Well, I'm back with more. I think I more or less figured out what I wanted to write; here it is. THIS IS THE RE-EDITED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER, IF YOU ALREADY READ THE ORIGIONAL, READ THIS ONE.
...
Amy and Dan were growing restless, something that happened more and more often since the Vesper war had started. They were in the Tribhuvan International Airport in a small room that Alistair had bribed one of the security officers into letting them use, which Amy assumed was a storage closed, judging from the stacks of boxes and crates along the wall. She and Dan were sort of patiently waiting while Nellie, Matt, and Alistair decided how to proceed with their mission, while Ian tried fruitlessly to add his input.
Nellie wanted to try and contact Elizabeth, Matt wanted to investigate one of the Vesper hotspots in the city, and Alistair wanted to reach the nearby Janus stronghold in Lhasa and wait for backup to arrive.
"We're wasting time." Dan complained, shoving his phone in his pocket. The glow from the screen had gone out, and the single, naked bulb hanging from the ceiling now cast erie shadows across the room. "They have jets just as fast as ours. They'll be here in no time."
"Dan-" Amy started.
"No, he's right." Matt interrupted, stepping back over to them. The four had broken up their meeting, and Nellie, Alistair, and Ian flanked Matt, all looking somewhat mollified. "That's why we're splitting up."
"Splitting up?" Elias asked, walking up, just having returned from seeing off his pilot. "You mean, us splitting up into groups?" He looked from Matt to Nellie, then to Alistair. Amy noticed Ian visibly darken when Elias didn't look at him, too.
"Correct." Alistair sighed. "We will split up into three groups: One of us will go to one of the hotspots in the city, one of us will try and trace a call back to Elizabeth, and the last will contact the other Cahill leaderships and request backup from any operatives in the area."
Elias frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. Matt, on the other hand, was practically glowing. Amy had a growing suspicion that much more was going on with these people than what was said. There also seemed to be a growing tension between Matt and Elias, which was also strange, seeing as they were from the same branch.
"How are we splitting up?" Elias finally asked. He looked up at Matt, who looked at Alistair, who looked at Nellie.
"We'll each take one team." Nellie responded. Elias saw that, for one of the first times since he'd met Nellie, she actually looked serious.
Which has got to be hard, with multicolored hair, numerous body piercings, and a pair of surgically implanted earbuds.
"I'm with Dan." Amy said automatically. "We already make a good team."
"I'm sure you do." Matt reponded flatly. "But, unfortunately, you two will not be a team."
"Wait-" Dan started, but Matt cut him off.
"There are seven of us, which means that ther will be two teams of two and one team of three." he began.
"Dan and I will be on the team of three." Amy tried again.
"No, you won't." Matt repeated. Elias noticed his jaw clench; a sign that he was getting annoyed. "Because I need you and Ian to be on my team with me."
"Wait-" This time it was Nellie cutting in. Matt raised a hand, silencing her.
"Ian is the co-leader of the Lucian branch. Or, as I should say, ex co-leader, since your sister is dead. And, Amy, although you might not realize it, you are, essentially, the leader of the Madrigal branch. Since your great-uncle is captured and Mr. McIntyre is hospitalised, you are next in line as branch head."
"I-" Amy stopped. Because what Matt said made sense. Because she remembered when, a few months before Dan was kidnapped, her uncle had said...
"Amy. One day, Mr. McIntyre and I won't be around anymore. And I feel, my sister felt, that you will one day lead this branch. Your success in her Clue hunt proved it. I don't know when, but you are destined for greatness, Amy. I don't know how long I will branch leader. So you need to know now that it will happen later. But you'll be ready for it. Because you are a Madrigal."
"I understand." she said. She looked at Ian and nodded.
"Elias will be coming with me." Alistair continued. "It will be our job to get backup, and we will call conference with the Janus and Tomas leaderships to help us with the situation.
"Dan, kiddo, you're with me." Nellie finished. "We're gonna try and get a hold of Elizabeth, possibly through the call made with your phone when you were being held captive in China."
"Does everybody understand?" Matt asked. Everyone nodded gravely, even Dan. Matt pursed his lips, satisfied.
"I've also rented three vehicles, one for each of our teams. We will contact each other..." he pulled out three, small, flat black devices. On their backs, the name of each person was engraved. "With these." he handed one to each person in the room. "It is fingerprint sensitive to the person who's name is on it-touch the screen with your left index finger, and you can contact one of the other six commlinks."
"Wait," Nellie asked, "How did you know to get three vehicles? We only just decided to split into three groups."
"I'm a Lucian." Matt shared a smile with Elias and Ian. "I get what I want, how I want."
"Let's go." Nellie huffed, grabbing Dan and stalking out of the room. Alistair and Elias followed, leaving Ian and Amy with Matt. He turned and looked at them.
"What's about to happen, you two, won't be easy." he said solemnly. "But it's the kind of thing that you, as branch leaders, need to get used to. Need to have experience with." He leaned closer, his face bathed in shadows. "Need to enjoy."
He turned and walked out. Amy swallowed and glanced at Ian, who gave her a reassuring nod. He walked beside her out of the room, placing a hand on her back. A hand Amy didn't shake off.
...
"Zai?" Natalie whispered, wondering if Zai was asleep. It was pitch-black outside, the lights of Paris twinkling far below.
"Yes?" he answered after a moment, his voice quiet. His was looking out the window, avoiding eye contact with Natalie.
"Are you..." she faltered.
"Scared?" Zai finished. He twisted away from the window and looked at his lap. "No."
"Are you telling the truth?" she asked.
"Why?" he asked back, still not looking at her.
Natalie pursed her lips in frustration: she wanted Zai to give a real answer, to smile, to just look at her.
"We're in this together." she replied. "If you're scared...you can tell me." She looked at Zai, then quickly looked down again. "You can...you can trust me. You can trust me, Zai."
Zai didn't say anything for a moment. Then, he looked at her, some of the coldness gone from his eyes.
"I know." he said softly. He then turned his back to her and leaned against the seat. Some might've missed it, but Natalie's sharp ears picked up the two words he murmered into the silence.
"Thank you."
...
A few hours later, Natalie checked the small GPS screen in front of her. According to the readings, they were directly over the Black Sea. She yawned and considered taking a nap. Zai was asleep, if his steady breathing was any indication. Entranced by the sound, Natalie sat back and watched him for a moment; the steady rise of his stomach, his eyes closed, his hands folded in his lap, his dark hair flopped over one eye. She noticed how shiny it looked in the dim light. This was such a change, she thought. A pleasant change. Usually, he looked so sullen and brooding, even tormented. Natalie had never before seen Zai look so...peaceful. Serene, even.
It's like there's a storm brewing behind his eyes, she mused. But now, the storm subsided. Zai, she mused, was a boy who operated in the world from behind a icy cloak. You could still see him, talk to him, but never really reach him.
But I will. She decided. I'm going to get to know Zai, the real Zai. Now, as he sat there, it looked to her as if the ice had melted away, and the real boy beneath it was finally revealing himself. She wanted him to look like that when he was awake.
I want him to be at peace. Like he is now.
Until he jerked forward in his seat.
"UuuAAARGH!" He let out a strangled scream, and he threw himself back against the back of the seat. His hands flew to his head, and he bagan hyperventilating, fingers digging into his hair.
"Zai?" Natalie's eyes widened. She reached toward him. He continued to writhe, and she could see tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Zai!" she screamed. "Oh, my God!"
Then, his moaning subsided, and he sank back in his seat, chest heaving, cheeks wet.. Natalie reached out and wiped the tears from his face, then placed her hand over his, squeezing his cold fingers.
"It's okay, Zai. You're fine." she squeezed his hand again. "You're fine."
And they remained like this for a while, the Lucian girl trying to comfort the tormented boy.
...
Sorry that took so long, but the part with the Cahills took FOREVER to come up with. And, like many of you wanted, I started introducing (Amian? Amyian?) into the story. Review and stay tuned! This is the re-updated version of this chapter, you might notice a few changes.