Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
Thank you to the concerned guest who pointed out an error. I honestly forgot. It's been a long time since I re-read the story and it's changed so much since what it first started out as, so thank you. I went back and changed it slightly so that it still works. If anyone else ever sees any discrepancies, let me know. I'll need to fix that XD
"Bulma, please Bulma, wake up."
Bulma started coming too, though she cringed when the blurry light entered her vision. She felt someone shaking her as she heard a small voice pleading with her. Her memory returned to her and she shot up, her vision growing clearer. She looked over to Tarble whose tearstained face made her heart ache. "Oh, come here, sweetie," she cooed as the boy buried himself against her chest.
Tarble began to cry tears of relief that his sister had been okay. He had been horrified when Zarbon had knocked her out in the park. He kept calling for help, but Zarbon had slapped him across the face and demanded his silence. He had forced the kid to put on a blindfold as well so that he couldn't see where they were going.
The child sniffled in the backseat of the car and only peaked out once to look at Bulma. He was so worried that she was hurt, but Zarbon assured him after he brought them into the warehouse that Bulma was fine. He had only knocked her out. She and the baby were fine. When the little boy asked what Zarbon planned to do them, the man simply left the room and locked the door. Tarble had been trying to wake Bulma up ever since.
Now that she was awake, Bulma glanced around the small room they were in. The gears in her head were turning. There had to be a way out of this mess. "How long has it been since Zarbon's been in here?" she asked the little boy. Tarble just continued to cry against her chest. Bulma rubbed his back comfortingly. He was so terrified and overwhelmed. Honestly, he probably hadn't been keeping track of time. To him, it probably felt like eternity.
Which meant Bulma needed to work fast.
She released Tarble who was about to question her when she pressed her fingers to her lips and stood up. There wasn't much to the room, but there was a window. Taking her chances, she decided to look out and see what landmarks there were. Hopefully, Zarbon hadn't thought to take her phone away.
Vegeta was getting really irritated, forced to do his father's bidding. He was taking messages from angry clients that his father had screwed over and basically had to tell them that the contracts they signed had loopholes. "Ready for the meeting?" his father asked as he entered his office.
The angered son growled and stood up from his desk. Out of nowhere, he heard the secretary down the hall yelling, "You can't go in there," to someone. He looked up to see his father looking confused as Bulma's sister ran into the office in tears clutching Sara.
"Kaylee," Vegeta breathed out. "I thought you were with-"
"Tarble wanted to go to the park," Kaylee said hesitantly. "A man came. He forced Bulma and Tarble to go with him. He…he said he's been following Bulma to her appointments and that his boss is involved. Vegeta, he knocked her out…he had a gun. He nearly shot Tarble."
Vegeta held the girls close as Kaylee began crying. His heart had stopped in his chest. Someone had taken his wife and his little brother? The person had a gun? He looked over to his father whose expression was dour. "This is your doing," Vegeta snarled.
"It's not," his father returned.
"Kaylee," Vegeta said to his sister-in-law, "here's my phone. Go call Bardock and Kakarot. I need a word with my father."
"Is Bulma going to be okay?" Kaylee asked him.
He could see the fear in the teenager's eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders. "If I have anything to say about it, she will be."
Kaylee nodded and took Vegeta's phone. He watched as his father reached out to stop the girl, but Vegeta simply walked over to his father and yanked him into the office. "Don't even think about it," his voice rumbled with force as he had his father by the collar against a wall, "and don't bother lying to me either. I know all about Kooru Freeze, and I know that he's a mob boss named Frieza."
Vegeta Sr. looked astonished. "How?" he spat. "How did you figure any of that out?"
"You underestimated just how connected to my wife he was," Vegeta snapped at his father. "Her mother knew of Kooru and had enough of a run-in with him to scar her for life. Frieza is the one who killed Bardock's parents and who he had been thoroughly investigating with help of the whole department. If anything happens to Bulma and my brother, I will make sure to bring you down with those assholes."
"You can't prove a thing," Vegeta Sr. sneered. "All I can tell you is that if I had anything to do with them, I did not give them this order."
"What?" Vegeta barked.
The older Vegeta cringed at his son's volume, but regained himself. "I did not give them the order to cause harm. If Kooru did anything, he's doing it rogue. I have nothing to do with it."
"I don't believe you," Bardock stated as he and Nappa walked into the room.
"You got here quick," Vegeta remarked, still holding his father against the wall.
"We were nearby," Nappa admitted. "We found something incriminating." He looked to his old friend and shook his head. "I never would have expected this of you, Vegeta. We're going to need to bring you down to the station for questioning."
"Excuse me?" the businessman roared. "What the hell did you find?"
"You were seen with Kooru the night he allegedly murdered Gohan Son and his wife," Nappa growled.
"I know nothing of that!" Vegeta Sr. shouted.
"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Bardock scoffed, "but you were in business with him then, and his business was the drug trade. Kooru actually went to jail. He paid millions to cover up his past. He made you sign a contract going into business with him."
"A temporary contract that I broke," Vegeta Sr. pointed out. "What does out agreement have to do with anything?"
"Kooru Freeze had in the contract that you were agreeing to be the fall guy for any crimes he committed in the business, even after termination by quitting or firing," Nappa informed him. "You literally signed your life away."
"You're lying," Vegeta Sr. growled menacingly. "He would have never-"
"Yes, he would have," his son informed him. "There's a lot you don't know about the man you were partnering with. I take it Nappa is here to arrest you and taking you in. Be sure to use your one phone call to call Bunny, and then ask her about why she didn't want you going into business with Kooru."
Vegeta threw his father down to the floor and left the room with Bardock. In that moment, Kaylee ran up to them again with Vegeta's phone in hand. "Vegeta! Quick, it's Bulma!"
Bulma realized where she was based in the few landmarks she could see. She was downtown, in a warehouse near the hospital a few blocks down. It was across the street from a small lake. She could tell because of she could see a small part of the lake park between some buildings. She knew where she was.
Quickly, she checked her pockets and realized she still had her phone on her. She deadpanned at the fact that she had been underestimated, or it could have just meant that Zarbon was an idiot. Still, she had her phone and she didn't hear anyone coming. She dialed Vegeta's number, knowing he'd come to find her.
To both her immense shock and relief, Kaylee answered meaning Vegeta was already aware of hers and Tarble's kidnapping. No doubt her father and brother would be involved as well. Before Bulma could say anything, she heard Kaylee calling for Vegeta, and her husband was on the phone seconds later.
"Are you and Tarble okay?"
That was the first thing on his mind, obviously. She smiled when she heard his voice. "We're okay," she said quietly. "Vegeta, we're in a warehouse near the hospital, across from the lake. I was able to see out a side window of one of the small store rooms."
"Hide your phone somewhere where they won't be able to see. We're on our way, and we'll be listening to everything."
"Okay," Bulma replied looking for a place to hide the phone. She saw some crates and decided to hide the device behind one of them. "I love you," she said into the receiver before she set it up. She then headed back to the spot where Tarble was and held him close to her.
"What do they want from us?" Vegeta and Bardock heard the boy say as they were driving his car.
Kakarot had shown up at the company while Vegeta's father had been taken away in handcuffs. He offered to bring Kaylee and Sara home. Jay had surprised Kaylee by being there once again. He had been stunned by her fearful form as Kakarot explained the situation to Chi Chi.
"Kooru is a mob boss?" Kaylee had shouted when she overheard. "Why…why didn't you guys..?"
"Sh, Kaylee," Kakarot said, holding his step-sister. "Bulma nearly had a panic attack the night Kooru got her alone, and your blood pressure's been high. We needed to keep you both calm."
"I wish I had known," Kaylee replied. "Maybe I could have convinced Tarble to wait on the park."
"Hey, this is on us," Kakarot assured her, "so none of that. None of us expected this to happen. Vegeta had been doing what his father wanted to prevent this from happening."
"You've got to be kidding me," Jay groaned. "Look, I get that he doesn't like your sister for whatever reason, but handing her over to a mob boss? To what end? His son's going to go postal."
"I know," Kakarot stated seriously. "Now, I need to get back out there and help-"
"Kakarot, please don't go," Chi Chi pleaded. "Let your dad and Vegeta handle this. I can't bear the thought of…"
Kakarot frowned, but he walked over to his girlfriend and placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulders gently squeezing them. "Chi, I have to do this. My sister is out there. I can't just sit at the sidelines and wait for news on whether she's okay or not. That's not my style. I would do the same for you, too."
"I know you would," Chi Chi replied reluctantly. "Just please be careful. I need you to come back safely, okay?"
Kakarot's soft grin warmed her heart. "Okay. Lock the door when I'm gone and don't leave or answer the door until you hear from any of us."
Chi Chi nodded her agreement and walked Kakarot to the door. She watched him leave in Bulma's car and then closed the door as he sped around the corner. She had tried to hold it together for her boyfriend's benefit, but as soon as she was alone she cried. She was thankful that Jay had offered to help Kaylee put Sara down for a nap while she was pleading with the father of her unborn child.
She really needed them all to return safely.
"We still need to process everything, but you're definitely stuck here tonight," Nappa informed his old friend bitterly. Sarcastically, he added, "I hope the accommodations are to your liking."
"Screw off," Vegeta Sr. growled at the man. "I never thought you'd betray me, Nappa."
"Betray you?" the officer asked indignantly. "I've been telling you to knock off this illegal shit for a while, but you've continued with it after drowning yourself. Doesn't it bother you that your friend, Frieza, is letting you take the fall for all his crimes? If he really does succeed in whatever he plans to do to Bulma and her child, not to mention your other son, it will all fall on you. Unless…you're willing to turn Frieza in yourself. If you would just make a public statement putting on record that Kooru Frieza is Frieza, the professional criminal, then we can most likely work something out."
"Why would I do that?" Vegeta Sr. barked. Then, his mind registered Nappa's words. "Her child?" he shouted angrily.
Nappa nodded. "Your daughter-in-law is pregnant, and your son will be out for blood if he loses her like he did his mother."
"Shut up," the prisoner demanded. "You know nothing."
"I know more than you do about Frieza," Nappa countered. "I know what Vegeta meant when he told you to use your one phone call to contact Bunny. I would take him up on the decision, but I know you won't because you're going to want a lawyer to clean up your mess. Bunny told Bulma and Vegeta not to tell you, but I have no problem informing you of the reason she left your sorry ass."
"Watch it," Vegeta Sr. growled. "Do not bring her into this. She broke my heart and betrayed me. You don't know what I went through because of her."
"You should know what she went through," Nappa stated curtly. "She was pregnant, Vegeta. Your 'good friend' that you're protecting pushed her down the flight of stairs because he knew. Before you saw her in the hospital, he threatened her. He told her not to tell you about the child or what he had done or she'd end up dead. She had given you the option to get out, but you chose to stay in business with a cold-blooded killer instead of your fiancé. Have fun dealing with that while I deal with your paperwork."
Stunned into silence, Vegeta Sr. was locked in a holding cell. There was no way that what Nappa said was true, right? Bunny would have told him. She wouldn't have kept something like that from him. She would have trusted him not to let on to Kooru that he knew. She wouldn't have kept this to herself…she would have trusted him with her pain and let him feel the loss with her.
"You there!" he snapped at the guard. "Get me a fucking phone. I still have a phone call."
Tarble had fallen asleep in Bulma's arms. The young child must have been so exhausted from what they were experiencing. She was finally able to calm the boy down enough for him to sleep. She was thankful he had fallen asleep. Still, no one had come to see them, and she still had her phone on near the crate.
Of course, she had little time to reflect on anything when the metal door creaked open.
She was face to face with Kooru Freeze, and he looked pretty pleased with himself.
At least Vegeta knew where she was and her father could track her phone.
A/N: Okay, so as promised last time, I said I would tell what dysfunctional tie was my favorite to write in this story. They're all really fun, but the one I like to write best right now is Kaylee and Jay. I had never planned on writing that. It just happened one day, a fleeting thought since I hadn't had Jay in a while. I also never planned on bringing any of Bulma's stepsisters back. As of right now, the other one is forever in Nevada XD But once I began writing that, I knew it was going to be really fun to write the inner changes the two went through from bratty, entitled teenagers, to young adults that don't necessarily focus on their needs. We all have to grow up sometime (to an extent, because I'm still a child at heart ;)). Anyways, thank you all for reading and reviewing.