A/N: I'm baaaaack! And with the much anticipated chapter 15! Please check out my other fics which I have had a chance to update today as well, if you find the time. All of your support is extremely appreciated!
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
…
The air was cool, and the sky grey. It made the city seem quieter than it actually was. For the two teens wandering down the roads, nothing else mattered.
Tala sighed. Neither him nor Max had said a word since they had left the apartment, and the red-head was content to leave it that way. He felt a little sick, not having eaten much in the last couple of days.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye, watching the blonde American keeping pace with his footsteps on the sidewalk. He was tiny for his age, the top of his head only reaching Tala's shoulders. His straw hair fell in a lazy way around his face, framing pale skin and bright, ocean blue eyes. He had his hands buried in the pockets of his jean coat, his head slightly hung in contemplation.
A smile reached Tala's lips as he observed his companion. After another moment the small teen must have felt his stare because he turned his head, gently tilting it up to smile back at him.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked sincerely, his large eyes calm. The Russian blinked, shifting his focus back to the ground. Max's smile fell a little, but he didn't pry.
They walked a little further before Tala took his eyes off of the sidewalk. "You didn't have anything to do with it."
"I played my part," he replied, watching a group of people ahead of them cross the road. "Either way I wasn't any help to the situation."
Tala furrowed his brows together in confusion. Was he arguing with him? He opened his mouth to say more, but Max cut him off.
"I've been to Moscow before…it's a beautiful city." Slightly taken aback, Tala didn't know how to respond to that at first.
"When were you there?" Squinting up at the sky, the American teen contemplated his answer.
"It's been a while," he confessed. "Maybe, four or five years? My mother is a scientist, and had business in Russia then."
"How long did you stay?" he nodded, finding peace in the memory of his home.
"Six months."
"This is my first time in America," Tala continued. "Funny, I don't think I ever planned on coming here."
"Oh?" his companion inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Why's that?" The red-head shrugged simply.
"There was never any reason to think about it. Other cultures intrigued me when I was younger, but I was comfortable where I was." Max grinned.
"I was the same way about leaving my house. After my mom and dad split up, I guess I thought that if I left the house, I'd be leaving my memories of my family behind." After he finished, he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Stupid…I know." The taller male shook his head without hesitation.
"There is no reason to be ashamed of that." He looked down at the petit American reassuringly. Max's eyes lit up gratefully.
"And you?" he tilted his head curiously. "What about your family?"
Tala waited until they turned the corner before answering. "My father wasn't a family man. He worked too much. I don't remember a lot about him. But he supported my mother and me, and I think she loved him."
Max sighed, letting the conversation fall back into a comfortable silence while they continued their walk. He didn't really know what to say to that answer anyway. It was clear to him that the redhead wasn't too fond of the topic.
"Hey," Tala spoke up suddenly. Max raised his head and quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"That building, over there, is Rei's office isn't it?"
The blonde scanned the street ahead of them, his blue eyes stopping on the corner building. "Yeah, I think it is."
In reality, Max had never been to Rei's office before, but he knew the address, and it looked like the right place. Looking up at his companion, he stared at the frost covering his pale blue eyes. He was concentrating on something, his stance tense. He seemed like he was threatened.
"Tala? What is it?"
Which one was it? The…third floor…
Max furrowed his brows in confusion, following the older teens gaze toward a window on the third floor. What the hell was he staring at?
How did they get into the building from the street entrance? There were police patrolling this end…unless…
Reaching up tentatively, the blonde placed a pale hand on Tala's shoulder. "Hey…what's up?"
Blinking, the Russian sighed, shaking his head.
"It's nothing. Just…" he opened his mouth to say more but decided against it. He was about to suggest that they find some coffee when his companion shrugged at him in a nonchalant way. Raising an eyebrow when Max nodded towards the building.
"Tala, if there's something you need to do…I can wait in the park."
His ice blue eyes widened in amazement. Rei was determined to keep him out of danger, and Max knew that he would only be a liability if he were to get involved. Still, he was determined to do everything that he could in order to help them.
All of them.
"Thanks Maxie," he smiled. "I'll be around in a few minutes."
Max smiled back and turned to go to the park down the street, listening as Tala's footsteps faded into the sounds of the city behind him.
…
Bryan swallowed hard, glancing around him in all directions. Feeling the wall for a switch, he cursed when he couldn't find one. And then, something occurred to him. With a sigh, he clapped his hands twice, nearly jumping back in surprise when the room became suddenly flooded with florescent lighting.
It had been a shot in the dark—literally—he hadn't actually expected it to work…
His uncle's vanity was boundless. It was sickening really.
Muttering to himself, the stocky Russian rubbed his eyes before surveying the room. It was not unlike any other office one might encounter. It had a decent sized desk, one larger than his own, standing in the center of the room as if to act as a blockade for the shelves and file cabinets visible behind it. There was a computer on the desk, set up in the right corner, leaving the rest of the large table top clear. And that was it….nothing more.
Furrowing his brows, Bryan suddenly became very disappointed and frustrated. There HAD to be more than what he was seeing. Even if the police took all the evidence that they had come across, this large open room couldn't have been stripped bare by their explorations. It looked as if the furniture had been set up as a mere display; the illusion of a clean-cut business office.
Walking cautiously around the desk, Bryan pulled out the leather, swivel chair and sat down. He felt his skin crawl at the thought of Boris, sitting in the very same chair, doing God only knew what.
"Jesus the guy isn't even around and I still want to rip his face off…"
Without wasting any time, Bryan began pulling out the drawers in the desk. Empty. There wasn't a single thing left in those drawers. The pale-eyed teen slammed his fist down on the polished wood surface.
"DAMNIT!" It couldn't be possible.
Standing up, he raided the shelves, pulling down empty boxes. Cursing violently, he threw them over the shoulder at the wall.
This wasn't happening. There had to be SOMETHING in this room.
He cast his eyes over everything that he could see three or four times, looking for a clue, a sign, anything that would let him know what was going on.
Again he glanced over the room. Desk, chair, computer, shelves, file cabinets…he hadn't checked those yet. Calming himself down, Bryan reached for the cabinets, noting that the lock had been broken by the police. He sighed angrily. If they'd already been through it then there was nothing left to find.
He dropped his hand reluctantly.
And then, a glint of metal caught his eye. Walking closer to the file cabinet, he picked up a small brass object.
A key.
He studied it for a minute, confused. Tiny, bronze colored; it was just like any other key…in fact, it looked like it was meant for the lock on the cabinet, but the police hadn't used it. Bryan raised an eyebrow. And Tala called him lazy.
He was about to set it down when a thought occurred to him.
No, the police aren't lazy at all. It would have been easier to use a key than bring in alternate equipment…
Bringing the small object closer to his face this time, he looked it over carefully. There were scratches on the sides, as if someone had forced it into a lock it didn't open.
Bryan closed the key in his fist, his heart thumping in his chest at the possibilities.
They tried to use it, but it didn't open the cabinet. Figuring it was a cute attempt to hinder them; the police left it and broke the lock. But that's exactly what he wanted…the key doesn't go to this cabinet!
His mind was a blur with thoughts. Where did the key go? The authorities already searched everywhere. Voltaire and Boris were both in custody, and the investigation for evidence had ended. It was very possible that the lock that this key belonged to had already been broken. So why the cold feeling in the pit of his stomach? Slowly he walked around the desk again.
The lock wouldn't be in the office. Boris was smarter than that.
Putting back everything where he found it, as if afraid that Boris would discover what he'd done, Bryan left just as quietly as he'd entered, after clapping the lights off. Glad to be free from the oppressive aura of his uncle's office, he marched his way down the hall to yet another seemingly normal room, pocketing the tiny key.
Throwing open the door, he began tearing apart Boris's room, ripping drawers out of his dresser and shelves out of the closet, searching for any indication of a hidden clue. There was nothing.
He turned to the bed then, and ripped the mattress off its frame, finding only empty space. He began to get frustrated again. Angry with himself, he threw an alarm clock from the bedside table across the room with a yell.
It flew into a mirror on the wall, and bounced harmlessly off of it.
"What the hell…?"
Bryan made his way over to the mirror slowly, placing his hands on the surface. Was it bulletproof? What the hell was it doing in his uncle's room?
Grabbing it by the edges, he lifted the heavy mirror off the wall, and let it fall to the floor, knowing it wouldn't break. Behind it, the wallpaper was peeling; a corner of it was bent back, as if someone had hastily stuck it there in a scramble to replace it. With renewed vigor the stocky Russian ripped the wall paper down, tearing at it with all of his hatred for the man who was leading him on this fucked up scavenger hunt.
When he was finished, he took a good look at the small black box, not unlike a single drawer of a filing cabinet, that he had discovered behind the wallpaper. Reaching into his pocket, he removed the key, inserting it into the lock beneath the handle. Rewarded with the sound of the drawer unlocking, he pulled the handle towards him slowly, his hands trembling slightly in anticipation.
For a long moment he could only stare at the files stuffed into the small drawer. This was Boris's Pandora's Box. And now that he'd found it, the teen wasn't so sure whether he wanted to be the one to open it.
No, he couldn't stop now. He made a promise to them…to Tala, and to Kai, that he would do what he could for both of them. Now he had his chance.
Reaching into the mass of manila folders and hastily scrawled Russian, Bryan took out the first folder he laid his hands on. It wasn't too large, which surprised him, so he checked the label.
Visual Progression
Furrowing his brows, the pale-eyed teen flipped open the cover, and began to slowly turn the pages.
His stomach churned violently. Jesus Christ…
He was trembling as he neared the last of the pages; his mind whirling with all kinds of thoughts and scenarios.
How can this be real!
Without warning, Bryan turned away from the file, and wretched.
…
A/N: Finally, Jade is getting off of her lazy ass and getting to the plotline eh? ;D
Next time, Bryan's discovery comes out into the open when he calls Tala, who has made some discoveries of his own. The boys are starting to find out just how dangerous the city can be…
Until next time!
