Adriann
Chapter 8: A Girl With a Mission
~> Okay, just so you know <<<<>>>> means that the 2 seperated scenes happened at the same time.
~> And ** means a flash/vision type thingy**
And I'm soooooooooo sorry I took so long. :~{ ENJOY!
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"What?" Bling breathed in shock.
"I'm dying. And you're the only one...the only one who knows." She managed to get out between stabs of pain.
"I don't understand. Up until 15 minutes ago you seemed fine; exhausted and stressed, but not, not dying, Dre. You can't be dying. Not now." Bling's arms tightened around Adriann.
"But I am. I'm burning out, shutting down, but I'm not giving up. I have too much left to do and so little time to do it." Adriann wrapped her arms around Bling's as she shifted her weight to curl up in his arms.
"If it wasn't for Manticore, this would be a perfect moment."she whispered into his chest.
{{I'm so tired. If I could just get some sleep.....you'd never wake up! Stay awake Dre. Start talkin'. Tell him what's goin' on with you. That will keep you awake until Brin gets here.}}
"Maybe if you got some rest, you'd feel better. 'Cause girl you definitely need a vacation. We could go somewhere warm like Hawaii, or the Bahamas..." Bling trailed off lost in thought.
{{We? Could he?}}
"There is no one else I would rather go with but a vacation won't help. Bling, I probably wouldn't even make to the airport." Dre listened to Bling's heartbeat quicken when she spoke.
"We'll figure out something Dre. I'm not letting you go that easily." Bling rested his head on hers.
"If only it was easy. Can you imagine what it's like to never have a moments peace? To always have something in your head that you can't control. It's what drove Ben over the edge."
"I'm not following."
"There's always an overload of information in my head, no ones brain was made to handle that much. It's like packing 25 people into a car that seats 4. The engine just can't handle that type of work load. Actually I surprized that I lasted this long. The older I get, the more focused and intense everything becomes. It's like my mind is this focal point for all this...this pain."
Adriann's grip tightened on Bling's arm as she tried to ignore another wave of pain. Bling gently stroked Dre's hair as if on cue to calm her, or at least to take her mind of the pain.
"You wouldn't believe how much pain people have in them. It's gotten so bad that sometimes when people touch me, it's like all of their anger, hurt, pain, hate, bitterness......every negative feeling you can imagine flooded into me. Talk about invasion of personal space." Dre tried to lighten the mood, but it was a lame attempt and she knew it.
"Of course there's joy, compassion, kindness........love. But hate always seems to drown out the emotions that make life worth living. Ahhh damn." Adriann squeezed Bling's arm so hard that he actually lost feeling in his hand.
"Sweetie, I need my hand." Bling said when Dre's grip had loosened.
"Sorry." She breathed trying to regain her bearings.
"Dre, is there anything I can do?"
"No. Your body doesn't really like it when all of a sudden you start growing 5x's the normal growth rate. But, it hates it when you slow to the normal growth rate just as fast as you started. If I had just stayed at one growth rate my body could have adapted easily, but the changing drained too much energy. My body can't support itself anymore. Out of desperation, organs and systems have turned on themselves, just trying to find some energy somewhere. With less systems there's more energy to go around. Unfortunately I need the systems that are dying off."
"So, my problem boils down to a few words. My brain is turning to mush and by body's tearing itself apart. There's nothing that anyone can do. Not even Manticore."
"Just once I wish Manticore would clean up after itself. They are always creating problems that they refuse to fix."
{{Wow, he sounds really mad. No one out side of my family, has ever cared enough about me to get mad.}}
"Bling, you're the only one who knows about this."
"Why me?" Bling asked both thankful and crushed by Dre's honesty.
"Honestly, I don't know. I can trust you. It seems like we have this connection or something. I needed to tell someone, so I could lean on them when it started to get tough. Bling, you were the only person I could imagine trusting with this. If Ben was still here, I don't think I'd tell him either. Granted he'd figure it out himself pretty quickly, but... Promise me you won't tell the others."Adriann turned to look Bling in the eye.
"Dre, you have to tell them."
"No, I don't. I can't tell them, because if they know they will never let me do what I need to."
"And what is that?" Bling asked so he could hear what was so important that she would risk her life.
"Take down Manticore." Dre answered with determination in her eyes.
"Dre, how do you expect to take down Manticore when you're like this? You can't do it on your own."
"You know how you couldn't tell how messed up I was before?"
"Yeah," Bling replied slowly.
"Yet another trace of Manticore. During all of the 'special' training they put me through for dealing with my 'abilities' I was taught how literally forget pain. All I have to do is keep myself focused on the mission at hand and some other junk that I still don't really get - it's just habit now and I don't feel any of the pain I'm in. The only reason I'm feeling it now is because I've actually relaxed for the first time in my life. I guess that you're a good influence on me."
"I think that's a compliment." Bling laughed.
"Yeah, it is. I feel safe enough with you to let down all my defences, that's never happened with anyone but Ben." Adriann squeezed her eyes shut as the pain in her gut intensified, creating a tear that rolled down her cheek.
"I really hate this Bling. I want it to be over, but I don't want to die. Not now." she cried.
"I know, I know." He said as he wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb.
"I just wish that there was something I could do." Bling's eyes glazed over when he looked at Adriann, he was fighting back tears of his own. Dre gently smiled at the man in front of her.
{{Why does he have to be so cute?}}
"Just hold me until Brin gets here."
"Yeah, of course. God that's the least I can do." Bling reached out his arms and wrapped Adriann in them. After she had made herself comfortable using his shoulder as a pillow, Bling kissed the top of her head.
"You smell good, must be expensive shampoo." Bling said placing his head on her once again.
"I would say so, it's Logan's." she giggled. "I knew you too were close, but Bling, to lead a girl on like that."
"Well it must smell better on you, because Logan never smells like this."
"You're such a guy." she lightly slapped Bling's knee.
"Agar, there they go again. Manticore wreaks another perfect moment." Adriann said a few minutes later after the pain wave subsided.
"Just relax." Bling found Dre's hand and laced his fingers through hers.
"That sounds like a good idea. I'll just relax.....until Brin gets here." She said leaning against Bling so she could see the ledge in front of her.
"What do you mean when Brin gets here?" Bling asked as Dre's earlier statement finally clicked.
"That's why we're up on the roof. Brin is on her way, and I have to stop her before she gets to Max." Adriann stated matter of factly.
"What? How do you expect to do that?" Bling asked amazed that Dre actually planned on going through with her 'plan'.
"I'm not sure at the moment, but I'll think of something. I always do." Adriann let out a long sigh.
"Can we just not talk right now? I need to calm down so I can...So I can do this."
"Sure. Just know that I'm always here for you if you need me. No matter what. Say the word and I 'm there." he whispered in Adriann's ear.
"Thanks. That's good to know." Dre replied once she turned her head so that the two were face to face.
{{Oh boy. I didn't realize he was this close. I would just have to move an inch and we'd be...Brin.}}
Adriann sat up straight immediately on alert.
"Dre," Bling asked cautiously.
"Shh." she commanded putting a hand up to silence him.
{{Where are you Brin? Come on, come on. There you are.}}
Brin climbed over the ledge and placed her feet firmly on the solid roof. She's going for the sky light, just like I thought. I'll give her a second so she thinks she's home free.
"Bling," she whispered just loud enough so he could hear her. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"But Adriann," Bling's eyes pleaded with her to stay.
{{Oh what the hell.}}
Adriann quickly leaned over and kissed Bling in mid-sentence shocking them both.
{{Now how hard was that?}}
Reluctantly, Adriann pulled away a few seconds later.
"Don't ever call me Adriann again." she smiled.
"I'll be fine." she promised. As she stood to go Bling still held onto her hand.
"Dre, please...."
"I'm okay. But, I've got to do this." Dre crouched down in a cat like position carefully watching Brin attach her harness.
{{Here we go.}}
Adriann shot up and ran towards Brin, ignoring the fact that she was losing the feeling in her legs. It took only seconds for Dre to close the distance between herself and Brin, but it seemed like forever.
{{You know that talking will only piss her off so just take her down. Ahhh, no no stay focused!!}}
Adriann lunged at Brin who hadn't noticed Adriann's presence until she hit her. The two girls crashed through the pent house sky light fighting the entire way down.
"Dre!" Bling screamed as he jumped up and ran for the stairs.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"What the hell?" Logan said when he heard the crash from his bedroom where Max was cleaning the red scar that had formed in place of the incision. Logan and the three x5's rushed to the hall where the crash came from.
"Dre!" Max screamed.
"Brin!" Syl and Krit yelled. This was the first time that they had seen their sister since the escape.
"What's going on?" Logan asked Bling when he came through the door.
"Brin came for Max." he answered feeling helpless as he watched Dre fight Brin when she actually fighting for her life.
Adriann was nearly out matched this time. Brin had the upper hand since they had hit the floor. Knocking Adriann on her back Brin took the split second she was down to go for Max.
{{No you don't!}}
Jumping up Adriann ran towards Brin and grabbed her arm when she was within reach of her baby sister. Logan was standing in front of Max in attempts of protecting her, but he would be no match for Brin. Adriann pulled Brin back towards her with a hard yank dislocating her shoulder.
"Ahhh!" Brin yiped in pain.
"What? Brin are you showing weakness?" Dre asked dropping Brin to the ground. Catching her off guard Brin knocked Adriann's feet out from under her and planted a hard kick in her stomach before heading for Max again.
"Dre?" Bling called out worried by Brin's latest blow.
{{Ahh God. Fight it. You've got to fight it.}}
"Brin!" Adriann screamed from the ground. Dre pushed up off the ground as she continued talking.
"Stay away from her!" Dre screamed launching herself forward to grab Brin by her bad arm. Using the momentum of Brin's attack towards her Dre picked her up and threw her former sister over her shoulder, sending Brin through Logan's high rise window. Adriann turned in one fluid movement with the throw ending in her fighting stance. Everyone remained frozen in place as they stared at the window broken by Brin.
"Maxie, you alright." Dre asked without moving.
"Yeah." Max sighed in response. Logan turned to see for himself that Max was unharmed, while Krit and Syl walked to the window.
"I don't think she'll be back." Krit said when Syl quickly turned from the gruesome sight on the street below.
"Dre? Dre?" Bling asked slowly walking to her without waiting for an answer. Her legs gave out on her just as Bling made it to her side.
"Dre? Dre, talk to me." Bling said as he carefully lowered her to the floor.
"What's wrong with her?" Max asked rushing to her sisters side.
"Nothing, Maxie. I'm just tired. Brin landed some good kicks that's all. I'm fine really." Dre lied knowing that she wasn't fooling anyone.
"Come on, let's get you into bed." Logan said as he nodded to Bling.
"I can walk." Dre spat when Bling went to pick her up. Standing slowly making sure to not make a fool of herself, Adriann headed for the bathroom.
"I just need to throw some water on my face, freshen up a little." She said making an excuse to get some privacy.
"Alone." Dre said to Bling when he began to follow her in. Slamming the door in his face Dre leaned against the back of the door and cried.
{{Oh God..I killed her. I killed her. Oh God....}}
Dre dove for the toilet overcome by nausea, reaching it just in time. A few minutes later Adriann rose and moved to the sink.
{{Blood. It was all blood.}}
She thought as she rinsed her face. Looking at the reflection in the mirror Adriann wiped away the tears that had fallen.
{{You're running out of time. It's all happening quicker than I thought. I guess those 'techniques' worked better than I thought.}}
As she stared at the mirror her sickly reflection changed into block 13 of Manticore.
{{What? No.}}
**All of the x7's were spread out around the block in a circle with Renfro in the center.
"I said one of you is a traitor and who ever it is will be killed by each of you who has remained loyal to me."
The children stood at attention terrified of the woman before them.
{{Renfro, what are you doing? There is no traitor.}}
"Fine. You don't want to tell me who the traitor is then you'll all spar, to the death."
{{No. You know they can't do that. It'd be like chewing off your own arm.}}
Each one of the x7s stared at one another in shock. 'How could one of us be a traitor? Worse yet how can we kill each other?' they thought collectively.
The answer was simple. They couldn't. Because of their hive mentality killing one of them would be like killing themselves. Then surprizing all of them including Renfro, the x7 known as Ben broke the silence.
"Adriann!" he screamed. It sounded like the cry came from the depths of his soul.
{{Ben.}}
Hearing the name pass Ben's lips Renfro stalked over to the child backhanding him across the face.
"Don't ever say that name again." Renfro grabbed his arm and threw him to the center of the circle.
"You, fight him. Now." she said pointing to Tinga who stood frozen.
"NOW!"**
Ben's voice rang in Dre's head with Renfro's as the reflection returned to her face.
{{Why is he calling for me? I thought that they would have thought of me as a traitor by now. I left the 'hive', I abandoned them all. But he needs me, they all do. They may not be the Ben, Max, Zack, Tinga..that I grew up with, but they are my family. I have to get to them.}}
Adriann turned to grab the door handle but was taken aback by her loss of balance. She gripped the edge of the sink so tightly her knuckles were white as she tried to focus on getting to Manticore.
{{Okay, so apparently that doesn't work well anymore. Time to fall back on sheer will power, determination......and faith. Dre, all you have to do is get to a car, from there it's easy. All you gotta do is drive....until you get 'home'. Then all the fun starts. But, I can't do it on my own. Not now.}}
Dre gathered herself and opened the door to find Bling sitting on the floor across the hall.
"Hey." he said unsure of how to approach her.
"Hey yourself." Dre replied trying to sound like herself.
"Are you okay?" Bling asked timidly. He was a little nervous about getting another door slammed in his face. He could take it from Logan when he got pissy, but he knew that Logan would get over it, it's how he is. But Dre is another story.
"As okay as I can be."
{{Just ask him. You know he'll understand, or try to. Just ask him. He is the one who offered.}}
"Bling?"
"Yeah," he asked rising to his feet.
"You know how you said if I ever needed anything all I had to do was ask?" Dre said a little worried he would recant on his promise.
"Yeah." Bling answered calmly.
"I need your help." Adriann stated squaring her shoulders.
{{I have never asked for anyone help in my life.}}
"Doing what?" he asked cautiously. He knew that if a Manticore kid was asking for help, it had to be big. Adriann took a long deep breath both fighting another wave of nausea and to brace herself for Bling's reaction to her request.
"Taking down Manticore. I need a ride there, after that I've got it but I can't drive myself there and mentally deal with...everything. Bling please. I really need your help." Dre's eyes changed from the hard Manticore coldness to the warm eyes that Bling knew truly belonged to Dre. Only now there was a desperation in them as well as her usual spunk and nearly permanent sadness.
"Dre you can't take down Manticore on your own. Especially not now. I won't drive you to a suicide mission. If you're going on your own you're gonna have to find someone else to drive you." Bling said fighting every impulse to take Dre in his arms. He knew how hard this was for her. Facing her own Hell, not to mention asking him for help.
"Bling, you know that I would rather have you there, but I can do this with out you. And I will. But Bling they need me. I can't let them down, not again." Dre said as she leaned against the bathroom door.
{{Bling please, don't leave me now. I need you.}}
"Who needs you Dre? The x7's?" Bling said stepping closer to the frail woman in front of him.
"She gonna kill them. She's gonna make them kill each other actually. But they can't, it would be like killing themselves." Dre began to break down at the thought of her siblings being forced to fight, but she knew she couldn't do that right now.
{{Stay calm. Stay calm.}}
"I don't understand, Dre."
"They have a hive mentality, they are all a part of each other, more so than normal siblings. But, Renfro's pissed that Manticore is crumbling around her, that I got Max out and she can't do anything to stop it. So not only is she testing their limits, but she testing me. She wants to see how far she can push them before they crack and start to attack one another. Basically she wants to see where their breaking point is too make sure that they aren't defective, like she considers me to be. My escape was seen as a personal attack on my family because I left them there. I was her pride and joy and I betrayed her. Who know what she's gonna do to the others. She's out for revenge, but now, so am I. And I will make her pay for what she's done, to all of us." Adriann's eyes dropped to the ground surprized at how angry she really was about all of this. Bringing her eyes to meet his Dre asked Bling again.
"Bling please, just get me there. I won't really be alone, I've got the others. I need your help. I need you." Dre reached out for Bling's hand.
"I don't like it Dre." Bling said as he took Dre's hands in his.
"It's alright Bling. I get it." she said her mood softening.
{{Unfortunately.}}
"I can find another way to get there." As much as she hated that Bling wasn't going with her, Adriann actually understood his reasons. He couldn't be a part of her so called suicide mission.
"I never said that I wouldn't get you there. I may not like it, but I don't trust anyone else to bring you there." Bling said as a solemn smile crept onto his face.
"You'll do it?" Dre asked shocked.
"Yeah. On one condition though." Bling said moving closer as he noticed Dre's poor balance.
"Name it." Dre replied leaning into Bling happy he noticed her struggle for balance.
{{Thank you. It takes a lot less energy to stand when you're only doing half the work. Legs don't give up on me. I still need you.}}
"You're getting back up from Syl, Krit, Max, Logan and me." he said in a tone that left no room for arguments, but of course Dre managed to find room for one.
"Bling, I can't get them into this. Especially Max. She's not strong enough yet. No. I'm doing this on my own." Dre said stubbornly.
"Dre this is their fight just as much as it is yours. Logan is a part of Max's life now, he loves her, so it's his fight too. Syl and Krit went through hell too remember? As for Max, she deserves this chance just as much as you do. I think that they deserve to get their blows in." Bling looked into Dre's eyes trying to reach the part of her that knew she needed help.
"What about you? How is this your fight?" Dre asked partially dismissing his statement, curious on how he fit into this war.
"I love Max like a sister. I hate seeing her in any type of pain." Bling answered looking in the direction of the living room where Max, Logan, Syl and Krit were cleaning up the broken glass from earlier.
"Oh," Dre said sadly.
{{I was a fool to think that I may mean anything to him. Please, not only are you from Manticore, but you're a freak, even according to Manticore. Why would he waste his time?}}
"Plus, I hate what they did to you. Standing here watching you die, watching them kill you, is like watching a piece of me die with you. Which is why you need back up. I won't lose you any sooner than I have to." Bling kissed her forehead.
"Bling," Dre said still trying to argue, but she didn't have the energy or the heart. Not anymore. He genuinely cared about her. She could see it in his eyes.
{{Maxie, what is it about the guys in this place? Do they ever go for chicks who aren't products of Manticore? But, they are cute aren't they.}}
"Nope. Stop right there. Either you get back up or you're not going at all."
"Alright. But we are gonna do things my way."
"Unless your way is something stupid."
"Whatever." Dre rolled her eyes.
{{Guys can't live with 'em. Can't kill 'em. They can be so stubborn some times. But so can I.}}
"So do you have a plan?" Bling asked ignoring her aggravated stare.
"I just need to get to them Bling. ASAP." Dre said weakly.
Bling nodded before walking to the living room with Adriann in tow. Dre lowered herself into the chair by Max with Bling's help, happy to finally be sitting. She sat with arms wrapped around her waist trying to get warm.
{{What's going on now? I know it's not could in here, so why am I freezing?}}
Adriann pulled her hands inside the long sleeves of Bling's sweater, that she was still wearing. She had to laugh at how huge the thing was on her. But as odd as it sounds she found a strange comfort in it's size.
{{I feel like a munchkin. But it smells like Bling, so I'm a good smelling munchkin.}}
Maybe it was just knowing that it belonged to someone who do anything he could to protect her-if she would let him. The idea of protection sounded pretty good. Adriann was getting tired of always doing the protecting.
Adriann looked at the people around her, and suddenly felt overwhelmed. She loved them all, how could she put them in so much danger?
{{How am I going to ask them about this one? Why the hell am I even asking? I don't need their help. I can do this on my own just fine...... Can't I? Well sure you could, four days ago, but now? Just ask them. Logan's the only one you really need to worry about, the logical one.}}
"Logan, man I need to borrow your car." Bling said handing him the garbage can for the broken glass.
{{Where is he going with this? He wanted the backup.}}
"You mind if I ask why?" Logan said casually.
"Dre you okay?" Max whispered bending down.
Adriann could only shake her head as she looked at her sister.
"Dre needs a ride..home" Dre heard him say in the background, but Dre was fixed on Max's eyes.
{{I should have known I couldn't hide it all from her. We were pretty close as kids, she knows me too well.}}
"I'll be fine. I just need to handle some unfinished business." Dre whispered back offering a slight smile to help ease her baby sister's fears.
"Where's she live? I don't think she ever said." Logan asked wondering if he would need to cook up some sector passes.
"Guam." Adriann said harshly. Logan looked down at her ready to fire off some come back, but lost his train of thought when he saw her.
"Adriann, are you feeling alright? You look like hell." Logan said kneeling down and putting a hand to her head checking for a fever.
"Oh thanks." Dre quipped. "And trust me, I feel worse than I look. But, I need your help. All of you."she whispered the last part looking to Syl and Krit by the window.
"I do need a ride 'home'. Only 'home', is Manticore."
"Why the hell do you want to go back there?" Krit asked coming closer.
"I don't want to Krit, but I have to. Renfro is out for blood and I won't let her hurt them. She's trying to make them kill each other. I have to help them." Dre said frustrated at her loss of concentration.
{{It's getting harder. You can do this. They are all counting on you. You can do this. But you gotta move now before it's too late.}}
"Look can we just get going now and I'll explain more on the way? I just want to get this over and done with. Please." Adriann looked at Logan pleading with him, because she knew that he was the deciding factor. Max, Syl and Krit would stand by her through anything; she hoped.
{{Please Logan. Please.}}
"Okay. Max, hon grab my laptop, Syl grab some blankets and the first aid kit, Krit go do some RECON, make sure no one's waiting for us out there. Bling, lets get Adriann to the car." Logan gave the orders like a pro.
"I told you before, I can walk." Dre said when both Bling and Logan grabbed an arm to help her up. But when Adriann stood her legs gave out on her.
"Okay maybe not." she said as she plopped back into the chair.
"I just need to relax. That's all. I can do this guys. I can." Dre said not only to convince Bling and Logan, but herself because she was staring to have her doubts.
"Logan? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Max called from his computer room.
"Uhh, yeah sure." he said turning towards her.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked Adriann laying a kind hand on her arm when he saw her lean forward in pain.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Adriann grunted.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Logan walked into the room to find Max leaning on the desk staring off into space.
"I can't do this Logan." Max admitted. Logan sat beside her waiting for her to continue because he knew she wasn't finished.
"How can I save the monsters that killed my brother, and tried to kill me? The x7s, they ripped away the only sibling I had who knew how to reach me. They destroyed my only link with the rest of my family. I may never find them now, and it's their fault. Who's going to watch out for all of us now? Zack was the only one who knew where we all are. Those little bastards took away the man who loved me enough to..enough to die. If they, if that little thing who's supposed to be me had thought for herself, Zack would still be here." Max sobbed. Logan wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"You know how much Zack loved you right?" Logan asked when the sobs had receded and Max had turned her head to look out the window.
"Of course. How could I not." she whispered.
"Then you know that he would want to live your life so you would be happy." Logan kissed her head.
"I know." Max sighed
"Do you remember what Zack wanted you to do?" he questioned softly
"To leave Seattle?" Max said confused about it's relevance.
"No, before he.." Logan trailed off as he watched his angels reflection in the window. She was trying so hard to remember. Slowly Max sat up turning to face Logan with new tears in her eyes.
"Fight them, Maxie. Promise me you'll fight them." She said as her tears overflowed.
"Yeah, sweetheart. I don't want to push you into this, but I think that Adriann really needs us all right now. Think how hard it would be for you to ask people for help, when you know that you could do it on your own if things were different. If you can't do this for Adriann, do it for Zack. Even if all you do is just be a friend, someone she can lean on." Logan said taking Max's face in his hands.
"I love you Logan." Max whispered.
"I love you." Logan kissed Max hoping to take away her grief, pain and sadness.
"Let's do this." Max said pulling away.
"Hey we have all the time in the world remember?" she added seeing the hint of disappointment in his eyes.
"Are you sure? Because,"
"No. As much as I hate them for what they did, Dre has her reasons. She wouldn't lead us in there without a good reason. We'll just have to wait for her plan. I trust her." Max said believing it more as she heard herself say it out loud.
"Okay. But I'm not letting you out of my sight this time." Logan said standing up.
"Fine with me. The less time away from you the better." Max said grabbing Logan's laptop and the disk containing all his Manticore files.
"Come on, the sooner we start the sooner we finish." Logan said draping his arm over her shoulder as they walked out the room.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Bling sat on the arm of the chair watching helplessly as Dre tried to deal with the pain he could only imagine.
"Dre?" Bling whispered not sure where he was going next.
"Bling, I'm not sure I'm gonna make it through this." Dre sputtered fighting for control.
"Don't say that. You'll make it. You have to, because we're going on vacation remember?" Bling said weakly.
"Right. To the Bahamas." she said out of breath when the pain finally faded.
"Are you sure I can't do anything? I feel so helpless." Bling said reaching down to get her hair out of her face. Dre turned to look at the man was who normally in control and had a solution for everything sitting there at a loss with tears in her eyes.
"All you can do is be here for me." Dre doubled over once again but this time she leaned over onto Bling who quickly enveloped the small woman in his arms rocking her back and forth.
"It hurts so bad Bling." Dre cried quietly. "I want it to stop but that won't happen until...and I don't want to die. I'm scared Bling. I'm so scared. I wish that I could just be happy for my last few days, hours... But I have to go kick the ass of the hoe who screwed with my family, friends, and people I don't even know. You'd be shocked at what Renfro's responsible for in one way or another. She's destroyed so many people's lives." Dre said while Bling stroked her hair.
"How am I going to pull this off?" Dre asked sitting up when she got a handle on the pain to look Bling in the eye hoping to find the answer there.
"You'll think of something right? I'm sure you have some trick up your sleeve to catch everyone off guard." Bling said hoping that his words would be encouraging.
"Bling! You're incredible! How could I have forgotten? Go grab the black bag under the bed in the guest room for me." Dre said excitedly.
{{I can't believe that I forgot about the vile? Well it has been 3 years. But still.}}
"Here you go." Bling said handing her the bag. Dre didn't even notice him leave.
{{That can't be good.}}
Opening the bag Dre reached in to pull out a small black box about the size of a remote control.
"What's in there?" Bling asked when she pulled out the box.
"The only thing that's gonna let me finish the job."
Adriann opened the box to reveal a vile containing a pinkish liquid and syringe.
"When I broke out of Manticore 3 years ago, Lydecker never came looking for me. It was weird 'cause he gave me this not long before I left. He told me that I was special and that he couldn't watch me be taken advantage of. I had no clue what he was talking about, and I'm still not sure what he meant by it by I have my idea's. He handed me this box and told me that I might needed someday, and that only I would know when that time was. I guess that time has finally come." Dre spoke as she carefully transferred the fluid from the vile to the syringe tapping to remove any air bubbles.
"What is it?" Bling said picking the empty vile.
"Honestly, I'm not real sure. But it's my only shot." Dre said looking at the needle in her hand.
"Wait. You don't know exactly what this stuff is, but you're ready to inject it into your blood stream. And to top it off, Lydecker gave it to you. Do you think you can actually trust him?" Bling said seriously concerned.
"I don't have much of a choice right now Bling. And yes I trust him on this one. It was something in his eyes when he gave it to me." Dre said wincing as the pain started up again worse than before.
"Dre. It's worse now isn't it? Okay, okay. If it's gonna help you, better hurry up and use it." Bling said unable to see her like this anymore. It was tearing him apart.
"I hate needles." Dre said just before plunging the syringe into her thye and emptying it's contents into her blood stream.
"It'll probably take a while to work." Dre said putting her on Bling's shoulder completely exhausted from the fight with her dying body.
"I wish it would stop." Dre said like a child.
"Yeah me too." Bling held her as cried.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"And here's your first aid kit - not that we'll need it - and some blankets." Syl said heading towards the door. "Let's blow this joint."
"Sounds good sis. Get the party started." Max said walking out with Syl. She had her spunk back, it was evident in her walk.
{{Thank God for fast healing. She's almost back to normal.}}
"Meet ya down at the car." Max said to Logan with that gleam in her eye.
"Yeah. We'll be right there."
"Okay girl, lets get you in the car." Bling said picking her up out of the chair.
"You know I could walk down there if I wanted to." Dre said listlessly.
"I know sweetie." Bling said softly.
"You got the keys?" Bling said to Logan.
"Yeah."
The two men walked out the door to meet the x5's at Logan's car. As the elevator lowered to the ground level, Logan eyed the once strong and resilient woman in Bling's arms. For some reason unknown to him she had become dependant, frail, and the fire that once burned brightly in her eyes was now quickly fading.
'What's wrong with her?' Logan mouthed when he had caught Bling's eye. Looking down at her sadly Bling shook his head.
'I don't know.' he lied.
The door opened exposing Logan's Aztec ready and waiting before them.
"You were taking too long." Max said with a smile, when she saw Logan's expression.
~>I know I know! I'm sorry!!!! Can you ever forgive me? I promise not to take this long with the next chapter. I'm sooooooo sorry. I just couldn't figure out how to handle this chapter. I hope you like. Remember to review. :~)