Not quite expected

Quinn pulled into the drive and saw his office lights on. He marshaled his thoughts and pushed Roxanne to the back of his mind. He had to keep that part tucked away. As he headed inside, he was greeted by the sight of Arabella sitting at his desk, his note crumpled and thrown at him as he entered.

"Good evening, Arabella. Something wrong?"

"A note, Jonathan? Have we grown that cold? You couldn't even have the decency to let us know what was going on?"

She stood, walking around the desk and up to him, looking him in the eyes.

"I want some answers, Jonathan. I am sure Brianna will as well. I want then and I will damn well have them."

She swung her arm out to slap him and was shocked when he moved fast enough to catch it.

Quinn saw the shift in her shoulder just in time and caught her arm in mid-swing. The look on her face told him that she was shocked. He threw her arm down and looked her in the eyes.

"As your Maker, I command you to kneel and be silent."

He watched as she fought her own body but slowly sank to her knees. Her eyes were as flinty as she looked up to him. He sighed and patted her head.

"We both know I do not use this power over you lightly but you will not disrespect me in my own home, Arabella. I had something I needed to do and I do not need anyone's approval for it. If you wanted to know, you might have tried asking me. All I will say for now is that it is something to help with Compton's welfare. Isabel is very devious and my informant is not an easy one to work with. If you want to be a nuisance and get in my way, we both know I can take steps like this one. I do not normally care to, but you needed a wake up call. As your Maker, I allow you freedom of movement and speech."

He watched as her balled fists rested at her side. She stayed on her knees, looking up at him.

Arabella had excused herself at the end of the movie which left Brianna alone. It was not the most exciting movie that she had ever seen, but Arabella seemed to enjoy it. But now it was her choice, and she wanted Pearl Harbour. Scanning through the vast amount of DVD's she eventually found it and placed it in the DVD player and hit play as she sank back into the plush chair.

For a while everything seemed quiet, she assumed that Arabella had gone to call Cassia. Watching Pearl Harbour it came to the part that she hated most - Rafe's plane getting shot at. It always broke her heart when that happened. But something else captured her attention, harsh yelling. Leaving the DVD player on play she quickly followed the sound of the yelling as it led her to Quinn's office.

"I want some answers, Jonathan. I am sure Brianna will as well. I want then and I will damn well have them"

"As your Maker, I command you to kneel and be silent"

"but you will not disrespect me in my own home, Arabella"

They were arguing.

Slowly and as carefully as she could she approached the closed office door. She had never heard Quinn be so cruel or harsh with Arabella before, it was a side of him that she had never seen or heard before.

He watched Arabella with detachment and sighed. He stepped away and walked to his desk, sitting down and loading his computer.

"You are free to leave the room, Arabella, unless you wish to be more civil."

He watched as she slowly rose and turned to face him.

Arabella felt her body released from the invisible hold and relaxed a bit. Something was definitely up. He had only done something like that one other time, and not with so much cruelty but to protect someone. She slowly stood up and turned to face him. So this was something for the King's welfare. Interesting but was the King aware of it? Perhaps she should look into that. She needed to be coy though, or face the consequences. She walked to the desk and looked to Jonathan.

"I'm sorry, Jonathan. I was upset about being kept in the dark and overreacted. I promise you it will not happen."

She needed to be careful until she could get in touch with the King's people and find out if Jonathan was sanctioned to act for the King.

Brianna continued to listen to their conversation through the closed door. So whatever he was doing had something to do with Bill? But what was it? And why was Quinn involved with it? Was it another attack?

But whatever it was, she did not like who he had become. She had never heard him like this and it scared her that he could be so cruel to Arabella, but the softness is his voice once again still had her on edge.

Quinn brought up the EEE research accounts and transferred a lump sum into Paladin's accounts. He tagged it as esoteric research so nobody would question why the funds were paid. He closed down the accounts, looking up as he caught a new scent.

"Come on in, Brianna. I know you are in the hallway. Join us so we have no reason to shout."

He motioned to the chairs in front of him and smiled as he watched Arabella slip quietly into one of the chairs. He waited for Brianna to join them.

"Come on in, Brianna. I know you are in the hallway. Join us so we have no reason to shout"

Crap!

Slowly opening the door to his office as she peered inside to see them both sitting waiting for her to join them.

"Hi" she looked on shyly.

Seeing the empty seat next to Arabella she slipped into it, it felt as though she was sitting in front of the principal at her human school when she was caught with some of her friends smoking a cigarette in the girls locker room.

"Arabella has expressed displeasure with my choice to do what I needed to and how I made you aware. I imagine you too are curious as to my task."

He looked to both of them quietly.

"For now I cannot reveal everything, but know that I am dealing with a potential threat to your maker, Brianna. One he was not even aware of. I have resources that he does not so I put them to use. Louisiana is my home as well, Brianna. I have no issue with how your maker runs it and have severe creative differences with how Isabel would be doing things."

He chuckled as he thought of his little project. She may not be Isabel's progeny or she might be, but she was already guilty of working for the Bitch Queen of Texas.

Brianna was curious as Arabella was about where Quinn had gone, she still did not like the way that he had spoken to Arabella, it was not like him at all.

"Then I should tell Bill what is happening! If he is in danger then I need to go to him" she urged.

Standing swiftly from her chair as she looked back and forth between Quinn and Arabella.

"I will take Matthew with me...But I need to go to Bill" she told Quinn urgently.

If Bill did not know about this threat, then how did Quinn know about it?

Quinn smiled and laughed softly.

"You can relax, Brianna. The threat is known."

He pressed a few keys on the computer and an audio clip played of Roxanne's voice. He watched as both of them recognized the voice.
~"Oh I am not interested in the King...My tastes are more refined than the cast off King....But I have a job to do. The King will be eating out of the palm of my hand by this evening...or other places that he can find. ~

"The threat is neutralized already. My people have taken care of that. I am simply trying to see how much further things go. Once I have done that, I will hand all of it over to Compton."

He closed the computer down.

"I have already revealed more than I should, but you both deserved that. All I ask is that you trust me to do the right thing."

Brianna froze when she heard that woman's voice it made her blood run even colder. The woman that Quinn was with, she was the threat to Bill. Still standing on her feet she ran her hand through her hair. Bill had done all of this for her, she at least owed him something in return. She was faster and stronger, she could be useful.

"I need to go to him Quinn...He is my Maker. I can't just stand by and leave him alone. He needs me" she practically yelled at him.

Quinn stood and smiled at Brianna.

"..and tell him what, Brianna? That a missing vampire used to be a threat to him? That someone that was always suspect had proved to by disloyal? Where would you tell him to look? What would you have him do?"

He took a breath and continued.

"You will tell him nothing for now, Brianna. He needs to remain focused for now on the conflict with Texas. I am handling the minor distraction."

Arabella looked up at the sound of Roxanne's voice. She began to laugh quietly.

"Relax Brianna. He already knows. I sent word to him as soon as we knew in a way only he would figure out. It just looks like my message was slower than Jonathan's friends."

She looked at Jonathan and was curious when he did not look surprised.

Quinn laughed.

"You used my own courier, sent an armed escort, and involved Compton's estate in the matter, yet you seem surprised that my people told me about you sending your message? I do not know how much you told him, but since you were in the security room, I imagine that it had to do with the woman who came here with him."

He looked to Brianna.

"You can sit down. Your maker is safe from this threat and I will even have my people deliver her eventually to him for justice. Right now she is more interesting as a tool of information."

"You have her don't you?" she asked Quinn directly.

Quinn must have her stashed somewhere only he knew. That had to be it. She may not have always seen eye to eye with Bill, but he made her. Now she had met Quinn because of him, she owed him in a way. She would not back down from this, although a part of her told her to leave things alone. That she would make things worse.

"Arabella you understand right? You would do anything for Quinn if he needed you. I need to go to Bill and you can't stop me" she told them both.

"You are not a prisoner here, Brianna, but I would ask you to think before acting."

Arabella looked at Brianna and then at Quinn as he spoke.

"He does have a point, Brianna. As much as I hate to admit it, telling the King will only serve to distract him since he cannot find her. If I know Jonathan as well as I do, someone else is holding her for him. That way there is no way to trace the location. Jonathan is nothing if not careful."

She stood, walking over to look in Brianna's eyes.

"Give Jonathan the time he needs. Then we will all go to the King together, and Jonathan's friend can deliver that little tart to your maker, gift wrapped. As he said, you are not a prisoner her, far from it. Please...think before you act. Marshal your emotions and think before going..."

Hearing Arabella's words, Quinn could not have been more proud. She was a quick study and had learned quite a bit about him. He walked over, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

"The choice is yours, Brianna, but please listen to her. Think before you act on how this news will be seen. What can it do for now but distract him?"

She wasn't a prisoner? Then why did it feel like it to her? She felt in debt to Bill, but from what they were both telling her it would only distract him further from whatever he was doing. But Arabella's words got to her the most. She knew more about Quinn that what she did, she hadn't even scratched the surface with him. 

"Fine. Have it your way...But if anything happens to Bill...I will never forgive you. Either of you" she glared at them both.

Turning swiftly she stormed from Quinn's office and headed straight to her bedroom, slamming the door in her wake.

As they watched her storm off, Arabella sighed.

"I'll go talk to her. You get your head straight."

She pulled from his arms and walked toward the halls. She got to Brianna's door and knocked quietly.

"Brianna. It's Arabella...."

Brianna slumped on her bed. She needed to get away from them both. Alone she could cope with, but together they were a team. A team that she was not part of and would never be. Quinn was distant with her and that was not how she expected him to be.

"Brianna. It's Arabella...."

Great! That was all she needed, another attack.

"Leave me alone Arabella!" she called through.

"Brianna, you know me. I am not going to play games with you. Something more is going on, but I trust Jonathan."

She knocked again.

"I just want to talk..."

Arabella was not going to leave this alone, she was determined to talk to her. Sitting up in her bed as she rested her back against the wall.

"Come in....But I don't want him in here" he instructed her.