Chapter 14

aki-n-ayee: Yep. As always (for them)

eyriess: Look, leave the computer alone, else I'll call the computer abuse authorities. :p

Black Jaggan: Heh heh. Indeed, let it all begin!

Ashla: What are you talking about. Tala is cute! *cringes as he glares at her* Oh come on. Even you know it, Tal. *He smirks and shrugs before reattaching himself to Bryan's neck* Oh for the love of.... GET A ROOM!!!

Jay Kamiya: I have achieved my goal. I made someone laugh. :p

Matty KakaSaku rulz: A goody-two-shoes is someone who never does wrong by the person in charge. They often try really hard to make the person in charge like them. Otherwords, Tala sucks up to Boris to make Boris think he is a loyal, trustworthy and dependable member of the team.

LadyOrient: Neither can I. ^_~

russle: The food fight is one of my favourite moments in this fic, though I have a few. Glad you liked it. ^_^

Bloody Mary: Thanks for the info. In that case, Tala's name in my fics will be Tala Yuri Maximeievich Ivanov, though at the current moment Tala does not know who his parents are. Also, I do not have names for Bryan's parents yet. Any suggestions?

KuronekoHikage: Glad you like it. And glad you could join us.

Big make out session for two of the boys last night. Now lets see what's going on in the morning…

Disclaimer: See first page

"Think they'll be any better today?"

Spencer looked down at Ian as the three moved along the passage, Panas leading the way with the torch. "Should be."

Panas looked back. "So do you guys have any idea as to what's going to happen once Boris comes back?"

Ian shook his head. "Not a clue. We're going to work something out today, though."

Panas nodded, opening the door and frowning at the darkness, reaching out and hitting the switch, stopping dead, eyebrows at attention as the others joined him.

Tala shifted as the light sliced through the dark shroud, ice eyes blinking open to look toward them. Bryan didn't move, sound asleep where he lay on his side, fingers of one hand still entwined through one of Tala's where the younger teen lay curled up against his back, arms encircling Bryan.

Ian placed his hands on his hips. "Well you look comfy."

Tala glared at him, lifting his head from Bryan's and taking in the other two, eyes falling back onto Ian. "We sat up late talking."

"I'll bet."

"I'm perfectly capable of squashing you, Ian."

Ian's eyes flashed, Spencer clamping a hand over his mouth before he could reply, Panas biting back a smile as he made his way to the table and dropped a bag onto it. "Brought you some breakfast."

Tala nodded, sliding his arms from around Bryan and nudging him. "Hey Bry, you wanted to talk to Panas? Well he's here."

Bryan didn't stir.

Spencer frowned. "That's not normal."

"I know." Tala nudged Bryan again. "Bryan? Bryan, they've got breakfast."

Ian dropped into a chair, watching with concern. "I thought he woke easy."

"He usually does." Tala's eyes reflected worry as he checked the pulse, eyebrows lifting marginally. "He's still alive, anyway. I guess he really was tired."

Panas tried not to laugh. "Pulled the 'not tonight, I'm too tired' routine did he?"

Tala smiled. "It was more a 'go to sleep before I knock you out' routine, but there's not really that much difference." The concern returned as Tala sat up. "Boris focused most of his attention on Bryan when he was…" Tala swallowed, trying to force away the dryness to his mouth and throat. "I don't know what happened when I was unconscious, but no doubt Boris kept up the procedures."

"Bryan's one tough nut to crack," Panas agreed.

Ian scowled toward the bed. "Well he broke."

Tala glared at the youngest of the group as he joined them at the table. "He didn't break. He's just sleeping it off, that's all."

"Yeah, whatever."

Tala growled. "You're on the right road for a broken jaw this morning, Ian, so keep it up."

Ian glared at him. "Why are you protecting him?"

Tala leant closer, returning the glare with equal strength. "Why are you attacking him?"

Spencer held up a hand, gesturing for them to settle. "Cool it, guys. Fighting will get us nowhere. I know you're tired Tala, and that you're grumpy cause we almost got caught yesterday Ian, but don't take it out on each other."

"Agreed," Panas nodded his head. "Fighting amongst yourselves will do more damage than good." He turned to Tala. "So why did Bryan want to see me?"

"We've got a plan to get out of here." He listed off their idea for using the passage to get them to the fence, then going over it. After he had finished, he turned to Panas. "So what we want to know is exactly what to expect at the other end."

Panas nodded, thinking. "Not long after discovering the passage we did some yard clean-up so we could scout the area on the other side. It comes out near the graveyard, so you can use the headstones as cover. On the other side of the fence is where the woods are so almost straight away you can get out of sight. It's simply a matter of getting over the fence."

"I can take care of that," Spencer said.

"We're pretty nimble, you must remember," Tala reminded Panas. "I'm sure Boris put you through all the training too."

Panas nodded. "Pretty much straight away. But you and Bryan always did have the advantage, Tala. I remember seeing Kai pull some sweet moves too."

Tala smiled faintly, but said nothing.

Ian brushed his hair from his eyes, eyes gliding toward the bed and back. "So when are you planning to do this."

Tala sighed. "When we were up to. Give us a couple of days to heal and regain our strength. At the least, we must be out of here the day before Boris is due to come back. That'll give us a head start."

Ian and Spencer nodded their agreement, Panas crossing his arms over his chest, watching as Tala picked at the lasts of his breakfast. Panas narrowed his dark eyes. "Wish I could go with you. However, if I went, Boris would realise you were not working alone and go after the rest of the boys."

Tala nodded. "Agreed." He frowned. "When we get to the BBA office, we'll contact the authorities and tell them what goes on here. Try and get the place shut down."

Ian straightened, eyes brightening. "And that way Boris will be the one in the cell. Everyone else will be free."

Spencer chuckled. "Maybe Boris and Voltaire will be cellmates."

"They can bore each other to death."

Tala and Panas chuckled, Tala wiping his fingers on a cloth then crossing to the bathroom to wash the grease from the pastry off his hands. When he emerged from the bathroom a couple of minutes later, he found Ian and Spencer working out with Panas a good time to make a break for it.

Tala smiled faintly, moving toward Bryan and sitting on the edge of the bed, prodding him in the chest. Bryan still didn't stir, causing Tala to frown faintly. Bryan had always been a defensive sleeper. The lightest of touches and noises enough to wake him and give him time to prepare for fight or flight. So for him to not wake was cause for worry.

Tala reached up to brush the hair from Bryan's face, frowning further as he returned his hand to Bryan's forehead, leaving it there for a moment. "Ian, is there a clean cloth over there?"

Ian looked around. "Yeah."

"Could you dampen it for me." He paused, eyes narrowing. "Bryan's got a fever."

"What!?"

Ian hurried to wet the cloth, Panas and Spencer joining Tala, Panas touching the back of his hand to Bryan's forehead, glancing back at Spencer. "Tala's right, he does."

"Bryan never gets sick," Spencer said as Ian returned, handing the cloth to Tala.

"He seemed okay yesterday," Ian agreed. "A little unsteady, but that's it."

"He was fine last night," Tala said as he rolled Bryan onto his back, folding the cloth and setting it gently on Bryan's forehead. "He was fatigued, but so was I. Bryan was picking on me in the way he does when he's in a good mood."

Panas frowned thoughtfully. "One of the boys has a medical dictionary. I'll have to find out which one."

"Aizik," Spencer told him. "He's an average blader roughly a year younger than me. Boris kept him on cause he sees potential for a Biovolt trained scientist who knows something about blading."

Panas thought for a moment. "I think I know the one you mean. Average height, reddish hair, grey eyes. Always looks like he needs to eat more."

Spencer nodded. "That's him."

Tala looked back. "Can you trust him?"

Spencer nodded. "He smuggles stuff out of the lab for some of the boys. Remember that drug bust last year where four of the boys got caught?" The others nodded. "Aizik got them the supplies, but cleaned his trail so well that they never did find out where it had come from. We can trust him."

"In that case, if he knows something about medicine, bring him down here." Tala looked back toward Bryan, noting that the skin was paler than normal. "We've got to find out what's wrong."

Well, it seems the boys have a plan for escaping the Abbey and… is Bryan sick!? o_O