𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬 : 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝑶𝑭 𝑨𝑵 𝑶𝑭𝑭𝑰𝑪𝑬 𝑩𝑼𝑰𝑳𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮. discomfort swings in her chest like a pendulum, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 against her spine. she sits cozily : one knee crossed over the other, & her fingers ( tips peeling away at the moss nail polish on the thumb, & forefinger ) resting in her lap. 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔, her patience showing itself thin, & her chin dipping to check the face on her watch. discomfort feels like a STONE in her gut, the remnants of her saliva tasting like a 𝔩𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔤 𝔤𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔟𝔞𝔡, & finally ––––––
❛❛ –––––– 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐄?. ❜❜ this building is too empty, too aware of the bodies inside of it, & she wrings her hands together like a cloth.
the name feels like water on her ᴄᴏᴛᴛᴏɴ - ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇ , the remnants of a smile to break past a stoic line, & 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐘 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐖 rises from her seat. sweetness threatens to eat at her syllables, & she keeps her tone calm. ( NANCY - MYTH UNWINDS HERSELF FROM HER MOUTH. HAND STRETCHES FORWARD, AND ) words grate against her throat, huskied, & carved from peach - pits :
❛❛ i don’t know if you were told that i would be accompanying you ( quick, she un - glorifies herself, de - clusters the cherries on her tongue, & squashes them under - boot. ) but, nevertheless ––––– i’m certain that you’re aware of what’s been happening ? ❜❜
* [ 8:12 AM & SHE INWARDLY BRISTLES. 8:15 AM & ALL OF THE BUTTON - CHECKING & SKIRT - TUGGING OF A WOMAN PREPARING TO MEET AN UNKNOWN MAN. 8:17 AM & SHE TAKES TO THE HALL, FILES IN ORDERLY KEPT FINGERS. ]
𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, [ ... ] : 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚜. caught in headlights & caught out of step, clarice also catches first sight, ——— 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆. [ a split second of difference between mutual regard, but find the advantage lost on her, : gleam the barrage of twitching lashes, 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎. ] ❛❛ ma’am, ——— miss drew, my apologies. i was informed of an outsourced collaborator, yes. ❜❜ no name had been advised, & so she had subscribed this anonymous outlier a man’s face, a man’s presence. [ a weekly occurrence in a dusk lit, well kept dorm of the women’s trainee wing in quantico, : clarice & ardelia, ears pricked, 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒕𝒉’𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. ] ❛❛ i was briefed on the drive over. ❜❜ that’s right, starling, reign it in.
❛❛ 𝚒 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚎𝚢𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛. as far as i’m aware, the estate has yet to be searched since the officer called it in earlier. 𝒚𝒐𝒖 & 𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆, 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘. ❜❜