Another author's note from me. You should feel privilaged, as I seldom take time out of my busy fanfic writting shedule to add these things. *^_^0* Just kidding!
Anyway, in case you hadn't noticed there have been alot of new chapters lately... as well as a new review from Tiger every time I post one. (Thank you!) Uh... as I was saying... you want an explanation for this? *steps aside, behind her you see Alica Tylon laughing maniacally and cracking a whip* Well, there is your reason. A chapter a day keeps the whipping away... and hopefully a chapter every other day, or every couple days as well... I don't want big, ugly welts on my back!
All joking aside, thanks you two. If no one else in the world cared about my fanfics then I would still continue to write them, just to hear your opinions. ^_^ Note This: Long ran all the way up the stairs and straight to him room. He quickly unlocked the door, darted inside, locked the door behind him, and then leaned back on it, panting heavilly. Why me? he asked himself, for what must have been the third or fourth time that day. He could hear the thud of footsteps racing up towards his door. Go away Hans! he thought. Just go away. He waited breathlessly as the footsteps got closer, and then slowed at his door. Then listened to the knocking on the other side.
"Oh my little bishounen!" Fox called, his feminine voice ringing with glee. "You know I love it when you play hard to get, but I won't wait for you forever."
"If you don't leave, Hans, I will kill you. This is not a meaningless threat! I will grab your neck and choke you to death! Like I should have done the first time!"
"Ooooo, I do love S and M! Shall I squeeze you neck too my little bishie? Or would you like me to bite it instead?" Long groaned, making a face. "Or maybe I could squeeze something else..."
"AHHH! Y-you stay away from me!"
"Alright Hans." Alica's voice ordered from the other side of the door. "That's enough. Shove off and leave Long alone!"
"Hmpf! You're just jealous because he doesn't like you at all!" Fox retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.
"You're fooling yourself Hans. At least he doesn't run away from me."
"He's just playing hard to get!"
"He is not, he hates you. Leave him in peace or he'll come out and kill you."
"It's just a game deary, he plays like he wants to hurt me, but once he's got me in his grasp-"
"You wanna see how much of a game it is, Hans!?!" Long threatened. He turned and broke down the door in his fury, smashing it out of the frame. He stood there and glared at Fox for a moment, his slanted eyes filled with hate, his face twisted in anger. Then bared his teeth and snarled a deep rumbling growl, just like the animal he could become. He took a few steps towards Hans and then crouched down, as if he would pounce on his hapless prey any moment. Fox stared at him in shock for a minute, got scared, and then backed away cautiously. Even he was smart enough to realize when Long was pissed.
"Uh... m-maybe I was mistaken." he admitted. "Well in that case I guess I'd better be going... Toodles!" he ran off down the hall.
"You are downright scary when you're mad." Alica commented, giving him a critical glance.
"I will kill him someday." #318 insisted.
"What is your obsession with killing people?"
"Well, he is an assassin after all." Dr. Goldberg added. Singh Long turned to look at him, having been unaware of his presence earlier.
"Well so am I." Alica replied, without thinking about it first. "And you don't see me threatening to kill every single person that-"
"You're an assassin too?" the doctor asked. "I thought you were a scientist?"
"Uh... I'm both actually." she admitted.
"Oh well, at least you didn't tell me an outright lie, although you did hold back a quite a bit."
"Speaking of lies, Singh Long, how come your father's name in Shin and yours is not?"
"I don't like to be called by the same name he is called by, if you don't mind." #318 answered. "It is really just that simple." He stopped to rub his forehead again, the pain was beginning to fade, albeit very slightly. At least those pills were good for something, he admitted. Too bad they aren't more effective though. He stared down at the gound for a moment, barely aware as the other two began talking again. The low rumble of their voices entered his mind, but he paid no attention to the words. His mind seemed to be in a haze. I should lay down, I must be getting tired. He turned around and stared at his broken down door. Van won't like that... and neither do I. Wish I hadn't done that. Too late now though. Alica caught him glancing down at his broken door.
"You can have that fixed pretty easilly you know. That sort of thing happens around here all the time. All you need to do is pick up a door at any hardware store, and maybe a few screws, and what not... Oh, and another door knob and lock system of course. They're really not that hard to install."
"I'm going to take a nap." he said shaking his head. "I'm out of it today, I'm not feeling up to working on the door. I'm not even up to staying awake. I hope I'm not coming down with something." He sulked through the doorway, towards his room.
"I would hate to leave my room hanging open like that." the doctor said.
"Me too..." Alica agreed.
"With the type of people who live in this complex there's no knowing what might end up missing."
"I'd like to see someone try to steal something from me." Long grumbled. "In the mood I'm in right now they'd be dead before they could blink." His point made, he walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. Alica wanted to warn him that if he killed anyone important Van might kill his family, but she didn't want to bother him and risk incurring his wrath.
"Well, he's got a point." the doctor agreed.
"Dr. Goldberg, if I went to go and get the things necessary to put a new door on there, would you help me put it up?" Alica asked.
"Certainly, it's the least I can do. And please, call me Stephen."
"Is there any way you could wait here and watch his room untill I get back."
"I supposed I could... why do you want to do this for him anyway?"
"He's the closest thing to a friend I have here, and I was a little harsh on him earlier. I think this will make up for it." Stephen nodded and posted himself by the doorway while Alica went off to the hardware store. He stood there in the same spot for a while, untill he got a bit uncomfortable and shifted around a bit. A single person walked by, paying him no attention untill he saw the busted door lying on the ground, a few smaller fragments scattered out into the hall. One small piece still clung to the frame, but most of the door laid on the floor in the middle of the doorway. The man stopped to wonder at it for only a moment and then kept on walking.
Soon enough Stephen decided that there was no point in standing around outside of the place when he could simply go in and sit down on the couch, or maybe that comfortable looking recliner. Afterall we are going to fix his door for him, so he shouldn't mind showing me a bit of hospitality, right? He wandered into the room, glancing about and noticing how barren it was. It was not much different from the rest of the building really. Clean to the point of sterility, but barren of anything that would even suggest any kind of personal touch. Don't see how you could live in such a place. He thought, sitting down on the recliner.
He relaxed for awhile, keeping his eyes on the door. It wasn't hard to do since the chair was facing halfway towards the door in the first place. He waited and waited for what seemed like several hours. In that time only a few people walked by, most of them simply looked at the broken door for a moment and then moved on. It seemed as if broken down doors were indeed a common occurance at Tylon. Then he checked the clock and realized it hadn't been much more than one hour. Hopefully Alica will be back soon, he thought, beginning to get bored.
After another few minutes he heard some stirring from Long's room. A minute more and he heard the door open, and wondered if he ought to get out of the man's dorm. Long emerged from his room looking like a mess. His hair was messed up from all the tossing and turning he'd been doing, tangled in places and sticking up out of his ponytail. There were a few dark circles under his blood-shot eyes, making him look cranky as well as tired. He wore nothing over his chest, a pair of pajama bottoms covering the rest. He let out a loud yawn and then realized that there was company in the room.
"Hey... What are you doing in here?"
"Uh... I was just watching your room while you were sleeping."
"I don't need anyone to watch my room."
"Well... Alica asked me to."
"Hm... why would she do that?"
"I think she was going to get you another door, and she wanted to make sure nothing happened while she was gone."
"Yeah, that sounds like her." He stumbled over to the kitcken, filled a teapot with water and set it on the burner. Then he got a box of tea down from one shelf before walking back into the front room. "You're in my chair."
"Oh?" the doctor exclaimed, looking down at the recliner he was sitting in.
"Get out of my chair."
"Sorry about that." He quickly got up and moved to the couch. Long reclaimed his seat, adjusting the cushions back to the way they were before he sat down and then tilting it back into his favorite position. Stephen thought it was odd how he could be so possessive of such a thing. They sat in a nervous silence untill the teapot started to whistle. Then Long got up and poured himself a cup, steeping the tea bag in it for a few minutes and then adding a little sugar. Once it was done he walked back over to his seat and sipped at it idly, as though waiting for something. "So... uh... did you have a nice rest?" the doctor asked graciously.
"No."
"What a shame." They sat around for a few more minutes, and in the silence Stephen began to feel a bit more anxious. He didn't really expect the man would turn on him, not in his current condition. However he had to admit he was still afraid he would accidentally incurr his anger somehow, like by sitting in the wrong chair as he'd just done. "So, you sound like you might be coming down with some kind of cold. Maybe it would do you good to get a bit more rest."
"My nose is getting plugged up." #318 admitted, sniffling a bit. "But the tea helps."
"Yes, the vapors are good for soothing sore nasal passages." the doctor agreed.
"Yes, tea is good." Long replied wearilly.
"So there you are." Alica said, peeking through the doorway. "What are you doing in there Stephen?"
"I just thought I would sit down for a bit." he defended. "Although it seems I sat down in the wrong place." She looked a bit confused. "I sat in his chair." he explained.
"No one sits in my chair." the top assassin pointed out. "It's my chair."
"Long..." Alica groaned, relalizing he must have scared her new friend. "You're awfully cranky aren't you? Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I think I will in a minute." he agreed. "I'm tired... I wasn't able to sleep earlier, but maybe now will be different."
"Do you think you'll still be able to complete your mission tonight? If you like I could tell Van-"
"I'll work, cold or no cold." he interrupted. "It's not going to hurt my targets to catch a little virus before they die."
"Are you serious?" Stephen asked, unable to understand how someone could talk about killing so lightly. #318 glared at him for a moment, set his half-finished cup of tea down on the coffe table, and them stomped back into his room.
"Isn't he just one big @#$!ing ray of sunshine today?" Alica asked, sarcastically.
"Sure is." the doctor agreed.
"Well, we're going to have to leave the room for a moment, I need a little help getting the door up here."
"I will certainly help you... why don't you go on down to your car and I'll meet you there?"
"Uh, alright." she reluctantly agreed, wondering what he was up to. She went down into the parking lot to unload the door from the back of her car. It was a black Jeep Wranger, her favorite kind. Not the type of car usually preferred for assassins, but her style nevertheless. She could use it to go down all kinds of terrain that cops cars couldn't handle, and as she knew the city well it provided her with a decent escape every time. She leaned the door against one side and pulled a plastic shopping bag full of the rest of the equipment out of the car. Then she stood there for a minute, wondering what was keeping her new friend.
He appeared out of the elevator momentarilly and helped her carry the door into the elevator. She supposed she could have done it herself, it wasn't a terribly heavy door, but it would have been awkward and she much preffered his help. Once they got up to the right floor they carried it over to Long's doorway. Alica stared at something that hadn't been there a moment ago, a note held floating in the doorway. It was held up by a piece of tape that was strug across the sides of the door frame. 'This is the room of #318, Tylon's most feared assassin. Enter here while he's sleeping and you'll end up just like this door.' the note read. Stephen snickered at her reaction to the note.
"You did that?" she assumed. "How funny! I have half a mind to leave it there untill he wakes up... but no. I guess we'd better get to work on the door." He nodded in agreement as she took the note down and stuck it to the wall. "The first thing we'll need to do is un-screw these warped hinges." she stated. "Good thing I bought a screw driver, I don't usually need one myself... Would you do the honors, Stephen?" she asked, fishing a normal black-handled phillips screwdriver out of the bag and handing it to him.
"Certainly." he replied, taking it, kneeling down by the trashed doorway and putting it to use. Alica dumped the remaining contents of the bag onto the floor, and then opened up the door knob and lock set, reading the instructions carefully.
"Looks like I'll need a screw driver too..." Without any more prompting at all Stephen got up from his work and went over to get another screwdriver out of his dorm.
"I always keep one around just in case." he explained. He finished pulling the twisted hinges off the door frame while she figured out the directions and put the door knob on the door. Once he was done he helped her with the lock, and then they cleared the remains of the old door aside and stood the new one up in it's place. Alica held it there while Stephen carefully screwed all the hinges into place, and then they turned the knob and opened and closed it a few times, testing it out. Alica even tried locking it, testing the keys. It all seemed to work just fine.
"Alright! Looks like we're finished." she declared, smiling. "We make a great team don't we!?!"
"For removing busted doors and installing new ones there's no better pair." he agreed, playfully. "But I think we'd probably better carry the old door down to the dumpster now." He grabbed the broken door and held it at his waist while Alica picked up the mutilated old hinges and a few splintered door pieces lying about. They went downstairs and then out to the dumpster in the back of the building, throwing them into it. Then they returned to the door and surveyed their work one more time.
"It just needs one little finishing touch." Stephen said, chuckling as he removed the note from the wall and walked back into his dorm. Alica stood patiently outside Long's new door with a smile on her face. She jingled the keys around in her hand as she waited, reminded that she would have to give them to Long when he woke up. She considered leaving them inside, but if she did that she couldn't lock the door. If she did lock the door he could still get out, but she would have to keep the keys untill he woke up. She decided that this was the best option and locked the door.
Stephen came back in a minute with an new note and taped it to the door, a huge grin across his face. This note read, 'This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin. Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.' Alica snickered at the note and smiled at Stephen.
"You know you're got a great sense of humor, right?"
"Well... I certainly hope he thinks so. Wouldn't want to get him angry again."
"Aw, he was just grumpy earlier, I'm sure he'll feel better when he gets up. In fact, I think he'll like this note once he sees it."
"I hope so." Stephen said, checking his watch. "Well, this has been loads of fun, but I've really got to be getting back to work now. Would you be kind enough to tell me when he wakes up? I've got to see the look on his face when he finds my note."
"Will do." Alica agreed. So Stephen went back into his dorm and Alica into hers.
Long moaned as he got out of bed for the second time that day. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and then stretched out his arms and stiffened back muscles before sitting up and yawning. He reached over to the top of the nightstand next to his bed and grabbed his glasses, put them on, and then stumbled out of bed. He still felt quite a bit drowsy, but thankfully his headache was finally gone. His nose was very stuffed up, but he expected as much to happen while he was sleeping. He pulled a tissue out of the box on his nightstand and blew his nose, throwing the tissue into a little trash can on the other side of his bed. Then he got up, walked to the door, and looked out into his main room.
He was relieved to find that he was finally alone. Ah good, no one to stare at me while I'm looking like $#!@ and make fun of how I say things, he thought. And most of all, no one sitting in my chair! He walked into the kitchen, made himself another cup of coffe, and then sat down in his recliner to drink it. As he glanced around the room once more he noticed that the half-finished cup from hours earlier was still sitting there. And then he noticed something else, he had a door. Didn't I break that down earlier? he wondered. Then he realized that it wasn't the same door, but a completely new one. He set his cup down on the coffe table, next to the other one and went over to examine the door.
It was definately different. The last one had been had been white, just like the walls and all the other doors down the hall. This one was a deeply varnished brown, the true wood graining shown through the dark laquer. He ran one hand over it, exploring the well-carved sections and the smooth surface. It was a nice design, and he decided that he liked it. In fact this door was much more to his liking than the first door. He was almost glad he broke it down. Alica did this. he remembered. He had hardly been paying attention at the time, but the doctor had said something about her getting him another door, hadn't he? Not only had she goten it, but she must have set it up as well. He couldn't even begin to imagine why someone would do something so nice for him. He could feel his eyes tearing up at the corners, and then he started to sniffle a bit. He quickly went back into his bedroom and blew his nose again, stuffing a handfull of paper tissues into his pockets. Then he realized that he was still wearing his pajamas. I can't go out to thank her wearing this, he realized. So he took the tissues back out and changed into some of his regular clothes, a formal tailed shirt and some pants, tied together with a belt around the waist. He even remembered to put his wrist and ankle weights back on since he knew he would be working that night. Then he walked out into the hall and knocked on Alica's door. She came to open it quickly, and as soon as he saw her he threw his arms around her and hugged her close.
"Oh... hi Long." she muttered, engulfed in his warm chest.
"T-thank you Alica." he mumbled, sniffling a bit as more tears came to his eyes.
"Long, are you okay? What happened?"
"You fixed my door, didn't you?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the face.
"Oh, yes. But I don't see why you're so emotional about it, it was just a door."
"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me." he explained, wiping the moisture from his eyes and sniffling a bit more.
"Wow, you must have been really neglected as a child." They both burst into laughter, untill Long had to stop and pull a tissue out of his pocket and blow his nose again.
"You didn't have to you know. I never even asked you to..."
"Oh, it's alright. I could see that the door needed fixing and you were obviously too tired to do it. What are friends for anyway?"
"That's what you are Alica, you're my best friend." he hugged her again.
"Aw, thank you Long." she replied, hugging him back, and patting him on the back. Truthfully she was starting to feel a bit embarassed for him. Afterall he wasn't usually this emotional, it seemed so unlike him. I wonder if it's because of this cold he's getting? she thought. Finally they separated and she handed him the keys to his new door. "Did you see the note Stephen put up for you?"
"Hm? What note?"
"I guess not, it is on the other side of the door after all." He walked back towards his door, but she grabbed his hand before he could get very far. "Wait, I'm sure Stephen will want to see this..." she went and knocked on his door, which he answered swiftly. "Hey, Stephen, he's going to go read the note you left on his door now, didn't you want to watch?"
"Oh..." he said, as though he had forgotten, he glanced back into his room, and then at his watch. "Well, I did want to, but I'm in the middle of some very important research right now."
"Aw, come on, it'll only take a second!"
"Ughh... Ahhhh... Ahhhhhhh... AHH-CHOOO!!!" Long sneezed, burying his nose in a handfull of tissue.
"My goodness, you are getting a cold, aren't you?" he asked. Long sniffled and blew his nose a few times, unable to comment.
"I would definately say so." Alica agreed.
"I never should have killed those people from the AMA." he mumbled once he had finally cleared his nose again. "Who knows what kind of infection they gave me!"
"There now, you see what you get for killing people?" Stephen lectured. Long glared at him angrilly but made no comment.
"Now that's not a nice thing to say Stephen, besides Long and I are unwilling assassins, you know? Neither of use actually wants to kill, Tylon forces us to."
"Oh..." he commented, wondering how someone could be forced to commit multiple acts of murder against their own will.
"Anyway, why don't you two behave like good little boys and we'll all go walk over to Long's door and look at the silly little note Stephen left him, alright?" The two men nodded, helpless to resist her commands and walked back over to Long's door to look at the note.
"'This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin.'" Singh Long read proudly. "'Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.' Sounds alot like something I would say too. He he heh..." he chuckled at it for a minutes and then turned to Stephen. "You wrote this?"
"Y-yes." he replied, trying and failing miserably to hide his anxiety over the matter.
"I like it... I like it very much. Thank you."
"Oh... uh... w-well it was... no problem." he replied. Alica patted him on the back, her way of telling him there was nothing to worry about.
Anyway, in case you hadn't noticed there have been alot of new chapters lately... as well as a new review from Tiger every time I post one. (Thank you!) Uh... as I was saying... you want an explanation for this? *steps aside, behind her you see Alica Tylon laughing maniacally and cracking a whip* Well, there is your reason. A chapter a day keeps the whipping away... and hopefully a chapter every other day, or every couple days as well... I don't want big, ugly welts on my back!
All joking aside, thanks you two. If no one else in the world cared about my fanfics then I would still continue to write them, just to hear your opinions. ^_^ Note This: Long ran all the way up the stairs and straight to him room. He quickly unlocked the door, darted inside, locked the door behind him, and then leaned back on it, panting heavilly. Why me? he asked himself, for what must have been the third or fourth time that day. He could hear the thud of footsteps racing up towards his door. Go away Hans! he thought. Just go away. He waited breathlessly as the footsteps got closer, and then slowed at his door. Then listened to the knocking on the other side.
"Oh my little bishounen!" Fox called, his feminine voice ringing with glee. "You know I love it when you play hard to get, but I won't wait for you forever."
"If you don't leave, Hans, I will kill you. This is not a meaningless threat! I will grab your neck and choke you to death! Like I should have done the first time!"
"Ooooo, I do love S and M! Shall I squeeze you neck too my little bishie? Or would you like me to bite it instead?" Long groaned, making a face. "Or maybe I could squeeze something else..."
"AHHH! Y-you stay away from me!"
"Alright Hans." Alica's voice ordered from the other side of the door. "That's enough. Shove off and leave Long alone!"
"Hmpf! You're just jealous because he doesn't like you at all!" Fox retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.
"You're fooling yourself Hans. At least he doesn't run away from me."
"He's just playing hard to get!"
"He is not, he hates you. Leave him in peace or he'll come out and kill you."
"It's just a game deary, he plays like he wants to hurt me, but once he's got me in his grasp-"
"You wanna see how much of a game it is, Hans!?!" Long threatened. He turned and broke down the door in his fury, smashing it out of the frame. He stood there and glared at Fox for a moment, his slanted eyes filled with hate, his face twisted in anger. Then bared his teeth and snarled a deep rumbling growl, just like the animal he could become. He took a few steps towards Hans and then crouched down, as if he would pounce on his hapless prey any moment. Fox stared at him in shock for a minute, got scared, and then backed away cautiously. Even he was smart enough to realize when Long was pissed.
"Uh... m-maybe I was mistaken." he admitted. "Well in that case I guess I'd better be going... Toodles!" he ran off down the hall.
"You are downright scary when you're mad." Alica commented, giving him a critical glance.
"I will kill him someday." #318 insisted.
"What is your obsession with killing people?"
"Well, he is an assassin after all." Dr. Goldberg added. Singh Long turned to look at him, having been unaware of his presence earlier.
"Well so am I." Alica replied, without thinking about it first. "And you don't see me threatening to kill every single person that-"
"You're an assassin too?" the doctor asked. "I thought you were a scientist?"
"Uh... I'm both actually." she admitted.
"Oh well, at least you didn't tell me an outright lie, although you did hold back a quite a bit."
"Speaking of lies, Singh Long, how come your father's name in Shin and yours is not?"
"I don't like to be called by the same name he is called by, if you don't mind." #318 answered. "It is really just that simple." He stopped to rub his forehead again, the pain was beginning to fade, albeit very slightly. At least those pills were good for something, he admitted. Too bad they aren't more effective though. He stared down at the gound for a moment, barely aware as the other two began talking again. The low rumble of their voices entered his mind, but he paid no attention to the words. His mind seemed to be in a haze. I should lay down, I must be getting tired. He turned around and stared at his broken down door. Van won't like that... and neither do I. Wish I hadn't done that. Too late now though. Alica caught him glancing down at his broken door.
"You can have that fixed pretty easilly you know. That sort of thing happens around here all the time. All you need to do is pick up a door at any hardware store, and maybe a few screws, and what not... Oh, and another door knob and lock system of course. They're really not that hard to install."
"I'm going to take a nap." he said shaking his head. "I'm out of it today, I'm not feeling up to working on the door. I'm not even up to staying awake. I hope I'm not coming down with something." He sulked through the doorway, towards his room.
"I would hate to leave my room hanging open like that." the doctor said.
"Me too..." Alica agreed.
"With the type of people who live in this complex there's no knowing what might end up missing."
"I'd like to see someone try to steal something from me." Long grumbled. "In the mood I'm in right now they'd be dead before they could blink." His point made, he walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. Alica wanted to warn him that if he killed anyone important Van might kill his family, but she didn't want to bother him and risk incurring his wrath.
"Well, he's got a point." the doctor agreed.
"Dr. Goldberg, if I went to go and get the things necessary to put a new door on there, would you help me put it up?" Alica asked.
"Certainly, it's the least I can do. And please, call me Stephen."
"Is there any way you could wait here and watch his room untill I get back."
"I supposed I could... why do you want to do this for him anyway?"
"He's the closest thing to a friend I have here, and I was a little harsh on him earlier. I think this will make up for it." Stephen nodded and posted himself by the doorway while Alica went off to the hardware store. He stood there in the same spot for a while, untill he got a bit uncomfortable and shifted around a bit. A single person walked by, paying him no attention untill he saw the busted door lying on the ground, a few smaller fragments scattered out into the hall. One small piece still clung to the frame, but most of the door laid on the floor in the middle of the doorway. The man stopped to wonder at it for only a moment and then kept on walking.
Soon enough Stephen decided that there was no point in standing around outside of the place when he could simply go in and sit down on the couch, or maybe that comfortable looking recliner. Afterall we are going to fix his door for him, so he shouldn't mind showing me a bit of hospitality, right? He wandered into the room, glancing about and noticing how barren it was. It was not much different from the rest of the building really. Clean to the point of sterility, but barren of anything that would even suggest any kind of personal touch. Don't see how you could live in such a place. He thought, sitting down on the recliner.
He relaxed for awhile, keeping his eyes on the door. It wasn't hard to do since the chair was facing halfway towards the door in the first place. He waited and waited for what seemed like several hours. In that time only a few people walked by, most of them simply looked at the broken door for a moment and then moved on. It seemed as if broken down doors were indeed a common occurance at Tylon. Then he checked the clock and realized it hadn't been much more than one hour. Hopefully Alica will be back soon, he thought, beginning to get bored.
After another few minutes he heard some stirring from Long's room. A minute more and he heard the door open, and wondered if he ought to get out of the man's dorm. Long emerged from his room looking like a mess. His hair was messed up from all the tossing and turning he'd been doing, tangled in places and sticking up out of his ponytail. There were a few dark circles under his blood-shot eyes, making him look cranky as well as tired. He wore nothing over his chest, a pair of pajama bottoms covering the rest. He let out a loud yawn and then realized that there was company in the room.
"Hey... What are you doing in here?"
"Uh... I was just watching your room while you were sleeping."
"I don't need anyone to watch my room."
"Well... Alica asked me to."
"Hm... why would she do that?"
"I think she was going to get you another door, and she wanted to make sure nothing happened while she was gone."
"Yeah, that sounds like her." He stumbled over to the kitcken, filled a teapot with water and set it on the burner. Then he got a box of tea down from one shelf before walking back into the front room. "You're in my chair."
"Oh?" the doctor exclaimed, looking down at the recliner he was sitting in.
"Get out of my chair."
"Sorry about that." He quickly got up and moved to the couch. Long reclaimed his seat, adjusting the cushions back to the way they were before he sat down and then tilting it back into his favorite position. Stephen thought it was odd how he could be so possessive of such a thing. They sat in a nervous silence untill the teapot started to whistle. Then Long got up and poured himself a cup, steeping the tea bag in it for a few minutes and then adding a little sugar. Once it was done he walked back over to his seat and sipped at it idly, as though waiting for something. "So... uh... did you have a nice rest?" the doctor asked graciously.
"No."
"What a shame." They sat around for a few more minutes, and in the silence Stephen began to feel a bit more anxious. He didn't really expect the man would turn on him, not in his current condition. However he had to admit he was still afraid he would accidentally incurr his anger somehow, like by sitting in the wrong chair as he'd just done. "So, you sound like you might be coming down with some kind of cold. Maybe it would do you good to get a bit more rest."
"My nose is getting plugged up." #318 admitted, sniffling a bit. "But the tea helps."
"Yes, the vapors are good for soothing sore nasal passages." the doctor agreed.
"Yes, tea is good." Long replied wearilly.
"So there you are." Alica said, peeking through the doorway. "What are you doing in there Stephen?"
"I just thought I would sit down for a bit." he defended. "Although it seems I sat down in the wrong place." She looked a bit confused. "I sat in his chair." he explained.
"No one sits in my chair." the top assassin pointed out. "It's my chair."
"Long..." Alica groaned, relalizing he must have scared her new friend. "You're awfully cranky aren't you? Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I think I will in a minute." he agreed. "I'm tired... I wasn't able to sleep earlier, but maybe now will be different."
"Do you think you'll still be able to complete your mission tonight? If you like I could tell Van-"
"I'll work, cold or no cold." he interrupted. "It's not going to hurt my targets to catch a little virus before they die."
"Are you serious?" Stephen asked, unable to understand how someone could talk about killing so lightly. #318 glared at him for a moment, set his half-finished cup of tea down on the coffe table, and them stomped back into his room.
"Isn't he just one big @#$!ing ray of sunshine today?" Alica asked, sarcastically.
"Sure is." the doctor agreed.
"Well, we're going to have to leave the room for a moment, I need a little help getting the door up here."
"I will certainly help you... why don't you go on down to your car and I'll meet you there?"
"Uh, alright." she reluctantly agreed, wondering what he was up to. She went down into the parking lot to unload the door from the back of her car. It was a black Jeep Wranger, her favorite kind. Not the type of car usually preferred for assassins, but her style nevertheless. She could use it to go down all kinds of terrain that cops cars couldn't handle, and as she knew the city well it provided her with a decent escape every time. She leaned the door against one side and pulled a plastic shopping bag full of the rest of the equipment out of the car. Then she stood there for a minute, wondering what was keeping her new friend.
He appeared out of the elevator momentarilly and helped her carry the door into the elevator. She supposed she could have done it herself, it wasn't a terribly heavy door, but it would have been awkward and she much preffered his help. Once they got up to the right floor they carried it over to Long's doorway. Alica stared at something that hadn't been there a moment ago, a note held floating in the doorway. It was held up by a piece of tape that was strug across the sides of the door frame. 'This is the room of #318, Tylon's most feared assassin. Enter here while he's sleeping and you'll end up just like this door.' the note read. Stephen snickered at her reaction to the note.
"You did that?" she assumed. "How funny! I have half a mind to leave it there untill he wakes up... but no. I guess we'd better get to work on the door." He nodded in agreement as she took the note down and stuck it to the wall. "The first thing we'll need to do is un-screw these warped hinges." she stated. "Good thing I bought a screw driver, I don't usually need one myself... Would you do the honors, Stephen?" she asked, fishing a normal black-handled phillips screwdriver out of the bag and handing it to him.
"Certainly." he replied, taking it, kneeling down by the trashed doorway and putting it to use. Alica dumped the remaining contents of the bag onto the floor, and then opened up the door knob and lock set, reading the instructions carefully.
"Looks like I'll need a screw driver too..." Without any more prompting at all Stephen got up from his work and went over to get another screwdriver out of his dorm.
"I always keep one around just in case." he explained. He finished pulling the twisted hinges off the door frame while she figured out the directions and put the door knob on the door. Once he was done he helped her with the lock, and then they cleared the remains of the old door aside and stood the new one up in it's place. Alica held it there while Stephen carefully screwed all the hinges into place, and then they turned the knob and opened and closed it a few times, testing it out. Alica even tried locking it, testing the keys. It all seemed to work just fine.
"Alright! Looks like we're finished." she declared, smiling. "We make a great team don't we!?!"
"For removing busted doors and installing new ones there's no better pair." he agreed, playfully. "But I think we'd probably better carry the old door down to the dumpster now." He grabbed the broken door and held it at his waist while Alica picked up the mutilated old hinges and a few splintered door pieces lying about. They went downstairs and then out to the dumpster in the back of the building, throwing them into it. Then they returned to the door and surveyed their work one more time.
"It just needs one little finishing touch." Stephen said, chuckling as he removed the note from the wall and walked back into his dorm. Alica stood patiently outside Long's new door with a smile on her face. She jingled the keys around in her hand as she waited, reminded that she would have to give them to Long when he woke up. She considered leaving them inside, but if she did that she couldn't lock the door. If she did lock the door he could still get out, but she would have to keep the keys untill he woke up. She decided that this was the best option and locked the door.
Stephen came back in a minute with an new note and taped it to the door, a huge grin across his face. This note read, 'This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin. Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.' Alica snickered at the note and smiled at Stephen.
"You know you're got a great sense of humor, right?"
"Well... I certainly hope he thinks so. Wouldn't want to get him angry again."
"Aw, he was just grumpy earlier, I'm sure he'll feel better when he gets up. In fact, I think he'll like this note once he sees it."
"I hope so." Stephen said, checking his watch. "Well, this has been loads of fun, but I've really got to be getting back to work now. Would you be kind enough to tell me when he wakes up? I've got to see the look on his face when he finds my note."
"Will do." Alica agreed. So Stephen went back into his dorm and Alica into hers.
Long moaned as he got out of bed for the second time that day. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and then stretched out his arms and stiffened back muscles before sitting up and yawning. He reached over to the top of the nightstand next to his bed and grabbed his glasses, put them on, and then stumbled out of bed. He still felt quite a bit drowsy, but thankfully his headache was finally gone. His nose was very stuffed up, but he expected as much to happen while he was sleeping. He pulled a tissue out of the box on his nightstand and blew his nose, throwing the tissue into a little trash can on the other side of his bed. Then he got up, walked to the door, and looked out into his main room.
He was relieved to find that he was finally alone. Ah good, no one to stare at me while I'm looking like $#!@ and make fun of how I say things, he thought. And most of all, no one sitting in my chair! He walked into the kitchen, made himself another cup of coffe, and then sat down in his recliner to drink it. As he glanced around the room once more he noticed that the half-finished cup from hours earlier was still sitting there. And then he noticed something else, he had a door. Didn't I break that down earlier? he wondered. Then he realized that it wasn't the same door, but a completely new one. He set his cup down on the coffe table, next to the other one and went over to examine the door.
It was definately different. The last one had been had been white, just like the walls and all the other doors down the hall. This one was a deeply varnished brown, the true wood graining shown through the dark laquer. He ran one hand over it, exploring the well-carved sections and the smooth surface. It was a nice design, and he decided that he liked it. In fact this door was much more to his liking than the first door. He was almost glad he broke it down. Alica did this. he remembered. He had hardly been paying attention at the time, but the doctor had said something about her getting him another door, hadn't he? Not only had she goten it, but she must have set it up as well. He couldn't even begin to imagine why someone would do something so nice for him. He could feel his eyes tearing up at the corners, and then he started to sniffle a bit. He quickly went back into his bedroom and blew his nose again, stuffing a handfull of paper tissues into his pockets. Then he realized that he was still wearing his pajamas. I can't go out to thank her wearing this, he realized. So he took the tissues back out and changed into some of his regular clothes, a formal tailed shirt and some pants, tied together with a belt around the waist. He even remembered to put his wrist and ankle weights back on since he knew he would be working that night. Then he walked out into the hall and knocked on Alica's door. She came to open it quickly, and as soon as he saw her he threw his arms around her and hugged her close.
"Oh... hi Long." she muttered, engulfed in his warm chest.
"T-thank you Alica." he mumbled, sniffling a bit as more tears came to his eyes.
"Long, are you okay? What happened?"
"You fixed my door, didn't you?" he asked, pulling back to look her in the face.
"Oh, yes. But I don't see why you're so emotional about it, it was just a door."
"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me." he explained, wiping the moisture from his eyes and sniffling a bit more.
"Wow, you must have been really neglected as a child." They both burst into laughter, untill Long had to stop and pull a tissue out of his pocket and blow his nose again.
"You didn't have to you know. I never even asked you to..."
"Oh, it's alright. I could see that the door needed fixing and you were obviously too tired to do it. What are friends for anyway?"
"That's what you are Alica, you're my best friend." he hugged her again.
"Aw, thank you Long." she replied, hugging him back, and patting him on the back. Truthfully she was starting to feel a bit embarassed for him. Afterall he wasn't usually this emotional, it seemed so unlike him. I wonder if it's because of this cold he's getting? she thought. Finally they separated and she handed him the keys to his new door. "Did you see the note Stephen put up for you?"
"Hm? What note?"
"I guess not, it is on the other side of the door after all." He walked back towards his door, but she grabbed his hand before he could get very far. "Wait, I'm sure Stephen will want to see this..." she went and knocked on his door, which he answered swiftly. "Hey, Stephen, he's going to go read the note you left on his door now, didn't you want to watch?"
"Oh..." he said, as though he had forgotten, he glanced back into his room, and then at his watch. "Well, I did want to, but I'm in the middle of some very important research right now."
"Aw, come on, it'll only take a second!"
"Ughh... Ahhhh... Ahhhhhhh... AHH-CHOOO!!!" Long sneezed, burying his nose in a handfull of tissue.
"My goodness, you are getting a cold, aren't you?" he asked. Long sniffled and blew his nose a few times, unable to comment.
"I would definately say so." Alica agreed.
"I never should have killed those people from the AMA." he mumbled once he had finally cleared his nose again. "Who knows what kind of infection they gave me!"
"There now, you see what you get for killing people?" Stephen lectured. Long glared at him angrilly but made no comment.
"Now that's not a nice thing to say Stephen, besides Long and I are unwilling assassins, you know? Neither of use actually wants to kill, Tylon forces us to."
"Oh..." he commented, wondering how someone could be forced to commit multiple acts of murder against their own will.
"Anyway, why don't you two behave like good little boys and we'll all go walk over to Long's door and look at the silly little note Stephen left him, alright?" The two men nodded, helpless to resist her commands and walked back over to Long's door to look at the note.
"'This is the dorm of #318, Tylon's top assassin.'" Singh Long read proudly. "'Try to break into this room and you will not escape with your life.' Sounds alot like something I would say too. He he heh..." he chuckled at it for a minutes and then turned to Stephen. "You wrote this?"
"Y-yes." he replied, trying and failing miserably to hide his anxiety over the matter.
"I like it... I like it very much. Thank you."
"Oh... uh... w-well it was... no problem." he replied. Alica patted him on the back, her way of telling him there was nothing to worry about.