Disclaimer: Not mine.

Captive 29

If Everyone Cared

(If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

Then we'd see the day when nobody died

- Nickelback)

Once outside, Uub went left and low across the porch, Trunks and Marron went right. Inside the isolated cliffside house the gunfire went on and on. Marron doubted anyone in the resort buildings on the other side of the extensive grounds heard any of the noise. No one was going to call for help. Besides, there was no police force to call and all the private armies on the island were already here.

"Remind me to complain to my travel agent about vacationing in a war zone," she quipped as Uub joined them behind a clump of ornamental bushes near the porch steps. She'd learned to handle terror by using brittle, sharp humor to distance herself from the fear that threatened to paralyze her.

"Next time travel first class," Trunks quipped back.

She realized for the first time that he was just as frightened as she was, as mortal. He was dangerous and competent, but no different than her, really. The realization only made her care for him more.

"I did travel first class."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Uub pointed. "My Jeep's that way."

"You offering us a lift?" Trunks asked Uub suspiciously. "Shouldn't you be inside trying to kill Piccolo?" he added. "You've gotten rid of Yamcha, now all you have to do is eliminate Piccolo to take over the island."

"I don't want to take over the island. Radditz wants to take over the island. He was shooting at me, too, you might have noticed."

"Sorry, my head was down."

"Only smart move you've made all night," Uub de clared. "What did you do to get Radditz to make his move before he was ready, Reese? Big mistake on his part."

"He tried to steal a shipment for Piccolo from me," Trunks grudgingly told the man with the getaway car. "He sold Piccolo an excuse about a storm screwing up the pickup. For some reason he assumed I wouldn't keep my mouth shut about the—" he almost said incident, but for Marron's sake he found himself explaining "—the murder of some innocent people'' instead. He put a hand comfortingly on Marron's shoulder as he spoke, and received a nod in response. The small gesture affected him deeply. He kept his attention on the business of survival, though. "Why help us get away, Uub?"

"I'm a sentimental guy. Besides, strength in numbers," Uub added when Trunks gave him a stone-cold look. "I wasn't expecting this party. I came here alone. Don't think any of us can get out the front way though, do you, Reese?"

"Guards on the front gates," Trunks said thoughtfully. Uub nodded. "And we don't know if they're loyal to Piccolo or Radditz."

"What a time for a palace revolution," Marron muttered.

"Don't tell me, they all have cellular phones, so they all know what's going on at the mansion, right?"

"Right," both men answered at once.

"The gate's the only way out?"

"Right," they answered her again.

"Really?" She tilted her head sideways, and Trunks noticed how her hair shone like silver in the moonlight. "At an expensive resort like this? No side entrance for delivery trucks or staff? I know there's a resort helicopter that does tours around the island, I've heard it land and take off."

"Right," Uub agreed. "Can you fly a chopper, Reese?"

"No."

"Me, either. How about you, sister?"

"Sorry."

"Then why'd you bring it up?"

"I'm only looking for alternatives to trying to ram through a gate manned by armed men, Mr. Uub. And I am not your sister."

He snickered. "Too bad, you're a tough cookie."

Marron knew she was no such thing, but she also knew this was no time to engage in bickering. She looked confidently at Trunks. "How do we get out of here?"

Trunks was elated to have Marron look at him like that. "We get to Uub's Jeep," he told her decisively. Trunks wished the sky hadn't cleared. The moonlight was bright and the white stones of the drive were very reflective. The drive wound before them like a silver ribbon; anything on the road would be easily seen. He swore silently about this as the three of them rushed single file across the lawn at the edge of the drive, coming to a halt behind a bush near where several vehicles were parked. Night-blooming flowers scented the air. Uub's white Jeep shown like a beacon in the moonlight. Trunks made out the shadowy outlines of several men in among the cars. Others who had decided to escape the fighting, or guards set to make sure no one left? There was nothing to do at this point but confront them. There was no way to take anyone by surprise across that white expanse of gravel. He exchanged a look with Uub. The other man gave a slight, grim nod.

"Stay low, stay behind me," Trunks warned Marron. "Get to the Jeep."

He gave his instructions then threw his knife as far as he could beyond the parked cars. As the men by the cars turned at the noise from the blade landing on gravel he ran forward, crouched over to offer as small a target as possible. Uub flanked him. He heard Marron's footsteps on the gravel right behind. People turned toward them, but the distraction had gained them time. Someone shouted. No one shot at them, yet. Time stretched out as their feet ate up the distance.

Marron didn't think as she moved swiftly behind Trunks, but all her senses were hyperactive. Uub tackled one of the men by the cars and they rolled into the darkness of the lawn. Marron heard each distinct sound, each grunt, groan and meaty slap of fist against muscle of the short, nasty fight that followed. It was punctuated at the end by what could only be the sound of heavy metal crashing against the thin bone of someone's skull. She could almost feel the impact as Trunks shot up forcefully out of his running crouch and landed a fist into a man's jaw. The man went down, and Trunks kicked him to keep him there. A third man got off a shot, but it went wild. Trunks' return fire dropped the man to the ground.

"That's all of them," Uub said, emerging from the side of the drive. He swiped mussed hair out of his eyes.

"Not quite."

Marron heard the voice, recognized it, began to turn, but Radditz's arm came around her throat from behind before she could move. She didn't know why she hadn't heard his approach from behind her. She felt the hot tip of the gun barrel pressing against her side, smelled Radditz's sweat as he pulled her harshly backward. Heard Trunks breathe out a word that was a combination prayer, curse and self-recrimination. Uub simply swore. Marron didn't know what to do, but she stood very still, fighting to keep the spike of terror from paralyzing her.

"I know you now," Radditz whispered in her ear. "You were on that boat. Good thing I didn't kill you then."

Anger filled Marron as he spoke. She might have spat out a retort, but his arm against her windpipe effectively kept her quiet.

"Let her go."

Trunks spoke with a cold calm he didn't feel. In fact, worry and boiling rage warred inside him and threatened to make him do something foolish that could get Marron killed. He wanted to put a bullet between Radditz's eyes, and not just to get Marron out of the man's clutches. He wanted to prove to her that there was justice in the world, revenge for her family's deaths. She deserved justice, and Radditz more than deserved to die.

Before Trunks could do or say anything else Uub drawled, "Looks like you lost the power struggle with Piccolo. You cut your losses and left your own men to die, I suppose." He shrugged unconcernedly. "Too bad. But you're going to have to be more polite if you need our help to get off the grounds."

"Let her go," Trunks repeated.

"We don't have time for this," Uub agreed. "Let her go and get in the Jeep."

Radditz showed no trust in this offer. "The woman is my hostage."

Uub swore again. "You don't need a hostage." He yanked open the driver's side door of his Jeep. "I'll leave without you if you don't let her go."

Radditz edged closer to the Jeep, still using Marron as a shield. Trunks carefully stepped to the side. He noticed that Uub now had the heavy Jeep door as a shield. Radditz had said nothing about either of them dropping their weapons. The man was nervous to the point of panic, which made him sloppy but very, very dangerous. Trunks knew there wasn't much time to resolve this. People were running up the drive from the house. Radditz had to get away or he was a dead man. He'd be sure to take Marron down with him since Piccolo's men would hardly hesitate to shoot through her to get to the man who'd tried to kill their boss.

With only moments to spare, Trunks made a desperate decision. Gun raised, he rushed forward.

Radditz turned quickly to keep Marron in front of him. As he did, Marron brought the bag she still grasped in her hands up and hit Radditz in the forehead with it. He grunted, and let her go, just as Trunks ran into him. The two armed men tangled, went down, struggled.

Uub grabbed Marron and dragged her behind the shield of the car door before she could throw herself at Radditz in the effort to help Trunks. The men rolled into the shadows just as they finally shot at each other. She screamed. And struggled, but there was no getting away from Uub's harsh grasp.

"I have to get to Tiger!" she shouted at the man as Piccolo and a half dozen of his people came pelting up to where they were.

Uub faced Piccolo, ignoring her while she squirmed in his grasp. He pointed his chin toward the spot where Trunks and Radditz lay in the darkness. "We did your job for you."

"So you did," Piccolo said as he knelt beside the prone bodies. "One of them is still breathing," he added. He got to his feet. "Reese, fortunately for you."

At this news, Uub finally let her go. She was praying and crying as she rushed to kneel beside Trunks. He was unconscious, his weight heavy and slack as she took him in her arms. His shirt was covered in blood. Her first impulse was to rock him in her arms while she wailed with grief. Impulse be damned, a saner part of her snarled at this dramatic longing. The man was alive and she had every intention of keeping him that way.

She looked up at Piccolo and demanded, "Help me! Right now! We have to get him to a hospital."

"There is no hospital," Uub answered. "We have to get him off the island."

"Then we'll get him off the island. You have a helicopter," she reminded Piccolo. "Don't you have a nurse at the resort?"

He was looking down at her with a look that was half amused, half concerned. He wasn't used to being given orders, but she was used to giving them when she had to. This wasn't the boardroom of her family's bank, but she called on management skills she'd learned there with surprising ease. She didn't have time to put up with anything from anybody right now.

"Call the nurse," Piccolo ordered. "I have a helicop ter," he answered Marron. "But it won't get you to the main land."

Trunks groaned. She felt blood pumping through her fingers. She didn't know when she'd found the wound in his chest, but her hand was covering it, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Someone hand me some clothes out of that bag," she said. Uub handed her cloth to use as a bandage a moment later, and knelt beside her to help. "You've got an airport," she reminded him. "Tiger left an airplane there." She looked imploringly up at Piccolo. "We'll take your helicopter to the waiting plane. Please?"

Piccolo nodded as his men gathered around him. One of them was already speaking on his cell phone to the med ical staff at the resort. "Yes," Piccolo agreed to Marron's request. "Good idea. Tell the nurse to meet them at the landing pad with every emergency supply she has. Call the pilot of the chopper," he ordered another man. "Have him standing by. The rest of you help get Reese into the car."

"Hurry," Marron whispered. She shared a grim look with Uub. Her heart was breaking and panic trying to set in. She was covered with Trunks' blood, and the world was going dark around her. "There isn't much time."


(Trunks' blood o.O -ehem-

Oooh the past chapter got three reviews! Yayness! Thank you all, I didn't know that famous yellow Pooh bear with the red baby tee read fics lol)