Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the animated series, Code Lyoko. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The next day, Wednesday, the talk of the school was Suzanne Hertz's rather spectacular return. Even though none of the students were witness to the event, gossip from the teachers that were there leaped the teacher/student boundary and spread like wildfire all over the student body, with speculation just as rampant among the kids as it was the adults.
The Lyoko Warriors weren't spared any of the effect.
"So, Ms. Hertz was using Bliss?" Odd asked over breakfast.
"That's what's going around," Sissi replied, "that's the same stuff that guy tried selling us Saturday night."
"Ms. Hertz would be the last person on earth I would ever figure on using drugs," Jeremie said, "she's just so straight-laced."
"I thought there was something a little off about her," Aimee Simon said, "something about her reminded me of other junkies I've seen."
"Ms. Hertz is not a junkie!" Jeremie almost shouted.
"Calm down, Belpois; I didn't mean anything by it," Aimee quickly said then added, "look, you're probably right. She did something about it; most junkies don't unless they're caught and forced to."
Jeremie grumbled a bit more, but settled down and started back on his breakfast. Aimee then turned to Aelita, sitting next to the genius, and asked, "have you thought any more about meeting my boyfriend? I know the last couple of days have been crazy for you, so I haven't pressed."
"I don't know," Aelita said, "maybe this weekend. Bring him by the club and introduce me before I go on; how 'bout that?"
"Won't work out," Aimee replied, "see, he's leaving town for a few weeks tomorrow."
"Well, we can get together when he gets back."
Aimee grimaced. "Look, I'm in a bind here. He really likes you, okay? And I... sorta promised him he could meet you today."
Aelita looked at her roommate sharply, then said, "I never really said I'd meet him in the first place; just that I'd think about it."
"I know, I know," Aimee said, "and I'm sorry. But could you help me out here?"
"I suppose," Aelita finally said, "when does he want to meet up?"
"I'll set it up with him and let you know. After school, at least."
When everyone left for class, Aimee got out her cell phone and called Vlad.
"Okay, I've got her," she said without preamble, "where and when?"
"The Factory," was Vlad's reply, "in private section. We sublet space from club. You bring her there, after school, and head won't go boom."
Usually, Ms. Hertz was already in class when the students arrived, Jeremie thought to himself. He thought it strange that she wasn't there, but walked in just when the bell rang. She crossed over to her desk and stood looking at the class for a moment, before she spoke.
"I'm sure by now everyone here has heard about what happened at last evening's staff meeting," she started, "I won't stand before you and deny that it happened, because it did. For now, I will not discuss anything related to last night and the events that led up to it. At some point in the future, and in a different venue, I may have more to say, but until then the subject is off limits; so I'd appreciate it if you respected my privacy in this matter. Now, put you books away and we'll have a little quiz to see just how badly you have slacked off in my absence."
Of course, most of the class groaned at that pronouncement.
Suzanne passed out the tests and watched the students as they struggled through the answers. Belpois and Stones had no troubles, naturally. The new girl, Simon, looked at Aelita, then her paper, then back at Aelita, then back at her paper. This continued until the girl noticed Suzanne looking at her; she then put her eyes on her paper and began writing.
Stern was trying hard, but it looked like he wasn't getting anywhere. Della Robbia, on the other hand, didn't even seem to be trying; he was looking up at the science teacher with a strange look on his face. Then, as if he had come to a decision, he put his head down and started writing on his quiz paper. The rest of the class was performing much as she had expected. When fifteen minutes had elapsed, she told them to put their pencils down and pass their quizzes to the front.
The tests were quickly passed up, and Suzanne picked them up. As she walked back to her desk to set them aside, she felt something funny in the pile. She sat and quickly found the anomaly, a folded paper crane. She quickly looked up and zeroed in on the likely culprit, Odd Della Robbia. The boy was sitting in his seat, almost angelic in his guilt. He had a big grin on his face that screamed, "yeah, I did that," as he looked right back at her. This caused Suzanne Hertz to do something she hadn't done in what seemed like ages.
She smiled right back at him.
For the first time in a while, since she had started using Bliss, Suzanne felt a small twinge of pleasure at Odd's simple gesture. He had done this in the past, and while it annoyed her, it also tickled her, because he could be so creative at times. She savored the small feeling for a moment, then stood up and continued class.
When the bell rang, Ms. Hertz called for Odd to remain behind. He stopped at her desk and she told him simply, "thank you."
Anton Solovieff and Rene Mitchellete sat in Mitchelette's office, talking this morning about what was learned yesterday.
"LeClerc may well have given us a crack into where Bliss is coming from," Mitchellete said, "he mentioned an incident that happened recently that gives me a possible source."
"Oh?" Solovieff replied.
"Yeah. Vittorio and Giuseppe Santini. They're mid-level players in the drug trade, and they've been moving up over the years. Vittorio started out smuggling with his uncle, then took the business over when said uncle died. Giuseppe is actually the older brother, but Vittorio has the brains of the two. Giuseppe provides the muscle, courtesy of Russian Mafia outcasts they've recruited. Now, the Russians are a nasty bunch to begin with, and from what I've heard, the crew Santini has makes them look like choir boys. But, it's Giuseppe's little habit of using sewer rats that makes me think they're involved here."
"Why so?"
"Story goes that a gang, called the Apaches, stepped into something they shouldn't have and got themselves killed. The leader of the gang supposedly was chewed up by rats as an example."
"I see," Anton said, "have you been able to turn anything else up?"
"Not yet," Mitchellete said, "but now I've got something to look for. A guy I know in Organized Crime told me that the Santinis had some business in, of all places, Siberia a while back. Kinda makes you wonder."
"So, what do you do now?"
"Poke around some more. See if I can find anything that might connect Santini to your chemist. Check to see what the Apaches did that pissed off whoever they pissed off."
"I wish I could help you more," Anton said, "but I'm afraid I'll be heading back to Russia. Since nothing's turned up, and I've raised your awareness of Bliss in the area, I've been ordered to return."
"Well, maybe you can do some checking on that end for me," Mitchellete said.
"Perhaps I can," was Anton's reply, "perhaps I can."
Aimee met up with Aelita as soon as the last class ended for the day. Aelita was almost tempted to come up with an excuse not to go with the girl, but that could lead to problems with her roommate; and there wasn't anything to be worried about, was there?
"Hi!" Aimee shouted, running up to the pink haired girl, "ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure," Aelita replied, "just let me call Jeremie."
"What for?" Aimee asked.
"We were going to meet after classes today, before I went off with you. I'm just letting him know I won't be able to hook up."
"Okay, but let's do that while we walk."
With that, Aimee fairly well dragged Aelita off to the park. After regaining her balance, Aelita pulled out her cell phone and called Jeremie.
"Hi, 'Lita," came his voice.
"Jer, I'm going with Aimee to meet her boyfriend," Aelita said, "wanna tag along?"
That caused Aimee to slow down and look at Aelita.
"Can't," came Jeremie's reply, "I'm over at the factory, backing up more of those videos your father was making; you know, of the other section of the factory?"
"You're still doing that?" Aelita asked as she resumed walking, "I thought you stopped that some time ago."
"No," came the reply, "though I'm seriously considering it. Nothing ever jumped out at me, so I don't see any reason to keep it up."
"Well, do what you think's best," Aelita said, "I'll catch up with you later this evening, okay?"
"Okay," came Jeremie's reply, "have fun."
As soon as Aelita ended the call, Aimee asked, "why did you ask Jeremie if he wanted to come along?"
"Oh, I just thought it would be a good idea," Aelita replied.
The girls walked through the park and came out by The Factory. They had just crossed over the bridge to the entrance when Aelita asked, "what are we doing here?"
"My boyfriend works here," Aimee said.
"Really? If he's one of the other DJs, maybe I've met him already," Aelita said.
"No," Aimee said, "the company he works for sublets part of the building."
They had just walked in the entrance when Aimee said that, and it caused Aelita to stop.
"Aimee, we've been told under no circumstances to go into that part of the factory without permission," she said, "I think we'd better go back."
"It's okay!" Aimee quickly said, "he cleared it with his bosses! It's okay, Aelita; it's just for a couple of minutes."
Despite what she was thinking, Aelita let Aimee drag her down to the main floor, and over to the stairway leading down to the old assembly room, now the mysterious laboratory.
When they got to the door, Aimee knocked. It immediately opened and the girls went inside. Aelita had seen this section of the factory before, when it was still an assembly room, plus she had seen the videos of this section after it was closed off, so she wasn't all that disoriented by the laboratory layout. The conveyor belts were being used as tables, and it looked like whatever was being made here worked its way along the old assembly line to the end, where there was a rather large clear box.
"Welcome! Welcome to my laboratory," came a man's voice behind the girls.
Aelita whirled around and saw a somewhat tallish man with glasses standing by the door.
"Vlad! You scared me!" Aimee said, walking over to him and giving him a hug. She then turned, her arm still around him, and said to Aelita, "Aelita Stones, this is my boyfriend, Vlad. Vlad, this is Aelita."
"How do you do," Aelita said, taking one step forward and extending her hand.
Vlad took Aimee's arm from around him and walked up to the pink haired girl. He took her proffered hand in both of his and said, "I am deeply honored to meet you, Aelita Stones."
Aelita pasted a smile on her face that stopped just beyond her lips. As soon as she saw the man, she realized that she was in big trouble. He looked way to old to have a girlfriend as young as Aimee, and she didn't particularly like the way he was looking at her; like she was a new toy for his amusement. Unfortunately, he was between her and the door, and from what she could see, it looked like he had locked it.
Which meant she was effectively trapped.
Jeremie ejected the DVD from the drive slot, then slumped back in the console chair. It took three DVDs to back up a weeks worth of these video files Franz had been keeping, and he just finished writing the last one. He took it and added it to the large group of other DVDs he had prepared since they had begun tracking what was going on in the assembly room, then turned back to the console. He pulled up the program that was doing the recording and prepared to deactivate it.
By starting the program, Jeremie also pulled up a display of what was currently being recorded. The blond genius just about fell out of his chair when he saw Aelita, along with her roommate Aimee and one of the guys that worked in the assembly room standing in said room and talking. The man was holding Aelita's hand in both of his. Just then, he let her go and gestured off to one side. The three of them set off in that direction and out of the camera's view.
"What the heck is she doing over there?" Jeremie wondered out loud. He entered a command on the keyboard, and the display changed to where the three people were, the cot hold that the man slept in. Now, it had candles lit all around it. Jeremie had seen just enough thrillers to know that the psycho killer generally adorned his lair in candles, thinking it romantic, before doing his foul deeds.
Jeremie jumped out of the console chair and ran for the ladder leading up to the Pink Paradise. He hoped he could get to Aelita before said foul deeds started happening to her.
Ever since Aimee called him, Vlad had been preparing for this moment. He told his two assistants to take the afternoon off, because there was something he had to work on alone. Anitoly and Gennedy were out to lunch and wouldn't be back for hours, and even then, wouldn't come in here until just before they left. That meant he wouldn't have any unexpected guests disturbing him and the girls.
He lit candles and put them all around his sleeping area, hoping to set the right mood for the rendezvous, and had music in his boom box that should let them relax together. He even managed to sneak in some vodka so they'd relax even more. After making sure everything was ready, Vlad nervously awaited for his girls to arrive.
And when she walked in, she was even more beautiful than he had imagined. Her skin was so white and smooth, Vlad was certain it would feel like silk when he touched her. He could sense her tenseness, and he understood it; one was always nervous on a first date. When he took her hand in his and welcomed her, he silently pledged his heart to her, and hoped she would accept.
As he escorted them back to his cot, he could see them both tense up. He stayed between the two girls and the door, not wanting to have their fears spoil this moment, this perfect moment when he would make them both his own.
Gennedy Checkov sat at an outdoor table of the bistro he was taking lunch at and watched his partner strike out yet again with the pretty waitress who always served them. Those two had been playing this game ever since the two Russians discovered this place when they first arrived, and Anitoly loved flirting with the girl. Gennedy wasn't certain, but his friend might just be making headway with the waitress, if her facial expression and body language were any indication.
As he sat and watched the show, his cell phone rang.
"Da," he answered.
"Where are you two at?" came the voice of Giuseppe Santini.
"At lunch," Gennedy replied, "is there problem?"
"I'm not sure," came the reply, "I just called one of Vlad's assistants to ask him about the latest batch, and he said he wasn't at the lab. Vlad told him and the other one to beat it."
"I don't know why he would do that," Gennedy replied.
"Neither do I," Giuseppe said, "anyway, I'm heading over to the lab to check things out. You and Anitoly meet me there ASAP."
Gennedy ended the call, then called out to Anitoly and told him his nookie hunting would have to wait for another day.
Vlad led both of the girls back to his cot. When they got there, Aelita saw all the candles around the area, seeming to frame the cot itself. It was almost like the man had set this room up as a temple, and the cot was its altar. This did nothing to soothe the pink haired girl's imagination.
"What you think?" Vlad asked, "I prepared it just for you."
"It's nice," Aimee quickly said.
"Yes, it is nice," Aelita added, more slowly. "So, how long have you worked here?"
"Oh, ever since the lab opened," Vlad replied, "I'm very important man. This place wouldn't exist without me. But, please; sit. You are my special guests today. Sit!"
Both girls went to the only place where they could sit, the cot. Aimee sat at the head, back on the bed leaning against the wall it was against, while Aelita sat at the foot, perched on the edge.
Vlad went over to his boom box and switched it on. Out of the speakers came one of Aelita's mixes, something she had done recently. He then started jerking about as he made his way over to a bottle and some paper cups. It took a few seconds, but Aelita realized that Vlad was dancing his way to the bottle. She kept her most polite smile pasted on her face.
"So, something to drink?" he proffered.
"Okay," Aimee said.
"No thanks," Aelita replied.
Vlad handed Aimee a cup, then handed one to Aelita.
"Please, I insist," he said. Aelita wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a vague edge creep into his voice when he said that.
She took the cup and took a small sip, then almost spat it out. It was alcohol, the strongest she had ever tasted. Fortunately, she hadn't drank all that much, so she carefully swallowed it, then held the cup in her lap.
"You, like?" Vlad asked.
"It's a little harsh," Aimee said, "you could have warned me; I'm not used to liquor this strong."
"It's vodka from Mother Russia," Vlad said proudly, "what about you, Aelita?"
"I'm not really into alcohol," she said, "and it is rather strong." She lifted the cup up to her lips again and pretended to take another sip. "I've heard Gennedy and Anitoly, two of the bouncers in the club, talk a lot about vodka. No offense, but if this is what vodka tastes like, I don't see the appeal."
"Because, it put hair on your chest!" Vlad happily roared, "a man can't be a man without vodka! And a woman can't be sexy without it! Now, how about we dance?"
"Excuse me?" Aelita asked.
"Dance," Vlad replied, motioning with his head, "this is supposed to be party, and you are sitting like lumps! Get up and dance!"
Vlad began his jerking about again, and the two girls looked at each other. Finally, Aimee put her cup down and got up and stepped over to Aelita. She bent down and whispered, "look, humor him a while. Dance around, pretend to have a good time and I'll get us out of here in a bit."
Aelita nodded and set her cup down. She and Aimee then stepped out into the middle of the room and began to dance to the music. Since it was dance music, it was easy to pick up the beat and dance. Aelita forced herself to look like she was enjoying herself, while Aimee looked like she actually was.
"Dance together," Vlad said next.
Aimee danced her way over to Aelita and synchronized herself with the girl. The danced that way for a few minutes, then Aimee started moving closer to Aelita.
"Yes, yes," Vlad was saying, "closer, closer."
Aimee edged closer, almost brushing up against Aelita. Aelita tried backing off, but Aimee quickly shook her head no. Aelita got the message and kept close to her.
Vlad had stopped his dancing now and was watching the two girls intently.
"Yes, closer," he said, almost hungrily, "take her in your arms."
Aimee's arms encircled Aelita, and she drew the girl close. Aimee knew what Vlad wanted next; she bent her face to Aelita's and brushed the girl's lips with her own. That caused the DJ to jerk out of Aimee's arms and backpedal.
"I'm sorry! I can't do this any more!" Aelita then dodged past Aimee and made a break for the door. Unfortunately, Vlad was between her and freedom. He quickly grabbed the girl and pulled her close.
"I know, I know," Vlad murmured in Aelita's ear as he pulled her close, "girls making out with girls is so wrong; you need a man's touch."
With that, Vlad leaned in and kissed the back of Aelita's neck. She screamed and tried her best to break free, but couldn't; Vlad was too strong.
The work crew did a good job when they sequestered the assembly room from the rest of the factory. Good, but not perfect. Jeremie had to poke around a bit, but he was quickly able to find a way to the assembly room that wasn't blocked off.
He quietly walked in and examined the equipment on the tables. There wasn't much of anything he could readily identify, but he did recognize one thing. On a piece of paper, next to the plexiglass box that seemed to be the end of the line, was scrawled the word BLISS.
That was the drug Ms. Hertz was using, Jeremie thought.
He would have looked closer at the paper, but at that moment, Aelita screamed from the cot hold. Jeremie ran over to the entrance and shouted, "get your hands off my girlfriend or I'll... Hey!!"
The reason for the last remark was someone grabbed Jeremie from behind and yanked him out of the way. He struggled a moment, enough to see that he was being held by a man he had seen on the recordings Franz had been making, flanked by two of the other workers in the lab, as well as Anitoly Tupulev and Gennedy Checkov.
Suddenly, a new voice shouted, "get your hands off my girlfriend or I'll... Hey!!"
Everybody in the room stopped what the were doing and looked at the source of the shout. Aelita managed to break free of Vlad's grasp and get a couple of steps away from him.
At the entrance to the cot hold, there was nothing for a moment, but out of sight there came the sound of a scuffle. Then a group of men came into view. Two of them, Aelita recogonized immediately: Gennedy and Anitoly. Two other men, Aelita had never seen in person, only on the videos that her father had been recording of the assembly room. The last man was Giuseppe Santini, the head of this lab. And Giuseppe was holding a struggling Jeremie Belpois in his grasp.
"Now, just what the hell is going on here, Vlad?" Giuseppe asked with murder in his voice.