4Author's note:
I've decided to bump this story into M-rated, for suggestive scenes up ahead.
Not sure if this is the right call but hey, you're already indulged in the crime world of Niko and Sidney, eight chapters in.
Might as well go balls deep, right?
Anyway, enjoy!
#9
No words were said as they, Niko and Elizabeta, just stood in the stairs in silence. The only sound he heard was the cricket and his own inner thoughts. Niko had a fair share of fucking up people with blows but this was different. No scream and curse; just the sound of bones cracked and soon meat crunched. His face fell and there was an urge to go back and pull her away. He didn't understand this. He didn't understand everything. This was not just a kill. This was… devastation.
This time, Niko thought, it wasn't her.
"Sidney and I were two different people with two different ways of life." Elizabeta spoke to no one in particular but she knew Niko was listening in. "We are very much the opposite. I like confrontations, she likes conversations. I like parties and hangouts, she likes books and stories. I'm fat, she's fit. I am the loud one, she is deadly quiet. I plan things, she delivers. That's why we are so good to each other. We understand each other. We know our strength and limits, and how to handle them."
She went on. "There's one time, only one time. It was back in the old days when the business still small. By then we've known each other good. We've learned each other's story. Nothing to tell that we didn't know about - sometimes I can be an asshole, I'll admit. That one time we were arguing, I went too far and brought up something I should have never brought up. Angry wasn't even the word. She was red and enraged. That time she took me down, giving the worse beating I had ever received in my entire life. She broke my nose, my jaw, my spleen," Elizabeta pulled up the hem of her shirt to reveal a deep wound just under her left breast. "She fucking stabbed me with a damn butter knife right through. Man, I almost died. That day was the scariest I've been my whole life. That day I knew Sidney more than anyone else."
She went on. "Underneath the hard-cover, Sidney is a fragile thing. She had been through a lot, even far worse than my taste. The only thing she remembered was pain and anger. One wrong bump and she would break." She paused and turned to him, eyes to eyes. "And then for a while, those two things fueled her to stay alive. Those are the only things she knew. Pain and anger."
"Damn."
"Yeah." Liz copied him. "Damn."
"I try to mind your business but…" Niko finally took a seat next to her on the stairs. "It was all true, wasn't it? Barry wasn't bluffing about everything about her. You didn't even try to cover it up."
Liz let out a silent sigh. "Has Sidney ever told you why she got prisoned before?"
He recalled. "Drug possession and assault. And then the second time, drunk-driving. She told me briefly about them."
She shook her head. "Sidney was not jailed for drug issues. Fuck, she is not at all a drug addict. She has never consumed a single dust of drug, even with me. She's clean. But got tainted." Liz confessed. "When Sidney was still in the police, her department was involved with some sort of money laundering and fraud, all the corruption things, and she was very much against it. She raised the offense to the federal office but… alone against "cops", that's already a suicide." She told him. "In the end the blame was on her. Drug possession and assault was only to get her out of the department as well to cover up their illegality. For almost two years that unit operated under the radar, and she served the time."
Niko pinched the bridge of his nose. That was a lot of information at once. A lot to take in, he didn't even know what to process. She was betrayed. She was raped. She broke down. She was falsely prisoned. She killed and survived.
Sidney thrived, but never moved on.
"You wouldn't do anything to her, right?"
"Huh?"
"You know a lot now. You know too much." Liz repeated again, harder this time. "Promise me you would not do anything to her."
"I wouldn't do that to her. I don't care about any of that." He said, loud and true. "I promise."
"I trust you, Niko. God knows I ain't got much option to choose but to trust you." Elizabeta nodded. "And I'd like to think Sidney trusts you too."
"Hmm, what makes you think that?"
"Looking at the fact that she went to the extent of always vouching for you. And I could see she was true to herself—oh, I know when she was faking it. But with you, she's genuine. She already sees you with respect. She trusts you." She added, chuckling. "Or she just happens to fancy you too. Eh, probably both."
After a while Elizabeta and Niko decided to come back into the room, mainly to check on what was left to clean. Barry was obviously dead with some part of his head already turned into chunks. In the middle of his body a knife was stabbed right in the middle of his chest, laid above the pool of darkened red. His eyes moved to another laid body on the other part of the room. There she was, back laid to the ground, eyes above, staring right to the ceiling. She looked dead, with so much blood covering her face and body, a blood that wasn't hers. But her chest still dipped and rose.
"Hey, you done with this?" Elizabeta kicked her foot. "We need to clean this up and leave. Fucking you need to clean up."
"Uh huh."
"You know there's no way you'll make an accident out of him. I mean look at him. His head barely there anymore."
"I fucked up, aren't I?" Sidney whispered. "Maybe I do need therapy."
"You already had but you managed to spook them away. It's not going to work." Elizabeta sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?"
"Hmm. Good, I supposed. And tired." Sidney lazily tried to raise her hand. "I think I broke my wrist."
"Does it hurt? Lemme check, baby." Lizzy said, inspecting the swollen hand. "It's swell but not broken. I'll wrap it with some bandages. Can you get up?"
"Sure."
Niko watched as she began to rise, tumbling over her own feet like a kid learning to walk again. If it weren't for Lizzy to hold her in place, she sure would have fallen.
"Damn it, Sidney. I just had this carpet cleaned." Lizzy said in disgust, circling around the area. "Sidney, go to the bedroom and get yourself cleaned. Niko, help me with the body."
"I can help."
"No Sid, you've done enough baby. You've done enough." Lizzy wrapped her arms around her, forehead pressed on her temple. "Just relax. It'll be over soon."
Niko watched the exchange; under the hug they were sharing, Sidney looked actually very small and vulnerable, not at all the same nosey, chatty woman he knew all these weeks. For a moment, he caught her face and it was then he realized how different she looked; under the smudges of blood stain, her weary blue eyes opened up, pale, swollen, exhausted; staring back at him.
…
The drive home was all quiet, and not the type that she usually enjoyed. Radio songs played out but there was no lively beat to it. It was too awkward, too much going on that it silenced the world out. Everything else just felt bland and empty.
The only thing she could hear was the repetitive echo of men surrounding her, moaning and laughing at how pathetic her ambition was. And when she decided to open her eyes, those same people were towering over, pounding over her dignity. Years and years of teamwork and friendship was ruined by tempting shortcuts and absolute authority. In the end corruption ate out their oath, and eventually broke her heart.
All hail those voices, and what haunts along with.
Sighing, Sidney shifted over and changed her attention to the present day, or at least tried to.
"So you're a cop."
Her attention turned to Niko driving the car, looking about. With everything tuned out, she almost forgot Niko was there watching their exchange, listening to everything Barry had to say. "Was, dude. I was." She answered slowly. "Was it a shock for you?"
"Not really. Your sniper rifle was already a sus from the beginning."
She knew he had picked up the pieces together, and at this point she felt she owed him an explanation. "Yea, you're right. I was in the tactical unit, specialized in long-range assault. The rifle is indeed mine."
"Was being a cop a childhood dream job?"
"Y'know my dad was a police officer, a good, honorable one. He taught me a lot and I aspired to follow and continue his passion." At this, she laughed. "Now that I think about it, it's very ironic how he died. He tried to uncover some dirty work and failed. I tried to do the same and I failed. Look what justice got us all." She moved to take her wallet from her jacket and pulled out something from its socket. "Here, to prove that I was not lying."
"Why does it look like I'm getting arrested?" He joked at her old ID card. Just in time for the red light, he took the time to read through. The card looked legit, with signature and stamps to legalize her rank. And Sidney looked rather handsome, styled in suit and tie, a warm smile across the young face.
He nodded in accord. "You're thirty-two?"
"That is your question?" Inwardly she frowned. "You know, you should never ask a woman of her age."
"Well I'm sorry," though he rolled his eyes. "I just thought you look younger."
"Oh really? I'll take that as a compliment then." She giggled. "What was your guessing number?"
"Twenty something. But I know you've been with Liz for a while so maybe late twenties." He told her. "How old do you think I am?"
"Easy, forty five."
"Fuck you."
"I am being serious. Is it not above forty?"
Clearly he was not entirely pleased with the answer, and slowly she came up with multiple conclusions. Until she finally asked. "How old are you really Niko?"
"Just thirty."
"Oh. Oooh!" She nodded. "Are you sure?"
"Piss off."
Chuckling loudly, she shifted again and stared into the night.
"Did you ever think that I was a soldier?"
She turned to him again. "What do you mean?"
"I'm, what is it what you guys call? A war veteran."
Her small glance implied a waiting time, and he went on. "There was a war in my homeland. The Bosnian War. It was already in the middle of political conflict between countries, taking over the government and stuff. Young Serbian boys were forced to join the army to overtake Bosnia to serve Velika Srbija - The Great Serb." He told her. "I was about fourteen when recruited, fifteen when first deployed to the battlefield. It's so much different than killing thugs and gang war."
"Hmm… I have a guess you're not just some random thug on the way. I know you're professionally trained." She admitted. "Tell me more."
"The motive is different. We're not only need to kill and survive, but to win. We trained day and night and day again to serve our country. I remember every morning before the start of the training or the start of the march we'd always say - jače se borimo, boreći se pobeđujemo."
"What does it mean?"
"Something like, stronger to fight, fighting to win - Yeah, I think something like that. The higher-ups always dictate us to fight, to win. We have to win for our country, but what we win over it is never told. We're just pawns ready to be moved by someone inside the building. We do it so much that we just do it without questioning the sense of it." He said, pausing briefly when he had to make some steering adjustments. "Eventually it becomes a habit. Everything we do is a justification."
"Is that why you always want to get the job done quickly?"
He snorted. "Could be."
"How…was it? On the battlefield, I mean." She asked. "Was it as bad as the movies depicted?"
"I know all soldiers were strong men, physically and mentally. But even the big guys shit their pants when the tank starts to show and the bombs start to blast. And the smell… it wasn't just blood and shit. Burned bodies too. But I think the worst part is the sound. To this day, I can still hear their pleadings in my head." He grimaced at his own story, perhaps she noticed it. "Yeah. It's worse than you can imagine."
Worse than I can imagine, huh?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Were you raped?"
Either it was a real question or a really bad inside joke, it was vague. "No." He frowned slightly. "I did it though."
Sidney only just registered the meaning of his answer and suddenly quieted down.
It wasn't long before they reached the front of her house and he stopped the car in her driveway. Sharing a quick nod, she unbuckled and got out of the car. She walked around to the porch and he was about to hit the gear again, when she suddenly turned around and tapped his window down. "Can I ask you something before you leave?"
"Hm?"
"Now that you know everything about… y'know," she said. "What would you do about it?"
Niko clicked his tongue. "Why would you think I would do something?" He retorted. "I am not Barry."
"That's not what I meant. It's just—I wouldn't appreciate you doing something behind my back, or Lizzy's too." she let out a sigh, "You've seen the worst of me and I'm just warning you that you wouldn't want that to happen again. Gosh, I hope it won't."
"I won't do anything at all." Niko established his own word. "I promise you."
Her blue eyes flickered, a tiny bit brightened, and Niko thought it was as if a little weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And suddenly, the smile he was well familiar with returned across her face. Just like his war-life, this was her heavy burden; her doubt and mistrust, the weight she had been carrying all time. Seeing her at least at ease with it, with him, was a relief on its own.
"So, are we cool?" Niko started again, and it was a recall to the first few days they knew each other. Sidney too was aware. "Right, dude—"
He was abruptly cut off when Sidney had pushed into the window, grabbed his neck and landed a kiss on his lips, and before he could process the distraction, he moved with her. It was awkward and sloppy but he obliged anyway, his tongue and hands already keeping up with her aggressive approach.
"Get out." Without any words he did as told and she already pulled him towards the door, somehow still stealing smooches along the way inside the house. She didn't even bother turning the lights on, already preoccupied to pull him into her.
"Sidney."
"Sshh," she silenced him again with another kiss. "Just… shush…." She whispered against his lips, biting the lower lip as an invitation to continue. And he met her halfway, wrapping an arm around her waist and another cupping her face, pulling her close. Their kiss deepened, though this was entirely different than the one they shared back at the corner of the street. He could feel her breathing become hot and heavy and at the same time he could feel her emotions run through, as if sharing deep thought. Sad, anger, fear and joy; all basic emotions in one bitter-sweet taste.
"Stop." Niko managed to pull back. "We shouldn't." It was already a struggle since his body was already indulged in the wild sensation, but he pulled back. "You don't want this, not right now." He looked down at her, the blue eyes bore back at him; dimmed, hinting a dismay. But she did not look all disappointed. A curious look lingered too.
"You're worried." She said, "you're worried. You think you are taking advantage of me."
"Y-yes. No." He shrugged with her eventually. "Am I?"
"'Course not." She leaned back in, tracing his chest with her hands, all the way up. "Let's just see this as a way to make a change in our lives." She ended her sentence with a soft kiss at the corner of his lips. "For the sake of our pasts."
And so they restarted; initially slower, passionately stronger. Intimately sharing; bodies and minds.
#9
Waking up to the sound of a beeping alarm clock, Sidney opened her eyes and met with a glimmering lava lamp at the corner of the cabinet, and another figure sharing the blanket beside her. He had one arm over his head and another hidden under the sheet; with a part of his face visible, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. A sudden urge to get close and she snuggled against him; he didn't respond much but his breathing seemed slowed with her presence.
Another alarm sound woke them again.
"The fuck." She heard a groan and a shift of movement touching her. "Turn that thing off."
Giggling, she rolled over to the table to tap it off. "Sorry, my bad."
It was his turn to open his eyes, rubbing the blurry vision off. He freed his arm and lazily draped it around her waist. "Hm, what time is it?"
"It's still early. Or do you have anything to do this morning?"
"Hmm, no."
"Then go back to sleep, Niko." Sidney pecked a kiss on his jaw to soothe him back. She knew by now that Niko was not in the manner of a morning person. Within a few minutes after the snooze he snored again. It suited him better this way. He looked peaceful. She daresay he looked rather younger and striking too, without the hard lines due to too much caution.
Slowly, and without moving too much, she got up, put on a nightgown over her body and walked out of the room to start the day as regularly as she could. For a little while she spent most of her morning cleaning up or doing some laundry, and then proceeded to do a bit of cooking. Sometimes she did some morning yoga, sometimes she just laid down on the couch again waiting for the microwave to ding.
She did the latter, body flopped, eyes staring up at the ceiling fan slowly spinning, hypnotizing. Looking back it was only in the span of three days since Lizzy's car crash, and this was almost a week after her own incident; and just over an entire month since she returned to Liberty City. Back home, everything seemed fine until everything else went downhill. Lizzy's problem; Sidney never questioned how she handled business but had she known all of this led to this, she wouldn't have ever left her alone and targeted. It sucked knowing that there was nothing she could do other than try to fix the situation, to save a friend.
And then there was Michael fucking Parker, the last man standing, running all over the state like a bitch, running away from her.
When she thought things were going to be good again, everything just happened and it shattered her own thoughts.
A beep of the microwave spook her a little, but not as she was startled by the ringing of her home phone. "Hello?"
"Sidney, that you?"
"Yeah."
"Where you been? I tried to call you yesterday. Anyway, I can confirm Mike is really here, in Detroit. In fact, I am seeing him right now, walking the dog." The guy said and a series of flashbacks returned to her instantly. Suddenly she felt a tingle on her thigh, the scar of her previous bullet from her shootout in the woods. Her body felt limp, as if she was still slipping on the wet terrains. "Are you still doing this?"
She replied. "How is he looking? What's he up to now?"
"Surprisingly, not much. Nothing strange about his typical day. Morning jog, going to the grocery, going to Church. Apparently though, he's volunteering as a chaplain for this little community. A change of heart maybe." He asked. "Are you still doing this now that he is a devotee?"
"That doesn't change anything ever." She lightly chuckled. "I have already done so many sins. I can't turn my back on one person now."
"I know you would say that. So, when are you gonna come up here?"
"Soon. I'll be leaving soon enough." She said, "until then, don't lose sight of him."
"Alright, I'll keep you posted. Just ring when you're coming. The sooner he dies the better, right?"
"Yeah, alright. Thanks John." She hung up and immediately sighed loud and hard. She was tired. Her body was fatigued, her mind messed up. So much stuff was going on yet so much more to go, so much more she had to do.
"Who's that?"
"Oh Jesus Christ. You scared the shit out of me!" Sidney turned around to face Niko, leaning casually against the fridge, a glass of water already at hand. "Don't do that, dude."
"I don't know how Jesus Christ would feel when you have been talking about sins just minutes ago." He remarked. "Is it confession time?"
"Sure. I confess I don't give a crap about a thing you said." She walked over to the kitchen cabinet. "Coffee?"
"Black." He said, sitting over a stool while she prepared a mug. "So who's John?"
"Why? Are you jealous?"
"Well, I'll be disappointed if I found out the woman I'm sleeping with is talking to another guy the next morning."
"Yeah really?" She placed a mug and a sandwich in front of him. "Wait, are you really or was that just you bring cynical?"
He shrugged. "I don't like sharing."
"I'm not a thing for sharing, lover boy." She rolled her eyes at his rough chuckle. "Well, that was a friend of mine."
Niko took a sip of his coffee. "Forgive me but after what happened yesterday, I doubt you still have friends."
"Asshole."
"I already apologize in advance." He shrugged again. "Where are you planning on leaving?"
She couldn't help but groan. "Fuck. How long were you standing there actually?"
"Not long but I heard you saying to leave soon. You're not planning on bailing on Liz too, are you?" Her response was an automatic glare, which meant she was still salty about it. "Okay, I take back that question." He said defensively. "But you are going to leave?"
By then she had already taken a seat on the chair next to him, taking a portion for her own. "Yes, when the situation here is safer."
"Fair. Where to?"
"Detroit, Michigan."
"Why?"
"I have a man to kill over there."
"Okay." He nodded. "I don't know if you're lying or not but…."
"No, I wasn't lying. I do have a man to kill."
"Okay. I believe you."
The breakfast was quiet as they both ended up paying attention to overrated reality TV shows: The Gold Digger of Liberty City that immediately annoyed Niko so much that Sidney intentionally left the channel as was. Though it was either watching that of the Top Hooker show which was just as worse.
"Hey Niko."
"What?"
"So I've heard Playboy's dead." Sidney suddenly started in the middle of the meal. "Was it you?"
He nodded curtly. "You got problems with that?"
"No. As a matter of fact, it's the other way around. I'm thankful."
"Really?"
"A good businessman, yes. A total asshole, very much. Everything he said is bullshit. People already know that. Safe to say, with him killed, you're helping out the community. Helpin' out the streets, says Manny."
"Hm, don't remember you were this hateful to the guy when I asked you the first time."
"I don't want to include personal emotion behind your cause." Sidney said. "Which reminds me, you still owe me twenty percent on whatever Dwayne gives you. Don't forget about that."
"I didn't get any money for the club."
"Well, you musta' got sumthin in the end."
"I got Playboy's penthouse instead."
"Oh shit, really? Of course I want twenty percent on that thing. Actually, can I have the whole house?
"Not the house."
"Hm, alright lemme think for a bargain."
"I wasn't even offering anything—"
"There's a classic guitar set that I knew he had. It was a rare 1956 Gretsch White Penguin. You know, the company only produced like sixty of this type of guitar. And this sumbitch managed to get it from black market auction on the internet." she explained. "That guitar right there, is about seven out of my twenty percent. I'll look for more."
"Fine. Take the penguin, the bird, whatever. Take whatever you want, I do not care." Niko agreed nonchalantly, not that he was going to use the house anyway. He actually planned to rent it. He already talked about it with Roman and Mallorie. It was a good start for business property. "I didn't know you could play guitar."
"I don't. I want to sell it. I'm telling you, rich people will pay loads for this rubbish."
He sneered against his coffee. "Fantastic."