A/N Well hello everyone reading this! How are you? Anyway, I'm sorry it's been taking me so long, but now I've been able to update my stories and even add a new one, so please don't be mad at me. Sorry to all you guys who've been waiting for me to update and I haven't. Seriously, when school's going, I don't have the time. But now that it's summer break, I'll hopefully be writing more. Anyway, I don't know what else to say other than please reivew after reading! I always enjoy hearing what you guys think!
Chapter 3
The air was thick with apprehension as he sat patiently at the desk. A large group of men surrounded him, too caught up in their meeting to notice their newest member had lost interest long ago. They were trying to plan how best to accomplish their latest mission at the time, but none of that concerned the young man. He wouldn't be allowed to go along anyway.
It was his third week on the job and still he had made no progress. When he first arrived through the doors, with the large group of attackers on his shoulders, everyone was too surprised and suspicious to even bother considering his offer to join the PVPA. But soon afterward, they took him up on his offer, knowing that they needed all the help they could get. Right away though, he was put on "desk job", which basically meant study the past cases and guard their hideout. The man in charge was not going to let Gohan on a real case until he proved himself to be able to handle it.
"Ok, here's what we got so far. The UPO has been growing larger and larger with more and more girls being sold. They've become increasingly creative and too smart in the business. Here's our mission; get another girl out of there. But, there are many catches. One, you cannot leave the building with the girl as is the case with most other companies. They like to keep an eye on where their ladies are at so you would have to go to the room they provide for you with the girl you choose, which will be under heavy surveillance. Two, you must pay up front with a lot of cash. They don't want any cheapskates to do their thing and not pay afterwards. And three, they only allow one girl at a time, so numeral rescues at once are not possible. Now, in order to accomplish this mission, we need a man to go in there and play the part of a costumer. Then, he must be able to sneak out of that place and get to our apartment, located in a few towns over. This will be a very hazardous rescue and the chances of success are slim, but it's of the most importance! If we can succeed, it will be far easier to rescue the other ladies in the future. Alright, so now that we've discussed all we can, who's going to be the man to go?" James explained the situation to the group.
Everyone in the group looked around at each other, none of them sure they would be able to handle the job. The women in the group stepped back since this was not an assignment for any of them, but they would be happy to appoint a man for the job if asked. Still, no one volunteered, so James was force to either assign someone himself or let the group vote. He decided that to keep the peace, he'd have to decide himself.
With a sigh of frustration, he said, "Ok people, I'll decide then." He looked around the room, trying to decide who would do the best. Finally, his eyes laid on Gohan who had only listened to the project have heartedly and was now reading an old case file. The corner of his mouth tugged at a smile; perfect. "Gohan, you'll be on the case this time."
Startled, Gohan fell back off his chair and hit his head on the floor. This caused some of the women in the room giggle at him as he climbed back to his feet, rubbing his head. He blushed slightly and grinned an embarrassed grin. Then he turned to James and said, "me? You want me, the newest member who's never gone an a mission before, handle your most important one yet? You've got to be kidding!"
Appearing very stern, he said in a grave ans serious tone, "No, I am not kidding. We need someone who can fight when needed and it's obvious that you're the most fit for this requirement. Also, you've been waiting for this chance, am I not right?" When he received a nod from Gohan, he let a smile slip onto his face. "And Gohan? Don't screw this up, got it? We're all counting on you and the completion of this mission."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, got it. Ok, just tell me what I got to do," Gohan replied while an anxious smirk crept onto his face. James nodded his head toward Gohan, then told Gohan to follow him to his office.
Stepping out of his car, Gohan starred up at the building in front of him. It wasn't anything special; just an old, dumpy bar-like structure. From outside, he could tell it had two stories, the rooms where the girls were kept obviously up the stairs. The windows, the few there were, appeared to be tinted so that you can't see inside, while one of them had been shattered somehow. The paint was yellowing and peeling off, but other then that, the place was nothing out of the ordinary.
Gaining his confidence, he stepped up to the door and put on his well rehearsed buyer face. He had been practicing it all day, waiting for this time at night when it would be the real thing. And James had reassured him that his personality he had been working at was surprisingly realistic. With all this in mind, he knocked hard on the thick, wooden door.
A peep hole appeared suddenly toward the top of the door and Gohan saw a brown eye search his face. Without a word, he seemed to approve of the young man waiting on the other side of the door. The owner of the brown eye slowly opened the door for Gohan, so he confidently strutted inside to meet this unknown man.
Standing in front of him now, Gohan saw the man fully and completely. The strange man was very well muscled, large, stocky man with brown eyes and black eyebrows, plus a beard, but with a bald head. He appeared very much like the bodyguard Gohan knew he was. After both men sized each other off, the bald man took a step closer.
"Welcome. We hold a tight business here so I must ask for you to pay up front right here. We do not give refunds for a lousy lay," this man put simply. He stretched out his hand, showing Gohan he wanted the money placed in this hand. Wit a superior look, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wade of cash. James had told him that this would happen, so he had given Gohan more than enough money from their funds to pay for the night. Smirking, he slowly took the wade of cash and placed it in the awaiting man's hand.
"I hope this will be enough," Gohan said in a deep, cocky voice, very aware that this was more than the price that was asked for. James had said it was a good idea because it would help the men in charge trust him more then they would a regular paying customer. James reassured Gohan again that the men would believe him just a wealth man trying to flaunt his money. The plan of theirs appeared to be working because right away, the man smirked and simply said, "plenty, sir. Right this way."
Gohan followed the burly man up a short staircase and into a small room. He was told to wait there while the man walked out to get someone else. Gohan looked about the room curiously, but there just wasn't anything to see. It was a plain room, the only things in it were the coach he was sitting on and the desk across from him. Even the desk was plain; with only a lamp and papers, it nothing was out of the usual.
Finally, after what seemed an hour, but in reality only five minutes or so, an even larger man waltzed in and greeted Gohan excitedly. "Ah, welcome young man! So nice to have such a fine, wealth man such as your self visit such an undeserving establishment as ours. We most grateful. My name is Vanya. But I'm sure you tire of these formalities. Let us go choose your young women!" The new man rushed Gohan out the room and into another, much, much larger one.
Once inside, Gohan couldn't refuse the surprise from creeping onto his face. Quickly though, he changed it to an eager, experienced face as he examined his surroundings. In this new room, there were women of all types lounging about on the coaches or chairs or even some on the tables. If he were to guess, he would say there were about 20 or so scantily dressed ladies crammed into this one room. It was more than they had expected back at PVPA, but he was determined to rescue every last one of them.
Videl and Erasa sat on the coach, trying to pass the time away with cards. Vanya had told them they had a very wealth customer coming so they all had to squish into this "judgement room", as Vanya liked to call it. In this room, the buyer choose his partner for the night. This room was dreaded by all, but none feared the room more than Videl did.
It had been 2 weeks since she had been taken in by this company, forced to sell her body, but not receiving any of the money herself. Because she was new and she resisted so much, she had never had to actually go all the way. She was given menial jobs, or so they were considered, such as oral, stripping, or other similar things. But, despite this, she had been left scarred, unsure that she could ever return to old self again. Now, she hated all men and had convinced herself that nobody did anything without wanting something in return. She had grown cold and angry, only showing affection to her good friend Erasa.
Erasa, on the other hand, had been there for several months now. She never spoke of it much, but Videl knew she had been forced to do whatever the paying man pleased. All these horrors the blonde had seen, but in spite of this, she always somehow put up a fake mask, appearing to everyone else to be a bubbly, ditzy young woman. Of course, she did have some of that to her personality, but the degree she seemed to have was an act. In reality, she was very wise and compassionate, keeping her heart closed to all others except Videl, who had somehow managed to creep in. Erasa had taken in the vulnerable Videl when she first arrived, and since then, has watched over her like a protective big sister, even though they were both the same age. Without the other, both girls would be lost in the darkness threatening to engulf them.
When Videl and Erasa were pushed into this room, Erasa had immediately insisted on playing cards. She had hoped it would help distract her worried friend. So, they nervously waited to see who this high paying customer would be. After only a few minutes, Vanya arrived with the apparently young man close behind him. He was extremely handsome with his dark, wildly spiked hair and coal black eyes. He was tall and perfectly muscled with just the right amount of tan skin. In a honesty, they found it hard to believe a man so good looking having to come here to get a women in bed with him. Erasa knew that if she were on the outside world, she would willingly give herself to him.
Videl gasped when she saw the man, not expecting to find someone as attractive as this man was. In her eyes, he was the god of her dreams, a celestial being not worthy to grace their presence. But, the world had turned her cold and the affect he would have had on her earlier was lost, just like the life she once knew. She could not help herself, however, to send a few admiring glances his way every now and again, quickly changing them into glares so cold it was as if an ice maiden shot shards of ice at him.
Erasa turned to Videl with an excited expression on her face. "Oh my gosh, he's gorgeous, Vi! Oh boy, what I would do to spend the night with him! I mean, if we have to be in here, why not have one time to enjoy it! I bet he's marvelous," She whispered fervently in Videl ear. Videl looked at her in faked disgust, but it was obviously what Erasa expected because she did not pay any notice to it. No, she was too busy starring dreamily at him while trying to make herself appear more appealing.
Vanya commanded all the girls to climb to their feet and stand in a line for his customer to inspect them more easily. It appeared that a lot of the other girls who had been here longer were also trying to grab his attention like Erasa, Videl noted. Usually, Videl did not have to line up in this line along with the other new girls because they were considered not ready for such things, but for this well paying man, all were eligible.
"My dear man, here are all we have in this vacillate. Please, chose any you think fit," Vanya said as he urged the handsome man to one side of the line. Nodding his head, Gohan quickly remember to put on an anxious smirk. Slowly, he took his time inspecting each women, trying to decide in his mind who he should chose. This was more than a night with a girl, this was one lucky girl's freedom and he was the one who had to decide. So, he looked and waited to for someone to pop out at him, someone he saw hope for. Many of the ladies were trying their hardest to grab his attention, to make him pick them. Many brought their shirts down dangerously low and pushed their chests out, some winked at him and blew kissed, a few looked away or simply smiled at him, and one even grabbed his rear as he passed. He was so startled by this, he almost lost his character, but quickly recovered, hoping no one had seen his slip.
Before long, he was nearing the end of line of women and had yet to find the perfect one to take back with him. Suddenly, a black haired beauty caught his attention. She was glaring at him just as heatedly as before, but he saw behind that and saw hope in her eyes. He saw a fighters spirit who would never give up, who could never be broken. This, this was the girl he wanted to save without a doubt. So, still playing the part of an eager buyer, he stopped right in front of her and starred at her, pondering.
"My, what a pretty one," he said out loud to no one in particular. He took the back of his hand and slid it down her face, feeling the silky skin upon his own. Gohan watched as she flinched at his touch, sympathy taking root in his heart. Immediately, he wanted to take away all her pain and he didn't know why he felt such passion for this.
"Ah, a very fine pick. But, it is my duty to tell you that this young lady has not had her experience yet. It would be smart to advice you to chose another," Vanya replied, glaring angrily at Videl. She just smirked back at him; she knew he was furious at her for putting him in this situation. After all, it was her fault that she was inexperienced because of all of the refusing she did, in Vanya's opinion.
Frowning slightly, then suddenly smirking again, Gohan put on a show of pondering about the predicament. "How about this; instead of the usual hour you give, let me have two to make up for her inexperience. Do we have a deal?" Gohan said in his richly deepened voice he used for this mission. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl's face turn to shock and fear, then she changed it back to her cold, heartless glare. He also noted the blonde beside her gain a worried look. He still watched as the girl looked to her friend, but her friend didn't let her see her worried look. No, the blonde changed it to one of excitement and encouragement.
Grinning from ear to ear, glad to let this new comer break the stupid girl in, he agreed readily. He sent one of his men to prepare the largest room, then started blabbering on and on about something or another. Gohan wasn't listened though, well, not completely at least. He was more concerned about the panicked girl he'd picked and the worried friend of hers who was doing her best to encourage her best friend. The black haired young lady he'd picked finally decided to stare at the floor after their conversation appeared to be over. The blonde wrapped her arm around her friends shoulders in comfort with the worried look on her face again. Finally, the blonde girl looked up at him and he held her eyes with his own. He tried to tell her not to worry and he would protect her all in that one look and he thought he saw the light of realization brighten her eyes, but he couldn't be sure.
Soon, he was head off to the room Vanya said was set aside for them with the girl being forced along behind him by one of Vanya's men. When he stepped into the room, he saw that it only a had a large bed placed in the middle of the room and a bathroom off to the right. That was all there was to the room, nothing more. But, what was he to expect?
"Well now, this is our largest room. I know it's probably not what you are used to, but I hope it will do for you. So, I guess I'll just leave the two of you in here to have your fun. I'll be back to get you in an hour!" Vanya said enthusiastically, stepping outside the door and hurrying down the hallway. The man who had dragged the girl into the room through on the bed and followed Vanya out the door. Gohan heard him lock the door from the outside, just as he suspected the man would do.
Sighing, knowing now what was to come was the real hard part, he turned to face the young woman. In a hurry, he sat down beside her on the bed and she scooted as far away as she could. He pretended not to pay any attention as he started to take of his shirt. The girl's eyes widened, but then noticed that he had a black tank top underneath. On top of his black tank top was a rope wrapped around him from his left shoulder to under his right one. Also, he had on a vest with pockets in which he had many different things that were unknown to Videl. Next, he took out a head set from one of the pockets and put it on his head.
"Ok, I'm set," he said to himself, then turned to look at the gaping girl on the other side of the bed. She tried to hide it quickly behind a glare, but he saw the surprise behind it. Gohan then said to her, "Ok, we need to hurry. Oh, my name's Gohan and I'm with the PVPA, which stands for Predator Victim Protection Association. I've been sent here to rescue you. Now, we really need to get out of here fast before they catch onto us!"
Videl looked at him suspiciously, but he was tying the rope onto the bed and throwing it out the window before she knew it. Making sure the rope was secure, he beckoned her to the window. She didn't budge though, refusing to trust him. She asked simply, "How do I know that you're not just making it up and you're not just trying to get me somewhere else to hold me prisoner?"
Frustrated at the delay this was causing, he quickly came up with a smart reply. "Well, I guess you won't know. You're just going to have to trust me. Besides, wouldn't you have a better chance of escaping from me then from this place? Now please, make up your mind so we can get out of here."
Videl thought about what he said and it made sense. She was confident in her own abilities to escape from just this one man. Still hesitant, she walked over to the impatient young man and glanced down the window. Making sure to keep one eye on the guy, she nodded her head to show she was ready.
'Finally!' Gohan thought to himself, realizing that five minutes had passed already, which took five more minutes they could be further away from this place. He wrapped his arm around the girl's waist, causing her to gasp. But, before she could resist, he whispered in her ear. "Quiet, please! They've got men surrounding the building out here and I'm sure each one of them is armed! Now, I need you to hold on to me tight."
Once he was positive the rope was secure and the girl had a tight hold around his neck, he climbed out the window and began his quiet descent. Once at the bottom, he set the girl down and told her to stay put or else the guards could find her. So, with more speed then one thought was possible from any human, Gohan climbed back up the rope and untied it. He tossed the other end down to the awaiting girl, then jumped out the window after it.
Videl, in shock, watched as the man jumped out the window after throwing the rope down to her. 'Is he crazy!' she thought to herself, but could do nothing to help. She just watched as he landed gracefully on his feet in a crouched position, not even making a sound when he landed. He used his hand to beacon Videl to him and she did just that, crouching behind him and trying to see over his shoulder.
Slowly, he got up and told her to stay there once again. Then, he turned the corner and she heard a muffled cry, then a body hit the floor. Seconds later, he came back to her, carrying a body of a large guard with him. Videl couldn't help it, her chin dropped in surprise.
Seeing how startled the young woman was, Gohan explained himself. "Don't worry, he's only knocked out. Now, we just need to hide him in those bushes over there until we get away. I don't care if they find him then or not." It now made sense to Videl so she nodded her head and followed him to the bushes where he laid the man down and covered him with the leaves of the bushes.
Satisfied that the guard was hidden well enough, Gohan looked about him to make sure there were no other guards in sight. The only guard he saw had just rounded the corner, that gave them exactly one and a half minutes to make it to his care and out of there.
Before he even gave her a warning, he had Videl in arms and was running full speed for his car, which blended well in the shadows. At first, Videl kicked and struggled to get away, but then relaxed once she got the time to assess her situation. Gohan reached his car and opened the passenger's door where he put Videl down gently. He smiled at her slightly, then snapped out of it and rushed to his side of the car. Quickly, he jumped in and turned the car on. Thanks to Bulma and her new invention, with the switch of a button, he turned the car into stealth mode. Now, it was practically unhearable, unseeable, and undetectable. That is, just for a time; the affects of the new mode wore off after about five minutes.
Pulling away, he sighed in gratitude, excited to have accomplished his first mission. When they were far enough away that he was sure their sources couldn't pick up on the radio waves, he contacted PVPA headquarters. "PVPA headquarters, do you read me?" Gohan said into the headphone on his head.
"G man! I read ya loud and clear dude!" The man on the other side of the phone said. Videl watched the surprised look come across the face her so called "rescuer" when he heard the reply. She wasn't convinced even now that she was being rescued. For all she knew, it could just be another one of the many other companies come to take her away and they were just putting on an act.
"Sharpner, is that you? I didn't know you were promoted to communications room! Congrats, man!" Gohan replied, excited for his friend. He checked where he was, then made a turn on the road. He then continued saying, "Anyway, I've completed the mission and we're on our way to the set aside apartment. Does James want us to stay there until he comes to get us?" Gohan asked.
"Ah, ok, he left something for me to tell ya. I think you'll get the answer in here. Ok, so, this is what it says: 'Gohan, if you're hearing this, that means you accomplished the mission. Good work, we're proud of you.' Yeah, great job, man! Oh, right, anyway, back to the note. 'You're new instructions are to go to the room we've got for you in Chezerton. Keep the girl there safe until we are able to come pick the both of you up. I am off on some important business at this moment, so I won't be able to do anything myself. Keep up the good work and..." the rest of what Sharpner had to say was lost because suddenly, he heard gunshots outside his car.
"Sharpner, I'm being fired at! I'll get a hold of you later!" Gohan said, then took the head phones off his head and threw them at the floor. Looking at his rearview mirror, he saw a beat up SUV chasing after him with three angry men shooting at him from out of their windows. Cursing, Gohan swerved to the left then slammed on his brakes. His tires squealed in protest as he changed the car's direction and took a dirt road off to his right.
"Get down and stay down!" He shouted at Videl, which she did promptly without protest. Another SVU was chases him this time down the dirt road with three new guys shooting more bullets at them. When he looked back this time, he was able to see the smirking face of Mark, one of his coworkers at PVPA. More curse words escaped from his mouth this time and he grew angry at the betrayal, almost as angry as he was when he found out his mom was missing.
So upset was he, that Gohan hardly even felt the bullet that hit his arm, leaving a large amount off blood to rush out the wound. Simply put, he felt to hurt, angry, and betrayed to think about that small thing at the moment. Finally, he was able to put the anger aside for now and regain his wits. He watched for anything he might be able to use to escape when he finally saw a sharp turn around a decomposing factory.
Taking that turn at the speed he was going, his car nearly lost control, but in the end, he made it and kept going. He then turned his stealth mode on again, hoping it would last for at least one minute so he could escape. We could see out of the corner of his eye, the SUV with Mark in it, skid out into the nearby creek. Sighing, he was about to turn off the stealth mode when he saw the other SUV make the turn. He panicked for a moment, but then watched them stop. He realized that they couldn't see him and he smiled triumphantly.
Rounding another corner, he was now on a highway with very few other cars. Now that the heat of the moment was over, he was able to relax in his seat. That was, until he felt the warm, sticky liquid of blood stream down his arm. He looked down and saw the gash and swore. He knew they couldn't stop or they would be found and he knew they couldn't go to Chezerton because that was what Mark expected him to do.
Looking over at Videl, he saw she was still crouching down on floor, starring up at him and his bleeding arm. He attempted a smile to comfort her, but it came out as more of a grimace. "It's ok, you can come out now. Um, I hate to worry you, but we're kind of in a predicament. It appears that Mark has betrayed me and told them of our plan. Now, we must find a place to stay until I can safely get a hold of HQ again."
She just nodded her head, then simply pointed out, "you're hurt." This made Gohan smile and all he said in reply was, "I know, I'm ok. So, since we'll be having to work together it seems, it would help to know your name."
Videl looked at him, surprised he'd want to know her name. She was slowly starting to believe he actually was trying to save her from the place, but that didn't mean he would have his way with her if he ever wanted to. She did understand what he meant though, so she answered saying, "My name's Videl. And yours is still Gohan, I presume?"
Once again, the girl had caused him to smile. He saw the smirk on her face and nodded anyway, even though he knew she didn't need the reassurance. Gohan decided then that even if she could be a pain at times, he had chosen the right girl to take. He just hoped he would never have to question his decision.
He realized that he needed to get somewhere quick before he lost so much blood that he'd pass out. In the end, Gohan decided to go the opposite way of Chezerton and into the town of Silversteen. He figured that they would be save in a hotel there for the night, then he could contact HQ and be told what to do from there.
It had now been a half hour since they had left the UPO building and the two young adults were just now pulling into a hotel parking lot. Gohan was so relieved to finally stop and check out his wound that he forgot the fact that he didn't have any money with him.
Now at a complete stop, Gohan examined the bullet shot in his shoulder. He was lucky, the bullet had gone through on the other side. It was a rather deep gash, but nothing that bothered him much. Besides, he'd had much worse wounds before and still had to fight with them! Knowing that to stop the bleeding, he had to apply pressure so he searched about him for something to use. The only thing he could find was his shirt he's worn into UPO's building, which he wrapped around his arm tightly.
Looking back through the window, he saw the hole the bullet left. It surprised him to see the glass hadn't shattered like most bullets would usually do, but it simply just had that hole. Underneath his breath, he muttered, "Couldn't they just be normal bad guys? But no, they had to have a sniper! Stupid UPO. They're lucky to get off with it this time." He hadn't meant for Videl to hear this, but she did and she found it rather humorous. He was so busy muttering and cursing that he forgot about her and just grabbed his stuff and got out the of the car, then slammed the door shut. Videl found it hard to suppress her laughter now, but she did manage it.
Remembering the girl in his car finally, he scrambled to her door and opened it for her. "I am so sorry, Videl! I guess I just wasn't paying much attention," Gohan apologized sympathetically, then helped her climb out. She refused to take his hand, but he was stubborn and just gently placed his hand on her elbow. Deep down, this gesture flattered Videl, but she wasn't about to admit it, not even to herself.
She muttered a quick "thanks" and tugged her elbow out of his kind hand. He just smiled patiently at her, then started to walk off toward the hotel's front door, sure that Videl would follow him. She did as he knew she would and they stepped inside the medium sized hotel.
Spotting a comfortable looking coach off to the side, Gohan brought Videl over to it. He gestured for her to sit down, then he said, "Stay here and I'll go us a room. Be right back." All he got in reply from Videl was, "whatever" and a rolling of the eyes. So, Gohan walked over to the front desk and waited patiently for his chance to speak with the desk clerk. He didn't have to wait for long, due to the fact that it was getting late and there was no one around.
"Do you have a room reserved, sir?" The desk clerk asked Gohan in a tired, bored tone. Gohan shook his head in reply and was about to ask for one when the clerk's phone rang. He spoke shortly to the person on the other line, then hung up. He took his time to write something down, then finally, he returned his attention to the waiting Gohan.
"Actually, sir, can I use your phone real quick?" Gohan asked the clerk, who handed him the phone without much interest. Gohan gave his thanks, then dialed a very familiar number. He had to wait for a couple of rings before someone finally picked up on the other end.
"Hello? Bulma speaking," the person, now known as Bulma, said on the other side of the phone. She sounded tired, which made sense because it was almost 1:00 in the morning.
"Bulma! I'm so sorry to wake you up so late, but I kinda need some help. You see, I can't tell ya why just yet, but I don't have any money with me at this moment and I need to borrow some. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm fine! I just need some money to buy a room at this hotel for the night," Gohan explained hurriedly in a soft voice, truly sorry to be asking Bulma for this after all she'd already given him.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you need! Let me talk to the man in charge and see what I can do," Bulma replied, always willing and ready to help her nephew.
"Thank you so much, Bulma! You don't even know how much this means to me! I promise I'll explain everything when I come to visit soon. Here, I'll give the phone to the man at the desk now. And thanks again, you're the best!" Gohan explained, so tired and so filled with gratitude that it was hard for him to keep his emotions in check. Bulma had done so much for him and still continued to do so, even though Gohan hadn't come by to visit her in what must have been a month.
So, Gohan handed over the phone and told the man Bulma Briefs wanted to talk to him. He looked doubtful and was about to refuse until he heard Bulma's voice on the other line. Startled, he put the phone to his mouth and talked back. After a few minutes and the ever changing emotions of the desk clerk, the phone was put back down. The man looked at him in a dazzled state, then simply picked up some keys and handed them to Gohan.
Grinning triumphantly, Gohan grabbed the keys and hurried back over to the impatient Videl. He held up the keys to her and told her to follow him to their room for the night. Once again, she rolled her eyes at him, this time because of the victory and excitement he had failed to hide in his eyes. A long time ago, she would have found the excitement rather cute and charming, something to giggle at, but after all she'd seen and done because of UPO, it only frightened her. She would bealone with this man in a hotel room, he could get away with just about anything. The excitement she saw only scared her.
Shaking her head, Videl followed Gohan into the elevator. She was not about to let her fears stop her from having a good nights sleep for once. Besides, if he tried to pull anything, she could stop him. Unlike at UPO, there was only one of him and, as far as she knew, he didn't have freakish strength and weird powers like the leaders did. He appeared to just be a regular man, who worked about an extreme amount. But like she said, she wasn't worried. She had easily fought and beaten men even larger than Gohan and she was confident in that ability.
Videl was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice when the elevator came to a stop and Gohan walked out. The doors were just about to close when he called her name and she snapped out of it. Hastily, she rushed out before the doors shut completely on her and once again, followed Gohan to their room.
She watched as he looked down at the keys, then at each and every room number they passed until finally, after three right turns, a left, and a little bit of backtracking, they arrived at their room. It just so happened to be the very last one with a nice view of the park behind the hotel on the left side, then the road passing by on the right. They were even lucky enough to have candy, soda, snack, and ice machines just down the hallway from them.
Glad to have finally found their room, Gohan slide one of the keys through the lock, waited for the beep and flashing red light, then opened the door to find a very large hotel room. On first entering, there was the kitchen to the right, complete with a fridge, microwave oven, sink, everything a normal kitchen at home would have. On the left was the closet and bathroom with, once again, everything a usual bathroom would have. Straight across from the kitchen was the living room, which contained two coaches, a tv with a DVD player and a VCR, and a table with chairs to eat meals at. Finally, to the right, was a door leading to the bedroom. Inside the bedroom was a large, queen sized bed, another tv, another closet, bedside tables with lamps, and a dresser for long staying customers to put their clothes in. Altogether, the hotel room was more than what they needed.
"Wow, look at this place! This is great!" Gohan said as he flipped the light switch and rushed to sit down on the coach. 'I wonder what Bulma said to the guy to get us this nice of a room,' Gohan thought to himself, pondering all the possibilities. He watched as Videl hesitatingly stepped in with her arms folded over her chest, looking about the room, studying it.
Climbing back to his feet, grimacing slightly at the pain it caused his arm, he searched the bedroom. He was trying to find some type of medical kit for his arm, but he was having no luck. So, he walked back out of the room and stopped in front of Videl. "So Videl, if you were a med kit, where would you be?"
She snorted at him, then remembered his arm and how bad it must be bleeding. "Crap! Why didn't you do something earlier, you idiot! You can bleed to death! It's a wonder you're even still conscious," Videl said to Gohan as she began to search with him, the last part she mostly muttered to herself. When they couldn't find it after looking everywhere, Videl finally came up with an idea.
"I know, how about you call the front desk and ask for one," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She smirked at him when he looked her way, now with a look of realization on his face.
"Videl, you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that before!" Gohan said. He then continued, muttering to himself as he walked out the door, "I mean, sure I've got the highest IQ they say they've ever seen, but I can't even come up with calling the front desk. No, I've got to go around all stupid and..."
Videl actually smiled at his frustrated muttering's, thinking it was really quite a funny sight. She decided it'd be best if she went after him and reminded him that he only needed to call them, not go all the way down the stairs to them.
"Hey genius, the phone's this way," Videl said, a hint of laughter in her voice. Gohan just simply looked up at her, not really seeing her. He just kind of nodded his head and walked right passed her to the coach in which the phone was right by. The way he looked past her like that had actually startled her. His face was pale and his eyes glazed. And the way he swayed back and forth when he walked really worried her. That was when she saw him collapse on the coach, holding his arm.
Rushing to him, she saw that he had bled through the shirt he had wrapped around the wound and it was starting to run down his arm. "Geez, you'd think I'd stop bleeding by now. I guess I must have hit something important," Gohan said to himself in a low voice, as if he was heonly one meant to hear it. But, Videl had heard him and it got her even more worried. She knelt down beside him and looked at him, asking with her eyes what to do. She then remembered the med kit and calling the front desk.
As fast as she could manage, she grabbed the phone and dialed the simple number for the front desk. After a couple of rings and long waiting on Videl's part, the man picked up and yawned on the other end. "Room surface. What may I possibly do for you at this God forsaken hour?" the man said, obviously irritated.
"Look, I need a med kit now and quick!" Videl said, very upset at the man and worried for Gohan. It would have just been easier to let him fend for himself and escape while she could, but Videl was able to think rationally and realize that she wouldn't get too far. And, reluctant to admit it to herself, she kind of liked the guy. 'Well, not like, just a general respect. I dislike all men,' Videl would often find herself thinking.
Realizing what room was calling him, the clerk snapped wide awake. After the conversation he had with Bulma, he was ready to do anything for this couple. 'My sweet boy, his mother, grandbabies, money for the hotel,' were just half the things floating through his head. "Ah, ah, yes ma' am, right away!" he said, hung up, and quickly grabbed the only kit behind the desk to bring up to the room.
Satisfied, Videl could do nothing but wait and watch Gohan's staggered breathing. He was so pale that if moon light were to hit his face, she wouldn't be able to tell a difference. He was grasping his arm so tight that he grimaced in pain. 'Is he suppose to grip it so gosh darn hard?' Videl wondered to herself.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity of watching Gohan in pain, there was a knock on the door. Jumping up, Videl rushed to it, opened it, grabbed the box from the startled man, then slammed the door in his face. She then ran back to Gohan and gave him the kit. He managed a smile, which soon turned to grimace, and thanked her. Sitting up carefully, he removed the bloody shirt from his wound and put it on the table. He then pulled out a cloth from the kit and wipped away the blood the best he could.
Now that the wound was visible, he could see it was a lot deeper than he expected. He took the cleaning medicine from the medical supplies and painfully took the time to clean it out. The whole time, he was able to keep a stern, emotionless face throughout the pain. Finally, he was able to see the mark fully and was able to make a hypothesis.
"It appears it punctured an artery. Hm, my best chance is to sew it back up. Basically, I'll need, let's say, three stitches, that should do the job," Gohan said to himself, but Videl obviously heard him. She was impressed at his knowledge of medical procedures.
"So, are you some kind of doctor or something?" Videl asked Gohan, hoping that it wouldn't distract him too much. She watched him sterilize the needle and string, but have problems stringing it. Videl took the needle and string away from Gohan and did it for him.
He smiled gratefully at her, then said, "Thanks, that's always the hardest part. To answer your question, I'm not exactly a doctor, no license and all, but I do have the degrees needed. Thanks to my mom and then my aunt, I have a degree and masters in every area there is basically. To be honest with you, I think my aunt's a little disappointed that I didn't go out and do something wonderful, like be a doctor. She was ready to leave her business in my hands, after I was her assistant for so long, but I wasn't ready for that. Besides, I wanted her to give it to her real son, not me. Opps, sorry to go on and on like that. I'm sure this must bore you."
Videl shook her head, even more impressed to learn of his obvious intelligence. She had so many things to ask him, but he looked to be in too much pain to answer them at the moment. Of course, he did a good job hiding it from his face, but his eyes said it all for him. So, she rested on her knees and waited, almost needing to turn away when she saw him first put the needle in.
Slowly, he was able to sew the artery up and prevent the great amount of blood from still pouring out. Now, he took the cloth wrap from out of the med kit and tightly wind it around the wound. Trying to hold it in place and get the medical tape proved to be much harder than he thought. Knowing that Gohan wouldn't be able to accomplish much this way, Videl got the tape for him and started to tape the medical wrap firmly in place.
Once Gohan declared that there was enough tape, Videl put all the supplies back in the kit and sat down on the coach next to him. After the stressful day today, she was exhausted, but when she looked over at the still pale face of Gohan, she realized he was even more exhausted then her.
"Hey, you know what, Videl? How about I just go grab a pillow and sleep out here on this coach. I'm so tired, I can hardly keep my head up!" Gohan said, somehow seeming to read her mind. There wasn't much else she could do but nod her head. Then she remembered that it meant she would get that whole bed to herself and she was ready at that moment to go to sleep. Getting up, she followed Gohan to the room, then waited for him to get his stuff and get out of the room, which he did quickly.
Videl made sure to watch as Gohan plopped down on the coach and instantly fell asleep. Satisfied, she went straight to her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, relieved to finally get some sleep. Minutes passed by and she found herself in dreamland, dreaming of her highschool life and the joys it brought. Suddenly, the dreams changed to nightmares as she was forced to relive her most feared memories. The day of her kidnapping, her first day in UPO, the times she was forced to watch the other girls do their thing to learn herself, the times she was force to commit immoral acts. Everything rushed through head, seeming to taunt her, telling her she was dirty and worthless.
Soon, she saw him, that evil man she hated so much, and screamed without realizing she had done so out loud. She was wrestling the pillows, kicking and yelling at them to let her go. That's when Gohan came in with nothing but his boxers and black tank top on. He tried to calm her, but as soon as Videl felt his touch, she lashed out at him with all her anger. Gohan was fine taking all the hits until she nearly hit his bandaged wound, then he had to yell her name. Finally, her eyes snapped wide opened and she starred at him.
"Get out of here, you sick pervert!" She screamed at him over and over again until the startled Gohan was out the door and resting against the closed door. He could hear her gentle sobs she tried to hold in so hard but to no avail. He wanted so badly to help her, but she refused to let him in. He couldn't imagine the type of pain she was going through, but he understood pain, even if it wasn't the same type Videl's was.
After a long time of waiting, her sobs turned to gentle whimpers, then finally it was silent. It appeared she had fallen asleep well over an hour later and Gohan was finally able to sleep again, too. Another hour went by before Gohan was awoken by her screams again. This time, they were hoarse and they seemed distant, but it still held the same fear and sorrow from the last time.
Learning his lesson from her last reaction, Gohan crept quietly into her room. She was thrashing about again, but less violent, due to the fact that she had worn herself out already. Gohan sat down next to her on the bed and put his hand on her cheek, whispering comforting words in her ear. This caused Videl to settle down, but it didn't help the hurt expression from leaving her face. He began to stroke her hair softly, then quietly, barely more than a whisper, he began to sing her a song.
"She said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you're living in between the lines
And all the stars are sparkling, shine everyday
He said life's so hard to move in sometimes
When it feels like I'm in the line
And no one even cares to ask me why I feel this way
And I know you feel helpless now, and I know you feel, hold on
That's the same road, the same road that I'm on, yeah
He said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you keep it on between the lines
And everything I want and I want to find one of these days
But what you thought was real in life
Oh, it somehow steer you wrong
And now you just keep trying and trying to find out where you belong
And I know you feel helpless now, and I know you feel, hold on
That's the same road, the same road that I'm on
What you thought was real in life, somehow steer you wrong
And now you just keep trying and trying to find where you belong
I know you feel helpless now, I know you feel, hold on
That's the same, the same road that I'm on."
By the end of the song, Videl was fast asleep, this time in a more peaceful slumber. Some time during his song, she had repositioned herself so that she was leaning her head on his shoulder. After a while, Gohan slumped down on the pillows due to his tiredness.
Hesitantly, Gohan shifted to climb off the bed, wanting to return to his bed on the coach, but Videl began to whimper again. 'She must not have had many people there for her in her life,' Gohan thought to himself. Videl was still a complete mystery to him, but he was enjoying every minute trying to find out more about her.
Finally, he was too tired to keep his eyes open, and within minutes, he was fast asleep with Videlsnuggled against him. Little did he know that Videl would be the first to wake and ofall the trouble the new situation would bring.