Hi guys. So, I decided to forego getting this chapter beta'd for now. I feel bad making you guys wait for such a long time on an update, and was a little antsy to get this thing posted. I will probably send it off to beta and re-upload it later on. Just be warned that this thing is totally raw. raw, raw , raw, raw.
Anywho, thank you all for the fantastic reviews! Please keep them coming, I enjoy hearing from you all!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. =)
Goku stood back up from sifting through the ruble in Bulma's room and itched the back of his head. He was more than frazzled.
His cell phone buzzed for the hundredth time today. The police sergeant fielded at least ten phone calls from his wife when she got word of what happened at her best friends house and was frantic. Seeing it was her again, he turned his phone off. He didn't have an update for her, and wasn't in the mood to deal with her demanding updates every thirty minutes... Goku swore sometimes his wife was worse than the police chief.
He looked at the rest of the room; the coroner was finally bagging up the large man with purple hair. Two other officers were bagging up the pair of oozies and marking and numbering both the shells and the bullet holes that littered the walls.
He wished silently that Bulma was somewhere, safe. Maybe she and Vegeta went to his hotel room and hadn't come home yet.
Goku grabbed a random officer, and asked him to find out where Vegeta Ouji was staying and to see if Bulma was there with him.
He then headed downstairs to look at the kitchen again.
The body of the white haired man was still lying on the floor, not yet bagged by the coroner. Goku cringed. Death by ketchup bottle, what a way to go.
Again, there were a few more crime scene guys tagging and marking things as evidence. Taking samples of the blood smears on the kitchen counter and finger printing the damn condiment bottle sticking out of the guy's chest.
He was beyond worried for his oldest friend. There was no sign of her! Her purse, cell phone and laptop -things she almost always had on her at all times- were left in the entry hall. Maybe she wasn't with Vegeta...Was she kidnapped? Was she dead? Did she kill the two men in her home and then ran off, too scared to come home?
"Sarge?"
Goku turned around. One of the rookie police officers approached him, an apprehensive look on his face.
"Yeah?"
"Um, Sarge, there's a man that is requesting to enter the crime scene. He says he's from the FBI."
Goku's eyebrows raised in surprise. FBI? "Uh...Show him in?"
The rookie nodded his head and disappeared out of the kitchen and reappeared with a very tall, well dressed, bald man in tow. The rookie nodded his head towards Goku, the bald man thanked him and walked up to the confused Sergeant.
"Sergeant Son?"
Goku nodded his head wearily.
"Sergeant Son, I'm Special Agent Piccolo from the FBI. I will be taking over this investigation, though, I will require your departments full cooperation." The man spoke in a no-nonsense way.
Goku sighed. He knew from the moment he stepped foot into this house he was in way over his head. "My men will give their full cooperation. Just as long as you find my friend, I will help out as much as I can as well."
Agent Piccolo nodded once and proceeded to observe the scene in the kitchen.
XxXxXxX
Vegeta sat in the medium sized kitchen-ette area of the swanky penthouse sweet he, Eighteen and Bulma were hiding in. His elbows were propped up on the kitchen table and his hands were rubbing his temples. He long since stopped reading the files that were displayed on his laptop screen.
He was tired, even though he got a solid five hours sleep...The assassin had been up before daybreak, surprisingly not because his internal alarm told him it was time to get up.
He woke up to his name being softly murmured in his ear. He opened his eyes to see that somehow, in the middle of the night, Bulma and he had entangled their limbs around each other and were now laying horizontally on the large couch. Bulma lay slightly on top of him, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, while his arms had found their way around her body in a protective yet gentle hold.
It was amazing how familiar this felt, after all these years. He always felt so at home and at peace when they were together like this. Hell just being with her made him feel like a better man. Back when they were together, it felt as if Bulma scared the demons away that haunted Vegeta.
But soon the warm feeling Bulma was feeding Vegeta left and was replaced by uncertainty and darkness. If he had any hope in protecting Bulma's life -and his for that matter- things needed to be done. People needed to be killed, and unfortunately Bulma was along for the ride, whether she or he liked it or not.
"I found it!" Eighteen's voice broke through his internal thoughts.
Vegeta let go of his temples and looked across the table, giving his blonde assistant his attention.
"Frieza has scheduled a huge offload of weaponry to his biggest client in the middle east." Eighteen said without looking up from her own laptop. "A Sikh. It looks to be a huge offload too. Over fifty million dollars in weaponry is being sold to this Sikh."
Vegeta leaned over slightly to the side to check on Bulma, who was in the living room. Her long hair was still damp and hung loosely down her back from taking a shower. Her blood stained clothes replaced with the pair of jeans and black shirt Vegeta had bought the previous day in West City. Her legs were pulled up into her chest and her arms hugged them tightly. Her face had a twinge of worry, but was otherwise calm as she watched early morning news casts on the tv.
He straightened out again and pinched the bridge of his nose and grunted.
"It looks like the exchange will take place in Paris, France in approximately four weeks. Enough time for you to intercept."
"Uh... Guys..." Bulma hollered from the other room. "I think you all need to see this."
Both Vegeta and Eighteen walked to the living room and looked at the TV, as Bulma turned up the volume.
"-heiress to the Capsule Corporation, Bulma Briefs is missing." The female news caster announced. To the left of the screen a picture of Bulma from a gala she had attended a few months ago popped up. "Police were called to Ms. Briefs home at 11:30 last night, complaints of gun shots fired were made from multiple neighbors. Responding officers were shocked to find two rooms completely shot up and two dead bodies. The identities of the men have not yet been released. We will now go live to a press conference regarding these events."
The screen then went to show the outside of Bulma's home. Crime scene workers, police officers and men in suites bustled about as Goku and a tall bald man stood in front of a podium with half a dozen microphones from different new stations.
"We at the FBI are not sure at this time if Ms. Briefs is a victim or is an accomplice of what has occurred. She was last seen with this man." The bald man held up a picture of Vegeta that had been taken a few years back when he was still in the army. He had his formal navy blue uniform on, showing his many ribbons and medals, and white service cap. If it weren't for his usual scowl and coal black eyes, Bulma wouldn't have recognized him in the picture. She almost had to suppress a giggle at the site of his buzzed hair cut underneath his service cap.
"This man's name is Vegeta Ouji Junior. He is a highly decorated army veteran and is considered armed and dangerous. We have received word that Mr. Ouji is an illegal arms dealer and is a possible terrorist. If you seen any of them, please call 911."
Vegeta growled as he shut the TV off and stomped over to the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the bustling city below. He rested his forehead on the cool glass and closed his eyes.
"This just got ten times harder." He grumbled to himself.
Bulma flopped down onto the couch. "I...I have no words." She said as she buried her face into her arms.
Eighteen sat down next to Bulma and shook her head as the blue haired woman started to rock back and forth on the couch. The woman was not coping well with the situation. She looked to her boss patiently. He was deep in thought, the gears in his brain working out a plan of action.
It was one of the qualities she admired about her him. Always able to keep calm in a shitty situation and come up with a solid plan.
Vegeta inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. He opened his eyes and abruptly twisted around and headed back to his laptop and proceeded to type furiously on the keyboard.
"Fuck me." He murmured.
Eighteen and Bulma both stood up and came into the kitchen, both looking at Vegeta with concern.
"They've already frozen all of my accounts in the states..." He paused and again started to type furiously for another second, his deep scowl relaxed slightly. He was thankful he had opened up an account under a fake name in Zurich, which had a substantial amount of money in it.
Vegeta looked to Eighteen. "Contact Cap'. Tell him that the Woman and I are heading his way. If we leave soon, we should be there by nightfall."
Eighteen nodded and left the room to make the phone call her boss requested her to do.
Bulma sat in the chair next to Vegeta and watched as he stared at his laptop. "My parents are probably worried sick. I need to call them and tell them that I'm safe."
"Woman, you are not to contact anyone, is that clear?" Vegeta snapped. He looked up at her, making sure she understood. "The FBI and I'm sure the CIA think you're running with a terrorist. We need to lay low and stay alive for the next four weeks."
Bulma lower lip started to tremble and quickly looked down at the table. God this was a mess.
Vegeta continued, his tone gruff and annoyed. "Frieza's men most likely have your friends and loved one's phone's tapped and under surveillance. The second you call them they will come after us, and most likely will kill the people you care about most." His jaw clenched when he saw a single tear fall roll off of her cheek and landed on the table. He cursed himself mentally.
He sighed and lightly touched her hand. "Bulma..."
She looked up at him with soggy blue eyes. So scared. "Vegeta... I don't think I can do this." She said, barely above a whisper.
"Yes you can. If you're the same person I knew ten years ago, you can do this... and I promise you, Bulma. As long as I'm still breathing, I will do everything in my power to keep you alive."
Bulma smiled lightly through the tears and nodded.
He took his hand back and scowled at her. "I need you to get your shit together. I can't have you slowing me down with your emotions."
Her smile vanished and glared at him. Leave it to Vegeta. Say something sweet and finish it with a shitty comment.
He smirked at her, knowing what she was thinking and went back to work on his computer. "In four weeks, one of the largest arms deals will be going down in the middle east. Frieza will be there. If I catch him in the act and get evidence, then I will be able to clear my name and yours."
Bulma wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "Then life will go back to normal?"
Vegeta merely grunted. Sure, normal. Whatever that was.
Shortly after Eighteen called the man Vegeta called Cap', Bulma assumed was a nickname, Vegeta gave Eighteen orders to go to West City. He wanted her to keep an eye on the investigation, since he found that the FBI had set up a temporary headquarters there.
With her long blue hair stuffed in a cap, Bulma now sat in the passenger seat of Vegeta's black Challenger. She peered over at Vegeta, who seemed to be deep in thought as he drove the two of them to wherever this Cap' guy was.
They were quiet, yet the silence in the car seemed loud in a sense. Probably because Bulma's thoughts and worries were constantly being screamed in her head.
"Who is Cap' and why are we going there? As a matter of fact, why don't you tell me what the plan is." Bulma said, shifting towards Vegeta's scowling figure in the drivers seat.
Vegeta gave her a sideways glance, noting her attitude change from before they left. She seemed to be grasping the situation better. "Cap' is a retired assassin that I know. He specializes in identities and forged documents. He's good at what he does."
"Why do you call him Cap'?"
He rolled his eyes. "It's short for Captain. He was a Captain in the army before he was loaned out to the CIA as an assassin."
Bulma stuck her lower lip out thoughtfully and nodded. "Makes sense. "Then what will happen when we get what we need from Cap'?"
Vegeta growled in annoyance. She was bugging him with her questions. This was why he worked alone, if he had a partner, he would have shot them already. "Then we will need to go to Zurich to pick up a few things."
Bulma held out her hands in a stopping motion. "Whoa, whoa whoa. Zurich, Switzerland?"
Vegeta curtly nodded. "Do you know of any other Zurich?"
Bulma glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Yes Switzerland. From there we will go to Paris and intercept Frieza... bring him down for good."
Bulma straightened out in her seat, looking forward. It was kind of exciting, once you got passed the killer assassins chasing after the two of them and being wanted by the FBI, possibly the CIA for running with a 'terrorist'. She had never traveled over sea's. And what's more, she was going to Paris, the city of Love... with Vegeta. She chuckled to herself. Her mother always told her 'When life gives you lemons, make lemon-aide'.
XxXxXxXxX
As they drove, their surroundings slowly changed from cityscape to country-side. Buildings were beginning to be few and far between as they continued down the road and it seemed as if they were the only one's on the road, only the random logging truck or car passed them.
Soon they turned onto a dirt road that only was wide enough for one vehicle to pass through. It continued for about a mile and stopped in front of a simple looking house that was in dire need of a new coat of paint.
When Vegeta parked the car in front of the house, he turned the car off and stopped Bulma before she could exit the car.
"Hold it, Woman." Vegeta grabbed hold of her upper arm and looked around through the windshield cautiously. "Get out slowly and don't make any sudden movements." He let go of her arm and got out of the car.
She followed suit and stood perfectly still beside the car. She watched as Vegeta scanned the surrounding area and took his hand gun out of his waistline of his pants, slowly cocking it, readying himself. He walked over to where Bulma stood and motioned for her follow closely behind him.
Bulma took her hat off, letting her long blue hair splash over her shoulders and down her back. She looked around, trying get a better view of her surroundings, but was unable to. It was almost passed dusk, and besides the dim porch light, the area surrounding the beat up house was draped in darkness. Not being a fan of the unknown, Bulma grabbed hold of Vegeta's hand. Having physical contact with her made her feel better.
As they neared the front porch Vegeta halted as he felt cold steel press the back of his skull.
Bulma stopped also, looking at Vegeta, about to ask why he stopped and nearly fainted when she saw a very tall, very well built, bald older looking man with a shot gun, pointed directly at Vegeta's head. Her ex-boyfriend squeezed her hand, telling her it was ok and let go of her. Vegeta slowly held his hands up, letting his Desert Eagle hang loosely around his thumb. He slowly turned around and suppressed the urge to bat the shot gun nuzzle that was now pointed at his cheek.
The tension was thick, and Bulma was sure that something bad was going to happen. The two men starred hatefully at each other and the silence was absolutely deafening.
"Boy, you're in a heap of trouble." The older man said. His southern drawl was thick.
Bulma watched Vegeta as his deep scowl turned into a knowing smirk. "When am I not in a heap of trouble, Cap'?"
Cap' lowered the shot gun. Bulma instantly relaxed. So, this was Cap'.
"Come on," He slung the shotgun over his shoulder and waived his hand, as he walked passed the two of them and opened the door to the house. "you should get indoors. Who knows who's out there." He pointed to the surrounding country side.
Vegeta tucked his gun back in his pants and ushered Bulma into the house.
Cap' turned a few lights on telling them to make themselves at home.
Bulma was pleasantly surprised by the interior of the home. It wasn't what she expected. The inside was neat and tidy. The living room had a nice entertainment center, chalk full of dvd's complete with a large flat screen tv. She could tell by the dvd selection, Cap' was single. Lot's of action movies, filled with blood and gore, not one romantic comedy.
She followed Vegeta into the kitchen where Cap' was fetching beers for his guests.
Cap' handed her a bottle of bud light and tipped an imaginary hat. "Ms. Bulma. I'm Nappa Jones, but my friends call me Cap'."
She nodded politely. "It's nice to meet you, Cap'." She took the bottle of beer and took a healthy swig.
Cap' smiled at her and then looked to Vegeta. "Eighteen said you'd be here, and not ten minutes after she called, I see your ugly mug on the news."
Vegeta chugged the beer in just a few swigs and set the empty bottle down on the counter. "Yeah, well, I pissed of Frieza Cold." He looked to Bulma and then back to Cap'. "So did she. He sent two of his men to off the both of us, but it didn't work out too well for them. I'm thinking he's feeding bullshit lies to the FBI about me being a terrorist and an arms dealer."
Cap pressed his lips together and scratched his bald head. "Yeah, that guy Piccolo," He shook his head. "He's not FBI. He's CIA."
Vegeta growled. "Fuck." He said through gritted teeth. "I knew it."
"He was one of us back in the day. I did a few jobs with him. I'm thinking he's posing as FBI so not to spook the local law enforcement. CIA kind of makes people a little antsy in their pantsy. With that being said, I'm thinking you're correct about Frieza spoon feeding them lies. It makes sense, he's one of the directors of the CIA."
Vegeta nodded. "He's trying to make me his fall guy."
Cap' looked at him, brows furrowed questionably. "Say what now?"
"Frieza's smart. He knows that I know exactly what he does. He covering his own ass and pinning his dirty deals on me before I can pin it on him."
Cap looked thoughtful. "I think you're right Ouji." He finished his beer. "Well, let's step into my office."
Vegeta and Bulma followed him into the dining room, which Cap used as his work place. The large room was filled with large computer screens and computers. All sorts of different camera's hung neatly on the walls and a fancy scanner and other high tech gadgets were placed around the room. Bulma couldn't help but want to play with the toys that surrounded her.
"So, my friend, what can I do for you?"
"The works." Vegeta stated flatly. "I've already got the basic things for me. But the woman needs a new identity, plus a few extra's."
"Extra's huh?" Cap said rubbing his chin.
"What are the extra's?" Bulma asked.
Vegeta merely gave her a sideways glance and took out a small plastic bag out of his back pocket and tossed it to his friend. "There's my identity. Work off of that. I want her to have a Florida State drivers license, passport, social security number and card, credit cards, bank cards..." He paused and sighed heavily looking at Bulma again. "and... a marriage certificate. But she is to have a different last name from mine."
Cap nodded and sat down at his desk. "I'm assuming you will need this ASAP?"
Vegeta grunted. "Yes. I'm going to book a flight to Zurich. I want to leave no later than tomorrow afternoon."
"This is going to cost a pretty penny, Ouji."
Vegeta huffed. "I have enough to buy some supplies and two plane tickets. You know I'm good for it. I'll pay you back when this is over with."
Cap nodded. "Yeah, sure kid." He turned to face his desk went straight to work.
Bulma walked up to Vegeta. "Um, a marriage certificate?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes at her. "It's pre-cautionary." He then turned on his heel and stomped out of the room, leaving Bulma staring at the door he had just exited out of.
"Ms. Bulma."
Bulma turned around to Cap'. She watched as he opened large door from one of the many metal lockers that lined one of the walls.
"Which will it be?"
She walked to the opened locker door and gasped. Wigs. Wigs of every different color, length and style. She went straight for the wig that was just as black as Vegeta's hair. It was finely made, the hair soft, silky and shiny and the length matched hers.
Cap then went into another locker and produced two little white boxes and handed them to her. "Contacts. Their brown." He informed her. "Why don't you step into the bathroom and get yourself situated, then come out here and we'll get your picture taken for your license and passport.
She nodded and hesitated as she looked again at the door Vegeta had stomped out of.
"Don't worry about him. He just needs to blow off some steam." Cap assured her. She kindly nodded to him and headed to the bathroom.
XxXxXxXxX
It was well passed 10pm. Cap' took the necessary pictures of Bulma and were waiting on the ink on a few of the documents that he forged for his old friend to dry.
Bulma had since removed the wig and contacts and was currently passed out on his couch, the TV was on, but the volume was down low.
Cap headed out to the porch, where Vegeta was and sat next to him, handing him a beer. He knew when Bulma asked him about the marriage certificate what Vegeta was feeling, and why he stomped out of the room.
"I'm done. Once I prove my innocence, I'm done." Vegeta said. His voice low and his eyes were looking out to the darkness.
Cap' nodded. "What changed?"
Vegeta took a gulp of beer and hunched over his knees, his elbow rested on his knee and the other arm laid loosely over the other. He shook his head. "A few years ago, I couldn't see myself doing anything but the job..."
"But?"
Vegeta ran his free hand through his hair. "But, now I don't enjoy it... especially after seeing-" He stopped himself before he could finish. It was something he wasn't ready to say out loud yet. Announcing his weakness for the blue haired woman out loud didn't sit well with him.
Cap' looked at his friend and nodded, knowingly. He had seen the same look in his old friend's eyes only once before.
"You know they won't let you go easily, right? It's not like you can go off and into the sunset and live happily ever after with your woman and be free. You will always be an assassin."
"What are you trying to say?" Vegeta snapped, looking at Cap'.
"Look, Vegeta. All I'm saying is, be careful. Because as far as they're concerned, you're the property of the United States, and they will do anything to ensure they keep what belongs to them... including taking things that are precious to you to keep you in line. They'd assume kill you rather than let you go. Be prepared for the fight of your life."
Vegeta looked away at his old friend and started to stare off into the dark again.
"But, I have to say, Ouji... I've never met anyone like you. I'm sure once this whole ordeal is over, you'll prevail. One way or another." Cap' stood and stretched his bulky limbs. "Vegeta."
The younger of the two, looked up at him. Rarely did his old Captain ever call him by his first name.
"I know you're a realist and so am I... and tt's not that I don't have any faith in you, but this mission you're about to embark on is probably one of the most dangerous you will ever go on. If, god forbid, you don't make it... make sure you don't have any regrets."
Vegeta looked up at his old Captain, not sure what to say. Not sure what he was trying to get at.
Cap' gave Vegeta a small smile and dug in his pocket, bringing out a folded piece of paper. He gave it to Vegeta and left him on the porch.
The young assassin finished off his beer and unfolded the paper Cap' gave him. He gasped lightly at the sight of his own hand writing and he knew instantly what his friend was getting at.
8 years ago...
Vegeta sat up in a daze, shell shocked. He looked around, trying to figure out what happened, blinking rapidly, trying to regain his vision. Bodies of his fellow soldiers laid in pieces and heaps all around him. The smoke was thick from the explosion he had just been in and there were several small fires ablaze around him.
The moments before he blacked out, slowly came back to him. He had narrowly dodged a rocket that was meant to kill he and his team.
The ringing in his ears started to fade away as he wobbled to his feet. Still slightly disoriented, he dove for cover next to a brick wall that was crumbling away from the recent fire fight.
""Ouji!" The loud booming voice of Cap' yelled from behind.
Vegeta turned to see him barreling up to him, dodging bullets as his large frame dove for cover next to Vegeta.
"This way, Ouji." Cap' commanded as he laid low to the ground and made his way down the old brick wall, Vegeta following suit.
They made their way to an abandoned building that was partially in ruin. They'd be safe for a while.
"Woo doggy, that was a close one, eh Ouji?" Cap' said taking his helmet off and rubbed the sweat off of his bald head.
Vegeta practically fell to the ground across from his captain. His hearing had come back, but he was still feeling out of it and a little woozy for his taste.
"Ouji, you're not looking too good." Cap said as he stayed low to the ground and made his way to Vegeta. He looked the boy over, making sure he wasn't hit and was going into shock.
His eyes grew wide when he found a large shard of metal sticking out of the side of Vegeta's chest.
"Whoa kid. You need a medic."
Vegeta looked down dumbly at his side and let out a weak chuckle at the site of the large shard sticking out of him. Now that he thought of it, it was kind of uncomfortable to breathe.
He fell backwards, his arms feeling like limp noodles, unable to sustain his weight any longer.
He looked to Cap' who was barking orders into the his walkie talkie, yelling for med-evac ASAP. Giving base their coordinates.
"They should be here in two hours." Cap' said, stuffing the radio in one of his many pockets. " You think you can hold on that long?"
"Yeah, sure." Vegeta said. The effects of blood lose and shell shock making him feel drunk.
Cap' made his way over to the young soldier. "I've got morphine. It'll take the edge off until evac team gets here." He quickly injected him and then dragged Vegeta's limp body over to one of the standing walls, propping his upper body against it, and then sat down next to him.
The minutes seemed to pass by at a very slow pace for the both of them. And as time passed, Vegeta started to reflect on life, as one may do when facing death.
Bulma's beautiful face smiled brightly at him in his minds eye. God he missed her. If only he could hold her just one last time. Kiss her, make love to her. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him. He'd abandoned her. She'd probably spit in his face if she ever saw him again.
He'd had left two years ago, and thought about her often. Had she forgotten about him by now?
Vegeta dug into his side pocket of his camo's and took out a sandwich bag that held a neatly folded piece of paper in it.
"Cap'." Vegeta weakly handed it to him. "If I don't make it, I want you to give this to someone for me, ok?"
The captain took the baggy and looked at the young soldier. Vegeta had been in his squad for a year and a half. He was one of the best soldiers he had the pleasure of fighting side by side with.
His nickname was 'The Robot' due to being able to show no emotion, ever. He was the best at what he did. He graduated the top of his class in boot camp. He was everything a soldier should be. The boy never missed a mark when shooting, his tactics skills were supreme and was as smart as a whip. So when the boy handed him a letter and was showing emotion, he was at a lose for words. The look in the boy's eyes were full of regret and sarrow.
Cap' had seen this before in other soldiers. Who was near death, especially when they were heavily medicated. Emotions that they were all trained to suppress and bury deep seemed to pop up to the surface.
Vegeta continued. "There's an address in there. If it's possible, I want you to hand deliver it to her. Tell her..." He tried desperately to swallow the lump in his throat, and waited until he knew he a handle on his emotions to continue. "tell her that I love her. And that I never stopped loving her and that I'm sorry for leaving her... promise me Cap'." His eyes felt droopy and was trying desperately to hold onto consciousness.
Cap' looked down at the letter in the baggy. The name 'Bulma' was written on it. He looked over to Vegeta and nodded. "I promise, boy...You'll pull through this, kid. And when you do, you can tell Bulma yourself."
Vegeta nodded once and gave into the morphine and passed out.
Vegeta looked down at the letter he had written all those years ago and pressed it into his palm as he made a fist.
"No regrets..." He said softly and pondered the old man's advice.
