Sofiel: Partitions 2/2

They finished up, the sun was completely set by the time they got back to the car and by the time they were on the freeway most of the traffic had cleared away. Madeleine almost dozed off in the car and by the time that they dropped her back off at her car and she drove home she was ready to fall asleep on the road.

She had to wonder, was she getting weaker?

Did something happen to her.

Brian followed her back to the hotel and walked her to her room, which was only on the floor right below his. She lingered in the door way of the room as Brian stood holding her around the waist, “I guess that I'll see you in the morning,” he said as he leaned in.

She pressed up onto her toes and they're lips met, but soon he was holding her on the side of the neck. She fought to open her door, but couldn't get the key in right and didn't care. Her hands went up under his chin and her back flattened against the dull monotone door. Something she'd been holding back all day erupted in a torrent.

One of his hands found the back of her thigh and she made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a moan. Behind her the door shuttered loudly as her head came back into it. She giggled lightly, “Sorry....” she muttered.

Brian began kissing her down the side of the neck and she tilted her head up while trying to find the key again and get the door open. Suddenly there was a sound the elevator arriving and the doors sliding open. In an instant Brian was off her but it was too late.

“What's going on up here?” asked a woman coming off the elevator. Her tone sounded as if she knew exactly what was going on and was offended.

Madeleine spun, rubbing her hair down in her face to try and hide the redness, “Um, so yeah see you in the morning,” she worked the key into the door quickly and then opened it.

Brian gave her a hardy good night and let her door shut as he walked off. The room was dark and she fought to find the light on the wall with only the illumination from the window coming in. Off by the side of the king sized bed she spotted the tall free standing lamp and made her way to it.

The lamp flicked to life with a click and no sooner than she did that, she was pounded in the face. She stumbled backwards in shock. Her footing was a little lost and she caught herself on the bed. Even then she managed to fall to one knee on the green padded hotel carpet.

When she finally looked up her assailant stood over her, the only thing was the girl who had done this looked almost exactly identical to her. Her hair was straight, combed down and jet black. Her lips were a vast contrast from her face, drenched in red lipstick.

“Who the Hell are you?” asked Madeleine getting back to her feet.

“Ugh,” said the woman, “When they told me I had a doppleganger here, I didn't think she would look this...prudish.”

“Doppleganger?” Madeleine was holding her nose, “Who are you?”

“Can't you tell bitch? I'm you,” she said walking down the side of the bed. “Well more or less, I'm like the improved version of you—had it been me outside that door, I'd have fucked that man's brains out...”

Madeleine strafed around to the side, “Wait...like one of those alternate dimension things...”

She shrugged, “Whatever,” she said, “when it comes to being here, I'm more like you're shadow.”

In comparison to Madeleine she was dressed in complete contrast, a tight tank top and a skirt that stopped well above her knees.

“So you stole in here to give me that bunt to the face?” Madeleine asked.

The Shadow shook her head, “Of course not,” she advanced quickly and kicked Madeleine in the stomaching knocking her back, “I came to see how rough the other me likes it...” she flung two knives down but Madeleine dodged getting to her feet.

This time when the Shadow stepped in to kick, Madeleine caught her by the leg and drug her to the ground, “Bitch.”

The clone thought to catch Madeleine off guard with a second kick, but she in the face with the face. Forced to let go, she dropped back and almost slammed into the side of the bed. Her Doppleganger got to her feet before Madeleine could, “Its not like in the movies, is it?”

Madeleine was holding her forehead as she rose, “What?”

“The gallant heroine and the copy duke it out, only to find they match each other move for move...” she said.

“You're insane,” Madeleine responded.

She produced a blade from the side of her skirt, “Maybe so,” she started, “But it appears I might be stuck here—and I'd like to know I'm more than your copy...” the two of them rushed together, Madeleine kicked the knife from her hand up into the air and spun to continue with a more forceful second kick. The copy was caught off balance but still managed to grab Madeleine by the shirt and pull her closer.

It all happened in a flash, the shadow grappled at her neck and turned her around. With a fleeting motion the clone caught the knife from the air. Madeleine was pulled down to the floor, with the clone behind her holding her around the neck with the knife poised.

“If you erase the original does the copy by default because the original?” asked the clone.

Madeleine vanished in a blinding flash of white and feathers; there was a pop sound and then she reappeared on the other side of the room near her suitcase and dug her hand down into the tightly packed clothes. The copy sprung back to her feet, and Madeleine whipped her pistol up and fired.

The sound was muffled by the silencer, the bullet tore through the air narrowly missing the target's neck. It sunk into the base of the wall just underneath of the air conditioner unit. As the copy moved to the side she flung a knife at the gun, knocking it off balance.

In those few seconds of lost concentration the Doppleganger rushed in for the attack. She forced the gun off to the side, “I see you won't go down with out something of a fight.”

Madeleine was an even match for the mysterious copy, her own strength seem equal and not over come. She struggled to hold back thoughts of what was going on until later. In another flash Madeleine moved up behind the clone now, teleporting instantly.

She went to strike out and before she could the clone teleported too. Instinct kicked in and Madeleine ducked down narrowly being missed by the forceful blow from the copy. And before the leg could be recovered, Madeleine, with herself just in range, swept the clone's leg out from under her. The assailant came tumbling to the ground and Madeleine pounced up to pin her.

With the copy plastered to the ground and her weight on her Madeleine drew her arms back, the rock like armor that she could call fourth in an instant encased her arms and she brought her arm down to pound her enemy into the carpet.

As her hit connected she was met with the resistance of the same rock armor covering the clone's face. Madeleine gasped and before she could take any other measure the clone was gone, teleporting out from under her. With a kick to the back of the head Madeleine careened off the dresser and into the wall.

She set up holding her head and quickly got to her feet, “Impossible...you've got the same powers...”

“Exact copy,” the leather clad woman strutted towards her, “we're going to have access to the same exact amount of power...”

“No one is an exact copy—none of this makes sense,” Madeleine searched the room for something, anything she could use.

“Love, we are No One's,” she spoke with her arms folded over her chest, “We're not people like your new boy toy, or even your mother...we're just forms—examples of perfection, not like the distorted trash that's Humanity...” she had stopped just feet away from Madeleine.

“I was right,” Madeleine started, “You might look like me and have my moves—but its clear you're nothing like me.”

“You're right,” said the clone, “I drink, I smoke, I fuck, I couldn't give a rat's ass about 'the human condition' and after I'm done with you I'm not going to squander my time away on this miserable existence you call a life...” the clone darted for her.

Madeleine straightened her hand out behind her like like a blade and encased it in hardened carbon, diamond. Just as the clone reached her she jabbed her diamond arm right through the heart. The sound of bone and flesh being torn into, sliced perfectly by the precious stone was the last sound for several moments.

“How did you...” the Doppleganger rasped. Her fingers grasped Madeleine's arm where it plunged into her chest, “...how did you do that?”

“Because only I know what I can do,” Madeleine said with her arm still jutting out the back of her clone's body. It was obvious she'd hit the fatal mark. She was kneeling with her arm struck out and up, the clone leaning down into the wound with its blood leaking down Madeleine's arm.

Madeleine transported herself and the clone out of the building. When she reappeared she stood at the edge of a murky river with the clone's body out over the edge of the water. The liquid was dark and still below. For hiding this body, something told her the River Walk would suffice.

“Things would have been different...” she gasped, “...in my dimension.” the clone expired as the last words left her lips.

Madeleine knelt on the side of the water and lowered the body down into the water and pushed the body off into the dark muck, “As if...” she rinsed as much of the blood as she could off in the water. She hated to even get the blood on herself at all. But this was business—this was her life.

After she warped herself back to the hotel room, she rushed around and picked up anything that didn't belong. Dropping to a squat and collecting up weapons, the shell casing from the gun and anything else she couldn't let be seen.

These things she deposited in the side pouch of her suitcase where no one would usually care to look. She took the time to wash up, her arm was a mess and she would have to scrub real had to get the blood completely cleaned. She came back out and dried off and then she was on the room phone, “This is Madeleine in number seven forty-five,” she sighed, “I'm going to need you to bring up a bottle of wine.”

The voice on the other end was male, very polite and all around well mannered, “Yes, ma'am, do you have any preference?”

Madeleine thought for a second, “Wait scratch that,” she paused, “bring me up a bottle of Patron Green Label and two small glasses.”

“Yes ma'am, right away.”

The moment she hung up the phone she was on the cell calling Dee, the phone only rang once and Dee answered. Cutting off anything Dee might say, Madeleine spoke, “Someone just came after me.”

“Jeeze Maddie,” Dee said, “I could have had male company over.”

“I'm serious, some kind of clone just attacked me,” Madeleine said.

“Clone of you?” asked Dee.

With a sigh Madeleine said, “Yes, try to keep up.”

“What did she say?”

“She said a bunch of shit about erasing me and then something about another dimension...” Madeleine said.

“War told me once that there were other dimensions to help keep this one in balance—you didn't kill her did you?” asked Dee.

“Yeah, I just dumped the body,” Madeleine said.

“Dammit Madeleine!”

Madeleine took a seat on the corner of the bed, “What is it?”

“If you killed her it might have broken that balance some...it could make you and any other Madeleine in other dimensions just a little bit more ...” Dee was cut off by Madeleine.

“...bad?”

Dee sighed, “If that's what she was, look you need to promise me something.”

“What's that?”

“Just make sure that there were no adverse effects,” Dee said.

“I assure you I'm you're same chipper little Madeleine!” she said.

Dee scoffed, “You saying that kind of shit already worries me.”

“Good by Dee,” she said.

“Bye.”

When the phone was hung up Madeleine decided to cut the television on and try to calm her nerves, it was only about five minutes before there was a knock at the door. Madeleine walked over to the door and opened it to find the waiter standing with a small round tray, the bottle of Patron encased in ice and two glasses upside down on the side of the tray.

She took the tray with a smile, “Thank you so much,” she started, “Sorry for calling so late.”

“It's not a problem ma'am,” he said as he nodded at her and turned away.

Madeleine shut the door behind herself with her foot and placed the tray on the corner of the bed. She decided to change clothes before doing anything more, there was this little night gown she had that she loved to wear, a light brown silk thing that she slept in most of the time. It wasn't something she would have been used to a guy seeing her in though.

A thought crossed her mind that she normally would have dismissed, but something made her stop on it and entertain it. Entertaining turned into thinking and thinking soon turned into action. She moved back to the closet and dug out a pair of little shorts and a t-shirt that she'd packed mainly to wear under other clothes.

She changed in a hurry, brushing her hair and teeth too. She headed out of the room with the tray of Patron in hand and boarded the lift bound for the floor just below hers. The wait going down seemed like it lasted forever. From there it was just one hall over to get to Brian's room. She reached his door and gave a little light rap.

There was no answer at first.

She knocked again “It's me.”

The door opened to a room lit by the cool glow of the television and nothing else. Brian peered out through the crack, “Is everything alright?”

“I couldn't sleep,” Madeleine said as she held the tray in the door, “Wondering if you needed some company.”

Brian's eyes widened as a jolt of realization rippled through his body. Madeleine's shirt not quite reaching the top of her shorts, the way she half leaned in the door. He'd always seen her as beautiful, gorgeous, even unassumingly sexy. But something was different there now. Her little half cocked smile postured beneath her button nose. He'd not seen her like this before, “Are things okay?” he asked, “You seem like somethings up?” he let her into the room.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” the glasses clinked together on the tray as it was placed on his dresser. As he turned to head to the bed, she grasped his collar and guided him back towards her, “Now come here for a second...”

Now she backed into the dresser, her hand out behind her in a clumsy effort to direct the tray away. She slid her butt halfway up onto the wooden surface. The slippers slid from her feet as she let her feet hang just barely scrapping the ground.

She was holding him under the chin as he stepped in closer until he was standing between her legs. He grasped her hands in his, massaging them with his thumbs before forcing them down to her sides. His mouth covered hers hungrily, “Madeleine, I hope you didn't come down here to do anything you're going to regret because you think it'll make me happy.”

Madeleine had to wonder if Dee was right, if maybe the double had some adverse effect on her.

“Who said anything about doing something I'll regret,” her legs tightened and tensed around his body some. “I'm doing exactly what I want to,” her lips were drawn to his in a series of short shivery kisses, “You're not getting any further than...what's it called...second base,” with her body still connected to his, she turned back to open the bottle.

His breath flattened again her the curve of her shoulder as he spoke between each kiss that brought him closer and closer to the nape of her neck, “That's fine...by me...a guy could...get used to...this.”

Just as his lips brushed the curve of her neck, she tilted her head away and reached up caressing the side of her neck. Exploratory fingers etched lines down the small of her back. She remembered just then that something was concealed just below her waist line.

Her hand found its way to where she'd hidden a short flat throwing knife, tucked in the elastic waistband and before his hands could move too far down, she plucked it out and dropped down behind the dresser. Back there it was safe, no one would find it until it didn't matter.

The way her lips parted in an uncontrollable exhale brought her attentions back to him. Finally she could enjoy this, all the while knowing she'd have to hide portions of herself away. This was going to be part of her secret life, the part of her partitioned away from him. Brian didn't need to worry himself with matters of doubles, dopplegangers and Angels.