ghosts | d. grayson

chapter 8

08. stalker behavior

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an hour later

PEOPLE FIND FRIENDS IN THE MOST unexpected ways. Most of the time people would like to consider themselves as allies if they only share a common enemy or goal. Friends would share common interests rather than targets.

However, Paige and Kory were a mix of both. They had a shared interest of being sassy and throwing snarky comments at their target, Dick Grayson.

"So is he always..." Kory began, watching as he walked off into the church of the convent to talk to Rachel.

"Uptight?" Paige asked from beside her as they looked at him from a distance.

"Pissy."

"Almost hormonal..."

"...like he's got a stick up his ass," they finished in unison with a chuckle.

Friends that have the same type of humor as you, are always great to be around. Why have to deal with the awkwardness of someone not understanding your attempts at being funny when you could just find someone that would laugh at the joke and then add onto it.

Now that...that's friendship.

"I found this," Kory began as she pulled out a key from her pocket, holding it up for Paige to see, "in the roller rink. It was in some locker. I think...I think this is what'll help me remember who I am."

"Well then the only logical thing to do is to go and see what you'll find."

"Well then let's go." The two walked outside to the front where Dick and Paige's car had been parked. They looked between both cars before looking back at each other.

"I've got his keys," Paige smirked as she wiggled them proudly in the air before tossing them over to Kory.

"You surprise me, Paige."

"Oh, you flatter me too much," she dramatized as they hopped into his Porsche, speeding away torwards the storage facility. The two were more than amused.

Dick, however, was not when he heard the sound of his car engine revving and then went outside to see that his car wasn't there and that both Kory and Paige were gone. "Fuck!"

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"Are you ready to see what's inside?" Paige asked as the two stood outside of the storage unit.

"Only one way to find out," the magenta-haired woman said as she lifted up the metal door. As soon as it opened, they examined the small room. There was a tanning bed in the center and every inch of the walls had been covered in paper.

Kory had played a tape that she found on a small table with a radio, "November 6th, 2017. Log entry two dot eight. My efforts to locate and secure the girl has led me to a terrestrial religious convent in Covington, Ohio..." The two women listened to the recording as they searched around, analyzing each picture and letter on the wall.

"...where she and her mother took refuge eight years ago. They knew the girl only as Rachel. Evidence suggests a Russian human-trafficking ring operating out of Europe supplied Rachel and mother with new last names. I'm flying to meet my contact in Vienna tomorrow. I'm not—" The tape started to skip causing Kory to turn it off before walking over to a wall that was covered in pictures of Rachel.

"How very...stalkerish," Paige commented as she noticed the picture wall. Standing beside Kory, she noticed the paper she was looking at. It had writing on it that she couldn't understand. The woman beside her read it easily with no hesitation.

"What does that mean?"

Looking over at her, she glanced back towards the sheet, "I have no idea."

"Hey!" they heard a voice call out behind them, causing the two women to jump at the sudden sound. They brought their attention over to Dick who looked less then amused. "You stole my car. I like my car."

Paige and Kory both pulled their hands out of their pockets, raising them in defense before pointing at each other. "It was her," they said at the same time. Dick tilted his head with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms, looking at Paige's hand. Following his gaze, Paige noticed the keys in her hand before looking back at Kory.

"Well played, Miss Anders,"

"Thank you for playing, Miss Montgomery."

Turning back to Dick, she held her other hand out as she walked up to him. "What?" he asked looking down at her open palm.

"Fair trade, dipshit. I give you your keys you give me mine. How else did you think I would've thought you got here? Taking the fucking bus? Hand them over." Rolling his eyes, he stuffed his hand in his pocket before tossing her keys over as she so graciously returned his. "Happy?"

"Very," he said sarcastically.

"Wait, how did you find us in the first place?" Kory asked, walking forward.

"There's an app for that." The two looked down at his phone screen before he tucked it away into his jacket. "This place yours?"

"Think so." He looked around before his eyes landed on the photos of Rachel on the wall.

"How long have you been looking for Rachel?"

"A few months, I thought."

"Seems like a lot longer than a few months."

"You think?" Kory responded as Paige said, "No shit." They watched as he looked around, taking pictures on his phone.

"What's that writing?" he asked, pointing to the paper with the unknown language on it as Kory read it out loud. "What does that mean?"

"She doesn't know."

"Where did you say you were from again," the man asked.

"I didn't," Kory responded.

Paige felt herself stumble a little before catching herself on the table. She blinked a couple of times as she tried to regain her strength. The woman was exhausted and still very weak. Ever since she watched her mother die in front of her, she hadn't been able to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the horrifying image flashed in her mind. Not to mention the amount of physical pain her body was still in.

"Hey, you good?" Dick, who had now been beside her, asked. She turned to look over at Kory who still had her attention on the walls before turning back to Dick.

She shook her head lightly before responding, "I don't know. Not really. I'm just out of it."

"You got hurt pretty badly. I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this."

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to. I'm just gonna go sit in my car while you guys finish up here."

"You sure you'll be okay?" Nodding the woman walked off towards the black SUV that had been parked behind Dick's Porsche.

Not long after, she felt her car shake as a loud explosion was heard. Turning around, she saw smoke coming from the direction of the convent. "Holy shit..." she muttered as a swarm of birds flew past, covering the sky.