Chapter Four

Mikey woke up feeling better then he had felt in ages. The fact that he was actually sleeping in a real bed and not in some crappy motel room or even in the car for that matter made a world of difference, plus he actually felt safe for the first time. Not that he didnt feel safe with his brother around but its hard to feel too safe when your not only worrying about your own life but that of your brothers as well. Its amazing the things that went bump in the night and quite horrifying too. Mikey had spent so many years trying to forget about them, trying to put them behind him as if that would suddenly make them go away but it didnt, evil was still out there lurking in the shadows and he had seen more than his fair share of it.

He began to think about Clare again as he watched everyone sit around the large diningroom table as breakfast was served. He felt so incredibly guilty for not telling her of his past, he believed now that if she would of known then that maybe, somehow he could of prevented her death even though John kept telling him that there was nothing neither of them could do.

Marcie was cooking in the kitchen as he sat and admired her from afar. She was an attractive girl with curves and a bright smile that welcomed just about anyone. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to be with her but that thought left just as fast as he remembered the hard truth about life, getting close to someone only meant that when they left it would hurt that much more. He kind of understood why John lived his life the way he did, if you didnt connect with anyone then you couldnt be hurt or let down. Lord knows that Mikey knew what the pain of losing someone felt like and could he really subject marcie to that? Could he subject himself to that again?

John pulled his car into the front of the large cabin, he was actually a bit shocked to see that it hadnt been ransacked or hubcaps missing. It was his pride and joy and just about the only thing he could truly rely on, well besides Mikey but his car was a very close second..

"so your still driving around in that thing" Steele said with a grin as he came over to John..

"Oh come on you love my car" John smirked as he patted the black metal hood..

"I never was a Plymouth guy" Steele smirked as he sipped his coffee.."You missed breakfast by the way"

"I had some coffee" John said as his eyes glanced at the door as Natalie stepped out, she was wearing a very short pair of denim shorts and tank top that clung to her curves..

"ah you are looking for trouble aint you" Steele laughed as he patted John on the back..

"what can I say she leaves an impression" John smirked as he looked away from her..

"She left quite the impression on your balls last night" Steele laughed..

"what? It didnt even hurt" John said with a smirk..

"sure...sure" Steele grinned.."well im gonna see if we have any good leads for today, you in?" steele said as he began to walk away..

"sure let me know what you find" John said as he lifted up the hood of his car and glanced in. He wanted to make sure his baby was in tip top shape before he headed out and since he finally had the opportunity, he was gonna grab it...He leaned into the car as he looked around at the engine and the parts..

"You know what they say about boys and their cars" the familiar voice made him look up as he smiled at a pair of gorgeous blue eyes not to mention the incredible view of cleavage..

"I dont think I have" he smiled as he looked from her breasts to her eyes very slowly..

Natalie rolled her eyes at him, he was pretty darn cute, well in that chovantistic kind of way.."the more obnoxious a car" she smirked.."the more one tries to overcome for some short comings" she glanced below his waist and grinned..

"well if you ever want to put that to the test" he smiled big now..

Natalie smiled as she ignored his statement and then she glanced under the hood.."a 440" she said as he raised an eyebrow..

"You know cars too" he said with a bit of shock..

"dont look so surprised" she said as she looked back under the hood.."how much torque"

"You do know what your talking about" he grinned.."about 485, you a mopar girl?"

Natalie smiled and then leaned against the side of the car, he couldnt help but look at those legs, damn they seem to go on forever.."I dont like to be categorized" she rolled her eyes.."But" she smiled some.."i do rather like the classics, you kept this one in good shape" she said honestly..

"yeah well you should of seen it when I got it, total piece of shit" he smiled as a young guy with a big mop of blonde hair came walking over, he looked John up and down. He didnt look a day over 21..

"we need to talk" the guy said a bit rudely to natalie..Before she could answer John did, he didnt like the way the guy looked at her or speaked to her for that matter..

"Hey buddy why dont you try not being a prick" John snapped at him as the young guy looked at him up and down again..

"and who exactlly do you think you are" the kid snapped back..

"Rex" Natalie warned..

John stepped closer to the kid.." I could be your worse nightmare" he said warningly..

"alright thats enough" natalie snapped at John, he was a bit taken back by it..

"Your gonna let that ass hole talk to you like that" John said in shock to her..

"who are you calling an asshole, asshole" Rex snapped..

"actually in a second I might just show you how much of an asshole I can be" John snapped at the guy..

"Rex go inside, I will be right there" she snapped at him..

"But, Nat" he began..

"I said go" she snapped as John just stood there and the guy gave him a nasty look as he huffed and stormed off..

"well he's an asshole" john shook his head..

"and he is also my brother" Natalie snapped at John and then spun from him as John stood in shock for a moment..

"what?" he said in shock but she was storming away as he stood there..

"smooth operator" Mikey said with a laugh as he walked up..

"shut up Mikey" John said as he ran his hand through his hair..

"that guys an asshole Nat, you need to stay away from him, did you see that way he looked at me? I should of showed him who I really am" Rex said as he waved his hands dramatically..

"alright rambo just chill" Natalie said sarcastically..

"You really trust that douchebag" Rex said with a shake of his head..

"i didnt say that I trusted anyone" natalie said as she walked past him..

"But then why are you talking to him huh" Rex began to follow her as she sighed..

"I was looking at the car Rex" she said sarcastically..

"I know what I saw" he said as he stopped now and so did she..

"you said you had something to talk to me about" she huffed...

"yeah I did" he now rolled his eyes.."and we will talk about that other thing later" he added..

"You know I can take care of myself" she put her hands on her hips..

"like yesterday when you ran off by yourself" Rex snapped at her and she sighed heavily now, she really didnt want to get the third degree from her little brother..

"really Rex, I dont have time for this" she went to walk away but he ran in front of her..

"You could of gotten yourself killed" he snapped at her..

"last time I looked Rex, I can handle myself" she said bitterly..

"yeah well if something happens to you then who will look after me" he said as his voice lowered significantly..

"nothing is going to happen to me Rex" she said honestly..

"yeah well if you keep running off" he said with worry..She went to answer him but someone else did before she got a chance..

"she wont be running off again, aint that right natalie" Steele said as he walked over and she looked at him and rolled his eyes.."give me a minute with your sis" he said to Rex who sighed but walked away as Steele looked back at Natalie..

"Listen I really dont" Natalie began sarcastically..

"Hey just because I didnt get on your ass about this yesterday doesnt mean its over" Steele said seriously.."what were you thinking, you know the rules, no running off alone, not ever"

"and nothing happened, god Steele, im not a child" she huffed..

"I never said you were but Rex is right, you could have been killed" he said as he looked at her and she rolled her eyes..

"You know just because im a girl" she began..

Steele cut her off.."this has nothing to do with you being a girl, this goes for everyone, everytime, its dangerous out there"

"Im getting tired of just sitting around here, if you havent noticed those fuckers are still out there, still killing people" she huffed..

"You think I dont know that, weve all lost someone because of them and I know that after what happened" he began..

Now Natalie cut him off.."we lost a ton of good men Steele and look at us, were all just sitting around like nothing is going on, there is a war out there"

"sometimes we have to just let shit happen, damn it natalie you cant be reckless, they wait for you to make a mistake" he snapped..

"you know what I dont need to get yelled at by you or anyone" she snapped as she stormed off with her hands in the air..

"Is she always so off the handle" John said as he walked up to Steele and he just looked at John and shook his head with frustration..

"You have no idea, come on I have a few things to show you" Steele said as the guys headed back inside..

Mikey looked at his brothers car, it only took him a second to see that he was no longer alone as Marcie came over.."Nice car" she smiled..

"its like my brothers life line" Mikey said with a roll of his eyes..

"Mosy guys are like that with cars" she said as she looked at the car again.."your not like that though"

Mikey looked up at her and smiled.."cars were never really my thing"

"so what is your thing?" she raised an eyebrow..

He felt caught off guard for a moment as he looked at her.."um...im not quite sure yet"

"Oh come on everyone has something" she smiled again..

"well its not a car but" he said nervously.."i kind of always wanted to be a doctor, I was going to be heading into medical school next year" he began as he fidgeted some..

"but now things have changed?" she said with a nod of her head..

"yeah, something like that" he nodded his head too, so many things had changed now that he never knew if he would even be able to follow that dream again..

John looked over the map that Steele had, it was as if he had coordinated the entire united states. The map was full of landmarks and presumable sightings, it was quite extensive and even more impressive as John looked at it.."You have been busy" John said with a shake of his head..

"all I have is time and were all on the same mission" Steele said as he pointed at one place on the map, it was just a town over.."you see this here, it seems as though a bunch of couples have gone missing from here, all on the same stretch of road, all visited this same town, all of them were newlyweds"

"and let me guess no one knows anything" John said quickly, he knew how people could get in the face of fear, no one wanted to get involved or own up..

"exactlly, this is the next place im looking at " Steele said as he leaned back in his chair and sipped his drink.."how do you feel about getting your feet wet?" he raised an eyebrow at John..

"Im in" John said quickly as Steele smiled big..

"cool, well lets figure out how were gonna do this thing and more importantly lets figure out who is gonna be your partner in crime" he smirked.."Now we have marce but I dont know if she is up for this and then there is Tia, she is smart and very good with interegations" he began..

"what about natalie" John said quickly as Steele looked up at him with wide eyes..

"Oh dude I dont think that would be a good idea" Steele shook his head..

"why not, she is smart and strong, she knocked me on my ass" John smiled big..

"yeah well natalie is a different character and I dont think" Steele began..

"You know its rude to talk about someone when they arent in the room" Natalie said as both guys looked up and she stood in the doorway, she looked pissed yet still hot as ever..

"Oh hey, we werent" Steele began as he stood..

"actually we were" John cut him off as she looked at him and Steele just kind of gawked at him.."theres been a bunch of disappearances in this small town" he continued as Steele just shook his head..

"and, whats the hitch" she said quickly as she stood there, her hands on her hips..

"yeah listen its not really" Steele began quickly..

John ignored him.."it could be something big" he interjected..

"so you think I cant handle it" she snapped at Steele..

"I wasnt saying" Steele began..

"Im in" she said quickly and John smiled..

"are you sure, you havent heard the rest of it" John smirked..

"trust me I know how to handle situations" she said sarcastically..

"well alright then" John stood now too.."I guess im looking at my new partner" he put his hand out to her and now her eyes got wide as she looked at him..

"You? I have to work with you" she said in shock..

"I was going to" Steele said quickly..

He was ignored again.."unless you dont think you can handle it" John smirked as he kept his hand out to her and she narrowed her eyes at him..

"there is nothing I cant handle" she said tight lipped as she shook his hand hard and then quickly pulled it back..

"You know what im gonna let you two fight this one out on your own" Steele said as he got to the door..

"whats that suppose to mean" Natalie said quickly, suddenly she was unsure about what she had just agreed too..

"I'll let John here fill you in, but you've been warned.." he said as he left the room and she looked at John who just smiled...

"cut the bullshit and fill me in" she said abruptly as John looked at her, he liked her, he liked her a lot..

"alright, well as I was saying before" he said as he ran his hand through his hair and glanced at her.."the couples that have gone missing " he began..

"wait a second, couples?" she said a bit in shock..

"yeah couples, all newlyweds" he grinned big..

"Oh I get it now" she stood up straighter.."you must really think your cute or something" she said sarcastically..

"what ever do you mean" John smirked.."i mean if you dont want to"

"Oh please like I cant do a job" she said sarcastically.."I'll let you know that I have been doing this for a very long time"

"so have i" he said quickly as she rolled her eyes..

"fine then lets do this" she spun from him..

"dont you want to hear the rest of it" he said as she stopped by the door..

"dont undermind me John, I know how to get a job done" she snapped.."be ready in a half hour" she said as she left quickly and he stood there with a huge grin on his face..

Mikey walked side by side with Marcie, the lot was huge just as the house was on and it was essentially in the middle of the woods, he would of never guessed that it was there.."so tell me what got you started in this" she asked as he stopped walking..

"im guessing the same thing as you, looking for revenge" he said honestly..

"yeah" she said softly as she looked away.."do you ever think that this job is maybe too big for all of us, that even after everything we do we just cant win"

"I think that all the time" he said as she looked at him now and smiled..He glanced over at his brother who was walking to his car and opening the trunk as he put bags into it.."give me a minute" Mikey said as he walked over to his brother who was busy putting weapons into the trunk.."going somewhere?"

"Oh hey Mikey" he said as he continued to put things into the trunk.."i got a job to do"

"what happened with us doing this together" Mikey said quickly as John finally stopped and looked at him now..

"Listen is just a small job" John began as Mikey watched Natalie come walking out, she had a bag over her shoulder and she looked annoyed, he looked back at his brother..

"a small job, huh" Mikey smirked..

"dont mikey" John shook his head as Natalie came over..

"Your Michael, right" natalie said as she looked at him..

"yeah and I guess your helping my brother" he smiled big as John rolled his eyes..

"More like he is helping me" she said quickly as she rolled her eyes..

"well just make sure he doesnt get himself killed" Mikey smirked..

"really Mikey? " John said quickly.." I can take care of myself"

"was he always so stubborn" Natalie smirked at his brother..

"You have no idea" Mikey grinned..

"thats real mature" John shook his head as he shut the trunk and walked over to the drivers side of the car...

"Have fun John" Mikey said loudly as John rolled his eyes..

"I like your brother, he's a funny guy" Natalie said as she got into the car and John just looked at her, narrowing his eyes..

"You might want to buckle up" John said quickly and then he put the pedal to the metal and took off in a hurry..

They were heading to a small town called Lanview, it was about an hour and a half out and for the majority of the ride they both kept quiet. Natalie was sitting with head phones in her ears and John was just busy driving and trying to figure out how in the hell they were going to pull this off.. It wasnt often that a girl got the best of him but he was starting to think that maybe he had met his match here and he barely knew her at all..

John saw a sign for a gas station just outside the town and he turned towards it.."we really need to come up with a plan" he said as he looked at her and she just kept listening to her music and he huffed as he tapped her on the shoulder and she spun her head around quick..

"what" she snapped at him..

"we need to discuss our plan" he began again..

Natalie rolled her eyes.." I hardly think it is going to take a plan to get the info we need"

"yeah well your actually going to have to pretend to be my doting wife" he said quickly..

"doting?" she laughed..

"what?" he asked quickly..

"listen I can pretend to be your wife but dont expect me to be doting, for all they know I wear the pants of this relationship" she smiled big..

"Oh really now, I dont think so sweetheart" he laughed now.."I always wear the pants"

"name the last meaningful relationship you were in" she said as she stared at him, he blinked in shock..

"exactlly" she said with a roll of her eyes.."now lets do this thing ok"