What Makes You Tick.

"Hey Duff, It's me. Listen don't tell Bonnie but she forgot her vibrator at my place and I ain't touchin' this thang with my bare hands. So if ya don't mind comin' over to my place to pick this thing up that would be really dang cool." Was the voicemail Clyde left for Ms. Macbain. He got her number from Bonnie in case of emergencies, an awkward number for him to call. But right now he needed her. And not in the way the talking miniature devil on his left shoulder would want!

Right after leaving the message, Clyde got his things and taped a note to the door before taking off to Tokyo in hurry... Feeling a bit like a dick but, he was sure Duffy would get over it or not. She wouldn't be the first or last.

---------

Outside his door, the letter would be right there for Duffy to find.

[size=100:3kn082gy]

Dear Duffy. I, Clyde T. Gastin has left this apartment on short notice cuz they are having a one day only sale at a electronics store. 75% and I heard from my friend the line is long So I left! I really want this TV tho. Now I'm sure u were DYING 2 see me but hey you'll get your chance later. " title="Wink" />

Serious truth is, after I put the order on the TV im heading over to Friction. I've been trying to have a private word with Allison Watson but I can't seem to find her and (after getting the damn locker number) I could not get into the locker room to drop her a letter cuz I gotta dick and I don't need no sexual harassment misunderstanding lawsuit. Anyway by the time you read this, i'm hopefully just paying for the damn thing.

so yeah, come to tokyo and drop off a letter I left under the welcome mat. That's for Allison. If you wanna tag along that's fine. That's kind of why I called you. I don't want Bonnie hurt more and I don't want nobody else involved. But I might need backup, I hate getting jumped. I'm just looking to talk anyway, but you never know.

I'll be in the Friction Parking garage by 6. I'll buy u all the drinks ya want for this. Thx. cya.

-Clyde

Under the welcome mat in front of his doorway, would be the letter.

Spoiler:

------------------------

Having put the money down for the TV, Clyde had it delivered to Rei's apartment for safe keeping before taking off for Friction HQ. His sister was now out of the hospital but Clyde didn't want her to be put in any danger, all he wanted to do was have a word with Allison. He felt dirty getting Duffy involved but she was the best choice for a wing-man, even thought he preferred handling this alone along with everything else. He didn't want anyone else getting smashed up around him.

But part of Clyde kind of wanted Duffy around, Allison and Jocelyn's savagery intimated him, and there would be no one to save him if it was an ambush. He never got over the last beat-down he took from multiple attackers. It wouldn't stop until they got tired. A scary thought. And Allison was scary too. Clyde identified her as a typical Psycho Bitch who just loved hurting people. Typical, but not really. Clyde knew so many like her. He never questioned why these people did what they did. He just knew them as sadistic. But Allison was different, she talked about... Art, came on to him and spoke about weird things he didn't understand. And after meeting so many violent people who enjoyed the pain of others, Clyde felt almost compelled to actually ask 'Why?'

Clyde headed for the parking garage about 15 minutes before 6 and sat on a bench beside the elevator, listening to music on a cheap little mp3 player while he waited for the apple of his eye to arrive. He was all dressed up to meet her too, black slacks, matching suit jacket, equally black loafers. A white button up shirt and a red tie, idly texting Rei that he would grab his TV later tonight.

Duffy was snoring loudly in her bed when she got the message from Clyde. it woke her up unpleasantly and she checked her phone and threw it against the wall. After a half a dozen broken phones, Bonnie had gotten her a rubber cover. They stopped breaking but sometimes they still cracked. She didn't care. She slept for another hour before waking up in a haze. Now that Bonnie was back home, she had to take care of her a bit and that meant she had to ease up on the drinking some. That soured her mood and after a long, cold shower, she collected her phone and checked her messages.

The first thing she wanted to do was go kick Clyde's ass but she decided against it. It sounded pretty stupid what he would say and just the thought that he might say something like that made Duffy want to go tio his apartment and just beat his face in right then and there. Bonnie was sleeping and she needed to go restock on beer anyway. Best thing she could do was just go punch Clyde and take his beer.

Duffy got to Clyde's apartment and didn't even look at the note at first. She grabbed the door handle and twisted, putting her shoulder into it but when it didn't budge, she growled and began to knock loudly and cuss until she tore the not off the door and threw it to the ground. After a moment of deciding what to do next, she picked up the torn note and uncrumpled it and glared at it like she was trying to set it on fire.

She kicked the mat so it flung a few feet and saw the letter. She snatched it up and threw the not into the hallways. She wasn't sure if she was more pissed off that she wasn't going to steal his beer or if she was about to have to go to Tokyo to kick his ass. Instead of thinking about it, she went to the train station and got a ticket, spending the next few hours drinking down as much alcohol as they would give her.

That had given her time to think and by the time she had arrived, she had a pretty good plan. She took a cab to a store near the AFW facility and bought a big case of nasty Japanese beer and carried it into the AFW facility, flipping off everyone who gave her a dirty look. She then went to the locker room and set the case down right in front of Allison's locker and began to drink. She watched every girl that came and went and made it clear that she wasn't interested in any pleasantries.

***

Jocelyn had moved her locker ever since she came back from Summer Splash. It wasn't that she was afraid of Cassie, who had a locker next to her. She wasn't. She just didn't want to have to kill that bitch. She didn't want to be arrested for murder and she very well might be if she saw the girl so frequently. Allison was barely at the AFW facility and Jocelyn was pretty sure that the Brit wouldn't be caught dead using the gym unless it was just to play with some new toy of hers. The thought of sharing a locker with Allison also made Jocelyn's heart skip a beat a bit. Their worlds were slowly merging and as Jocelyn turned the corner to head for her locker, she blushed at the thought. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a multi-colored hair woman and a half dozen beer cans stationed in front of her locker.

As she watched the Scot unleash an impressive burp, her brow furrowed. "What the fuck are you on about?" She called out crassly. "Move your arse out of the way of my locker, drongo." She berated. as she puffed out her chest and postured menacingly before Duffy.

"Bullocks." Duffy sad and heaved herself up to a standing position when Jocelyn called her out. She blinked and looked over the Chistralian. She knew who she was and she lowered her head and with surprising speed, threw herself shoulder first into Jocelyn, smashing her into the wall nearby.

Jocelyn was so used to being the first one to engage that she barely had time to think. She was crushed against the bigger girl's weight and before she could even yell, felt fists slamming into her sides. "Ughnk! Unkgh! Fucking cunt!" She growled and buried one hand into Duffy's hair and jabbed her thumb other girl's eye.

"Fuckin' shite!" Duffy cried as she threw her head forward and slammed it into Jocelyn's face. She stumbled backwards and put a palm against her eye while Jocelyn slumped against the wall and grabbed her sides.

"You wanna fuckin' fight, Dish licker?!" Jocelyn snarled.

Duffy clenched her fists, letting tears roll down her injured eye. "Bloody fuckn' right, ye cunt." She said as the two stared each other down. "Where th' fuck is that English twat ye got ye'r tongue up?" Duffy said first. "I wanna shove me dobs up so far up her arse she's coughin knuckles, ye ken?"

Jocelyn's teeth clenched and she was ready tot ell the Scot to fuck off but it seemed like the woman wasn't playing around. Most people didn't usually WANT to fight. They backed away until they had to defend themselves or Jocelyn goaded them into a fight. That made her feel like she had the upper hand. But Duffy started out throwing punches. That set Jocelyn a little uneasy.

"Not here, chunderhead. She doesn't fuckin' come 'round here very much. So, piss off."

Duffy relaxed her features for a moment and then straightened up. She smiled and took the note out of her pocket and threw it at Jocelyn. "Ye and me can 'ave a donnybrook any time, cunt. Make sure yer dun nae forget to hand her that between licks o her arsehole." Duffy said and flipped Jocelyn off, daring her to start another fight.

Jocelyn steamed and picked up the letter, eying Duffy and almost jumping when the Scot flinched and threatened to attack her. She scooped it up and stuffed it in her bag. "Don't turn your scrungy arse on me. Ya hear?! I'll be keepin an eye out for ya!" She threatened as she backed away.

Duffy turned and flipped up her dress enough to flash her panties. By the time she turned around, Jocelyn was gone.

***

Duffy decided to finish enough of her case to just have a couple of beers left. By the time she was done, she didn't really know what time it was but hopefully she might make it in time to beat the shit out of the smug Brit who trashed her girlfriend.

Clyde tapped his foot, he wasn't good at being patient unless he was holding a fishing rod. He decided to tell Mercy the good news.

Spoiler:

Football and Baseball were going to be so kickass. Speaking of which, Duffy should have been here by now. But maybe she went home? That was good. But then he began to wonder if maybe she ran into Allison while dropping off the letter.

Clyde facepalmed. "Gah Damn. I'm a dang fool." He whipped out his phone and started to text her.

"R U Okay?"

Allison generally ignored everything that came out of little Lu Jiao's mouth. There were precious few things of interest that the girl could express verbally, but that didn't stop her from trying, and frequently. Her voice never ceased to grate on Allison's nerves. She hated the sound of it. It was a cherry bomb of uncultured vulgarity in Allison's world of finesse and poetry.

She took a sip of her tea, placed the cup delicately back on the porcelain saucer, and placed the set back on her desk before she bothered to look up at her. She studied her just for an instant, and then went back to her work, pouring over paperwork for the branding of her spa.

"You've made a fine mess of yourself," she remarked with little interest. "Whence came you the mark on your face?" Then Jocelyn gave her the note.

She read it, and her face did not betray even a hint of a reaction. She considered it only briefly. Clyde Gastin was a nothing, a nobody, of no consequence to her, but... the idea of him attempting to cobble together a plot to seek revenge on her for his sister, that was too delicious to ignore.

After she dismissed Jocelyn, she sat back in her chair, and enjoyed a warm feeling just thinking about it. She made a phone call and went back to work.

* * *

It was 7:30pm by the time Allison finished. She hadn't bothered to rush things along. Making the boy stand there in a parking lot for hours was an appealing thought, but she certainly couldn't be bothered to go out of her way to make it so. When she was ready, she gathered her things, slipped on a long black wool coat, shouldered her small, black leather Chanel purse, and set out for the meeting place.

Her heels clicked sharply on the pavement and the sound echoed through the now mostly empty concrete structure. She had used the stairs to get to the correct level, and she walked to the center, the most visible area. She checked her phone briefly, and waited for her "biggest fans".

Clyde wasn't getting any response from Duffy. Now he was worried. "Sonovabitch." He stood up and got to walking, he had to find Duffy, otherwise his sister was going to kill him... And if she didn't kill him, Clyde was going to do the job himself because he hated waiting when he had nothing to do!

But as he got to stepping, he paused when he saw a leggy, Caucasian woman with short blonde hair walking about. Clyde furrowed his brow and gulped. "Maybe she did run into Duff." He really wished he thought his plots over more. How stupid of him to get Duffy in trouble just because he wanted some stupid TV. He clicked his tounge and took a deep breath before walking forward, towards the center of the level, all out in the open.

"Ms. Watson." He said casually. "Tried hard not ta' sound like a creeper in my letter. But I figured that sort of company wasn't something you weren't already familiar with." He muttered coolly, standing a good couple steps away from her, eying around to see if Jocelyn was around.

"Thank you fer comin'. I know you're a busy gal and all."

"My pleasure, I assure you," Allison said humorlessly, her tone hard and business-like.

She glanced around briefly, only a little disappointed that the little man came by himself, or so it appeared. She fixed her emerald eyes back on Clyde and skewered him with her gaze. In her heels, she looked a half-foot taller than the Texan, and her high class attire made him look servile by comparison.

Her patience was already wearing thin. "I can only imagine what it is that you want, so why don't you tell me why we're passing the evening in this lovely parking facility."

Duffy ran her fingers through her hair and impatiently tapped her foot as the elevator whirred to the designated floor. It was later than she figured and she hopes she didn't miss her chance to pound the smug Brit's face in.

She practically forced her way through the doors of the elevator when it came to a stop. She trudged a few feet, stopped and looked around. It was easy to spot the two people talking and when she got closer and saw who they were, she took off into a full spring at Allison.

"Buggered cunt!" She screamed. "Did nae think ye'er daft enough ta show ye'er self!" She screamed as she tried to greet Allison with a charging fist to the face.

Allison snapped her head to the side when Duffy announced herself. Cool and collected as she was, Allison still reacted quickly to the charging Scott, backing up a a couple steps while she assessed the incoming threat.

She picked up one leg and unceremoniously kicked a strappy, high-heeled shoe straight out into Duffy's gut, letting the smaller girl impale herself on the kick before her fist came anywhere near Allison's face. She shot a fierce glance at Clyde to see if he was planning on joining in as well.

Clyde tugged on his tie. This woman had a cold exterior that matched the weather. He matched her gaze with light sneer, he was well aware of her haughty nature, if Mercy was high class, Allison took a step further with her attitude alone.

"Really?" She knew what he was going to ask? He doubted it. He was about to cut to the chase when he heard the elevator doors click open and a familiar voice yelling from afar. Clyde whipped his head around to look for Duffy and within seconds she had sprinted right past him. He turned around and opened his mouth to tell her to stop but it was too late, the next thing he saw was Duffy run right into Allison's foot that was adorned by high heels.

Clyde winced upon impact and looked at Allison, everything moving so fast yet so slow. He saw the look she gave that ate into his pride, he felt compelled to join in by the way she looked him, like he was being dared. But amazingly, he swallowed his pride and rushed behind Duffy, catching her, keeping her from falling and hauling her back away from Allison and see if she was okay.

"Duff!?" He expected her to curse at him. That was the best indication that was okay.

Duffy was pretty sure that whatever Allison was going to do, it wouldn't matter. A punch? Duffy could take it. Side step? She'd be back for more. She really wasn't even worried about a kick until she ran right into Allison's heel. She was going so fast she thought she would just bowl the woman over but the heel in her gut was more than just a brace. It felt like it might pierce her tummy and she cringed, making an awful face as she bent over the leg for a brief moment.

Duffy expelled a breath and before she could even react, Clyde was pulling her away. She panted hard, trying to force the air into her body quickly so she could try and regroup, already trying to shrug away Clyde. "Piss off ye wee twat!" She growled. She jerked her body and glared hatefully at Allison. "Ye'r lil prick, fuckin' ... Ye'r sis's got bigger bullocks than you, tiny rocked, lil shite!" Duffy growled as she shook herself, directing her rage at Clyde for holding her back rather than Allison for kicking her.