Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time
-Lyrics to 'Redemption Song' performed by Tessanne Chin
Crimson Bonds Part 58
"Hi, you've reached John. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now-"
Sighing, Angela closed the flip of her cell phone. Leaving yet another message would only serve to make her look desperate. Bad enough that he was going to see how many attempts she had made to reach him if he should look at his call history. Staring at the device in her hand, she frowned deeply, "Why won't you call me?"
It was already worrisome enough to know that Yang's family was going through a crisis. But to have over two days without any contact from him... something was definitely wrong.
The college student bit her bottom lip as she pocketed her cell phone and continued along her way through the campus grounds while a light snow drifted around her. To go from a couple of calls a day to this silence was unsettling, especially considering the timing of this drastic change.
At first, Angela had begun to fear that John was like most guys that she tried to avoid- the ones who were only interested in the conquest and never cared to carry on a relationship once they got what they wanted. That was what she had tried to convince herself at first; however, that band-aid of an explanation only worked for a few hours. There was nothing about the mysterious young man that suggested he could ever be that cruel.
No... about the only thing that had transpired between them besides that wonderful night was McAdams coming out and announcing her relationship to the Senator responsible for the attack upon Vampire rights. Her mother had become a world-wide household name overnight as the steadfast voice against the immortals.
Problem was there were not nearly as many like her in the world who hated the Infected, let alone felt so passionately against them that they would use everything in their power to stand against them.
Angela was used to the stares, to the whispers and outright being ignored that she received from her classmates and the school facility alike. What her mother fought for went against the grain, as most anything worth defending tended to do. She could handle whatever treatment was thrown her way, since she learned early on to pay no mind to the judgments of others.
John was the first person to ever come into the lovely intern's life that did matter enough for her to care what he thought of her. And now the possibility that her tie to Senator McAdams could have been such a disgrace in his eyes that he would wipe his hands of her... it was killing her inside.
A fresh wave of tears filled Angela's eyes for the umpteenth time that day since she came to grips with the very good likelihood that she might never see or hear from the only soul that made her feel complete and alive. Wiping away at the loose drops rolling down her reddened cheeks, she sniffled and did her best to reason.
When there was no reason to be found, she turned to hardening herself. If John was a supporter of the blood-sucking monsters... if he was so weak of mind that he fell in line with the majority of every other living that had been manipulated by the Vampires, then perhaps it was better that they had nothing to do with each other.
Yes, that was how Angela would carry on.
...Even if it was killing her.
* * * * * *
"This is so damned frustrating!" Noin growled out in exasperation as she fell into her living room recliner. Rubbing her closed eyes, she murmured, "We've confirmed more than forty people that this mole got to with blackmail for their votes, but still not one single clue to who the bastard is."
Perched in the love seat at the other side of the space with his wife, Treize smiled sadly, "We just have to take what victories we can for now. We have more than forty of our friends and peers that we now know are not the mole. At some point, one of them will stumble on something that will help us as they are all as invested in snuffing our enemy out as we are."
Lowering her arm that had been slung over her closed eyes, Relena pushed herself up on the loveseat that she shared with her husband. "Cousin, sometimes I don't know whether to love or hate your constant looking at the bright side," she giggled. Her family spread around the room chuckled and nodded in agreement as the head of the Vampire Council smirked while his shoulders shrugged.
Zechs leaned his side against the doorway, arms folded across his chest. "We have made a lot of headway considering how we started off," he began, "but now with the holiday season upon us and February not far behind, we need to start applying some pressure even though we are currently in recess for the next few weeks."
Raising her head from the back of the antique rocking chair near the middle of the space, Lady Une nodded, "We still have Crystal and other allies within the system of the registration who are working around the clock for who is accessing the log."
She scanned the faces set on her, adding, "I'm curious to see if what they've discovered could be used in our favor as an argument to the new laws and restrictions. If we came up with a strong enough case against the amendment to the Human-Vampire Treaty and force a vote, that could draw our mole out."
"Except for the fact that they got what they wanted out of it already," Noin reminded. "The whole thing was to get Duo in this Mister M's clutches. By some bit of luck, it just turned out that they didn't need it, since they were able to take him and Anna before the upload of these damn trackers on us."
There was a pause of silence for the Mind Reader to weigh in the chance of actually undoing the registration law enough for her to hum in thought. "But then, they would lose their way to keep an eye on where Heero, Wufei and Trowa are," she gasped. "So they would have to keep up the threat on the people they swayed. They could slip up in a scramble to secure their numbers."
"Precisely," Lady Une smirked. "And even if they are still able to cover their tracks, we have enough support on our side again that we could still undo the legislation in a vote so that our friends have free rein to search for Duo and Anna without the challenge of the Hunters on their heels."
A wave of excitement surged through the room for the Council members. "The guidelines for posing such a vote are very clear that there needs to be new insight that had not been brought out during the first vote," Zechs thought aloud, rubbing his chin. "We can't very well disclose the Preventers and our need to hunt Rogues freely without causing a panic. Nancy McAdams would have a field day showing the world that there are Vampires to fear."
Shaking his head, Treize sighed, "And I had used everything I possibly could in my initial toe-to-toe with her."
Eyes growing, Quatre's back straightened rigidly. "There may be something you could bring to the table that would have to cause a reopening of the case," he all but breathed. Facing his anxious relatives, he commented, "It's a risk... but it just might work."
* * * * * *
Wufei smiled at the arrival of his sons. It was not often that the search parties were stationed close enough to each other that the boys could run into the new 'lair' as opposed to requiring their Uncle Trowa's transporting ability. But this was one of those rare moments.
Making his way to the entrance of the rustic cabin that he and his family had taken up in the deep cover of the Taiga forest in Canada, the scaly Infected greeted, "It's good to see you both again." Pulling each youngling into firm, one-armed embraces, he stepped back to look them over. "You both seem to be holding up well," he stated.
The comment was one that put the brothers in an uncomfortable position of not being able to say the same about their father. His reptilian like flesh was far too pale... even for a Vampire. And there were tiny flecks of brown in the onyx parts of his irises that spoke of his deprived state thanks to his long separation from his Chosen, their mother.
Concerned though they were for him, Charles and John forced smiles and opted to not mention anything about their Dad's appearance. "We had a great mentor to teach us how to survive out in the world," the elder of the two replied.
Unable to hold back his appreciation for the compliment, the Chinese warrior cleared his throat and bowed his head in gratitude. By the time he straightened himself, his sons picked up on the sound of rapid typing from the next room.
Peering over their father's shoulder, the younglings saw their Uncle Heero sitting at a small table where he flew his fingers over the keyboard of his personal laptop. Uncle Trowa was standing right behind him, a slight bend to his back so that he could focus on the screen before them.
"We may have come across a breakthrough in the search," Chang announced quietly, a slight resistance to his tone alluding to his not wanting to get any hopes up until there was a confirmation. But at no surprise to him, his boys snapped their heads back to him with wide, gold-rimmed eyes.
A small grin spreading across his face, Wufei warned, "It's just a good hunch at the moment, but we're going through the reports of a scientist that I have had archived for decades now. We have a good reason to believe that the past has come back to haunt us in a sense."
Instantly brightening, John asked, "Is there any way that we can help to narrow down your research? We have enough skills with programming and coding that we should be able to step for another couple pairs of eyes." Charles nodded enthusiastically.
Drawing a deep breath at that, their Dad responded, "I appreciate the offer..." The younglings' heads lowered in preparation for the rejection that they were expecting to hear based off of that lead-up.
The corner of his lips smirking, the scaly Infected told then, "I have just the project that you would both be good at."
Shocked and elated, his children snapped their enlarged eyes on him as he stated. "The data stored had been damaged before I was able to get my hands on it and I was not able to restore every file. If the two of you would work together in correcting those reports so that your Uncles Heero, Trowa and I can go through them with what we know we are looking for, that would save us a lot of time and trouble."
"I'm in!" Charles all but yelled in excitement.
John added in kind, "Me, too! Just tell us where we'll be stationed and we'll get right on it!"
Gesturing for them to follow him, Wufei turned and headed into the large living room where the other Vampires were set to their own task. Once they set foot inside, the brothers' jaws dropped as they took in the waist-high stack of hard drives and data cards that lay in wait to be sorted through.
Lightly patting the top of the stack, Chang said, "This is what still needs to be encrypted and filled in where there are gaps in the data that had been compromised. Luckily, I already brought in a few extra laptops that you would be able to use. Set yourselves up wherever you like and let me know if you need me to give a hand if anything gives you trouble."
Days upon days of coding were in that heap. But, this was what the boys wanted, another opportunity to step up in the search for their Mom and Uncle Duo.
Rolling up the sleeves of his tan sweater, Charles nodded firmly and suggested, "I'll start with the top, you go for the bottom and we'll meet in the middle."
"Works for me," John grinned as he moved towards the tower. On their way back to the long table, each with a laptop, they shared warm embraces and words with their Uncles and dove right into their new job.
Stepping back a few paces, Wufei looked on with a smile on his face. "That's my boys," he muttered under his breath and took to the opened computer that he had left behind next to Heero.
* * * * * *
In the holding room of Septum's hidden base, two of the four utilized cells were actually occupied. There had been an unexpected turn when a fresh batch of guards entered the space to collect Duo and Celeste. No doubt the braided Hybrid was about to undergo another round, if his fellow Companion was needed to be so close on standby.
Staring up at the ceiling over his bed, Solo silently wondered over how he was equally worried for both his lover and his twin... which was something in and of itself surprising to him. He and Duo were never afforded any opportunity to grow close. The fact that his brother managed to escape the torture that his counterpart had endured was only met by bitterness.
Only now, the blonde Hybrid was reluctantly admitting that it wasn't Maxwell's fault how the chips fell for either one of them. What was the point of holding onto old grudges that were not exactly fair in their concoction to begin with?
Then there was the realization that working against each other wasn't helping them escape. Perhaps they could put aside their differences long enough to come up with a plan-
"Berg has been holding them for a long time," a familiar voice all but whispered, breaking the immortal of his thoughts.
Nearly falling out of his bed in his scramble to bolt upright on top of his mattress, Solo blinked widely at the redhead sitting on the edge of her own bed. From the corner of his eye, he noted that Broderick had the very same wide-eyed expression on while peering over his shoulder at the Vampire.
Anna brushed back a few loose curls from her face as she stayed locked onto Duo's empty cell. Her other hand remained tucked over her growing belly in a subconscious protective gesture. Gesturing to the Hunter, she asked, "Any idea what he's up to?"
Since he was already in a safe position in relation to the cameras, Dawson shook his head and frowned deeply, "Septum and the Mad Doc keep tight-lipped over what goes on in the lab. But to be honest, I really don't care to know the details there."
The Irish Infected nodded shallowly at that. When her gaze slowly turned and settled on him, Solo smirked, "You're back." He was rewarded with a small grin that actually reached his sister's gold-and-blue eyes.
It may have been more of a glimmer than the spark that the Hybrid was used to seeing in her, but it was a start compared to the empty void that had come on ever since her meeting with her doctor. Anna was still in there somewhere.
Biting on his bottom lip, Broderick commented quietly, "I had no idea that you were raped in your past." To the enlarged eyes that spun towards him, he ducked his head a bit and explained, "The way you acted when I ripped that son of a bitch off of you... I've seen that in other victims before."
"Ah. I see," the Vampire replied with a reassuring smile. "On my last night as a living, I was attacked by two monsters, one of them a mutated Infected who poisoned me. They forced themselves on me and I would have died if Heero and Trowa hadn't heard my screams. I pleaded for my life and my brother turned me so that I could continue to exist."
Her head tilting, Anna stated quietly, "My dear family saw to it that the less than pleasant aspects of my coming to be a Vampire were left out of the public records. I never asked for them to do so... they just looked out for me of their own devices."
With a soft snort, Dawson grinned, "Can't say I'm surprised by that, given what I know about your family already." The corners of his lips dropped with worry and he questioned, "Barnett... he didn't... I did stop him before-"
"You got to him in time," the Infected responded, her smile warming over the living's concern. "It never came to that."
Solo chewed on the inside of his cheek as he took all of the information in. The pieces to the puzzling change in Anna's demeanor that were falling into place only convinced him all the more that Septum got to her somehow when she was away.
And he was only all the more sure that it had something to do with the little ones squirming beneath the Irish immortal's hand. She never cared about herself the way she did her tiny charges.
Watching her brother when he rose to his feet to lean his back against their separating wall, the redhead told him, "By the way, Solo... thanks for calling me your sister back there. I couldn't help but hear that much when I was dealing with that asshole."
"Slip of the tongue," the Hybrid huffed, though the profile of his partially concealed face and tone gave away the small grin on his lips. "I have no idea where it came from, but it won't be happening again. And it's about time you started talking, seeing how worried Celeste and Duo have been over you."
Brightening, Anna snickered, "Funny. There were a few occasions where I thought I heard you trying to get my attention, too."
Once again responding without looking back, Solo shrugged, "You've been trapped in here for too long since you were clearly hearing things. I wouldn't have bothered keeping tabs on you like that."
Their eyes locking, the Vampire and the Hunter exchanged amused smirks. "Right," the Siren murmured, "I should have known better." She paused, twirled a few long strands of her fiery locks around her finger and asked, "Did I also misunderstand you and Duo settling that Barnett is mine when we're finally out of this place?"
Her brother turned to face her, declaring, "No. That much you got right. Just don't make me regret it by taking it easy on him."
"I won't," Anna vowed, her entire demeanor dramatically shifted into a cold and calculating. "Thank you for giving him up."
Solo smiled, pleased to see her edge returning.
Broderick was only momentarily taken aback by how quickly his charge had changed before him... this was the first time he saw the dark Vampire beneath the surface that few had the misfortune of seeing before she killed them.
However, that brief startle was short-lived for the mortal, given his own disregard for whatever became of Mark Barnett. Whatever was being planned for him, the tall Hunter hoped that he suffered well before the end.
Melting back to her approachable self, Anna looked back to the empty cells across from her. "They really have been gone a long time," she muttered anxiously.
* * * * * *
Celeste paced the solid, white walled room that she had been placed in following her being collected by Septum's on duty guards. Sighing, she wondered how many hours she had been waiting for word on why she was summoned.
The only obvious possibility of Duo being left off so badly that he needed to drink immediately after his treatment, but something about the whole scenario seemed... off to the lovely Companion.
Spinning on her heels at the opening of the double doors behind her, she blinked widely as her brother entered seemingly completely unscathed. His four escorts parted for him to enter the room and disappeared when the space was closed off once more.
"I was starting to get scared," the Hispanic beauty sighed in relief as she hugged the Hybrid tightly. "You're alright, then?"
Maxwell tightened his own arms around his sister and shrugged, "Right as rain." Pulling back, he appraised himself. "Not a scratch on me or even a little bit of pain after all of those tests, just like the last time," he commented. Of course, he was perfectly aware of why that was.
Happy as she was for that, Celeste's nerves were on their ends. Her instinct was right. Something really was off. And just as soon as that realization sank in, the doors opened once again... revealing Septum on the other side. Were her heart still functioning normally, the Companion knew it would have leapt into her throat at that moment.
With all of his put on flourish, Millers opened his arms as he stepped inside, cheering, "Hello, friends!" Sitting himself down in one of the three chairs standing by, he gestured to the two before him.
"Please, sit. We have much to discuss." His hand ever on the remote to their collars, there was no room for argument. Only briefly hesitant, the immortals took their places.
Folding his hands together on his lap, the researcher leaned forward and eyed each of his prisoners before announcing, "I want to know who Shinigami is."
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page