v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} The Truth is Out A J Corbett Normal A J Corbett 12 12 2001-11-05T09:00:00Z 2001-11-05T09:13:00Z 2 1015 5787 The Brakenhale School 48 11 7106 9.3821

The Truth is Out

"Hello Gohan-san! Is Pan up yet?" Bra asked as she stepped into the house.

"She's upstairs, Bra," he replied.

Bra had come to visit Pan, first thing, in the morning. She walked up to Pan's room. Not bothering to knock, she quietly turned the door open and peered in. Pan, still in her pajamas, was sitting on the windowsill, hugging her knees to her chest. Her head rested on the side pane and she was busy staring into space. There were dark circles under her eyes indicating a lack of sleep. Her eyes were red and swollen; though her face showed no traces of being tear-stained. Bra sighed.

"Hello Bra! Why are you standing out there?" she asked gently. "I sensed your ki long time back." She tilted her head in her direction. Bra went in, closing the door behind her.

"Bra, I think I need to talk to John. No, don't interrupt. I think he has a right to know. I have this guilty feeling for keeping him in the dark. And you know why. I mean John really loves me. But if I want to delay the engagement, I need to tell him. And I really owe him the truth. I am going to visit him at his place in a couple of hour's time. Do you think, its right thing I'm doing?"

Bra nodded. "I think, you are doing the right thing." She placed her hand on her shoulder. "I think it'll turn out okay." Pan turned her attention back to the sky.

"Err...Pan," she said cautiously. " Do your parents know?"

"Huh? Yeah…I spoke to Mom last night after I called you. Apparently Dad guessed I was still awake. He sent Mom to talk to me knowing I was upset. So that way, Mom knows. But I didn't mention Trunks. Just that I realized it was kind of infatuation, not love," she finished. "But I think, Dad knows. He didn't say anything directly- but what he told me something that gave away the fact that he knew. I had a feeling last night that Mom would tell Dad. He seems kind of glad- he never liked John that way. Dad considered him… somewhat of a puny."  She said this with a hint of smile on her face.

"I think I'll go, get ready. Think you can drop me at John's?"

Bra nodded, a smile on her face. "I'll wait downstairs," she called out walking out of the doors. She went downstairs and waited.

Pan came down dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. For once she wasn't wearing her bandana and had let her hair down. She waited till they got out of the house and then spoke,

"I was glad you decided to talk to John. I think I'll wait downstairs while you go and meet John. Is that okay with you?"

 "Yes, it's okay", Pan said. "I don't feel very happy about it."

"You'll feel a lot better once you've calmed down believe me."

Pan shook her head.

She suddenly felt tense when they neared Park Avenue Crescent. She wasn't sure how John would react- what she did know was that he would be badly hurt. He was not one of those kinds who would brace themselves for any kind of impact. She seriously began wondering why she even dated him. She had been defensive about him earlier but as they began dating frequently she couldn't help noticing that he was … somewhat of a puny.

"Pan, look! Is that not a police car?" Bra squealed all of a sudden. "We'd better go, find out…"

"You do that, Bra," she said, "I've work to do." With that she disappeared in the building.

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Author's Note:

 I half had the mind to end it here…make it a cliffhanger. Then decided against it. Okay chapter 9, part 2 continues

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Pan walked out of the elevator. John's door was open and there was a police officer standing by it looking at her curiously.

"You cannot go in, Miss," he said guessing she wanted to meet John.

"May I know what's happening?" she asked. "I'm John's fiancée…"

"Fiancée?" he muttered. "Who's John?"

"John is the guy who lives in here," she said while trying to push past him. But he blocked her way.

"Miss," he said, "we are dealing with a criminal here. The guy's not John- he's Mark. Mark Gram."

Pan stood there looking completely bewildered when another officer came out.

"I couldn't help over hearing but it's true. He's being arrested on the grounds of insurance fraud. His wife, Sharon, had a life insurance of about half a million dollars considering she was pretty rich.  He lost all his money and business in a stock market that didn't do well. He hatched a plot with his wife who agreed to play dead. He then derived the money from the insurance company and took off leaving his wife behind in Panama; promising he'll return. This happened about two months ago." He stopped here to take a deep breath before continuing. Pan could hear John…no Mark screaming inside. The officer looked back then at her. "I'm sorry Miss. But it's true. One of the insurance detectives spotted Sharon and alerted his company and the police. She surrendered. But we had a hard time tracking him down. He gave her a false address."

Two other officers held Mark in a firm grip and were bringing him out. Mark was struggling. "I didn't do a thing. My name is John. You got the wrong guy!!" but it was no use. Even Pan knew that he was lying. He stopped struggling when he saw her.

"Pan?" he stuttered.

She just walked up to him and gave him a powerful slap across the face. He slumped onto the floor, looking horrified. She hadn't bothered to keep it light. She had used her Saiyan strength to make sure he felt the impact, the blow. Thanking the surprised officers, she walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

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Bra was surprised to see Pan. She had expected it to take longer than that. She was even more surprised to see Pan grinning. She didn't expect that.

"Pan…is everything okay?"

"Oh yes, why should it not be?" she asked flashing her Son smile.

Okay, Bra thought, now this is weird. Either something's real wrong or she's just lost her sanity.

"Come on Bra, let's go to the mall. I want to eat something. And I suddenly feel like shopping," she said enthusiastically.

Bra stood transfixed. Shopping? Pan? She was the one who dragged Pan all around even when Pan had decided to make a change. She sat in the car silently, not daring to ask her anything.

"Don't want to know what happened Bra?" Pan asked.

Her eyes were twinkling. Maybe it hadn't been that bad after all, Bra reflected. She smiled. As she started the car, she saw John being dragged by two officers. She looked at Pan confused.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? Let's go. Details on the way to the mall!" Pan said.

Bra nodded and drove out of the place.

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Author's Notes:

Well? What do you think? Got rid of John aka Mark in a good way. Leave a review.

Disclaimer:

No Claims!