##Chapter 4: Fight or Flight

"I'll be sure to keep my eyes on my messages, though, in case you change your mind. Thank you for hearing me out, James. Please say hello to the kids for me. Thank you so much. That means the world to hear. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Closing out the call, Elaine started to pace. The motions helped her calm her mind and gave her something to focus on.

Memphis was a bust. The shelter had open room for them, but when James heard about the situation, he said it would be beyond his power to approve them so quickly without the higher ups getting in the way. That was fine. There were plenty of other places the Holidays could go.

She ran down her contacts. The location would have to be far enough away that the Holidays reputation wouldn't get in the way of their new life. Kansas was the next best option. Grace could fall in love with the wide open spaces of the plains and the wild horses.

The phone rang ten times before her contact finally picked up. This one was a newer addition, so she was eager to work with them again.

"Good afternoon to you. This is Elaine Roberts. I don't know if you remember me or not. Oh, you do! Perfect, I was actually calling about my latest clients. They need reasonable accommodations fairly quickly. The perpetrator has just been arrested, and I know you know how crucial it--"

Elaine leaned against the wall, biting her lip as the woman went on.

"I see… no room whatsoever? I understand. I am so sorry that it's been such a busy time for you all. I hope everything works out for all your women. No, no! You have no need to apologize. I'm the one calling on such short notice after all. Of course, you take care too. Goodbye."

Next up was the shelter in California. A bit of a leap for sure, but the area was highly regulated and gated. There would also be plenty of opportunities for Gina to find well paid work and Grace to get into amazing schools. The art programs were renowned.

"Barbra! Just the woman I needed to see. Are you still working down at Hollyday? Great! I was actually looking for rooms for some clients of mine. The situation is quite desperate as the perpetrator has just been captured. You do! Oh wonderful, could you-- You're a saint! Yes, I can wait!"

Keeping the phone to her ear, Elaine turned the corner to tell the Holidays the potential news but stopped when she saw the way Grace was waving at her mother. The girl looked hopeful, angry, and frightened. She couldn't hear what was being said, but that didn't matter.

She would leave them be. They needed this time to themselves. It was highly likely they hadn't had any time to decompress and talk about everything going on.

H**l, she needed time.

She kissed a lawyer trying to work on a case. A case in which she herself was involved.

That had to be breaking all sorts of laws she didn't know about. What if Abigail was sitting in her car right now drafting up documents to take her license?

She would fight it. Say it was an act to save her clients. A way to broker favor with the lawyer to see her side of things that wasn't violent or condescending. It was the blonde hair. She was a rampant narcissist and could not control herself around people who had her hair color.

Call it a superiority complex if narcissism would not do.

No judge on earth would buy that, but it could get her sympathy with the jury.

Heh… it wasn't worth the trouble to lie on the stand though. No doubt they'd ask her if she'd enjoyed it.

She had.

Abigail was a strong kisser. The type that moves with you. She didn't try to overtake her. No overuse of tongue. She tasted like coffee and mint gum. She had someone to teach her. You don't kiss that way without practice. Either that or all her lawyering made her tongue dexterous.

Her lips had been soft. There was the faintest hint of gloss on them.

Elaine wanted to try again. Wanted to try it drunk. Wanted to try it sober. Wanted to try it with a taste of love.

No chance of that happening now. She'd gotten in the way of the case.

Still it wasn't all bad. She got to say she kissed someone. It was still a story to tell. That bartender wouldn't know what hit her.

She silently wished herself, Gina, and Grace luck as she crossed back to the window.

***

Waiting was not unknown to her.

In trial, you needed to wait for the cases to be stated. Wait for the warrants to be signed.

She was content to sit in her car and perform her work. The invention of Internet capable cars made the office a space wherever one could find mental fortitude to use it.

This was not the cause of her distress.

She had been kissed. She had kissed back.

It was unbecoming.

She needed to handle this situation delicately from here forward. Here forward? What kind of backwoods grammar was this? Even her thoughts were performing less than adequately.

Take a breath. Begin once more, and this time do now allow emotions to confuse your logic. You are the master of your own self, and the emotions come from you. Control not how you feel but how you react and look at these emotions and the situation will reign itself in.

What had the Roberts woman been thinking? Had she wished to confound her attempts to acquire the Holidays aid? It was not likely to work. It could also be that Elaine was merely doing what she thought was best for herself and for Abigail too.

There was no issue with the kiss itself other than the timing and the place of it all. Elaine must have been able to read and see the emotions on her face. She knew about the attraction and was simply displaying reciprocation. This in and of itself was a wonderful thing.

Vulnerability was a requirement of social work. That Elaine could display it so easily made her an excellent worker. Abigail would applaud her kindness and ingenuity in the reports she gave.

For herself, vulnerability was a thing to be struck at in the courtroom. Presenting facts confidently gave no room to doubt their validity. She would be polite but allow herself to be so forward no longer. She would put the emotions on her face to better use by using their energy in her argumentation.

In order to do this, she would need to allow these thoughts to run rampant. She would pluck them from her mind as they came.

The kiss had been excellent. Elaine was an emotional kisser. The individual who put their everything into the structure of the kiss itself, they wanted their partners to feel special. Make sure they felt every ounce of love and affection they could hold.

There was sugar in her mouth. Her breakfast had been coated in granules. She should speak with the owner of the food establishment and bring up the fact that breakfast items should not taste like dessert unless they are specified to do so in the menu. She could forgive this instance.

The sugar had been exceedingly nice to taste on Elaine's lips. It suited her disposition immensely.

She was even resorting to more formal diction in order to tame her feelings. Quite an achievement and a sign that the individual was one not to be trifled with.

The case was the most important thing at the moment. To return to it and to complete the mission she had set out upon, it seemed a more direct approach was required. She would need to ensure the Holidays and Ms. Roberts that their safety would be the utmost priority.

The phone began to buzz softly. The number held a Chicago area code.

Perhaps her arguments had been effective on Elaine after all. The woman did seem to understand why she must have the Holidays as witnesses.

Abigail unlocked it, putting it on speaker. "Yes?"

Mrs. Holiday's voice was hoarse. "Miss Fredricks? We've made our decision. We're going to testify. We want to do the right thing. We'll tell Miss Roberts right away. We won't move until you come for us, okay? Of course. We'll look forward to seeing you. Thank you for all your help."

"Excellent, I'll make the calls needed to set up your security detail."

She knew the Holidays would allow no more tragedy to be perpetrated on their account.

Now, all that was left to do was tell Miss Roberts about their new plan. Abigail felt terrible for her. She'd more than likely been in the building calling everyone she could think of. Hopefully, she had not secured them rooms.

Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Other people could use those rooms now. More help could be given to those in need.

For the first time in the past thirty minutes, she felt a grain of hope.