It Could Be Worse
Episode 13: Kidnapped!
By Sulia Serafine
[1-28-01. A Protector of the Small fanfic set in an alternate universe; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me.
Oh, one more thing: BAD LANGUAGE (I. E. cursing, swearing…). You have been warned!
E-mail me at silverwLng@aol.com, okay? Thank you and have a nice day.]
Lalasa scribbled on her notepad the food orders she was being given. When she noticed her customer was done, she turned on smiled politely and went to the kitchen. She stuck the order on the rack and waved to Roald, who was washing dishes. He set down a plate and waved to her with the rubber gloves on. She sighed in contentment and picked up another order waiting for her.
"What table?" she asked her boss, the cook and manager of the restaurant.
"Table 6. Hurry it up, Isran."
She rolled her eyes as she shoved the swinging door. "Yes, sir."
Lalasa casually balanced the tray of food on one upturned palm as she navigated around tables and chairs. Occasionally, she had to dodge moving people so she didn't spill her order. And finally, she made it to the door where table 6 was situated. She set down the tray on the table and sighed.
"That's two hot dogs with the works, and here's your bill," she said without looking up.
"Do you think you can put it on my tab, Love?"
"We don't do tabs--" she began. Lalasa looked up from her apron. She gasped. "You!"
The man in front of her was about three years her senior, with menacing eyes set under thick dark eyebrows. He smiled mischievously at the young woman and took her hand. He kissed it. "My, my, Lalasa-love. I can't believe they've reduced you to do this menial excuse of a life."
She snatched her hand away. "No! Get out of here, you… you…"
He stood up. "What?" Before she could turn and run, he spoke again. "Don't do anything, Lalasa. You don't want to worry anyone about you, huh? And to cause such a ruckus in public will send for the local police and then your friends could get revealed." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And maybe even you, too."
"What do you want, Vinson Genlith?" she trembled.
"Nothing, my sweet, sweet girl," he cooed. He traced her jawbone with one slim finger. "Why don't you tell the manager you're going to take a break and meet me in the alley, hmm?"
She reluctantly nodded. Vinson grabbed a hot dog, wrapped it with a napkin, and left the restaurant. The bell chimed over the door as his figure disappeared around the corner. She gathered up the tray with what food was left and shakily approached the kitchen. Before she breezed through the door, Lalasa took a deep breath. She couldn't let Roald see her distressed or else he'd start asking questions.
Over the last week, she had been confiding more and more in Roald and less with Keladry as she had in the beginning. She supposed her "stranger" method was no longer effective because of him. He was so kind and gentle, soft-spoken, but serious and supportive. Much more than any guy she'd ever met.
"Sir," she said as she approached the manager. "Something came up. Can I take my break now and make up for it during my usual break?"
He looked her over. "Fine. Get out of here."
She nodded. Roald set down the stack of plates he finished drying. He peered at her curiously. "Is something wrong, Lalasa?"
"Uh, no," she replied. "I just have to run some errands for Keladry."
The Vice President's son frowned. "What's she doing?"
"Damn," she thought. Aloud, she said, "Kel's helping Cleon find Fal. She paged me from 3rd Street. I'll see you later, Roald."
"Okay then. Borrow my jacket. It will get cold later on."
"I will. Thanks." She took off her apron and hung it up on the peg. Then she retrieved Roald's gray windbreaker and proceeded out the kitchen. Lalasa felt guilty for lying to Roald, but it was much better if he didn't know what was going on. She shuffled down the sidewalk, turning into the alley that Vinson had indicated.
"So nice of you to join me," the man in question smiled. He offered his arm. "Shall we go somewhere else?"
She stepped back. "Tell me what you want, first."
He sneered. "If we leave, I'll tell you."
"No. Tell me right here."
"Your father sent me to take care of you as a reward for telling him where you were and, uh," he chuckled, "who you were with."
She stared at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Vinson took this as a sign of submission and grabbed her by the arm. She didn't protest by yanking away, and let him lead her to a black car waiting at the mouth of the alley. Finally, the tears spilled over her eyelids and ran down her cheeks.
"Don't cry now, my lovely," Vinson loosened his grip on her to whisper in her ear. "I'll take good care of you."
She looked up at him in horror. She could try to run then, but he would only catch her and drag her screaming and kicking to the car. She could scream for help, but who would care? Tyra was like Carthak at times. People minded their own business, even if a person was being knifed in front of their own door. Sometimes, it made Lalasa furious how she could be so vulnerable, like any commonplace female with no brain of her own.
But she had a brain. Lalasa Isran wasn't going to take it so easily.
"For now," she thought as she sat in the back seat of the black car. She shifted around uncomfortably on the vinyl seats. "For now, I'll let him take me away. But I'll escape. I have to." She glared at Vinson as he signaled the driver to go. "It's not like he's taking me to Dad. I can't even believe Dad wanted Vinson to 'take care of me'. I know he's a jerk, but he wouldn't stick me with this sleaze ball." She gazed at the restaurant as they passed it. "And Roald…"
~~
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't any good at Poker?" Faleron grinned as he walked beside Cleon. The redhead reached into his pockets and turned them inside out. Nothing was in them, not even lint.
Keladry walked behind them, content in just watching the men's conversation. Only after Cleon had lost his money had they paged her and asked her to come convince the men whom they were playing with not to beat them up. So, she dropped her all-too-important duty of finding a great, profitable job and went down to 3rd Street, the notorious Gambling Street, to talk some sense into the stocky men that lived there. And they actually listened to her.
"Well, I never played before! I thought you knew that!" he exclaimed grouchily. He kicked a stone on the pavement. They neared the inn where they were living. The shorter man laughed and brushed his sleeves off.
"Don't worry. I made enough money to make up for what you lost." He yawned melodramatically, made a big emphasis of his actions.
"Ice Cream Pants," Cleon muttered.
The other raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What did you call me?"
"Nothing."
Faleron squinted at him. "No, no. " He shook his finger at him. "You said something. You called me Ice Cream Pants, didn't you?" He threw up his arms over his head in a brief fit of insanity. "Oh, vast world with such people in it!" he started laughing uncontrollably as he shouted. "I am Ice Cream Pants! Haha!"
Keladry spoke up. "I thought you hated that name."
The thief turned on her and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Well you see, Officer, I am in too good a mood to care. I've won tons of money! And I didn't get beat up!"
"Humph," Cleon opened the door to the inn. "Only because Kel came and the other guys think it's just so freaking adorable for a chick to stand up for two grown men."
"Or maybe because she flipped them over her shoulder?" Faleron winked and began to imitate Keladry's fighting arts. The man at the front desk stared at him skeptically, then returned to his paperwork. "That was pretty cool, you have to admit."
"Screw it. Screw all of it. Especially poker!"
Faleron called to his redheaded friend. "Now, now! Don't be discouraged, Kennan, my good man! It takes practice to have a good poker face! And to make good judgments!" He ran ahead of Keladry to catch up with him on the flights of metal stairs. He stopped him and put his palms together in front of his face. "Now, just be one with the cards, grasshopper."
"Oh, shut up!" Cleon yelled, red-faced and humiliated, marching past the hysterical thief.
"You're not mad are you? I was joking! Wait up!"
"Shut up, Thief-boy! I'm not talking to you!"
Keladry started to crack up. She caught herself and clamped a hand over her own mouth. It was quite clear that Faleron and Cleon were best friends, even if they spent most of their time humiliating each other. She took her time going up to the stairs, listening to the two young men throwing insults at each other. As she reached halfway, everything became quiet. The quarreling came to a sudden halt that jerked her into reality. She bolted up the stairs two or three steps at a time.
"What happened?" she asked before she even saw. Roald was leaning against the door to his room while Joren, Cleon, and Faleron surrounded him. The quiet young man cradled his head in his hands.
"So, she didn't go with you, Cleon?" Roald asked, lifting his head up.
"No. Keladry was here at the inn until we paged her," Cleon said. He saw her. "Kel! Did you send Lalasa on an errand?"
She blinked. "What? No! What are you talking about?"
Joren folded his arms. "Lalasa left the restaurant at 3:00 saying she was running an errand for you while you were helping Kennan search for King."
"But I didn't help him search," she frowned.
"Exactly," Roald groaned. "It's been three hours and she didn't come back when her break was over. I tried paging her, but she wouldn't answer!" His expression was full of worry. "I hope she's okay."
It was obvious he liked her. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so concerned, Keladry reasoned. She scratched her head nervously. Everyone was looking at her as if they expected her to say something. She coughed quietly. "We really can't do anything more than go back to the restaurant and ask if she'd gone back there. Get some rest, Roald. You look like you need it."
"Isran is up to something," Joren said.
"I can't believe you're saying that!" Roald exclaimed. "She wouldn't lie to us like that! She had to be forced into something-- maybe threatened! But she wouldn't be up to anything!"
Joren stared him down. "Do you even know who her father is?"
"Yes," he replied, unabashed.
"Then that's that. Get some sleep, Jasson."
No one spoke against the blonde leader. They went their ways, the guys to their room, and Keladry to hers-- alone. Roald did not go quietly, she observed. His eyes were turning slightly red at the edges from his tears. Cleon patted his shoulder and said something to him that she couldn't hear.
And into her room, she entered-- just her. No whining Carthakian of how dingy the room was and how much she missed dance clubs. The female officer looked at all of her friend's things on the dresser: a brush, some hair ties, mascara, a compact, and a piece of paper indicating her shifts at the restaurant. They were as untouched since that morning.
"Just this morning," she thought. Keladry next looked inside the bathroom where there was one clear spot on the mirror while the rest remained permanently cloudy. Yes, she could see her reflection.
Keladry sighed and started to brush her teeth. While she did, there was some shouting coming from next door. It sounded like Roald's voice. And then there was another, harsher sounding person: Joren. She shut her eyes and blocked it away. Finally, she finished with the routines of hygiene and changed into some night clothing-- ones she'd borrowed from Lalasa.
"Be safe," she whispered as she sat down on her bed and glanced over at the other empty one. Keladry stared at her clock, for the mere purpose of watching the digital numbers change. It felt so empty in that little room. She was used to being alone in a room, but after Lalasa…
There was a knock on the door. Keladry threw the covers off and got up.
"I'm coming," she called when the person knocked again. She was too tired to care what she looked like or who could possibly be knocking at that hour. With her luck, it was probably the innkeeper complaining about Roald's cries.
"Hey, Officer," Faleron said. There was an obvious attempt at cheeriness in his voice but it came out flat. He had his hands in his pockets and was rocking back and forth on his feet from heel to toe.
"I told you to stop calling me that," she reminded in a monotonous voice.
"Right. Sorry," he said. He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, do you mind if I have the spare bed in here tonight?" Before she could answer, he went on to explain. "You see, since Roald is depressed, I didn't want to disturb him, and there's Lalasa' bed and… Well, I promise not to bother you. No stealing your underwear! Heheh…" he emitted a short laugh.
"Yeah, sure. It's okay. But what about Cleon and Joren?"
Faleron closed the door behind him and shrugged. There was sadness in his usual bright and thoughtful eyes. "When Roald makes one sound, Joren yells, and Cleon stuffs pillows over his head. You know how it is, Officer-- I mean, Keladry."
She nodded. They sat down on their respective beds, at a loss for words. Keladry picked up the holo-screen remote. "Do you want to watch something?"
He shook his head. "No. I'll just get to sleep. Thank you. Good night, Officer."
She placed the remote on the dresser and turned off the lamplight. "Good night, Fal."
Somewhere past midnight, Keladry woke up. She turned onto her side and noticed that Lalasa was sitting upright in her bed with the covers pulled tightly around her like a cloak. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Lalasa, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
Faleron blinked. He twisted around and faced her in the darkness. "It's me, Kel. Lalasa isn't here."
She was now completely awake. Keladry squinted. The street lamps outside her window hardly provided enough light to see anything with. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were…"
"I know," he nodded. He gestured to the wall in between their room and the other room. "I woke up because I couldn't hear Roald anymore. I think he finally fell asleep. Poor guy. He's really sweet on her."
Keladry sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Yeah. They've gotten close."
He suddenly turned to her and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. "Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
She was shocked at his question. Keladry clutched the edge of her bedcovers a little tighter. Thank heaven for the darkness. If there was light, Faleron was sure to see her white knuckles. "No. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious I guess," Faleron said and lied back down. "It all fits in with the too-busy-to-have-a-social-life subject I keep hearing about from Cleon. That's what happened to you, wasn't it?"
"Something like that," she replied, irritated by what he knew and by Cleon's big mouth.
"Oh."
When he stopped talking and she couldn't see his dim figure move, she settled back down to sleep.
"Keladry?"
She turned over to face him although it didn't help her vision. "Yeah?"
"Now that you are no longer with the DJPF, you have the time for a boyfriend."
She narrowed her eyes. "What, do you want to be my boyfriend?"
Sensing the hostility in her voice, he laughed to lighten up the atmosphere. "No! Of course not! I'm too much a wildcard to ever settle down-- same as Cleon. I just thought that you might want to now that you have the opportunity."
She rolled over and turned her back towards him. "We have other important things to worry about. Like Lalasa."
"Yes, I know, but--"
"Goodnight, Faleron."
He sighed. "Goodnight, Keladry." He pulled the bed sheets closer around him. "I guess it's true what Cleon also said," he thought. "She's not just too busy… she's also scared."
~~
Lalasa was feeling much better around one in the morning. When Vinson wasn't looking, she had paged Roald. Her 'caretaker' was too arrogant to believe she could do anything against him. At the moment, they were in a cabin outside Tyra. It was dim, and there were no bugs to be found, but she still didn't like it.
Especially the part where she was stuck in the cabin with Vinson.
"Now, Lalasa, my love, please get some rest. We're going to be leaving tomorrow bright and early, hmm?"
"Whatever," she mumbled. He grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed. She grimaced.
"I expect you to behave, or I just might do something. I don't want to hurt my precious jewel, but I will if I have to." He smiled at her sinisterly and let go. She rubbed where he had squeezed. Sure, Vinson wasn't as smart as she was, but he was definitely stronger and more dangerous.
"Hurry up, Roald," she thought. "Get over here and be my knight in shining armor, okay?"
~~
"Quick! Get up! They're gone! They're gone!" Cleon shouted as he burst into Keladry's room and began jumping up and down. He switched on the lights, causing Keladry to throw the covers up over her head. The redhead went over to Faleron first, yanking down the bed sheets and shaking his comrade by the shoulder. "Get up! They're gone! I woke up and they were gone!"
"Who's gone?" Faleron groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
Keladry studied Cleon's panicked state. "Roald and Joren?"
"Yeah! I woke up because I had to piss, er… go use the bathroom, and their beds are empty!" He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what's going on, but we better go after them."
She got up and ran to the bathroom with a bundle of clothes under her arm. "Okay, okay. Get dressed. We'll follow them somehow."
"How?" Faleron asked.
"I don't know! I'll think of something!" she yelled back and slammed the door.
"Well, Kennan, how long have they been gone?"
The redhead shrugged helplessly and sat down beside him. A couple of hours ago, I had the pillows over my head. I couldn't hear Roald anymore, so I thought he'd fallen asleep. And the same with Joren!" He closed his eyes. "I suppose they've been gone as long as then."
"I was awake then," Faleron thought. The silence from that room woke me up. He patted his friend's back. "Okay. Let's get dressed and we'll see if the Black Knight is in its spot." He knocked on the bathroom door. "Hurry up, Kel!"
The door swung open. He fell forward at the sudden absence of barrier. She caught him by the wrist and steadied him. Surprisingly, Kel was already in her field uniform-- save for the DJPF logo being ripped off and her civilian vest covering most of the recognizable uniform.
"You know, the Hyperion links are still quite noticeable," Cleon spoke up.
She threw a bag of links to him. "Too bad. They work for armor, so put yours on, too."
"But--"
"That's an order, officer!" she bellowed.
He yelped and ran out of the room, racing to get his uniform.
"Uh, Kel?" Faleron whispered.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing…"
~~
Vinson left Lalasa sleeping on the sofa while he went out to smoke. He tucked a spare cigarette behind his ear. Then he proceeded to light the one hanging from his lips. As he lit it and put away his lighter, a force exploded on his back. "Ah!" He screamed as he fell forward down the rocky slope. He couldn't stop his momentum once he got going, and hit a log at the bottom.
"Shit!" he cursed and wiped at a cut on his forehead. He had hit a rock as well. "Who the fuck did that? I'm going to massacre you!"
"Oh, that would be the day," a familiar voice laughed psychotically. Vinson paled.
He got onto his knees and looked up at the shadowed figure elevated up from him. The man slowly made his way down the hill, taking his time and kicking a rock now and then to Vinson's feet.
"I'm so sorry, sir," he hoarsely whispered. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. This was the last position he'd ever want to be in. The man before him had the power to kill him at any time. The man before him had power unimaginable. The man before him… The man before him was his father.
And he was also Roger Conté.
"Dad!" he begged. "Please, please, forgive my ignorance. I didn't know it was you! I mean, even if it wasn't you, I'd… I'd…"
"Act like a moron?" his father supplied. He crouched down and yanked his son up by the hair. "I don't know why I let your mother convince me to take you under my wing. You don't even have the common sense of any normal son!"
Vinson nodded vigorously. "I know, s-sir, and I'll do anything--"
"Oh, stop your groveling. It's pathetic." Roger let go of his hair and stood to his full height. "Now, can you tell me what you're doing with Tasikhe's daughter?"
The son wiped at the blood dripping down his forehead when it got into his eyes. He backed up against the log and gulped. "Uh, I can explain that. Mr. Tasikhe said I could look out for her…"
Roger backhanded Vinson hard, sending him crashing over the log and onto a pile of firewood. Vinson spat out some blood from where he had bit his tongue down. He wiped his mouth and looked imploringly up at his father. Roger folded his arms and glared at him.
"Ozorne said look out for her. Yeah, I can see that. But I swear I cannot see where you took it into your damn head to kidnap her." He leaned toward him. "Don't you think that I had plans for her, staying with her friends?"
Vinson remained silent. He sniffled a bit, now realizing his nose was bloody too.
"Get out of here. Go get cleaned up."
"What about Lalasa?" Vinson asked meekly.
His father grinned. "She's already paged for her dear Prince Charming to come and get her."
"Pager?"
"Yes, dolt, pager. Now get out of here! You'll do yourself a favor and not let anyone see you bloodied up like this!"
"Yes, sir. Right away." He scrambled up the slope past Roger, stumbling here in there, nearly tripping over loose rocks. He grabbed a bag next to the cabin's door and took off for the black car parked five minutes away at the road. Roger laughed and strode triumphantly into the woods.
~~
Joren slowed down on his bike. He peered down a dirt path leading off from the road. Following Roald was a harder task than he'd imagined. The first part had been fine. Joren feigned sleep while he heard the other man's pager go off. Then Roald climbed out the window, a grave mistake since Joren's bed was right next to the window. After that, Roald 'borrowed' a car with its keys hidden in the glove compartment and taken off.
Now all the back roads at the edge of the city wound through woods and parks. Joren didn't think he was every so annoyed by nature before than he was at that moment.
Eventually, he turned off the main road and onto the dirt road, going slow so as not to alert others far away of his presence with the sound of his bike. When the road turned into a path, Joren turned off the cleared path and into a grove of trees. He parked his bike there and hiked the rest of the way. And a minute later, he could see the very same car Roald had taken parked in a ditch.
"Stupid idiot," he muttered as he neared a cabin. The door was open. He jogged the rest of the way, and entered.
"Stone!" Lalasa exclaimed as she leapt from Roald's arms and to the blonde's side. "You came, too? I didn't think you cared!"
He narrowed his eyes into two glaring slits. "I don't. I came because your lover boy here caused too much commotion for me to leave him alone. And now what the hell is going on? Why are you all the way out here?"
Roald walked over to Lalasa and hugged her. "She was kidnapped."
"By who?"
"Vinson Genlith," Lalasa spat. "That jerk's been bothering me since we were kids. He's the one who saw me with all of you at the Crypt, and he tattled. He always was a coward."
Joren glanced around the dim cabin. There was no trace of any second person. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. I heard some frantic running outside and woke up, and then I hear the car start up in the distance and he's gone. He just left me here." She shrugged.
"Probably knew the Super Squad was coming!" Cleon cheered as he burst through the door, flexing and posing. He spun around grandly and winked at Lalasa and Roald as he imitated famous body builders. "Go ahead, feel the biceps! Nice, eh?"
"Moron," Faleron called as he walked calmly inside. He tipped his hat to Lalasa. "It seems the lady is safe. All is well. I do believe our work here is done."
"It never began," Keladry corrected as she, too, stepped in. She was somewhat disappointed that she had gotten geared up for nothing. When everyone looked at her to explain their arrival, she said, "I used Stone's portable database to locate his tracking disks." She indicated the silver disks on the side of Joren's thighs.
The blonde scowled and bent over to take the disks off. "Okay then. Fine. Isran's safe, Genlith's gone, and everybody's piling into whatever car you stole," he glared at Faleron, who started to whistle innocently, "and we're going back to the inn. And sleeping. As of tomorrow, we're out of Tyra."
Faleron's mouth dropped open. "But I'll have to find a new gambling circuit!"
"And I'll have to interview for another lousy job!" Lalasa pouted.
"And I'll… have to get a job!" Cleon groaned.
Roald and Keladry shook their heads sadly.
"You're too much, Kennan, you know that?" she sighed and started out the door. Faleron followed her, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands when there hadn't been any cards before. Roald took Lalasa's hand and the two strolled out the door together, whispering to each other. And Joren dragged Cleon out by his ear.
~~
Author: Just as I said in the last episode and the episode before that: If more people review, I post another episode. So, seeing that I'm neglecting both school and practice, please enjoy the following! (By the way, by the time I was half way done with this episode, twenty people had reviewed episode 12. TWENTY! "You like me! You really like me!" (Yes, one of the many famous quotes of Sunset Boulevard, so what?) And by the way, everyone's going to be so happy when I come out with episode 14. I've been rushing the last two episodes because I already plotted out 14 and absolutely fell in love with it (if you can fall in love with an episode…).
Closing Credits:
Special thanks to those who helped me with descriptions:
( Note: These people are VERY cool. Do not mess with them.)
Kestrel
Erin (Hyper Girl to the Rescue)
Sullychkk (Whose name is Caitie…)
And also to the people who volunteered to help with my web page:
FireLily
Jaelawyn Noble