Though each of them was exhausted, they all ended up sitting in the living room. Not one of the trio had been able to get to sleep. Both of the girls were still partially in shock and wore the same distant look on their faces as they had before. They had changed out of the leather cat suits and Kiara had washed the blood off of herself.
For a long while they all sat in a thick silence. Kiara and Selana didn't care much for talking; each was thinking their own thoughts about what had happened. But for Kevin, the silence was torturous, and he was eager to know what had happened. Unfortunately, neither of the girls looked like they wanted to talk. Finally, Kevin couldn't take it anymore. "Are you two going to tell me what's going on?"
It was as if a dam broke. Suddenly both Sel and Kiara were talking nonstop. Next thing Kevin knew, they were crying on his shoulders. He'd caught most of what they'd said, and he had thousands of questions, but right now they just needed comforting. In all of their crime fighting days, none of them had been forced to kill someone. He knew it must be hard to deal with.
Later, after the tears had subsided, the girls filled in all of the information Kevin had missed.
"So…what are we going to do now? We have all the money you wanted, Katie, and more…what's next?" Kevin asked tentatively. He was afraid that she would take the money and leave.
"I want to split up." Just as he had feared.
"Split up?" Sel exclaimed. "After what's just happened? You can't just leave!"
Kiara thought for a moment. "No one would expect us to go our separate ways and get on with our lives. Sel, you said that you didn't kill Eric…he could come looking for us. If we split up, we'd be harder to find. I'll take the money I need and leave."
Eric woke with a start. His head ached dully, and his hands and feet were tied. He began to remember what had happened, and became furious. Selana had gotten the best of him. It hadn't even crossed his mind that she might be free. Why hadn't he been watching the monitors like he was supposed to? Then he would have expected an attack, and would have at least been ready to immobilize her. But now she had escaped. All because he couldn't stop thinking about Kiara. And Eric was sure that Sel had helped her escape, too. Nick was either gone or had met the same fate as Eric.
Unfortunately, Selana had been too worried about escaping to make sure Eric was completely disabled. Though she had tied the ropes tight enough to start cutting off the circulation in his hands, he still had enough feeling to fish a knife out of his back pocket. With great difficulty and patience, he was able to cut the ropes from his hands, then feet.
As Eric approached the room where Kiara had been kept, he tried to push all hopes that she would be there out of his mind. When he opened the door, he was both disappointed and surprised at what he saw. Kiara was gone, which saddened him, but Nick was lying on his back in a pool of blood. At first, Eric thought he was dead (it was obviously a fatal wound if not treated and Eric had no idea how long he'd been unconscious), but Nick began coughing up blood. Eric silently debated what he should do. He had spotted Nick's gun; he still had it with him. So obviously he had been shot with Eric's gun after Sel had taken it. But why would she shoot Nick? She didn't even think to shoot Eric. Suddenly he pictured what must have happened. Nick must have been with Kiara, and his sister, out of jealousy, had shot Nick. Eric was overcome with rage. Nick had touched Kiara…possibly done even more. He walked over to Nick, crouched beside him, and snatched his gun. Nick opened his eyes instantly. The pain was obvious on his face. He focused his gaze on Eric and tried to speak. "Sel…sh-she…shot me…" He grimaced in pain from the effort. Eric took note that some of the pain that shone in his eyes was not just physical.
"I gathered that much." Eric cocked the gun and pointed it at Nick's face. "And I don't see any reason to keep you alive. I told you to stay away from Kiara." His finger tightened on the trigger.
"Wait! I know…things…about Kiara…" He had to pause for a moment. "You m-might be…interested." Nick tried to smirk, but ended up coughing instead.
"What kind of things?" Eric demanded.
Nick succeeded in grinning this time. "First…help me."
Despite Kevin and Selana's arguments against Kiara's leaving, she had remained firm. She had changed her name to Kayla, got an apartment in New York City, and deposited plenty of money in a savings account in the bank. She was still very much afraid—of Eric and the police—but she had made a good attempt at moving on.
Now, if only she knew where to deliver the money…
She sat down on the couch to think, keeping the phone near her. A few years ago, when she was out of town, her parents' house had been robbed. The police investigated, of course, and found her parents dead in a ditch outside of town, but her sister was never found. The police finally closed the case, and she had given up hope of ever seeing her little sister again. That was when she got an anonymous phone call from her sister's captors. They promised the safe return of her sister, in return for a huge ransom, of course. Although she never confided in Kevin, Jane, or Mike, that was what had spurred her first crime spree.
She stole the appropriate amount (and extra, to start her on her new life), and she delivered the money faithfully. Her sister was brought to her, they hugged, and suddenly guns were trained on them. What happened next was a blur. She remembered throwing her sister to the ground just as she heard a gunshot, but suddenly she was back at her house. There was an awful smell around her, like sulfur, and she was forced to accept that her sister was likely dead.
But just a year ago, she'd gotten another call. It was the kidnappers again, and they claimed her sister was still alive. She knew it was stupid, but she so wanted to believe them, and she agreed to gather another ransom. However, Sel and shown up the next day, and Kiara was temporarily sidetracked… She feared the criminals had given up on her, and this fear grew every day they didn't call.
After Kiara left, Selana continued to stay with Kevin. They both hoped that Kiara would end up coming back. Kevin had wanted to start a relationship with her, and Sel missed having a friend around. She knew Kevin, but she hadn't seen him in a long while and wasn't quite sure if he could be trusted…or if she even liked him anymore. Kiara hadn't been clear at all as to why she was leaving, and she had not seemed like she wanted to stay in contact, but Sel would still trust Kiara with her life.
Selana was still shaken about Nick's death. For the first few weeks with Kevin, she was very paranoid and jumpy, always thinking that the police would knock on the door and arrest her for murder. But after a while, she stopped being afraid, and realized that Eric had probably awakened, found Nick, and disposed of the body. But even if Sel didn't get punished for it, the fact that she was a murderer still weighed heavily on her mind.
After about a month, Sel and Kevin both realized that Kiara wasn't coming back anytime soon, and they started to go on with their lives. Kevin went back to his old job, and Selana applied at local stores. Though they had plenty of money left over after Kiara took her share, they didn't want to spend it all right away. Although Sel had talked about buying her own apartment, Kevin wouldn't let her. He knew how much Nick's murder bothered her, and he wasn't about to let her stay on her own without someone to watch out for her. Besides, he liked her company, and the more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know.
It wasn't long before they both realized they wanted something more than friendship. Kevin had always had a crush on Kiara, and he had been hoping to start a relationship with her, but it didn't look like she was going to come back. He had enjoyed rekindling his friendship with Selana, and she was a beautiful woman. Selana had developed an attraction for him soon after they had started the robberies. It made her wish she had stayed in touch with him after high school. When they became intimate, any notion of Sel moving out was thrown out the window. Selana seemed to forget about Nick after she had someone else to think about, and Kevin missed Kiara less and less.
Kayla's phone rang. She answered it immediately and was rewarded by a deep voice she thought she recognized. "Do you want help finding your sister?
A chill ran down her spine. "Who is this?"
"Yes or no: Do you want help finding your sister?"
"Yes—"
"I'll meet you in five minutes."
"Where—" She heard a click on the other line.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. With much trepidation, Kayla grabbed her gun and looked through the peephole. She nearly passed out when she saw who it was, but she steeled herself for the worst and let Eric in.
He wore a cocky grin as he glanced around. "Nice place you got here, Kiara—or, rather, Kayla." He seated himself comfortably on the couch and looked pointedly at the gun in her hand. "You can put that down."
She shook her head. "What do you know about my sister?"
He shrugged. "Plenty. What you should be concerned about is how I can help you find her." He paused, and she nodded hesitantly for him to continue. "I have…connections to her captor's. With the appropriate payment, I could arrange for her release…"
Kayla sighed in resignation. "How much?"
Eric smiled. "Put the gun down and we'll discuss it."
As it turned out, Eric's payment was more than Kayla could afford without dipping into the ransom money. To compensate for this, they would have to commit a few more robberies…
Selana and Kevin caught wind of this while watching the news. They glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing. "Kiara…" What they couldn't figure out was whom she might be working with and why she would possibly need more money. In an attempt to find her, Kevin tried predicting where she'd strike next. He and Sel would rush there as soon as they could, but they were always a few minutes too late.
The day came when Kayla handed Eric half of his payment. "There," she said. "You'll get the rest of it when my sister is safe."
Eric, smirking, stuffed the money into his jacket pocket. "And she will be, in less than a week."
Later that week, he drove Kayla to an old, dilapidated warehouse, ransom money in hand (or rather, briefcase). He led her inside and downstairs, where they encountered a locked door. Eric produced they key, unlocked the door, and gestured Kayla inside. "Ladies first."
Inside was what looked to be a brand new underground home that was as different from the old warehouse as day was from night. "This is it," Eric said, locking the door behind him. "Follow me."
Kayla did so, around so many twists and turns that she could never possibly find her way out. She started to wonder where Eric was taking her, suspicions rising in her head. "Leave the money here. The last door straight down the hall is where they're keeping her."
Hope leaped into Kayla's heart, pushing her doubts away. She dropped the briefcase and nearly ran to the end of the hall, pushing the door open and stepping into a new room—a bedroom, by the looks of it, and her sister was nowhere in sight. The door closed behind her, and she distinctly heard the click of the lock. She turned around. Eric, leering at her, caught her around the waist and pulled her toward him.
"What are you doing?" she shouted, trying to push away from him. "Where's my sister?"
"Dead," Eric replied coldly, tangling a hand in her hair. "Long dead." He pushed her backwards onto the king size bed, kissing her passionately.
She pushed him away as hard as she could and succeeded in dislodging him for a few seconds. "You—"
"Shut up and lay still," Eric muttered, holding her down. "I've been waiting a long time for this."
Selana inspected herself in the mirror. The black dressed she had just changed into was perfect for Kevin's taste—not too modest, but not too revealing, either. She had bought it only yesterday, but they had been planning to go out for weeks. Neither of them worked that weekend, so all was perfect. Kevin, with some of the money left over from the robberies, had gotten reservations at one of the most romantic restaurants he could think of.
She looked over herself one last time and went down to the living room, where Kevin was waiting for her (he always thought she took too long to get ready). He looked up and smiled. "You're gorgeous."
Sel smiled back, blushing. "Thank you. Should we go now?"
"Not yet," Kevin said jokingly and pulled her down beside him. "The reservation was set for 7."
"It's 6:30, Kev…I don't want to be late."
Kevin kissed her cheek. "Maybe we just won't go." She giggled as he nuzzled her neck.
She playfully pushed him away. "Kevin, it took you forever to get a reservation. I don't want to waste this opportunity…"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Kevin sighed and stood up. "Can you get that?" And with a smirk, added, "I'm going to cancel my reservation."
Selana smiled and shook her head. Kevin knew that she didn't like to go out much, but he still liked to take her out. He must have something else planned, and she had a few guesses as to what it was. Sel went to the door, still smiling, and opened it just as the doorbell rang a second time. Her jaw dropped when she saw who was at the door.
Nick smiled shyly at her. "Long time no see."
"N-Nick…you're alive?"
"Course I am…Sel, you look like your going to cry." He looked concerned.
She was in shock more than anything else. "I thought I killed you—"
"Aw, Sel, please don't cry." But she couldn't stop herself. Nick stepped inside and hugged her close.
"Selana, what is going on?" Kevin demanded. He had walked in just as Nick enveloped Selana in his arms. "Who is this?"
Nick and Sel both looked up in unison. "Didn't she tell you about me? I'm Nick."
Kevin looked confused. "I thought he was dead." He directed his statement at Selana.
"So did I," Nick answered. "But Eric saved me."
"Eric?" Selana pushed Nick away from her. "Is that why you came here? To take me back?"
"No, no, no. I'd never do that. The only reason I was helping him was because Kiara—"
Sel looked irritated and angry. "I'd almost forgotten. That's why I shot you."
"Selana! Let me explain. I was mad at Eric. He wouldn't let me be with you…" Nick started to approach her again, but Kevin grabbed Sel's arm and firmly pulled her towards himself.
"I really don't know what's going on here." Kevin glared at Nick. "But I do know that I don't trust you. Get out of my house, and leave Sel alone."
Nick looked desperate. "Wait! You can't kick me out. Kiara…she's in big trouble."
Both Kevin and Selana were surprised. "What do you mean? Do you know where she is?" Selana asked quickly.
"Yes, I do…and so does Eric. Look, Sel, I'm really, truly sorry—"
"Eric knows, too?" Kevin interrupted. "We have to get to her before he does…"
"It might be a little late for that," Nick said quietly.
"Then we need to leave now. Nick, you can fill us in on the way." Selana headed towards the garage without another word. Nick followed, wearing a self-satisfied smirk that did not go unnoticed.
Kurt Wagner had met Melody years ago, at a Halloween party. Despite his mutant condition, they had become great friends almost immediately (not that her parents or older sister, Katie, knew…). When Melody had been kidnapped, Kurt searched high and low for her, but to no avail. In the end, he'd had to ignore Katie's crime spree and hope it would end in Melody's rescue. He'd followed Katie when she delivered the ransom money, and it was he who teleported her to safety when bullets flew. He had returned just in time to save Melody, but he took her to a different place that wasn't as far away as Katie's apartment (two teleportations in a row were taxing enough for him without them both being long distance).
The day after rescuing Melody, Kurt had teleported to Katie's apartment and terrified a couple that was looking into renting it. Katie was gone, and he could find no trace of her. He had returned to his own apartment to break the news to Melody, making it a point to tell her that Katie might be either dead or in danger of death. So, Melody had to stay with him for a while.
Now, as it turned out, 18-year-old Melody had always had a crush on Kurt. He'd done his best previously of making sure she knew they were just friends, but now… Despite his best attempts to stop 'them' from going farther, stuff happened. They'd even begun to talk about marriage when her captors found them and killed Melody. In the process, they mentioned something very interesting about Katie still being alive…
Kurt started tracking her, partly to tell her about Melody's death and partly to protect her. By this time, however, she had changed her identity twice and moved around a lot. So, it was only after Eric captured her that Kurt caught up.
Kurt had expected Eric's hideout to be harder to find than it was, but he was thankful for a tiny bit of a break. He would've liked to just teleport in, grab Katie, and leave, but he'd never seen the inside of the place before… He'd have to sneak in and search the whole place.
It was about an hour later that he found the last door down the hall, and this was the only locked door in the whole place. He picked the lock with a sinking feeling—he'd found no sign of Katie in the rest of the place, and he was beginning to think that she was dead or locked away, abused and alone…
The bedroom was empty, save for the huge bed and a computer desk in the corner. Kurt tried to log onto the computer, but, naturally, it was password protected. Next, he picked the locked drawers in the desk. In one, he found what looked to be top-secret plans; in another, an assortment of weapons; and in the third… Kurt nearly threw up when he searched the third. Inside were photo albums full of pictures of Katie, and some unsorted photos as well. One album was full of pictures Eric must've taken while stalking Katie, and the many others…well, Kurt only looked at one of those, and one was enough. Suffice it to say that Katie was apparently Eric's slave—he'd taken so many photos in just two and a half weeks' time.
There were two doors leading out of the bedroom. Kurt chose the left one and stepped into the largest walk-in closet he'd ever seen. It was filled with beautiful dresses, silk bathrobes and lingerie, dainty shoes… Katie might be Eric's slave, but it seemed he spent a lot of money on her.
Kurt checked his watch: It was nearly 8pm. Eric didn't appear to be home yet, but Kurt figured he'd better hurry. He tried the next door and entered a study of sorts, with a couple of bookshelves, another computer, and the crowning figure: Katie! She had her back to Kurt and was reading, but she painted a pretty picture in a silken midnight blue floral bathrobe. She must've assumed he was Eric, because she didn't acknowledge him in any way.
"Um…Katie?" Kurt ventured, although he knew perfectly well who she was.
Not recognizing his voice, she turned around and screamed when she saw him. He put a finger to his lips in a desperate attempt to quiet her, glancing around uneasily.
"Shh! I'm—er, I was—a friend of Melody's, and I—well, I'll explain later, but we've got to get out of here!"
Katie eyed him uneasily. "I've been tricked a lot lately. How do I know this isn't some sick joke Eric's playing on me?"
Kurt thought he heard footsteps coming, but maybe he was just paranoid. "I'll explain later! Let's go!" He dashed toward her, grabbed her as she screamed again, and with a loud bamf, they were gone.
Nick explained everything on their way to New York City. He included every detail he knew, from the kidnapping of Melody to her murder. He explained that he had been involved in the kidnapping, and had been helping track down Melody for the past several years. He made a point of telling Sel that most of the time when she thought he was cheating on her, he was actually looking for Melody (which was a flat-out lie, but she didn't know that). He also stated to her that he could have killed Kiara at any time like he was supposed to, but didn't for Selana's sake. Kevin, of course, got sick of Nick trying to apologize to Sel, and threatened to kick Nick out of the car while it was moving.
"I think we'll make it there by tomorrow," Kevin said, inspecting a map closely. They had bought two hotel rooms for the night. Of course, Nick was in the other room by himself.
Selana sat down next to him. "Kev, what if we're too late? If Eric already got her—"
"He didn't. He can't have." Kevin's expression had suddenly become angry. "We've got to get there in time."
"Another thing." Selana rested her head on his shoulder. "When we get there, and we see Kiara…you know, it's been a couple of months."
"I know." Kevin nodded.
"And I know that you've always liked her more than me. Are you going to leave me for her when we get to New York?"
There was a long silence before he spoke. "I don't know. What about Nick?"
She frowned. "What about him?" She didn't like the way he was avoiding her question.
"He's crazy about you."
"He can be as crazy as he wants. It doesn't change what he did."
Kevin smiled and kissed her lightly. "Let's go to bed. We need an early start tomorrow."
They arrived in New York City late in the day. Nick gave them oddly specific directions to Kiara's apartment, so they arrived there quickly with the help of a map. Kevin parked directly outside the complex, and they all hurried inside. They found her apartment easily enough, but the door was locked. Sel volunteered to pick the lock; that was her expertise, but Nick objected.
"What if she's just sleeping? Or not at home? It's illegal to just bust in."
"When have you ever cared what was against the law? Anyways, if she were inside, she'd be too happy to see us. She wouldn't even care that I picked the lock," Sel countered and took out a small box that carried many different-sized picks. She carefully chose one and began to pick the lock.
"I warned you," Nick muttered under his breath.
Selana had the lock open within seconds, and threw it open. Both Kevin and Sel were shocked to see Eric sitting at the table with a gun in front of him. While they were still standing agape, Nick shoved them inside, stepped in himself, closed the door, and locked it.
"I wasn't expecting you so soon," Eric said calmly. "But I have to admit, I was getting impatient waiting."
"You lied to us!" Selana turned on Nick. Her face flushed with rage. "This was all a trap!" She threw a punch at him, but he was expecting it and blocked her easily.
"Eric, I upheld my part of the bargain," Nick said, his eyes sparkling. "Will you uphold yours?"
Eric sighed. "Very well. Find the bedroom for that sort of thing, though. I'll kill this nuisance before you go." He picked up the gun and pointed it at Kevin.
"No! Not Kevin! You don't even know him, why kill him?" Selana cried as she tried to get to Kevin, but Nick held her back.
"If Kiara has no one to save her, I have nothing to worry about anymore." He cocked the gun and his finger tightened on the trigger. "Any last words?"
bamf