Author's Note: Italics signify thought, emphasis or vision.
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Jake and Sara's Apartment
New York, NY
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
morning
"Sara, phone for you," Jake said, handing the receiver to her as she walked into the kitchen. "It's Angel."
"Thanks, Jake." She said flatly.
Sara lifted the phone to her ear and greeted her sister.
Jake walked through the apartment to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Hopefully Sara would think he was getting ready for work. She had been acting strangely for awhile, and for the past two days she had been looking at him like she was trying to figure something out. He didn't like spying on her, but if she was hiding something important, it could put his assignment at risk. And to the best of his knowledge, all of this odd behavior had started around the same time her sister had shown up. Jake carefully eased the phone extension from its cradle and lifted it to his ear, covering the mouthpiece.
"... please, Mom, this might be our last chance."
That was definitely Angel's voice, but who was 'Mom'? Did they have the call on three-way? Sara had told him that Angel didn't know where their other family members were. Had she lied to him?
"Lilianna, I told you before that I wasn't ready to tell your father everything. Jake just wouldn't understand; he's very much a skeptic," Sara's voice answered. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
"Please, Mom?" 'Angel' tried again before sighing in resignation. "Fine, then will you at least meet us? There's something else we need to talk to you about, and I don't know how much time we have before Irons comes after us."
He could not have heard any of that right. Angel's name was really Lilianna? How could Sara be her mother? More importantly, how could he possibly be her father? And why would Irons be after her? Jake's head spun, and he sank down to sit on the floor, still careful not to let Sara know he was listening in.
Sara capitulated, "Fine, I'll meet you in half an hour. I still wish you'd let me go after Irons myself."
"No, Mom," Lilianna said firmly. "We'll see you in a little bit."
"Okay," Sara sighed. "Just be careful, Lilianna. Don't forget that Nottingham would be hard pressed to protect you from Irons, no matter how much he loves you."
"I know, Mom. Bye."
Jake waited until he was sure Sara had hung up the phone before replacing the phone he was listening in on. The only possible explanation he could think of was that 'Angel,' or 'Lilianna' or whoever she was, was completely off her rocker and Sara was for some reason playing along with her delusions.
But why? Was Sara's sister (or daughter as the story went) a danger to herself or others? Was Nottingham the only one who could keep her sane? And whatever the problem was, why wasn't Sara confiding in him? They were going to be parents; he was thinking of asking her to marry him. But could he really do that if she lied to him so easily and frequently? Jake had too many questions, and he knew from past experience that Sara was highly unlikely to answer any of them.
Hearing Sara walking down the hall, Jake stood and threw a sweater on over his clothes to hide the fact that he hadn't changed. Sara opened the door and smiled distractedly at him.
"Jake, do you think you could go ahead without me? There's something I need to check on. Just tell the Captain I'm following a lead."
"Sure, Sara."
As soon as he was certain Sara had left, Jake did place a call to the precinct, but he added himself to the 'following a lead' lie. He was going to get to the bottom of things and help Sara, even if she hadn't asked. Whatever else was going on, the involvement of Irons and Nottingham guaranteed a strong element of danger. Jake would never forgive himself, or Sara, if something happened to their child.
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"Do you think she'll listen?" Christian asked his wife, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that the wind had been playing with.
Lilianna smiled and leaned into the touch of his hand, but there was a sadness in her eyes. "I doubt it."
They were waiting for Sara to show up to try to convince her to tell Jake everything before it didn't matter anymore. They had only been there a couple minutes, not wanting to stay in one place too long when Irons could well be after them already. A business center with an open courtyard halfway across the city from Vorschlag was their chosen rendezvous point.
"Will you tell him yourself if she doesn't?"
"No," Lilianna said softly. "Mom was right. Dad is a skeptic, and I'd rather not get locked up in a nut house."
Christian grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. "I'd break you out."
Lilianna laughed.
But the happy sound was cut short by the Witchblade trying to tell her three urgent things at once. Her mother had just pulled up; her father had followed her mother after listening in to their phone conversation; and all of them were in immidiate danger. Christian growled and Lilianna knew his own Witchblade had told him the same things.
Their time was up.
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Sara had just started walking toward Lilianna and Nottingham when the Witchblade warmed her wrist in warning. Looking ahead of her, she saw Lilianna and Nottingham both tense. Sara glanced around, shocked to see Jake walking a couple dozen feet behind her. What was he doing here?
There were a few people walking toward the doors of the business center, but Sara didn't see anyone that she would consider a threat. Sara motioned for Jake to join her, wanting to keep him close in case she needed to protect him.
She flinched when Lilianna yelled, "Duck!"
Christian did as Lilianna had said, and a window behind him shattered. Was someone using a silencer? Sara hadn't heard a thing. Jake swore as he caught up with her, his service weapon drawn and his eyes sweeping the area. The civilians had hit the ground when Lilianna had yelled. Luckily, they were all smart enough to stay down.
Suddenly, the courtyard was swarming with armed men, most of them with their weapons trained on Nottingham and Lilianna, though some of them were aiming at Sara and Jake. And then Sara realized why she hadn't heard a shot fired. Several of the men were armed with tranquilizer guns. They wanted Lilianna and Nottingham alive.
As Sara watched in shock, Lilianna activated her Witchblade armor, several tranquilizer darts leaving their guns with a soft "poof" before pinging off her armor. But Lilianna didn't have full-body armor, and a few of the tranq darts hit their intended target. She sank to the ground still in Witchblade armor, Nottingham easing her fall so she didn't injure herself.
For a second, Sara could have sworn she heard Nottingham roar, and then he was in Witchblade armor. His had full body coverage, and she thought he might have a chance of keeping Lilianna and himself out of harm's way.
"Everyone freeze," Sara finally found her voice to shout, taking out her gun and badge. "NYPD."
One of the men with an automatic weapon actually laughed at her, and Sara realized how ridiculously outnumbered she was. Even if the Witchblade activated, which it hadn't done yet, she didn't know if she could fight her way through all of them without an innocent getting hurt.
Desperate to try and save her daughter, Sara ordered Jake, "Take out your badge!"
"Sara, they didn't react to yours, I don't think one more..."
"Your real badge!" Sara snapped.
Jake looked like someone had punched him for a second, but he did as she said.
"FBI!" Jake yelled, taking out a badge that was a bit more impressive then his New York City detective's shield.
A limo rolled up behind them and Sara's shoulders slumped. Now there was no hope.
"Nottingham," Irons called as he climbed from the back.
The assassin remained crouched over Lilianna's body protectively, pointing a rather large broadsword at the nearest assailant. But his eyes responded to his master's call.
"Let them knock you out, or I can't promise Lilianna will make it through this alive."
Nottingham seemed to crumple at Irons' threat, and one of the armed men shot him with a tranq dart. He went down next to Lilianna, obviously taking care not to land on top of her. The sword disappeared, as did the armor.
Sara turned to glare at Irons. The white-haired man seemed to have already found Nottingham's replacement. A man that was the very picture of 'average' stood behind the billionaire, dressed in army fatigues.
Irons smirked at her as Nottingham and Lilianna were quickly loaded onto a van. "Don't worry, Sara, your daughter will be in good hands for the rest of her life." Sara made a sound of rage and Irons continued, "For however long that is."
Sara started toward him, but one of his henchman turned a gun in Jake's direction and fired. The Witchblade finally sprang to life and Sara dove at Jake, pushing him to the ground as the bullet meant to kill him ricocheted off the gauntlet.
When she made a move to get up, another of the men fired a warning shot just over her head. To keep herself, her unborn child and Jake safe, she'd have to let her daughter be taken away. It didn't mean she wouldn't do everything in her power to get Lilianna back.
Irons climbed back in his limo and the assailants began to disperse, the van with the two other Wielders, however temporary Nottingham's control of the ancient weapon had been, long gone.
When she was sure it was safe, Sara rolled off of Jake and stood, the Witchblade deactivating into bracelet form. Sara looked down at Jake. He was staring at the Witchblade, his eyes popping out of his face and slightly glazed. She offered him a hand up, but he ignored it.
"Sara, what the hell is going on?" Jake demanded.