Chapter Twenty-Four

Close Contact

"Haha, that was brilliant." Dominika smiled as she and Lukas exited the motel room. "Haven't had that much fun for a long while."

An arm suddenly latched itself around Dominika's neck, pulling her back. Dominika screamed, reaching for Lukas. Lukas wanted to respond, but something was holding his arms back. Fingers digging into his arms. He couldn't do anything.

"Dominika!"

"Lukas!" Dominika screamed, her eyes wide in fear. "Lukas, help me! Help me!"

XXX

"Oi, wake up."

Lukas' eyes opened at the feeling of extreme cold and wet down his skin. Looking up, he spotted Joshua standing there with a grin on his face and a bucket in his hands.

"Geez, I tell you to meet me here and you go to sleep on me." Joshua shook his head, before grasping Lukas' arm and pulling him up. "Right. We got to go save the hostage. Where are we going?"

Blinking away his dream, Lukas shook his head. He had regained his senses. The men in black were gone, there was no gun between them, and it was just him and Joshua. "No. Not yet, no."

"Huh" Joshua peered down at Lukas.

"I got questions. I got... I got questions."

"Of course you do, but is this really the best time? After all, you got to get to the meeting at the right time."

"I need answers." Lukas gulped. "Look, how did you know that about me? My dad... my mum. How did you know my name? How did you survive that bullet?"

"I'll start with the easy one." Unbuttoning his shirt, Joshua pointed towards a black vest. "Bullet-proof vest my friend, military standard." Doing his shirt back up, Joshua stroked his chin. "As for the other two, well, that's a bit more difficult to explain."

"Explain anyway! Why do you know me?"

"Crikey, calm down." Joshua shook his head. "I once got in some beef with these Russian folk. Debts, blah, blah, blah. Well, your daddy was there." Joshua raised an eyebrow at Lukas' expression. "Oh come on, you ought to know your dad was involved with bad people."

Lukas sighed. It was true. His father often disappeared, sometimes for days at a time. He would come back with injuries, with debt, with other strange men.

"So, daddy Solveig was there and I happened to overhear a conversation about how he was raising a son by himself, since the mother OD'd back when his kid was four. Lukas Solveig isn't exactly a common name. Common sense. It's not like I can read minds." Joshua laughed. "Does that work for you?"

"But... what about the men in black?"

"Good movie." Joshua said, peering into the sky. "Especially the third one. I'm a stickler for time travel."

Opening his mouth, Lukas couldn't believe it. He hadn't experienced such a man as Joshua. A strange, joking man with an underlying serious feeling. "No, I mean those men in black, the ones who came for me... who abducted Dominika."

"And we have a name! Dominika, huh. Is she your sweetheart?" Chuckling, Joshua waved it off. "Just teasing. Those men in black? Let's just say that they have an extreme grudge against the Valentine family. They are basically a pseudo scientific religious cult. Like that would work out. Science? Religion? Like cheese and marmite those things just don't work. A bunch of nut jobs if I've ever seen one. Anywho, unless you actually want this Dominika to die, where is she being held?"

Giving up with the questions, figuring he wasn't going to get any straight answers, Lukas handed the paper to the man who had saved him.

"Ah, the abandoned school." Joshua shook his head. "That's just lovely. Right then, let's go. Stick close to me and you'll stay alive, at the very least."

"Wait." Lukas quickly intercepted.

"What now?"

"What about your arm? And those cuts?"

Joshua raised his arm where he had stabbed himself with the knife. "It'll heal. Come on, be grateful I saved you, yeah?" With that, Joshua started to walk. Lukas could only follow. The man was interesting, but something about him was... good. Despite his cockiness and joking manner, Joshua Valentine just felt good. If there was one thing Lukas prided himself in, it was his intuition. He could usually tell the bad people from the good. Joshua was far from bad.

XXX

Allowing water to run down her body, Becca was feeling as if she hadn't been living homeless for years. She hadn't had a shower for so long. She had cleaned in ponds and rivers back in New York, but that can only clean so much. Well, with the stuff in that river, often it wasn't the best option.

A short shower had cleaned the grime from each crevice, under her fingernails, in between her toes. Becca almost felt like she was seventeen all over again. A boyfriend who she had been dating for a year, who loved her and she loved him. Placing a hand against the shower wall, Becca couldn't help but remember her first time with him. It was like a scene from a movie. He walked in the shower, offering to help her clean. From there it just developed into much more...

So long ago.

It felt more than just seven years. It felt like ten, maybe twenty years. The boyfriend was long gone. Her parents were long gone. Everyone... gone. Dylan was gone...

Becca quickly shook her head. It wouldn't do to think like that. There was a choice that she had chosen. She would either mourn heavily for Dylan, or respect his wishes and live on. She chose to live on. She would not recess into a shell. Dylan didn't leave her, no, he was always there, standing beside her.

"Still the princess I know."

Becca could feel him over her shoulder. Dylan was always watching, like an angel.

"Riley's a good guy." Becca found herself saying as the hot water ran down her body. "I like him, Dylan. I like him a lot. I'm... I'm not the best in relationships. I'm not confident... but... he makes me feel warm inside." Becca closed her eyes, imagining what Dylan's answer would be.

Warm inside? Careful, you might have an alien growing inside.

A smile growing to her lips, Becca quickly pursed her lips in surprise. A smile? She was thinking about Dylan and managed a smile?

Too right you ought to smile. I haven't gone anywhere. Well, y'know, I got a hook to the back, but I'm not going anywhere.

Looking to the floor, Becca felt her smile grow. She knew she could handle his death. It was hard, but she could do it. She could do what Dylan wanted her to do. Switching the shower off, she grabbed the towel and dried off. Her clothes were waiting outside, considering that the bathroom was quite small. Wrapping the large towel around herself, Becca couldn't help but admire the feeling of the fluffy towel. For her, it was truly a luxury.

She suddenly giggled, thinking how funny it would be to send a bunch of towels to Patch, although addressed to Annabelle. Becca still couldn't believe that was his first name.

Opening the door, she first noticed that Riley was nowhere to be seen. Secondly, she noticed her clothes were gone. Becca immediately found herself blushing, but angry. Had Riley stolen her clothes? A practical joke? Was he some kind of pervert? Checking in the small alcoves that housed other facilities, Riley was no-where to be scene. It must be a joke. He wasn't the type, at least from what she had seen of him. He was a nice man.

Becca suddenly had a feeling of rebellion, something she hadn't felt for a long time. Feeling mischievous, Becca looked in the cupboard and found one of Riley's shirts. They would practically be a gown to her because she was so petite and thin from her years on the streets. She'd wear his shirt for stealing her clothes. Becca had just dropped the towel when the door opened and in walked Riley.

Riley's jaw slightly dropped as he registered that Becca was standing nude in front of him. His gaze slowly moved down before he suddenly coughed and spun around on his heels.

"Ah, sorry, I'm sorry." Riley quickly apologised, placing a plastic bag on the ground. "I, uh, went out to buy you some clothes, I didn't realise that, uh, sorry."

Becca herself was completely embarrassed, having turned quickly red. Holding Riley's shirt to cover herself, she quickly snagged the handle of the plastic bag and saw three hoodies, one dark red, one blue, and one grey along with a few pairs of jeans. Jeans? She hadn't worn jeans for ages. Suddenly forgetting about her embarrassment, Becca quickly chose the grey hoody and changed into the clothes. She frowned, realising something. Growing red again, she called to Riley, "Um... I don't suppose... there's underwear...?"

Riley half-coughed before shaking his head, still facing away from Becca. "I couldn't, I didn't know what... well, what you liked, so I figured that you would shop for it yourself because it would be rude of me to... well..." Riley trailed off. "Can I turn...?"

"Um, yes." Becca confirmed. Riley turned around and Becca could see he was flushed.

"Sorry, about, y'know..." Riley hopelessly motioned with his hands.

"No, it was my fault; I shouldn't have tried to wear your shirt." Becca turned to the wall, not willing to meet Riley's eyes.

"Can I... Can I ask... why you were... trying to wear my shirt?"

"Well... to be honest, I thought you were... playing a joke. I thought you... stole my clothes..." Looking sheepish, Becca tried to talk properly but her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh." Riley said, and the two descended into an awkward silence. After a while, he motioned to another bag. "I bought some shoes as well as some food."

"You didn't have to do that."

"No, but I wanted to." Riley's eyes suddenly steeled. "You don't deserve being homeless. I heard what Sneak... Dylan said. About your family."

Becca stiffened.

Riley quickly realised he had touched a taboo subject. "I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry." Becca interrupted, turning to sadly smile at Riley. "It's fine. It's unfortunate, but I won't ever be able to forgive them... I just... that will not happen." Absent-mindly, Becca fiddled with the hospital bracelet on her wrist. "They gave me up like a dog with a tumour. They effectively put me down. My family... my friends..." Becca grew silent. Riley could only stay quiet. It wouldn't be right to say anything, and besides, what could he say?

Instead, the two remained sitting down, Becca looking to her feet, Riley watching her.

"Such a sullen subject." Becca suddenly said, before looking to the plastic bag. "I am quite hungry. Let's eat."

A/N: Thanks to Bookreader2010, Guest, and who I assume is Localtalent23? You sure sound like it.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm pulling out all my creative stops in this story. Everything I've learned I'm going to try and use and bring this story to whole new levels.

Anywho, we get a bit of an action scene next chapter. Anyone up for some Michael Bay'ing?

Well, see you next time!