TIME & TIED: ESCALATION

ARC 2.1 - From the Past

PART 28b: HISTORY LESSON 2

"I've known for the past month,” Corry continued. “It was my idea to have her defect in the first place."

Julie tensed. "Really."

"Oh, yes," Corry replied, a smile slowly returning to his features. "I even managed to suck it up for those couple of humiliating instances where Sue helped you out. Not the way I'd have preferred to go about things, obviously, but I'd hoped that an apparent defector would interest you. That it would pay off in the end. And it has, it really has."

The side of Julie's mouth twitched. "Indeed."

"So, let's review, shall we? You have $300 worth of little Christmas trinkets. I have a signed statement from Sue," Corry said, pulling it out, "to the effect of you chipping in that extra $100 over my $200. Along with the reason why, so don't even try to claim that you did it to be gracious. Which means - and correct me if I'm wrong - that however much you decide to pay me, I've won!"

Julie remained silent, so Corry tipped an imaginary hat her way. "I am sorry," he concluded. "But you see, it all came down to loyalty. A concept you don't appear to fully understand. Must make things terribly lonely for you."

"I should have known," Julie whispered at last, clenching and unclenching her fists as she glared at the paper Corry was holding. "Sue was always a little too eager to please. I should have seen through that.”

"Well, don't feel bad," Corry soothed. "I may still consider you a follower of mine sometime in the future. Though, based on what I heard from Sue, you have a ruthless streak. Got to make sure I don't give you too much power, or people might get hurt." With a final parting smile, he turned away.

"Wait," Julie retorted.

Corry turned back. Not so much because he cared what she had to say, but because the tone of her voice had suddenly taken on a peculiar, even eerie quality. "I beg your pardon?"

"You have won this battle," Julie said slowly. "Privately, I will admit that. And publicly, I will take no further direct action against you for the next couple of years. However, I ask that you do the same for me. No actions, and most of all, no lording this victory over my head. I concede... to a stalemate."

Corry almost laughed. Except something about her demeanour was starting to spook him. "What possible motive could I have to do that?" he demanded. "Come on, accept that you lost, Julie. We'll move on."

"No." Julie began to roll up the left sleeve of her blouse, all the while staring at Corry. "I can't lose," she said. "Not to you. Not like this. I have too much at stake. Again, I concede... no, make that I request a stalemate."

"Julie, you're not being reasonable."

“You can do this. You will claim that the $300 was a joint effort we're using to put aside our differences. You will not reveal your 'signed statement' to anyone. We will leave each other alone except in cases of indirect or third party involvement." The corner of her mouth twitched. "Note I would be most wounded and confused by any breach of this new 'agreement'."

Corry spread his arms out. "Oh, please. And what are you going to do if I don't comply with these 'rules'?" he challenged. Her smile was off kilter. What was up with that face?

“You will, because if you don't comply... I'll kill myself," Julie finished softly. She raised her right hand, which now held a razor blade in it.

Corry's eyes widened. "You're bluffing," he retorted.

Her movement was quick. Blood began to well up from the cut on Julie's arm. Corry was next to her in an instant, grabbing her wrists and holding them apart as she lifted her gaze back up towards him. "The next cut might be lethal," Julie said. "Now, accept the terms of my stalemate."

"What the hell are you doing, Julie?" Corry asked. For the first time in his life, he felt panic, like somehow he was in way over his head. “High school freshman command structure is not something to kill yourself over!"

"It's as I told you in the beginning," Julie said quietly. "Our motivations are fundamentally different. Now, accept the stalemate."

"Julie, you need help. This is not normal behaviour. Let’s go see a guidance counsellor, okay?”

"I'll be fine. Once you accept the stalemate."

“Stop saying stalemate and listen to me. I'm not going to let go of you until you listen!" He shook her slightly. A drop of blood dribbled off Julie's arm and onto the floor.

"On the contrary," Julie continued calmly. Too calmly. “I hear you quite clearly. Moreover, you'll have to let me go sometime. Either that, or explain why you're holding me with a cut on my arm.”

The corner of her mouth turned up. "My version of events might not match yours there. So I say again, accept the stalemate." She tilted her head to the side. "Unless you are willing to let me die after all?"

Corry worked through a few choice facial features. Never, in a million years, could he have anticipated that things would turn this dark. "This is blackmail," he pointed out. Julie didn't respond.

He eyed her arms – there was no evidence of any other cuts there. This had to be a one time thing. Right? "Y-You won't really do it," he asserted.

No reaction. Damn, but that was creepy. It was like she didn’t care at all. Corry let out a rush of air. "Fine, I won't take you on directly but don't expect me to step aside for you.”

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, all right, I accept your goddamned stalemate! But I don't accept YOU, Julie. Moreover, you need to get yourself some serious psychological counselling.” With that, he released her, remaining poised to act again should she lift the blade once more.

Julie merely nodded, swaying slightly on her feet. "We'll see." She produced a handkerchief, wiping off the the razor blade and putting it back in her pocket. Even as another drop of blood slid off her arm. "By the way, if you speak about this to anyone, I WILL deny that it ever happened."

"Of course you will," Corry said. “Which doesn’t change the fact that your parents need to get you a shrink.” He glanced down again at the cut across her arm and a shiver ran up his back. Turning away, he stalked out the nearest door.

***

Julie was left all alone. She glanced down at the pretty crimson stain she'd created. “Maybe they do," she murmured. “But for that to happen, I must first prove myself to them.”

She finally used the handkerchief to apply pressure to her arm. “If only I hadn’t been forced to play this trump card so soon... now I’ll need to find another one." She hurried off to find herself a better bandage.

***

"Carrie, wait," Julie called out. She caught up to the blonde girl right before she could enter the school. The brunette smiled broadly. "There's something I'd like you to do today, okay?"

Carrie nodded. "Sure, Julie, what's up?"

Julie glanced around, to make sure there was no one nearby. "I'd like you to see about getting Laurie Veniti to discover, in advance, the location of the upcoming math tests."

Carrie blinked. "Corry’s sister? But what about last week? I thought you and him had resolved yourselves towards a stalemate or something."

"Yes, but I played some of my cards a bit soon," Julie explained. "So I need a new ace. Please do this for me, without her brother finding out."

"Okay," Carrie said with a shrug. "Keep you updated as usual?"

"Of course," Julie acknowledged with a smile. "In particular, I want you to let me know when you’ll end up meeting with Laurie to discuss the tests' actual location. That will be really important."

***

Monday lunch, Sue slammed her hands down on the cafeteria table. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded in cold fury.

Corry looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? What do I MEAN? What you THINK I mean?" she hissed. "We had her, Corry, we had her in the palm of our hand, and you let her walk away! Why?"

Corry looked back down at his lunch. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You'd rather not talk about it," Sue repeated. She shook her head. "I thought I knew you, Corry. Maybe high school has changed you. What did she give you anyway, money? I turned down a new wardrobe to remain loyal to you. Was that a mistake?"

"Sue, I REALLY don't want to talk about this right now," Corry insisted, the grip on his utensils tightening. “Let’s leave it at ‘things got complicated’.”

"Well, isn't that nice. Especially considering all the times you've wanted to talk with me about this, that, or the other thing. Time I put aside what I was doing for you. To talk, or research, or whatever. Because I believed in your ideals, and the things you were doing."

She leaned in closer. "So now I'm asking you, Corry, as a friend... why didn't you expose Julie for who she really is?"

"Because we don't KNOW who she really is,” Corry shot back, angrier than he’d intended to be. “We don’t know who she is, or what she might be capable of. Trust me. We have no idea."

"Oh, lovely. Now you're questioning my research. She really has a put a spell on you." Sue stared at Corry quietly for another minute. “So, as much as it pains me to say this, I don't feel comfortable working with you any more. Not under these circumstances.”

"Look, what's done is done, I can't help that," Corry stated, closing his eyes and wishing he were somewhere else. "At this point, it's too late for me to go back on my public word. It would have... consequences."

At least, he suspected it would. Yet to see Julie today, you’d never know she had suicidal tendencies. Assuming she honestly did. Was it possible that the whole episode had been a huge gamble on her part? He wouldn’t put it past her.

But then, he also wouldn’t put it past her to lie if he actually told anyone about the incident. Worse, there remained a chance that she really might do something to herself... so, as he’d said, he couldn’t change the past. Merely work to improve the future.

He reopened his eyes in time to see Sue shake her head. “Okay, Corry. It's been fun. I'll probably freelance for a while, but don't take it personally if some day, I end up working for Julie. After all, it looks like a little ruthlessness goes a long way." That said, Sue turned and walked away.

Behind her, Corry clenched his fists. "Damn you, Julie," he whispered. "Whether you're a lunatic or not, if you screw with my life to this extent again..." The plastic fork in his hand snapped in half. "No mercy."

***

In early November, nearly twenty-two months later, two other students met in the balcony area of the school gymnasium, early in the morning. The male cleared his throat. “Laurie?"

The redhead turned, feeling her cheeks grow warm. “Clarke.”

“Did you... that is, were you able to find out anything?”

Laurie’s gaze fell to the floor. “Maybe.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Clarke assured her. “Particularly if you feel like you’d be betraying your brother. It’s only that, well... it’s been a month since that recording played at the dance. Since Carrie switched sides. Since Julie... I don’t even know. Initiated a cold war, to the benefit of nobody. It all hinges on Corry now. And any information I can get there is leverage I can use when talking with Julie.”

“Yeah,” Laurie said quietly. “I know. Don’t worry. You, I’ll tell.” She took in a deep breath. “So I went into Corry’s room when he was at band practice and he’d flipped his calendar over to this month, and I saw he’d marked a date there, circled it in red, and it was the twelfth.”

She swallowed. “So whatever it is, I think November twelfth is gonna be the day he moves against her.”

“Julie’s birthday,” Clarke realized. He turned to look out over the balcony railing. “Damn.”