yourself” he warned the businessman, but Frank just laughed, “hell, you’re funny” he uttered through his chuckles, watching as he could practically see Mick’s urge to punch him, “I don’t think you have any right to be threatening me though. I can see you thinkin about it, don’t deny it. I also know what you’ve been doing”.

“Do you now?” Mick hummed as he rubbed at the back of his neck, making a move to get back to the party, but what Frank said made every muscle in his body tense “what would your daughter think if she found out you’re the reason her life is slowly getting more difficult, hm?”, “excuse you?..” mick muttered, not turning to look at the man even when he continued “More shootouts, more assassination attempts, all encouraged by some Irish bastard who refuses to show his face. Probably won’t go down well. Dontcha think, Mickey?” Frank sighed slightly, patting the Irish man’s shoulder firmly with a whisper of “stay in your fuckin place” before re-entering the party like he hadn’t done anything wrong. Mick was seething, he tried to calm himself down for a minute before realising the only way for him to feel better was to see Frank bloody and unconscious on the floor.

He pushed through the crowds with a purpose, determined to get back to Frank, only to be blocked by Ryan, like he was some sort of drunk immovable wall. “Move.” He ordered bluntly, but Ryan just glared at him and stayed in his spot. “I believe we got off on the wrong foot” he began, Mick brushing him off as he tried to walk away, Ryan gripping his arm to stop him. “Why don’t you have common decency for once in your life and listen to me. I’m the only reason you’re here, I deserve five seconds” He almost shouted, Mick smelling the weird alcohol and chemical mix off his breath. “I’ll talk to ya when you’re fuckin sober” Mick snapped back as he pulled his arm free, continuing until he barely heard Ryan scoff “good thing I neutered Eilis.. we don’t need more things carrying your blood and temperament”.

“You. What?..” Eilis’ father asked, turning back to face the man, “don’t be so dramatic, it was necessary to keep her alive. I’m just currently seeing the benefits of it thanks to her recent behaviour and what she has inherited from you. I may as well try labotomy in an attempt to rid her of that attitude the mere thought of you has reignite-“ Ryan started to rant, but as he’d been speaking, Mick shucked off his jacket and quickly punched the king of rapture hard in the face, almost smirking from the loud crack he heard as he obviously broke his nose before he hit the ground. He was almost disappointed he hadn’t punched it hard enough to kill him. Mick pulled the disorientated man up by his tie and screamed at him “Say that again! Say it again I fucking dare you! Oh, I’m gonna make the World Wars look like a damn Sunday morning walk when I’m done with you!!”. Though most of the party was out of it, they all had the natural human instinct to look at the source of the noise, everyone watching as he went to punch Ryan again, Eilis barely getting there in time to catch his arm. Before she could even make a sound, Ryan punched back, causing Mick to stumble back into Eilis’ grasp, nursing his bleeding lip. He chuckled “oh you’re playing with fire, boy!” He shouted at Ryan, trying to get at him while Eilis physically held him back. Sullivan quickly did the same with Ryan who struggled a bit but didn’t seem fully in the room. Mick continued to scream at Ryan in Irish, No one else at the party understanding him but Eilis who grimaced slightly from all the things he was threatening to do, having to squint her eyes slightly, seeming to be the only person aware of a faint flash from above. “dad… dad. DAD!” She tried to catch his attention, eventually forcing him to turn around so they were face to face. He didn’t calm down, he just tensed up and seemed to have to resist the urge to punch his child on instinct “That bastard has done nothing but talk about you like an animal since I got here, and apparently since you did as well. He doesn’t even see you as human and he isn’t as thick as he looks! He knows exactly what he’s doing! And you’re just letting him”.

“Maybe I am. I’m a grown woman, why is it any of your business?” She sneered back at him, he seemed bewildered “because you’re my child and he’s insulting you!”. “I can handle myself! I’ve done so the last seventeen years just. Fine. I don’t need to be coddled, I don’t need to be babied, and I sure as hell don’t need you making such a stupid decision that will get you carted off, AGAIN!” she screamed, finally letting him go “go do your feckin job instead of ruining my birthday again, you prick…” her voice was suddenly hoarse as she seemed to be holding back tears, Mick didn’t know how to respond, so he let her be and did as he was told, disappearing into the watching crowd with Sinclair having a firm grip on his arm.

Eilis started to crack her fingers as she tried it calm her nerves and continue to enjoy her party, when Ryan made a comment “it’s a good thing Thomas is dead… imagine that being your father… how pathetic”. Before Eilis fully knew what she had done, there was a gasp of shock, the sound of teeth clacking shut and Ryan was on the floor. Her mind tried to rationalise it, he was drunk, he wouldn’t remember any of this, right? But it was all too much. The grin Cohen gave her, like he was proud of her was the final straw. She left as fast as she could, rushing to the emptiest area she could find, her only physical company being a young woman dressed in a servers uniform, smoking not too far away, absorbed in her own world. She sank into one of the plush observation seats by the large windows looking out on the city. The orcas were still there, just chasing eachother in circles. She put her head in her hands as she tried to catch her breath, fully planning on going back to the party when she noticed her hands felt wet and she heard sobbing. She lifted her head up to see who was making the noise and seeing if there was a leak. There wasn’t, it was her. She wiped at her eyes with the ball of her palm, knowing she was ruining the makeup she’d spent so long on, keeping her mouth shut to hide the sobs with gritted teeth. She tried to cover her mouth in an attempt to muffle them more, only to pull her hand away from pain when she was shocked. One hand was burning with magma rushing through her veins while the other glowed with a constant lightning bolt darting under her skin. She started to shake as she tried to calm them down but they wouldn’t go away. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel like she was in danger? Why did her heart hurt so much? Why couldn’t she stop shaking? God this was awful. Didn’t this happen before? Why was it happening again?… She wanted her brother…

She hugged her stomach despite the agony of being burned and shocked at the same time. Why couldn’t she just enjoy something without it being tainted for once ?.. she was so tired. For a moment she envied that seal she’d seen earlier, he got to live and die naturally. Was it painful? Of course. But it was quick. Her life felt like a constant long ongoing death, and everytime she was about to be ‘rewarded’ with a natural death, she was reminded of reasons she couldn’t do that. Finally the pain stopped as she’d obviously run out of Eve. She hadn’t had any in hours. She pried her hands off her sides as she stared at herself in the glass. A sniffling mess. No wonder Andrew Ryan treated her like a child. She was pathetic…

Eilis shook her head, trying to ignore the thoughts as she focused on her reflection. She attempted to fix her makeup, but only managed to smear the black more around her face, making her look even more distraught. She stood shakily, walking over to the glass, noticing the girl who’d been smoking was now long gone, her only company now being the muffled announcements over the speakers. She placed her hand on the glass, dragging her nails down it as she imagined them slicing through it, wondering how rapture would look fully submerged under water, insides and all. A scuba diver’s wet dream possibly, but they hadn’t had any more of those since Johnny Topside. Was he even still alive? She didn’t dare go into Persephone to find out. She’d always been half afraid if she went in there Ryan wouldn’t let her leave.

Her inner pity party was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. It was Mick. He gave her a sympathetic smile, explaining “Sin sent me out to check on ya.. I’ll leave if you want me too”. “No… it’s alright..” Eilis glanced at him slightly as she spoke, quickly returning to her seat, her father cautiously sitting beside her. “You’re shaking, are you cold?” He asked her quietly, she shook her head, clenching her fists in an attempt to make it stop. Her father took a deep breath and tried to apologise “about what happened with Ryan, I-“ but Eilis cut him off “I really don’t want to even think about it. Can we talk about something else?”.  “Course. What do you want me to talk about?” He asked softly. Eilis thought for a moment, before wondering “when I was small, I remember whenever you and Uncle Paddy would argue, you’d stop and go outside. Sometimes you’d be out there for hours, sometimes only a few minutes, but you always came back as friends. What did you talk about?…”. “my my, you have the memory of a bloody elephant!” Mick chuckled slightly, “We didn’t talk about anything special. We just took our mind off it, talking about anything that came to mind or whatever the other wanted to talk about instead… Go on, ask me something”.

Eilis’ eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think, deciding to get an answer that had been bothering her since he got here “what happened to Paddy?”. “Hunger strike love, he was always a stubborn bastard…” Mick tutted “real shame.. right! Now, even trade, Why the hell did you actually come down here with that rich arsehole?” he brushed off her question much too easily, as if he didn’t even want to remember the man who he’d been so close to his own children saw him as family. It bothered her but she understood it. “It’s not like I had anything else to do. I was extremely under qualified to get hired anywhere else and he was kind enough to keep me, which led to me being dragged down here and ‘promoted’, if you can even call it that, to this.” She admitted, gesturing to herself “It has given him this holier than though outlook on how he can treat me though, which you saw. Honestly the best way to cope is to ignore it…” even though she was being reminded of the past, which she hated, it brought another question to mind, well more of a request “tell me about mama”. “What has you suddenly so curious? You never asked before” Mick tried to look his daughter in the eye but she still avoided him. “Oi, it’s my question, so answer it..” she snapped at him slightly, so he gave in.

“Alright, alright. This‘ll be the first time I’m properly speaking about her in thirty years, pet… forgive me if I get a little.. quiet” he wrung his hands slightly “she was gorgeous… and stubborn.. she lived up in one of the old landlord houses with her bitch of an aunt. They were drowning in diamonds and silks… and they’d always go up to Dublin City every Friday to go shopping for new things to wear. One day I bundled up the courage to ask her out for a drink, and she said yes. Soon we were getting married at the crack of dawn in a church before we rushed home… I can still see her in that dress when I close my eyes…” Mick’s eyes shut as he seemed to take a moment to appreciate the memory of his late wife, so long that Eilis actually looked at him. Her hands had stopped shaking, so she reached over to lay one on top of his, resisting her head on his shoulder and encouraging him “keep going..”. He barely resisted a smile “she had your strange speckled eyes, but hers were blue.. I could stare into them for hours..  I remember when she was pregnant with you she was so certain you were gonna be a little fighter. She seemed convinced you were gonna do something great.. hell, she thought you’d go off and marry a prince or something. Then when you popped out, though she was weak… and just knew she wasn’t going to survive it this time, she held you.. you were just this chubby little thing, bright pink with blonde curls that fluffed up after your granny dried you off.. she held you before she went.. I remember the look she gave me.. she got Tadgh to hold you before she named ya.. Eilis..” he tilted his head back to avoid tears, “then she made us both promise to keep you safe.. stay together.. that kind of thing… you know the usual stuff mothers say before they go… we both fucked up that didn’t we?”.

“Granny did the same… but I’m not dead yet, am I?” She asked him, “no, but that doesn’t-“ Mick tried to explain but she calmly cut him off “then you both did your job. Ba chóir do theaghlaigh cloí le chéile, ach mura féidir leat maireachtáil leat féin, ansin cad é an pointe atá ann ar chor ar bith?”. He wrapped an arm around her, giving her a supportive squeeze as he teased “Ma used to say that didn’t she?.. You and your feckin granny... You’ll be the death of me” he watched the ocean for a moment, stating “what do you want for your birthday? I just realised I didn’t get you anything” Eilis gave him a curious look “I know, ‘father of the year’! Ya can tease me later love”. “Fine, I just want you to promise me something”, “anything” He swore. “Please stop provoking Ryan. You don’t know what he’ll do when he finally gets sick of you” she begged him, holding his hands tightly as she looked into his eyes, wanting to make sure he wasn’t lying to her. Before Mick could make a promise he fully intended on breaking, not understanding why she was starting so intently at him, he noticed they had an unwanted guest.

Eilis sat up straight following his line of sight to see it was Reggie. Frank’s rarely needed bodyguard stood there, hands in his pockets, bluntly asking “ya done?”. “Done what? Minding our own businesses like you should be doing?” Mick shot back, standing up and pulling away from his daughter, who quickly followed with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Ooo catty, but nah. I’m here doing my job, like you should be doing with your drunk boss” Reggie glared faintly at the Irish bastard before turning his attention to the woman standing beside him. He new the woman’s name but since Frank kept fucking repeating it he was honestly starting it hate it “Boss wants to see you doggy”. “Unless you want my old man breaking your teeth, I wouldn’t call me that” Eilis told him calmly, “I’m going home.”. “That’s the thing. Boss wants you going home with him, says you need the comfort” Reggie continued to push, the Pavlov dog calmly walking past him with Sinclair’s new muscle and a comment of “well he’ll have to come find me himself, now won’t he? Tell him to pick the singer he had tonight, she fancies him” before she was on her way.

Reggie, not having the patience to deal with some stubborn broad, went back to his boss and simply told him “she said she ain’t interested and you should go ask the singer for a rub”. “You’re simplified version of shit doesn’t make this any easier, you know that?” Frank groaned in annoyance, Reggie shrugging before wandering off to the bar, having completed his mission. The businessman took a moment to compose himself, finishing his drink, his special non-retinentia stash, as he watched Cohen fight to drag Ryan out of the party along with his head of security. The old artist must have a tolerance to that level of Adam because he seemed just like his usual batshit self. He needed to remember that if there happened to be a next time. One final hurrah.

After composing himself he spotted Eilis, she seemed to be saying goodbye to her father and Sinclair, insisting she had to leave, much to their protests. He wondered why they were still sober. Sinclair of course knew but did he tell his new pet about it?

Did he tell Eilis? That’s no fun.

Either way he was sick of this party and her leaving was the perfect time to catch her without that level of ‘don’t talk to me, I’m working bullshit’ she keeps up with others around. By the time he caught up to her she was outside with her heels dangling off her fingers, walking on her toes which made her footsteps almost silent against the marble. He quickly caught up to her, she was obviously aware of him but didn’t give him any form of reaction. “Leaving so soon?” He asked her, she glanced at him slightly but kept up her pace, replying “Táim tuirseach agus ba mhaith liom dul abhaile. ní cosúil gur féidir liom rud ar bith a ól ar aon nós” as she seemed to set her sights on the signs leading to the bathysphere station. “Doll, as cute as your accent is, I still have no clue what your saying to me” he tried to sound like he wasn’t losing his temper but she didn’t seem to care, causally saying “cac diana.” As she stepped into the bathysphere while it bobbed lightly at the surface.

“Are you throwing a tantrum because I shot down your little request of marriage?” Now that made Eilis stop and actually stare at him. “No. I’m pissed at you because you spiked all of the drinks at my party, ruining it so you could get blackmail on everyone, including Ryan. Don’t think I didn’t spot Stanley with his camera up in the rafters” she explained to him quickly as she went to shut the bathysphere, but he got in. “Now who told you I did that?” His tone was calm but she could tell he was gritting his teeth. “Guess.” She shrugged, sitting on the opposite side of the bathysphere, but he followed her. “Daddy dearest? Or soon to be number two?” Frank began to tease, confusing the poor girl, “Who are you on about?”. “Oh you don’t know about your dad and his new boss’ little meetings five times a day? I’m surprised Sin can still walk” A smirk took over his features, especially when Eilis cringed as her mind came up with images to rationalise the thoughts.

“What they do in their private time is none of my business alright? Just like what I do with you is none of theirs” there was a certain venom in her tone that he didn’t like. “You saying you regret us?” Frank pried, Eilis defending herself “I never said that.”. Suddenly there was a hand on her cheek, “good. I wouldn’t want you too. Don’t need you running back to the doc so quickly now do I?”.

Frank Fontaine, the master manipulator who has the Pavlov dog almost like putty in his hands.

Why must I be attracted to bastards?, Eilis scolded herself.

“After all we’ve done, I’m honestly shocked you can still get mad at me sweetheart” Frank continued, leaning closer to whisper “and all the things we haven’t done are the reason you stay. Don’t think I ain’t wise to that fact”. Eilis couldn’t help but laugh from the ticking sensation his deep voice made against her ear. She enjoyed the moment, almost considering letting what Frank obviously wanted to happen, happen, till something came back to mind like a bullet shot through her brain.

The baby.

“How’s the baby? Little Jack” She asked suddenly. Frank tensed up, he almost pulled his hand away but he stopped himself “that thing? Why’d you wanna know?”. “Because you said I could see him again and it’s been almost a month. He’s not still in that lab is he?” She sounded so concerned, and she didn’t know why she was. It wasn’t her baby but there was definitely something wrong with the poor thing. Frank seemed to curse repeatedly in his own mind before flashing her a smile “course not. The kraut’s just got it, that’s all. How bout I get you back up and settled in my place and I’ll go get the little shit, hmm?” He offered. Eilis frowned slightly “don’t call him that…”. “Stop worryin!” He chuckled, kissing her softly for a moment to distract her thoughts, “you just relax, I’ll get the bouncing baby brat, you get to have your moment and then maybe we can have a little moment ourselves, how’s that sound me darlin?” He brought out the Irish accent just as a little treat, which obviously worked as she went bright pink and started muttering curses in a language he didn’t understand under her breath. “I’ll take that as a yes” he smirked, setting course for home.

Even through she was flustered and mildly distracted, none of his little attempts settled the sickening feeling in her stomach at all, even when he calmly let her out of the bathysphere with kisses and promises of being back as soon as possible with Jack. She did her best to pretend she wasn’t bothered by it, but the feeling that he wasn’t telling her something was almost sickening on top of her already heightened emotions she just barely had a grip on. He thankfully seemed oblivious, so either she was doing a good job, or he was even better at hiding his expressions than she thought.

Frank quickly set a course for his lab at futuristics, scolding himself. Of course she’d want to see the brat, she liked the damn thing, why hadn’t he thought about this? He hadn’t seen the little shit or even mentioned him past Tenenbaum’s vague updates that the thing was still alive. Suchong better not have developed that damned formula yet or he was about to lose his mind and kill the man, which he could not afford to do. As annoying as that bastard was, he made Frank a lot of money, offing him would be an expensive solution. He pushed doors open so hard a few dented the walls and caught the attention of his two head scientists as he almost screamed at them “where’s the brat?”. “Ah! Come to see our achievement?” Suchong asked with a prideful grin, which was wiped away when Frank glared at him with a stern “nothing you do is a fuckin achievement until I say so.” Quickly turning to Tenenbaum “where is it?”.

“Why are you suddenly interested? Has your fräulein caught the baby fever?” The German teased, resisting a grin when Frank looked like he was about to smack her “well if she is, that’s a shame. She’s late, though of course you’d know that if you actually listened to the audio logs I have sent you, come come” she beckoned her employer with a hand as she guided him through the labs, ignoring the fact she could feel his glare burrowing into the back of her skull, delighted when the burning sensation went away as she pressed herself against the door of the room where they were holding his ace in the hole. She called out to the child who was sitting with his back to them, reading some sort of book “Jack? You have a visitor.”.

The blonde haired boy looked back, he was probably around 12 now despite being born just short of a year ago. He stared at Frank for a moment, recognising him before craning his neck to look around him. Frank was almost too blinded by rage to respond, snapping at the boy “the hell are you looking for?!”. Jack flinched as he stuttered “I… I-I’m sorry!… where’s your friend?… the blonde lady with all the scars?..”. “He remembers her?.. he met her once..” Frank whispered to Tenenbaum, his annoyed look remaining with the addition of a confused brow. The German doctor simply shrugged “Gene tonics possibly. Suchong perfected his formula for aging the boy up so we had to start making sure he did so properly, or you’d have a baby trapped in the body of a man” she made notes as she spoke, before approaching the child.

Jack seemed to flinch away from her, though she hadn’t done anything. “She is busy. You won’t be seeing her” she told him sternly, Jack just nodding sadly and going back to his book while Tenenbaum quickly took Frank out of the room. “He’s almost ready, only a few more months and he will be fully grown. Then we can fully start the mental conditioning. He is too aware of it currently…” The woman continued to speak, even though she knew Frank wasn’t listening “we’ll need to hire people to ingrain in his mind as his parents and family, I was wondering if we should use the Pavlov dog as an example. His mind would accept her easier as it has a very vague memory of her existing”. “Do whatever you need to get that thing finished out of my hands” Frank huffed as he rubbed at his face, “she wanted to see the baby, now there’s no fuckin baby! The hell am I supposed to do?!”.

“Lie. I thought that’s what you always did” Tenenbaum replied simply, gesturing towards the way out before going back in to the boy.

After punching a dent in one of his very expensive mental walls, Frank made his way back home to find Eilis playing a game of pool by herself, seemingly honing her shot. She perked up at the sound of his footsteps and turned to smile at him, but it faltered when she noticed he was there empty handed. “Where is he? Did something happen?” She seemed to be scanning him for injuries, but he was perfectly fine and pristine, just like when she’d seen him last.

“You’re really attached to that thing, aren’t you?” He huffed, making his way over to his decanter for a much needed drink. “He isn’t a thing, he’s a baby.” Eilis sighed following him, “where’s the baby Frank?”. He ignored her as he sipped at his whiskey. “… If something happened, you need to tell me. I know you don’t give a damn about the poor lad but you aren’t a monster! Now tell me where he is.” She demanded, barely catching her voice from cracking with worry. Frank resisted his body’s natural urge to use fight or flight, pouring himself another drink and ignoring his spiralling anger and panic. He may have looked calm but in his mind he was about to lose his ultimate weapon, the perfect back up plan, his ace in the hole.

Why did she have to be so damn curious?

What happened to that convenient blindness she had when it came to his business?

Was he really about to have to kill or threaten her just to keep this plan going?

Fuck.

He quickly thought up a lie as he took a sip of his whiskey, trailing over to his record player as he out on his new record he’d gotten her for her birthday, calmly stating “I don’t pretend that I like kids, sweetheart. Never have. Bein one was the most miserable time of my life, so I was doin my best not to get attached to the kid…” he thought again for a moment as he slipped off his jacket and flattened out his vest before continuing “look… I didn’t want it tell you this, in fact I was honestly hopin you’d forget about the little s-.. thing..” he gave a heavy sigh, sell the role he told himself “i just went on a walk to prep myself to tell you about this.. I payed some smugglers to take him back to New York with them a few weeks ago... Sent reg along with just to make sure they didn’t chuck the poor thing into the ocean.. they dropped him off at the step of some orphanage along the docks. He’s a handsome kid. He’ll get snatched up soon”.

He didn’t face her for a moment, schooling his face into something more mournful before glancing at her ever so slightly. He watched her expression relaxed into shock and then worry very quickly “oh Frankie..”, bingo. She walked over him, genuinely feeling sympathetic and guilty for thinking he’d suddenly become this heartless bastard. He was still a bastard but she loved him, he’d never do something so cruel as to harm the baby like she’d originally thought, right?… but the thought of the fact Jack was in a lab still lingered in her mind. She pushed it away, hugging him as gently as she could, Frank returning the gesture before having them sway slightly to his new Sinatra record, Strangers in the night. She just let him enjoy the moment, trying to control her racing thoughts and anxieties.

Frank could still feel the tension in her shoulders and it irritated him. He rubbed circled on her back as he tried to reassure her “he’ll be fine. Not like the brat will appear back at your doorstep anytime soon lookin for answers”. She gave him a glare before nestling her face back onto his shoulder, continuing to sway as she just ignored a question that popped into her mind: Why did Frank smell of lab chemicals?…

Chapter Text

Rumours are such a cruel thing, Eilis had learned that as soon as she came to rapture. Of course she’d heard rumours all her life, everyone has, but none as vicious as the ones told fathoms below the ocean’s surface, and as much as she hated them, she had to admit it was rather entertaining to see the faces of those she knew would whisper those cruel rumours about her spread across the papers with all of their little mishaps at her birthday. It was like a gift! Scandal after scandal. Adam induced hysteria, affairs, fights and the most fascinating rumours you’ve ever heard about what they babbled about and admitted too while drunk and high off retinentia. There was even a few murder confessions though nothing came of those. She smirked to herself as she read through the paper, stopping to admire the entire four pages on Ryan submitted to a paper not to fond of him by an ‘anonymous source’. Stanley would do anything for a quick buck, even if it would end in her breaking his fingers later, at least she could enjoy it while sipping at the tea she’d made herself in Ryan’s kitchen.

It had been about two days at this point, maybe three, but he was still suffering. According to doctors who tested him, he had about four weeks worth of Adam in his system. Thanks to the properties of it he didn’t over dose, and the Adam he had been given to fix his broken nose hadn’t helped the situation. It worked to heal whatever it damaged and then continue to plague him until it was fully absorbed and was excreted from his system, causing enough gaps in his memory that he isn’t fully sure who punched him, so Eilis didn’t have to worry about her father’s safety, for now. Ryan was slowly turning back into himself though, annoyingly, and was sober enough to give her and Sullivan orders to make sure not a soul comes into his personal space to bother him. Not even Diane, who he apparently proposed to in his drunken state when she appeared late to the party, catching on there was something wrong with the drink.

“You just gonna sit there giggling like a school girl or are you gonna help me deal with the reporters outside?” Sullivan asked, having came back in to sneakily refill his hip flask. “I’m having tea. Besides, isn’t that what we have the security teams for?” Eilis hummed as she continued to smirk at the paper. “They ain’t afraid of the security we got, they’re afraid of you.” He reminded her, rummaging through Ryan’s whiskey tray for the good stuff. “Good. If they’d stopped using me for headlines then they wouldn’t need to be. Let the boys do their job” the Pavlov dog huffed as she folded up the paper and tossed it on Ryan’s desk, going to finish her drink in peace, but she started to hear shouting, “right.. where’s my bloody gun?”. “Just came in this morning” Sullivan shoved a long box over with his foot that had been resting against a bookshelf, while taking a large swig of his recently filled flask. Eilis quickly burnt a hole through the cardboard, to find her beloved shotgun, still in its same cared for but scratched condition with some new additions that looked strange. “Boss got it upgraded. Can fire up to six shots now” Her companion commented, she looked to him then her shotgun before staying “I amn’t exactly wise to this kind of thing, but I know that isn’t physically possible with what this looks like, mate”. He shrugged, not knowing how to respond as he just started to walk to the front, Eilis following him with her shotgun slinged over her shoulder.

Reporters and photographers pushed and shoved against their wall of security while shouting questions and calling for Ryan. When Sullivan and Eilis emerged they didn’t stop, only going silent when the Pavlov dog fired a shot into the air, denting the metallic roof as it echoed across the small but now dead silent room. “Thank you. Now I don’t believe all of you appreciate how long the walk from Mr Ryan’s side to this pathetic display is, but me and my colleague are very tired and have little to no patience.” She stood her shotgun on the floor and made it circle slightly as she rest her hand on it “we’ve been down here awhile, I recognise your faces. So I know for a fact you’re all very aware that interviews with Mr Ryan are only by appointment. So please contact his secretary to make one, or you won’t be using those thin hands of yours anytime soon” the reporters seemed to reluctantly disperse, a few anxiously rubbing at their hands as they wondered what she would have done. Sullivan turned to thank her, tempted to joke about what she actually meant, but she was already heading inside. She seemed determined to get in and back to the lovely privacy ordered by Ryan, trying to enjoy the time while he was asleep, being so focused on what she wanted to do instead of being in the moment, she didn’t notice the little lip on the floor of the mechanical doors leading to Ryan’s unnecessarily huge office. She tripped, but Sullivan managed to catch her by wrapping an arm half way around her torso.

She visibly gagged, resisting a wretch as she stood up and shoved his hand away from her stomach. “You alright?” He looked so genuinely concerned it caught her off guard, and honestly made the rotting feeling filling her insides feel ten times worse. “Yea… I’m grand love.. just… please don’t grab me like that” she tried to clarify, hoping he would have pry anymore, but he did, “you sick?”. “Sully I’m fine.” She snapped at him slightly, trying to just continue back into Ryan’s abode, but he stopped her “you’re no use to him if you’re sick and you ain’t telling me. Just go to med, I’ll tell him you went off for ammo”. She glared at him, staying silent, so he insisted “Eilis. Go. To. The damn. Doctor”. “…Will you let me kick your ass in pool?” Her request actually made him smirk “I will let you get one shot in if you go to the doc. Deal?”, “Two.” She demanded. “Fine, now fuck off” he shooed her away like an annoying child and she swatted at him jokingly, wanting to seem perky so he wasn’t too worried and hopefully wouldn’t think about why she reacted that way too much.

The hospital seemed rather full that day, though it was probably people visiting their family members suffering from her party. She didn’t feel guilty about what had happened, but she did feel a little bad for them. She’d never gotten an answer out of Frank about why he’d did it, in fact she’d never even done what she was supposed to, though there was no way she could have snuck out the morning after without him noticing she’d taken something. She was sloppy when she was only just conscious.

Her head was still a mess from that night, so Eilis wasn’t at all surprised that she hadn’t remembered to do her job, trading it for comfort. Their guests didn’t deserve what happened, no matter why Frank had done it. But as much as she didn’t envy them and their position, and did envy them having so many coming to check that they were alright, the fact that any of this was happening did give her the annoying realisation of; all the other doctors will be busy. She’ll have to see Stienmen.

She decided to chance her arm, going to the nurse at the main desk, desperate for anyone but him. She’d even take Suchong if he was on duty. Anyone. “Hello Ms Donovan, how can I help you?” The nurse asked the Pavlov dog softly, Eilis using her Ryanised voice as she always had with medical staff here. She didn’t know why, it just seemed a habit she hadn’t thrown out yet, “are there any doctors available? I just need a quick check up”. The woman checked over her clipboard and some letters that had just arrived in her pnuemo before answering “your regular doctor, Dr. Stienmen is free”. “Anyone else?…” Eilis almost muttered, like she didn’t want to be heard. “I’m sorry ma’am, he’s actually specified that he doesn’t want you to see any of our other doctors due to your underlying conditions and extensive scar tissue” the nurse squinted as she read his messy handwriting off the notice on Eilis’ file. “Underlying conditions?” The Pavlov dog blurted out in confusion. She didn’t have any underlying conditions, the hell was he on about?

“Yes ma’am. He’s in his usual surgical suite, I’ll send a pnuemo over that you’ll be with him soon” and with that the conversation was done. Already feeling disgusting and not looking forward to feeling as horrible as she did on the inside on the outside, Eilis walked to Stienmen’s office as slow as physically possible without looking like she was stalling, taking detours and reading advertisements she could give less of a damn about, praying that he’d just forget about her and take on a surgical candidate. But he didn’t. When she walked in she could see him through that giant window he had in his currently empty waiting room, just standing there listening to a record while he flicked through some patient’s file. Barely containing the urge to just leave and tell Sullivan he’d given her the all clear, she pushed his operating theatre door open with her foot, the man glancing at her slightly before shutting the file and tossing it on his surgical tray, striding over to her with the pace of a man on a mission.

“I missed you my goddess, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for the big occasion” he apologised, offering her a hand which she reluctantly took, quickly being guided to his operating table and being made to sit on it, “What seems to be the problem my love?”. “Nothing, just stomach pains. Ryan wants them cleared so I can keep working, I’m wasting your time mate” she half lied, hoping the use of Ryan’s name would get this done quicker. “You wasting my time? Never” he whispered, that would have almost been flattering if she didn’t find him repulsive.

She remained stone faced as he put on new latex gloves and lightly palmed at her stomach, which immediately made her gag, yet he didn’t move his hand. “Such a shame your body is polluted with such things.. but that is life. Soon you will ascend past such.. human error.” Stienmen muttered to himself, flashing Eilis a smile when she gave him a bewildered look before another wretch came from the repeated contact. He still refused to move. “No pain when I touch it?” He asked casually. She shook her head. “Then you are perfectly healthy, and since you are…” he finally moved his damn hand to her hip instead as he leaned close enough for her to feel his breath, making her lean back ever so slightly to escape it, not wanting to be dragged back to that night in that godforsaken bathroom. She could never wear that lovely suit again.

“How about I show you my.. admiration as a birthday gift hm?… I know you’re yearning for it. We haven’t done a thing in so long. Tradition be damned” he sounded so desperate, but she wasn’t giving in this time. She could practically see the intentions in his eyes, fantasying about all of the things he could do while his hand tensed, desperate for the cold feeling of a scalpel and how it would cut through her skin like butter.

“Ryan needs me for a meeting in a few minutes, I don’t have time” she lied, keeping a hand at his chest to keep him far away enough from kissing her, he continued to insist “I’m sure he of all people will understand. I only want to appreciate you in every sense of the word! The goddess has taught me how you as her vessel need to be worshipped, and I need to show you”. “Stienmen. Get off me.” She told him in the most threatening tone she could muster as she found she couldn’t go back anymore, even if she wanted to, he was pressed against her legs, trapping her there and stopping her from falling back. She’d never been happier to have good core strength as she barely held herself up so she didn’t crack her head off the wall. “Rumour has it you once told Fontaine I had ‘talented hands’. May I prove that?” He asked softly, one of his hands moving till Eilis caught it with a grip hard enough to fracture “ní bheidh tú ag focain nach!” She shrieked, forgetting to speak a language he’d understand in her panic. He still persisted, moving that hand he had from her hip to her cheek, digging his thumb into her mouth when she tried to shout at him again, holding it open with him thumb pressed at the back joint of her jaw, keeping it agape like she was an animal that had eaten something she shouldn’t. The pressure made her feel like it was about to pop out of place.

“Fascinating… you’re teeth are rather sharp.. I’m sure if I pressed hard enough I’d bleed… is this what they refer to when they say you have a bite my darling?” Eilis couldn’t even reply, but she was considering showing him how big of a bite she had by ripping his finger off, but the thought of blood in her mouth made her want to gag even more than she already did. “If only I could make them sharper, more animalistic…” he used his other hand to pry her mouth open even more, moving her lips so he could admire them, “expose bone and skin like pearlescent marble… like Picasso and Michelangelo made the words most beautiful piece…. Yet… sadly the goddess forbids it” he sounded so disappointed.

Eilis almost relaxed too quickly at that statement, having to tense her muscles again so she didn’t fall, taking in a sharp breath as she realised she had definitely pulled something. He finally pulled his thumb about, Eilis clenching her jaw shut to stop him from doing that again as he stroked at her bruising lips with his thumb. “I can’t force you to let me admire you, sadly. Not until we’re married at least” he huffed, stepping back and smoothing down his surgeon jacket with one hand, pulling up his mask over his nose, still having such a strange look in his eyes. “There doesn’t seem anything physically wrong, in my professional opinion, unless you wish for me to take a closer look there is nothing more I can do” Stienmen told her calmly, Eilis slowly sliding herself off the operating table with a quiet reply of “no… all I needed was the fact I saw you recorded. Apart from that I don’t need a damn thing” grabbing her shotgun and going on her way, the surgeon catching her with his words just as she got to the door, like a spider’s trap for a fly “do tell Fontaine to get his own Fiancé hm?”.

“I don’t know what you’re on about..” Eilis replied, straightening her spine to show she wasn’t going to be pushed. “Then I would suggest informing dear Sander his abode is infested with bed bugs, maybe some rather large ones. That larger man who he has at his hip, he could be the culprit. I don’t like how close you two are. Very promiscuous for a soon to be married woman” Stienmen continued to speak casually, like he used to before all this mess, but the context behind it almost made her see red. “má tá ifreann ann, tá tú ag dul ann, is féidir liom geallaim duit é sin, Steinmen. ní féidir liom fanacht chun féachaint ort ag lobhadh.” She spat back at him with enough venom her spit could have melted through the floor, before letting the doors slam shut behind her, rushing back to Ryan. She’d rather deal with his adam induced ramblings than whatever the hell stienmen had planned for her if she’d gave in again. The crook of her neck stung as she thought of the bastard biting her like some rabid thing.

“You’re back quick” Sullivan teased, his smirk dropping as she stormed past him, “The fuck happened to you?” He followed at her heels, but Eilis ignored him. He went to catch her by her arm, but as soon as his fingers grazed it, she latched into his and twisted it just short of popping it out of the socket, but she stopped herself, letting go. “Sorry.. just.. don’t touch me right now.” She apologised, not bothering to check on him since she knew she hadn’t broken anything, just possibly bruised it, going up to ryan. He was just sitting in bed listening to the radio and casually reading his paper.

“How are we feeling sir?” She asked softly, having knocked on the wall to get his attention. “Fine. Shut the door, you’re letting out the heat” he snapped at her, folding up his paper so she had his full attention “I understand I have not been.. myself the last few days. But I believe I have a clear enough head currently to ask if you’ve been doing what I pay you for?”. “Well are you dead or injured?” The Pavlov dog asked, Ryan glaring at her faintly “this isn’t a time for jokes. How have you been getting on with Fontaine?”. “Haven’t done anything since the party. Haven’t even seen him” she admitted, crossing her arms slightly. “So you just slept with him and didn’t get any information? The one reason I allowed you to do this? You really are useless..” Ryan scoffed, Eilis taking a step forward as she defend herself “your order was to sleep with him so he would bother you less, as you see that didn’t do shit. Forgive me for trying to enjoy my own feckin birthday instead of spending it standing at your side like a child while you talk about Tadgh like he’s still here!”.

She didn’t understand the whole point behind this. She’d been sleeping with Frank without Ryan’s knowledge or ‘consent’ and he just complained of the man getting worse. What she was doing was accomplishing nothing and was going to continue to accomplish nothing unless she gets her lover distracted enough where she can slip something away, which would be very very unlikely.

Ryan stared at her for a moment, then returned to his paper as he seemed to resist making a comment. Eilis took a deep breath and quietly requested “just specify what you’d like”. “Any documents relating to business or Fontaine Futuristics specifically. Don’t look at them, just grab them and get them to me” he clarified, Eilis glaring at him “how am I supposed to know it’s the correct document if I can’t look at them?”. “Figure. It. Out.” He enunciated every syllable like it was a language she didn’t understand, “you’re a big girl. I thought you didn’t need me to baby you”.

Of course he’d been sober enough to hear that comment. Fuck sake.

“Will you be fine with Sullivan for the day then while I whore myself out for your benefit?” She wondered, only getting a vague noise of agreement as a reply. “Oh do send up Diane. I need some company myself” Ryan called out to her just as she’d turned on her heel “She’ll be delighted, she’s been showing off her ring the last few days.. but not Jasmine?” Her eyebrows furrowed. He usually picked her over Diane. “Things between us are a little.. fragile at the moment. I’d prefer for you didn’t pry. Now go on” Eilis resisted the urge to tease him, but she wondered if this had to do with jasmine’s pregnancy. That was a few months ago at this point but still, that’s as the only possible reason she could think of, either that or the fact she still does her job and sleeps with other men has finally broke through his wall of denial.

Frank Fontaine was in his office, flicking through product advertisements to see which ones he preferred to catch the weak willed of rapture, ignoring the pleas from his doctors and poor houses for more money that were spread across his desk. They had just enough to function, they could obviously use more but the mere fact he was giving money had already boosted his status, and Ryan’s was plummeting with the lack of public appearances after the party. If Frank were to drop dead, there would be outrage! Murder accusations! And that’s just what he wanted. Well, not to actually be dead of course, that’d be no fun, but the chaos it would cause made him light headed. Watching Ryan fall from grace would be the better than high nose candy could give him. He could picture himself with his feet up on Ryan’s desk, surrounded by Ryan’s men, Eilis at his side while the old fuck was dragged out kicking and screaming, to be abandoned in Persephone until Frank wanted him dragged back just to see the broken look in his face after seeing what the man had done to his city. He wasn’t too pleased to have his private moment interrupted, sitting up with a hand resting on his drawer with his pistol inside as he opened his eyes, expecting to have to kill whatever dumbass had interrupted him, but it was Eilis. The two newbies he’d had posted at his door had been roughed up, one was nursing his nose while the other was missing some teeth that were now on the floor.

Eilis calmly shut the door with her foot as she tossed her shotgun with its bloody butt onto a nearby chair, striding over to Frank with a mildly annoyed look. “Your bodyguards are useless” she told him simply, sitting on the edge of his desk as he gave her a mildly amused look. “Are they now? Maybe you’re just too good” he suggested, making Eilis resist a smirk “flirty today aren’t we? I just popped down to see how you were doing. Maybe catch any other girls trying to snatch up Frank Fontaine the Philanthropist” she hummed, crossing one leg over as she put her hands behind her for support, ignoring the feeling of important files under her fingers. “You have no faith in me, how cruel” Frank chuckled as he stood up, putting a hand on her thigh, not noticing the poor girl resisting a the urge to pull away and kick him, “I thought you didn’t mind sharing”. “I don’t” She shrugged, playing with his suit jacket slightly “but only if its when I’m not in the mood”.

“Oh. Are we in the mood now, Ms Donovan?” Frank asked as he snaked an arm around her lower back and pulled her closer to him, Eilis resisting a grimace, only a slight shiver which could have been mistaken for the point she was trying to get across “maybe… you can read people, what do you think Mr Fontaine?”. Frank stared at her for a moment, looking her up and down “not sure. From what I’m seeing, you’re scared shitless of something”. “Not you. Just issues with the doctor, love. Nothing you can help with” she reassured him, moving one of his hands under her shirt, forcing herself to get used to touch again, she wasn’t going to let Stienmen dictate her entire day. “I could kill him, give you that present you wanted with those big fuckin whales. Watch him get torn limb from limb right here… you spread across my desk” Frank offered, following her lead, still trying to catch her intention from her eyes. “Don’t tease” she warned him, pecking him softly “you’ll be in Persephone faster than you can even lie your way out of it, and they don’t allow conjugal visits”.

“Oh how will I survive!” Frank sighed dramatically “like there won’t be a whore in there somewhere to tide me over”. “Well if a whore can tide you over I could just leave. I’m sure you can call one up rather quickly, actually I think I hear Sander calling-“ Eilis shrugged as he turned like she was leaving, even though they both knew she wasn’t moving until Frank’s hand were off her, so he cut her off “shut it, I’m only toying with ya. Stay for a little”. Eilis draped her arms over his shoulders, caressing his face and the back of his head as she gave him a slight smile “is Frankie feeling needy?” chuckling as she let him go at her neck, normally it would have bothered her but if Ryan wanted her to do this just for some files, he was going to have to cope with it.

As Frank kissed down her neck, skilfully unbuttoning her shirt with one hand, he asked “what are you gonna do when I die doll?”. “Bit of a mood killer, don’t you think me darlin?” Eilis sighed slightly, Frank giving her a faint glare before he got back to work, “ignoring the fact there’s a higher chance I’ll die first, I’m not sure.. I’d probably sulk for a bit but Ryan would distract me with work… maybe I’d steal some of your suits and one of those fucking bears to remember you by.. listen to our record… things like that”. “Very romantic, aren’t we?” He teased, Eilis lightly smacking the back of his head with her fingers, resisting a very undignified nose as Frank left a hickey on her shoulder, pulling away to admire his work. “Would you finally turn back into that violent thing I’ve heard so much about? Kill whoever killed me?” He queried with an unreadable expression as he brushed his thumb over his handy work.

Eilis was quiet for a moment before she snorted a laugh, barely composing herself “you’re getting off on that thought, aren’t you?”. “Don’t blame a man for having preferences” He shrugged, he was doing that a lot and it was bothering her, “Lingerie is a preference. Neck kisses is a preference. Not sucking cock is a preference. The fact you get off on the idea of me covered in blood and the rumours about what I did while drownin in grief and unresolved issues is not a preference. It’s not flattering either”. “It ain’t your blood. If it is it’s fuckin worrying. Other people’s though, the idea of what you did, I like it. You get all hot and bothered after I knock some poor schmuck’s teeth out, why can’t I appreciate my girl living up to her nickname, sweetheart?” He attempted to defend himself, Eilis staring at him for a minute. “…. You have no idea what a Pavlov dog is do you?”, “not a clue, now shut that pretty mouth before I start finding you annoying” he demanded beside catching her lips in a kiss, Eilis rolling her eyes but still letting herself melt into the kiss and quickly be pinned against the table.

They were enjoying their time together, the kiss getting more heated with teeth, tongues brushing off eachother while Frank undid Eilis’ belt and she unzipped his pants, only to stop and pull away from eachother ever so slightly when they heard gunshots. For once Frank stopped as well, properly, the two freezing the way they were, both having very different reactions. Frank looked curious but mildly annoyed, tapping his fingers on the hand he was using to hold himself up off the desk. Eilis looked rather serious, letting her arm relax on the desk, ready to activate her telekinesis plasmid to snatch her shotgun and fire. Everything was dead quiet for a moment. Then there was a pounding on Frank’s large door. “Is it locked?..” Eilis whispered, Frank nodded, “soon as you came in..” realising his serious this was. Eilis sat up slowly while Frank stood. Having his pistol drawer open and waiting, it wasn’t viewable from the other side of the desk. Bullets fired until the lock broke and the doors slid open.

What they were expecting was a mad man, pistol drawn and a mad look in his eye, which is what they got, but he was horrifying it look at. He was lumpy, it was exposed from his clothes, like giant glowing red tumours, one had absorbed half his face and another had made his foot resemble that of an elephant, you couldn’t even tell if he had a shoe on. “YOU!” He screamed, Tommy gun aimed at Frank “YOU DID THIS TO ME!”. “Jesus Christ..” Eilis mumbled in horror, the thing aiming it’s gun to fire. Like they had the same thought, Frank drew his pistol while Eilis called over her shotgun, firing in unison. This made the thing drop, Eilis bringing his Tommy gun to her and giving it to Frank.

“The hell you givin me this for? He’s dead” Frank chuckled, but he was struck silent when the thing stumbled to its feet. A sickening nose came from it as it’s wounds healed before them, a weird wet sound and a disgusting mix of chemicals and rotting flesh filling their nostrils. “You…. You did this… used us like lab rats and left is to ROT!” The thing screamed as he tried to run at them, but Eilis fired again, taking one of his legs clean off. He continued to crawl at them like some sort of eldritch horror, his once good leg healing into a lumpy nub to match his elephant’s foot. Frank genuinely seemed startled but not horrified by the thing, unlike Eilis.

The thing managed to latch on to her, pulling her down by her hair as it whispered to her with its rotting breath “he’ll do it to you too… him and Ryan… we’re nothing.. but things.. your status won’t save you Pavlov dog!” Eilis jerked her head free, feeling one of her braids be painfully pulled loose. She wrapped an arm around its neck and pinned it against her, squeezing as hard as she could. He squirmed and kicked, but he was laughing maniacally. She just continued, till she felt a pop, and he stopped. She waited, and waited for what felt like an hour until Reggie came in with other men Frank had under his arm for security, and the thing never got back up. What they saw was blood everywhere, a leg from the knee down by the door, a discarded shotgun and the Pavlov dog with a look of horror and a mangled thing that didn’t even look human lying on top of her, with a shell shock smile on its dead face. They pried it off her but she didn’t move.

Frank crouched down by her head, calling out to her “Eilis? You alright doll?”. “What was that?….” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Some poor bastard that was allergic to Adam. It’s rare but it happens, you did him a mercy by killing him” He explained nonchalantly, offering her a hand, but she refused. “I had to keep breaking his neck… it kept healing…” she muttered in horror. The man standing above her had to resist an eye roll as he made her stand “well he’s dead so I don’t think you need to be worrying about how many times you had to do it to get the job done”. “Why did he come here?…” she asked him, much louder than her previous tone, “why the fuck would I know?” He snapped at her, Eilis snapping back “the hell are you doing in Futuristics, Frank?!”. “It’s my business, why are you suddenly so fuckin curious?!” The two had just devolved into a screaming match, Reggie shutting the door to let them do it in privacy. Last thing he needed was one if their new boys blabbing to the press when Frank was doing so well.

“FREAGRA AN CEIST DIABHAL!” Eilis screamed so loud her voice actually cracked. Frank was silent for a moment before asking “this is about the brat, isn’t it?”. “No. No it’s not, it’s about that man and what the hell you’re doing to have him look like that” she was practically shaking in anger and slight fear as the emotions from moments ago finally registered. “What? So I’m the bad guy just cause my name’s on the cheque that pays my scientist that do that shit? You think Ryan doesn’t do the same? Have you ever seen inside his labs, Ellie?” Frank mocked her, Eilis sucking on her teeth as she kept her thoughts on track, ignoring the urge to scream at him for using a name he know she hated “that doesn’t change the point he came here for. You.”.

With a scoff Frank went back to his desk, kicking his feet up and taking out a cigar. “We could continue to argue about this, or, you could c’mere, gimme a hand and we’ll get back to what we were doing sweetheart. How’s that sound?” He suggested with a slight smirk. Eilis kept a blank expression as she approached him, leaning close to the point where their lips were about to touch, snatching a random document while he was distracted, before smirking when he seemed to lean into it, “I’m not a whore at your beck and call. Go fuck yourself” was the last thing she told him before grabbing her shotgun to leave, ignoring his calls after her.

Would she pay for that later? Yes.

Is she pissed ? Absolutely so she wasn’t going to regret it at all when he came whining for attention.

She shoved the random document in her bra so the boys wouldn’t see it, which Eilis was thankful she did when she stopped to stare at them shoving the dead thing into a crate, bending him in ways the human body never should. Reggie stared at her for a moment, before tilting his head towards the exit and getting back to work.

She wanted to be angry at the poor bastard for ruining a moment she was genuinely enjoying, she wanted to be mad at him for being hard to kill, she wanted to be mad at him for looking so horrifying she only wanted to think of him as an it, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know everyone in rapture, but she recognised faces and she could tell when one was new, she couldn’t recognise his at all. Not even in the slightest. And now he was going to be dumped somewhere and thrown off as some Adam addict who messed with the wrong people. Poor thing, she thought. She couldn’t think of him as human. Maybe she should talk to lamb… Eilis dragged her thoughts back to the moment, pulling that document out of her bra. Turns out she’d grabbed two, one was a new order for products for different stores and when to release them, the other was a letter between him and stienmen for payment for full body reconstructional surgery. Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered why the hell he’d need that?

Being too mentally exhausted to care, she shoved it in her pocket and folded up the first letter neatly for Ryan, tossing it at him the moment she got into his office, not even acknowledging the fact he was out of bed and at his desk. He gave her a faint glare but applauded her when he saw what it was “good work. I’ll send a bonus along with your paycheque this month”. “Oooh, now I can buy a slice of bread. How sweet” Eilis muttered under her breath as she kept a smile, knowing he wasn’t listening. “You can go home for the evening, but one quick question. Do you know this atlas fellow that’s causing a stir?” Ryan asked her calmly, but the look he was giving her was like she was a guilty child hiding a broken pot behind her back. She hadn’t missed that look in the slightest. “Not a clue, why?” She responded just as calmly, keeping a monotone tone and look.

“He’s Irish” Ryan continued,

“What’s your point?” His bodyguard’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Well” he continued “don’t you know other Irish people here? Have you heard anything about him? Are you possibly acquaintances?”.

Eilis took a deep breath, having one drop of patience left in her body “do you know every Russian person in rapture?”.

“I know all of my citizens and their original nationalities” He reminded her, but eilis was having none of it “I’m going to say this to you like you’re four. Do. You know. Every. Russian. Person. In. Rapture, Andrei?”.

He started to glare at her again “no.”, “see? Was that so hard? Surprisingly I don’t know every Irish person. Hell, half of them think I’m fucking American thanks to you. So why the fuck would I know some random Gaelic prick who is being a thorn in our arses hm? Don’t you think if I knew who it was I’d want him dead? Don’t you think he’d be here in front of you right now in chains? Well? Answer me!” With her last drop of patience gone Eilis for more emotional than she should, Ryan refusing to reply as he just glared at her faintly, only giving a quiet comment of “it’s always one step forward three steps back with you, isn’t it Ellie dear?”.

Eilis opened her mouth to scream every profanity she knew at him, till she heard the door open. Emotions still high from before she immediately aimed her shotgun at the door, only to see Cohen, Sinclair and her father at the other end, the latter with their hands up while Cohen just walked past her, pushing the tip of the gun down with his finger before patting her shoulder “dreaming while awake again, are we Ellie?“ he pouted before swanning over to Ryan for some boring conversation she didn’t care about. “You alright hun?..” Sinclair queried, Mick rushing to Eilis to take the gun out of her hands, noticing the slight shake she still had “Sin, you distract the old bastard for me. Let’s get you some air hm? Or the closest thing to it eh?” He spoke softly, slipping Eilis’ shotgun off the strap and abandoning it there on the floor before taking her out into the industrial part of Hephaestus without another word or permission from Ryan. He watched as his child tried to light a cigarette but he took it off her, “you’re in no state to be smoking, love”. “You smoke when you’re stressed…” She shot back, Mick frowning slightly, putting an arm around her shoulders “not the point. What were you two screaming about back there?”.

“Just some prick that’s pissing off Ryan.. Atlas or something…” Eilis rubbed at her eyes to fight off angry tears, not noticing Mick’s concerned look, taking a deep breath to compose himself for when she looked at him again. “He may have good intentions” he suggested, actually being hurt when Eilis laughed “this is rapture! Even if it starts with ‘good intentions’ it ends in a mangled mess that leads to the suffering of others. I saw a prime example of that today and have been reminded very swiftly that this isn’t the place for ‘good intentions’…” she saw the look in her father’s eyes, and apologised “I’m sorry. You’re obviously friends with the poor bastard.. just.. tell him that though he may think he’s doing something good, until Ryan drops dead, he’s actually hurting those he’s trying to help.”. “What if he’s not? What if he’s doing something good and keeping them safe?” Mick attempted to defend himself but the look Eilis gave him told him she was catching on that he was closer to this than he was letting on, “déanaimis é a fhágáil ansin, hm?”.

“Fine. an bhfuil tú i do chodladh le Sinclair dála an scéil?” She queried while they walked back inside, Mick chuckling slightly “only a tad”. “That’s not how that works” Eilis barely resisted a smile, Mick pinching her cheek as he teased as they started to walk “you know nothing about this kind of thing. I’ll tell you when you’re older, pet”. “I’m 30!” Eilis actually started to laugh, he shook his head “nah, you’re still only a tot.”. “I will kick you in your bollocks in a minute I swear to-… where the fuck did that come from?” Eilis asked, her mood completely shifting when she saw a large painting leaning against one of Ryan’s walls of books. It was covered in a tarp, but Eilis could see the ornate gold frame of it.

“Sander painted it apparently… had several poorly lookin boys haul the thing in through the bathysphere entrance. Won’t let us look till you’re here to see it” Sinclair explained, already having a glass of wine to sip at so he could hold his silver tongue. “go hionraic níl an fuinneamh agam déileáil leis sin.. Andrei can I leave?” Eilis sighed, rubbing at her face while Mick glared at Ryan, annoyed his daughter felt like she had to ask permission to leave when she was uncomfortable. “No you may not. I want you to see this, Sander has put a lot of time and resources into this and I want you to see it before it’s gone” Ryan was firm, leaving Eilis’ bewildered “gone?”. He ignored her, gesturing for Sander to start.

“I introduce my final instalment in my Pavlov dog series, canis rabidi in luctu!” Cohen spoke dramatically as he pulled his sleeves up before whipping the tarp off. Before it could register in her head what she was seeing, Eilis clapped a hand over her Father’s eyes. “Cohen. What is that?” She asked through gritted teeth. “Which part? It’s very detailed dear, I’m trying to figure out what has bothered you so. Usually you’re so supportive” Cohen pouted like a child, whispering to Ryan “have the doubters gotten to her?”. Sinclair cleared his throat as he avoided direct eye contact with the painting “she may be referrin to the fact you painted her more naked then the day she was born.. rather.. Untasteful if I do say so myself.. oh lord I can’t even look at it”.

“He what?!” Mick tried to pry Eilis’ hand off his face but she kept it like that as she tries to hold back her plasmids she felt bubbling up in her veins, the urge to burn it to a crisp growing stronger. “Everyone’s a critic..” the artist scoffed, going over to Sinclair and taking his wine off him, guiding him over to mick by his sleeve and replacing Eilis’ hands with the southerners. “Your’s are larger. Shouldn’t be an issue for you to keep his eyes averted” Cohen explained snidely, getting an “excuse you?“ out of Sinclair which he got to reply to. With a firm hand on both of the Pavlov dog’s arms he guided her to the forefront of the painting. “Now! Absorb it in all its glory and tell me what the meaning of it is! Do you speak Latin?” Cohen bellowed, disappointed when Eilis shook her head and he just went back to making sure she was staring at it.

It looked like some sort of fucked us renaissance piece. It was somewhere in the wild, depicting a woman surrounded by dogs. They were all dobermans with bloody mouths and confused looks as they stared at the woman, which was Eilis. She was on her knees on the floor, surrounded by gutted and mauled rabbits, chunks of them strewn everywhere, clinging to the remnants of a suit that covered absolutely none of her delicates. Cohen had gotten all of her scars correct, which worried her since she didn’t remember being naked around him, so either he’d checked or asked someone. Her mouth was covered in blood as she sobbed, looking absolutely grief stricken. The suit pattern looked oddly similar to one of Frank’s favourites. Her eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to understand. “Mind explaining love? I’m a little slow today” she asked Cohen quietly, he seemed happy too, “canis rabidi in luctu; a rabid dog in mourning. My dear Andrew commissioned it, very kind of him. You should thank him really. It’s like a mercy”.

“A mercy for what?” Eilis glanced back at the man himself. “If you don’t understand it now, you will soon. I’ll agree with your father’s reaction though, I assumed you’d be more covered” Ryan grimaced slightly “I believe it’ll register soon my friend, feel free to be rid of it”. “Such a shame.. the funeral will be beautiful inspiration though” the old artist mused as he clicked his fingers, the painting lighting up in a moment and quickly crumbling into burning chunks which Sullivan used a fire extinguisher on. “Bold of you to assume there will be one, or that anyone will attend” Ryan sucked on his teeth as he stood beside his friend, staring at the embers while he gave Eilis a glance, watching her babble to her father in that language he’d almost suffocated from her tongue, seemingly calming him down. “She will. Though Ellie is both considered a very important person and a no one, isn’t she?” Cohen almost chuckled, lighting a cigar and sharing a drag with Ryan, watching the smoke swirl and mix together as he couldn’t wait for all the delicious drama and misery that would inspire his work very soon.

Chapter Text

Ryan, in his never ending overly entitled ‘kindness’ had allowed Eilis three hours off after one of cohen’s shows, insisting she take it as he needs her energised for work and an appointment with Lamb. She’d managed to catch Kyle alone, which he seemed grateful for, commenting “I’d rather you than Mr. Cohen!”, Eilis wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but it worried her. He agreed to let her stay in his for a few hours, knowing Cohen would have people over to celebrate and she wouldn’t get a moments rest. She hadn’t spoke to Kyle much since the night he almost got drowned in her apartment, and she felt horrible for that.

He looked so tired, his fingers were red raw from playing cohen’s latest masterpiece that looked like it was written specifically for the pianist to struggle. Poor thing, she thought, but as soon as that thought came to be, the image of that monster of a man came rushing back. She grimaced. She hadn’t talked to Frank either since that had happened. It had been about a week, just shy of it, but she wasn’t angry with him.

Annoyed he refused to tell her what the man was talking about? Yes, but angry?

No.

It wasn’t his fault the man had that kind of reaction, right? She tried to justify it in her mind before realising she’d been on autopilot again, tuning back in to Kyle rambling about Cohen stealing an art piece he did under the guise of you are my apprentice, therefore what you produce goes under my name. She didn’t know how to reply to that.

“God, I’ve been so busy rambling about my problems when you just asked how I am… how you doing Ellie?” He suddenly asked as he opened the door to his small but still very nice apartment. Eilis just gave him a soft smile with a one word reply of “fine” before stepping inside. “Thankfully I don’t have any windows leadin out to the ocean eh?” Kyle joke, it took Eilis a second to register before she laughed, “sorry mate, I’m a bit behind today” she apologised. “I get that! I feel like I’m always so far behind the other guys when it comes to cohen… anyway you need anything or you just gonna crash?” Kyle went quiet for a moment before seeming to jump back into goody two shoes mode, it made her frown a bit. “If you have any eve cigarettes, that’d be great” Eilis requested, Kyle tutting as he checked the cupboards of kitchen “nah, sorry. All I got is the needles and I know you don’t do well with large Adam doses”. “I’ll take it and sleep off the high” Eilis insisted, putting out her hand for it, Kyle hesitated “you sure?…” she nodded and he reluctantly gave it to her. “Right.. we’ll I’m gonna be composing in my room so if I’m too loud just give the wall a kick” he gave her a nod of goodbye before disappearing.

Eilis stared at the chunky syringe for a moment, feeling the weight of it and the cold of the glass before slowly pressing the needle to her wrist where a faded needle scar sat from the early days of rapture, she almost shook as she remembered the affects of Adam overdoses on her body, Martin holding her shoulders as she sobbed and screamed from pain, throwing up so much Adam you’d swear it was blood.

This was only eve though, there was just a small enough dose in it, her reaction shouldn’t be too bad and she’d sleep through the worst of it. She pierced the skin, squeezing her eyes shut as she injected the contents, flexing her hand to ignore the burning sensation running through her veins as her plasmids flared up. When it subsided she let out a small sigh, tossing the empty syringe on a nearby table and lying down, keeping her eyes shut so she could trick her body into going to sleep.

Just as her world was wrapped in the beautiful darkness of sleep and no responsibilities, she felt something hit her nose. She ignored it. Then it happened again. And again. And again until she opened an eye to see it was that woman she’d hallucinated in Ryan’s office, the red head and her identical male friend. The woman continued to flick at her face until her companion put a hand on her shoulder “she’s conscious. I’d stop before she loses patience”, “that’s why I’m doing it”. “Can you two fuck off?… I don’t have time to be crazy” Eilis groaned in annoyance as she pushed the woman’s hand away, ignoring how real it felt as she rolled over to face the back of the couch for some peace and quiet away from her hallucinations. “How will agitating her help this reality?“ the man asked, the woman replied “you know exactly how. I’m just seeing what it takes for that to happen for future reference. My count is roughly seven for consciousness and forty three for rage induced mayhem if we account for the Adam in her system”. 

He gave her a curious look, dismissing it “you can prove your theory another time. Not now though, things here are already delicate. One push and we could collapse this place entirely. Besides she doesn’t need that sort of reaction until the 12th of September” he warned her. She rolled her eyes “you were always the dramatic one. Besides she is an anomaly. It will happen on the 12th of February”. “That’s only a few weeks away. Even more reason for you not to agitate her yet… And I am not dramatic” he defended himself.

“Are.”

“Not.”

“Are.”

“Not.”

“Are.”

“Rosalind.”

“Robert.”.

The man sighed , gesturing behind him, “shall we?” She nodded, and they were gone.

When Eilis awoke from her broken sleep, groggily rubbing at her eyes with the ball of her palm as she heard Kyle dedicatedly playing piano behind her, cursing faintly following whenever he stopped and made a mistake. It was almost amusing and tempted her to stay for her own entertainment, considering it was 1am, but rapture never sleeps. So she had to get up. She fixed herself slightly in Kyle’s bathroom mirror, rebraiding her hair as she walked at a brisk pace back to Ryan’s office, only to find Sullivan standing at the steps, blocking her in that ridiculous large metal room he had just before you got to his office. “What’s wrong?” She asked, Sullivan shrugged “they’re having some private time”. the Pavlov dog’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as she sighed “well at least he’s treating her like a fiancé for once” wandering over to Diane’s desk as she heard the phone going off.

“How bout your fella? The doctor, how’s he treating you?” Sullivan seemed genuinely curious, but he didn’t get an answer as Eilis sat down in the chair at Diane’s small desk, started organising sheets and kept putting a finger up to him whenever he kept trying to talk. She coughed slightly to prepare her voice before answering in the chirpy American tone he hadn’t heard in so long, “Hello, you’ve reached the secretary of Andrew Ryan, how may I help you?”. She’d used her ryanised voice from time to time, of course, less and less since she’d gotten involved with Fontaine, but her sounding so happy and chirpy with it was something he hadn’t heard since her secretary days. “No, I’m sorry, Mr Ryan isn’t available to call, shall I make an appointment?” She asked softly, Sullivan teasing her “once a secretary, always a secretary hm? Maybe you should switch back”. Eilis shot him a glare that could have melted steal as she continued, flicking open Diane’s diary and resisting a sigh at how unorganised it was, finding the date whoever was on the phone had requested “that date is actually taken” Eilis tried to explain as she heard a certain noise she decided to ignore “how.. could… I’m so sorry, please give me one second” she covered the receivers holding the phone away from her face as she whispered to Sullivan “could you tell Ryan not to fuck her against the bloody door! He’s lucky this room is big enough where I can barely hear it but for fuck sake man”.

“I’m not interrupting him” Sullivan threw his hands up, Eilis taking a very very deep breath before seeming to get an idea, a wicked idea. She brought the phone back as she asked “are you free in the next few minutes? An appointment with Mr Ryan has actually just opened up. If you rush I can slip you in…. Perfect, see you soon. Thank you” she hung up and crack her neck slightly, cursing under her breath “Jesus Christ, how did you ever stand me talkin like that?”. “Because that’s just how you used to talk. Didn’t know any different. What did you just set up?” He queried, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched Eilis seem to activate whatever part of her brain remembered her secretarial duties, filing away papers and reorganising Ryan’s calendar from Diane’s disorganised mess as she replied “an interview on his engagement to Diane, thought it would be appropriate since they’re so smitten at the moment. Either that or Ryan’s stressed and releasing it the only way men know how to down here” she gave Sullivan a slight glance to help him realise that was a dig before getting back to work.

“Didn’t you have two jobs?” Sullivan suddenly wondered after watching her work away for a moment. Eilis hummed as she reorganised files first alphabetically and then by date, “Whenever Ryan would give you time off you’d still be making money. Tadgh said you had two jobs”. “Why are you asking me now?...” she huffed trough her nose, but he didn’t answer, just stared “Christ, fine. I worked at an Irish pub with my goods showing. Made fifty bucks an hour just by walking by. On top of my salary that let me live happily. I get paid less here than when I was a secretary slash barmaid. Met plenty of handsome lads too” She explained, tongue coming out between her teeth as she flicked through sheets of paper to triple check her work. “There’s the Ellie I knew. Soft spoken and boy obsessed” Sullivan suppressed a chuckle, Eilis defending herself “I was not boy obsessed. It isn’t my fault lads were interested in how I dressed and thought that buying me food would mean I’d give up my goods. I was more of a virgin than the Virgin Mary until I came here despite what papers claim.”.

“And out of everyone you chose Frank?” Sullivan mused. Eilis went quiet for a moment before she went back to work, “go fuck yourself Sully”. He just chuckled to himself, glancing up at the door to Ryan’s office as it finally opened, the man himself striding out while he smoothed back his hair, Diane nowhere in sight. “Hope you enjoyed your stress relief, please hire an actual secretary when you get married, hm? This is a nightmare” Eilis commented as she finished up her work, pushing the filing cabinet door shut with her foot. “Maybe I should pay you do to do so if it bothers you so much” Ryan replied as he fixed his tie. “Oooh, and have you pay me an actual living wage? My my aren’t we generous” Eilis muttered under her breath as stood up and stretched “There‘ll be someone at the door in a few minutes, go grab them, would you sully?”. “The hell are you on about?” Her employer asked as he watched Sullivan leave, “you have an interview, it’s right here in your diary” She pointed to show him as he leaned over, Ryan sighed dramatically, demanding “get rid of him”. “I can’t.”.

“Excuse you?” Ryan glared at her, but Eilis remained stone faced “you requested an appointment with lamb for me, then I come back and have a meeting with Augustus. Or did your happy ending up there drain your brain as well as something else?”. “Don’t be so vulgar..” Ryan scoffed as he seemed to accept the fact he couldn’t escape this, Eilis let a smile slip as he turned around but quickly hid it again as he turned back. “Well? Go. There’s no point in being here if you’re going to be useless” he shooed at her like she was a dog. “You’re welcome ya prick” she said aloud but he was obviously done listening. For the first time she was excited to see Lamb, desperate to hear her opinions on Ryan since their little interview fiasco. It had been so hard for her not to laugh while she watched that from a few steps behind her arsehole of an employer.

The fact she seemed so happy to see the therapist actually startled Lamb slightly. She honestly asked “you’re in a good mood. Has Ryan sent you to kill me?”. “Not yet” Eilis assured her as she sat down “I’m just excited to find out what gave you the bollocks to stand up to him like that? I may not have been listening to you’re message but Christ it was impressive and entertaining to say the least”.

“I’m… glad you enjoyed it. Though I do wish you’d listened. It may have appealed to you” Lamb sighed slightly as she flicked through Eilis’ file to find out where they left off. She’d peaked the Pavlov dog’s curiosity, making her genuinely ask “what was it about?”. “religion. Are you a religious person Eilis?” The therapist glanced up at her slightly as the woman calmly replied “no. I may speak like one from time to time but I’m not. Ireland was an over religious shithole, so one of the things I like about rapture is the fact we have no priests. Currently. Others can believe in whatever they please, but one of the few things that keep me going is the nothingness and peace I will get when I’m finally allowed to die”. “Do you not miss the community?” Lamb gave her a pitiful look, but Eilis just shook her head.

She remembered going to church once, she couldn’t have been older than nine. They were praying, her granny had them in the front row, full view of the priest while eilis just sat there on her knees, unsure of what to do. The head priest gave her this look like she’d just committed murder, she wondered how he’d stare at her now. After the prayers while confession was going on with the other priests and she was just admiring the pretty stained glass while holding Tadgh’s hand, the head priest asked to talk to her, alone. She said no thank you but he explained it wasn’t an option and dragged her off to the top of the alter, Granny stopping Tadgh when he’d gone to come after her.

He asked her if she knew what she did wrong?

If she liked disappointing god?

She said no and she hadn’t done anything wrong.

He asked her if she prayed for forgiveness every night and confessed her sins? She answered no to both.

After that she was lectured with several bible verses she just didn’t understand, then he flicked her with holy water and forced her to have her first communion. She hated going back to that bloody church after that day. Tadgh would sneak her out and they’d go play in the graveyard instead. Religion can go fuck itself for all she cared currently.

“Do you believe Ryan should let people have religion?” Lamb asked again, not looking at her this time. “I believe he should mind his own business. If that means people have religion it’s fine as long as we don’t have wars over which is real” Eilis stated bluntly as she sucked on her teeth slightly, trying to forget the awful taste of that stale communion bread. Lamb realised she was done talking about this subject, maybe she could try and bring it up later. She decided to begin the session properly, as she was being paid by Ryan to do. How amusing. “You have a very pessimistic view on things, do you think rapture has made you pessimistic? Or was it the incident with your brother on the surface?” She queried softly, Eilis just glaring at her faintly, not wanting to answer that question. Lamb quickly scribble down some notes.

Not religious but not against religion

Bad religious experience as a child?

Pessimistic views

Still tender on subject about brother’s death

“Did first killing people when you became Ryan’s bodyguard have a large effect on you?” Lamb watched her expression carefully, surprised when it softened and the Pavlov dog laughed slightly “I killed people long before rapture. Well one person but still. It wasn’t that much of a shock”. “Tell me about that” Lamb encouraged as she resisted the urge to look concerned. “I worked in a pub for a little extra money, didn’t exactly dress modestly but it got me extra tips so I could treat myself on my days off, so I tolerated it. One night some fella took me dressing pretty as an invitation to follow me home. He pulled me into an alleyway, he had a knife, we struggled and I managed to get it. I won’t explain what I’d do but he wasn’t a man when I had finished with him. Sullivan dealt with it for me with his connections to the police at the time. Never heard another word about it.” Eilis left out just enough detail for Lamb to imagine what she had did, and as horrible she was imagining, she had a feeling it was worse, and from the Pavlov dog’s expression she could tell she may have felt guilty for going a little overboard but a part of her enjoyed it.

“I do feel guilty for that, he probably just deserved a knee to the crotch and then I’d go home. But I didn’t give him that. I don’t feel guilty for those I kill in rapture though, because if I do it’s deserved.” She clarified, but lamb didn’t seem anymore relaxed. The therapist straighten herself up in her chair, commenting “it seems when you had.. stability, you felt guilt. But now you have a lack of that.. your life can change from day to day.. so you don’t have the.. emotional energy to feel guilt..” she took a quick breath as she realised she was taking a risk with this offer “What if I were to tell you there is a place that can offer you that stability? Dionysus park.”. “You’re little artists retreat? Sounds like a heaven for Cohen, not for me” Eilis chuckled, but stopped when lamb seemed fully serious. “It is a place to express opinions against Ryan without fear of the censor. A place where you can do the same without being belittled like a child. A place where your father can truly express the ideals he is beckoning to the poor-“ Lamb began, but she was cut off “what are you on about with my father?”.

Quick to angry reactions

Unaware of Father’s revolutionary actions

Still a candidate for Dionysus ? > currently too close with Ryan

“Nothing. Do you have anything else you wished to speak of?” She quickly dropped the subject. Eilis was confused, as lamb was usually the one who pried more. “No… no I don’t”. “Then enjoy your time off, I have you booked in for another hour and a half. Consider it a favour” Eilis was shooed out quickly after that, not at all liking the idea of being forced that give a favour in return for one she didn’t ask for.

Sullivan, however, was in a worse predicament. Ryan had sent him off to do what he’d originally wanted to do with him and Eilis; checking the fisheries for smugglers. They usually checked around now as it was when they closed and no one should have been around, and now he was doing it alone. He gripped his pistol tightly as he walked as slowly as he could, not wanting the creaky dockboards to give him away. He could hear the creaks from somewhere else, they slowly got louder as he approached, but suddenly they were drowned out by chatter.

“The hell are we doin here again Frank?” A vaguely familiar voice asked, followed by annoyingly unmistakable one of Frank Fontaine “you know why, dumbass. What? You got shit to do I don’t know about?”. “Nah… just don’t like standin here in the dark, waiting for the rest of your shit from that sub.. it fuckin stinks” His bodyguard complained, Sullivan glancing around a corner to see the two leaning against stacks of boxes with black handprints on them, “stop bitching and keep an eye out” Frank scoffed as he lit a cigar which illuminated his face. He looked directly at Sullivan but didn’t seem to notice him, Ryan’s head of security ducking back behind the wall. He picked up his radio and whispered into it “I need back up to the docks by Fontaine fisheries immediately. We got him”.

Frank smirked, whispering “poor fuck doesn’t even know how wrong he is..” to Reggie, who just gave him a worried look. “Can we clarify that plan for when they actually catch you?…cause I ain’t-“ Reggie tried to clarify but Frank shushed him, loading some blanks and a single bullet into his revolver. He waited for Sullivan to pop his head out again and failed surprise, firing his gun at him and barely holding back a chuckle when the man obviously panicked even through a bullet hadn’t been fired, just a loud startling pop. Reggie bolted like he’d been told to do and Sullivan quickly followed, Frank hiding behind the boxes and tackling the man to the floor, kicking his gun under the dock as they fought. Frank had Sullivan in a headlock with his gun pressed to his chin, shoving it in hard enough to bruise.

“Shame it’s gonna end this way, Sully. I was planning on keeping ya. Ellie’s fond of you and your shit” Frank said with as much venom as possible, smirking as Sullivan struggled, letting the man use his pathetic excuse for weight against him and guiding them into the boxes. He gritted his teeth in pain as he felt his shoulder pop out as they hit the water like bricks, Frank immediately letting go of the bastard, flicking the barrel of his revolver with his thumb to the one proper bullet and firing, hitting Ryan’s head of security in the thigh before he clambered out, getting away while leaving evidence behind, just as he wanted. Sullivan coughed and spluttered as he clung go one of the legs of the docks, looking around for Frank but he was long gone. Out of the boxes that didn’t seem to have been nailed shut seeped out letters addressed to places all over the world, mainly America, bibles and all other kinds of contraband with Frank’s branding on a good few of them.

After dragging himself out of the water, he examined them more, being unable to stand. Ryan and their other members of security arrived, but Eilis was still absent. “It’s him… we finally got the bastard!” Sullivan said triumphantly as he was held up by two of their lower guards. Ryan grimaced at the sight of his leg “yes… I’ll set everything in motion. In a few weeks, maybe a year we will have him behind bars”. “A few weeks to a year?!” Sullivan blurted out “we got enough evidence to chuck him in and lock away the key tonight, and you wanna wait a few weeks?”. Ryan’s facial expression was a strange mixture as he kept himself composed “I have a reputation to uphold Sullivan.. public appearances.. I can’t let him be wise to what we’re going to do. A man with a false sense of security is an easy man to catch with his pants down”. Sullivan grimaced both from the agony of a hole through his leg and the imagery of Ryan’s poorly used metaphor. “You still have Ellie dealing with him?” He asked his boss quietly as he was taken away. “She’s with lamb currently and after she is seeing Sinclair before retiring properly for the night. I will fill her in on the morrow. She’ll be far away this entire scenario, I assure you”.

Ryan couldn’t have been farther in the realm of a wrong assumption as Eilis strode with her father and Sinclair to Mercury suites, which was surprisingly quiet. There were several lavish parties on tonight though so they must have been out. It was only four in the morning afterall. “Why is Ryan accusing me of something I haven’t even done? Does he any have evidence?” Mick groaned as he kept a linked arm with Eilis while they strode, the girl leaning over to light Sinclair’s cigar “oh he never does”. “Well I can assure both you and Ryan, that I have been keeping a very close watch on our lovely Mickey and he isn’t doin a thing” Sinclair defended Mick, though he was fully aware of what he was doing and half endorsed it. Sinclair liked being on the winning side, and if he had to choose between the bountiful business opportunities Ryan provided or his latest bedroom entertainment’s passion project, he was going to split his attention equally, that way who ever came out on top he could still save face, and maybe if Mick lost he could save him from those horrible Adam experiments Ryan does on those he pays Sinclair to make ‘disappear’ into Persephone, just like poor Johnny. The thought of that man made him frown but he reigned it in, hoping he was dead.

“As long as you don’t go into too much detail on that I could-… Is that Frank?” Eilis stopped in her tracks, looking off the balcony of the third floor to see Frank and Reggie bickering. Frank was soaked to the skin and clinging to his arm. Before Sinclair could finish “now Ellie, don’t you be thinking about-“ she was gone. Mick looked mildly disappointed but Sinclair simply sighed. “I can be mad at the girl, you cant” The southerner told the Irish man calmly, making him give a filthy glance “and why not?”. “You two have the exact same taste in men, though yours is only for pleasure. That poor thing loves that bald bastard” Sinclair waved his hand in front of his door, it sliding open as he beckoned Mick inside “or do you wanna prove me wrong and not enjoy the sudden privacy we have?”. Mick seemed to hesitate, resisting going after his child before he gave in, admitting “I hate when you’re right” as he followed Sinclair in, his hands at the other man’s hips.

“What did you do this time you absolute gobshite?” Eilis called out to Frank as she made her way down the ramps, Reggie gave him a glance that asked if he should tell her. Frank’s whispered through gritted teeth “keep. Your damn. Jaw. Shut” before flashing Eilis a smile “nothin doll. Just a little accident down by the fisheries”. Eilis, obviously not believing him, walked over and examined his shoulder, giving it a slight push with only two fingers and watching Frank grit his teeth so hard she swore they’d break. “You’ve popped your shoulder out” she stated calmly, as if it were a fact. Even it was, Frank wasn’t happy about it. “I ain’t going to no feckin doctor” he told her sternly as he stepped into his elevator, Eilis joining him along with Reggie, “you won’t need to. I’ll push it back in, I’ve done it to myself plenty of times”. Frank was almost tempted to ask if it would hurt, wondering if she’d lie to him or give him something for the pain, but knowing her she’d either play with him or do nothing at all.

When they got in, Eilis sat him in his game room and got to work. She tossed his jacket and vest off somewhere, taking his tie off and putting it between his teeth so he wouldn’t break them before opening up his shirt. She moved his shoulder around in small circles, ignoring the fact he was currently trying to scream every curse known to man, till she felt it dip slightly, like it was trying to slot in somewhere. She moved it back, ordering him “deep breath” while she pushed it back in before giving him the chance. She felt a slight pop before it clicked back in place, Frank looked like he was fit to punch her. Eilis ignored this but was prepared to dodge, “Now tell me what you did to get yourself like this? You’re soaked” she asked softly as she checked him for a temperature while flicking the odd bit of seaweed off him. “Just business.. nothing to worry your pretty head about..” Frank panted as he spoke. His jaw hurt from him clenching it to try and help with the pain, not to mention his shoulder was pulsing in agony, he knew better than to touch it. It was almost like a burning sensation.

He heard the Pavlov dog let out a little huff of annoyance as she felt his forehead, than his cheeks, whispering to herself “níos fuaire ná an bás an lá a dhúnann geataí na bhflaitheas...” wiping her hand off the chair as she shouted out to Reggie “the hell are you off too?!”. “None of your fuckin business doggy! Got the fire lit in Frank’s room. Move him!” Followed by the slam of a door telling her he was gone. Rolling her eyes, she made Frank stand, demanding “let’s get you nice and toasty hm? Can’t have you dying of a cold now can I?”. “Would you miss me?” Frank asked, Eilis shutting down his dig for words of affection with “we already played that game Frankie” leaving him by his bed while she went to get him some pyjamas, if he even owned them. She’d only ever seen his smoking jacket that he’d use like a nightgown. She searched his wardrobe before she felt his hands on her waist, shockingly cold compared to the room around them, so much so she felt them through her pants.

*

“How bout we keep playing it hm? From my memory we were interrupted” Frank hummed as he kissed at her neck, Eilis glancing back to see his wet clothes on the floor “besides, you know what’s the quickest way to warm someone up..”.

“Sitting in front of a roasting fire like a normal person isn’t the answer, is it?” Eilis sighed as she reached a hand back to caress his head, turning to face him properly. “I’m wearing my good work clothes, Franky” she almost pouted, her lover rolling the black knitted sweater between his fingers as he smirked at her “which would you prefer? This itchy shit or one of my shirts and a few purple jewels decorating your skin?”. “I hate hickeys” Eilis whispered while she kissed at his jaw, “sure you do” Frank chuckled as as he picked her up by her thighs and tossed her on her bed, Eilis bouncing slightly and having to catch herself on one of the decorative masts so she didn’t go flying.

She had to resist giving him a glare, which wasn’t too hard since she was immediately flustered by the fully naked and freezing Frank propping himself up over her and undoing her belt while keeping eye contact. “Switching roles today are we?” She teased as she barely held back a nervous laugh, “would you prefer I toss you in the cold depths of the Atlantic and then strip ya?” Frank cocked his head as he slid his freezing hands under her sweater, making her shiver. “No, but if you don’t warm up soon, we’re moving closer to the fire” she sighed shakily as she slipped the sweater off, tossing it somewhere knowing there’d be a chance she’d never see it again but she didn’t care. She was dying for some attention that will make rapture seem like a fictional horror she’d accidentally read, even if it was just for a moment.

She kicked off her boots, the thud being deafening against the faint sounds of panting, followed by the clinking of her belt hitting the floor as Frank tossed it. Eilis tangled their legs, both to slow things down and just be difficult as she distracted Frank with a kiss. There was a faint taste of sea water off his mouth, mixed with the usual tobacco and whiskey she’d become accustomed to. She wished for a moment he had hair, having a strange urge to run her fingers through the silky wetness of it before tugging at it slightly.

When Frank finally got her pants off, planting his hands firmly on her ass, she almost kicked him from the cold, wrinkling her nose as she suppressed the urge. “You did that on purpose, you prick” she huffed as he gave her a grin that told her he very obviously did. She just focused on his face, knowing he liked that sort of thing as she tries to use her incinerate plasmid to warm herself up ever so slightly, her lover being so cold it was like he was sucking the warmth from her body. Her veins lit up with magma and travelled up her arm and all over her body, Eilis sighing contently at the surprisingly pleasant warmth. This was followed by a quiet moan as Frank pushed in, groaning in her ear at how warm it was, pressing her against him like she were the only source of heat in a blizzard. After a few moments she bucked against him to spurr him along, getting a chuckle out of him. “Someone’s impatient..” he mumbled, still holding her suffocatingly close. “If you wanted a cock warmer you should have paid for one” Eilis reminded him. “I’ll be sure to remember that next time. Maybe I’ll get that bird who tried to kill you, how’s that sound?” He almost purred as he picked up the pace, Eilis trying to ground herself by holding onto his back, at the mention of that woman he actually felt her hands get hotter, almost like she barely held back the urge to burn him.

“Is the Pavlov dog jealous? I’d never think I’d see the day” He continued to tease, thrusting harder each time she opened her mouth, Eilis only getting out a choked “oh yo-.. you Ba-.. Bastard..” digging her surprisingly sharp nails into his shoulder blades. Frank revelled in the slight sting followed by her almost burning him again, seemingly trying to turn her plasmid off but she couldn’t fully focus on it.

Eilis was acutely aware of Frank’s touch, her body was so scorching hot, almost enough to drive her mad, but his hands were like ice to a burn, it almost stung and made her hiss, but when he pulled away it just made her want to touch him more. She hooked her legs around his waist, holding one of his hands to her cheek as she was unable to keep her moans in, her mouth refusing to shut as she panted from the heat and the Adam wouldn’t let her sweat. Her muscles were so tense it felt like they were all going to rip at once, just leaving her limp. She finally managed to bring her attention to Frank again. He was staring down at her with this determined look as he almost thrust too hard, keeping her against him with that hand she had on her face, but he was stroking her cheek with his thumb. It felt so good but she knew she’d have saddle sore from how rough he was being, had she done something wrong?

Suddenly he stopped. He slipped a hand around her frame, he was still so cold, and sat back on his calves, having her sit on his lap, his light hand on her back keeping her up straight while they were still attached. She gave him a confused look as she heaved. She tried to think of the right words, but her mind was just mush. She could only think in Irish, how horribly hot she was and how perfectly cold Frank was. “Ride me” He requested, Eilis’ eyebrows furrowing as she asked “tar arís?…” having no clue what he’d said to her. Frank, equally having no clue what she replied, just guided her hips up and down, hoping she’d get the idea. She quickly did, slowly getting to a pace he liked as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the crook as she moaned in his ear, enjoying his baltic cold while he absorbed her scorching heat.

Frank couldn’t help but buck up every so often to meet her in one glorious moment of friction. Eilis felt like she was melting, speeding up as she almost bit through the knuckle she’d been chewing on to muffle herself. She braced a hand on Frank’s shoulder as she could barely look him in the eye, currently trying not to pass out since she was overly stimulated. Just as she felt that knot form in her stomach that would have felt so good to let just snap, he stopped her, causing her to curse at him. Frank knew exactly what he was doing, he was fully aware she’d stolen something from his office, in fact he’d intended on her doing so, and even though that was a part of his plan he was still pissed that she thinks he didn’t notice. 

Was he going to address this? No.

They had little time left anyway, Ryan seemed desperate to get enough information to raid him and he’d just been handed a large sum of it on a silver platter. It’d be any day now. Could even be tomorrow, but likely not. Either way he wasn’t going to turn this into a fight, instead he’d be petty. There’s be plenty of people for her to take it out on when he was ‘gone’.

When he realised Eilis was fit to kill him before Ryan could even try, he chuckled “stop pouting, you know I ain’t that sour” she continued to glare at him, half muttering “tá an t-ádh ort go bhfuil grá agam duit, mar ní fhéadfadh aon mhéid airgid ó Ryan a dhéanamh orm do cacamas a fhulaingt riamh..”. “Moan that in me ear my Irish rose” Frank purred in that damned Dublin accent as he tilted her chin up and kissed her passionately, taking control again and getting her back on her back. Before she could pull away in an attempt to get some payback she had completely lost her previous train of thought, clinging to Frank as he brought her closer to whatever heaven was then she’d ever get on her own, Eilis relaxing as she moaned loud enough to be heard through the thankfully empty apartment, unknowingly releasing the plasmid she’d been trying to keep hold of and burning her hands bracing on Frank’s shoulder blades permanently.

*

By the time Frank had finished she hadn’t even realised, she only came back into the room mentally when her mind had calmed down. They were cuddling, she had her head on his shoulder and they seemed to be having a conversation and he was waiting for an answer. She just stared at him and waited for him to repeat the question, which he begrudgingly did after realising she hadn’t heard him “you decided on your gift yet?”. “Gift for what?..” Eilis’ eyebrows furrowed, wondering why Frank kept shifting ever so slightly and then tensing up like he was in pain. “Your birthday dumbass, I still haven’t given you somethin” Frank hissed in pain slightly as he finally found a comfortable angle where he wouldn’t hurt his new burns. “You mean we can’t watch stienmen be eaten by orcas? Shame I was looking forward to that” she yawned, struggling to keep her eyes open even though she wasn’t tired. She felt oddly nauseas, probably a delayed adam reaction.

“Nah. Maybe in the future but can’t do that for you right now sweetheart… how bout I surprise you with something big in a few days, maybe weeks. How ever long it takes to be made” He suggested, the Pavlov dog laughing slightly as she glanced up at him “teasing me a lot today aren’t we? I’m sure whatever you do is fine. I think what we did before the party went to shit was enough of a gift.. now shut yer gob so I can get some sleep..”. Frank jolted his shoulder so she’d wake up “who said you could sleep?”.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I forgot you pay me to be h- oh. Oh wait. No you don’t. Please let me sleep I’m exhausted” Eilis groaned as she rubbed at her face and glared at him, Frank shrugged “you’re always tired. What’s a few more hours gonna do?”. “It’s going to make me leave you again for a month, how bout that?” She mumbled, rolling over so her back was facing him, causing him to start spooning her instead. “What are you gonna do when I’m gone?” He whispered to her, Eilis just groaned, burying her face in the pillow as she’s already answered this question.

“Doll, c’mon” Frank nudged her slightly, getting him a reply of “move on and fuck Stienmen on your grave..”. “You’d never!” Frank scoffed, Eilis snapping “I bloody will if you don’t shut up and let me sleep!” Pulling bedsheets over her head. After a moment of silence and building guilt after Frank’s had left her waist, with a small sigh she repeated what she had admitted before “I’d be devastated… and god help whoever gets in the way of my grief, because I won’t have the energy to control something that devastating again”. His hand returned and he pulled her close, brushing her hair out of the way and kissing at the back of her neck with a chuckle of “just wanted to hear you say it. Think I’ll go to heaven?”. “If heaven is real I don’t want to go there… it’ll be full of entitled assholes and perverted priests.. Hell sounds much more cope-able.. you’d fall straight onto of the devil though..” the Pavlov dog yawned as she finally started to drift off to sleep, the last thing she heard being Frank teasing “you getting religious on me?”. “Don’t be daft..” is what she thought she said but it came out as an unintelligible mumble of words as sleep quickly took over.

Frank thought to himself as he heard his front door open, followed by two sets of quick steps coming up his stairs, Reggie and one of his lackeys appearing at the entrance to his bedroom. “Mole in Ryan’s security says he’s got you pegged for a raid on futuristics durin your final meetin on those new plasmids of yours in a few weeks” Reggie spoke quickly while his lackey remained mute. “Good, pull out all our moles and book in with that section eight of a surgeon” Frank demanded calmly and quietly, making sure Eilis was still asleep as he spoke. Reggie seemed to fuss for a minute, his boss glaring at him “what reg?”.

“You sure they’ll just arrest me? Thinkin I’m you? And can the doc turn me back after?” He asked sheepishly.

“Obviously. Why would I lie to you reg? Now fuck off and let me enjoy my night” Frank responded, waving a dismissive hand at Reggie and brushing off his concerns completely.

Not believing him but not wanting to see what is old friend and employer would do now he had this god complex, he reluctantly left with said lackey, gesturing for him to call the lift while he pretended to light up a cigarette. As soon as the lackey’s back was turned Reggie shot him in the back of the head now that he knew too much. Too many of their underlings were squealing lately and it pissed him off since his life was already a pain in the ass, and they were not fucking helping. After shoving the kid’s body into the elevator before sending both of them down, he thought about what was going to happen over the next few days.

It better be fucking worth it.

Chapter Text

If they were on the surface Eilis would have called this time the crack of dawn, as she stood there, in her nightgown, sleepily staring at Frank from Cohen’s door. She glared at him half heartedly as she whispered “I am not risking you waking him up when he’s conked out at just the right moment for me not to have to hear about his bedroom escapades. What do you want love?..”, “I missed you callin me that” Frank chuckled, his voice being low but still louder than Eilis would have liked, “mind giving me your signature?”. Eilis went quiet as something was telling her that was suspicious but she was too tired to figure out why “what do you need it for?”. “Nothin important. I just like your hand writing” Frank ‘assured’ her, but she still looked skeptical. “Go on” Frank tried to encourage her, whispering into her ear “it’s got to do with your present. You don’t want me spoiling it, now do ya?”. She gave a small huff of embarrassment and annoyance from that little smirk he did when he got his way, going inside to snatch one of Cohen’s fountain pens, scribbling on the back of some old receipt that had stuck to her foot when she found said pen.

As she scribbled Frank asked “how long you gonna live with this crack pot anyway?”. “Not too much longer. Dad’s getting his apartment sorted and we’ll split the rent. He doesn’t spend most nights in it so I’ll have a privacy.. sounds like heaven honestly..” The Pavlov dog mumbled, suppressing a yawn as she finished her signature. It was the longer version of her name, full Irish with middle name and all just to irritate him, but he didn’t seem to mind. Frank quickly snatched it off her and folded it in half before shoving it into his breast pocket. He cupped her cheek, the woman almost falling asleep in his touch as he stroked her with his thumb, teasing “you’re just like putty in my hands aren’t ya?”. “No. You’re just warm and cohen’s taken the good couch” Eilis almost laughed, kissing the ball of his palm. He caught her lips in a quick but sweet kiss. It almost felt like one you’d read about in books before they’d never see eachother again. It felt strange but so comforting. “Dinner tomorrow night?… my treat” She offered, Frank just gave a chuckle, pecking her again softly with a quick “it’s a date. see you round doll” and he was gone, strangely not back home but off towards the bathysphere station.

While Eilis went back to the armchair she’d been sleeping in without a second thought, her father was currently at the head of a crowd in the middle of Apollo square.

They’d all ripped off images of Ryan from all of those posters he had around to stroke his ego, using them as masks while he called out to the people “Ryan invites you down here, has you bring your families with the promise in luxury after you break your back keepin this place running! And how does he pay you? With over policing, starvation, homelessness and brutality! It’s time we take a stand!” The crowd erupted into cheers as Mick spoke, the man keeping an eye on all the entrances he could see from the platform of crates he was standing on. There were some suspicious characters hanging around the exits, it worried him but he continued speaking “I know you’re listening Ryan! Through yer cameras and spies! But you won’t snuff out our revolution. You can gut me like a fish for all I care, the people will be heard! The rich will no longer prosper above the poor! Equal opportunity for all! Scream so he can hear ya!” He pumped his fist up in the air and shouted “FUCK RYAN!”.

The crowd joined immediately and soon you had about 2000 people shouting at the top of their lungs about exactly where Ryan could stick his rules. It was all going perfectly, a little emotional but still a peaceful protest, than it all turned when there was a gunshot followed by the screaming panic people in the back row. Mick froze as a response as he felt his heart rate pick up and mind race with memories of clinging to his childhood best friend’s hand, shouting at him to “JUST SHOOT THE FUCKERS, PADRAIG!” as he focused on getting them home, almost stumbling over the cobbled roads and dead men already on the floor, images of his pregnant wife and young son sobbing at his funeral keeping him going at a pace that would have been Olympic worthy. When a bullet flew past his head painfully nicking his cheek, he finally moved, jumping behind the platform and ripping off the makeshift mask he had, tossing the jacket on the floor along with the fisherman’s jumpsuit he’d had on to cover his own clothes. Kicking over the beer bottle he had full of gas onto it followed by a lighter, he quickly snatched his farmer’s cap, lighting his cigarette off the flames before slipping out with the panicking crowd while Ryan’s men snatched the more rowdy ones. He wanted to help, it hurt his heart not to but he couldn’t risk losing his position. He didn’t have any strong allies yet so he couldn’t just abandon the revolution to be a martyr of sorts just yet. He hopped on a packed metro that was just shy of going through the tunnel to leave and met Sinclair where he’d been waiting for him in the wine yard of Arcadia.

“How’d it go?” The southerner queried as he dabbed the man’s cheek with a handkerchief, very well aware it had gone awfully, it was already all over the radio. “Shite… but we got his attention. That’s major progress” Mick explained, hissing in pain when the familiar sting of peroxide hit his face. “Stop whinin, you should be happy I like your face enough to keep it in one piece” Sinclair teased him as he tossed the dirty handkerchief off somewhere, having no respect for this business, before applying a cotton bandage with some medical tape over the area. He pecked Mick’s uninjured cheek as he straighten out his shirt and vest so he looked neat, affectionately calling him “my little revolutionary, what am I supposed to do with you?”. “Make me not want to burn this whole place to the ground” Mick chuckled, slightly swatting his hand away before undoing the top few buttons of his own shirt since having them all the way up bothered him.

The two men glanced over as another announcement came on: Good morning, the riots at Artemis suites have been dispersed and it is now safe to travel through, bathysphere routes have also been reopened. Around fifty three of these violent rioters were arrested, but their leader, referred to by the moniker of ‘Atlas’, slipped away before authorities could apprehend them. Andrew Ryan says that he is putting his best men, and woman on the issue and it will be resolved. Hopefully the inclusion of the Pavlov dog will return safety back to our glorious city. I am Johnathan Price and this was your morning rapture update.

They glanced at each other with vaguely worried expressions, Sinclair telling the Irish man sternly “you need to tell Ellie. She will gut you if she don’t recognise you when Ryan gives a whistle like that”. Mick seemed hesitant, but he knew Sinclair had a point, so he gave in “fine. I’ll tell her tonight. Cross me heart”.

“Good… preferably before Ryan’s party” Sinclair specified as he downed a glass of wine, grimacing at the salty aftertaste from the sea water the cheap bastard used. “Why?” Mick queried, only getting a sigh of “don’t start questioning me now Mickey” before they left.

The day went by rather quickly after that, and it was seemingly impossible to find Eilis, this was due to Ryan practically keeping her attached to his hip to stop her from wandering off. It made her feel like a bold child, a feeling she did not miss at all but she was too excited for dinner with Frank tomorrow that she wasn’t even thinking about that, wondering what he’d gotten her. She barely even heard Ryan when he told her she would be looking after Jasmine, specifically at his party that evening, celebrating his latest achievement. She assumed it was for his engagement to Diane but thought it was a little cruel to both of his lovers to have Jasmine at the party, either way work was work and she just wanted to get to tomorrow night has fast as possible.

Ryan had currently dragged her to the Kashmir and was dictating final tweaks to the decorations and event planning like he always did, She stood at the balcony edge with Sullivan, admiring the ocean. “You’re in a good mood” he commented, knowing she wouldn’t be in one for long. “Just excited for getting off early tomorrow. I’ve made plans” Eilis replied casually as she stood up straight and cracked her shoulders “you however seem tense. What’s bothering you, love?”. “Nothin. You know the boss is piling work on right now, I’m just tired.” Sullivan tried to explain, tempted to tell her exactly what was about to happen, but the sudden glare from Ryan, like he’d sensed it, made him stop. “Speaking of work, I gotta go meet up with the other security boys. Can you cope with him on your own or do you want me to send that Russian fella down?” He asked quietly as he lit a cigarette to calm his nerves, Eilis just gave him a sympathetic smile “no. I’m fine. We don’t get along anyway, he broke my favourite whiskey glass” the two separated with a silent goodbye and Eilis returned to Ryan’s side, fiddling with the ring Frank had gifted her before and smiling to herself slightly, which left the workers used to her deadpan expression rather uncomfortable. Ryan took no notice.

Hours passed like seconds and soon they were in the middle of a very crowded party with Jasmine dressed like she was due to preform, even though Ryan insisted she wasn’t and demanded Eilis keep her out of Diane’s sight. “Did you not dress up Ellie? You’re rather plain” the dancer asked, The Pavlov dog shook her head “I’m working. Ryan didn’t demand I had to so I just stayed in my work clothes” glancing around the party in case she had to encourage Jasmine to move, “any sign of your lover boy?” Jasmine queried, Eilis gave her a confused look, half afraid to ask which one in case Jasmine was only asking for Ryan “oh sorry, he isn’t that anymore is he? Your fiancé? Doctor stienmen?”. “Oh. He’s busy with surgery.. thank fuck..” she muttered the last part before flashing Jasmine a smile and keeping an eye on her as she mingled too and fro on the top floor, while Diane and Ryan were at the bottom. Just as she had gotten semi comfortable leaning against the balcony again, her father appeared looking very stressed.

“You alright?” She asked him, he brushed it off, muttering “tá mé go maith! ... tá mé go maith, a ghrá ...” swallowing hard when he realised people were glaring at him for him for not speaking English. For a place that bragged about diversity they were certainly terrified of a language they never heard. “I need to talk to you”. “About?” She dropped her voice to a whisper, pulling him closer by his sleeve so they could talk in as much privacy as they could get in a crowded rapture elite party. “That..that lad who’s riling up everyone down in Apollo square.. I may have fibbed about how close I am to the whole.. issue” Mick seemed to be struggling to find the word, and how his daughter’s expression changed from worry to annoyed confusion the more he spoke made him choke up more. Then she smiled softly at him and laughed, “dad.. love it’s fine, I know your in it somehow, as long as your not heading the thing I could care less” she brushed him off, grabbing his hands “now go on, dance with me! I love this song”.

“Eilis…” He sighed, but he couldn’t resist that pleading look she was giving him as she whispered “please? I’m dying for a break from work and jasmine’s just snuck off with some fella. I have twenty minutes tops”. “Alright.. but after we’re talking” he insisted, Eilis just giving a vague noise of agreement as she started to sway with him, enjoying the moment. Mick allowed himself to relax, chuckling to himself as he couldn’t help but think he only ever thought he’d get to do this when she got married… if. He didn’t like that doctor fella.. but Fontaine wasn’t much better. He wished she had better taste but as Sinclair had pointed out, he hadn’t given her a good example. “Tadgh and I used to slow dance… even after he got a job with Ryan.. he’d move the record player out so it was under my desk.. stick on whatever Ryan had and we’d just sway our worries away.. it was nice..” she spoke softly, noticing how similarly dancing with her father felt like dancing with Tadgh, they were around the same height, her brother being the spitting image of him. She could almost pretend she was still on the surface, her favourite pastime. “Ah. He got that from your mam… she loved to dance.. hell, she did it with you in her belly, when I wasn’t around.. probably where you got that love for them sappy songs they always play down here” Mick sighed slightly, honestly missing his wife for a moment. It’s amazing how long someone can be gone and how fresh their death can be in your mind. “I think I’m almost over Tadgh.. I’ll never forget him.. but.. it hurts less to talk about him since I’ve done it more.. you should do the same with mam..” Eilis suggested, stopping as the song did the same.

Mick just smiled at her softly, not being ready to do such a thing. Realising he wasn’t going to talk about feelings anymore, Eilis turned back right the original subject, “How close are you then? To the whole revolutionary thing?” She whispered, glancing around them quickly to make sure no one was obviously earwigging, stopping when she saw Sullivan rush in. He looked so startled, his hair was a mess, his jacket was bloody but he was uninjured, he just generally looked very panicked. Their eyes met for a minute and he almost looked like he was overcome by guilt, but he ignored it, rushing down the stairs.

“I’m-“ Mick finally went to confess but his daughter shushed him, leaning over the balcony edge to see what was happening. Ryan at first looked furious at the sight of Sullivan, then surprised then overjoyed, planting firm hands on his shoulders and seemingly congratulating him before striding up to the stage where the performers were. “The hell his going on?” Eilis muttered under her breath as her father joined her at her side, equally curious. The music stopped, the chatter slowly fading to silence only broken by a few clinking glasses from the bartenders as Ryan took control of the microphone. “My friends! Today is a glorious day for rapture! You all know far too well of the smugglers and their misdeeds to this great city. Well I have been working tirelessly to put an end to it, and finally! On this day! Raids were completed on all their secret hideouts, protecting rapture from the surface’s filth! I am very proud to say my men have also forever ridden us of the organiser of these treasonous crimes! Frank Fontaine is dead!” The part erupted in cheers and the music soon started again.

Mick was mildly surprised by this but not too much, he’d honestly expected it to happen at some point, but he was pulled out of his self absorbed reality when he heard someone struggling to breath.

It was Eilis.

She’d gone white as a sheet and had her nails digging into the wood of the balcony’s bannister. Her expression was unreadable, strange mix of devastation, denial and anger. “Eilis? Love are you alright?” Mick asked but his voiced sounded miles away, he only got a chocked response of “I can’t breath.. where’s Ryan?..”. Speaking of the devil the man himself strode up to her “Ellie! Darling I must congratulate you, your observation and continuous work is the reason we could make this great achievement, you will be rewarded as promised” Ryan would have continued complimenting her in a way that would have stroked his own ego till she snapped at him “is this a joke?.. because it isn’t funny..”.

“Why would I joke about something so serious?” Ryan cocked an eyebrow as he wondered why she was being so dramatic. Eilis made a strange noise that sounds like a repressed whimper or sob before her voice cracked out an “excuse me…” as she pushed past the man and quickly went outside, Mick following at her heels while shooting a glare at Ryan that could have boiled blood. He found her bracing herself by the elevators, unable to breath as she kept trying to suppress sobs. She was turning pink as she desperately tried to keep herself quiet while her body shook. He wrapped an arm around her and she finally let herself breath, heaving for air. She tried to speak but all that came out where whines or sobs so she just gave up, getting more upset by the second. Mick hugged her gently with one arm in an attempt to reassure her, fretting “I’m so sorry sweetheart… I know just how you feel..  but he’s gone… not even Ryan’s sick enough to lie about that”.

Eilis went quiet for a moment, she slowly started to hug back, then her grip tightening on him as he suddenly felt her get heavier. Her knees had buckled and she started to cry openly, little hiccups started to turn to sobs and then broken hearted screams as Eilis felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She couldn’t even string a sentence together, all she could do was cry. It was like losing Tadgh all over again, but this time she didn’t have an option to escape where it had happened, she was stuck in this shithole city, working for the man who did it with no escape. She wanted to get sick, she wanted to claw at her skin, she wanted to burn this whole city to the ground and curl up on Frank’s bed until she finally drowned. She was devastated and broken. Currently Mick was the only thing she had left in this world, she was clinging to him so hard she would have ripped his shirt of someone tried to pry her away. Burying her face in his shoulder like a scared child as she managed to stand again, terrified to let go of him, terrified he’d be taken away from her too, her cries were muffled, yet they were still loud enough for him to feel it tearing chunks out of his heart with every noise.

When Sullivan had found them along with Sinclair about two hours later, Eilis was just silent. She was shaking ever so slightly, Mick still holding her as they sat on the floor in the corner by the elevators, not making a sound as she’d screamed to the point she’d lost her voice. She just looked so broken, so absolutely destroyed that she would have just crumbled like a neglected statue if Mick let go of her. She had the back of one of her hands pressed to her mouth, Sinclair assuming it was to keep herself quiet, till he quickly noticed it wasn’t her engagement ring, it was the one Frank had gifted her. He glanced at Mick, who seemed to know what he was about to ask and just shook his head.

Sullivan went to approach but Sinclair stopped him, reminding him “you just killed her lover, boy. I don’t believe she wants you anywhere near her. And I mean that kindly. Go get Ryan to fix the mess he’s made” shooing Ryan’s head of security away. When he was certain the man was gone he approached the Pavlov dog cautiously, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder “Ellie? Hun you want a drink?.. I’m sure you’re thirsty”. She didn’t give him any sort of response, no shake of the head, no noise not even glance. She was just catatonic.

“Ellie?… Eilis?” He tried, nothing.

“Gus is talking to ya, pet” Mick tried, again, nothing.

“Was she like this when Tadgh died?” He asked his lover quietly, Sinclair shrugged “I didn’t know her. All I know is her way of coping was the reason people were scared shitless of Ryan for years.. that was before Frank, so he had no reason to respect the man” he tilted his head to look at Eilis’ face “but that look ain’t a good one, I know that.”.

“mo leanbh bocht…” Mick sighed, genuinely not knowing what to do with this whole situation. He had no connection to Fontaine, in fact he thought he was a bastard and wanted him nowhere near his daughter, does that mean he wanted him dead? Of course not. She obviously loved him and was absolutely devastated, and he already knew what that felt like. Her reaction was the one he would have had when he lost his wife, if he hadn’t had a new born baby to look after. He didn’t have time to mourn. The only attempt at morning he got was the day she was buried where he was alone with her grave for a few moments. He doesn’t even remember what he did but whatever it was left tear stains on her dry tombstone and his knuckles red raw. 

“Get her on her feet, Mickey” Sinclair ordered as he seemed to he watching something on the stairs, “she is in no state to be moving mate.” Mick insisted sternly, but Sinclair wasn’t taking that for an answer.

“Our dear Andrei is leaving his little celebration early. Don’t you want him to see the consequences of his actions? I know Ellie would” Sinclair spoke calmly in his usual way of speaking as he watched Ryan leave with Sullivan in tow, party still erupting in celebration behind him.

Reluctantly Mick gently got Eilis to her feet as they started to go after him. She moved, but still didn’t let go of him, no matter how awkward it looked to do. They managed to catch him just as he’d settled in his bathysphere, Sinclair standing in the way of the hatch so it wouldn’t shut “Andy! You weren’t thinkin about leaving without us were you? How cruel” he teased as he let Mick and Eilis slip past him before letting the door shut. Ryan repressed a snarl as he sat up straight and watched Eilis intently. He’d intended on avoiding her after the reaction she’d had, not wanting to be dragged back to the morning he’d told her about the death of her brother, though she seemed to be in the numb stage so he was willing to tolerate it.

After a few minutes the poor girl became aware of where she was, and as soon as she spotted Ryan she glared at him hatefully. “ag iarraidh orm é a mharú?… Beidh mé ag dul a cheann cosúil le damh…” Her father whispered to her, she seemed to consider it but shook her head, opening her mouth to reply before realising it hurt to speak, meekly rubbing at her throat. “It was quick” Sullivan suddenly piped up, getting everyone’s attention, he was focused on Eilis, “I promise. He was a bastard but I didn’t want him to suffer”. “I don’t think that makes her feel any better, lad” Mick tried to warn him subtly to stop while he was ahead, rubbing at Eilis’ shoulder.

“Don’t give my employees your opinion when it wasn’t asked for Micheal” Ryan hummed casually, ignoring when the Irish man glared at him and corrected him “Mícheál..”. The ride back to his private docking station was quiet, Sinclair being the only one smiling, but it seemed just to make Ryan uncomfortable. He would turn to Eilis to ask her how she was doing but still didn’t get any replies, so he decided it was best to stay as a physical wall of sorts between her and Sullivan. As the shaking finally stopped and ‘fresh’ air seeped into the cabin of the bathysphere, they disembarked, Mick guiding Eilis to a chair while Sinclair went off to pour three glasses of whiskey. He gave one to Eilis, one to Sullivan and kept the one he’d offered her father, which he refused, for himself. When Ryan put his hand out for one like a child wanting something they didn’t deserve, the southerner almost snidely reminded him “I think you’ve had enough. Why don’t you go look through all the dead man’s papers you have in that little hideaway office of yours? And take your friend with ya”.

“Since when were you cozy with Fontaine?” Ryan scoffed, leaving with Sullivan at his heels, Sinclair calling after him “never was! I just don’t have a stick up my ass like you, Andy”. He joined Eilis and Mick soon after, the girl downing the whiskey in one shot, not even grimacing as she seemed to glare at the door Ryan had gone through. she started to tap her foot as she seemed to be resisting the urge to do something, hugging at her stomach like it was some strange form of comfort.

Ryan and his head of security shifted through the boxes and boxes of documents that had been taken from the office Fontaine had died in alone, the others hadn’t come in yet as they were still shifting through his belongings, looking for anything Ryan could claim. “I don’t know why you insisted on bringing these to me instead of just giving them to our lawyers” the great man grumbled as he tossed items he could have given less of a damn about on the floor, his trash can already being filled to the brim, glancing up when Sullivan huffed. “Is there a problem Sullivan?”. “No sir… I’m just trying to find something I spotted on his desk… want to make sure I didn’t read it wrong cause of the heat of the moment…” his head of security stopped what he was doing, seeming to wince at his own thoughts as he inhaled deeply “they were sleeping together behind your back. That’s why she’s so upset”.

“Excuse you? For how long?” Ryan looked baffled staring at Sullivan as he waited for an answer from the man, who looked like he might die from the stress. “They’ve been on and off since the party last year where you caught her after she’d kissed him. The whole thing with Steinmen was a coverup until the poor bastard seemed to catch feelings for the poor girl. No clue why she hasn’t broke it off yet” Sullivan just let the secrets spill as he continued to rummage through the box in front of him while Ryan just stood there extremely annoyed and trying not to storm out and yell at the girl, knowing the state she was in it would go in one ear and out the other.

“I warned her… why does she never…” He huffed, turning his attention back to Sullivan, snapping at the man “what are you staring at? Well? Spit it out man”. His head of security was staring at a document, it was on card like paper and was speckled with blood as it had been sitting face up on the bastard’s desk when they first shot him. Sullivan was just frozen in shock, blinking at it for a minute before he asked “Boss.. what’s Ellie’s full legal name?..”. “Why do you need that?” Ryan queried, but the look the man gave him told him that it was important and he should just answer the damn question. He sighed, hating the fact he’ll have to even speak the name he’d demanded she bury for her own benefit “hold on I have it on an old document she signed” he pulled open his bottom drawer and took the damn thing out that she’d signed when he’d made her his bodyguard, ignoring the one from Tadgh that rested right below it.

“Here we are… Eilis Caoimhe Ní Donnabháin” Ryan mispronounced it horribly but he didn’t give a damn, briefly showing Sullivan before his head of security did the same, passing the document over to him. “Just.. take a look boss” his voice was almost a whisper. It was a will listing off a bunch things Frank requested be done after his death but the most damning was the phrase “all of my assets are to go to my wife”. Ryan snorted a cruel laugh, begging for to taunt “wife? He had no wife. What dull bitch would marry-“ but his works stopped as his blood ran cold when he flicked the page over to see what the document that was stabled to it, made on that card like paper, stated;

it was an official rapture marriage certificate, stating Eilis and Frank were married, meaning all of those riches the bastard had left behind went to the woman who was apparently madly in love with him, meaning Ryan wouldn’t get a dime. He would have ripped it in half if Sullivan hadn’t taken it back off him.

“The hell are you doing?” His employer was seething with rage, but Sullivan was surprisingly calm “I’m going to show her and ask if it’s a forgery”. “Don’t you dare” Ryan almost snarled, actually causing the man to stop and just look confused. Ryan composed himself and tried to think up a lie “the poor thing has been manipulated by him enough, don’t you think I should deal with it? Let her rest for the next few days and I’ll.. address it when she is more stable. You know she can be delicate”. “Delicate?” Sullivan accidentally said out loud. He’d never once describe her as ‘delicate’ but he wasn’t going to challenge Ryan. “Sure boss..” He reluctantly placed the marriage cert and will back in the box before excusing himself for the night, half certain he’d come back to the remains of paper in Ryan’s personal fire.

When he left the room Eilis stood up immediately. He thought she was going to walk up to him but instead she just went right past and into Ryan, slamming the door behind him. The man wasn’t even aware when she had entered until he was suddenly pulled away from his window and slammed face first against a bookcase, where he was held there as the cold barrel of a handgun was shoved at his jaw. “Bit of an over dramatic reaction don’t you think Ellie?” He asked, gasping in pain as she twisted one of his arms behind him and shoved the magnum hard enough against his jaw bone to leave an indent. “Remember how you complained I wasn’t doing my job? That you preferred me when we first came down here? Do you want to know what spurred that ‘preferred’ bodyguard of yours on Andrei? Grief. Untreated, devastating grief. I’m going to remind you why people are scared shitless of me because you seem to have forgotten Sir” her voice was raspy and cracking as she spoke, she pulled the pin back of her gun, making sure Ryan heard the click.

“How was I supposed to know you were in love with him if you lied to me hm? You can’t react like this just because you have a fear of honesty” Ryan scoffed, hiding the fact he was starting to worry for his own safety. “You. Knew. You pulled me ‘out’ just because you thought I was, so don’t you dare bullshit me and claim you didn’t have a feckin clue!” Eilis almost pulled the trigger then and there but she hesitated, and Ryan felt her do so. “I did it to protect you. Do you not remember that?… when he had you sobbing after embarrassing you in such a way, who comforted you ? Who has always been in your corner Eilis? Who cleans up your messes?… because I know damn well it wasn’t Fontaine” Ryan turned his head as much as he could to face her, she looked like she was trying to resist the urge to try again.

When a sob finally broke through she released him, putting her gun back in its holster as she tried to leave before she was overcome grief again, she managed to compose herself, her voice cracking as she asked “why do you always do this?..”. Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed and his silence was all she needed to continue, “why do you always take away the things I love and then twist what happened so I trust you again? Granted the first time wasn’t your fault, and I forgave you for all the things you did before that… but this… Ní féidir liom fiú breathnú ort!”. Her employer attempted to put a hand on her shoulder, because that’s what people usually did to give them some form of comfort, didn’t they? 

Before his fingers even grazed it, she was turned with her gun mere inches away from the spot right between his eyes. Ryan managed barely to stay stonefaced as he started to back away, calmly asking “who are you married to Eilis?”. Eilis followed him closely, her tone being filled with a slight venom as she answered “i amnt married to anyone.”. Ryan scoffed “really? Then why are you acting like you lost a husband and not a manipulative monster who had you wrapped around his finger, so much so you lied to me” he schooled his face into something more hurt, attempting to tug at heartstrings, “I thought better of you. You’ll be lucky if the doctor will take you back after this”. “I don’t want that slimey fucker anywhere near me” the Pavlov dog almost hissed, bearing her teeth as she pushed the barrel of the gun between his eyes. She seemed to have decided what she was going to do, just about the pull the trigger and get revenge for years of frustration with one bang! Till a voice broke through their silence.

“Eilis?… what are you doing me darlin?..”.

Chapter Text

Stienmen scrubbed the blood out from under his nails after a very very long and challenging surgery. Changing man’s entire physic was exhausting after all, but it would be one of his greatest achievements. Sadly he couldn’t brag about it but it would come with its own perks in time.

“How are you feeling, mr. Fontaine?” He asked his patient casually as he dried his hands off. “Fuckin sore..” Frank graoned as he stretched his muscles while admiring himself in the mirror. He looked totally different. He was buffer but slightly shorter, his face was an entirely new shape, he had hair and different coloured eyes. He couldn’t help but flash himself a smirk and a wink, he had to hand it to the doc, he did his job. He was handsome, well not as handsome as he believed he was before but a good face got you a long way, and this one looked like a true ‘man of the people’. He accepted that he’d need that now he was starting from the bottom, complimenting Steinmen “Gotta hand it to you doc, there’s a reason you were so fuckin pricey”.

“Yes, I’m glad you notice that. If you hadn’t held payment until the surgery was completed I would have kept you on that table longer” Stienmen huffed as he started to prep for his next surgery like nothing had happened. Frank glanced back at him as he went to leave, commenting “you think Ellie will like the new look?”. Steinmen froze but kept his composure, whispering to his goddess for guidance before giving a reply of “if I know anything about her and her temper, if you let a single word slip after what you have done, all my work will be for nothing. I can promise you that”. Frank’s eyebrows furrowed as he shrugged, straightening his spine and bringing out his new voice, that Irish drawl that would make Eilis just melt in his arms “I wouldn’t be making threats if I were you doctor. Just because I’m a kind lookin man doesn’t mean I won’t crack open your skull when I finally get what’s mine” he flashed the man a smile and left, running his tongue over his new teeth while he rolled up his shirt’s sleeves for a more working class look, ready to get to work.

After setting some things in motion with people he’d paid a lot of money to stay at his side and keep their mouths shut, Frank’s next stop was the shopping district just shy of Arcadia, spotting Mick doing his daily runs. He’d memorised the man’s morning routine on his days off since it was always the damn same; he’d come here to get cigarettes and a paper before going on a stroll through Arcadia, perfect timing. He walked at a casual pace to catch up with the Irish man, looking at the headlines displayed on the newsstand as he strode by.

Fontaine truly dead? Some don’t think so

Pavlov dog’s brutality back in full force! Ryan says if you’re a true rapturian you have nothing to fear

Fontaine buried in Arcadia, Not Ryan approved.

He smirked slightly, glad to know he was making the man’s life hell even in death. He wondered if they’d found that marriage certificate yet, christ he wish he could have seen Ryan’s face. They were obviously keeping it hidden if they did, the Pavlov dog being married to the man Ryan just slaughtered in his own office, or so he thought, would be the biggest headline of the year. He finally caught up with Mick, almost letting his bronx drawl slip till he caught himself with the Dublin one, that’s where Eilis said it was from, right? “oi, you’re the fella who works for Sinclair eh? Don’t expect someone as fancy as you to be wandering among the cattle” he had the dialect perfectly. Nights and nights of Eilis slowly getting comfortable enough to speak as she truly wished to and an odd interaction with Mick or whatever other Irish bastard got chucked down here made him have it down to a tee.

Mick glanced at whoever was talking to him in an all too familiar accent, looking the man up and down. He was the most generic Dublin man you’d have ever seen, he almost felt like he was back in the city by the docks just looking at the bastard with his dark brown, almost pitch black locks and sharp blue eyes. “What’s it to you lad?” he huffed, lighting himself a cigarette and keeping a good pace as he had somewhere to be. “You’re also the fella running those riots against Ryan, right?” Frank dropped his voice to a whisper, Mick halted for a moment but kept walking, not giving him an answer. Frank kept up with him, remembering the story he had in his head, “I’m only asking because I want to join you. See.. my brother was apart of the revolts against those English bastards.. carted the poor bastard off to London. Haven’t seen him since…” Mick still didn’t give him any reaction, but from the slight turn of his head so he could properly hear, Frank he knew he was listening, and he had to resist a smirk “I got a wife and a child.. wee lad named Paddy… I don’t want this place to turn into what I escaped from, and what I’ve heard is that you’ll understand that want better than anyone”.

It was true, he did, and he hated having to accept that. “Sad story mate, but the hell do you want me to do about it? I have no connection with anything like that” Mick sighed as he actually stopped to speak to this stranger properly, the mention of the name Paddy pulling at his heartstrings. “Let me help you… I helped build this place, I know places we can truly get Ryan’s attention and get away with only a few scratches from their dogs and not an entire limb missing, if you get my meanin” Frank lied through his teeth, and it worked, Mick believed him wholeheartedly. “I do… but don’t refer to them as dogs, that’s just cruel” the true Irish man corrected him, continuing to walk and gesturing for the man to follow him. “You suddenly sympathising with Ryan?” Frank teased, the other man snapping at him “no, I just don’t like my daughter being treated like a disposable animal and not a human”. Frank out on a look of surprise “the Pavlov dog’s yours then? I’d heard her old man had been shipped down here to keep her on the leash.. I’d never have known she was from the emerald isles. I always believed that rumour she was a spawn of ryan” the glare Mick shot him quickly explained not to even mention that rumour again, unless he wanted to irritate the man of course. Either way, noted.

“So she’s on our side then?” He asked in a hushed tone. Mick nodded slightly, quietly adding “she don’t know I’m heading it currently. Poor dear’s had a shock, death of a loved one. Didn’t want to give her anymore to worry about”. Frank again resisted a cocky look at the thought he’d affected people so much just by faking his death, it was amusing. He couldn’t wait until he could brag about it, Christ that would feel phenomenal. But he had to wait.

Frank remained quiet for a minute, before asking “can I meet her?”. “Why?” Mick shot back as he started to walk again, almost like he was trying to lose the man. “Because if I join these little disorganised riots of yours and get my head caved in, I want to be sure it isn’t from her.” Frank made his tone awful serious, which almost sounded threatening in this stupid Dublin accent he had to keep on. The Pavlov dog’s father hesitated, staying quiet for a moment as he continued his pace before spitting out a quick “fine” before entering the glass tunnel to Arcadia. Frank quickly caught up with him, again, not liking that he was now shorter than the man but only slightly, when before he’d been taller. He thought back, as he walked, to Eilis sleepily babbling about Ireland whenever he asked while she lay half asleep in his arms, wanting to use them to trick Mick into thinking they were bonding.

“I miss the pale.. don’t you? Not the English bastards who got it named that of course… but just.. the feeling of the wind whipping through ya like your hollow.. the smell of the hay bales mixin with the stink of the horses and cattle” Frank let out a little chuckle to seem sincere. “You a country lad?” Mick wondered, Frank continuing “ah just barely. Up in the Dublin Wicklow mountains by the bogs, but I had family with farms closer to the city.. christ do you remember grafton street? You’d swear those women were drippin in gold and diamonds with how they carried themselves.. at least the smell of the fisheries reminds me of home a little more.. I’d prefer farm stench any day of I had the option… just that and the open sky or stars.. yourself?”. “Same. Down to the letter, lad. All that and a crackling fire… I haven’t seen home in far.. far too long..” Mick swallowed as he shut his eyes, repressing memories he could feel creeping to the forefront of his thoughts.

He picked up the pace again, Frank cursing under his breath as he wondered if this man thought himself a fucking race horse with the speed he kept, only to find them in the graveyard portion of Arcadia, Eilis sitting next to one while she hummed to herself and loaded her shotgun, a large bouquet of baby blue flowers laying on the still fresh dirt.  She was dressed for warmth though Arcadia wasn’t cold, keeping a trench coat wrapped around her that Frank recognised as one of his own. She stood up at the sight of Mick, letting her be seen properly. There was dock scum and blood on the toe of her boots and the butt of her shotgun. She had a bloody nose and her signet ring was barely visible on the red all over her knuckles. She hadn’t bothered to clean up. She absentmindedly lifted her bloody hand to fiddle with the necklace she had on over her turtle neck, Frank quickly realising it was the one he’d bought her. It was killing him not to comment on it.

“Sorry for the blood. I rushed over” She apologised, keeping the ryanised tone the two men hated hearing her speak in. She looked at Frank with this stare of bewildered confusion, asking her father “Cé hé sin?”. “láiste. nó cara. Níor shocraigh mé fós, tá sé geallta go rachaidh sé leis an gcaoi a labhraíonn sé” Mick mumbled as he cupped her cheek and made her tilt her head up so he could check her nose, frowning at her slightly before moving himself to her side, wrapping a paternal arm around her as he spoke “this is-.. I’m sorry we actually never traded names…”, Frank cutting over him “Atlas. Call me Atlas”.

Eilis suddenly perked up with interest “the famed revolutionary!.. I thought you’d be taller” she almost sounded disappointed but she didn’t take her eyes off him. Mick was startled into silence for a moment before finally getting out “i… yes!.. Yes. This is atlas” deciding to roll with it “he wanted to meet you so you don’t uh.. é a dhéanamh neamh-aitheanta”, Eilis made a noise like she understood, letting her voice relax a little more, but not enough for Frank- or atlas as he is now-‘s liking, as she spoke “well he doesn’t have anything worry about unless he attacks me, now does he?”.

Atlas chuckled, flashing her a wink “ah I don’t think we’ll have any problems if I have to see your pretty face more than once, pet” surprised when Eilis seemed to repress a grimace as her nose wrinkled at his comment. “Yes.. hopefully we won’t Hm?..” she gave her father a worried look which he dismissed with a supportive squeeze. Before they could get out another word suddenly there was a shout, causing them all to turn their heads, seeing three men who Eilis recognised as lower members of Ryan’s security team running at them. “The hell do you want?” She asked them sternly but they ignored her, one of them reaching past her to grab onto Mick while Atlas took several steps back.

Before the death of Frank, Eilis would have attempted to deal with this calmly, but she didn’t have the patience for such this anymore, so this cocky prick was quickly met with her slamming her face into his nose, breaking it and making him stumble back before she held her shotgun in one hand, lazily pointed at them but ready to pull the trigger. One of the men swallowed hard before speaking “ma’am.. we’re here to arrest him on suspicion of being connected to the recent riots..”.

“Do you have any evidence?” Eilis queried as he didn’t even look at the man, looking at the pathetic display behind him with the poor bastard clinging to his face, almost spitting at her as he shouted “just arrest the bastard! Ryan gave us our orders! She can’t do shit with that shotgun anyway.. she’s only using one hand! Dumb bitch’ll break her ribs”. “Oh you’d be very surprised what I can do with one hand and a shotgun mate. Now shut your mouth before I shoot you till god won’t even recognise you as human” Eilis kept the same tone but shifted her aim ever so slightly to the pathetic excuse of a man on the floor, turning attention back to the one who’d respected her enough to talk to her properly “well? Evidence?”. “We uh… we don’t have any ma’am… Ryan just ordered for his arrest on a uh.. hunch”.

At the mention of some bullshit hunch, Mick stepped out in front of Eilis, pushing her shotgun down so it was pointed at her foot “I haven’t got a damn thing to do with it, but if you’d like to question me to prove it I’m happy to follow you without making a scene”. Eilis’ eyebrows furrowed “you don’t need to do that, you haven’t done anything wrong”, her father brushed her off with a soft “ná bíodh imní ort. Téigh faigh freagraí ó Ryan” before leaving semi willingly with the three guards, swatting their hands away when they ‘subtly’ tried to handcuff him.

“You didn’t think they’ll arrest the poor man, do you? Properly?” Atlas asked her, Eilis just glanced at him, flashing a false smile “pleasure to meet you ‘atlas’. When you’re willing to take responsibility for your own actions please come talk to me.”. Eilis was unaware who Atlas truly was, of course, but he still didn’t like the tone she was taking. He sucked on his teeth as he watched her leave, not bothering to pick up her shotgun as it tore up a trail through the grass while she walked to the tunnels to get back to Ryan.

It wasn’t the end of the world, he’d gotten what he’d wanted, now all he had to do was give everything a little push and tug. This was going to be hell and exhausting. But fuck, it would all be worth it in the end, he still had his ace in the hole after all.

The Pavlov dog was in Ryan office within minutes, having kicked a couple out of one of the public bathysphere’s so she could do so. Ryan didn’t even acknowledge her, so she kicked his desk hard enough it got his whiskey to spill slightly. “Can I help you, Ellie dear?” His drawl was a bored tone as he glanced up at her, getting startled by the blood. “Why was there an attempted arrest on my father on your feckin orders? Or did you forget who’s the reason you’re currently not in hospice?” Eilis hissed at him, tossing her shotgun onto a nearby armchair after shucking off her jacket.

Ryan was quiet for a moment, composing himself as he continued “I got a tip, if they reacted strongly I apologise but he was only meant to be brought in for questioning”, “bullshit!” the Pavlov dog barked. Her employer knotted his fingers together as he stared at her, resisting the urge to tell her everything he’d found in Fontaine’s documents, including the marriage certificate and a letter about Mick’s involvement in this whole mess just to win the argument. He’d just gotten her back under control, barely, as was proven by the blood, he couldn’t risk her slipping again. She was right, Mick was the only reason she hadn’t killed him, he saw it in her eyes. She’d looked absolutely monstrous, she would have regretted it after, he hoped, but in that moment she was going to kill him.

He decided to drag her away from that subject so the emotions didn’t resurface, “Are you here to argue with me or are you here for a distraction?” He asked calmly, Eilis scoffed and turned away from him, going to get herself whiskey to calm her nerves and light an Eve cigarette.

“Don’t talk to me like that” she finally spoke with a plume of blue tinted smoke.

“Like what?” Ryan hummed as he feigned innocence.

“Like I’m in my seven and you can throw a toy at me as if it will make me feel better” she refused to look at him as she took another drag from her cigarette, being so disappointed in herself at how calm it make her feel while she let it seep out like a waterfall.

“I’ve thrown plenty of ‘toys’ at you to make you feel better, and that beloved shotgun of yours is one of them” Ryan reminded her as he grimaced from the fact she was getting dried blood flakes everywhere.

“Would you like a distraction? It’s a simple question. From the white shade of your knuckles under all that blood I’m guessing you would, or do I not know anything about you anymore?” He kept the tone that sounded like he was speaking to a tired child that refused to do something for their own benefit.

With a sharp inhale while she stubbed out her cigarette with her boot on his expensive carpet purely out of spite, she muttered “fine.”. “Sullivan has a man who doesn’t know how to hold his tongue in his office. Go make him remember why my name should stay out if his useless mouth” Ryan gestured for her to leave, going back to work, catching her quickly before she left the room “oh and send Diane up.”. “Wonderful..” she sighed, cleaning the dried blood off her face with the ball of her palm before going on her way, not even glancing at Diane, believing at least one person shouldn’t have to deal with Ryan’s attitude this afternoon.

Sullivan was smoking outside his private office just down the hall, glancing up to his colleague and friend with a mildly worried look before asking “did you not wash up? I thought you went to Arcadia”. “I did. Remind me I left my jacket and shotgun in Ryan’s office” She demanded as she looked at her reflection in the glass of his office door, wiping the blood away off her face and knuckles. She wrinkled her nose and flinched from the pain as it started to bleed again. She cursed under her breath and ignored it, tilting her head towards the door to let Sullivan know they had to go in. He seemed disappointed his break was cut short so he just kept his cigar between his teeth as he held open the door for her before slipping in.

The man tied to a chair couldn’t have been older than 20, he was staring at them with pure hatred and had been ruffed up a bit. Eilis pulled a chair over with her foot and sat on it backwards, leaning on the back while resting her chin on her arms, being at direct eye level with the man now that she was slouching. “What did you say?”.

“What?” His anger melted into confusion at her question. She clarified “you are here because you insulted Ryan. He gets insulted every day, so what did you say that got you here?”. The young man seemed determined to stay quiet, which was a bad decision since Eilis had just had half an eve cigarette and no patience. She shocked him, making him yelp as she just sat their with a bored look. This continued for a few minutes till he gave in “ALRIGHT!….alright.. I called him self absorbed communist child abuser..”. 

“There we are, that’s oddly specific. Any reason why?” She tilted her head and kept the electricity running through her veins just in case. “Don’t act like you don’t know… the moment he kills Fontaine, all the kids who were in his orphanages go missing.. no sign of the boys… and the girls are running a round the poor area through the pipes with glowing eyes and big needles like little… monsters” the man sounded horrified, but Eilis had no clue what he was talking about, assuming he was just some Adam junky who’s experiencing hallucinations for the first time. “He’s a bastard, I’ll give you that, but you do understand you can’t do that again” Eilis spoke softly, hoping the man would apologise because she knew she was especially unsympathetic when she was already in pain. He spit in her face.

“Sully. Go outside and count to three hundred. If you hear talking, count again” She ordered calmly, looking back at him slightly, he got the message and was gone very very quickly. Eilis stood up and pushed the chair away with her foot, grabbing the man’s face and allowing her hand to slowly heat up “Apologise.”. He made a noise that sounded like no, so she squeezed harder, repeating herself “apologise and I won’t have to scar you for life”. He tried to say no again but started giving a groan and hiss in pain as she was obviously burning her hand print into his chin and the underside of it. “I’m so sorry I didn’t quiet catch that, say it again” she demanded, the man letting out a strangled “fuck you!” Which made her let go.

He panted in relief, wincing in pain from the cold air on his burns, unaware of what Eilis was doing. She grabbed Sullivan’s phone, disconnecting it from the wall and calmly tying the telephone line around the guys neck. “You sure you don’t want to apologise? Everything in this office gets recorded. I’d be able to back you up a little” She tried again, he still refused, spewing profanities till he just got sick of him and used her telekenis plasmid to make the phone float up and up till it wound tightly around the pipes, causing his chair to float a couple of feet off the ground. The young man looked confused, and then shocked, Eilis asked him one last time “you sure you don’t want to apologise?”. He stood his ground, like an idiot and shouted “FUCK YOU! GO BACK TO BEING RYAN’S PERSONAL BITCH YOU WHORE! I bet you only fucked Fontaine for his money! Now you don’t have sh-“ before he could finish she dropped him. His feet were barely able to graze the floor but the way she had him hung if they did, his neck would have broken, so his best option was to hang, bounce and hope it would break. It wouldn’t because she was supporting it, aren’t plasmids a miracle?

She looked him in the eyes as he slowly went purple, and gave in, almost dying till she let him hit the ground so hard the chair he was tied to broke, but he didn’t dare get up. She picked him up and sat him on the desk. “Have we learnt not to speak without thinking?” She ordered, his throat was too raw to speak but she could tell he hadn’t. “Shame. Would you like a drink?” She kept her tone soft as she pulled out some of Sullivan’s whiskey, pouring too glasses and sipping at once herself. The man looked so cautious, so confused, it was almost entertaining. That thought caught her off guard from how oddly sick it was.

He slowly went to reach for it before she stopped him “sorry I almost forgot” clicking her fingers and the drink lit on fire “gotta burn off the alcohol, you aren’t legal yet after all. Just barely”.

He expected her to blow it out when she picked it up, but she didn’t, grabbing him by his face again, calmly ordering “open up” shocking him with enough electricity to reset your heartbeat when he didn’t before forcing him to down the thing, basically having him drink liquid fire. He scratched and clawed at his burning throat, the poor bastard, begging for a drink, which Eilis happily gave to him, which only made it worse. He screamed and begged till his voice just stopped and all that came out where whined gasps. Then she finally gave him water, which he chugged the entire thing, and the pain was over. “Not fun having no voice is it? Being able to verbalise is such a gift” She almost teased him. From the look in her eye you’d think she was getting some form of joy out of this, she wasn’t. But she had to pretend she was this too work. She was pretending, right?

He nodded his head, looking purely terrified as he held his throat. “Would you like some Adam to make you feel better and fix your throat?” He nodded even more vigorously then before. “Then you need to agree to something for me” The Pavlov dog kept her tone calm as she retrieved a needle and some adam that Sullivan kept for bargaining, knowing it hadn’t been used. “If I give you this, you’re going to agree to never speak a word about Ryan again. And if you do, I will find you and I will rip out your tongue and your voice box. Do we understand eachother?”  her tone got extremely dark, so did her eyes, like she was imagining doing it and what ways she could to make it more efficient. The pain being almost maddening, the young man reached for the Adam and just kept nodding.

Eilis finally got a small dose and injected it directly into his neck, making sure he could speak before shoving him out of the room, where he quickly scuttled away. “You hungry?” She calmly asked Sullivan. “I could eat..” he hummed, not wanting to look at what she’d done in that office to make that poor boy look like his life had changed entirely in a matter of milliseconds. Despite talking about food, Sullivan knew she wasn’t hungry. That was how she used to subtly say “I need to talk to you” back when they’d just started settling in rapture. They wandered for a little till they found an area that was relatively empty, workers being too absorbed in their own day to care about two other people under Ryan’s thumb and whatever the hell they were talking about.

“I’m a bad person.” Eilis suddenly said rather calmly, leaning against the bannister as she admired the large hydronic machine in front of her. “No you’re not. You’re a good person who has to deal with bad situations” he reassured her, but the look she gave him told him she wasn’t asking for reassurance, she was stating fact. She was a bad person. Sullivan sighed and patted her hand before leaning on the bannister with her “we got the hardest jobs here, ya know that?”. “Do we now? I’m sure many of the workers would disagree” a smile almost crept onto her face. “I mean mentally. Dealing with Ryan and his demands.. it’s fuckin… what did lamb call it? Emotionally exhausting” Sullivan tried to explain, Eilis teasing him “my my, aren’t we modern?… you’re right though. You thinking of retiring soon? You’re almost sixty”.

“I ain’t.. I’m only fifty two” He defended himself, not liking being the thing she was amusing herself with but happy to see her smile genuinely for the first time in a week or two. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it kept her from going off the deep end, if she wasn’t already there. “I know I know, I’m just being a cunt” Eilis apologised without ever saying sorry, but Sullivan knew what she meant. She looked around them for anyone who would be a pain in the ass, but thankfully didn’t see anyone, so she rests her head on his shoulder in a platonic way. They enjoyed the comfortable silence for a moment before she said “I forgive you”. His eyebrows furrowed “for what?” Getting a simple answer of “Frankie… I forgive you”. “Thanks kid…” he patted her hand, though that didn’t make him feel less guilty. Her drastic reaction was still fresh in his mind. The urge to tell her what Ryan was hiding from her built up in his chest again, and he tried to ignore it, just enjoying the moment, till the small radio Ryan had given him as some new shitty form of communication went off with the man himself’s voice breaking through.

“Is Eilis done with her work?” He asked, Sullivan glanced at her, the woman making gestured to tell him no. “Nah. Still in the thick of it” He lied to Ryan, which felt wrong as he never had before. “Send her up anyway. I need to discuss something important with her.” With a sharp cut the radio was off. Eilis cursed under her breath, resisting the urge to bang her head off a pipe, saluting Sullivan lazily as some strange form of goodbye before taking the short walk back to Ryan.

When she walked in Diane was crying, but she didn’t have time to talk to her about it, knowing Ryan screaming from impatience would only worsen the poor girl. She entered the office quietly, trying to clean her bloody nose again but it kept running. That was worrying. He surprisingly wasn’t at his desk, well his main one, or the one just shy of his staircase up to his private suite. She ignored it for a moment, slipping on her jacket and grabbing her shotgun as she rolled the single pearl on her necklace with her fingers, slowly going up the stairs so they wouldn’t creak, listening out for sounds of life. She could faintly hear him talking, so she made sure she was dead quiet just to find out what the great man was rambling about now and if she should go back and wait.

“How could she be so stupid… a baby… my baby… my legacy is rotting at my feet” his voice had so much venom in his tone it was almost terrifying, was he talking about Jasmine?… did she even have a baby? Did Diane have a baby? Christ why couldn’t he give context while talking to himself? It would make her job so much easier. “She need to be aware of what she’s done… there has to be repercussions for such a horrendous-!” He continued to mumble to himself till he noticed Eilis. “How long have you been standing there?”. She played it cool, calmly repling “just arrived. Were you on the phone?”. He looked around, startled for a moment before spotting his handset conveniently off the receiver, nodding as he put it back “yes.. but not to worry. We have.. important things to discuss. The next few weeks are vital.”.

“For?” She asked him calmly, keeping her distance since he just felt so.. off. So wrong in that moment. “Firstly the arrest and incarceration of Sofia lamb. Then finding out who this ‘Atlas’ fellow is and why your father was accused of being him.. with no evidence, as you claim.. then he need to start cracking down on their operations once we get a connection” Ryan started speaking at a million miles an hour, till Eilis stopped him “as interesting as that is mate, that isn’t why you called me back here, is it?”.

He adjusted his tie, giving a quick but hesitant “no.” passing her a document with the simple order “sign it”.

Eilis eyebrows furrowed as she read over it, reading it aloud in case he decided to correct her “I, Eilis Donovan, relinquish the rights to assets gifted to me on the death of… Frank Fontaine.. as I do not understand the complexities of such, including but not limited to…” her out loud reading turned to mumbling as she went down to the bottom to see what she had been ‘left’, wondering what the hell was doing on “when did Frank leave me these things?…and why?”.

“At his death and assumably to be damn difficult… You won’t understand how to care for such things, let me take them off you and the already building weight on your shoulders” Ryan offered, but she wasn’t even looking at him. Eilis tried to think without getting emotional, firmly stating “you can take his businesses… but I want his money and his apartment.”. “Excuse you? I pay you enough don’t I?” He scoffed, Eilis shooting back “and with the amount of money Frank apparently left me that means jack shit. I could retire right now, or do you not want me to throw you to the piranhas” she started to threaten, but stopped while she was ahead and calmed herself “I’m sorry.. Why didn’t you tell me about this?… he’s been dead almost two weeks, his tombstone just got laid today, you had plenty of time to tell me”.

“You were devastated” Ryan started to excuse, the Pavlov dog reminding him sternly “I still am.”, but he dismissed it with the wave of a hand “yes yes, but not as you were then. Can you imagine if I’d told you? Gun pointed to my head about how his last abuse of you was to use you to keep his slimey buisness afloat, Hm? First as his private whore and then a scape goat? How would I have done that, dear Ellie, without losing my head?”. “I still want his apartment and the money” she insisted, Ryan rolling his eyes so far back she swore they’d get stuck as her Granny always used to threaten.

Before Ryan could begrudgingly agree she added “and… I want 50% of the profits from his businesses. You can run them how you please, but that’s what I want”.  “When did you get so high and mighty?” He sighed as he started scribbling down their new agreement, shoving it over to her on his bedside desk with a pen to sign. She finally approached him, giving her signature while she asked “anything else you need me to deal with Andrei? Anything at all?”. He shook his head, mumbling something about her being selfish and entitled.

“Oh, two quick things” she began before she even decided if it was a good idea to leave, and he waved a begrudging gesture for her to hurry up and ask him “first, what will I be arresting Sofia lamb for? Whenever you decide it’s appropriate of course. She hasn’t done anything wrong but insult you and your jumping past the usual stage of interrogating them first before you think of prison”. He paused for a moment and thought before cautiously replying “I don’t have have any. Currently. This is my city and I can do as I please. You will be arresting her for treason. All we need to wait for is a few cells in Persephone to free up”.

“Oh are you finally releasing people? Will we be graced with the presence of Johnny topside again?” Eilis seemed genuinely intrigued. She’s only met the famed surface man properly once, and he seemed sweet. Ryan just stared at her for a minute, before shaking his head and distracting himself with something else. “You’re father should be home by now. Send him my… sincerest apologies” Ryan sounded so fake when he said that, he was tapping his fingers rapidly off his desk, like he was going mad with thoughts. So she left him, hoping she didn’t come back to him having trashed his office and finally tried the drug he’s peddling to the whole damn city just to deal with his nerves.

“Andrei?” She called out softly, getting a snapping “What?” In reply. “Don’t dare ever call me a whore again or I will make sure not even the whole of rapture can protect you from the messes you’ve made. Have a good day, sir” she smiled sweetly as she spoke, before leaving, going quickly past Diane who was still sniffling but didn’t want to be disturbed and out of Hephaestus as fast as she could, desperate to be certain Mick was at home, knowing now more than never that people don’t return from Persephone.

Chapter Text

Ryan didn’t hesitate with the order for the arrest of Sofia lamb, not even for a second, in fact he ordered it as soon as several cells freed up at once in Persephone with no reason behind it. No deaths were reported and people would certainly notice bodies floating in the ocean, so where did they go? No one dared question, or gossip and those he knew he’d had a hand in it kept their opinions to themselves, which was strange for Rapture. Eilis was working with Cohen that day, thankfully avoiding the fall out poor Sullivan would definitely have to deal with. It was at the artist himself’s request, since Ryan had been ignoring him lately, seemingly stewing in his office like a hibernating bear, ready to strike at anyone he didn’t deem worth sharing the same slightly fresher air. Cohen was painting Silas and Hector who were posed dancing together, Hector with a rose in his mouth and eyeing up the liquor Cohen had beside his glass full of water for his brushes, playing a dangerous game, while Silas kept as rigid as he was supposed to, only slacking to flick his head back to deal with his hair. Kyle was delicately playing the piano, Cohen too distracted to comment on his progress, but he hysterically flinched when she brushed her hand off his shoulder, like he was preparing to be struck. “Kyle?.. love are you alright?” She asked him softly, softer than she’d spoken to anyone genuinely in a while.

He nodded, swallowing hard as he tried to compose himself, his hands still shaking as he quickly replied “yea.. yea I’m fine!.. I’m fine.. what uh.. whaddya need?” He seemed so jittery, it was worrying. “Do you have any clue where Martin is?..” she whispered, before Kyle could even answer Cohen was shouting “Fitzpatrick! How am I supposed to embrace my muse with you constantly STOPPING?!”. Silas and Hector’s grip on eahcother’s hands for the pose seemed to tighten as they went stiff, like they were terrified of being told they were doing something wrong. Eilis took credit for the mistake, apologising “I made him stop love, I was just wondering where Martin was? Finnegan?”. Cohen’s look seemed to forcibly soften and then he laughed and threw on a smile “oh then it’s fine dear! Do forgive any old fool, I haven’t had my pick me up yet.. now Finnegan..” Cohen hummed, tossing his paintbrush, that was drowning in paint, into his glass of bourbon as he put a hand on his chin while he thought, repeating martin’s last name over and over again till he snatched his bourbon in celebration, plucking out the paintbrush and downing the entire thing as he gestured with the now alcoholic brush, the black paint from it staining his ruby red lips as he spoke “He is creating a beautiful art sculpture in honour of Andrew Ryan down in Poseidon plaza! Tell him I wish to see him my dear” he demanded before returning to his work, unaware how terrifying he looked with the black paint and bourbon mixture dribbling down his chin.

Knowing he already seemed more emotionally unstable then she was used to coping with, she left him, wanting to quickly get Martin so she could come back and not have the boys alone for too long. She expected to find him working, but she didn’t. The room was dark bar a lamp that had been knocked over, it flickering revealing he was sitting on the floor with his back to her. She flicked on the lights to see properly, now noticing that he was hugging an arm to his chest, his ice sculpture broken in two and laying beside him. She gently crouched down in front of him and saw he’d gotten that ice plasmid she’d heard about, but didn’t dare touch for fear of this exact thing happening.

Martin’s hand had locked up and his finger tips were going white. She sat in front of him, cross legged as she ignored the stinging but familiar burn in her hands as she activated her incinerate plasmids. She held his hand with one of hers and used the other to lay over his fingers and knuckles. She brushed her thumb over them so often as some form of comfort, glancing at the statue to see the vague form of a human, only to be met with her brother’s stoic face. She glanced back at Martin, noticing the faint tear stains glistening on his cheeks. She didn’t ask any questions, she just continued to warm up his hand and offer him silent comfort. When he could finally move them again and blood started to pump she quietly asked him “want me to melt it?”. “No… I’ll repurpose it.., I’m guessing the old fruit wants me?”. “Don’t call him that. But yes, he does” She sighed as she help him stand, stopping him from walking away by still holding onto his hand.

He cocked his eyebrow but didn’t say anything. She hesitantly spoke “I’m getting my own place soon..”. “And?” Martin didn’t seem to have the patience for implications, so she cut to the point “it’s huge.. far too huge for me. Would you like to live there with me when your lease is up?”. “You’re asking me to move in with you? Won’t people talk if you’re suddenly living alone with a man?“ he teased her, but seemed genuinely grateful for the offer. “You’re gay and I’m not touching relationships for.. a while.. especially once I get rid of Steinmen…” Eilis went a little pale for a moment, like she was dreading it, giving his hand a light squeeze. He squeezed back, flashing her a quick soft smile, with a quick “when my lease is up, I’d love to” before the two went back to Cohen in pleasant silence.

After making sure they boys were settled, Eilis was gone again, wanting to rip the next part off like a bandaid. She followed leads given to her through a radio from Ryan till she found Lamb in Pauper’s drop. She hadn’t been here since her apartment got flooded, it felt strange. The air was thicker than she remembered, she saw some of her old neighbours glaring at her, but she ignored it, simply following her tips till she found Lamb, who was handing over her child to a woman who Eilis could have sworn she saw on a poster once, they all glared at her like starved dogs, which she was fine with. In their mind she’d left for luxury the first chance she had, in all honesty she would have kept her apartment if someone hadn’t attempted to kill her and destroyed the damn place. Even though could have gone back, she didn’t want to. It was barely liveable before, the cheapest one on the block, and now it was just a death trap waiting to happen. Keeping it sealed and semi flooded was everyone’s bet option at this point.

She’d rather sleep on Cohen’s floor in a bed of broken needles then go back in there. She swore she could see Frank in the crowd for a moment but she ignored it, knowing her mind was playing cruel tricks on her. “Dr. Lamb? You are under arrest for treason and spreading of propaganda. Would you come with me please?” She kept a professional tone, Lamb seemingly tensing up at the sound of her voice, but she kept a calm face “of course, I have all my affairs in order. Shall we? I have a bathysphere waiting” she gestured her hand towards the area Eilis knew lead to a docking station. They walked side by side, like they were friends having an old chat, dead silent till the hatch shut.

“I know you don’t want to do this” Lamb stated factually, Eilis assuring her “you know very little about me”. “I know enough. You hate this and yourself, it’s rather fascinating” The psychiatrist stated calmly, the Pavlov dog requesting “please don’t psychoanalyse me doctor, it won’t make this any better”. “I know. I just want you to know I understand. I also need you to know Dionysus park will always be open to you. What your father is doing for this city is very noble. I admire him. You are simply a woman forced onto the wrong side of history, and that’s ok. You still have time to change. Do you understand?” Lamb looked Eilis directly in the eye, which she immediately avoided. The rest of the ride was silent till they docked at Persephone and could see guards waiting outside. Before the Pavlov dog opened the hatch she made a point to say “I don’t think we could have ever been friends, I found you annoying and you overstepped the clear lines I was drawing in the sand repeatedly.. but from what I know, you were just trying to make life better down here, and I won’t thank you for it since frankly you’ve made my job such a feckin painful process… but I hope they treat you like a person here. I know many wouldn’t get the same privilege”. After lamb was taken away, Eilis didn’t hang around for another moment, getting back to Cohen without second to delay.

For the next three days she was absorbed in work and interrogations, her only limit she gave herself was to not kill them, and she’d almost broken that limit multiple times. Apart from that social interactions outside of work have been put down to a minimum, she only really saw Mick and by association Sinclair. No one else. She hadn’t even seen Stienmen, which was strange apparently, not seeing your fiancé, but she’d avoided him successfully like he had the plague, except for one incident after Frank had died, and she wasn’t stopping now. He’d used her grief as a chance to get close and she’d actually spent a night crying in his arms since Mick had to work. She hated it. Every second. The next morning she had spent scrubbing herself raw in the shower. Their lack of interactions, of course, hit the papers immediately.

Trouble in paradise!! 

All that shite.

There was never paradise to begin with.

Christ, she needed to break off this engagement… maybe she’d drag Sullivan with her so she wasn’t alone.

She thought about all of this as she walked through Hephaestus, wandering around and searching for Ryan’s head of security, wondering where the hell he was, since they had four idiots who’d decided to try and tie bombs to the main water lines and got caught before they could even pick the things up, all tied to chairs and drenched in water. This scorching maze of an area seemed so crowded today. Eilis had also noticed that there were a lot more workers in this specific section then usual, not just one or two but a good few of them. It made the cramped halls of pipes and dials seem even smaller. She tried to ignore it till someone whistled at her, she barely held in a grimace as she turned to glance at them “what?”.

“You’re Ryan’s bitch eh? I expected more” this greasy man sneered. He looked like he’d be working on bathysphere, not whatever the hell Hephaestus and it’s pipes dealt with. The bastard looked her up and down in a way that made her want to kick him till his eyes swelled shut, “can see why Fontaine liked ya though”. “What do you want?  Because if you’re just trying to be a pervert then go do it at eves. I ain’t interested. At least those girls get paid to cope with you” Eilis scoffed, going to leave when a man blocked her. She glared at him and rested her hand on the strap of her shotgun while allowing electricity to seep into the other, demanding “move.”. He just shook his head and another voice spoke out “Atlas sends his regards” before she was knocked out and a sharp pain in her temple took over her thoughts.

The world was nothing but dark, pain and muddled thoughts. Eilis wasn’t even sure where she was when consciousness finally started to slip back. She knew she was sitting on something and she swore she could hear a record, but she couldn’t see. Her head was killing her, but she recognised the record immediately after the ringing in her ears stopped. It was I’m a fool to want you by Frank Sinatra.. the song Frank had first kissed her to. Was all of this a horrible dream? Had she just fallen asleep in Frank’s game room? She tried to move her hands but felt them bound tightly wrist to wrist, which caused her to struggle more, realising she couldn’t use her feet as they’d been tied to. She continued to jerk till she felt the rope loosen enough around her wrists where she could painfully slip a hand out, biting her tongue to keep herself quiet. Though her hand was free she quickly realised each forearm was tied to the chair as well. “Fuckers..” she cursed under her breath as she stretched painfully to get her hand close to her head, managing to push the blindfold off at least one of her eyes so she could see what she was doing. After managing that, she was hit by the smell of fish, which made her gag from surprise, but she stopped herself from getting sick. Her shotgun was propped up by the door like a taunt, and she almost fell for it, till she heard chatter and footsteps outside the dark dinghy room. She managed to push herself back against the wall, wincing from the agony on her arms but happy it hid the fact her hands were free. She let the blindfold fall again and tilted her head back in an attempt to ease the pain, her chest was heaving.

Finally the door opened, she heard several sets of footsteps, followed by whispered murmuring till more left, and the door shut. Had they fucked off? She was rarely so lucky. Someone grabbed her face hard, ripping the blindfold off with some hair which made her hiss and forcing them to look at her. “Jesus.. you mother kiss you with that face?” She knew now wasn’t the time to be cheeky but he’d just ripped some of her hair out, fuck him. He was a big broad guy with white hair and the most American moustache she’d seen in her life, covering the lower half of his face accept for his chin. He let go of her chin before shoving her head back by her forehead so it knocked off the wall, disorientating her more. He wiped blood off his hand onto her leg as he did so, was she bleeding? Where was she bleeding? She wanted to touch her head to check out of instinct, but kept her arms rigid behind her back as she slowly started to roll her ankle, hoping the metal back support of her boots would wear it away enough for her to kick her foot forward and free herself.

“Right.. so who has Ryan pissed off and why am I paying for it?..” she asked in a bored tone, a familiar Irish accent asking “this happen before?”. “You’d be surprised.. you’re the laziest so far though” she admitted honestly as she lifted her head up again but got dizzy and had to let it drop slightly, she glanced up to glare at that prick, Atlas. The fella who was conveniently there when her father got arrested and didn’t do shit to stop it. He’s lucky she has connections and Sinclair is fond of Mick or he’d be dead for what he’d done. “And what about this is lazy, me darlin?“ he queried as he crouched in front of her. He looked kind of handsome and rugged in the dim lighting… Eilis was shocked by her own thoughts again, she chalk it up to loneliness and ignored it since this was not the time to develop feelings.

“Your knot tying is garbage, I know exactly where I am by the smell and you’ve let me see your faces. I’ve seen teenagers do better…” Eilis explained calmly while scowling at the bastard. He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to lift her head, “quite the mouth. Should we fix that Lonnie?“ Atlas asked his accomplice calmly who pulled out some pliers, Eilis didn’t flinch. She just calmly warned “touch me with those and your hand will look like it’s gone through a meat grinder”. “And how will you do that with no teeth?” Lonnie wondered, getting a simple reply of “who said I’d need teeth?”. This makes Atlas rolls his eyes and gestured for Lonnie to go outside, standing up and releasing Eilis’ face.

“I need to be sure you’re an ally to our movement” He spoke calmly but almost lost his composure when she snorted a laugh “this is a serious matter pet, I wouldn’t be snickerin”. “Oh, you’ve fucked any chances of that, royally” she could barely keep her laughter in, having to give up her secret escape attempts for a minute so she could catch her breath “poor thing, you’ve really stepped right into the slurry haven’t you mate?”.

He looked so confused for a moment, like he didn’t understand her, which just confused her more. Mick had told her everything they’d talked about when he’d been released, and Atlas said he was a country lad. Sure, not every  Irish person knew Irish, in fact very very few spoke it since the British had tried to erase it from history. But for a man who apparently had family with farms, how did he not know what slurry was?.. he suddenly seemed to school his face into an expression she couldn’t quite read, but she didn’t like his eyes. “Pity. Ya know.. there were a lot of filthy rumours goin around about you for a while” he began, Eilis quickly chiming in “sweet Christ, can we not play this game? I’m sick of it”, but Atlas ignored her and continued as he paced “one of my… personal favourites was the one where you’d do anything to get the job done. Get back to Ryan. All that shite. I was just wondering how far that goes?…” he stopped infront of her again and made sure she was looking at him. He leaned closer to the point where she could feel his breath tickling her face and smell the cheap tobacco he’d smoked earlier, “this could be more enjoyable for both of us”.

Eilis blinked at him like she’d forgotten how to speak, before bluntly asking “are you trying to weasel sex out of me in exchange for me getting back to Ryan?… I’d rather be killed thank you. Shotgun’s over there, hope you have steady hands” she tilted her head towards the shotgun, not wanting to show her hands we’re free and she worked on burning away the rope around one of her forearms slowly enough where it wouldn’t smoke too much.

“Maybe I am. Don’t tell me you’re really satisfied with that crack pot of a doctor” Atlas scoffed as he stood up straight again, and he could tell from her face she wasn’t, but she didn’t say anything else. He sucked at his teeth, changing tactics “you may be able to hide all those little expressions from the rest a rapture but you can’t hide them from me let. I can read you like an open book, all I want is to turn over a few pages to something you only show someone.. closer”. “téigh go fraochÚn ag Eve má tá tú chomh éadóchasach, nó an bhfuil do bhean chéile réidh le scríobadh níos mó?” She teased him with a smirk, feeling her foot move as it got free, Atlas glared at her, she couldn’t tell if it was anger at what she said or anger from not understanding her, so she went with option one “ah so she isn’t? Must be such a shame to be that shitty of a husband that you try and sleep with any woman as leverage just because your a revolutionary”.

Realising she mistook his frustration for anger, Atlas rolled with it, shrugging “you never heard of divorce darlin? She doesn’t tickle me fancy anymore, and I don’t please her. It’s mutual. I’m simply being a good father to my son. But when he isn’t here I’m free to go along with my own devices”. “None of which will be me. The men of rapture have made me want to leave and become a celibate nun…” Eilis huffed as she finally got one forearm free, pretending the stretch from the discomfort to free her other arm. “I doubt that’s true for all of them” Atlas hummed as he pretended to be unaware of what she was doing, resisting a smirk at the thought that he knew her so well he could tell when she was doing something she shouldn’t just by the glint in her eye.

“Oh yes. All of them” Eilis reiterated as she was finally almost free, bar one foot, which she used to swing the chair along with her kick at atlas, who barely dodged, the chair shattering on impact with the wall. He quickly used her moment of unsteadiness as she went to put her leg down to slam her against the wall, pinning her arms behind her and shoving a knee between her legs. “Quite the little escape artist, aren’t we? You really think I wasn’t prepared for you of all people? I’m not as thick as I look, love” his tone was sharp and warning. Eilis gave a quick full body jerk in an attempt to free herself, but to no avail. She finally seemed to stop struggling, still being tense as she pressed herself against the wall more, ignoring the pain of doing such.

Since she’d finally calm down, Atlas took a minute to admire her, she had been his at one point afterall. There was blood running down the side of her head from being hit point blank with a wrench, all that Adam in her system stopped it from doing any real damage but she was still bleeding a good bit, her knuckles were a gorgeous muddled mixture of purples and yellow, fresh bruises over old ones that had just started to heal. She also smelt different, which he then immediately recognised as one of his favourite colognes he vividly remembered her complaining about when he’d worn it, he always knew she secretly loved it. All of this was driving him mad, he wanted to take her right here and now. But he couldn’t. Man of the people and all that shit, she’d also made it clear she wasn’t interested so where’s the fun in that? He thought for a moment as he kept her there, before coming up with a plan.

“If I take you somewhere to deal with that nasty head wound of yours, will you stop fighting against me?” He whispered, pretending he didn’t want the others to hear. Eilis just furrowed her brows and didn’t say anything. “You need to get that treated love… I may be a man with needs, but i’m not a monster. Promise me you won’t bolt and I’ll stop them from sending little bits of you back to Ryan” he tried to bargain, surprised when Eilis laughed a bit, whispering back “he’d save them and stitch me back together like some fucked up Frankenstein”. Atlas frowned, like he felt pity for her, pleading “let me help you, Eilis”. Something about the way he said her name in that damned accent was oddly comforting, she felt herself stop tensing for a minute there, Atlas taking that as a yes, letting her back away from the wall while holding her hands behind her in a way that looked secure but was actually extremely loose. Lonnie gave him a suspicious look when he walked by, but the glare Atlas gave him told him to mind his own damn business.

They were in some lower part of the fisheries, it was rockier and more cave like, unlike the rest of rapture which was exposed to the open sea. He slipped her into an old office that obviously belonged to a foreman not too long ago, but the bloody spot on the wall, directly behind where he would have sat in his chair, turning a rusted brown from the oxygen exposure, told her all she needed to know about what had become of the unknown man. Atlas sat her in the chair like she was made of glass, which was such a weird feeling. She’d always joke she used to be made of porcelain but she was sturdy, as her father would have called it. Even though Frank treated her like she was precious, he was still rough enough that she never felt fragile. Everything Atlas had done felt like he was either afraid to break her or was considering it, because she would shatter at his touch. It gave her heart palpitations but she ignored it, just trying to stay in the chair as she waited for a chance to escape, realising Atlas had slung her shotgun over his shoulder casually.

He came at her with a wet but warm cloth, tutting as he cleaned the wound, Eilis hissing in pain each time he lightly dabbed, surprised when he caressed her head with his free hand to adjust it so he could get a better angle, lightly brushing at her cheek with his thumb seemingly absentmindedly as he worked. Even though his hands were calloused and rough, it was nice. Comforting in a different way then when Martin or Mick did it, less platonic, more.. christ she didn’t know the word for it.

“I did my best.. you might have to go to that surgeon of yours, love” The man sighed, moving her head again gently, tilting it back so he could see her face in the light and slowly wiped the blood off. He tried to stare into those oddly speckled eyes of hers but the way they were expressing was so  strange. She seemed so conflicted, trying to stop herself from leaning into his touch but she almost couldn’t. Poor thing was affection starved, so much so she was becoming more docile just in return for some all because he had an accent that sounded just like the one Frank threw on to make her laugh. Well he was Frank but she didn’t need to know that yet.

Deciding to see how far he could push this, he put down the rag and pretended to check her for any other cuts and bruises. Moving down her face as her eyes followed him, not daring to meet but still wanting to be cautious as he saw her hands twitch while she rested them on the arms of the chair. He stopped at her lips, getting oddly close as he brushed his thumb over her bottom one lightly. He finally met her eyes and she was bright pink, pupils dilated with a multitude of expressions on her features. “Just checking for any nicks love. You’re clear.” He pulled his hand away and saw her nose wrinkled as she seemed to be having an internal argument. “Look.. my lads just need to know your an ally. Their all a little skittish after how you’ve been treating people lately, as am I as you’ve come to know very feckin quickly. You agree to be one, then I promise you won’t be put in this position again” he swore to her, Eilis obviously not believing him. “I swear on my mother’s grave” he put a hand on his heart, “very serious thing to swear on, love.. but fine..” she agreed, crossing her arms and rolling her bruised wrists to get blood flow back. “Brilliant. Your ransom should be here in a moment, fingers crossed, then your free to go” he explained, she didn’t look impressed, Atlas simply shrugged “revolutions ain’t cheap, pet. And you’re worth a pretty penny I’m happy to say…” he paused for a minute, turning to face her as he wondered “could we meet again? For the sake of our alinement and all that”.

Before Eilis’ thoughts could even catch up her mouth asked “when?”. “End of the week if that suits your schedule” he offered, Eilis shooting back “nothing suits my schedule, but I’ll figure it out”. “Fine with me, fighting McDonagh?” Atlas hummed, Eilis joking “sounds like a date. I’ll wear my heels” though she didn’t sound all that serious. He barely caught himself from almost growling “oh please do..” coughing instead to hide the start of it. Finally there was a knock on the door and Lonnie pushed it open with his foot, waving a very thick pile of cash in his hand. Atlas clasped his hands together “beautiful! It was a pleasure doing business with you Ms. Donovan” he gave her a wink before the two were gone, Sinclair appearing at the door. He looked so concerned, which was still a strange concept to her.

He rushed over to her like a worried parents and checked her for injuries, visibly cringing at the sight of the side of her head. “Christ alive, I can see your skull…” he gulped, seeming to resist a gag. “Doesn’t hurt too bad..” she tried to reassure him, but he was already too far gone, waving his hands about before helping her stand, which had suddenly become difficult for her to do as the adrenaline from her panic only about twenty minutes before wore off. The pain was so intense she couldn’t even think. “That’s the adrenaline talkin, not you! Let’s get you to the doc hun..” he insisted, and that was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

She woke up with Stienmen standing over her, her first thought being “oh for fuck sake”. “There you are my goddess! I was worried we’d lost you. You look stunning with your hair down” The doctor gushed as she sat up as quick as she could to get away from him, obviously trying to flood her with compliments for a shred of attention. Was his delusion of this ‘goddess’ as needy as he was?

Eilis lightly touched her head, sighing in relief when she felt hair and not bone or an extra horn he decided to attach to her. “Where’s Augustus?” She asked him bluntly, Stienmen’s eyes looked confused, almost hurt, at least that’s what she gathered, she couldn’t see the rest of his face due to the mask. “You’re injured my dear. You need to be under observation in case your brain bleeds” he held her face like he was examining her but the fact that he was touching her dared to make her throw up what little food she’d eaten. “I was thinking you could come home with me?… I know it’s taboo for unmarried couples to live together, even in our glorious city, but I’m sure society will exception” he suggested, almost sounding like he was begging, but Eilis wasn’t interested, going to grab her shotgun out of habit, only to realise Atlas had never given it back, surely to be certain she’d meet him at the date they’d organised. Fuck. She still had handguns but that shotgun was like her baby, and she wanted it back. The fact she didn’t have a single thing on her to use as leverage or even something just to keep him a few millimetres off her if she held it in front of her bit bothered her.

While looking around for something, she spotted Sinclair asleep out in the waiting room, immediately going to get up to go to him, only to be lightly pushed back down by a hand on her chest. This caused her to half glance up to see Steinmen pull down his mask. He moved his hands down her frame, like a snake, she had to tense up to resist a wretch. He interlocked their fingers and lifted her left hand, examining it. Eilis assumed he was going to ask about the layered bruises and thinned skin that she wasn’t in the mood to have messed with, but he didn’t. “where’s your ring?“ he queried instead, she hadn’t worn it since she hadn’t even seen him in a few weeks or seen Ryan who would have patronised her for it, so she made up a lie “they probably stole it off me”.

He believed her, thankfully, swearing “I will craft you a new one”. “You’re a surgeon not a jeweller” she reminded him, half afraid he’d give her one made from his molar or something disgusting like that. She made an attempt to leave, actually managing to get past him and stand, but her pulled back.

Holding her closer, wrapping a hand around her waist as he moved the hand that had been painfully inter winded with her own, to her cheek. “Kiss me my dear goddess” he begged, looking at her with enough adoration and sweetness to rot out her teeth. Eilis’ nose wrinkled as she forced a polite smile and shook her head, he didn’t seem to be taking that for an answer, leaning closer. She couldn’t break his nose or anything, that would spread like wildfire and she had enough to deal with at that moment, so she tolerated it, closing her eyes as their lips met and draping her arms over his shoulders, making sure to keep her hands off him as she knew she’d dig her nails into him out of disgust, not wanting to find out how he’d like that. She tried to think of someone else, anyone else she wouldn’t mind kissing, ignoring the thoughts of Frank since they made her heart ache to much, when a surprising one came to mind, Atlas.

She imagined tangling her fingers in his almost black locks as he held her close in those strong rough arms, just letting him kiss her until she passed out from a lack of oxygen. It wasn’t love of course, it was purely lust and the urge to not think about Steinmen that had brought this fantasy on. She didn’t even know the man. When he finally pried himself off her and her imaginary scenario ended just before it got to the good part, she opened her eyes. Steinmen looked like a lovesick puppy, his once greased back styled hair was all messed up with random strands hanging in front of his face. It was almost attractive but knowing how much of an asshole and a psychotic prick he was quickly dashed any thoughts she had of sleeping with him just to keep him happy out of pity. She pulled away, fixing her turtle neck and fiddling with the signet ring Frank had given her as she calmly stated “goodnight doctor.” Leaving quickly, not giving him a single chance to catch her.

She kicked the base of Sinclair’s shoe to wake him up, the southerner looking at her sleepily as he said sweetly “mornin sweet pea. Was half afraid I was gonna have to go back to your old man empty handed” linking arms with her when he stood up surprisingly quick, the two walking home together and chatting about anything other than what had just happened that day as they got to Mercury suites, Eilis wondering why they were going here if they were going to her father’s apartment, she”d always assumed it was in Apollo square or one of the nicer but not luxurious areas of rapture, since Sinclair did pay him decently. Sinclair smirked slightly at her confusion “he’s livin with me, sugar. Now you pop in, security already knows not to shoot ya, I’m gonna go grab some good liquor so we can celebrate you not meetin god so soon” he patted her cheek before quickly making his way down the ramps to get to the liquor stores before they close.

Eilis slipped in, noticing Sinclair’s once refined luxury apartment now had a few little Irish quirks; mick’s personal items that he’d brought with him from the surface strewn about. His farmer’s cap hung off the back of a chair along with an old jacket, shoes kicked off by the door with his handgun resting on them like that wasn’t a horrible idea, the kitchen now actually looked used with various spices and cutlery all laid out like someone had planned on using them to make some fancy dish they didn’t understand, a pile of old grainy photos strewn across the dining table beside a glass with a lick’s worth of whiskey left in it. She glanced at them for a moment, spotting some taken long before her parents even met, when her mother was pregnant and throughout her own childhood. Paddy was in all of them.

She gently picked up one that actually made her feel warm inside. It was a family photo of sorts, her granny had obviously taken it since she wasn’t in it when she always insisted the was if she were present at the time, a shadow cast over them vaguely looking like her silhouette from Eilis’ memory. They were at the beach, Tadgh was over Mick’s shoulder as he seemed to be play fighting with him, while Eilis sat in the sand with her fist in her mouth, probably teething, Paddy being the only one who was smiling for the photo. It was sweet. She wondered how he’d gotten them though? Maybe granny had sent them before she went? She was oddly prepared to die for a woman who was determined enough to have outlive every human if she felt like it, though Eilis realised she was like her in that aspect.

She didn’t want to die, but if it happened before she expected it to, she was ready, or at least she liked to believe she was.

Being done with reminiscing, not wanting her eyes to water as they suddenly started to ache, she gently gathered the photos and put them in a nice neat pile before finding Mick in Sinclair’s very cozy but still extravagant sitting room, asleep on the couch. Not wanting to disturb him too much, she made sure he had a pillow behind him and lit the fire, keeping a close eye on it till it was roaring, heating the room better than any form of heating rapture could provide. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the soothing crackle for a moment, allowing her thoughts to go blank. She cracked her knuckles out of habit as she pushed away any thoughts, trying to relax her muscles that were still so tense from earlier. She pushed at her chin to crack her jaw, surprised it was loud enough that it seemed to wake up her father, well, only slightly. He blinked like he’d had a light shon in his face before rubbing at his eyes and scratching at his stubble, looking around the room till he spotted his child.

“Shite…” he huffed, sitting up slightly straighter but still obviously being exhausted “how long have you been here love?… is cuma liom, dhún mé mo shúile ar feadh soicind..”. Eilis sat beside him and looked into his eyes, wanting to make sure he hadn’t been drugged. He wasn’t, he was just tired. “Just got in,” she lied, resisting a laugh when his head dropped but he forced himself to stay awake, “What have you been doing that has you so tired? You’re supposed to be taking time off so Ryan isn’t suspicious”. Mick slapped at his own face slightly to try and stay awake, mumbling in a strange mixture of English and Irish like he couldn’t pick one to verbalise “coinníonn bloody gardaí ag cur isteach orm ... ní féidir liom..” he rolled his hand like he was trying to coax out the word “sleep?… that sounds wrong... cá raibh tú?”.

“Not important. Get some rest, Sin should be back soon, I’ll go set up somewhere else” She insisted but didn’t move when Mick shook his head. “No… no, you were missing.. christ I can’t think.. c’mere to me, I don’t wanna lose ya” he opened his arms for her, Eilis hesitating for a moment until she saw the sad and worried look in his tried eyes. She gave in, justifying it by thinking about how she could use this as an excuse to not return to Ryan, only to be lectured for almost getting her skull caved in because his security is garbage when it’s ten feet away from him. Realising that thought was very selfish she reinforced the thought that it would also be healthy to bond with the only family she had left who had done nothing but support her even if he disagreed with it. Jesus, her head was a mess. She sighed quietly as she kicked off her boots, not wanting to get anymore dirt on Sinclair’s furniture as she rested her head on Mick’s chest.

He wound his arms around her so tight and protectively it felt like the world could end in that moment and she would be ok. She was brought back to cold nights in their drafty little house, bundled up under layers of sheepskin blankets on their old leather couch, fire crackling, Granny humming while she made Shepard’s pie and Tadgh outside gathering wood while he watched the stags creep out with their young from the forest, back when everything was simple and perfect, for her at least. Eilis shifted so she could be more comfortable, hearing her father start to snore already and remembering his grip was death like when he’d fallen asleep, so she wasn’t moving anywhere. With the heat of the fire and forcing herself to relax, she eventually fell asleep far before Sinclair even got back to Mercury suites. The two generations of Donovan were out like a light until about 4am, when he finally got back. The sound of him shutting the door woke them both up, but Eilis groggily went back to sleep, babbling something that sounded like Irish but Mick didn’t quiet catch it, her head pounding so much she didn’t want to wake up enough to feel it.

He gently gently moved his youngest so she was laying on the couch instead, as he got up to talk to Sinclair, casually humming “you were gone a long time Gus” leaning with his back against the dining table, the ball of his palms supporting him. “Andy Ryan isn’t an easy man to calm down, and it’s very hard to prove I ain’t lying to him when our girl wasn’t there to prove she weren’t in the great hereafter” The southerner explained dramatically as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, smirking at Mick as he swirled it around after taking a sip “you know I love when you stand like that… You’re lucky she’s here or I’d drag you to bed right now”. “Tempting, but will a kiss tide ya over till you can?” Mick tilted his head and gave him a slight smile as he watched his lover shrug, joking “maybe, but I don’t want our girl growing up with your standards. I am a horrible example and you have equally horrible tastes. We don’t want her runnin back into the arms of some La de da rich boy who thinks she’s actually interested in him and not just turning into you”.

Mick playfully swatted at Sinclair, kissing him softly as a distraction before stealing his whiskey to finish it “my ‘horrible’ standards, as you put it, have made me very happy” he insisted. The smaller man’s face suddenly got rather serious as he asked “that’s a dangerous thing to claim in this city. Careful how you throw round that word”. Mick was shocked as he whispered “happy?“ but Sinclair didn’t clarify. He still looked almost furious before putting on a chirpy expression again “I’ll go find a blanket so the poor thing doesn’t add dyin of the cold to her list of issues.. you go make some of that food you were on about. Somethin she likes! There’s some meats in the freezer I got from the smugglers” he gave mick a wink before turning on his heel “You’ll figure it out!” and again he was gone from Mick’s sight, disappearing behind the sliding doors that lead to the sitting room.

Thoughts swirled around the Irish man’s mind, what’s wrong with being happy? Sinclair made him very happy. Was he not supposed to?..

Chapter Text

Striding through the tunnels of Rapture at a decent pace, Eilis was ruffling her hair out of its braided state. She’d done it too tight this morning and now her scalp felt like it was about to shed all of her hair. Just the feeling of it moving stung, but she fixed it, fluffing her now waved locks into a nicer hairstyle that didn’t look like she had been electrocuted before entering the bar. She hadn’t been in the fighting mcdonagh since Frank had died. Before she’d usually go with Sullivan, they’d drink their crimes against humanity of the day away and hog the pool table for a few hours. It was nice. She missed it. She smiled politely at Bill Mcdonagh when she spotted him working at the taps that day. Ryan’s personal plumber wasn’t always here, but when he was Eilis made a point of being polite for two reasons; one, Bill was genuinely a good person and hadn’t done a thing against her or anyone in rapture really, and two, if she seemed slightly off she knew he’d mention it to Ryan purely out of worry. Ryan didn’t deserve constant updates on her mental state, if she could keep anything private to herself at this point it was going to be her thoughts and most of her body.

She glanced around till she spotted Atlas, slowly approaching him as she slipped past people, wondering why she’d agreed to this in the first place. “Thought you weren’t going to show for a minute there” He chuckled, Eilis half glancing at him as she replied “I don’t breakmy promises. What’dya want to drink? First round is on me”. “Aren’t you a modern little thing? Just a pint for me, me darlin” he gave her such a soft smile it was almost hard to be pissed at him, but she still was naturally for very obvious reasons. She quickly returned with his and glass of brandy for herself, stealing a chair from another man who’d stood up only for a second to search through his pockets for something. “So..” she began as she enjoyed her first sip of brandy “What did you want to talk to me about?”.

“Would it be so hard to believe I just wanted to see ya in a better situation? Less bloody and all that?” Atlas hummed as he swirled his pint, not taking a single sip. “Yes. Yes it is. Especially since that situation was caused by you. If this was only to get physical confirmation I don’t hate your guts enough to go back on our deal, then you got it. I’m gone after this drink” The Pavlov dog ripped her attention away from the man as she tried to finish her drink quickly, only giving him a scrap of it back when he replied “you simply being here doesn’t prove a thing. I wanted to see you so you could look me in the face, so I can tell if you’re lying to me before we go any farther with this”.

“Any farther? Mate I have only agreed not to cave you or your ‘boys’ skulls in. I don’t owe you a bloody thing past that” Eilis was astonished by the audacity of this absolute prick, half tempted to throw her glass at him, knowing it would be heavy enough to crack something, hopefully a tooth. “Then prove to me your not lying.” Atlas shrugged, finally drinking his pint as he crossed one leg over the other. Taking a very deep composing breath, Eilis suggested “right, let’s pretend we’re children then and like lies aren’t a fundamental part of being an adult as well as key to surviving in rapture. I’m gonna tell you three things and you have to figure out which one is a lie. In or out love?”.

Atlas snorted a laugh as he gestured for her to continue while he proceeded to down his drink, maintaining eye contact. “My mother’s name was Caoimhe, I had a dog growing up and one of the rumours going around about me & Ryan are true” Eilis kept an emotionless expression as she waited for him to give her an answer. The man seemed intrigued, very intrigued since this was all information she’d never given him when he was still going by Fontaine. He watched her face for any slight change but she gave him nothing. “Which rumour?” He asked curiously, there were many, “that would make it too easy love” Eilis resisted a smirk as she crossed her arms. The man huffed, tutting as he thought, tossing out “you don’t seem like a dog person”.

“What gives you that impression?” She hummed curiously, suddenly seeming interested in the conversation. “Considerin the fact whenever anyone calls you any sorta name relatin you to a dog, you look like you’re gonna crucify them” Atlas explained calmly, surprised when Eilis laughed, brushing that off as “it’s involuntary at this point. I know nothing I say will fix that”. He smiled softly at her, commenting “I like when you laugh”. The Pavlov dog seemed to choke on her next breath but she tried to hide it by congratulating him “obair iontach a stór! I had a lamb I raised, we used to have fields upon fields of them but the poor pet didn’t have a mother... Aren’t you a smart one? No wonder you were snatched up so quickly” cursing under her breath as she realised she was flirting. “I’ve just been dropped if you’re looking to try me out for yourself” He gave her a wink. Desperate for an escape from this situation she knew she wasn’t ready for, Eilis was both delighted and infuriated by the sound of someone whistling at her, loud and sharp.

She resisted a nose wrinkle as she looked back, seeing a herd of men from varying ages glaring like she’d just insulted them personally. She just tilted her head as she looked at them before turning back to Atlas. She swirled her glass a bit to see if there was any brandy left, only for it to be smacked out of her hand, it bouncing across the floor and caught the attention of other drinkers, though most minded their own business after seeing who it was. The man who had smacked it out of her hand leaned on the table, splitting her an atlas apart. She didn’t recognise him at all so she just stared at him as she waited for him to speak. “You almost killed my brother” he began, Eilis sighing “I almost kill a lot of people, you’ll have to be more specific”. “Telephone cord ring a bell? He won’t even speak after what you did to him!” The man was practically spitting in her face at this point as he yelled. She calmly wiped it off her face before pulling her hair back as she answered “then he learnt his lesson.  But no point in him going full non verbal on ya, I made sure the poor thing could communicate before I shoved him off”.

The man’s face was now red, making him look like a large lumpy tomato someone had forgotten in their fridge. He stomped off, Eilis presuming he was leaving as she reached over for atlas’s drink, asking “may I?”. He nodded as he kept a worried eye on the man, moving his hand under the table to feel the cool metal of Eilis’ shotgun at his foot. As she finished the rest if Atlas’ pint, the man picked up a large beer bottle and chucked it at the back of her head, but it stopped just short, floating there, Eilis having two fingers lifted off the table. After gently putting down the pint glass, she slowly made the bottle rotate before flicking her wrist, sending it flying through the air and directly at their unwanted guest. It hit man so hard, right in the middle of his forehead, that it shattered on impact and sent him stumbling back with a gaping wound for his troubles. Obviously fuelled by adrenaline and rage he was quickly back on his feet, seeing the Pavlov dog on hers and seemingly about to leave herself, he tackled her through a table, actually making her scream out in pain as he held her there, his two companions quickly going to assist.

Atlas smoothly picked up her shotgun and aimed it at them, smirking as he fully intended to blow their heads off, only for it to jam up as it hadn’t been meticulously cared for by its owner. It was almost a decade old after all, in desperate need for some upgrades.

“Oh fuck me senseless…” He huffed, making sure to keep the Irish inflection as he smashed the two bastards in the head with it before tossing it behind himself and getting into the heat of the fight.

Their original assaulter had Eilis in a headlock, squeezing like he was trying to pop head off her shoulders. She struggled as black spots filled her vision and she clawed at his arms, desperate for a breath. After a moment of reluctance, trying to see if she had any other options, she managed to get her chin past his arm, which only made him squeeze harder, threatening to knock her jaw out of place. She sunk her teeth into his forearm, grimacing at the irony taste of someone else’s blood and the horrible texture. He screamed and thrashed as he tried to get her off, his panicking actually causing her to rip off that chunk of his flesh.

Eilis was flung into a wall for her semi accidental actions, holding in her screams of pain this time as her back was the main impact zone again, the force already cementing the fact she definitely had splinters and glass shards in her skin, she swore she even heard a crack. Spitting out the chunk of flesh, wanting to scrub the taste from her mouth and memory, she slowly stood up with bloody teeth and an almost feral look as her hair had been knotted from the scuffle. People avoided eye contact as soon as she spotted them, obeying the unspoken rule of rapture that was mind your own damn business. She tried to wipe the blood away, only to see the prick charging at her, barely managing to dodge him. After the shock had died down and her common sense started to come back, she quickly allowed electricity to pump through her veins, ignoring how it made her twitch, shocking him once he’d caught himself off the corner of the wall, dragging him over to the bar and smashing his head into it as hard as she could, repeatedly, until all that came out of him were vague groans, letting him drop to the floor hard enough that you could feel it across the bar. Giving him one last kick for good measure as he lay there bleeding on the floor, some teeth by his head, bracing a hand off her back in an attempt to deal with the agonising pain and how hard it was to get in a full breath.

Atlas had the other two long sorted out, only managing to get a split lip and some glass in his hands, with he found rather impressive. Swallowing hard and then resisting a gag from the taste, Eilis weakly leaned on the bar as she asked Bill, the poor man being stood there in shock “could we have a room please?… I’ll pay for the damages…”. He just nodded slowly, making a mental note to discuss this with Ryan as he passed her a key. She gestured with her head for Atlas to follow her as she limped away, unable to keep her back fully straight. The revolutionary followed as soon as he grabbed her shotgun, spitting on the bastard who’d started all this as he did so. Piece of shit deserved it in his opinion. He picked up the pace to catch up with her, passing by a torn open first aid station, all the insides taken out, following a slowly unwinding roll of gauze to the room where Eilis was. As the door slid open he saw her washing her mouth out in the sink before cleaning her face, glaring at the red still straining her teeth ever so slightly. “You alright? Looked like he had you on the ropes there for a moment, love” He asked jokingly as he sat down on the bed to catch his breath. “Yea… yea I’m grand...” She hissed in pain as she forced herself to stand up straight, “I’m used to it.. it’s not usually that violent though.. I may have killed him.. and I genuinely regret that if I have” she panted, still struggling to fully breath, ignoring the iron taste still present on her mouth, realising she’d bit her tongue during the scuffle. “Bastard deserved it” he reassured her, letting out a pleasant sigh as he sat on the bed, shoving her shotgun under it with his foot.

She joined Atlas on the bed, resisting her body’s involuntary twitches, while watching him for a moment as he struggled to treat his wounds. Getting impatient she eventually stopped him and did it herself, teasing “for a man who seems to like sticking his foot into shite, I’m very surprised your mother never taught you how to fix yourself”, getting a tweezers and picking the bits of glass out of his hands, the distraction actually helping her ignore her own pain. She then filled a basin with some warm water and a little antiseptic, making him dip his hands in. He hissed from the pain but she held his hands down till he stopped trying to pull them away, reminding him “if it stings it means it’s working”. After that she focused on his face, brushing through the first aid kit lightly before sighing “there’s no adam in here, I’m sorry.. we’ll have to do this the old fashioned way”. “You should have been a nurse!.. I prefer that anyhow.. adam’s a horrifying gift, if you can even call it that” he scoffed, thinking he was playing the roll of ‘revolutionary disgusted by Ryan and everything associated with him’ very very well.

“No wonder Da finds ya so entertainin… I’d never have the bedside manor for it.. or the patience” Eilis laughed slightly, letting her accent slip out fully. She tilted his chin up so she could see in the dim light properly, slowing cleaning the wound as Atlas whispered curses. “Payback” she teased as she applied some numbing gel around the edges beside starting to stitch slowly. She seemed to have figured out a sort of staggered breathing technique to actually get a full breath it, it almost sounded like hyperventilating but she was totally calm. When Eilis was finished she gave it one more wipe to be sure it was cleaned, resisting a laugh when he called her a bitch for doing so. She brushed her thumb over it to make sure she’d stitched it properly, their eyes meeting for a second. She hesitated but looked away, trying to find the source of the bleed in her own mouth, ignoring the odd chemically smell and taste her blood had. She was honestly sick of tasting blood, but at least knowing it was her own made her feel like less of a monster.

The smell of antiseptic quickly covered the irony one that perforated the room, getting stronger as she felt a wet hand come to her cheek. She looked back at her companion, Atlas looking so sweet in that moment, so concerned. He looked down at her lips then back to her eyes, those oddly speckled eyes that reminded him of under-appreciated gemstones.

The two hesitated again for a moment, like they weren’t sure what they were doing or what was about to happen, till they gave in and slowly leaned closer, letting their lips connect for a gentle and sweet kiss that sent tingles up Eilis’ spine. Atlas caressed her cheek as she hesitantly allowed the kiss to deepen, trying to make herself relax as she rested a hand on his chest, her companion somehow elegantly avoiding whatever part of her mouth stung like an acid burn. Atlas oddly enjoyed the metallic taste off her mouth as he pulled her closer by her hip, sliding his hand to her lower back out of habit and barely acknowledging what his brain knew was a chemical taste. When he did this though he was met by a gasp of pain as she pulled away and grabbed his wrist tightly.

The searing pain from her back was followed by a moment of clarity, releasing Atlas’ wrist as she stood up, simply stating “I can’t do this… I’m sorry” before quickly leaving, slipping past the crowds of people and a doctor who she heard vaguely confirm the man who’d attacked her was dead. That disgusting taste filled her mouth again and she quickened her pace to get back to Ryan. She would have broken the door down if they didn’t open automatically for her, bracing herself on Diane’s thankfully empty desk. Everything was so overwhelming in that moment, it felt like the world was spinning and she was going to throw up, maybe pass out, hopefully not both since she wasn’t in the mood to die today. A voice broke through her mental spiral like a hot knife through butter, “are you alright Ellie? You don’t look well”.

Jasmine? Eilis turned her head to look at her, even though it caused her pain, choking on her breath at the sight of Jasmine still in her performance outfit, which was basically glorified lingerie with some extra ‘showstoppers’ as she likes to call them. “Did you walk here in that?..” Eilis asked cautiously, hiding her pain the best she could as she stood up straight. Jasmine shrugged “I had a jacket if you’re worried about me being cold. Now where’s Andrew? He asked for me to come here!”. She seemed so excited, so naive. Eilis was reminded of Ryan’s strange rant about his legacy rotting and forced herself not to pull a worried expression. “Go home.” She ordered, not realising why she’d even said that.

Ryan wouldn’t do anything, right?

At one point she may have believed that.

Jasmine looked confused, but before she could ask why, Eilis just repeated herself “I’ll make up a lie for you, just.. please. Go home.” The performer just looked startled and even more bewildered, but she’d never seen that look in Eilis’ eyes before, it was pure worry with a hint of terror and regret, so she listened and quickly rushed away, shoulder bumping with Sullivan as she left.

“The hell’s wrong with her?” He asked bluntly, getting a snapping response of “fucking nothing, how clean are your hands mate?..” Eilis breathing was short & laboured again as she seemed to have forgotten her impromptu breathing technique. Sullivan looked at his seemingly clean hands, “look fine to me, why?”.  Eilis quickly undid her shirt and tossed it on the desk as she requested “good enough.. I need you to pull the glass out of my back before I get some adam… I can’t cope with an infection right now…”. “Jesus fuck, you’re gonna be the death of me..” Sullivan huffed as he gestured for her to turn around, grimacing at the sight of her back. It was now one big bruise, the darker parks perfectly outlining her ribs, shoulder blades and spine, glass shards and some large splinters of wood caught in her back with little trails of blood dripping down them.

“Alright, fess up. What’d you do this time?“ he pondered while being as gentle as he could while he plucked anything he could find out, trying not to touch the skin. “Which part? What I did to get attacked or what I regret from it?” Eilis mumbled, resting her forehead on her arms as she tapped her finger off the desk for a distraction. “Second one.” Sullivan wiped his hand off his jacket before fully realising what he did, grimacing at the fact he now had blood on his clothes, muttering “goddamn it..”.

“I possibly killed a man…” Eilis’ voice was barely a whisper.

“Uh huh.. Since when does that bother you?” Sullivan queried, putting his flashlight in his mouth so he could both see and use his hands to check for any other glass shards.

“He was doing exactly what Tadgh would have done for me.. and I killed him for it.. brutally… I think… Ryan’ll be fucking delighted…” She sounded so disgusted with herself, “I didn’t even help him.. remember when I used to do that?… help people.. do me best not to hurt them.. try and fix the mistakes I made in the beginning… now I’m back to being less than human all over again…” Sullivan swore he heard a sniffle as he satisfied his worry for anymore foreign objects being stuck in her skin, tapping the side of her thigh to let her know he was done as he pulled his flashlight from his mouth, wiping the spit off. “You ain’t less than human, trust me. Now what I want you to do is take a deep breath, put your shirt back on and come with me to try and convince Ryan to give you Adam cause I don’t have shit” Sullivan kept his tone soft as he helped her stand up straight, actually getting a laugh out of her after the grimaces passed.

“Really?..”, Her old friend shrugged, resisting a smile “what? It’s a good bargaining tool. Sometimes I have to actually keep my end of the deal”. She could only hope he used a different needle. Going to drape an arm over her shoulders for comfort, Sullivan barely caught himself before just resting a hand on her arm as they walked. Ryan was sitting on his desk, chewing impatiently on an unlit cigar as he seemed to be fiddling with something just out of their view. The two companions heard the familiar click of a revolver’s barrel being pushed back in as he looked up, but suddenly Ryan shoved it in a drawer and took the cigar into his hand as he craned his neck to see around them. “Has Jasmine arrived ?” He asked rather calmly, ignoring the fact his head of security and personal bodyguard could immediately pick up on when he was hiding something. “No” Eilis lied before Sullivan could even get a word out “she sent a pneumo saying she couldn’t make it. No reason but you know she isn’t the best for details”.

Ryan stared at her for a minute, like he was waiting for her to crack, but she didn’t, so he held out his cigar to be lit as he scoffed “why are you breathing so strangely?”. Eilis’ breath caught as she leaned over, snapping her fingers to light the cigar as she replied “not fully sure… could be a fact  my back looks like a corpse that fell from a plane but I’m guessing I’ve cracked some ribs…” she took the deepest breath possible as she looked him in the eye “can I have some adam?..”. “May I.” Ryan corrected her.

“Excuse you?…” Eilis’ tone dropped, barely hiding a drop of offence as she knew exactly what game he was playing. Ryan looked insufferably smug as he took a painfully slow drag from his cigar, tapping off the ash and letting the smoke seep out before he clarified “Mr. Ryan, may I have some adam?”. It took Eilis a moment to swallow her pride and the urge to scream at him in a language he wouldn’t understand. “May I-“ she tried to begin but he cut over her, “no no no. Spine straight, use the voice I taught you. Try again.”. Sullivan moved to help Eilis when she hadn’t moved for a moment, but Ryan put up a hand to stop him as he urged “go on.”.

Slowly and agonisingly Eilis straightened her spine and pushed back her shoulders, biting into a portion of her cheek to try and stop herself from screaming in pain. After the lightheaded rush when the pain faded finally let her think straight, she brought out that damned ‘ryanised’ tone, “Mr Ryan. May I please have some adam?”.

“Why should I give it to you? This is some of the last pure adam currently in the city, the slugs are so hard to find now a days” Ryan fretted, looking to Sullivan when he huffed “c’mon boss, she can barely stay still from the pain!” His eyebrows furrowed which rendered his head of security silent. “Let’s make a deal, Ellie dear. You tell me where you were, when you were supposed to be at my side, and I will give you…” he went quiet as he pulled out his vile of Adam. It looked different to the others she’d seen, more luxurious and thinner with a big R on the front. It had never been opened, in fact there was dust on it that Ryan quickly blew off. He then pulled out a needle of equal extravagance and broke the seal, filling it with just under the amount Eilis knew she would have needed to fix her, and this was the only time she would have been willing to take the whole man bottle to get rid of this pain, not even her reaction to adam could compare to how much it hurt to exist in that moment. “This much. Just tell me where you were.” He finished, wasting some Adam to prove the syringe worked.

“I was meeting with a friend. I can still have those can’t I?” Eilis forced a laugh to seem more relaxed, her false expression dropping when Ryan queried “man or woman?”. “Man.” She admitted, not seeing the problem, which was hit with another question of “who?”. “Why do you care? Can I just have the adam?” Eilis made an attempt to pick it up but Ryan got to it first, pretending to admire the syringe in the light.  “Is this man.. close with you?” He looked her dead in the eyes, like he was seeing right through her, ignoring the fact she’d kissed him, Eilis managed to look offended “no. Jesus Christ, no. Bill saw me, he knows nothing like that happened” for once she hoped Bill McDonagh would be dishonest for once in his life. Ryan took that into consideration, handing the syringe to her, needle first as he warned her “I will be checking that fact” pulling it away slightly before finally giving it to her.

He turned his chair around while she injected it, barely keeping back a whimper as she felt her bones heal and set back in place. She could finally breath but it hurt to turn her head or torso and she knew adam sickness would soon follow. She could cope with that. Rolling her sleeve back down and checking to make sure her mouth was no longer mangled, she made a vague noise to show Ryan she was listening as he started to talk “I want to show you a few things. Somethings I’ve been working on since the death of that ingrate, Fontaine… I believe it’ll be very educational for you”. “Lead the way” She resisted a sigh and put on a smile as she gestured towards the door, watching Ryan as he got to his feet and gestured for Sullivan to stay put.

“Gimme your revolver” Eilis demanded. “What? Where the fuck is your own?” He put a hand it in case she tried to snatch it. “Shotgun’s broken and Mick has mine. Give it to me unless you want to deal with the shitstorm that Ryan dying will cause” she put her hand out for it and though he knew she was half lying since she didn’t know where her shotgun was currently, he gave her his gun, holder included. “You’re an angel” she complimented him, getting a waved hand that politely told her to fuck off as she followed Ryan to his private bathysphere, getting taken to wherever he’d thrown dr Suchong at this point. While they bobbed along he mentioned “have you ever thought about the large.. things we have work on rapture from the outside?”. “The metal diver lads?.. can’t say I have, they’re robots right? No man’s that big or brave” Eilis asked cautiously, being able to tell by the twitch of his lip she was wrong, rephrasing “desperate workers?…”.

“Once prisoners of Persephone we.. repurposed them for the good of the city. And now besides keeping rapture safe, we have created a new variant to protect our latest.. Adam harvesting technology. And I want you to see them before they go public” Ryan chose his words carefully after her expression dropped when she found out their large metal monsters contained people, or what were once people. But this was important, she had to know. She had to see that he wasn’t simply making empty promises and threats, and he needed he’d to see what else he had in development.

Eilis had a sick feeling in her stomach, and she couldn’t tell why. It definitely wasn’t from the Adam, that would be agonising, this was just a devastating sickening feeling. She refused to remember when she last felt it to that degree. When they arrived she walked at his side with her hands behind her back, the sick feeling only getting worse as they approached the doors. When it opened they were met with two little girls who were playing. Ryan took a step back. Which surprised her, but Eilis ignored it, crouching down to them and making her tone soft “hello there, are you two lost? Where’s your mommy?”.

The two turned their heads to her, catching her off guard. Their eyes were just yellow, glowing yellow that was offset to their pale almost translucent skin. Their identical dresses and big white bows were almost off putting as they whispered to eachother, ignoring their building blocks and the dolls they were once so invested in. Their feet were filthy, but they didn’t have any injuries.

Their whispers were so strange, like their voices had an echo to them.

“Doggy…”, “doesn’t look like a doggy..”

“Scary man..”, “scary doggy.. smells like bad people..”

“Eilis. Come along. They’re fine” Ryan ordered bluntly as he watched her ignore him, cautiously reaching past the girls, which made them flinch, picking up the large strange needle with a baby bottle attached to it. She stood up as she held it, ignoring the stench of Adam as she quietly asked, sounding horrified “what are you doing with these little girls, Andrei?…”. He wasn’t going to answer her but he gave the illusion of thought before Suchong emerged, announcing “Mr. Ryan! Good to see you and your… Pet. Come come! I must show you our progress” he beckoned to the king of rapture as he pushed the girls out of the way with his foot, stepping on the doll’s head that broke under his foot into fragile porcelain dust.

The two poor things clung to eachother in the corner, continuing to whisper as the two men in the room left. Eilis went to follow till one called out to her “hungry.”. She glanced at them to see the two making little grabby hands at the strange needle gun she was holding. She hesitated but even without pupils their little eyes were begging her. She reluctantly handed it over, keeping the pointed part turned towards her so they didn’t prick themselves. The girl who took it happily giggled while the other called her “good doggy!”. Giving them a polite smile she could tell they knew was forced before going back to following Ryan, wanting answers to what was going on with those girls, only to see there were much more that Suchong was almost violently shooing away, the girls scurrying off into rooms and through the vent tubes that kept the air circulating through rapture, being just small enough to fit.

The scientist seemed to notice her discomfort as he quickly tried to brush it away “no need to worry Ms Donovan! They are.. how you say.. orphans! We simply bring them here for check up after Adam exposure, completely harmless, Suchong promises” turning back to whatever direction he was striding in to guide them to an observation window, Ryan keeping a firm hand on her shoulder as if he knew she wanted to move.

There were three large metal suited things similar to divers. One was shorter, well short wasn’t the right word, it was still ginormous, it’s hand could have crushed any of their heads, but compare to the others it was shorter, but bigger in other ways, with a large drill instead of its right hand. The second one was slightly taller, looked slightly more like a diver with a rivet gun propped up against its leg. She quickly realised the first two were just models of what the suits were supposed to look like, she wondered why they were so strange. The second one she could imagine a man fitting in, though they’d have to be a little bigger than average, but the first didn’t seem humanly possible. The third one though was definitely alive, she could see it breathing. It was the most human looking proportion wise, groaning and looking around in bewilderment. Though it looked most human, the damn thing had to be near 7ft tall. It seemed to make an attempt to tug off the helmet, which it was shocked for, making it again go stagnant. Giving Eilis a momentary glimpse of a strange triangle painted on one of its hands… that can’t have been a person right? It can’t.

“Others are still in development… trouble attaching to suits. But as you see the protector program has had much success in our fourth subject, Delta! Magnificent, yes?” Suchong looked to Ryan for approval, who looked oddly proud as he nodded “yes.. yes very.. magnificent as you put it. And is this one…” Ryan trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the only one that was obviously alive, Suchong immediately understanding him, nodding “he wont be a problem anymore mr Ryan”. “Perfect!” Ryan clasped his hands together, freeing Eilis’ shoulder as he finally looked at her face for a reaction. The Pavlov dog was semi reserved but obviously horrified even if she didn’t fully understand what as going on or what she was looking at. “What do you think?” He asked rather calmly. She didn’t give an opinion, Suchong asking Ryan “should I be expecting Mr Donovan soon?”. Ryan’s glare could have killed the man if he hadn’t apologised as soon as his eyes were on him, the king of rapture ushering his stunned guard dog away to a more private corner, hoping she didn’t hear what his top scientist had said.

“Ignore him, he gets.. odd at times. Do you see how good this will be for our city? Adam will never run dry!” He said with delight, Eilis nodded slightly as she tried to string her thoughts back together, finally asking “how will more… metal men help the Adam supply never run out?..”. “The girls. They gather it and those things will keep them safe from harm, very ethical I assure you” Ryan tried to reassure her but she shrugged his hand off her, about to  ask, no demand to know what the adam was being harvested from, till she realised what Suchong had said. “what did he mention mr Donovan for?… did Mick do something?”. “Never mind that” Ryan changed the subject “come here, this is something I’ve wanted to show you for a while” he brought her over into a corner, with some difficulty, shushing her when she tried to ask questions. In the corner was this strange machine made of gold and glass with an exposed electrical current in the centre, big lit up letters labelled it the ‘Vita-Chamber’. “Now, this machine can cure any illness! Heal any wound! Our life expectancy shall go through the roof! For those who can afford it of course. As my bodyguard you will have unlimited access to it, I’ll have you coded into the genetic locks” her employer gushed, Eilis letting out a low “cé chomh cineálta...” as she stared at it.

After letting Ryan enjoy his moment she asked “why are you showing me this?”. “I thought you’d be greatful…” he almost frowned till he realised his mistake “Ah. I see, I haven’t told you the full list of its capabilities yet.” He turned to her properly, a serious look on his face that almost made her laugh from how forced it looked, she actually kept a snort slip out when he said “It can bring people back from the dead, no matter how long they’ve been gone”. Ryan wasn’t impressed by her laughter “this is very serious Ellie, do you understand what this means?”.

“No. No I do not” Eilis recomposed herself, unable to get rid of her slight smile, but that dropped at his next statement “we can bring back Thomas. We just need a portion of his dna, and you have some of his organs. Do you understand now Eilis? We can bring him back!”.

Chapter Text

“Excuse you?…” Eilis’ voice was barely above a whisper as all the colour drained from her face and she hugged at her stomach slightly. Ryan pulled her hands off herself and held them tightly, she hadn’t seen him this happy in her life, it was unsettling, “We can bring him back. We can fix our past mistake”.

“Our past mistake?” Eilis almost scoffed, Ryan’s smile dropping.

“His death was just as much your fault as it was mine” he reminded her harshly, Eilis snapping back “he died because he was doing his job and he chose to. You said it yourself, you could have saved him but he asked you to save me. Let a dead man be dead! If anyone deserves to be dead it’s Tadgh, and I mean that with whatever love is left in my heart. Leave him alone, it’s no one’s fault”. Ryan just looked disgusted with her, ignoring her words, “so you won’t help bring back your own brother? After everything he did for you?…”.

“Stop it. Do you think he’d want to see this? The monsters you’ve made? The bastard you’ve become? Those are people in there! People who you’re using like products! It. Is. Sick! I can tolerate you treating me like a disposable feckin rag, I can cope with that, but they’re being treated even worse. He would hate what your doing. He’d hate you” Eilis barely held her voice below screaming, Ryan still holding her hands like he knew she’d swing at him if he let go, her voice cracked as she tried to appeal to what little humanity she knew he had “they’re children, Andrei… little girls.. orphans. Haven’t they suffered enough?”. Ryan didn’t even hesitate with his reply “It’s for the good of the city, Thomas would understand that. I was a fool to expect you could, you were always so self absorbed” he scoffed at her as he released her hands, firmly stating “it’s happening wether you approve it or not”.

“Not you or any fucking doctor is touching me” She warned him, holding Sullivan’s pistol tightly, “you aren’t a god, stop trying to be one! Death is permanent!”. “But we can change that, how can you not understand?!” Ryan screamed back at her, “Because death is the reward I get for keeping you and whatever other rich prick you allow alive! Don’t you dare take that away from me and Tadgh!”. Ryan just stared at her, he stared and stared for what felt like hours till he said something that genuinely made her want to punch his teeth out, “you wouldn’t be against this if I were offering to bring back Fontaine, would you?”.

“That has nothing to do with with this, Andrei, nach leomh tú-“ he cut her off before he could even realise he didn’t understand her, “You’re only against this because you don’t want to atone for your mistakes hm? See the man who is keeping you alive from beyond the grave? Let him see the disappointment you’ve become? You’d rather bring back some cволочь, who bedded you like a common whore than the man who gave up everything so you weren’t some nobody in a country ruled by religion?! Is that what you want? It is isn’t it?” The sound of Ryan slipping into Russian for a moment was startling and his words genuinely hurt her, so she just stayed quiet and him ramble, knowing anything she’d say would just make this worse, hoping he’d shut up and they could leave. “Fontaine was doing exactly what I am with those girls, exactly! But it was for his own means. I’m doing it for the good of the city, I am doing it for the good of the people, I am doing it for the good of you!.. and the good of Thomas. Thomas, the son I never had… and never will have…. DAMN THAT WOMAN” Ryan slammed his hand on a nearby table, causing tools and beakers to fall, some breaking.

Resisting the urge to remind Ryan that wasn’t her brother’s name, she chose her next words very, very carefully “People aren’t going to like the fact that your using orphaned children and peoples friend and family, who you threw in Persephone for bothering you, as Adam harvesting machines and pipe welders, sir.” She remained as calm as he could, Ryan’s head snapping in her direction as he asked much to casual for the expression he had “How would they know?”. “They have eyes Andrei, you can’t exactly disguise children.” She responded bluntly, moving her finger to the trigger when he started to walk back to her from the table, “not them, the people will come to terms with that. Plans are in place. How will they know about their protectors hm? Are you going to tell them?”.

“I might.” She pulled back the pin with her thumb and let it click as a warning, she didn’t know why she was suddenly afraid, Ryan had never done anything violent before but something was severely off about him recently, “What exactly would stop me? Despite what you think I can still speak my mind to other people” the Pavlov dog glared at him as she stood her ground till he was practically in her face. He stared into her eyes for a moment before relaxing again, stepping back “fine.” He said, gesturing for her to follow as he calmly walked out of the room, the crunching of thin broken glass following him “of course you can speak your mind. I never said you couldn’t…” Eilis’ muscles stopped tensing but she didn’t put the revolver away, following him. “Was Mick a good father to you? In your personal opinion” he asked casually.

What a strange question, Ryan had called him an atrocious parent several times even before he’d met the man, why was he asking this again?

“He’s good enough for me, he does everything he’s supposed to” she answered cautiously, Ryan humming in agreement, looking back at her “would you say he’s.. protective in anyway?”.

“Aren’t all parents supposed to protect their children?” She asked in response, not liking where this was going. “So yes then?… I see.. I think he’d make a perfect candidate for the protecter program! Don’t you? Suchong already agrees, we discussed it vaguely.. does he have any photos of you as a child so we could find a girl to pair him with? You see, after their minds go it’s so hard to remember little things, anything really, and when they are related to the subject or recognise them in some capacity we find it’s much easier for them to be attached and do their job” he stopped in his tracks, right in front of that observation window they had been with Suchong only moments before. Eilis felt like she was going to be sick. Ryan watched as the Pavlov dog’s usually strong stomach was failing due to the connection she had with the subject, she even seemed to hold back a reaction that made her jerk slightly, nose wrinkling. “Do you think he’d be a good candidate, Eilis?” Ryan asked softly, she shook her head, “Are you going to make sure he doesn’t appear on the list of candidates again? And you will not discuss the reality of the protector program with anyone else?” She nodded vigorously. “I want verbal confirmation Ellie, I am not a patient man” he demanded, getting a strained “yes. Mr Ryan.”

“Good. Come along now, we have work to do. We must leave Suchong to finish the vita chambers, I’m sure we will have a chance to get our sample soon considering your line of work” he walked towards the exit with an odd pop in his step, Eilis glancing at the poor thing in the suit, still being forced to stand there with little girls that had glowing eyes playing at his feet. “Yes mr Ryan..” she muttered, though she knew he couldn’t hear her before following him and not uttering another syllable.

It only took a little over a week for those poor things to be everywhere, not just the large hulking figures behind the glass out in the ocean… the new ones looked just like that poor thing she’d saw, so eerily human. There was only a few of them, more of the other variants they’d become custom to seeing fixing pipes and welding out in the ocean, but the more human ones were so unsettling to her. You wouldn’t see any them in the more luxurious areas of rapture of course, not yet anyway bar one or two strange cases, but the shopping districts always had at least two plodding around with little girls holding giant needles guiding them by their oversized hands. Even then, Eilis had somehow managed to avoid directly interacting them, Ryan had her attached by his hip for most of that time, and when she was free, if she heard the now all too familiar echoed giggles and thudding, she’d refuse to look at it. Stories started to spread of them protecting their little wards without mercy, people even teased that they were worse than her, though it seemed more in a joking manor than fact. Good. If anyone thinks it’s alright to attack a child just for some Adam they deserved whatever the protectors did to them.

The morning she was thinking about all these things while sprawled out on Sinclair’s couch, feet on the floor so she didn’t scuff the velvet, she was waiting for her father to finish whatever he was doing in some random room of Sinclair’s apartment. They’d decided to stop off here since Sinclair and Ryan had to discuss something that they thought private enough to kick both of their bodyguards out. “Any luck? I’m not getting any younger!” She yelled to tease him, getting an equally joking response of “fuck off! Ya little minx” as he came out with his cap on. “We walked all the way from Hephaestus for your hat?…” She cocked her head as she sat up to look at him properly, “firstly, this hat” he flicked at the bill “is the reason you were born, so shut yer mouth, and secondly, catch” he tossed something that had been propped up against the kitchen island at her. It was her shotgun, but it looked different, “where was it?” She wondered, keeping up the facade that she had misplaced it.

“Ya know the fella masquerading as the head of our little coup against Ryan? He dropped off it when we were having a little meetin” Mick explained, leaning against the back of the couch as he watched her reaction. “No clue why he’d have it..” Eilis hummed as she checked her beloved weapon for any scuffs or scrapes. It was heavier than she remembered, shined like it was made of silver and had some strange new additions she didn’t fully understand, “said you left it after an accidental run in ya had at the pub, so he decided to shine it up for ya” Her father looked down at the shotgun and then to her “any reason for that? Looks pricey all the things he did”. “No” Eilis laughed slightly as she opened it to reload it, seeing it could now somehow fit six shots, since when she put in the usual amount it still had more room. “You sure? I don’t think I’d be so wrong for you to have a distra-“ Mick smirked as Eilis pushed his face away before standing up, reminding him “just because we’re related doesn’t mean I won’t clock ya”.

“cheeky shit” Her father chuckled as he leaned back to see the clock in the kitchen “they’re probably still nattering away like old dears on Moore street…” he sighed as he scratched at his stubble “you hungry?”. “Starvin, Ryan hasn’t paid me yet though” Eilis cracked her shoulders as she stood up, Mick offering “I’ll pay, how’s that fish place down in Fontaine’s sound?”. His child just nodded and they left, walking there and taking their sweet time as they were both very aware at this point how long their employers could talk, vividly remembering what was supposed to be a ‘quick meeting’ which turned into the two talking for about three hours straight. It was painful. As they hopped on the metro that’d take them to Fontaine’s department store, Mick seemed to realise something, questioning his child “had Ryan not given you that shite Fontaine left you yet?”. Eilis just shook her head, not really wanting to talk about it. “What did he leave you anyway?” He pried more, getting a timid response of “things.. mainly money and a property or two”, “and he won’t give it to you because?” Mick cocked at eyebrow but he didn’t get an answer, because Eilis didn’t have one. She only had speculation since she hadn’t really fought against Ryan on anything after their incident at Suchong’s lab. She wanted to tell Mick, he deserved to know, maybe he wanted to take the chance to bring Tadgh back, maybe he’d want to help the poor bastards in those suits, but if she did there was a chance he’d be taken, and she couldn’t risk that. She couldn’t forgive herself if she allowed that to happen.

As anxiety ridden worry ate away at her thoughts and the horror of everything that was happening or could happen destroyed her appetite, Eilis came back to the world to find her father guiding her by the arm away from the meteo. He seeemed so worried, looking over at her as he sounded exasperated “you gave me a fuckin heart attack! Jesus Christ, pet… you just dropped”. Oh. That wasn’t good was it?

“Sorry.. just lost track for a moment there…” she apologised, standing up straight as she tried to get her bearings again, tensing up and gripping Mick’s sleeve when she saw the man and woman from her hallucinations again, this time the man wearing some sort of chalk board. “You alright?..” Mick asked, seemingly unaware of them as they tilted their heads in unison while looking at her. “Yea… yea I’m grand.. I uh… I just need food.. I haven’t eaten” She lied, waiting for him to notice them as they continued to walk at them, but when she blinked they’d moved slightly farther away, people walking around them like they weren’t there. She hadn’t taken any eve today or Adam, the hell was going on?..

Mick blurting out “fuckin Christ, look at that thing!” not even having to follow his site to realise what he was looking at, it was one of the protectors, the larger one who used to be outside more, it’s ward sitting on its back since he was just so huge. “Can you imagine what it takes to run those things? Sin says they run off some Adam mix that keeps the gears turnin constantly” her father gushed, seemingly fascinated but obviously slightly unsettled by the child on it’s back, Eilis getting curious as she asked “and what about the little girls?..”. “Apparently they’re orphans, poor things, so Ryan puts them to work in trade for education, and when they gather enough Adam to pay for that education they’re let go. I’m sure they’d also be a bit too big for those vents they crawl through too… better than then starving, I suppose..” Mick let out a sigh as he seemed to hold Eilis’ arm that bit tighter, “let’s go get food eh?”. Eilis just nodded, looking back from the slowly approaching protecter and the strangely dressed duo still watching her.

As they picked up their pace to get to their destination, Eilis heard whispers among the crowds, “they’re called big daddies.. and those little monsters on their backs? Ryan’s dubbing them little sisters… they take Adam from all the splicer junkies that drop dead around here…”. Big daddies was a strange name but she guessed it made sense, it humanised them more so it may be a blessing in disguise. Mick suddenly stopped walking as he seemed to stare at something, Eilis hoped it was the man and the woman, but it wasn’t, he was staring at a group of teenagers snickering it eachother while they creeped through the crowd, whispering something about stealing the little sister’s adam needle, wielding pipes as weapons. “We should go.” Eilis warned him but he brushed her off with a finger pressed to his lips “watch, it’ll give ya a laugh” assuming the big metal beast would lay them on their asses and then move on with its day.

The man and the woman appeared behind them, starting to whisper to Eilis,

“another changing moment” the woman hummed,

“But will you take it is the question?” The man wondered, leaning over her shoulder to properly look at her face, the Pavlov dog didn’t even glance at them, ignoring them to the best of her ability.

“The flap of a butterfly can change the course of history” the woman fretted as they watched one of the teens swing at the beast, not even making a dent. But as soon as the little girl screamed for protection, the beast bellowed so loud it made the current inhabitants of this entire section of the department store freeze and go silent.

“And a raindrop hitting said butterfly can cause just as much damage” the man pointed out as they watched the big daddy raise its drill arm, revving it up and impaling the closest teen with it, causing screams of horror to erupt through the crowds who started to run.

Mick & Eilis were frozen in horror themselves, Mick having expected a simple back hand while Eilis was expecting something more violent, but not flat out murder.

“So which are you? The butterfly?” The man asked,

The woman finishing for him “or the raindrop?”.

Throwing the mangled body at the other two teens to knock them down, the big daddy ran at them, the little sister hiding behind some mannequins set to look like a happy family having dinner. Before the Pavlov dog was fully aware of what she was doing, she’d bolted away from her father and their safe distance, pulling out her shotgun and firing directly at its head, actually causing it to stop for a minute. Taking her chance, she pulled the body off the boys, getting them to their feet as they shook with terror, demanding they run. They didn’t move. Before she was able to scream at them, hoping it would get through, Eilis was grabbed by one large hand by her head, causing her to scream in pain as it gripped hard enough to crack bone if it wanted to. It’s drill started to rev up again, Eilis managing to keep it away by planting her foot on the crook of its arm, barely being able to lodge her shotgun in the only hole she’d managed to make, firing again and again and again till she was out of bullets, her foot slipping and the drill mangling a section of her thigh as the beast fell back, freeing her and sending her skidding across the floor. She tried to stand but she dropped form the pain, causing an involuntary scream. Whimpering from the pain through gritted teeth, She pulled off her sweater and used it to tightly bind it around the wound so she didn’t bleed to death.

Mick snapped out of his horrified daze at the sound of Eilis’ scream. He jumped into action, pulling the two teens away and practically shoving them in the direction of the exit, survival instincts finally taking over, making them scuttling away like panicked rats. Avoiding the big thing that was somehow still alive, he rushed to her side, babbling “I’ve got you love, I got you..” as he tries to help her stand, Eilis just screaming in pain whenever she put pressure on her leg, swatting at him so he’d stop, trying to speak but her words came out in stuttered messes of begging him to shoot it and run while it clambered to it’s feet again, roaring as it charged at them. Wrapping his arms around Eilis, Mick dove to the side, letting the monster slam into a nearby pillar which seemed to disorientate it. He pulled out his pistol after laying Eilis out on the floor, wanting her not to move and play dead as he crept up to the beast. Before the thing could turn around he had an Irishman on his back, hanging onto the weird bars that went across the front of its dome shaped head as he punched out one of the glass parts, reaching his hand in to pull out wires, gears, anything, but he stopped when he felt flesh.

Frozen in horrified disgust and finding his hand was stuck as he didn’t think to straighten it out in his panic, Mick was stuck to the creature. Eilis was reloading her shotgun as this was all happening, she could still hear the two strangers bickering behind her.

Butterfly or raindrop?

Butterfly or raindrop?

It was almost maddening as she forced herself to stand, shakily breathing through her nose as she aimed at the beast, whistling sharply for its attention. That did nothing as it got its bearings and started to claw rabidly at the man on its back. Taking her chance she fired, clipping Mick in the shoulder as well as the big daddy. Hoping she wouldn’t hit her father again she just kept firing until the beast dropped, face first on the floor in a pool of its own blood, Mick clutching his bleeding hand, not even acknowledging his shoulder.

“It’s alive..” he swallowed hard as he stared at it, “that’s a person..”. Eilis shushed him softly but he continued to mutter about to to himself as she searched for the little sister, wondering where she’d gone, only to spot the little girl desperately trying to get into the vent, slipping as the wall was covered in the blood of her protector. The Pavlov dog calmly approached, limping while using her shotgun like a cane, the young girl only panicking more and curling up in a ball on the floor when Eilis got close enough. Standing on one leg to ease the pain, Eilis bent down and picked up the child, helping her into the hole. Glowing yellow eyes stared at her in confused wonder for a moment before scuttling away into the vents. Not being able to move from that spot and slowly becoming more aware of her mangled leg, Eilis was happy to feel Mick come over to support her, ignoring his own agony to keep her up straight as he grabbed the strap of her shotgun, the two silently limping back to the bathysphere station, all the metros being gone, and waiting what felt like hours for the next one to arrive, quickly setting a course for the medical pavilion.

“Did you know?…” Mick asked after the two had been sitting down for a moment, well he was sitting. Eilis had lay down in an attempt to keep more pressure on her wound, not liking the feeling of the cold leather against her bare skin. It reminded her of Frank strangely, and she hated it. “Know what?..” she asked quietly, staring straight ahead at their unwanted guests sitting across from them stared back. “That they were-.. are people…” Mick gagged in the middle, of his sentence, without hesitation Eilis replied “no. I didn’t.”. On the chalkboard the man was still wearing there was a tally mark, one side said raindrop, the other butterfly. Butterfly was winning, but he confidently made a mark on the raindrop side. She swore he almost smiled at her, like he was happy for her choice she didn’t fully understand the magnitude of yet. “Remember the name Elizabeth” was the last thing they said in unison before they were gone.

“Eilis. Love I’m talking to ya” her father’s voice broke through the quiet, causing her to glance at him slightly. “I don’t want to talk about what just happened…” She stated firmly, making Mick frown “I didn’t say anything about that love.. I just asked if you were ok”. Eilis’ nose wrinkled as she suppressed an emotion she didn’t fully recognise. “Yea… it doesn’t hurt as much as it should.. I’ve had worse” she forced a smile to make him feel better but it didn’t work, Mick moving himself closer and resting a hand on her leg and swearing to her “when this is done, I promise I’ll make it legal to leave this place. Then, you and me are going home to visit everyone, alright? Maybe stop off in Connemara.. see if your bitch if a great aunt I still kicking about.. I promise you my spideog bheag”. The Pavlov dog stopped looking at him as she groaned “don’t call me that.. you only call me that when you think either you’re going to die or I’m too fragile..”. “Is that what you think if that nickname? Little harsh don’t you think” he joked but she obviously isn’t in the mood. With a slight sigh, he leaned over to take one of her hands in his own, ignoring the pain as he reassured her “I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you, and you ain’t fragile. If you were, you wouldn’t be here. Can you be a little emotional at times? Sure but who the hell isn’t? We’re going to get through this.. for your brother”.

Eilis ripped her hand free to hug her stomach as she buried her face in the leather cushions, not even wanting to think about Tadgh right now as she realised she needed to stay conscious or he’d become Suchong’s latest Frankenstein. As they docked she calmly ordered “I can’t walk… and you’re in no state to carry me.. but you can run… go get a doctor”. Mick wanted to fight against her but he obeyed, giving her shoulder a light squeeze as he bolted out of the bathysphere, reluctantly going to the only doctor he knew would fix them properly, Steinmen.

Steinmen was pacing in his surgical suite, flicking through patient files and scoffing at how uncreating their requests were, how dare they waist his valuable skills and time. Ignoring the sound of his doors being shoved open, so hard that he heard some tiles fall off the wall, he continued to flick through the sheets of paper to try and find a worthy candidate. “Doctor. I need ya” a voice called out to him, looking up to see his Fiancé’s father with a badly gashed hand and bone exposed in his butchered shoulder, but they didn’t seem to be his main concern. “Wait out there” Stienmen gestured with his pen as he went back to pacing till the Irish man shouted at him “Its Eilis. She got attached by one of those metal monsters”. Stienmen actually halted his pace, knowing he should be concerned but he was oddly excited, barely hiding it in his tone as he asked “what’s the damage?”. Naively assuming he was asking because he needed to know what he needed to bring to help, Mick answered “uh.. bruising? A lot of bruising…. Half her thigh is just ribbons.. bastard got a bit of her face too when he dropped her but that isn’t too bad… Dia mhaith, beidh mé tinn..”.

“Beautiful!” Stienmen clasped his hands together and looked up to the heavens “oh goddess! Your vision shines through her more and more every day. Soon she will be ready to be your vessel” he whispered, being dragged back to reality by Mick shouting “Doctor!”. “Yes yes…” Stienmen rolled his eyes as he threw what seemed like random medical/surgical equipment and drugs into a bag before following the almost hysterical man back to Eilis, who was fighting to stay conscious as her sweater had stopped keeping the copious amounts of blood at bay. Tossing an adam needle at Mick, Stienmen went down on one knee and clasped Eilis’ hand, swearing to her “I will save you dear goddess”, unable to tell if Eilis’ expression was a cringe of pain or rejection. Either way he didn’t care, getting to work, admiring how horrifying her leg looked before starting with not a drop of anaesthesia, making it actually look like a leg again with elegant stitching before giving her more adam than he knew she would have liked, pulling out the thread after it was healed and forcing her to sit up. He noticed her father hadn’t left, and that bothered him much more than he’d admit.

She was still fighting for consciousness as he held her face up to assess the damage, it wasn’t too bad, just a small gash across her lips that nicked her nose slightly and her eyebrow, barely missing her eye, he didn’t need adam. It would heal fine and the only noticeable bit would be her eyebrow and lips if someone were close enough to stare at them, it also bring her closer to the look of his goddess in all her strange beauty. Like Picasso and Salvador Dali had decided to paint the most beautiful woman in existence. Then he remembered what Ryan had ordered of him, glancing down at his Fiancé’s stomach that she seemed to be covering protectively. “I need to check you for internal injuries” he told her, hoping she would catch on to his subtly. She refused, replying “the Adam would have fixed that.. I’d like to leave. Ryan will be looking for me..”, “but darling-“ Stienmen tried to convince her, only to have a firm hand planted on his shoulder by Mick, his tone threatening as he reminded the surgeon “She said she’d fine mate, you did your job. Pnuemo me the bill and fuck off”.

He obeyed, lingering his touches on Eilis and ignoring her grimaces, scoffing when Mick shut the bathysphere. Quickly setting it to go back to Ryan, he slipped off his shirt, offering it to her “it’s a bit bloody but better than that jumper. You’ll freeze”. A soft smile graced Eilis’ features for a minute as she took it off him, thankful for something to cover herself with. When they got back to Ryan’s, Mick stole a trench coat off the coat hanger before they entered Ryan’s office, not wanting to arrive shirtless even though it was obvious the two had been in some form of altercation, looking tender with torn clothes.

“You took your time gettin back” Sinclair teased as he leaned back in his chair to look at them enter, “we have a guest, and Andy ain’t happy” he smirked as he said that, leaning forward to get his cigar off the ash tray he’d left it in, holding it out while Eilis picked up the pace to get to him, lighting it out of instinct and looking at Ryan to see he was so tense. She could see his face turning pink, she followed his line of sight to see none other than Atlas himself sitting in Ryan’s favourite smoking chair in a cocky stance that was oddly familiar. He shot her a wink “nice to see you again, me darlin”

“I don’t believe we’ve met mate, but I’m sure it’s a pleasure” Eilis protected herself, not even acknowledging Ryan’s disappointed glance, Mick focusing on Sinclair who casually gave him an order to get ‘the good whiskey’ from Ryan’s study, their secret way of telling him to make himself busy until he was called for. Patting a hand off Eilis’ shoulder to remind her to keep a stiff upper lip, he was gone, knowing he didn’t have the same resolve to lie for so long. “This man is claiming to be Atlas. He waltzed in here while you and your father took your time coming back” Ryan fumed, his bodyguard offering as rebuttal “we were attacked so please do forgive me for not wanting to bleed to death. Also why is it my fault your guards let some random man waltz in here? That’s Sullivan’s department”. Atlas’ chuckle caught their attention, the man now in a much more relaxed and approachable position. “I just wanted to see what I was really up against. You really hide the frail old man thing very well” he teased Ryan, who choked on his next breath, Eilis having to put a hand on his shoulder to remind him to shut his mouth before he said something he regretted. And for once, he listened.

“What do you want? Are you here to negotiate the end of your pathetic rioting that is tainting my good city?” Ryan asked calmly, Atlas half nodding as he leaned forward, knotting his fingers together “we want you to give back Fontaine’s businesses to those who need em. You took them for her own gain and shut down the poor houses, the orphanages, the free hospitals, everything the lower people of rapture need to survive. You lose us, you lose rapture. We keep this shithole and your big parties running. It’s really simple mate”. Eilis resisted the urge to say he had a point, Sinclair just sitting there with a grin on his face as he knew whichever way this was going he still had steady footing in all of it. “Absolutely not. I will not bend to the will of rioters! Get him the hell out of my sight and out of Hephaestus” he demanded Eilis, which she did willingly, pulling Atlas up by one of his suspenders which he didn’t resist, popping her shotgun up onto her shoulder as she had a firm grip on the nape of his neck and guided him out. “You alright Andy?” Sinclair chuckled, but his smile dropped when he saw the look on Ryan’s face, followed by the horrifying statement “I should have made her gut that bastard in the square as an example…”.

Eilis had managed to get Atlas to that large useless open area Ryan had, just before you even got off what was actually his property, before the revolutionary had said anything. “I missed ya” he commented, trying to look back at her. “Miss your wife more?” She shot back, not in the mood for this, especially since everything in Ryan’s office was recorded, keeping her voice low. “I already told you. It’s complicated, I know but she isn’t an issue” he tried to talk to her but she just kept pushing him till he was out the door. He turned to fully face her, admiring how oddly nice she looked all ruffled up in the dim light like that. He brushed away some strands of hair out of her face as he asked, “what if I hadn’t touched that part of your back that time, hm?… what would we have done?”. Eilis didn’t answer for a minute before almost frowning at him “whatever we would have done, we would have regretted”. “Why would we?” Atlas wondered, actually cupping her cheek in that way that felt so comforting, so familiar, but she didn’t allow herself to relax into it “Because again, you. Are. Married. And you’re currently one of the biggest pains in my arse in this whole city. Why would I sleep with a man who I’m going to have to chuck in a cell to-“ without letting her finish, Atlas kissed her like he wanted her to stop talking, teasing “as much as I love your voice, you are very annoyin to listen to when your worryin. Don’t worry about me being married, that isn’t an issue. You’re stressed, I’m stressed, we’re both trying to make this hell hole a kinder place to live in. We just have different ways of doing that. Why can’t we help eachother relax a little?”.

Eilis put a hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back as far as she could, surprised she didn’t break his nose, bluntly stating “I don’t need to relax. You need to keep your nose out of Ryan’s personal business. I can protect Mick, I can’t protect you.”. “I don’t need you to protect me. From the way I’ve heard Ryan’s going, you’ll be the one needing protection soon. The revolution is always going to offer that to you, we need you. Your old man agrees” Atlas tried to get his point across, but she wasn’t listening, Eilis already leaving. When the door shut Atlas sighed and rubbed at his face, he felt like he was going mad, just a few more years of this and then he could be himself again. Suchong better not lose the DNA sample he gave him, as helpful as this look was for what he was doing currently, when he finally had rapture to himself, he missed his old mug and monicker. He hated he was getting used to being called ‘Atlas’. It was a pain, but the reward would be so sweet he could tolerate it, closing his eyes and imagining the dream of Ryan dead at his feet, Eilis on his arm and an army of adam junkies willing to anything he asked just.

Maybe he’d never have to use his ace in the hole, seems like a shame to waste that much money, but it wasn’t a waste.

Yet.

He should get a hold the brat though, who knows.

It may be time to drag the kid back home soon.

Chapter Text

Months flew by, again. 

Far too fast than they should have, Eilis not even being aware of it seemingly. Her mind was dead focused on surviving, being well behaved enough to protect Mick and gaining the medical knowledge to keep her as far away from her ‘fiancé’ as possible, not giving a damn about public opinions or the papers anymore. She didn’t have the time or the energy, unless it tied in with Ryan she didn’t give it a moment of space in her mind.

Did this mean she was constantly in some form of pain because she was blatantly ignoring the injures that needed major surgery? Yes. But she was willing to cope with that as long as needed so she didn’t have to deal with Stienmen insanity or the threat of her brother being brought back against his wishes.  He deserved to rest in peace, buried beside their mother and granny, back home where everything was still green, crisp and simply just perfect. The Adam doses she was taking recently seemed to help the agony and her worries, it just seemed to melt her mind into one line of thought with no awareness of things Ryan didn’t believe she needed to be aware about.

In an odd sudden moment of self awareness, she realised she was at a news stand. Ryan had sent her for the paper, hadn’t he? Throwing a random amount of cash at the attendant, she followed her body’s urge to keep good time and get back to Ryan quickly. Glancing at the date on the paper as she walked, Eilis realised how much time had passed, stopping to double check what she had just read in bewilderment. It was almost the end of 1958, today would have been a cold November morning on the surface, with frost creeping up windows and everyone bundled up in layered clothes and thick scarves. How had she been so unaware of time passing? Had she even been conscious for New Years? What about all the celebrations she was no doubt dragged to throughout the year? Her own birthday? Had her sense of time been so destroyed by grief and exhaustion, she was only aware of the fact she had to breath manually? That made no sense, she thought she was getting better. Apparently not. Regaining composure and schooling her face out of its mildly horrified expression, she continued walking, trying to think of what could have causes this.

Tucking the paper under her arm and adjusting her shotgun by the strap, Eilis picked up the pace towards Hephaestus, flicking at her lip with her thumb, nervous tick she’d developed to accompany wrinkling her nose since her all too close altercation with that big daddy. She actually saw one as she walked by, stopping and making accidental eye contact with it. Well, she assumed it was eye contact, it wasn’t one of the ones where you could clearly make out a head shape or line of sight. She couldn’t help but swallow hard to calm her nerves, seeing the rusted brown of dried blood covering its drill as the little sister on its back whispered to it before drinking from her adam harvesting needle. The thought of the taste if the substance and where it had come from made her gag.

When relief washed over her, spitting out whatever had come into her mouth in a nearby trash can, she had another moment of clarity gracing her train of thought. Adam. After kicking out Atlas, Ryan had talked to her about taking more Adam, not giving a reason why, saying it was a collaboration between his and Sinclair’s businesses. He told her it was a purer product so she wouldn’t have such a visceral reaction to it like she did with normal Adam. And she trusted him. When she’d said Sinclair would be against using her as a Guinea pig, jokingly, she was quickly reminded that her father’s humanity & freedom was being held up by a string, and Ryan had scissors ready to cut it at any moment. So she agreed. And that’s when everything got blurry and days muddled into one long hum of basic survival and one word answers.

Being pulled out of her thoughts by a deep groan that she swore reset her heartbeat, Eilis was again reminded of the humanity of her unwanted company as she saw the little girl proudly show her protecter the drawing she’d done on the wall, beside one of the vents. It affectionately patting her head, like it understood, like it was proud. Pushing down the feelings bubbling up and she didn’t quite understand, Eilis continued back to Ryan, tossing his paper on the desk as she went past, wanting to ensure she kept her sudden sobriety. Turning the corner to Ryan’s private library, hoping to find some form of drink, she’d take ocean water at this point, she found Sullivan sitting on the expensive carpeted floor. The poor man had been saddled with working out new security camera placements and looked just about ready to assault Ryan’s good whiskey decanter. Eilis wondered why Ryan was upping security? Especially around the poorer areas. That just seemed cruel. From her memory they weren’t doing anything wrong. If anyone was breaking rapture law, it was the rich elite. Ryan’s ‘friends’.

Spotting her old companion’s flask sitting on a nearby table, she snatched it, swirling it and sighing in relief when she heard some form of alcohol splashing around inside. Crouching in front of Sullivan, she shook his flask in front of him to wordlessly ask if he wanted it. He gave her a vague gesture she interpreted as him ‘I’m fine, but you go ahead’. She took this offer gladly, enjoying the warm brandy as it slid down her throat, taking away the horrible chemical taste of Adam, placing it beside Sullivan’s knee for when he’d eventually want to drink to deal with his stress. She was just about to sit down me talk with him, possibly offer some assistance, when she heard Ryan call for her. She took a deep breath before walking back to him, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat that she’d become oddly aware of.

“I have something to give you” he began, Eilis cockily remarking “do you, now?” Absentmindedly rubbing at her neck. Ryan cocked an eyebrow and looked amused “look who’s decided to speak. I’m sure your father will be happy to know you can still form sentences, much to the dismay of how well your work ethic was going..” he teased, dragging a slight smile onto the girl’s features, reminding her of the semi kinder man she knew before rapture even began construction. He was still an asshole, but a nicer man than he was now.

Ryan picked up an envelope off his desk and handed it to her, preemptively stating “you’re welcome, Ellie dear”. “You’re in a beautiful mood, should we be celebrating something?” She hummed, seeing how far she could push this as she ripped it open with her thumb, ignoring her urge to ask what the hell was in the adam he’d given here. She could tell he wasn’t telling her something, he knew what he’d done and why he’d done it, but if she dared to ask she’d be reminded why she was being so cautious in the first place.

Ryan actually answering her cheeky question, much to her surprise “not yet, but I’ve recently come to terms with something. I am no longer driven by anger, but a need for.. clarity. All will soon be well..” he looked so pleased with himself, so content but still irritated in a way, pushing his buzzer for Diane with his knuckle, as he leaned forward to watch Eilis’ expression while she read over the letter, trying to ignore how strangely vague but threatening his words were.

She managed to keep her expression blank, but she was mildly shocked. He’d finally given her what Frank had left, well, what she knew he’d left. She now had his apartment and a shit ton of money to boot. She could quit right know and just become another one of rapture’s antisocial socialites… but that wasn’t her. That’s probably what Frank would have wanted, but that isn’t what she did. Right?

She didn’t know what she truly wanted, but it wasn’t that. It couldn’t be.

“Thank you.. took you almost a year, but thank you..” she chastised him while giving him a genuine smile, which seemed to hurt him in a strange way. This just confirmed her suspicion that he was hiding something. He had to be. “Yes… you’re excused for the day to sort out your new assets, but I expect you here before I wake up tomorrow, understood?”. With a quick nod, he sent her away, taking a moment to compose himself and grit his teeth before he dealt with anymore business. Opening other letters on his desk of private matters he didn’t want other people hearing, he bang to read over a letter from Suchong before his secretary/fiancé pranced in, he had to resist a smear, completely forgetting he’d called for her. “You called?” She asked softly.

Ryan’s eyes scanned over the quick and to the point letter, ignoring her in favour of what he hoped was good news;

Mr Ryan,

Tests with blood of Pavlov dog only end in strange amalgamation. All have been disposed of. Organ tissue sample still needed.

Aquire soon by other methods? Willing to do so.

Suchong

No such luck. 

“Andy?” Diane tried to catch his attention, going to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away as he remembered she was there. “Hm?.. ah yes, hello my dear. Please clear my schedule on New Years, I have business to attend” he requested, going to write back to Suchong, only looking up when he realised she hadn’t left.

“Is something the matter?” He queried as she looked awfully upset, and he knew very well how much of a pain that could be.

“We’re booked into the Kashmir for cohen’s party that night, darling.. you haven’t forgotten have you?” Diane’s lip quivered as she spoke.

Ryan mentally cursed but kept a stern look, tilting his head in pity “of course! I’m so sorry my dear. You know work has me so… forgetful. Never mind, I will rearrange that meeting” he smiled kindly at her, dropping it when he watched her happily leave, pinching at the bridge of his nose. Diane could cope with a night alone, this was much more important.

He was doing this for them, their marriage and their future. If any of those were still possibilities.

But most of all he was doing this for his reputation and the city. He would ask Eilis to do it but, even though she was doing very well with taking orders, he know she’d hesitate if there was certain history involved. So he must do this himself.

He had to avenge his honour, his morals, his lost legacy.

He had to kill Jasmine Jolene.

Lighting a cigar to calm his nerves, he quickly wrote a letter back to Suchong, keeping a cautious eye on his preoccupied head of security. 

Suchong,

I’m sure we will be able to get a sample soon. I’ll make sure of it.

Your recent Adam samples and the pheromone you sent have worked very well, but I’m not sure how I feel about using them on citizens. It has made my bodyguard look very sickly and people are taking notice. Refine the product and we will discuss this again.

Focus on project Ballyshane.

Andrew Ryan

The Pavlov dog was delighted but startled by Ryan’s sudden change in mood. To be fair, she hadn’t been fully aware of the last year or so, so maybe he’d been like that a lot recently. She doubted that. What else had she missed? Thinking about this gave her an oddly sentimental feeling of her first few years in rapture and all the damage she did. Had she done anything else? Anything to damage what little of a good reputation she had? Why did she suddenly care about that again? Her thoughts were suddenly so free and disconnected, she could barely understand any of them. These thoughts swarmed as she entered Cohen’s apartment to gather the few personal items she had. He was there with his disciples, discussing some form of show or exhibition with them while he continued to snap at poor Kyle whenever he made the slightest mistake while playing piano and it’s oddly stained red keys. “Sander?” She called out to him while she placed up her things on the couch she’d been sleeping on, it’d be nice to have a bed for once. “The Pavlov dog speaks! I was worried you’d been shot in the throat and refused to tell me” Cohen sighed dramatically as he swanned over to her, feigning worry so he could see what was happening, “ah, I see… Our little moth is finally leaving the comfort of it’s home. Such a shame, how will I keep you away from doubters?… poor Andrei… do come to visit won’t you?”.

Eilis knew he was only saying that to be polite, and the size of his pupils told her he was far from sober, but she was in no place to judge. She wasn’t even sure if she was semi sober or just pre-overdose. Still, it was kind of him to talk to her anyway “yes, of course. Mind if I steal Martin to help me?”.

“Must you?” The artist visibly frowned, the woman giving him a sympathetic smile.

“Fine. On one condition” he began, Eilis giving a hum to let him know she was listening as she handed a pile to Martin, “I’ll join you tonight with my boys and a guest I wish for you to meet for some celebratory drinks. Have you heard my latest record?”. “Of course, stunning as usual, love” she lied, she probably had heard it but she honestly didn’t remember. She’d surely hear it again if he was so proud of it. Ryan had a habit of getting Cohen’s record played till they no longer sounded like songs and melted into a generic sound along with every other constant repeat, variety dying out as the crack down on smugglers made it an even more dangerous position. “Yes, yes I know” the artist gushed, enjoying the praise “the lovely vocals on it alongside my own are of my latest disciple. My songbird! I’m sure you two will get along fine . Do we have an understanding?”. Eilis again only replied with a noise as her and Martin left, whispering to her brother-in-law when the door shut, worried Cohen may still be listening as she asked “what the hell has he been taking?”.

“Adam, retinentia and merlot cocktails. It’s a miracle he hasn’t rotted a hole through his throat” Martin scoffed as he watched her pop in the code like it was second nature. They  hadn’t changed it, “how strange…” Eilis thought as the two squeezing into the small elevator. “Any reason you’ve been basically mute for the past few months?” He asked her bluntly, trying to ignore how claustrophobic this made him feel. Eilis was quiet for a moment before suggesting “Not sure.. it’s all been a blur really.. I upped my Adam intake for a bit, that might have something to do with it…”. “Why the hell would you to do that?” Martin almost chuckled as they stopped, resisting a snort at the fact Frank Fontaine had a zen garden. It was like some sick joke.

“Ryan.” Was the only answer she gave before Eilis went quiet again, swallowing hard as her nose wrinkled, resisting the urge to tell him everything; about the big daddies, Ryan’s drastic changes, her guilt, what would happen to Mick if she stepped out of line, Atlas, Tadgh… deciding to test the waters, for her own sanity’s sake, she queried  “if you had the chance to bring Tadgh back, would you?..”. He looked back at her as he kept the door open, “love, you’ve asked me that question a lot recently. My answer is still the same”. “I have?..” she looked so tired and confused in that moment, making him sigh in defeat and answer her again “you kept scribbling it down on pieces of paper. Look, of course I would. No matter the means, but that ain’t an option yet”. Guilt whelmed up into what felt like a solid mass in Eilis’ chest, it almost made her knees buckle as she took a sharp breath and walk past him “just checking… memory’s a little spotty” being hit with a whole new emotion when she entered the apartment.

It was another round of sickeningly sweet nostalgia, tainted by the horror of memory. She swore she could still see Frank mixing drinks while teasing her before beckoning her up the stairs. She must have stood there for a few minutes because when she became aware again, Martin was taking her pile of personal items from her arms, staring at the beat up accu-vox tape on top of it. “You need a detox, Ryan will let you off for medical, won’t he?” He told her softly, she just shook her head, not being able to form words. After disappearing for a minute to place the items on her bed, Martin returned with the tape very obviously in his pocket, patting her shoulder “take it easy tonight, I’ll try distract the old crackpot. You need some alone time” getting a steady pace as he went to leave.

“Martin?..” Eilis called out to him quietly, not getting a response but hearing his footsteps stop, “Be careful with that tape… it’s all we have.. I want it back”. His footsteps quickly continued and then she was alone.

The apartment hadn’t been touched since the last day Frank was there. There was a whiskey glass by an open bottle with a few drops left, like he’d intended to come back and drink more. His cigars were open with matches strewn across the coffee table from what she could only assume was his last smoke, a jacket abandoned on the coatrack, never to be worn again. She continued to wander through the apartment, finding more little bits of evidence of what her lover had done on his last day. The cues for his pool table had been replaced, Eilis remembering she’d accidentally broken one after falling off the table and trying to catch herself. There was definitely rotting food in the kitchen but her stomach was already upset from all of these heavy emotions, she didn’t need to deal with that right now. Strolling across his little bridge between his game room and private office, she sank into his chair as she flicked through documents, chuckling to herself at all the ridiculous ad campaigns he had, a lot were oddly sultry, but she understood it. Sex sells.

After laying her head on the desk for a moment to collect herself, she lifted it to see his little bookshelf door to his private bathysphere station was still open a crack. Which was weird. He was always so sure about shutting it. Pushing her chair back quietly, the Pavlov fog approached it, shotgun in hand. Pulling the door open with her foot so she could keep both hands on her gun, she quietly crept in. Inside was just what she expected, now with the addition of some crabs shutting across the metal floors, hiding from the light. Propped up by the wall, just shy of the bathysphere itself was to objects covered in tarps. One was small while the other was obviously much larger. She ripped them off and found two paintings, one that had disappeared from Cohen’s library all those months ago and the larger one was one she had never seen before.

The smaller one was the one depicting her like she’d just ripped some man’s throat out with her teeth, looking down on the observer like they were said victim. Creepy but Frank always did seem oddly attracted to her being bloody.

The larger one was a depiction of her naked, just posing delicately in a way she remembered, but she sure as hell wasn’t naked. Infact she was never naked around Cohen, even when he was painting her and he asked. Just like the painting he’d done for Ryan, that she now realised as a not so subtle warning of Frank’s demise, he got everything accurate, obviously minus one or two new scars. She found herself absentmindedly touching at her lip again, furrowing her brows and noticing how they felt slightly different. “Liar…” she mumbled, almost wishing she could hear him give some sort of snarky reply, but no such luck. With a snap of her fingers they were up in flames, burning into strange melted chunks due to the dampness of the room, but they were gone. That’s all that mattered.

Not even acknowledging how strange it was that the apartment was dust free despite being empty for a little over a year, Eilis snatched a bottle of gin and some retinentia Frank had never opened from his desk, making her way to his bathroom, quickly drawing herself a hot bath that she felt was well deserved. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a bath apart from that strange spa day with Jasmine, though she didn’t think that counted. Getting her hair into a knot at the top of her head, she starred at herself in the mirror for a minute. She could barely stand to look at herself.

It wasn’t that she thought she was ugly, she didn’t see herself as pretty but ugly? No.

It was just how tired she looked, the stark difference from the surface, that large scar on her stomach that now haunted her waking thoughts of when it would be carved open again when Ryan finally got impatient, sullying her brother’s memory because he can’t live with his own choices. Breaking her eyes away from her own line of sight, she sunk into the hot water with a happy sigh, flicking off the cap of the gin bottle before pouring about a pints worth down her throat, pretending not to notice the sting. She hummed softly to herself, hoping the alcohol would quiet her thoughts.

After just enjoying the warmth relaxing her aching muscles and ignoring the sharp pains she got from her open and messily stitched wounds hitting the hot water, she lightly felt around for the container of retinentia she’d left on the edge. She wondered, as she found the cold tin and brought it to her chest, if she’d stopped taking the Adam for some reason? Had Ryan stopped supplying her with it? Or was there a different reason?... Popping open the tin with her thumb, she stared at the little pink adam infused orbs, making a promise to herself she wasn’t touching adam again, if she had the choice, after tonight. Tonight she was in her new apartment, reminiscing and trying to bury her emotions with drink, before guests apparently arrived whenever they chose to. She may as well go off the deep end if she was already hanging off the edge by her fingertips. She threw the entire container back, swallowing most of them and ignoring the slight pop the few renaming made when she tried to close her mouth fully. Thank fuck these things never go off. Allowing herself to sink deeper into the water, keeping her head just above water enough for her nose to be able to get air, she just let the drug do it’s work.

She opened her eyes to find herself getting ready in the mirror that had been directly beside her, glaring at herself in the dress she’d worn. “táim cosúil le fraochÚn…” she fretted, the red lipstick wasn’t helping. Frank appeared behind her with warm and familiar hands snaking up her side as he kissed at the back of her neck, pushing away the hair she’d so delicately curled and placed. “Don’t you look like a million bucks? Ryan probably wouldn’t recognise you if he saw” he cooed, almost dragging a smile out of her as she swatted him away, but he didn’t move. “This fulfilling that trophy wife fantasy of yours yet? Or do I need to add a fur coat” Eilis wondered as she turned to try and escape his grip, only to be pinned against the bathroom counter, now facing him. He had this hungry look in his eyes that made her hair stand on end from anticipation as his hand came up to her cheek, asking “you think he’d recognise you?”. “Oh definitely” Eilis replied as she pulled his hand off her face to kiss it, leaving a little trail of red lipstick along his knuckles, “if he squinted”.

“This your version of a hickey?” He chuckled, his lover shrugging as she casually applied more like she wasn’t aware they weren’t going to make it to dinner this time. With a quick push she was now sitting at the  edge of the sink, Frank’s hand slipping under her dress and up her thigh as he got in between her legs, going for her neck with what almost sounded like a growl of “fuck dinner, I’m hungry for something sweeter…”. Eilis let her eyes shut as she enjoyed it, trailing her hand up his back and to his head, till she felt hair. She froze, opening her eyes to see the scenery had changed, so had her clothes. She was now in that restroom with Stienmen marking her up like a surgical candidate. Her panic of not wanting to be dragged back to that memory out of all of them, threw her back to the present, the water almost sloshing out of the bath with how quickly she sat up, washing away the urge to puke with another swig of gin. Rubbing at her eyes, which were starting to ache, she flinched when she was shocked.

Seeing a strange mixture of two plasmids coursing through her veins, she decided being both boiled alive and electrocuted to death was not how she wanted to die and got out, abandoning the water to drain later. Leaving a wet trail of footprints behind her, she lit the fire with a quick snap of her fingers, twitching involuntarily from the light shocks her body was giving her. Ignoring her items piled up on the bed, she went over to Frank’s closet, rummaging around till she found one of his smoking jackets, putting it on over her underwear to lounge in. It was her private apartment right? She deserved to be comfortable. After sitting in front of the fire for a moment and getting flashing childhood memories she didn’t find important enough to fully acknowledge, she was suddenly brought back to her holding onto her brother’s hands rightly as he smiled sympathetically at her.

“We’ll only be gone for the weekend, you can keep everything running while we’re gone, can’t you?” He chuckled softly in that voice she was desperate to hear again. “I know… I’ll be fine I just-..” Eilis began but went quiet as she went to see how far away Ryan was before whispering “an bhfuil tú cinnte go bhfuil sé seo sábháilte? This whole.. underwater utopia bollocks. You don’t actually believe in his ramblings, do you?”.

Tadgh looked more serious than she’d seen him since they left home, giving her hands a squeeze as he insisted “I do. It’ll all turn out perfect, you’ll see. I’ll bring you back something from Iceland”. Eilis must have just given off the energy that she didn’t believe in him, since Ryan picked up on it, calling after her brother from a limo window “Thomas! We have a schedule to keep” before slinking back in to the warmth. With a huff that turned into vapour in the cold spring air, Tadgh kissed the top of his sister’s hair and gave her a supportive smile “Mo ghrá thú. Don’t burn down the company while we’re gone” he let go of her after saying that, already being the car by the time she could mumble out “love you too..”.

As soon as reality took its grip again, Eilis was on her feet and back in the bathroom, throwing up into the sink, hissing from the burning in her throat, answering her question of if she’d thrown up recently. Worlds swirled around her head in aching echoes as she tried to ground herself.

Of course I would, no matter the means.

She isn’t the son I had in you

A true son of rapture!

It’s just as much your fault as it is mine.

“Shut up!” She screamed, barely opening her hand in time as she swing for the mirror, not wanting to break it. Washing down the burning agony with cold water before splashing some on her face and cleaning the sink, she straighten her spine to see her two unwanted hallucinatory guests behind her. The man made eye contact with her through the reflection, musing “I was right”.

“About?” His identical female companion chimed in.

“Raindrop.” He replied simply, “or have you seen any corpses I am unaware of?”.

“We have seen corpses caused by her. Many” She reminded him.

“Collateral. None would quantify your butterfly hypothesis. Lives, lived, will live” the man rolled his wrist as he adjusted his cuffs. Before his identical twin of sorts could reply, Eilis cut her off “you two have to be the chattiest and most persistent Adam hallucinations I’ve ever heard of.. you’re even here when I’m sober.. or have I gone mad?..” the last part was mainly to herself, yet the woman took it as an excuse to tease in her usual monotone way of speaking “mad? No. Insane? Quiet possibly. You are the farthest thing from sober currently.”.

“Though she has a point. Are we hallucinations or simply observers to a greater crisis? Like zoologist prodding at a lion waiting to see if it will snap or protect its cubs” The man sighed as he made notes in a journal that just came out of nowhere, appearing when Eilis blinked before burying her head in her hands. Trying to enjoy the quiet second she’d finally been given while they thought up another clever quip, her silent heaven was interrupted by the sound of someone playing on the pool table in the game room, the balls clacking off eachother filling the empty apartment. “She certainly didn’t imagine that” The woman pointed out, the two being gone when the Pavlov dog raised her head properly to look.

Eilis semi-calmly grabbed her shotgun, barely resisting her body’s twitches as her adam high finally started to die down and her plasmids went away, creeping across the bridge between Frank’s office and his game room, cocking her shotgun and aiming it as soon as the door opened. Atlas stood there with the bastard who’d smashed her head against the wall, his name was Lonnie or something along those lines from her memory, though she wasn’t 100% she could trust it anymore. 

“So, do you greet everyone in your underwear with a shotgun, or are you just happy to see me darlin?” Atlas teased as he took his next shot, smirking when Eilis checked to make sure she was covered, she was. Lonnie used this to try and grab her gun, which ended in her batting his hand away with it and aiming it at his head till he backed away. “Get the fuck out of my home” Eilis demanded, her voice still raspy from puking, “we’ve been here a few hours, love. You didn’t mind me being here a few minutes ago” Atlas smirked at her as he flashed the muddled purple blotches on one side of his neck. “I have no clue who gave you those but I can promise if it’s me I will gladly get rid of them for you right now” The Pavlov dog warned, keeping her aim on Lonnie since he was the only one she saw as an actual threat.

“I just want to talk, your old man directed me here and there wasn’t a doorbell. So we invited ourselves in” Atlas shrugged as he approached Eilis like he was sure she wouldn’t shoot him “what will old Mickey think if you shoot me, hm? Or are we aiming to please Daddy Ryan lately? Dear old dad’s feelin very neglected”. Eilis sucked her teeth at his statement, shooting Lonnie, causing Atlas to almost jump back. The large man fell back, hitting his head off a bar stool and knocking himself unconscious, but there was no blood.

“It was only an electro buck. Fucking dramatic cúl tóna” she scoffed, lightly stepping over Lonnie, giving him a jab in the side with her shotgun to be sure he was out before slinging it on her shoulder and approaching the pool table. “I’m going to give you till we finish this game to explain yourself before I leave you worse than your mate and dump you by the docks for the cats to pick at” the Pavlov dog’s eyes looked oddly dark in that moment, you could almost not even see her strange speckles as she picked up the cue and casually prepped a game for herself.

“I wanted to to talk to you. You’ve been very difficult the last couple of months, so I needed to assure myself your still on my side when we pull our latest stunt” Atlas began to explain, watching Eilis make her break and cautiously watching for the first balls that fell. She was solids. Giving him a slight glance as she changed her position to shoot again, showing she was listening, he continued “I heard you were talking again so I came to be sure…” he was watching her every move like a hawk, absently and methodically tapping his fingers off the pistol he had in his pocket “We almost have an army of people at this point. We’re going to head off Ryan’s men in the department store. They closed it because of a leak or something”. A vague, adam tainted memory came back of Ryan discussing with Sullivan about some sort of false leak plan to deal with the ‘parasites’. It was a trap. This caused her to fudge her shot, making her straighten her spine and ask “is Mick going with you?” Offering her unwanted guest the cue, trying not to let her eyes fall on the twins staring at her from the couch, making detailed notes as she spoke.

“No. He’s staying back so he can keep his head above water. Rather selfish if you ask me” The false Irish man hummed as he took the cue, snorting a laugh at Eilis’ response of “I didn’t ask you, did I?”. “I’m free to call a man selfish if I’d like. I’ve spent more time with him than you lately, I’d almost say I know him more than you” he mused, about to make his shot when Eilis sat on the edge of the billiard table, right by his hand. She gave him a look that said she doubted him, resting a finger on the cue ball and rolling it around, “I wouldn’t say that. I’m sure I know more than you, and he barely tells me a thing” she defended herself, rolling the white ball away, completely ruining the perfect shot Atlas naturally had. Another wave of memory hit from the retinentia, and she was reminded of Frank again. Her eyes fell on Atlas’ neck. She couldn’t tell if the hickeys were fresh or not, was he lying or was he telling the truth? In all honestly his answer was going to determine whether she knocked his teeth out, so she had to know.

The feeling of butterflies in her stomach from the flashing memories of Frank wasn’t helping her remain serious as she asked him, using a more genuine tone than he ever expected to hear from this conversation, “did I really give you those?”.

Atlas hesitated, which he wasn’t at all used to doing, calmly replying “no.. what? You think I’m some sick pervert that takes advantage of a woman not in her right mind?”. “That’s the thing, mate” Eilis sighed, flinching when she closed her and a flash of Steinmen practically on top of her came to mind, ruining the strange euphoria she’d had from remembering Frank, feeling Atlas’ hand come to hers for comfort. It was nice. “I don’t know you.” She finally finished, giving him this tired smile as her nose bled, but it wasn’t blood, it was adam. He could smell it from here. He wiped it away with his thumb and watched as she stopped herself from leaning into his touch. He almost cracked his teeth resisting a smirk.

“Maybe that’s a good thing” he shrugged slightly “no reason to get attached”. The two were getting closer as the seconds passed, even if it was slightly involuntary. The Pavlov dog whispered “Ryan will kill you, ya know..”, Atlas look amused, tempted to make a comment on how the old fuck had already failed at that, instead he said “then give me something good to remember before the bullet hits” taking her lips in as soft of a kiss as he could muster.

It could have just been the retinentia still in her system but something about all of this felt so familiar, so like Frank that she just melted, letting her mind imagine it was so. Like none of the last year or so had even happened, it was all some horrible nightmare and she was currently wrapped up in Frank’s arms, having one last session before they split apart again for another few weeks to save face. For this purpose, she kept her eyes shut, just letting her body react out of instinct, as it would have with Frank. A kiss wouldn’t hurt, it couldn’t, right?

Atlas sliding a hand under her smoking jacket and around her frame, he deepened the kiss, a chuckle rumbling from the back of his throat when she responded just as eagerly. He’d like to think she was imagining him, how he before all this revolutionary bullshit, and his thoughts were confirmed as he went at her neck and she let out a breathless “Frank..”. That just got him going immediately. Getting his hands under her thighs he picked her up and quickly tumbled them onto one of his velvet lounge couches, making sure she’d have to wear that damned turtle neck for weeks. He tried to continue his trailing hands, seeing how far he could go and if he could get her to let out anymore of that little fantasy she was obviously imagining for herself, only for her to grab one of his wrists before it trailed too low.

She opened her eyes to look at him, smiling softly as she teased “not yours to touch, mate”. Letting out a huff, he planted his hands by her head and asked “who’s allowed to touch then?”. She shrugged “no one. Not even you”. Eilis looked so smug in that moment as she calmly fixed the smoking jacket so she was covered, draping her arms back over his shoulders and playing with his hair, wondering “you not worried about your friend?”. “I wouldn’t say friend” Atlas closed his eyes to enjoy it for a moment, only stopping for a second to glance over at Lonnie to be sure he wasn’t dead, since his large ass would be a pain to get out of here, but he was starting to wake up so he was fine. “You’re so strange… you have a face I want to kiss and beat the life out of at the same time” Eilis hummed as she kissed him lightly before laying back down “let’s make a deal, hm?”.

“Thought you hated deals” Atlas tilted his head as he watched her tug him down, sitting on the edge of the couch beside him as she spoke, not wanting to feel intimidated when she was the one making arrangements, “prove to me your little revolution is actually going to do something and I’ll let you do what ever you like the next time I have to see your oddly handsome gob” she grabbed him by his chin and wiggled it slightly. He grabbed her by her wrist but she didn’t let go, just whispering oddly close to his face “we have a deal?”. He had to hold in a smirk again, almost impressed she was using his own old tricks against him, and they were fucking working. “I believe we do, Ms Donovan” he answered, getting slicked in the nose when she finally released his chin “it’s Eilis to you mate, I’m not your neighbour”.

Atlas pushed himself into a sitting position with his elbows, admiring how dark the hickeys he’d left were getting as he wondered aloud “how you gonna hide those from Ryan?”. Eilis kept her back to him, staring at nothing in particular, raising a hand to rub at her nose when it started to bleed Adam again, muttering “lie and say they’re from stienmen, he’ll probably believe me. Man isn’t in his right mind..”. “You little minx” Atlas chuckled, but when he saw her face it gave a much different reaction than he’d expected.

The Pavlov dog had this look of shame on her face, mixed a confused brow and a sickly complexion as she pressed a knuckle against her nostril to stop the adam, her hands were shaking slightly. The revolutionary put a comforting arm around her shoulders, “They’re writin about you in the papers again, ya know” he commented to distract her, now noticing Lonnie was conscious and nursing his concussion with vodka in the other corner of the room. “Really?… what are they saying now?..” Eilis hummed, barely turning her head to look at him. “Nothing much… just photos and opinions of people that don’t matter. You’ve garnered quite the reputation. Though you had one already of course, it’s just icing on the cake at this point isn’t it love?” That actually got a slight laugh out of her as she nestled her head on his shoulder, turning her focus to a painting on the wall. They stayed like that for a minute, Eilis starting to drift off as the energy the Adam had given her continued to drip out of her face like an all too familiar leak in her old apartment, the memory of the damp made her shiver. But Atlas was so warm, and his calloused hands felt oddly soft in that moment, she would have fallen asleep if he hadn’t lifted her head up by her chin and started to speak.

She stared at his face sleepily as he did so, but none of his words registered. “What?..” she groaned. His eyebrows furrowed as he guided her head closer, as if the issue was she didn’t hear him, repeating “why don’t you come with me? Screw Ryan and this whole damn place, after this we’ll have rapture free and for the people. Not for those who fall into his idea of human. That way I can prove our cause is true every bloody second”. Eilis hummed in acknowledgment, sighing an answer when Atlas refused to let her put her head back down “I’m not giving up my job for a plan that isn’t guaranteed to work.. I’ll switch sides when it’s obvious whoever’s winning…”.

“And who’s winning in the eyes of the Pavlov dog? Ryan?” Atlas asked harshly, barely holding his bronx accent from slipping out in his annoyance. “Neither. I both hate & adore you both equally for several ironically fucked up reasons I’m too tired to care about.. you worry about not dying and I’ll worry about keepin my end of our little deal… thing.. shite” Eilis’ words started to melt together as she tried to just allow herself to fall asleep in the position she was in. Before Atlas could demand clarity, the sound of several people entering the apartment made all three of them go silent, Lonnie pulling out a pistol he had in his jacket.

“Ellie darling! Come down! It’s rude to leave your guests waiting!” Cohen’s shrill voice caused Atlas’ eye to twitch. Eilis was off him before he even knew what was happening, gesturing for him to get up as she threw on a record, shouting over it “I’ll be down in a minute!”. She dragged Atlas to his feet by his sleeve, which he obviously didn’t appreciate, quietly demanding they follow her back over to the catwalk, whispering “there’s a private bathysphere station here, take it and don’t you dare mention it to a single feckin soul” focusing more on the false revolutionary than his larger friend, the smaller of the two cocked an eyebrow, feigning ignorance about this secret bathysphere dock he knew very well about. Lonnie followed them quietly, half tempted to shoot her in the back of the head, throw her over the bannister and leave, like a little message for Ryan that he was next, but he couldn’t do anything without Atlas’ say so. Just as they were at the end of the catwalk, it being a miracle the floorboards hasn’t creaked since the record playing on full volume was muffled by the closed doors, Eilis shoved the two inside as she saw someone approaching the stair.

A familiar southern drawl called “Ellie! Hun I’m makin drinks, what can I get you?”. Sinclair rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for a response, only having agreed to make drinks so Cohen didn’t throw a hissy fit and go up to scream at the poor girl. “I’m grand, can I just have five minutes!” She shouted back before disappearing behind the door to Frank’s private office, accidentally leaving Sinclair startled by how the direction of her voice changed.

What the hell was that girl doing?

He glanced back at the several people currently at the ground floor of this much too big apartment, eyes searching for his personal bodyguard. Cohen was forcing the youngest of his disciples to hold a mirror while he fixed his makeup, the others already wandering off towards the cigars, Frank’s once  private stash from the surface, cuban he believed. Miracle they hadn’t been stolen until now. Leaning against the entrance door was that mysterious young woman Cohen had by his hip lately, he hadn’t been given a name but she didn’t look like she wanted to be here. Finally his eyes fell on Mick who was judging the big gaudy bear Frank had at the centre of his staircase, from afar. With a sharp whistle and a beckoning finger, Mick was quickly at his side, querying “something wrong love?” worry dominating his features when he saw his lover’s confusion. Sinclair put a soft hand on his arm as he requested “Mickey, would you be a doll and check on her? That girl is bouncin around like an anxious horse at a derby and sounds like she’s hidin somethin”.

Mick was suspicious but simply nodded, quickly going up the game room stairs and softly calling out for his child as he knocked on the door. Getting no answer or assuming he couldn’t hear it over the record on full blast, he only became more worried when the door opened to show someone had obviously sat in furniture, a bottle of vodka with an undrunken shotglass and an unfinished game of pool were all that remained of his child’s presence. Lightly flicking the tonearm off the record so he could hear, he called out a little louder “Eilis?”, unaware that sound of his voice causes her to audibly curse as she pulled open the hidden door to the bathysphere station. “Go.” She ordered, Atlas giving her one more reminder of “Fontaine’s department store. Noon.” And he was gone along with his henchmen, Eilis pushing the door shut, slipping out of the office and into the bedroom before her father could enter. “Not a hope in hell…” She sighed, rubbing at her face out of stress as she went into the bedroom, not even wanting to think about all the consequences she would be hit with at the speed of a freight train if she even dared set a foot near that event without orders from Ryan, especially since he was obviously very aware of it.

She didn’t know why she’d offered what she did to Atlas, she didn’t love him, but something about the way he held her was just so… Frank-like? That didn’t made any sense. But that was what her brain rationalised it as. He’d probably be dead within the week. His poor wife and child… though he didn’t seem to fully care about them anyway.

With a huff, after finding some clean clothes she started to throw them on she took a deep breath to prepared for Mick, hearing his footsteps approach rather quickly, followed by him continuing to call out her name. When the door slid open she shrieked so loud even the other guests heard her, causing Mick to clasp a hand over his eyes out of a panicked fatherly instinct, blurring out an “ÍOSA CRÍOST! ceart, cac, faraor! ifreann fuilteach cén fáth nach bhfuil glais ag doirse ar bith anseo ... you alright darlin?..”. “Yes. Fucking Christ, Can I not have five minutes to myself?” Eilis answered, keeping up the annoyed act so he’d leave which he promptly did after putting up a hand as an apology and turning around, taking the long way.

Rubbing at her temples and debating if electrocuting herself to death in the bath was such a bad idea now, she finally got back on some proper clothes, fixing her sweater, making sure her neck was covered before sliding back on her ring and that lovely single pearl necklace she hadn’t worn in so long. She was tempted to throw back on the smoking jacket, just for comfort, but there was no point since this would probably go on for a while and by the time they were gone or either passed out drunk, she’d have to leave to be at Ryan’s by 4 am. She folded Frank’s smoking jacket delicately, only now realising it still smelt like him before finally joining her guests downstairs.

“Sorry, I expected all of you here much, much later” She laughed slightly, resisting a frown when Martin gave her a worried look and said “we’re actually late, love, it’s eleven o’clock at night”. Her sense of time was still damaged, great. Just great. She made a mental note to keep an eye on the clock. “Is it?… ah… well anyway, welcome.” She gestured around her vaguely at her home, offering “Can I get anyone drinks or has Augustus sorted you all out?” Most of them nodded, Eilis refusing to make eye in fact with Mick, as she could practically feel the worry radiating off him. She tried to be as host- like and well put together as possible, trying desperately to ignore that her hallucinatory friends hadn’t gone away and were moving to wherever she turned her head each time she blinked. “No one? We sure?… right then, I’ll just go sort myself and I’ll be-“ she tried to excuse herself till the only one of her guests she didn’t recognise raised her hand ever so slightly.

“martini.” She ordered calmly. “Alright… I’ll um.. I’ll go grab you one, love” Eilis smiled as she hastily left to back to the bar, trying to take a moment to reign herself in. She crouched down behind it, almost curling up as she had to wipe her face clean again, resist the urge to puke and not acknowledge the rising agony that was fully her body much faster than she would have liked. She hadn’t realise her unknown guest had followed her until she asked “are you alright?”. Eilis raised her head, quickly standing up to be at eye level with the woman, glaring at the twins as they muttered to each other “obviously not”, “what an astute observation, dear brother”.

“Shut. Up.” She hissed through gritted teeth, her guest apparently surprised by her speaking to no one. Eilis went to apologise, going to think of an excuse on the spot, until she watch as the woman looked directly at them, then to her and whispered “you can see them too?”. The Pavlov didn’t answer, instead asking a question of her own “who are you?”.

“Elizabeth. Elizabeth Comstock.”.

Chapter Text

“And you can see them?…” Eilis kept her voice barely louder than a whisper, glancing at the identical man & woman who were apparently not cruel figments of her imagination or Adam driven hallucinations. “We only let those see us who we believe necessary. And recently we’ve discovered you are one of those few” the woman clarified, Elizabeth swallowing audible as she composed herself, glancing into the other room to be sure the others were preoccupied before leaning on the bar to have their conversation more private. “They’re… special.” She began, glancing at the Luteces for clarity, the brother giving her a stern look like it was a warning.

“But… I amnt quite sure why…” Elizabeth lied, being lucky Eilis was mildly intrigued by the fact she could infact see the twins, because if she wasn’t and was lying to mock her, not even Cohen would be able to protect her from his Eilis usually reacted to strangers who dared to do that. “Really?… fancy that…” the Pavlov dog shrugged, starting to make her martini for added noise as she tried to catch the woman out.

Maybe Eilis had whispered about it in her sleep or something and someone took it and ran with it, maybe this woman was a good liar, Eilis didn’t know “odd that they’re dressed so strangely isn’t it? I always thought green suits looked so unflattering on most bodies. Especially in that shade, dear god”.

Elizabeth looked bewildered, calmly muttering “green suits? They don’t.. have.. green suits”. Eilis smirked slightly, winking at her to let her know she was only teasing as she continued to shake the drink. “That’s a very cruel thing to do, you know, lie to someone who’s on your side…” Elizabeth tapped her nails nervously off the polished marble while she watched Eilis prepare her drink, the woman glancing at her sceptically every so often. To keep her story straight, Elizabeth threw in “I don’t think Cohen would appreciate it. We’re rather close, and he doesn’t like liars”.

“You’re one to talk. You yourself are a horrendous liar” Eilis snorted a laugh as she poured Elizabeth’s drink, dropping her voice to a whisper “I lived with him for a long time, darlin. I know exactly how to get that man on my side. You don’t know a thing about him bar his temperament”. Plopping an olive in it since she assumed that’s just what you were supposed to do, she passed her guest the drink, going to look at the twins but they were gone. She scoffed in annoyance, “if you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong with them, that’s fine. But the fact you can see them is enough for me not to pry it out of you. Currently.” she remained calm while she poured herself some of Frank’s good whiskey before walking around the bar, speaking at a normal volume since she wasn’t worried about being heard anymore “I thought you’d be a man”.

Elizabeth looked confused, “why?”. Eilis pointed at Cohen’s four disciples, the poor bastards, and informed her “those lads? Cohen’s sleeping with them. He always does with his disciples. He picks men that he likes. So, naturally when he said he had a new one I expected you to be a man.” She couldn’t hide her amusement when Elizabeth grimaced, wondering “do they have a choice?”. Her smirk dropped when she asked that question, not really knowing what to answer. Not wanting her silence to be noticed, Eilis changed the subject “what brought you to rapture?”.

“Same thing that brought everyone, I suppose” Elizabeth hummed, not prepared when Eilis chuckled “tax evasion?”.

“What?.. no… I’m looking for a man” Elizabeth clarified, only making Eilis laugh more “oh, you’re in the wrong feckin city for that, darlin”.

“Not like that.” The young woman sighed, rubbing at her choker slightly when an idea came to mind, “Do you know anyone named Booker Dewitt?”.

Eilis shrugged while she sipped at her whiskey, she’d honestly only heard of him through Sullivan and if she ever had physically met the man, she didn’t find him impactful enough to remember vividly. “I do, but not well. Let’s see.. Alcoholic, absolutely shit at poker, shitty detective, always has a sort of five o’clock shadow like his hair can’t grow past that point. Ringing any bells or are there two bastards with that name?”.

Elizabeth held onto her nerve, ignoring the urge to rush off and find the man right this second, asking “where can I find him?”. “His office is in the tobacco district, Cohen has a club there near the jewellers. Has his name on the door and everything. Can’t miss it” taking a quick sip of whiskey Eilis made sure to warn her “I wouldn’t hire him though, he couldn’t find water in the ocean” but the strange woman was obviously done listening, giving a hum of a response before walking back inside to Cohen, standing there silently while she sipped at her drink like she was thinking about something. Eilis wondered why this woman was so odd, almost convincing herself they hadn’t had a conversation at all, maybe she’d hallucinated the whole thing. Sighing through her nose she followed her in, smiling politely at Cohen when he stared at her for a moment before sitting beside Sinclair.

“How you doin hun?” He asked softly, teasing “it’s boiling in here, why you dressed for snow?”. “No reason. Just cold. Probably the adam shakes” Eilis lied, stretching slightly, “you really need to work on that shit, I’ve never had a bad reaction for this long. It’s been almost twelve hours and it’s not stopping.”. When he didn’t answer her, she stopped mid stretch to look at him, and he was just confused. “What are you on about, love?” Mick chimed in, leaving Eilis just as bewildered. “The adam you and Ryan’s companies made together. He’s had me taking it for months, that’s why I’ve been so off” she reminded him, but quickly became aware it was new information to the two men. “Hun. Ryan and I haven’t collaborated on anything since ‘56.” Sinclair’s tone was stern, he started to chew at the end of his cigar to cope with his nerves.

“cé mhéad atá tógtha agat?” Mick asked, half glaring at the back of Martin’s head when he saw him perk up slightly, obviously listening. “Níl a fhios agam.” Eilis insisted, but Mick wasn’t taking that for an answer. Eilis turned back to Sinclair, trying to be certain that he understood her and what she was walking about. A year long gap in her memory was a long span of time for something else to have happened. “Augustus, do you remember when you and Ryan had that unwanted guest during a meeting last year?” The Pavlov dog stated with a slight frown, staying as vague as possible since she knew there was a certain someone definitely listening who would tell everyone about what they were talking about, and it wasn’t Martin. “Then. That is the last clear day I have in memory.”.

“a ghrá, cén fáth nár dhúirt tú liom?” Mick looked devastated, his child didn’t even look at him as she replied “ní mise go díreach a bhí ionam, a dhaid, conas a d’fhéadfainn?”. “Could you two talk in a language I can understand so we can deal with this?” Sinclair snapped, watching in annoyed silence as Eilis got up and left, not wanting to be yelled at for something she had a slight suspicion Sinclair was aware of, and his reactions weren’t doing anything to douse her suspicions. The southerner pinched the bridge of his nose to compose himself and took a deep breath before just pointing the way she went, letting Mick now he was free to go follow her. Before he stepped out of the room he called after him “Mickey. Make sure she knows I ain’t lying, I don’t want to be seen as snake in her eyes when she goes again.”. Mick had to resist a glare trying to dominate his features as he continued after Eilis, following her up the stairs and into her private bathroom. She’d thrown up again and was currently trying to drown the evidence.

“Eilis.. I’m worried about ya darlin.. you aren’t telling me things and they’re eating at you, I can tell. You have the same little tells as your mam” Mick tried to put a supportive hand over hers, but she snatched it away and visibly grimaced and shivered from the mere idea of being touched, pacing away from him as she braided her hair messily behind her.

After a few painful moments of quiet, the only sound being Eilis’ pacing, she finally said “I can’t. Because if I do I’ll lose you. And I refuse to do that”. “I amnt going anywhere, I already promised you that. Besides Sin would never-” Mick began to speak, keeping his tone soft but he stopped when she almost shrieked “you don’t have a choice in this!… just let me do this for you, god dammit!… I don’t even know if I can trust Sin right now…”. Visibly starting to shake again, Eilis balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath, stating “I’m going to Ryan. May as well start the shift early so I can come home and sleep..”.

“You’re in no state to work” Mick put a firm hand on her shoulder to stop her, pressing his other to her forehead. She was tacky and practically burning up. “C’mon, change into something lighter. Your going to pass out from the heat” he urged, going to pull down the high neck of her turtleneck so she could be cooler, but she batted his hand away, whispering “please don’t touch me. I don’t want to be touched right now…”. Another deep shakey breath later, she gave him a look that told him she was sorry but she couldn’t verbalise it. “If I get changed, will you let me leave and deal with Cohen for me?.. please..” she begged, not being able to look her own father in the eye. He reached a gentle hand down to hers, Eilis forcing herself not to flinch away as he held them.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Will this make you feel better?” He asked quietly, having the feeling someone was listening in. Eilis just nodded, he sighed “alright…” giving her a kind smile before leaving, finding Cohen leaning by the main entrance to the bedroom. “You two are horrible for gossip, it’s either some Irish tongue or whispers I can’t hear” he scoffed, walking back down the stairs with Mick close at his heels. Cohen actually halted when he heard the Irish man say “learn to mind your own feckin business and maybe Ryan wouldn’t have gotten sick of you so soon” skipping the last few steps to get back to their other guests.

Eilis came down a few minutes later, shotgun on her back, loaded with proper ammo. She’d put on a loose shirt, liking how she felt like she could breath more but still being self conscious of her neck. She rolled the single pearl necklace Frank and gifted her between her fingers as she trotted down the steps, throwing a knitted shawl she had but hadn’t worn in almost a decade over her shoulders, hiding her neck. She made eye contact with her father as she left, forcing a smile and waving with her fingers, noticing Cohen was glaring daggers at him. She could only hope he made an excuse for her and not just standing there in silence, but it looked like an argument had just finished. Sinclair had linked arms with him in a way that he couldn’t lung at someone while still giving a casual appearance, while Cohen’s disciples were crowded close to him to keep him calm.

She probably shouldn’t be leaving, but she felt like her organs were rotting out and at least if she passed out with Ryan then she’d be taken for medical attention without it spreading like wild fire across rapture. She didn’t give a damn about gossip anymore, but people thinking she was sick and getting weaker would make her job more stressful than it had already become. Eilis was at Ryan’s office within the hour, looking forward to nursing her pain with warm brandy while she waited for him to wake up since she had a few hours before he was supposed to be conscious. Sadly she found him sitting in his chair, chin propped up on his fingers.

He looked mildly surprised but amused to see her, casually musing “you’re early”. “Got sick of the apartment and Stienmen… I was going to heat up some brandy while you slept, would you like some?” She offered, hoping he’d believe her lies and of question her neck, which she couldn’t stop rubbing at. She wasn’t sure if the burning in her throat was from the chemical burns of adam or the urge to ask him what the hell he’d done. “Yes… that would be nice. Thank you.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair, not in the mood to talk to her about whatever she’d obviously been doing before. He watched as Eilis lay her shotgun on the floor by his desk before disappearing for a minute, coming back with two glasses of brandy she was heating up with her incinerate plasmid before handing it to him, Ryan taking his by the rim as it was the coolest part. They drank together in comfortable silence, neither truly knowing what to talk about while being heavily aware they were both here and awake for their own reasons. Deciding to strike up a conversation, Ryan commented “that shawl. It’s familiar, have you worn it before?”.

“Not in front of you, I don’t think” Eilis’ brow furrowed as she finished her brandy, “my grandmother gave it to me. I used to wear it a lot in New York but I don’t think I did around you, I thought you would have found it unprofessional.”. Ryan cocked an eyebrow “and you don’t think I find it unprofessional now?”. Without fully meaning to, Eilis snarkily replied “you’ve been drugging me to the point of being mentally comatose the last year, I don’t really give a damn about your opinion on my fashion choices right now..”.

Her blood ran cold when she realised what she said, cursing adam for making her forget how to keep her thoughts to herself. But for once she was lucky, as the pain of a memory long forgotten distracted Ryan from his anger. “You did wear it before… Sullivan brought it for you when you were recovering from surgery. You wouldn’t even let the nurses take it off” his tone was oddly remorseful, Eilis holding back a sigh of relief as her muscles relaxed. “I’m assuming from your silence you don’t remember that” her employer commented, making her realised she hadn’t given him a reply. “I don’t. Or maybe I’ve just chosen to forget. We both do that often, don’t we Andrei?” Rubbing the soft materiel of the shawl through her fingers, Eilis watched as Ryan sighed deeply before leaning back in his chair.

“Yes… and sometimes that is for the better, Ellie dear… I think if you knew what you did recently, and what you saw, you’d be kissing my shoes in thanks. So take your own words into mind” He reminded her sternly, ignoring the fact she rolled her eyes and finishing his brandy, bluntly ordering her “we need thou to give a sample. Either this month, the next or the latest I will allow is New Year’s Eve”.

“I have never heard a man be so eager for his bodyguard to be carved open like a feckin Christmas turkey. You should be happy I haven’t had to go to surgery” Eilis let her glass hit the table with a loud clink, pacing to keep herself calm and shaking her hands slightly in an attempt to ward off her plasmids, not in the mood for everything to spike again. “And I have never met someone so against having a member of their family back who they are responsible for the death of” Ryan shot back, Eilis actually laughing “oh don’t you dare throw that back at me, I’m not the man who hired half ass security for a multi million dollar building”.

“And I amn’t the woman who failed to do something while knowing how to fire a gun” Ryan was now standing, hands slammed down on his desk. Eilis continued to pace “oh forgive me, your highness, for being so shocked that I just watched by brother lose a chunk of his hip that my only reaction was to rush and help him, how cruel of me not to give my life for yours”. “You running in head first is the reason you were shot and the reason we lost him!” He shouted, his anger only rising when she was purposefully not looking at him. “ó, dhéanfadh sé aon ghrain díot” she continued to laugh, like this was hilarious. She wasn’t sure if it was or she was having a psychotic break.

Sucking on his teeth, making a sound that made Eilis stop to physically cringe, Ryan stated in a pained but calm tone “You wouldn’t even be here if he hadn’t dragged you from the bogland you were born in. The least you can do is give him a second chance at life”.

“Wish he hadn’t.” The Pavlov dog replied calmly, continuing before Ryan could ask her to repeat herself “I don’t think my organs are any good.. have you ever overdosed on adam, Mr Ryan?”.

“No..” Ryan fiddled with his tie as he sat back down. “No. You haven’t. It’s not like other drugs, it’s much more cruel.” Eilis began to elaborate as she turned back to face him properly, wanting him to look her in the eye as she spoke “See, with others, at least when you over do it, there’s a chance of death. Sweet. Sweet death. But not with adam. Adam ravages your body and fixes it up as it goes along. So you’re stuck between the agonising pain before you’re supposed to die, for hours. And hours and that lovely coxing buzz that drags you back for more. Your body tries to reject it, but it can’t, so you throw it up after it bleeds into your gut. It’s like acid. It destroys your voice box and then fixes it again”. Eilis wasn’t someone who enjoyed other’s pain but from how uncomfortable Ryan looked, she’d admit she did find it rather satisfying. “Then finally when it all dies down and your body has either gotten rid of almost all of it or gotten it to level it can physically cope with, your too exhausted to even stand. And you know what doctors prescribe for that? More. Adam. It’s a horrible endless cycle you have put me through and worsened for your own fucking gain. It’s a miracle I don’t look like the junkies with how much you’ve had me pump through my body. Do you think Tadgh wants to see that? Do you think he wants to see the monster you turned his sister into? Do you think I want him to live like I have to? In pain. Constantly.”.

She didn’t get an answer, but she didn’t have a drop of sympathy in her body at that moment “why the long face? I’m just repeating the things you’ve said to me. What? Do you think he would be dissapointed to find out his sister is a whore? How about all the rumours going around about her? Most of them linking back to you. Oh! How about you threatening to turn our dad into one of those poor metal bastards? Because I don’t think he’d take any of those well.”.

“You’ve made your point, and yet my mind remains unchanged. This is happening wether you approve or not. But I won’t force you” Ryan sighed as he took out a cigar, holding to Eilis for her to light, but she ignored him, meaning he had to himself. “Being gravely injured and passing out from bloodloss isn’t consent either mate” she reminded him, getting a puff of smoke in her face followed by a sigh as he begged “changed the subject. Now.”. Eilis just went quiet, continuing to shake her hands every so often and trying to resist the retinentia repeating in her system, regretting ever taking it. Being unable to sit in the silence he caused, Ryan started a new subject himself “let’s discuss the plan for New Years”.

“It’s November” Eilis shot back.

Ryan shrugged “why does that matter?”.

“What about Christmas? Jasmine likes to celebrate doesn’t she?” Eilis hummed, flicking her wrist so hard she heard a crack which distracted her from the terrifying look Ryan had at that moment.

“I amn’t discussing Christmas, I am discussing New Years.” He stated firmly, continuing while his bodyguard stared off at nothing in particular, “you will be Diane’s chauffeur to Cohen’s party while I attend to some unavoidable business. After I join you, you may be excused for the usual New Years celebrations at midnight since I assume you’ll want to spend that with your father, but you will join us again immediately after for the rest of the night. Understood?”. “And here I was planning on sleeping through New Years… yes I understand” The Pavlov dog rubbed at her face, ignoring her body starting to twitch while her employer went on with business, pretending the last half an hour hadn’t happened and today was just another average morning for the two. Eilis did the same for the entire previous day, though that wasn’t too hard. She didn’t remember the last year fully anyway.

For the next month and a bit, Eilis limited her Adam as much as possible, though of course she couldn’t do it fully. Eve was a byproduct of the damn thing and Ryan still required her to have that, but apart from that she didn’t have another drop.

Still stitching up her own wounds was now becoming a problem with how massively she’d cut down her Adam intake. She wasn’t healing as quickly anymore. It was still faster than the natural pace a human should, but not fast enough. Simply breathing was becoming painful, and yet she couldn’t show a sign of weakness. People always thought of her as brutal, so she slowly but surely felt less guilty for either debilitating or killing people who tried to attack Ryan. She didn’t have time for monologues or shootouts, as soon as she thought someone was suspicious, they were done. 90% of the time she was right, the other 10% Sullivan didn’t inform her of, knowing she was still struggling from what Ryan had done with those Adam doses.

On this particular day, before New Year’s Eve, she was bickering with her father in a bathysphere, the two lightly speckled in blood. “I don’t see the feckin point, I’m fine” she instead, rolling her eyes at her father’s reply “Eilis, love you’re currently bleeding all over me. Hiding the bullet wound in your neck with your hand won’t make it go away”. Eilis had her hand gripped hard enough over the wound to bruise, and keep the blood in since it was relatively small. It wouldn’t have killed her if she just let it bleed but it was sure as hell make her pass out, and that wasn’t happening. “You know I’ll only be allowed to see Stienmen” she sighed, Mick trying to reassure her “I won’t leave you alone for a second”.

“No. I want you to. I’ll… shriek or something if I need you, alright?” Eilis told him firmly, almost lifting her hand like she’d forgotten about the wound, but quickly remembering to keep a tight grip. Mick stared at her for a moment, wondering what the hell was going on.

First she’s practically catatonic for a year and now she’s flipping between wanting him close and pushing him so far away he swears her voice is echoing. It was exhausting and he genuinely didn’t know what to do. It was moments like this that made him miss his mother and her take no shit advice. He can still remember some of them, like when he’d talked about how to talk to the gorgeous woman he’d seen in the city, “for fuck sake son. Chin up, put on your cap and just bloody say something. Oh and non of this whole overly romantic bollocks your generation is obsessed with. Nothing is wrong with just a wink and a bouquet, you hear me?”. She would have known just what to do to fix this, fix all of this. He was sure of it.

“Are you going to Cohen’s party?..” his only living child asked quietly. “Hm?… ah. No. Augustus isn’t in the mood so we’re spending the night in. Your welcome to join us” he offered, noticing Eilis’ nose wrinkle at Sinclair’s name. “Can’t. I’m working. I’ll see you on my day off alright?” She forced a smile for him as they docked. “When’ll that be? Your birthday?” He asked, unable to resist a disappointed look as they walked together. “More like my funeral, love” Eilis admitted honestly, suddenly getting Mick to stop. She made him wait just shy of the surgical suite, their final but of communication being soft supportive smiles before she went after the nurse. As soon she was in the sight of the famed surgeon, his nurse was sent away and he was uncomfortably close. So close she could practically feel it even though he wasn’t touching her. 

“I’ve missed you” he pulled down his mask to give her a longing look, Eilis didn’t return any form of emotion, just giving a hum of acknowledgment, resisting grimaces from his touches as he ran his hands up and down her frame. “It’s been a while hasn’t it?” She barely managed to get out in a soft tone, asking “mind helping me, love?”. “What can I fix for you today my goddess?”  He wondered, chuckling when Eilis half glared at him while he guided her to his surgical table. She hoped mick had done as she asked and stayed close enough to hear her if she screamed, she’d need him. She was going to break it off with the surgeon today, seemed like a good day for it. He can get over the heartbreak with a load of drink and a new girl at one of the many New Years parties he was probably invited to, or he’ll just going back to being quiet and annoyed by her existence, which she was fully willing to cope with instead of this. She was sure he could find someone else to obsess over and see Aphrodite in. Poor girl but better than it being her. Either way, if he reacted badly she needed someone else here to be sure nothing atrocious happened.

But for now she was going to play the patient role, not wanting him to torture her out of spite with misplaced stitches and insufficient pain killers. “I know there’s more, you know. You can show them to me” he commented as he took her hand off her neck to examine the wound, humming “it isn’t like I haven’t seen it all before”. “You haven’t seen it recently” Eilis chimed in, hissing in pain as he prodded at the area with his cold gloved hands before applying pressure again, seemingly admiring all of her blood on his hand. “Shirt off” he ordered calmly, continuing to speak as she begrudgingly unbuttoned it “a month and half isn’t too long. I still have it ingrained in my mind… you’ve been so kind to me with access to your..  glorious body as it turns into the true you, my goddess. I am forever grateful”.

The Pavlov dog suppressed a gag, barely holding her composure and the urge to pull away, knowing she’d pass out and that’d be a whole new range of chaos she wasn’t in the mood for right now. “Has it?… Christ, I don’t remember..” She forced a chuckle in an attempt to sound natural, hoping he’d move on, but it was Steinmen, of course he wouldn’t. The man was always one for giving details no one asked for. “You don’t? How strange. You were so… passionate and possessive. And after you’d lay in my arms and we’d talk about our meaningless lives before this great city was even in our thoughts” Stienmen sighed happily as he reminisced, injecting a small dose of adam around the edges of the bullet wound and watching in fascination as it healed up, before his eyes fell on the other wounds she’d dealt with herself.

“Doing this again, are we? I knew you had an awful habit but I wrongfully thought you agreed to stop damaging yourself and to come to me. How will you look like your true self if you keep desperately trying to fit into normality?” He looked upset, but Eilis was more focused in trying to get distance between them. “I’m the farthest thing from normal” She reminded him, having to cross her ankles to resist the urge to kick him, raising her knees to keep some space between them. The surgeon didn’t seem to care, leaning over and as close to her face as he could, placing those horribly cold hands all over her. Eilis’ hands were starting to bruise from holding up both of their weights and only having the edge of a surgical table for support. She tried to control her breathing but there was a slight quiver to it that she despised, it told him she was scared. But Steinmen took it as something else completely, he saw it as anticipation. “How about I fix the damage you’ve done, we take some time to… appreciate each other and discuss a date for our wedding finally?” He asked, Eilis not even looking at him, cursing when she could see the back of the nurse’s head blocking the small window of the doors that lead into the observation/waiting room outside.

She almost dropped as her hands jerked to push Stienmen away but remained rigid when her mind realised she’d drop as he started to kiss down her chest, continuing to speak as he went lower “last time we did try and discuss it… but your mouth was full…”. She physically wretched after hearting that, moving one of her arms to its elbow, putting it in a horribly uncomfortable position so it would hold her up and she could use her now free hand to pull Steinmen off her by the first thing she could get ahold of, his hair. He looked shocked for a moment but then gave her this sultry look that tempted her to burn his face beyond recognition. “You always do get so feisty after some Adam, don’t you my goddess?”.

“I need to get back to Ryan” she stated calmly, barely resisting an open groan of relief that would have been heard as something else when the surgeon rolled his eyes, muttering something about her being married to her work and standing up, Eilis releasing his hair that had been sufficiently ruined by her grip. He smoothed it back with his fingers as he paced, seemingly talking to himself as he finished working on her before immediately walking away, not taking off his blood coated gloves. Eilis watched him cautiously, while she put back on her shirt, ignoring how sick she felt. She couldn’t tell if it was from the mere mental imagery of what stienmen had described or from the adam now that her tolerance has gone to shit. “Are you attending Sander’s New Years event? I have an invitation with a plus one if you wish to accompany me” he offered, still dissing with his hair. Eilis wiped her own blood off her hand as she replied “I’m working.” And that was it. No more clarification. He didn’t deserve it. She opened her mouth to make her attempts at finally getting rid of this bastard and this facade of an engagement, but they were interrupted. A nurse came in going on about lumps and adam reactions, Stienmen rushed off like he was a child running down the stairs at Christmas before she could utter another syllable.

Mick spotted the doctor as he speed walked past, still covered in some blood. He swore he saw the man lick some off his finger, but it was too quick for him to be sure. Eilis joined him a short moment later, having gone mute again. When they sat in the bathysphere, she held his hand lightly and just watched the fish, not wanting to talk, just wanting comfort. He didn’t know why, but he knew better than it pry, so he just sat there with her quietly, giving the best comfort he possibly could.

The next morning after puking again and scaring the shit out of poor Martin, who’d just woken up, he handed Eilis an accuvox that had come in the pnuemo for her from Ryan. “It’s too early..” She groaned, happily accepting the coffee he handed her next, chuckling “it’s noon mate. You sure you and Tadgh weren’t twins? You act the exact same when you wake up hungover”. “Suck my cock, Martin” Eilis shot back, rubbing at her eyes as she walked over to the game room, shawl clutched around her shoulders and wearing one of Frank’s old shirt as a nightdress. She practically sunk into one of the plush seats as she stuck on the tape, listening to whatever Ryan wanted to groan about now . He was probably just going on about what she has to do today, again. Even though she’d repeated it to her every day for the last month.

Coffee clasped between her hands, enjoying the warmth, she listened. “Ellie, my dear, there has been a change to our plans” oh. Now that was unexpected. “You will not be needed for this morning and I will not be joining you for cohen’s New Years celebration. Do give him my condolences. Look after Diane and make sure she is thoroughly.. amused. After she is done, leave her home and then come directly to me. If anyone asks where I am, don’t answer. I am trusting you with this….” The tape was quiet for a moment, she assumed he’d left it on and leant over to flick the thing off, but stop when she heard him whisper to himself “you’re a good man.. it’s all her fault… this is all her fault” followed by more silence. She fast forwarded through to be sure there was nothing else, and there wasn’t. So she took it out and tossed it in the nearby trashcan. She was genuinely worried for him, but she’d see him later. He was probably hungover and bullshitting.. that had to be it.

She was pulled out of her train of thought by Martin joining her on the adjacent couch, asking “hear anything from atlas?”. “Why would I?” Eilis glanced at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about. He smirked “I amn’t thick, love, I know you two were talking. Now c’mon, have ya heard anything?”. “He’s thousands of fathoms below the damn city and you think I’ve been talking to him?” she chuckled, her expression changing when Martin shot back “oh, so your not denying talking to him. Knew it”. “Fuck off” she huffed, getting up to make her coffee and Irish one so she had the patience for this conversation. “He’s your type! Down to the knuckle, love. No need to deny he gives you the flutters” her brother in law shouted after her as she poured more whiskey than needed into her mug. “I’ll give you the flutters in a feckin minute” she groaned through gritted teeth, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach as she asked “explain your bullshit thought process for me”.

“Black hair, strong hands, basic Irish features. He’s what you used to described as your perfect man down to the accent and little mannerisms. It’s like he was made for you! I’m surprised you aren’t drooling at the thought of him” the grin he was giving her made her want to knock his teeth out, “shame I don’t like him then, isn’t it?” Eilis shrugged, getting comfy in her seat, kicking Martin in the shin when he teased in a harmonic tone “denial! Not a good look”. “I will shoot you in mouth if you don’t shut your gob I’m a minute!” She threatened, finally leaving but he followed her.

“A minute? That gives us plenty of time for you to tell me all the little dreams your having about him rushing back like something out of one of Sander’s plays” he followed her down the stairs, dodging when she tossed one of her boots she’d left by the door at him, keeping the other in a tight grip to chuck at him at the next comment. “Don’t give me like look. You like him, admit it” Martin quickly raised his hands to block the boot that surprisingly wasn’t chucked at him. “He’s probably going to starve to death down there eventually, why bother fantasising about a man like that?” Eilis said calmly, rubbing at her face after dropping the boot to the floor.

Martin was very very tempted to continue to tease, but she obviously wasn’t the mood for it, which made it no fun and heightened his chances of getting actually attacked. “I’m gonna go to work. Feel free to hide from Cohen up here all day” she didn’t even force a smile for him, just calmly walking up the stairs beside him and into the bedroom. Did she actually like him? He was only joking but she seemed mildly upset by the fact the poor bastard and all his allies had been sunk with Fontaine’s department store, or maybe it all tied back to Fontaine himself as everything seemed to with her. Deciding to take her offer and give the poor girl some space, Martin grabbed himself a bottle of good liquor, one of those fancy cigars and went to go reminisce about how half decent his life was before rapture.

Eilis gone within ten minutes, dressed in the suit Jasmine had tailored for her. It was now only a two piece now, of course since, the jacket was lost for reasons she didn’t ant to remember, padding at her neck as an odd phantom pain came to mind, she rolled in her sleeves as she walked, tucking her little necklace away and flexing her hand, feeling the cold metal of her signet ring rubbing off her other fingers. She fussed with the tie on the metro, eventually giving up and shoving it in her pocket when she couldn’t tie it, opening the top two buttons of her shirt and leaving it open slightly. Not enough to expose cleavage but the fact it was like that was enough to draw attention. She just gave them a warning glare and subtly adjustment of the shotgun resting on her back before she fluffed at her hair, having just quickly throwing it into a bun to keep it out of her face. She planned be at Diane’s door no later than 4 even though they didn’t have to be at the party till 5, knowing had a horrible habit of being late.

She still had time to get cigarettes, and there was only one place that sold eve cigarettes with no added adam, and it was in the tobacco district. Hopping off the metro she made her way to the little shop as quick as she could, unfurling a wad of cash she’d brought with her, not used to have this much money at all. She paid extra because she believed the man deserved it and went to happily go back to wasting time till she spotted Elizabeth wandering around. Lighting a cigarette for herself, Eilis walked over, calling out to her “someone’s lost! Haven’t heard from you in a while love. Cohen’s banned your name as a topic”. Elizabeth turned to her with this mad look in her eye, which made Eilis halt. She watched as the woman reigned her expression back into something more calm, more neutral.

She looked so tired, much more then she was when Eilis last saw her. It made her relate to the woman more, feel so much closer than they actually were. Just two exhausted women being dragged around mercilessly by the tides of rapture, wondering when the sea will be kind enough to send a shark or a large rock to put them out of their misery. “I’m looking for Mr. Dewitt’s office” Elizabeth sighed in defeat, taking the cigarette Eilis offered her hand thanking her with a nod when she lit it for her with a snap, “still searching for that useless prick huh? He’s only going to lead you to ruin love” Eilis warned her, taking a long overdue drag and admiring the smoke after blowing it out of her nose.

“I need to find him…” Elizabeth muttered, glancing around them, stopping when she spotted the Luteces who gave her a curious look. “They’re watching us…” she whispered, causing Eilis to look around for them, quickly spotting the two. “Wonder who they want this time… I’m still convinced we’re just two poor girls hallucinating” The Pavlov dog hummed as she went back to enjoying her cigarette. “Why are you dressed like that?” Elizabeth suddenly queried, noticing others were starting to notice the two apparently talking about no one. Why was everyone in this city so obsessed with other people’s business?

“Why do you care?” Eilis replied, having noticed the same thing but not caring, tapping the ash off her cigarette. “That’s what friend do don’t they? Discuss outfits?” Elizabeth asked, scraping her tongue off her teeth to get rid of the odd chemical taste in her mouth, “or do you have any of those? And I mean that in the nicest way possible”. “Currently the only people I consider my friends are my own father, which is just sad, my brother in law, though that is debatable and a man I have worked with long enough to talk with through vague gestures. I don’t think I’ve had another girl as my friend since the fourties” Eilis laughed to herself slightly, trying to remember the girls she was friends with in New York, but all those memories came up short of a clear face or person.

“And why’s that?” Elizabeth asked, almost sounding worried. “Same reason I’m wearing this suit I’m guessing. I’m a spiteful bitch and I don’t want to be bothered by people who I don’t think are worth my time..” The Pavlov dog shrugged, being honest with the woman standing in front of her. After a moment of quiet she said “Elizabeth. I have this horrible feeling you’re going to do something that will get you killed, and I need you to promise me something”.

“And why should I promise you anything?” Elizabeth wondered, Eilis continuing like she hadn’t asked that “I know what a look of revenge looks like, and you’ve had that look every time you even think of Dewitt. If I show you were he is, and you do kill him, find me. Can you promise me you will do that?”. The woman scoffed out a “fine.” Flicking her unfinished cigarette butt away. Seeing that was as good as an answer as she was going to get, Eilis showed Elizabeth up to dewitt’s shifty little office and left her there, hoping she’d listen to her. She wasn’t going to stop what would obviously be a murder, it wasn’t any of her business, she could only hope it wouldn’t lead her down a horrible path.

Finishing off another cigarette before boarding the bathysphere, Eilis was at Diane’s door right on time, knocking on it with her knuckle and physically resisting a frown when she saw the girl’s excitement, followed by disappointed look as she craned her neck to look for Ryan.

“He isn’t coming is he?…” she sounded so heartbroken, that the love of her life was abandoning her for work, again.

“No, no no he’s just busy. You know the man, he absorbs himself in shit till he can’t see ahead of him. He’ll be there before the countdown, he swore. Now come on, we’re going to enjoy ourselves” Eilis spoke kindly, knowing most of the things she was saying were a lie. Her job was to make sure Diane enjoyed herself, but that wasn’t going to happen without Ryan. Diane deserved to spend the night with the man she loves and surrounded by friends. Guilt ate away at her as she from her conversation earlier she didn’t consider Diane a friend, but the look that Diane gave her, so hopeful and thankful, told her she was a friend in this woman’s eyes. Poor thing.

The Pavlov dog offered her arm to Diane, who happily latched onto it, jokingly whining “oh if only you were a man, I could make him jealous”. “We can still make him jealous. Let’s go grab the bloody masks Cohen has for these things and then we’ll find you a handsome fella to hang off for the night hm?” Eilis offered, genuinely smiling when she got a laugh out of Diane, feigning this friendly atmosphere as they rode the private bathysphere to the Kashmir, Eilis handing in their invitations which were traded for golden embossed boxes by men wearing bird masks, similar to the ones Cohen often put his disciples in.

Diane opened her’s giddily like an excited child, but she soon looked confused. It was a peacock, or that’s what they thought. Sometimes Cohen’s designs were up to artistic interpretation, and this was one of them. Eilis’ was a unique one. She expected it to be the same wolf one he’d given her before, but it was different. Smoother. It looked like dog god from Egyptian mythology with blood painted across its black and gold interior. How nice of him. Honestly she preferred the wolf. She wondered if Frank would like it.. She wrinkled her nose to ignore that thought, licking at the scar on her lip as she placed the mask on her face, it having leather straps at the back to secure it before helping Diane with hers. “Now, we’re gonna enjoy ourselves and if Ryan doesn’t show up, his loss. Alright?” She reminded her ward for the night, giving her a smile for confidence before the two split apart so Eilis could actually do her job.

Diane sat herself in the large dome area of the Kashmir so she could look out over the city, drinking her worries in champagne and seemingly sulking. Eilis could get most men to keep their distance from Ryan’s very publicised fiancé with just a look, maybe cracking her knuckles or just cleaning her shotgun after getting their attention, letting one or two who she knew weren’t too much trouble slip past, yet Diane would send them away anyway. But Ryan himself never showed. She knew he never would, but there was a part of her that hoped he’d even send someone demanding they come up. He didn’t. Hours and hour passed, by the time New Years was barely around the corner, probably ten or fifteen minutes tops, his greetings for New Years came on the television. Live. He was in his lounge wear, drinking, a slight shake to his tone but still as refined as ever. He obviously wasn’t coming, and Diane was devastated.

When Eilis attempted to offer comfort of some kind, she was shooed away as she asked to be alone, so she obliged. The Pavlov dog smoked on the balcony above the floor where Diane was, so she could still see her but give the girl some space. Though the party was so loud you could barely hear herself think, being alone for a few minutes just to smoke in a less crowded area was nice. Though Diane was devastated, much to her own delight, Stienmen hadnt come either. She had only been aware of it when Diane made a comment, through sobs, “we’re just two girls who’s fiancé’s love work more than us.. aren’t we?”. Cohen had long left with Hector on his arm, the other boys having not showed up for reasons she wasn’t sure of. Sinclair and Mick were of course at home, enjoying their peace and quiet. Sullivan was probably with Ryan, so she was alone. Happily alone. Almost.

A familiar cockney accent caught her attention, it was Bill. “You alright?” He asked her, leaning beside her, visibly frowning at the sight of the blue smoke seeping past her lips like a waterfall. Both of them had their masks up on top of their heads, so he could see the bags under the poor girl’s eyes, there was a slight pink rim to them, clear signs of Adam withdrawal. He couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. “I’m fine love… you don’t spending the night with your wife?” Eilis replied politely, stubbing her cigarette out. “She actually sent me over. Says you didn’t look well, and she’s right. Anything on your mind? You know you can talk my ear off if ya need” Bill offered, Eilis visibly sinking as she sighed, wondering why this man had to be so kind.

She honestly thinks they would get along rather well, but he’s too close with Ryan. He’d tell him every secret she has, out of the kindness of his heart. He was too good for rapture, his whole family was. “I’m grand, honestly. Just tired.. it’s been a long year” she lied, giving him sleepy smile as she glance over at the view outside of the Kashmir while people started to count down from ten. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight in front of her, something rising from the depths with a plume of dust like something out of a nightmare.

“Is that?..” Bill didn’t even have to finish his question, Eilis already knew.

It was Fontaine’s department store.

Had Ryan released them? Had they made a deal? We’re any of them even alive? Had he just sent in people to slaughter all and brought back the building for his own purposes? Was atlas alright? That that question bothered her. The two watched it in stunned confusion, giving eachother a worried glance, silently agreeing they needed to go see Ryan.

They split off, Bill going to his wife and Eilis going back down the stairs to grab Diane. She was blocked by some overzealous prick, threatening her through gritted teeth and a tight grip on her arm “you ain’t ruining this for me. You’ve been blocking her all night, take a walk ya tramp and leave us be”. Eilis shoved the barrel of her shotgun under his chin, threatening “let go of me or you’ll be the closest things we can get to fireworks under the fucking ocean”. He didn’t stop, probably drunk, tightening his grip.

Diane cautiously asked “Ellie? What’s going on?”. “Grab you’re things, we’re going to Ryan” Eilis told her calmly, grimacing when the man spat in her face “like hell you are! Beat it toots!”. The Pavlov dog took a deep breath before kneeing him hard in the groin, making the man naturally scream in agony and drop. She cracked him in the jaw with the butt of her shotgun and spat on him just out of pure spite, pulling the mask down since it was already falling off her face. “Diane, c’mon love. We’re leaving, Mcdonagh’s waiting for us a-“ Before she could finish they could all faintly hear gunshots from outside, and the party fell silent as the grew closer, and closer, surrounding them from all sides, and the the doors burst open.

Feral looking men and women flooded in, screaming murderous gibberish as they threw what looked like balls of garbage all over the place, shrieking “FOR ATLAS, DEATH TO RYAN!”. Just as Eilis turned to Diane to grab her wrist and shoot their way out and to a bathysphere, the room was engulfed in fire and shrapnel, a sharp tone being the only thing she could near and her body went numb alongside her thoughts.

Chapter Text

Death is such a strange thing.

No one truly knows what it feels like since it’s usually permanent and you can’t exactly jump to life to describe it. If you’d asked the Pavlov dog to describe it in that moment, she would described it was warm and quiet. No thoughts to worry you about inconsequential things, no sensations to bother you, just this warm floating feeling that dragged her back to her childhood. She could practically see herself floating aimlessly in the river near her home, just enjoying the warm water surrounding her as the sun beamed on her face, no doubt either giving her sunburns or more freckles. She could have stayed here forever, it was so perfectly peaceful. Nothing was threatening, nothing was bothering here, no one was there to do so if they tried.

Then suddenly she felt a pain in her heart and became aware of the fact she had a body, feeling the ache of stretching muscles that haven’t been used. Her brow furrowed as she tried to ignore it, till it happened again. And again. All those happy feelings faded to panic and adrenaline. The final pain caused her eyes to snap open as she took deep panicked breaths, looking around wildly.

The Kashmir’s was destroyed, she was surrounded by bodies and water, but not touching it strangely. Her ears were still ringing but she didn’t let that stop her from getting her bearings. There were fires everywhere and the windows were cracked, some broken open enough to let water seep through. Exits were blocked up by rubble and she swore she saw some people scuttling out of the only open one, the main entrance. Her hearing came back suddenly, painfully, making her gasp in pain and flinch, looking down to figure out why she wasn’t touching the floor, only to see she was impaled on a pipe and a few meters off the ground. Audibly cursing and bewildered to the fact she wasn’t dead, she gripped the pipe only to see electricity pumping through her veins followed by more pains to her chest. Was her plasmid keeping her alive? She didn’t have time to think about that. Gritting her teeth she moved herself forward slightly, unable to hide the almost feral scream that came out of her. Having to take a moment to catch her breath, she heard something though the crackling flames and rushing water, a cough.

Face down in the water, clinging to the stairs was Diane. She was still alive.

Eilis went to move again but quickly realised she’d bleed to death if she did that. “Cén fáth nach raibh mé díreach tar éis bháis?…” she groaned, reaching behind her to grab onto the part of the pipe that was now behind her. Focusing as much as she could, ignoring the agonising feeling of molten metal against her hand, she started to melt it, and squeeze until it because to shall and thin to support her weight, letting her drop. Another shriek came out of her as she felt her ankle break. Staying there on her hands and knees beside the body of a couple, whimpering, she spotted her shotgun laying under the water, the strap absolutely destroyed. Grabbing it, struggling to stand and huffing gritted teeth like a rabid dog, she used her beloved weapon like a crutch, limping over to Diane. She rolled the poor girl over with her foot, only to see half her face was absolutely mangled by the shrapnel.

Instinctively going to touch her own face, she found the mask still on. Pulling it off she saw the front was imbedded with bits of glass and other garbage that had been in the bombs, but it protected her face. Knowing Diane wouldn’t want anyone to see her like this, Eilis gave the girl some mercy and put the mask on her, taking a deep breath before managing to get the girl over her shoulder despite the agony. When a moan of pain came out the poor girl, Eilis reassured here “I’m here.. I’m here Diane.. just hold on for me alright?”. The way she felt her weakly grip at what remained of Eilis’ shirt made her heart ache.

Weakly limping their way up the stairs for what felt like a decade, Eilis finally got them to the door, sighing relief when it opened, tensing all her muscles so she didn’t collapse immediately. She didn’t even care she could still hear all the screaming and discourse outside, her only thoughts were to get to a bathysphere. In her delirium from the pain, she didn’t even think about going to the medical pavilion, she just kept going with her original plan before the explosion, get to Ryan. Ryan is safe.

She stumbled into the elevator, having to push Diane up against the wall and hold her there with her shoulder so they could fit. Eilis’s thoughts were just bathysphere, get to Ryan. Bathysphere, get to Ryan. She would have been dead by now if her own plasmid didn’t keep restarting her heart and forcing it to pump, only adding to her prolonged agony.

Atlas was on the bottom floor, fighting off the men Ryan had sent down, sending all the people he could fit into the bathysphere, till finally it was his turn. He flipped them off for good measure as he got in and the doors shut, but his eyes fell on the sight behind them. It was Eilis. His eyebrows furrowed, he assumed she’d be with Ryan, why the hell was she here? Her clothes were shredded and her body gashed, a bloody thick pipe was impaled through her gut and she didn’t even seem aware of the fact one of her thighs looked like it had been put through a meat shredder. She was still pushing. Through gritted teeth and pure determination alone, she was still pushing. The last thing they did was make eye contact as the bathysphere sunk, and all he saw in her eyes was visceral hatred.

Sullivan had been sent down to deal with the chaos. He assumed Eilis had gotten Diane out, he knew she had a knack for smelling danger before it happened, but what he wasn’t expecting was to see her walking corpse with Diane over her shoulder limping towards him. “Jesus Christ…” he muttered audibly, rushing over with some men who took Diane away without another word, she was more important after all. Who would Ryan miss more? His bodyguard or fiancé? As soon as her old friend got close, Eilis clung to him, in agony but still not fully aware of her body or anything really.

He gave her words of reassurance but they fell on deaf ears, Eilis visibly jerking anytime her heart was shocked again. Finally getting a moment of clarity as she saw a way being made towards the medical pavilion through a hole that had been blasted towards the wall. This was the perfect opportunity for Ryan to get what he wanted, and she knew damn well Mick would do anything to keep her alive, even if it was something as horrendous as Ryan wanted.

“Sully..” She called out, looking him dead in the eyes when he glanced over at her. “Ryan… Ryan has found a way to bring back Tadgh.. he doesn’t want to let the man rest… he.. needs my organs..” her own plea was interrupted as her legs finally gave out from the pain, making her scream. Sullivan followed her to the floor, still intently listening. She gripped his shirt collar like she was terrified he’d look away. “You’re the only person I can trust with this… Sully.. don’t let them take anything… I don’t care.. if… if they say it’ll save me.. I don’t care if my dad begs at your feet… if I die.. let me die… and don’t you dare let Ryan stick me in one of those machines either… let.. Tadgh.. rest.. can you promise me that?..” she begged him, Sullivan trying to focus on every word as he felt his knees get warm and wet.

He put a hand over the one she had gripped on his collar, and gave her the only promise he ever could “I’ll try…”. She smiled at him, so genuinely you’d think she wasn’t bleeding to death on him in that moment. Her last words to him were “go raibh maith agat... beidh mé ag bualadh le mama” before she went limp on him, and he didn’t even know what she said. She was rushed off on a gurney before he could even register what happened, just leaning him sitting in there, covered in her blood, he went to rub at his face but had to physically stop himself.

The hell is he going to tell her father she said if she doesn’t make it?

The hell is he going to tell Ryan?

He shakily stood got on his feet, taking a sip from his flask to calm his nerves before getting back to work, trying to ignore the horrifying feeling of being covered in so much of Eilis’ blood again.

Much to her own surprise, Eilis woke up only a few hours later. She was alive, miraculously, causing her to hug at her gut and sigh in relief. She pulled the blanket away to examine herself, feeling around for bandages with the parts of her fingers that were exposed. She must have had lacerations everywhere. She couldn’t move one of her legs but didn’t remember that being the injured one. She let her hand trail down her torso, happy to no longer have that damned pipe sticking out of her, but after she got past the stitching for that, she felt more. It was longer like a scar from open surgery. Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to see if she remembered a large injury at the bottom of her stomach, but she didn’t.

Ryan and Mick soon entered as she lightly palmed at her stomach, still in a confused daze from everything that had happened, mixed with all the painkillers in her bloodstream stopping her from feeling the amount of pain she should be in. “See? She’s perfectly fine. Don’t accuse me of not caring for my staff every again” Ryan warned Eilis’ father in a low tone before approaching her, resting a hand on the side of the bed as he asked “how are you feeling Ellie dear? People are commending your heroics with Diane”, Mick going to the other side to hold her free hand “we were so worried about ya darlin..”.

“What did you do?…” Eilis asked, her tone low and soft, like she was still stuck in the stages before shock. Mick was confused but Ryan knew exactly what she was talking about. “I did what I had to. The nurse will be in to assess you for adam doses. They preformed the necessary surgery after saving your life if that’s what you’re worried about” he was rather come but his words reignited the fire of desperate anger that had kept Eilis going so far. She sat up properly, Mick instinctively putting a hand across her as she asked Ryan in a furious tone “if that’s what I’m worried about? If that’s what I’m worried about ?!”. Her employer stood there stone faced, knowing he’d done nothing wrong in his mind.

“Andrew, what is she talking about?” Mick’s expression matched his daughters as the two glared at him in unison, but he didn’t let himself faulted. “Do you think it’s time we tell him? I’m actually proud of you for not ruining the surprise early” Ryan hummed, sucking at his teeth when he saw their expressions change, resisting a smirk. Eilis whispered to him “bringing him back will not fix this. A dead man can’t make everything better”.

“What the feck is going on?” Mick demanded answers, but he was already cut out of the conversation. “You don’t know that. He will and everything will be well again. Unlike you, he wasn’t afraid to shoot when I told him to” Ryan hissed at Eilis, who was currently giving him a look like she was debating breaking his nose. “I hope I die before you do that. And you give me the apparent privilege to stay dead, sir.”. Ryan simply shrugged, admiring “Thomas will be disappointed you didn’t have the decency to stay around, but I’m sure he’ll get over it soon.”.

Mick spoke up again, squeezing Eilis’ hand in support as she had almost lost her patience, “Thomas? That’s what you call my boy, isn’t it? You better start explainin’ or I’ll make sure you’ll need to be in this bed much longer than her”. Ryan didn’t like being spoken to like that, or pointed like an animal. “Mr. Donovan. I am doing you what I consider the biggest favour you will ever receive, all out of my own pocket. I am bringing a man who’s been dead almost a decade back to life. Your daughter tried to stop this miracle for her own selfish means, though I suppose that’s common in women. Being selfish, not seeing what the future can hold before they try to kill it..” His voice slowly went from calm and refined to the Russian grit it had when he was annoyed, taking a deep breath in from his nose to calm himself again, stating “you’ll thank me. You’ll both thank me.” Before leaving them there in shock.

Mick just stood there in silence, mouth hung open as he tried to piece together the right words. By the time he’d connected a sentence of “Eilis… darling why didn’t you-“ but he was cut off by her sniffling. He looked to see her starting to cry, slowly getting more worked up by the second as she covered her mouth and hugged her stomach, but that didn’t help. Slowly but surely her hand did nothing to quiet her cries as she curled up, moving the hand to her stomach as she let out screamed sob. The one thing she had left, the one thing she didn’t ruin, her brother’s right to finally rest after a life of clawing for everything, had been ripped out of her grasp. Now he was going to be brought back, prodded at and shoved into the life she hated so much. Why did life had to be so cruel? She knew what she’d done to deserve it but he hadn’t. He didn’t deserve to have to live this hell.

Her father’s attempts to hold her and support her didn’t silence her cries. She was devastated, digging her nails into her own arms as she continued to scream and cry till her voice went. She didn’t even notice that it had gone, still looking like she was screaming her heart out but no sound except for her hyperventilating and when she took whatever chance she could to get a deep breath in. Mick worked his way into the bed, holding her close and not dare ask any questions.

He didn’t understand her motives, he didn’t understand how this was possible, he didn’t even know how to feel, all he knew was he had to comfort her as she lay broken in his arms, still sniffling and shaking as she clung to him.

It was a crisp morning in 1950, the air was cold and crisp but the young man striding down the street didn’t care. He had his trench coat open and happily breathed in the Baltic cold air, reminding him of home. He would be turning thirty three in a week or two, though he was never one for birthdays. He currently had a paper under his arm and a little box from the bakery down the street in his free hand as he hummed an old tune to himself, pushing the door to his employer’s multimillion dollar building open with his foot. There seemed to be a lack of security that day, it was strange. Mr Ryan usually had much more employed. He probably had a good reason, he always did.

“Sully! How’s my favourite bronx asshole?  Are Ryan and Eilis out of that meetin yet?” He shouted at Ryan’s head of security who was sitting by the private elevator to the top floor, giving him a nod as a Hello, glaring faintly before taking the paper the young man offered him with his scarred hands, “should be. What’s in that?” He asked, gesturing at the box with his paper. “Nothing you need to be worried about or are getting. Keep your grubby paws off” The young man teased, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited for the elevator, whispering to his colleague “think she’s still pissed at me?”.

“Oh no, I’m sure she won’t be mad at you for leaving her with your rent for the past two months and then taking a trip to Michigan for business Ryan didn’t want to deal with. I’ve never known Ellie to be petty” Sullivan replied, very sarcastically as he unfolded his paper and started to read, warning him “she has twelve pens, Tadgh. Don’t forget to dodge”. “Yea yea, tell me that after I give her this” Tadgh shook the box slightly in front of Sullivan’s face before slipping in the lift, nodding at the operator and leaning against the gold mirrored walls as they ascended.

As the doors opened he couldn’t help but smirk to himself, spitting his sister, barely into her twenties with her head down, tongue between her teeth as she worked, little strands of that fluffy blonde hair of hers hanging over her face even though she obviously had worked so hard to stick it in a bun that morning. He hid the box behind his back as he snuck up to her, coughing to grab her attention and putting on a bronx accent “I got a little gift for a certain little lady? A miss Ellie Donovan?”. “It’s Ei-“ Eilis began to correct him as she raised her head. Her eyes lit up and she rushed to her feet to hug him babbling to him so fast she couldn’t tell what language she was speaking in.

Then she seemed to remember the fact he’d left her with no contact for a month, so she smacked us upside the back of his head, “you absolute bastard! Do you have any idea how much of a creep our landlord is?!”. Tadgh chuckled as he blocked her hands, begging “Eilis! Eilis for Christ sake I wasn’t that long! Ow! Fucking hell, you didn’t have to hit that hard!” Through his laughter.

“Look… lo- Jesus Mary mother of-  LOOK” dodging her half assed assault he showed her the little box, “I got you an apology”. “You bought me an apology? Well excuse me Tadgh Ryan, I don’t accept bribery” Eilis crossed her arms, but she couldn’t help but glance as he opened it, seeing a small little red velvet cake with “I’m sorry” written in chocolate on top of the vanilla cream icing. She was quiet for a moment before mumbling “I meant bribery of items, I’ll accept food”. “You sure?” Tadgh hummed, holding it above her head now.

“Tadgh.” Her tone told him this was a warning, but he ignored it, humming “ya know.. I think Martin would love this when he’s back from France, don’t you? You think it’ll last that long?”. “Tadgh, tabhair dom an cáca damanta nó ciceáilfidh mé sa bhód thú” She warned him, keeping her hand up for it even though she knew she couldn’t reach it. Tadgh gasped dramatically “how vulgar! What would granny think of you having a mouth like that?” Pretending to drop the cake as Ryan’s door opened, catching it quickly and smirking as he handed it to her. “Thomas! Good to see you my boy” Ryan looked genuinely happy to see the man, striding towards him and putting out a hand, which Tadgh happily shook, Ryan firmly patting him on the shoulder, whispering “did all our business in Michigan get handled?”. “Yes sir, he won’t be talking about where we’re going anytime soon. How is the project doing anyhow?“ Tadgh kept his voice low, Ryan nodding while he spoke and guiding him slightly from Eilis so they could speak more privately, taking out a cigarette which Tadgh quickly lighted with the old metallic lighter he had in his pocket. “it’s almost done. They’re telling me by the end of next year at the latest”. “Really? That soon?” Tadgh asked eagerly, his employer grinning at him like a proud parent as he spoke. “Yes. Yes! That soon, my boy.” Ryan couldn’t stop grinning.

Tadgh would have gushed about Ryan’s dream all day, it fascinated him and he loved every moment and every ludicrous sounding idea from it, but the confused look on his sister’s face the moment she’d sat back at her desk. “Something wrong love?” He asked her. “No… no everything’s fine it’s just..” she started to flick through her little diary of all Ryan’s appointments “Ryan doesn’t have any appointments today… and Sullivan hasn’t called up to tell me about any unplanned guests” she looked so confused, her brows knitted together. “is that right?” Tadgh wondered casually, guiding Ryan back with a gentle hand as a quiet warning.

Eilis calmly picked up the phone, hoping to talk to the other secretary on the bottom floor so she could get in touch with Sullivan, but all she got was a dead lime. At the sound of new tone, knowing something was wrong, Tadgh pulled his pistol out of his holster out from under his trench coat, tossing it to Eilis as they all watched the elevator bing each floor as it rose. Just to be cautious he pressed a finger to his lips, warning them to be quiet as he approached where he had a shotgun hidden under the cushions of one of Ryan’s expensive couches.

The doors opened to show three masked men holding tommy guns, the elevator attendant dead at their feet. “Andy Ryan! You’re coming with us” the leader demanded calmly, quickly shooting through Eilis’s shoulder when she rose the revolver to shoot them, teasing “nice try toots.” As he signalled for another to go deal with her. “C’mon Andy! Don’t got all day” he groaned, not noticing Tadgh behind him till he heard the cocking of a shotgun. The last thing that man heard before he could even turn was “say hi to the devil for me” before his head was obliterated by one shot. After his body dropped as his accomplices turned to attack, Tadgh hid behind couch as he reloaded, standing up to fire again, surprised when one of them was so close, firing into his shoulder, obliterating it.

He gritted his teeth and managed to fire, killing the bastard before he stumbled forward, gripping it in pain. The couch screeched as it moved, Tadgh taking deep breaths as he looked up to see the last one moving away from Eilis and approaching him instead. Ryan moved to her, pulling her back by her sleeve as he seemed to be waiting for the right moment to bolt into his office along with her. Good. They’d be safe in there till the police came. He didn’t mind dying if it meant they were safe. He wouldn’t take this lying down though, not like some sick dog. He was going to fight tooth and nail till this bastard earned the right to kill him. As the bastard seemed to be taking joy in watching Tadgh twist in pain, he took the chance, with his finger being off the trigger, to dive, knocking the man off his feet.

“GO!” He screamed at the only two people in the world he cared about more than himself, getting the only living son of a bitch that tried to harm them in a headlock, watching him try and struggle to get his gun in the better position to kill the Irish man on his back. As they struggled, Tadgh kicked his shotgun towards the desk unknowingly, Eilis’ eyes falling on it as Ryan dragged her to his office. After a moment of hesitation, Ryan & Tadgh watched in horror as she dove for it, Ryan screaming at her to come back, which she ignored. Aiming at the man her brother had pinned.

“Tadgh move.” She warned. He shook his head, knowing the gun wasn’t loaded and she obviously hadn’t realised in her panic, losing his grip when the attacker drove the end of his Tommy gun into Tadgh’s face, breaking his nose and definitely chipping a tooth, making him let go involuntarily to clutch his face. “You’re out of bullets girly” the bastard smirked easily as he just unloaded the rest of his bullets into the girl’s stomach shredding it. Some went through her and it the nearby surroundings. She stood there, clinging to the shotgun in horrified shock for a minute, before she lightly felt at her stomach, starting to stumble as she tried to back away to Ryan, then she dropped, starting to cough up blood.

“No… no no no no…” Tadgh felt his heart break, this couldn’t be happening, this can’t be happening. He rushed over to Eilis, crouching in front of her as he held her face up “eilis? Eilis a stór féach orm... le do thoil... féach. ná dare leat ... ná leomh leat imeacht! Tá tú ró-óg, leanbh, tá tú ró-óg…” he begged, Eilis looking him in the eyes, both of them having tears pricking as she reached us for his jacket. He gripped her hand but she slipped it away, taking something out of his pocket. “What are you..?” he tried to ask through the devastation, only to feel bullets go through his knees. He screamed in agony, getting kicked in the side and held down beside his sister as she bled to death at his side, her choking echoing in the room.

“What kind of bodyguard forgets his own pistol on a secretary’s desk?” Their attacker, no, murderer chuckled, seemingly giving Ryan a ‘I dare you to stop me’ look as he opened the revolver, counting the bullets. “Four rounds?..” he flicked his wrist to close it “that’ll be plenty”. First he shot Tadgh in the right side of his chest, enjoying watching the man struggle and dismissing Ryan’s cries of “the hell do you want?!”. “That’s one.” The man shrugged shooting Tadgh in the other shoulder, “two” pressing the end of the gun against Tadgh’s forehead, holding him up by his hair as he pressed it in hard enough to leave a dent that soon wouldn’t even be noticeable with the hole he was about to leave in this man’s skull, “and this’ll be three. Got any last words guard dog?” He had this sickening smirk that made Tadgh simply spit in his face.

Wiping it off with his sleeve, the murderer got ready to fire, wanting to enjoy this as much as he could, till he heard a shotgun cocking. “Four.” Eilis’ hissed in a raspy tone as she shot him point black in the chest, sending him flying across the room to bleed to death alone. The death he deserved.

Tadgh felt his pocket to find she’d taken his last two shotgun shells. After his shock went away and pain brought him back to reality, he quickly looked to Ryan, who was just bloody and slightly shaken, before turning back to Eilis, unable to stand, he took off his jacket and bound it tightly around her waist, giving her words of encouragement “I’ve got you love… it’s gonna be ok. I promise, you’re going to live alright? You’re going to live” he swore to her, tying a tight knot to keep all the fabric taught, though he knew deep down it wouldn’t be enough. It would he a miracle if she lived to the hospital, and then it’d be another if they had someone to give all the organs she needed.

Suddenly breathing got a lot more difficult and he started to cough, turning away from her and sitting at her side, leaning against the bullet riddled desk. He pulled his hand away to see his arm dripping in blood and spit. He was dying. Shit. He weakly looked up  to find Ryan in front of him. “Looks like this is the end Andrei..” he chuckled, starting to cough more and still turning his head away out of courtesy. “It’s not… Thomas… Tadgh… I refuse for this to be the end. You’re going to make it. We simply have to-“ Tadgh cut him off with a light hand on his beloved employers own, ordering “keep… keep pressure on Eilis’ stomach.. she needs to live… I’ve always wanted her to gave a good life” breathing started to become painful, and it sounded like he had a chest infection anytime he had ti take a deep breath “rapture… rapture can give her that… make sure she has everything she wanted… living… in the lap of luxury… safe from your parasites” Tadgh continued to laugh, even though it hurt. “Will you do that for me, mr Ryan?… will you promise me you’ll keep my sister safe and happy?…”.

“Yes… Yes, of course my dear boy.. anything” Ryan couldn’t believe he was being moved to tears, clutching this man’s hand in his last moments. “Good… you were the father I never had… and one more thing… Mr Ryan…” Tadgh started to lose his grip on life as the world started to go dark, the soft call of the afterlife beckoning him to come forth, how oddly close to his mother it sounded. “Bury me on the emerald isles… you know where… you kn….” His head dropped and all the pain melted away.

Being dead was so peaceful and calm, no one to worry about anymore, no more painful memories that were constantly brought to the forefront of his mind by scars, no more gunpowder on his fingers, no more lies. And yet it was all so perfect, it lacked somethings.

The firm hand Ryan put on his shoulder whenever he was proud.

Eilis’ gentle touches like she were afraid to break him in large contrast with her hugs that could have crushed bone. Her much more delicate hands holding his like he could solve any problem in the world.

Martin’s hands trailing up and down his sides and his lips tracing signatures like he were an art piece waiting to be shown at the Louvre.

He’d miss them, he thought, when death finally took a proper hold and let him bleed into nothingness, but suddenly he became aware of life again. He could feel his fingers and toes stretch, pulling at what felt like long not used muscles, his lungs filled with fresh air with a chemical twinge to it.

Was he in a hospital?

Why was he so wet and cold?

Why couldn’t he feel anything else around him?

Why couldn’t he see?

Where was Eilis?..

A familiar voice broke the terrifying  silence, it was Ryan’s, but it sounded so tired, so done with living, yet somehow still comforting “it’s alright dear boy… we’re helping you. Don’t worry about your sister, she’s fine. Just go back to sleep”. Tadgh did as he was told, as why would Ryan lie? He’d never lie to him. He let himself fall asleep and melt away into distant memories of cradling his baby sister with a pile of children’s books he’d borrowed from the village library, sitting by their mother’s grave, making up voices for characters, just like would have, so Eilis could experience story time with mama.

Ryan placed his hand on the cool glass, watching Tadgh floating in the mixture that had brought him back to life. Vita chambers weren’t fully on the market yet, you needed to stay in them longer, currently, to make sure you were fully healed. Tadgh still had some wounds but apart from that he didn’t look a day older from when Ryan had last seen him. Finally he could fix the only mistake he had ever made. “Wait till you see the city, dear boy.. and the people’s thoughts of you… you’ll be so proud… then we can fix this mess. Together. I swear” Ryan promised, unsure if Tadgh could even hear him anymore.

Suchong watched from afar as he disposed of the now unneeded samples they’d taken from the Pavlov dog. Since Ryan was distracted, he took his change, labelling another vile, containing some blood & tissue, p.d.l.

He couldn’t just go naming it Frank Fontaine, now could he? He was paid a lot of money to keep that sample to register. If Fontaine wanted to play revolutionary for now, that was fine, but when he was bored and finally put a bullet in the brain of that irritating Irish mug, he would come back himself. And he promised Suchong a reward If he made this possible, and you can bet top dollar that the scientist wanted to claim that reward.

Chapter Text

You miss the sun when you can no longer see it so deep under the ocean, it made days impossible to tell when you didn’t have a clock. Eilis just stared at the wall, sending away nurses anytime they entered to try and convince her to take Adam treatment each day, refusing to sleep out of pure spite alone. She was probably delirious at this point but she didn’t have the energy to care. This was all just one long day in her mind, her only concept of time was the change of staff and the paper Sullivan brought her each day while he sat beside her in silence, drinking coffee, always giving her hand a squeeze in a silent apology before he left. Martin never came. Mick and Sinclair only showed up once or twice, seemingly very busy with something in the outside word, and Cohen appeared to paint her for his newest art display in memory of those who died on New Years. A little untasteful in her opinion but she didn’t bother to give it to him. Ryan had only visited when she’d initially woke up, seemingly avoiding her and poor Diane like they had the plague, so imagine her shock when instead of Sullivan, he appeared at her door.

He had a bouquet and admitted “I didn’t expect you to be awake”. She just stared at him as he came in, something oddly familiar about the whole scenario, like the world was repeating itself. She looked so frail lying there, covered in bandages and visible stitches with a sickly complexion and a rattle to her entire body each time she exhaled. “How’s Diane?..” she asked quietly. “Fine.. perfectly fine” Ryan lied, forcing a smile.

How pleasantly casual.

If she had the energy she would have screamed at him, but she didn’t, so she just tolerated whatever this illusion of normality was that he was trying to push. Maybe he’d remembered what guilt felt like. She watched as he put the bouquet into the base beside her bed, a memory flashing of an almost identical flower arrangement being placed on the fresh dirt of a grave on a horrible Sunday morning. Tadgh’s favourite… Granny’s favourite. He pulled over a chair, it screeched across the wood floor but he didn’t seem to mind it, sitting beside her and seemingly waiting for her to speak, as she usually did. Maybe a comment, or another question, he’d have even taken an insult, but she gave him nothing.

Her trust in him was gone. It was already cracked after the whole Fontaine incident, but this. This absolutely shattered it. He could see it in her eyes. Even when she was furious with him, even when she’d held that gun to him all those months ago, he could still tell she was hesitating. And they both knew it was because of one memory that will forever be the reason they continue to tolerate betrayal after betrayal for so long.

Back in Ireland, rain pouring down in such velocity that they looked like drown rats within seconds, but Eilis didn’t move. In fact she’d stood out from the umbrella Ryan had brought for himself, kneeling in front of the graves of her mother, grandmother and the more freshly laid dirt of her brother. It didn’t even have a proper tombstone yet. She’d held on so well since he’d first told her about her brother’s death, Ryan understanding it would be natural for her to have such a drastic reaction after being told a loved one has died.

After that she wasn’t herself; she didn’t react to the body, she didn’t mind having to collect it from the port so they could bury him where he asked, she didn’t even shed a tear at the funeral or when forgotten friends and distant cousins came to apologise for her lost. But that moment when they were alone, standing in the cold rain for hours as Mother Nature sobbed for her lost child, she broke. Her knees buckled and she just sobbed, bracing herself off her grandmother’s tomb as if the woman would fix all her problems even in death. Ryan barely remembered helping the poor girl stand, getting her back to his car and into the back with him, which was out of character as he usually had her sit in the front. She was also filthy. To this day he didn’t know why he did it, he didn’t know why he held her so close, letting her sob into his already drenched jacket, rubbing small circles on her back and giving her words of reassurance as warm tears trickled down their cold cheeks. It was a tender moment and they stayed like that the whole drive back to the airport.

He knew this memory was the only reason she hasn’t left him or killed him, and why she didn’t snatch her hand away when he lay his own ontop of it, but he felt her tense up from his touch. Despite the memory having kept her trust for so long, it couldn’t fix this. “They’ve been able to move him to a hospital bed. He’ll be awake in a few days at most. It’ll be like that terrible day never happened” Her employer explained with a soft smile, Eilis just giving him a sad look as a reply. They both knew that wasn’t true, Eilis entire body was an example of that. “Do say something, Ellie dear” he begged. Her voice was croaky as she answered “I hope he doesn’t wake up…”.

“Why?” He asked, watching her expression. Her nose wrinkled slightly, though it caused her pain “I don’t want him to see me.. he died with the memory of me clinging to life and now he’ll come back to see me being too exhausted to fight for it. I’m here because you’re too stubborn to let me die and he shouldn’t be alive anyway.”. He knew she was right about his stubbornness, but he’d never admit it. He just couldn’t comprehend why she found this so horrifying. It was a medical marvel! Death was no longer the end for those who could choose. She still just looked so disgusted with him. “You don’t want to die, stop being dramatic” He scoffed, sounding more demeaning then he wanted to.

Eilis groaned in pain as she slowly sat up, trying not to burst any of her stitches  as she pushed herself back against the cushions, “please… please stop acting like you know my every thought… because you don’t. I am so tired… you just keep hitting me with blow after blow and I honestly don’t know if I’ll survive whatever you’re going to throw me at next” she explained, rubbing at her torso where she’d been impaled, as she spoke. He gave her this stare which usually meant he was demanding an explanation but refused to lower himself to ask for one.

“I amn’t reciting all your feckin mistakes like Shakespeare… if you do so many horrible things that you need me to remind you of which bother me, then maybe you should pull Dr Lamb out of Persephone…” she still didn’t look at him as she spoke, staring at the ceiling, hoping he’d give in and just leave out of annoyance, but he didn’t. Instead he asked something that surprised her “You really loved that mad man, didn’t you?…”. She actually looked at him, wondering where this was going. He let out a defeated sigh of “would you rid yourself of this death wish if I brought him back as I have done with your brother?”.

She stared at him blankly with an unreadable expression as he began to clarify “of course he would have to serve his time in Persephone for his crimes and would be unable to reclaim the power he once had, but you’d be able to see him if-“ getting cut off with a blunt “no.”.

Ryan sighed again, happy she said no but knowing he was now out of ideas. “Jesus Christ what is wrong with you?… I don’t understand why your here, Andrei” Eilis admitted, noticing he was sulking, “if it was just to tell me about Tadgh, then you’ve done it. Get out…”.

“I came here to inform you of that, yes. I also came to try and get my bodyguard back in order.” He had to resist a glare when Eilis actually chuckled slightly, wondering “what? Is Tadgh not enough?“. “You’re brother has the skills but not the experience. Unlike you. And until he is well enough to even think about getting on his feet and starting to get back into his usual roll, I need you by my side” Ryan explained, being as honest as he possibly could. Rapture was getting dangerous with these new ‘revolutionaries’ damaging and attempting to lay claim on parts of his city, polluting it with their false ideals and parasitic natures. He needed both of his bodyguards to keep him safe so he could keep rapture together, the great chain was slipping away and he needed extra hands to hold it tightly. Eilis could be the violent muscle, as she usually was and Thomas could be the brains of the duo, someone Ryan could fully trust. Someone less emotional.

He gave Eilis’ hand a squeeze, speaking as kindly as he could manage “take the Adam and a day to recover. Don’t let Thomas see you like this”. Eilis scoffed and tried to pull her hand away, but for once she was weaker than Ryan, “what? Don’t let him see the little monster you’ve made?..”.

“No. Don’t let him see you as some pathetic little thing when you are far from it. Take the Adam.” Ryan spoke firmly, still keeping a grip on Eilis’ hand as she sunk inwardly, already feeling how horrible the Adam is going to make her feel tomorrow. “… promise me Mick won’t see him until I’m ready to show him and I’ll take whatever random Adam mix you want” the fact Ryan smiled at her made her skin crawl. He patted her hand and gave her a quick reply of “I promise” before he was gone from her sight. She knew he wouldn’t keep that promise, instead he’d make it a threat or simply inform Mick himself. Fuck sake.

Eilis looked over at that dreaded bouquet Ryan hand brought. She stretched her hand slightly, cracking her knuckles and staring at the exposed part of her hand as she summoned whatever little bit of eve that was in her system to light it on fire. It burnt, naturally, but more than usual. Gritting her teeth, she clicked her fingers and flicked her wrist, watching as the flowers lit up within seconds, quickly wilting and turning into ash, all that remained was the stems that had been in the water. Nurses came in quickly, confirming she’d consented to the Adam treatment before replacing all her iv bags of painkillers and water with Adam. To stop herself from ripping the iv’s out of her arms, she lied to herself that it was blood. Blood didn’t glisten and fill the room with that horrible chemical smell, but she just continued to lie to herself for some self mercy and continue to think it was blood.

It took an hour for everything to heal up, Eilis couldn’t help but stare at the new scars. Most of them were small, the only large ones were on her torso and the one on her thigh. She read her fingers over them slightly, almost like she didn’t believe they were there, before getting dressed. She was actually shocked that Stienmen wasn’t the one who came to remove her stitches, he hadn’t come at all surprisingly. It’s not like she cared, but it was strange. It made her worried about what he was doing, but she wasn’t going to find out. She just wanted to go home. She’d get her shotgun off Sullivan when she wasn’t back to work, the idea of shooting anything made her feel sick for some reason currently.

When she got back to her apartment, it was empty. Martin must have been out. Grabbing a bottle of gin, she made her way upstairs, going to curl up in her bed and just use the next day and a half she had to sleep, only to find Atlas standing in her bedroom. “You’re lucky I don’t have a gun” she reminded him, walking around the man and to her bed, seeing the hidden door to the private docking station wide open. “I heard you were getting released, so I wanted to see you somewhere more private. Somewhere we won’t get caught” Atlas explained as he followed her, sitting at her side “how are you love?” Eilis stood up immediately and moved to the nearest wall so there was a distance between them. “I don’t think you have the right to ask me that question” She crossed her arms, tapping her nails off her skin, ignoring how oddly tender her entire body was.

Atlas was quiet for a moment as he planned out the conversation in his head and how he could steer it back on course if she tried to derail it, softly stating “I didn’t know you’d be there. We saw Ryan on the announcements, obviously at home, I assumed you’d be with him”. “So you’re telling me you wouldn’t have murdered hundreds of people, brutally,  after somehow raising an entire building back to the cities level, if you knew I was in attendance? Because that sounds like utter shite” Eilis’ foot bounced slightly as she spoke, having no patience for whatever pity game he was playing. Rubbing at the stubble on his face, he admitted “no…. I would have taken you out if I did. It’s not like we could have been in contact, love”.

“Don’t call me that.” She warned him, watching his every move cautiously, wondering if he had a heard of his men hiding around her apartment, waiting to cart her off again for ransom, and this time she was too tired to fight back. “Why didn’t you join us? Why not go against Ryan just this once? With your influence we could have come up with something less violent” he lied, knowing this was the plan all along, the Kashmir may have been a last minute decision but they were always going to do something this violent and drastic. “Forgive me for not wanting to fuck up my current stability just for you because my father believes in your cause and I find you mildly entertaining. That doesn’t excuse any of this” She practically snarled at him, watching with darting eyes as he calmly opened her bottle of gin and took a drink, offering it to her.

“Rumour has it you’re actually pissed at Ryan” he mused, Eilis snatching the bottle off him. “And where’d that rumour come from?” She asked, wiping the rim of the bottle with her sleeve before taking a sip. Atlas shrugged “heard it going around. Apparently a few nurses were giving away gossipin’ whispers about the faces you’d pull when you’d hear him on the radio or he was mentioned by name”. The Pavlov dog was quiet, taking another very long swig of gin before sighing “god, I hate people..”.

Apparently not wanting to just sit in silence, Atlas attempted to compliment “Hm… you’ve lost weight”, Eilis snapping at him “it’s the shirt. I’m pretty sure these are some dead adam junkies… and I can’t get changed because you’re here” she gestured at him with the bottle as she walked past, Atlas admitting “you can if you want, I’m not complaining” onto to have a lightning bolt go past his head, sending his hair straight up as the lights in the room flickered to life. “Take the hint mate” Eilis called back as she pulled something out of the wardrobe, disappearing into her bathroom and shutting the door. She glanced back to be sure he hadn’t followed and finally got out of the clothes she’d been given to go home. They stunk. She abandoned them in the bathtub, turning around to get her clothes off the counter when she spotted her reflection in the mirror.

She looked horrible.

Memories of Frank standing behind her and teasing her about how pretty she looked flashed by, being tainted by the gnawing thought of; would he even be able to look at you now? You’re hideous.

She picked at her teeth as she tries to ignore it, almost like she was trying to convince her reflection that she was fine. With a deep composing breath, followed by a huff of pain when she swore she heard her ribs creak like old floorboards, she through on a pair of pants and one of Frank’s old shirts, tucking it in and buttoning it up enough to cover her chest but not feel suffocating. She needed to buy a new bra, badly. She only acknowledge Atlas with a vague noise to show she realised he was still there, as she went to grab the gin that had been moved from where she’d left it.

He grabbed it first, moving it away and still lounging on her bed, smirking like some cocky prick who thought he owned the place as he stared at her. “Any reason you’re covered up more than usual? You always roll up your sleeves” he noticed, not getting an answer as she sat down and snatched the bottle off him again. “What are we drinking for today, love?” He hummed, watching as she finished the rest of the at least litre bottle of gin, hissing at him “pain. Are we done with the questions or are am stuck with you for the rest of my night?“.

“The physical or the emotional kind?” Now that made Eilis genuinely laugh at him, answering “you’re a true Irish man aren’t you? Never know when to mind your own business or keep your opinions to yourself, but your always right in some fecked up way”. They were quiet again for a moment, Eilis watching the last few drops of gin racing down the clear glass of the bottle, almost thinking she’d hallucinated when she heard Atlas request “show me”.

“Not yours to see” She shot back, still not looking at him but watching him in the reflection of the bottle. “Is it not? It’s not like I haven’t seen the others before now is it darlin? Or did you forget that little goodbye kiss you gave me” His voice had this gruffness to it that sent a jolt up her spine, making her struggle to get her words together as her nose wrinkled again “I.. well.. in my defence, I thought you were going to die. No harm in giving a dying man part of his last wish”. “And the other half?” He asked, snaking his hand to her cheek and guiding her face to look at him, brushing his thumb off the scar on the bottom of her lip. Eilis swallowed hard, wondering why she was suddenly so nervous, “you haven’t proved your little scheme will accomplish anything good yet. That was the deal wasn’t it?..”.

“I think I did, and I want to see the damage so I can apologise for it” she felt one of his hands move to her waist, and she didn’t stop him, trying to think of any reason to stop him but she was just coming up with more to let him keep going. “Bar one of them I don’t think you’ll know which to apologise for” she chuckled due to her nerves, trying to hold them in since she couldn’t remember the last time she did that.

“Oh trust me” he assured her, his accent slipping as he guided her to lie down while he untucked her shirt, elegant propping himself above her as he undid the buttons like it were muscle memory “body like yours, I remember it like the back of my hand”. Eilis didn’t have have time to register how absolutely identical he sounded to Frank before their lips met and all her logic and survival instincts went out the window.

*

The kiss was biting, almost animalistic as the two hadn’t felt the touch of another person since the last time they were together. Eilis tugged him closer by his suspenders, chuckling when she heard him grunt in discomfort from how he hand to bend his only supporting arm, tangling her hands in his hair. She had to fight off the memory of Stienmen for a few moments but quickly it was overpowered as kissing Atlas felt much different. She could feel his stubble scratch off her whenever he broke away for a breath before smashing their lips together again, not giving Eilis time to get a full breath. He smelt like cheep tobacco & sea brine and his hands felt like they could break any part of her off if they wanted. When they finally broke apart, lips sufficiently kiss bruised with Atlas’ hair matted and scalp tender from Eilis’ grip, he started to trial down her chest, kissing every scar he could.

Eilis watched with her lip between her teeth, wondering why the hell this was so sexy. Slowly but surely he got lower and lower, eventually being able to kneel on the ground by the bed, having his fingers hooked in her waistband and smirking at her. “If you kiss every bloody scar on my legs we’ll be here all year” She joked, Atlas giving her a confused look as calmly pulled her pants off, Eilis helping him slightly. “I amn’t that patient. But I’m a man of my word darlin, and I said I want to kiss every scar you have as an apology. And I mean every. Scar” he had this little smirk that was so endearing she didn’t catch on to what he was doing.

She watched as he calmly got his hands under her legs, pulling her close and resting her thighs on his shoulders. She could feel his breath, it tickled and made her feel like her heart was in her mouth. The confused look on her face was priceless, so innocent. He’d always thought she was lying to him about some levels of her experience with men, but it seems in this area she was blissfully unaware of what he was doing. She opened her mouth to make some form of snarky retort about him just staring at her, possibly going to toss in something about her not being that kind of pretty, but a choke of surprise silenced her as she instinctively clasped a hand over her mouth and felt her body jolt like she’d been shocked, but her plasmids weren’t active.

She glanced down at Atlas, only being able to see his piercing eyes looking up at her, brow furrowed as he read her expression and strands of his pitch black locks dangling in front of his face. Eilis found herself, slightly involuntarily, turning her head away in embarrassment. This dragged a chuckle out of Atlas, which she felt through her bones, her body arching and curling in a way that just pressed her more against the revolutionary’s mouth as he kept her thighs firmly planted on his shoulders. Her free hand clung to the bedsheets so hard her knuckles went an anaemic shade of white, while the other was focused keeping her quiet, and failing miserably.

Each moan that slipped past was music to Atlas’ ears. When she finally allowed herself to moan out praises for him in a language his persona should have been able to at least partially understand, he felt her hand smooth over his hair and grip it lightly, her nails scraping off his scalp and her ankles crossing behind his back. She was like putty in his hands, leaning into each of his touches, revelling in the feeling of his tongue expertly travel along her fold and nerves, making feel like her entire body was on fire, burning from her core and she was willing to be burnt to a crisp just to feel this again. She found herself grinding against his face, desperately chasing the slowly building high that she just knew would be just perfect if it got to its peak, only for it to stop.

The tingling slowly died down as she tries to catch her breath, feeling so lightheaded and almost empty as she tried to focus on any form of thought she could latch onto. Atlas pulled away, calmly wiping slick off his face while giving her this cocky look, chuckling “looks like we found something you like”. “Oh you are such a bastard..” Eilis complained breathlessly, propping herself up on her elbows only to find her eyes following Atlas as he stood, slipping off his suspenders and pulling off his shirt after only undoing a few buttons, teasing “that’s your type though, ain’t it?” seemingly not giving a damn about ruining his shirt as the rattle of loose buttons hitting the floor filled the room, along side the Pavlov dog’s pants.

“You didn’t think I’d leave you high and dry, did you? That wouldn’t be very kind of me, now would it, pet?” He smirked down at her as she forced herself to focus on his eyes, ignoring the fact her heart skipped a beat when she heard his belt buckle hit the floor. “You scared?” Atlas teased, Eilis sitting up and draping an arm around his shoulders, lightly feeling at the back of his hair, resisting an amused look when he visibly shivered and tilted his head back into her touch.

“No. I’m just wondering how I still find you so insufferably smug but I’m not kicking you to go whine to a girl from Eve’s to beg for your itch to be scratched” Eilis told him as calmly as she could manage, kissing him softly as a tease before pulling away to the same insufferably smug stare he’d giving her moments before. “Oh, you little mix” Atlas sounded like he was growling at her, that bronx tone mixing in with the Dublin one, making his voice deep enough for Eilis to physically feel it, before he crashed their lips together so hard that their teeth hit off each other for a moment.

They lost themselves in eachother until they were forced to pull away for air, the two moaning in unison as he pushed in, Eilis arching against him as she dragged her nails down his back, being much more sensitive than usual thanks to his earlier teasing. Her eyes rolled back and their breaths synced up as he started to thrust, slowly getting a good pace that had her moaning out anything but his name, this false name she seemed to despise saying. Anytime she’d turn her head away, he’d pull her back by her chin, barely resting the urge to rest his hand on her neck to just hold it there. When he made an attempt, Eilis quickly pried his hand off and knitted their fingers together, planting them by her head and digging her nails into the space between his knuckles.

She may not have been her usual self when she was in the middle of making love, but she still had enough sense not to be pushed around. As she felt that knot of anticipation balling up in her gut, curling her rose and causing her to roll her hips to meet Atlas’ thrusts, the sound of skin on skin echoing in the large room, she slid her fingers into his hair again and gripped tightly, drawing a strange mix of a groan and a hiss out the man. She pulled his head down, pressing their foreheads together. If he wanted to see her face so badly, he could stare at her all he damn well pleased, no matter how much discomfort it caused him.

Their lips kept brushing off eachother momentarily as he slowly got sloppier and sloppier till the knot finally snapped and Eilis wore her vision went white for a moment while the euphoria rushed over. She blinked the dogs in her vision away as she realised she still had a right grip on Atlas’ head, and he hadn’t moved. Her had was so tense she felt her knuckles pop as she let go, seeing some strands of back hair caught between her fingers. Her lover pulled out and flopped down beside her, trying to catch his breath while ignoring his tender scalp. They were lying on the bed the completely wrong way but were too tired to adjust themselves, letting the cold air of the room cool down their hot bodies.

Enjoying the comfortable silence, Atlas soon slowly sat up, planning to get dressed and simply leave, but a soft hand on his chest begged him to stay, guiding him back down. Eilis nuzzled her head into his chest, pulling the end of the bedsheets over them, wrapping them in a silky cocoon as they held eachother close.

“I thought you hated me” The false Irish man wondered, Eilis defended herself “I never said that, I said you were insufferable”. “Oh forgive me, because that is so much better isn’t it me darlin?” He hummed, Eilis lifting her head to look at him properly with this slightly mischievous smile “maybe I’m a masochist then” kissing him softly before getting back into her comfortable position, enjoying the one moment she hasn’t wanted to shoot this man in the foot just to spite him. She was sure those feelings would return later but if it meant she has to tolerate them for under an hour just to feel like that again, she could cope.

*

“Diane asked for you again” Sullivan informed his employer as they stride through the more private section of the patient wards for the medical pavilion. “Yes… I’ll see her at some point” Ryan dismissed it, going up the stairs quickly, pushed by determination alone and uncaring for his wheezing head of security barely trailing behind him. He abandoned poor Sullivan struggling with the steps and rushed to the hospital room guarded by two of his security team. “Is it true? Is he awake?” The men were shocked to see Ryan so oddly emotional. One of them just nodded, the two stepping apart to let him in.

The private room was dark, it was the one built for Ryan personally if he were ever in need of medical attention, so it had a desk, a luxury couch, very nice bedsheets and thick curtains to hide the ocean. A lamp bathed the room in warm light and there he was. Tadgh. His hair was a fluffed up mess from him sleeping, he looked so stared and confused. He visibly perked up at the sight of Ryan, sitting up straight and smiling softly “Christ, I swore it was the need there… how’s Eilis? Was anyone else injured?”. “Thomas…” Ryan began, putting a hand on his shoulder “what I am going to tell you may be very very startling”.

Tadgh’s brow furrowed, wondering why Ryan was acting so strangely, and when he had grey hairs and such large bags under his eyes. Could it have been from the stress? “Well? Go on I’m not getting any younger sir” Tadgh chuckled, still looking cautiously confused. “You… my dear boy, you have been dead for nine years. The last day you remember, was truly supposed to be your last” Ryan began, frowning visibly when The younger man snorted a laugh “did Eilis put you up to that? Very cruel Andrei”. With a sigh Ryan walked away, over to the curtains and pushed them open to expose the view of rapture his hospital room had. Tadgh’s grin dropped as he stared at it in confusion.

“This is rapture. My dream. Our city. And this great city made the technology that has allowed you to return… I understand if you need some time to process this, but we have so much to do, and I have so much to explain to you” Ryan remained calm, being practically able to see the cogs turning in his young friend’s brain. He expected him to ask many questions; what year was it? How is he alive? How long has he been dead? How long have they been in rapture? or simply anything about the city.

Instead he didn’t ask a question, he gave a demand “I want to see my sister”.

”she’s busy, Thomas, I’m sure you’ll be able to see her so-“ Ryan tried to push the request away, to the back of the boys mind where it wouldn’t bother him or interrupt their moment, but he was shocked to have his loyal friend cut him off with a stern, almost shout of “I want. To see. My sister. Now”.

Chapter Text

Eilis was woken up by soft kisses at the back of her neck, like little glimpses of sunlight hitting her cold skin and slowly warming her up. She sleepily rolled over to meet her lover’s lips, smiling softly and whispering “morning… I expected you to be gone. Don’t you have a revolutionary to run?”.

Atlas hummed, stroking her cheek, teasing “couldn’t leave you to wake up all on your lonesome on your day off, now could I? I plan on enjoying you for as long as you can tolerate me, darlin” kissing her again before getting up, grabbing one of Frank’s robes and tossing it on so casually you’d swore he wore it every morning. Eilis watched him from the warmth of her bedsheets, giving him a soft smile as he walked by before reluctantly getting up, throwing on one of Frank’s old silk shirts and a smoking jacket before following Atlas downstairs, only to find he wasn’t there.

She made herself tea, letting it warm up her hands as she wandered around aimlessly, till she heard a familiar record play from the game room. She quickly went up the stairs, walking on her toes as she always did while in her bare feet,  leaning against the doorframe as she watched the revolutionary push furniture out of the way to clear the floor. “If I were born to wealth, I’d moan about you ruining my bloody floor” She teased, not really caring about the scrapes that now covered the hardwood, in her opinion it gave character. He put out a hand to her and beckoned “c’mere to me”. She rolled her eyes and took his hand, the two quickly getting in the right position and starting to sway. She nuzzled her head into his shoulder, not realising when she outwardly whispered the thought of “Frankie bought me this record…”.

“You miss that sorry sod, don’t you?” She heard Atlas query, feeling the vibrations off his throat. “A bit… he was an absolute bastard… broke the one boundary I set with him and probably would have shot me if it benefitted him… but he had these sweet little moments that just had me curled around his finger…” she admitted, her tone still soft, unaware of the smirk spread across her recent lover’s features. He moved his hand to the small of her back to push her more against him, and she didn’t stop him, only raising her head to look at him properly. “What’s your actual name?” The Pavlov dog asked calmly, but her eyes gave him this silent warning now to lie.

“Atlas not good enough for you, pet?” He chuckled, avoiding the question as they kept swaying. “I refuse to moan the name my own father was called before you showed up. If we’re going to continue this I need a name” she demanded firmly. Shit.

Was she catching on? She didn’t seem to be, she was just suspicious. When the Pavlov dog was suspicious she became like a bloodhound, sniffing out a lie within moments. He had to be careful.

“What if you let it slip to Ryan?” He asked, remaining playful “Can’t have you shooting me in the foot now can I?”. “If I find out your using me as an excuse to cheat on your wife and lied about getting a divorce, I’ll do much more than shoot you in the feckin foot” she stopped dancing and glared at him as she waited for a response.

He sighed and put on a sad look, pecking her cheek as he reassured her “I’m not using you. Eilis, darlin, you have your secrets, and I have mine. After all this is over I promise, I’ll tell ya, but till then you can call me whatever you like”. The kiss threw her sent off but she still looked hesitant, muttering “if your not dead by then”. “My my, aren’t we the optimist?“ Atlas snorted as he started to have them away again, happy, Eilis let him, her mind being thrown far away from his plans. She didn’t need to know yet.

“I’m more of a realist, but I’ll take that as a compliment…” she smiled, but it left her features when a thought came to mind “look.. love, I’m fine being bedroom entertainment, all of this is sweet and domestic, and it helps me forget everything going on outside… but Ryan can never know about this. Not now, not after. This stays between us, and I mean it.”

The look she gave him told him all he needed to know.

He let this slip and she would kill him. She didn’t love him yet, obviously, so he needed to be careful how far he pushed this. Currently she seemed both at the end of her tether, on the brink of killing him or dragging him to Ryan, or willing to abandon everything just for a few kisses and sex good enough to numb the screaming inside her thoughts. And he was willing to give that all for the sake of the greater plan. He’d be paid back for his tolerance plenty, later on.

“Cross my heart and hope to die” He swore, smiling softly when Eilis visibly relaxed, believing him. He stopped them swaying and brought his hand up to her cheek again, asking “why don’t you refreshen my memory again? I want to be sure I haven’t forgotten a single detail”. Her arms snaked around his neck, nails lightly scraping off the back of his neck as she grinned, musing “I could give you a few little notes, now that I think about it”. “And what are those notes, pet?” He asked, the two seemingly chuckling in unison as their lips were about to meet, the pair closing their eyes and Atlas prepared to take several steps back so they could fall on the couch, till a screeching alarm took over the apartment as the record cut off.

The two pulled away, having two very different reactions. Atlas was startled as confused, his hand immediately going to where he kept his pistol on his belt of the pants he currently wasn’t wearing, wondering what the hell that noise was and not recognising it in what was once his home. Eilis looked annoyed, her brow furrowing and nose wrinkling as she rubbed at her eyes, sighing deeply as she pried herself off her lover and walked at a brisk pace to the private office, ripping open her pnuemo to shut it up, wondering when the hell Ryan had that damned alarm reinstalled. She hadn’t missed it. Not one bit.

Inside was a simple note inscribed:

He’s awake. Come urgently.

Alone .

Andrei

Eilis choked on her breath, admittedly not being ready for such news. She expected him to wake up in a few days and she could take some time to be mentally ready, but of course not. Anxiety started to whelm up her chest as she realised she had to go see him, she couldn’t leave him alone with Ryan for too long, he was far from mentally stable and god knows what lies he would feed Tqdgh.

Atlas waited calmly in the game room for her to return, slightly shocked when she appeared fully dressed, braiding her hair as she walked. “It’s your day off, where are you off too?” He asked, Eilis just giving him a short response of “family matter, love”. She stopped for a minute to take a deep breath before telling him “I’m gonna be gone all day. You’re free to stay here if you want but my brother in law may be back soon”. “Will I see you again?” Atlas wondered, chuckling at Eilis’ mildly annoyed response of “I’m sure I’ll find you uninvited, on my bed, in a week or so” before she was gone, quickly going back to the office and taking the private bathysphere straight to the patient ward of the medical pavilion.

She got just shy of Ryan’s private hospital room before she stopped. She felt like she was going to be sick. She crouched down for a minute and tilted her head back to breath, keeping her eyes shut and reminding herself that it was going to be ok. It had to be. She just needed to cope. She was almost tempted to pray, which actually lightened her mood at how funny that was. But the overwhelming feeling of nausea quickly took that over. She fought off the gruesome memories before finally straightening her spine and inhaling deeply, knocking on the door.

Her brother had been awake for hours, waiting impatiently to see proof his sister was alive. He wouldn’t eat, he wouldn’t respond to nurses with more than grunts and he refused to even acknowledge Ryan. When the two heard the knock on the door, he watched Ryan stand and approach it, the door sliding open only for him. He couldn’t see who it was but from his employer’s snide comment if “I would ask what took you so long, but it is very obvious. Cover yourself up, your bother is ill enough”.

Tadgh visibly perked up, leaning forward and smiling, excited to see his sister.

He expected her to look relatively the same, but of course a little older, how ever longer into the future it was. He didn’t fully understand what Ryan was explaining, he understood the whole rapture part, of course, as he’d been here when it was on the brink of finishing construction, but how he was alive still confused him.

For now he thought of it like a coma, taking the energy away from that and focusing what little he had on making sure his sister was ok. He couldn’t repress the shocked expression that covered his face when she entered though.

She was dressed so different than she once did, dressed more like he would have while working. Her arms were covered in scars that looked like they were from anything from shrapnel to bullet wounds, some obviously more fresh than anothers. She kept flexing her hands to hide the fact she was shaking. Her boots were steel capped, covered in rusted brown and crusted seaweed, still glinting in the light as she rolled her ankles. Her eyes didn’t have that same sparkle anymore, they looked so tired. She looked so done with living and like she was resisting the urge to puke. “Cad a tharla duit agus mé imithe?...” his voice cracked while he asked, witnessing his sister almost emotionally break down right then and there.

Bar a few whelming tears, Eilis held herself together, barely keeping back a gag as she spoke to Ryan “I met Sinclair in the reception. He asked me to send you down to him, he couldn’t get ahold of you and it’s um.. urgent business shite I didn’t listen to him explain”. She didn’t expect him to believe her, but he did, rolling his eyes at her apparent incompetence before leaving.

Cautiously approaching her brother, like he was some sort of wild animal, she almost began to interrogate him as she spoke “are you real? Or am I seeing things?..”. “Seeing things? What are you on about love?… of course I’m real”. Eilis swallowed, needing to be sure.

“What was the name of the lamb I kept in the house?..” she stopped approaching him.

Tadgh’s brow furrowed “actually or what you called him? Because you named him Collin but we all called him the fluffy bastard”. Good. She took another step closer.

“Why did Dad call me little robin?” she watched him think, she could always tell when her brother was thinking. But maybe this was all rouse, all a well crafted lie by Ryan just to make everything come up roses again. Maybe the vita chambers didn’t even work and he just had stienmen do up some random man as her brother.

“Granny used to bundle you in a brown scarf and leave you outside in a basket when she did the washing. Once she forgot you and when dad remembered you were just this little brown ball with snow white skin and bright red cheeks. He thought it was funny”. Another step.

“What… what were Granny’s last words?” That was a heavy one, and one she knew he’d have never let slip to Ryan, because they never discussed it. When she had died that was it. They’d mention her in memory but every anything but that. It was also the only one she knew he couldn’t lie about.

Tadgh wondered why he was being interrogated on such random parts of their past, but he allowed it since every right answer got her more relaxed. “Fuck them. Her last words were fuck them. She gave us this big longwinded speech about how she loves us, gave us the deed to the house, some personal items and the family savings, and when I teased her about what the neighbours would think, she whispered ‘fuck them’.”.

Finally being at her brother’s side, she had to physically resist the urge to tackle him. It was really him. He was here. All those emotions she’d gotten over and those physical feelings that made her want to rip her skin off all came rushing back at once, and she just wanted to hug him. She wanted to hug her brother and pretend they were back in their little stone house, their father chopping wood outside and their granny knitting by the fire. But she couldn’t. She just squeezed his hand and took a deep breath again, which came out as a sniffle, she forced a laugh to brush it off. “Christ… I have so much to tell you and no fucking time at all..” She chuckled, “and I can’t hug you yet or I’ll cry and not get a word in..”.

“Tell me what?..” he asked softly. “Everything..” she whispered, “beidh fuath agat dom..”. Tadgh held her hand and squeezed it tightly, knowing she didn’t want to touched anywhere but there at the moment so a hug was out of the question, reassuring her “Ní raibh mé in ann. now tell me what you need to tell me”.

Eilis laughed again, that little laugh she did when she nervous beyond thought, but the little smile caused by it kept quivering as she tried to think of words “I.… feck I don’t know where to start… can uh.. can we go for a walk? It’ll be good for your muscles anyway” she suggested, honestly just wanting to escape the room that was somehow more insufferable and Ryanised than the man’s own apartment.

“Sure… I haven’t tried to stand yet so you may have to catch me” her brother joked as he slowly worked himself out of the bed. He stood up rather successfully, for a moment, till his knees buckled. Eilis caught him just under his shoulders, snickering as she offered “right, once foot in front of the other. There’s a wheelchair outside, I’ll grab it for you”. “Am I not to heavy for you?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Eilis snorted a laugh, knowing all the Adam in her system, even though it was much less than it had been a few months ago, made her strong enough to be able to carry him like a baby of she wanted and only struggle slightly.

To both amuse and distract him while she tried to see where the lock was, she joked “oh no, you way as much as a feckin elephant. God I can feel my muscles about the cave in from the weight alone!” Putting a dramatic hand to her forehead as he drove her knee into the door hard enough the lock unlocked, knowing it was one of the older forms of the genetic locks. Ryan had obviously forgotten to upgrade it, these ones could he opened if you just hit the right spot hard enough.

Getting her brother into the nearby wheelchair, she went to push him, but he stopped her. “I can push myself, you just talk alright?” He insisted, getting a good grip on the wheels and pushing himself along. “This defeats the point of going on a walk, ya know?” She teased him, he glanced at her as he reminded her “I know you love. We’re not doing this for the sake of a walk. You want privacy which you don’t associate with that room. Now talk to me”.

“Right… fuck sake you were always an observant asshole…. Where do I even start?” She rubbed at the back of her neck as she tried to cram nine years worth of info into as many small sentences as she could “You’ve been dead nine years. I’m Ryan’s bodyguard, the city hates me… but I don’t blame them.. They actually Idolise you in the way you would despise, but I’ll let you see that for yourself… Ryan is just.. horrible… I have no clue how I haven’t killed the bastard yet” she forced a chuckle, though the one that came out of Tadgh was genuine, he found it funny, but she wasn’t joking, “Cohen’s on the brink of insanity.. I have no clue how Sullivan is coping… Martin is going to lose his sense when he finds out your here!…” she swallowed, trying to condence it down quickly so he could get the basics and she could possibly elaborate on it later. He just needed enough to know when Ryan was lying. “ I fell in love… Didn’t last long, he’s gone now… you would have hated him. I’m engaged but not happily” she began to say her father’s name but stopped herself. Not yet.

“That is absolute gibberish without context love. You’re not giving me the whole thing, are you?” Her brother asked softly, she shook her head, chewing on her lip for a second before stating “no… but we don’t have time for that.. The next few things I’m going to say may not make sense now, but promise me you’ll remember them. They’ll make sense soon of Ryan ever let’s you out of this damn room”. Tadgh gave her this look that almost seemed suspicious, like he didn’t believe her and she hadn’t said anything yet. Still, he just continued to listen and kept rolling himself along by her side.

What she said next didn’t help that suspicious confusion “If you see a strange looking slug, don’t touch it. Don’t smoke the cigarettes, only smoke cigars. Don’t drink the wine. Do not touch the little girls with glowing eyes, even if you think you’re being kind, it won’t end well. Never talk to anyone asking questions who you don’t already know and trust. If Cohen is laughing, do not look him in the eye and never criticise his work. Do not go near the large things that look like diving suits, they’ll kill you without a second thought. Do not take Adam. Do not take plasmids. And if you are forced to, don’t take Eve. When Ryan asks you a question, word your answer carefully or it will forever be thrown back at you. Never ask about Persephone. Never go to Fontaines department store. Never go to Pauper’s drop. Don’t tell people you’re related to me”

Her brother out his hand to physically stop her “hold on a tick, why not? I’m not ashamed that your my sister, I don’t care what you’ve done to survive. And you aren’t ashamed of me, right?“. “It’s for your own good. Trust me, just lie and we can move on. Unless Ryan announces it like a moron” she pinched at the bridge if her nose, wondering if the sharp pain was from the stress of another Adam nose bleed since her tolerance was still fucked.

After waiting a moment for them to stop and checking for any sign of blood or Ada, thankfully having nothing, she continued to walk while giving her list of guidelines for rapture, ignoring her brother’s visible concern “don’t ask about Johnny topside. Don’t ask about Frank Fontaine. If some Dublin fella named Atlas tries to talk to you, ignore him. Don’t even look at him. Don’t even breath near Doctor Stienmen. If Sullivan has a bad feeling about something, trust it, he’s usually very very on the nose with that kind of thing. If you get shot, don’t ignore it, go and find the first doctor who will treat it for you without Adam. Don’t let a single needle touch your damn skin. And Don’t you dare go anywhere in this city without telling someone first… please..” her voice cracked by the end as those build up tears finally broke through.

She had to stop again, trying to compose herself.

They’d done a loop at this point, being back at the door to Ryan’s private room. Was this level always so small? She swore the loop would have taken them longer than this. Of course her horrible timing would have her back to Ryan before she could even say what she truly wanted to. Thankfully the room still seemed empty. Maybe she still had time. She unknowingly reached out a hand to Tadgh, like she did all those years ago when she was upset but refused to say it. He gently took it and pulled her into a hug, letting her cry into his chest as she begged over and over again “Le do thoil...”. In all honesty she’d only made the poor man even more confused. He rubbed small circles on her back before slowly engulfing her in a tight hug, feeling her to the same, clinging to the hospital gown he was in hard enough to rip it if she moved slightly.

He somehow managed to wheel himself back into the room while holding her on his lap, reassuring her “I’ll remember them all… I swear… you just have to promise me to clarify a little bit for me, alright?” He mumbled after kissing the top of her head, getting an odd rush of nostalgia from the thought of how he used to hold her like this after she’d skin her knees when they were young.

After she pulled away to look at him again, being a slight sniffling mess, he asked her as calmly and softly as he could manage “start from the beginning, alright? What happened after I… left?”.

Swallowing hard, failing again to get her composer as she stood up to help him back into bed while she spoke “Surgery… and funerals.. so many funerals… After I recovered from surgery… Ryan had me instated as his bodyguard immediately..” she curled up beside him after she got him settled, Tadgh wrapping a protective arm around her “he did it I think after I’d mentioned haphazardly a memory of dad teaching me how to shoot and that I knew a little bit of self defence from you… I got very good at my job for bad reasons and by the time Rapture was fully set up and in the first few months, I already was seen as a monster..” he urged her to keep going with a kind smile. “The years just sort of blurred together, but when they finally started to settle more… I met a man.. I was happy… things were starting to get good…and everything was perfect for a little bit… then it just all went wrong… horribly wrong..”.

Tadgh waited for her to continue, but she suddenly stopped speaking, listening to the faint sound of footsteps from outside. She wiped away her tears and stood up, composing herself in an instant. The door opened as Ryan entered again, not looking pleased. “What did he want?” Eilis asked calmly, keeping up the lie as she let go of her brother. “He wasn’t there. Strangely.” Ryan sucked on his teeth slightly, giving her this stare that he expected to get her to confess she’d lied, but she didn’t. “Must have left. He isn’t as patient as you.” She suggested, putting her hands behind her back to hide the slight quiver they still had.

“Hm. What were you two talking about?” He asked calmly, forcing a polite smile. The two gave different answers at the same time, Eilis shrugging as she stated “nothing” while her brother calmly continued “Eilis was just telling me about life in rapture”. Eilis visibly cringed when he said that, cursing mentally. “Was she? I wonder what she has to say, only positive things I hope” Ryan chuckled, moving to stand directly beside Eilis, the Pavlov dog going stone faced so he couldn’t accuse her of anything. “Yes, of course. Why would it be anything different?” Tadgh smiled innocently with a slight confused brow, noticing his sister’s drastic change in reaction.

“Good… good” Their employer nodded, happy Eilis hadn’t fed him any fear-mongering before Ryan himself had been able to tell the man the truth. “Ellie, leave Thomas and I alone for a minute… go do some rounds of the area with Sullivan. Stretch your legs, it’ll be good for the muscles.” He waved a dismissive shooing hand at Eilis, only looking at her when she sighed “it’s my day off. I’m exhausted. Can’t I stay?”.

“I didn’t ask, I was telling you. Go. Sullivan should be around Hephaestus somewhere” he shooed her again and she reluctantly left, he was sure she would have slammed the door if she’d had the option.

“Why would you do that?” Tadgh sighed, sinking back into his bed.

“Your sister isn’t the same woman you knew. She’s more… stubborn… and opinionated” Ryan smoothed back his hair as he spoke, starting to pace the room while Tadgh watched him.

“If you think that’s different, I’d say you never truly knew my sister” he sighed, watching his employer’s every move, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. “It all started with that damn Fontaine fellow…” Ryan groaned, it paining him to even remember that psychopath, but all those feelings were pushed away by surprise and a little bit of anger when he heard Tadgh casually ask “Fontaine? You mean Frank Fontaine?”.

“How do you know that name?” Ryan demanded, turning to the younger man so quickly you’d ave expected him to flinch. But he didn’t. Tadgh lied effortlessly, calmly answering “I heard the nurses talking about him this morning when you went out to talk to the doctor. Who was he?” he sounded so genuinely curious, and he was. Eilis had only mentioned him by name, though he was going directly against her warning not to ask about him. Never knowing how often Tadgh had actually lied to him while under his employ, Ryan believed him, taking this as his chance to tell what he believed was the true story of Fontaine, not letting it be tainted by Eilis’ fantasy of whatever ‘romance’ they shared.

“He was a businessman in rapture. At first I found him irritable but didn’t mind the friendly competition. Then I discovered he was bringing contraband into this city that was damaged my citizens. Before that I’d already had your sister keeping an eye on him for the sake of business, only to find out he had somehow convinced the poor girl that they were in love. I tried my best to keep them at a distance but that man… that man changed her. When we went to arrest him after proving he was damaging the city, harming citizens and smuggling, there was a shoot out and he was killed. Your sister’s reaction was to try to kill me, the fact she didn’t is a miracle. Who knows what her reaction would have been if she’d seen what that bastard left in his will… one last attempt to manipulate the poor girl, if the money hasn’t already..” Ryan shook his head in disappointment, adding to save his own skin “you’ll soon learn the changes he made to her.. and hopefully fix them now the bastard is dead. Though I don’t believe you can do much for her bedroom habits”.

“It’s none of my business what she does with who she fancies. She said she was engaged, why does that bother you? You’re not so old fashioned you don’t like the idea of women sleeping with their soon to be husbands or lovers if they aren’t getting married, are you?” Tadgh was honestly surprised Ryan seemed so bothered by it, vividly remembering standing at hotel doors or chatting with Eilis while Ryan enjoyed himself with whatever girlfriend he’d had that week. “Her fiancé was working. And she showed up with hickeys she didn’t have four hours ago. I don’t endorse adulterous activity and I’m sure you’d be the same” the way Ryan spoke of his sister bothered him, he barely resisted the urge to say something about it. He’d never spoken of her so carelessly before, maybe the odd complaint but not out right insults.

“She could have met him for some fun before she got here. I wouldn’t blame her if she did. It might be genetic” he suggested, hoping to lighten the mood. “Excuse you?” Ryan turned to look at him again, finally stopping his damned pacing. It was like water drop torture, his feet hitting off the marble, so when he halted, Tadgh could finally enjoy some quiet ambience. “Maybe it’s genetic. The whole promiscuous nature your accusing her of having. My old man did the same and I had quiet the string of fellas in and out over the years before I married Martin. Even then, if we had the chance to share a moment, we would.” Saying his husband’s name reminded Tadgh of him, though he hadn’t forgotten him. His mind was still thinking he’d only woken up a few days after being shot, when he had, Martin was in France. Was he here? Eilis had mentioned him so he must be.

“I don’t remember you being so vulgar” Ryan visibility grimaced, watching as tadgh suddenly looked very upset, quietly asking “what’s wrong with that?..”.

“Nothing dear boy, nothing” Ryan quickly reassured him, remembering he wasn’t speaking to Eilis so there was no reason to be so blunt and possibly cruel.

“When can I see the city? I’d love to see what it looks like fully finished with some life and character breathed into it” He changed the subject quickly, but from the look Ryan had, he knew it was a possible answer of never. He felt like he was being starred at like he was made of glass and his employer was terrified he’d break. That was how Ryan saw him currently, when he closed his eyes he still saw the bloody mess slouched in front of him, the smell of his blood that didn’t leave Ryan’s skin for days. How disgusting he left surrounded by corpses in those few moments till help arrived.

Hiding his grimaces of horrifying memory, Ryan just gave him a calm and quiet “soon. Very soon my dear boy. I’m going to go check on the nurses doing your food, excuse me”.

Soon Tadgh was alone again with his thoughts and his insecurities, wondering what had happened to the people he loved most in the world while he was gone and no longer here to protect them from every blow as much as he could.

The guilt was going to destroy him. He could feel it.

Chapter Text

It was around seven o’clock in New York, in a luxury apartment Frank Fontaine stood tall, admiring the colourful lights of the city from their penthouse’s balcony. Inside his wife, Eilis, paced back and forth to finish some little jobs around their home while fluffing her curls out and holding a chubby blond baby boy at her hip while she did so. “Frankie! Love stop smoking, you can wait till we’re out” she called out to him, she could practically feel him roll his eyes even though she could only see the back of his head. She held the baby properly and cooed “you’re father’s an absolute bastard,yes he is! Lucky you that you didn’t get any of that, isn’t that right Jackie?”. Jack giggled and cooed back, reaching for the sapphire earrings she had in.

“Ah ah, you can have them when I’m home alright?” She grabbed his tiny hand and let him hang onto her finger as she felt familiar hands snake up her sides as she was kissed on the cheek before Frank nuzzled his chin into her shoulder. “Can he now? Those cost more than this fuckin penthouse. He isn’t getting shit” He huffed, glaring at the brat that was stealing his attention, it wasn’t even his, so it made losing all that more bitter. He watched Eilis shift the baby onto one arm, holding him at her side and putting her free hand on Frank’s cheek, teasing “I want him to have as high standards as you do” kissing him softly “did your mother never teach you how to share?”. “I don’t share, or did that ring not help you remember that?” He queried, taking her hand off his cheek and kissing her scarred knuckles, admiring the insufferably expensive yet somehow still elegant ring he’d gotten her.

“No, it did not” Eilis answered calmly, going to continue to tease him but stopping when she heard a knock at their door. “Hold him for two seconds” she stated as she passed Frank the baby, resisting a giggle at the sight of the two glaring at eachother before she quickly went to the door. She adjusted her breasts in this nightmare of a strapless dress Frank had her in, trying to get herself comfortable and looking less like she should be on the cover of a playboy magazine before opening the door. The doorman stood there with Jasmine, oddly, who said hello to Eilis, giving a blurt of an apology for being late before entering and rushing to Jack who was happily basically thrown at her by Frank.

“I missed you!” She gushed to the baby, peppering him with kisses while he giggled, asking “how’s my handsome little man?” The baby naturally just squealed at her but she took at as something positive. A weird feeling built up in Eilis’ chest as she stared at them, noticing how oddly similar the two looked. Why wasn’t Jasmine in rapture with Ryan?… why was she in New York?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Frank laying an overly fluffy white fur coat over her shoulders before quickly pulling on a sheepskin lined trench coat, wrapping his arms around her frame when she’d put her own coat on properly. She felt like one of those big Persian cats if they sucked their neck in. “Don’t expect us back soon, toots” Frank reminded Jasmine, the two barely hearing her happy wishes for their first anniversary before they were gone. They were in the elevator in a matter of seconds, Frank admiring his wife as they descended, commenting “ain’t I a lucky piece a shit for snagging up you?…. Shame it’s all gonna go to waste after dinner” adding a wink just to tease.

Normally Eilis would have wondered if the man ever had any patience, but since it was their anniversary, apparently, she was willing to let her usual standards slip a little. “Why wait that long? Why not some fun in the car?… or do you not want to ruin the new leather seats just yet?” He just gave her a smirk at her suggestion, shrugging slightly as he out a cigar between his lips, leaning forward for her to light it. He didn’t hide his sultry glances while she lit her fingers ablaze, obviously thinking about all the things he could do. Before the chauffeur even shut the door to the back of Frank’s car, Eilis had already straddled his lap and was undoing the complicated decorative knot of his tie. She kissed along his jaw and she happily let his hands roam & grasp wherever they pleased. “Eilis…” she heard him groan over and over again, but it slowly sounded less like a moan and more like a deadpan statement, like he was trying to get her attention. She pulled away only you see him giving her a sympathetic look, bringing a hand to her cheek, stroking it. He looked so pitiful, which wasn’t an expression she ever thought she’d see on Frank’s face, even if he was lying. He told her softly “you know this ain’t real, right doll?”. “What?” She almost laughed, confusion slowly turning to a familiar stinging sensation as he repeated himself but he sounded so far away.

She blinked and found herself half naked on Stienmen’s lap as he kissed at her shoulder. She hissed from the stinging sensation as she tried to ignore him while she got her bearings. She spotted a calendar and a clock rather quickly, he always kept them close to eachother. It was 5am on a Sunday, and it was still January thankfully. She hadn’t just missed a few months again, she seemingly just lost a few hours. That isn’t too bad. She looked over at the surgeon, hoping it would jog her memory on why she was even here. It’s not like she missed him.

The bastard had bitten into her shoulder. Twice. He seemed very proud of himself him, the fucker. Suddenly memories flooded back and she asked him “you said you knew something about Atlas”. “Why do you care about a parasite like that, my goddess?” He hummed, pulling away from her shoulder and admiring his work, playing with the wounds like she wasn’t a living person who could feel pain. “Ryan wants information. If you’re holding some from him I don’t think he’d be happy. That’s the only reason I’m here” She remained calm, getting up and putting her shirt back on, stretching her muscles and despising the way Stienmen watched her. “That’s very cruel of you” he sighed, but seemed prepared to give her an answer “he isn’t who he says he is. I can’t overly clarify but if you go into the records of rapture there is no one with his face in the register. And he has never given another name. Is your father still involved?”.

“How the hell do you know that?” Eilis snapped at him, Stienmen giving her a mildly confused look and a simply answer of “you told me.”.

With a deep breath, Eilis rubbed at her temples, trying to breath through her stress and find where she’d left her shotgun, only to notice something on Stienmen’s desk. It was Diane’s engagement ring. She only knew that because Ryan’s initial was carved into the diamond of it, the same design that was engraved into his products and walls. She picked it up, keeping a deadpan expression as she felt excitement ball up in her chest. She never thought she’d be delighted to be cheated on. The Pavlov dog turned to show it to him, and she swore the man seemed genuinely uncomfortable. “I should go visit Diane soon, shouldn’t I?” She hummed, shoving it in her pocket and leaning over the desk to grab her shotgun, having spotted part of it peaking over the edge.

“It’s not what you think” He called after her, making her stop, genuinely choking back a laugh which conveniently sounded like a sob. “Oh… I hope it is darling” was her final reply before she was gone to get back to Ryan, not wanting to see her brother while she felt so disgusting. She debated telling Ryan what she’d learned, finding out Atlas may not actually be a rapture citizen was pretty big, but she didn’t want him to be killed or worst, turned into one of those big metal monsters, so maybe she should keep it in her own mind for now. Maybe she’d tell Sullivan.

She knew she wasn’t going to tell anyone about Diane sleeping with the surgeon, poor girl was suffering enough with Ryan obviously losing interest in her even though the scar she had from the New Years attack was barely noticeable. Telling Ryan that would just ruin her more.

But, she realised, telling him Stienmen was cheating on her may actually help. The man had a weird hatred for adultery, unless it was him committing it, another beautiful example of his raging hypocrisy. Still. He could help. Stienmen wasn’t so disconnected and insane that he wouldn’t take a no from the ruler of this underwater hell hole saying no as law, right? She just had to keep Diane’s name out of it.

She strode past Sullivan as she walked through the large observation room before Ryan’s office, finding him quickly at her side and actually trying to talk to her. The last time they talked, properly, she was bleeding to death so she vaguely understood it. Yet there was still a part of her that was pissed at him for letting the whole Tadgh situation finally happen, even if she knew he couldn’t have truly done anything to stop it. “How are you feeling?” He asked genuinely, making her crack a slightly smile “fine.., I just saw Stienmen though so I’m debating ripping my skin off. I didn’t even get in to see Tadgh”.

“He has Martin in with him, he wouldn’t have even been aware of ya, kid.” He was quiet for a minute before grabbing her lightly by her arm to make her stop “Look, reason I’m grabbing you is Cohen’s in there. He’s been rambling for an hour. You go in and you’ll be stuck with them till he runs out of breath, or, you could come play poker with us” Sullivan offered. Eilis looked back at the men he was playing poker with and grimaced “those pricks? I’d rather kiss hitler”. “You already did that in Ryan’s eyes” He shrugged, dodging a half assed swat at him as she entered the office without another word.

Cohen was indeed in there and rambling, but to her pleasant surprise so was her father and Sinclair. The southerner looked extremely bored and on the verge of passing out, he’d obviously just popped his head in to talk about business quickly and got trapped like a fly in honey. Mick quickly jogged over to his daughter, quickly guiding her away and behind the book case where the whiskey table was. “You look tired” he told her, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder, causing her to visibly tense up in pain, through she insisted “I’m fine.”. Not wanting to push her any farther, knowing her mood was delicate at the moment, he just kissed her temple as a way of showing he’sthere if she needs him and poured them both whiskey. 

They clinked their glasses together, both saying in unison “Slainté” before downing the entire thing.

Enjoying their moment of semi quiet, cohen’s voice still murmuring in the background, Eilis said something without really thinking “did I ever tell you Granny’s last words?”. “That’s a very depressing subject. You just throwing that at me or were you discussin it with someone else recently?” Mick chuckled faintly, trying not to tear up at the memory of his mother standing in front of him, curlers in her hair, tying her apron with a wooden spoon between her teeth. To distract himself he watched his daughter’s expression as her nose wrinkled slightly, licking at the scar on her lip as she seemed to resist telling him something “you could say that… They were ‘fuck them’ which I don’t think will surprise you”. It didn’t actually, Mick knew his mother very well and honestly he expected something worse “sounds like her, I’m guessing neighbours?” He wondered, Eilis making a noise of agreement as she poured more whiskey “Honestly I thought she’d tell you about the affair she had with the priest”.

“You’re pulling my leg” His youngest handed him his whiskey, resisting a shocked but amused expression and failing miserably. “Oh yea. That’s why he didn’t like you ya know. You got pissy with him after he forced you to take communion so she broke it off. You were her little angel and she wouldn’t hear any different. He was absolutely raging, but you weren’t there for him to take out his frustrations so he just went back to being an old grumpy bastard. Lucky escape I’ll say, Mam said he was a weirdo but knew his stuff. I don’t know why men like that become priests. Just settin yourself up for misery” He sipped at his whiskey before realising this opened a conversation he’d never got to have with his child. Cautiously he asked, after making sure no one was eavesdropping, “Me Darlin… there’s a rumour going round that I have to ask about.”.

Eilis felt her whole body tense up, she mentally cursed and begged that it’s not Atlas. If that bastard had said anything she would go to Ryan and tell him what she’d found out right now. It actually started her how quickly she was willing to turn on the man to save her own skin. Frank would have been proud. “Ask away.” She replied through gritted teeth. “Well, it’s less me asking but seeing if you know.. did you hear that doctor fella might be cheating on you?” Mick was very shocked to see her relax so quickly she almost dropped her glass, answering “oh no I’m very aware, and absolutely fucking delighted. I actually need to tell Ryan so he’ll stop being a cock and I can break off this feckin engagement without it being held against me… tell Sin. He’ll find it funny”.

“Eilis…” Her father fretted, not appreciating his daughter shrugging as she walked away with her whiskey, saying far too casually “I want to move on and be a whore, what can I say?” Knowing very well that’s not what bothered him, but she found it funny anyway, and the fact Cohen had heard her say these words basically prevented her from having to properly explain them.

“My my aren’t we forward! Come here darling, you’re just the woman I wanted to speak to. Come come” he beckoned her like a dog, even pointing to where he wanted her to sit, which she happily listened to, gesturing to Sinclair that it was his chance to escape while she made it look like her attention was fully devoted to Cohen. She may still be oddly cautious of him, not sure if he was lying about his involvement in the production of the Adam that made her lose a year of her life, but she knew even he didn’t deserve to be trapped here just because Cohen wants an audience. Seizing the moment, Sinclair was on his feet, grabbing Mick by the wrist and quickly leaving Ryan’s office, ranting as they trotted down the steps “god, I’m starting to hate that man, you know that? Ryan has the poor fella starved of attention and is practically prancing him about like glorified propaganda playin on a broken record! I swear he’s gonna go crazy if Ryan don’t either set a boundary or give him what he wants”.

“Eilis says Ryan can’t pick between him or the two girls he always has on his arm. He seems off though don’t you think? I’ve gotten so used to the bastard lookin at me like I’m a pile of shit and today he seems more.. content? That the right word for it?“ Mick wondered, Sinclair only hummed a strange noise he couldn’t quite interpret as they got to the bathysphere. “I’ve tangled with Ryan, and it ain’t a fun game, honey” the southerner sighed, ducking so he didn’t hit his head off the metal. He only stopped when he didn’t feel the bathysphere bob fri another person entering. He looked back to see Mick had halted just before the entrance. Sinclair tugged at his sleeve to try and drag him in before sighing dramatically and sitting down “what’s wrong Mickey?”.

“I need to go organise things for the revolution love, I may be gone for a day or two. They’re set up in Fontaine’s” he explained, unable to stop himself from frowning from the look Sinclair gave him. “I’ll be back at night” he tried to reassure him, but Sinclair wasn’t having any of it, crossing one leg over the other and crossing his arms, pretending to check his nails for dirt.

“And what am I supposed to do while you’re gone, Mickey? Wave a stick around and hope people find that threatnin?” He was being sarcastic, which he knew his lover hated. The Irish man sighed, sitting beside the smaller man who lazily dropped his head on his shoulder. “I don’t need you dying on me…” Sinclair admitted, feeling his head being lifted up by the chin before he’d even finished. “Gus, I amnt dying anytime soon. I promise you that, alright?” Mick kissed him softly, the two sharing a sweet moment before he broke away, promising “I’ll be back before you know it. Till then I’ll get Eilis by your side, how’s that sound? I’m sure Ryan won’t mind, he seems more reclusive lately anyway”. Sinclair’s brows furrowed but he didn’t argue, just draping his arms around Mick’s shoulders and requesting “just let me enjoy today, alright sweet pea?”.

Back in Ryan’s office, Eilis was being interrogated by Cohen, he somehow managed to go on a long winded speech with sprinkled rants about how disappointed he was in Martin for leaving him for her brother, his husband, while interrogating her on her not ah all interesting existence outside of work . When the artist finally calmed himself with a sip of wine, he asked “I should get going, my muse is very inpatient... one more question though, What is your opinion on Ms Anne Culpepper?”.

“She’s nice to look at. A little outspoken and a pain in my ass at times but I have a few of her records. Don’t know her personally” She gave him quick short to the point answers, though she knew Cohen loved a long story for the sake of gossip, he didn’t seem in the mood for that today. He let his head flop back with the back of his hand pressed to his eyes as he cried out “The doubters have gotten to you! Dear lord, I should have never let you move into that parasite’s apartment”. “Sander.” Ryan called out sharply, the other two being confused till they realised Cohen had said ‘dear lord’ and Ryan wasn’t in the mood for religious talk after finding out how many bibles had come into rapture from a smuggler they’d interrogated yesterday.

“What’s wrong with Ms Culpepper?” Eilis asked softly, having to flinch away and lean back as Cohen bolted up, throwing the merlot glass he’d been holding so hard it shattered practically into dust off a nearby wall, shrieking “EVERYTHING! The way she breathes, the way she walks, the way she talks, the way she’s lowered herself into the pigsty of parasites and doubters just to mock me… and her filthy words against Andrei in that horrible off key rambling she calls singing!”. He seemed to take a moment, not to be calm but to ball up more anger, turning to the Pavlov dog and demanding “I want you to maul her. Bring out that darker side of you and make her corpse as unrecognisable as an Adam junkie overdosed and abandoned by the metro” he made her drop the whiskey glass, not caring about the large clank it made as it hit the floor, rolling away from them as he grasped her hands tightly “can you do that for me? Can you rid this perfect utopia of its Prometheus?”.

How ironic calling her Prometheus when she only speaks ill of the elite and Ryan and a life which she experienced, knowing full well how it affects those below. She opened her mouth like she was stalling a reply, till Ryan cut in “we’ll have it sorted Sander. I promise you that”. Cohen was on his feet within moments, rushing over to Ryan and peppering his fave with kisses, delightedly announcing “I knew I could count in you! My Andrei… I shall see you at my latest show, yes?”. Eilis heard her employer mumble promises she knew he wouldn’t keep before Cohen finally left, followed by the crunch of glass caught in his shoes.

Ryan calmly wiped lipstick stains off his face as he asked “why did I hear you call yourself a whore? Your brother wouldn’t like you speaking like that”. “Andre, I know your happy to have him back, as am I, but don’t you dare go back to how you were when he was alive and pretend you haven’t been cruel to me the last few years bar one or two exceptions” She half snapped at him while coming over to help clean his face since he was just smearing it everywhere and it was irritating her. “… I apologise for ever referring to you as that word. Don’t say it again when referring to yourself. That’s an order” Eilis rolled her eyes at his demand, mocking him under her breath as she finished getting the lipstick off his face. After hesitating for a moment, becoming very aware of the ring in her pocket, she stated “Stienmen is refusing to end our engagement.” Ryan cutting her off to muse “as any upstanding man would do, even after her wife has committed-“ before he could finish she cut him off “But, if you’d let me bloody finish, I just found out he’s cheating on me” her eyes let Ryan’s for a moment, seeing him physically have to fight the urge to make some snide remark about karma, when he won that battle she asked “can you help me?..”.

“Excuse you?” Ryan’s brow furrowed as she sat down beside him and repeated “can you help me break off the engagement?”. A sigh escaped the older man as he couldn’t help but see the young woman just starting her job as his secretary and not the battle scared guard dog sitting infront of him. He rubbed at his eyes as he asked “are you unhappy?”.

“Deeply.” Eilis assured him, not acknowledging her thoughts nagging her for Adam to fix the wounds Stienmen had left.

“And he is for certain cheating on you?” Ryan gave her a stern look. She didn’t even hesitate when she replied “yes. Though I won’t say with who since that’ll just damage both of our reputation for believing better in him”.

He just stared at her for a moment, being brought back to a memory where she said something similar. He was rambling about a woman he’d been seeing while she sat by his side, finishing off some hand written notes, when he haphazardly mentioned he’ll just go for one of the many other women he has if she is being so difficult, changing who he gives the most attention to. He vividly remembers her mumbling “shame. I thought better of you Mr Ryan”. She was even sitting the same. “…Buried under all that grit, you really are the little thing Tadgh dragged into my office for a job without an interview, aren’t you? You’ve never changed” he suddenly asked as she stood up, making her laugh as she commented “glad to know you’ve always thought of me as less than human”.

“Ellie I mean it… I used to always see you like that. Remember when you claimed I treated you like a child? Before all this Fontaine and civil rights buisness? It’s because that’s what I saw you as. Not in a demeaning way but a protective way. A fatherly way. I was keeping my promise to your brother, but not in the right way. Now he’s here, we can go back to that. But better. We can fix all of this, all you need to do is work with me. Co-operate. Forgive and forget.” He couldn’t see her expressions as she had her back turned while she refilled her whiskey, slightly hoping she gets drunk so she can forget this whole interaction.

Damn her good liver.  She didn’t want to forgive and forget, he didn’t deserve that. She tapped her nails off the glass she had snatched off the floor, considering for a moment quitting on the spot since she technically could. She was only here because some part of her still cared about Ryan and wanted to see Sullivan, she didn’t need the money. She didn’t need any money. Taking a deep breath as she pouted whiskey all they way to the brim of the glass, stating “you get Steinmen to leave me the fuck alone and I’ll forget whatever you ask me to”. “Won’t you miss the idea of being engaged?” He wondered, wanting to know she was sure.

Eilis’ mind trailed to her latest fantasy she’d escaped to while stuck with the surgeon. She rubbed at her signet ring, wondering if that’s what she really wanted or did she just make that up because it was so shocking to her psyche that it distracted her perfectly. “No. I won’t.” She spoke quietly, downing the whiskey and grimacing at the burn, sighing in annoyance when she realised the decanter was now empty from her & her father’s assault on it, “I’m gonna go grab Sully, I need to talk to him.” She didn’t even wait for Ryan’s permission, she was just gone. She cracked her spine as she walked, mentally preparing herself to tell Sullivan about Atlas. She trusted him more than Ryan, but there was a slight pain in her chest as she remembered Frank. This wouldn’t go like that… if Atlas wasn’t on the records, and even if they was since they didn’t have a name, he’d be fine. He just looked like an average Irish man afterall, nothing too special. But she needed someone to know, there was something wrong with the whole damn situation, and smuggling was as prolific as ever, it’s just less obvious as it was before.

When she got down to the observation room, the boys were gone, weirdly, their glasses and cards abandoned. Eilis’ brow furrowed as she looked for them but there was no sign to where they had gone, turning on her heel to go back to Ryan since she had nothing better to do, only to he met with the twins staring at her. “Íosa Máthair Máthair Dé, mo chroí fuilteach…”.

“It’s getting close to another change” the woman warned her, the man adding “you’ve been busy”.

“Could you two be any less cryptic pe… whatever the hell you are” Eilis panted, trying to calm down her heart beat. If she was holding her gun she would have shot them but it was still on her back. She wasn’t sure if it would anything since she didn’t know what the hell they were, but anything was possible in rapture, and she hated it.

“The city’s lost son is coming home” the man continued, the woman adding in an irritated tone “not your brother, the actual one”. “The city stinks of death” the man grimaced, his partner in crime not as affected by it, humming “yet the bodies are brushed away. Left to be fed on by the dogs, so to speak”.

“Please just tell me what you want so you can feck off and let me believe I’m going crazy in peace” Eilis groaned, sitting down in one of the chairs around the little poker set up, putting her head in her hands. “There are many outcomes to this timeline. Some you may want, some are happy, some are horrendous, some are the true ending that this world is supposed to have, but it isn’t your destiny to survive that one. So I’d avoid it” the woman elaborated, looking to her twin when all they got was a frustrated muffled scream from the woman, “She only seems to listen to you, I believe”.

“I promise I hate both of you equally..” the Pavlov dog’s answer was muffled but the heard her clearly, they knew everything she’d ever say or do afterall, it was only a question of when and in what order. “Do you remember the baby?” The woman suddenly asked Eilis, causing her to look up in bewilderment, “the baby. The one your lover had in a lab”.

“Jackie?..” she seemed totally lost in the conversation. Which was understandable considering he was simply a variable in a long list of other variables, but he just happened to be a particularly large one. Eilis was just a catalyst, but she hadn’t been presented with what she will react with yet. “Yes that one. He and Elizabeth are important. Find them. Quickly” the man explained, putting a hand up to his double knew to be quiet. “And when do you think I’ll have time for that?” The Pavlov dog sat up straight finally, unable to read anything from their dead stone expressions. “In a few days. I’d suggest stretching your leg muscles in particular when your employer gives you your next day to strengthen yourself naturally. You’ll know when the moment comes” the man continued, making a strange sharp whistle when he finished, “Oh and before you turn, check the both right drawer with the key whole in your employer’s private office.”.

“Eilis!“ Sullivan’s voice stole her attention, her head snapped in the opposite direction to see him and the three guards chasing someone, covered in speckles of blood. The guy looked absolutely mad, feral even as he bolted for Ryan’s door. Eilis was on her feet within minutes, going to fire but only hearing a hollow clock.

She cursed aloud, quickly getting it off the strap and swinging it at his legs, causing the poor bastard to fall, cracking his jaw off the stairs before his head was being pulled back by the shotgun used to strangle him slightly, the Pavlov dog growling on his back. Sullivan rooted through the guy’s pockets only to find some crappily made bomb. “How the fuck did he get in?“ Eilis demanded to know, keeping the bastard contained, but barely. “He blew up the boys stationed outside… came running in when we went to investigate..” Sullivan struggled to swallow after that. “Jesus..” she sighed, handing their attempted murderer over to the two lads who’d survived simply by deciding to skip on work and play poker. Eilis put her arm around Sullivan’s shoulder, offering “let’s get you a drink, I’m sure Ryan has vodka hidden somewhere” she kept her tone soft, smiling at him kindly as he’d done for her so many times.

He just nodded and stumbled with her to Ryan while their maniac was dragged away kicking and screaming, Eilis faintly seeing the twins out of the corner of her eye along with that strange sharp whistle.

The great man had locked himself in his office at the first sign of danger, Eilis could hear him playing records to drown out the noise. She sat Sullivan on the couch and got the expensive whiskey Ryan kept hidden behind a secret book cupboard. She just gave him the bottle, leaving wordlessly go to her employer. She stopped just short of his door though, remembering what the man has said. She tried to think of where ryan had a locked drawer, and she remembered the one in his apartment. It was his old desk from his original office on the surface. She couldn’t for the life of her remember where the key was but she had to know.

She walked away from the door, leaning him there for a few more minutes, he’d be fine, quickly rushing up the private entrance to Ryan’s apartment. She made sure not to touch a single thing as she got to the desk, crouching down to reach the drawer. Cursing when she couldn’t find the key, she just let her hand heat up and pressed her finger to the lock, slowly heating it up with her plasmid till she heard a pop. Old locks were useless here, Ryan had to be aware of that. She pulled it open slowly, gritting her teeth as the old inner workings of it squeaked.

When it finally opened fully after one more firm tug, making it very obvious she was doing something if someone were to come into the apartment. Thankfully she was still seemingly alone. Inside were old photos covering whatever was underneath it in layered upon layers. She pushed them aside, not even acknowledging the old buried memories of bright stage lights and starlets drowning eachother in martinis as she found something much more interesting underneath. She pulled out a small velvet ring box and a study envelope sealed with so much wax and string you’d swear it was never meant to be opened. She peered out the door for a moment to be sure she was alone, feeling like a child sneaking biscuits from the tin her Grannie had hidden under the sink. Straightening up, she grabbed his letter opener to cut open the layers and layers of wax till she would actually cut open the paper.

Pulling out the thick card, expecting some old document he wanted to brut. Maybe something that showed rapture had no money left ? Or something that happened before rapture. Maybe even a forgotten child Ryan tried to bury. Anything but what she saw. A wedding certificate with her name on it, in her hand writing, middle name and all, stating she was married to Frank.

Eilis Caoimhe Ní Donnabháin-Fontaine. Reading those words shook her to her core and left her dumbstruck.

While the Pavlov dog’s world started to attempt to crumble again, Atlas was wondering if his half assed assassination attempt got Ryan’s attention, enjoying his cheap cigarette as he had his feet propped up on the desk, staring at the dead man in front of him. He was an agent for Ryan, which of course Atlas knew. He was shit at hiding it. He didn’t even have time to appreciate the look on the prick’s face though before Lonnie had shot him when he went to pull out a gun. This used to be a jewellers, he was pretty sure anyway even though the place had been ransacked of anything of value. Tapping his ash off and toying with the idea of doing to see Eilis, he glanced up to see her father staring at him. He visibly grimaced at the sight of the body but just pushed him off the chair with his foot before sitting down.   

“You have a strong stomach. Must run in the family” He chuckled, smirking as Mick glared at him fiantly “you’re lucky I trust you enough to know you had to do that, but isn’t three shots to the head over the top mate? I mean a Dhia mhaith, ní aithneodh a thuismitheoirí féin é” he gestured at the poor bastard on the floor as he spoke, even though Atlas had no clue what he said, he was always good going off emotion. “Bastard deserved it in my opinion” he shrugged, taking his feet off the desk to lean forward “now, what are we doing boss?”. “Boss? We’re all equal here mate, I ain’t paying ya. Call me Mick. I’d call you by your name but you haven’t given it to me” Mick shrugged slightly, snapping a match out of the little matchbook left on the desk and enjoying his cigar.

“You and your daughter are just carbon copies, aren’t ya?” Atlas scoffed under his breath as he huffed smoke out of his nose. Mick, having not heard him, just calmly got up and walked over to the map pinned up behind the other man, stabbing a pin into Apollo square. They had colour coded pins for any major event. Blue meant future protest spots, pink meant future raids for medical supplies or foods for those they currently had basically living in Fontaine’s department store, green meant secret meeting points they had to trade information and red. Red meant a place Ryan had claimed and stained with the blood of their comrades to prove so. “He’s hanging them like freshly slaughtered sheep..” Mick swallowed hard, remembering the horrible sight of the men still alive, just hanging there as a warning. Apollo square was a war zone at this point. He suggested they abandon it but Atlas refused, and their allies suffered.

“Viva la France. I see Andy’s going reverse revolutionary on us” Atlas sighed, cringing at the slight fishy taste off his cigarette before he flicked he butt away, letting the smoke seep out and surround him like a fog while he continued “times are gettin tough. You sure Eilis is on our side?”. Mick actually stopped mid drag when Atlas asked that, “You haven’t called her that before”.

“Yes I have” Atlas’ brow furrowed, watching the true Irishman shake his head “nah, ya haven’t. You  always refer to her as Pavlov dog or Ms Donovan” their eyes stayed locked on eachother as Mick returned to his seat. The conman ran his tongue along his teeth, feigning irritation instead of annoyance, snapping “forgive me for thinking I can call her what I like when she’s told me her own damn name. We’re closer than you’d believe mate. Now can we get back to work or are you gonna go all papa bear on me?” Barely reigning in his bronx accent as it started to slip out. Mick noticed but he didn’t push, not wanting to tip the man off. “Fine. We need more territory. Ryan has his bastards gutting anyone they don’t like in Apollo square and some las named Lamb has taken over the area under the tracks… I recommended we flesh out Fonraine’s department store over the next few weeks and make it easier to defend, escape and live in. Ryan’s pumping out new plasmids for his men to be able to control the metal daddies wanderin around, I’m sure I can get my hand on some for the boys”.

“Not for yourself?” Atlas hummed, leaning back in the squeaky old office chair, staring at the mangled man they had on the floor. “Made I promise I wouldn’t touch the stuff. It isn’t that deep lad” Mick kept his arms crossed, tapping his fingers off his bicep and scratching at his stubble, tempted to grow a beard to help with the cold but remembering Sin’s destain for them, practically heading him say “as rugged as you’d look sugar, I don’t want to kiss a bush”.

“Eilis ask you to do that?” he heard the other man ask, dragging him back to the conversation.

But he didn’t answer. Atlas had this grin that made Mick want to punch him, but he restrained himself, he felt like that’s what the bastard wanted. But he didn’t know why. “I know a surprising lot about our girl. And it’s not just from the papers. I’d say I’ve spent more time with her than you have so far this year” Atlas continued, proving Mick right that he was trying to provoke him, hearing people nearby. Had he planned this? Rile him up to start a fight and then drag him out like a traitor? Maybe even kill him? Fat chance. Mick knew how mad he got when he rarely lost his temper, and he wasn’t going to lose it again unless necessary.

“What’d ya mean by that boyo?“ he asked calmly, sitting up straight and spitting his cigarette butt onto the floor to stub out with his shoe. “Exactly what I’m implying” Atlas shrugged, keeping an eye on Lonnie and a few of his other men by the door, glinting knives and pipes catching the little bit of light that got  in here past all the rubble blocking the windows. The fact the man in front of him was staying perfectly calm was messing with his temper. He needed the son of a bitch to lose it! Like he had at Ryan’s party where he looked like he would kill the man. He was prepared for that beating and even debating winning the fight just for an ego and reputation boost, but he wasn’t giving him anything.

“Ah. Isn’t that lovely. Her mam would have been delighted she was with a Dublin fella, even if he’s a cheating prick and she can do far, far better.” Mick got a cocky grin on his own, stretching casually, letting the sides of his jacket fall back to reveal the pistons he had in a holster underneath it. He gave atlas a wink with a look that read “you really thought I’d come here unarmed”. “I’m gonna go see if any of those little coffee shops have any tea.. need anything? I’ll be back in a tick and we can continue to discuss this man to man, hm?” Mick offered as he stood up, Atlas didn’t say a word. “Coffee then? Grand. Oh and lad, quick warning” he kept his tone chirpy as he leaned forward, dropping his voice to warn “you drag my baby into this and I promise you, what Ryan’s doing to people will look like a mercy when I’m finished with you. All I need is a shard of glass”

He pulled away quickly, going out the door and tipping his cap to the hoard of men waiting for him, “Maidin, a bhuachaillí. Tá súil agam nach bhfuair do mháithreacha bochta bás den eagla tar éis iad a bhrú amach, eh?” He popped another cigarette in his mouth as he calmly walked away, keeping up the act of being control of the situation even though his heart was in his neck. He could barely breath.

He needs to contact Eilis.

Chapter Text

Martin kissed along Tadgh’s shoulder blades as he watched his husband listen out for nurses, still panting slightly from their little celebration at their reunion. “Eilis should have been along by now..” Tadgh fretted, sighing slightly as his shoulder’s sloped.

“She’d just working, love, don’t put too much thought into it.” Martin tried to reassure him, running his hands down his lover’s sides and admiring the tattooes he could now fully see. It was honestly surprised him how many Tadgh had, considering how much Ryan hated the concept, but there wasn’t exactly a way to remove them so they were there wether Ryan liked it or not. “It’s been two days in a row now… I’m right to be worried” Tadgh scratched at the stubble on his face, trying not to let his mind wander and spiral into false scenarios.

Martin frowned slightly and just focused on his husband’s tattoos, not knowing how to reply. His love had something in Irish scrawled in his back, it was too advanced for Martin to understand anything but the world ‘the’, but he still thought the script was gorgeous scrawled down his spine. “What are you doing, darlin?” Tadgh chuckled as he felt his husbands trace down the words before sliding his hands across Tadgh’s arms, interlocking their fingers so he could raise them to admire the tattoos on his forearms. “Just making sure I remember everything. You didn’t get any while I was away, did you?” Martin teased as he held one of his lover’s arms up to the light, Tadgh chuckling softly, letting Martin continue to pretend he’s simply gotten back from France, they were still in new York and he’d only been injured instead of killed. “Tempted. You know Ryan put a stop to it though” he hummed, leaning his head back to rest on Martin’s shoulder as he inspected him, sighing “I need a new wedding ring…” as he admired his own hand and bare ring finger.

Tadgh had a Robin on that forearm, well what was supposed to be a robin. It looked like it had been crossed with a sparrow, but it still had the little details of a shamrock in its beak and a little M by it’s foot, for his husband of course. The other arm just had a date tattooed on his wrist, the 19th of January, 1927. He always hated that year, but loved it for other reasons, Martin never understood why he had it tattooed on him permanently. He brought Tadgh’s knuckles to his lips to kiss them softly, answering his complaint casually “I’ll buy you one. I’ve been living with Eilis so I have some money saved. Ryan might actually make our marriage legal down here… you and me can official be Mr & Mr Finnegan”.

“I’m sorry, I thought we agreed on Donovan?” Tadgh opened an eye to glare at his husband, who just grinned back at him. “Did we? I don’t quite recall..” Martin sighed, leaning back on his hands as Tadgh sat up “I couldn’t sit for a fuckin week convincing you to take it, and you don’t recall? Prick” he was joking but he did seem mildly annoyed by it. “Martin Donovan doesn’t sound good” Martin defend himself. “It sounds nice in Irish…” His husband sighed, rolling his shoulders as he sat up straight, rubbing one of his scarred hands at the back of his neck. “ah, mar sin b'fhearr leat Mairtín ó Donnabháin, an é sin é?” Martin cooed into his ear, Tadgh visibly perking up slightly but not turning his head to look at him. He assumed he’d learnt a little from Eilis but not that much, she did always love trying to get Ryan to learn it. He never gained interested. In an attempt to catch him off guard he replied “cathain a d'fhoghlaim tú Gaeilge?”. “iontas beag duit a raibh mé ag obair air” Martin shrugged, tilting his beard and smirking when Tadgh turned himself fully to look at him. “Did you now? Ah, mo ghrá dathúil uilechumhachtach” he gushed before kissing Cohen’s disciple softly, going to wrap his arms around his neck and possibly go for another round till there was a knock on the door.

Expecting his sister, finally, he threw on his shirt and pulled the blanket around the two of them as he called, “come in!”. His excitement faded away when it was just a nurse. “Apologies, Mr Donovan, I’m here to inform you that your sister won’t be coming today. Something came up” she explained sheepishly. “Is she alright? Did something happen?” Panic swelled in Tadgh’s chest as he went to get up but Martin stopped him with a gentle hand. “It’s probably just work love, don’t be panicking over it” he reassured him. He watched his husband force himself to relax but still look desperately worried, unable to unfurrow his brow. “She also asked me to tell you she’s sorry and she’s going to Arcadia later today” the nurse finished as she calmly left the room. Tadgh made a mental note of that before just laying down, curling up in his husband’s welcoming arms and just trying to clear his head.

Eilis was currently pacing back and forth outside Ryan’s office, huffing like an angry bull while Sullivan read over her marriage certificate like he’d never seen it before. “And you’re sure he forged it?” He asked her calmly, resisting the natural urge to flinch when she shouted at him “YES! The fucker got me to sign my signature in a scrap piece of paper” she rubbed at her eyes and the bridge of her nose, muttering “I gave him the full thing to be a pain in the ass, turns out it just made it more genuine…”. She’d barely managed to bundle up these emotions for two days and now she was ready to explode. Her knuckles were almost bone white from how hard she was tensing her hands.

“If it’s forged than it isn’t legally binding” Sullivan reminded her, being able to both visually see and just tell from knowing her for so long how stressed she was. He couldn’t quiet tell if it was also anger but it was definitely mainly stress. After he reminded her about the legality of her apparent ‘marriage’, he expected her time get even angrier, but she didn’t. The look on her face told him all he needed to know, “you wish it was, don’t you?”.

Her voice cracked slightly “It even had a ring… I haven’t opened it yet but I bet it’s just as feckin… ‘frank-like’ as possible…” she sat beside him and buried her face in her hands for a minute, letting out a quick muffled scream before lifting her head “why would Ryan hide it? How long has he had it?… Why does my heart hurt, Sully?..”. Sullivan inhaled sharply and faked a cough to ignore the sharp pain of guilt in his heart, shrugging slightly “I don’t know. But the last time you stormed into his office about Frank, you almost killed him. Go for a walk.”.

“I don’t want to go for a walk…” Eilis whines, honestly just wanting to sit here and drown her sorrows in expensive bourbon. “Look, Ryan’s out of cigars and the only place he accepts then from is the tobacco stand by Cohen’s club. The one with the rabbit masks everywhere” Sullivan began to explain, taking a wad of cash out of his pocket and pulling out a few bills despite knowing she didn’t need it “take the long way through Arcadia so you can blow off some steam and come back. Maybe pop into Cohen for a drink, he’s apparently sulking over the fact Culpepper is still kicking, so I’m sure he won’t mind”. She didn’t take the money. He shook it at her slightly until she did, sighing as she stood up, snatching her shotgun from by the door as she walked past.

Before she left she used the phone at Diane’s now unmanned desk to ring the hospital so they could tell Tadgh she wouldn’t make it. She didn’t want to keep his hopes up.  Her shoulder was still sore from Steinmen but had finally stopped being an open wound so at least that made her life a little easier. She wondered if Ryan had said anything to him yet, wether he had or hadn’t, she didn’t want to see him again. Even if she was dying, she’d rather bleed out. She felt at the ring box in her pocket as she walked, wondering if she should even open it. It felt almost wrong to even consider doing that, like she was betraying him in some way. She hadn’t done anything but still, the feeling persisted. She rested her hand on the radio she had attached to her belt instead, trying to forget the texture. Picking up the pace, irritated that even though she was taking the long way on purpose, she found herself in the graveyard section of Arcadia far far quicker than she liked.

Was all of this a horrible idea? Yes, but she needed to let off some steam at something and Frank’s grave was all she had currently.

She knew damn well if she ended up ranting at Cohen it would come back to bite her in the ass and she sure as hell wasn’t going to scream her problems at a stuffed bear.

As she sat beside the grave, happy she was alone, she felt that all too familiar sick filing rising in her stomach, the same one she’d had months after Frank died. She hated it, but she could never hate him, annoyingly. Any memory, even if he was being a total prick, made her happy simply because he was there. She glared at the tombstone. “You’re a prick..” She mumbled, brushing her thumb over the gold engraving.

“Couldn’t have just told me, could you?…. Maybe you were going to tell me over dinner the next day…. But still.. you’re an absolute fucking prick…” she took the ring box out and starred at it for a minute before popping it open with her thumb. It was a lot classier than she expected, three sapphires set in white gold. Honestly she would have been happy with just a plain one, but of course he had to simply extravagant, didn’t he? Sliding her signet ring off her wedding finger, she slipped on the new one, admiring it glinting in the small bit of sunlight that had managed to work its way down so many fathoms below the sea. It fit her finger perfectly, of course, since he’d already known her ring size, but wearing it just made her feel wrong. She couldn’t help but imagine her none existent wedding day, her mind trailing through it and even adding her punching Frank so hard his nose broke as revenge for him not telling her sooner… Blood looked so nice on that ring.

She tried to ignore it, but it continued till the ring almost felt like it were suffocating her, leaving her no choice. She slipping it off, she placed it gently back in the box, glaring at it. “you better have been planning to tell me… because if not, I’d…” she was going to say ‘I’d have killed you’, but she knew she wouldn’t. So she just let her sentence trail off, resting her forehead on the end of the tombstone, shoving the ring box deep into her pocket while smacking her head off it lightly and hoping for a concussion. At least.

“…Maybe when all this is over and Ryan trusts me again, I’ll bring you back, hm? Just to beat your stupid.. handsome face in… I could be over you before then… probably not…” her quiet talk with the empty grave was interrupted by the sounds of nearby gunshots, which caused her to look around to try and find the sound, followed by the bellowing almost whale like moan of at least two of the metal men, the big daddies, and little girls screaming in terror. It was so deep you could feel it, but there wasn’t another one. The screaming continued though.

Eilis cautiously stood to her feet, admittedly worried what two big daddies could do when she could barely keep one from killing her the first time, and that’s when they were still new. These ones have experience. And she was alone. She calmly checked her shotgun was loaded, allowing electricity to seep through her veins as she watched the hall where the bellowing had come from, despising the suddenly deathly quiet.

Much to her surprise, a child appeared, a little sister to be more specific. She would have said the little girl looked familiar, but they were all so strangely identical she couldn’t be sure if she’d seen her before. Still she felt like she had. The poor thing stumbled with each step as she ran terrified down the small hall. Eilis expected the girl to go around her, maybe into a vent or hide in a bush, but the child practically latched onto her, screaming “they took mr bubbles! Bad doggy, bad!”. The Pavlov dog was startled for a moment but quickly obeyed her natural instincts to pick her up. She unhooked her shotgun from it’s strap so she could hold it in one hand, letting the far too small girl sit in the crook of her arm, still wondering how she was touching a little sister and not currently impaled on a drill.

Soon her questions were answered, when a group consisting of two men and a woman came down the hall, covered in blood and adam. Fresh, unrefined adam. She didn’t recognise the men but she did know the woman, it was Maria Phillips. The bitch Frank had a fling with who then tried to drown her in her own apartment. One of her arms was pure crimson, drowned in blood up to the elbow as she had an Adam slug tightly in her grasp, she just stared at the child like she was a freshly slaughtered sheep. When she noticed Eilis her expression changed from a strange hunger to horrendous anger.

“Give us the brat Eilis” she demanded. “Oh! I have a name now, isn’t that sweet? Where’s the other one?” Eilis asked calmly, trying to listen to what the child was crying into her shoulder but it just sounded like gibberish. “What other one?” Maria spat, her grip tightening is hard some pure Adam came out of the slug. The Pavlov dog resisted a grimace at the sickly green colour. “There were two big daddies, and a big daddy always comes with a little sister. What did you do to the other one?” Eilis asked more sternly, realising their protectors were truely dead as one of the boys behind Maria had a drill while the other had a rail gun he was struggling to hold. Maria proudly shook the slug in Eilis’ face, with this feral smile.

Not understanding, Eilis looked to the child in her arms. Poor thing was terrified, she just pointed to her stomach and whispered “all gone…”. She still didn’t fully understand, but the look the child gave her was enough. Realisation slowly crept in but she managed to hold in her horror, calmly taking the radio off her belt and calling in for Sullivan, “Sully? Love, I have an issue down in Arcadia, do we have any lads nearby? Over”. Nothing. “Sully? I repeat, we have an issue in Arcadia and I need back up, over.” Not even a crackle of acknowledgement. Shit. Was she on the wrong channel? The little sister buried her face in Eilis’ shoulder and started to cry, her voice even echoing off nothing as she did that. The Pavlov dog hooked the radio back into her belt and picked up her shotgun again, honestly shocked they hadn’t attacked her.

“Oh… you’re not getting away from me this time… not after what you did” Maria’s tone actually made Eilis’ heart sink a bit. Before she’d sounded like a shrill spoilt brat, but this was different, it was almost murderous “You took Frankie away from me.. he died thinking of you I bet! You whore… but you won’t take this from me. I need the adam in that little monster, and you won’t RUIN THIS AGAIN!” the barely held together heels Maria had on almost snapped as she lunged at the Pavlov dog, who quickly batted her away with her shotgun, knocking loose a few teeth.

Taking advantage of Maria’s companions’ shock, she bolted, keeping a tight grip on the girl as she tried to find any of those damn vents, but they were all locked. Cursing under her breath as she heard them getting closer, realising they’d closed off the entire park just to hunt these little girls, she took a shortcut through a tea room, pushing tables and chairs over in her wake to block her route as she continued to run, not even stopping for doors. She rammed through a wooden one with her shoulder, shielding the little sister with her shotgun as she tried to think. As she hid behind the counters of one of the farmer’s market stands, hand clasped over the little girl’s mouth to keep her quiet as footsteps creeped past, she remembered something. It was so trivial but it may just be what she needs. She remembered Julie Langford complaining to Ryan about the vent gates ruining the air quality in her lab, so she had the ones inside and just outside removed. There was no chance she’d let Eilis inside her little haven but the one just shy of the door would be perfect. She just had to get there.

Waiting for one of the men to get closer, shotgun on her bruising shoulder and little sister still being held close, using her whimpering like cheese for a mouse trap. She had a tight grip on a wine bottle. Waiting for him to lean over before she hit him with it so hard it smashed. She hoped she’d killed him, he wasn’t even human in her eyes after what they’d just done. Slipping through more restaurants and small shops, Eilis almost collapsed when she finally saw the archway to Julie’s lab, catching herself off a wall, struggling to breath or swallow since her throat was so dry that it was sticking to itself. Giving herself a moment to catch her breath, checking she still had her radio, her gun and most importantly the little sister, she straightened her spine and listened to the quiet for any form of sound. Nothing.

Just for some assurance she set the grass on fire to give her a few more seconds as she helped the child into her little safe space. “Off you go pet” she ushered, shooing the girl slightly with her hand, but she didn’t move. “Stay here” the little girl asked, crawling away into the dark before reappearing not long after with a ribbon. It seemed to be like the ones they’d have in their hair. The Pavlov dog’s brow furrowed as she didn’t fully understand, wondering where the girl had found it. The little sister giggled at her curious confusion.

“Your hair! It’s for your hair, Silly doggy” she exclaimed. Eilis hated being referred to as a dog, but oddly when a child did it, it didn’t bother her as much, they were too innocent to understand usually, and this poor thing had just been traumatised and was still sweetly offering her a bow. Had she ever even seen a dog? Did she just assume Eilis was what a dog looked like? Had she ever seen any kind of animal bar creatures of the sea and the cats they had to import in for the rat problem caused by the smugglers?

Shaking away these thoughts, she put her hand out for the ribbon, but the child shook her head and gestured for her to turn around. Eilis did as she was told, keeping a hand on her shotgun while she placed her foot against the wall, using her knee like a table while she tuned her radio. With a quick glance up to make sure they hadn’t been caught yet, no sign yet, she spoke into the radio again, certain she had the right frequency this time. “this is a call for assistance by Julie Langford’s lab in Arcadia. I’ll take any man I can get, we have issues with some adam junkies. They’ve killed a little sister. Possibly more than one. A response would be fucking phenomenal, so I know I’m not being left for dead, over.”

Nothing. She checked the dial, it should be right. Fuck sake. She glanced up again, still no sign. That was slowly becoming more worrying than seeing them. Seeing them she could defend herself, but no sign meant she was vulnerable, and the door to the bathysphere station was closed too. She was a sitting duck and she was fairly certain she couldn’t fit in one of those vents. Huffing slightly she decided to try one more thing, Ryan’s private frequency. She quickly adjusted it and calmly spoke into it “Andrei?”.

As she had it pressed to her mouth she heard the little sister chirpily go “All done!” Before the sounds of her scampering away in the hallow pipes slowly got quieter and quieter. Eilis pulled the braid she’d thrown her hair in to her shoulder and saw the girl had tied her ribbon around it. It wasn’t perfect but the fact she’d obviously tried so hard was a little bit cute.

She was brought back to the moment by Maria’s shrill scream after she’d burnt herself off the fire and Ryan’s voice crackling over the radio with the snarky remark of “finally stopped sulking have we? I know I like when you don’t talk back but it was getting ridiculous”. “Remember when I almost got drowned in my apartment?..” Eilis asked quietly as she watched them circle her wall of hellish protection, waiting to get at her when it finally extinguished. Using her telekenisis plasmid to make the radio float so she could shoot, she listened for Ryan’s reply. His sigh came over the radio like a gush of wind accompanied by little pops, with a quick groan of “vaguely, where are you going with this?”.

“The woman who paid to have that happen is locked with me in Arcadia. No one else is here and I know damn well Langford won’t let me into her haven.” She tried to explain, Ryan cutting her off “Sullivan said you were getting me cigars, why are you in Arcadia?”. “Andrei. Unless you want to plan my funeral in two hours I suggest you figure out a way to help me” She snapped at him slightly as one of the men broke through, seemingly not caring that he was on fire and very much not dead from having a wine bottle smashed across his skull. Eilis shot him once, point blank, but he didn’t even react. His body just started to heal immediately, making such a horrible sound. He gave her a toothy grin, that disgusting green sludge in between his teeth. “NOW ANDREW” Was her last scream into the radio as she switched her plasmid to electrobolt, shocking the man before shooting him in the head, knowing at this point that won’t kill him but only give her time. She did the same with the second man, not daring to look at either as she turned her attention to Maria.

“Those were my brothers.. you just love taking everything from me, don’t you?” The younger woman hissed at her, Eilis just kept her aim, calmly musing “really? They got a lot uglier since the last time I beat the shit out of them. I have two shots left, step closer and we’ll find out if Adam likes you any better than the men you surround yourself with”. “Oh you’re one to talk… fucking whore…” Maria seemed on the brink of tears, still clinging to that slug that was definitely dead at this point. Eilis held back a retort, knowing a smart mouth won’t get her anywhere. Maria glared at her in silence, and then she laughed, her whole demeanour changing back to that bubbly socialite she was before she ever heard the name Frank Fontaine, “I was actually going to kill you! Can you believe that? No no… no you don’t deserve that. Death is far far to good for you after all the horrible things you have done”.

Eilis moved her finger to the trigger and kept a serious expression, eyes darting to the Bathysphere station door and back as she heard a click. “Have you taken any adam before, Maria?…” Eilis asked calmly. “I haven’t ruined by body with it, like you. I only ate one of these disgusting things for the first time before you came and ruined it by taking our next Adam harvest” the woman scoffed. “Oh good, you’ll heal fine from this then” Eilis replied, shooting her in the foot, knowing it didn’t destroy her leg but the pain of being shot the first time would definitely keep her at bay, just enough for her to get to the bathysphere, that’s all she needed. She called the radio back to her hand with her plasmid as she ran, talking to Ryan as she skidded under the door while it opened slowly.

“I need you to send people here to deal with this now!” She screamed at him as she continued to run to the still surfacing bathysphere. “Don’t give me orders” Ryan scoffed, but the sound of muffled voices turned to radio static told her he was doing as he was told for once. If only he did that more often, maybe none of this would be happening. She could hear Maria screaming her name like a damn banshee as the bathysphere door finally opened. Eilis was about to get in but stopped in her shock. “Dr Lamb?” She asked in confusion, wondering how the woman was even alive let alone out of Persephone and sitting in front of her. “Hello Eilis. We need to talk, I’m sure you’ll understand” Lamb spoke as calmly and precisely as she always did.

Eilis gave her a look that read ‘I’ll deal with you in a minute’ as she turned around to deal with Maria, reloading her shotgun. As her scarred hands reloaded shotgun shells, Lamb’s slender prescient ones slowly drew back the string of crossbow, inserting a tranq dart. She barely resisted a smile as she heard Ryan demanding answers over the radio at the mention of her name, she scared him. It was both pathetic and amusing. She fired right into the back of Eilis’ neck.

The Pavlov dog pulled it out immediately, having felt a prick. She stare at the dart in bewilderment, not sure what it was as her body started to get weaker and her knees buckled. She weakly grabbed the radio, pulling it closer, barely getting out “Andrei, get them here n-..” before she passed out. Lamb was impressed, usually the affect of these things were immediate, though the amount of adam Eilis probably had in her system meant she would naturally take longer to succumb to the adam based tranquillisers. They’d need to work on that if she was still an issue later on. Casually loading another dart, she shit Maria, apologising with a quick “excuse me” as she bent down to pick up the radio, speaking into it “I’m sorry but this device will be turned off for the remainder of this session with my patient for the sake of confidentiality. You understand, don’t you Mr Ryan?” Before dropping it into the water, watching it sink into the darkness.

Ryan continued to speak through the radio as it sank, shock not letting comprehend what had just happened. When it finally stopped crackling in reply, he gave up, rubbing at his temples. His guard dog being kidnapped by that woman of all people was the last thing he needed right now, especially with Tadgh’s trust already so damn fragile. Reluctantly getting to his feet, he marched down to his observation room, seeing most of his security okaying cards instead of doing their jobs. Apparently the only ones who thought it was worth while were the ones he had with him in his office that he’d demanded go to Arcadia. “SULLIVAN!” Ryan bellowed, the man getting rid his feet immediately. “Is your radio on?”.

“Sorry?” Sullivan asked quietly, Ryan repeating it to him like he was slow “your. Radio. Where is it and is it working?”. Sullivan pulled it off his waist to find ne’s somehow knocked it off, getting a bad feeling in his gut as he asked “has something happened?”. “Eilis has been taken into the custody of Lamb and her lackeys. I believe she tried to contact you and because of your incompetence she could only get to me.” Ryan wanted this man to feel as guilty as humanly possible, he was his head of security! How could he be so incompetent. “Do we know where?” He asked, showing genuine concern, but Ryan simply shook his head.

“No. But that isn’t your concern. Your concern today will be dealing with Miss Culpepper.” Ryan turned in his heal as he went to leave, ignoring Sullivan as he tried to keep up with him, blabbering “deal with her? How? You mean arrest her?”. “No. Sullivan I do not.” Ryan stopped just shy of his private bathysphere as he clarified for the apparent moron in charge of his safety “I want you to choke the life out of her. Or would you prefer to hang her from the gallows?”. “No sir…” Sullivan swallowed, left with his muddled reflection in the glass as it shut and Ryan defended below the surface of the water.

He stood there for a minute, trying to push down his worry and the rising urge to puke, almost losing his composure when Sinclair appeared behind him. The southerner craned his neck to view around the man like he wasn’t there before casually asking “just missed them have I? Has Ellie gone with him? I have her hired for a meetin I got in twenty minutes”. “Kidnapped…” Sullivan gulped.

“Ah.. by that Irish one again? I wouldn’t be surprised, how much is he asking for this time, son?” Sinclair tutted, trying to remember how much the son of a bitch wanted last time. “Not him. It’s Lamb. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go damn myself to hell..” Sullivan looked visibly depressed as he walked past Sinclair, almost shoving him if the southerner hadn’t stepped to the side as he realised what the man had said. “Lamb? As in Sofia Lamb?” He called after Ryan’s head of security, but he didn’t get a reply. The man was already gone. Sighing and cursing aloud to himself, Sinclair rubbed at the bridge of his nose before regaining his composure and calmly walking down to the vacant secretary desk just before the exit to Ryan’s sanctuary.

Pulling a small scrap of paper out of his pocket, he calmly dialled the number while holding the receiver between his head and his shoulder, calmly waiting for it to be picked up.

A gruff voice asked “The hell are you?”. “Augustus Sinclair. I’m looking to speak to Mickey” Sinclair answered calmly, flipping the small scrap over to see something written in a language he didn’t understand on the other side. “Don’t know anyone by that name” The gruff voice scoffed, seemingly about to hang up before Sinclair spoke, “Nil a on ri the, gan de i the no fear, arch an blue i ree knee bok ta sa i te fa oi chos oll phest i bad knee os mo” absolutely butchering the pronunciation but it was close enough to get a chuckle out of the man on the other end. You could hear the phone be laid on the table, followed my silence and distant murmuring till it was picked up again.

“Wondered when you’d call, miss you me darlin” Mick’s Irish tone was music to Sinclair’s ears, and he bloody knew it.

With a deep chuckle he asked “what can I do for ya love? I should be home in a day or two worse case scenario”.

“Ellie’s missing” The southerner stated calmly. The line was so quiet he’d sworn it had gone dead till Mick asked “where, who, when?”.

“I don’t have any of those answers for you hun bar the fact it was Sofia Lamb” Sinclair managed to stay calm despite how much that both worried him and pissed him off, wanting to chuck that woman back in a cell. He could faintly tell that Mick was tapping his fingers off the desk, he could actually feel his anger through the phone. After a long deep sigh, Sinclair was reminded of the party where Mick had almost beaten Ryan unconscious, the idea of that happening to Lamb was slightly amusing. Mick finally spoke “give me two hours. I’m coming home early” and with that he hung up.

Chapter Text

“Have you found Mick yet?” Atlas queried his right hand man as he light a cigarette, despising the fishy taste and desperately missing his Cuban cigars and craving a shower. Lonnie shrugged “he has his own allies in our little revolution. He did start it afterall. I’m almost sure they like him more than you” cracking his knuckles as he glanced at the door, musing “they’re just more scared of you. You either need to turn the tables or use that to your advantage”. Atlas chuckled at Lonnie’s statement. He believed he did very well building up the reputation as the tired but kind family man looking to make rapture better for everyone. Only problem was Mick also had that reputation and he had a child to show for it.

Speaking of the devil himself, the true Irish man kicked open the door, so hard that glass cracked when it hit the wall. The two other men didn’t react but did tense up slightly. He walked straight up to Atlas and put his hand out, demanding “give me your pistol”.

“Why should I?” Atlas hummed, glaring at the man. There was a different look in his eyes than usual, that softness was gone and he looked like he would have torn Atlas’ head off if it got him what he wanted. “Someone’s taken my child and I’m going to send them to meet god. Give me your fucking gun” Mick demanded, Atlas could see Lonnie casually cross his arms, fingers resting off the gun he hand in its holster at his sides.

With a roll of his eyes and a huff, Atlas reluctantly handed it to him, calmly querying “where is she?”. “None of your business mate” Mick snapped harshly as he reloaded the gun, not trusting Atlas’ bullets before taking four boxes of ammo that had been scattered around the room, leaving immediately. “Want me to follow him?” Lonnie asked, going quiet again when his boss shook his head, scratching at his throat as he let his bronx accent return “nah. We got other shit to do. I got a meeting with the lovely future Mrs Ryan” smirking slightly as he continued to smoke, wanting to finish his cigarette.

Mick remembered having several interactions with Sofia Lamb, and all of them made him not overly fond of the woman. The long and shirt of it was he thought she was a cunt.

The first time she’d caught him walking home from the pub, tried to get him to discuss anything traumatic that had ever happened to him, despite his protests, and then she tried to get him to join her little artist haven that he already knew was pretentious. It just left a bad taste in his mouth. The last time was after she’d escaped Persephone and asked him to meet her in paupers drop, where she’d seemingly set up a base of operations. He didn’t remember the conversation and whatever it had been didn’t matter. All he took from that situation was that’s where she was. So, either she was there and Mick would get his daughter back, or she wasn’t and he got rid of whatever backup this bitch had while sending a firm message. Give his daughter back or end up like the gutted bastards she’d pin to the wall. 

He wasn’t going to kill people who didn’t deserve it, just those who try to kill him first. He’d done it for less. He bounced his foot off his leg as the bathysphere floated far too slow through the sea. When it had only started the docking process, he was already on his feet. By the time the airlock had disengaged and the pressure matched with that of the docking station outside, Mick pushed the hatch opened and into pauper’s drop, ignoring the loud sounds of the trains passing by over head. As deafening as that was against how quiet the area was as a whole, he could still hear the screams of agony of a woman.

His heart sank, was that Eilis? He didn’t know, but if it was that meant she was still alive. That was all the motivation he needed. He followed the screaming, people watching him but not interacting as he got closer to Lamb’s current home, apparently unaware of the screams or keeping up the unspoken rule of pauper’s drop; mind your own damn business. At the front door he was blocked by a group of grotesquely buff men, all having random lumps of muscle where they shouldn’t been. It looked like they were pulsing as the men blocked him. A gag threatened to escape his throat, though he tried not to stare. “Lamb ain’t taking visitors” one of them scoffed, another blood curdling scream breaking through from inside.

“What’s that ?” Mick asked casually, holding his composure as he gestured inside loosely with his gun. Another one of the men chuckled “She’s just trainin her dog. Nothing that concerns you”. Mick shrugged, sighing “Really?… Grand. That’s all I needed to hear” re-holstering his gun, pretending to begin to turn to leave before he swung around and uppercut one of the men so hard his teeth clacked together hard enough to shatter, sending him to his knees, clinging to his bloody mouth. The next man swung a makeshift weapon at him, Mick catching it, kneeing him hard in the groin and then using the strange pipe with a bit of wire wrapped around it, to beat the two men unconscious, possibly to death, he didn’t have time to be sure, before turning his attention to the final three. He killed one with a quick shot to the head and hit the other with the pipe so hard it got stuck in his now broken ribs. The last man just quietly backed away and raised his hands, letting Mick walk past.

Heaving for breath, he gladly did so, but he shot the bastard anyway, hearing the sound of mental hit off the floor, telling him he made the right choice. The prick had been armed. Giving himself a moment to crack his shoulders and wipe some blood off his face, he glanced back to see a large knife by the man’s hand, “fucking twat…” he scoffed. After rolling up his sleeves, shooting the other men in the head, forcing himself to be cold and unfeeling as he did so, he freed the pipe from one of the corpses, accepting he was going to use this on Lamb. A gun felt too impersonal. As he did a little practice swing to make sure this plan was truly an option, he was surprised to see a little girl in a white dress staring at him. She looked like a little sister, yet her eyes had a hint of colour and her skin was more flushed and less anaemic. He could practically see Eilis standing in front of him like that, twirling about and showing off her newest dress.

Squeezing his eyes shut to ignore nostalgia trying to take hold, he slowly crouched down in front of her, using the pipe like a third leg for balance, hand planted firmly on top as he  spoke softly “hello darlin… should you be here?”.

“My mommy lives here” She answered calmly. “And… Who’s you’re mommy, pet? Forgive me for not knowing names, I haven’t been down these parts in a while” he made sure to speak kindly, still keeping a close flickering eye on the doors and unconscious men behind him. She was just a child afterall, he didn’t want her to witness the carnage. The little girl looked him up and down, seemingly suspicious as she mentioned “Dr Sofia Lamb! She’s helping a lady called Pavlov Dog. She doesn’t look like a dog though” the child tilted her head slightly “mommy showed me them in a big book with loads of animals… You look like Pavlov dog”. “Do you know where she is?… I’m here father and I miss her” Mick asked, feeling his heart ache a bit when the young girl gave him a sad look, “Did she take you away from her too? She took me away from my daddy. I miss him”.

“She did… What’s your name darlin?” He asked her quietly, putting a hand out to her which she happily took, “Eleanor”. “Lovely to meet you, I’m Mick. Could you please bring me to your mommy? I just want to chat with her and get my babaí back. I promise” he swore to the child, not sure if he was lying or not. Eleanor simply nodded, guiding him by his hand to his feet and then through the winding halls with ease, slipping in and out of rooms that lead to others, avoiding any that had people I; them like she knew he wouldn’t want to be seen, till they finally got to a door that didn’t immediately open for them. Screams came from inside, so loud and agony filled it made Mick feel physically sick. She released his hand, coughed like she was prepping her voice and knocked on the door repeatedly until the screaming inside ceased.

“Mommy? I can’t find my dolly, could you help me?” She asked, nothing. She began to knock again even more insistently as she begged “Mommy please! Please please please!”. Finally the door opened and Lamb emerged, stamping out a cigarette under her foot in an attempt to hide it from her child. Her eyes met with Mick immediately, the two would have been the same height if she wasn’t in heels. “Oh and this man wants to talk to you. Where’s my dolly?” Eleanor asked, not at all bothered by the mildly horrifying situation.

The fact that didn’t sit right with Mick gave him a moment of clarity, she hadn’t even reacted to the bodies, what was Lamb putting her child through that she was numb to this?

Sofia took a deep steadying breath, honestly not expecting Eilis’ father of all people to come try and retrieve her. She expected Ryan’s security or possibly Sinclair, someone she could cope with, had dirt against. This man hadn’t given her a single thing bar the fact his wife was dead and that didn’t seem to effect him anymore. “Your doll is with your aunt Grace. Go to her, would you darling? Mommy has to work” she begged her child, who happily skipped away after waving at Mick, who happily waved back, obviously having taken a shine to the child.

As soon as she was gone, Sofia heard the click of a pistol and turned her head to see Mick holding it now directly between her eyes, pin pulled back, ready to fire. “As much as it’ll fuck up my sleep for weeks, I’m happy to kill you if you don’t move aside and give me Eilis” His tone was so cold, all that warmth in his eyes from dealing with her daughter was gone. She kept her composure as she spoke “I was simply trying to get rid of Ryan’s mental conditioning. He’s destroyed your daughter as a person, she has admitted that to me in confidence. I’m simply trying to help and gain an ally in the process in making this city a better place. Surely you’d understand that”. “The fact I haven’t beaten you to death right here and now is simply because of that child” he hissed at her, composing himself before he accidentally fired in a moment of weakness “I want to hear Eilis say that. If not, no matter what my heart thinks, I’ll be dancing on your grave within the hour” Mick sneered, tilting his head towards the door, wanting her to open the damn thing. “May.. May I go in first?” Sofia pleaded, but the man gave her a cruel chuckle, a definite no. She slowly turned around with her hands up, tapping her hand off the genetic lock for the door to slide open.

Inside Eilis was tied to a chair, handcuffed at her wrists which were connected to a live car battery, all of this while she was in a water basin, the freezing water with chunks of ice in it up to her ankles, an Adam IV drip in her arm. Simon Wales was holding her head up by her chin, demanding in a deranged tone “Dr Lamb is showing you kindness and yet you repay it with defiance! Relinquish your dedication to that devil Ryan and you will be freed! Repent! Confess thy sins!”.

Mick was frozen in shock for a moment seeing Eilis like that. She was visibly twitching every second, drenched to the skin, white as snow with dark circles around her eyes, her nose bleeding or leaking adam, he couldn’t fully tell, plasmids active yet unusable and causing her great pain. She managed to get enough liquid in her mouth to spit in the self proclaimed priest’s face, “Go n-éirí an t-uafás Dé leat…”. After he backhanded here he finally let go, going to clean himself. Then after that Eilis wretched pure adam onto the floor, drawing her father’s attention to the abandoned pile of empty adam iv bags gathering by her feet. Casual parental worry over took the horror for a moment as he wondered if she’d eaten or drank anything at all. “Let’s see if more of the lord’s gift of electricity with loosen your tongue, eh? I feel like we’re almost getting you to say your hail Mary’s” Simon cracked his knuckles as he walked, going to reattach the car battery to the wires connected to her handcuffs, till Sofia stopped him with a single shout.

Simon & Eilis both raised their heads to look at Mick, Eilis having to lean fully back in the chair so she didn’t fall over and hurt her wrists anymore. “Dúnmharú na arrachtaigh seo... Tá mé chomh fuar daidí..” Eilis hissed, sounding more like she was begging at the end. “This doesn’t look very kind or therapeutic, Dr Lamb. Eilis me darlin, An mbraitheann tú gur chabhraigh an Dr Lamb álainn leat in aon chor éalú ón ngreim atá ag Ryan ar d’intinn?” Mick queried, keeping his pistol in the nape of lamb’s neck. Eilis actually chuckled despite the fact she was in absolute agony, mumbling “Níl... ní miste dom a bheith fuar i ndáiríre ... tá sé chomh te sin..".

“Those handcuffs better be off her in roughly ten seconds or I’m about to make that lovely girl I met an orphan” Mick demanded, snorting a laugh at Simon’s protests of “you’d kill a man of god?!”. “Oh love, I’m going to hell anyway simply for enjoying myself. If you want to give me a one way ticket, I amnt complaining. I’m sure I can find the key on your body after I beat you till your nothing but bare bones for the cats to tear at” the Irish man hummed, firing a warning shot just past Simon’s ear before returning the now hot pistol to Lamb’s neck. Lamb nodded when Simon looked to her for guidance, so he reluctantly released the Pavlov dog, but she didn’t get up. Mick looked Lamb up and down for a weapon but didn’t see anything. Keeping his gun ready to fire, he cautiously walked over to his daughter.

Slipping an arm under her and wrapping it around her frame, he got her to her feet, backing out of the room with his gun trained on the two until he was sure he was far enough to bolt. Shoving the pistol inbetween his belt and his pants, he carried Eilis bridal style as he rushed back to the bathysphere, only putting her down when they’d shakily taken off towards Sinclair’s private bathysphere station. He gently lay her across the cushions, the younger woman shivering as she tried to desperately catch her breath, flinching at all of his touches. “I’ve got you love, let’s get you home, hmm?” He tried to reassure her, and when he thought she was looking up at him, it turns out that was a look for help as she threw up a combination of adam, water and bile on the floor, barely missing his shoes, before flopping back down. “I fucking hate the clergy…” she groaned, hugging her stomach in agony.

Sighing deeply, he sat beside her, lifting her head so it rested on his knee and slipping off his jacket to lay over her shoulders.

She curled up under it like a child and he couldn’t help but remember a night back home in the country he yearned to see again.

She’d gone to the beach with her brother and they’d gotten a ride back with friends later that night. Poor thing was drenched and frozen, so she just came in bundled in borrowed jackets and an old towel, finding him sitting on their couch while his mother ushered out a woman. She didn’t question him, she only sat beside him, bringing over more blankets and curled up to him under the dying fire, and didn’t move. The only question he did ask was “does she look like momma?”. He vaguely remembered making a joke about how much less she looked like her when he was sober. She didn’t laugh. She only mate an off comment about how she preferred his friend Paddy anyway and went to sleep. His back was killing him the next morning but he cherished little memories like that. Moments of semi-normality. He had so few of those in comparison to the traumatic shitstorm that was his existence, which seemed to be the family curse at this point. He stroked at her wet hair with his thumb, plucking a few stray chunks that had attached themselves to her face. She didn’t even react, just seemingly struggled to breath as her plasmids finally turned off, shivering from the cold. Her skin has this strange burn pattern along it like she’d been struck by lightning.

His poor baby.

When they docked he gently scooped her up again , walked around the sick and out to Sinclair, who was waiting with two glasses of whiskey, having expected the two to come back roughed up but not unable to drink. That isn’t what he saw. Putting the glasses down he gestured for Mick to follow him to his bedroom, letting Eilis lie down in his bed. Her nosebleed had gotten worse, a stark colour difference against her almost pure white face. Sinclair pushed over an old trash can with his foot for her to puke into as he ordered Mick “get one of my shirts and an old pair of pants. Her stayin in wet clothes won’t do her any good”. Mick left diligently to do as he was told, Sinclair taking the moment to very reluctantly undress Eilis. It just felt wrong, especially since she wasn’t fully conscious.

He still apologised like she was “I’m sorry hun, it’s for your own good. I ain’t lookin I promise… oh lord… in my defence I’ve already seen it thanks to Sander.. let’s just leave those bits on for the sake if privacy hm?” He grimaced, leaving her in her underwear out of respect. When Mick got back they managed to dress her together, before getting any blanket, jacket or even light rug they could find to give her warmth, lighting the fire in the room. “Electro shock therapy hm?” The southerner asked all to casually, Mick glanced at him, not giving an answer simply because he knew he didn’t need to. Sinclair could read him like a book, “shame, would have thought rapture wouldn’t use that barbaric treatment… I thought better of that woman” the man sighed, absentmindedly flicking at his nose with his thumb, it burning from the chemicals and getting an odd tingling sensation from seeing Eilis’ own nosebleed.

“The Adam overdose most likely saved her.. just let her get that all out of her system, then it’ll do it’s job and she can be back on her feet” Sinclair half mumbled as he lit a cigar, almost not wanting Mick to hear him, but the man blurting out something in Irish that he didn’t understand told him that he had. “Look, I don’t like it either. But you know as well as I do she ain’t stopping. Girl could lose a limb and she’d stitch it back on herself like something from some messed up fairy tales…” he room a long drag from his cigar, huffing out of his nose, reminiscent of a dragon from one of those horrendous fairy tales he was trying to remember.

The two stood there in silence for a bit, staring at Eilis as she’d struggle to breath, puke and then go back to being stagnant for a bit, not sure why they didn’t go on with their lives. Finally the chime of the clock telling them it was 5pm caught their attention. “Mickey, be a darling and send a note to Ryan’s head of security telling them we found Ellie and she’s resting here. I’m sure they’re just about worried sick” He requested, knowing he was talking out of his ass but Mick wouldn’t listen to him otherwise. He hesitated when his daughter went into a coughing fit but the glare Sinclair gave him reminded him to do as he was told, and he left again, though it made him feel like he was ripping his teeth out.

Eilis seemingly woke up again  as she made an attempt to cover her mouth, slowly sitting up. Not having anything else to give her, Sinclair offered a bottle of gin he kept in his room, popping off the lid with his teeth before putting it on the bedside table she was feeling around aimlessly. When she finally found the bottle, she chugged about half of it, sighing in relief, visibly resisting a gag, then a full body twitch before she finally opened her eyes. One was bloodshot where the other eye’s sclera was just a bright deep red, she didn’t seem to notice though. As mildly horrifying as that was to look at, Sinclair manage to put on a smile as he asked “how you doin, sweetpea?”.

“I’m currently a walking corpse.. so lovely, thank you” Eilis groaned, sniffing at the gin bottle, realising it was alcohol and she hadn’t even tasted it. Her tongue must still be dead. Fantastic. “Please tell me he killed Lamb” she almost sounded like she was begging, but all her southern companion could do was shrug. Mick hadn’t mentioned anything but he assumed not since he wasn’t too bloody, and he’d known the man long enough to figure out if he wanted someone dead he was never too clean about it. “What about Ryan?.. is he ok?..” she queried, resisting a gag again as she rubbed at her bruising wrists. “I swear you don’t have a personality besides working for him” Sinclair sighed, only meaning to tease, but the little broken look she gave him with a whisper of “don’t say that… don’t make her right..” actually hurt him a bit.

“Look, I don’t mean anything by it, but he’s perfectly fine. I promise. Trust me if he was dead, he’d take us all with him. Gimme a sip a that” he out out his hand for the bottle, which Eilis happily gave to him, knowing alcohol definitely wasn’t good for her system at the moment. He offered her the bottle again but she just put up one finger as she gagged again. She twirled it, wanting him to turn around so she could throw up pure adam in peace. “Adam overdoses aren’t fun are they, hun?” He pitied the poor girl, but she didn’t accept it. She slowly sat up straight, rubbing at her burning throat as she shot back “no… but its keeping me alive… I’ve died twice today, Augustus... it’s not a good feeling… the only good thing that’s come from this is my Adam tolerance is fucked… so I can’t turn into those poor bastards that look like some sort of.. christ I don’t even know a word to describe what they look like… I simply just can’t have that amount in my body…”.

She went quiet for a moment before Sinclair swore he heard a sob slip out, he turned to find her quickly composing herself but being unable to suppress the whimper in her tone when she said “I’m seeing things. I saw Frankie. I can still see him…” her nose wrinkled as she fought back tears, looking at her knees instead of the vivid memories of Frank doing basic things wandered around the room, his voice sounded so far. “Oh Ellie..” Sinclair sat at her sighed, rubbing her back as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Love hurts doesn’t it?..” he couldn’t help but chuckle, a little laugh escaping Eilis as well. “Dad loves you…” she hummed, glancing up when he replied “I know…” but almost sounded upset. His expression hadn’t changed from the carefully formed pity he’d already put on. She watched him construct a smile and turn to look at her, joking “we ever get married, would you call me Pa? Or would you still stick with the formal?”.

“I’d see if I like you enough to do that… But that’s never going to happen, so you don’t need to worry your little southern head over it. You’ll get wrinkles” The Pavlov dog admitted, a little colder than she’d meant to but it was true. “And why do you think that?” Sinclair asked, genuinely offended by her statement. Eilis weakly raised her head again to check for her father before dropping her voice to a whisper “because no matter how happy you two are, you’re still in love with a dead man”.

“He’s admitted to still being in love with your mother. It’s a mutual thing” Sinclair defended himself.

The fact her eyes looked more terrifying and usual didn’t help with the lump that formed in his throat when she glanced at him. “He’s in love with the mother of his children as a fond memory. He’s in love with you because you make him happy. You like him because he reminds you of Johnny’s stubbornness but he won’t be taken away from you because I’m here. You won’t marry him, I know that. Whatever happened to how good you were at lying by the way? It was never this easy to catch you out” Eilis glare melted away as her tongue finally healed and she was suddenly very aware of the horrible taste in her mouth.

“I know your only in a mood cause of the adam but good god, Ellie, you are insufferable at times” The southerner scoffed as he got to his feet, planning on storming out but stopping when the door slid open to reveal Sullivan standing there, shivering. Sinclair slid past the man, not having the energy to question it as he went back to his kitchen. Eilis quickly stumbled to her feet, unable to take a few steps without almost falling, barely catching herself off the bed frame as she tried to get to the door, “you alright?” She asked, knowing it was a redundant question, she was staring at the answer.

He looked horrified and shaken, unlike she’d ever seen him before. His jacket’s sleeves were drenched up to his elbows, scratch marks trailed from his cheeks down to his neck and he was clinging to an unfinished hand stitched blanket. “Sorry I… the door.. the door was open” he babbled as Eilis struggled to get over to him. “What happened Sully?..” there was more worry in her tone he had ever heard. “Culpepper… I… um…” Sullivan choked on his words, Eilis not even needing him to finished. She just hugged him tightly, whispering apologies of “I’m so sorry… that was my job… I’m so sorry..”. He hugged back just as tightly, practically falling to his knees. Eilis followed him to the floor, not loosening her grip as she listened to him mourn; “She was so young… what have I done Ellie?…”, “she was just trying to take a bath…”, “is Ryan going to make me kill every person who vaguely insults him?!”, “I took her blanket..it… it’s nicely made, ya know?… it should be finished… given to some poor bastard down in paupers drop… she’d want that right?… I’m a horrible person…”, “I can’t live with this, Eilis”.

“Don’t be saying things like that… it’ll be fine.“ she reassured him, resting a hand on the back of his head and comforting him as much as she could even though it hurt to even breath at the moment, just like he’d done for her so many times. “It’ll be ok… I promise you’ll never have do to anything like that again, alright?.. do you trust me Sully?” She whispered to him, watching the small part of Mick’s back that she could see through an open door down the hall, wanting to make sure a fight wasn’t breaking out. As she tried to take in her surroundings while ignoring her hallucinations and agony, she spotted that Sullivan had brought her shotgun. It was empty, not a single shotgun shell in it despite the fact she knew she did have a shot left previously. It made her hold him just that but tighter.

“Yea… I trust you kid… I trust you…” Ryan’s head of security mumbled, lightly palming at his jacket to be sure the last round of shotgun shell he’d taken out was till there before putting his arm back around Eilis. He’d left his gun in Culpepper’s apartment, and he sure as hell wasn’t going back for it. He felt disgusting.

“That girl can drive me up a wall when it suits her!… if she weren’t completely out of it I workday have snapped back… girl has teeth like her namesake” Sinclair huffed slightly dramatically as he leaned against the island of his kitchen, tapping his fingers off the marble as he watched Mick calmly inspect the pistol he’d brought with him before tossing it on the counter. “Irish bite. I’m a little proud if I’m honest” he shrugged slightly, taking his cap off and ruffling his own hair so it didn’t stick to his head, “I was going to do as you said but the fact the poor bastard appeared at our door sort of ruined whatever I would have said anyhow… I heard her chattering, how is she doing?”.

“Fine. All that electricity hasn’t changed her one bit and the adam’s doing it’s job” Sinclair picked up his cigar from earlier, chopping off the dead end and relighting it. He chewed on the end for a moment, watching Mick’s annoyed expression melt into concern again. Sinclair groaned audibly in defeat, taking his cigar out to peck his lover’s cheek “I should go tell Ryan his doggy isn’t currently floating in the Atlantic for one a those metal daddies to find”. “Don’t call her that…” Mick fretted. Sinclair kissed his lips softly to quiet his worries and with a quick whisper of “I love that kind heart of yours. Keep an eye on those two while I’m gone, I have an awful feelin…” he was set to leave. Mick gave him his word, his lover chuckling as he turned his back to him “Good! Last thing we need is our girl dropping like a fly, only to be turned into Ryan’s next Frankenstein, just like your boy”.

Sinclair cringed, the words having escaped his mouth before he could catch them in his mind. How could he be so careless?

Maybe he wanted to tell him. Deep down.

Mick didn’t say anything at first, he just stood there, mid action, just about to light a cigarette, the flame from the lighter starting to burn his thumb but he wasn’t aware of it. After snapping the lid of his lighter closed with a jerk of his wrist, flicking his unsmoked cigarette into the sink and putting his cap back on his head, he demanded something Sinclair didn’t quiet expect.

“Take me to Ryan. I’m going to break that fucker’s jaw”.

Chapter Text

It was around midnight and Sullivan was making a gorgeously expensive martini in Sinclair’s apartment. He and Mick hadn’t returned, though Sullivan himself wasn’t really aware of how long they’d been gone. The time had flown by. He brought his drink with him as he went to check on Eilis, making sure she was alive as she kept passing out at random intervals. The adam in her system was working now that she was no longer rejecting it, which was good since she wouldn’t die of dehydration now and since her companion was getting sick of emptying the bucket they’d been using. Still, the adam was working, so she looked less like a corpse, but she still had the dark exhausted circles around her eyes and that sickly pale look. He’d had to help her back into the bed after they’d finished talking, she could barely stand. She seemed to be testing the strength of her legs as he walked in, standing up for a moment but having to sit down again as a wave of nausea crashed over her.

“Want a sip?” He offered, she shook her head, kneading at her eyes. “Any word from Ryan?…” she asked quietly. “Nah… he’s… sulking if you’d believe that” Sullivan muttered as he sipped at his martini. Eilis audibly groaned in annoyance as she wondered “fuck sake, what now?”. “We’ll, in the time you’ve been gone, Diane went missing and then popped up raiding a butchers with Atlas’ followers. He ain’t happy” He explained. The Pavlov dog blinked at him, then she snorted, before wheezing as she desperately tried to compose herself “first Jasmine hides from him, and now Diane’s left him for a revolution that wants his head on a pike? Jesus Christ, it must be Christmas”.

Sullivan visibly grimaced at the mention of Jasmine Jolene, but Eilis was too absorbed in her delight at Ryan’s long overdue dose of karma to notice. “It ain’t funny Ellie” he warned her, the Pavlov dog trying to hide her laughter but she honestly couldn’t. So he just let her tire herself out as he enjoyed his drink. After she began to laugh so hard she had to lie across the bed so she could breath, she went quiet for a minute, having a moment of clarity as the adam in her system finally got to its usual levels. Memories of what had happened flooded back with little glimpses of conversation she’d heard when it wasn’t drowned out by her own screams.

Sullivan looked back at her, furrowing his brow as he noticed her contemplating expression. “What’re you thinking about kid?” He queried softly, watching her eyes move like she was imagining an evidence board in front of her, connecting everything together with one long piece of string. “Just… things Sofia Lamb was rambling on about…” she mumbled, trying to get all of her mental ducks in a row despite the fact that they definitely looked a little worse for ware and twitchy at the moment.

After another short pause she began to speak her thought process, hoping he’d have another pin or three to add to the board “She… was going on at one point about trying to break Ryan’s mental conditioning in me, because she couldn’t comprehend any other reason why I’d work for him after all.. I won’t go into that, you know what he’s done… then she said something so strange” she swallowed as she tried to remember the exact words “it was something like… ‘if she doesn’t cooperate that won’t be an issue… she can be used as a bargaining tool. A man with the world on his shoulders can always use a guard dog. He said he’d be happy to take her off our hand’…” she went silent again. Sullivan finished his martini, closing his eyes as he did so out of habit, trying to savour the taste of the expensive liqueur, but the terrified final pleas of Anna Culpepper devoured his mind so he had to let them snap open.

“Didn’t Cohen to a play about someone like that? I vaguely remember it” He threw out there, desperate for a new subject. Eilis’ brow furrowed as she tries to remember one, if any of the plots of the many plays Cohen had produced. Finally it clicked “Atlas” she stated calmly. Then her calm realisation turned into anger as she realised what Lamb had been talking about. “Wipe that look off, yesterday you had that I sent you on a walk and you know what happened after” he warned her but she was already on her feet. He called after her as she shakily stood, soon gaining her balance and storming out of the room. Sullivan rubbed his temples for a moment before getting up to follow her, finding her back in her work clothes, currently lacing up her boots.

“Eilis c’mon” he begged as she wound her hair into a taught bun on top of her head, missing a few strands in her rush to get it done.

“The fuck are you gonna do? Where are you gonna find him?“ he threw his hands up as he asked, watching her take a paring knife from the kitchen as a weapon. She brushed her thumb off it to test the sharpness, completely ignoring his shouting.

“… you know where he is. You’re shitting me. This asshole kidnapped you before, has made our lives hell for months and you knew where he was, this. WHOLE. TIME?!” Sullivan was rightfully angry, and the fact she wasn’t even giving him a visible reaction just made his anger worse.

Eilis defend herself “in my defence, I only know where he might be. It’s not like I have constant contact with the asshole, I just did my own research since our spies are idiots, or did you forget the amount of them we’ve found floating in the sea?”. She hated lying to Sullivan, it made her feel like her heart was being torn in half, and the fact he believed her made it worse. He let out a small sigh and apologised “Good point… I’m sorry. But still you should have told me”.

She didn’t reply, hoping he’d just let her leave and not question why. But of course he didn’t. “I’m coming with you, last thing we need is you getting taken for ransom again” he put on a soft smile. Eilis copied, though hers wasn’t genuine, forcing a joke of “at least Atlas didn’t shock me and force religious rhetoric down my throat, eh? Remind me to kill Simon wales by the way, he is really getting on my fucking nerves at this point”. “Oh and the kidnapping plush torture was just another strike I’m guessing?” Sullivan chuckled as they left the apartment and he loaded the last shot they had into Eilis’ shotgun, “what would break the camel’s back?”.

“If he started saying prayers in Irish and I responded out of some forgotten childhood reflex that was drilled into me in primary school” Eilis answered, but she didn’t seem to be joking this time.

They hopped in the first bathysphere to bob to the surface and Eilis set a course for Fontaine’s Department store. When Sullivan started asking questions, she simply lied and said she’d seen Atlas skulking about and followed him here, burying her guilt under her anger. When they began to dock, Sullivan got to his feet. Eilis waited for the sound of the seal of the hatch door breaking to do the same, setting the bathysphere to go back to Ryan’s office before stepping out first.

She put her and out for her shotgun, justifying her action “it’s flooded and you have the balance of a one footed penguin. Give me the gun so you have a chance of not cracking your skull open”. Again he trusted her, handing over the shotgun, which Eilis slung over her shoulder with it’s attached strap, before keeping his hand out to be helped out of the bathysphere. The Pavlov dog gave him an apologetic smile, requesting “make sure Ryan doesn’t drink himself into liver failure for me, alright?” Before shoving him back so he fell on the seats and shutting the bathysphere door with her foot. It quickly sealed and by the time it was sinking below the surface and Sullivan had gotten back to his feet, she was already walking away.

Fixing her shotgun so it was on her back and taking out the paring knife she’d brought with her, she started her search for Atlas. She managed to find a half empty pack of eve cigarettes before she ran into anyone thankfully, smoking as she walked and just shocking anyone that got too close. She triee to twirl the knife around her fingers in an attempt to fidget and distract herself from the fact that she was still involuntarily twitching. That just seemed to be an affect of her plasmid now, how lovely. Annoyingly, the twitches caused her to either almost drop the knife or cut the sides of her fingers, just drawing more attention to it. She eventually stabbed it into a doorframe out of frustration, taking a moment to calm herself as she shook her hand, attempting to turn off the plasmid. As she did this, several passed out people surrounding her, she spotted Lonnie walking not too far from her.

She’d recognise that stupid mutton-chop moustache anywhere. Thankfully she was just out of his view and he seemed eager to get somewhere, hopefully back to Atlas. Pulling the knife out, she followed him, barely avoiding the large pooling puddles that would have given her away immediately. She watched him as he stopped at the door, seemingly to smoke. Through a missing pane in the otherwise newspaper covered windows, she could see Atlas smoking with his feet on the desk. It reminded her of Frank for some strange reason.

It almost made her want to turn around and pretend she wasn’t fully intending to beat the shit out of him, but she brushed those urges away, getting behind Lonnie, she out one hand over his mouth to keep him quiet and used the other to grip the back of his neck, shocking him until he went limp. She flexed her hand till he plasmid calmed down before kicking open the door, breaking the pathetic excuse of a lock. Atlas already had a pistol aimed at her but relaxed when he saw who it was.

He coughed slightly, as if he were an actor prepping for a soliloquy, taking his feet off the desk so he could stand “wondering when you’d come visit me. Takin out poor Lonnie was a bit much though, don’t you think pet?” He chuckled. As he approached he notice the knife in her hand but didn’t think anything of it. “Talked to dr lamb recently?” She asked, Atlas managed to catch his face before he let an annoyed look slip, instead making it look confused as he forced out a bewildered “what? No”. “Really? Cause according to her you’ve been chatting a lot. So much in fact, she was going to give me to you. So you’d be allies. Mind explaining that to me, darling?” Eilis queried, shucking her shotgun off and abandoning it by the door.

“I honestly don’t have a clue what you’re on about… why would I talk to that nut case anyhow? You think I need her deconstructin the way I think when I’m trying to run a revolution?” The false Irish man kept his tone calm, but admittedly he was getting worried. He knew Lamb had her, Mick had left because she’d gone missing and only a few hours later the bitch herself had sent a pnuemo about possibly negotiating a trade in return for a chat, but letting Eilis know that would end in that knife she was holding being driven between his eyes. He had to play oblivious, but not stupid. “Besides… even if she had, why would that be a bad thing?… it’s not like I’d hold you captive, I’d have just done it to get you out of that weapon of a woman’s claws” she still didn’t move as he spoke to her.

He got closer and held her face, feeling her nuzzle into her palm as he asked her “I thought we talked about this… why don’t you trust me? I haven’t asked a thing of you. Tell me what she did, I want to make it better”. “I don’t think you can make the memory of my dying and being forced back to life by adam, again, any better” Eilis sighed, placing one of her hands over his as she leaned into his touch. Just when he thought she was putty in his hands again, she swept his feet out from under him. When he hit the floor he was held down by her sitting on his chest, knife pressed painfully against his throat. He grabbed her wrist but the angle he was at meant he wouldn’t pull her away. The slightest movement and she’d cut his throat open. “It’s painful being brought back to life like that, did you know that? Surprisingly being lied to still hurts that little bit more” The Pavlov dog’s tone was void of all emotion, as was her expression. She used her free hand to flick at his face, just short of his eye, to irritate him.

“Why did you lie to me?” She asked. Flick.

“I didn’t-“ Atlas tried to protest but the next flick hitting just above his eye stopped him.

“Ah, ah an! What did I just say, love? Look, I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you don’t act like a man and tell me” she gave him a strange smile, like a dog flashing it’s teeth before it bit someone, tangling her fingers in his hair to drag his head up, increasing the threat of the knife at his neck. “Now. Why are you talking to Sofia Lamb?”.

Atlas inhaled deep breaths through his nose, trying to keep himself calm and despising the fact that he currently sounded like a scared animal. The puzzled look on his face was almost adorable to Eilis, he looked so irritated. “Well?” She hummed. “I’m thinking…” he almost snarled at her, barely suppressing a bronx tone. She smirked, shrugging slightly as she let go of his hair, letting his head drop and hit the floor in a way she knew was painful, teasing “Good lad, you try and get that brain a yours to think something constructive. Open your mouth for me”. Atlas did so, but not because he was told to, he was actually going to argue with her; but Eilis put a cigarette in his mouth and tilted his head back so his jaw closed. She smirked at him as she lit it with a snap of her figures. For a moment it looked like she was considering putting her burning skin against face, but she didn’t. She just chuckled once before taking the cigarette back and enjoying a long drag, actually taking the knife off his neck to roll her wrist slightly. She was playing with him, the bitch was enjoying this.

Atlas sucked on his teeth, mumbling “a revolution needs allies..”. “That’s your justification?” Eilis was almost disappointed. She expected better. He gave her a look that read ‘that’s all the justification I need’. Prick. “Does a revolution need the soon to be wife of the man it wishes to dethrone or were you thinking of replacing me?” She asked, huffing smoke from her nose as she looked down at him. “What?” His brow furrowed, he couldn’t tell if she was upset by that or not, “I’d never-“ Atlas tried to bullshit, but much to his surprise, she actually stabbed him in the shoulder. He gritted his teeth so hard he swore they’d have broken, managing to turn his true voice slipping out into a subdued groan.

“Atlas. I have been interrogating your allies for weeks. I know all about your bedtime habits, I also know you’re still playing the loyal husband when people ask. All I need to know is why you’re talking to Lamb, what bullshit you two are planning and I’ll be on my way. I won’t even question what you said to Diane to drag her to your side of no man’s land. I just want to be aware so I don’t die in the crossfire again. It isn’t a pleasant process I can fucking assure you. So, tell me what I want to know and I’ll never darken your doorway again” she flicked her cigarette’s ash off as she spoke, taking care to make sure it didn’t land on his face. She was tempted to stub it out on his face but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Atlas didn’t give her an answer. He just stared at her.

Honestly just being sick of the whole situation, Eilis stabbed the knife into the floor just shy of his head, nicking his cheek with the blade as she stood up, tossing her cigarette in front of her so she could stomp it out while she walked as she snatched a vodka bottle off his desk. “You made me fond of you on purpose, didn’t you? Because if you were anyone else you’d be hung like a slaughterhouse pig right now” she scoffed in annoyed anger, pouring two shots very calmly, throwing hers back before bringing the other over to Atlas as he sat up slowly, gripping his shoulder in pain. “I didn’t do a damn thing…” he hissed, watching her crouch down to offer it to him. He watched her eyes trail down to his lips for a minute, like she was considering something, before looking back at his eyes with complete disinterest. He happily took the shot, hoping it would help with the agony “do you stab lads you fancy or am I just lucky?..”.

“No.” The Pavlov dog mused, not in the mood for his flirting.

Atlas only heard the familiar pop of her cracking her knuckles before he was punched in the face, hard enough to bust his lip. He glared at her as he lightly prodded at, grimacing from the sting. Eilis was standing over him, staring at him like she was trying to remember every detail before quietly saying “I hope you have enough ‘allies’ or your wife will keep you entertained. Cause you won’t be getting a lick of attention off me again mate.” Snatching up her shotgun and leaving, hitting Lonnie in the head with the butt of it just out of spite. It took a while but she managed to find a bathysphere in the clothing section. It was an old rusted delivery one and you had to wear a respirator inside the damn thing, but if it got her away from here she didn’t care.

As it docked extremely shakily, scratching off everything and making a horrendous sound, Eilis tried her best to ignore it. She closed her eyes and kept finding herself being dragged back to the last night she’d spent with Atlas. She’d rather listen to the bathysphere make the noises of an eldritch horror than think about that. It upset her and she didn’t want to think why. She didn’t have the energy, she was still so tired.

This bathysphere made her light headed, she almost even passed out as the oxygen nearly ran out, it seemed to bump off nothing in particular which caused a little shower of rust to fall on her every few minutes. She held the respirator tight against her face, the strap having brown long ago, but breathing through it was a struggle. She had to squeeze her eyes shut every so often to get them to refocus.

Around the third or fourth time she did this, she opened them to see the twins. She cursed at them but it was completely unintelligible under the respirator. “You were supposed to find Elizabeth” the man sighed, almost like he were disappointed in her. “Though we shouldn’t have expected an anomaly to be able to change the course of a different reality. It’s all been set out after all” the woman reminded her other self, the two watching as Eilis out her free hand over her ear while pressing the other uncomfortably into her shoulder in an attempt to ignore them.

“She isn’t an anomaly, Rosalind, she’s a catalyst” the man shot back. “This isn’t an argument, I’m simply presenting my hypothesis. We can have differing opinions, can we not?” She hummed, watching her companion resist his brow furrowing, clinging to his blank expression. “Her being dead in this universe does make what’s going to happen next far more difficult” He explained, knitting his fingers together behind his back. The bathysphere jolted again but the twins were unaffected. “She always dies, the plane always crashes and we always end up watching a city under water burn. The fact that she could have been alive won’t change that” The woman checked her pocket watch as the bathysphere screeched while docking again, “it’s February correct?” She queried.

“The third” the man confirmed.

“I give it nine months, thirty days and twenty three hours.” She snapped the watch shut with the closing of her palm, “butterfly or raindrop, brother mine?”.

“You know I never change my hypothesis” the man raised his chin high, like he knew he’d be right in the end.

“Raindrop it is then. I wonder if it is even possible under the Atlantic” The woman yawned, covering her mouth politely before the two disappeared, like they were never there in the first place.

When the bathysphere finally docked at Ryan’s private station in his apartment, Eilis stumbled out, having almost passed out several times in that deathtrap of a bathysphere. She coughed slightly, her lungs aching as she caught herself off a piece of Ryan’s furniture. She swore that damn thing had almost almost killed her. She shook her head to try and get the stray bits of rust that had fallen, off of her body. She rolled up her sleeves and shook her hands again as she walked, like she was shaking her plasmids off, feeling the urge to twitch build up again in her system from the electric shocks. She haunted to observe herself in a mirror Ryan had hung in the hallway. She didn’t know what had compelled her to, but she still stopped. staring at herself while she brushed more rust off her skin, she became aware of that scar again, the one on her lip an eyebrow, just missing her eye. It was small, but when you saw it, it was very hard to ignore. She touched it slightly as she thought.

Just staring at it reminded her of Stienmen’s gloved hands and the smell of antiseptic. That was enough to threaten a gag. With an annoyed blow in an attempt to get some stray hairs that had fallen from her bun to somehow get back atop her head, she continued her journey to find Ryan. She assumed he’d most likely be playing golf in his office, but she didn’t get that far. She found him in his private sitting room, reserved for him and whatever woman he’d had on his arm at the time. She’d never been allowed in it again after they started getting people moved into the city, but she’d seen it. It was a room drowning in examples of his ego, a bragging right written on the walls, which she thought was strange. Wasn’t that what rapture was? Some large trophy with his name plastered everywhere that he can brag about?

Ryan was sprawled across his couch, obviously still sulking. He also didn’t look like himself. His hair was messy with random strands stuck to his face, he had no shoes on and his shirt was completely untucked, half unbuttoned and with no tie. Eilis lightly rapped on the door with her knuckles to get his attention, he lazily glanced over, only to sit up in a panic at the sight of her, before relaxing again like he didn’t have the energy to make an excuse.

He didn’t say anything, he just gestured for her to come over with his fingers, which she did, sitting beside him when he patted his hand on the couch. Now that she was face to face with him she noticed a few things; his nose was bruised and had some remains of dried blood on the nostrils, an abandoned handkerchief drenched in red, slowly turning a rusty brown liquid was abandoned by a bottle of expensive liqueur on his little side table, as well as a dark bruise forming on the left side of his jaw.

“You’re father paid me a visit.” He stated calmly, pouring two glasses, one obviously unused while the other still had little droplets from the previous drink remaining, “He knows about Thomas…”. Ryan gave Eilis one of the glasses, which she happily accepted, the two seemed to sigh unanimously before sipping their drinks. “Where were you?..” he asked her monotonously, seemingly more curious than annoyed, though he could have been just too tired to conjure up the emotion.

“Lamb took me, tortured me for about two hours… someone came to get me, brought me back to their apartment and I woke up about… an hour ago? Chatted with Sully.. went on a walk.. came back here” the Pavlov dog lied to her employer, finding it much easier to do with him than Sullivan. She could lie to Ryan for hours and usually he wouldn’t catch her out on it.

“Hm… what for?“ Ryan sat up slightly straighter, moving his jaw in strange ways like he was trying to see if it was broken. “Apparently I’ve been ‘mentally conditioned’ to be loyal to you. And shocking me like Frankenstein’s monster woulda fixed that… for a psychologist she ain’t to bright is she?..” Eilis answered honestly this time, swirling her drink around the glass as she let her head fall back, turning it so she could face Ryan while remaining comfy.

Ryan stared at her for a minute, a slight tint of confusion in his tone as he wondered “why are you giving me that look?”.

“What look?” Eilis chuckled slightly. “Heart break… are you mocking me?” He accused her. It weirdly made her smile, there was that predictable anger she knew how to deal with. “I’d never. Besides I haven’t had my heart broken” She shrugged, sipping at her drink again. Her heart wasn’t broken, it was a little sore, sure, since she’d just gotten rid of the only person to make her feel physically human in a while, but it wasn’t the end of the world. She was enjoying the silence and her drink, until she had to pause so she wouldn’t choke when Ryan said “good… good… oh, and Stienmen has refused any documents I have sent to silence him or force him to leave you. In the eyes of rapture law, you are still engaged”.

Eilis took a deep breath as she put her drink down before rubbing at her face, “You’re the king and you’re telling me you can’t get me an annulment?” She scoffed slightly. He rolled his eyes and turned away from her, mumbling something along the lines of “I meant a king. I am an employer. And entrepreneur. Kings aren’t needed in my city… Besides, Love is a game for children. And you’re not a child anymore. Just take the damn marriage and have an affair like every other man on this planet if you are convinced you’d hate it so much”.

“Just because Diane left you for a revolution does not mean you get to watch me be as miserable as she would have been married to you” Eilis snapped at him, and the two went quiet. They stared at eachother for a moment, then they focused on their drinks and sat there in silence, neither wanting to apologise as they believed they were in the right. They just stayed their, in quiet, pouring eachother moor drinks as they stared out at the ocean. Eilis kicked off her boots so she could tuck her legs up without being yelled at. In their quiet stalemate, both waiting for an apology, Eilis started to fall asleep that’s to a mixture of her body simply being exhausted and the warmth from the did. When Ryan finally opened his mouth he simply informed Eilis “Stienmen will be here in a moment. You will behave, is that understood?”. “I’ll cock my leg and piss on your furniture” Eilis yawned, turning her face away from Ryan as she tried to just sleep through the whole interaction, ignoring the creeping smell of antiseptic taking over the cigar smoke that perfumed  the room. 

As the surgeon had strode up use stairs, a doctor’s bag tucked under his arm, the last person he expected to see in Ryan’s private quarters was his Houdini-esque fiancé half asleep on the couch, especially since Ryan’s other employees had told him she wasn’t here. He also didn’t expect her to blatantly ignore him when he called out “I missed you darling”. She didn’t even twitch, just lay there. She did open an eye slightly for a minute, but quickly shirt it again, trying to get herself comfortable on the couch.

He wondered why the goddess was punishing him like this.

Had he done something wrong? He couldn’t have.

She insisted he was perfect, so why was her human host suddenly being so… impure. Unholy. Defiant.

“Stienmen!” Ryan’s voice broke through his thoughts, he bowed his head as an apology and went to treat the man, the king of this heaven that had given him access to his goddess, the muse for his work, the ability to be the Picasso of surgery, all of this was thanks to Andrew Ryan. The least he could do was fix his face, though there wasn’t any real damage. He’d use any excuse to stay on the man’s good side and reap the rewards. He straighten Ryan’s nose before injecting small doses of adam into his skin, smoothing is over till the bruises disappeared and his skin healed. The man even had a slightly more youthful complexion when he did this, some wrinkles melting away. The surgeon bit his tongue, ignoring the urge to offer to bring Ryan back to the prime of his youth, knowing it was pointless and the man would refuse.

He knew Ryan would deny it as he always kept to his word. His mind was made up once and he refused to change it, and Steinmen admired it. Slightly.

“There you are. Anything else bothering you?” He asked Ryan calmly, keeping eye contact with man as he thought, only to have his attention stolen by Eilis asking in a sleepy tone “Has Diane come to visit you since she ran off?”. “Excuse you, goddess?” Her unwanted fiancé hummed. Eilis sat up slightly, annoyed she couldn’t sleep since Stienmen had entered, her body wouldn’t let her. She resided to repeat herself as she rubbed at her ring finger, only to realise she hadn’t put Frank’s engagement ring on, and she didn’t know where it was. It must have fallen out of her pocket in Arcadia.

Shit.

“Ignore her, she’s being strange today.. payment will be sent to your account as agreed, and here is our other agreement” Ryan brushed off Eilis’ accusation like it were nothing, handing Stienmen a genetic key but not letting go of it, “do you understand the responsibility of this?”. Stienmen wasn’t playing attention, the moment he’d looked at Eilis he just started to daydream about how easily a scalpel would carve through her skin and how close she was to looking like the goddess, she just looked too human currently. Not Devine enough. Too alive. Too human.

When he realised Ryan was speaking to him, he just smiled politely and nodded “of course. It is an honour, sir” taking the key when Ryan released his grip and leaving without another moment of hesitation. “What was that?…” Eilis asked Ryan, but he didn’t give her an answer, just poured her another drink and encouraged her to sleep, saying “get some sleep. You’re useless to me when you’re exhausted”.

Steinmen admired the key while he walked back to his bathysphere, grinning to himself slightly. With this he had domain over the whole medical pavilion, every. Single. Inch. Was his. He could do what he pleased now, Ryan was endorsing it. He slipped through Hephaestus, guards following him to escort him back to the bathysphere, when he spotted another set dragging off some feral looking creature of a woman. One guard had noticed him staring and tried to assure him “just Adam junkies sir. They ain’t even human, don’t worry about it”.

“How many of them do you have?” Steinmen hummed calmly, keeping his back to them to hide his sickening grin. “Too fuckin many.” The other guard replied. “And you wouldn’t mind someone taking them off your hands?” Steinmen sought clarification. The first guard chuckled “wouldn’t mind them being chucked out an airlock! What you thinkin doc?”.

Stienmen turned to them, ordering in a calm tone, like he was simply asking for a reasonable request “I want about five of them in my bathysphere now. I need something to practice surgeries on, and they aren’t human, correct? I won’t be breaking my hippocratic oath”. The guards stared at him for a minute, looking mildly disgusted, that was of course, until he pulled out a huge wad of cash and split it in half giving them each with the simple instruction of “simply don’t mention it and they’re will be even more next time. And I do swear there will be a next time. You get rid of a problem, I get to make sure rapture citizens get the best possible surgeries. it’s beneficial for both parties”.

Those two were gone before the surgeon could utter another syllable. He sat in the bathysphere and calmly waited, admiring the sharpness of a scalpel he’d brought as he listened to his goddess whisper ideas for her human form. The ones he’d been repressing for the sake of the host not running away. He didn’t care now, they were to be wed and as soon as that happened, he would finally have his goddess in his arms. He just needed to practice on a few people first to get her beauty right. It may take a few months but he could be patient.

They had eternity together afterall.

Chapter Text

“You seen dad by the way?” Tadgh asked his sister casually while he polished his pistol. “Last time I caught a glimpse was a week ago, love. Why?” Eilis replied, tying an unconscious woman to a chair, making sure every knot was secure, “did you see him?”. “I did. We talked, he tried to hug me but I denied it.. he apologised for a lot of things I don’t remember but he’s convinced I’m annoyed about.. and we moved on…” Tadgh sighed, re-holstering his gun and crossing his arms as he kept a close eye on his sister.

Ryan had only let him out of the hospital less than a week ago, only allowing him to start working yesterday. He felt like he was being babied, but he was happy to be with his sister again. He didn’t expect her to be so well adjusted though. The concept that she wasn’t his timid sister working as Ryan’s secretary anymore hadn’t registered with him at all. It was oddly shocking to see her deal with the fact they were about to interrogate a woman so calmly, she almost seemed bored. “You don’t.. hate this, do you? If you want to go back to your old job I can deal with Ryan’s personal security” he offered. The Pavlov dog glared at her older brother, unintentionally of course. She schooled her face into a softer expression as she stated “I’m fine with this job, love. I don’t even need it, but I like having something to do. Besides being Ryan’s secretary was hell” before turning on her heel and snapping her fingers in front of the woman’s face. Nothing. She even shocked her, she only jolted but showed no signs of actual life or human reaction.

Tadgh sighed as he continued to watch, shoving his hands in his pockets only to feel something. He pulled out a small ring box, remembering Sullivan tossing it at him that morning. He whistled to get his sister’s attention and shook it at her, “This yours?”.

Eilis snatched it before he even saw her move, asking “how did you find it?”. “I’m just that amazing, aren’t I?” Tadgh chuckled, tempted to tell her it was Sullivan, but he couldn’t resist propping himself up as an amazing older brother. He saw a flash of an expression from her for a split second, that look she used to give him as a child when he helped tie her laces or lifted her up like she weighed nothing, as if he were the most perfect being on the planet. She opened the box and immediately put on the ring, not daring to even hesitate with her nerves, almost afraid she’d lose it again.

She held the hand to her chest for a minute before composing herself, justifying at as “sorry… I just missed it”. “What is it?” Her brother queried as she walked over to their captive, checking for any signs of life. Nothing. “My engagement ring from Frank” Eilis admitted, having no reason to hide it from her brother. Ryan had probably already told him everything, and frankly she was sick of ignoring it. She tilted the woman’s head back and checked for a pulse, still nothing. Sighing through her nose slightly she mumbled “Oibrímid le leathcheann..” before storming to the door, sliding it open and shouting out “you killed her you fucking gobshite! Now you’re going to take her down to the morgue, register you fucking did that and you can deal with Ryan’s temper when he finds out who you just killed, alright?”. Two men quickly came in and took the woman’s body out.

Tadgh watched his sister rub at her temples and curse in their native tongue for a minute, till he decided to try and distract her, “Tell me about Frank”. “Hasn’t Ryan already told you?” Eilis barely resisted a sneer, knowing her anger was reserved for Ryan. Tadgh hadn’t done anything wrong. Her brother grabbed her hand and gave it a supportive squeeze, flashing a soft smile as he stated “he did. But you spent more personal time with him, I’d trust your opinion better anyway. So, I want you to tell me”.

Eilis let out a noise that sounded like the beginning of a laugh but it was just followed by a forced smile as she rubbed at his fingers with her thumb, mumbling “i gcónaí an coimeádaí síochána, aren’t you?”. “Sin an fáth a bhfuil grá agat dom, ná séan é” Tadgh winked at her, passing Eilis her shotgun as they walked. As he did, he recognised it was the one he’d kept hidden in Ryan’s office, the one that had almost the fact it was that same gun that caused all that pain didn’t sit right with him. Still, he gave it to her, and she happily accepted it, still holding his hand as she started to reminisce.

“Ryan was probably right about him in a lot of senses. He was a bastard, an absolute prick at times… there were moments where I wanted to shoot him.. but he had this sweet side he’d show that just dragged me in..” Eilis hummed slightly, remembering the ways Frank used to win her back after arguments, “He’d never apologise to be fair, but he had his own way of doing it. Bribery mainly but it was with things he’d learned that I’d liked. He cared about what I liked… he knew me better than Ryan at one point. I actually would have married the prick if he’d asked… he used to joke about me being a trophy wife… sounds lovely now that I think about it. Embarrassing and dreaming, but oddly lovely”. “So being attracted to loveable pieces of shit is a family trait then is it? Good to know” Tadgh teased her, snorting a laugh as he remembered something “Martin broke my nose the first time I met him”.

“And you made out with him an hour later, so you are in no place to judge” Eilis teased back, her brother raising his hands in defence “I amnt! Just stating the facts ya daft chick. He didn’t punch you did he?” Her brother switch from joking to serious very quickly. Eilis tried to remember if he ever had, and succeeded, but she couldn’t. “No, he tried and failed. I punched him once though. Busted his lip” She shrugged slightly, almost tripping when her brother shoved her with his shoulder, almost shouting “good woman! I knew I taught you well”. Eilis couldn’t resist a genuine smile at that, she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

After a minute she commented “you would have hated Frank”. Tadgh agreed “oh I know, but I would have let you marry him if it made you happy. Besides as soon as he puts his name on paper that means I can beat him black and blue all I like”.

“That’s not how marriage certs work, love” The Pavlov dog’s brow furrowed.

“T’is” her brother smirked.

“No it’s not”.

“Ah, go in it is. Granny said so and she was a beacon of truth”.

“Tadgh.”.

“T’is.”.

“Not”.

“Alright alright it’s not” Tadgh gave in as they stood at the door that lead to Ryan’s sanctuary. As the camera glanced at them and confirmed who they were, the doors slowly sliding open, he let go of her hand and slipped in between the gap since he was getting impatient. Before Eilis did the same, he grinned at her and quickly said “t’is” beside slipping away. Eilis went to follow him, but she pause, deciding to wait patiently for the door to open fully. She’d already been snapped at for being impatience since Ryan had installed this new security a few days ago, and she wasn’t in the mood to be yelled at again. Getting in a moment later, she’d admit to herself she was sad not to see Diane there. She may not have thought of them as friends but she did care about the woman, and now she was gone. She wondered if she was alright, well, as alright as you could be living in basic poverty and being an active member of a revolution. Ryan would most likely demand her to be shot on sight now that she’s an enemy, and since he’d stopped seeing Jasmine, as she’s just disappeared, that left Eilis with no female ‘friends’. She was surrounded by men and even though she adored some of them, it was mildly suffocating.

Going up the small little steps she got into Ryan’s office quickly, only to see him standing with a hand on Tadgh’s shoulder as they read something. “Everything alright?” She asked, walking up to her brother’s side, only to see him flick the piece of paper away from her so she couldn’t read it. “What’s happened?“ Eilis tried to read his expression but she couldn’t, he’d gone stone faced. “Let her read the damn thing, Thomas” Ryan ordered, annoyed when Tadgh didn’t obey immediately. He heisted, his hand visibly shaking before he passed it to Eilis.

It read:

Don't think you'll see me alive again, sir. I plan a quick get-together with a bullet. Can't live with what I done. She had the cutest little red and black blanket. Tell Alis and Tiege I’ll miss them. They don’t deserve to wallow in my misery, niether do you. Owe you that, I guess, Great Man. Now I owe myself something else. A little drinky, a little bye bye.

Bye bye, Great Man

“He’s missing. And that’s just arrived in by pnuemo. I assume we all know what this means?” Ryan sounded so disappointed, like Sullivan had quit his job without notice. “Yea… I’m so sorry love, I know you were close” Tadgh apologised to his sister, but she didn’t look upset, she just looked confused. She was studying the letter like it were in another language before calming stating “this is fake”. “Love, I know it hurts but you can’t go denying-“ Tadgh tried to talk some sense into his sister but she was firm with “no, no it is fake, just look-… give me a minute”. She bolted over to Ryan’s desk, moving items out of the way and into piles, rummaging through till she found something of Sullivan’s, some report on something that didn’t matter anymore. She tipped over Ryan’s banker’s lamp as the two surrounded her, wondering what the hell she was on about.

“It’s a forgery. Look” she pointed at something on each page “Sullivan always dashes his I’s, while here they’re perfect, almost fecking meticulous dots. He also spelt our names wrong”. “Your names are odd, why is that such a strange thing?” Ryan scoffed, not having the patience for Eilis to spiral into grief again when held just lost the head of his security team. “He’d never. He asked for the spelling once and didn’t screw up again. Besides he’d call me Ellie in something this personal” Eilis still argued her point, ignoring Ryan’s dismissal. “Tadgh, look, you know what I’m talking about right?” She pulled her brother over and he just gave her a sympathetic look, whispering “they’re good points love, but he was possibly taking his life. Wouldn’t some old habits go out the window?”. Eilis glared at him, fighting off pricking tears and abandoning the letter on the desk, going to leave.

When Ryan called after her “and where do you think you’re going?!” She just shouted back “to find the only person in this shithole who actually gives a damn about what I think!” Ready to go guns blazing till he found him, only for the door to slide open to reveal Bill McDonagh blocking her way. He was holding his hat to his chest and looked very upset. He almost sounded like he was going to cry by the way he was speaking “sorry to bother ya governor… they found him… rest of the team agrees it weren’t foul play”.

“Thank you bill” Ryan put on a mournful look he hadn’t had before. The larger man looked down at the Pavlov dog, who was glaring up at him like she was about to rip out his throat. All he could do was apologise “I’m sorry… I know you two were close… come have a drink at the fightin McDonagh when you feel up to it alright? On the house”. “Left or right?” She asked quietly, her voice cracking as she struggled to herself together. “What?” Bill didn’t understand, she clarified “which hand was the gun in, the left or the right?”. Bill made confused noises as he tried to remember the scene with enough detail that he could give her an answer without acknowledging the gore. “Right I think?… defiantly the right” he eventually answered her.

Eilis took a deep composing breath, her last words being “Sully was left handed…” before she slipped past Bill and was out of sight within seconds.

The head of Rapture’s civil war calmly picked at his teeth, sitting on the edge of the highest stand of the gallows Ryan had set up in Apollo square, admiring his new territory and the several dead allies of the bastard they had lined up on the floor. They basically had dominion over the poorer areas of rapture at this point, minus pauper’s drop but he was working on that, and Atlas couldn’t have been prouder of himself. Especially since he got a certain large pain in the ass off his back. Would it have severe repercussions later? Possibly, only if he didn’t play his cards right. Either way it was worth it in the long run. “What should we do next?” Lonnie’s voice chimed in from behind him.

“Any update on my ace in the hole?” Atlas queried, not looking back at long as he continued to admire the remnants of the carnage. “He’s booked a ticket to England for just after New Years. We have a package scheduled with the smugglers to arrive the day before, making him believe his mother invited him and booked the flight. It has the activation phrase on the letter and a gun wrapped inside. Everything will go according to plan, as long as we get rid of a few mutts in the area” Lonnie’s suggestion made Atlas actually look back at him. He took a deep breath to suppress his urge to snap at the man, knowing he had eyes on him.

Slowly getting to his feet he turned to Lonnie and requested “elaborate on that for me, mate. What mutts?”. “The Pavlov dog, Sinclair’s muscle and Ryan’s pet. If we get rid of the all, Ryan’s life is in your hands. You could gut him like that” Lonnie snapped his fingers, his brow furrowing in confusion when Atlas didn’t seem to like his idea. Infact he seemed to despise it.

“Mick is still on our side currently and we need that southern prick’s money. He won’t say a word against us for fear we’ll go after his brats. The boy doesn’t know anything about us and Ryan will keep him away.” He spoke calmly, but his calm demeanour was devoured by rage when Lonnie shrugged, teasing “I mentioned three names, yet you only gave two reasons. I thought she dropped you.”. “Unless you want to end up like those pieces a shit down there, I’d watch how you fuckin speak to me” Atlas’ true voice came out in full force as he whispered harshly to his second in command, “I don’t gotta justify shit to you, you understand me?”. “Of course.” Lonnie Judy bowed his head slightly, knowing better than to pry from anymore questions.

Noticing people were staring, Atlas coughed slightly and brought back the Irish brogue, asking “everything in place for our next attack?” while he started to climb down from this rickety bullshit he’d been sitting on. “Sander cohen’s show? Yes that’s all in place. Two days from now, correct?” Lonnie made sure to speak respectfully, really not wanting to be murdered as he had shit to do. “Looks like you aren’t as feckin stupid as you look. You get every thing perfectly in line for that or I’ll lob your head off and send it to Ryan in a bouquet of roses” Atlas warned him quietly, giving him a sharp glare before putting back on his mask of a tired revolutionary leader.

He smiled softly at people as he walked past, pretending to care about any injured pathetic excuse of a man he saw and comforting those who were mourning over someone he couldn’t have given a shit about, deciding he was going to treat himself and get a drink. He technically controlled Neptune’s bounty currently, every business was on his side bar the tavern itself, since McDonagh insisted he was neutral. Atlas doubted that. He was just waiting for the right moment to force Ryan’s influence out of the area. So, why not go to the fighting McDonagh? He deserved a treat.

He strode in like he owned the place, which he believed he technically did, but he had to remind himself he wasn’t Frank Fontaine, tone down the cockiness a little. People were murmuring whispers before he’d even entered. They all seemed to try and be quiet, which was odd for this place, especially since it was the middle of the day. He went deeper and deeper into the bar, the amount of people thinning as he went, till he got to the billiards table. Standing at it was a very tired looking Bill McDonagh and Eilis, who was lining up her shot. “Haven’t seen you in here in a while, special occasion?” The sound of Atlas’ voice made her fudge her shot, potting the white. Eilis took a deep breath and turned to look at Atlas.

She’d obviously had been crying and made no attempts to hide it. “She ain’t in the mood for your rhetoric mate. Give the girl some breathing room, she’s in mournin’” Bill attempted to get the man to fuck off but he was met quickly by the Pavlov dog’s biting remark of “I am not. In. Mourning. And I don’t need you to speak for me…”. She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before stating bluntly “someone murdered Sully.”.

“Allegedly” Bill gave her as subtle as a warning as he could, hoping she’d catch on. She didn’t.

“He was murdered. If you’re just here to whisper Ryan’s opinions in my ears then please fuck off” Eilis almost begged the man, rubbing at her temples. Bill frowned slightly but obeyed, looking Atlas up and down for a weapon before leaving when he was sure it was safe to.

Atlas watched intently as Eilis tapped her nails off the wood of the billiard table, she was seething. This was different to her reaction when Frank died, she just skipped the grieving entirely. Her grieving came out in bursts of emotional tears, apart from that she was just drowning in anger. As soon as she found the bastard that did this she was going to make sure he died the most painful way possible. No justice, no Ryan, no Persephone, just the pain the bastard deserved. Seemingly remembering Atlas was in the room, she looked up at him again.

“What?… what could you possibly want right now?” She asked, tossing the cue onto a nearby chair before feeling at her pockets for cigarettes. Atlas offered her one but she wordlessly refused it, she needed eve, not nicotine. He shrugged, putting one in his mouth and feeling around for a lighter he knew he didn’t have. Eilis lit it for him out of reflex and he used the excuse to grab her wrist. She didn’t punch him, she just kept her hand go limp as she stared at him. “You punch something?” He wondered, noticing her knuckles were pink with little bits of plaster stuck in them. She didn’t answer him.

“Are you still pissed at me over that whole Sofia Lamb shite?” Atlas chuckled, like this whole situation was funny. She still didn’t answer him. “Eilis… darlin come on, ya can’t just keep giving me the silent treatment, what’s that going to fix?” He fretted. Finally she spoke to him, her voice wavering from the brink of devastation to anger, “My friend.. my only actual friend has been murdered… and everyone thinks it’s a suicide… he was most likely killed because of your revolution… but that’s not your fault. If you were the culprit, you’d have been dead the moment I lay eyes on you.”. Atlas got a strange rush from how quickly his body tensed up in panic before relaxing. “And yet you haven’t told me to leave” he noticed, releasing her hand as she tried to tug it away lightly.

Eilis flexed her hand slightly, trying to get more space between then but Atlas wouldn’t allow that, blowing smoke out his one and into her face as he approached. “If you keep taking steps closer I will kick you in your cock so hard you’ll sound like a bloody teenager” She warned him, he ignored her, continuing until she had her back pressed against the window. Ignoring the urge to make her threat true, Eilis simply raised her foot, planted it on his stomach and pushed him back, keeping it there. “If you want me gone, tell me to leave” Atlas gave her this strange smile, which she hated, it made her feel so small. He just looked so smug, tapping the ash off his cigarette before calmly continuing to smoke, putting pressure against her foot like he was waiting for her leg to give out.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you. Never learnt how to read a room, did ya mate?” She pushed him back slightly, but he came right back, Eilis barely keeping him away with just her knee at this point. “I know how to read a room, and I can tell you want something. You just need to tell me what it is, pet” he planted a hand by her head, which she leant to the side to try and escape, her nose wrinkling and she sneered at him like a snarling mutt. “I want to be left alone. You want sex. Neither of us can help eachother. Fuck off.” She was definitely about to cry, her grip was slipping. “I just want you to stop being difficult and talk to me!” Atlas snapped at her, before pulling away to compose himself.

That left Eilis in shock, she wasn’t annoyed he’d shouted at her, she was just more shocked at the feeling of nostalgia she got from it, but she couldn’t place where it was coming from. “What do you want?” Atlas sighed, rubbing at one of his temples and flicking his cigarette away to burn a whole in the billiard table’s felt. The Pavlov dog fought back tears, tempted to just let him sit there in silence till he left, but that wave of nostalgia made her want to talk. As she rubbed at her engagement ring, becoming oddly aware of it in her finger, she realised it remained her of Frank. After taking a quick deep breath as she admitted “I want to punch something. I want to beat the fucker who took Sully from me until not even a doctor will be able to tell he was human. But… I can’t do that can I? So I’ll settle for punching something”. “You can punch me” he offered. Eilis snorted a laugh, “oh don’t tempt me. Promise you’ll fight back?”.

“Oh, cross my heart, da-“ Before Atlas could even finish, Eilis uppercut him so hard he stumbled back, catching himself off the side of the of a table. He rubbed at his jaw slightly, tasting iron in his mouth, “I thought you’d pull your punches… after you stabbed me… but fine” he chuckled deeply, cracking his knuckles as he watched Eilis slip off her engagement ring, laying it on the billiard table before calmly shining her signet ring off her sweater. She let him have one punch, right on her cheek, giving him a moment to be distracted by his own ego till she pulled him forward by his shirt and slammed her forehead into his nose. Atlas kneed her in the gut in response, leaving them both gasping for breath for a moment before they were back on eachother. Within seconds they were on the floor, Eilis having Atlas in a headlock as he tried to pry her arms off.

“Aww, momma not teach ya how to fight?” She teased, cursing in pain as he sunk his teeth into her arm, forcing her to let go. Atlas quickly rolled over so he was on top of her, hands at her throat, her own barely keeping his from strangling her as he hissed “my old man taught me how to fight. Where the hell did you learn it from?” Almost losing his grip on his identity again.

“Oh my Granny raised all her children as fighters. Sracadh sí do scornach amach. mhúin sí dom é seo a dhéanamh freisin.” A smirk spread across Eilis’ features before she kicked him hard in cock. Naturally, Atlas screamed out in pain, let go of her and rolled away, curling up in a ball to cope with the pain. Eilis stared at her arm and couldn’t help but laugh, “you… absolute arsehole!… christ that’s going to scar”. Her laughs somehow unraveled into a sob. She clapped a hand over her mouth for a moment, refusing to let herself cry again, breathing out shakily as she just lay on the floor.

She started at her bloody arm as she held it up to the light, watching blood trickle from it and down to her bunched up sleeve. “Sully and I got in a fight once… he was drunk and I was going through adam withdrawl for the first time… he broke my arm, I broke his jaw… after we were all stitched up and sent out with a ribbon… we just sat there in the waiting room, not wanting to confront Ryan. He gave me his jacket and let me sleep on his shoulder as an apology… we never fought physically again…” Eilis was speaking mainly to herself at this point. Atlas huffed pained breaths as he sat up, scoffing “uh huh… that’s lovely” gasping from the shock as he tried to move, deciding just sitting there for a moment was better, “why are you wallowing at the back of the fighting McDonaighs anyway?…” silently grateful she’d obviously held her kick back. He knew for a fact she could kick harder.

Eilis got to her feet as she spoke “The last thing I said to him was ‘You’re such a bastard… you owe me a game of snooker and a drink’… so… in his memory… I’m having a game of snooker… and a drink…” snatching an abandoned glass of whiskey on one of the tables. There was another glass beside it, she clinked hers against it as if it were a cheers, throwing it back in one quick shot, before slipping back on her engagement ring. She kept her back to Atlas as he got to his feet, struggling, dusting himself off and ready to storm out till he heard her ask “how long till you have to be back?”. There was that tinge to vulnerability in her tone, the slight hint she didn’t even let slip out when she was angry or upset, it only ever came out with her devastation, which she was currently battling off with a slowly whittling pathetic excuse of a stick. That just dragged him right back in. “Not sure. They could need me at any moment. I need to be found easily” Atlas shrugged, shoving his hand in his pockets.

The Pavlov dog went quiet for a minute, staring out the window at the wonders of the ocean, an orca swimming by and actually making eye contact with her for a split second before swimming away at the speed of a race car after a fish that had gone last it’s face. “My apartment. Twenty minutes… spend the night. Please” it was almost like she was begging him, leaving quickly without making eye contact, like she was ashamed. How cute.

Eilis caught Bill by the arm before she left, requesting “could you tell Ryan I’m taking the day? I just need a little time.”.

“Course. If you need anything just come to me alright?” He smiled kindly, patting her hand.

She slipped her hand away, barely fighting a frown as she told him “don’t try and replace Sully… just.. don’t” and like that she was gone.

“The boys still talking?” Mick queried, crouching down beside his son who was sat on the floor, letters spread out in front of him. “They’re currently reminiscing about New York. Apparently they knew eachother, I never met the fucker” Tadgh’s sentence was slightly muffled by the pen he was holding in his mouth, he pulled it out for a minute to make some notes before he glanced at his father, reminding him “your taste is atrocious as always. At least you and Padraig knew eachother”. “Your granny would love that biting tongue of yours” his father complimented him, Tadgh dropped his pen slightly dramatically, giving Mick his full attention.

“What do you want?” He asked bluntly, “I’m trying to figure out if a good friend of mine was murdered and you’re trying to play catch up with me? Really? Didn’t we already play this game?”. Mick furrowed his brow “I’m only talking to you. A father can’t talk to his son?”. “Mick, you were my father till I was twelve. After that you went full revolutionary on us. I raised Eilis. I brought home money. I saved your ass more times then I could count. I remember ya fondly, I won’t lie, and I only talked about you like you weren’t a bastard, but I am not here for you to brush away your guilt… Fucking Christ I can’t think with you here…” Tadgh ran his hand through is hair before covering his mouth with both of them, resisting the urge to shriek.

While his son got up to either find the strongest alcohol here or smash his head into a wall, Mick picked up the only letter on its own. The supposed suicide note. He stared at it for a minute before he noticed something faint. It could have just been dirt, but he had to be sure. He found the nearest lamp, took off the shade and held the paper against the bulb, and there it was, clean as day, faint pencil marks from someone writing out the letter first, then doing it again in pen and lazily trying to get rid of the pencil. Tadgh was watching over his father’s shoulder in confusion till he spotted what he was obviously staring at. “Who writes an impromptu drunk suicide note twice? Twice that we know of anyway, they could have done this a few times” Mick whispered, noticing Ryan and Sinclair had gotten closer.

“casadh amach nach raibh mamaí an t-aon cinn a raibh inchinn, ay?” Tadgh had this grin, not happy he’d found out an old friend had been murdered of course, but he found out his sister was possibly right. “Is breá leat freisin, a cac beag” Mick ruffled his son’s hair before fixing his cap. He whispered quickly “I’ll keep these two chatting, you go tell your sister the good news, alright? Well, not good news, but it’ll either give her a boost of motivation or let her sleep” patting his son’s shoulder as he got up and approached the other men “Andy! How’s your jaw?”.

Ryan glared at him but didn’t acknowledge the fact he’d said anything, continuing his conversation with Sinclair about the increase in Adam production thanks to the protector program. Mick’s nose wrinkled as he let out a little huff, asking “So, Ryan… Can I call ya Andy? —Im gonna call you Andy — After your done with your little pity party, when are you gonna drag the poor fucker back to life like you did with my boy, hm?”. Ryan looked both offended and astonished “excuse you?”. “Forgive me” Mick continued “I was just assuming, since ya have no regard for the sanctity of death or bodily autonomy, that you’d drag his ass out of the freezer to bring him back when you decide you’d need him. Just like Tadgh. And just like I know you’d do with Eilis”.

“Careful Mickey” Sinclair warned him, his lover simply shrugged and stared at Ryan, waiting for an answer. Ryan swallowed hard, keeping himself composed, wanting to avoid being attacked again if possible. After glancing to Sinclair for support, which he got none of, he replied “Sullivan made sure that would not be an option. It’s one to the reasons I am against Ellie’s suggestion of foul play”. “Do they get that option? Choose when they die? Or do they how to blow their brains out on your ducking desk before you-“ Mick had started to shout, only going quiet when Sinclair put a hand out and across his chest, warning him sharply “Micheál Donovan, don’t you dare, boy”. The look that plastered Ryan’s face made Mick want to beat him unconscious, but of course he didn’t. Sinclair didn’t want him to, that was a good enough reason to stand down.

“Hm. People call your daughter a dog, and yet here you stand. I’m sure if Sinclair told you to chop off your own foot and eat it you wouldn’t even let him finish before you began.” Ryan spoke cruelly, seemingly confident now that Sinclair was defending him, “you should add keeping him quiet to the next part of his training Augustus. Maybe he’ll actually be a functioning man after that” he flashed them a buisnessman’s smile, cold and unemotional, before returning to his desk to work, ignoring the pile of abandoned letters on the floor, acting like the confrontation had never happened “Now, Augustus, about the issue we were discussing with Adam addiction,”.

Tadgh knew where his sister was living, would he be a good brother if he didn’t? Ryan had showed him on his tour of Rapture, well the parts that weren’t batshit insane currently that is, and Martin had explained he was living with her currently, though he hadn’t been home in a while since he was busy working for a sculpture for Cohen’s latest show. What he hadn’t remembered is there was a code to get up. He buzzed the intercom and got nothing, so he tries codes he assumed she’d use: their birthday, the year they moved to America, things like that. Nope. Just as he was about to give up and leave, he was startled when he found Sander Cohen himself standing behind him, watching him like a vulture. “If you wanted the code you could have simply asked” The older man rolled his eyes, popping it in like it was nothing, the lift slowly descending. “How the hell did you know that?” His brow furrowed, it turning into a scowl as Cohen snorted a laugh “I know that girl better than Ryan ever can even dream. I could make her cry in two minutes. I’m very aware she wouldn’t have changed it from Fontaine’s code as some form of respect for the man. In you go, age before beauty”.

Cohen shooed him in like he was a bold cat that had been caught trying to eat the turkey at Christmas. Just before he could hit the button, Cohen squeezed in with him. “What are you-“ he tried to question the artist but a finger was bluntly pressed against his lips as Cohen shushed him. “She is avoiding me. And I don’t like to be ignored. You are my excuse, do you understand?” Tadgh simply nodded, staying quiet and resisting the urge to disrespect one of Ryan’s closest friends. Though he never remembered them getting on.

Unaware of the fact her brother and a man who knew her scarily well, despite rarely being sober enough to construct a sane thought, Eilis was enjoying herself in her room. She had her face buried in Atlas’s shoulder as she rode her heart out. Just as she felt that amazing high before a rush of euphoria built up in her gut, she heard the elevator, and she stopped. “What’d you do that for?..” Atlas panted as he witnessed her wordlessly get up, throw on a smoking jacket loosely, pick up her magnum from the bedside table and leave the room.

As her front door slid open she just fired a warning shot immediately, damaging the doorframe. Her brother flinched and cursed aloud while Cohen just glanced at where the bullet had hit and then went back to looking at Eilis. Tadgh screamed at his sister, hand on his chest as he tried to calm down his beating heart “Íosa Muire máthair Dé, AN BHFUIL AN IFREANN SEO?! AN MAGNUM FOLA É SEO? CÁ BHFUIL TÚ FÉIN É SIN?”, Cohen calmly walking past him and up to Eilis while they argued from afar.

Well argued was the wrong word, the older of the two was creaming while Eilis remained calm and stonefaced, answering “Is liomsa é. Ní gá dom a insint duit cá bhfuair mé é.” Taking her finger off the trigger, she loosely gestured at the artist approaching her with determination with the gun, “cén fáth a bhfuil sé anseo?”. Cohen calmly fixed her smoking jacket so she was more modestly covered, tying it so tight it actually knocked the wind out of her for a moment while he complained “good god, could you to speak a language I understand? It’s no fun when you have a secret way of speaking” then he stopped, still holding onto the bow he’d just made before looking up at Eilis with a grin “you were having fun weren’t you?… my my you do move on quickly”.

“Would you shut up?..” Eilis hissed through gritted teeth before taking a step back, swiping Cohen’s hands away. She gave a quick glance to make sure Atlas hadn’t come down the stairs before giving them her full attention. “What could you to possibly want? And why the fuck does no one in this city know how to knock?!” She shouted at them, only being more irritated by the fact the two of them seemed confused as to why she’d be angry. “Oh we’re here for very different reasons I assure you, I just used your brother as an excuse to come up. If I had just entered it would be rather rude but with him I could do it under the guise of… familial concern” Cohen spoke so eloquently, as he always did when he was sober enough to choose his words carefully, that didn’t soften Eilis’ fury though. She crossed her arm and waited for the two to give their reasoning.

It took them a moment to catch on before her brother began “You hadn’t come back. I wanted to check on you. And uh.. Da found out you may be right. He wrote it twice. And.. all your other points were right too..”. Eilis expression didn’t change but there was a glint of relief in her eyes. “And what are we going to do about that?” She queried, Tadgh not even getting chance to answer as Cohen cut in, “enough enough! Ignoring all of that… uselessly upsetting business, I am throwing an after show party in two days! Isn’t that wonderful? You two of course will be working during the show, protecting Andrei and the like.., but after I would like to have you two as guests. For my muse of course no other reason” he spoke with his hands, as he always did, gesturing and clapping slightly in excitement. He clapped hard in front of Eilis’ face when he realised she’d been more focused on his them than his words.

Taking a long deep breath to compose herself as she kneaded at her eyes, Eilis forced a smile and said “of course! We’d love to. Now, for the sake of my own sanity, both of you, Get. Out. Of my. Apartment.”. The artist shrugged, calmly trotting down the stairs before catching Tadgh on the arm, ushering him out despite his questions. Eilis watched them walk to the lift and slowly descend, only allowing herself to relax when she was sure they were out of sight. As he shoulders sloped and she kept her arms fall, she was greeted with arms wrapping around her waist and soft stubbly kisses at her neck.

“Come back to bed. It’s freezing out here” Atlas requested softly, pulling her closer to them so they were back to chest.

“Hm, and why should I?… maybe I should throw on something and slip down to Cohen for a drink” Eilis laughed slightly, leaning her head back onto his shoulder.

“And why would you do that, darling?” He wandered, feeling a tug at the corner of his lips of the mischievous look she had. She shrugged slightly, “I just don’t like you”.

“Ooooh, that stings” Atlas tutted as he spun her around so she was facing him, “but you don’t have to like me for us to have fun, do you?”. “Can’t argue with that” Eilis smiled slightly as she kissed him. Just before it could go anyway, she pulled away to remind him “but if you pull one more stunt, I will shoot your dick off”.

Atlas pretended to bless himself as he swore “oh I wouldn’t even dream of it” knowing Eilis didn’t believe him but delighted that it was enough to guide her back to bed. He may as well try and enjoy himself for the next two days if she was truly serious. This whole ‘Atlas’ act would be over in a few months anyway. He could cope with other lays until then.

Chapter Text

Above sea level, by the regal lighthouse that hadn’t been used in almost a year, a bathysphere surfaced. Out of it emerged Andrew Ryan and his guard dogs, one of them holding a bottle of whiskey and three glasses. It was around 4 am and the weather was horrendous. Tadgh held an umbrella over Ryan, the great man being semi grateful that he’d taken it with him when they’d moved down below and hadn’t decided to throw it out yet. Eilis didn’t mind getting soaked, she couldn’t help but admire the clouds she hadn’t seen in so long and relish in the feeling of rain on her face, knowing it didn’t mean her imminent demise. She closed her eyes and listened to the rumbling thunder for a moment before doing what they came here to do.

She handed her brother and employer their glasses, pouring them and herself two fingers of whiskey before they all raised their cups. “To Sullivan, a better man than all of us. Go mbeadh do ghloine lán go deo. Bíodh an díon thar do cheann láidir i gcónaí. Agus go mbeifeá ar neamh leathuair sula mbeidh a fhios ag an diabhal go bhfuil tú marbh. Slán a chara” Eilis spoke to the sky, like her old friend was watching her. The three clinked their glasses together and downed their drinks before the Pavlov dog poured the rest of the whiskey bottle out onto the steps. “Was that really necessary? Was any of this?” Ryan scoffed as he and Tadgh watched from afar. “It’s helping her process it. Thank you for allowing it sir” Tadgh thanked Ryan, keeping an eye on his sister as she let herself get drenched by the rain, seemingly not oblivious. “No need to thank me, dear boy” Ryan felt his chest puff up pride, knowing he’d done a good thing and he deserved the praise. “Get your sister back to the bathysphere, she’s no use to me when she’s sick, Thomas” his tone suddenly went cold as he took the umbrella from Tadgh and calmly went back to wait, not caring that his employees were getting drenched by the freezing cold rain. Tadgh approached his sister, watching her stare at a seagull that had decided to land on one of the lamps.

He slipped off his trench coat and held it over himself and Eilis like a little roof, wanting her to be semi-dry. He remembered her getting a chest infection after being out in the rain once when they were children, her cough sounded like a dogs bark, it Wasn’t pleasant. He didn’t want that to happen again. “You alright?” He asked, she only gave him a vague noise in reply. He sighed, trying not to worry about her, but that was impossible. He’d always worry about her. Besides, she’d been distant the last two days. It was was understandable considering what had happened, but it was obvious she wasn’t letting herself grieve, so there was no point to it. He also had noticed the bruise on her cheek and tightly wound bandage on her arm when she rolled up her sleeve. She didn’t elaborate on it when anyone asked: not for him, not for their father and not even Ryan.

“Those bastards they rounded up last night, they still in Hephaestus?” She finally spoke. “They aren’t going anywhere” Tadgh’s brow furrowed. Ducking under his arm, Eilis walked back to the bathysphere, quickly replying “I know.” As she picked up the whiskey glasses on her way. When she sat in the bathysphere she created a puddle, being soaked to the skin and shivering, but weirdly unaware of it. Ryan moved away from her, not wanting to get his good suit drenched. That was one of the benefits of his beautiful city, the weather and temperature was always perfect. He’s only agreed to this since Tadgh practically begged him, if Eilis had asked he’d assumed she was making another escape attempt.

She’d tried once before, near the beginning of his glorious achievement, somehow having convinced him that she needed to see the sky again. He was a lot softer back then. He agreed and as soon as they got up and he turned his back for a minute, she dove into the ocean and tried to swim for it. He didn’t know what her plan was, maybe she’d planned on going until she either drowned or was picked up by some random ship, though the first option seemed more likely. They’d dragged her kicking and screaming out of the ocean, he had her committed for a week to the hospital as a psyche patient. She learnt her lesson after about a month. He didn’t want to have to do that again since it was just irritating and a rock in the way of his schedule, he would if she dared try again.

He made sure to wipe the slowly forming scowl off his face when Tadgh entered the bathysphere, setting a course and letting them descend. “I want to drop Eilis off home if you don’t mind sir. Her shift is over and I don’t want her walking too far in those clothes” he called back to his employer, standing rather than sitting on the water permeated seats. “That’s very kind of you Thomas, thank you” Ryan spoke kindly to Tadgh, it made Eilis’ whole body cringe.

Was it jealousy? Maybe. She remembered being jealous before rapture, since she was usually scolded, but now since she was so numb to the abuse of Andrew Ryan, she couldn’t quite place it. Maybe it was just her body reacting for the sake of nostalgia. She didn’t know.

Tadgh distracted Ryan with chit chat as they docked at her private station, Eilis quickly getting out, the bathysphere sealing and sinking just as her other foot left its door. She unbraided her hair, fluffing it so it would unstick from her scalp before wringing the water out. Then she took off her boots and her sweater, wringing that out as well. Pushing the secret bookshelf for open with her foot a little too hard, ignoring the sound of books hitting the ground on the other side, she went into her bedroom and crouched down in front of the fireplace. With a snap of her fingers, she was lit by the warm amber light of the flames. She left her boots to dry by it, dragging over a chair to lay her sweater across before just staying there, crouched, warming up her frozen skin.

When she let her eyes shut for a moment, she couldn’t help but imagine sitting beside Frank, on the floor by a crackling fire, resting her head in his shoulder as he rambled about some bastard who got in his way. She actually couldn’t tell if that had happened or if she was imagining it turkey anymore. A strange sensation washed I’ve her, but she ignored it.

When she was sufficiently warmed and turning pink from heat of the fire, she took off her pants, letting it join her sweater on the chair, before getting back into bed, snuggling into Atlas chest as he had half woken up. He opened an arm for her, wrapping it tightly around her frame and burying his nose in her wet hair, kissing it slightly. “You have a shower?…” he mumbled slightly, his voice going from bronx to Dublin very slowly, but the sleepy gruff he had when he just woke up gave him a little leeway. “No.. just rain..” Eilis yawned, resting a hand on his shoulder, lightly brushing her thumb over the stab wound she’d given him. She’d stitched it up herself, rather nightly might she add. Atlas chuckled in her ear as he buried his face in the pillow, mumbling “you have some wild dreams, pet..” before falling back asleep.

Eilis did the same soon after, the warmth of the room and the feeling of being in someone’s arms lulled her to sleep almost immediately, tracing idle shapes on his back lightly with her nails. She hoped he’d find it as comforting as she did.

They stayed like that for about half a day, Eilis waking up and softly kissing him before resting her head on his chest when she eventually allowed herself to stay conscious. “It’s 4 pm love, don’t you have something to do?” Atlas hummed, admiring the Pavlov dog as she reluctantly sat up, yawning “Yes actually.. Cohen’s show is at 6 and I have work to do before…” she nuzzled her head into his shoulder for a moment, kissing at the crook “why do you have to be so perfectly comfy and warm, Hm?… seems unfair..” she let out a sigh before trying to sit up. Atlas followed her, keeping his arm around her, wondering “what if you just stayed with me here? What would happen then?“.

“World might implode in on itself. b'fhéidir go gcuirfí go tír na n-óg mé…” Eilis chuckled, kissing his lips softly and caressing his jawline, telling him “you can come back if you’d like… I won’t be back until late but I wouldn’t mind seeing you here”. “Careful darling, I’ll start thinking you’re fallin for me” Atlas teased, Eilis grabbed his nose with her knuckles and moved his head with it, teasing back “who wouldn’t fall for the handsome Irish revolutionary?… Still, I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m bad luck”.

Atlas’ brow furrowed, Eilis not addressing the statement that obviously bothered him so much as she got dressed. She checked her sweater, it was still wet, making her sigh. Her hair had dried from the heat but because of the way she’s slept it was almost wavy along with the annoying level of static fuzz. It looked very natural and when she fluffed it out a bit it looked less like bed head, more styled and refined. She tied the bits that annoyed her behind her head while letting the rest lie on her shoulders before getting dressed; throwing on a shirt, her holster for her magnum, her rings and a bit of concealer to hide the bruise on her cheek and little ones all over her neck. “You should tell me about our boy when you come back. You never talk about him” She called back from the bathroom. Atlas choked on his next breath. “What uh… what has you interested in Patrick?..” he asked sheepishly, almost forgetting the name she’d made up. Eilis didn’t answer for a minute as she stared at her reflection, imagining herself holding that little bouncing blonde baby Frank had showed her. Jack. Shaking the image out of her mind, wishing this sudden rise in maternal instinct would just die already, she gave an excuse “just curiosity love, simple as that. He has the same name as an old family friend, well.. the English version anyway. I was feeling nostalgic” she calmly walked out, dusting herself off as she took several shotgun shells and some magnum buckets out of the drawer in her bedside table. “Will I see you here when I get back?“ She glanced at him, Atlas giving her wink “couldn’t be away from ya for even a moment, love”.

“Flatterer” she chuckled, loading her shotgun as she walked, going back to her bathysphere station to get in the one Ryan would have sent.

She really needed to buy her own, it’s not like she didn’t have the money, but to be fair there wasn’t exactly a bathysphere shop open at the minute. She climbed into the rickety old thing and set her course for Hephaestus, where three men were waiting for her tied up in Sullivan’s old office. She swore she could see him leaning against the door frame, watching her. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to ignore it, she pushed the door open with her foot. The men flinched at the sound as it bounced off the wall. “You’re atlas’ boys, aren’t you?” She asked, calmly walking around them to get the pack of Eve cigarettes she’d remembered leaving in Sullivan’s desk. Two of them nodded while the other, the oldest of the three stayed quiet.

“Ye look rather young to be fighting in a civil war. Though there were twelve year olds fighting in the war and I can’t complain, being Irish, now can I?” She made sure to keep the tone light, knowing she didn’t have her companion to bounce off as good cop, bad cop anymore. “You? Irish? You gave up the right to be called that when you sided with Ryan!” The oldest of them screamed at her, before spitting in her face.

Eilis calmly wiped it off, resisting a full body shiver of disgust as she leaned down so she was almost nose to nose with the man. She could see needle marks in his arm, and that made her laugh. She didn’t mean to, but the fact he thought he was top shit when he was on the way to becoming one of the creepy bastards who try and attack a literal child just for an Adam fix was funny to her. She lit her cigarette close to his nose, making sure he felt the burn of the flame on her fingers before she stood up to smoke in peace, shaking her hand out. “Now, one of you boys either killed Andrew Ryan’s head of security, or you at least know who did. And none of you are leaving this room till I get an answer, alright?” She hummed, blowing the blue tinted smoke in the oldest man’s face when he didn’t answer like the others.

“I’ll deal with you last” she warned him before going to who was obviously the youngest. Poor thing was shivering. “How old are you, pet?” She spoke kindly to the literal child as he stuttered “t-thi-thirteen ma’am.”.  “Thirteen? Aren’t you a big lad?… and why did Ryan’s boys drag you here, hm?” Eilis’ brow furrowed, feeling like Ryan’s guards were either trying to set her up or were just fucking morons. “T-they.. um… they caught me stealing food… I-in the empty part of Arcadia… I’m sorry I’ll never do it again!” The boy was now sobbing at this point. There it is. They wanted to see if she’d kill an actual child just because he broke one of Ryan’s rules. After making a mental note to knock someone’s teeth out, she untied the poor thing and pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket. She gave him about one hundred dollars, still finding it strange how that was nothing to her anymore, telling him quietly “if you spend that right, that’ll get you a good bit of food, alright love? Run off to your mother now. Go on” she ushered him out the door and soon heard the little pitter patter of feet running away. When they were far enough she went to the second man. He couldn’t have been older than her, maybe late twenties.

“What’s your story?” Eilis hummed, resting her hand on her shotgun’s strap. “I am part of Atlas’ revolution against Ryan. I hate the man and agree with everything he said” he tilted his head to his older partner in crime, “but I ain’t stupid enough to kill someone’s so fucking close to the man, you kidding me? You have any idea how fucked we are? How worse this will make it? What about when the pavlov dog finds out huh? What then?”. “That is the Pavlov dog you twat” the older man scoffed, then he seemed to get this wicked smile “she do clean up nicely though, don’t she?”. Eilis rolled her eyes and shot the old bastard in the thigh. Ignoring his irritating screaming she went to the second man.

“Right, you didn’t do it, but did he?” She asked him, still holding the gun with her finger obviously on the trigger. The younger man squirmed in his chair, realising who was in front of him and panicking as he saw what she’d just done. “H-he didn’t.. he uh… oh fuck” he cursed starting to physically jerk the chair in hopes that it’d break. “Hey. Oi. HEY!” Eilis screamed at him, planting her foot on the chair, just shy of crushing his family jewels, steadying it. “Use your big boy words, c’mon dear, my patience is thinning.”. The young man mumbled a reply which was drowned out by the pained screams of the other in what seemed to be an attempted to drown out the other. Practically feeling a vein bulge in her temple, she pistol whipped the bastard and warned him “either you shut your fucking gob or I will give our friend here plenty of reasons to keep up my reputation”. He again, didn’t get the message, so she just shoved the gun into his mouth, pushing it in more until he shut up, keeping it there.

“Go on.” She encouraged the younger man. He glanced at his older companion with a panicked and apologetic expression as he explained “he didn’t kill him.. b-but he was there. He was bragging about it and everything… they knocked him out, Miss, and staged the whole thing… he did all the heavy lifting”. The older man was obviously shouting but it came out as muffled babble thanks to the piston in his mouth. Seemingly happy with that answer, Eilis burned the rope that had him bound so tightly to the chair. He was gone before she’d even told him he could, he didn’t even shut the door. A guard glanced in to see if she wanted him to go after the man but she waved a dismissive hand to show he was free to go before turning her attention to the prick in front of her. Removing her gun from his mouth and wiping it off on his clothes, grimacing and mumbling about having to clean it with disinfectant, he spat in her face again. She grabbed his face hard, digging her nails into his cheeks and tilting his head back so he couldn’t do that again “what is with you and fucking spitting? It’s disgusting” when he went to answer she shocked him, “zip it” she warned, spitting her cigarette but out onto the floor, gracing as her body twitched from the electricity. She couldn’t help but rub her head off her shoulder, like it would have helped with the pain. “The only words out of your mouth I want to hear are ‘I killed Ryan’s head of security’. Understand? And if you don’t admit to it I will do everything in my power to make sure you aren’t lying. Cause if you are, I’m sure Persephone is begging for new protector program candidates” She snarled at the man, he just smirked.

They were stuck in this stalemate before he asked “Ryan calls you Ellie?… doesn’t he?”.

Her brow furrowed as she wondered where he was going with this. He started to laugh, and not just a cheap giggle, a deep belly laugh, “that piece of shit was asking for you before we got rid of him! Babbling on about ‘Ellie! Oh I gotta get a drink with Ellie! She’ll be waiting for me’, fucking pathetic!” He continued to laugh, even when Eilis let go of his face. She was so tempted to shoot him then and there, unload every bullet she had into the fucker until he wasn’t even recognised as human. Just some strange bloody lump. Feeling her hand tense as she almost acted on those urges, she could almost feel the hand Sullivan would have put on her shoulder in that moment, pulling her back to reality, reminding her she didn’t have to be the monster everyone saw her as. She was breathing like a race horse after a derby, trying to keep herself calm so she wouldn’t just act out of instinct. It took her a few minutes to convince herself that she needed him alive he wasn’t the murder after all, he was just an accomplice. Didn’t make him any less guilty but he wasn’t the man she was looking for.

Her captive watched her expressions curiously, unable to tell what was happening, he even thought she was leaving, which only made start to laugh again, this time even louder. Instead of acting on her urges, she called in the other two guards with the simple instruction “don’t let me kill him.”.

That used to be Sully’s job.

She calmly walked past the man, dragging his chair back to Sullivan’s desk. She untied one of his hands, not even giving him a moment to register he was free before she made his elbow bend fully in the wrong direction, shattering it. After that she kneed him in the gut and chest until she was sure his ribs were dust and his organs were the consistency of sausage meat. She didn’t even give him a moment to get in a breath to let out the scream he was definitely desperate to release. Finally she knocked out a few teeth with the butt of her shotgun before slamming his head into the table hard enough to knock him out. She was covered in speckles of blood at this point, but she didn’t seem to care. She made sure he wasn’t dead after this of course, checking his pulse while ordering the guards “pick him up and follow me”, catching the one she recognised more by the shoulder as she walked out.

“If you try and pull a stunt like that with a child again, that will be you in that chair” She whispered in his ear, patting his cheek before striding back to Ryan. She pulled a maintenance radio off the wall and tweaked it to Ryan’s private frequency. “Andrei, I have a man who took part in Sullivan’s murder outside, I need your permission for sufficient punishment. I haven’t gotten any information yet on the other culprits, over.”.

Ryan and Tadgh joined her quicker than she’d expected, both seemingly disgusted by the state of the man, but Tadgh seemed more confused as to why he was holding a harpoon gun. Eilis didn’t even know Ryan had one. “Are you sure this is the man?” Ryan whispered to her, getting a quick reply of “one of them.”. He nodded, taking her word before demanding the men hold him up against one of the pillars. “Thomas. Fire.”. Everyone but Ryan was bewildered by this order. “Fire? What’d ya mean fire?.. he’s restrained” Eilis tried to question but Ryan audibly dismissed her with the loud order of “I said FIRE!”. Before any of them could react, Tadgh did as he was told and shot a harpoon directly into the man’s chest, killing him instantly and pinning him to the wall. One of the guards gagged, the other rushing him away before they had any comments from Ryan.

The Pavlov dog just stood there in horror, staring at it.

Him. Staring at him.

Jesus Christ, she was already de-humanising the poor fucker. Tadgh out a hand on her shoulder, giving her words of reassurance but she didn’t hear him. He guided her back as they trailed after Ryan, and as he sat at his desk she almost screamed “Why?”. “Why? Are you truely questioning me why I had the man who killed my head of security, our close friend, given what he rightfully deserves?” Ryan glanced up at her while he spoke before going back to writing something. “What he ‘deserved’ was Persephone. I could have killed him. God, I wanted to, but I didn’t. Wanna know why? Because Sullivan wouldn’t want you murdering people in his feckin name! AND! Top top that all off, he was the only one who knew who else killed him. The hell are we supposed to do now?!” Eilis was fully screaming at this point and Ryan was ignoring her.

“Eilis, love, anáil dhomhain dom.” Tadgh requested as he rubbed small circles on her back after tossing the harpoon gun on a chair, not wanting to touch it anymore. “I do agree with her though. Sully wouldn’t have wanted that, but I understand why you did it” He tried to play the neutral party, feeling his sister’s entire back tense up when he said. Ryan was actually giving Tadgh the respect of looking at him while he spoke, so he continued “let me take the poor bastard down, alright? Ya made your point. No use leaving him to dangle there. The smell will be horrendous.”. Ryan lay down his pen and knitted his fingers together, simply stating “I can’t do that Thomas”.

At the confused look of his bodyguards he clarified “Atlas and his fiends have taken over Apollo square. That is where I hung their false martyrs. They had the audacity to take over and bury them like they deserved such a thing… so, as I want to make sure they are aware whenever they send their would-be assassins rethink their current alliances, those who dare go against me will be hung on that wall until they rot to skeletons. And you two will do that for me. As I am paying you and expect you to do. Am I understood Thomas?”. Tadgh swallowed hard and put on a polite smile, not at all used to this side of Ryan, as he nodded “of course sir”.

“Ellie?” Ryan hummed, Eilis didn’t say anything, she seemed to be trying to fight off the anger and the urge to puke. Ryan leaned forward on his desk slightly “Ellie. Do you understand your duties?”. After a minute she forced herself to nod, but didn’t dare look him in the eye.

“Good” Ryan clasped his hands together before looking at his watch. “It’s five thirty… Ellie, dear, you head down to Fort Frolic early. Thomas and I will join you in a moment” he ordered, Eilis going to turn on her heels but freezing when Ryan said “oh and please don’t talk in that useless Irish brogue of yours. It’s making people thing you’re with the parasites”. The Pavlov dog took a deep steadying breath, coughed slightly to prepare her through before dragging out the Ryanised way of speaking she’d almost abandoned as she spoke “of course sir. Wouldn’t want people assuming such things, now would I?” Not in the mood for an argument. She never was anymore, they were just exhausting and even if she was right, Ryan always believed that he won. Entitled prick.

“you don’t have to be so harsh on her you know. She responds to positive reinforcement better anyway” Tadgh fretted, standing at Ryan’s side so he could see what he was doing. “Thomas, you don’t know your sister as well as you believe you do. Let me deal with her and this will all be fine after we rid my city of the parasites…” Ryan sounded so hateful it was honestly worrying, his Russian accent slipping out. Tadgh let him settle for a minute, rocking back and forth on his heels ever so slightly before asking “can I see Martin after the show?”. “Who?” His employer’s brow furrowed as he went back to whatever he was doing before. He wasn’t even sure what it was himself, he was just following muscle memory.

Tadgh chuckled, assuming he was joking “my husband, sir. He’s been working non stop with Cohen for this show and I haven’t had the chance to visit him because I’ve been at your side. He hasn’t even been at home with Eilis… just an hour or two after the show, that’s all I’m asking”. Ryan grumbled something before snapping “fine!… but if you’re gone any longer there will be consequences Eilis”. “Sorry, sir?“ Tadgh’s brow furrowed. The un-inaugurated king of rapture sat up dead straight, kneading at his eyes as he excused himself “nothing. It’s nothing my dear boy… of course, spend as much time with him as you’d like after the show. I can deal with just Ellie”.

The moment Eilis arrived in fort frolic she was met with limes and lines of men & woman dressed to the nines in Cohen’s hand painted masks, just staring at her silently. One man offered her his hand, his voice sounded so disturbingly calm as he said “Sander Cohen has been waiting for your arrival”. “Don’t you mean Andrew Ryan?” She asked cautiously, he shook his head as he forcefully took her hand to guide her “no. Just you”. She was whisked away to the fleet hall and up to Sander’s dressing room, then abandoned there while he put on his makeup. Not knowing wether she should say anything and knowing full well he could see her in the mirror, she patiently waited or him to say something.

Anything.

He didn’t.

While Cohen applied lipstick he turned his chair around and beckoned her closer. She cautiously approached, watching as he smacked his lips together, admiring himself in the mirror for a moment before scraping off any imperfections with his nail. Finally he spoke to her “what is your opinion on Andrei currently?”. “How high are you?” Eilis wondered, wanting to gauge how honest she could be. “I am far… far too sober for what I’m going to have to do tonight… and for what I have seen” Cohen rubbed at his face, smudging his makeup into the white grease paint. It gave him this depressing clown look. “… he’s acting like he did on the surface with Tadgh. But with me I feel like I’m slowly becoming a parasite in his eyes. And I might end up like the poor bastard we pinned to the wall like a butterfly this morning…” She admitted, knowing a sober Cohen was actually trust worthy. Well, not fully, but far more trustworthy than when he was high and devoted. He let out a strange hum, pulling a small stool out from under his vanity and gesturing for her to sit on it.

“Hand.” He demanded calmly, putting out his own hand for her to grab. After reluctantly giving it to him, he practically dragged her hand closer to his face, almost making her fall off her seat in surprise. “Sharp.. like the talons of an eagle… or the claws of an attack dog..” Cohen mused, calmly taking out a nail file and starting to do her nails, like he was trying to make them sharper. He seemed to pause for a moment to admire her useless engagement ring from Frank before continuing. “You used to bite these… When they were of no use to you as a secretary… Do you remember? Do you miss the surface at all?” He looked up at her for a minute, still filing away. “Of course I do..” Eilis brow furrowed, wondering why he’d ask that question. He didn’t give her anything to gauge a reaction off, just wordlessly demanded her other hand. “Can you promise me something?” He asked suddenly as he finished up, blowing the dust away.

“Depends on what you want” The Pavlov dog mumbled, pulling her hand away, not liking how sharp her nails were now. She couldn’t make a fist without them digging into her palm. “After the show… and whatever stunt I decide on… go up to Andrei and claw out his eyes for me..” Cohen said that so calmly it almost didn’t register what he had just asked her to do.

“Excuse you?” Eilis blurted out.

“Nothing dear” the artist dismisses her, finishing his work before calmly picking nail polish, pulling her hand back to him. “Hides the blood…” he mused calmly while he began to paint.

Eilis suddenly felt very suffocated, glancing around the room for some form of escape or distraction, only finding a tank with some adam slugs and abandoned needles as well as several rabbit masks with their ears torn off abandoned at the foot of a particularly disturbing painting. None of which helped her feel anymore comfortable. After he finished painting her nails, he demanded she keep her hands up and away from everything while he fixed his makeup, and she listened. He wiped it all off calmly, standing up and striding over to the tank, pulling out one of the adam slugs.

It wriggled like mad and screeched at him as he just stared at it. “Sander…” Eilis called out to him, he didn’t even make a noise. “I wouldn’t bite that love, it’d be like eating the white part of a steak dipped in bleach…” she tried to discourage him. Cohen suddenly let out a quick laugh and turned to look back at her “my heart has been shattered. I have been betrayed… thrown away for younger loves and ignored when I am of no use… surrounded by doubters. Such disgustingly disrespectful doubters! And now… after I survive all that, after I force myself into friendships so I don’t simply go mad… Ryan dares to act like nothing has happened after what he’s done. I’m suddenly an option again because he doesn’t have some blonde floozy to hide from me under his desk anymore?!” Cohen’s grip on the slug tightened until he actually killed the thing.

“I am no one’s second option… I’m Sander Fucking Cohen! I wouldn’t have been anyone’s second option in new York, no no… but here.. here I am NOTHING but bedroom entertainment and gossiping chatter… not anymore. Do you hear me Ellie? Not. Any. More.” He gave her this deranged smile. When she stood up, hoping to snatch the slug out his hand, he already bit the head off, laughing almost manically as she watched him devour it. When he’d finished he just went to get another slug from the tank. Not wanting to witness this, Eilis rushed out of the room, closing the metal gate he had behind her and down to the bar, resisting a gag as her mind imagined what the texture of one of those would be like to chew.

“You doin alright?” A familiar voice asked, she raised her head to see Silas behind the bar, Hector drunkenly passed out on the counter. “Yea… yea I’m fine love… give me some vodka would you?” She put her hand out for a shot but he just gave her the bottle, pointing out “you’re shakin kiddo”. “You are only a year or two older than me, fuck off” Eilis snapped at him, taking a mouthful of vodka. “Just witnessed Cohen finally cracking did you? The old fuck was doing half decently at holding it back for a while” Silas shrugged, taking the bottle back. “Why haven’t you said anything?” She queried, wincing in surprise as she went to touch her face only to feel the sharpness of her nails. “He pays my rent. I ain’t becoming homeless in the middle of a civil war just cause he wants to lose his mind” Silas admitted, pulling on a bird mask as people started to enter. He smacked the side of Hector’s head. He shot up, hiccuping as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes like a toddler before pulling his mask on.

“Be careful.” Silas warned her as he walked by. Hector seemingly babbled the same but when he want to take a swipe at her ass she just hit his hand away, not in the mood for his drunk shit. She watched people funnel past, going in to enjoy the show but Cohen never came down. She listened to what sounded like Kyle playing the piano beautifully, people loved and and at what she hoped where Martin’s beautiful ice sculptures, giving her a pleasant nostalgic feeling of being forced to follow Ryan to cohen’s elaborate shows on the surface, filled with acrobats and dancers, like something out of a fairytale. Speaking of rah m he hadn’t arrived. In fact he didn’t arrive till half way through the show.

“You’re late” Eilis reminded him, making sure to keep up the ryanised voice.

“Where is Sander?” He asked, not even acknowledging the fact she’d spoken previously. “Upstairs sir. Don’t kiss him” She warned him but as soon as she’d given the direction, he was gone. She sat on the end of the bar counter beside her brother. “Did you do your nails?” He asked softly. She didn’t answer him, she just hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “Ah… cad a tharla, a pheata?” He whispered softly, she just made an annoyed groan before she let go. “I’ve seen too many disgusting things today…” She admitted, rubbing at her face, half hoping she’d open her eyes and be in bed again, bundled up in the arms of a man she didn’t even love but felt so safe with for some reason.

“Want to come see Martin with me? Ryan’s given me persimmon after the show. I’m sure he’d love if you even just said hello and fucked off” Tadgh joked, warning his sister to smile, but she didn’t. She looked exhausted even though he was sure she’d slept for twelve hours at least. Hopefully. “I’ll leave you two to have your moment… remind me to talk to you two about getting you your own space in the apartment” Eilis changed the subject as a fast as she could. Tadgh tried to steer it back, suggesting “just come talk to us today, it’ll only be like five minutes I bed. Go on”. Before she could even consider it, the sound of smashing glass took over their attention as the music lulled.

Eilis motioned for her brother to stay out as she made her way up the stairs, pulling the gate open to see shattered glass everywhere, like Cohen had been throwing things. Ryan was just stood there, looking disappointed. “I don’t have a damn clue what you’re on about.” He hissed at Cohen in a tone the two had never heard him use with the man. “I found the body Andrei. I knew it was suspicious when you closed down your favourite little hide away but no. I ignored it out of blind adoration… you murdered her” Cohen still look absolutely deranged, his makeup applied messily with pure Adam staining his hands, actually starting to burn one of them. He didn’t care though. “We need to leave” Eilis spoke calmly as he grabbed Ryan by his forearm, he ripped it away though.

“Fine. I killed Jasmine Jolene, are you happy now?! Give me back that damned key, I was a moron to think you were stable enough for it” Ryan demanded, but Cohen just snorted, holding it to his chest “oh you pathetic man…”. He calmly walked over to a painting and pushed it out of the way. He had one of those genetic key slots built into his wall, how long had Ryan been planning this?

As soon as he pushed it in, alarms started to blare and screams erupted in panic as the sounds of the recent security drones Cohen had bought filled the air. “Who’s pathetic now Andrei?! WHO IS THE PATHETIC PARASITIC DOUBTER NOW?!” Cohen screamed, continuing to laugh as he had to catch himself on a chair. “Ryan, we need to leave NOW” The Pavlov dog snapped at her employer, grabbing him by his arm and running out of the room. Tadgh was gone but she knew he wouldn’t hear her shouting for him over the crowds screaming. They managed to get to the bathysphere station as the shutters started to close, but he still wasn’t there. People fumbled under it, trying to escape, yet he didn’t appear.

When Eilis had bolted and alarms soon followed, Tadgh immediately went to look for his husband. He’d ran through crowds, almost been trampled till he got close to the stage, still being pushed back. There was Martin, unable to stand with a bullet wound in the leg as the drones hoovered. All of cohen’s disciples had been shot none lethally, trapping them there. Martin barely managed to drag him self to the edge, reaching out to Tadgh as they screamed at eachother, unable to hear whatever the other was saying as their fingers were just barely brushing off eachother. After Inadvertently shoving someone out of his way and possibly to the ground, Tadgh managed to grasp his hand, being pulled close. He smiled with tears in his eyes, swearing “I’m going to get you out of here alright?” Trying to pull him over so he could carry Martin out, only to scream out in pain as a bullet passed through his side. A drone hovered behind him as the room finally started to clear. He refused to let go of Martin’s hand.

It whirred again like a machine gun revving up, only for it to explode, little shards of shrapnel scraping the two men’s skin. Eilis stood behind it with her shotgun aimed, struggling to to stay calm. “I told Ryan those were a bad fucking idea..” she panted, her voice quivering. She swallowed hard, unable to force out anymore words. She tilted her head to show they had to leave instead. The other disciples had passed out from pain, but in the moment they just assumed they were dead, they had to, they couldn’t carry them all out. Tadgh picked up his husband, letting out huffed breaths of agony but refusing to put him down, they started jog towards the exit, Tadgh not being able to go any faster due to carrying all of Martin’s weight. Eilis had propped it open just enough to crawl through with some drones, but it wouldn’t hold for long. She crawled under, sticking her hand out for Tadgh to past Martin down so she could pull him through.

More drones seeped out of seemingly nowhere as love songs played over the speaker to mock them, knocking Tadgh to his knees, the two being a heap on the floor. Eilis screamed for them to crawl as he kept an arm out, using her own body to hold the shutters up, having kicked the broken drones away for fear they’d explode. The bullets fired on her brother mercilessly, most missing but a few hit his back. Martin used whatever strength he had left to push Tadgh closer to his sister, Eilis pulling him through, sticking her arm back out to hold the shutters, reaching out to Martin as bullets still rained. He shook his head. She backed with her hand and thought he was coming for a moment as he crawled over. He held the shutter up so she could slip back and slammed it shut when she did so, a lock clicking. It almost echoed throughout the whole place, they could hear the faint screams of others that had been trapped, now realising their exit was gone.

They clawed and pounded off the shutters but there was no way for them to be pulled up, not even Andrew Ryan had that power anymore. The Donovan siblings sat on the cold tiled floor of the bathysphere station, people still waiting for the next one to surface so they could go home, their employer long gone back to safety. Tadgh took a deep shaking breath, tilting his head back when tears threatened to fall. His sister hugged him the best she could, her entire spine being bruised from the way she’d held the shutters open. He just clung to her arm with one hand. They sat there like that in silence until Ryan actually sent people to look for them. They waited all that time like some miracle would happen and the shutters would open, Cohen workday sober up and realise what he’d done. But no, of course not.

Instead of going back to Ryan, Eilis convinced their ‘saviours’ to bring them back to her apartment. Atlas wasn’t there, which was both relieving and slightly disappointing. She got Tadgh to her bed and treated his wounds, wordlessly, neither dared say a word. After she’d made sure everything was clean and there wasn’t anything he’d have to have actual medical attention for, she let him stay in that bed with a jacket Martin had left behind, for comfort. She made herself a bed on one of the couches downstairs in Frank’s old cigar room. A service radio she’d long abandoned on the table crackled to life, Ryan’s voice speaking over it.

“Where are you?”.

Eilis slowly pulled the thing over, taking it away from the perfectly clean square of table it had covered, protecting it from dust and cigar ash. She pressed it to her mouth as she whispered “none of your damn business…”.

“You are my employees, it is my business. Where are you?” His voice shouted at her, Eilis turned down the column before she even dared replied, tempted to change the frequency.

“Did you really kill Jasmine?… or was Cohen not as sober as I assumed?… don’t lie… Because I will find out if you did” she waited in the eerie silence for an answer.

Ryan was quiet for a minute before he replied “you don’t understand… it had to be done”.

“Of course it did. Just like Anne Culpepper had to be murdered. Forgive me for thinking better of you” Eilis scoffed, rolling onto her back and just letting the radio rest on her chest, bear her chin so she could still hear it.

“Is Thomas alright?” Ryan queried, she could almost hear him swirling whiskey around a glass while he rubbed at his temple.

“He’s devastated but fine… physically… I stitched up the wounds. Nothing serious…” she sighed, brushing her hair back with her fingers.

“And you?” That question actually surprised her slightly, so much so she didn’t answer immediately. Ryan continued “Cohen said you believe I think of you as a parasite”.

“You’re going to trust the intoxicated ramblings of the man who is currently holding a fifth of raoture’s elite hostage all because you wouldn’t give him attention?…” Eilis queried, not meaning so sound so harsh but she had this sudden tightness in her chest, the urge to protect herself as she remembered the man pinned to the wall.

“My question still stands. How are you? Honestly.” Ryan’s voice crackled through the radio, he must have been walking around. Hephaestus wasn’t always great for signal if you moved too much.

“… I’m shit, Andy. I feel like absolute… rotting… immortal shit”.

In paupers drop, nestled in a long forgotten bar in the Sinclair Delux, sat an unlikely pair. Atlas and Sofia Lamb. “She didn’t take to kindly to being shocked. You gave her a twitch” Atlas chuckled, almost sounding cruel. “I gathered that. Did you come here simply to discuss your fascination with Ms Donovan or was there another reason?” Lamb cocked an eyebrow as she sipped at her tea. “We should be allies. I’m thinking to hell with even trade, we should simply start now. Ryan’s crumbling, He’s given away control of the medical wing and fort frolic to two psychopaths, one of which has already lost his bloody mind, it’s only a matter of time before he retreats and we gain more land. We want the same things” Atlas clarified, resisting the urge to let his accent slip when she rolled her eyes, “You want a better world for your daughter, I want a better one for my son. That can’t happen with Ryan in power”. That actually got her attention and tugged at some heartstrings, he hid a chuckle that threatened to escape, with a little cough. 

“You have my attention. What do you need from me?” Lamb hummed, watching as Atlas visibly relaxed and leaned back in his chair, sitting in a way that remained her if a certain past business man she once found insufferable.

“Let’s start simple…”

Chapter Text

A light sizzling crackled through the large apartment once owned by Frank Fontaine. Ryan’s two guard dogs sat in the kitchen, Tadgh had his head in his hands while his sister was multitasking on the other end of the kitchen, stitching up some holes in her shirt while she shuffled the frying pan every so often so the bacon wouldn’t stick. It was the last bit of meat she had, all imports had stopped since the revolution got ahold of them, besides she wouldn’t want to waste it, it’d be a shame. Holding the needle between her teeth with her shirt dangling from the thread, she served it up on two plates, sliding one over to her brother while she left hers on the kitchen Island.

They’d been living like this for a few weeks, almost wordless despite small conversations and acting normal in front of Ryan. Of course they had time by themselves, outside of working, which they spent vastly differently. Eilis either spent it alone, listening to records and enjoying the quiet, or in the arms of Atlas whenever he stopped by, though those memories in particular were rather blurry. The crooks of her arms were rather tender but she could never tell why bar a few red little dots on her skin that would soon disappear. Meanwhile, Tadgh either spent it curled up with items of Martin’s clothes that he refused to wash or sitting by the pnuemo and the phone, hoping for any form of communication. There had been nothing from fort frolic since the incident, not one single thing, and it wasn’t like he could just go down and see for himself, it was till closed off, and everywhere but Hephaestus was a danger at this point, even Mercury suites. They hadn’t used the elevator in a weeks until last night, and it ended poorly. They had to shut it off.

He wondered how they were surviving down there, he’d asked Eilis and she assured him there should be enough food for them and that Cohen would hopefully sober up soon when he runs out, but if not, they’d survive off adam. Neither of them wanted to think about what that would do. Forcing his mind off somewhere else, he thought of a conversation he’d had while working.

“I spoke to someone the other day… one of the Hephaestus workers” Tadgh spoke up suddenly, Eilis just made a hum to show she was listening as she went back to stitching. He watched her curiously for a moment, she was only half dressed and probably intended on wearing that shirt. It was too big for her, but the shotgun burn in the back of it meant she could take it in and make it fit properly. Her back was still pink in one section from the flesh healing. He tried to push the image of waking up to her stumbling in and practically collapsing on the floor in a bloody heap the night before, but he couldn’t.

“ceart go leor, a ghrá? níorbh eol duit a bheith ciúin” she called back as she inspected her stitching while eating her breakfast, stabbing a knife into her bacon since she couldn’t be bothered to get the proper cutlery.

“Hm?… yea yea I’m grand.. As I was saying… do people always describe you so… masculine?” He asked cautiously, Eilis stopping mid chew to look back at him. “I told him you were my sister, since he noticed the resemblance, and-“ he tries to explain but Eilis yelled at him before he could continue “I told you not to do that! Jesus Christ…” she rubbed at the bridge of her nose before pulling in the shirt. Smoothing her hand down it, she couldn’t help but crack a smile at the idea she’d saved it, not ready to part with one of Frank’s shirts yet.

“I amnt ashamed of you, I’ll tell every feckin Tom, Dick and Harry we’re related. Why are you so protective over it?” Tadgh didn’t understand, Eilis gave him a glare that told him she wasn’t going to explain, so he just rolled his eyes and continued “as I was saying, he started to describe you so weirdly. He said you had these horrifying eyes like a hawk and this big toothy grin with the flesh of random men in your teeth. He said your nails were sharp enough to cut through steel and you secretly keep body parts of the men you’ve killed as trophies. When he described you physically I swore he was describing some buff fucker that worked on a construction sight, until he added the statement ‘with tits of course’. Then he admitted he’d never met you, just seen glimpses and heard stories”.

Eilis was quiet for a moment, ignoring a feeling self conscious worry of am I truely like that? Knowing in all honestly she didn’t care. She continued picking at her teeth before she admitted “the flesh in my teeth came from when I ripped out a fella’s adam’s apple… I’d say it was an accident since I didn’t mean to kill him, but he was about to kill me so I saw it as justified… I can still taste it sometimes… and the trophy thing comes from another time when I ripped someone’s arm off. Actually accidentally… it was when Adam was less refined and more easy to send you into a manic state with just one hit. And Ryan just kept giving it to me. Now I can’t fix what I’ve done and I’ve excepted that” her tone was so cold, like she was completely removed from it, but there was a slight shake to her hands she could only hide by crossing her arms. Her eyes squeezed shut for a minute as her nose wrinkled and she scraped her tongue off her teeth in disgust before asking “do you understand why I didn’t want people associating you with me now? Ryan’s perfect little angel with the blood covered dog that sleeps at his feet, hm?”.

“Is that how you see yourself?” Tadgh visibly frowned, which was met with a scowl as she didn’t want nor need his pity.

“No I see myself as Princess fucking Elizabeth.” Eilis snapped, as she started to pace while braiding her hair, wanting to distract her hands from shaking. “You really want me to go over the many many names people have for me? How I view myself because of all their disgusting rumours? How I am not even classed as human here? Do you really want me to do that? Cause I will all fucking day. I’ll make you a little diagram about it”. 

“Oi, no need for the fuckin snark. Christ forgive me for giving a shit about my sister” He groaned, rubbing at his temple, barely resisting a glare as she turned to look at him again. “Giving a shit about me? Don’t you dare play the fucking guilt card” She pointed at him while she spoke before leaving the room, hoping that would end whatever possible argument was brewing, but it didn’t, he followed her. “I amnt playing shit, I’m worried about you! You have a soft spot for bastards and that gets you used, don’t deny it” he shouted after her was she went up the stairs. “You sound like Ryan, Jesus Christ..” She scoffed as she continued her way up the stairs and to the bedroom, ignoring her brother in hot pursuit. “You do. You did before Rapture and you still do now. Fontaine, Steinmen. And I know you have someone staying here with you when I’m gone. You going to tell me he’s different and not just a replacement to entertain you for now?” He caught her by her sleeve which she quickly pulled free.

“Oh dear, imagine me having a pastime? What else should I when you’re not sulking in a depressed heap on my bed? How dare I invite someone into my house and enjoy myself! I’m such a whore, Ryan was right!” Eilis threw a dramatic hand up against her forehead before asking “forgive me my dearest brother! When I’m done choking on dick I’ll clean myself up and make it up to you I swear! is that any better ya bloody quim?“.

“Don’t be cruel” Tadgh gave her a warning, his accent melting away into something that sounded far far too like Ryan, so she just laughed at him “look at you! ‘Thomas ryan’! I’m surprised he hasn’t adopted you since he killed and abandoned the only two women willing enough to fuck him and give him a son.” She hissed at him, trying to rip her wrist away but he simply tightened his grip, whispering “would you keep your voice down? You can’t just accuse somehow murder, Eilis! Especially when your only evidence is the word of a mad man like Cohen”.

“Oh sweet Mary mother of- do you even hear yourself! Who’s going to hear me? The feckin fish?! Focus on what I’m saying, fully, and not the tiny section you think offends ‘Daddy Ryan’! Have you ever noticed he different he talks to you versus me? You’re the sweetheart golden lad who he put a statue up in your memory and defied the laws of bloody nature to drag ya back.” She finally managed to snatch her hand away, rubbing at her wrist as she looked away from him, “You get soft words and encouragement. I’m the annoyance, the chore, the bastard dumped on his doorstep after the golden boy flew the nest, only given those same soft words when I’m on the brink and he realises I’m actually fucking needed. You stay nice and squeaky clean while I’m the one with blood on me from keeping him alive. If he snapped out of his delusion I think he’d switch us around, since if it were between you and me, you’re currently useless.”

They both just stared at eachother for a moment. Before Eilis could apologise, realising she was actually being cruel and had gone too far, the alarm on their pnuemo started screaming. She took a deep breath and put up a finger, quickly slipping away to answer it. It was an audio diary, she rolled her eyes, wondering why this man could never just ring or call over the radio. Always so complicated and dramatic. After tossing it into the accuvox and playing it on low so Tadgh wouldn’t hear, she listened as he trotted down the stairs, not fully paying attention to the first part of whatever Ryan was saying.

She let out a little sigh as she sunk into Frank’s chair, tracing shapes on the armrest with her nails, leaving little trails in the velvet, glaring at the chipped red nail polish she hadn’t cleaned off yet. She took a deep composing breath before rewinding the tape and fully listening to Ryan’s rambling.

He droned on: Ellie. The last few days have been… hectic to say the least, but I believe I have come to a solution. Send Thomas to my office as soon as possible. You need to retrieve Bill from his pub by Neptune’s bounty. They’re refusing to let him leave as they need a ‘bartender’. His family are already sorted, I trust you can manage this. Send him over by the Adonis, it has been reclaimed and I have men waiting. After that come see me in my office. Don’t doddle. And don’t get too injured, we’re running low on supplies between staff and Stienmen has cut off contact with us. Andrei.

Eilis chewed in the nail of her thumb for a minute, tempted to rip it off until she forced herself to stand up, spitting out the little chips of nail polish stuck on her tongue as she walked out onto the little bridge, shouting down “Ryan wants you in his office! I’ll meet you there in a bit… love you” she hoped he heard that last bit even though she knew her voice had dropped in volume when she’d said it. She swallowed an apology threatening to escape as she tucked in her shirt, throwing her shotgun over her shoulder and squeezing through the little crack she’d made between the secret door and her bathysphere station, not wanting to make too much noise.

The trip wasn’t long but it was almost creepy seeing rapture’s once New York-esque skyline reduced to loads of little flickering lights and giant holes, where the ocean was reclaiming what was once rightfully hers. The sea life still swam about like nothing had changed, now the smaller of them just had more places to go. She wondered if people were eating them, actually she knew they were eating them, they had to, but she couldn’t help but curious about how they were eating them. Probably the wrong way now that she thought about it. But desperate times called for desperate measures. The moment she docked she was met by people sitting along the walls, looking starving and desperate, yet none of them dared dock the bathysphere. She calmly walked past them, stepping over legs and those who were either asleep or dead.

They were scattered around the tunnels, and soon it became very obvious who was a victim of this little war over power and who was apart of Atlas’ army. They were being fed, or pumped full of Adam till it looked like they didn’t need food. Either way they were being looked after so they could fight, and they were terrifying. Eilis forced polite smiles when they glanced at her, till she was stopped at the door. “She’s just going for a drink, lads. No shame in it, hm?” A familiar voice asked as she felt someone put an arm around her. At first she was comforted, then she swiped his hand away when she realised it was Atlas and they were in public. The men gladly stepped aside for their leader, allowing them into the pub that was now a hub for whoever wanted a minute away from the choas outside, if you were on Atlas’ side and had the money to pay of course.

“Didn’t expect to see you around here. You miss me that much pet?” Atlas teased, trying to out his arm around her again, but Eilis smacked it away “would you stop that?”.

He stopped, brows furrowed as he asked “aren’t you a flippant little minx? why are you here if it isn’t for me?”.

“Ryan wants Bill McDonagh. I’m taking him” she answered simply as she continued walking before hopping over the bar counter with ease.

“You are in my feckin arse!” Atlas exclaimed, following her, catching her by her wrist and pulling her so she was chest to chest with him so he could whisper “he is a key reason we haven’t been fucking raided yet. You can’t take him”. “Not every ‘family man revolutionary’ of you to keep him away from his wife and child is it? I’m taking him and you aren’t stopping me.” She tried to tug her wrist away lightly but he didn’t loosen his grip. “I can’t let you do that darlin” Atlas tried to warn her, knowing what he’d have to do if she kept pushing, “just let it go. Show them you aren’t a threat”. That seemed to tug at her heartstrings a little, but that look that craved sympathy was quickly drowned out by a colder one. Before Atlas could react, the Pavlov dog smashed her forehead into his face, breaking his nose and sending him stumbling back in pain. She stood there for a minute, his blood dripping down her forehead before she wiped it away with the ball of her palm. Despite the sting of pain and metallic smell filling his sinuses, the sight of her like that, so feral, did sent a little jolt up his spine. Inadvertently getting some of his blood on her nose as she flicked at it with her thumb when it wrinkled, she reminded him “I am a threat. Never forget that” disappearing into the back of the bar, finding Bill actually loading a pistol before recoiling at the sight of her.

“Christ, you made me heart jump into my mouth…” he let out a large sigh, tensing up again when he heard a ruckus outside, shouting swelled into almost riot level screaming, “you alright?..”. “Fine. We need to get you out of here. You stay glued to me like I’m your mother, alright?” Eilis instructed him, he nodded, doing exactly as he was told as they exited, only to see people just staring at them. Watching in shockingly calm expressions. Until they got to the door at least, then the unanimous click of pistols caught their attention and they bolted. The bathysphere station just shy of the fighting McDonagh was blocked by a big daddy, an angry one, with Lonnie at its side. He just smirked at her, snapped his fingers and pointed, and that damned thing lit up red. It let out that horrible whale like moan as it started to thud towards them. Eilis had never been happier that this damn tunnel was one big loop with little exits.

The two ran as fast as they could, Eilis only stopping momentarily to try and shock the thing with her plasmid. When they finally did a full loop she just shoved Bill into the bathysphere and shouted “Adonis. Now. GO!” he reluctantly obeyed, giving her this devastated look as he sunk below. Just before he was gone she saw him lurch forward, almost like he was trying to stop something. Just as it started to register, she heard loud thudding behind her, the people around her scurried away and before she could even fully turn to react, she was knocked into a wall. She sat there in a daze when she was grabbed by the throat, picked up, slammed into the floor and met with a sharp pain in her side. The big daddy stared down at her, revving up its drill as the tip tore through her shirt. She planted her foot in the crook of its elbow in an odd moment of deja-vu, wishing for once when she was dealing with these assholes that she’d get the ones with two hands, at least she had a chance. This was just her prying for time. She managed to get her other foot on his arm as well, using all her strength to keep it away from her, gripping its thick wrist with both her hands as she struggled to breath.

Just to make her day worse, Sofia Lamb of all people walked up to her with Lonnie. She stared at Eilis for a minute, almost finding it amusing how she was snarling like her namesake as she fought for her right to live. Despite often insisting she’s so tired of living, she still has that lovely dollop of determination that all humans get when they truly don’t want to die yet. Her eyes darted towards the therapist for only a moment, naturally thinking the big daddy was worth her attention more. “If you’re wondering where Atlas is, he’s dealing with the nose you broke. So I have a chance to speak with you finally” Lamb spoke kindly, sitting on a box Lonnie pushed over for her. The big daddy loosened its grip as Lonnie uncurled his fist, hand glowing with disgusting green puss. The drill still revved and it made an attempt to drive it into her side, only stopped by the boost of adrenaline that she got from being able to breath again.

The Pavlov dog’s head fell back as she took deep gasping breaths, coughing slightly as her throat was slowly starting to bruise. Strangely she didn’t let go of the Big Daddy’s hand, despite the fact it had released her. Her grip stayed just as strong as she let her head roll over to the side so she could look at Lamb with what she could only describe was pure hatred. “How are you feeling? Silly question I know, but honestly” she spoke to her like a mother would speak to her child, a concept she assumed Eilis was unfamiliar with and would get her to open up more. It didn’t. She just spat back “Go ndéana an diabhal dréimire do chnámh do dhroma.”. “Speaking to me in a foreign tongue will not make this situation any better” Lamb’s brow furrowed in annoyance, unaware she’d just given Eilis the motivation to do so out of spite to buy herself time or at the very least die with her dignity intact. “Póg mo bod. B'fhéidir nach bhfuil ceann agam, ach fásfaidh mé ceann duitse amháin” the shit eating grin Eilis had didn’t help with Lamb’s annoyance.

“Fine, for now I will skip the niceties. I only have a singular simple question for you. Answer it and we’ll call the metal beast off” she spoke as calmly as she could. Eilis cocked a brow, giving the Big Daddy a shove back as it got too close for comfort with that drill, wondering how or why it hadn’t brutally murdered her yet, and why it wasn’t trying as hard as they normally would. She rolled her head about, pretending to stretch and like she was listening, when she spotted her ironic saving grace. An Adam vile, just shy of her reach.

“Where has Augustus Sinclair moved to?” Lamb queried. Eilis shrugged “ní thuigim” genuinely not knowing the answer to that question, seeing how far she could stretch without it being obvious, feeling the cold glass barely brush against her fingers. “You do know, don’t lie to me. It will only end poorly for you. Tell us and we can keep you safe from the rage of Ryan, and now Atlas since you decided to shoot yourself in the foot” Lamb scowled, knowing she’d understood what Eilis had said when she cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “Níor scaoil mé leis, bhris mé a shrón. dá scaoilfinn é bheadh mé trína chéile mar is mó is fearr liom é ná tusa. soith tú.” Eilis rolled her eyes, making sure to put enough venom into the only insult she put into that sentence, making sure Lamb knew, even if she didn’t understand. The therapist glanced at Lonnie, who quickly got the message and wordlessly commanded the big daddy to go full strength. The beast again latched his hand on Eilis’ throat, squeezing to the point where she couldn’t make any noise bar desperate splutters, and revving up it’s drill, applying more and more pressure onto her legs until they either gave in or broke, starting to tear at the side of her thigh, just shy of the soft flesh.

“Where is Sinclair?” The therapist had to raise her voice so she could be heard, yet Eilis made no more attempts to speak, it wasn’t like she could if she wanted to anyway. “Tell me and I will call it off. He abandoned you and took your father with him, wound around his finger simply because he can’t go a moment without bedroom entertainment, why would you want to protect that?” Lamb tried to tug at a nerve she knew was easy to lull at for the Oavlov Dog, family. Thankfully Eilis both didn’t know the answer and couldn’t hear her or she could have said something to five the woman even more things to use against her. When she finally got ahold of the Adam vile she squeezed it until it shattered in her hand, the glass cutting her deep and allowing the Adam direct access into her blood stream, she would have screamed if she had the air to do so, all she could do was hiss. It set her veins alight, her muscles tensing so hard from the pain they almost tore.

Through gritted, on the brink of shattering teeth, she gripped onto the big daddy again she let her entire form light up with electricity, both her and the monster holding her becoming one giant current. She kept shocking it, not caring how much agony it caused her, watching as Lamb and Atlas’ second in command backed away for their own safety, almost running when the thing dropped as she’d finally killed it, impaling her in the side with its drill. She let out a blood curdling scream that could have cracked glass, twitching like mad from abusing her plasmid.

She tensed up all her muscles in an attempt to get it to stop, trying to push the corpse off with her legs. The moment she tried, it sent a shock up her spine, as if they were broken. She lay there for a second, taking panicked deep breaths before she forged herself to focus, just enough to use her telekenisis plasmid to lift the thing off of her, honestly surprised at how light he felt. Not even daring to look at the obvious gaping hole in her side, she stood up, ignoring the horrifyingly cold sensation of Adam sealing the cracks in her bones, gathering herself the best she could. She glanced at her glass filled hand, not sure what was blood and what was Adam on her anymore as everything started to merge together. Thoughts and memories became inseparable as her vision clouded, unable to tell what emotions and sensations were new or simple ghosts of the past. She almost went to pick at the glass subconsciously for a moment, lost in thought. With her last bit of clarity as she heard the bathysphere surface, she set the corpse of the Big Daddy on fire, giving her some breathing room as she stumbled back into the thing, kicking the lever with her foot, not caring where it would take her as she collapsed on the seat. Eilis just lay there with her hand lightly over the wound. She lifted it momentarily to stare at the Adam slowly healing it, laughing slightly in delirium, letting her head fall back and hit the metal hull with a thunk.

When her eyes opened just a little bit again, it was because she heard a familiar voice, “What’d you do to yourself this time sweetheart?”. Frank was sitting beside her.

She had a bullet wound in the same spot where the big daddy’s drill had pierced. She was dressed for a party but had obviously been working, and somehow hidden it from Ryan. “Just work love… thought I’d bleed out in your bathysphere again” she joked, gasping in pain as he supported her so she could stand.

“You’re lucky I like ya, wouldn’t do this shit for anyone else” Frank scoffed as he helped her walk, getting her to a couch in his game room before asking “gimme the list of shit you need so you don’t die on my couch”. “Vodka… strong enough to make ya blind.. needle and thread, and- fuck that hurts… a shirt would be amazing darling..” she begged, resting the urge to curl up in a ball. He left her alone in a room full of his little gang, all playing pool and pretending she wasn’t there. Reggie only came over to check if she was bleeding out her back so it wouldn’t get on the couch, then he fucked off when he found nothing.

“Close your fuckin eyes” Frank ordered as he strode back into the room. He’d taken off the jacket of his three piece suit, rolled up his sleeves and looked ready to get to work. He ripped her dress open in a way that would have sent her heart racing if she wasn’t currently bleeding to death, leaving the shirt beside her for when they were finished. When Eilis put her hand out for the cloth he was currently pouring his strongest vodka out on to, the kind so strong it came with a warning to use a mixer or you’d kill yourself, he smacked her hand away and gently started to clean the wound, bracing his free hand on her side for comfort. Eilis bit down on her knuckle to keep herself quiet, gripping onto the hand he had just shy of her ribs. She noticed his eyes flick up every so often, like he was checking something.

Eventually his patience wore thin, he brought her free hand on top of the cloth, whispering “keep pressure on that for me, baby” before taking the pistol she had gartered to her thigh. She weakly turned her head to watch is she shot one of his boys dead, firing the last bullet into his crotch before spitting on him, hissing “fuckin peeping Tom..” before walking over to his little bar. He grabbed the little ice pincer he had before returning to Eilis, tossing the gun on the couch and ignoring his other men dragging the dead bastard out of the room, barely managing with their eyes looking at the floor. They even hit the doorframe on their way out. Frank gently moved her hand and warned her “don’t bite through that finger of yours” before he dug the ice pincer in, trying to find the bullet. Eilis almost passed out from the agony of that, surpassing a gag as relief washed over her when he finally pulled them out, pressing the cloth to it again which brought her back to reality with the searing pain.

Her ears were ringing and everything just felt tense and sore, she didn’t even realise Reggie had come in till she heard the conversation ever so faintly, missing some words.

“The brat… bathysphere… just… faced in New York” Reggie informed Frank. Eilis couldn’t tell if he was angered or delighted by the news.

“Good… Suchong… acti-… ace in the hole. Should all go smoothly now” Frank sighed, it sounding more like a huff than something out of relief.

“Love, what are you on about?..” she asked weakly, Reggie getting wordlessly sent away as Frank assured her “nothin your pretty head needs to worry about”. She felt him kiss where the bullet wound was. She lightly traced her fingers over it to feel it stitched shut, surprisingly neatly, like a tailor doing a seem. Her confusion about what he was talking about was stolen by a soft kiss and a caress of her cheek. “Let’s get that shirt on you and all that shit off your face, hm? You know I love you all natural” he gave her a wink and stole another kiss.

The Pavlov dog found herself reaching up her hand to rest on the nape of his neck, but found nothing. She was just alone in a bathysphere, docked by the high street. It hadn’t opened yet. There were bodies littered everywhere, horrifyingly impaled or hung off the once grand decor. There was a man crawling along the roof like a spider, seemingly unaware of her. A corpse of a big daddy lay limp against the banister just shy of the bathysphere, it was one of the more human ones. She didn’t even hear herself mumble “so that’s where you were…” as she sat up more, taking in a sharp hiss as he gut was still in agony. Waves of nausea washed over her as she looked down at her stomach, seeing healed organs but not skin. Of course she ran out just before she could be fully healed, why not?

She tried her plasmids but nothing, they wouldn’t even appear on her skin. She was just left with the twitches. Swallowing some puke that had manage to get to her mouth, she watched the outside cautiously, gathering as much information as she could as the lights flickered. She knew she wasn’t up for a fight, well a proper one. She did have her shotgun, only becoming aware of it as it stabbed into her back when she shifted. She pushed herself along the seat to grab the service radio, trying not to shake the bathysphere too much and draw attention to herself. When she managed to tug the chunky thing off the wall, she immediately started tuning it to Ryan’s frequency and hoping he was listening.

“Andrei.. I need backup and Adam… please… I currently have a gaping hole in my side and I don’t have enough to heal it… i think I’m by one of the high streets?.. not cohen’s club one, one of the others.. it’s absolutely crawling with  those poor bastards who would do anything for an Adam hit… what did you call them? Splicers?.. he hasn’t noticed me yet..” she went quiet for a moment, unaware she was rambling slightly as she watched the splicer snap is head in her direction suddenly to make eye contact with her. He had one of Cohen’s masks on, but even from the distance she was, she could see the delirious grin he had. He dropped down like it was nothing and started to walk towards her. She went to kick the lever again but the bathysphere did nothing, the lights flickering out. She swallowed hard as she could faintly hear footsteps over the radio and murmuring. She pressed it close to her face and requested “bathysphere isn’t working… going to try and find another station… tell dad I love him..” before putting it down and aiming her shotgun, staring down the bastard was he slowly dragged one of the hood he was holding down he glass, making a sickening screech.

He smashed his hook into the glass again and again till it started to crack, and he just kept smiling at her.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

She steadied her breathing, despite the pain, resting a full body twitch, and fired.

The glass shattered and the bastard fell through, stumbling forward, catching himself off the sharp glass side. She fired at him again, dead on, but he didn’t even seem to react to it, stumbling forward again still with that demented look. She fired again, and again, and a fifth time. It mangled him yet he still continued, raising his hook like he was planning on getting her like a fish. With her lost shot, never more grateful her physics defying shotgun could hold six, she shot his hand off. He calmly went to it pick up with his other hand, Eilis happily taking the chance to bolt. She didn’t dare look back, but the sound of stumbling footsteps above her with screeching metal to accompany it was enough to tell her she was being followed. They soon started to multiple, she felt like a fly playing chicken with a spider web and she hated it.

Christ, why did she forget to bring extra shotgun shells?

Of course the one time she does this she’s being followed by psychopaths with no way of escape. Just brilliant.

She put her shotgun back on her shoulder, keeping pressure on the literal hole on her gut while she looked for somewhere to lock herself in. She missed Sullivan, he would have been here before she even knew. So would Mick, but she didn’t know how to get in contact with him anymore.

She managed to spot an old shop front that had been boarded up, doors locked with chains. It should be empty so she’d take it. Beat it with the end of her shotgun until she heard a pop and it fell open, the lock breaking open to show its inner workings. She quickly ripped off the chains and rushed in, pushing an old cabinet in front of the door to barricade it. It fell and the glass in the doors if it smashed, covering the floor it glistening chunks.

It was a high end fashion store, it looked like they’d just abandoned it since it was fully stocked, the only other person in here besides herself was a corpse propped up against a vent. Two little filthy feet stuck out of it for a minute before scurrying away. Eilis slipped off her shirt as she walked, kissing it softly and being mildly annoyed that all her delicate stitching had now gone to waste. She ripped it into one long strand, binding her gut tightly, to the point where she felt like she was squeezing her organs enough to bruise. Perfect. After that, she found a warm enough looking sweater, since it was freezing down here, and bras. Waste not want not she thought as shw she took the opportunity to get a new one, sighing in relief when she knew she’d now be supported while running and not worrying about when her old reliable would give out. Pulling on the expensive sweater, stretching out out so it fit properly, re-slinging her shotgun, she noticed the little sister hadn’t left yet. She had her head poking out of the vent, propped up on her little hands as she watched her.

“You smell like mr bubbles” the child told her chirpily. Eilis resisted a frown, knowing she’d just killed one and now wasn’t the best time to tell a child that. She expected the girl to slink away after telling her that, but she didn’t. She rolled onto her side and pulled out that long needle the others were often seen carrying. She offered it to the Pavlov dog, answering her confused brow with “for your tummy.”. The woman resisted a sigh, knowing the child was only trying to be helpful, and she did truly need Adam if she was going to survive this, but knew the aftermath was going to be horrendous. She was already seeing glimpses of memories walking past her. Her granny going to and fro in the kitchen, Sinclair swanning about in a party with her on his arm, her ‘uncle’ Paddy cleaning muck off his boots by the door, a long forgotten priest giving a mumbled sermon and Frank working at his desk were to name a few, along with various surrounding items from those scenarios. She knew she would definitely lose her sense if she accepted the child’s offer, but she’d die if she didn’t, so she took it.

The more she stared at the needle, she realised it was so strangely put together. It wasn’t a custom piece, it was an amalgamation. The needle was the only real medical part, the rest was a gas pump handle and a baby bottle. Inside the glistening red Adam stared at her, swirling around like it was taunting her. “Drink me” it dared, but she didn’t want to be Alice in wonderland.

“It’s good for you! Mama Tenenbaum promised” the child broke through her illusion, snapping her back to reality cor a moment. Just a small sip, she told herself. Keep the poor thing happy and keep yourself alive.

She twisted off the lid, not wanting to get her spit all over the nib of it. She’d never actually swallowed Adam, and dear god did it burn. It felt like drinking pure acid, and she only had a small mouthful. She twisted the lid back on, forcing herself to swallow it as she passed the needle back to the child, who happily took it, waving goodbye before scuttling away. She felt herself stumble slightly as it felt like her stomach was being ripped from her body, catching herself off a mannequin. The voice of the long forgotten priest developed from mumbling to full on shouting, screaming directly in her ear “In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth! Is that where you want to go child? The land of burning torture? Where those who disobey God suffer for eternity?! Or would you rather be in heaven with the angel of a woman who birthed you? You sinful excuse of a girl”. Eilis couldn’t help swing her fist to try and hit him, but it went through and the memory faded.

“Fuckin… catholic, up your own arse.. bastard..” She panted as she straightened up, kneading at her eyes to get rid of the hallucinations, ignoring the Adam dripping from her nose as she felt around for the radio she vaguely remembered clipping to her waist in her panic, only to realise she never had, that was only another false memory. Fuck. As her adrenaline rushed slipped away, she let herself sink to hue floor, justifying it as needing to enjoy the silence for a moment. Desperately, she fought off the distant memories of a lullaby, sung by a voice she didn’t recognise, trying to coax her to sleep, as she listened out for the sound of those bastards following her. Had they given up?.. they couldn’t have.

Suddenly the sound of tiles falling off the decorative ceiling outside caught her attention. They were waiting for her. Brilliant. With her only comfort of faint memories swanning about, Sullivan even appearing in the mix, she unwillingly let herself fall asleep, her body accepting how exhausted it was as Adam healed on her wounds. It allowed itself a moment of clarity and relaxation before the hell to come when it finally came to the realisation it couldn’t process this amount of Adam. But for now, she just slept.

While she enjoyed whatever drug induced dream her brain would come up with, Ryan and Tadgh sat in his apartment, sipping whiskey. Well sat isn’t the right word, Ryan was stirring of course, Tadgh was pacing. His sister was missing and injured, he had no clue where his father was and Ryan refused to let him leave. Her plea for help had come in two hours ago, and they hadn’t found her yet. If she died, he wouldn’t forgive himself, especially since their last conversation was an argument, that’s not how he wanted to remember her. After downing another glass he suddenly asked “if.. If Eilis dies.. and we find her… can you bring her back? Like you did with me?”.

“Of course I can, it’s already arranged. The moment she passes she will be revived in my personal Vita Chamber, for convenience. Since she obviously isn’t here, she is still very much alive. There is no need to worry about it dear boy” Ryan reassured him as he offered him more whiskey. Tadgh wordlessly refused, sighing “I know, forgive me, Rapture just isn’t.. as safe as I’d like it to be”. “It will be when we get rid of the parasites” his employer reminded him, Tadgh continuing “I know that. But still. Our own home doesn’t even feel safe anymore. We had to close off the lift so people didn’t come up to gut us in our sleep. Eilis tried to use it last night and came up with a mangled back from shotgun shells, fire and -fuck- who knows what else..”.

He rubbed at his face for a moment, pacing, trying to get the image out of his head. “You could stay here till we get that area under control again. It would make your jobs simpler to be closer to me at all time, wouldn’t it?” Ryan offered, very much aware of how convenient it would be for him, with his bodyguards staying with him he would constantly have protection and not have to worry about assassinations or betrayals in the middle of the night. “Are you serious? Sir, thank you. That is so kind” Tadgh grinned at him, Ryan waved a dismissive hand, “don’t thank me, Thomas. It is the least I could do. It will only be for a month or so anyway. We’ll have this under control by then”.

Tadgh couldn’t stop smiling, especially when the sound of something coming up the stairs was followed by a familiar voice cursing in Gaelic. His sister appeared, covered in Adam that dripped from her nose as she twitched involuntarily every so often, pulling at her clothes so they’d stop sticking to her skin. Her shotgun had blood on the end, she’d obviously used it as a different kind of weapon when she’d ran out of ammo.

“Tell your security team that they’re fucking useless..” She huffed, sitting down beside Ryan, not caring if she got the couch dirty. She picked some seaweed off herself, now that she was closer they could see she was wet. “Another leak?” Ryan queried, Eilis glanced at him with a look that asked “how stupid are you?” Without verbally saying it. Her brother put a light hand on her shoulder to show how happy he was she was ok without verbally saying it. He starred at her for a moment in silence, like he were wearing for her to say something, but she didn’t. She was unable to focus on him and simply exhausted. Her eyes trailed after the figure of a nurse walking across the room at a good place, like she had somewhere to be. “Ryan’s offered for us to stay with him instead of in the apartment, since it’s so dangerous” He informed her, she just hummed like she’d heard him, cracking her knuckles as she twitched again, the faint current of electricity going through her veins.

“Let’s get you a shower hm? I’ll go grab anything personal or valuable from home” Her brother ushered her to her feet, bringing her to Ryan’s bathroom and leaving her there.

She starred at her reflection in a daze, resisting the urge to puke, watching as the memory with Frank she’d been fully absorbed in earlier played again, unaware of the furniture that didn’t match it. It was relatively the same, but one part was far far clearer. “Good, took the useless sacks a shit long enough. Remind me to get in touch with Suchong, fucker still hasn’t given me the activation phrase yet. That brat is our ace in the hole. Should all go smoothly now he’s sorted out” Frank rolled his neck as he spoke, trying to crack some unknown muscle.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what that meant, unsure if it was the fact she was about to overdose or how he worded the statement that made it so hard for her to understand.

Was he talking about Jack?

Trying to ignore it, she turned on the shower, letting the room steam up as she undressed herself, splashing some water on her face to get the Adam off, watching curiously as the runoff swirled in the water, swearing it formed a butterfly, which was quickly destroyed by another drop of Adam from her nose and washed away down the sink. Rubbing at her nose, trying to ignore it, she went to scrub what felt like weeks of dirt off herself, trying to think of something else as nausea started to rise.

It was the end of April, almost May, 1959. They wouldn’t be stuck with Ryan for that much longer right?

She could only hope he’d finally buckle and just negotiate something with Atlas. He wasn’t fighting for anything insane, it wouldn’t even affect the great Andrew Ryan too heavily, he was just being a stubborn old prick because someone told him his little retirement project wasn’t as perfect as he thought it was. She couldn’t force him. Maybe Tadgh could, but currently he’s firmly on the bastard’s side.

Pushing all of those away as she massaged the dirt out of her hair, she returned to that beloved fantasy of hers where she was rapped up in Frank’s arms in a fancy penthouse in New York, none of the horrible things in the last few months had happened and they were perfectly happy, though she made sure to keep herself aware. That never can happen and it never would happen. It was always just meant to be a fantasy.

Chapter Text

“It’s New Years Bill…. Honestly I thought I’d be dead by 1960, but here we are” Eilis raised a toast to the larger man. He didn’t return it. Her nose wrinkled from a smell she didn’t want to acknowledge as she leant by a nearby wall, sipping at the last bottle of fancy champagne she could find. She got stabbed by a splicer trying to get this for Ryan, she was going to feckin enjoy it. Living with Ryan was exhausting, she missed her apartment, she missed her bed, she missed the bottle of Frank’s cologne she’d spray on things for comfort. Now she didn’t have a moment of peace, privacy or quiet anywhere. He’d fully recluses himself at this point, he wouldn’t even go out to address those still on his side, he did that all over radio now. Tadgh was still himself, acting like none of this was happening, but she could tell the fact Martin hadn’t been in contact with them for over half a year was eating at him.

The Pavlov dog didn’t have the energy to out anything towards it. She kept seeing the twins just shy of her vision, they were watching her but they wouldn’t speak anymore. It was irritating but she knew it was probably for the best, she’d have found a way to kill them if they kept prattling on about butterflies and raindrops. The Sullivan shaped hole in her heart had been filled by Bill for a while, if by filled you mean shoved in until it vaguely fit. He’d come in whenever he was sure his wife and child were safe, wanting to speak with Ryan, and when he’d finished that he’d check up on her. Though those conversations slowly became shorter and shorter. “You think they reached New York?..” she asked him, again, nothing. “I bet they did… I’d love to see Central Park… it’s always gorgeous with a hint of snow…” she mused, keeping a steady hand for her champagne, popping an eve cigarette in her mouth and lighting it with her fingers. She almost offered him a puff but stopped herself. He’d been the fatherly influence she’d needed to stay steady, for a short amount of time, not enough for her to be too devastated by what happened, but she’d known him long enough for it to sting a bit. They stood there in silence for a minute, before she looked up at him and asked “why?… why would you do that? You know what happens when people do… you know what he-…” she went quiet as his charred face stared back at her from above, harpoon through the chest, like the several others around him. Almost all the pillars had bodies on them now, except one. He reminded her of those saints forever captured in stained glass, looking down upon you in pity.

She poured the rest of her champagne on the floor and flicked away her cigarette, flinching as the memory of Bill rushing in, screaming nonsense with a gun pointed to Ryan was still so fresh in her mind. She shot him, of course, but she couldn’t eat after that. She still hasn’t eaten. Adam got rid of that need anyway, and with the amount of Eve cigarettes she was smoking, she didn’t need to worry about feeling or looking hungry. The idea of eating just made her nauseous. She’d tried once or twice but could hear her grandmother in the back of her mind scoffing “monsters don’t deserve to eat”. She couldn’t remember why she’d said that, probably something to do with the Black and Tans, but now it felt like she was speaking directly to Eilis, from beyond the grave.

She couldn’t help but imagine looking at her own body pinned up there, looking so exhausted and betrayed as she just lay there limply. Pathetic. All her clawing to stay alive manifesting in such a sad death that not even she believed she deserved. Fighting off the urge to get lost in thought, she finally dropped the champagne glass, walking over it so it shattered when it didn’t break on impact, going back into Ryan. She had to wait at every door for the camera to confirm she was allowed in, and still she had to go across that once useless observation room.

Ryan now spent most afternoons in here, watching his city rot, desperate to spot Atlas.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him they’d figured out how to get control of them months ago, he looks so elderly now, despite little time passing. He wasn’t eating as much as he should have been, even though he had the resources, and he sure as hell wasn’t sleeping. Coffee and whiskey were his water. She was in no place to judge, but still. It wasn’t good for him in particular. She found her brother and employer deep in the latter’s apartment, the room with the large window overlooking the city. Ryan had stood her here when it had fully finished construction to admire it, that just seemed bittersweet now with the state it was currently in. “Happy New Year.” Ryan almost whispered, like he were afraid to spoil the moment by being too loud. “Happy New Years..” Eilis and Tadgh replied in unison, looking out over the view. They enjoyed the peace for a moment, till something breached the surface of the water over by the lighthouse. Their brows unanimously furrowed as they tried to figure out what it was. Ryan was content to semi-ignore it, assuming he was hallucinating from exhaustion while his guard dogs whispered to eachother about if it was a fish or some kind of whale, realising that it was shiny.

“Is that a feckin plane?” Tadgh almost chuckled in disbelief. They watched as it exploded distantly, fire lighting the surface of the ocean as it got covered in fuel.

“Jesus… what if there are survivors?” Eilis said allowed, almost wanting to smack Ryan when he dismissed it so flippantly, walking away from the window with a scoff “survivors? Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll send people to clear the bodies and send them away from the lighthouse in the morning. There may something valuable on board”.

“Andrei!” She snapped at him, going to follow when Tadgh caught her by the shoulder. “Hey shhh” he dropped his voice “he’s just a little pissed alright? Too much whiskey. I’ll switch him to coffee… you slip off and go check for survivors alright? If there are any they’d be in the welcome centre right? Isn’t there a bathysphere connected to the lighthouse?”. His sister nodded, staying quiet. He gave her this look of worry, silently begging her to stay safe and be in contact before he finally let her go, following Ryan and offering “tea? I’m dying for a cuppa”. “Tea? Do I look elderly to you Thomas? Coffee, my dear boy.”.

Ryan had locked down so much of rapture at this point, Eilis thought it’d be a miracle if any survivors got down here, let alone out of the water before the sharks noticed them. You couldn’t even use the vita chambers or risk going pass a turret if your gene wasn’t registered as an ally of Ryan.status in rapture meant nothing, you were either for or against Ryan, and even then that wasn’t enough. Currently only Ryan himself, Tadgh and her were registered. It didn’t even click in her mind that Ryan had taken away her right to die by doing that, the exact thing she didn’t want. She didn’t even have time to realise that. Someone could introduce her to her reanimated mother and she’d just walk by in this moment. Irritatingly her bathysphere would only go as far as the emergency access just shy of the medical pavilion and the Kashmir, she’d tried to make it go up to the lighthouse, hoping to catch them before they even sunk down, just bringing them directly to Ryan where they could actually be helped, or even keep them out completely, but no such luck. Her only drop of luck was were she was able to dock. She could do this walk in her sleep. Ignoring the fact she had to climb over piles of rubble and mangled bodies, she managed perfectly fine. She stood in the Kashmir for a minute, remembering the chaos in silence, only continuing on when she heard scuttling in the kitchen.

Could just be rats, but you could never been too careful.

Loading her shotgun with proper shells, making sure she had plenty of rounds left on her and some money to buy more, if any the circus of value machines were still functioning. As she exited the lift, she creeped her way past a man eating what she could only hope was trash, down the steps and finally to the welcome centre of rapture. She hid behind a pillar immediately when she saw a man get gutted right before her eyes, the splicer than turning its attention to the bathysphere. She couldn’t hear what the woman was saying but her voice sounded horrible, like fifty years of smoking mixed with gargling bleach.

Someone must have been in the bathysphere since the rabid thing started to attack it, digging her hook into it and making sure it could never sink again. After taking a deep breath for confidence, Eilis whistled sharply to get her attention. As the woman’s head snapped to look at her, Eilis made sure to walk at her with a soldier’s pace, firing several times and missing on purpose, attempting to scare her away. The splicer simply leapt into the ceiling, darting around her from above like some terrifying sort of crab. She continued to shoot, actually aiming for her now but she was fast. Too fast. Her last shot managed to get the bitch in the leg, causing her to scurry away with blood curdling screams.

The Pavlov dog didn’t take a moment to reload her shotgun, foolishly, being more worried about whoever was in the bathysphere. She could only make out one form inside, but she hoped the others were simply hiding or lying down, the light had been broken, so she could only assume.

Inside was a man who had been fully dragged into a situation and place he didn’t want to be in. He shouldn’t have been in. Jack was simply on a plane one moment, going to visit cousins in England, and now he was in some strange contraption in a city at the bottom of the ocean. He’s just watched a man be murdered, a crazy man woman try to attack him, and now a new, possibly even crazier woman was just standing there staring at him. He stood up slightly, bracing himself off the wall as the thing he was in shook slightly, attempting to look intimidating. That failed miserably.

He watched as this woman, who was much more normal looking than the one who’d killed the man, was attacked. The original more feral woman had returned, landing on her from above. They wrestled for a few minutes, the more normal looking woman keeping the feral one away with her shotgun pushing against her neck. They snarled at eachother like dogs, the feral one screaming like some horrific beast, the two rolling around in the dirt and what looked like shattered glass, fighting for dominance. He swore the woman who’d apparently attempted to save him would die, until he watched her sink her teeth into the other woman’s cheek, ripping off a chunk. The feral woman naturally pulled away in agony, clinging to her face. The other woman took this as her chance, reloading her shotgun and firing. There wasn’t even a head on that corpse anymore, it was just gone. Spitting out what he had to assume was the chunk of cheek she’d ripped off, her attention turned to Jack gain, and he couldn’t help but move back even though he knew he had nowhere for go.

She slowly approached him and he couldn’t help but feel only more panicked, unable to make out her expression in the dark. A voice crackled through the eerie silence, “Would you kindly pick up that shortwave radio?” Jack glanced around, spotting one with labled ‘service radio’. He grabbed it without hesitation, he didn’t even take a second to think about it, holding it close to him as his body shivered from the cold, he was still drenched to the skin from the sea water and sore from the crash. “I don’t know how you survived that plane crash, but I’ve never been one to question Providence. I’m Atlas, and I aim to keep you alive.” The voice reassured him, the Irish brogue being somehow comforting. The sound of hissing air caught his attention next as the hull popped open and the woman who’d ‘saved’ him stood on the other side. “We’re gonna have to get you to higher ground boyo. Take a deep breath and step out of the bathysphere. I won’t leave you twisting in the wind” the unknown voice promised, but Jack didn’t move.

“Something wrong?” The Irish man asked, pausing as if he were checking something. While Jack waited in quiet horror, he watched as the woman snapped her fingers, a flame sitting on top of her thumb. She used it as a light to check inside the pitch black bathysphere for any signs of life, but there was just Jack. “Just you?” She asked, backing away when Jack nodded, seemingly aiming her shotgun at something. Jack peaked his head out to see some sort of flying machine hovering near them, it had guns on the side but didn’t fire, just flew around them. “Ah! That’s just the Pavlov dog, lad. She won’t bite. Not unless you want her to at least” the Irishman reassured him. He said his name was Atlas right? Something about him made Jack trust him immediately. There was something so comforting about him.

He didn’t leave the bathysphere just yet, flinching away when the Pavlov dog banged her shotgun off the edge of it to try and coax him out. Before Jack could swallow his fear and form a sentence, she just rolled her eyes and reached in, snatching the radio off him. She then spoke into it, demanding “get your stolen drone to fuck off. I don’t trust you after Lamb almost skewered me”.

“Darlin! I missed your feckin snark. That was almost a year ago, are you still sore about it?” Atlas chuckled on the other end, his chuckle turning into a crackle over the radio. “I haven’t seen you since then. Put the pieces together yourself mate” she almost spat into the radio, before remembering what she was hear to do, glancing back at Jack. “Only survivor from what we can tell. Ryan’ll kill him ya know?” Atlas almost whispered, Eilis snapping back “I’m aware of that..”. After a moment of quiet, Atlas almost sounded like he was begging her “look let’s do favours for favours. Even trade and all that”.

“I’m listening” The Pavlov dog sighed, spitting some blood into the water nearby and lighting a pile of trash on fire. When the survivor poked his head out again she snapped her fingers and pointed at it, he seemed to obediently crawl out and try to warm himself. She was actually surprised how tall he was, and buff. It startled her so much, Atlas had to repeat himself “I said, you help get the boy to Fontaine fisheries and I can tell you where Mick & Sinclair are. Been hiding it from Lamb, someone aught to know”. Eilis paused for a minute, tapping her nails off the radio as she thought, watching Jack cautiously. She didn’t want him to go mad on her and attack her out of fear, but she did want him to fear her just enough so he wouldn’t try anything. Atlas coughed lightly to grab her attention again, making her wrinkle her nose before just giving a quick “fine” bringing the radio back over to the survivor. He hooked it onto his belt like he knew it was supposed to go there, but seemed surprised that it actually worked. He just did it out of instinct.

“D’ya have a name love?” She asked softly, coughing when she realised her accent came out thicker than she meant it to. “Jack… Jack Wynand” he introduced himself sheepishly, being very soft spoken for a man of his size. He reached out a hand to her, which she shook just to be polite. She hesitated introducing herself, remembering chubby little baby Jack again for a moment. She knew she couldn’t just ignore him because he had a similar name, Jack was very common, so she finally spoke “Pleasure. Let’s be allies, hm? Cause there’s no chance your going back up in that” she tilted her head towards the now unusable bathysphere. Jack laughed awkwardly, assuming she was joking. She wasn’t. When she lifted  her hand to brush some of his wet hair away, he flinched, putting up a hand to catch her by her forearm. As he did this, his drenched sleeves slipped down a little, allowing her to see that he had a tattoo of chains on his wrist, in fact he had them on both wrists, which was strange. Knowing better than to interrogate some random stranger on his tattoo choice, she continued to brush the hair away and tutted like a disappointed mother, muttering “rud bocht, scáinte do cheann oscailte le linn na timpiste geall liom…”.

“Did I?” Jack sounded worried as he went to touch the bleeding gash on his head. Eilis brow furrowed, stopping his filthy hands from touching it, asking “do you speak Irish?”. “Hm? No” he tilted his head like a confused puppy. Now that she had a better look at him he looked so young. Maybe mid twenties at the latest, but that was being cruel. He had this baby face pout that just made her heart ache a little. Anytime she looked at him her only thought was “poor thing” with this odd hint of… something. Was it nostalgia? It felt similar but almost tainted, like something was wrong.

Atlas was silent the next few minutes, but Eilis could hear the radio crackling as he was listening. Checking her shotgun was loaded, they continued on. She went to use her telekenisis plasmid to move a chunk of rubble that was blocking their way, knowing Jack wouldn’t be able to crawl through it because of his sheer size, but it was really wedged in there. She cursed to herself, hearing Atlas chatting to Jack in the background. Before she could think of another idea or possible exit, Jack appeared out of nowhere with a wrench, smashing down on the rubble so hard it cracked in half. The Pavlov dog stood there for a moment and stared at him, while he gave her this happy smile like a child who thinks he deserves praise. She was just bewildered, mumbling a comment of “Fucking Christ, what were they feeding you?” Before walking through.

He followed her happily, not putting down his new weapon. Any splicers that came near though Eilis dealt with in two shots, though she felt a little guilty about one of them, since he was just trying to find food. Distracting herself from that, she went to the door, but it didn’t open automatically. She kicked it, no luck. Finally she saw it was one of the manual ones, irritatingly, and it was short circuiting. She calmly when to electrocute it but found nothing happened. Had she really used up her eve that quickly? She let out a groan of annoyance as she realised she never finished her cigarette. Hearing Jack trotting up the stairs behind her with a steady pace, she shouted back at him “mate if you see a needle with either something red or something blue in it, toss it to me alright?!”. She didn’t get a response. “Jack?” She called out, turning only to see him stabbing an Adam needle into his wrist. Her eyes widened as she realised he’d just given himself a plasmid.

“Oh for fuck- NO!” She shrieked, but it was already too late. She could only watch as his body lit up with electricity, he screamed in agony, stumbling around the upper level like a drunkard before he fell through the bannister and hit the floor. Naturally Eilis rushed to him, checking for a pulse before rolling him over, starting chest compressions as she shouted at Atlas “you let him take a plasmid? What is wrong with you!” But he was already gone. “Bastard… c’mon love… c’mon, you survived a plane crash, your not dying here on my watch.. c’mon!” She knew she was speaking to herself, but she kept working. Thankfully he took a deep gasp of air before groaning, allowing her to relax. He looked around in a daze, flexing his hand as he coughed slightly.

She went to give him words of encouragement, maybe even a tease as she swore a laugh was trying to escape her throat, till she head two thuds from the upper level. Silhouettes stretched over them as chatter filled the almost silent room. Someone new was here. Shit. She tried to drag Jack with her, but it was like trying to carry a full grown cow. Reluctantly, she abandoned him and hit behind a decommissioned circus of value machine. The splicers poked and prodded at him, but were quickly scared off by something much more terrifying. A deep whale like moan swallowed whatever sighed they’d made before, the little shards of glass on the floor jumped, making a sound similar to the bells they used for Christmas songs. Jack still hadn’t gotten up, he seemed so out of it and sour. She tries to remember if she was that bad. She could have been, but also she wasn’t in the middle of literal hell, so it didn’t matter.

The little sister poked at him while she spoke to her metal protector, giggling “Look Mr. Bubbles, it’s an angel! I can see light coming from his belly…” Jack letting out another cough, bracing his stomach with a lazy arm actually seemed to scare the child, she jumped back a little, but remained calm apart from that, “Wait a minute, he’s still breathing... It’s alright, I know he’ll be an angel soon” she reached her hands up to the metal beast, who scooped her up in one fluid motion with its large hand, resting her on its back before they prodded along, far away from them. They could only hope it was after the two splicers, wondering if they’d be stupid enough or desperate enough to pick a fight with it. As Eilis stood, sighing in relief, she checked her own radio, seeing it was scuffed but still working, far more compact than whatever Jack had. She turned it off again before helping him stand, finding herself dusting him off like a mother after her children have returned from playing in the dirt.

“You all right, boyo? First time plasmid’s a real kick from a mule. But… there’s nothing like a fistful of lightning, now, is there?” Atlas queried over the radio, Eilis warning him “be quiet, you could have killed him your fucking moron” as she walked away, crouching by one of the bodies and finishing a pack of Eve cigarettes. After resisting the urge to bless herself, knowing her grandmother was rolling in her grave at his disrespectful she was currently being, she snatched them, lighting one and hating his much she enjoyed the rush of eve though her system. Jack watched her while she did this with fascination, almost entranced by the blue tinted smoke, before he was wordlessly reminded with a subtly gesture what he had to do. He shocked the door and the two went to calmly continue on. Only for Jack to halt. “Ya right?” Eilis hummed, enjoying her cigarette as she followed his eyes. An entire section of the plane had sunk sand was barrelling towards him.

Jack quickly grabbed her by the wrist, hard, rushing to the other side before it crashed through, blocking their way and filling the tunnel with water. Realising he’d just grabbed a woman randomly, he quickly realised her and apologised “oh god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean-.. I just didn’t want you to-!… My mom raised me better I promise!“ Eilis put up a hand to shush him “just.. sh. I’m fine love… keep moving.” He nodded, noticing despite how calm she seemed, her hands shook when she took the next drag of her cigarette. The two trudged through the water, Eilis explaining “there’s a tunnel to the left of here that leads to a bathysphere station. We hop on there and I’ll have you with atlas with in… the… hour…” she almost came to stop again as they watched the engine from the pain demolish said tunnel, filling it with water. The airlocks started to activate as water burst in, so they of course ran. Just as they got past the exact opposite door Eilis wanted to go in through, it did its job, mostly, yet water began to edge through. Hopefully it would hold.

“Who’s idea was it to build a city under the ocean?!” Jack shouted, chest heaving as he tried to calm his panic. “A fucking entitled moron…” Eilis huffed after pulling a small crab out of her boot, before she checked around for any splicers, only finding a long dead corpse in one of the rooms to keep them physical company. It was so mummified that thankfully it didn’t smell horrendous, but it didn’t smell good either, especially up close. She grabbed a med kit that was hidden under it’s leg and beckoned Jack to come sit down on one of the seats. He again hesitated, gripping that damn wrench just a little tighter. “I just want to fix your head. You’re no bloody use to me passed out. Sit down and stop being difficult, Would ya kindly?” She sighed, rubbing at her eye, knowing it was going to take a lot for him to trust her. She wouldn’t have blamed him, taking a composing breath as she tries to think of what to see next, only to open her eyes and find him sitting there obediently, holding his soaking wet hair back. She just blinked at him for a minute before again, not questioning it.

Popping open the med kit with her thumbs, she sighed in relief to see it wasn’t an Adam one. If he was going to leave here, she wanted to keep as much of that shit out of his body as possible. Pouring some iodine out onto a bit of cotton, she started to clean the wound as gently as she could, unaware she was lightly shushing him when he hissed from the pain. It oddly soothed him. With the flickering light above, Jack finally got a better look at the woman. Her hair was braided back but several strands had escaped since he’d first seen her, dangling over her face now, she had a small scar on her eyebrow and her lip, which seemed to have connected at one point. In fact any part he could see if her was covered in scars. She still had blood on her face from fighting the woman who’d attacked him, some still even in her teeth, which he only saw as she sneered almost empathetically as she saw the amount of blood and dirt coming out of the wound. “Why’d you bite her?… That woman who attacked you” He asked quietly, watching her sharp green eyes meet his suddenly, letting him see the brown speckles that plagued them.

He just looked away, realising she didn’t want to answer the question and let her work. She stitched the wound shut after applying some numbing cream, before applying a bandage over it just to keep it clean. It was filthy here. It had once been kept squeaky clean for new residents and the fact it was so close to the medical pavilion, but now it was just disgusting. After fixing his hair back to where it had been originally, it covering the bandage for the most part, she gave his arm a squeeze, frowning with the amount of water that poured from his sweater. “Roll up your sleeves, it’s getting all over your hands” she told him as she struggled her spine, picking up her shotgun, which she’d left resting on a nearby chair. She rested her hand on her radio fro a moment, watching Jack out of the corner of his eye as he rolled up his sleeves. She had to resist a proper smile when he grimaced at the sea water that drained out of them and onto his almost dry pants. “See? Much better. You just relax here alright? I’ll be back in a moment” she gave him a polite smile before slipping away, going ahead to where all the elevators were.

Ignoring the memories of Frank that threatened to surface again, she flicked on her radio, speaking into it “Tadgh. I checked for survivors but only found one. Could you make sure we have clear access to a bathysphere station?”. There was nothing for a minute, till Ryan’s voice came over the radio “who are you with? Does he seem like a normal person?”. Eilis swallowed hard, honestly worried Ryan had picked up instead of her brother “he does to me. Either that or he’s a very good actor. Almost acts like a child, really. A huge. Buff. Child” she spoke calmly, pacing in towards the elevators as she waited for him to respond.

“Kill him.” Ryan ordered, Eilis didn’t even have to ask him to repeat himself, he did it of his own accord, “wait till he’s unsuspecting, and then kill him. A plane crashes on top of our glorious city? By chance? Unlikely.” He scorned her, Eilis taking the excuse of him ranting to check for any threats uo ahead. There was one woman creepily singing to an empty stroller. She just shocked the poor dear unconscious, not wanting to kill an insane woman. That just seemed… actually she couldn’t think a word for it. “He’s… CIA or.. KGB, something of that nature.” Ryan continued. Eilis perked up, she’d almost forgotten he was speaking for a split second. “And if he’s not?…” She dropped her voice as low as she could, but not so low it’s just turn into static over the radio, hearing the groan of a big daddy nearby. She spotted it’s little sister as she slipped through the hole in the wall of the bathroom at the Kashmiri, out into the public theatre, but not the beast it’s self. She walked lightly along the light supports, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She heard Ryan sigh after his long pause, then cough like he was prepping his voice as he simply queried “do you know how strange a wall looks with one blank spot?”. Her blood ran cold. She stopped just shy of a set of demolished stairs.

“It’s so strange to have all those other places just… Filled. Bar that one. Something yellow would suit there I think. But what particular shade… blonde maybe? do you have any opinions Eilis?” He asked her shockingly calmly. She couldn’t even form an answer. He took that as all the clarification he needed, reminding her “I trust you to do your job, Ellie. Your brother and I anxiously wait your return with his head on a stick.” The static stopped as Eilis changed frequency. She hooked the radio back to her belt, struggling to swallow as she composed herself. A hand gently lay on her shoulder, making her tense every muscle she had. Hee natural instinct to be to turn around to burn them, but she froze just shy of touching jack’s face.

“You alright? You don’t look well” he frowned at her. She just nodded, still struggling to swallow and unable to think of the words to say in English. Instead she just pointed to the door he obviously came from and made a confused gesture, “oh, Atlas told me we should keep moving! So I followed you.. I gave you enough room so I didn’t hear your conversation if that’s what you’re worried about” He answered chirpily, Atlas’ voice joining in from his hip “the lord hates a laggard!”. Finally managing to swallow, almost gasping as she did, Eilis unintentionally scoffed “Is fuath leis thú ach an oiread, aghaidh boda dathúil ort…” her eyes trailing down Jack’s form as she noticed he’d slipped the wrench between his belt and wait, his main hand now holding a pistol. She pointed at him and cocked a brow, he just sheepishly answered “I uh.. found it.”.

“Well. You’re a shit liar, I can tell” Eilis hummed as she continued on, hoping that would warn him enough not to lie again. That wasn’t a lie he’d told her just there, but it wasn’t the full truth either. Jack just swallowed nervously, continuing after her as she hopped down what was once a grand staircase, rummaging through a machine that had been crushed underneath it, kissing a box of shotgun shells as she found it hidden under old bottles. She went to continue towards what would hopefully be an exit, only to stop momentarily to look at a little sister. The poor thing was just happily doing what she’d been made to do. She didn’t dare disturb her. “Were those really little girls?..” her companion asked her quietly. “They still are.. they draw on the walls if the vents they hide in.. I’ve seen one or two big daddies with little scribbles on their helmets… they don’t understand why people attack them.. they cry, they giggle, they play with old toys they find on the floor.. they’re just babies.” Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion when she mentioned the big daddies, so she clarified “big diver looking lads. They keep them safe. If the fact they’re fucking terrifying doesn’t ward you off, the cries the poor things let out when you grab them will. Don’t. Touch. Them.” She made sure he heard every word she said. Jack just nodded, watching her calmly turn on her heel and keep walking, loading her shotgun as she walked, tossing the box of shotgun shells in a nearby trash can surrounded by rubbish and dead rats.

He went to follow her, feeling lost without someone who apparently know this place like the back of her hand, but he paused when his guide’s voice called out from his hip “Would you kindly hold on a second there? I wanna have a chat with ya before you head off after our dear old doggy”. He lifted the radio to his ear so he could hear properly, unaware Atlas was smirking since he sounded so concerned. Leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk of the control panel he was observing, Atlas dragged out his forgotten acting skins to sell this “that gal…” he whistled and tilted his head back “poor thing was here when everything crumbled… well it was already crumbling, but properly. Got pinned to the wall like a butterfly, she did… Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds. We couldn’t handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled in cribs. The whole city went to hell. Her especially. That voice you heard on that ad on the way down? That’s her boss. He force fed her that shite, he could make her turn on you at any moment, he just hasn’t decided to yet, I’d enjoy her being a sweetheart while ya can, she can change like that” he snapped his fingers close to the radio, the sound made Jack flinch. “You may have to put the poor bitch out of her misery of you aren’t careful, boyo. Be ready for that”.

He could see Jack slowly get more and more uneasy as he spoke, turning off the radio so he could chuckle as he watched him rush after Eilis, but less eager than he was before. He couldn’t have them getting attached, now could he? That would just ruin the fun. Besides if he got them to go against eachother, Jack would be far easier to dispose of later on when he was no longer needed. Atlas leaned back in his chair, grinning to himself, he could practically taste victory, it was so tantalisingly near. He closed his eyes and imagined ryan’s body strewn up like some sick reinacment of a crucifixion, Jack a dead bloody mess at his feet and Eilis sitting on his lap, covered in remnants of the slaughter, peppering him with kisses as she sung praises for the name he’d abandoned. He’d be himself again fairly soon though, so nothing to worry about. Snapping back into reality he watched the two as they continued on, Jack seemed to keep about a forearm’s distance from her now, she didn’t even notice. Just like she didn’t notice she’d left him all by himself only a few minutes earlier.

Whatever shit Ryan was talking must have spooked her.

The two seemingly walked in silence, Eilis fighting off any threats that came nearby. When she’d realised she was low ammo, she simply started using it like a bat, despite Atlas encouragement for her to ‘let loose’ and ‘show them whi ya really are!’. Jack didn’t get as involved, since Eilis just blatantly wouldn’t let him, but he tried his best. He actually managed to knock out a few with his wrench, it was rather impressive. For a good while, Atlas only heard his own voice, neither giving running commentary. The only other sounds he heard were sounds of exasperation when they were attacked. It continued on like this, till alarms started to blare and gates started to shut down. He cursed under his breath, knowing Ryan couldn’t resist the urge to cut him off at the last moment, shouting down the radio “It’s Ryan! Goddamn Andrew Ryan! He found us! Dammit! He’s shut off access to Neptune…” lost losing his composure he paused, hearing the alarm blare even through the radio, it made his ears want to bleed but this would be too good to turn it off for “there’s another way to get there… head to Medical! Eilis, go on you know the way,  take him. What are you waiting for? Go!”. “Fuck.. me.. SIDEWAYS” He heard her curse, watching her grab Jack by his arm as they ran shocking splicers as they went, not letting him use his plasmid once. As they got into the transitional airlock, the door behind them slammed, locking them in.

Atlas’ cocky expression dropped. He expect Ryan to say something, not possibly kill them. “Fuckin old piece a shit..” He cursed, his throat relaxing as he kept his bronx accent slip out, desperate to not fuck up this badly.

“So tell me, friend… which one of the bitches sent you?” A voice all too familiar came over the speakers, a screen lowering to show Ryan’s own face, glaring at them “The KGB wolf? Or The CIA jackal?” He scoffed, Eilis still kept a tight grip on Jack’s wrist as she saw splicers suddenly stand up straight and walk towards the glass, “Andrei?” She called out, hoping he’d hear her over some hidden microphone, but no luck. He just continued his ramblings “Here’s the news: Rapture isn’t some sunken ship for you to plunder and Andrew Ryan isn’t giddy socialite who can be slapped around by government muscle. And with that, farewell, or Dasvadinya . Whichever you prefer.” His Russian slipped out as the splicers pounded at the glass, it was the touch kind that wouldn’t just shatter, but was starting to bend inward and flex with the cracks.

Finally the sound of the locks releasing behind them rang out, Jack almost ripped the hatch off the hinges with the spread he pulled it open, the two running through and sealing it behind them. They would have taken a moment to break but Eilis knew they didn’t have time for that, not here. She just kept guiding Jack by his wrist, only letting go when they had to just down several flooded levels, heading straight for the entrance to medical, when she remembered she actually had to bring Jack with her.

She halted.

Glancing back at him she let out a little groan of what could only be described as vague annoyance.

“We need to get the key to override the lockdown from a doctor. He’ll be in here” she urged him to follow, but he stood there for a minute.

Then, surprisingly he started to dry heave into a nearby plant pot from the stress. She was actually mildly shocked by that, realising a normal person would find all of this rather disturbing. Running small circles on his back, she offered “alright, you stay here a minute and I’ll see if I can find you some food hm? Then we’ll power on through. He usually locks himself away in a surgical suite anyway”. Jack just gave her a vague thumbs up before continuing to hug the plant pot. She patted his back, giving him her shotgun for protection and lighting another cigarette for herself to smoke while she walked, hating the fact she’ll have to go full plasmid junky for the sake of getting through this. Lights flickered as she wandered through the medical pavilion, her nose wrinkling as she saw the bodies everywhere, horribly mangled to the point where they didn’t even look human. They looked like some strange Salvador Dali painting had been turned into a person. She could only hope they were dead and she sure as hell wasn’t going to check.

She soon realised she hasn’t seen another person since she’d entered this hell hole. It smelt of death and antiseptic, she was only glad that the layout was the same as it had always been, meaning she knew her way around, just having to avoid some new physical opticals. After what felt like an hour she finally found a working vending machine. It still had food and drink still in it, which was a shock. Knowing better than to leave her back unguarded, she made sure to focus on a nearby shard of old support beam, watching it float off the ground ever do slightly. Eilis felt her nose start to sting as she’d been abusing her plasmids too much, deciding after she got these things for Jack so he could stable his nausea, they’d find some abandoned store front, maybe an old doctor’s office even, barricade the door and relax. Maybe even sleep. She paused just short of pushing the button to pay, realising she wasn’t sure when she’d last slept. That couldn’t be healthy.

Shaking her head back into focus, she got her items and went to leave, only to hear the sound of feet hitting the floor nearby. She froze, keeping her back to the machine as she glanced around, seeing nothing. She even lit a nearby corpse on fire for more light, nothing. And now it smelt even worse in here. The Pavlov dog then simply assumed it was someone hiding here, living here, and nothing she needed to worry about unless she stepped on their toes, so she went to continue on her way. Suddenly she heard the sound of something ping off metal behind her. She glanced back to see something on the floor. It was a steel tipped bolt. It had hit the support beam shard she was still holding. Her brow furrowed as she looked around for who ever the hell shot it at her, but she immediately wished she’d just run and not question it. From the dark emerged the one person she didn’t want to see ever again, unless it was his corpse.

“I do apologise my goddess… it took me a while to realise but.. I could never replace you! I tried and tried and… all were failed. Pathetic. Attempts” Stienmen’s voice echoed around her as he emerged from the dark.

Goosebumps rose on Eilis’ skin, she mentally started to curse as she backed away slowly. “Yet none could match your divinity! But here you are! You came back to me as I knew you would!” He almost sounded like he was about to tear up, striding at her with a crossbow. He calmly shot another bolt straight into her thigh as he continued to get closer, the pain caused her to lose focus and drop the only weapon she had. “Though my attempts were failures, I have now had practice! I can finally make you look as you do when you show me your divine appearance in my mind” she couldn’t see his face but she could tell from his tone he was grinning. She ripped the dart out, happy it was just a normal one and not some fancy knockout horseshit, dropping whatever she was holding she ran, knocking into walls and doorframes as she went, her leg suddenly not being strong enough to hold her properly.

She must have been wrong. Shit.

Knowing she may lose momentum at any moment, she started shouting “Jack. JACK!” as loud as she could, immediately regretting giving him her shotgun. Just shy of her last stretch to freedom where Jack would have been able to hear her, another metal bolt went straight through the calf of her other leg, knocking her to the floor. She skidded from the momentum of her running. Eilis tried to stand again, still calling for Jack but feeling her voice getting weaker, she collapsed as soon as she even tried to get to her feet. She started to pull herself froward, crawling across the floor in an attempt to escape. She let out a shriek as Steinmen fired another into her back. Hearing his calm pace behind her, she found herself stopping for a moment to pull her radio off her waist and beg for Ryan to answer.

Just something, anything.

It was going through and giving her static feedback so she knew his was on, he had to hear her right? He had to be listening. She begged him.

Nothing.

The surgeon tutted as he approached “oh my goddess.. look at all the damage I’ve had to cause just for you to stop running from your fate” Stienmen sighed, rolling her over with his foot and shooting her in the stomach before basically sitting on her, so she couldn’t move, he grabbed her radio and tossed it away. “Now now, no need to struggle” he told her softly as she continued to do so, desperately trying to kick him away, so much so one of her boots started to slip off. He tried to caress her cheek but she sunk her teeth into his hand before he could fully make contact. He didn’t scream. He only rolled his eyes as he pulled his hand away, musing “I thought you didn’t like biting..” as he admired it and the fact she’d gone through his latex gloves. Just as Eilis managed to get a hand free and went to shock him, he grabbed her by her face and slammed the back of her head into the floor twice, hard enough to possibly concuss the poor woman.

She lay there in a daze, feeling adam leak from her nose and past her lips, filling her mouth with both a metallic and chemically taste. Steinmen got to his feet, dusted himself off and picked her up like she weighed nothing. Before she passed out, the last thing she heard was:

“You are going to look absolutely Devine”.

Jack sat where Eilis had left him, twiddling his thumbs as he looked around, trying to imagine what this place looked like before it ‘went to hell’ as Atlas described, but he couldn’t. It smelt horrendous, everything wanted to kill him and he had a sneaking suspicion those actually helping him secretly found him to be a nuisance. He also kept hearing shrieking but Atlas had assured him that was normal and to ignore it, the Pavlov dog apparently didn’t shriek. He also couldn’t shake the feeling he’d seen Eilis before, something about her face was so weirdly familiar. Almost comforting.

“She’s been gone too long.” Atlas commented, breaking him out of his concentration.

“What makes you say that?” He queried, the Irish man letting out a loud huff as he replied “she’s been in and outta there since day one here. Knows it better than the doctors I’m sure. She shouldn’t be taking this long.”.

The false revolutionary was currently trying to gain access to the cameras if the medical pavilion, but Steinmen was running a tight ship. He couldn’t even get find an option to hack the damn things let alone get in. “Go check on her… and bring that damn shotgun with you.” He requested, tempted to use the three simple words that could get Jack to tear his own face off, but he seemed happy to go, glancing at a nearby map on the wall before continuing. Before he even got into the meat of the hospital, he found evidence of a struggle. All that remained was one of her boots, a trail of faint red liquid dragged by light fingers and her radio. He calmly picked up each, hooking the radio on his belt and tied her boot to it as well by its laces. Next in an instinct he didn’t remember having, he checked the shotgun for ammo before holding it properly, ready to fire.

He’d never held one, how did he know how to do that?…

a voice in his brain reminded him he grew up on a farm.

His curiosity melted.

Must have learnt it from dad, he thought.

Atlas gave him directions and he finally got to kill someone. It was this insane looking doctor who’d lunged at him, pipe in hand. Jack was horrified. Not by the sight of the man turned practically to mush in the middle, not the smell of blood that soon smothered his senses, not the actual blood that had covered his wool sweater, but it was the fact he felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not guilt nor shame. Suddenly though as he stared at the corpse, nudging it with his foot out of some sick curiosity, he felt giddy, proud of himself even. Was he taking pleasure out of this? He shook his head, no. It was just the adrenaline. Horror soon drowned out those feelings again as he continued to try and find Eilis. Slipping through halls and last turrets he quickly found out could tear people to shreds, barely avoiding the cameras that snapped to look at him from even the slightest sound, he finally found the surgical suite. Atlas kind words of encouragement were all that kept him from simply turning around and hoping to find another way through.

With a hook in his side and two shotgun shells to his name, he approached it quietly, hearing someone shouting inside. Through the giant window that Jack truely didn’t see the point, there stood a doctor dressed in red, rambling as he craned over some poor woman who was sobbing. Jack couldn’t tell if it was Eilis, he stayed hidden behind a wall close to the window so he could see without being seen. “What can I do with this one, Aphrodite? She WON’T. STAY. STILL!” The surgeon screamed, stabbing at the woman out of frustration and only making her scream more. Jack almost puked from the sound, he would have if he had anything left in his stomach. “I want to make them beautiful, but they always turn out wrong!” The final blow seemed to kill the woman, who he promptly shoved off the table.

“That one… too fat!” He proclaimed as a light turned on to show a woman almost crucified above him, “This one… too tall!” Again light lit up the corpse of another woman, “This one… too symmetrical!” The final light flicked on. All the woman looked perfectly fine to Jack, he didn’t understand why this mad man sounded so defeated. While he was distracted, sobbing for a moment, Jack leaned forward to look at the woman he’d pushed, sighing in relief when she was obviously a red head. Not Eilis. “But soon… all our struggles shall end goddess. I have your vessel. She’s right here! I know you already live deep within her… that’s why she refused to die. Like a roach..” the doctor ripped his surgical cap off the smooth back his hair, which was coming out in chunks and leaving patches, disappearing from Jack’s view, only to reappear with Eilis. She was basically limp but her eyes were slightly open, looking around in confusion. Her blonde hair had a dark patch on the back now.

“I just have to bring you out… your true form. And she is the base, the clay, the first draft! You will be my magnum opus! And then we shall do what the goddess wills… who knows, maybe we’ll even regain our reputation! Rapture’s Devine coupling… Gods!“ Stienmen laughed maniacally, going to slice open Eilis’ cheek with a scalpel, but she managed to grab him by his wrist, struggling to keep him away. “She resists us goddess.. why.. why do they always resist?!” Stienmen shrieked, “first those pathetic excuses for women.. And now-“ the surgeon paused, noticing Eilis’ attention wasn’t on him, it was on the window.

A head was just pulling back to hide in the corner, but the surgeon had seen enough to know he was hideous, “What’s this, goddess? An intruder! He’s ugly! Ugly, ugly, UGLY!”. Jack’s brow furrowed at the insult and he turned to face the man, witnessing him pull a tommy gun seemingly out of nowhere and fire madly at him, shattering the glass. Jack barely avoided getting shot, one flying past him, tearing open his sleeve as it just skimmed past his skin. When he heard a load click, somehow knowing that meant he was out of ammo, he rushed in, jumping through the hole and firing at him, hitting him in the side of his face. His mask fell off, revealing the horrible wound that exposed his teeth as well as how he’d mangled his own face. He didn’t look at all like he did on the advertisements Jack saw anymore, he was just disturbing to even look at. Stienmen tackled him to the ground, knocking over his now rusted equipment trolly with them, scattering his filthy surgical tools all over the floor.

He quickly got hold of a scalpel and attempted to stab Jack’s face, but he overpowered the man easily, managing to flip them over so he was om top, trying to wrestle the scalpel from him. When he finally managed, Jack stabbed the first thing he could, just shy of Stienmen’s Adam’s apple. The surgeon ripped it out, scuttling away and to his feet, grinning madly till he started to sway as blood pumped from his neck. Slowly he started to fall to his knees, looking directly into the surgical light as he asked “is that you, Aphrodite?” Reaching a bloody hand out.

Eilis had been watching the carnage play out. While they were distracted she got an Adam needle and stabbed herself, holding in a scream that she knew would draw attention and fighting off the nausea from the cold rush of her wounds healing, followed by the burning of her plasmids. Next was the rush of adrenaline that had faded from earlier, allowing her to wake up more. As soon as Stienmen had dropped, she got up, though shaken and unstable on her feet, and snatched her shotgun off the floor. She checked for her last shot and grinned, knowing she shouldn’t be taking pleasure in this but oh, it was a long time coming. She just pressed the end of the gun to his head and fired. 

“gheobhadh fiú do bhandia foighneach thú.” She spat of his corpse, quite literally, before having to drop the shotgun as she rushed to puke into a nearby barrel, not daring to look at whatever was in the bottom. She just kept her eyes squeezed shut, holding her head up with her elbow propped on the side. Jack calmly rummaged through the body’s pockets till he found the strangest looking thing that he could only assume was the key. He showed it to Eilis when she glanced at him and she just gave him a thumbs up. After shoving it in his pocket, he helped her back to the surgical table, giving her back her radio before going down on one knee to put her boot back on for her.

“What are ya doing?” She asked, rubbing at her temple as she checked her radio was off before watching him. “You’ve helped me so far. Least I can do is help you put on a boot when you aren’t feeling well” Jack justified his actions, trying to copy the double knot she had on her other boot. “Christ, no clue what you ever saw in that bastard, love. He wasn’t a pretty picture” Atlas commented, making Eilis’s whole face wrinkle in disgust as she rubbed at her engagement ring. Jack looked up at her an answer, expecting to get the glare he’d quickly accepted she’d given when she wanted him to stop asking questions, but she didn’t. Instead she admitted “he was handsome enough once… not enough for me to sleep with him but… well I’m obviously a hypocrite amnt I?… I feel disgusting when I think about it…”.

Her brave survivor gave her this pitiful look before walking away, going under the stairs to Stienmen’s little office of sorts, coming back with a fresh box of shotgun shells. They were electro bucks but they’ll do. “I’m sure you had your reasons. Same as I’m sure you had a reason to kill him… just.. don’t ever smile at me like that ok?” He joked, hoping for a laugh but she didn’t give him one, she just looked guilty and sickly, rubbing at where she’d injected the Adam. She inspected her arm for any mark from it but they were gone. Brushing her thumb over her soft skin she thought for a minute, before pulling her sleeves down slightly so they covered them, taking her shotgun back off him and reloading it.

After that she noticed the red spot growing on his side. The Pavlov dog let out a little huff before gesturing he pulled up his shirt. Thankfully that hook a splicer had tried gut him with only left a small gash, but still it looked painful. Using the last roll of bandage she could find in this shithole, she bound his waist tightly, promising “I’ll clean it and stitch it up when we meet Atlas’ boys.. I’m sure they have better medical supplies than here..” the irony of that sentence made a weak chuckle escape her aching throat. She rubbed at the back of her head to break up the drying blood from earlier, desperate for it not to harden into an uncomfortable lump.

“Let’s get you to Neptune’s bounty hm?..” Eilis said semi chirpily as she strode out, Jack jogging slightly to keep up with her. She almost reached her hand back fro him to grab, she didn’t know why she did that thigh. She mangled right brush it off as adjusting her radio before continuing.

“Ma’am!” He called after her. She didn’t verbally answer but he noticed her turn her head slightly to show she was listening, “thank you.”.

“tá fáilte romhat, a stór. Pioc suas an luas, buachaill níor chóir do mhéid a bheith chomh mall” pushing at her chin with her knuckle, she cracked her back as she walked “after all, we have to meet with our lovely Dullahan revolutionary, don’t we?”. “We need to save his wife and child first” Jack ‘reminded’ her, like she knew. Eilis’ tensed up slightly, making a mental note to smack Atlas for still using the whole wife and child thing to rake people in. They weren’t even involved anymore, but the fact he was still using it bothered her. “Course.. how could I forget” she forced a smile, continuing her pace, hoping Tadgh wouldn’t worry too much. She’d be gone another day or two.

And that was being lenient.

Chapter Text

“Why did you sleep with him if you obviously hate him so much?” Jack queried seemingly out of nowhere.

Eilis glanced at him slightly “twenty minutes of silence and you ask me that?” She stretched her leg out while they stopped for a moment, the muscles still being tense from knitting themselves back together, “I don’t have a reason and if I did I don’t need to justify it to you. Also, a woman doesn’t need to like you to hop in bed with ya. Infact you can find them utterly repulsive in some aspects. Pretty sure I daydreamed most of the time and it was just to keep him from carving my face off”. “Doesn’t… doesn’t that defeat the point?” He queried, sounding so genuinely confused as he adjusted his grip on the Tommy gun he’d stolen from that mad surgeon. Eilis snorted a laugh and patted his cheek, teasing “aw you absolutely innocent sweetheart. Keep that lack of awareness, people are attracted to blissful ignorance” before she continued guiding him hopefully to an exit.

Jack was bewildered for a minute but continued to follow the woman who he only knew as the Pavlov dog. She still hadn’t given him a name. She seemed determined to just get this over with and not let him find out a thing about her, except she was obviously aware she’d failed at that after their little conversation earlier. Still, she was trying. She made an audible noise of annoyance when they found their quickest way back blocked off, the whole place shaking and causing Jack to brace for impact from the tiles falling off the ceiling, but his guide didn’t react. Lighting herself one of those strange blue smoke cigarettes she glance around till she spotted a hallway, she seemed to be trying to remember where to go but was struggling to focus. Noticing something, Jack looked around and found a rag on the floor, offering it to her. She gave him a confused look as he explained “you nose is bleeding”.

She hesitated for a minute, before telling him “it’s not blood” just wiping it way with her knuckle.

“We should start heading through tunnels and just hope we aren’t tra-“ Eilis went to explain, before going quiet as they both heard the slowly growing noise of a big daddy approaching followed by the very loud sound of an old rusted door opening. Their eyes met and they seemed to wordlessly agree to follow it but stay quiet. They crept along what remained of this hallway, till they saw another with large frosted glass windows, the door blocked off. The two weren’t even given a moment to discuss their next plan of what the now muffled sound was on the other side, when a full big daddy was thrown through the glass, on fire, into a pillar and quickly died. Not taking another chance to wait, they carefully climbed through the hole in the glass to see some deranged looking man cornering a little sister, poking at her with the pipe he was holding.

“It’s a Little One… Here’s your chance to get some Adam.” Atlas urged Jack over the radio, but he was more focused on not being heard at the current moment. “it’s just you, me, and all of the tasty Adam I can drink…” the splicer whispered, raising the pipe to strike the girl. Eilis made sure to cock her shotgun load enough for him to hear it, only for the bastard to be shot my someone from above before he could even react to her. He seemed to try and swing for whoever shot him, only to quickly be killed, slumping against the wall and leaving the child cowering in a corner.

Jack watched as Eilis glanced up but didn’t lower her weapon, so he went to take a step forward, only for a bullet to be shot at him, barely missing his foot. A German woman warned him “Stay away from her or it is you who will be shot next!”. “Brigid he isn’t going going to do a thing! Lower the feckin pistol, we were just leaving” Eilis tried to reassure her, but Tenenbaum wasn’t taking her word for anything, warning “you are not excluded from this Ms Donovan!”. When the Pavlov dog turned to beckon Jack to leave with her, he was holding up the radio he’s had on his hip, now on full volume so the doctor could hear Atlas as he shouted “Easy now, Doctor… He’s just looking for a wee bit of Adam, just enough to get by!”.  “Would you shut the feck up?!” Eilis hissed through gritted teeth, wondering if Atlas was trying to get them killed. “I’ll not have him hurt my Little Ones!” Brigid almost seemed to whisper, keeping an eye on the child as she kept the gun pointed at the group. “Aye, that’s a pretty sermon coming from the ghoul who cooked up them creatures in the first place. Took fine little girls and turned them into that, didn’t you?” Atlas shouted up at the woman, before speaking directly to Jack “Listen to me, boyo: you won’t survive without the Adam those… things are carrying. Are you prepared to trade your life, the lives of my wife and child for Tenenbaum’s little Frankensteins?”.

The two women were disgusted by how he was talking about the man was discussing a literal child, and their disgust only grew to horror as Jack started to approach her. The little sister screamed and hid as well as she could under a table, only a little crawl space being her escape but knowing that was a dead end. “Here! There is another way!” Tenenbaum shouted to get his attention, throwing something at him that he caught without even looking “use this, free them from their torment… I will make it to be worth your while… somehow” she swore. It looked like a plasmid vile. Eilis aimed her shotgun at Jack as he casually injected the unknown plasmid into his arm like he was trying to kill himself, before continuing to approach the child. He starred at her like she was some foreign object to him for about five minutes, Eilis giving a sharp warning of “Lay a fucking hand on her and I swear to god!”. He just continued to stand there, seemingly considering his options. Eilis began to approach as he pulled up the child into his grasp, holding her up by her arm as his face contorted in conflict. Just as the Pavlov dog went to pull the trigger, his actions changed drastically.

Jack let the child sit on the crook of his arm, though she still twisted and shouted for her Daddy to come save her, actually switching to begging for the Pavlov dog herself to help her when she saw the corpse of her protecter not too far away. Jack lifted up his free hand, veins lighting up with the white glow of a plasmid Eilis had never seen never. The little sister tried desperately to keep it back, but Jack was stronger. Far, far stronger. He smoothed his hand over her hair, the child almost going limp before there was a bright flash of light that just engulfed the entire room.

When it cleared, a very normal looking little girl was sat there, rubbing at her nose as she glanced around her. Jack calmly put her down, smiling softly as she smoothed out the creases of her filthy little dress before flashing them a smile with these big adorable brown eyes. She thanked him, happily skipping away to a nearby vent, crawling far away from here. Or they could only hope she would. Eilis was just staring at Jack, shotgun aimed at his chest, and it made him very uncomfortable. “Did you really thing I’d kill a child?..” he sounded so hurt by that idea, her nose wrinkled as she tried to suppress any guilt for her natural assumption, tossing out a lazy answer of “I don’t know you…” before heading over to the door that was currently struggling to slide open. Tenenbaum had long skulked away but Eilis swore she heard the woman’s voice on Jack’s radio for a moment as he walked over to some other part of the room, followed by Atlas very loud proclamation of “Tenenbaum’s playing you for a sap. Those things may look like wee little girls, but looks don’t make it so. You’ll need all the Adam you can get to survive. If you cross paths with another of them Gatherer’s Garden machines, make sure you pick up a new plasmid or two. That’s if the price ain’t too dear, of course”. As she planted her foot on the wall, her back against the small crevice the door at left while she began to push, she shouted “would you stop encouraging him to inject shite into him?! You’ll have the poor fucker looking like a walking tumor in a matter of hours”.

When the door finally slid open, Eilis caught herself off a shard of wall, hissing as it sliced open her palm. She watched in disgust as it quickly healed itself and a wave of nausea crashed over her. She was overdosing. Brilliant. Actually half tempted to just smell any nearby corpses in hopes of making herself commit, her plan was interrupted by a long missed but distinguishingly familiar southern drawl crackling over her radio.

“Is the lovely Miss Ellie Donovan-Fontaine available to talk?”.

Both annoyed and barely able to resist a grin, she plucked the radio up off her waist and replied in her best ryanised tone “of course, who doesn’t have time for Augustus Sinclair, esquire? Where the fuck have you been?”. Sinclair’s smooth chuckle rumbled over the radio, the only one she’d ever heard that didn’t crackle. “Patience is a virtue hun! Switch over to my private frequency hun, we have to have a little chat. You remember don’t you?” There was a sharp click as he obviously switched over. Eilis used some blood left over on her palm, and her nail to mark a thin line on her own frequency before twisting to what she vaguely remembered being Sinclair’s private frequency, and she was right thankfully. “How you doing sugar?” He asked her.

“Surviving… currently have some random blonde little shit on my tail, trying to get him somewhere safe. Current plan is to get him to somewhere Ryan doesn’t have a grab on and off my hands, maybe the department store… then drink my weight in bourbon and pass out on Ryan’s couch” She lied, glaring at her shaking hand and licking at her bottom lip as she ignored the beginnings of hallucinations starting to creep in, avoiding a certain memory trying to creep in and take control as her tormentor, “where are you?”. “Normally people ask ‘how are you?’ Before jumpin back into askin things like that. Play the long game” Sinclair teased, but he realised Eilis wasn’t in the mood to play with him too long when she snapped “it’s been months! I was half afraid I’d find your bodies strung up somewhere… Mick is alive right?”.

“Yea, he’s fine” Sinclair confirmed.

“Can I speak to him?” Eilis blurted out, feeling extremely childish for just wanting some encouraging words from her father.

“… he’s asleep hun, I really don’t wanna wake him. Mind if we get back on track?” Sinclair sounded sympathetic but also determined to speak.

The Pavlov dog just went quiet as she glanced back to see if Jack was following. He was still at the Gatherer’s garden machine he’d found. “Listen… You need to distance yourself from Atlas completely. I know your with him cause Ryan’s blabbing to me about all his damn worries over pnuemo. Feel like my ears are being tugged off by my momma when she found magazines under my bed” he paused for a moment, realising he’d let slip that Ryan knew where he was. Yet Eilis didn’t seem to catch on, hiding his sigh of relief he leaned back in the chair he was in to check Mick was still sound asleep on the old couch he’d left him on, “I know you two had a thing for a while but he ain’t what he seems. Your old man’s even parted ways with him, and that bastard used it to make a smear campaign against him! I don’t even know half the stories but they were enough to rile up Mickey so bad he could have killed one of them metal daddies with one good swing.”. Again, Eilis didn’t say anything, she felt her nose twitch as a cold sensation filled her senses, her face scrunching up to fight off tears as she saw Frank striding down the hall in front of her, beckoning her to follow, saying something about wanting to show her off to his business associates.

“You still with me Eilis? Darlin’?” The southerner queried, snatching her attention again as she demanded to know “if you want that to happen, tell me where you are”. “I… I can’t do that right now, it ain’t safe for either of us” Sinclair admitted sheepishly, “Augustus.” Eilis’ stern voice almost made him want to sink into his chair, “when it’s safe I will tell you I promise. And when we’re safe again, I’ll get our little wannabe revolutionary to say hello. That make up for the radio silence hun?”. Eilis didn’t answer again for a minute as she heard Jack approaching, just quickly telling him “I don’t need anyone else I care about dying on me” before switching back frequencies. She watched Jack rub at his wrists with his thumb, pouting like a child that got a paper cut as he massaged the skin.

How much shit had he injected into himself?

Their journey to the bathysphere was wordless, Eilis even watching silently as Jack took down a big Daddy by himself. He just abused the damn thing, shocking it and then firing his pistol right into where its face would have been. Shock. Fire. Shock. Fire. Eventually it just dropped and went limp. The wail the child let out reminded her of one she similarly screamed when the soldiers had finally left. She could practically hear and picture herself screaming on the floor, her grandmother holding her as her brother paced, cursing like mad as he tries to figure out what to do. Then Jack did the same thing to the little sister as he’d done before, seemingly turning her back to normal. The child still struggled in the beginning, naturally not wanting whoever brutally killed her protecter to touch her, but after she seemed happily content. She even waved at Eilis as she walked by. When she raised her head from looking at the child, Jack was seemingly waiting for her to say something. Wether he wanted criticism or encouragement was unclear, so she gave him nothing and continued. Shutting off that irritating alarm in emergency access, they happily got into the bathysphere, both letting out loud sighs of relief as they sat down and the bathysphere sunk.

They felt their muscles ease from their tension that they’d kept for survival, but now Jack was experiencing what Eilis just had to live with. This odd burning under his heat that would never quiet go away, the light twitch his body did if he let his muscles relax just that bit too much and the feeling of acid lighting up his veins whenever the acknowledgement of Adam crossed his mind. What an unkindly curse.

Eilis wanted nothing more than to lie there, fighting off her overdose for just a few more hours, comfortable in the silence. Yet Jack believed they had plenty to talk about now that they were away from danger. “You thought I was going to kill a child” he reminded her as he sunk into the plush leather coushins. “And as I stated back there, I didn’t think a damn thing, I assumed. I don’t know you Jack, and you don’t know me” Eilis justified herself, kneading at her eyes, half hoping, no, praying the wobble of the bathysphere would make her puke. Then she realises to puke she’d have to have something in her stomach. The idea of eating rotten fish was already disgusting enough, but she’d take it if she had to. “Did you think I was going to kill the other one too? Gut her like some sort of.. monster?!” Jack shouted at her, yet he coward away as if he knew he’d overstepped a line and was waiting punishment when she stopped needing her eyes to look at him. She was startled by that, her anger melting away to concern and then confusion when Jack looked equally as shocked by his own reaction. “Let’s just drop it for now, hm?” She encouraged, lying down despite the discomfort and laying her arm over her face to cover her eyes. Jack sat there in the quiet for a minute before he finally bucked up the courage to ask “what’s your name?”.

“Why do you need it?” Eilis hummed, planting a foot on the ground to steady herself when the bathysphere shook over bumping the side of a whale. It groaned at them like it knew that was rude. “So I can remember you when I leave. You don’t seem to like being called the Pavlov dog anyway.” He spoke so kindly, Eilis lifting her arm momentarily to make sure she wasn’t imaging it. After a few moments of mumbling “logh dom, mhaimeo í. Fuair mé croí bog mo mháthar mar oidhreacht de réir dealraimh…” before she replying “just call my Ellie. Everyone else seems happy with that..”. Jack’s brow furrowed, “you don’t like that name either…” she physically turned herself away from him instead of responding. He let out a small sigh of defeat, sitting in the unwanted silence before admitting “I have an older sister with a similar name actually… Ellen… I was going to visit her and my cousins in England in fact before…” he trailed off as he remembered the plane crash and his head started to pound.

“Really?.. Tell me about her… your sister…” Eilis pretended to be interested, assuming he was going through a small Adam overdose due to over indulgence, knowing he’d need the distraction. “Oh. Uh, Well, she was basically like my mom. Mom and dad were always so busy with the farm so.. she, being much older than me, always looked after me… apparently she’d uh.. sit me on her hip while doing farm work or cooking.. humming to herself… then one day she moved away.. Seemingly no reason. Turns out she fell in love and moved country to marry him… I miss her…” Jack knotted his fingers together as he tried to think of any actual memories with his sister, but it just made his head hurt more, till an image flashed across his mind. He looked Eilis up and down for a minute, blinking a few times to try and be certain he was truely seeing what he was seeing. This made him realise something odd “you… look almost identical to her actually… except your all scarred”. “Do I?” Eilis chuckled, laying her arm back over her eyes after she checked to see how far they were, “isn’t that grand? Couldn’t imagine there being two of me.. I’m a bitch”. When she said that she didn’t see the face Jack pulled, hating that she called herself that, just dehumanising herself even more.

“I’m gonna meet you two by the fighting McDonagh. We still have that area under our thumb so you two can get stitched up and relax for a little while I try and get in contact with the Missus. Knock in with Peachy first, just so he knows your faces and then hop back in and head over to us, would ya kindly?” Atlas voice crackled over the radio before obviously changing channels. “Hear that? That means lukewarm pints, iodine, shitty stale crisps and beds, Jackie! I wonder if they still have running water…” Eilis was grinning, seemingly happy to get a break, enjoying her chance to use a hit of light sarcasm, but she was mainly happy at the possibly to eat, puke and shower the smell of death and Adam off her.

First though, they’d have to deal with Peachy. The prick.

She’d remembered interacting with him once or twice before and he was always a jittery nut job. He’d shouted at her about Frank listening in on his conversations once, before he had died, and demanded she stop him by any means necessary. She could still remember what he said actually, and the influence of her brain both rotting and being fixed by Adam helped her near it clearly; “you gotta get a handle on this ya bitch! Talk to Ryan! Fuck Ryan! Fuck Sullivan! Choke on Fontaine’s dick for all I care! Just get them off the workers back! We keep this whole city fed and yet you do this? Bullshit!”.

She scraped her tongue off her teeth in an attempt to get the horrible taste that left in her mouth to go away.  Jack had this look of sympathetic surprise, amazed she seemed so delighted by the idea of basic necessities, hesitantly asking “do.. do you not have those here usually?”. “Hm?” Eilis’ brow furrowed as she tried to remember what she said, sitting up slowly, spotting the light of her radio flick on out of the corner of her eye “oh, no we did. You just caught us at a bad time, love. This place used to be feckin spectacular” she admitted, tapping at her radio to show him someone was listening. Jack’s eyes fell to the radio and then to her face again, showing he understood. Eilis finished chirpily “shame you didn’t get to see it”. “How about.. Ryan? That’s his name right? What do you think of him?” Jack wondered, taking Eilis’ sudden smirk of pride at the fact he guessed who was listening. They’d have no way of knowing who it was but it was most likely Ryan since the radio in this bathysphere was mangled and probably unusable.

“He’s a kind employer, always looks out for me, makes sure I’m safe. Kindest man you’ll ever meet” Her tone was very forced, warning Jack to know she was lying through her teeth as they docked, but she made sure to add “I’m sure this is all some huge misunderstanding. Let’s get you out of here as soon as we can. Níor mhaith liom tú a chrochadh ina leagan uafásach den Louvre.”. Her companion grimaced but nodded, standing up and leaving the bathysphere hatch popped open. The Pavlov dog followed, fascinated by how he understood her but couldn’t answer apparently.

Ryan watched the two leave the bathysphere from his many screens, having listened to their conversation but being unable to see them, he had no reason to believe Eilis was lying. She was gaining the intruder’s trust while still holding her morals, just as she was supposed to. Yet, a part of him was still suspicious over her being so open with someone she hadn’t even known for 24 hours. He watched them as they paused to look upon the smuggler he’d had strung up just shy of the bathysphere. Flicking the radio on and off so the crackle alerted her to check it, he watched her encourage her soon to be victim to go on up ahead. When he refused she lied and said she was going to try and get more items out of a long broken circus of values machine, and that seemed to convince him.

She waited till he was far enough away that the door cutting off the bathysphere station shut before answering “what now?”. “Are you planning on playing within your food or are you going to kill the bastard at some point?” He asked her bluntly, seeing her glance at the camera with hatred when it whirred to look at her “I can’t exactly just shoot the fucker, can I? Besides he’s been taking plasmids and Adam. It’ll be a hell of a fight at this point” she made up an excuse, visibly grimacing when she realised how half assed it was. “You’re stalling, why? What aren’t you telling me?” Ryan kept himself calm, knowing if he shouted he’d be heard for miles. Eilis seemed to glance around for any possible earwigs before admitting “I’ve managed to get him a spot on one of those smuggler subs. Wouldn’t you rather kill two bird with one stone?”. Ryan paused, watching her expression to see if she was lying, but she’d gone deadpan again.

“I suppose…” he mused, letting a sigh, craving a cigar. “Check in with me before you enter whatever hideout they’re crawling in and I will supply support” with a sharp tone the radio turned off and Eilis was alone again. Of course she wasn’t going to tell him when she found it, but now she’d shot herself in the foot thanks to Adam loosening her resolve. She’d need to come up with some plan. Maybe she could get Jack to give him his sweater and she could just find some mangled blond fella’s corpse, hope that was enough for Ryan. She didn’t know. Hopping over debris, she had to go towards Fontaine fisheries to actually find Jack. She’d hoped he’d wait in the lower warf, but apparently he’d gotten impatient. She found him routing through what looked like a present box, surrounded by burned corpses. The echoes of that memory she’d been fighting of shouted at her, bouncing off the walls like some deranged bat in a room too small and bright.

Jack kept shaking his dominant hand every so often, like it was still on fire. She frowned. Poor thing.

He injected himself with something else despite her encouragement not to, flexing his hand before just simply standing up and smiling at her, tossing her a box of pistol rounds. “I don’t have my pistol on me, love” she explained, throwing them back, “oh..” Jack squinted as he tried to read “you’re right. Swore this said shotgun ammo..” with a little shrug he shoved it in his pocket. “We should leave the fisheries for later. You need rest, you’re going over your limit” Eilis insisted but Jack tried to ignore her, going to walk away before he stumbled and had to catch himself off a railing. She snatched his radio off him and spoke into it, making sure her radio was turned off “Atlas. Pet, we’re heading to the fighting McDonagh early, Jack’s about to overdose. Mind warning your boys we’re on our way?”.

“Why the hell are you dragging him off course?” She heard his familiar Irish brogue demand, causing her to roll her eyes as she realised he wasn’t listening to her “he’s going. To. Overdose. If Peachy is really on your side, he can be patient for five feckin seconds. Besides Ryan’s getting antsy and we need to let him calm down or we’ll be stalked by drones and splicers. You don’t want your wife and child to be attacked, do you?”. She could practically feel his anger through the radio despite him not saying anything. “Where are they anyway?” Eilis hummed calmly, keeping an eye on Jack as he looked more and more out of it. Atlas was quiet for a long moment, wether he was checking something or thinking up a lie, she didn’t know. When he finally answered, he sounded genuinely relieved “looks like they’re in a bathysphere on the way to the fisheries… I’ll get them to change course to Fontaine’s department for an hour or so and then have them head over for so we can dock a sub and head off.. Ye’re clear to head over to the fighting McDonagh. Head towards the upper wharf and you know the way from their, looks mostly clear so you should be fine..”.

“I can’t carry him myself surprisingly.” Eilis shrugged as she let her eyes follow a soldier crawling around the roof, seemingly investigating her and her less than sober companion. “Talk to Peachy and I’ll send Lonnie down to help you. Deal?” Atlas offered. Tapping her nails off the radio she let out a little huff of defeat and hissed “fine.”  Through gritted teeth, even obeying his request that she ‘take him with her’ hooking the older bulkier radio onto the other side of her belt. She calmly walked down the slippery steps, shooting the soldier that had been stalking her with an electro buck, which promptly sent the poor bastard into a nearby pool of water. She hissed from the idea of the pain, nasty way to go.

“D’ya remember Johnny O’Toole? Ah ya do! See, the poor pet’s after having an accident… He has! Got caught in one of those factory machines. Nasty way to go, his mother must be devastated!” Her granny’s voice rang out in her head, disorientating her. Who was Johnny O’Toole? Who was his mother? Did she know them? She had no fucking idea but it was not the time to be thinking about it.

After hauling her ass over a pile of boxes and snorting a laugh at the fact peachy hadn’t managed to get the turret he had off Ryan’s system, noticing it flicked green at the sight of her, she knocked on his big stupid betas door. Nothing. Wasn’t hard enough. Sucking on her teeth, she banged the end of her shotgun into it, unintentionally grimacing at the sight of Peach Wilkins gnarled face staring at her through the slit. “Well, well, well!” He wolf whistled at her “if it ain’t Fontaine’s old whore and Ryan’s Irish footstool. What’s the soviet doggy doing round these parts?”. “I’m with Atlas helping him get the survivor through. He isn’t looking to well though” Peach cocked a bushy eyebrow in curiosity, “so we’re putting him up in the fighting McDonagh few a few hours, see if he pulls his boots up. I’ve been asked to make sure you aren’t scatter brained and back out of letting us slip through”. “And what is in it for me? Hm?! How do I know you ain’t lying? How do I knows your ain’t with Ryan? That this is all some big set up!” He practically spat at her, and she’d never been so thankful the small slit only showed his eyes. “And how am I supposed to prove that to you?“ she rubbed at her temple as she asked him, extremely tempted to shoot him to both get him out of the way and drown out those growing whispers.

Peachy seemed to think for a minute before proposing “A trade. You do something for me, I do this for you”. “And what would I be trading?” She asked, before his eyes even dared to trail, implying she was just some common whore, she hit the door with her shotgun again to make him look back at her face. She knew the girls at Eve’s, and she remembered some of them musing about how out of all the sleeve bags in rapture, they’d rather sleep with Stanley Poole than the walking ball of fish shit wreaking misogyny that was Peach Wilkins. “Pictures. Get me three pictures of them spider splicers and then we’ll talk.” He demanded, the sound of cogs churning with much effort catching the Pavlov dog’s attention as a camera appeared. It was one of those fancy ones that printed photos immediately. Eilis remembered always wanting one when they lived on the surface, but never being able to save up enough to spare for one. She happily snatched it, not even staying to listen to whatever Peach was now rambling about as she made her way back to Jack.

He was out of it, half asleep and being supported by Lonnie. He just stood there for a minute before gesturing at her face. She lightly touched under her nose, only to feel it had just been pumping out adam. It was probably all over her lips and dribbling off her chin, no wonder Peach was acting slightly more batshit than usual. She wiped most of it away with her hand, smearing it across the skin and a little on her face as she just gestured with her head for Lonnie to start walking. The hulking figure of a man just seemed to happily walk by, not one splicer bothered them. They were in the pub before they knew it. Atlas greeted them, letting out a low whistle as he patted Eilis’s shoulder, “good catch love…. They sure did a number on him. Might have pushed him a little over board, eh?”. She shrugged his hand off, catching another drop of Adam and blood trying to escape her nose before it dripped down her face. “Do you have any food?” She asked quietly. “All out I’m afraid, though the boys have gone out to try and find some frozen fish. For now, would a pint fill ya?” He offered her, but she just shook her head. “Right.. we’ll let’s get you two settled. You’re lucky, we actually have two rooms free at the moment! Unless ye want to be shar-“ atlas began to imply, resisting a grin when Eilis insisted “Separate.  Poor boy doesn’t need me badgering him with my night terrors”.

After ordering Lonnie to take his ace in the hole up to one of the free rooms, he watched as Eilis snatched a dirty rag off the bar counter and followed them. What ever room Jack went into, she just went into the one next door that opened and had no signs of someone currently inhabiting it. After the door shut she went over to the sink and started to clean her face with some water, hissing at the pain. The Adam had dried out the skin in her nose and caused it to tear, leading to an agonising Adam leak/nose bleed combo. Gripping the side of the sink hard enough she swore she’d crack it, she tried to will herself to drink some water. But when a little roach fell out of the cold tap along with the water. Her spine creaked as she straightened it, staring at her tired expression in the mirror.

That memory that had been fighting for control over her sense of time decided to come out in a hallucination. She ignored it but the images and sounds just surrounded her, like she was drowning in it. Unhooking her bra under her shirt and slipping it off through one of her sleeves, she ignored a vision of a younger version of Ryan swanning in with a less exhausted looking Sullivan striding in, dragging a man behind him.

“Sir? Who is that?” Her voice was so Ryanised it stung her ears. So polite, so obedient, so desperate not to be cast out into the world alone again when she had nothing else.

She tossed her bra on a chair along with her shotgun, pressing the ball of the palm to her head as she paced.

“This man broke into our fair city with the intention to plunder and drag me back to answer to the FBI.” Ryan explained while Sullivan tied the poor bastard to a chair.

She watched the memory for a moment, just wanting to see Sully’s little mannerisms, the sad little looks he’d give her to show he really didn’t want it do this. He wasn’t as tired though. Poor thing.

“Kill him.” Ryan’s demand echoed around her. “Sir, I don’t think this is apart of my job” Eilis insisted despite her not opening her mouth. Her hallucination of Ryan patted his shoulder as he whispered in her ear “You are my bodyguard, it is your job to protect me. Doing this will do so indefinitely. It’s not like you haven’t killed anyone before, isn’t that right Sullivan?”. Sullivan avoided her eye, she must have been staring at him, feeling betrayed, that sort of thing.

Undoing the top few buttons of her shirt, she massaged at her aching shoulders, mumbling “god I hate this one…” knowing exactly where this was going.

As she unlaced her boots, she glanced up to see the unknown man in front of her.

He looked at her with such pity. Like she was some scared little girl who’d walked up to him on the street, asking if he could help her find her mother. It would have been belittling if she were the woman she is now, she probably would have shot him outright. But no, she wasn’t that type of woman then, she wasn’t even twenty five yet when this happened. “Andrei I don’t want to do this” she begged. He scoffed and trailed away, walking through a wall as this room was far too small to Fontaine the full scopes of this hallucination. He came back holding a syringe.

Eilis subconsciously crossed her arms, sitting on the crappy little bed and scooting back till she hit the wall.

“What is that?” Her own voice echoed around her as she felt her chest fill with panic. She could still smell the rancid chemical hellhole coming off that damn syringe. “This is the future of our city. It will help you with your worries, take it” he encouraged her, and she trusted him. Like the foolish girl she was she trusted him. Her head started to pound as the hallucinations hit blurry and all that haunted her were bestial noises and screaming that she couldn’t even discern the origins of. Then it all became clear again, Sullivan was holding her up, what was tied to that chair didn’t look like a man anymore, and she just kept screaming.

It was strange not being able to shut herself up. She just sat there in silence as she screamed at herself, waiting for the moment to pass, ignoring the stinging angry tears that were pouring down her cheeks.

“Oh stop crying” the younger version of Ryan spat at her, “You think he would have shown you the same hesitation? This Gaelic mercy of yours?”. She swatted at the hallucination, cursing aloud when her hand just went through.

She couldn’t contain the emotion anymore. She just kicked and punched and swatted at the hallucinations till they went away, and she was alone. This lead her to the mirror by the sink, where she’d hoped to splash water on her face to calm herself down. When she raised her head again, Ryan standing behind her and scoffing. 

“You’re brother died for you, and this is how you repay him… in mediocrity”.

The sound of glass crashing from her room is what finally got Atlas to see what the hell she was doing. He found her there with her hand cut open, having gotten up and punched the mirror. “That was a little unnecessary” he remarked, approaching her cautiously. She seemed to stare at him like she wasn’t sure he was really there, but visibly relaxed when she felt his skin touch hers as he took her hand to check the damage. He plucked the shards of mirror out of her skin, and after that he pulled open the now destroyed mirror door that hid the little cabinet behind it, wrapping her hand tightly still it almost looked like she was wearing a fingerless glove. He caressed her cheek, brushing away the tears and whatever was leaking out of her nose, cleaning it away with the rag she’d abandoned on the sink.

“Boyo is out cold still” he informed her, smiling softly as she leaned into his touch “I’m worried about you. You alright, darlin?” He asked, she nodded slightly pulling away while she brushed her hair back with her fingers, “yea.. just the tail end of an Adam overdose… I’ll be fine, I just need to eat something so I can get sick and move on…”. “Well, no fish yet, sadly. I’ll make sure you’re first on the line to be fed alright?” He promised her, getting a genuine smile from her as she teased him “aren’t you just the spit of St. John ?… your wife must be delighted to have you back”.

“Ah.. that..” Atlas tutted, ready to pull out his acting skills again, sitting on the edge of the bed “we’re leaving.. moment we get Jack in the sub, we’re clambering with him and getting out of here.. I want to see the sky again!” He proclaimed, before looking a little sad, then meeting Eilis’ eyes, she slowly joined him on the bed, listening intently. “I’m doing it for Patrick, really. Poor boy’s too young to take ‘your mommy and I don’t love eachother anymore’ in any other way than bloody badly. Maybe we’ll fix it.. I ain’t sure” he could see the cogs turning in her brain as she resisted a look of sympathy.

She was annoyed at him but knew better than to show it, she could deal with that emotion later. Shame he knew her so well. “Hope you enjoy it. I’ll tell Ryan I found your head in a crate, he doesn’t know what you look like… I could lie” She joked, Atlas chuckling, laying a hand over hers. She seems to jerk away at first and then relax, letting her hand slide back down. “You’ve done far too much for me, even after our little disagreement, you still kept our secrets secret, you didn’t even let a syllable slip. You spared people you know were helping our cause… hell you even encouraged your old to keep fighting! I don’t know how I can thank you for that” He decided to be bold and actually gave her hand a squeeze. Eilis glanced around before stating “you could stay here with me for a little… just chatting… it’s easier to fight off the memories when I can talk to someone”.

“Strange request, but thats grand” Atlas actually laughed, Eilis tilted her head, wondering what he found funny. “It’s not like I asked you to dance. Nothing wrong with a chat between friends, is there? I get to cling to my crumbling sanity with the lovely rapturian revolutionary and you get my promise I won’t tell your wife you’re a cheating bastard before I chop your dick off” she pinched his cheek as she spoke. “My Moria would kill both of us if she found out” Atlas warned her, Eilis glanced away from him to look out the tiny porthole window as she admitted “I’d let her. You made me the other woman. I deserve it for being apart of your bullshit and you deserve it for being a cheating prick”.

Atlas smirked at her, it wasn’t one she recognised, it looked almost wrong on his features. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles as he whispered “I’ll miss you, ya know… miss what we had going. Thought we could play that game forever. Life is rarely so kind, is it me darlin?”. Eilis oddly enjoyed the sensation, the odd warm feeling in her chest, the difference of their hands. Her hands weren’t exactly tiny or spotless but compared to his currently, they were like a tiny sample of fine silk rubbing against sandpaper. She was so focused on their hands and the stimulation from it, she didn’t even notice Atlas obviously waiting for her to lift her head up again.

The Adam had stained little streaks of pink into her lips that she seemed to subconsciously try and lick off, just making him want to kiss her even more than he originally did. “will ya miss me?” He suddenly asked, Eilis still not raising her head, not even to reply. “I’ll miss your mouth more than you” she admitted casually, the man playfully smacked her leg “Oi! Ain’t like I can say the bloody same”. Snorting a laugh, she shot back “why should I learn something you can get from someone who will happily make you pay them to do it? I don’t want to put them out of work in such trying times. Besides, love, you’re filthy.”.

Atlas sniffed at himself before insisting “just the clothes. I ain’t that bad”. “Oh dear, I guess you’ll have to take them off to prove that“ Eilis joked, wondering if he’d take the bait. He did, musing “you suggested it, not me”. “You are so easily persuaded when you think with the head between your legs, ya know that?” She teased him again, resisting how her heart fluttered when she moved his hand from her thigh up her to neck, sliding up to cup her jaw.

*

“Aren’t you stressed?” He wondered, his voice becoming husky. “I’m always stressed” She admitted, keeping her hands in their original position, wondering how he’d convince her this time. “Thought I was a good form of stress relief… don’t you want to feel human for a few minutes? This is your last chance till your next lover boy comes along” He was hoping to hit her in every person’s fear of being alone, but she just smiled at him sadly, finally moving her hand to his stubbly cheek, saying “I think you’ll be my last lover boy. And I don’t even love you, isn’t that sad?”. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but that stung a bit. He justified it in her mind as her not knowing who he truly was, but still, it angered him.

He kissed her without warning, she lazily returned his biting kiss, draping an arm around his shoulder and tangling her fingers in his hair. He could feel her nails scraping off his scalp, she’d definitely filed them off something, he swore if she’d tightened her grip she’d actually sink them into his scalp, but she was being so gentle like she were aware of the danger. Atlas, however, wasn’t in the mood to be gentle. Without warning he got a hand under her thigh, just shy of the soft part of the back of her knee and used it to tilt her back so she’d lie on the bed. After the shock subsided that the damn thing didn’t break, she half glared at Atlas, who was already on top of her, realising this wasn’t going to go past a little make out or a quick session. “There are other people here you know, mate” she kept her voice low, hating when he laughed at her “aw, is Ryan’s guard dog worried people will know she’s a whore?”.

“Think. You mean think. Don’t you?” Eilis cocked a brow, bending her free leg so it kept him a certain distance off her, “forgive me for not wanting to be heard screwing a man who’s about to leave here with his wife and child. Who, apparently, he isn’t separated from as I was told earlier”. “Never bothered you before” He shrugged, leaning down to kiss her again but she stopped him with her hand, whispering “it did, or does ‘I don’t want to be the other woman’ not translate in your tiny fucking fisherman brain?”. They stayed like that for a minute before he sat back on his knees and rubbed at his face, giving in “fine. I’ll keep my voice down. Happy?”.

She just smiled at him and put down her knee. Atlas pushed her legs open wider, her free leg fall off the bed, yet she planted it to stop them from falling. Pressing his knee against her as he warned “you’ll just have to worry about keeping yourself quiet, won’t you?” Before gripping the back of her neck and pulling her back into a kiss. She gave his hair a sharp tug as a warning but didn’t pull away from the kiss, chocking back a moan as he started to rub his knee against her. After that she somehow managed to stay quiet, only breathing as hushed as she could with little hitches every so often.

Sick of not being in control, she manage to pull away, the two staring at eachother’s kiss bruised lips before she went for his neck, only kissing it or taking the tendons with her tongue as she didn’t want his poor wife to see him covered in bruises, though she was fully aware he wouldn’t return the curtesy. He never returned the courtesy, maybe that’s why she liked him. Reminded her of Frank. Atlas, being the impatient man feigning the patience of a kind father, was getting bored. This was all going far to slow for the man’s taste, so he decided to speed it up. Letting out low throaty groans in response to her tracing his throat like a treasure map, he quickly unbuckled her belt. She went to grab his wrist, not ready to give up control yet, but he just pulled her hand along with him.

Laying her head back down, she tried to figure out what he was doing, only to feel him circling that bundle of nerves with his thumb. He clasped his hand over her mouth before she could make a sound, mocking “you said you wanted to be quiet, didn’t you? So be quiet”. Her brow furrowed as she stared up at him, only for her eyes to roll back as he slid a finger inside while keeping light pressure on her clit. Her nails dug into the skin on his wrist, legs twisting at the new sensation as she tries to pull his hand off her mouth. He used his weight against her, pushing another finger in and revealing in the vibrations off his hand at Eilis failed attempts at holding in her moans. She even started to buck against his hand, basically fucking herself with his fingers.

“What would Fontaine think of you know?”, Eilis didn’t even hear the question since she was desperately chasing the quickly building high, it was so close she wouldn’t tell if her vision was going from the incoming climax or how hard it was to breath. Just to be cruel, Atlas pulled his hand away, almost being able to feel the words she was cursing at him despite the fact they were unintelligible. “It’s no fun if it’s one sided, now is it love?” He took his hand off her mouth and stretched lightly, looking her directly in the eye as he licked his fingers clean.

Eilis cheeks were flushed, more than they would have usually been thanks to the fact she was both furious at the man and desperate for him. As he inspected the bleeding little indents her nails had left on his wrist, he calmly ordered “roll over. The pillow will muffle you well enough”.

“Make me. Or say please” Eilis flexed her hands to help with the stiffening muscles from gripping her lover’s wrist so tightly. Atlas snorted a laugh, he flipped her over with ease, knowing very well that she let him. Dragging her hips up and to his own, he slid her pants down to her knees in one fluid movement. As he undid his zipper and went to take his cock out, he demanded “take off that bloody shirt or I’m ripping it off”.

“You are so feckin impatient..” Eilis sighed, straightening her spine so she could do so, ignoring the feeling of him pressing against the curve off her ass. She actually paused for a minute as her mind processed that, before she finally slid her shirt off and tossed it to the floor. Atlas’ hands were on her immediately, kneading at her already tender flesh, ghosting over her breasts as he kissed just behind her ear. A whine managed to escape her throat, and she hated it. Grinding against her, he mumbled something against her hair she couldn’t quite make out. Her breath was caught in her throat so she couldn’t even tease him for mumbling.

“Fuck… I love it when you whine like that… Just tells me your absolutely begging for it, aren’t you doll?” Eilis’ entire body tensed up when she heard that, she glanced back at Atlas, who was absorbed with a sudden fascination with the defined muscles of her back. He didn’t say that, did he? It sounded just like Frank. She kneaded at her eyes for a minute, reminding herself to cling to what little sanity she had left and just enjoy the damn moment. Sliding his hands off her, he let her get herself back into position, arms crossed, forehead resting on them while she buried her face in the crappy lumpy excuse of a pillow. He supported her hips, knowing he could get away with letting that damn Irish brogue slip just enough since she was still high off her ass on Adam.

He smoothed a hand down her back, watching the muscles twitch and shift as Eilis adjusted her arms, protruding her shoulder blades as she tried to get herself comfortable. Her hair was starting to come undone, the ribbon she’d used to keep it all together had been worn away by the environment she’d been forced to survive in the last few hours. As it unraveled before his eyes he saw haw wavy her hair had become, she even had a few little ringlets that bounced to life when they were freed. Tanging his hand in her hair, just under where the braid began, he pushed her head down a bit, causing her to bow towards the bed as she tried to angle herself to look at him. This almost ruined her determination to be relatively silent as he pushed in, being able to go straight to the hilt with no pain on her side thanks to his earlier teasing. She still cursed, turning to bury her face in the pillow again.

He started at a slow enough pace, knowing she was definitely touch starved and overstimulated. These facts were proven by his she’d push back to meet his slow thrusts in an attempt to get more friction. She must have had a chunk of pillow in her mouth because she didn’t make a single noise, not even a gasp. Every so often there was the sound of her huffing air out of nose like a race horse, but nothing else except that. Being the prick he was, the moment he found that spot he knew made her see stars, paused against it, leaning down to whisper in her ear “how am I supposed to know you’re enjoying it if I can’t hear ya darlin?” Letting out a small chuckle as he went back to his true bronx tone “maybe I’ll just keep going till your knees give out… and maybe even after that. Whaddya think? Go on, speak up”. When he didn’t get an answer bar her breathing starting to quiver, he picked up the pace, amused by the fact Eilis had shakily stuck her hand out and braced it against the wall to stop the bed from hitting it and making noise.

Just when Atlas thought maybe she’d won this fight, just as she wanted, there was a knock on the door. Naturally it didn’t open since he’d locked or, but a voice came from it, calling out to him. It was Lonnie. “What do ya want, mate?” Atlas asked calmly, like he wasn’t currently having sex. “Just wanted to update the boys on when our guests will be leaving” Lonnie answered in his usual emotionless tone.

Untangling his fingers from Eilis’ hair, he slid it around to her front, lightly tracing her skin all the way up until he was inbetween her breasts. The light touch made her body involuntarily shiver. Pressing his hand against her chest, he lifted and thrusted at the same time, making her gasp in surprise, releasing the chunk of pillow she’d been chewing on so desperately. He nuzzled his chin into her shoulder as he replied to Lonnie “last time I checked on the boy, he was still passed out. Any update on the food yet? They’re starving” starting to thrust upwards as he held Eilis against him. She quickly put a hand over her own mouth, clinging to it and scraping her cheek with her nails. “No sign yet. I’ll go check. What about the Pavlov dog?” Atlas’ number two asked. The false revolutionary hummed like he was thinking, still keeping her pressed against him with one hand. He moved the hand he’d hand planted on her hip and slowly let it trail down. She tried to stop him, knowing he was just trying get them caught, but he was persistent.

In time with his thrusts, he stroked at that amazing little bundle of nerves. Her head fell back as her eyes rolled up to the sky, barely keeping enough sense to grip her own face tighter, enough that she cut her cheek off her nail but she was too in the moment to care to notice. “Poor thing has a fever. I’ll stay with her till she wakes just in case. Don’t need Ryan on our asses cause his pet died of natural causes” He resisted a cruel laugh when she bucked against him as he’d stopped momentarily, whispering “who’s impatient now?” Before ordering Lonnie “Now, off with ya! You woke the girl with your fuckin nattering.” As he waited for the sound of the larger man’s footstep’s to fade, he soon realised Eilis was continuing where he left off, basically riding him, arching her back as she finally finished. She lay there on him, chest heaving, eyes squeezed shut as her hand finally fell from her face, not being afraid to just pant as she tries to catch her breath.

“You think you’re done, love?“ she heard Atlas question her, she turned her head to look at him the best she could from his shoulder. Her brow furrowed, her voice being interrupted by her heavy breathing as she told him to “go.. jack off… in… the bathroom… I’m tired”. He cocked an eyebrow at her and just waited in the silence. Rolling her eyes, she swatted his ‘supporting’ hand away and buried her face in the pillow again as she let him finish. This time though she was too tired to fully try and silence herself. The pillow muffled most of it but the little soft moans that would escape whenever she lifted her head slightly to get a breath just spurred her on more. When she tried to put her hand out to brace off the wall again, he quickly interlocked her fingers and pinned it to the bed.

Eilis didn’t even seem to be in the room anyway, she squeezed Atlas’ fingers tight enough to squeeze all the blood out of them, twisting her head to the side to take a deep breath. He knew for certain she definetky had zoned out when she practically mewled “Frank!” Yet, lucky for him that was exactly what he wanted to hear. After the burst of energy that gave him that hit him straight in the knot winding up in his gut, it finally snapped. He let out a shaky groan as he pressed against her while he finished, resisting the anger at the disrespectful little smirk she had when she felt him shudder slightly. He pulled out slowly, finding he was struggling to catch his own breath as Eilis rolled over.

She couldn’t help but caress his face, knowing it was just the Adam messing with her perception as she felt stubble under her fingertips, but all she could see was Frank, grinning down at her and asking if she enjoyed herself. She opened her arms to him, which Atlas happily took as an offer to just lie on her chest. As soon as he key down, she couldn’t help but nuzzle his hair and grace the sharp edges of his shoulders. He pulled the blanket over them and quickly fell asleep on top of her.

*

Apart from the weight of having another human asleep on top of her, Eilis’ back was crying out in joy for getting to lie on something more stable than a couch or armchair. That was if Ryan let her sleep, she actually couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept more than an hour. She felt her eyes getting heavy, her nose wrinkling as she suppressed a yawn. Before she finally succumbed to sleep, her mind began to go over their conversation before all of this. He’d mentioned that she was the one that convinced Mick to keep fighting, but Sinclair said they’d parted ways and Atlas had pissed him off in some strange way. She could only hope she’d remember that strange occurrence when she woke up.

When she did wake up, Eilis woke up alone, about four hours later, to knocking. Repeated, irritatingly slow, knocking. She groggily sat up, ignoring it out of spite as she got dressed, picking up a large shard of mirror to make sure she didn’t look too feral. Her neck was surpassingly sparse of hickeys so that was nice, she hoped Jack’s innocence lead him to believe it was just from her fighting splicer’s earlier. She practically tied her laces up into knots, being too lazy to do it properly, quickly getting to up to grab her shotgun remembering the camera Peach had given her and what he wanted after she accidentally kicked it. She picked it up, only to find it was warm, like it had been used. She didn’t remember taking a photo, she glanced around the floor to see if maybe Atlas had accidentally taken one by stepping on it as he left. But there was nothing.

The knocking on the door turned to shouting, “Ma’am! We have to go!”. Unlocking the door for Jack to almost stumble through, she tossed the camera at him, which he promptly caught. “I said call me Ellie. Where’s our friend gone?” She didn’t even make eye contact with the man while she adjusted the strap on her shotgun. “I don’t think I will ma’am… Atlas left… his wife’s sub docked and he wanted to go greet them” he noticed Eilis pause at that for a minute before continuing what she was doing. She looked like she’d been in some sort of scuffle and had tried to fix herself the best she could. Her hair was now down and kept getting in her face, she’d blow at it in an attempt to get it to stay but it continued to hang down, obstructing her view. 

“Peachy won’t let us in without three photos of those lads who like to climb around the ceilings. He’s about as sane as a monkey on opium but the man is a pain in my ass for remembering deals” Eilis explained, wondering how long it would take to find three those poor bastards, let alone one of them. You usually just stumbled across them and they were a nightmare to deal with. Besides she was still suffering the affects of her Adam overdose, though Jack looked back to the picture of health. “I heard one of Atlas’ allies mention there were a few of them in the pnuemo office next door” Jack mentioned quietly, unable to resist a smile when Eilis said chirpily “you are an angel Jackie” while she walked past. He happily followed her, checking he had his pistol and wrench as well as the camera he was holding.

He expected them to sneak around and take pictures, but Eilis just used up the last of her electro bolts to knock them off the roof. The impact rendered them unconscious, so he simply instructed him to take photos of them while she reloaded her shotgun with proper ammo that she found in a nearby desk. He did as he was told, of course, but still didn’t appreciate the mixed messages of her being happy to have him there but desperate to get rid of him. As they walked back they came across several big daddy corpses, absolutely mangled, no little sister in sight and this strange green slime on their helmets Eilis recognised but could they quiet place why. Naturally she went to make a comment to Jack because of how horrifyingly disgusting it was, but he avoided her eyes.

“did you do that? Be honest with me Jack” her tone actually terrified him, it was so stern and emotionless. “The girls needed to be saved.. they’re fine.. you can ask Tenenbaum, she talks to me sometimes” He defended himself, sighing relief when Eilis changed the subject to “how did you get your radio? It was in my room”. “Atlas gave it to me before he left… I walked with him and did this on the way. He tried to get me to come with him but that guy at the door wouldn’t allow it… besides I didn’t want to leave you” He cracked his knuckles to distract himself as he spoke, waiting to be snapped at again. But she didn’t say anything, she just kept walking. They got to back to Peachy rather quickly, the splicers seemingly cautious of Jack.

Before she knocked on the door she asked “did Ryan speak to you?”.

“Not a word” Jack admitted honestly, he hadn’t heard anything from the man himself, just ramblings on those little audio diaries he kept finding.

He banged on the door to the fisheries with his wrench, and they were quickly met by peaches’ grizzled brow again. “You got what I was asking for? Or you just lookin for compliments?” He sneered at them, until Eilis shook the three photos in his face, slipping them through the slot when his fingers started to try and slip through to grab it.

He disappeared from view, and when the door opened he wasn’t there. The two entered cautiously, both jumping in surprise when he shouted at them “Nobody walks into my swampy carrying the heat! Put your weapons  in the pneumo, and then I’ll let you in.”. Jack watched as Eilis cursed under her breath, slipping off her shotgun and tossing it in the section of the pneumo for larger parcels, holding it open for Jack. He put everything he had in there, sighing slightly as she pushed it shut with his foot. Eilis offered him a cigarette, which he tried to politely refuse, but she insisted “you’ll need it and it’s better than a needle”.

He grimaced in a way that remained her of how she used to react to the idea of smoking. That manage to crack a soft smile as she lit it for him before lifting her own, the too walking side by side down the winding hall. Atlas voice crackled over the radio “there you two are! Was wondering when you’d show. Paddy and Moria are grand, the bloody sub door is a bit rust but nothing I can’t manage. Be careful of old Peachy though, he’s about as straight as a dogs hind leg” He explained, not hearing Eilis laugh slightly as he was using that phrase incorrectly, “he may have taken your weapons, but he can’t well take your wits and your plasmids, can he? Stay safe”. As they entered the freezer, Jack rolling down his sleeves from the cold, they heard Pech scream something at them before the lights went off.

They instinctively went back to back, Jack having dropped his cigarette whi the Eilis srill had a good enough grip on hers, blowing the glowing blue smoke out of her nose as she tried to spot someone in the dark. She did and quickly lit the prick on fire, the bastard fired back, hitting her hand with an ice plasmid. It just turned it into this heafty ball. The good thing was, that was her injured hand anyway, and the poor fucker just gave her a weapon. The moment Jack felt her abandon him, he began to fight physically. He tackled people, shocking them unconscious and stealing their pistols, shooting at anything at he didn’t have a slight glow around the face, assuming that was Eilis.

When he ran out of pistols to use, he went back to his wrench, realising he hadn’t given it up. All it took was one swing and he’d blacked out. When he came too there was bodies everywhere, the one at his feet he couldn’t even tell was human anymore. Their head was just mush. Resisting a gag, he slipped it back into the gap between his belt and his pants and went to look for Eilis. She had lit herself another cigarette, her hands shaking severely from the cold, covered in blood all over her knuckles.

Without judgement he offered her a hand as the lights flickered back on. That little baby face of his just looked so angelic in that moment, like she could do no wrong. She took the hand and he helped her stand, quietly musing “let’s just… not talk about that. Alright?”. She nodded, giving him that soft smile again, a very maternal smile that reminded him of his mother, or at least his memory of her.

What did she look again?…

His train of thought was again stolen by Eilis giving him back his weapons, along with something else. It was hefty and obviously made out of scraps. “That is a rocket launcher. Atlas’ boys made them ages ago, I haven’t seen them since the start of all this when they attacked populated areas… don’t drop it, I really don’t want to try and sew your hand back together” She patted his arm to scare him before continuing to walk down the stairs. Jack swallowed nervously, giving the thing a shake to make sure it was stable, naively hoping it wouldn’t explode, before using the weak looking hook on it to hook it to the strap of his Tommy gun that he had no ammo for, letting it rest on his back long side it. He followed Eilis quickly, desperate not to be left behind.

Chapter Text

Cautiously finding their way through this absolute maze, they eventually found the entrance to the smuggler’s hideout inside a freezer, behind a wall of ice. Jack kept forcing them to stop whenever Eilis started to stumble when the adam overdose started to take hold again, but she’d swat his supportive hands away, mumble something he’d never quiet catch and they’d continue. “You two made it through? Good lads! I’m making my way back to the missus, you two just get through and meet us by the sub. It’s fairly straight forward, just keep walking and you’ll find it. We have some rations left in the sub so you two can get that shite out of your system. Careful though, Me Moria has a weak stomach herself” Atlas chuckled, his message echoing off the walls. There was no one here, which Jack thought normal since it had been blocked off. Eilis found it strange though, she’d never been here but she remembered Frank always describing it as crowded, and Atlas described it as it being filled with his allies rushing to and fro.

Yet, it was empty. Their only company was the crabs that scuttled away whenever they stepped into the flooded sections, along with the smell of rotting fish, a dead cat and boxes of smuggled in material. Out of curiosity, Eilis kicked one over, the contents spilling out to reveal bibles. Picking one up, she chuckle, just imagining the temper tantrum Ryan would have if he saw these. There was even rosary beads. One looked very similar to pair Eilis remembered her grandmother wearing. Gently scooping it up off the floor to admire, she heard Jack ask “what are these?”. “Rosary beads, love. Like a prayer cheat sheet… I think.. never learnt how to use one properly” she explained lazily, tossing the bible back but folding the rosary beads up to keep in her pocket, thinking her brother might like them. “And the book?” He wondered.

Eilis glanced at him with a confused brow, “you’ve never seen a bible?” She was absolutely astonished when he genuinely replied “no, what’s it about?”. She looked like a deer in headlights at the moment. She knew not everyone in the world was Christian but most people had heard about the bible, especially if they were American. Maybe he’d somehow been able to avoid learning about it? Sounded like a pain in the ass but it also didn’t seem possible. “Where are you from mate?..” She queried, Jack confidently replying “oh, New York! Born and raised”. He couldn’t have possibly avoided it for that long. She just let out a strange hum and slipped past him, continuing to the sub.

At the sound of their footsteps, Atlas disappeared behind a nearby door, hitting the airlock so it sealed before they could even see him. Everything was falling perfectly into place. Play the devastated husband, let them give it a tug even though the damn thing had been welded shut from the inside, as he’d requested, and hopefully not kill the poor bastards. There was some poor fucker stuck in there with all the explosives and a child’s corpse, but he’d shut up long ago so it wasn’t Atlas’ concern anymore. He pretended to be both surprised and delighted at the sound of them calling out to him. “Jesus, you two showed up quick! I can’t get into the sub by! You should have passed a switch on your way down here! Mind flicking that for me and letting me in?” he begged. Eilis gave Jack a cautious look, tilting her head to encouraging him to go back. Oddly enough he gave her his wrench, not explaining way, before running back.

Eilis tried to open the sub, hoping to meet the woman so she could either apologise or just feel the guilt she knew she deserved to feel, but it wouldn’t budge. Oddly enough the glass was frosted over so she couldn’t see a thing. Having heard her struggling, Atlas commented “They haven’t said a word since they docked, I’m gettin worried”. “I’ll keep trying!” She shouted back, giving Jack a thumbs up to hit the switch when she saw him through the window above. As soon as the switch was hit, everything went dark. Eilis activated her plasmid, lighting her hand on fire so they could see, pulling Atlas over by his wrist. He pulled his radio off his waist so he could talk to Jack, shouting “You blow a fuse up there? Can’t see a damn thing in that booth!” They didn’t get a reply, he resisted the urge to curse, knowing his fake accent would slip, reassuring the brat “Give me a tick, and I’ll get you out of there”.

Now that Jack was out of the way for a bit, he just had to get Eilis back in check. He could see the suspicious looks she was giving him, especially since there was no noise coming from the sub. He started to try and tug it open, shouting “Moira! Can you hear me in me there, darling?” Of course he got nothing in reply. Eilis wandered away to try and find something to set alight so they could see better. The two grimaced from the pain of a sudden loud siren blaring, looking around in a panic as they tried to figure out what was happening, a light or two flickering on and off, giving them momentary glimpses of the room. Jack was still in darkness.

“So dark in here… if only your friend could look up and see you.. maybe you could warn him… warn both of them… if only you could do something… anything… except just stand here… and watch them die…” Ryan’s voice mocked him over the radio, Jack hated every moment of it. No matter how hard he pounded, they couldn’t hear him. As he screamed at them while terrifying things he couldn’t even call human crawled down from the ceiling like horrifying spiders, they didn’t even flinch.

Ryan watched all of this of course, flicking from camera to camera so he could  get a better view of his intruder’s horror, his current greatest enemies hopeful demise and finally Eilis’ punishment. She hadn’t done what she’d promised. If she died, she’d come back here, if she didn’t, she’d definitely be wounded and she’d have to learn again not to be so forgetful and lie to him. She was fighting surprisingly well, not using her shotgun due to the fact she may hit Atlas, but beating them off with a wrench when she didn’t have enough room to fight properly. She managed to get several of them into the water that surrounded the sub, shocking it, using the last but of eve in her body to make it a pool of death. When she looked up again to see more surrounding her, she saw Atlas disappear through the door. He shouted back, obviously also speaking into the radio “Splicers! They’re everywhere! I can’t hold ‘em, got to fall back! Get me family out and we’ll regroup as soon as we can!”. The door slammed shut before she could follow him. Before she could even be annoyed, she was suddenly pulled back by her hair, visibly grimacing in pain and being consumed by panic. Ryan tutted, justifying it as another lesson for her since she’d forgotten to tie her hair back as he’d instructed her many times.

With that he turned off his cameras and just let the feral citizens do their work, fighting for him, for his city. She’d understand.

As soon as he was able, Jack ran back down the dockyard like pathways to get to Eilis, leaving a string of bodies in his wake that he didn’t fully remember killing. The entrance to the sub bay was closed off, Eilis was on her knees with a splicer ready to decapitate her, barely fighting the large kitchen knife it had back, gripping the thing’s wrist so tightly that her arm was starting to shake, still having the wrench gripped tightly in the other, like she was waiting for the right moment to use it. The tip of the rusted knife was pressed against the soft flesh and would certainly cut if she lost her strength. He tried everything to get the gate open, shooting at the lock, trying to ram it open, but nothing. It wouldn’t budge.

Eilis was so focused on staying alive and ignoring the hallucinations taunting her that she didn’t even hear Jack shouting at her to keep fighting, that he was coming, that it would all be ok.

Images of Ryan telling her how pathetic she was just kept circling her, mocking her, breaking her down with no lies to build her back up again. She didn’t want to admit it but hearing all of those words again did sting a bit, not as much as the knife about to pierce her neck but still, emotional pain and all that. When Jack finally got the gate to budge, he unknowingly set off a chain reaction. As the lock on the gate clicked open, it sent a signal to the bombs inside the sub to blow, engulfing the room in fire. He watched bodies fly in different directions, unable to tell the splicers from his companion.

He froze in horror for a minute as the gate calmly opened, sliding out of view. Rushing in, looking through the charred bodies as he screamed “Ellie? ELLIE?!”, the only name he knew, the name he could tell she hated, but he had nothing else. Bolting towards a coughing sound he heard near a pile of rubble, as Atlas screamed in devastation over the radio, he started throwing rubble out of the way as he searched. He pushed what he could only assume was a body off and quickly found Eilis. The end of her hair was singed black and that knife had cut her neck, not enough to kill her, just a flesh wound. “Am I dead?… please tell me I’m dead this time..” She babbled, weakly patting her hand around to try and find her radio as Ryan spoke to them through it, not even to speak to Eilis to be sure she was alive, “You ooze in like an assassin and then try to sneak out like thief. You’re no CIA spook, look at how you carry yourself! Without someone who is under MY employ and that parasite Atlas, you would have been dead the moment you left that bathysphere. Who are you? Why have you come here?” If spit could be translated through radio, Jack was sure he would have felt it on his face. He ignored it though, and the rising hatred for Ryan in his chest as he helped Eilis stand. She gasped in pain, gripping her torso with one arm. She’d been thrown directly into the pipe covered walls. Something was possibly broken and she was 100% going to bruise.

“Fuck me..” She cursed under her breath, trying to control her breathing as she gripped onto Jack tightly. He carried her radio for her as they limped away, her other hand wouldn’t let go of his wrench.

“There’s two ways to deal with the mystery… uncover it, or eliminate it.” Ryan’s tone was ominous. And like that, he was gone. “Get out… Get out and get to Arcadia… Jesus Christ…” Atlas sobbed over the radio as they dragged themselves through the flooded makeshift bathysphere station. Eilis hissed from the pain, she just have cut her leg off something, because the salt water burned. Jack managed to get her to a seat before he tried to figure out how to set a course on a bathysphere. After a minute he seemed to get the hang of it, rolling up his sleeves as he dumped his weapons and sat beside her. When he tried to touch the Pavlov dog, she just lightly pushed his hand away. She looked so angry as tears pricked her eyes. He couldn’t tell if they were from the sheer overwhelm of emotions or the fact she’d been betrayed by her employer.

Padding at his pockets, he found a chocolate bar he’d picked out of a random smugglers crate, offering it to her. Though hesitant, she took it, sniffing at it for a smell of adam, but it was just chocolate. Gorgeously sweet, surface, chocolate. She felt horrible that she’d be wasting it just to puke. “Thank you love… I’ll have it in when we dock..” she rested it beside her shotgun and his wrench, forcing herself to sit up more. She glared at her radio like it were the reason this all happened. It had been off, how the hell did he know where they were? Was he just stalking them? Why the hell was it on?! Did he have nothing better to do? After resisting the urge to abuse the fact she had too much adam in her system and squeeze the damn thing till it broke, she chucked it across the bathysphere, enjoying the thunk it made when it hit ten wall, imagining it being Ryan’s head.

Closing her eyes, she imagined just slamming his head off the desk till it broke his nose, maybe knock a tooth or three out. Then she had a thought that worried her, I wish I killed him the night he took Frank from me. What worried her more is she didn’t dismiss the thought, she just let it fester, before the sting of pain brought her back to reality. Jack had pulled a shard of metal out of her ankle, reaching under his sweater to take off the bandage she’d used for his wound earlier. The Adam has sealed it shuts but he didn’t even seem aware of that, he just watched to help her. How oddly sweet. Ripping it in half with his teeth, he took her boot off and bound the wound tightly before doing the same to her neck. She just let him, he could have killed her in the moment, she was too tired and sore to fight back, but he didn’t. “I’m not as good as you at it but… it’ll help with the blood loss right?” He smiled at her, which she felt she didn’t deserve. Especially since her thoughts the last few ours were filled with getting rid of him. It came from a good place, she wanted him to escape, but she knew it was also because she found him being a normal person with basic human decency was irritating her, she hadn’t experienced it in a while. As she put her boot back in, tightening the laces so it kept extra pressure on the wound before fixing the one on her neck and admiring the one on her hand from earlier, she finally said to him “Eilis.”. His brow furrowed, “my name is Eilis.”.

Suddenly he perked up “Oh! Well, it’s lovely to meet you Eilis” he out his hand out to her, quickly switching to the opposite when he realised she’d be using her injured one. She couldn’t help but smile, realising he wanted to do his little introduction all over again. When she took his hand, shaking it slightly he had this look of delight on his face, like he made a friend, “it’s lovely to meet you too, Jack”. Their calm moment was interrupted by Atlas again, his voice wasn’t cracking because of the signal this time, he was just truly devastated and absolutely absorbed by grief “Moira… Patrick… Ain’t that just like Ryan?… Wait until we’re almost out, and then he pulls the string. We’ll find the bastard, we’ll find him and we’ll tear his heart out!” He started to shout.

“Oi, hold on a feckin second. That wasn’t the plan, we need to get Jack out of here” Eilis reminded him, not appreciating when he screamed back “he killed my son! The mother of my damn child! And you want him to keep living?!” Eilis’s brow furrowed, nor sure how to respond “I see how it is… You really are his bloody pet, aren’t you? Not like you’d understand what it’s like to lose a child. You aren’t even human enough to fucking have one!”. The bathysphere was filled with silence for a moment, Jack looking to Eilis for clarity. She sucked on her teeth for a minute, then laughed a bit, bringing the chunky radio close to her mouth as she sneered “kill him yourself then. Good luck though! Tá súil agam go n-éireoidh le Tadgh go mall é” before turning it off. Atlas almost broke the radio with how hard he’d gripped it, he’d leaned too much into the role and now Eilis had his ace in the hole, was pissed at him and gave him no form of contact. Damn it.

Calmly standing up, almost collapsing but catching herself off the console, she suggested “how about we go on a little vacation?” Changing course from arcadia to the Adonis, knowing Ryan still had control over that entire damn place, his richer allies living there. The bathysphere jerked as they strayed off course, heading far away from Arcadia and towards rapture’s elite and privately closed off resort.

Jack watched the decorative docking process with awe, while Eilis focused on not breathing too hard while her chest started to bruise. Quickly realising they may recognise Jack since Ryan was probably sending around photos of the poor man, she ordered him to wait and hide in the bathysphere as she limped out. One of his guards approached her, teasing “fuckin hell, Ryan thought you were dead for a bit there. He was making us prep for extra duties”. Eilis put on a fake smile as he spoke, looking around for others and camera, thankfully finding them alone and in a blind spot. She quickly clocked him over the head with the wrench, knocking him out along with a few of his teeth, possibly killing him but she didn’t have the time or patience to be sure. She dragged him back to the bathysphere, struggling as her leg kept buckling, but she managed to catch herself off bits off column and decorations. She took off his trench coat and fedora, dressing Jack in them, making sure to tilt the hat down a bit to hide his features.

“What are we doing here?..” Jack whispered as they got all their things together, Eilis grimacing in pain as she stood again before stating “when Atlas stops throwing a temper tantrum then we’ll talk to him. For now I need a fucking shower and they have soap”. He supported her again as they walked, querying “how do you know he’s going to throw one?… I know he’s probably devastated but he wouldn’t do anything horrible, right?”. Eilis just gave him that glance that told him to stop prying, not in the mood to remember how she reacted to the brutal death of loved ones… how she was still reacting.

No one questioned the Pavlov dog and someone they recognised as a nameless guard of Ryan as they limped in and over to the desk, which was still surpassingly being manned. The secretary smiled at them, chirpily stating “welcome to the Adonis! Rapture’s haven and the only safe place from Atlas’ thugs and the parasites. How may I help you Ms Pavlov dog?”. Resisting the urge to correct her, Eilis explained “Ryan sent me here to clean up before I go back to him.. I need the penthouse”. “Oh I am so sorry Ms Pavlov dog, that room is currently taken by Mr Sinclair” the woman pouted. Eilis could feel her eye twitch when the woman said that, “excuse me?..”. “Mr Sinclair and his bodyguard have been with us for a number of weeks now! Under the orders of Ryan himself” the desk woman spoke so chirpily it even annoyed Jack.

“Great… give me a moment to talk Ryan and I’ll be right back” Eilis made sure to be polite, quietly ordering Jack to bring them somewhere more private, gesturing down what seemed like a random hall. She just kept giving him directions till they came across a rickety old elevator. “Service lift… Ryan had it stuck in here so waiters and cleaners could just go up and not bother him by knocking on the door.. get in” the two squeezed in, Jack being extra cautious about the literal bombs on his back, holding his breath in anxious worry as he swore this would drop and kill them as it rose up. It took about 15 minutes to get up there, and when they did a decorative piece of wall slid open to let them into the luxurious penthouse suite, Ryan’s second home. When they entered, the decorative piece of wall shut just as quickly, like it was never there. Jack managed to get Eilis onto a very expensive looking seat before a pistol was shoved into the back of his neck.

A deep Irish brogue warned him “stand up slowly boy, or you’ll be decorating the wall with a fresh lick of paint”. Jack calmly raised his hands and did as he was told, wondering why Eilis seemed so calm, amused even. She leaned to the side, letting a pained huff as she said “gur bealach álainn é sin le Dia duit a rá”. Mick, realising his child was here, lowered his pistol and quickly went to inspect her for injuries, querying “Íosa, tá tú gortaithe... an ndearna sé é sin? cá bhfuil do dheartháir?”. “I’m fine, Tadgh’s with Ryan and he can understand us so there’s no point in speaking that for privacy” Eilis explained quickly, trying to stand again but her father pushed her back down, shouting back into the penthouse “It’s Eilis! Grab me a med kit and some food, would ya darlin?” Before standing up and inspecting Jack.

He looked oddly familiar but he couldn’t place way, they obviously hadn’t met, he just seemed so… actually he didn’t have a word for it. “Sorry for the confusion boyo. Looking at ya I assume you know we’re all a little jumpy. Mick Donovan, I’m Eilis’ old man” he introduced himself to be polite, though he didn’t offer his hand to shake, Jack just smiled awkwardly and did the same, still feeling uncomfortable and cautious. “He’s one of the lads from the plane crash. Only fucker who survived apparently” Eilis explained, going quiet when she saw Sinclair, glaring a him. When his child’s focus was taken, Mick made sure to glare at Jack, mumbling “only one to survive, huh? Aren’t you just god’s favourite”.

Sinclair smiled at Eilis despite the look she was giving him, laying a hand on her shoulder as a form of hello. He brought her hair around to the front, tutting at the now black ends and how they crumbled at his touch, “poor thing… I’ll chop that off for you later”. “You were living in the lap of luxury this whole time?… really?..” She asked him. He ignored her question, dipping his handkerchief into a bowl of warm water and antiseptic that he’d brought, starting to clean her face, only stopping briefly as she’d cringe from the pain of the little nicks in her skin. Then he moved to her hands, unwinding the bandage and just getting her to dip her hand in the bowl, holding it there for her till the majority of the pain subsided and she could do it herself. “Mickey? Be a doll and go grabs some of your old clothes, hers are torn to shit… and get our guest a drink. He needs one” Sinclair ordered calmly as he continued to check Eilis over. When Mick left he demanded softly “tell me what happened”.

“Ryan blew up a sub… he knew I was there and decided killing me was just collateral damage to get Atlas. Atlas had left before he even hit the damn button. Jack saw it…” She almost whispered, not wanting her father to hear “He killed Atlas’ wife and child.. Now he’s pulling a me and tried to drag Jack into it… so we came here. I was gonna lock us up in here for a bit, didn’t expect you in here.. or dad.”. Sinclair nodded while he listened, glancing at Jack who had his back turned the moment he’d begun to undo her buttons to see why she was gripping her torso. She was already bruising, it being easy to see she had hit pipes by the pattern it made. “We were in the Sinclair Delux, but Lamb got that. So we’ve been here, courtesy of old Andy himself” Sinclair sighed, flicking open the med kit and taking out some Adam infused cream. When she tried to move away, he reassured her “it’s a mild dose and will help with the bruising. You can puke all you want in Ryan’s fancy toilet after, alright? You can’t go walking around with that, you won’t be able to breath right hun”. “You sound like my granny” Eilis mumbled in defeat, going to let her head tilt back but gasping in pain as she remembered her neck, Sinclair mate a mental note to deal with that next.

Sinclair glanced at Jack as he redid the bandages, making sure they were tight with fresh pads of cotton to keep them clean. He actually stitched up her neck, giving the poor girl a thin book he found to sink her teeth into while he did so. “Another scar to add to the dart board, hm?” He joked, hoping she’d laugh. Something. She didn’t. There was this tint of sadness in her eyes, but it wasn’t grief. She was just upset, thankfully. When held finished, Eilis happily ate her chocolate, not even taking a real moment to taste it, knowing nausea would set in soon. When her father returned with clothes, she quickly snatched them off him before going to the only bathroom she knew was in this whole damn apartment. She’d only been in here a handful of times and was usually treated like a butler, before being sent out to guard the door. It was just enough. Locking the door and giving herself some long overdue privacy, she quickly reacquainted herself with the bathroom. After she’d finished throwing up, splashing her face with water and regaining some semblance of her once stone faced composure, she couldn’t help but look around. Some of Diane’s products were still in here, makeup, shampoo, things like that. Eilis hoped she wouldn’t mind her using them, though it wasn’t like she’d ever know.

That shower was the closest thing she knew she’d ever experience to heaven, if there even was such a thing. She washed the grime off her body, carefully avoiding soaking the bandages too much. She massaged her scalp slightly as she tried to wash the dirt off, only to see the burnt chunks of hair falling off instead, making her stop before she even added shampoo. Sighing, she bundled her hair in a towel before getting changed, abandoning her old practically destroyed clothes in a pile before tucking in the shirt and rolling up the sleeves, cracking her shoulders as she walked. She opened the door to find Sinclair waiting there. She didn’t even have to say anything, he just flashed a pair of scissors he found and beckoned her to sit down. Pulling up a plush chair, that was in there for some strange reason, over to the sink by his foot, he encouraged her to sit down. “I’ve been doing Mickey’s hair the last few months” He pointed out, folding her head back as he turned in the warm tap.

He expected her to make some form of comment. He would have taken anything really:

”oh really? I wondered why he looked so neat”

”you should have been a hairdresser”

”I know I’m his d but please don’t make a mini version of him”.

Yet he got nothing. Giving u on any hope for some form of conversation, he just started to wash her hair, the water quickly turning murky from the filth and burnt hair just breaking off, showing she hadn’t washed it properly while showering. The hair that remained quickly returned to the pale blonde he remembered her having. She’d closed her eyes, seemingly daydreaming and just letting him do whatever he wanted.

While he wrung out her hair with a towel, squeezing it till it was bone dry, starting to snip away, Eilis found herself thinking about Ryan. She hated it but she was. Especially after what the guard she’d knocked out said. He was making us prep for extra duties. All that bullshit about how important she was and how needed she apparently was, only for him to drop her just like that. She found herself resisting the urge to laugh, and she couldn’t tell why. Tears pricked at her eyes that she desperately tried to ignore, squeezing her eyes shut more, irritated as she started to remember something she couldn’t blame the adam on anymore.

It was after the first little memorial they’d done for Tadgh. It wasn’t even really a memorial, just her, Sullivan and Ryan raising a toast to him on the anniversary of his death, then Sullivan leaving to work. Eilis remembered starting to cry, she’d tried to catch it but it quickly spiralled, the alcohol probably not helping. She just buried her face in her fists, gripping at her own hair as all the emotions rushed back at once. Then someone put an arm around her. She’d remembered she assumed it was Sullivan, thinking he’d come back for her. That’s why she hugged back, but the velvet she soon smeared tears all over as she tried to wipe her eyes told her it was Ryan. She lifted her head and went to pull away to apologise, but he just guided her back, resting his hand at the back of her head as he patted it lightly. It was oddly soothing.

“It’s alright… it’s all going to be alright Eilis… I swear to you родная…” it was so strange to hear him slowly devolve into Russian, especially so softly. It was so comforting. She cried that night till she had no more tears, then fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, both jokingly babbling stories about her brother. That memory was now oddly tainted considering he was alive again, like it meant nothing.

“It ain’t that bad, is it?” Sinclair asked her, frowning slightly. Eilis brow furrowed as he passed her his handkerchief, it still wreaked of antiseptic, reminding her all too much of Stienmen. “You’re crying sweet pea” he wiped them away for her when she didn’t take it. She forced an awkward smile as she turned her attention to the mirror to see whatever he’d done to her head. She didn’t quite know what to call it. It was too long to be a pixie cut but not long enough to be a bob. Her hair had started to curl, leaving little flicks all over her head and creating a lot of volume to go along with the fluff. It looked even better when she shook her head a bit, the curls separating and covering her head more. It was a bit boyish but she didn’t seem to mind. Eilis always seemed boyish anyway, she was feminine enough when she wanted to be and that was enough for her. “I love it” She gave Sinclair’s hand a squeeze, which made him get this little prideful look. “Glad you do, may have done it more for your old man than you though.” He admitted, guiding her out of the bathroom by her hand, her nose wrinkling as she tried not to look too confused.

Mick seemed focused on interrogating Jack currently, who was just staying mute and refusing to give him answers, so Sinclair coughed for his lover’s attention. While they waited, Eilis found herself preening at her new hairstyle, plumping at the fluff and the little flick at the nape of her neck. Hopefully the length would stop people from yanking at her hair now, or atleast make it harder. It wasn’t as short as Jack’s or Atlas’ so it would still hurt like hell if someone had a good enough grip on it. Mick turned on his heel with this irritated look on his face, but that quickly melted away at the sight of his youngest child.

Her father was simply rendered dumbstruck. The fluffy head of curls just reminded him of Eilis when she was just a tot. This cute little bundle of curls and giggles that used to sit on his shoulders and give every little inanimate object names because she didn’t know the actual words for them. His daughter whistling at him sharply brought him back to reality, making him smile and walk over to her, ruffling her hair before planting a kiss on her forehead, cooing “tá cuma iontach ort, a pheata. Oireann duit”.

While Eilis was being doted on by her father, trying to give her all the fatherly affection she’d missed out on the last few months, Sinclair decided to tease their guest. “He really don’t like you! He’s glaring at you like you just shot him in the door, boy!” He snorted a laugh, noticing Jack shift uncomfortably, “ah, Don’t worry about it though, son. Just over protective fatherly behaviour. Poor girl doesn’t have the best sense in who she chooses to associate with at times”. “We’re only friends… well not really, more acquaintances. That shouldn’t bother him, should it?” Jack assured Sinclair, which only made him laugh more at the young man’s innocence. “What made you think she doesn’t like you?” He barely managed to ask as he calm down his laughter.

Jack went quiet again, then shrugged. “If ya can’t think of a verbal response, are currently breathing and she’s giving you mixed messages, then you’re fine. Trust a man who’s watched her work, it’s very obvious when she hates someone” Sinclair watched the man pull a confused face, like a puppy that had a trick played on it and didn’t know where the ball had gone “there ain’t no middle ground with her. She either despises you or likes you. On the extremely rare occasion she’ll love you, but that has been reserved for family, sadly not including myself, and a dead man who I’m certain you’ve heard the name of floating around”. “Fontaine?” Jack guessed, jumping in surprise when Sinclair clapped his hands together “BINGO! Ain’t you a fast one?…” he stared at Jack for a minute, before snapping his fingers and point at him “you know who you look the spit of? Pretty ol’ Jasmine Jolene! That girl would have loved you”.

“What happened to her?” Jack wondered, curious about this woman. Sinclair went quiet for a second, his chirpy tone disappearing as he brushed it off “oh.. nah you don’t need to be worrying about that, son. Let’s focus on gettin you out to the big blue again, hm? Go ahead and relax over there. I’ll whip up some cocktails” he tried to shoo Jack, but he just stood his ground. He quickly realised this was because it was where Eilis had left her shotgun, he was guarding. Finding that adorable, Sinclair simply got up and when to do as he’d promised. After a moment he returned with a tray of drinks and a worried expression “Hun, your brother is at the door. Did you tell the lady at the desk you were here?..” he asked nervously. Eilis cringed at her mistake, apologising with a quick “I’ll deal with it, don’t let him see Jack” before she disappeared from their site. The front door slid open to reveal the two, both looking different from when they last saw eachother. Eilis of course had her new hairstyle and several bandages, carrying her foot slightly, while Tadgh was filthy and covered in blood, his pistols empty in their holsters and a pipe with nails sticking out of it gripped tightly in one hand. She didn’t want to think of what was on said pipe.

“You look like a toddler” Was the first thing he said to her, meaning for it to come out in a much different way and tone, but he failed at that due to stress and relief fighting for dominance in his mind.

Eilis’ brow furrowed as she snapped back “and you look like a murderer. What do you want?”.

“Just fucking hug me alright?.. yer such a cunt” He huffed, dropping his weapon to embrace her tightly, which she quickly returned, muttering “and you’re a prick..”. They stayed like that for a minute till Tadgh started to loosen his grip. “The moment that damn explosion went off I just… I had to go looking for you. Christ there were so many bodies…. Then Ryan called in that you were here…” he pulled away to smile but she was glaring at him faintly, and he knew exactly why. Rubbing at the back of his neck he mumbled “I may or may not have also known dad and Sinclair were here”, Eilis rolled her wrist, encouraging him to continue “and I’m sorry for that…” she didn’t stop yet. “And… I’m sorry for not coming with you to look for survivors?” Still going, “Christ sake, what more do you want from me?”.

“The words you are looking for are ‘I’m sorry for letting Ryan try and FUCKING KILL YOU’!” Eilis actually grimaced in pain from yelling, moving her jaw so much causing her neck to ache. Putting a hand up to cover it, she continued to stare daggers into her older brother who only looked at her with confusion. “What are you on about?..” Tadgh whispered, like he were afraid someone would here. “Ryan sent splicers after us, which by the way, since when the fuck can he do that?! And then blew up a bathysphere containing a man’s wife and young child. Said man wasn’t even there it was just me, and I almost got feckin mangled” She slowly dropped her voice to a whisper as she spoke. Tadgh straighten his spine to check around for anything suspicious, or anyone listening, his eyes falling on Sinclair as he emerged from a nearby room, casually lighting a cigar. After making sure they were safe, he told her “Ryan sent me to come find you. He thought you were gravely injured after a run in with Atlas and wanted me to bring you home”. “Excuse you? He didn’t even acknowledge me. He was more focused on-“ she stopped, realising her brother didn’t know she’d found anyone, she feigned a scoff of annoyance, groaning “I can’t even think straight…” her arm immediately wrapping around her stomach for comfort.

Tadgh’s mentality went from confusion to the need to comfort his sister, assuming she wasn’t feeling well, guiding her back to to couch. The southerner, who had been calmly smoking his cigar, couldn’t help but admire Eilis’ acting skills slip out as she milked the fact her brother still saw her as this feeble little thing. The only problem with that is now he wouldn’t leave her alone. Blowing out a plume of smoke, he patted the boy’s shoulder and encouraged him “go wash up, son. I’ll keep an eye” but he didn’t move an inch, glaring at Sinclair faintly. “I don’t care if you have my da wrapped around your finger, don’t touch me.” This snarky remark was quickly met by him being smacked by the back of his sister’s hand, particularly her knuckles, right between his eyes, “don’t be so feckin rude. Tá daidí ag iarraidh é a phósadh”. He blinked at her for a minute like a fish before blurting out “Him? Seriously?”. “What? did you think he was going to stay single forever? Crying over mam’s grave and swearing to a life of celibacy? He was fucking Paddy before I even turned one and you know it” The Pavlov dog rolled her eyes, stretching to crack her muscles, but whining as she remembered, again, her neck was being held together by string.

Their father returned, glancing at Eilis as if to subtly ask if she was fine. She just quickly looked at Tadgh and then back to him, not moving her head, hoping he’d get the message and just act natural. “What’s this about Padraig?” Mick queried, softly. Sitting on the armchair Sinclair had been leaning off, the two staring his cigar. “Nothing-“ Tadgh tried to insist, but Eilis explained “we were just going on about old relationships. Couldn’t help but remember how you and Paddy used to act, thinking you were hiding it”. “I did a good enough job, you weren’t aware of it for a while” Mick chuckled, Eilis shrugged, mumbling “or maybe I just suppressed it and decided to ignore it like granny”. She remembered once trying to find her father after having a nightmare. Their house was only two rooms and his bed was empty, so she assumed he was out in the farm working, maybe checking on the sheep. When she peaked through the crack in the barn door she quickly learnt why her father was gone and why she needs to stop being nosey. “You we’re happy, I had no reason to question why”.

Her father was giving her this furrowed brow of a stare, trying to see what she meant but she sure as hell wasn’t going to admit what she saw. Deciding to stay on topic but derail it ever so slightly just for her amusement, and to speed this up since she was frankly sick of it dragging out this long “Tadgh is actually married, did he tell you? His husband’s stuck in fort frolic currently, poor bastard” she tutted, catching her brother’s arm by the wrist when he went to lightly hit her so she’d shut up “but Christ, you should have seen him in New York! You had a few fellas didn’t ya?“. Her brother was glaring so hard at her his eye was starting to twitch. She was going to drop it but the sound of something falling over in a nearby room meant she had to dispatch him, and she had to do it now. 

Releasing his arm, she started to count them on her fingers. “Let’s see.. there was the doorman”.

“Eilis.”

“That French fella… Ryan’s private Pilot”

“Eilis, I swear, this isn’t a game you want to play with me”

She just smirked at him, this evil little glint in her eyes that made her father and his lover chuckle, “our neighbour, Ryan’s first private chef, his chauffeur”.

Tadgh just leaned his head back to groan loudly in annoyance, only spurring her on.

“That one fella from Diane’s old club who mixed the drinks aaaaand… Christ who else was there?…” Eilis chewed in her nail for a minute as she tried to think “OH! Right the builder you were screwing while Ryan’s last skyscraper was being built. And then Martin of course, who you decided to keep. Have I missed anyone love?“.

“Was that really necessary?..” Tadgh hissed through gritted teeth, Eilis cocked an eyebrow as she answered “no. The closet is frankly made of glass, pet. I just wanted to be sure you knew you couldn’t judge Mick for choices”. “Be nice.” Mick warned his children but they were ignoring him. He didn’t remember them fighting often, but when they did it was an all out war. A vast opposite from their usual caring nature when it came to eachother. Keeping his arm around his sister, Tadgh mused “so, it’s your turn then, hm?”. “Excuse you?” Eilis looked confused. “Oh, don’t tell me you forgot about all your little escapades” he grinned at her like he was on to something but Eilis gave him nothing bad a slightly confused head tilt.

“Fine. How about the bartender you dated?” He asked.

“Dated for a week, kissed him once, he left me for a girl with a bigger chest. Next.”

“And the driver you’d been seeing?”.

“Oh love, you nicked him from me before I got the chance to see if that would go anywhere” the snickering coming from their southern friend was only spurring her along.

Tadgh was startled by that for just a moment but he kept prying, desperate to find something to win “and that rich fella? You were with him few a few months”.

“He called me a prude for not sleeping with him. I was the Virgin Mary, pet. Only man I ever slept with was Frank Fontaine” she lied, she’s slept with three men, she just enjoyed Frank the most. No shame in it. Well, she thought it was three anyway.

“Uh huh. So why is it that he went around bragging that, though you didn’t sleep with him, you did something else? Ryan had to pay him to shut up” Tadgh propped his chin up on his knuckles and just grinned.

He watched her expression change, Eilis scraped her tongue off her teeth like she was trying to forget a certain taste and mumbled “push any farther and I’ll punch you in your cock”.

“Would you to fuckin stop this childish shite excuse of an argument?” Their father snapped at them, grabbing their attention, “you had your fair share of relationships. Good for you. Can we end this now and just enjoy the peace and quiet?”. He got his request for about five minutes before Tadgh broke it, telling his sister “Ryan thinks your sleeping with the fella he’s seen you with on the cameras. The only survivor. Little early don’t you think? Hasn’t even been two days”. Eilis, expression dropped from anger to fear and then disgust. How the fuck did he know? Had he been watching over Ryan’s shoulder.

Jack pressed his ear to the door of the bedroom he was hiding in, holding it shut with his foot, trying to figure out what was going on. “Where is he, Eilis?” Tadgh asked bluntly “he’s caused enough damaged, killed enough people, and almost killed you! Tell me where he is.”. Eilis barely managed to school her face into something more controlled, only answering “I. Am not. Fucking him.”. “Where is he?” Her brother asked again, following her as she stood up to move seats, pulling her back by her arm. She tried to tug her arm away as a warning, but he only tightened his grip, the two now nose to nose, snarling like rabid dogs. Mick went to get up to break it off, but Sinclair stopped him with a steady hand, casually sitting on his lap so he couldn’t move, sipping at the last bit of the martini he’d made.

“He’s here isn’t he? You brought the fucker with you like some sort of pet!” Tadgh scoffed in his sister’s face. Eilis calmly pushed her curled back as she took a deep breath, seemingly calming herself down. “Just tell me. I’m trying to-“ Tadgh spoke softly as he cleaned closer to her, trying to get her to look at him, releasing her wrist. Her immediate reaction to this was to punch him in the face, making him bite down on his lip and stumble back, losing his balance and ending up on his ass and on the floor. “I can handle myself. Get out of my site before I make you” she spat at him, crouching down so he’d hear her before standing, looming over him for a minute before going into the room they’d hidden Jack. She kicked the bottom of the door in a move she knew her bother would see as her being impatient for it to open, but it was really to warn Jack to move out of site.

“You just had to stick your foot in it, didn’t ya?” Mick offered his son a hand, which he almost didn’t take as he saw a disappointed look his father was giving him. It made him feel so small, he almost didn’t take the hand that was offered to him. As he was pulled to his feet, his father dusting him off the best he could, though he was still filthy, fixing the collar of his son’s shirt as he explained in a hushed tone “I’ll have a chat with her. Tell Ryan she’s resting here and we’ll send her back when she’s in proper health”. “Can’t she just take some Adam and come back down?..” Tadgh sighed, trying to see if he could spot his sister, but the door remained shut. His father rested a hand on his shoulder to grab his attention, “Tadgh… Son, she can’t keep taking that. You haven’t been here long enough to see what that truly does. It’s killing her and keeping her alive like some sick joke. She hates it. She only takes it because of Ryan. Let her heal naturally and we’ll send her back. She’ll be fine, I promise you that”.

Tadgh seemed to hesitate, not moving for a moment before finally giving in and allowing himself to be guided to the door. Sinclair, who had been moved and was still on the plush armchair, let out a long breath as he stood, walking over to the room their guests were in and doing an odd knock to let them know it was him. It slid open, their survivor standing there, doe eyes while Eilis relaxed her boots, making sure they were tight and secure, absentmindedly picking dock scum off the steel toed caps. “You alright sugar?” Sinclair asked, sitting beside her, she gave a hum which he could only assume was positive, standing up and fixing herself in the mirror. She looked a lot younger when she wasn’t dressed in dark colours constantly. As she tucked in her shirt, Sinclair let out another sigh, glancing at Jack for some support, but he looked just as lost. Eilis smoothed back her hair again, the curls bouncing back. She huffed, just ruffling it, combing it back with her fingers before turning back on her heal with a blunt statement of “we’re leaving.”.

She answered Sinclair’s question before he could even ask it, “because Ryan knows where we are and Tadgh know’s Jack is with me. Ryan will either be here within the hour, or his guards will be or he’ll send Tadgh back. I need to get Jack out of here…” She couldn’t help but crack her knuckles to try and ease her stress, wincing and staring at her bandaged hand. Sinclair started to pace slightly, tapping his fingers off his elbow as he crossed his arms, speaking his thoughts aloud “well you ain’t getting him out of here in any of the public bathyspheres. They all have set routes unless Ryan says so. They won’t go out of city limits. You’d need a private one”. Eilis suddenly got this wolf look in her eye, like she’d gotten a burst of adrenaline, “Fontaine’s department store had a private bathysphere seller in it”.

She looked absolutely delighted, gesturing at Jack as she spoke “We get you in one of those, send you topside and all you have to do is float along till you find a cargo ship and your free, lad!”. “One problem with your plan hun, how you planning on getting there? Ain’t no bathyspheres that go directly to Fontaine’s anymore. Ryan put a stop to that” Sinclair didn’t mean to rain on her parade, but it was a fact, yet her next question made him grin with pride.

“How about your train?” She almost whispered, like she were afraid to be wrong. “You manage to get yourself to fort frolic and you can ride it straight to the damn place, no stops” Sinclair announced with delight. Eilis hugged him tightly, almost looking like she was even willing to kiss him, she was just that happy. After releasing him, she ordered Jack “grab your things and meet me by the kitchen. We’re going to pay old Sander a visit. He better have the shopping district gates open… worst case scenario we’ll make our own way through. Even if we have to blow it to kingdom come”.

They were settled and in the private bathysphere Ryan always had docked here within a few minutes, Mick appearing to give them some ammo he found and could afford to spare. Instead of a proper goodbye he just gave his daughter’s and a squeeze. Before he tried to leave she pulled the rosary beads she’d found out of her pocket and gave them to him. He immediately recognised the design, almost being brought to tears, “I found them… almost the spit aren’t they?.. I was gonna give them to Tadgh, but he’s being a prick. And you deserve them more”. “I’ll cherish them.” Mick swore to her, holding them close to his chest as he gave her hand another squeeze before leaving the bathysphere, letting them sink far out of sight.

Jack flicked on his radio again, and the crackle told them Atlas had been waiting. “There ya are! Was worried for a bit… I said some things I didn’t mean… forgive me.. let’s see where yer going..” Atlas’ voice spoke calmly over the radio, still somber but less angry, “Right.. Fort frolic eh? Good plan. The second bathysphere there will take you straight to Ryan”. Eilis leaned over so he could hear her, calmly speaking into the radio “we aren’t doing that love. We’re docking here to get the train to the department store and get Jackie a bathysphere out of here”. Atlas went quiet for a minute, before mumbling “right.. ‘course. Sorry I was being stupid..” he still sounded so upset, it almost just hurt to hear him speak.

Meanwhile Atlas was staring down at his radio hatefully, keeping up the act but losing his patience. He needed to get Jack alone to convince him to do as he was told, he couldn’t just throw in the word now, they were too close, Eilis would pick up something off with whatever he head and keep course. He could  hope something happened in Fort frolic that would give them five damn seconds to throw in a “would you kindly?“ and get what he wanted.

When they docked they saw the place was relatively empty, it almost looked abandoned. Eilis didn’t seemed threatened though, so Jack remained relax, calmly walking through the area as Atlas spoke “Ryan’s handed the keys to Fort Frolic over to guy named Sander Cohen. Cohen’s an artist, says some. He’s a Section Eight, says I.”. “Don’t call him that” Eilis stated sternly, stopping to stare at the closed off section of the area, just shy of the next bathysphere station that connected to the train station. She didn’t move for a good while, thinking about the people trapped in here, some of them her friends, one of them even family. She wondered if any of them were dead, she even wondered if Cohen was dead. Then it dawned on her how strange it was that only that part was closed off, vividly remembering the gates to the bathysphere station shutting. As Jack walked through to the other bathysphere station, it sunk and the trains quickly pulled away. Cursing under her breath, Eilis rushed to him, barely avoiding a metal dart that was shot at her when she raised her shotgun. Her heart was in her mouth when she saw it, knowing that would have killed her.

Atlas tried to speak to them over the radio but he was slowly drowned out by rapture’s national anthem being played, followed by a soft chuckle that soon drowned out that. Decorations of statues and giant versions of Cohen’s hand carved masks with drapes of silk lowered, like the beginning of some strange play. Splicers scuttled along the walls, ready to shoot them? Eilis gripped a section of Jack’s sleeve so she didn’t lose him if a fight broke out, he pushed the back of his heel against her foot in return so he knew she was their as they kept their eyes trained on nearby threats.

“Ah, that’s better…” Cohen spoke through Eilis’ radio this time, sighing contently “Atlas, Ryan, Atlas, Ryan, duh duh duh, duh duh duh!…” you could practically imagine him swaying his hand about from the sound of his voice distancing and closing the gap between him and the radio, “Time was you could get something decent on the radio. The artist has a duty to seduce the ear and delight the spirit! So, say goodbye to those two blowhards and hello! To an evening with Sander Cohen”. Before the two could even react they were being fired at by their spider like attackers. Dragging Jack with her, Eilis made them run, only hoping their original bathysphere hadn’t sank. As they bounced off the tiles, they saw it was a mixture of tranq darts and the usual metal ones. They kept a good pace until a heard of them dropped from the ceiling surrounding them. Jack pulled Eilis close to him with the grip she had on his sleeve.

He held both his pistol and wrench while she had her shotgun, yet neither of them fired, knowing they didn’t have enough to fight off the sheer magnitude of people surrounding them. “Now, I haven’t seen a sign of real life down here in months. All these… doubters get so boring when they finally accept my genius. None of them are fascinating enough. Buy you… you seem.. special.. especially if the Pavlov dog took a shine to you! That tells me you may be worth a scrap of my valuable attention. Let’s see if you’re just another Johnny come lately, or maybe something more delicious” Cohen’s voice wasn’t as comforting and Eilis hoped it would have been when she heard it, he still sounded as oddly hyper as he did before he locked this place down.

When a splicer stuck a knife up against her throat, Jack quickly swing at the unknown woman so hard he knocked her out of the crowd, unconscious. Cohen cheered for this, “phenomenal! I’ve waited so long for something tasty to come to this little burg, but all that pass are yokels and rubes… Where are my manners? Come in! Come in!!! Sander Cohen awaits you… at the Fleet Hall! Show him where I am won’t you Ellie dear? I have a gift for both of you I know you’ll enjoy..”

Chapter Text

Cohen was a man of many talents, but gift giving wasn’t one of them.

His gifts to people were always things he liked that he believed they should have, which sounds sweet but is far from such. He’d once gifted Ryan a rare and expensive set of oil paints, simply so he himself could paint after he and Ryan had shared some time together. He’d once sent Eilis a letter opener so she could no longer use “Ryan hasnt opened it yet” as an excuse for why his notes hadn’t been answered. His gift to her and Jack today was given the moment they got to those grand stairs you had to trot up to get to the fleet hall. He was never one for patience, so when his herd of obedient posse, all so desperate for his approval, got them to the stairs, he couldn’t help but give it a little early. He was just that kind.

Before they could react, the two were snatched into the air, tied up by ropes that had a mind of their own and left hanging there for a moment like a spider’s waiting prey. Eilis tried to burn herself free, only to find she couldn’t do a damn thing. She glanced at Jack, finding him trying to do the same, but his hands were tied differently. They were at such a strange angle, he couldn’t have touched the ropes without breaking his wrist. It was almost like they knew. Their weapons had been tied in with them, pressing painfully against them, making it hard to breath or focus with the blood rushing to their heads. Ignoring the sound of one of cohen’s songs blaring over the speakers, Eilis started to swing herself, hoping the rope would break, cutting itself off whatever it was tied to. Jack however, couldn’t help but watch in fascination as a man emerged at the top of the stairs.

Lights trained on him instantly, dressed in an elaborate suit with silk gloves, a black and gold rabbit mask hiding all his features but messy crimson lips that reminded him of an open wound. The unknown man threw his hands up in the air, like he were encouraging an applause that never came, calmly coming down the stairs, skipping every second step in his excitement, getting right in the younger man’s face. “My my, look at you! Cameras don’t do you justice little moth…” he cooed, spinning Jack around by lightly twisting his head, only speaking when he was facing him again “looking at that face, I know I am right. I must be..”. He left Jack spinning there, not caring if it made him feel nauseousm as he turned his attention to the Pavlov dog.

“And look at you! I almost didn’t recognise you with that hair” he teased, ruffling it before giving it a sharp tug, barely hiding his amusement when she hissed in pain, “did you do as I asked?.. did you claw his eyes out ? You still have those sharp red nails, tell me you did!”. Eilis didn’t answer, she just gritted her teeth together in an attempt to keep herself conscious and coherent, ignoring the darkening edges of her vision. “Ever the disappointment, aren’t you? You can rip off a chunk of woman’s cheek but can’t tear out the eyes of the man who has caused you so much pain” Cohen scoffed, gripping her face with his other hand so she’d wake up, noticing her eyes starting to droop.

“I’ll rip off your fucking finger in a moment if you don’t stop” she warned him, making him laugh and pull away his hands before smushing her cheeks together, proudly announcing “there you are! You can hide yourself under all those layers of ‘morality’ and ‘sensibility’, but you can’t hide from me. I am one of the few who truly knows you. I could have you wound so tightly around my finger you’d kill Ryan in a heartbeat! But I’d never be so cruel, no no no…” he sighed, turning his attention to Jack again, “that will your job, little moth”. When Eilis started to wriggle again, Cohen simply snapped his fingers and there was a blade at her throat, making her stop. “What do you want?..” Jack asked, trying to sound calm but there was a slight shake to his tone, which seemed to only add to the man’s amusement.

“See, my dear boy, I once had four disciples. Three of them have run away, betrayed me. Very cruel of them, don’t you think, Ellie?” Cohen queried aloud, Eilis being unable to gave a response. “So, you are going to find them for me and drag them back here. If you don’t… well..” The artist sucked on his teeth and tapped his foot as he thought, realising he hadn’t planned out an option for if the boy failed. The glistening knife against the Pavlov dog’s neck caught his eye, he gave a toothy grin “I’ll just gave to find a new source for my artistic inspiration. I think something based around crimson red would be beautiful, and what’s a better example of the colour than blood?”.

Jack would have gone pale from that statement, but all his blood was pooling in his face so he only got pinker. His eyes widened though, and that was enough. With a flick of Cohen’s wrist, he was cut down, hitting the floor with a thud. The rope unwound itself from his form so he could brace his head. As the world spun he saw Eilis was taken down far more gently, Cohen giving an order for her to be moved to where someone named Fitzpatrick was. She was taken up the stairs and out of his site before he could even do anything. Cohen tilted his chin up, studying his face as he mused “you aren’t exactly what I’m looking for… but you will do” letting Jack’s chin drop without a care.

He coughed to clear his throat before acting like he was putting on a performance “WELCOME to Fort – Frolic! No need to thank me for jamming the transmissions of those bores Atlas and Ryan. Let them have their squabble. The artist, yes, the artist knows there is richer earth to till… For example, I test you, little moth, but for a reason. I test all my disciples. Some shine like galaxies… and some… some burn like a moth at the flame!… up on your feet now, good man” he ordered, Jack quickly scrambling to do as he was told, gathering his weapons and fearing for Eilis’ safety. Cohen dusted him off, picking bits of tried plaster shards and chunks of solid blood off the man’s sweater before shooing him away with his hand, not giving another word as he walked away, leaving Jack to wander around his territory freely.

Trotting back up the steps and quickly into the fleet hall, he found Fitzpatrick still playing, shaking like the pathetic lump he was, while Eilis was being suspended again. If her hair was still the length it had once been, sitting above the small of her back when she didn’t braid it, it would have been just shy of brushing the floor like a mop. Her eyes were starting to roll back as she started to lose consciousness. That would just ruin the fun of this. Swatting at those pathetic molluscs that called themselves his followers, he calmly pulled her over towards the piano, letting her lie on it, her legs still being legs up but now she could at least think straight after the blood drained. When Kyle Fitzpatrick tried to lift a hand to check for a pulse as she just lay there limply, Cohen shrieked at him, so he went back to playing, the keys on the piano slowly being stained with red fingerprints.

As the world started to make sense again and Eilis slowly started to remember where she was and what she’d been doing, her first instinct was to look to her left and weakly call out “Jack?..”. As her eyes focused she was instead met with Cohen’s face staring at her. He had his elbows propped on the piano so he could hold it up. He was just giggling madly while someone played the piano, impressed when she didn’t flinch, her worried look quickly schooled itself into a glare. He tapped his finger off her nose, making it wrinkle as he teased “there you are! I thought we’d lost you to all those silly emotions you let drown out the interesting parts of your delightful violent personality. You got so boring after Fontaine finally kicked the bucket”. He let it a long sigh as he straightened his spine, arching back to crack it before starting to individually crack each finger, humming to himself.

Eilis let her head roll over to look at Kyle. She could barely tell it was him with the mask on. The only think that gave it away was this pleading look he gave her that she immediately recognised. Before she could attempt any form of communication, bar glances, Cohen returned, pulling her closer by her hair as he complained “I don’t have the patience for boring doubters. So I am delighted you didn’t become one of those! You always manage to surprise me. Who ever thought that you’d risk life and limb for a stranger?” He suddenly let out a laugh, forcing her to look at him, reading her expressions like a novel “oh but it’s different. Ryan assumes it’s romance, doesn’t he? Every person has their wants… their needs” he glanced at Fitzpatrick who quickly averted his eyes, “but no. No it’s something far more… amusing considering your circumstance”.

Eilis remained quiet, only shifting ever so slightly as she tried to figure out what way her shotgun was positioned. Cohen continued to barely hold back giggles as he spoke “the neutered dog has maternal instincts! How adorably pathetic. That’s why you helped Atlas isn’t it? Though I’m sure the sex helped”. Finally her expression changed, “oh, I know that look. I know everything you’ve been up to. Since Andrei started to distance himself I have kept a very close eye on you, to see if I could get a glimpse of him through the lense… but instead I got a much more tantalising story. Ryan’s own guard dog sleeping with the man who stole her father’s revolutionary title! And all because he told knew how to wrap her around his finger and sell his little sob story about his wife and little boy. That just tugged at the heartstrings didn’t it? The nights alone together were just icing on the cake at the mere idea you’d be sparing a child the tormenting childhood you had? Daddy dearest always rushing off, family friends dying, the filthy looks for being from a family of sinners. How perfectly passive aggressive”.

He let her head drop with a hard thud, causing Kyle to flinch end stop playing for a moment as the lid to the piano slammed shut. “You were even maternal back then, weren’t you? With that bastard lamb you took in as a pet. Isn’t the world so cruel to give you all those perfect parental qualities, only to rip the option away…” he feigned sympathy for a moment, before getting in her face to demand “tell me what happened that day”. Finally speaking, Eilis couldn’t help but ask “excuse you?… what made you think you have the fucking right to know? How do you even know?”.

“Martin Finnegan” Cohen explained calmly as he worked his gloves off, snapping his fingers repeatedly at Kyle when he noticed he’d stopped playing, the pianist scrambling to get the lid back open, “he didn’t have a childhood of his own you see, so he took on your brother’s memories as his own, which your dear older sibling encouraged him to do. He inserts himself in as the childhood friend who blossomed into love, and enjoy the spur of the moment disgusting excuse of a whirl wind romance they were..” he threw his jacket to the floor in anger, before smoothing back his hair, inhaling deeply and starting to roll up his sleeves while splicers flooded in, hastily throwing together an easel and canvas, “so, I know how your brother felt, all the emotions, but there are a few things I don’t know. For example, what. Happened. To poor little Collin the lamb. And how you felt. Explain it to me”.

Finally being able to tell her shotgun was pointed directly at her kneecaps, she knew firing it wasn’t an option. Eilis’ eyes met with Kyle’s again, following his as they fell on a broken stage light beside him, shards of glass glistening at her tauntingly. Their eyes met again, and she looked at him pleadingly for a minute before she spoke directly to her captor, once ‘friend’. “Do I have to?… it isn’t that different from the one you’ve heard” she tried to push the subject away, only to see Cohen flex his hand for a minute, an unknown plasmid bubbling for a minute as he started to turn towards Kyle. She blurted out in a panic “it was my birthday!”.

“…. Go on” the artist encouraged, listen to a splicer whisper to him an update about his little moth. He hadn’t even gotten to Poseidon’s plaza yet, he was seemingly scavenging and murdering, taking on big daddies for fun and not survival. How fascinating. “My grandmother had made me a dress. She was cooking breakfast. I was dancing with Tadgh in the kitchen… Paddy and Dad were sitting at the table, playing a crappy little record he’d gotten in town. It was warped.. then when Tadgh stopped spinning me I saw someone coming over the hill. We lived on an old farm so it was.. a bit of a distance from the gate to the door. The sheep were wandering around, happily grazing…” she swallowed hard as the memory started it become more clear, focusing on Kyle instead of the rising emotions.

He seemed to finish a page of sheet music, turning it too heard and causing his sheets to fall to the floor. He quickly bent down to get them. She continued, wanting to keep Cohen placid and distracted. “They weren’t dressed in those gaudy suits like I’d always imaged them. They were very.. green. And refined. When I pointed them out, granny dropped what she was cooking. She broke her favourite glass bowl. Paddy told us to hide while Dad went for the guns. Tadgh shoved me in a cupboard and hid with me, hands clasped over my mouth. I could see through the keyhole, barely but it was enough for me to tell what was happening. They shot uncle Paddy without hesitation, hitting him in his shoulder. He fell against the cupboard… I almost shrieked but Tadgh kept me quiet. Granny tried to protect the bedroom where dad was, but they shoved her. She broke her arm… when they got in they dragged dad out.. he didn’t know we’d hidden and started screaming for us. Asking where we were, what they’d done… when they’d left the house, only one soldier stayed. An older one with this big groomed moustache..” Kyle sat up, fixing his sheet music and finding his place, casually sliding a bit of glass over to her. She lifted her shoulder so it would go under her before she lay back down.

She faked a sniffle when Cohen looked at her for a reason for her silence. The memory was upsetting, but not enough to cry, it just made her weary of strangers and her birthday. She manages to work two fingers out from her binds, arching her back ever so slightly and slowly edging the glass closer so she could grab it. “I burst out the moment I could, screaming at him as he left our house. Tadgh went to help granny… I just kept shouting at him, demanding he give them back. I was just a child… I didn’t know any better…” she wanted to be annoyed at herself for being so stupid, but she couldn’t. She was too innocent. “Collin ran up, he wasn’t a lamb at this point but still not a full grown sheep. He head butted the bastard’s knee… he always acted a bit like a dog. So… he..” she tried odd for a moment, pausing as she realised she’d never confronted this memory, or even thought about it since it happened. She was flooded with little glimpses of her raising him, bundling the little lamb in blankets and bottle feeding it, how he’d follow her around no matter where she went, bleating and copying the dogs of the area, never fully being accepted by the sheep since he was always clean and smelt too human. “The soldier shot him… twice… once to kill him, and another just to make me scream… then he said to me ‘you are the same as that thing. Not human. God doesn’t give a damn about those who aren’t human. And neither do I’. Tadgh buried Collin at the corner of the land, not even giving me a moment to process, just telling me to bring our grandmother to the local doctor. See?.. not at all that interesting.” She swallowed hard, letting out a huffed breath as she lay down on the glass, having gotten it on its side, knowing it cut through the rope when it stabbed into her back.

“So that’s what happened to your little sheep friend? Fascinating. Disappointing, but fascinating” Cohen chuckled, seemingly unaware as Eilis got her hands free, staring to tug rope off her, slowly sitting up and aiming her shotgun at Cohen, seeing Kyle’s feet were plastered to the floor. He shook his head when she sat up, like he knew seeming bad was happening. Before he could give some other form of warning, she was pulled away and hoisted into the air just shy of Cohen’s canvas, her limbs getting tangled in what remained of the rope, her shotgun also getting caught but being just she of her fingers. “You finally did something useful Fitzpatrick. I’m proud” Cohen applauded his youngest disciple, unable to contain his grin when the Pavlov dog got that look he missed seeing on her features. The angry bitterness of betrayal. She was resisting it though, barely, her lip kept threatening to curl into a snarl.

“You feel those same feelings towards that boy, don’t you? Maternity. But in what sense? Do you acknowledge he’s a pet or is he more like a son? Will you nurture him the way you should have been or finally put him down when he bites the hand that feeds him? Or in this case feeds you?” He went up to her and grabbed her face again, smearing it with paint, cooing “it must sting so much, betrayal after betrayal. To have your very soul violated by someone who promised to keep you safe. To have years of grief and self discovery ruined by it all be coming null and void. To have someone you considered a friend sell you down the road just for the hope of salvation”. He watched in amusement as Eilis jerked around like a dying fish, trying to free her limbs. He calmly turned her so she could see his latest work, obviously wanting her opinion. She couldn’t even tell what it was, all she saw was mushes of different shades of reds and pinks. “It’s Fitzpatrick! Don’t you see?” Cohen asked, gesturing to his poor pianist and then his work “well. It will be.” He hummed, starting to walk away. Kyle started to panic, desperately trying to pull his feet free but he couldn’t.

Sander calmly untried the rope from the notch by the stage and held it as he walked, hoisting Eilis higher and higher into the rafters while Kyle started to shout “But Mr Cohen you said I could-“. “Keep. Playing. Fitzpatrick.” He was warned, but he didn’t listen.

“You said if I listened you’d let me go!” Kyle sounded so furious and desperate, continuing to struggle. Stopping at an oddly specific distance, their captor sighed and hummed “You aren’t listening though, are you?”. Kyle was screaming now, his voice full of hatred “Sander. You sick fuck, LET ME OUT OF-“ he was cut off by an explosion that engulfed the stage. Bits of piano keys reigned down, followed by what remained of the bird mask, slowly floating down and landing by his charred corpse. Eilis quickly fell down after as the rope lost its strength from being shredded by shrapnel, lifting her hit the floor free but in agony. She just lay there, coughing for a moment as she saw Kyle’s corpse in front of her. With a pained wheeze she called out to him, but got now answer. The shock wouldn’t allow her to have common sense, the sight in front of her being an obvious sign of her friend’s demise.

“What?… I… did you?…” Eilis babbled as her mind began to spiral, reaching out to Kyle’s body, her hand flinching away on instinct from the sheer heat of it.

The realisation of his brutal death wasn’t the worst part, neither was the idea that Sander Cohen could do something so horrid, it was the guilt that she could do nothing. She did nothing. She didn’t notice any sort of explosives, she didn’t catch on to his quivering fear, she didn’t even catch how desperate he was when he tried to betray her for a chance at salvation. When the smell hit her nose she almost gagged, being happy she had nothing left in her stomach. Putting a hand over her mouth and nose as she shakily stood, gripping onto her shotgun, she could hear Cohen applauding.

She slowly let her eyes fall on him to hear him shouting words of praise “bravo my dear, Bravo! I’d ask for an encore if Fitzpatrick wasn’t as disappointing in death as he was in life” he tsked, like Kyle could still hear him, “you understand why I did this of course. You were always one of the few to appreciate my brilliance!”. Eilis felt her lip twitching, knowing she was barely resisting baring her teeth like her namesake. “Clarify it for me, sir.” She managed to make herself sound so monotone, so separated from the whole situation, like she hadn’t even witnessed it, like it hadn’t happened.

“All of this is for you and that boy. I want to see you again. The true you. The monstrous dog that makes people quiver with just a mention of her name. Then itch who’d multilateralism men for simply saying Ryan’s name” he took a step forward, she held her ground, just trying to bury the rising emotions, “the shivering little puppy ravaged by Adam, clinging to my leg for dear life” slowly but surely the feelings fluttered away, and soon she felt nothing. That should have terrified her, it didn’t. It was oddly nostalgic, but not at all comforting. “Rapture’s secret beast, The Pavlov dog. And I can only truly have that if you stop holding it in”. Eilis flexed her hand slightly, imagining herself punching him, just knocking him to the ground and shooting him like she was the monster he wanted. He could see her holding that back, past the stone faced expression, she had a murderous look in her eyes. “There you are.” He suddenly got in her face, patting her cheek before calmly walking away like nothing had happened. He still had that damned bunny mask on, skipping away like he was taunting her. A cocky rabbit daring a nearby starving wolf to sink its teeth in. Feeling her radio was still at her side, she picked it up to try and contact Ryan, only to be met with Rapture’s ‘national’ anthem playing over the radio. Flicking it off with her thumb, she followed Cohen, hating how easily she settled back into the version of herself she despised, and despising how the rotting feeling in her stomach quickly followed. As she followed him up the stairs to his dressing room, familiar whispers started to return.

“Butterfly?”

“Or raindrop?”

“Raindrop?”

“Or butterfly?”

When they arrived she saw he had a new easel and canvas set up, as well as some lazily thrown together set up to watch the cameras, very obviously stolen from one of the security offices. She found herself drawn to it as they flicked from screen to screen till it landed in several angles of where Jack was. The whispers didn’t stop as she observed him. He was fighting off a big daddy, mainly barehanded but Eilis quickly realised that was because he’d ran out of bullets and was refusing to use the unstable rocket launcher. He looked exhausted. They hadn’t been apart that long, had they? Now the only difference was he was losing, badly, barely dodging the swing of the big daddy’s rivet gun as it’s little ward screamed with delight. Figuring out where he was, poor man handn’t even gotten to the tunnel to Poseidon’s plaza yet, she went to leave. Only to have her way blocked. “Sander. Move.” She hissed at him, but he refused, glancing over her shoulder as he watched Jack get shot in the hand, the rivet pinning him to the wall, “Oh my, looks like our little moth isn’t as impressive as I assumed”.

When Eilis’ head whipped around, he very calmly picked up a bottle of Merlot by the spout, finding her worried expression amusing. Just as the big daddy shoved the gun under Jack’s chin, Sander bounced the heavy glass bottle in his hand before smashing it over the back of Eilis’ head. She naturally dropped, like any human human would, but she was still conscious, trying to get back up. Her head jerked as she tried to ignore the whispers getting louder. Cohen reefed her head up by her hair, whispering to her “what are you going to do? If you don’t think of something, he’s going to die. Come on, you used to be so quick about these things. Think. Think. THINK.”.

Butterfly.

Raindrop.

Butterfly.

Raindrop.

Butterfly.

Raindrop.

They wouldn’t stop. It was all too much.

“Shut up…” Her voice crackled as he begged, his grip only tightened and the whispers swelled as she watched Jack struggle. “THINK! Come on, you’re a smart girl, you’ve lived this long by your own wit, now use it for some else for once and THINK!” Cohen shouted right in her ear, making her cringe slightly in pain. She managed to get herself up using one arm, freeing the one that had been trapped under her. “SHUT UP!” She shrieked as she swung around to punch him, but he was gone. she looked around in a panic but saw he was nowhere, and there was no sign of him ever being there. The room was relatively the same, but it lacked colour, like everything was dull, like life itself had been sucked from it like venom from a wound. Eilis’ immediate reaction was to check her own pulse and see if she was alive and sober, which was very evident by the rapid beat under her fingers.

“It’s been a long time Ms Donovan” a man’s voice came from nowhere, when she blinked the twins appeared in front of her, the woman of the two offering her hand, which Eilis refused. She stayed in the floor. “Miss us?” The woman wondered, brow furrowing when Eilis refused to give an answer. “Did we go to the wrong one?” She asked her companion, who simply answered “we couldn’t have possibly since we are in all of them at once”. “Oh sweet Christ, I didn’t miss you. What do you want?” Eilis forced herself to speak, fighting off panic taking over. “Us? We want nothing. Someone else wanted to talk to you” The woman shrugged, the two parting to reveal someone Eilis didn’t expect to see at all. It was Elizabeth. After sitting there in silence for a minute, again, she checked her pulse. Nope. Still alive. “Right… someone should start explaining or I’m going to go do myself a favour and bash my head in before the adam eats my brain…” her words came out slurred as she let out a bit of a nervous laugh, standing up to back away when Elizabeth approached. “You’re dead. I know that for a fact.” Eilis said that almost like she believed herself, but she obviously didn’t seeing as the woman was right in front of her.

“Calm down.” Elizabeth demanded, reaching out to grab her hand. Eilis almost flinched when she actually felt something touch her, shaking Elizabeth’s hand off her.

“I’m here to help. You don’t have to be here” Elizabeth gave her this trance look while she spoke.

“What are you on about?..” the Pavlov dog muttered.

Elizabeth calmly repeated herself “you don’t have to be here. This story has played out hundreds of times with and without you. You don’t have to be here”. Eilis couldn’t help but scoff, never really seeing herself as important but finding the fact someone was currently shoving it in her face a little bit insulting, “and where exactly would I go instead?” She asked sarcastically. Elizabeth smiled at her, almost sympathetically, “somewhere far better than here. Somewhere of your choice. I can help you. This could all just fade away as some horrible nightmare”. She could see Eilis was intrigued but hesitant, trying to reassure her she asked “we’re friends, right? Don’t you trust me?”.

“How are we friends?..” Eilis didn’t mean to be rude, but she sure as hell didn’t remember them ever being friends. Their last conversation was her begging her not to murder someone, though her friendships did seem to lead to death eventually. “You helped me. Now I’m going to help you. That’s what friends do” Elizabeth insisted, the twins being gone at this point. Pulling Eilis to her side, she grabbed at seemingly nothing and proceeded to rip a hole in, again, what seemed to be nothing. Deciding she has definitely finally gone insane, died or both, Eilis knew she’d prefer to die clinging to reality, so she tried to turn away. Though the idea of allowing herself be curious once last time, seeing what her mind would cook up before it eventually followed suit and let her slip into sweet nothingness was very tempting. When Elizabeth grabbed her by her sleeve, she looked back, showing she was listening, “bitfidh mé. What are my options darlin?” She crossed her arms, both to show how sceptical she was and give herself some comfort. Elizabeth offered her hand again, Eilis only pausing for a moment to wonder why her mind was torturing her with this, before taking it and walking through the literal tear in reality.

They were on the surface, it looked like Central Park. Eilis actually saw herself wondering around, arms linked with her father as she seemed to be pointing out something in particular. She looked happy, tired, but happy. “What’s this one then?” She asked Elizabeth, assuming she’d probably get an answer of “whatever you want it to be”. Just another fantasy her mind came up with to protect her from more trauma. Instead the other woman calmly answered “Same year, same day, but in this timeline Rapture was never created. Every other horrible thing before it still happens though, so I’m sorry your brother won’t be here. Just thought I’d show you what it would be like if you didn’t live under the ocean” She could tell the Pavlov dog was listening, but mainly seemed fascinated by how much easier it was to breath, having not been that aware of how she was starting to struggle in rapture. That was just how it was. Elizabeth continued explaining, like she was selling the concept to her “Fontaine is still alive, since you liked him so much. I think you two even still have your little not too secret relationship going on.”.

“Isn’t that just grand?” Eilis snorted a laugh. Her brow furrowed when who she assumed was her own mental image of Elizabeth glared at her, like she was being rude. “I have other ones. I could even just put you back before the death of your brother, or in your childhood. I could put you in the timeline where you never left Ireland and are happily married with children. I could put you in a timeline where you’re currently marrying Fontaine on the surface. I could even just put you back before his death, with your current knowledge I’m sure you could stop a lot of horrible things from happening. My point still stands that your original timeline is too far gone and there is no point in you staying and attempting to make a difference” Elizabeth was desperate to convince her, but she just didn’t seem interested. After a long pause, Eilis finally spoke, asking “and what would happen to everyone I care about if I just left, hm?..”.

Elizabeth looked visibly uncomfortable as she explained “without you it’ll continue on as it always had, I suppose… though maybe a bit more violent thanks to your influence”. The Pavlov dog suddenly gave her this strange look. It didn’t even look like she’d changed her expression, but there was something different about it, whatever thoughts were behind those eyes just made it more terrifying, she felt like her skin was crawling. She swallowed, taking a second to compose herself “they’d all succumb to the fate meant for them. Most of them would die… violently. Or become monsters. I’m trying to take you away from that.”. “So I am important then?“ Eilis queried, wanting her mind to admit it. Elizabeth just frowned at her, disappointment radiating off the woman. Eilis fiddled with her engagement ring as she spoke “I’d like to stay… if I had the option and this wasn’t all bullshit anyway”, she knew Cohen was probably stringing her up like a puppet to send to Ryan currently, either that or he just left her dead wherever he’d managed to drag her.

Better to just stay here.

“I want to see my wedding… Tadgh always used to go on about how pretty he thinks I’d be in a wedding dress” She requested, praying for once her mind would listen to her. Elizabeth suddenly looked hopeful, simply ripping another hole in the fabric of time and guiding her through. When Eilis opened her eyes again, she was looking down at this rather gaudy looking bouquet. It was taken off her by a woman she swore looked exactly like Diane as she was guided up the isle of a church. She quickly recognised it as the one from her village back in Ireland, but she actually didn’t hate it. There were flowers and streamers everywhere. Outside one of the doors that lead to a nearby field she could see people setting up tables and those little gazebo tents to protect the food. She glanced to whoever was guiding her to see it was Mick, but he’d shaved and combed back his hair. He was even in a nice suit and looked like he’d been crying.

“ceart go leor?” She whispered to him, he patted her arm, whispering back “Tá mé ceart go leor, leanbh. tá tú díreach cosúil le do mham” wiping away his tears with his thumb.

Eilis resisted a laugh, what a strange detail to add to her own fantasy. He finally let her go, taking his seat when she was finally at the alter.  She couldn’t help but look around more, trying to see if she recognised any other little parts of the church, only to flinch when she spotted the priest. He looked just as horrible older than she’d imagined. She even audibly heard herself mumble “christ, you’re still here…”, a familiar chuckle quickly following and catching her attention. As she looked straight ahead of here, there he was.

Frank.

He didn’t look any different from how she remembered him, still handsome with that irritating smirk and that strange pencil moustache.

She found herself caressing his face before the priest even had a chance to speak. Frank chuckled again, whispering “you drag me all the way over her for some traditional bullshit and now you can’t even keep your hands off me? Didn’t know you missed me that much”. She could hear the priest droning on in the background as she just focused on Frank. This all felt so real, she could feel his skin against her hand and everything. She felt like her heart was in her mouth and she was about to cry, she’d almost forgotten how much she’d missed him. “Cat got your tongue?” Frank teased her, also ignoring the priest trying to get them to follow protocol as he pulled her closer by her waist.

“You knew I wouldn’t have the patience for all this religious bullshit, didn’t you? This is one of your little games, isn’t it doll?”, Eilis found her words caught in her throat as she couldn’t stop smiling. The priest coughed to get their attention, Frank glaring at the man like he would have shot him right there if he had a pistol. “Do you, Frank Fontaine, take this woman to be your wife?” He queried, obviously hating every damn second of this. Frank looked at him like he had a fish’s head, scoffing “No, I’m standing in a church in the middle of nowhere in a wet country I don’t like, holding onto a woman I have been having sex with regularly with a solid gold ring in my pocket just for the hell of it. Whaddya you think, Einstein?”. Eilis could see Ryan near the front of the church, rubbing at his temples and looking so miserable it was almost amusing.

“Charming. Now, do you, Eilis Caoimhe Ní Donnabháin, take this man to be your wife?” The priest turned to her, obviously hoping she’d just go along with it. “Can we just skip to the good part father? No one here really gives a damn about religion” She requested, he seemed stubborn for an answer though, refusing to say those five simple words. Why was this fantasy so damn stubborn? She didn’t remember the priest being that much of a prick. “I do. Happy?” With a nod, he finally said “you may kiss the b-“ he couldn’t even finish before Frank dipped her back and kissed her like she was the only source of air in that the room. She through her arms around him and happily kissed back, feeling the word starting to fade around her. She felt happier than she’d felt it months, maybe a year, her sense of time was still skewed. She wanted to stay in this moment forever, but knew deep down she couldn’t. At least she was dying happy, right?

So why did she still hear whispers?…

Ignoring it she just let whatever wanted to happen happen. Everything soon disappearing and leaving her alone. She wasn’t touching anything, in fact she didn’t even feel anything, she was just there, in the dark. “I can still send you back” Elizabeth’s voice echoed. “No..” Eilis muttered, “it was sweet, but I don’t deserve that” her voice bounced off nothing, and soon she started to get cold. She wondered if Jack would be ok, and her father, and Tadgh. She even wondered about Ryan. Letting her eyes shut she just waited for the embrace of death. But it never came. A familiar monotone male voice said “looks like my theory is starting to win” followed by the sound of something being drawn on a chalk board.

She felt her eyebrows knit together in confusion, when sensations came rushing back in and she took a gasp of air like she’d resurfaced from water. Panic took over her senses again, just in time for her to see Jack be shot through the chin and just go limp.

“NO!” She found herself screaming, Cohen still holding her down, now with a knee on her back. 

He groaned in disappointment at her lack of a proper answer saying something along the lines of “typical. Just when it was starting to get interesting.” Before walking away. Eilis slowly sat up, touching at the back of her head, not knowing wether to be happy or not at the fact she wasn’t dead, missing the feeling of Frank holding her already. He felt so safe, and now everything was horrifying and cold again. She cautiously got to her feet, staring in horror at Jack’s body just pinned there on the screen, dead. “Does your brother miss his lover?” Cohen asked her, “husband.” She corrected, barely holding back a floodgate of emotion, picking up her shotgun and swiping the glass shards out of the way with her foot. She grimaced in pain as she out weight on it, a shockwave of pain hitting her to remind her of her wounds.

“Do you think he’ll mourn him?” He wondered, picking up another bottle, but pouring the contents of this one instead into a rather nice whiskey glass. Eilis aimed her shotgun at him again, letting out a calmly breath as she got ready to fire. When Eilis didn’t give him an answer he continued “all of my disciples have left me… betrayed me.. Fitzpatrick almost did the same. But I caught him. That boy of yours is going to get my boys back and then… who knows. Maybe I’ll keep them. We’ll have to see”. He turned on his heel, holding two glasses, cocking a brow at the sight of her. She fired twice at him but they seemed to go through him as a red smoke seeped into the room and he disappeared, a strange noise following him as air rushed to fill the sudden void. He appeared again just shy of her sighed, tilting the gun back down and shoving a glass in her hand, telling her “don’t make their mistake. You don’t have a leg to stand on.” Before calmly sipping at his drink.

Eilis was still forcing herself to feel nothing, but her hand was shaking, and she hated it. She didn’t drink whatever he’d given her, putting down the glass as she casually mentioned, “Ryan talks about you, you know” knowing that would hit the exact string she needed. He paused for a minute, mid sip. He didn’t even take a drink that time, putting it down, “he does?”. “Oh yea. Talks about you till his throat’s red raw from devotion and his eyes are puffier than cotton balls, love. You know Andrei’s really a softie” she knew she was appealing to the part of him that still loved Ryan, knowing as much as he claimed he hated the man now he always would be madly devoted to the man. At least, he better be, because that was the only way this ridiculous plan will even work. It wasn’t even really a plan, it was instinct. Cohen quickly moved so he was beside her, grabbing her hand tightly as he asked, almost begging “does he? Does he truly?”.

Letting the strap of her shotgun slide away from her fingers, she held back and put on a soft look, ryanising her tone for his own comfort as she swore “of course. You are almost his every waking thought, the rest being consumed by rapture and worries for his own safety, obviously”. Cohen lay a soft hand on his own chest as he reminisced “oh my Andrei!.. he only ever showed that to me you know. No one else got that sweetness” Eilis resisted the urge for a laugh to escape her throat at the fact that he was wrong, keeping her composure. “He’s still a little… sensitive though. Over your last argument. You know he really adores Tadgh, and since he’s upset over Martin, that makes Ryan upset” Eilis frowned slightly as she spoke, Cohen barely contained a sneer, his next statement came out almost like a strange hum “so he wants his pets lover boy back, does he?….”.

“I can take him there personally. If I do I swear you’ll be in Ryan’s apartment before noon tomorrow” the Pavlov dog offered, not flinching as Cohen snapped his head back to look at her, like an owl that spotted a slight rustle in the bushes. He examined her for any sign of a lie. But she was perfectly calm. “Get the others and let me have them and we have a deal” Cohen proposed, being a little thrown off when Eilis smiled at him and tilted her head a bit “when have I ever not done a job properly for you? Now, Where are they?”.

far off in Hephaestus, Tadgh walked in on Ryan doing what seemed to be his new routine; smoking in his pyjamas while flicking through the cameras of his city. He took a moment to acknowledge Tadgh’s existence before asking “did you find your sister?”.

“Yes, she’s with our dad and Sinclair. They said they’ll send her back after her wounds heal, she’s refusing Adam” Tadgh explained to his employer, joking him at his side to observe the city. His eyes flicked from camera to camera as they changed rapidly, till he stopped Ryan’s hand from hitting the button again, pointing out “since when did we have access to fort frolic?”. Ryan sat up straight, focusing on the area and visibly looking relieved at the sight of the corpse of their intruder pinned to the wall. “Good… that’s one issue dealt with..” He rubbed at his temple as he spoke, taking a sharp drag of his cigar before ordering his remaining bodyguard “send a pnuemo to Sinclair’s for your sister. Explain that I want her to come back here to recover and that our problem has been eliminated, only atlas remains and we can simply cope with him”. The younger man left obediently, leaving Ryan to simply observe.

Out of the corner of one of the cameras he saw something light up. Wondering if it was a shop of some kind, he turned it to face the source, only to see it was a vita chamber activating, which was strange. It flickered to life and after a flash, the doors flung open and out fell their intruder. The man who’d survived the plane crash. That shouldn’t have been possible! That was registered to Ryan’s dna. Bar Eilis and Tadgh being an exception, no one else should be able to use those. Who the hell was this man?

More questions flooded his mind as something else stole his attention, distracting him from the now panicking young man, confused as to why he was alive. Eilis walked by one of the cameras, loading her shotgun as she walked. He watched her kill the big daddy that had done her job for her, mercilessly, helping the little sister that was hiding by the intruder’s corpse back into a vent before inspecting the body. She managed to get it off the wall before moving it to the floor. She just seemed to be staring at it, expressionless, not even taking the items he had on him. After a moment. She bowed her head before standing up and slipping out of his view, into the frozen tunnel that led to Poseidon’s Plaza. When she was out of sight, the intruder’s body fizzled away like it wasn’t needed, the man himself reappearing, still looking panicked and frankly sick as he gathered his things, taking a moment to compose himself and throw up in a trash can before seemingly heading over to the vent, preoccupied.

Tadgh returned again, stealing away his attention as he asked “something wrong sir?”. “Have you sent that pnuemo yet?” Ryan asked quietly, resting his chin on his knotted fingers. “No sir. I just wanted to see if Martin had appeared on the cameras. Eilis would like to know” Tadgh explained, only half lying as he also wished to know, trying to see what Ryan was so entranced by, but he just calmly turned it off. Stubbing out his cigar that he’d abandoned in his ashtray, tossed aside like his lovers of old, he got to his feet, tying his smoking jacket shut as he spoke “good. I need to reword it.” Not even acknowledging his employee’s worry for his own spouse. Walking past him and up to his office, he called back “fancy a game of pool, dear boy? It’ll pass the time.”.

Tadgh stood there for a minute, considering for a moment ignoring Ryan and just turning back on the cameras, checking in on his beloved husband now he had the option, but he knew better than to betray Ryan’s trust. It was so fragile and he couldn’t stand losing something he’d worked his ass off to earn, and he knew he’d done a damn good job of it before if he could still have it after being dead for almost a decade. “I’d love to” he put on a smile, quickly fold long Ryan after he realised the man had been waiting for him, a patient looking man fighting off impatience due to some paternal instinct he was ignoring he had.

Chapter Text

Eilis wasn’t even aware of the cameras watching her as she entered the tunnel to Poseidon's place, or the puddles of warm water that surrounded the outside despite the inside being frozen. As soon as the door slid shut behind her, struggling audibly against the ice, the Pavlov dog just crouched down slowly, starting to shake as she held back sobs, letting out this guttural scream that almost sounded animalistic. She screamed till she had no air left in her lungs, till her throat was aching and her scream died down into a pained whine, just releasing all the pent up aggression in her mind, mourning a friend who died in a way he never deserved and mourning the man she didn’t even know well enough to cry the best she could. She mourned how close they were to getting someone out of here, how her faith in humanity was being rebuilt, how human she felt again, and now that was all gone, just like that. Just like it always had, life ripped away something that she'd only begun to like.

You deserve nothing and nobody.

Unbeknownst to her, this mourning terror was heard by the man who it was meant for, and it horrified him. Jack assumed it was another terrifying beast by the way it sounded and echoed off the walls, thinking it was some new big daddy or horrifying adam monster. He didn’t have any more ammo, that rocket launcher wasn’t looking any safer and attempting to fight it off my hand had ended horribly, he could only swallow his fear and avoid the tunnel, for now, hoping it would move on while he tried to find a way to get more ammo. The word was terrifying and far far colder than he remembered, and he wasn’t even sure what happened. Had he died? No, He couldn’t have because he was still there. He wondered how Eilis was doing, strung up by that madman till Jack paid his dues. Rubbing a hand over the back of his own neck for comfort, he grimaced at the strange slimy sheen on his skin, and how it permeates the clothes he woke up in. He pulled at his sweater in disgust, only to realise any previous injured were gone. He could have tossed that up to adam but there weren’t any scars either. Even the blood that had moulded itself with his woollen sweater was gone.

Could adam get rid of scars?

Could it clean things?

He actually didn’t know. And he didn’t want to know. The corpse of the thing that had attacked stared at him with its mangled helmet, he could him was the last big daddies here, wandering away, unaware of the tiny pitter-patter of feet following him from behind, giggling quietly.

Cohen watched all of this, of course, amused by the sights and sounds he heard. He smirked to himself as he put on his poshest tone and quoted Shakespeare “Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial!” He wheezed a laugh, admiring his own wit as he swirled his merlot around the glass and observed the two. He watched as Eilis shakily got to her feet, taking a few deep breaths before going stone-faced away, only limping slightly due to the injury on her leg. That soon wouldn’t be a problem though as she pulled an Adam needle from the ice. “No reason to be a good example if your dear Boy Scout is dead, now is there my dear?” He mused though he knew she couldn’t hear him. She seemed to contemplate it for a minute before injecting only half the syringe’s content in, tossing the rest away. She was learning her limits. How adorable. He rolled her shoulders back as she used the new rush of Adam to fire up one of her plasmids, melting the ice around her as his body heated up, lighting her last Eve cigarette. Just before she got to the next door, by why she could only hope was an ice sculpture, she found an accuvox player with a tape inside. Her curiosity was peaked so she picked it up, smacking it off her hand to knock off some of the ice. Flicking it on, she was shocked to find it still worked, even more so when a familiar voice played I’ve it. It sounded gritty like they’d swallowed glass, but little mannerisms of their original tone slipped through, telling her it was Martin.

“You think you gonna finish me in here, you old fruit? The other saps you tossed in this meat locker all panicked like rabbits. I just watched and waited. And when they started to kick, I started to scavenge. Made myself a little Splicer cocktail, I did. If you can’t come in from the cold, then you gotta grow ice over your heart. And the iceman cometh, Sander baby. The iceman fucking cometh.”.

Oh Martin, always so dramatic. Eilis looked visibly concerned for a moment, going to call out for the man but whinging immediately, realising the adam hadn’t gotten to her shredded vocal cords yet. Checking her shotgun she found she still had enough shots to maybe take down an attacker or two, but she needed more, regretting leaving her magnum in Ryan’s office in her rush to check for survivors. As soon as the radios were out of Cohen's grip, she was finding out how long she'd been here, her sense of time was slipping again.

She cautiously approached the beast’s lair, with an air of conscious confidence, Cohen noticed, kicking the metal door hard so the ice would crack, allowing it to struggle open. He wondered if she’d connected the dots yet of the game he’d played with this particular disciple, he hoped she’d find it as amusing as he did. He needed a good laugh while his newest little moth was simply collecting trinkets. The room was one big freezer now, covered in hanging icicles and strange sculptures along with large ice mounds on the wall. Seeing as her only other exit was covered by a wall of ice, Eilis naturally planned on using her plasmid, but that could wait. She needed supplies and there were bodies here, they could have something. She’d take an ice pick at this point, a weapon was a weapon.

She also wanted to check and make sure none of the bodies were Martin, hoping he was actually in Poseidon’s plaza and hadn’t frozen to death here, alone.

She managed to find money and empty syringes on most of the corpses, nothing else though bar some trash or personal items. Most of the ice mounds would have taken too much Adam to burn and she was getting to the end of her cigarette. This place was also filled with sculptures, obviously Martin’s work but she couldn’t tell if they were old or new. Most were oddly cloudy though. Eilis always remembered him taking great care so the ice would be clear, but you couldn’t see through these at all. Her breath rose in plumes like a steam train powering through the night as she went deeper, finding a particularly detailed sculpture at the back that gave her a strange feeling that she couldn’t quite comprehend. This one was of Tadgh and Martin, posed like they were dancing. Tadgh, being made of clear ice, was dipped back, smirking at the carving of Martin, who was foggy. Her brother wasn’t fully finished, some of his tattoos were still missing, but apart from that, it was almost hyper-realistic. Martin’s one was different however, the ice almost looked too thin. She swore she saw some of it melting. A drop came from near the statue’s eye and she couldn’t help but flick it away.

In response a huff of steam came from the statue’s nose, matching her own as her breath condensed from the cold. She naturally backed away at this as the statue cracked, dropping the replica of her brother so it shattered on the floor, marching towards her as the ice cracked off it, revealing a feral and Horrifying-looking version of Martin. His fingertips and the tip of his nose were just starting to turn black from frostbite, while the rest of his skin was pink and blistering. There was a red tint around the rim of his eyes as he approached her and adam leaked from his nose. “The old fruit finally sent someone, eh? You think bullshitting me that your family will save you?!” He fired icicles at her, one stabbing into her bicep while the others only missed by millimetres. Hissing from the pain, Eilis ripped it out and aimed her shotgun at him, realising he was either going mad with Adam or just plain mad from the possible isolation. Cohen watched as the two seemingly danced, skidding across the ice to avoid each other, the heat from Eilis’ incinerate plasmid lighting up her form with magma pumping through her veins, agonising but necessary for surviving this as Martin kept trying to freeze her in place. Each step she took melted through the ice, and each advancement Martin made froze them over again.

Finally feeling the Adam hit her throat and having enough space between them to make a proper move, she pulled her shotgun off its strap and aimed “Martin, socair an foc síos agus ar ais an ifreann ar shiúl. I will shoot you, don’t feckin test me” she warned him, and he actually halted for a moment. It took him only a second to recognise she was family, and Cohen was almost worried that would ruin the fun, sinking into his velvet couch while he watched what was supposed to be carnage. Then new emotions took over, rage. Heartbroken rage.

You see, after all of the doubters dropped like flies and naturally, Martin’s survival method turned against him, Cohen decided to pick at the man’s brain. Whenever he’d start to relax, sleep or get any semblance of hope, he’d whisper to him about how he’d been abandoned, how Tadgh had moved on and how they were grateful to be rid of such a burden. After weeks and weeks of this, he didn’t even have to whisper them anymore, Martin would say them to himself. “you left me here to ROT! ” He snarled, lunging at Eilis. She dodged him, obviously having no intention of shooting but bodily harm was still on the table. She quickly flipped her weapon over and batted him hard in the back so he’d fall, making sure to back away as she reclipped the strap and positioned sit on her back. As he struggled, she went for her exit, flicking her wrist as she attempted to melt the ice wall in front of the second door, only to be tackled and pinned down. He let her roll onto her back like he was toying with her, before gripping her throat with both hands, seemingly not giving a damn as she reached her hand out to try and melt her exit. She continued to melt the ice till her airway closed. Setting her hands alight Eilis gripped his wrists, but he had no reaction, he simply squeezed harder. Any attempt she made to move him just made him squeeze more and more, and she quickly learned if she stayed still then she’d be able to get a breath in every few moments, when the ice cramping up his muscles broke to allow a new layer to form, making him lose his grip. Painful but better than nothing.

Noticing she was going purple, some of his humanity seemed to slip back and he let go, standing up and planting a firm foot on her sternum. The sudden rush of cold crisp air made Eilis dizzy, she didn’t even hear him ask her the first time “where is Tadgh?”, she was too busy getting in as much air as possible before he decided to take that way again. When he started to put pressure against her sternum, she seemed to listen as he repeated himself again “Where. Is. Your. Brother?”. “Ryan..” was all Eilis managed to get out before he put more pressure, knocking whatever air she’d managed to claw in, right back out of her lungs in one big poof that almost looked like smoke. He moved his foot to her throat, not caring as the frozen rubber of his shoes was like a knife against the soft flesh. Feeling herself burning through her eve, Eilis let her plasmids turn off, tensing up so she didn’t gasp from the cold and lose more air.

Martin showed no empathy as she started to struggle to breathe again, beginning to shiver as she continued to fight to survive the old fashioned way; just hoping her body wouldn’t give out. He knew her usual tactics well, that’s why he had her down by her neck. She couldn’t headbutt or bite him at that angle so he was safe, yet in his adam driven rage, he didn’t realise she couldn’t answer with how hard he was putting pressure on her throat. “You two have been glued together since you escaped that night… then Cohen threw me in here after the others scampered off.. left me here to freeze to death! That’s what I get for loyalty!” He screamed at the sky, knowing damn well it could hear him. Cohen only smirked because it made the man look even more insane. “So, I waited… and waited… for my so-called ‘family’ to come for me” it physically hurt Martin to talk, when he finished taking a break he visibly grimaced. Eilis could feel him freezing her skin as his body slowly got this frosted look and the cold crept up her throat, he continued as he seemed to watch this “but you never did… and now you think just arriving with a new look will get me to forget that?” He hissed at her. As he heard her struggle to speak, he lifted his foot for a moment, only to see her half-smile and joke “you didn’t give us any other option to leave you if memory serves me right.. but at least you recognise me..”. He pushed back down to silence her, continuing “You think you looking weaker… and in pain… and thinner will make all this just-“ his anger suddenly melted away, his eyes becoming softer as he pulled away he’d stared at her for a minute.

In a calm tone, she just associated with her brother in law, he asked a question she was far too familiar with hearing his voice say “are you eating?”. She didn’t even have to answer him as he crouched down in front of her, not reacting to how she pushed herself back and got ready to shock him at any moment, “Jesus, look at you. You’re skin and bone”. He looked at her with genuine concern, which was both terrifying and confusing after he’d almost choked her to death. She looked at herself, brow furrowed since she looked fine, feeling like he was being patronised by her grandmother. In fact, she looked exactly the same as the last time he’d seen her, bar the injuries and the new haircut, she could thank adam for that, but she never would. Still, she always hated he knew when she hadn’t, even when out of his mind. When Martin calmly got up and left her alone, Cohen groaned audibly in disappointment, wondering what the hell was going to entertain him now.

Then he remembered he’d let Ryan have access to the cameras. He wondered if he was watching. Out of curiosity, he pulled his phone over and calmly dialled Ryan’s private line, only he, the Pavlov dog, Ryan’s past head of security and his other lovers knew this number. It rang and rang, and finally, it was picked up. Cohen calmly waited for a greeting, but instead, he got “Eilis refuses to use the phone. Sullivan and Jasmine are dead. Who knows where Diane is. What do you want?“. “Andrei! Is that any way to speak to the man who as absorbed your every waking thought? How rude” Cohen feigned offence, though even he was getting sick of the dramatics, “enjoying the show? It seems we’re at the boring interlude so I decided to take some criticism”.

Ryan was sitting at his desk, cautiously watching from afar as Tadgh was seemingly distracted as he honed his shot at his pool table. The king of what remained of Rapture dropped his voice to a whisper, wondering what game his old friend was playing now “I haven’t watched it”. “Are you sure? I would have thought you’d have called to applaud me for killing your problem child and bringing your guard dog back” Cohen hummed as he rolled his wrist, something popping with each rotation. “The hell are you on about?” Ryan sighed, leaning back in his chair as he got ready for whatever emotional nuke he was about to be hit with. “Apparently she was rather attached to the lad. His death brought out this side of her I haven’t seen in a while. The monstrous roar she let out when she thought I couldn’t hear her! You’d be impressed. Disposing of the most interesting thing to fall down here since Johnny topside seems to have tipped in our favour” Cohen metaphorically patted himself on the back as he poured himself another brimming glass of merlot. He went to drink, only stopping when Ryan finally said “But you didn’t deal with him did you? The bastard has somehow gotten past my gene lock on the vita chambers” the words just kept flowing before Ryan could stop himself, the only thing that did was a quiet chuckle from the other end of the line, “oh, so you have been watching?”. Ryan stayed silent as the artist began to ramble, “you know, I’ve begun to notice something… that boy bears a striking resemblance to Jasmine Jolene… the plump face, little doe-eyed looks, the blonde locks… and he has a certain dash of an old flame… maybe I’ll try to keep him alive and to myself, though he does seem oddly suicidal and I don’t think dear Ellie will take that too well”.

“Let her do her job. If she’s ‘back’, as you put it, then she will get it done and get rid of him pro-” Ryan tried to give a demand but Cohen snorted a laugh “are you giving me orders?! I don’t have to do a thing you say. I have your bodyguard at my disposal and emotionally fragile enough to shatter and reform into a beautiful work of strained glass capable of killing you!… you’ll get her and your changeling of a boy’s lover back if I can simply have two things” he gave Ryan a minute to protest, but he didn’t, “Our intruder stays with me and we get our weekly meetings back in the diaries. I’m down a disciple Andrew, you know I don’t like odd numbers”. “Fine. Just give us back Eilis and… whatever his name was” with that, Ryan hung up. Cohen lifted his head to view the cameras, being greeted by Eilis backed up against an ice mound and Jack entering the lion's den. How fun.

As soon as Ryan had placed the phone back on the receiver, he ordered Tadgh "Thomas? Go check on your colleagues. It is far too quiet out there". Tadgh obeyed without question, quietly agreeing that it was strange those men hadn't been screaming at each other like usual. After he was comforted by the sounds of the doors shutting followed by Tadgh calling out to the buffoons he had guarding his possessions, he called the Adonis and had himself paged through to Sinclair's room. He waited impatiently, bouncing his leg till he firmly planted it on the floor when he was greeted by the sound of a phone clicking off a receiver and the silky southern drawl of Sinclair chirpily saying "Good to hear from you Andy, I was half afraid you'd slipped off to the great hereafter since we took Ellie from you". "enjoying the accommodation?" Ryan asked apathetically, repeatedly flexing his hand to deal with his anger threatening to bubble to the surface. "luxurious as always. Wouldn't expect anything less from somewhere made, especially for you, son" Sinclair chuckled, lighting a cigar as he hummed "what can I do for you?". Ryan remained composed as he waited to catch Sinclair in a lie, "I'd like to speak with Eilis. I need to know how she's feeling". "She's still asleep hun. Adam overdose'll do that to ya, she's been out since about... what was it Mickey? few minutes after your boy left? yea that sounds about right" The southerner didn't even flinch, having prepped the response since Eilis left, "I can assure you though she's doin just fine". 

"Good! very good. Tell her to call me when she wakes up" Ryan's hand was starting to shake slightly with how hard he was gripping the phone, as he heard Mick and Sinclair start to chat, Sinclair seemingly ready to say goodbye, he threw in one more comment "Oh, and I must applaud you, Augustus. I never knew you were a hairdresser! Sander almost didn't recognise Eilis when she stumbled into fort frolic". Sinclair was silent, but he could hear a muffled Irish voice ask "what do you mean she's in fort frolic? Augustus, cad faoi a bhfuil sé ag caint? Cá bhfuil mo iníon?!" before he hung up. Sinclair had just lied to him, and soon he'd learn to regret that. You'd think he'd have learned after what happened to Johnny Topside, but no. He never did. 

Eilis's teeth chattered from the cold, unable to focus long enough to activate her plasmid as any muscle tension made her entire body ache. Martin had tossed her against the wall when he'd spotted her trying to leave, having melted the ice blocking the airlock to Poseidon's plaza. Her entire body was frozen up to her neck, frost creeping up her chin as she watched him freeze it shut again. He'd switched from trying to kill her to this sick version of a concerned family member in a matter of seconds. Whenever she'd tried to reason with him he justified this as keeping her safe, telling him about Kyle had only made it worse. "that could have been you! I am trying to help you, can't you see that? How will I get Tadgh back if he finds out I let Cohen take you too?! HUH?!" He screamed at her as she glared at him, shivering madly as she clamped her jaw shut to stop her teeth chattering. "the cold's gonna get you kid... it's gonna crawl up on you and after it bites it never let's go." he warned, picking up a bottle he'd brought over with him when she'd tried to escape. the top had been smashed off, leaving it as some sort of jagged cup full of glistening dark red liquid with a strange blue swirl going through it. Eilis' nose wrinkled as she turned her head away when Martin tried to push the jagged glass to her lips. "Drink it," he demanded, she silently refused by keeping her head away. He continued to try and encourage her but she was adamant, her focus on keeping her mouth shut only stolen when the only remaining door slid open, the one that lead back to the atrium, revealing Jack standing there, equally as bewildered as she was. 

"How the fuck are you alive?!" She shouted at him, not even getting the chance to hear Jack's half laughed reply of "I have no idea!" before Martin just lunged at him. Naturally, Jack shot him and fully planned on just aiming for the head, as he'd been learning to do, but his resolve quivered when he heard Eilis shout something at him. The reason he didn't hear it was he'd been punched in the jaw, pinned to the floor and beaten till the world was fuzzy. Eilis couldn't do anything thing but scream and she hated it. Again she tried to move her arms but it was impossible without ripping her skin off at this point. Finally, after what felt like hours, martin stopped, seemingly irritated that Jack's face wouldn't go past being one big bruise with a busted lip and broken nose, with no other signs of injury or swelling. He was like a rat that activated the traps just to give its attacker some hope. Getting to his feet, Martin spat at him before leaving Jack there, having frozen his limbs down so he could deal with him later. He picked up the broken bottle again, having placed it in the crook of the arm of a nearby statue before his attack, offering it to Eilis again. "You know this kid?" He whispered to her, the look she gave him giving him all the answers he needed. She was concerned for him, confused and even a little bit scared. Martin chuckled, pushing the glass against her lips, not caring if it started to cut, "drink it and I'll let him go. or Don't and I turn him into a human popsicle and make you drink it.". "what is it?..." Eilis was hesitant to ask that question, knowing from the look and the smell it sure as hell wasn't wine. "splicer cocktail, home-brewed. Now bottoms up, and take your medicine". She took one more glance at Jack, still affected by the shock and hating that ramble cohen went on about maternity that was playing over and over again in her mind before she opened her mouth, let martin tip her head back as much as possible and swallowed every last drop of the little concoction. 

Watching her do so was painful, it made Jack grimace as with every gulp she visibly fought off the urge to puke. Managing to rip a hand free, not caring about the layer of skin that came off with it as he grabbed his pistol and shot the man once in the leg so he dropped, once to the shoulder so he fell back and then finally in the side to just distract him with the pain. Fighting through the pain, he used his plasmid to melt himself free before rushing to Eilis. The ice around her had melted and she'd hit the floor, currently hyperventilating with her head on the floor, hands covering her head. When Jack tried to offer a supportive hand she hit it away, just pointing at the frozen door as an indication for him to deal with it. she felt like she'd just drank antifreeze. her throat was on fire and she was even colder than before, she could feel adam leaking from her nose as waves of nausea crashed over her, trying to drown her so she'd blackout and just let instincts take over. Her plasmids flared with the new rush of Adam they'd been starved of, causing her skin to feel like it was burning, her body to twitch involuntarily from the electric current pulsing through it and small items around her floated off the ground slightly. She soon felt Jack put a hand between her shoulder blades, rubbing small supportive circles as he tried to encourage her to stand. "we have to go," he watched his attacker nervously as he just seemed to lay there in a daze in the floor, staring at the head of an ice sculpture nearby. "Eilis, please" He begged her, but all he got was her straightening her spine, remaining on the floor as she hissed " you were dead... I watched it. I saw you. This isn't some adam hallucination or some feckin nightmare. you were a corpse and now you're here... and you shot my brother in law... Is fada liom uaim sula bhfuair Frank bás, bhí gach rud i bhfad níos simplí" when she started to speak her mother tongue, her tone went from confused anger to devastating exhaustion.

Helping her to her feet, Jack carried her shotgun for her, taking their chance to leave while their attacker was distracted. "I.. don't really know how to explain it either. I was and then... I wasn't..." He glanced at her again, swallowing nervously as he asked "What.. what are adam hallucinations? how did you know I wasn't one of them?". Eilis cocked a brow, realising she'd never really thought about it "if it's a light dose it's usually memories or a strange feckin Frankenstein of them... if it's heavy it can be a full-on fantasy. I knew I wasn't imagining you because he saw you too. you can't exactly share a hallucination, that's not how they work..." she trailed off as she realised she just drank pure adam after finally getting semi-clean. resisting the urge to scream again, she took a very deep breath, so much so jack was concerned, and put on a polite smile, stating "Let's find cohen's boys so we can get the fuck out of here and get you to a bathysphere station, hm?" banging her shotgun off the floor to get rid of the ice that had frozen around it before calmly smoothing a splicer that was on the roof.

“You’re about to see the Pavlov dog Jackie. I hope it makes Cohen happy enough to stop fucking with my head” the American voice she out on startled Jack slightly, but he just nodded, realising she was glaring at a nearby camera before approaching the dying splicer. She’d absolutely obliterated the poor woman’s shoulder, her left arm was just gone. Planting her foot on the wound she queried “tell me where Silas and Hector are and I’ll shoot you before the Adam in your system does what we both know it will do”. Any drop of sympathy Eilis had seemed long gone, she just had this cold emotionless expression as he twisted her foot like she was stubbing out a cigarette. The woman under her screamed for a minute before just blaring out “the record store and eves! They’re in the record store and eves” starting to sob from the pain. “Thank you. go gcuire Dia suaimhneas ar d’anam, má chreideann tú sa chineál sin ruda.” Eilis continue to remain unemotional as she turned to Jack, taking his pistol and finishing the job. He looked at her like she was a monster, but oddly she felt absolutely nothing. It was strange feeling like that again, especially so effortlessly. She calmly pulled the burnt bandage off her hand, noticing all the cuts had healed into little scars all over her hand.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you were terrifying?… almost nightmare inducing at times” Jack swallowed nervously, feeling like he was talking to a totally different person, especially when she put on this obviously fake smile and complimented him “Aren’t you a sweetheart?” Tossing his pistol back at him, her seemingly emotionless persona cracking when she saw his hand and then realised the state of his face. Her brow furrowed as she though, vaguely remembering Jasmine mentioning how they had a medical station in Eve’s for if the dancers got hurt or someone got into a bar fight, which was often. She wondered if it had been raided because she hadn’t thought of anything else. She grabbed Jack by his sleeve, avoiding the stairs up to the second level for later, hoping Hector was the exact same as she remembered him while she made their way to Eve’s garden.

Splicers avoided them after seeing what happened to one who hadn’t even bothered them, watching as the Pavlov dog nonchalantly waisted her last bit of shotgun ammo on destroying the two old security turrets that were positioned outside. They entered cautiously, Eilis still dragging Jack by his good hand, twitching every so often as she glanced around for for Hector, spotting him drunkenly passed out on the bar in a pile of his own drool, a bottle of gin he’d tipped over mixing with, “at least someone is consistent…” Eilis couldn’t help but scoff, getting up on the stage and helping Jack up after her, noticing the whole she’d shot in the floor before was till there, just crappily covered up by some plywood. She found herself missing that moment oddly enough. Shaking her head she continued on her journey to jasmine’s room, Jack seemingly more hesitant by the minute the closer he got, flinching and looking around like he was hearing things. Eilis wanted to ask what was wrong but she knew better, if she just acted like her old self they could be out of here, with Martin hopefully, within the hour.

Jasmine’s door slid open slowly, and there she was, still laid out on the bed. The two stood there dumbstruck for a minute, Jack covering his mouth to suppress a gag as oddly enough a memory of his mother passed his mind. Ryan’s shoes and a fedora Eilis remembered him having but claiming had gotten lost lay on the floor beside a pipe he”d grabbed but never used. Jasmine had been strangled, it was easy to tell even by how far along her corpse was. He’d just left her there. No burial, no chance of anyone finding her until Hector obviously broke in, no evidence of the horrible thing he’d done. Eilis knew she was dead but seeing it was far more upsetting than hearing it. Out of respect for a woman who’d showed her more kindness than she ever did return, Eilis lay a scarf over her face. She was unable to close her eyes so she let Jasmine keep one thing she always cherished, her dignity. Finally breaking away from the body, noticing Jack was still by the door, she crouched so she could look under the bed. Past the boxes of dance outfits, lingerie and Ryan’s favourite cigars, she found it. It was missing the needle and suturing thread 

Tucking it under her arm, Eilis took Jack out, sitting him on the edge of the stage so she could work. “Who was that?” Jack whispered, like he was afraid the corpse and the almost comatose man would hear him. “That was Jasmine Jolene… cute as a fox she was. Ryan got.. angry with her for a reason I don’t want to understand, so he killed her.” Eilis answered as she cleaned his wounds on his hand, lip and nose, the little upset look he gave her reminding her so much of Jasmine whenever Ryan would get angry with her. “That’s who your southern friend said I reminded him of, right?” Jack asked again, flinching as Eilis popped the bones in his nose back into place. She just nodded, trying to focus on her work. She stuffed his nostrils with cotton wads so he didn’t lose anymore blood, replicating how she remembered they treated broken noses the best she could, knowing he’d likely use adam again soon out of desperation. She really just wanted it to heal properly. As she bandaged his hand, he asked another question “was she nice?”. “She was very self absorbed, but not in a bad way. In a survival sense. But if she liked you enough that girl would have sold her arm to keep you happy… she helped me get a suit once… and tried to help me get over a breakup..” Eilis paused for a minute as grief threatened to break through before she built up her wall again, apathetically continuing “we didn’t deserve her, really”.

While Eilis focused on getting the bandage tight and proper so no dit could get past, she swore she heard a sob. She checked on Hector first, who was still unconscious, so it wasn’t him, then she looked around for another splicer of someone nearby, only to have her eyes fall on Jack. He seemed to be trying to keep himself quiet, but tears were streaming down his cheeks. “Does it really hurt that bad?” She asked genuinely, wondering if she’d been too rough. He shook his head, trying to calm himself down as he didn’t even understand why he was crying. “Right…” Eilis sighed as she held his hands together to get his attention, “you can understand me when I speak Irish, correct?”. “What?” Jack’s brow furrowed, “an bhfuil a fhios agat cad atá á rá agam?” He nodded hesitantly, knowing he did but it sounded off. “That’s Irish. I’m going to teach you something so we can talk without Cohen earwigging, alright? Just simple yes, no, that kind of thing” she smiled softly at him, just wanting to keep him distracted.

He seemed hesitant but Intrigued, so she continued “let’s start of simple. Níl means No. Can you say Níl for me?”.

“Nil” Jack repeated, frowning when Eilis’ resisted a certain expression.

“Close. It’s pronounced like kneel. Try again, Níl.”she encouraged.

“Níl?”

“Good man!“ she gave his hand a squeeze as she seemed genuinely proud of him, “ok next. There isn’t an exact word for yes in Irish so I’m going to teach you one that’s just… easier. Tuigim. It just means I understand. Ti-gum”.

Jack repeated it perfectly this time, enjoying the praise she’d give him. “Ok great, one more and I’m sure we’ll be fine” She glanced back, seeing Hector was starting to attempt to lift his head, “if you don’t know if someone is trustworthy, I want you to say Chara. Ka-ra. It just means friend. If they are, I’ll nod, and if not I’ll shake my head. Got that?”. With one last nod from Jack, she let go of his hands and went over to Hector, cracking her knuckles before pulling him out of his drool puddle, “morning. Cohen wants to talk to you”. “I don’t wanna…. That you Ellie?… he and Ryan havin a little ‘meetin’ again?” His words slurred as he snorted a laugh, fully relying on her grip on his hair to hold him up. “Sure. Ryan brought some of that good whiskey you like. His secret stash from Texas. I’ll sneak you a drink if you promise not to fight back” she lied. He just gave her this sleepy smile and let his head drop as soon as her grip loosened.

“Beir ar ais go Cohen é, déileálfaidh mé le Martin agus Silas. Don’t drink anything. Don’t eat anything and don’t you put a single feckin needle against your skin. An dtuigeann tú mé?” She told Jack sternly, all that softness she’d had for him moments ago disappearing, like it had never been there in the first place. Swallowing hard, ignoring how that made his stomach drop, he replied “Thuigim.” Watching her walk into a room they hadn’t entered, seemingly going up to the balcony above and out a separate exit.

He picked up the smaller drunk man and got him over his shoulder, going to try and ignore out his way back when his radio crackled to life, calling out “Can ya hear me boyo?” It echoed off the wall and obviously hit back into the mic, making Atlas sigh in relief “Christ, What happened to you?! I’ve been trying to raise you for a dog’s age! Right, never mind that… I can’t get on the cameras so I don’t have a clue where you are, but you need to get out of there boyo”. “We’re working on it” Jack finally answered, continuing to do what Eilis had told him, “we’ve made a deal with Cohen, we’re just filling our end… Eilis is acting off”.

“What’dya mean by off?” Atlas asked in a slightly forced tone, like he was trying to potray an emotion he wasn’t fully convinced he was feeling.

“She’s just off. I don’t know what other way to describe it. I know you said she can be a little… different at times, but this isn’t the same. She was just.. emotionless. Before I could tell she felt a little guilty but this time there was nothing. I can’t tell anymore wether she’s going to shoot some random person or just talk to me like they aren’t there and she didn’t just murder someone… and it’s slowly seeming to seem more like the latter…” Jack went quiet for a moment, atlas taking a second to enjoy how unaware Jack seemed of his own brutal temperament, encouraging him “go on. Tell me what’s bothering ya, would you kindly, lad? What do you want to know”. Jack audibly huffed, stopping in his trail as he listened out for anyone nearby before the boy cautiously asked “you said I may have to ‘put her down’ at some point… How.. How exactly would I do that? Quickly. If I have to, I don’t want her to…” he trailed off. Atlas had to resist a chuckle, coughing to hide it and his original brogue threatening to slip out, “I know exactly what you mean. Hopefully she won’t snap on you as soon as Ryan figures out he can talk to her over the radio but you never know. Now, listen to me very very carefully, here’s what you should do-”

Chapter Text

The Pavlov dog kicked the door of Silas’ old record store, hearing the lock snap before it slid open, revealing him standing there with a herd of very feral looking women, happily drinking. Eilis aimed her shotgun at them, it was empty but they didn’t know that. “Wondered when you’d show up sugar, was that you screamin like a dyin beast earlier?” Silas smirked at her, popping the bird mask he had on up to her head by flicking the beak. She didn’t drop her aim or the terrifying look she had. He sighed, taking his arms off two of the girls as he dismissed them, “run along kittens. I’ll call you back when I need ya”. He couldn’t tell if Eilis just twitched for no reason or if it was a shiver of disgust from the word ‘kitten’. The masquerade girls strolled past Eilis, giggling and purposefully brushing off her with their shoulders. She had to resist the urge to shove them. Silas calmly took out a ‘clean’ glass and poured her a brimming portion of some form of dark alcohol.

“C’mon, have a drink. We both know why you’re here” He smirked at her, watching her intently as she picked up the glass, her expression not changing as she sniffed it, bar her nose wrinkling from the smell. “It’s wine, but sadly Poseidon himself seemed to want a taste so it’s a little salty. I’m sure that won’t bother your iron stomach though” he shrugged, sipping at his ocean wine, being so used to the taste at this point that it no longer bothered him. He watched as she did the same, only taking one sip before asking “why do you think I’m here?”.

“I think you missed me” he chuckled, obviously joking, wondering I she’d play along.

“Why on earth would I miss you?” Eilis scoffed, using her shotgun like a cane to lead her hand on.

“We did almost get together once” Silas shrugged, swirling one last droplet around his glass.

“You saying I had nice tits while piss drunk and assuming me moving you somewhere so you wouldn’t crack your skull open is not ‘almost getting together’. I only even moved you so Cohen didn’t make me take you to the hospital instead” She clarified for him, keeping an apathetic tone and expression as she pushed the glass over to Silas, since he obviously wanted it.

He thanked her with a tilt of his head as he picked up the glass, “I know you’re here to drag me back, but that ain’t gonna happen. So let’s just keep up the pleasantries before I have you torn limb from limb, shall we?” He was obviously enjoying himself as he waited for something to happen, yet she just seemed to be observing him, irritated he was stealing her time but still, observing, “you’ve been having quite the fun little adventure, haven’t you? How many men is that now?”.

Her brow furrowed, Silas ran his tongue over his teeth as he realised she had no clue what he was talking about, so he mumbled “just saying, you moved on from Frank pretty quick” hoping that would clarify. It did. “That’s none of your damn business” she hissed at him, but he continued to prey “I bet good ol’ Stanley would love the story of you fuckin stienmen and then killing him when you got bored”. “Silas.” She warned him, but his last statement sealed what happened next, “wonder if you did that to Fontaine. Did you stare into his eyes too when you shot him? Or am I making assumptions, sugar?”. Before he could even chuckle, brushing it off as a tease, she grabbed him by his hair, knocking the mask off and smashing his face into the old teller’s counter he was standing on. One hit would have been enough to subdue him but she just kept banging his head into it until she got a moment of clarity, tacking a step back.

Being rendered unconscious and definitely concussed, Silas just slid off the counter, leaving a bloody trail as he hit the floor. Eilis flexed her hand as she resisted a twitch again, feeling her heard beating in her ears as she realised she slipped, she can’t do that. Not now. “Silas?” Eilis called out, wondering if she’d killed him. She walked and so she could crouch down beside him, checking for a pulse. After making sure she was certain that she hadn’t killed him, she pulled the shotgun he had under the counter and took is ammo along with the two shells abandoned on the floor, before picking him up. He weighed no more than a piece of paper thanks to the strength boost from Adam. She could carry him normally, he wasn’t that large, but how light he was thanks to something she despised annoyed her. He let out a groan, which she quickly hushed before leaving, spotting his ‘kittens’ apparently preoccupied with laughing at large fish that had fallen through a leak in the roof and was now struggling for survival.

She made her way back through that frozen tunnel and found Martin curled up with what remained of the ice sculpture of Tadgh. She offered him her free hand which he just stared at until she said “let’s take you home. He misses you.”. He shakily got to his feet, unable to look her in the eye as he followed at her side, his bullet wounds healed but the rest of his injuries just seemed persistent due to the cold. Every step was oddly heavy and exhausting, he didn’t even acknowledge the sight of Silas being a bloody mess over her shoulder, though she wasn’t sure he would have cared even if he was in his right mind. Eventually he pawed at her hand lightly, like a child warning attention, so she hooked her pinkie around his, knowing if she touched him fully she’d freeze her own skin or burn him. The met Jack and Cohen back in the atrium, splicers surrounding them, backing away at the sight of Eilis and whispering when she dumped Silas on the floor. “You have what you want. Open the gate.” The Pavlov dog ordered calmly, rolling her eyes when people gasped when they got a full view of Silas’ face. It was actually healing perfectly fine thanks to the amount of Adam in his system, so she wasn’t exactly concerned or appreciative of the shocked shrieking. Cohen calmly walked over and linked arms with Jack, explaining “this one stays, you twi can go, even trade I think”.

“Not happening and not the deal” Eilis warned him, giving Jack a glance that he understood was he’d promising she wouldn’t leave him there. “It was the deal I made with Ryan to allow you to leave with that one, so I suggest you expect it and stop muddling in the business of grown ups”, her nose wrinkled as she was belittled, lip twitching as electric current started to light up her veins, travelling up her arm. That’s just what Cohen wanted, he snapped his fingers, making everyone in the room go quiet as he pretended to come to a realisation “Ah! But your not that little thing behind Ryan’s desk anymore are you? Forgive me dear, I’m old and my mind runs away with me sometimes… I am willing to keep my original deal with our young man here if that would suit you better”.

She cocked a brow, wordlessly asking for clarification that she was promptly given, “I warned my little moth that if he did not bring back all my disciples, then I would drain you of your blood and paint with it. Since he’s technically failed, as you are taking Finnegan, I could still do this. I may have over estimated how much I’d need though. A pint glass or two should do, or you could leave with your brother in law and pretend this angel never existed” he grabbed Jack’s face to get his point across. Stepping away from Martin, Eilis calmly rolled up her sleeve, slipping her engagement ring off and placing it onto her other hand. Cohen almost squealed in excitement, clapping his hand together, delighted for a new medium to cure the ache boredom caused in the back of his mind. At the signal, a plush chair was pushed in, which she was guided to sit on, and Cohen was given a very elaborate looking knife as well as two actual pint glasses. He held her arm delicately, wordlessly encouraging to keep it straight, tying a handkerchief around her bicep like a tourniquet. “Jack, féach ar shiúl.” She warned her companion, knowing Martin was too out of it to care.

“I wonder if that.. stone face of yours will crack at something like this. What do you think?” Cohen whispered to her, smirking as he pressed the knife to her skin just beneath the tourniquet.

Oh, so this was his game?

He gets a new medium to play with and he gets to see if he can make her crack after forcing her to be the version of herself she despises.

Cute.

She kept eye contact with him while he did it, Jack observing though he was warned not to. The artist pressed the knife deep and dragged it down at a slow pace that would have been maddeningly agonising, her pale skin quickly being drowned in crimson. She remained emotionless bar the odd huffed breath, keeping her hand relax as he continued, finally stopping just inbetween her middle and ring finger. He then held the pint glass just there, like her fingers were a spout for the blood, Eilis obediently raising her shoulders and tilting her arm down more so it flowed instead of just flowing off the sides of her arm. The Adam in her system knitted it back together fairly quickly, but slow enough that Cohen got just what he wanted, along with a muddle on the floor. Eilis was paler than usual but she remained emotionless, glancing at Cohen as if to ask ‘are we done?’. “You did very well my dear, very well!” He applauded her, taking his handkerchief back and cleaning her own blood off in a strange moment of compassion, admiring the scar. He ran his thumb down it as he spoke “Adam is such a fascinating substance. It is so cruel yet considerate. You spent so long fighting it healing you fully that now it just knows you want scars. Disfiguration of your own volition!” He gripped her hands, still trying to get her to slip “thank you again. We should do this again, yes?“. She didn’t answer, just continued to stare, eyes emotionless, teeth snarled. Sighing in defeat he did as she wanted without question, still grinning as the shutters finally opened and he gestured to show Jack he was free to leave. Jack did so, cautiously, checking to make sure no one would grab him before joining Eilis at her free side, seeing she’d linked pinkies with the ice man again, the three quietly striding back to the bathysphere, not sharing a word. The first to say anything was Atlas checking in over the radio, asking where they were going.

No one answered for a moment, Jack still in shock and watching Eilis like he were trapped in a small cage with a live tiger. She yawned, spitting blood onto the floor as she unknowingly revealed she’d bitten through her tongue to keep herself quiet, the teeth marks just healing as she shut her mouth again. “Can ya hear me?” Atlas queried, Eilis leaned over to take Jack’s radio, surprised when he almost shrank away from her. “We’re sorting something and then continuing on to Fontaines to get Jack in an unregistered bathysphere and back topside” she answered him, loading Martin onto the first bathysphere that bibbed to the surface, setting a course, before asking in a more condescending tone than she meant “have you toned down the dramatics?”. “A bit. I still believe we should be killing Ryan for all he’s done, maybe I won’t tear his heart out. Maybe” Atlas huffed over the radio.

“Well that isn’t happening love. I’ll come see you when I get him out of here, where are you stationed?” Eilis made her tone a little softer, not wanting to delve into a screaming match again. He had just lost his wife and child, he may be a little tender. Atlas was quiet for a long time, long enough that she almost turned off the radio, thinking he’d left, before he quickly stated “I’ll meet you in Fontaines. Go for the department store dock, that should be safe enough” an he was gone. Eilis didn’t give it anymore thought, tossing the radio back at Jack before getting in her own, speaking into it as she left the bathysphere,  “Tadgh? You there love?”.

“Morning. Was wondering when the dead would wake. How you feeling love? Ryan was asking for ya” her brother’s voice echoed over the radio, Martin visibly perking up at the sound. “I’m grand.. I need you to go to Ryan’s private docking station for me. I’m sending something your way.  Don’t tell him” she requested, her brother was confused by this but listened, lying to Ryan and saying he was going out to smoke, not wanting to bother him with the smell. Tadgh was there as the bathysphere started to dock, asking over the radio again “you’re not coming out of it, are you?” Realising she wasn’t even in it when all the water cleared, revealing Martin standing stone, shaken and afraid.

He stumbled out, quickly embracing Tadgh as tightly as he could, just clinging to him for dear life. “He has frost burn and frostbite but hopefully a small but of Adam can fix it.” Eilis explained over the radio, only being able to hope he was still holding it. He barely had a grip as the joy of having his husband back was consuming him, the two holding eachother tightly, tight enough to bruise, tight enough that the world felt like it would collapse and they would merge into one. Managing to compose himself for a moment, he pressed the radio to his mouth and whispered “I don’t know how you did this.., but thank you!.. I’m sorry for what I said.”. “I know.” Was all she answered before the radio went dead silent. She and Jack caught the next bathysphere that came by, one of the older ones that just did looks, rakish it directly to Fontaine’s. Eilis cleaned her shotgun like it were a normal afternoon, while Jack kept his distance, afraid of the unknown.

Noticing this she asked “Cohen didn’t terrify you too much, did he? I promise he’s far less… borderline psychotic when he’s sober”. Jack didn’t find this reassuring, in fact it only worried him more. He shifted nervously in his seat as he tried to stop imagining himself in the positions of all the people he’s seen her kill.She kept watching him, and he genuinely couldn’t tell why. It was almost infuriating. Eilis finally stopped as she seemed slightly bewildered by her surroundings, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose as they docked, mumbling “dearmad sin.” As they docked again and she went to inspect the area.

Atlas was right, this was rather quiet, and Eilis knew why. Everyone who was here was dead. Maybe only few hours, maybe a day, but definitely dead. One of the plane’s engines had crashed through the glass roof and right into their dry rations. Lit the place up like a Christmas tree and now all that remained was a waterfall and charred decorations. Silently gesturing for Jack to follow her, Atlas spoke up again, “you two just dock? I’ll meet you in a mo, start heading over to the bathysphere station. Jack, don’t leave her side, she knows where she’s going”. Jack did as he was told but remained even more distant than before, unable to see the woman who’d cleaned his wounds when he first came down here as same one that was guiding him. She didn’t even react when Cohen sliced her arm open, it was terrifying. As he kept just close enough to see where she was going, she suddenly stopped, seemingly getting her bearings and veering off course, telling him “wait there for a tick, love” as she slipped off to an old clothing store. It wasn’t her favourite but Ryan went into it once or twice and seemed to enjoy it. Stepping over the crumbling infrastructure and tipped over mannequins, she found her way to the back of the sore, where all the crates were kept. It was an entire building owned by Frank Fontaine, this place was a smuggling playground. That’s why they all did so well, they had things no other law abiding store in rapture could. Finding a crowbar she cracked open a few crates till she found one filled with winter jackets. It’d be cold when Jack surfaced, so she wanted him to have a jacket while he waited for a ship, just so he wouldn’t freeze to death and ruin all her hard work keeping him alive.

When she found one she assumed would fit him, starting to leave, she spotted a box that had Éire scrawled across the side and was very obviously not meant to be there. Infact the destination scrawled on the little slip that had been nailed to it said it was due for distribution to a specific party in Apollo square. Her curiosity was peaked, so she cracked it open, glancing inside. She brushed things aside like Irish papers, some bibles, a bodhran and finally at the bottom there was a pile of hurley sticks. She quickly grabbed one, bouncing the heavy wooden bat in her hand, admiring its flat smooth look and sharp edge in the only remaining light in the place. She smoothed her hand over it before taking a swing, making sure it was made properly. She remembered a devastating accident revolving around this little piece of sports equipment and oddly it made her smile, like she was proud and she wasn’t sure why. Jack had his wrench, she believed she deserved something for when she ran out of ammo, and it was much easier to swing than her shotgun. Tossing the jacket over her arm and bouncing the bat on her shoulder, she went to leave, only to find Atlas waiting for her.

“You had the same idea I see” he chuckled, lying obviously. He knew where she was but still needed to play the Irish sweetheart, especially since he was currently on thin ice. “Don’t want him to freeze..” she muttered as she walked past him, but he quickly caught up to walk at her side. When he was researching random Irish bullshit for this roll, he remembered seeing that thing she was holding in a book, but he couldn’t remember the name. “Didn’t have any balls did they? Be a bit of craic to have a game, you and me” he joked, Eilis shook her head, answering “if they did, I wouldn’t have taken one anyway. Those yokes and a hurl are deadly, ya know” she seemed to be putting all her effort into being as painfully casual as possible. “Are they now?” Atlas hummed as he admired the sharp edge of it, “oh yea. Cousin of mine got killed by one. He was playing a match and then bang, cracked the back of his skull open… or maybe it was with the stick… I’m not sure. Either way all of this? One big dent” Eilis gestured to the spot she remembered the injury being, unable to resist this little mischievous smirk when Atlas visibly grimaced in disgust.

“Look, I’m-“ he went to bullshit an apology but she already brushed it off, “your wife and child died, it’s fine. We aren’t killing Ryan, this isn’t the feckin French Revolution, that won’t accomplish anything. Let’s just get one person out of this hell hole hm? Than we can start blank”. She stopped suddenly before asking “are you leaving with him?”. “No point in it now is there? May as well stay and finished what I started” he gave her a half smile. She didn’t return it, just continuing back to Jack with a quick remark of “you stole that from Mick”. Atlas watched with an odd fascination as Eilis made Jack wear the jacket, fixing it like a mother would to make sure her child looked smart before leaving the house, whispering something to him in Irish that he didn’t quiet catch before continuing on. Jack stood there for a minute, seemingly confused before he just told Atlas “she uh, she said to follow her..” swallowing nervously as he did just that, Atlas doing the same.

He had made sure that this place was emptier than an old graveyard for what they were about to do, last thing he needed this close to his magnum opus was someone ruining the thing he has going. Still, he didn’t tell them that. He copied their actions that showed they were worried they were being followed, cautious of the dark, eerily quiet on purpose. When they got into the bathysphere repair shop behind it’s glamorous storefront, Eilis quickly spotted the shiny red model she recognised as the one that could be submerged the longest and with the top speed, only promise is that it was up in the air and nowhere near a dock. “Right… Jackie, look for anything that has big colourful buttons on it, I’ll try and climb over” she stated as she pulled herself up into the slightly destroyed catwalk, making sure not to put her full weight on anything and taking light steps so it didn’t collapse on her, knowing she’d have to jump and hope for the best when she got to a certain distance.

Before Jack could do as he was told, Atlas caught him by the shoulder, he looked back as if to ask what was wrong but his mind went blank and he stood to attention when the other man’s brogue slipped, demanding “kill the bitch, would you kindly?”. Jack calmly dumped half his weapons, picking up the Tommy gun he’d taken off stienmen’s corpse and filling it with ammo, checking it was ready to fire, like a soldier on his way to no man’s land, before going after Eilis. Atlas smirked to himself, proud of the plan he’d concocted after Eilis decided to pull such a ridiculous stunt. Of course, she didn’t know she was royally fucking him, but she would soon. He’d be sure to yell at her about it when he felt like himself again. Cracking his neck by pushing at his chin, he watched Jack skulk his way over to Eilis, while Atlas himself loaded his pistol, playing innocent as he shouted up “you alright up there darlin!”.

“I’m grand! Just trying to connect the battery..” Eilis shouted back, now having oil all over her fingers as she tried to figure out why it wouldn’t turn on, seeing evidence that who ever had been working on this last had left in a hurry, it was filthy. Hearing the sound of the metal bow and quiver behind her, she assumed it was Jack since Atlas couldn’t have gotten up here that quick. “No luck? That’s grand. If you have any Adam in you, could you use your incinerate plasmid for me pet? The fire one. I can’t see that well and I’m using both my hands” she asked him softly, continuing to work, till she got this strange feeling. Was it instinct? She didn’t know, but something was causing her body to scream MOVE!

She turned to look back at Jack, only to see him aiming the tommy gun right at her, finger on the trigger. Resting her fingers lightly on the metal, she called out to him a gently as she could “Jackie?..”. As he went to fire, he got shot from below.Jack emotionlessly turned his attention to Atlas, the ‘Irishman’ shouting at him “Back away from her, lad!” Knowing Jack wouldn’t listen and would naturally turn on him. He took this chance to shoot him in the knee, causing him to fall back and off the platform, hitting the ground with a loud echoing thud and a subdued groan.

Eilis quickly took her chance to escape herself, jumping down and bolting to Atlas, ready to fight, but he seemed to gave other plans. He grabbed her hand and made her run with him, making sure to take them somewhere open, knowing Jack would follow. “The hell has gotten into him?!” Eilis shouted, taking her Hurley stuck into her hands and gripping it tightly when she heard Jack approaching again. “Not a clue love.. this certainly ain’t a normal way to reacting to being forced to leave” Atlas huffed, feigning breathlessness as he watched Jack run at Eilis. She raised her weapon and went to smash it over his head, before hesitating and only getting his chin, still knocking him away from her but not incapacitating him as she originally intended. Suddenly she was shaking and she didn’t know why.

Jack stumbled for a few steps before lunging at her again, Eilis again striking him hard but just not hard enough like she would have with a splicer. Atlas wondered if it was because she considered him a friend or something else. Still she was stubborn, standing her ground. Jack calmly stood up, popping his jaw back in place and taking out his wretch, seemingly accepting this would be a battle of strength, not wits. Though that would have been very entertaining, Atlas didn’t have time for that. As they lunged at each other, Eilis still visibly hesitating as she aimed for Jack’s ribs while he aimed for her head, Atlas pulled out his pistol and shot Eilis in the back, hitting her right in the heart. It went straight through, the blood splattering on Jack’s face as she dropped, just leaving him there frozen as he was quiet unsure of what to do, unable to complete his orders. Atlas himself was shocked, he’d only meant to hit her lung, but he had to play along.

Rolling her over with his foot, he looked down at Pavlov dog’ shocked last expression as she seemed to take in her last few gasps of air. Not wanting to waste time, he gave Jack his pistol, trading weapons and making himself look more dishevelled before Jack snapped out of it. “Jesus Christ, what have you done boyo?..” Atlas muttered in horror, Eilis coughing up a blood clot in time with his false devastation. “What are you standing there for! Go get something to help her! GO!” He shrieked at the younger man, who quickly ran off, unsure of where he was going or what he’d possibly find. As soon as Jack was far enough away, Atlas crouched down, sitting Eilis up and supporting her with his strong arm. As blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth, life finally starting to leave her as her heart had stopped beating, he pulled an Adam needle out of the back of his pocket, injecting it right by the wound. She just lay there for a moment as her mind whirled with memories, the warm embrace of death creeping ever closer.

Seemingly just to torture her, her mind decided to remind her she was still a liar, though she was unaware of it. Well, this example of it anyway. She thought the first man she killed was the one who’d harassed her in New York.

She was wrong.

She was sitting in the field, the sheep grazing around her while she was scrubbing chunks of solid mud off her brother’s hurley stick, tongue stuck out between her teeth. She could see her ‘Uncle’ Paddy watching her from outside the house, enjoying a cigarette, just out of the corner of her eye. Ignoring him as she went back to focus on scrubbing, she spotted one of her cousins striding up the little dirt path to the house, sneering at the sight of Paddy and approaching her instead. “Where’s the ol’ one?” He asked her bluntly, she never remembered him being polite. Her brow furrowed as she tilted her head towards the house “she’s making dinner”, dipping her sponge into the bucket of muddy water beside her and wringing it out. “Maybe you can help me then” he suddenly got this cruel smile on his face, snatching the stick from her, bouncing it off his hand like he was admiring it, “spotted your brother with some pretty fella from town.. you know anything about that?”. “Why should I care about who he spends time with?… gimme that!” She snapped at him, going to snatch it off her cousin, but he moved, hoping she’d trip but she actually caught herself off a cheep.

“You should care because it soils the family name! What would your granny think of your brother being a f-” He tried to let the world slip, but Eilis’ hiss of “don’t you dare call him that.” Made him shut up. Then he laughed, this cruel laugh that should never be used when talking about family “oh! So you know! What? You one too?” He threw the hurley stick back at her. After she fought it, fully intending on ignoring him and going to clean, he started to walk towards the house, shouting back “wonder what she’ll think about her two ‘golden grandkids’ after this. Maybe she’ll even cart you’re brother off to some prison and send you to a convent. Oh the local reverends would love you” spitting on the floor before he continued. Eilis didn’t know what came over her, there was this blinding rage, it was hot and set her body alight. Next thing she knew she swung, there was a loud crack and he was on the floor, the corner of the hurley stick stained red. Paddy ran up to her, quickly checking her cousin’s pulse before looking very concerned. She couldn’t hear what he was saying to her, her ears were wringing and all she could make out was her own breathing slowly getting more and more panicked. He held her face so she’d look at him, grounding her as he told her “Eilis, listen to me. Give me the hurl and go inside, you heard nothing. You saw nothing. If anyone asks I’ve gone to the shops, alright?”. She couldn’t verbalise a yes, so she just nodded, shakily handing it to him as he threw the body over his shoulder and left, a red pool standing the grass. Swallowing, she poured out the dirty water she’d been using to clean, watching it filter away the blood before the ground sucked it up as the gravity of her mistake started to whisper in her ear. She went home, easily sneaking past her granny and curling up in her bed, a shaking mess as reality set in.

Just as everything started to fade, her chest suddenly ached. A familiar agonising ache. It made her whole body jerk, but she ignored it, fighting to stay in the darkness. She just wanted to sleep, she was so tired. The pains just got worse but she ignored it, hoping whatever drop of Adam left in her body that was fighting to keep her alive would just give up and let her go. Then a voice called out to her from the dark, “c’mon… don’t go out on me like this…”. Was that… Frank? Sensations started to come back as someone was rubbing small circles on her chest, coaxing her back to the land of the living with whispered words of “cling on for me, alright? Fucking hell, why isn’t this working?…” he sounded so worried, so oddly soft. She found herself starting to breath, coughing every so often as blood had dried in her airway, finally starting to open her eyes when she heard “there we go.. that’s my girl, come on..”. She didn’t know if it was the Adam overdose or just a cruel trick her body played on her so she’d keep living, and the fact she saw it was apparently Atlas saying this didn’t help. Her mind just have been playing tricks or be delirious because Atlas’ eyes looked so similar to Frank’s, reminding her of the few times he showed genuine worry, or at least what she could have only hoped was worry. She even hallucinated him as Frank for a split moment before the blood loss became too much as she passed out again while her body recovered.

Atlas sighed in relief, wondering if the adam he’d used was defective, and genuinely questioning for a minute if he’d actually killed her. There were no vita chambers here, if she was even registered, and if she was it was too far for her to wake up in one anyway. He stroked her cheek, allowing himself a moment since they were alone. “Don’t you dare fuckin scare me like that again… we’re so close. I don’t need you pulling out on me last moment” he spoke in his normal voice, happy to let his throat relax. Carrying her bridal style, he made his way back to the bathysphere station, knowing he’d sent Jack on a wild goose chase. He lay her in the most luxurious one he could find before setting a course to Ryan’s office. Snatching up her radio, he turned it off and on again to alert the old bastard. When Ryan answered with “have you finished the job?” Atlas replied “and what job would that be, mate?”. Ryan went silent.

The false Irishman chuckled, “I’m sending you a present.” Before getting out of the bathysphere so it could seal and sending it on its way. “I’m going to keep this radio so we can have some little chats. I’ll be seeing you soon anyway so you won’t have to worry about me returning it” he turned it off with his thumb, attaching it to his belt and smirking before schooling his face into something more mournful, going to find his ace in the hole. He found Jack sitting in front of a display of a vita chamber. Atlas knew for a fact it didn’t work but the fact Jack believed it did and was seemingly waiting for her to come back so he could apologise was childishly adorable. He could almost see Jack on his knees, begging for forgiveness, which he knew Eilis wouldn’t give him. You break her trust, it’s broken. Permanently.

Well, unless you were the dashing Frank Fontaine of course, he was a lovely exception.

“Can’t undo the past boyo. Let’s get some food and then head to Hephaestus. We need to end this” He pretended to comfort the young man, putting a hand in his shoulder. Jack placed his own had on top of his, thinking about what she’d whispered to him. It had shocked him so much he’d almost forgotten it, something about knowing when someone is lying? A squeeze of his shoulder brought him back to focus, so he answered “Tuigim ..” slowly getting to his feet, clinging to the jacket around him. He still didn’t understand, his head was fuzzy and everything was so confusing. He couldn’t get his thoughts in a straight line and most of his actions didn’t match up with what he thought he wanted to do.

Did he really want to do that?

Did he kill her?

Did he even want to leave?

Did he enjoy killing?

The only constants we’re the weapons he was carrying, Atlas’ firm hand on his back and the jacket Eilis had given him. He’d wear it till it was nothing but shreds and bury a part of it in a grave with the only part of her name that he knew. But first, Ryan had to pay. He knew that much.

That was all he knew.

Chapter Text

As consciousness slowly started to fill her form, Eilis felt around her for something to brace herself against so she could sit up, catching someone’s hand and feeling a hand go to support her back. She let out a groan as her back crackled audibly, rubbing at her chest, feeling some buttons had been undone and there was a hole in the middle part of her bra. She couldn’t help but cough slightly as her throat felt tacky and she couldn’t get any spit to relieve the strange sensation, tasting the strange metallic chemical mix she recognised as her own blood. Her chest still ached, her heart in constant pain as she could hear each of it’s thump like some sick echo in her head. A sharp tone broke out as the world started to fade in and she blinked the dark blotches swimming in her line of sight away. The sight of Ryan sitting in front of her like a disappointed parent startled her, and she actually punched him, keeping her hands ready to strike again before she realised what she’d done.

He lightly tapped at his split lip with his finger, muttering “good to know you haven’t lost your strength” staring at the blood on his skin when he pulled away. “You alright?” Tadgh queried, knowing both of them would assume he was speaking to them individually. Ryan put up a hand while Eilis buttoned up her shirt the best she could and replied “no. No I’m fucking not alright.” Taking in a gasp as her chest ached again, glaring at Ryan “how am I here?”.

“Don’t ask me such a stupid question. You’re in a bathysphere, how do you think you got here? Why you are here I amnt sure” He sighed, composing himself again as he demanded “you have been out of my sight physically for 44 hours. I’d like a full report on what you’ve been doing”. “What? Like you haven’t been stalking me through your cameras” Eilis sneered, but he just cocked a brow and waited. A laugh broke through her anger, then she snorted as she almost looked demented “oh you want me to admit it do ya? Fine. I’ll give you all the feckin juicy details! You’re a giddy socialite, I know you’ll love every damn drop”. She interlocked her fingers he pushed her palms out to crack her knuckles before crossing one leg over the other like she were doing an interview, smiling politely at him.

It reminded the two men of how she’d sit at her little secretaries desk up topside. She even started off with her chirpy little American voice “well, you see Mr Ryan, after I left to check for survivors on. My. Own. I met this lovely lad named Jack. You told me to kill him but I didn’t think the poor pet deserved that, he was so traumatised he was shaking. Like a child.” she made sure to look at her brother as she said that, continuing on it when she saw a twinge of guilt in his eyes, especially for his earlier comment “so I risked life and limb to get him to an unregistered sub simply so I could get him away. From. You. We even stopped off in Bill’s pub, he would have hated to see how they let the place go, but we sorted that didn’t we?…” she tired her attention to Ryan this time, knowing he’d definitely not have taken down the bodies he had pinned up like some sort of sick butterfly collection. He showed no remorse as she waited for even a hint, “I killed multiple people before I even got near that shitty excuse of a sub, which I hope you enjoyed watching while you smoked on the comfort of your little observatory. I also made deals with slimy pieces of shit, destroyed what ever shitty excuse for morals I had left, all just to get one normal person as far away from here as possible” her accent slipped back to it’s usually Irish thickness, tainted with despise “then you blew the sub up. He wasn’t even in there, you almost fucking killed me, and you did kill the family of your current biggest enemy, which great plan by the way! When did you get so smart?” She clapped her hands together, ignoring her brother almost begging as he said “Eilis, come on”, yet she continued “That won’t make my life any harder will it? Keeping you alive against a man who now has nothing to loose? So considerate and so smart Andrei,  an-mhaith!”.

She watched her employer’s brow twitch, a part of her begging for him to slip. One little swing, and attempted slap, something. Like a rabid animal trying to convince someone to stick their fingers in her cage, she needed an excuse to absolutely mail Andrew Ryan. Well, maybe maul was a bit much but she knew punching him hard enough to knock out a few teeth would feel far too good. “Continue, and less of the belittling tone, if you please” Ryan put on a business smile but the look in his eyes warned her to stop stepping on her own boundary. She didn’t care about that currently, continuing “We stayed with Mick and Augustus to clean our wounds and after a lovely interaction with my brother, we went to fort frolic to try and make our way to Fontaine’s department store. Cohen decided to use us like playthings. I betrayed two friends, watched one die and barely managed to get Martin out by the skin of my teeth, but you know all about that don’t you? Did you know Cohen basically tortured me and toyed with me for most of the time I was there? Isn’t a broken heart such a fragile little thing? Oh and I saw Jasmine! She looks great. She lost the baby weight you were so worried about and I never knew you had such a strong grip! Bruises are still there and all. Oh, And your brogues look as shiny as ever, love” She glared at him for another moment, just letting him sit in the uncomfortable silence. Tadgh stared at his employer, the man he looked up to, shocked when he didn’t give a response despite so adamantly denying causing harm to this woman, especially considering what Eilis was implying. Picking at her nails and completely taking her eyes off Ryan, she added “ After that I finally got him to Fontaines, I was this close to getting him out of here, and poor Jack seemed to just… snap. You finally broke him. He killed me, or at least tried. Now my heart hurts in more ways than it should. I’m once again the horrible monster you prefer to have under your employ. So either give me more Adam and a stiff brandy so I can power through this or let me wallow in your bathroom till I puke so much I forget my own name”. Ryan continued to stare at her like she hadn’t said something. Noticing the silence she looked up, pointing at her head, which he just seemed  annoyed by but that wasn’t what he wanted her to speak about.

Her brows knitted together as she thought before finishing “oh and I killed Steinmen. Brutally. Enjoyed it too, if you think that’s something I should be ashamed of. I’m more ashamed of letting Kyle die really and there wasn’t anything I could do about that one”.

Tadgh resisted a frown, hoping it was just the pain and Adam making her say that, refusing to believe his sister could enjoy killing someone.

Ryan let out this strange puff of breath, like he was expecting something grander, a better apology maybe for her sins? Eilis wasn’t sure. He began ordering Tadgh half assedly “Thomas, please go get something to clean your sister up. She’s bleeding everywhere” which her brother obeyed after giving her a worried glance. She glanced at herself, seeing no source of the bleeding, till she realised she could taste it. She touched her face and felt the familiar oddly sticky touch of Adam and blood leaking from her nose. She sat there for a moment, staring at it as it glistened on her fingertips before she had what Ryan would have considered a moment of clarity. “I’m slipping again…” she glanced at him with wide eyes “I don’t want to slip again”. “You’re not slipping-“ he tries to brush her worries away but she was determined “I am!.. and you’re just going to make it worse. You’re going to pump me full of Adam and whatever the hell you’ve done to those poor adam junkies and have me marching about like some toy soldier!… before I know it, it’ll be fucking 1970 and I won’t know any better”. Ryan barely composed himself, almost not having the patience to resist a shout, “that was one occasion and it was so you could continue working without the hinderance of grief. I was helping you. And I’m trying to help you now. You ran off, tried to help a parasite who blinded you and now look at you. You’ve come crawling back to me with your tail between your legs and covered in your own blood… and here I am welcoming you in with open arms like a fool. Like I always have.”.

He leaned over to hold her clean hand, gripping it tightly, like he used to when he wanted her to know he would support her no matter what, or when he needed her to believe that.

She seemed so tired and confused by all of this, so done with it all. “I wish that parasite had killed me..” she whispered to him, feeling the need to be honest. He patted her hand “no need for that, you’d have come back here anyway. Let’s get you cleaned up, a fresh dose of Adam for some energy and all will be well.”. She just watched him after that, expression blank even when her brother returned with a wet handkerchief, which Ryan took before forcing her to hold it, leaving her there in the bathysphere. Her brother took his space across from her, taking the handkerchief back and starting to clean her fingers, chuckling when he saw the hurley stick, “haven’t seen one of those in a while”. “Do you remember our cousin who died playing hurley?…” she suddenly queried, making him stop for a moment, shrugging as he moved onto cleaning her face “vaguely. Why?”. “I killed him.. with the Hurley stick I ‘lost’ when you asked me to clean it… Paddy moved his body. I pretended to be surprised when our aunt ran in screaming about it…” she had no emotion in her voice while she spoke, none in her features either, she just tilted her head back ever so slightly so he could clean all the blood, “I didn’t even feel guilty really.. I more feared the consequences then what I’d actually done.. he was going to send you to one of those awful places where they either break you or you don’t come home.. so I made sure he wouldn’t come back..”. Tadgh didn’t answer, only allowing his brow to twitch slightly. He was very aware she’d killed him, Mick had blabbed about it the moment Paddy confessed. He never liked that cousin anyway, he always a social climbing attention seeking prick, from his own memory. He wondered what he’d said to make Eilis so terrified and angry. If it was anything about Tadgh’s sexuality that wouldn’t have been a shock to their grandmother, she’d caught him enough times and her only complaint was him creasing his shirts that she’d spent hours ironing. Maybe it was the fear of others knowing, not just people in their little village who couldn’t have cared, but some memeber of the local clergy, people from the city, maybe their great aunt of that old dust bucket of a woman was even alive. Either way, he wasn’t disappointed in her, he was just confused what compelled her to speak about it now.

“bheadh fuath ag mamaí dom, nach mbeadh sí?... tháinig mé chun bheith ina rud díreach nár theastaigh uaithi...” Eilis mumbled, cracking her neck after finally being able to tilt her head back down. Tadgh was visibly upset by that statement, demanding “don’t say that. Mom adored you. And she’d have loved you even now, I promise” he brushed some of her curled strands of short hair away, still not fully used to it, “have I ever lied to you?”. Finally showing some form of emotion, Eilis just scoffed, standing, wobbling for a second, before gathering her things and leaving, not dignifying that with a response.

though confused and concerned, he still followed her, finding her back in Ryan’s office, crouched down by his billiard’s table, seemingly watching something, so he let her be. He hoped she just needed to be alone let the Adam run through her system and maybe sleep it off, then she’d be back to normal, whatever normal even was anymore, Unbeknownst to him she was seeing that little lamb she’d raised, Collin, lying there and staring at her with this strange curiosity. She reached out to touch his pure white wool, remembering how soft it was, but her hand just went through. He went to nudge her but again, nothing. Straightening up and ignoring how badly she was shaking, she spotted Ryan walking back to his desk, like he’d been here talking to her. Sitting on the billiards table was a fresh vile of adam, needle and all. It had a little note on it that just read “take it” like some sort of sick Alice in wonderland knock off.

Of course, she listened, because what else could she do now?

Wait for Jack to come and finish the job?

See why Atlas apparently saved her or of that was just another hallucination?

If she kept the Adam doses up, she’d just ride through the overdoses again and everything would melt into one long hum. Maybe she’d wake up when everything was back to normal again. Maybe she’d even wake up finding herself back in Ireland, having clung to the dinghy on some old fishing trawler after getting out of this glorified human fish bowl. Though she knew she could only dream about such things. But she didn’t want that. She knew she didn’t and yet she found herself in the same cycle again; breaking the seal of the vile with the needle and filling it to the brim with the disgusting liquid that had probably been taken from some poor bastard who’d gotten himself killed, his Boyd just left to rot in the streets.

After she ripped off the theoretical bandaid and took the dose, she heard a familiar New York drawl say “you gotta stop taking that shit kid”. She glanced up to meet eyes with Sullivan, though he was slightly transparent. Like the sane person she was, she picked up the cue ball from the billiards table and chucked it at him to see if he was real, feeling her shoulders slump when it went straight through and hit the wall, causing Ryan’s head to perk up to peer around the corner to see what she was doing. She didn’t know if she was upset or relieved that it wasn’t him, just another Adam hallucination. He looked so disappointed, it almost stung a bit. Walking around and past him, making sure to avoid him as if he were an actual person, she picked up the cue ball and set a game up for herself, not giving a damn if Ryan was watching. She almost hoped she missed her shot and ripped the expensive velvet open, exposing whatever possibly more expensive wood was underneath. As she potted her first ball, she heard Sullivan whistle. Her nose wrinkled as she fought off tears, almost losing when the sensation of a familiar firm hand patting her back followed by a cockney accent “how you holding up? Elaine and I are worried”. She rested her head on the edge of the billiard table for a minute, banging it softly as if she were trying to knock the Adam out of her brain before lifting her head to look at the two figures. She still remembered killing Bill. And the day they found Sullivan.

It hurt.

It still hurt.

“You weren’t supposed to leave so soon..” she sniffled, glancing at both of the ghostly figures who didn’t even respond or react to her, “you were too good to leave so soon..”.

“And us?” A monotone man’s voice asked, and the tears that had threatened to peak were gone within a second.

They were back. The twins. Staring at her in all their far too real glory. Picking up a ball she hurled it at them, honestly holding it would hit the glass display cabinet behind them, but it didn’t, the woman caught it, admiring it as she spoke “nice shot. If the world weren’t so strange you could have been a sportswoman”. Eilis didn’t speak to them, cautiously looking back to see Ryan was gone and Tadgh was seemingly preoccupied with figuring out the right Adam dose to give Martin, reading an old document on it.

“We simply came to congratulate you” the man pointed out,

“You finally proved one of our hypotheses” the woman added,

“Or you will” the man finished, seemingly fighting his lip curling into a smile.

Eilis cocked a brow, rubbing at her eyes before checking all the other hallucinations were gone and turning her attention to the two who were still very much there. “Christ.. What was that again?… the butterfly- rainforest- whatever the feck you were prattling on about” she sighed, giving in to talking like a crazy person again as soon as she heard Ryan’s private door click shut. “The flap of a butterfly can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, or so the theory goes. Or how it will go when it is discovered” the woman clarified, seemingly irritated this wasn’t common knowledge to Eilis. “Forgive me for not being omnipotent…” The exhausted women rolled her eyes as she resisted the urge to rub at her face, instead flicking at her lip with her thumb. “But. Butterflies can easily be halted by a single rightly placed raindrop, permanently crippling their wings. No wing, no hurricane. You’re about to be a raindrop. Though I don’t think you would have enjoyed either of the outcomes” the man explained more, seemingly whispering something to the other, which she nodded at.

“Great, I’m a raindrop. Woo. Can you too fuck off and never come back now?…” the Pavlov dog tried to continue her game, grimacing as an involuntary twitch from a current of electricity took over. They tilted their heads in unison, unable to answer her as she was called for by Ryan. She didn’t even hear him properly, so she snapped “WHAT?! What could you possibly want that Tadgh can’t do for you?!”. “Answer the damn phone, I don’t have time for parasites” Ryan ordered calmly, like she hadn’t screamed at him. Eilis dug her nails into the velvet, taking a deep breath as certain murderous urgent threatened to resurface, staring at where Sullivan once was. She wished he was here, he’d know how to reason with Ryan, calm her down, hell even offer her just a shoulder to sleep on until she felt better. Rummaging through her pockets, she found one very crumbled cigarette, rolling it between her fingers as she walked to straighten it out, she lit it before entering Ryan’s private office as he gestured to it, where the phone was ringing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard a phone ring, most people just used accuvoxes through the pnuemo lines or radios now. She sat there for a moment in Ryan’s overly expensive chair, filthy boots propped up on his desk, waiting for it to ring out as she went to tug her braid forward to fidget with, only to remember her hair was now short. It was also filthy. If she had a brush she could have actually styled it into her employer’s signature greased back style.

Fluffing it to try and stop it from sticking to her head, hoping for a shower later, she finally answered the phone as it remained persistent, the noise making her ears ache. “Ryan’s not here” was all she answered, actually surprised when she heard Brigid Tenenbaum speak to her over the line “good, because he isn’t who I called to speak to. Are you alone?”. Letting her eyes flick up to the door, making sure she’d shut it, Eilis dropped her voice to a whisper, leaning back in the chair “yea, I’m alone… what can I do for you?”. “Jack has not taken your ‘death’ too well. He has changed” Brigid sounded genuinely concerned, mildly surprised when she heard Eilis laugh slightly before muttering “at least someone was affected by that”. “This isn’t a time for jokes. The girls are scared. He is making his way to Hephaestus with Atlas at his heels and Adam slug flesh between his teeth”, now that actually caused Eilis smirk to drop. No matter how much Adam was in her system and the fact she’d only been with Jack about two days, she was certain she’d beaten the fact he shouldn’t abuse adam or touch the girls into his head like a broken nail she was too stubborn to just remove and start over.

”Adam slugs?… I’m guessing I can’t think positively and hope he found them by some of the leaks or stuck on a big daddy, can I?” Eilis mumbled in her suspended horror, remembering the sight of someone eating multiple Adam slugs, they looked feral with this vile green liquid dripping off their lips in chunks. She couldn’t even imagine Jack like that, even though she’d seen something very close to it. Her brain refused. 

“No I’m afraid… Atlas isn’t who he says he is… and Jack isn’t who he thinks he is. I need you to be careful. If they take down Ryan, rapture will be unrecognisable. We will all be dead within the month” the scientist warned her, “as irritating as it may seem, you need to protect him”. Eilis audibly groaned, blowing out a long drag of blue tinted smoke before lighting her hand on fire, disintegrating rest of her cigarette and flicking the ash onto some random document, querying “that was the plan anyway. Ryan’s already drowning me in Adam so hopefully Jack and I will rip eachother limb from limb and happily bleed to death on Ryan’s luxurious carpets so he’d forced to look at it every day… actually I think the fucker would just rep,ace the carpet..” rubbing at her nose as it had that familiar sting again and a hard thump from her heart having caught her breath in her thot, she managed to ask “Do you need anything else from me, pet? Or did you just want to remind me”. Tenenbaum sighed, hearing Eilis audibly switch her feet over, like she was trying to knock the dried in dirt off her boots onto whatever she was resting them on, “no. But I did want to say something to you before we possibly never speak again” she spoke calmly, hoping Eilis would listen to her. The woman seemed to zone out for a moment, humming something Brigid didn’t recognise before going quiet again, pausing for a short second before saying “I’m not getting any younger, shoot”.

“Frank Fontaine and I had our… dalliances as he would have called them. While you were together” Brigid admitted, unsure of the reaction she’d get, but she didn’t think she wouldn’t get one at all. She assumed Eilis hadn’t heard her, so she called out softly “Ms Donovan? Did you hear me?”. Eilis just had the receiver limply in her hand, unsure of what she was feeling. It hurt slightly but not more than she’d have assumed it was from hearing something like that. Bringing the receiver close to her face, she kept her tone as emotionless as she could while she whispered “it was a sort of… open relationship mate… I can’t exactly be mad at you because of something I let him do to keep his ego. Despite how much I adored him and miss him, I can still admit my apparent ‘husband’ was a fucking cocky prick” her voice cracked while she spoke, causing her to go quiet again. “Still. Consider this my apology. I understand what you went through when he put those rumours of you in the papers, as he did the same to me. We could have discussed it, but I was already underground when this happened. I feared you would side with him” Brigid explained, leaning back so she could check on the several little sisters she had sleeping nearby.

“I’d have never… Maybe if you had we could have been friends. Allies at least..” Eilis joked, but she still sounded upset.

“Maybe more. But we will never know. If we survive this though I would like to try. To have friends seems like a.. pleasant experience. The girls trust you, and they can see who people truely are. You should see their drawings, it’s rather fascinating” Brigid found herself gushing about the children she’d once sworn to keep herself separated from, and Eilis let her, seemingly listening intently.

“Well?… go on. What do they draw” the Pavlov dog encouraged. “in all honestly it’s mainly just you with little… red blotches but a few are very creative. Some give you a dog, some draw you holding hands with the big daddies or Jack before they feared him… one even drew you with Marilyn Monroe. She’d spotted an article about you and her after Fontaine had mentioned something in an old magazine… poor child cannot even read but she saw the two photos and assumed you were friends… were you?” Curiosity got the best of her, she had to ask. Deciding to amuse the woman who she had a slight feeling may not survive Ryan’s onslaught when all this was under control again, Eilis decided to admit “You could have called us that. We chatted often when she had a run in with Ryan for a bit… she was gorgeous, so I knew why he liked her and we got on fine” her tone was casual, having only brief but fond memories of the celebrity. Taking her feet down as she twitched again, flexing one of her hands as little sparks of electricity shot off it and a nearby pen stared to float, until she got a hold of it again and they dropped.

“You always call certain woman gorgeous or pretty. Do you say this because others do or is that personal opinion?” Brigid wondered, curious of how open the Pavlov dog would be with her in this moment. 

“Personal opinion. I can think people are pretty, can’t I?” The Pavlov dog’s brow furrowed, wondering what she was getting at. “Is it in the same way you think men are handsome?” The scientist asked her. Eilis audibly swallowed as she couldn’t force any words to leave her mouth, staring at a hallucination of her cousin with his caved in skull shouting at her “You one too? Huh? You a feckin degenerate like your brother?!”. After a very long pause where Tenenbaum naturally assumed she’d zoned out again, she went to speak, but Eilis cut over her “stay safe doctor. I’ll try my best to keep Ryan away from harm. If you have any control over this sort for thing, please keep the girls out of the streets” she hung up, cracking her knuckles as  she scorned at her long dead cousin.

She didn’t even remember his name, she didn’t even remember she’d killed him originally, that’s how little he meant to her. She hoped he knew that.

Leaving Ryan’s private office, he queried “who was it?”. “Undercover fella in Atlas’ ranks. Apparently they’re making their way to Hephaestus” she lied, Ryan believing her due to the absolute lack of emotion in her voice. “Good..” he hummed, signing something she knew currently didn’t matter, he was just trying to look busy, before continuing “are you prepared to do what is necessary?”. “Of course. Can’t exactly kill you myself can I? I’ve tried twice and it can never take the final swing” she forced a very obvious fake smile before going to check her weapons. The hurley stick was still in good condition, the blood on it was already turning brown as it seeped into the wood so it would soon just look like a mud stain. Her shotgun was scratched and needed a bit of oiling but apart from that it was loaded and ready to go, and she had some special shotgun shells hidden somewhere.

Glancing into the library she asked Ryan “where are my personal things?”. “That tiny box full of useless rubbish? I moved it upstairs. If you’re doing up there, tell Thomas to come back down to me, would you Ellie dear?” Ryan didn’t even look up from whatever useless decree he was writing out to speak to her, though she didn’t look back at him so it’s not like they were hurting eachother’s feelings. Getting up the stairs as quick as she could, fighting off nausea, involuntary twitches and the whispered of memories threatening to resurface, she proceeded to rummage through his private quarters till she only had one room left, the guest room. The door opened to reveal Tadgh cleaning the open wounds on Martin as Adam started to heal. But almost in reverse, leaving certain parts exposed as it built new skin. Her personal items were sitting beside Martin along with that long useless tape of what was once the closest thing she had to her brother. Tadgh looked back and smiled at her, waving at her “aren’t you sentimental?”. She didn’t give him any form of reaction, just going over to the box. She gave Martin a glance he knew was a subtle way of asking if he was alright, so he nodded before returning his attention to Tadgh, the two talking about the idea of living in Paris where Martin could be a famous ice sculpture and Tadgh could be his ‘bodyguard’ so no one got suspicious.

They asked Eilis what she thought of the idea and if she’d visit them in the summer, but she was too preoccupied with reloading her magnum after she’d found it and putting on a very delicate looking single pearl necklace. “Eilis? Love did you he-“ Tadgh tried to speak to her softly but she snapped “I heard you perfectly fine. Tá níos mó Adam ag teastáil uaim, táim ag mothú an iomarca faoi láthair agus is fuath liom é…” she rubbed at her face, suddenly cringing her hand away as the feeling of the cold band of her engagement ring sent a rush of memories of Frank that she knew for a fact she didn’t have the emotional stability to deal with right now. “Tá Ryan ag iarraidh labhairt leat. Tá mé chun dul a dhéanamh mo phost” she shouted back at her family members while she left, slipping Sullivan’s old holster on so she had somewhere to out her magnum, too lazy to translate her thoughts into the language she irritatingly had to speak most often. She was out and past Ryan before he could shout something at her she didn’t quiet catch, something about a door being broken? Ignoring it she went through one of the little mini hallways he had for protection, big strong metal doors and all that shut, only to see the one leading to his little observatory had been purposefully damaged so it wouldn’t open. Her brow furrowed as she gave it a kick, having fully intended on checking the camera before making sure the boys outside were doing their jobs, but it simply sparked at her and refused to open. Letting it an annoyed huff she went to go back, irritated she’d have to waste a bathysphere journey over and back just to make sure no one would kill the world’s biggest ego.

But she stopped in her heels when she saw the walls. They were covered in pieces of paper with little red strings connecting photos, written across the walls in what almost looked like blood “would you kindly?”. There was documents abandoned and pinned everywhere, it looked like a mad man’s room. One of them was even a photo of Jack, a recent one. Almost as if it were taken before he got here. It was connected to a bunch of other people with puns and little red strings, including her far off in a corner with a question mark by it. Accuvoxes lay everywhere with little notes taped on them to say what they were.

Mind control test.

Baby status.

Mr Donovan

The Pavlov dog initiative.

Her curiosity being peaked as Adam started to pump from her nose, leaving little droplets as she leaned over the table, she popped in the table labelled mr Donovan. Ryan’s voice crackled through “Suchong. Yes I do agree that we need to get him out of the way but it needs to be by natural means. I would suggest after we get all this.. atlas and revolutionary parasite business out of the way we stage a little accident. Ellie and Thomas gets their funeral, say their goodbyes, and we can begin the next stages of the protecter program with the perfect candidate. I will speak with you more on this issue in the future, he can possibly even help us with our… dancing issue. Ryan.”. Eilis rapped her off the desk, wiping the Adam off her face, leaving a big red smear as she had to calm herself down. She already knew Ryan used turning her father into a big daddy as a threat, but the fact he was going to do it anyway disgusted her. She wondered how that even linked in with whatever she was looking at, none of this made any sense.

Her eyes fell on the various photographs up there. Frank was staring down at her, so was Ryan himself, Suchong, Jasmine… so many faces she was trying to picture and figure out what she was even looking at.

Then she remembered there was one more tape.

One with her namesake on it.

Tossing the other one across the room, hard, enjoying the sound of it shattering off a wall, she stuck the other one in. This one was addressed to Frank strangely enough, Suchong’s voice crackling in “Mr Fontaine! Ryan has hired me outside of our contract, as you know, for something he has called the ‘Pavlov dog initiative’. Now it is similar to your work with the ace in hole project but very different in how it is applied. Pavlov dog often get whistled at, yes? Form of teasing, so Ryan decided to get that to his advantage, he tried to use mental conditioning and special Adam doses to have her react to these whistles and certain sounds as her namesake would have done. Yet, as her strange physiology regarding Adam showed, her body rejected the doses before it could take hold. Now, you must be thinking why Suchong tell you this? Well I think if we got a portion of her blood to extract gene that prevents Adam mutation and overdose, it would be very useful for ace in the hole. She comes to yours often, yes? Simply take some blood. She bleeds often, I’m sure it won’t be hard. Suchong.”.

The first thought to grace Eilis’ mind was; oh I’m gone fucking kill him. Then she realised Frank was aPart of whatever the hell that was as well. The hell was the ace in the hole? Why was there a string connecting him to Jack? Why did he need her blood? What was any of this? She tried to search through documents but all of them just seemed to be useless gibberish without context and her mind was already muddled as it was filled with adam driven rage, confusion and anxiety.

“Oh my, looks like she may turn butterfly afterall” a voice mocked from afar. She covered her ears as she tried to regain control, feeling herself slipping as it started to become hard to think. “ní anois, ní anois.. le do thoil nach anois..” she begged her own mind, feeling herself sink into the dark abyss of unawareness, only to be pulled back like a someone saved from drowning at sea as an alarm started to blare cutting through the silence, getting louder every few seconds before muffling again as the door continued to struggle to open. Rushing back to Ryan, finding Tadgh already at his side, weapon drawn and aimed at Eilis as she ran in. “The hell is going on?!” She shouted. “Someone’s overridden our security protocol.” Ryan yawned, standing up slowly with this bored look on his face “Thomas, leave with your lover. Head for the Adonis. Eilis wait for them by the bathysphere and make sure there is one ready to leave if necessary. I will alert you if you are needed. Am I understood?“.

“Clearly. Eilis go get the bathysphere ready” Her brother ordered without question, rushing back to his husband. Yet she didn’t move. She glared at Ryan faintly, wondering “why don’t you ring a bell and see if that makes me run and do it for the promise of a treat this time?”, he actually looked startled by her statement, not getting a second to question her as she calmly walked away to the private bathysphere station he had, making sure it was comfortable for Martin.

Meanwhile, only a few hundred meters away, Jack was staring at the body of a little sister, reluctantly holding an Adam slug in his hand. “Don’t feel so guilty. If you hadn’t done that the poor thing would have just suffered anyway. It’s like taking a terminal patient off life support, remember? Like the crackpot surgeon said on that tape you found” Atlas assured him, encouraging him to eat it with a shove of the elbow. Jack had been very obedient and almost non verbal since Eilis’ ‘death’. He hadn’t even removed that damned jacket despite Atlas’ insistence. He hadn’t used the code word yet, but he was getting tempted. While Jack chewed the disgusting thing, seemingly absorbed in the pure Adam rush, Atlas took a moment to contact his men through the radio “we’re go for our attack on the Adonis. Remember bottom floors than work your way up. Anyone you recognise as important needs to be taken hostage, everyone else is expendable unless they want to join our cause”. When he got a double crackle of static, he knew they heard and understood, so he turned his attention to Ryan, taking the radio he’d stolen off Eilis to speak into.

“Hope you’re ready to meet your maker Ryan. You’ll suffer for what you did” he just had to keep this stupid act going just another hour at most. He was so close he could practically taste the fine food and the feel of those fine silk sheets he missed more than he thought he would. Ryan responded with a boringly blunt “I will not yield to parasites! Come and get me if you’re so confident. I will mount you on my wall as a lesson to those in the future. They won’t even know your name”. “Oooh look at you getting all threatening. You steal that one from your guard dog?” Atlas scoffed before turning it off again before Ryan could respond.

“Get up boyo. We have work to do. Now would you kindly head to Ryan’s office and kill the son of a bitch”.

Waiting for his demise like he were greeting an old friend, Ryan fixed himself in his reflection in the cool glass of rapture, straightening his tie, smoothing back his hair, things like that. He deactivated his vita chamber and pushed a cabinet up against the secret door that lead to his private bathysphere and apartment. Setting up a small television he had to watch the cameras and a radio to speak into, he made a small game of indoor golf for himself to simply kill time. A photo on his desk mocked him, faces of the past grinning at him like they knew what he was about to do and they found it amusing. He told himself it was pride, they would have been proud of him. He glanced at his cameras as the two monsters entered, alarms still blaring.

Now that he was so close, he could finally get a proper look at the man who would do the job. He looked like a male version of his dear Jasmine, with his own stern look to match, yet somehow still baby faced and childlike in his innocence. He couldn’t raise a hand to that. And that’s just what Fontaine had originally wanted, wasn’t it? And now Atlas was abusing it.

Once a parasite, always a parasite.

Lining up his shot and taking a sip of whiskey straight from the decanter, he waited for death. He would go out on his terms, or he wouldn’t at all.

Chapter Text

Waving with her fingers, Eilis sent her brother and his husband off to the adonis.

Tadgh was worried about his sister the moment she joined them in the apartment, she just seemed off. Like she was thinking but no thoughts came to mind, she was just a ghost in her own body. When he’d asked her to follow, she didn’t argue with ‘I should stay with Ryan’, anything like that, she just flat out told him no. Nothing else, no ‘I love you’s or ‘stay safe’ just no and then silence. As they sunk below, Eilis stretched, smoothing her hands down her side for some other form of texture than the burning sensation from her plasmids. Standing there like a statue, she waited for a new bathysphere to come, when it didn’t, she went to grab the strap of her shotgun out of habit, only to find it wasn’t there. She’d left it downstairs with her hurley stick. Her body accepted that the mere thought of that irritated her, not wanting to feel any form emotion as that was all too exhausting, she went back down stairs to retrieve them, noticing Ryan wasn’t in her direct line of sight.

Her lack of sense caused her to ignore this, visibly relaxing her tensed up shoulders and focus on something else entirely.

The vita chamber was off.

Something compelled her to turn it on, prying open the glass doors as she heard the faint sound of talking nearby. It just didn’t make sense for it to be off. It hadn’t been off since Ryan got it, it had its’ own power source. It just didn’t make any sense. Reaching up into the mechanisms of it, she shocked it, hating the strange cold rush she got when it turned on with her still inside. Stumbling out, she tried to grab her items, planning on going back to waiting for Ryan and the bathysphere, another moment of clarity struck as her nose started to leak adam again.

Ryan was shouting. She quickly followed the sound of his voice, calling out to him, slowly speaking more candidly. “Sir? Something wrong?… Mr Ryan?… Andrei!..” , the glass portion raising just in time for her to see him get struck hard across the face with his own golf club, falling to the floor in a bloody heap.

withiut even giving her mind a moment to register the horror of such an event, she drew her pistol and aimed it at whoever the culprit was, only to see it was Jack, finding her aim wavering slightly. He looked just about ready to strike again, till he realised it was her, “eilis?…” he whispered in shock. Taking a steadying breath, she tightened her grip “tráthnóna maith. Mar sin, cad atá tú? Cara nó namhaid?” She wondered, pulling back the pin with her thumb. Atlas was stood just shy of the doorway, like he assumed she couldn’t see him. “ Chara … I’m.. I’m your friend. We’re friends” Jack insisted, sounding heart broken and desperate, he looks so confused, on the brink of tears even as he started to shake, horrified at the sight of Ryan behind her, clutching his bleeding mouth. “I… I didn’t mean to! H-he… he killed!… Eilis I can’t think, I… I’m sorry I..” Jack started it babble who,e he hyperventilated, it taking every bit of Eilis’ will power to not rush ti him out of some stupid motherly instinct. She fired a warning shot into the wall just above Atlas’ head, sneering “I can fucking see you, you prick. Come out. Don’t make this anymore painful than it already is”.

Atlas obeyed, putting his own pistol into his waistband as he smiled at her “hello darlin. Glad to see you’re still kicking around”.

“Sure you are. Now you two turn on your heels and kindly get the fuck out of this office and out of rapture” she demanded, but was only met by silence. She shot just shy of Atlas’ foot as another warning. Four more bullets.

“I think we both know we weren’t going to do that sweetheart” It almost sounded like he was belittling her, “besides, what has you protecting that instead of being on our side?” He gestured at Ryan’s rather pathetic attempts to get back on his feet. “Despite his attempts he hasn’t actually tried to kill me. I just like to accuse him of that when he outs my life in danger” Eilis stated matter of factly, her aim still true. “Oh what? Cause he needs you?Thats why you think he wouldn’t toss you just so he could be the first on the boats from a sinking ship?” Atlas scoffed, Eilis shrugged. This wasn’t the time to appeal to her sentiment. Realising this, he knew exactly what to appeal to, her anger. “We listened to the tapes. Well, tape. You broke the other one” He explained, he hadn’t listened to it but he knew what was on it. He was sent the damn thing a few years ago anyway. He knew just from the crappily written sticker on it what it entailed. “He used you like a test subject, then had his scientist try and convince your own lover to carve chunks out of you. But he didn’t have to do that, did he? New Years sorted that for you when he abandoned you to rot” he made sure to drown his tone in pure venom, make it hateful, disgusted, horrid. “May I remind ya, love, that that particular inside the was your fault. And that tape wasn’t even talking about that, it was talking about blood and Adam tolerances. He won’t even let Tadgh touch adam” she spat back, her anger bubbling to the service. Atlas resisted a tug at the corner of his lips, “you ever wonder why? You don’t matter that much to him. He will always pick that man over you. Poor Ellie Donovan never getting the love she needs from mean old Daddy ryan”. “Say that again and I will carve your tongue out” she warned him, gun pointed. 

“Why? What part bothered you? The truth?!” Atlas shouted, Eilis screaming back “ó, tá an t-ádh ar do bhean a bheith marbh. Ní aithneoidh sí thú fiú nuair a bheidh mé críochnaithe leat, an seadán!” going to almost charge at him when she heard Ryan weakly beg “Ellie?… is that you?… I can’t feel my teeth…”. Extremely unused to hearing Ryan sound so weak, she turned her attention to him for just a split second, a slip in judgement. Atlas put a firm hand on Jack’s shoulder, gripping it tightly as the poor man was a shaking mess at this point as he was still struggling to process everything he’d heard and done. “Finish the job, would you kindly?..” Atlas whispered in the younger man’s ear, making him go rigid as he raised the bent and bloodied golf club again. He fought against it for a moment before his conditioning took over and he swung at Eilis, hard. She managed to step back, still blocking Ryan, the gold club hitting the nearby glass wall and causing a large spiderweb of cracks up it. She could hear Jack whimpering and mumbling babbled apologies as he continued to swing at her. She continued to step back, hesitant to shoot him but not willing to fight him properly as he’d go for Ryan. 

Knowing he’d come back, hopefully with more reason, she just shot him quickly right between his eyes. Her mind made her sick with the first comparison it made, just like a sick puppy. Resisting the slip she knew was coming far far too fast, she aimed at Atlas, who had his hands up, smirking at her, like he knew this would happen, like he wanted this. “Will ya miss me, love?” He wondered, tilting his head. She didn’t even answer him, but he saw this little twinge in her eye, she would and she didn’t want to do this, but Ryan always took priority.

After all, he wasn’t Frank Fontaine. Yet.

Seemingly to give herself time, she just shot him in the thigh, immobilising him at the very least, pulling his weapons over to her with her plasmid before turning her full attention to Ryan. She made him sit up, forcing him to open up and grimacing at the state of his once perfect teeth. He coughed and spluttered as his face already started to swell “spit it out and then deep breath for me love.. you can do it, go on” she encouraged him softly, focused on the job rather than the danger currently. Atlas used this to his advantage, ignoring the agony as victory was so close he could practically taste it, dangling just shy of his mouth. Crawling over and grabbing the genetic key Ryan had, switching it for his own before tossing it across the floor as Jack stumbled out of the vita chamber, still not used to the terrifyingly cold sensation. Playing the injured puppy act, which only brought Jack closer, he whispered to him “would you kindly stick that damn genetic key in that damn machine?.. The one over there, boyo..” he gestured loosely to the very obvious giant control hub Ryan had disguised as a decorative interpretation of his city. Jack, of course, did what he was told, still being horrified over the lack of control he had over his own body, the screen flickering to life as he haphazardly shoved it in, flashing Ryan’s mug for just a moment before finally displaying what it always should have.

Fontaine futuristics.

Atlas couldn’t help but grin with pride, struggling to his feet as he limped back over to Eilis and Ryan, the Pavlov dog still distracted with caring for the man who wouldn’t have done the same for fear of getting blood on his suit. “Deep breath for me, Andrei. Come on, good man” she encouraged him softly, starting to crouch so she could get him to his feet quicker. The old bastard seemed delirious and just unaware of where he was, muttering over and over again “a man chooses… a slave obeys..” like that was all he could even think. Picking up the slightly bent golf club, Atlas decided to give himself one final moment of satisfaction, just in case this plan went tits up. He pulled back, just shy of Eilis, and swung hard, knocking Ryan to the ground again with a sickening crack. He wondered if he’d killed him, but he didn’t even get the chance to check as the next moment there was a bullet ripping through his skull and he was gone.

The world went dark and cold, almost shockingly so. The kind where if you felt it your muscles would tense up in a pathetic attempt to warn you, only prolonging the agony. Then he just felt wet, strangely wet, and he hated it, like he’d been dipped in a bucket of fish guts and dock scum from the fisheries. The feeling of having a form soon took over, muscles that had never been stretched ached to move, lungs that had never taken in air screamed for a breath and eyes begged to open just to get a glimpse at the world. He stumbled out of the vita chamber, catching himself off the wall, coughing slightly as he wiped sludge off himself, spitting a large chunk of it out onto the floor. It congealed for a moment before slipping away between the floorboards. He looked down at his hands to find them relatively the same, but now he was in one of his finest suits and taller. Smirking, he glanced at his reflection in the glass of the bathysphere. He was himself again. Frank was back.

He ran his tongue over his teeth as he smoothed his hand over his bald head, flattening out his moustache and his eyebrows with a smooth wipe of his fingers. “I fuckin missed you” he told his reflection, giving himself a wink as he turned on his heel, making his way to Ryan’s desk. Glancing at Eilis he saw he may have actually killed the fucker, he wondered why he wasn’t regenerating if he had. Old fuck probably had something planned in case of this. Eilis was preforming chest compressions, speaking in Irish, saying what he could only assume were pleas.

He only caught one or two of them, the first one was hateful, something like “knock lam-v two shuh a yeanav! Knock lam-v two!” Or at least that’s why it sounded like, while the other was just senseless begging with some words he did vaguely understand “you promised.. cane fa knock fad-ear lat e-ad shin a quin-nail e-ha? you bastard…”.

Shrugging, convincing himself she’d forgive him later, if he ever let her know what he’d done that is, he began to rummaged through the drawers in Ryan’s desk. He tossed away important documents and what seemed to be sentimental garbage like it were trash, only making passing comment of “knew you were always a soft prick” after tossing an old family photo half way across the room. He continued this onslaught till he found the button to call security, smirking he calmly pushed it, alarms blaring and catching Jack off guard as he spoke to him “I gotta say, I had a lot of business partners in my life, but you…” he let out a low whistle, “’Course the fact that you were genetically conditioned to bark like a cocker spaniel when I said ’Would you kindly’ might have had something to do with it. Now that you were so kind to help me get what’s rightfully mine, I’m gonna run Rapture, tits to toes. You been a pal. but you know what they say… Never mix business with friendship. Thanks for everything, kid… Don’t forget to say hi to Ryan for me.”. The drones immediately dove at poor Jack, Frank leaving them to finish him off while he calmly removed the brat from rapture’s vita chamber codes. Simple as pie now that he controlled the place.

Bullets rained down as he watched Eilis involuntarily shock Ryan in her panic, actually restarting his heart. He took a gasp of a breath before curling up and coughing like he was trying to get rid of a lung. It was almost funny since Frank didn’t want to kill him yet. If she’d just waited a damn minute he would have been back and uninjured. She stood up and took a step back out of pure survival instinct, grimasking when she stepped in the hand of Atlas’ corpse. Pulling open one of Ryan’s drawers with his foot, he found just what he expected, tranq darts. Always knew the old bastard feared his own guard dog just a little too much. Taking one out and leaving the crossbow that was in there, he approached Eilis, knowing she was too out of it to even notice him, a mixture of survival instincts and an Adam high would make her blind to things she assumed were hallucinations.

Really counterproductive in his opinion.

His eyes followed her as she picked up the golf club out of some horrified curiosity, probably intently on tossing it out the door. She visibly grimaced at the sight of it, half bent with chunks of blood and even some hair stuck to it. She even cursed “fuck.. you poor thing..”. Sick of what I got her plan the ‘Ryan’s good little doggy’ act, he decided to finally reenact that dream of his. “Finish the job why don’t ya?” He whispered to her, happy to finally be able to use his own damn voice again, placing a hand on her hip as he stood behind her.

Eilis physically tensed up at the unknown touch but didn’t look back, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to fight off more hallucinations. “Go on… not like he’s gonna fight back” Frank mused, nestling his head in her shoulder as he smoothed his hands down her arms, laying them over her hands as she gripped the golf club that bit tighter. Her breathing quickened as she almost seemed to be considering whatever the ‘hallucination’ was whispering to her. It was just her own thoughts personified, right? “You really hesitating? After all the shit he’s done? Not let your poor brother rest in peace? Treating you worse than a fuckin test dog? Pokin and prodding at you till you fuckin snap and then blaming you for it? Takin me away from you?” He watched her expression become more complex as he could see her running through her options in her mind. She’d tried ‘finishing the job’ twice in the past, failed due to her own conscious or someone nearby to snap her out of it, but now that was loose and she believed she was alive. Just her, her fucked up adam driven thoughts, and Ryan. She could do it and probably not even remember, make up another memory of him being killed by Jack and moving on. Maybe something more gruesome, just to cover her bases.

“Go on, give into that urge for once. Treat yourself” he continued to encourage that violent urge he knew she was suppressing. Frank followed her grip as she raised it, ready to strike hard enough to kill Rapture’s original king , all those pent up emotions flowing into her strength as Adam continued to pump from her nose, getting in her teeth and giving her that feral look Frank loved. He kept whispering words of encouragement and violent suggestions as he felt her muscles tense against his arms, huffing breath out of her mouth, sending little blood splatters everywhere. But that nose bleed, despite being a result of her abuse of this sick substance, actually gave her a moment of clarity, it was only a split second but it allowed her to have the thought of “hallucinations can’t touch me”. Assuming it was Jack, since that was the only possible option to her, she whipped around to knock him back, but froze in surprise. She barely got out a shocked “Frankie?”. He gave her that signature smug look he knew once drove her mad. The shock quickly subsided and survival instincts took over again, the poor woman naturally assuming he was a hallucination, going to swing at him just as he let go of her arms. Stabbing the tranq dart into the other side of her neck, sighing in annoyance that he didn’t get to have his fun, he caught her, watching her drowsy expression for a moment before she slipped, her eyes fully trained on him.

He let her slide from his grip and onto the floor, looking up just in time to spot Jack crawling through an old vent and out of his grasp.

“Fuck-, why can nothin do what it’s supposed to for once?!” He shouted at no one in particular, kicking Ryan in the gut as he rubbed at his temples. He took a deep breath to calm down, reminding himself that he’d won. He’d finally fuckin won! He had Eilis and he had rapture, both in the palm of his hand, He even had Ryan as a punching bag until he finally got sick of him and allowed him to die or gave him to someone else. He just had to kill Jack and a few other loose ends, couldn’t be too difficult. Scooping up Eilis, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of her wearing that necklace he’d gotten her, and that damn engagement ring, and the signet ring. He’d seen so many people with little wolf shaped scars on their body, and he was proud. “Just couldn’t live without me, could you?” He teased, knowing she couldn’t respond. She didn’t have too, he knew he was right.

Back in the Adonis, Sinclair and Mick  were currently on their knees surrounded by several masked individuals, hands handcuffed behind them. “Atlas ain’t picking up, that’s not like him” one of them complained, another chiming in “he’s fucking busy killing Ryan, stop bothering the man”. Mick glanced at Sinclair as he whispered “and why did you think it was a sensible idea or open the feckin door?”. “Oh forgive me for assuming it was someone else Mickey, how in the hell was I supposed to know?!” Sinclair snapped back, glancing around for some other possible option, spotting Mick’s pistol on the desk nearby, dropping his voice to whisper again “could you cause a distraction?”.

“What kind?.. the kind that gets me shot?” Mick wondered, keeping an eye on their bickering captors, watching his employer and lover shrug, “you are my bodyguard, son”. Letting out a huff, Mick did as he was told, getting up but still crouching.  He managed to get his hands in front of him, with quiet the bit of pain, but he at least now had use of them. He cautiously crept towards the group before tackling one of them. The two scrambled to their feet as he used the unknown man as a shield, choking him with the handcuffs, “come and get me ya traitorous fucks” Mick hissed at them, backing away slowly, the group naturally following him, assuming plump businessman Augustus Sinclair couldn’t do a damn thing. Rolling his eyes at their incompetence, Sinclair got to his feet with ease, taking a deep breath as he remembered a trick Mick had taught him from his time in prison when they used to just leave him in handcuffs for days. He pressed on the joint of his thumb and bit into his lip hard enough to draw blood as he popped the joint out, now being able to slip his hand out with ease. Though that hand was now unusable for holding anything until he got his thumb back in place, he still had one good hand with a lot more movement. He snatched Mick’s pistol off the table along with a box of ammunition and his radio.

“Ellie? C’mon hun pick up! We got a situation down at the Adonis. Think you can convince Andy to let us sleep on the floor of his little bachalour pad till this dies down?” He half joked, brow furrowing when all he got was static feedback, it was on, why wasn’t she answering. “Ellie? Eilis?” He called out again, hearing a fight happen nearby, they must have gotten Mick. Shit. “Your dog for hire ain’t able to come to the phone right now, Sin. Can her husband take a message?” The familiar voice of Frank Fontaine crackled over the radio. “Whatever game your playing, who ever the hell you think you are, that ain’t funny” Sinclair warned them as he approached where Mick and that heard of their attackers had slipped off to, “now put me on to Eilis-fucking-Donovan or there will be hell to pay boy”. “Eilis Donovan-Fontaine. And she don’t wanna talk to you” and with that the radio went dead again. Scoffing under his breath, Sinclair burst into the kitchen, ready to shoot whoever was there, but the job had already been done.

Mick was there, bloody teeth with a gushing wound just above his eyebrow, bloody knife in hand as he’d done the same trick Sinclair had. Yet, Mick had the knowledge to pop the damn thing back in place. Staring at the Irish man, he was reminded that the Pavlov dog temperament wasn’t fully a production of a life of loss and unfair treatment, a certain aspect of it was evolution at its finest. Genetically passed down, absolutely feral survival instincts. If they’d been born back when the Celts walked the earth, they would have been done. Instead they were born in a world of smoke and metal machines, where there natural capability to beat the ever living shit out of someone, who sure as hell deserved it, was seen as rude.

“You got a little…” Sinclair trailed off as he gestured at his own mouth, hoping Mick would clean himself, he sure as hell wasn’t kissing him while he looked like that. Mick didn’t seem to care, just gripping his sleeve tightly as he guided him back to the other side of the apartment, kicking the hidden door to the staff elevator till the lock broke. “Two of them took the bathysphere, we have to get down to the public access and fucking hope one comes by” He explained bluntly as he pulled Sinclair into the tiny elevator, not even laughing at his joke of “We’ve been close but not this close in a while, ay Mickey?”. Nothing. Not even a courtesy smile. “Mick? Something on your mind?” He queried, trying to get his arm loose so he could shoot his necessary, grimacing as the pistol dug into his side. “I’m just trying to get us outta here, Paddy. Stop badgering me about it” Mick huffed, slipping out the elevator the moment the doors started to open, killing a woman he found guarding the hallway. She made this horrible noise as she just lay there, Sinclair tried not to look at it as he followed closely behind Mick. Then what he had said registered, “Paddy?” He queried, knowing damn well that wasn’t even close to his name or the pet names Mick usually called him. Getting no answers from his suddenly distant lover and bodyguards he continued after him, shooting only when necessary, almost like a mercy to the poor souls getting in the way of the Donovan rage. By the time they got to the main hall, it was in shambles, the bathysphere station barely holding it’s self together. They could hear people still screaming nearby, even a big daddy seemed to have gotten in, but for now they were alone, and all they could do was wait with baited breath.

They waited for almost an hour till a bathysphere finally arrived, shaking as it docked against the warped supports, the hatch struggling open, to reveal a very tired looking Tadgh alongside Martin, who was passed out, seemingly standing up and having propped himself up against the wall. As the screaming got closer, Mick almost shoved Sinclair with the demand “get in the feckin bathysphere”, ordering his eldest child “set a course for pauper’s drop. This is Atlas’ doing”.

“Isn’t that Lamb’s territory?” The southerner queried, Mick visibly grimacing at the mere thought, “yes, but she hates Atlas and is more than happy to accept refugees. And since they’re here I’m guessing good old Andy Ryan ain’t an option, is he, mate?” The Irish man’s usual calm demeanour and well managed temper seemed to have been worn down by pain and a sudden release of pent up aggression, just like his daughter. “What about Eilis?” Sinclair queried, noticing she wasn’t there, wondering why Mick hasn’t pointed it out himself.

”She waited back for Ryan… but she isn’t answering her radio, now will she know where we are?” Tadgh admitted, giving his father the same worried glance before focusing on Sinclair again. Sighing, the southerner sat down and calmly gestured to Tadgh and then the controls “go on. Ain’t getting any younger here son. Let’s just hope Ellie and Ryan meet us there, she has enough sense to avoid this place like the plague when she’ll see the damage that has been done to the glass”.

When consciousness finally decided to grace the Pavlov dog’s mind, she was honestly surprised she didn’t wake up in pain, or severely nauseous. The fact she woke up feeling refreshed actually worried her. She almost didn’t want to open her eyes, half afraid she’d find herself in one of those disgusting pods, Ryan and Jack’s corpses at her feet. Yet when she bothered to acknowledge her senses, she realised she was in a bed. Her brow furrowed as she rubbed the sheet between her fingers, they were obviously expensive. Hesitating for only another split second, she forced her eyes to open, finding herself lying in that luxurious bed in Frank Fontaine’s apartment, her apartment. It looked different though, newer, cleaner, but still lived in. The fire was roaring and what she immediately recognised as Frank Sinatra was playing distantly. There was very obvious signs someone had been asleep in the bed beside her, there was even clothes abandoned nearby that looked oddly similar to Atlas’.

Had this been a nightmare?

Was Jack asleep on the couch downstairs ?

Or in the game room?

Had all of this been some horrible daydream after the explosion?..

She needed to check on Ryan.

She got up, stretching and clicking her fingers out of habit, finding that she couldn’t activate her plasmids. Strange. They were there, she could see them just below her skin, but they wouldn’t work. Had the Adam overdose been a nightmare too? She tried to focus on the possible taste of chemicals in her mouth, in case she’d gotten sick, but she had nothing. Grabbing one of Frank’s old smoking jackets, she wandered to the bathroom to try and fix herself, splash some water on her face and remember whatever the hell was going on. Her hair was still short so she definitely hadn’t hallucinated everything before that. She primped it, noticing it was clean, possibly even freshly done so. She also noticed something that caught her off guard. She was in lingerie. Proper, expensive lingerie. A kind she didn’t own before so she couldn’t brush it off as her putting it on just to have something clean to wear. Her confusion only grew when she saw the new scar on her chest from being shot in the heart was still there.

What the fuck was going on?

“Atlas?!” She called out, power walking out of the bathroom and into Frank’s old office. It was empty but there were documents she didn’t recognise on the desk. They were all strewn everywhere. She checked the piles she’d made of whatever Frank had left behind when he died and confirmed her sudocions that these were new. Just shy of the desk was a strange little chemistry set with a beaker full of yellow liquid. She sniffed at it, wondering why it had no smell and just seemed to be bubbling despite being cold. Deciding to deal with that later she tried to open the secret door to the bathysphere dock, hoping she’d left her radio in the damn thing, but it wouldn’t budge. “Fucker..” she huffed, shouting again as she left, going back through the bedroom and downstairs, “Jack? Atlas?!”. She heard the wood creak somewhere in the apartment not near her, assuming it was one of them, she just began to talk  “Mate, I have no clue how sober I’ve been the last few days, but I need you to give me some clarity” she arrived at the bottom of the staircase, finding herself alone. Cautiously searching, she found the bar and kitchen fully restocked, Frank’s cigars neatly out away with one patiently waiting to be relit, balancing on the edge of the crystal ash tray. Her  shotgun as well as hurley stick were propped up by the coat stand as if she’d left them there after coming home from work. She checked for her magnum but found it nowhere in sight. Picking up her shotgun as she tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, sneaking over to the front door, letting it slide open slightly, just enough to peak out, before holding the remainder closed with her hand. There were splicers and thugs just hovering about with a turret on guard. Forcing the door to shut, she made her way back upstairs, freezing by the bear when she heard hearing shuffling in the bedroom. Mentakky cursing and happy she wasn’t wearing shoes, she went for the game room instead, knowing she could possibly use one of the pool cues to pop open the door to the private bathysphere station, but when she entered the room as only filled with more unknown thugs. She raised her shotgun at them, which seemed to visibly confuse the group as they stopped what they were doing, raised their hands and whispered to eachother. Seemingly deciding on a unanimous plan, plan of them stood up. He was dead before he even got his spine straight, “what the hell are you doing in my house?..” Eilis demanded, making sure to cock her shotgun loudly, it echoed in the quiet.

“Look.. we don’t want any trouble” one of them began so he could stand up, before shouting as loud as he could “SHE’S UP AND AT ‘EM!” Like he was trying to get the whole damn place to hear. Not being stupid enough to stay, Eilis bolted again, onto the bridge and hopefully to Frank’s office, knowing the doors had locks, but when she tried to enter, she found they’d already been locked. “Oh fuck me senseless..” she hiss as she tried to ram her shoulder into it, but it didn’t budge. A heard of them followed her onto the bridge, trying to coax her closer, saying strange things like “this is what fuckin happens when he isn’t here to keep her on a leash” and “c’mon Mrs Fontaine, we ain’t gonna hurt ya”.

Eilis took her chance while she could and swung herself over the sturdy bannister of the balcony bridge, a tight grip on the expensive wood, letting herself drop since jumping would have just broken her ankles. She could hear them starting to follow, the front door sliding open to show her way was still barricaded, knowing her only other option was the ocean, she went into the kitchen, knocked a cabinet down so it blocked the door and set herself up in the corner. Her chest heaved as she shook slightly, knowing she didn’t have enough ammo to take the amount of people that were here. Maybe three or four, six if she was well timed with her shots, but not enough. Shite, what was she doing to do?

“is cosúil go bhfuil mé ag teacht abhaile Mamó... did ya miss me?” She spoke up to what she could only hope was the sky, letting her head smack off the wall as she accepted her fate. She didn’t even have a radio to say goodbye to Tadgh, or Mick.

We’re they even alive?

Was this all some sick game from whoever attacked her?

Was Ryan dead?

Was she crying at the mere concept of that?

“Stupid.. fucking insufferable prick…” she hissed, just letting the tears fall as she saw the cabinet she’d tipped over start to quicker as someone pushed it off the corner it was balancing on and back onto its feet. She aimed right around where the head on the average person would be, planning on dying with dignity. Everyone in her family died fighting in some sort of way, she refused to break tradition. Yet when she saw who was there, her aim wavered. “You’re not real…” Eilis mumbled, tightening her grip to stop the shaking as she stared at Frank standing in front of her, clear as day. “What are you on about?” Frank asked, sounding genuinely concerned which only worried her more. She kept her aim steady, praying it against her shoulder and keeping her sight aimed using her knee, repeating “he didn’t talk like that… he’s not real… you’re imagining it.. he’s not real.. this isn’t real..”.

“Eilis, baby, put down the shotgun” Frank begged her taking cautious steps closer. The shotgun started to shake as she snarled at him, pushing herself back into the corner more.

“Eilis, you’re having an episode, doll. It’s just the Adam making you not think right” he explained to her, and the little broken terrified look in her eyes told him she slightly believed him. “Where’s Atlas?..” she asked, her voice cracking. “Who’s that? Ain’t that your old man’s nickname for himself” Frank half chuckled, still holding onto this concerned expression, crouching down in front of her. She looked like she was on the brink of tears, they rimmed her eyes and made them glisten like cracking porcelain, “and Jack?”.

“The baby? Doll, you know I sent him off to new York months ago”.

“months?… what year is it?…” she asked, her aim still remaining true. “1958, why? What year do you think it is?” He cocked a brow at her as he managed to push her shotgun out of his chest, it having left a mark from digging into his skin and staining his shirt with soot. Finally she snapped. She dropped her weapon, clapping a hand over her mouth and she just cried, wrapping a hand around her stomach. She couldn’t even comprehend what was going on, she just broke as months of emotional buildup released at once and past feelings washed over her in waves, dragging her down to Davy Jones. Shoving her shotgun away, across the kitchen and to one of his goons, frank. When she seemed to realise he was truly there, she clung to him, kissing his cheek before burying her fave in his shoulder so she could cry in peace.

Rubbing small circles between her shoulders and shushing her with soft coos and pet names as reassurance, he couldn’t believe it had worked.

The long con had finally fucking paid off!

Sure she was a but fragile but he didn’t expect her to take this so well after she’d finally sobered up. Took two years to get the main part of it and a few damn weeks for her to come around but still, he finally had it. Everything.

Rapture in the palm of his hand.

Eilis on his arm and the Pavlov dog at his beck and call.

And Ryan in a cage.

Maybe he should go pay him a visit? Later. For now he had to push the dictator/new man of the people act to the wayside, and play the caring husband. He can’t have his new wife rushing off to another man, now can he? Not even her family.

Chapter Text

Adam addiction is a nasty thing, as we’ve already established.

One of the more irritating parts of it though is even when your ‘clean’ of it, there’s still enough in you to remind her body it needs it. It’s sort of like a shitty relationship you keep going back to because you don’t have any better options for a point of reference.

Eilis had been off adam for the longest time she’s been in a while, few years even. It was just a mixture of whatever was left in her system and her mind shutting her away again as a sort of protection mechanism that kept her so blissfully unaware the last several weeks. Her body was still recovering, already being exhausted from having to function by itself, ontop of what she’d unknowingly been doing, it was just too much. When the panic and adrenaline had died down, she’s actually passed out in Frank’s arms, right there in the kitchen. He could still hear her heart thumping against her chest, he noticed the beat of it was odd, it always sounded slightly off since he’d shot her, like it was stuttering. Scooping her up, he made his way back out to the hall, propping her shotgun up by the door, where it had originally been left.

When he noticed his new help staring, the older ones who’d survived this long knowing better than to do so, he snapped “the fuck are you looking at?”.

“Should we be worried about that?..” one of them asked, obviously referring to Eilis, “I just think she’s a little.. unstable. Ya know? You saw how she was when she was bein ‘well behaved’, as you called it, now she’s free thinking. Should we go get another dose to keep her under?”. An older lackey snorted a laugh as he realised how screwed the new guy was. Frank looked the man up and down, unimpressed by what he was looking at and wondering if hiring the stupid was a good idea anymore. God he missed Reg, he knew when to shut his fuckin mouth.

“Do I pay you to think?” Frank asked honestly, like he were actually curious, the younger man barely got out a no before Frank let out a laugh “Good! Cause I was gonna have to talk to a lotta disappointed people if I did. You give me one more opinion on my wife and I’ll make sure that brain a yours is stuck to my dart board, still attached to ya. You think you’ll bleed out first or will you twitch when I hit you?” Frank’s tone got very dark, not matching what he currently looked like; slightly dishevelled, holding an unconscious woman very delicately and close to him, but his face would have been enough to scare the devil back into the lowest ring of hell. The younger man swallowed and apologised “yes, boss. I got you. Not another word.. I swear”.

Frank just scoffed and made his way back upstairs and to his bedroom. Times like this made him wish he had a door, well another one. He had the one to his office and the one infront of the stairs, but the idea of having a third was mildly pleasant, maybe he’d get one installed. He’s sure Eilis wouldn’t mind since all his money was technically her’s, a legal loophole that he’d once had to his advantage that he now needed to get fixed, quickly. 

Kicking off his shoes, he lay on the bed with her, admittedly happy as she snuggled up into his chest. It was the first time she’d slept in a few weeks. Even he needed to sleep and he thought himself invincible. He’d often wake up in the middle of the night to find her caring for her beloved shotgun, slow dancing by herself or trying to contact Ryan, getting no answer of course since Ryan didn’t have any ways to communicate with the outside world. She just ran on autopilot when her mind wasn’t working. Frank ran his fingers through her hair to brush the curls out of her face. Even in her delirium she managed to keep it trimmed to about the same length Sinclair had it. Though Frank missed her longer hair and how she’d curl it around her fingers when she could no longer crack her knuckles, seemingly only in his presence, he did like the fluffy curls she now had on her head. It made her look more unique, more human if that made any sense. When she’d seemingly sobered up after collapsing and nearly giving him a damn heart attack, she didn’t even notice her bruised knuckles, the middle one almost punched down to the bone. It was the tamest of the injures she’d managed to give herself so he’d planned on letting it heal on its own, but now he’d have to think up a lie. Shit.

Sighing in annoyance, he pulled the covers up over her and wrapped his arms around her, unable to help but wonder what she was dreaming about, if she was dreaming at all.

Would she think all this is a dream?

Would she wake up thinking she was snuggled up with Atlas?

Would she prefer that?

All questions he’d have to find some way to figure out later, but he had a feeling from the fact that even when out of her mind she refused to let anyone touch her jewellery, that she was always thinking of him. Frank.

In reality she was dreaming about her grandmother taking her shopping but he didn’t need to know that. The dream as a muddled mess of gibberish but one certain part stuck out. 

They were in a butchers, waiting in line to pay for what they’d purchased while her granny chatted with the butcher about when the sheep would be ready to sell for slaughter. Eilis was glancing around her till she spotted a butcher walking by with something she didn’t seem in a shop before. Fresh game. She tugged at her granny’s cardigan and asked “do they really sell those?”. Her grandmother followed her like of sight and spotted the racks of skinned rabbits, foxes and pheasants, answering calmly “course they do darling. It’s like us with the sheep, it’s the way of nature”. “But they’re wild animals, I thought we left them alone” Eilis brow furrowed, making her grandmother laugh while she paid, guiding the girl out of the store. As they walked home, the much older woman must noticed how badly it was bothering the young girl, so she tried to reassure her, giving her hand a squeeze “Eilis. Pet, don’t worry about them. Everything happens for a reason. Look, think of it like this. If you had to pick between your daddy and mean old Father McQuinn to live with, who would you choose?”.

Eilis’ nose wrinkled at the thought, her body mimicking her in real life. “Dad, obviously” she muttered, her granny tapped her nose “exactly! Now imagine it’s either father McQuinn or your great aunt. Not as easy if a choice now is it? As sad as it is, it’s either the rabbits or us. They eat the crops, love. It’s an equal trade, we kill a few of them and the faster ones can go off living happily in the forest with all the fae, and we can stay out here and mind our own business”. Eilis just nodded, not really understanding or liking the analogy.

“The dogs enjoy the hunt anyway. Don’t you?”.

“Excuse me?” Eilis asked in astonishment as she turned to look at her grandmother, only to find herself in Ryan’s office. Her hands were pure red, drenched in blood, what she barely recognised was Jack lay at her feet, Ryan standing by her side, just where she’d turned her head. He repeated himself “you enjoy the hunt, don’t you? Especially the part where you catch the vermin by the neck. Admit it”.

“No… no I don’t” Eilis insisted, Ryan cutting over her, “I’ve seen the smile you get, don’t deny it” starting to approach her, causing her to step back as she didn’t want him near her right now. “You rip out men’s throats with your teeth and then claim you don’t enjoy it? Now that’s just not true Ellie. And only parasites lie. Are you a parasite?” He tilted his head in this way that was almost unsettling and slightly unnatural. She couldn’t even get out a no, no matter how hard she tried. “Well? Are you a parasite? ARE YOU?! ANSWER ME DAMN IT!” Ryan screeched at her but she gave no response. When he grabbed her by her wrist, she went to punch him, only to find herself holding a putter as it drove into his skull. He let go, stumbled back a bit before falling on his knees, chuckling like a mad man before horrifyingly whispering “that’s it.. there you are..” before he dropped.

Eilis snapped awake as the sound of him hitting the floor echoed in her mind. This immediately woke Frank who’d just started to doze. She seemed to take a moment to calm herself and stop herself from being sick before she notices him. Lightly touching his face before caressing his cheek, she let out a little broken laugh of “oh thank fuck, you’re real”.  “You alright?” Frank queried, doing the same, missing how she’d nuzzle into his touch “need me to take you to the hospital or something? I’m sure Stienmen c-“ he tried to finish his line but she her voice cracked as she shrieked “NO!”. He blinked at her for a minute before she reigned herself back in, tone still quivering “I just.. I don’t.. I don’t want to see him.. just hold me for a minute ok?..”. He did as instructed, feeling her bury her face in the crook of his neck, balling her hands into fists with clumps of his shirt in the centre to stop herself from cutting into her own skin.

“Hey.. remember how you used to cope with this?.. Hm?.. That whole talking through it thing you had?..” Frank suggested quietly, getting a vague hum in response. “Good. Tell me the last thing you remember. Really remember. Not that whole Ryan-atlas-whoever-the-fuck bullshit you were crying about”. Being too upset to be irritated by the blatant dickishness of that comment, Eilis swallowed as she tried to think, back as far as she could to when she last remembered seeing Frank alive.

“Right… You came to Cohen’s door… I was still living with him. It was… some fecking ridiculous time in the morning… You had this big grin on your face and demanded my signature, for some feckin reason. Then we set a date for dinner the next day and you left… I went to work.. Ryan had a party on.. and he announced that Sully had killed you that morning in a sh-“ she stopped again for a moment, “shoot.. shoot out…”, she pulled away to look him in the eye, looking so broken as she desperately asked “is he alive?”.

Realising he’d have to set up a narrative, Frank remained stone faced as he thought up a lie, quickly explaining “he’s in medical. Poor bastard had a bit of a slip after knocking someone off for Ryan, probably Culpepper since she’s been missing for a bit and you know she’d never quiet for this long. They got him locked up tight, Ryan’s orders apparently. They ain’t allowing visitors yet, Doll. I’m sure he’s fine. Now back on track, what else do you remember?” Trying to steer her back on topic, but she was set in her ways, snapping “I am Ryan’s god damn guard dog and the closest thing that man has to family, I’m seeing him” she insisted, needing to see Sullivan again, desperate to get the image of his corpse seared out of her mind with proof he was alive and happy. Frank however showed no intent of letting her get out of the bed. “You just woke up from an Adam delusion and barely know where the fuck you are! Let alone when! You’re more confused than a drunk wonderin down park avenue. You ain’t going anywhere till I’m sure you won’t stab some poor fuck walking down the street” he gave her this stern stare that she wasn’t at all used to, and she hated it. She seemed to sulk for a minute before forcing herself to relax enough they he’d stop staring at her like that, Frank encouraged “there we go. Now, keep goin”.

“The rest is just mindless shite anyway, why would you feckin care?..” she mumbled, giving him this tired look, like she wanted to go sleep again. “Because,” Frank spoke softly “you’re my wife and I love ya. I wanna make sure you’re ok and I can’t do that when you can’t think straight, now can I?”. Eilis let out a little laugh, almost cracking a full smile as she asked “wife? I expected fiancé from the ring, but wife? When the hell did that happen?”.

Frank smirked, he loved when his work did itself for him, “Yesterday. Or did you think that itchy lingere was just you trying to look pretty for me when I got back from work?” She swatted at him for that comment, “oh it was a real swing! Ryan seemed pissy for the whole thing but you know him, sulking like a fucking baby, as he always does. We had fountains of champagne and food! Fuck you would have loved the food… Shame you don’t remember it at all. Almost disappointing” he saw her glance at him slightly when he said that, striking while the iron was hot, he added “you looked damn good in that wedding dress though”. Snorting a laugh, she wondered “And where is this wedding dress?”. Bingo. “should be back in a few days if your that fucking desperate to see it. You got in a fight with your old man. Ripped it to shreds and ya got blood all over it” he brought her hand to his mouth, kissing that gaudy engagement ring he’d brought her, “almost broke your damn ring…”. Eilis now noticed her knuckles, holding her hand in front of her to inspect it before padding at her face to check for anything else, but there wasn’t. Just her knuckles.

“No I did not, we’d never…” That made no sense, even if she got into a physical fight with her father, she should be more injured. Just destroyed knuckles made no sense. Her husband shrugged, pulling his hands off her to cross his arms, suggesting “call him if you don’t believe me. Doubt he’ll answer, I think you concussed the poor bastard”. He gestured towards his office which she quickly got to her feet to rush into. Finding the phone, not thinking to just use the radio or pnuemo in her panic to get answers, she dialled the number for Sinclair’s apartment and waited, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet out of anxious impatience. It rang and rang until an operator picked up.

“Can I help?” Her voice sounded small and nervous, like she knew what the number was and who she may be speaking too, “Hello, I’d like to be put through to Augustus Sinclair or Andrew Ryan. I’m not picky but I am impatient”.

The operator went quiet for a minute as Eilis heard her flicking pages, which she shouldn’t have been doing, just connect her to the damn line. “I-I’m so sorry, those.. uh, those lines are currently out of… out of service, is there anything else I can help you with Mrs Fontaine?” She stuttered through her sentence, like she was terrified, “out of service? No but-“ before Eilis could ask for something else, the line went dead. Cursing under her breath, she finally remembered the radios were an option, snatching it off Frank’s desk and switching to Sinclair’s frequency.

“Augustus? Are you there love? I need to speak with dad, I’ve had a slip”. Nothing. “Augustus?” Not even crackle to tell her she was getting through. Then she changed it to Ryan’s, hoping maybe he’d shed some light, the perks of him being a prick was he was usually honest when it came to her mistake. He actually answered when he heard the radio crackle, Eilis spoke first “Andrei? Sorry to bother you love, but I need some clarity”. Frank got to his feet when he heard Ryan’s voice hesitate a reply of “are you, you right now?”. “The hell are you on about?” Eilis brow furrowed, only being bewildered more by the next question, “What did you do on Christmas Eve 1950?”. Frank allowed his brow to furrow and pure anger to take over his expression as he wondered who the funk let Ryan have a radio.

“What are you asking me that for? Why would I even remember that?” She kneaded at her eyes, but he didn’t say anything, determined to get an answer. Eilis thought for a moment before throwing out “I think Tadgh was away so I spent Christmas with Sullivan and you? You got me this fucking disgusting perfume that I absolutely hated and poured down the sink but I kept the bottle cause it was crystal or some shite like that. That enough for you or do I need to go into more detail to be sure that was the right feckin year? Now can I ask the bloody questions or are you going to continue to pick at my brain?”. He audibly sighed in relief, seemingly catching himself before he said anything else, asking “are you alone?”. Frank schooled his expression into a smirk, leaning against the edge of the door. “No, Frank’s here. I just need you to confirm something for me” She calmed herself down, still giving Frank this cautious look.

Something didn’t feel right, all of this just felt off, tainted in some strange way.

“Did I fight my dad yesterday? When I got married?” Eilis queried, Ryan paused again before asking “do you remember doing so?”. “I don’t remember it at all, that’s the problem. And apparently I’ve been in an Adam binge, so I’m sorry if I’ve been off, but my memory just about stops at a certain point before going into some ludicrous apocalyptic scenario.” She apologised, barely catching a look of odd realisation when Ryan hummed “and don’t you find that strange?”. When she didn’t answer as she was too busy trying to figure out what he meant by that, he suddenly answered “I wasn’t paying attention at your… wedding. Forgive me. But if you wish to discuss anything else, like your recent Adam delusion for instance, I insist you come visit me or go for a walk. You enjoy those still, don’t you?”.

“What?…” Why would he ask her to go for a walk? She knew damn well what that meant in the context of Andrew Ryan, but there was no reason for her to do so. “You know what I said. I hope to see you soon.” He turned off the radio after that, leaving her with even more questions. “That deer in headlights thing gonna be a regular occurrence or are you just doing it for a bit of variety?” Frank teased, chuckling when she muttered “No I just… is Ryan ok? Was he acting off at the wedding?”. “Don’t worry about that” He slipped past her, putting on a vinyl as a distraction before returning to her, offering a hand “c’mon. You’ve been gone two years apparently. Don’t tell me ya didn’t miss this”.

“You’re mocking me” Eilis alleged, unable to resist the slight smile that crept onto her face when he chuckled and took her hand, resting a hand on her waist. “Oh I’d never!” He was obviously bullshitting but she let it slip this time. God she missed that laugh. Moving his other hand to her waist, so he was holding her, before wrapping her arms around his neck, Eilis just happily swayed with him. She knew something was wrong, her gut was insisting so much it almost made her sick, but there couldn’t be any harm in allowing herself a moment of happiness before reality dared to sink in again.

Pacing around a small cramped room in Pauper’s drop, Mick was currently picking glass out of his hand before winding bandage tightly around them, but not in the way you would to actually keep a wound clean, he was doing it like a boxer would for a fight. He fully intent in going back into whatever he’d dragged himself out of. His pants were almost shredded and he had an obviously broken nose that he calmly popped back into place, which only made it bleed more. “Don’t you look down right demonic” someone teased, Mick scoffing when he saw it was Simon Wales. “You’re making me hate the sound of my own accent” he tried to walk away but Wales blocked the door.

He looked him up and down, querying “still masquerading as a priest eh? That get you off or are you just in denial?” Smirking slightly when the false priest glared at him, making him feel just a tad bit nostalgic. “I wanted to talk to you about your family. Dr lamb is worried about you.” Simon feigned sympathy, but that only made Mick laugh more, going to shove him out if the way, only to step when words “How does it feel to be the son of a whore?” Slipped out of Simon’s mouth.

“Repeat that one more time. Didn’t quiet catch that” Mick requested calmly, tilting his head towards Simon and remaining composed. “How does it feel to be the son of a dirty, god forbidden, who-“ before the false priest could finish, Mick punching him hard in the face tripped him up and then sat on his chest. Pulling his head up by the scruff of his beard, he punched him a few more times before hissing “you don’t know a single thing about my mother. Keep her name- infact keep her fucking existence out of your fucked up excuse of a mind!”. Simon just started to laugh, a deep horrible laugh that just made Mick want to beat him more. “You see.. Micheál, thanks to Fontaine’s temper tantrum, followed by violent take over involving your angel of a daughter, Dr Lamb in all her great mercy decided to find out more about you. Especially since you just fell into her lap with the grace if a shot down pheasant. So she did, apparently your family are very feckin chatty back in Ireland. Gave us all the lovely dirt, including things on your mother.” He continued to laugh, “oh Christ, the things she did! The people she slept with! All cause she had you too young, your old man kicked the bucket and she wanted to make sure she had enough favours to have the world wrapped around her finger. And how did you repay her whorish deeds? You made her raise your children. What a perfect example she was”.

“The only reason your still talking is so I can justify to Lamb why she’ll find you inside out, crucified and covered in fish shit. Keep going and maybe I’ll just beat you unrecognisable if you keep my mother out of your mouth” he could physically see Simon resisting the urge to make a comment on his mother’s mouth, so he changed person “how’s it feel to know your daughter is a monster then? Even worse than you when you lose that heavily guarded temper of yours? Did she get it from her mother? Others didn’t seem to agree. It even had her killing people before Ryan paid her for it”.

“One person, and he deserved it” Mick defended his daughter, but Simon chuckled “oh no, no no, it was a two! Maybe more, but she can’t even remember anymore. Doesn’t change the fact she did it for her own benefit, and that’s a sin. At least your mother won’t be lonely in hell, but oh your poor wife! You could have gone with her. Your violence was originally in the name of freedom, slightly excusable. But you couldn’t help yourself could you? And then after she left, god bless the poor bitch, you turned to deviancy!”. Getting a absolutely sick of this man’s shit, Mick pulled a knife out of his pocket and held it just shy of Simon’s lips, calmly stating “and ya fucked your self right up the arse dry with that one. Unless you want that wee las to hear you screaming, I recommend you bite your tongue. I’m going to stitch you back together with your own feckin rosary beads” Mick was far too calm for what he was saying, pushing the sharp end of the blade between Simon’s eyebrows, only stopping when the bastard had the audacity ask the question “does Sinclair even do it for you? Or do ya close your eyes and pretend it’s your dear Caoimhe?”.

“I’d never.” He hissed back, but Simon just chuckled. “Before you go ahead, let me ask you another question. Say, if Fontaine brought her back, which I’m sure he’d happily do if you convinced him it’d make his doggy happy, who would you pick? The mother of your children or another deviant dragging you down to he-“ desperate to shut him up, Mick calmly stabbed him once in the chest before pressing the knife to his throat “now you listen to me and listen feckin well, because I know damn well you understand me. má fhágann focal eile i gcoinne mo mhuintire do bhéal, cinnteoidh mé nach n-aithneoidh Dia thú fiú nuair a bheidh mé críochnaithe. Fan an ifreann ar shiúl ó dom agus mo pháistí. agus go háirithe fanacht i bhfad ó Augustus”. Slowly standing up and cracking his neck, he made sure to kick the bastard square in the jaw as one last warning.

He knew the sick priest wouldn’t listen but damn it felt good.

He spotted little Eleanor Lamb wandering around nearby, his fatherly instinct making him wipe his hands clean off his back and shove the knife back in his pocket before getting closer and crouching down to her height. “What are you doing down here darlin? Where’s your mother?“. “She was being strange so I went for a walk! I wanted to find Father Wales. Have you seen him?” She tilted her head so innocently at him he almost struggled to believe she was even in rapture. “Nah, haven’t seen him love. But, D’ya know who I did see? Your aunt Grace. She wandered off somewhere down by the diner, why don’t you go find her instead, hm?” He barely kept himself rigid, relief would have caused him to fall, when she just happily nodded and skipped away. He quickly made his way back to the Sinclair Delux, chuckling as he remembered the screaming match Sin and Lamb got into to let them even stay here.

Mick knew he was the only reason Sinclair won that fight, and if he had to bullshit an alliance he’d cope with that. What he wasn’t prepared for was Lamb wanting to play family therapist, starting with him. So far he’d managed to refuse but he knew he’d be forced to talk to her at some point. Sinclair was waiting for him at the check in desk, feet up with a grin on his face.

“You seem happy” Mick teased, leaning on the desk, flicking at the bell.

“That’s cause I have news that’ll make you so happy you might start floating like something out of the pictures” Sinclair’s grin only grew as he leaned forward, whispering “Frankie finally got in contact, after his little surprise resurrection and all that nastiness. He wants to talk. Specifically about us, our standin, and dear ol Eilis. It’ll be in a few days because apparently he’s ‘very busy’, but I want you to come with me all the same”. “I’m in. Where are the boys?” Mick pushed at his chin to pop his neck before wrinkling his nose, unknowing amusing his lover as he realised how identical his child’s and his own expressions were. “Room 36, as always. Three knocks and a kick or they won’t open the door” Sinclair shooed the Irish man away with the flick of his hand, only allowing himself to succumb to stress and bury his face in his hands when he was out of sight.

Mick climbed the stairs to the third floor, hating how his knees were actually starting to ache. Fighting off old age with pure determination alone, he did exactly as Sinclair instructed when he got to the hotel room, but got no reply.

He tried again, nothing.

Out of pure worry alone, he did the trick he remembered Eilis teaching him. He lightly padded along the edge of the door till he found the lock, the soft wood bowing inwardly with ease, before smacking to hard with his fist, and it opened. He was greeted with the two passed out together on the beds still fully dressed, just holding eachother. The unified rise and fall of their chests reassured Mick that they were alive. He pulled the duvet over them since the room was freezing, realising his on was wearing a shawl he remembered his mother making. Wondering how that got down here he found himself rubbing the fabric between his fingers, remembering her knitting it on a rainy day while his wife fed their son and he was chopping up some spuds for dinner. A slight smile crept on his lips at the memory, fading as he brushed Tadgh’s hair out of the way ti check a recent wound he’d gotten on his cheek, but it seemed to be healing fine.

Mick always liked to believe he’d been a good father, or at least he tried, but he knew with Tadgh that hadn’t been true, especially after his wife had died, and he knew he could never be forgiven for that. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying to make up for it. Blessing himself out of a long forgotten habit, simply at the memory of his mother, he left, making sure the door locked behind him, hoping he could soon find his daughter in there with him if all went well, that’s if she was even there mentally anymore.

Alone in a dark room with a filthy mattress on the floor, Ryan was standing to keep his own dignity, hoping no one would find the radio he’d managed to get. The sound of a nearby door opening made him go rigid a she resisted a sneer, the light in his cell finally turning on, reminding him how disgusting the room is. The door opened with a loud clang, Frank entered with a very cocky look on his face, hands shoved in his pockets. “Miss me?” He chuckled, Ryan hissing back “like the hole in my head”.

“Aw, no need to be so sour Andy! Just cause I now have everything you dedicated your life to doesn’t mean you get to be ado sore bout it” Fontaine put on that insanely irritating smirk, like he was about to make some disgusting comment just to enjoy wanting Ryan squirm. “Heard you talking to my girl. She misses you, surprisingly. Even after all the shitty things you’ve done. Though, she thinks she imagined most of them, so you can thank me for that” he visibly formed a fist in his pocket, like he was expecting Ryan to do so. But he didn’t, he just bluntly asked “where is she?“. “Oh home and safe. Lying in bed in pure bliss, thinkin she’s on her honey moon with my signature in bruises on her shoulders” Frank snorted a laugh when Ryan gagged at his statement, barely getting out “and.. Jack? My son? What did you do with him?…”. Frank shrugged, he honestly had no clue where the brat had gone, and currently he didn’t care.

“what about Atlas?… what have you done with that parasite?”, Now that just made Fontaine burst out into pure deep laughter, having to brace himself off a wall while Ryan just watched in astonishment. It took him a moment to compose himself, actually taking a hand out of his pocket to reveal knuckle dusters on his fingers, wiping away a tear as he wheezed “oh god, Andy you are a riot! Haven’t even figured out that one yet… don’t tell me ya miss me Irish brogue? Eilis sure as hell loved it. Made her melt like butter” he let his voice slip back into the Irish accent with such ease, having had to do it for so long. “Look. Andy, buddy, you know I’m gonna leave you to rot here. Rapture’s starting to breath again! And it’s hummin my fuckin tune. I’m not giving my empire up to some old eccentric fuck who can’t tell a good decision form one dipped in fools gold” shining the knuckle dusters off his shirt, Frank paused for a moment, waiting for a snarky reply from Ryan, but his own guard dog seemed to have beaten that out of him, “good. Now I ain’t a monster, and I ain’t stupid. I know Eilis is gonna start asking questions. And when she does, you’re going to play along. If you okay along, maybe I’ll bring back Diane to keep you company in a nice little cell disguised as an apartment. Whaddya say?”.

“Go fuck yourself you damned parasite” Ryan spoke with conviction and confidence, refusing to let go of his shredding dignity and pride. Frank smirk went from the usual mood to something more sinister. “Oh Ryan… I’m so happy you said that” he cracked his knuckles as he approached the older man, backing him into a corner as he raised his fist.

“Dream of Rapture, Andrei”

Chapter Text

Eilis was getting restless, Frank could tell.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep her in here forever when she finally came to, but he didn’t expect her to lose patience so quickly. He had to have someone in his office to make sure she didn’t take the bathysphere and she seemed deterred from the front door for reasons he wasn’t sure of. She was acting like a dog that hadn’t been walked in weeks, and no matter what he did, her mood wasn’t improving and she was slowly giving up on hiding it. He’d come back from ruling his new city to her sulking in different rooms, seemingly bored and trying to occupy herself. Her days currently consisted of get up, eat, wait for Frank, spend time with Frank, go to sleep. This particular morning he’d woken up to her with her back to him, having rolled away from his warm embrace, staring blankly towards the bathroom.

He followed her, draping an arm over and pulling her close so he was flush with his body, kissing at the back of her neck as he groggily wished her good morning. She just made a noise of acknowledgement before stating “I’m going to see Sullivan today.”. “Today? I thought we were gonna have a you and me day?” Frank hummed, between soft kissed, Eilis eventually just getting out of the bed to avoid him completely, “spend another day stuck in this fucking apartment? Ar ndóigh. Cad eile ba mhaith liom a dhéanamh? Mo chairde agus mo mhuintir a fheiceáil?” Covering herself with his smoking jacket as she went into the bathroom, prodding at her hair, realising how greasy it was. Muttering to herself “Tá cithfholcadh de dhíth orm. Mothaím samhnasach..”. “Speakin in tongues isn’t going to solve what ever’s bothering you, sweetheart” Frank groaned while he sat up, mildly annoyed he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. Her stubbornness was one of the best parts about her but sometimes it does royally bite him in the ass. “póg mo coileach, mar tá mé cinnte mar ifreann nach phógadh mise!” Eilis shouted back at him over the sound of the shower, just finishing in time for the door to shut.

Rubbing at his temple and being sick of waiting, Frank reluctantly got up, cursing to himself while he got dressed, hearing Eilis hum to herself in the shower, purposefully ignoring him. She was lucky he had meetings today that he was going to sneak out for her he’d be more pissed. Leaving straight through the front, he warned his latest help to keep an eye on her and offer her the cigars he kept in a red box if she got antsy, but apart from that leave her alone. Eilis scrubbed at her scalps with her nails, humming an old little song she’d often hear people humming back home while working in the fields, suddenly stopping as she came to the realisation that if she’d imagined the last two years, that meant Tadgh was never brought back. He was still dead. Her heart wrenched at the idea, but she was also oddly relieved. It was this strange fight in her mind for dominations, the devastation that her brother was gone again fighting with the joy that she didn’t ail him and he was still resting peacefully. It made her nauseous, she braced herself off the wall in front of her, letting the water rush over her as she tried ground herself, that feeling she was being lied to kept coming to the forefront of her mind. She lightly felt at the scar on her chest and realised her body was a guaranteed time map of how she got each scar, right?

She remembered most of them, especially the large ones, unless she made up scenarios for those too while she was out of it.

Not caring about the water that pooled on the floor when she hadn’t bothered to dry herself, she left the shower running, turning it to cold so it wouldn’t steam up the bathroom, cleaning the mirror of condensation before staring at herself, grimacing as her eyes immediately fell on that large first one on her stomach from that damn shotgun. A deep calming breath stopped her mind from racing as she started to examine herself.

Loads of little scars from knife nicks, especially along her fingers and forearms. Defensive wounds.

Several bullet scars scattered around her body like freckles.

Light scaring on her palms from her plasmids.

All things that were there before. Then she went to what was from after Frank had ‘died’.

The scars from when she was shocked by Simon Wales on the bottom of her feet.

The large one on her torso from when she’d been impaled during New Years, going straight through and also appearing on her back.

Remnants of injuries from fighting off splicers.

The long scar down her arm, palm and to the tip of her middle finger from Cohen.

The scars at her face from the big daddy attack she’d barely survived the first time and a ghost of a scar from how it mangled the side of her leg.

And finally the one in her chest from when she’d been shot in the heart.

They can’t all be lies.

She could hear someone walking around outside of the bathroom, had Frank come back?

Putting back on the smoking jacket to cover herself after squeezing whatever water she could out of her hair, she went out to see him, only to find herself alone, but she could still hear footsteps. They were meticulous, like someone was walking in a way to make the steadiest beat possible. “aon duine ann?… hello?” She called out, checking Frank’s office and then the hall, but ask if his men were obviously out by the front in the zen garden. Wrinkling her nose, turning on her heal, she went to go back to continue her shower, only to meet a talk figure blocking her way. It was the ginger man, oddly without his identical companion. She poked at him, not liking that her hand actually touched his jacket, or that he chuckled. “Seems you didn’t imagine us. Or maybe you’ve gone mad again” he suggested, tilting his head. Scoffing, she ignored him and walked back to the bedroom, hating how he followed practically at her heels.

“Sweet fucking Christ, Where’s the other one? Or am I being nice to myself today?” She demanded to know, sitting on the bed as she glared at the transdimensional prick standing in her room. “She’s checking on something else. I came here to just assure you that, though you believe so, you have never been insane, and the boy misses you”. Her angry expression dropped, she didn’t even have to ask a question, he simply answered whatever she would have asked in that moment “yes, I’m real. Yes, everything happened. No, it is not 1958 and yes, Jack is real as well. Would you like a few more mentally destroying answers or should I let you recover for a few moments?”. She just stared at him, giving his answer again, so he was gone the moment she blinked.

Sitting with his feet on what was once Ryan’s desk, Frank sighed contently as he watched anything that belonged to Ryan start to be stripped away. He still hadn’t figured out how to get into the bastard’s apartment or private office yet, but he was sure he could get that out of him eventually. Everything was turning up roses, smuggling was at an all time high and no one dared raise a finger to him or even question his choices. It was nice. Now though since Eilis was back in reality, he needed to either get rid of some pests or get them in line. Speaking of pests, the sight of Augustus Sinclair and Mick Donovan being escorted into his office made him school his face into a businessman expression of monotony. Stoic, quiet and stern, just like old Andy. “You two finally decided to show up, hm?” Frank crossed his arms, letting out a chuckle and mocking Mick when he said “where the fuck is my daughter?”. The Irish man seemed to pause for a moment before cursing “tú beag láimhsithe-“ going to lunge at him but Single helped him back with just a finger hooked into his belt, like a well trained Doberman.

“Frankie we ain’t here to play games. We’re here to see what you’ve been doing and where Ellie & Andy have popped off too” Sinclair remained calm, keeping his composure as he knew how important this was, he didn’t even waver when frank asked “and what about the blonde brat? Or do you have him?”. “No clue who you’re on about son. Plenty of blonde fellas in rapture, it’s a common hair colour” the southerner shrugged, taking a seat while still keeping his light grip on Mick, a vein bulging on the other man’s temple as he clenched his jaw. “Really? You don’t remember the guy Eilis dragged into your little safe zone? I wanna get rid of the fucker, he apparently tried to kill her, almost killed Ryan, even after all she did for him to try and get him the fuck outta here” the little hint of surprise Sinclair let slip was all Frank needed, that slight raise of brow told him all he needed to know. It told him Sinclair didn’t expect that of the man he’d met, despite not knowing him well enough. He also seemed shocked Ryan was still alive. Mick just seemed visibly annoyed, the kind annoyed when you’re right about something but your not happy about it. “Haven’t seen him Frankie. Maybe he left. You ain’t exactly regulatin who comes and goes” Sinclair propped his head up on his chin, smirking at the other man when he let an annoyed expression slip, telling him that the bastard was monitoring it despite always preaching about being different from Ryan before he died.

That brought you another question, “actually, I’ve been wondering somethin. How did you come back, Frank? One of your goons finally remember to stick your rottin corpse in a vita chamber or was it all planned out ?”. “I ain’t gotta answer shit” Frank brushed him off, drinking whiskey straight from Ryan’s decanter, “now. You two want to see my girl, right? It’s gonna cost ya one simple thing. Silence. See, poor Eilis has been truamatised by all the shit you two and Ryan dragged her through while I was gone, so much so..” he trailed off for a moment as he pulled out a large brown envelope, “she went back to those old ways again. Seems she always slips back there without me, don’t you think, Sin?” He tossed it at them, Mick snatching it up beside Sinclair could even touch it. Ripping it open, Mick took a pause when he pulled them out, he was genuinely afraid he was about to see her corpse, like this was some sick game. Muttering a prayer to himself, he flipped them over, his shoulders relaxing but he had this mildly disgusted expression. He flicked through them, inspecting certain sections of them before tearing them in half and tossing them in the trash. “You staged those.” He accused calmly, hating how the bastard laughed.

“Oh aren’t you cute? I didn’t stage shit. She did all of that of her own volition, well adam had a large part to play, but she enjoyed it. Only think is, she doesn’t find it as funny when she sobers up. Gets wrapped up in guilt and ‘truama’, all that bullshit. So, to make my life easier, I’m letting her believe none of that happened. In her mind she’s happily married and it’s 1958. Thing is, I can’t hide the city from her forever, cohen’s still locked himself away, dna samples ain’t registering and there isn’t a drop of that fuck Sullivan around to drag him back to keep her happy. So, I’m giving her you” he gestured to Sinclair, then his eyes fell on Mick, “don’t know if I can trust you though. You might have to work a little harder”.

“The fuck do you want?.. I just want to see her” Mick half begged, not willing to fully lower himself into the filthy pit of those under Fontaine’s boot.

“Kill your son and his boyfriend, and we have a deal” Frank leaned back in the chair, pushing hard so it creaked on purpose, corrupting the silence as mick just stared at him. “Oh don’t gimme that look, she’s told me all about how you played favourites. He was another soldier in your little regiment, she was the little angel who’d skip about playing with sheep shit while she dealt with the clergy calling her the daughter of a degenerate. You even got pissy at your ‘friends’ for trying to treat her the same way you treated your son. Now was that favouritism or guilt? You broke the china, kid. Can’t blew that shit back togetha. It’ll always have cracks in it” The smirk Frank had made Mick want to repeat what he’d done to Simon Wales, but worse. Maybe kill him. Again, Sinclair was the only thing preventing this. “Hit a never?” Frank continued to mock him, “that’s what family do, right? Hit nerves?”.

“That’s enough Frank. I’ll take your deal but I am not making Mickey do that. Think of something else.” Sinclair was firm, getting up to leave but sighing when he saw people blocking him. Frank strolled sprung the desk to join the men he had blocking them, bending down to Sinclair’s height to purposefully humiliate him, disappointed when Sinclair only cocked a brow. The southerner looked him up and down, snorting a laugh, as if he were saying “the hell are you going to do?”. “Don’t you want to see her?” Frank hummed, straightening up when Eilis’ father took a step forward, “not you. You’re going to wait here.”.

“Until when?” Sinclair demanded, admittedly flinching when Frank shouted back “Until I fuckin say so!”. That anger just disappeared within an instant, he made his men separate and gestured over dramatically for Sinclair to go ahead of him. The southerner gave his lover’s hand a squeeze along with a warning look before he left. Mick was just left there to ponder what happened to his youngest child, becoming acutely aware of the large blood stains on the floor of the office where she’d spent the most time before that damned blonde bastard waltzed in here. Sweet Christ, he never thought he’d miss that prick Atlas.

The ride back to Frank’s apartment was dead quiet. Sinclair kept his distance, almost convinced if he could, Frank would toss him out into the ocean. He still had a pistol just in case, but he wasn’t exactly experienced like most of Rapture’s citizens now-a-days. He had to admit, Frank had kept his promise of ‘fixing rapture’. Though currently it was only aesthetic reasons. The little sisters had all gone missing, so the big daddies were immediately put to work on fixing all the giant holes and leaks in this damned fish tank. Neon lights were glowing and people were getting jobs fixing the more artistic aspects of the city that they could get access too. The medical pavilion was apparently just stuffed with corpses waiting to be brought back, but Ryan still had control over the vita chambers some how, and he wasn’t willing to release it, no matter how much Frank bet him. The only places Frank didn’t have were Fort frolic, that was on full lockdown again, and pauper’s drop, which was still determined to fight him off. Apart from that and some old abandoned areas he couldn’t give a shit about, Frank had it all. Getting out of the bathysphere the moment it bobbed to the surface, Frank pushed the bookcase door open with his foot. He kept a close eye on Sinclair as he walked past, stopping him with his foot and putting out his hand.

The smaller man swallowed nervously and looked up at him, “c’mon Sin. I ain’t stupid” Frank beckoned for nothing in particular, after a moment of horrible tension, Sinclair finally gave up his pistol, Frank thanking him before allowing him into his little sanctuary. Hands shoved in his pockets to hide the shaking, Sinclair made his way into Frank’s tiny personal office, keeping his dwindling composure and suppressing a flinch when he heard the door slide open beside him. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to glance over, spotting Eilis looking mildly terrified, huddled up on the bed, but at the sight of Sinclair she relaxed. Craning her neck to spot Frank before she mouthed “you alright?”. He nodded, hearing Frank turn around and watching Eilis put on a happier expression. Knowing better than to not play along, he threw a grin on himself, shouting “Ellie! Darlin it has been too long. How’s married life, sugar?”.

Chapter Text

Eilis happily got off the bed and joined Sinclair at his side, linking arms with him, “I missed you! Where have you been hiding, hm?” Still playing the oblivious role. “Oh just givin you two your space, didn’t wanna to suffocate you” Sinclair patted her hand as he gave Frank a cautious glance, the man giving him a toothy grin that almost seemed like a warning. “We’ll your stuck with me now, I’m dying for some form of feckin social interaction, I’d kiss Stienmen if it meant I could see outside this damn apartment” Eilis complained openly, glancing back at Frank as she continued “but someone’s convinced I’m a frail thing all of a sudden. And it’s not appreciated”. She made sure to stare at him for a minute, before returning her full attention to Sinclair “how’s Sully getting on? Any perking up or does he have one foot in the door?”.

“Sullivan? He’s..” The southerner had to catch himself from dying he was lying dead, almost imagining the cold barrel of a gun pressing against the nape of his neck. He couldn’t tell if she was just playing along or actually believed some things Frank was telling her, maybe she wanted to believe, because she looked so hopefully. Resting a hand over her own, he lied “he’s fine hun. In and out but he’s askin for ya” feeling his chest ache when she visibly relaxed. “How’s Ryan? He sulkin and lickin his wounds with your lover boy?” Frank teased, testing him. Sinclair hid his terror, shrugging and giving him an equally toothy smile, “haven’t seen old Andy since the day, so I ain’t sure. But Mickey’s takin it well, he misses his little robin” he shoved Eilis lightly with his elbow, her swatting at him for the rarely used income. “Is he now? Hold. I miss him and I hate holding grudges” Eilis sighed contently, looking at Frank with the most innocent and manipulative expression she could form, like a doe trying to eat out of your hands, unsure if you’d kill it. She begged “mind making me drink, my love? I’m dying, the Adam shakes have me quivering like a boxer past his prime” letting her hands shake slightly when he glanced down for proof.

“Hot bourbon with lemon and cloves?” He asked her softly, catching her by her chin as she walked by. She kissed at his palm, humming “you know me so well” her eyes following him as he disappeared from view and audibly descended the staircase. Her shaking immediately stopped, Eilis casually cracking her wrist before whispering “what the fuck is going on?”.

“Oh good you haven’t lost your damn mind, had me worried” Sinclair chuckled, but the amusement died from the glare she was giving him.

“Last thing I remember is sending Tadgh and Martin to find you and dad, killing someone and dragging Ryan back to life. What the hell has happened since then?” She kept her voice so low that Sinclair was convinced he wouldn’t have been able to hear the poor girl if he were even half a foot away.

“A lot. Your father’s getting along with Lamb, seemingly so that’s an interesting development. Ryan’s missing and Frank has assumed control. You haven’t been yourself for a bit, apparently. That’s all I know hun, I’ve been dealing with my own issues… how long does it take to make that drink?” Sinclair kept a hand on her arm, even when she’d separated herself from him.

“He’s good at it. We don’t have time to leave. If he has Ryan’s control that means the bathysphere’s are tracked…” Eilis took a deep breath, repeatedly tensing her hands, actually missing her plasmids. She didn’t have a drop of Adam in her system, why had Frank believed her?… “I’m going to do something. It’ll let you leave. When you do, give this message to dad, it doesn’t matter if you say it wrong, he’ll know what it means”. The older man’s brow furrowed, but he nodded, listening intently was Eilis went right up to his ear to whisper “Faigh an Ghearmáinis.”.

She pulled away the moment she heard the stairs creak again, smiling at Sinclair’s as she showed him her ring. He caught on and held her hand closer to his face, like he were admiring it. “Ain’t that a beauty. You sneak up to new York in one a your subs to grab that, Frankie?” The southerner called out as Frank turned the corner to enter the room, Eilis starting to shake again. She made sure to visibly tense the muscles in her arm so it would stop as she took the glass off him, thanking him with a peck on the cheek before turning her attention to the drink. “Nah, turns out Ryan was hogging some jewels they found in an old wreck when they built this place. Money opens doors in Rapture, as ya know, so I decided to spoil her a bit” Frank admitted, wrapping his arm around Eilis’ waist. She seemed content with the act, but Sinclair spotted her rubbing her middle finger off her thumb, like she were trying to ignite a flame.

“You’ve been holed up in here a while. Got a honeymoon planned?” The older of the men questioned, keeping his attention focused on Frank as Eilis seemed to be plotting, Sinclair repeating what she’d said to him over and over in his mind.

“I was thinking one of the luxury suites in the Adonis, followed by usual honey moon shit, means I can still deal with work while havin some private time, What’dya think?” He glanced at Eilis who seemed to almost drape herself over him, tracing his jawline as she asked “What are you thinking about, mo stór? Private time is a broad statement” replacing her light touches with kisses. Sinclair looked away as she realised what she’d meant by getting Frank to make him leave. He’d give her points for effort. Frank chuckled, acting like he was attempting to pull her hand off him but he was purring now effort into it, showing it was all a play for him, “we have a guest, ya know”. “What has that ever stopped you?” Eilis muttered between kisses as she worked her way down his neck, trying to loosen his tie.

Fontaine just seemed to be delighted he was finally getting that certain itch scratched, barely getting out “Sin, would you-?” Not even having to finish as Sinclair put up a hand, slipping away into Frank’s office. It was very obvious from the sound coming from the room what they’d devolved too already. Oh the energy of youth. Sticking on a record at full volume, letting himself think. He quickly realised he wouldn’t be able to talk to Mick in Ryan- Frank’s office, but he could talk to him over the phone. Trying to remember exactly what Eilis had said to him, he rang what was once Ryan’s private phone.

A faint ringing caught Mick’s attention as he’d sat there in pure boredom. He looked at the phone on the desk, finding it wasn’t the one making the noise. As he looked at the bookshelves he remembered the small office hidden mind it, walking it with Eilis on the verge of killing Ryan. Oddly that memory didn’t disturb him anymore, he almost wished she had pulled the trigger. It took him a minute to remember how to open the damn door, he slipped in, finding the phone continuing to ring, beckoning him. Answering calmly, he asked “that you Sin?”.

“Hey darlin… I don’t have much time, Ellie wanted me to give you a message. I’ll butcher it but you should get the gist. How did she say it?.. Fai guh on gar man ish.” Sinclair got straight to the point, half worried Frank was against the door, listening to him, even though the noises he could now only faintly hear begged to differ. Mick, who thankfully couldn’t hear what was happening, it honestly just sounded like Sinclair was at a party, tried to peace together whatever the hell he’d said to him in his very butchered attempt at the Irish language.

Even after it clicked it took him a minute “Tenenbaum?”.

“I don’t have a clue what she said, son, that’s up to you to interpret” Sinclair went quiet as he seemed to hear something, not even saying goodbye, just a quick “be safe” and the line was disconnected.

Mick let his nose wrinkle as he tried to think, he assumed that doctor was long dead. He hadn’t even interacted with her that much, hell, he barely knew what she looked like. Scratching at his 5 o’clock shadow that was slowly turning into scruff, he tried to think of where the fuck she could possibly be and why Eilis thought she could help. And what she could even help with. Just trying to think about it made his head hurt, he ended up smacking the ball of his palm off his forehead like he were trying to knock his brain back into focus, only stopping when he heard a child’s voice call out “doggy?”. He looked up, finding the source to be a little girl, one of the little sisters standing in front of him, hugging a raggedy stretched out teddy bear to her chest as she examined the man in front of her.

Mick crouched down to be less intimidated, smiling softly when she seemed disappointed “doggy’s a girl, you’re not doggy”.

“we’ll, that’s cause I’m her daddy. Do you know where she is?” He kept his voice gentle, not wanting to scare her away, “mama Tenenbaum says she’s gone” the child replied. “Where’s Tenenbaum, pet? She can help us get.. doggy back” Mick hoped the child would understand, and he was unsure if she even did. She just tugged at his hand and then happily waddled away. He followed her quietly, not wanting to alert the men outside that he was moving too much while he followed her to an opened up vent, another pair of girls waiting for him. They continued to beckon him as they ran through it with ease.

Mick had to crouch, wishing he had his younger knees as he followed them far far into the dark, soon only being guided by a small hand and whispers. They walked so long Mick felt like he’d never been able to straighten his knees again, then the tiny hand disappeared. “Girls?” He called out, cautiously edging forward, trying to find where they’d possibly gone, only to drop down a shoot. He cursed loud enough that the whole of rapture probably heard it echoing through the vents, finally being greeted with light as he hit the floor.

A cold. Slimy. Tiled floor.

He lay there for a minute, sighing as he felt muscles pop when he sat up, dusting himself down as he spotted hundred of little eyes looking up at him. The one who’d guided him here, or at least the one he thought had as she now had the bunny, guided him away from the slimy room filled with bunk beds and into a little medical room, like a small doctors office. A spindly woman with mild brown hair stood there, checking on an unconscious man he quickly recognised as the one Eilis had brought with her, and who’d they’d all assumed was dead after not seeing him for several weeks. Tenenbaum looked up at him, tilted her head as she examined him before returning her attention to Jack. “Hello Mr Donovan. How are you doing in hell?” She queried, snapping her fingers by Jack’s ears but getting no reaction. “Is he dead?” Mick asked, going to touch the man to try and take a pulse, but his hand was smacked away. “He is comatose, but fine. Fontaine has tried to kill him with something I put into his mind, so I must keep him alive with chemicals, but not the chemicals or free him sadly. I am atoning for my sins” The German explained, listening to the younger man’s lungs with her stethoscope, “why are you here?”.

“Eilis sent me” Mick answered calmly, smiling down at the small child who was now hanging off his leg. Tenenbaum stopped in her tracks, “did she?”. She cleaned her hands as she queried “you were a revolutionary, yes? Accustomed to danger?” All she needed was a nod “good. I need you to help me, Mr Donovan. We need to get Jack back, he is the only one who can fix this”. “What do you need me to do?” Mick showed no hesitation. The moment Frank was dead, he was gone. He wasn’t going take his children, Martin and Sinclair and get the hell out of here. He couldn’t wait to feel the wind on his face again.

Eilis lay in bed with her arm over her eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong with her emotions.

Everything was a jumbled mess in her head; she felt relieved and happy, safe even with Frank’s arm around her.

But there was this odd feeling.

This sick feeling deep in her gut, she just stayed silent as she tried to figure out what it was, where she recognised it from. Memories of the moment she’d just had sped past like long forgotten dalliances, and then it clicked. It was the same disgusting feeling she had when she slept with Steinmen. Like she were rotting.

Moving her arm off her face and resting her hand on her stomach, absentmindedly aware of the different textures between unharmed skin and thick scar tissue, she let her head roll over to Frank who was already smoking, seemingly content with what was going on. It seemed to take him a moment to realise she was staring at him, so he stared back with an inquisitive look. “Something wrong?” He wondered. “No, everything’s fine” Eilis forced a smile and kissed him softly, trying to get rid of that rotting sensation. “Glad you’re back to normal” Frank teased when she broke away, pulling her closer, Eilis resisting the urge to shove him back, keeping her hand at the back of his head, tempted to dig her nails into him. Bastard would probably enjoy it. She couldn’t even pinpoint why she was angry with him.

was it because he was lying to her?

Was it because she was stuck here with him?

Was it because he wasn’t dead?...

the fact he had the audacity to come back and claim her like some trophy when she’d just finally begun to move on, but only barely. It did take her a few years, and Tadgh was an example of that. Speaking of Tadgh, where was he? Sinclair hadn’t said.

Resting the urge to curse, she continued to be ‘herself’, “If you can even call me normal… I’m going to go for a walk, I can’t spend another bloody moment in this apartment. I’ll take Sinclair with me if that makes you feel better” she made sure she was firm, this was happening and he wasn’t changing her mind or distracting her this time.

Frank let out a large plume of smoke as he sighed, well more like scoffed, seemingly irritated and disappointed by such a demand, “you are so fuckin-… Fine. I’ll take you on one. Deal? That make you happy?”. Eilis looked rather pleased with herself, Frank both loving and despising the warm feeling that brought to his chest. He kissed her again, maybe a bit more obsessively than he should have, caressing he’d cheek as he suggested “then when we come back, how bout we have a bath hm? It’ll help with the pain those Adam shakes give ya, how’s that sound?” He didn’t even wait for an answer before getting up. Planning on sending Sinclair back to Ryan’s office where he can keep an eye on him and Mick until they behave, he searched for wherever he’d thrown his clothes in the heat of the moment. While he dressed himself he thought of a brilliant idea just to torture Ryan a little.

“How bout we go to the Kashmir?”

Chapter Text

Rapture was quiet, it was finally peacefully quiet.

Eilis couldn’t help but revel in the moment.

There was no eerie sounds, no whale like bellowing, no distant whispering, screaming or shots. Just peacefully quiet.

It reminded her of when they’d first come down to the city, no one was living here yet bar some workers and security, so it was just quiet. Silent. Oddly peaceful. When she let her eyes open again as she felt them starting to ascend the stairs, her peaceful mood was tainted by the neon glow of the Kashmir’s sign. She fought of memories of new years, remaining happy and perky for Frank so he didn’t catch on, she still needed information on what in the ever loving fuck had happened. They entered to find Ryan sitting in one of the booths, oddly enough the booth that Eilis remembered Frank being in before he basically trapped her in the elevator when she went to get cigarettes.

Now the quiet was no longer comforting.

Ryan looked uncomfortable, visibly which was unusual for him when he was in public. He kept shivering every so often and rubbing at the soft part under his chin, he also looked oddly youthful. Not like he was in his twenties but refreshed, like a few years had been shaved off. “Andrei?” Eilis called out to him softly, the older man responding to his actual name with surprise, brow furrowing as he saw her on the arm of the man who’d caused him so much suffering. She unlinked herself from Frank and quickly slid into the booth, closer to Ryan. “You alright? You’re white as a sheet” she fretted, waiting for Frank to scoff and roll his eyes, watching as he turned on his heel to snap at some poor waiter who was nearby. The Pavlov dog and Rapture’s dethroned king met eyes, she pressed a finger to her lips, tilting her head towards Frank before continuing to pretend he was worried for his health.

“I should get back to work soon.. I can’t have you dropping dead on me now can I?” She said aloud, letting her eyes flick to Frank when he’d sat down. She quickly took her hands off Ryan and moved closer to her husband, not wanting to cause the man anymore harm. She could tell something was happening, she’d known him long enough when he was trying to tell her something was wrong, but something was stopping him from flat out saying it, and she had a very strong suspicion it was because of  Frank.

Frank wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close as he teased Ryan “how you surviving while Eilis get’s treated like a human for once, Andy?”. “Fine,” Ryan answered through a gritted teeth smile, “the wedding was spectacular, sorry I left so soon.” He made sure it look directly at Eilis, “shame I don’t remember it yet.” She replied, brow furrowing when she felt Frank’s grip tighten on her. “What are we all drinking? Poor waiter’s waiting for you to make your damn mind up” he stated calmly, despite the fact he was starting to grip hard enough to bruise, Eilis doing the same to his wrist to remind him to lighten it before she punch him in the face, happily ordering “two hot bourbons for me and Mr Ryan please”. “And a vodka with a bit of raspberry for me, good man” Frank shooed him away, going back to focusing on Ryan.

You’d think murdering a man and forcing him to come back to life mere moments before dragging him here ti have food would teach him to keep him mouth shut.

Apparently not.

He was blissfully unaware of his wife catching onto his very watertight plan, if by watertight you meant as watertight as rapture is. Which is jack shit.

“Andrei, any news on that plasmid you were making with Suchong? What was it called again?… fuck it… the one where you can see through walls! Can you remember the bloody name?” Eilis wondered innocently, hoping Ryan would catch onto her plan, he thankfully did, humming as he answered “ah, you mean project лжец? Or was or убей его? I can’t remember myself now actually”. Eilis wasn’t fluent in Russian but she knew enough to know what those words meant. She managed to stop her smile from wavering, spotting the waiter struggling with their drinks, it looked like Adam shakes. She managed to weasel her way past Frank to help the poor man.

The moment she was out from earshot, Frank leaned across the table, like a tiger ready ti pounce, whispering harshly “what the hell did you say to her?”. “I answered her question. She’s a very cultured woman, she’s fluent in two languages and knows enough Russian to know what I ask if her when I lose my nerve and speak my mother tongue” Ryan remained calm, stoic, as he’d always been, like nothing bad had ever happened. This only irritated Frank more, “really?” He scoffed, leaning back, letting his eyes flick to Eilis for a moment before back to Ryan in an instant, “she bothered to learn enough to communicate with you but you didn’t learn shit for her? How fuckin telling. Ya know…” he trailed off as he shined his wedding ring off his shirt “if she were given the choice. Say you and me are hung by our necks, she can only pick one to save. Who do you think she’s going for? The man who finally made her feel loved and human? Or you, the man who led her to a life that mutilated her body and mind, making her sob with just a few words? I think my odds are lookin up, but I ain’t a bettin man”.

Ryan held in a snarl, his lip twitching as he insisted “I’m sure she’d pick me when she remembers the facts. And find out what you did to my city. To her family. To her. And you better hope she has no clue what you did to my son. She’ll skin you like a pig and stitch you into a welcome matt I can scrub my feet off”. “She won’t find that out though if I can help it, will she Andy?” Frank flashed his teeth with a sickening smirk, hearing Eilis start to toddle back over to them, finishing with a threatening whisper of “you think I don’t have a plan if she does, hm? Besides, you aren’t gonna tell her, or I’ll make you regenerate next time with your tongue and eyes ripped out. Trust me, it won’t feel as good as I’m sure it did to come back the first time”. Eilis handed Ryan his drink first, then Frank, before drinking hers while standing, asking softly “what are you two boys talking about? Any craic or just boring business shite?”. Frank grabbed her by her wrist, pulling her into his lap as he promised “oh it’s always boring without you”. Flicking his nose, she slipped off his lap and to her own spot, “we are in public. Marriage doesn’t change how feckin uncomfy I am with that” she huffed, shifting her shoulders uncomfortably as she seemed to resist a shiver before composing herself with shocking speed.

“You sure you ain’t Ryan’s spawn?” Frank muttered under his breath, Eilis pretending she hadn’t heard him, asking Ryan “want anything to eat? I’m starving… do they still do that lobster they had before? I’m feeling nostalgic..” as she pretended to focus on the menu, bouncing her foot as she hoped he remembered such a small inconsequential comment from such a faded memory. Shockingly he did, he could see her sitting in the restaurant, prodding at her food. It had just opened and he’d taken her there as a way to celebrate the city prospering. She continued to prod and prod at her food but never ate, remaining quiet until he reprimanded her for being childish. She simply gave him a sad little look with a small reply of “I always hated lobster..”. “You did always love that dish didn’t you?” Ryan wasn’t the best at acting, Frank seemed to be catching on to his bullshit, but the shock of what Eilis said as she casually answered “oh I adore it, don’t I Frankie? Hopefully it’s the same as before. Things are always better they way they used to, especially when they don’t change the chef on a whim” caught him off guard. She just gave him this innocent smile as she noticed him staring at her.

Frank spent the rest of the dinner thinking of ways to punish Ryan, noticing Eilis prodding at her lobster while she continued to talk. Memories of her getting lobster on their dates and eating everything but the frustration flooded his conscious as he tried to figure out if she’d caught on or was she fucking with him.

Did Sinclair something?

Had Ryan fuckin said something?

He couldn’t have, he’s been here with them the entire damn time.

A hand on his shoulder dragged him from his inner turmoil, Eilis begging “Frankie, can you go grab me some Eve cigarettes from the teller down by the welcome centre?”. “You’ve been off adam for weeks doll, you really wanna go back?” He looked so genuinely sympathetic that Eilis almost felt bad for lying to him, almost. “I have to go back to work at some point, pet. I’d rather not destroy my veins. It’s just to ease me back in. Please?” She watched as he rolled his eyes, mumbling something before starting to get up, slipping away and threatening a server to keep within earshot or he’d give him back his old face. The moment she left the door, Ryan felt something hit his foot, glancing down he saw a glistening magnum pistol laying by his shoe. Eilis gave him a wink as she forced herself to eat, grimacing at the texture. “Why have you given me this?“ he whispered to her, Eilis tilting her head before she shrugged “maybe I just like you and want to give you a chance at survival. Or maybe I like being in power for once and this is some sort of complicated fucked up punishment I came up with. Which do you think?”. He just blinked at her like one of the fish swimming by the giant window the Kashmir had. While Ryan sat there dumbstruck, Eilis looked around, tensing up when she saw the pillar she’d once been pinned to was still visibly cracked they’d filled them in but hadn’t painted over it yet.

She swallowed nothing in particular as she struggled to cling to her composure, shakily getting to her feet. “Where are you going?” Ryan demanded, “powdering my nose. Don’t look so afraid, you have a pistol. You’ll be fine” she told him quietly as she left, making her way into the almost abandoned women’s bathroom and throwing up what little lobster she’d managed to eat. Scraping her tongue off her teeth, she tried to father her thoughts. The fuck was she going to do? She paced the bathroom as she tried to think, conflicting emotion as threatening to make her puke again.

Mick, who would have loved to be eating lobster in a fancy restaurant right about now, was currently crawling through literal shit in the rapture sewer. Thank fuck they labelled down here like a street, the cotton wads he shoved up his nose were currently becoming useless. Finally finding a ladder, he climbed what felt like the height of Everest to get out of rapture’s foundation and up to Apollo square. Thankfully there was still a waterfall of a leak from the big glass dome here, he quickly used it to wash himself after chucking a rock at the camera hard enough that the glass broke. Ringing out his cap and scrubbing at his hair, Mick couldn’t help but mumble “prison was better..”. He eventually found a body with some ammo and a cross bow of all things on them. He’d take it, hoping his aim wouldn’t be off, worse case scenario he’d use one of the arrows to just stab someone, making his way towards what remained of the map of the area. Just his luck, half of his was ripped out and he had the feeling that half told him where Suchong’s lab was.

“Fuck me senseless…” He sighed under his breath, trying to figure out where he should go from what little he had. Best assumption he could make was go towards the poorer residential area and hope he’d set it up in there. He hated that there was a visibly poorer area but that’s how life worked apparently, even in utopia. He did marry a woman from wealth once, he wasn’t fully in the right to complain. As he strode through the area, cracked tiles drawing attention to his presence but no one emerged. Fontaine obviously hadn’t touched here yet, despite his names being everywhere. Mick wondered if everyone that was once here is dead or hiding in little Adam junkie sanctuaries. He could hear the needles skipping across the floor along with bullet casings and shattered glass whenever he accidentally kicked them.  Even when he called out, no one came, not even to kill him.

He hated this feeling, being alone when you knew there should be people around. It just made him feel sick, memories of wandering down the rubble ridden streets of Dublin, limping around like a wounded dog, his only comfort being the magpies that were pecking at the bodies hidden behind cobblestone.

How oddly nostalgic. 

Ducking under a fallen pillar, he finally saw people, but they all quickly scuttled away from him, terrified and watching him with their faintly glowing eyes from the dark. He never understood how people could take Adam when it so visibly ruined their bodies, they were starting to look like the monsters you tell children about. They weren’t a threat, so he remained calm and just continued to walk through their ‘home’, having a sinking feeling that the moor needles he saw, the closer he was getting. Soon he was met with flickering neon signs, clinging to life as they slouched off their bearings, guiding him to where he needed to be. The smell of rotting mixed with antiseptic made him nausea out, pulling his jacket over his mouth as he crept up the crumbling staircase. The door seemed to attempt to open, but struggled. Mick kicked it, a puff of rust dust engulfing the hall as or screeched open, only half way. Rolling his eyes, and ignoring how much they burned, he slipped in, for once being grateful he hadn’t eaten enough the last few months or he wouldn’t have fat through. The grumble of his stomach wasn’t any comfort. Shooting at the cameras and struggling to retrieve the arrows from them, he searched, muttering to himself “lot 192… lot 192”. The sound of clinking class and the odd smashing filled the small doctors office as he rummaged through drawers to find it, eventually deciding it was most likely behind the giant door covered in chains and padlocks. 

Managing to weasel his way into the broken door of the room next door he could only hope there was a key in there. Instead he was greeted with the long rotted, almost mummified corpse of Doctor Suchong. A Big daddy’s drill was snapped off in his chest, pinning him to a table that was scattered with documents, accuvoxes and children’s drawings. Mick shifted through them, hoping for a key but all he found was useless to him. Cursing, he couldn’t help but throw one of the Accuvoxes at a nearby wall in frustration, only to hear the sound of it hitting off glass. Curiosity peaked as he used his sleeve to wipe away layers of algae, seeing a window leading to the other room. Smashing it to peace’s, he climbed through and found exactly what he was looking for, in some sort of isolation room. It looked like a private hospital room, well used but devoid of personality or care. It made him feel wrong just standing in there. Wa this where that man was kept? Did Jack just rot away in here until he was found useful? Mick still didn’t know the whole story but he had enough hints to know they’d used the poor man like a lab rat. Finding what he needed propped up on the desk like a present, he quickly realised there was no chance he was going to be able to carry it back without it getting broke or stolen due to it’s size. Checking through the many bottles in the room, he found a jar that he could fit in his pocket, hoping it would fit.

Just his luck he had barley enough room to fill it to the brim before seal king it, shoving it in his pocket and grabbing another as he had to grab a second dose of this shit in Frank Fontaine’s apartment. He wondered how he’d get in there, since it was basically on lockdown, continuing to wonder if his daughter was there, if she was well. Was she even herself anymore? That lead him to spiralling and wondering about his children and extended family, having to reign himself back in quickly before he fully lost himself to his emotions.

Every second word or thought to slip his mind was a curse as he made his way back to Mercury suites, wondering what the hell he was going to do, and becoming vary aware of the clanging of metal off tile above him when he got into the tighter corridors.

He managed to hide behind some rubble from the security boys flying by and the prying eyes of the splicers the bastard had wandering around the area like his own personal army. Looking down at the crossbow he had, Mick knew he was most likely fucked. Unless he killed them. Pressing his back to the wall as he crouched, ignoring the agony it caused his knees, he turned the corner ever so slightly and aimed at the head of the biggest bastard there. Straight through the temple and he was down, and no one knew where the shot had come from. He only had three more so he used two of them wisely, killing the second big guy and shooting the Tommy gun out of another fella’s hand before rushing them, stabbing them man with his last bolt arrow, grabbing the Tommy gin and running like the devil were at his heals. He tried to remember what the code was but for the life of him, he couldn’t, so she just shot the lock off, slamming it shut and shoving a bit of rubble by the sliding mechanism so it would jam, taking the lift up while, admittedly childlessly, shouting at them “conas é sin le haghaidh fáilte te Rapture?!” Flipping them off as he ascended. He deserved something nice today.

As he ascended, he checked the amount of bullets he had left, hoping he could figure out a way to use them sparingly. When the decorative doors opened again to let him through, he was ready to fight, but there was no one there. Even the security measures seemed to be off. He cautiously crept through, avoiding the sand of that stupid zen garden, listening for even the slightest creak as he got into the actual apartment, but it was still just absolutely barren. Not a single person. He checked the entirety of downstairs and found nothing but still smoking cigars and cigarettes left in ashtrays, accompanied by some half drunken glasses of whiskey. There were still dents in the seats, like someone had been sitting there. They were warm to the touch. Knowing better, he decided to go straight to Frank’s office, having a sinking feeling he was in the middle of a set up.

Going through the bedroom, he couldn’t help but halt when he saw somethings ticking out of the wardrobe. Curiosity coaxed him to tug it, finding his mother’s shawl. “Where are you my little red breasted robin?..” he sighed to himself, wondering for his daughter’s safety. Frank had obviously tried to hide this, for reasons Mick wasn’t sure of, but he was taking it with him. Eilis would probably need it for comfort the moment she broke away from the sick bastard.

Getting into the office with far too much ease, he found the second dose of lot 182. After he’d transferred it into the other jar he’d stolen, he heard a cough from behind him. Cursing under his breath, he raised his hands and turned, seeing an almost identical man and woman staring at him. He looked them up and down, wondering why they were dressed the it were the Victorian era and had a face like they were going to the funeral of someone they didn’t particularly like. They also weren’t armed so now he felt like an idiot.

“Can I help ye at all?” He queried.

The woman shook her head “no more than your daughter’s failed attempts”, her companion adding “they aren’t failures if they simply have not come to fruition” then they both went back to staring at him.

Mick felt his chest tense up as he repeated himself “can I help you?”.

“Kill Frank Fontaine. That would help everyone” The woman stated bluntly.

Mick didn’t give her any visual or verbal response, so she proposed a question “you want time daughter to be happy, do you not? Kill Frank Fontaine”.

“How the fuck will that help?” He snarled at her, neither of the weirdly identical duo gave him a reaction.

eventually the man suggested “she will thank you for it one day. May be at your grave but she had the option to leave this behind, and she refused it”.

”Jesus Christ, I don’t have time for this” Mick insisted as he tried to leave, thinking they were mad rich adam junkies and oddly conscious of the fact Jack was dying in a sewer.

When he blinked, they had moved and were blocking his exits, one door each. “You’re being difficult” the man mused, Mick scoffing “and you’re being a cocky cunt, move.”. 

They seemed to roll their eyes and as soon as he blinked again, they were gone, the sound of chatter filed the apartment and he could hear people walking around. It was like they’d all just suddenly appeared.

Fuck sake.