Delaroux here.
Without further ado...
"NO!" Arnold yelled. He was dealt his first blow of the night as Nathan stormed over and gave him a rough uppercut that grated his teeth. For awhile, he saw stars and could barely hear Helga's scream in the room. Alex stood still as he watched. It was like he was someone else entirely, Arnold knew, nothing like the Alex they had known before. Helga closed her eyes, willing this all to be a bad dream.
She would rather wake up terrified like this for every night in the next ten years than have Arnold suffer because of her.
"PLEASE!" She screamed desperately, her fringe hanging wildly over her face. "HELP!" She screamed as loud as she could, listening to Arnold's pained grunts as he was dealt another punch, this time to his left cheek. Nathan stopped abruptly and laughed. Arnold took the reprieve to regain his breath; he hadn't consciously been aware that it was something he had lost.
"That's right, you bitch!" He yelled at her. "SCREAM!" Nathan ordered, pulling her head back with her hair. "You useless little slut, that's all you can do. And none of it will work. This room?" He walked over to one of the walls in the room and tapped against the wall with a knuckle. "Completely soundproof." He bragged proudly.
Alex walked behind Arnold silently and made a show of tightening his ropes. He winced as his arm tensed awkwardly against his movements. Arnold turned around to glare at him, but his eyes had lost heat when he saw Alex's expression.
The boy looked as devastated as Arnold felt.
Helga's shoulders sagged and more tears ran down the side of her face.
Their last chance was gone.
Arnold spat out a glob of blood onto the ground. "Helga..." He whispered.
She turned around to face him.
"On Liam's life." Arnold reminded her gently, and Helga's eyes widened.
Arnold remembered.
"I swear on Liam's life... when that time comes, I want you to remember that I swore to keep you safe... No matter what, I will not let Nathanial Cuvos take advantage of you again."
Echelon's words.
Nathan didn't like that there was something being exchanged that he didn't understand. He started to walk towards Arnold.
Helga swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat, and turned to Nathan. Her look made him stop in his tracks. "Let him go," She demanded fiercely. "Let Arnold go."
Arnold's eyes widened. "What the FUCK!" He yelled. "Helga, are you nuts?"
Nathan smirked at them. "Trying to protect your little boy toy, Helga?" He chided her as if she was a child, and he tutted and shook his finger. "No, I don't think so." He said patronizingly, before he walked over and kicked Arnold in the gut. The teen groaned in pain as his head hung forward, the ropes preventing him from doubling over as his body instinctively told him to. "You've touched something that belongs to me, kid," he snarled at Arnold, pulling his head back with a hand entangled in his blonde hair. "And now, you're going to fucking pay." He hissed.
Helga struggled, losing her composure. "LET HIM GO!" She screamed. "LET HIM GO!"
"DON'T BE NOISY!" Nathan yelled, turning his attention to her and slapping her across the face. She felt her lip begin to bleed and cried in pain, but mostly terror. Nathan's head spun to look at Alex. The boy took a step back. "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" He screamed. "I TOLD YOU TO FUCK HER!"
"But I..." Alex's eyes widened in fear.
Nathan strode forwards and took the back of Alex's neck, ramming his head against a wall. Once. Twice. Thrice. "You will do as I say." He growled lowly in the teen's ear. Helga and Arnold tried to inch closer to one another as the insane man focused on his son. "You will FUCK her, you fucking COCKSUCKER, and you WILL make her SCREAM!" He ordered. Alex moaned in agony as his head was bashed one final time against the hard plaster. "NOW." Nathan ordered, turning around to look at Helga and Arnold again.
Both of them stilled as Alex stepped forwards, his eyes downcast.
"No." Arnold hissed. He struggled harder than ever, rope burning against his body roughly. The abrasions were causing his skin to tear, and small rivulets of blood stained his neck, arms and ankles. He ignored the pain and continued to struggle as Alex neared Helga. "NO!" He shouted. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Helga looked so small.
He had never seen her so fragile and vulnerable before now.
"Close your eyes." Alex whispered to Arnold, so that his father couldn't hear. "It's going to happen."
She watched with dead eyes as Alex removed his shirt, her mind only faintly registering how bruised and battered his body was. With his shirt completely off, it was obvious how much suffering he had gone through under Nathan's thumb for God knows how long. Helga shivered wildly as Alex knelt down in front of her, his hand reaching forth to unbutton her top stoically.
The second his hand touched her collar, she screamed and moved away, crying.
Alex closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. "Please, please, please..." Helga chanted under her breath, but soon even that died. She turned to look at Arnold, who was still struggling to get free. Nathan was still laughing at the non-existent hilarity in the situation.
Alex reached forth one more time. He began to unbutton Helga's shirt again. He got to the third button, exposing the top of her bra.
This time, she was still. She was too frightened to move.
"ALEX, I WON'T FUCKING FORGIVE YOU!" Arnold yelled.
Alex turned to face him. "I don't need your forgiveness." He said bluntly, before he pulled Helga's shirt off her shoulders.
Nathan smirked at Arnold's look of horror.
"How does it feel, huh?" The man sneered at Arnold. "Maybe this will teach you boy, not to touch what isn't yours." Arnold's head lowered and he looked at the ground, trying to suppress his urge to cry at the hopelessness of everything. Nathan walked behind Arnold and held his head up, forcing him to watch as Helga's shirt came off completely.
Alex discarded the shirt callously beside him. His eyes flickered to his watch.
"You sick son of..." Arnold cursed, watching the scene with dread.
Helga's eyes were dead.
Alex pushed Helga so that she lay down on her back. Her body was almost like a mannequin, falling into position whenever it was told to. She didn't care... No. She didn't want to care. Because if she did, everything would be too familiar. Too much. She no longer remembered anything else. She only wished Arnold didn't have to see her like this, terrified, cowardly.
Resigned.
Her mind was disengaged.
Alex hovered over Helga. "Scared?" He whispered. It was an honest question, so on impulse, she nodded once, but said nothing.
The boy smiled and turned to look at Nathanial.
"Good thing this was all a set up." He commented.
The door slammed open easily. A lady rushed in and clocked Nathan in the face with a nicely executed roundhouse kick. If she had been off aim even a little, Arnold's head might have suffered some serious brain damage. Chuck Norris could learn a thing or two if he'd been in the room.
"Alex!" She shouted, and instantly the teen was by her side as Nathanial sat up, groaning loudly.
"Sherilyn..." He nuzzled her happily, and she kissed the top of his head. He chuckled at his father's outraged look. "Surprise daddy," he sneered spitefully. "Your filthy little fuck toy grew a pair while you were in jail!"
Nathan yelled as he got up, charging toward his son. Arnold yelled in anger and warning, but Alex swung his right leg, catching Nathan right in the face and sending him back a couple of meters. "FUCK YOU!" The man screamed, wiping his mouth.
"NO BLOODY THANKS!" Alex laughed loudly, as Sherilyn fussed over his injuries, kissing a nasty graze on his shoulder.
Slaine sauntered into the room, holding up a hand as he quite conveniently kicked Nathan in the ribs with his steel toed boots. The man let out a howl of pain.
"Seasons greetings, motherfucker." He greeted Nathan with a sneer. "We're here to aid the protagonists... Call us side characters." He cut away the ropes binding Arnold to the wooden chair easily. He flew to Helga's side and pulled her shirt back over her body. When she continued to shiver, he removed his own shirt, putting it over her shaking body as she feebly struggled to get up. Arnold shook his head and they stayed on the floor, cradling one another with relief.
Arnold stared at the woman who was embracing Alex Curi- Alex Cuvos. "You're... You're Miss Sara! From school!" he exclaimed, and she nodded with a kiddish grin.
"Welcome to the underworld, kid. We do things sneaky." She said, before dealing Nathan a lethal stab in the leg with the heel of her stiletto. It ripped clean through his jeans and right into his flesh. The man screamed and watched as blood poured from his wound. "And that's for my boyfriend, you jackass." She snarled angrily.
Alex wrapped his arms around her tiredly, but he was smiling.
Slaine watched, amused. "Hey, that's handy. What is that, a Jimmy Choo?" He grinned.
She smirked at him. "Better. Custom leather make with a diamond heel. Call it a BB Bauer bonus; our uniforms fucking rock."
"I know what I'm stealing for Alaine this Christmas."
Sherilyn wrinkled her nose as Arnold pulled Helga into his lap, kissing her deeply and stroking her arms to warm her. "Don't you mean buying?" she asked.
Slaine shook his head. "No, definitely meant stealing."
Alaine and Jericho walked in casually. "Echelon and Relial are on their way up." Alaine informed them all, and Jericho moved to Helga's side to examine her. He was a doctor, after all.
She refused to let Arnold go, who was stroking her back soothingly. Trembling, she curled her legs in and Arnold cradled her in his arms.
"F- F- Fuck." Helga managed to stutter, before she buried her face in Arnold's neck.
He kissed the top of her head.
"Hello." Echelon's voice filtered in. He was wearing a dark hood, same as Relial, who entered right behind him. The door slammed shut. Relial stepped on Nathanial as he walked in.
Nathanial cried out in pain, whimpering after the teen decided to step off his side.
"He's weaker than I thought." Alaine sniffed.
"He's lost quite a bit of blood." Alex pointed out, gesturing to the man's bleeding shin and then to the diamond heel of his girlfriend's shoe.
Alaine looked impressed.
"I'm buying you that for Christmas." Slaine promised him, and Sherilyn smirked.
"Don't you mean stealing?"
Slaine held his hands up innocently. "Nope, definitely meant buying." he grinned.
Nathan growled in rage.
"How nice it is to see you again, Nathanial Cuvos." Echelon said.
"FUCK YOU!" Nathan yelled, trying to get up to hit Echelon, but his injured leg made him stumble. Relial kicked him and stepped on the gushing wound with all his strength. Nathan screamed in agony.
"I don't think he remembers me." Echelon said in a matter-of-fact tone from under his hood. Relial smiled at his lover despite the fact that he was torturing someone under his foot.
"No one can forget you, Echo."
Alex stepped forward, untangling himself from his girlfriend. "You know dad, when I was seventeen, I wanted a real job." He snarled at his father.
Nathan spat a glob of blood on the ground. He wrenched his leg away from under Relial's foot and groaned. "Real job? You wanted a paper route." He snarled condescendingly.
"Right." Alex said. "Instead you whored me out, had me selling drugs and got me thrown into jail. You ruined my life, you scumbag," he bent over and took the collar of Nathan's shirt, slamming the man's face against his knee. "All that wouldn't have happened, IF YOU'D LET ME HAVE THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING PAPER ROUTE!" the teen yelled, and Nathan groaned in pain as he was pulled up by the strong teen, and bashed one last time against the wall.
When Alex let go, Nathan slumped against the floor weakly, coughing roughly.
He took Sherilyn's hand. "Let's go, honey." He said gently. "Do you want to go see Venice next? Maybe together with Rome."
Sherilyn smiled. "We've already seen Rome, baby."
Alex was silent.
"But it couldn't hurt to go again, yeah?" Sherilyn nodded softly and she gripped his hand tightly, leading them out. At the door, she paused. "I'm done with you, Echelon. No more after this." She turned to glare at Echelon.
Woman had balls.
Echelon nodded. "Wait in the car. There's a first aid kit in the glove compartment, if you want to use it." He informed them.
The door slammed shut and Nathan glared at the remaining occupants.
"How did any of you get in here?" He scrowled. "I made sure we'd be undisturbed, I used all eleven locks I built into the door!"
Slaine shrugged rather casually. "Hey, one thing you've gotta know about me. When it comes to picking locks and sucking cocks, I'm the man." He said mockingly.
Alaine smirked. "He's right."
"On which count?" Slaine laughed, as he watched Relial kick Nathan across the eye gleefully.
"Both, though I'm much more acquainted with that second talent of yours." The Greek smirked.
"Helga." Echelon smiled at her gently. Her head lifted slowly and Echelon inclined his head toward Nathan. The man proffered a gun. "Shoot him, please."
She took it, in a daze. Her fingers curled around the handle.
"NO!" Arnold yelled, stopping his movement of stroking her back and putting his arms around her. It startled her, making her drop the gun in her shock at the sudden movement. "Are you insane?" He shouted. "How could you ask her to do something like that?"
Relial bristled and stepped forward, teeth bared. His canines were sharp, Arnold noticed, something he hadn't realized before.
Echelon sighed at Helga. "Still not a killer..." He muttered. He put a hand on the back of his lover's neck, and this seemed to settle Relial, who backed down.
"No." Jericho commented. "Echelon just doesn't want Nathan to have the same opportunity to hurt other people again."
Echelon shook his head. "While I'm honored to be painted in such an altruistic light, it's really not that." he chuckled as he looked at Nathan. He removed his hood. "I just really don't like him." He shook out his black hair and stared blankly at everyone.
"Y... YOU!" Nathan's eyes were wide as plates.
"Me?" Echelon smiled. "Oh, so you do remember me." He chuckled, walking closer to Nathan.
Nathan pulled back, terror filling his eyes. "DON'T COME CLOSER!" He yelled... No. He begged.
Arnold soothed Helga in his arms. "It's okay..." He said softly, kicking the heavy gun to one side. Relial picked it up, just as Nathan made a last-ditch attempt to choke Echelon. He knew that if the man didn't die, he was definitely going to. But he never banked on Relial. Calmly, the redhead lifted the gun and fired.
BANG.
Arnold jumped, and Helga was startled out of her stupor by the sound.
Nathan screamed, a bullet wound clean through the palm of his hand. If Liam had gone off aim even a little, he would have shot his own lover in the neck. Instead of dwelling on that, he lifted his gun again. "How dare you even touch him." He said calmly, stepping in front of his lover. "Filthy..."
BANG. "Little..."
BANG. "Fucking..."
BANG. "Bitch!"
Nathanial Cuvos bled from his hands and feet. Falling to the ground, he was gutted. Unless he miraculously sprouted wings, he would never make it out of the room. If he did, probably not alive. "AH!" He whined, watching his blood drain from his body as Liam stepped next to Echelon, pressing his body against his silently. "AH, FUCK!"
"Liam, that's not very nice." Echelon scolded.
"Sorry Echo..." Relial hung his head, not looking very sorry about it.
"Look, on that last shot, you only grazed his foot." Echelon gently took the gun from Relial. "You missed, see? We'll have to fix that."
BANG.
Nathan screamed.
"How's that soundproofing working for you now, Cuvos?" Echelon taunted with laughter. "You think you're so goddamn smart, don't you." He smiled as Relial pressed a kiss to the back of his ear. It was a turn on to the redhead, whenever Echelon was domineering, and especially when he was dangerous.
"Please," Nathan begged. "Let me go back to jail."
"That didn't work out very well the first time." Alaine reminded everyone, examining his nails coolly.
Echelon chuckled.
"Why is Nathan so scared of Echelon?" Arnold asked in hushed tones, looking up at Jericho and Slaine, on either side of him and Helga.
Slaine grinned. "Ever heard of Flite 11, kid?"
Flite 11.
Arnold's eyes widened in realization. Flite 11 was a global crime syndicate. There was a huge report in every paper in the world the morning after a massacre between them and another gang years ago... Blackbird 21. Everyone knew that the syndicate existed, but after the massacre, everything had gone so quiet that the world were eventually forced to forget, to let it go.
Even the media hadn't a hope in the world finding anything more about the operation than had been literally coerced out of the few members apprehended by the police. The rest had taken cyanide at the last moment before capture to avoid questioning, as they had literally been trained to do.
"You mean... You're all in Flite 11?" His expression betrayed his shock. No wonder Echelon had been so disgusted by his comments about the man having power in the legal system.
Alaine and Slaine laughed. Jericho smiled.
"Arnold, my daddy's better than that, come on." Slaine chuckled.
Echelon smiled at Arnold as Relial strung Nathan up to a boiler pipe with a length of the sea rope the man had used on Helga and Arnold before.
"I run Flite 11."
Arnold had no words.
"YOU'LL GO TO JAIL FOR THIS!" Nathan yelled in fear, trying to make them rethink their actions.
"I doubt it." Echelon immediately retorted.
Slaine was more playful. He walked over. "Maybe, but hey, if we're all going to jail, I want to make good use of my time before I check out my jail cell. So maybe we'll go to jail for this," He kicked Nathan roughly, repeating the action over and over again with his hands in his pockets. "And this, and this, and this..." He punctuated each 'this' with a kick.
Meanwhile, Jericho finally managed to pry Helga and Arnold apart, and was tending to Helga first. A while after he had started his examination gently, she threw her arms around him and cried openly, choked words not making any sense. "Scared, Arnold and... Alex... So much... Tied up... Blood... Help me..." She managed brokenly. Jericho closed his eyes and stroked her back, gently whispering soothing words into her ear.
Alaine sat down behind Helga and hugged her awkwardly. He caught Arnold staring at the awkwardness in their embrace. "What? Jeez, I'm so sorry," He mumbled. "I'm not very good at this."
Echelon held up a hand. "Slaine." He said, and the man stopped kicking Nathan.
"I was having fun dad." He muttered, but he stepped back nonetheless.
Jericho left Helga sobbing softly in Alaine's arms and went up to Arnold. "Alright?" He asked the teen quietly. Arnold nodded, watching as Helga shook.
He walked to Nathan and Echelon put a hand on his shoulder. "What do you want to do with the man?" He questioned. Arnold turned to Helga and Echelon understood. "You want her to decide his fate, don't you?" He chuckled. Arnold gave him a short nod and Echelon sighed heavily. "She's not going to want me to kill him." He sounded slightly sad.
"Don't." Helga said softly.
"Why?" Arnold asked. He was surprised at his own question. So was everyone.
"Damn." Slaine grinned. "Boy's lost his conscience already. Jericho, you owe us some money."
Jericho stared at Arnold, but forked out a fifty each for Alaine and Slaine.
Helga looked at her hands. "I want him to do time." She whispered. "I want him to get life imprisonment." She said, looking up at Echelon.
"I can do that." Echelon said. He turned and kicked Nathan in the face. The man was almost unconscious with blood loss. "Hear that, dipshit? You're gonna rot in a maximum security correctional facility till you die."
Relial picked up a gun. "No. He deserves to die." The boy declared angrily. "Helga, kill him. Don't let him free." He insisted.
Arnold stepped in front of Helga as she was about to reply. "She doesn't want that. Leave her alone."
"He's just going to get paroled." Relial spat. "He'll go free. He'll hurt everyone he knows."
"Liam." Echelon said, kneading his forehead.
"Echo, don't you see?" Relial pleaded. "Surely you can understand where I'm coming from..."
"Liam," Echelon repeated, stretching out his hand. Relial quietened and pressed the gun he picked up into Echelon's hand. "It's what she wants." He told the teen, who dutifully nodded after a very long time.
"I still think he should die." Relial muttered rather gracelessly.
"You're obsessed with killing all rapists." Alaine stated truthfully. Arnold watched as he stood up and Helga did the same, unsteadily. He moved over and put an arm around her protectively. "I agree with you. But while I'm appalled no one believes in the law of equivalent exchange anymore," Alaine stated, "We shall have to accept the bastard is going to live." He scrowled at Nathan.
Echelon thought about this. "... Equivalent exchange..." He said under his breath.
"I want to just go." Helga said. "Olga, she'll be worried."
"Damn!" Arnold slapped a hand to his forehead. "Grandpa! Grandma! It's way past twelve!" He groaned.
The other men in the room found it extremely strange both Arnold and Helga could actually think about their grandparents and older sister respectively after their recent ordeal, but made no comment about it.
"Don't worry. You'll both stay with us tonight." Relial informed them. "Echo called both your people and stuff, told them we're doing an overnight Practical Design project. You know, like night photography or something." He smiled. "You can clean up tomorrow after some proper rest... Just skip a day of school."
"Handy excuses." Jericho chuckled.
Helga removed Arnold's shirt and pulled it over his head, surprising him. After it was back on and he turned to her, she was smiling a little at him. "It's going to be okay." She said softly, and he nodded firmly.
He would make sure of that.
Nathan whimpered. "Kill me." He said hoarsely.
"OH NO." Echelon glared at him. "NO YOU DON'T." He turned to Jericho. "Save the man, make sure he lives to see another day." He laughed harshly in the man's face. "You're going to prison buddy. Where the criminals just looove rapists like you. In fact, they like fuckers like you so much that they want to stick theirs upside your ass anytime they can."
Jericho set to work.
Nathan groaned weakly. "Kill me," he repeated. "Kill me..."
Echelon took his cellphone out of his pocket, dialing a number quickly. "Orion." He said.
"That's our chauffeur." Relial lifted an eyebrow.
"I have a feeling I... know what he's going to do..." Arnold said, a little hesitantly.
Echelon laughed. "Come upstairs. I'll drive us back."
Slaine knew what was coming. He herded Arnold and Helga toward the door. "You guys don't have to see this."
Arnold shook his head firmly. He wanted to stay. Helga remained by his side.
After a few minutes, Orion arrived.
"Yo~!" He was a stocky, dark-skinned young male with a grin that seemed to match his confidence. He entered the room with ease, since Slaine had already opened the door and had his foot wedged between the door and the frame. "What's up-" He hissed at the scene, and the sight of Nathan. "Ew." He said simply.
"Orion, I'll give you ten grand to teach this man a lesson." Echelon said.
The driver leaned against the door frame with a laugh as Jericho packed up his medical things. "That an order, boss?" He smirked.
"You could take it that way."
Relial left the room. He didn't like hearing about rape-related exchanges. Alaine decided to leave with him.
Orion scratched the back of his neck as he looked at Arnold and Helga, coming, strangely, to the correct conclusions about the situation. "A lesson huh..." He muttered. "But what if he's a lousy lay?" He whined.
"He probably is." Echelon chuckled. "Why do you think I'm offering you ten grand?"
"Come on, Mr. E!" Orion laughed loudly. "That's goddamn pocket money to you!" He thought about it for awhile. "Twice that and I'll do it."
"Twelve grand." Echelon replied.
"Seventeen."
"Seriously?" Echelon muttered. "I thought you'd screw anything that moves. Fine, I'll give you fifteen grand. Take it or leave it."
Orion smirked. "Done. Painless or painful?"
"-FUL." Arnold said forcefully, surprising himself once again. His fingers were pressing into Helga's skin, and she turned to look at him. Arnold was livid as he stared at Nathan's bleeding and quivering form, still adjusting to the amount of medication Jericho had administered to his body. "Painful." He said again.
Echelon smiled. "Well, you heard the boy."
Orion clapped his hands together. "Leave it to me. And what about after I'm done?"
"Leave him here." Echelon instructed.
"Use these." Slaine tossed him a pair of handcuffs.
Orion grinned. "Same old Slaine." He commented, swinging the handcuffs around his middle finger. "You never change, always taking this crap around with you."
"Man's gotta take care of himself on the streets." Slaine replied ambiguously.
"Right." Orion walked over to Nathan, cracking his knuckles. "See you guys later."
"You have till dawn." Echelon took Helga's arm, moving her out of the room. The rest followed and the door slammed shut.
Nathan's eyes snapped open as Orion knelt down in front of the tied up man.
"Heard you escaped jail with your ass intact after twenty seven fucks." He said crudely. Nathan struggled weakly with what little strength he had, but Orion's strength rivaled even Slaine's. He ripped the man's shirt off and chuckled.
"Don't expect it to be intact after 6am."
"I feel no remorse." Arnold said quietly.
Helga looked up at Arnold. Nothing had been said the entire way back into their part of town. Alaine, Jericho, Alex and Sherilyn were seated in the seatless trunk of the car. Alaine had already fallen asleep, his entire body cradled by Jericho's. The man ran his hand through Alaine's soft silken hair as they waited to reach Echelon's home. Sherilyn was staring out the back window as Alex rested quietly with his head in her lap, thinking about their future now that Nathan would be gone in prison for sure.
Slaine was sitting on one side of Helga, and Arnold on the other. They were in the backseat. Slaine was being unnaturally quiet, in deep thought, with his eyes staring out of the window in a dazed fashion. Arnold had Helga leaning on him ever since they got into the vehicle, and both of them had been asleep for a good part of the journey. Obviously, both of them were awake now.
"What do you mean?" Helga asked, not looking at him.
She knew.
"Just now, I asked why you didn't want to kill him... And I even stood by when... I mean," He paused, palming his face. "I knew what was going on, I knew that when we left Orion was going to rape Nathan and I..." He looked utterly confused and lost. Who could blame him? It was as though every moral code he had ever believed in had cease to exist at that moment in time. And now, looking back, it made him feel rather sick.
Helga palmed his cheek. "Arnold..." She whispered.
"Am I bad?" Arnold asked, himself more than anyone. "Am I a bad person?" He looked at Helga, trying to find the answers in her eyes.
He found none.
"You aren't bad." Echelon answered from the driver's seat. Relial was seated next to him, in the passenger's seat. They too, had been quiet the entire way, till now.
Arnold shook his head. "I watched a man get beaten up. I WANTED to hit him too." Arnold admitted, looking shameful.
A, "Mmmph..." Came from the backseat, and Slaine leaned backwards over his chair to kiss Alaine on the forehead. He reached over the seat and held the albino's hand. It seemed to settle the petite man, who turned a little and continued to rest.
"But you didn't." Slaine said, facing Alaine and Jericho. "Which is more than I can say for myself." He added quietly.
The car was silent.
"You're not bad." Relial said suddenly. "Just angry."
"You're beginning to believe in a new brand of justice." Echelon commented. "But we didn't kill the man. We're turning him over to the..." The man shuddered. "... Authorities."
"Will he stay behind bars?" Alex muttered from where he was.
They were quiet again, for awhile.
Echelon sighed. "It's going to take some more negotiation and work, but yes."
Alex and Sherilyn kissed. "Good enough for me." The lady said softly. No one could see or hear her crying, or even feel her crying, except for Alex. She was crying for him, after all. "Because if I ever see that man anywhere outside a prison again, I don't care how much he's wanted alive and suffering, I'll put him in the ground."
Slaine lifted a hand. "Count me in."
"Ditto." Alex mumbled.
"I'll dance on his grave." Relial added to that.
Helga smiled against Arnold shirt. She had people who loved her, cared about her. "Thank you all." She said in a very choked tone. Arnold stroked her back; it was a gesture that comforted both of them.
Jericho smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
Slaine reached over awkwardly with his other hand, crossing his arms. He patted her head a couple of times.
Alex smiled at her from where he was, and Sherilyn nodded softly, inclining her head.
Relial reached behind him and gripped Helga's shoulder tightly, before he turned his gaze to interchange between the road and Echelon.
"Everything's going to be okay." Arnold whispered.
She nodded and leaned up, kissing him gently. He pulled her closer and kissed her possessively, wantingly. Breathlessly, they parted.
"I love you." Helga told him, with relieved tears in her eyes. Everything was okay. Arnold was fine.
"I love you too." Arnold told her. "Always."
Promised her.
She leaned against Arnold again and rested easy.
FUCK THAT WAS LIKE THE HARDEST CHAPTER EVER...
Please review. I'm so fucking tired. I'll write all my thanks in the next chapter... -waves tiredly-