Chapter five: One disaster after another
What did they just hear? Were they the men who set fire to the nuclear power plant? Lori and Natasha are on their way home. To the Louds. The two run up the stairs to Lori's room.
"Emergency sibling meeting!" Lori said loudly.
All siblings went to Lori's room. Natasha sat down on Lori's bed. She stared at the floor.
"I think we found out who caused the accident at the nuclear power plant." Said Lori.
"Who was that?" asked Lincoln.
"We don't know who. We heard their voices in a warehouse." replies Lori.
"Oh spooky." said Lucy.
"We must find out the truth." said Lori.
"You can't go alone." said Lincoln.
"Yes. They hurt Natasha's father. That requires revenge." said Lola angrily.
"You are too young for that. Leni and Luna should go with Lori and Natasha." said Luan.
"That seems to be the only reasonable solution." said Luna.
"Do these people even want to talk to us?" Leni asked.
"They hurt my father. They'll talk. They'll talk. Whether they want to or not. And if they're the culprits, God forbid I'll massacre them and hang them from a tree myself." said Natasha.
Lori, Leni, Luna, Lola and Natasha left the room and went out into the night. The light wind was pleasantly cool.
"If they don't want to talk, we'll do it with brute force." said Natasha.
"That's my specialty." said Lola.
"Why are you even coming with us?" asked Natasha.
"Because I want justice for your father." said Lola.
"And because she can't take no." said Luna.
"Hey! I can take no." said Lola offended.
"Excuse me." said Luna.
"There. That way." said Lori.
"Cool. It's like those prison documentaries." said Lola.
"It's no wonder you're so aggressive." said Luna.
The five reached the warehouse. They went to the door that Lori and Natasha used to leave the warehouse. The door could only be opened from the outside with a key.
"Has anyone a hairpin?" asked Natasha.
Lori took one out of her pocket and gave it to Natasha. Natasha slipped them into the keyhole and pushed the pins down. The door was open. They went in. They heard the voices talking to each other again. They looked through a shelf of goods. They see four men. One is in his early sixties and is bald. He stands opposite a man in his mid-forties. He has slightly longer gray hair that is tied tightly together. He also has a short gray beard. The second man is holding a plastic bag with white crystals in his hand. Natasha doesn't realize what exactly that substance in the plastic bag is.
"I need to get my hands on a bag like this." said Natasha.
"One of us has to do this." said Lori.
"Leni. Look around the warehouse for such bags." said Natasha.
"Leni, you know how serious this situation is?" asked Luna.
Leni nodded and went further into the warehouse.
"What's the level of purity?" asked the bald man.
"76 percent." said the man with the gray hair.
A third man, in his early fifties, who is bald, wears thin glasses and has a short beard speaks.
"That's crap. The product is crap."
"What are you suggesting?" asked the second man.
"This here." said the third.
He pulled out a plastic bag filled with blue crystals.
"This is Blue Sky. 99.1 percent purity." he said.
"What is that?" whispered Lola.
"That gives enough leeway to stretch." said The Second Man.
"Are you crazy? There's no stretch material coming in. Our customers get what they pay for." said the third man.
"We can ask twice the price for that." said the first man.
"Girls." said Leni.
Her voice was full of fear. Her eyes were red and tears were running down her cheeks. A man with light brown hair, a mustache and a swastika tattoo on the right side of his neck stood behind Leni. He pointed a silenced pistol at Leni's head.
"Do what I say or I'll blow Blondi's head off." he said.
The five slowly walk towards the other four men. The second man also drew a silenced pistol. He pointed it at the third man.
"Are they yours? Talk!" screams the second man.
"No, they don't belong to me." said the third man.
The second man points his gun at Lori.
"Who do you work for? Salamanca? The cartel?"
"We don't work for anyone." said Natasha.
"Shut your fucking mouth Titanic! Nobody talks to you!" he yelled at Natasha.
He turned to the first man.
"Tie them up. We'll see what we do with them."
Natasha realizes that the second man had a swastika tattooed on his right hand. On the right side of his neck he had the symbol of the Schutzstaffel, and on the left side a large swastika. Natasha was sweating. The five were tied up and thrown into a room. A small Storage Room, where the only light comes from a small lightbulb. In the middle of the room they sat back to back.
"I hope they let us go." said Lola.
"I also hope." said Lori.
"Have you seen these guys' tattoos? Don't get your hopes up." said Natasha.
"What about those tattoos?" asked Luna.
"The guy had a swastika tattoo. And on the right side of his neck the symbol of the Schutzstaffel. We're actually already dead." said Natasha.
"What is the Schutzstaffel?" Leni asked.
"Leni! this is not the right time." Lori said angrily.
"It's okay Lori. Leni, the Schutzstaffel was originally the personal protection of Adolf Hitler. She was responsible for the Holocaust. The SS killed five to six million people. Mainly Jews. These people who are holding us captive are neo-Nazis. Probably Members of the Aryan Brotherhood. It's over."
It got quiet. Lola started to sob. She leaned against Lori. The man who pointed the gun at Leni came in. He untied Natasha's legs. Then he unleashed Natasha's arms.
"Move Titanic!"
Natasha was led from the man to the man with the swastika and Schutzstaffel tattoos.
"Who do you work for?" He asked.
"I don't work for anyone." answered Natasha.
"Of course not. How do you know what we're doing?"
"I don't know anything about you."
"So what did you see?" asked the man.
"Nothing at all." said Natasha.
He slowly walked towards Natasha. Then he slapped her on the cheek.
"Talk!" he yelled at Natasha.
The first man came with Lola in hand.
"Jack, she wanted to leave. She almost opened the door." he said.
"You should do as we tell you. But I have no choice." said The Second Man.
He took out his pistol and aimed it at Lola.
"Well princess, good news, now you're going to be the queen of the dead." said Jack.
Lola closed her eyes.
"No, not!" screamed Natasha.
Jack looks over at Natasha.
"We all want to get this over with quickly. So let me do it."
"No, don't hurt her, she's only six. Please. A warning. Or punish me." said Natasha.
"OK. a warning." said Jack.
He put down his gun.
Natasha breathes a sigh of relief. Jack pointed his pistol at Natasha and fired. The bullet hit her left shoulder. Lola screamed. Natasha fell over, clutching her shoulder. Jack slowly approached Natasha.
"That was the warning. And I'm in a very good mood today. The next time you make a mistake, it's the princess' turn. And then, I aim lower." said Jack.
Jack pull Natasha up by her left arm. Natasha was in extreme pain. Jack led her into an adjoining room with a table and two chairs. Jack aimed his silenced Glock 17 steadily at Natasha. He pointed to a chair. Natasha sat down. Jack sat down opposite.
"You know Titanic, I don't trust you." said Jack.
"Please don't call me Titanic." said Natasha.
"That's right, the Titanic is way too small. You're more of a Bismarck. A fat Bismarck." Jack laughed.
Natasha is in tears. That insult hurt as much as the gunshot wound in her shoulder.
"I'm not Bismarck." said Natasha, sad and angry at the same time.
"Exactly, a battleship like that was worth something. You're just an ugly, worthless, weak little girl who came out of the nest too soon." Said Jack.
"Please stop."
"Aww that fat girl is sad. You should have thought of that before you bothered us."
Jack takes out a small glass container that contained a light blue liquid. He took out a syringe and filled it. Then he approached Natasha.
"You don't want to talk? But my friend Blue sky would like to talk to you." said Jack.
"No. Please."
Jack initiated the liquid. Then he sat down again.
"And now, we wait."
Minutes passed. Natasha didn't want to talk. But at some point she would have to. She didn't know why. Her right hand was shaking. She had the feeling of being able to run around the world.
"I'm not comfortable around assholes, you know? That's why I never felt comfortable at school. But Lori is my best friend. I feel very comfortable with her, you know? She's great."
"I don't care. Say what you want here."
"You know that I cant remember my mother? Did you know that she disappeared 18 months after my birth?"
"If I looked at you I would disappear too."
Natasha thought Jack shot her heart. That hurt. Jack pulled her out again by her left arm. Then he threw them back to the others in the small storage room.
"Natasha, what's wrong with your shoulder?" asked Lori horrified.
"So there I was in front of Jack. And Lola tried to run away and got caught. She was supposed to be shot, but then I got the warning. And they injected me with something. Anyway, since then I can't stop talking and I've felt terribly bad since I was injected with that stuff. My god I could talk forever." Natasha said very quickly.
Lola lies on Lori's lap and cries. Lori looks down at Lola.
"Lola, why didn't you tell us that?" asked Lori.
"I was so scared. I was scared for Natasha." cried Lola.
The door of the room opens. A brown haired man wearing a suit walks in. He closes the door and unleashes Lori, Leni and Luna.
"Give me five dollars. One for each of you." said the man.
"Why?" asked Lori.
"Just give it."
Lori takes out her wallet and gives the man five dollars. He holds them out in front of them.
"I'm Jimmy Clarkson, your attorney. I'm bound by attorney-client privilege now. Anything you tell me stays between us."
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Luna.
"Wasn't that obvious enough? I'll get you out of here. So what did you do?" Clarkson asked.
"Well, it started today with the accident at the nuclear power plant. My father saved everyone but he got irradiated and is sick now. We thought these people here were to blame for the nuclear power plant burning and wanted to ask them about it. We were arrested And I got shot in the shoulder, and I got injected with something." Natasha said very quickly.
"That was meth, that's why you talking so much. You guys don't look like members of the cartel to me." said Clarkson. Clarkson looks at Lola.
"God. If I had known that such a little girl was here, I would have come yesterday."
"Yesterday? What time is it?" asked Leni.
Clarkson looks at his watch.
"10:21 am."
"Oh no. Our parents must be worried." said Lori.
"Wait. You said your father was exposed to radiation at the nuclear plant. Is your father Mike Stevenson?" asked Clarkson.
"No. Only hers." Lori said, pointing to Natasha.
"Your, hers, it doesn't matter. But this is your ticket to freedom." said Clarkson.
"Why?" Leni asked.
"Because these guys would have lost a lot of money in a nuclear accident. They admire Mike Stevenson." said Clarkson.
Clarkson approached Lola.
"Don't worry little one. You'll get out of here." said Clarkson and stroked Lola's hair.
Clarkson opened the door. They approached the members of Jack's gang. The lawyer was first.
"Well. My clients suspected that they had hurt their father." said Clarkson.
"Which one? I've killed so many fathers. I don't care." said Jack.
"I know. But do you remember the phone call we had yesterday? About that man at the nuclear power plant?" Clarkson asked.
"Yes. why?" asked Jack.
"Because they are Mike Stevenson's daughters." said Clarkson.
"These are supposed to be his daughters?" asked Jack.
"Yes. And they are here because they love their father." said Clarkson. Lola clung to Lori.
"How cute." said Jack sarcastically.
"But it is so." said Clarkson.
"Why do they think we did this to Stevenson?" asked Jack.
"Because the fire in the nuclear power plant was probably caused by manipulation." said Natasha.
"Your father is a brave man. And because of that son of a bitch who set the fire, we lost almost a million dollars." said Jack.
Jack approached Natasha.
"It's not our territory, but for your father's sake, we'll help you if you need it." Jack said, holding out his hand to Natasha.
Natasha looks at Jack's hand. A deal with neo-Nazis? Natasha considered.
"For my father." thought Natasha, shaking Jack's hand.
"Good. You are allies now." said Clarkson.
The five want to leave the warehouse with Clarkson, but then they hear Jack's voice.
"Silence means trust."
Natasha and Lori understood.
The attorney led them to a parking lot.
"Get in my car. I'll drive you home." said Clarkson
"Thanks." said Lori.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" asked Luna.
"Well, I'm Jack's attorney. And he didn't know what to do. He called me. Like i said, better call Clarkson." said Clarkson
The lawyer walked up to an old yellow Fiat with a red back door. He unlocked it. Natasha climbed into the passenger seat. Lori, Leni and Luna sat on the back seat. Clarkson Looks at Lola.
"Sit on one of your sisters' laps."
Lola got in. She sat on Leni's lap and Leni put on her seat belt. Clarkson closed the car door and got in.
"Where do you have to go?" Clarkson asked. "FranklinAvenue." saidLori.
Clarkson started the engine and drove off. In ten minutes they reached Franklin Avenue. The girls and Clarkson got out. He gave Lori two business cards.
"This is my business card. If there's always something wrong, call me, I'm available 24 hours a day. And this is an arms dealer's business card. If you keep investigating like this, you need guns." said Clarkson.
"Thank you Mr. Clarkson." said Lori.
"Yes. Thank you Mr. Clarkson." Lola said, and hugged Clarkson's legs.
"For you I like doing it Lola. Oh, Lori, Natasha. Because of Natasha's gunshot wound, do not go to a doctor. If you do that the police will be informed by the doctor."
"We have to heal Natasha though." said Leni.
Clarkson opened the trunk and took out a first aid kit. He gave it to Lori.
"Maybe I can find a doctor who treats you Natasha. But I can not promise that."
"Nevertheless, thank you Mr. Clarkson." said Luna.
"No problem. I have to go now. I have other clients." said Clarkson and got into his Fiat.
Clarkson drove away. The five went to the house of louds. They entered the house. Lori and Natasha went into the bathroom. Rita goes to Leni, Luna and Lola.
"Are you all right?" asked Rita.
"Yes. We were walking in the woods and we missed the last tram." Said Luna.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Lori and Natasha locked themselves in the bathroom. Lori helped Natasha take off her t-shirt. The gunshot wound looked hideous. Lori opened the first aid kit. She took out a bandage and bandaged Natasha's wound.
"You should go to the hospital with an injury like that." said Lori.
"You heard Clarkson. I'm going to visit my father in the hospital today." said Natasha. "Do you really want to show your father that wound?"
"No, of course not. I'll see how he is." said Natasha.
"Should I come with you?" asked Lori.
"Yes. First of all, I can't drive a car." said Natasha.
Lori had finished the bandage. She helped Natasha put on the old t-shirt and they went to Vanzilla unnoticed. First they went to Natasha's home. There Natasha took out a gray T-shirt on which there were lightning bolts. The t-shirt said, "I'm electro-cute." Luan would have liked that. Natasha went to the fridge and took out two Snickers. She ate them. They got back into Vanzilla. At the hospital they walked down the endless corridors. Then they arrived at Mike's room. There was a security guard at the door. He stopped them.
"You must wear gloves and masks. Here are some." said the security guard, pointing to a holder where gloves and masks were placed.
"Why?" asked Lori.
"I'm not a doctor." said the guard.
"My father's immune system is weak now. We can infect him." said Natasha. The two put on gloves and masks and entered the room.
They went towards the bed. A transparent curtain went around the bed. When Lori saw Mike, she felt sick. Mike had no more hair. And all over his body were black spots. The skin began to fall off in some places. Mike slept. Lori could describe this sight in one word: disgusting.
"Natasha, we better go." whispered Lori.
Natasha didn't move. She looked at her father. She sobbed softly. Mike opened his eyes. "Natasha?" he said weakly.
"Yes Dad?" asked Natasha.
"I had a dream." said Mike.
"What did you dream?" asked Natasha.
"The way I hold you. You, you were a baby. And your mother. I dreamed about your first day in life. Oh Natasha, we were so happy." said Mike.
Mike slowly turned his head and looked at Natasha with wide eyes. Lori saw that he was afraid. "You are my angel, Natasha." said Mike.
"Lori?" said mike.
"Yes Mr. Stevenson?" asked Lori.
"Thank you for looking after my daughter." said Mike.
"Do you remember that lullaby dad?" asked Natasha.
"Yes. Your mother's favorite song. I can't get that song out of my head right now." said Mike.
"I miss mom." said Natasha.
"I also." said Mike.
"I'm so tired." said Mike, and fell asleep.
Natasha stuck her hand through the curtain. She gently stroked her father's cheek.
"Sleep well." said Natasha softly.
Natasha and Lori left the room and took off the gloves and masks. Without saying a word, Natasha walked over to Vanzilla.
"Natasha, it's none of my business, but because of your mother, do you want to stay with us while your father is here?" asked Lori.
Natasha narrowed her eyes and nodded. Lori started the engine and drove off. The two stopped at Natasha's house and got some clothes. Then they drove home.
End of Chapter Five