Part III: Family Matters

Chapter: Hold that thought

"Hold that thought." Her voice echoed in his soul, and he could not stop listening to it. Over and over again, he played her words in his mind, until he felt like losing the grip of reality.

But what was there, in the reality, if he forgot her voice? What was there, if he let go of the last moment he had seen her, held her near, shared the rhythm of her heart?

"Hold that thought. I'll see you in a minute."

He still felt her hand in his own, her lips on his mouth, her soft breasts against his chest, her heartbeat in his bloodstream.

"Hold that thought."

Hell, like he could ever let go of that! Even without her plea in his mind, he would've clung to that thought like a drowning man clinging to a life buoy. It was the only thing that kept him from falling to an abyss of darkness, that would swallow him if he ever let go.

The thought that she had read from his mind.

"Gosh, I love you so much!"

"Hold that thought." her smile, like sunshine in a world without light, like a rain in the desert, he still felt it in his bloodstream, her love that took his breath away. "I'll see you in a minute."

That minute had now lasted more than two months, and it had felt like an eternity. Every miserable second without Margot, was an endless night of suffering, pain and fear.

What will I do, if we fuck this up? What if I never get to hold her again?

He shook his head in desperation, to drive away his doubts.

This was it, this was the day he'd get her back and everything would be right again. She was alive, and she was here, in the same city. There was no way he'd go home without her now, no matter the cost. And if it came to that, he was prepared to die for her.

He leaned hard on the sink, his hands slightly trembling, and raised his eyes to the mirror. In the pale light of the bathroom, he looked more like a zombie than a man, but he hardly cared. Looking like Hell was alright, when you were already dead inside.

You'll see her again tonight. Just hold on, she'll be in your arms in a few hours. Just calm down, so you won't mess this up.

But his hands wouldn't stop shaking. Too much caffeine, too little sleep in his exhausted body. When was the last time he had eaten? Myers shook his head. Yesterday, Kat had forced him to have some tacos in a small place down the street. But since then? He could not remember. He'd have to grab something before… before tonight's mission. Kat was right. He could not work if he didn't eat.

But how could he eat, when the only thing he could think about, was Margot?

The memory of the last moment he had seen her. Walking away from him, the hem of her green wedding dress dancing around her slender legs, her hips swinging on an inviting way, the taste of her kiss still burning on his lips.

"I want to take you to the gorgeous wedding night suite, and make love to you there, all sweet and slow, all night long."

"Oh, sweet and slow you say? I'm liking that plan."

But they had never gotten to that suit. Instead, Myers had ended up in this miserable hotel room in Mexico City, and Margot… she had ended up as a slave to a Goddess.

It should've been me. He thought, staring his image in the mirror. She should've taken me, to kill, to enslave to do whatever. It was my fault that bitch Connelly ever got so far with her plans, and here we are now.

"John, are you alright?" a voice from the hotel room interrupted his thoughts. That was Abe, with whom Myers shared a room. He must've caught his moods through the door.

"Yeah, fine." he forced himself to reply. "I'll be there in a minute."

And then, again, Margot's voice in his heart, in his soul, in his ears, in his mind, an endless echo that gave him no peace.

Hold that thought. I'll see you in a minute.

Tonight. Myers gave himself a last look in the mirror. Just stay strong now. Hide the pain, hide the fear, forget it all for just a few more hours, and it'll be fine. You got this. Tonight she'll be in your arms, in your home, in the bed you'll make her yours-

"-all sweet and slow? I'm liking that plan." Margot smiled, and the memory made his heart break.

"Anyway you want, Margot." he breathed. "Just… please, come home with me."

A half an hour later, they met in Kat and Red's room - Myers, Kat, Hellboy and Abe.

"Myers, eat." Kat said, and tapped the bed by her side. There was a selection of tortas, a kind of stuffed sandwiches Mexican style, that Kat had bought from a booth on the street.

Not bothering to object, Myers took one, and forced himself to get a bite. Tomatoes, and some weird stringy cheese - it was good and Myers might have actually enjoyed it in any other circumstances. Now food was nothing but fuel, and it all tasted like ashes.

"Heard anything of Clay?" he asked, after the first bite.

"Yeah, still the same. They haven't returned yet." Red replied.

That made Myers nervous. They had left Clay guarding the building where the Goddess had rented a penthouse.

"And Kaye?"

"Nothing yet." Kat said. "He'll tell us when it's time. Just eat your food, Boss."

"I'm not your Boss." Myers said. "Stop that already."

"Sure thing, Boss." Kat grinned. "Just trying to lighten up the atmosphere."

"Christ, you're so much like Jay that you could be his twin, instead of Andu."

"Hey!" Kat protested. "That's absurd! I'm nothing like Jay!"

"Yeah, right." noted Hellboy.

"Say what?" Kat snapped.

"Nothing, babe!"

That made Myers give HB an amused look. "Hen-pecked." he mouthed silently - making sure Kat didn't notice.

But just then Myers' cell phone rang, and he picked up immediately. It was Kaye.

Standing up from the bed, Myers walked to the window.

"Tell me."

"We've got a problem!" Kaye's voice sounded alarmed, and Myers felt his insides turning to a hard knot.

"What is it?"

"They're heading back, alright, but not alone. They've got a young bloke with them, a pretty one. He totally fits the profile of the victims. I think the Goddess is gonna-"

"Yeah." Said Myers. "We'd better hurry. Meet you there asap."

"Yeah, Boss." Kaye replied. "Gotta go."

"Hey, I'm not your Bo-"

But Kaye had already hung up.

Myers turned to face his team. He took a short moment to just look at their faces, and suddenly he felt emotional. This was more than his team, they were his family, and without a doubt, they would die for each other if it came to that. One for all, and all for one, if you liked to be poetic about it.

Expectantly, they all looked at him, Kat' suddenly dead serious, Abe's black eyes revealing nothing.

"It's time." Myers said.

"Let's kick some Goddess ass." said Kat, hopping to her feet. "All ready?"

"Yeah." said Red, checking that his Samaritan was at his belt. "You, babe?"

"You bet. No one messes with my best friend and gets away with it."

Myers was already at the door, the phone in his ear again.

"Contreras, is the car ready?" he said.

"Si, aqui estoy." a female voice answered. "At the back door."

He hung up, and went to the hallway, his team following right behind. Reaching the staircase, he heard Kat's fast and light feline footsteps, as she got to his side.

"Tell me again why we don't just teleport?" Kat snapped. "We're in a hurry."

"'Cause you're gonna need all the strength you got." Myers replied. "Besides, they might sense it. Safer this way."

"Myers, you sure about this plan?" she asked, as they hurried down the stairs.

He gave her a sideways glance.

"You came up with it, so yeah."

"But I-"

"It's a good plan." Myers stated. "I trust you, you can do it."

"It's not that I'm worried about."

"Then what is it?" Myers turned to glance at Kat.

"Just… don't do anything stupid, Boss. That's all."

"Still not your boss." Myers muttered. "But yeah, not planning to get suicidal if that's what you mean."

"John."

Kat's voice made him stop. She hardly ever called him 'John', it was always either 'Myers', 'kid', or 'boy scout' - or lately the super annoying 'Boss'. But never John. He turned to look at Kat, seeing the emotion in her golden eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked. "What is it?"

"We'll get her back." her voice was reassuring. "You know that, right?"

Myers could hardly make himself to nod. There was something in his throat, that made talking difficult, and he sure as Hell wasn't going to cry now.

"Yeah, okay." he managed. "It's just a job."

But they both knew this was a way more than ordinary job. Every job was important, but this was the matter of life and death - if they fucked this up, Myers knew life would not be worth living anymore. In silence they took the last remaining steps and reached the basement floor.

Myers turned to look as Red and Abe caught up with them, and then open the door.

The summer night of Mexico City was hot, even if the sun had already set, and they instantly felt the dry, burning air on their skin as they stepped outside. But already waiting for them, was a big, black vehicle, and a petite young woman, leaning on the car, smoking a cigarette.

"Buenas noches." the woman, a local agent called Ariadna Contreras, said. "Ya nos vamos?"

Myers gave her a nod. "Let's go."

Without further conversation Contreras stumped her cigarette and stepped into the car, on the driver's seat. They had gone over the plan so many times in the past few days, that no questions were asked.

As the car took off, to the noisy traffic of Mexico City, Myers reached for his cellphone. He went through his contacts, selected the number of Dr. Stefan Heinemann, and sent a text.

"Going in now."

After only a few seconds, an answer arrived.

"Bring my girl back. Godspeed."

Myers looked up from his phone, to the view from his window. Streets were packed with people, locals going on with their everyday business after the unbearable heat of daytime. Contreras drove fast, but Myers spotted marketplaces with flowers and all kinds of food, small parks where people enjoyed their supper tacos, and numerous small shops that sold everything you could imagine. The view was colorful and full of life, and sounds. The noises of the people, their laugh and their talk, the honking of the cars, the music of the restaurants, were muffled by the thick, bulletproof glass of car windows, making it even more obvious to Myers, that he was indeed separated from the real world.

"I'll see you in a minute." Margot's voice in his mind.

Myers clenched his fists, to stop his hands from shaking.