Rescue Me

((Definitions
Ne/Aniyo- yes/no
Anyonghasaeyo- hello, (literally have you been well)
imo- aunt
Gomawo- Thanks
-a/-ya, is an ending that older people may use when they address a younger person))

"The fuck is this shit?"

"What are you all jealous about? And isn't Eesh waiting for your ass?"

"Man, I'm not jealous, I just...whatever. I'm out anyway."

Lin smirked as a sullen Johnny stomped out of the apartment. The two had returned to the spa late in the day to find Troy and Jae cuddled up on the couch, fast asleep. She shook her head as she grabbed the remote from the table and turned on the TV. The loud static startled him awake, making Jae whine and snuggle into him more, as Lin cleared her throat and he quickly remembered exactly where he was.

"Getting a little cozy there, aren't we?"

Troy wiggled out from under Jae, stuttering out an excuse and apology, as Lin simply tossed him a blanket, noting the beer bottles covering the table.

"She's a heavy sleeper when she's been drinking, she'll probably be out for another few hours. Mind taking her to her room?" She didn't wait for an answer and began cleaning up the mess the two had made the night before.

"Uh..yeah, sure." He scratched the back of his head, "Sorry Lin, it's really not what it looks like, we just-"

"It's fine. You're not the one I'm worried about anyway." she replied dryly as she turned the water on and started the dishes, tuning him out.

Troy shrugged and wrapped the blanket around the still sleeping woman, lifting her gently into his arms and trying his best not to sigh blissfully as she smiled softly and curled into his chest. He simpered at her as he headed to the back room of the apartment, gently pushing the door opened and stopping for a moment, taking in the brightness of her yellow walls, and the vast collection of oriental swords and knives that were lined along them. A low whistle left his lips and she shifted in his arms, bringing his attention back to her as he made his way to the bed to set her down. He lowered the blinds, the room growing darker as he sat down and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Jae's eyelids fluttered slightly as she looked up sleepily at him, reaching out and softly stroking his cheek. She giggled when he nervously pulled away from her hand.

"Sorry, Lin told me to bring you in here, I-I'm gonna go..."

He turned to stand, but she grabbed his arm firmly, and he looked back into her dazed eyes,

"Where are you going handsome? Bring that goatee back here." she chuckled again and tried to pull him into bed. The unexpected tug caused him to land on his elbow fairly close to her pillow,

"You gotta be still drunk huh?" Troy smirked and shook his head, "Go back to sleep kid."

"I jus.." Her lids became heavy again as her words slightly slurred, "I just wanted to say thank you."

He cocked his head, "For what?" it took all of his will to force the words out calmly as he became increasingly aware of the mere inches separating their faces.

"For... keeping me company. I had a fun time with you. It was just what I needed."

She ran her hand once more down his cheek and through his goatee, "Thanks for looking after me."

She smiled sweetly and turned over, pulling the blanket around her before falling back asleep.

He stared at her back for a few moments, before daring to run a hand through her hair. She curled her shoulders and moaned sweetly, the exact reaction he had wanted and he grinned hard.

"You're welcome." was all he said as he stood and exited the room, closing the door behind him. He noticed Lin with her back against the sink, drying some glasses and eyeing him suspiciously. He quickly wiped the huge grin off his face but he had already been caught. Lin simply shook her head and turned to put the dishes away.

"She's pretty amazing huh?"

Her words caught him off guard, "Uh, well, I mean..."

"Hah, you don't have to play stupid. She likes you too."

He rubbed the back of his neck as his cheeks burned, he couldn't believe how flustered he was getting over this.

"Well... I.. you don't know that for sure..." he mentally kicked himself, "Damn Lin, why you tellin' me this?"

She simply shrugged. "She's my cousin. Of course I know for sure. I also know she's been through a lot. Not just in the past few weeks, but her whole life."

Lin turned around to face Troy once again.

"She does more than just run Kasiyahani. She's kept our whole family afloat since she was 10. She's our rock, she's always been our rock, her dad's after her mom died, Johnny's after his grandma died, and mine after..." Her eyes shifted momentarily as a waved of sadness passed through them. She quickly shook her head and made her way toward Troy.

"The last thing she needs is another man like you."

Troy flinched at the harshness in her words, the seriousness in her face kept his eyes glued to her, "What do you mean, like me?"

"You're just like Johnny. Although not as hot-headed, but you're just another gangbanger."
"Hold up, I mean...yeah, but..."

She held her palm up to his face.

"Doesn't matter. You joined the Saints right? Whatever your reason is, you're in."

Lin looked sadly toward the closed door, then down at her feet.

"She's had enough gangsters and wanna be bangers try to ruin her life. I won't give you the opportunity to do the same."
"Lin, I'm not gonna-"

She lifted her head and stared hard at him, her face contorting to something beyond anger.

"It doesn't matter. I know Julius asked you to look after her while we were gone, but from now on, you stay downstairs. I don't want you up here again, got it? You should probably go."

She nodded toward the door before heading back to the kitchen when she felt a grip on her upper arm. Lin closed her eyes and counted to five, not wanting to drop the poor man where he stood for making a poor choice.

"Damn Lin, why won't you even give me..."

She shook his hand off and threw a hard palm in his chest, causing him to take a few steps back, and a few deep breaths, while she pointed a finger to his face.

"I don't care what you have to say. We may be crew, but she's family. I won't let you break her."

Lin quickly turned on her heels and headed back to the kitchen to put the rest of the dishes away. Troy stood shocked for a moment, before grabbing his keys off the table and heading for the door. He opened it and stood for a moment, deciding whether he should risk another word, or just let it be. He opened his mouth, but after thinking over what Lin had said, he shut it again as he closed the door behind him.

A week had passed, and the spa was back in business as usual. The past few days had been busy, and didn't leave Jae much time for herself or her thoughts, having to cater to the junkies and her proper customers as well. When it was time to finally switch off the open sign, she sighed heavily with relief. She made her way back to the office when there was a knocking on the front door. Rolling her eyes, she grumbled before turning around and noticing who it was. The annoyance left her face and was replaced with a bright smile as she opened the door for him.

"Hey long time no see! What's up?"

He couldn't look into her eyes, and rubbed his face nervously,
"Is Lin around? She told me to come by tonight so we could lift some things she needed."
"Sure she's upstairs, come on up."

He went to follow her, but quickly remembered what her cousin had said several days ago.

"Ah...you know. I'll just wait down here."

Jae turned around and shot him a quizzical look.

"Why? She probably has to get ready, just come on-"
"Nah. I'm a... Just tell her I'll be out in the car."

She walked back to him and chuckled, "What? What's wrong with you? You got a fever or something?"

She joked as she tried to press her hand to his forehead. He quickly swatted her hand away, and backpedalled a few steps, leaving her starring at him dumbfounded.

"S-sorry. I just- I was just teasing." She looked down, and fiddled with her fingers for a moment, disappointed in his reaction, "I'll let her know you're waiting."

She quickly turned on her heels and he sighed sadly to himself, feeling bad about his childish reaction. He wanted nothing more than to flirt with her right back, but with the conversation that he and Lin had last week lingering in his mind, he just couldn't. Lin was right. He couldn't go around messing with the daughter of the infamous Kingpin, for more reasons than just because he was a gangbanger, as he thought of the real boss that he reported to. He took the smokes out of his pocket as he stepped outside, lighting one as he sat on the stairs and waited for Lin.

~QQ~

"You sure you'll be alright by yourself? I can call Johnny if you want me to."
"The last thing I need here is Johnny. I'll be alright Lin, don't.."

The phone in the apartment started to ring and the girls immediately fell silent. Only a handful of people had that particular number, and with all of them associated with the recently deceased Kingpin, it hadn't rang in a while. Jae walked over to it while Lin held a worried look on her face.

"H-hello?" "Hwa-ya? Is that you? You know who this is, ne?"

Jae mouthed something to Lin, who shook her head with a smile and walked away to finish getting ready.

"Ne, anyonghasaeyo Wu Imo. It's been quite a while, how have you been?"
"Ne, ne, anyonghasaeyo! I'm glad you remembered! Say I know it's late, but I need some assistance. Hwa-ya, do you think you could come by and help me out for a bit? I promise I won't keep you too late."
"I can do that. I'll have Lin drop me off. Is 30 minutes okay?"
"Ne! Ne! Gomawo! I'll see you soon, and I'll make your favorite snack as thanks too!"

Jae laughed as she hung up the phone and Lin came back from the bathroom.

"Wu, huh? I haven't seen her in years."
"Yeah, I guess she needs some help. You guys mind dropping me off over there? I can just take the bus back."
"Huh, like hell you will. Call us when you're done. If we're not finished, I'll have Johnny come get you."
"Hah. I'd rather take my chances on the bus."
"No way cuz. You know all the shit that's been going down on the Row. You call me or Johnny."

Jae frowned slightly but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah. You think you could make the effort to get me even if you're still busy though? Being alone with Johnny..."

Lin chuckled as the two girls made their way downstairs and to the front door.

"Haha of course, I'd rather do it myself anyway."

Lin walked over and exchanged a few words with Troy, who was waiting by the car at this point, while Jae re-locked the front door. She joined them at the car, where Troy had opened the back door for her, offering her a smile as he brought a cigarette to his lips.

"Ridin' with us for a bit?"

She simply nodded and climbed into the back, not even bothering to look him in the eyes. He shut the door and kicked himself mentally for being so standoffish earlier. He took shotgun as Lin climbed into the driver's seat and they headed over to Wu's place.

He spent the ride staring at her through the side mirror, while the cousins had an animated conversation about the old family friend. He knew he shouldn't, but the way her eyes lit, the way she smiled, he was taking in every little nuance of her. She was relaxed, comfortable, happy, he hadn't seen much of this even in the night they had been together. He drifted into the memories of that evening as she leaned back and their eyes met in the mirror. She smiled shyly and looked away, but he kept his gaze fixed on her, and moments later, she looked into the mirror again. He smiled at her, and after her initial hesitation, she smiled back. His smile grew a little wider and she chuckled quietly, before shifting her eyes between the mirror and Lin. He raised an eyebrow at her before realizing that Lin had been asking him a question.

"Oh...uh what?"
"Sheesh, falling asleep over there? I asked whether you wanted to hit El Garaje, or the chop shop over on Main first."
"Does it matter? We're gonna get both anyway. Your call."
"Yeah that's true...alright..."

Lin went back to talking to herself and Troy looked back into the mirror as Jae tried to hide her laugh behind a hand. He mouthed a thanks to her, and she winked back, before offering Lin some suggestions about the shops as they rounded the corner to Wu's.

"Why do I always feel like we're gonna get into more trouble than we actually do?"
"Because Johnny's usually with us?"
"Huh, that's true."

The duo laughed as they brought the last of the parts to their car, stuffing them into the trunk before hopping in the front and taking off, satisfied at how quickly the jobs had been taken care of. It had only taken them a couple hours to grab more than what they had come out for. Troy looked over at Lin while she continued driving.

"So, you got any other places in mind?"
"Yeah, but they can wait until tomorrow or something. I wanna get back to Jae."

Troy nodded and went back to looking out the window as she drove back to the church. He wanted to ask her so many things, and clear up some others, but seeing as they had a really constructive and pleasant evening together, he didn't want to sour the mood by bringing up anything uncomfortable. They soon arrived at the church and Troy got out, thanking Lin before closing the door behind him. She offered a small wave before driving away. He pulled out his last cigarette from the pack and cursed as he lit it, taking a seat on the steps. No sooner had he stretched his legs out then his phone starting going off. He looked at the screen and answered immediately.

"Hey Jules, what's up?"
"Hey playa, where you at?"
"Uh, I just got back to the church, you need somethin?"
"I seen some VKs walking by, and a car full of Rollerz around too. Somethin's poppin off."
"Alright, well where you at, I'll meet up with you and we can check it out."

Julius gave him some directions and Troy promptly shut his phone. Noting that the boss was just a few blocks away, he opted for just walking over, quickly stepping inside the church to grab some guns, before heading off to find Julius.

~QQ~

She dialed the number a fourth time, but still, voicemail. Dammit Jae, if you forgot to charge your phone again, Lin shook her head as she pulled up to the darkened building, her frustration turning to slight worry as she turned the car off. She and Troy had only been gone for 2 hours, and coming to help Wu usually took around 4, she noted from past experience. She quickly got out of the car and knocked on the woman's front door.

"Ah, Lin-a! What are you doing here?"
"Anyong Imo, is Jae still here?"

A puzzled look crossed Wu's face and Lin immediately frowned.

"Aniyo. She left 45 minutes ago, she said she was going to wait for you at the ice cream shop down the street. Here, she left in such a hurry, she forgot the snacks I made her. "

Lin cursed under her breath and thanked Wu, rushing to her car and down the store the older woman had mentioned. She let a whirlwind of curses fly aloud when she discovered the store closed. She dialed her cousin's number again, and chucked her cell phone across the car at her voicemail.

"Dammit, dammit! If that girl could just listen one time..."

She quickly scanned her brain for places around the area that Jae would wander off to, setting her course and screeching her tires in a mad frenzy to find her cousin.

Jae happily scooped another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth as she walked along the road. She had finished organizing Wu's books a lot earlier than she had thought it would take, and figuring that Lin and Troy still had another hour to go before they were done, decided to reward herself with a sweet treat and a night walk. She hadn't ran into a single person, and wondered why Lin was so uptight about her being in this area by herself. She turned the corner and was greeted with a boxful of watches in her face.

"Watches! I got watches here! Yo, hey man! This shit'll cost you $600 in the store!"
"Yeah, if it wasn't fake as fuck like these are."
"Awww. Whatever!"

Jae laughed as the man went back to hustling his watches. She dumped her empty bowl into the trash and hiked her hood up as a couple of scantily dressed women came to her sides.

"Hey baby. We could show you a good time."

Jae paused a moment before looking at the two.

"Yeah? How much cut do you get back? I bet I could show you a better time, with better hours too."

The three got into a discussion as they continued their walk until they reached the end of the street. Three men dressed in yellow were just around the corner, staring at a tagging with spray paint cans in hand. Jae tightened her hood as the other two women stood behind her. The men in yellow were quickly greeted by some others in blue, and Jae got a sinking feeling in her stomach, suddenly upset with herself for not listening to Lin. When a bat cracked over one of the men's heads, Jae knew it was time to backtrack.

"W-we should probably get out of here."

The other two women agreed and they turned around the way they came, but it was too late. One of the men went quickly running passed as a spray can went flying over his head. Jae quickly shooed the women away as she stayed glued in her tracks, as frightened as she was, curiosity was getting the better of her and she wanted to see exactly who was involved. She slowly crept back to the corner, but halted once she heard a car pull up. The shots ringing into the night were her reassurance to leave, and she turned around once more to safety. But in the seconds that passed, the car could be heard squealing away, and as the driver took a bullet to the head, the car rounded the corner and swerved into her. She leapt out of the path just in time, eyes wide as a man in blue shot the remaining man in red, then a yellow clad one shot the man in blue. She pulled her hood tight as he set his sights on her, backpedalling into a wall as he simply shrugged.

"Wrong time, wrong place dog."

She squeezed her eyes shut and silently apologized to Lin for being so careless this time around. The gun fired, but she felt no pain, as she quickly patted herself down, and dared to open one eye.

"You aight playa?"

She felt an arm around her bringing her to her feet as another voice she recognized spoke,

"C'mon Julius, let's move."

She hobbled up with the help of Julius, and the three stumbled over the curb as the car that crashed suddenly exploded. She tumbled over to the sidewalk and her hood fell backwards.

"Are you fucking kidding!?"
"JAE?!"

The two men starred as she rolled her back to the wall, tears threatening to spill over in her eyes,

"I am so happy to see you two."

"Babygirl! What the hell are you doing out here? By yourself?!"

Julius's voice was beyond angry, while Troy's was laced with concern.

"Are you okay? Does Lin know where you are?"

Jae shook her head and Troy grimaced. She explained Wu's phone call to Julius and the urge to get some fresh air. She lowered her head as she sniffled.

"I-I'm sorry. I should have known better."

Troy frowned at the girl, before looking around and noting their surroundings,

"Julius we better get out of here."

The boss looked around and noticed groups of wandering passerbys, some doning colors of the men that were just wiped out.

"Right, I'll head back to the church, Troy you need to take Jae back to the spa."
"I don't know Jules..."
"I'll be alright. You guys gotta go now though, can you walk babygirl?"

Jae simply nodded as the men helped her to her feet. Julius took out a set of keys and handed them to Troy as he slung Jae's arms around his shoulder.

"Take the car, I'll head back with the others." Julius look at the two, then a stern look crossed his face as his eyes met Troy's.

"Make sure you get her back SAFE. No matter what the cost."
"I will Julius."

The older man patted the girl's head and smiled at her.

"I'm sorry JuJu. I shouldn't have been so careless."
"I'm not the one you're gonna have to be apologizing up the ass too, babygirl, save your strength for when you get home."

She chuckled softly as the older man left as Troy shrugged her arm up, wrapping his arm around her waist and causing Jae to let out a small whine.

"S-sorry, are you hurt?"
"No, it's okay, I'm just a little sore."
"Damn girl, what were you thinking? Didn't Lin tell you not to go anywhere else?"

They made their way to the car as Jae stopped and looked up at Troy. He looked down at her smirk curiously.

"There's a lot of things Lin tells me not to do, doesn't mean that I always listen."

"Well...yo-"

He immediately shut his mouth and turned her to face him head on. He studied her face as she simply smiled back, shrugging her shoulders.

"What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Some things could cost you your wellbeing, even your LIFE, if you don't listen you know."
"Yeah? Well, how would I know if I don't take the risk every now and again right?"

His eyes shifted back and forth between hers, trying to read the intent behind her words..

"You...you know, don't you?"
"Know what?"

Jae simply shifted out of his grasp and into the passenger side of the car. Troy stood bewildered for a moment at her earnest responses. He felt like she'd known everything about the conversation he and Lin had, and was speaking to his inner turmoil of the situation. He shook his head and rounded the corner to the driver seat, plopping in and looking over at her once more. She leaned over and placed her chin in her hand on top of the middle divider, smiling widely at him.

"Thanks for saving me. For real this time."

He couldn't process his thoughts fast enough, and before he knew it, his hand traced the side of her face, and played with the long braid down to the end. She closed her eyes and sighed, and he smiled.

"I'm glad I was there. And I'm glad you're okay."

Finally realizing what he was doing, he took his hand away and started the car, clearing his throat and patting down his pockets, then cursing to himself.

"Can we stop by the gas station? I could use something to drink."

He was thankful for her suggestion and merely nodded as he focused on the road and anything that would be a distraction from his present thoughts.

~QQ~

She sat on the hood of the car outside of the convenience store, sipping her smoothie as he came out, ripping his pack of cigarettes open and shoving one quickly into his mouth, nodding to her as he made his way back to the driver's seat.

"Anywhere else you wanna go before we head back?"
"No, I'm good, I'm sure Lin will be waiting, fucking furious with me too I bet."
"Hah, I would be too if I had to deal with you."

Jae joined him in the car and they set off, heading back to the Spa.

"Aww, come on, I'm really not that bad."

Troy rolled his eyes and chuckled, blowing a few smoke rings her way, "I can only imagine."

She laughed and sipped on her drink, before sighing, "Sometimes, I...I just get really miserable. Being locked up all the time is no fun. And now since my dad..."

Jae went back to finishing her drink before she finished her sentence.

"I thought it was bad before. But now, I have no freedom."

Troy looked over as she sighed again, putting her drink in the middle holder while she set her chin in her other hand, starring out the window. He grabbed her hand once she put the smoothie down, and smiled when her eyes turned to meet his.

"Hey, it's for your safety, you know. And if you want, I'll come entertain you and keep you company sometime."

She smiled softly before going back to the window, turning her hand and tightening her grip on his.

"Thanks. I may just take you up on that."

They continued to hold hands the rest of the ride back, only to let go once they saw Johnny and Lin pacing in front of the spa steps.

"Christ."
"You'll be alright, I'm sure she's relieved you're back."
"Hah, you must not know Lin very well."

They pulled up in front of the spa, and Lin immediately opened the door and yanked Jae out of the car, patting the poor girl down while giving her an earful.

"I called Johnny, and then Julius, only to find out from him. WHAT THE FUCK JAE?! Why didn't you just stay put like I said?! I've been doing nothing but worrying my ass off. Holy fuck. Are you okay? What the hell happened? Let's go inside."

The other two headed inside as Jae turned back to the car where Troy was leaning against the side with a grin on his face.

"See? Told you she was just worried."
"Haha, ever the optimist."

She looked over her shoulder and noted the two heading up the stairs before closing the distance between her and Troy.

"Thanks again. I really mean it. I owe you my life."
"Hey, any time you need rescuing, I'll be there."

He groaned inwardly at what he had just said, chastising himself for not being smoother and saying something cooler, when she brought her face to his cheek, planting the lightest kiss onto it and immediately snapping him from his thoughts. He bit his bottom lip as she smiled up at him.

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

Before he could stop himself, he cupped his hands around her face, softly stroking her cheeks and leaning in ever so gently. She placed her hands on top of his right when a figure returning down the stairs caught the corner of his eye, and he promptly let go of her as he broke eye contact, nodding his head back to the spa.

"Y-you should probably go, before you get us both in trouble."

She turned and saw Lin returning to the door, and groaned before quickly stepped back from Troy.

"Yeah. okay. Thanks again for everything. Really."

She turned to head back into the spa, offering a wave once she locked the front door. He waved back and sat back down in the car, smiling hard to himself before putting it into gear and heading back to the church, laughing at the sight of the two cousins fighting in his rearview mirror.