Fallen – Chapter 3
Even at Trunk's tender age he sensed both his father's and grandfathers distress. Vegeta exited the chamber and flew to the top of the compound and reached his ki out again in search of the woman. Dr. Brief's scooped up Trunks and deposited him with his wife before proceeding back to his lab to search for the limo's GPS.
Vegeta stood up abruptly. He sensed fear and panic from the woman and it was creating a significant problem in locating her weak ki signature. Her emotions were becoming overwhelming and he had to try and discern her location. Unfortunately, the more emotions he sensed from her the more he distraught he became. Something was seriously wrong with his woman. He went back into the compound to find the doctor and see if he could assist in locating his daughter. Down in his laboratory Dr. Briefs has successfully located the GPS and was attempting to download via satellite the security surveillance footage.
Vegeta stormed into Dr. Briefs' private laboratory and nearly took the steel doors off the hinges. His anxiety made him forget to keep his superior strength in check. Dr. Briefs barely looked up from his table where he had a map out and was highlighting a long stretch of road. "The limo's GPS was here," he said pointing to a dot he made and circled half way up the mountain. "Which mean Myoki drove up route 4, which is here" he motioned to the highlighted road on the map. Vegeta looked at it and gathered the map up. He turned to leave without saying a word. "Bring my daughter home safe, Vegeta" the old man called after him.
Without saying another word or gathering any supplies, Vegeta, still in his training suit, powered up and flew off as fast as he could. He was approximately half way to the spot on the map that the doctor had made when he sensed the ki's from some of the gang coming in fast. Shit, they coming. He wanted to lower his own ki so the others would leave him alone but he had to get to the woman. Her distress becoming increasingly powerful, driving him onward.
A few minutes later Piccolo in his weighted armor, Gohan, and Krillen came up and flew in formation. "What's going on?" asked Gohan. When the gang sensed Vegeta's ki rise to near super saiyan levels they worried that with Goku dead he had lost it and was creating chaos. No one actually said they were concerned that Vegeta would turn on them and go back to his old ways, but with no ki signature indicating a threat there was no explanation for his behavior.
Vegeta kept flying, trying his best to ignore the eyes of the other warriors on him. He had no time to explain himself to them, nor did he need to. He was the Prince of Saiyans and his woman was in trouble. The others exchanged worried glances at each other. Vegeta cold sense their apprehension of him and it plainly pissed him off. He had defended this worthless mud ball of a planet with them, fighting at their sides. He narrowed his eyes at them and growled in warning for them to back off. He didn't need or want them here.
He was about to tell them this when he spotted the limo upside down in a ravine, maybe a 25 foot drop off the road. Vegeta sped up and landed carefully at the side of the limo. Vegeta walked around the limo, looking in the windows for the woman. The others looked at each other but were at a loss of what to do. No one understood what was going on, as usual Vegeta wasn't talking. Vegeta spotted the driver's motionless body when he went to the side of the limo and flipped it right side up like a bale of hay.
The rest of the warriors approached the limo and began searching. There was blood all over the place. But most importantly there was only a driver. The passenger was not there. Gohan was the first to add up all the pieces of the puzzle and he spoke up, "How long ago did Bulma crash?" he asked. Everyone stood still and held their breath, eyes turned to Vegeta. Vegeta didn't miss a beat and continued searching the parameter of the scene, "Communication with the limo was lost approximately an hour ago." He tried not to let his emotions slip, not to let anyone see the concern in his eyes.
The others nodded to each other and returned to searching the limo for clues. Vegeta was done with searching the limo and was concentrating on differentiating the scents on the crash site. He smelled Bulma, the driver, and at least two other people. There was no struggle evident by the prints in the snow. He was pulled back to the crash site when Krillen announced that he found her laptop, so whoever did this was not interested in stealing her technology or her blue prints. Gohan mentioned finding her purse, so this was definitely not a standard robbery. Piccolo found her cell phone fifteen feet away smashed on a tree. Gohan drew in a quick breath that drew the attention of the entire motley crew. "This was no accident. The driver was shot in the head, executioner style. They wanted no witnesses," he gravely announced.
Vegeta turned back to the tracks he found in the snow leading away from the crash site. Two men, and they were maybe an hour ahead of him. They messed with the wrong man's family when they took the woman and they would live, barely, long enough to regret their trespasses. I'm going to tear them limb from limb, slowly. That thought brought a smirk to Vegeta's face as he began to follow the haphazard tracks in the snow. The rest just followed him at a distance realizing that if something had seriously happened to Bulma they may need to restrain him. Bulma was the sheath to Vegeta's sword, stayed his anger and temper. Gohan became sullen at the thought.
Meanwhile, Bulma woke in confusion. She was in a large bedroom that was covered with dust that must have been years thick. The only source of light came from a single lamp standing on an old rickety table. The wooden floors were splintering and the wallpaper was pealing from the walls. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of mold and mildew. Her brain tried to wrap around how she came to be here, but it failed her. She was a complete blank. Her mind worked so hard to try and piece everything together but she couldn't recall her own name at the moment. She wore a red suit, but it was torn and splattered with blood.
"Finally you're awake, my pretty" a gruff voice spoke.
Bulma looked around rapidly. Her eyes finally settled on the disheveled appearance of a rather large man standing on the balcony, smoking a cigarette. He had on khaki pants with dark grease stains and blood going down his left leg. His shirt was a worn and simple black T-shirt with a flannel loosely thrown over top. His balding head had been shaved leaving only fuzz behind. He grinned at her as he tossed the cigarette down to the ground and strolled into the room with an air of authority. He crossed the room and opened the door leading further into the building. "She's awake!" he yelled and some unseen person yelled back, "Finally. I'll grab the camera". The large man in the room shut the door and stood at the foot of the bed. Bulma tried to sit up but still felt like she was in a drug induced daze.
The large man said nothing, just watched her with intense eyes. Bulma did not like those eyes. As she finally came to sit on the edge of the bed she became filled with apprehension. A shot of pain seared through her head as she felt something sting her eyes. She gently touched her head and the pain worsened and her head swam. When she brought her hand back down she saw blood on the fingers. Great, blood, I must have hit my head pretty hard, she thought. Her eyes darted back to the man who stood mere feet away from him and the look in his eyes was unmistakable, lust and excitement.
If she had asked him, he would have told her that he was turned on by the sight of the blood on her. Not that it would have taken much. He was already aroused by the petite woman's lean form lying unconscious on the bed. Her eyes were full of fear and confusion. It didn't get much better for him.
A few minutes later a tall, muscular man entered the room toting a camera. "Miss Briefs, what a pleasure to have you in our humble company!" His demeanor was sleazy and only served to put Bulma further on edge. He wore jeans and a blue sweater. He was well groomed in appearance and obviously the smarter of the two. He had horned rimmed glasses that looked like they didn't belong.
Bulma's eyes once again began to dart around the room like a rabid animal looking for escape. Her instincts told her she needed to leave, leave now. She tried to identify anything that would help her escape if need be. She didn't know these people or understand who she was, other than Miss Briefs. She was still drawing a blank to her own identity so there was no way she was going to trust these two.
Bulma stood shakily in her feet, willing her body to follow her brain's instructions. The muscular man walked further into the room and handed the camera to the other man. "Here Brody, ready the camera," he instructed. Brody took the camera and prepped it while the other man came to stand in front of Bulma. Her body stood straight and proud, it was purely reflex. She was defiant. The next thing she knew the man in front of her slapped her across the face and she fell back to the mattress. There was a flash of light from the camera. Bulma's hand covered her injured face, blood dripping from her nose.
She refused to give them the satisfaction of crying. She stood back up and stared the man down. Brody chuckled and mocked her "Little blue kitty wants to play, Kev. Can I play with the kitty?" Kevin moved out of the way and took the camera and shrugged, "I have the picture to send to her father. Just don't break her." Kevin smiled and went to leave the room. As he closed the door behind him he said, "Have fun you two!"
All Bulma heard was the two of them breathing and then a click as the door was locked from the outside. Bulma froze in fear at the sight of the man approaching.
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