Disclaimer: I'm so poor it's not even funny. I guarantee you, I make no money from this particular piece of work. Despite the virgins I keep sacrificing, I STILL don't own Repo. I'm starting to think this book of Satanism is a rip off. Seriously.
A/N: Um… one of my awesome reviewers begged for an update before I moved. …And then my computer died a horrible and agonizing death and I was too poor to get a replacement computer for a very long time. I'm so sorry about the year long hiatus, but I'm back and raring to go! Hope you guys enjoy the update!
Oh yeah, I fixed Chapter 21. There are some small changes from my smoothing out certain parts and adding a bit more detail to other places. Nothing major changed, and you don't need to read it to keep up with the story, but I promised that I'd fix it… so I did.
"Please, Graverobber?" Star pleaded as Graverobber tried his best to burrow into the tabletop. "It's just for a little bit. I just need enough time to get the money together for the next payment and then they'll call the Repoman off."
He finally lifted his head up and gave Star a scornful look. "Are you really that delusional?" He asked sharply. "Once the contract goes out, there's no hiding from the Repoman. YOU should know that; you worked at that hellhole."
"What am I supposed to do?" she demanded. "I can't just let my brother die; I have to do SOMETHING."
Graverobber shook his head. "Stop and think about this, Star." He ordered in a hard voice. "Repomen have the best resources in the world when it comes to tracking people down. They've got access to every type of data collection hub; videos, bank accounts, internet- it doesn't matter how small or how insignificant, they find the smallest bit of information and they're like a hound with a scent. There isn't a place in the world that they can't track somebody down to. And when they find who they're looking for, they'll repossess the organ without a second thought."
Star shook her head in denial.
Graverobber continued his callous explanation, knowing that she needed to hear the truth. "They kill anybody who stands in their way. You know that. It's why nobody interferes when a Repoman is chasing down a target."
"I don't care!" she declared with a stubborn glint in her eye. "There has to be a way, I know there has to be a way-"
With a weary sigh, he covered her hand with his own. "You really think that your brother wants you to die for him?"
She snatched her hand away and glared at Graverobber. "You don't know a fucking thing about me and Scotty." She hissed.
"I know he wouldn't be much of a brother if he's willing to let you throw away your life to try and keep him alive."
"It's not his choice." Star said with forced calmness even as tears seemed to shimmer in her eyes. "He's my baby brother. It's my job to keep him safe."
The words struck a chord in Graverobber, slamming into his chest with the force of a sledgehammer.
"You awake, Mikey?" Seventeen year old Gabriel whispered into the dark room.
There was a rustling movement from his younger brother's bed, and then Michael was sleepily sitting up. "Gabe?" he asked muzzily. "What're you doing? It's late."
Gabriel quickly stepped into the room and closed the door before he went over and sat on the edge of his brother's bed. He was nervous and it showed in how his hand kept rubbing the beads on the rosary wrapped around in his hand.
Gabriel started to mentally recite the prayers as his fingers smoothed over the beads.
'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…'
"Gabe?" Michael asked again, but this time the sleep had left his voice and instead there was a hint of anxiety. It snapped Gabriel out of his mental recitations and reminded him why he was in his younger brother's room.
"Molly's not getting better." Gabriel said in a low voice. His hands trembled and the beads gave a slight rattle as the wooden beads shook.
"She's still having those headaches?" Michael asked.
Gabriel nodded, unable to speak without giving in to the urge to start crying. Headaches were the least of their baby sister's concerns.
Gabriel continued to mentally recite the prayer. It grounded him and made his hands stop trembling.
'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done…'
How was he supposed to tell his brother that Molly needed surgery because of how badly her head had been cracked? How sometimes she couldn't stop throwing up from the pain in her head, or how she was starting to see and hear things that weren't there…
"…Is she going to get better?" Michael asked in a quiet voice, perceptively picking up on the seriousness of the conversation.
Gabriel gave a deep sigh. "…I… She…" His hands momentarily tightened on the rosary as he tried to sort out his thoughts. "She needs to go to a hospital. Not just the little clinic, but a hospital that can see her for her head." He finally said.
'…On earth as it is in heaven…'
"What's wrong with the clinic?" Michael asked in confusion.
"They're too small; the doctors don't know how to help her…" Gabriel told his brother. "The pills they gave her don't do anything and they said if she's not better by this point, they can't do anything… She needs a special doctor."
Michael's breath hissed as he quickly took a deep indrawn breath in surprise. "Dad would never…" Michael whispered.
Gabriel nodded. "I know." He said in agreement. "But Molly needs to see the specialist if she's going to get better."
'Give us this day our daily bread…'
"Do we even have the money for something like that?" Michael asked anxiously. "I mean- a specialist… that's expensive, right?" he asked.
Gabriel nodded again.
"DO we have the money for something like that?" Michael persisted.
"Not… yet." Gabriel said evasively. He shifted the beads even more rapidly through his fingers.
Gabriel heard his brother audibly swallow. "What're you going to do?" Michael finally asked, well aware that his older brother would move heaven and earth when it came to himself and Molly. Especially Molly.
'…And forgive us our trespasses…'
"I…" Gabriel felt his heart speed up, like he was standing on the edge of a precipice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I can get a job over at the plant. They won't check my age if I list myself as eighteen instead of seventeen. I can work there and in a couple of months, I can make enough money to take Molly to the doctor."
Michael was silent for several minutes. Gabriel's heart was still pounding in his chest and he was sure he was breathing too loudly.
'…As we forgive those who trespass against us…'
"But…Dad wants you to go into Seminary…" Michael said slowly.
Gabriel swallowed around the lump in his throat. "…I know." He whispered.
Michael leaned forward and grabbed his older brother's arm. "Dad would kill you!" He hissed with wide eyes. "Gabe, don't do this! Don't-"
Gabriel gave a hollow laugh and scrubbed his eyes with the back of one hand. "What else can I do, Mikey?" he asked sadly. "I can't… You and Molly… It's my job to keep you safe."
'…And lead us not into temptation…'
Michael punched Gabriel in the arm. "I don't need to be protected…" he mumbled, obviously embarassed.
The corner of Gabriel's mouth quirked into a small smile. He swiped a hand over his brother's messy hair. "I know kiddo. But Molly's the baby… And we have to watch out for her, right?" he asked.
Michael hunched over his knees. "…Yeah." He agreed.
"So you understand that I have to leave? That I have to do this? To help Molly?" He asked his brother.
Michael nodded.
Something that had been so tight in Gabriel's chest suddenly unwound as his younger brother agreed. The relief almost made his hands tremble again and he realized that he'd been clenching his rosary so tightly that there were indents in his hand.
'…But deliver us from evil…'
He stood up. Now that he'd gotten 'permission' from his brother, he needed to start packing. He needed to leave as soon as possible. The sooner he had the money, the sooner that Molly could get the treatment she needed.
At the doorway, Gabriel suddenly turned around. "You're gonna watch out for Molly, right?" Gabriel asked his brother. "You'll help her and try and keep Dad from coming down too hard on her until I come back?"
Michael was silent for a moment.
"…Right?" Gabriel pressed.
"Yeah, Gabe. I'll watch out for her." Michael finally agreed.
Gabriel smiled in relief. "Thanks Mikey."
'Amen.'
The door shut with a quiet click.
"Fine!" Star snapped, jarring Graverobber out of his memories. "I don't need your fucking help! I'll figure it out myself!"
She slid out of the booth and stood up, preparing to leave.
"Wait." His hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist, halting her exit.
She whirled around, angry words just behind her lips… And then she met Graverobber's suddenly serious eyes. There was an emotion present behind his eyes… something she couldn't put a name on…
"You'd do anything to help your brother?" Graverobber asked her, his eyes never leaving hers.
Star nodded without hesitation, though she was more than a little confused.
"I'm serious, little girl." Graverobber warned her. "You'd do ANYTHING?" he persisted.
"If you're asking if I'll sleep with you or something-" Star angrily retorted.
"When the Repomen are involved, death is inevitable." The drug dealer said in a low voice that made Star uneasy. "It might not be your brother- hell, if you're lucky, it won't be you either- but somebody's gonna have to die, and that blood is gonna be on your hands. It means that you're gonna have to live with what happens for the rest of your life. You understand?" he asked intently.
Star stared at Graverobber, shocked. Blood on her hands…? He wasn't serious, right?
But she looked at his face and realized that yes, he was completely serious. No longer was there that sense of amusement flashing from behind his eyes, and there wasn't even a hint of a smirk around his mouth. His hands were completely still; one wrapped around her wrist and the other spread flat against the tabletop. He looked dark and intimidating, despite the fact that the diner they were in was full of bright lights and cheerful colors.
"I…" For a moment, Star wanted absolutely nothing to do with the man that held onto her wrist. She shuddered.
But in the next moment, she remembered WHY she was doing this; Scotty.
Now she understood Graverobber's question. Was she really willing to do ANYTHING to keep her brother alive? Even be responsible for the death of somebody else? Was that something she was willing to live with?
"Yeah." She said quietly. "I understand."
Graverobber shook his head as he released her hand. "No," he replied. "You don't." He threw back the last cold dregs of his coffee, swallowing despite the obviously bitter taste on his tongue. He set the coffee cup down on the cracked wooden table. "But you will."
The ominous words made a shiver creep up Star's spine, but she stood ramrod straight and nodded her agreement. One way or the other- she'd save her brother.
A/N: Yeah, it's short. Kinda have to get back into the swing of things. I should have a new chapter out next week. Reviews = Love!
~~Elaana