Calamitous (Kaylor)

27

 It was later that evening, after the couple had retired to the bedroom, when Karlie remembered that there was something she and Taylor were meant to discuss. "So, uh, about Toni..." she began, catching her girlfriend's attention, "is there something I should know, or...?"

Taylor nodded weakly. "Yeah. It's not good, but maybe it can help us." Karlie sat down on the bed beside her so they sat shoulder to shoulder against the headboard.

"Tell me."

"I know her," Taylor said. "We've run into her group many times over the years. She's especially dangerous because she treats everyone as if they're disposable - a few of our members defected from her to join us for that reason, actually. And you're right, she's obsessed with power." Taylor paused for a moment, looking a little disturbed.

"She's the reason that I stole the weapon," she admitted. "Because I heard that she was after it and I wanted to keep it out of her hands."

Karlie was stunned. "She'd really use it?"

"Oh, yes," Taylor said. "Without a doubt. And I'm sure she's desperate to get her hands on it, even if at a price."

"You mean..."

"Arsyn knew she wanted it." Taylor said bitterly. "And those two are birds of a feather. And you know what they say -"

"They flock together," Karlie realized. "So if we find Toni, we'll probably find Arsyn - and the weapon."

"Exactly."

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"What's the plan for the day?" It was the next morning, Sunday, and Taylor and Karlie had just gotten up.

"Well, Dad's home," Karlie said, "so I'd like you to meet him. We're moving into the new place tomorrow morning, and then going to the station to figure out how to track down Toni, but it's just an easy day for us today." The two made their way downstairs to see that Tracy was, once again, already busy in the kitchen.

"Your mom's energy scares me," Taylor whispered. The taller girl snorted in response.

"Me too, honestly." Tracy turned around, noticing the girls, and waved them toward the table.

"Go ahead and dig in while it's hot!" she said. "Karlie, your dad will be down in a few minutes."

"Oh, no, we'll wait for him," Karlie said, and before long Kurt Kloss's footsteps were heard on the stairs.

"Good morning, everybody!" he said, stepping into the room. "Karlie! Great to see you again!" he said, stepping forward to give her a hug. Then his eyes shifted to Taylor, and his whole demeanour changed as shock and anger replaced his grin. "What is she doing here?" he snarled.

"What?" Karlie said, confused. "This is my girlfriend Taylor."

"I thought you'd learned your lesson with that Toni girl," Kurt said, eyeing Taylor, who seemed to shrink in on herself under his glare. "But this is even worse! Bringing a criminal here? It's disgraceful!"

"A criminal?" Tracy asked, looking over at the couple in concern. "Karlie, what's he talking about?"

"I treated this girl a while ago," Kurt spat. "She came into the ER practically dead. We had to save her because she was a dangerous gang leader and had valuable information." Karlie could feel Taylor trembling beside her, so she gently clasped their hands. She saw her dad's anger increase at the movement.

"Karlie, is this true?" Tracy pressed. "Is she a gang leader?"

"I mean, she was," Karlie admitted. "She's not anymore, though! She's helping us now. And she's not dangerous; Mom, you spent all yesterday with her and had a great time."