Chapter 21

"Countdown"

I woke up early after having a horrible nightmare about Niko being killed for everything he's done. One of his victims family members catching him off guard and killing him on the spot right before me. His life fading away as I struggled to keep him alive and dial the emergency services. Only to have him fade completely away as the paramedics arrived. It was dreams like that that made me worry more for him. How long would it be until he was attacked for the things he's done? How long would it be for me to be killed just knowing him? I wanted more answers from him. It's true I said I loved him. Even though he had done some horrible things when he was younger. He did have a point. He couldn't do anything legally to get money, so it had to be the illegal activities that he got paid for. And from the sound of it, Roman had a massive debt that would take Niko years upon years to pay off if he got a regular job. Niko paid off the debt in less than two years with all the money he got. It was after the fact he got Roman to finally move forward with his life, did Niko consider finally moving forward. But, like he said, Karen's employers got their hooks into him and blackmailed him before he could start. He was told if he didn't do the things he was told to do, they'd turn him into the police and he'd have a prison sentence.

I was deep in thought when I missed what the person at our door asked.

"Say that again?" I whispered.

"I asked you if you're hungry?"

I focused my eyes and saw my brother standing in the doorway.

"I kinda am. What are you making?"

"I was going to make pancakes for everyone, but I see he's still out."

"Oh, he will be for a long while after drinking all of that."

"Is he still alive? He hasn't moved a muscle since we got him in bed."

I watched his chest rise and fall and nod to confirm his status.

"You better make sure you're there when he wakes up. He's going to be hysterical if you're not by him."

"I will be." I move to him and kiss his forehead.

"How are you able to forgive him so quickly?" He asked as I easily slid off the bed.

"I forgive him because I was also wrong."

"How? He was pretty mean to you."

"Because we were supposed to talk through our problems. Not shout at each other. I left him just as bullheaded as he was. Neither he or I was willing to compromise our morals."

"That's pretty smart of you."

"It's also mature. I am willing to work with him as along as he is willing to do the same."

"How can you work with something like this situation?"

"That's why we'll need Karen's people to help."

"What if they can't help?"

"We will figure it out. I know we will."

The pancakes were piled on the table for anyone to walk by and grab. He made ten pancakes just in case everyone was more hungry then they thought. I sat down and my stomach rumbled. I dug in and devoured the pancakes in a hurry because I could hear groaning from our bedroom. That meant Niko was awake, and I was sure he was in a lot of pain.

I gathered a plate for him in case he was hungry, and a cup of coffee.

"I'm coming, Niko." I called to him, as I ran to his aid.

"Is that you, Sharon?" His voice was husky and it sounded dry.

"It's me, baby. Don't move, okay?"

He lifted his head up to visually see me, and his head went back down. I was sure he had no control of his body at the moment. He'd sober up soon. The main thing was to get him rehydrated.

That idea made me rush to het him a glass of water to help him replenish lost hydration. I eased Niko up out of bed and held the glass while he sipped from it. I told him to take small sips so he won't aspirate.

"Thank you." He weakly said when he got his fill of water.

"Are you hungry?"

Despite his stomach rumbling, he declined my offer of food. I set the dish aside and held him against my body. I had no remedy for his hangover readily available, so my company was the next best thing. He had the awful stench of alcohol and vomit on his skin, but I didn't care. I was there by his side no matter what.

I heard a light knock on the door and I verbally allowed the person to enter. The light filled the room amd Niko twitched at the sudden change of brightness. A deep groan came from him, and I petted him to console him.

"What is going on?"

"Karen wants Niko to get up. We're supposed to head back to the agency. There seems to be a slight snag in the plan."

I curse under my breath. What terrible timing for the agency to summon us back up.

"Can't they just call us and tell us what's wrong?"

"Sounds like that's gunna be a no. Sounds like Niko has to sign more papers. They didn't say what. They said they'd have more to say when we get up there."

My attention directed itself to Niko, who rolled over on his other side to get relief from the light.

"Come in and close the door. We have to keep it dark in here."

My brother did so, and sat in the arm chair in the corner. He watched as Niko stirred a little in bed to try to get himself moving. It took my caresses to wake him up slowly. I climbed out of bed in hopes it would give him the idea to get up. He swung his legs off the side of the bed, but his head found his pillow and threw his arm over his eyes.

I started the bath water for him and set out his clothes. I was to help him get washed up. Something I thought to be a little less intimate than making love, but this was going to be the first time I was to help him in hygiene.

I walked back to the bed to find Niko not making much progress in getting up. I grabbed his hands and eased him to a sitting position. I held his head to look at me, ensuring I had his attention.

"I'm going to help you get cleaned up. You're in no state to do it on your own."

"Thank you." He said with his eyelids drooping gradually.

I lead him to the bathroom where I stripped him of his clothes. He stood there with his eyes closed. I figured he wouldn't be able to help much. I guided him inside the shower and I made sure he didn't slip. Once inside, I saw his alertedness return. His eyes slowly opened and ran the water over his head. I lathered soap in a wash cloth and rubbed him down acrossed his chest. A small smile formed on his face as his sobriety returned.

"Hey." I smiled back at him.

"Hey." He greeted back.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, but you're making it feel better."

"Glad to hear."

I continued to wash him and he stood there while I did. I could tell he was really enjoying this and I wondered again if any of his other girlfriends did this for him for any reason. I wouldn't mind doing this again for him even if he has nothing ailing him.

"I have to talk-"

"Shh." I interrupted him. I knew what he was about to say and now wasn't a good time to talk.

"But I really-"

"Shh."

"Can I just-"

"Shh." I smiled at him as I washed his underarms.

"You're really a pain."

I laughed hard and dropped the wash cloth. He bent over, picked it up and continued washing himself. I felt a swell of happiness watching him.

He stood under the water, and the soap washed off his body. I was itching to touch him as the water flooded over his pecs, down to his abs, and dripped off the tip of his flacid penis. I felt myself getting hotter and I squeezed my legs together to put out the thumping fire.

"Do you want to join me?" He extended his arm out to me.

I really wanted to join him, but I was pretty sore from the last time he fucked me. I placed my hands on the bathroom walls for stability. My knees were going to jelly as I continued to watch him in the water. Despite my soreness, I sent my clothes flying and joined him. I felt giddy as the same water that coated him was now running down my body. I've shared a shower with my other ex-boyfriends, but for some unexplainable reason, I really enjoyed being with him.

He moved his arm between my leg and lifted it up at the bend of my knee. I knew where this was going and all the preparation couldn't get me ready for his sex again. I still craved it as my pussy tingled. His lips hungrily found mine as he kissed me from below. He was positioning himself just outside my moist pelt. His other hand massaged my breast getting me turned on. His taste was driving me wild as I moaned into the kiss. His entry was more painful then I thought. I clung to him tightly and a sharp gasp came from my lungs.

He pulled away from me to look at my eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" He purred.

"It hurts a little. But I really need you."

"I think we should give you a rest. You're sore. I could tell. You're resisting against me."

"I really need you."

He kissed me again as he still held my leg up. My arms went around his neck and he began to move inside me. His kiss made it a little easier to accept his sex. He was more yeilding to me this time, ensuring he didn't hurt me. He tilted his head against mine to deepen it, and I could swear I felt myself drenching his cock with my wetness. He lifted my leg a little higher without breaking our kiss. My hands found his shaft and I held onto him. He immediately stopped and looked at me after letting my lips go when he sucked on my lower lip.

"Did I hurt you?"

"It hurt. Niko, I can't take you right now."

He kissed my cheek and smiled warmly at me. "We don't have to do this. I can relieve myself."

"You shouldn't have to. I'll finish you."

He slid out of me and set my leg down. I moved south along his body, planting kisses on the way down. When my lips found his penis, a jolt of pleasure pulsed in his groin. It caused his penis to tap my chin. He was rock hard after the slow teasing sex he gave me.

"Well, someone likes being coated in kisses." I teased and took him in my hand.

"Of course I do. You feel so good to me. Everything about you makes me feel good."

I grinned below him sharing his passion. I figured I should finish him in the shower, but yet again, a knock was heard over the shower.

"Hey! What's taking so long? We gotta get going!"

"God damn it, Karen." Niko shouted. His voice boomed within the bathroom.

He turned the water off which meant our time was over. Poor guy never even got a release. Nor did I for that matter. This is exactly what Niko meant by being interrupted nearly everytime we were alone.

Niko was the first to get dressed between the two of us. He had a really hard time getting his erection to cooperate. He caught himself in the zipper of his pants, and that made me wince in pain. Once he was fully dressed, I told him I didn't bring clean clothes for myself. He agreed to get me something to wear. Having put on what he got me, we both came out of the bathroom. I commented on how funny he looked when I watched him walk from behind. He laughed sarcastically as he continued on to the kitchen to make himself another coffee. I noted how quickly he seemed to sober up.

Karen wrangled all of us inside her SUV once his coffee was made and we were headed back up to the agency.

"Did they go into more detail as to what was so important that we had to leave?" Niko asked after he took a small sip of his bitter coffee.

"There is a problem. Francis McReary was shot and killed yesterday during a shootout at the bank. I guess he was called in as a negotiator for the gunman."

"McReary is dead?!" He said in disbelief.

"Yes. It seems like the court date is going to change to tomorrow since they won't be needing him anymore."

"Well, shit." He chuckled in shock.

"My thoughts exactly. It seems that Patrick McReary will be one of your witnesses. I called him this morning. He isn't allowed to contact you at all, so if he calls you, ignore him. Or you'll end up hurting your case."

"How?"

"If the phone records are pulled at some point, it will show that you and Patrick contacted each other. It just doesn't sit right in court that the man testifying with you was calling you. Just ignore him, alright?"

"Okay. No problem."

We arrived at the agency and Niko spotted a man who he seemed to be familiarized with. He tried to call out from the other end of the hallway, but Karen clasped her hand over his mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing? Don't communicate with him!"

"I can't talk to him either?"

"No! No communication whatsoever!"

She coralled the three of us inside the office where the man we talked to before had his chair back to us.

"Were you followed?"

"We came as fast as we could, sir."

"But where you followed?"

"Don't think so."

"Good. Because the police seem to think we were responsible for the death of Mr. McReary."

"I thought this place had a secret location."

"It was up until Jed and Nick told the police chief where we were located. Those two were snitches. We are actually very pleased the girl took them out. You did us a favor by eliminating those cunts."

"So, you're not going to worry about those two deaths?" I asked.

"Absolutely not. As far as we're concerned, those shit buckets never existed. We are so pleased that we are even more determined to help Niko get what he wants. We searched up a few of his friends by hacking into his phone and looking through his contacts. We have a few willing to side with you in this case. Brucie Kibbutz, Patrick McReary, and even an old girlfriend of yours, Kiki Jenkins. She'll give you enough pull in the court."

"Wait. You hacked Niko's phone?" I asked.

"We have a team of experts who specialize in hacking. We only took what we needed."

"Well, it seems like my citizenship is sealed." Niko crossed his arms full of confidence.

"Don't get too cocky. We said we'd help you, but you should never assume the outcome of anything. The court date is tomorrow at 9 am. Wear something respectible to make an impression on the jury. Prepare a speech to open your arguement as to why you are seeking legal residency after ten years. Throw in a sob story of your opression to sway them. Let them repeatedly know that you killed criminals for the good of the community and it was mostly in self defense. Make it sound good so you finally are proven innocent and you can finally be legal."

"Thank you for the advice, sir. What are these papers you needed me to sign?"

"Court summons, legal stuff you need to know. Your rights as you enter this trial. An attorney will be provided for you if you decide now if you want one."

"Free of charge?"

"You will be charged, yes. This is going to be a high profile case." He turned on the television. There was a newscast about it the case with the headline, "Opression in America". Niko was actually taken back at the outpour of some people standing outside the courthouse with signs saying "Enough is enough", "Give him citizenship", and "Welcome to America."

I was taken by surprise as well by the public's support even though they really had no idea what the whole story was. We wrapped up the meeting as soon as it started. Niko had some work to do tonight.

Karen noted that we needed to go shopping for food for the week before we went home. Niko suggested he and I be dropped off back at the condo so he could start his speech. She did agree that keeping him home would be beneficial because she was sure the public would pour around him causing unwanted attention.

Niko and I headed inside and he got right to business. He feverishly wrote down ideas on paper before he began writing in detail. I helped him a little by pointing out that he did come to America for a new beginning after being in the war. A dream that was slowly coming true. Once he got the main idea of his speech figured out, he began the tedious task. He chose specific words like 'pressured', 'forced', 'oppressed', and 'hope' for the perfect balance. He had atleast two and a half pages written out, and once he was satisfied, he stood up and read it back to me as if I was the jury. I of course was moved to tears. It was only seventeen short hours away when we would see the real impact.

It was about 4:30 when my brother and Karen came back from the store. Karen had multiple bags as well as my brother. I offered to get bags, but there were none left. Karen set her load on the table and advanced toward Niko. She carried a smaller bag in her hand. She tossed the bag into his lap and he looked at her with a quizzical look.

"I got you some things that will help you in court tomorrow."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Just look at it, idiot."

He opened the bag, and he looked back at her.

"Thank you. See? You're not really a bitch."

"I can take it all back. I still have the receipt."

I looked over to see what the heck Karen got him. She got him a day planner to document the days in court for his own records, a small American flag pin to put on the lapel of his tuxedo just for a positive appearance, and file folder so he can keep all papers and documents as well as any evidence in document form that needs to be shown to the judge.

"How's your speech going? You're just sitting there."

"I'm done."

"There's no way you finished in two hours. Let me see."

She looked through his papers. I saw she read it a few times. Probably checking for spelling errors and grammar. She squinted her eyes and concentrated hard on his words. She handed the pages back and she shook her head.

"How can a criminal be such an expert writer? There was nothing wrong with anything you wrote."

"Because it was all that happened to me condensed into two pages. Everything that has happened to me here in America."

"He wrote really small so he wouldn't have a whole book to read. It was meant to be a speech, not a ceremony." I chuckled.

"True enough. But all bitchiness aside, Niko. This is a well written speech."

Niko nodded his thanks and put his speech along with plenty of copies of documents, witness photos, contacts information; such as addresses, phone numbers, occupations, and nationalities. He kept the folder by the front door so it was easily remembered when it came time to leave.

Surprisingly, Karen cooked an early diner for the three of us. She had a celebration diner for Niko for being free from the government agency. She went all out for us too. She grabbed the steaks and shrimp and prepared it. The wine she selected was the perfect pair for the steaks as well as the shrimp. We ate well that night, and Karen suggested that Niko went to bed early to arrive early at the courthouse.

"Is there any other pointers or advice you can give me?"

"Only a few more. When you wake up, make sure you shave. The court doesn't like that 5 o'clock shadow appearance. Clean up nice too. Don't half ass this. I'll iron your tuxedo for tomorrow and I'll put it all on a hanger in your bathroom for you before you go to bed. Last but not least, no sex tonight. We need you focused."

"Abstinence throughout this procedure. Got it." He made the okay hand gesture. This of course ticked off Karen.

"I'm not joking around, Niko! They are judging you as soon as you enter that courtroom! Even before you open your mouth, hours before you read your speech you worked so hard on. If you fuck about, this will fail. The judge and the jurors, Hell even the audience will decide if you are worth their time, and if you come in smelling of sex, they'll toss your case!"

I raised my hand, trying to interject a question before the two of them.

"What now?" Karen breathed her annoyance.

"I should have asked this before, but didn't they have no evidence on Niko? How is there even a trial?"

"Niko still have murder charges on him. The court will decide tomorrow if they will drop the charges and give him his papers, or convict him and ship him off home."

I gasped at the thought of him going back to Serbia. I would follow him, but I have family here.

"Another thing, you'll have to stay behind."

"Why?!"

"You have no reason to be there anymore. You'll be a distraction most of all. You'll have to either stay home, or wait in the waiting room of the courthouse. I suppose you coming to the courthouse. You'll be able to hold Niko's phone if the jury doesn't need it. He may be required to bring it for evidence. His calls, his texts, everything he's done with his phone could be used."

"Great."

I blushed at him remembering our little phone sex scenario a long while ago.

"I'm assuming there are embarrassing photos?" She asked.

"Not embarrassing. Uh...revealing? Private? Sensitive photos?"

"Delete them right now."

"No way! There are some really cute ones of me and Sharon. I want to keep them!"

"Well, text them to her. Or e-mail them if you think they'll look at her messages to you."

Niko scrolled through his messages to me, and I covered my face as Karen saw only a little snippet of what we were sending each other. Including the small video of Niko going to town on his artificial vagina.

"Well, that's embarrassing." He said full of humiliation.

"It is not. I think it ia a beautiful thing that we share things like that!" I felt a little bolder to stick it in Karen's face.

She said nothing as she turned for her bedroom. I guess she was turning in for the night.

"You showed her." He threw his arm around me and drew me close.

"I'm sick of her picking on you. She's running you down almost any chance she gets."

"She's just an old hag." He whispered. "I don't listen to her anyway. You're what really matters to me."

"Aren't you older then her?"

"Yeah, but she's still an old hag." He chuckled.

I sigh against his chest. His cologne was making me melt inside. I wanted to memorize his scent because after tomorrow, our time together was going to be extremely limited.