*Chapter 16*
~Who Is That Guy?~
Kurt sighed and watched his breath condense into a frozen mist before his eyes. It was freezing outside and they still had to walk to the club. Mr. Logan refused to drive them until there was snow on the ground. Unfortunately, it had yet to snow, so they were stuck walking. The wind gusted and he shivered as it pierced his fur. He glanced to his right and shivered again, how could she stand to wear that? Kitty was wearing tight, high-heeled boots that went up to her knees; a tight, black, fake leather, short skirt; and a spaghetti strap tank top under a thin spring coat. How she wasn't suffering from a severe case of hypothermia was a mystery to him.
"Aren't you cold?" Kurt muttered.
"No, I'm freezing." Kitty snapped.
"Then why don't you wear warmer clothes?" He asked.
"Because then I'll get overheated later." She replied.
Kurt fell silent, he supposed that made sense, but why didn't she just wear a warmer coat? Before he could ask, the neon blue sign of the Blue Lotus came into view. Kitty picked up the pace, eager to get out of the cold now that their goal was in sight. Kurt was forced to jog to keep up with her. They were less than a block away when he remembered something. He caught her by the arm and forced her to a stop. She glared venomously back at him.
"Who was that guy?" Kurt asked.
"What guy?" Kitty asked, looking around confused.
"That guy from last weekend." He clarified.
"You mean Lance?" She asked.
"Ja." Kurt muttered.
"Well what about him?" Kitty inquired.
"What were you doing with him?" Kurt quietly asked.
"Trying to get information out of him." She answered.
"It didn't look like it to me." He grumbled.
"Well I was. He works for the club and claims to be involved in other secret activities so he's the best lead that I've found. I don't suppose you have any better sources of information." Kitty snapped back. Kurt kept his mouth shut, she had him beat. "Can we go in now?" She growled. Kurt nodded and tamely followed her into his personal Hell.
Nothing had changed over the week, everything was exactly the same. The music was just as loud and teeth rattling as ever. The crowds were just as crazy, drunk, and/or stoned as before. And he still desperately wished that he was anywhere but here. He turned to find that Kitty had already left him. She hadn't even repeated her empty promise to check in with him this time. With a sad sigh, Kurt crept along the wall towards his usual seat. Tonight he feared would be long and lonely.
***
Kitty was in heaven! Her grounding was over, she was far away from her parents, and she was having some serious fun. The first thing she did upon entering her personal haven was seek out her friend Amanda. It took her longer than usual to find her because she'd been unable to use the phone to set up a meeting place like they usually did. But they found each other anyway so it was all good. They immediately began making their rounds of the club, saying hi to whoever they knew. When that little ritual was completed, they found one of the quieter corners of the Blue Lotus to catch up on gossip and such.
"So how did you take being grounded?" Amanda asked curiously.
"Okay I guess. For the most part it was pretty boring, but as you can see I survived it." Kitty replied.
"So you're not grounded anymore, right?" Amanda cautiously asked, Kitty nodded and smiled. "That's great! Now we can do stuff again!" Amanda cheered.
"That's right!" Kitty exclaimed. "So did I miss anything?" She asked.
"No, nothing important. Unless you consider Trisha and Jamal breaking up again something important." Amanda replied. Kitty wrinkled her nose in disgust. Those two broke up at least once every week only to get back together the very next day.
"So the answer is no, I didn't miss anything." Kitty snorted. Amanda laughed a little before suddenly turning serious.
"Who was that guy last Sunday?" Amanda asked.
"What guy?" Kitty innocently asked.
"You know perfectly well who I am talking about, now spill it. Who was he?" Amanda demanded.
"What makes you think that I know this guy?" Kitty countered.
"The look on your face when I described him to you said it all. You know this guy now tell me." Amanda firmly replied. Kitty could tell that there was no way out of this one, so she began to make stuff up.
"He's this weird German guy that my Uncle came across somewhere. I guess my Uncle knows his parents from someplace and so he lets this guy stay in our apartment with us. He really has nothing to do so he follows me here and sits in a corner until it's time to leave. Sunday I was way late so I guess he came looking for me, got fed up, and left." Kitty answered.
"Does this guy have a name?" Amanda wondered.
"Kurt Wagner." Kitty replied being careful to pronounce it the proper German way.
"So why didn't you tell me about him before?" Amanda asked curiously.
"Because I don't really like him, he's weird." Kitty muttered.
"Besides looking really mad, he didn't look all that bad to me." Amanda replied.
"What? Don't tell me you think he's cute." Kitty snorted.
"He's not that bad looking." Amanda protested.
"There's a lot of guys out there that aren't bad looking." Kitty countered.
"I know," Amanda sighed. "But could you point out where he sits?" She cheerfully asked. Kitty blinked, this could get really, really bad.
"Um, I don't know where it is from here." Kitty lied.
"Aw, that's too bad. So is there anything else I should know about this guy aside from the fact that he's weird?" Amanda inquired.
"He doesn't like going outside, he doesn't like anybody touching him, he doesn't like talking to people, he's afraid of girls, he's a pain in the butt to wake up in the morning, he's immature, and he's just plain weird in general." Kitty explained.
"Well, that's not too bad, he could be worse." Amanda said slowly.
"If he was any worse, my Uncle Logan would've kicked him out after the first week." Kitty grumbled.
"So why is he here in America?" Amanda asked curiously.
"I don't know and I don't really care." Kitty muttered, she really wished they could talk about something else right now.
"Oh," Amanda sighed in disappointment. "Hey, have you ever seen him naked?" Amanda asked eagerly.
"What?" Kitty screeched. "No I have never seen him naked and I don't intend to either!" She squealed.
"You don't want to see me naked?" A male voice asked, causing both Kitty and Amanda to squeak in surprise.
"Oh, Lance, it's just you." Kitty sighed in relief upon seeing the bouncer.
"Don't sneak up and scare us like that!" Amanda snapped.
"Whatever," Lance snorted, seating himself between them. "What's all this about not wanting to see me naked?" He demanded.
"We weren't talking about you Lance so relax." Kitty assured him.
"Then who were you talking about?" Lance asked.
"This German guy that lives in Kitty's apartment." Amanda replied.
"What German guy?" He demanded. "I never heard anything about any German guy."
"That's because I didn't tell anyone about him." Kitty replied.
"Why?" Lance asked.
"Because I don't really like him and I don't want to be associated with him." Kitty explained. Lance studied her hard for a moment before shaking his head.
"Well, I've had enough of this foreign guy, why don't we get some drinks?" Lance casually suggested.
"Sure." Both girls eagerly agreed.
The teenage trio rose as one and headed to the counter to purchase their favorite beverages. Lance snagged a Mountain Dew, Amanda bought a Dr. Pepper, and Kitty picked up a 7up. They drifted from one spot to another with the flow of the crowd as they chatted. Amanda kept most of the conversations going while Kitty and Lance quickly grew more interested in each other. The pair danced most of the night away, losing Amanda after an hour or two. When the techno beat left them both exhausted, they found their special secluded corner and cuddled. Kitty was sure that she was starting to get somewhere with him when she happened to check her watch.
"Oh damn." Kitty cursed with feeling.
"What's the matter Pretty-Kitty?" Lance whispered in a low voice that made her shiver.
"I have to go home." She mumbled.
"No you don't." Lance decided, tightening his grip on her.
"Yes I do. I don't want to get grounded again." Kitty sighed as she very reluctantly climbed out of Lance's lap.
"Oh come on, you just got here." He complained.
"I know, but I'll be back again tomorrow night." She promised as she fastened her coat. "See you then!" She chirped cheerfully, gave him a good-bye kiss on the cheek, and melted into the crowd. On her way to pick Kurt, she ran into Amanda and added a quick apology for forgetting her into her good-bye. Then Kitty finally made it to Kurt's usual spot and ran into a problem. Kurt wasn't there.
***
Kurt huddled miserably in a narrow alley next to the Blue Lotus. He was supposedly the best agent Deutschgewehr X had. They'd spent a great deal of time and money to train him. His original purpose had been to steal things from high security facilities and assassinate highly placed individuals. He was DX-0, Germany's super agent, trained to be swift, silent, and fearless. He wasn't supposed to run out of a relatively tame American nightclub suffering from an itsy bitsy psychosomatic panic attack.
He curled up tighter as another wave of irrational fear crashed down over him. His heart began to race inside his constricted chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe, his lungs didn't seem to be working right. Every sound that he could not identify feed the fear, which threatened to smother him. The deep shifting shadows morphed into fantastical monsters that hovered menacingly around him. Icy gusts of wind moaned through the dark, filthy alley sending frozen spikes through his fur, which made him tremble even more. No matter what he did or thought, the terror refused to subside. A weak, pathetic whimper slipped out of his dry throat, sounding horribly loud in the nearly silent alley.
A faint echoy sound crept into his ears and made him shiver harder. With great effort, he managed to calm his ragged breathing so he could better hear the new threatening sound. A harsh clopping bounced off the massive building walls making it difficult to determine the sound's origin. His tail tightened its death grip on his leg until he thought it had cut off the circulation. His breath stuck in his throat as he recognized the sound as being footsteps, and they were getting closer. A blackish fog seemed to settle in his mind as panic turned his muscles to ice. As the footsteps grew louder and closer, he closed his eyes tight and waited.
The sound of footsteps abruptly stopped. Kurt held his breath. He felt a specific sort of fear settle deep inside him, the fear that prey has of a predator. He knew this kind of fear well. He'd been hunted once a long time ago. That day had been the last day that he'd been free. Now he felt like he was being hunted again. But he'd already lost his freedom, would he lose his life this time? I could die. Kurt opened his eyes and gazed sightlessly at the grimy brick wall in front of him. Not too long ago he'd longed for the release of death. Did he still want it now?
Kurt nervously peered out at the rectangular opening where the alley merged with the street. A long, thin, distorted shadow lay across the grayish sidewalk. Someone was definitely out there, but were they waiting for him? He silently staggered to his feet and slowly slunk along the wall towards the street. He paused at the edge of the alley to gather his nerve before cautiously peeking around the corner. He didn't find any mysterious threatening man like he had feared and expected. Instead, he saw a young pretty girl with brown hair wearing short, tight clothes. The breath that was frozen deep in his lungs came out in a rush and his legs began to wobble, threatening to collapse. It was Kitty.
Kurt stumbled out of the shadowy alley and headed for the familiar American girl. The instant he touched his hand to her shoulder his fear melted away. He felt the tension drain out of his body. The smothering fog that clouded his mind cleared away. Even though he was cold, he no longer trembled. The dark shadowy fears of his mind vanished like a faint wisp of smoke. Just one little touch seemed like a magical cure for his sudden attack of anxiety. All this happened in less than a second. In the next second Kitty reacted.
"Wah!" Kitty shrieked, spun around, and slapped him across the face. "Kurt, you jerk, don't scare me like that!" She hissed furiously.
Kurt mutely raised a trembling hand to his face. His cheek stung where she'd hit him. A sense of guilt washed over him then. He'd frightened her by grabbing her that way. And he'd probably upset her by leaving the club without telling her. Then a horrible sensation of shame settled deep in his gut. He'd left his post, he'd run away. He had put the whole mission in danger because he'd run away, because he'd been afraid. He could've missed some valuable piece of information because of what he'd done. Kitty could've gotten in trouble and he wouldn't have known about it, wouldn't have been able to help her. He was pathetic.
"Come on, let's go." Kitty muttered darkly. She turned around and stalked off. Kurt mutely slunk after her. He wished he had died.