A/N: I have a longish chapter for you guys because of my stupid delay because of my move. It was hectic, but I don't have the time to rant. My house doesn't have Internet, so I'm at Starbucks right now typing furiously to get this chapter out to you guys. Thanks for your reviews. I can't respond to them because I don't have the time here at Starbucks. I'll return to response once my house it fit with Wi-Fi. Again, sorry for the delay. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: All Danny Phantom characters do not belong to me.
Chapter 4 Crack Pairings
When I woke up next after my deep sleep, I had one of those weird freak out moments when you wake up somewhere foreign and don't know where you are. For a moment I didn't even remember how I got there. The memory of last night wouldn't come back to me till much later on that day. I shot upright in my thick of covers with a small gasp. My eyes scanned the new room I was in as I tried to steady my heavy breathing.
The place was nice and expensive. The floors were all polished exotic wood that reflected a warm glow from the dim lights that were attached to the light green painted walls. Two wooden doors that matched the same material as the floor lead to the bathroom and outside the room. Ornate Japanese art adorned the walls, and other little, lavish touches accented the room in earthy browns and golds.
The queen sized bed I was on was the same green color as the wall, with deeper green silk spiral patterns on it. The covers underneath were gold silk. The bed itself was like a cloud. I didn't know they made mattresses this good. Way better than mine at home.
A identical bed was stationed next to mine and closer to the door leading out of the room. On it I found Vlad. He had been typing on a laptop but was now staring at me. Apparently I had made a scene.
"Nightmare?" Vlad asked me with a smirk.
"Yeah, I woke up with you in the room," I shot back. His smile never left him as he returned his attention to his laptop. I rubbed my forehead to shake off the sleep with a groan. "How long was I out?" I asked him.
"About a day," Vlad answered. "Did you even sleep on the plane?"
"No," I grumbled. "Kind of hard to sleep while being kidnapped." Suddenly my stomach sent me a sharp pang of hunger. I hissed in pain. I hadn't eaten since the night before Vlad showed up at my house, which was like two days ago now. I had munched on things here and there on the plane, but my anxiety had kept me from eating for so long.
"What is the matter?" Vlad asked when he heard me hiss.
"I haven't eaten in days," I said. I held my aching stomach as it sent me another plea for food. "I'm starving! I gotta eat something."
"It's two in the morning, Danny," Vlad told me after glancing at a digital alarm clock on his bedside table. "Katsumi's chiefs won't be there in the kitchen to make you anything."
I stared silently back at him for a moment, eyes practically begging. At first he only frowned and shook his head at me. "Come on, Vlad," I whined. "I don't need a dumb chief. Just tell me where the kitchen is." I could see that I was winning him over.
Sighing finally, Vlad closed his laptop and stood up. "You'll never find the kitchen in this house," he said, looking greatly bothered. "I'll have to show you where it is."
Grinning inanely, I quickly got off my bed and followed the man out the door and into a long hallway. The place was as luxuriously designed as our room. Whoever Miss Tanaka was or what she did, she had a ton of money and a good taste of interior decorators. I found myself looking around at everything in wonder. The Japanese cultural stuff she had around her place was pretty neat. A few ancient samurai swords and armor was enough to catch my attention.
I soon found out why Vlad said I wouldn't be able to find the kitchen. The place was huge! To get to the stairs, we had to turn a few corners and go down some hallways. I suspected it was bigger than Vlad's place. And that was saying much.
Eventually, we got to the kitchen. It took awhile, but we made it there. It was as fancy as the rest of the house with stainless steel table tops and giant refrigerator, shiny wooden cabinets, and extravagant track lighting on the ceiling which Vlad turned on once we stepped into the open room. He sat on one of the bar stools placed at the island to watch me search for something to eat.
Excited for food, I practically ran around the kitchen in search for the meal I was craving. After a minute of opening and closing cabinets without any luck, I hit the jackpot. I grabbed the box of cereal, found a bowl and spoon, and poured myself a heaping sized breakfast.
"I take you to Japan. You are under the roof one of the richest people in all of Tokyo. You have the option of eating whatever you want. And you choose to eat cereal?" Vlad said in confusion as I sat down two stools away from him.
"Just to tick you off," I said through a mouth full of food. I swallowed, grinned at him, and continued to eat.
"You're unbelievable," Vlad chuckled. He shook his head at my strange actions and stared on ahead as I ate at warp speed. I slowed down only when I felt like my stomach had had enough of my cramming and I was feeling full.
The entire time, Vlad and I were silent and stole little glances at each other. I was curious about what he was thinking. It would be better on my part if I knew what evil things he had in store for me. And I couldn't just ask.
Eventually, our glances met up with each other and we made eye contact. I swallowed then quickly returned my glaze to my almost empty bowl. Sighing heavily, I shoved the bowl off to the side, appetite suddenly gone. I could feel Vlad's eyes on me, expecting something.
Finally, I had made up my mind. I spun toward Vlad, stuck him with a hard frown, and said, "Okay, let's get this thing over with. What is it I have to do first?"
"I'm afraid it isn't as simple as you believe it is," Vlad said slowly. "But we need you to spy on someone beginning later on today."
"Can't you do that?" I asked. "Stealth really hasn't been my strong point."
"You watch too many cartoons," Vlad said. "When we say spy on someone, Miss Tanaka and I mean you become that person's friend, hang out with that person a lot or whatever, and then relate what he or she does and says back to us."
I didn't want to do that to someone. I didn't want to fake some friendship with an innocent person for Vlad and Miss Tanaka. It felt wrong and it wasn't me. But, hey, I was the captive. I didn't have much a say in this kind of thing any more. I'd have to do this right if I wanted to get back home. The sooner the better.
"So who is this person?" I asked. I didn't try to hide the reluctance in my voice. I wanted Vlad to know that I hated doing this for him.
"She is the daughter of one of the biggest drug lords here in Tokyo. Miss Tanaka believes this girl's father is responsible for some of the ghost attacks against her business. Getting close to his kid can be as just as productive as getting close to the main target, especially in this case. The daughter's name is Ran Izumi," Vlad said with a knowing, evil grin, "And you're going to have to become her boyfriend."
-Next Day-
"You have to be strong and confident," Miss Tanaka told me.
"But not so confident that you look arrogant," Vlad quickly added. "You do that too often." I shot him a glare. It didn't work.
"Yes, and you need to be smooth around her," Miss Tanaka continued urgently. I tried smiling at her, but that wasn't working either. "She's a very smart girl. She is the top of her class, which is hard to believe with her...unusual habits. But you could tell a witty joke."
"And don't play any games against her," Vlad said. Him and Katsumi nodded in agreement over this subject. He returned his attention back to me and explained, "She is an excellent gamer and will beat you at anything. She gets very competitive too."
"What he means is that she won't consider you a potential boyfriend or even a friend if she is wanting to crush you in a game," Miss Tanaka said. "She becomes that serious. And she hates losers. And you will lose against her."
"If you guys know this much about her already, then why do I have to date her?" I asked hopelessly.
"No time to explain!" both adults said in union. The limo suddenly stopped in front of an arcade building in the city. As I was being shoved out of the comforts of the vehicle and onto the crowded sidewalk, they told me they couldn't afford the chance of being caught to bug me so I'd have to memorize our conversation. Great.
Then I was alone.
The limo had suddenly vanished behind me. I was left staring at the bright and flashy lights promoting the arcade in Japanese. I didn't understand the jumble of symbols that blinked and whirled with life. How was I going to get around without knowing a single word in Japanese? I almost panicked right then and there.
"Okay, Danny, just go into the place and find her," I said to myself. To smooth my nerves, I ran a hand through my hair while walking through the open double doors. I was not ready for what was ahead. Not a chance.
The place was dark, but with the abundance of neon and black lighting from the arcade games that bleeped and flared, the giant room was bright enough to see and make out people. There were kids, teens, and even a few adults of every age and size. Many were boys. Very few girls were there. Even those were mostly just girlfriends and never touched the games.
It was one great big mass of bodies and machines. Pushing my way through the crowd, it was hard to distinct everyone from each other. But I soon found a crowd that all had one common purpose. They were all watching a game.
Somehow I managed to shove my way up to the front of a group of onlookers to observe an intense game of air hockey. It was insane. The poor guy at one end who was around my age was fighting for his life against this girl who was probably older than me. The puck shot back and forth with deathly speed. The guy was timid and just trying to survive, but the girl was hitting it hard and smart. She knew exactly what she was doing.
The game didn't last long. A second after I arrived, the girl scored and won. The crowd gave a cheer for her. She leaned back with a smug smile, shot some sentences in Japanese at her loser opponent, and turned toward the crowd with a frown. I knew who she was from the many photos Vlad had shown me. It was Ran Izumi.
The girl was close to my height, maybe an inch taller. She had a cute, petite body and figure under a storm of colorful rainbow of bright clothing and accessories. Her straight and long jet black hair was glossy and put up in a messy and somehow complicated ponytail. Her dark eyes took in the crowd as if choosing a victim.
"Which one of you idiots will challenge me?" she asked in flawless English. She repeated the question in Japanese while putting one of her hands on her hip that held two or three belts. With the other she took out a cigarette and lit it with a flick of a Hello Kitty lighter. Where do they sell those? I didn't know the cute cat symbol promoted smoking.
No one answered her request for a challenger. Everyone, including me I might add, was a bit intimidated by the girl. I might have been a good air hockey player, but I wasn't supposed to play against her. Those had been Vlad's and Miss Tanaka's rules for me. And I doubted that anyone else in the room was good enough to beat this girl. No one was going to raise their hand. That meant she was going to have to come get one of us.
I took in a sharp breath when our eyes met. It was like the air between us was electric for a moment. A warm sensation had flashed through my body when we made eye contact. It was weird.
For a moment it looked like she had felt the same thing, and I saw her shiver slightly through the bright lights of the arcade. Somehow the interaction didn't scare her in the least bit. She walked right up to me, blew a rude smoke ring in my face, and said as I coughed, "You. American boy. You're going to play air hockey with me."
Crap. One, Vlad had told me not to play against her. Two, I didn't want to with this scary girl. She was going to kick my ass in two minutes. At least when I played against Sam and Tucker, it was funny when I cheated with my ghost powers. But I couldn't rely on those anymore with this watch around my wrist.
"Sure," I said with a shrug I hoped looked smooth. Smooth had been part of the rules, right? Did obeying one let you disobey another?
Ran smiled wickedly in response. She leaned into my face and stuck out her tongue with a silver ring that looked like a bubble in the middle. I watched in astonishment as she shoved the burning end of her cigarette into her tongue to put it out and then swallowed it! What the crap? I actually wondered which one of her dad's drugs she was on. This chick was crazy!
The crowd there to watch had an air of apprehension about them as both Ran and I took our positions on either end of the air hockey table. It glowed a light blue as it blew out cold air from its smooth surface.
I glanced up at the girl and saw that she was already staring intently back at me. Was she interested in me? Why? Was it because I was American? If you searched, they were pretty easy to spot here in Japan. Then was it because of that strange reaction we had to each other from before? I didn't understand it either.
"Call it," I said, throwing a quarter into the air.
"Tails," she said without hesitation.
"Tails," I said with a sigh. "You go first."
"Of course I do," she chuckled as I tossed her the puck. "I always win."
"There's a first time to everything," I shot back with a competitive smile. Ran was acting like a jerk. Of course, she swallowed cigarettes, so she could kind of back her tough persona up, but I was sick of her attitude. I wanted to beat her and shove it in her face.
"Oh, American Boy has some fight in him," Ran said with a mocking laugh. She got into position with her mallet. I did the same. Her voice was serious as she said, "Prepare to die, kid."
Wham!
I stared at the place where the puck had just been in complete shock. The crowd groaned for my poor sake. I hadn't even seen the shot happen. It had been too quick. Man, this girl was fast!
Taking out the puck and placing it in front of my mallet, I looked up at Ran. She had her eyes narrowed in determination. A little smirk was on her lips. The crazy colorful lights glinted off her hair and lit up her eyes and face. She was ready.
No, she wasn't.
Wham!
"What?" Ran yelled in disbelief. The crowd exploded in cheers. They were all on my side. They wanted to see this girl get beat as much as I did.
"One to one," I told Ran smugly. "It's your move."
Surprisingly, Ran broke out into a giant smile. She almost seemed excited as she got out her puck, placed it on the table, and shot it at me. I returned it sharply, angling it so it would bounce off the wall. She defended her goal just in time. I barely had time to react, but I managed to deny it access into my goal.
Twenty minutes later, we both had scored a few more times. I was winning, actually. By one point. We were both sweating from the extensive effort. The puck was rapidly knocked back and forth. Each hit almost made it, but we had no chance of scoring unless the other had made a fatal mistake. Only then were we able to score on each other. The crowd was growing with time. Everyone wanted to see the ultimate air hockey battle showdown with the mysterious American and the champion Ran.
By this time I was getting into the swing of things and was able to concentrate while talking. "What's your name?" I asked her although I knew it already. I think she would get suspicious if I didn't ask the standard question.
"Ran," she answered. The puck rocketed toward me. I narrowly hit it. "Yours?" she asked.
"Danny," I answered. Was I supposed to have a fake one, me being spy and all? Vlad never said I did. So I guessed it was okay to use my real name.
"What are you going to do when I beat you, Danny?" she asked me teasingly.
"Sorry, but I'm not going to cry over your defeat," I returned, grinning.
"But you looked like such a sensitive boy," Ran said. "I kind of like that in a guy."
"Then you chose the wrong boy," I said. Thinking of dialogue had been too much for my brain. I hadn't calculated a shot from her correctly, and she scored. I sighed while taking out the puck and shooting it sharply back at her. We were tied at six points. Next point wins.
"Where do you live?" she asked me. She was smiling confidently now. She must have thought that she was soon going to win. The girl really did enjoy the rush of the battle. I could see it in her dark eyes. She was alive here, like this, everything on the line, using all her skills to win.
"I come from a little town in America called Amity Park," I answered truthfully. I missed my home and wistfully added, "I love it there."
"Then why are you here?" she asked.
I frowned. Here was were my lying would have to begin. I hoped when Vlad had said my lying skills had improved that he was right. "Um," I said, "My dad had a business trip. I decided to come along." I hit the puck hard. I came close to scoring.
"Do you have issues with your dad?" Ran asked with the curl of her lip.
"What would give you that idea?" I grumbled. Another angry, hard hit.
"You're easy to read, Danny," Ran said. "And right now you're angry."
"So what?" I spat back. I knew my temper was getting the better of me, making me make stupid moves, but I didn't care at this point. I wanted to get my frustration out. Pretending Vlad's head was the puck was the only way I could do so.
"It means," Ran said. I hit the puck hard again. She used the momentum of it for a speedy return. It bounced off the side of the table and into my goal. "It means you make mistakes," Ran finished with a triumphant smile. "Loser."
The crowd had all been disappointed with my defeat and was now dispersing. No one wanted to become another victim of Ran's wicked intent. Sighing heavily, I placed my mallet on the table. I didn't like losing. Especially when I had let my anger get the better of me. Hadn't Vlad warned me about that before? Ah, but who cared what he said? I was going to kill him after this anyways.
Ran was taking out another cigarette as I lingered around the air hockey table. She took a long puff before grinning at me. "You were really good," she told me. "I respect anyone who can put up a good fight against me and hate the ones who don't. You would have won if you didn't get so pissed right at the end."
"At least it was fun while it lasted," I said with a weak smile. I wasn't in a very good mood. And I still didn't like Ran all that much. Something about her and her attitude toward life and the people around her just flashed trouble in neon letters in my head. I for sure didn't want to become her boyfriend.
"Hey, there is going to be a party tomorrow night," Ran said while coming up close to me. She smelled like Jasmine shampoo. It was nice. It would have been better if it wasn't drowned out by the smoke of her cigarette. Why the heck did she find the want or need to smoke? She looked cool enough to throw that bad habit out the window.
We were closer than I had would have wanted it, but managed a smile as our gazes met. Another shiver from her and another hot flash for me. Still strange. Still confused about the sensation.
"I want you to come," Ran continued about the party. She took out a little notebook from her back pocket and tore out a page of the lime green paper. What was with this girl and colors? I'd take me forever to guess which one was her favorite.
"Really?" I asked her, genuinely surprised. "But I lost and wasn't your type."
Ran laughed at me. "You are so cute," she gushed. "The innocent, clueless ones always are."
"Was that a complement, or should I be offended?" I asked.
"Shut up and just come to the party," she said. She took out a purple gel pen from somewhere in that messy ponytail on her head and wrote down the address and time in English for me. "You need to loosen up, anyways," Ran said as she wrote. "And the party is held by one of my American friends, so there will be plenty of booze and pot. We'll have fun. Lots."
"Um...you sure?" I asked, hesitant. I wasn't a drinker or pot smoker. I had ghost fighting to occupy my time and friends to hang out with. I'd never had a reason to get smashed or high. Besides, it was kind of illegal for ones my age, and I was a superhero. They don't quite mix.
"Come, you loser," Ran ordered. She handed me the paper slip with the information on it, winked at me, and started to walk away.
"Thanks!" I called after her.
She turned slightly in her step and flashed me a sly smile. "Thanks for the game, Danny!" she yelled to me from across the arcade floor. She gave a wave and slunk out of the building without another glance back at me. She had a really cute butt, I decided.
Yep, she was going to be trouble.
-Minutes Later-
The limo that pulled up to the sidewalk held only Vlad. Miss Tanaka had other business to do that day, so it was just the kidnapper and me this time. I sat down across from him and relaxed into my leather seat, smiling smugly. My job that day was done. I have to admit that I was kind of proud of myself. Was I going to get a reward for this? I doubted it.
Vlad quickly picked up on my mood. His eyebrows rose in surprise before he asked in disbelief, "You did it?"
"I just threw out all of what you guys had said to me, played a game with her, and got invited to a party tomorrow night," I announced.
"You played a game with her?" he asked.
"Yep," I said. "Air hockey. She won. We had fun, I guess."
"And you got invited to a party?" he continued with the questions.
I sighed, frowning deeply. I didn't want to go to the party. I mean, I could always go and get smashed for my first time and totally let loose. I could fling all my worries about Vlad and the burdens in my life all away for one night of drunkenness. It would be that easy, and I think I'd enjoy it a lot. But you know what, I didn't want to do that. That life was not mine. It never would be.
"What?" Vlad asked. He had noticed my switch of emotions. He was pretty good at detecting my mood swings. It was kind of creepy because only my friends and family could do that.
"I don't want to go," I mumbled, eyes lowered.
"Don't start this, Danny," Vlad said sternly. "You're going to the party."
"I know, okay?" I shot back. I glared at the floor and said, "I get it. I have to go...and I will. I just don't want to. Am I not allowed to complain now? Are you going to blow up my dad because I want to whine?"
"Calm down," Vlad ordered.
"I don't want to," I spat, steaming now. "This sucks! All this sucks! And most of all, you suck!"
"You are blowing this way out of proportion, Danny," Vlad said. "Stop being so emotional."
"I can be as emotional as I freaking want to!" I said. "You now going to control my mood as well? Have fun trying." Sulking, I crossed my arms against my chest and glared out of a window. In a way I felt like a kid on a tantrum, but I couldn't stop it.
"You better not behave like this in public," Vlad growled. I had just made him annoyed. "You're acting rather childish right now, Daniel."
"What?" I sneered at him. "You think I'm going to damage our perfect father and son image?" I rolled my eyes.
"I guess it would be hard to return you to your good behavior from two nights ago," Vlad said with a sly smile. His steely eyes watched me intently for my reaction.
I paused. Oh gosh, I barely remembered what happened when we had first landed in Tokyo! I remembered Miss Tanaka and some of the car trip, but after that things were a little fuzzy. My stomach tightened with the unknown tension. Oh no. What did I say? I had done something real bad, hadn't I?
"You were so compliant," Vlad continued, the smile never leaving his lips. "I could get anything out of you. You're a very interesting person when you open up." We stared at each other. I still hadn't remembered what had happened, so he went on and said, "I thought it odd that you didn't call the police first thing. You must trust your friend a lot."
My eyes widened in remembrance. I had told him everything, hadn't I? How could I do that to myself...to Sam? I thought that I had secured her safety by denying to answer Vlad's question in the airport by calling his bluff. Now I had thrown her life into danger in a single moment of vulnerability. I was such an idiot!
"What are you going to do to her?" I asked quietly. I didn't trust my voice. My head was a swirl of emotions at this point. I was angry at myself for telling Vlad and endangering Sam. I was scared for Sam. Also, let's not forget frustrated at Vlad himself for prying the information out of me.
"I don't have to tell you anything," Vlad said smugly. He leaned nonchalantly back into his chair and put his hands behind his head. Those eyes kept watching me. They expected everything and nothing from me.
"No!" I shouted. "You can't do that! Why lead me on like that and then leave me with absolutely nothing? That's just evil! Tell me what you're going to do about her knowing about me!"
Vlad said nothing. His lips still curled into that sly smile, and his eyes still bore right into me. I stared back at him. How could anyone be this cold? Was he just playing with me again? Or was he serious? This wasn't fair! He held all the cards in his hands and refused to relinquish any. It was so frustrating!
All of the sudden, I had had it. Temper flaring, I stood up in the limo and took an angry step toward him. He stood up too, challenging me with his eyes. Faltering with uncertainty, I stopped in mid step before coming right into Vlad's face, which was on my eye level because he had bent down. I was too angry to think of any other course of action. My fist was tight and knuckle white as I brought it up.
"You wouldn't dare," Vlad said superiorly. We both knew I was no match without my powers. Heck, I was barely one with them. I was going to get my ass kicked if I so dared to touch him.
I didn't care. I wanted to hit something. It just so happened to be Vlad's face.
I threw the punch. All my weight was in the one move. Still smiling, Vlad leaned back and avoided the swing. When I missed, my entire body became off balance at the over extension. Vlad used this to his advantage.
The man grabbed my wrist that was outstretched in front of me because of my stupid punch and used his other hand to shove against my back. He knocked me off my feet completely. As I fell, Vlad brought up my arm he was still holding. By the time I was on the floor of the limo, the man had my arm pinned painfully behind me and a knee digging into my lower back.
My shoulder throbbed in pain under Vlad's hold. I could barely move under him. The more I struggled to get free, Vlad would hold me down harder. This continued until I could hardly breathe. At this point, I gave up.
Once again I'd made an impulsive and idiotic move and found myself under the mercy of my adversary. This was getting old. When would the roles be switched? I had a strange thought that if I was a cartoon superhero, I'd be a pretty pathetic one. I mean come on! I was getting my butt royally handed to me in the back of a limo, and Vlad wasn't even in ghost mode! This wasn't entertainment. This was just embarrassing.
"You have such a temper," Vlad chuckled down at me after I'd given up on struggling. I glared at him, too busy gasping for breath to shoot an insult back up. He twisted my pinned arm upward some more. This produced a sharp yell from me. It felt like he was aiming to pop my shoulder right out of its socket.
"Oh, did that hurt?" Vlad asked me with pretend innocence. He leaned more of his weight down on that arm. I gasped this time as pain exploded in my strained shoulder. This was unbearable! Half of what made it so ridiculous was the cold hard fact that I couldn't do anything to stop it.
Serious now, Vlad bent his head down close to mine and whispered hauntingly into my ear, "Listen to me now, boy, because the next time I have to remind you I won't be so gentle. While we are on this trip, you are mine. You do not call the shots. You do not order me to do anything. You do what I say without question from here on out. And when I tell you that I don't have to say anything about the friend you called, you better control that temper of yours. Understand?"
"What am I? Your dog?" I growled with a heated glare.
The response was instant. Vlad applied more pressure to my arm. The intense pain in my shoulder increased. This time I had to squeeze my eyes shut to ride the initial shock of it out. The agony throbbed constantly through my muscles and burned up my arm.
Vlad never let off my shoulder to let me recoup. He was waiting till I caved into his ludicrous demands and gave up. I wasn't going to give him have the satisfaction of my surrender, though. With a stubborn frown, I set my sights on battling the pain and the evil man.
"You want to do this the hard way?" Vlad asked me with cruel intent set in his voice.
I answered him with a fierce scowl. Bring it on, V-man!
With a wicked flicker of a smile, Vlad lowered his head closer to mine which was being forcefully driven into the red carpeted floor of the limo. His voice was smooth and calm as he told me, "Sam is such a resourceful girl. She's already called Tucker to update him with your current situation. They are trying to make plans to get back into contact with you. I know this because I have my people following her every, single move."
The obstinate frown had vanished from my face as the weight of these words fell on me. It had turned into a natural habit for my stomach to churn every few minutes I was forced to be with Vlad on this little hiatus of ours, but this time it was extra painful as I realized what Vlad was suggesting to me. First my dad, now Sam. Didn't Vlad know how to play fair? Apparently not. I don't think he even knows what fair means.
"With the snap of my fingers, I can command my ghost spies to do whatever I wish with your little friend," Vlad continued. I could see the sick pleasure in the eyes as he told me these things and felt me squirm under his hold. "There could be a car accident. Those are pretty common in New York City where she is at. A broken leg isn't as painful as it seems. Want me to go on?"
"No," I said grimly. "I get the gruesome picture."
"Then what is it going to be, Daniel?" Vlad asked me. "Seeing your friend in a cast the next time you see her, or your strict obedience to me for just this week?" I eyed him wearily in silence. He was kidding, right? He wasn't that cruel, was he? I got my answer a moment later as he said, "Maybe I should throw in a concussion to that accident. Something that will put the girl in a coma. At least that would take the pain away from her leg. Seems humane."
That one did it. Grimacing, I told him quietly, "Please just...stop. I get it. You win. Just promise me you won't hurt her...or dad." I refused to look at the man. Somehow he knew exactly which buttons to press to send me over the edge with anger and which pressure points to hit to bring me crumbling down to my knees in show of pure weakness. It was humiliating on my part.
It was like I had no defense against his attacks. He already knew which moves I was going to take, even ones I hadn't thought of yet. My life was a giant chess game in his eyes. I was being forced to play for my life. Unfortunately, I was loosing miserably.
"I can promise you that if you don't adhere to what I tell you that you won't have much a happy home to come back to when this is over," Vlad said, "But their safety won't always be guaranteed."
I hated all this. Mostly I hated Vlad, but what he was making me do was irritating and opposing to all my senses. But what could I do? Either I had to pretend to be Vlad's kid and do everything he said or my dad could get killed and Sam would get hurt or have something worse happen to her. Even Tucker was in danger if I refused to comply.
I wasn't selfish enough to fight the man. I knew I could easily defy him and see where it took me and the ones I loved, but I don't think I'd live through the guilt. Sadly, Vlad knew this part of me as well and was exposing it fully now. He knew I'd have to give in. All part of his chess game.
"Fine," I growled. My loathing for the man wasn't hidden in my voice or narrowed stare. "I'm yours. Only for this week. When this over, though, I swear I'm going to kick your ass! Now get off me!"
Vlad ruffled my hair with his free hand while chuckling, "Slaves aren't supposed to make the threats, Daniel. You should know that by now."
A/N: Wow, it's ten o' clock here in Lima, and the city is JUST now waking up. No one showed up to Starbucks for hours! It is awesome! Okay, I'm getting off track. I have no idea when I'll have Internet again. My dad is trying his hardest to get it at home because his work depends on it, so I believe it will be soon. If not, Starbucks is a mile away. I need a bike. Oh well. Right now, my updating schedule is a thrown up in the air. I'll update some time next week, but I have idea when. Sorry for that. See you readers soon!
