Timeout
By: ChocolateEclar
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the Mediator Series by Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll, including Jesse (*cough*darn*cough*), Suze, Paul, Father D, CeeCee, Adam, etc.
Claimer: I own Miss Evelyn "Eve" Gemma and the plot. (I still wish I owned Jesse instead of Eve.) I may not own the fact that Jesse has five sisters (ages 6-16 when he died), but I do own who the five girls are – i.e. their personalities and names. In short, I also own Juanita "Nita" De Silva, Estefana De Silva, Felicidad "Felly" De Silva, Dolores "Dolly" De Silva, and most of all Carmen De Silva.
To Clavel: Honestly, the cliffy was hard on me too. I mean, that meant I was going to have to edit it and post it before I could start on this chapter… But I still get to know what happens next sooner… Hehe.
Anyway, I like the ancient part too. Doesn't Jesse look good for his age? *laughs* Thanks again!
To Arda Silverlace: Yep, I'm trying to tie in as many things between my two Mediator fanfics – like introducing William in "Confessions…" and stating he became Carmen's husband in "Timeout."
As for the "three-little-words reaction" from Jesse, you'll just have to see what he does… ^__^ Thanks for the review!
To Dina: Me? Depressing? *laughs* I see what you mean. I always guarantee a happy ending though because I love them myself. Besides, I can't let Jesse suffer for long. I care about him too much for that. ^__- Thanks for the feedback on how "moody" this story is!
To BloodyRayne: At first I was fine with the threat. Then, I remembered the little fact I work my butt off getting out these chapters as fast as possible. So consider your threat ignored. The chapter comes when it comes. I can't do anything to make the process go faster. *shrugs* I suppose it was a sort of compliment though. ^_- Thanks for the review anyway.
A/N: Happy April Fools Day, guys! *laughs* Think of this as your treat for the little holiday. ^__-
Chapter 12: Delayed Announcement
Carmen did say her husband was a ghost when he witnessed Jesse's murder…so there has to be a way to bring ghosts back to life! There just has to be!
I was running back to my bike when I saw him. Paul Slater. No, no, no, no, NO!
"This isn't a good time, Paul!" I yelled as I grabbed my bike and hopped on.
"Going so soon, Suze?" Paul queried with a smirk.
I should've known something was wrong with him. He wasn't acting like such an arrogant jerk… No, he just looked pale and ready to kill with a cut above his eyebrow, a few drops of blood beneath his nose, and his brown hair all messed up. He grabbed my upper arm and yanked me off the bike before I could react.
"Paul! What are you doing?" I screeched. The grip on me was painful and bruising as I tried to shrug him off. "Let me go!" I yelled.
He pulled me closer and whispered sharply, "Shut it, Simon. From now on we do things my way."
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Why did she have to show up? Does someone up there hate me?
"Oh, so there you are, Susannah," drawled a female voice as I was roughly tied up in Paul Slater's basement. "Having boyfriend troubles?"
"I could use a hand, Eve," I grumbled as I struggled with Paul.
"Did you give me a hand when I needed it?" hissed the 70s drama queen.
"Yes!" I shouted.
Eve just looked offended and began to dematerialize as I added, "Oh, and remind me to exorcize you later!" She vanished then.
Paul let out a chuckle and sarcastically said, "You're really popular, huh, Suze? That girl looked like she really cared about your well-being."
"Don't try to call the dead cowboy by the way," Paul added. I was completely tied up with my arms behind my back – wrists fixed together – and my ankles attached with rope. All the cords were chafing my skin as Paul stood up and continued, "He won't hear you."
I groaned and muttered, "Another shifter ability?"
"Of course," Paul replied with a smirk. He was starting to act dangerously like his old conceited self.
I can fix that. "So how did you get away from Diego and Maria? Did Diego give you that bruised nose?" I asked, grinning.
"No," said Paul. The smirk was gone as he added, "Your cowboy did."
Score! Go Jesse!
It would be nice if I could contact Jesse though.
Paul turned his back on me then and said, "I'll be back later." He stopped, and, turning his head around, added expressively, "One of my pals is outside the door if you need anything."
Then he left with a clang of the door of the room I was in.
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"I love you, Jesse." Hmm, try again. "Jesse, I love you with all my heart!" Too dramatic. "Jesse, I love you."
Hey, what else is a girl supposed to do while she's trying to loosen the binding on her wrists in a dank, musty cellar? No use letting time go to waste.
It was pretty pathetic though.
My wrists were too tight, so I went to my ankles. Bending forward, I tried to catch the rope on my ankles with my teeth. No such luck. I'm not flexible enough to reach my feet with my head in this position even on normal days.
I sighed and slumped against the wall. Think, Suze!
Okay, Paul said I couldn't contact Jesse – which I tried and is true – but what about other ghosts? Wait a minute. Does Carmen count? She is dead and all, and I bet she's with Jesse, so…
Hmm. It's worth a shot atleast.
CARMEN!
"Huh?" muttered a small shape appearing in the farthest corner of the room. "Oh! Buenos tardes, Susannah!" Carmen stepped into the glow coming off the overhead light then – still barefoot and tan. "Dios! What happened to you?" asked Carmen, bending down at my side.
"Paul Slater happened. He's a bastard mediator," I replied as Carmen untied my wrists.
Carmen laughed and said, "Bastardo, huh? I see."
"Were you with Jesse?"
"Yes," Carmen said nodded. "Aha!" she exclaimed as my wrists came free. "Now how are we going to get you out of here?"
Massaging my wrists, I bent forward and released my ankles. "I'm not sure yet," I said as I stood up to get the blood flowing through my tingling feet. "I'm pretty sure there's a ghost guarding the door outside though."
"I'll distract him," stated Carmen with a smirk. She dematerialized then and I went over to the wooden door to listen.
"Who are you?" hissed a male voice. Thank goodness it wasn't Biker Bob. It sounded too young.
"Me llamo Carmen. ¿Y tú?" came Carmen's voice. Her usually flat tone – which was just like Jesse's but higher – had been replaced by a thick accent.
"Hey, I dunno who you are, but I don't speak Spanish, girl," said the guy.
"¿Qué?" queried Carmen. "No comprendo, señor."
I could hear Carmen starting to lead the guy away then. Their footsteps echoed in the hallway as I pressed my ear to the door.
When I could hear nothing else, I looked down at the door handle and inspected the lock. It was simple enough. All I had to do was push my fingernail into a groove in the center of the handle the width of my nail and turn.
The first time I broke my thumbnail. The lock was stiff, and my nails weren't very strong. The second attempt pulled through though, and soon I was sticking my head out into the hallway.
The coast was clear, so I slipped out and shut the door behind me. Out of curiosity, I called Jesse to see if now he could hear me.
He could. My Latino Lovely appeared at my side in an instant. He peered around at the dimly lit hallway in Paul Slater's basement. "Susannah? What is this place?" he asked.
I couldn't help it. I hugged him. He was so surprised he almost fell over though.
"Get back here!" shouted a voice.
Someone besides the yeller was running down the hallway screaming, "No hablo inglés!" Carmen appeared next to us then and jerked her thumb behind her. "We have to leave, amigos," she said, laughing. She was having too much fun being a mediator again.
"You called her?" asked Jesse.
"Not now, Jesse," I complained, tugging on his wrist.
"Yes. ¡Rápido, hermano!" hollered Carmen as what was obviously the guy who'd been guarding me came barreling around the corner.
We dashed down the hallway – away from the guy behind us – then. The guy was tall and lean with red hair and freckles dotting his face. He still looked pretty tough in leather and jeans though.
Jesse and Carmen could've dematerialized, but that wouldn't have been very helpful for me, being alive and all. Unless they did what Carmen did, which was appear behind the younger dead guy and kick him in the small of his back. Pretty good high kicking for a girl from the days when woman had few rights and didn't often have to run away from guys in leather. She did grow up on a ranch though.
Carmen reappeared and began running with us again – leaving the redhead with his face on the carpeting and muttering curses.
"Nice job," I said with a smirk.
Carmen beamed right back at me and said, "I always wanted to do something like that. My ghosts tended to be more compliant…unless they were a criminal."
"You both are very much alike," muttered Jesse.
A shout rang out through the hallway as we reached a stairway leading up. "It's Paul," I explained.
"Slater?" hissed Jesse.
"No time to be chivalrous and go after the kidnapper, hermano," snapped Carmen, pulling Jesse after us. We hurried up the stairs and I pushed open the door to find myself in a familiar hallway. Nearby were Paul's bedroom and the TV room Dr. Slaski usually sits in.
I turned left – towards where I knew the front door would be. We came into the foyer and met with a sight that made my skin crawl. All three hundred pounds of Biker Bob were standing before the door. His tattooed arms were crossed as he said, "Now where might you be going, ladies? Sir?" he asked.
"Any ideas?" I mumbled. I doubted hitting with my shoe would work again.
"I don't have much time left here anyway, so a few scratches would not matter much," Carmen said, stepping forward.
"Carmen!" protested Jesse.
"I will meet you in the same place as last time, Jesse," promised Carmen. "Hasta luego, Susannah, Jesse." She turned away then, looking impossibly small beside Biker Bob.
"You don't have to do this, Carmen!" I said.
"You are right," replied Carmen without looking back. "But it reminds me of old times… Old mediator times, I should say."
And then she stepped right up to Biker Bob and slapped him hard across his arm. She couldn't reach his face after all. Biker Bob looked pretty surprised at such violence coming from a woman shorter than me, but he still managed to scowl and say, "Now why did you do that, little lady?"
That was when Jesse and I slowly began to inch towards the door.
Carmen smiled and batted her eyelashes. "In my country it's a way of saying I wish to court you," she lied.
"Oh, is that so, little lady?" Biker Bob said suspiciously.
"Of course it is," said Carmen with an offended tone. "You don't believe the word of a lady?"
"Now, I didn't say that, missy," claimed Biker Bob as Jesse silently unlocked and pushed open the front door.
We slipped out as Carmen said, "You really are a strong one, aren't you, sir?"
I gave Carmen the thumbs up sign as I closed the door behind us.
"Now, Susannah," said Jesse with his arms folded against his chest, "You are going to tell me why you were with Slater while we walk home… And don't try to avoid any of my questions."
Jesse knows me too well.
It's now or never.
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A/N: *dodges rotten fruit* I know! I know! Suze still hasn't told Jesse and I've left you guys with another cliffhanger. Don't hurt me, okay? If you did, I wouldn't be able to finish this, now would I? ^.- I don't take kindly to threats either – even on April fools Day.
A/N 2: But first, REVIEW! Okay? Bye! ^__^