a dish best served cold, Open

[Abra Judd]

It was a lovely day. She had won her case, a case she had been working on for weeks, and for once it seemed all the hard work had paid off. It was reassuring to know that hard work still had some value. Another plus, her boss, the district attorney, had complimented her on her hard work, another first. She had come to expect her work to be ignored unless she screwed up; to have someone notice apart from her mess ups was nice as well. She smiled even though there was no one to share it with. She loved her job, but more importantly, she loved winning.

It was a beautiful day too, no rain. But ten seconds later, all this was ruined. A hand came up to cover her mouth and she felt the unmistakable sensation of a knife pressing into her back. This was bad. "Not a word," he hissed, pulling her back into the alley. She knew she had to make a snap decision. She could let this play out and hope she had an opurtunity to get away, or she could try to get away. "We're gonna have some fun together," he hissed on her ear. She knew exactly what he meant, and paled. She should have fought for the knife.

[Jamie Spiren]

Jamie had, yet again, been for another interview. He was trying to get into somehwere new, maybe even the palace..but jobs seemed hard to come by and he didn't have the best of luck. He looked up at the sky, hand shielding his eyes to the sun as he thanked the unnamed god that it, for once, was not raining. He had left one of the larger skyrise buildings, choosing to take the stairs rather than the lift, and was now leaving the building and was walking round to a smaller square that led to the way home. He thought he saw someone pass, somebody who resemble Abra..but he couldn't be quite sure. Jamie carried on walking, noticing a man going down the same place. What did he do? Was that really Abra? He wasn't sure.

Jamie followed quietly, and soon saw that in a flash of movement, it was his old friend from Shiz, and the man had gotten ahold of her. He pondered what to do, his mind racing. He couldn't just leave now, he'd seen it..and he really really didn't want her to get hurt..or even worse, killed. Jamie surveyed the situation from around the corner, hopelessly trying to figure out what to do. Go to close, and it could be the end, or run away and it could be the end aswell.

[Abra Judd]

Abra did not see Jamie, and even if she had, it was not as though she would have been able to communicate with him. The man had his hand clamped firmly over her mouth and he had no intention of letting go any time soon. He had been whispering threats in her ear the whole time, letting her know just what his plans for them were, plans she had no interest in remembering or understanding. She had to get out of this now, before her case became the next one the court had to tackle. She tried to remember any of the self defense she had ever picked up. She should have taken the classes one of her friends had recommended to her, then maybe she would not be in this position. Or she would at least be able to get out of it.

She could still feel the knife at her back, but there was less pressure than before. The man had to be getting comfortable, or at least as comfortable as one could get in this situation. It would be time to make her move before this went too far. Summoning up all the courage she had, she bit down firmly on his hand. She doubted it hurt, and all it really did was leave a foul taste in her mouth, but it did distract him. She felt the knife press dangerously hard in her back, but she was too busy elbowing the man while he was distracted. She managed to knock him off balance, sending him stumbling away as she whirled to face him. She could not get the knife away, that much was clear.

He recovered quickly, swiping the knife at her. She dodged at first, but she knew if she ran he would catch her and make her pay for the pain she had caused him. Face full of fear, she contemplated what to do. Distracted by her thought, he managed to carve a small cut down her arm, causing her to cry out softly in pain. Momentarily distracted by the swipe, he was able to grab her wrist. He pulled her close to him, waving the knife under her nose. "Now missy, you'll pay." Seeing no way out, for once, Abra lost hope.

[Jamie Spiren]

He recoiled in horror, seeing the man attempt to attack her, hearing her cries when he cut her arm. That was it, there was no going now. He would wait, make his move from behind and get her free. He wouldn't usually do this but he felt..something..something different for Abra, like he had to protect her and make her safe, he just wasn't sure why. He heard her movements, and suddenly wished he could hear her thoughts too. Jamie slowly moved around from where he was hiding, seeing that the man's back was to him. Perfect.

He slowly stepped out in hope that he wouldn't hear him..he wasn't so much of a good fighter, well..he'd never really had a proper fight to be honest. But he knew how to throw a good punch and a kick. And hopefully he knew how to avoid a knife. Jamie stepped forwards and slowly, silently, grabbed the man around the throat, taking him by surprise. He had done this so the man would hopefully panic and drop his grip on Abra, and then of course he would drop the knife. That might not be the case, but he sure hoped so. He held onto the man's neck tightly, using all his force.

[Abra Judd]

By the time Jamie decided he was going to help her, Abra was already resigning herself to the terror that would be coming. It was going to be horrible, that much she knew, and she knew she would have no way out. To her horror, tears shone in her eyes, the man's face twisting into a sickeningly pleased little smile. That alone gave her the strength to carry on with no tears. No way would she give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing her so torn up by his actions.

Then Jamie grabbed his neck and the game changed. His distraction from that action was enough to allow her to twist her arm out of his grip and grab his other one, twisting it until he yelped in pain and dropped the knife. She kicked it away, keeping sight of where it went, knowing it would be used as evidence at a later date. She glanced at Jamie. "Hold still," she said, before winding up and hitting the man squarely in the jaw. She could give a fair punch, and was decent in a fight, but not when knives were involved. After the punch was delivered, the man just sneered at her, reaching out and trying to hit or kick her. She dodged him as best she could. He landed a few as she got close enough, and she was pretty sure he was trying to hit Jamie with his foot, but she got close enough, ignoring the blows and begin punching him again, and again, and again, until finally he slumped against Jamie, knocked out.

After the fact, she just stood there, palms open, eyes open with the shock of the entire ordeal. She backpedaled, slumping against the wall of the alley, surprised to feel the tears reappearing. What had almost just happened? She had almost died, been raped, mugged, beaten, whatever the man had been planning, though she suspected it was some combination of the two. Her breathing ragged, she slid down the wall. Her arm hurt, the cut not particularly deep, but still painful. Finally, she stopped trying to subdue her tears, and cried, though it wasn't loud sobbing, simply tears running down her face.

[Jamie Spiren]

He held the man, avoiding injury to himself as Abra hit him and hit him untill he fell limp. He was heavy and Jamie struggled to hold, instead dropping him and letting his head bounce on the cold, hard floor. She was alright. Well, not alright..but safe. Not dead. This mattered most. He didn't know why he had done what he did, and he certainly hoped that Abra didn't hate him for it. Jamie stepped over the man and followed the trail to where Abra had sat herself down. He looked her over, worried that he had hurt her more. "Are..are you okay?" He asked, slowly kneeling beside her.

He noticed the trail of red coming from her arm, and knew that she had been hurt once. It didn't look too bad..it could be cleaned up. Maybe she'd let him help her. "Silly question..of course you're not okay." Jamie mumbled, not knowing what to do now. This was the hard part. Explaining why he had just..turned up and somehow saved her.

[Abra Judd]

(OOC: Bear with me, as I'm typing this on my phone.)

Abra wiped her eyes with the back of her palm, willing the tears away. She hated to cry, it was a sign of weakness she could not afford to show, though she supposed that she had just been attacked, so perhaps she had earned a moment of weakness. But now that moment had passed. She had to be strong now, especially in the wake of such an event. She could fall apart later when she was at home, when she could crawl under the covers and cry. But not now. Now was reserved for action. She nodded inperceptively, affirming her resolve to herself.

She finally looked over at Jamie. "I'm okay." She paused. "Well not yet, but I will be." She said. She paused, looking at the man, slumped on the floor and shivered despite herself. She let a few moments pass. "Thank you," she said finally, having let the fear pass enough that she knew her voice would not shake when she spoke. "Had you not been here," she glanced at the man again, "I don't know what would have happened. I could..." Her voice trailed off, and she found she could not or would not finish the statement. She took a shaky breath. "Just... Thank you."

[Jamie Spiren]

"It's okay..don't think about what could have happened..you're here, and it's all that matters." He took a glance back at the man, wondering how long he would be out for. "We should get away from here, Abra..he might wake up again." Jamie reached out, gingerly touching her good arm with his fingers. He looked at the floor for a few moments, not knowing what else to say. Instead he simply sat there, watching her regain her composure steadily. She would be okay, he hoped.

"I think I know how to fix that cut of yours. I'm not magician..but I can work with a bandage and such." He offered her a small smile, attempting to reassure her that everything would be alright. Jamie moved his arm away, simply placing his useless hands on the floor as he wondered what else to say to her.



(OOC: That's fine..no problems )

[Abra Judd]

She nodded stiffly. She would nod, though she doubted this incident and what could have happened would go away as easily as Jamie made it sound. Besides, he wanted to leave the bastard here. No way was she allowing that. She got up, wiping her hands on her pants, ignoring the cut for the moment, preferring not to think about how dirty the knife could have been. She flipped the man over, and gasped in horror when she realized who it was. A criminal she had put away of course. She had let him off easy, that was why he had been on parole in the first place. No more of that. "Asshole," she hissed under her breath. Normally she never cursed, it was unbecoming, but she was giving herself an exception considering the circumstances. She finally tore herself away from the prone criminal, and walked to where the knife was lying. She picked it up where the blade met the handle, figuring she was less likely to contaminate precioud evidence holding it there.

She looked to the mouth of the alley. Perfect, a Gale Forceman was walking by. Shame he had not been there earlier. "Wait!" She called, fumbling to get out her ID one handed. The man looked wary, though she could not blame him. She finally got out her ID and showed it to the man, identifying her and her position. "I am Abra Judd, an assistant DA and this man, Terrance McNally, is an excon who I put away. He attacked me with intent to murder," she continued to explain the sitaution to the man who took the evidence and said he would take care of it, but she would probably have to come in for questioning. She nodded, walking back to Jamie.

She gave him an elusive look, stripped of the confidence she spoke with when taking care of business. Now she was drained and tired, and at this moment, she just wanted this day to be over. "Ill take you up on that offer," she said, referring to the offer of a bandage. She hoped he would suggest they get out of here. She was much too stubborn to admit it, but the place was giving her the creeps. This whole thing had shaken her, and though she didn't realize it, and had she would have never admitted it, her hands were shaking.

[Jamie Spiren]

He watched her face change through states of recognition, and soon, he too realised that she knew the man. Jamie took a step back and observed as she moved various things and then gave the information to the Gale Force guard. He looked at her. she certainly got back up on her feet again quickly, but then again he realised she was probably not feeling as good on the inside. He scratched the back of his head and pushed his hands into his pockets, staring down at the attacker as Abra was recalling the event to the officer. As she finished talking and he left to find other men, he stepped forwards, his eyes moving to her again.

"Do you..I.." This was awkward, would she even want to come back to his place to get her arm fixed? He didn't know what exactly to suggest, but figured he should at least offer since she looked like she wanted to leave. "I have bandage..at my apartment..we can go there if you want. You need to get away from here." Jamie remained calm, hoping she wouldn't freak out and refuse. His eyes glanced out of the alleyway for a moment, empty..as always. He stood, waiting for her response.

[Abra Judd]

She appreciated the fact that Jamie was remaining so calm and was being so supportive about this. Normally she would not go home with a guy to his apartment, that invited something she was not comfortable with, but this was not a normal situation. This was an unpleasant one, albeit a different one. One she wished she never had to deal with again. She now had a greater appreciation for the victims who came and turned in their attackers. She had no idea how she would have responded had the attack continued. Thank Lurline for Jamie, because she didn't know how she would have made it without his help. But as he had said, this was no time to dwell on what hadn't happened, but rather what had and how to handle it. What had happened was she had been attacked and had a cut on her arm that he had graciously offered to take care of. She could focus on that, narrow it down to that focus alone. She could deal with the rest later.

She nodded slowly, offering a tight lipped smile. "Let's go," she agreed, walking towards the street, arms crossed tightly across her chest as though that would make her safer. "I need to get out of here," she admitted sotly, unsure if Jamie had heard her or not, not really caring if he had. She just wanted this place banished from her memory, this day over. That, she knew, would be much easier said than done.

[Jamie Spiren]

Jamie watched her reply, glad she had said yes, because he didn't know where to take her otherwise. He nodded as she began to move, followed and walking beside her, wary of people around. He watched Abra cross her arms, and wondered how long it would take for her to be okay again. It wasn't nice, recovering from an attack..well, it wasn't nice recovering from anything. He turned his eyes forwards to avoid walking into some stranger, and slowly guided her towards where his apartment was.

A little out of the emerald sat his small, but tidy and neat, apartment. He made sure to turn down the main road, as after what had just happened he figured that alleyways were not the best routes to take. Jamie looked over at her again, hoping she was alright. "Almost here.." He mumbled, coming up to the front door of the apartment block with her. He took the door, holding it open for her. Jamie offered another reassuring smile, wanting her to know everything would be fine now.

[Abra Judd]

She honestly did not know why this whole business was freaking her out so much, after all, nothing had actually happened. She had not really been hurt, apart from her arm, which, given proper care should not even leave a scar. She would physically be fine, but mentally, for some reason, her mind had grabbed hold of this incident and would not let go, choosing to take it and twist it into what might of happened, hundreds of different scenarios that were all equally terrible. She supposed it was part of her job, after all, she dealt in people's horrible stories and trying to make them right, so maybe this was just a sign that she had been letting herself get too close to the victims, that by burning their stories into her mind as a sort of tribute to their ordeal, she was making her life harder, that that was why she did not have pleasant memories of Jamie saving her life, but rather unpleasant ones of what Terrance might have done to end it.

She followed Jamie wordlessly, glad he chose to stick to the main streets, rather than any side streets or alleyways. There was another wordless fear working its way up from the cracks of her mind. What if this was not the last time a criminal came after her? She had earned a reputation as a brutal prosecutor. She had gained accolades from the admirable parts of society for what a good job she did, but the criminal parts, not so much. She had received threats before, but she had never actually had any of these threats carried out. It was not a fun thing, she hated it, and she now was terrified it was not going to be the last time it happened. She could not make this routine. She was going to have to take some of those self defense classes just for her own peace of mind.

But now, she needed to take care of her cut. She walked through the door Jamie held open for her, hoping that this day would hold no more unwelcome surprises.

[Jamie Spiren]

Jamie glanced back out onto the street, making sure it was safe before he shut the door and led her up the stiars. The first flight up and they were on their way to his apartment. He stopped outside the door, smiling at Abra and fumbling around in his pocket. He soon found his key and pulled it out, unllocking the solid wooden door and letting her in. Jamie was glad he had tidied up the day before, otherwise Abra would have been walking in on some sort of bomb site.

He followed her in, shutting the door and trying to recall where he kept his first aid kit..well, moreso just a package full of bandages and medicine. "Make yourself at home." Jamie told her as he motioned to the couch, slipping his jacket off and rolling his shirt sleeves up, going to look for the bandages. He spent a while rummaging in the tiny kitchen adjacent to the sofa. He soon found it and turned on his heel, going to open it up.

[Abra Judd]

She noted Jamie's furitive glance outside. Apparently this day had made both of them more paranoid, which was not necessarily a bad thing. It might lead to longer lives, after all. In her case, anyway. She had no idea what Jamie had to be paranoid about. She realized that she really did not have any idea about Jamie. She did not know much about him at all. She had known him at Shiz, certainly, but she had not known him particularly well, more as passing friends than anything else. She did not know what he did, who he hung out with, nothing. She just knew that he was her friend, and now he was taking her to his apartment because he was now a big part of why he was still alive. This entire train of thought was giving her a headache. She turned it off for the moment. She could worry about all that stuff some other time, like when she was not still hurt and going to someone else's apartment for medical reasons. It was a new experience for her, and not one she'd like to experience many more times.

She slipped through the open door. The apartment looked neat enough, but not too neat. She did not like going to people's apartments who freaked out if you put your cup down in the wrong place. She nodded at his insistence that she make herself at home, slipping off the suit jacket that she would not be able to use anymore for the cut in the sleeve of it, same for the shirt under it, whose sleeves she rolled up. She wrinkled her nose. She had liked this suit. She sank onto the couch, rolling up her sleeve, taking note of the cut. It was not that deep, or that long, enough to look worse than it was. Despite this, it still made her nauseous to look at. She could not wait until it was covered with a bandage and she did not have to look at it. She could not have been a doctor. Blood freaked her out.