"Do you even know where we're going?!" Matthew had to shout over the wind and the sound of the numerous cars around them. It looked like they were on some sort of highway, but Matthew couldn't be sure. Gilbert was going too fast for him to read any signs.
"'Course I do, Birdie!" Gilbert chimed, swerving easily around a few cars, barely avoiding hitting the grass on the edge of the road.
"And has it occurred to you that we should be trying to blend in?" Matthew asked.
"Blending in is for un-awesome people!" Gilbert cackled. "Besides, isn't this more fun?"
"I feel like we're going to crash any minute," Matthew muttered.
"Didn't we talk about speaking up before?" Gilbert laughed and began going faster at the sight of a small expanse of road with no cars in it. Before long, they were back in traffic, but it didn't seem like Gilbert had slowed down.
"You're going to kill us," Matthew sighed, though it wasn't intended for Gilbert to hear. By now, the adrenaline rush from running from the police who were, most likely, somewhere behind them was gone. Sure, they were going insanely fast and going God-knows where, but Matthew felt perfectly safe. Gilbert would never let anything hurt him. He was sure that, even if they did crash, Gilbert would pull out some other miracle and they would both be unscathed.
After a short while, Matthew saw something at the other end of the road. He couldn't see it very clearly, but he could tell what it was. It was a border to another country. Gilbert wasn't even slowing down at the sight, in fact, Matthew saw him even try to speed up even more.
"Are you serious?!" Matthew snapped at him.
"Hell yeah!" Gilbert yelled out happily and narrowly swerved out of the way of some car. Matthew held on a little bit tighter and closed his eyes as they forced through the small crowd of cars. Gilbert just laughed and Matthew heard police sirens closer than before. "Hold on tight, kiddo."
Matthew simply let out a sigh and decided not to look up, knowing that it would make him panic. He had to wonder how much longer they could go on this motorcycle, considering they'd been driving for quite some time. Gilbert probably had full control of the situation. They would be where he wanted to be in no time at all, without any trouble.
They swerved around quite a lot and Matthew felt himself hold on even tighter, if that was even possible. Gilbert didn't seem to understand the idea of slowing down as he cheered happily before the motorcycle left the ground. Matthew opened his eyes wide as he saw them actually driving over the top of a police car.
"Gilbert!" Matthew screamed at him. "Are you crazy!"
"Yes!" Gilbert laughed and obviously barely kept control of the bike as it hit the ground once again.
Matthew grumbled in French to himself as he glanced back and saw multiple police vehicles following them. For some reason, it was becoming a sight that he was used to. He figured Gilbert had gotten used to the feeling rather quickly, especially considering how comfortable he felt around the police, despite everything.
"So, where are we going?" Matthew asked as his heart rate began to slow down.
"I've got a couple of friends here," Gilbert smirked. "They've got this kick-ass club I've been really wanting to go to. It's the perfect place to hide for a while."
"A club?" Matthew asked. He'd never been to one, the closest he'd been to a party were the events that Francis and Arthur brought him to with Alfred. From what he'd seen on TV, though, it was not a place he would enjoy being in.
"Don't worry, Birdie," Gilbert smirked. "I'll protect you from all the bad guys trying to give you roofies."
"I have no doubt…" Matthew muttered. Suddenly, some yellow ball of fluff appeared out of nowhere and landed in Gilbert's hair, somehow managing to stay. "Gilbird?"
"This fucking bird's a superhero, I swear," Gilbert laughed, shaking his head slightly. "I tried to ditch him once and he followed me through three fucking countries."
"How?" Matthew asked.
"Don't ask me," Gilbert shrugged. "I just kinda let it happen. He's an awesome sidekick that will never die."
"No kidding," Matthew muttered, looking at the yellow ball. "He's just as awesome as you."
"So, how long do you think it'll be before he can move?" Elizaveta asked, pacing slowly in the kitchen as Alfred slumped at the table, still thinking about that freaking Ivan guy. Francis was sitting on the couch, Arthur's sleeping head on his lap. Alfred could see Elizaveta frantically looking at a phone or occasionally turning to a laptop on the counter.
"The doctor said it should be a few days," Francis sighed. They had a doctor come in to look Arthur over and he had left just before Elizaveta came in, yelling about Gilbert and being held back.
"I don't know if we can afford to wait that long," Alfred grumbled. "I'm seriously starting to think that Ivan and Gilbert are working together. He's just giving Gilbert more time."
"Or him more time to catch Gilbert himself," Francis stated. "Even when he was eight, they did not get along well."
"Shit," Elizaveta cursed. "They're in Belgium."
"Seriously?" Alfred groaned, hitting his head against the table.
"If it comes to it, you two could simply go ahead-" Francis started, but Alfred cut him off.
"No way in hell am I leaving my dad like this," Alfred stated.
"And I'll need at least one family member to at least point him out for me," Elizaveta sighed. "If Gilbert's in Belgium, I know exactly where he's going. And that means heavy camouflage which means I won't be able to find him, but I have a chance at finding Matthew. But if we're too late, then it'll get even harder to find him."
"So much for finding him before Christmas…" Alfred grumbled.
"We still have a few days," Francis sighed.
"God, you lot make me sound like a bloody burden," Arthur muttered quietly. "I'm sure I'll be fine if we move."
"No way, you might get hurt even worse," Alfred shook his head, even though he know his father couldn't see it.
"Then you come up with something else," Arthur sighed, slowly sitting up, despite Francis' best efforts at trying to stop him. "We might lose them at this rate, is that what you want?"
"If you're sure," Elizaveta sighed.
"Non, he is not," Francis pressed.
"I am fine," Arthur sighed, slowly glancing back at Francis. "Our son is more important than one bloody head injury."
"Dad! It's your freaking head!" Alfred argued. "You can't just say it's nothing!"
"Says the boy that still ran around like a lunatic after breaking his leg," Arthur sighed. Alfred remembered that, it hurt like a bitch. He didn't even know why he went running around. "I'm fine. Now, we should go as quickly as possible. Where do you think they will be going, Elizaveta?"
"Gilbert has a few friends," Elizaveta explained, typing something into her laptop. "I've met them a couple of times, they're pretty cool. One of them owns a club, The Ice Dragon, and they all usually hang out there, despite some of their personalities. Any time Gilbert goes to Belgium, he goes there. It's in Brussels, and it's really not hard to find. The police have had to evacuate it a couple of times, but people just keep coming."
"You think Gilbert is dragging Mattie to a club?" Alfred blinked. "Mattie's never been to anything like that before!"
"As long as Gilbert is protecting him, which he should be if he's kidnapping him for ransom, then he'll be fine," Elizaveta sighed. "If we can get there quickly, we might be able to catch them at the club."
"That will be fine," Arthur stated before Francis could say anything. "Francis, you should call the pilot."
"I still do not think you should be doing something like this," Francis stated.
"It's my decision," Arthur sighed. "Don't worry, I'll sleep as much as possible and try not to run. I should not stop us from trying to get Matthew back, and so I won't."
"There's really no arguing with you once you've made a decision, huh?" Alfred grumbled.
"Remind you of someone?" Elizaveta smirked before closing her laptop. "I'll go call the police in Brussels."
"I'll get our stuff packed," Alfred stated and quickly ran up the stairs. He still couldn't help but think about Ivan when he was up there. It bothered him that he had never seen him, maybe he should just ask Francis for a description and that way he could tackle the man if he ever saw him. Alfred didn't give a shit who that man was, Alfred was a hero and Ivan was a villain. He was going down.
As for crossing the border, I went onto Google Maps, and I went to where I guessed…about…that Gilbert would go to get into Belgium and saw that the border crossing was basically nothing… So I didn't describe it much. If it's inaccurate, I deeply apologize and I will try to change it!
Oh, and The Ice Dragon is just a name I came up with on the spot, so if it actually does exist, I did not mean to copyright anything. Knowing my luck, one probably does exist. Can you guys guess who owns it? If you do, I will be fairly surprised, since I came up with this idea on a whim.
Christmas is getting so close, in real life and in my story and I'm really hoping to coincide the two dates, so I'll be working really hard on this, which will involve writing a chapter everyday. So you guys can look forward to that! Sorry for this chapter being so short, but I promise that the next one will be longer!
Please review! It's wonderful!