Daddy's Girls: Chapter 20
Author's Notes: The suspense has built up so far, but the climatic ending is just beginning! Will the MASK team arrive in time to rescue Buddy and the girls from the evil clutches of VENOM? Keep reading and reviewing!
Under the stunned looks of both Jess and Buddy, Annie darted out the open door without saying anything and quickly disappeared down the hallway without looking back. Part of her regretted her harsh words to her best friend, and part of her didn't really care at this point. She let the matter drop for the moment and tried to concentrate on how to find Roxy and get her the hell out of here. She backtracked along the path she had memorized from Mayhem's office, hoping that at the very least, there might be some important information inside. Annie froze at the sound of footsteps, and then quickly dove into a darkened corridor as two Contra World soldiers passed right by her."Just came from the infirmary," commented the first guard, "almost feel sorry for that little girl they got infected…"
"Well, you ain't gonna be sorry when the dough starts rollin' in," replied the second guard. "Besides, I'd watch what you say 'bout that girl…I hear she's real close with the boss' son."
Annie pondered their words carefully as she waited for the coast to clear. It almost sounds like Roxy sold us out again, but then why would they infect her too? It doesn't make any sense, but then again, nothing about her ever does. Annie sighed deeply. Like this wasn't going to be hard enough…
She took one last glance around the corner to be safe and took off in the direction the guards had come from, hoping the infirmary wasn't that far into the compound. She noticed that the saturation of guards lessened in this area, there were only a few scattered here and there. Maybe I'm getting close…they probably figure that anyone who is that sick isn't worth worrying about… Annie turned one last corner and finally saw her objective. The main doors of the hospital ward were thankfully already open so she darted inside and looked around carefully for any sign of Roxanne. At the same moment that she caught sight of Roxy lying on a bed in the far corner, she heard more footfalls echoing outside the infirmary. She barely had enough time to scramble to her knees and squeeze under an empty bed before she saw Sly Rax enter the room.
If he sees me, I'm dead. Oh shit…"How you holding up kid?" Rax asked as he hovered over a barely awake Roxanne.
"I…I have had be…better days." She weakly stuttered out.
"Yeah I know," He calmly replied pulling up a chair, "Well Dr. Rax is here to patch you up."
Roxanne made an attempt to laugh at his remark, but the laugh came out more like a cringe of pain.
"Easy now, we don't want to strain yourself further," he remarked as he grabbed her left hand to observe the gash. "That doesn't look good. You shouldn't of cut it so deep."
Even thought Annie remain hidden she found herself craving to take a peek. What is he talking about? Is she infected or did she stab herself?
"I'll be sure to talk to Annie Oakley about the proper procedures if I ever see her again." Roxanne jokingly replied.
Oh now she's making fun of me on purpose! Annie's nose wrinkled slightly as her nerves were pricked, but then a flash of worry crossed her face. I wonder if she can see me?
"Alright Roxy. I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to hurt like hell."
"It's not like I'm not feeling that right now," She weakly grumbled out.
"I can't give you anything for the pain, because any sort of sedative is gonna speed up the virus reaction."
"Isn't that peachy…can't we just do this tomorrow? Cause if I don't make it. It's not like its gonna matter."
The look on Rax's face clearly told her 'no.' Roxanne turned her head as Rax put on surgical gloves and started to sew up the wound.
All Annie could hear was Roxanne crying as thought she was a 6 year old screaming bloody murder. She covered her ears as it brought back the horrors she had endured in Venice. It's hard to forget Roxy being taken away and the fear of following her. Her screams were so horrific that she nearly wanted to pass out. This is different Annie get a hold of yourself. Before she knew it the screaming and crying had stop.
Rax wrapped her hand up with a bandage and threw his gloves away. "All over with," He grabbed a tissue and wiped up her tears. "I'd give ya lollypop for being brave, but we got to save those for Dagger."
This time she didn't find comfort in his humor. Roxanne clenched her eyes shut, as she felt her entire body being stabbed from the inside.
"I swear I wasn't for this idea," he remarked watching her body tremor through another round of pain, " but somebody had to do it. I promise you Roxy the first chance I get I'll grab that antidote. I'm not gonna see my girl suffer like this."
"No," She weakly cried out.
"What do you mean no?" Rax spoke as thought he was hurt, "You like suffering? Haven't you forgotten the most important rule I've taught you? Always look out for yourself."
Annie's eyes widen as she heard another set of footsteps entered the room.
"Rax we have a situation developing, we need you." A soldier replied as he saluted Rax.
"Oh for crying out loud, can't you see that I'm busy?"
"It's urgent."
"We're not done with this Roxy. So you better rest up and try to relax. I'll check in on you later." Rax gave her a light pat on the shoulder and exited the room with the soldier.
The moment the two men left the room Annie crawled out of from under the bed. She stood there shaking her head, as she viewed the pathetic sight of Roxanne. "What did you sell out this time Roxy?"
She turned her head towards the voice, "Vanessa?"
"Oh now you've really insulted me." She moved closer and hovered directly over Roxanne, so she could get a good look at the anger expressed all over her face.
"Oh…it's you Annie. You escaped? Or am I really losing it?"
"I'd say both options. You want to tell me what the heck is going on?"
"I don't see what your…your bitching about uhhh…. thought you of all people would be happy. I'm laying here dying and he's alive. He is alive right?"
"Yes…Buddy is weak, but alive. Him and Jess should be finding away out. That's exactly what we should be doing.
Roxanne turned her head away from Annie as thought she was disgusted with herself, "I'm not going."
"Like hell you aren't! I don't care if I have to drag you out of here. I told you that we're all going to leave together," Annie made an attempt to force Roxanne out of bed, but quickly realized she was dead weight.
"I'm infected Annie…I can't go anywhere until Jon gives me that antidote."
Annie hit the bed feeling like things just got more complicated, "Why…why did he infect you? I thought you were friends with that scum."
"You…would…never…" Her voice trembled and tears began to fall down her face, "understand. Now get out of here before you…" She curled up into a ball and started crying out in pain.
Annie felt an overwhelming urge to argue with her, but she wasn't willing to kick her while she was down. Even if the thought amused her.
"Please Annie leave me alone…escape."
"That ain't gonna happen," Annie proudly remarked, "I'll be back….I promise you that. And I'll have your antidote." Before Roxy could utter another word, Annie left her bedside on her new quest.
"We need to go back," Buddy insisted to Jess.
"What exactly do you think you can do Buddy? You can barely walk with out running into the wall." Jess responded with sarcasm.
The three of them had only been separated for a few minutes and already Annie's point was made perfectly clear to Buddy. No matter how many times he insisted to Jess he was fine, his body would say otherwise. His muscles felt weak and the occasional dizzy spell would hit him. If it wasn't for his arm around Jess's shoulder giving him support, he'd probably crash and burn on the floor. "I know Jess. I'm worried."
"So am I," She admitted, "but I believe in Annie and your just going to have to do the same. You know something not right."
"Yeah I know," Buddy looked around, "It's too quite…it's like nobody's around."
"You'd think somebody would have realized we're missing by now."
"Let's still take it slow…just for a precaution. If we jump a head of ourselves, we could run into trouble."
Neither Buddy nor Jess knew the exact time of day or how long they had been on their way, but from the position of the descending sun, Buddy figured it was roughly an hour now. And Jess hadn't stopped for one second nor had she shifted his weight to the other shoulder.
"Gotta say, sweetie," Buddy said weakly, "you're much stronger than you look."
"Why thank you...you're much heavier than you look. As soon as we're home, I'll convince Sunny and Julio to put you on a diet."
"It's not fat, it's all muscle!" Buddy protested with a wink.
Jess snorted. "Yeah, right, and the pope is a Buddhist." Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. "You hear anything?"
Frowning, Buddy concentrated on the sounds around them. "If it means something sounding much like vehicles approaching our position… then the answer is yes."
Jess could feel her heart beat faster. If those vehicles were VENOM's, they were as good as dead. She knew she couldn't run with Buddy's additional weight, but leaving him was not an option. Knowing she had no time to hide, Jess lead Buddy to some bushes and gently let him down.
"You stay here, I'll be right back."
"Jess, what are you... Jess!"
Ignoring Buddy, Jess stepped back into the middle of the road and broke off the heels of her boots for a better stance… and for two sharp weapons. Holding them just like Jacques and Gloria had told her, she prepared for the arrival of the vehicles… and dropped them the moment a familiar orange jeep, a similarly colored pick-up, and a white Lotus stopped in front of her. Jess almost started crying when Dusty climbed out of Gator's driver's seat.
"Hey Miss, are you…" He broke off as he noticed Buddy stumbling out of the brushes half naked. "YOU!"
"Dusty..." Jess tried to intervene, but Dusty didn't listen. He stormed towards Buddy, grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him violently. "WHERE IS SHE? WHERE'S MY LITTLE GIRL?"
Apparently the worry in Dusty's voice startled Jess for a moment. She had never thought that her father would be so worried about her.
"Leave him alone, please!" she yelled.
"Miss, I appreciate your concern for my friend's well-being and I thank you for your help, but stay out of this!" Turning his attentions back to Buddy, Dusty continued shaking him. "SPEAK UP! WHERE… IS… JESSIE??"
"Right here, Daddy," Jess yelled and grabbed his arm. "Stop shaking Buddy, he's sick." She looked at Dusty with tears in her eyes. For a second, MASK's resident cowboy was totally stunned as the information slowly sank in.
"J-Jessie?" He stammered and grabbed her in a bear hug, a few tears running over his cheeks. Jess clung onto his neck for dear life. "Are you alright?" he whispered into the hair, gently stroking the back of her head.
"Yes, but Buddy needs help."
"Already on it," Hondo said from his position next to Buddy, who was vomiting his insides out.
With a relieved sigh, Dusty let go of his daughter. It was only then that he realized what little clothing she wore.
"Wha-wha-what are you wearing??"
"Clothes?" Jess didn't try to pretend being innocent. She just watched her father's lips moving, but never heard a sound coming out between them. While Dusty stared in shock at Jess, Gloria quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and walked over to them.
"Are you okay, Jess?" she asked her niece, trying to maintain a calm, neutral tone.
"Yeah, but Buddy needs a doctor and Annie and Roxy are in big trouble. We gotta go and help them, fast."
"Okay, Hondo, you take Jess and Buddy back to Boulderhill."
"No," Jess protested. "I'm coming with you."
Hondo, supporting Buddy now, stepped in. "Forget about that, missy you're coming home with us."
"I can't leave Annie and Roxy. Do you know how to get into that building?" No answer. "Thought so. Buddy and I escaped through a passageway we could use to enter the building without being noticed. But I have to show you the way."
Hondo and Gloria exchanged glances, as thought they were debating the idea, but idea was quickly forgotten once Rhino showed up with Firefly and Thunderhawk circling overhead. Alex poked his head out the window, "What's the hold up gang?"
"We manage to come across two of our missing persons," Hondo responded pointing Jess and Buddy out to him.
"Ah that's wonderful…Matt will be glad to hear that…where are the other two girls?"
"Still inside," Jess eagerly jumped in, "I know how to get in! We have to hurry there's no telling what sort of trouble their in."
"You just got out of that place and your rather eager to get back in."
"You know it, anything to help a friend out."
Alex goes silent as he has a conversation over the radio, then looks directly at Jess, "Alight you can come as long as your stay in Rhino's computer room."
"But I need to show you guys where…"
"You can communicate to us over the radio my dear, the last thing we want to do is put you in any more danger. It's either that or you can head back to base. That clear?"
"As cocoa. Come on, let's go."
While Hondo helped Buddy to Firecracker, Gloria and Jess walked to Rhino and Shark, as they remembered something. Quickly, Gloria strode back to where Dusty was still standing shell-shocked, staring into nothingness. She grabbed him by the elbow.
"Come on, Dus… we got a job to do." Still a bit stunned, Dusty followed his ex-partner to the cars.
"Did you see how much cleavage she was showing?"
