Broken
Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly
A/N: iCarly fans, Nature90000-me-is back. For this oneshot, it's a prologue of a story that is soon to come and shall come. I won't give away too much here, without giving away the plot of the story to come, but there is a connection to Sam and Cat as well as Victorious, but with a twist (I.E. Spencer sending Sam to California).
-PROLOGUE TO: DANGEROUS JOURNEY-
"Mom do we really need to buy all of this?" Eighteen year old Spencer Shay dropped more souvenirs into the cart and glanced down to the two girls following behind him. One was his six year old sister, Carly, and the second was their little sister-who was exactly twelve months younger. Carly was holding onto her sister's stuffed dog while the younger child carried a doll she found in another aisle.
"Yes." The woman straightened her back and peered down the aisle. Her dark hair was curled around the back of her ear, and her bangs hung loosely above her thin eyebrows. "You know how much your father loves Los Angeles."
It was their annual family vacation and this year, Steven couldn't be with them, so Camille wanted to find as many gifts and souvenirs as possible to take back to Seattle.
This year he was less enthusiastic about the trip because he knew it would be the last one they had. Steven was being transferred away and didn't want to move his family out of the country. "Let's just hurry up so we can get back to the hotel room."
He slung his arm over the handle of the shopping cart and watched his mother reach up for a container on the top shelf. She was a tall woman, so he didn't need to help her out.
His head moved back slowly as a shiver ran down his spine. As Spencer looked to the side, the feeling of being watched only increased. The blood pumping through the veins in his arm and hands was loud and swift with the beating of his heart.
At the end of the aisle was a police officer. He was tall and muscular. The man's dark eyes were callous, and his trembling fingers were closing into his palm. Spencer recognized him in an instant; the officer that had been stalking Camille when they got here.
She'd met the man at the Seattle airport and had a lengthy conversation on the plane ride to Los Angeles. He appeared particularly interested in the kids, talking about how great it must be to have children.
A lump grew in Spencer's throat, and his eyes darted to the item his mother was pulling from the shelf. She didn't know the officer was following her around, and he hadn't wanted to worry her, but each passing day made the sickness in his stomach worse.
"You got that box, mom?"
Camille pulled the large item down with a huff and curled her ruby red lips into a smile. "Yes hon, thank you." Spencer smiled back and his eyes shot over to the end of the aisle, taking a breath of relief when he saw the man was gone. "Come on, there are still a few more items on the list."
"Oh." His smile faded and his heart sank. "Great." Spencer pulled his arm from the cart and followed his mother through the store.
It was a good thirty minutes before they made their way past the arcade. Just as they were turning the corner, a girl caught his eye. She was sitting at a car arcade booth. Her arms were stretched out to the wheel and her sharp brown eyes were focused on the screen.
Her brown hair swept out around her broad shoulders, which remained still as she turned the wheel and swayed her body in the direction that the car on the screen moved. "Whoa." The score on the top of the booth was an impressively high number, and it drew him towards her. "I've never seen a girl do so damn good at an arcade game."
There was a crash, and suddenly the girl's eyes were on him, glaring venomously into his eyes. "What?" When he realized that he'd moved towards her and that she'd heard him, the color swept away from his skin and he started to stammer.
"I didn't mean that how it sounded!" His heart flickered as the girl stood up and grabbed his shirt collar. She pulled him towards her, and the corner of her mouth vibrated as a growl left her plump lips.
"Are you saying because I'm a girl, I can't play arcade games? Is that what you're saying?"
"N-No." Sweat trickled down the side of his face, and his eyes darted to the screen. "I just thought it was amazing that um." He swallowed and shut his eyes. "Quit while you're ahead, Spence." His heart was pounding erratically now, and a powerful heat was sweeping through his body. "I mean, I love arcade games and I'm a pretty high scorer myself. I play all the time back home."
"Oh? Is that your sister, by the way?" His lips fell apart with a gasp and he looked down at the tugging sensation on his pants. Carly was standing next to him and gripping his jeans protectively while glaring at the girl.
"Yeah. That's Carly."
"She's cute." Suddenly he was free from the girl's hand. He staggered back and pulled his hand up to his chest, sighing as the woman brushed her hair over her ear. "I'm Sasha, by the way. Some people know me as Sasha Striker, but my actual name is Rodriquez. Sasha Rodriquez."
Spencer adjusted his shirt and let his gaze fall down Sasha's body. "I-I'm Spencer. Spencer Shay." His hands were trembling, so he pushed them into his pocket and threw his gaze back to her eyes. "You're hot-" He shut his eyes and cringed visibly, then muttered under his breath. "And did I just say that?"
Sasha flashed a smirk and folded her arms. "You're lucky I think you're cute." His jaw fell open and he watched the girl crouch before Carly. "Plus, I like to see a guy looking after his baby sis."
"Uh yeah, that's what I'm doing." He pushed his hand through his hair and tried to regain his composure. "So um, what do you say we have a race on that game you were just playing?" She looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, do you think you can handle losing to a girl?"
"Hey, I said I was sorry." His shoulders fell and Sasha started to laugh. "Besides, I'm the best there is."
"Right. We'll see about that." Spencer glanced at Carly, who was now clinging to his leg. All he could think was 'wingman'.
"I should bring her with me around the chicks more often…"
Nearly two hours later, Spencer and Sasha had left the arcade and wound up in a back corner of the store where they were making out. A bet had been made around the final game that if he won, she would make out with him.
He won.
Although she was more than he bargained for, in an effort to be the dominant one, Sasha had him pushed up against the wall and was kissing him with every ounce of strength she could.
His hands were at her waist and the warmth of her body was against his chest while her hips ground against him. As his lips trailed down her neck, he could hear her lips chattering against each other and smirked when she threw back her head and started to groan.
"Spencer," she said breathlessly, "We should stop. Your sister's watching." His eyes darted to Carly. The girl was at the end of the aisle, playing with some toys she pulled from the shelf.
His brow furrowed and he slowly pulled his head back. His heart pulsed loudly and a sharp pain hit him in the chest. "Oh shit." Sasha's hand slid down to his chest and her head titled to the right. He looked in her chestnut eyes, trembling nervously as he remembered the officer that had been following them around before. "Mom, I left mom and Katrina by themselves!"
"Is everything okay?" She pulled away from him and pulled the hair from her face. He shook his head and hurried to Carly, scooping her up in his arms.
"No. There was this guy following us around." He tucked his arms beneath Carly and let the child slide her arms around his neck. "I got comfortable, left Mom to do her shopping…"
"Well then let's find her. She should still be in the store, right? You look around, I'll run to the service desk and have them call her on the intercom."
"Thanks."
By the time Camille was found, it was too late.
"She was dead," replied the now thirty year old man. His eyes were misty and everywhere he looked while recalling this vivid memory was tinted red.
Before him was Carly's best friend Sam. The blonde was busy wiping down the motorcycle that he found abandoned in an alley. With Carly moving, Sam expressed an interest in going on some kind of adventure, yet didn't know what she could do.
This was what began his story to the girl. In his right hand, he was holding the photograph of Camille Shay. "She was shot outside, behind the store."
Sam pulled the grease-covered rag from the bike and bowed her head. "Is that why you guys never talk about her? Or even about your little sister?"
"Yeah." He felt a tremendous amount of guilt and responsibility for what he had done, and never gave up trying to catch the guy responsible. "I saw him, you know? That police officer-the one that took our sister."
His voice broke as he recalled the vivid memory of running out to the parking lot only to see his sister looking through the back window of a car. "The local authorities didn't believe me enough to even want to bother looking. They said it couldn't be the officer I was describing."
Spencer set the photo down on the counter and scoffed. "Hell, they came back saying a search turned up nothing. They were lying, I just don't know why."
He wanted to bring justice to his mom and find his sister, that's what prompted him to go into law school to start. The reason he quit was because it had become too much; he eventually started believing the system was broken and useless, and he left without his father's knowledge.
"You guys remember out trip back to Los Angeles?" He wiped a tear from his face and waited as Sam started to nod. "Well…that's when I found out. I was right, that officer had her."
"What do you mean?"
"That girl. Tori or whatever-her elder sister was at the party for a little bit. You remember her?"
"I remember a group of kids, I remember Tori, and that's about it."
"Well the older sister, Trina, that's my youngest sister." Sam pursed her lips and looked back at the bike. He scratched his chin for a minute, pondering if he could use Sam in some way. "I went back to law school after that. Night classes. I didn't tell Carly anything about it, I didn't want her to worry…I wonder if you could do something, for her."
"Do what?"
"You're looking for adventure, and I'm looking for a way to get justice and our sister back." Sam looked up inquisitively. He crossed his arms and slowly tapped the ground with his foot. "I can't leave Seattle right now, and I certainly can't check this guy out…"
His fists clenched up as the years played through his mind. He and Carly spent years robbed of a mother, robbed of a sibling, all because of whoever this man is. "I want to watch him, find out how and why he managed to get away with this." Sam's nose scrunched up and she tightened her fingers around the rag.
"I want to find out who this man is and figure out how I can bring his sorry ass down."
"You're-" Sam's brow furrowed and her eyebrows closed together. "You're asking me to stalk some guy that killed your mother and kidnapped your sister?"
"He wouldn't know you." Sam's mouth formed an oval and her eyes filled with uncertainty. "Find a way. That Tori girl has friends, so maybe insert yourself into their life somehow. I need to hang back here and build a case. When I know who the hell this guy is and how the hell he got away with his shit…I want to bring him down."
"Okay, this is dangerous. Why not get the cops?"
The vein in his neck bulged and he raised his voice, causing her to flinch. "Because they never helped to begin with." His chest expanded and his arms fell to his sides. "They won't bother looking for evidence or proof."
Now, at this age, Carly was eighteen and Trina would be turning eighteen soon. There was a chance Sam could convince Trina to leave the family behind if she wanted to.
Steven never wanted to come back to the states after Camille's murder either. He blamed Spencer, though it wasn't the man's fault. Now that Carly had left for Italy, he felt like he was losing his only other sister.
"I'm sorry Sam, I'm not yelling at you." Spencer swept his hand through his hair and dropped his shoulders. "That man destroyed my family, and he got away with it. I don't know how, I don't know why, but he got away with it. Carly's never talked about it for obvious reason, so if she could have her sister back…"
"I'm not sure what I can do." Legally he couldn't take matters into his own hands. He wasn't so much asking Sam to stalk this officer as he was asking her to insert herself into Tori's circle of friends somehow and convince Trina to leave with her.
With how much Carly remembered from that day, Trina likely was aware of the situation.
He also wanted Sam to find out what she could on this man, so Spencer could find out how to take this man down legally. He knew the blonde was smart as she was crafty, so he was confident she could assist in this matter.
"Sam, please, I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous. I just need to know enough to find a way to bring this man to justice."
Spencer held his breath as the blonde turned her head to the motorcycle. Her fingers trembled as they slid along the leather seat, and her eyebrows slowly arched into her forehead.
"I'll…" Her voice trailed off and a defeated breath fell from her lips. "God." She moved her head back and then shook it from side to side. "I'll see what I can do, Spence."
He nearly let a triumphant shout tear from his lips and withheld the urge to pump his fist into the air. "You won't regret it Sam, and trust me, I will make sure nothing happens to you." Sam's shoulders fell and she dropped her head with a sigh. "Trust me, I have a few good contacts."
Namely Freddie's father was on the force and did work in California, so what Sam didn't need to know was that Spencer could have that man check on her once in a while if need be.
"Okay Spence." She lifted her hand and turned her eyes skyward. "I already said I'd do this."
Later that night as Sam sat on the motorcycle and stared up at the red light, she took a slow and deep breath. "What the hell did I let him talk me into?" She had no idea what she was going to do.
All she knew was the name of the younger girl, and that girl was going to recognize her not only from iCarly but from their personal visit. Still, she didn't know what Tori knew, and wanted to approach this officer's family cautiously.
"Maybe I'll look for one of her friends." She could hardly remember the names of these friends, and hardly wanted to get involved with any of them. Just the thought of getting near this guy or the people that knew him was something that terrified even her. "I'm no criminal-I've never killed anyone or abducted anyone." She held her breath and brought her hand up to her forehead. "Jesus, Spencer…"
A green light burst around her and drew her eyes open. Pressing her lips together, Sam tightened her hands on the handlebars and revved up the bike. Next stop; Los Angeles.
So as you can see, it's going to be Sam in the story to come. "Dangerous Journey" as it should be called will be the story this prologue is for. What do you guys think? This is my hello and reintroduction to all of you. Oh, and yes, Sasha's going to be playing a role as well. What do you think? Should she already be with Spencer at this point, or still in Los Angeles?
