Chapter Two
Malice sighed in frustration as she toweled off her long, raven hair. She had just gotten out of the shower, and the phone was ringing off the hook. She cursed as she rushed over to answer it, yet smirked when she found that she wasn't alone in her thoughts; Vicious was in his room, mumbling obscenities that probably would have made the Van blush with embarrassment.
"Ah, yes. My houseguest feels the same." Malice thought, as she chose to ignore the phone, and remember.
Flashback
Explosions rocked the area as a Syndicate hit went down. A slightly younger Vicious ran hell for leather away from the exploding building, but he wasn't fast enough to prevent a shard of shrapnel from going through his right thigh. He winced, but never once made a sound as he limped over to a rocky overhang and settled down under it. Blood flowed freely from the ugly gash in his leg, and throbbed painfully when he put any pressure to it.
"You all right, new kid?" a woman's voice asked. Startled, Vicious grabbed his katana and stood, grimacing as he put weight back onto his wounded leg. The woman was a sight to behold; she was tall, almost as tall as he was, with long, hip length, midnight black hair and piercing sapphire eyes. A scar graced the right side of her face, starting from just beyond the hairline, to her jaw. Her attire consisted of an almost skintight black bodysuit, black boots, and a black trench coat. Her hair was tied back away from her face in a loose tail. She arched an eyebrow.
"What're you staring at?" the woman asked, with a hint of challenge in her voice.
"I'm not staring." Vicious replied, coldly, suspicious of the woman in black.
"Then what are you doing?" the woman again asked.
"Admiring beauty when I see it." Vicious said, coolly. The woman smirked.
"You're a smooth one. What's your name?" the woman asked, this time almost conversationally.
"Why do you want to know?" Vicious asked, still suspicious of the woman.
"I'm just curious." The woman replied, with a slight shrug.
"My name is Vicious. And, by the way, I am not a kid." Vicious said, moodily.
"I can see that." The woman said, looking down as she said that. Vicious could almost feel the blood rushing to his face, and growled when the woman snickered at his expense.
"Well, since I know your name, and have so ruthlessly slain your self-confidence, I'll tell you my name. My name is Malice." The woman said, almost joking in her tone as she leaned on her katana.
"Not very original." Vicious muttered, trying to regain his composure.
"Funny, I should be telling you the same thing about your name." Malice said, getting a patented 'dagger glare' from the man across from her.
"Why are you here? Who sent you?" Vicious asked, getting back to the matter at hand.
"I'm here to provide a ride home for you. Chauffeur service, if you will. The higher ups of the Red Dragons sent me here. I can assume that you are one of us?" Malice asked, expecting an answer from the sullen man.
"Yes. I belong to the Red Dragons." Vicious said, almost sounding relieved that he didn't have to walk home on his bad leg.
"C'mon then. You can't stand there all night with your leg like that. Let's get back and get it tended to." Malice said, as she motioned for him to follow her. Without another word, Vicious followed the black-clad woman to her car, stubbornly refusing to give in to the pain. The ride home was even more harrowing than the escape from the exploding building.
"What the hell are you trying to do?! Get us both killed?!?" Vicious asked, as he hung on for dear life in the backseat.
"You don't like my driving? Then get out and walk!" Malice replied, as she swerved around oncoming cars.
"I think I'd be safer." Vicious muttered, biting back a yelp when he was thrown into the car door, and his wounded leg hit the window lever. The car suddenly screeched to a halt on a dark street.
"Then walk the rest of the way! Don't look to me for any more freebies!" Malice snarled, as she shoved him out of the car, slammed the door, then sped off. After mumbling a few choice words, Vicious got to his feet and started walking. At that time, a slight drizzle had begun, making the street look like the set for an old Sherlock Holmes mystery.
"Or a Dracula movie." Vicious thought, sarcastically, as he limped along, ignoring the searing pain each footstep brought. Much to his dismay, the rain increased, so now Vicious was walking through a downpour.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about her driving……………..But, then again, she was driving like a lunatic." Vicious thought as he leaned against the side of a building to catch his breath. When he felt he could go on, Vicious again started walking. Rainwater and blood dripped from Vicious' foot as he marched steadily onward. Just as he was beginning to feel a little dizzy from the pain, he reached the apartment complex where Julia lived, and breathed a sigh of relief. Almost as though they had sensed his approach, Julia and a man exited the building and looked down the sidewalk at him.
"Vicious!" Julia yelped, breaking the firm hold Vicious had over the pain in his leg. With little more than a slight moan of pain, Vicious' leg gave out, sending him toppling to the ground. He heard both of them rush over, and grimaced when the man carefully hoisted him onto his shoulder.
"Stay awake, Vicious. Just stay awake for a little bit longer." Julia said, as she helped the man carry him inside. The last thing Vicious saw before unconsciousness claimed him was the face of the man, and his look of concern. When Vicious again opened his eyes, he found himself in a warm, dry apartment.
"So, I wasn't dreaming." Vicious thought, tiredly, but managed a smile when he saw Julia enter the room, carrying what appeared to be a mug of hot tea.
"You're awake." Julia said, gently.
"Barely. Who was the man that was here? Where is he now?" Vicious asked, suspiciously.
"You mean Spike? He just came by here to check on me and see if you had gotten back yet. He was worried about you." Julia said, smiling when she saw his look of surprise.
"How long have I been asleep?" Vicious asked, quietly, feeling a little more at ease now that he knew she wasn't entertaining any male guests.
"Five days. We thought you were going to die. It is only today that your fever broke and you woke up." Julia said, then gave him a curious look.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" Vicious asked.
"You kept calling out a name while you were asleep. At least, I think it was a name, since you would only say that and not anything that could be attached to a word like that." Julia said, with some confusion on her face.
"What was the word or name I kept calling out?" Vicious asked.
"Malice." Julia replied. Vicious lay where he was in stunned silence; he had called for that woman in his sleep?! Why in the world did he do that?! He didn't even know the woman that well, and, to make matters worse, he'd royally pissed her off!
"Vicious?" Julia asked.
"Never mind." Vicious muttered, as he closed his eyes and sighed; why did things have to get so complicated all of a sudden? He would probably never know.
End Flashback
Malice was startled from her musings by the very man she'd been thinking about. He was standing in front of her, with something akin to a deadpan expression on his face. She uttered a yelp and jumped back.
"Shit! Don't do that, V!" Malice shouted, her heart beating faster than it ever had before. The silver-haired man arched an eyebrow.
"Orders from the Van, we have a mission as of tonight." Vicious informed, in his usual quiet manner.
"So that's what they were calling us up for. I guess I should have picked up the phone, ne?" Malice said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Vicious didn't answer, but she could tell that he wasn't at all fond of the idea of leaving the comfort of the apartment in the middle of a rainy night. But orders were orders. Yet, as Malice watched him, she noticed how tired he looked. His hair was mussed from sleep, his eyes were dull and bloodshot (but that was from lack of sleep, not drugs or alcohol this time), and even his posture reflected how exhausted he was.
"He shouldn't be going at all. His wounds haven't even finished healing yet. Sure, there's less of a chance of them reopening now, but he still needs plenty of rest in order to recover fully. Damn Van's trying to work him to death!" Malice thought, as she directed angry thoughts at the leadership of the Syndicate. Within moments, they were both ready and went out into the dreary night, knowing that long hours lay ahead. Little did either of them realize just what lay ahead…………..