Disclaimer: Paige and Kay. That's it.
Black Ice
By Be Boring
Chapter 9: Family Reunion
It had been two days since her confrontation with Zack, and Kay had been even more troubled than usual. Seeing him again made her realize how much she missed everyone. Logan was nice, but he had never been one of her closest friends. She couldn't really open up and talk to him like she could talk to Brin or Max. They understood her much more than he did. She even missed Alec's sense of humor. Still, the only person she was really on talking terms with right now was Logan, so she would have to make due.
"I haven't seen you for a few days," Logan commented when she entered his living room. "I wasn't sure you would come back here after I snapped at you the other day."
She shrugged. "I knew I had that coming. I just don't have anyone to vent on, and you were the only available person. I promise I won't blow up about how slow things are going. With any luck, the familiars won't be any better off than I am. They can't spy on us with the hoverdrones, so I might actually be closer than they are. Have you and Max sorted everything out? I know that was all my fault too."
"It's not like we were having serious problems, I just wasn't as attentive as usual because I was worn out and distracted at the end of the day whenever she stopped by. We had dinner a couple nights ago, and I'm pretty sure we're good again. You know I haven't come up with anything new, so is there something you wanted to see me about?"
She sighed and sat down on the couch while he sat down behind the desk. Even though his computers were useless right now, it was still habit to sit by them. "I'm just bored. I just found out Bling has a new girlfriend, which explains why he hasn't been around much lately, so I have no one to talk to. You're not exactly a party animal, but you'll have to do. I need something to distract me."
"Thanks for giving me so much credit."
She smiled in spite of herself. "Sorry, but you're not a girl. I can't talk to you about a lot of stuff."
Logan watched her look around glumly. "Did something happen over the past few days? You're acting a little odd."
Should she tell him? Well, there's really no reason not to. "I ran into Zack the day before yesterday. It wasn't the best reunion ever, but it really got me thinking. Now I'm just kind of a mess and I didn't want to be alone. He had me really confused. I wanted to scream at him and just flat out hate him, which I did for a little while, but then I cooled off and we actually hugged before he left. I told him not to come see me again though, that would just be too much."
Suddenly, something clicked in Logan's head. "You know, I don't think you really came here to talk to me. I think you came over because you wanted me to talk you into going and seeing the others. Look, before you start telling me how I'm totally wrong, just let me explain why I think that. Even though you told Zack that you didn't want to see him again, I don't think you meant it. You miss everything you had before, and some part of you really wants to see everyone again, but you're scared to do it. So, you came over here to make me talk you into it."
Kay knew there was a ring of truth to his words, but she didn't want to admit it. She crossed her arms and stared at her feet with her jaw set firmly. "That's not true, I came over here to talk to you."
"Whatever you say, but just for your information, JamPony closed down today because they're not getting any business. I don't know where Max is, but you could try looking for everyone at their places. Then, of course, there's always Crash. You'll have to sneak through checkpoints, but I daresay you'll find a way."
Kay glared at him with her arms still crossed. "Like I said before, I wasn't planning on seeing them."
Logan stood up and picked up his car keys. "Do what you like, but I have a contact to go visit. No, it's not about your case, it's about something else."
"How are you going to get through the checkpoints?" she pointed out quickly, looking for any excuse not to be left alone to her thoughts, which would probably convince her to go see everyone.
"He's in this sector, so I don't have to worry about it. Just go see them, maybe it'll make you feel better."
She stared after him furiously as he walked out the door. Damn him, she knew he had placed her on the verge of going out to visit everyone. After he was gone, she paced around his house, finally stopping when her eyes landed on a picture of Max grinning with an arm around Brin that was sitting on top of an envelope full of pictures. She sighed and headed out the door. If she was going to do this, it would have to be before she lost her nerve.
A half hour later, she found herself standing outside Zack and Brin's door. Zack already knew she was here, so she knew it was probably a good idea to start with him. She raised her hand nervously, then dropped it at her side again. Did she really want to talk to him? It was only two days ago that she told him she didn't want him to visit, so wasn't this a little too soon? I won't just be around him. I'll get to see the others, and hopefully that will go better than my reunion with Zack. Her fist tapped gently against the door, and then dropped back down to her side, still clenched nervously. She heard Zack's voice distantly, followed by Brin's laugh, before the door opened. She nearly cringed at Zack's face when it came into view. The cuts had scabbed over and the bruises had long since turned green. How had he come up with an excuse for that?
"Hey," he greeted softly, taking in her uneasy appearance. "I'm glad you stopped by. I really didn't think you would."
She hugged herself uncomfortably. "I changed my mind. I heard Brin just a second ago, what was she laughing at?"
"When we heard you knock I commented that I was off to scare another unsuspecting victim." He gestured casually at his face, then stepped back. "Did you want to come in?"
She walked past him into a brightly candle-lit living room. Brin had always hated the dark. "Where is she?"
He closed the door and leaned against it, making sure to give her plenty of space. "She's in the bedroom getting changed. We were going to go to Crash and hang out."
Unsure if she was excited or terrified, she turned to face him. "Does that mean Max and Alec are there?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Do you want me to get Brin?"
"No, I'll wait for her to come out. So, you guys are together now?" She didn't want him to know she'd been talking to Logan. Things were probably still tense between those two.
"As weird as it is, yeah, we are. We got together shortly after the big fight."
She smiled briefly, hating how foreign it felt on her face. "That's good, I figured you two would hook up sooner or later."
"Hey Zack, have you seen my gray sweatshirt? I swear that thing disappears at least five times a wee—" Brin broke off suddenly, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Kay standing in her living room. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, but after nearly a minute she snapped it shut. "You know, I probably left it in the bathroom." With that, she rushed into her bathroom and shut the door. Kay's stomach dropped when Zack gave her an apologetic look and he raced in after her. She strained her ears to hear what they were saying, which didn't make her feel any better.
"Why did you run out like that?" Zack asked quietly, as though he knew Kay was trying to listen in.
"I just wasn't expecting to see her. Zack, we thought she was dead! Why didn't she come back before now? It's been months, and then she just shows up right out of the blue. Did you really expect me to welcome her with open arms? God, you don't look surprised at all. Did she make your face look like that?" He must have nodded, because she burst out, "You told me it was a couple familiars! Now you're lying for her? Why didn't you at least tell me? Why didn't she let you tell me?"
Kay could see this wasn't going to be good. What was I thinking? I made a big mistake by coming here. She headed for the door as silently as she could, not even listening to Brin's interrogation anymore. She wasn't sure how much longer she could go without something positive happening.
"Brin, it's her decision when she wants to come out and see us. She wasn't even expecting to see me, she was probably just waiting for the right time. Did it ever occur to you that she might have had to work up the courage for this? Things were a mess when she left, I know I wouldn't rush right back. Yes, I know a lot of it was her fault, but I think that means you should give her even more credit for coming to see you. That's why she came here, I'm sure. It wasn't to see me again."
Brin crossed her arms, but she knew he was right. It was just hard to overlook her own hostility for everything that had happened. The power of her feelings surprised her more than anything else. When she had thought that Kay was dead, she thought that she would have given anything to see her one more time to talk things through, but seeing her standing in her home had taken her completely off guard. So many questions needed to be answered, but it wasn't until she saw her sister again that she realized how many unresolved issues needed to be taken care of. She walked past Zack and headed into the living room to start what she knew would be a long process, but it was empty. "Where did she go?"
"She probably left when you freaked out. I think you should go after her."
"Me? Why me?"
"You're the one that scared her off, so you're the one that should bring her back. You'd better hurry, she's probably getting out of here as fast as she can."
Brin sighed with frustration as she jogged down the hall. She wasn't even sure if she wanted Kay back, and now she was chasing after her? How stupid was that? She considered just slowing down and letting her get away, then she could tell Zack that she had tried, but it hadn't worked. It wasn't until she reached the main floor of her apartment building that she saw Kay ahead of her, walking out the front doors. "Kay!" she shouted, but it was obvious that Kay hadn't heard her. She hurried to the doors and out into the light rain that never seemed to go away lately. "Kay, stop!" she called again.
Kay froze, sure that she was imagining things, but when she turned around, Brin was standing there with the rain slowly soaking through her hair. She didn't know if this was good or not. Did Brin want the chance to yell at her? "Why?" she asked morosely. "Are you even going to listen to anything I have to say? I'm sorry for bothering you, you won't have to worry about it happening again."
Her voice was a mixture of melancholy and indignation that Brin just didn't know how to respond to. "I wouldn't have asked you to stop if I knew that was the reaction I was going to get. I know I reacted badly up there, but can you blame me? You owe us a huge explanation, and I think you should come to Crash with Zack and I and let everyone hear it."
All she had wanted to do was talk to them, and now it seemed as though she was going to be the target of a bloodthirsty cross-examination. Nevertheless, she waited outside as Brin ran back up and finally found her sweatshirt. She rode along in their dumpy old Geo Metro, sitting silently in the back and wondering how badly this was going to turn out. If I end up feeling even more depressed than before, I'm going to kill Logan in the most slow, painful way I can come up with. Crash had never looked more intimidating. Just before they went inside, Zack held out an arm to stop her. "I think you should wait a little bit before going in, then go sit at the bar until we've prepared everyone. Okay?" She nodded, wishing she were anywhere else. It would even be better to be back in Montana with Ames, Ray, and Paige. At least things were generally predictable there. After about a minute, she headed inside. It was strange to see Crash lit by candlelight. It was also much emptier than usual because they were running out of ice to keep the beer that was now stored in coolers cold.
Max grinned and waved at Zack and Brin as they approached. She, Jondy, Alec, Sketchy, and Original Cindy had all just been discussing possible baby names. Jondy seemed completely overwhelmed by everything. Max didn't blame her, she probably wasn't used to the idea that she was having a baby just yet. Until her stomach started to get bigger, it probably wouldn't seem real to her. For some reason, Brin looked very on edge when she sat down at the table. Zack didn't even bother to sit down, he remained standing by Brin's chair. Max knew right away that something big was going on.
"Is something wrong?" Everyone else at the table went quiet to listen to his answer.
Zack shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. We just have a little bit of a surprise for you guys."
Jondy raised her eyebrows and looked at Brin. "Don't tell me you're pregnant, too?"
Brin's eyes widened in surprise. "Me? No, that's not it at all." She looked as though she wanted to say more, but she left that to Zack.
"Like I said, we have a surprise for you guys. Someone showed up today that I think you'll want to see." Suddenly, he motioned to someone at the bar. Max could only see glimpses of a blonde head moving in their direction, and it wasn't until she was right in front of them that they recognized her.
Kay couldn't have felt more naked if a spotlight had been pointed at her in the shower. Why is it that every time I see someone again, they get really quiet? For once again, no one was making a sound. Her throat was too constricted with panic to even say hello. She knew she must look like a deer caught in the headlights, but she couldn't banish the fear she felt. Suddenly, the urge to hold her daughter in her arms hit her more strongly than ever. Or at the very least a stress ball would be nice.
Alec cleared his throat uncomfortably and sat up straighter in his seat. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about this, but someone had to say something. He threw on his usual, cheeky grin and said brightly, "Hey, what's up?" Jondy shot him a look of combined anger and surprise. She never had the chance to get to know Kay outside of Manticore, so her old hostilities still remained, but she couldn't believe that Alec was being so flippant about all of this. Kay had upset him just as much as everyone else with her actions, so why was he being friendly? Of course, they hadn't said Kay's name ever since she left, so maybe he had forgiven her already without her knowledge, but he still seemed overly cheery.
Kay could have hugged Alec for saying something to snap her out of her terrified daze. "At the moment, not much," she replied softly, giving him a brief smile before pointing her eyes at her shoes.
Original Cindy was the next to find her voice. "Long time no see, girl. Where've you been?"
She looked up again, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone other than Cindy. "I've been moving around a lot. I had to get some stuff sorted out," she lied quickly. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to say anything extra, not even to ask how everyone was doing. If only a huge hole could open in the ground and swallow her right this second.
Sketchy finally smiled at her. "You dyed your hair back to blonde. How come? Red suited you."
She shrugged, glancing at him before she stared back down at her toes peeking through the tattered material of her shoes. "It started to grow out and I decided I wasn't going to bother re-dyeing it every time, so I just changed it back to my original color." It didn't bother her that Jondy wasn't saying anything, because they had never been close, but it worried her that Max was staying so quiet. Brin hadn't said anything else either after their first confrontation.
Finally, Max decided to speak. "How long have you been back?"
This wasn't going to be good. Just look at the shoes, just look at the shoes. "About a week. I got here right before the blackout."
Now Jondy looked up in disbelief. "And you didn't show your face until now?"
Kay felt a flash of anger towards the other woman, who she had the distinct feeling was trying to provoke her. "That's my business," she said coldly.
Brin stared up at her indignantly. "So you're saying that you had something more important than us to deal with in Seattle?"
"I've had a lot to deal with. You guys are on a pretty complicated list."
Max crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, raising one leg so she could rest that ankle on her other knee. "And what's the difference between us and the other things on your list that made you decide to do the other things first?"
"Because the other things were easy!" Kay snapped, looking up at her for the first time. That wasn't entirely true, but at least she managed to hint at the fact that this was extremely challenging for her without actually having to say it out loud. More than anything her instincts were urging her to turn and run out the door and never look back. She desperately wanted someone to understand that things had been just as hard for her, if not harder than it had been for them. She just wished she had Paige with her. As much as she didn't want them to know she had a daughter, she also knew that seeing the baby would make things much easier for everyone to understand.
Brin crossed her arms in a manner extremely comparable to Max. "You know, I'm not sure I feel like being out anymore. Zack, let's go home."
Kay felt like someone had hit her. She held up a hand as Brin started to stand up. "No, don't bother. I'll go." With that, she hurried out of the bar, her entire body shaking. Right now she desperately wanted to cry, it felt like someone had ripped her heart right out of her, but she couldn't allow herself to break down. If she did that here, she might never have the strength to get back to Bling's apartment. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she spun around to face Zack. "What do you want? Do you want to drag me back in there so they could keep acting like I'm some kind of criminal? Or maybe they want to have an old fashioned stoning. Is that it?"
Zack felt helpless at the pain he saw on her face. He would never have believed that reunion could go so badly. "I'm sorry for what happened in there. You have been gone a long time, maybe that just gave them too much time to think everything over and get angrier. They'll get over it and feel bad for what they said, you'll see. Besides, not everyone was against you. Alec, Cindy, and Sketchy didn't seem upset at all." As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was relieved that Alec had broken the ice. Otherwise the first words might have been an outburst of some kind.
"They weren't the ones who mattered to me the most. I appreciate you giving it a shot, but I think it's best if I just stick to my place for a while. As soon as the blackout is over and I've dealt with everything I need to here in town other than this, I'll be gone. Dammit, I don't think there's a way today could possibly get any worse."
He reached out and grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. "Wait, I think there's something you should know first that only Brin and I know right now. Ben's in town."
It was almost the last straw. Kay's stomach gave a horrible lurch and she just barely restrained herself from vomiting. All of this was just too much. "Ben? Why is he here?" Wouldn't that just finish off her day perfectly to run into Ben and have a screaming match with him?
"I don't know, but it's all really strange. He has a baby with him that he took from a bunch of familiars, which I think is the stupidest thing he's ever done, but on top of that he's been killing again. I don't think he's done anything here in Seattle, but I don't know how much longer that will last."
It seemed like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs and now something heavy was preventing her from getting any of it back. "Baby? Where did he get it?"
"I told you, from a bunch of familiars."
"No, I mean where were these familiars when he took the baby?"
"I think it was in Montana. Why?"
Does someone up there hate me that much, or do they just have a cruel, twisted sense of humor? "Where is he staying right now?"
"The Yum Yum Tree Hotel. Kay, why do you look like that?"
Kay wasn't even aware that she had lost all the color in her face and had turned slightly green. "Would you mind driving me over there? It will just be that much faster with your JamPony checkpoint pass."
He didn't really understand what this was all about, but he nodded and pulled out the car keys. "I should go in and tell Brin that I'm leaving. I'll be right back."
Kay bounced on the balls of her feet as she watched him go. How could Paige have ended up with Ben? Why was he even there that day? Now that she thought about it, she realized that he had been the one sitting outside her house that forced her to sit around and wait so she could sneak back in. He had cut his hair shorter and his jacket was covering his barcode, which was why she hadn't recognized him. She just wanted to get over there and take her daughter far away so that they could live a quiet, happy life. She wished that Zack would hurry up, she didn't want anyone else to get to that hotel before she did.
A dark haired familiar man stepped farther back into the alley he was hiding in. He was on the team to find the hybrid baby, so he not only had to contact his partners and let them know where the child was, but he also had to call the other team and tell them that the X5 was headed there as well. If all went well, they would have both to present to the Conclave.
Ames walked out of his hiding place behind a nearby dumpster. He couldn't capture Kay right there when an armed familiar was nearby and so many X5s were inside the bar. His best chance was to get Paige and hide until it was safe to show the baby to Kay and make a deal with her. He would make sure Paige was safe if she came with him to the Conclave and handed herself over to them. He knew it was risky, and it would be difficult to make it to the hotel before the other familiars, but he knew he had to do it. If not, he would be a fugitive for the rest of his life.
Everyone at the table looked up again when Zack came back, but Brin could already tell what he was going to say. "I've got something to take care of, so I'll be back sometime later. I don't know how late I'll be." He didn't even bother to properly say goodbye to her as he walked off.
Brin frowned and stood up, shoving her chair roughly back underneath the table. She knew exactly what he was going to do, even if she didn't know the reasons for it. "There's no way I'm going to let him do it."
Max looked up at her curiously. "Do what?"
"He's taking Kay to see Ben."
"What?!" Max, Jondy, and Alec all gasped simultaneously.
"You heard me. I can't explain it now, but that's where they're going. We've got to stop them. I'm not going to let her hurt Ben again." She took off at top speed. Max and Jondy looked at each other, nodded, and got up to run after her. Alec sighed and followed, leaving a very confused Sketchy and Original Cindy behind. Kay and Zack were already gone when they got outside, so Max waved for Brin to get on her motorcycle behind her.
"Come on, let's go. But I need you to know right now that you're explaining all of this to me as soon as we're done. Got it?"
Ben had spent the better part of the day sleeping. He'd had a steady headache all day, but it hadn't progressed into a migraine yet. He hoped to keep it from doing so, which would hopefully be easier because of how long Paige could sleep. She had only cried twice all day, and he had managed to quiet her down right away. She was also a deeper sleeper now, so he could sneak under the covers with an icepack on his forehead and block out the dreary light from the window if he chose to do so. He was just starting to feel better when his door came blasting inwards, landing with a loud thunk on the floor. Paige started screaming at the top of her lungs and Ben threw the blankets off his face.
"You!" snarled White, standing in the bare doorway with his fists clenched. His eyes wandered over to Paige. "Get away from the baby."
"Why?" snapped Ben fiercely. "What do you want with her?"
White entered the room slowly, his body tensed and alert in preparation for Ben's retaliation, which he was sure was coming. "That's my daughter you're holding hostage, and I want her back," he growled, looking territorially in Paige's direction.
White's daughter? How can that be? "If you want her, come and get her."
White lunged forward at Ben, but he was caught completely off guard by the icepack that came flying into his face. Ben knew he had to move quickly, White was much stronger than him, so he grabbed Paige and huddled her protectively against his body as he kicked out the window and slid out. The moment his feet connected with the ground, he took off at top speed. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he knew he had to hide. Something told him that this was all going to spin completely out of control. He just had no idea how much of an understatement that was.
Author's Note: I didn't mean to guilt anyone into reviewing last time. I was just kinda depressed at the time. Whether I get reviews or not, I'm going to keep posting the story, but it will never fail that I will politely ask for reviews every time. :) Oh, and please review!