Brittany was showered with applause, her performance on the piano. Her piece a notorious mechanical dare to both new and older pianists which had yet to get a successful performance was now accomplished by her. "It seems that you really have been working on your piano skills Brittany." The teacher congratulated, an ear to ear smile on he face.
"Of course, it dawned on me that even though I may be good at tennis, it's nice to have my options open." Brittany flashing a simple smile however one person felt like came off as a dare rather than a genuine smile. Pauline who watched the attention shift to Brittany.
'How did she suddenly get so good at playing the piano? It takes time and practice and yet she's a prodigy at this!' Racking her brains, no feasible solution came to her mind. "Pauline, maybe I could give you some lessons if you want. I'm always free for a person like you."
Brittany's words though flat and unassuming on the surface carried the disdain directed at Pauline and the teacher quickly picked it up. "As much as you have improved Brittany, it would be best not to look down on others."
Brittany flashed one more smirk at Pauline before focusing elswhere. 'Why is she suddenly everywhere I am? Was tennis not enough for her to torment me like this?' She looked at her own hands which were balled before letting go. 'All I have to do is be better than her, I'll make sure that she can't steal this from me as well.'
She recalled the day Brittany threw her under the bus. Five years ago, she played tennis alongside Brittany and her skills were better. She wasn't sure how it began to crumble but she felt it, the coach would start to focus less on her despite her efforts, once managing to help the school win a tournament and all she got at the time was a "good job."
Pauline had confronted Brittany, certain that she had something to do with it and all she was met with a dismissive chuckle. "That's tennis for you Pauline, in this world you never know who you can trust." Her words back then still ricocheting in her mind. She went on with tennis for a bit before quitting and pursing journalism.
"Okay, Brittany and Pauline, it's time to see how well the two can play together. Brittany, you play the violin while Pauline could man the piano." Brittany didn't think much of it while Pauline shot her skeptical glances.
The two paused, the tension palpable before a stream of melodies began to fill the air. "See, don't you think that this is better than being mad at each other?" The teacher's words background noise to the two who would steal glances at each other.
Then it began, Brittany slowly increased her pace and Pauline accepting the dare increased hers as well. The teacher paused, feeling the strange air between the two before stopping them. "Since neither of you are willing to listen to me how about we switch it up." The two now presented with new sheets, ones that made Pauline's stomach drop.
Brittany wore her confident smirk which got under Pauline's nerves. "You can begin." This time the shift could be felt, their paces far quicker. 'Looks like Brittany has been practicing while Pauline on the other hand is barely keeping up.' It wasn't long before a key was out of place that brought the performance to an end.
"Pauline, looks like you have to brush up more on your skills while Brittany, it would seem that you have improved massively." Brittany put down her violin that rested on her shoulder blade and chin. "Of course, unlike others, I do what I have to do to be the best in my field." Brittany turned, now facing Pauline. "Maybe you could write this in your magazine. Brittany Voss, the unmatched prodigy!"
Pauline rolled her eyes as she left the piano stool, her fists balled. "I doubt it would catch any eyes unlike your freak of a boyfriend. He's been making headlines as the school silent freak, I knew that your standards were low but this has to be a new low for you Brittany Voss!" The two now face to face, a fight sparking a breathe away.
"I think that it would be best to end it here." The teacher urged, separating the two. "I couldn't be bothered with people who are lesser than me, consider me even talking to you a blessing." Before Pauline could retort, the teacher's tone dropped. "I mean it, cut it between the two of you!" The two fell silent before Pauline stormed off.
Brittany let out a chuckle, savoring Pauline's defeat as she watched her leave. The teacher wanted to reprimand the two however this wasn't their first altercation and after a while it began to wear her out. 'These two really won't let this feud go, huh?'
. . .
"I guess those classes really paid off Andy." Brittany mused, the two walking out of school grounds. "That's nice to hear." Brittany leaned into his figure, a small smile forming on her lips as she ignored the gazes shot at the two. "Looks like you took my words and grew more conversant." She added, the school gates arching over the two.
"Of course." Brittany came to a stop, lost in thought. "Could you do me a favor?A very small one." Now breaking away, her figure twirling with a mischievous smile embedded on her lips. "Shoot." His tone flat. "Could you…" Her figure leaned closer, her crimson eyes locking with his obsidian. "…Kill a few officers for little old me?"Similar to Claire, she had been debriefed by her father about operation scissor line.
'Since you're not human, I might as well how far you can go before you reach your limits.' A thought echoed in her mind. "How many?" His words eliciting rise in her brow. "Don't worry, you only have to do this once. Two will suffice." Her breathe grazing his ear.
She didn't wait for his response as a black car pulled right outside, ready to pick her up. "Don't disappoint me Andy." Her figure disappeared into the car which then sped off. The scene had attracted unwanted gazes which Andrew ignored as he made his way to the bus stop.
. . .
"So which officers do you think he'll attack?" Brittany's question flat as she blankly stared out of the window. "It's hard to gauge that right now, we can only wait for now." Callahan's voice calm as the car sped through the road before falling into traffic.
"Are you sure that he's even going to do something as outrageous like that to begin with?" He inquired, his grip loosening on the wheel. "Of course, he's my Andy. There's no way that he would ever say no to me." Brittany's tone playful which made Callahan furrow his brows.
"As much as you understand your role, you are aware that you can't complicate matters with him, right? And you better not tell anything to him about any of this." His tone stern however Brittany kept her distant yet casual edge in her tone.
"Of course dad, you should have a bit more faith in me. Besides as you said, he's nothing more than a toy to me. A very interesting one but a toy nonetheless." Callahan took a long glance at Brittany, her crimson eyes darting back at him which still unnerved him.
'I can't believe that she just woke up and they were like that.' Her words something that he found hard to believe but there weren't many other possibilities as well. 'Looks like they don't actually know that he's not quite human. I could tell them but that wouldn't be as fun. Come on Andy, show me what you're are capable of. '
A smile found it's way onto Brittany's lips as the car gained momentum and headed back to their home.
. . .
"Two officers were found dead. To think that he would actually follow through." The voice dripping with seriousness before Brittany's figure walked into Callahan's office. Two pairs of eyes landed on her, as if her sheer presence was breaching some unspoken secret in the air.
"Looks like your boyfriend is far more capable than we thought. All of this while still being at home." Two images were slid across the table, the officers chopped up and burnt. Their remains found in a freezer in their individual homes.
"Well that's my Andy for you." Brittany's words however unnerved the two. "For him to do this while under surveillance, it means that he has other people helping him. But after chatting with Brittany, he didn't make a phone call so how did he do it?"
Maya, the personal investigator mused now seating adjacent to Brittany who had her legs up on her seat, a carefree attitude to her. "Do you have a clue on how he could have done this?" Maya asked Brittany who was now using her chair as a ride and spinning herself around.
"Beats me, after all aren't you the one meant to be keeping an eye on him?"Callahan clasped his fingers arching forward. "Brittany, don't forget that we are dealing with someone we can't quite identify so don't be so casual with him. After all we don't know what he could do next if he's capable of something like this."
Brittany felt at laughing at the two, in her mind a smirk forming. 'They really don't know that he's human. But if he was able to sneak and kill the two himself without evading supervision, that would either mean he knows that he's being watched or contacted someone like him and did the deed for him.'
On the outside however she had a serious face, her legs falling to the ground. "I understand, sometimes I can get a bit carried away with my games." A giggle cutting through the tense air. "Well I have classes today so I'll see you later dad."
Her vanishing figure never left the gaze of the two. "When she first proposed killing officers, I thought that would be a bit too much but it seems that I was wrong." Maya said, her mind still unsure of how Andrew managed to kill two officers on her watch. "He never left my line of sight so that would mean that he got someone else to do it for him. He could a device on him that we don't know about."
Callahan however was absorbed, recalling the carefree attitude of her daughter with the enigma that was Andrew. "If he's capable of completing tasks for her regardless of the type then we could use this against him. Have Brittany give an order that requires him to make an actual move and this time we could monitor the target ."
Callahan agreed to Maya's suggestion before calling Brittany who was on readying herself. "Brittany, we need you to have Andrew pick another target, preferably a school mate of yours. Make sure that he does it within the window of school time." Brittany didn't object, her tone sweetly dangerous. "Of course, and I have the perfect candidate for that."
The two ended the call shortly after. "If there is someone who is helping him then there is a chance that they are aware of what we are doing once we push Andrew too far. Or they could be aware already." Callahan knew that their window wasn't long, his gaze steeling. "It would seem that we need to take some precautions on our end as well should that be the case."
. . .
Brittany arrived at school grounds, this time a cheerful grin plastered on her face. 'And here I thought that I wouldn't get to get rid of her though it would've been better if I did it myself.' After texting Andrew, the two met before their classes began. "Andrew, I want you to kill a student this time. It's someone you might already know. A friend's friend of yours, Pauline Alvirez."