Calamitous (Kaylor)

40

A/N Warning: death of a character

 "I'm not sure if I like this."

"Do you have a better idea?" As soon as Arsyn got close, the couple had run into the next section and climbed into the rafters. They could hear the criminal pounding up the stairs behind them and moved a little faster. Karlie, whose height made her a little less balanced, flailed slightly as she set her foot down at a bad angle, but was luckily able to grip a supporting beam to steady herself.

"Karlie! You could have fallen!" Taylor scolded, looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Really? I had no idea," Karle said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "I'll try to avoid that, I guess." She looked down at the floor and immediately wished she hadn't. They were at least thirty feet above it, and Karlie gulped, trying not to think about what it would feel like to fall from that distance. She already had some idea, considering Taylor had survived a worse one, but had a feeling that not everyone would be so lucky.

"There you two are," Arsyn snarled, appearing in the doorway. "How did you break out?"

"Uh, isn't it a little obvious?" Karlie laughed. "You did see your entire gang attack your new pals, didn't you?"

"They couldn't have known," the black-haired girl hissed, stepping out onto a beam to approach them.

"I mean, we did have a little inside help from Cut Throat," Karlie said, backing away.

"Impossible! She's dead."

"You have a poor track record of keeping your enemies dead, then," Taylor snorted, jumping over to the next beam. They were only a few feet apart, but Karlie still gaped at her. Does she really expect me to do that?

Apparently the answer was yes, because as Arsyn approached Karlie, the blonde motioned for her girlfriend to join her. Karlie balked, but Taylor's insistent glare and the diminishing distance between the criminal and the detective encouraged her to take the leap, reaching for Taylor's hand and wrapping her arms around the supporting beam to help her stick the landing.

"Why are you running away?" Arsyn laughed. "It's two on one; why are you so scared?"

"We just want to talk," Taylor said, pacing down the wooden joist carefully while doing her best to maintain eye contact with her ex.

"We're a little beyond talking, don't you think?" Arsyn said with a smirk.

"And whose fault is that?" Karlie muttered. Arsyn snapped around and glared at her.

"Don't interrupt, Kloss. The big girls are conversing." The taller girl looked like she wanted to say something back, but Taylor shot her a warning glance.

"I just need to know why, Arsyn. Why were you so desperate to take over leadership? Why did you collaborate with Toni and use the weapon?"

"Well, to answer your first question, you really should have seen it coming," Arsyn sneered, pacing along her own beam. "From the first time I saw you, I knew you were weak. You didn't deserve to be the leader; Justice and Luna should have given me that title. I was stronger, smarter, and willing to do what I needed to in order to succeed."

"Willing to hurt other people for your own selfish goals, you mean," Taylor said. Arsyn laughed and jumped over to their side, scrambling to grab the support beam and hang on. Her shorter stature made the jump more difficult.

"We were criminals, Cat. You've done plenty wrong in your life; don't grow a conscience now."

"I never went out of my way to hurt innocent civilians," Taylor defended herself. "The fact that you and Toni used the weapon, knowing that it would affect the hospital, is despicable."