We don't know

Waking up was a multi-step process for Matthew Knox. First, the twitch and twinge of muscles long and often abused, nipping at the fraying edges of his sleep, pulling him from dream and nightmare alike. Then, his eyes would open and he’d bring in the fresh hell awaiting him. Then, finally, he’d spend a few moments getting the feeling back in his hands.



He awoke now, not to sunlight nor to the ache of muscles, but of a foreign weight upon him. Rapidly searching through the weeds of his memory, Matthew remembers Pearl had stayed with him as he succumbed to sleep, brought to him by pill and drink alike. He reaches out still numb hands, finding warmth in the hips straddling his waist.



“Pearl,” he rasped “we don’t have t-”



And then, he felt the cold edge of steel upon his neck, and his muscles froze as he tried to adjust his vision to the darkness.



“My name is not Pearl, Knoxxie darling” said a voice of the person sitting on top of him. The cold steel of a sharp blade tracing down his neck to his collarbone. “Take another guess”



He steadied himself as her face became clearer in the darkness. Before answering, he lifts his hands from their place on her hips and slowly brings them up, lifting his head and sliding them underneath it, “Kat. You’re already in Baltimore, then?” he did his best to come off calm, mind working on a way out.



“Well spotted.. Relax Knoxxie.. If I was going to slit your throat I would have done it already.. No, I think it is about time you and I had a little chat..” Kat seemingly crawled over him and found the light switch for the nightstand lamp. She turned it on giving a little light in the room but not so much as to hurt their eyes being used to the dark. Sitting back up she smirked looking down at him.. “You never listen so instead I am making you listen.”



He chuckled at this, before allowing himself a sigh, “I see you couldn’t decide between the two best convincers, and have employed both,” he quipped, eyes adjusting and staring up at her. His bravado would be failed by any who knew him well enough, the subtlest of twitches in the corner of his mouth or eye. He wasn’t in control, and it bothered the shit out of him.



“For the next time, I promise the knife will be the correct choice.” Kat frowned as she did not get it and leaned in laying the knife with it’s razor sharp edge against his throat. “I only brought the knife darling, no other convincer was needed or brought.” As much as Kat knows about the world there is one thing she will never be able to see. She is not one to find herself sexy as she only sees ugly in her mirror image. The taunts of the past have erased any trace of ability to see herself as anything more than that.



Knox swallows once, feeling his Adam’s apple move under the pressure of the blade, “So go on, you obviously had a point you needed to make,” his eyes flick down to the blade, before lifting back up to her face “an important one, it seems. I’m waiting, very anxiously now.” His eyes stare hard into her own, trying to figure her out because he obviously missed a part of the equation before.



“You hate this don’t you. You need that control. But now it is in my hands Knoxxie dear. But like I have said before. You do not know me.. You do not know my brother. We are by no means good and kind but we do have our own code of honor.. You hurt my feelings Knoxxie..” Kat let the knife trace over his neck up to his chin and slowly slid it back down again.. “Just because I am not in your little group of friends you judge me by the one I work with.. You are all so quick to label us as friends but I assure you.. While I am on the same side as Alex, he is a far cry from being my friend.. I do not make friends easily and I certainly do not call one a friend that quick.” Kat slid down his body to the side snuggling into his side, her head on the bent arm. “You really have no idea of the woman I am or the man my brother is don’t you. And yet you judge so quick and they follow your lead like a bunch of good little puppies yapping at your heels.”



A beat of silence, and instead of a direct reply Knox’s tone comes, nostalgic and far away, “You remind me of someone I knew once. Terrible, awful as she was…” he trails off, letting the memory fade into the fleeting gossamer of his mind, “I told you, back when I tried convincing you not to throw your lot in with Alex that taking up with him, was carrying the same pail of water he did.” He shifted his gaze down to her, turning his head slightly.



“You made your bed, and if Cyrus has joined you? Then so has he. Is that fair? No. But what is, Kat?” a snort, “I do hope this isn’t making friends? If it is, I might be able to identify that ‘difficulty’.” This time it was Kat’s turn to snort and a chuckle even escaped her.. “No Knoxxie.. If I am going to make friends this is not the way I go about it.. Although I did sorta before, started quite similar to this only I held a machete then.. Was a rusty blade too.. And I wasn’t in bed with the guy either.. Ah well..” Kat trailed the tip of the knife over his jugular and her voice changed to a softer and deeper tone..



“When I got here in Carnage I was quick to warn anyone and everyone that I am not a nice person in general… I got my moments.. Sure.. But I know my temper is quick to fire and my mouth is not as sweet as candy.. I know that.. But your lot threw me in with the bad and evil long before I joined Alex.. I helped your buddy to find you.. Hell that same bloodied up broken and bleeding mess of a friend needed a well stocked first aid kit and who brought that.. Me! Did I harm or even talk badly around that little girl.. No.. But you judged me right there and then.. I never did a thing to them.. And I was judged and found lacking before I had even met up with Alex.. I said before I will give a reason to truly hate me.. But you and your friends had already decided I was bad and evil and not to be trusted while unlike half the fucking roster I have done nothing but tell the truth.”



Tracing the knife over the collarbone and his chest his breath hitching more often than not. Kat sighed.. “What choice did I have but to pick his side.. You all pushed me right into his arms so to speak. No worries he has not touched me in any way. Not my type.” Turning her eyes back up she looked right back at Knox with those cold dark eyes.. “You never gave me a choice.. You had already decided where I’d go and what I’d be.. And you were wanting to make it interesting.. Well let’s make it interesting Knoxxie..”



“Well, you’ve certainly done that,” he exhales slowly, closing his eyes. Slowly, he slid his hands from under his head, bringing them down slowly to rest, clasped together on his stomach, below the knife and all the evil intent wielding it. He remains silent for a beat, paying her words as much honest thought as they were due.



“I think you put too much weight in my word, Kat…” he says evenly, before clearing his throat, “I can’t, and wouldn’t control how Mitch, Ade, Silvio and whoever else perceived you. Maybe my own opinions are harsher than they should be. Did I think you’d hurt Pen? No. You might be violent, you might have terrible taste in people, but i don’t think your cruelty extends that far.”



Another pause, his eyes open and slowly, he rolls to his side to face her, “But, Alex? He’s never far from anyone who can stand him. And the cruelty he possesses? Reaches much, much further than yours. Almost as far as my own, if you will forgive the misplaced modesty.” he licks his lips, christ cottonmouth was a bitch.. “I did not push you into his arms, Kat. Quite the opposite, I tried to pull you from them. Don’t lay your decisions at my feet, especially the regrettable ones.”



“You misunderstood me.. I do not regret my decision as it is business nothing personal on my end. I am paid to do a job and I will do it to the best of my ability and the same goes for my brother but get one thing clear.. We are loyal to each other and our family and those that we consider family above all else.. And you have no idea who we consider family and who we do not. We are not your a-typical easy to understand kind of family.. It spans over many companies and even into Carnage there is one our loyalty crosses over above anything else.. And it is not Alex.” Kat put the knife down as she got his attention.. Tracing her hand over his shoulder to his chin before holding it in her hand as she brought her face closer and her eyes drilling into his. “You wanted to make it interesting.. Do so by the crap I have done.. Not what another says when you do not know me well enough to know exactly what I am like.. I do not mind being judged.. But do so for my actions.. My words.. Not Alex’s crap.”



“I think, it’s quite something else.” he tenses at her touch, moving his chin away from her grasp. It felt like the knife, her fingers, “Your actions? Well, let’s judge the present ones. Waiting until I was alone, breaking into my hotel room. You saw someone leave, I'm sure. It’s why you knew that straddle business would work. I’m almost flattered by the effort.”



“I want to twist your head up, accuse you of fearing me. But i’m not going to waste my time, or yours. I got your message, so please receive mine. You want me to fight you, because I want to fight you? You got it. You’re no longer a proxy war. Fun as our time can be, I was always going to use you as an example, show him what he signed up for.”



“I underestimated you, filed you perhaps in the wrong place. Maybe I'm slipping. . .” Kat snorted at his judgement.. “Okay let’s set one thing straight right here and right now darling..” Kat tossed the knife off the bed behind her. “I arrived at the hotel maybe 5 minutes before you woke up. I did not see anyone leave. And I only had to ask the hotel manager for the key to surprise my co-worker for his anniversary.. Sure I lied but I didn't even break in they were happy to give me access to your room. Might want to make sure they know not to do that.. I straddled you because let’s face it you are twice my weight and quite a bit taller than me. I do give it to you in your judgement that you underestimated me..” Kat sat up even going so far as to turn her back to him for a moment before looking back at him with a saddened smile on her face.. “No need to remind me of my obvious physical flaws.. I know I am no prize to anyone.. No.. You did underestimate me.. You and everyone else.. And while I know I won’t win every match I am in.. Nobody does.. But I did want to fight you and have you focus on me and not trying to twist this into something that would get to Alex.. I may be a fucking gutter rat from the wrong side of town but I am worth more than that by my own accolades..” Kat sighed and got up bending down to pick the knife up from the floor sheathing it into the back pocket of her jeans..



“Use my version, it’s much better.” He gets the quip in, before returning to his silence.



“I did want to fight you.. I wanted to wake you up.. I wanted to warn you.. But you were unfocused.. Focused on the wrong person.. Put any stipulation you want on our match to make sure nobody interferes with it.. Put us in a cage.. A cell.. Whatever you want.. Name it Knoxxie.. And I will agree.. But you will find out that unlike what you thought.. What everyone is thinking.. I am nobody’s fucking stooge..”



Knox sits up himself, taking a moment to roll an ancient pain from his shoulder. He listens, gaze focused on his feet as she speaks. His tone came forth, darker now “You proved all you needed to prove, all i’d ever want you to prove, when you busted Zephyr Quinn in the face with that bat, and contributed to Christopher and Alex’s bullshit power play.”



He turns fully toward her, shifting to his knees as he stares a hole in the back of her head “Maybe you aren’t a stooge, Kat. But you are complicit, in every fucking thing the two of them do. Pen’s insurance getting fucked off? Belle Silva being terrified to be in a Carnage arena, where she was long before either one of us? That stains you, too. I already wanted to hurt you, and everyone else in that circle. This shit, you made it more interesting than you’ll be able to handle. I already said on Twitter, Ultraviolent rules.”



He exhales slowly, closing his eyes and nodding, finding his center once more “I don’t give a shit who comes out, It doesn’t matter. Because no matter who shows up, no matter what you do, no matter who wins? I’m going to hurt you, bad.”



Kat turned towards him fully and there was a devilish smirk on her face.. “There you go again putting the actions of others on me.. Which is fine if that makes you focus on me and stop underestimating the hell out of me.. You think that Ultraviolent rules are going to stop me.. If you think I am going to cower in a corner and beg for mercy at the threat of pain then you truly still have no clue who and what I am.. But I want no fucking excuses.. Nobody from either side to come in and try and save the day.. If I am going to lose this match and end up a battered broken mess then so be it.. So let’s get locked into a cell.. No way in for any of our sides.. No way out for either of us to run and hide.. But Knoxxie darling..” Kat walked closer to him leaning down with her face close to his foreheads touching with a smile on her face.. “Prepare to put this gutter rat down permanently… Or I will have to clip the Raven’s wings” Sealing her promise with a kiss to his cheek she turned to walk out of the room.



He sneers at her, getting to his feet he almost lets her walk out, but as was the nature of Matthew Aloysius Knox he could not hold his tongue, “You speak so confidently, about how I don’t know you. You think you know me, as well as I don’t know you?” he chuckles, pushing a stray bang out of his face idly, “You want to be locked in a cage with me, that’s fine. I’ve got nothing but time for that. But don’t come into that cage like you did in here, full of empty promises and half measures.” Kat smirked as she turned to look at him.. She walked up to him slowly raising her hand and placing it on his heart.. “Oh I know damn well that I know of you.. But I do not truly know you.. But I knew how to get your attention didn’t I.. I got you to truly look at me this time didn’t I.. I am not making empty promises.. I do not take half measures.. If I had wanted you dead your pulse would have stopped a while ago.. I had a knife on your throat and I could have woken you up gurgling and choking on the blood that flows freely into a gaping throat.. Do not worry.. I will come to the cage ready to fight..” Kat wanted to turn away again but stepped closer first..



“We don’t know a damn thing about one and other.. But.. I got your attention now.. You want to kill me don’t you.. You want to destroy me.. You want your rage and righteous revenge.. Come and get it.. But do remember.. You don’t know me.. Or what exactly I can do.. You did not expect me here either.. Who knows where I will pop up next..” She winked and kissed his cheek again as she turns to the door again..



Knox remains silent, watching her with narrowed eyes. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had held, and idly wipes away at his cheek, shaking his head and averting his eyes toward the window, and the overcast sky, “No days off, huh?” he mutters, before returning his gaze to make sure she leaves. “Rest is overrated, and death is just a release of this crazy life.. Bye Knoxxie..” With that said Kat opened the door and grabbed her knife.. She turns it in her hand before dropping it to the floor.. She walks out the door and smiles as she walks down the hall..



Matthew walks over, picking up the knife he allows himself a snort, before stabbing it into the wall, damning the charges visa would incur for his temper. A part of him felt pity, but the bigger part of him just felt angry. She wanted his attention? She had it now. And she would regret ever having wanted for it.