Chapter 53

Gohan was decidedly uncomfortable, which perhaps wasn't too surprising all considering. For one, he was sitting in a car parked on the highest level of the West City Hospital's parking garage in full sun. It wasn't even noon yet. Then there was the little fact that he was currently watching the visitor's entrance of the hospital from his seat in the car like some deranged pervert. Honestly, what sane individual stakes out a hospital…well, besides Roshi? The teenage Saiyan felt as though he should be going to jail over this for a very long time. This had to be violating some law somewhere. And to top it all off, he was stuck inside a baking car with Videl who apparently was comfortable staking out a hospital…should he be worrying about her mental health?

The Satan girl's reaction to the news that various politicians were trying to coerce him into marriage with a woman of their choosing purely for the sake of political gain was unexpected to say the least. Personally, he had expected her to react much the same way his mother did, if not worse. Maybe even go so far as to blame it all on him or call his loyalty into question. But no. Videl merely paused for a moment before muttering an 'oh…I see…' and promptly changed the topic onto her on going training with Krillin and Roshi. While her father was his usual lovable yet embarrassing self, Sharpner and Erasa have made it a habit to come by with their homework so the three of them could work on it together, though it was more like so Videl could do it for them. Gohan promised to take her out again at some point and that was that. End of story.

The teenage Saiyan wasn't quite sure how to take it. He was used to more volatile responses from women on such surprising and unexpected developments. Was she just keeping her furry all bottled up inside herself? Or was she avoiding it? The more Gohan thought about what was exactly going through her mind, the more paranoid he became. What if she was distancing herself from him, bringing their relationship to an end? Gohan was sorely tempted to talk about it, seeing as how they were stuck alone in a car for only Kami knows how long. No. Pushing the issue would just make matters worse. The Saiyan had seen how bringing things up time and again caused friction between couples from having observed the ups and downs in his parents' and Bulma and Vegeta's relationships. Besides, this wasn't the time to hash out personal issues with his girlfriend. He was here to protect Yamcha, maybe the world if this Carna woman was truly working for Babidi.

Carna had finally reappeared the day after Puar and Oolong had found Yamcha laying comatose on the floor of his apartment. She claimed that she had gone out of town to visit family. That was a blatant lie if there ever was one. Her records show that she had no surviving relatives to speak of. Of course, the hospital didn't know that. And Carna didn't know that the hospital had called them just to verify that Carna was indeed Yamcha's girlfriend and allowed to visit him. They said yes and promptly set up their trap. Gohan would watch the visitors' entrance, Vegeta the emergency entrance, Sixteen the employees' entrance, and Seventeen the fire escape. If any of them spotted Carna, they'll immediately alert Goku via cell phone and he'd casually approach her then teleport her to the roof where they'd grill her for answers…that was the plan, anyway…

"Where the hell is this chick?" Videl abruptly growled frustratedly.

"Just relax." Gohan calmly instructed her. "The I.C.U. has some pretty strict visiting hours. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"Visiting hours started almost thirty minutes ago!" she pointed out. "Every other concerned individual with an injured loved one in the I.C.U. arrived early and waited in order to spend as much time as possible with them! She has some nerve!"

"You do realize that Carna doesn't actually have any emotional attachment to Yamcha and is just using him, right?" he asked.

"I know but she could at least act a little more concerned like any decent human being would!" the Satan girl snapped. "How can she be so heartless?"

"How can anyone harbor such ill will against another living thing?" The teenage Saiyan mused aloud. "Have they ever stopped and looked at things from another perspective?" Videl stared at him with an odd look in her blue eyes. Gohan shifted uncomfortably.

"You are just so sweet…" Before he knew it, she was kissing him. Unbelievably soft lips slid against his own. A small hand gently played with the fine black hair on the nape of his neck. He briefly wondered how this would look to a passerby…probably nothing decorous in the least. Then just as suddenly as she started it, Videl broke it off with a gasp.

"That bitch!" Gohan blinked stupidly at her.

"Ne?" The Satan girl pointed down at the sidewalk by the visitors' entrance over his shoulder. Carna stood there, fiery hair making her stand out almost as much as the revealing halter top and miniskirt she wore, casually chatting with what looked to be a male nurse taking a smoking break.

"I can't believe it!" she hissed venomously. "Her boyfriend's in the hospital and she's just chatting up some dude!"

"…or looking for her next victim." the Saiyan mused aloud. Videl gave an angry huff and started to get out of the car. Panicked that he had said something wrong, Gohan quickly grabbed her arm to stop her. "W-what are you doing?"

"Going down there to kick her ass!" Videl replied a little snappily. "What else?" She pulled her arm free and, again, tried to leave the vehicle. The teenage Saiyan hastily got out himself and blocked her path.

"H-hey! Relax. We have a plan, remember?" he said.

"But-!" she began.

"If we confront her now, she could slip down a side street or something and escape." Gohan told her firmly. "Then how are we supposed to track her down again? This is the only chance we have. We need to make it count." Videl sighed and looked away from him, tightly clenching her fists.

"I know. I just want to take out that vile woman. I can't stand people like her!" He gently tilted her chin so that those beautiful blue eyes were looking at him.

"Don't worry. We will. I promise." She stared at him for a moment.

"Gohan…" The teenage Saiyan saw the vibrant head of red hair begin to walk on out the corner of his eye.

"She's on the move." They watched as Carna slowly made her way through the visitors' entrance with the male nurse right behind her. Gohan quickly pulled out his cell phone and called his father. "Carna's just entered the building but picked up a male nurse on her way in, possibly her next victim." He could hear Goku breathe a curse on the other end of the line.

"Follow her." his father instructed. "I'll be right there. Vegeta will cover the exits for us if she tries to slip away from us. Sixteen will be on standby to evacuate the building and protect innocent people if things get ugly. Seventeen will keep an eye on Yamcha to make sure he stays safe. We need to avoid anymore casualties. Every time one of Babidi's minions drains someone of their ki, they're that much closer to reviving Majin Buu."

"Understood." Gohan replied.

Videl wasted little time in tracking the redhead down. The speed and proficiency with which she did so made Gohan suspect that she may have had ample practice from her stint with the Satan City Police Department. And she was so blasé about it too. To the casual observer, it would've seemed like she was simply taking her time making her way through the maze of rooms and hallways. No one stopped her. No one questioned her presence, not even the hospital staff. Whenever Carna stopped, Videl would just turn a nearby corner and pretend to text on her cell phone. Gohan dutifully followed her lead and couldn't help but feel ill at ease with it. It was just wrong on so many levels. They were stalking Carna for Kami's sake!

Carna, on the other hand, was hardly being discrete. Her outfit alone drew many people's attention. More than one woman glared at her for dressing so disrespectfully at such a somber place. Men paused in their tracks to either stare or raise their eyebrows incredulously at the sight. Then there was her loud voice and obnoxious laughter which made even rambunctious young children give her funny looks. Passing hospital staff attempted to quiet her more than once but she failed to comply. None of it fazed her in the least. It was apparent that she was the kind of woman who did what she wanted when she wanted whether or not it was illegal or inappropriate. Her male companion, however, didn't to notice, or care about, anything beyond the attractive female next to him. Either he didn't care about his job or he simply wasn't thinking about the consequences.

Then, without warning, the male nurse pulled her into a dark and clearly vacant room. Gohan and Videl exchanged a look. The teenage Saiyan scanned the hall. Empty. Perfect. They carefully crept to the door, carking it open just wide enough to peer inside. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. From the look of things, it appeared to be a storage room. Carna was pressed against the wall by her new male friend, giggling coquettishly as he attacked her neck with his mouth. Videl looked torn between indignant rage and nausea. Personally, he was leaning more towards nausea. Gohan nearly jumped out of his skin when someone tapped his shoulder. He whirled around and sighed in relief when he saw that it was just his father.

"She in there?" his father asked.

"Yeah, with her next victim." Gohan replied.

"Can we take her down now?" Videl hissed.

"Wait." Goku told her.

"What? What for?" she demanded.

"Something just doesn't feel right…" Gohan concentrated and could see what he meant. Something did feel a bit off. It was almost like the atmosphere had changed, becoming charged somehow as if a thunderstorm was brewing. Suddenly, there was a choking sound. He snapped out of his reverie and turned his attention back to the door. Carna was kissing the male nurse, or appeared to be. But his eyes were wide with surprise and fright. His face paled as his ki dropped like a stone.

"Hey!" Videl shouted. She leapt to her feet and burst through the door, Gohan and Goku close behind. Carna's smoldering gold eyes snapped open and glared heatedly at the Satan girl. She ripped her mouth away from the man's and let his lifeless body drop to the hard cold tile floor.

"Do you mind?" Carna growled.

"I do, actually." Videl answered coolly. The other woman's face hardened.

"So, you do work for Babidi." Goku thought aloud. A twisted smile made its way onto her full red lips.

"Looks like I've been caught me red-handed."

xXx

Omake

Seventeen sat in the chair next to Yamcha's bed bored out of his mind. Watching someone's unconscious form was only interesting for so long and it just got weird if it was one of the same gender as yourself. There was no TV in the room to at least provide some distraction. Hell, they didn't even have any magazines out! And why was he even tasked with watching the guy for? He wasn't really a target as all of his ki was already drained. The android had suggested healing the baseball star themselves but no. That would make the hospital staff suspicious and it wasn't like they were just going to let them discharge Yamcha from the hospital so long as he was catatonic. The sound of heels clicking against tile made him look up. A young female nurse with long curly brown hair walked in, obviously checking in on the patient…a very attractive female nurse…

"Oh, I sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." she quickly apologized.

"Now how can an angle like yourself ever be disturbing?" he grinned.

Translations:

Kami- god

Ne- huh

Ki- energy

Blasé- French word meaning bored, indifferent, unimpressed.

AN: Please review!