Thank you for all you awesometastic people who reviewed The Start of Pain and got the count OVER 200 reviews! That is insane! Thank you so much, you guys! Thank you also for being very, very, very patient with me. I know that I have become very irresponsible and I'm very sorry to disappoint all of you. But i keep returning to because of you amazing people. All of you, readers, reviewrs, favorite-rs. Seriously, you put up with my ADHD too many times than I can remember and I won't stop thanking you all for that.
With my heart filled with gratitude, I thank: beachbum999 (I love Big Time Rush myself! Oh my flippin' gosh! I freakin' love Logan! Writing in a guy's POV – especially Dan's – is really difficult. They immediately hate another guy that a girl talks about. Hahaha.), JesseCPK (Hahaha. If Natalie is back to the Natalie Kabra, Dan would have gotten more than a smack – like for rizzles), addicted2reading9 (Well, it's kind of like a slightly younger and a bit more contemporary than A Walk to Remember – by contemporary, I mean the book talks more like most teenagers nowadays. Haha. It's a good read. Oh my gosh! Nancy Drew! I've been reading those since I was in fourth grade! Like that is THE first hardbound book I have ever owned. XD I want to read this Clarity book you speak of. Seriously, HELP! I need more good books to read.), Candyloversunite15 (First of all, I love candy, too! Hahaha. Oh my freakin' gosh, I read, re-read, re-read what I've re-read and – You get me. And I keep crying like every. Single. Time. Oh AUGUSTUS WATERS!), emmelinekat (Hahaha. I know. I love how Ned and Ted are not those really stingy kind of people, but kinda regular brothers... Only more Cahill. Hahaha. Thanks.), Regina2111 (Oh my gosh! That's so cute! Hahaha. We should probably wish Hamilton good luck in this one.), magicdemi-god223 (I know, right? I wonder what Vikram's up to... Oh well, if Dan IS jealous... NATAN FTW! The cleanliness involved shoving things under the couch and stuffing the pantry with things that aren't supposed to be in the pantry. Oh sorry 'bout not explaining in PM :( Basically, I just wanted to show that Angelle kind of hears everything, but is still pretty unconscious. Oh thank you. I hope I don't disappoint with these last chapters.), Mila-is-a-bookworm-101 (Hope you like these! XD), Jolinila C (OH MY GOSH! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER OF THE START OF TRAIN AND PAIN! LIKE SERIOUSLY THAT IS PURE AND SHEER AWESOMENESS! Thank you. *I've calmed down now* Hope you like these chapters as well! XD Molly's the girl who asked Dan to the dance apparently. The letter was found by our loving Ian Kabra in the mail and he thought it would be... prudent to post the info on the 39 Clues message board.), Aafubbaia (Hahaha. Thanks for noticing. Actually, I kind of hesitated with my choice of words 'cause it sounded kind of awkward. But yeah. I thought it would be funny to imagine security cams without their "heads". Hahaha. Yeah, I'm weird like that. Thanks so much!) and Guest (I hope you enjoy these chapters.) Thank you so much again.
I have a dream... That you amazing people would enjoy these last chapters and that I'd get decent grades for my January modules... 'cause I really don't want to re-sit all those exams.
But yeah.
Most of all the first part, about you guys enjoying the last two chapters.
Hahahaha.
My own very, un-funny joke.
Sorry.
Although you probably are used to that by now.
Or not.
I should stop.
Like have you noticed how –
I should stop.
Stop.
Now.
I –
oooooOooooo
Chapter 20
Hamilton knocked on the door tentatively. He knows how much Sinead hates it when people disturb her while she's working. You do not want to see what she did to her brothers that one time they...
Hamilton shuddered involuntarily, balancing the tray that held Sinead's lunch.
"Come in, Hamilton," Sinead called from inside. Hamilton took a second to analyze her tone. She didn't sound mad, or annoyed, or exasperated. But she didn't sound happy, either. Sinead just sounded casual. Then again, Sinead's 'casual' is the closest thing to happy when it comes to these kinds of situation. Hamilton sighed. How he hated girlfriend analysis. The scary thing is he's actually getting pretty good at it, if it was a subject he'd probably get an A+.
He was about to open the door when it suddenly flew wide open in front of him. Sinead stood inside, dark circles under her eyes and her pulled on top of her head in a really, really messy bun. She yawned hugely before saying, "What do you need, Hamilton?"
Hamilton took another long second to appraise her chosen look before he gently pushed his way inside the room, all without saying anything. Sinead rolled her eyes at his back. He set the steaming bowl of soup beside the fried rice. "You look like death," he said plainly.
Sinead snatched a prawn cracker and popped it in her mouth. "Yeah, 'cause girls like it when their boyfriend tells them they look like death," she said sarcastically. "Do you have any other things to do here before I snap your neck?"
"That's really cute, Sinead," Hamilton waved the empty threat away. "Thinking that you could actually take me down in a fight."
Sinead pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I could," she told him.
"Sure you could," Hamilton drawled patiently.
"Bring it," Sinead said bravely, making no move from where she was seated.
Hamilton rolled his eyes. "I did not just walk over to your favourite Chinese store and buy all these things to see them get cold because you want me to beat you so bad in, what? A thumb wrestling competition?"
Sinead held out her hand. "Give me my noodles," she said with a sigh. "If you keep on evading me whenever I challenge you in a fight, I might be reduced to thinking that you're afraid to lose to me." She blew on the steaming noodles before stuffing a big chopstick-full in her mouth.
"Keep thinking that," Hamilton replied unaffectedly, plopping down beside her with his fried rice. He looked at all the microscopes and bubbling whatever around the room. "Have you made the antidote yet?"
"Is my name Sinead Starling?" she replied cheekily, mouth still full. She reached over and took a dumpling from Hamilton's fried rice. "It was fairly easy. The poison in Natalie's blood is the antidote itself. I just had to test it to make sure. When I was five hundred per cent sure, I just had to alter some of its genetic components to make them multiply once inside Angelle's bloodstream, so to speak. That will be finished in," she quickly glanced at her watch, "thirty minutes, max."
Hamilton nodded as he chewed, used to Sinead's scientific mumblings. He is starting to understand a third of what she's babbling about. Although he is not sure whether that's a good or bad thing yet. "Yeah, well, Wizard's getting pretty anxious," he said. He shook his head, looking at Sinead. "I don't get why he's so excited for Angelle to wake up when he knows he'd get his butt kicked the second she opens her eyes."
Sinead shrugged. "Boys are masochistic," she said frankly. Hamilton snatched the innocent, little crabstick on Sinead's bowl and quickly put it in his mouth. Sinead let out an annoyed whine. "I was saving that for last," she complained, whacking Hamilton on the arm over and over.
"You took my dumpling," Hamilton argued a mock wounded expression on his face. "I was saving that for last."
"No, you weren't," Sinead grumbled, attacking the rest of her noodles with gusto.
Hamilton studied her for a long moment and then he sighed. "You're right. Boys are masochistic," he said resignedly. Sinead smirked triumphantly without looking up at him. "Girls are just as sadistic."
xxxOOOxxx
They were all gathered in the living room, seated in a full circle. Amy looked around nervously, feeling Ian's calm presence beside her. It was so annoying how he could keep calm at such situations. The whole world probably would be in a major apocalypse before he would even think of raising an eyebrow. Yet that is one of the many, many, many things she admires about him.
Sinead sat on Amy's right hand side and she looked impatiently guarded, occasionally glancing at Vikram. Hamilton fiddled with her fingers absentmindedly. Jonah sat next to him, glaring at the sappiness his cousin is currently showing. Dan and Natalie sat next to the gangsta. Vikram, Adhiraj, Alistair and Victoria sat in the circle begrudgingly, keeping their distance from each other and from the group.
Natalie whispered something in Dan's ear. Dan sighed. "They were kicked out of the mansion," he told her. Natalie's eyes widened fearfully. "Don't worry. They're probably in the headquarters doing community service or something." Dan waved his hands as if that could make her worries evaporate. "As for Evan, Jake and Atticus... Well, they're out of Cahill business for a little while."
Ian pursed his lips. "The others who had... devastated the mansion while we were gone are now in Fiske's safekeeping, Natalie," he reassured her. "He's a good man, if not strict."
Hamilton snorted distractedly. "Yeah. Strict is exactly what I'd call grounding the whole boys' dorm because a certain Kabra thought it would be nice to play Romeo in the middle of the night and –" A flying pillow came soaring down Hamilton's mouth. Hamilton looked up at the innocent look Ian is wearing, but he could have sworn the moment their eyes locked, Ian glared at him with a look of murder.
"Ham, just shut up and try not to get yourself killed," Sinead stage-whispered. Hamilton frowned at her, said nothing and went back to fiddling with her fingers.
Amy went back to her leadership dress. She has been wearing this persona more often than what she hoped she is required to. "Sinead, how's the antidote going?" she asked her best friend.
"Already done. Although I wanted to run a few more tests before we inject the serum into Angelle's bloodstream," Sinead informed her. Jonah wrinkled his nose thoughtfully, nodding his head in appreciation.
"An Ekat who has developed a sense of sample preservation," Vikram murmured in silent curiosity. "My, my. Haven't this batch evolved?"
"Ignore him," Ian intercepted quickly, seeing the hurt look in Sinead's eye and the defiance in Hamilton's. "Just pretend he's not there."
"Hard to do when his ego is occupying half the room," Hamilton growled back.
"How long before we can be certain, then?" Amy asked with a submissive sigh, blocking Ian's warning glares and Hamilton's disappointed stares.
"Tomorrow we can inject it," Sinead replied with certainty. "Unless, of course, somebody has a problem with that." She shot Vikram a haughty look which he returned with a wordless yet highly arrogant shrug. It was amazing how he could make a mundane shrug of the shoulders seem like something kings and queens do. Just as Ian displayed his aura of calm and repose, Vikram emitted stately regal with every move.
Amy was looking across the room when something caught her eye. It was Dan... looking constipated. Either that or he was thinking about something really hard. Like when there is this one question in his Math homework that he can't solve which apparently had been especially included for him because the teachers know it was only him who could solve it. His jade green eyes would look at the page intensely, his eyebrows all scrunched up, a seemingly permanent frown on his lips. With a raised eyebrow, Amy followed his stare. Dan was looking at Victoria who looked like she'd rather burn alive than be with all of them in one room.
"Dan...? Is there something you wanted to bring up?" Amy asked, looking at her brother pointedly. Dan merely shushed her and waved his hands as if she were a fly than needed shooing. Amy looked at Ian who sighed as if this was normal.
"Okay," Amy tried to collect her thoughts. "How 'bout Natalie? Any progress?"
Dan snapped to attention at that. "Well, if you call extreme fangirling to the point of being an utter lunatic progress, then yes. There is most certainly progress." Natalie frowned at him, her cheeks puffed and eyebrows furrowed to make a face akin to pouting.
Ian chuckled once, but when he caught Amy's questioning stare, he smoothly covered it with a cough. He waved his hand as if to say, carry on.
"I thought her prized possessions came?" Amy asked, looking confused.
Dan shot Ian a scorching glare. "Yeah. Well, what your boyfriend here forgot to mention because he was such an idiot was that her 'prized possessions'," Dan said, making quotation marks in the air, "were all girl stuff."
"I am a girl," Natalie said indignantly.
"You said it, girl," Jonah declared, snapping his fingers.
"You go, girl," Hamilton piped in, trying to sound like Honey Boo Boo. Sinead glared up at him, unsure whether she should get mad or laugh at the funny face he has on. Hamilton and Jonah fist-bumped each other instead.
Dan glared at the two of them. "I am not stepping in that room. Ever. Again." He looked at Ian and Amy with disappointed looks. "You do know that all of this help... does not come... for free,... right?" He started to trail off. His eyes widened as he looked at Victoria again.
"You're that dude's sister!"
xxxOOOxxx
Maria cowered in her seat, trying to scoot closer to Jared who merely looked impassively at the fuming Alex.
"I never knew that those two words would go great as swear words," Jonathan said appreciatively. He stabbed a finger at Alex' direction. "You, sir, a master of swear words."
Alex slammed his palms on the long, wooden table. Maria lost grip on her sketchpad and it fell on the carpeted floor with a dull thud. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU –" Alex growled just as Jonathan held up a hand to stop him.
"As much as I would like to hear what clever insult you'd call me this time," Jonathan began, "I believe that isn't why you called us to this little banquet." He gestured at the huge bowl of fruits in the middle of the table. Maria chuckled once and quickly coughed to hide it. Jared looked at the nonchalant demeanour Jonathan is displaying. He shook his head as if he was witnessing a burning building right before his very eyes.
Alex isn't done fuming. He started listing all the things in their plans which have gone wrong. "We haven't separated that stupid Cahill blood like planned, Victoria's missing, that Kabra brat was taken and –"
Jonathan whistled. "Sounds like trouble," he said, making a disappointed clicking sound with his tongue.
"I thought we had agreed that there was nothing to separate from the Cahill blood?" Jared interjected, noticing the look of blood-red murder that flashed in Alex' eyes.
"We didn't agree," Alex snapped back. "Victoria gave up."
Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the younger boy. "She didn't give up. Why don't you try separating the blood samples yourself?"
"Their blood is tainted with scientific serum, Jonathan," Alex growled. "That should leave a mark."
"Even after five hundred years?" Jonathan challenged.
Alex yelled, slamming his palms on the table once more, much, much louder this time. The table actually shook from the force, threatening to fall over. "Isabel showed me the proof! Just because you people are incompetent doesn't mean it's not there!"
"Why don't you let Isabel do it then? Since she's so majestic?" Jonathan bristled. "She gave us the instructions and we followed them. But did it go as she had predicted?"
Alex glared at him.
"It didn't," Jonathan continued, leaning back on his chair. "She gave us all those poison to inject that could 'activate the serum in a certain way', apparently." He made quotation marks in the air. "Then, we took endless samples from all those Cahills, but did the glowing thingies showed up? No."
"You did it wrong," Alex insisted angrily.
Jonathan looked at him with amused yet annoyed admiration. "You are a piece of work, you are."
Maria watched their heated banter wordlessly. This is making her nervous. She looked over at Jared. She knows he would be calm about all this, hiding all his emotions in a poker face. Jared was looking at the two older boys as well, but with a calculating expression as if he was deciding who would disintegrate at the other's glare first.
"We don't even know if the serum we injected counteracted the original serum," Jonathan said. "Isabel is just spouting a whole load of b-"
Alex moved blindingly fast. In a split second, the glass was off the table, sailing over the room, directed at Jonathan's mouth. It shattered on the floor before Jonathan could blink. Beside it was an open sketchbook.
Alex stared at the standing figure of Maria who had her hands still poised when she threw the sketchbook in the air to block the glass. There were tears pooling over her eyes. "I-I-I... We shouldn't be fighting like this," she said in a small voice, avoiding Alex' glare. "We're on the same team."
Jared tensed. He could see blind anger burning deep in Alex' eyes. Jared was sure Alex could hurt Maria without a second thought. He wasn't sure... He actually wasn't sure whether he would throw himself between Alex and Maria. What he does know is he doesn't want her to get hurt... But that is illogical. If he helped Maria, it would result in too many problems that could have been prevented. Alex would think all three of them are starting to go soft and consider them traitors without any argument thereafter.
But if he didn't... Alex would slit her throat.
Jared's jaw tightened. How he hated this feeling. This must be what the Cahills normally go through as they battle out logic and emotions. He watched as Alex' glare intensified. He needed to make a plan soon...
Instead, Alex let out a long breath like he's breathing out all his anger, frustration, all the hatred. But that was impossible. By now, it's becoming very evident that Alex is being swallowed by the unsaid hatred he has for Ian Kabra. Nobody spoke for a long time. "Fine," he said in conceding tone. "But know this..." He looked at everybody across the room. He threw a manila folder in the middle of the table. The logo of the Council is stamped on the front and there was a single A4 paper inside. Plan X: The Elimination, it read.
"Ian Kabra is my kill."
xxxOOOxxx
She hoisted her backpack up her shoulders and slid the window wide open. She can't stay here anymore. She has other plans to do and there are widely more important than this. Moreover, they would be looking for her any moment now. And if those Vespers are smart – which they are – they would look for her in this manor first of all.
She can't believe that idiot Jonathan would do something as risky as that. God, he is so stupid sometimes, she thought, her eyes stinging. If the others find out, they would... Victoria shook her head and slung her backpack over her shoulder before the tears could start falling.
"Leaving without saying goodbye?"
She stopped, her right foot already on top if the sill. She smirked at the casual, British accent he used. "I have other places to be, Mr Ian Kabra," Victoria replied, stretching her bended knee without so much as a glance in his direction. Her face darkened, her voice was devoid of any emotion. "The others would be coming soon if I don't leave now."
"I see," Ian said quietly. He hesitated before surrendering. It's no use anyway... to offer her help that she would never accept. He himself would not have liked it if some stranger offered him help, even though it was obvious he needed it. People like them value pride more than anything. Or maybe for her, this isn't a question of pride at all. Maybe it was something else. Something valuable that Ian has come to cherish because of recent events. Family. Ian fought against the stronger urge to offer help. "Best of luck to you, then."
She nodded before jumping out the window and landing on the ground with the slightest thump. "I'm sure we'll be meeting halfway," she said, loud enough for him to hear.
Ian smiled sadly. "I do hope so," he murmured, locking the door as he left the room. He cannot shake the odd feeling that the next time they meet, the circumstances won't be pretty.
oooooOooooo
That is a pretty long chapter, wasn't it? It took a good seven pages long without the ANs. Haha.
Did ya like it?
Well, get ready 'cause there's more where that came from.
Well, actually the epilogue is shorter but...
You know what I mean, right?
Aw, I'm doing it again, aren't I?
Isn't all these one-sentence thing fun?
No?
Guess not.
Anyw –