Dangerous Journey

Disclaimer: Don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 14 (Bombshell)

The following day, Sam waited on the porch of the Vega home with the intention of hanging out with Trina. So she was surprised when Tori answered the door. The girl wasn't dressed for the day, still wearing flannel pajama pants and a pink shirt. "Sam, what are you up to?"

"I was hoping to spend some time with Trina, if she's home." The bigger surprise was that it was half past noon, but she understood it could be a lazy day for Tori. She'd sometimes spent whole days and nights lazing about in her pajamas.

Tori ran her fingers through her hair and pointed at the driveway where David's car was missing. "She left with Dad a little while ago." A sense of disappointment came over her, but she shrugged it off. If David wasn't home, this could be an opportune time to at least talk to Tori and get to know where she and her mother stood with the family.

"Any idea where they went?"

"They went down to the gun range. They go there sometimes. I think they're also going to head out to the park to do some fishing. Trina's been really upset lately, so I think he's trying to spend a little more time with him." Tori turned around and invited Sam into the house with a quick wave. "It's strange that she went with him though."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Tori shut the door after Sam entered, then shrugged. "Ever since I've known her, she's been apprehensive around him. I know she doesn't like him. It's rare to see them actually spend time together." Tori approached the kitchen and looked over her shoulder. "I'd go so far as to say she seems terrified of him. I don't see why, he's never been abusive or anything."

"You like him well enough?"

"Sure." Tori opened the refrigerator. Her voice wavered a bit on her answer, which was odd for someone unless they were lying. "I mean, I don't think mom or my real dad trust him, and I know Trina doesn't. So, I guess I'm the only one that thinks he's actually trying to be a good father."

Sam leaned over the counter and turned a skeptical glare to the girl. "So you're telling me, your entire family feels weird about him, Trina acts scared around him, and you trust the man completely?"

"Not completely. I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt." Tori removed a jug of orange juice and opened the cabinet door beside it. "You want a drink, Sam?"

"Yeah, you can pour me a glass if you'd like."

"Great." She watched as the girl began to pour the two glasses of juice. On pondering the girl's wavering tone and the fact that Tori had yet to look her in the eyes, she knew something wasn't right.

In the two conversations she'd had with David, he'd been more honest than Tori was being in one conversation.

"I don't believe you." Tori raised an eyebrow and curled her hands over the edge of the counter, a foot apart. Her nails tapped the surface and her nose wrinkled. "I'll go on a limb here, but you're lying. It may not be my place, but you're uncomfortable about something…"

"Not your place?" Tori's head turned and her eyes glanced out the glass door leading into the back. Her shoulders fell, then she pushed one of the two glasses towards Sam. "Take this and follow me."

She did as instructed and let Tori guide her out into the back. They walked along a stone pathway that ran out to the edge of the yard where a small, round table made up of different stones rested.

The table was framed by tall bushes. To its right was a small pond that had cattails growing from the center. The cattails swayed in the gentle breeze, and Sam found herself mesmerized by the ripples in the pond.

"I like to come out here and think from time to time." Tori sat down at the table. Sam sat across from her, with her back towards the bushes. "It's quiet, and Trina's dad doesn't have security cameras installed out here." Tori looked towards the house and dropped her shoulders. "Or he does, but it's on the back patio and overlooks the yard-there's no audio though."

Her heartbeat accelerated and the girl turned back to her. All movement around them gave the appearance of slowing down, and the only sound Sam could hear were the birds in the trees.

Tori spoke again after what seemed an eternity. Her eyes slanted and her lips appeared to thin as if she were smacking them. "You know, my dad doesn't like David." The girl's voice deepened and took Sam by surprise. "He says he doesn't know what, but there's something he just doesn't trust about him. Mom too. I know something's wrong with him, and I think it has something to do with Trina."

"What do you mean?"

"My room is directly across from hers." Tori's eyes fell away from Sam's and dropped into the glass of juice that was now held between her hands. "For years I've heard Trina screaming and crying in her sleep. Other times she's talking in her sleep. She has these night terrors all the time, but refuses to talk about them."

Tori crossed her right leg over her left. She raised her glass towards her lips and closed her eyes. "I remember one night hearing her scream for her mom, crying about how she was fighting someone and then she was killed…To this day, I've never been able to get her to talk about her mother, the woman we all thought was David's last wife."

She was astonished that Tori seemed more suspicious of the man than what she realized, but it made sense when considering how often the girl may be hearing Trina's night terrors.

Sometimes when she would have nightmares about the prostitute that her father murdered, she could recall the events in such detail that her mom and sister often said they knew the details of the murder just from her screaming at night.

"How long has your mom been with Mr. Vega anyway?" Tori looked up for a moment.

"They married in 2001." The girl paused and rolled her eyes. "Their wedding was cursed. They got married on September 11th. I hate bringing that up, people start laughing about it sometimes." She cringed in response.

"I don't see what's funny about it." It was ironic sure, but that was about it. Tori likely didn't realize just why it was ironic, but that was beside the point. This was a fantastic opportunity, but she had to be sure just whether or not she should tell Tori the truth about David.

"So why tell me about all this?"

"Why? Well, I figure there's a reason you've been palling around with him, and you're also in touch with our Assistant Chief of Police too. I don't know what it is, but I know you've been observing David for a while, and maybe I'd like to know why."

"You're pretty observant yourself then, if you've figured that much out."

Tori sipped her drink and shrugged.

Sam leaned back and brushed the table with her hand. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I wish I could tell you exactly what's going on, but I don't know how and I don't know how you'll react."

For all she knew, Tori might freak out more than Carly caught in a frozen elevator. "I just don't know if you can keep this kind of thing to yourself-nor should you really, but for everyone's safety, you would need to." Tori raised an eyebrow at her and her eyelids fell halfway.

"Really?" Her response came out with a flat tone. The girl bent her right arm up on her elbow and perched her head on the palm of her hand. "Okay, we'll play this." Tori pointed her finger to her chest and smirked. "I've followed you around, Sam. I know you don't want people knowing you're on iCarly, and I know you've taken an interest in both Trina, and her father."

"What?"

"So tell me what's going on. Do you know something about Trina? Mom and I know next to nothing about her childhood, and those dreams she keeps having? Yeah, they seem to go back to when she was a kid." Tori's nose wrinkled up and she jerked her head back suddenly. "Sister. Are you her sister?"

Sam rejected the idea, but stammered in doing so. This was more than she'd expected. "No, but where did you hear she had a sister?" She cleared her throat and watched Tori look back at the house.

"The other night, she was in her room and she said something. Something about seeing a girl that looked like her sister; the one in her dreams. Just older." Thinking back to when Carly showed up at Sasha's class, she snapped her fingers and closed her hand in front of her mouth.

"Carly." Her eyes slammed shut and her cheeks tightened around her lips. Tori's mouth opened into an oval and her eyebrows humped like a cat arching its back. "Carly showed up at Sasha's class the other day, I told her it wasn't safe. Trina thought she looked familiar."

Seeing there wasn't a chance of talking her way out of this, she had no choice but to tell Carly the truth. "This won't be easy." She opened her mouth and sucked in a large amount of air. Her hands folded on the table and her eyes mixed with Tori's. "First you need to understand, Carly's brother Spencer sent me here to observe David."

"Like a spy?"

"Yeah, sure." She scratched her neck and looked at the pond for a moment as she thought of how to say what was needed. "Mr. Vega is…not a good guy. He's a dangerous criminal. A killer and a child abductor." She glanced back at Tori and watched as an incredible tension came over the girl.

There was no stopping now. "He got away with abducting Trina from her mother because of his family's position and power, and he's managed to keep it under wraps ever since. Mrs. Shay died, probably trying to protect Trina." Tori folded her arms across her stomach and looked down at the table.

Her expression was blank and the pupils in her eyes dilated. "What you need to understand also is that Mr. Benson is trying to find evidence that can be used to launch an investigation on him. The harder part of that is finding cops that aren't loyal to your stepdad."

"And you're a part of this investigation?"

"Yes and no." She wasn't actively searching for the evidence that against David, but if she found anything, she was to point it out to Mr. Benson. "If I see something that is suspicious, such as anything that might be a confession, then I should let Mr. Benson know. My primary objective here is to rescue Trina…do you know what that means?"

Tori's body tensed further and her forehead wrinkled in the center as her eyes closed. "Trina's going to go away."

"Most likely, but it's still her decision." Spencer and Carly weren't planning a move to Los Angeles, and Sasha had already discussed moving up to Seattle to be near Spencer-if not with him as Sam hoped.

"No." Tori shook her head and raised her palms up. "No I'm not going to get upset. I…think I need to process this." She frowned and watched Tori stand up and pace. "What you're saying makes sense, only because it explains the things happening with her nightmares."

"Tori, I'm sorry to drop it on you." Her stomach was tightening to the point she was afraid she might puke. A sudden tightening sensation came over her chest as she watched the growing despair over the girl.

"My mother is married to a maniac, and his daughter isn't even his daughter." Tori spread her hands out and scoffed. "Why won't the police investigate? Besides the fact that a bunch of officers are loyal to David?"

"It's complicated, I think." John couldn't just come sweeping in with a miniature army made up of police officers. The first step of all police investigation was confirming the claim.

In other words, the officers needed proof that Trina was, in fact, the daughter of Steven and Camille Shay. While she and Spencer were well aware that Trina was the girl, officers couldn't just arrest David for kidnapping and murder without investigation.

John said once already that they would have to investigate David as a suspect in Camille's murder first. They had enough reason to include him on that list now, but they were taking this carefully. If they started questioning David while Trina was still essentially in captivity, and before they had confirmed beyond all doubt that Trina was in fact his hostage, the results could be disastrous.

"I need to get Trina out of Mr. Vega's grasp first. Mr. Benson is investigating Camille's murder, but they don't have a murder weapon or any evidence that places David at that supermarket."

Even the security cameras the store had appeared primitive by today's standards. According to John, there was a man of similar build and stature as David in a few places, but he had his head turned away constantly, making the grainy images much harder to narrow down any list of suspects.

She respected the intellect the man had, and enough to know there was no way this man was just going to let himself get caught. She questioned if this man could be borderline genius. "Hey Tori, are his parents still alive?"

Tori stopped pacing and pulled her hand an inch from her face. "His parents? No, I don't believe so."

"Damn." She snapped her fingers and looked away. "Mr. Benson could have questioned them about potential cover ups." Tori's eyes were beginning to water, causing Sam to hesitate before saying anything further.

She stood up and reached out, but the girl pulled away. "Don't touch me right now. I'm getting agitated." Tori put her hand to her head and grit her teeth. "I'm supposed to keep this to myself?"

"Well, I mean, David's already killed before…and the way Trina talks about her boyfriends, he may have killed again. I don't want anybody in any unnecessary risks. Does he do anything to control you or your mom, by the way?"

"No." Tori rolled her head to the right and narrowed her eyes on the door. "No he doesn't. We pretty much have free reign to do anything we want." Tori leaned her head back and dropped her arms with a sigh. "My friends think it's cause I don't like her, but the reason I don't invite her along on the things we do is because whenever Mom and I try to involve Trina in something, we have to answer a million questions."

"Really? Like what?"

"Who are we going to see, what are we going to do, who all is going to be there, how long are we going to be there…to name a few." Tori rolled her eyes and swept her hand against her glass of juice, yanking it up with incredible speed. "I've just stopped including her in things because I knew he'd either say no or I'd have to go over every minute detail with him. I used to think he was just being overly protective."

To the average eye, it would be overprotective, and definitely overboard. The good thing was he didn't act that way with Tori or her mother; it was possible for them to get away.

"Maybe you and your mother can get out of danger." Tori's right eyebrow rose and her lower jaw slid to the right. "You should at least try to protect your mom."

"And leave Trina alone with that maniac, Sam?"

"I don't honestly think Trina's in any danger at the moment." Considering how well David talked about her, and the fact that he was trying to spend time with her. She felt that this man, in some way, legitimately saw her as a daughter.

"Give it some thought, Tori. Her life isn't in danger right now. The only ones in danger are the people who get to close to discovering the truth." She walked past Tori and tapped her foot on the ground as she often did when contemplating things. "Why do you think her closest friends and the people who she's dated have gone away?"

"But…"

"There are times to think of others, and there are times when you need to preserve yourself. You know the truth now, so what do you think's going to happen if you and your mother let it slip?" She watched as the girl slouched, then she turned away.

"Think about it, Tori. If you can save your mom and yourself, knowing that the man you thought you knew only poses a danger to you…" In the end it would be Tori's choice what to do. "Still it's your decision."

"But if I stay here, I can be here in case something does happen."

"That's your choice. In the end it also depends on who you want to protect most." She put her hand to her chest. "I can't promise this is going to be swift, but I can't promise whether or not anyone is going to be in danger."

"Yeah…I will at least think about it."

So now Tori knows the truth, and she's got a big decision to make. What do you think she should do? What should Sam do at this point? Is she right? Could Tori and Holly be in danger knowing the truth?