Title: Never No More
Author: EmeraldArcher
Email address: sixtiesgirl8@yahoo.com, or leave a message here on the board
Feedback: If you feel so inclined.
Distribution: Please ask.
Spoilers: No spoilers. This is AU(If my understanding of AU is correct).
Rating: PG-13 to NC–17. This includes sex, violence, sexual violence, language.
Pairing: The gang’s all here. . . pretty much, just different.
Disclaimer: I didn’t create these characters. I make no profit from them.
Summary: AU. It’d spoil the fun if I told you.
Note: I haven’t ever tried writing AU fiction. Not sure how it will go. Also, no beta used, so any and all mistakes are mine. Am aiming for weekly updates, more so if work permits.
Thanks: To Xita, for having the site, and keeping the site.
Chapter: First
Eleven Months Ago…
California Institution for Women, Corona, California
Merritt Carver stood silently behind the wheeled, chain link gate, waiting patiently as her paperwork was thoroughly reviewed by yet another guard. In her arms, she held a brown paper bag containing all of her worldly belongings: three paperback books, a toothbrush and comb, two t-shirts, a pair of jeans, socks and underwear. It didn’t add up to much. Then again, nothing in her life did it seemed; not for a very long time.
But three years, two months, eight days?
That added up.
That added all the way up.
Merritt lifted her face skyward, closing her eyes as she let the sun bathe her pale skin. Her red hair shone in the bright light, orange-y copper highlights standing out from the darker strands. She took a deep breath, exhaling in a soft sigh.
“Carver,” a male voice called. When she didn’t answer immediately, he raised his voice. “Carver!” Merritt opened her eyes and looked at the guard. He was holding several folded papers out to her. “You’re cleared.” Merritt took the papers from his outstretched hand, and balancing the bag against her hip, succeeded in opening it and dropping the documents inside. She rolled the bag shut and faced forward again. “On the gate!” the guard yelled, just before stepping forward and setting his back to the moveable fence, facing Merritt.
With a metallic
ka-chunk, the gate began to move, rolling slowly over the blacktop. Merritt remained perfectly still, waiting until the gate opened completely and locked into place. She glanced at the guard, meeting his eyes squarely. He tipped his head. Merritt nodded and started walking, eyes straight ahead as she passed over the prison threshold into the world. Only then did she stop. She closed her eyes once more, savoring the feeling of her freedom.
“Carver.”
Merritt’s eyes snapped open.
Shit. She turned around slowly, hesitantly. “Yeah.”
The guard reached a hand up and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his uniform; he swung his arm and tossed it to her. Merritt caught the pack one-handed. “For the road,” he said, then raised his index finger to his forehead in a semi-salute before turning away from her.
One corner of Merritt’s mouth worked its way up. “Thanks.” She glanced at the cigarettes, her smile growing as she noticed a twenty dollar bill and a pack of matches stuffed inside with two cigarettes. She pulled a cigarette and the matches from the pack before dropping it inside. She struck a match and lit the cigarette before turning her back on the prison. Taking a long drag, she exhaled, long and slow.
After a few more puffs, she glanced around. The parking lot was crowded with people, some visitors, some employees. No one bothered to look her way, or even notice her at all. And that was fine with her. The less attention you brought to yourself, the better; that was one of the first things she learned on the inside. Throwing one last look over her shoulder, she shook her head slowly and started walking through the labyrinthine maze of cars. If her memory served, there was a public bus stop not too far away, maybe one or two miles up the road. She could hike it there, no problem. The exercise, after being confined for so long, would do her good.
Walking alongside the road leading away from prison grounds, Merritt tried hard not to think about the day she arrived. Not one of her better days, that was for sure. Sometimes it seemed like it was only yesterday, but sometimes, like now, when she was free, it seemed like a lifetime ago. A lifetime that she wanted to move past. And forget. She shook the memories from her mind and concentrated on the ground before her.
The sound of a car behind her caught her attention, and she moved farther from the road so it could pass. As it came up beside her, it slowed until it matched her pace. Merritt tried to ignore it and kept walking. She heard the passenger window go down, and when the driver finally spoke, Merritt’s stomach fell to her feet.
“Hey, Carver.”
Shit. Merritt kept walking, her back straight, eyes front.
The man laughed. “I
know you can hear me, Carver.” Merritt slowed, then finally stopped. She kept her eyes faced forward, deliberately not looking at the driver. “You didn’t think I’d miss your big day, did you?”
“Hoped,” Merritt said, under her breath.
“Get in,” he said, not as if it was a choice.
Merritt did look then. She could see only his body behind the wheel. But that was enough. That was more than enough. She swallowed hard, and turned her head to watch as another car drove past them.
Shit.
“Ditch the butt. . . and get in the Goddamn car.”
She took one last drag from her cigarette and dropped it in the dirt at her feet; after toeing it out, she took a hesitant step towards the front passenger door.
“Hurry the fuck up, it’s hotter than Hell out here.”
She pulled the door open and got in without a word, settling the bag on her lap. The man hit a button and closed her window, then put the car in gear and drove. Merritt’s eyes shifted to the driver; he looked exactly as she remembered: dark hair, dark eyes, just a tad— in that construction worker sort of way— overweight. If she hadn’t known he was a Special Agent with the FBI, she would never have believed it had someone told her so.
“Where you goin’?” he asked, though he didn’t look at her.
Merritt paused before she answered. Where
was she going? Once she was out, she had just wanted to go, but where to? What was left for her after so long? She finally answered, “Home.”
He cast a look her way. “Home?” He smiled and looked back at the road ahead. “Really, Sunnydale?” He laughed again. “Huh, think they’ll throw a welcome home party?”
Merritt closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. No way would she let him get her to do anything stupid. She wouldn’t do a damn thing. . . no matter what. “Yeah,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” His mouth tightened. “Yeah, what?”
Merritt swallowed. “Nothing.”
“Nothing, what?”
Oh, right. . . . “Nothing, sir.”
He nodded his head at her answer, at her understanding. “That’s right.”
She waited in silence, staring out the front window. A small section of town was just ahead, all fast-food restaurants and strip mall storefronts. It looked pretty damn good from where she sat. Then, the car began to slow and move towards the curb. She sat perfectly still, feeling her heart rate picking up as each second passed.
When the car stopped, he threw it into park and shifted in his seat until he was facing her. “You think you’re something now? You think you’re hard?” He paused, but didn’t wait for a response. “You’re not the first one to do time, Carver. Not the first, and not the last.” He leaned towards her, just the tiniest bit. “Remember this: you’re nothing, Carver. You’re an ex-con. The second you stepped out, that’s what you became. And that’s it.” He tried to catch her eyes, but failed. “That’s it.” He shook his head, but his eyes stayed on her face. “And when you answer me, it’s always ‘sir’ or ‘Agent Harris,’ you understand?” Merritt nodded. “What?”
Merritt tried to keep her voice flat, neutral. “Yes, sir, Agent Harris.”
He nodded, and leaned back. “You got twenty-four hours to register with the Sunnydale Police Department. Not one minute more, got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He smiled, satisfied, and then turned away from her and put the car in gear. “Now take your shit and get the fuck out.” Merritt looked at him for a second, then did as she was told. She took her bag, opened the door and got out. “I’ll be in touch,” he said, just before she shut the door.
The car pulled away from her and headed into town. “Yes,
sir,” she said, watching as Agent Harris’ car disappeared around a corner. “Asshole.” She opened her bag and fished out the twenty from the cigarette pack. Her eyes traveled over the few signs she could see in the distance, landing on the Golden Arches. She headed straight for them, her step just a little heavier than before.
TBC
EA