Chapter 4- Seventeen's proposition
There was no day or night for her now, her life now was just one long stretch of time before the end. She felt no more fear because she knew it was useless. She slept occasionally but she'd sleep peacefully when she died so that was pointless as well. Most of her time was spend in deep thought. She thought about a lot of things: her father, her mother, her cousins, her friends, but mostly about Gohan. She remembered seeing him walk out of the courtroom one week ago and it still haunted her.
She knew that he was disappointed in her and she feared that even in her death, he would regret the time they'd spent together. She wanted desperately to apologize to him but her calls and letters were never answered. He was avoiding her, that much was clear. She sat in solitude wishing she had a cigarette or some beer, anything to help ease the emotional stress, but she was not granted such luxuries in prison.
One guard approached her cell and started unlocking the bars, "You have a visitor little missy, you get a half hour."
"Do you know who it is?" she asked
"A man, that's all I know. Come this way," he said as he directed her out of the cell.
She was brought into a small well lit room with a table and two chairs. In one of the chairs sat the man she had recently come to loathe. Seventeen.
"I'll be waiting outside," the guard said as he left the room.
Videl proceeded to seat in the other chair while having an intense staring contest with the man before her. She regretted every moment she'd spent with him over the last six years. The very sight of the half android made her blood boil.
"Don't look at me like that sweetie," Seventeen said arrogantly, "I'm not gonna bite!"
"It's your fault I'm here in the first place, I think I have the right to be more than a little angry with you,"
"With me? Your anger should be directed at your little lover boy, I'm innocent"
"Gohan was just doing his job. You, on the other hand, snitched on me just to save your own behind!"
"That's not it Videl. Come on, how long were we together? Trust me, Gohan set both of us up and the only reason I'm not in here with you right now is because he knows that no prison in this world could hold me. He's the only one who has the power to stop me. Do you know how many times he's threatened my life?"
She shook her head in annoyance "What do you want Seventeen?"
He leaned in closer and whispered, "I wanna get you out."
Rewind 9 Years
No one was allowed near the Satan Mansion during the investigation, not even Videl herself, so for the past few weeks the police department let her to stay in one of Satan City's luxurious hotels, free of charge. She was given an entire master suite, free room service, and a personal driver incase she needed to go anywhere. The department wanted to make sure she could grieve in complete comfort.
It was an early Saturday morning when the Satan City Chief of police exited the elevator of the hotel and nervously knocked on Videl's door. Nothing could prepare him enough to have to break her young heart once again. Years ago he had been the one to tell her and her father about Mrs. Satan's death, and just recently he had to tell her of her father's death. Now, he brought more bad news.
Over the years Videl had become like the daughter he never had, he cared for the young girl so this was especially hard for him.
Videl opened the door to her suite and led the chief to the couch. She held a small cup of coffee in her hands, wore her red satin pajamas while her hair was tied back into a messy bun. She hadn't been out of the hotel in weeks, he could tell.
"So how have you been Videl?" the chief asked.
"How do you think?" she replied coldly
"I know it must be hard for you dear. Losing both parent in 4 years..."
"Hard? Hard is an understatement,"
"I can't pretend to know what it's like Videl, I-I'm sorry"
"Don't be. I don't want any sympathy right now. Are there any leads on my father's murderer?"
"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about."
"Who did it! I wanna go after them myself!"
"No Videl, calm down, we're not sure who did it just yet. But our investigation has led us to some distressing information."
"What is it?"
"Well, Videl. This isn't easy to say but for some reason, all your father's bank accounts have been wiped clean. This could be related to his murder, but we're not sure as yet."
"So you're saying that whoever killed my dad, stole his money?"
"No. There is no indication that the money was stolen per say, just transferred. You see, your father had two bank accounts at two different institutions. From our research we found that just 3 days before his death each account held approximately $3.5 million dollars; making a total of about 7.1 mil. Two days before his death there was a transfer of 4.5 million to a now untraceable account. Records indicate that your father may have transferred the money himself."
"On the evening before his death at approximately 7:30 pm your father walked into the bank and withdrew the remaining millions out of both accounts. We spoke with one of the clerks that worked at the bank that day and the young woman told us that Mr. Satan seemed a little on edge while she packed all the money into a briefcase that he provided. Apparently he kept asking her to move a little faster as if he in was in a hurry. That's all she could tell us. We don't know what he did with that money, nor do we know where it is. All the safes in your house are empty."
Videl shook her head. She had heard enough. "What does this all mean exactly"
"Well, for us it means a continuing investigation. But for you it means that, well, you have no money Videl"
"I'm broke, is that what your saying?"
"Yes. You do own your father's house and cars now which will generate some revenue if you sell them."
"I will not sell my father's house, he worked too hard for it!"
"I thought you'd say that. That is why all the men on the force have pitched in and started what we've called the 'Videl fund.' So far we've gathered about $8000 for you."
Videl laugh, "Great, now I'm a charity case,"
The chief ignored her and continued, "All the money will be transferred to your new guardian's bank account,"
"Guardian's? What are you talking about?"
"That's the other thing I came to tell you. Unfortunately Videl, although I know you are very capable of living on your own, in the eyes of the state, at 17, you are still a child. An orphaned child."
"THAT is ridiculous! I am no orphan"
"I know that Videl, but it's really out of my hands. The district attorney has given your maternal aunt Sana full custody of you."
"HER! Why would they give her custody! She was always jealous of my mom, she hated my dad, and she certainly doesn't like me! Why would they do that?"
"I'm sorry Videl, but you'll have to live with her and her children in Central City. Just until you turn 18."
"Fabulous! This just gets better and better. Of course Sana would take custody, anything to get her hands on money she didn't earn!...I'm not going!"
The chief sighed. He hated doing this to her but he was under strict orders.
"Why can't I just stay at my house?" Videl asked with tears about to flow.
"Because you're still in school, and you have no income. I'm sorry dear, you really have no other choice. The best you can do is wait out the 7 and a half months until you're of age and then you're free to move wherever you please."
Videl tried to protest some more but there was no use. The chief had already made arrangements for her to move out of the hotel that afternoon. Her life was officially out of her hands and in the hands of the state.
The chief took it upon himself to drive her and her belongings to Central city, he had even gone as far as to personally transfer her to one of the most prestigious private schools in Central city, at his expense.
Every part of her hated this set up. She knew her aunt Sana well; the insufferable witch! Not only did Sana hate her family, but she hated Martial arts as well. She thought it was a barbaric practice and that real ladies did not participate in such a 'game'. Sana was her mother's older paternal step sister, about 7 years ago, after the cell games, the two women gotten into a major confrontation that broke up their relationship. Videl was never told what this confrontation was about, but ever since then Sana had been very cold to the entire Satan family.
While she was in the car driving to Central City Videl decided that it was time to let her friends know what was going on. She regretted not having spoken with them earlier but at the time she didn't want their pity. She knew they cared for her and she would have called them eventually but everything was different now, she had to tell them that she moving almost 6 hours away.
The chief had offered to stop by their houses before they left Satan City but Videl refused. There were no chances at last goodbyes, no hugs and no tears, that's the way she wanted it. She could not bare to see Sharpener's face when she told him the she was leaving for good, much less Erasa's. Doing it over the phone would not hurt as much.
She was wrong. It did hurt. A lot. Sharpener pretended to be fine and gave her the old 'we'll stay in touch' line but she could tell from his voice that had stated to cry silently but he'd never let her know it. Erasa on the other hand cried like a baby, she was not one to hide her emotions. Videl tried to reassure them that she'd be back to Satan city as soon as the school year was over, but it did nothing to ease their pain.
When she got to her new home she was greeted by her cousin Melvin, her aunt's oldest son. He was a tall, skinny man of 23 years. He had short blue hair and hazel eyes. A real ladies man. He was the only one in the family that was excited about Videl 'visit'.
He admired her; how strong she was and how dedicated she was to putting criminals behind bars. Her actions inspired him to become a police officer. He didn't understand why in the world his mother hated the Satan family so much, Mrs. Satan was her sister, Mr. Satan was the world's hero, and Videl was one of the best crime fighters in Satan City, how anyone can loathe them so much was beyond him. She'd always say that they were a bunch of liars and fakes, but she'd never explained why.
He showed Videl around the small house and then to her bedroom. At his mother's instructions he told her all the house rules; Videl had to be at school by 8:00am every morning and be home by 6:00pm every evening. She was given an allowance of $90 a week and with that she was instructed to buy her own food, and take care of her own transportation. She had to budget it wisely.
Her 'bedroom' was located in the basement of the house which contained a single bed, a conformer and 2 small dressers. She had complete privacy in her little room, and even her own entrance which guaranteed very little interaction with her aunt and cousins.
6 Weeks Later
Videl waited for Melvin in the school parking lot as usual. For the past couple of weeks she'd been help helping him and the Central City police force with crime in the city, everyday after school she'd ride with him while he was on duty. The crime rate had gone up substantially within the last 5 years and they needed all the help they could get.
The city was plagued with the presence of 2 different Mob families, the first to arrive was the Alcazar organization, led by a man named Lorenzo Alcazar, The second was the Adams organization led by Cristov Adams. These two Mafia families had been fighting over the city's territory from day one, hundreds have been killed in these battles. Both leaders were known to be roofless and made no apologies for the terror they caused. Of course, they never got their own hands dirty so the police had no evidence to arrest them.
On this particular day the police scheduled a stakeout at one of the Alcazar compounds. One of the police force's undercover agents told them of a big peace meeting going on there between the Alcazar and Adams families. What the police intended to do was wait outside the house incase things inside went south and get their guys out of there.
Videl waited beside Melvin in anticipation of some action, she was told that these "peace meetings" always ended up with one or two people being shot. She knew it was wrong but she could not help her excitement. It had been so long since she'd felt the rush of real crime fighting, not to mention that it got her mind off her life as it was.
Her aunt Sana barley spoke to her, the only time she did was to give her her weekly allowance or to ask her where she had been if she was late for her curfew. The rest of the family was virtually the same, all except Melvin. He was the only one making her stay in Central City bearable. When he wasn't around she was quite lonely and unfortunately the only time she got to spend with him was after school for an hour or two, then she had to be home to make curfew.
Although the other kids at school were nice enough to her, she had no interest in making friends with any of them. They were all to rich and stuck-up for her liking. She figured that since she was no longer rich, she wouldn't fit into their crowd.
And so here she was, on a stakeout waiting for some action. She wore a simple navy blue wifebeater and a pair of black jeans. The other cops offered her a gun and a bullet proof vest but she turned it down; she didn't want to be weighed down by anything if she had to fight.
It was getting late into the afternoon and Videl, the mob families had been in there for almost 2 hours and nothing happened yet, she was beginning to think that this really was just a peaceful meeting.
She was wrong. Just then, 3 gun shots went off inside the small 2 story building.
"Okay, men! That's our que, move it. You know your positions. Careful, we don't want to harm any of our guys in there." The lead officer said in a loud whisper.
Videl, Melvin and two other officers were assigned to break-in through the basement doors. Videl kicked open the door and the 3 officers went in before her. All three ran up the staircase and Videl followed suit until she heard something like a cough coming from the basement. She stopped and went back down to investigate. The basement was dark, the only things visible were a couple of boxes, the staircase and a desk with papers scattered all over it.
She heard the cough again. "Who's there! Show yourself."she yelled.
"My my, impatient aren't we miss Satan?" A male voice said. Videl turned around to see tall, large man with long white hair standing at the entrance of the door she'd just kicked in. He was definitely not one of the cops. "How do you know me, and who the hell are you?" Videl asked.
"One question at a time young lady. Frankly, I should be asking you what you're doing in my basement."
"Your basement?..That means you're..."
"Yes, I am Lorenzo Alcazar. You my dear can call me Lorenzo,"
"The only thing I'm calling are the cops. You're being arrested!" She said as she went into fighting position.
"No no, the police have nothing on me. As far as I'm concerned, they're trespassing, and so are you. But I can forgive you."
"Forgive me?"
"Yes, you see, I actually like you Miss Satan. You're an amazing fighter. My daughters really look up to you."
"Isn't that nice," Videl said sarcastically, "You're going down buddy. For all the people you've hurt in this city,"
"Miss Satan please. I do not want to fight you. I do however have some information that you might find... useful,"
Videl smirked, "And what information would that be?"
"I can't very well tell you here, there are police all over the place. How about you come meet me at my mansion on 46th street tomorrow. It's the biggest house on the block, you can't miss it. You can stop by at about 6 PM."
"What is this information? and what it I refuse?"
"I'm not forcing you to come dear, but I figured you'd want to know the details about your father's death,"
"WHAT do you know of my father's death! Did you do it!" Videl yelled as she clenched her fists.
Lorenzo laughed, "Come now Miss Satan, if I did do it would I really confess it to you... Just come visit me tomorrow and I'll tell you what you need to know."
Videl was about to say something when suddenly their attention was directed to what was going on upstairs as 4 gunshots went off.
"You might wanna get up there and help your police friends out, they might need you... I must make my leave now, until tomorrow then?" Lorenzo said as walked back out the door.
"Wait, I'm not done with you yet!" Videl said as she heard to more gunshots. She wanted desperately to go after Lorenzo, but she could not leave the house knowing Melvin was still in there. She cursed and ran up the stairs to find her cousin.
Fast Forward 9 Years
"What do you mean you wanna get me out Seventeen? You know I have guards on me 24/7."
"You think guards can stop me?"
"I know they can't, but the second I go missing, they'll contact Gohan and he'll bring me right back here!"
"Don't you think I know that. Give me a little credit baby. Just hear me out. Think about this: Gohan can't find you unless he can sense you, and we know from experience that he has a hard time sensing you when you're very far away, right?"
"Right,"
"Then it's safe to say that he won't sense your tiny power if you're millions of miles away,"
"What are you talking about Seventeen?"
"You see, I've been doing some investigating and I found this very tiny planet about 5 million miles away from earth, it's call Bravado. It's very similar to this planet, and the life forms there look like us, we can blend in easily. If we leave here tonight we can be there by 6 PM tomorrow evening, Bravado time. What do you say?"
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