Okay everyone, last update before I'm gone for Thanksgiving break! I would update tomorrow, but I have to pack and do other things before leaving, so please enjoy this latest update! Thank you to Kames all the way and my dear sister Shani for reviewing, I like hearing that you two and everyone else reading this story are getting into it, curious and hungry for more! This is for everyone, enjoy!Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush! I just own the story's plot and I do know the boys' actual birthdays, I marked them all on my calender! But that's it, so yeah don't own Big Time Rush!
"Keep it up, no slacking! Being predictable on the field will just get you caught, act as if you're actually trying to kill each other!" Griffin backed into the microphone, eyes steely yet glimmering with sick amusement.
He was watching James and Jett train, by fighting against the other, to see which one of them has gripped all the discipline and endurance he's forced into them. He was watching them train in the basement of his music company; it had once been a storage room, but after some serious remodeling now resembled a secret base to train super soldiers. The walls were sound-proof and made of some stone that was ten times stronger than lead, yet light in weight as stained glass. The floor, like the walls, was made of smooth rock and a depressing gray, no windows apart from the ones Griffin was standing behind to survey the training session. Constructed right below the windows, on the lower ramp, was what looked like a practice battlefield; the floor was bare and hard, no soft cushioning for when either James or Jett took a fall. The field was divided perfectly in two, with certain secret obstacles built in for basic scouting training.
This was the field James and Jett were training vigorously on.
The two were in their costumes, no limitations on weapons apart from missile launchers and grenades, battling it out as if really wanting to kill the other.
James ducked as Jett came at him, doing a back-flip over the blonde's head before sheathing his twin swords; Jett saw this coming, however, and blocked with his bare hands, flinching underneath his mask but ignoring the droplets of blood leaving his now sliced palms. James grunted and pulled back sharply; salty-smelling crimson splattered the floor, some on James' swords while Jett clenched his fists.
"You're pretty good." Jett spat behind his mask; James' visible eye narrowed dangerously.
"I am the best." He said simply before letting a yell and pouncing.
He took Jett down with a swift kick to the legs and landing, hard, on the other's ribs; Jett felt blood line his tongue from the force of the blow, but he let out a laugh which left James momentarily confused. "You're pretty good, but you're NOT the best."
With surprising speed Jett pulled a dagger from his belt and stabbed James across the chest, the brunette gasping and leaving himself open for back lash; he hit the ground on his side, right hand trying to stop the flow of blood leaving his left pectoral muscle while the other gripped one of his guns.
"The best mercenary here wouldn't have left himself so vulnerable for an attack." James pushed his body to stand, even when every pore screamed at him to stop. He was on his feet, feeling a little dizzy from the blood loss but removing his hand from the wound to pull his other gun out of its holster.
"No, the best mercenary here does not care about leaving himself vulnerable for an attack; a real, well-trained mercenary always leaves himself open, because that way he can pack a larger punch through the next assault." Jett pounded his fists together; his hands were soon trapped in huge metal gloves, them shining in the bright lights of the training field.
The gloves stopped mid-fingers and seemed simple enough, but built in were secret lasers, blades that slid out below his palms, and knock-out gas near the wrists. Large, sharp steel blades protruded from his knuckles, he adjusting his stance as he snarled under his breath.
"You're not the best! Griffin trained me around the same time he did you!"
"True, but I am the one who has to deal with him 24/7. Hmm, maybe you've gotten soft, Stetson?"
"SHUT UP!" Jett threw himself at James, slicing the air as he lashed and lashed out over and over; James dodged each move easily, his right foot connecting with Jett's lower jaw.
The blonde was thrown back against the nearest wall, James wasting no more time.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"That's it! I've seen enough!" Griffin's voice echoed, James loosening his hold on the twin triggers.
Jett was laying still on the floor, breathing faint but still conscious; the seven bullets have dug into him, one between his eyes and another in his collarbone. The rest littered his chest.
"Good job, both of you. You have ten minutes to change; I'll give you the information on the next target and you two are to report back to me all ready to go in two hours. Now get out, I'll have someone of my personal staff clean up in here."
-Page Break-
"You're damn lucky you were wearing bullet-proof clothing under your suit; I would have finished you off back there." James growled as he and Jett went to the nearest bathroom to change out of their costumes. They didn't bother to tend to their injuries.
The two didn't bother with the stalls either and just stripped before the mirrors, James dumping his skull mask in the nearest sink. Jett let out a gruff laugh, running a hand through his sweaty, tangled light brown-blonde hair.
"Please, it's not under the suit. It's a part of it; Griffin gave you guns while he gave me all the fun sharp, pointy things. He always had planned for us to work together, so he did that little detail on my suit on purpose. Plus I wasn't the one on the edge back there, you were." Jett didn't flinch when James grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the nearest wall, said brunette growing angrier at seeing the other's smug smirk.
"You know, just because we're not on the field does not mean I do not wish to kill you; in fact, I can do it right here right now, if that's what you want!"
"Do you always switch between contractions and no contractions when you talk?" That smart ass comment got Jett's head to collide with a mirror this time; blood dripped from his left brow, but his smirk was still in place.
"I've grown immune to physical pain; you should know that, since I'm pretty sure Griffin beat that lesson well into you too." He spat, James tightening his grip on his neck.
"What's Griffin really after?"
"You tell me, pretty boy. I'm just here to serve as another guy to do his dirty work."
"You hate killing."
"Who says I do?" Jett asked, that making James' eyes grew wide and let go of him. His posture went stiff, Jett going back to stripping off his suit until it hung limply around his waist, his weapons all retracted.
"Are you saying you get a thrill from murdering people?!" James demanded, getting a snort from Jett.
"Please, as if you don't either."
"That's a lie!"
"Really, then why the threat earlier? If you didn't like killing then you wouldn't have made it in the first place." Jett pointed out, their faces inches apart as they glared hotly and deeply into each other's eyes.
James saw the light brown of Jett's eyes...turn black with rage, with inner turmoil.
'J-just like my eyes, his eyes are haunted. They're haunted by the fact he's killed so many innocent people...'
"How many have you taken out, Diamond?" Jett asked; it was simple question, yet it made a shiver crawl up the brunette's spine.
"I've been in this business since I was thirteen; according to Griffin's records, I've killed...I've k-killed about eighty-seven people."
"I've taken out sixty-two, so we're not so innocent as we look. Face it, Diamond, we enjoy killing now. We've both been doing this for Griffin since we were thirteen; he had us trained at different times and different places, but the result is the same: we're killing machines, we don't easily feel remorse."
"N-no, I don't like killing! It's disgusting and not a fucking day goes by when I don't think about the families I've destroyed! The families I've the destroyed, the graveyards I've filled, the people I've left crippled and broken, not a day goes by when I don't have nightmares! Nightmares of the people I killed asking why I did it, why did I have to take their lives!" James screamed, gripping his head and leaning over a sink, the one with his mask hanging off the edge.
He bit his lower lip and looked at his pale, shaking reflection in one of the mirrors; he was gaunt-looking, hair matted with sweat and hazel-green eyes so dull and dim. He blinked, and what he saw next horrified him: his face, but emotionless; blood splattered everywhere, from his left eye to his neck, someone else's blood; eyes dark and...empty, cold as a winter's night.
"You see it too, huh? That blank face, the dead black eyes, the blood everywhere. That face, it's the face of someone who has no heart. That is the face of the monster Griffin turned you into, just like he did me. That guy in the mirror, he looks like you but isn't you at the same time." Jett whispered at James' back, tone soft and weak.
James reached up with one large, thin hand to cheek his face; the guy in the mirror did the same, yet his facial expression did not change.
It was James' inner monster, the one moving around under his skin.
'Oh God...'
"That's the guy you turn into when you're wearing that suit." And Jett was right; James' reflection wasn't nude from the waist up, it was still in costume, free hand on one of his swords.
'N-no. No, no, no. No!'
"NO!" James smashed the mirror; blood dripped down to his mask and from his hand, he stumbling back and about to fall if not for Jett catching him. The brunette was trembling violently, tears close to spilling down his cheeks. He could see that hideous reflection still in the broken pieces of mirror, moving and...laughing.
"Oh God..." James choked out; Jett nodded, expression grim.
"Those reflections in the mirror, they're of the monsters we have inside; the monsters Griffin created." He said, quick to turn James around so that their faces met.
"Listen, Diamond...no, listen James. I don't want this partnership; in fact, I'm still in shock that Griffin managed to track me down. I was living in California under a different name, under a disguise every day. I did all I could so that Griffin couldn't find me but he still did even with all my effort, and he dragged me into this again. I wanted to b-back out, but then...he threatened someone's life, someone I care about, if I didn't give into his demands. This person, if they were to die I'd have no way to recover, I'd probably kill myself from grief. James, I can't lose this person; my parents never gave a damn about me, and my cousins just want me for the fame I carry. This person is all I have, literally and figuratively. If I were to lose this person...my whole life loses its meaning, you understand me?
James didn't say anything, yet gave a shaky nod.
"So listen to me, listen to me very carefully. Either we make this partnership work for our shared benefit, or we continue treating each other as enemies until Griffin gets bored and decides to kill us and everyone we love. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be your enemy. I'm only doing this to save that person, to protect him because...he has no idea I do this.
'J-just like Kendall...'
"I'm going to say this now, though; you do anything, anything at all, that compromises my lover's safety...and I'll kill you myself. You weren't wrong; I do love killing, it's too wired in me to hate, to not want to do. I'm a monster, a monster I never wanted to be, but a monster all the same. And I will kill you if you compromise my lover; I'll kill you, that way your fiancee and I will feel the same agony, the same misery." Jett finished his whole speech in one breath, letting go of James at the same time.
James leaned against the nearest stall as Jett finished changing, the blonde not looking back at him once the whole time. Finally, he said, "I'm done, you have to hurry or Griffin will come stomping asking why we're taking so long to go after our next kill."
-Page Break-
"Kelly?" Said woman flinched but walked over to Griffin's desk with a low bow.
"Yes sir?"
"Have James or Jett killed any targets...say around their age?" He asked, face in shadow.
Kelly fumbled with her clipboard, shuffling through the papers. "Um...no s-sir, they've only killed adult targets, you know your older rivals. W-why do you ask, sir?" Griffin smirked coldly, though the brown-eyed woman could not see it.
"I just got an idea: I think it's about time they try out their skills on...my much more younger competitors."
'And all those other worms that are in my way.'
-Page Break-
Kendall was silent through dinner, was silent as he helped clear the table and was silent right now as he helped his mom do the dishes.
His eyes were sad and his mouth in a frown, all signs of a depressed teen.
"Sweetie, care to tell me what's wrong?" Jen asked gently, eyeing her one and only son with worried eyes. Kendall snapped out his stupor and smiled weakly, a failed attempt to look normal.
"Nothing's wrong, Mom. I'm okay." He began, yet he sighed in defeat when she gave him a look.
"Okay, okay! Just stop with the look, it burns!" He shouted childishly, Jen giggling before going serious again.
"Funny dear, now what's wrong?" Kendall sighed again, looking down at the sponge in his right hand.
"Mom, has someone you love ever kept secrets from you?" He asked; Jen's eyes softened.
'He's probably talking about James. They have been oddly distant lately.' A mother's instincts are hardly ever wrong.
Jen dried her hands with a towel and wrapped her arm around her son's shoulders, ruffling his hair. "Honey, everyone in the world has secrets; some are secrets that can talked about, others not until it's the right time. Just because someone has secrets, however, doesn't mean something is wrong. It just means they need time to sort out their thoughts, find the right time and way to talk about them. I don't have the slightest doubt that James loves you with all his heart; he's probably just struggling with something on his mind, but just give him time, sweetie. Good things come to those who wait."
Kendall smiled at his mom's words, giving her a big hug; she always knew what to say and how to make him better.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Anytime, sweetie. Now go get ready for bed, you have school tomorrow." The dirty blonde groaned but did as he was told, Jen smiling at his retreating back.
'Just have a little faith, sweetie; I'm sure things will work out.'
-Page Break-
It wasn't long before Kendall was asleep in bed; he did have a tiring day today, he in plaid pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, all snuggled up under the sheets.
He was a heavy sleeper; he didn't hear his window hatch being undone or the body that rolled through, a tall shadow soon looming over him.
James' dark eyes fell on the sleeping beauty, his expression softening when he saw how cute the blonde looked; he got on his knees and lightly stroked Kendall's face, feeling the soft skin and sharp curves of his cheekbones.
"I love you." James barely whispered, before pressing a kiss to the pair of lips under him; Kendall made a soft pleased noise but didn't wake up, probably thinking it was an effect of his dream.
James kept the kiss going until he ran out of air, breath stolen by the amazing feeling he always felt when kissing Kendall, pulling away to stroke the younger boy's face again as he got a call from Jett.
"James here." He whispered into the mouthpiece of his communicator.
"Yeah, what is it? He needs us now, already? Our next target, where is he? Wait, it's a girl, where? California?"
'Around the same area Gustavo use to live in...' James thought coldly, before sighing softly.
"Okay, I'm on my way. We'll take my jet, it's faster. Meet me at the base in ten." He ended the call shortly afterwards, leaning close to press his nose lightly to Kendall's.
"I am sorry, I promise to make it up to you." With one last kiss James left through the window again, redoing the hatch.
Kendall stirred in his sleep but was still again minutes later.
-Page Break-
"So who is the unlucky lady tonight?" James asked Jett, managing the jet's controls. He was making sure everything was in check before they headed out, Jett in the seat next to him.
Jett sighed, swallowing hard around the lump in his throat. "M-Mercedes Griffin...his estranged daughter."
James felt a cold chill run down his spine, but said nothing in return; the jet was alive now, it a large bird in the night sky as it took to the winds and disappeared among the clouds.
The two shared not a word the whole flight.