Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except Irbis and several innocent short-lived bystanders; everything else is Marvel's only.

13. Good-bye

Sitting down at the cyber café, Irbis felt like her old self – way back before being abducted from home. She felt absolutely confident, as if she had control over everything; and yet well she knew that she had never had so little control over anything. As for Victor Creed… ah, the man made her giddy! Her insides melted at the thought of him, her body aching to feel his electric touch; her mind sang the brightest, most victorious songs; and as she looked around, she knew herself to be the queen of the world. And why? Because Victor Creed, the ruthless hitman, had indeed given her the night of her life… if you ignored the opening act. That part was really best forgotten.

Naturally, it had needed some maneuvring; but with a man who thought of himself first and last, you wouldn't get anything for yourself if you didn't go about maneuvring a bit. Was that what made her feel so confident? The way she had subtly poked him to have something good come her way? He might be the devil, but he was first and foremost a man; and you can always nudge a man down the way you want if you know how to do it right. Her grandma Lilia had taught her that: men like to think they control the world and if you make sure they keep thinking it, you may find they are controling the world the way you want them to. The fact that the man was also trying to mold her into what he wanted only made the challenge more intense. She just had to be careful, which she intended to; and she had to be ready to face some painful or violent (even if not to him) moments every now and then, for as long as it wasn't too often. But she was on her feet! She was rebuilding her life, step by step. It was all a matter of focusing on what she could have and avoiding thinking about what she had lost.

Irbis took a note from her bag and got ready to copy the message. Jubilee had written her quite a few emails, and Irbis had already started getting the girl used to short and less than frequent answers.

Hi, Jubilee. You'll never guess!

Irbis carefully prepared every email beforehand, copying phrases and even sentences from other sources whenever possible to make believe her written English was better than it was. She even verified each and every word's spelling in the dictionary! Funny how she had never bothered much about it with Victor, when she was writing him letters, but she felt thoroughly ashamed to reveal her low level of English to the girl.

Remember the man I told you about? Mike. He telephoned me and he visited me too. He has proposed! And I accepted of course! I shall leave California and I shall go live with him to Texas! I'm so happy! Please say you are happy because of me too!

Now the final detail…

P.S: I write more when I can, but I'm busy busy (and happy happy HAPPY) so please don't worry if I don't respond immediately. : )

There! Send. In five days, she'd send a follow up email, then she'd start writing less and less often. In the meantime she had much to do! As Irbis left the cybercafé, she mentally ticked one more task from her to do list. Now she only had to go back to her apartment and bake the farewell cake. The family she was working for might have been glad enough for her that they released her from continuing working (although it must have helped that Irbis refused to receive any payment for the unfinished week), but Irbis wanted to make up to them in some way. Chocolate cake and some biscuits. That would surely make a nice farewell gift. Ah, she had nearly forgotten! She needed some postcards to send Jubilee from her imaginary honeymoon.

Frowning at the complex lie, Irbis turned sharply around. Victor would have to let her… That face! The man turned into a shop, but Irbis was sure, deadly sure… It was one of the mercs that had captured her and Creed in Madison and then hunted them down to Dallas. Without thinking, she crossed the road, barely breathing. Her eyes spotted the movement in a shop and she shot inside with the old warning resounding in her head: in case of danger, head for busy areas. Criminals don't attack individuals in public places, they shy away from crowds. But they had attacked Irbis at a café once; Irbis and Creed. In Madison. My God, it was like a lifetime ago!

As she entered the building, she registered it as a clothes store and blindly picked something from a rack as she continued walking away from the entrance. She needed to call Creed. Reaching for the bag, she fished the phone out and started writing a text: "man of Madison and Dallas". She searched her English vocabulary for the right expression but couldn't think of anything. Damn, why hadn't she just sat down and memorised the damn dictionary once and for all? She had the memory to do it if she wanted. Why did she have to be lazy and not bother to improve on the blasted language?

Unable to refrain from looking behind, she searched all the faces but she recognised no one. Still, if they had stormed that café in Madison, they could storm a clothes shop. They might be about to do it any moment now. She sent the message and felt slightly better; at least the man would be aware that something was wrong, and he'd surely put two and two together and understand they were stalking her. Ah, she got it!, and quickly texted 'folow me'. There. Now she just had to wait for him to come and get her. Only he was an hour away. What could she do to keep herself out of harm's way until… Irbis looked around her again, the idea freezing her. What if they weren't stalking her for her sake, but because of Creed? I mean, why would they even come after her? There was absolutely no reason she could think of! They had always been after Creed. And she had just called him into a trap.

Irbis rubbed her face, confused and frustrated. She needed to think! And to get away from her stalkers before Creed came in. Breathing out some tension and breathing in some more, she told herself she had one hour to fix the problem. Less than an hour. All around her, people were focused on their lives: looking at the clothes they might or might not buy, chatting to friends, texting, talking on the phone… It was worth a try. She picked up her phone again and acted as if she was reading a message then suddenly let out a breathless 'NO!'.

Movement around slowed down for a moment, but most people didn't pay her much attention. Still, the show was on and she hurried to the counter, as much panic on her voice as she could muster.

"Please, can you help?" The woman on the other side frowned and Irbis could almost feel tears bubble up. Right on cue. "My broder… I… I just have de message, my broder had an accident and he's in hospital. Please, you have de number of a taxi? Is an emergency! Please!"

And Irbis swallowed a pre-tear choke, a hand already over her mouth, eyes closed as if she was about to fall apart. The woman on the other side started comforting her and Irbis opened her eyes. Three young women were looking at her from one of the racks. She turned to the woman at the counter, choking a thank you so badly the sound didn't come out. Tears were finally making an appearance too. The woman then offered to call the taxi herself and Irbis nodded a teary thank you that was a bit more understandable.

She had to wait a few minutes, though, which meant adding more details. She said he was in L.A., that she had to go to him immediately, that he could die any moment, that she couldn't… God, this couldn't be happening! It couldn't! Tommy, she named him. Her little brother. Oh, God, why… And the taxi arrived! It was about time, too. For a moment, it occurred to her that one of the mercs could have killed a real taxi driver and taken his place to kidnap her. She should have thought about it earlier, damnit! It was too late now, though. Hoping for the best, she thanked her supporters as she entered the taxi.

"Los Angeles, please," she choked one last time. But then she remembered that the man would want a more specific address and she had no idea what hospital she could say. Sniffing to gain some time, she thought it over. Oh well, the city would have several hospitals. "I tell you de name of de hospital de moment I know. Please, just go!"

The man took off then, and Irbis was careful not to breathe out in relief. She had to maintain the farse, after all. And she needed to think. The mercs could easily follow the taxi, so she definitely couldn't go to LA. The best option would be a train, since a bus could easily be caught up with, not to mention a train station has multiple platforms! She could buy a ticket to a place, jump onto a different train at the last moment and get off at the first stop claiming a mistake. Then she could get on… whatever was nearby. Drats, money! She searched for her purse and checked how much she had... not much, but enough. It had to be.

Getting the phone, she went over to the settings and chose a new ringtone. As the sound bipped up, she quickly switched it off and blurted an anxious 'yes'?

"I can't hear you, dad! What? Really?! Ok. Where? Yes, ok. Ok."

She put it away and knocked on the plexiglass.

"My dad just called," she informed, even though the man wouldn't be the least interested in those details. Nevertheless, she fancied it made her lie more real. "He is going to LA, and I go wid him. Can you please, I'm sorry about de change, but can you leave me in de train station? He waits for me dere."

"Yeah, sure."

Now she let herself sit back and breathe out some relief. Buying a ticket to LA and then boarding a train elsewhere… would that be wise or would it give away her destination? Creed hadn't texted back… had he seen her warning? Oh, what did it matter? He was too far, anyway. She was on her own and she needed to use her brain. There was no other way out of it. The taxi stopped and Irbis quickly gave him his fare, waiting anxiously for the change. When she got on the street, she looked around, searching for the mercs. Nothing suspicious, no one. She had got herself some time, so she had better not waste it.

Since she wasn't sure how to use the ticket machines, not under such pressure, she went to the counter. There was a longish queue that made her nervous, but she resisted the urge to keep on glancing about. It would just call everyone's attention. So she forced herself to breathe calmly as the queue inched slowly forward. She'd ask for a ticket to LA, she decided. The woman in front of her reached for the counter. Almost there now. A shadow crossed her vision and Isabel blinked, frowning. Strangely, her vision was off, somehow; not blurry but… the sudden vertigo had her leaning against the back of the woman who turned around sharply, her voice echoing incomprehensibly, as Irbis's legs started losing solidity. As if in slow motion, Irbis felt herself falling but a strong hand caught her. Tears started flowing blindly as she tried to make a sound, in vain, her eyes unable to focus.

"It's ok," she barely understood the voice at her side. "I'm a doctor."

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