Code: Decision
I swing the candlestick at the vent again. It's been almost two whole days since I last saw Vicious' tired face on the monitor, and I hope with all my might that he has some sort of plan. They threw me in a containment room with Alisa, the woman who was with Shin in my apartment. I don't know why she is in here, but I bet she screwed up and someone got mad. A hundred woolongs says it was Julia, that bitch; she killed Shin.
Shin…it wasn't fair he had to die, it just wasn't. He was only trying to protect Jet and I; Julia will pay for Shin's death. I swing the candlestick at the airvent again, only to feel a pair of sepia eyes on my back. I sneer; she hasn't helped me try to escape since I woke up a few hours ago. After the transmission with Vicious, Daemon roughly knocked me unconscious and I woke up in this cell type bedroom.
Talk about a nice host.
"What the fuck are you looking at?!" I yelled loudly as the woman across the room from me scowled and rolled her eyes. I put down the brass candle stick to my side and scorn at her, at least I am trying to escape; she is just sitting on that bench looking all sad and despondent. Cry me a river! I want to live and get out of this!
"Nothing…but you know it's useless, not even Vicious or Jet could penetrate this fortress." I narrow my eyes, wow, isn't she little miss optimist?! Well, actually I'm glad she isn't an optimist; those people bother the hell out of me. I tighten my grip on my dented candlestick and choke down a lump in my throat as I envision Vicious being shot down outside of the syndicate compound, right as we actually admitted to loving each other.
I am NOT about to let that happen.
"Yeah, I know they can't do it ALONE; that is why I'm trying to help them by escaping! You could help instead of just sitting on your self-pitying ass!" I raise the brass candlestick and arc it around my back like a baseball bat. The candlestick is the only weapon I could find, so it will have to do. With another mighty swing, I try to dislodge a vent, I've dented the thing up, but it hasn't come loose yet. Damn, they make these vents good.
"What's the use anyway, I'm totally broke; I don't have the money to bribe Rhent out of jail. And even if we escape I only know the codes for one of the doors anyway." I whip around to face her. My eyes flash emerald, she actually knows some codes?! I nearly drop my candlestick, why didn't she tell me that before?
"Which door?! Tell me!" I take a step to her, even if that door doesn't help much, maybe we can use the same code and it will work in another door. It's worth a shot. I brush my violet locks behind my ears, thinking of where to go after we get out of this containment room.
"The zipcraft bunker, but that is one the Southern Wing, and we are on the Eastern Wing, we'd have to go by dozens of guys." Alisa somberly noted. I growled to myself. Think Valentine think!
The zipcraft bunker, we need some sort of distraction to get us there. But first, we need to get out of here. If only Ed was with me, then we would be out of here in no time. All she'd have to do is type with her little Tomato and poof we are out. Just then, the alarms went off and all the doors opened. Wow, talk about mysteriously on queue…
Ha, I knew Ed would come through!
"Security override in hallways 6, 8, 9a and 10; someone hacked into our system! Quickly seal all the doors manually!" Before the guard could close our door, I whack him upside the head with my weapon of choice, candlestick, and drag Alisa down the hallway.
"This way Alisa to the right!" My eyes go wide; I realize that the halls are heavily guarded. We are about face to face with seven guards, armed with fully automatic guns, safeties clicked. I forgot how much I hated stupid syndicate people. I take a hesitant step back, and Alisa's side brushes up against a box protruding from the wall.
"Oh shit!" Just when I was about to run and duck, Alisa to the left of me, punches through some glass and the fire alarm went off. Then I saw her take something from the glass, a high powered hose.
"Take this!" She turned on the fire hose and the disoriented Syndicate lackeys got blasted into each other, letting me get the upper hand in personally kicking their ass.
Whack, wham, whip, bang, kick, punch, thwack, I subdued the guys with some quick easy blows. It really wasn't fair; the odds were so not in their favor. I smirk and turn to Alisa who smiled, as if remember what it felt like to take control of a situation and overcome it.
"Nice, but we need to hurry up to get the bunker door open in time! If we wait too long, they will get reorganized and your friends won't make it!" I picked up a pistol, made sure it had ammo, and followed Alisa down the blinking red corridor. 'Vicious better be ok, or I will personally wring Daemon's neck myself!
"Here it is, Faye, the bunker." I smiled in realization that my RedTail was in fact securely kept right in this very bunker. After all that has happened to the RedTail, including it exploding all those months ago in a poor diversion technique. No need to be reminiscing right now, I need to get the hangar open! I look into the immense room, cluttered with zip crafts of all sizes, but mostly with the kind of zip crafts that Shin owned. Before I could run to my Red Tail and blast my way out, I hear an all too familiar click.
'Click' Oh shit, did I miss a guard? No problem it's not like it's….I whip around to see the Daemon himself, holding Alisa as a shield with his gun.
"I do not think you will be going anywhere Valentine." Daemon hisses as the barrel of his gun presses effortlessly farther into Alisa's temple. She was visibly struggling against her captor, but he seemed oblivious. He is tough, like Vincent tough, like Spike tough….I just pray to whatever god there is that he isn't Vicious tough.
"We will see about that Daemon, you bastard snake!" I hold out my own gun, a deep snarl stains my features as I click my safety and aim at his flaming, grinning face. His deep set black eyes reflect back at me like a dark mirror. He apparently has one thing in mind, getting what he wants, at any cost.
"Sorry, but in order for this plan to work, we unfortunately need you…alive….So if could just put your gun down so I can be on my way…" Daemon cooed as if trying to convince a three year old to eat vegetables. Alisa's face was sketched in complete fear and I felt my hand on my gun begin to shake. I put my gun to my side; I don't have too much of a choice. My emerald eyes flash.
"What is your fucking plan anyway?! What is going on here!!" I scream at him, his small smile shows his teeth, which I swear have two fangs. He utters a small chuckle and Alisa utters a small gasp.
"My plan is to be the greatest. And if obtaining that greatness means helping take down a silver-haired has-been and his little friends as well, then so be it." Daemon's icy voice rang across the hangar like an eerie requiem. I felt my blood boil; this is nothing but some game to him, like some stupid chess game!
"You bastard, the only thing you will be great at is dying right here in this very compound once I'm through with you!!" I screamed at him, he loosened his grip on Alisa slightly; it looks like she will be alright. His black eyes narrow at mine like daggers.
"If I die, I won't be going alone. But don't worry; I won't be dying any time soon, not by that washed up Vicious, and especially not by you." Daemon gave a crooked smirk as he pulled the trigger. The only thing I could think of doing was pulling my eyes away as Alisa's bloody body fell heavily to the ground in a crimson heap. He killed her, that son of a fucking bitch killed her, just to prove a point!
"Faye, you must realize, that it is impossible for me to loose." His words echoed in my ears as my stomach turned over. I ironically realized that the only reason why I am alive right now is because of Julia. I felt my weighted legs drag me nauseously towards the exit. There is nothing I can do now, but that does not mean that my chance won't come soon.
(POV change)
"Where are we going again?" Andy drawls in the back seat, I could tell that Vicious' thin layer of patience is already gone as the silver haired man turns icily back to the annoying spike-look like. It really is amazing how much Spike and Andy looked alike, and acted alike. I inwardly sigh, that is probably why Vicious is so pissed off.
"Tharsis. Your father wants you to come with us so you can actually do something with your time." Vicious hisses back at the laid-back Andy who just grins and props his feet up on the console between Vicious and I.
"You know my father? Do I know you?!" Vicious clenches his fist, obviously Vicious has met him before, and this dense guy can't remember.
"Yes you do, I am Vicious, the one who attacked you in Faye's apartment…" I chuckle a little and Vicious just glares, the questions have been shooting back and forth between them since we tracked him down in Phoenix. My thoughts drift to Faye though, Ed said she hacked into the security system, but I don't know if Vicious' plan to 'tip them off that we are coming' is such a good idea. I mean, won't that give them time too beef up their security?
"You don't say. By the look on your face I'd say I whooped you pretty bad. I'm Andy the samurai chef by the way." My teal eyes widen that he fact that Andy could have bested Vicious in anything, so I decide to help Andy in torturing Vicious.
"You beat Vicious in a battle Andy?! How did you do it?!" I actually hear Vicious snarl from the passenger seat, not taking a liking to the conversation any.
"Well, you know, I am a samurai. I just used my superior skills of sword-wielding and my intellect to find his weaknesses and use them to my advantage. Why I just…did some—" Andy arrogantly adds, while Vicious fumes in the passenger seat, his eyes narrowed into slits, probably thinking of the best way to kill Andy and make it look like an accident. I would have listened more, but I notice that the Red Dragon Syndicate complex is in sight.
"Yo Vicious, this plan of yours better work…" Vicious turns to me, his silver eyes gleaming with an eerie sensation. Well, at least Vicious looks ready. Andy notices and finally shuts up. Immediately a person's face is in clear view on the communicator.
"State your business and your clearance code." The man said in a bored, voice, expecting the same response, business, then the code. Vicious took the communicator from the ship's panel and spoke into it with a cold voice. I could just tell that the guy on the other line was going to shit his pants.
"Shin and I have come to take over this pathetic excuse for a syndicate, and if you think I need a clearance code to get into a syndicate I used to belong to, you are dead wrong." The man on the other line's mouth gapes at the sight. Everyone knows whoVicious is, and they know who I am too. Vicious is a legend, a legend who is supposed to be dead.
"So, what are you going to do?" Vicious asks in a mocking tone as three other men enter the screen, apparently in disarray, not expecting a house call from two dead guys. Vicious hands the communicator over to me as I land my zipcraft in the middle of the syndicate compound noiselessly.
"You…Shin?! and Vicious here? What do you want?!" The man on the other line stutters out, not really sure of what action to take. I smile, if I were in his shoes I would have shot down the zip craft, but something tells me that they don't have the man power to do that since half of their troops are with Julia and Daemon.
"Well I think Vicious already said that. I am here to become your new leader. Daemon is no longer suitable for a leader. So, I am going to make sure that the Red Dragon's stay a prominent syndicate, but with a price." I smoothly spoke, though my hear must be beating erratically. I have never done this sort of thing before, but by the calm, confident look on Vicious' chiseled features, I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job.
"You are going to create another coup? Are you crazy?! Even if Daemon is a crappy leader, the last coup ended up in almost destroying the syndicate!" I frown; I didn't expect this guy to actually do his homework. I was about to protest, but Vicious calmly interjected.
"The coup didn't destroy the syndicate, it resurrected it. The elders are what almost destroyed the syndicate by killing my father and appointing that fool Mao Yenrai as the leader, which lead to the oh so popular leader, Blade. So, answer this, would you rather have Shin as your leader, or some sociopath who would pave the streets with your blood to boost his reputation and power?" I turn to Vicious' almost slack-jawed. Is it fair that Vicious always seems to know what to say? I watched as the original person who communicated with us, was replaced by the leading elite.
"What is your price Shin Tashjian and Vicious Inverno?" The tall, red headed elite asks. His cold eyes dart between Vicious and I warily. I push my black hair back with my fingers and smirk a little. They were finally cooperating its good that all these Syndicate lackeys are newbies. I inwardly sigh, the syndicate ain't what it used to be.
"Fifteen Zip crafts, and fifteen volunteers to fly them." I calmly slide. The man on the other end begins to deliberate with the others quietly; Vicious next to me just stares with his sliver eyes at the screen. I look back to Andy and sweat drop. He is asleep. The stupid bastard!
"These zip crafts are to attack the Black Falcon Syndicate complex…am I not correct?" The red head elite member asks lowly.
"Yes, They stole something that belongs to Vicious, and he would like it back. The only way is through Julia and Daemon." I paused "But, we could just leave Daemon alive, and he could remain your leader, dragging the name of the Red Dragons through the mud of Tharsis." I finish my speech. I am really not used to talking like this. This is more like Vicious' line of work, but who am I to complain? I get to be a head of a Syndicate….
But…What if that isn't what it's cracked up to be? Am I just being a hypocrite? I have been wanting to get away from the Syndicate my whole life, and here I am, voluntarily becoming the leader! I know that the syndicate was Lin's and my home for our entire lives…and becoming the leader of a Syndicate would be a great honor, not to mention a great pay…but…The syndicate is evil isn't it?
"I see...well I suppose we could round up a few volunteers…but are you ready to do what you say you are going to do? Are you actually going to kill Daemon, kill Julia, and lead this Syndicate perfectly?" I felt a lump in my throat. This is my decision to make, all my life it seems like my life has been going in one direction this entire time, and now…now I finally have a fork in the road. I could end it here, and slip away, leaving Vicious, Jet, Ed, Andy and Faye out to dry. Or I could actually go along with Vicious' insane plan, and see where the wind blows me.
"I shall be your leader, and Vicious shall help me in murdering Daemon and Julia." Vicious grinned, his silver eyes flashing. He knew that I had just made my final decision, and that it wasn't an easy one. The tall red head turned to three other elites, one other red headed woman, who reminded me of Venice back at the Silver Circle Clinic, and a short black haired man with a goatee.
"Very well then Shin Tashjian, Vicious Inverno, good luck in your plan. We will supply the pilots and ships, but the rest is up to you." The red headed man smiled. Vicious shifted in his seat.
"They call me Vicious for a reason." Vicious stated with a titanium precision that seemed to pierce the strongest steel.
"So I have heard." Right as the red-heads face disappeared from the screen; the hangar door opened and out flew fifteen zip crafts like bats against the harsh night. I started my zip craft back up, and I began to feel my adrenaline rush through my veins like a tidal surge. I accelerated west, towards the Black Falcon compound. I never would have thought that it would end this way. That I would be fighting along side Vicious of all people. I was brought up to fear him, but now I can't seem to hate him, much less fear him. Of course Vicious is intimidating and not to be fucked with, but so was Spike. It is so very odd.
"Vicious, when we were in the syndicate did you ever feel like you were living in Spike's shadow?" I ask him before I even had the inkling of what was coming out of my mouth. Shit! I should really think about what I say before I say it!
"Me? No. People favored Spike and often compared me to him, but we were partners. And partners are equal; one is never in the other's shadow. Though, that was a long time ago, and I no longer consider Spike a friend." I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding. Vicious is certainly a strange individual; I still don't know if I like him.
-in my sweet serenity-
AN: yes I am alive. I am juggling three fics and I am so sorry that this came out so late…my bad. Anyway. I hope you liked this chappy, and for reference, Shin is alive, but Julia, Daemon, and Faye think he is dead. So…there…clarification!
Well, I have to go back to writing. I hope you liked this chappy!!!!!
btw i will be gone for the next two weeks, but i will update soon after that dont worry!
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