Have a Heart
Alexnandru Van Gordon
It's really quite funny how a person's brain flies out the window after you've worked on automatic for so long. I'm sorry for the long delay—I especially have to apologize to Dlsky for putting up with the wait, and I have to thank her for not kicking my sorry self off the competition. I know I have a lot of work to do but my teachers loaded us up with projects on the long vacation and now they're giving us new packages that are due next week before Mid-terms (yeah…I know…everybody hates school). I have to update sooner or later on my other stories but I don't want to get kicked out of the challenge…Hit me if it makes you feel better. I really want to get Not Again out of my head before it starts embedding itself within my nightmares…
DISCLAIMER: (laughing hysterically)…
CHAPTER NINE: Part A…
He had to laugh.
There was no helping it. Don't get him wrong—the Boy Wonder was an admirable fighter and the quite the nifty little detective—but tonight was not one of his nights. He was fighting desperately, almost as though he was 'afraid' to let Slade slip away again.
Just from that bit of information, Slade could tell one thing—Robin and the Teen Titans came across the trade-off with Mr. Church by fluke. They had no idea where anyone would hide when the dust settled or what plans connected with the kidnapping of Eric Church and that was why they were so eager to stop everyone tonight.
Too bad for the heroes.
Watching as Robin moved to swing his staff again, Slade brought up his own weapon in an upward circle, catching the boy in the chest and sending him through the air where he landed in a ruckus behind a large pile of crates. One of them broke beneath his weight and Robin's staff, which he had lost grip of in flight, whistled through the air until it collided with the far wall.
Hopefully, if he were smart, Robin would stay down for the count. Slade couldn't afford for the boy to ruin yet another one of his 'more-important' plans.
He spoke too soon.
Just as he turned away, dusting off his hands, something small, round and metal clinked off the ground as it bounced in his general direction. He spun around just in time to see a tiny red dot pick up speed as it beeped wildly at him.
Looked like Robin was into making new toys.
Startled into action, Slade kicked it.
The frenzied time-ball whizzed through the air toward the battle ranging on between the other Titans and Church's men. It landed near the Cyborg and Starfire, startling the half-robotic man to turn and run, but ensnaring the alien-girls attention until it exploded.
"EEP!" She screamed, but, fortunately for her, she soared free of the explosion before it could cause her harm.
Muttering to himself about carrying sedatives for now on, Slade turned sharply on his heel and headed back toward the Boy Wonder as he climbed his way over the crates.
-E-
"What are you doing here?"
The dark girl levitating beside him, hands and eyes glowing, threw a large black spike in the general direction of his father before turning to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
This was getting to be frustrating. First he had to endure hell on the long plane-ride to America with only Lord Chuckles for company, and now, when things were starting to look up for him, the Titans had to barge in and put a dent in the plan.
"Never mind." He mumbled. "Thank you for the speedy rescue attempt."
The green changeling of the team, a jokester which kept changing into a monkey to evade the bullets and jump the armed men, came soaring through the air and landed in Eric's arms before morphing back into his humanoid self. "Attempt? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing…"
"Nothing?" The boy scratched his head. "You don't look too happy."
Eric sighed." Maybe it's because I'm wondering why you're protecting me when my wife over there is struggling with some strange man…"
True to his word—aside from the 'wife' part—Muriel was struggling with one of his father's men, desperate enough to start kicking the man in the shins when biting him didn't work. That's when he pulled out the gun…
Eric drew his own first.
The man yelled and clutched his hand, dropping the gun and successfully losing his grip on Muriel as she dashed toward Eric. Raven, who had her back to Eric, flinched when the gun went off and Beast Boy, who was still standing near him, morphed into something small and disappeared quickly into the dark rafters. Now afraid that one of them would get shot, Eric dragged Muriel with him out of the open and behind one of the large wooden crates stored in the old warehouse.
"Where's Klaus?"
Muriel shivered, rubbed her arms nervously. "They dragged him outside." She answered meekly, pointing across the warehouse at the door Church and his men used to enter the building. "I think they knocked him out."
"Damn…" He cursed under his breath. "Muriel, hide somewhere in here—stay close to the Titans and let them take you somewhere safe."
Her face paled and she reached out for him just as he moved to stand. "What about you?"
"Relax. I have this under control."
She looked incredulous. "How so?"
A bullet ricocheted off the floor near Eric's foot, startling him into ducking behind the crate again. "Just…just believe in me." He gave her a quick hug. "Okay? And don't do anything brash or stupid?"
"Like what?" She sniffled.
"Remember your kid."
He slipped away before she could comment again and ran toward the far door, colliding with it and pushing himself outside before anyone had the chance to shoot him in the legs.
The cold evening air assaulted his lungs as he took a deep breath and spun around in search of Klaus. He was in a large alley between two of the dock warehouses, one way leading to the waters and the other leading down to the road. He hesitated to think that his father would take a boat and his thought was confirmed when he saw the small white cold of gas rising from the back of a vehicle visible around the building.
Gun ready, he sighed to himself and started down toward the road.
"Should have picked curtain number two."
He barely had time to turn before the gun went out. Tired, shocked, and still a little dizzy from his plane-ride to America, the pain in his left calf and shin barely registered properly in his mind for the first few seconds. Now limp, he could only turn half way and ended up leaning against the side of the warehouse for support when he caught sight of his father and two of his men.
"Shoot him in the other leg." His father ordered and the two men jogged forward. "Then lock him up in the car. We leave as soon as—"
The same door Eric used now banged open, two more of the men and Muriel stumbling out into the alleyway. Smoke rushed out from inside the building, thick and black like tar.
One of the crates must have caught on fire.
Muriel, dizzy and tired from her ordeal, different offer much of a fight as one of the men grabbed her from behind. She yelped in pain when he pulled her arm up high behind her back and slid his other hand around her throat.
Mr. Church glanced at her sadly. "Try to be a little gentle, Thomas. She isn't much of a threat to your health."
Another gun went off.
Eric cried out in pain and slumped to the ground, sitting up against the brick. Blood now poured from the new wound on his right shin and Muriel stared at it in utter dismay and horror.
"Take her by the water." Mr. Church sighed, eyes cast to the ground. "Kill her and throw her in."
-M-
She didn't mean to get caught a second time. Indeed, she did listen to Eric and tried to stay hidden, but from where she crouched in safety she saw the leader of the Titans, bruised and battered, trying to climb over the mountain of crates just as one of the gunners set fire to them. In the corner of her eye she noticed the large fire-extinguisher nailed to a pillar in the warehouse and made a break for it—just as one of the other men rounded the stack of crates and ran right into her. Then he grabbed her hair in one hand and her arm in the other before dragging her outside.
They shot Eric—
—again by the look of both his legs. He was bleeding mildly on the ground where he sat before two men leaned down on either side of him and held his arms over their shoulders.
What Mr. Church said barely registered in her head.
"Take her by the water, kill her and throw her in."
Now she literally dead…
"No!" It was Eric again, horrified at the sight of them dragging her away.
His father sighed wearily, obviously not too keen on killing her either. "Why not? Why was she with you in the first place?"
"Your stupidity is incredible. Why else would she be with me?"
Perhaps the thought dawned on the older man before. Chances were, he dismissed the idea entirely, but now the possibility was back from the grave.
The two men dragging Muriel off halted for a moment and turned to Mr. Church for new orders. He gazed for a long time at her stomach and then at her face.
"What relation do you have with him?"
Now she knew why Eric made a plan with her. She was somewhat glad now he took her late husband's wedding ring.
"I'm married to him."
Again he hesitated, almost expecting it to be a lie. But when he turned to stare at Eric and his eye caught the ring on his left hand…
"In all honesty, Eric, I never thought you'd create such a liability. I guess I was wrong…" Mr. Church shook his head, but this time he appeared somewhat relieved. "Thomas, take her to the car. And be careful…"
But good grief…now she was out of the frying pan and in the oven. What was to happen to her if Mr. Church found out they weren't married after all? What were they going to do with her anyway—and what about Eric? They shot him in both legs…what kind of father let that happen to his son?
"Smile." 'Thomas' muttered in her ear as he pushed her forward. "You're damn lucky you've got his kid."
The idiot didn't know the half of it…
-MC-
As eager as he was to leave, some intuitive thought told him to stay behind for a little longer. That, he could do…
Standing patiently with his hands behind his back, he watched his men drag Eric around the corner to the car. All in all, he won more than he hoped to in that one night. Not only did he have his son—and yes, it did grieve him to have his own son shot, least he tried to escape—but he had his younger son back as well and a grandchild…He never thought he, or either of his sons, would live long enough for a grandchild to be born. Not only that—but he honestly never expected Eric to settle down for anything like that. When did he have the time to find a woman to marry who understood the predicament he was in? Eric had been on the run ever since the first time he escaped.
Thank God he stopped Thomas…
"Your men burned my payment."
He regarded the mercenary respectively as Slade stepped out into the cold. Smoke rose out behind him, not appearing to bother him in the least bit.
"I trust you bugged one of my men."
"I did."
Mr. Church nodded. "Follow us when you may. I'll pay you in full when we meet again."
"Expect me soon."
Good—the sooner the better. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the man anymore…
But something seemed to be amiss…
-A-
Gotta go—hope it didn't sound rushed. Victor wrote another chapter for his story and is bugging me to use the computer…
Signing out,
Alexnandru Van Gordon