Big Sister Has Been Watching You

[Ailith Rayner]

Laila swung round on the swivel chair in total boredom. She had been told to sit and monitor what was going on at the battle but it was all the same old same old beat up this guy slice the chest of that one. Got a bit tedious after a while. Laila whirled round to look at the CCTV. Pointless really. No one was there save a solitary girl in a solitary chair in a solitary room. Laila grinned at the girl on the screen and hopped out of the chair.

Laila entered the room head first, “Wotcha Mad!” Laila greeted the prisoner brightly, careful though to shut the door. “’So boring innit?” She grabbed the back of the chair opposite Madeleine and swung it round to sit in front of the door. “When you’re not amongst the troops?” She grinned at her prisoner, feeling much the happy cat who got the… nah cream wasn’t right, too innocent … mouse maybe.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine wasn't sure what the worst part of this was.
The small cell, maybe. She'd grown up in the open, in a place with no limits. Where you could go anywhere, see anything, just live in space. At first, even being in the palatial building that was Orchid Hill had been difficult. Stir-craziness. Claustrophobia. Those were the disadvantages of the life she had lived, where there was air, and space, and places to go. Gypsies and stone walls don't go together, as put in the priceless wording of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So, while being in Orchid could be difficult sometimes, this was hell. A small, grey cell, with just a chair and a table. The stir-craziness, and the longing for an open space, had left Madeleine shivering for a while, silently panicking - as if she needed another reason to panic. Still, she was a Baudelaire, she was a Warrior. She was going to keep her dignity here.
Or maybe it was the solitude. Not a word had been spoken to her. They hadn't even started to interrogate her yet, as they were obviously too busy hitting the school at their weak spot. She had to give it to them. It had been a risk, a real risk trying things like this, but it had paid off, thanks to Madeleine's stupidity. She shouldn't have gone, she shouldn't have been with Jack alone. For God's sake, after what had happened to Macy none of them should be out without some form of protection to use. Madeleine usually relied on her powers, but they had Jack. There was no way that she would have put his life at risk for her own - and she knew from the look in Knight's eyes that he wouldn't have hesitated. And Madeleine knew the difference between an empty threat, and a promise.
But she guessed she hadn't been completely alone, so really she wouldn't have complained about the solitude were it not for the fact that, with this person, the dimwit girl who gave her her food, with her sneering mouth and whiny voice and that look of pity in her eyes that made Madeleine want to lose her temper and throw the tray of disgusting-substances-that-didn't-even-deserve-to-be-called-food right back into her face. Pity. And, even worse, the mild look of surprise that was blended with it. Look at her. The fabled girl Head of the Warriors, loved, respected, victorious. Look at her now, caught out by the simplest of ruses. Trapped in a deprivation cell where she was powerless, completely powerless. Caught by her own stupidity.
Yeah, Madeleine would look at herself with pity and surprise, too.
And of course, then interrogations that would happen soon. The fear of interrogation was bad enough, even though she knew that they wouldn't really damage her. Too valuable. With Macy, they hadn't realised who she was, and that screw-up was bound not to happen again. Madeleine wasn't just a pawn, and they knew that. She knew that. But what they'd done to Macy...
No, they wouldn't do it. Ever. The worst she had to fear was... God, she didn't know. Not torture. They wouldn't. And as long as there was no torture, there was nothing to worry about, at all. She knew that. It was okay.
Nor was she afraid of death - but she knew they wouldn't kill her. They wouldn't be able to escape the reprecussions of that. It was all about strategy. They wouldn't dare.
But they might not let her out. She knew that was the worst she had to fear.
But maybe the worst part was the people she knew were panicking at home right now. Family, friends, her parents, her grandmother, Russ, Jack, Jace, all her friends at Orchid and among the travelling communities of the country, and her Warriors. God, her parents would be freaking out, as would her Warriors. Madeleine was freaking out. What if, what if...
And then there was Lee. Oh, God, Lee. She missed him - she missed him so much and she hadn't been there that long, but once you realise that you might not go back to them, that longing becomes unbearable. She wished she'd seen him for longer this morning, wished she'd eaten breakfast with him, wished... Oh, God, she wished. Because, if things didn't go well, if they didn't let go of her, didn't bring her back, but kept her hostage here for years until the end of this dámn war, she wouldn't see him. And if they killed her... no, they wouldn't. But the look on Knight's face screamed that they wanted to. That he wanted to. And if someone lost their temper, she might never see Lee again. It didn't bear thinking about.
But right now, Madeleine knew what the worst bit of this was. The fact that right now, a battle was going on. Her Warriors, her friends were being shot at hurt, God forbid even killed. And she wasn't there. She wasn't there. They were fighting, being hurt and she wasn't there to lead them. Couldn't be with them, couldn't fight with them. Jack had just been thrown in the deep end, God knew how he was coping. God knew how they'd managed to figure this out, God knew... Some of them would die. Some of them would be so injured that they'd wish that they were dead. People's lives, loves, limbs and innocence, all lost. And Madeleine couldn't be there to help them. And her friends, what if they... Oh, God.
Okay, just breathe, Madeleine. They will be fine.
But she couldn't even convince herself.
And there was no news. No news at all. Just silence, just, just silence. She knew even if things went well for Orchid, they'd tell her otherwise, but God, oh God, what if it was the truth.
The door banged open, and Madeleine found herself jumping up and automatically looking at the door, hoping to God, hoping...
But it wasn't. It was Laila, the pyschopathic older blonde woman who had abducted her and dealt with Jack while the Knight son held a gun to her trachea. Ailith's mother, apparently, however unbelievable that was. You tended to remember a face like that, especially when she took such a perverse enjoyment in it. Toture, to her, was like a toy. People's lives were playthings, and when she was given the chance to play with them, her eyes lit up and shone, her face brightening, a smile growing...
The woman was, quite clearly, crazy.
"Wotcha, Mad!"
Madeleine felt the bile rise in her throat at that, at her happiness, at the fact that someone like this could be related to someone like Ailith.
"So boring innit, when you're not amongst the troops?" she said brightly in her horrid nasal accent, swinging a chair around and grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
I notice you're not out there either. Why do you think that is, hmm?
In their abduction, Laila had made several huge mistakes. Mistakes that, were it not for Knight's efficiency, would have blown the whole thing, and Madeleine knew it.
But she didn't say anything. Kept her silence, staring blankly at Laila.

[Ailith Rayner]

Laila rolled her eyes grinning. "Givin' me the silent treatment are ya dahlin'?" She giggled, how immature of the little brat. When she saw the pathetic little weed of a girl wasn't going to say anything in near or distant future Laila's grin dropped slightly and she began again. "Fair enough. I probably wouldn't talk to my abductor's either if I got humiliated in front of my deputy the way you did."
Laila threw her head back and laughed, "Oh you should have seen his face! Were you watching? Oh, the disappointment in his eyes. His "Head of Big Strong Warriors" couldn't even fight off a teenage boy and a greying lady! The shame of it babe!"
Laila cocked her head as if in pity, "Well never mind. He'll probably be dead soon so no one will have to know. In fact!"
Laila jumped up, opened the door, stood outside closing the door behind her. Her eyes turned green and she grinned. There was one good thing about her daughter if Laila was forced to admit it. She always got her mum a brilliant view.
There was Trove and Rueben, fighting for their lives. Rueben was standing over Trove hands on either side of his he- Oh you’re a devious little madam aren’t you Ailith. A 10mm handgun with a silencer appeared into Ailith’s vision and it was well aimed at the back of Reuben’s head, going for the cervical vertebrae. If Ailith made the shot (which she should as an ex-pupil at an assassin’s school and as daughter of a watchman and a professional assassin) despite Reuben’s ability to heal, it may disconnect an important nerve or two giving Mr Trove a few moments to get an extra shot in and bring him down.
Silly girl, you shouldn’t have paid attention at school. It would’ve been so much easier for all of us. Laila pushed hard with her mind and began to rapidly and jarringly move Ailith’s eyes and messing around with her focus. Laila could just make out that Ailith had knelt down before cramming her eyes shut but she was already disorientated. After a few minutes Laila rested, Ailith’s vision was blurred and she was gradually blinking into unconsciousness. A few minutes more of torturing Laila's eyes finally turned to their original colour.
Well Rueben it seems you owe me a right good time love. Laila gave her satisfied cat grin before entering the room.
“Well for a second there it was close but, sadly for you, it wasn’t to be dahlin’. I hope you appointed a number three?” Laila raised an eyebrow and then laughed, wrinkling her nose. Alright Laila had no clue if Jack had some sort of trick up his sleeve but Madeleine didn’t have to know that.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

"Fair enough. I probably wouldn't talk to my abductor's either if I got humiliated in front of my deputy the way you did."
Dear God, of all the jibes Laila could give right now, she picked that Madeleine had been humiliated in front of her deputy? If Madeleine knew Jack – and by know, she bloody should know him – Jack wouldn’t look on this as a humiliation on Madeleine’s part, and even if he did, that was hardly Madeleine’s biggest concern right now. Madeleine was more concerned about whether her so-called disappointed deputy was still alive.
She had to assume that he was – after all, surely if they had had word of the Orchid Hill Warriors second-in-command’s death, they’d have used it against her by now – there was no chance that they wouldn’t tell her. So she had to assume that Jack was fine.
Unless they just didn’t know. Hadn’t had word of-
Stop, Madeleine. He’s fine. They’re all fine.
If only she could know.
"Oh you should have seen his face! Were you watching? Oh, the disappointment in his eyes. His "Head of Big Strong Warriors" couldn't even fight off a teenage boy and a greying lady! The shame of it babe!" The glee in the older woman’s eyes was unmistakable, and made more nausea well up in Madeleine.
Don’t call me babe.
Laila twisted her mouth into a parody of a pitying pout. ”Well never mind. He'll probably be dead soon so no one will have to know. In fact!"
With that, she bounced out of the room, and left Madeleine alone, and not knowing which was worse – being left alone in this room with no contact to what was going on outside, or looking at Laila’s deranged expression and listening to her horrible voice.
Well, in any case, it didn’t matter. Laila would probably be back in a second anyway.
… but she wasn’t. She didn’t come back for ages, and when she did, it was with a satisfied grin and a purr.
“Well for a second there it was close but, sadly for you, it wasn’t to be dahlin’. I hope you appointed a number three?” Her eyebrow arched, before she broke into a laugh, her nose wrinkling.
Wait a second. Ailith’s nose wrinkled when she laughed, and that little movement was so out of place on this woman’s face. Her mother she may be, but in personality, the two were not related, and thank God for that.
Ailith would never talk about a battle like it was a football match, that was for sure.
It took a moment for Madeleine’s brain to catch up on her thought stream and realise that she had just wilfully ignored what Laila had just said, subconsciously choosing to believe that nothing truthful could come from her.
But she’d just said that Jack was dead. Jack was dead, Jack was, he was…
Oh Christ.
But no. No. If Jack was really dead, Laila would have given her all the gory details. Madeleine knew this. Jack couldn’t be dead – for God’s sake, he couldn’t be. And if this was a mind-game, Madeleine wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of getting to her.
“So why aren’t you out there, babe?” Madeleine said, arching an eyebrow coolly at the older woman in front of her.

[Ailith Rayner]

There was a pause which, despite Madeleine's emotionless bravado, showed that she was taking in the information. Maybe even believing it. Suddenly, Madeleine reacted with a raised eyebrow, “So why aren’t you out there, babe?”
Laila couldn't help but grin with excitement. She'd even thrown back the petname! This was better than last Tuesday night, and oh how she'd laughed.
Laila smoothed her face into the most patronising expression she could muster, "Well someone needs to keep you company my love. And who better to take care of the pretty, defenseless little girl," Laila threw her hand to her chest and tilted her head, her voice dripping with false grace, "than a mother. And as a mother I want to make sure you're happy in your life." Laila reached forward and clasped Madeleine's knee tight and shook it. "So, how are you and Lee? Hmm? I must confess I'm not sure Ailith likes Lee. Thinks he too much of a spineless berk but never worry about her. She's such a b*tch. What matters is that you and Lee don't care how much of a spineless berk he is. That, dahlin', is love." Laila slapped Madeleine's knee before resting her chin upon her palm and watched for Madeleine's response with brazen eyes. Laila would sleep well tonight, the excitement was tiring her.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Don’t touch me, you bítch.
If Laila’s plan was to make Madeleine rise to the bait, she was coming close to hitting the right nerves, but Madeleine had been expecting this. Her smile was now one made of steel, but it was still a bright smile. Two could play at this game, and the last thing she was going to do was give them what they wanted.
Madeleine could keep calm and cool with the best of them, and that was what she was going to do.
“Well, if your job is to be maternal and make sure I’m happy in my life, I’d be a sight happier if you let me out of here,” she quipped. “But we all know that’s not going to happen, don’t we?”
Also, Madeleine wasn’t going to push any boundaries here, for her own safety, and the fact that the woman in front of her was severely mentally unhinged. God only knew how that woman could have given birth to Ailith.
“And thank you for your opinion,” she smiled sweetly. “As a mother, I’m sure your opinion on my relationships is an excellent one to follow. I’m sure you’ve had some wonderful experience to refer to.”
The sarcasm was thick in her voice, but her smile was like honey as she determinedly avoided thinking about Lee until she had gone.

[Ailith Rayner]

Laila shuffled back into her seat with glee. "Actually dahlin' I might have a few."
She giggled. Laila did indeed, have a few, the trouble was: which to tell. Would it be the one that ended up with the strangling in Brixton? Or the one with the lawyer in Burgess Park? Oh! The real estate broker in the Bentley Hotel, oh what a surprise he was...
No.
Intimidation wasn’t the way to go. Baudelaire could deal with that. It was questions. Bring her out of her shell a little, poor thing.
“But they were all a long time ago and I’m sure a pretty girl like you doesn’t want to hear all the gritty details.” Laila winked and laughed wickedly. “Tell me,” Laila leaned forward suddenly leaned forward and slapped Madeleine’s thigh, hard. “Did your Lee ever apologise for that time with that Chloe girl?”