Dangerous Journey

Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly

A/N: Two sides to our antagonist in this chapter. Sam's nightmare, then the intellect. Please enjoy this chapter. Oh, and pay attention, they're going to discuss something you might find interesting that may prove to be a crucial clue to the insight of our antagonist.

Chapter 7 (Neutral Ground)

In the midst of a dream, Sam stood in a darkened room with a brick in her hand. Her chest tightened as she walked forward and tried to feel her surroundings. Quiet, but heavy breaths fell from her lips.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Her voice was trembling and raw from shouting into the darkness for what felt like hours. "I'm still here. Why am I still here?" The brick in her right hand gained weight and she almost dropped it to the ground upon hearing a shuffling sound behind her.

Sam whirled around and watched as a man walked out of the shadows. The darkness cloaked his body like a cape, but she could see the man clearly wearing a tuxedo. His once curly brown hair was now slicked back in a mafia style haircut, and his eyes had sharpened upon her.

She looked to be staring into the eyes of a dragon. "Mr. Vega." She raised the brick and watched his gaze move onto it. "I'm avenging a murder, I'm avenging a kidnapping."

"You have no clue what you've walked into." The man's palms and fingertips were pressed together before his waist. His deep voice held an eerily calm note that sent shivers down her spine. "Why don't you just turn around, go home. This is bigger than you."

"That's why I brought a brick instead of sock and hardened butter." She blinked twice and looked at the cracked brick. "Why did I bring a brick?" David started to laugh, drawing her gaze back to him.

The hair on her neck rose and sweat formed streams down her face. "I'm not an unarmed gang member that you can spank with something." He took a step forward and tilted his head to the right. "Reality doesn't work that way, my dear." She raised the brick and narrowed her eyes.

"Why? Why'd you do it? Why did you kill Mrs. Shay and take her baby?" David circled her like a shark preparing its prey. His shoulders and chest rose and his lips pulled back into his cheeks.

"I've got my reasons."

"You didn't even know them."

"Au contraire Samantha. I knew them well." She gasped out as David stopped and turned to face her. "Is that the only weapon you have?" The lump in her throat grew and David pointed to the brick. "I hope it's not the only weapon you're going to depend upon, because if you believe brute force will curtail me."

"I-" She began to stammer as he made his approach. "Not another step!" David's mouth wrapped around his face in a violent sneer, and his eyes darkened as he continued to move towards her.

"I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than you. I've been at this a lot longer than you. A few quick maneuvers is all I have to make in order to crush you." David stopped for a second and leaned his head back slowly. "What about your father, Samantha? I hear he's in prison, serving a life sentence." Her eyes grew large and a paralyzing sensation flew through her body. "It was John that put him away, was it not?"

"What do you know about that?"

"Everything." David spread his arms out and his dark chuckle echoed into the stratosphere. "I know his little girl was the one that went to her friend and got his father to arrest him." He closed his arms across his chest and slanted his eyes. "I also know there's a stalker fan of yours named Nora. All I've got to do is send one of those two out of prison…"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I? I'm not insane, and I'm not a cruel man when I don't have to be, but get on the wrong foot and you will make a powerful enemy." David's hand came crashing down on her brick and a startled shriek left her lips.

She tried to move, but her legs felt like they were stuck in quicksand. No amount of twisting and tensing her muscles could make them budge.

"It won't take much to overcome a nosy college student. Do you think I have to use violence to be rid of someone like you?" David leaned forward and snarled at her. His breath was like fire shooting out onto her face, burning her. She turned her head away and started to whimper. "I've only ever had to kill those who fought me; the ones that didn't turn away from me. You value your life, you don't have to die."

"N-No, I'm not going to give up. Carly needs me, Spencer…" She attempted to pull her hand away from his, but David's grip was like a metal clamp holding her in place. "Trina needs me, she needs her family."

"I'm her family now, girl. She needs no one else."

"Y-You don't scare me."

"I don't?" David's hand tightened around the brick, then in a sudden unexpected motion, he tore it away from her. Adrenaline poured into her legs and she turned to run, but was knocked down by a sharp and painful strike to the back.

She landed on the ground and turned her eyes to the brick that was now bouncing away from her. A painful sensation was tearing through her and she caught the scent of blood.

With a groan she turned onto her back and raised her hands above her face. "Please." Her voice was raspy and every nerve in her body was stabbing her like a set of needles entering her.

David's form approached with menacing growth before her. He reached into his suit and carefully removed a police standard Smith and Wesson. Her eyes bulged from her sockets as the gun slid into her view.

The barrel looked ready to engulf her, and for a second she thought she could see the bullet's head poking from the nozzle. "This is your last chance, Samantha. You can quit now, stop here, and go home. I won't do anything more to you and you will have your life.

David's slanted eyes narrowed further and his sneer grew. "I can promise there are people that can destroy you, and I can keep them at bay."

"Why should I run?"

"What part of 'I can destroy you and your entire family' do you not understand?" His finger pulled back the hammer and the sound of the gun cocking echoed into her ears.

She watched his index finger curl around the trigger, ready to fire. "I don't believe you."

"Seriously?" His eyebrow rose and his sneer faded into a frown. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, do you? You can't beat me, you can't fight me. A couple jocks my daughter dated tried to fight me; they're gone now. They couldn't outsmart me with brute force."

"She's not your daughter."

"Keep saying that. Are you sure you want those to be your final words?" His finger began to press down on the trigger and she turned her head away, whimpering as the shivering in her body began to increase. "If you want to stand a chance, you have to be smarter than that. Don't mistake me for an idiot and don't mistake me for a psychopath, I am neither." He shrugged and she closed her eyes, ready to embrace the darkness. "You had your chance to give up. It's over now."

Sam bolted upright with a powerful scream. Her chest heaved as her eyes shot around the darkness for several seconds. David was gone, and as her eyes adjusted, she could see she was in her bedroom.

The nightmare was over, or for the most part, the dream was ended.

She pulled her clammy hands in front of her face and watched her fingers tremble. Her nightgown was drenched in sweat and her hair was sticking to her skin. "No," she whispered, "I'm not going to give up now. I could go home…"

Sam looked at the window across from her. The neon glow of the moon was shining through, and the shadows were receding enough that she could see the furniture that surrounded her.

You must be smarter than that

"That's it." She took a deep breath. "I have to outsmart him. That's the only way I'm going to get Trina out of there. I have to figure out a way to outsmart him." The question was how, but she had an idea that just might work.

The following afternoon she followed David to a park downtown. When he sat down at a chess table, she was surprised, yet unfazed.

Sam waited for a few minutes as he set up the pieces and hunched over, running his finger across his chin. "So this is how you spend your spare time," she whispered to herself.

She thought if she could run into him by coincidence and have a conversation with him, it wouldn't appear suspicious and she could gather more information about the man and what he was like.

This seemed an opportune moment. Although she hadn't played chess very often; not as often as she did when she was a kid. She and Freddie used to play, it was one of their favorite board games growing up.

"Mr. Vega!" Sam approached him and watched the man turn. His eyebrows rose and his lips parted. "What a surprise seeing you here in the park, sir. Do you come around often?"

"Yes. I like to get away from the family and job once in a while." He leaned upright and hung his elbow over the chair. "I find it relaxing to come here."

Sam took a seat at the chair across from his and closed her eyes while taking a calming breath. The crisp air blew across her face and through her hair, and in the distance she heard the sound of ducks quacking and splashing in the water.

"I agree." Her nerves were quiet and her heartbeat was pacing at a normal pulse. The sounds that surrounded her kept her from panicking before this intimidating figure.

Her eyes slid open and she twisted her mouth into a smile while peering at the chessboard. "My friend and I used to play chess all the time when we were kids. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind a game or two." David hummed for a moment and she felt his eyes studying her.

"I suppose so. It isn't often that I have an opponent."

"Great!" She let him set up her pieces and watched as his hand swept over the table, giving her the choice of the first move. She curled a finger over her chin and studied the pieces.

On her side she had the rows one and two, with the numbers going up to seven and eight for David. The rooks were placed on either side in A1, and H1. She wanted to keep the King and Queen shielded at this point, so she moved the pawn in A2 forward two places.

David's right eyebrow slid up and he reached down, pushing the pawn in 7E forward two spots. "You've opened up your queen," Sam said aloud. David smirked and looked up from the board.

"You have to respect the women, they can cause the most chaos. The queen is perhaps the most powerful piece on the board. Never forget that."

"I certainly won't." She opened her other rook by moving the pawn in front of it forward twice. David responded by moving his current pawn forward. She wasn't sure what strategy he was trying just yet, or if he was downplaying his game in order to get an idea of what level she was at.

The latter seemed to be the most likely.

If he moved the pawn closer, she'd be forced to take it with one of the pawns in front of either her queen or knight; neither piece she was ready to move just yet. "I'm sure you could teach me a lot about chess, Mr. Vega."

"I could. I used to play when I was a child, and in my teens." She pushed the pawn in C2 forward two spaces. "As a matter of fact, I had a girlfriend in high school that was on the chess team."

"Were you?"

"No." David pushed his queen piece forward one space. "I was on the baseball team, didn't want my fellow athletes thinking that I was a 'nerd'. Camille was trying to break me from that thinking."

Sam's finger slid across her lips and her brow furrowed, but she didn't look up from the board. "Camille? That's your high school girlfriend?" It couldn't be the same Camille. It was possible to pry further without seeming suspicious, so she knew the best move was to remain casual.

"Yes. We dated during our junior and senior year." Sam moved the pawn in front of her king forward, blocking the pawn he already had out. David's hummed for a second, then moved the knight piece from B8 to C9.

It now controlled that part of the board. The pawns she had out on that side couldn't be moved without running the risk of capture via the knight.

Mimicking his move, she moved her knight from B1 to C3. This put his pawn at risk. David smirked and lowered his hand. "Not a bad idea. I'm forced to protect that piece."

"Yeah." He pushed the pawn in F7 forward two spaces. This meant if she took his pawn with the knight, she'd enable that second pawn to take it.

Sam cursed under her breath and studied the board carefully, trying to plan for her next move. His pawn in 4E couldn't go anywhere unless she moved either of the pawns in D or F forward, so it was better to leave his pawn alone. If she moved her pawn in B up, his knight could take it. She could move the pawn in D forward two spaces, knowing that he could take that with the knight and enable her to take that knight with the pawn diagonal from it.

Still, this man might foresee that and he wouldn't take that piece.

Her next move was the bishop piece in F1 to E2. "Interesting choice," David announced. She couldn't safely move the bishop anywhere on the board at this point, but she didn't see any other move that she could have made.

"But now you've put your knight at risk." Her eyes widened and he moved his bishop from F8 to G7. This was directly in the diagonal path towards the knight in C3.

David was on the offensive.

"Okay." She saw a square that would put the knight right on the path to taking his queen, so she moved it to D5. David frowned and pulled his queen back to its starting square. "So." She leaned forward and glanced up to him. "Your girlfriend in high school got you interested in chess?"

"No, I was already interested. I was falling away from it when I met Camille, and she lit that flame back up."

"How did the two of you meet?"

"Chess tournament. I decided to go to a tournament our chess club was having against another school." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "She won, I went up to congratulate her." His gaze held hers and she nodded, listening eagerly to his story. "I told her I grew up playing with my grandfather, so she asked if I'd like to play a couple games with her. We were competitive of course, so that's how we got started."

"Sounds nice, actually."

Not to mention shocking for her to hear. She expected this man to have been a monster for a good portion of his life, but she had to remember that not all people were born criminals. There had to be something that flipped the switch for him, and clearly it was during or after high school.

David crossed his arms and tilted his chin upwards. "Your move, Samantha."

"Right." She pulled her second knight out to G3. David pushed the F5 pawn forward one, and she pushed her F2 pawn up directly in front of his. As a result, he captured her E3 pawn.

His E4 pawn was now in a dangerous situation. She could take his E3 pawn and any piece that his E4 pawn took after that could allow it to be captured by any piece. She took his E3 with one of her pawns, and he captured her pawn in F3. She captured it with her G2 pawn.

David then moved his queen over into G8.

"So, Camille sounds great."

David's eyes lit up and he started to smile. "She was a very smart woman. We bonded over that quality, really. Both of us were in the advanced classes, we enjoyed reading and studied together quite often." He chuckled once and closed his eyes. "As a matter of fact, once we started dating, we almost always asked our teachers to partner us up on any project."

"So what happened, if you don't mind my asking? I'm certainly not trying to pry on any old memories, it just sounds like you two were happy together."

David's eyes dropped to his Queen piece, and the smile faded.

Sensing she struck a painful chord, she silenced herself and moved her rook piece in H1 to G1. "Sorry sir, I don't mean to pry, I was just curious."

"It's fine." David moved his A8 rook over one space and pulled his hand up to his chin. "Camille cheated on me in the end. Wound up pregnant with another man's child and had me believing it was mine until proven otherwise." Sam winced and then pushed her F3 pawn up one space.

"Again, I'm sorry." He pushed his A7 pawn to A5. She moved her bishop to D2 and he pushed his pawn to B5. "That must have been terrible for you." She wanted to make him believe she was sympathetic.

In her mind she still saw him as a vicious and dangerous criminal, but here at this chessboard, she felt like they were on neutral ground.

They continued to play for several more moves, both capturing several pieces of their opponents along the way. After time, David spoke up again. "How did you come to meet my stepdaughter, by the way?"

"Tori?"

"Yes."

This was a tricky question, because it could give away any of Tori's friends. Should David ever figure out what her true mission was, then any friend she named could be thrown under the bus.

Then, if she lied about how she met Tori, he could easily get the truth from the girl. After all, Tori did trust her stepfather.

She wanted to be as honest as possible without tipping him off. After all, in the game of chess as well as in life, it was important to respect the opponent. If he caught her in a lie, she was finished.

"I met Tori at the mall recently. It wasn't my first meeting though." He raised his eyebrows and she looked into his eyes, knowing that a person that looked you in the eyes when talking could be trusted more than one who avoided eye contact. "A couple of my friends and I came to Los Angeles about a year ago and met her at a party."

"So what brought you back to Los Angeles, then?"

"I needed a change of scenery, a change of pace." Sam moved another piece on the board and leaned upright. "A good friend of mine hurt me in a way, and I just had to get away."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you'll find a fresher start here."

"I hope so. I'd kind of like to go back one day, but I am enjoying Los Angeles."

David moved one of his pieces and bobbed his head. "I always tell people, the road is open. You can go wherever you like."

Sam curled her lips into a smile and pushed one of her pieces forward on the board. "Mr. Vega, what would you do?" He hummed inquisitively and she took a slow breath. "If someone you cared for said they cared about you and wanted another chance, but when you gave them a chance the first time they acted like they couldn't decide between you and another person."

"What are you asking?"

"Well…I'd like some advice." Sam's eyes tensed and she hunched her shoulders over the table, then brought her hand up to her chin. "There's this guy. He's always had a crush on one of my best friends, and then when we dated he said he was over her but I could tell part of him still wanted to be with her…so when we ended it, he went right back to his crush on her again."

"I see."

"Now it's been awhile and he wants to get back together with me. He swears up and down he's over her for good this time."

"What does your heart say about this?"

"I want to trust him. Both of us know she's not into him, but how do I know if he's really over her?"

David's shoulders fell and he let out a sigh. His right leg crossed over his left and his arms folded over his chest. "Honestly, it depends. You'll only know through his actions. How he responds to you, how he treats you. If he cares about you, you'll see that."

"So I've been told."

David unfolded his arms and leaned over the board, studying his pieces on the board. "My eldest had a boyfriend who would go to the ends of the earth with her." Crease lines stretched out across his forehead and his eyes rolled into hers. "That man would do anything for her. A man willing to go so far for a woman, you know he loves her."

"Would he have put himself in danger for her? Would he risk his life for her?"

"I fully believe he would."

Sam opened her mouth, then closed it. As Freddie entered her mind, she felt her heart skip a beat. "So maybe this guy in my case…I should wait and see?"

"Sure."

"Thank you for that advice."

She pushed one of her last pawns into the other side, bringing back one of her captured pieces. At this point in the game, the only piece left on David's side was the king.

His king was blocked by some of her remaining pieces, but not in check. Her jaw fell open and David's eyebrows lifted into his forehead.

"Amazing," he said while giving forth a breath, "It looks like we have a draw. You play a good game, although you still play like a beginner."

Sensing a challenge, and recognizing something he mentioned earlier on, she flashed a smirk and flattened her eyebrows. "Are you saying a beginner put a master in a draw?" He replied with a grunt.

"That's not what I am saying. I'm saying you're a worthwhile opponent."

"Feels good to be recognized as such. I bet I could beat you next time." He closed his eyes and started to chuckle.

"If you say so. I have to get going, but you're welcome to challenge me again. I'm sure I could teach you a few tricks at chess."

"I'm welcome to learn." She leaned forward, holding her smirk and challenging him with a cunning and sharp gaze. He leaned his head back and started to hum.

"Well then." David began to collect his chess pieces and shrugged. "I come out to the park every Wednesday evening. If you're willing to learn, I'll teach you, and maybe one day the student will surpass the master." He smirked back at her, then left the table.

She watched and waited as he disappeared into the distance. "Oh yes," she whispered under her breath. Her eyes narrowed and her smirk increased. "This student will surpass the master."

So what do you think? I hope you've learned something too; is this the same Camille that was Mrs. Shay? If so, what does this mean? How do you feel about the tactic Sam is using here? It looks as though she's trying to outsmart him by building up some repor with him. Though it is true, much like the game of chess, you have to respect your opponent. What are your thoughts about the chapter, and the conversation that our protagonist and antagonist had here? By the way, I hope you're going to catch the symbolism, the game of chess is symbolic for what will be going on around these two in a battle of wit.