Hey kids! So I'm writing from my awesome hotel room in Berlin. Such a beautiful city! I may send the girls there later on in this story! If you ever visit Berlin and you're old enough you have to try the GMF and Die Busche nightclubs, they're siiiiiick! *ehem* Anyways, I shall be writing again on my next flight so there may be a teeny update to come, depends if Amsterdam distracts me away from all you beautiful people or not ^^ And I was waaaay too tired and lazy to edit any of this soooo yeah.. Enjoy :)
#Guest- I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! And I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long! Hopefully we'll avoid all that from now on eh :)
Anoushka sat back with a guarded expression. She shrugged but we both knew she was lying. You could tell by the way she fidgeted and avoided our eyes. Polly wasn't taking that as an answer though.
"C'mon Anoushka. You're the top mafia boss in Russia right now. You're married to one of the top guys in Poland. You must have heard the name before"
Anoushka shrugged back at the geek, "There are many women named Alanna in Poland. How should I possibly know which one-"
Polly quickly lost her usual steel patience and snapped over her, "Because you do know. You're just protecting her"
"I wouldn't protect that bitch if she paid me a million pounds!" the Russian snarled back suddenly. I frowned at her.
"Why not?" I asked curious to know the reason behind the rage sparkling to life in her eyes. Did Alana cross her in some way? Maybe they'd been friends. Anoushka looked pretty mad though. So mad I was sure she'd get up and break something any second.
She looked back at me and held her hand out for mine. I hesitantly gave it over and she stroked the skin on my forearm. I wasn't expecting it to hurt so much. I flinched and she sighed like she'd been expecting the reaction but hoping for a different one. Her eyes locked mine with sympathy before she looked away at Polly.
"Riley wasn't always like he is now," she began slowly letting go of me to fiddle with her wedding ring. I didn't understand. Riley seemed okay? Polly was just as confused as me but the Russian didn't leave us time to question. She just delved straight into her story,
"He used to be strong and confident. That was before I knew him. Years and years before. He was set up one day. He was kidnapped. I was sent in by my father to bargain with Alanna and Karl for one of our men. I found Riley there and I pitied him. I paid Alanna thousands for his freedom. She laughed when I told her why I wanted him, so that he wasn't there anymore. She told me he'd make either a rough lover or an aggressive pet," Anoushka glared at the table then, "I took him back to Russia with me. He was reluctant to trust me," Polly looked back at me then, "I tracked down his family but he couldn't remember them. He couldn't remember anyone. So he stayed with me. It was hard to begin with. He had nightmares and he'd stop sometimes and he'd be lost in thought. I thought at first it was just PTSD from being locked up. I thought it would go away-"
"And it didn't?" Polly asked with a concentrated frown. I could see her thinking. Her worry. I was trying not to feel it too when the Russian shook her head.
"I started catching him scratching his arm. I'd find him flinching whenever somebody touched him-"
"How long did it take for these affects to come in?" Polly quickly cut in. She briskly walked back to me and took my wrist in her hand, kneeling beside me so she could study my skin. I knew she wouldn't find anything.
"Only a month or so after I brought him home" Polly stared up at me then and I could see her running the math. I'd been out only a month...
"He seems okay now" I said trying to get a positive. Anoushka shook her head and I felt myself deflate inside. Why did she look like she was about to hit the bad side?
"He isn't. He has turns. Fits. Moments of panic when he remembers what they did to him. He doesn't sleep anymore because he's scared"
She looked away from us then and wiped her eyes. I looked back at Polly. That wasn't promising and I shit as hell did not want to go through all that. Polly wouldn't look at me. She kept her eyes on my skin as she prodded it. I tried not to flinch under her touch.
"Does he ever mention feeling something when he scratches his arm?" I asked hesitantly while bitin down a gasp under the geeks continued poking. Anoushka looked back at me surprised and nodded
"He says he feels fire. Like it's inside him burning. The doctors say he is mad. They say there is nothing wrong with him-"
"He's not mad" I said angrily standing up to pace. The girls both watched me.
"You feel it too don't you Kelly?" I nodded and pulled my shirt sleeve down. Anoushka sighed behind me, "then there is little I can give you. Riley has been suffering for years. There is no treatment"
"There must be-" Polly cut over me with a pitying look
"It's all psychological jones. You won't forget it until your mind does"
I thought over what Riley had said. You have to forget to remember. But he hadn't. Didn't give me much hope. My hands balled up by my sides and I growled a little under my breath.
"Which won't happen because I'm fucking broken!" I shouted furiously. They jumped when I turned back to them. I walked up to Anoushka and I took her hand
"Tell me who she is, what she's doing, and where I find her"
The Russian saw how serious I was. I caught her swallow before she glanced away from me to the geek, "Polly-"
"Tell me Anoushka," I insisted staring her down, "I'll only hunt her down anyway"
"Kelly you can't-" I shut Polly off straight away with a glare
"Don't tell me what to do Polly. I'm sick of not knowing myself. I'm sick of letting her win. And I bet riley feels the same," I turned back to Anoushka, "So tell me"
The room went silent. The two girls kept looking at each other but I kept my eyes on Anoushkas, willing her to help me.
"Tell her Anoushka"
We all looked up. Riley and belle were stood by the door. They'd heard everything. Or Riley had. Belle looked confused. I ran back over the conversation again. We'd been talking Russian the entire time. Anoushka stood up to her husband and took his hand. She shook her head at the plea in his eyes. I could tell he wanted to end it as much as I did. He wanted Alanna to pay too. He stroked her cheek and pulled her into him. The rest of us started to awkwardly get up and leave. They stopped us though
"I'll help with transport and guns. But Riley stays here. And you do not tell anybody I helped, do you understand?" I nodded, Anoushka took a deep breath, "she is still in Lods"
"She's still there?! Is she stupid?" Polly exclaimed in disbelief. I laughed
"She's smart. She didn't leave because we expected her to. So she stayed put"
Riley nodded, "she has been there for years. Not many people escape or leave and rarely do they know where they are when they do"
"And rarely do they find the facility again when they go back" Anoushka added sombrely
"Or escape a second time"Riley finished darkly. I
nodded. That explained how nobody knew about it. I started racing ideas and plans in my head. I could do this. I could hunt her down and get the chip and my own back. And still protect everybody. Three birds- one pissed off mi7 agent.
"Can somebody please explain what you're saying? I never took Russian at school"
Everybody looked back at belle and she blushed a little with the attention. I glanced back at Polly. She looked drained again. Exhausted. She gave me a brave smile. She'd come with me. But looking into her eyes I felt my heart twist. Belle couldn't come with us this time. I knew what I had to do. It hurt knowing now it was something I should have done a long time ago.
"Honey I need to tell you something" I mumbled moving to stand beside her. She gave me a worried glance and looked me over. I smiled, "I'm okay. But please, let's go talk in privet"
She still looked uncertain. Her eyes trained on mine and I nearly couldn't stand seeing the gorgeous hazel bearing down me. I held my hand out to her and she looked down at it worrying her bottom lip delicately with her teeth. I had to fight to stay still and calm. She always did the right things to make me unfocus. Thank god I had a geek to help out. I think Polly understood belles hesitance and my want to leave the room because she gently came to the rescue,
"Kelly, I'll be talking with cooper. Show her the balcony belle" Polly suggested softly behind me.
Belle smiled then and took my hand. I looked down at it and took a deep breath, turning my head to glance back at Polly as I left the room. She was nodding at me, encouraging me. I felt like crying.
"You'll love this kel" belle was chattering leading me upstairs. I just smiled. I'd love anything because it was with her.
"Did you enjoy Riley's company?" I asked limping along the corridor with her. Belle rolled her eyes.
"Not that way kel. He's nice. Doesn't know a good lot of English but he's a good man. I can see why Anoushka likes him"
"They're married you know" she nodded back at me and gave me a big smile
"I knew all along. Anoushka sent me an email last year to invite me. She said "at least one mad head girl should be at my wedding"," I laughed and Annabelle's smiled widened.
"What was it like? The wedding I mean"
Belle looked away, "I don't know. I didn't go"
"Why not?"
"Because.." She shrugged back at me, eyes downcast at the floor. She wouldn't tell me she was upset but she didn't have to. Belle always avoided my eye when she was hiding something.
I frowned at her and took her hand, pulling her back to me. She looked up at me and suddenly I knew the reason why.
"Because?" I wanted her to say it. I wanted her to tell me it'd been about me. Because I knew it was.
"It's nothing" she smiled waving nonchalantly.
"Annabelle" I saw her breath catch a little and she looked up at me. Her eyes locked mine but her three second smile fell when she saw I was still wanting an actual answer. She let out a deep breath and fiddled with pollys bracelet
"You" she whispered sadly, "you were missing Kelly. I didn't want to go to some wedding when you were out there somewhere, maybe dead"
I allowed myself to wince when she looked away from me. It hurt. It hurt knowing I kept taking away all these chances for her. Like seeing her friends get married and being happy. Hell she should be in school right now getting some damn good grades for a good career. Instead she was following me around. It wasn't fair to her at all.
"It's just through here" belle whispered kissing my cheek before tugging on my hand. I ignored the fire and walked through it, smiling despite myself. I always walk through fire when it came to belle. Which is why this was going to hurt so much.
I followed her through a set of double doors into the fresh air. The hotel overlooked a massive park on one side and the rest of the city on the other. It was beautiful to look at. All the autumn leaves were swirling gently to the ground with the wind. Made it feel calm as serene, while the busying traffic served as a remembrance of the city. I bet you could get lost out there in that park. God I wanted to. I closed my eyes. I could hear traffic. I could smell the city. If I concentrated it was almost like home.
"Kel?" She shook my hand and I opened my eyes with a smile for her. She was looking at me again. Worried. Amused. It was fun watching her think.
"Just thinking about home" I told her looking down at her, I smiled some more, "you look beautiful by the way"
She smiled at me and snuck into the circle of my arms. She dropped a sweet little kiss onto my jaw and stroked it down my throat into my the collar of my shirt. It felt good because it was belle, but it was too soon after that last flashback. Instead of belles warm soft fingers I kept feeling alannas cold ones scratching into me. I shivered with the memory and pressed a hand into the small of belles back, pulling myself back to reality with her touch.
"Miss it?" Belle whispered. I nodded. I missed home more than she knew, "me too" she sighed moving away to lean against the railing. I walked up to her and leant against it to.
"Then maybe..maybe you'd like to go back for a while-"
"Kel I already said I'm not leaving you"
I let out a deep breath. I thought it over. How would this be made earsier for her?
I looked away from her.
The worst way.
"I'm so sorry, I wish i didn't have to do this. What I'm about to tell you is a bunch of shit and I don't mean any of it. " I told her in German, knowing she didn't have the faintest idea what I was saying. I just wanted to say it at least once so I knew in the end I told her I never meant it. Even if she'd never know that herself.
Belle tilted her head a little and shook her head smiling, "Again in English?" She teased smiling at me brightly. I swallowed my hurt and smiled back at her.
I shook my head at her, "I meant with me silly" I lied smoothly enough. Amazing considering I was chewing myself up inside.
Belles eyes widened at me. She looked completely stunned. I told myself to memorise every last detail of her face like this. She looked gorgeous. This was the moment I was about to break both out hearts. And she looked like that. She'd probably never look at me like it again.
"You mean it? We can go home?," I nodded and she squealed delighted, "oh my gosh I can't wait! When do we leave? Wait, what about Polly? Is she-"
"Polly is staying. She said she'd finish the-"
I broke off. I'd been keeping my eyes off her, afraid she'd see through the lie. Instead I'd been glancing down at the ground below. Just following the traffic. When my attention landed on a familiar car.
Mine.
All thoughts of a breakup disappeared from my mind. I frowned and turned back to the railing, forcing my vision to focus. The car pulled up to the hotel but I couldn't see who was driving it.
Belle tugged my shirt, "Kelly isn't that-"
"Yes"
We stood there watching the car. It waited there by the kerb for a few minutes. Was it waiting for Polly? She had the keys. Belle read my mind.
"Is Polly leaving?" I shook my head. She wouldn't do that. She said we'd talk. She said she was going to talk to...
"Cooper!" He was walking out the hotel, swaggering like he owned it. And under his arm?
"Kelly that's the laptop!" Belle gasped squeezing my arm. I looked back at her and we both ran to the door.
I sprinted full pelt through the hotel, not stopping for the startled maids as they sprang out of my way. I could hear Belle apologise as she ran past too but I didn't care. I had to get to Polly. We reached coopers room but it was locked.
"I'll go get the concierge" belle gasped when I smacked the door frustrated. I shook my head at her and gently pulled her out of the way. I eyed the door quickly and rolled my neck a little
"Fuck that"
I stepped back and kicked the door. A couple maids nearby yelled at me to stop but I ignored them and kicked again. Like I cared about criminal damage. Anoushka wouldn't mind. The corridor filled with the sound of my foot kicking at the door and the pols shouting at us to stop. The wood splintered a little on one side and I aimed there with my heel, putting all my strength into forcing it open. It chipped a little around the lock and I gave up with kicking to slam it with my shoulder. Belle joined me at the door and we both moved back to slam our bodies into it.
"Kel its not working" she gasped pained after the fourth slam.
"Just try again. She's in there I know" We tried again and again but the door must have been enforced with concrete or something! I growled at it and punched my anger out on it. I bet cooper did something, barricaded it somehow, just to slow us down. I paced by it agitated while belle called pollys name. She didn't answer though. I couldn't stop thinking she was unconscious or worst bleeding out in there. I'd kill cooper, whether she was hurt or not, I'd kill him.
I stopped pacing.
Cooper!
"Go get anoushka, belle. Or Riley. Quickly. Get them to open it" I started to rush back to the balcony. I couldn't help Polly right now but I could help everybody else. That laptop was priority.
"Kel wait!" She was following me again. I shouted at her to go help Polly but she ignored me.
"Belle you need to help Polly"
"and what are you doing kel?..Kelly?" I wasn't listening. I was running to the balcony railing again, "Kelly what're- KELLY!"
Her scream was lost on me as the wind rushed my hearing. I was free falling off the building