Lady Lazarus
by raile

Summary: Kalinda Sharma had never felt freer and more alive in her life.
Disclaimer: the ones you don't know are mine, the ones you do aren't.
Rating: T
Note: had to get this out of my head.

"It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light."
–John 11:10

It was the sound of a bottle hitting the surface that jostled him awake.

Shaking his head with a harsh groan, Nick Sevarese rolled his body over as his mind tried to clear the fog in his brain. He didn't have to think far back to know what happened to him—it was all too clear.

And these days, whenever consciousness took over followed by that all too familiar feeling of disorientation, it only meant one thing: Kalinda.

Rubbing the back of his neck as he sat up, he couldn't help but laugh as he looked around. He was definitely no longer in the building that housed immaculate Lockhart/Gardner. No, this was place a dump, riddled with dust, broken chairs, upturned tables and piles of scrap and wood here and there. It was dark, save for the hanging light bulb above his head with the windows boarded up haphazardly, leaving only small slivers of light able to filter into the desolate room through the wooden slats.

"Thirsty, Nick?"

He turned his head, catching sight of his wife easily as she sat a few feet away behind a table. She was seated comfortably, dressed in the same clothes. She looked darkly beautiful and relaxed, smiling enigmatically at him as she waved an opened bottle of tequila in his direction.

"Y'know I've always been more partial to beer, honey," he drawled, getting to his feet slowly and slapped the dust off his hands against his pants. "Love the new place, by the way. Are we movin'?"

"No, although you were supposed to but…" she paused, tilting her head to the side, "You've made your opinion on that particular option quite clear."

"That's right so, what's your plan B?" he sneered, smiling dangerously as he walked slowly towards her, "You never did answer me, love."

"I couldn't decide," she shrugged, "Had to think about it."

"That why ya knocked me out? Need a bit o'time to y'self?" he rubbed the back of his neck again, "Well, you could have just told me…I woulda left you alone."

She simply gave him a look that told him exactly what she thought of that.

"Fine," he shrugged, "So, now what?"

"Don't you want a drink first?" she pushed the bottle towards him just as he reached the table.

"Gon' knock me out again?" he smirked, "You're getting' a lot less creative."

She smiled serenely then shook her head, "It's not laced with anything. I just thought we should at least share one last drink…together."

He smirked, "Oh, love, like I'm gonna make you get me twice in one night."

Ignoring his last remark, Kalinda brought the bottle to her lips and took a drink then set the bottle down. She swallowed deliberately then arched an eyebrow at him and nodded towards it. Nick nodded, keeping his eyes on her and picked up the bottle. She moved around the table, watching him just as much as he watched her and he paused, cocking his head sideways and gave her a mock toast and drank.

He drank deeply, his dark malevolent eyes never wavering. He didn't stop drinking until he had consumed more than a fair amount, pulling the bottle away and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yummy," he said dryly, handing the bottle towards her.

She ignored it and simply stood there, off to the side and he shrugged, setting the bottle down on the table and turned to face her. He spread his arms in front of him, "So, what's this about? If y'wanted a drink, we coulda had it at our place or gone somewhere nice. Anything special about this dump?"

Kalinda looked around and shrugged, "It's quiet. I thought some privacy would be nice."

"Privacy? You plannin' on getting loud?" he leered.

"That's a distinct possibility," she said, "I thought you might reconsider going for the border like I suggested. The money is there, Nick. Every cent. I'd take it and run, if I were you."

"Last time I checked, honey, it was you doin' the runnin'."

"That was then," she retorted, "This is now and this time, you really are in trouble, Nick. The cops have your boy and it's only a matter of time before they break him—if he hasn't already."

"I still don't believe you," he said, his eyes growing harsh once more, "Now, how about we quit these stupid games and get back to our life together? I forgive you. It's time to move on."

Kalinda let the corners of her lips dip a little, "It's funny how you talk about forgiveness."

"Alright," he crossed his arms over his chest, "I'll humor you. Funny how?"

"You talk about forgiveness. About how you forgive me?" her eyes seemed to glow as they pierced his in the shadows, "But did you ever once consider my forgiving you?"

"Forgiving…" he begun with a snarl, his face contorting, "You left me in a hellhole and bolted without even the bother of a 'see ya later' and you wanna talk about my sins?"

"You're not a martyr, Nick, far from it," Kalinda pointed out, "Why else would your loving wife leave the first chance she could?"

Nick glowered at her, "Because you were an ungrateful heartless bitch."

"I probably still am, Nick," she said, "And as I told you before—I'm not going anywhere. There's nothing left for you here. It's time to go."

Nick paused, staring at her for a moment before nodding, "Fine. I'll leave."

Her face remained passive and she didn't speak.

"But," he raised a finger and pointed it right at her, "I'm not leaving without you."

Kalinda nodded, "Then I guess you're never leaving."

Nick grinned menacingly, "Yeah, finally getting' that, are ya?"

She gave him a ghost of a smile, "Yes, I am."

-o0o-

It was clear he'd run out of patience with her.

He came at her with his fist, straight for her face but she ducked in time to miss it and reared back to block him with a vicious kick. Her leg shot up, the heavy heel of her boot hitting his forearm with a loud smack, knocking him off balance and he stumbled sideways, grabbing hold onto an upturned chair.

"You don't deserve it, but I'm giving you another chance to leave and never come back."

Nick snarled, ignoring her words as he came at her with a scream, hauling his body right at her but she dropped low and struck out a leg. He tripped, heading straight for a wall and fell face first against it.

"It doesn't have to end this way," she told him, breathing deeply as she watched him gather himself and turn to face her. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek and his chest heaved as he breathed.

"If this is the way you want it, then let's end this, my love," he mocked, his gray eyes deadly dark. He pushed himself off the wall, launching himself at her once more.

Kalinda had barely caught a glance of what he held in his hand when he raised it towards her, driving the broken leg of a table about the length of his arm towards her face. She jumped back, ducking to one side then the other as he swiped at her torso with sharp jagged edges, ending with a sharp spin to avoid the last vicious jab and caught the arm wielding the impromptu weapon.

She twisted his arm behind his back and pressed close against him to pin him against her. Her breath was heavy against his neck as he struggled out of her hold, "C'mon, Nick, get out while you still can."

He breathed in heavily, hate filling his eyes as his nostrils flared. He tried to elbow his way out but she kept him in the lock, grabbing the table leg with one hand and ripped it out of his hold just as she broke away from him. She reared back as he spun away from her but immediately came at him with the leg, aiming to hit him on the head but he caught it with his hand in a surprising grip.

Nick gave out a spiteful smile slamming his heel into her cheek and Kalinda stumbled, the shock of the blow momentarily making her lose focus but only for a quick second. He snatched the piece of wood from her hand and came at her, but she feinted to the left then took him by surprise with her right fist. She delivered a precise liver punch, knocking the wind right out of him.

He buckled and slid down on one knee, spitting out blood before looking up at her as he struggled to breathe, "I see you've been working out."

"Yeah," she shrugged, maintaining her defensive stance.

With blood in his mouth, he gave her a grotesque smile, "You gonna finish me off, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I am."

"I see," he nodded, hauling himself back on his feet, "Then let's see what else you've learned, my lovely wife."

Nick threw a punch headed for her face once more, but she blocked it with her forearm. She delivered a roundhouse kick that sent him sprawled out on the ground two feet away from her.

"Who's been teachin' ya, honey?" he all but wheezed as he continued to struggle to breathe.

"Oh, you know," she shrugged, "My girlfriend."

"Ah, the dyke…" he sneered.

"Yeah, that one," she smirked, "My girlfriend the FBI agent. You'd be surprised, the things they teach them at the academy."

"So, ya told her about your husband then?" he barely kept the wheeze out of his voice, turning his body so he could rest on his elbows as he stared up at her.

"No, actually," she smiled serenely, "She's been worried about me, said I've been acting…strange. She didn't ask questions, but she did offer to give me some pointers."

"How nice of her," he said snidely.

"It is, isn't it?" she nodded, "It would have been rude to say no."

"Then remind me to thank her before we leave then," he hissed.

With an unexpected reserve of strength, he rose once more and moved with the stick in his hand again, slashing it forward. Kalinda caught his wrist, spun sideways while pulling him toward her at the same time, his face catching her elbow as she held on to him.

She snatched the table leg from his grip once more and this time, didn't hesitate to slam it down hard on the top of his head. The blow sent him falling forward, stunning him and brought him to his knees hard. Caught in the rush of adrenaline, Kalinda spun into a 360-degree turn and finished it off with the heel of her boot catching him on the side of the head.

Nick's body fell forward, slamming against the hard concrete floors and he stayed down with his wife standing over his body, breathing heavily with her dark eyes never leaving his form. She waited for him to get up, but he never did.

Before the sun was up, it was well and truly over.

-o0o-

"Hey, Mike! Time to get the motor running!"

Up a some feet above in a small box of metal and glass, a thumb went up in the air. Soon after, the sound of loud machinery and gears began to fill the early morning air.

The blockades were up and save for a few curious onlookers, the only ones present were the crew wearing hard hats, vests and other safety gears. They all watched as the crane began to move, reaching high up in the air as it was controlled by the man named Mike from his box.

And with another thumbs up, the crane began to move up until it was looming over the structure. It hung there for a few seconds until the clutch was released and the large ball of metal weighing at approximately twelve-thousand pounds, was allowed to drop in a free fall onto the condemned building.

The process was repeated until what was left of the ten-story structure was nothing but a pile debris large enough to be hauled away. The crew would be the ones left to clear the lot until they would be able to start building a new structure. That would take months of heavy work until the condo that was set to rise in the place where the abandoned apartment used to stand.

Most likely, unless someone happened upon where the basement was located before then, no one would be the wiser.

Because underneath that particular space was a fresh patch of cement made to look old. It was strategically placed with the knowledge of how the procedures for such projects were done and the one responsible felt safe enough that by the time it would be discovered by anyone, any trace discernible would be long gone.

It was interesting how quickly lye could act on flesh and remains and it was perfect.

Not too far from where the wrecking ball was operating, a black vehicle was parked. Inside, a woman dressed in black wore sunglasses despite the heavily tinted windows of the vehicle.

The outfit was fitting for a funeral, which, in a way, this was—at least, for her.

She watched in silence as the ball swung high up in the air and landed heavily against the side of the building, knocking it down much the same way a certain man was knocked down the night before. She watched as if she were observing a ritual and waited until it was over, until there was nothing left but dust and heavy debris.

And much like a funeral, she did not leave until it was over.

While she watched the dust begin to settle, she found herself taking a deep breath and let it out slowly, bringing with it the heaviness that had been hanging on her shoulder. With each breath she expelled, with each breath she took in, it was as if piece by piece, the heavy burden was lifting from her shoulders until there was nothing left.

She watched until she felt herself able to breathe completely and without a whisper of a struggle anymore.

And for the first time in a long time, Kalinda Sharma had never felt freer and more alive in her life.