-43-
The first thing Alia did when she, X and Splash Woman arrived to Cossack Manor was to ask the terrified maids where her sister was. They directed her to the studio, and the afflicted navigator dashed there as fast as she could. X sent Splash Woman after Alia, since he had to ask some questions to the mansion's staff first.
"Did you call an ambulance?" X asked a mortified butler.
"Yes, of course, and also the police," the steward answered, his voice full of honest concern. "This was a horrible crime, Captain X, nothing like this had happened to the Cossack family in generations, not since lady Kalinka was kidnapped by…!"
"I know the story," X said, then quickly added. "Do you know who did it?"
"No, I'm afraid not," the man said. "As far as we know the kidnappers teleported directly to the master's studio, we didn't have any visitors scheduled today."
X nodded and headed for the studio, where the Cossacks still were. For a moment he considered calling HQ, but this wasn't Maverick Hunter business yet, so he couldn't ask Signas for any sort of official help until it was declared the culprit was a maverick. There was someone else in HQ he did need to call, however.
"Axl, can you hear me?" said X, contacting the young hunter's frequency.
"Sure I can, X, what's up?" Axl answered.
"I'm at Cossack Manor. I'm afraid something bad happened to your father, and…"
The communication was abruptly interrupted, then…
"What do you mean something happened to my dad!" Axl asked as he materialized right next to X.
"I didn't think you'd teleport here," X blinked, slightly startled by Axl's sudden arrival.
"Never mind that, tell me what happened!" the young hunter demanded.
"I don't know yet, just come with me to the studio so we can ask Alia and…"
"Well, let's go!" Axl shouted, rushing to where the blue armored hunter had indicated. "Hurry, X!"
=0=
They found Viktor Cossack sitting on a couch, his right leg in a tourniquet and he also pressed a blood stained towel to his stomach. The man was pale and his breath labored. Next to him was his wife, who was suffering from damage herself. Nina's armor was cracked in the shoulders and there were teeth marks all over her torso and back, it was clear something had bitten her hard for an instant. Fortunately, Nina wasn't in such bad shape and had already properly bandaged her husband, saving his life in the process.
"I promise we'll do all we can," Alia was saying the moment Axl and X entered the studio. "He won't get away with this!"
"Dad!" Axl screamed, rushing to his father and kneeling by his side. "How bad is it, will you be alright? Tell me who did this, I'll go and make them pay!"
"Axl… you came…" Viktor managed to get out. "Don't worry too much, son… the wounds are deep but no organs or arteries were cut and thanks to Nina I'm not bleeding anymore… I'll live…"
"But who did this!" Axl repeated. "And where is my brother?"
"Let your father breathe," Nina chided, straining to get back up. "Listen Axl… your brother isn't here… he was kidnapped!"
"My brother what?" the young hunter exclaimed, feeling a mix of anger and concern unlike anything he had ever experienced before. "But he's just a child, tell me who has him!"
"Tsunami Mako," Nina said, still too weak to walk and leaning on Viktor's desk for support. "He… he teleported here and took my child!"
"He wasn't alone," Splash Woman added. "Nina told us he had an accomplice."
"Mako… came here with a reploid pirate… Stab Swordfish…" Viktor coughed. "He attacked me when I tried to resist… Mako bit Nina and… and then they escaped with Mikhail."
X was about to say something, but the sirens of an aero-ambulance silenced him; less than a minute later a paramedic team was in the room, carefully placing Viktor Cossack in a stretcher.
"I'll go see you as soon as I'm repaired," Nina promised.
"And I'll get the ones who attacked you!" a furious Axl swore. "They won't get away with it!"
"We won't rest until Mikhail is home again," X assured. "You have my word, old friend."
"Thank you all," Viktor Cossack said. "I trust you will save my son…"
=0=
Axl watched in silence as the aero-ambulance flew away. He trusted his father would be alright, he had scanned him and other than blood loss, his wounds were not life-threatening. Nina wasn't too hurt either, which meant the kidnappers hadn't meant to injure them badly… but why?
"Are you not going to the labs for repairs?" Axl asked then, looking at Nina.
"…Not yet," she replied, drying her tears with a piece of cloth her sister offered her. "I can't yet."
"Why?"
"The kidnappers should be calling us with their demands soon," X explained. "That's the only reason why your father and Nina weren't killed."
"He's right," Alia said, moving in to hug her sister. Nina had held until Viktor was taken to the hospital, but now that she was alone, she had succumbed to tears. "They'll ask for something."
"A lot of money, I'm sure," Splash Woman said. The mermaid was not happy at all about this; granted, she didn't like Tsunami Mako that much, but he had helped X deactivate one of the nuclear bombs, Mako was supposed to be one of the good guys!
Axl was about to say something, but the monitor on the wall sparked to life, receiving a video call.
"Greetings," Tsunami Mako said, his face filling the screen. "I see Doctor Cossack isn't home, I imagine he's in a hospital? Oh well, Nina is still there so it doesn't matter."
"Where is my son, you maverick garbage?" the aggrieved mother demanded, walking to the screen and glaring at the kidnapper. "If he is hurt, I swear I'll…!"
"Save your empty threats, woman," Mako laughed, moving to the side to reveal he was on an old oil rig's platform. A few steps behind him stood a tall, grey armored reploid with a circular fin on his back and a long blade crowning his helmet. He pointed up, and the camera followed his hand, revealing Mikhail Cossack was indeed unhurt, but he was chained to the hook of a maintenance crane, hanging several meters above the ground.
"As you can see, the brat's fine… for the time being," the shark reploid continued, ignoring how Nina started calling her son's name.
"What do you want, Mako?" X asked, taking charge of the situation.
"Two things," the shark answered. "One, I want Splash Woman to come here and stay with me permanently. Two, I want 120 million Zenny in credit chips for my friend Stab Swordfish. Send someone else with the money so they can take the kid back."
"Are you virus infected?" growled X. "I'm not going to give you my sister!"
"Sister? Hah! Well, she either comes with the money or the boy dies. You have an hour to get our zenny, I'll contact you then." Tsunami Mako sentenced and ended the call.
=0=
"I'll do it," Splash Woman said, raising a hand to stop X from complaining. "No Robot Master in their right mind would allow a human to die."
"I appreciate that you'll do that," Nina said, smiling at the mermaid. She had already called to the bank, and a briefcase with the money was on its way to the mansion. "I know this can't be easy, but I'll be forever thankful to you."
"Then I'll take the money," Axl offered.
"Thank you, but no," Nina said firmly. "I need to go and see my son…"
"Your son needs his mother healthy," Alia interrupted. "You're injured and if my scans are right, you'll get permanent damaged to your energy converters unless you go to the lab for repairs soon. I'll give them the money."
"And then they'll escape and get away with this!" Axl cut in. "We can't let them!"
"Not necessarily," X said his expression thoughtful. "I have an idea that will minimize the chances of anyone getting hurt."
Later…
The monitor sparked back to life, showing Mako's grinning face again. The shark was obviously enjoying himself, feeling things were going to happen just the way he wanted them.
"I take it you made the right choice?" He asked, staring at the robot mermaid.
"I'll go and stay with you for as long as you want," Splash Woman said, her voice cold. "Just don't hurt the boy."
"Excellent!" the shark smiled, "but what about my friend's money?"
"We have it," the mermaid replied showing a briefcase, which she opened to prove Mako the credit chips were there. "All of it. Can X come with me to deliver it?"
"No," Mako said. "No hunters. If we see X or any other hunter near we'll kill the child."
"Very well, no hunters," the Robot Master accepted. "What about Alia, can she come with me?"
The shark reploid considered this for almost a minute and then nodded his agreement.
"Yes, the navigator can come," he said in a relaxed tone. "I'm sending the coordinates now, be here in twenty minutes. And remember, no hunters!"
=0=
Notes:
I bet you weren't expecting Axl would be part of this arc, were you? But it only makes sense he would be since he's a Cossackbot in this story.
See you next chapter, thanks for reading!