Chapter 24 - On the edge
Goku opened up his beer with a sigh of satisfaction and sat back into his plushy armchair. He took a sip and his eyes wandered again on his treasures exposed on the screen of the computer. "Great…" he murmured for himself.
He'd reviewed the pictures at least hundred times since he was back from the beach and he was still stunned that they had turned out so amazing. Beside being a gifted photographer, he'd been blessed with breathtaking settings and a godly weather. He wouldn't have had a better result if Bulma Briefs and her boyfriend had been willing to strike the pose for him.
That meant money, a lot of money. Enough money to get Chichi back once and for all. He'd buy her a house. No. He'd have a true villa built up for her. In Mount Paozu - or in whatever place she'd like. He would make her a Princess again.
The memory of her calling them senseless shit still stung his heart, especially considering Chichi would watch out for her language in normal times. They weren't that though. They were husband and wife, no matter human laws or her bad temper. He just needed to open her eyes about this simple truth. He would rekindle her faith and she would be happy again.
Then, Gohan would be back to his former, careless self too. The boy had grown sad and somehow angry in the past weeks and Goku knew it had been the reason of his defeat at the Tournament. Goku couldn't deny his disappointment when the boy had let Satan's girl beat him, but he hadn't missed something had gone broken in the kid's heart. Was it because Gohan was indeed in love with the girl? Or maybe, he'd been truly bothered by the pictures of the Champion they had snapped together. Or, he just sensed his parents were crumbling apart for good. Maybe all these reasons together had triggered that weird mix of resentment and hopelessness overwhelming him lately.
Back at the tournament, Goku had done his best to hide his annoyance and fake satisfaction at his son's second place. Gohan hadn't been fooled, but Goku had actually acted that way in regard for Chichi. It had been too much of an ill time to anger her and he'd known she wouldn't forgive him for pressuring their son about such a petty thing as fighting.
Either way, Goku's grudge about the defeat had given way to a nagging concern about Gohan and he was hellbent on getting to the bottom of it as soon as he would be done with his job about the Heiress. He would take some time for his son. Things couldn't be so serious in a ten year old kid's life and Goku would fix them. Then, Gohan would never do such thing as letting any opponent beat him again. Goku was pretty confident about that.
Unbeknown to him a smile had stretched his lips at the thought. He kept sipping his beer and enjoying the sunset through the open window of his hotel room.
Due to the kind weather, an amazing crowd of tourists had turned up in Paprika Bay and all the trains back to West City were full until night. Thus, he'd found himself stuck in the small town for the rest of the day. He didn't mind though. His job was done and well done and he was even ahead of schedule, so he had no need to stress out back to his home. He'd enjoyed a fair lunch on the terrace of the hotel overhanging the see and he'd also had time to take a much deserved nap.
He'd even ended the book about Bardock. He'd learned how the Saiyan General had led the rebellion along with the young Prince and how he'd failed at stopping the Ice-Jinn from unleashing their terrible bomb on Vegitasei and getting their hand back on the Prince. The unfortunate events had eventually cost the General's life. The author of the book had left a final note stating that the Ice-Jinn had taken possession of the Saiyajin country after that, keeping the Prince as a hostage in order to avoid any resistance from the people still left. It didn't mention the fall of Prince Freezer and Goku figured out it had been written well before that.
Goku kept mulling over the story. He had actually a thousand questions looping in his mind and he was considering the best way to snatch the answers out of Vegeta one day.
He was startled by the buzz of his phone. His eyes widened as he glimpsed at Chichi's number appearing on the screen. He knew she would call eventually him back. He almost dropped his beer as he pounced at the phone to pick up. "Hey," he greeted her in a warm voice.
"Goku? Where are you?" his wife's voice snapped.
"Huh, I'm out of town for the day. Some job to do. My train is in two hours and I'll be back in West City in the night. Do you want me to come over when I'm there?" he replied with a large grin.
His offer was rewarded by an icy silence though.
"Chichi, look… Tell me what's wrong," he sighed.
"I had to leave the town as well. I'll be gone for some days and I need you to take care of Gohan during that time," she claimed.
He cringed in astonishment. "What? What's going on? Where do you have to go?"
"None of your business," she grunted. "Either way, Gohan got your keys. Do I have to tell him to go to your house after school, or do you want to pick him up at my place when you come back?"
Goku was caught off guard by the talk. Leave the town? What did that mean? Chichi was a housewife and she hardly left town for any reasons, let alone without her son. What was that all about?
Receiving no reply to her question, she carried on. "Better for him to stay at my place and wait for you there. He'll be at least able to find something edible for dinner, and in case you don't show up, he'll have a proper bed to sleep in."
Goku sighed again and rubbed his head in puzzlement. "Chichi, I know something has been bothering you. Is it the reason why you kicked me out the other night? You know if you have any problem, you can tell me and I'll help you."
He heard a slight noise, like a huff. "You've always been my sole problem, Goku. Now if you want to help me, take care of your son. He's not doing very well since he lost the tournament. You should sort that out with him. Just make sure he doesn't skip school," Chichi retorted coldly.
Goku was aching at the chill in her voice. He tried to cheer up at the thought that she would still rely on him when it was about Gohan and that was a great sign of trust in Chichi's standard. Maybe it was just an ill time to talk. "Well, okay. Let me know if you need anything and…"
He sought for words to hint he was willing to make up for whatever was to fix, but her tongue was faster. "Don't worry. I'll call you back."
With that, she hung up, leaving him with a hopeless feeling. None of you business. Man, they were talking like truly divorced people and it fucking hurt. He couldn't help but wonder what her trip was about. Did she met someone else? She would never do that to him. Who could the guy be anyway? The grocer?
His eyes met Bulma Briefs' beam displayed on the screen of the computer, and for some reasons it felt like mocking his distraught. The photos of her were his last hope though. He downed his beer while trying to remember what the grocer looked like.
He packed off and walked downstairs to the reception desk of the hotel. He was acting absently, still focused on the odd talk he just had with his wife. He was now in a hurry to be back home. The train was to depart in two hours, which left him more time than needed to drive back to the station and give back his car to the rental office. He'll have to wait for the train for a while, but he liked it better to wait in the midst of a restless crowd than alone in his hotel room while brooding over Chichi's hurtful behavior.
As he was paying the bill of the hotel, his attention was caught by a small light flashing on his phone. He looked down at the device and figured out it was Shienhan's line. Since Lunch had bugged his phone, Goku was able to listen to his every phone call. The process had allowed him to tease Lunch about all their sweet talks, but it had actually happened to be quite useless as Shienhan usually seemed to use another line for his professional calls.
The hotel receptionist gave him his change but Goku dismissed the cash. "Keep it as a tip," he offered absentmindedly.
For some reasons, he couldn't take his eyes off of the light flashing on his phone. An odd foreboding had seized him. He took his bag and stepped to his car. However, once sitting behind the wheel, he couldn't prevent himself from grabbing his phone and press the button launching the record of Shienhan's calls.
Today, twelve am - " Where are you?" Shienhan voice echoed.
"On the beach down the house. They wanted to go for a walk there before lunch," someone Goku pinpointed as Vegeta replied.
"Take them back inside. A suspect guy has been reported lurking in the neighborhood. We have to check that out for now, but I don't want to take any chance."
"How serious is that?"
"Serious enough. Yamcha is already planned to leave after lunch in order to keep him safe. I can't join you right now but Chaozu will be there by the end of the afternoon to give you a hand watching the house. I'll pick her up in the night with a car,"
"Man, this is war. She won't like it."
"I'll call her. Keep your eyes wide open."
Goku gritted his teeth in wariness. Had anyone spotted him? Maybe. He glanced around him, expecting someone to show up and snatch his bag away with all the precious pictures. The idea sounded pretty dumb though. If it had been about him, Capsule's security team would already have caught him.
He pressed the button to the next call.
Today, twelve fourty three am - "Tien, for fuck's sake. Ouji told me about your nonsense. I won't play that stupid game," a female voice exclaimed in annoyance.
"Bulma," Shienhan sighed, "This is serious. Stop messing around with Ouji. We have serious reasons to think someone's coming for you."
"Ha. What serious reasons? Do you even know why they're after me in the first place? No you don't! You don't have a clue and now you want me to miss my only quiet time with Yamcha in the past week just because… Because of some random suspicion, is that it? This thing is getting insane," Briefs bitched further.
"You're unfair and selfish as usual," Shienhan growled quietly.
"Yamcha and I will stay in Paprika Beach as long as planned and nothing will prevent us from doing so."
"We spotted a guy," Shienhan cut off.
His words seemed to silence the Heiress for a while and he carried on. "We saw him around you already and we can't figure out who he really is. I send you a picture of him, maybe you have an idea."
There was a click on the line as Shienhan was certainly handling his phone to send the photo. "You don't want Yamcha to get hurt, I guess," Shienhan added.
The Heiress kept quiet at that.
"Got the picture? Have you ever seen the guy anywhere?" Shienhan resumed.
"I got the picture. Never saw that face before," Briefs answered in a blank voice.
Shienhan had a resigned grunt. "The picture was caught at the airport an hour ago. He's registered as Lapis Juu on the flight to Belladone Bay, but we already saw him on the CCTV of a nearby building of Capsule Corp the day someone tried to shoot you and Yamcha. Not to mention Lapis Juu doesn't exist."
"Just send the cab for Yamcha," Bulma murmured.
"You know it's the best thing to do," Shienhan stated in a kind supporting tone.
"I know. I'm sorry for being such a bitch, Shienhan. Thank you," she replied in a whisper before hanging up.
Goku gaped and watched the phone in disbelief. What the hell was that? He bitterly regretted that the bugging didn't allow him to get the pictures Shienhan had sent. He would have to ask Lunch to extract it from the main server.
The next message was the one he'd received as he was at the reception desk. He pressed frantically the button again.
Today, seven thirty eight pm - "We're in trouble there. We're in the house and the sniper is lurking outside. He shot Chaozu and the taxi driver," Vegeta's voice yelled in alarm.
The line was crackling and shitty. "How is Chaozu?"
"Not so fine. Injured. The driver is dead. We're stuck in there and -"
Vegeta was cut off by the sound of something bursting out, then the line was off.
Goku gulped down at the deadly silence and blinked. He turned off the phone and started his car. The goddamn sniper was actually fucking real and he had chosen the worst moment to show up in the Heiress' life.
As Goku made his way towards the cottage Capsule Corp. had rent, he remembered that Vegeta was experienced enough to deal with such a situation - Even though he hadn't sounded like he dealt with anything on Shienhan's phone. The Saiyan had lived worse mess, right.
Goku sped away and as he exited the town, the landscape became a stony shore overhanging a deep blue see. The daylight was dying out and he needed to turn on his headlights.
He calculated that the house where the Heiress was staying was about half an hour away, maybe twenty minutes if he rushed a bit. Now, what? Goku didn't even have a gun. Shienhan might have called the police, right? Thinking about it, Goku realized that there was no other call from Shienhan's phone after Vegeta's call for help. Goku remembered what Vegeta had told him about Bulma Briefs' secretary. She'd been shot by the sniper, and yet it seemed the police hadn't known anything about it. Goku had good connections in West City police and if the cops had been aware of something going on with the Heiress, he would have been warned, no doubt. Capsule Corp was obviously hushing up the whole thing and he wondered why. Vegeta was right after all, something about that mess was unclear.
When he eventually came in sight of the gate of the cottage, Goku took a deep breath and slowed down. It was night, but everything looked calm and still. No shooting sounds. No yell. He disliked the dreadful silence.
He stopped the car at the entrance of the property and climbed down as quietly as possible. He scanned the garden over the open gate with uncertainty.
He could make out lights in the house, but he couldn't sense a single move or sound inside. He walked down the alleyway all by taking care to stay in the shadow all the way long.
As he neared the porch leading to the main door, he found a cab parked nearby. He sneaked around the car and realized its body was ridden with bullet's holes. Glimpsing inside, he was greeted with the sight of a limb body slumped on the wheel. Goku bit his lips and backed away in wariness. He looked at the house in concern, still unsure of the best way to act.
His musing was interrupted by a distant sound. Police sirens heading his way from Paprika Bay. He lost no time and ran back to the gate. He jumped into his car and sped away on the road. He had no time for a U-turn and drove further away from Paprika Bay.
All he could do for a while was cursing. Where the hell was Vegeta? His mind kept screaming he was certainly as dead as the cab's driver. The Heiress was dead as well. Everybody was dead and the sniper was gone already. That was why the house had been so quiet.
Hopelessness washed over him at the obvious conclusion and he stopped dead on the side of the road. He felt like yelling in frustration. With the police now in the house, he couldn't just go back and show up uninvited to contemplate the disaster. He needed to figure out something.
He climbed out of the car, searching some fresh air to get his thoughts back on their tracks. He was welcomed by the see breeze blowing his locks away from his face and the sound of the fiery waves crashing down the shore at the foot of the cliffs. He stood there for a while, his mind actually blank at the shock. Then, he glimpsed at something unexpected from the corner of his eyes and his heartbeat went back to a hellish pace. There was a light somewhere mid-height of the cliff. He stepped closer to the edge to have a better look at it. It was about five-hundred meters further. A car? If it was a car, it could only be Vegeta.
He couldn't be sure due to the darkness of the pit below. He rushed back to his car and drove to the spot towering the light. Running again to the edge of the cliff, he called out Vegeta's name. The sound of the see and the wind covered his voice though. The light was much too low anyway. His only option was to try to climb down.
He was lucky enough to find a flashlight in the car and started his descent carefully. The rocks were damp and slippery with moss and the darkness didn't help, but he kept climbing down, scratching his hands in the process. His heart was beating at a crazy pace and the wind seemed willing to slap him. He almost fell down at some point and caught hold of a sharp ledge at the last minute.
He kept calling Vegeta's name once in a while, like a necessary support. Then, at last he had a reply. A distant voice said something he didn't grasp, but he rushed down to the ledge where the crashed car was resting.
"Goku, is that you? You, dumbass!" Vegeta greeted him.
The newcomer felt like crying of joy at his sour words. "Fuck, Vegeta, I thought you were dead," he exclaimed as he jumped down to the ground.
Despite the shadows, Goku could see the Saiyan wasn't in his best condition. His jacket was gone, his shirt torn and floating out of his trousers. Stepping closer, he also made out blood dripping along Vegeta's face. "Man, you look like shit," Goku murmured, "how do you feel?"
"I'm fine," Vegeta grunted. "Better than her," he added while pointing his thumb at a form lying on the ground.
Goku pushed him out of the way as to rush to the body. "Is it…"
"Yeah. Bulma Briefs. Certainly dying. Got your camera somewhere?" the Saiyan murmured bitterly behind his back.
Goku leaned over the unconscious woman and checked her vitals. "You need urgent rescue," he claimed absently.
"No kidding," Vegeta sighed.
Goku took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the emergency number. Vegeta joined him and sat down on the ground next to Bulma Briefs.
"I'd like to report a car crash," Goku claimed on the phone. "You have to come quick. A car went off road and fell down the cliff. Two passengers seem to be still alive as far as I can see. Right between Paprika and Belladone Bay. Hurry!"
The emergency employee replied something, but he hung up at once, unwilling to start a talk. He looked down at the Saiyan pressing the Heiress' body against his in order to keep her warm. Goku wasn't sure it would do though. "I can't stay until they're there, Vegeta."
"Of course not. It would only mean questions and all…"
"What happened?" Goku resumed.
The Saiyan gave him a deadly glare. "A sniper showed up and chased us down."
Goku frowned thoughtfully. "Sniper? Where is he now?"
Vegeta had a sad smirk and pressed Bulma even closer to him. "He's somewhat lower in the see, I assume. With his bike."
Goku gave him a weak smile. "I expected nothing less from you. Gotta go. You're sure, you're gonna be all right?"
"Just go the fuck away," Vegeta spat in return.
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