I'm half sick of shadows (tag Drake)

[Claudette Hautecourt]

She once more woke up with a headache. Immediately she became sad by it for she knew what it meant even before opening her eyes. She knew that she would either wake up in a new game or in a new room, which meant Silvio wasn't going to be there anymore. She had no idea when she would see him again or if she would be seeing him again.

She took her time before she felt brave enough to open her eyes. Pushing herself into a sitting position from the floor she took one glance at the room and felt like she was about to burst into tears. It wasn't as bad as her first room but it was still bad. Even the rose that was on the bed had died here from how cold and unfeeling this place was. If she ever got out of here she would buy this place and bulldoze the whole building down and rebuild something new and beautiful in it's stead. A hotel came to mind, so she shook that out of her head.

She once more let her eyes gaze over the room, only finding more horrid details. This time taking a closer look at the new roommate she had gotten. Groaning a little when she saw it was Drake. She would have to share a bed with him like she had with Silvio and with him she wasn't so sure he would remain a gentleman like Silvio had been. Could this get any worse?

[Drake Force]

It took Drake a bit longer than Claudie to wake up. He squinted his eyes and then opened them. "Nhh....", he groaned. First thing he saw was the dirty floor he was lying on. ....Great. Guess he was in another room again, one of the downlived ones. he sat up and brushed some dust from the side of his face and shoulder he laid on. Then, his eyes wandered around. Am I back in the room I was before? At least, it looked very similar.

Then, he saw his new roommate. To his surprise, it was the not-french girl Claudette. He raises his eyebrows a bit. "Claudette... Nice to see you.. Even if the circumstances could be better..", he said quietly and moved his hands up to his temples to massage them. Urgh, that headache got on his nerves... he very rarely had gotten a headache in his life before he got here. This freaking gas...So, every time he changes rooms he'll get a new roommate? And yet again, another person he's met before - at least, in here - and no complete stranger.

[Claudette Hautecourt]

Well this was starting nicely enough. He wasn't groping her or trying to hit on her. "Good to see you too." She said although a little strained.
"How have you been since we last talked?" She asked. "I have some new information to share if you are interested at some point." She thought it was better to share it fast before they got gassed and taken to a game.

[Drake Force]

He got up on his feet and stretched a little. He really needed to work out more or else he'd get super weak in this stupid prison... He walked over to her and offered her his hands to help her get on her feet. "Well, as fins as I could have been I guess? I got a decent room last time and actually could sleep in a bed..", he explained and sent a longing look to the single bed they had in here. Floor it is, I guess... He sighed a bit. "I haven't been taken to any of those games so far, so I guess that's a big plus. What about you?"

He looked around the room more and also checked the bathroom real quick. Well, at least there was a shower... He nodded a bit to himself, before he walked back, over to the blonde woman. "Info?", he repeated interested and his green eyes started to glow slightly. Info was always good. "I'd love to hear it."

[Claudette Hautecourt]

Claudie took the hand offered and stood up. She dusted herself off and went to take a seat on the bed. "No, just the one with the gun..." She said a little sadly. "But I know there was another game. I got roomed with a man who had been to one. They had to take cards and pair them up without telling what they had and without hints. Someone died... For real this time... A girl named Lydia." She would never give up saying that name everytime she told the story. She never wanted her to be forgotten or erased. "They didn't manage to pair up correctly and this Asian woman barged in and shouted at them and shot her... Silvio, I was roomed with him before this got sprayed with her blood...." She made disgusted face at the thought. "And the girl, Hannah, from the first game I was in. She was forced to marry Jeff, the one with the gun from the same game. I talked to Kathrine through the wall back in my old room and she told me she was there. She witnessed it and that they had shock collars on, and would get shocked if they stepped out of line." She finished and looked up at him.

[Drake Force]

"But I know there was another game. I got roomed with a man who had been to one. They had to take cards and pair them up without telling what they had and without hints. Someone died... For real this time... A girl named Lydia."
After checking everything, he went to sit next to her on the bed, in a safe distance. "I was roomed with someone who was in that game, too... Oh, so her name was Lydia, I see. I only heard she was a redhead." He nodded and kept listening to her while giving her a compassionate look. Getting blood on you is never nice.. You can't get it out of your clothes...

"And the girl, Hannah, from the first game I was in. She was forced to marry Jeff, the one with the gun from the same game. I talked to Kathrine through the wall back in my old room and she told me she was there. She witnessed it and that they had shock collars on, and would get shocked if they stepped out of line."
He needed a moment to process all this, especially with all the names he didn't recognize. "Uhm... I don't know them, but.. Forced to marry? Seriously?", he asked and visibly frowned. So Cece had been right with her suspicion, wow. He was pretty impressed that she figured that out so quickly on her own. "Damn... Wow. That sounds... weird. And, do you possibly know what happened to them after they got married? Are they, I don't know, forced to live a married life? Or are they free to leave?" The last question almost sounded hopeful. He would marry anyone if he could just get out of here...

[Claudette Hautecourt]

Claudie only shook her head. "I have no idea. I suppose they are still here if they were in the second game as well." She confessed. "Oh, and I found this in my old room." She fished the photo she had kept of the Asian lady and her husband when they were younger and showed it to him. "I know this woman. I had some unpleasant dealings with her in the past. She was a matchmaker...." She told him and let him take a good look of the picture before taking it back and putting it in her pocket once more.

[Drake Force]

"I have no idea. I suppose they are still here if they were in the second game as well."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can see that... That would probably too risky...They could go to the polica after all and spill everything...", he mumbled.

"Oh, and I found this in my old room."
He raised his eyebrows interested and takes the picture to have a closer look at it. Another asian woman... He didn't recognize her as the same woman he saw on the picture that Cece showed him. "Wait, so you're saying this is really the kidnapper on this picture? And you met her before?" He looked at her with thirsty eyes, thirsty for information. "A matchmaker... Please tell me everything you know."

[Claudette Hautecourt]

Claudette pursed her lips into a tight line. She wasn't fond of telling the story of her matchmaking misadventures to this man. She gave him a look of disdain, trying to determine if she should tell the story to him or not. He would laugh, but then again she had no problem slapping him if he did. Finally she took a deep breath in and released it.
" A couple of years ago I was in the middle of my divorce still and was feeling really fed up and decided to try a matchmaker service. This woman was so rude to me, and the date she set me up with was so insulting to me so I complained to her about it. She started shouting abuse at me so I complained to the owner of the joint. They promised to take care of it and went I went on with my life. Then I started seeing her around me and following me. Then I started to get strange calls and messages from strange men. I will not go into detail to what they entailed. I gathered that they had gotten my contact information from this woman, also she had taken candid pictures of me and sent them to these men. Anyway, my limit came when one of these men was so deluded to think him and me were dating. He somehow found me and followed me and then confronted me when I was alone. Cornered me and laid his hands on me. I managed to get out of that situation luckily, but I decided I had had enough of this and contacted the agency and also the police, but this woman went missing and nothing came of it." She ended her explanation and looked at him straight in the eyes defiantly.

[Drake Force]

" A couple of years ago I was in the middle of my divorce still and was feeling really fed up and decided to try a matchmaker service. This woman was so rude to me, and the date she set me up with was so insulting to me so I complained to her about it. She started shouting abuse at me so I complained to the owner of the joint. They promised to take care of it and went I went on with my life. "
Drake was visibly taken aback by her story. Damn, what a mad woman that was...

"Then I started seeing her around me and following me. Then I started to get strange calls and messages from strange men. I will not go into detail to what they entailed. I gathered that they had gotten my contact information from this woman, also she had taken candid pictures of me and sent them to these men. "
His widened even more and his eyebrows rised. "She stalked you? And gave your personal info to third parties? Oh.. wow, that's some serious crime she committed there, she should be in jail!"

"Anyway, my limit came when one of these men was so deluded to think him and me were dating. He somehow found me and followed me and then confronted me when I was alone. Cornered me and laid his hands on me. I managed to get out of that situation luckily, but I decided I had had enough of this and contacted the agency and also the police, but this woman went missing and nothing came of it."

He visibly frowned at that part. If he had been there, that man would be dead by now. He could deal with drug-dealers and gangsters, but rapists? They were definitely under the line. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his anger about the assgole that did this to her. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Claudette.", he told her sincerely. "Did you also report the man to the police? You know, those people don't stop. He probaby found another victim right after you." He sighes again, processing the new information. "So she went missing... Goddamm police, good for nothing.", he muttered. He was more than sure he could have tracked her down with his resources and connections. But now it was too late for that, he couldn't use any of them inside here... Fuck.

He finally looked at her again. "Uhm, thank you for telling me. It must've been embarrassing, but I appreciate it. It really helps to draw a better picture of that woman in my head."

[Claudette Hautecourt]

She was a little surprised that he wasn't laughing at her. Perhaps she had misjudged him?

"She stalked you? And gave your personal info to third parties? Oh.. wow, that's some serious crime she committed there, she should be in jail!" She only nodded at this point to continue her explanation.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Claudette." She was rather surprised by his sincerity. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it.  "Did you also report the man to the police? You know, those people don't stop. He probably found another victim right after you." She nodded. "Yes I did. They caught him on the site where he happened to attack me. Let's just say I can use one of those nail guns. Got a good kick at him and took the opportunity, while he was dazed, to nail him by his clothes on to the floor." She told feeling rather proud of herself.

"Uhm, thank you for telling me. It must've been embarrassing, but I appreciate it. It really helps to draw a better picture of that woman in my head." She smiled a little. "Don't mention it. But I would appreciate if you would be discreet if you choose to tell this to someone else. If you think it helps people then I don't mind it. But it is rather traumatic and I don't want all the sordid details be aired around."

[Drake Force]

"Yes I did. They caught him on the site where he happened to attack me. Let's just say I can use one of those nail guns. Got a good kick at him and took the opportunity, while he was dazed, to nail him by his clothes on to the floor."
At the mention of a nail gun, he stared at her for some seconds and then burst into laughter. "A Nail gun?? Why were you carrying a nail gun around?" It looked like this situation seemed so funny to him, but in a good way. "Damn, Claudette, you're feisty!", he joked.

"Don't mention it. But I would appreciate if you would be discreet if you choose to tell this to someone else. If you think it helps people then I don't mind it. But it is rather traumatic and I don't want all the sordid details be aired around."
He gave her a solid nod. "Of course. I don't spill any kind of info lightly. There's one person I'd like to tell this though when I see her next. She's a very smart woman - actually, she suspected that the woman holding us captive want us all to match up and get married. That fits all other evidence we found and your story just gives it another very convincing note. What she will do after everyone is matched up though, I can't tell. Crazy people are always hard to figure out and I'm not a profiler or anything sadly..." He did know a few people who could easily find out her thoughts. But again, he coudln't reach them. They were on their own.

[Claudette Hautecourt]

"It was a site I was doing a make over for. I went there during when the construction workers were on lunchbreak. I suppose I was being careless when I left the door open when carrying things inside." She told him. "I am an interior designer. And yes, despite my appearance I know how to use power tools." She said a little amused. Did that revelation intimidate him? She didn't like to admit any manly traits she had because it scared most men off and it kind of made other women resent her a little.

"Of course. I don't spill any kind of info lightly. There's one person I'd like to tell this though when I see her next. She's a very smart woman - actually, she suspected that the woman holding us captive want us all to match up and get married. That fits all other evidence we found and your story just gives it another very convincing note. What she will do after everyone is matched up though, I can't tell. Crazy people are always hard to figure out and I'm not a profiler or anything sadly..." She sighed and leaned her face in her palm. "I wish I knew. Don't get me wrong, it is great not to be in a game all the time. But we have probably spent weeks in here, and so far the only married couple is Jeff and Hannah. Surely if she wants to pair us all she should hurry it up. I mean, no offence really, but at this point I would even marry you if it meant I could leave this place."

[Drake Force]

"It was a site I was doing a make over for. I went there during when the construction workers were on lunchbreak. I suppose I was being careless when I left the door open when carrying things inside. I am an interior designer. And yes, despite my appearance I know how to use power tools."
"I see, I see." He gave her an appreciative look at the mention of power tools. "Well, I guess it's certainly very handy for your job? Admittedly, yeah, you don't look like you would do anything with your own hands, but.. my respect that you do. I think it's always good to take things into your own hands. You know what they say, if you want to have something done right, you have to do it yourself.", he quoted the well-known saying.

"I wish I knew. Don't get me wrong, it is great not to be in a game all the time. But we have probably spent weeks in here, and so far the only married couple is Jeff and Hannah. Surely if she wants to pair us all she should hurry it up."

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, maybe she wanted to observe us at first and now she starts to match up people more and more with the info she gathered? At least that's what I hope. Cause yeah, it's been very long already since we got stuck in here...." He looked down, obviously not liking this at all. Maybe he even looked worried if Claudie took a real close look into his eyes.

"I mean, no offence really, but at this point I would even marry you if it meant I could leave this place." 

"I mean... I'd marry you even if we weren't stuck in here", he attempted to joke next and gave her a cheeky grin. Rather risk a snarky comment than keep thinking about his poor little sister.. all alone... ugh...

[Claudette Hautecourt]

She appreciated his compliments. A smile spread on her face. "Why thank you. It is kind of useful you know. I could ask someone else to take up a hammer and a nail and hang a painting for me or I could just do it myself. Or if I need to drill a hole I can always do that and not bother the others, I find it annoys the workers when they have to drop their task and come help little old me. And sometimes I even help them if I am on the site because there are always delays, and things go down to the wire sometimes." She said sighing again.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, maybe she wanted to observe us at first and now she starts to match up people more and more with the info she gathered? At least that's what I hope. Cause yeah, it's been very long already since we got stuck in here...." Claudie glanced at the cameras in the corner of the room. "Well she is bad at her job, so we shouldn't expect much from her to be honest." She said rather heartlessly and glaring at the camera. She sure hoped the woman could hear her.

When she heard Drake say he would marry her even if they weren't stuck in here she turned her attention over to him. "Oh? Why is that?" She asked wanting to know why he would marry her out of all people.