Chapter 14
What's happened? He thought to himself. It had been a long night and he hadn't slept a wink. He was waiting for her. And she hadn't shown. He waited through the next morning without a trace of her. He now found himself sitting out of the chair on the balcony, retying the band around his leg. Daniel winced as the wound contracted ripping at his skin. Where was she when he needed her? He got up, using all of his will power to ignore the pangs in his leg. He was now genuinely worried. The sun was beginning to set.
The sun outside of her window began to set painting the sky an exotic orange purple. On any other day she would have usually take a moment to watch the beauty in the light unfold but under these circumstances she couldn't bring herself to it. She had rushed back to find Cole after Daniel and hers incident the night before. When she returned to her spot, flushed and out of breath, it only took a moment to spot Cole walking back up the steps to where she was. She heaved in a great deal of air trying to regain her previous posture. He came up to her, the usual cool of his eyes seeming somewhere distant. Before she could speak they were heading back to the hotel. She found herself hastily throwing her things into her bag and checking out of the hotel. They had boarded the plane quickly and about an hour ago she had arrived to where she was now.
She stood there looking out over the private courtyard that laid outside her window. In the reflecting waters of the pool the flecks of light from the sun flicked a green color. She stared at it in disbelief. As she moved her body to the side the green suddenly disappeared leaving the blue water below. She rotated back. The green returned. Suddenly she put her hand up to her neck feeling the diamond placed on it. It was warm, as if left out in the sun. She held it, feeling it in her grasp, as she heard the sandstone carved doors that lead to Cole's room open.
He now found himself grasping the phone in his hands trying to decide whether it was better to risk calling her or not. She would not have just left him without a reason. He ended his pacing across the floors sitting on the bed as his leg began to flare up again.
Siding with his instinct he began to press the numbers on the phone as a knock came at his door. He stood up, a sudden feeling of relief washing over him as he approached the door. Opening it he came face to face with someone he hadn't been expecting. Two someone's.
"Oh my God Daniel!"
He stood there in disbelief at the sight of the two in his doorway, "Marc, Amanda?"
"Oh my gosh! Thank God you're alive!" Amanda said throwing her arms out at him. She hit him with full force, her tiny frame causing him to have to brace himself.
"Yes, I'm alright. How did you find me?" He said, completely struck.
"After Marc told Betty of how we were tracking Wilhelmina to plan to find her she totally stole the idea and tracked you."
"Wait you tracked me?" He said.
"By your phone." She said again.
"So that means you can find out where Wilhelmina is?" He said thinking on his feet, "Well then where is she?"
"She's not here," Marc spoke for the first time in the conversation. He was looking down at what appeared to be his phone. Daniel followed his gaze seeing a little red dot moving on the near right of the Indian Ocean.
She walked down the lit up streets of Mumbai following closely behind Cole in front of her. She had no idea where she was or where they were going and the feeling that had been striking her all morning was now coming in waves of attacks over her body. She was scared. She had left her only help back halfway across the world and was now in some foreign country with someone that she doubted she could trust.
Cole neared to a stop moving a few branches from the overgrowth of the trees over the old cobblestone walls as to have a clear view. In front of her was the most majestic building she had ever seen. From the angle of the sun hitting on the back of it it lit the sky ablaze in a purple hue which contrasted from the blues of the water from the large pool.
"Here we are," Cole said, grabbing her hand to lead her in.
She began to walk down the street after him, kicking at the bottom of her dress as to keep it from becoming ruined from the red sand below her feet.
They approached the building. Feeling the waves come over her again she spoke, "Cole, what are we doing here?"
"We're here to meet someone. If we're lucky." He said. As they reached the front of the building he turned, ceasing his movements. His grey eyes found hers looking straight into hers. He seemed to be trying to communicate a feeling of security without words. Wilhelmina stood back, trying to put a smile on her face to make him believe that she wasn't scared. But she was.
Daniel sat there leaning his whole figure against the frame of the car door.
"India?" He said again looking to his side at Marc and Amanda for any sign of humor in their words. "Why the hell is she in India?"
"Daniel I don't know," Marc said checking his phone again for any sign if movement. "Why do you randomly have a house in India?"
"It was an heir loom that has been passed down in our family for generations. We used to come here when we were kids whenever mom needed a holiday."
"Oh of course you didn't just travel to a beach, or even inside your country when you went on holiday, you just shot straight across the world!"
He ignored Marc's comment trying to remember exactly how the house had looked. Coming around the corner, the driver pulled up to a new smoother road then the one they had been traveling on for the last ten minutes. On the black gates in front of the property was the words "Meade Residence" casted in solid gold. He heard Amanda gasp as the car pulled to a halt in front of the huge house.
"I see why you would go here for vacation. You could get lost in this place!"
Daniel had never thought of it that way as a child. He stepped out of the car as it came to a halt, paying the driver as he retrieved his suitcase from the back.
The three of them made their way up to the front of the houses large white doors. He set his belongings down on the blue sari chairs.
"This is your house?" He heard Amanda say from behind him. He turned around seeing the pair of them staring up at the celling's and striking furniture that surrounded the place.
He shrugged a 'yes' as he watched Amanda drop her bags, running towards the gold tiles on the arches that lead to the open courtyard in the center of the house.
Marc walked along the sandstone floors checking out the beautiful handmade bronze, marble, wood & stone statues of Shiva Ganesh. He remembered from when he was young, his mother beginning to collect those and placing them in various places amongst the thirty rooms of the house.
After examining Marc sat carefully in one of the gold rimmed animal skinned chairs puling his buzzing phone from his pocket.
"What is it?" Daniel asked, walking towards him, the light purple light coming in from the open celling of the courtyard lighting his path.
Marc clicked a few times on the keyboard of his phone, a confused expression appearing on his face, "Its Betty."
"Betty?" Daniel asked.
"Yea we left her in charge of Mode while were gone," Amanda said, returning in from one of the large arched paths to the courtyard.
"She's in charge?" Daniel asked.
"Well yeah," Marc said, "Who'd you expect to do the job after you suddenly went MIA and Wilhelmina's gone rogue?"
Daniel stood there, stunned. He actually hadn't thought about it. Over the past few days Mode hadn't even crossed his mind. His focused had grown slowly on to Wilhelmina.
"What's going on?" He heard himself ask.
Marc shook his head, "It doesn't look like it's about Mode." He clicked on it, opening it. Bettys message appeared on the screen.
You found Daniel?
Marc began to respond, but before he could type a 'yes' Daniel stopped him telling him to call her.
As the phone began to ring he put it on speaker, setting it on the wooden desk in the middle of all of them.
"Marc?" Came Betty's voice through the phone.
"Betty." Daniel responded.
"Oh my God Daniel! You're alive!"
"Yes," He said, speaking to the little phone.
"Where's Wilhelmina?"
"We're still looking for her," Marc said cutting Daniel off. Suddenly an idea hit him.
"Betty I need your help." He said, cutting her off from her high pitched monologue of 'Oh my Gods.'
"Sure anything."
"I need you to search up a name," He said, hearing the phone on the other end be set down followed by the clicking of keys on a keyboard.
"Cole Blackburn."
Marc looked down at his phone now beeping, he picked it up looking at the dot that was tracking Wilhelmina move. He signaled to Daniel wordlessly.
"Blackburn? Daniel what's this for?"
"Betty I'm not going to able to explain right now," He said, looking down at the now stationary red dot on Marcs phone, "But I need you to tell me exactly what it says about him and quickly."
The voice on the other end of the phone went silent as the sound of typing keys filled the speaker.
"He's a body guard slash decetive." Daniel said, throwing it in as if it might help.
"Got it."
The three of them shifted, Marc and Amanda in their seats, as Daniel moved positions where he stood.
"um Daniel are you sure that's the right name?" Betty said over the phone.
"Yes, positive," He said not understanding, "Why?"
"Well because it says Cole Blackburn is dead."
She stood in the back of the large room with its all white carved walls decorated in fabulous arrays of vibrant exotic flowers of yellows, and pinks. There were people in the room dancing with sticks in vivid red colors around the floor, clashing the sticks together to create a beat. She walked to the furthest and most concealed part of the room. She flicked her eyes from the stairs to the drinks tables to the dirt dance floors. Every time someone would enter through the open side doors, she would scan them as to make sure she was still safe. Just then as she began to zone out of one area her mind wandered leading her back to Brazil. Where she had left Daniel without a warning and note telling him where she went. She was now worried beyond her wits end.
As the noise in the room began to heat up again as a new song started she felt as if she was moving. Realizing to late that she was she found herself being dragged backwards into a small coat closet. As she opened her mouth to scream the door shut in front of her and a hand shot over her mouth, muzzling her. In an instant the light in the small space had flicked on revealing the person foreclosing her mouth. She let out a breath feeling the warmth spring back to her face as the hand released.
"Daniel?!"She asked in disbelief, an airy tone emitting from her. A million questions and thoughts all coming to her as the feeling of new found security rushed through her,
"What. What are you--"
He shook his head at her, still jammed right next to her amongst the colorful wraps and shawls that hung in the room.
"Not the time. I need you to listen to me." He said, staring straight into her eyes.
She focused, looking at him letting out a deep breath.
"What."
"I need you to do something for me." He said staring straight back into her gaze.
"What."
"It's of the most importance," He said still looking right through her. She nodded her head, signaling him to go on. "I need you to do any and everything Cole says."
Her head spun in shock. "What!?"
"Wilhelmina I don't have time to explain. Here." He said extracting a paper from his pocket. She took it and he held her hand holding the paper. "Promise me you'll do what he says."
She froze for a minute before nodding. He let out a breath then pulled her in kissing her on the lips. Before she had time to respond he broke the kiss. Her eyes were still closed as he began to open the door.
A/N : Here it is. April 14 2010. The end of an era of brilliance and acting excellence. The cast that we all came to know and love so very much. They shall be missed but live in our hearts, and fics, forever more. I shall never forget this show. It helped me through alot and always made me smile.
Ugly Betty 2006-2010