Chapter Four

Good Inside

He dreams of Susan Hollander. Her soft skin, her delicate voice, and that beautiful perfume. They make love, slow, sweet. The sunrise glows orange through the drawn curtains. She's warm, safe, and she embraces him, welcomes him back. He looks deep into her eyes and she smiles sweetly, intoxicated.

"I missed you," she whispers.

He kisses her, gentle and loving, holding her like the most delicate glass, the rarest gem.

"Susan…"

Theodore was pulled out of his dream, the perfect dream, by being shaken gruffly. He groaned and tried to smack the offender away. His hands were grabbed and held still. Someone was telling him to wake up, Theodore, my God, WAKE UP ALREADY!

His eyes flashed open to see Lynnie frowning at him. Her hands were tight around his and she looked rather annoyed. It took him a moment, but then his surroundings became clearer and he realized what was happening.

"Man, seriously. Take a swing at me again and I'll cut off your other hand," she snapped, although she sounded more aggravated than serious about the threat.

"Must'a dozed off," he mumbled, sitting up when Lynnie was sure enough to release his hands. "We there?"

"Yup. We're about to go in and pay for the rooms," she said, turning away and dropping out of the van. "Hurry it up! Unless you wanna sleep in the van all night?" She grinned at him wickedly. "Maybe the cops will hear you snoring and talking in your sleep and you'll wake up nice and comfy back in prison."

Theodore scowled and jumped swiftly out of the van to meet the rest of the group. He shut the doors, looking around quickly.

"Would you kindly keep your voice down?" he snarled.

Deci rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"This place is deserted anyways," Spike added, before taking a drag of a cigarette.

"As if anyone cares!" The dark blue sedan beeped as Mason locked it, walking up to them.

"Do you have any idea how much money I have on my head?" Theodore asked in a lowered voice as they headed towards the entrance of the motel.

Deci put her hands out in front of her and illustrated words on a sign as she spoke. "Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell. Wanted dead or alive. Reward: One hundred thousand dollars."

As they approached the building, Lynnie gave Deci an annoyed look.

"It does not say dead or alive," she argued.

"Well it should!" Deci said matter-of-factly. "It would be much easier to actually get him to the cops if he weren't alive." She wiggled her fingers at him, eyes narrowed. "Working his twisted little brain."

Theodore smirked at her, raising an eyebrow. She said "Hmph!" and stormed into the motel. They followed her inside and went up to the counter. Spike dropped some bills on the dirty, scratched plexiglass.

"Three double rooms. Overnight."

The man behind the counter was grimy and unshaven, his eyes raking over the odd group. His gaze seemed to linger on the two girls, who were picking at something on Deci's jacket. Theodore glanced around at the others but they didn't seem to notice. The man snatched up the money and dropped three keys onto the counter. Spike handed one to Lynnie and one to Adam.

With a glance at the girls Theodore only caught because he was looking for it, the man turned and stalked into the back room. He didn't like that look. He knew he must have worn it a million times before, but for some reason, this man made him angry.

Quickly, he shook off the feeling as Deci and Lynnie left for their room together, as did Mason and Adam. Spike stepped up to Theodore, smirking.

"Looks like we're bunking together," Spike said, holding up the key.

"Oh, this'll be fun," Theodore said, peering at the room number on the key.

Spike laughed. "Like a bloody slumber party, I'm sure."

They both grinned as they headed for room 203. Ahead of them, Deci and Lynnie were racing up the stairs, laughing loudly. Theodore frowned as Mason and Adam called to them, playing. It seemed somehow surreal. At the same time that they were helping one of America's most wanted men to the California coast, they were also acting as if they were on a vacation.

He didn't understand these people at all. Although he wasn't sure why he bothered trying. He was dumping them all as soon as they got him to Utah.

At 12:25 Spike seemed to have finally fallen asleep. Honestly, Theodore had no way of telling, as the man didn't breathe. There was no steady pattern to listen for. Rather, he waited until Spike most resembled a dead body, unmoving, without the tiniest sign of life.

As he was rising from his bed and creeping towards the door, he heard a soft jingle of keys. The face of the desk clerk jumped into Theodore's head and he was swiftly at the door. As quietly as possible, he pulled open the door and slinked out into the dark outdoor hallway. He was just in time to see someone moving into room 202, where Lynnie and Deci were peacefully sleeping.

Incredible rage swelled inside him and he followed, stealthily as his anger would allow. The figure had been much too large to be Adam or Mason, and far too obvious.

Just inside the door, as his hand felt carefully in the darkness, he found that his hand was curling around a pole of some sort. It lifted easily in his hand as he moved forwards in the dark, able to hear a figure leaning over one of the beds. A girl stirred.

"Mm? Mason?" It was Deci. Suddenly she gasped and there was a muffled scream.

"Shh, shh, shhh… Now we don't wa—"

CRACK. A loud, frightened gasp and scrambling back against the wall. The second girl in the bed on Theodore's other side started awake

"What's goin—"

"Shh! OOF."

The larger man at the floor had barreled into him, sending him to the ground. There was fumbling and clanking and light flooded the room. Theodore winced against the sudden brightness, kicking the man off of him.

"OH MY GOD!" Lynnie shrieked, jumping up to stand on her bed as if there were a mouse on the floor.

The desk clerk leapt up and tried to bolt out of the room, but was stopped by a furious wall of three men. Theodore's hand was curled tightly around the object he'd grabbed, standing between the man and the two girls, who were standing on their beds and pressed flat against the walls.

Spike growled at the man, moving forward. Both Adam and Mason were practically seething. They were both holding guns. Theodore took the moment to glance at the weapon in his hand. It was a thick wooden stick with sharpened points on both ends. He raised an eyebrow, returning his attention to the clerk. Blood trickled down his face from a wound on the side of his head.

"Get the bloody hell out of here," Spike snarled, eyes hinting a golden color. "You come near mine again and I'll make sure you die a long, slow death."

The man started to hurry past them, but Spike grabbed his arm. "Oh…and if you call the police…we'll keep you alive for weeks, before we turn you over with enough planted evidence to keep you in prison for the rest of your life."

He nodded and Spike let him go. He scrambled out of the room and down the hallway, wheezing like a pig.

"Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick," Deci whimpered, and ran off to the bathroom.

Theodore tossed the stick to the ground, panting slightly. Spike looked up at him suspiciously, then over at Lynnie.

"Aaralyn, what happened?" he inquired seriously, gently. His voice was careful and controlled, a would-be calm.

Lynnie's voice was shaking terribly as she came down from the bed. "I-I dunno exactly. I just remember hearing a loud noise…and it sounded like a fight… I turned on the light and-and…" She exhaled forcibly. "You saved me and Deci…"

Theodore had just begun to turn towards her when suddenly his ribs were being crushed. Surprised, he started to leap away, when he realized that Lynnie was hugging him. Well, more like breaking his spine, but she seemed to mean well. Her face was buried against his clean shirt, borrowed from Mason after a long shower. She clung to him for a good moment, until Theodore awkwardly patted her back. He wasn't sure what to make of this, looking at it with only the purest of intentions, at least.

"I knew it! I knew it I knew it!" she said excitedly, pulling back.

"Knew what?" Theodore asked curiously, straightening his clothes a bit nervously.

"There's a good person in there," she said gently, beaming, and pressed a finger to his chest.

A moment of vulnerability grasped Theodore and held him stock-still as he gazed at Lynnie. Her eyes were clear and bright as she smiled up at him. There was no doubt in her expression that she believed what she'd just said. She grinned, then clapped her hands excitedly and moved back.

"I have to go see if Deci's alright," she said happily, turning and hurrying off to the bathroom.

A good person, Theodore thought, turning back to face the others. Good luck, darlin'.

To his surprise, all three men were staring at him with wide eyes. They were very still, shocked, confused. He shifted uncomfortably. Mason blinked and shook his head.

"Wow," he muttered.

Adam nodded and whispered in agreement, "Yeah."

Spike stepped up to Theodore, scrutinizing him. His eyes narrowed as he seemed to bore into the man's eyes. Spike hadn't looked at him this hard, not even when he had him tied up in that back room. Theodore looked back at him, defiantly, although he felt someone fearful. Had Lynnie's reaction made Spike angry? The last thing he wanted to do right now was wake the beast.

But Spike extended his hand after a moment, his face softening to a smile. "Girl's got a good eye. Welcome to the gang."

Slowly, as they shook hands, Theodore allowed himself to smile as well. It spread to a grin as he said, "Best slumber party I ever went to."