Realistic or Modern Friendly Fire (IC)

[Nekoda]

Friendly Fire
Nekoda x Acid Wash Idiot

Characters

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[Nekoda]

Quinn Bellemore​

1:53 AM Southeast Portland, Oregon.
Small Suburban Neighborhood.
​

Drop. Drop. Drop. The rain had finally let up after an entire day of non-stop rain. Now several hours following dusk, the only sound to be heard were those of singular dive-bombing rain-droplets plummeting into little puddles from the trees in which they gathered. Everybody in the neighborhood had shut off their lights, and were tucked away in their beds safely, having full faith they'd be met with a brand new day in the morning. The night was calm, a sign of disturbance was nonexistent.

"well wouldn't you look at that," Quinn spoke softly to himself, "it seems as if fate took the night off, and left theirs in my hands. That was dumb." He finished with a chuckle before reaching into a pocket concealed on the inside of his trench coat and pulling out a blank white mask. Examining it for a second, he put it on and walked towards a house chosen only by random, and set off to do the only thing the man knew how to. As he approached the front door of the house, his heart began to race, adrenaline began to pump through his veins. Quinn checked the door to see if it had been locked, but found no surprise when it turned out that it remained in fact unlocked, and thus he let himself in as though it were his own home. Something in his gut told him the house belonged to a small family whom never once conceived the horrific thought that something bad would happen to them, Which, was in fact the case, confirmed by noticing a picture of a brother and sister kneeling in front of their parents in a family portrait. He looked at the kids in the portrait and whispered, "I'm sorry," and set it down once reality kicked in that he was left with very little time. Instead of examining his surroundings, Quinn made his way to what looked like the master bedroom and entered to see the husband and wife sound asleep, completely unaware of his existence. His adrenaline rush at this point grew stronger, knowing each and every time he does this, it never proves to be old or hold a lack of satisfaction. He withdrew a large knife from a sheath held near his ankle, before leaning above the male and whispering into his ear, "nothing exists." With that, Quinn took his knife and slashed into the neck of the man who'd been laying down without hesitation. Smiling he woke up the girl beside him, turned on the light before walking out of the bedroom, and counted down from 3 when to which he heard the violent screams of the wife laying eyes her dead husband. Simple, yet acceptable, his blood lust had been calmed, and he left the house without fear of getting caught. "Until next time," Quinn exclaimed, looking up to the sky as he disappeared back into the night.

 

[acidwashidiot]

8:17 AM Washington D.C.
FBI Headquarters
​

Dakoda jumped at the sound of yet another file being dropped onto her desk, turning her head to give the already walking away woman who had brought it to her an annoyed glare. She had hardly been in fifteen minutes, had just barely sat down, and already it was looking like another long day. Sighing and leaning back in her chair, she picked up the case file and flicked open the cover, but the more she read the more her eyes widened. "So he's back," she muttered to herself, sitting back up again and leaning forward, setting the now open folder down in front of her on her desk. She quickly scanned the contents of the file, then read through it all again in detail. Her heart started to beat faster. Sure enough, it matched his M.O. exactly. One victim, murdered in their sleep with a swift and confident knife slash to the neck. Often a witness (usually a spouse) but no detailed or accurate description of the killer, only that he was in fact a he. No evidence left behind whatsoever. Utterly infuriating, she had concluded. But every time he killed she became more and more hell-bent on catching him herself.

Dakoda had been working on this particular killer's case since she had started working for the FBI (by her request), but she had been following his work for far longer. She far from considered herself a fan, however. She was thoroughly convinced that whoever this sick fuck was, he had been the one to take her parents' lives. No one believed her, convinced she was projecting onto an impossible case, but she just knew it. The FBI only considered this serial killer to have been active for the past seven years, but Dakoda knew the truth. There had been nearly three years prior where this man had most definitely killed, but only sporadically, and messily. It took him three years to perfect his craft, a craft which she was entirely certain he had discovered on the night of her thirteenth birthday, the night he first took lives.

She frowned at the time and location of the murder. Two nights ago in Portland, Oregon. That was the third time in a row in that area. Turning her pen over in her hand, deep in thought, Dakoda made a decision. She was sick of sitting in an office all day. She needed to be out on the field and if it appeared her killer was loitering around Portland of all places, and it certainly did appear so, there was only one option available to her. It looked like the time had come for Dakoda to pay her hometown a little visit.

 

[Nekoda]

Quinn Bellemore​

Around noon the following day. Beaverton, Oregon.
Dakoda's childhood house, which is now where Quinn lives.
​

Light gleamed across Quinn's face, waking him up with displeasure. Even with shades in the window, the sun's intensity broke through. He groaned and wished to remain asleep, feeling sore from sleeping on the hardwood floor. Wincing as he leaned forward, he propped himself up with his arms and gazed around the room. 5 years he's stayed in this house alone, and never in that time did he invest a bed, nor any other piece of furniture or appliance. It was completely empty. But that's all he had wanted, or felt that he needed. Afterall, he only had the opportunity to stay here because the state wouldn't allow him to rent out or sell the property due to it being a major historical crime scene that was never solved, and thought to the town as being a landmark and a way to scare kids into listening to their parents. Odd such an event was taken so serious by the locals, but this left the landloard at a huge loss. Thus, once Quinn was finally out of his home at 18, made a deal to work for him freely and do whatever touchups and other jobs he could do in order to maintain the appearances from the outside to the general population. This of course, as well as stressing the fact that he had been the best friend of the child whom had her parents murdered in this very house (but leaving out the murderer had indeed been him), swayed the owner to let him stay.

Quinn then looked up to the ceiling and in that moment realized he had been more empty than the house he resided, a thought that brought him a strange sense of joy. With that, he got up and spoke aloud to himself, "Let's see what's in store for us today."

 

[acidwashidiot]

11:48 AM Portland, Oregon
Portland International Airport​

Dakoda let out a long breath of relief after finally stepping out of the airport. She didn't mind planes really (although considering that the earliest available flight to Portland had left D.C. at 5 AM, she hadn't exactly started her day in a great mood) but airports were too big and too busy for her to handle. Her mind worked in details, and when thrust into somewhere with so much going on, her brain often got overloaded with incoming information. There was no way for her to just see an airport full of people. She couldn't help but to analyze every person who walked past her, every interaction and conversation she saw or overheard. That being said, as soon as she was outside, her mind began to clear again and she started going over her plan as she went to pick up her rental car.

In the interest of saving money, Dakoda had already reserved a hotel room in Beaverton, a town bordering Portland and, consequently, the location of her childhood home. She knew she would have to go to the crime scene at some point that day, but there was something she needed to do first, something she hadn't had the guts to do until now. The last time she had seen her parent's house was the morning after they had been killed. She honestly had never really planned on returning, but if her hunch was right and her killer had settled down in the area, she supposed she might as well face her past while she was here.

The drive to her old home was quiet and straightforward, and she spent most of the time appreciating the scenery. She had never realized how much she missed the trees. The Pacific Northwest was entirely unique from the rest of the country. She figured if she had never been forced to, she probably never would've left Oregon of her own accord.

As she neared her childhood neighborhood, her chest tightened and her pulse intensified. I remember this place, holy hell. I'm really doing this. She pulled up across the street from her house, parked the car, and leaned back in her seat, just...staring at it. She was surprised to see the yard so meticulously manicured. The house looked in better shape now than it had ten years ago, in fact. Clearly someone had put a lot of care into maintaining appearances. Closing her eyes for a moment, Dakoda counted to three in her head before taking a deep breath and getting out of the car and walking up to the door. Her hand paused in midair for a moment before she finally knocked.

A few moments passed, and right when she started to figure nobody was home, she watched as the door was gently pulled open. She blinked a few times in confusion before reality hit her and she realized who the man was standing before her.

"Holy shit. Quinn?"

 

[Nekoda]

The House.​

Quinn lazily made his way to the kitchen in order to fix himself something to eat. In his fridge there hadn't been a whole lot, just a milk carton and a few other items his landlord had given him money for so he didn't starve to death. This lifestyle of simple living had been crucial to allow his agenda to be so successful. Who'd suspect a guy such as himself, with no way to make a living, staying in a house in order to feel connected his best friend? To many all they saw when looking at Quinn was a troubled kid with emotional instability. Which, from the surface is far from a disguise or a fake representation of himself, but omitted countless traits that were crucial in revealing his true colors.

After looking around for a few moments, he settled on making a sandwich. Before he could sit down and eat it though, there was a sudden knock at the door. This of course startled him, for he knew only the landlord would ever dare knock on the door, who had been on vacation the next several months. Puzzled, he approached the door cautiously and opened it , ready for any action he may be put in the position to take.

To his astonishment, the person who'd knocked on his door was rather familiar. He studied her face but could not recall a name. Which was odd, for he knew very little and so this had brought him a sense of fear. That was, until she had said his name and he heard her voice. There was no doubt whom that voice belonged to, a voice he hadn't heard in nearly 10 years. It was Dakoda, the little girl who lived in this very house, and the daughter of Quinn's first victims.

Without making any indication that he'd been taken aback by her sudden appearance in his life, he responded lightly with, "Oh, hi."

 

[acidwashidiot]

The Front Door.
​

Dakoda attempted to hide her shock...and failed completely. She chuckled and ran a nervous hand through her hair. Sure, she had come here to face her past, but she hadn't been prepared in the slightest for this part of it. As she tried to compose herself, she took a moment to get a better look at her old friend.

It was his eyes that had given him away. They were as blue as ice, and entirely disarming - the kind of eyes that you could sense looking past your shell and digging around inside your thoughts. Dakoda didn't maintain eye contact for more than a second though, now past shock and moving swiftly into awkwardness. She quickly scanned the rest of him. He was strikingly attractive (though a bit disheveled) and in a way that came across to Dakoda as intimidating rather than endearing. She assumed he must have woken up quite recently, the last glazed remnants of deep sleep just now leaving his eyes. His hair was long and unkempt, and he was dressed plainly as well, in oversized jeans and a t-shirt. She got the feeling he didn't have anywhere to be soon.

She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other under his gaze. She couldn't for the life of her get a read on what he was thinking, his expression entirely blank, but the more she thought about it the less bothered by it she was. He had always been like that, now that she thought about it. It was one of the things she had found so fascinating about him back when they were both children, and so strangely comforting.

"So..." she began, only to realize she didn't have anything to say. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There were a thousand things she had been wanting to say to Quinn for years. A ten-year stockpile of thoughts and feelings she had wanted so badly to share with the only person she had ever truly trusted, but never in her life had she expected to actually see him again. And now that she was face to face with him, every single thing she wanted to say flew out the window, and she was left reaching for something - please God anything to break the silence. "Been a while, huh?" She visibly winced. Really? That's the best you can come up with? Not even a 'sorry for leaving without ever saying bye and never attempting to contact you afterwards'?

 

[Nekoda]

Unsure what to think or how to react in this situation, given that when he asked the world what would be in store for him that day, never could he have imagined Dakoda would just suddenly appear. He moved his long straggly hair from his face to try to look somewhat more presentable. Normal. Something he'd never given a care about until this moment as he was so unsure what this meant.

He looked back at her, noticing she had really grown up. She looked sophisticated, successful, important, as though childhood life of being made fun of for associating with Quinn and losing her parents, propelled her into becoming a great person. He himself also used his childhood as an excuse to become who he was, which amused him yet terrified him, seeing that they were two completely polar outcomes.

It was then he came to the realization that, after all this time, she had somehow still recognized him and knew without a doubt who he was. Dakoda acted almost as if nothing had changed, but he could tell she was probably in way more shock than he was. Not to mention Quinn did a much better job at suppressing his emotions. "Yeah, I guess it has been.. You uh, you remember me?"

 

[acidwashidiot]

Dakoda raised an eyebrow and let out a nervous laugh at his question, her eyes still refusing to look at one thing for more than a moment. "Well I wouldn't say you're exactly forgettable, all things considered. I mean you've changed a lot, sure, I guess both of us have, but some things are..." She inadvertently glanced up again into his eyes, and realized he hadn't once taken them off of her. "Constants," she concluded.

As soon as Quinn had opened the door, the only thing in Dakoda's head had been the shock of seeing him. However, now that that shock was starting to fade, Dakoda remembered that she was standing in the front doorway of her old house, and he was standing inside the house, which Dakoda could only assume meant he lived there now. She could figure why, of course - she wasn't stupid - but realizing this only added to the years of compiled guilt she had built up over abandoning him. It hadn't been her choice to leave, but it had been her choice to never come back. And all this time...he had still missed her. Fuck.

"I'm ah," she almost apologized, came so close before stopping herself. She wasn't quite ready for the conversation that would no doubt follow, the explaining and justifying she would have to do. She shook her head. "So you live in my old house now." It wasn't a question, it was pretty clear it was the case, and she already knew why too so she wasn't quite sure why she brought it up except to avoid talking about anything that actually mattered. The uncomfortable small talk was killing her, and yet she couldn't bring herself to break out of it.

 

[Nekoda]

At her remark about him living in her old house, he looked around with a sarcastic expression of curiosity. "Oh yeah I guess I do huh." Quinn said, before looking back at her. Hoping for a quick laugh to ease the tensity of the interaction, Quinn leaned against the doorway to relax and think. The idea that suddenly she decided to stop by the house out of nowhere was bewildering to him. To be fair, she had seemed just as surprised and unsure of the situation as he was, but nonetheless it just seemed it was one of life's cruel and unusual ways of showing you just how much it liked to play with one's mental ability.

"So, you wanna come in and talk or should we just awkwardly stand on the porch like fools? I'm cool either way."

 

[acidwashidiot]

Dakoda laughed a genuine laugh, for the first time in God only knew how long. "As much as I'm enjoying the whole fools-on-the-porch thing, I think that might be a better idea. I'm sure we've confused the neighbors enough now."

As Dakoda moved past Quinn into the house, she was struck by its barrenness. There wasn't a single item of furniture to be found. "I like what you've done with the place," she mumbled before she could stop herself. As odd as it was at first glance, she found she wasn't really bothered by it. It made sense to her that Quinn would live in an empty house. She couldn't quite explain why, it just...suited him.

Looking around for a place to sit, Dakoda found herself quickly warming up to the idea of conversation. "So what are you doing these days, Quinn?"

 

[Nekoda]

Closing the door behind him, he made the realization that no one besides his landlord had stepped into the house since he moved in. Nor had he had contact with anyone besides a few incidents here and there. Excluding when he kills people, but that's besides the point. Quinn had been genuinely concerned about how he'd act and adjust in this moment with all things considered. Though, he did his best to remain with the appearance of normality as it was his former best, and only friend. Not that it would entirely stop him from killing her had he deemed it necessary, but for the moment everything seemed pleasant and manageable.

"Oh you know, the normal things people do. Work, eat, read." Kill. He had given the thought to make a joke here, but considering it wasn't really a joke, and she'd probably not be to keen on a joke about death while being inside the house her parents were killed in for the very first time since then, he decided against it. "I don't know, never really do anything that's more than just something."

Realizing she was probably wondering where everything was and more than likely had been judging him, he tried to make it seem like it was no big deal. "By the way, I've been meaning to get furniture, just never found anything that speaks to me."

 

[acidwashidiot]

She nodded in acknowledgement, but smiled to herself. She got the feeling he had no intention of buying furniture any time soon.

Thinking about what he had said before that, Dakoda absentmindedly responded. "Sometimes I wish I could do things just to do them. Everything I've done up to this point has had a purpose, you know? It's all been some step toward a bigger goal or whatever. It's gotten me pretty far, I suppose, so I shouldn't complain. Spontaneity is just so alien to me." Dakoda knew she was rambling, and she doubted anything she was saying made much sense to anyone other than her.

She tried to find a simpler topic to switch to, and realized how confused Quinn must still be about her seemingly random appearance. "I'm, ah, in town for work right now. And I figured now was as good a time as any to...confront my past. Might as well check 'revisit the site of my most traumatic childhood experience' off the list, you know?" Yeesh, way to keep it lighthearted.

 

[Nekoda]

"Well, good for you!" He said, trying to come across as enthusiastic but failed miserably. "Setting goals never really suited me, but to be fair I'm perfectly happy with where I'm at." For getting along so well as children it was hard to fathom just how dissimilar they were all grown up. Though, Quinn didn't seem to mind. He just felt that it was overwhelmingly surreal that she showed up, which coincidentally distracted him from the whole situation's awkwardness. Honestly, he didn't know how he felt or why he didn't feel, more.

When she mentioned being in town for work though, his ears perked like a dog as he was quite intrigued by what she had become after all this time. By the looks of it, Dakoda was definitely very successful. After everything she went through, she still managed to become something great, which Quinn found himself envious of her for. Ignoring her remarks about her past, he asked her about work and what she did, also with the intent to bring a sense of realness to the conversation. "So.. In town for work? That's pretty cool. You gotta tell me more."

 

[acidwashidiot]

Dakoda smiled. "It's crazy to think about what twelve year old me would think of me now. I never dreamed my life would end up like this." Dakoda was painfully aware of how much she was talking. It had to have been the most she'd talked in years. Quinn had always had that affect on her though. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted anyone, even now, even after nearly ten years without contact. She figured she would trust him with her life, if it came down to it.

"I'm here on a case, as a matter of fact," She said, trying to keep herself in reality. She paused, debating for a moment whether or not to tell him. It wasn't like the case was exactly a secret, everyone and their grandma had already read about it in the news. Dakoda decided to just tell him. "I, uh, work for the FBI now. I'm in charge of the Night Stalker case." It was a high profile case; Night Stalker was one of the biggest active serial killers in the country. Someone being head of a case like this one after only having worked in the Bureau for a couple years was practically unheard of. Dakoda had worked her ass off for it though, and her Director had seen that and made an exception. She gave Quinn a proud smile.

 

[Nekoda]

Quinn felt as if he had run into a brick wall. Everything was going smooth and calm in his head up until this point, when suddenly she revealed to him that she was a part of the FBI. No, not only a member, but in charge of a high profile case. His case. Quinn had been in fact the very psychopathic killer her and the FBI had been chasing.

On the verge of an anxious outburst, he slowed his breathing down and had to smile to himself, realizing she was in the same room as the murderer and hadn't the slightest clue. This calmed him down, and allowed him to remain in character. "Oh wow Dakoda, I'm proud of you. But really? He's still out there? I don't follow the news really, so i'm not really current with what's going on in the world right now." Then he paused before continuing."If I'm not mistaken, that's the guy who killed your parents isn't it? It makes a lot more sense now why you chose to stop by here now. And I must say, it's really nice to see you again."

 

[acidwashidiot]

Dakoda's smile instantly turned into a frown, and a dark knot started to twist in her stomach. What he had just said hadn't lined up, and in a way that really disturbed her. He said he didn't follow the news, and yet...he knew. He knew something some of the country's greatest detectives denied.

"How do you..." She took a step away from him. For the first time in her life she had no idea what to do or how to react. The situation just didn't make any sense. He could've just been mistaken, but Dakoda's gut told her otherwise and if there was one thing she had learned to rely on since she left it was her gut. Confront him. "I'm sorry, I really should be at my crime scene." Confront him. "I didn't expect this to take so long, the police are probably waiting to debrief me." Confront him. "It really was so cool to see you again. I'll be in town for at least a few more days so."

Dakoda made a move for the door.

 

[Nekoda]

Quinn looked at her in shock and confusion, unable to decipher what he had said that would set her off and arise suspicion, which was so obviously blatant she had at that moment towards him. "Whoa whoa, forgive me. I didn't mean to stir up the past, I just remembered the years following you leaving here that there were cases not unlike what happened here all across the Northwest. Maybe I'm wrong, but I made that connection a long time ago." He felt like he covered well enough, as he did not reveal any sort of panic or twitch or stutter in his voice. The fact though, that he had to cover for himself at all, was deeply concerning, and prompted him to be rather careful in the future. Hoping there were more interactions to come, anyways.

"Well, I understand that you must go. I wish you well. If you ever want to chat or see me on another business trip, you know where to find me." He gave her a friendly smile, which was something he only ever did around her, and it really made him feel at peace once again, even if she was in distress.

 

[acidwashidiot]

Dakoda paused at his smile and forced herself to calm down. She felt like an idiot for reacting the way she had. "Look, I do actually have to go but I'm sorry for freaking out. It shouldn't surprise me that of all the people in the world you'd be the only other one to make the connection. I think I've just gotten so used to everyone in the Bureau calling me crazy for it. But I know he's close. I can just tell." She shook the thought out of her head, still feeling guilty over the strange fear she had felt toward her old friend.

Her heart rate was returning to normal and her mind was starting to clear again. "Maybe we could trade numbers? That is if you..." She looked around the barren house again, "have a phone?"

 

[Nekoda]

Quinn couldn't help but feel so out of place in that moment, having known he'd never felt that a phone of any kind would serve him a purpose. Instead of replying in a usual sophisticated manner, he lost all stage presence of himself and Quinn instead gave out an awkward uneasy laugh. "Ah yeah, well I've been meaning to get one, actually. Just, funds have been tight lately and.." Idiot.

Breathing in and collecting himself once again, Quinn looked back at her. "If you give me your number, I can go ahead and give you a call when I get the chance." Even though he was able to revert back to his appearances, he'd never felt so tense and frustrated at himself, and was ready for Nekoda to be on her way before he slipped up again.