The next evening Lindsey went back to the warehouse. She sat in one of the balconies at a table, fidgeting with a necklace chain she had found on the floor of the large room. No doubt someone had dropped it the night before. She always found things left over the day after a party. Necklaces, rings, earrings, clothing . . . practically anything that you could imagine. She sighed and twisted it around her fingers, thinking deeply about Gohan.

Kirill sat next to her, staring out over the balcony. People were flooding into the room, even before the DJ had time to get everything ready. No music played; the only sounds were those of the people entering the house.

Kirill's eyes looked far away, as if staring right through the ceiling into space. His usual cigarette was in his hand, slowly burning away. He leaned far back into the chair, completely relaxed and dreamy. If someone didn't know him, they'd more than likely have taken him for a poet. Or an artist. He had the look and the demeanor of one. He always seemed to maintain a bit of a distance from the rest of the world. But Lindsey knew better. Kirill didn't see the world as a picture waiting to be painted. He didn't see people as if they were words waiting to be put onto paper in a meaningful rhythm and rhyme. He saw people as targets. He saw the world through a sniper's cold and calculating stare, careful and precise. And he never thought twice about hurting someone. That was his game. His best moments were right after someone was shot. That was his rush - his happy high. It was like a drug for him. He kept a tally of the people he killed on his arm - when one was shot, he'd simply light up a smoke, roll up his sleeve and press the burning tobacco stick to his flesh. His left arm had dozens of roughly round burn scars marring his skin. But there was another side to him as well - a side that rarely was shown to anyone. Normally he never paid attention to anyone. But he paid attention to his girls. Lindsey and Yelena were really the only ones he watched. He did whatever orders Yorgi barked out and ignored most other people. But he watched Lindsey and Yelena. That was how he knew to go looking for Lindsey the night Xander had yelled at her. He had watched her and made sure that Xander didn't make too aggressive of a move on her. If Xander had, Kirill would've put a bullet right through him. At least, through his arm . . . maybe his leg. It depended on what kind of a mood Kirill had been in. Maybe he would've killed him, maybe he wouldn't have. You could never tell what he was thinking.

Lindsey shuddered at that thought. The last thing she wanted was to see Xander dead. True, she loved Gohan, but somewhere in the back of her mind (and her heart) she still loved Xander. It hurt to think about him. She was thankful that he wasn't there yet. All she could do was see the anger and disappointment in his eyes when she told him about Gohan that night. And she could still feel his warm kiss from the day before. Her head was swimming and she couldn't think enough to realize Kolya had spoken to her when she walked in; much less sort out what she was going to do about Xander and Gohan. She dropped the necklace to the floor and let her head hit the heavy oak table with a dull CRACK. She closed her eyes and let her arms hang limply to the side.

"Did you shoot her?" Kolya asked in amusement, staring at the redhead.

"No," Kirill answered. "But perhaps I should."

Kolya pulled up a chair and sat in it, propping his heavy black boots up on the table. He laced his fingers together and tucked the behind his head. He closed his beautiful blue eyes and sighed deeply. He couldn't wait for the party.

If there was one thing Kolya truly loved, it was partying. Everyone had his or her rush - for Kolya it was partying. Sure, he loved to drive and ride his bikes and play his video games, but they were nothing compared to the pure energy that rocked his body when he was dancing on a crowded floor. The music, the girls, the dancing, the shouting to be heard above the screaming and music, the clothes, the food, the drinks . . . He smiled to himself while the thought about it. Of course, money was a good rush, too. He couldn't wait until their next boost. He, like the others, had a passion for cars. He had his eye on some new speakers but as of the moment, he was out of money. Well, out of spending money. In truth, he and his brother were filthy rich. But Yorgi kept him on a tight budget. Kolya considered it a tight budget, at least. Yorgi was pouring most of their money into building more clubs around the area to bring in more profit. He currently had five going up in three counties and was planning another one. Yorgi liked to claim he owned the nightlife of the young adults in the state of Missouri. Why in the hell they had ended up in Missouri, neither brother knew. But it worked. It was Xander who had drawn them there. And it was Sophie who had drawn him there. So it was a kind of chain reaction. Yorgi promised Kolya that as soon as the three clubs that were currently being built were done, then he'd allow him some more money. Kolya had rolled his eyes at his brother, but had agreed. He didn't really care too much. He could make it until the boost. Then he'd have plenty of money to blow. And that's what he did. He blew it.

Kolya snickered, still keeping his eyes closed. He never used to spend money the way he did. Until D, Sabriena and Lindsey had gotten a hold of him. Those girls spent money like there was no tomorrow. Not only did they have money coming in from their families, but they were making money from Yorgi, as well. And on top of that, they had extra cash every now and then from boosts. It was unbelievable. Yorgi had put them on a budget as well. He didn't know why they put up with him when he did it - he allowed them less money than he allowed Kolya. But that was something else about Yorgi. You did as you were asked. Otherwise, there would be hell to pay.

Yorgi had paid for Sabriena's, Jenny's and Lindsey's trip to Japan. He was disappointed in the fact that they would be leaving him for a while, but he knew that they would be back just as soon. So he let them go. They would have gone anyway. It wasn't like they had to ask permission or something. But it was just easier on everyone to agree on it.

Kolya opened his eyes and stared at the girl across from him. She still hadn't moved.

"I think she really is dead," Kolya said.

Kirill ignored him and blew a smoke ring.

Kolya heaved a sigh and let his feet drop to the floor. He reached across the table and grabbed Lindsey by her hair and lifted her head.

Her green eyes stared at him dully. "What?" she asked in a tone even flatter than her eyes.

"What is the matter with you? You are not yourself."

"X."

"What about him?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll find out some other way." With that, he released her hair, dropping her head back to the table. He thought he heard her yelp, but maybe it was someone from downstairs. He glanced behind him, over the balcony. The people were still filing in. The room was more and more crowded. Probably another twenty minutes or so and the whole room would be filled. Then the party would start. He grinned. He wondered vaguely to himself if Lindsey would dance with him or not because of him pulling her hair. He shrugged and decided that she probably would anyway.

Viktor, Yorgi, Xander and Yelena walked into the balcony and took seats at the table. Yelena wore an unimaginably short gold-colored dress and thigh- high black, spike-heeled boots. Yorgi was in a dark green turtleneck and a brown leather coat. Viktor wore a black T-shirt with the sleeves cut out of it and dark pants.

Lindsey sat up slowly and propped the side of her head against her hand, leaning her elbow on the table.

"What has gotten into you?" Yorgi asked, his accent exceptionally thick.

"I'm tired," she muttered.

"You lie. There is something else wrong."

"And since when do you care?" she asked as the music finally flared up.

Yorgi stared at her, his dark eyes burning into hers. "Don't start with me. I want to know what is wrong. Tell me."

She stared at him through her fingers, still resting her head against her hand. "No."

Yorgi's eyes flared. "That's it."

He stood up suddenly from the table and grabbed her by her upper arm. He yanked her from the chair and pulled her out of the balcony and into a hallway. She tried to wrench herself away, but his grip was a vice. He walked into a room and closed the door, then shoved her back against the wall. "What is the matter with you? You come home to us and then act like we're shit. I won't have it! Do you understand? What happened? For so long you were happy and back to yourself. And now you're being a bitch again. Now, if you tell me what is wrong, then I will help you. But if you don't, then drop this shit now!"

Yorgi's face was close to hers and she could feel his breath on her face. She swallowed.

"I don't know what to do," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Yorgi's expression softened. "About what?" he asked slowly.

"Xander. And Gohan."

He looked puzzled. "Who is Gohan?"

Lindsey held up her hand. The diamond caught the light and gleamed.

"Oh," was Yorgi's reply. He let go of her and turned away. "So, you fell in love while you were away and now you've come back only to find that you still love X." He paused for a moment, then clicked his tongue. "How very upsetting."

"You don't have to be a smart-ass about it," she spat.

Yorgi turned to her, his eyes still soft. "I meant no sarcasm. And I am sorry for your situation."

Lindsey blinked. Yorgi was never sorry. She couldn't believe he had said that.

"I do feel pity every now and then," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "And I do care. For you. For Yelena. For Kolya. But you know very well that I can't allow others to see that."

Lindsey blinked again. Perhaps that was what Yelena saw in him. Maybe behind the closed doors of his room, he did show compassion. He did show love. But not to anyone who would somehow use it against him. When he was in public, Yorgi acted as though nothing could upset him. Lindsey guessed it was a sort of defense.

Yorgi stepped closer to her again, his intense eyes staring into hers. Only this time they weren't blazing with anger. "There is a reason for this. You loved X, but not the way you love your new man."

She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"You and X spoke before about marriage. But you did not pursue it. That was after two years. Now, after only months with your new love, you have decided to get married. This was meant to be." His voice dropped even lower and softer. He shook his head slowly. "You and X were not meant to be."

Lindsey choked on a sob. "But . . . why? I loved him. I still love him."

He continued to stare at her. "Only you can decide." He placed his hands on either side of her face and firmly pressed his lips to her forehead. One silent tear rolled down Lindsey's face and dropped onto his hand. He broke away from her. "But do not decide tonight. Come to the party. You will feel better. Dance with Kolya. It will be all right."

She slowly nodded her head and followed Yorgi out of the room and back to the balcony.

"Everything all right?" Yelena asked.

Yorgi nodded once in reply and took his seat next to her at the wooden table. Bottles sat in the middle and Yorgi smiled. He picked up a small glass and filled it. Then he took a spoonful of sugar and held it over a nearby candle until the sugar glowed blue. He placed the spoon into the glass of absinthe and stared at the flame atop his drink for a moment. Then he blew it out and swallowed the warm alcohol, feeling it heat his insides. He sat for a moment, then reached for the bottle again as a smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

*~*~*~*~

Kirill wondered to himself as he lit up another cigarette what Yorgi had said. Whatever it was couldn't have been too bad because Lindsey was smiling now. Her eyes seemed a bit deeper than they had before; a bit more like herself.

He placed the cigarette between his lips and dragged on it, feeling the thick, hot taste fill his mouth, throat and lungs. Like he had said before to Xander "I like smoke better than air. If I could, I would do it in my sleep. I will still do it even after it kills me." And it was the truth. He loved his guns and he loved his cigarettes. So what if he wasn't exactly the favorite of the abundant women in Yorgi's clubs? Sure, it bothered him a bit that they didn't pay much attention to him, but a couple of smokes and some shooting in the galley made it all fade away. The thing that really hurt him was the fact that Yelena wouldn't give him a second glance. That truly bothered him. But, like most of the others, he had a front to uphold and would never let on that it got to him.

He didn't know why she got to him, she just did. She was beautiful and seductive and any man would have been out of his mind to not like her. She had dark eyes and full lips with shoulder-length dark hair. She was slender and attractive. And he loved her.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He took another drag off the cigarette.

"Boo!" a shout came and long-nailed hands clamped down on his shoulders.

Kirill jumped slightly and turned to see Danica staring down at him. Her green-blue eyes flashed. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked.

Kirill and Danica got along well because they were both shooters. He used guns and she shot a bow. But they were both good.

"Smoking," he answered, lounging lazily in his chair. He held it out to her. "Care for some?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You know I don't do that shit."

"But you drink."

"That doesn't roast my lungs."

"It eats your liver."

Danica shrugged, not liking being argued with. When she was right, she was right, damn it. And to hell with anyone who tried to correct her. Her dark blonde hair had hot pink streaks through it and her eyelashes were thick and blue. She wore a tight, sleeveless shirt with a bright colors splashed and swirled on it. She also wore black flares and thick-soled black shoes. Sleeveless shirts were her favorite, even in the cold months, because her upper arms were bigger than most girls. She built muscles from shooting archery so often and from working on cars with Tumbler and Xander. It sometimes made her self-conscious, but she loved it when she and her brother got into a fight. She could whoop Devin easily.

Kirill looked at Danica and managed a smile for her.

"Hooker pants," Kolya said above the loud music.

"Whore!" Danica spat at him and lunged. She threw her weight at him and toppled the chair over, pinning Kolya beneath her. His long legs stuck up in the air. There was a sickening THUD heard and Kolya heaved.

Danica stood up, then smiled as she brushed the hair from her eyes. She flexed, showing her perfectly toned biceps.

Yorgi laughed out loud. "Good show, D. Well done."

Danica bowed. "No autographs, please."

Xander stood at the balcony railing, looking down to the crowd. "Yo, Lins."

Lindsey looked up. "Yeah?"

"Ain't that your girl Jenny out there? And Mustang Sally's here, too."

"What?!" Lindsey shrieked. She practically flew to the railing and stared over. Xander pointed. She followed his finger with her eyes. Sure enough, there, amidst the packed floor, stood the Z Girls. She blinked. She couldn't believe it. Jenny, Leelee, Catie, Sabriena, Kristen and Lia pushed and shoved their way through the crowd.

"What's this?" Xander smiled. "Fresh meat?"

Lindsey snickered. She knew he was referring to her new friends. She cocked an eyebrow at him.

He grinned.

Shaking her head, Lindsey resumed her seat. Her see-through peasant top with the low-cut V-neck and bell sleeves left little to the imagination. Under it she wore a black pleather bra (an: ha, ha, Sabriena knows what I'm talking about. Wanna shop at Wal-Mart?!) and she wore flared, shiny black leather pants. Four-inch soled black shoes adorned her feet as she propped them up on the table. She wore three huge silver hoops in each ear. A thin black headband pulled her wild, crimson curls back from her face. She lounged in her chair, trying to look bored. In reality, her stomach was churning and her heart pounded so loud she was almost sure that Kolya could hear it, even above the blaring music. It would take them a while to reach the balcony. She tried to steel herself for what was coming.

And it came. Sooner than she had expected, Jenny and Sabriena led the other girls into the balcony.

"Lindsey!" Catie screeched and ran to her friend. "I thought I would never see you again!"

"It's only been four weeks," Lindsey reminded her while hugging her.

Catie blushed. "Ahee." She glanced around. "So is this where you've been staying?"

Lindsey nodded. "Yeah."

Sabriena sat on Mirror Man's lap and took a long swig from an unknown bottle. She sighed deeply and leaned her head back against his shoulder. "I'm home."

Kristen walked to the edge of the balcony and glanced over. "Wow. This place is awesome!!"

"This is where I practically live my life," Lindsey said.

"X!" Jenny cried seeing the tall figure leaning against the railing.

Xander smiled. "There's my girl!"

Jenny walked to him and he squeezed her in a tight hug. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes against his chest. "I'm so glad to be home."

"So how much damage did you girls do in Japan?" Xander asked.

"Remember Hiroshima?" Sabriena asked.

Xander nodded.

"They hadn't seen nothin' yet."

Xander laughed and let go of Jenny.

Kolya stood up. "All right, bitches," he said. "Time to party!" Grinning, he grabbed Catie and Sophie and hauled both of them over his shoulders.

"Hey!" Lindsey cried, jumping up and yanking Catie away from Kolya. Kolya looked at his empty left shoulder in shock.

"Give her back. I saw her first."

"Kolya, shut up. Go dance with Soph. I'll talk to you guys later."

Kolya sighed and started down the stairs, carrying Sophie all the way.

Lindsey turned to the girls. "So what do you want to do?"

"Party!" Sabriena screamed.

"Amen!" Jenny grinned. *Why the hell did I ever leave here?* she wondered to herself.

Leelee grinned. "Hell yeah."

"Come on," Lindsey said and led the way down towards the dance floor. She shoved her way through the crowd and stopped near the middle of the floor and began to dance. The other girls joined her, forming a bit of a circle.

Sabriena stepped into the middle of the circle and did a kind of spin, shaking her hips the whole time.

"Whoo!" Jenny screamed.

Sabriena stepped back to her place in the circle.

"Jenny!" Lindsey cried. "Our dance!"

Jenny grinned and stepped to the middle of the circle. Both girls stood close, facing each other. Then they leaned back and rolled their hips forward to the music.

"Yeah!" came a loud shout. "Do it, girls!"

They grinned and looked over at Tumbler. He walked up and wrapped his arms around Sabriena. "No one can twerk it like those two."

The girls stepped away from each other and danced back to their places in the circle.

"Watch this shit!" Mirror Man cried, appearing next to Tumbler. He dove head first into the middle of the circle and held himself up on one arm while grabbing his ankles with his free hand. He dropped back to his feet and danced for a minute, then stepped next to Kristen. "Shake it baby, yeah."

Pink touched her cheeks and she continued to dance.

"Man, I love nights like this!" Mirror Man shouted. "Yorgi is tha shit!"

"Who's Yorgi?" Catie asked Lindsey.

"The guy that runs this place," she answered.

"Oh, I see. Can I meet him? Is he cool?"

"You'll meet him eventually. Just don't go looking for him. He's an asshole if you don't know him."

Catie nodded.

"Uh oh!" Mirror Man cried. "I see someone who looks like they ain't livin' it up enough!" He ran across the circle and grabbed Catie. He pulled her into the middle. "Come on, girl!"

Catie blinked, then laughed and began dancing with him.

"Yeah!" Mirror Man grinned. "White girls can dance!!"

"Oh God," Sabriena muttered. "Of course white girls can dance!"

"Not you," Mirror Man shouted.

Tumbler stared laughing and promptly got an elbow in his stomach.

"This party is gonna last all night long!" Mirror Man cried.

"Yeah!" Lia grinned.

Lindsey smiled, dancing surrounded by her friends. And, for a moment, she forgot all her problems.