Really, this is taking over my mind. XD Though that may be a good thing...Final Animation Project, I'll finish you sooooon!
EDIT: Freaking glitching inability to hit the right button. -_- Sorry everyone - the first update, I accidentally re-posted Chapter 9. I hope I've fixed that problem, now.
The drive was long and tense. Alfred had Svetlana sit in the front passenger seat, to navigate through the storm, while Ivan sat behind her. For the first twenty minutes, no one spoke; only Svetlana broke this silence, to tell Alfred to turn or which lane to be in, as they approached the highway leading out of town. The going was slow, because the snow was too new to have been plowed, and too deep to simply plow through without snow tires. Even so, Alfred's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, hardly letting go but to turn.
"You have known Nathan long, da?" Both Svetlana and Alfred jumped, not expecting Ivan to talk.
"….many years, yes." Svetlana replied at length, turning slightly to glance back at the man she now knew as her father. "We met at one of these events, not long after I had moved to America. Alexi had only just started his…'business' at Beth's." She smirked. "We did not actually talk much that day. Nathan said hello, I tried to ignore him, he followed me around the pub until I would talk to him." She chuckled. Alfred smirked.
"That persistence sounds familiar, doesn't it, Jones?" Ivan asked with an innocent air. Alfred's smirk dropped. "Obnoxious. Annoying. Always center of atten-"
"Okay, Braginski," Alfred growled. "We get it." Svetlana smirked quietly, hiding it behind the collar of her jacket.
"You really are like him…" She mused quietly. Ivan gave his daughter a curious look. If he heard her, though, Alfred gave no indication. He kept his eyes focused on the snow-covered road ahead. "Turn right in the next half mile," Svetlana added in a louder tone. "That should bring us right to the station." Alfred nodded to show he understood. Ivan looked at his daughter, picking up on something she had inferred that Alfred had obviously missed.
Or had he?
Now Ivan glanced at Alfred. The other's blue eyes were focused on the road, looking toward a dark patch in the grey world outside that was slowly growing. Had he put together the puzzle yet? Or was he really as dense as most believed?
Alfred pulled into the station much too fast; the car slid on the snow as he hit the brake, fishtailing and pulling an action-movie styled stop just beneath the overhang. The snow had stopped again, and despite the extra inch of white, tire tracks and dark flakes of rust were still visible; Alexi and his men were long gone. Nathan's red Kawasaki was leaned up against the boarded up store, covered in snow, scratches, and muddy stains. Svetlana was the first out of the Sedan, throwing her seatbelt back inside as she ran forward.
"Nathan?" She shouted. "Nathan, where are you?" When she got no response, the young woman bit her lip. Ivan and Alfred climbed out of the car and looked around. Aside from the tire tracks and the bike, there were no indications that anyone else was there. Alfred shielded his eyes, as if that would help him to see.
"Nathan?" He yelled. His voice echoed under the overhang. "Nathan?" Ivan merely looked around. There were many little things being missed. Svetlana couldn't see because she was worried. Alfred couldn't see because….well, because he was Alfred. But he had spent his life in the snow. He knew all it could hide….and all it could reveal.
There. In the snow near the corner of the building. A tiny speck of something red. Ivan walked over to the spot, bent down, and picked up a scrap of red cloth. He held it up to better examine it; cotton, dyed, one side clean while the other had ground in dirt and tiny specks of gravel and reflective yellow paint. From a motorcycle crash, perhaps? Ivan stood up, holding the scrap of cloth.
"Jones. Svetlana." Both turned to look back at him. "I have found something." Alfred reached him first and snatched the cloth.
"Nathan was wearing a red shirt! This must be his!" He realized.
"Это плохо." (This is bad) Svetlana shook her head. "If Nathan is still here, then he must be hurt." She moved past Ivan and Alfred and turned the corner of the building. "Nathan? Nathan, can you hear me?" A muffled groan was her reply. Svetlana whipped around to the source, Alfred rushing to her side. "Nathan!" Something alive moved beneath snow that had drifted up against the back of the building. Blue eyes flickered open, teeth clicking rapidly in the cold.
"…'V-…'Vet..?" Svetlana and Alfred moved at the same time, both brushing aside an inch and a half of snow, both white and red, to uncover the young man. Several times, Nathan winced, or cried in outright pain when broken limbs, skin, or bruises were touched. Alfred felt his heart break as he took in the young man's injuries.
Most obvious were the bruises and blood; Nathan's teeth were a filmy red, and the vital fluid was smeared across his face in a vague handprint, barely covering a darkening bruise. One of his eyes was slowly swelling shut, and shallow gashes of varying sizes surrounded his eyes. Upon closer inspection, Alfred found the twisted remains of Nathan's glasses - lenses shattered - lying in the snow, jagged edges stained red.
His body lay limp, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Nathan's fingernails and lips were already a pale bluish tint, and now that he was uncovered, he was shivering noticeably. His jacket lay nearby, half-buried in snow, and his red T-shirt was ripped and bloodied. Nathan winced as Alfred brushed a little snow off of his shoulder and groaned.
"Not t-…to sound ungrateful'r…anything…" He rasped. "….but…..ow, man…" Alfred smiled mirthlessly.
"I'd say that's a bit of an understatement, kid…"
After brushing off the last of the snow, Alfred and Ivan (who had appeared behind the others at some point in time between finding the cloth and finding Nathan) lifted the young man, and carefully carried him back to the Sedan. Alfred popped open the trunk, and Svetlana flattened the third row seats, taking off her jacket and using it as a makeshift pillow for Nathan as he was lifted inside. The young man winced as the trunk of the Sedan pressed against his back, but he kept quiet. Alfred tossed his keys to Ivan.
"You drive." Ivan blinked.
"Are you sur-"
"Yes. Now drive."
"But this is not my c-"
"Get in the damn car and drive." Alfred snarled and climbed into the back with Nathan. He glanced at Svetlana.
"Get up front with your daddy. Get us back to town." Svetlana nodded and scurried around to the front passenger seat. She quietly buckled up, looking back at Nathan and Alfred through the rearview mirror before Ivan adjusted it.
"I would advise you to hold tight." The big man smiled brightly. "I am not known to be safe driver." Without waiting for a response, he slammed his foot on the gas and swerved out onto the road, seemingly oblivious to Alfred's shocked shrieking, Nathan's yelp, and Svetlana's curse.
As soon as the Sedan had steadied - now traveling at a rapid clip down the snowy road - Alfred turned to Nathan, making sure that the young man was laid flat, and wasn't jostled around too much. He look down, and their eyes met. Nathan sighed heavily.
"…you're mad…..aren't you…?" Alfred paused. Was he mad? Could he really be mad at Nathan for being a teenager, and getting in over his head? That was practically a given for his age group….no. He wasn't mad. He couldn't be.
"What happened?" Alfred asked quietly, bypassing Nathan's question. The young man closed his eyes.
"…Alexi gave me n'extention…on my deadline…..but he said….even though I'm reliable….I can't….go thinking I can…..ask that again…." He paused, breath hitching as a bump in the road jostled his injuries. "…he said….this was a warning…" Alfred rested a hand on Nathan's forehead.
"You could've told me, you know." He frowned. "I could've helped you." Nathan shook his head weakly.
"Nah…" He rasped. "I c-an't drag you into this…you're still….on the outside…..b'sides…." He coughed. "Th's's….my problem…not yours…I c'n still be….my own hero…" Alfred was silent for several long minutes. When he spoke again, it was in a soft, questioning tone.
"Nathan, when were you born?"
"December 1st…1951…." Nathan cringed, slowly slipping away from consciousness.
"What was your mother's name?" Alfred pressed. Nathan didn't even open his eyes.
"Elsie…..Elsie Cameron…" Alfred sat back from the now unconscious trick rider, his mind spinning. It had been fifty some years since he'd first known that name - on the nametag of a young diner waitress; the first person to give him a smile and a kind word after his return from the Korean war. Elsie. "El".
Alfred dropped his head into his hands. Could Nathan really be….? But, he'd only spent one night with "El"! He'd been drunk off his ass, to boot, and had left in a hurry the moment he'd woken up, forgetting half his clothes in the process. Could…..could that one night have really…?
The American looked at Nathan again. They really did share an uncanny resemblance, and it was (sort of) scary how alike they acted, thought - even talked! Alfred frowned. He….He couldn't be sure, yet. Not on circumstantial evidence. He needed solid proof….and he could find it at the hospital.
When Nathan came to, he found himself staring up at a blank white ceiling. For the longest time, he couldn't remember why it seemed so familiar. Then he became aware of a steady beeping sound, and a dull ache throbbing throughout his body. Oh yeah. The hospital. Now it clicked. Nathan blinked and turned his head, looking about a now-familiar room. The blinds were shut, blocking out the warm afternoon light (afternoon? Had he been out that long?), and his jacket was slung over the back of a chair in the corner. A chair occupied by a familiar face.
"You're awake." Alfred spoke first. He propped his chin in his hand on the armrest. "How do you feel?"
"Like a freight train ran me over…" Nathan groaned. "Then switched into reverse and ran me over again…" He glanced down the bed, noting the casts around his legs and arms, and the numerous bandages. "….ach….this looks worse than it feels, actually…" Alfred stood up and walked over the the edge of the bed.
"…hey Nathan, can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot, man…."
"Where did you get this jacket of yours?" He gestured back at the item of clothing hanging on the back of the chair. "You're not in the military, are you?" Nathan shook his head.
"Nah…my mom gave it to me…" He recalled. "Said Dad left it behind." Alfred fell silent for several long minutes.
"…hey, I'm gonna go call Svetlana," The blonde finally excused himself. "The hospital wouldn't let more than one of us stay with you, so she spent the night in a hotel." Alfred started to back out of the room. "I'll come back in a little while, alright?" Nathan waved one hand limply.
"Sure…whatever…" Alfred left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
"….Hi Marcy! It's me! …..yeah, did you get it? Good! Can you run a comparison for me?"
Marcy isn't a very important character, sorry to say...just a science-junkie Alfred knows. XD She probably works for the D.C. Crime Lab or something...
1) Albino Squirrel - No, sorry. Feli and Romano don't have kids. XD Neither does Greece...but Lithuania draws the short straw, here. XD
2) mmaxreader - Sorry, Ludwig doesn't have kids, either. XD But yes, Prussia does have the most.
3) Triangular Prism - Yes, this story does move in arcs. XD My brain can't handle all those characters, backgrounds, and present-time dramas all at once! D8