57 Blacktop Obsession
"Wow, you made it out alive, homeboy." Roman said, looking shocked to see Tej walk downstairs.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Tej asked, shaking his head and plopping on the couch. "You look more relieved than I do." Tej joked.
"I was scared for you, bruh." Roman said. "I thought that was gonna be yo ass." He admitted.
"I don't know why. I'm straight." Tej shrugged. "He doesn't scare me." Tej promised.
"He sure as hell should!" Roman warned, shaking his head.
"I've had no problems with him." Tej replied, laid back like always.
"Dude, he had a rat and used it with a blowtorch to make it bite a cop." Roman shivered.
"That's pretty brutal." Tej agreed. "But I feel like I'm cool with him." Tej said.
"Pfft." Roman rolled his eyes.
"You really need some chill pills, dawg." Tej advised.
"I still can't believe you guys just didn't come out and tell me." Brian shook his head, popping open a beer. He downed it. He was still in shock. "You guys let that happen." He swore.
"You okay, Bullet?" Tej grinned, looking at Roman, concerned.
"I'm good, yeah." Brian opened up another Corona. "Just wished ya woulda told me." Brian shook his head, still stunned at the information he had learned. "You set me up for that." Brian shook his head again.
"We tried. Kinda. Haha." Roman laughed. "You almost died, Mr. is she your babysitter or sister?" Roman mocked Brian, getting a punch from Brian. Both Tej and Roman busted up laughing.
"You only got pulled half way across that table, it wasn't that bad, man." Tej laughed, covering his mouth.
"You guys are crappy friends." Brian shook his head.
"Says you who pulled us into this job, homeboy." Roman scoffed.
"Yeah...yeah. I can't believe I didn't get it. It all makes so much sense now." He said, leaning back on the couch, annoyed that he was the last to know. He was used to being the first to know.
"I really tried to help you piece it together, Brian." Han walked in, shaking his head.
"Yeah, that was a tense moment." Brian laughed, sitting back in his chair.
"I was pretty sure you about died up there." He said, grabbing a bag of chips and tossing one to Roman with a grin. Roman gave him an appreciative nod.
"Funny. You guys just keep on laughing." Brian shook his head.
"Oh we will fo sho." Tej promised as he laughed more.
"Stop it!" Brian punched Tej, rolling his eyes. This only made them all laugh more.
"Now who's the slow one, Homie?" Roman asked, folding his arms.
"No one said you're slow, it's the loudmouth thing, Roman. Which you're proving right now." Brian quipped.
"Now we know why you are not a cop anymore." Han teased. "You lost that detective brain a bit." Han playfully jabbed Brian.
"Funny. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I thought maybe I was a dead man too for a minute." Brian agreed.
"Good morning everyone!" Kaidyn could be heard from the next room calling out in a sing-song voice.
"How in the hell is she still awake?" Roman asked, his mouth dropping open.
"There is no telling." Tej laughed.
"Oh, you guys thought she'd go to sleep?" Han laughed. "Ametures." He joked.
"We're, um, new to the job." Roman laughed. "Cut us some slack." He laughed. "We tired, Homie." He added.
"There's not a lot of sleep when she's unsettled and in a new place. She fights it well." Han educated them.
"I'd expect nothing less." Tej grinned.
"Hi Guys!" A very drunk Kaidyn walked in the room, not walking straight as she waved to them.
"Hey girl. You still drinking?" Roman asked, smelling the alcohol on her. He knew Carter would not be happy she was still drunk.
"Shay and I had a few drinks." She informed them as she reached for a wine cooler.
"A few drinks, huh?" Han asked, folding his arms.
"Yup, we had a tea party." Kaidyn informed him.
"Shay doesn't usually drink too much. Interesting." Han mused. "Where's Shay now?" He asked.
"She's in the room asleep. She said I could drink more if I wanted." Kaidyn said as a matter of factly.
"Is that so?" Han asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey Han, you should put in your headphones and listen to the conversation, I mean podcast from earlier I just heard." Hector walked in and advised. Han went to the pantry to get some juice and put in his earpiece, better known as a comm and listened.
"Wow. That didn't go well at all." Han looked at Hector, listening to Carter and Kaidyn talk.
"Now you know why he acted the way he did." Hector nodded.
"No wonder he was so mad." Han agreed.
"Where'd you guys go?" Kaidyn asked, stumbling into Hector and giggling.
"Hey, don't be tripping. Why don't you eat something to sober up?" Hector asked, catching her from falling on her face.
"Nah, fool. I am looking for more drink so I can finish this one." Kaidyn giggled, holding up a bottle of Rum. "Just call me Jack Sparrow." She laughed.
"Oh damn. Did you grab that from the kitchen? Give me that." Han ordered, rolling his eyes. Kaidyn was very good at taking things with no one noticing.
"Nope, not tonight sucker!" She took a swig out of the bottle.
"Kaidyn, give me it." Han requested.
"You will address me by my name...Jack Sparrow." Kaidyn ordered, her head held high.
"Hector, I need a pirate hat! Can you order me one?" She asked, walking in the living room, dodging Han as she walked by him.
"Girllllllll, if you don't give me that bottle... " Han ordered, chasing her. She ran, giggling.
"Nope, no can do. Shay said I can drink." Kaidyn shook her head.
"I thought you said Shayde was asleep?" Han challenged.
"She is now. Duh, keep up my friend." Kaidyn rolled her eyes.
"If Shadye said no more and you keep drinking, she's gonna pour out all this alcohol and stop allowing it." Han warned, raising an eyebrow.
"Nah, Shayde said it was fine. Everything's fine, my dear Han. You worry wayyyy too much." Kaidyn said, her words slurred.
"Han, you are too slow." Kaidyn laughed, jumping over the couch to evade him.
"We are not doing this, Kaidyn." Han grumbled.
"Looks like we are though." She laughed, taking another drink.
"Kaidyn, stop messing around." Hector tried to help.
"Mind your business, Hector. Stay in your lane." Kaidyn warned, huffing as she felt like they were closing in.
"You are my lane. It's kinda my job, Rapunzel. Give us the bottle." He motioned with his hand.
"That's it, I'm going to go for a swim." Kaidyn jumped over a chair and headed for the pool.
"No!" Brian jumped up, trying to cut her off.
"Brian O'Connor, you do not want to get involved in this. I am warning you. Don't get on my bad side." Kaidyn slurred.
"Sorry, but I'm not letting you go to the pool. I am trying to keep you from drowning this morning." Brian shook his head.
"Are you a lifeguard?" Kaidyn asked.
"No, I am not." Brian replied.
"Well, you are under qualified and fired." Kaidyn shook her head. She tried to run past him and he caught her barely by her waist. She kicked him in the ankle and took off running again.
"Tej, thought you said you could handle her." Roman elbowed him. "Looks like now's your time to shine." Roman laughed.
"Hush. I got this." Tej grinned. "Watch and learn." He nodded confidently, cracking his knuckles with a grin for show.
"Kaidyn, are you sure she said you could drink more, did she?" Hector asked, looking at Kaidyn. She nodded.
"Does it matter? I am almost finished with the bottle. I need another." Kaidyn laughed.
"No, you really don't." Han disagreed. "Tell Brian sorry for kicking him." Han ordered.
"Sorry, Non Lifeguard." Kaidyn called over her shoulder.
"Go ahead, Tej, see what you can do." Hector nodded.
"Yeah, let's see what you got, Mr. Braids " Roman nodded.
"Hey Babygirl, want to come sit and watch a movie with us?" Tej asked, scooting over and patting the spot between him and Roman.
"Depends on the movie." Kaidyn tried to take another drink.
"What do you want to watch, babygirl?" Tej asked, holding out his arms to her.
"I don't know. Something Disney?" She shrugged, stopping to think about it.
"We are not watching Disney. Hell no." Roman objected.
"Fine, what do you suggest?" Kaidyn asked, folding her arms.
"Not Disney." Roman repeated.
"Nothing wrong with Disney." Han said, rolling his eyes at Roman. "Rome, we are trying to get her to chill. Let her pick it." He muttered under his breath.
"What do suggest we watch then, Mr. Pearce?" Kaidyn asked, looking at him but bobbing as she tried to focus on him.
"Hell, I don't know. Pirates of the Caribbean?" Roman asked with a shrug.
"Haha! Jokes on you!" Kaidyn clapped her hands.
"What do you mean?" Roman asked, looking confused.
"It's still Disney. I'm good with that." She agreed.
"You would know that." Roman grinned.
"Of course, I love all Disney movies. Do you like Disney, Tej?" Kaidyn asked, still watching the guys to make sure they weren't coming towards her.
"Yes, especially cartoons. Come sit by me and let's watch this movie together." He offered.
"I don't think I can get over there." She said, not able to stand still.
"Come here. I got a spot for you." He promised.
"The floor keeps moving." She admitted. She looked like she was about to fall over.
"Let me carry you. I got you." Tej got up and picked her up, making her giggle. She looked up at him with big eyes and smiled.
"Thank you." She laughed.
"It is no problem, babygirl." He carried her to the sofa.
"Things are not staying very still." Kaidyn admitted.
"I got you." Tej promised, putting his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder. "It's all those drinks you had." He said as he held her close.
"Things are still moving." She whispered. "What strong arms you have." She cooed.
"You have such pretty blue eyes. Man, they sure are some intense eyes, girl." He said, sitting down with her on his lap.
"You have pretty eyes too." She said, playing with his braids.
"Told you she liked them braids." Roman whispered, getting an elbow from Tej.
"What you say, Rome?" She asked, giggling.
"Ro was just saying how thirsty he was, Babygirl. Can he have that bottle? He'll give it back. I'll make sure of it." Tej promised.
"I guess." Kaidyn said, handing him the bottle after attempting to take another drink. Tej shook his head and laughed. He gently nudged her. "Come on, that was a big drink, babygirl." He coaxed.
"Thanks homegirl." Roman said with a nod, taking the bottle.
"Hi Brian, why you spinning around so much?" She waved at Brian, who was staring at her, looking at her face. She was not able to see straight and he looked like he was spinning to her.
"Hey Kaidyn" He waved back, staring at her face.
"What's wrong, Brian?" She asked. "You look so serious." Kaidyn observed.
"Nothing is wrong, Firecracker." He promised, smiling at her with a shrug.
"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Kaidyn confessed, looking down.
"No, I'm fine, you're all good." He assured her.
"Now you see it, white boy?" Hector asked, from behind the couch, making the guys all laugh.
"Shut up, Hector." Brian shook his head. "Yeah, I am pretty slow alright." He nodded with a laugh. "I definitely see it now." He admitted. She had such deep, bright blue eyes, but they didn't quite look like Carter's since they were a brighter blue with a twinkle in them.
"What movie are we watching again?" Kaidyn asked Tej, laying her head on his chest and her legs over Roman. She was starting to settle down as Tej rubbed her back.
"Pirates of the Caribbean, remember? That's what Roman picked." He reminded, stroking her hair.
"Oh yeah. Because someone, Mr. Roman Pearce, doesn't like Disney." She said, her eyes closing. "Who the hell does not like Disney?" She asked, looking at Tej.
"I don't know, but the nerve of him." Tej grinned.
"Someone needs to take his man card away." Kaidyn said as she sighed, her eyes closed.
"He has one of those?" Tej joked.
"That's just really rude and offensive." Roman shook his head, folding his arms. "Hey homegirl, that's mean." Roman said, reaching to tap her shoulder.
"She's out." Tej nodded. "See, I told you I got this, Roman." Tej grinned, wrapping his arms around her.
"And I told you, it's the braids, man." Roman rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Kaidyn. "Man card my ass. She needs to limit those damn drunks." He muttered, making them all laugh.
"Man, Ese, I am shocked she went to sleep in your arms. She usually won't go to sleep without Shayde." Hector said, shocked.
"She's really asleep?" Han asked with a yawn. "Are we sure she's not playing us?" Han asked with a grin.
"Better double check to make sure." Hector laughed, poking her in the side gently to see.
"Nah, she's really out." Tej nodded.
"Let me go get her a blanket." Hector said, getting up.
"Hope you don't gotta get up for anything. You're stuck there now." Han raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?" Tej asked, watching Hector get up to go get her blanket.
"If you move at all, she wakes up. Once she wakes up, she will be fully recharged and won't be going back to sleep." He warned.
"Yeah, so get comfy, the both of you." Hector laughed.
"Yup, what he said." Han laughed.
"Han, did Kaidyn get the rooms figured out yet for these three?" Hector asked, sitting back to relax finally on the couch.
"Nah, not yet. I think I forgot to tell her. She didn't get a chance yet." Han replied, slicing an apple with his pocket knife. "She could barely walk, let alone see straight." He laughed.
"Yeah, she had a lot. She also had a hard time with the stairs." Hector added. "And that damn room." Hector growled with a sigh.
"Yeah, that room bullshit is crazy." Han shook his head, turning on the scrambler. He stared off for a minute, reliving the moment he found them.
"Sorry he did that. I scrambled us." Hector promised.
"Yeah, me too." Han nodded, his gaze still staring off.
"What's wrong with the rooms?" Brian asked curiously.
"Her room. It was set up just like it was on the night the attack happened. Almost everything identical. All it needed was ...the blood. I just don't know why he'd do that." Han shook his head.
"Psychological games. He's playing games and probably trying to trigger her." Brian estimated as he shook his head and folded his arms.
"That's so messed up of him. I didn't like how he called her a brat." Roman said, looking at the group.
"He's not right in the damn head. Your jobs are to keep her safe at all costs." Hector reminded them.
"Right." Tej nodded, checking on Kaidyn as she slept deeply.
"Hector promised her she could assign the rooms so you guys can just sleep anywhere out here on this side for this morning but she will pick them out once she wakes up. Hopefully she doesn't wake up sick as a dog." Han shook his head.
"I don't know how she managed to drink so much." Hector said in awe.
"Yeah, that's the most I've ever seen her drink." Han agreed. "Next time she drinks, we can't let her drink as much. That was crazy." Han laughed.
"I don't know how she held out that long." Roman admitted.
"I just gotta say, we are going to have our hands full with her. The Kaidyn Carnival has just begun, this I know for sure." Hector sighed. He looked at the three boys, who looked exhausted. He hoped they could get used to little or no sleep like he and Han had.
"Ha ha, the Kaidyn Carnival. I like that." Roman laughed.
"It's accurate. It's what it is." Han smiled fondly at Kaidyn. He loved her but it was a full time job that three of them had barely been handling between Hector, Shayde and himself. He was glad to have Brian, Roman and Tej to help.
"While I have us on scramble and he can't hear us right now, any questions?" Hector asked, looking at the guys.
"Yeah, since you have us on scramble, is there a way of getting in that security room without the camera watching me later so I can do what I need to do?" Tej asked, looking at Hector and Han.
"Yeah, we will figure out something. I'll work on that with our tech guru." Han nodded as he yawned.
"Tech guru?" Roman asked, wanting to hear more about this.
"We have someone off shore who is able to help us with techy things. They are watching the cameras and stuff too. They are keeping a record of things going down and things we may need for later." Hector explained.
"They also can help if we need warnings or info we may not know while here in the house." Han went on to explain. "They also can create distractions and things if needed." Han added.
"So another team player." Brian nodded with understanding.
"Bingo, exactly." Hector nodded with a grin.
"You guys should try to get some sleep while you can." Hector advised.
"She's so warm that she's making me hella tired." Tej admitted.
"You guys get some sleep. Thanks for the help with her. She doesn't usually drink that much." Han said appreciatively.
"She drank a lot." Brian laughed.
"Her jumping over chairs was quite impressive." Roman laughed.
"That would be her cheer leading and dance coming through. I'm honestly shocked she didn't break anything but they say drunk people are the most likely to not be injured so there's that." Hector laughed.
"She drank so much because she talked to Carter. Shay wanted to see how it would go and it went terrible. That's why Carter came into the meeting so mad." Han explained.
"I am betting Shay wanted her drunk so she'd forget about it. Here you guys can listen to the call." Hector held up his phone.
"While you guys do that, I am going to go check on Shayde." Han advised, getting up and going to find Shayde.