A/N: Wow, I'm so so sorry for taking so long to update. Things just got busy with school and I got swept up in my other stories, not to mention the CJ UK promo scared me to death and so I had to start a mini-fic for it. Heh. Now that it has been made obvious that everything in that promo was twisted to some degree, I feel much better and can write other things again. ;) Also, I technically only had outlined up to chapter 6 for this story, so I had to outline some more to figure out more of the specifics. I know in general what's going to happen, but not all the specifics, and I need those to…write chapters. Lol. Anyhow, I hope there are some of you out there still reading this! Please review!
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Ch.7—Tainted Light
She looked at him and blinked, extremely tempted to laugh just a little nervously so he could admit to what she hoped was just a sick joke. But her face hardly moved. There was no way she could even attempt a half-decent playful smirk.
"What do you mean?" she asked finally. A chilly fear ripped up her spine and she wondered if she'd slipped into another one of her nightmares. They'd been having such a wonderful time together only to be jolted by a quite possibly fatal situation. She didn't know which was worse – his abandonment or her possible death away from him. She shook her head, desperately trying to get the horrifying thoughts and images out of it.
Chuck swallowed hard and daringly placed his hands on her shoulders.
"You heard screams," he prodded. She nodded shakily. "You…saw blood." A breathy sigh escaped her.
"Yes," she said.
"And you went up there again…and there was…"
"Nothing," she whispered, looking up to him with watery eyes. He gulped, his fingers clenching tighter around her shoulders, afraid he'd lose her if he let go even for a moment. "It was clean, spotless," she continued. "But…"
He closed his eyes in anguish as she lost her voice, and then released her shoulders to grip her waist softly. She walked numbly to him and rested her face in the warm crevice of his neck. He was sweating.
"I need to tell you something."
She nodded softly against him. Her mind was racing and then nonexistent. Blank sheets filled it, racing past, and then words filled them, images she never wanted to remember. The horrible reality of what she may have embarked on just because she didn't want to be abandoned from his mission scared her more than what she could have possibly imagined. She wasn't even at a place to blame or hurt herself because of what she'd done. She couldn't even comprehend blaming him because he'd left her alone so long. She was just scared and shaking and hoping that if Chuck held her long enough, it would all go away.
He guided them to the couch some feet away and sat her carefully on it. She quickly snuggled up to him when he sat down beside her, and he wrapped an arm firmly around her. With a shaky breath, he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"Tell me," she requested, her breaths shaky as well. It played out thoroughly when she spoke. Chuck cleared his throat softly, trying to be quiet about it. It almost felt like if they were too loud they would be discovered and tortured for what they knew. It was a scary thought, and had been one Chuck had been able to ignore as long as he avoided certain aspects of his investigation – the aspects Blair had unknowingly stumbled into.
"Mr. Samuel Corduran is the man you encountered—"
"—heard," she corrected.
"Heard," he amended, "when you went up to the twelfth floor where his hotel suite is located."
She gulped.
"He is posing as the administrator and ultimate authority for this…high school competition. He makes it look as if he's just a womanizer, player type person, but in reality, if he appears to be lusting after a girl, it is not for sex." He paused, not wanting to say the next words out loud. "It's for violence."
"He kills them," she said breathlessly, keeping her voice low.
"Yes," he confirmed. Her eyebrows furrowed suddenly, angry.
"Is it just some sort of hobby?" she gawked, shifting a little restlessly in his arms. Chuck shook his head.
"From what I've been able to discover, no. He's doing something illegal, some underground work, dealing with some very dangerous dealers all throughout the world. Whenever he needs to deliver his products, he moves to where his clients are, posing as the head of some academic establishment. The members of the school board he represents have always been oblivious. He covers his tracks well, and if someone does discover what he's doing and who he really is…"
"He kills them," she gasped. Chuck swallowed hard and nodded.
"It's not just illegal drugs and substances though. He grew up poor and so has a tremendous hatred for the well-off people he comes across. Unless they avoid him completely or make it worth his wild to interact with him, he kills them. There is no point in having him arrested either," he addressed, "as I said, he covers his tracks well. He has connections in the prisons, and the few times he has ended up in a jail facility, more than half the prison guards overseeing his activities, have mysteriously…disappeared."
"Oh my God…" she said, tears threatening to fall.
"He knows you were there, Blair."
She pursed her lips and held her breath to keep from crying.
"You've got to get out of here." His voice sounded so broken. He was scared to death of losing her. He couldn't take that risk. He only hoped she wouldn't fight him on the issue. She was silent for a few moments and then whirled around in his arms. It burned him to see the tears shimmering in her eyes.
"How have you avoided him?" she asked, gasping. He nodded, knowing the question was only the beginning of many more.
"When I contacted my P.I. about my mother's whereabouts, he told me that this man had a connection to someone who might know where she is. Mr. Tyler also knew how dangerous he was though, and suggested I try to…make a deal with someone less threatening that was still connected to Mr. Corduran." He cleared his throat. "I came to this hotel because it was much less ritzy than any upper class person would be used to. It would be comfortable territory for this…Corduran. When I saw the sign for the high school competition, I knew he must somehow be nearby, but I was completely confused when I saw that Bass, Inc. was supporting the whole thing. I immediately thought of Jack, but…" He sighed, closing his hand over his eyes and forehead.
"You didn't want it to be true," she completed his thought. He raised his head back up.
"I didn't. Instead, I had my P.I. search down this woman who was connected to Mr. Corduran. I just learned recently that she's posing for a high school student in the competition. She's also staying at the hotel."
Her lips parted.
"Blair," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "if you don't get out of here as soon as possible, I can't promise I can save you from this, from him," his voice was desperate, needy and incredibly unstable, and his eyes were persistent and burning like fire. "I need to be able to. Please."
She stared at him, scared, trying to figure out what she was going to do. And then realization hit her. Her eyebrows narrowed. "No."
He looked at her confused, his hand loosening around her shoulder. "Blair—"
"No," she said, getting defensive. She pulled away from him. "You take me halfway around the world—"
"You insisted on coming." His eyebrows narrowed now. She gaped.
"I wasn't going to let you run away from me again," her voice rose in pitch. He leaned forward and stared intently at her.
"Blair, you know I would never do that again."
She scoffed and backed away a little. "Oh, please. Because it looks to me like you got yourself in a whole lot of trouble all over again, and if it wasn't me fearing for my life, it would be you!" she pointed her finger dangerously at him, hoping he would get the point. He did, but not in the way she'd wanted.
"Exactly!"
She fumed and then shook her head, staring at him in disbelief. "Can't you stop and think about someone other than yourself for one second?"
He gawked at her and stood to his feet. "I'm doing this because I want you to be safe. I think that qualifies as not being selfish, don't you?" A raging silence filled the space between them. "If I was being selfish about this, I would demand you don't leave. I would risk your safety because I would care about nothing but you being beside me all the time."
"Considering the fact that you could have cared less about me being beside you for the last couple weeks, I think that's a risk that you should consider very seriously."
Both of their eyes were intense, fiery and refusing to back down. Finally Blair gathered up her purse and moved around the couch towards the door.
"Blair," he moved after her. Desperation seized him. He couldn't let her leave. What if something happened to her before he sent her home? What if he couldn't save her before that evil man who knew she knew too much did? What if it was too late?
He didn't get a chance. The door slammed in his face before he even had a chance to say another word.
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She was wearing pants and a breezy shirt, unlike the flowy summer dresses she'd adorned almost every day for the past week. It wasn't that she had become overly uncomfortable with Jack's eyes lusting after her and undressing her with them every spare moment he got, but a change of pace was always good, and she was going to need it if she was going to get Chuck and herself out of this mess. Not to mention his stunning, determined girlfriend that refused to leave his side.
That's why when Jack left the office and she could successfully spot him eating lunch with some of his businessmen on the sandy beach below, she took her move. He had taken her cell phone from her and any other form of communication she might have had, but conveniently he hadn't taken his cell phone down to lunch with him. Her eyes had sparkled at that revelation hardly a minute after he'd left the room and she could hear his feet resounding with a solid sound down the long mahogany staircase.
She had grown quite disgusted by him over the years, but he was tolerable. She couldn't say he had kidnapped her because she'd come with him and handed her things over to him of her own will. It wasn't the first time he'd threatened her. She wasn't afraid the last time and she wasn't this time either. Despite the short five year age difference between them, she'd always seen him as just a kid. She'd weasel her way out of his schemes just as well as she had done before. Of course now she had the safety of Chuck and his girlfriend to consider. That made her feel a little helpless, and would certainly make things more difficult. Just difficult though, not impossible.
"Lily," she said into the phone, watching Jack with every breath he took.
"Who is this?" the woman asked. Her brows furrowed. Elizabeth smiled politely as if Lily was right there in front of her. She was relieved the woman had answered her phone.
"My name is Elizabeth."
"I…uh…"
"I'm," she took a deep breath. Taking the plunge was usually something she didn't think twice about, and she certainly had waited too long to contact someone regarding the situation going on, but still, it would be an awful shock to the naïve woman waiting for her to continue her sentence.
"I'm Chuck's mother," she said coolly. Lily blinked, hardly believe what she'd heard.
"I'm sorry, who?" she asked. Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly.
"I'm Chuck's mother. I showed up in town to visit Bart's grave, and Chuck found me."
"Oh my God…" Lily was in shock but forced herself to focus on the conversation. She hadn't even made it to Bart's grave. Everything going on with William and Rufus and Serena had just proved to be too much. She couldn't stop to think about yet another husband she'd had. When Blair had told her later on that Chuck had recovered from his 'cold spell', she'd pushed past the issue completely.
"Well, uh, it's nice to hear from you, Elizabeth," she said politely. "Is there something I can help you with? Perhaps you'd like to know information on Charles?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she cleared her throat. "Chuck is in Taiwan with Blair searching for me." She heard a small gasp from Lily on the other end. "I'm with Jack in Australia, and I think…" she paused, "I think your step-son may be in danger."
A breath caught in her throat. "What…what can I do?" she cleared her throat. Suddenly she felt very hot and it was hard to breathe. Lily quickly patted her forehead with a handkerchief. There were droplets on her skin that felt familiarly like sweat.
Elizabeth sighed. "I'm not exactly sure, but you need to get Chuck and Blair back to New York. Jack won't tell me what he's planning, with good reason I'm sure, but it can't be good. He's been planning this for months, according to what my snooping tells me."
Lily pursed her lips. "O-Okay…alright." She was still trying very hard to breathe. "I'll see if I can…figure…something out…" She felt very much like the sky had decided to fall on her and her knees were shaking against each other.
"Mom?" was heard in the background. "Are you okay?"
"I…I have to go, Elizabeth. I'll get back to—"
"Oh, no, wait! There's still something—"
A loud clatter was heard on the other end. Elizabeth's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The woman must have fainted! There were still some things she had to tell her. She had to tell her that in the possible rescuing of Chuck and Blair, she couldn't let them know it was her bringing them home. Otherwise, they'd never go. Or at least Chuck wouldn't. She didn't know how she was so certain of that factor, but decided she'd pin it on maternal instincts, if she even really had those. There was more that she had wanted to say too, but for the moments left her. All at once too.
Jack had left his lunch 'date'. She didn't hear any movement around the room or in the hallway though, and she gathered that that meant he hadn't come into the building yet. She retreated to the balcony, her now favorite location, and rested in the stylish beach chair that had been specially brought in for her. Jack was always big on presents, whether they were rewarded or not.
"It was a wonderful night, Bart." Her eyes sparkled up at him and his brilliant smile overwhelmed her. She was so madly, deeply in love with him. Sometimes she could hardly breathe at the thought of it.
"It was for me, as well, Evelyn." He closed his eyes as he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. She bit her bottom lip in the gentlemanly manner he was going about the farewell to their date. She'd heard many things about Bart Bass, but staying steady and just having a girlfriend period was not one of them.
She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't noticed Jack Bass, Bart's younger brother, staring at them darkly from the glass window adorning the living room on the left side of the house. The air was chilly outside on the front veranda, but she didn't care. Bart's body warmth was incredibly protective and blocked out most of the chill she'd been feeling.
"Here," he said, slipping off his suit jacket and draping it around her bare shoulders. "You're cold." He dipped his head down to meet her lips with his own. "Keep it," he whispered against her mouth. Sensual chills traveled up her spine and bit her bottom lip again in excitement.
"But how will you keep warm?" she purred. She thought she heard his breath catch in his throat, almost as if he'd been caught off guard. She was filled with incredible excitement at the possibility of her having power over him.
"I'll dream of you," he murmured against her.
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The sun was starting to set when she came back. Chuck had been going out of his mind trying to find her somewhere out in the city. After half an hour though, he'd convinced himself that she'd return to the suite eventually – for her things, if for nothing else. That would be his one chance to smooth things over. The fight hadn't been horrible per se. They'd had worse. But after the bliss that had been their morning, he couldn't just let them be angry at each other. He certainly wasn't mad at her. He just wanted her to see it from his point of view.
His head looked up at her when the door opened and he heard her quiet footsteps. His hair was tousled and his expression looked weary, but he immediately straightened out his appearance and stood to his feet once she shut the door behind her. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, if she was angry or sad, or both. He didn't want to interrogate her about where she'd been and what she'd done or even what she'd decided. He wouldn't give her the power to choose when he felt he knew what was best, but most of all he didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to spark their fight again. It would grow like wildfire if he did.
"You're right," she said suddenly, looking at him determinedly. He blinked and his eyebrows furrowed. He found himself unable to speak. "I was being stubborn before and you were just looking out for me." She looked away briefly and pursed her lips. "I'm going to pack my things," she sighed, not letting on that she was devastated by her resignation or even that she wanted to cry.
Slowly, Chuck stood to his feet. He felt incredibly uneasy just looking at her. This had been what he wanted, but not like this. She looked so broken, and not in a way that she'd miss him. There was a little fear in her expression that suggested her certainty that he'd never come back to her. But he gathered where her real devastation was. She was convinced it was just like before that morning, except now it was worse. He wasn't ignoring her. He was sending her away.
The possibility that she was thinking that made him feel extremely guilty. He moved just a little in her direction but she walked faster to get to the bedroom.
"Just uh…let me know when I can go," she said quickly, shutting the door behind her without giving him another look. He stopped walking and painfully slouched over, his arms hanging freely at his sides. This was not how he wanted things to go. But it was for her protection, he told himself. He nodded at that reassurance, almost smiled and then his face fell again, just as easily as it had been lifted up. There was no kidding himself. If she was going to leave, it was going to be the right way, without resentment.
He marched over to the door and was about to open it, hoping she hadn't locked him out of their bedroom, when the door flung open. She looked rather flustered and was breathing hard.
"Just tell me one thing."
He nodded numbly. "What?" he rasped out.
"Why exactly were you dining at all those classy, fine dining restaurants across town?" she demanded. His eyebrows furrowed and he momentarily was at a loss for words. He had been thinking so hard about how to get Blair back home peacefully, that he'd lost almost all sight of the dangerous man who was the cause of her desperate escape.
"My uh…" he cleared his throat. "My P.I. found the upper class survivors of Mr. Corduran. I went to dinner with them so it wouldn't look suspicious and asked for details on their experiences with him, and how they came out of it."
She sighed noticeably. It seemed as though she were rather relieved. Chuck concentrated on this and came to the conclusion that she was double-checking that he wasn't just making her leave so he could cheat on her in the comfort of his own suite. He shuddered at the thought, and of her thinking. He wanted to reassure her properly…
"Right." She closed the door slowly and locked it. He groaned. "Goodnight, Chuck," she said from behind the door. He could hear her moving around in the bedroom. He sighed and looked out the window. The sun was a brilliant orange ball of light in the sky, still visible above most of the skyscrapers.
He ran a hand through his hair.
"Blair—"
"I'm busy packing, Chuck. Maybe you can talk to me when I'm back in New York, on the phone naturally." She sounded like she was beaming. He hated the serious-sarcasm in her voice. He gaped, but not before a follow-up growling and angry eyes narrowed at the locked mahogany door.
"Blair!" he shouted.
"Busy!" she shouted back.
"Blair, we need to talk about this," his voice lowered.
"There's nothing to talk about, Chuck. I'm leaving."
"Not like this, you're not."
"It's what you wanted!"
He gaped at her. "Since when?" She did not answer. "Blair, I've always wanted you to be happy! But you can't be happy if you're dead!" He almost cried out. She didn't answer. "Blair!" he pounded on the door. She said nothing. "Blair, we have to talk about this!"
He shook the doorknob that would not unlock and continued to pound on the door that would not fall through. Blair said nothing, did nothing, and thoroughly exhausted, he eventually resigned himself to collapsing against the door, his back facing it. Maybe she would slip out in the need to escape the semi-cluttered room. Maybe then he would be able to force her to talk about the situation with him. And if not, his powers of seduction often proved very convincing. He hoped that line of thinking was not in question this time around, given the situation. He would not let her go home with them tattered and fluttering in the wind. He needed her too god damn much.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed. =) The chapter took me freaking forever. Lol. Please review! And vote on my poll if you haven't. ;p
