speaking in TONGUE [BIG'MAC] // blitz

[∂αмєη]

Every morning began with a click. In all honesty, I wish that it would start with a bang but life has taught me to never be greedy and to count your blessings you have what you have. This morning was also a click. So I placed the gun on my night stand, ruffled my hair and then headed into the bathroom of my new home in order to prepare for work. Although, work wasn't the best way to put it really. There was no pay for me. No benefits. No uniform even. All I had to do was show up at the large building with the badge that had been given to me and to wait for whoever would be taking me out that day. I still needed to 'prove' myself, despite having already done enough of that. It was easy to remain undetected as a criminal because of my past as a Peacekeeper, but it's much easier to catch criminals after having lived in that lifestyle.

So as soon as the officer came strolling out of the building towards me, I would immediately put myself to good use. The notepad and pencil would never leave my pocket so I could both write notes and communicate and the badge would never leave the string hanging from my neck. Most of the officers that helped me would get straight to business and treat me like their bitch. I suppose it makes sense. An avoxed ex-criminal should be treated like that. Of course, I was starting over and hoping to provide plenty of useful information to these figures of authority but many held grudges.

Today was another working day so I made my way to the front of the building as fast as I could and stood there, waiting for my daily mentor to make his or her way outside.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

A Peacekeeper's work is never done. There's always grunge to kick off the street and bills to collect and a District to maintain. Being the head of an area makes this load even heavier on a man's shoulders. Paperwork was never Cassius' forte or passion, so this morning rather than sort through all the files himself he slipped downstairs to pick up a shadow to help him. There's always some interns milling around waiting for someone to pick them to do grunt work. Being selected by Cassius would be a joy to any kid who was dumped down there.

Turning the corner he took in the wanna to be officers but stopped before his eyes even reached the end of the line. The man's brown eyes settled on his old friend and without a sound he called him forward. Just a jerk of the head and Cassius was already headed towards the elevator again, confident that Lane followed.

It was so queer to have Lane at his back and not the other way around. That's how it began, didn't it? Lane had been the shining star until he ran off and now he was back at the bottom. Not that Cassius minded, he liked his position at the top but he didn't approve of his friend being placed quite so low.

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My eyes remained set on the doors that my handler would soon walk through. Maybe it'll be Wickard. He was a short and plump officer with the silliest of moustaches sitting on his upper lip. Every time he spoke, it bounced up and down and almost appeared to be fake. Even if the case we were working on was rather boring, I would be easily entertained by this little caterpillar of hair that existed on Wickard's visage. Although Patros hasn't been around in a while. He too was rather short, but his size was due to muscle and not fat. Broad and muscular shoulders often hold a backpack that's filled with packs of cigarettes. He has never been able to kick the habit and smokes at least a pack a day. I don't blame him. When you have to deal with the bloodiest of murders every day, you'd need something to relieve your stress. I would do the same in his place. He always brought me to the most entertaining places. When you have a grizzly killer loose, why not get the help of somebody who had done far worse.

Instead, Cassius Clayburn came around the corner. The one and only simply moved his head in a way that suggested I follow him. He had always been a great friend and an even better officer, so it was best to not argue with what he wanted done. And that meant I was working for him for the day, which would surely be the best experience I have had in a long while. So I followed after as quick as I could, placing my hand on his shoulder to alert him of my presence. Saying something is sort of out of the question now, I suppose. Having no tongue certainly prevented me from doing many things and that just made my job more difficult. Luckily, I wouldn't have to speak if Cassius was around. He always does perfectly fine on his own.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

Stepping into the elevator, Cassius waited for Lane to follow and then punched the button for the ninth floor. Alone in the lift, Cassius turned to his friend and took him in. Lane was like a chameleon, always changing to fit his environment. A new, clean cut Peacekeeper, a hard as nails criminal, a runaway, an avox and now a reformed prisoner who is struggling to earn his white coat again. How strange how he can morph into this roles so easily as if it were like changing shoes. Cassius had never had that ability. He was always coarse and cruel and no other work could suit him quite as well as Peacekeeping.

"So, Lane. Have the other Keepers treated you will?" he tried to keep it to Yes or No questions. Otherwise how would the poor devil answer? How far they had both come. How long ago was it when they were drinking together and celebrating their initiation into the Peacekeeping association for the first time? An eternity.

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No sooner than the moment we entered into elevator, Cassius had pressed the button to bring us to the ninth floor. It was sad that I was unable to tell him how glad I was that I would be spending the day with him today. All I could do was nod and shake my head and grunt, or use the pad of paper if I was truly desperate. This was the depressing life of an avox and I had to unfortunately live it due to making a dumb mistake so long ago. How different would things have been had I never left this building in the first place to go against everything I believed in? I would probably still have my tongue. I wouldn't wake up every day to put a gun to my head and take my chances. The badge that hung from my neck wouldn't say associate on it but rather detective or officer or captain. Would I be at the top had I remained as an officer for all of these years? Surely. Or at least pretty damn high up there.

Cassius had asked a question, one that had no true answer. Some of them certainly had. They would talk to me like I was a real human being and they would treat me like a partner. Others weren't so much. They'd beat me and curse at me and use me for their sick games. I would have to beat a stealing civilian. I would have to run after an escapee. Things like that. I would go to sleep guilty at night because of them. So in response, I raised my hand and wobbled it around, trying to show an answer between yes and no.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

Lane's answer was a "so-so" kind of movement with his hand. Cassius frowned at the gesture. His friend had been stolen away from him. His friend had been mutilated and there was nothing he could do about it...

or could he? Thoughts raced through his head as he put together the details. After all, the tongue is the fastest healing part of the body, or so he read. It was also the strongest muscle in the body and the most missed when it was gone.

"Lane. I have an idea to give you your speech back," Cassius eyes were ahead, staring at a point no one else could see. He was trapped in his own sick plans and he loved every inch of them. "There's this girl I know, a wanderer. She's been a lot of a trouble around here and I bet the next time she sneaks in, I can grab her, snip out her tongue and then we can get someone to sew it in your mouth and then..."

It sounded mad, but ti was perfect in his mind. Trailing off he looked down at the files in his hands. Useless things about petty criminals that were nothing compared to the greatness he was thinking.

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Now, it's definitely understandable that I have seen some pretty fucked up things in my life. I've heard, smelt, tasted and done some really fucked up things even. But this idea that Cassius had brought up was easily, without one doubt in my mind at all, the most insane idea that has ever been entertained in my presence. And if anybody was to know about insane ideas, it was me. However, it was medically possible in my opinion. All that would be needed was an extension to the small stub that existed so I could at least articulate some of my words by using my tongue. Rolling some letters would be out of the question but at least speech would be possible. It was potentially the most genius thing that was ever mentioned between the two of us. Actually, it definitely was. And even if it didn't work, I won't have lost anything.

So I pull out the pad of paper from my back pocket and prepare a new blank page before scrawling my response onto it. "Cassius, you are one genius son of a bitch. Let's do it." Even stupid ideas were worth a shot sometimes. So dumb or not, this was going to happen. If it worked, nobody would be expecting to hear words come from the person they had been pushing around for so long. Cassius and I now had a case.

We were getting me a tongue.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

Suddenly, the man was as giddy as a child. Lane's not made him laugh, a full belly one that echoed in the small space. The elevator beeped and the silver doors slid open. He jumped out of the lift and raced down to his office to push through all the folders to find the one he was looking for. It was a worn one, one that he had opened many times and even thrown across his desk a few times too. He snapped it open and looked at the profile inside. The girl. His girl.

Lane would get the tongue and Cassius could have everything else. Anticipation burst in his chest like a balloon. Taking the folder he pushed it into Lane's hands so that eh could see the photo of the pretty girl with brown hair and green mossy eyes.

"Ariadne. That's our girl."

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It was tough to actually keep up with my former partner as he shot out of the elevator and towards his office. I barely kept pace with him as the door to his office was thrown open as he entered. I was a bit more careful as I handled the door and stepped inside, slowly pushing it closed behind me. He had already found the folder he wanted and was looking directly at the picture of a young girl. Soon enough, I was staring at it too with a look of desire. Not for the girl, of course. She was not my type. In fact, no human was my type any more since I stopped with the food choices. I hadn't expressed a romantic or sexual feeling in months by now which was both worrisome and frightening to me. Nonetheless, I still lusted for this girl. I lusted for that muscle inside her mouth. If all went well, it would be mine and she would be in my position.

The pad of paper was soon placed on the table as I wrote on it. "So what will we do, Cassius? I'm yours to command." It was weird writing that but in reality, that was entirely true. I was what an avox should be for his master. Cassius was my master for the day. That's how I was treated by the others and although Cassius would never put me through that, it was still allowed. I looked to him with an expectant look, hoping that we would set out immediately to find my new tongue.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

Reading Lane's note, Cassius began to go through the checklist of all the things that might need for this adventure. First of all, they'd need the girl. Cassius would take care of that, she seemed to wander into his District often enough and held a special grunge against him. She walk right into his hands without any trouble. Oh, how stupid victims can be sometimes. Besides the girl they would need-

"A knife. Well, I think I have one that will do- oh a Doctor. A shaddy one willing to do it, but a good one that will get the job done well," Cassius was pacing his office, black boots taping against white tile. The idea of slicing the tongue out of the girl's mouth set the hairs on the back of his neck on end. The idea of all the blood gushing, her screams turned into groans of agony.

It would be quite a night to remember.

[∂αмєη]

I nodded my head in response to the objects - and the people - we would need for this new little adventure. The knife was no problem. My personal blade would suit us just fine and it was sitting right on the night stand in my home. Along with the gun, but that wasn't of use in a situation like this. Sure, it would be possible to just shoot the girl and to kill her but then I would have a recently deceased girl's tongue residing in my mouth for the rest of my life. And that just added to how weird this whole situation was. As if it wasn't odd enough already that we had to retrieve this girl's tongue to sew into my mouth so I could be capable of speech. So we wouldn't kill her. We'd just remove that muscle like the Peacekeepers did to me a few years back.

The doctor would be difficult. I knew not of one. So I looked up towards Cassius and shrugged, hoping he had a good doctor in mind. "The doctor is our main goal now then, I guess?" I quickly wrote.

[sbeeg]

Cassius Clayburn

Cassius examined Lane's note and nodded. A doctor was their biggest problem. Then again, could Cassius try to sew his friend's new tongue into his mouth? No, Cassius was good at destroying things not helping them or healing. His forte was death and pain not goodness. If it was he'd do it in a heartbeat but nevertheless he wanted it done right for his friend.

"Okay Lane, I'm going to send you out to look for a doctor and I'm going to hunt down our girl." he said, starting towards the door to his office. "Oh and Lane- it's nice to see you again."

[∂αмєη]

[actions] [words] [others]

And of course, I would end up with the one task that just moments ago I was so sure I would be unable to complete. Where the fuck could you find a doctor that is willing to sew up an avoxed Peacekeeper in training? It was certainly a difficult task, to say the least. But all I could do was nod in response to Cassius, understanding that it would probably be better for him to look for the girl anyways. He knew her face. He knew her body. He knew the way she moved, based on the fiery passion in his eyes. There was something behind all of this. Something personal, perhaps. But after knowing him for many years, I was well aware that it would not be something to ask about. Instead, I kept my mouth shut (due to not actually being able to speak, probably), and prepared to go. With one pat on his shoulder and a quick nod, I set out of his office and towards the elevator in hopes of getting this task done quickly.

Out the door I went, racking my brain for the locales of any doctors that I had previously spoken to during my stays in District Four. There would be times where I would need him to amputate for reasons. Now that that lifestyle was done, it would be a lot easier to book a doctor's time, I'm sure. Which is why I immediately went to the poorest part of town, sticking to the coastline until the decently sized houses turned to shacks and tents. A doctor would live amongst these parts for sure. Yes, he wouldn't be the best doctor for the operation but at least he would be willing to operate in the first place. Maybe a clean shack could be found and the doctor would be a professional who was capable of performing the best job that could be done. Doubtful, but certainly possible.

Travelling through these parts was often unintelligent whilst wearing the badge around my neck. My clothes were fairly normal, maybe appearing slightly higher class than the people in the streets as I had simple denim pants, a button up flannel shirt and a leather jacket over top. But when it came to that badge, most people just tried to completely avoid me. Crime was popular amongst the poorer areas. Theft, assault, breaking and entering, murder. If there was anybody who knew a decent bit about crime, it was certainly me. And so I found myself trying to avoid the people who peered at me hungrily. I wonder how much the gun in my holster would go for in the black market here. District Six would give me a hefty price. So I kept my eyes open, hoping to spot a charging thief prior to actually encountering them.

But soon enough, I found the guy. Well, he found me rather. A man came bumbling down the road, trying to clear the air bubbles from a not-so-sterile syringe by giving it a few flicks. He barely missed bumping in to me, only muttering a short and quiet sorry before proceeding on. And so I followed him, keeping my head as low as I could. If he would be the guy, I wouldn't want anybody else to see what was going on. I was involved with the Peacekeepers and was soon going to be one on my own. The law would bend for me. But that doesn't mean that the people's law would.