Heroes Just Can't Help Themselves

She stood there, so still she could be mistaken for a statue, letting the ebb and flow of the crowd wash past her. No one dared to bump into her as they went about their Saturday afternoon ritual of packing into the shops to spend all their hard earned cash on things that would make their life seem worthwhile. The crowd of people were actually trying to ignore the figure that stood alone, she had a crazy look in her eyes and wasn't wearing something that you would expect to see on such a normal day.

She wore a tight white blouse, a laced-up black corset that circled her waist and ribcage, stopping just underneath her breasts, a black pencil skirt that rode down to just above her knees with two slits up the side and a pair of black lace-up knee-high boots to finish it off. She had worn the same outfit since she was eighteen and she had gotten used to its restrictive nature and barely even registered to her anymore. It was her uniform, her identity and despite the fact that it made it extremely hard to go about whatever she was ordered, she felt proud to wear it.

She let out a long sigh to signify that she was totally bored with her current task. Shifting her weight slightly she couldn't help but think how things had fallen onto such hard times that she had been reduced to doing such pathetic things. She had been set on this task as whim, there was nothing else for her to do at the moment and it wasn't as if she was one of the pretty people he employed to lounge around. It was felt that she had to have a purpose of some sort.

in a flash her neck snapped to the left and a huge grin spread accross her face. Her victim was approaching and after so long with no action she was ready for the chase, ready for the kill. She was well aware that this man wasn't really worth her time and that this whole mission was pointless but she still felt that thrill rush through her making her feel alive. Just a few metres in front of her was the main road and although there were at least fifty people between her and the tarmac she could sense exactly where the car was.

She sprinted forward with such a suddeness that the crowd around her actaully leapt backwards giving her a perfectly free path all the way to the curbside. As she ran along she pulled out her gun from the unsuspecting pouch that was attached round her waist. At exactly the right time she launched herself from the curb and landed square on the cars bonnet only jerking slightly as the driver slammed on the breaks.

Without even blinking she fired 6 shots through the windshield until she satisfied that she could no longer hear the heart beat of the driver. She was vaguely aware in the background of a couple of people screaming and others were considering whether to spring into action and detain her. Half of her begged them to try just so that she could have a little bit more fun, but she knew that she wouldn't there was something about her that made people draw back. Her manic grin vanished as she turned, launched herself once again from the car and stood on the tarmac in front of it waiting.

She remained there as still as she had been before, patiently waiting in absolute disgust. Killing the man wasn't the part of her mission that had really ticked her off, it was this bit, he wanted her to stand there and get arrested by the police. Getting caught was something she had always prided herself in never having done and so to be forced to do it had put her in a bad mood. He had said it to her because he thought it would be a fun a different idea and then had given her one of those winks that to just about every other girl in the world was an instant orgasm. Instead it just made her want to leap over the desk and rip it from his face.

Without realising it she was chuntering and swearing under her breath, the dangerous mumbling and snarling had forced the ever curious crowd backwards away from her. So that when the police did speedily arrive there was barely any crowd control to do and as she was just quietly stood there four of the six cars drove away again. It was left to just one young officer to cuff her as the others went in search of witnesses to take statements.

The younger officer edged towards her with his gun outsretched before stopping in front of her and screaming at her to drop the weapon. Her head tilted upwards and she looked him in the eye, he hesitated for a moment noticing the great restraint she was using. He breathed out in relief as she let the warm metal slide through her fingers and hit the floor with a clatter.

With a crazy grin slapped accross her face she extended her arms and put her wrists together waiting patiently for the cuffs. the officer, seeing that she was now unarmed, he cockily sauntered towards her obviously feeling that the dangerous atmosphere had now dissolved. He harshly spun her round forcing his knee into her back and bending her forwards over the bonnet of the car. Taking one arm roughly behind her back he slammed the cuff onto her wrist before giving the other arm the same treatment.

"Crazy bitch" he muttered under his breath while hauling her back upright by the cuffs. Instead of staying vertical she shocked him by leaning back against him, slowly grinding up and down his body she leant her head back against his shoulder and whispered

"I like it rough baby, but if you call me crazy one more time it'll be the last thing you ever say"

"Crazy fucking bitch" he said the words like a man who thought he was in control and had a huge smirk across his features shaking her and thrusting his hips up towards her.

Without thinking her leg flicked up and caught him just in the right spot to make him scream and as he reeled backwards she span, used the bonnet as a leaning post to just step through her hand cuffs. Now that her hands were in front of her she ran towards him and swung both of her arms upwards and caught him just under the chin with one of the cuffs with such force that there is a satisfied crunching noise.

Lee heard the small exchange between them but had acted just that little bit too late to save the stupid guy, not that he particularly wanted to. All the same he knew he had to stop her for fear that she wouldn't stop with the poor officer who was now trying to scream through his broken jaw. He sprinted easily up behind her and launched on top of her hearing her hit the ground with a grunt he was surprised when she didn't move underneath him. He paused for a moment feeling the heat bounce from the tarmac and her attempting breath underneath his weight, still she didn't move.

"Are we calm enough to behave ourselves now?"

"It depends, is that ass away from me?" she snarled out the words but he could tell by the relaxed state of her body it was all for show. He lifted himself slightly so that he could just see the young officer being escorted into the waiting ambulance still clutching his jaw.

"He's gone. C'mon" Lee got to his feet and watched her awkwardly push herself onto her knees and attempt to get up, he didn't help her, what the officer had said to her was wrong but when it came down to it she had just cold bloodedly killed a man for what seemed like no reason.

As soon as she was back upright again he grabbed her by the elbow and guided her swiftly to the waiting car and deposited her into the back seat with no fuss what so ever. He was totally confused about her motives, according to the crowd she had jumped onto the bonnet and shot the driver of the car. Although he realised from her small outburst she was dangerous and crazy as hell, there was something about her docile nature in between that worried him. The crowd also said that she had stood there, stood there and waiting for them to turn up. Why did she want to get caught?

The ride to the station and the four people that felt the need to escort her to the interrogation room went as a blur for her and she only really re-focused when she was left alone in the grey room. The hand cuffs had been quickly adjusted so that they were back behind her back despite the fact that she knew she could do just as much damage with them there she had allowed them to do it to her. She glanced up at the obligatory two way mirror and smiled to herself at the mischief she could have but she simply she slid into a slouch on the uncomfortable plastic chair her long legs stretching out. She was sure there would be more fun to be had, but it wasn't yet.

Just as she threw her head back to relax fully the door slammed open as if in an attempt to unnerve her, he strode into the room puposefully and she raised both eyebrows at him. It was the same one that barrelled her to the floor earlier on in the day but now she had a much better view of him. She chuckled to herself, he was the typical hero type, tall broad, blond floppy hair and perfect blue eyes to finish it off. He was that type of handsome that attracted all the girls and had them swooning at his feet, if it hadn't of been for the hardened look in his eyes that she caught she would have taken him for a crazy goose chase. As it was she leant forward towards the table between them eager for her fun to start

"So mister officer" she licked her lips "if i said i was innocent would you believe me?"

Lee caught her grin and knew that he was certainly in for an interview to remember just one look at the clothes that she was wearing and the long flowing red hair made him realise she was a little on the crazy side. There was that worry that was niggling at him that as she was on sandwich short of a pic-nic that there was no way when this went to court that she would go to prison.

"I think you know the answer to that. There were enough witnesses so lets just get this formality over and done with shall we? Whats your name?"

"My name?" she pouted at him sensing that he wasn't as up for the fun as she was "your asking me something as pathetic as that? Im sitting here in front of you, i just shot a man i didn't even know 6 times through his car windscreen and i broke a fellow officers jaw. Yet all you ask is my name?"

"I think we should start simple don't you?" he said it in a careful voice as if talking to a child. Only too late did he see her mood change, she launched herself from her chair and was kneeling on to the table just inches away from him. She leant forward so that their faces were so close he could feel her breath on his face and could almost feel her lips on his.

"Do you think i'm a child? Do you think i'm crazy?" she paused for a second noticing that he was choosing to avoid her stare. She sought them out forcing him to look deep into her eyes "well do you?"

It had been two hours of constant conversing yet he didn't feel exhausted, there was something about her that drew him in. She went through phases of being completly sane to the wild rantings of a crazy man, always keeping him on his toes. They had debated quite a few points so far and it was starting to dawn on him that she was wasting time.

"Someone is coming to pick you up aren't they?" he dragged a hand down his face trying to catch her off hand, trying to make her underestimate him. It had become clear right from the start that she felt they were playing some huge game so he had decided that the only way to get anything from her was to play along.

"Oh i really like you" she leaned back in her chair with a sparkle in her eye "go on, run with it"

"C'mon, this isn't random and your certainly acting on orders. You didn't know this guy but according to witnesses you were stood waiting for him to arrive for some time" he paused for a moment to see whether she was going to confirm or deny this to him, when she didn't he sighed and finally admitted defeat "this is all pointless isn't it? Some high up official is going to come in and your going to be whisked away by some handsome gentleman in a high class suit and i will be told you forget you exist am i right?"

"Thats how it would go down if we were in the movies yes. in reality I'm sure you wouldn't forget though would you? In destroying your career you spend the rest of your life searching for me only to die in a lonely bar called something like Old Moe's over your last two fingers of whiskey" her hands were still behind her back but she leaned forward to stare at him straight in the eye again "but that sounds like a stupid waste of a like doesn't it?"

"What are you psychic now?" he pulled back adding a nervous laugh on the end, he was uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him, as if she could se into his soul.

"It works in the movies doesn't it? The handsome main character stumbles upon a huge clue that leads him to the beautiful female lead" she was getting into the story now, her voice quiet and her eyes never breaking contact with his no matter how much he tried to fidget away "well i know your handsome but i'm sure you've realised im not a beautiful lead actress. There is no room for heroes in my world Lee, its just which side of evil you agree with"

The door slammed open in the silence, jumping Lee but making her smile. It was a man in a high price suit, disappointingly he had a chauffers cap on and wasn't handsome in the slightest.

"Miss Ella, your car is waiting" the monotone voice echoed around the room and made her wince at all the effort to cover her name was wasted in the space of ten seconds.

She rose from her seat and stood her back to him and waited patiently for him to undo the cuffs. He did so with a laboured sigh and shook his head in disappointment. She skipped over to the chauffer demanding him to lead the way, her manic grin had returned as if it had never left. Just as she was about to leave she gave him a small finger wave.

"Remember Lee, despite what you've seen, this isn't the movies" and with a wink she was gone.

He paused waiting a couple of minutes before making his way to the front of the building just in time to see her jump into the back of a black Bentley with blacked out windows. He shook his head and chuckled to himself stopping to mutter under his breath

"But Ella, heroes just can't help themselves"


She leant back slowly against the cool leather of the the car seats letting her body finally relax, she was careful to keep her stare straight ahead as the car pulled away making a point not to acknowledge the other passanger sat next to her.

"Mission accomplished?" the deep voice smoothed over her as it always did trying to wrap her in silk and make her do its bidding.

The owner of the voice sat forward in an attempt to initiate the conversation more. Here was the man in the high price suit and the handsome face. In the confines of the vehicle it was clear to see that he was quite tall and would be easily described as lanky. There was barely flesh on his bones but this didn't distract from his powerful presence, he had jet black silky hair that as usual was pulled back into a messy plait. This was a man that was used to getting his own way and as with people that have this trait he was also blessed with a short fuse and an explosive temper. At one moment he could make you feel complete bliss and the next excruciating pain. Ella had been on the receiving end of both and didn't care either way, something that gave her much interest for quite a few people that found it hard to even look the wrong way in his presence let alone purposefully annoy him.

"Well i shot the guy if thats what your asking" she continued looking straight ahead not wanting to get into anything as she knew that he would try to wheedle the information about Lee out of her.

Quicker than was humanly possible he grabbed her chin and wrenched her face round so that she was forced to look deep into his eyes.

"You intrigue me Ella its true, but don't push my patience"

Her stare back was blank and to fuel the burning fire inside him she blinked very slowly daring him to do something about it. She knew full well that the only reason he tolerated her was because she was good at her job and because she was the only person on the planet that he couldn't weave a spell over.

"You will be happy to know that this evening i will be on my way to the embassy to get this treaty abolished. Theres been a huge meeting called, everyone will be there"

Her eyes lit up and suddenly she was alive again, he smiled to himself thinking that there were some ways in which he still had control over her. But games aside he was aware how much of a difference would make not only on their world but the world at large.

"I need to you to be at home while I'm there, I have asked Elyse and Tank to be there aswell"

She nodded to herself grimly, whenever he hired out anyone else to help her out it meant that he predicted big trouble. He thrived in war and battle, he was so good at it that there was like a feeling in his bones, of course he never admitted it to her but she could see it in his eyes. She didn't take anything he said as a joke and knew that he was only giving her these pathetic missions to keep her on her toes. She heard going around that no one else seemed to be doing this and that alot of her friends were getting quite fat living in the lap of luxury.

They had both slipped into a deep state of thought that didn't need them to acknowledge the other one and both were quite shocked when they pulled up outside the mansion. The second the door was opened for her the wind whipped her red hair away from her face, it always seemed to be windy around the mansion and she was treated with a view down the drive. The house itself was built on top of a slight incline and the grounds around it was simply grass, he had forbidden trees as there would be no one sneaking up on him. Sometimes she wasn't sure whether he was a genius or just very paranoid, but the drive was just a long gravel path that ran straight towards the front door. It wasn't a particularly beautiful house or was it beautiful grounds but that suited everyones purpose, it wasn't supposed to be, The Mansion was designed for business only.

She climbed the aged staircase just a few steps away from him, they went through the doors anto the entrance hall that didn't really command the attention that normal houses of that size did. Yes the ceiling was vaulted and the floor black white tiled but that was all that was all that was exciting, the stairs didn't sweep and the portraits on the wall had long since been covered in grime.

"I will be leaving at 10, make sure you are in my office before then so that we can discuss this evening" he paused with his hand on the door to his office, shouting to the figure that was starting to disappear up the staircase.

"See you then"

Lee pushed through the door to his home and shrugging off his coat headed towards the kitchen where delicious smells were drawing him closer. His kitchen was all silver steel and shiny surfaces but when he entered everything was steemed up including the patio doors at the far end of the room that lead out into the garden. A smile spread across his face at the crazy looking woman running around with pots and pans.

She stopped when she saw him and grinned manically, she was wearing a large baggy jumper with no trousers and her blonde hair was piled messily on top of her head. Her face was red through the heat of the kitchen and she attempted to swipe away the stray tendrils from her face with a floury hand. She cradled a large mixing bowl in the other hand filled with some sticky, flouring mess in the bottom of it.

"Lee!" she gushed happily padding over to put the bowl on the side. As she stood in front of him she was dwarfed by him, at only five foot she had to be permenantly looking up at him "I've almost perfected this recipe! How was your day though?"

"Just another day sweetie, just like all of the others" he leant down and planted a kiss on her lips and then sat down at the small dining room table he had insisted on having in the kitchen. There was something about watching her working away on a new recipe that soothed and calmed him, it cleared his head and let him think properly. Many a case had solved itself as he sat there watching her baking and she seemed to enjoy the company.

He sat for a couple of hours watching her flustered to'ing and fro'ing before it hit him, slap inbetween the eyes. The conversation with Ella had been streaming through her head since she had left the office and only now had a part of it been highlighted to him.

"Darling, is there a pub around here called Old Moe's?"

She paused, the spell broken and cocked her head to one side, this time he had caught her mid seive and she seemed to be trying to jolt her brain out of her current tasks.

"Hmm, yes there is, accross town. But why on earth do you want to go there?"

"Work stuff, its nothing exciting, i will be back later on okay?" he had his coat on and by the door before she could even blink. With a quick peck on the cheek he walked out of the house again.

How stupid could he have been? Of course there would be a bar called Old Moe's and he knew that if he went in and ordered the two fingers of whiskey then something would happen. He just wasn't quite sure what, was she going to magically appear before his eyes or was she going to send him a note telling him what a stupid man he was. As he got closer to his destination more doubts were flooding into his mind, she had warned him off this whole thing, she said she didn't want a hero meddling around. Yet at the same time she had told him about this bar and maybe knew that he couldn't resist such bait.

As he pulled into the car park he saw that the pub was everything he had expected it to be, the front sign had been torn completly off so that there were only the light shadows of the words in the wood stain. There would have been a large window but it had been boarded up, he strode over and walked through the door only to be engulfed by the smell of stale beer. He attempt to squint through the smoggy ciggarette smoke but in the end gave up, there wasn't that many people in the bar but those that were in their were either slumped over the table or clutching a tumbler of liquid like their life depended on it. He smiled to himself; this was the place alright. Somehow he couldn't imagine that Ella would have ever came in here and was half hoping that his hunch was wrong.

As per the rules he ordered the two fingers from the bar and settled himself into one of the corners of the room, he put down his tumbler and sighed wondering how long it would take her to get to him and at the same time how long he was prepared to wait. He knew that she would be testing him and so would leave him for as long as possible so it surprised him greatly when she bustled loudly over to him and took the seat in front of him. She had a grin that stretched from ear to ear and leant forward so that she had his full attention.

"Oh i really like you Lee" she winked "so you've decided you want to play with me eh? I knew you would be here, unfortunatly i have work that needs to be done tonight so we are going to cut this short. You found, hurrah, well done. Is this where i tell you to leave me alone? I think so. Ciao Lee"

She got up to leave and he stood up with her suddenly feeling anger coursing through him. How dare she think that she could just turn up out of nowhere and that he would play the merry dance with her just because she said so. He stood up aswell and followed her out of the bar as soon as she stepped out of the door he grabbed her elbow to try and get her to wait for him.

She spun on the spot and faced him, her eyes burned like fire and she made a low snarling noise as she turned. He dropped her arm immediatly and took a step backwards, it was very easy to forget that she wasn't sane and that she could snap at any wrong movement. All he did was stand there, looking straight into her eyes hoping that she would calm down and return to her more normal state.

"You have a car?" her face had now shut down and her eyes had dulled over waiting for his response

"Yes, whats that got to do with it?"

"Give me the keys" she held out her hand waiting for him to drop them in her opened palm

"I think not" in his minds eye he could imagine exactly what it was like to be a passenger in the car with Ella. Alot of crashing into things was happening accompanied by crazed laughter, there was even a small old man that went up over the bonnet

"Give me the keys" her facial features stayed exactly the same and she patiently asked for the keys once again.

He warily passed them over not quite sure what this new mood held and as he wasn't really feeling in the daredevil mood. She accepted them and spun on the gravel to go towards the drivers side and opened the door once again not waiting or looking to see whether he was behind her or not.

In the car she didn't say a word and a thick dangerous silence that Lee did not want to break. Instead he spent the time watching the houses slowly spread further and further apart, he wasn't quite sure what he was expecting Ella's house to look like. He was sure however that the countryside didn't feature in any of them. His eyes widened when he caught sight og The Mansion for the first time, Ella turned and tutted at him.

"Its just big, the grandness wears off pretty quick, trust me" she abandoned the car at a diagonal and just stopped the engine, getting out of the car.

The wind whipped past him violently taking his breath away, he paused to take in the vast scenery in front of him. He just couldn't picture her in a place like this. He was forced from his thoughts as she grabbed his elbow and dragged him towards the house. The large wooden studded door was swung open and Lee had humself prepared for the magnifisence within only to be totally disappointed

"I see what you mean"

He wasn't sure what he was doing there, aside from the face that he wanted to know what was goin gon here, he had that sinking feeling that he had been thrust way out of his depth. She guided him through into a parlour room that had chairs around a small table. There was a large chimney breast at one end and floor to ceiling windows down one side. There were shadowed gaps on the walls where glorious paintings should have ben and the chairs themselves were made simply from wood. Ella slammed the door and turned to him, her face totally serious.

"Right, there are rules Lee, ones you have to follow, I can't have you going off in there like a bomb. The consequences are far too severe. So i'm going to give you rules and you're going to follow them, to the letter, got it?"

He was shocked into silence for a moment at her seriousness, he hadn;t seen her be like this yet, the look on her face made him pause and stare at her. The dread that he felt as he entered was slowly getting larger taking over his body.

"I will take your silence as a yes, I'm not messing around Lee, this is your life im talking about here not just some pathetic police superior. Listen to me here. You do not speak unless directly spoken to, you don't interrupt or add your opinion and heres the biggie; do not in any circumstances ask questions" she looked at him to check that he was following "oh and dont follow my expample, these rules are yours not mine, i can do what the fuck i like in there, you can't. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do, one question to you though, who am i meeting?"

She suddenly looked uneasy and unsure of herself which caused that dread to spread from the pit of his stomach and outwards up his spine. She shifted from one foot to the other thinking of an answer for him

"He's the boss and thats all you need to know"