A/N: I didn't mean to leave this one quite so long, I hope you enjoy this installment though!
Chapter Five – Turn the Earth to Dust
Wheeler sat up in his bed, reading one of the books Plunder had bought for him. It was a graphic novel featuring some of his favourite superheroes and he was imagining what it would be like to have special powers and fight alongside them against the villains of the world.
His door opened and a nervous looking Linka entered. "I cannot sleep, can I sit in here for a while?"
"I guess so." The American shrugged and went back to reading his book as his friend made herself comfortable in his chair.
There was silence for a while and then the Russian said. "Thank you. For helping the rabbits I mean."
Wheeler shrugged, he was getting to an exciting part in his story where the bad guy was just about to reveal his evil scheme. "It's okay."
"She was very angry, do you not think? Doctor Blight?" Linka persisted, and when she received a non-committal grunt in return, added, "You are not scared of her?"
Wheeler sighed, figuring she wasn't going to give him any peace until he answered her. "No, I'm not afraid of her. She's batshit crazy but she wants us for something, besides, my old man's scarier than she is when he's had a few."
Linka frowned. "I do not understand what you just said."
The American looked away, not able to meet her eyes, and shrugged. "My dad… he drinks… a lot."
"And that frightens you?" She asked, trying to hang on to the thread of a conversation that was alien to her.
"Yeah." Looking back at her and seeing her confusion, Wheeler groaned. "He gets mean okay? He… hurts Mom, and me… he's always sorry when he's sober and she forgives him every time but… it's getting worse. When he's not drunk he's thinking about getting drunk so he's cranky the whole time… that's why I left."
Linka is still frowning. "Why does he do it?"
"How the hell should I know?" Wheeler's sudden anger startled the young girl and she leant back in her chair as if his words had pinned her there. "Because he's an asshole. Because he thinks we've ruined his life… Because I'm a huge disappointment to him and he blames Mom for not giving him a better son. Does it matter?"
The Russian nods. "Of course it matters, maybe he is sick." Wheeler snorted derisively so she added. "Well it cannot be because you are a disappointment!"
There was something so final about the way she said it, she made herself blush but it made Wheeler smile. It was a goofy smile, one that Linka found herself responding to despite her embarrassment, but her face soon fell again in the wake of his next question. "I know you get on well with your Dad, but what about your Mom? You haven't mentioned her."
"She is dead."
Wheeler grimaced. "Sorry."
Shrugging, Linka replied, "I did not really know her… I was three when it happened, she was sick. My Grandmother has looked after me though, and I have Papa and Mishka."
"Mishka?" Wheeler asked. "Your sister?"
Linka giggled. "My brother."
The American rolled his eyes. "How's anyone supposed to tell it's a guy?"
"We can tell!" She gave him a stern look but they both knew she wasn't really mad, and the effect was ruined anyway when she began to yawn.
Wheeler chuckled. "Maybe you better go back to bed."
Shaking her head, Linka looked fearfully at the door as if she expected a monster to burst through it at any moment.
"Blight's not going to do anything, if she was she'd have done it already."
Linka nodded slowly and stood up to face the door, but she only took one hesitant step forward and she looked like she was going to her execution.
Wheeler groaned and climbed out of bed. "Fine, you sleep here, I'll take the chair."
"I cannot ask you to do that." Linka looked very guilty and it softened the way the young boy spoke when he responded.
"Don't sweat it, there's been a few bad nights with my Dad when I'd have been glad to have someone else around." He pulled another blanket from a cupboard and made himself comfortable in the chair but she was still hesitating so he added. "I've slept under my bed, in a cupboard and on the fire escape before now, I can go off just about anywhere."
Linka smiled and took his place in the bed, laying down and pulling the covers up around her, but keeping her eyes on her companion, just to make sure he didn't disappear. "Spasiba. Goodnight Jason."
"Night Babe." He closed his eyes and was asleep almost immediately.
The Russian girl smiled and continued to watch him until she too fell asleep.
When no retribution came from Dr Blight the following morning Linka began to relax again, her fears, at least temporarily, forgotten. In fact, everything would have settled back into a normal routine had it not been for the return of Looten Plunder, and the tall young African youth that accompanied him.
"Check!" Linka cried triumphantly as her well played gambit forced her computerised opponent to take defensive action.
He moved his black knight to block her diagonal attack but it was itself defenceless so she captured it and repeated her declaration, "Check!"
"Are you winning today?" Wheeler asked, coming over to lean on the back of her chair and peer over her shoulder at the game.
Mal moved his king out of the way and she shook her head, frowning as she considered her next move.
"I am an incredibly sophisticated computer program. That Alina can threaten my king at all is a testament to her intelligence." Mal informed them proudly.
The American laughed as she coloured up under the praise. "She's a regular brain box alright." He softened his words with a kiss, placed gently, if carelessly, on her cheek, causing her to blush even more and lower her head shyly.
Wheeler didn't notice her reaction though because his attention had already been claimed by the opening of the ships outer door. "Mr Plunder!"
Linka tried to hide the frown that crossed her features at the return of the eco-villain by studying the chess board with renewed determination. She didn't like the way her young companion acted around his new mentor.
"Wheeler, my boy, meet Kwame." Looten sounded tired. "He doesn't speak a word of English but I'm sure you'll get on fine, he seems biddable enough."
Linka turned back around to view the newcomer and finding a rather lost looking African boy a year or two older than herself, smiled encouragingly at him.
"What do we need him for?" The American asked petulantly. "If he can't even speak properly, what good is he?"
Linka glared and rose to take their new companion's hand.
"Just because he does not speak your language, that does not mean he is stupid." She looked up at the older man. "I will teach him if Jason will not, Mr Plunder."
Plunder looked surprised. "Why, thank you Alina."
"You?" Wheeler sounded annoyed, though not even he could say whether it was because of her showing him up in front of his mentor or her sudden defection from his side. "You thought a vacation meant clearing out a room until I explained, and you can't even pronounce it right."
The young girl drew herself up and squeezed a confused Kwame's hand, ignoring the American though his words had stung. "I will show him where he can sleep, I assume he is sharing with Jason, there is not another room?"
Plunder nodded. He was still amazed at how bold she was being, not to mention co-operative, especially considering Blight's urgent message to return. He even wondered for a second if the scientist had run an experiment or two on the young girl but she didn't seem damaged, just more confident.
"I'LL take him!" The American boy yelled, glaring at his younger friend, "It's MY room! Besides, you have a board game to lose!"
At that point he grabbed hold of the African's upper arm and yanked him towards the rooms, making Linka yelp when she didn't let go of Kwame's hand quick enough, and stumble a few steps after them. Left behind rubbing her arm, the Russian at first looked like she was going to cry and her digital friend, who had been quiet until then, floated up beside her and tried in his own way, to offer comfort. "He is not worth your time Alina, he is just here to do the physical labour, you will be the brains of the team."
"He is a durak." She scowled at Mal and it was difficult to tell if she agreed with him or not.
The two friends returned to their game, leaving Plunder chuckling to himself as he went in search of his partner in crime.
Linka stood silently, regarding the house of her childhood, and trying to get up the courage to knock on the front door. The building itself had actually changed very little in the intervening years, except that it was a bit shabbier when she had last seen it in her own time.
My father is in there. She thought. Will he know me for his daughter? Nyet, of course not, and I cannot tell him, just as I cannot tell him what is going to happen four years from now…
"Linka?" Kwame placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "You do not have to do this."
Gi stepped up on the wind planeteer's other side and gave her hand a friendly squeeze. "You said your family speaks English, let us do it, you don't need to put yourself through that."
Linka smiled sadly, "I need to see him, it is my last chance."
"I understand." The African said solemnly, "If I had a chance to go back and meet my father, I would take it."
Behind them the fourth member of their group finally spoke up, but there was pain in his voice. "I would not."
They turned to look at him, concern for the youngest of them evident in their eyes as he continued. "If I could go back and spend one more day with my parents, I would not do it… the temptation to try to save them would be too great. The future is counting on us," He looked into Linka's eyes. "Wheeler is counting on us."
Anger replaced the sorrow the Russian girl had been feeling and when she spoke it exploded from her. "Do not you dare Ma-Ti! I am NOT going to choose between them!"
The Kyapo lowered his gaze to the ground, his hand coming up to hold his head, and his ring flashing in response to the strong emotions his words had engendered. "I did not mean to hurt you Linka, I just do not think we should risk forgetting what is at stake… but you are stronger than I am, if you think you can do this…"
There were tears in Linka's eyes and she looked younger all of a sudden, it was one of those rare times when she let her vulnerability show, "I have to do this. If something has happened to… me, they will be suspicious of strangers, we will need to be cautious and I know them better than you do."
He said no more so as soon as she had regained her composure, the wind Planeteer closed the remaining distance to her front door and knocked, almost holding her breath as she waited to see who would answer.
The small group didn't have long to wait as the door was yanked open almost immediately by an attractive middle aged man with blond hair, who stopped short when he saw them. He started to say something in Russian and then his eyes widened in shock and his voice cracked. "Rina?"
Linka struggled to keep her own reaction in check though it wasn't easy, and it didn't help that he obviously perceived the resemblance she bore to her mother. Shaking her head and opening her mouth to speak, the lovely blond found herself unable to form a sound around the lump in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. "Nyet. I am sorry. I did not mean to distress you. Um, Katerina was… that is, we were related… I mean…"
The sun disappeared behind a cloud and the glowing vision before him faded into an exceptionally pretty young girl in her early twenties, and Nicolai Orlov fought to contain his distress.
"I apologise." He adopted the English tongue, as Linka had, but only after he had done so did he notice her friends. "I was not thinking clearly, this is a trying time for my family." He shook his head as if trying to dispel the lingering melancholy, "How may I help you?"
Linka glanced towards Kwame, suddenly unsure of what to say. The African acknowledged her enquiry with a slight incline of his head and stepped forward. "A friend of ours has gone missing and we have reason to believe there may be a connection to your daughter, could we speak to her?"
Grief filled the man's face, "She is gone."