Tracy Tower
March 30
3:30 AM
"Did you see the hand spring?" Alan demanded.
Scott ignored him, crossing his arms over his chest. "He had an earpiece, Dad – you could tell when Kane was talking to him." His voice was flat and hard.
John and Virgil exchanged a glance; they knew that Scott was barely holding it together. Seeing the sheer misery on Gordon's face had been hard on all of them, but Scott seemed to be taking their failure to catch their aquanaut brother personally.
Unfortunately, Alan was less adept at reading Scott, and he was blowing off steam by turning into a chatterbox.
"Seriously, did anyone see the hand spring?" Alan repeated loudly.
Scott growled and crossed over to Alan in one long step, grabbing him by the upper arms. "Yes, Alan," he snapped. "I saw the hand spring. And I felt the hand spring, and I really want you to stop talking about it now."
He let go, and Alan stepped back, his face becoming sullen. "I just thought it was cool, that's all," he muttered. "It's like Gordon's turning into a Power Ranger or something." His face fell. "An evil Power Ranger, that is."
Their father looked confused, and John explained, "It's a dorky TV show they used to watch."
"Hey, you watched it with us sometimes," Alan retorted. "Admit it – you always wanted to be the blue Ranger!"
John's face reddened, but before he could reply, Jeff held up his hand for silence.
"Focus, boys," he said softly. "Arguing won't help Gordon. Now, let's head up to my office and see if we can summarize what we know about Gordon's situation."
Weary and discouraged, they headed for the elevator.
Kane's Villa
March 30
8:17 AM
Gordon wandered down the hallway, feeling like something the cat had dragged in. It was much earlier than he normally got up on the day after a theft, and he hadn't been able to sleep at all – every time he closed his eyes, his vision was filled with his brothers' faces, their expressions ranging from hurt and confused to angry and accusing.
His father's words would replay through his mind then, soothing his ragged soul and giving him hope. They still loved him. They still trusted him. They were just waiting for him to come home.
He needed to get home soon, he thought desperately. The encounter a few hours earlier had shown him that there was already a gap forming between him and his brothers, and it scared him. They didn't know how to interact with him, and he was afraid that if he didn't get back to them soon, the change would be permanent.
He slouched into the kitchen – but then he suddenly snapped upright as the focus of his entire being zoomed in on one small object sitting on the counter: the remote control.
Before his mind had even fully caught up to what he was seeing, his body was carrying him forward, and he let out an involuntary gasp as his fingers actually closed around the remote.
He stood there for a moment, just staring down at the object sitting in the palm of his hand, his mind frozen and yet racing with ideas at the same time. What should he do now?
A car, he thought wildly – he needed to get away fast, before Kane discovered that he'd found the remote. And a phone, so he could call his family and have them meet him somewhere.
His heart suddenly turned to ice in his chest as he thought of something – suppose Kane had some other way to activate the nanites inside his brothers?
Okay, so he had to talk to Brains first, and get the scientist working on some way to extract the nanites, just in case.
All right, so he had a plan, meaning it was past time to get moving. He spun toward the door – and then recoiled as he came face to face with Kane.
Kane's eyes were cold and hard. He held out his hand. "I'll take that," he said sternly.
Gordon took a step back. "I don't think so," he ground out. He quickly tucked the remote into one of the pouches on his belt.
Kane didn't wait for Gordon to assume a defensive stance before he lunged toward him, diving in with a powerful straight punch.
Gordon dodged just in time, Kane's fist just barely grazing his jaw. Continuing the motion of ducking to the side, Gordon tucked in his shoulder and dropped into a roll, bouncing back up to his feet a couple yards away.
Kane closed the gap between them with a hand spring, but Gordon had learned his lesson and met Kane with a fierce uppercut before the criminal could transfer his energy into a shove or a kick.
Kane staggered backward, and Gordon dashed for the door to the hallway.
He only made it a few feet down the hall before he heard Kane catching up. Not wanting to be tackled – wrestling wasn't his strong suit – he waited until Kane was almost on top of him, and then skidded to a halt, ducking under Kane's outstretched arm as he did so.
With lightning reflexes, Kane pivoted and immediately whirled into a high roundhouse kick, slamming his foot into Gordon's chest.
The impact threw Gordon backward, and stars flashed in front of his eyes as he bounced off the wall. He stiffened his knees to keep from falling and blinked rapidly to try to clear his vision, knowing that his opponent would be quick to press his advantage.
Sure enough, Kane rushed in with a series of quick punches that had Gordon backing away, barely getting his arms up in time to block each blow.
Gordon smacked up against the wall again. Startled, he dropped his guard for a split second, and Kane immediately crowded into his space, winding him with a gut punch and then wrapping his fingers around Gordon's throat.
He tightened his grip just enough that Gordon's breathing became a harsh wheeze. "Give it up, Gordon," he growled. Keeping his grip on Gordon's throat with one hand, he reached down with the other hand toward the pouch holding the remote.
Gordon snorted. "Funny," he gasped out. "I thought you picked me because I don't give up!" He jammed his thumbnail under Kane's nail as hard as he could, and as the man jerked his hand back with an involuntary hiss of pain, Gordon snapped his head down, smashing his forehead against the bridge of Kane's nose.
Once again, Kane was sent staggering backward, his hand going automatically to his nose as it began to gush blood.
While his opponent was off balance, Gordon pushed off from the wall and dove after him, kicking and punching Kane anywhere he had an opening. For about ten seconds, Gordon had the exhilarating thought that he might actually be able win the battle.
Then he backed Kane up against the opposite wall, and the solid smack seemed to jolt the criminal out of his slightly-dazed state. Suddenly Kane's eyes blazed with anger, and he planted his feet, neatly blocking the punch that Gordon had intended to be his final blow. Gordon's hand hit the stone wall instead.
And then the tide of the battle turned, and Kane was brushing past Gordon's defenses as if they didn't exist, hammering him with blow after blow until his ribs were aching and he could barely draw in a breath.
He saw the final blow coming, and he knew he couldn't block it, but he tried anyway. The wide, swinging punch caught him full on the point of the chin, snapping his head back and sending him flying backward. He was out cold before he hit the floor.
Journal
March 31
6:02 AM
Can hardly move today, after everything that happened yesterday – the big fight, and then Kane making me spar and do other exercises ALL DAY LONG as punishment. And oh, yeah – I did all that after breaking into Tracy Tower, running from my brothers, saving Alan from falling, and then not getting any sleep. I never got a chance to eat anything, either. Kane says it serves me right. Wish I could do something that served HIM right.
Journal
April 2
10:52 PM
Not much time to think lately…I think Kane's keeping me busy on purpose so I won't think about my family. Sorry, Kane – it's never going to work!
Journal
April 4
5:22 AM
Scotty's birthday today. I actually have a present stashed away for him in my room at home…too bad he'll probably never find it. Man, I could really go for some birthday cake right now…
Journal
April 5
2:57 AM
Just got back from stealing some important diamond from a jewelry store. Kane says I'm improving. I asked him if it's really possible to say I'm improving when I'm actually getting worse – like, as in, doing worse crimes. He just looked at me weird.
Journal
April 10
4:39 PM
Kane had me drive the Maserati today. Don't tell Alan I said this, but I don't think sports cars are all they're cracked up to be. On a semi-related note, I've never seen anyone's face turn the color that Kane's did when I dented the fender against that telephone pole. Anyway, gotta go – Kane said that he wanted to do an extra sparring session today.
Journal
April 10
5:56 PM
Ouch. The Maserati has been avenged.
Journal
April 20
11:01 PM
Kane was a grouch today – as usual. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see another friendly face again. Hang on…okay, just found yellow spray paint in Kane's supply room and painted a smiley face on my wall. That helps a bit, I guess. Well, not really, actually, but I can pretend that it does, anyway.
Kane's Villa
April 29
8:42 PM
Kane glanced toward the computer screen, frowning as the video feed showed Gordon plowing endlessly back and forth across his pool. In the weeks since the encounter with his family and the big fight over the remote control, Gordon had been distant and quiet, and had spent nearly every free minute swimming – even though Kane had packed his schedule full to try to distract him.
Kane was beginning to grow concerned that Gordon would make himself ill if he didn't get some rest soon.
Telling himself that the only reason he cared was because it would interrupt his training schedule if Gordon got sick, he walked to the pool room and slipped inside, waiting by the wall until Gordon slowed down and finally stopped, hanging onto the edge of the pool and gasping for breath.
Gordon spotted him after a moment and stiffened. He pushed off the side of the pool and swam to the ladder, wearily pulling himself up out of the water.
Kane handed him his towel, and Gordon took it reluctantly, turning his back to him while drying off.
"You've been pushing too hard lately, Gordon," Kane told him. "I want you to go to bed early and take tomorrow off. Take a car, go to the city, visit the ocean – whatever you want to do. Obviously, stay away from Tracy Tower, and don't try to contact anyone you know, but otherwise, the day is yours. You'll find normal clothes on your dresser."
He turned and left the room, ignoring Gordon's shocked expression.
If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was looking forward to a day off himself…he really needed to get a grip on his feelings toward his apprentice before he did something that he knew he would regret.
Stepping back into his security room, he caught a glimpse of Gordon in his room, holding up a soft, colorful T-shirt. Gordon wasn't quite smiling, but he somehow looked more relaxed than he had for days.
Kane grimaced and hurried from the room, trying to ignore how Gordon's happiness made his own heart feel just a tiny bit lighter.
It wasn't supposed to be this way, he told himself. He wasn't supposed to care about his apprentice's feelings. He just needed to get a grip on himself, and remember that emotions only got in the way. After tomorrow, he'd be back on track and totally in control of himself and his apprentice.