The Green Tiger
by Froggie Lover
Chapter Three: A Reunion
Kim Matsuda watched the three get into the black Camry, then drive off. She smiled to herself and followed without her headlights on so they wouldn't see her. "So, they've met," she whispered. "I'm sure Denise has quite a problem with Billy Ray. Or maybe not such a problem..." She smiled, knowing that something was bound to happen between the two. "Now I know who Billy Ray reminded me of when I met him: Denise."
~*~*~*~
"A motel?" Denise asked as the car pulled to a stop.
"Yep. Guile, go get the rooms," Billy Ray said.
Guile quickly mock-saluted and climbed out of the car. He stopped. "Uh, how can we get rooms if we don't have any money?"
"Broke thieves. That's a new one," Denise muttered. "Here's thirty bucks. If you don't use it all, give the rest back."
Guile accepted the money and walked in the direction of the main office.
"Well, aren't we an authority figure?" Billy Ray asked with a smirk.
Denise rolled her eyes. "I don't need crap from you."
"You don't even know me, and you already judge me. Ah, the sting of today's morals," Billy Ray laughed.
"What a comedian," Denise said dryly. She flipped on the radio and turned it to a jazz station. The sound of the endearing music brought a smile to her face. "Mmmm. Listen to that sax cry."
"No thank you," Billy Ray said, changing the station. The sounds of an electric guitar and a male, angst-ridden voice suddenly filled the car. Billy Ray turned up the volume and leaned back into his seat.
Denise took the opportunity to switch the radio back to the jazz station. Billy Ray looked up quickly. He grumbled something incoherent and turned the radio to the alternative station again. Denise groaned and turned the radio off abruptly. Billy Ray chuckled and leaned back into his seat.
"Are you trying to be annoying?" Denise asked.
"No."
"Then stop annoying me."
Billy Ray smirked. "Not my fault that you're PMS-ing."
Denise glared at him. "Jerk."
"Bitch."
"Asshole."
"Ho."
"Shut up!" Denise exclaimed.
"You first, my dear."
Denise groaned. "Fine. I guess we'll sit in complete and utter silence until Guile comes back then. Speaking of which, what's taking him so long?"
"Dunno. Guess he has a plan to drive us both insane."
"Either that or expect to come back and find us passionately making out."
Billy Ray looked at her seriously. "We could do that, you know."
The tension in the air thickened as Denise slowly placed a hand on Billy Ray's thigh. She swallowed hard. Damn, I gotta admit, the man is sexy, she thought. Denise looked up at him purposefully. Billy Ray, completely caught up in the moment, leaned forward. Denise was about to meet him halfway, but was interrupted by a knock on the window. They pulled apart abruptly. Billy Ray rolled down his window and smiled nervously.
"Hey Guile," he said.
Guile grinned and held up two room keys. "Hello Billy Ray, Denise."
Denise nodded nervously and snatched one of the room keys from Guile. She hastily opened the car door and got out. Out of Billy Ray's direct sight, her breathing slowed to normal and her heart stopped pounding in her ears. Denise began to walk away, but she heard a voice behind that made her stop dead in her tracks.
"You fogged up the windows, girl," the voice said.
Denise turned and saw a sight she hadn't seen in at least four months. "KIM?"
"Hello to you too. So, what, might I ask, were you doing in a car -- alone -- with Billy Ray?" Kim said.
Denise fumbled with the room key in her right hand. "Ah, waiting for Guile."
"Then why are the windows foggy?"
Denise eyes dropped to the ground with no response. Kim smirked. "Oh, I know why. While you were waiting for Guile, you decided that it would be fun to fool around with Billy Ray."
"Nothing happened, damn it!"
Guile and Billy Ray, who had just gotten out of the car, looked over with curiosity. Billy Ray blushed, instantly knowing the subject of conversation.
"Are ya sure?" Guile asked, winking.
"Shut up," Denise replied. "So, anyway, you know those two bozos?"
"Yeah. Ran into them while scoping out the warehouse with Damon. He ended up dead, and I ended up with a new boyfriend and his idiotic best friend. How'd you meet 'em?"
"Same warehouse. I was looking through it to find something -- anything -- and they tried to get my diamonds."
"You mean those diamonds that you had those three guys get for you?"
"Yeah. And I remember one of them telling me, after he'd gotten out of his concussion, that he had to fight a man with chin length dark hair and dark eyes for the box of diamonds."
Kim smiled. "Hmm. You had an almost-encounter with Billy Ray and Guile then."
"Yes, it's one small world out there."
Kim nodded. Then, Guile came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Kim turned in his grasp and kissed him softly.
"Ugh. You guys are making me sick," Denise commented, walking in the direction of the motel.
"At least we didn't fog up the windows!" Guile called.
Denise turned around, walking backwards. "That's probably because you can't get it up!" She turned back around and continued walking towards the motel.
Billy Ray laughed and followed Denise. "I think she's right, man."
Guile growled underneath his breath and looked down at Kim. "Do you follow their opinion?"
"Guess we'll have to test the theory," she whispered in his ear.
He smiled. They began walking towards the motel.
Billy Ray caught up with Denise before she reached the motel. "Hey, we have to share a room."
Denise raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well, judging from the way they're acting now, we can presume that they will want a room to themselves."
Denise sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."
Billy Ray watched as Denise leaned against the door of the motel room that they would share. He gave her a once-over, sending his mind into overdrive. She's beautiful, he thought. Long, dark brown hair, shimmering green eyes, a beautiful smile, and a killer body to boot. In Billy Ray's view, Denise was most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And there was no sense in denying it; her personality intrigued him. He had never met anyone who actually challenged him physically and in a game of wits before, but now he had definitely met his match. And this was everything he took in from the little time he'd known her.
Denise met Billy Ray's gaze, causing him to look away quickly. She looked him up and down, admiring his sense of style. But, what attracted her most were his soft-looking lips, his luscious midnight eyes, and his chin-length, dark curly hair that Denise absolutely wanted to run her fingers through. And she would've, if Guile hadn't come along. She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts. 'No, do not mix business with pleasure. Remember what happened last time...' Her mind trailed off to a subject that she strived to forget.
"Hey, you okay?" came Kim's voice. Though she was standing right beside Denise, her voice seemed far-off.
"Yeah. Just thinking about the whole Brian situation," Denise replied.
Kim put an arm around Denise's shoulder. "I'm sorry about what happened with that."
"Don't be," Denise said, shaking her head. "It's just a mistake that won't happen again."
"You're right." Kim smirked and glanced to Billy Ray. "It won't."
~*~*~*~
Denise looked out the window again and sighed.
"What is your problem?" Billy Ray asked. He was lying down on the bed farthest from the window, jacket and shirt lying on the foot of the bed and shoes discarded on the floor.
"I don't have a problem," Denise replied, sitting down on her bed.
"Yeah, sure." Billy Ray smirked. "Then why do you have some obsession with looking out the window?"
Denise glared at him. "I'm just making sure none of those guys pop out of nowhere."
"Well, if you keep ever-so-obviously looking out the window, they'll certainly pop out of nowhere because they'll know where we're hiding out," Billy Ray said.
"Well, excuse me for being cautious." Denise fell back against the bed and looked at Billy Ray. She was about to continue on with her retort, but the sight of his bare chest caught her off guard. Denise felt a shiver go down her spine, no matter how much she tried to fight it.
Billy Ray caught her gaze. He looked himself up and down. "What?"
Denise shook her head and turned away. "Nothing."
"Okay..." Billy Ray looked confused, but didn't ask further.
Suddenly, the two heard noises coming from outside. At first, Billy Ray thought they were coming from the room next door, and chuckled. Then, a strange male voice was heard from outside of the door. Denise tensed up and rolled of her bed and onto the floor. Billy Ray raised an eyebrow as she crept to the window. Denise parted the curtains slightly and looked out. She immediately ducked down after seeing three guys standing outside of the room.
"Shit," she muttered.
"What is it?" Billy Ray asked, a concered look on his face.
"Those two guys from the warehouse are out there, along with some other guy," Denise informed, leaning against the wall underneath the window. She made a motion with her hand to Billy Ray. He quickly pulled on his shirt and jacket, and then his shoes. He rolled off the bed and crawled to the spot where Denise sat.
"Do you have any idea who they are?" he asked.
Densie shook her head. "We've gotta get out of here. They're gonna know where we're hiding if we stay here."
Billy Ray nodded. "Ya think that there's a back way out?"
"We can try," Denise said.
They both crawled to the back of the motel room. Much to their dismay, there wasn't a back door, or even a back window.
"How the hell do we get out then?" Billy Ray wondered, looking around the room.
"The only way. We go out the front and face 'em," Denise replied, standing up.
"If it's the only way, then I say lets do it." Billy Ray got up and smirked at Denise. "Lets go kick some butt, shall we?"
"We shall," Denise said, grinning.
They walked casually to the front of the room. Denise opened the door and smiled sweetly at the three thugs outside.
"Hello, boys," she greeted. "Is there anything we can do for you?" She leaned against the door frame and shifted her weight onto her right leg, causing her hip to brush against Billy Ray's. She smirked as she felt an electric shock run through her.
The thugs turned and took on expressions of shock and surprise.
"Get them!" one of them said.
Billy Ray grinned. "We meet again, Ranco," he said, charging towards the one who had spoken.
Denise smirked, then chose her own opponet. It was a tall man with broad shoulders, and Denise almost recognized him. The man quickly surveyed the situation and pushed past Denise. She was about to make a surprise attack, when she noticed that the man was challenging Billy Ray. Ranco nodded to the man and turned to Denise, grinning.
"Well, aren't we a looker?" he said.
Denise gave Ranco a disguisted face. "Okay, first off, I would never date you, or anyone like you. Second, I don't think we're here to chat." She launched into a spin kick, her foot landing on Ranco's shoulder.
The thug groaned in pain, but still managed to catch a punch Denise threw at him. Then, Ranco pushed her onto the hood of a nearby car. Two other thugs pinned her arms to the car. Ranco smirked and walked up to the car.
"Well, well, would ya look at this? Seems I got you trapped, smart mouth," he said to Denise.
Denise struggled against the men, but found that it was no use. Ranco's grin grew wider as his hand slipped underneath Denise's shirt. She felt she was going to gag as his hand touched her breast. Then, his hand went to the button of her jeans, which was soon undone as was the zipper. Ranco undid his own pants and moved closer to Denise.
Billy Ray looked over to Denise amongst his struggle with the unamed thug who had challenged. Something inside of him shifted as he saw Ranco prepare himself to enter her. Billy Ray suddenly lashed out at his attacker and ran over to Denise's situation. He gave Ranco a good, hard roundhouse kick to the shoulder, then promptly lifted Denise from the hood of the car.
"Let's get out of here!" Guile exclaimed from the door of his room.
"Right!" Billy Ray exclaimed. As he was running to "his" stolen car, he noticed Denise shaking in his arms. He looked down at her. "You okay?"
Denise barely managed a, "Yeah," before Billy Ray put her into the passenger's side of the car. He got into the other side and started up the car.
Billy Ray's eyes flicked to Denise. She didn't look so good. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking as she tried to put on her seatbelt.
They came to a stoplight. "Here," Billy Ray said gently. He reached over and did the buckle for her. The light went green and Billy Ray pressed the accelerator, looking away from the woman in the seat beside him. "So, where are we going?" he asked.
"My house. Take a left here," Denise said.
Billy Ray turned the steering wheel. "Why your house?" He looked confused.
Denise shook her head. "If you didn't notice, that's exactly where Kim and Guile are headed."
Billy Ray looked out onto the road and noticed that the car in front of theirs was indeed Kim's car. "Oh. Yeah, right."
"Plus, the baddies don't know where I live, and they won't find us 'cause it's a little too late for them to hop into their cars and try to follow us," Denise said with a smirk.
"True," Billy Ray said, nodding.
It took them about fifteen minutes to reach Denise's house, which was on the other side of the city. Denise had, for the most part, composed herself by the time she was stepping out of the car and grabbing her house keys from her pocket. But, no matter how composed she might be, Kim had seen Ranco almost rape her, so there was no hope in thinking that Kim wouldn't bug the hell out of her.
Kim and Guile got out of Kim's car as Billy Ray was getting out of the one that they had stolen.
"So, why are we here?" Guile asked.
Denise stopped on her way to the front door. "I should've known." She looked at Kim and shook her head. "We're here, at my house, because it was the closest place to go. Besides, the bad guys don't know where I live, now do they?"
"We don't know that," Guile said, a smirk on his face.
Denise rolled her eyes and walked up the front steps to the house. She unlocked the door and walked inside, leaving it open for the others. Billy Ray and Guile hesitantly stepped inside as Kim shut the door and locked all four locks that Denise had placed on the door.
"All right, a couple rules. First, spill anything you like on the carpet, only because I've treated with Scotch-Guard. Just make sure you clean it up too. Second, never ever in your entire lifetime open the basement door," Denise said.
Guile looked curious. "Why--"
"You don't want to know," Kim cut in.
The blonde man looked confused as Kim and Denise headed towards the kitchen. He exchanged a confused glance with Billy Ray before following them.
"So, where will we sleep?" Billy Ray asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.
Denise looked up from the piece of paper she was reading. She thought for a moment, trying her best to avoid Billy Ray's gaze. "Well, I suppose Kim and Guile can take the guest room. Which would leave the couch for you."
Guile raised an eyebrow. "You only have two bedrooms in this house?"
"Technically I have three," Denise replied. "But, I use the third for an office."
He nodded.
A mischievious grin made its way across Kim's lips. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
"'Night, Kim," Denise said while writing something down on a slip of paper.
Kim grabbed Guile's arm and led him down the hallway and upstairs to the guest room.
Billy Ray rolled his eyes. "Hey, Denise, do you have any beer?"
Denise looked up. "Uh, yeah. It's all lite, though."
"What? No MGD?" Billy Ray wondered.
"It's the only exception." Denise smirked. "Top shelf."
Billy Ray stood up and opened the refrigerator. He took note of at least four different kinds of beer sitting inside. "Canadian beer, Bud Lite, Amstel Lite, and..." He grinned. "MGD." He grabbed a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft and looked at Denise. "You want one?"
"I'll pass," Denise replied.
Billy Ray nodded and closed the refrigerator. He sat back down at the table and watched Denise for a moment. She was looking over a few pieces of paper that sat on the table. He shook his head and opened the bottle, taking a swig.
Denise sighed. "I think I'm going to head off to bed, though I'm probably not going to get any sleep tonight."
"What makes you say that?" Billy Ray took another swig of his beer.
She laughed. "I'm supposed to get sleep with Guile and Kim right next door?"
"Oh, yeah." Billy Ray chuckled. "Well then, I'll see you in the morning."
Denise nodded and got up from her seat. She quickly organized the papers on the table and pushed the chair under the table. "See you in the morning." She turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Billy Ray stared at the beer bottle in his hand. There were questions floating in his mind, and he hoped that the bottle would solve them.
"It never does," he muttered. He got up and tossed the bottle in the trash, then switched off the kitchen light and walked into the living room. There, the couch awaited him.
