God's Lonely Man

A Shot In The Dark

"Who?" Laura asks. She looks over at Carmilla, whose eyes are wide.

"Ah, well, I had a feeling you wouldn't know me, sweetheart," Mama Klaus replies, her Austrian accent strong. "After all, I didn't know who you were until my son brought you to me. The sheriff's daughter, my, my." She clicks her tongue. "But you," she says, directing her attention at Carmilla. "You know exactly who I am."

Carmilla nods slowly, swallowing hard. "You're the one behind the mass murder in a bakery in the city a few years ago. Among other things."

Mama Klaus cackles and grins deviously. "And now I'm looking to expand my enterprise."

"I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that my mother's moved her activities from the city to this area," Carmilla remarks dryly.

Mama Klaus narrows her eyes and nods at one of the other men, who come over and, without warning, backhands Carmilla hard enough for her head to snap to the side.

Laura lets out a gasp and then growls.

"Like a little puppy, this one," Mama Klaus comments with a laugh. She locks eyes with Carmilla, who gives her a defiant glare. "And this one... like a large, strong cat." She taps her son on the shoulder and points at Carmilla. "Let's see how long it takes her to turn into a kitten, yes?"

He walks over and punches Carmilla in the gut. Carmilla lets out a wheezing cough.

"What the heck do you want?" Laura demands, tugging at the rope around her wrists.

"Your mother's operations," Mama Klaus says, walking over to Carmilla. "Tell me what you know about it. Distributors, contacts, moles in law enforcement, the works. Any little detail will help."

Carmilla huffs and spits in her face. One of the men walks over and punches Carmilla right in the face, and she groans as a stream of blood flows down her face from her nose.

Laura continues struggling. "Leave her alone!"

The son not hitting Carmilla walks over to Laura and produces a gag from his back pocket, putting it on Laura. She narrows her eyes at him and starts on a muffled tirade.

The other man hits Carmilla again and again and Laura stops talking, turning to growl at him while still pulling at her restraints.

Laura's eyes start to well up as Carmilla lets out pained grunts from additional hits and she realizes there's nothing she can do.

~*~

Carmilla blacked out for a bit but gradually regains consciousness. Her eyes focus on Laura, whose face is streaked with tears. "Laura?" she calls weakly.

Laura whips her head to the side to look at Carmilla, breathing a sigh of relief. "You're awake."

Carmilla nods slowly. "They didn't hurt you after I passed out, did they?"

Laura shakes her head. "I've just been trying to stay conscious. Pretty sure you're not supposed to nod off with a concussion."

Carmilla sighs.

"How are you feeling?" Laura asks.

"Like I got hit by Kirsch's pick-up truck and then flattened by Perry's rolling pin," Carmilla mocks playfully.

Laura chuckles softly.

A few seconds pass before Laura sighs. "Carm?"

"Yeah?"

Laura stares at the ground for a bit and then slowly meets Carmilla's gaze. "About, uhm, last night..."

Carmilla gives her a small smile. "We don't have to talk about this."