Find Me (Character Chat #4)

Something flickered in her eyes at the words, but she quickly tried hiding it by wiping off the slobber. "Rhianon, they're trying to kill Runner right? Not me?"
Rhianon nodded. "They are indeed only after him."
"Will he be safe if he stays here?"
"…Yes… Why do you ask?"
Tess looked around the place. "I have something to do. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be followed and that Runner would be safe without me. Can you transport me to New York City? As close to Columbus Park as possible, if you could."

She pulled it back. "You have a target on your back, Runner. I will not be the reason someone hits a bullseye."

"But it won't!" she argued. "The only reason you'll be there is because of me. It may be your decision, but you wouldn't have made it if I hadn't told you about them!"

"How about this," Rhianon cut in when Tessa opened her mouth to argue even more. She snapped her fingers, and a mirror popped up in front of her. "This mirror allows me to see specific people and places while I'm in the Between. Theresa goes on her own, but you will be here, watching over her the entire time. You will hear and see everything around her. If you insist on joining her if she is in serious danger, then I will allow you to go through the mirror."

Tessa refused to look at Runner. "Good. Then it's settled. Rhianon."
The sorceress darted her black eyes between the two. "Very well." She grabbed Tessa and stepped back. They seemed to fold in on themselves before disappearing. Within seconds, Rhianon was back and began setting up the mirror.

The mirror shimmered, then showed Tessa in a dark alleyway as she threw on an old and tattered sweatshirt and pulled the hood over her head. She traveled through the maze of alleys, muscle memory leading her. She passed others who watched her go by with narrowed eyes. Her pace was swift, and her feet were soft, falling back into the old habits from when she used to run through this maze.

Rhianon also watched Tess as she ducked into shadowed areas and shied away from the light. "She… is conflicted. Thoughts and doubts run amok in her mind." She told Runner what she saw inside Tessa's head.
(Thoughts are below)
Were they even a good match? He was a wanderer–a runner. She was a broken and needy girl who was tying him down and controlling his life. They were both independent, but lately, they've become a little too dependent on each other. It wouldn't end up well in the long run. What if things continued the way they were? How would they be in the future? Would they do nothing but fight? Would she be the sole reason Runner was constantly found and attacked? Because she wouldn't let him leave?

Tessa walked up to a door, her image instantly changing. Her eyes grew hard and unfeeling. Her shoulders were thrown back and her spine straight. Everything about her radiated the confidence of an inflated ego, authority–and cruelty. She was no longer Theresa Hunt, the constantly hungry and cocky nineteen-year-old girl. She was the Golden Huntress, the Regina del Fuoco (Fire Queen) of the Italian Mafia, and she was hungry for more blood.

A burly man opened the door and stared her down as he said something in Italian. A cold, razor sharp smirk took place over her lips as she leaned in and replied, also in Italian. The man's eyes widen fearfully and he lets her in the building. She struts in without a second thought, her face a mask of vague amusement and egotistical arrogance. Men shy away from her while still looking at her with looks of disgust and envy. She finds her own way through the house, needing no escort. Her high status and respect among the men was clear.

"Hmm?" She asked, turning to him.

She opened her mouth, closed it, the opened it again. "I… Do not know. I believe you two are quite close, but you both need to give up some of the worry you have of each other's safety."

Rhianon nodded, though not quite as sympathetic as she wishes she could be. "I know. Perhaps this is a good time to get a feel for who you have changed your life for." She gestured to the mirror, where Tessa–still wearing that cruel mask of amusement–opened a door and walked into a room full of heavily armed and well-dressed men. "Mafia bosses," Rhianon said, peering into their lives for Runner. "She is to speak to them."

"Very carefully."
Tessa smirked as one of the bosses introduced her to the others, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin in obvious defiance. The others glared down their noses at her. Some asked her questions. She responded with snarky and clearly cocky answers. She remained confident and unmoveable throughout the entire interrogation. Once they were done questioning her, the same man who introduced her said something to her, and she proceeded to talk to the men. Some shifted uneasily. Others wrinkled their noses in disgust. The remaining few remained stone-faced. She never cowered nor faltered. The entire exchange was in Italian. Not a single English word.

Rhianon translated as best as she could. "They are discussing a partnership with her–and most don't like it. There is a mysterious rival that has been messing with all of these minor families and disrupting the harmony. She is proposing that they work with her and each other to take down this rival." Rhianon narrowed her eyes. "Theresa has a hidden motive, and one of the bosses knows it. I can see it."

"No. I believe that is the boss known as Renato ‘Sly’ Rawling. He is the one who took her in. They are in it together. They both are fooling the others."