The Price of Desire
Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 6 (Telling the Families)
Trina stood in front of the West family home, praying that the gang wasn't watching her right now. She didn't know if it was safe or not to alert the families, but it was a risk she had to take. They needed to know. The others were waiting in Sikowitz's black 2010 Nissan Armada Platinum SUV. They figured it would be better to ride around in that van with all that they needed to carry around. Besides Christy's sword, Sikowitz did pack a couple handguns and a shotgun, just in case they were ever caught up in a chase. No one wanted to touch those weapons, and when asked why he had them, he said that his brother had owned a gun shop while he was still alive. There were also some important rations, clothes, and some other important items they'd need for hiding away from the gang. They would always be on the move from this point on.
Trina tapped her closed hand upon her left palm as she paced the front porch, waiting for someone to come to the door. She stopped for a second and looked to the car, parked alongside the curb. Sikowitz was driving, she was in the passenger seat, Christy and Jason were in the middle seats, and the third row seats had been pushed downward to make more room for any kind of luggage. For a split second, she questioned what she had gotten them into, but she needed them. There was no way she could do this alone.
The door opened and she heard a little boy answer. Her blood ran cold as she spun around and lowered her gaze onto that of a twelve year old child looking up at her with sad blue eyes. He had sandy brown hair spiked upwards and still had some baby fat in his cheeks. He was thin and very short for his age. It broke her heart that she would have to tell him, tell his family, that Jade was being held by a vicious gang. This image, this boy, this child, she would remember him in this moment. Just one thing she would have to fight for, to return his older sister to him.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled sadly at him. "Hello, are your mommy and daddy home?" The boy nodded and quickly ran off. She questioned why he seemed so sad, but then she remembered, Tori did say both Jade and Cat ran off just a day or two prior to today. Without any contact from the girls, the families truly would be concerned. Her breath escaped her and she whispered softly. "No…"
"Hello?" A woman's voice struck her and she lifted her eyes to see a beautiful brown haired woman standing before her with sad brown eyes. "I'm Monica. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I…I was hoping to talk to you and your family about Jade."
"Jade? You know where she is?" Monica turned her head over her shoulder and called out. "Henry! Denise! Someone's here about Jade!" Her heart clenched as she watched two adults walking towards the door. Mr. West and his first wife, Denise. Monica was Jade's stepmother, from what she recalled about the West family. When the parents met her eyes, they instantly frowned. Denise put her hand to her chest and Monica turned her eyes downward, they could tell Trina didn't know anything. The boy, Lance, made his way back to the door and looked up with hopeful eyes.
"Where's my sister? We had a fight…I didn't mean to mess up her bedroom. I really didn't. I didn't know it would make her leave…" Trina knelt beside him and met his eyes, frowning as she put her hand to his "I-I put whipped cream and fish in her bed and closet, it was a prank, that was all."
"I think Jade will be really happy to see you again, Lance." Lance smiled sadly and Trina slowly breathed in. "When she comes back, when I bring her back here, she may have some trouble emotionally, she'll need her family and more than anything, I'm sure she'll need her little brother right beside her."
"I made her a present!"
"You did?"
"Yes! With Grandpa Frank's help! He was a glassworker when he was young and we made this really beautiful jade colored swan!" Trina's lips curled upwards and her eyes started to glaze over.
"Would you show me? Go get it for me." Lance quickly nodded and ran off. Trina closed her eyes and rose back to her feet, she didn't want him present when she told the parents just what was going on. They were all receiving bad vibes. This was way too hard for her to do. She met their eyes and she could already tell from Denise's expression, she wanted her baby. "You're all probably here because you're concerned for Jade."
"Where is she?" Monica asked. Henry's usually stern face was rather solemn and extremely concerned, not even he would be cold when it came to his daughter's life. "Where is my stepdaughter."
"I…I am not exactly sure, but, the police and I are going to find her. She, and her friends, my sister, my parents…they were taken. The blood assassins have her." Monica gasped and Denise let out a mournful cry, falling into Henry's chest. He wrapped his arms around her as the woman sobbed. Monica fought back her tears. They all recognized the name of the gang. Who didn't? Even though they were new, just about everyone had come into contact with them at one point or another, whether personally or by visualization. "She was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Rest assured, I will bring her back to you." Monica slowly nodded, her tears finally streaking down her face.
Henry locked his eyes with Trina's and pressed his lips thinly against each other. "I don't know how you plan to do that, but if so…please bring her back. I don't care what it takes, bring my daughter back to us."
"I will Mr. West. I will." She heard the patter of running steps and shifted her eyes over to see Lance running back to them. In his hands, he was carefully cradling a beautifully crafted jade swan. She smiled softly as he lifted it up.
"Would you give this to her, Miss?" She was silenced. As innocent of a question, it still held great power. Could she be tasked with that? No, she shouldn't be the one to do it. She pressed her lips together and knelt down, meeting his eyes and rubbing his hair.
"You can do that yourself, Lance. I'm sure she'll love it."
"You really think so?"
"Yes. I know she will." Sikowitz honked the horn, they couldn't stay in one place for too long. Not a residential area, not somewhere like this. She understood the reasoning for that. She started walking off and turned her gaze back to the family, all watching from the doorway with hopeful, fearful, and trusting eyes. It weighed down upon her, she hadn't realized just how many people were going to be relying on her. This, this was bigger than her, it wasn't about her or about Tori, this was about everyone. She slowly closed her hands and gave them a determined nod. "Next time you see me, I'll have Jade with me. Lay low, don't stay here. It won't be safe." With that, she turned back and continued towards the car. After she entered and strapped herself in, Sikowitz started the vehicle and drove off.
She groaned as she waited on the porch of the Valentine residence. It was necessary to do this individually, she couldn't risk meeting in large groups or in public. Too dangerous for the families. She hadn't realized that it was dangerous just talking to the West family on their porch, she needed to meet the families inside the house. When the door opened, she wasn't sure what to expect. It was Cat's brother, dressed in a college jacket, ginger hair, and sharp hazel eyes. Trina knew he was a year older, but she had two brothers, the one she always talked about was the youngest. Only eight years old.
Thank god that brother wasn't here, she did not want to have to see the sadness in a young child's eyes again. "Something I can help you with?" Daniel Valentine, he was the more known sibling out of Tori's friends, not like the younger brother that Cat commonly mentioned, but as the brother that was always trying to check up on her and take care of her.
"Where's the family?"
"They're out with our grandmothers and Uncles. Looking around for my sister, I was told to stay here with George, in case she shows up."
"George? Your brother?"
"Yeah, he's asleep. What do you need, Trina?" She tapped her fingers against her thighs and spun her mind around trying to think of what she could say. She didn't want to be too direct, but she needed to make it fast.
"I need you to call your family…take George…and go somewhere safe. I don't know where, just, leave town for a while." He raised an eyebrow and she drew in a sharp breath. "Cat has…she was with my sister and her friends, a gang came in and took all of them." Daniel's eyes grew large and his face paled. "I'm going to do everything I can to save her, to save all of them. But you need to get somewhere safe, because that gang may try to hurt you. I can't protect you, I can only warn you."
"You're saying…a gang…has my sister…" She moved her eyes down and nodded her head. Daniel took a slow step backwards, his lips quivering from the shock. He moved his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. "Damn it, I knew I should have just talked to her! Maybe she wouldn't have ran off!"
"What do you mean?" He slapped his hand on the wall in anger and leaned his forehead against his arm. His eyes closed tight and his hands clenched.
"We had this argument a few days ago over something so damn stupid. I-I mean it was important then, but…"
"Trivial. Don't worry Daniel, I'll bring her back."
"Safe. Got that?" He pointed at her and gave her a serious look, though his eyes were already wet with tears. He seemed he was trying to absorb this information. She was afraid to promise things to these families, because it was such a big promise to make. She couldn't tell them that the gang might wise up, she couldn't tell these people that there may just be a chance they never see their child again, but somewhere, she knew they probably already suspected that.
"I will. Just take your family, and go somewhere safe." That was all, nothing more she could say to him. She turned away and started back to the car, feeling his mournful eyes upon her. She bit her lip and felt a tear running along her cheek. It was devastating to see the siblings. The parents she could handle, but the siblings were the most difficult ones to talk to, only because of Tori. She knew what they were going through, the pain they must feel, the anger, the guilt, the hopelessness and helplessness, to the sense that all they could rely on was her to bring their siblings back.
Beck's family was easy, though she couldn't say easy as in easy, but easy in there was no sibling. By that same respect, the parents indeed broke down. Rick Oliver had to console his wife, who ended up bawling on the floor. Their one and only son may never come back, and when they had asked whether or not he'd been hurt, she had to tell them the truth.
From what she heard, Beck had suffered a major blow to the head. Whether it was a gunshot, a weapon, or whatever it was, there was a chance he could have suffered deeply from it. He seemed okay in the photo, but there was still the fact that his head was in bandages. His right eye was definitely covered up and there was a blood spot on the bandage over that eye. If he didn't get a doctor, he could lose vision in that eye.
Hopefully, that would be all he lost. The parents definitely agreed that if Trina brought him back alive, then that was all that mattered. They didn't care if he lost his ability to walk, if he lost his arms, if he lost his sight, they just wanted their son back in their arms. Alive.
Robbie's family reacted with pure shock, frozen and scared. His sister, just a couple years younger than he was, did mention the last time they spoke, they'd argued over his use of her pants. She said she wished he was more normal and not such an embarrassment as a brother, but she'd gladly take it all back if he managed to make it out alive. His parents hardly spoke a word and his mother had fainted dead on the spot. The father merely shook his head and knelt beside his wife, praying for his son.
Everyone had their own way of mourning, sure, and they'd just been so stunned that they almost hardly reacted. Though it wasn't hard to see in their eyes, just how devastated and scared they were. The grandmother, who had been on the couch, looked ready to have a heart attack while the grandpa continued staring aimlessly at the blank television screen. A tear had scurried along his face, so it was clear he had been affected.
Andre had a little sister, the same age as Lance West, but she seemed much more mature for her age. It made since, considering Andre's grandmother. When Trina delivered the news, the Grandmother let out a shrill scream and began freaking out, Taylor Harris had to take it upon herself to calm her mom's panic fit while choking back her own tears.
Andre's father was alive, but the man was pretty much nonexistent in Andre's life. However, he was there when she visited the Harris home, and he did promise in the event of Andre's safe return, he would start being there for Andre, even extending his own hand to let Andre, Taylor, and their grandmother move in. Regina Harris, the mother, had died in 2007, so no one wanted to lose another.
The group parked behind the Wok Star, deciding to fill their stomachs before finding a place to relocate for the night. Tomorrow morning, they would start with what Trina dubbed 'Sector A', the school basement.
When they entered, they were met by a very suspicious and unfriendly atmosphere. Trina eyed the surroundings carefully and narrowed her eyes. The ceiling lights were out, but lamps over the tables were on. That made the outside area very dark and brooding. There were no customers, but the restaurant was open.
"Something doesn't seem right here?" Christy pointed out while taking a slow step back. "Does anyone else get the feeling that we're about to be attacked by a bunch of ninjas?" But Mrs. Lee couldn't be affiliated with the gang, could she? She wasn't a member-crap! Trina's eyes widened and she quickly slapped her forehead.
"There was a sixth block! I neglected to read it because I was in a hurry! Mrs. Lee is the sixth captain of the gang."
"Crap!" The group turned, but the doors slammed shut. Trina clenched her fists and saw a light turn on above the hostess stand several feet away. A tall Asian woman stood in a purple, floral kimono, she was holding a large fan with black bird décor in front of her face. Her eyes were slanted and her hair in a bun. "Let me guess…"
"Mrs. Ying Lee." Ying meant clever, which perhaps, this lady was. This woman was made of evil, and every time one of Tori's friends went into the restaurant, she'd sworn to them that she'd get revenge on Tori one day. Trina cracked her neck to the side and started shrugging her shoulders. With her peripheral vision, she saw several people in ninja outfits stepping out from the dark surroundings. The ninjas were led by one tall man without the traditional Ninja mask. He had angry eyes, an aged face, and a thin moustache. It was the woman's father, Mr. Niu Lee, "Okay. It's been a while. You sure you want to do this right now? What would your daughter, or husband, think? Ying."
"That's Ms. Lee to you. 'Jackie Bonay', or should I say, Trina Vega." This woman's daughter was likely at home with her father. Hopefully, little Daisy didn't know what her mother was doing. Ying slapped her fan to a close and slashed it in a downward arc through the air. "Kill them!"
Now before you correct me regarding the Wok Star, yes I know the lady moved, however as I started this story before the recent episode, I've kept it with her there. Looks like Trina's got a lot of people depending upon her, a lot of weight is on her shoulders. Hope she can handle the pressure. Next chapter, all out battle with a njinja XD. Man that lady still creeps me out So will Mrs. Lee finally get her revenge? Or will her plan to take out Trina fail miserably? Stay tuned for the next battle, keep going Trina, you can do it! Case in point: Trina really hates ninjas.