Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, don't sue me.
Author's BREIF Note: I know there are spelling errors, but my stupid stubborn piece of plastic for a computer doesn't have Spell Check, and I've lost my dictionary... Probably buried somewhere in my room... Um... Oh, yeah- this is the 2nd part to the First chapter of my Trilogy- "The Chain Reaction Trilogy." Ect... Ect.. You get the picture, right?
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A man stood, dressed in the same attire of black as the other man. Only he was younger, and had no scar. He glared down at the fallen teenage boy, and lowered his gun. The kid had two shots in him right now. There was little chance he'd live. The man sneered. Good riddance. The brat had killed his partner. Shot him point blank in the face. Killed him instantly.
But what the forgien kid hadn't known, was that there were two intruders. One as a lookout, one as the one to get the goods. And the lookout was very good backup...
There was a rattling on one of the doors. The stranger glanced up sharply, and watched it carefully. There must have been someone else in the house. The man sighed in disguist. You could never trust sources these days. The house was supposed to be empty. Even dealing with one kid was bad enough. Two deaths were not his style. He stole things, ideas, and money, but he didn't kill a lot of people. But he would if he had to.
It was just like the forgien kid... just business. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And so was the person behind the door. Obviously, they were locked in though, or they would have come out. But the man aimed his gun at the door in case someone came through it.
His partner was obviously dead. His whole face was blown up. He was unrecognizable. The man doubted that the teenage kid meant to kill his partner, but he had. He had lifted the gun, and shot him point blank range in the face. Blew him to bits. Made sushi out of his face. The stranger had seen the look of horror on his face, and smiled.
"Guess you don't like killin' people, huh?" he whispered mockingly to the boy's dead corpse.
He picked up the other gun, and pocketed it. Then he slowly moved toward to door.
"Hadji? Are you okay? Hadji?! Please answer me! It's me! Jonny! Hadji?!!"
The man jumped at the muffled voice coming through the door's crack. He could tell it was a kid again. Young. A teenager probably. He smiled grimly. This would be easy.
He hefted the gun, and started to reach for the door knob...
* * *
Dr. Quest looked at his watch. It was almost eight o'clock. He imagined that the boys were probably still up. Race, Jessie, and him had left early. Their friend had been sick, and not up to talking to people.
He thoughtfully stared at the windshield wipers. The rain was pelting on the windshield, and the wipers barely helped at all. Race sat beside him, and Jessie was in the back of the Quest minivan. He could hear her sighing, probably because of the endless rain. Thunder echoed, and lightning lit up the sky. Dr. Quest was driving. He didn't trust Race to drive in these weather conditions. As much as Dr. Quest liked and admired Race Bannon, he knew that trusting him with driving on a night like this was suicide. Race was a fast driver, an impulsive one. Dr. Quest perfered calm, slow driving. It gave him time to think. And on a night with a storm such as this one, there was no way he was handing the wheel over to Race.
Up ahead, he could see the Compound. But it disappeared in the darkness, until lightining struck again, and turned the landscape a white and black color that was similar to those old-fasioned movies you see on T.V.
"So Doc," Race said calmly. "What do you think the boys are doing?"
Dr. Quest sighed. "What else? Probably getting into trouble."
Race chuckled. "Those two can never stay out of trouble, can they?" * * *
Jonny stopped, as he saw the knob turning. He felt his heart sink. He should have just kept quiet. But he wanted to know so badly if Hadji was okay...
His breath caught. The knob rattled, and the person tried to open the door once again. It didn't work. Then Jonny remembered how it was locked from the inside. Lightning lit up the room, and thunder crashed. The knob rattled more. The person on the other side was obviously getting frustrated.
Jonny silently thanked the sturdy and stubborn lock. He looked around him, trying to find a weapon, or a way out of the situation. His eye caught the mostly closed window, that was still up a hair.
He breathed out a sigh of relief, and walked over to it. The person on the other side started to pound on the door, and thump it.
*THUD*
*THUD*
*THUD*
Jonny took a deep breath, and opened the window totally. Rain pelted in, and soaked him as soon as he got it wide enough to fit through.
He swung his leg over the sill.
*THUD*
*THUD*
*THUD*
The door was started to crack under the pressure. Whoever was doing it was strong. Jonny quickly went out the window, and fell to the ground. He brushed himself off best he could. The wind was howling, and the rain was coming down in buckets. It was humid rain, though. He quickly ran off, stumbling and sliding on the wet grass. He felt bad about leaving Hadji behind, but that couldn't be helped.
He ran down the driveway to the road. He kept going on, through the storm.
Then, to his relief, he saw the lights of the Quest minivan.
* * *
Dr. Quest gasped and slammed on the brakes as something or someone ran out in front of the minivan. It looked like a person. The thing, whatever it was, leaped back, and then waited till the van came to a complete stop. The rain blurred the window glass, so Dr. Quest couldn't see who it was, but he was pretty sure it was a person.
"Fur on a catfish!" Race yelled. "What was that?"
The person knocked on the window frantically. Dr. Quest blinked and turned to Race. Race was frowned, a crease in his forehead.
"Should I?" Dr. Quest asked.
Jessie yelled from the backseat. "Yes!"
Race looked uncertain, but then nodded. "Yeah, let's see who it is."
Dr. Quest rolled down the window. "How can we help y-" He stopped in shock, seeing his son standing there. Jonny looked scared out of his mind. He was soaking, and was convered in wet grass and water.
"Jonny? What- what happened?" Race asked increduously.
Jonny took deep breaths. "I-I..." he hesitated. "There's an intruder... in the house, maybe two even. And-and- Hadji... I heard gun shots... Oh, God..." He looked pale, so transluctant that you could practically see his bones.
Dr. Quest looked at Race in alarm. Race himself looked disturbed.
"Jonny? Get in the car. And don't worry, everything will be fine," Race said firmly.
"But-but Hadji-" Jonny protested.
"Get in the car," Race insisted.
Jonny got in the car, trembling for both fear and the slight chill in the air. Thoughts raced through his mind.
Oh, God, please, oh please, oh please, don't let Hadji be dead. Please. I can't live without my best friend. I need him still. Don't let him die, pleaes don't let him die. Forgive me, God, fogive me. Please don't let him die. I promise I'll be good. I'll be a great son, and brother. And- and I'll be good. I won't be so headstrong. I'll stop fighting with Jessie... please, I'll do anything-
The car stopped, and Race jumped out. He poked his head back through. "Let me go in first."
Dr. Quest nodded, looking worried.
Race disappeared into the house.
Jonny stared after him.
Please God, please, don't let my brother be dead.
* * *
Race entered the house, careful to look out for anyone inside. He entered, and then went through the kitchen. It was quiet. No one was there. He went into the living room, and spotted something.
The window was open. The curtains blew away in the breeze, and the rain was pouring into the room. Race went over to it, and looked out. The intruder may have gone through the window, but he didn't know.
He went out into the hallway. And immediatly gasped.
There was blood everywhere.
Everywhere.
Race surveyed the scene. The hall was filled with broken glass, probably from the broken light. A man layed down at the foot of the stairs. He was face down, but it didn't take a genius to see his face was blown out. Blood leaked out all around him. Race shuddered.
He turned, and when he say the next body, he thought he'd faint.
Hadji was laying against the wall, not moving. A large pool of blood surrounded his body. Race wasn't sure if he was even breathing. More blood gushed from wounds in or around his chest. Race thought one might be in the shoulder or collorbone.
He raced over to Hadji's side, and tried to find a pulse.
He couldn't find one. Hadji wasn't even breathing.
Race took deep breaths, and started giving Hadji CPR. He went through the procedurs frantically, begging the Indian boy to breath.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hadji all of a sudden began to choke and gag. Race smiled thankfully, and did it a little more. Finally, Hadji started to cough up blood and other things. Once he had coughed up all he could, he started to breath again, as painful as it was for him. Race thanked the heavens that he was alive.
For now.
Race examined the wounds. He thought one was in the shoulder, while the other looked like it hit a lung or something. It was pretty bad. There was no telling if he'd live or not. Race started to rip his sleeves, and press them against the flow of blood. He applied pressure to the wounds, but he didn't know if it'd work. The blood was slowing, but it hadn't stopped yet.
That was when he heard a gunshot.
Then, after a second of pain, his world went black.
Forever.
* * *
Dr. Quest, Jessie, and Jonny jerked up when they heard the gunshot. Jessie's eyes went wide, and she struggled to get out of the car. "Dad!" she yelled.
Dr. Quest lunged for her. "Jessie, no!" he yelled desperatly. But she slipped away and ran toward the house. Dr. Quest and Jonny got out quickly, and went after her.
The got close enough to see a dark figure climbing out a window, and running away.
* * *
Jessie's breath went up and down in great heaves as she struggled to open the front door. When it wouldn't give, she gave up, and ran toward the kitchen doors. But they were locked.
"Dad! Dad! Answer me!" she called out desperatly. The rain beat down on her.
Then a hand grabbed her arm roughly. "Go through the library window," Jonny told her breathlessly, his eyes wide with fear. "It's the only way in."
Jessie nodded, and they ran around the side of the Compound to the library window. Dr. Quest quickly joined them, after chasing the intruder away, and being unable to catch him. Jessie quickly climbed in. Jonny and Dr. Quest followed.
The library door was busted completely. Someone had broke right through. Jonny saw a broken chair beside the door, and realized that was what the intruder had used to break it down. Jessie didn't even wait. She ran out into the hall.
And screamed.
Race was dead. Shot. He was beside Hadji's body, on his side. A hole was blown- straight through his head. It entered the base of the skull, and left through the other side. His wide, staring eyes were glassy as he started into nothingness.
"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jessie screamed. "DADDY!" (Author's Note: Race fans, at least know that he died honorably trying to save the life of my innocent, sweet, cute, love of my life Hadji. ::swoons:: Race, you're a lifesaver! What would I do without my dearest Hadji??? I thank you from the bottom of my heart.)
Jessie fell to her knees in shock, not noticing the blood that was shoaking her shorts. Jonny ran in, and saw the same thing.
"OH, GOD!!!" he screamed. "RACE! HADJI!!!! Noooooo!!!!"
Dr. Quest just stared in horror and shock at his audopted son, and his bodyguard and best friend.
Jonny wasn't sure how long he was screaming, but he knew it was a long time. When his voice was to hoarse, the shock faded away, and he collaspsed and cried. He cried for a long time, before he finally noticed it. In fact, he was the first to notice.
Hadji was breathing.
Hardly, yes, but still breathing.
"HADJI!!!" Jonny yelled, standing up like a bolt of lightning. He ran to his best friends side, stepping over Race carefully. He was extremely careful not to look at the blood or face of his dead friend. Race had been one of his greatest idols and friends. He couldn't bare to think he was dead. Not yet.
Jonny took a deep breath, hoping it wasn't a figment of his imagination.
It wasn't. Hadji was breathing!
(Author's Note: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::pumps fist in the air:: Hadji! Hadji! Hadji! He's a-l-ive!!!!! ::cheers::)
"Guys! Dad! Jess! Hadji-Hadji's alive!" Jonny yelled, tears spilling down his cheeks. Some were of sorrow, some of happiness.
Jessie didn't look up. She just stared at Race, shocked. Dr. Quest still looked dazed.
"No," he whispered. "No."
Jonny stood up quickly, and went over to his Dad, sobbing. "Dad! Daddy, look! Hadji's alive! He's still- still breathing! But- but we have to call an ambulance..."
Dr. Quest quickly snapped out of it. His eyes filled with painful tears, and he sucked in his breath. "Jonny..."
Jonny hugged Dr. Quest, crying. "I'm here, Dad. W-we have to call an ambulance... get help for Hadji... he's still alive, Dad... still alive..." Jonny smiled slightly, and painfully, in wonder. Hopefully the Lord had spared him his brother... at least his brother.
Please don't let him die... please...
Dr. Quest swallowed, and nodded. "Go- go call them, son. Tell them we need an ambulance. Then go comfort Jessie..."
Jonny nodded, and wiped his tears away. He'd greive soon enough, but now, Hadji needed his help. He ran to the phone, and saw his father going over to the bodies, checking the pulses. Then, he kneeled down by Hadji, and started to put pressure on the blood...
Jonny blinked. He was supposed to call an ambulance...
He dialed nine-one-one. For a while, it rang, and then an operator picked up.
"Nine-One-One Rescue, how can I help you?" the voice asked. Jonny swallowed and forced himself to talk.
"T-there's been a break in and a- a murder..."
"Who was murdered?" the voice asked, now sounding interested. And skeptical.
"My... my dad's bodyguard. He's Dr. Benton Quest. I'm his son. We-we're up on Lighthouse Point. And my brother... he's injured, and hurt real bad. You gotta get an ambulance to help him."
"Okay, I know where Lighthouse Point is, don't worry. What's your name, hon?" the voice asked. Jonny know realized the operator had a southern accent. The accent reminded him of Race, and his eyes filled with bitter, stinging tears. He quickly wiped them away.
"Jonathon Quest."
"And who's at the house right now?"
"Um..." Jonny bit his lip. "Me, my dad, my brother, my dad's bodyguard, and his daughter... and my dog."
"And your brother is the one who's injured? What's his name?"
"Hadji."
"Hadji Quest? Okay-"
"No," Jonny interrupted. "Hadji Singh, actually."
The voice sounded confused. "But isn't he your brother?"
"He was audopted."
"Oh, okay, sugur. Who's your dad's bodyguard? What's his name?"
"Race.. I mean, uh, Rodger Bannon."
"What's his daughter's name?"
"Jessica Bannon."
"Is anyone else there? Anyone else who needs medical attension?"
Jonny looked back out in the hall. He noticed the other body, and shuddred. "Well, I think... that one of the, uh, robbers is dead... he's definatly dead. I think... I don't know. I think there were two of them."
"Okay, so there's no one else who's hurt?"
"Just Hadji. Are you sending an ambulance?"
"Yep, it's on it's way, hon. Should be there any minute now."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. The police will probably ask you questions about the murder and break in-"
Jonny closed his eyes. "Okay..."
In the distance, he could hear sirens.
* * *
*That's it for Part One of the Trilogy. ::grins:: I know it sucked, and was a little, uh, odd. But I liked it. Comments? Suggestions? Insults? Books being thrown by Race lovers? Threats by Hadji Groupies? Any awards from Race haters and morbid death loving fans? I'll take 'em all. ::grins:: In the next part of our Trilogy we will find out the answers to our questions and fears. Will Hadji live? Will the Quest team recover? Will Jessie snap out of her funk? Will Jonny really do all the things he promised if Hadji lives? Find out in the second part of our Trilogy: Part Two: The Silence...*