A/N: I do not own anyone from the Cal Leandros series. I do not own the song lyrics used here!
From the baseball information Cal gives, this sets this story in early May of 2007. Whew.
Also, he insinuates here that he's read the Sleeping Beauty trilogy by Anne Rice under the penname of A. N. Roquelaure. I really, honestly, truly did not need to know that, Cal! (Headdesk) Your taste in BDSM porn is not my concern!
Cal: (Grins) What you should be flipping out over more is the fact that I mentioned it to Niko and he didn't so much as twitch.
...Cal, just go away. Just...go far away right now.
(Headdesk) ANYWAY.
Thanks to Comuterale for the uber-prompt review! Thanks also to halesgirl101 and SensiblyTainted for reviewing!
Chapter Twelve: Quest
Like I need to defend my own innocence
So what, I did it, I admit it, and I'm pleading the fifth
One more, anthem for the know-it-all
I won't be standing up for long
I better learn how to crawl, learn how to crawl
In ten minutes I'll be laying out flat on the floor
-"Flat on the Floor," Nickelback
We regrouped in the hostel room I'd been renting. Flay was ruining the bedspread by bleeding liberally all over it. Niko was ruining one of the cheap threadbare towels by mopping up my neck. And Robin was ruining the carpet by pacing a hole in it. Me, I was ruining nothing, except for the fact that I'd ruined our entire scheme by letting my murderous monster cousin walk off with our prize. Niko was pissed, Robin was incredulous, and Flay was being miserably sick on the rug. Blood doesn't sit well on the stomach in large quantities, even for us predators.
"And you let the thrice-damned," Robin blurted something in Greek, "walk away with it."
His ranting was getting on my nerves. He'd said that at least three times, with various insulting phrases substituted for "Auphe." Niko savagely pinched the back of my neck, lips in a firm line. I bared my teeth at him angrily - Robin was here and I couldn't sock Niko in the nose like I wanted to. "Robin, shut the hell up," I growled.
"No, I need him to talk," Niko snapped back, anger underlining his voice and hot in his grey eyes. "You said there were once two of them, a matching set. Correct?"
"Yes. The Calabassa, they were called. But that was thousands of years ago." Robin paced another turn on the carpet.
"If one survived, then the other probably has as well," Niko reasoned, ruthlessly. "All is not yet lost. We just need to find it, and soon. From the message me left me, Caleb is getting impatient."
"What message?" Robin wanted to know. Flay glanced at Niko too, sudden worry in his red eyes.
"A box full of red curls," Niko answered, grimly. "I did promise her mother I'd return her in one piece." Not to mention the Mafia would probably off us if we didn't come through with our end of the deal. But apparently Niko was not mentioning that to Robin."Now. The crown. Who else do we know that might be able to give us a lead on it?"
The mention of George made my stomach roil, but I was too pissed off at Niko to really care. He kept pinching me, little quick flicks while Robin's back was turned. Every pinch was a promise of worse to come. Normally, I would have dreaded it. Fresh off the fight, with the Auphe's words still ringing in my head, I just felt fed up with this kind of shit. I was done. I wanted to eat something and go to sleep. We'd fought, we'd won, my family had screwed us over, and I was damn tired. I lifted my chin so Niko could stick the last band-aid on my throat, covering the holes the Auphe had left in my skin.
Robin shook his head. "I don't know. I need time to look."
"Time is a precious commodity right now," Niko grumbled, eyes narrowed. He was well and truly pissed and I knew tonight was going to be ugly.
"So it is," Robin returned, and there was a wary readiness in his tone. Something that said 'back down.' Like hell that would work, Niko would only take it as a challenge. "It can't be helped. I'll talk to the few leads I have left. I'll call you tomorrow with what I find."
"Right." Niko's lips were pressed in a thin line, and when Robin turned away he pinched the back of my arm hard enough to make my eyes water. "Flay, I don't think you'll be up to helping us yet. Cal, you've got this room for one more night, yes?"
I nodded, shooting him an ugly glare. "Right. Then I have to pay again."
Niko nodded just once, and took a deep breath through his nose. "Flay can stay here for the night. Cal, you'll come with me to my hotel and we'll think of who we can contact. Flay, if you think of anyone by morning, come tell us." Niko told Flay where he was staying. I watched him move. His hotel room, just us. Brothers.
Brothers, bruises, and blood.
It didn't happen right away. We showered, we ate supper, we got ready for bed. Niko was tight, sharp, angry. It made me nervous and that made me angry, because Niko hadn't said or done anything, hadn't touched me. He was waiting. He was goddamn waiting for me to slip up, because he wasn't going to lay a hand on me without reason. The moment I answered wrong, forgot a chore, hell, bent one of his books wrong, he was going to light into me and it was going to fuckin' hurt. I'd waited out his tempers before. Been on my very best behavior, gotten away with it, and usually by morning he wasn't so angry anymore. It worked. But I didn't know if I wanted to do that, if I could stand the strain tonight. Sometimes it was just better to get the damn thing over with so I could fucking breathe.
Niko threw my phone at me when I went and sat on the bed, after brushing my teeth. I caught it right before it hit me in the head; the impact stung my hand. "Fuckin' what?" I growled.
"Call Promise," he ordered, terse.
I hadn't expected that. "The hell? Why?"
Niko pinched the bridge of his nose, and said, "We need to find out about that second crown. I don't think she'll know a damn thing but it can't hurt. Invite her to lunch or something. Ask for a favor. Just fucking do it, twit."
"Asshat," I snapped back, but he had a point. Fuck him sideways with a rusty pocketknife for being right. I dug around in my dufflebag and found the Western I'd bought that day - God it seemed forever ago. I pulled the card out, and called Promise's cell. She answered on the second ring.
"Hi, Promise. It's me." I knew she'd recognize my voice, if not the number. Robin had commented on my voice, calling it a "unique combination of peat whiskey and sarcastic snark." I had Sophia's beautiful voice, rich and low and sweet, but the snark was all my own. People hadn't paid Sophia so much for her fortunes, I'd thought once, but for the way she'd said them; even the most mundane fortune had sounded like a mystical promise spoken in her throaty velvet tones.
"Caliban. How unexpected." Promise was very polite. There was a beat of silence as I tried to figure out what to say. "Is everything alright?" she asked. She had a pretty voice, honey and tea, light and soft.
Niko was making his own phone call. I glared in his direction. "Not really. Uh, I gotta a favor to ask. See, Nik and I got this job. A friend of ours, a little girl, she's been kidnapped, and the monster that has her wants this damn ancient crown. I just...I need some help to know where to start looking. I don't really know why I called, I mean, I thought you might... I just..."
"She means something to you," Promise said, gently.
I wanted to vomit. Meant something, sure, but not the way Promise was thinking. "Yes. I don't know where else to even look for this damn thing."
"I'll help you, Caliban. If we could meet somewhere...?"
Niko, listening in, cleared his throat and held up a notepad. I squinted at it. "Yeah, uh, can you meet me tomorrow at Trattoria L'incontro? It's in Queens, on 31st Street. Is twelve noon too early?"
"It is not," she assured me. "I'll meet you there. Can you give me any other details, so I can search for it between now and the morning?"
I could hardly believe she'd bought the damn sob story. I hadn't been very believable; I felt sick, angry, so mixed up and shaken. "It's called the Calabassa. I have a drawing of it."
"The Calabassa. I'll look into it for you." She paused. "I hope your friend will be safe."
"I...I hope so too, Promise." God, I felt sick saying it but I still didn't want her to get hurt, not any more than I had hurt her already. She wasn't a friend, she was a victim, and all my guilt wanted her to be okay.
"Tomorrow, then." Promise hung up.
I hung up, and stared at my phone.
Then I threw it at Niko's head, and it was on.
I was not limping when I when I met Promise for lunch. Neither was Niko, picking up his girlfriend Cindy for lunch at the same restaurant, albeit at a different table. Pride can do amazing things for you - so can secrets you can't let out. Niko gave no sign at all that I'd dislocated his kneecap last night, or bitten his bicep to the blood...repeatedly. I didn't show that my shoulder was wrenched, Niko's handprint bruised stark on my upper arm from where he'd grabbed and shaken me 'till my teeth rattled. I didn't show that my back had ladder-stripe bruises all the way from my hips to my shoulders where Niko had taken his belt to me, cuts along my ribs where the buckle had bitten in. We'd fought and screamed and cursed, and in the small dark hours of the morning had curled up back to back and slept in the same bed, anger gone cold again. Breakfast had been a slow affair with plenty of bruise ointment and antibiotics between us.
Slow, and stiff, but I met Promise with a smile, and handed her out of her limousine like any well-mannered monster should. She wore a heavy cloak to keep the sun off, but I was wearing slacks and a button-up. I was all dressed up for our lunch.
Like a goddamn double date, I'd sneered, and Niko had rolled his eyes and drawled Promise was way out of my league. I'd punched him in his bitten shoulder.
Niko had gotten reservations, though, and while I knew Cindy was paying for theirs, Niko was paying for mine and Promise's. Damn expensive information meeting, it was, but Promise was a lady and this was a strictly professional affair. How professional always equaled expensive, I didn't know. We were seated, the waiter rattled off an incredibly long list of choices, and then it was just me and Promise and some excellent rose wine.
"I was unaware you enjoyed wine," Promise murmured, sipping her own.
"Not a lot of it," I admitted. "I like the sweeter ones. So. About that crown."
Promise chuckled, her voice nearly lost under the hubbub. It was loud and crowded in here, like all good Italian restaurants were. I only knew where Niko was because I'd seen him come in; I hadn't done more than glance, but I was pretty sure Promise knew he was here, too. She hadn't reacted but I wasn't underestimating the vampire lady. She'd kick my butt and then suck my blood.
"So, how about those Yankees?" She shook her head and smiled. "Master of the conversational segue, I bow before you."
"The Yankees are doing pretty good this year. I think they'll do better now that they've got Roger Clemens signed on. He's a damn good pitcher." I knew Promise hadn't really been asking for my opinion on baseball, but hell, I liked baseball. "I'm glad they've got him back, he did well in the previous seasons with them." I sipped my wine.
Promise looked surprised. "I was also unaware you liked baseball."
"Yeah. I was pitching at Major League speeds before I tore a ligament in my shoulder. Damn near had a baseball career. But that's life." Then, the Auphe had happened and I just didn't feel connected to that world any more. Baseball was mundane, safe, normal. I lived in a world where the homeless man on the street might actually be a monster waiting to rip your face off. Before I'd been taken by the Auphe, I'd believed Niko; we'd get away and live a normal kind of life.
Normal. Hah. Normal is really damn relative.
"So. Dig up anything on the crown?" I pressed again. Anxious, yes I was damn anxious about it because we needed that thing, not just for the ransom but also to save mine and Niko's butts from the Mafia.
Promise only gave me a quiet pitying look. She only knew about the kidnapping. I hated trying to keep my stories straight. Niko was better at this...but Promise was not meeting with him. She was meeting with poor little me and my sob story. "I'm afraid there wasn't much I could uncover in such a short time. Apparently the crown is so ancient that is has been mostly forgotten. I couldn't discover its origin, but the crown is actually one of a paired set. They were called the Calabassa. At one time they were both highly sought after. But that was thousands of years ago. They've apparently been long separated, and in this time, few have heard of them, no-one knows what they do, and no-one particularly wants them together or apart."
Very little that we hadn't heard already from Robin, but I was impressed. Promise worked fast. I rubbed a hand over my face as our food was delivered. Surprise, Promise wasn't eating much. "No-one except a sadistic bastard who'd steal a little girl," I breathed, and if my voice was shaky it was because I'd tried to do a damn sight worse to that same little girl and had nearly succeeded.
"I'm sorry, Caliban. I will keep looking." Promise leaned over the table and touched my hand - her nails were painted copper and her skin was cool and soft.
I ducked my head. "Th-thanks. I...I'll find a way to repay you."
"No, no. That's not necessary." I'd half expected that answer, because I was playing the same card on her that Niko had played on Robin, and I was doing it just as deliberately. 'Unused to friends, please pity and give freebies.' Hell, it worked. And I was pretty damn sure I didn't want to be in her debt. She might take it out of my liver, or...something. The liver did something with blood, but my biology was hazy right now, filmed over with disuse and a faint glaze of alcohol.
I wasn't buzzed, not yet, but it was a good excuse not to think as I knocked back the last of my second glass.
The pasta I'd gotten was very good. Promise ate delicately, a few bites only, and a single glass of wine. She didn't offer to talk about anything at all, and I ate in silence. It was unnerving, but not too bad. I was feeling a little drained as far as emotions went; fighting with Niko did that to me. Too much, all at once, and I was tired and sore all over. But I was okay. It wasn't a bad day, not really, and it was sunshiny out. Too bad for her, perfect for me. I needed some sunshine in my life, even if it was only the damn weather. I drank my wine, ate my pasta, and thanked Promise again for her time and her help. She gravely wished me the best and said she'd call me if anything turned up. I paid the staggering bill, tipped the waiter, and walked Promise out to her waiting limo. I handed her in, watched her go, then made for the nearest carpark where I knew Niko had left our car.
I fell asleep in the front seat listening to La Roux, my mp3 player's volume only medium loud.
Niko opening the car door woke me. For a dizzy moment I didn't know where the fuck I was. Niko said something and the haze of panic eased. Rubbing my eyes, I asked, "Time is it?"
"Nearly two in the afternoon." Niko slid into the car and slammed the door. "I think it's about time I broke up with Cindy," he mused, squirming around in the seat to pull his keys from his back pocket.
"She extra chatty today?" I yawned. Niko didn't like it when they got too mouthy.
"No. She and her roommate are getting too daring. I'll quit while I'm ahead and not get involved in another murder investigation - I can't talk sense into her head." Niko started the car and backed out of his parking space. I leaned over and plugged my mp3 player up to the radio. Soundgarden was a good choice, I thought. Niko shook his head but didn't comment. "I'll probably do it this weekend."
"Gonna make her mad?" He usually did. I was familiar enough with the tune of his break-ups.
"If I can. God, I hate it when they cry." Obviously it didn't bother him too much, or he'd stop breaking with with them altogether. I yawned again. I felt hazy with sleep, comfortably warm on the edge of too-hot, and relaxed against the familiar ache of fresh bruises on my back. It felt normal, it felt right, and I let the music and Niko's further comments about Cindy wash over me. I was just about to fall asleep again when Niko's cell rang and startled us both.
With a quick glare for me at his ring-tone - a clip of Lambchop's "Song that Never Ends" - he fished his phone from his pocket, steadying the steering wheel with his knee. "Hello? Robin. You did? Good. Cal, if you don't stop humming that damn song I swear I'll swerve into oncoming traffic. Yes, Robin, we'll meet you at the hotel. Cal, I mean it."
He didn't really. He liked this car too much. But I quit humming anyway, satisfied with the exasperation in his tone. "But it's the song that never ends, Nik."
"I'll end you, snotball."
"Stupidhead." If we were going to be so mature. I grinned at him, sleepily, and grabbed the doorhandle as he swerved around a convertible.
"Retard." Niko glanced at me. "You're half asleep. I'll be damned. Maybe you should nap in a hot car more often."
"Helps," I grunted, squirming out of my lazy slouch. I hissed as it pressed on my back, bruises throbbing, but I didn't stop. Bruises never stopped me anymore. "What's Robin got?" I ignored the fact that Niko was doing a good twenty over the speed limit, and was probably about to do the real-life version of Frogger if that emo teenager ahead didn't hurry his ass across the street any faster.
"He thinks he has a contact that can give us more information, but he didn't sound happy about it." Niko shook his head.
Emo boy got his pasty ass off the street just in time. I shrugged. "Weird. Wake me when we get there." I leaned my head against the window. Niko's driving was best ignored on a crowded busy street so I didn't see how many close calls happened - for us or any pedestrians. I was pretty certain Niko wouldn't hit a human for shits and giggles, but accidents happened. Niko was not immune to accidents, either, as much as he'd like to think he was.
I dozed and listened vaguely to Niko start talking to himself. Well, talking to me, but I wasn't listening. He did that, when he was juggling too many balls in the air. It helped him sort things out properly, he said. He talked low and quiet, almost under his breath, and I drifted hazily and comfortably in and out of awareness.
I woke up when Niko tapped my arm. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."
"If you try to French me I'll kick your ass," I muttered, groggily dragging myself awake.
Niko snorted. "What versions of Sleeping Beauty have you been reading?"
"That vampire lady, Anne Rice, she wrote a lot of kinky shit." I sat up and unbuckled my seatbelt, stretching. "Owwwwwfffffuuuck my back."
"That's what you get for sleeping slouched like that," Niko retorted, and tossed my unplugged mp3 player in my lap before he opened the door and got out of the car. I leaned against the fake leather seat a moment longer, enjoying the warmth, before I got out myself, trying not to move stiffly. I slipped my mp3 player in my pocket as I walked up to Niko and Robin.
"Well, what's..." I had to stop to yawn. "...what's the news, Robin?"
Niko reached out and smoothed a hand over my hair. I swayed into him, and he kissed the top of my head, let his palm settle against the back of my neck. I stayed leaning against him for a few moments, less because I was that sleepy and more because his black coat was almost as warm as the car had been. He was comfortably affectionate again, easy to live with. He usually was, for a while after a solid beating.
"Not here. Have a good nap?" Robin asked, but his smile was a little strained and there were unhappy creases in his forehead.
"Yeah. Didn't dream about anything, for once." Niko nudged me away so he could start walking and I followed along, slouching, as we entered the hotel. I shrugged my shoulders, felt the bruises ache, and started to get more awake. By the time we were in Niko's room, I was feeling pretty good, awake and rested and ready for anything.
Or so I thought.
Robin dropped his news like a bombshell.
"There's only one person I can think to ask. Abbagor."
Both Niko and I flinched at the name. Last time we'd nearly died thank you very much. "Fuck, no, that's not funny, Robin," I blurted. My good mood was gone, just like that. Like having a bucket of cold water dashed over me. Fuck that.
Niko stared grimly at Robin.
Robin stared back, green eyes cold and ruthless as Niko's ever were. He didn't like it but it was the answer he'd come to, and he was giving us his all. He was a survivor, alright, but it was likely to get us killed.
Niko sighed tightly. "Well. It is an option."
"It's a shitty option," I opined. "Also probably suicidal."
"When you come up with a better option, we'll take it," Niko returned, tone prickly. Warning. Don't push it, was what the look he gave me said - but almost tiredly.
I didn't feel like pushing it today. Not so soon. So I just grimaced instead and sat on the bed. "Fuck. Robin, for the record, I don't like this plan." I smiled grimly at him.
He managed a quirk of a smile back. "Duly noted. I don't either. Mostly because I can't go down there with a torn muscle in my leg."
Yeah, that would be suicide option number one, with Abbagor. The troll was damn fast and so fucking lethal they should use him for military-grade assaults. He'd almost gotten Niko, for the sake of all that was holy, and Niko was the best of the best. Niko looked like he'd swallowed something sour, and Robin didn't look much better.
"Niko, I want an anti-tank rocket."
Niko stared at me, then put his face in his hands. "Niko," he mimicked my voice damn near perfectly, "I want to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge with us under it." He raised his head and crossed his arms, giving me a half-glare that said 'please I know you are not that stupid.'
Right, underground. So that was suicide option number two. Good to know. I sighed, got to my feet, and went to my dufflebag. "I still have some triple-aught shot somewhere, right?"
"I think so," Niko returned, and moved to his own pair of bags. He extracted a heavy-bladed short sword. "I'll have to get my broadsword out of the car," he mused. "Cal. Hatchet."
I turned just in time to catch the sheathed weapon spinning at my head. "Jesus Nik, some days I swear you're out to kill me."
"If that was all I wanted, you'd have been dead a long time ago," came the loving reply.
"Well, that's not always the case," Robin mused. "Have I ever told you about the time..."
In went my earbuds. This was gearing-up-for-fighting-for-our-lives time, not graphically-obscene-stories-with-Robin time. Trust the puck to not know the difference.
I damn sure knew the difference, and I picked a shotgun out of my arsenal and loaded it with the biggest buckshot they made before you got into slugs; a Browning A-5 twelve-gauge shotgun with a sawn-off barrel. It was illegal as all hell but it packed a solid punch. Nice five-round magazine, too, with meant I wouldn't be breaking it open to load it mid-fight. I loved a gun with a good magazine capacity.
"Niko, if we're going to keep doing this, I'm going to look into a bullpup shotgun. Or an AR-15." Handguns were good for concealment, easy access, and carrying ease. Walking into nearly-certain-death, I wanted something with proven killing capabilities.
"Next time I drop by Arkady's shop, I'll price AK-47s for you," Niko returned, absently, as he laid out a selection of knives. I could hardly hear him over Alice in Chains, but I'd looked up to read his lips. With a little smile, I went back to my own weaponry. Shotgun, Desert Eagle, hatchet, one of my Glocks, my KA-BAR knife, what else? Hey, I had a machete in here somewhere...
