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"Not at the moment, Doctor. If I discover I'm lacking something, I'll be sure to let you know." With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the office.

Angharad had been sitting on the edge of her bed, resisting the urge to pace around the walls of the room as had been her habit recently. Running nervous, oddly changed hands over and over each other in her lap, she wasn't quite sure what she was waiting for; she knew without glancing at the clock that it was nearly 11 in the morning. When he normally came to visit.

So she sat, and waited, and hated that she was waiting. Why? He was the Doctor. The one who ran all those labs, who had come up with this insane idea of testing, who had put her and Fee on this damn island. His very existance was damning. But her ears pricked slightly, as much as they could, when she heard footsteps in the corridor outside, and she stared at the door almost eagerly without realising it, the thoughts in her head pushed aside for a moment.

She dipped her head swiftly to look at the floor, and not his face, as the Doctor came in, but as his words sank in she slowly raised her head, green-yellow eyes wide.
"I... I can go? Go back to the village?"
Ever since she had been well enough to walk on her terribly painful legs she had somehow hated the confinement of the room. A cage, for her lab rat self... with no-one to break -her- free. But... he had looked after her. And was letting her go, and mixed emotions flickered across her face for a moment, hope-fear-trust-hate-elation-depression, before she realised she was looking directly at him again, and it made her uncomfortable. She twisted her head to the side with an odd smile, but her whole frame was tense with the prospect of freedom.

She was on her feet almost before she knew it, her balance unconcscious now she had finally got used to the oddly bent legs, the stub of a tail involuntarily twitching to thump once against her side; but she stopped still, almost unwillingly, not wanting to seem to eager to jump to his every command. She'd been told it was wolf that her serum consisted of, but dammit, she was not his pet dog! She stiffened, and looked at the floor again, her voice controlled and almost toneless in its effort to not sound either grateful or bitter.
"Tha... thankyou." She held her body stiff, her pace controlled, as she walked over to the door, hanging back a little from him, her eyes when he could see them guarded.

She went through this almost every day for the past few weeks... it was easy to pour her hate, though she wasn't a person prone to agression, at the Doctor, but only when he wasn't there. But more recently, even when he was absent, her usual bitter mental rants where sounding more and more formulaic. Something she was chanting in her head to keep herself on the right track, and she didn't want to think too hard about that, because it led to thoughts and examination of her own personality that she recoiled from, and so pushed away. It was getting easier to live without pouring the deep thoughts and retrospection into everything that she had before, and if she didn't think about it, somehow it might go away.

But if she was returning, she'd see Fee again... what would she - no. Fiona would understand her. Just like always, and she'd help sort her head out. She clung to this thought stubbornly, unaware that as she stopped thinking about it her stance became more relaxed, more complacent, as she stood next to the Doctor. More... submissive.

"I will, thankyou." Her voice was quiet and controlled, and while she was thinking about it, and in the elevator, her whole body language still screamed 'guarded'. She didn't like this man. He'd brought her food every day, enquired after her wellbeing... but no. She hated him. Even being in the small space of the elevator unnerved her, and it took all her willpower to stop herself backing into the corner, keeping the space between them respectful.

As she got into the jeep, sitting awkwardly on the car seat, she stared at his back with almost raw hatred for a moment. But as the man turned an aimiable face back towards her she immediately looked down, her heart jumping up a few levels of speed. She was almost beyong analysing her own reactions to him now. Something strange had happened in her mind, and she couldn't look at it now. So for the moment, she sat obediently in the jeep as it rumbled down the track towards the village, her heightened senses taken up again with the wind on her face and the scent of the damp trees and dirt road and faint salt tang of the sea. A tremble passed over her frame as she realised how much she missed the freedom of the duplexes, even if it was just going from one cage to a bigger one. She looked back excitely at Moreau for a moment before she realised what she was doing, and bitterly looked straight ahead again.

Angharad's face tightened. Had the man not heard of politeness? She looked slightly askance at him, eyes hard, before looking down again, her betraying legs obediently getting out of the car. Because it was easier to obey than raise a fuss, she told herself guiltily.

She looked around the village, trying to take in hte things she remembered; she'd probably spent about a third or more of her time on the island in that lab (was it really July already?) and so in a way her small room at the labs was as familiar as that duplex she had above Fee's. Fiona... She looked back at the Doctor, focussing her attention on his shoulder as she spoke.

"I'm.. I'm sure I will be fine now, thankyou," and her voice was small and hard still, the hate winning out for the time being. And a small part of her mind perking up at the fact that he would be checking on her..... what? What twisted part of her thought that? She trembled slightly again as she stood, slightly uncertainly, in the centre of the village, gaze still fixed on the pristine white lab coat.

There was a rumbling noise that echoed over the beach long before the white feral labs jeep rounded a bend and into view, headed directly towards the waterfall.

Sabin had been put in charge of keeping tabs on Billy after Aubrey was "relinquished of her priviledges" of speaking with him. Aubrey had also been emphatic about keeping him clean, and Sabin had done his best. He had made sure that his room was clean before he released him from the labs for detox, and he had kept an eye on him. However, he was still getting the drugs. Which meant that Sabin was sure that he knew where they were coming from - since it sure as hell wasn't him or aubrey, or any of the other islanders, nor was there any hidden stash. He would disappear from the cameras for an hour or so, and then his biometrics would shift, and he'd have a new baggie of powder.

He had tried to tell Aubrey what was going on, given her his insight well over a month ago now, but she had'nt... no, she hadn't wanted to listen. And Sabin had been busy since then - between playing babysitter for Billy despite the fact that Moreau was stacking the deck against him, getting caught up on his research and finally getting to the point of maintenance with his team... But now, now he was caught up and he had the ever-dangerous time on his hands. He was going to get to the bottom of this. When there were secrets being kept between Moreau and Aubrey... there was the opportunity to gain a measure of control.

And... once again, Billy was mysteriously off camera. And his biometrics were picking up. He was getting high again, no doubt. And THIS time, Sabin was going to catch him, and ideally, Moreau in the act.

So when Sabin was on the trail to the beach and saw Aubey walking in the opposite direction, looking .... well.... like that... it was more than enough to get Sabin to slam on the breaks.

Aubrey was quickly heading back towards the Jeep, walking along the trail and running her hands constantly through her wet hair trying to get it dry. The Jeep rounded the corner, causing her to jump. Her first hope was that it was her guard, for whatever reason, but seeing Sabin behind the wheel made her heart thump into her throat. "D-d-d-Duvert..." she stuttered.

She looked like a mess. Hair damp and frizzy, all her clothes dampened and dirty. There were suspicious looking marks around her mouth and neck, which at first glance might appear like bruises but on closer inspection looked more like stains of some kind. There was also a splotchy red mark on her neck near her shoulder he would catch before Aubrey in a very nervous fashion, pulling her lab coat's lapel up and pulled the coat tight around her. "What are you doing here?"

: A white eyebrow arched dramatically on his forehead as he took in her disheveled - to put it kindly - appearance, and her state of repressed panic. She was wet, black stains splotched all over her, and suspicious red marks..... But she didn't look hurt per se. Considering the tracker, where she was coming from...

Sabin raised a fist to his mouth and coughed into it. "You know.... I was expecting to drive out here to find Billy doing drugs.... not... " His eyes played over her, letting her mind fill in the gaps instead of his words; a smirk found its way onto his lips. He didn't know what had happened by any means, but he knew what would make Aubrey squirm.

Aubrey's eyes widened and she quickly looked over herself again. Was it really that obvious. "What? Billy? What do you mean? Why are you looking for Billy anyway.... explain yourself.." her voice high and panicked, and by instinct she looked around the trees lining the trail, knowing the camera were there somewhere. All the trails were monitored. Thankfully, visual only unless needed otherwise. She went over to the Jeep, feeling more comfortable talking with the sound of the engine masking what might be exchanged.

: Interesting... he had expected some sort of vehement denial... not this spike of panic.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and opened the passenger door for her. "Get in." He said seriously, taking the opportunity to get a better look at her. There were red welts around her wrists, in spots on her neck... inkstains all over her, matting her hair, staining her clothing...

"He is the only islander I am aware of that leaves such a noticible ... stains. Besides I had him on the tracker as being out in this area. Judging from his vitals, how his heart rate was increasing dramatically.." He let that pause for a moment, looking at Aubrey again. "I assumed he was getting his drugs. I intended on catching him in the act."

Aubrey got in the passenger side, listening to Sabin as her color drained visibly from her face, making the ink stains and welts all that much more blaring. "Oh my god," she breathed out, burying her face in her hands. "What I have done," she mumbled into her palms.

: Sabin kept the motor running, and began to drive slowly, keeping them moving.

He eyed her, begining to think that what he stumbled onto might be infinately more interesting and useful than Moreau giving Billy drugs. "I... am not completely certain, Aubrey... what have you done..? Did you go to him again? Why?"

Aubrey looked up after a moment, her fear and guilt already getting her on the verge of tears. "I wanted to talk to him, off camera. Antony called me yesterday after she caught him getting high." She paused and looked down at her lap. "Billy told me where he was getting the drugs."

: "Did he now..?" Sabin queried. "I.. had tried to tell you before hand. I assumed that's what he was in the process of doing. How did you find out? I didn't think you had spoken to him since Moreau threatened you."

"I tried to keep him clean, keep the drugs away from him, but I can't exactly keep up with the head honcho when he wants to keep Billy high." He said quickly, in his own defense.

“I know you warned me. I just didn’t want to believe it.” She took a few deep breaths. “Anyway, Antony called me in a panic because he was getting violent so I went down there and tried to calm him down. He told me everything… that Moreau gave him drugs to stay away from me. I wanted to talk to him because accusing Moreau. Just to make double sure that he wasn’t just… you know. He was pretty buzzed…”

She sighed and opened up the glove compartment, hoping there was a bottle of water there. No luck. She slammed it shut and looked back over to Sabin. “I asked him to meet me off camera so I could ask him sober.”

: “That sounds like a pretty risky situation…” Sabin spoke carefully, his mind racing at the implications of what he stumbled into. “ And what did you find out? It sounds like you are fairly certain now that Moreau is the one channeling him the drugs. I haven’t been able to catch him in the act yet, but there is pretty much no other alternative. But I am happy that you no longer thing that it might have been me.” He pronounced with a modicum of offense.

“But… it sounds like you did not exactly end up… just talking…”

Aubrey covered her face again. “Yes, I believe its Moreau. Yes it was stupid. And yes… “ she sighed, her voice dropping to just audible enough to pick up over the sound of the engine. “…did more than just talking.”

: He whet his lips, trying to keep himself from blurting out the first thing that came to mind, instead reigning himself in in order to get more information. However, it was all he could do to keep himself from driving off of the road and into a tree… again. “ So…..” He looked at the ink in the .. varying locations, the tentacle-sucker marks. “re-enacting some of those hentai…?” He couldn’t help it..

Aubrey looked up and gave him a dangerous look. “This is not funny.”

: He smiled, her reaction all but confirming the allegation. “So you did sleep with him…”

Her eyes dropped to her lap again, twisting her fingers around. “Is it that obvious?”

: He rolled his shoulders and gave a wincing sigh. “Eeehhhh….. welll… one does not often look like you do unless they got into a fight…. Or…. Another sort of tussle. And seeing as how you don’t seem injured… or in tears…..”

He swallowed, taking a turn to keep driving away from populated areas. “So….” He gave her a sidelong glance. “The big question… is what exactly you plan on doing now.”

Aubrey pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t have a ******** clue,” she admitted. She turned a pleading look to him. “Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.” She paused for a moment, eyes widening a bit again. “Duvert, I’m begging you. You can’t tell him what happened!”

: He figured that she’d say that, and so he gave her a well-anticipated, sincere nod. “Of course not. No… no…. because you both would be dead if he found out. I just do hope that you had the foresight to at least be a bit discrete. And trouncing back to the laboratories covered in ink and soaking wet isn’t going to garnish you any points with the man upstairs.

He gave her a very serious look. “Aubrey… I don’t know if you’ve exactly thought this through… but you just cheated on your fiancée… Moreau himself. The man who holds all of the pieces of the pie, and the man who has sent no less than two employees over the fence for mistakes. You’re playing with fire.”

Aubrey’s fear spiked as Sabin verbalized the fears that had been through her head since it happened. She cringed visibly at ‘cheated.’ She felt a tear slide down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. “We were discrete. The camera’s can’t get behind the waterfall… I checked.” Her voice was quiet and hesitant, the reality of the situation weighing down on her. “I didn’t… I didn’t exactly plan this, Sabin…”

: His smile widened for an imperceptible moment. “Well…. I.. kind of assumed that. Aubrey, while your taste in men is not always… understandable, you don’t seem the sort to have a pre-meditated affair with an octopus. Moreau won’t hear it from me, but he is all about control – over himself, over this island, and over his ‘possessions’ and knowing what is happening in his little playground. I know that you like to paint a pretty picture with him, and don’t get me wrong- yes, I think you could do better…. But dear lord… Billy?! And… I do admire Moreau, he IS brilliant, but he’s also a whack-job. I think that it must come with the territory. The project is fascinating, but especially now that he is put into a position where he has so much control, he doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way, and he can enact his whim without any fear of repercussion.

Aubrey leaned back against the seat, letting the wind break on her face. “Billy can be surprising…” she said quietly. But otherwise she had little else to defend him with. “Moreau just … doesn’t need to know. It was a stupid.” Her voice was shaky and broken as she said the rest, which would question the truth behind it. “It won’t happen again.”

: “Surprising…” He echoed dubiously. “It sounds like Moreau might be a bit to predictable for you then? Do you think this will help? Do you think that he will change? If you are sleeping with Billy before you are even married… that’s assuming that he even agrees to set a date before your next argument – which, by the way thing are looking may not be very long from now…. Then it is not a good sign of things to come.”

“Are you more upset… because you slept with Billy… or because you are scared of Moreau? The answer to that question should tell you a lot.” Sabin was enjoying being on top in this conversation. He needed it – after working so hard for the past several months and feeling like he was toiling off Moreau’s residual anger because of neglecting to ask for permission for an experiment…. Sabin needed to reassert his own control.

“This wasn’t about Nick,” she said, shaking her head. “I love him. I really love him.” She was getting frustrated, trying to express some of the things she was feeling. “Haven’t I proved that yet? What else can I possibly give him that I haven’t already. Okay… I ******** up. I’ve made one mistake. I don’t like this feeling like the whole world is going to fall down around me because I messed up one time.”

She blinked back the tears, trying her best to keep her composure. “I’m upset…” she paused, thinking about it. “I guess I’m upset because of both. I mean, I’m not like that, Sabin. I’m not the kind of girl that has affairs.” She looked out the window. “But I’m terrified out of my mind.”

: “Maybe that’s the problem? You are giving and giving and giving… and you’re not getting anything back to fill that void. You know as well as I that he certainly does not put as much into the relationship as you do. And normally the whole world wouldn’t fall down around your ears if you were dating a sane man who wasn’t hermited away on an island where he is God. While being in a relationship puts you in a special position of power, and a special position of attention, it also puts you in a very special, dangerous position if you ever fall from his graces. And all that you are involved with. I have been warning you since day one, Aubrey, you have been painting yourself into a corner. I hope that you are correct in that this was an exception… but if he ever finds out…. Or if it ISN’T just an exception, but a cry that you aren’t happy… then you need to start thinking one play ahead of him.”

She was silent for several moments. “So… what do I do, Sabin?”

: Sabin paused. Sabin had a clear view of the problem. The solution, on the other hand, that was a little foggier. So, he diverted. “How do you feel? Was.. it what you expected… with him? Billy has an addictive personality, even if you have satisfied your curiosity, he may not feel quite the same. You have pity for him, and I am certain that his situation will not be improving.”

“Know that whatever you decide will have its repercussions… on you and the people you care about. There IS no right answer.”

“How do I feel? I have no idea how I feel? I mean. Was it what I expected? I don’t know. I don’t know what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting to sleep with him!’ She gave a flustered sigh.

Repercussions. That word scared her, though she didn’t want to admit it. Even if she could get away with never having Moreau find out, would that do anything for her guilt? And now, more than ever, she couldn’t deny to herself that she didn’t have feeling for Billy. It may not be love, but it was definitely something. How would she act around from now? She couldn’t handle just cutting off all contact… could she? And… what Billy had feelings for her?

That was silly. His confessions about Edel aside, she had a hard time picturing Billy being romantic.

The whole notion of running away from everything she ever wanted: her job, her fiancé…her life’s work to run away with a grimey, smelly, coke head octopus… was just ridiculous.

But if staying with Moreau and never seeing Billy again was the right decision… why does she feel so unhappy.

: “Well, there is never any right answer per se…. at least, there may be a right answer for you that is completely different than what is expected of you. You have to learn that sometimes. I did, and it was a hard lesson. But…. In the end… at least I knew that I followed my heart.” He sighed, rubbed his temples for a moment and shook his head. What a mess. .. an interesting mess, and he couldn’t help but wonder what lay at the end of this particular tunnel.

“But I don’t know what I want.”

She sighed and shook her head. “Actually, I do know what I want. But its nothing I can do.”




: Sabin lifted his brows, curious and smiled. "So you DO know what you want then? What might that be? And don't tell me it is to have your cake and eat it too..."

"No, of course not," Aubrey sneered.

She was quiet for another moment. "Billy said I was just as much under his control as any of the islanders.:"

: Sabin nodded. "Well.... that's true, isn't it? You can't leave on your own volition... you can't get any message out to mainland... and even worse, you have to work, AND unlike the rest of even us staff, you can't even have the freedom to care about who you want to... or... let me rephrase that, you can love who you want, just so long as it's Moreau." He gave her a small roll of the eyes.

"I don't think its unresaonable for a mant to expect love and loyalty to his fiance," she countered.

: "No, of course not. But most people don't have the 'or else' clause."

"He's never said that," she said as a knee-jerk reaction.

"Well. Not exactly like that."

: His smile turned to bemusement. "He doesn't NEED to say it for it to be true. His actions have spoken through megaphones."

"Well..." Aubrey was picking her words carefully, searching for justification. "All I ever wanted was him, what kind of message is that susposed to send? I mean.. I kept it no secret how much I felt about him. He had to put no effort into getting me. Why should he expect to have to work to keep me."

She gave a heavy sigh and sank lower in her seat. "That's kind of... underhanded of me, isn't it? Like a double standard."

: Sabin opened his mouth, trying to think of how to phrase his thoughts for a moment. "I will repeat... I think that the Moreau you have been after for years and years has turned more into an ideal that any sort of realistic characterization of the man. He became a prize, a goal. And once you had it... you were not sure if that was what you really wanted. You have a ring on your finger - which to you has been the mark of the finish line... to him it has been a brand of ownership. Now you are standing there, he is yours in name, but he does not give you the love or attention that you have wanted. And he is possessive, and you have begun to realize, dangerous. But you do not exactly have... room to reacess or back out. You are in his world, his playground now. And you can either play by his rules, or try to make your own."

Aubrey watched him from the corner of her eye. "What happened to 'reap what you sew'? I knew what I was getting myself into with Nick. That was always enough before."

: "Was it? Or was it just.... the forbidden fruit? I am not trying to put words in your mouth.." just enjoying playing mind games "But I think you are losing sight of the current situation. You wouldn't have slept with Billy if you were completely satisfied by Moreau."

"Moreau was never 'forbidden' to me, Sabin. If anything everyone thought we were together anyway. It makes sense that it would happen eventually." She grumbled out another sigh. "But no, I probably wouldn't have slept with Billy if I wasn't angry with him."

: "Well... sleeping with Billy isn't going to make those feelings go away. If anything, it is only going to make them more acute." Sabin cautioned. "Even if this was just a one-time-thing... you're playing with fire. Moreau is a control freak and until the day that you're just a mindless yes-woman who adores him for sneezing on you, then he's going to be a miserable paranoid."

She pinched the brigde of her nose again. "I KNOW I'm playing with fire. I know I ******** up, okay? I know what Moreau's capable of - you don't have to keep reminding me!! The question is what do I do now."

: "That's what I keep asking you and you keep overanalyzing." Sabin chided with a shake of his head. "The way I see it... you have only a few options.." He paused, letting Aubrey squirm for a few more moments, get frustrated with how easily that he was taking this since he wasn't the one in the fire pit.

"I'm listening," she said, glaring at him from the passenger seat.

: "You can.... pretend this never happened. Push Billy away and try to alleviate Moreau's suspicions as best as you can. You can weave some story about perhaps getting into a fight with him, trying to take his drugs... maybe even think I've been supplying them to him since I was supposedly in charge of keeping them from him. And go off and live 'happily ever after' with Moreau, slowly being stripped of any free will or even ability to argue with the man...." He held up a finger on one hand that was lifted from the steering wheel

Aubrey crossed her arms, a very unpleasant look on her face. Sadly, this was close to the only thing Aubrey could comprehend. "Or..?"

: "Or... you could continue this charade... it would be dangerous. You could continue a relationship with Billy behind Moreau's back. Not listen to Moreau and try to live your own life in a secret, silent protest. But... considering the technology here, and Moreau's paranoia.... you will eventually be caught and subject to whatever repercussions that he can dream up for you AND Billy." He held up a second finger.

"There are a few other options, however. You can try to go to Moreau first. You can tell him before he finds out otherwise and instead of BEGGING him and apologizing all over yourself and thus giving the man MORE power over your life - which would likely end up like the first scenario, except with Moreau taking out whatever vengence on Billy in addition to your life of servitude. You tell him that you are your own woman, that you have other options and that you're not afraid of him and try to appeal to whatever twisted version of love the man has for you and try to garner his respect instead of his materialistic possessive nature." He held up a third finger.

"OR...." He lifted an eyebrow, taking his eyes off the road long enough to see if she wanted him to continue.

"I don't know if what I'd call what's happening between Billy and I a 'relationship'.. but go on."

She chewed over the next suggestion. Confessing? It had certainly crossed her mind. But Sabin was right. What got saved on her hide would only be taken out on Billy's...and she wasn't sure if she could live with that guilt.

Trying to appeal to Moreau's love for her? Tell her she's not afraid of him? Intriguining thought... but more than she figured she could do. But she filed that one away for further consideration later.

"Or...?"

: "Perhaps not... but you being with Billy is an expression of your freedom and wanting to be able to do what YOU want to do. Be friends with... or at least experience a relationship with someone other than Moreau."

He waved the hand. "But that's beside the point. Other options... You can try to play his own game back at him. Try to garnish a measure of power over him to ensure that you never have to crawl to him - put him in a position where he has to come to you - there are enough devices at your hands - but it would turn your relationship into a power struggle where Moreau already has a few aces up his sleeve with being on a higher chain of command as well as access to more areas, and the ability to likely moniter most of your work if he sees fit. But from what little I have seen, Moreau is testing your love for him daily, and gets furious if you disagree, or as he puts it "undermines" his own orders. That seems to be what ignites your biggest arguments with him."

He thought, after raising his fourth finger. "There are two more options that I can think of.... you can try to escape. Play along with him long enough for him to agree to take you to mainland and try to escape there. Change your name and use your resources to hide from him."

He took a breath, after holding up all of the fingers and thumb on his right hand, returning it to the wheel and switching hands, where he stuck out his thumb. "Or face the 'punishment' he might dish out now. Hell, or serve it to yourself would be a better idea so he couldn't extract vengence. Inject yourself with something that isn't too miserable and take the keys to a duplex. You might be a prisoner here, but at least you'd have say over who you could love. Besides, it's not like the lot of us aren't already prisoners."

Aubrey's eyes widened. Escaping? Injecting herself? "You're ******** insane," she said with a wave of her hand. "I never said I was ready to go against Nick. To cut him out of my life? Please..."

She scratched at her neck, as one of the suggestions sank into her brains. "I don't think I could play his game as well as he does..."

: "I'm just saying these are the only options I can think of" Sabin said holding up a hand. "Not all of them might be good options, the first one being a case in point where you go along with it all... but they're the options. Can you think of any more? And hell, the injecting yourself or escaping might not be so bad in the long run all things considered. You talk all the time to the islanders about how their lives aren't that bad. But aren't willing to take it on yourself, eh?" He flashed a toothy grin to her.

"There lives aren't that bad. Never said I thought mine wasn't better," she mumbled, turning her nose up.

: "Well then, don't sound so scandalized, or calling me insane at the suggestion."

Aubrey gave him a very critical look, her eyes lingering over his ears. "Something you've maybe taken to heard, Dr. Duvert?"

: Sabin opens his mouth and closes it quickly, strategically looking intent on the turn that he takes in the road, not answering the question.

Aubrey snorted. "Of course. It all makes sense. Why you experiement behind his back.. why you don't seem very afraid of him."

: Sabin rolled his shoulders. "Well.... perhaps... I just see him as a man. With a lot of influence, perhaps.... But.... he's powerful because of the people under him, and he's frightening because it's gone to his head. And that's what I keep in mind..."

Aubrey learned forward and gave the tip of his ear a hard pinch, "Of course, that's all."

: Sabin batted her hand away with a wince. "Hey, quit that." He darted a glare in her direction, but there wasn't much fire behind it. "I'm trying to help you if you hadn't noticed. That wasn't very polite."

"You're hiding something, dammit. You're no better than him!" Aubrey punched the side of the Jeep, then winced and recoiled her hand, tears springing to her eyes. "Goddammit I'm sick of all these ******** secrets. No one just tells it like it is. What the ******** did I get myself into!? I'm sick of subversion and power games, goddamit!"

: Sabin looked quickly over to her with a frown at her sudden outburst. "Everyone is entitled to their secrets. Besides, it's not like you are going to be any better now if I had to hazard a guess as to what yoru reaction to this situation is going to be. And when one man holds all of the reins in one hand, you have to have a few secrets or else you're going to be puppeted to whatever whim he wants."

"I think I'm kind of screwed no matter what I do..." she mumbled. "Why did I do it. What was I thinking."

: Sabin was eager for the change of focus back to Aubrey's current plight. "You were either not thinking... or tired of being penned into a situation you were not comfortable with."

"I was angry with Moreau... and Billy and I were talking. Just talking. Actually having a mature conversation." She sank alittle further down in the seat, rubbing her temples.

: "I do believe you... obviously things escalated from there..... what were you talking about?"

"Things he said yesterday. About Moreau bribing him with drugs to keep his feelings for me at bay." She shrugged. "Why he was here. His ex-fiance." She gave a somewhat inbittered laugh. "Actually Billy and I found that we have a very surprising common ground."

: "Fiancee?" Sabin questioned, looking somewhat surprised by that notion as well. He nodded consideringly at the common ground. "Talk with anyone long enough and you're likely to find something to talk about, something in common.... But I think I see why you like him. He forces you to look at things, at your life in a different perspective. He is willing to listen to your problems and he is a way of stress relief. A way to expunge your frustrations at Moreau without doing anything to him or saying them yourself."

"Yeah, fiance. We both have fiance's that we dud stupid, hurtful things to people because we loved them." She shook her head, scared at how.. affectionate her voice was becomming. "I'm sure you're right. For some reason talking, or arguing, with Billy was always both intriguing and frustrating at the same time."

: Sabin nodded. He had learned over the years to read into the human psyche in certain areas - especially in areas of conflicts and control. Sympathy and empathy were never his strong suites, however.

"So.... You have frustrations with Moreau that you don't always feel like expressing -especially to him. So you express them with Billy. And that has built a sort of... commiseration and connection. You two used to argue like an old married couple, if I recall. But strong emotions bleed into eachother. So your question is the same. What now?"

Aubrey sat in silence for several minutes. "I think the first thing I want to do is confront Moreau about the drugs. See what he has to say about that."

: Sabin nodded. "That sounds like a reasonable place to start. But if he notices your attire somehow, or gets any wind of this, are you going to lie or tell the truth? If you like, you're setting yourself down one path, same for the opposite. But if you're unprepared for that situation it will be even worse."

"I can get changed, clean up..." she said, nervousness back in her voice.

: "And just hope that he doesn't see you on camera like that. Right. I'm just saying if he asked... what would you say?"

"This wouldn't be the first time Billy's put his hands on me."

: "Granted..." He conceded. "So.... do you want me to take you back to the labs..? Or do you need more time to compose yourself?"

Aubrey pulled down the sun visor on her side of the Jeep and flipped down the mirror. "I think I'm as clean as I'm going to get without a shower..."

: "I didn't mean physically."

Aubrey licked her lips, considering. "I think if I avoid going back too much longer its going to look even worse than it already is."

: "Alright then. And.. if you need to talk to anyone else.... I am willing to listen. You know how to get a hold of me."

"Thank you, Sabin," she said, throwing him a small smile. "Though I can't help but thing you're reveling in my misery."

: He tisked with a scandalized look. "Aubrey.... what would make you think so poorly of me?!"

She arched a brow. "That silly grin on your face."

: "I do not know what you are talking about." He said elusively with a small smile and a raise of his chin as he turned the jeep back North, towards the labs.

"Can I tell you one more thing, just because I need to get it off my chest?"

: His expression was serious again as he returned his full attention to her. "Of course..."

Aubrey gave him her own scandalized little smile, still fussing with her hair in the mirror, but shooting him a quick glance. "He was really good."

: Sabin coughed a couple of times as he realized exactly what she was referring to. Clapping himself on the chest after he recovered from something he was not expecting to hear at all. A smile curled his mouth as he realized that she had to tell someone and no one else exactly qualified. "Well, perhaps next to Moreau who doesn't strike me as exactly the most.... sensous of individuals. You likely don't have much else to compare himself to." He gave her a smug smile with a wink.

Aubrey just gave a coy shrug and let the light humor mask some of her more serious concerns at the moment. This was the closest thing she was going to have to a calm before the storm.

: Sabin let her to her peace for the rest of the drive back to the labs, dropping her off before going off to catch up with his duties for the day... and check on Zach after his injuries.

New Rp...

Quantities. Limits, amounts. Scientific principles that, no matter how varied and unpredictabe they seem- still labor under the principle of a constant. With the right experiments, the right tools- you can discover the limit of anything- the boiling point, the level of combustion... seemingly chaotic things- but tied together with the brilliance of constancy and discovery. Everything in science is quantifiable. It's... safe. Steady variables, all available to one with the patience and the insight to process... and to wait.

But in this matter, Bia was running out of time. Beyond science, beyond reason- what loomed on her mind was fear. Too long she'd been sitting, dark and cold in the oubliette of this world, desperate to make some reason from it- to thread a vein of sanity through this chaos. A part of her still believed it was possible: but she had run out of time. Slowly, she knew, she was dying of fear and loneliness. All she had left was to surrender herself to this- the chaotic, unquantifiable... unknown.

She knocked on the door- the dark skin on her knuckles white from how taut she'd fisted her hands.